The Warden: Part 1, Return of The Warden

by FortressLegacy

Chapter 4: A Considerate Enemy

A Thousand Years Prior...

The throne room was in shambles. Moonlight poured into the chamber through a gaping hole in the roof, providing some illumination and bathing the room in pale light. Stone fragments lay strewn about, and chunks of the walls, floor, and ceiling were missing. In addition, nearly all the stained glass windows arranged around the room were either partially damaged or completely destroyed. At the head of the room, the sisters' thrones stood, completely vacant of their usual occupants. In the middle of the room, a strange looking stone contraption jutted out of an open hatch in the floor, consisting of a large central sphere and five smaller spheres all attached to a central shaft.

The sounds of crumbling stone and the wind rushing in through the breaches were the only sounds that could be heard clearly. However, another sound, quiet and soft, could also be heard during periods of silence.

Crying.

Sitting right next to the odd looking structure, directly in the beam of moonlight, was Princess Celestia. Her mane and tail shimmered slightly in the moonlight, billowing ever so slightly in the wind. Around her lay six gemstones on the floor; the Elements of Harmony. Her head was hung low as she gently sobbed, her tears shining as they fell to the floor.

'Luna… Why did this happen?' She asked quietly. 'Why did I treat you so poorly?'

Upon this lamentation, she looked up towards the empty thrones, and her eyes fell upon a large tapestry hanging beyond them. At one time, it depicted the two princesses, each flying in harmony, striking the delicate balance between day and night. But now it was torn in two, and the depictions of the sisters were now physically separated by the resulting gap.

'I caused this.' The princess said between sobs. 'Now you have succumbed, and I… I cannot bring you back.'

She hung her head again, and sunk into her despair once more. She remained there for some time, shaking as she continued to cry, unable to bear the weight of her sister's fall to darkness, or the shame of her own misconduct towards her.

Just then, Celestia stiffened, on the alert. Her sensitive ears had picked up a new sound behind her. It was faint at first, but steadily increasing in volume at a steady rhythm. It was hoofsteps.

Celestia swiftly wiped away her tears, putting on a stoic appearance, ready to face whoever was approaching. She needed to continue projecting the image of authority and strength that she had been so careful to curate for her subjects, despite the fact that she was at an all-time low.

The hoofsteps grew quite clear now, and she could make out a metallic tone with each step. Was it a guard wearing armor? Perhaps, but she gave the order for the guards to get to safety before she confronted Nightmare Moon. After all, there was nothing they could have done against her.

The steps then stopped, and the room fell silent once more. Whoever it was, he or she was here now.

'Well?' Celestia asked, trying her best to sound irritated, but not quite completely hiding her sadness. 'What is it?'

'I'm wondering why you aren't saving your kingdom.' Said a voice.

Celestia's heart skipped a beat in surprise and fear. She had only heard that voice once before, a few months ago. She turned around, and her suspicions were confirmed.

It was the Warden.

He was standing among the rubble, a short distance from Celestia. His armor was just the way that she remembered it, especially the visors, which added a gentle, green glow to the space around him.

They both stared at each other in somber silence, and Celestia wondered what to say.

'Why are you here?' She asked, putting less effort into sounding authoritative. 'Have you come to mock me?'

The Warden shook his head. 'No. But I am not here to provide words of comfort either.'

Celestia sighed, and did her best to put on an arrogant expression. 'Is that so? I should have known that you would break our arrangement so soon.'

'Hm.' The Warden grunted. 'I would have thought that these were extenuating circumstances. The sun set less than an hour after it rose. Now it is noon, and it looks like midnight out there.'

Celestia would not admit it, but she could not help but agree in her mind. Naturally, he would be concerned about what was happening, considering that nightfall had arrived in the morning.

However, that conclusion disturbed her. If he was concerned about it, what would he do to fix the problem? What if he found out that Luna was behind all of this?

'I will be taking care of the situation shortly, Warden.' She said, hoping that he would buy her bluff. 'I shall set things right. There is no need for your interference.'

The Warden looked around at the devastated room, then at the Elements of Harmony laying on the floor. Celestia knew that her lie was pathetic, and that he thought so too. He looked back up at her, and sighed.

'Nothing you just said was true, was it?' He asked pointedly. 'You are clearly distraught, and incapable of lying properly. Tell me the truth.'

