(Canterlot Castle, The Bathhouse)
The door creaked open as Burning Star softly opened it. He had just arrived back at Canterlot Castle, and was feeling compelled to tell Celestia the news. The halls were empty and spacious, and Burning Star could see nopony around.
“Hello?” he asked aloud as he wandered around. “ ‘Tia, we’ve got bad news!”
There was no answer at all.
Burning Star resorted to peeking his head in doorways. In all of them, he hurriedly backed out as he saw what was going on, muttering an apology under his breath.
He tried to take his mind off the immense lewdness he was seeing by humming to himself.
This went on for a quarter of an hour until he reached a room where it was locked and had a sign that said “DO NOT ENTER. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.”
“Celestia oughta be in there,” Burning Star said to himself, and with a chime of his horn, he unlocked the door and swung it inward.
It was a tiled room, with a large mirror on one end and a shower curtain over a bathtub on the other side. Hot mist filled the air, and he could hear the sound of water running.
Those were the first signs that Burning Star was in the wrong place. But the big indicator was the limp black bodysuit lying on the toilet.
Shoot! Burning Star thought upon seeing it. Freedom Fighter’s in here! This is his personal bathroom!
There came the sound of a sliding curtain, and Burning Star wheeled around to see the hateful red eyes of Freedom Fighter peek out from the shower curtain.
Freedom's burning red eyes stared right into Burning Star's dark blue ones... no pony said a word.
Then, the next few moments were in a blur.
He felt a hard hoof slam into his neck and send him stumbling backwards, hitting his back on the counter. Even by Burning Star’s resilience standards--he could take a pretty considerable hit--the hoof hit hard. He saw Freedom Fighter leap out of the bathtub and pin his neck to the large mirror behind him, faster than even he could react. Freedom Fighter’s murderous red eyes drove deep into his own dark blue ones, but Burning Star didn’t focus on the eyes so much as he did on the rest of his face. And his body.
"By Celestia's Mane, Freedom Fighter! What the hell happened to you?"
The pressure on his neck was enormous, and he could feel his esophagus squishing back under the hard hoof Freedom Fighter held him under. He saw him slowly, slowly shake his head no, then he pointed at himself. The meaning was clear.
“Listen! I...won’t...tell,” Burning Star managed to get out. “You’ll stay...a secret! I swear it! I swear on my own life."
Freedom Fighter sliced his right hoof across his neck whilst glaring at him with all the hate he could muster. His left hoof was the one pinning him to the wall.
“Or I’ll die?” he exclaimed. “Oh, I’d like to see you try, you ugly mother fu-"
The pressure on his neck got even harder, and he almost blacked out from the sudden push. He tried to raise his hooves to remove the arm pinning him down, but no matter how hard he pushed, he could not get his arm to move down.
“Okay!” he squeaked, his eyes bulging. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it! Faust on high, can you take a joke?"
The hoof swiped him to the side, out the open door, and as Burning Star landed ignominiously on his butt outside in the hall, the bathroom door slammed shut and he heard a very heavy click as the door was furiously locked.
Burning Star massaged his neck uncomfortably, glancing at the bathroom door where he finally found out what Freedom Fighter was hiding about himself.
He thought while walking, "Oh, man...I’m sorry, Freedom. That’s just...awful! Also, slightly disturbing."
Celestia, as a matter of fact, was actually in the throne room. Why Burning Star hadn’t checked there first was a bit of an enigma to him.
He had delivered the news to her that Dark Star had tried to negotiate with Midnight Sparkle, but ended up simply cementing the fact that Midnight would attack Canterlot in only a few days. Now that the damage was irreversible, the only thing left to do now was to simply prepare for yet another invasion of Canterlot.
Celestia had acted promptly. Over the next few days, preparations for war had escalated. Learning from the lessons with both Stygian and Midnight’s visit alone, the Royal Guard had prepared more quickly than before, and more troops were set out on alert.
One day, on a day where the Guardians of the Sun were sitting in the armory with Crimson Mane, the door had opened up widely and in the small doorway were several rather small and insignificant ponies called the Masters of Nature. Each of them were stallions, and each of them seemed to be exhausted.
