//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: A Future Worth Saving // by Flashgen //------------------------------// About a mile into the Everfree Wilds, the crushing of bark and the splintering of tree limbs resonated through the air, deafened by the hum of engines as seven large metal monstrosities pushed forward, tearing down every tree in their path as a pair of grinders attached to their fronts tore the wood to shreds. From their backs spewed pitch black ash and smoke which rose into the air as an ominous signal of the destruction they carried with their arrival and left as their trail. At their sides were several earth ponies, making sure that they were working properly as they cut a swath through the treeline, growing deeper by the minute. The more alarming sight, however, was what the smoke concealed from sight in the open fields behind them. Set up across several acres was an army prepared to march, made of troops resting in tents or tending to supplies or catapults in similar appearance to the metallic monsters cutting through the woods. Amidst the scattered tents were several circles of earth ponies or unicorns facing off against one another in armed combat or dodging bolts of magic flung through the air, which left a sizzling trail of heat behind them. The air was thick with the scent of blood lust and rage as an injury or death appeared a somewhat common occurrence, and while the former was remedied quickly with the aid of some trained unicorns cloaked in grey the latter was left to rot on the soft green grass. In the skies above, several lightly armored pegasi and gryphons did the same, practicing maneuvers or traveling between tents with orders, maps, and supplies for the march to come. One young gryphon in particular dashed through the calm sky with urgency towards a large tent set up at the edge of a hill overlooking the army, her brown and white feathers blowing lightly in the gust that trailed her. She took a moment to compose herself after landing at its entrance before throwing the drapes open. Inside the massive tent were a few ponies wearing black uniforms gathered around a large table littered with maps and documents concerning troop make-ups and supplies that had been accounted for. The air hummed with debate over proper strategy or what kind of enemy force they might expect to encounter. At the head of the table stood a large gryphon, his entire body covered with black feathers, tipped with a light tinge of red, with a black metal plate at his breast, adorned with two crossed golden talons. He seemed uninterested in the discussion as his eyes stayed focused on the documents around the table, until the younger gryphon entered. His neck craned up as his voice bellowed over the discussion, “That is enough for now captains. The strategy Mossrow and I have prepared will be more than adequate. Remember, we are dealing with a highly organized group of ponies more than capable of defending their homelands for this long, and in an environment that is extremely harsh to its outsiders. Make sure that your troops are well aware that these are not untrained savages, and that they should be ready for whatever we come across. We’ll commence the march in two hours’ time. You are dismissed.” As the captains filed out of the tent and set out to return to their troops, the black gryphon looked to his visitor with a warm smile, “Ah, Avia, I see you’ve returned from the crusher group. Do you have good news to report?” The young gryphon bowed quickly in response, “Yes General Foulric, the crushers have been keeping their speed for the last hour, and there appear to be no major hiccups so far. Unfortunately, much of the debris can’t be cleared at this pace, so we may have some trouble marching the entirety of the troop line through as planned.” Foulric shook his head lightly, “I knew this idea wouldn’t work... Mossrow is nothing but a brutish foal trying to push through a brick wall with his bare hooves. Have the troop movements cut in half for normal ground forces, keep the same planned Battlehorn and catapult contingents moving forward like the original strategy called for. Get the information to the Scryers for relaying once the movements start.” Avia nodded as she stood up from her bow, “And what about General Mossrow? Do you know his whereabouts?” “Given his past, most likely out enjoying his usual ‘festivities’... I’m sure his stomping grounds are whatever circle forms closest to his quarters, so we won’t need to travel far to find him.” “I can have one of the guards call him back to you.” The black gryphon shook his head, “No, I’ll go have this discussion with him now.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The clash of steel resonated from the center of the dirt ring, ponies of all shades gathered around. Inside its boundaries a small, light green colt squared off against a dark red colt who towered above him, adorned with armor. In each colt’s mouth was a blade, held tightly between their teeth. Despite their differences in size, however, the larger colt was breathing heavily, on the brink of exhaustion as the green colt dashed forward for another strike. He tried to get his guard back up as the smaller colt swiftly dodged a slash of the blade, using his own to push his opponent’s head upward, leaving his legs open. With a swift buck to his legs and a grunt of pain, the large colt released the blade as it pierced the soft earth next to his body, now strewn across the dirt. The green colt quickly placed the blade against his throat, stamping a hoof onto his gut as he stared into his eyes with a grin, muttering lightly around his blade, “So predictable, filled