“Enter!” shouted the mysterious dark figure upon the throne. The room around him grew silent, the darkness becoming frightening as the silence engulfed it. The large pillars lined against the sides were hard to make out, as the darkness seemed to grow larger and spread around them. The large doors on the opposite side of the throne opened, revealing two figures.
As they walked forward, the dim light of the few torches in the room began to show their features. One was a slim stallion, a green cloak around him, along with a similar shaded hood over his head. He was being shoved, dragged toward the throne by the other stallion. This stallion was slightly fuller than the weedy one behind him, and was covered in black cloth with belts to hold it down.
When they reached the throne, the stallion in front bowed to the dark figure, and then threw the weedy stallion behind him onto the ground in front of him. He kicked him in the back with the his front hoof, a loud grunt filling the room as his hood fell back, revealing a war-torn face with greyed hair. The dark figure on the throne rose up and stood in tall, his eyes focused in anger.
“Tell me, pathetic rogue, how you could not stop him with a full squad of bandits?” he asked the stallion, his anger evident in his voice. The green cloaked stallion cowered in fear. “Your m-majesty, I did what I could, but he was too fast, too strong!” he whimpered, his eyes wide with fear. The king snorted, pacing back and forth in front of him.
“Rumour has it that you became the new leader of the forest bandits by killing the last one” he finally said, a smile stretching his face. The bandit leader nodded quickly, bracing back. The king smiled wider, looking to the other stallion in the dark cloak and nodding. The stallion nodded back, lifting his hoof into the air, a large silver blade erupting from the sleeve of his suit.
He swung down, slicing across the bandit’s side. The stallion fell to the ground, his side bleeding from the large cut now across it. “Very good work, Syver. It seems you are the new leader of the Hoofguard Bandits” said the king, smiling at the stallion. Syver smiled back, the blade slid back into his sleeve as he put the hoof down.
“I shall use the bandits for my search. The rogue assassin shall not be able to fight you after I have finished with him” said Syver, looking out at the large doors across the hall. The king nodded, finally sitting back down in his throne and directing Syver toward the door. “Your dinner is ready” he whispered, causing the shadows to surround the body of the bandit, and then the body was gone.
-----
The peaceful silence of the forest was broken by hooves hitting the ground, beating constantly as their owner ran toward a pair of ponies huddled in a corner. A mare, her yellow coat gleaming, stopped before the lavender unicorn that was tending to a stallion with a dark coat. She had her magic weaving a thin twine through a large cut in the stallion’s side.
“How is he doing?” asked Jarnsaxa, her orange mane rustled with leaves hanging through it. Twilight looked up, having just finished stitching the cut together. “He’ll survive, but it will take a few days for the cut to heal fully, and he’ll still have a scar” Twilight replied. Jarnsaxa smiled, finally having some good news since the Guardian wounded Arngeir.
Twilight stood up in front of Jarnsaxa, now frowning. “While he rests, I want you to tell me what you’ve gotten yourself into. What are you planning?” she asked her, a concerned look on her face. Jarnsaxa nodded, walking over to a small log nearby and sitting down. Twilight trotted to her, and joined her on the log.
“Arngeir and I are fighting King Othin, a horrible tyrant” she began, her face falling. “We plan on taking each area under his control, and then take him down in Hoofguard. So far, we’ve taken Biwalk Bridge” Twilight’s eyes grew wide, and she looked at her friend with a scared look. The two mares sat in silence for some time, before they noticed a stir in the corner of their eyes.
Arngeir opened his eyes, realising the pain had subsided since he was last awake. He turned himself over and stood up, shaking from the pressure of his body weight on his legs. He moved around a few paces to get used to his legs, then turned to see Jarnsaxa and Twilight both standing in front of him with giant smiles on their faces.
“You’re okay!” shouted Jarnsaxa, rushing over and hugging Arngeir. Arngeir smiled, returning the hug, before they split apart and stood back a few paces to let Twilight into the small huddle. Arngeir nodded to Twilight, and the three of them sat down as Arngeir pulled out the map of the areas that he had edited. Taking out a quill and ink, he put a cross through the Biwalk Bridge area.
The three began looking over the rest of the map, studying the various areas and deciding upon which one to go with. Pony Pass was a worthy place to go for next, seeing as it was the main trade route for all of Equiheim. The forests there would provide very good cover, and the base of operations, the stronghold known as Menglad, would be an easy target.
They agreed upon this choice, and they began to pack. Arngeir lifted his cloak, holding it up so as to let Twilight clean it of blood. He replaced it around himself, and lifted the hood over his head. Twilight and Jarnsaxa each put their own cloaks on, and they approached Arngeir, who was putting his metal attachments onto his hooves.
