"Maugoth! Depressurise Tank Five, quickly!"
The white-haired Blightling grumbled to himself as he set to work, twiddling a few valves and dials at the base of one of the massive tanks in the Allfather's room. It had only been his first day and night at his new job, and already he hated every second of it. The bloated monstrosity in the tank had heaped every menial task there was upon him, from maintaining an even concentration of the Black Blessing in each tank, to clearing the gunk out of the older machinery, even dusting and cleaning the room itself! How much of this is regular work 'round here, he thought to himself, and how much is he just making me do to spite me?
"Pressure regular, sire," he spat as the dials on the panel all lowered to what was a safe level. For all his griping and moaning about his menial new job, he was still a fast learner and an even faster planner. Just from one day of working on the machinery that maintained the Allfather, he had deduced a few things. For example, he knew that the creature's body fed off of the smoky Black Blessing that was piped up from the Source below the tower. Whatever He had been before he was bound to the machine, the Allfather was the closest anybody could come to talking directly to the Blight itself. He was the head, the face and the voice of the Blight. He was in complete control over several of the lower Blightlings, and even with the more intelligent Blightlings He at least had a low-power psychic link. In short, He held supreme power over the entire Blight.
And it made Maugoth sick.
That bloated, corpulent wreck of a creature, in command of him?! Heaping endless mindless chores on him, mocking him and spiting him at every turn?! He might be the Allfather, but he's still nothing more than a meat-puppet, some lucky creature who was chosen all those years ago to be the host for the Blight. He gritted his teeth with barely-contained fury, why should he be the one?!
His train of thought was interrupted, however, as there came a knocking on the iron doors of the room. "You may enter," The Allfather boomed.
The doors swung open, and in strode two Blightlings dressed in scaly armour and short black capes. Maugoth groaned with recognition as he remembered the two: They were officers serving here at Burzkala. When he held his former position, they were the same rank as him.
"Allfather, we bring news!" One of them barked, smartly saluting. "One of our watchtowers spotted a small group of griffons flyin' just north o' here. Looked to be a scoutin' party sire. We drove them off before they got too close to us though."
"Then they are close," burbled the Allfather. "Are our children prepared?"
The other nodded. "They are sire. Rested, armed and ready to fight! Shall we begin settin' up on the walls?"
"Yes. We anticipate they will attack tomorrow. No doubt that scouting party will be reporting back to their masters as we speak."
"Should we go after them?" One officer asked.
"Let them go," The Allfather said with a chuckle. "What can they tell them, other than our fortress stands firm and ready for whatever comes. And if they were only glanced by our watchtowers, I'd guess they don't know about our...guests."
Maugoth noticed both officers shifting uneasily at the mention of the beasts that waited, imprisoned inside the tower. "S-sire, are you sure you want to use them? I mean, we've tried giving them the Black Blessing, but no dose is big enough. They're completely wild."
The voice from the tank laughed, a laugh that sounded like thunder blended with the crumbling of stone. "Do not worry, my sons. They will fight for us when the time comes. Their hatred and ferocity is unrivalled by any creature in this world. And We'd imagine the first thing they would want to do is be free from our stronghold. So, we let them loose, let them flee from the fortress, and face-first straight into the enemy's army."
"And... when they are done.. disposing of the enemy? What then?" The second officer asked.
"we can concentrate our efforts upon them then. With the combined power of our entire army, they will be under our control soon enough. Speaking of which, how are our little guests? Hungry for a fight?"
The first officer nodded. "They're certainly hungry, sire. Haven't been fed in about a week now. I'd imagine a few mouthfuls of griffons and deer would be mighty appetising to them right about now."
"We'll find out soon enough," The second officer replied. "If their scouts have already reached here, they can't be far away. So, your orders, sire?"
The Allfather was silent a moment, then rumbled, "See to it every one of our children is well fed and rested. Their attack will begin at daybreak tomorrow, so ensure everyone is well-prepared. Otherwise, stoke the fires, light this fortress up, bolster our defences, and see that our little guests are prepared. Then simply await the attack."
Both officers bowed low in reply and turned to leave the room, but one of them paused as he passed by Maugoth, who was standing to the side out of the way. "Hang about... Don't I recognise you?"
Oh, just kill me now, Maugoth thought with a cringe.