with pride before the fight and fear at its conclusion... I wonder if your mother even let you stop sucking from the teat before you asked her to sign you up to play soldier...” Beads of sweat fell down the colt’s face as his eyes darted from side to side, “Please... I- I’m sorry, w-we’re supposed to be on the same side!” The blade pressed harder into his neck, drawing a trickle of blood, “And now you’re begging! It’s enough to make me laugh... You don’t even belong under my command you pitiful little bi-” A shout pierced through the crowd, “Mossrow!” The ponies around the ring parted to let the black gryphon enter the ring, Avia standing at its boundary as she kept a close eye on the two. The green colt smirked as he turned to face his peer, twisting the blade lightly with his tongue before he jumped off the colt, throwing his weapon through the colt’s hind leg, pinning him to the ground in a small puddle of crimson as he screamed in pain and two cloaked unicorns moved forward from the edge of the ring. “Foulric, such a pleasure to see you out on the field. I thought you’d be up in your little tent giving orders for the entire battle like usual. Do you want to get your precious talons bloody this time around? I promise it comes out, though I think it might match your feathers it leave it in.” The green colt turned back to the sobbing colt, muttering under his breath, “What a foal... do you expect an enemy to care while you’re bawling at the edge of death?” Foulric narrowed his gaze, “The march is starting soon, I thought I had told you to stay at the generals’ station so that we could finalize the movements. And injuring your troops isn’t exactly helping our situation.” Mossrow trotted towards the edge of the ring, rolling his eyes, “If it’s injuring ones like that, we’ll be better off in the long run. Besides, you always boast about how my strategy is nothing but horse-apples, so isn’t my input less than appreciated?” He turned back to Foulric, “I see you brought your little prodigy, is she going to be attached to your hip like usual?” Foulric tried to ignore his “partner’s” pokes and prods as the crowd began to dissipate and the three began to walk back towards the generals’ tent at the crest of the hill, “The path cleared by the crushers isn’t going to be free of debris like we expected, so the ground troops will be cut in half for the march. But the special troops will be the same number. We’ll have to move slowly to be prepared.” “I still don’t know why we need to be so cautious. These savages won’t stand on their hooves for a second once my soldiers get close to them.” “These ‘savages’ are more prepared than you might expect, and your troops are not used to fighting out here. Besides, we have no idea what they might have in sto-” Foulric was cut off as a loud roar echoed through the sky and everypony’s attention was drawn to the treeline of the Everfree Wilds. Under the pale moonlight they could barely see a shape that resembled a massive lizard only a few feet above the tree tops in the distance, soon obstructed by a massive blur flying towards the camp. The ground under their hooves shuddered like an earthquake as one of the crushers crashed into a section of tents, a series of screams silenced in a moment’s notice as shards of metal flew into the surrounding area and an explosion of gasoline and oil showered the meadow with a burst of flames. Mossrow couldn’t help but grin as he turned to the gryphon, “You’re right... it looks like this will be more exciting than I could have dreamed...” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike let out another roar as the ponies on the ground below began to scurry quickly around the remaining six crushers in a panic. He flew away from their cover as he looked back to the five ponies still on his back, “Are you sure about this Twilight? I don’t know if you all should be heading down there.” “We have to Spike, the others still need time to get here and we’re the only ones that can hold them off.” Twilight turned back to Applejack, whose helmet obstructed her face, “Are you sure you’ll be alright down there Applejack?” “Sure as sugar, ain’t nopony gonna stand a chance against this here Apple.” Her vision scanned across the debris stricken path out to the meadow, spotting several ponies trying to make their way back to the main camp, “Spike! Over there, just get me close and ah’ll take care of the rest!” Spike flapped his wings quickly as he barreled through the air, his shadow passing over the group in moments. Applejack wasted no time as she jumped from the dragon’s back with a yell, “YEEEEHAW!” It was only seconds before her arrival at the ground was followed by a large shockwave, knocking several of the ponies to the ground while others quickly prepared the weapons on the sides of their armor or drew a blade in their mouths. Applejack took a quick count of her opponents before one dashed towards her. He was met with a swift buck, sending him flying into a nearby tree that splintered on impact. The others wasted no time in trying to gang up on her as the side of her armor expanded to form her spear, twisting and shifting at her thought as she tried to knock her attacker’s weapons away or send them flying. Even those that got through had their weapons slide harmless against her armored flank before she countered their attack. A few of the soldiers regrouped as more of their companions arrived, fleeing from the scene of destruction caused at the cluster of crushers as flames began to grow in the air. Applejack cursed under her breath, “This is gunna be tough... but it ain’t nothin’ an Apple can’t handle!” She charged forward towards a group of three colts as she clenched her eyes shut, a single thought repeating in her head: “It’s to save lives...” Her spear easily pierced through the side of one of the colt’s armor before she flung him away, a tinge of red flowing down from its tip as she bucked the other two away. Applejack repeated the phrase under her breath as more soldiers arrived, “...It’s to save lives.