Episode 2: Dark Warriors
Ricard entered the throne room.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." he said with a smile on his face as he bowed to her.
Princess Celestia, however, did not return the smile. Even before Ricard had come in, she had worn a blank expression on her face.
"...It's good to see you, Ricard." Celestia said as a small tear came out of her left eye. She quickly wiped it with her hair, which was covering the left side of her face.
Looking at his companions wearing equally blank facial expressions, Ricard quickly remembered the tragedy that had transpired and stopped smiling out of respect.
"S-sorry…" he apologized. "I was only happy because your fair and compassionate sister consoled me."
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Celestia told him. "I'm certain the victims we're all weeping for would want us to be merry. It's not just what you're thinking right now...as darkness approaches, we can only hope for all of us to see each other again alive and well…"
Ricard gulped as he also remembered that he and his comrades were soon to go to battle...he tried to remain confident as he walked over to Gordon and Leo and stood by them.
"Now that we are all gathered here," began Celestia, "it is time to discuss the plan…"
Celestia then glanced over to the shadows of her three soldiers…
"You can come out now, Nightbringers…" she said.
With that, a trio of untraditionally dressed soldiers jumped out of the shadows of the Jaeger Raid guards. One was a female unicorn who had a black coat of fur and blonde hair, another was a male earth pony who had a blue coat of fur and white hair, and the final soldier, a male pegasus, had a red coat of fur and white hair. Each of them also wore a cape that matched their fur color, and each cape had an insignia on it. The blonde haired one's cape had a symbol of a puddle of blood on it, the blue coated one's cape had a symbol of a katana and a white stroke above it to represent a slash, and the red coated one's cape had a symbol of an ember of fire giving a dark glow.
Despite their flashy outfits, they moved like ninjas as well as they hid like them in the shadows, doing rolling jumps up to the ceiling and landing on all fours in V formation, with the guard who had a red coat of fur taking the lead in front and his comrades standing behind.
"You called?" the leading guard said in a tone of jest.
"Yes," replied Celestia, "please stand by the Jaeger Raid and listen as I disclose our plans for battle-"
"Princess, princess…" the leading guard said smugly as he raised his front hooves as a gesture of his nonchalant attitude. "It seems you've not caught on yet that we're not into this formality crap…"
Leo put his right hoof on his face as Celestia gave the leading guard a bemused look.
"I asked you nicely, Dante…" Celestia told him. "Is asking to be shown respect in my throne room too much to request?"
"Always with the respect card…" Dante replied. "We don't do this out of disrespect for you. We do this out of respect for the one who raised us to keep things simple and sweet for everyone, Akame…"
Celestia shuddered, just hearing her name spoken by him. She felt her heart sink as she knew debate would only lead to her getting a speech she would dread.
"Moving onto our plan-" Celestia said before being interrupted.
"We already know the situation." Dante intervened. "Akame told us everything. So to explain it in the simplest terms possible, there's an army of three hundred demons headed our way and it's the job of the Nightbringers to wipe them all out! We'll lead the attack while the Jaeger Raid acts as our support! Is that right?"
Celestia shot them a cold stare before replying with…
"No. I would have thought Akame to have the courtesy to disclose all of the information her soldiers need to know to them."
"What?" Dante replied in confusion.
"The battle strategy Akame devised and disclosed to me is quite different than how you perceived things would go down…" Celestia explained. "The Jaeger Raid and an army of 200 men shall lead the attack on an army of demons who are waiting for us at a field near a fortress due north of here. The Nightbringers, also abetted by an army of 200 men of Akame's, shall act as their support, establishing a magical barrier around both our army and the enemy army so that the enemy may not escape. It is purposeful that we will approach them with an army that has a disadvantage in numbers, giving them a false sense of confidence before the Nightbringers appear with their army and put up their barrier. They'll feel trapped and soon realize that the only way out is to face judgment…"
Celestia then shut her eyes and gulped, turning her head away.
