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Post by Red Charge on Dec 17, 2013 11:33:33 GMT -5
Luna’s heart skipped a beat as the sky-blue armored Pegasus flashed before her eyes, blocking Blackmane’s blade with his own and hovering steadfast before her. Though her mind told her it was impossible, what Luna saw in her mind’s eye was Titan Razorwing himself, the sight of the armor woke a sense of security and fondness to her and Celestia’s once trusty guardian, even though he had died over a millennia ago doing just that, protecting her sister from Blackmane.
“Princess, leave her to me.” Percheron said, his voice commanding authority and radiating confidence. Luna had no choice but to comply, the shock of his arrival had brought her out of her Nightmare Trance and she found herself obeying him without question, turning towards Canterlot again, she will go down and aid the about to rupture shield. She was not afraid of Blackmane chasing her, it was obvious that Blackmane took no interest in anything other than the Sky Titan at that point and nothing else short of a point blank cannon blast could get her attention away from him.
“Finally!” The pirate lord called in joy, quickly whirling in the air to deliver a round house quick, which was easily blocked by her opponent, several whirls and blows later, the two were once more deadlocked and Blackmane broke off. “Oh how you resemble him!” She cried out in hysterical ecstasy, launching herself forwards at such impossible speed that it was nearly impossible for the naked eye to follow. However, with the Sky Titan’s armor, Percheron was well capable of matching that speed, attempting to counter her with a rear spin slash from his blade, which she effortlessly dodged. “Oh how long are we going to court each other, Sky Titan?” Blackmane asked, “Our affair has been going for far too long for this dancing about!” She called tauntingly, biting into her lower lip in excitement, “Are you going to use Titan’s Blade? Obliterate me like your predecessor failed to do?” she asked in a strange mixture between childlike enthusiasm and masochistic delight.
“No.” Percheron replied coldly, “You may be a murderer, but the pony you are possessing is not.”
“Oh, this wretched up and starter? What about her? She was a sky pirate long before wearing this armor. A criminal by all Equestrian laws, is keeping her alive worth risking me defeating you?” Blackmane asked, seeming more than slightly sour.
“Yes.” The Sky Titan replied, causing Blackmane’s eyes to narrow. “If there is one thing I know about her, was that she never killed unless she was forced to. I was the leader of her crew, for so long, a crew of pirates through and through, some of the roughest ponies I’ve ever faced and all of them, each bandit and scum spent hours telling me how noble they felt as opposed to regular trash, just for the moral code she held them in. She is no less of a criminal, but she is not a murderer.”
“The delicious irony, that the Red Barons now lie slaughtered at the foot of the canyon thanks to her!” Blackmane taunted. Percheron was visibly shaken by those news, but he had no time to consider them or mourn them, his focus remained on the fight at hand.
“I have absolutely no intention of succumbing to your taunts.” He responded calmly, “I will defeat you, without killing her.”
“Then you are just like him and you will die just like him!” Blackmane sprung forwards, delivering a powerful, wind assisted slice at Percheron, whose block was neither powerful nor timely enough to stop it from knocking him back spinning through a cloud.
“You think you can succeed where he failed?” She asked maniacally, “How arrogant!” She launched herself through the cloud blades drawn.
Dreadtalon rushed forth, swiping his claw at the enemy griffon, who dodged back gracefully. However the swipe was a feint, and immediately as his body turned with the blow, his shoulder cannon fired a round straight at the griffon, who did more than well to dodge it, allowing it to tear through Dreadtalon’s ship before retaliating with a swift 360 jump kick, whirling in the air until they were nearly parallel to the deck, hoping to use Dreadtalon’s opportune position to strike him from above. Old Dreadtalon however, was not without agility himself, quickly continuing his momentum from the feinted swipe, he was able to turn away from the armored griffon so that his other arm could rear back up and deflect the kick. Immediately afterwards he turned to the other side, drawing his wrist blades as he did, delivering what would have been a fatal strike had the enemy griffon not beat their wings to roll over Dreadtalon’s back and position themselves behind Dreadtalon again, striking with their lightning attack at the dread pirate’s lower back, which other than causing him to stumble over slightly, did no damage.
Before the armored combatant could recover from the surprise, Dreadtalon administered a fierce backhand, which the griffon leader was hardly able to block with his arm and was forced to widen his stance to absorb the force of the blow. “Thought magic solved everything did ya?” Dreadtalon laughed, “Think you’re being smart, having your buddies dressed up like my men? What’re you after?” He asked, “Trying to capture the Dreadtalon? You wouldn’t be the first, or the last to attempt it.”
At that another round of cannon fire erupted from the new fleet, once again blasting through Dreadtalon’s ships, which retaliated with a similar barrage, only to encounter a shield spell on the enemy airships.
“What are you doing, firing at my ships for?” Dreadtalon asked angrily, “You can’t capture them if you make them crash!”
The armored griffon straightened up, standing with bold confidence in the face of Dreadtalon’s anger, “I’m not interested in capturing your pathetic flagship,” A cold, nearly metallic voice answered from within the enemy griffon’s helmet, “I’m here to send a message.”
Dreadtalon stumbled back in surprise, “You!” He called, realizing who he was facing, “You think you have me cornered don’t you? I’ve beaten far worse than this!” He cried out, jumping up in the air and dive punching the griffon with his ballistic gauntlet, missing the armored griffon by mere inches and striking the deck of his ship instead, the explosive blast from his gauntlet carving a rather large hole in it. Dreadtalon’s ships shot another barrage at the enemy fleet, once more blocked by the shield.
“How many ponies you got there?” The general asked with mounting anxiety, as two griffon marines came in his reach, he grabbed both by their necks and wrung them each single handedly, dropping the now limp griffons to his sides.
In hindsight, looking at them, he asked, “Were they mine or yours?” The enemy leader shrugged tauntingly, enraging the general. He couldn’t tell who he was hurting, he couldn’t distinguish between members of his crew and the attacking marines anymore… he couldn’t fight down here; he was a danger to his own men. He jumped off the side of the deck, flying up to the top of the blimp’s armored balloon, the enemy leader followed him, landing on the opposite side, just as the general had planned.
“Barghest!” Dreadtalon squawked to no one in particular, the enemy leader continued their approach, undisturbed by this strange action. The armored griffon was given pause however, when several projectiles exploded on impact where they were standing. A loud shriek descended towards the surface of the armored baloon as a massive melanistic roc landed at Dreadtalon’s side, clad in armor and equipped with larger versions of Dreadtalon’s shoulder cannons.
“That’s my girl!” Dreadtalon grinned, with the threat wiped out, he turned back to observe Tesla’s now rising fleet, “Go get that ostrich-head Tesla, girl, give us time to get rid of these bastards.” The roc cried in acknowledgement and took off.
“Get out of my way, I’m going in there.” Red Charge said, shoving Silverlake and moving to open the door, Selenia was watching him intently from behind the window, some of her congealed blood was now smeared where she rammed it.
“You can’t open the door she’s dangerous!” Silverlake cried, jumping in front of the Royal Advisor again, “She’s undead, Red!”
“You said her body never died! If her mind is still in there, but disconnected with the ether and controlled by what this foreign energy is, there has to be a way to save her, can’t you see it?”
“Dangit Red, I’m a doctor not a necromancer!” Silverlake cried out, “I don’t know what she is right now I just know that she seems pretty intent on causing us harm!”
“Then I will restrain her, now move out of my way before I am forced to restrain you!” The unicorn called out, besides his intrigue at this strange phenomenon, he could not let go of the thought that Selenia could not be undead, she was never dead to begin with. This foreign energy, entropic or otherwise, was controlling her, much like a nightmare was being controlled, he needed to exhaust it somehow and renew her link to the ether to flush what remains of it out of her body. It had to work, even if he had no idea how such a thing was to be done, not even the slightest, for all he knew she was already lost but he had to give her the chance… he couldn’t fail her.
Dr. Silverlake moved out of his way obediently and inched back from the operation room, “I’m going to call the guards then, if she breaks out… we can’t have that… There are others that need me… good luck.” He mumbled, galloping away from the room Red Charge was about to open. Selenia watched Red Charge carefully as he entered, not moving a muscle as far as even to blink at his arrival, the sight of her quickly healing wounds was neither pleasant nor enjoyable but Red Charge refused to remove his eyes from her for as long as her eyes were on him. He closed the door behind him and blocked the door with his body. Alright, he was in now, the only question was, how is he going to get Selenia to exhaust her energies? He worried less about reconnecting her to the ether, he would face each step as it came…
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 28, 2013 15:09:41 GMT -5
General Dreadtalon hopped down the blimp to one of the lower girders of the balloon, whistling for his fleet captain on the deck, still busy fighting a pair of Dreadtalon imposters, “Call in a retreat, they think their shield is going to save them? Let’s see them handle our chasers and take a good ramming!” He called over, “Phoenix formation, I want that shield pounded like a good wench before we ram through it! Focus fire on their capital ship!” The general called, if anything, he was going to save the Dreadtalon. Tesla’s fleet was rising up from Canterlot and with their broadsides all facing the new fleet, they couldn’t afford staying in the same position.
“Yes general!” The captain responded, ducking beneath a swing by one of his assailants and ramming his gut with the butt of his blade, catching the other’s blade with his talon and applying his weight on it to pin the griffon’s talon to the floor before kicking his armored head into unconsciousness. Dreadtalon watched as the fleet captain sprinted up to the bridge, avoiding blows by both enemy marines and confused Dreadtalons alike and even delivering several in quick succession with his cutlass, dropping several enemy marines (or so Dreadtalon assumed) as he passed them. The captain entered through the port door to the bridge and but a moment later an enemy marine was seen hurled out of the starboard one and over the railing. The ship began to barrel around and the speakers on the ship woke to life.
“This is Fleet Captain, execute Firebird, Niner-Opportune, Serpent-Bracer.” The Fleet Captain broadcasted. Immediately the entire Dreadtalon fleet replied with a joined hail of red flares, distracting the enemy for mere seconds before exploding into hundreds of flash-bangs, causing an unholy crescendo to distract the enemy as well as blind them. The Dreadtalon ships barreled around to face the new fleet, and surely enough the first volley from their chasers hit its mark while the enemy's mages were still distracted. The shield was more than set to block the next round, however. Immediately, a second deployment of bronze armored, fire spewing rocs and marines deployed to board the Dreadtalon ships, which had now realigned in a firing line with their flagship alone behind them. Meanwhile, Tesla’s fleet was nearly upon them. If this plan didn’t work, they would have no choice but to fight to the bitter end.
Dreadtalon climbed up the air ship to the top of the balloon again to oversee the battle, but something wasn’t right. Just when the distracted General figured out what it was, he felt the heavy blow against his back.
The enemy leader wasn’t going down so easily, it seemed.
A whirlwind of blades was upon Percheron as he was forced to block the rampaging Blackmane again and again. Often having no time to raise a proper defense and forced to disengage and avoid altogether. There was little playing about between the two. Blackmane was more than intent on crushing Percheron, she let him no stay. If he wasn’t going to fight her properly she was going to FORCE him to use his powers. This was going to be the battle of the millennium and she was not about to let him cop out of it like Titan had. No, she’s seen and heard too much of Percheron to let that happen. Supposedly he inherited her power and Titan’s skill. So far he was nothing special, but she knew, she knew he was better than this from when he defeated the latest Blackmane.
“Fight me already!” She called, launching a blade of nearly frozen wind at the Pegasus, who deflected it with an electric attack. “Show me what you’re really made of! If you want to destroy this armor, you can’t keep running away!” Percheron stopped mid air, as he was dodging, throwing Blackmane off guard and sending a heavy punch straight to her stomach, with his retractable blade, he worked his way under one of the plates on her armor and ripped it off, eliciting a shriek from the injured armor. Blackmane was furious, as she floated backwards in pain.
“Fine, you want to fight like him? Then you die like him! If you ever wanted to know how I finished your ancestor, now you’ll experience it!” At that, a massive sonic boom was heard as Blackmane disappeared from sight. Then another and another. She was flying all around faster than the speed of sound, braking in mid air and taking off in other directions leaving Percheron completely unaware of where she was and before long the male Pegasus felt a powerful kick to his chest and was sent careening backwards, spinning out of control. As he finally regained control of himself he realized, this is how she delivered the fatal blow to the Sky Titan. He wasn’t able to prevent whatever this attack was from hitting him. Several more sonic booms before Percheron was struck with the force of a freight train. Again he was sent spinning out of control before he could catch himself. Amidst the sonic booms Percheron recognized the whistle of a blade, this one was going to be the final blow.
Blackmane’s mask spat out blood when the buck Percheron delivered struck her chest. The magic of her armor protected her from her own momentum, but not from the force of the buck. How could he stop her?
“Static electricity field, I’ve had it around me since you disappeared. You gave me two times to figure out when to act once you go through it.” Percheron said, “It bodes well for me that you’re not taking this seriously.”
“You’re good! Great! Amazing!” Blackmane called in agonizing ecstasy, “Will you finally be the one to free me?” She wondered aloud, before swooping back in, battering the unprepared Pegasus and leaping from cloud to cloud so fast one would think she was teleporting, heading towards him, gathering up compressed wind around her wings to create massive wing blades she unleashed on the poor Pegasus in a three sixty spin, one wing-blade shot first and another shot as she completed the turnabout. Percheron was barely able to dodge the first one and the second left a gash on his shoulder.