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike opened his claws as he gripped another crusher, giving a shout as he flung it into the camp like the previous one, knocking two more to their sides as their operators abandoned them. Once most of the ponies were gone from the front he landed with a heavy flap of his wings, bending down to let the others off. “I’ll do my best to keep them occupied with Rainbow Dash in the clouds. You guys need to be careful.” Twilight gave Spike a nod as she looked at Fluttershy, still on the dragon’s back, “You’ll be safe with Spike, Fluttershy... And don’t worry, we’ll be okay, I promise.” Fluttershy could only reply with a small squeak as she laid her head down on Spike’s scales, trying to hide her face under her mane as he took off back in the air. Twilight looked at Pinkie and Rarity as she squinted to see Applejack in the distance, “She won’t be able to hold them off for long on her own, we need to get moving. Rarity, can you keep them at a distance?” Rarity rubbed a hoof on her chin as one of the arrows from her quiver floated in front of her, “I only did this for recreation darling... I’m not sure I can hit a moving target, but I can do my best.” “We need just enough to get them cautious about charging forward to meet us...though Spike will probably help with too. I can try and do my best to help, but I wasn’t able to study much fighting magic under Princess Celestia... I’ll try and find something in her spellbook before they actually move forward. Pinkie, are yo-” Twilight turned to look at the pink earth pony, only to find her missing from where she stood moments before, “...I guess she already left on her own.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the flames began to rise in the distance, troops started to scurry into the path of destruction left by the crushers in small numbers, rushing to meet their fleeing peers, while in the skies above several pegasi and gryphons grouped up in attempt to prepare for a charge from the massive beast who soared nearby. As a set of twenty or so moved with talons and blades ready, a streak of rainbow-colored light soared out from a nearby cloud and between three armored pegasi before they began to fall down to the ground below, scars under one side of their wings as they tried to slow their decent with the other. The streak twisted through the air sharply as it returned, the group faced to meet it. With every return trip however, more of the gryphons and pegasi met the same fate, falling down to the ground slowly. Only one gryphon was left as the streak began to dissipate, Rainbow Dash hovering before him. “T-there’s no way one pegasus could do that! Not even an Eclipse, it’s impossible!” Dash smirked as she flexed her wings, the blades on their underside glimmering in the pale moonlight, “You’ve obviously never met the fastest pegasus alive, now or then!” She pushed her hooves forward as the blades retracted for only a moment, letting her wings flap to pick up speed. The gryphon reached his talons forward as he soared towards her, trying to swipe at her as she got close. With a shift of her weight and twist of her wings, Dash barely dodged from the swipe, the blades on her right wing shooting out as she passed the gryphon, his wing torn in half as feathers and blood fell like a light snow to the ground below, followed by his figure. Dash noticed another large group of fliers approaching as she turned to fly to Spike, taking only a moment to rest on the dragon’s back, “We have to hold out... for all of them.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and Rarity galloped across the debris of the forest as they could see Applejack holding out against a dozen or so earth ponies around her, and in the distance they could see several more making their way towards them. As Twilight opened the saddlebag at her side, carefully removing and opening Princess Celestia’s spellbook, Rarity took position near the tree line and squinted to get a closer look at the ponies charging forward. As an arrow floated to her side and the tip aimed towards the approaching soldiers, she felt a small piece of her armor break off and hover in front of her eye, bending and flexing as the image zoomed in her sight. “...Well, that certainly helps. Stylish and functional.” Rarity focused through the sight as her magic bent around the arrow, a blue wisp of air forming the faint shape of a bow around its form. With a deep breath, the string began to tense as the arrow shuddered lightly in place. Once her vision was focused on one of the soldiers, she aimed ahead of his path and let the arrow go, quickly piercing the side of his armor as he fell down with a grunt of pain. A few of his companions stopped to help as the others continued their march forward before Rarity drew another arrow, “...This has to be done...for everyone at the Hollow... for everypony we left behind.” Meanwhile, Twilight quickly skimmed through the pages of the spellbook, past several pages of several traditional spells before it opened to a list of a more offensive variety. Everything from focusing on throwing larger projectiles to summoning fire or twisting the elements to one’s will were listed on its pages. As she looked up and took note of Rarity’s progress