The Warden: Part 1, Return of The Warden

by FortressLegacy

Chapter 3: Another Confrontation

The Warden slowly came to a halt, hovering some distance above the ground with his wings outstretched. Green flames shot out of the slots in his wings, and he hung ominously in the air, his armor howling all the while.

Celestia stood, defiantly staring up at him. From the plates covering his limbs and body, to the strange cutie mark painted on his armored flanks, to the two green visors burning straight into her eyes, it was undeniably him. In moments, memories of their encounter in the woods all those centuries ago flooded back.

Slowly, the Warden lowered himself down, and as he approached the ground, Celestia felt the air being displaced by his engines rushing past. He came to a slow landing a fair distance from her, gently making contact with the ground. His wings then folded, and the howling swiftly faded away.

The Warden stood, tall and ominous. The lifeless visors on his mask stared at Celestia, still glowing green. Her gaze, on the other hand, was anything but lifeless, displaying nothing short of a truly regal display of firm defiance. She was not going to show intimidation.

The Warden looked at Celestia, taking in her armor and weapon. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

'I see you are already set on fighting, as always.'

'Only if you insist on continuing your ridiculous crusade.' Celestia retorted. 'However, if you go back to where you came from, I will not pursue you and we can leave it at that.'

The Warden scoffed. 'Not a chance. Although I must admit, it is a bit surprising to see you actually try to negotiate for once, instead of seeking out a fight.'

'I am not proud of how I once was.' Celestia sighed. 'I don't default to fighting any more. I've changed, Warden.'

The Warden tilted his head. 'I won't deny that you've changed, but I would hesitate to say that it was entirely positive. For instance, instead of operating by yourself, you are now brainwashing that purple mare into becoming your minion.'

The princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest to keep a solid hold over her igniting anger. Was he seriously insinuating that she was using Twilight?

'I assure you, I am helping her become the best that she could be.' She said, opening her eyes.

'I doubt that.' The Warden mused. 'I bet you've hidden your checkered past from her. Do you think that she will be willing to remain under your influence when she finds out the lies you've been feeding her?'

Celestia inhaled sharply, reflecting on this remark. That hit close to home, and her thoughts briefly dwelled on Twilight. She felt anxiety churn within her heart.

'I… Look, I know you are skeptical, but I assure you that I have changed.' She implored. 'Can we just calm down and talk this out?'

'Oh, it is far, far too late for you to weasel your way out of this.' The Warden growled scathingly. 'This ends today.'

Celestia fell silent, and sighed.

'Fine.'

She made a motion with her hoof and immediately, ten heavily armored guards surrounded the intruder, each pointing a large spear directly at him. They remained out of striking distance from the imposing stallion, who stood taller than each of them.

The Warden did not flinch, calmly taking in the situation. His armor clicked quietly as he moved, his gaze eventually coming back to Celestia.

Then, looking like some sort of metallic blur, the Warden slipped below the spears and delivered a devastating kick to one of the guards. With a crash, the unfortunate guard went flying back, his armor dented from the forceful blow.

The fight was on.

All the built up tension in the atmosphere exploded into violence. The remaining guards encircling him instantly went on the attack, attempting to overwhelm the lone enemy. One guard, who was standing directly behind the Warden, saw an opportunity. Expecting an easy hit, she thrusted her shining spear directly at him.

But he was already a step ahead.

With a single motion, the Warden dropped to the ground, dodging the attack. Then, lunging towards the vulnerable guard, a grappling claw shot out of one of his forelegs. Using the claw, he grabbed the guard by her hind legs, and hurled her into some other guards. She cried out in surprise as she impacted several of her comrades, sending them either flying or staggering back.

Another guard lunged at him, making contact with his spear. However, it merely glanced off of his armor, leaving behind a mere scratch. In response, the Warden whipped around, grabbed the spearhead, and brought his foreleg down on the shaft of the weapon, snapping it in two. The guard looked up at him in disbelief, shocked that he had destroyed his weapon in such a way. This moment was brief, however, for the guard rapidly received a harsh blow from the Warden, knocking him out.