"Keep calm…" she thought. "It's the demons we're punishing, not the ponies they were…"
"After the Jaegers and the rest of our army have…" Celestia gulped again, fighting back the urge to cry. "...killed them all, they will move towards the fortress, where the castellan, the commander of the demon army resides. Defeat him, and the land shall be safe once more…"
"Woah…" Gordon and Dante went in awe.
"Your Majesty," said Gordon in a tone of fascination, "that plan is magnificent."
"Your Majesty…" Dante said in a tone of feigned fascination. "...that plan sucks. You expect us to believe Akame came up with this? Is this your unusual idea of a joke?"
Celestia and the Jaeger Raid glared at Dante angrily.
"I can get over that we're getting put to the kids' table despite being the squad most suited for taking on an army of demons," said a frustrated Dante, "but I can't get over that you're doing it at what could be the cost of many lives! Do you really hate us that much?!"
"Not to mention," chimed in the Nightbringer with the black coat, "disregarding us and the Jaeger Raid, that's an army of four hundred men total. That's going to cost you a pretty penny."
"There is no reason you should be doing what you're doing," intervened the Nightbringer with the blue coat, "when you have three highly trained, devil-slaying warriors of the darkness who can wipe out a demon army of three hundred effortlessly."
The angry looks Celestia and the Jaegers gave the Nightbringers...actually got less angry.
"Your Majesty," said Leo, turning to Celestia, "though it pains me to say it, they bring up good points. Mind their attitude, they have good intentions in what they say."
"The Nightbringers' claims do hold some water," said Ricard, "as they are renowned for killing large packs of demons in the past."
"I don't know about wiping out an army of three hundred…" Gordon chimed in skeptically. "But still, I understand why they feel they are the most pragmatic choice for the squad that will lead the attack."
Celestia took a deep breath.
"Similarly," she began, "I understand why all of you feel the way you do...but this battle strategy was not devised based on feelings, not based on what Akame and I feel is the best plan, but what we know is the best plan. What mortals feel is foolishness today, they could very well realize to be prudence tomorrow."
Celestia then looked at Dante.
"Dante," she said to him, "Leo is right about you and your comrades' intentions being valiant, but you have to understand that the purpose of this seemingly unorthodox strategy is not to do something as heinous as throw the lives of my men away just to spite you. Rather, it is to save the lives of as many of my men as possible. Believe whatever you will, I don't care that you are servants of Akame. I love all of you equally…"
A memory flashed through Dante's head of Akame sitting by a TV and showing him, Trish, Vergil, and a group of young ponies a video of an agreement she had made with Celestia. Having paused it, she told them…
"I gave her permission to see you whenever she wanted…"
The memory ended there as Dante said in his mind…
"Love...bullshit."
Dante was then silent for some time before crossing his forelegs, closing his eyes, and going…
"Hmph. Fine. Just please tell us what exactly we have to do and we'll get it done."
Celestia then went over the specific details with them over where they would have to go and where their men would be positioned. Before long, it was time for the two squads to head to battle. A chariot arrived for each squad to fly them to the battlefield. The Jaegers' chariot was flown by the traditional team of royal guards while the Nightbringers' chariot was flown by a team of royal guards that resembled the ones that piloted Luna's chariot in Luna Eclipsed. As each chariot made its way to the battlefield, both the Jaegers and the Nightbringers talked amongst themselves.
The conservation between the Jaegers went as such…
"I feel so embarrassed…" Gordon said. "I'm with the second-highest ranking squad in Canterlot now and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I ride this chariot that takes us to battle…"
"Are you sure you don't just have motion sickness?" Leo remarked, partly joking, partly being serious.
"It's not ever physically that I feel at disease…" Gordon assured. "It's mentally. I'm one of those types that just can't stop thinking, you know. My mind is always harassed with thoughts I'd rather just not think…"
"Are you afraid of death?" Leo asked, having sensed what was bothering him.
"Um...not so much death…" Gordon replied nervously. "But what comes after death…do you think there's anything after death?"