on the soldiers and Applejack’s situation with the dwindling number around her still on their hooves, she kept the book open as her eyes closed tight. Her horn began to grow brightly as her breathing slowed, a wisp of air kicking up dust around her figure. After a few moments of concentration her eyes opened wide, covered by an aura of purple energy as she focused on the battle ahead of her. It was only seconds before a wave of flame cut off the path of the reinforcements, stopping them in their tracks. The flames quickly receded as a wave of purple energy collected and shot out down the path, knocking ten of the ponies to the ground or into the tree line before it faded. “I won’t let them hurt anyone else, I won’t!” Her horn glowed even brighter as she prepared for the next wave of attackers, the air around her blowing in a frenzy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foulric stood at the crest of the hill outside of his tent as he overlooked the devastation. Nearly all of his catapults had been shredded by the second crusher that had exploded in the back of the camp, while many of his ground forces were either dead or injured nearby. Luckily, it was only the rear of the troops which were left in shambles while the front of the camp had moved to engage their attackers, and Mossrow had of course left to join them. Meanwhile, in the sky above his gryphons and pegasi were moving to engage the flying beast and rainbow streak that had joined it. What troubled him however were the bursts of light and energy coming from the woods, and the forces he could see retreating. He sighed as he turned back to the tent and stepped inside, where a unicorn with a black cloth covering his eyes was waiting for him. “Are you ready for the connection sire?” Foulric gave an uncomfortable nod as he sat down for a moment. The connection to the Scryer network was not the most enjoyable experience, but it was necessary for any battle situation, especially one so dire. It took only a moment before he felt the wisps of magic around the edge of his neck, followed shortly by a burst of pain as he felt his mind invaded by the thoughts of dozens of ponies, all shouting between one another, their emotions in a furious storm as they tried to overcome his own calm. It took a few moments before he could gain control of himself again, quieting the shouts as his own thoughts came back to the forefront. He opened his eyes before looking back to the blinded unicorn, his voice booming through the connection, “All captains and squad leaders, this is General Foulric. We are against an unknown opponent and our forces have been caught off guard. I want all available captains to report in on their status and call a regroup at the entrance of the path into the Wilds. All gryphon and pegasi units press the attack on the winged lizard, but be prepared for a quick retreat at my order.” Foulric exited the tent and was greeted by Avia, waiting on him as ponies made their retreat in the distance. With a heavy flap of his wings he lifted off, making his way towards the front as he drew information from the minds of his captains. Whoever they were up against, they were definitely stronger than his troops. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy watched the battle bellow as she could see the charging ponies headed towards Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity making their retreat. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was taking a moment to rest as Spike hovered in place, waiting for another wave of fliers to try and take him down. She had wanted to do something, to help, but she couldn’t fight, she couldn’t stand up here, not against an entire army. She just wasn’t brave enough, or strong enough, to place her hooves on the ground. As a final wave of ponies made their way through the debris of the wilds while others made the retreat, she closed her eyes, muttering under her breath, “I want to help...” In response the crest at her front began to glow, the cloth draped around her billowing lightly from a sudden gust of wind and warmth in the pink light. A soft voice filled her head, uttering only a single phrase: “Let them fight for you.” Amongst the fallen trees, large roots and vines began to burst from the ground, grasping the charging ponies by the hooves as they were held in place. Their arrival was followed by the rustling of leaves and the crack of branches as a manticore jumped from the brush, tackling an earth pony to the ground with a swipe before it turned to the others. Fluttershy tried to avert her eyes from the scene as she shook her head, “N-no, please. I don’t want to...” The soft voice spoke again, “Hope is your weapon... it will cleanse you and others of their sins, rally the souls of your allies, and shatter the hearts of your enemies.” As Fluttershy opened her eyes slowly she could see the group of ponies unconscious, the roots and vines slowly releasing them as the manticore made his way back into the woods. “But I can’t...to have to protect them like this...by hurting somepony else.” Fluttershy’s self-doubt was interrupted as Spike began to twist and turn within the air, his tail lashing out at a nearby gryphon who charged out on her own. Dash had already faded in the distance with a large streak trailing her as Fluttershy looked down at the glowing pendant, a tear going down her cheek, “b-but...I won’t let them hurt my friends... I can’t!