Noble Blade looked up from polishing his sword. Tilting his head to the side, he said, “Who art thou?”
“Oh, nopony in particular,” came the voice of Iron Steed, deep and nonchalant. “Just a couple of ponies that would like to meet you."
“And a hippocampus,” another voice offered.
“Yes, Sea Breeze,” yet another voice said, heavy with reluctance and yet quick like a bolt of lightning. “And a hippocampus. Thank you ever so much for giving us that pointless addition since we already can tell your a hippocampus because you have Fish scales instead of fur!"
“You’re talking more than needs to be said, Thunder Fury,” Iron Steed grumbled out. “Quiet."
Thunder Fury fell into a sullen silence.
Iron Steed came forth into noticeable light with a friendly smile. “I guess you must be Noble Blade,” he said warmly. “I’ve heard good things about you from Burning Star."
“Once again, Who art thou?” Noble Blade repeated, standing up and setting the tip of his sword in the ground, both out of safety and out of stability.
Iron Steed towered over him, easily a head taller than even Freedom Fighter...
“He apparently wasn’t kidding when he talked about your speech. That I now know for certain.” He reached a hoof out in greeting. “I am Iron Steed, Master of Metal and the bodyguard and best friend of Burning Star. As we came into this universe, we met up with him and he told us about what happened between you and him. You seem to be getting along rather well, I must say.”
Noble Blade shook his hoof. Though Iron Steed was of monumental stature and might, Noble Blade’s strength equaled that of his. After a short hoofshake, where neither pony could squish the other’s hoof, they let go.
“Are you always like this?” Firestorm asked Iron Steed.
“Normally,” Iron Steed admitted. “Normally, yeah. Burning Star is the only one strong enough to not have their hooves broken by a hoof shake with me."
“So stiff and so no-nonsense all the time?”
“Um...yes. When you lived in the desert most of your life, you tend to end up that way."
“Alright. Not my type.” Firestorm went into a higher voice. “Sorry, dahling, but you’re simply not my type. Buh-bye!” He cheerfully waved him off, then directed his attention to the other Masters of Nature clustered in the doorway and said, “Okay, is there anypony else over there that wants to come in? Or are you all going to stand there like a bunch of hippies?”
“Who you callin’ a hippy, fusehead?” a defiant voice said, zooming out into Firestorm’s face. He was light grey furred with a neon yellow mane, and on his flank was a pair of thunderbolts in the shape of a capital T. His bright yellow eyes seemed to slightly glow as well... “I’m telling you right now, I’m not answering to Hippy, you...you hippy!”
“Ooh,” Firestorm remarked sarcastically. “Nice comeback.”
Thunder Fury started to snort, and The Guardians were surprised to see ACTUAL BOLTS OF ELECTRICITY arching throughout his mane and tail.
Thunder Fury responded, Noble could practically smell the ozone coming off him, "Listen here you unpopular, unappreciated Applejack with wings! I already despise you moments after we have met, it's a new record. Let's give the lucky pony a prize, a BROKEN NECK AND A CHARRED CORPSE! Aaaaah!"
Thunder Fury finally snapped and threw a electrically charged punch at Firestorm’s face. But although he was an incredibly fast pegasus, Firestorm was faster in reflex. He twitched his head to the side as his hoof came sailing past, then he grabbed it out of the air and threw him to the ground.
Crimson Mane, off to the side, started to clap enthusiastically. “Wow. Not bad, Firestorm” she commented. “I’m just sad that I wasn’t the one to do it.”
Thunder Fury stood back up, looking absolutely furious, but he did nothing else.
“Would you like to try that again?” Firestorm asked him casually, picking at his hoof.
Thunder Fury roared, "I'LL TURN YOU TO ASH!" And he prepared a lightning bolt by literally ripping one out of the various sparks arching in his mane. The electricity in the air was making Noble's, Firestorm's, and everypony's mane stand on end, metal was quickly becoming more and more dangerous to stand near.
Thunder Fury finally screamed, "GIGAVOLT..."