"Yeah," the other officer grinned as he joined his armoured cohort. "Yer Maugoth, right? That commander who was part of the attack on that forest. Well, lookit you now, eh?"
"I mean, I knew you and Dushtala botched that attack pretty badly, but this? Gettin' demoted to being a servant-beast? Wow, ye must have really screwed things up!"
The Blightling ground his teeth and scuffed at the floor with a forehoof as the officers' words bit at him like a knife. Less than two days ago he had been a respected soldier and an officer in his own right. Were these officers so quick to deride one of their own?
After mocking him some more, the officers finally left, chuckling to themselves about Maugoth's new status, which no doubt would become the talk of the stronghold before the night was over. For creatures as vile and monstrous as the Blightling horde, they were strangely adept at gossiping. The slam of the iron doors echoed through the vast room, as the Allfather spoke:
"Come now Maugoth. Back to work, our son."
Maugoth rolled his eyes and got to scrubbing at the crusty grime and gunk that caked the tanks. It was becoming more and more apparent that cleanup-duty was not a regular thing for most servants here. "Allfather, can I ask you something?"
"As long as you keep working while you do so, we see no harm in it."
Maugoth dutifully kept scrubbing as he asked. "So... how exactly did you end up with that host body? Like, how does one go about becoming the Allfather?"
The Allfather was silent a moment, before chuckling. "Aspirations of grandeur, eh Maugoth? Well we wouldn't worry about it, someone like you becoming the Allfather any time soon is unlikely bordering on impossible."
Yeah, just keep rubbing it in, you old fool, Maugoth thought.
"But I suppose I can tell you. Not long ago, when we were first freed from our stone prison with the Draconequus Discord, we were nought but an incorporeal force, with no real strength or body to call our own. So, we ended up returning to the place of our origin, where they first discovered us all those thousands of years ago. And so we waited, biding our time until one fateful day we got lucky, and another creature found us. We blessed him with our presence and took control of his body. The first disciple of our campaign to regain our former strength.
"Before too long, we realised it would be more efficient to spread our blessing to other creatures, bringing them to our vast family, and before long w had an entire army at our command. And that first creature we blessed, he became our body as you see it now. Feeding off the original source of the Blight even to this day, growing ever stronger with each passing moment, and sharing this strength with every other creature who has accepted our blessing. And if what you've told us about that gemstone weapon those ponies hold is true, then our children and us will be stronger than ever before soon enough. So, why do you ask?"
Maugoth gave a non-committal shrug. "Oh, just... curious, that's all."
The Allfather gave a wary "Hmm" as Maugoth got back to work, failing to notice that the blightling now wore a grin the likes of which had not graced his muzzle in a long time. That's all I needed to know, you stupid old weakling!
Meanwhile, only a few miles away from Burzkala, the vast host of Fjaereir and Cervidas' army came to a halt at the base of a small mountain range, around which lay the massive stronghold. The griffon scouts had just returned with their reports, and the army were setting up camp. A great sense of tension and anticipation ran rampant through the campsite. The last night before it all comes to a head. The next morning, the deer, griffons, ponies, and all other creatures who had joined the host, would go to war.
In a ring of particularly large tents in the centre of the campsite, the commanders of the army sat together in a council of war. The White Hart sat to represent the Deer, while Gellert and Gideon represented the griffons of Fjaereir, with Rarity not only representing the griffons as well, but also her pony friends. Also joining them were Chief Lang Horing, who led the antelope herd who had joined them, and the brothers Ziggy and Bowie of the Diamond Dog tribe. Rarity ensured that she was seated as far away from the diamond dogs as possible.
"So then, you've all heard our scouts' reports from Burzkala," Gellert said, beginning the meeting. "They weren't able to get very close, but they could clearly see them preparing their defences. So it looks like a surprise attack is out of the question."
The White Hart leaned forward. "Well to be honest it was never a viable idea to begin with. Burzkala is located at the far end of a valley, surrounded by high mountains. The only easy way to it is down the valley, straight at it. Did your scouts see any weaknesses?"
Gideon shook his head. "Not that we know of. The walls are a good forty feet high all the way around, with a bailey going up the mountainside to another wall, only thirty feet high, which surrounds the central tower, which stretches a good two hundred feet into the air. It's an easy guess that's where the Source of the Blight is."