The three ponies stood next to each other, forming a firm line. Twilight closed her eyes in concentration, her horn becoming a steady purple as it created a large field around the three of them. She continued to push, her horn spewing out light as the three ponies braced their bodies. And then, in a giant flash of light, they disappeared, leaving the area looking untouched.
-----
“Over here!” shouted one of the bandits. Syver trotted over, his hood shadowing his eager face. As he approached the last tower, he saw the bandit standing over a group of three bodies. Two of them had the signature cuts of the assassin he was looking for; the last had an arrow through his head. “The assassin has a companion, an archer” said Syver, scratching his head in surprise.
He made his way onto the walkway toward the large sphere that housed the gateway to the other worlds. There standing in front of it was the Guardian of the Bridge, his golden armour ruffled slightly. Syver walked calmly towards him, a large grimace struck across his face. “What has happened here Guardian? Is it true that an outsider came through without permission?” he asked.
The Guardian simply stood firm, no emotion striking his face as he stared into the eyes of the stallion before him. Syver waited for a response, but none came. He walked forward a few paces to stand next to the Guardian, and looked into the large sphere where the door resided. “Very well, if you wish to remain silent, I will not force you to tell me” he said, calmly walking away.
He approached the group of bandits that had finished looting what they could from the corpses, standing firm as they all stopped what they were doing. “Men, it looks like our target is heading in that direction” said Syver, pointing his hoof at the forested area nearby. “Gather what you can carry, we must catch the man responsible for this” he added, leading the group toward the forest.
-----
A large flash of light erupted on the small dirt path, the light rushing through the dense jungle either side of the path. Then, as suddenly as the light appeared, it disappeared, replaced by a trio of ponies. Arngeir shook himself, slightly dazed by the teleportation, and then scouted the surroundings of the forest.
Twilight and Jarnsaxa followed Arngeir as he began trotting down the path, slightly frightened by the silence of the deep forests around them. Arngeir quickly broke into a gallop, surprising the mares as they broke into a similar pace to keep up. They were headed toward a large building, standing firm at the end of the path. Signs along the pathway read “This Way to Menglad”.
The three ponies stopped in front of a large stone fence that surrounded the building. Arngeir looked over the fence, inspecting the different aspects of the trade base of Pony Pass. It was built of stone, large windows on every wall showing rooms of ponies sorting packages. Patrolling around the outside of the building were five guards, and there were fifteen more inside according to the map.
Arngeir turned to face the two mares, a stern, confident look on his face. “Once we take this building, we’ll have the various resources of the trade routes in our hooves” he said, pointing a hoof at the building. “Jarnsaxa, you and I will take out the guards together. Once we finish them off, we’ll take care of the Trade Master, and Twilight will take his place” he finished, the others nodding.
He nodded back, turning back to the building. As Jarnsaxa walked up to Arngeir’s side, the two of them jumped over the fence, leaving Twilight to stay out of range. They rushed forward toward the group of guards, taking them by surprise as they lifted their weapons and began striking hard and fast. The five patrol guards fell in a matter of seconds, leaving the alarm untouched.
The two ponies nodded as they stood either side of the large doors that lead into Menglad. They pushed them open, and lifted their weapons once more. There were 7 guards here, all pointing large pikes at the two ponies. Arngeir ran at them, jumping just a metre away from the tip of one of their weapons, and slicing down with his metal hooves, taking two guards out.
Arrows soared past him as two more fell to Jarnsaxa’s marksmanship. The three left cowered as Arngeir came up behind them and gave them swift cuts to each of their necks. They dropped to the floor, their limp bodies becoming lifeless and still. Jarnsaxa smiled up at Arngeir, who smiled back. But their rest was short lived, as the other 8 guards burst through the doors on either side of the room, ambushing them.
Arngeir, acting out of instinct, dived for one of the fallen guards weapons, lifting the large pike up and aiming it like a javelin at the large group of guards nearby. With a mighty heave, he threw it as hard as he could, and smiled as he heard the welcoming crack as it collided with the guard closest to him. The other three jumped, too shocked to react as Arngeir leapt at them.
Hooves outstretched, he forced his back hoof into one of the guard’s stomachs, causing him to fall back from the kick. Arngeir’s metal attachment sliced through one, and his other hoof scooped up another pike from the winded guard. He swung it round, aiming for the sweet spot he had pinpointed. Sure enough, the pike went right through one guard and into the other, both dead.
As he stood himself up, he looked over to the other side of the room in horror. Three of the guard were dead, but one was now facing Arngeir, a knife inches away from Jarnsaxa’s neck. She was struggling to break away, but the guard was too strong. “Move and the mare gets it” said the guard, an evil grin emerging on his face.
