//------------------------------// // Even the Best Laid Plans... // Story: Honor Above All Else // by Honored Service //------------------------------// The Shadow Human is the basic warrior found in the ancient city of Hum-gia and recently has been created by Day Terror to combat the human Johnson and the ponies of Equestria. The Shadow Warrior was created by Day Terror as a better fighter to assist in the killing of Johnson, but ended up creating an all around superior fighting creature to wage war against the ponies and their allies. Honor Above All Else Chapter 30 By Honored Service Pre-read by TheDarkAngel There she sat. Upon her throne of jagged rock and magic fire. The Master of Shadows. Day Terror was adding the finishing touches to her newest warrior in her massive army. The army had taken nearly a week to craft. From the darkest shadows and the evilest of thoughts she spawned this army numbering into the thousands. Ten thousand of the toughest warriors she had ever crafted. Thousands of normal Shadow Humans to lead the assault, followed by thousands of Shadow Warriors, the true backbone of her army. Their tentacle blades and muscles had proved to be the ultimate fighting force. But now she had the newest warrior in her ranks. The warrior that could best that human. Her Shadow Champions. They were created with one purpose and one purpose only. To seek out eight creatures specifically. The six Elements, one alicorn, and the damned human, and eradicate them. These demons were made to resemble the human. Tall and muscular, with slightly longer arms to allow them to run on all fours for short periods of time. Two razor sharp horns crawled from the sides of their heads and reached out above them for ramming and gouging into enemies. They were as numerous as Shadow Humans and just as strong as Shadow Warriors, the best of both worlds. Four thousand Shadow Humans. Four thousand Shadow Warriors. Two thousand Shadow Champions. And one airship, that was also mobile artillery platform. “My Queen!” A griffon ran into the throne room and skidded to low bow before the mighty alicorn. “Yes messenger? What is it? Can’t you see I'm nearing completion of the army of shadows?” Day Terror was slight annoyed, but what type of leader would she be if she got angry at every little thing. “Fast Skies was lost to the human, your high-.” The griffon began to speak, but a long black shadow spear impaled itself through his feathery head. The messenger slumped to the ground, blood pooling around his body as the shadow spear evaporated into a fine black mist and floated its way back into Day Terror’s horn. “Incompetent shadows!” She screamed into the air. “One job. One easy and simple mission. Destroy Ponyville and kill the human!” She picked the body of the griffon up in an aurora of black and green magic. The body disappeared as it was covered in the thick black shadows slowly pouring from the tip of Day Terror’s horn. As the magic slowly stopped flowing, a new shadow was left standing in the griffon’s place. A griffon made of pure shadows. Its wings flared open revealing green fire burning along each primary feather. Its long black talons scratched along the marble as it clicked its beak at the Queen. “Go Shadow Assassin and kill the human. Or at least the Princess that is still alive.” She turned her back on the Shadow Assassin and walked over to the window that overlooked the old Royal Guard training camp. It was now filled with her massive army. “My Shadows! Hear me and obey my voice! Within a few short days we shall march down this mountain and begin to purge this land of all things that stand in our way.” The army was deathly silent as it listened, transfixed on the evil alicorn. “Nothing shall stop our glorious march. The human will die. The princess will die. And the Elements will die or succumb to our might!” “Gain strength in the night my Shadows, for when day comes on the third day, we fight.” Day One “For the last time Pinkie, you do not load these cannon with fucking confetti!” I reached into the barrel of another cannon aboard the Fast Skies and pulled out a clump of multicolored confetti paper. “The sole objective of these are to harm the thing being aimed at, not throw them a party.” I rubbed a hand across my face, something that was happening a lot recently, “Okay, you know what, Twilight, why in the world is Pinkie in charge of the cannons? Better yet, why aren’t any of you in charge of something like this?” I looked around as Rarity and Applejack fussed around with multiple swords and bows, one trying to make them look prettier while the other was trying to break them using sheer strength. To test their reliability she had said. “Because I’ll be honest,” I gave a glare to Pinkie as she attempted to load a cake into a different cannon, “fighting just