The gray storm clouds rolled across the sky, a storm threatening to come in. Crion stood underneath a tree on the outskirts of the Everfree. He still hadn't joined back up with Kirileth and Sandrick, but he knew that they wouldn't mind. He had a place cleared in the dirt where he had been idly drawing artifacts from Kirldan.
"I've been trying to come up with a plan for a few days now, but I haven't got anything. If the shades do decide to attack, we need to get the princesses to help us. Even though there hasn't been a conflict here in a millenium, their power and influence could be the difference between life and death," Crion thought out loud.
While Crion was speaking, he had got the attention of a pony that lives in the Everfree. His mane and tail are charcoal black while his coat is blood red, giving him the appearance of a warlord. This pony's name is Valiant Defender, former royal guard for Princess Luna. He will be essential to this story, but enough of my rambling.
Valiant had been watching the copper colored stallion for a while now, ever since he had decided to come into this clearing. He had decided to confront him today, right as the storm started to move in.
Crion heard the storm coming right before the rain started coming down. He had never understood why Equestria had needed to create its own weather. He was thinking about when he would go back to Kirileth and Sandrick when Valiant came from behind, a sword strapped across his back.
"And who might you be?" Valiant asked, startling Crion. While he already knew the answer, he knew that a test of trust was in order.
"Crion Lightfoot of Kirldan. Might as well get introductions over with. Your turn," Crion replied.
"Yes, might as well. I'm Valiant Defender, former royal guard for Princess Luna," Valiant replied.
"Former? Why were you discharged?" Crion asked, mildly intrigued.
"I was discharged for insubordination. Apparently going against orders to save Princess Luna's life is a valid reason for insubordination," Valiant scoffed.
"Even if it was to save who you were protecting, you don't disobey orders. I know this firsthand, on both sides," Crion replied.
"Yes, well, I'd better get home. I've never been fond of the rain," Valiant commented.
"And I'd better get back to my friends. Until next time," Crion replied, turning to go back to where he had told Sandrick and Kirileth to go.
* * *
Sandrick and Kirileth hadn't had much luck. Although they had warned both Princess Twilight and most of the residents, none of them believed they were in danger. The only one out of all of them that seemed interested was a gray mare that they could never get the name of properly, as she was in a rush to get some mail delivered.
Around midday, Sandrick and Kirileth were starting to get annoyed at the citizens. Not only do they not care about their impending death, they won't listen to reason. After a lunch at a local restaurant(Kirileth was disgusted at what they has as food on Equestria), they set out to find Crion. They had been talking to no one but locals for days and, despite Crion's orders, wanted someone sensible to talk to. Luckily for them, they didn't have to go far before Crion found them.
"Bout time I found you guys. You were supposed to stay in town, not wander off towards a forest looking for me! Anyway, I think I may know how to stop the shades!" Crion informed them, his tone excited.
"Well get on with it then," Kirileth ordered.
"This land is governed by four princesses. Princess Celestia and Luna are the most powerful, and reside in Canterlot. Princess Cadence maintains the Crystal Empire to the north. Princess Twilight upkeeps Ponyville, the city we're in. If we can get their support, we could be able to win this war," Crion explained.
"Good plan, but how are we supposed to get nobility to listen. I know that they aren't always the most reasonable people," Sandrick pointed out.
"You forget who you're speaking to, Sandrick. While I agree with your assessment completely, I do find it a little offensive," Crion returned.
"What should we do about the princesses? Twilight doesn't seem to want to help, but swaying one of the more powerful ones would help sway her as well. We could talk to Celestia and Luna, as they seem to be the most powerful. On the other hand, we could talk to Cadence. While she is not as powerful, she is still influential and could help us get the three. The only disadvantage is that we would have to travel very far north to even talk to her. Even then, there is still a chance she won't help us, meaning we've wasted time. However...." Kirileth started, before she was interrupted by Crion.
"Yes, yes. Your reasoning is perfectly sound, but maybe we could save it until we are actually making a final decision."
Kirileth simply huffed and closed her mouth. After a moment though, her look of annoyance turned into one more of urgency.