Just then, a large wooden desk flew through the air, knocking the guard away from Jarnsaxa. The guard looked across the room, shocked at the sudden surprise. Arngeir took his chance, running at the guard. He quickly swooped up the guard’s knife and brought it firmly into his head with a powerful swing. He left the knife dug in, and walked over to Jarnsaxa.
She was lying on the ground, a small scrape on her back from where the wooden desk had skimmed her. Twilight ran up to them, her horn slowly losing its purple aura, from when she had used her magic to separate the guard from Jarnsaxa. Arngeir ripped a small patch off of his cloak and placed it softly on the wound on Jarnsaxa’s back.
“Argh, my back!” she screamed, writhing on the ground as Arngeir attempted to patch up the blood. Twilight watched with worried glances as Arngeir began slowly removing the patch, and adding new ones to soak up more blood. Twilight put a soft hoof on Arngeir’s shoulder, and he stood back, nodding slowly, a small tear dropping from his snout.
Twilight stepped in front of Arngeir and began working her magic, sowing the wound up as Jarnsaxa continued to scream in agony. Arngeir, unable to take the noise, began moving through the doors towards the Trade Master’s Office. The walls began changing from wood to stone as he walked, the empty space being filled by desks upon desks with piles of documents on top of them.
With a small push, Arngeir sifted into the large room titled Trade Master’s Office. There in front of him was the stallion in charge of the trade of Equiheim. “Who are you?” he asked, a shocked look on his face as he looked from Arngeir’s head down to his hooves, where the metal hooves covered in blood shined from the light of the torches in room.
“Stay away from me, murderer!” the Trade Master screamed. He scrambled out of his chair and grabbed a large paperweight on his desk, throwing it at Arngeir. He ducked, the paperweight soaring over his head on smashing into the door with a loud crack. The Trade Master ran as fast as he could toward the door, trying to side-step Arngeir.
Arngeir chuckled softly, swinging his left foreleg out, cutting the Trade Master along his front. He stumbled forward, landing with a thud onto the ground. He began choking loudly as he clutched at his throat, trying to stop the bleeding. “Is this what you do? Do you think murdering innocent people will bring you anything?!” he screamed at Arngeir, before breathing his last.
Arngeir looked down at the limp body, frowning. “Anyone who sides with the tyrant who calls himself king is no longer innocent” he said softly, dragging the body out of the room and hiding it inside a cupboard. Twilight walked through the door on the other side of the room, approaching Arngeir slowly.
“She is doing well. She’ll be up and running in a few minutes, she just needs a bit of time to rest” said Twilight, smiling at Arngeir. Arngeir smiled back at her, cantering over and grabbing her in a strong hug. She stepped back in surprise, but simply wrapped her arms around him, patting him softly on the back.
The two ponies split apart, looking at each other with large smiles on their faces. “I have removed the Trade Master, you can take over Menglad and use the trade routes throughout Equiheim to aid us in the fight against the king” he said, pointing his hoof at the Trade Master’s office. She nodded, walking toward the door and pushing it open.
Before she entered, she turned back, facing Arngeir with a worried look. “Listen… Arngeir was it? I need to ask you something before I start getting things sorted” she began. Arngeir nodded, his ears perking up to listen. Twilight walked back to him, looking him directly in the eyes. He frowned, his body tensing from fright of what Twilight was worried about.
“Listen, I don’t know you as well as I know Jarnsaxa, but I’m worried that what you’re trying to do here is not only putting you in danger, but her as well. Please, is the killing really necessary?” she asked, a small whimper escaping as she said it. She obviously did not like the word, as the harmony of her world meant killing did not exist.
“I wish it wasn’t Twilight, and if there was any other option, I would choose it. But, our king must be stopped, and without the deaths I have brought, he will continue to bring chaos to our world” Arngeir replied. Twilight nodded, looking down as she realised the importance of the situation. Arngeir put a hoof on her shoulder.
“But, I will do everything in my ability to keep Jarnsaxa from harm, you have my word” he said, smiling at her. She looked up into his eyes once again, but this time, her eyes were no longer filled with worry, but with hope. A small tear fell off her snout, her hoof coming up to wipe her eyes. Arngeir smiled, simply smiling and saying “I care about her too much to let her die”.
Twilight looked at Arngeir, her face lighting up with joy as she stepped back from him. Arngeir nodded, and walked back to the front of Menglad. Twilight bounced back into the Trade Master’s office, her joy practically bursting out of her. Arngeir pushed open the door, and saw Jarnsaxa just getting up from her long needed rest.
“So did we get everything done here?” she asked, flexing her forelegs to get them adjusted to the sling around her back. Arngeir nodded, pointing towards the door as he began to leave the building. Jarnsaxa trotted behind him, following him out the door and into the surrounding courtyard. The two ponies jumped over the fence, landing on the dirt path and beginning their trek into the forest.