War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade

by Michael_Ravencroft

Chapter 36

Tikara Balak was standing atop his Altar of Calamity; seven individual pedestals lined the front edge of the platform, each one holding a different Element of Darkness. Tikara had his eyes closed, as if praying to his own creations, or contemplating his next move. His blue fire mane and tail wafted in the blowing winds, as the lightning flashed in the sky above. Tikara's head perked up, he then turned around and looked out into the horizon. Just then two streaks of light soared towards the Altar; they landed softly on the platform a couple of feet away from Tikara. The lights vanished and revealed both Phantasma Sun and Nightmare Moon, they gave their older brother a respectful bow, to which Tikara did the same.

"So my sisters, how did you fare?"

"Very well, Fort Valor, Fort Caliburn, and Fort Avalon, have been destroyed," said Phantasma Sun.

"As well as Fort Sandare in Manehattan and Fort Templar in Fillydelphia, they all seemed quite surprised to see us," said Nightmare Moon with a grin.

"Excellent, any sign of our 'friends?'" They shook their heads, an apologetic look on their faces. "Not to worry, all the pieces are in place, all that is needed is the seven Elements of Harmony."

"But, Arion, they are nowhere to be found. How will you find them," asked Phantasma Sun.

"By making them come to me, observe…"

Tikara Balak trotted passed his sisters, and stopped at the edge of the platform. He looked down below and as far as he could see, the skies and ground below were filled with Daemoni. The demonic army was like a large, inky black mass that went on for miles. The Daemoni stayed on the outside perimeter of the Altar of Calamity. Tikara Balak let a smile arch across his face. His dark aura shined from his horn, it then shined brightly as Tikara took in a deep breath.

"HEAR ME INHABITANTS OF THIS WORLD, I AM TIKARA BALAK!" His voice boomed loudly in all directions, making the Royal Canterlot voice sound like a quiet whisper in comparison. "AS OF NOW MY PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE, AND MY ARMY STANDS READY! WITHIN THE NEXT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS I WILL UNLEASH MY ULTIMATE WEAPON AND BRING FORTH THE END OF THE WORLD! TAKE THIS TIME TO MAKE YOUR PEACE, AND SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LOVED ONES! TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH TO STOP ME I INVITE YOU TO DO SO, CHALLENGE ME IF YOU DARE!!!"

Tikara's horn dimmed when he finished, the remnant echoes still going on in the background. Phantasma Sun and Nightmare Moon cantered next to Tikara Balak, they then nuzzled the sides of his neck affectionately, of which he returned by nuzzling them back.

"Well done brother, that will surely draw them out," said Nightmare Moon.

"No doubt they will come running, of that I am sure of," said Phantasma Sun.

"Heh-heh, and now we play the waiting game…"

"Damn Tikara Balak, he's forcing us to act," cursed Major Broadside.

Phantasma Sun and Nightmare Moon had sent the team back to Fort Avalon. Luckily they were able to get all the UEA soldiers out of the fort in time, but not before sounding a general alarm to evacuate all the other forts. Since then they have taken refuge in the Everfree Forest, using Zecora's hut as a temporary base of operations, and coordinating with other UEA forces via long distance Iris Callers. They gathered outside Zecora's hut, with a makeshift table that had maps and hoof written reports, to which most were gathered round in discussion of Tikara's recent announcement.

"It's a bluff, he won't destroy the world! Like he said, he needs your Elements for his plan to work," said Big Macintosh.

"That's just it Big Macintosh, Tikara knows we won't let that happen, but ah don't think any of us are willing to take that chance…He is, well, evil and all," said Applejack.

Just then one of the long distance Iris Callers turned on, one of two in the center of the table. On it appeared the face of Captain Ballista, on the other was Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadance, Ballista gave a salute to her father and all present. "Father – Sir – my team has finished its surveillance on the Altar of Calamity."

"Good what have you found," asked Major Broadside.

"Sir, the Daemoni forces have completely surrounded the structure on all sides, at a radius of ten miles. Same for the sky, the Daemoni seem to attack anything that gets close to the Altar, but other than that they're not marching."

"Looks like Tikara Balak has gathered all his forces at the temple, he's making sure we don't interfere," commented Shining Armor.

"I still can't believe Aunt Celestia and Luna have been corrupted, or that they laid waste to the forts! Well, that aside, our forces are on the move, and should be there within the next fifteen hours," said Princess Cadance.

