//------------------------------// // Preparations // Story: The Appearance of The New // by Castok the Shadow //------------------------------// Cadence POV: 'Dear Lord Dynol the-' No, that didn't work at all. 'Lord Dynol of the Horde of the Forest-' No, I'm trying to end the war, not signing a surrender! Think, Cadence think! Come on brain, you got to come up with something to stop this war. Everyone are not themselves, both Royal and subject. Aunty Celestia is trying to keep everyone calm, despite the fact that you can see Horde forces right at the pathway towards Canterlot. That dome won't be there forever. Aunty Luna seemed different since her injury from Dynol when he attacked Ponyville a second time. Her ideas are growing wilder than before, like using Alicorn Magic to blast through those earthen walls and not giving a chance for our enemies to ready themselves. If the Horde's Council members didn't break any international laws of war, I would of agreed with Luna. But so far, they allowed our people to retreat from battles, released prisoners of war without their weapons and when towns and villages were captured, they haven't forced anyone to stay if they don't want to. It would seem that Dynol actually keeps by the rules and only use his powers to aid his allies and destroy our attacking armies. Luna's worse idea was to invade the mind of Dynol to place him into a coma til he was captured and sentenced to life in Tartarus. I disagreed with her, I know he's our enemy but what he said to me when we fought still chills me. 'Justice, upon those who spark the flames of war'. My guts are screaming that Dynol may not be entirely in the wrong and I'm starting to believe it. But what's baffling me is who? Who enraged or maybe attacked Dynol to declare war upon Equestria? Every time Dynol appeared, he attacked, from his frist sightings in Ponyville to the Golden Highway. Argh! It's making me wanna rip my mane out! Still, at least Shining Armour has come up with a new plan. He's right now explaining it to the other generals and princesses. He's proposing that we spilt the armies in two, one remaining here in case the Horde launches a surprise invasion. Whilst the other reinforce the Crystal Garrisons in the Crystal Empire. Ever since the garrison stopped a Horde task force at the borders of the empire, thanks to the ancient tunnels that were built by Diamond Dogs before Sombra fell a thousand years ago, Captain Glass-Sighting stated that if they managed to bring an army in the empire's territories, the garrisons will not be able to defend the city outnumbered. If it goes well and agrees with his idea, it'll take about three weeks to prepare the soldiers and reach the Crystal Empire, which means I'll have to go back to protecting the empire whilst Shining stays here to prepare a counterattack against the Horde of the Forest. That is if I cannot end the war anytime soon. Now brain, back to work. 'Greetings, Lord Dynol the Dammed...' Dynol POV: Give them power and... Done! Conjuring the last bit of my power to awaken my newest Aspects to be added in Behemoth's army. The total of eleven stood ready for work, they were magnificent. Dwarfing myself, these Aspects were made mainly of earth and appearing to look like Nagas, serpents with claws. At the end of their tails were spear-like with spikes running all the way to their shoulders. Their earthen skin were hard as iron and tough as steel. Their claws looked like scorpions, yet they can spin them around like drills with great speed. Their heads had one emerald eye and mouths looked like octopuses with their tentacles moving through the cold breeze. They'll help the dogs build their tunnels quicker as well as in combat. As I admire my creations, my Right Hand came to see the Aspects. "Woah! What are they, Dynol?" Behemoth asked amazedly. "They are called Razorcasts" I answered proudly. "They'll help your diggers dig quickly to the Cystal Empire as well as help you with fighting against the crystal ponies and their allies. They are yours to command" "Cool!" Behemoth nodded his head as the Razorcasts turned their heads to him. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed his commands. "Alright, head to where my boys are and help them dig their way to the Crystal Empire! If any of them slows down or gets sloppy on the job, give them a bash!" The Razorcasts stared at the canine for a moment before heading towards their destination without asking any questions or asked where they must go. "I wish some of my boys were like that" Behemoth chuckled. "There will be more of them when I have enough strength to summon more without passing out" I replied with a toothy grin on my face. "Say, how does your powers work? I mean you did some glorious magic without passing out, what's so special with summoning them?" "How do I put it?" I said as I ponder on how to