//------------------------------// // 156. Echoed Landfall // Story: Rebirth of the Damned // by Borsuq //------------------------------// The familiar, cold feeling of purpose took him as he passed through the portal, his grip on Frostmourne and thoughts consumed by his plans to lay waste to all life that laid on the other side… which looked not unlike some of the streets of bigger pony cities. Confused, the Lich King stabbed the Frostmourne through the asphalt that covered the ground and adjusted his plate gloves as he looked around. His surroundings remind him of what little he saw of Vanhoover or Baltimare and, even more so, of what he had seen in pictures of Manehatten. However, what confused him even more than his surroundings was a young human, who stood calmly, almost disinterested before him, carrying some package. Picking up the Frostmourne again, the Lich King spoke: “Um… hi.” “Hi,” the young man replied, sounding a little surprised as well, his breath creating a small fog in the cold air. “I seem to have ended up at the wrong place,” the Lich King stated, unsure if he said it for his own benefit or the boy’s. If the young human was disturbed by this conversation, he hid it well. “It seems that way,” he said, almost casually. The two of them stood in silence for several moments. Finally, the Lich King decided to break it. “Is there supposed to be a punchline or something?” “It’s either joke about the cold or you’re killing Taniguchi and Kunikida. Either way I couldn’t care less.” Arthas woke up and gave himself a little shake. “What an odd dream,” he thought, rubbing his eyes as he laid back on the bed. “Either Luna decided to prank me-” Meanwhile, at Canterlot Palace… The two Lunar Guards, standing on either side of the door leading to Princess Luna’s bedchambers, glanced at each other in surprise as they heard a very loud chortling coming from inside. “Hee hee hee…” Back on Lady Gale, East Sea… “- or I have to tell Captain Swift Breeze to check if their rations didn’t turn bad,” he finished as, with a sight, he rose steadily from the slowly rocking bunk bed. Carefully, as to not wake up any of the ponies sleeping on the beds around him, Arthas began strapping his armor on. When they boarded Lady Gale on the evening of the day before yesterday, her captain had offered him her quarters for personal use while she’d stay with her sailors and his paladins. However, he had respectfully declined, finding the conditions to be refreshing. Staying with other ponies had also helped to suppress the memories of his sails to Northrend, when he had slept in his own quarters on his flagship. “Will this whole journey be like this?” Arthas wondered as he adjusted his plated horseshoes, himself unsure as to which time he thought that. “Constantly comparing it to Northrend? At least there’s no ice and snow here,” he remarked, glancing through the porthole. What met him outside was an endless blue sea, small waves lazily strolling across the water’s surface, with clouded sky hanging above it. Despite the chilly morning, almost the middle of autumn and being outside of the borders of Equestria, where the weather was managed by ponies, the sun promised it to be a gently warm day. If they weren’t about to arrive at one of the scariest places on Equestria (if not the scariest), these would be almost serene conditions. Sighing and shaking his head, he picked up his hammer and strapped it on his back, then began to slowly make his way towards the stairs that lead to the deck. He made a note to wake up his paladins soon; the captain had told him yesterday that they should make landfall about an hour after dawn. On the deck he was met with a slightly nervous atmosphere, not unusual for a transport ship going to such a dreadful place. However, it didn’t impede the sailors’ work; they continued to fulfill whatever duties each of them had with the same expertise Arthas had seen their human counterparts do. He nodded in greeting to an earth pony who was adjusting a rope and several others as they worked while he made his way to the ship’s wheel, where Swift Breeze was. “You’re up early,” the pegasus mare greeted him, leaning against the wheel’s pedestal. “The Princess raised the sun only about ten minutes ago.” “I had a weird dream,” Arthas replied with a shrug. “Greetings, Captain Swift Breeze.” “Hi. You know, not many ponies would walk around in a plate armor on a ship in the middle of the sea,” she pointed out nonchalantly. “Anything could happen. One big wave and you’d be sinking right to the bottom.” Arthas chuckled warmly. “I have faith in your ship and your crew to not let anything happen.” “Besides,” he added to himself, “if I would fell off and start sinking, then knowing my luck a bunch of sea pony mares would just happen to be swimming by. Probably with Ripple among them.” Swift Breeze’s question pulled him from his musings. “Not in that Light of yours?” the captain asked, almost innocently. “If what you are asking is, should I fall off the ship, would a pillar of Holy Light shine down upon me and raise me above the water, then no, I do not expect that,” Arthas sighed; despite his and other paladins’ abilities being well-known by now across Equestria, Swift