He was quickly interrupted from his attack and knocked aside by Iron Steed, where he embedded in the wall. Iron Steed said, "Would you quit it! For one time in your life don't try to kill the first pony that wounds your somehow still thin skin!"
Firestorm was about to add in, but Noble spoke to him.
“Oh, hush Firestorm.” Noble said to the fiery pegasus, and he shut up at once.
Noble turned to the next pony in line. This one was a pale earth pony with sky blue swirls in his white tail. The feature that stood out the most, however, was the blindfold over his eyes. The Guardians concluded that this pony was apparently blind, and he bowed directly in front of Noble Blade.
“Ha... Greetings Noble Blade, Firestorm, Crimson Mane. My name is Wind Walker, Master of Wind.” he intoned in a mysterious voice that sounded like a ghost. “I am truly honored to be in your presence. You are truly what a guardian of the forces of good should be. The winds of your world speak of your feats of justice."
“Thank... you?” Noble asked. There seemed to be a mystic, almost otherworldly kind of power surrounding him that Noble couldn’t exactly pinpoint, and it both reassured him and made him feel incredibly squeamish at the same time.
Even he wasn't this calm when meeting somepony new!
Wind Walker radiated power, but it wasn’t brash or aggressive, like Burning Star. This was serene and accepting of anything that might happen to it, but also firm and unyielding to darkness. It made him feel at peace, and when Wind Walker moved aside to allow the next pony to introduce himself, Noble felt as though his strength had partially left him.
Wind Walker then said to Firestorm, "By the way, your sister says hello."
Firestorm suddenly went white, how the buck did he know his sister?!
“'Scuse me?” the new voice asked. This one came from a pony shorter than Noble Blade. He looked as though he had been formed out of a pile of vegetation. With a lime green body and a dark green mane, that looked to somehow be made out of foliage. If one didn't see the large horn on his head he could have been mistaken for a shrub. This pony carried with him the scent of the forests and fresh cut grass. “Can I ask you something? My name is Thorn Horn, Master of Earth."
Noble let a smile grace his lips. He smelled all the scents of the forest from this stallion. “Fire away, Thorn Horn."
“Why do you fight on your hind legs?”
“It’s a better way of fighting,” Firestorm explained, from behind Noble Blade. “We can hold weapons better and move more dexterously.”
“By Gaia's Hair!” the pony exclaimed, his mane literally bursting into roses. “I hadn’t even considered that! I may have to make a note of that."
He had backed away and had bumped into a hard pillar. He turned around to see that the pillar was actually Freedom Fighter’s arm. Upon seeing who it was, Thorn Horn scooted away and his fur suddenly shifted to the white and gray of the tile floor.
Noble thought to himself, "Fascinating, he seems to be able to camouflage himself to any surface."
Thorn Horn spoke, “Oh, um, hi there,” he feebly offered. “H-how are you?”
Freedom Fighter did not even move. He just looked down on him with narrowed eyes and a deep scowl on his lips, barely exposed through his bodysuit.
“I-I’ll, uh...I shall be going now.” he said, and he scooted aside hurriedly and did not look at Freedom Fighter for the rest of the time they were in the room.
“Are you who the one they call Freedom Fighter?” Wind Walker asked of him.
The mute pony’s only response was a tight, curt nod. He was already offset by Wind Walker's ghost-white coat, and the air of... unusual calm when he spoke to Freedom.
At that point, Wind Walker did something strange. He removed his blindfold, letting his eyes be seen.
Like most cases of blindness, they were faded white, but two large scars, almost like claw marks, hung over his eyes.
He came to Freedom Fighter’s face and stared directly into his eyes, blind though he was. Freedom Fighter, though he was unsettled by the unnatural way he seemed to be staring into his eyes, stood still and stoic.
The unnerving part Freedom was feeling was the fact that he swore he heard voices around Wind Walker... haunting voices that reminded him of the past...
When Wind Walker spoke, it was smooth, almost angelic, but it also seemed utterly haunting and terrifying to hear.
“You and I have lost what a significant part of who we were and now are,” Wind Walker murmured, so only Freedom could hear him. “For you it was your tongue... For me it was my eyes. I understand your loss, but for all my powers, I will never truly understand the pain you live through. Each and every day, You must remember to live through it to see the end of the day.”
