//------------------------------// // Chapter 31:The Storm // Story: Hearthfire The Sands Of Time // by Predman1227 //------------------------------// Chapter 31:The Storm (Summer Haze) “It’s too quiet out there.” Haze said to Sapphire, as they sat on an outside balcony, overlooking the village. From up here the long rang archers had a clear line of sight on the road outside the village. Well they would have had a clear line if it weren’t for the blizzard. But they could still see everything else. They could see a large group of solders standing on standby behind the gate, in case it was breached. Haze rubbed her shoulders for warmth but it was a little hard to do that since she and Sapphire were covered in light barding. Was a little tight around the neck but it was better than it being exposed to slashing claws and nashing teeth. Sapphire sighed heavily as she kept fiddling with the string of the bow she was given. Haze didn’t get one but she wasn’t bothered, she didn’t like weapons anyway and she always had her hoof blade if she ever needed it. What did bother her was the lack of chatter. Everypony was dead quiet and only the sound that broke the silence was the wind, but it also added to the eerie atmosphere. She decided to break the silence and asked Sapphire as she fiddled with her bow. “You know how to use that thing?” Sapphire was a little startled by Haze’s sudden question, just a little. She puffed out her chest as she held the bow upright. “Sure I do. What kind of question is that?” She had a silly look on her face and she giggled after a few seconds of Haze giving her a quizzical look. “Ok I’ll admit, I’m not very used to using one but I have used one before…when I was little…and it was a toy…but still close enough.” Haze smiled and shook her head. “Ok, whatever you say marks-mare, just don’t poke your eye out with one of those arrows.” Sapphire took in a deep breath as she leaned back and rested her head against the cold stone of the wall behind them. “I hate waiting.” Sapphire groaned as she continued to breath deeply. “Maybe…if you don’t think about it…it won’t be so bad.” Haze suggested, though she hardly believed her own words at this point. She had seen enough of the creatures they were going to face, to know this was going to be a blood bath. Question was, who’s blood was going to be spilt? Sapphire lifted her head off the wall to looked at Haze, her eyes dull from lack of sleep. “If only it were that simple.” Sapphire said glumly. She then looked around at the other ponies around them on the balcony. None of them were chatting and were just staring intensely out to the road outside the wall. “Wonder what they’re thinking right now?” Sapphire mussed. Haze had no idea what the soldiers around them could possibly be thinking at this moment. They were trained for this sort of stuff right, waiting for that first strike to happen. They looked ready, they looked calm, and maybe they weren’t even thinking about the battle that will ensue. Maybe, they were thinking of nice stuff like friends, family maybe their favourite food or hobbies. Haze knew what she wanted to do though, she wanted to go home. She answered Sapphire’s question. “Big, fluffy bunnies?” Sapphire gave her that ‘are you kidding me’ look and then started giggling softly. Haze smiled at that, finding comfort in the fact they could still make each other laugh even in times like these. “Yeah big fluffy bunnies with party hats.” “That is a brilliant idea.” Haze joked and they laughed some more till the doors beside them opened and a golden white Pegasus Mare in black and silver barding walked out with a huge wooden crate in her mouth. She placed it beside another box and turned to look at them. “You two Sapphire and Haze?” She asked, her eyes bright green. Haze and Sapphire looked at each other in confusion then back at the Mare. “Uh…yeah?” They both said at once. The Mare sat down on the lower box and unslung a fancy looking crossbow. She looked back at them as she pulled metal tools out of her pouches she had strapped to her armour. “My name is Sun Burst but you can call me Sunny. Your aunt Violet convinced me to look after you two while she’s preoccupied.” “You know Violet?” Haze asked Sunny. Sunny shook her head. “No, not really but she was very kind to me. She understands things and she made me realise that I can do more good up here than sitting in a cell doing nothing.” Haze just gave Sapphire a confused look and Sapphire just shrugged. “And besides…” Sunny continued. “It’s time for some pay back.” As she screwed on what looked like a stand for her crossbow, Sapphire suddenly got up and approached Sunny. “What kind of crossbow is that?” She asked, eying the design. “Never seen one like that before.” “It’s a Mark III lever action crossbow.” Sunny answered. “Far more effective than a normal crossbow, with much better accuracy, power and distance.” She finished screwing on some sort of scope, then she positioned herself so the weapon’s stand was on the balcony and it’s stock was straight up against her right shoulder. “Haze come over here and open this crate for me.” Sunny ordered and Haze was a little taken off guard but she did as she was told. She flipped off the locks and lifted the lid. Inside were hundreds of bolts. Sunny held out her free hoof, not taking her eyes off that scope. “Give me three.” Sunny ordered and Haze gave her three broad tipped bolts. She slid all three in one at a time into a slot under the weapon, and then pushed the lever forward once and the firing string auto primed. Then she put her free hoof on the stock and rested her right cheek on it and stayed that way. “When I’m out you keep giving me three at a time. You got that Haze?” Haze’s heart was actually starting to races as she nodded but Sunny repeated. “Haze do you understand what I’m saying?” “Y-yes!” Haze sputtered. “Yes ma’am.” Sunny took a deep breath and relaxed her whole body. “Relax Haze.” She whispered as she lined her weapon up so it was aiming passed the wall. “Just think about giving me those bolts and nothing else.” (Theran Razorblade) All was eerie silent on the wall. A few nervous gulps and heavy sighs here and there but apart from that, all was quiet. Teven had gone and made herself comfortable, sitting at one of the cuts in the wall and had set up her Wolven crossbow there. As for Theran and Sargent Buckwood they stayed side by side, staring out into hazy blackness. Even with his night-sight, Theran couldn’t see passed the fog the storm created and he was sure Teven was experiencing the same problem. The snow dinged off everyone’s armour as the strong winds blew around them and Theran was concerned the wind was going to play hell with the archer’s aim, but there were more than enough of them so accuracy wasn’t to much of a worry. He heard a spark and Theran flinched, but it was only Sargent Buckwood lighting a pipe. Theran wrinkled his nose as the smell of tobacco started to burn. “Do you have to?” Theran groaned, “Now is really not the time.” “Now is the best time.” Sargent Buckwood protested as he took a long drag and let out a