//------------------------------//
// The Great Northern Desert 
// Story: The Creation of Harmony 
// by Time Ponies are cool 
//------------------------------//

Chapter XXIV: The Great Northern Desert
Dash, Sword and the Bolts flew South towards Castle Equites and flew above the clash between the Hoofrican and Pony armies on the Emerald Plains. The Sun had made another four circles around the horizon since the meeting at the Field of Pink Roses and rose slightly higher. The ten pegasi could hear the violence below them. The clanging of metal, the arrows whizzing through the air, the countless hooves stomping on the ground, the ringing of battle cries, the pounding of war drums and the screams of hundreds of dying soldiers. The clashing armies created a dust cloud rising from the field and darkening the sky, and the pleasant green plains were tainted red with blood. Already vultures were circling above the battlefield. 
Sword was certain that his team was flying far beyond the reach of any weapons when suddenly, as he looked down, an enormous flaming arrow-like projecting flew at him. Fleet Feather, quick to react, lassoed the projectile with a rope she always kept at hoof and pulled it off course, saving her commander's life.
"Are you alright, commander?" Fleet Feather said.
"Fine. I'm fine," Sword replied, "But what on earth was that? No Hoofrican arrow should be able to reach this high."
"That was no arrow, Commander," Bee-Spotter replied as she looked through a spyglass at the battle below, "The Hoofricans have something new. It looks like some kind of machine. An enormous bow laid sideways on a machine that draws the string back. It looks powerful."
"A ballista?" Ifaistos joined, "It could be a ballista. I saw Hoofrican blueprints once of a weapon they called a ballista. It's similar to a bow, but much grander and shoots huge arrows."
"There are other machines down there. Here. You take a look," Bee-Spotter said as she handed her spyglass to Ifaistos, who looked through it at the battlefield. He saw a variety of other new weapons that devastated Ponytopian troops.
"By the gods... these Hoofricans are armed to break down the walls of Castle Equites." Ifaistos observed each war machine, but was then distracted when he saw a number of chariots separating from the main battle and heading East. The chariots carried on them machines that could fire fifty arrows in one shot. He looked ahead to where they were going and saw a lone legion of earth ponies marching Northward and keeping its distance from the battle. He also saw what appeared to be civilians travelling with the legion. "Commander, I believe there is something you need to see."
Ifaistos gave Sword the spyglass and pointed to the lone legion. Sword looked and saw eight familiar ponies. "What in Faust's name are those fools doing?" He then saw the chariots racing to attack the legion. "A change of course! We are to fly down there and rescue Starswirl, the Doctor and Rainbow Dash's friends!"
The Bolts turned East and sped down towards the legion.
~~~~~
The thirteenth legion under Legate Daisy Dancer marched across the Emerald Plains and took caution as a battle between two armies was raging not far to the West. Starswirl the Bearded and Rarity sat on a chariot pulled by a pair of soldiers. The Doctor, Derpy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were offered chariots to ride on, but they insisted that they could walk on foot alongside the soldiers. Starswirl looked with concern at the sky, Rarity watched the battle in the distance, and the others focused on keeping up with the soldiers as they were unaccustomed to long marches, and this march had been going on for the equivalent of two full days and nights.
"Starswirl, what's that over there?" Rarity asked as she pointed West. She had noticed a set of figures and a dust cloud rapidly approaching the legion. Starswirl squinted as he tried to identify the figures.
"Soldiers from the battlefield, without doubt. But I see not whether they be ours or the enemy's," Starswirl replied, "Legate Daisy Dancer, what sayest thou of those soldiers approaching us?"
Daisy Dancer turned her head and looked to where Starswirl pointed. She gestured to one of her soldiers to give her a spyglass and she looked through the spyglass at the figures in the distance. She then said, "Rhinos. They're coming at us very quickly with war machines. Trium Ordinum!" The soldiers all simultaneously turned West and made three rows facing the oncoming enemy and protecting the civilians in their company. Shortly, Daisy identified more details. On the rhino-drawn chariots were machines that each had an array of mechanized bows that fired multiple arrows. Manning the machines from the chariots were warthog soldiers. 
As Daisy watched through the spyglass, the chariots came within range to shoot their arrows. She saw the machines fire and create a horde of arrows that flew towards the legion. She quickly reacted, shouting, "TESTUDO!" The soldiers took out their shields and held them in one hoof. They formed a rectangle with the civilians at the center, locked their shields together and created a box of iron protecting them on all sides. The arrows struck and the formation held up against the barrage. A few though penetrated some of the shields and killed or injured the soldiers holding them.