Breeze had been sceptical of the Light’s concept. To her, it was just some weird type of magic. Having no desire to convert her or continuing this argument, Arthas smirked and joked: “But I am sure it would comfort me as I slowly drown.” Swift Breeze chuckled and waved with her wing, ending the subject. “A moment before you came up the foretopmare reported sighting the Dread Isle, Sir,” she said as she passed him a spyglass. Taking the spyglass, Arthas used it to look in the direction the ship was heading. True to the captain’s words, he saw the Dread Isle. “So this is where the biggest battle of this world took place,” he mused, his eye taking in what little he could see from so far away. Although it was by no means small, it still seemed a little underwhelming to Arthas that such a big and tragic event had taken place there. A brief shimmer appeared over ruins of some fortifications, catching his attention, but nothing else happened. Wondering whether he just saw a glimpse of one of the echoes fighting, he returned the spyglass to Swift Breeze. “We should reach that old port in a little over an hour,” she continued. “Remind me, you should be back two days from now, around nightfall?” “If everything goes as planned, yes.” “You mean if those ghosts don’t cut you five into pieces?” Arthas didn’t bother to correct her; he had already told her that those were echoes, and not tormented spirits, back when they had embarked on this voyage. He merely nodded calmly to her question. “Well, you better make it in time then, we won’t be hanging around forever and we won’t send out a search party.” While Arthas wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t try and risk spotting them from the air if they didn’t come back, he felt certain that she and her crew would wait for them should they take longer time getting back. And would complain to him all the way back to Equestria. He got to know her only a little during this journey, but he had seen the respect her crew had for her, and knew that they wouldn’t hold it for a pony who would just abandon anypony in a place like this. “Trust me, even I myself don’t want to stay here longer than necessary, Captain,” he told her with a nod of understanding. “As for me and my paladins being cut to pieces… well, suffice to say that I trust my paladins’ fighting skills.” “And I also know that, should the worst happen, we can remedy it,” he added to himself, glancing at the side, where, hidden in the Shadowlands, the val’kyr Raogrior was. She would remain there during the paladins’ trial, were she would be able to look over them all, and, as she had assured him, resurrect them should the need arise. “Although I sincerely hope it won’t come to that. I know better than anypony that dying isn’t a pleasant experience.” “What about your fighting skills?” Swift Breeze asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Arthas chuckled to himself as he heard her question. “Unless there will be a blind half-demon or anypony wielding a holy blade backed up by over twenty mighty heroes, I think I will be fine.” Storm took a deep breath after he finished putting on his armor. “Well, today’s the day,” he remarked, making sure Spring Binder was strapped to his back. “The day that technically had taken place two thousand years ago, I suppose,” he amended with an eyeroll. Closing his eyes, he reached to the Light, hoping Its warmth could calm him. As Storm felt it spread from his heart, he found himself reminiscing of all the combat training he had received, both since he joined the Order and before, in the Royal Guard. He remembered all that he had learned about the Light from Sir Lightbringer, and the perils he had overcome. Filled with new confidence, he uttered a short prayer in thanks to the Light, and opened his eyes. He and his fellow paladins were still below the deck, by the berths they and the crew had slept in. Aside from the sailors who were sleeping in after their shifts, they were alone, the rest of the crew leaving them to prepare in peace. Storm’s eyes turned to the others, wondering how well they were coping. Guard Shield appeared as calm as ever. He had already put on his armor and now was sitting on his bed, his eyes closed. Storm wondered if he was praying. Other than that, nothing betrayed that he might be nervous. Tucker Out was pacing around as he used his magic to equip his armor. He was also murmuring something under his breath, so quiet that Storm could barely make out anything. What he did hear, though, didn’t exactly sound like prayer: “Block, stab, dodge, then swish swish stab...” he recited calmly, almost as if he already defeated an echo in the way he visualized. “He’s thinking about the fights that await us,” Storm mused, not really surprised; Tucker had always been the best fighter out of them four. The one who had always been the least versed in combat, though, was clearly having a tougher time than the others. Serenity kneeling by her bed, deep in prayer, and her short, irregular breaths betrayed her anxiousness. Storm trotted closer to her as she uttered: “Blessed Light, may you shine upon us in this hour of trial, grant us strength to live up to Sir Lightbringer’s expectations…” He interrupted