The air was filled with the sharp report of metal striking metal as the final battle for the Four Kingdoms waged on. As the massive army of ponies charged the horses, the wall of troops had broken into several smaller fights. All in all, the battle was going well for the ponies.
In spite of this, Rune was worried.
He couldn’t explain it, but ever since his group had charged the ranks of the horses he had the unshakable feeling that something was missing. He knew that with very slight variations in the stream, the tide of the battle was going in their favor. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that the battle was going too well for them.
Glancing at the battlefield, he could see Twister as she practically danced along the walls, horses falling with every movement of her body. Everywhere he looked, the sight of battle and death filled his vision. Looking at the numerous bodies upon the ground, most of them horses, he felt a small tinge of regret. Even though they undoubtedly deserved it, it still seemed such a waste.
The light of magical aura streaking across the battlefield brought Rune out of his reflections. It didn’t matter what he thought. The horses had gone too far and had to pay for it. Bringing his sword into play once more, the sound of a shrill horn sounded overhead, turning all eyes upwards.
Rune felt his eyes widen as he witnessed the sight before him: every horse unicorn standing upon the balconies of a single tower looking down upon them. And standing there, above them all in a king’s regalia, stood the tyrant Nightshade. However, what truly unnerved Rune at that moment was the cragadile smile that Nightshade wore upon his muzzle.
Rune would’ve surmised that they were safe among Nightshade’s own horses intermingled with the Kingdom’s ponies, but Rune knew better. He knew that Nightshade was more than willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for his own petty ambitions, and was even willing to sacrifice his own troops in his pursuits. Seeing that smile, Rune felt an irrepressible and unmistakable sense of dread fill his senses.
However, Twister had a more pragmatic solution, giving the order to open fire. Upon that, the songs of several arrows filled the air. Seeing this, Nightshade’s smile seemed to widen. In response, several horse horns lit in response causing a large magical shield to materialize. The arrows clattered against the barriers, falling harmlessly to the ground.
Nightshade’s smile widened further as his own horn, along with every other horse upon the balconies were shrouded in magic. Rune grit his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword, waiting for whatever onslaught Nightshade unleashed. What he hadn’t expected was for the ground to suddenly quake.
Somehow, this didn’t seem right. Nightshade was willing to sacrifice anything to see his will be done, as long as he survived to see it. If he was shifting the ground beneath them, there was a chance that Nightshade would perish along with them. Rune knew something bigger was at play, and when the ground broke open, he knew he was right and hated every second of it.
A great body of metaled might rose from the fractured earth. The ground quaked with each shift of movement, causing pony and horse alike to stumble. Those caught in the center of the courtyard went falling towards the outer walls as the courtyard was filled with the iridescent glow of starlight. Although this was the first time Rune had ever seen an Ursa Major firsthoof, he knew it could be nothing else.
The entire battlefield fell into a grisly silence as every eye fell upon the beast of legends. It creaked slightly in the beaten bits of metal plate it wore. It’s cold yellow eyes looked about the battlefield and Rune realized that Nightshade and the horse unicorns were controlling it.
“Kill them all,” Nightshade ordered, his voice clear as a bell over the deathly silence. The Ursa roared in thunderous response as he started to lumber forward.
Rune sat there, unmoving with his jaw agape. Nightshade had been planning this endgame from the beginning. He knew that there were very few things that could stand up to the onslaught of an Ursa Major. With it, Nightshade was nigh unstoppable.
“Hey, Rune! Got any suggestions?!” Twister shouted through the gem around his neck.
Rune heard the words, but failed to process them. His mind churned with probabilities and possible outcomes. Upon reaching a decision, he felt a strange sense of calm overcome him. Grabbing the jewel around his neck, he began to issue orders.
“Twister, have the troops fall back at least seven hundred yards beyond the walls. Arcane, fire the signal once the troops are outside the courtyard.” Rune watched the scene unfold as his ponies ran into the gaping holes of the rubble.
“And what about you?” Twister asked, “Where’ll you be?”
As though on cue, a rainbow colored flare filled the sky, drawing the Ursa’s attention upwards. “Buying time. Arcane, Twister, if things don’t go as planned...prepare for the worst. Ponies, it’s been an unequaled honor.” With that, he tore the crystal pendant off his neck and let it fall to his side.