He paused before saying something that turned him pale as well.
"Twice you have escaped the Pale Rider, Freedom Fighter... do not try to tempt fate any longer, or your luck may just run out... and the Pale Rider always gets his prize..."
Freedom Fighter’s stomach clenched, and his brain was spiraling from the massive shock that Wind Walker knew who he was... but he gave a thin-lipped nod. Firestorm and Noble Blade, watching the sympathetic gesture, were curious as to how he had found out those kinds of secrets about Freedom Fighter, but Firestorm was more concerned.
Coming as an expert in internal insecurities, Firestorm saw that there was obviously something in Freedom Fighter to be concerned about. Shoving the thought to the side, though, he made room for the final Master of Nature to present himself.
He was... different to say the least. Alongside of his sea-blue, almost cobalt blue fur there were blue-green fish scales that glimmered with reflections of light. His algae green mane seemed to drape over him and curled up like a crashing wave. His hooves were the weirdest, he still had hooves, but fins hung over them like the fins on a seal or sea lion. He had wings were like any normal Pegasus, but had fish like webbing instead of feathers, making it appear as if he were some sort of sea dragon...
“Name's Azure Wave, but that's a bit long so you can call me Sea Breeze,” the hippocampus introduced, holding out a hoof, the flipper hanging over it like some sort of cover. “Burning Star really told us about you in particular, lad!”
“Me?” Firestorm asked in restrained surprise. “What about me? About the chill way the two of us interact with each other?”
“No, actually. He talked more about how annoying you can be at times..."
“Did he also mention how I think he can be pretty idiotic as well?”
“I don’t think he’d mention that, ya think?"
Firestorm, obviously a little miffed, responded “Right. Sure. ‘Hey, Sea Breeze. I’ll present everything good about me to you. Everypony loves me! And those that don’t are going to be proven wrong!’ I’m sure that’s how it sounded like, right?”
Sea Breeze closed his eyes and smirked, “He didn’t word it exactly like that."
“Who the heck would word a description that way?"
“You?” Noble Blade quietly remarked, off to the side.
“What was that, Noble?” Firestorm slowly asked, rolling his eyes to the side to give him a glare.
“Nothing.”
Sea Breeze finished his talk with Firestorm on a high note. "What Burning Star said was that "At least your not as bad as my brother Thunder Fury." to be honest, Thunder Fury was always a pain in the arse for all of us."
Firestorm beamed from ear to ear, he was better than that twitching, electrified mess of a Pegasus!
“Noble Blade!” Sea Breeze exclaimed. He rushed over and shook his hoof enthusiastically, making Noble Blade chatter in his armor and leaving his hooves somehow soaked with water despite there not being any around.
“I’m excited to meet ya! You’ve done a lot of things to prevent the world from being destroyed!” He eyed him somewhat disappointedly. “I’m surprised, though. For somepony who’s done so much for his country, you seem rather...plain to see.”
“I’m in disguise,” Noble quipped, rolling his eyes to the side.
“You are?” Sea Breeze exclaimed in sarcasm. “Oh, my gosh, I’m sorry. Will you have to go off the grid again? Is it my fault?”
“Is he always like this?” Firestorm whispered to Thunder Fury, who had just again regained consciousness.
“Do you always ask so many questions? You horrible haired twit?” Thunder Fury whispered back in irritation.
“Didn’t you just ask a question?”
“I did?”
“You just did it again!”
Wind Walker spoke up to Firestorm and Thunder Fury, his wraith-like voice somehow taking dominance over the others, "It seems to me that you two are a lot alike... im surprised you two don't get along."
"Go jump in a meat grinder, blind boy." said Thunder Fury as he hurled a bolt of electricity at Wind Walker, who somehow weaved around it extremely casually.
Wind Walker spoke again, "That was completely uncalled for, Master of Lightning."
Thunder Fury snarled at the blind earth pony, "Well I really don't care if it was called for or not! All I care about now is killing whatever has made Eclipsio drag me away from finally beating Rainbow Dash at a race... then beating her to a pulp. Hahaha!"