It was then that the usually quiet and reticent Ricard became unnerved. He typically hated this kind of conservation because most of the time he heard it, he found himself disagreeing with the philosophy of the ponies talking about it entirely, either because he thought it sullenly cynical and shallow, laughably naive and undisciplined, or both. He clutched his forelegs and turned his head away, dreading what he would have to hear. Leo noticed, and empathizing, decided to give Gordon the most inoffensive response he could think of…
"Obviously, no one, including me, knows for sure…" he began. "...but it matters not. Whether it's eternal bliss, eternal torture, conscious nothingness, unconscious nothingness, or even reincarnation, I personally don't care. It's all in the future, and life isn't about worrying about the future. It's about living in the moment."
"..." Ricard went, finding this to be far more bearable than he expected.
"...I see what you mean…" an agreeing, yet hesitant Gordon replied. "But what should I believe in while living in the moment?"
"I hate going with the cliche of "You have to figure that out for yourself."," continued Leo, "so I'll try to say it like this, "Believe what you feel is right.". Live your life by what you believe is the right way to live. If the Reaper doesn't agree and he takes you to hell for it, fuck him. He's an idiot."
"...!" Ricard went, surprised that Leo was talking about this in a manner completely different than what he had expected. He was now looking over at him in astonishment.
"You…" a speechless Gordon said. "You'd face eternal torture for what you believe?"
"I'd face anything for what I believe." Leo assured. "If I let the grave scare me away from living my life doing what's right, then I'm a coward. And even if I'm totally wrong, whose fault is that? Mine, or those chucklefuck gods who didn't give me proof of shit even after I cried my eyes out for it?"
Gordon paused as memories of darker times came flooding back to him...sitting in his room as he overheard his parents fighting and sometimes saying they wished they had never had him...often, he would pray when this would happen, and never, would he get an answer…
"You're right…" he said with a dark frown. "They should be the ones to blame…for mocking our faith..."
"Exactly…" Leo replied. "And even if my prayers were answered in my time of need, what would it have changed?"
"...?" Ricard went, remembering the experience he had with Princess Luna. "No, don't tell me…"
"They clearly didn't care to do anything, so what useful thing would they have said?" Leo continued. ""Life sucks kid, deal with it. You just gotta believe?" What a waste."
"Leo…" Ricard intervened, feeling inclined to say something. "I think gods who actually care about us do exist."
"Let me guess…" Leo replied, turning to Ricard. "You've had a more pleasurable experience. Tell me about it, I'd like to know."
"I...talked to Princess Luna about what I was going through this morning after I found out about what happened with Vincent, and…" Ricard explained. "...she said some things that genuinely helped me feel better. I feel that she really cares about me...and all of us."
"Wow," said an impressed Gordon, "I never thought Luna had an affectionate side to her. I always thought Princess Celestia more the kind to do something like that. Glad I can respect her more now."
Leo, however, was not enthralled upon hearing this in the slightest. He began thinking to himself…
"Oh boy…how do I break it to them without totally crushing their hearts?"
"...It's good that she showed concern for you when you needed emotional support…" Leo began after thinking through carefully how to say what he wanted to say. "...but don't forget the positions both of you are in. She's a princess, and you're a high-ranking herald fighting for her sister and the land they rule. Just asking for your opinion, do you think she would have done the same for any of the other guards?"
Despite Leo's attempt at being diplomatic about it, Ricard's heart immediately sank as he not only saw what Leo really thought, he began to have doubts about what Luna really thought back when she had comforted him…
"Y-yes…" Ricard assured, in spite of his confidence waning.
"Why?" Leo asked.
"Because…" Ricard replied, beginning to feel embarrassed, knowing the kind of pony he was talking to…
"...the way she reacted to everything I told her felt real…" he eventually continued, knowing he had to say something. "...she did something I thought no regent would ever do…"
"I can't imagine most regents doing something like that either," replied Leo, "but only a sociopath or a psychopath, I can imagine seeing someone who fights especially hard to keep their people safe not worth their time comforting when they need help. How guilty do you think she would have felt if you went out to battle and got killed just because you were depressed and couldn't focus? That doesn't mean she's a saint, it just means she's not a total cunt."