"Which means that is where we are aiming for," Lang Horing replied. "And From what your scouts have said, it appears we outnumber the enemy, but only by a small number, maybe two-to-one if we are lucky."
"In which case," Gellert said, "I'd suggest we split our forces. Have most of them in a direct assault on the fortress, while the rest prepare for a sneak attack."
"So who would be this sneak attack?" Rarity asked.
"How about us Diamond Dogs?" Ziggy grunted. "We dogs can dig, dig under the mountain, tunnel under the walls and come up from underground! Keep 'em busy inside the walls while you griffons and deer attack from outside and above."
"And my antelopes will join you on this covert attack," Lang Horing replied. "Just be sure to make the tunnels large enough for all of us."
"Are you sure you can do it? I mean, it'll be volcanic rock you're digging through, that's pretty hard stuff," Gellert asked.
Bowie snorted derisively. "Pah, please! Even Volcanic rock no match for diamond-dog picks! Yellow-eyed skulls no match either. We break through one, then break the other, you see!"
Gideon chuckled. "Good show! So then, we have the first pieces of a plan it seems. Gordon and I can lead half of the griffons to attack from the skies, clear out the bailey, keep the monsters on the walls busy. While that's going on, the Deer and the other half of the griffons, led by Gellert and Rarity can attack from the ground to breach the walls, and the dogs and the antelope attack from underground, splendid! It might be a bit ramshackle as it stands but if all goes to plan, we should hopefully be able to end this battle relatively quickly."
"A very good idea," Lang Horing added. "Better to have an attack that is clumsy but swift than one that is efficient and skilful but drawn out. Less chance of exhausting our troops and supplies."
The White Hart nodded. "Agreed. We will have to be swift and to-the-point. Get past those walls, get up the mountain, get to the tower, destroy the Source. This is where it all ends for either us or them, we cannot afford to hold back."
Gellert raised a claw. "I'd like to ask a question. Commander Rarity, where will you and your pony-friends come into the fight? Will they be fighting at all, indeed?"
Rarity nodded. "I had already asked them about this before the meeting. They're admittedly not particularly enthused about the idea of participating in a battle, but they certainly want to contribute. I'd suggest that Twilight, Starswirl and Applejack join me with the ground troops, working on breaching the walls. Rainbow Dash would be more than happy to join the griffons in the airborne attack, and... I'd think Pinkie Pie would be right at home with the underground group."
Bowie scratched his ear. "Why? She good at digging or something?"
Rarity grinned. "Not necessarily, but once she is inside, I guarantee you she will be all the distraction you need to keep those beasts busy while you clear out the inside."
"And what about miss Fluttershy?" The White Hart asked.
"Ah yes, well, I suspect she wouldn't be that much useful in the fight itself. She's a sensitive soul, and not really one for violence. But from what I hear she was rather useful as a healer when your forest was under attack, so I think she would be best suited to the medical unit."
"I'll see to it she's kitted out with some first-aid supplies," Gellert replied.
For the rest of the meeting the commanders worked on the strategy they had, ironing out any imperfections or flaws that might crop up. Rarity, for the most part, sat back and listened to what they had in mind. Even after all this time she was still hardly a strategist. Before she had ever gotten caught up in this war, the closest thing she had ever done to planning a battle or leading an army was that one time Twilight Sparkle and her brother somehow convinced her to join them for a game of Battlemace. And while she could not help but admire the craftsmanship and uniforms of the tiny painted figurines, having to control hundreds of them all at once, along with the endless boxes of dice, rulers, counters and suchlike, and the absolute doorstopper that was the rulebook, filled with complicated charts and statistics... well, needless to say after she was thoroughly slaughtered by Shining Armour and Twilight she gracefully turned down their offer for a rematch.
But as she listened she did pick up a few little strategies and tips: How to fight defensively or offensively, how to divide up one's forces, how to read the enemies' movements and the terrain, and many more little tidbits of information that would no doubt be useful in the day that lay ahead.
"... So that's apparently how it's going to happen tomorrow."
Hours later, Rarity was back among her pony friends in their own little circle of tents. High above them, Luna's gleaming white moon hung in the deep navy-blue sky as they sat around a campfire, eating what would likely be the last meal they'd eat until the battle was over.
"And I realise that after what we've been through on this whole crazy adventure, splitting up again is hardly our first choice," Rarity reasoned, slipping her commander's jacket off. "But given our different skills, it seemed to make sense that we each work alongside different groups."
