Brotherhood is Magic

by GauntletsofRai

Brother NightClaw

Brother Nightclaw stood concealed in shadow atop the crude stone dais where the Moon Brothers' meetings were held. He looked down proudly at his now formidable pack of wargs in their human form. He had trained them well in the ways of the warg. Many of them came to him no more than boys and low-life thugs, but he had made them into hardened soldiers and ferocious warriors of the night. But more than that, he had given them a new and glorious purpose.

He could remember the days when he would sit in his filthy rags in that retched town of Manesburrow, wasting away miserably. How he HATED that city. Always pushed around by those bigger than him, and treated worse than an animal. He was so very happy that he had left it, once and for all, to take residence in the thick mountain woods where prey roamed free and easy for the hunt. But none of it could have been possible if it weren't for his dark and powerful Queen of the Night!

She had found him, a dirty and thin little wisp of retched misery, and spoke sweet promises into his ears. She promised power beyond the reach of any mortal man, and an army of brothers in his cause. And he had happily agreed.

He remembered the thrill of adventure as she led him into deep and unknown caverns to find a treasure beyond value. A beautiful crescent moon that shone like milky glass that had given him the power of the wolf was now his greatest treasure. All she had asked in return for this valuable prize was his everlasting loyalty. And what a price!

He had known this Queen must be extremely powerful to know of such treasures, but he had seen first-hand tonight that he truly was part of the greatest army in Equestria! Almost one hundred even wargs, each with the strength of two men and equipped with razor sharp claws and teeth, with the added bonus of the Queen's own personal Night Guards, and lead by her newest and most capable General? Who would stand a chance against such a force?

Sure, it might be true that eleven of his new recruits had perished at the hands of some strange passersby, but General Nightshade had assured him that they would not have the pleasure again anytime soon. If those same passersby decided to arrive tonight, they were in for one hell of a party.

A rustle of the bushes alerted him to the General's arrival. He took his place at the head of the dais and raised out his arms, his black wolf's pelt draping over his shoulders. The gathering of wargs fell silent at his presence. He waited a moment for dramatic pause. "The Moon Brothers have gathered in their strongest numbers tonight! The night is dark and perilous!"

The group of wargs responded in unison to his incantation. *The moon will guide us in her strength!*

"My brothers of the night, we have with us a very special guest tonight!" He turned aside and welcomed the figure standing in the shadows. "Our dark Queen has graced us with the presence of her most trusted high general, who shall lead us to our victory! Welcome our guest, the great General Nightshade!"

The general stepped out onto the dais, his black as ebony arm outstretched before him. The crowd of wargs cried out in a clamorous whooping, a din that was not unlike the howl of many wolves. He spoke with a powerful voice that was amplified by the power of the night. "The Moon Brothers are a welcomed addition to the Queen's army! Together, we shall become the greatest and most feared army that the land of Equestria has ever seen!" THe crowd once again erupted into throes of jubilant whooping. The general quieted them with his own voice. "The infidels who worship the murderous sun and it's usurper Princess shall feel our cold steel relieve them of their servitude!" The wargs were now uncontrollably loud in their celebration. General Nightshade fought to be heard over the din. "Tonight, we win back our dark Queen's kingdom, starting with the sun-worshiping city of Manesburrow!"

The whoops and celebrations were instantly quelled as a loud thud erupted from the general's chestplate. An arrow rebounded feebly off of the fearsome armor, not even scratching it's surface. The general looked angrily from the arrow into the woods surrounding the encampment. He hissed under his breath as a look of anger and surprise erupted from him under his breath. "They're here!" The wargs had spotted whoever had shot the arrow and were gathering their weapons while the general called out over his warg troops. "KILL THEM! Every last one of them!"

He extended his arm, stopping Brother Nightclaw, and pulled him close. "Do NOT loot the bodies. Bring me whatever they carry."

* * *

"Aw, dammit!" Dash's arrow had failed to take out the knight on the dais. In fact, it had failed to even penetrate his armor, much to Thomas' chagrin. He had given Dash the signal once "General Nightshade" had made the wargs' intentions clear. Thomas had thought there might be maybe a hundred or so wargs here. His bowels almost opened when he saw there were over one thousand of them, and each one of them able to take at least three soldiers by themselves!

He wasted no time in reacting to the general's command. He intended to take out as many of the wargs before they had the opportunity to change. But in these numbers? It was going to be a long night, and that was IF they somehow survived, which was a big if.

Thomas had been preparing a big spell while he waited, drawing circles in the air with his staff and murmuring a complex spell-chant under his breath. With a shout he pushed his magic forward and the tip of his staff exploded into thousands of tiny motes of glowing orange. They shot forward into the encampment, some striking the ground, and a fair amount of them meeting their marks. Hundreds of wargs fell before they could change their skins, while the energy beams hit the thick hides of a few of the wargs who had changed quickly, wounding them but not stopping them.

The bulk of the surviving wargs had now changed and bounded over their dead brothers. Thomas drew his sword and led his own forces into the fray.