“Oh if only it was you back then,” Blackmane lamented, obviously excited in a very disturbing way. Was it the desire to be free that excited her so, or the imagination of fighting his ancestor, her lover, that was causing it? Either thought made Percheron extremely uncomfortable, he had to end it, free her tortured, maddened soul of the mare from the nightmare it has been in for the past thousand years.
Selenia looked at Red intently, hatred flaring in her eyes, she would have easily lunged at him and ripped his throat out, but he has had her under a paralysis spell since he opened the door. Struggling as she was with his magic, he had her held up currently, she was forced to listen to him flapping his yap.
“You’re not going to be able to struggle forever, your energy will exhaust itself and once it does, we’ll re-establish your connection to the ether somehow. Until that time as you’ve tired yourself out with your futile struggles, I’ll just tell you stories.” Selenia’s body visibly shuddered with effort to resist Red’s paralysis spell. A couple of guards were now standing outside the window looking at them.
“I guess you’re in luck, living for as long as I have means I know all of the old stories… including that of the Northern Crater.” Red Charge began once more using his powers of illusion to project the story unto the room. “Destrier told me it was made by the Northern Ponies before the Equiterians nearly wiped them out and the remaining… hundreds if even that were enslaved. The walls were actually made of Obelisk Giants. Massive earth elementals, the most powerful of their kind." A massive creature of stone emerged from the mountain wall of the northern crater, massive stone claymore in hand. If the scale was correct and the giant was as large as it was depicted, it would be tall enough to reach Canterlot from the valley beneath it with his sword.
"The northern ponies, were elemental in their nature. They would use elemental spells and enchantments to enhance their weapons and allied themselves with the elementals. they used them against the invading Equiterian armies. It took a lot for them to finally defeat the Northern Ponies. Destrier lead the first assault, but it reached a stalemate when neither side could accomplish anything. His forces fell to the enemy leader, a brilliant warrior named Rose-Red in the northern pony language." The illusion depicted what he remembered of Destrier’s description of her, a satin blonde pony with a rose-red coat and powerful emerald eyes. "In the second attack, Destrier’s forces broke through to the crater along with another Legion. They were able to nearly eradicate all of the northern ponies. Rose-Red, who became a captive was saved from execution by Destrier. She was far too powerful a warrior to kill, so he claimed, so the Equiterians decided to daisy chain her to him.” Red Charge nearly laughed. “Of course, the first thing she did was try to kill him, one time after the other. After perhaps a dozen or so failed attempts, she finally gave in, figuring he was worthy to have beaten her.”
“Eventually realizing it was futile to resist the Equiterian Empire with her civilization already down for the count, she and Destrier married. How, why? Who knows, I guess being chained to someone who defeated you was a big turn on for the Northern folk. I never met her myself, sadly, Destrier never said what happened to her after the Empire disappeared. But back to the point – the Northern Crater, now empty, it was taken over by an Equiterian Warlord. He was a rival to Destrier and leader of the second legion that helped Destrier's conquer the Northern Crater. He was a very powerful Warlord. I actually don't remember if Destrier said it was a stallion or a mare, back in those days it could have been either."
"Anyway this warlord found a certain power source in that crater. No one knows what the power source was, perhaps he had found a weak spot in fabric of the world, some sort of ancient artifact... who knows? He used that power source to summon a beast from the void, a terrifying beast of unimaginable powers. The beast, he believed, would be enough to conquer the Equiterian Empire. The Warlord's legion remained loyal to him and were allowed to tap into this power source, becoming even more powerful than before and supposedly more so than any other legion in the empire. After even Destrier himself failed to defeat him, the Equiterian Empire decided to trap the Warlord before he could move against them. They sealed the northern crater with powerful magic and left him there to rot for all eternity, which probably means he and his legion starved to death by now. The only question I've ever had regarding this story, was whether it was real or not. Obviously there is something sealed in the Northern Crater, but knowing Destrier as I do, it could easily just be the power source itself and the tales of the warlord be all but legend to deter their own from trying to undo the barrier. Hey for all I know, it could be Destrier's old ball and chain there, furiously thinking up ways to murder him.” Red concluded with a chuckle, Selenia seemed restless and her body continued to shudder against Red’s spell. “Oh listen to me telling you about great battles and ancient warlords… You must be bored out of your mind..."
The guard outside turned to his friend, “Should we uh… do something?” his compatriot shrugged. “I think if Red Charge says there’s a way to save her, then there must be. Right?”
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Post by Red Charge on Jan 11, 2014 14:51:44 GMT -5
The sky turned dark as the sun was partially eclipsed by scores of marines and rocs that now choked the smoke churned sky. Javelins, bolts, lightning, and blasts of shrapnel exploded from every corner around the fleets. Concussive blasts knocked griffons and rocs from the air, only for others to take their place. With the sky ablaze with cannon fire, Tesla’s 5th fleet turned their bows toward the pirate vessels. Volleys of expanding bar shot and exploding shells were fired upon the enemy vessels from the Long Nine guns at their bow. Enemy griffons flying in close proximity were discharged by powerful snaps of electricity, arching from the deck-guns on 5th fleet vessels. Those fortunate enough to dodge being fried landed on the deck, but were quickly engaged with Tesla’s marines. The other fleet, the one of false Dread Talon soldiers and their ships, were in a line of battle formation. Their cannons unleashed a terrible wall of shrapnel and shot, at the real pirates with the occasional wayward shell or ball finding itself in Tesla’s territory.
As Dreadtalon’s fleet moved into a broadside formation, sailing at full speed, their gun decks opened with cannons at the ready. The Leviathan was now at the perfect position to charge the Dread Talon fleet's main-gun, and strike a deadly blow into the enemy capital ship, the Dread Talon. “Bring the ship to. Prepare the main cannon, target the Dread Talon. Fire when able.” Admiral Tesla commanded from the deck of the Leviathan.
“Sir, someone has engaged their captain on the vessel’s deck.” Said a sublieutenant at the Admiral’s side, lowering a retractable brass telescope. “If we fire now, we strike both. Should we delay that order?”
Admiral Tesla snatched the telescope from the sub-lieutenant’s talon, flicked it open and peered through. "Negative, they’re not one of mine... What is…" Tesla followed the red flares for a moment, before he dropped the telescope and turned away. “Divert your eyes!”
A terrible bright flash lit up the sky, blinding everything unfortunate enough to be staring directly into the flash. Several ships from both sides lost their bearing, some accidentally colliding into each other’s hulls. The Leviathan’s wheel-bird was able to quickly regain control, bringing the vessel about and back into an attack formation.
“Get the ship back on course and fire!” Tesla commanded.
“Aye-aye, sir.” The sub-lieutenant bowed and turned to a nearby petty-officer. “Commence with the Admiral’s order.”
Tesla felt the wind blowing through his feathers as he rode the front of the Leviathan, claws embedded firmly into the metal. Electricity was coursing through his Tesla armor. He was going to put an end to Dreadtalon, finally, after all those years…
General Dreadtalon, as he now calls himself, was once Admiral Redtalon, the previous admiral of the Griffon Royal Navy’s Sixth Fleet. Recognized far and wide as a fierce warrior and tactician, he was the one placed responsible for the eradication of the Griffon Kingdom Changeling hive, a task he performed so well that the entire race of Changelings within the kingdom became extinct. Never since the great wars had the Griffon Kingdom seen bombardment of such scale, followed by the invasion of his Firebats into whatever remained of the Changeling hive. Nothing survived. The task itself however, scarred the good Admiral, turning him into the fierce General Dreadtalon, leader of the largest fleet of Sky Pirates in the known world. He spat on his former values and loyalties, claiming his kingdom had used him as a tool and a pawn.
Since the Sixth Fleet would not turn against their former master (and even if they did, they would never be able to outflank him) the task of bringing him in fell to Admiral Tesla. A battle of two cousins – Fire and Lightning. Tesla found out sooner rather than later that Dreadtalon, despite his age, had as keen a mind as ever, and was able to outmaneuver him and often outgun his fleet. The pirate general managed at times to completely conceal his fleet within the Griffon Kingdom and sendTesla on wild goose chases across the realm. Tesla fought him one-on-one several times, all of which ended in either a draw or a loss for the younger admiral. Dreadtalon had seemingly endless endurance. And what more, his armor, like Tesla's, was custom made to fire anything from cannonballs to cluster mortar bombs. It even contained small instant flamethrowers in the wrists and ankles for a quick burst of fire.
Another griffon, Dreadtalon’s fleet commander, was not far off from his master either. The Fleet Commander was an unknown griffon, identifying himself by no name. Though the griffon obviously has advanced military training, much of which was obviously from the Griffon Navy, there was no record whatsoever of any such Griffon deserting to Dreadtalon’s side. Which left only one possible explanation – the Fleet Commander was from Admiral Hyems’ fleet, the covert Seventh Fleet. The question always remained in Tesla’s mind, was the fleet commander in Dreadtalon’s service, or Hyems’?
Worst, however, was Dreadtalon’s pet, Barghest. The black roc, one of the Wild Hunt. It was a ruthless military engine with wings. Its size allowed it to carry such armaments to challenge any destroyer, and its speed and maneuverability made it a deadly foe. Adding to its deadly power was armor and metallic talons that could cut through any hull. The combination was well worthy of the fear its name invoked.
A sonic boom turned Tesla’s attention from Dreadtalon. There it was, the Sky Titan armor on young Percheron Razorwing. Tesla never imagined he’d see the day the armor was back in the sky. Flanked by his two Elite guards, Baard and Dion, the three engaged in conversation as several more sonic booms were heard in quick succession.
“How do they do that? The impact should kill them at such speeds.” Dion commented as both Percheron and Blackmane showed their capability to survive such high speed attacks with hardly half of the damage expected of such collisions.
“It’s the armor,” Tesla grumbled, not all without jealousy. "To them the world slows down. They are immune to any momentum they accumulate or any such that is used against them. At least that is what the legend says.”
“They could tear through any griffon at such speeds.” Baard noted. Tesla nodded in agreement. A loud whistle however, turned their heads as a volley of rockets struck the Leviathan dead on, raining metal on the trio.
“Barghest.” Tesla spat. “Helmets on and into the breach!” The griffon pushed off of the deck with his bodyguards in tow. Tesla had modeled their helmets after the Thunderbear clan’s. The Thunderbears clan wore helmets designed to inflict as much damage in a frontal confrontation as possible. To this end, Tesla’s, Baard’s and Dion’s helmets were designed in a sharp manner, such that a scraping or a headbutt could prove fatal to the other party. The beaks of the helmets were elongated and ridged with saw-like spikes. Of course, with their tesla armors and magna spears, they almost never had to resort to such tactics… almost.
“For The Kingdom!” Tesla cried out, magna-spear brandished as Barghest’s form became uncomfortably large against the sky.
Dodge after dodge, counter after counter. It seemed like whoever this strange warrior was, Dreadtalon couldn't land a proper hit on him, making the pirate general more and more frustrated by the minute. In the time he spent fighting the impostor Dreadtalon commander, Tesla’s fleet had managed to catch up to them. Even worse, Dreadtalon's plan to ram the impostor fleet came to no avail. The impostor fleet's ships immediately matched the speed of the charging fleet speed in the opposite direction, boxing the pirates in-between their fleet and Tesla’s. To top it all off, Dreadtalon had no idea what happened to Barghest. He saw her last fighting Tesla and his two pesky guards, but she had yet to return. Not long ago, when his fleet commander had jumped up to assist him, Dreadtalon ordered him to retrieve Barghest. Now he regretted that decision. The battle so far was going in his favor, the fleet's extremely powerful chasers proving more than a match for the enemy’s. But the Leviathan’s pesky cannon had taken out some of his destroyers. The advantage would be null and void if Tesla's ships came side by side with Dreadtalon’s.
“Stop playing games,” Dreadtalon said, attempting to deflect a talon swipe by the impostor Dreadtalon leader. “You want to deliver a message? Let’s end this.” At that he thrust his talons forwards, flames erupting in a puff from his wrists. The impostor leader jumped right through the flames as though they were nothing, and took the surprised Dreadtalon by the throat. Even though Dreadtalon knew who they were, it was still a surprise how powerful their grip was, and how hard it was to break. However, soon the impostor Dreadtalon’s pressure eased on its own, as both combatants stopped to look at the sky…
Their fight had lasted quite the while. Percheron took his share of blows as did Blackmane. But it was clear that the more it seemed they were a match in strength, the more frustrated she got. “Come on!” She called out in desperation, “Do something! FIGHT ME!”
“I’ve already made this clear, I will not hurt the pony you are possessing. This fight is between you and me.” h “Hah, you and me? You think you’ll do better than he did, don’t you? I bet he told you putting on this armor released him, didn’t you, Titan?” She asked maniacally, drawing her wind-blades. “Always thinking of your family first! I AM YOUR FAMILY, TITAN! I’M NOT LEAVING YOU BEHIND.” She screeched. “Just think about it Percheron, why do you think there hasn’t been another Sky Titan in the last thousand years? Because no one was worthy? Or because Titan didn’t want the armor to consume another pony?”
Percheron considered this with a heavy heart. Of course. It made sense. Weren’t the armors made with the same enchantment? If the Blackmane Armor consumed the wearer, it only made sense that the Sky Titan Armor did the same. Even if it was not true, the implications of the risk this armor posed were enough to drive a peg into the pegasus’ gears.
“Do your duty, or fail Equestria like your ancestor. Will you really deny your princess a chance to see the Titan’s Judgment firsthand?” Blackmane asked, now taunting, the hysteric tone of her voice dropping into that of disappointment and resentment.