explain my powers to Behemoth. "For powers like wielding fireballs or creating Votex storms doesn't take much of my strength if I know how to cast them right. But Aspects are a different thing. You have to create creatures that'll think for themselves as well as following your orders with no questions. Think of it as when you create a weapon, you must also be able to be the forge as well as the smith all at the same time" "So it's like being able to pick up heavy objects but if you don't have the muscles you'll hurt yourself?" "Yeah. For me to summon simple Aspects is like picking up a large mace. Complex Aspects is like picking up a wagon with one arm. And Aspects that are way out of my powers, it's like trying to hold up a brick wall with two broken arms. If that happens, I'll pass out as my body cannot withstand the pressure and must reset itself" "Sounds hard" "It is" I answered truthfully. "Which is why I can only summon those eleven Razorcasts or otherwise I'll pass out" "Well don't overdo yourself" Behemoth smiled. "We don't want you passing out in the middle of a battlefield" "I try not, that would be an embarrassing moment" We both laughed from the thought of me taking a nap while everyone else fights to the deaths. When we finished laughing, I changed the topic. "How long do you think it will take before your forces reaches the empire?" I asked seriously. "With those Razorcasts working with my boys, probably four weeks" "A month" I said as I slowly headed toward the castle "That'll probably be the same with us readying the Arkron army when we march toward Everstand" "Speaking about that!" Behemoth called. "What's our Ogre friends going to be doing?" "They'll be readying their own forces and training the siege towers!" I called back. "Training!? You mean building!?" "Nope! They're training the hydras how to latch onto walls with their teeth and letting our forces climb onto them to besiege the wall! The Ogres are too busy making their armour than making new siege towers!" Third person POV: Dynol walked through the halls of Twilight's castle, plotting and thinking what Equestria's next move will be as if they were playing a game of chess. So far, his armies has defeated an international alliance's army at the Golden Highway, as well as task forces and garrisons all over the kingdom. He's quite impressed who quickly this war has been. Minus the battle between the princesses and the Lunatics, all other battles were victories for the Horde of the Forest and the morale of their armies has doubled from their victories and new allies like the Changelings of Crimson Wings and Blitzschlag. To say the least, thoughts of losing this war was very rarely discussed about and even dismissed them as old worries. Dynol was pleased that he wasn't the only one that had some scoring to do with the ponies of Equestria. He was heading to see where WoodFang was as he last saw him in the castle, before he saw a small light coming from one of rooms on his right. He then heard a frustrating groan like if someone was trying to say the right words in front of a king. All Dynol knew from that groan was it showed like a female. So he was about to leave it be, that was until he saw another small light and heard the groan again. So Dynol decided to see who it was. Slowly opening the door, quietly as he can. The room looked like a normal guest room, but inside the room was the ambassador. Ormry was holding an empty sheet of paper in one of her claws, glaring daggers at it as if it said something nasty at her. Her breathing was steady and there was nothing out of the norm, yet Dynol raised an eyebrow to her. She then closed her eyes and opened her mouth, her teeth sharp yet seemed to shine from the dim light in the room. Soon, Dynol spotted that he could see something glowing in Ormry's jaw, like that...Of fire. Soon, he saw some sparks coming out as she breathed out as well. But nothing happened and the sparks did not ignite the paper in her claw. The ambassador opened her sky blue eyes and once again made a frustrating groan of disappointment. "Can't get your lighter working?" Dynol's voice broke the silent as he entered the room. Ormry nearly jumped out of her scales as she dropped the paper and stood on her toes, sorting out her red robes. "L-Lord Dy-nol!" Ormry nervously replied from the champion's suddenly appearance. She then blushed, much to Dynol's confusion "I-I didn't know you would see this" "What's all this about? You can't send any letters to the Elder Council?" "N-no I already sent my reports" Ormry defended as Dynol's mask unfolded off his face. "Then what's the paper all about?" Dynol questioned Ormry calmly not trying to frighten her anymore. Ormry looked away from Dynol and gave a defeated sigh. "I was, I was trying to breathe fire" She answered as she picked up the paper off the floor with her tail. "I thought