He threw up a rough shield around his party, blocking most of the blows they would not normally have blocked. Jack swung his longsword, decapitating wargs left and right with surprising speed. Dash had climbed into a tall tree and was now picking off offending wargs with his bow, a good chunk of the monsters around his tree becoming bits and pieces at the hand of one of his enchanted arrows.

Surprisingly, Shane had even managed to take down a few foes who got too close to his hiding spot. Pippin landed hundreds of quick blows on the wargs surrounding him, his flail a blur of iron. Roald had managed to create several decoys of himself, each of them distracting a group of wargs while he shot bolts of blue energy through the backs of their skulls.

Thomas had marveled at how efficient these men were at fighting. They were holding their own against a normally daunting force compared to their numbers. His shields were helping, of course, but even without them they would have cut down a generous amount of foes.

Thomas downed the wargs who were not occupied with the others, thanks in part to Roald's decoys, and approached the dark general. Their eyes met and Thomas' skin began to crawl. He had felt the presence of the Princess many times before. Warm, inviting, and kind, like a warm and sunny day. When he looked at her, he felt safe and reassured, like she was his ever present protector.

When he looked into the General's eyes, he felt just the opposite.

Thomas had been preparing another spell while he walked towards the dais. If he was lucky, it would scare off the rest of the wargs, leaving much less of a battle to fight. He seriously doubted the General would be deterred by such a tactic, but he set the spell loose anyways.

His staff slammed heavily against the ground as a ball of energy as bright as the sun appeared over him. With a flick of his wrist, it dispersed into thousands of smaller flaming orbs that were targeted against the wargs. Each one of them ran from the clearing with their tails tucked under their legs as the fireballs chased closely behind them, a good twenty being set aflame.

The ball that had been targeted towards the General was promptly swept to the side like a fly. Faster than Thomas could imagine, the General closed the distance between them and closed his oddly black fist over his throat.

Thomas fought to throw him off as his neck was slowly being crushed. The General brought him in close and spat out angry words into his face. "Where are they?" Thomas could not answer, because he was presently being strangled to death. "Don't try to lie to me either! I can feel their presence! Give them to me now and maybe I won't kill you!"

The air was filled with red light as one of Dash's arrows soared through the air. The General impossibly snatched it with his free hand, laughing triumphantly. His laughter was short lived as the arrow began to flash rapidly. The arrow exploded in a cloud of red flames that blew Thomas away from the General's now relaxed grip. Thankfully his shield was still active, or he would have been torn to shreds.

Thomas lay on the ground, nursing his sore throat as his party surrounded him. They stood in a circle around him, hefting their respective weapons in a gesture of protection. Thomas could have sworn he felt a radiating warmth escape from his friends surrounding them.

What little time he had spent with these men, he had already considered them friends. A feeling which was amplified as they stood in a protective circle around him. He felt strength enter his limbs, filling him with determination and faith in his newfound friends.

The General had now recovered, the smooth, pale flesh of his face blistered by Dash's enchanted arrow, but frustratingly no worse for wear. He raised his hand and casually flicked it forward as the shadows surrounding him came alive.

They formed into knights who seemed to wear the very night sky as armor. Creatures formed from darkness itself. He thought of a book he had read on magical conjuring and it's weaknesses. Thomas lifted his staff and shouted an unintelligible cry into the air. The dark knights rushed the circle of men in a silent flood of gleaming blades. A pulse of light burst from the end of Thomas' staff and bathed the encroaching knights in golden light. Just as expected, they shriveled and dissipated before him without a sound.

The General screamed in fury and drew his sword. It gleamed like silver in the moonlight as he stalked towards the circle of friends. He suddenly sped up and knocked Jack aside with a swipe of his hand. He caught Pippin's flail with his sword and sent it flying with a flick of his sword hand. He then brought the sword down in a wicked arc towards Thomas, who sent a quick shield up to block the blade, his staff right behind it. The sword slowed as it shattered the shield and stopped on Thomas' staff.

The General pushed him to his knees with his inhuman strength. His face contorted with pain as Jack's sword collided with his back, allowing Thomas to fire a bright bolt of fire directly at his face while he was distracted. Shane rushed him and jarred his neck with a blow from his battleaxe, while Pippin sent a gut-shot flying out of nowhere with his recovered flail. Roald sent out a spell that flash froze the General's face and arm in place while Dash simultaneously embedded another enchanted arrow into the ice.

The group ducked as the arrow discharged, sending shards of ice flying through the air. Thomas got up and moved towards the General's forlorn frame lying in the grass, planting a foot on his neck and pointing his staff towards his face. "You asked me where 'they' were. What were you looking for? And who is this Queen you follow?"

The General seemed not to breath, but then with a rush of breath, he snapped to attention and threw Thomas off of him with his hand. He got slowly to his feet, clutching his stomach where Pippin had hit him. He glared daggers at Thomas and lifted something in his other hand. "This is far from over! You will soon feel the wrath of Nightmare Moon!" He threw whatever he was clutching down at the ground as it exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Thomas could only stand in sheer dumbfoundedness

The legends of Nightmare Moon were TRUE after all!

Which meant that the Princess had a lot of explaining to do...

* * *

Comments

[Hunter reaper]

Shit has definitely gone down and first