Kingdom of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 10: The heart of a warrior (Part 1: Lightning)
The library of Fort Stronghoof. Although tales of the depths of this labyrinth of literature had circulated around Canterlot, mostly amongst those of pursuing the path of scribes, not many had set their hooves inside its hallowed halls. It was a relic from times long gone, housing all of the foreign literature acquired when Equestria was still waging war against its neighboring nations, over five hundred years ago.
Now, a pair of scaly legs was treading the floor of these dim corridors, their owner completely unaware of the importance of the place he was in.
“Gee, that’s a lot of books,” Spike murmured to himself. “How am I supposed to find a single book in here, anyways? Should have asked Flame that…”
Despite waging a long battle in his mind whether or not to follow the advice of the enigmatic female dragon, Spike had eventually caved in. Since his friends were focused on a slew of other problems at the moment, he had seen best to slip into the library unnoticed. To his surprised it had been unguarded, and even the door was unlocked. What he did not know was that due to the location of the fort, it had been deemed impractical to lock or guard the door; whoever made it up the mountain to steal the books inside would find it easy to break through such defenses.
The walls, lined to the brim with bookshelves, towered above the small dragon like imposing giants. He resisted the urge to swallow hard, and pressed on. What little light the lanterns hanging from the ceiling offered was swallowed by darkness quickly if one strayed off the pre-prepared paths. All Spike could do was follow these corridors as they twisted and turned around the huge library.
At least until certain he caught a hint of a certain, familiar fragrance.
“Wait… this smells like Flame?” Spike said. “That can’t be right. She couldn’t possibly be here. Unless… unless… Oh, man! What was it that Twilight said about Charm magic again?”
The young dragon fervently thought back to the day after the battle against Elfin Fresh and Silent Relic. They had been in the inn of the town, discussing about their victory, when he had sneaked in a question about magic that could charm other living beings. That was the only way he could describe the effect that Flame had on him, after all. She had even called herself “Scales of Charm.”
“Charm magic? That’s a weird question, Spike,” Twilight said and giggled. “But, let’s see… charming somepony else has to be done through one of their senses. Usually it’s through visuals, such as adding a feature to yourself that others find irresistible, or have your eyes alter the vision of others slightly whenever they gaze into them. Of course, other things work, too. Some songs are simple form of charming magic, after all.”
“That’s it!” Spike exclaimed. “It’s her scent! That’s how she did it!”
Having realized this, Spike hurried to follow the alluring scent of roses and berries that seemed to trail through the library. He ran through small corridors and ducked below low archways, determined to get to the source of the fragrance. With every meter he crossed, the scent got stronger, until it threatened to engulf his brain and bring him to the same sweet stupidity that had caught him when he first met Flame.
He had an effective remedy for that, though: the image of a certain white mare in his heart.
It did not take long for Spike to find the source of the scent. It was clear that Flame had knowingly left this trail to follow, as now that he was at its source, it was so strong it would have been impossible to miss. The scent had completely covered one bookshelf and a certain book in it particularly. It was a thick tome, almost the size of Spike, tucked away suspiciously at the lower-left corner of the shelf.
“Found you.” Spike smirked victoriously and dragged the book out of the shelf, slamming it to the floor in the process.
After the cloud of dust that the book had puffed up had dispersed, Spike could finally see the letters that took half of its cover. They were large and golden in color, but oddly dull, as if to drive away the interest of anyone curious about the contents. However, the title itself was foreboding.
“Record of Draconic Matters…” Spike whispered, unable to contain his awe. “This must be it.”
With shaking claws, he took a hold of the cover of the book and carefully pried it open. The first page he saw under it was blank, as he had expected. The paper had a worn look to it, and he was afraid that he might accidentally damage the book if he wasn’t careful. Thus, he slowly turned the pages, until he saw a first sign of writing.
There, with jet-black ink and brushstrokes more akin to claw-marks, were written words that echoed deep within Spike’s mind, like a sound of a cloister-bell.
“To whom can read these words,” Spike mumbled, reading aloud the words written. “Know this: this is your birthright.”
Sudden burst of excitement caught hold of Spike, and he found himself quickly opening the next page. It was like his vision was glued to the white sheets and his claws could not stop themselves. He even failed to recognize the fact that small, transparent bubbles had begun to rise from the floor around him, a sign of gathering, materialized magical energy.
“The Oath of Scales,” Spike read aloud and turned to the next page, hurry pounding in his mind without a reason.
“There is a duty for our kind, one we must fill to the end of time itself,” Spike spoke, this time with a little more force. “Repeat unto destruction, repeat unto creation. By the right of our Great Ancestor, we shall take upon the Mantle and the Crown, once dispersed in the world.”
Around Spike the magical energy was gathering in droves, rising above the ground like a rain pushing upwards. The unperceivable sound, the sound of magic, lowly hummed in the library, hidden from the ears of the rest of the fort. However, the young dragon was completely oblivious to all this. He was like possessed, reading aloud the lines written on the ancient pages of the book.
“I acknowledge my fate. I shall become one of the Six, remnants of Him who was lost,” Spike spoke, his voice now booming through the effect of the materialized magic. “For the sake of this World, everything I will lose shall be gained hundredfold.”
Light began shining under Spike, but he could not tear his eyes away from the book. Magic circle, as old as time, created through nothing but magical energy, appeared below him like an altar of sacrifice. The hallowed forms and runes of that circle bore meanings of past and future, of destiny and choice. They were locks and doors, meant for both freedom and imprisonment.
“This shall be my Oath: I shall become the reaver of all kingdoms,” Spike nearly shouted. “I shall become the paladin of all land!”
The screech of the magic was now filling his ears, but all Spike could hear was his own voice, forcefully spouting out words pouring into his eyes from the pages of the tome. The light of the magic circle below him was enough to blind him, but he no longer needed eyes to read: the words were echoing in his mind, and he was simply repeating them. It was as if the knowledge of the book was directly transported into him, like an ancient memory or a recording of something long lost.