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What do you mean the ground rose up?! What happened to the troops that reported it, they couldn’t have gone silent like this.” Foulric hovered at the precipice of the battle, taking a quick note of the troops that had started to gather below. The Scryer network was filled to the brim with confusing reports or simply a lack of information, but it wouldn’t be long now before he was prepared to make the counterattack. His hopes however, were quickly crushed as he heard the familiar voice fill his mind. “These savages think they can take us on?! Why did you run like cowards from a chance at glory with your tails between your legs?! This little farce is going to end now, and I’m going to do it myself!” Foulric could see the green colt charge into the Wilds with a blade drawn in his mouth, “If any of you want to have an ounce of respect for yourself left, you’ll follow me or be killed when I’m done with them.” “Delay that order, this is General Foulric, you are not to-” His words were of little use as the entire ground force charged forward down the path, followed by what forces remained in the air joining their comrades by the dragon. Foulric tried to keep his focus as he glared at Mossrow’s form, and let out a low growl under his breath, “This is going to end badly...” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack’s breath was slow and heavy as the last of her attackers fell down with a shout of pain. Her armor shined in a mix of red and silver as her spear retracted itself. She was soon joined by Twilight and Rarity as her helmet opened, letting her look directly at them, “That was one hay of a workout...glad y’all could lend a hoof or it mighta been worse.” She grunted as she finally became aware of a few small chips in her armor, seeping blood slowly. Twilight rushed to her side, “Applejack! You’re injured, let me try and-” The purple unicorn was cut off as Applejack’s armor pieced itself together slowly with a pink glow, the cuts fading from view as it did so. She looked back at her flank with a smirk, “It don’t hurt much anymore, so I reckon it ain’t gonna be much trouble.” She turned to face the charging ponies, “But those guys sure are.” Twilight nodded slightly, “I don’t think we’re going to be able to take them on our own... It should be soon, we’ll have to hold them back until they’re ready.” Rarity moved the bent section of her armor up again as she took a closer look at the charging front of troops, “Holding them back is going to be more than a feat darling... I think we’ll need to settle for biding their time.” She looked back to Twilight, “Are you sure they’ll be here soon?” “They have to be, or else-” The charging ponies were only a minute’s journey from the girls when a series of arrows and spears flew from the surrounding woods into the bulk of troops, and quickly left then scattered and confused before they were surrounded by earth ponies, blades drawn. It was not long before the fighting started in full force, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, they managed to get here in time.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Twilight and her companions saw the smoke rising in the distance, panic was the first though which burrowed its way into their minds. They had only just found what they had been looking for, only just understood what they needed to do, and already violence marched on their doorstep. Spike quickly flew down towards the treeline in an attempt to avoid notice from the distance as he looked back over his shoulder, “What are we going to do, Twilight?” Her mind raced as she tried to consider every possibility, muttering under her breath as she tapped a hoof to her forehead, “We could charge in, but we have no idea what we’re up against, but letting them get further in too soon will mean we might not be able to stop them... We could try and use Spike to come at them from behind and the front, but... No no.” She looked up at the others with a sigh, “We can’t do this on our own, we have to get to Gallant Hollow and warn them about this... maybe they’ll know what to do.” With a nod Spike continued on his path to the hidden village, making sure to remain close to the treeline. It wasn’t long however, before a few pegasi appeared in their path, trying to appear bold as they visibly quivered at the sight of the winged beast. Rainbow Dash quickly hovered in front of Spike, hooves raised in front of her as she tried to explain the situation to the frightened guards. After a few moments of uncertainty, they nodded in response and flew ahead of Dash as the group continued ahead. Spike began to slow his descent as he approached a small clearing a few minutes’ journey from the gates of the village. As he let the others off his back, Twilight looked back up at him, “I’m sorry you can’t come Spike, but I think you’re about as big as the entire village.” He gave a small chuckle in response, as he curled up inside the clearing and Twilight made her leave with the others. After a quick gallop through the woods and waiting for the gate to open, they found themselves greeted by every face they had left in the village a few days earlier. At the head of the crowd were the council members, Aqua at their side with a smile on her face. Laurel let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the six, “Well, well, I guess you did find what you were looking for.” Twilight spoke up quickly as she moved to the center of what little open ground there was, “We wish we could come back under better circumstances, but on our return we saw smoke on the horizon, and it’s the same kind that was with that... machine when we first arrived. We think that Nightmare Moon is trying to invade the Wilds, and probably with a full army.” There were hushed gasps and whispers amongst the crowd as Laurel looked at Aqua with a small nod and