Silver looked at Celestia with contempt. "Finish him off? You intend to kill him after all? I should have known. Next time, Princess, pick up your own bucking trash!" Silver turned and walked away, Holly following close behind. As he passed the castle he heard a voice call out to him, "SILVER CRESCENT! WE COMMAND THEE TO STOP! WE WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU!" Silver laughed. Nopony could give orders quite like Luna. He turned around and faced the Night Princess. Luna began speaking. "Silver Crescent, General of Nightmare Moon's army. I never expected to see you again. It has been more than one thousand years since my sister defeated you. How is it that you still live? Silver snarled at the mention of Celestia. "I had no idea who I was until several hours ago. Your sister did to me what the two of you did to Discord. One thousand years as a stone statue will affect anypony's mind. I was finally released when the Elements were rediscovered, and I've been living in your old castle ever since."
"Celestria looked at Sliver as he left with Holly. Celestria had two options, either kill him and put an end to his misery or keep him in the dungeon where he would never see the light of day again. "Well... what should we do. Sollus horn has been removed and his energy is barely higher than a magic school graduate." said the Griffon leader. "Should we hold the Trial?" Celestria and the Zebra leader both nodded in agreement. "The Trial shall be called immediately,and for their efforts against him. Why dont we let the Squad who defeated him attend this meeting and help decide his fate?" Celestia answered. "Yes. But we need your Sister to attend as well, and that one who had left. Plus the Commander..." The Zebra questioned. "And if he wakes up, The Archangel will attend alongside Corporal Ocean Wave." Celestria finished off. The leaders then looked at Sollus again, who's look of fear in his eyes was evident that his fate was sealed.
"...and that is the whole story, Silver Crescent. I realize that you are angry with my sister right now, but now I must ask that you try to forgive her, as I have done. Now, please, let us return to your companions. There is still much to be done." Silver had listened as Luna filled in his long forgotten past. As she spoke, and memories came flooding back, Silver finally remembered his purpose. He was a Lunar Pegasi, and existed to serve the Princess of the Night. If her will was for him to stay in Canterlot, he would do so. "As you wish, Princess. I shall return to my companions. Will you join me?" As the pair walked slowly back to the helipad, Silver told Luna of his life since being awakened. By the time they reached the group, both of them were laughing.
Two Hours since the squad came back, a meeting was about to go underway. They all sat on a U-shaped table with Celestria and Luna having respectful seats at the end and the other nations leaders nearby them. Silver,Robin and Ocean had their seats and were seated with several other members of government, but the only empty seat left was Crimsons. In the Center of the Room was Sollus himself, chained by his hooves and neck to heavy weights and maintained by the Royal Guard at all times.After moments of talking... Celestria cleared her throat and began to speak. "We have come here for the trial of the one known as Sollus, the leader of the now destoryed terrorist group Alikava and a Ardak Luvanis. His plan was to destory every known nation of this civilized world and unite them under his banner. As we all know, this did not turn out well as we have the ones who stopped him in this very room to assist in his judgement. Today, we all decide the fate of this monster. Shall he spend the rest of his life in the dungeon never to see the light or day again, or shall he be executed before us? Let us go through his crimes shall we....." Before Celestria could begin, a familiar figure walked into the room and stood next to Sollus. "Did everypony miss me?" Said Crimson Lionheart, Celestia's former commander and the one known as "Archangel"
Holly, who had been asleep beside Silver, barked happily and ran to greet Crimson. Silver called her back to his side. "Sorry, Holly, but I think Miss Wave should be the one to welcome our friend back."
"welcome, you didn't miss much. Anyway Terrorism is a serious threat. Anypony else remember the 12/7 bombing over in phillydelphia. Thousands of lives were lost and they somehow managed to get a comfy normal prison sentence. (slams hoof) WE should be more severe, solitary confinement, with wings clamped and two meals a day. Breakfast and dinner. And just the bare necessities".
"Settle down, Robin. The charges haven't even been listed, yet. Let Crimson say hello to his marefriend, for goodness sake!" Silver was much calmer then he had been before the mission. For the first in a very long time, he was happy. Luna had offered him a job as Captain of the Night Guard, a position that he quickly accepted. He briefly wondered if the rest of the team had received promotions, as well.