Ducking, weaving, and striking with deliberate precision and overwhelming force, the Warden overcame each attack. One by one, the remaining guards were knocked away, most of them unable to continue fighting.

Celestia watched on in awe. This degree of fighting skill coupled with his armor made the Warden far more formidable than she had imagined. At that moment, she understood that more pressure was needed.

'Everypony pile on, now!' She shouted, charging at the Warden.

A dozen more guards also rushed to the Warden, now understanding that their best hope was to overwhelm him all at once. In addition to the guards below, several pegasi guards came swooping in from above as well, ensuring that he was truly surrounded from all angles.

The Warden looked frantically around, noticing that he had been encircled. But he swiftly jumped into action, extending his wings and taking off into the air. Celestia extended her own wings in preparation of pursuing him, but she noticed the Warden had left a small metal object where he was standing a moment before.

In an instant, Celestia understood what it was.

'Stop!' She cried desperately. 'Get away from-'

Celestia barely had enough time to put up a magic shield around herself and a handful of guards who were next to her before the object exploded. The resulting shockwave sent any and all guards who were not shielded flying like ragdolls, while Celestia's ears started ringing.

Meanwhile, the pegasi guards were disoriented by the blast, and the Warden flung himself into them. With a series of crashes and blows, he plowed through a couple of them, sending each plummeting down to the ground.

An intense fight then broke out in the air, but the result was nearly the same as before. The Warden was just as formidable in the air as he was on the ground. Looping, twirling, and swiping through the air, he kept the pegasi on the defense, his armor howling all the while.

As Celestia let down her shield, it became clear that a new approach was needed. The guards were not capable of keeping the Warden preoccupied, that much was certain.

She had to fight him herself.

She took a nervous breath, remembering their first fight. But she fortified her heart with a steely resolve. She was fighting to keep Luna and the others safe from him. Plus, unlike their first fight, she knew how to fight him now.

'Stand down!' She cried. 'I will deal with him myself! Don't engage unless I say so!'

'Yes, your highness!' The guards shouted, backing away cautiously.

The few remaining pegasi broke away from the Warden, and he took notice of the lull. He came down and landed with a thud that could be felt under the hooves of all who were still standing. He faced Celestia, who was preparing for what was coming.

'Had enough of having others do your dirty work, princess?' He asked scathingly. 'How very heroic.'

Celestia began to walk towards the Warden, unflinching and ready to strike, her halberd by her side. 'Your skill is only matched by your inflated ego, Warden.'

The Warden tilted his head, standing his ground against the imposing alicorn. Despite his large stature, he was still smaller than Celestia.

'Ego?' He asked. 'Look who's talking. You certainly have a silver tongue, I'll give you that. You even had me fooled by your deceptions once.'

With very little prior indication, he flew forwards, arcing through the air at her. She had a split second to react, and she did not hesitate. In an instant, she teleported several feet to the side, and watched him land a crushing blow into the ground where she once stood, dirt and grass flying some distance into the air.

This moment of vulnerability was all Celestia needed to attack. She teleported again, this time directly behind the Warden. Using her halberd, she swiped at him with no small degree of force.

Her blow connected with a harsh clang, and she heard the Warden grunt as he felt the effects of the impact. He rolled off to the side, putting some distance between him and Celestia, before smoothly standing back up. The princess could see that she had put a linear gouge in one of his outer armor plates, deeper than the other scratches from the guards. However, it didn't seem as if the damage was anything more than superficial.

The respite was very short lived, and the Warden attacked again, this time running straight at her. Celestia raised her weapon, ready to hit him once more.

He closed within striking distance, and she swung again. But the Warden was ready. Going down onto his back, he slid under Celestia's halberd and his blade shot out of his foreleg, the same blade which he had used on her so long ago. As he slid beneath her, he lashed out, attempting to slash her gut.