her by lightly touching her shoulder with his wing. Despite the gentle gesture, Serenity jerked as if he hurt her. “Oh, sorry Storm,” she said as she recovered, then sighed and gave herself a little shook. “I guess I’m a little jumpy.” “Yeah, I noticed,” Storm remarked wryly. “Are you alright?” Serenity shot him an annoyed glare, a rare thing for her to do (unless Tucker was involved) which emphasized just how silly this question was. Of course she wasn’t alright; none of them were. “I suppose as much as I can be, given the circumstances,” she said as she became her kind self again. “Back when I decided that I would join the Crystal Guard so long ago, I knew that I might end up having to fight somepony. After Sir Lightbringer offered me a place in his Order, I was even more certain of that. But I never expected that the first real fight I would actually be a part of would be against some echoes of warriors who had fought in the greatest battle that ever took place.” “Well, to be fair, I don’t think any of us expected that,” Storm pointed out. He then frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Also, back when you’ve planned to join the Crystal Guard, the fight between Princess Celestia and Bane hadn’t happened yet, so…” Storm trailed off, chuckling, as Serenity rolled her eyes. “Har-har,” she told him; despite her tone, Storm noticed a glint of amusement in her eyes. “I see that dating Rarity had improved your sense of humor.” Slightly surprised by the remark, Storm wondered briefly if it was true. He vaguely recalled seldom making jokes back when he had first arrived in Ponyville, when he had been too worried about his paladin training and the Light not answering his prayers. “Maybe I have become more confident since Rarity and I began dating?” he wondered. “Well, I suppose it does give you a confidence boost if you look like me and the most beautiful mare ever agrees to go out with you.” “Perhaps,” he agreed, shrugging. “How about you, then? I thought that your stay in the Crystal Empire would have made you more confident and more connected to the Light,” he pointed out. “Well, it did… or I thought it did,” Serenity replied, frowning unhappily. “But this isn’t about the Light or my confidence. You know I was always the worst of us when it came to combat. I did spar with the crystal guards a few times to stay in shape, but I don’t think I’ve improved too much.” “That may be true,” Storm began slowly, carefully thinking what to say. It helped that Serenity gave him an excuse to pause by snorting dismissively. “But you do have the strongest connection to the Light out of the four of us. You are second to only Sir Lightbringer when it comes to calling upon It for aid. I’m sure whatever shortcomings you might have with combat skills you will make up for while we’re undertaking this trial by your command of the Holy Light,” he told her, truly meaning what he said. He was relieved to see most of Serenity’s anxiety leave her. The crystal pony smiled at him gratefully, but as she was about to thank him, another pony spoke up from behind them “And you thought you aren’t a leader material.” Storm whirled around to look at Guard, who had stopped his meditation and was now looking at him with a smirk. Frowning in annoyance and embarrassment, he asked “What do you mean?” “Well,” the older paladin began, shrugging, “I might be wrong, but a good leader tries to help his soldiers with their problems and encourage them.” “I just reminded Serenity what her strengths are, I don’t think that it’s something only somepony who’s ‘leader material’ could do,” Storm disagreed, feeling hot in his cheeks. “Maybe,” Serenity spoke up, smiling a bit sheepishly. “But, um, that is pretty much what Sir Lightbringer had told me on the train, sometime after we left Ponyville.” “Really? Storm asked, blinking in surprise. Although they weren’t sitting next to each other during the train ride, they had been travelling in the same car. How had he missed hearing Sir Lightbringer talking to Serenity? Perhaps he had been a bit… unfocused after the goodbye kiss Rarity gave him at the train station, where she and her friends came by to see them off. Pushing the pleasant memory away for now before he’d blush again, he turned his attention back to Serenity. “If Sir Lightbringer had already spoken to you, then how come you’re still nervous?” “Because that was on a train two days ago in the middle of Equestria, where it was safe?” Serenity replied with a question, raising an eyebrow. “Her stay in the Crystal Empire had apparently also improved her sarcasm.” Storm was about to voice that thought, but in that moment Tucker had decided to join the conversation. “Hey, speaking of Sir Lightbringer, do any of you know why he’s carrying around that gigantic hammer now?” the unicorn asked, trotting closer and sitting on Serenity’s bed, who rolled her eyes and scooched a bit away. “Weren’t you listening when he explained how those Proving Grounds malfunctioned and he can’t summon his Holy Avenger anymore?” she asked with a frown. “‘Malfunctioned’,” Storm repeated in his mind; Sir Lightbringer had explained to them what the Proving Grounds was (and excited them all at the prospect of having