“Thus, entrust the power once hidden to me, for I am he who shalt protect this shattered world!” Spike’s voice reached its high note. “Clad in the armor of earth and wielding a sword of fire, he who soars on wings of wind, crying tears of the ocean! I am one of those who came after… a Scale of Harmony!”
Light engulfed the room. Sound engulfed the room. Outside, in the corridors of Fort Stronghoof, a bright flash of white could be seen for a split-second. The oath had been stated, and it had been agreed upon. By whom, no one knew. However, the one swearing this oath was clear. His knighting had been announced by a bell that was as clear as the white moon, with a sound that could be heard only by five others. No matter how close to him, no matter how far away, all at the same time, they heard the sound of the bell of judgment.
In a colossal chapel in the middle of a lustrous city, a white dragon raised her gaze and gave a predatory smile.
On a road that seemed to have no end, a blue dragon perked its ears and sighed in amazement, before shaking his head.
Within a forest shrouded in ancient darkness, a red dragon looked up to the skies and smiled knowingly.
At the balcony of a castle built to the side of a great mountain, a green dragon raised her fist in the air and cheered at the top of her lungs.
Gazing at the golden city that spread before his eyes, an orange dragon spat to the ground and snarled in growing rage.
The five of them had all heard it. The sixth had been awakened. All of them responded with their own feelings at this fact that none of them could deny. The sixth scale had finally taken its place, and thus the world moved a bit further on its road towards whatever awaited it.
“G-guah!”
Spike fell to his knees, letting out a yelp of pain. The light subsided and the sound no longer pounded his skull. Gone were the words that had so forcefully entered his lips. Suddenly, it felt as if nothing at all had happened. The grandiose, hidden spectacle that had taken a hold of the young dragon was gone so fast that it felt like a daydream.
However, its effects were plain for everypony to see.
“W-what!?” Spike shouted, his voice sounding suddenly an octave deeper. “M-my arms!”
Having bent over on the floor, gasping his breath, Spike first noticed the change in his arms. They were now far longer than he had gotten used to. As he jumped up, he noticed the same was true with his legs. His point of view was now much higher, and as he peered at his feet, he realized they were now muscular and powerful, like those of an adolescent dragon. Not only that, but his whole frame seemed to have had a growth spurt. No longer short and stubby, he was now lean and athletic, while still retaining his original features.
“O-oh no… oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!” Spike sputtered, having a hard time grasping what had just happened. “What should I do!? What did I do!? What went wrong!? I… I was just supposed to read a book…!”
A book. That word brought up an answer to Spike’s mind. He turned at his heels, almost stumbling over as he did, and ran as fast as he could back where he had come from. It was an awkward, wobbly run, but with each step he got a better hang of it. In fact, Spike was sure that some instincts he had never had before were shaping his actions into fluid, agile motions. Almost as if knowledge of something had been planted in his head. However, that was not important at the moment.
“I gotta tell Twilight about this!” Spike shouted in panic.
Thus the dragon, who was no longer a baby, charged out of the library in search of his adoptive sister.
****
“Musica Equus.”
Twilight’s worse finally broke the silence that had reigned after Spike had told about what had happened in the library. Her eyes were clouded with worry and questions as she checked the body of the dragon, peering at every scale like it could have continued to grow even further.
The whole group was now packed in the office of Cyclone Lance. Though the evening was already well underway, they saw no reason to leave now that this enigmatic problem had arrived. Even after Spike’s explanation, most of the ponies were staring at him with confused, and perhaps a bit doubtful, eyes. Only Twilight seemed to have a faint idea about what was going on, and since she was doing a check-up on Spike, getting answers out of her was as easy as catching a shark with your bare hooves.
“Musica Equus?” Rarity asked. ”I am fairly certain that I heard that term from my mentor a long time ago... It was something about the inner music of a pony, was it not? Like every celestial object has their harmony and their song, so does each individual pony.”
“That’s right,” Twilight answered while jotting down some notes. “According to Kheiragoras, an important philosopher and a wizard of the classical era, it’s a term that ties together with another term: Musica universalis. According to him, everything in the world was comprised of harmony. The universe, made out of celestial objects, had its own harmony. Celestial objects had their own inner harmony. While life on our planet has its own inner harmony, so does each individual life on this planet, too… In other words, each pony has their own inner harmony. He proposed that we can exist only through harmony with everything that surrounds. After all, magic itself is a means to harness and establish harmony, one way or another. Why should we be any different?”
“Come again, pardner?” Applejack asked with a confused expression.
“If magic can exist only as means of harmony, why should we be any different?” Twilight asked, now poking Spike with her pen. “Without harmony, the world would cease to exist as a concrete concept, becoming something abstract and meaningless. You remember what happened with Discord, right? In other words, when we achieve our inner harmony, we exist. As we exist, the planet gains its own harmony. As celestial objects exist, the universe gains its harmony… and thus exists.”
“Ah, I think I know what you are talking about, dear,” Rarity chimed in. “Taijitu, I think they called it in Neighpon… a rather difficult concept about a highest form of concept, from which everything flows and reproduces in an infinite manner.”
“Wow! How did you know that?” Pinkie asked with eyes wide in surprise, causing Rarity to blush and smile.
“Oh, it is nothing,” she assured. “That concept does pop up every now and then in the artistic way that the ponies of Neighpon design their clothes. The idea of the flow of the universe being created by opposites becoming each other, and then producing further opposites, has taken a root quite firmly in their culture.”
“You’re right, Rarity,” Twilight answered. “It’s not that different from Taijitu, just Equestrian brand of that idea. The gist of it is that everything must be in harmony, or there can be no existence… and that’s exactly what I think happened here, Spike.”
“W-what do you mean?” Spike asked, sweating bullets. Twilight tapped him lightly on the forehead with her pen.
