The Final Wars of Equestria

by Final fantasy forever

Battle of the Black Feather Forest.

The Final Wars of Equestria Ch 5

Battle of the Black Feather Forest.

Twilight sat in the cockpit of the Flagship with her friends. They had insisted on coming with her to the Gryphon Kingdom as they didn’t want to take the chance of losing her again. “I still don’t see how you could want to be anywhere near these Union scumbags after what you’ve been through,” Rainbow Dash said to Twilight.

“I’ve seen what the Union is willing to do to enforce obedience,” Twilight replied. “I won’t sit by while others suffer ever again. That is what caused this war and besides we share a backyard with the Union and soon they’re going to begin annexing Equestria again.”

“Twi, there’s a sixty foot barrier dividing Equestria keeping Peryite and his goons out,” Rainbow replied.

“If I know Peryite he’s already found a way to bring it down; he just needs to get working on it,” Twilight responded.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Rainbow said, disturbed by the thought of the Union invading again. Ponyvill was only a short distance from the Union-occupied Crystal Empire. If they broke down the barrier it would surely be their first target.

The seven of them conversed until the conductor interrupted them. “We will soon be landing in Black Feather Forest.” Seven minutes later the ship landed in the small town. As the six of them disembarked from the ship they gazed around the village of Black Feather Forest. All around the village stood trees as far as the eye could see. Vegetation filled the village as well. Tulips, snapdragons, gardenias and various other flowers filled pots, windowsills, rooftops, and stretches of green along the streets. The scent of rose dew filled the air of the village giving the place a surreal feel. The villagers looked as though they were unaware of the war altogether. They walked happily through the market without a care in the world. They went about their lives as though everything was right in the world. They purchased meat and groceries. A Gryphon couple wore cream colored roses (the female behind her ear and the male in his lapel). A small gathering of young Gryphons had come to play outside. Some drew on the ground with chalk. Others played tag or hide and seek; and some just rolled around in the grass; allowing themselves to be absorbed in nature and all her beauty. The six of them gazed on silently for a minute and a half but it seemed like hours until Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

“This is like something out of a foal’s tale,” she said in complete awe.

“I…I’ve never…I never even knew such beauty could exist,” Fluttershy chimed in.

The six were then speechless once more until a Gryphon commander interrupted the silence. “It’s good to see you again highness.”

Twilight snapped back into reality and turned to greet the officer. “Greetings and…” Twilight paused recognizing the young Gryphon. “You’re the one who reinforced us on the way to Saddle Arabia.”

“Indeed highness. My apologies for not being able to free you from the Union when fleeing the city.”

“It’s OK,” Twilight replied. “I’d like to think that some good came from my incarceration in the gulag.”

“I don’t even know how an optimist could see any good in that but I’m glad to hear it,” the Gryphon commander replied. He turned to the town and gazed. “I hope my little hometown here is to your liking. The Union is only thirty miles from this town, walled up in Fort Wilhelm. They might only have a small force here but most of the Gryphon army is concentrating on taking back Gryphonholm. Its importance is unarguably greater than ours but I will not sit by and let my hometown be taken by the Union.”

“Uh… sir,” Twilight said.

“Please highness, you need not call me of all ponies sir. My name is Heinrich Amherst.”

“Very well Heinrich. I was going to ask, how is the situation in Gryphonholm faring?”

“The battle there is reaching its first month. We can’t give up on the city but I can’t help but feel that the sacrifice isn’t worth it.”

Twilight looked down at the ground; her thoughts turned to her brother. Heinrich noticed this and placed his claw on her shoulder blade. “I know Captain Shining Armor is there. I assure you he’ll be fine. I was with him when we retook Saddle Arabia. I assure you if anyone can bring us victory there; it’s him.” Twilight smiled at Heinrich. “Come, Twilight, we should head to the outpost north of here. It’s just ten to twenty or so miles from town. We need to defend it from attack; it is the only thing standing between the Union and the village. It’s also a research center for the science of war. The Chief scientist, Casimir (who I’m sure needs no introduction) is making new weapons there and needs to be protected as well.

