That morning J´zar scouted ahead of the ponies to check the enemy defenses. The first line of defense was a massive moat crossed by a thin bridge made of wooden boards. The bottom of the pit was shrouded in darkness, but J´zar could almost feel the stakes waiting to impale an unsure walker. Then there was what at first sight might have seemed thirty meters of open ground, but J´zar knew that was the magical barrier. After that, they would have to cross the walls (a stone barrier which had a hundred feet in height) through the door (a foot and a half of solid oak, defended by a whole squadron of spearmen) or climbing over it, though J´zar thought the last option was impossible because of the archers and the pony’s lack of climbing skill.
"¿What are you doing?" Pinkie Pie sprung from a bush behind J´zar and spoke, or more like yelled, with cheers.
"¡Silence!" J´zar hissed, covering Pinkie’s mouth with one hand to prevent her from speaking anymore "¡Unless you want our hides to hang on Ix’s halls!"
Pinkie Pie said something, but the sound came out muffled from J´zar’s hand. The warrior let her go.
"Don’t worry" the mare whispered "We’ll be silent as shadows in midnight. ¿What do we got?"
"The fortress is unassailable via common methods" J´zar said with critic eye "We must use unorthodox procedures then"
"¡Unorthodox is my specialty!" a voice said from behind. Rainbow Dash was there.
J´zar hissed again to prevent the sound for rising too much.
"¿So what’s the plan?" the multi-colored mare asked.
"I have not girted one yet" J´zar answered "But I have an idea"
"Hey girls…" Twilight Sparkle appeared in the small open area behind the two ponies and the man.
"¡And guys!" J´zar remembered the librarian.
"And guys…" Twilight sighed "If we are going to attack, we better do it now"
"Three of your friends are missing" J´zar remembered Twilight.
"¿Who’s missin’?" Applejack asked from behind a nearby tree.
"Not me, certainly" Rarity affirmed, appearing from behind a pile of rocks.
"Nor me" Fluttershy said, descending with a flutter of wings from another tree.
"¿Is this a bloody spying contest or what?" J´zar said "¿Why are you all here?"
"We just thought you might want to finish this as soon as possible," Twilight Sparkle explained, slightly proud of herself "so I grouped them up"
"Well, that I did not expect…" J´zar said "But to the matter, then. The enemy has secured himself inside that massive castle over there. He is protected by several layers of defensive mechanisms, including a magical seal, which you, Twilight, will have to shatter"
"¿And how will we do that, my dear?" Rarity asked "¿Teamwork?
"¡Ha!" J´zar grinned "I have something better than teamwork. I have a plan"
"Now here’s my plan" J´zar said as he drawn lines on the dust in the forest floor “X” Represents the pegasii. “O” Represents the other four ponies, and that triangle is me. First, “X” flies above the castle to draw their attention while “O” shatters the magical shielding. Then, the triangle charges in and distracts the guards as “O” goes through a secret door located in the left side of the castle…"
"¡Wait a second!" Rainbow Dash stopped her friend "¿What secret door?"
"All castles have a secondary door to allow quick escape should it be necessary. That door probably leads into the main plaza. From there, “O” will open the front doors and let the triangle pass inside. ¿Any questions?" J´zar finished.
"Umm, yes, if you don’t mind." Fluttershy said "If we (the pegasii) are supposed to draw the archer’s attention ¿wouldn’t that mean they would shoot us?"
"¡Of course, my little friend!" J´zar answered "But I’m sure skilled fliers such as you two will have no trouble dodging them. ¿Any other? ¿No? Perfect"
The group carefully approached the bridge. J´zar deemed it safe to cross it. With the old warrior at the head and the six mares carefully following him, they started to tread the relatively short bridge. Each step made it creak and squeak, and the ponies (especially Fluttershy) moved very slowly, fearing the next step to be the last. With a cracking sound, one of the boards broke and a short scream was heard. Rarity had stepped in the wrong board, but luckily her leg was perfectly fine, only stuck in the bridge.
"¡Damn it!" J´zar cursed "Be more careful next time, Rarity"
"¿And how am I supposed to know where to step?" the mare complained.