Before Thunder Fury could respond, Wind Walker shouted, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"
He slammed his front hooves together and began to levitate in the air, powerful winds began to converge around him.
the gusts knocked weapons off racks and even blew some ponies on their sides as Wind Walker spoke, his voice as loud as a raging cyclone and sheer power emanating from him. "YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT THESE PONIES ANYMORE, THUNDER FURY, OR I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE YOU FEEL THE PAIN YOU INFLICT ON OTHERS TENFOLD!"
Thunder Fury screamed as the wind around Wind Walker howled like a mad banshee, then it dropped the Pegasus like a bag of wet cement.
That shut up the electric menace as Thunder Fury slowly backed away and sat, quivering in fear and quietly sobbing.
All the Guardians stood shock still, all of them were thinking the same thing though.
"Don't disrespect the blind pony."
“All right!” Crimson Mane said, standing up from her bench in the armory. She pointed her head in the direction of each Master of Nature “Okay, so we’ve got Iron Steed. Tough, large, and no-nonsense. Thunder Fury, belligerent, hot tempered, and fast. Wind Walker, mysterious, cryptic, and unnervingly creepy. Thorn Horn, inquisitive and curious. And Sea Breeze, energetic, somewhat sarcastic, and excitable. Did I miss anypony else?”
“Burning Star,” Firestorm offered. “He’s crude, arrogant, somewhat petty, and the alicorn of fire, as he’s so insistent on reminding us all of.” He looked back at the Masters of Nature. “Okay, is that it? All of ‘em?”
“Not precisely,” Thorn Horn said to him. “There’s one more of us.”
“Who is he?” Crimson Mane asked.
“The last member of the Masters of Nature be Quickfire,” Sea Breeze said in excitement before Thorn Horn could say anything.
Quickfire's one eye went wide, "What in Celestia's name are you doing? Shut up!"
Crimson Mane’s face became distorted into a face of surprise, then rage. “He’s one of you?!" she asked indignantly.
Confused as to why she was angry all of a sudden, Thorn Horn said, “Um, yeah. Why are you so mad about this? Also, who are you?”
“Oh, not much,” Crimson Mane said. “Just the fact that he messed everything up where I come from. And now he’s with you as well? Now suddenly he has to matter to us?”
“What element of nature does he represent?” Noble Blade curiously asked.
“The element of fighting spirit, he embodies the spirit and will of the ponies of Equestria... he is the greatest warrior in the world. Well, our world at least." Thorn Horn supplied.
“That’s a thing?” Firestorm asked in bewilderment.
“Of course that’s a thing! Why wouldn't it be a thing?!" continued Thunder Fury, who snapped out of his sadness and returned, somehow still mad.
“Beating the crap out of other ponies is just a part of nature?” Firestorm suddenly widened his eyes in realization. “Ooooh. Oh, I get it now.”
After the initial meeting, the Masters of Nature and the Guardians of the Sun got along remarkably well as they made preparations to defend Canterlot. Iron Steed and Wind Walker took well to Freedom Fighter and Noble Blade, while Thorn Horn hung out around Firestorm. Sea Breeze got along remarkably well with all three of them, and Thunder Fury was too belligerent for even Firestorm to handle.
When Burning Star found out about their acquaintance, he had became noticeably more agreeable to anyone that spoke with him. This included Firestorm and Princess Celestia, who he spoke to equitably because they were all by now connected by bonds of friendship. He was especially respectable to Freedom Fighter, for a reason Noble Blade and Firestorm didn’t know.
At first, Princess Celestia and Luna of the Guardians's world found it odd to meet their counterparts and some of the newer guests, like Prince Eclipsio, but over time they got used to them.
Prince Eclipsio was busy talking with the Celestia and Luna of the Guardians world, he was currently filling them in on all the events that had happened on his world concerning Burning Star's rise to fame and how the world has been changed by all the disasters.
Eclipsio spoke to them as they walked, "So, where should I begin, Celestia and Luna?"
Luna answered, "How about explaining how Burning Star overcame this... "Daybreaker"?"
Eclipsio nodded, "Very well... here we go."