such a magical device helping them with the combat training at the Abbey), but didn’t go into much details about what this ‘malfunction’ was. However, it was clear to everypony from the damage it had done to his armor that it wasn’t as light of a matter as he made it sound. “It’s a good thing the Baltimare’s Royal Guard’s blacksmith was able to repair it quickly, I don’t think Sir Lightbringer could even wear it. Just what exactly was this malfunction to cause such damage to him of all ponies? And how come he can’t use Holy Avenger anymore?” As Storm pondered those questions, Tucker continued his argument. “Yeah, I was listening, but that’s not what I’m asking about. I mean, why the hammer? He had always used that two-hooved sword, right?” he asked the others. Storm frowned; while it was true that Sir Lightbringer had always used the Holy Avenger when fighting, he had, on a few training sessions, used different weapons, and seemed as proficient with them as with a two-hooved sword. Even as he was about to say that, however, Guard had already began to reply: “Not necessarily. You remember that ‘dwarf’, Brann? I’ve heard once that his older brother had taught Sir Lightbringer how to fight with every weapon before he had began his paladin training. And besides, during our sparring sessions, he would often pick training weapons other than swords.” Nodding in agreement, Storm noticed Serenity frowning briefly before she added “Also, the statue of his paladin mentor is depicted with a similar hammer. Perhaps now that he is being called by the same name as Lord Uther, he decided to follow in his mentor’s hoof… um, footsteps? Or maybe to honor his memory this way,” she said, shrugging. Storm had to agree that this sounded quite probable. After all, Sir Lightbringer had named the Lightbringer Chapel after his old mentor; something that some ponies visiting the chapel to pray didn’t know, now that everypony have began to call him by the same name. “Yeah, about that,” Tucker spoke again, frowning thoughtfully. “Doesn’t anypony find it odd how there were no ponies besides Sir Lightbringer in that Order of the Silver Hand? Only dwarves, humans, and a few ‘high elves’. There was no mention of ponies at all in any of the books and librams that Brann had brought him.” Jaw dropping, Storm stared at his paladin brother along with Serenity and Guard, utterly surprised. Tucker, noticing their stares, snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’ve read them all, at least those in Equestrian and the ones Sir Lightbringer had translated. Biiiiig surprise.” “Well, yeah, it is,” Storm, who himself had read only a few of those thought. Serenity, who had quickly recovered from her shock, cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I am sure there is some explanation for that. Everything regarding Sir Lightbringer’s old life is… mysterious. I mean, you remember how Sir Lightbringer had told us that he had fallen into darkness, right?” Serenity shook his head. “I still can hardly believe a pony such as him could become evil.” Nodding in agreement, Storm thought back to how the Grand Master of the Order had told them this on the day they had arrived at the Abbey. Even then he found it hard to believe, and having gotten to know Sir Lightbringer a lot more since then, it was even more unthinkable. “Truly, everypony can became evil then, if even Sir Lightbringer could have,” he thought. “Still, for him to be now… himself, this must have been something more alike to how Princess Luna had become Nightmare Moon, right?” He was about to bring that up (and start a discussion that they already had in the early days of their training at the Abbey), but just then one of the crew ponies came down to inform them that they would shortly reach the port. With some of their anxieties returning, they exchanged glances and rose to go to the deck. Upon climbing up to the deck, the first thing Storm noticed was the big landmass right in front of the ship. “Last night all we could see was a huge vastness of the sea, that should have been more worrisome than seeing this little island right?” Storm wondered, a shiver going down his spine. As he once again reached to the Light for comfort, Sir Lightbringer trotted down to join them. “I hope you had a good rest,” he told them in greeting. “You won’t get one until we return to this ship.” “Way to calm us down,” Storm thought, his eyes on the approaching port. As it has been only a few years since the last maintenance trip of the Royal Guard, the long pier was in great condition, perfect to allow them for docking there. “At least there are no echoes here,” he thought with a slight relief as he scanned the area. “How are you all feeling?” he heard Sir Lightbringer ask, a hint of worry in his voice. “Is he having second thoughts about dragging us here?” Storm wondered. “Little nervous, Sir, but fine,” Serenity quickly told him. “The Light is with us, and with It we have nothing to fear.” Although Sir Lightbringer nodded approvingly to her, Storm noted that, for a brief second, it looked as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “Did he want to say that just having the faith in the Light wouldn’t mean we’d make through it? Serenity