//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: This Means War! // by Whirl Wind //------------------------------// Chapter three: Battle for Ponyville The train started to roll away and Flare was there watching it go. His best friend was on that train to the Crystal Empire and Flare could feel nothing but joy. “He’s back… he’s back… I kept my promise…” he thought with a smile. He turned to his remaining guards with a grin. “Prepare for battle!” The guards gave a salute and ran off to prepare the troops for war. Flare had other business to attend to. He trotted through the streets to Sweet Apple Acres where he met with two of his guard ponies. “Report.” “It is all set up, just give the word and I will signal the other two to draw it to their army.” one of the guards said with a smirk. “Good, this is our best chance of winning this battle with minimal losses. Did you get our unicorns in place to lure it back?” “Yes, we followed your instructions to the letter sir.” the other guard said. Flare smiled widely. “Great, if everything go perfectly we will win this battle with little to no effort. Get into position.” The two guards gave a salute and moved out to the front lines. Flare followed them and landed in front of the lines. Dawn was rising as Flare landed. The sun was at their backs and they were almost ready. Flare started to walk up the line. “Alright listen up! Today we fight for Equestria! Some of you are here to defend your homes, others are here to defend their families, and others are just here to see King Sombra’s flank as he runs away crying!” A roar of cheer and laughter sounded from the lines. “We are ready to fight! We are ready to win! We are… AIR?!” A rumble of confusion sounded through the lines. Flare pulled Air forward. “Air what are you doing here?! You should have evacuated by now!” he whispered in her ear. “I couldn’t leave you here to fight alone!” Air responded with a slight hiss in her tone. “What about our foals?!” Flare asked worriedly. “Well… about that… I kind of already had our foals… they are in Appleosa with Big Macintosh’s family…” she explained. “You… you had our foals? Wha… wha… THAT’S WONDERFUL!” Flare shouted happily. He turned to the lines again. “I AM A FATHER!” The lines erupted with cheers as Flare hugged his wife. “TODAY I FIGHT FOR MY NEW BORN FOALS WITH MY WIFE BY MY SIDE! LET THOSE WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO FIGHT FOR GIVE A BATTLE CRY THAT WILL MAKE SOMBRA TURN AWAY RIGHT NOW!” The lines erupted louder than ever with the cries of battle. “FALSE HOPE!” echoed through out Ponyville. Over the horizon a shadow creped over the hill. “YOU WILL ALL PERISH IN THE SHADOWS!” Flare gave Air a kiss before returning to the center of the lines. “We are the light, and there are no shadows when there is this much light!” Flare shouted with vigor. The army of shadow started to move down the mountain. Flare pulled out a firework and shot it into the sky. “Hold!” he shouted as he braced himself. A loud roar echoed through the town. All that could be heard was the stomping of approaching hooves, at least at first. Soon a low rumble shook the ground, then another, then another. Soon the low rumbles became loud stomps. Suddenly, from the Everfree forest, an Ursa Minor burst from the trees with two pegasi guard ponies leading it towards King Sombra’s army. It smashed into the side of his lines as the two guards took to the sky. One of Sombra’s units stabbed the Ursa in the paw and it went into a frenzy, taking large chunks out of his army with one swipe of its paw. It let out loud roars and King Sombra’s army turned their focus to the Ursa. A roar of cheers rang from Flare’s army as they waited for the Ursa to flee or wipe out the whole army. Then something unexpected happened. A louder roar came from the Everfree and over the top of the trees an Ursa Major smashed through with little effort. “FALL BACK QUICKLY!” Flare yelled frantically. The lines started to move back in an orderly effort. “Unicorn contingency step forward!” Three hundred unicorns stepped forward with their head held high. “Change of plans, generate a force field between us and that major! Combine your powers!” The unicorns horn’s started to glow and multiple lines of magic formed into one light. A golden beam shot out of the light and a barrier started to form. The two guard ponies that flew up to the sky dove down and managed to barely make it inside in time. “Second unicorn line step forward!” Three hundred more unicorns stepped forward in a set of lines. “Make a secondary barrier so we