relaxed exhale, smoke escaping his lungs. “If am gunna die, I want to go out relaxed.” Theran coughed and shook his head through the smell. “You’re one weird Stallion, I hope you realise that.” “It’s what my Mother kept telling me.” Sargent Buckwood smiled, “Always saying, Son…you’re gunna get in a party one day that you can’t handle. Maybe today…might be that day.” “We’ll get through this Sargent.” Theran stated with confidence but even he felt the hollowness of his own words. “We just have to make it through the night.” “May the Moon Goddess watch over us then.” Sargent Buckwood suggested. Time passed slowly, every single second long and weighing. Some of the soldiers were getting fidgety, tapping their hooves, fiddling with neck guards and passing idle chatter along the line. “I’m freezing.” One would say, or, “When is something gunna happen?” Or, “I really need a piss.” Theran too was getting restless, nothing had happened for a long while. He’d had enough of staring at the pitch-blackness so he looked to the Sargent. “Sargent, get some mage flares in the air, I want to be able to see what’s out there.” Sargent Buckwood nodded without question and yelled out. “Let’s get some flares in the air, light up that darkness!” A few seconds passed and then he saw some of the magi cast blue magic flares, sending them up in the air, for them to arch back down on the road ahead of the wall. They landed all around the road, eliminating the area and for a brief moment Theran wished he hadn’t requested it. Just out of the flare’s aura hundreds of cold dead eyes stared back at them. Many of the soldiers were taken aback by this surprise, gasping in fright. How had they not heard them approaching the wall, how had they been so quiet? It didn’t matter anymore, they were here and were only 100 meters from the gate. Tension began to rise as the bolters began to aim their crossbows. “Steady!” The Sargent shouted. “Hold fire, wait for the signal!” The Infected moved forward into the light, revealing their horrific features. “Hold!” Theran yelled as the infected picked up speed almost scuttling out of the dark. “Hold!” Right when the first wave broke into a sprint, Theran shouted at the top of his lungs. “FIRE!!!” As one the first row of bolters fired their weapons and released a hale of bolts. They rained down on the infected, some slumped, some stumbled and others flew back as the bolts impacted their rotten forms. As the stragglers ran for the gate, Theran and the other magi blasted them with lighting while the second row of bolters fried their weapons while the first row reloaded. The two rows kept this rhythm up, so there was a never-ending storm of bolts raining down on the infected. There were black shapes in the sky and when Theran looked up he realised they were flying infected, when the dots came screeching down toward the wall. But they were quickly shot out of the sky by the archers in the tower, the same tower Haze and Sapphire were. A dead flier came crashing down and bounced off the edge of the wall with a sickening crunch as it fell, added to the piling corpses on the other side. More and more infected poured in from the forest toward the wall and soon they were right up against it, trying to climb. “Fire the cannon!” Sargent Buckwood ordered. “Light um up!” There was a booming crack with a flash of bright light and a split second later there was another explosion as the darkness was briefly enveloped in a ball of fire, body parts and burning infected flew in all directions. The cannon kept firing, its fire team working tirelessly to load, prime and fire it again and again, sending all infected in its cross-airs to oblivion. Teven’s massive crossbow fired bolts so large that she could skewer many infected at once and the best part was, her bolts were explosive, as infected were blown apart by her shots. “HA HA Chew on that you rotten shrakhs!” Teven cheered as she pulled on the hand crank, tightening up the string again and readied another shot. The Infected were now clawing up the wall and the magi spammed their magic furiously to keep them at bay. But alas a few broke through. “Swords…!” Theran shouted as he drew his own weapon just in time to stab an infected right through the head as it tried to jump on Sargent Buckwood and he nodded to him in thanks. “Draw your swords!” He repeated as he kicked the dead freak off the wall. Many but not all the soldiers dropped their crossbows and pulled out their mouth-swords as the infected began to climb over the lip of the wall. With loud battle cries the soldiers lunged at their foes, swords cleaving through rotten flesh. As more climbed the wall, Theran chopped, cut and stabbed every infected within his reach, his sword dripping with infected blood. Sargent Buckwood had his own freaks to contend with but instead of using a weapon, he used his armoured hooves to bash, punch and pulverise them into meat past. In the mist of the battle Theran could hear some ponies scream and he only had a split second to see a soldier get thrown off the wall and into the swarm below, before he had to duck under a wild slash from another freak. The screams from down below sent sickening chills to Theran’s stomach but they were drowned out by the high-pitched screeches of the infected. The freak that was attacking him suddenly had a bolt embed itself in the creature’s skull and it garbled as it slumped off the edge. Theran looked back to where it came from and caught a hint of golden white in the tower. He waved in thanks toward the tower and another bolt came flying in to embed in another freak right behind him. “Right stay focused.” Theran thought as he turned and swiftly head-butted the same infected right in its own head, making the bolt sticking out disappear in its skull. From beside him, Teven sprang to her feet as an infected came climbing over the edge of the wall she was sat at and tried to take a swipe at her. But Teven had other ideas as a long sharp blade extended from the front of her crossbow and proceeded to plunge it deep into the infected’s face. Then with a snarl she fired her bolt point blank right into its skull and the impact sent it tumbling over the edge. A second later the bolt exploded, spitting up dirt, rock and body parts. Surprisingly to Theran the battle was going rather well despite the few loses of life and soon the fighting came to a standstill as every infected lay dead everywhere. Theran panted heavily as he looked around. Sargent Buckwood was leaning on the wall’s edge panting and covered in blood, Teven was loading her crossbow and the rest of the legion were catching their breaths. “Damn,” Sargent Buckwood panted as he put his back against the wall and sat down. “Ah haven’t fought that hard in years. I’m getting too old for this shit.” He stated as he brought out his pip and took a long drag from it. “They didn’t get passed your armour?” Theran asked. The Sargent shook his head, his barding clacking with his movement. “Naa, am good.” He grunted as he got back up, using the wall for support. “You think it’s over? Did we wreck these bastards?” Theran