doesn't seem to be y’all’s forte.” “They wanted to help,” Twilight sighed while picking up the map of Ghastly Gorge that I had marked the kill box on the space in the ravine, “and I wasn't going to tell them not to help.” I jerked a thumb over to where Fluttershy was wrapping cannon balls in bubble wrap. “What?” she squeaked out when she caught my staring, “I don’t want anypony or shadows to get hurt.” I slammed my head onto the table and screamed into the wood. “Sergeant Bold!” A tan pegasus with a red mane flew out of now where and landed next to the table where I was sitting at. “Sergeant Stand Bold reporting as ordered sir!” He said a little too loudly while giving me a crisp salute. I returned it and motioned for him to relax. Sergeant Stand Bold was covered in a patch work of metal armor that looked as if he had made and painted it himself. His red mane and tail were both cut jagged and stuck out at crazy angles from his erratic flying. One of his flanks was missing a piece of armor where his cutie mark showed. A thick blue circle with a white spade in the center. “Okay, Bold, here’s what I need you to do, and I need this to get done quickly. You trained with the Royal Guard cannon crew right?” “Yes sir. For a few months at least.” He nodded his head and counted off the months on his primary wing feathers. “Okay, congratulations, you're getting a promotion!” I stood up and brought the shocked pony guard over in front of Fast Skies, which was anchored to the ground, being prepared for the upcoming battle. “I'm putting you in command of this airship. I’ll explain the details of your mission in a moment, but right now I need you to gather a crew of twenty ponies that can operate the cannons inside of this beast. Can you do that?” I looked down at the guard pony who was just staring at the ship. “I…ah…um…I… YES!” The Sergeant bolted towards the front of the airship and wrapped his hooves across it. “I’ll take good care of her! I clean here and walk her and ill feed her.” I rubbed my hand across my face, again, and sighed, “Okay then, I’ll leave you to it Sergeant Bold.” I turned around and walked towards Pinkie Pie. “Miss Pinkie Pie, you're fired from cannon duties, you are now in charge of setting up food for the Royal Guards that are still able to fight here in Ponyville. Applejack, would you please help her before you cut yourself?” Applejack looked up from the sword she was holding, the blade in her hoof and swinging the handle around, before dropping it and trotting over to Pinkie where they then both began walking towards the large tent that was acting as a mess hall for the time being. “Rarity, there is a lot of armor and uniforms that need to be repaired. I would be honored if you would help our smiths fixing the gear. And I would be even more grateful if you could help with my armor especially.” I lifted off the cracked and dirty golden armor from my shoulders and legs along with my modified chest rig. Rarity’s smile could have lit up the room if it wasn’t already day outside. She scooped up the clothes in her magical grasp and floated them behind her and towards the work shop on the other side of the camp. Rainbow Dash was eagerly looking at me from across the table. For the last half hour she had been waiting patiently…and by patiently I mean asking to do something awesome every three seconds. “Rainbow, I need you to go with the First Scout group to investigate the enemy movements in Canterlot. No interaction with the enemy force at all. Get in, check it out, and get out. Got it?” I gave her a stern look, trying to show her I was being dead serious. The last thing I need is here getting hurt in a simple recon mission. “Consider it done!” Rainbow Dash saluted and flew off from the area so fast that a beautiful rainbow streak trailed behind her as she dashed off into the distance. “Oh, Fluttershy?” I called out softly. I heard an ‘eep’ and the thud of a cannon ball hitting the ground. “Fluttershy, I'm sure the medics and doctors over in the medical station could use your help. Would you go see if you could lend a hoof?” I smiled sweetly at the yellow colored pony before she smiled and gave a simple nod before slowly flying off towards the tent with the red cross on it. I collapsed backwards into my chair and ran a hand over my face. I looked down at my body. With all of my armor missing I was left staring at a very dirty ACU blouse and trousers. Both of which were very torn from the past battles. My weapons were all still clinging to my body, save the rifle which was being used as a paper weight to hold the map down in front of me. “And don’t think I forgot about you, Twilight.” I smiled at the purple unicorn, who was rolling a magic bullet around in front of her. She had been playing with the darn thing for nearly an hour now. She had taken