then back to the six, “We are aware of the smoke, and share your assumptions. We have already sent scouts to nearby villages to try and rally what troops we have available, but without any information about what we’re up against...” Twilight looked back to her friends, adorned in the armor they had been gifted so shortly before. They were the beacons of hope for these ponies, they had to do something. With a heavy heart she turned back to Laurel, “We’ll go first.” Applejack moved up to Twilight’s side, a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder as she tried to keep her voice low, “Are you crazy, Twi? I mean, me and Dash’ve been out fightin’ and what not, but y’all ain’t got much experience at it.” Twilight kept her voice low as she responded, “We don’t have a choice, Applejack... they still need time to prepare...” She raised her head back to turn to Laurel and Aqua, “How long do you need?” Aqua took a moment to think before speaking up. “We’ll need a few hours... all of the ground forces should be moving now, and the pegasi from the other villages will arrive within the hour. If we send the scouts back out to tell them to move faster, they should be at the edge of the Wilds in full force before the late bell.” Twilight nodded as the crowd began to dissipate and orders were shouted amongst what guards were present. The entire village became a well-oiled machine as Twilight and her friends gave a quick farewell to Aqua and made their trip back to Spike in the clearing. They formed a small circle near the dragon’s head and sat in silence for several minutes. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up as the others seemed content with sulking. “Well? What are we doing sitting here? There’s an army out there waiting for the flank kicking of a lifetime and we’re the ones that are gonna give it to ‘em first, right?” She stamped a hoof down and tried to force a smile as she received a few confused glances, stuttering a bit as she continued, “I mean...we’re the Elements of Harmony...we’re supposed to be out there fighting right now, not sitting around and sulking about that we have to...” Fluttershy covered her face with her hooves as she shook her head from side to side, “I-I can’t... How are we even supposed t-t-to, kill somepony else...” Dash’s smile faded as the others gave Fluttershy a few uneasy looks, Rarity moving over to comfort her as tears streamed down the pegasus’s cheeks. “We have to,” Applejack said as she stood beside Rainbow Dash, “We’re not like them, we aren’t tryin’ ta barge into somepony’s home and drag them out by their hooves... We’re defendin’ these ponies, and their home. Defending our home.” Her words were greeted by nods as Twilight and Pinkie Pie joined their friends, shortly followed by Rarity and a less than eager Fluttershy. The group boarded Spike’s back and lifted off as the dim lights of the village faded behind them, and the ominous smoke drew ever closer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foulric’s talons sharpened again as a pegasus flew past him. The sound of torn feathers and a small shout of pain accompanied the pony’s descent as the gryphon took a glance over the battlefield; it had all fallen apart right before his eyes. The ground troops had been easily surrounded after their foolish charge forward, and now from the forest pegasi were springing out like weeds into the sky. The confusion hadn’t helped their situation in dealing with winged beast, and even worse his captains had been sending reports about a lack of will in their troops, almost like something was trying to force them to give up. He tried his best to mend the broken situation as he barked orders through the Scryer network, hoping to get the ground troops in a circle to defend their position. His concentration was tested, however, as a rainbow colored bolt began a charge at him. His yellow eyes tried to keep focused as it bolted in every direction imaginable, hoping to catch him off-guard. At the final moment of its approach his claws reached open, talons withdrawn as he grasped at the figure, and the two went twirling towards the ground. His eyes stared deep into the face of his assailant as his beak let loose a grin, “I knew I could catch you.” Dash tried to wiggle her way free from the gryphon’s grip as the two kept hurdling through the air. Any attempt she made to budge her way out of his talons was met with resistance, but her wings were free to move. Her right wing pointed at the gryphon’s side as one of the blades shot out, slicing through the side of his stomach as he winched in pain, releasing her and grabbing at the wound. Dash retracted the blade as she hovered a few feet from the gryphon, her breath heavy with exhaustion. “You’re... a lot more resourceful than I expected... You must be one of them, aren’t you? The Elements of Harmony... I didn’t expect so much strength from you, to be honest. Now draw your weapon and come at me. I won’t be holding my talons back this time.” Foulric dashed forward as he took a swipe at Dash, who dodged upwards, trying to keep her distance. Meanwhile, on the ground below, a small green blur continued to cut through many of the masked and armored ponies that had ambushed the Equestrian soldiers from the woods. He gave a swift kick to a nearby colt before twisting the blade in his mouth with expert dexterity, cutting through the neck with a splash of blood. A grin of pleasure was affixed to his face as he turned to his next opponent, speaking with a rough rasp through the hilt of his weapon, “I knew this would be fun. You savages certainly are resourceful!” He felt the ground shaking under his feet as a silver