looked out onto the sea of corpses and saw nothing moving. “I dun know…looks like we did.” Theran felt a small smile started to play across his face but it quickly vanished when Teven pointed with a claw, out into the darkness. “Pack Leader look!” Theran followed to where she was pointing and for a moment he saw nothing. But then he saw something just beyond the flares. A set of glowing purple eyes with other purple lights, stepped into the glow of the flares. The figure was Equine in nature but stood on two legs and it didn’t looked like the infected, in fact it was covered from head to hoof in purple-black armour or some sort of body suit. The glow of its lights reflected of the mist of the storm, wafting in the dark like ghostly embers. Theran stared on in complete bewilderment, as did many of the soldiers at this…strange figure. There were other figures in the mist, figures of different shapes and sizes. Before Theran could grasp what he was seeing, he heard the sound of a crossbow string being fired and a split second later a bolt zipped passed the wall and headed for the strange new comers. It went straight for the dark purple figure and just when he thought it would hit its target, the blot bounced off an invisible shield. Dark energy surrounded the figure and at that moment, Theran new he was about to cast a powerful spell. At the last possible second, Theran threw up a bubble shield just as an ark of raw dark magic struck the wall and everything went black. (Lieutenant Sun Burst/Sunny) Sunny had been firing bolt after bolt into the disgusting horde and picking off flyers in the sky. Everything her scope crossed, fell with a bolt right between the eyes. Haze had been doing a good job so far, keeping up with her demand for more bolts whenever she ran out. Sapphire wasn’t half a bad shot either, she had put down a few freaks on the wall and even took out a flyer. Bolt after bolt, reload after reload the wall finally became silent as the last of the freaks fell. She finally took her eye away from the scope of her crossbow and let out a well needed exhale. She looked too Haze, who looked about ready keel over and Sapphire wasn’t far off either. They were exhausted and Sunny didn’t blame them but something felt off to Sunny. This battle had been too easy, was Theran’s tactics that flawless or was something else going on, something they hadn’t for seen. She soon got her answer when one of the spotters called out “Look!” Sunny looked out onto the battlefield and saw something glowing just beyond the flares. She looked down her scope and a cold chill went up her spine. A dark figure in purple-black armour walked slowly into view and Sunny was confused at first as to who this was. But then her heart sank when a thought came to mind. “No…” After what she had witnessed in the tunnels, after seeing the horrors those dark beings could do, there was no doubt in her mind and it shook her to her core. “It can’t be…that’s impossible!” She put two and two together and tears began to escape her eyes. “K-Kyl?” There was no doubt, that the pony in that armour was Kyl and he was working for them now. The thought brought rage to Sunny’s mind and without thinking she lined up her cross-air with his head and let loose a bolt. It flew through the air, passed the wall and Sunny’s eyes widened in surprise when the bolt bounced off an invisible barrier. Then out of the blue a bright flash came, followed by an explosion that destroyed the top of the middle of the wall, right above the gate. Right where Theran was. The shockwave that hit the tower set everypony falling off their hooves and Sunny found herself laying on her back, staring up at the storm covered sky. Her ears rang with pain and all sound was muffled. Her mind spun as she lifted her heavy head off the wooden floor and tried to sit up. When her head cleared she noticed Haze and Sapphire looked ok but a little shaken up, as were the rest of the archers. She wanted to be sure though so she asked. “Ar-are you two alright?” Her hearing was still muffled and all she could see was their mouths moving. “What?” Sunny asked rubbed one ear. “I can’t hear you!” Before she could stand something suddenly shot out of the darkness and struck many of the archers that were standing. The impacts sent their bodies either slamming into the wall of the tower or sent them tumbling off it. Spike like quills protruded out of the gaps in the dead archer’s barding and Sunny covered her head as more came shooting out of the darkness. She could just start to hear the thuds of the impacts and the screams of Haze and Sapphire as they too took cover. When there was a pause in the barrage, Sunny looked out into the dark stormy sky and saw a flying figure in the shadows. As another barrage hit the tower, impaling surviving archers, Sunny rolled to her hooves, grabbed her crossbow took aim and fired her last bolt at the airborne assassin just as a quill imbedded in her left shoulder. It torn right through her shoulder guard and the impact sent her spinning off her hooves and landed on her back again. Pain knifed through her shoulder and spread through out her body as she yelled in torment. She still had a grip on her crossbow when she was suddenly being dragged away back into the tower’s stairwell and found it was Haze and Sapphire. Sapphire slammed the door shut while Haze knelt beside Sunny. “Get it out!” Sunny yelled as the pain continued to burn like acid under her skin. Haze didn’t hesitate as she gripped the quill and yanked it out. She whaled in pain with her mouth clamped shut and took deep breaths when the pain finally began to ease off but was still there, pulsing through her veins. She coughed and shivered as cold sweat trickled down her face. “What’s wrong with her?” Sapphire asked and Sunny was able to hear her now. “I don’t know.” Haze said as she put a hoof on Sunny’s head, “She’s burning up.” Haze then picked up the quill and examined it. She sniffed then touched it with the tip of her tong and almost gaped as she spat frantically. “Toxin,” Haze stated as she threw it away. “It’s coated in toxin, probably like a bee sting but much bigger.” “Leave me…” Sunny managed to sputter through the pain. “Find your aunt…and get out of here.” “Like hell we are!” Sapphire stated as she slung her bow to her back. “You’re getting up.” “But…” Sunny tried to say but Haze shut her up. “We’re not going without you.” They both helped her up and both supported her as they made their way down the stairwell. (Teven) All she could hear was a high pitched ringing sound and when she opened her red eyes she was seeing double. Then her vision cleared and her hearing came back to her. “Ah shrakh!” Teven swore as she took in her what was happening around her. She was on her stomach and there were legion soldiers running around in confused panic. She pushed herself to her knees slowly, checking for any broken bones. None seemed to be damaged to her relief. Go thing Theran cast that spell or they would have been fried corpses. Speaking of which, where was Theran? From where she was she guessed they had been thrown