She reacted in time, beating her mighty wings to propel herself upwards in order to avoid his strike. She caught her breath, amazed at his swiftness. Not only did he know how to give and take hits, he was deceptively quick as well.

She had to rethink her strategy, and to buy time, she continued to fly upwards. The Warden looked up at her as she gained altitude, sizing up his next move.

Celestia acted fast, concluding that aggressive attacks would keep him on the defensive, and prevent him from making a concerted attack. Upon gaining some more height, she tucked in her wings and dove towards him, her weapon pointed directly at him.

The Warden quickly responded by taking to the air and rocketing towards Celestia, putting them both on a collision course.

They streaked towards each other, the princess an elegant blur of white, gold, and dazzling sparkles, while the Warden took on the appearance of a sinister visage of metal and machine.

As they approached at an intense speed, Celestia tucked the halberd in her foreleg and tensed up, ready to take the force of the impact.

But again, at the last possible moment, he ducked away from Celestia's halberd, seeking out an opening. But she was faster. With her other foreleg free, she extended it and brought her armored knee down, catching him by the neck.

A harsh crack was heard, and the Warden plummeted to the ground with a violent crash as Celestia came to a more graceful landing nearby.

'He won't be getting back up after that.' Celestia thought as she took the opportunity to pause and flex her foreleg, which was hurting a bit because of the blow she had just dealt. 'I'm going to be sore tomorrow morning because of that.'

No sooner had she thought that, a sharp clang was heard, and Celestia felt something impact her breastplate. A grappling claw attached to a metal cable had latched onto her, and the Warden was on the other end. With a violent motion, he tugged on the line and sent Celestia stumbling forwards. Having been caught by surprise and off balance, she was not in a good position.

He rocketed back up into the air, and before she could evade him, he dropped down right on top of her, driving her onto the ground. Celestia gave a muffled outcry as she went down, trying to think of her next move. Her ears began ringing as the pain from the violent impact coursed through her body. The Warden then delivered a series of harsh blows to her helmet, striking it with one of his forward knees.

However, Celestia was not going down this easy. Manifesting the focus and resolve required, she planted her hooves in spite of the Warden's blows and heavy weight. Then, with a herculean effort and a strained groan, she stood up, lifting the Warden into the air and causing him to tumble sideways onto the ground.

This feat of sheer strength caused her to tire, but Celestia knew that she could not afford to give him another chance to gain the advantage.

As the Warden landed, the princess latched on to him. She lifted him up once again, his heavy weight not being sufficient to counter the immense strength that she possessed. She wrapped her long forelegs around him, restraining him. She had him in a chokehold.

Of course, whether or not she would be able to choke him out was unknown to the princess, but it was worth a try.

The Warden struggled, putting his forelegs into a position that could break her hold. But Celestia began to apply all her strength, and like a vise, she tightened her fearsome grip. The Warden began to thrash a bit, trying hard to counter her potent effort. But she was not going to let him get out. She breathed heavily and sharply, her efforts draining her energy significantly.

However, the Warden then suddenly stopped moving, and Celestia caught her breath.

Did she do it?

A series of mechanical clicks immediately drove any sense of potential victory away. The Warden was doing something. To her shock, she felt his forelegs begin to push against her grip, slowly but surely opening her lock, moving a bit with each click. Try as she did, she could not hold them in place.

She realized that the chokehold was not going to work. He had some sort of mechanism in place that allowed him to get out of such situations. She felt a surge of frustration flow through. She was going to have to try something else.

Right as the Warden was about to break loose, she extended her wings, let go, and flapped as hard as she could, kicking off of the Warden to start her flight. She flew backwards and up, and the Warden stumbled forwards, swiftly turning back around to face her.

Celestia came to a graceful landing some distance away, weighing her options as the Warden caught his breath.

'Nice try,' He called mockingly, 'but I will not lose to a deceiver such as yourself!'

'Zip it.' Celestia said in a low, angry voice. 'Even if I cannot use magic against you directly, I can fight you well enough.'