Percheron considered for a moment before answering. Using the armor to take out Blackmane would be more than easy. No one would blame him, no one but him even knew the pony possessed by Blackmane was still in there. There would be no repercussions for Percheron. He would be a hero. No Harmony almighty... No. it would be too easy. There was not a moment since he discovered the truth about Blackmane that the thought of doing away with her and the pony she possessed was not in his mind, of dealing out every bit of pain she’d ever caused other ponies and then end her. But if he did that… if he allowed himself to cross that line… if he allowed himself to go down into that place… he could never come back.
“No.”
Blackmane’s eyes narrowed with anger. “Well I cannot deny her, or any of them… Let all of Canterlot witness the power of a Sky Titan,” she said in a silent, deadly tone, one that carried ominously to Percheron as she slowly began to lift herself further up to the sky. A bizarre phenomenon began to occur. The clouds in the air began to become… drawn above her, swirling and combining… joining into a massive cluster. Shadows began to cover Whitetail Valley, creeping up the Canterlot mountain as more and more clouds joined into a massing storm. The massive, darkening storm cluster began to spit out lightning bolts.
Percheron immediately moved forwards to halt Blackmane before she could proceed any further. But even as he flew to her, the storm above struck him with lightning, sending him back and denying him the opportunity to reach Blackmane.
“Stop it!” He called out, knowing full well what she was planning to do. Blackmane did not respond.
“Interesting isn’t it?” Red Charge asked, having finished telling his story. “Well, I suppose it’s not so much interesting in your state, but…” Suddenly he choked, his grip on Selenia had suddenly vanished, but Selenia did not attack. She felt it too.
The unicorn guard watching the room from the window cringed in pain. His earth pony partner, asked him, “What’s going on?”
“Watermark!” Whitefire called, barging into the Zebracorn’s office.
“I feel it too, get everyone out of their homes!” Watermark called, running past her outside, Phalanx and Hoplite hot on his tail.
“Filly, what’s wrong with you?” Sapphire Bomber asked, “What’s with all the unicorns around here?” She looked around as the Red Mages around her seemed panicked in a way she’d never seen soldiers panicked before. Worse was, she had no idea why. That was, until Watermark showed up, looking straight up into the ice shield and turning it transparent.
“By Harmony… What’s doing that?” She asked.
Princess Luna was using her full powers to aid the shield manifestation around Canterlot, even managing to close some of the holes in it, but they were losing focus… for good reason.
“Princess!” Twilight Sparkle called, “What’s going on? The ether… it’s going crazy!”
“I daresay I’ve never felt it act in such a way, it’s absolute chaos!” Rarity chimed in.
Tesla, magna-spear held sideways to deflect Barghest’s sharp beak, held his position. So did his guards, and even Barghest herself. All stopped to appreciate what was going on. They were enveloped in sudden darkness, every other moment lit by a flash of lightning The winds began to grow fierce.
“Back to the ship.” Tesla muttered, “Now.”
The clouds swirled overhead. Not a spot of light could be seen through the thick cluster. It covered all visible sky around Equestria. Blackmane hovered, her hooves flung high above her head, her whole body aglow with fierce, chaotic energy.
And then a talon ripped open the sky.
It was as sudden as the beginning of a storm, a talon ripped through the sky itself, as though entering through another dimension all of its own and through the clouds burst a colossal being, easily dwarfing all three fleets combined with its size. It took Percheron precious few moments to realize this was not coming FROM the sky. This thing WAS the sky. The massive eagle like creature screeched in a sound that avoids any sort of description. To attempt at it, one would say it felt like a thousand thunderstorms across the sky. Columns of lightning burst from the avian creature, cutting through Dreadtalon’s fleet and setting fire to the Whitetail Valley. As it bat its wings, such gales were created that the three fleets above Canterlot were sent spinning into each other, the smaller ships breaking upon hitting the larger. The creature itself appeared as a living electric storm. It was impossible to guess what it was made of, if it even was corporeal. Its appearance was almost beyond conception. The creature’s very essence shot lightning bolts into Percheron with such force as to shatter parts of his armor, burning him and sending him, electrocuted, crashing.
Canterlot’s shield did not survive a single bolt of lightning shot by the creature. It collapsed immediately upon impact and the city was ravaged by the rest, the spectacle worthy of legend. Canterlot was leveled by the creature’s lightning. Both Tesla’s fleet and the impostor Dreadtalon’s were able to avoid most of the damage thanks to the lightning rods installed, which were able to capture and redirect most of the energy of the lightning away from them and towards the poor, broken Dreadtalon Fleet.
Hoofington’s shield fared no better. One of the lightning columns emanating off the creature sliced right through it, dissipating it entirely and leaving the city once more exposed, tearing its way through the center of town and the militia headquarters, leaving a burning canal in its wake. The trees around the town were taken hold of by flames, and so were the structures in the lightning’s path.
With a final bat of its wings, sending a last wave of chaos throughout Equestria, the Sky Titan disappeared, leaving the sky as clear as they were before Blackmane had even begun summoning it, save for the rain of crashing zeppelins.
Dreadtalon, holding on for dear life atop his now sinking flagship, had given up hope. There was no way out for him or his griffons. Had he escaped and Blackmane won, she would find him and he would not be able to avoid her judgement. Had Blackmane lost, the rest of the ponies would capture him, along with Tesla. There was no hope of coming back now. He was a general without a fleet. Only then did it hit him. He never really was the commander of the fleet, was he? Blackmane had done with it as she desired, building it, destroying it…. He was just a pawn… the same as he was in the Griffon Kingdom. Legends say you cannot escape your fate, no matter how hard you try. Perhaps this was Dreadtalon’s punishment for trying.
The impostor Dreadtalon leader stood up confidently, managing to balance themselves as the ship began its descent into oblivion. Dreadtalon was grabbed by the throat once more. This time he did not resist. “Consider the message sent.” The broken general uttered his final words before the armored impostor activated the full power of their charged gauntlets against Dreadtalon's exposed flesh, burning the griffon into bare, charred remains crumbling inside a massive armor.
Tesla, barely hanging onto the Leviathan after the ordeal, looked up at the sinking Dreadtalon, having saw what had just happened. The impostor Dreadtalon dropped the general’s body over the edge of the dead general’s once proud flagship, removing their helmet as they did so.
Tesla’s beak fell agape, as the griffon in the armor waved at him from across the sky.
“Fire the main cannon! Fire it now!” He cried, as the armored griffon returned to their own ship. The Leviathan’s cannon charged up nearly instantly after the added boost of the lightning storm. They were able to fire a round towards the unknown fleet, but alas, the mass of ships teleported before it could reach them, leaving the electric sphere to explode harmlessly in the sky.
Blackmane was exhausted, she could no longer move after that. She was at her end and she knew it. She did not have the power reserves to survive summoning the Sky Titan. The pegasus was barely able to steer herself down to the cloud she saw Percheron’s body on. Once she landed she looked at him with pity and was met back, to her surprise, with defiance.
“I…" Percheron wheezed, “Will stop you…” He was able to weakly hoof at her mask with a cracked hoof-blade, tearing off to see her face. She was smiling.
“I am so proud of you, to have survived that.” She said, “I was wrong, you are far better than he was.” Percheron could barely muster the forces to remain conscious, let alone reply.
“Do it,” she said, “End me. I am too weak to resist now. You were so close, just a little more and you’d have won. But you’ve only just begun, you’ll become greater than Titan and I ever were.” She guided his hoof with her own to the hinges of her armor, which he desperately tried to break, but could summon no energy to.
To his surprise however, they broke easier than he had ever thought possible. Blackmane groaned softly, as he tore apart the armor, piece by piece, struggling to perform the most basic motions. She felt herself fading and she enjoyed it, “I will never understand how the princesses can live so long and still want to go on. I just want to rest. Make sure he joins me,” she said, her last words as he split open her breastplate and tore it off of her. The armor shrieked as its magic leaked out into the air, releasing Blackmane’s spirit from it. When it all ended, Percheron was looking again at the former leader of the Red Barons, rather than Blackmane… and she was breathing. Then it all went black.
“If there’s one thing we have to thank Chrysalis for, it's for discovering these caves again.” Princess Luna said, climbing back up to the ruins of her once beautiful palace. She was able, in the final moments before the Sky Titan struck, to teleport the entirety of Canterlot’s ponies into the caves. Those who were still topside, that is.
The Fifth fleet was battered, but it was returning to Canterlot. The unknown fleet – gone. Dreadtalon’s destroyed. Blackmane, dead. Equestria had won here today, but at what cost?
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Post by Red Charge on Jan 29, 2014 14:35:01 GMT -5
As the first waves were exiting the Crystal Caves beneath the palace, the dimensions of the Sky Titan's destruction became apparent to Princess Luna. Not a single building in Canterlot was left unharmed. Most if not all of them had collapsed under the attack, fires had raged through the rest, only now beginning to die down after consuming everything they could.
Where the palace once stood now was a massive medical pavilion, magical and with three stories. It was little in the way of shelter but it was enough for now. The war council convened there when Tesla landed, a couple of griffons at his sides carrying the barely alive Percheron Razorwing, his armor seperately.
"He got her." Tesla said, indicating the other stretcher, leading what was once Blackmane into the pavilion, "He destroyed Blackmane, the pony she was possessing survived. Though the long exposure to the draining energies of the armor and Blackmane's corruption left some... permanent changes on her." He indicated the bright maned mare's bangs and tips, which had been turned black permanently by Blackmane's influence, now black streaks adorned parts of the long blonde mane of the mare and when Tesla lifted her tired eyelid, her bright violet eyes now had black rings in them.
"We were able to recover the Sky Titan Armor as well, what of it survived anyway." Tesla said, "I would suggest that we are given the material for study. We were able to analyze the metal it was made of and it appears to be made of the same metal as the Rust Phoenix. With your leave, we could repair this armor using the Rust Phoenix metal we have."
"No." Percheron said, suddenly jerking on his stretcher, "These armors... both of them, they steal souls and bind them in the metal. So long as this armor is not destroyed, Titan Razorwing is trapped within. It must be destroyed."
"I agree." Stygg Whitefeather said, having seen these effects already before on Severus Whitefeather, her great uncle. "Percheron is right, I have seen this before on Severus. He was bound to his metal as Titan Razorwing is to this."
"The work of the Golem Maker." Red Charge intervened, slightly limping into the pavilion, his face now slightly swollen and burnt. The teleportation caught him off guard, but fortunately enough, Selenia hadn't hurt him too badly and the violent actions of the ether had allowed him to reconnect her to it, saving her mind and her life.
Princess Luna was surprised to see Red Charge, she had not seen him at all after the teleportation, what wounded him? "Then it is decided, the armor is to be destroyed."
"Princess if I may, think of what we can learn from this armor, think of how much good it could do!"
Princess Luna looked at Percheron - He remembered what Blackmane had said in her final moments. That she was proud of him, that he was going to do great things. After focusing so much energy, so much hate, into summoning the Sky Titan, Blackmane had gained clarity, the first and last thing she did with that clarity was help Percheron destroy her. For so long she had been tortured, being forever alive inside that metal, forced to endure its corruption, endure her own hatred and regret... it was a horrible fate to be sure. Destroying the armor would mean never having a chance to talk to Titan Razorwing again, never learning how to summon the Sky Titan if he ever needed to. It meant losing a great deal of his family history... But he remembered Blackmane's request, identical to that of her lover, she wanted to be joined with Titan in the ether. This request should be honored. He looked back at the Princess with a determined face.
"No," Princess Luna insisted, nodding at Percheron, "It is for the good of all if such things were destroyed. The metal is valuable but it comes at too high a price."
At that point, Red Charge approached the remains of the armor, lifting them up in the air with telekinesis and crushing them against each other, focusing a great torch from his horn on the armor. It was clear that the amount of magical power he had to put on the torch in order to damage it was significant. Luna joined in with another torch, their combined forces were enough to create cracks in the armor. Much like with Blackmane's, the War Council could see the magical energy rush out of the armor.
In his mind, Percheron heard a soft whisper, "Thank you."
"We've also captured Dreadtalon's lieutenant," Tesla said, albeit bitterly to Stygg, "We believe he is from Hyems' fleet." At that, two griffon elites dragged in the Dreadtalon Fleet Captain.
"You!" Red Charge exclaimed, nostrils flaring, he charged forwards at the prisoner, charging his magical power into his hoof, prepared to strike the prisoner to death, but the blow was absorbed, the force of the impact caused a small tremor in the earth and the enraged unicorn found himself staring into the brown eyes of Fieldmarshal Starling, when did he return from the Changeling Hives?
"Red Charge!" Princess Luna cried in surprise.
"You know this griffon?" Asked Starling.
"He's a murderer!" Red Charge spat, "He's a genocidal blood-hungry murderer! He's the one behind the eradication of Griffon Changelings, that is Admiral Dreadtalon!" All eyes now turned to the griffon in custody.
The prisoner's beak slowly stretched into a smile.
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 3, 2014 16:45:19 GMT -5
"Seems you have me at a disadvantage." Dreadtalon said, still smiling at the furious Red Charge. The Griffon Guards flanking him moved in front of him. A pointless gesture, as they could neither impose a stronger barrier than Field Marshal Starling, nor could they hope to stop Red Charge if he was indeed determined enough to charge again.
"I saw Dreadtalon die with my own eyes." Tesla said, "What makes you think this one is him?"