armored pony came charging in from the Wilds side of the battle. He quickly dodged from its path as his blade slashed across her leg armor, but was unable to cut through it. The blade fell to the ground at his hooves as blood poured out of his mouth. He smiled through the pain as he grabbed the blade once again, jumping at the armored pony’s back with a shout, trying to pierce through a section. Applejack let out a winch of pain as Mossrow’s blade found its target, but she was quick to buck him off her back, and the blade with him. She felt a surge of adrenaline as the armor closed itself with a pink glow again and she felt a searing pain on the wound at its closure. Her spear formed at her side as the colt regained his balance. “Well, well, well, you must be one of them. I was wondering when some fitting opponent would join the fray. And you aren’t one to disappoint, are you?” He spit out a small chunk of blood onto the blade as he ran a hoof through the dirt, signaling his charge for only a moment before he clashed with the heavy spear in an attempt to knock it away from her flank before he rushed behind her, “I’m not going to lose to some savage, even if you are this strong! I’m a damned General!” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few tree limbs crunched under frantic hooves at the rear of the line as a group of five earth ponies tried to make a hasty retreat from the slaughter that had been before them. They tried to shut out the cries for help from their captain as the edge of the Wilds came closer and closer, and with it a chance at freedom. Just as they reached it however, their escape was cut short by a pink earth pony who appeared more fitting in a circus sideshow than a battlefield. They raised their weapons cautiously before inching forward. Pinkie looked between her five opponents with a glare before it quickly faded to a smile and giggle, met quickly by baffled looks, “Hehehe, oh, wait, I mean. Grrr!” She raised up on her hind hooves as she started to reach into the saddlebag at her side, the face of comedy fading from sight as she dug around inside. “Oh, wait, I can find it, just...give me a second.” She faced away from her attackers as she placed the bag on the ground, both of her front legs buried inside to her shoulders. The five troops were torn between fighting the odd pony and simply skidding past her to freedom until she turned back with a large cannon mounted above her shoulder. Fear overtook them as the sound of whirling gears and crackling electricity filled the air, accompanied by the sound of a kazoo shortly afterwards as balloons and streamers filled the air, and a large cake landed with a splat on the ground between them. “Oh, I had it set to party... are you gonna eat that?” Pinkie’s attention was cut short as the ponies continued their approach, and were halted once more, but this time by the twitching of her tail. Pinkie looked back with concern as she backed away from the five, shaking her head, “Uh oh... you guys had better run, I’m not kidding around.” They paid no heed to her warnings as they continued forward, and one colt began his charge in full force, only to be flattened with his companions by a purple-scaled blur as the ground shuddered with its arrival. Spike let out a small burst of fire into the air at an approaching gryphon before he turned his head to Pinkie. Fluttershy looked down over his wings with concern, “P-pinkie Pie, you should be more careful... I-I don’t know what I would have done if-” Pinkie let out a giggle as she hopped up onto Spike’s back, “Don’t be silly Fluttershy, the twitching stopped. Now let’s go!” Fluttershy looked back down at her glowing pendant as Spike lifted off into the air once again, swatting away the frightened gryphon in his path. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mossrow grunted as he landed away from Applejack, flexing the blade in his mouth as he surveyed his damage, and took notice of the small chips of armor that had fallen to the ground, and were luckily not repaired like his initial hit. The filly was obviously showing signs of exhaustion, but unfortunately, the green colt showed them as well. Matters were only made worse as the battle around them had been shifted against his soldiers, and some of them were even fleeing in terror. If he was not preoccupied with this little nuisance he would have killed them where they stood. With another scrape of his hoof against the dirt he charged in, dodging the swipe of her spear as he gave a strong buck to her legs, managing to knock the filly to the ground for a moment before he raised his blade for a blow. From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a small shimmer before an armor sailed past him, grazing the side of his ear. As Mossrow turned to the source he was greeted by a blinding flash of light before he fell down to the ground, his blade flying a few feet away. “Y-You little bitch!” He glared through his eyelids as he tried to move his hoof in the direction of the blade, but it was soon kicked away by his opponent. As his vision slowly returned he was greeted by Applejack towering above him and two unicorns approaching to join her, one adorned in flowing white robes and the other with armor that was slowly piecing itself back together along her flank. Mossrow grinned through bloodstained teeth as he looked up at Applejack, “What’s the matter? Can’t finish things on your own you lit-.” He let out a grunt of pain as Applejack pressed her hoof lightly onto his side, glancing at Twilight as she spoke between heavy breaths, “He’s...he’s one of the ones leading them... at least he said so... What should we