you dragons always breathed fire?" Dynol said as he closed the door behind him with his power of Air. "I saw you breathe greenish flames when sending your reports to your Inquisitor, Era'do" "That's not true fire" Ormry answered sadly. "That is what all dragons can do, like you being able to beat your heart, you don't need to learn how to do that. But, you do need to practice walking and we dragons need to practice breathing true fire" She then walked towards a single bed and sat harshly as she gave another sigh. "But Half-Bornes can't naturally breathe fire like normal dragons" "Half-Bornes?" "It's a disorder to my kind. We don't grow properly, we can't breathe fire and we're born without any wings" Ormry looked at Dynol with sad eyes. "We're the outcast in the Dragon Holds, we're picked, beaten, laughed and unseen by the others. If it wasn't for Era'do's father; Inquisitor Kaa'tau, who placed Half-Bornes under the protection of the Elder Dragons, we would still be treated unequally. Now, we're still the outcast, but no longer beaten by the others" Dynol listened carefully and felt sorry for Ormry. He was about to say something but Ormry continued. "This is how far I can grow, I can't grow anymore and I'm seen as the smallest compare to other Half-Bornes. I wouldn't mind being small, but I always wanted to breathe fire. It is the symbol of being a dragon, if you can't breathe fire, you're worthless, not worth the time and worse, you're not considered a true dragon" "I see" Dynol simply replied, gathering his thoughts on Ormry's information. "And so now you're trying to see if you have the fire that other dragons have?" "After your sudden talk with your mentor, Earth and being thrown out by a fiery being. I felt something warm, like something ignited within me. So when our meeting was over, I went into this room and the rest you already know" Dynol looked at the ambassador as she lowered her head in defeat. Dynol pondered on Ormry's mention of a fiery being, was she mentioning Fire? That might explain... To see if Dynol's theory is true, he walked up to the ambassador and placed a hand on her right shoulder. The ambassador looked at Dynol as his eyes closed and remained silent. Ormry, unsure what's happening, also remained silent as well. A few moments passed before opened his eyes again. "Well, it would seem that Fire did not just throw you out of the realm" Dynol spoke firmly and in wonder. Ormry looked at Dynol in confusion. "W-what do you mean?" "Ormry, whoever told you that you cannot breathe fire is a lying asshole" Dynol said with a smile. "Every creature has a spark of fire within them, from animals to sentients. It is the creator of civilisations and their destroyer. And Ormry, between us, so far you're the dragon with the greatest fire, even surpassing your Elder Council" "How is that possible? I mean, not that I'm questioning your knowledge or anything but-" "Because it seems that as you were thrown out of the realm by Fire- another mentor of mine- he must of use his powers a bit more than usual, causing some of it to not only kick you out but also found their way through you and awaken your fire that has been slumbering from the day of your brith" Ormry was amazed by what she was hearing, that she has fire within her and greatest one in Dynol's eyes. "But then, how can I use it if I can ignite a simple paper?" Ormry asked. Dynol's friendly smile grew larger. "All you need is some lessons. And with everyone preparing themselves for the next attack, I think I can teach you how to ignite a piece of paper and maybe even more" The ambassador's joy overwhelmed her thoughts and actions as she jumped at Dynol and gave him a huge hug, never minding that she nearly knocked the champion down nor the fact that he was being squeezed by the ambassador's surprising newfound strength. "Thank you Dynol!" Ormry squealed with gleefulness and joy. "Thank you! Thank you!" "There's no need to thank me" Dynol answered, trying to get some air as Ormry's bear hug crushes him. He tried to move but that only made the dragon's hug more tighter. "But I can't teach if I die from unbreakable hugs" "Oh heh, sorry" Ormry blushed as she let go of Dynol as he gasped for air. After getting some air through his lungs, Dynol regained his stance. "Alright then, it's decided. We shall begin training frist thing in the morning as our allies prepare themselves for the next assault" Dynol turned to face the door and walked towards it. As he held the door handle, he heard muttering behind him. "What's that?" Dynol asked as he looked over his shoulder. "N-nothing, nothing at all" Ormry said with a bright blush across her face. Dynol shrugged it off and opened the door. As he shut the door behind him, the ambassador sat back on the bed and sighed softly. "Why am I blushing? He's not even the same species... But who cares really?"