"Because we've met before." Red Charge said, nostrils still flaring, eyes sending a scalding look at the cuffed griffon. "I was an intermediary in the peace talks between the Griffon Kingdom and the Griffon Changelings. Talks that were progressing very well until Admiral Dreadtalon decided to commit genocide upon the Changelings."
Dreadtalon laughed and if Starling would not have placed a hoof on Red's chest, he would have been struck dead by magic.
"I wonder which one of us is the bigger fool." He said to Red Charge.
"I don't understand, if he's Admiral Dreadtalon, why would he let himself be taken into custody like that?" Princess Luna asked.
"For protection, I wager." Tesla said flatly.
"From who?" Starling asked.
Tesla sent Starling a very sour look, which the Field Marshal caught and said, "My sister."
The flare in Red Charge seemed to be put out instantly, "Tempest?"
"He knows exactly what he's doing," The griffon admiral continued, "He's your prisoner now." He said to the Princess, "He knows you won't turn him in to the Griffon Kingdom because he wouldn't last a day with the Triad going after him."
"Always thought you were a clever bird, Tesla." Dreadtalon scoffed, but added nothing more.
"Then the third fleet was the Triad?" Stygg asked, "I find it hard to believe they are that powerful."
"Up until a few months we had no idea they existed, only to find out they're running pretty much all of the underworld in the Kingdom. Don't underestimate them." Tesla said. Red Charge was still staring intently at Dreadtalon.
"We were both made fools of, you know." The prisoner said, "My orders came from the King himself."
"Impossible, I've met the King several times during the talks, he knew very well that a peace was about to be obtained."
"It could be... that all involved were played. We still don't know the extent of Loci's betrayal. The Changeling wipe-out sounds exactly like something he'd orchestrate."
Dreadtalon shook his head, but said nothing.
"Escort the prisoner to the back of the tent and keep him under constant guard, I want a binding spell cast on him, if that is possible." Tesla said, turning to Red Charge.
"I'd be happy to help." The Royal Advisor said, escorting the guards towards the rear of the pavilion. Tesla bowed to the Princess and left the pavilion, heading back to his ships with Stygg, leaving Luna and Starling alone.
Luna sighed deeply, an entire species wiped off the face of the earth due to the actions of one griffon. Luna shuddered to think that this was probably exactly what Celestia was thinking of her and Red Charge. She took a moment to steady herself.
"Thank you for your intervention, Field Marshal. But if you will perform one small task for me before you go about your business, I'd request that you have Static brought to me. It's time to strike back."
"Yes, Princess." Starling said, giving the Princess a bow before turning to leave as well.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 5, 2014 16:19:03 GMT -5
The Diamond Dog tunnels beneath Fillydelphia were bustling with activity. With Malachite having vanished in Hoofington, Tremor unable to proceed with his invasion to Manehattan, Havoc dead and Ice Fang having deserted, Warlord Sharp's invasion was grinding to a halt. The news of Canterlot's destruction were mixed with the bitterness of Blackmane's defeat. The Diamond Dogs had hoped that Canterlot's destruction meant the end of their central government, something which would devastate pony morale and give them the opportunity to advance. But that failed. As such Warlord Sharp was having a meeting in the war room in the tunnels under Fillydelphia, which meant a lot of cleaning and accessorizing for his underlings. This area of the tunnels was only recently dug out and as such the Diamond Dogs had much work to do to prepare it.
"Alright you go clean now." Said one of the guards to the diggers, "Warlord want room spotless, want meeting perfect." The two diggers entered the room, immediately going to work, they paired off and each took a side of the room, starting to straighten the uneven walls to make it into a room rather than a cavernous opening. They worked for hours evening out the walls into perfect, even shapes. One could place a plumb on the wall and be met with perfect results. The problem however, came when the two pairs of diamond dogs at last met on the final wall, the middle section of which collapsed as soon as they began to work on it, leaving the diggers staring at a long, hastily dug corridor.
"What's going on here?" A Diamond Dog guard captain asked, he had just come around to inspect the work so far, passing the two guards on his way in when he heard the collapse of the wall.
"Tunnel." Pointed one of the diggers.
"What?" The captain asked, drawing a crude map from his belt and inspecting it, lifting his guard helmet for a better view. "There isn't supposed to be a tunnel here, who told you to dig that?"
"Not dig, it already dug." One of the diggers protested.
"Look, it dug inwards, someone dig from outside tunnel." Another digger said, "Maybe lost digger?"
"Not claws." Another digger pushed his two cents, "See, look strange... tools?"
"You two," The guard captain called up the two guards, "On me." He drew his axe and began advancing into the tunnel, the two guards in tow, holding torches. The diggers watched in anxiety as the three warriors and their torchlight gradually disappeared into the tunnel. When they could not see them anymore, they perked their ears for news. It was silent for several minutes, but then a shrill scream reached their ears, causing them to jump backwards, one of them had scrambled off in fright.
"Comes back!" Another shouted after him, "Captain kill you!"
But the other digger tugged on his fur frantically, as a low rumbling noise was heard from the tunnel, it sounded almost as if a creature with a hundred legs was scurrying towards them.
"I don't like this." Said the leading digger, moving backwards, the third digger had already joined his friend running off.
Blinking into the darkness, the two remaining diggers could finally see what was coming towards them, not one creature with a hundred legs, but scores of them, blind, mole-like, clawed creatures, their fur blending almost perfectly into the darkness.
"Unseen!" The lead digger yelled, turning tail, but it was far too late, the two remaining diggers were knocked down and trampled by the horde of creatures now spilling into the Diamond Dog tunnels.
Swift was not comfortable patrolling Fillydelphia anymore, even with her patrol unit, which was more of a contingent by now. When they had first taken Fillydelphia, Swift felt like a conquering queen, she was put in charge of an elite unit to terrorize and demoralize the ponies and even won her way to Sharp's better side thanks to her loyalty and ferocity. But now the game has changed, the Fillydelphia rebels were no longer acting like rebels. Everything was so organized, patrols were ambushed left and right with military precision and timing. Whenever Swift had organized a raid or payback run, it always seemed that no pony was around to abuse. Quite in fact, Fillydelphia seemed like more of a ghost town than anything by now, it was easy to forget this was a pony city because the ponies had been staying out of sight for days even weeks. Not even showing up to get the rationed food.
Swift had tried to warn Sharp, but she seemed to have left his good graces after letting that traitorous Winter Wolf cur escape and convince General Ice Fang to desert. Her pleas for reinforcement and Martial Law fell on deaf ears and so more and more soldiers under her command were ambushed, more supply stores raided... Something was wrong, there was no way a mere group of pony rebels could get this good, this fast.
Deciding to take no chances after the last ambush, Swift had taken a large number of Diamond Dogs with her on patrol, probably a third of the Diamond Dogs left in the city. Tremor and Malachite had divided their forces considerably and with the Digger Corps all but destroyed their numbers were devastated.
Then, as though justifying her greatest fear, she heard commotion, Diamond Dogs of all kinds sprinting out of every tunnel in the entrance to the city, fleeing, leaving armor and weapons behind, fleeing from what? They were heading towards the city, seeking to shelter themselves with Swift's armed battalion.
"What's going on?" Swift cried, ordering her men into a formation and advancing towards the city entrance against the mob of fleeing Diamond Dogs. She did not get an answer to that question, only a splitting headache as something exploded near her. She was dizzy, her vision was blurry. "What..." She managed to mumbled before one of her companions pulled her to her feet. She looked upwards and her heart sank, the buildings... all of the buildings... every row of windows, every roof... filled with ponies... army ponies. Armed and armored, ready to pounce upon the chaos beneath. Then it struck her.
"They switched them." She muttered, "They switched the civilians..." The dogs around her shouted at her for orders, some tried to rally their companies into defensive formations, but Swift knew that it wouldn't help. A massive pony in bright golden armor, holding an incredibly long sword and large shield towered above them on a roof top, next to him a large bald pony with a moustache holding a hammer big enough to crush a terragon's skull stood in waiting, wearing spiked armor barely latching on under his rippling muscles.
They stared at each other in silence, Swift knew they had lost, there was no winning this battle. The ponies, they had done something, they had done something horrible.
"For the Princess!" General Bitter yelled, jumping from the roof top with his sword swinging. The unicorns in the windows launched destructive spells all over while the pegasi and earth ponies descended upon their ranks. Swift was knocked to the ground again, but did not wait to be picked up, she took to her feet and bolted on all fours, many of her compatriots behind her. The oncoming mob of Diamond Dog barely had time to stop before realizing what was going on and by then the ponies had caught up and cut them down.
Swift and the rest of the Diamond Dog horde, or at least what remained of them, fled into the forest, where their previous encampment was before Sharp had relocated into the tunnels. But in the empty clearing they were once again forced to halt. Now they were really between a rock and a hard place.
"You lose." Said Field Marshal 'Iron Shoes' Hightower, staring at swift with his burning cobalt eyes. He lifted his front up in an unearthly winnie and crashed down. The last thing Swift could see was the rising tide of earth about to bury her and her forces.
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Post by Red Charge on May 5, 2014 11:03:01 GMT -5
Percheron was lying still on his bed in his own part of the medical pavilion. There was little noise to be heard at the time. It was what he liked to call the last quarter of the last quarter, a quarter of an hour before six o'clock pm, at this hour everyone headed up to the makeshift mess hall that gave out food to all of the Canterlot residents and refugees. With Fillydelphia now secured by the military, non-combatant military elements had moved to Fillydelphia, setting up the main base of operations there rather than Canterlot proper, leaving behind only the Royal Guard defenders and some communication elements and thus making the distribution of food much easier. Everything was orderly, everything was on time. Of course the wealthy unicorns were unhappy with this arrangement, used to fine dining as they were. The only wealthy family handling it well was the Razorwings it seemed. Percheron was alone most of the time, he rarely had visitors it seemed. He pondered to the meaning of it, it could be that no one was allowed to meet with him, considering his new 'special circumstances'. While he didn't really expect many visitors, he most certainly did not expect the one who traversed the tent flap.
"Hey," Spitfire said, limping through to his room. He looked at her quietly, not sure what to say. At least she didn't cringe when she entered, he had no idea how much the healers' magic and alchemy was going to help. Apparently Watermark pitched in a whole lot for the potions and Red Charge made sure the best healers worked on him to minimize his scars.
"Almost looks like you got tattooed." The sun-yellow Pegasus nodded at him, she was right, in a way. What were earlier hideous burn scars were now red lines across his body, starting from his eyes and spreading throughout his entire body. They looked just like what they were, electricity, like lightning spreading across his skin. His fur grew around it, but despite that and all the healer's efforts they could not eliminate the lightning "tattoos" from his body, or even explain their strange side effects. "So much for never having any battle scars huh?" Spitfire asked jokingly, "Fitting you'd get your first fighting a flapping Titan of all things. Survived that and took her down with you…" She mused, staring through him a moment. He still hasn't said a word, not sure what she was here for. To gloat? To taunt him while he was down?
"I haven't been very nice to you have I?" she asked rhetorically. "Me and my stupid pride," She said, "I've always looked for every excuse to make you look bad, outperform you. When Celestia sacked you I was the first to point, first to spread rumors. I saw you as a rival, an enemy even. I know I'm competitive, I needed to feel better, but it was all fake wasn't it? You proved that. I was so stupid, making the Princess send me against Tesla's fleet instead of you. My ponies had to pay the price, so did I," She indicated her broken limbs, "If you had gone… you could have stopped her back then, Canterlot would still be standing… but I just… I had to, I had to prove I was better you know? This stupid rivalry between the Stars and Wonderbolts… I HAD to be better…" She pressed a hoof against her head, "I'm not making much sense… Look, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry, I foaled up, big time. But I got this now, you know? I just… I just, I wanted to say sorry. I can't ever bring back the ponies I lost when Tesla attacked, I can't look their families in the eye, I can't look the ones remaining in the eye. Maybe I'll never be able to, but I thought, well, I thought at least this. At least if you could forgive me. Maybe I can at least start forgiving myself."
"Can't say I expected this when you walked in." Percheron said, "Thanks, this means a lot." He said, he almost teared up a bit. He hadn't realized how hard Spitfire must have been taking her own defeat. But having lost the entirety of the Red Barons, he could feel her now. The only surviving member was Blitz Streak and she quit, entirely. Turned in her uniform, threw away her dream of re-founding the Firebolts and just disappeared with the Canterlot crowd.
"The healers did a great job on those scars, I mean I saw how you looked when you came In and this… well, in a way it's actually kind of hot. Like some badflank sky-pirate or something." She grinned, giggling.
"The wound was healed well enough," Percheron said, "But they say these lines aren't actual scars, but something… I don't know, they said it was something 'left behind' by the Sky Titan. They say that since the Sky Titan was living ether, a primal force of creation, that coming into contact with it left a part of it in me. They can't explain it, except for, well, the same thing that was for Iron Shoes and Telos."
"Oh, so you're going to go crazy and start throwing shoes at ponies?" Spitfire asked sardonically, lifting a brow in amusement.
"Hardly… but it does seem to react to my lightning powers." Percheron stated, the electricity shaped scars on his body took a vibrant electric light when he tried to demonstrate, his eyes burned with energy as he did, making him look, for one second, as unnatural as Iron Shoes was.
"That's wicked awesome!" Spitfire said in awe, her jaw dropping, "Do it again!"
