The Warden: Part 1, Return of The Warden

by FortressLegacy

Chapter 5: No Holding Back

In The Present...

Celestia was unable to think of a response to what Luna had just revealed. She had completely forgotten that the Warden had admitted to having a family. All she could do was look in disbelief at her younger sister, trying desperately to cope with the confession.

'You did what?' She asked in sheer disbelief.

'I think- I think I killed them…' Luna said, tears flowing freely from her closed eyes.

The remaining guards shot brief glances in Luna's direction, also surprised and trying to process the news.

The Warden remained silent, staring directly at Luna.

'So,' He said, breaking the silence. 'the truth finally comes out.'

Celestia shook her head, closing her eyes. This was unimaginable. There was no way that her dear sister could have done such a thing! Not Luna!

'N-no.' She stammered. 'No, this- this- this is not true, Luna could never-'

'But Nightmare Moon could!' The Warden barked, turning to Luna. 'She took my family away from me! Isn't that right, Nightmare?'

Celestia watched Luna nod in immense shame as her posture and expression indicated a will and soul that was utterly crushed by shame.

At this point Celestia's numbness and disbelief began to give way to realization.

This was why Luna's guilt was so great. This was why she didn't seem to believe that she was forgiven!

Celestia shook her head, wrapping her head around the revelation that her sister had likely killed innocent ponies. Grief clutched at her heart as she finally understood why the Warden was being so hostile.

His anger could almost be considered justifiable.

However, Nightmare Moon committed the dreadful act, not Luna. She was ashamed of what she did, and she felt great guilt.

She didn't deserve to die.

'Her name is Luna,' Celestia finally said, her tone revealing anger. 'and she is no longer Nightmare Moon.'

'Is that supposed to change the fact that she ripped my daughter and my wife away?' The Warden asked.

'It does not change anything, sister.' Luna said, struggling to get the words out. 'I deserve to die for- for killing them…'

She motioned for the guards surrounding her to step aside, opening an avenue of attack for the Warden.

The guards looked around, at a loss for what to do. Eventually they looked to Celestia, who shook her head and shot a firm glare at them. Understanding, they planted their hooves, not budging. They were going to hold their ground, despite Luna's wishes.

However, the younger sister simply disappeared from sight, materializing a distance behind the Warden. Her armor was now gone, and so was her breastplate and tiara. She was completely open to attack. The guards looked to one another, wondering if trying to defend Luna was a futile cause.

After taking a deep breath, Luna spoke to her older sister. 'I'm ready for this to end. I've been living with that terrible truth for far too long, and I am at a loss for what to do. You and Twilight have done so much to try and help me move on, and I love you both for that, but I'm afraid I was too far gone from the beginning.'

Celestia felt her own eyes begin to grow misty, her emotions surfacing. 'Luna, no! Just stop and listen to yourself! There's always hope, and you are not defined by what Nightmare Moon did to you when she took over!'

'I'm sorry, Tia.' Luna said quietly. 'This needs to happen. The guilt was bad enough when I thought the Warden was dead as well. But now…'

She took a breath, and spoke to the Warden. 'You know what you have to do. Just spare Celestia, I beg you. She did not intend for any of this to happen.'

The Warden sighed, almost sounding saddened as well.

'That depends on whether or not she continues to fight.' He responded, turning to Celestia and speaking to her next. 'You heard her. She knows what she did, and what the penalty is. As you said, this ends today.'

Extending his blade once more, he began to walk towards Luna.

Celestia stood where she was, trying desperately to summon a way to process this.

Luna, however, had already conceded to her fate. Closing her tearful eyes, she awaited the inevitable sting of the blade.

'Princess Celestia, what are our orders?!' A guard frantically asked, trying to find out what was to be done.

However, the guard's question faded into the background for Celestia. If she didn't do something, she was going to watch her younger sister die in front of her!

Anger and determination flooded her soul and mind. Without thinking, she began to act out of instinct.

She had to protect her!

Using her magic, she stealthily lifted her halberd, which was resting a short distance away.

He was not going to hurt Luna any further. She was going to protect her little sister at all costs!

Rage bubbled up from within, and Celestia could not restrain herself any longer. With a cry of pure anger, she hurled the halberd at his face. He turned to face Celestia, his attention being drawn by her cry, only to see her halberd inches away from his face.

It impacted his faceplace with a loud crash, the sound of shattering glass and rending metal filled the atmosphere.

Putting a hoof over his right eye, he staggered backwards, shouting in surprise and pain.

Luna was dumbstruck. She looked at her older sister, who was now placing herself between her and the Warden. Celestia's eyes revealed an anger that even Luna had rarely seen. Her eyes seemed to glow, as if she were about to shoot fireballs from them. Her armor, though now dented and tarnished, still shone brightly in the sun, and her mighty stance projected an incredible regality.