it apart, dumped the crushed up powder from the casing, removed the primer, and detached the actual bullet. I walked over to see what she was doing. “I think I figured out how that unicorn made more bullets for Ahuizotl.” Twilight wore a look of complete and utter satisfaction on her face. “As you can see, once broken down, this bullet is actually very simple. Crushed gems and magically enchanted jewels are used as the propellant for the enchanted shaped rock.” She levitated it over to me, where I grasped the light blue shiny round. “And the primer itself is just a small enchanted piece of stone that is activated when struck by the firing quill.” “Pin.” I corrected her, placing the components back on the ground in front of her. “And then, the unicorn just,” her horn glowed and the objects lifted into the air, the crushed gems and jewels falling into the casing, while the primer was stuck back onto the bottom of the casing and the rock was molded back onto the top of the round, “put them all together with a simple shifting spell.” “Wow.” I was surprised at the easiness of the process for making the magical rounds. “I’m impressed Twilight. But now I have a new job for you.” Twilight looked up from her current amusement with the bullet to me. “I would like you to help Princess Luna. We need a plan for changing Day Terror back to Celestia, and I feel you are the most qualified for the job.” “Of course!” Twilight smiled and jumped up, she levitated a small box towards me before rushing off towards the command tent where Luna should be. “Wait! What is in the box?” I yelled after her. “Open it, silly!” She yelled back, “You’ll know when to use them!” the unicorn turned around a corner and vanished from sight. I looked at the small package in my hand. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a simple piece of twine. I undid the knot and dropped the wrapping to the ground. I popped the lid off the small black container and just stared at the contents of the package. Resting inside were five bullets. Five very different bullets. Each head of the bullet was, instead of blue, glowing purple, the same color as Twilight’s magical aurora. I debated testing one out, but decided against it. There were only five of them, I better not waste them. I removed the modified 5.56 rounds and tucked them into a small pouch on my belt. I was about to begin to relax when I heard a massive series of booms ringing out across the camp. I jerked my rifle up from the table and caught the map before training the rifle on the source of the sound. I lowered the rifle as I watched in amazement. Fast Skies was dipping and dodging its way across the sky, making twists and turns I thought would be impossible for a ship of its size. As it came along side of a small hill, all the guns on one side of the ship fired in a perfect line, starting from the bow all the way to stern one at a time, devastating the hill into nothingness. Before I could turn away, the ship quickly preformed a turn and then ran a second pass on the hill using the other port of cannons along the other side of the ship. I was dumbstruck by the crew and the swiftness of the ship itself. “HEY THERE, LIUTENANT!” A tan head with a red mane poked its way out of a large window towards the front of the ship. “I THINK I FOUND A GOOD CREW.” “YOU SURE DID SERGEANT! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. NOW GET BACK HERE SO I CAN BRIEF YOU ON THE MISSION!” I hollered up to the racing airship. I was given a wave of acknowledgement before the ship began speeding back towards the landing area created for it. “Maybe this will go even better than expected.” I thought aloud while heading towards the anchored airship. The Shadow Assassin watched the airship demolish the hill. It felt nothing for the destruction it rained upon the landscape. Its mission was to kill the human, not relay info to the Queen. The shadow stalked the human from across the camp. Swiftly and silently it ducked in and out through tents while seemingly melting into the shadows everywhere approaching its target at a snail’s pace. The Shadow Assassin had been given a rare opportunity. The human had slowly dismissed all of its companions from its presence and was now walking alone towards the airship docked across the camp. If the shadow could feel emotion, it would have been smiling at this luck opportunity. The human would walk right next to a completely empty tent. That’s where the Shadow Assassin would spring its deadly trap. It slinked off into the shadows, disappearing from sight as it crawled towards the tent. I walked towards the airship to brief Sergeant Stand Bold on the attack that would force the shadow army into Ghastly Gorge. Fast Skies would have to be perfect and act quickly if there was to be any hope of getting the army to