Starling was on the second floor of the medical pavilion, fortunately for him the scaffolding were more than enough to hold him and his armor. Speaking of armor, he was rapidly approaching Shining Armor, standing outside the door of the pony he was looking for, Princess Cadence. He wasn't sure about Shining Armor, he didn't know the pony much in person, all he knew was roundabout, he never had enough time to spend around the palace and he wasn't even there for their wedding. Starling was sure of one thing however, he loved Cadence, he could only hope that Shining Armor made her happy.
"Princess Cadence doesn't want to be disturbed." The blue maned unicorn said, barring the Field Marshal's way as he attempted to enter her room.
"I need to speak with her." Starling said plainly.
"Like I said, she doesn't want to be disturbed right now, especially by you." Starling looked at Shining Armor, his expression already hard to decipher under his faceplate, his eyes impossible to read as he looked at the unicorn.
"Be that as it may, I need to speak with her." The Field Marshal insisted.
"You're not going through." Shining Armor stood his ground, "She doesn't want to speak to you."
"I am her father." Starling said evenly.
"Her ADOPTIVE father." Shining Armor replied with a slight snarl.
"That makes no difference to me, or her." Starling replied.
"Well, some father you are." Shining snapped, "You did well enough to miss her wedding, but her home was just utterly destroyed and where were you? Off foaling around with the changeling who nearly ruined her life!"
Starling looked at Shining Armor, the weight of what the Royal Guard Captain had said seemed to dawn on him, because when the Field Marshal turned back and disappeared down the corridor he called after him.
"I didn't mean that!" He shouted, to no avail. "Great job, Shining, any more war heroes to insult today? Why don't you go down and tell Percheron Razorwing he's a loser?"
"Oh he did not just call you a loser." He heard Spitfire's voice below him, at which point he gave a start, forgetting he was still in a tent and not a building, "No I didn't mean that!" He called.
Starling was on his way out of the Pavilion by then, as he left, he was quickly stopped by Admiral Tesla, the griffon was leaning against a piece of debris outside, waiting for him.
Starling and Tesla were always good friends, best friends even. He knew pretty much all of Tesla's officers by name and face. They worked frequently in the Griffon Kingdom and it was through him that Starling met Tempest, whom he was later romantically involved with. Of course, Tempest was the reason for the great stress between them now. Tesla blamed Starling for Tempest's desertion of the Aer Corps.
"Why was my sister here, Starling?" He asked, his tone condescending, talons folded on his chest.
"Have you ever considered the fact that she might actually love you and did not want to see you die at Dreadtalon's … talons?"
"Did you arrange this? I know you told Gregoros to lay off of her." Tesla pressed on further.
"I don't give orders to Gregoros, I merely suggested digging into a supposed underworld empire in Royal Rocks during a civil war was not a smart idea." The Field Marshal explained briefly. "You, need to come to terms with the fact that Tempest leaving had nothing to do with you, just because she left it doesn't mean she stopped loving you, or her kingdom. If anything, she's doing it because she loves it and you so much."
This seemed to have struck a nerve, "You're delusional Starling, she's a criminal mastermind, she's been organizing all crime in Royal Rocks and you know it! I know you're a part of this, you've been covering for her!"
"Right, have a good day Tesla." The Field Marshal said, departing.
Tesla was about to shout something at the armored pony, but distracted by the arrival of one of his officers.
"Sir, the're calling you on the ship, he's arrived." The griffon officer said, Tesla smiled, at long last.
+ + + + + +
Luna had flown atop Canterlot Mountain, sitting peacefully on the peak. She needed to distance herself from this, just for a little bit. They recaptured Fillydelphia, the Diamond Dogs were driven back, Blackmane was dead… if she was ever going to get any rest, it was now. The sky was dyed flaming orange by the oncoming sunset, it almost looked like there was a large burning fire on the edge of the world, it felt almost as though she could get there if she wanted. Thoughts of Celestia began to surface in her mind. She wanted to get to that fire, she wanted to get to it and to bring it home with her.
"Oh sorry," She heard a voice, it was Red Charge, he must have teleported nearby, she didn't notice. Looked like she wasn't the only pony who booked alone time at the peak after all.
"It's okay, you can join me. I just… I needed to be away for a bit." Luna said cautiously, not wanting the unicorn to go on with one of his long winded speeches. Not that she disliked them, they usually were exceptionally inspirational and moralizing. She just wasn't in the mood for one at that moment.
The unicorn nodded and sat near her quietly, looking at the sky, the setting sun reflected in his yellow eyes. But he didn't look at it for very long, he respected her and kept silent. But it was Luna now who felt the need to talk, not about the war though... She didn't want to mention the war. What else was there to talk about though?
"You know, I never liked you when I was a foal." She said honestly, prompting a laugh from the large unicorn.
"I remember, you thought your bird liked me more than you." He smiled, chuckling at the memory.
"When Destrier brought you to train for the first time and she saw you, she just flew off to you on her own and then every night since. It drove me crazy." Luna said, "I spent days just getting her stuff the same color as you were back then, to see if it was the color that attracted her.
"Oh, is that why you were wearing those silver vests all the time?" The Royal Advisor asked curiously.
"Mostly, yes," The princess chuckled, "Not that it helped. I even asked Destrier once to paint you purple."
"Purple of all colors?"
"I figured purple was the opposite of silver, don't ask me how, back then it made sense." The two laughed at the notion.
"I haven't seen the Moonbird around lately at all, where is she?"
"I sent her to the Barrens, she's good with the cold so I figured Aurelius could use her."
"You mean, you were scared that she'd keep coming to me again." Red stated with a snicker.
"That too." Luna chuckled.
The evening sun set in the distance much like it always has, but there was something about the sunset this time, something encouraging. They had won two major victories one after the other, maybe soon the war would be over… maybe soon it'll be time to rebuild…
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Post by Red Charge on Jun 3, 2014 15:29:18 GMT -5
A cloaked Diamond Dog was stumbling through the Everfree, his cloak getting caught on the lower branches of trees. In his panic, the diamond dog yanked his cloak, ripping the expensive fabric. But it was all in vain, no matter how far away he's gotten from Sharp, he was not able to get rid of it. The Dragon Emissary fell to his knees, exhausted. When he had left Sharp's chamber, he found it odd that the music kept on playing, but by the time he left the Diamond Dog controlled areas he realized what had happened. He was corrupted, Sharp has corrupted him. His claws tore at his ears, but to no avail, the sound was not coming from his ears, it was coming from within his mind. How could he have been so easily corrupted? Soon, he knew, he would turn into a Warg, lose his sentience and become an uncontrollable beast.
This then, was how karma repaid him. He had seen the atrocoties of the Diamond Dogs against the ponies but had done nothing to prevent them, nothing substantial. He stopped it where he could, but he had to follow the Dragon Council's orders and not intervene... was this the result of ignoring his moral compass and following orders? No. The council had good reason to order him not to intervene. It was Sharp, he was the one doing this. Sharp.
Sharp had to be stopped, that was the only way to stop hearing it, the only way he could get peace.
Tesla led his guest through the halls of the Leviathan, "I must admit you are taller than I imagined from our correspondence." He said to his unicorn guest, whose tall figure was quite imposing, even for a Griffon Admiral.
"I have Equiterian blood." The guest replied, "So I understand you have not been successful in obtaining the Sky Titan armor?"
"No, the fool ponies chose to squander the potential of the armor to release the Sky Titan's soul. How childish, his sacrifice could have defended countless others, but they would throw it away for their immature morals. The entire suit has been destroyed, leaving nothing behind." Tesla's frustration was evident, allies or no, the ponies' decision to destroy the Sky Titan suit was simply ridiculous in his eyes. With the Sky Titan they could have easily wiped out the drake horde and destroyed the rest of the Diamond Dog Invasion Force. But instead, they would give up such a powerful artifact, if only to not prolong the suffering of a willing sacrifice.
The pony hummed slightly as they entered a chamber in the Leviathan's armory, two Tesla troopers flanked the heavy door and closed it behind Tesla and his guest as they came in. The room they entered contained only the most well guarded experimental secrets Tesla had, things they had to hide even from their pony allies. Powerful weapons and armor in development. Aside from the various racks and storage safes lining the room, at the center of it was a large table.
"How fortunate it is then, that your griffons were able to recover so many pieces of the Blackmane armor then." The Equiterian guest said, a flash under his hood revealing his grin.
"Indeed, each piece is too small to be of use, but together, they are substantial." Tesla said, gesturing at the assortment of broken metal on the table.
"Yes," The guest said, "It is as I thought, Blackmane no longer inhabits this metal." He said to Tesla, examining the metal carefully, Tesla's face fell with this revelation. Despite his best efforts, it seemed the opportunity slipped by him.
"However," The Equiterian continued, "Though Blackmane's soul is gone, the magical power of the armor remains. It may not have the ferocity of Blackmane's soul, but by no means is it weak. Leave me to work on it, I promise results."
Tesla's beak grew into a wide grin, "That's what I like to hear."
Warlord Sharp was furious, those crafty ponies... how they snatched Fillydelphia from his grasp! He should have heeded Swift's warnings, she had been correct all along, there was military presence within Fillydelphia. How could he have forgotten? Ponies could teleport, they must have infiltrated with a few operatives, then teleporting out civilians and teleporting in soldiers and equipment. At the same time they had the foresight to attract the Unseen to his command base in the tunnels outside the city, spreading panic and making sure no assistance came from outside. The last finishing touch was the presence of the Field Marshal, Iron Shoes. His terrible hooves causing such a high number of casualties. The Field Marshal was truly a thorn in their side for the entire invasion. But Sharp had already taken care of him for the time being. Spreading false leads of an attack on more remote pony settlements such as Appleloosa. His scouts had reported that the Field Marshal had indeed went there by himself, the Equestrians did not want to spread their army thin.
With Blackmane gone, half of his generals dead or missing and Winter's Breath out of his claws, Sharp's campaign seemed to be going downhill. The deserter general Ice-Fang was killed in a confrontation with a pony Field Marshal in the Griffon Kingdom and Winter's Breath was lost to him. Much more was promised him in the future, but he felt enraged to have lost his prize.
"Warlord," Said one of his runners, approaching the angry diamond dog cautiously.
"What is it." Sharp replied with a snarl, his camp had set up in the depths of the Everfree, far way from where any ponies would venture, even for scouting.
"The reinforcements are here, Warlord, from the packs." The runner said, bowing slightly but keeping his worried eyes on the Warlord, checking for his reaction.
"Aha! Finally, we don't need to rely only on Silverback Pack warriors! How many did they send?"
"We are now at twice as much as we were when we first invaded, Warlord." The runner said. To this Sharp laughed with true malicious mirth.
"So many fresh soldiers! Call them all! Once our men have recovered from their injuries we are heading for Whitetail Valley! If Blackmane's destruction of Canterlot was not enough to subdue them, surely digging the entire mountain from under them will!"
The runner took off, leaving Sharp to his own devices, he has always preferred to camp far away from the main army, had he been camping nearby, he would have seen how bright this deep part of the forest had been made by the addition of so many torches.
The Diamond Dog Warlord stared at his own fire, if the ponies had thought their initial army to be large and powerful, they would fall to their knees now when it was twice as strong.
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 21, 2014 6:11:37 GMT -5
Four unusual travelers emerged from the Everfree Forest. Unusual as individuals, even more so as a group. First was Gilda, a female Griffon with a magical eye, one of the Whitefeather family and a great offspring of Dreadwing Whitefeather himself. By her side was a prissy Diamond Dog with a massive sword named Bowie, the last direct descendant of the legendary Silverback. With them was Trixie, a nomadic unicorn in a suit of armor far too large for her body, armor once owned by her great grandsire, Destrier. And last was Spike, a baby dragon accompanying the trio.
Hardly the beginning of a joke, the four were drawn together by either chance, or as Spike would have it, destiny. Each of the three were the direct descendants of one of the legendary champions of old and Spike himself, so he suspected at least, was a descendant of the Guardian, the great dragon protector of Equestria during the Prism Wars.
Having just left the up-until-now undiscovered tomb of Destrier and retrieved his magical armor, the troop headed to Canterlot. Spike and the others have seen firsthand the Sky Titan's obliteration of the city and as each of them (perhaps except for Bowie) had some one to worry about in the capital, they were hurrying back as fast as they could.
The journey from the edge of the Everfree to Canterlot should have taken less than a day. It did not. Between flocks of drakes, roaming patrols of Diamond Dogs, the restless monsters that have been routed from the Everfree and those accursed walking suits of armor, travelling through Whitetail Valley had become a nightmare. The worst part of it was that the valley itself had little to no cover. They had to spend most of their time waiting in hiding for the coast to be clear before managing to move to another cover. Of course, simple cover won't do, they had to be hidden from both the drakes, the Diamond Dogs and the suits of armor. By far the worst were the flesh-less Core Hounds, those walking hunks of metal seemed to appear wherever the group wanted to go, as though stalking them. One thing the group quickly learned, wherever there was a small group of them, even as little as two, there were always more about to appear over the next hill to swarm them.
But now they were finally drawing close, they were, according to Bowie's estimates, on their final night before reaching Canterlot. They were currently hiding in a small tunnel dug by Bowie (complaining all the while about getting mud on his paws) and were taking turns for the night, with Bowie and Spike taking the first lookout. All Gilda wanted at this point was to sleep and rest her itchy eye. Ever since they left that creepy tomb it has been bugging her non-stop. It also didn't help that she was already exhausted having to put up with the annoying baby and the loud mouthed unicorn. Oh and Spike too.