Celestia then knew what to do next. She needed to do something which would guarantee that he would not be able to react.

She closed her eyes, and she surrounded herself in a golden aura. Then, as the aura faded, she smirked.

He had no idea what was coming. She had cast accelero on herself.

Then, after briefly plotting her course, she attacked. She became a golden blur of light, zipping around the Warden at a speed which he could not hope to match. She closed in, and made her first blow.

She felt her hooves impact the Warden with a crash. An instant later, she delivered two more kicks, this time to his other side.

The Warden yelled out as he was sent staggering, looking around desperately in a hopeless effort to locate Celestia. Then three more blows followed, and the Warden flew forwards from receiving the kicks from the rear.

As fun as it was delivering such a flurry of unblockable blows to the Warden, she knew that she had to end it soon. She had to deliver a coup de grâce.

This gave her an idea. Summoning her halberd, she swung it down on top of him at a vicious speed. It embedded itself harshly into another one of his outer armor plates, digging deep into the metal. Still under the effects of Acellero, she then hoisted the Warden, who was soundly attached to the halberd, up and over her body before slamming him into the ground.

From the time that she swung the halberd to when she had embedded the Warden into the turf, only a second had passed, such was her speed.

She paused, knowing that the Warden had certainly been soundly thrashed. He lay in the dirt, giving slight groans as he struggled to move. Clearly, he was in pain, but the princess did not feel much pity.

'Serves him right.' Celestia thought, preparing to pull her halberd out of his armor. 'I won't kill him, but he will regret coming here.'

With one leg wrapped around the metal shaft of her weapon, she planted her other foreleg firmly against his back in order to gain enough leverage to pull it out.

However, as soon as she made contact with her hoof, she felt like her whole body had caught fire. Convulsing uncontrollably and crying out in pain and surprise, every muscle in her body contracted violently, and her white coat began to smoke a little.

Just as quickly as it began, the shock ended, and Celestia tried to jump back.

But she could not move.

She could only watch helplessly as the Warden growled, tensed up, and kicked her as hard as he could.

Now she was on the receiving end of the abuse.

The blow blew out any remaining air in her lungs, and she flew backwards, landing a few feet away, only increasing her pain. While not quite unconscious, she was unable to move at all or see clearly.

She could not believe it. In an instant, just like their first fight, she was at his mercy.

His attack felt like an electric shock, but far worse than anything that she had experienced. She had no idea that he could deliver such an attack. It was unsafe to even make physical contact with him!

A small object ejected from the Warden's armor with a ping, leaving a trail of smoke as it arced through the air. Celestia wondered if it had anything to do with the nasty shock she had received.

Several remaining guards rushed in, huddling around the fallen princess, pointing their spears at the Warden, who was slowly and heavily striding towards them. They shuffled slightly, obviously nervous, but still determined to protect Celestia at all costs.

'Move.' The Warden said threateningly, his voice sounding more strained than it was before. 'She will die regardless of your efforts.'

'No she won't!' A familiar voice shouted.

Surprise and worry immediately surged over Celestia.

That was Luna's voice!

Her vision began to clear, and she could see her younger sister running out into the courtyard, looking quite alarmed.

What was she doing?! Why did she disregard her orders? These questions echoed in Celestia's mind as she tried to summon the strength to dissuade her sister from endangering herself.

'Lu- Lun-'

Her calls died out as her lungs struggled to take air back in. Right now, she was too weak to do anything to call Luna off.

The Warden had now turned around to face Luna, who was now standing a distance away, well out of reach.

'Warden, stop! Please!' She cried, sounding desperate.

The Warden tilted his head. 'What's this? A sacrifice play? That will never work.'

'No, Warden, please understand!' Luna pleaded as he began to walk towards her. 'My sister had nothing to do with it, I swear!'

Celestia managed to twitch her ears, marking the first time since the shock that she was able to move anything besides her eyes. In the meantime, she wondered what Luna was going on about. Was she playing for time?