"Crion, look out!" She shouted, just in time for him to dodge an arrow that would've hit his head. More arrows were continually fired from unknown locations, but it was clear they were missing on purpose. Sandrick tried to point this out, but he was too late. The arrows had created a symbol on the ground with the eerie glow they gave off.
"Get out of the way!" The paladin shouted, jumping out himself, dropping his sword. Unfortunately for Crion and Kirileth, they didn't make it out in time.
Kirileth was the first to start showing the effects. Her normally permanently annoyed expression went blank. Before the transformation could continue, a spear was thrown down the middle of the symbol, destroying some of the arrows. Kirileth and Crion were both blown in the same direction from the force of the spell breaking.
"Who dares disrupt?" A voice boomed across the landscape.
There was only stunned silence from the three visible ponies. Crion had suffered a large gash on his forehead where he had hit the side of a building, as well as some bruising around his ribs. Kirileth had gotten off lighter on injuries, as she had landed on him, causing the bruising. Sandrick hadn't been affected by the disruption, but his mind was still having a battle.
"Well don't just stand there, get the fools!" The same voice boomed at the trio.
Before the shades could reach them, arrows were fired in their direction. While most of them didn't do much damage, it was enough of a distraction to get Sandrick had retrieved his sword he had dropped. He drew it and slashed at any shades that came near. Thankfully, he didn't need to make a last stand, not yet anyway.
Valiant jumped down from the building where Crion had hit his head, a bow slung across his back. He quickly rushed forward and picked up the spear that was thrown, lodging it into the chest of the nearest shade. Shocked, Crion tried to get to his hooves to help, but was forced back down by Kirileth.
Valiant had killed all 8 of the shades that placed down the rune to trap Crion and Kirileth, and was finishing off the two melee that had been guarding said archers. He gave a glance over to Crion, calmly trotting over when he noticed him.
"It seems that we have met again, sooner than I had expected," Valiant assessed, pushing Kirileth out of the way to offer a hoof.
Crion raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but took a hold of it anyway. Kirileth was none too pleased, but decided against angering Valiant. When Crion was on his hooves, Valiant introduced himself to Sandrick and Kirileth.
"Well, it seems that that's dealt with, for now at least. I'm Valiant Defender, and I presume I owe you an explanation," Valiant sighed before continuing. "I'm a former royal guard for Princess Luna, and was discharged for insubordination. It was to save the princess' lives, but not in the way you would think. Instead of going against orders to hold ground or to not attack, I simply refused to do a guard shift. You may be wondering 'Well Valiant, how would not guarding the princess' save their lives?' A good question, and I suppose since we're in the same situation, it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Valiant paused. "I'm a member of a group of demon hunters known as The Silver Hoof. We had branches all over Equestria until the shades came along. The day I refused to guard, the shades had attacked our main outpost in Trottingham. They had requested my aid, but I didn't know how bad things were. I showed up with two of my best, expecting it to be an easy job, but we failed and my friends.. they...." Valiant started lightly sobbing at this point.
"I understand how it is to lose friends when fighting for what you believe in. I also know it's something you never get over," Crion offered with an empathetic smile, wincing when the gash on his head decided to start bleeding again.
"Thanks, but we have more pressing matters at the moment. If the shades have indeed learned how to traverse the dimensions the same way you three no doubt have, we are in some serious trouble. With every being shades corrupt, they gain more power. There's no telling how powerful they already are!" Valiant informed them.
"It wouldn't matter if they were weak! We know no efficient way to combat them. The only known way to slay a shade is by stabbing it through the heart, which is not an easy job," Sandrick commented, his tone worried.
"You are simply insufferable sometimes. Shades wear a special armor made out of a material called Darklace. It protects against most weapons, but not those made from Light-enhanced steel. It's more commonly called lies, and is very hard to create," Valiant countered.
"So, would there be a chance of us getting our hooves on some weapons made out of, well, lies?" Kirileth inquired, holding back a chuckle.
"The makers of Light-enhanced steel have gone into hiding, and it's unlikely that you'll ever find one. Luckily for you, I know a guy that can point us to one," Valiant assured.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go get some!" Kirileth shouted.
Right around that time Crion collapsed, the gash on his head still bleeding pretty badly.
"Right after we get him to a hospital," Kirileth sighed.