"Indeed," Starswirl said with a nod. "Magic-users with the magic-users, flyers with the flyers, and so forth. It will be most interesting to see those deer in battle once again, their magic is quite unlike any I've seen performed by any unicorn or alicorn."
"Plus, if I'm gonna be carrying the Tears with me, it'd make sense to stay far back with the long-range people," Twilight added, taking the lacquered box out of her bags. With a gentle sigh, she ran her hoof along the edge of the box absent-mindedly.
"Y'alright, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked up. "Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine Applejack. I'm just still thinking about what Gellert said last night. He does have a really good point about the Tears, nopony should have all that power all to themselves. And if any one nation were to have it all, you can bet other nations would get jealous or nervous about that much power..."
"But what other choice is there?" Rarity asked. "It's not as if you can just share out its power evenly, is it?
"No. " Twilight shook her head. "As far as I can tell, it's basically that you use all of it, or you don't use any of it. If only it wasn't just this one gem, then things would be so much easier!"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "If all these adventures have taught me anything, it's that when we're dealing with some weird mystical artefact, things are never easy."
The ponies laughed. "You know, despite everything that's going on," Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm really glad that I'm still with you all again."
"Fluttershy's right," Applejack said, standing up. "I got no idea what's gonna happen tomorrow. I'd like t'think we're gonna win, save the day and be back to Ponyville in a matter of days, but... well, just in case something bad does happen tomorrow... I just wanna say that, if we're goin' down, I couldn't have asked for better ponies to be goin' down with."
Rarity stood up as well. "Here, here! This is possibly one of the most dangerous things we ponies have ever done... certainly up in the top five, at least. So if the worst does come to the worst tomorrow, then I'd just like you ponies to know that each and every one of you are the best friends anypony could have ever asked for. Even you Starswirl, for as briefly as I've known you."
"I'm honoured," he replied with a low bow and a doffing of his wide-brimmed hat. "And speaking as a pony who has only known the modern world for a matter of weeks, I'd like to say that, if most ponies are as kind, brave, noble and true as you six mares, then this world is in good hands. I can see why Celestia speaks so highly of all of you."
The seven ponies smiled to eachother in silence around the campfire. Rainbow was the next to speak. "Well... even though I know that we're gonna be awesome, kick some major tail and win this thing tomorrow," she said with a confident grin, "I just want you to know I've always been super grateful to have met you girls... oh, and guys too," she added, nodding to Starswirl. "We've come this far, so now let's see this thing to its end."
"Darn tootin'!" cried Applejack, pumping her forehoof in the air
"Here, here!!"
"Indeed!" boomed Starswirl in his deep voice
"Absolutely!"
"Yes-indeedily!" Pinkie Pie squeaked with glee. "Now c'mon everypony. We got a big day tomorrow, so we better get some sleep. Can't have us going into battle groggy!"
So the ponies finished their suppers, doused the campfire and retired to their tents. Well, all except one.
"I'll, uh, be right back," Fluttershy said as she trotted quietly out of the circle of tents. "I just have... something to, you know, take care of..."
"You're wanting to talk to Yarrow?" Twilight said with a knowing smirk.
Fluttershy blushed, nodding bashfully.
"Go on ahead," Applejack called. "Go say yer goodnights to him, I'll keep the lights on 'til ya get back."
Fluttershy smiled, waving before trotting off out of the campsite.
In a small campsite not too far away, a circle of white tents were pitched around a now extinguished campfire. Most deer had apparently also retired to their tents for the night, but Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that one particular stag was apparently still up and about.
"Yarrow? Is that you?" she called as she entered the campsite.
"Fluttershy? The stag's antlers lit up with an eerie silvery glow, revealing Yarrow's young face, smiling as he caught sight of the young mare. "Ah, this is a nice surprise. Are you alright?"
She came hesitantly closer. "I'm fine, thank you. I just... wanted to see you one last time before... y'know, it all starts tomorrow."
Yarrow nodded. "I completely understand. Come, sit down with me a bit. The stars are out, and I was just watching them a bit before heading to bed."
Fluttershy smiled back, trotting over to sit down by his side on a soft blanket he had laid out just outside his tent. They gazed up at the clear night sky where, indeed, the stars had come out in full force, dotting the darkness with shimmering little points of light.