“Casimir’s here?” Twilight said somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Heinrich replied. “He said he was working on a weapon that he says will rid the Union’s presence here in one blow. The scary part is I believe him. That ‘pony’ has no morality. I want to see the Union banished from my home just as much as the next pony; but Casimir... I don’t even think he cares who wins this war. He just wants to get the chance to test his weapons on live subjects and call it just. To call him a sadist would not be the truth either, I suppose. It’s more… he doesn’t care. He doesn’t like seeing ponies suffer but he wouldn’t lift a hoof to save one either.”

“I don’t like that guy,” Rainbow Dash said somewhat aggravated remembering the first time they meet Casimir and how he threatened to side with the Union just out of spite for the Princesses.

“Don’t trust him,” Twilight said, “but he is invaluable to the Alliance.”

“Agreed,” Heinrich said. “Come now we mustn’t dally.” The seven of them boarded a train bound for the base Heinrich informed them of.
“All aboard!” the conductor hollered. The seven of them found their seats and were on their way.

“NO. ABOSOLUTLY NOT; I WILL NOT HAVE THIS. I will not allow anything of the sort,” Trotsky repeated.

“Sir, the Commissar has been pushing for this long before you arrived here. The only thing that has stopped him is the fact that you keep overriding the total war protocol.”

Trotsky turned to the young soldier and stared down at him. They weren’t much different in height but the private felt that the general towered over him. “Go to Commissar Petrenko and tell him he is not to harm a single civilian or I will have his head on a pike.”

“Sir, I have told him that you disagree with his methods but he doesn’t seem to care. Perhaps if you… “

He was cut off by Trotsky. “I’ll talk to him then.” Trotsky stormed off to the commander’s room.

“Uh Sir, does this mean I’m dismissed?” Trotsky didn’t respond. The young soldier made his way back to his barracks.

“ENOUGH,” Trotsky yelled, interrupting the Commissar and his officers.

“Have you heard of knocking?” The Commissar mocked. I thought they raised gentlecolts in Stalliongrad.”

The Commissar’s tone didn’t help Trotsky’s sore mood. He grabbed Petrenko by his coat collar and threw him against the wall. “You three go,” Trotsky snapped to the officers in the room. “I need to discus a few things with the Commissar.” The officers, not needing a second invitation to leave the room before things got heated, grabbed their papers and darted.

The Commissar got to his hooves and yelled at Trotsky. “WHAT THE HELL!! WHAT THE ACTUAL BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Trotsky yelled. “Destroying civil centers; is that what we’ve come to?”

“Why do you think that we have made no progress here?” the Commissar retorted. “Their reinforcements come from that town. We need to stop it at the source before we can hope to make progress here.”

“Occupying the town maybe,” Trotsky replied. “But you’re talking about razing the town to the ground.”

“What good would that town do for us? We couldn’t make use of it like they can. We might as well just destroy it.”

“AND KILL ALL OF THOSE CIVILAINS?” Trotsky wailed. “You want us to firebomb the town? The repercussions of that act would be catastrophic. We’re fighting for the populace, in case you forgot.”

The commissar laughed at this. “They are enemies of the populace.”

“THEY ARE THE POPULACE,” Trotsky retorted.

“Wrong,” the commissar replied. “We are the populace; and ‘THEY’… are the enemy.”

Something inside of Trotsky’s head snapped at hearing this. He turned to the commissar and threw him to the wall once more. He held him against the cold hard metal. He put his face inches from his and began to speak in rasps as his anger made it hard to talk. “If you harm a feather on a single civilian, I will have you skinned alive and made an example. Are we clear?”

The commissar stared back at Trotsky trying to hide that he felt intimidated. He had never seen Trotsky like this and was caught off guard by this outburst of temper. He took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”

“Good,” Trotsky replied.