But of course, tonight of all nights, she was denied the precious comfort of sleep. Not moments after she finally rest her head, she found herself in another memory. Again visiting the ancient Equiterian Empire. This time, she was standing behind a line of Diamond Dog hoplites. She could see Destrier, in his Legendary armor up ahead, near the leader of the Dogs. She did not recognize their surroundings, but it appeared to be somewhere... in the Zebra Lands? It definitely looked Savannah like... She looked to the nearest Diamond Dog, how could they breath in that armor? It was covering them head to toe, with that horse-head helmet... they almost looked like living chess pieces. She couldn't imagine having to stuff herself into such an uncomfortable get up. No wonder they think these suits were just golem material. One key detail she noticed in these diamond dogs, was that their shields were all silver-plated, an odd contrast with their armor.
The leader was wearing a rather distinct set of the same armor, with embedded gems and claws, several silver decorations. Gilda didn't know much about Equiterians, but it was obvious this guy was the leader of this... group? Gilda looked around her, not a group, a whole bloody battalion. There had to have been a hundred dogs in there, all standing tall and proud, spears and shields at the ready. Looking back at the leader, Gilda noticed a cloud of dust approaching, sweeping across the savannah and though she could not feel it, she could tell the ground was shaking, but why?
The Diamond Dog leader began to bark at his hoplites, though what he said was beyond Gilda. He spoke several sentences, at the end of which the entire battalion roared in a deafening cacophony. Destrier seemed to have his eyes trained at the approaching dust cloud and now Gilda could see why.
Scores of Rhinoceri were charging forwards with the full menace of runaway trains. Elephants close behind them. They were not just stampeding however, not just running away or charging aimlessly. They were in formation, a wedge formation to be exact. They were deliberately aiming at the Diamond Dogs and using tactics.
n army of animals? Gilda knew animals had some brains, but enough to organize an army to fight the Equiterian Empire? For what purpose?
Only once they approached further she realized what was going on. Zebras, Zebras were herding these animals at the Equiterians, some zebra spear throwers even riding on the backs of elephants.
Were the zebras using the animals as war machines? That's more cleverness than Gilda would have ever credited one of those savages.
The dogs leaned forwards, ready to meet the impact of the rhinoceri with their powerful phalanx formations, the close lines of the phalanx braced themselves for impact. The dogs from the rear lines supporting the ones in the front.
Gilda hadn't a clue how they expected to block a herd of charging rhinos by themselves... and why wasn't Destrier casting any of his mega death spells? Speaking of which, why was Equiterian Destrier even in this armor? Didn't he wear a legate's suit of armor in the other visions?
Gilda had little time for those questions however, as the rhinos swept across the Savannah towards them. To the griffon's growing surprise, a shadow spread over the Diamond Dog hoplites and the rhino army. Up above them, something was gathering. Griffons, scores of them. Gilda's keen eyes could spot the familiar Whitefeather banner flying high above, directing several scores, if not hundreds of Griffons, in some sort of figure eight formation.
The chaos began when they dove into battle.
Immediately many of the zebras were picked off by Griffons, but just as many spears rose up to meet the descending griffons mid-dive. Griffons fell left and right, but for every fallen Griffon, a zebra was thrown into the air. The massive dive attack and the irregular formation seemed almost wasteful at first, until Gilda figured out what they were trying to do. The Rhinos and Elephants, grounded creatures at best, had little in the way of defending against the sharpened steel talons and weapons of the Griffons. They were running amok among the zebras and themselves. Rhino crashing against rhino, elephant stomping another. Zebras trampled over in uncontrollable stampedes. This had broken the lines of the rhino and elephant charge, turning what would have been an organized attack into a chaotic mess.
The first line struck hard against the Equiterian spears and shields, but the Dogs, well rooted and numerous, held their ground remarkably. Stabbing with pinpoint accuracy at any weak spot they could reach on the poor animals. A zebra was dropped from the air into the Diamond Dog's rear lines and was immediately torn apart limb from limb by the battle hungry Equiterians.
A leg flew next to Gilda, gross. But something about it was interesting... the leg was dark, with bright stripes? Weren't zebras usually bright with dark stripes?
It was hard to pay heed to the rest of the battle, if you could call it a battle. At some point, the griffon groups began to land elephant-sized golems into the rampaging enemy forces, these golems then directed the rampage in the wanted directions, then dispatching of the particularly tough enemies. The Equiterians controlled the field entirely and the battle was won very shortly even without Destrier's magic, with minimal losses to the Equiterian side.
But it was after the battle was over, that Gilda's heart began racing. The griffon leader and the Diamond Dog leader met on the field, both standing right next to Destrier. The Griffon leader was instantly recognizable, though much younger than she ever saw him, Dreadwing Whitefeather carried a regal aura still.
Destrier turned to look at Gilda, his eyes wide, only then did Gilda realize, this was not the Destrier. It wasn't even a part of the memory, it was Trixie. They were both having the same vision and apparently, they could both see each other. But wait, if she wasn't watching a vision of Destrier's, whose was she watching? It can't have been Dreadwing's, or she'd have been up in the air with him.
The Diamond Dog leader drew Gilda's attention when he removed his helmet to greet his griffon ally. Gilda's heart skipped a bit as she recognized him. She's seen him before in Destrier's tomb, twice as a matter of fact. It was the same Diamond Dog she saw with Destrier and Rose Red in the Froggy Bottom Bog outpost vision. But that was not why Gilda's heart seemed to clench with shock. No, the reason for that was because that one Diamond Dog, she saw elsewhere in that tomb, though she had not been able to place him. This dog, with a different color applied to his coat, was none other than Silverback. It wasn't uncanny an imagination, it was the same exact dog. The exact same face, same physical features, same build, stance... same eyes. The only difference between King Silverback and Hoplite Silverback was the color of their fur.
Silverback, Destrier and Dreadwing knew each other long before Equestria existed, long before the dragon wars ever started. Gilda and Trixie looked at each other, wide eyed. According to history, the three only ever met near the end of the Dragon Wars, at which time they became fast friends and formed the Griffon-Equestrian-Diamond Dog alliance. But if they had known each other before... how could the Dragon Wars happen the way they did?
As the vision faded Gilda and Trixie found themselves both up on their feet, still staring into each others' eyes.
What did this mean?
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 5, 2014 19:37:48 GMT -5
It was a long trek, a very annoying trek full of u-turns, backtracking, dodging for cover and what else could go wrong moments. But Gilda, Trixie, Spike and Bowie finally made it up to Canterlot. Courtesy of Gilda flying Bowie up and Trixie and Spike teleporting to the broken city. But was it really broken anymore? A feeling of relief came over both Spike and Trixie both as they saw the ponies work hard on the reconstruction efforts. They were less happy to see armed guards pointing spears at them as soon as they arrived. "Hey back off!" Trixie said, "Do you even know who you're pointing these at? I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" The guards looked at each other, confused, "That looks like the Dragon we were supposed to keep an eye for." "That's right! I'm Twilight Sparkle's dragon! These are Bowie and Gilda and Trixie, you know Trixie don't you? She's Watermark's apprentice!" "Watermark?" One guard asked. "He's that weirdo water mage. The creepy one that always smiles." "Oh." "What about this guy huh? Coming in here carrying that big sword, you bringing in Diamond Dog spies now?" The first guard asked. "I'm not part of the invasion!" Bowie protested, "I'm… not sure what's going on, but I'm definitely not trying to hurt anyone!" He smoothed out his head fur again nervously. "Well that's beyond my payroll." The guard said, as several more royal guards joined in, "You're Twilight's dragon right? We'll take you to the Captain, he'll know what to do with you. But no funny business, or we'll make you into a living pincushion, dog, you hear?" "No funny business! See? Claws to myself, I'm completely cooperating!" The dog said. Gilda rolled her eyes. Could this guy be any more of a pushover? The guards led them through the city, quietly, however they easily gathered attention from the ponies. Bowie had to take a few rocks to the gut from angry ponies before the guards formed a protective box formation around him. Sooner rather than later the four reached the Medical Pavilion where everyone was staying only to be greeted by a stern looking Shining Armor. "Spike!" A familiar voice called out to the dragon, as the unicorn mare pushed through to see him, she picked him up into a tight hug and then held so his face was level with hers.. "I am going to KILL YOU young dragon." "But wait Twilight, I need to talk-" "Oh we are DEFINITELY going to talk, running away with Trixie? Bringing back a Diamond Dog into Canterlot? Hanging out with … that troublemaker?" She said a little bit more quietly. "You don't understand!" Spike said, but at this point Gilda ceased to hear it. At this point another voice filled her ears. A female voice, crying for help. "What happened here? Is anyone alive? Guide me to you!" A powerful voice said, Gilda recognized it as Destrier's. It was an odd sensation just like before, hearing it but not seeing it. She could see the ponies in front of her talking, but not hear what they were saying. Destrier's voice was just as impressive in Equestrian as it was in Equiterian, his diction was perfect and his accent akin to a royal. His voice carried heavy weight, through nothing other than the intonation he put behind them.
"I'm here… please… Milord Destrier thank Goodness…" The female voice cracked, "Diamond Dogs ambushed us… they… they killed everyone." She could imagine the mare, an adult, coming into the end of their second decade maybe? It was hard to tell, the grit in her coarse voice made her sound older than she was.
"What happened to your Commander?" Asked Destrier, the female was obviously losing what shred of volume she managed to sustain to call for help. Destrier's voice remained steady. Gilda could hear him trudging through what must have been blood soaked grass, she could even time his steps when he stepped over what she assumed was a dead body.
"My husband… was the commander…" She wheezed, "They … he's gone… Please Lord Destrier, please I'm not hurt that bad, just my legs… please I have a colt. Take me home…" The mare sounded like she was beyond help, but she was persistent, maybe she could make it yet? Surely if anyone could get her to a healer on time it would be Destrier.
By this point Gilda lost focus on what was happening in front of her, though she could not see what was going on in the memory, she was no longer able to pay attention to what was going on in front of the Medical Pavilion.
Destrier was silent for a few moments, "Tell me about your colt." Did he realize she was dying? Did he want her last thoughts to be happy? Or was he trying to distract her from the pain so he could lift her? He wasn't moving, but Gilda heard her struggling against whatever was on her, metal? A body or two? Was she thrown in a pile while she was playing dead?
"He's in the military foal board… please… I'm all he has left." The female called out, not understanding why he wasn't helping her out. Gilda could hear the confusion in her voice. By the racket she was making, she seemed more than healthy enough to save, but Destrier had yet to make any move to assist her. He was silent again, when he started talking, his voice was no longer as powerful, hesitant even.
"Don't worry, I'm going to take your son in, treat him like my own. He'll have the best life the Canterlot Court can give." He meant it, at least, it sounded like he did. What was he seeing that Gilda wasn't? If the pony was impaled, then she'd have felt it, she'd have noticed too if she was cut in half, would she even survive long enough for the conversation to occur in the first place?
"What? No, what are you talking about? I can make it!" The female asked, the tone of her voice was now a mix between desperate and terrified.
"The King and Queen call upon you one last time for their service. Forgive me."
The woman began stammering again, but before she managed to say anything coherent, she let out a blood curdling scream, making Gilda jump as a loud sound she could not describe, obviously of magic, took over for just a moment and then all was silent. At first Gilda thought she had lost her hearing, but then she hear Destrier's voice once more, "I should have asked her for the foal's name."
"Ms. Whitefeather? Are you alright?" A voice asked her, perfect diction, carried heavy weight by mere intonation. Gilda's vision focused again, she was now facing Red Charge, the Equestrian Royal Advisor. "I need to sleep." She said, pushing past them and flying up to perch on a cloud, horrified at what she had witnessed and the two points she had just connected.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 13, 2014 9:44:36 GMT -5
Luna and her war council were gathered again in the medical pavilion in full force. It was far less impressive inside a giant tent than it was in the palace. The council was weary and shaggy looking and with good cause. They had been working non stop either rebuilding Canterlot or overseeing the retaking of Fillydelphia.
They let Bowie had a day before they wanted to question him, give him some food, drink, make him comfortable. When it came time for the questioning they rounded up the entire lot, Trixie, Gilda, Spike. All were there in the room waiting for Bowie to spill the beans. He was finally in Canterlot, like he wanted right? He was standing now before the council plus Starling, awaiting the questions.
"You say you come here in peace." Shining Armor started. "You told us you're no warrior, that you escaped before the invasion and tried to get here before them to warn us?"
"He's lying." Starling said, turning every head towards him.
"That stance, that's a warrior's stance." Starling explained, "Pretty good one, nothing like the rabble out there in the forest. You'd see this stance on a Core Hound."
Gilda and Trixie both turned their gaze to Bowie, eyes widening. A few guards began to move forwards.
"Of course I'm a warrior," Bowie said proudly, all traces of his whiny tone eliminated from his voice. "I'm a true Silverback, I've been training all of my life." He was proud almost, the weak willed, scared pup that Gilda knew was completely gone. "What other choice did I have but to hide it? Do you think Sharp would ever let me leave the pack alive if he knew? I wouldn't put it past him to kill me."
"Why would Sharp kill you?" Shining asked.
"I'm a threat to his reign. A silverback to lead the Silverback pack. I would have stopped him, but I couldn't. The only way to stop him is to kill him."
"And you're not good enough?"
"I could take him if it came down to him. I just... I can't kill him."
"Sharp is a monster." Red Charge intervened, "He's caused the deaths of countless ponies and Diamond Dogs, even Griffons. Look around you, see how much damage his schemes have caused."
"You don't understand, that out there, that's not who Sharp is. It's who he has to be, I can't kill him!"
