//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: The Battle of the Wolf Fang // Story: Sisters Of Light And Dark // by KommandoStalker //------------------------------// The forest was quiet as the company slowly moved through its depths as the moon shed its light down through the forest canopy above. They weren't in a long, box formation like most would to keep unit coherency but instead, IronBlood had suggested the stay in a loose formation which would allow them to cover more ground and it would be easier to stay stealthier. The company continued onward, watchful for even the slightest signs of trouble and danger. Then, Steeltrix, who was leading the company with his brother, began to see a large clearing up ahead and he said to the company," Clearing up ahead! Prepare to resume box formation." The ponies began to cluster together now, not into a box formation but they were getting closer together instead of being a few feet away from one another. They continued to march onward until IronBlood held up a hoof to signal for them all to stop. The clearing was quiet but both IronBlood and Steeltrix could see the glimmering lights of bonfires way out in the field. A mountain range spanned the horizon and was connected to the mountain ranges that dominated the North Fiefdom. A huge fortress of stone sat upon the heights of the mountains and the moonlight shown down onto it and illuminated a multi-level fortress that could not be easily breached. Its gates were on ground level but once inside, you realize that this fortress practically spanned the whole mountain range with how much tunnel networks had been set up inside the mountain that led up to the top of the fortress. Steeltrix, from the distance he was at, couldn't see any of the fires of torches from the fortress but he knew they were there and as IronBlood quickly got the company into their box formation, he wondered how long it would be before day came. "So, how should we contact the defenders of the other kingdoms? Messenger falcon? Sneak past the enemies and go in through the back door?" Asked IronBlood. "What do you suggest?" Asked Steeltrix. "Well... Maybe it would be a bit straighter forward of we just sent them a falcon. Problem is... Would they shoot it out of the sky or would they ignore it? That's the real question." Steeltrix looked towards the mountain fortress and thought for a moment as he tried to formulate an idea of a plan on how to get their message to the ponies inside the fortress without having to charge in and force their way in. He then noticed that it was slowly becoming dawn and as they sun slowly climbed its way up over the peaks of the mountain, he noticed that he saw a dark line covering the top of the battlements of the fortress. "Oh..." He said in awe as the first rays of the sun glinted off the armor of the assembled defenders, almost all whom were waiting patiently atop the fortress battlements. "Let's quickly see if we can get them a message." Steeltrix said to his brother as he went to his stuff and took out some paper, some ink, and a quill. IronBlood quickly brought up a messenger falcon as he told the company to take a break and rest while they could. Steeltrix quickly jotted down on the parchment as he soon put up the quill and ink and then gingerly rolled up the paper and placed it in the falcons pouch hooked to its harness. With the message secure, IronBlood took the blindfold off the falcon and watched as it launched from his arm and straight into the air as it soon headed off towards the fortress. As the company set up a small camp, Steeltrix and IronBlood both waited patiently as they watched the falcon near the fortress, no more than a black dot in the distance. They watched as it slowly get closer and closer to the Warrior pony-packed battlements and Steeltrix found himself slowly stop breathing as the suspense almost killed him. And then, it landed somewhere on the battlements and Steeltrix let his breath out as he soon focused his attention on the Shadow Warrior camp. The Northern Warrior pony kept the falcons blindfold on the bird as he tried to quickly get to the generals. His armor clacked and clattered as he went and he was worried he wouldn't be able to help out his company when the enemy attack came. He paid close attention to where he was going as he navigated the twisting and turning passageways of the tunnel network before he stopped at a guarded door. "What is your business?" Asked one of the Warriors, his armor and weapon being from the Eastern Providence. "I bring a message... It's not from the Shadow Warriors..." Said the Northern pony as he showed the falcon. The guards looked at each other and then one knocked on the door and said," General, there seems to be a message for you." The door opened and a commanding voice from inside said," Come in." And the Warrior slowly walked inside as the door was closed shut behind him. The room was lit by torches and lanterns and was dominated by a very large table, where a detailed map of Equestria could be seen spread across all of it. Figures of varying colors could be seen across its surface and as the Warrior approached; he tried to remain silent as he saw how many more Shadow Warrior figures there were on the map. "Halt!" The Warrior stopped and snapped to attention as another Northern pony, wearing the