from the wall and when she looked up at it she noticed the top where they had been standing had been completely destroyed but at least the gate was still intact. Sargent Buck wood was nowhere to be found and nether was Theran. She couldn’t see where her crossbow had gone as she stood to her full size, stretching and cracking her stiff limbs. Just when she was about to go find Theran something exploded and when she looked up at the wall she witnessed the cannon erupt into flames and watched its loading team fall screaming on fire to their deaths. She saw a hint of blue scales in the darkness atop the wall but her attention was torn away when she heard a pained scream from somewhere behind her. She turned to see a massive lizard that looked like an Ophlidite, carve through many legion soldiers with two massive axes. It then used its huge snake mouth to clamp down on a unfortunate soldier and watched as the Mare got shook like a ragdoll then thrown away into a stone wall. Teven unsheathed her sword and warhammer and howled to the sky, catching the attention of the snake thing. “Come on!” Teven taunted as she readied herself. “Show me what you got you shrakh faced little shrakh!” (Theran Razorblade) Theran’s eyes fluttered open and the first thing he felt was a throbbing pain in his skull. His vision was blurred and his hearing was muffled. It took a few seconds for his mind to stop spinning and when it did he found himself laying on a pile of rubble and brick, with a massive hole in the roof of the building he was in. The blast had been so powerful, even with the protective shield, Theran and the others near him still went flying off the wall and it must of sent him crashing into this building. His vision came back to him fairly quickly but his ears were still ringing as he slowly and stiffly got up. Dust and bits of brick fell off his body as he got to all fours and let out a breath. Nothing felt broken but he may have a few fractures here and there. He could finally hear again and what he heard chilled his stomach. He limped over to a window and looked outside. Teven and the legion soldiers that had been on standby were now engaged with a massive snake creature, wielding two large battle-axes with blade tips on the top. It was cleaving through the soldiers like they were made of paper and Teven was barely dodging its attacks as it swung its weapons with surprising speed for its size. He had to get down there and help. He had no idea how that thing got in but he wasn’t going to stand by and watch it slaughter ponies…and Teven. He pushed away from the widow and just as he was about to leave the room he found his sword pocking out of some rubble and quickly retrieved it. Then he rushed down some stairs, reached the bottom floor and kicked through a wooden door to the outside. Just as he exited the building, he witnessed the soldiers on the wall all get cut in half, right through their midsections by some invisible force. Then he saw it, reflections of see-through blades in the air and a tall, slender, black and white Unicorn Mare in a black rode was manipulating them. She stood on the wall and with simple gestures of her forehooves she made the blades cut through the remainder of the soldiers on the wall, not leaving one alive. Then the blades came back and circled around her. For a moment she stood there idle, then she looked in his direction. Her eyes were like a lizard’s and they glowed bright blue as she dully stared at him. Then she tapped something on her left foreleg and a dark purple portal appeared beside her and without so much as an expression she vanished into it. “What the hell?” Theran questioned in confusion. His thoughts were interrupted however, when something from behind him let out a disturbingly delighted squeal and landed on top of him, sending him face first into the snow covered ground. “Excuse me, you know where I can find the main gate?” A squeaky high-pitched feminine voice asked from on top of his head. “Oh wait FOUND IT!!!” She jumped off of him and unsympathetically walked off. Theran lifted his dazed head off the ground to see who landed on him and was confused to find a two-legged, Dragon looking blue lizard in miss-mash gear, stroll up to the gate. She had these little metal balls attached to her outfit and at random detached a few with her hands, blew blue fire on them and tossed them in any direction. As she danced toward the gate the little balls exploded into huge, colourful fireballs that destroyed windows, threw soldiers up in the air and set fire to every building the flames touched. She laughed like a child as she spun and stopped right at the gate. She rotated her right hand over her left hand in front of her and a ball of blue energy formed in her palm. Then with a made look in her purple eyes she fused it to the gate and then skipped away as it caved in and then erupted into hundreds of splinters. She then patted herself down, wiping away bits of wood, and then pulled a tubular device from her back and skipped off. Theran got to his hooves dizzily, when another portal appeared in front of him and a tall, red armoured Wolven male came through it. His menacing green eyes instantly locked onto Theran and with lighting speed he kicked Theran right in his chest plate, sending him flying backward onto the ground again and knocking the wind out of him. He ground to a halt two meters away and coughed loudly as his lungs refilled themselves. He looked up at the red Wolven calmly approaching him and noticed in the background the blue Dracony blast away a building with her tube like weapon. The Wolven stopped and made a welcoming gesture. “Mind if I cut in?” He asked with a cocky tone in his voice. He was a lot shorter than Teven but had more refined muscles, a sign that this was a much older Wolven. He also had a strange looking silver right arm that had a large shoulder guard on it. Despite his exhausted, Theran recovered enough to spring to his hind hooves and thrust his sword right for the Wolven’s throat. With sudden and unexpected speed, the Wolven backhanded his blade aside with his left paw and thrust his right “hand” for Theran’s throat. He connected and grasped Theran’s jugular with such force it made Theran’s eyes bulge from under his helmet. The Wolven then lifted Theran up above his head, a full meter off the ground and held him there. Theran gaged and gasped for air before he was violently slammed back to earth, his armour absorbing most of the force. Every bone in his body ached and his head was spinning as he dizzily began to stand again. The Wolven chuckled as he backed up. “You’re a resilient one.” The Wolven commented, a smile forming behind his metal mask. Theran stood and this time took up his combat stance. “Oh that’s good, why that’s very good…yes, I like that!” Theran scowled at the Wolven. “Who are you?” Theran questioned. “Who sent you?” The Wolven chuckled again as he gripped the hilt of a sword attached to his belt. “The names Jack and who sent me is irrelevant since I don’t get paid enough to talk.” He slowly pulled his blade from its sheath, red