“I think that book added something into you. Knowledge, memories, abilities… who knows what?” Twilight explained. “However, that was not earned, and simply added to your existence. Something like that is, obviously, not harmonious. So, in order for you to exist, your body had to change to accommodate that something. Think of it… well, if the book had added a memory that you just recently hit your head, your body would have grown a dent in your scales so that everything matched, and your harmony was preserved. It’s the same thing here, only we don’t know what was added in you. We just see the effects that it had on your body. It’s like reversing causality, if you want to put it that way.”
“That… that doesn’t make a lick of sense,” Rainbow Dash said flatly, causing Twilight to groan.
“Anyway! The gist of it is that Spike now has something in him that made his body that way,” she concluded. “And I’m not feeling reassured until I know what that thing was.”
There was a low clearing of a throat coming from the other side of the office. The ponies turned to look at the source, and saw Cyclone Lance watching them quite sternly.
“I can understand that. However, I would like to point out that it is getting rather late,” she said. “From what I heard, it seems that Crimson Bell is planning on starting the duel before the sun rises. The rest of you must be exhausted, too, having learned all this in addition of climbing up here. I suggest that you all get some sleep now that you can. I received worrying news from the mountains earlier today, and I am not sure if we can afford the luxury of sleep in the future.”
“Rats. I think you’re right…” Rainbow Dash was the first to concede. “I’ve got a slim chance of winning against Mom even at my best. I don’t want to do it sleep-deprived.”
“Ya got a point there, sugarcube,” Applejack agreed. “We should all get some shut-eye now that we can.”
The rest of the ponies seemed to agree with this suggestion. However, Twilight still kept sneaking worried glances at Spike. Eventually she coughed to catch everypony’s attention, and nodded towards her dragon friend.
“You girls go ahead and sleep. I want to watch over Spike this night to make sure nothing happens to him,” she announced.
“Oh, no you won’t, dear.” To everypony’s surprise, Rarity was the one to reject Twilight’s suggestion. “I can see from your eyes that you’ve still to recover from your battle. Not to mention I have in good authority that you have had trouble sleeping lately. Do not worry, I shall watch over Spike for this night. You need to get some rest, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight looked dumbstruck by this sudden turn of events. She quickly recovered, and waved her front legs to get her point across.
“B-but this happened because I wasn’t careful enough! If I had known—“
“Oh shush, Twilight. La nuit porte conseil. You cannot help Spike if you are not well-rested and clear-minded,” Rarity interrupted. “Do a favor for the both of you and sleep well this night. Tomorrow you can begin working on whatever is ailing Spike. And do not fret. I shall make sure he stays safe while you sleep.”
There was a momentary silence that fell upon the office. Twilight gave a somewhat angry, somewhat apologetic gaze to the floor. Eventually a tired smile rose to her face and she lifted her eyes back to Rarity. Seeing Twilight’s expression, everypony in the room returned that smile. Rarity even nodded encouragingly.
“Sure. I think you’re right. My head is so full of questions right now I can’t think straight,” Twilight agreed. “Sleep sounds like the best option.”
“I am glad you understand, dear,” Rarity said.
So the group finally headed out of the room. Cyclone Lance had reserved rooms from the mares’ barracks for them to use, and despite Spike’s protests, he was also housed in one of these rooms. However, when he realized that he’d actually be sharing that room with Rarity, all his complaints died on the spot, and his scales took a noticeably darker shade of purple, much to everypony’s amusement.
****
The long hours before the dawn had been filled with the sounds of clanking metal and talking soldiers. Instead of resting as they usually did, the soldiers were busy preparing for the arena that would serve as the battleground for the match that was currently hottest rumor in Fort Stronghoof. Rainbow Dash, a mare that had become famous for saving Equestria three times, and her mother, Crimson Bell: the leader of the Firefly Faction. Those two would duke it out in order to settle their personal differences.
This was just the type of duel that would get the bored soldiers of the fort excited.
One who was not excited, however, was Rainbow Dash. She kept pacing back and forth in the yard near the arena. For the first time since she had gotten it, her Wing Armor felt uncomfortable. It did not help that the lance that had been given to her from the armory of the fort felt unwieldy and cumbersome. Even her mane, which she had washed only ten minutes ago, felt like it pressed flatly against her head and obscured her vision.
“U-um, I think you should calm down,” Fluttershy said from the sidelines, looking worriedly at her friend. “Getting nervous now will only make you… hesitate.”
“I know, I know!” Dash answered in slight annoyance. “It’s just that… I mean, why before the dawn? I haven’t been awake for half an hour, and already I’m supposed to fight? What is that old mare thinking, declaring the fight to happen now?”
While Rainbow Dash seemed determined to carve her hoofprints into the cobblestone of the yard, her friends were all gathered around the small table where the remnants of a breakfast were laid. However, not all of them were there. Rarity and Spike had remained in the fort, since the dragon needed his rest. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hoof, was nowhere to be found. Cyclone Lance seemed to know something about her disappearance, but remained rather tight-lipped about it.
“She’s tryin’ to shake ya off yer game,” Applejack commented. “Don’t let it get to ya.”
“And what’s up with those clouds!?” Dash groaned and pointed up at the skies. “When we went to bed, the sky was clear! Now we’ve got all those clouds gathered above the fort!”
Straight above the group, and indeed the whole fort, was a vast array of small clouds that formed something akin to a maze in the sky. Thanks to the fact that there was hardly any wind at the moment, the clouds weren’t moving anywhere. They provided a great obstacle if the Rainbow Dash or her mother decided to take the fight up to the skies.
“Oh Dashie, just calm down. Everything will be fine!” Pinkie said and laughed. “Here, have a muffin! I brought some from the mess hall.”
Following that sentence, the pink pony stuffed a blueberry muffin straight into Dash’s mouth, causing the pegasus to nearly choke on it. Applejack grimaced and smacked her face with her hoof.
“Ah presume ya asked the chef if ya could take them?” Applejack asked. Pinkie shook her head happily.
“Nope!”