"You keep saying that," Tesla said, "Are you too afraid to do what needs to be done for your pack? Letting him send your pack to their doom is not important enough to kill him for?" The griffon accused.
"He saved my life!" Bowie yelled, "He's our big brother, all of ours."
There was a silence in the Pavilion, an eerie one.
"What do you mean, Bowie?" Princess Luna asked.
"What you see? The Pack? It wasn't always like this!" Bowie tried to explain, "We used to be the biggest, most cultural and open pack. We had trade throughout the entire territories and we were the arbiters for any disputes. Before THEY came." His voice was desperate, he had to make them understand. "We were just kids when the Blood Fangs passed us, they were on the run from Equestria, after your Field Marshal single handedly snuffed out a large number of their veterans."
All eyes turned to Starling, but the Field Marshal was listening intently to the Diamond Dog.
"They had many holes in rank to fill and the young ones got eager. They wiped out everyone, the adults... even the elders, everyone. We were just kids coming into our teens. What you see? The pack? That's an entire generation who lost their parents violently and had to fend for themselves against every danger in the world."
"My family had the worst, they killed everyone, I was the last one left, because I hid, like a coward. But even I was found out. Sharp was the oldest of us, he saved my life when he killed the Blood Fang who tried to murder me. The rest passed through, looting, pillaging, even kidnapping. We were alone. We had to become these... savages. We had to be able to protect ourselves, a pack of orphans." Bowie's voice expressed well his emotions. "We were finally starting to get trade back to the other packs, when a pony robbed us."
"A pony YOU kidnapped." Twilight Sparkle said sternly, "You tried to make Rarity a slave to find your gems."
"I don't agree with what happened there at all, but nevertheless, instead of just taking her and leaving, the pony and her friends took our entire gem supply, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the other packs. This cost us any chance of rebuilding our pack economy. Are you even surprised it came to war? As Warlord, Sharp could unify the packs, could bring us closer, maybe even centralize a government."
"You're a very intelligent dog," Starling stated, "Your political understanding is superb. But Sharp's not in it for the political gain, nor is he in this for the rebuilding of the pack. Sharp's taking orders, isn't he?"
Bowie's jaw dropped, "How... how do you?"
"Who's giving him orders, Bowie? Why didn't you say anything?" Trixie asked, wide eyed.
"Dude, you, you know don't you?" Spike said, realizing what Bowie had tried to hide.
"It's... him."
"The Adversary." Starling confirmed.
IF silence had mass, the one in that pavilion would have been enough to topple over the entire mountain.
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 21, 2015 11:53:28 GMT -5
There was not an ear, pony or griffon that did not hear what was said in the Medical Pavilion, word of mouth spread faster than brush fire. Of course, as if Sharp and his Diamond Dogs wasn't enough, as if the Changelings, Blackmane, the Sky Titan, The Dreadtalon Fleet... weren't enough, Now they were facing a foe on an altogether different league.
Everyone knew there had to have been some unifying force behind the banding together of so many of Equestria's enemies, but everyone assumed it was either Blackmane or Sharp themselves. No, it was The Adversary... A prismatic dragon who fought the Guardian and slew him, then immediately taking on the legendary Three Champions themselves, slayers of the Matriarch, destroying them as well. All of that and he STILL survived. Who in Equestria could equal the force of a Prismatic Dragon and three of the greatest warriors in history and hope to defeat such a foe?
Immediately all plans went out the window. With Spike's encouragement, Bowie's version was quickly taken in by the Princess and there began plans for a last stand. In the Medical Pavilion, The War Council and the new and unlikely newsbearers convened.
"The Adversary..." General Gallop, leader of Equestria's ground forces sighed. He and Scimitar Razorwing, leader of Equestria's Air Force were still struggling with casts and bandages from the Nightmare Invasion, "This explains the Core Hounds. That kind of magic fits right in for a Prismatic Dragon."
"They were trying to get us." Trixie said, "It's like we couldn't go anywhere without a platoon of them waiting for us."
"They want our junk." Gilda piped up, "Trixie and Spike had no problems with them until they met us."
"They want to ruin the artifacts, perhaps? They are very potent, perhaps the adversary fears their power?" Red Charge mused.
"I don't think..." Spike started, but was immediately cut off by Trixie.
"Someone needs to do something about this armor, even the Great and Powerful Trixie can't fight wearing this oversized hunk of metal."
"We'll have someone readjust it for you." Gallop replied. "But counting on these weapons to win the war is not what I call a good tactic."
"I've arranged a meeting," Field Marshal Starling said quietly, "Between the Diamond Dog pack leaders and Bowie. Though I strongly suggest Gilda, Trixie and Spike be present as well." Starling was well known for his initiative, but this move caught all by surprise.
"What do you mean meeting, Starling?" Luna demanded, "We don't have time for diplomacy right now."
Starling raised a hoof to calm her down, something which no other pony would have dared to do, "We can't think about this as the end. If we win this war, we need to put a stop to the animosity, or we'll have another army at our doorstep before we can even rebuild Canterlot." The Field Marshal reasoned, "The pack leaders are bound to follow Sharp now. But a Warlord is only a Warlord until he is defeated. A true Silverback needs to be put back in Silver City."
"I agree." Bowie said, "But not as before, not as one nation. But rather, a federation, give the packs their independence, but keep them under a central rule, stop the infighting, create a protective force so no pack can get preyed on again by marauders."
"Exactly, meeting with the Pack Leaders now will project confidence, arrogance even. If we lose, they retain their status, if we win, they will not be coming into negotiations from a position of weakness." Starling said, "Some of those leaders are Blood Fangs, I know how their thinking works. We've set a meeting point on the Equestrian border with the Diamond Dog Territories."
"My Thunderbirds can fly you out there." Tesla suggested, Starling nodded.
"What, hang on just a minute. Doesn't the Adversary want our heads on a pike? You're just going to deliver us to his top dogs? What kind of dorky plan is that?" Gilda asked, chest feathers puffing indignantly, "How do we know we don't land and get speared?"
"I'll go." Shining Armor said, "I'll bring my best guards. In the worst case scenario, I can cover a retreat." Shining did not agree with Starling's plan. Not in the least bit, in fact, there was a lot about Starling he didn't agree with. However, he WAS the Field Marshal and ... even more frightening, his father in law. After their last encounter, he had to make amends somehow. He could only hope Starling actually knew what he was talking about. Preparations were made quickly and not much later, they were already on the back of Tesla's Thunderbirds, riding the currents towards the border with the Diamond Dog territories.
Now the War Council poured over the maps of Equestria, desperately trying to formulate some strategy, not to win, but to survive.
"What're the enemy's military assets?" Asked General Gallop.
"Sharp has double his initial numbers, which means twice as much as what we have left, griffons included." Red Charge said, gesturing at several markers indicating the diamond dog horde.
"In addition, the drake army is still at large, circling Canterlot but staying out of sight. With Blackmane gone we've tried to have the Air Force hunt them down but they're a crafty bunch, they keep moving, using guerrilla tactics." Scimitar added, "Apparently there's something leading them, drakes are not exactly known for using military strategies."
"They also still have Princess Celestia," Red Charge added, "If she shows up on the battlefield, she could wipe half of our forces out before we can react using her solar powers."
"If the Adversary shows up himself then we'll lose all of them." Gallop said, "One pass with his Prismatic breath will end everything."
"The Armada can assist you." Stygg intervened, "We have anti dragon technology, we'll outmatch their drake army ten to one."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple Stygg," Tesla said, rubbing his eyes, "To mobilize the Armada we'll need a council vote. By the time we even manage to transmit the message it'll be too late." The Griffon seemed rather weary, "My fleet however, is yours to command Princess."
Princess Luna stood pale, gazing down at the maps, though these now seemed a jumbled mess of shapes and markers. This was too much, Equestria can't stand against all of this, not at once. She tried to remember the tactics lessons Destrier gave her and Celestia, nothing came to mind on how to deal with all of this...
"Tesla's Fleet will take care of the Drake Army." She finally said, "I want our air force on standby for the Adversary himself. They took down Eclipse, I'm sure they can at least get the Adversary off our backs." There was a general hum of agreement around.
"As for those four, send them away. If the Adversary really is after them, I want them as far away from here as possible. They'll only be useful once they figure out what to do with those artifacts and for that they'll need as much time as we can buy them. We'll send them to the Red Plains, the Iron Shoes is in that vicinity and can meet them there to protect them." Luna took a deep breath, her voice was robotic, she sick and she was tired of this war. Though her exterior seemed level-headed, calm and monotone, inside her raged a terrible battle. She could feel... her... she was fighting to take over again, the anger, the emotions, she was feeding on them. Luna had to use every little bit of willpower she had to repress those emotions. She would not turn into her again.
"Red Charge, you and Cadence will escort them there." She hoped the two did not catch on to what she was doing. Red Charge was too old to be in a proper fight, unlike the Royal Sisters, his youth was maintained by a spell, she saw him after the battle with Eclipse, he had aged many years in and instant. He would not last in such an intense fight. Cadence... well she was the Princess of Love, hardly fit for a battlefield and much more to unite that ragtag group of unlikely allies.
"I want several strike teams ready, we don't have the horsepower to give a proper campaign, but with the right ponies in the right places we can do a lot to increase our advantage..." At that she began detailing her plans to the council...
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Post by Red Charge on Oct 10, 2015 4:07:27 GMT -5
The Thunderbirds landed with a squawk on the barren land at the border of Equestria and the Diamond Dog territories. Their great flaps raised clouds of dust as they brought their talons to a rest on the hard ground. From their backs about half a dozen guards and griffons leapt down, along with, of course, Bowie, Gilda, Trixie and Spike. Shining Armor squinted through the cloud of dust, watching as several figures emerged from it:
At the forefront was a female Canaan with a dangerously athletic figure, her armor bore an assortment of 'trophies' she collected from her enemies, be it teeth, bones, scales or other various parts. By the tatooed bumps on her body it was obvious what she was, a blood fang. Even more remarkable than that however, was the helmet she was wearing a skull of an even larger creature, the forehead of which was slotted and within it embedded what appeared to be a crystal eye, which spun around to observe each pony and griffon in turn, leaving the Alpha to size up Bowie curiously. This, Shining knew, was Ashtar, her motivations were a complete mystery, it didn't bode well that she took the front.
Slightly behind her were the other alphas, in a perfect wedge formation, respectively: A large doberman with various red tattoos on his body, carrying a wicked looking polearm with many edges to her right. Shining recognized him as Malek, a blood bearer and a warrior.
A tall and buff winter wolf with a large double edged axe to her right; this one, as evident by his tattoos and skin bumps was also a blood fang. Wolfsbane, this one he was briefed about by the Stalliongrad forces, was a pretty big shot there until his ego outgrew him, got himself banished from his pack by some violent deed or other.
Further to her left was a female gnoll carrying a tri-edged spear, she had keen eyes and a keen body with various tribal symbols painted on her. Nailah, exemplifying all of the values attributed to female gnolls.
Further to the right was a massive mountain of a dog, a kawkasian shepard looking more threatening physically than the rest combined. That was Mason, Shining did not want to mess with this guy, even though despite his size he looked considerably less wicked than the rest. Even more to the left was Tarot, whom Shining had actually encountered once before on a short sojourn to Neighrobi, she was a talented half gnoll gem-bender. The two had spoken before in regards to the situation in the Zebra Savannah, Celestia had sent him to see if he could possibly sign a treaty that would allow them to defend the pony settlement from attacks by monsters\zebras\gnolls. She seemed willing but of course, she never showed up to the signing. Probably because of Sharp, now that he thought about it.
Then was Minos, the bull terrier, small stocky and a vicious son of a sea serpent, this guy was known for being a peg in anyone's plans just because he could be, but that didn't mean he could be underestimated, he was known to be relentless and hardy, much like a Shield Wall. He and his pack knew to defend themselves against the chaos they so often raised.
To the rear right was Indigo, the beaiceron, wearing garbs rather than armor. Of course, she was no less threatening than the rest with her expert gemtending. Other than that Shining knew little about her.
And in the rear left, King, the malinois. Shining didn't know much about him, other than he was close to the blood fangs. Probably trying to get them to make him one, but intel was scarce.
The group stood before them quietly, Ashtar staring down Bowie, who did a good job of not backing down, considering the frightening opposition he was facing now. The Silverback took a step forwards, but immediately an arrow struck the ground where his foot would have been. Shining was barely able to notice the archer, female, half-wolf maybe? he only saw a glimpse of her.
The leading alpha, Ashtar, put her hands on her hips, "Ashtar is listening."
Bowie looked her straight in the eyes, he didn't even wince as the arrow nearly split his leg in two. "The war is about to be decided." He said.
"You want Ashtar to accept you as the warlord then? By mere blood? Blood maybe thicker than water, but not as thick as an axe, Ashtar thinks."
"You know the rules, kid," Malek said, his voice a growl, "to become Warlord you must defeat the Warlord. Even with your little sword you won't be able to beat Sharp as he is now."
"Even though I beg to differ, it's not Sharp I'm offering to take down, but the one holding his leash."
The other dogs immediately began chattering in fluent Equiterian. Minos was saying something in the back, King replied to him. Spike was mouthing with their speech, trying to translate for himself.
"Quiet." Ashtar said, they silenced, she grinned at Bowie.
"What does this Warlord offer us, then, Ashtar would ask."