lightning sparking off its surface as it slid free. The blade made a dull ringing sound as its long, curved tip left its home and held it in a relaxed, one-handed posture, allowing Theran to see it clearly. The blade was long, steel coloured and had a perfect curve along its spine with a jagged edge at its hilt. It gleamed in the glow of the fire around them and while the fighting of Teven and that big lizard thing raged on, Jack calmly took up a two handed stance. Placing one foot forward, one foot back and pointing his weapon straight at Theran. He spoke again and he sounded strangely excited. “All I want is a dance. Can you give that to me?” Theran blocked out everything around him and locked his gaze onto his opponent. He then stepped to the side slowly and the Jack imitated his action. Soon they were circling each other, the wind and snow blowing around them, the crunch of snow beneath them and the smell of destruction filled their lungs, as they glared into one another’s eyes. Theran shifted his stance slightly, gripping his blade’s hilt with two hooves and angled it to his right. Jack did the same, readjusting his stance to match Theran’s. They did this for a few moments, guessing one another’s moves and were they will make their first strike. Theran breathed slow and calm as did Jack as their breath filled the cold air in front of them. Jack then lifted his blade up high and Theran saw his opening. His boots kicked up dirt and snow as he lunged forward and thrust straight for Jack’s stomach plates. But Theran realised he had made a grave mistake when he realised Jack had fainted his stance, when his own blade came down in a curving parry, directing the tip of Theran’s sword off too his left. Jack then slammed his left shoulder into Theran’s exposed face and dazed him as metal clanged on metal. Then in a fluid motion Jack two handed his blade’s hilt and did a lighting fast downward strike, leaving Theran barely enough time to bring his guard up. Their blades connected with a flash of red and Theran was rocked back from the shear force. Before Jack got a chance to make another attack, Theran recovered his balance and rolled away from him. Theran then righted himself and examined his sword. He was horrified to find Jack had taken a chip out of his blade. How was that possible? His blade was near unbreakable, it had never been damaged in all the time he had had it but now, was the first time it had ever been spoiled. He looked up from his blade to Jack, who was just waiting there, with a smug look in his eyes. Anger bubbled in Theran’s mind but he composed himself as Jack suddenly came at him, swinging quickly from left to right, testing Theran’s defences. Theran deflected the light blows and attempted to counter attack but Jack grabbed Theran’s right wrist and bashed him in his face again with his sword hilt. Theran was staggered again and only hand enough time to block another downward stroke and their blades stayed connected as Jack leaned in. “Hmmm not bad, you dance pretty well for a Equine…wait, your eyes…ah a Wolfkin, that explains how well you fight…but there’s something missing…something I can’t quite put my claw on.” They separated with a quick shove and Jack got a quick cut in to Theran’s stomach plate. The blade bit through his plate and cut a swallow wound in Theran’s flesh. The pain sparked his anger and he smacked Jack right in his face-mask with the handle of his sword. Theran then spate fire from his left hoof in attempt to melt Jack’s armour but he did something unexpected. He used his sword to block the incoming fire and seemed to, absorb it. Then to Theran horror, Jack’s blade was now on fire and he had taken zero damage. “Ah, now I see...” Jack said as he spun his blade. “You deny your animal side its purpose.” With his roaring blade of fire, Jack spun his sword into a flurry of powerful downward strokes, each strike melting and chipping away at Theran’s sword. Then Jack spun on the spot and delivered an underarm slash right for Theran’s face and the tip of his burning blade carved right through his helmet and across his right eye. Theran screamed in agony as his eye burned and ruptured, leaving him half blinded. He fell to one knee and held his free hoof to his fried eye. “Your inner beast screams to be free…” Jack said as he paced in front of Theran. “It wants to feed on the blood of your enemies tear them apart, but you hold it back, cage it,” Jack stopped and pointed at him. “Let your rage out, let out the beast within and strike me with all your heart!” Theran stayed silent for a moment as the pain stultified into a dull throb, Then slowly got back to his hind hooves and looked Jack in the eye. “No, I’ll never be like you, I won’t allow it.” The fire in Jack’s eyes faded away as he let out a disappointed sigh with a slight sake of his head. “Pity.” He whispered as he ran his paw along his blade and put out the fire surrounding it. “Such a pity.” There was a pool of blood near Jack’s feet and he stabbed his blade into it. Theran watched in confused surprise as the blade began to turn red and spark with powerful energy. “Blood magic,” Theran thought with dread. “His sword is enchanted with blood magic.” Jack pulled his blade free from the ground, spun in his hand and charged at Theran. With his wrecked sword, Theran desperately parried Jack’s flurry of left, right slashes not ever trying to counter. He was too fast, too strong. Their duel had taken away from Teven and the massive lizard since Theran had to back up frantically. That blade seemed to have amped up his rate of attack, giving Theran no time to think. He tried a kinetic blast and it seemed to work as Jack staggered back. This was his chance, Jack was wide open. Theran took the risk and came in for a two-hoofed overhead blow for Jack’s skull. Time seemed to slow as Theran realised something. In his off balance spin, Jack had sheathed his blade and halted with his legs spread apart. Theran was too late to realise his error when Jack unsheathed his sword with blinding speed. He could only watch as the blade cut through the air, slicing through snowflakes and gleaming in its blood red hue before it cut right through Theran’s sword. He watched numbly as half his sword fell to the ground with a low dung and didn’t even see Jack’s second follow up attack as he made a downward stroke and severed Theran’s right arm from his shoulder. Time sped back up as Theran fell to the ground, his mind a blur of pain and confusion. (Violet) The armour she wore was heavier than she would have liked but it was necessary for their current situation. Ponies were pouring out of the back of the village, coming out their homes with what they could carry. Mares, Stallions, Foals, the young and old were frantically rushed out of the gates that led to the mountain pass and all flinched and screamed when explosions sounded off in the distance. She could feel the ground shake beneath her hooves with every explosion and her eyes darted around as her heart increased in beat. “Come on!” A soldier was yelling orders to the crowed of scared ponies. “Keep it