The Warden paused, his visors seeming to burn through Luna's very being. After a moment of silence, he spoke, sounding cold and menacing.

'Perhaps not. But even if she didn't put you up to it, she is still responsible for your fall.'

Luna shook her head. 'Why do you insist on involving her? The blame is mine alone!'

She took a shaky breath, and her horn began to glow. Then, not unlike Celestia, a suit of finely crafted armor manifested on her body. However, instead of gold, her armor was silver, and seemed to possess a more intricate construction, providing less coverage than Celestia's, but allowing for greater movement.

A silver broadsword also manifested, the blade possessing inscribed runes and crescents that glowed with a pale blue aura, even in the broad daylight.

'I will not resist if you intend to avenge them by taking me.' She declared, looking hesitant to bring the sword to her side. 'But if you insist on killing my sister, I will do what I must to protect her. She does not deserve such a fate.'

Celestia began to stir, regaining more control over her motor functions. Despite the pain and rushing mind, she had heard Luna's statement.

Avenge them? Take me? What did she mean?

The blade extended with a harsh click from the Warden's foreleg. He began to stride toward Luna, and Celestia shook her questions from her mind. He was getting into Luna's head, using her guilt to do so. Otherwise, she would not be talking as if she had done something unforgivable.

'Luna!' Celestia called weakly. 'Don't let him manipulate you! Focus!'

Luna glanced at her older sister and nodded, not saying a word.

As soon as he was close enough, the Warden lunged at Luna, his blade aimed at her chest. Using her magic, Luna smoothly deflected his attack with her sword, and shoved him away.

He was not fazed. He continued on, making strike after strike, trying to land a death blow with his blade each time. Yet, Luna kept a masterful defence, deflecting blow after blow.

Celestia could not help but feel intense pride as she watched her younger sister hold her own. Perhaps it would have been better to use a defensive strategy after all.

However, she also noticed that Luna was not making any effort to strike back. She did shove him back from time to time, but she did not attack.

The Warden took notice as well.

'Why don't you fight back?' He asked in a tone that revealed unprecedented hatred. 'Feeling guilty?'

Luna did not respond, continuing to try her hardest to keep him away from Celestia. However, the Warden intensified his attacks, and was slowly working his way closer and closer. His speed and skill was overcoming Luna's limited experience with her weapon.

Celestia slowly tried to gain her footing, struggling to get on her hooves. Two guards looked back at her, and rushed to her side, lifting her up.

'Your highness,' One said, 'you are in no condition to fight.'

Celestia was about to give a rebuttal to the guard, but relented. She was barely able to stand, much less fight.

Meanwhile, Luna had been driven close to remaining guards in front of Celestia. Seeing the necessity for a breakthrough, the Warden opened his grappling claw and took hold of Luna's blade. Luna's sword dropped to the ground, no longer under the influence of her magic.

She gave an utterance of surprise, as if she had somehow lost her magical grip on it. Celestia silently gasped, wondering if the Warden's ability to absorb magic had allowed him to wrest control of the sword from her sister.

Using his other leg, the one with his blade, he then slashed downwards towards Luna, taking advantage of the opening. She reacted just in time, putting her armored leg up to block his attack.

The Warden's blade impacted her armor with a harsh clang that reverberated through the courtyard, and orange sparks flew from the impact.

Both combatants paused, and simultaneously looked at the site of the impact. Then, after a full second of surprised silence, they began to struggle awkwardly. The Warden's blade had embedded itself in her armor, and was stuck fast.

Sensing an opportunity to gain further separation from Celestia, Luna extended and flapped her wings. She flew upwards, taking the Warden up with her. Despite the incredible strength that was characteristic of alicorns of her kind, Luna was barely able to remain airborne with the Warden weighing her down. However, she did manage to fly a distance farther away.

The Warden fought to find a way to free himself, finding it difficult to gain leverage while hanging by one limb off of an alicorn. However, after a few critical seconds, he extended his wings and sent out a blast, causing them both to careen towards the ground.