"They really are beautiful," Fluttershy whispered. "I-I sometimes go outside my cottage at night back in Ponyville to look at the stars on clear nights like this. They just look so peaceful up there."
"That they do," Yarrow agreed. "Though it does seem rather odd how peaceful they look, considering what's about to happen tomorrow... I doubt there's been a battle of this scale in the Southlands for centuries."
Fluttershy's smile fell a moment as she thought about it. "Umm, Yarrow?"
He looked down to her, his eyes meeting hers. "Yes?"
The pegasus no longer even bothered to try hiding the redness of her cheeks. "Well...umm, I... I wanted to come out to see you... because, well, y'know, with the battle tomorrow, I.. I d-don't know when the next time we'll b-be able to see eachother will be..." She could feel the first signs of tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "S-so I just wanted to... to..."
Yarrow put a comforting hoof around her withers, drawing her in close to him. "Sshh, it's okay. I understand... Actually, heh, I was thinking of coming to visit your campsite tonight as well for the same reason."
Fluttershy giggled. "Heh, that's nice of you... But I guess what I'm trying to say is... I mean, we might not have another chance for a while so... I-I just wanted to say... Yarrow, I..."
Yarrow watched her face expectantly as she hesitated She looked up at his smiling face, and her nerve failed him. "I.. I'm sorry I c-can't say it..."
"It's alright," he replied, rubbing her shoulders gently. "You can tell me after this whole mess is over."
"But what if I can't?" Fluttershy asked, her hoof resting on his. "What if... what if something were to happen to you? or to me?"
Yarrow patted her hoof reassuringly. "Fluttershy, I promise you, here and now. You and I, and all of your friends, will be okay. We're going to get through this battle together, and when it's over, we will sing our victory songs together."
He wiped a single tear from her face. She sniffled. "Promise?"
"I promise."
"Do you Pinkie-Promise?"
He raised a hoof to reply, but paused. "I... would, if I knew what a Pinkie-Promise was."
Fluttershy giggled. "It's a very special promise that you can't break. Here, I'll show you, follow me."
She stood up, and Yarrow did the same. Standing before him, she recited the hallowed Pinkie-Promise, doing the motions along with it.
"Cross my heart..." she started, crossing her heart with a forehoof.
"Cross my heart..." he echoed.
"And hope to fly..." she continued.
He followed, "And hope to fly..."
"Stick a cupcake in my eye." she finished, placing her hoof over one of her eyes. He did the same, barely able to contain his chuckles.
"Stick a cupcake in my eye," he said. "So that's it then? That's a Pinkie-Promise?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Well then, " he replied, rolling up his blanket. "I'll be sure to uphold my promise tomorrow. But for now, I think we both should get some sleep."
Fluttershy nodded. "I guess so... So, uh... Aur fuin vaer, Yarrow," she said as she turned to leave.
He smiled, and bowed back. "Aur fuin vaer, mell nin Fluttershy."
Fluttershy bowed once more back and started to make her way back to the campsite. But a lingering thought stuck out in her mind. There was something more she had wanted to do, but forgot. What was it...?
And then she remembered. And she blushed even harder, her knees giving out from the mere thought of it. Surely she couldn't... could she?
She looked back at Yarrow, as he was heading back into his tent. Oh come on Fluttershy, how do you know you'll have another chance?
"Yarrow, wait!"
He looked up, about to ask her what was up, but he managed little more than a muffled "Hmm?!" As his words were stopped by something warm and soft.
Fluttershy's lips against his.
He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move or react as Fluttershy stood before him, kissing him full on the lips. Eventually the shock wore off and he kissed back, eyes slowly closing, feeling as if he was floating away on wings of pure euphoria. For a second that felt like an eternity, they held their kiss, before breaking apart. Both of them red in the face, unable to look eachother in the eye.
"Please, come back to me safe," Fluttershy whispered, finally regaining her speech. Taking to her wings, she fluttered off into the night, barely realising that she was flying backwards in her smitten state, leaving Yarrow dumbstruck and staring mutely after her.
As exhaustion washed over his body he regained the use of his limbs and face, breaking into a wide, content grin.
"Losto vae, Fluttershy," he said aloud. "Guren ninaitha n'i lu n'i-a govenitham."