//------------------------------// // On Wings of Victory // Story: Fire Emblem: Waking in a New World // by Bishibosh the Shaman //------------------------------// Fire Emblem: Waking in a New World Chapter Eleven Twilight stood her ground as she watched the battlefield below her. She marveled at how the textbooks Dan let her borrow seemed to mimic what was going on beneath her. She could envision the layout as a grid, every unit taking a square. Enemy and ally alike were like pieces in this ga- no. The unicorn shook a thought behind her head. This was no game, these human's lives were at stake and if they fell then other ponies lives would be endangered as well. Still, she began to see things across the battlefield that she would never have seen before. She watched as the bulky blue haired warrior parried a blow with an axe with considerable ease, then watched as the shorter human next to him struggled against a lance until tossed an axe himself. After that, he easily over took the lance man's position. Twilight considered to herself, are these weapons designed to work like this? It's like the magic game she practiced conjuration with. Summon a rock to defeat the scissors, only in this case use a sword to beat an axe and an axe to break a lance. Her thought's were broken when the sound of rumbling earth roared through the battlefield. The giant revenant's onslaught was beginning to pay off as the makeshift fortifications of the valley crumbled. Enough to hold a position, but enough to chip away at hope. The unicorn felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face, nine lives resting on her mind. She would have to pull this off, Ponyville depended on it. All of Equestria may depend on it. As if reading her thoughts, a soft grip rested on her back. It patted softly down as Twilight looked up to see Chrom staring into the battlefield. His eyes gleamed in the sunlight, but his expression remained solid. The unicorn could almost see another stallion she knew with that same gaze. A sharp roar erupted as a revenant slammed it's crystal arm into the steep hill that protected them. The unicorn's focus was lost for a brief moment until. "Dan will be back, we will win this" Chrom stated, resting his hand on the hilt of his blade. "How can you be so sure? So much time has passed. I'm beginning to worry..." Twilight almost pulled her gaze away to meet the commander of this army, but resolved to keep watch. "He has yet to let us down. Yet to let me down" Chrom emphasized his statement by unsheathing his golden blade, it's long edges glowed with an otherworldly light. "Me and him are two halves of one whole. Our friendship has withstood the test of fate and destiny. He will not abandon us." Friendship... Twilight caught the whole sentence but that one word struck a cord deep inside her. Dan and Chrom were close friends, had to be for such a noble man to speak so highly of him. She pushed the subject aside for a moment as she had a battle to oversee. Trusting Chrom's words, she shouted over the field once again. "Hold your positions everypo-er-one! Help is on the way!" The unicorn noted the fighter's spirits raise at her words. She noted the effect of moral on a battlefield in her mind. Dan stood at the gates to Equestria, or the world of these ponies at least. He had yet to learn if they had acknowledged a name for their planet. The thought was brushed aside as he reached for the gates to Equestria. The remaining Shepherds stood behind him, those most important to his attack in front with their mounts. He took a moment to hope the battle was going well, entertained the thought that it was already over, but returned to reality as he pushed the doorway open. The Outrealm Gate burst out with light as the army followed in. Only an hour after her last order, the earth rumbled once again with a massive groan. Twilight felt her spirit sink as she watched the hillside collapse into the ground beneath her. The humans beneath her cleared out of the way, but the revenant had a clear shot at each fighter beneath it. It's massive arm rose, the opposite arm gripped to steady it. Within seconds, the ground beneath the fighters exploded in crystal and dirt as a barrage of sharp crystalline missiles pierced the ground. "Chrom!" Twilight shouted, but the commander was already charging down the hill. His sword shining bright as it was pulled behind him. Chrom rushed down the hillside to his friends aid, most of them unharmed due to quick reflexes and steady balance. Some others however were in complete shock from the attack. No one was hurt, and for this Chrom said a silent thank you to whatever god watched over this realm. His pursuit was unhindered by the terrain, he felt a burning fury inside him that was screaming for release. Closing the ground on the massive revenant, he lept into the air with Falchion in hand. His strong legs propelled him just the right height as he pulled Falchion above his head. With a mighty spin, he rushed downward onto the revenant's arm. The blessed blade cut into the crystal, hooking the lord onto the beast. Chrom pushed off the crystalline arm with a strong kick, flipping up onto the hilt of his blade. Squatting down on the hilt of Falchion, the lord thrust his legs upward launching himself into the air. As he fell, his hands clasped around Falchion and the blade was drug down through the crystal hide of the beast. The revenant let out a shriek of pain, as it clawed with it's other arm down. Chrom was descending so fast however that the arm could not catch him. Finally the blade stuck, just low enough for the lord to gain some footing on the soft ground. With a sudden jerk, Falchion was ripped from the crystal arm and the shrapnel of gems came crashing down behind him. Running back to the battlefield, avoiding falling debris, he feared all he did was enrage the revenant. That and give it another arm to grip with as under the crystal coat was a normal arm. As normal as risen appendages get anyways. He turned to charge the revenant again, but this time was stopped by a wall of crystal forming before him. The other revenant had thrust it's