Title:           Night Lord in Equestria part 15
Author:          churchwarden
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/NSLcKsLN
First Edit:      Thursday 31st of May 2012 10:00:30 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Thursday 31st of May 2012 10:00:30 PM CDT

>Dawn had broken hours before your claws once more dug into Equestrian earth.
>Chirping birds deserted their songs as you gently dropped into the royal gardens.
>Tethered once more by gravity’s touch, you sank on all fours. A dull ache in your back pulsed with annoying discomfort. As fun as the sleek Raptor was, it was entirely unsuited for walking upright. You vow to go back to your own armor as soon as you can.
>”Chosen, your presence is required in the throne room,” A gold encrusted pegasus greeted, flapping down beside you. He noticeably cringed at the sight of your blood stained armor and griffon-skin cloak around your shoulders.
>Such weak stomachs, even with these elite guards.
>”Lead the way,” you stated, gesturing a taloned hand forward in affable grace.
>”Yes sir,” the guard replied, turning to guide you back where you already had been before.
 
>”I must admit, Chosen, I had my doubts about your… persuasiveness with the griffons. Color me impressed, Night Lord.” Celestia stated as you stood before her, straight and unbowed, helm in your talons. Celestia’s face seemed strangely impassive as she spoke those words.
>”I appreciate your tha-“
>”And very, VERY disgusted,” She cut in, face sternly growing darker in disapproval.
>How did she know what exactly you’d done? Oh wait, your fucking gore-streaked armor and new cape were about as subtle as Pinkie Pie trying to do ANYTHING.
>”And why is that, princess? I stopped a war that would have likely seen tens of thousands on both sides killed or maimed. You should be ecstatic.”
>”Make no mistake, Chosen, I am pleased that the war was aborted with such finality. I am NOT, however, pleased with how brutal your diplomacy turned out to be.”
>The whole scene reminded you of the emotions you felt when the Emperor called your legion to answer for your viciousness in the Great Crusade. You forced such thoughts down and away. You had done this of your own accord and they were unused to disagreements, let alone total war.
>You would let this chastisement slide. If just this once.
>”Celestia, diplomacy and eager, old hatreds got us into this mess. All I did was give the griffons a lesson of what war is like. It seems they were quite eager to take the lesson to heart,” You smiled back, masking your true feelings on the matter.
>”You slaughtered those guards and two members of the royal family! You skinned them and hung hundreds from their castle! You’re wearing one of them!” She pointed at you, expecting a reaction as you listened to your bloody actions being recalled.
>On an angry amalgamation of beasts etched in stone sitting in the royal gardens, a crack worms its way up the beast’s raging face.
>”And how did you see my handiwork?” You asked, curiosity tugging at your mind.
>”I see all the sun shines upon. Your “handiwork” was quite easy to spot.”
>” Like it or not, princess, that’s how I fight. Just because my actions offend your cultured sensibilities does not blunt their outcome.” You stated, growing tired of this useless, irritating exchange.
>”She doesn’t care what you sacrificed… Ignorant, stupid horse!” A foul, twisted whispers in your mind.
>You force the voice back out of your mind with surprising ease.
>The alicorn sighed heavily, sinking deeply into her throne, realizing her tugging at your infinitesimal conscience was a losing battle.
>”Like I said, Chosen. I don’t like how you did this, but I’m grateful that you did. It’s just… death weighs heavily on me, no matter who it is…”
>Such empathy. Quite unique among rulers. Or anyone, for that matter.
>”…No griffons can learn what you did, Chosen. If they discover your… association with us, the war will come back.”
>”I told the new king to send an emissary to make amends for his forbearers’ actions. Just tell him that no one will ever speak of that night again and destroy the bodies and evidence that I was ever there. Simple.”
>”What about Gilda?”
>Oh. HER. Just mentioning her name curled your mouth into an ugly sneer.
>”Ignore her…Kill the Griffon… she VIOLATED you…” the voice returns, noticeably struggling to make itself heard.
>”What about her? She was disowned by Toroc. Let her think she’s banished do whatever you want.” You reply flippantly.
