//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Precipice of Disaster // Story: The Blitzkrieg Chronicles // by Fallen_Valkyrie //------------------------------// It was the middle of the night, the air outside was cold and still. The sky and stars were obscured by the dark clouds. Equestria was enjoying its quiet nightfall; everypony was sleeping, tired from the struggles of their long day. Quietly one lone Pegasus flew through the night, his black body blending in with the dark sky above him. His wings beat forcefully, but precisely, each flap slicing through the air almost without a sound. He searched quickly, scanning the land all around him, drawing a map of it in his mind. He soared until he found his destination in the distance and slowly glided to it. The training camp of the Royal Guard was unoccupied, the training being long since over. His red eyes glowed as he looked over his findings, before letting out a long, low whistle. From amongst the trees and clouds earth and Pegasus ponies emerged, they lined up in front of him, each with empty saddlebags. “Go, take everything, we’ll need every last supply we can get.” He commanded, his was a voice of authority, calm but forceful, it was clear that he was in charge of this band of thieves. They nodded their heads. Recognizing his order they quickly dispersed themselves, breaking into the abandoned buildings and tents, looting them for every last piece of equipment they had. They worked swiftly and quietly, with a practiced precision, they knew exactly what they were doing. The black stallion stood, perched atop the flagpole, overseeing every move his troops made. He smiled, everything was coming together. His followers vanished just as quickly as they appeared once they had filled their bags with the left over greaves, helmets, and armor plates of the Royal Guard. Some had managed to locate the lances used in combat training and hurried off with them as well. Soon the Pegasus stood alone once more, he dropped from his perch and slowly lowered the flag which bore the crest of the Royal Guard. He dragged the flag to the base of one of the ransacked buildings and dropped it. Reaching into his own saddle bag he removed a small block of steel and a magnesium stone. Striking them once hard against the flag he set it ablaze, smiling as the flame soon grew to consume the flag and the neighboring building. He spread his wings, the new thermal source quickly lifting him into the sky. He let out one more whistle before flying off. Two earth ponies carried a cloth to the slowly burning camp and hoisted it onto the flagpole; they saluted their handiwork and quickly trotted back into the woods. Princess Luna stood out on the balcony, overlooking her night. She sighed, it bothered her that the clouds were blocking her work, she enjoyed being able to gaze upon the stars as she over looked Equestria. She peered out into the distance; she thought she could see something, a faint flickering light perhaps. She was concentrating on the object when the doors to the royal court flew open and one of her guards stumbled in. “Princess Luna,” he said quickly, stumbling through a bow before continuing on. “Princess Luna, we have an urgent problem.” She turned to face him; she could see the urgency in his eyes. “Yes Sterling, what is it?” “One of the Royal Training Camps has been attacked Your Highness.” He looked at her, unsure of what to do, he stood awaiting orders. She turned back to the faint flickering in the distance, “Rally some troops and investigate the problem. I will get Celestia and meet you.” Although her face displayed worry her voice carried an element of calmness and authority. Sterling bowed before taking his leave He ran quickly back to the guard chambers in the lower east wing of the castle, he located the office of his commanding officer and entered immediately. “Permission to speak General Cavalier.” “Permission granted Lieutenant Sterling, what have you?” “Orders from Princess Luna sir, we are to rally together a squadron and investigate the attack.” “Very good Lieutenant, what intel do we possess?” the general was already checking his list for available soldiers. “As of the moment, we have an unspecified amount of hostiles; all we know is that there has been an attack and ensuing fire at one of the training camps.” “Very well Sterling, gather 20 ground troops and head to the site, have all others on standby, I’ll gather the pegasi and run ahead for reconnaissance. You are dismissed.” Sterling quickly trotted back to the sleeping quarters, ringing the bell he awoke his fellow earth and unicorn guards. They rose quickly, the unicorns already levitating their gear onto their bodies, the earth ponies standing at attention, awaiting orders. “We have an urgent assignment, Training Camp Alpha has been attacked,” there was as general sound of surprise, but was quickly replaced by attention. “I need ten volunteers each, earth and unicorn, to form a squadron and follow me for investigation. The rest of you will remain here on standby until further notice.” As he spoke volunteers had already begun to line up in front of him, the highest ranking unicorn and earth pony standing in front of the rest. “Corporal Agro, reporting for duty Lieutenant Sterling, the earth ponies of Bravo division are at your service.” He was a rather large dark green earth pony, his lance strapped to his back, his division nodded in agreement, each had a elaborate set of armor and weapon on, earth ponies were the true power of the Royal Guard. “Sergeant Embrace at your service, Tango Division, Medicinal and Magic.” the rose colored unicorn stood before her group of mages; they were the technical aspect of the Guard, trained in magic and medicine. They all wore cloaks and light armor, their horns glowing in anticipation. “Alright then troops, lets move out, the boys in reconnaissance, are already on the scene, the rest of you stay here and await further orders.” Sterling turned to leave the room, the two group leaders followed close behind him and their divisions after them. They quickly exited the castle grounds as Sterling briefed the two squad leaders with the available intel. They ran quickly the camp was only