steady, no rushing!” Violet wasn’t going with the crowd. She was looking around for anypony that needed a hoof or spot something that might be a threat. That was her job but nothing felt right. She wasn’t a soldier even though she was dawned in their armour. All these orders that where being shouted around just confused Violet and she started to feel her head spin. She had to sit down and get a hold of herself, breathing slowly and deeply. Oddly she felt sick and she didn’t know why, she was normally good under pressure but right now she felt off. The explosions had stopped and the sounds of battle faded away. Was it over? Had Theran won? Violet looked up from where she was sitting and looked across the darkness to the wall. It was strangely silent, no cheering at all. Then there was a massive flash of bright purple light and then a split second later the earth shook as a massive explosion erupted from the middle of the wall, just above the gate. The tremor caused Violet to fall to her side and in the armour it felt like a brick was on top of her. Growling in frustration she pushed herself back into a sitting position and watched as the crowds began to panic and rush for the gate. Some of the more slower villagers lagged behind to help those who had been pushed or fallen over and one such villager towing a wagon helped Violet up. “You alright Sir?” The Earth pony stallion asked and Violet huffed when he called her a Sir. “I’m not a dud I’m a girl!” Violet stated, “But thanks.” “Sorry Ma’am, couldn’t tell with all that barding ya wearin.” He said apologetically. “It’s fine.” Violet stated. Screams could be heard with low dull impacts coming from the tower. “The Tower…” Violet thought as horror began to fill her mind. “Haze, Sapphire there’re up there!” Without saying anything else other than a frightened gasp, Violet darted off for the Tower. She didn’t get far when she noticed at the corner of her eye, a pony shaped figure lurking in the shadows near the crowd. When Violet focused her vision she realised the pony wasn’t a pony at all. The Mare looking thing had black scales, white hair and a lizard like tail. And her eyes glowed a deep orange and that’s when she noticed something familiar about those eyes. They looked like an Ophlidite’s. Violet’s deep hatred for those lizard bastards bubbled to the surface and her rage increased when she noticed the familiar black gear wore by those thugs called Black Sun. she charged forward, rage burning in her eyes. The Ophlidite pony had something round and ball like held in her clawed grasp. A bomb. She had no idea what was in the bomb but it didn’t matter since the pony didn’t get a chance to set it off, when Violet collided into her. They both slammed right into and through the brick wall the pony was crouched by and rolled over one another as rubble and dust flew all around them. Violet landed on top and quickly punched this pony right in her scaly face a few times, before she grabbed Violet by the wrist and swiped a clawed hand at her head. The blow caused no damaged do to her armour but the blow did send her off the pony and they both stood glaring at each other. The Ophlidite pony hissed and bared her fangs while Violet stayed cool and stared down her opponent. “Foolish Equine!” The pony hissed. “You dare challenge me!?” Before Violet could make a retort, the pony stood on her hind legs and swiftly pulled some throwing knives from the straps on her chest plate and threw them at her. Violet had no time to react as she took the assault of blades. They all pinged off her armour and Violet drew her sword as the lizard pony leaped through the air toward her. Violet quickly formed a defensive stance as the Ophlidite freak came down on her with a flurry of savage attacks with her claws and Violet deflected all of them. She made a quick flick with her sword and scored a hit on the pony’s right cheek, shedding her dark green blood. The pony staggered back and clutched her cheek in discomfort. She stared at Violet in stunned shock as she took her hand away from her cheek and looked at her blood covered claws. “What’s the matter?” Violet taunted, “Pony got your tong?” In a fit of rage the pony roared and charged at Violet. They collided once more and the pony pined Violet to a wall. They fought for control as Violet stopped her from sticking her claws in her eyes while the pony kept Violet from stabbing her with her sword. Violet moaned and groaned with effort, this pony was stronger than she looked. “But so am I!” Violet thought she pushed against her opponent and flipped their positions. Now the Ophlidite pony was up against the wall and Violet proceeded to slam her hand again and again into the wall, till something on her wrist flashed with a beeping sound. A portal opened right beside them and Violet jumped out of her skin when it flashed into existence. This gave the pony a chance to knock Violet to the floor and tried to pounce on her, but Violet had other ideas. With her hind legs, Violet kicked the lizard like pony into the portal and it vanished in an instant, taking the pony with it. Violet panted as she stared at the space the portal had once been. “Yeah…this foolish Equine just kicked your ass.” She said to herself as she got back to her hooves, sheathed her sword and exited the building. As she exited the hole in the wall she saw what she had been hoping to see. Haze and Sapphire where helping what looked like Sunny, onto a waiting cart. She was overjoyed to see Haze unharmed and Sapphire too but before she got a chance to move she heard a pained howl. It sounded like Teven. Violet turned and looked out on the next street. From here she could see the front gate and it had been destroyed, fire raged through the street and saw Teven dragging herself away from this massive lizard thing that looked like another Ophlidite hybrid. She couldn’t see Theran anywhere at the moment as she ran to aid Teven. She knew she wasn’t going to make it in time when she saw the lizard raise one of its large axes to make a final blow. Her armour was pissing her off now that when she was in range she stood on her hind legs, grabbed her right shoulder guard and detached it as she threw it at the lizard. The plate hit it in the back of the head and it twisted its long neck around to glare at her. Violet was already drawing her weapon as it turned it body and swung its axe as it did. Violet ducked under the attack in her charge and jumped right into it, slamming her left shoulder right into its ribs. Teven had to roll out the way as Violet and the giant lizard fell to the ground. While on to of it, Violet reversed her grip on her sword and tried stabbing it right in the lizard’s chest but its skin was thicker than she first thought as the tip went nowhere. Dread filled Violet’s mind as it became clear she couldn’t hurt this thing and her horror increased ten fold when it suddenly clamped its massive snakemouth over half her torso and lifted her up in the air. Terror filled her mind as she was shaken like a ragdoll, bits of her armour flying off in every direction. Then it threw her away