move into the trapped gorge. I suddenly found myself jerked into a tent. The flap closed behind me as I regained my footing in the center of the dark tent. The material of the tent allowed a small amount of light to filter through into the inside of the tent but it was relatively dark. “The fuck? Who’s in here? Pinkie I'm not into surprise parties.” I screamed out in surprise and pain as something hot ran across my back. I dropped to my knees and reached behind me. My hand came into contact with something warm and sticky. Bringing my hand in from of me revealed it to be coated in blood. I stood up and brought my rifle up to bear. I spun around, covering the entirety of the tent, nothing but…shadows. “So the mighty Day Terror sends a simple pet to kill me. How powerful.” I was suddenly launched into the air as a kick from something knocked me across the empty space of the tent. I landed hard on my stomach, the rifle flying from my grasp and sliding under the wall of the tent. “Shit!” I reached a hand under the tent trying to find the weapon, but I clawed the empty air. The shadow gripped my leg and jerked me along the ground towards the center of the tent. I turned over onto my back and drew my pistol from its holster. “Gotcha!” I finally laid eyes on my attacker. The shadow of a griffon. A big ass griffon. With fucking huge talons and fiery green wings. “Well that’s just not fair.” I charged the pistol up in my gauntleted hand and released the magical bolt at the creature. It let go of my leg and jumped back into the shadows of the tent avoiding my shots and disappearing into the darkness. Shit. I staggered up to my feet and looked around, pistol at the ready, my right hand finding the handle of Bad Bertha. I drew the wicked knife and held it out to my side, ready to slice my way through the creature. Another slash from nowhere burned across my left arm, causing me to fumble with the pistol and drop it to the ground. I quickly dove down trying to get it, put a flash of a black lions tail knocked under the tent just as the rifle had been. I gulped and found myself really missing my armor. “Oh, poor human.” The voice echoed around the tent. It seemed to come from every direction. Day Terror. I looked around trying to find the griffon, but it had vanished into the shadows. “That’s right human. Feel the end around you. The darkness. It surrounds you. It corners you like a scared animal before the slaughter. This is the end. A shame I shall not be able to gore you with my horn. That seems so much more fitting, but alas I guess my Shadow Assassin will have to do.” I felt another quick slice across my chest. I dropped to the ground, my left hand covering the wound now spanning from my left breast to my right side below the ribs. I couched and stood back up, my knife posed and at the ready to strike. “Death will be slow, just like I always promised you human.” Another cut. More blood. More taunting from Day Terror. My thoughts began to grow heavy and my movements slowed as the loss of blood began to affect me. I spun around and began to lash out in every direction, desperate to hit something. “That’s right human; just waste your energy trying to strike that which you can’t see.” I quickly collected myself and pooled all my energy together and ran into the darkness around the edges of the tent, till it hit the side of the cloth material. I pulled my hand back stabbed the blade into the cloth and ripped it down. I jerked the knife to the side cutting m large hole into the tent, flooding the interior with light. And there right behind me stood the griffon reaching its talons into the air to deliver the final blow. I ducked into a roll and slid under the creature, while jamming the knife up as I went, spilling blood and shadow gore along the ground as I moved under the shadow griffon. I popped up to my feet and jumped onto the griffon’s back, placing the blade along the front of the Shadow Assassin’s neck. “Fuck the darkness, Day Terror. You’ll have to try harder, you bitch. I’m coming for you, and I won’t fail!” I drew the knife hard to the side, slicing through the soft feathery neck of the shadow griffon, blood spurting out and spraying onto the sides of the tent. I climbed off the body, taking a moment to rip a green flaming feather from its dying body. I tucked the feather in a button hole next to another feather. The red and black feathers mingling, creating an eerie glow. I staggered out through the hole in the side of the tent, only stopping to pick up my rifle and pistol. I made my way towards the medical tent, a long trail of blood marking my way. I lifted the flap and locked eyes with a pink maned pegasus who was holding a tray of bandages in her mouth. “Hey there, Fluttershy.” I pitched forward into the darkness that was taking me into unconsciousness.