Celestia took a shaky breath and turned away. He had her cornered, and unlike her subjects, he seemed to know who she really was beneath the displays of pomp and regality. There was no point in beating around the bush any longer.

'It's my sister. She…'

Her voice trailed off as a new wave of emotions washed over.

'She finally cracked.' The Warden said plainly. 'There was no way she was going to tolerate your treatment of her for much longer.'

Celestia clenched her jaw in a brief moment of anger. Once again, he had called her out where it hurt. But just like before, he was completely correct. She took a deep breath and relaxed. There was no point in clashing with him over this.

The Warden continued. 'I see you've brought the Elements of Harmony out.' He remarked, looking down at the six gemstones laying next to Celestia. 'Yet your sister is at large and is still a major danger to Equestria.'

'I- I did confront her!' Celestia protested, scrambling to put together an explanation. 'I pulled out the Elements of Harmony and tried to stop her! But…'

Her countenance fell as her voice faded away. The Warden continued to stare at her, his lifeless gaze managing to convey that he expected her to continue. She took a breath and continued, albeit in a quieter and sadder tone.

'Well, she- I- I could not bring myself to do it.'

'Do what? Kill her?' The Warden asked bluntly.

Celestia had to take a moment to process that remark. Did he really just suggest that she tried to kill Luna?

'What?! No! Why would I try to kill my own sister?'

'Perhaps because she is now threatening the lives of all in Equestria.' The Warden answered.

'I- No, no, no! She might have fallen, but she is still my sister.' Celestia said frantically. 'Killing her is out of the question!'

She motioned to the Elements of Harmony and continued. 'With these, I have the ability to banish her without causing her harm. This is the only way I can fix this.'

The Warden shook his head slightly.

'But you could not bring yourself to do even that, could you?'

This question stung. Once again, he was brutally correct. Celestia shook her head, responding to the Warden's question.

'You do realize that if you don't resolve this, I will have to step in and deal with her in my own way, right?' He asked in a particularly serious tone, driving his question home.

Chills ran down Celestia's back. She knew all too well what he meant by that. He was going to kill her. If any other pony had made such a threat, Celestia would have laughed.

But this was the Warden.

'I forbid you from doing such a thing.' She said slowly, sounding strained.

'Princess, surely you realize that Equestria's fate lies in the balance?'

Celestia did not reply, instead turning around and looking at the two thrones sitting among the rubble once again. He was right, again. There was no telling what Nightmare Moon was going to do if she managed to seize full control. Whatever the outcome, it certainly was not in Equestria's best interest.

Eventually, Celestia replied.

'Yes.'

'Then why hesitate and allow her to escape?'

'Because this is my fault!' Celestia snapped, her facade of pride and regality falling away as she whipped back around to face the Warden. 'I did this to her! I held her down, I kept her from getting the respect and love of her subjects that she deserved, because I let my pride overcome me!'

The Warden tilted his head slightly, almost as if he did not expect such a reaction.

'If there is a pony who deserves to be punished, it is me, not my dear sister!' Celestia continued, her tone imploring the Warden to try and understand her dilemma.

She inhaled sharply and decompressed, realizing that her outburst had granted her some degree of clarity.

A few tears trailed down from her glistening eyes as she shook her head.

'But now I have to choose between banishing her or allowing you to kill her.' She murmured. 'Surely you can understand my hesitance?'

The Warden nodded.

'I do.' He answered in an unusually gentle tone. 'Plus, it seems as if you have finally come to grips with the folly of your ways.'

Celestia was shocked. This was not something she had come to expect from this mysterious rival. She began to feel something she had not felt since before Nightmare Moon manifested: relief.

'However,' He continued. 'Your admittance to being at fault is not enough to stop Nightmare Moon.'

The sensation of cautious relief faded away as Celestia once again was faced with the heartbreaking prospect of banishing her sister.

'I know.' She said, shaking her head and taking a deep breath before continuing. 'But I'm not certain I can bring this to an end.'

'I have far too much at stake to sit idly by as Nightmare Moon threatens the future of all ponykind.' The Warden said plainly. 'If you want to save Equestria and your sister, you are going to have to use the Elements of Harmony on her.'

Celestia nodded, relaying that she understood what he meant. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

'If I seek her out and banish her, will you please not hurt her?'