arm into the ground and crystal spines shot from the earth from the point of impact. The commander was flung back at the display, after hitting the ground and rolling a few feet. Chrom griped his sword impaled in the ground beside him, using it as a crutch to lift himself. He watched as the first revenant had raised an arm to slam down on him. The lord tried to roll out of the way, but a stinging pain in his chest paralyzed him. He watched as the arm descended upon him, he pulled Falchion from the ground and lifted the blade to stab the creature and closed his eyes. Twilight watched the whole display, and her face mirrored her feelings about each moment. She went from worry as she watched Chrom charge the enemy lines, to awe as the lord single-handedly disabled the projectile arm, to shock as the wave of crystal erupted from the ground, then finally to grim horror as the massive beast was about to slay Chrom. Her eyes turned away from the battlefield, as she could not watch the horror. She waited for the pounding sound of the revenant's claw. A loud schreech echoed in the valley, then a single crashing boom. Twilight felt another bead of wetness fall down her face, this one as a tear. A soft finger was felt wiping the tear away, and Twilight forced her head up to see... "Dan! You're back! Chrom! He-" "Is alright Twilight, you did a good job. Now, let a grandmaster handle this" Dan smiled with a wink as he stood from his knelt position. Twilight observed his hand raise, and just over head she felt her heart rise. A pair of massive white wings flew overhead, Chrom seated behind another human on top. She gasped as at first she thought the winged steed was her only mentor Celestia. Her eyes snapped back to Dan who clenched his hand into a fist and thrust it forward. From behind she heard massive wing beats but before she could even turn to see, two massive dragons soared overhead followed by a trio of pegasi. Two of them a brilliant white, the third a dark black. All of the creatures holding human riders on their backs. Twilight watched in awe as they swarmed the revenants. The dragons over powered the weakened revenant, one rider holding a massive axe that cleaved into the head of the revenant. The other wielding a long lance that was thrust into the chest. Not after too many strikes did the beast fall. The pegasi simply out maneuvered the other crystal revenant, their speed and agility were too much for the slow swings of the monster. The two white pegasi each had both spear and stave, both of them throwing or lancing into the sides of the beast. The dark pegasus simply flew above, the rider pulled out a dark purple book. Twilight squinted, but could swear the rider was laughing as orange runes floated out around her. The beasts head simply exploded in a cloud of dark black spoke and deep purple lighting. A dark laughter could be heard echoing through the battlefield. Twilight watched the fliers circle about the air, dispatching any other ground forces. Dan turned around and smiled at Twilight, who hung her head a little. The tactician knelt down again and raised her chin up with his hand. "You did a good job Twilight, perhaps you should practice tactics instead of magic" Dan smiled at his joke. "I- uh... No thank you, I'll just stick to my normal studies" Twilight smiled back with a mild blush. "I must agree with my tactician Twilight" Both Dan and Twilight turned around to see Chrom slowly climbing down from the white pegasus. Twilight saw the concerned look in the woman's eyes behind him. "Chrom! You shouldn't be walking!" The brown haired woman reached out for Chrom, but ended up falling off her pegasus and face planting on the ground beneath her. "Ow... that one will leave a mark..." "Sumia! Are you alrig- Ow..." Chrom turned to give a hand to Sumia, only to pull his own arm back to his chest. "Blasted... Rib..." "It's fine my love... Just my... boots..." Sumia stood as she dusted off her armor. "But you really should sit! That rib won't heal with you moving around like you do!" "It will be fi-Ow! uh... fine Sumia, besides. If rumor is correct, we are going to have a busy day tomorrow. Right Twilight?" Chrom asked, Sumia now supporting him as he strode towards Twilight. "Oh umm, yes. Princes Celestia, my teacher, wished to meet with you and Dan. She actually mentioned all of you, but I can tell that there is... a lot of you..." Twilight gave a sheepish smile. "Oh and you may also attend Queen Sumia!" "What!?" Sumia backed off from the comment, almost dropping Chrom. "What did you call me!?" "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I just thought since Chrom is a... prince and all... and you are..." Twilight stepped back as she babbled, while Chrom and Dan both burst into laughter. Chrom's laughter being short lived as he quickly had to grasp his side to quell the pain. Later that night, Twilight was up much later than she should have been. Sitting at her desk with a quill in her magic and a paper before her, she wrote these words. Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned a valuable lesson from these strange new humans. More specifically from their leader and tactician. Chrom and Dan share a bond of friendship that I believe rival my own to my friends. In his own words, Chrom suggested that they are 'two halves of the same whole'. This bond strengthens them beyond that of a normal being. These humans have taught me that friendship is more than a magical force that binds people close together, and it is more than a source of power. It is the very thing that supports us in our times of weakness. These humans come from a very violent world, from what I have read, one torn apart by war and evil magics. Truly if their bonds of friendship can flourish as they do in such a terrible land, then the bonds of friendship can flourish anywhere. P.S. there are A LOT of those humans, so I have decided to only invite a few of the more standing members of their group. Namely Sir Chrom and Sir Dan as they serve as the leaders and guides for these humans, also one named Sumia who is the wife of Sir Chrom. Your humble student, Twilight Sparkle