“Uh, I hope I’m not interrupting anything here.” Trotsky and Petrenko turned to see a young private had entered the room.

“No, we were just settling a disagreement,” Trotsky said.

“Well I hope you’re done because you’re going to be heading off General Trotsky.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“King Peryite has requested that you come to the Equestrian border ASAP, general.”

“I will do so without delay,” Trotsky replied.

“Good; your ride is here sir.”

When the private left Trotsky turned to Petrenko. “I meant what I said.” With that Trotsky left to board his ride. A Union war zeppelin was waiting for him. He boarded the airship and set sail.

The commissar cleaned off his uniform and brought in a commander. “Yes sir, what is it sir?”

“You are to besiege the Black Feather Forest lab and bring me the head of the Alliance science department. This heathen, this traitor, this, this sadist is responsible for many atrocities at the hooves of those magitech weapons. He also was instrumental in the M-TECH curtain. This level of defiance must not go unpunished. Trotsky has made his point clear. We will try this his way one last time; but if this fails, we will burn Black Feather Village to the ground.”

“Understood, sir.” With that the commander left to gather his troops.

Twilight and friends accompanied by Heinrich arrived in the Black Feather Forest labs. After making their presence known they made their way down to the laboratory level. When they got there they found a Gryphon scientists speaking with Casimir. The latter noticed the young mares and greeted them with a forced, pained smile. “Welcome Hi…high…(hack) Princess…(Huff) Twilight,” he snapped. “It’s good to… It’s surprising to see you really. Don’t take this the wrong way but; you really shouldn’t be alive.

“It wasn’t easy getting out of the Gulag,” Twilight replied.

“That’s not what I meant,” Casimir said under his breath.

“What,” Twilight asked.

“Nothing,” Casimir replied. “What is it that you’re doing here.”

“I’m here to stop the Union’s advance in these lands.”

Casimir snickered. What is it that you’re planning to do, Twilight?” he said in humored tone. “You’re no warrior, you’re no scientist, you’re no strategist. I’m unaware of your knowledge in medical magic or medicine in general. So I will ask again what is it that you wanted to do here?

“Help however I can. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

“Humph. You do realize that it’s those words that inspire Peryite to continue his fight.”

“Hey,” Rainbow yelled interrupting the two. “Twilight is nothing like that creep.”

“Really?” Casimir asked in a sarcastic tone. “I think not. The only real difference between the two is their ideologies, and how you spell the name. Even Twilight and Peryite both see this. They know they’re fighting against someone exactly like them. That same ambition, that same will, that same fire that burns deep in their hearts, that same stubborn attitude that when life pushes them down; they have to get up and push harder.

“Why I ought to… come here you little runt.” Rainbow began readying herself to charge at Casimir.

“NO,” Twilight snapped, extending her left leg to block Rainbow Dash. “He’s right, you know.”

Twilight’s friends looked at her in shock. “Twi, you can’t be serious,” Rainbow said in disbelief.

“It’s sad but it’s true. It’s sad because we both know how foolish this war is; perhaps Peryite even more than me.” There was silence.

Nopony spoke until Casimir broke the silence. “If we’re all done with this argument then I think I have a report to give. Twilight, I’m almost done with my new weapon. He showed Twilight blueprints for a large warhead. The Magitech weapons made a byproduct of negatively charged; highly unstable crystals. We tried disposing of them as waste. But eventually the Gryphon Kingdom got tired of its citizens exploding whenever they failed to handle the crystals with utmost caution. I have found a way to make use of these crystals by means of this bomb. The first one should be ready to test on the nearby Union-occupied Fort Wilhelm. The Fort might have stood as a landmark but General Amherst has granted me permission to destroy it if necessary.

“Only if it needs to come to that,” Heinrich snapped.

“Of course, general” Casimir said with a hint of disgust. “Of course, the Union has been making raids on this place. I think they know what it is we’re making here. They aren’t a big threat. But then again we aren’t that formidable either. I don’t know how much longer until our luck runs out.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic, Casimir,” Heinrich said. “I assure you we can handle what the Union throws our way.” As if on cue alarms began to sound.