Having gained some distance from her sister, Luna decided it was safe to seperate. Before hitting the ground, Luna teleported back between the Warden and Celestia, breathing hard as she regained her stamina from the immense effort.

The Warden landed hard, shouting in anger as he fell for a second time. After he hit the ground yet again, Celestia ordered another group of guards to surround him while he was down. In seconds, ten guards were standing over the Warden, spears pointed directly at him. He groaned angrily, but remained still.

Celestia was finally able to stand by herself again, although she was still in pain. Despite this, she smiled to herself. Her younger sister had just dealt far better with him than she had herself. Not only that, but she had most certainly saved her from death at the hooves of the Warden.

'Thank you, Luna.' She said in a genuine way. 'I was wrong to order you away.'

Luna nodded, looking downwards while still appearing somewhat saddened.

It occured to Celestia that she was probably still being subjected to her guilt. In fact, Luna's decision to fight to could have left her feeling worse than before. After all, she seemed to be very averse to the idea of fighting the Warden to begin with.

Feeling an urge to comfort her younger sister, Celestia spoke. 'Don't let him get to you, Luna. He doesn't know how much you've changed.'

Luna looked up at her. 'It's not that simple, Tia.' She said quietly.

Celestia wondered what she could have possibly meant, but had no time to elaborate. She instead gave an utterance of alarm, seeing a dense smoke cloud surround the Warden, causing him and the surrounding guards to disappear.

As soon as the cloud materialized, frantic shouts and the sounds of battle resumed. One after another, guards either flew or rolled out of the smoke, as the Warden's visors cast an eerie green glow within the dark cloud.

'Watch out!' Celestia cried, knowing that the Warden was not going to take long to resume the fight. This also marked the fourth time that he had turned the tables. She felt irritated at herself, having prematurely thought that the fight was over yet again. She could no longer afford to underestimate him, she was certain of this.

Meanwhile, Luna was setting about putting up a defense. Her horn glowed in her pale blue aura as she put up a magical shield in front of her. She was ready.

However, she had made a massive mistake, and Celestia knew it.

'Luna! Don't let him absorb-' She shouted, taking a step forward and stumbling to her knees, still unable to walk properly.

Before Luna could get away, the Warden hurled himself violently into her shield, passing straight through like it was not there. He struck with an enormous crash, and Celestia watched in muted horror as she saw Luna recoil back.

Luna staggered back a distance, gasping for air as the impact had knocked the breath out of her lungs.

The Warden flexed his shoulders, recovering from the impact. Underneath his larger armor plates, a blue glow, much like Luna's magic aura, could be seen. Celestia felt chills run down the length of her back. She knew all too well what that meant.

A blue aura enveloped a spear, and it was levitated into the air, before being thrown by magic. It was aimed at Luna, and Celestia knew that the Warden was using the magic he had absorbed from her shield to manipulate the spears around them, turning them on her!

'Drop, Luna!' Celestia yelled, frantically trying to alert her sister to the imposing danger.

Luna instantly dropped as a spear flew past her head, the wind from it stirring up her sparkling mane. Then, another spear came flying at her. This time, as she teleported to the side, letting it pass.

Then Celestia heard somepony else teleport, and the Warden was nowhere to be seen.

Her blood practically froze. He could teleport too?!

She looked around desperately, and she heard the howl of the Warden's armor coming from their left.

'Luna! Left!' Shouted Celestia, the desperation in her voice revealing a terror which she had never quite experienced before.

Luna quickly turned in time to see the Warden flying towards her with his blade extended. She prepared to teleport again, waiting for the opportune moment to dodge him.

However, he disappeared from sight with a magical flash. He had teleported again! He materialized to Luna's rear, too close for her to react. He struck out with his blade, and this time he found his mark between her armor plates.

She gave a sharp cry as she collapsed to the ground, putting a foreleg to one of her hind legs.