Sheathing his sword, he hefted a spear abandoned by the fallen and, with his runes glowing more brightly than before, lobbed it directly at the nape of the Ursa’s neck.
The Ursa roared in a fury brought about in pain as it turned its eyes towards Rune, narrowing them in response. Letting loose a growl, it’s body followed its sight and it began to charge towards the lone earth pony.
‘In for a bit...’ Rune thought, his body becoming iridescent as his runes glowed with raw power. He drew his sword once more, his mind and his will set, and charged the beast himself. With every step he took, all the tricks and techniques Twister had ever taught him flew out of his head. His mind was filled with savagery and the need to battle. Winning would not be his intention, merely putting off the Grim Galloper his due. When he was within striking distance, Rune’s legs coiled in a jump, leaping towards his opponent with a battlecry that promised blood.
“What does that idiot think he’s doing?” Twister asked rhetorically, her voice filled with rage and concern.
Arcane made no attempt to reply, watching the fortress with an enigmatic gaze. Twister, however, paid no attention to the stallion.
“Reform the line!” she ordered, ponies following her orders flawlessly. “Prepare to charge! We’re taking him headon!”
“Negate that order,” Arcane replied, loud enough to be heard yet not enough to be considered ‘raising his voice.’
“Don’t Arcane!” Twister warned, pointing a hoof at him, “Not this time!”
“You heard Rune’s commands as I did. We are not to interfere in this.”
“Arcane…” Twister growled, glaring holes at the unicorn.
“His orders were to prepare for the worst. Besides, it’s illogical to sacrifice a thousand troops for one, even Rune.”
Twister bolted towards him, her eyes locked into his. “This isn’t just some fight, Arcane! That’s a Ursa flanking Major! He’ll be killed out there and you don’t even care!!”
Arcane stared calmly into her gaze, their eyes reflecting each other. As Twister’s gaze deepened, she didn’t see the icy calm demeanor that Arcane seemed to project. Instead, she saw a mountain of sadness that seemed to deflate the indignation she felt. If that hadn’t, then his words to her would have.
“He’s my friend too, Twister,” he said quietly.
Twister backed away a hoof or so, her gaze falling to her hooves. She hadn’t meant it and she knew it the second she said it. Unfortunately, she had a tendency to shoot her mouth off when she was scared and, generally speaking, it was an asset, but not this time. Whenever she had been scared, she embraced her anger and used it as a weapon against whatever she was fighting. This time, she had let fear and anger shape her thinking and, as a result, lashed out at one of the few ponies she could call a friend, at a time when he could use her support.
“What I said,” she said in a shamed whisper, “was out of line.”
“Yes, it was,” he answered calmly, his gaze overlooking the fortress, “but we’ll discuss it after. For now, all we can do is hope.”
“Did you mean hope that those two are as good as they boast, if they show at all, or hope that Rune will survive?” she asked, her gaze never lifting.
“Yes,” Arcane answered simply.
Any further attempts at conversation were silenced as another roar pierced the air. Absent-mindedly, she touched the crystal around her neck. ‘Survive, Rune,’ she thought, ‘Please, survive.’
Rune felt the beads of sweat stinging his eyes and the heavy panting of his breath. He had meant to strike first, leaving a deep enough wound to injure him significantly. Unfortunately, the Ursa was more adept at dodging than Rune had given him credit for. He had managed to land a few blows, but they were glancing and shallow at best. Most of his efforts were placed in avoiding the massive blows the beast tried to land. What had started as a strategy of hit and run turned into a game of cat and mouse, with Rune himself as the mouse.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rune could see the light from his runes starting to dim. He felt a small bit of panic start to well up in his throat. While he was not helpless without his marks, he was more vulnerable. If he was going to make a move, it had to be now.
The Ursa lunged forward, under the mental commands of the horse unicorns, and swiped a massive paw at Rune’s form. Although it’s attacks contained more than enough power to take down one of these walls with but a single swipe, they were sluggish and easy to predict. Using this to his advantage, Rune darted closer and scored a blow to the beast’s chest.