“Let’s see if those words ring true General,” Casimir said with smirk. “I suppose I shouldn’t have this kind of sly tone. If the Union finds me I WILL die. It doesn’t matter what I have to offer them. Peryite will have me skinned alive before he feeds me to Manticores.”

“What would spark that kind of hate?” Twilight asked.

“Never you mind,” Casimir said indifferently. “Just know Peryite and I have a past together.”

“I don’t think he could hate you that much from Uralia,” Twilight replied.

“That wasn’t what I was talking about,” Casimir said.

“Then what?”

“What is this, Twenty Questions? There are Union forces on their way here and you want to know where my relationship stands with the King of the Global Union.”

“I hate his tone but he is right, Twilight,” Heinrich said. “Come, Twilight. I think you should learn about strategy.” Heinrich led Twilight to the command room of the base. Twilight looked around the room. It was fairly simple. It had a bright yellow carpet and several office chairs. At the main part of it was a large network of screens. “While you were in the Gulag of Stalliongrad we made some pretty big advances in the science of war. This is just one of Casimir’s breakthroughs. This is an orbital spy satellite. It is officially named the Sputnik surveillance system. The original satellite belonged to the Union’s Prof. Nicola. We shot it and its delivery rocket down from its launching station located in the Crystal Mountains. We remodeled it to work for us.” Heinrich configured the mechanics on the panels below the screens and the battlefield was displayed on them. “From here you can see all that is happening. We can’t get very good detail from this because of the original damage we did to Sputnik but what we have will suffice. The forces on the Union’s side are properly colored in green and ours in white. From here you can command any of our forces. It shouldn’t be that hard this time around. We aren’t going on the offensive and we’re in a relatively small base and the defenses around it should hold back all but a fraction of the invading forces. When you see some Union forces coming give a warning in advance to the two, maybe even three, closest stationed forces. The names of the squads are posted here; look to it when referring to the proper group. You will be in communication with the forces here at all times. I want to see how you handle this. Don’t worry,” Heinrich reassured. “I’ll be here to make sure you don’t give a bad order.” Twilight took a deep breath and took command. She clipped the ear piece to the right side of her head and turned it on.

“Attention soldiers of the United Equestrian Alliance. Prepare for the Union forces. Are you all in position?”

“3rd Shock platoon ready to engage.”

“1st Panzer squad reporting.”

“19th Infantry batallion checking in.”

“7th Jager squad here till the end.”

“8th Aerial Advanced Armor platoon ready to rule the skies.”

“5th Gatling Gunner platoon garrisoned and ready to mow down the enemy.”

“6th Mortar Squad prepped for bombardment.”

“11th Mage squad prepped and ready.”

“26th Mobile and Armored squad ready to crush.”

“Good, Twilight replied.”

“3rd shock speaking freely. I’m unfamiliar with you; do you know what you’re doing?”

Heinrich grabbed the ear piece from Twilight and spoke. “I’m overseeing a young mare who is doing some on the job training. I will make sure that every command is well thought through.”

“Very well General. I hope this one knows what she’s doing.”

“Enough talk. The Union approaches.” Heinrich returned the ear piece to Twilight who clipped it back on her head. “Alright Twilight, let’s start with some reconnaissance. What do you see?”

Twilight looked around at the forces coming from the Union base. “It looks as though there is a division of infantry coming from the northeast.”

“Good. Now look carefully at what kind of weapons the troops hold. If they have anything more lethal than a rifle or carbine or something that has potential to destroy a wall or tank such as a rocket or grenade launcher then call in the 8th aerial division to take them out before they pose a real threat to the base.”

“It looks as though it is a basic infantry squad.”