Daisy peeked out from behind her shield and saw the rhinos continuing to charge towards her legion while the warthogs prepared the machinery to fire another round of arrows. "Trium ordinum! Shields up! Spears ready!" The legion changed from their testudo to three lines with the front line holding up their shields in front of them. "Await my order!" Daisy watched the approaching enemy intently, waiting for the right moment. The rhinos came ever closer, but the warthogs had finished preparing the machines and were ready to fire again sooner than Daisy had anticipated. She did not have time for her legion to form a testudo again. She had made a fatal miscalculation and faced imminent death. But at that moment a burst of fire came from above and set three of the chariots on fire. At the same time, an arrow struck a warthog through the head, killing him instantly, and continued on to strike the side of the warthog on the next chariot, and another two warthogs mysteriously died of knife stabs to their backs. Also at that same moment, a fast-flying pegasus swooped down with a rope, lassoed a rhino and pulled him to the side, causing his chariot to crash into another. On another chariot, the machine was blown to pieces in a great explosion. Three more warthogs were taken down by a barrage of arrows that came in sets of three. The last two chariots were struck by lightning. Only the rhinos remained now and continued to charge towards the legion. At the last moment before the rhinos trampled the ponies in front of them, Daisy shouted, "HYSTRIX!" The back two rows of ponies held their spears out in front of the row of shields and impaled the rhinos that charged onto them.
The legion broke formation and removed their spears from the rhinos' bodies. Ten pegasi, the Bolts and Rainbow Dash landed on the ground before them. Rainbow Dash galloped over to her friends to reunite with them. Ifaistos immediately went to the machines that remained intact and studied them. Dr. Sweet Sting put herself to work tending to the soldiers who had been injured. Commander Rainbow Sword stepped forward and greeted  Legate Daisy Dancer. They both saluted each other.
"Thank you, Commander," Daisy began, "I was certain we were doomed until you came."
"The Hoofricans are difficult to handle," Sword said, "The dragons at least are predictable, but the Hoofricans seem to have some new abominable contraption every time we battle."
Meanwhile, the Doctor went to Dash and asked, "So, any sign of the Master or the TARDIS?" 
"We found nothing. But we did meet up with some dragons and gazelle and the dragons gave us some really bad news. Things just got a lot more serious. That Master guy is going to open the Gates of Tartarus!"
Starswirl gasped. "By the gods, no!"
The Doctor widened his eyes in shock and said, "Oh, he's desperate."
"And that's might bad, I reckon?" Applejack asked.
Twilight replied, "Tartarus is a prison for all the evil creatures who roamed the world long ago. If the Gates are opened, they could escape and wreak havoc on the world again!"
"Did you say... e-e-evil creatures?" Fluttershy whimpered.
"Yes, and we have to stop them from getting out at all costs!"
Sword and Daisy then approached the ponies and Sword said, "Judging by your solemnity, Rainbow Dash has already told you."
"The circumstances hath become more dire," Starswirl said, "All of creation now is at stake..."
"That explains the sky then," the Doctor said, "That last time the Gates were opened was when King Lux and Queen Nox opened it to imprison-"
"Say not his name, Doctor!" Starswirl interrupted.
"Oh, right, sorry. Excuse me: to imprison the Arglwydd. Anyway, when they did that, they created a total solar eclipse over the exact spot of the Gates. So the Master put the Earth on a course to- er, sorry, I keep forgetting. Geocentric universe. The Master put the Sun on a course to come into an eclipse with the Moon over the Gates."
"How come he can't just put the Sun and Moon right into an eclipse, instead of having to make the Sun go all around like this?" Rarity asked.
"Normally, two alicorns control the Sun and Moon separately," the Doctor answered, "Two minds controlling two heavenly bodies. With that an eclipse shouldn't be too hard. But the Master is just one pony somehow controlling both. Actually, he's probably an alicorn now. He said himself that he was going to become an alicorn. I suppose he succeeded and now controls the sky. But anyway, yes, controlling both the Sun and the Moon with perfect precision is a bit too much for one mind to handle, even a Time Stallion mind. So, rather than control both, the Master preset a course for the Sun to follow that will eventually make it meet the Moon, which he puts most of his focus on to just keep in place directly above the Gates, and make a total solar eclipse."