do?” Twilight looked down at Mossrow before glancing at the waning battle behind them. She was quickly greeted by a splash of blood on her hooves as the green colt twisted his neck to look at her. Mossrow’s voice was twisted as he spoke, on the verge of hysterics, “Kill me... that’s what your goal is right? You probably think you’re high and mighty and fighting for justice? Then kill the evil that’s going to rip your throat out if you don’t.” “N-no... we aren’t like that. We are not like all of y-” “Look around you little foal... the blood, the smell of death and violence,” Mossrow paused to take a deep breath, visibly pleased as he did so, “I love it... and you’re causing all of it, and you’re even stupider than I expected if you don’t believe it...” Twilight glared in response to the colt’s comments before she turned and started to walk away. As she turned, she heard Applejack grunt in pain as Mossrow craned his neck up, biting at her through a broken section of armor. He quickly dashed to the fallen blade before he leapt through the air, Twilight turning suddenly to face him. Time slowed down for a brief moment as he took in the look of fear upon her face, the smell of death and blood that she would know as her last feeling, and the screams of pain he would delight in even if the afterlife greeted him. It was all foalhardy. The blade fell down to the ground as Mossrow’s breaths became ragged, the tip of Applejack’s spear dripping crimson to the ground as it pierced through his body. It was only there for a moment before retracting, and his body fell down to the ground with a thud. His hooves twitched lightly as he smirked up at Twilight, his last words echoing in his mind as his final ounce of life slipped away, “...You always have to be right Foulric.” In the skies above Foulric heard the pony’s final thought as he shifted his attention for a moment to the battle below. Dash sped past the gryphon in his moment of distraction, leaving another small cut on the side of his breast as he dodged away at the last moment. He closed his eyes as he reached into the network, ‘Avia, Avia are you alright?’ It was only a moment before his question was returned with her voice, ‘Y-yes General Foulric.. w-we’re losing ground in the air. We can’t hold them off for-’ ‘That’s fine...I couldn’t do this if I didn’t know you were safe. All troops! Fall back immediately under the order of General Foulric! Mossrow has fallen on the battlefield, I repeat, fall back immediately!’ He turned to the pegasus with a small frown, “I’m afraid we’ll have to settle this another time.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond as the gryphon made his hasty retreat with the rest of his troops. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheers of joy and celebration filled the air as the last of the Equestrian army made their exit from the scar cut into the Wilds, and several ponies seemed focused on jubilation while others made an attempt to get much needed rest against the dim treeline. Near the edge of the scar by the abandoned crushers Spike rested on the ground, with Twilight and her friends gathered around. Twilight herself seemed filled with disbelief, “I-I can’t believe... we won. We actually did it...” Rainbow Dash looped around in the air shortly before landing, “Hay yeah we did! Did you see me cut through those gryphons I was like woosh! And kapow! A-” Dash stopped as there was a small pain in the side of her wing, rubbing it lightly with her hoof, “A-alright, I may have gone overboard...” Fluttershy ran a hoof lightly against the ground as her pendant still let out a dim light, a timid frown on her face, “I-I’m glad no one was... I mean, we had to right?” Applejack retracted the helmet as she sat next to Fluttershy, “Don’t go gettin’ your mane in a tustle there sugar cube... They didn’t leave us a choice.” She turned to face Twilight, “So, what now?” “We have to split up. We can’t waste any time now. Nightmare Moon will know we were here, and we need an army to fight with...” She called a soldier over, who trotted up with a bow, “Tell Lady Aqua that we will be gone for... an unknown amount of time. We will return with good news, we promise.” The soldier nodded before heading back to the mass of ponies as Twilight got onto Spike’s back, “You know the way right?” “Of course,” Spike said with a smile, waiting until everypony was aboard to lift off into the air, “But how exactly are we going to split up? I know the Princess said you and I have to go to Kraulith, but what about the others?” Twilight looked back to them with a smile, “I’m already prepared for that Spike. Dash and Fluttershy should head to Aeolus, since it’s probably easier for pegasus to get around than earth ponies and unicorns. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity should be fine in the Savanra Desert. And once we get to the portal I can summon us some, ummmm, less obvious attire.” Rarity looked at Twilight with an eyebrow raised, “But Darling, these are only one way, right? I mean I hope you don’t expect me to get us back, and Dash and Fluttershy aren’t capable of that for sure...” “The gates are designed around that,” Twilight’s horn glowed as the Princess’s spellbook flipped open to the others. “Once the gate is activated, the other side will be 'open' for about a month, and allows the ponies that walk through it to return where they came from. I just hope it works if we’re going to different places at the same time.” She smiled as she closed the book, “I know we can do this girls, and then, once we have our army, we’ll march on Equestria, save Princess Celestia... and defeat Nightmare Moon, once and for all.”