Once Upon A December

by ThePrinceOfTheNorth

Chapter 14: Crown of Thorns

Chapter 14: Crown of Thorns

The Badlands...

As Nightmare Moon, Midnight Blue and General Alexander rounded the mesa, a fortress came into view. It was a tall, white tower surrounded by a tall, formiable courtyard and and wall, all circular. The walls normally had dunes against them, but those had been cleared, and the bodies of changelings and griffons littered the sand. This was Castle Rosethorn, home of General Act of Valor of the Royal Canterlot Guard. He had not been seen in decades, but due to the fact he was an Alicorn, plus the desolation before them, they were able to divulge that the General was still quite alive.

A bolt of silver magic, just barely missing Alexander's head, confirmed this.

"By Winter! Watch where you point that, you old coot!"

"Sorry," said a voice from the wall as the group approached, "Thought you were one of them. Here, let me open the gate for you."

Seconds later, the gate lurched and began moving upwards. Slowly, an aged Alicorn Stallion was revealed on the other side, wearing a polished set of Royal Canterlot Guard Armor with intricate ingraving, signifying his high rank.

"Welcome to Castle Rosethorn, Princess Nightmare Moon," said Valor with a bow, "What brings you out to this lonely part of the world?"

"The Shard of Loyalty," said Nightmare Moon, "We need it."

"Oh my," said Valor, "Has the time come already?"

"I'm afraid it has, Valor."

Valor was quiet for long moment, deep in thought. Finally, he spoke. "Very well, but we must make haste. Those Changelings might attack us again any minute, and the next wave is already overdue."

"Lead on, General," Nightmare said, but no sooner had she raised her hoof had a spear embedded itself where Alexander's arm had once been.

"GAH! EVERY SINGLE TIME," Alexander roared as he tore out the spear and there it straight through the head of the Changeling who'd thrown it. "Go, Princess. I'm in a mood for some action!" And with that, Alexander charged screaming a battle cry into the massive horde of Changelings that was approaching as the Caslte gate closed.

"He won't be able to hold them for long," said Valor.

"I would disagree, but we need to move," said Nightmare Moon.

"Of course," said Valor, "Follow me."

Valor quickly lead Nightmare Moon and Midnight Blue into the castle and through the many halls as if they were a part of him. Fact was, Valor had been stationed in Castle Rosethorn from the moment he'd finished basic training, and had quickly risen through the ranks, making him an expert at navigating the many halls of the castle.

It took them less than a minute to reach the Shard Chamber, but getting the Shard would be no small task.

"Can you deactivate the traps," asked Nightmare Moon.

"No," said Valor, "I'm sorry. They can only be turned off from the other side of the chamber. I would get the Shard myself, but I'm not as young as I once was."

Nightmare Moon nodded. While Valor was an Alicorn, he was not fully immortal, aging at an extremely slowed pace.

"It's alright, I can do it myself."

Quickly, Nightmare Moon slipped out of her shoes and collar, and used her magic to remove her helmet and place it on the ground.

"Are you sure," asked Valor, "One wrong move and you'll be done for."

"I'm sure," Nightmare Moon said. She reared up and leapt. Below her, the floor crumbled, revealing a pit filled with long spikes. She landed on the other side and gingerly dodged an enormous axe pendulum before proceeding onward.

She came to another pit, and jumped. Too late did she realize that this pit was more than just a hole. In the walls were small holes, and they suddenly began spewing poisoned darts at the defenceless Nightmare Moon. She saw them and closed her eyed, waiting for the inevitable...

...but it never came.

Nightmare Moon slammed down onto the cold stone on the other side of the pit, and narrowly dodged another axe pendulum. Looking around, Nightmare Moon saw Valor standing beside her.

Valor, seeing Nightmare Moon's plight, had grabbed a shield off the wall and charged through the traps, dodging them as if her were dancing. He raised the shield as he leapt, and the darts had embedded themselves in it.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Nightmare Moon said as Valor helped her up, "Thanks, but how did you do that?"

"Duty first," Valor said, "Protecting the people comes before protecting the self."

"That's very...noble," said Nightmare Moon, "I'm sure Winter would be impressed."

"Oh, I know," said Valor with a smile. "Shall we?"

Nightmare Moon and Valor navigated the last few traps and reached the Shard, which Nightmare Moon quickly lifted with her magic while Valor deactivted the traps, which made the trip back far less dangerous.

Once they returned to the enterance, Nightmare Moon placed the Shard into Midnight's satchel and put her armor back on. "Time to go."

"Are you coming with us," asked Midnight.

Valor thought for a moment. "Sure! All those Changelings want is the Shard, so the Castle will be safe, but you'll need a hand."

"Sounds good to me," said Nightmare, "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~

The sight they beheld when they opened the gate was one of gore and disgust. Green blood soaked the sands in front of the castle, the completly eviserated corpses of the Changeling attackers flowing from what little pieces remained of them. Fragments of chitin, carapace and organs littered the battlefield, and the smell of flesh was overpowering, and standing in the middle of it all, covered in the blood of his enemies, stood a very calm Alexander.

"Felling better," Nightmare asked.

"Much, thanks," replied Alexander, "I look like a mess, don't I?"

"Well," Nightmare said, "Just a little."

"How did he," sputtered Valor.

"When Alexander goes off in a blind rage," explained Nightmare, "Stuff happens."

Comments

[Death2205]

Ya fuck you valor

[ThePrinceOfTheNorth]

4544662
More like Alex the Great - RAGE MODE!
EVERY. BUCKING. TIME.

[Death2205]

4544699 ALEX SMASH

[ThePrinceOfTheNorth]

4544777
Alex has massive Rage.
Nightmare Moon and Valor have some crazy agility.
Together, with Midnight Blue, they are...
THE FLYING HOOVES!

[ThePrinceOfTheNorth]

5263178
At first thought, yeah. But after you think about it, ascension is just you becoming an Alicorn. It doesn't cure previously existing genetic and/or mental disorders. For example, did Twilight become all regal after becoming an Alicorn?

[user123]

5263495
yes, but physical conditions should be fixed, thier bodies undergo change.

[ThePrinceOfTheNorth]

5503819
Again, Twilight's odd habits are mental and are likely genetic, and did not change. Ergo, Snowdrop remained blind after ascending.

[ThePrinceOfTheNorth]

6893685

To be honest, most of my older works have been abandoned, as my writing skills have improved. This abandonment was recently solidified with the creation of my latest OCs, thus making most of these older ones redundant, as well as irrelevant.

So, it doesn't matter too much at all.