“Darn it… As if we ain’t got enough problems,” Applejack said and grunted.
“I see that you and your friends are all ready, little magpie,” voice called out behind the group. “That is commendable. Futile, but commendable.”
In the light darkness of the approaching dawn stood Crimson Bell, dressed up in her usual armor and camouflage-pattern clothing. She had even used red paint to draw some markings on her face, like she had been some sort of tribal warrior. In other words, older mare was as imposing as ever, eyeing the group up and down. She walked over to her daughter, gave her one heavy look down the ridge of her muzzle, and scoffed. This caused Dash’s eyebrow to twitch, and she brought her face right in front of Crimson Bell’s.
“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with rest of your soldiers?” Dash asked. Crimson Bell nodded.
“Indeed. I simply wanted to see if you had decided to be a mare and show up,” she said. “I am glad that you didn’t choose to simply flee.”
“Never!” Dash announced, which only served to amuse her mother.
“I see. Good enough, I suppose.”
Having said those words, Crimson Bell turned her back to the ground and began walking away from them. She headed straight to the other side of the yard, where her soldiers were waiting. Dash grimaced as if she had eaten something sour and spat to the ground, glaring after her mother.
“She’s got some nerve…” Dash muttered.
“But… Um, didn’t she seem a bit tired?” Fluttershy suddenly asked. “She had very heavy bags under her eyes.”
“Now that ya mention it, sugarcube…” Applejack tapped her chin with her hoof. “Ah recon she might have. Ah wonder why?”
“Who cares! Even when tired, she could still send a dragon away in tears,” Dash said. “It’s not like it makes any difference!”
“Maybe not, but, isn’t it… suspicious?” Fluttershy asked. She tried to say more, but at that moment, the sound of blaring horns cut of all speech on the yard gathered the attention to the arena.
Cyclone Lance stood at the center of the huge hexagon-shaped arena. It was paved with heavy stones that looked like it would take ten earth ponies to move them. Into the stones, various pictures of dueling ponies had been carved. Flags surrounded the arena from all sides, each bearing either the three-legged crow or the symbol of Equestria’s army, the eclipsed sun.
“Attention, everypony! We have gathered here to bear witness to the age old tradition amongst the Firefly Faction!” Cyclone Lance shouted, her voice booming in the night. “Tonight, a duel shall take place here, in this very arena! The hero of Equestria, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, has challenged Crimson Bell, the leader of the Firefly Faction! Their duel shall be no-holds-barred match where usage of non-lethal weapons is allowed! The boundaries of this duel shall be the walls of Fort Stronghoof, and she who breaks this boundary shall be disqualified immediately! A true warrior never runs from battle! I now ask the combatants: are you ready?”
The first one to walk up to Cyclone Lance was Crimson Bell. The older mare’s red mane was tied up to keep it from obscuring her vision, and the guns at her flanks where glistening in the starlight. She was like a general from an ancient painting, her mere sight imposing a sense of awe and respect to those around her. Despite this being just the result of a quarrel with her daughter, her eyes told that she took this challenge as seriously as any battle. That realization made something twinge in Dash’s heart, though even she was unsure what it was.
“I am ready and prepared,” Crimson Bell announced. “The duel may begin.”
This was Dash’s cue. Swallowing hard, she began walking towards the arena and stopped at the opposing edge from her mother. After calming down her breathing, Dash gave one glance at Bell, one at Cyclone Lance, and then one towards the sky. She then forced herself to relax, adjusted the lance that was strapped to her side, and finally nodded to herself.
“I am ready and prepared!” Dash shouted. “The duel may begin!”
Though the blue mare did not realize it, when she stood there in her armor, wielding a lance larger than her, she gave off a very different impression from the cocky weather mare of Ponyville that her friends had learned to love. Instead, she gave off an aura of an ancient hero heading out to the battle for the sake of glory and peace. Even Lovely Corn let out a low whistle, impressed by the straight posture and the determined look in the younger mare’s eyes.
“Very well!” Cyclone Lance said. She raised her front leg in the air to act as a signal to the combatants. “Then let your match, under the watchful eye of the ancestor of the Firefly Faction… begin!”
Cyclone Lance’s leg was swung down.
The battle had begun.
Before Dash had even time to register the sound in her ears, Crimson Bell had stood up to her hind legs and drawn two guns from their holsters. Two triggers were pulled and blazes of the muzzle flames lit up the fading night. Whistling sound passed Dash from both sides of her head, and she saw the after-images of the wooden pellets Bell was using. They were dangerous – not deadly but dangerous.
“Rats!” Dash shouted, and ducked at the last split-second, barely avoiding the pellets.
By the time that Dash had recovered and fixed her gaze to her mother, Crimson Bell was long gone from her original position. Her powerful wings were beating the air and she soared towards the sky, leaving behind a trail of blood red light. Gritting her teeth together, Dash struck towards the ground with her wings, gaining air under them and lifting herself up from the ground. Within the span of five seconds, she was already accelerating after her mother.
The two pegasi, red and blue, took towards the skies, leaving the audience on the groundside looking after them in awe. The rainbow trail left by Dash intersected the red one of Bell, never completely catching up to it but not losing a single bit of ground. By the time that the onlookers had realized that the duel was now airborne, the two fighters had reached the first layer of clouds. They now zigzagged between them like bolts of lightning, avoiding attacks from each other.
Loud bangs emanated from the guns of Crimson Bell, becoming more like a rapid, continuous sound. The muzzle flames were like brutal fireworks aimed straight at Rainbow Dash as she tried to evade each and every one of them. With the way things currently, there was no way Dash could get close enough to attack with her lance. She knew that even though her mother sported 24 guns on her person, her ammo weren’t infinite. She simply needed to endure until her mother ran out of pellets, after which she could move to offensive.
This was easier said than done. Dodging the rain of the wooden ammunition completely was nigh impossible. For every ten she dodged, she could feel two strike her coat, bruising it badly.