have a backup!” The unicorns duplicated the others and formed a barrier. “Everypony else brace for that thing to break through! Because I don’t know if this barrier will work or not!” Flare said as he grabbed a spear. “Hold fast to your courage!” Everypony got ready for battle with an Ursa and braced for the impacts of it hitting the barrier. King Sombra’s army had already started to flee but King Sombra himself remained. His horn glowed in a dark aura and he shot a beam right through the Ursa Minor just as the Ursa Major burst through the forest line. King Sombra fired a second beam at the Ursa Major. The Ursa dodged the beam and swiped at Sombra. King Sombra simply turned to shadow and avoided any damage. He wrapped himself around the Ursa and started to suffocate it. The Ursa started to fall when a spear flew through the air and made contact, not with the Ursa but with Somra himself. Sombra flew back down to the hill and solidified on it. A spear stuck out of his back left leg. He pulled it out with a loud yell of agony. The Ursa Major fell unconscious and crashed into the ground. “HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!” Flare shouted as their barrier fell. His army charged over the hill and intercepted Sombra’s army as it fled. King Sombra tried to get his army in order but he couldn’t risk being captured. He fled from his army in his shadow form and let the rest fall, and fall they did. As Flare’s forces hit them from all directions they quickly tore through Sombra’s forces. “Fall back to Ponyville!” Flare shouted as they started to get too far away from the town to effectively protect it. Flare’s forces turned back towards the town and quickly got back into defensive positions. “Hold steady! Be prepared for anything! Get those barriers up!” he shouted as they started to reform their lines. Flare ran through town looking for Air, frantically searching every building. He found her in the care of a medical team as he ran by the library. His heart stopped as he saw her laying on her back with blood on her coat. He ran over to her and stood outside of the circle of ponies that were tending to her. “What is wrong?! What happened?!” he asked as he started to panic. One of the medical ponies stepped back and pulled Flare aside. “She was slashed with a spear on the left side of her chest. Don’t worry, she is stitching up nicely and is going to make a full recovery.” “Get her to the hospital immediately after you stitch her up! That is an order!” Flare said as he looked at Air again. The medical ponies placed her on a gurney and carted her off to the hospital. Flare wanted to follow more than anything else, but he was the general of this army and he had a duty to hold off a second attack. He started to move back to the front lines, along the way he saw the wounded being tended to in a massive triage. “How did we have so many casualties?!” he shouted as he made it to the front line. The highest ranking pony stepped forward. “Sir, one side was hit with a large volley of magic and spears. While the others managed to break through the lines on the left side of the battle field were hit heavily as they bottlenecked against the Everfree Forest.” Flare stomped a hoof on the ground. “Hold your lines, prepare for another attack!” **** “AN URSA! TWO URSAS! WHERE DID THEY FIND SUCH RARE CREATURES?!” King Sombra yelled in frustration. One of the soldiers stepped forward. “Sir, the Everfree…” he started. King Sombra used his magic to vaporize the soldier that stepped forward. “SILENCE! I KNOW ALL ABOUT THE FOREST! We need to send some ponies in there to find dark creatures to follow our command! You four ponies, go now!” Sombra yelled. With a quick salute the four he selected ran towards the forest. They ran in deep knowing that what awaited outside was far more terrifying than what was in the forest. They walked deep into the forest but found no creatures to bring back. What they did find was a trap net that sprung out of the ground and held them in the air. A red powder splashed into the net and knocked the ponies unconscious before they were dragged away. **** Hours after King Sombra sent the four ponies into the forest King Sombra was in a rage. “Forget taking Ponyville! We need to take a bigger target! THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE! I want the contingency from Fillidelphia to march towards the Crystal Empire now! The rest of you head south to take Manehatten!” The army acknowledged the order and marched outwards. King Sombra lead his troops around Ponyville and towards the Crystal Empire.