//------------------------------// // Chapter 7:Ways of Barbaric Kingdoms // Story: The Crystal Vanguard // by Skarner //------------------------------// The dragons insisted that they give the guards a lift instead of waiting for a boat to arrive. Quinn disliked being held in the grasp of a dragon. Valor had no trouble flying amoungst the dragons as they didn't need to slow down for him. Earlier they introduced themselves; the grey and blue-scaled one was Pax, the green and yellow-scaled one was Mordlen, the green and black scaled was Krypt, and the last one was blue and aqua-blue scaled and her name is Sarhoth. Each of them wore thick-plated armour around their body; most dense was their belly since it was where their weakness is. Their wings beated loudly for ponies. No doubt they were very strong fighters. The unknown awaits them. Finally when they arrived wtih no trouble so far, the dragons gently laid the ponies on the ground. The trees were dark, and the clouds loomed above. The fog is dense just ahead. The grass and foliage around them were wilted or coloured in dark purple. Valor squawked at Quinn in a tone that hinted his cockiness. Quinn sighed, "Not this time Valor. You stay close now." she commanded. Valor drooped his shoulder in disappointment and listened to his companian by flying above, not too high. Ryze ushered them to move on. He pulled out a map revealing vague features of the island. The Shadow Isles wasn't thoroughly explored according to the map they had. But it surely was a large island. However, there was a paved stone road that neatly lead into the wilderness. Pax playfully let Sarhoth go first, "Ladies first." She scuffed, "How chivalrous." she sarcasticly commented, "Is this the correct path Ryze?" she asked, "We take a detour through the jungle when we find the first split on this road." he replied. With that, she nodded and lead the way with everypony following closely. Faint rustling sounded their each of their hoofsteps/footsteps. It was hard to remain stealthy with dragons at your side. The further they ventured, the more dense the fog grew. They find a split in the road, just as ryze expected, and took the left way. The right way lead to plateaus filled with nothing more than dirt and stone (as they assume). The relic they looked for was called Trophy of Shaning, it brought devious ,but good thoughts to whomever dare neared it, Krypt explained. Their first ruler forged the relic through magic and steel. He needn't molten ores or flames; just pure and powerful magic. Rumour goes, he was more powerful than Discord and the 4 princess combined! He was a good king; wise and bold, he rallied possibly any dragon group no matter how disorganized. They suddenly heard a cackle ripple through the air. They tensed and ready for any encounter. At first it sounded like little filly's voice. When it came again, it was clear it was from a grown mare. Long moments of silence made it awkward and suspenseful. Nothing came forth. "Show yourself!" yelled Quinn, Valor screeched and dived into a patch of bush. He tumbled out with an embarrassed look. He shook his head in confusion. He squawked at Quinn, as she nodded in response. "Nothing huh? Would it be from our imagination?" she said, "Nothing is an imagination in a place like this" said Mordlen, "They know we're here. They probably knew before we even touched down." "Focus fellas, we still gotta keep movin'." Sarhoth interrupted. They walked on. Ryze pointed to the detour he mentioned of to the side of the forest. It was narrow, but sturdy. They find cob webs covering small patches of the foliage as they walked on. It became more common the more they ventured, until they came upon a large passing. It was clear and eery. Ryze didn't trust it one bit. The webs were more fresh and stickier here, which brought him to realize... "Well come on! Some spider webs won't stop us!" said Pax as he stepped towards the center, "Whats wrong?" he said when he realizes no one was following. What they didn't notice was the large cave to the side. The opening was large enough to fit a whole barrack! It could only mean one thing: they stumbled upon Vilemaw's den. "Hey! Get back here!" shouted Ryze, "Its not safe out there!" He gave him a questioning look and peeked around. He shrugged when he failed to see what was wrong. Then a lash of web spitted out of the cave and latched onto Pax. He yelped as he got pulled deep into the cave. Ryze swore he heard crunching of bones coming from the cave. They all called out his name in vain, but with no answer, they ran in to save their friend. When Twilight and her friends told Shining Armour what Skarner told them, he nodded in agreement. He said it wouldn't make sense to send in more ponies than needed to die. They discovered that the void has a remnant of dark energy, but