Two red flintlock-pistols were thrown towards the ground and Crimson Bell drew another two. She followed this by extending her hind legs and drawing two more. Now that they were in the air, she could use all her limbs for attacking. Gunpowder ignited and pellets were shot towards Rainbow Dash in a lightning fast volley. The blue pegasus curved sharply downwards and gritted her teeth together as she felt the pellets hit her back and wings.
If this continues, I’ll just end up bruised all over! Rainbow Dash thought. I need to do something! Even if I get hurt, I need to make her use up her ammo faster!
Making a decision, Dash quickly unstrapped the lance at her side. Using her front legs, she swung the large weapon around and turned to face her mother, who had already aimed straight at her. Then, giving a roar of war, Dash charged straight towards Crimson Bell, utilizing every ounce of speed that was in her body.
The gleam of the Wing Armor turned into a brilliant shine, and Rainbow Dash shot like a comet towards her mother, the lance in her hooves hungering. In rapid response, Crimson Bell fired a volley of shots, forcing her daughter to change trajectory. However, Dash didn’t stop there. Persevering under the fire, she chose a different approaching angle, accelerated once more and continued her attack.
Thus, the exchange of bullets and lance-attacks turned into a beautiful dance on the dark sky. For every attack that Crimson Bell repelled, Dash had prepared another from another angle. She was a like a comet chained to the planet that was her mother, striking again and again, no matter how many times she was forced to retreat. To the ponies watching from the ground below, it seemed like the rainbow-colored trail was trying to engulf the red glow that remained stationary.
Wooden bullets scarred the air as they whistled all around the nigh-dancing Rainbow Dash. Her lance was swung in a flurry of attacks, parrying pellets left and right. Every time she got close enough, Dash launched a lunging attack, only for it to be dodged by Bell. This was followed by a retaliating shot that forced Dash to retreat, but only for a second. The same ritual was repeated immediately afterwards, and this all happened at unbelievable speeds.
However, Dash could see that her recklessness was paying off. More and more revolver-like flintlock-pistols were thrown away as Crimson Bell had used up their ammunition. More than half of the holsters were already empty. Dash knew that if she could this barrage of attacks continuing for just a little longer, she would have a chance of victory.
Guns and a lance, opposing each other in the middle of the air; together, they created a tapestry of a duel, painting the fading night with the colors of azure and crimson. The two fighters, mother and a daughter, put their all into the combat as they wounded the very air around them with their attacks.
“Whoa Nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, unable to tear her eyes off the sight. “Is it just me, or has RD gotten a mighty bit faster?”
“Um, I think she has gotten a bit used to the armor,” Fluttershy commented. “She’s been wearing it almost every day, after all.”
“Oh yeah, I thought that was a bit weird!” Pinkie said and giggled. “I figured she just liked how it smelled kinda funky.”
“Ah doubt that was it, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a deadpan expression. “But whaddya reckon RD is tryin’ to do? The girl’s just takin’ unnecessary hits.”
“Ah! Look!” Fluttershy suddenly pointed towards the sky. “I-I think that’s the last four pistols!”
“She made her mom use up all her ammo!” Pinkie exclaimed, and rubbed her chin with her hoof. “Clever girl.”
Up in the air, Rainbow Dash grinned victoriously as she saw her mother throw away the last pistols remaining. However, to her surprise, the red mare threw the final one straight towards her. Dash used her lance to swat it away, only to yelp in surprise and dive straight down when she heard the fizzing sound emanating from the gun. Only a second later, an explosion rattled the air around them, throwing both Rainbow Dash and Crimson Bell backwards. Dash was able to recover from the attack faster, while her mother dropped straight into one of the clouds below.
“That’s it, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack cheered from the groundside. “Now’s yer chance!”
“No need to remind me!” Dash answered with a grin, even though her friend could not hear her.
Rainbow Dash accelerated into a lightning fast downwards turn, turning her lance forward and aiming straight below the cloud. The moment her mother emerged from inside, she would hit her with an attack that would have all of her momentum behind it. Dash knew that she could not hold back one bit. If she did, Crimson Bell would not go down.
However, as she got closer and closer to the cloud, a stray thought entered Dash’s mind. She suddenly remembered the words that had been spoken to her by her mother a long time ago, when she had been but a filly. It was during the time Crimson Bell had trained her to be part of the Firefly Faction.
“Remember, little magpie: it is not solely your strength that makes you strong,” Crimson Bell said. “It is also your wit. You must be smarter than your enemy. And to be smart is to prepare your battlefield so that you cannot lose.”
“Prepare it?” Rainbow Dash, only eight years old at the time, asked. “How?”
“Shape the terrain. Hide your reserves. Carefully place your fortifications,” her mother answered. “Choose the battlefield that grants you the most advantage, perfect that advantage, and then lure the unwitting enemy into it, little magpie. If you eliminate the option that you lose, you shall be solely victorious. This is the lesson of the 28th Stratagem of the Firefly Faction.”
A horrible feeling of realization crept up Dash’s spine. During the short moment they had seen before the battle, her mother had shown signs of fatigue. Not only that, but the whole aerial area above Fort Stronghoof was covered with small clouds that had not been there last evening. There had to be a connection. When it was her mother, there was no such a thing as a coincidence on the battlefield.
Time seemed to slow down in Rainbow Dash’s mind as she saw her mother slowly slide out of the small cloud. Warning bells began ringing in her head, and the blue pegasus quickly struck her wings forward to decrease the speed of her charge. Without even confirming it, Dash knew she was about to stumble right into a trap.
“Hmh. Well noticed, little magpie,” Crimson Bell spoke calmly.
As she slid out of the cloud, the red mare revealed that she was no longer unarmed. Four long barrels, two in each weapon, were trained straight at Rainbow Dash. Their red, wooden handles were in a tight grip of her hooves, and the pressure plate-like triggers were already being pushed down. Rainbow Dash had only seen those weapons once before: scattergun, they were called. Terrible weapons meant to fire a volley of spherical pellets at the enemy.