'You won't hurt her anymore.' Celestia said in an unbelievably intimidating tone. 'To kill her, you will have to kill me first. Good luck with that.'

The Warden stood still, looking up at Celestia with his intact visor. Slowly, he let down his hoof from over the damaged area.

His left visor was completely shattered, and the gash left by the spear created a visible gap running across where the visor used to be. Underneath part of this gash, a nasty cut was visible, and blood was running down his mask. Where the visor once was, one of the Warden's eyes was visible. His iris was green in color, much like his visors. The halberd had missed his eye, remarkably.

Both Luna and Celestia could not help but feel chills when they saw the expression in his eye. Hatred, loathing, it was clearly visible. It was worse than the visors' soulless stare.

This observation caused Celestia to calm a bit. She quietly reigned in her anger, realizing that she had almost lost control. If she had aimed an inch to one side, she would have killed him. The thought of killing a pony made her blood run cold, even if it was the Warden.

Although she was defending Luna, she remembered how he once was. Despite how he was consumed by hatred and anger now, Celestia remembered how reasonable and uplifting he was towards her that fateful night.

Luna needed to be protected, but the Warden didn't deserve to die either.

'Close, but yet so far.' The Warden said quietly, interrupting her thoughts. 'You want to play hardball? Fine. Let's play hardball.'

Celestia braced. She knew that the fight was about to intensify, and she was going to need all of her wits about her.

The Warden slowly began to move to the side, and Celestia watched him carefully. A sudden fusilade of popping sounds echoed in the courtyard, and a series of objects flew from his armor. Celestia watched, prepared to react.

But that was the worst thing she could have done.

The objects exploded with incredibly bright flashes and deafening bangs, dazzling the unsuspecting princess.

She recoiled, holding her halberd close. She had been severely disoriented by the explosions, and the Warden was not going to be waiting any longer to attack, that much was clear.

She heard his armor howl to life over the ringing in her ears, and she knew that he was closing in fast. She could not see him, nor did she want to make direct contact in order to avoid the possibility of getting shocked again. She stood her ground, immediately knowing what she had to do.

Her horn began to glow, and with an intense effort, she lifted the ground around her and created a perimeter of rocks and soil. The Warden was going too fast to avoid colliding, and impacted the makeshift shield. Hearing and sensing where he had impacted, she compacted all the loose dirt around the Warden with her magic, pinning him down before he could force his way through.

He cried out in anger, and struggled to free himself as Celestia jumped back, having begun to regain her sense of sight.

Her eyesight had nearly returned to her when she felt something impact her foreleg. Looking down, she saw the Warden's grappling claw latched to her armor. She had failed to restrain his forelegs!

He began to retract the claw, causing Celestia to stumble forwards. She had to break free.

She finally caught a solid stance, and pulled with all her might. But the claw held fast, and she inadvertently pulled the Warden out of her trap. Now free, he rushed towards her, ready to resume the fight.

Celestia smirked. 'Gotcha.' She whispered, manifesting an intense, blinding light at the end of her horn.

The Warden was caught off guard. Disoriented by her light, he missed her completely, making an opening for her to strike.

Twirling around, she swung the pointed end of her halberd at him, hitting between two plates of outer armor, where his right foreleg merged with his body.

The Warden was sent flying, a dent in his inner layer of armor now clearly visible where she had struck. He fell to the ground some distance away, groaning in pain.

Celestia's fury was not going to let her stop there, however. She teleported to him, and forcefully flipped him to his back. Then, she planted her halberd at his chest.

'This is your last chance.' She snarled. 'I don't want to kill you, but if you don't yield, I may have to do so.'

The Warden's visible eye opened and focused on Celestia's own, defiant and still full of hatred.

'Go to Tartaurus.' The Warden spat, giving a nasty sounding cough.

Celestia clenched her jaw, trying to keep her fierce anger in check. She had finally wounded him. But immediately following his remark, a jarring mechanical howl made her flinch

His wings! She had failed to notice that his wings were unfolded and facing her!

She staggered backwards, blown away by a forceful blast. When she opened her eyes, she saw an armored hoof flying towards her face.

The Warden's hoof smashed into her nose, and Celestia cried out as she stumbled backwards once more, the pain causing her eyes to water. Once again, he had gained momentum. She glanced up, and saw the Warden slashing down with his blade, aiming at her face.

This time she summoned the focus and energy required to teleport, and did so. But not before the blade sliced the side of her face with a shallow cut.