'Luna!' Celestia cried, fearing the worst.

More guards, of which less than twenty were still standing, rushed to Luna and huddled around her, spears at the ready. She picked herself up, and looked at her wounded leg. There was a nasty cut left behind by the Warden's blade, and blood flowed freely from it, staining her dark coat and silver armor.

Celestia tried to step forward again, but her muscles were still severely cramped from the shock, and she stumbled again.

The Warden came to a halt a short distance away, and he folded his wings. His armor had lost the magical glow, looking as if he had expended the magic he had absorbed. After a moment of silence, he spoke to Luna.

'It hurts, doesn't it? That cut is nothing compared to what you put me through.'

Luna's eyes began to tear up as she hung her head in shame.

'I know. I-'

Her voice trailed off as her emotions took control, leaving her shaking and crying quietly.

Celestia could not restrain herself any longer. He had wounded her little sister, exploited her guilt, and now he was mocking her as she cried. An uncontrollable rush of fury flooded her soul as she raised her voice and finally managed to take a step forward.

'You! I'm going to stop you for good, here and now! You have crossed the point of no return, and I am not going to allow you to continue with this unjustifiable violence!'

The Warden slowly and menacingly turned his head to Celestia. 'Unjustifiable?' He asked quietly. 'Are you really so clueless?'

'There is nothing to be clueless about, Warden!' Celestia shot back. 'You are trying to do what your family has always failed to do, remove us from-'

'You honestly think my motives are so shallow?!' The Warden roared. 'I have every right to take your lives! How can you forget that you, the mastermind behind Luna's fall to Nightmare Moon, committed such an injustice that you rendered both your own and your sister's lives forfeit?!'

Celestia's stare was intense, her fury clearly evident. She gently pushed the guards who were helping her to the side. They immediately fell back, understanding that she was about to fly back into action.

She took an angry breath, wondering how to respond to such an accusation. 'I may have inadvertently led her down a dark path, but it was not deliberate. I never would have wished such suffering on her.'

'More lies!' He shouted, fury ever evident in his tone. 'Your right to the throne is built on blood, manipulation, and deception! You are willing to deceive and betray everypony you hold dear in order to hide it! It is what you have always done!'

Celestia bared her teeth. She had finally heard enough. She unfurled her wings, her eyes began to glow, and the ground began to shake a little underhoof as the ambient light in the vicinity seemed to gather around her, leaving the rest of the courtyard unnaturally dim.

She was not going to hold back any longer. She would be careful not to succumb to Daybreaker, but she would get close.

The Warden's wings also unfolded, and his armor began to howl. Incredibly, he was not displaying a single sign of intimidation. He too, was prepared for another bout.

'Stop!' Luna's desperate cry echoed through the courtyard. 'She does not know what I have done!'

Both the Warden and Celestia paused at Luna's outcry, and looked questioningly at her.

'I never told her.' She continued. 'I- I should have done this long ago, but I…' She stopped as a sob choked out her voice.

An overwhelming sense of dread overcame Celestia, her concern and worry for her sister suffocating the fury within her. Her eyes turned back to normal as the light became natural once more. She felt a flurry of terrible thoughts rush through her mind as chills pierced her soul.

It was falling into place. Luna's sudden onset of guilt, her remark about the Warden avenging 'them', and the Warden's obsession with killing them both because of something they did.

Did Luna… No. No way. That was far too implausible.

But if both Luna and the Warden were speaking as if such an event happened, then that meant-

Celestia caught her breath. She did not want to believe it.

The Warden stood still, having retracted his wings.

'Really?' He asked. 'You're telling the truth?'

Luna nodded, taking a deep breath before looking at Celestia with watery eyes.

'Sister, I love you, and I'm so, so sorry for never being brave enough to tell you this…'

Celestia could hardly bear to see Luna like this.

'Luna,' She asked somberly, 'what happened that night?'

Luna sniffed, suppressing an urge to sob as she gave her answer…