Wave got out of her seat and ran thowards Crimson, giving him a hug as soon as she could. She was happy that he was alive, but amazed at the fact he had survived such an ordeal. "How did you survive?" Ocean said. "I woke up shortly when the helicopter got back, the doctors held me back for about half an hour to check on my physical and mental abilities to see if im ok. I fell amazing, this power that i now wield makes my former in comparison look like nothing. Hopefully, i don't need to use it" Crimson said. Ocean then smiled and planted a kiss. Crimson's face turned bright red as Ocean returned to her seat and sat next to Silver and Robin. Crimson then stood next to Sollus and whispered a command to the guards nearby him. The guards then focused their attention on Sollus and drew out their swords just incase of an escape "Can you fill me in Princess Luna?" Crimson said. "The only thing i remember from waking up is....well...not much really since i passed out"
"VERY WELL, WE SHALL TELL... sorry. Old habits. Anyway, you did not miss much. Sollus' castle was destroyed and his horn was... removed. Now he awaits judgement for his crimes." Princess Luna looked at Sollus with pity. She knew, all too well, the corruption of power. Silver saw the look on her face. "Princess. Do not pity this creature. He is a murderer and a coward. He deserves neither pity nor mercy." Silver knew that the Princess was still frightened of her own inner darkness, and worried that she would try to show mercy to Sollus, lest she be thought cruel.
Crimson looked at Sollus in disgust before looking at Celestia. "Princess, shall we begin the trial?" "Yes, we have much to talk about. First of all, let be discuss about this character we have in this trial. He is only known as Sollus, no name and no other alias. He is young for his age, barely over 250 years old but is an Ardak Luvanis, who's storys are the stuff of nightmares. As a nation, the last Ardak Luvanis was my son Midnight Dawn or Dark Plague as he is commonly known from over 800 years ago. Sollus here wants to join him in his...greatness." Celestria. "As a category 1 war criminal, revolutionary and tyrant, he deserves death alongside Alikava." "You dont see it... it's beautiful. You do not yet comprehend your place in things and a choice from the gods is as useless as the gods themselves." Sollus spoke. Crimson then went up to him and kicked Sollus directly in the chin. "You will speak only when you are spoken to!" Crimson said. While he is Celestia's personal commander and agent, his methods were sometimes considered to be much more thought out than most military leaders. He then looked at Luna, who looked uncomfortable at Sollus and he remembered that she was in his position all those years ago. He then looked back at Sollus. "What is your verdict Princess Luna? You can speak freely if you wish to, we know how you feel about this..."
Luna thought for a moment, and spoke carefully. "The creature that sits before us deserves death. There is no doubt in my mind about that fact. However, if we execute Sollus, he will become a martyr to his cause. In his current state, he is powerless. Let him remain that way for the rest of his days. Let him wallow in his defeat. Let his name be removed from history, and let him watch from his prison as he is forgotten." Luna laughed bitterly. She might as well have been speaking of her own banishment.
Ocean nodded to Luna's speech in absolute agreement as she then turned over to see Crimson. Crimson smiled at Luna's speech and looked at Sollus. "Allow me to have a word with him." He looked at Sollus and smiled. "He's nothing but an old stallion talking to himself. I think we have our verdict princess." Celestia looked at Crimson as she smiled and nodded. "It is settled, Sollus will spend the rest of his eternal life underneath the very oldest dungeon underneath Canterlot. He will not only see the light of day again, but due to his Alicorn physiology to go without food and water for extreme periods of time, he will remain alone for hundreds of years until all of the Ardak Luvanius decedent's of Kaisar or Caesar as he is commonly called are locked with him. On the behalf of Ponydom and every nation everywhere, the Princess's of Equestria have spoken. Thank you for your time." Celestia said as she concluded her speech. Sollus said nothing, possibly planing for an unlikely escape attempt. As many of the other members left, the squad and the rest of the leaders remained behind where they would receive a 'special' reward
Silver took Sollus' horn away from Holly, who had been chewing on it. He wondered what to do with it. Perhaps a nice sword handle...
"hey silver, if you want that part of a weapon. I can recommend a good blacksmith. How else do you think I got this manticore claw dagger". He then turned to sollus. "I guess you'll be the next crystal empire. Without the returning".