She materialized out of reach, and took a sharp breath as the pain from the cut began to burn. She had to take a moment to recover from his vicious attacks. Her nose was bleeding a bit from his punch, and a slow trickle of blood oozed from the cut on her face.

Some of the blood had worked its way to her mouth, and the metallic taste was more than noticeable. She sighed angrily, spat on the ground, wiped away the blood on her face, and glared at the Warden with a wrathful expression.

He was going to pay for that.

Her horn began to glow once more with her golden aura. Picking up several spears, she held them around her, aiming each one at him.

The Warden saw this, outstretched his wings, and prepared for the oncoming barrage.

She let loose with a furious cry, hurling the spears directly at him. He ducked and weaved around them as best he could, but a few spears did impact him, albeit with little or no damage. Still, he was unable to keep on the offensive. Celestia closed the distance quickly with a few beats of her mighty wings, and was now practically within reach for a blow. She raised her halberd, ready to strike.

However, as the last spear whizzed past, the Warden grabbed it with his claw, twirled around, and swung the shaft at her neck like a club.

This caught her completely off guard, and with a sickening whack, she was hurled to the ground. Celestia struggled to catch her breath as the Warden suddenly loomed over her, blade extended.

She then caught sight of the dent that she had created with her halberd. This weak spot was out in the open as the Warden recoiled, prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

Celestia had less than a second to react to save herself, but it was enough time. In an instant, she used her magic to grab hold of her halberd, and summoning all the focus that she could muster, she drove it into the dent as hard as she could.

The inner layer of armor gave way, and the halberd sunk in about an inch deeper. The sound of a pained shout from the Warden and metal rending apart echoed around the courtyard as he tumbled backwards.

Celestia pulled her now bloodied halberd out of the Warden as he recoiled, and she saw a small fountain of blood spray out from the wound.

Her gambit had worked, thank goodness.

She slowly picked herself up, and looked at Luna for the first time since she smashed the Warden's visor. Luna was watching on with a mixture of concern, fear, and awe.

Celestia turned back towards the Warden, and he was hunched over, one of his hooves placed over his wound. Trails of bright red blood ran down his once shining armor, and he was breathing heavily.

There was no doubt in Celestia's mind that she had finally succeeded in beating him. But she knew better than to let her guard down.

She brushed herself off, wiping away any blood still leaking from her wounds. Then she stood tall, no longer appearing furious, but firmly stern, as was more characteristic of her.

His wound looked bad. Another wound like that, and he would run the chance of dying. She set her eyes on the Warden, who was coughing again.

'Give up!' She said in a commanding tone. 'Killing is a last resort for me!'

The Warden paused, his coughing replaced by a quiet but pained grunt. 'Fat chance. You wouldn't have hesitated back in my time.'

Celestia began to feel her anger fade a bit. He was correct about that.

The Warden slowly began to walk to the side, and Celestia carefully followed his movement, being sure to keep him in front of her.

'I know what I did in the past was wrong, and I know- I know that it cannot be easy for you to put what had happened behind you.' Celestia said, trying to reason with him before he did something that would force her to kill him. 'But killing Luna for something that she did while under the influence of Nightmare Moon will not enable you to move on.'

The Warden brought his hoof down from his wound, and Celestia noticed that the bleeding had slowed.

'You have no idea what it is like.' He uttered coldly, his visible eye still filled with hate. 'Killing Nightmare Moon won't bring them back, sure. But at this point, I just don't care. And if you insist on dying to defend your sister from the judgement she deserves, then you can join her in death. You owe me that, at the very least.'

Celestia's eyes narrowed. 'Why won't you see sense? You can't take much more of this, I can tell. Don't make me kill you, please!'

'Tia, you don't understand what hatred does to a pony.' Luna interjected, speaking for the first time in a while. Her eyes were still watery, emotion and guilt still governing over her. 'I know that he will stop at nothing to kill me to get revenge. I tried to do the same to you.' She shuddered and took a tearful breath. 'And I did the same to his wife and daughter.'

She closed her eyes, and hung her head. 'Please stand down, sister. Save yourself. You don't have to go down with me.'

'Luna, enough!' Celestia scolded, her eyes growing watery as well. 'He is wrong! You are my sister, and I will not let you perish on my watch!'

Then turning to the Warden, she spoke again. 'Luna is evidence that revenge is not the way to heal! I know who you once were, and he was not nearly as hateful as you. You even uplifted me and even dared to call me by name during my darkest hour! What happened to him? Is this really what he would have wanted?'

The Warden continued to slowly walk to the side, keeping a constant distance from Celestia, who was still being careful to face him.

'I'm afraid what I used to want was not enough to protect the ones I loved.' He said slowly, raising his foreleg with the blade, pointing it at Celestia. She took up a defensive stance. He was about to do something, she knew it.