After another roar of pain, the Ursa batted his claw at Rune, who was unable to dodge it. The sound of metal buckling filled his ears as the force of the blow pushed him aside. He felt the brief lift of flight before smashing bodily into a wall.
Rune groggily tried to collect his thoughts. He felt his breathing pain him, telling him he probably broke at least a rib; he felt a numbness in his left forehoof, telling him it was fractured if not broken; he was undoubtedly bleeding internally and had a concussion. However, that would mean little in moments. Even with the incessant ringing in his ears, he could hear and feel the lumbering steps of the Ursa approaching.
Unable to do anything else, he laid and wait. He would not survive the battle, but if those two strangers were true to their word, the others and the sovereigns would survive. He just laid there and waited for the end, his thoughts drifting to Twister.
However, a crash brought him out of his thoughts as he forced his eyes open. His vision was blurred, only able to see a dark smudge standing between him and the Ursa.
The Ursa staggered up, seemingly dazed from a blow. Rune wondered briefly what could’ve hit it so hard as to accomplish that. Seeing no other explanation, Rune could only come to the conclusion that the new pony had done it. However, that knowledge seemed to hold no interest for the Ursa, who lifted his paw to swipe once more.
Rune found himself watching as a golden magical shield materialized before them, stopping the blow mid strike. He heard a brief snort, his posture never changing. “Took you long enough,” said a familiar voice, though Rune could not place where he had heard it..
“Now, brother,” another voice chided gently, “not everyone can fly as hastily as you.” Rune recognized this one as well, yet could not recall where he had heard it.
He felt a glowing warmth fill his body as his vision cleared. “Apologies, General Rune,” the second voice said, “I could only heal the majority of your wounds.”
As Rune’s vision was free of blurriness, he saw a pony kneeling before him, his horn glowing in golden radiance. His coat was as white as a snowy mountain peak and his mane shimmered like a golden sun, cascading behind him like water in a river. Looking into his eyes was like looking into a freshly budding field of grass. He wore a calming smile upon his face, as though he were on a picnic rather than on a battlefield.
“It’s fine,” Rune replied, clearing his throat of the dust and dirt in it, “I’ve handled worse. Who are you?”
The white pony chuckled. “Where are my manners? This is the first time we’ve met in the flesh. I am Whitelight and this is my brother, Darkheart.”
Rune turned to the other pony, the one who was positioned in front of the Ursa and the magical barrier. His coat was as dark as a starless sky while his royal purple mane and tail billowed like roaring flames. His eyes reminded Rune of the first time he had ever seen the sea: Mysterious and deep. He stood with his wings flared out on his sides, ready to take flight.
Looking between them, he noticed the resemblance. Even though Whitelight was lean where Darkheart was muscular and Whitelight’s smile seemed to be an extension of his face while Darkheart wore a perpetual scowl, Rune could tell at a glance at the pair’s unspoken nature between each other that they were brothers.
“Might I suggest we save the meet and greet for later and get Rune out of here so we can deal with this?” Darkheart asked, his gaze narrowing as the Ursa swiped ineffectively at Whitelight’s barrier once more.
“There’s always time for niceties, Dark,” Whitelight replied, carefully lifting Rune in his magical aura, “It’s not as though I were suggesting a spot of tea now, were it?”
Darkheart spared an annoyed glance at his sibling, but made no comment further.
“Are you certain you can handle this beast alone?”
“For as long as you need,” Darkheart replied, smirking and adjusting his stance to a crouched one.
“Just be mindful that once I depart, the shield shall fall,” Whitelight replied, concern apparent in his voice.
As Rune was placed upon Whitelight’s back, he noticed what it was that seemed so off about the pair. He glanced at the ponies sides and at their foreheads, noticing both wings and a horn. Any further thoughts were interrupted as he heard Whitelight speak.
“Have you ever teleported before, General?”
“No, why?”
“Because you are about to,” Whitelight answered simply, Rune’s face dropping a bit, “Apologies for being unable to fly, but my brother will require the space. You will feel a wave of dizziness and displacement, but worry not. They shall pass. Ready?”
“About as ready as I’ll get,” Rune muttered. It wasn’t that he distrusted travel by magic, he simply never saw the point in flashing from one point to the other when walking would be just as good.