"But mastery of the sky taketh years for an alicorn to learn," Starswirl said, "Thou hast said that this Master is a pegasus. If he hath become an alicorn, 'twas a mere few days past. How couldst he learn to direct the Sun and Moon with such haste? How couldst he become an alicorn at all?"
"I don't know about becoming an alicorn. Maybe the Master forced the King to make him an alicorn. Or maybe he stole the King's body. Yeah, that seems more like something he'd do. As for learning to control the sky, well, he has my box. With that box he can travel anywhere in time and space. He has all the time he wants. He very well could have gone to another time zone and spent a whole century mastering alicorn magic. Although, judging by how he's managing the sky and knowing how impatient he can get, he probably spent a decade. At the most, fifteen years."
"So how long do we have?" Pinkie asked, "If the Sun's just going on and on in circles until it eclipses, how long's it gonna take?"
"Well..." the Doctor looked at the Sun, Moon and stars, and went around in circles several times. "I could use a calculator to make a more precise estimate, but I'd say, as of right now, we have eight days, more or less. Ten days in total from the Sun's starting position on the Western horizon. It's been two days or so since the sky went all wibbly wobbly. So, yeah. Eight days."
The ponies looked at each other with great concern. "Do you think that's enough time to get everything we need?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, I don't know," the Doctor replied, "I haven't the faintest idea where to find what we're looking for, let alone how long it'll take us to find them. But I can say, we'll be much more efficient if we take a more delicate approach to the mission and not have an entire legion accompanying us." At that last sentence, the Doctor looked at Starswirl.
"Thou hast seen for thyself, Doctor, that we needeth these soldiers. They saved our lives!" Starswirl said.
"At the cost of their lives!" The Doctor retorted, "I am not glad to have ponies needlessly die for our sake."
Starswirl gave a moment to think before responding, "The desert. We shall continue with the thirteenth legion until we reacheth the Great Northern Desert. Then I shall send them back."
The Doctor decided that it was an acceptable compromise. "Alright then. But not a step farther."
Starswirl had no reply. He was satisfied with the compromise. Dash then spoke up to change the subject. "Also, I should mention that the Gates are at the base of Mount Dechrau in the Gwyrrd Mountains. It's the oldest mountain in the world. In case anypony was wondering."
"Thanks, Rainbow," Twilight said, "So we have eight days. We should get going then."
"The Bolts shall accompany you," Sword offered, "Extra protection until you reach the desert."
Sword flew to his team and gave them orders to fly above the company as aerial protection. Daisy gave her legion the order to reform marching formation and continue North. Starswirl and Rarity went back onto their chariot and the others continued walking with the soldiers. Meanwhile, the battle to the West was drawing to a close, with the Hoofricans on the retreat and the ponies pushing their advantage to secure victory.
~~~~~
The grass ahead shortened and faded and dissipated until it gave way to an endless expanse of sand. The view ahead was distorted by the haze of the heat rising from the sand. The Sun was to the West after four circles around the sky. The Moon above was between the gibbous phase and the quarter phase. By this time, the Sun was so high that only the stars at the edge of the sky opposite from the Sun were visible. Legate Daisy Dancer stopped her legion on the edge of the Great Northern Desert and gave her farewell, "As agreed on, Your Excellency, this is where I must leave you."
"Thou hast done well, Legate," Starswirl said.
"You did very well," the Doctor join, "So well that I'd say you deserve that promotion."
"Indeed," Starswirl said, "Giveth me a paper, quill and ink, Legate." Daisy took out writing materials from her saddlebag and gave them to Starswirl, who levitated them as he wrote, 
"By decree of His Excellency, Starswirl the Bearded, Head Sorcerer of Equites, whose words art sanctioned by His Most Royal Majesty, King Concordius, son of Lux IX, highest sovereign of the Ponies, master of the Emerald Plains, ruler of the Hills of Lauren, lord of the Sunrise Mountains: Daisy Dancer, daughter of River Dancer, legate of the thirteenth legion, hast been seen to be worthy and shalt be bestowed with the rank of August Legate and authority over the thirteenth legion, the twenty-second legion and the thirtieth legion, with all honors, powers and responsibilities therein."