"Fifteen hours, you guys said you'd be here in half that, what took you so long," asked Rainbow Dash.

"Let's just say that we got some reinforcements, sorry to say we'll be a little late to the party, but, Epona willing, not too late," said Shining Armor.

"Well that's good to hear." Major Broadside then turned to the window that displayed Ballista. "I'm proud of you Captain, for taking command of your fort's forces swiftly and efficiently."

"Thank you sir, fortunately Commander Blueblood's sudden 'departure' didn't affect morale too much. Anyway, the Fort Valor forces are now linked with your Fort Avalon forces at the edge of the battlefield. We're just waiting for your group then we'll begin the attack, Ballista out." The Iris Caller LD device turned itself off.

"We'll sign off as well; see you there, Shining Armor and Candance signing off." The second Iris Caller then shut itself off.

"That only leaves the question of Spike and his reinforcements, Rarity have you heard anything from Spike," asked Twilight.

"The last thing he told me in our linked dreams was that he was having trouble persuading them, but after hearing that I'm sure they might come around."

Just then the door to the hut opened up, the wise zebra was carrying a tray on her back with cups full of warm tea. "Excuse me, may I offer you some tea," asked Zecora.

Zecora trotted over to the table and slid the tray on a spot that had no maps or reports on it. "Thank ya kindly Zecora, this whole thing is rattlin' our nerves a bit," said Applejack.

"How are Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie doing in there," asked Rainbow Dash.

"They are doing well, as far as one can tell. I must say, that this plan of yours does cause me some dismay. To face such a force, with such overwhelming odds, can there be no other recourse?"

"Unfortunately no…Damn it how in Equestria did he hide such a large structure right under our blasted noses," cursed Major Broadside.

"When Trixie…When Trixie saved me from Tikara Balak's base I noticed that the entire structure was created underground. The location of which was in the Nevermore Plains, somehow he must've been constructing that thing from behind his Sanctuary this whole time! Doesn't matter now, what's important is how we're going to defeat him and save the Princesses," said Twilight.

"No, you guys won't face Tikara Balak…" All eyes fell on Bright Blade, who was now in his earth pony form and flanked by the Crusaders. "The Element of Hope created me for the sole purpose of defeating Tikara Balak."

"What, seriously," asked Scootaloo.

"Wait does this mean you're startin' to remember stuff," asked Apple Bloom.

"Bits and pieces mostly, but just enough to know. In any case, I'm the one that can defeat Tikara Balak. I'm sure he'll let us get close to fight him, but we'll divide and conquer; I'll fight Tikara alone, while the six of you take on Phantasma Sun and Nightmare Moon. With any bit of luck you'll be able to transform them back, worst case scenario is they attack us together and make it that much harder for us," said Bright Blade.

"Bright Blade you can't do that," Everypony turned towards the hut, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were now trotting out from inside. "Facing that evil alicorn alone, that's not a good idea," said Fluttershy, concern heavy in her voice.

"I don't like it, but it is a sound plan," commented Major Broadside. "The Daemoni army will be too busy fighting us to come and aid their master, at the very least all we have to do is out last the Daemoni."

"It's a stupid plan! We're letting Bright Blade take on the biggest super baddy in all of Equestria, what's so great about that," said Pinkie Pie.

"The fact that I can't be killed is what makes it a good plan." Everypony looked at Bright Blade, stunned at his statement. "The incident at Canterlot Tower, where my wounds healed the next time I transformed. The duel between Trixie and Twilight, when I was shot in the chest, I've walked away from each one alive. The Element of Hope won't let me die until Tikara Balak is defeated."

"Darling, those were extreme cases! You can't expect the Element to save you all the time," said Rarity.

"I can, because I'm not flesh and blood. Just like he said, I'm a Construct, made up of solidified energy. That's why I can recover faster, and heal quicker; energy is a lot easier to mend." Bright Blade seemed to have depressed himself with what he said, his friends noticed. "I'll be over there, preparing for the battle, when you guys are ready tell me."

Bright Blade broke away from the Crusaders, and went off into an isolated part of the woods. Rarity looked to Twilight and motioned with her head to go after him. Twilight seemed to take the hint and followed the golden colt.

"I'm not going to lie, I feel sorry for that colt," said Major Broadside. "The weight of the world on our shoulders and he finds out that his whole life is nothing but a fabrication of the Element of Hope, what kind of set up is that?"

