//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: A dark horizon // Story: The Northern Crown // by CoronaBorealis //------------------------------// "I'm looking forward to going home soon... I miss my wife and daughter," a knight says as he stands at his post with another soldier. "I know what you mean... I miss my marefriend as well, she was always the best part of my day," he replies as he thinks about her, feeling light as a cloud when he night dreams about the love of his life. The sudden reaction from him makes the first guard laugh and punch him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain, "Oww what the hay! what was that for!" he yells with a glare as he rubs his shoulder. "You need to stop being such a colt and just marry the mare! You've already kept her waiting long enough! Stallion up and put a ring on her horn!" he proclaims with a sly grin, clearly knowing that is one of his easy buttons to push. He blushes profusely and stands up defensively, "I-It's just not the right time! I want it all to be perfect!... Like take her to see the Northern lights!." "Oh please, I already know what's going to happen, you're going to take one look at her under the lights and your going to be so enamored with her you're going to turn into a drooling mess and faint like a drama queen," he says as he faints to show him exactly what he would look like, "Oh you're the most beautiful mare in Equestria! However could I possibly confess my love in a way that is worthy of you!" he says as he brings his hoof up to his head in a dramatic fashion, "Oh wow is me!" His friend's face turns completely red as he slugs him back making him yelp as well, "Shut up! I-It's not my fault she's so gorgeous!" The stallion on the ground chuckles after rubbing his shoulder a little before returning to his hooves, "I know I know, it was hard for me too when I was trying to work up the courage to propose to my wife... but I'll tell you one thing..." he looks out to the desert horizon on the other side of the river, "There's nothing better than seeing the tears of joy in the eyes of the mare you adore... and when she jumps into your arms. That is a memory I will treasure for eternity," he says with a hearty chuckle as he feels himself getting emotional. "Well... when you say it like that... maybe now I will have the courage to do it the next time I see her," he states with a gentle voice as he walks up to the edge of their watchtower. He looks over at his friend with a warm smile but then he looks confused when he sees him staring off. Curiously he looks in the same direction as well and soon finds what he is staring at, a small flame in the distance on the now resting sands. "What is that?..." he asks with a tilt of his head. "I'm not sure what it is but it looks like a normal..." he quickly stops his words as he sees multiple flames starting to appear in a long row, once the row is finished several rows of small flames start to appear behind it in organized columns. "It's almost like it's a...." his eyes widen in shock as he puts the pieces it all together, seeing the flames shoot up into the sky he quickly runs to the other side of the watchtower, "EVERYPONY TAKE COVER!!!!" he screams at the top of his lungs. His warning causes the soldiers that are up to look up at him in surprise, then seeing the flames in the sky they quickly jump for the nearest cover as a rain of flaming arrows falls from the sky and onto the unknowing camp, setting ablaze to many of the tents and striking the soldiers that weren't lucky enough to find shelter from the sudden attack, causing them to fall from the arrows pierced through their vulnerable bodies. Ponies start to scream in agony with others running out of their tents to quickly grab their weapons and shields. The unicorn in the watchtower looks at the pegasus with a serious look, "Go get General Typhoon now before she is struck!" he says as him along with multiple other unicorns cast a spell to put up a large temporary barrier wall in front of the wood wall of the camp, pegasi rushing to the river to bring back water to put out the fires, running the risk of being hit by arrows when they are not protected by the barrier, some falling down to the ground like a bird shot out of the sky. The pegasus flies swiftly as adrenaline pours through his veins, dodging arrows as he soon gets to Typhoon's tent, opening it quickly, only to see that she already has her battle armor on and shield, "General Typhoon ma'am! The camp is being attacked by arrow barrages! Our pegasi are doing their best to put out the fires and the unicorns are keeping up a barrier as long as they can. But we've suffered major casualties from the initial barrage," he says in a quick and composed voice, the last statement making him look down at the ground a little. "Thank you for the report, have the ponies that haven't been struck down setup our counter attack force, and have a few unicorns create a shield for the medical corps to tend to the ones that survived their wounds!" she orders firmly as she puts on her helmet and runs outside, seeing all of the flames that are being put out. Seeing another wave of arrows coming down once again she holds up her shield and many other soldiers follow her lead as they create a shell with their shields, protecting those that don't have a shield and those that can't stand. Once the barrage ends Typhoon lowers her shield, "Archers to the wall! we must return fire before they gain too big of a number advantage!" she says as she runs to the wall. "Their arrows are breaking through the barrier!" she yells as she flies up to the watchtower and sees that multiple battalions of zebra warriors have made their way to the water and have begun to swim across, seeing the opportunity she orders a row of archers on the wall to fire down on the crossing soldiers, now taking their turn to rain hell on their enemies. As soldiers are struck the blood from their bodies stains the water a dark red as it runs downstream, the archers looking with discomfort as they see what