"I will repopulate the Silver City, reinstate the Diamond Kingdom, not as a country, but as a federation. All of you will retain your status and positions, no more will you have to fight amongst yourself for food, or gems. We will help ourselves, as it is obvious no one intends to help us. Not the ponies, not Blackmane, or the Changelings. Not even HIM." He said, the Diamond Dogs made an uncomfortable series of noises.
"You stand to gain everything if you stand by me and lose much if you don't. With me, we will sign treaties with the ponies. Without, they will march their Marshals into Diamond Dog territories, collapse the tunnels over your heads."
"You've got some nerve threatening us, boy." Wolfsbane snarled.
"I will have the Silver City, with you or without you. This is not a negotiation, this is an offer, you can either accept or decline."
"When did little dandelion grow a pair?" Gilda asked Trixie, who shrugged.
Ashtar sighed, then turned her head to the side. Shining only noticed then for the first time the other Diamond Dog leaning against the rock. Dressed in black, the emaciated old dog was listening to every word, though at a considerable distance.
Gilda of course, immediately recognized Spur as she saw him. He gave her a little wink and then nodded at Ashtar.
Ashtar looked back, "Very well then. Ashtar accepts."
An immediate argument in Equiterian ensued, but Ashtar shushed it. "The Sword Tip stands with the Silverback. If we are no longer on the same side, let Ashtar know now." She said, hand resting on one of her swords. Though outnumbered, none of the other generals dared resist her will openly. Not now, anyway. Bowie knew they were not convinced, not until he defeated the Adversary anyway.
"Hey!" Spike called, running up a short distance towards Ashtar, dodging both Shining and Bowie who attempted to catch him. Shining could hear a bowstring tighten, but thank the stars no arrow was fired.
"The Little Dragon speaks." Ashtar said, surprised, looking down at him.
"You gotta bag of knockout powder on you? I know you guys carry that stuff."
She cackled at the request, reached a hand into her armor and pulled out a little pouch and tossed it over to him, grinning.
"Thanks." He said, giving her a cute smile before running back to the safety of his group and the angry glare of Bowie and Shining Armor.
"It is settled Silverback." The canaan said, walking back into the rocks, "Defeat the Dragon and we shall support you."
Shining paid careful attention as the alphas vanished into the rock, catching sight of the half-wolf again. She had a light figure and carried a bow, but more surprising than that, she was also wearing a bandage over her eye sockets, in which it was obvious that there were no eyes. She was blind. Then that arrow... Sense of hearing?
He looked back to the old Diamond Dog, but he was gone too.
"Now to pick up Cadence and head to the Red Plains." He said to the group, climbing up on the Thunderbirds. "Let's hope we can take the dogs at their words."
"Don't worry," Bowie said, "We can."
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Post by Red Charge on Oct 14, 2015 9:02:16 GMT -5
"Alright," Shining said, dismounting from the Thunderbird as they arrived back in Canterlot. He gave Cadance a nuzzle and a kiss, "Try not to hurt anyone too much, okay?" He asked her, she chuckled somewhat frustrated.
Starling was standing some distance from them, still not having forgotten the way the two treated him. "Spike, a word." He said commandingly to the dragon, now sitting on Trixie's back. Spike, curious dropped down from Trixie's back, she looked after him as he went. Like it or not, she's gotten quite attached to the little bugger. He had guts, that much was clear, the way he ran up to that scary Diamond Dog, hay, he was the least scared of all of them to partake in their grave adventure. Though she hated to admit it (and under no circumstances would she do so publically) he gave her confidence.
Much more so than the new and improved Bowie 2.0. His confidence and new warrior-like attitude was giving her the creeps. Had he really managed to fool her, Trixie? Mistress of illusion and the dramatic arts? To have lived his whole life like this, having to train in secret, having to come off as weak and despicable as possible just to survive... she couldn't imagine it. She had lived her life the exact opposite, boasting, displaying... and to think under that cowardly sniveling fancy dog was such a regal looking warrior, ready to take on the world, threatening the most powerful dogs on their own turf... That's something someone like Starling would do. Maybe that's how he recognized it so easily, maybe they share some kind of warrior spirit.
Gilda was much more impressed with his new self, finally worth keeping around and not so much an embarrassment to her. Too bad he didn't show off all that strength before to whoop those core hounds, she wouldn't have minded giving them a swift kick in their armored butts. She too, looked curiously as Spike approached the Field Marshal, who leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Spike looked up at him for a second and then nodded, climbing back up the Thunderbird and Trixie's back.
Red Charge and Princess Luna came right then, the advisor bidding the Princess farewell and good luck in the battle.
"The five of you have the most important role in this, we are buying you time to figure out how to use your artifacts against the Adversary. It is obvious to us that your ancestors meant for you to find these, meant for you to use them to defeat their long time enemy. Stay safe, I look forwards to seeing you all again."
Liftoff, they were off.
"You think they'll be alright Princess?" Shining Armor said.
"They have to be, or all we're doing here will be in vain. Come, let us prepare."
As they left Luna took one last look at the Thunderbird's distancing form. Every Thunderbird was necessary for the battle, once they would be dropped in the Red Plains, they would be left to their own devices to find the Iron Shoes. Hopefully something else wouldn't find them first.
"Hey Pipsqueak," Gilda said, "What'd Starling tell you?"
Spike looked at her for a few seconds, hesitant. "He said to make him sorry."
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Post by Red Charge on Oct 27, 2015 9:22:31 GMT -5
Whitetail Valley was encased in an unnatural silence that morning, the kind of tense silence where every noise was magnified a thousand fold - the brush of fur against shrub, the crunch of hooves over branches, the slow, repetitious creak of a supply wagon being pulled to position...
It has been several lifetimes since Equestria has seen this kind of military mobility, soldiers from all over the nation fused into one force, lining up side by side to face the threat of the Diamond Dog horde. The odd clanking and shifting of an armor adjusting, or the protest of leather as teeth burrowed into a weapon's hilt, the occasional digging of hooves into the dirt, a pony clearing his throat... other than that, just silence. Until the drums started to beat.
Princess Luna and Shining Armor stood side by side, looking far into the forest, where the diamond dogs marched in unison, each step augmented by a beat on their war drums. Fresh soldiers, only just arrived from the packs were now at the front, rows and rows of them at least as many as Sharp had Silver Pack warriors. With the Drake Army still in the air, Luna had neither air support from the Equestrian Air Force, nor from the 5th Griffon Fleet, whereas she anticipated the Diamond Dogs to have support of the most deadly kind. Fortunately it did not seem The Adversary was ready to show himself yet, but that could change at any minute.
Shining Armor beat the ground with a hoof, huffing tensely as he spotted the Warlord. Luna had seen Sharp in scrying, had heard descriptions of him, but she was not prepared for this. The massive Diamond Dog no longer appeared as a diamond dog. His fur was now dyed in jet black, accentuating the various bumps on his skin, glowing with magical power, the black dye covered him head to toe, with the exception of his face, painted over to resemble a skull. If that alone was not enough, he was wearing a suit of armor coated in what the Princess had no choice but to presume was his own blood.
As if his reputation as a warrior and combat gem tender was not enough, now Sharp revealed himself for what he truly was - a Blood Fang and a Blood Bearer. Now it was clear how he had managed to so easily take over the packs and unite them. Who could stand up to such a terrifying figure? One small comfort at least, was that he was no longer carrying Winter's Breath, which was a powerful magical weapon, instead he was using a sword which once more, Luna had to assume was made from his own blood.
The Diamond Dog horde stopped several hundred feet away from the pony lines, with Sharp walking half of the way to the pony army by himself. Luna joined him there, ordering Shining to stay where he was.
They felt like they've been walking for hours since the Thunderbirds left them, Iron Shoes had joined them at some point, hoofing at the red grass beneath his feet impatiently. Red Charge's fur almost blended in with the colors around them, but he too seemed uncomfortable. He had been trying every single identification, scrying, revelation and detection spell he knew to try and expose the way the ancient heroes wanted them to use the artifacts to defeat the adversary, but to no avail.
"There has to be a solution!" He groaned after yet another failed attempt, "Nothing, not Equterian, not Northern, not modern age... no spell gives me the answer. Gilda, you need to use your eye, that's the only way!"
"It won't work, I already told you old timer, it does whatever it wants." Gilda squawked in protest, "All I ever saw when looking at these is this creepy looking eye looking back at me... I don't even know what it means!"
"Okay calm down Gilda, we can't lose our heads. Let's just stop for a moment and think." Cadence said.
"Think?" A cold female voice asked.
"Tell me Cadence, what did you THINK about when you and my sister betrayed Equestria? "
Cadence closed her eyes in resignation, before turning to face Princess Celestia, the large alicorn was surrounded by several elite Silverback warriors, who were now beginning their approach.
"The only person who betrayed Equestria is you, Celestia and you're so far gone you can't even see it!" She began to charge her horn with one of her spells, hoping to try and break the corruption, but Celestia blocked her, literally surpressing Cadence's magic with her own overwhelming magical power.
"You didn't think I would find you? My connection to Spike is more than just about sending letters you know. I can sense where he is at all times. Thank you Spike, for doing me the favor of locating Destrier's armor. It really saved us a lot of time."
"Princess you're not being reasonable! Did you forget who the adversary was? Did you forget what he's done? He had your parents murdered! By their own best friends!" Red Charge pleaded with her.
"Silence!" Celestia snarled, knocking Red Charge back with her telekinesis, he looked up at her defiantly.
Cadence frowned, the Diamond Dog soldiers were still rapidly advancing.
"This is all you brought?" Asked the Warlord, "I hope you prepared your soldiers for the ether."
"It's not too late to stop this Sharp. I know who really is behind this invasion, join us, we can stop him together. We'll help the Diamond Dogs rebuild, help you reclaim the Silver City!"
"You're very smart, Princess, however, if you really were that smart, you wouldn't have sent the artifacts he was looking for away, unprotected, to a remote region where you can't hope to help them. He's on his way you know."
The Night Princess' eyes widened, "No..." She said in a hushed whimper.
Sharp only grinned widely, baring his sharp teeth and adding more to the illusion that she was staring at a living skull. The alicorn turned and ran back to her men in a gallop.
"Shining, they know where Bowie, Gilda, Trixie and Spike are! I have... I have to go help them, The adversary is on his way!"
"Princess but the battle," General Gallop began.
"Look, up there on the ridge!" Scimitar said, pointing to a ridge overlooking the valley. A bright magical light illuminated the sky for a moment... not a natural light, not from a pony... or even a diamond dog.
Two figures stood on the cliffside, one, Luna easily recognized as Field Marshal Starling, the other, she didn't know... or did she? Was it?
Immediately upon seeing the light the front half of the Diamond Dog army, the new arrivals from the packs, turned a 180 and stood silent, facing their silverback comrades.
Luna, Shining and the war council stared in surprise at them, "What... what are they doing?"
Sharp, also confused by this looked back, "What in Tartarus are you men doing?" He called. Then in an ear shattering battle cry the pack reinforcements charged forwards, right into the Silverbacks, plowing through them in the surprise and confusion.
"What's going on?!" Gallop asked disbelievingly. "What is this?!"
Sharp was just staring at his own forces clashing silently, seeming unable to react to the surprise.
It took Luna one second to realize what was going on and it terrified her. The events of the last few months flashed back in her head almost like a movie...
She looked back up to the Cliffside, to Starling, and she was horrified.
There never were any pack reinforcements coming to aid Sharp. No messenger was ever sent out to the packs.
Nor was there ever a Changeling threat to Equestria to begin with.
The Changelings were working with the Field Marshal before the war had even started.
"What now Cadence? Two old men and three infants won't help you against me and when I'm done with you lot ,I am going to find that traitorous captain of the guard of mine and..."
But that was enough for Cadence, in an instant she shot forwards and all of Celestia's diamond dog guards were on the ground without a single spell being cast. Celestia herself was barely able to block Cadence's blow, having to take a few steps back in surprise before launching the smaller alicorn in the air back towards the group.
Red Charge's jaw dropped... What just happened here? It was too fast, he barely even registered it. Cadence had laid out half a dozen diamond dogs and managed to actually hit a well practiced battle mage within the span of several seconds. The Princess of Love... was actually one of the best hoof to hoof combatants he's ever seen.
"Hmph, just like your father." Iron Shoes snorted. Cadence smirked a bit at that.
"Alright I've had just about enough of your shenanigans Celestia!" Spike called, jumping off of Trixie's back.
"Oh, Spikey Wikey, what are you going to do about it?" Celestia mocked, "How does a baby dragon stand up to an Alicorn?"
"By doing what I do best. Special delivery."
With that he breathed a puff of green flame into his palm.
"Special delivery?" The princess raised an amused eyebrow, laughing, when a bag of knock out powder materialized in front of her. The six could see her expression contort from laughter to surprise and shock before the pouch exploded, causing her eyes to roll into the back of her head and he body to plummet, rag-doll like, to the ground.
Cadence immediately galloped forwards, using her powers of love on the princess, de-corrupting her even as she lay there unconscious.
"Red, quickly, we need to teleport her to safety!" She called desperately, "If she knew where we were, so does..." A fell shadow crossed over them in mid sentence. Red Charge immediately ran forwards, helping Cadence teleport Celestia away to a nearby Griffon settlement. (Who were very surprised to find a pony princess on top of their grain silo).
The earth shook when he landed, even Iron Shoes seemed unsteady. Red Charge's breathing became ragged and uneven, after so many years he was facing the dragon who, so had believed, had killed his mentor. So, at long last, the Adversary has revealed himself...
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