The Warden stood silently, gazing at the ground in momentary thought. Then, he looked back at the tearful princess.

'As long as you find her before the time at which the sun would normally rise tomorrow morning, I will not hunt her down.'

'Thank you.' Celestia said quietly, feeling a bit encouraged at the second chance that she had been given.

The Warden nodded slightly, and added; 'Furthermore, if you succeed, can we put our feud behind us? It is pointless.'

The princess nodded. 'Of course.'

'Good.' He said, and he turned around to walk away. Before he reached the exit, he stopped and turned his head back towards the princess, who was watching him leave.

'You have the strength to follow through with this, Celestia.'

She was stunned. He had called her by her first name! Normally, she would have immediately called for anypony who had dared to do so bound in chains. But this was different. Whether because this was done in an encouraging manner or because the Warden did not fit in the same category as the rest of her subjects, she did not know. Regardless, his remark was oddly uplifting.

'You… Think so?' She asked, sounding somewhat unsure.

'I know so.' He replied. 'Luna is the only family you have, and you will go above and beyond to protect her. I am a father and a husband, and I would do the same to protect my family.'

Then, not waiting for a response, he walked through the throne room doors, going back the way he came. Celestia watched him, seeing the green glow from his visors gradually grow dimmer as he walked onwards.

Soon, he was gone from sight, and Celestia took a steady breath. There was so much to unpack from this encounter.

The Warden was not who she thought he was at all. He was calm, collected, and thoughtful. There was no doubt in her mind now, he was truly honorable. How could she have treated him as such a foe?

He also had a family of his own? No wonder he was so defensive when she had confronted him in that forest. How could she have not seen that possibility before?

She shook her head. Truly, she had been a massive fool. Not only had she caused Luna to fall, but she had needlessly created an enemy. However, at least one of these problems might become resolved.

Regardless, she sighed as the weight of her past actions made itself known. She had to make things right, but she had to banish Nightmare Moon to do so.

This was the only way to save Luna.

Tears began to fall from her eyes once more as she gazed at the tapestry once more.

'Oh, dear, dear sister…' She said quietly. 'I know what I must do. I will find you, and I will banish you. That way, no harm will befall you, and I can start making amends for what I have done. But most importantly, I will be able to see you again some day…'

***

The moon still hung high in the sky, surrounded by a host of stars. The moonlight shone down directly into the castle courtyard, enveloping all that it touched in a pale, white glow.

The Warden walked out of the keep and into the courtyard, his armor shining and glinting in the light. He walked forwards a short distance, then stopped. He slowly looked around, as if he were in thought.

Then, his wings shot out, and his armor began to howl. Glowing flames shot out of his wings, bathing his surroundings in a flickering green glow.

He then lunged upwards, and rocketed skyward, a silver streak among a sea of stars. The howl momentarily stopped as he turned in mid-air to face a new direction. Then the howl resumed, and he began to streak away, flying off towards the distant horizon.

As the Warden disappeared into the night, a shadowy form began to materialize out of a darkened corner of the courtyard. The dark miasma swirled, coalescing into the form of a pony. First to appear were two intense, turquoise eyes, each possessing a vertical pupil, not unlike a snake's or a cat's. Then appeared a sharp, toothy grin, evil and chilling in nature. The rest of the form soon came into being, dark in complexion and wearing articles of intricate, silver armor.

Having completed her transformation, the dark pony laughed quietly to herself.

'So, you think that you can just encourage my sister to banish me?' She asked quietly. 'I was expecting you to hunt me down, not give my sister a pep talk.'

She walked into the courtyard, looking up at the night sky.

'I bet you think yourself noble for that, Warden. Regardless, I cannot let you escape unpunished.'

She gave another laugh, and continued.

'Oh, to think that you were both so foolish as to not suspect that I would not be eavesdropping on you both.'

She then took off into the night sky, hurtling into the darkness at an unnatural pace, seeming to become one with the darkened heavens.

'Of course, I have to deal with Celestia eventually, but the Warden is more dangerous.' She reasoned. 'Plus, I know just what to do with him now.'

She laughed again, this time belting it out far louder and more gleefully than before.

'Oh, you made a grave mistake, Warden. You never should have revealed that you have a family! Because of that, you shall watch them perish for your insolence!'