Gunpowder was ignited, the weapons roared, and the muzzle-flashes lit up the night. Dash snapped her wings against her body and entered an immediate free-fall, determined to do whatever it took to avoid this deadly attack.
Wind rushed around her ears and she could hear the whistle of the hail of pellets that coursed through the air above her. Few stray ones hit her, but by the time she extended her wings, Dash knew she had made it through the worst. Determined to not remain stationary, she scanned the air to find her mother. When she did, Rainbow Dash immediately accelerated into a frantic flight.
Crimson Bell had flown through another cloud while dropping the scatterguns, and emerged with another weapon. After all, the scatterguns required manually loading the next shot, and the older mare had no time for that. This time she was sporting what seemed like an extremely long arquebus. The redwood surface of the gun was decorated with gold, and its mighty barrel extended to 2 meters in long.
Dash knew this weapon-type, too. After all, it was one of her mother’s favorites: Arquebus Taurus.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Dash cried out as she once again took a nose-dive to avoid the precision-shot of the gun.
There are over hundred clouds in the sky! Dash groaned in her mind. Are you telling me she’s got a weapon stashed in each one? How can any pegasus do that in just five hours!?
Determined to gain some ground once more in this battle, Rainbow Dash rose upwards while beating the air furiously with her wings. She prepared her lance and steeled herself. She knew that she would have to stop her mother from using any more of the pre-prepared weapon-stashes she had on the sky. The easiest way to do this was, of course, attack her straight-on in a direct melee.
However, when Dash finally locked her eyes to her mother, she immediately scrapped any plans of catching up to her. In fact, she quickly tried to think of the best way to get as far away from her as possible.
Crimson Bell had acquired another weapon. It was a long, box-shaped red weapon adorned with painting of dragons. The end pointing at Rainbow Dash was open, and she could see something like dozens of large arrows, each with a metallic dragon head, aimed at her. With her mouth, Crimson Bell scratched a flint against the tinder embedded into the side of the weapon, igniting the fuse that went inside the weapon.
“This is ridiculous!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took distance in desperate haste.
Crimson Bell simply smiled when hearing the outburst of her daughter. This smile was followed by a carmine display of flames as the dragon-shaped rockets were launched from the weapon known as “long serpent,” straight towards Rainbow Dash.
****
Sky before the dawn, the rhythmical pounding of the hooves trampling what little grass did grow on the mountainside and the arrow-like formation that perfectly followed her every move… everything in this situation seemed unreal for Twilight Sparkle. How she had gotten from waking up in the bed well before the dawn into leading a military unit of soldiers in the canyons of the great mountain still baffled her.
It had all started when she had visited Cyclone Lance in her office after waking up. The older mare had been reading a letter lying on her desk, deep frown crowning her handsome face. When Twilight walked in, Lance had looked up to her with a relief in her eyes, along with a glint of inspiration. It was an expression that seemed nothing but foreboding.
“Twilight Sparkle. Perfect timing,” Cyclone Lance said. “I was wondering if I should send somepony to wake you up.”
“What for?” Twilight asked, a bit nervous. “Is there something wrong?”
“Yes. Very wrong,” Cyclone Lance answered with a stern expression. “I just received a word from the northern watchtower. It seems that our reports from the outskirts were not wrong. A group of armed ponies… a small company or so, is making their way through the mountains canyons, heading straight to Canterlot. The sightings have been inconclusive as to their identity, but there it is a good chance that this is a vanguard force from Marecedonia. According to reports, they are well-trained and keep up a fast pace even in such a rough terrain, which would suggest an elite military force.”
“Marecedonia!?” Twilight nearly shouted. “They are planning to attack!? B-but, I thought that their senate had yet to decide on declaring war on us.”
“Individual band not afflicted directly with the senate, or perhaps a sacrificial pawn sent by those who wish this war. Whatever the case, the truth cannot be denied. Those soldiers are not from this fort. Whoever they are, it worries me greatly,” Cyclone Lance said. “That is why I am sending a full platoon to investigate this unidentified military force. This platoon will intercept this unknown force at the St. Leonhard Pass, where we can use the mountain to our greatest advantage if the need be.”
“Alright. So, what did you need me for?” Twilight asked, getting a bit confused. “I have studied ancient warfare to some extent, but I don’t think I can act as a military advisor without any experience…”
Cyclone Lance gave her a smirk that promised something troublesome. She momentarily put her hoof into the drawer of her desk, and drew out what looked like a white piece of cloth woven with something silver. She lowered it on the desk and glanced back at Twilight.
“I’m not expecting you to. As a matter of fact…” Lance’s smile widened. “… I would like you to lead this platoon.”
A deep, deep silence fell in the room, until Twilight could finally process what the older mare had just suggested.
“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what!?” Twilight squeaked. “You can’t be serious! How could I lead a whole platoon on my own!? I have no training! No experience! Only knowledge read from books that are too old to—“
Twilight was silenced as Cyclone Lance raised her hoof. The smirk had changed into a look of trust and seriousness.
“I know that. However, we all need to start from somewhere. The art of warfare changes rarely in a land like Equestria. Your knowledge will still serve you well,” Cyclone Lance said. “I believe that this experience is something you, as a leader of your group, direly need before travelling to Marecedonia. Not only that, but this is a personal favorite for the Princess. As well as my way of atoning for the sins of my ancestor.”
The heavy words of the older mare made Twilight unable to respond straight away. She clicked her hoof against the stone floor in an awkward silence, before heaving a heavy sigh and nodding her head slightly. She looked at Cyclone Lance, who was now gazing at her with proud eyes.
“Fine. I’ll… do it. I’m not taking responsibility of the outcome, though,” she begrudgingly said. “I’m not a warrior nor a commander. I’m just a student learning about the magic of friendship.”
Cyclone Lance nodded.
“And I expect you to be nothing else,” Lance said. “It is that knowledge I hope will allow you to ascertain the identity of that unknown force without needless bloodshed.”