skin of a wolf over his armor and having a shield on his left leg, came forward from the darkness. "My Lord... This bird came to the fortress but it's not from the Shadow Warriors. It's for you, we presumed." The Warrior extended his arm as he bowed his head. The General took the falcon and he opened the message cask as he took the message out. He unfurled the message and immediately knew it definitely wasn't from the Shadow Warriors. He read it with concern but it soon gave way to a new feeling. Hope. "Scribe." The General called for and a pony came forward. "Write this message down: I, General WhiteWolf, am the commander currently here. I wish you to tell me who you are and how many you have with you." The General said and the scribe wrote the message on a piece of parchment before he automatically put it into the falcon’s cask and closed the casket. "You have my thanks Warrior. Make sure that this bird will get to its original owners." WhiteWolf said as he gave the falcon back to the Warrior. "Yes, general." The pony walked out of the room as he soon exited the room entirely. It was two hours later of watching the fortress that Steeltrix saw his messenger falcon come flying back. It banked on the winds that blasted the mountains relentlessly as it soon began to dive back towards the ground. Steeltrix made note that as it came forward that there seemed to be something else hanging off of its harness. And as the falcon came closer and closer, the object got clearer until when the flacon landed did he see what it was. A piece of white fur. Wolf fur. He immediately put the falcon’s hood on as he opened its cask and pulled out the rolled-up parchment. He unfurled it and as he read it one-hoofed, he soon realized what that piece of wolf fur meant. He turned around and went to find IronBlood when IronBlood popped up next to him and asked," So, did they answer us?" "It’s General WhiteWolf." Answered Steeltrix as he showed IronBlood the letter. IronBlood took the letter and read it before he said," It seems he is losing hope and we just now gave him hope to hold onto... But should we tell him how many we have?" Steeltrix answered," If we don't tell him what we have, we might lose our chances to get him on our side. So yes, we will tell him our numbers and strength. Only then will we probably find a way to crush this Shadow Warrior army and still have allies left alive." IronBlood nodded as he began another letter but this time it explained to WhiteWolf how many they numbered, how much strength they had, and finally, who had sent them and for what reason. Steeltrix watched as the falcon soon left the area as it sent another letter to the fortress while the company began to dig in and prepare for the wait for when they would finally help break this siege. When the falcon returned, IronBlood this time caught it and as he opened to read the letter, he hoped that it wasn't going to be full of rebuking. But as soon as he began to read it, all of his worries went away. "Commander IronBlood and Steeltrix of the Rebellion, I understand that though you had wished to be more manned, I can still use your company in helping my men break this siege. "The plan is for me to amass all of my Warriors and all of the other kingdoms Warriors and commanders and lead them charging out of here in what we hope to be a quick breakthrough. But your company must come from behind and begin to attack those Warriors in the back, thus having them caught in a hammer and an anvil. "With luck, we will break their army and not lose too many to the fighting that will happen. "With much hope, General WhiteWolf." IronBlood said as he finished reading the letter to his brother. They were inside of the tent hey both had pitched up and as Steeltrix pondered this message, he knew what he would say. The real question was if the Shadow Warriors would actually break during the attack. Steeltrix took out his writing utensils and as he answered the General, he said to IronBlood," We need to prepare the Warriors for battle. I have no doubt that this will happen tomorrow, most likely at dawn since such an early attack would probably take the Shadow Warriors by surprise." "I will do what I can. Meanwhile, when you are done, you can also help gather the men... If you don't mind me saying so." IronBlood said as he nodded in agreement. "I will definitely help you, considering that we are the only two Commanders here to get them anywhere." Steeltrix said as he finished the letter and tucked it into the falcon’s message cask before he took off its blindfold and took it outside. Dawn rose up over the peaks as Steeltrix, IronBlood, and their company of Warriors stood at the forests edge, waiting for when the fighting would begin. Every single one was well rested, well fed, well prepared, and all were having a high morale from it all. Though they all knew they were green and no more than new Warriors, they understood that they could fight like any seasoned veteran if they put their mind to it. The falcon had come back and though it sat in its cage with the rest of the army’s camp, Steeltrix knew that nothing would be able to find it unless it literally tripped over the camp. "Oh!" Suddenly said IronBlood as he unsheathed his sword," I do believe I heard the sound of fighting." Steeltrix listened and heard the sounds of battle too: screams, shouts, running feet, clashing steel, horns blowing. "Alright. Warriors of the Rebellion! Today, we shall help our allies in this battle and finally deal a blow to SoulStorm!" Shouted Steeltrix as he unsheathed his scythe. "Warriors!" Shouted IronBlood," Advance!" The whole group moved forward as the banner of the Rebellion fluttered high in the air as it led the Warriors to the first major battle of the entire Rebellion. Steeltrix could see, as he advanced forward, the shapes of Warriors fighting one another and the banners that were fluttering from poles and spears. They kept advancing forward, even though they absolutely could just begin to run, but Steeltrix held back that command since such energy needed for fighting would be wasted trying to get to the fighting. Then, passing the remains of the Shadow Warrior camp, he saw that they were undetected, noting that most of the Shadow Warriors were preoccupied with fighting and not bothering to look behind them. "Warriors! Draw weapons and prepare to charge!" He shouted as IronBlood echoed the command. Swords were drawn from their scabbard, spears were brought to bear, and axes were whipped out as they all continued at a steady pace. When Steeltrix saw that they all were ready, he shouted," CHARGE!" As he broke into a run. IronBlood shouted the call and ran as the whole company roared the word and blitzed across the ground. Steeltrix felt his heart pounding in his chest as he watched the first Shadow Warrior to look behind him and see the company charging straight towards him. Steeltrix flicked out a sickle and watched as it slice the neck of the Shadow Warrior, an arc of blood spraying as the sickle embedded itself Ito the back of another Shadow Warrior. And that's when the company smashed into the unprotected rear of the Shadow Warrior army, acting like a siege hammer smashing apart a flimsy door to splinters. Steeltrix twirled and lashed out with his scythe as IronBlood sticked close and hacked and slashed anyone close to him. The company stayed close together as they helped one another and looked out for each other. Steeltrix killed another Warrior as the blood managed to splatter his armor in a red mist and as he took up his sickle, IronBlood used the opportunity to slice the head off one Warriors neck with his sword. The plan that General WhiteWolf had created was working to great effect and Steeltrix could see an obvious reaction to his humble army’s appearance as it began to divide up the Shadow Warriors into two fronts. A Shadow Warrior charged IronBlood as he held up an axe and IronBlood sidestepped as he extended his arm and smashed the Warrior off his feet with his shield. Then, as the pony struggled to get up, IronBlood reversed the grip on his sword and drove it into the chest of the Shadow Warrior, watching as the blade was soon covered in the Warriors blood. The fighting was tough and brutal, to be blunt. Every pony was fighting practically admits an ocean of enemy foes and blades and as Steeltrix halted his company, they prepared for the other army to finally mop up the Shadow Warriors. The battle was doing very well as far as Steeltrix could see. The place was quiet as Steeltrix watched from where he stood. The Shadow Warrior had been split and smashed asunder, soon splitting off in groups of routed Warriors. Now, the only inhabitants of the field were the dead and the victors. IronBlood had tallied up the losses and the wounded and to his and Steeltrix's surprise, the company had not lost one pony but a few had minor wounds. As they all waited for the next order, Steeltrix watched in awe as General WhiteWolf slowly advanced his forces towards them. He could see Warrior ponies from all the kingdoms and as they approached in a mass of unbroken ranks, he felt humbled to see them in person. Even more so when he saw General WhiteWolf himself. He was a pony of white and grey, with armor that was gold and decorated by his Warrior gems, the crystals that were implanted in all Warrior pony armors. He wore a helmet of ornate design and though it had no plume, it did indeed have instead a wolf-head. His armor was also covered in the skin of the white wolf and as he approached, Steeltrix could also see the handle of a battle-axe and a broadsword protruding from his armor. As the whole army stopped before Steeltrix's small company, Steeltrix and everyone with him bowed as General WhiteWolf approached. "Ah, the sons of General Irontrix now stand before me as commanders. Your father would be very proud of you." WhiteWolf said as he stopped and bowed to the Rebellion ponies. Steeltrix and IronBlood stood as WhiteWolf said," I understand of your rebellion, considering you did sort of convert WolfSlayer to your cause... But is it true that King SoulStorm had summoned Discord from his prison?" Steeltrix nodded as IronBlood said," Aye. And to be even more interesting, we are currently led by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, his daughters." A murmur seemed to ripple through WhiteWolf's army as he nodded his head and said," Then, please, show us the way to your leaders. As much as I'm used to living in mountains, I didn't become a Warrior to stay in one." IronBlood and Steeltrix chuckled respectively as Steeltrix said," Then we shall. Although, all I hope is that we can provide for your army."