“Good. Oh, you might wish to hold on. It can be a bit bumpy at times.” As Rune tightened his grip upon the strange pony’s side, Whitelight’s horn lit in it’s golden glow, the light becoming more intense by the second. Rune shut his eyes at the light, his hearing filled with a popping sound and the feeling like he was being squeezed through a tube coated with honey.
Upon opening his eyes, Rune’s sight swirled before his eyes. Shaking his sight clear, he noticed that he was placed outside the fortress. While Whitelight had proven right that the feeling of displacement corrected itself, Rune decided that would be the last time he willingly traveled by teleportation. Any further thoughts were interrupted as he was tackled into a hug by a blue blur. “So Twist,” he said, a smile blossoming on his face, “I guess it’s safe to say you missed me a little?”
“Shut up, you jerk,” Twister replied quietly, her voice cracking.
That hurt Rune more than anything else she could’ve said. In all the years Rune knew Twister, as a friend and a foe, she had never once insulted him. She belittled, she teased, she even pranked a time or two, but never went as far as insulting. As far as he knew, she only did that to those who ‘crossed the line’ as she phrased it. Of course, only she knew where that line was, but the second you crossed it, you knew about it.
Gently, he placed his hooves around her. Once in contact, he could feel her shake a little beneath her armor and he felt immediately worse. However, it seemed to lessen as she squeezed a little tighter.
“You might wish to exercise caution, Commander Twister,” Whitelight warned in a teasing tone, “I’ve not had the opportunity to heal all his injuries.”
Twister released her grip on Rune, an indignant look upon her face as she crossed her hooves over her barrel. After a second, she punched Rune’s shoulder hard enough to sting through the armor. Rune might’ve thought she was angry had it not been for the slight blush forming on her cheeks.
“Arcane,” Whitelight said, bowing his head slightly to Arcane, “it’s a unique pleasure to meet an Archmage of your caliber. Your work is quite insightful.”
Arcane gave a small bow at the acknowledgement, studying the winged unicorn with scrutiny. Before anything else could transpire, everypony’s attention was caught by a wall bursting from the fortress.
“Pardon me, fellow ponies,” Whitelight said hastily, “There may be a small crisis that need be averted.” With that he took wing and flew off at a good pace.
Twister blinked a few times at the departing pony as he flew off. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Rune,” she stated, “but did that pony have wings and a horn?”
“Yes,” Rune answered, “he did.” In truth he had shrugged it off at the time, but now that the current situation was calmer his mind had turned to it again. “His brother too.”
“Shouldn’t that be, you know, impossible?” Twister asked.
“Not impossible,” Arcane answered, watching the fortress.
“Then how is it possible?” she asked.
“Because those two happen to be alicorns,” Arcane answered certainly.
“Alicorns?” Twister asked, doubt in her voice, “I thought those were just myths. You know, old ponies tales.”
“I can assure you they are not,” Arcane stated, “Although, I will admit I am curious as to how they exist at all.”
“Okay, let’s just say I admit they’re alicorns, which I don’t, what does that mean.”
“It means,” Rune answered, “that we just might win this fight after all.”
“You serious?” Twister asked.
“I saw the white one hold a shield against the Ursa while he was healing me,” Rune stated as seriously as he could manage, “and I can’t be sure, but I believe the black one hit the Ursa hard enough to cause him to stagger.”
“He’s serious,” Twister stated to Arcane, who was currently looking over the battlefield.
“Excuse me, sir,” Glave stated trotting up, “but I believe I heard that pony from earlier say that you still had injuries. Perhaps we should get you to the medics.”
“Not yet,” Rune stated, “I want to see this.”
“Then maybe we should give you a better view of it,” Twister replied, offering her body as a crutch.
Rune nodded his thanks to Twister, before turning to watch the outcome of the battle. He had no idea where these ponies had come from or even what they were, but he knew one thing: They came when they had called and had saved his life and the lives of his troops, risking their own in the process. He could ask no more than that for anypony. He truly hoped they survived the battle so he could properly thank them for their service. For now though, he had to be content watching the fates of the ponies who had the fate of their kingdoms upon their shoulders.