they are forced to do to protect their home, knowing that even though they are zebras that have attacked them many times in the past, they are still living equines like them, many finding difficulty in trying to justify it to themselves with any reason they can possibly think of that makes this act the slightest big morally justified, the soldiers having no way to defend themselves as they choke and drown on the water. Seeing the internal conflict in her troops Typhoon turns to face their attackers, "Stand strong everypony! DO NOT FORGET THEY ATTACKED US FIRST AND KILLED OUR OWN! WE CAN NOT LET THEM INTO EQUESTRIA!" she commands with a booming voice. She pulls her sword out and lifts it to the sky, "LET YOUR NEED TO PROTECT YOUR OWN DRIVE YOU!" she looks down at the troops that have arrived on the ground on their side of the river and she soon jumps down and points her sword towards the wall of zebra warriors. The doors of the wall open up and her soldiers rush to stand with their general, seeing them at her side she lifts her sword up to the sky once more and then glares at the charging forces and points her sword at them and they all let out a warrior's roar, all together making it sound like one loud roar as they charge towards the zebra attackers, ponies with large shields leading the charge as the clash of metal rings across the river. ***** A sense of dread falls has befallen the four ponies that bear the crowns of their respective countries, the news of Hadeon's possible return making their hearts sink like stones in a pond. Harmony quietly makes her way to the balcony, the news distressing her the most as she is in no condition to put up a fight because of her pregnancy. "N-No... this can not be... we banished behind the gates of Tartarus! He couldn't have possibly escaped his imprisonment this early! We should have had far longer to improve our magic so that we could permanently be rid of his ruthless reign!" she says with haste and worry, something that is not often seen in the queen that many subjects consider to be the wisest and most composed of the four. "If it is even a possibility that he has returned then we must act with haste if we are to avoid another calamitous loss of life" Diamond says firmly and stands next to his wife to put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder, feeling this Harmony moves her head to his neck for comfort from the distressing news. Helios nods slowly in agreement, "It will take all four of us to defeat him as it was last time, but we can't face him head on yet until Harmony's pregnancy is over..." he says looking at her with a sad look, knowing that the pressure of their position as well as her having at least two more months before she gives birth to their last heir and their worst fear decides to show it's evil eyes. "If we can't face him now.... we need to ensure the safety of as many of our subjects as we possibly can..." Virgo states while standing next to Harmony to comfort her as well. She looks over at Diamond and she notices that her comment has brought a stressed look on Diamond as he looks down at the city. "Are... you ok Diamond?" Diamond lowers his hoof as he watches ponies going about their day's peacefully on the streets of Canterlot, not knowing of the looming threat that they could be pacing. Diamond feels his heart aching as he takes a big breath and let it out, feeling a little sick at the thought that crossed his mind thanks to her comment. After a few long moments Harmony and Helios soon look at him when they pick up on his distress. Once Diamond feels the strength to say what is on his mind he looks at them, "The Crystal Empire won't be able to support every Crystal pony and Equestrian..." Diamond's words sinks into their spirits like daggers and they all look down at Canterlot, feeling the same growing sickness in them that he had. Upon this realization Harmony feels weakness in her legs and sits back on her flank as her breathing gets more labored, the stress being far greater thanks to her vulnerability. Virgo opens her mouth to say something but soon silences herself as she cant feel words coming to her and remains silent with the others as she copes with their situation. "T-There's no way to save all of our subjects?..." Virgo says with desperation, hoping there is some kind of solution no matter how hard it may be to do. "If it were only a short time then we would have the stockpiles of food needed to feed everypony... but if this really is Hadeon we are facing then this could last for decades... if we are to save as many lives as we can and keep them healthy... we will have to... decide who will be left behind..." Diamond states with a heavy heart, his voice noticeably shaken as the well being of his subjects is just as important to him. "But... how can we possibly announce this without arousing chaos in the streets of Canterlot and our other settlements..." "We can only do our best to say what must be done in a calm manner... But our very first priority is to ensure the safety of the next generation of both Crystals and Equestrians... We must approach this carefully, we must not reverse the work we've put in by causing animosity between our subjects," Helios adds and he looks at Virgo and Harmony, "The first choices of who stay in the Crystal Empire must be the foals and their mothers.... as well as pregnant mares." Virgo looks back at him and feels a little guilty that mares are being prioritized over stallions, but know's that in the grand scheme of their entire species being threatened by the presence of their sworn enemy, they are more essential for their survival. "I see where you are coming from with this darling... but what about our stallions and mares without foal?" "It's hard for me to say... but our strongest must stay behind to fight while our foals and mares leave for the safety of our home, however if there are any mares or stallions that are selected to go but want to stay and fight then their spot can be taken by another pony," Diamond says while trying to calm