Gordon and Ricard both knelt their heads, both of them silent and feeling very conflicted.
"I guess he feels that way about Celestia too…" Gordon thought. "Man, what does it take to be a saint?"
"Even if she is who I thought she was…" Ricard thought. "I was too presumptuous, too hasty in my desperation to have something optimistic to believe in...I guess today just wasn't my day for my faith to be sight after all…"
"It's never pretty to watch…" Leo thought as it pained him to see his comrades upset. "But though the truth hurts, it sets you free…"
Very true, Leo, very true. Too bad you're not the judge of what the "truth" is. All you've done is set up countermeasures for what you think are our traps, failing to realize that you're in a trap right now...
Meanwhile, on the Nightbringers' chariot…
Dante, Trish, and Vergil were sitting on their seats musing over their discussion with Princess Celestia sullenly. Dante was particularly unhappy.
"Gosh, I can't stand this!" he exclaimed. "This just feels so wrong!"
"Yes, it sucks Dante, we know as well as you do." Trish said.
"It's the world though, unfortunately." Vergil followed up. "Unfair as this is, we've overcome worse."
"Yeah, yeah, I know all that!" Dante exclaimed. "The problem is that it's not good enough for me! I know I'm going to get over it eventually, but how does that help me get over it now?!"
"Why are you choosing now to get mad about this?" Trish asked.
"Yeah, if you accepted the situation back then, why are you having trouble accepting it now?" Vergil asked.
"Because back then, I had to watch what I said with Princess Celestia around!" Dante explained.
"..." Trish and Vergil were both silent.
"Hey, I'm a lot more diplomatic than you think!" Dante proclaimed as he held up his clenched front hooves. "Trust me, I don't say half the crazy shit that runs through my mind, much less do! If the devil in me had his way, I would've wrapped my hands around that cunt's neck, bitten through her cheek, licked the blood on the inside of it, then smeared it in her eyes so that she would cry tears getting mixed with the blood that I would drink-"
"You've made your point." Trish intervened.
"You lost your cool again." Vergil told him.
Dante immediately became silent, putting his front hooves down and kneeling his head in shame-filled self-reflection.
"What's the point?" he asked himself in thought. "I trained myself to suppress my demonic urges around other ponies...for what? Just to be able to function in society, and...that's it? How can I be satisfied with just that? I want more...I want to be honest in how I act. I don't just want to pretend this crap doesn't bother me, I want it to genuinely not bother me."
He then slumped back in his seat, feeling defeated.
"It's hopeless…" he thought further. "My dumbass mind is too complacent. Just shove everything down when you're obligated to and find false comfort in your uncleansed soul…"
"...Why can't I be shown a better way to live than this?"
Dante then growled as he was reminded of Princess Celestia again.
"Akame may have her issues…" he said in his mind. "But at least she showed us how to live in darkness and survive all the pain and strife. You, however, gave us nothing while we were in hell. You showed us no light at the end of the tunnel, neglected your most important responsibility…"
"...How can anyone believe you really care?"
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot Castle...
Princess Luna had returned from Vincent's house and was now in the halls, strolling to the royal dining room. She was doing so with a smile on her face, being in brighter spirits now.
"I love having a reason to be happy now…" she thought to herself. "Because if I'm happy, they're happy too. I'm going to give them a picnic like no other..."
Luna then entered the dining room, where a feast had been laid out for her, her sister, and a group of nobles on an elegantly decorated table. Without a second thought, Luna pulled up a chair adorned with a moon emblem at the top that sat at the head of the table, right next to a chair decorated with a sun emblem at the top. She sat down in it, slid it back towards the table, and unceremoniously, began devouring the food that had been put in front of her.