"A sucky one that's what," said Sweetie Belle. "He was made just so he could fight evil, why did that Element even make up memories for all of us!?"

"Who knows Sweetie, these Elements of Harmony are mysterious things created by a goddess, their powers are still a mystery to us all," said Rarity.

Twilight wandered through the brush, looking for any sign of Bright Blade. She eventually found him setting in the glade. Ever since that day when Tikara Balak said he was the Element of Hope, Bright Blade had been acting differently. He carried himself like he was older than he was; his voice had a more confident and stronger tone, even in his colt earth pony form. And it didn't help that Twilight's heart was beating faster in her chest, her attraction toward him however was overshadowed by her concern for him.

She slowly approached the adolescent colt, and sat on her haunches next to him. His eyes were closed, as if he were in deep meditation. "Bright Blade…?"

Bright Blade opened his eyes and saw that Twilight was sitting next to him. "You should be with the others, hammering out the final details of the attack plan."

"After hearing you say something like that, do you honestly think I'm going to leave you alone," asked Twilight.

"No, but I kinda wished you would."

"Bright Blade I don't understand why you've been talking about yourself like you're expendable!? You try so hard to fight, to protect us at the cost of you coming to harm…Ugh, it's the one thing I hate about you, but at the same time I find endearing."

Bright Blade smiled at that, the first he's shown since the day they arrived in the Everfree. "There was something else I remembered, something that I'm sure you probably figured out too."

"And what's that," asked Twilight, genuinely intrigued.

"The Element of Hope knew about Tikara's release, and over the years slowly used its power to influence everypony's memories. Which made it easier for it to alter all of your memories and insert me into them, but when you and Princess Celestia used Epona's failsafe spell you inadvertently counteracted the power of the Element. Which is also why I have false memories of me interacting with all of you, because…"

Twilight arched an eyebrow when Bright Blade fell silent. "Because…?"

"Because if we defeat Tikara Balak –"

"When we defeat Tikara Balak," corrected Twilight.

"When we defeat him, the Element of Hope will have fulfilled its mission, and it'll return to whatever place it was hiding before all this. The purpose of the false memories was to make sure that they could be easily erased later, and that no traces of its existence could be traced," said Bright Blade.

"That's – that's not true…"

"Think about it, six Elements are enough to keep the balance in Equestria, hope will be restored so there's no need for me or the Element to be –"

"No!" Twilight brought Bright Blade into a tight hug, bringing the colt close to her. Bright Blade was caught off guard, suddenly grateful that he was this close to Twilight; otherwise she would see his blushing face. "You won't disappear Bright Blade, that can't happen! You're still in our hearts, memories or no memories, nothing, not even the Element of Hope can change that!"

Bright Blade started to feel warm tears fall on his white mane, Twilight was crying. Bright Blade wrapped his forelegs around Twilight, returning the hug. The two of them embraced one another, as if this one act would insure that Bright Blade wouldn't go away, that he would stay here in Equestria with his friends, his family. The golden earth pony couldn't help but let his tears flow down, to him, the thought of leaving Twilight, the mare he loved, was the last thing he wanted to have happen. But somehow, deep inside, something told him that everything would be alright, somehow. It felt like hours, at least to the two them, having not let the other go.

"There's something I –!"

"I have to tell you – !"

The two of them stopped, realizing that they had spoken at the same time, they separated just enough so that they could look each other in the eye. "You go first Bright Blade," said Twilight.

"…Twilight for a while now I've-I've thought of you as an older sister, but recently I sort of realized that I liked you…more than like, actually I –!" Twilight placed a hoof on his lips, effectively silencing him.

"Not now, not here, if you're going to say something like that then do it after this is over, alright," asked Twilight.

Bright Blade nodded his head. "Alright Twilight…"

The truth was Twilight didn't know herself if she really wanted him to finish his sentence for that reason. She was still in conflict with herself, about falling for Bright Blade. At first it was just the alicorn form, but lately it's as if the two versions merged into one, young though he was, Bright Blade acted as if he were of equal age with everypony else.

After a while they returned to Zecora's hut, where the others were busy discussing the finite details of their plan. When Twilight and Bright Blade emerged they all decided that getting some rest was the best option at this point, the time was almost close to midnight, twelve hours now, and twelve hours left to save the world. They all went to sleep quickly, exhausted from their coordinating and planning for the past three days now. Everything was set; the armies were ready to charge into battle. The fate of Equestria would be decided at the crack of dawn.