and she slammed into and wall with enough force to make her vision flash. She fell to the ground in a metal heap dazed and confused. She lay there for a moment, her ears ringing. Then she forced herself to stand, head still spinning. She had lost her helmet and her chest plate. Her head was pounding. She shook her head to try and clear it, to no avail. But her vision cleared up and what she saw shocked her. Theran was laying on the ground with his right arm missing and a Wolven in red armour standing over him. The sight of him on the ground, bleeding and in pain sparked a new rage in Violet so strong she didn’t realise she was running at the Wolven till she was right at him. The Wolven seemed surprised as he turned to face her too late as she drove her sword right into his right arm. It sparked with electric energy as it spasumed to the point he dropped his blood red sword. He didn’t take kindly to that as he brought the pad of his left paw straight down on the flat of her blade, snapping it in half. She stared gob smacked at her broken weapon for a moment before the Wolven backhanded her right in her unarmoured face. She fell to the ground on her belly, all her energy sapped in one blow. She moaned as she tried to push herself to her hooves but the Wolven grabbed her at the back of her neck with his right hand and lifted her up in the air. He turned her in his grasp to face him, bitter anger in his green eyes. Violet spat on his face-mask and tried to kick his stomach but his armour took blows. While he held her he pulled out the half blade in his arm and held in in his grasp. Violet scowled at him as she slapped his face-mask. He gave her a lust filled glare for a moment, before he drove the broken blade through her rib cage and deep into her chest. Violet’s eyes widened in surprise and as the sharp pain froze every muscle in her body and she let out a strained gasp. She didn’t take her eyes off the Wolven’s, not for a second, not even when she tasted blood in her mouth. Then he gently let her go and she flopped onto her back, paralyzed and confused. (Theran Razorblade) Theran’s world seemed to stop as he watched as Jack drove the half of Violet sword into her chest and how he let her fall to the ground. The shock and confusion in her eyes sparked a pain like no other in Theran’s heart as time resumed its normal speed and Jack flexed his damaged limb. Theran didn’t even notice the other invaders come up to Jack. The Blue Dracony girl and the massive lizard stood there waiting for Jack as he bent down and picked up his sword. The redness had faded away and he flicked it once to get the blood of it and then calmly sheathed it. He let out a deep, disappointed sigh as he said to his comrades. “We’re done here.” Theran didn’t notice them vanish in their dark portals, didn’t notice the fires burning or the other bodies around him. All he could see was Violet’s trembling form and the half blade that stuck out of her chest. Pain left his mind as he dragged himself one armed and bleeding out, toward her. “No…” Theran stammered as he finally got to her and sat up beside her. Her eyes were fluttering and her breathing was ragged. There was so much blood weeping out in between the blade in her chest, it was running down onto the ground. “Vi stay with me,” Theran pleaded as real liquid tears fell from his eyes, mixing with the blood coming from his ravaged eye. Violet coughed weakly as her eyes shakily found his. When she spoke her voice sounded strained and in a lot of pain. “I…screwed up…didn’t I…just my luck huh?” She swallowed hard and took in a shallow breath. “Just…had to be…your angel…in…shining armour…well…so…to speak…” Theran cradled her head with his only remaining forehoof, his voice crocking and cracking as he sobbed. “Just…just save your energy…ok Vi? Just hold on.” Theran’s mind was swimming with emotion, so many thoughts were running through his head. He couldn’t heal her, her wound was too great and too deep. He thought of removing the blade shard but it was embedded right where her heart was. Panic started to seep in his mind, he didn’t know what to do. “Have…you ever…just…looked at the stars?” Violet asked in a delirious way. “What?” Theran asked, his mind clouded with emotion and blood lose. “The stars Theran…” She repeated as she stared straight up at the night sky. “You never just…look at them…” Theran Looked up and noticed for the first time that the sky had cleared and her could see thousands of stars filling up the night sky. It was a beautiful sight. “That’s one thing…I’ll miss…but…I’ll miss spending time…with you…more.” He shook his head as he looked down at her once more. He could feel her slipping away. “No no, Vi don’t…don’t talk like that…I’m…I’m gunna fix this, don’t you worry...you’re…you’re go…ing…to be…alright…I…I promise.” Violet’s gaze finally locked on with his, Her gaze a light amongst the darkness. She surprisingly smiled at him with her blood stained lips, reached up with a shaking hoof and touched his left side of his face plate. “Don’t…make a girl a promise…if…you know…you can’t…keep…it…” Then the flame in her eyes withered, “I’m…sorry…” She whispered with a gasp. Her expression hardened as she fought to stay awake, tears escaping her eyes as she tried to stay with him but then her face softened and her whole body relaxed. She closed her eyes and her hoof went slack as it slid away from Theran’s face and hit the muddy, blood socked ground. “NO…” Theran wept as he touched her face. “Don’t close your eyes damnit, don’t…don’t do this to me…” There was no reply, she was…gone. “Don’t leave me alone.” He hung his head low, grief overwhelming his mind. The weight and the emotional pain was too great. He screamed, a long grief stricken howl that pierced through the heavens. He continued to scream for several more moments before his screams faded into grief stricken sobs. He knew this would happen, all the hope she had given him, the feeling of being alive, would be taken away from him. He knew this…and ignored it. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried like this, forgot how sharp the pain was, cutting deeper than any blade ever could. Theran’s cold, empty heart quickly filled with burning hate, a hate he hadn’t felt in a long, long time, as he stared down at Violet’s still body. “Pack Leader!” Teven came limping over to him and collapsed to one knee. She stared at Violet’s still form with shock in her red eyes. “Oh claws through my fur, is…is she…” “Don’t say it.” Theran stated in a low threatening tone. “Don’t you dare.” Teven was bleeding, her stomach had a long gash along it, but it was superficial, nothing she couldn’t handle. “Your arm!!” Teven yelled in concern and she was about to reach over to him when he slapped her paw away. She was taken aback by this action but Theran didn’t care, he only had one last worry on his mind. “Forget me…find Haze and Sapphire and…do what ever you see necessary to get them out alive.” He glared into her eyes and she flinched when she saw them burning red. “That’s an order Teven. By whatever means you get them out of here and