isn’t stupid, she knows it will take more than just that.” “We’ll arrive shortly,” Sir Lightbringer said instead, beginning to turn away. “Do whatever you feel you need to in order to prepare yourself.” “Went over everything I’ve learned, prayed, thought of Rarity, all checked,” Storm thought; realizing that he had, indeed, done everything he needed to be as ready as he could be, he once again felt himself relax. Glancing at his paladin brothers and sister, he noticed, with a little worry, that Tucker was looking at Sir Lightbringer with a raised eyebrow. “Huh, well, if you say so, Sir. Serenity?” he asked, turning to the crystal pony. Surprised, Serenity looked at him. “Wha-” She was cut off by a pair of lips being pressed against hers. The very next instant Tucker backed away as Heart’s Mercy swung through the spot where his head had been. The kiss - if such a light peck on the lips could be called such - ended before neither Storm, Guard or even Sir Lightbringer could react to it in any way. “What in Light’s name was that!?” Serenity demanded from Tucker, more furious than Storm remembered ever having seen her. Storm exchanged glances first Guard, then Sir Lightbringer; he could see that they too found this situation awkward. Both of them also looked a little annoyed with Tucker. Storm also couldn’t help but notice that several of the Lady Gale’s crew had stopped whatever they were doing and were now watching the pair with amusement. “What, Sir Lightbringer told us to do whatever we need to do to prepare ourselves,” Tucker defended himself, speaking as if that was obvious. The next second he had to actually defend himself, as Serenity once again swung her hammer at him. His energy sword sprung from his hoof and he blocked Heart’s Mercy. “Okay, starting to think you’re overreacting a little.” “Oh, dear Light,” Storm thought, facehoofing, as Serenity’s eyes grew wider. “Overreacting?!” she exclaimed, then put more pressure on her hammer, forcing his hoof down. Tucker backed away as she swung Heart’s Mercy again. “I’ll show you overreacting, you, you-” “Hey!” The sharp yell startled everypony. Turning to its source, Storm realized that it had came from the captain of Lady Gale, Swift Breeze, who had just landed near the paladins, looking at Serenity and Tucker sternly. “Swing that thing at him after you get off my ship! And you turn that thing off!” she added to Tucker. “I won’t have any part of her get damaged because of the two of you!” “Baby, I can’t turn it off,” Tucker began, smirking at Swift Breeze. Despite his words, though, his energy sword disappeared. As Storm began to wonder though what he meant then, Tucker’s next words were suggestive enough for him to figure it out, not to mention the suggestive eyebrow wiggle. “It is always on.” Silence fell over the ship. “Well, that’s taken care of,” Swift Breeze said a few seconds later over the loud splash sound from outside the ship as she cleaned her forehooves together. “For the record,” Sir Lightbringer spoke up, “I would normally prefer if you wouldn’t throw my paladins out of your ship.” “Duly noted,” Swift Breeze replied without looking back as she left. “Did he remember he can teleport?” Sir Lightbringer asked Guard, who was leaning over the ship’s taffrail. “No, no yet Sir- ah, there he is,” Guard reported, turning back to the other paladins. “He just teleported to the end of the pier.” With a sigh, Sir Lightbringer turned to Storm. “Would you mind checking on him?” “No problem, Sir,” Storm quickly replied. Spreading his wings before jumping into the air, he managed to glance at Serenity briefly. Strangely, after Tucker had hit on Captain Swift Breeze, she had seemed even angrier than before. Now, though she still looked angry, she also seemed embarrassed. “I suppose I would be embarrassed too if my trial had begun in a similar way,” Storm concluded as he spread his wings and flew out of the ship, heading for the pier ahead where Tucker was standing, water leaking from pretty much everywhere. Drawing closer, he saw that his paladin brother, despite slightly shivering from cold, seemed not worse for the wear than moments before. Relaxing, he let himself grow annoyed. “So, did you learn anything new?” Storm asked him sternly as he landed next to him. “Yeah, next time I’ll put the armor on after leaving the ship,” Tucker replied as he tilted his head, letting some water to fall out of his ear. “Let me tell you, this thing weighs a tone underwater.” “How about not kissing mare’s out of nowhere or making any suggestions to higher ranking officers?” he tried, deadpanning at the unicorn. “Meh, doesn’t sound like me, does it?” Tucker replied with a smirk. Before Storm could rebuke him further, he glanced at the fortifications ahead. “So, this is the place, huh?” Realizing just where he stood, Storm forgot about his annoyance for now. Instead, he immediately snapped into full attention, checking if there were any threats around them. After making sure they were alone for now, he turned to look at the fortifications visible in the distance, outside of the port. “So, this is where Equestria’s counter-offensive had begun two thousand years ago,” Storm thought, shuddering as he considered just