Prince Eclipsio created a holographic projection in front of them as they walked.
He began to narrate over it."About 10 years ago is when King Sombra returned, bringing Burning Star with him. At first he was assumed to be just as bad as his master. But after his misinterpretation of King Sombra's desire to make Twilight Sparkle his new student, and became angry because he believed he was being replaced. So, he defected from Sombra, and after a short bout with Twilight, allied himself with her. My Celestia became especially paranoid of his sheer might, since he had single hoofedly broken both her and Luna's shields with his Star Strike attack."
Luna gasped, "Wow, he broke their shields that easily? How?"
Eclipsio shuddered as he said, "Through sheer power, it seemed. But about Daybreaker... because of that overwhelming paranoia and desire to get rid of him, Celestia was consumed by her own wrath and pride and transformed into Daybreaker, the equivalent of her Nightmare Moon. Thankfully, she was defeated by Burning Star and Twilight Sparkle working as a team. It was revealed that she was simply Sunset Shimmer in disguise. The real Celestia was locked away in Tartarus, and freed by Spike."
Eclipsio's hologram changed, showing the next line of events, the "Nightmare Ponyville Crisis".
"Our next event is the "Nightmare Ponyville crisis", in which Tantabus and the Nightmare Tribe invaded and corrupted all the Element Bearers."
Celestia chimed in, "Wait a second, isn't Tantabus on our world just a manifestation of Luna's guilt from being Nightmare Moon?"
Prince Eclipsio chuckled. "Tantabus is completely different to us. It is actually the thing that caused Luna to become Nightmare Moon, and the leader of that disgusting Nightmare Tribe. Also, Sunset broke out of her inprisonment to control them. She also created a zombie like Alicorn called Black Sun to trick ponies, specifically the you from my world, into thinking that I had returned. When I returned for real, I was merely a spirit, so I inhabited Black Sun's body and led the charge against Sunset Shimmer, putting her away again."
The projection changed one last time, showing a snowy tundra. "Finally, we come to the most recent event, "The Windigo Wars." Ten years later, and about 3 months ago, The Windigos, vicious icy monsters from the Frozen North, reemerged to try and freeze over Equestria like they nearly did on the first Heart's Warming Eve. They were led by the deadly Queen Diamanda, who was infatuated with Burning Star. In an attempt to fix the tension between Pony and Windigo, he agreed to meet with Diamanda. It... went horribly wrong and Burning Star began to overheat, which led to the hunt for and discovery of the Masters of Nature, also... King Sombra returned."
Eclipsio finished up by saying, "After finding all of them and Burning Star recovering from that coma he was in... King Sombra attempted to corrupt Twilight again, unleashing Midnight Sparkle. After a well-fought battle against the Windigo Queen Diamanda, Midnight attempted to try and take over from the Celestia and Luna of my world. It almost worked, with Celestia and Luna turning into Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon, they were defeated by Burning Star and Twilight Sparkle, unfortunately we failed to stop Midnight and she escaped here, leading to all your recent troubles. Yeah, sorry about that."
Celestia sighed and said, "It is frustrating that this has happened, but I get why it did. We will prevail against Midnight."
Prince Eclipsio nodded, "Yes, we will. As long as we have breath in our bodies, we make our own path in life!"
(Canterlot Castle, Western Wall)
One day, after an alert from an especially sharp-eyed patrol, all sixteen of them were standing on the battlements of Canterlot Castle, overlooking the horizon.
The Sunset Shimmer, Discord, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle of Burning Star's World had went back to Canterlot Castle to serve as the last line of defense.
Meanwhile, Shining Armor, Shadow Armor, Prince Eclipsio were working alongside King Sombra, waiting for the order to attack and charge down Midnight's army.
This left The Guardians of the Sun, Star Hunters, Masters of Nature, and Burning Star at the front line defense.
Along the western edge of the city near the bank of the river, sat a large army bearing the banner of Midnight Sparkle.
Thunder Fury had already been sent to do reconnaissance, and he had just reappeared in a literal stroke of lightning.