'Now all I want is for you to pay for all you've done.' The Warden uttered.

She heard a click from his armor, and something deployed from his foreleg, next to the blade. Then, with a loud bang, what appeared to be a long, metal dart shot out, flying straight at Celestia.

Having anticipated something like this, Celestia simply teleported to the side. The dart whizzed past, and she could not help but feel a bit confused. Surely the Warden had to have known that she would avoid something like that.

But then she remembered who was behind her this whole time.

Luna.

Her blood ran cold as she immediately realized that the Warden was not walking around her for no reason, but to get a clear shot at either her or Luna.

There was no time to lose. There was not enough time to cast accelero, nor was there enough time to put up a makeshift barrier. She could try to grab it with her magic, but what if the dart was made of the same material his armor was and it simply ignored her magic? Would Luna be able to dodge it, or would she get hit?

This left only one option left that would guarantee the stoppage of the dart before it got to Luna.

In an instant, Celestia teleported once again, this time placing herself directly in front of Luna.

As soon as she materialized, she felt something impact her breastplate with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs and push her back a few steps.

She blinked and tried to take a breath, but she struggled to do so for some reason. She looked up at the Warden, and he retracted his device and blade, adopting a more relaxed stance.

Then she looked down.

Half of the dart was sticking out of her armor, and it immediately became clear that it had punctured through. She continued to stare at the dart, and after a few seconds, blood began to leak from the puncture. Oddly, while she felt some discomfort, she wasn't in great pain.

She turned around to face Luna, who put her hooves to her mouth with an expression of sheer horror at the sight of her wound.

'Tia?!'

Celestia began to feel lightheaded, but she shook her head.

'It's fine, Luna. I'm fin-'

She was cut off by a sudden coughing fit, and she noticed a metallic taste in her mouth once again. She hunched over, and spat out some fluid she had coughed up. When she was able to open her eyes, she noticed a small pool of blood on the ground.

She had been dealt a bad wound, and she knew it.

She heard a frantic cry from one of the guards. 'Take him down!!!'

Just then, she felt several hooves pulling her up and gently laying her down as her dizziness intensified. Despite this, she could make out Luna standing above her, clearly distraught as several of the remaining guards rushed by, running at the Warden.

'Tia?! Stay awake! Please!'

Luna's voice began to fade away for Celestia, as did her ability to see clearly.

At least Luna was still alive, for now at least. But now she was practically defenseless. The remaining guards could only hold the Warden but for so much longer, and Celestia knew that her role in the fight had come to a close.

Has Luna's fate been sealed since the beginning? Was she unable to do enough to save her little sister? Where was Twilight? She and her friends were Luna's only hope for survival now. Would she and her friends be able to stop him in time?

Her thoughts then turned to Twilight. How would she take this? How would she feel, knowing that the last time that they would ever talk was brought about because of a betrayal of trust? Who would look after Twilight?

Her final thoughts before she drifted off were steeped in fear and uncertainty, and indeed, all hope seemed lost. The realization set in that the Warden had made good on his promise, and her ultimatums that he would have to kill her in order to kill Luna had been realized.

Finally, the darkness overcame her, and she fell into unconsciousness.

***

For Luna, time seemed to slow down to a crawl as she struggled to cope with what had just happened.

'T-Tia?' She whispered, placing a hoof in an affectionate way on her sister's limp body.

All remaining guards rushed the Warden, making a final, last ditch effort to hold him at bay. But Luna could only watch as the Warden dispatched them one by one, still displaying his prowess despite his wounds.

Eventually, there were no guards left standing, leaving Luna and the Warden the only ones left.

It was eerily quiet. Only Luna's quiet crying and the Warden's clicking armor could be heard.

She merely sat where she was, tears streaming down her face as her heart succumbed to hopelessness. Celestia was likely dead, having sacrificed herself in a hopeless attempt to save her life. Her loving sister, who had stood by her even when she understood that Luna did not deserve it, was likely gone.

Gradually, the Warden came to within a few feet of her, and stopped. His eye was still gazing upon her.

'She brought this on herself.' He said, sounding disappointed. 'Her love for you blinded her to justice.'

Luna shook her downturned head, trembling and unable to reply. The Warden paused, then extended his blade.

'Anything you want to say?'

Luna continued shaking her head.

'Please end this. Do it.'

The Warden did not reply. He simply pulled his front leg back, preparing to plunge his blade deep into her chest.

Luna looked up, readying herself for the strike.

She deserved this. After what she had done, and after seeing Celestia throw herself away, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she deserved death.

The Warden hesitated momentarily, as if he were thinking as well. But then, giving an angry shout, he threw his blade forward.