Twilight was awoken from her thoughts suddenly by a sound of hooves not adhering to the rhythm of the platoon. She glanced sideways, only to see a mare in full plate-armor approaching her from the edges of the formation. The brown pony seemed as seasoned of a veteran as Cyclone Lance was, and Twilight had no idea how she was supposed to order somepony like her around.
“Captain,” the brown pony called out to Twilight. “We are approaching the pass. Our scouts have reported that we are just in time to intercept the enemy force. How are we to approach them?”
Twilight grimaced and glanced at her hooves. Even while wearing the white cloth-armor given to her by Cyclone Lance, one strengthened by silver-gilded metal plates, she hardly felt like she deserved the rank of a captain. To be addressed like that simply sent shivers down her spine, not to mention she now had to wrack her brains for a suitable formation to engage the unknown force. She did not immediately want to begin the attack, but she wanted to be ready for a battle if things came to worst.
“C-change to hammer and anvil tactic!” Twilight called out, trying to muster out as brave voice as she could. “Half of our force shall sweep through the longer route and prepare to engage the enemy from behind if need be! The remaining half, led by me, shall engage the enemy directly!”
“Yes, Ma’am!” came the roaring answer from all of the soldiers around her.
Twilight watched with her mouth agape as the trained soldiers acted on her orders precisely. The right flank of the platoon disengaged from the formation and zoomed into the rocky terrain that would take them to a higher ground. In the hours of light darkness before the dawn, their forms blended perfectly into the night. Having studied the map of the area beforehand, Twilight knew that the soldiers would engage the enemy from the blindside, hiding on the higher ground and riding down the opposing slope if the enemy turned out to be hostile.
Her part was not so safe, however. She was going to ride straight into the route of the unknown force.
The saddle, though it could be barely called that because of its height, of the ridge came quickly before them, as their hooves pounded the grass with rapid pace. All the torches of the platoon had been put out, and everypony now had their eyes adjusted to the fading night. That was why they could easily see the glints of the torches of the enemy force that was getting closer and closer. They intended to cross the ridge and continue down the slope into the lower ground, perhaps hoping to emerge out near the village where Elfin Fresh and Silent Relic lived.
That was one thing that Twilight could not allow, especially if they turned out to be hostile.
“Captain. We are about to meet up with them,” the same brown pony spoke up again. “It should be presumed they have already noticed us, Ma’am.”
“Well, they haven’t attacked us yet,” Twilight said and clicked her tongue. “Let’s see if we can make that last.”
Picking up the pace slightly, Twilight and her force rode up to the top of the pass, stopping into a single file. Before them, the view to the other side of the mountain range extended almost as far as eye could see. That view was marred by a line of torch-bearing soldiers, charging straight towards their formation. Twilight steeled herself at the sight of them. The light did not allow much of a view, but she could see black and silver, colors that she did not recognize from any armor she had seen so far.
They’re not Marecedonia…? Twilight wondered in her mind, growing more confused.
“Company, full halt!” a shout emerged from amidst the enemy force, clear and powerful as a sound of an instrument.
As the enemy company stopped its movement like a well-oiled machine, Twilight could finally see the form of this mysterious force. It was a group of ponies, about 80 or so strong, all wielding rather agile-looking armor. They were clad in colors of silver and black, reflecting the night around them perfectly. Most of the soldiers had helmets that resembled heads of a beast that Twilight could not recognize. Most likely it was something not native to Equestria. These soldiers were all bearing spears on their backs, and swords hung at their sides.
More than the soldiers, however, Twilight’s eyes focused on the two figures at the head of this company. Two mares, one white and one grey, were at the helm of their line, eyeing her platoon up and down. These gazes were enough to make her more than nervous.
The grey mare with a long, flowing, black mane was wielding armor like those of the soldiers, but over it she had put a long, thick-looking leather jacket that still did not restrict her movement. The combination of the lithe armor and the tough leather could probably stop most of the common weapons.
The white mare, her head completely hidden by the dragon-like helmet, wore a more flamboyant version of the soldiers’ armors. It left most of her body on the front exposed, except for the front legs. Instead, she had a small jacket with high collars that would protect her neck. The jacket, like that of the grey mare, had been reinforced with metal plates. Twilight could also see a chain around her neck, and from it hanging an amulet in the shape of a crescent moon. On her flanks, the mare had six large scabbards, three on each side.
The murmur behind her woke Twilight up from her bewilderment. It seemed that the soldiers she had led were as confused as she was. This enemy force was a complete surprise, and seemed to carry no flags they could be identified from.
Their clear confusion seemed to amuse the white mare leading these unknown troops.
“We are the advance guard of Fort Stronghoof. I am Captain Twilight Sparkle. Identify yourself, now!” Twilight bellowed out, trying to sound as composed as she could. “Otherwise you shall be considered an enemy of the Kingdom of Equestria.”
There was a short silence as the leader, the white mare with the helmet, eyed Twilight up and down. Then, with great confidence, she spoke up.
“Hey. You. Purply.”
“P-Purply!? That’s rude!” Twilight protested. “And uncalled!”
Seemingly even further amused, the white mare stepped forward so that she and Twilight were only twenty or so meters away from each other. She stopped, put her other hoof on one of the sword-handles and looked Twilight down the ridge of her muzzle.
“We are on a hunt here, and have no time to entertain a sacrificial pawn like you with answers,” she answered, her voice sounding strangely powerful even though she was speaking calmly. “You have two choices, Purply. Let us go, or stop us. Either way we are the ones who shall prevail victorious.”
The way the white mare half-shouted her words was enough to make Twilight dislike her, but when it was combined with what she was saying, the librarian could not help but to frown. Strange enthusiasm emanated from the helmet-wearing mare, something that clearly told words would not easily persuade her.
This sort of all-out-forward attitude was the type that Twilight found hard to deal with. Thus, she found herself taking a competitive step forward before she had realized it.
