"Awww, thanks, Nighty." Raven planted a playful kiss on her cheek. One of Navaja's generic Assassin comrades made it into the bar and approached him. He spoke quietly, "The beast is about two hours away, master. Would you like to tell the others?" "Don't call me that," Navaja whispered back before standing and delivering the news to the rest of the bar. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Belial, Azrael's thrall sibling, decided to make his way towards the command tent. It looked like he had been rather busy since he was told to go wander, having slain some creatures and fashioned them into a sheath for the sword that was made for him by Selena, which he now had strapped to his side. Whatever it was had made a small cut on his foreleg, revealing he bled mortal blood, much unlike Azrael's. From this, a keen observer could deduce that Belial could probably be killed by a mortal wound like any other pony; no specially crafted body was present. His intentions were entirely unclear. Nopony had spoken to him about it, so nopony had any idea what the dead psycho wanted. What's more, his mask made it impossible to read his face and figure it out.
Silver took the news that his wife was the leader of a criminal organization with surprising good humor. After warning her and her friends to stay away from the palace, he gave them their assignments and sent them on their way. Dealing with Blackheart was more difficult. The unicorn was many things. A racist. A philanthropist. A blood mage. A brilliant engineer. He had, through his company, supplied many of the specially-designed artillery pieces that would be used against Apophis. He had also, through manipulation and conspiracy, essentially taken over an entire Equestrian city. Against his better judgement, Silver agreed to let Blackheart and his Longhorns take an important position on the front line. He realized that, if they succeeded, the publicity from such a daring move would sway public opinion in their favor, and tighten Blackheart's grip on the city of Baltimare. He also realized that the Longhorn Society counted among its members some of the most powerful unicorns alive, and that placing them at the front was a strategically sound move. ****************************************************************************************************** As soon as the others were gone, Silver called out to Belial. "You there. Azrael's thrall. Come in."
Belial was hesitant, but he did slowly enter the command tent. After a moment of looking around, he spoke in his colt voice, "...I didn't realize this was the command tent."
Silver shrugged. "Perhaps not, but I suspect it is no coincidence that you are here now. So, tell me, who are you?"
*Most with Telepathic abilities would probably hear this exchange if they listened for it* RepT: Tut tut tut. I don't think that's a good idea. I'm technically a fundamental part of your mind now, and I'm not going to sugarcoat this next part, but if I leave now, your mind will crumble and you'll go insane. And trust me, you don't want that, do you?
"Silver Crescent is my name. Commander of the Night Guard and Knight of the Lunar Order." ****************************************************************************************** Blueblood, thoroughly panicked, tried once again to for Rep from his mind. ***************************************************************************************** As Ridley tried desperately to type out a coherent thought, he swore that he would never go another day without precious, life-giving caffeine.
RepT: Enough Blueblood, I'm going to be blunt. Your attempts to oust me from your mind are pitiful at best. Either you stop, or you'll incapacitate yourself. Which will be bad for you, I'm here to make sure you survive this trip you're on right now, and then to remove the memories of me and most of the damage done to you from your mind, (to himself) "and isolate most of it from the Timeline if at all possible" (To Blueblood again) and prevent you from being permanently harmed.
"Is there something you want from me, Dark Horse?" Belial questioned, tilting his head. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Navaja gave a long sigh. "A shame we can't put him down. I've never taken part in political assassination before."
"I believe I already told you," Silver replied. "I want to know who you are." ****************************************************************************** "It's not all it's cracked up to be," Nightshade replied cryptically.
"Simply put," Silver replied, "I want to know if you are still the same as you were before. Still a monster." ***************************************************************** Nightshade shrugged. "Probably not."
"Well, Silver, that depends. How do you define monster? I was certainly never not a pony, if this is your meaning."
RepC: (appearing in the command tent) Greetings. I wish to inform you that, the snake will be taking a little while longer to get here.
Silver sighed. "Boy, I have led the Night Guards for over a thousand years. I have, in that time, trained and fought beside ten thousand of the finest warriors this world has ever seen. And I remember them all. Every single one." His eyes narrowed. "I remember Serana. I remember Dark Aura. Swift and silent. Fearless in battle. And you murdered them both. So I ask you, boy, are you still that monster?"
"I was there to kill Azrael," Belial answered calmly. "When I arrived, the bat ponies attacked me. I acted to protect myself. Big brother made me into the deformity you see. My face is burned beyond recognition. My eyes barely function. I can't speak without magic. I can't breathe without this mask. I expected him to be alive and well, and I wanted to see him suffer like I suffered. Would you not have done the same? I saw these bats in my way, and I wanted them out of my way. For my troubles, I had my throat slashed by the universally-beloved wh***, Maya Heartstrings. I'm no monster. I was merely seeking to punish the monster who destroyed my life. However... fortunately for you, I was resurrected with the goal of helping you skin this snake. Sure you know, a revenant can't stray from his goal until it's done. This means, as much as I want to, I can't kill him now. Does that answer this and further questions, old stallion?"
Silver nodded. "It does." He stared down at his map, refusing to look at Belial. The pony was beyond redemption. "I do not care what was done to you. I do not care if you believe it was self defense. You killed my friends. And for that you must pay. So I pronounce sentence upon you, Belial, brother of Azrael. You will serve the brother that you so dearly hate with whatever perverted shadow of life remains within you. And when you have served your purpose, you will be disposed of. Your revenge will be denied to you. You will never know peace or satisfaction. You will suffer, in life and in death, and will be left with naught but impotent rage. Now get out. Go and serve your purpose, slave of Azrael."
"Understood, lapdog of Princess Luna." Belial turned and began to leave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Asmo decided to help Dusty with his earlier idea by taking one of the nuclear bombs from a catapult outside.
Silver smiled slightly. A dog was a loyal creature. He would have to keep an eye on Belial. If Az's control slipped, he could be a problem.
After bringing the very dangerous mixture inside, Asmo found his way to the command tent by sniffing around for Silver, then invited himself in. "Silver! You busy? Heard you talking with burn horse."