how many lives were lost in that war. “I hope we won’t have to ever go through something like this again. Or at the very least,” he added as he remembered why they were here, “that nopony other than us would ever have to go through it.” If it meant ensuring that, if not Equestria overall then ponies living there could live their lives in peace, Storm would shoulder the horrors of a war, and he knew that his paladin brothers and sister would too. “Lady Gale’s gonna dock soon,” he told Tucker. “We should probably stand ready in attention as Sir Lightbringer disembarks. Let’s go where the ship will moor.” Letting the Light calm her, Serenity walked down the ramp after Sir Lightbringer and Guard Shield. She did her best to not look at Tucker, who was standing beside Storm on the dock and saluting; she feared that she would lose all her concentration otherwise. “I can’t believe he kissed me like that!” Serenity though, a surge of anger overtaking her. Realizing that she was thinking about it again, she took a deep breath and banished Tucker out of her mind. As calmness swept over her, Serenity decided to put off dealing with what he did later, possibly when they make camp for the night. “Possibly by either pummeling Tucker or smiting him…” She snapped herself back to attention as Sir Lightbringer turned to talk to them. “From here on out, we’ll be walking through a battlefield,” he reminded them. “I have faith that you will be able to make through it and back… but only if you keep your guard up, and more importantly, work together. I expect you to be working as a team,” Sir Lightbringer added sternly, his eyes moving between Serenity and Tucker. “Do the two of you need to stay behind at the port a while to work out your differences?” Serenity cursed herself for losing control over herself like that right in front of Sir Lightbringer. She didn’t like the idea of disappointing him. Ever since he had invited her personally to join the Order, she had done her best to not disappoint the trust he showed in her. “No, Sir,” she immediately replied. Realizing that it came out a bit harsher than she had intended, she paused, took a deep, calming breath, and continued: “I will not let my, um, annoyance with Tucker to come in the way of our survival. I will fight alongside him, Sir.” She thanked the Light that this time Tucker managed to stop himself from uttering any of his usual comments. “Yeah, me too, I’ll, um, behave. Ugh, feels weird to say it,” he muttered under his breath. “I suppose that will be enough in place of apology… for now,” Serenity thought, glancing briefly at the unicorn. Sir Lightbringer looked at them for a few more moments, before nodding in acceptance of their assurances. He then turned to Storm. “Knight-lieutenant, you’ll be in charge from now until we return.” Serenity was close enough to the pegasus to hear the silent sigh he uttered before he stepped forward. “Alright everypony,” he began, turning around as Sir Lightbringer stepped aside. “Let’s first enter the stronghold and get our bearings. According to what we know, it is probably under attack by the echoes of Griffonian soldiers. Also, we do not know if the echoes of ponies inside will consider us friends or enemies. Be on your guard. After we secure the stronghold, we’ll move further inland.” “Whether he admits it or not, he’s actually quite good at this,” Serenity thought as they followed Storm down the pier, towards the ruined gateway that lead into the stronghold’s courtyard. She looked around curiously; back in the days of the war, this port had been used to transfer supplies from Griffonia to Equestria for the Griffonian army. The Royal Guard now maintained only enough of it so one or two ships could safely dock, the rest of the harbor was in ruin, numerous piers half collapsed into the water and almost all of the woodwork had rotted away. Still, when Serenity looked closer, she spotted several features characteristic to early Griffonian architecture. “With some of the pre-conquest Shellheart’s architecture, too,” she added, noticing some that some shells had been paved into a half-crumbled stone pillar. Out of nowhere, a weird sensation overtook her, causing her to stop briefly. Serenity recognized it easily; it was the same feeling she had felt back when they had travelled to Northville to face a windigo. Except this time, it felt… different. Closing her eyes to better focus, Serenity felt as if her mind expanded. She could feel what she could only describe as evil emanating from the island, most likely the remains of the necromantic magic that held the echoes on the island. Besides that, however, she could sense... presences. “I think I can sense two of those echoes close to the ruins of the gate,” she said out loud, not sure if she should inform Storm or Sir Lightbringer. Or if she was actually right. Storm glanced back at her, then at Sir Lightbringer, who was nodding. “I sense them too, and more further into the stronghold. Also, I can’t detect too much malice beneath the necromantic magic that binds them. I think we can assume they’ll treat us as allies.” Serenity sighed with a relief; though she knew there would be a lot of echoes they’d have to fight, she was glad that