"Just move a little softer. Fluttershy does it like a professional" J´zar admitted, pulling Rarity out of the gap. The team made it past the bridge without any other inconvenient. At the other side, J´zar raised his clenched fist, to mark the mares to stop. They came to a halt too suddenly, and they all bumped into each other. J´zar pulled out the flask filled with blood from his pockets, and gave it to Twilight Sparkle.
"Disable the shield, please" he instructed.
"Ummm, this…I…" the mare babbled. Actually, she had no idea on how to break the shield, but she had to try. She lifted the small vial using her magic, and focused. She thought of a bubble standing between her and the stronghold, and imagined the bubble exploding while channeling magic through the flask. At first, nothing happened, but then Twilight started to feel some sort of strength preventing her from breaking the field. She focused harder to overcome the barrier. Her magic started to drain, but the wall of energy was slowly becoming shorter. Twilight put to the task the last of her strengths on overcoming the obstacle and the mare felt something pulling her entrails up to her throat when the barrier finally disappeared. She kneeled down and fully crumbled on the floor shaking and panting as if she had been running a marathon. J´zar grabbed her in the shoulder and made her look into his yellow eyes.
"¿Twilight? ¿Do you hear me?" he said, though his voice reached Twilight vaguely.
"Y-Y-Yes…" Twilight managed to mutter.
"¿Are you alright?" J´zar sounded worried "You just dispelled a very powerful magic"
"I…I think so" The unicorn answered, still breathing heavily "I never felt such a thing before"
"Being tired is common after doing such a feat" J´zar pointed out.
"No, it’s not that" Twilight rose to her hooves, her legs shaking like leafs in a storm "I felt something far greater than common magic behind that barrier"
"Bad sign" J´zar foreshadowed "We must move on. Stick to the plan"
Rainbow Dash nodded and shook her head towards Fluttershy, signaling the takeoff. Both pegasii flied off the earth and into the sky, making a wide detour around the castle to finally fly over it. As soon as they did, screams and orders were heard as the Banished ran to their bows and started firing. The pegasii, however, were more skilled than what they looked like, quickly outmatching the archers.
"Now it’s our turn" J´zar said pulling both swords out of their sheaths. With a furious roar, the warrior charged the enemy, quickly engaging in a bloody melee. J´zar was very careful to control his bloodlust, for blind rage was not needed then. At the corner of his eye, the warrior saw the other four ponies sneaking through the trapdoor at the castle’s side. “They better open that door quickly!” J´zar thought. A spearman tried to stab him from behind, but J´zar quickly swirled around and plunged his sword in the chest of the Banished as blood splattered the ground. But another one had taken the opportunity and cut J´zar across the ankle. J´zar kneeled to the ground in pain, and the spearmen left formed a phalanx in front of the pit separating the raised bridge from the rest of the place. J´zar heard a creak as the chains holding the door started to loosen.
"You should be wary when near doors" he warned the Banished "¡They open in the worst situations!"
The creatures looked surprised to the skies as the chains totally loosened and the bridge smashed down upon the unlucky traitors. From the other side, a high pitched voice said:
"That door was very hard to open" Rarity whined "¡I totally ruined my hooves!"
"Don’ worry, sugarcube" Applejack answered "Ah’m pretty sure ya’ll get ‘em fixed"
"¡This is something reality show hosts are going to talk about for days!" Pinkie happily yelled.
J´zar feared for their safety inside an enemy base for a second, but the archers were very busy trying to kill Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. J´zar picked them off one by one. It wasn’t very hard, as they were totally focused on firing their bows. But something troubled the old warrior: most of the Banished knew how to use a bow. And the guards at the door had spears. ¿What could allow the Banished to gain such abilities?
J´zar walked down the stairs leading to the door of the main building: a square tower the size of a city block. He reunited with the mares at the entrance of the secondary fortification.
"That was so…so…¡Awesome!" Rainbow Dash screamed "I need to assault castles more often"
"Oh my young mare, fun is only getting started" J´zar said entering the castle.