He spoke to Burning Star, "Whatever Dark Star provoked in Midnight REALLY set her off, there are thousands of troops down there, each armed to the teeth!"
Noble asked the lighting Pegasus a question, "Any signs of Midnight Sparkle or Stygian? Or any power players?"
Thunder Fury nodded, "Yeah. Midnight is at the front of the army, Stygian is standing right beside her. She wearing some really garish hot pink and dark purple armor. Like... Faust almighty that is ugly."
Thorn Horn simply sighed, "Thunder, I don't think she is concerned with her choice of color combination... she is trying to kill us!"
Wind Walker glared at them and they were both silenced. He spoke, sending a chill up the spines of everypony present. "So Midnight decides to launch her assault against Canterlot, by using one of the most overused cliché evil armies possible."
Noble took out a pair of binoculars and began his own observation, what he saw sickened him.
The soldiers were ponies, but they had clumps of fur hanging off their bodies. Bones were visible through their coats, and their steps seemed sluggish and slightly drowsy.
Wind Walker continued to speak,
"She defiles the cycle of life in order to bolster her own army." He suddenly struck a pose, covering his eyes with his hoof, "I cannot allow this to go without consequence!"
Hiller raised an eyebrow, "Uh Noble, care to tell us what he freakin' means by defiling the cycle of life?"
He lowered the binoculars and said, "Yeah, she apparently has a zombie army. This is starting to become ridiculous, you know."
Crimson Mane responded to his by saying, "Starting? STARTING?! This has been ridiculous for the past few months that Midnight has been around. No, Noble, this is already ridiculous!"
Burning Star suddenly grabbed Crimson Mane with his magic and set her to the side, "We know its ridiculous, Crimson... you don't need to point it out."
Burning Star looked down upon the army, and sighed, earning a surprised glance from Noble.
Noble Blade asked the black Alicorn, "What are you sighing about?"
Burning Star turned to the knight and said, "Dark Star is currently laughing his ass off in my head that Midnight took his bait. I just cannot believe that Midnight would listen to Dark Star, I mean he just acts like a little foal throwing a tantrum. You really aren't supposed to take anything he says seriously unless he quiets down as says something that isn't concerned with destruction."
Noble then saw something rather incredible...
The smirk on Burning Star's face vanished and was replaced with a glare harder than diamonds and a thin line of a facial expression. While he had seen the glare Burning Star had on his face before, he never had seen it so... complete.
Burning Star took to the air, saying in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "Alright! Listen up all of you, because what I'm about it say is important! We know Midnight's here, now the question is what are we going to do about it?!"
He continued, "I know what we will do! We will fight her, fight her to the last breath, fight her till the last drop of blood is spilt, fight her until our bones are broken and out blades are shattered! We will not surrender, we will not retreat! We will persevere and take back our world!"
He turned toward Quickfire, "Quickfire! Bring me my weapon."
Quickfire asked the obvious question, "Which one?"
Noble Blade watched as Burning Star's face twisted into a grin, "Bring me... the Godslayer Cleaver..."
Quickfire shuddered, but nodded. His horn glowed and out popped a massive weapon that Noble gasped at.
It was a huge, single edged sword, probably the same size as he was, it was colored a dull red and black. Emblazoned on the blade was a six pointed star of flames... it's hilt was colored a bright red and was wrapped in red dragon leather wrappings. A Fire Ruby was adorning the pommel of the sword.
Everypony drew their weapons, ready for battle.
Freedom watched in utter awe as Burning Star lifted it high over his head and pointed it at the army, he bellowed with such intensity that the very ground shook.
"Now! Let us put our differences aside, we are not separate in this war against Midnight! We stand united against her! We will defend our homes, we will defend our worlds! Now, let us be done with this war!"
Noble Blade smiled with pride as he heard the word that echoed throughout the land...
"EVERYPONY, CHARGE!"
Burning Star took off from the top of the wall, while the rest jumped down to the path leading out to the battlefield.
Midnight gave the order as well, seeing Burning Star and the group rushing towards them.
She screamed out, "CHARGE! KILL THEM ALL!"
The massive army ran headfirst towards the group of heroes...
And the War Against Midnight Sparkle had begun!