“You’re talking rather confidently,” Twilight said. “However, if you refuse to identify yourself, I will not allow you to pass.”
“Well spoken!” the white mare announced and her uncovered mouth curved into a grin. “But allow me to warn you! My nickname: ‘Roar of the Night’ does not come undeserved!”
Twilight found, to her big surprise, a flame of rivalry flaring up inside her. She was no longer a rookie when it came to battles, and to see someone be so sure of their victory against her felt disrespectful, rude even. She wanted to prove, both to herself and this cocky mare, that she could be of match to anypony who underestimated her. Therefore, she put her hoof on the handle of the sword that had been given to her before leaving Fort Stronghoof.
“I only believe what I see,” Twilight answered. “Anypony can talk big, after all.”
“Perfect!” The white mare announced, growing more excited. She glanced at the grey mare behind her. “Tavi! Do not allow anypony to interfere in this fair duel!”
“Understood, Captain,” the grey mare answered, giving a signal to her troops.
“Same goes to you,” Twilight announced to the troops behind her back, having completely gotten over her nervousness. It had been overcome with the desire to show just what she was made off.
While Twilight had turned her attention away, her opponent had started with her preparations. She used her magic to draw one of her swords from its sheath. To Twilight’s surprise, it turned out that there was no real handle to the curved sword. Instead, there was a patch of unsharpened metal that looked like a joint. The more the white mare pulled, the longer the sword seemed to continue, until it became apparent that the sword’s shape was that of a half-circle. Twilight knew that there had to be some sort of enchantment to the scabbard, as it would be impossible to otherwise store such an odd-looking sword.
However, when her opponent started drawing a similar sword from the scabbard on her other side, it dawned upon Twilight just what sort of weapon her enemy used. She didn’t even need to see the white mare use her magic to lift the two extremely curved swords above her head and slam them together, nor did she need to hear the clicking sound that came as the joints of the weapon locked. It was as clear as day what the weapon was: a bladewheel. A ring with sharpened, sword-like edge that would spin around the user and slice up all her enemies.
Swallowing hard and now sweating bullets, Twilight used her mouth to draw her own sword from its sheath. She knew that there was no way she could use her magic to handle the sword; skills requiring such precise control were out of her reach without her horn. So she had to go the traditional way, and wield the sword between her teeth.
The sword she had picked before leaving the fort was one with a rather strange shape. It had a single cutting-edge, and the blade curved backwards slightly, like a long fang. The handle was old but intricate, showing that somepony had once taken a good care of this weapon. While the sword was clearly not made for thrusting, Twilight deduced that it had to make up for it with its cutting power. Twilight swung the sword sideways, fixing her gaze to the white mare in front of her.
“Then let us fight honorably!” The white mare bellowed out. “’Tis a duel!”
“I am ready!” Twilight shouted back, steeling herself.
For a moment, nopony moved. Eerie silence filled the mountain pass, as not even the wind dared to breathe during this tense stare-down. The two mares sized each other up, each one waiting for the other to make the wrong move. Their bodies were like springs, ready to jump into a charging attack at any given moment. If even one exhale had gone out of synch, the other would have used that chance to strike.
No weakness was shown from either side. No quarter was given in the battle of stares. Sweat fell down both of their faces as neither of them backed down one inch. The purple mare and the white mare, engaged in the deadly waiting game that would unleash the battle.
A single hoot. Owl in the distance called out in the silence, not recognizing the depth of the situation. This sound, made by an unaware animal, turned into a signal for the fighters.
The mountain pass exploded with two colors.
Opposing the purple ether was the blue lightning, two elements vastly different in nature. Propelled by the magical explosions launched at their hooves, pure magical energy driven through their limbs, the two fighters rocketed towards each other, only to meet at the middle. The two groups watching this fight were momentarily blinded by the conflagrating forces. The energies that trashed about were so vast that it became instantly clear these two were no normal unicorns.
Two weapons, a sword and a ring, met at the middle of the pass with a booming sound. The shockwave was enough to send some soldiers from both sides flying backwards. Four attacks were exchanged in a short moment it took them to recover, and while both of the combatants still hung in the air. It all ended abruptly as the weapons came to a halt. The ring had reached out for the neck of Twilight, but she had ducked under it and slide her sword inside it, stopping it from within.
Two stares met, two mares growled like animals. The ancient wild instincts embedded into the deepest parts of their minds started surfacing in this dangerous competition.
Slashing sounds filled the air for a short moment, and the two fighters separated, dropping back to the ground. Neither had a scratch on them, but both were panting heavily. Such a reckless charged had taken a lot out of them. However, despite her initial fatigue, the white mare grinned and nodded towards Twilight.
“Such speed is but a trifle!” she announced. “Your inexperience shows when you cannot even properly hit me!”
Instead of answering, Twilight frowned and let out a war cry, accelerating into a fast gallop that brought her into striking distance. She allowed some magical energy flow through her, enhancing the speed of her strikes. However, exerting too much power would have allowed the energy to leak through the horn. Thus, Twilight was left slashing left and right, scoring no hit on the fast-moving opponent.
That is, until a loud clang echoed in the battlefield and her sword drew a deep cut into the white mare’s helmet.
“A powerful strike!” The white mare shouted, wiping off Twilight’s smug smile. “However, far too weak! Do not grow overconfident from a simple scratch!”
The two fighters took distance, spun around, and charged forth again. They brought their weapons together in a series of flashes, releasing such vast quantities of magical energy that the ground below them ruptured. The soldiers around them could do nothing but watch in awe. The fight, and its participants, were so much out of their league that they felt like nothing but civilians witnessing the destruction caused by a force of nature.
The two combatants, however, felt something far different: to them, each strike they did caused them to feel odd sensation, as if there had been something familiar in the other. It was not that they had met before, no: they were simply starting to understand the personality of the other better as they exchanged attacks.
Thus, slowly, very slowly, a smile started creeping on the lips of both fighters.