>”Chosen, It’s not that simple. If she knows her father and brother are dead… by your hand, I might add, she will try and kill you.” Celestia warns you.
>”Let her try,” You smile back.
>”If she attacks you, you MUST NOT hurt her. She’s one of Rainbow Dash’s oldest friends. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony must be unified, in case Discord is set free again or some other crises descends here.” Celestia forcefully commands.
>”Why? Can’t you just find someone else to put on her little piece of jewelry?”
>”Chosen, those are soulbound relics of unimaginable power, you can’t just slap them on a couple random ponies and go, ‘Here’s some shiny rocks! Go hang them around your neck and shoot lasers at the massive incarnation of Chaos that wants to torment your soul for all eternity! PEW PEW PEW!’” Celestia mocked, pantomiming shooting a gun, homebrewed sound effects and all.
> “If Rainbow Dash isn’t herself, the elements won’t work. If the elements don’t work, we can’t beat Discord, should he ever rear his ugly head again,” Celestia finishes, making her point.
>”Well, what do you want me to do, then? I’m not used to being so damn subtle.”
>”Nonsense, Chosen, you tricked Twilight and the girls completely when you arrived here, did you not? Just… Lie again.”
>”I’m still not sure what exactly you want me to do…”
>”I want you to be Gilda’s friend. Make sure, under ANY circumstances, that the she does not learn what happened.”
>”If you haven’t noticed, princess, Gilda wants to be a little bit more than just friends with me,” you condescendingly point out.
>”I’m not asking you to have sex with her, Chosen, just be a friend. Maybe if you win her over she’ll eventually be able to look past it all.”
>You sigh, slightly depressed at the steps needed to maintain peace. Having to pretend to be friends with the griffon you hate. Marvelous.
>”Just know this, Celestia. If she tries to make any, and I mean ANY sexual advances on me, she will disappear. PERMENANTLY.” You finish with unyielding totality.
>”If she makes advances on you just brush her off. Don’t hurt her. Promise me you won’t. The stakes are too high to let your emotions get the better of you.” Celestia practically pleads with you.
>”I don’t feel the need to make promises I’m going to break, your highness.” You coldly respond.
>”Just…(sigh).”  
>Celestia pauses a moment. Suddenly, she perks up, brightly smiling to herself as she conjures up a thick parchment scroll.
>Unsure of what to make of this new lightness, you ask, “What’s got you so happy all the sudden?”
>”A possible solution to a lot of things, dear Chosen!” She excitedly replies, a levitating quill pen feverishly scratching words on the creamy paper.
>”That’s just vague enough to work,” you sarcastically respond.
>With a twisting of her golden magic, the scroll disappears.
>”Now are you going to explain what’s got you so excited?”
>”Well, as you know, my student is learning about the magic of friendship…”
>THAT’S what she’s studying? Really? What kind of shut in is this pony?
>”… And I believe it would be a good idea for you to live in Ponyville with Twilight and her friends. That way you’d be able to have fun with the girls, Spike, and the other ponies there AND be able to keep an eye on our favorite exiled princess.” Celestia proposes happily.
>”I suppose that will work… Where am I going to live, though?” You inquire.
>”Oh, that will be taken care of,” Celestia reassures you. ”But for now, you’ll stay with one of the girls.”
>”Oh? Which one?”
>”I’ll let them figure out amongst themselves who can accommodate you the best.”
>”That seems reasonable,” you reply, knowing full well that most houses in Ponyville were far too small to handle someone of your… dimensions.
>”If that’s the case, I’ll head down to Ponyville now to sort everything out.”
>”Sounds like a plan, Chosen,” Celestia confirms, nodding as you turned.
>As you scraped your way to the door, however, she called after you.
>”Oh! Chosen, I nearly forgot something! Last night after you went out, something materialized in the forest. We fixed it up as best we could and brought it to your armory. Enjoy,” She smiled after your exiting form.
>You were headed that way anyways, so you thought you might as well see what they brought in.
>The guards  flanking those familiar double doors parted at your approach, gently opening a path into your armory, revealing an unusual, but wholly welcome sight.
>You chuckled under your breath, an impossibly wide smile breaking across your porcelain white features.