a few miles away, but time could be of the essence. Moments before, General Cavalier had led the Pegasi out on recon, they wore goggles and light flight armor, enough for protection on their exposed stomachs and neck as well as greaves on their legs. They were scouts only seeing combat on rare occasions and at that it was mostly hoof-to-hoof. As such they were trained to be agile, calculating, and strong. They flew over the site quickly, the general flew alongside Arrowhead, captain of the pegasi. They were busy scoping the area for potential threats, but as nothing appeared out of the ordinary, they quickly set about ordering the troops to fetch rainclouds. “Storm Chaser, there are sizable clouds just about a mile north of here, go and get them quickly.” The small blue pegasus quickly raced toward the aforementioned clouds. The general hovered near Arrowhead, watching the troops put out the flames. “So what do you think happened Captain?” “As far as it seems the campsite was looted, nothing left but some blankets and old canteens. The flag was dragged toward one of the cottages and is the cause for the fire. There appears to be a new flag hanging but it isn't familiar to any of our troops.” “Hmm, I see. As soon as we get this fire out I want a full investigation of the area, find any evidence you can.” “Yes sir.” Arrowhead flew off toward the campsite, General Cavalier floated alone for a moment. He soon spotted Sterling and his squadron approaching over a nearby hill. He quickly glided over to them. The squad leaders saluted the general as he approached. “What news have you sir?” “Well Sterling, so far as the recon division can tell, there are no hostiles in the area.” The troops began to grumble, some even let out a disappointed sigh. The general continued on, “The camp has been looted of all supplies, nothing remains except an as of yet unknown flag,” Sterling led Agro and Embrace toward the camp, their squads joining in the fire fighting effort. They all walked quietly through the camp and stood near the flagpole. As they looked up at the black cloth they could see it's symbol, the two lightning bolts beside a crescent moon, a hoofprint in the top right corner and storm cloud above the moon. They all stared in silence, No pony knew what it meant. Soon after Luna heard the news she rushed to her sister's chambers, Celestia was sleeping. Luna knew the urgency of the situation and although she hated to wake her sister she had to. “Tia, wake up, we have urgent business.” The younger alicorn shook her sister softly with her magic, “Please sister we must hurry.” Celestia woke up slowly, groggy from her deep sleep, she stood up and quickly placed her crown on her head. “Yes my sister, what troubles you?” “Sterling has informed me that one of the camps has been attacked, I ordered for a group to be sent out to investigate.” “Very good Luna, we must hurry and meet them at once.” Celestia's tired demeanor was quickly replaced by one of knowledge and authority. “Quickly my sister,” she said, leading Luna down a small corridor in the room. “Put these on.” as she spoke she levitated a few armor pieces to her sister who quickly donned them. As celestia put on her own Luna informed her of the events of the night. They began to make their way to the balcony, they set to the sky, following the dull glow of the remaining fire. “It would seem that the troops didn't meet any resistance Tia, they have begun to put out the flames.” “Yes Luna, I believe you are correct, but that doesn't mean we can relax just yet.” they flew in silence for awhile, the white mare easily visible in the sky, her younger sister nearly nonexistent by her side. They landed a few feet from the camp and walked the remainder of the way. The five squad leaders were standing nearby, talking about the events, they turned as they noticed the princesses and each bowed in unison. Celestia was the first to speak, breaking the silence for her subjects. “Good evening General, Sterling,” she nodded toward the rest, acknowledging their presence but letting them know her questions would not be directed at them just yet. “What information have you found?” “The pegasi and I were on the scene first, Your Highness. When we arrived there was no sign of any threat, the main focus was on taming the fire,” the general answered quickly, looking down as he spoke. Sterling stood forward and bowed, “My princess, the ground investigation is still ongoing but it appears that the campsite has been looted. All that remains is that flag.” He pointed a hoof in the direction of the flagpole, turning to see I wave in the dying light. “Very well Lieutenant, keep me informed.” Celestia turned to speak with her sister but she had vanished. She look in all directions and finally found her beneath the flagpole. She was sitting quietly staring up at it. She walked slowly and sat by her sister's side looking up at the flag as well. “What troubles you Luna?” “The flag. It seems very familiar, does it not?” As they sat and spoke Embrace and Agro ran up to their sides. “Princess our troops have found something.” the unicorn said with a sense of urgency. The earth pony led them to the site, “One of my troops was searching the buildings when he found this note. It appears to be addressed to you Princess Luna.” Both sisters leaned in close to read the letter, it was a bit blackened by the fire but still perfectly readable, “Dear Luna, We have long awaited your return, but it appears that the lessons you taught us so long ago have been forgotten by their very creator. We plan to right the wrong that has become of this kingdom, to bring back the glory that is night and form a new empire. You taught us well so many years ago, we have been growing in your absence, learning, training. The time has come for us to claim what you promised us 1000 years ago. The storm is coming Princess, and it will destroy everything in its path. Sincerely, an old friend.” They stood, lost in thought, Luna was quiet, she knew what this was. Why the flag seemed familiar. “What is all this sister?” the concerned alicorn turned to look at her sister, Luna was looking down, disappointed in herself. “It's the Nightshade sister, they have returned.”