the first one they’d meet were going to be friendly. She also felt amazed by Sir Lightbringer’s abilities; she wondered if she’d ever become as perceptive with those Light-given abilities as he, to detect even if a being made of necromantic magic would be hostile or not. As she pondered that, Storm had took in the information they gave him. “Understood. Still, this stronghold is under attack; we might run into a group of griffons’ echoes that would be hostile. Let’s not lower our defences,” he said as he resumed leading the group further. Storm had clearly meant what he had said, because as soon as they reached the remains of the gate he reached for the Spring Binder and unsheathed it. Serenity, being able to sense the two echoes that ran towards them, had already grabbed her Heart’s Mercy, despite Sir Lightbringer’s words. Sir Lightbringer himself had also reached for his hammer; probably he too thought that it was “better safe than sorry”. As Tucker and Guard prepared as well, the echoes approached. Serenity couldn’t help but take a step back. She had expected ghosts, scary, white-blue, and transparent. She only got the transparent part right; the two earth ponies that stopped before them were no different from living ponies, other than the armor they wore. Serenity gazed at the plate armors she had only seen in the history books, which admittedly weren’t too unlike the ones the paladins wore, except less ornate. Also, their armor bore many patched dents and cracks, testaments to how long and violent that conflict had been. “Finally, reinforcements!” one of the echoes exclaimed, sounding relieved. Serenity cringed a little; the echo’s voice was… echoing. Literally, there was a faint echo following every word it said. “The east wall is about to be overrun by those winged cats! We need help now!” “Um, on it!” Storm, hesitantly at first, replied. Turning to others he commanded. “Let’s-” Serenity looked up, sensing them in the same moment the other echo shouted: “Incoming!” Her eyes grew wide as she saw many griffons swooping down at them. At first, the sight of them, swords in talons and their faces twisted in ruthless snarls caused her to freeze. Only when one descended upon her, slashing with his blades, Serenity snapped and prayed to the Light for protection. A barrier of golden light enveloped her, causing the transparent weapons to bounce off it harmlessly. Still shocked, now even more as she could see the echo of the griffon warrior up close, gazing at her with hatred and loathing, it took a few heartbeats for Serenity to think about what to do next. As the griffon’s echo swords clashed against her barrier again, Serenity slowly realized that she wouldn’t be protected like this for long; she had to start her attack. Calling upon the Light, she struck at the echo with a holy shock, causing him to stagger back. Not wanting to give it a chance to recover, Serenity raised Heart’s Mercy, and, remembering all her training, she struck. The head of the hammer collided with the griffon’s neck, killing him instantly. As the echo fell to the ground, Serenity stared at it, once again frozen, as the realization that she had just taken a life set in within her. Before she could contemplate that for longer than a second, the echo disappeared. The only thing that remained was a small shard. “Right, they’re not real,” Serenity realized, chastising herself for forgetting about it in the heat of battle. Shaking her head, her eyes rested on the shard on the ground. “This must be the Ancient Steel Shard that we’re supposed to collect,” she thought, picking it up. “I wonder-” She stopped mid-thought and turned around, her senses alerting her about two more echoes attacking her. Despite her quick reaction, though, the griffons moved too fast. As Serenity raised her hammer in a vain attempt to block the strike, the swords had already almost reached her. Feeling cold, Serenity tried to reach to the Light- “Booya!” came from behind the griffons as they both suddenly fell down. Serenity blinked in surprise as they revealed Tucker standing behind them. The unicorn’s energy sword was emanating from his hoof, covered in a faint glow of the Light. “You’re okay Serenity?” he asked; there was concern in his voice. She shook her head quickly. “Yes, I am. Thanks Tucker,” she quickly replied. The unicorn nodded and turned his attention back to the fight. “He might be awful, but he’s a great pony to have beside you during a crisis,” Serenity thought, gazing at Tucker fondly before looking for her other allies. It was clear that during the time she had spent dealing with one echo and being rescued by Tucker her companions had been busy. There were far fewer griffons’ echoes than before, the others having already fallen to the paladins. Storm and Guard were currently fighting together, attacking the five griffons that had surrounded the two pony echoes. As she watched, Storm whirled around, a storm of Light’s hammers erupting around him and causing the hostile echoes to cry in pain. Guard had charged in the middle of them, dispatching one with his hammer then backing away as they counterattacked, using his shield to block their swords. As Storm attacked again, causing them to divert