it is extremely dangerous to gain hold on, even for ponies with great power! It is required to command the voidlings. In other words, the void relic can control all it's creatures without a sentient mind. Disappointed and frustrated, Twilight decides to sneak off. "Um... are you sure about this Twilight?" Fluttershy commented, "I mean, they do make sense." "No!" she replied causing the yellow pegasus to cower, "And I am sure that I know what I am doing! We'll show them..." she said angrily. Applejack whispered to Rainbow, "Geez, Twi sure is more stubborn than both of us combined huh." She nodded in response with a worrying look. Rarity tries to confront her, "Twilight,dear. Don't you think you're overreacting about this?" she said, "The fate of Equestria depends on us! AND YOU THINK IM OVER REACTING?!" Spike zipped up to Rarity and equipped her with padding and cushions. Then took cover behind the rest of their friends "Yes." she simply said, A magical-burst ruptured throughout most of the Crystal Empire. She couldn't believe no one was with her on this one. Everyone treated them like useless fillies! Because now that the Elements of Harmony may not do much against the Void, they are rendered useless. Twilight is ready to prove them wrong. She'll show Shining, she'll show Skarner, and she'll definitely show all of Equestria. She'll make Celestia proud, that her alicorn potential will not go to waste! Maybe this was a test from fate.she thought,Or maybe theres something bigger than fate! Her eyes showed that she was zoned out of reality, and her smile was deviously large. Stomping hooves, loud poundings upon the dry ground. Dirt thrown in their wake. The Buffaloes carried on their stampede through the apple orchid in Appleloosa. As usual, they expected the friendly ponies who neighboured to their home to provide them delicious apple pies. However, they were greeted by a crystal pony. This brought a confusion to the herd chief. He was tempted to stop and ask questions in regards. He had to do none of that since the crystal pony started galloping alongside him. He spoke first, "Chief Thunderhooves!" he said over the sounds of the stampede, "We need you and your herd to evacuate the area immediately!" He raised an eyebrow, "Why so friend?" "There is a large threat made to all of Equestria!" he was interrupted by the sudden pivot in the stampede. "A threat that large? How could that be possible?" the chief said, "We can explain later, but for now we need all of Appleloosa to evacuate to Canterlot!" He thought for a moment, "Allow us to steer clear of the orchid, I will stop the herd in the clearing." "Thank you chief." Skarner peeled off and stood aside. As promised, the chief stopped once they got out of the orchid. But something gathered on the cliff nearby. They couldn't be the Appleloosans, they have already evacuated! They were faintly visible now that a horde stepped onto the edge of the cliff, awaiting any action to move them. They were purple, with 3 diamond eyes which resembled Rarity's cutie mark. Their eyes were yellow and empty, just like Skarner's, and their body,legs, and head were also diamond shaped. Many stood at the edge of the cliff now, proposing intimidation to the buffaloes and Skarner. He assumed they were what Ryze called: Voidlings. It wasn't good, they couldn't deal with the numbers they are facing. However, the buffaloes huffed and pawed at the ground; they were ready to pulverize theses voidlings. Even without mentioning they were the threat against Equestria, they would pose aggression to them. A deafening roar that was all too familiar to Skarner pierced the air. Cho'Gath appeared behind the voidlings, staring directly at the crystal vanguard standing beside the chief with his horn glowing. A deafening roar that was all too familiar to Cait and Luio pierced the air. They stiffened, they knew that wasn't good. Cait parted from Alistar and Luio who were left in charge of the evacuation for the rest of the Appleloosens. Nasus and Twitch followed as they sprinted to the source of the roar. They find a large-scale battle between voidlings and buffaloes. At the epicentre, they find Skarner and Cho'Gath trading blows and dodges. since the voidlings were small, they were easy for the buffaloes to step upon. Althought the voidlings aren't squishy; they are made of some sort of void crystal. However, the voidlings out-numbered them 4:1. The rest of the elite guards joined in the battle. Cait upholstered her primitive but effective rifle. Her dexterity was flawless! She shot out hitting voidlings using two shots to bring one down. Sometimes one if she was lucky. Nasus summoned his inner spirit and transformed into his superior form. He grew larger in size. He used his staff to smack down voidlings who dare come near. Twitch however was