himself, but still has a noticeably disturbed voice. "We can try to increase the ponies that we can take in by increasing our food production, but if we do this for too long it will cause a famine that will destroy our land and starve both Equestrians and Crystals." Diamond raises his head and looks at Helios, "There is another option." His comment draws Helios' attention towards him as he listens, "What might this be Diamond?" "If we've learned anything from his last attempt to dethrone and kill us as well as our subjects that didn't submit to him, it's that he only cares about spreading his influence and having the whole world under his hooves, but most of all he wants to see us suffer. The last time he attacked we weren't prepared for it, however now that we know he has somehow made it back into this world we can take the fight to him," he states with a firm voice and a furrowed brow, showing his confidence in the idea. "That is a very sizable risk Diamond... if we end up losing the battle against him then we will have spent all of those resources we have so little of for nothing..." Helios says with concern, Diamond's statement also causing Virgo and Harmony to look at him in surprise. "It took everything we had to push him into Tartarus last time Diamond! What possibly makes you think we could do it again with the condition that Harmony is in!" Virgo yells in protest as the idea seems absolutely asinine to her. Diamond looks back at her with unwavering convictions, "You forget what we have now, we have the brilliant military leadership of General Typhoon as well as Captain Iron Shield, and while we did have Starswirl the last time he showed his face, the magical ability he has developed eclipses that of his ability when we were all yearlings, non to mention he has taught many strong and talented mages in his time. The difference between then and now is our subjects are far stronger in ability and will, if we can endure the harsh winter and still remain strong together than we can stand our ground against this tyrant!" he proclaims with his strong and confident voice, them not being able to deny that it motivated them a little. He soon calms himself a bit and walks up to stand in front of them, "I understand your concerns... but we simply can't afford to have our hopes as well as the ponies that look at us for leadership slashed again. We need to make our subjects believe that we can make win and triumph over the great evil on the horizon! This will be the final step we need to take to unite our lands for good!" His words are met with silence from the other three for some time, but after a few moments Harmony finds the strength to finally stand up and she looks at Diamond with a smile, "I think that is the best course of action, with all that our ponies have accomplished and endured, there is no way they would possibly let a ruthless tyrant take away all that they love and worked hard for. And our foals will be able to inherit that great future and lead everypony through it." She looks over at Virgo and they gaze at each other and she soon returns her smile and she hugs her friend. "I agree... this fight will be hard, but if we can make everypony believe they can win then we will," Virgo says with a voice of more confidence than before. Helios cant help but grin when he sees them all having such high hopes, but before he can join them a pegasus soon lands on the balcony with an exhausted look as he breaths heavily while bowing for respect, "Your highness..." he says between breaths. Helios looks down at him with a confused look and he motions for him to rise, "What is with this urgency?" he asks with a need for answers, a little nervous that it is bad news. "My king... The southern border is being attacked by zebra forces!" he says with a slight tinge of desperation in his voice, his body shaking in exhaustion from his long journey while he continues to breath heavily. Helios has an alarmed look on his face and he looks at his friends, "We must act now if we are to put this plan into fruition." Turning back to the scout he puts a hoof on his shoulder, "When you are done resting yourself you are to fly back when you feel you have the strength to do so, tell General Typhoon that her orders are to retreat back to the great gorge, that will be a much easier vantage point to hold and it is closer to the capital, as she is retreating her troops are to evacuate the ponies living in our west coast settlements back to Canterlot, our first goal is to get those that can not fight to the crystal empire, which will be our last stronghold in case this war does not turn out in our favor. "W-War sire?..." he says in confusion as he looks up at him, not knowing what he is talking about. "Yes my son.... we are facing a great threat that we must face head on, and if the zebra's are in cahoots with Hadeon, then we need to strengthen our forces as fast as we can," he states to the scout and he soon leaves with his other royals, leaving the scout to get his rest before his time to return back to Typhoon's forces. ***** An hour has passed and the royal four have gathered at the steps of the castle to address their subjects that have gathered in the courtyard, once they've all quieted down Diamond steps ahead and he looks down at them, "A great threat from our past has returned and is looming on the horizon. An old enemy that we thought we faced in the past has undoubtedly returned and has likely raised an army of darkness to forever corrupt this land that we call home." The statement brings many a gasp out of the crowd as they hear the distressing news, seeing this distress Harmony steps up and nods slowly, raising her hoof to have silence. "This news was distressing for me as well... It seems like we only just left hard times behind us, but I say this with complete confidence that we can face this threat and win." "How could we possibly win a war when we are still building up the strength of our country and families!" a pony yells in the crowd, many ponies concurring with the remark. Helios raises