their attention, Guard throw his Light-enveloped shield at the closest one, breaking his neck and bouncing off against another and then another, bashing their heads before returning to its owner. “We’d better help them,” Serenity thought, noticing four more griffons descending from above right at her brothers. Even as she thought it, she saw Tucker teleport from beside her and appear next to Storm, stabbing an echo before blasting another with the Light. Before she set off to help as well, she glanced at Sir Lightbringer. Seeing him fighting off four alone, with more incoming, her first instinct was to rush and help him instead. However, the next heartbeat, one of the echoes fell beneath Sir Lightbringer’s shining hammer, which was then quickly brought up to block off a sword of another one - and effectively causing it to fly out of the griffon’s hold - as he whirled between them, the Light glowing around him as he continued to dispatch his enemies. “I guess he doesn’t need help,” Serenity realized, spending another second to stare at him in awe, before snapping herself back to attention. As she hurried over to her brothers, she wondered how to best help them. An idea came to her as she realized that all the griffons’ echoes they were fighting had now landed on the ground; Serenity stopped and focused, praying. “Light, bless the ground beneath our hooves,” she intoned, feeling the Light spread through her to the very ground on which she stood, “so that it may cause our enemies to writhe and fall.” The ground around her, now consecrated, glowed with a golden light. The effects were immediate; the griffons’ echoes all cried in pain. Though most managed to jump back into the air, others remained, possibly because they were in too much pain to flap their wings. Whatever the reason they were quickly dispatched by the other paladins. With the two who managed to flee and the others having been already dealt by Sir Lightbringer (who was now trotting to them), their immediate area was cleared. “Wow,” Serenity heard one of the pony echoes exclaim as she breathed deeply. She turned to them and saw them staring at them in awe. “You guys are good!” “Yeah we are,” Tucker replied, smirking. As she rolled her eyes, Serenity heard Storm say. “We cleared this area, but we better get moving. You said you needed help by-” “- by the east wall, yes,” a new voice spoke up, interrupting him. Serenity turned along with everypony else to the newcomer… and gasped. She knew the earth pony mare, surrounded by several armed guards, quite well, having seen her depiction in numerous history books. She gazed at her bright coat, brownish mane and lavender eyes, then at her hat with a white feather that she still wore despite the war, unable to believe her eyes. “S-smart Cookie?!” she exclaimed. “But… she didn’t die here…” Serenity thought, confused. The echo of one of the legendary Founders of Equestria frowned as she heard her speak her name. “Yes, Smart Cookie. Hurricane put me in charge of protecting this place until he finished routing the rest of the island from this griffon menace. You’ve got a problem with that, take it up with him, now move it!” she snapped, pointing in the direction of the half collapsed tower and crumbled wall, behind the remains of various buildings. “They need help!” “Oh, um, on it, Ma’am,” Storm, clearly as shocked to be speaking with an echo of THE Smart Cookie as Serenity was, managed to say. “Let’s go!” “I thought the interrupted ritual caused to bring the echoes of ponies and griffons who had died here,” Serenity said to Sir Lightbringer as they all followed Storm towards the east wall. “Apparently not,” he replied, gazing back at Smart Cookie with great interest. “Bane had intended to bring back their ghosts, sure, but because of the interruption and Celestia’s magic… I think it was enough to bring echoes of those who had left a mark on this place, too. And those that this place had left a mark on,” he added grimly. “Strong emotions must have been surging through the survivors of this battle, it must have been enough for the interrupted ritual to create the echoes of them as well.” “I- I see, Sir,” Serenity replied, not sure if she actually understood him correctly, but she decided to put her questions to the back of her mind for now and focus on the fighting. Still, despite the danger they were in and how scared she had been, Serenity couldn’t help but smile. “Wow, I got to meet Smart Cookie, one of the Founders of Equestria! Well, sort of, but still!” She would have pranced if they weren’t running. “If she’s here, then maybe so will the echoes of the other two Founders that fought here…” Serenity trailed off. The moment that thought had appeared in her mind, she realized two things. One was what Sir Lightbringer had told them and Storm had reminded them; that they couldn’t know whether echoes would be friendly towards them or hostile. The other was that she had remembered just who the other two Founders who had fought on the Dread Isle were. “I hope they will be friendly, like Smart Cookie,” Serenity thought, a cold feeling of dread momentarily overtaking her. “I don’t think even Sir Lightbringer could win against them… especially against him.”