having trouble loading his crossbow. "Eh... go ahead without me!" he said as he was placing a bolt in, "I'll be right there!" Still struggling, voidlings heasitated when they got near him. The stench was so sickening, that little voidlings couldn't bear get close. Finally, Twitch got his crossbow working again; turned out that the string didn't loop 3 times instead of 2. With precision, he headshotted the incoming voidlings. Buffaloes' numbers were falling fast, they had to retreat! Skarner pivoted to the right, dodging Cho'Gath's talon. He returned with a pinch and a stab. He then caused a magical fissure with his stinger which threw the beast off-balance. The chief came barged into the Cho's side causing him to tumble. Suddenly, they hear a cry for help. It came from Little Strongheart. She was surrounded by voidlings. Fortunately, Twitch pierced and peeled off the voidlings with each shot. Grateful, she jumped away and regained her ground. She leaped and smacked a voidling mid-air. A fresh batch of voidlings approached from the east of the battlegrounds. Nasus kept them off by summoning a circle that drew strength and life from the beings that stood upon it. Cho'Gath swept him off his legs from behind, then cutting down on the poor canine. He yelped and pain as his talon pierced his armoured legs. Cait made the beast back off by harassing him with headshots. They couldn't put him down, but it surely hurt him. They were losing the battle. Twitch held off the voidlings in defense of Nasus, while Skarner still distracted Cho'Gath from the buffaloes. They had to force a retreat. He scuffed, "This is taking unnecessarily long." he commented on the battle in front of him, Malzahar then turned to the creature beside him, "Kha'zix, focus on taking out strays. And bring forth at least one of the elites." Kha'zix nodded, then splayed his wings and took off in one leap. He had a purple carapace, with long scythe-like hands. He has spikes mounted on his shoulders, and pale green wings which were hidden for now. Drool dripped from his mouth, hungering for prey. He called up on the void, to once again open forth another portal. As the portal stretches, more voidlings pour out. The buffaloes were barely keeping up against the voidlings, they really had to retreat now. Now at the over-hang of the cliff, the buffaloes and elite guards fell back. Although the number of voidlings has vastly decreased 4:1 to 2:1, they still overpowered. One by one, the buffaloes were picked off. The Chief wore a major wound on his neck; there was a gash that bled violently. Cho'Gath kept impaling patches of buffaloes with spikes pertruding from the ground beneath. Nasus had regained himself and was fit to battle. He summoned yet another large circle of magic distortion. It crippled voidlings while causing them inner pain. But it was still not enough. Skarner used his pincers to slash off large bunches each swing, but it was still not enough. Twitch threw flasks of poison that he kept in his jacket, but it was still not enough! With all hope lost, and lives diminishing, reluctantly, a large stream of many colours crashed down upon the voidlings. They all squealed in pain before they simply poofed into thin air. It greatly cut off their numbers, as there are now more buffaloes than voidlings. They retreated; the victory was theirs! They cheered in pride. Above them, standing on the edge of the cliff, were the mane 6 with their Elements of Harmony. Skarner frowned on their rebellious acts, but was grateful they came. Twilight of course, had a cocky grin. They brought in many injured buffaloes and fallen warriors. They planned a large funeral to honour them. Once they were able to take care of themselves, the elite guards rallied by the train station. They counted, and were missing one: Caitlyn. "What?!" exclaimed Luio, "She could be around with the buffaloes!" Skarner shrugged, "Either way, she is missing. We didn't find her body on the field so thats a good thing." "What if the void got hold of her?!" Chief Thunderhooves entered the conversation, "Has anyone seen little Strongheart?!" his eyes were watering, he thought of the worst answer possible. Alistar and Nasus looked at eachother worryingly, then to Twitch, then to Skarner. Each of them shook their heads. With Cait held under his armpit, Kha'zix kept his claw at her neck so she won't escape. Little Strongheart was knocked out on his back with a couple of spikes impaled on her back. Blood dripped from both of his hostages. When they set down in front of Malzahar, Cait struggled for freedom. Despite her efforts, she could not break free. He approached her slowly then held her chin up so their eyes could meet. "Join the void..." "Never!" she retorted, "Let the void take you, evolve you!" as he spoke, he tormented her with corrupting visions.