Silver decided to ask Luna the question that had been on his mind since his memory returned. "Princess... the message that was left at my door... was that your doing? And my old helmet being left in the armory... I would guess that you were behind that, as well. How long have you known about me being alive?" Luna looked uncomfortable, but recovered quickly. "Yes, Silver. I did send you that message. I had heard tales of a mysterious Pegasus working as a monster hunter in the Everfree Forest, and I decided that a pony of your abilities would be a good addition to the task-force. When I saw who you were, I was shocked. I had thought you long dead. As for your old helmet... I was not the one who left it in the armory. Perhaps it was merely fate."
(Might be coming up with a new roleplay soon. Any ideas?) With Sollus defeated, Celebrations erupted all over Canterlot with the defeat of the tyrant. Everypony celebrated well into the night. Ocean was busy looking for Celestia who had disappeared when the Celebrations began. Music echoed into the valleys below the city and the lights and laughter could be seen and heard from miles away. Ocean went over with Crimson to see Celestia for their reward. As they made it towards her, Crimson was signaled by one of the Royal guards for an important matter. "I'll be back, the guards need me for something important.." Crimson said as he was being dragged over. Ocean continued to see Celestia as she caught up with her. "Ocean, there you are. I have come to tell you about your reward, well.... it turns out that we knew about the relationship you two had. So in grratitude for your services for every single one of us. We have decided to pay for your wedding if you and Crimson are still together and a house located minutes from the castle. Enjoy your new found luxury's Corporal Wave, you deserve it." Ocean could not contain your gratitude at Celestia. She hugged Celestia while saying "Thankyouthankyouthankyou" at the speed of light. She then ran off to tell Crimson about what had happened. However, she seen her Stallion scared and furious. "Something bad has happened..." she thought as she rushed over. When she came to see what had happened, she seen Crimson clearly distressed. "How could this happen.... it has only been a few hours and it has happened already." Crimson muttered quietly. Ocean,Luna and Celestia then found Crimson extremely worried as he paced up and down the hallway. "Whats wrong?" Luna asked. "Get the squad ready, get the army's,air force,navy on standby...hell, get everything ready." Luna and Ocean looked confused as Crimson kept rambling on. "It has happened Celestia, they are here! Just as you said when i was accepted under you!" Crimson finished. Celestia just froze in fear as the colour in her face drained to be deathly white. "Oh no...."
Silver had spent most of the night working with the blacksmith that Robin had recommended, a unicorn called Moon Shine. Together, the two of them had created a beautiful pair of silver shortswords using Sollus' horn. With the weapons completed, Silver returned to Luna, just in time to find Crimson ranting at a terrified looking Celestia. "Crimson, calm yourself. What has happened?"
(Just realized i have reached 800 posts, go me ) Crimson looked in horror at Silver and Celestia. "As i have mentioned before, Sollus was an Ardak Luvanis. As history goes, the first Ardak Luvanius known as Kaisar attempted such a feat that Sollus was trying to attempt using his enormous Imperial army and empire over a thousand years ago. Since his death by two heroes, Midnight Dawn or Dark Plague as he became known slaughter millions upon millions of Equestrians when he found out of the Alicorn massacre about 800 years ago and tried to usurp the throne, he failed and was sent into exile in his dimension. Now we had just experienced Sollus, and that the appearance of an Ardak Luvanis is every couple hundred years." Crimson then looked at Celestria, both of them extremely worried. "The very last of them has arrived in Equestria. What makes this one different is that it's a she, all known Ardak Luvanis are male and according to reports.... she has resurrected Kaisar and freed Plague from his prison. By the looks of things, she knows what has happened to Sollus and is going to correct it. Even through Ardak Luvanius roughly translates into 'Demons of the eternal knight', the real translation actually means 'Four Horsemen'. We have defeated one of them, what happens when we fight four of them with the other three being about fifty times more powerful than Sollus?" "Thats right, there are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Crimson said coldly.
Silver shrugged. "One, four, eight, fifty... if it's alive, we can kill it. I fail to see the problem."
"Well crimson if the four horsemen have returned we need to step up our game and become the opposite. They may be the embodiment of pestilence, war, death and famine. We need to become the four horsemen of quotidian. The embodiment of health, peace, life and feast. Maybe even become what the legends call Arvak Solari".