Starswirl put in his signature, rolled up the paper and touched it to his horn, placing his magical seal on it. He handed it to Daisy, who gratefully accepted it and put it in her saddlebag. Daisy then went to the other ponies and saluted each of them, wishing them good fortune on their mission. She then gathered her legion and gave orders, "About face!" The soldiers all simultaneously turned and faced South. "Eo!" The soldiers in unison began their march South back to Equites.
In the meantime, Starswirl, the Doctor, Derpy, the Bolts and the six prepared for their journey into the Great Northern Desert. The Bolts and Dash went to work gathering all the clouds in the area to create a cloud layer for shade from the never-setting Sun. Pinkie and Fluttershy went to a nearby creek to replenish their water supply. Rarity and Applejack examined their food supply and replenished some of it by collecting grass. Starswirl, the Doctor and Twilight studied maps of the Great Northern Desert to decide on a course of action to continue their journey North, though the maps were mostly blank beyond a few miles into the desert, as few who enter ever leave.
They finished their preparations and were ready to begin. Sword addressed his team and said, "Bolts, at this point, I shall say your mission is done. For now, you are not needed. You are to return to Pegasparta and resume your duties as defenders of our home."
"Sword, are you sure about this?" Sweet Sting concernedly asked, "The desert is a dangerous place. What if they need us?"
"There is only enough food to last eight days for ten ponies. Having more mouths to feed shan't be helpful. I shall travel with them as their protector. The rest of you will return home."
Sweet Sting looked at Sword with much worry for a moment and then embraced him, and Sword replied to her embrace with an even tighter one. Then Triple-Shot joined them, lifting both pegasi up, and then the rest of the Bolts joined in a great group hug. Sword then gave his team the order, "Na ptisi," and the Bolts flew off.
Afterwards, the Doctor presented the plan to everypony, "So, we've come a conclusion from studying the maps: this desert... is really big and rather impossible to navigate without orderly stars. So, in other words, there is virtually no way for us to know where we're going in this desert. But luckily there's me and well... I am a bit brilliant. We can see Polaris in its proper position to the North when the Sun is to the South. The last time the Sun was to the South was about one and a half hours ago and now the Sun is to the West. So, for now, we can say that the Sun takes about one and a half hours to make a quarter circle around the sky. However, the circumference of its course gets smaller as it approaches the Moon. And fortunately, the Moon can help us. As the Sun gets closer to the Moon, the phase of the Moon will change. When the Moon is at its quarter phase over the next few days, the Sun should take more or less four hours to make a full circle. And when the Moon is at crescent, a full circle will take about two. So if we keep a very good track of time, we can find Polaris when it's at the right spot and know which way North is!"
Everypony stared at the Doctor blankly. None of them understood his plan. Then the Doctor took out a pair of wooden contraptions and said, "Also, I made two wind-up clocks out of wood to help us keep track of time. One for each group."
"Each group?" Applejack asked.
"Yes. We're going to split into two groups so as to cover more ground. As I said before, we have no idea where the things we're looking for are. Our best chance of running into anything worthwhile is if we cover as much area as possible and to do that we'd need to split up."
"Sounds like a fun plan!" Pinkie said, "Who's on my team?"
"We decided to split the groups like this," Twilight began, "The Doctor, Applejack, Rainbow Sword, Fluttershy and I are together going slightly to the East. Starswirl, Derpy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are together going slightly to the West."
The ponies gathered into their groups and split their cloud into two. Dash and Derpy held one half of the cloud and Sword held the other. They faced the Great Northern Desert, ready to begin the most difficult stretch of their journey, but as they were about to start, however, they heard thunderous roaring from some distance behind them. They turned South and watched in horror as a flock of dragons attacked the thirteenth legion and the Bolts. The many streams of red and white fires set the ground ablaze  and the ponies under attack cried out in pain as they burned. Daisy Dancer and her legion tried to defend themselves but there were too many dragons. The Bolts also tried to fight off the dragons, but the odds were too far against them. The eight pegasi fled and flew away with all haste from the dragons. The thirteenth legion was left helpless against the onslaught and was destroyed.
"No..." Twilight whispered as a tear escaped from her eye. 
Starswirl took off his hat and said, "May the Holy King Thiessen give rest to their souls."
The Doctor then said to everypony, "Gallop." The others looked at him with confusion, but the Doctor simply raised his voice and yelled, "GALLOP!"
The ten ponies turned and went off into the Great Northern Desert.