take them far away, anywhere I don’t care. After that you follow Haze, protect her and do whatever she tells you. Swear you will look after her. SWEAR IT!!!” Teven scrambled to her feet and nodded frantically. “Yes I swear, by my gods and yours I swear it…but…Theran…” “GO!!!” Theran shouted. “RUN…RUN AND DON’T COME BACK!!!” Teven almost fell over as she ran off holding her belly, while Theran staggered to his hind legs and held the stump that was once his arm. Anger, hate and a sense of pure animal fury fill his mind as power began to build within him. As his horn glowed a bright blood red, all the blood of the fallen began to float in the air around him, all except Violet’s, he would dare not touch her own even in his blind rage. A voice inside his head spoke and he shivered as it licked the inside of his ears. “Rage…” It said as the blood began to circle around him. “Rage, against the dying of the light.” He heard something behind him and slowly turned to see the figure in purple black armour standing 10 meters away from him. He stood there, scythe like axes in his hooves and staring at him with pure dark energy emanating from his body. All the blood in the area, pure and infected poured into Theran’s wound and he screamed as his entire body burn from the inside out. Red pulsing veins formed along his body, all the way to his face. His teeth grow in size, claws jutted out of his hooves and his eyes, both of them burned with pure red hatred. The blood going into his wound formed into a snake like tendril and it writhed and coiled around him. His vision now fully restored, allowed him to see any living thing and all he could see was the pony in front of him. Theran let out a blood chilling animal roar and charged at the one target he swore to destroy. (Teven) Teven panted and limped her way to the back of the village in a frantic hurry. She could sense what was about to happen and every instanced in her body screamed run. Bits of her armour were missing including her helmet and she was bleed from the gash on her belly but it would not slow her down. She was surprised to find them wondering near some building, obviously looking for Theran and Violet. She was relieved to see them alive at any rate and they noticed her approach. “Teven?!” Haze yelled out as she rushed up to her. “What happened to you?” Teven brought up a paw to stop them from going any further. “Never mind my wounds, we have to leave…now.” She stopped and hunched over as exhaustion came over her. As she gasped for air, Haze looked around in confusion and asked. “Where’s Theran? Where’s Violet?” Teven shook her head. “Never mind that…we have to leave…” Haze didn’t seem to hear her as she tried to wonder passed her. Teven firmly put a paw on Haze’s chest and pushed her back. “You do not…want to go back there… it is…not safe.” Haze stared at her eyes and hunted for the truth in them. “What’re not telling me?” Teven couldn’t hide a pain a sorrow in her eyes and Haze realised what was going on. “No…no, no, no,…Violet…” She tried to go passed Teven again as she screamed. “NO…VIOLET!!!” This wasn’t going well, they had to escape right now and Teven did the only thing she knew would work. She grabbed hold of Haze, wrapped an arm around her throat and applied pressure. Haze’s eyes widened in surprise as she struggled to escape her hold, but soon her eyes roll back and she fainted. “WHAT THE FUCK!!!???” Sapphire yelled in shock, “You…what the…” Teven wasted no time explaining as she threw Haze over her shoulder and ran, forcing Sapphire to chase after her. They ran passed the gates, passed the last of the Legion and into the mountain pass. “I am sorry little Haze.” Teven thought as she ran. “I truly am.” (Kyl) This pony attacked Kyl with so much hate and blind rage he had to stay on the tips of his hooves as he ducked and evaded his attacks. “Blood magic?” Kyl thought as he effortlessly deflected the incoming mass of blood, “Very powerful very dangerous.” He too knew this dark art, and it was easy for him to just push aside the mass of red and confront this senseless pony directly. But this pony wasn’t done, with a roar of defiance and set the mass of blood to the buildings and Kyl was actually surprised when he used the blood to rip the building apart. Now armed with large chunks of stone and brick he hurled them at Kyl and he to used raw magic energy to cut through the masses of debris heading his way. The pony seemed to be struggling as he fell to one knee, overwhelmed by his own power. Probably sensing he had no chance in winning, he used the last of his strength to use the parts of destroyed buildings to bring down the mountain pass, filling it up with rubble and rock. All the blood in the air and around them then suddenly splashed to the ground since there was nothing directing it anymore and now the pony was defenceless. Kyl gripped him in his magic and held him in the air. He was still writhed and thrashed around like an animal in a net. Kyl set him on fire and he screamed in agony as he burned alive. Kyl cared little for his pain though and to be rid of this accursed sound he used his magic and threw him far and high into the sky, away from the village and into the forest. Now only silence filled the air around him and he let out a deep sigh. He took in the destruction around him. “Just like Snow Rock.” He thought as his gaze finally fell onto the body of the Mare that had caused that pony’s outburst. He holstered his weapons and knelt beside her. Such a strange thing, how ones passion for another can lead to such power and destruction. With his magic he made a white rose appear in his hoof, a habit he had developed now and placed it on her blood stained chest. He then looked up from the Mare to the mountains. They would have to clear the passage if they wanted to get through and that would take time, but no matter. His task was complete once more and this war, had only just begun.. (Stat System) Theran Razorblade: Strength: 90 Endurance: 125 Intelligence: 82 Agility: 108 Perks: (Blood Rage)(Combat Expert)(Quick healer) (Keen senses)(Sneaker)(Strong back)(Magic expert) (Cheese lover)(Heavy fit)(Quick reflexes)(Immortal) (Pack Leader)(Lightning Rod) Violet: Strength: … Endurance: … Intelligence: … Agility: … Perks: (Survivor)(Swordsmen)(Strong back)(Strong Stomach) (Head strong)(Stallion killer)(Swift knife)(Quick reflexes) (Battle Rage) (Strong willed) (Unbreakable bond)(Head Hunter) Summer Haze: Strength: 36 Endurance: 60 Intelligence: 82 Agility: 36 Perks: (Shape shifter)(Love sense)(Natural healer)(Book Junky) (Cookie monster)(Survival instincts)(Heavy sleeper)(Magic deflect) (Quick reflexes)(Cannon ball kick) (Love syphon)(Adrenalin Rush) Sapphire: Strength: 39 Endurance: 50 Intelligence: 74 Agility: 40 Perks: (Hot head)(Heavy hoofed)(Light weight)(Sneaker)(Rebel at heart) (Two heads)(Fast Flier) (Lover’s strength)(Sharp Eye) Teven: Strength: 160 Endurance: 210 Intelligence: 60 Agility: 70 Perks: (Battle Born)(Blood Rage)(Keen Senses)(Berserker) (Duel Wielder)(Savage Blow)(Pain Lover)(Charger)(Deviant) (Exile)(Paws or Death)(Loyal Servant)