his hoof and stands up front with them and Virgo does the same, but walks down the steps and up towards the crowd, "You already possess strength beyond what you think you have, we've endured hard times before and this will be no different." He looks down at a stallion that looks unsure and he puts a hoof on his shoulder, seeing he has a foal standing under him. "We together have grown stronger by the year and not only that, we all have something worth fighting for. I have watched as my wife has brought upon me two beautiful princesses that I will love and fight for until it is my time to pass on to the next world." The little colt looks up at the soft speaking king from under his father's hoof and he smiles a little with big eyes. Helios returns the smile and he soon finds his own wife standing next to him, "Whether it be on the strong back of a hard working stallion, or the miracle of life that mares bring into the world, if there is anything that we know for sure as your leaders," he stops so Virgo can finish for him. "Is that we know that no matter how hard and hopeless we feel in the future of our lands, we always know that we have a strong foundation that shines brighter than the sun," she says with a warm tone that rings in the ears of all that are present, especially in the eyes of mares and fillies when they see their beautiful Queen that they look up to has faith in them. "As my mother once told me, you can steal all earthly possessions a pony has, but you can never procure them of their faith, and if they hold on to their faith, they can endure anything no matter the struggle." Harmony and Diamond soon join their friends and they stand in a line, Harmony lets her horn glow and is soon followed by the other three as they each glow brightly to give them all an image of the power they have together, Diamond soon opens his eyes and looks out at them all, "Those that have the courage to stand their ground and fight for this just cause shall forever be remembered as heroes, and it will be my honor to lead you all into battle, along with Helios. And those that are not able to fight will stay in the Crystal Empire to support the war effort, but to also be in the heaviest guarded place from the dark army we now face. Remember what you have to fight for and let that drive you, and know that they are back home waiting for the return of their hero." Helios raises his hoof and he grins, "LET US FIGHT TOGETHER! SO THAT WE ENSURE A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR OUR KIN!" The ponies all raise their hooves like their king and a roar is heard from them all that feels like it is shaking the very mountain itself, "FOR EQUESTRIA!" "FOR THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!" Crystals and Equestrians shout for support of their lands, seeing that their words were successful in raising the strong moral they knew they needed brings fulfillment to them as they return back to the top step of the castle and look down back at them. "Those who wish to join the fight will speak to the many recruiters that will be stationed at the castle walls, but for those that are unable to fight such as the pregnant, foals, or elders are to be taken to be protected in the Crystal empire, as well as those that wish to stay on the home front and support the war, we will need many on both sides," Diamond finishes and looks to Helios who nods in agreement, "We know that there will always be a level of fear from something like this but you should always know that we will be right there leading the charge with you, as well as all of our best warriors and mages." Having concluded their speeches to their subjects they turn to leave as the Canterlot knights and Crystal royal guard ponies begin to organize the ponies and take down the names of those who will fight, messengers being sent with haste to the multiple settlements of Equestria as well as to the Crystal North to bring the news to those not in the capital city. Having seen all of this from a castle balcony, Corona and Celestia have a look of worry with the idea of a scary war clouding their minds. Holding Luna in her arms she feels her starting to sob when Luna feels their distress. "Shhh Luna... you are safe with me," she says in a soft voice. Corona moves a hoof to gently pet Luna's head to comfort her, knowing she finds it to be soothing, "What are we going to do..." "I'm not sure Corona but... we need to stick together through this... hopefully this will pass over quickly and we can go back to our normal happy lives... I've been told many stories of battle by mister Iron Shield as well as our school historians..." she says in a gentle voice as she rocks Luna. "I know what you mean... It scares me a lot because... father will expect me to become a warrior like him one day... I'm not sure whether I can do something like that..." Corona says with downed ears, feeling uncertain about the idea of fighting to kill. Celestia slowly moves her hoof to his and gently holds it, "We need to be strong... for our little siblings," she says with a smile that tells Corona she's trying to stay positive. "I know... and I would fight to my last breath if it was for my friends or family... it's just... a lot to take in," he says as he offers to hold Luna which Celestia accepts and gently puts her in his hooves as he lays down, Corona looks down at Luna and starts to understand what she was talking about when her little sister gives her the strength she needs to do anything, "I hope that... I will be as good an older brother as you are an older sister," Corona says gently as Luna rests soundly in his soft hooves and fur. Celestia sees this and smiles warmly, giving Corona a gently nuzzle on his cheek which makes him blush a little, "I'm sure you will be Corona," she coos as she lays with him and rests her head on his shoulder, feeling comfort around him as she trusts him more than anypony else thanks to their close bond. "Right.... thank you Celestia," he replies and rests his head on her's as he watches the sun set on the horizon.