"Oh heavens yes!" she exclaimed, getting crumbs of bread all over the tablecloth. "The rolls taste like the food of the angels! And the roast pork is divine! Truly, this is the joy of being a god, experiencing pleasure shared with your mortal servants!"
The nobles sitting at the table with Luna were all puzzled.
"But none of us have even touched our food yet…" one of them thought.
"I hope the incident with Vincent didn't disturb her to the the point of madness…" another one thought.
One noble, upon looking at all the others remaining silent as Luna continued eating, thought…
"I guess I have to be the one to say something…"
"Excuse me, Your Highness." the noble said as he turned to Luna, who stopped eating to look at him.
"Yes?" Luna responded, looking around the table and wondering why none of the nobles were feasting.
"We only ask if plans for this luncheon have further changed." the noble said. "Earlier, your gracious sister announced that she would unfortunately not be taking part in this afternoon's feast due to her troubled feelings about the war happening today. In a situation such as this, the duty for praying for the safety of our troops would be passed onto you."
Luna swallowed the food that remained in her mouth in shock as she turned to the chair next to her and could not believe that it was only now that she noticed Celestia wasn't there. Feeling guilty about her neglect for both her and the troops, she bowed her head and said…
"I'm sorry...can you please tell me where my sister is? For now, this lunch is postponed."
Luna was then told that Celestia had retired to her bedroom, and so, she made her way there.
"Sister?" Luna asked upon softly opening the door to Celestia's bedroom. "Is everything alright?"
Celestia was lying in bed with a morbid look on her face. Looking at Luna, who walked over to her, she replied…
"No. Akame spoke to me in my mind again."
"Shit." a disgruntled Luna cursed. "What did that bitch say? Unless you do not wish to talk about it, which I shall understand."
"It...wasn't what she said that is troubling me deeply at the moment…" Celestia said in a crestfallen tone of voice. "It's what I've done...Akame only reminded me of it…"
"What would that be?" Luna asked.
"I've sent two of my men to die…" Celestia said.
"My dear sister, we've discussed this in the past." Luna said. "Those men would not want for you to feel guilty for-"
"...and two hundred of my men to kill three hundred of my beloved subjects…" Celestia abruptly continued.
Luna slowly started to realize what she meant as she remembered what Akame had told her.
"Sister..." Luna said, downtrodden as she lowered her head. "You have my sympathies. But we both know that there is no way to restore a pony who has given their soul over to a devil back to normal. After that, they only serve to kill as pawns of the devil. At that point, though unbearably sad to say, death is better…"
"From what we know sister," replied Celestia, "that is the truth. But only from what we know. My experience with Akame has made me more cautious than ever. Akame tried to "ease my fears" by telling me that only two of my men would die in this war and that Vincent still counts as one of my men. Now, knowing Akame, why do you think she would say that?"
It soon dawned on Luna what Celestia meant. Luna got a look of shock on her face...that to Celestia's shock, turned into a smile.
"He might be saved!" Luna suddenly exclaimed with joy before she covered her mouth.
Celestia gave Luna a perplexed look.
"We're sorry," apologized Luna, "we're not happy that two men are going to die, rest their souls. We're just...really happy to know that...there might be hope for him. They still love him…"
Celestia understood now, realizing what her sister had done.
"Oh, my sister…" Celestia said warmly. "So compassionate and kind...please return and eat with the nobles...I'll even join you if you wish…"
"I would want nothing more…" Luna replied as she and her sister began to trot over to the dining room. Before leaving the room though, Celestia paused to look out her bedroom window.
"My men…" she said in her mind. "I shall pray for all of you...and ensure that the ones who fall this day will have their peace…"
Once Celestia and Luna had left the room, however, Akame appeared in the bedroom, taking on the form of a gray alicorn with long black hair and a cutie mark of a shadow pony with green eyes bowing down to a devil. She walked over to the window Celestia had looked out of and laughed.
"So she caught on to what I was up to…" she said sinisterly. "But it matters not. Nothing can prepare her for the outcome of this war...ah ha ha ha ha!"