“Good; the base defenses should take care of them but if some slip by or prevail then inform the nearest division. Now call in some mosquito drones.” Twilight configured the targeting system and locked on to the troops. A few seconds later the drones were there to cut down the Union forces. “Good,” Heinrich said. “Remember, it will almost never be this easy in bigger battles, especially when you are on the attack.” Twilight continued commanding the base’s soldiers; occasionally calling the aerial squad into action. “You’re doing good and…”

Heinrich was cut off by Twilight. “We’ve got two armored squads coming from the northeast and northwest. Both are accompanied by a squad of dragons with one battalion of infantry coming up from the north. Where did they get all these from?”

“Alright Twilight,” Heinrich said a little worried. “Garrison the 5th Gatling platoon at the front of the base and…”

Twilight continued on, “Put the 26th Armored Division in front of them for added protection. 3rd shock platoon, get situated near the north of the base. Focus your fire on any trooper wielding a rocket or grenade launcher. 6th mortar squad ready yourselves for coordinates you’ll be aiming at the tanks. 11th mage and all who are left will be in charge of making sure no dragons get through. Ensure the safety of the science team.”

Heinrich gave Twilight an astonished look.

“Was everything well thought out?” Twilight asked.

“Nice moxie, highness. You knew you had to give the orders fast and everything you said looks well placed. The odds still aren’t the prettiest but nothing short of reinforcements would make them better. Now all we can do is wait. They won’t send anymore troops if this fails and they don’t break in.”

The Gatling guns mowed down the north central invasion forces while the tanks protected them from fire and assisted with their antipersonnel guns. The third shock division sniped down any flak trooper or rocket soldier. They watched out for each other making sure that the Union forces didn’t overwhelm them. The aerial platoon had their work cut out for them and nopony to watch their backs. Their magitech machine guns were just enough to penetrate a dragon’s hide but it took more than a few bullets to bring them down. The dragons weren’t that keen on being shot at and diverted their attention from the base to the Pegasus warriors. They reached mass casualties before changing their strategy to baiting the dragons to the base and having the defenses take them down. The battle dragged on for several hours before the Union retreated.

Back at Fort Wilhelm the Union commander rushed into the commanders’ room. He bowed and took his sword from its sheath and placed his front hooves on the pommel. “My commissar, I have failed you.”

“I would punish you; but I didn’t expect you to succeed here anyways.” Petrenko turned away from the commander. “We tried this your way, Trotsky. Now we do it my way. I assume you know what to do now.”

“Yes my commissar.” The commander left to prepare the attack. The commissar looked out at the Alliance base and smiled. “Oh Heinrich. If only you knew what I was about to do.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “You did very good,” General Heinrich said. “You’ll need this experience in these times of war. This was not a victory without loss but it was a victory nonetheless. I think that you really have the potential and will to make a difference in this war and…”

He was cut off by Twilight. “Hold on. I don’t think this battle is over.”

“What?” Heinrich said rushing to the monitor.

“It looks as though several dozen dragons are coming at us from both sides.”

“Twilight, where does it look as though they will strike?”

“It looks like the northwest and northeast. OK, now the east and west. N…now the southeast and southwest. T…they’re gone,” Twilight said in amazement.

“What do you mean they’re gone?” Heinrich said nervously.

“They’re just gone,” Twilight repeated.

“They can’t be,” Heinrich replied.

“Are you sure there’s no other target around here?” Twilight asked?

“No, nothing else. I can’t imagine where they would be going so far south.” Twilight pondered what they could be targeting. The only nearby target that had even the slightest Alliance presence was the village and… Twilight ended her train of thought as the horrifying reality came to her.

“Heinrich, they’re headed for the village.”

“What?” The general wailed. “What for?”

“To burn it to the ground,” Twilight replied.

Amherst’s mind was an eddy of panic and uncertainty. “W…what do we do? We can’t leave this place undefended but at the same time we can’t let the Union destroy my hometown. I…I…”

He was cut off by Twilight. “Quickly, grab as many Gryphon warriors as you can. You, and I, as well as my friends are going to defend the city.”

“T…thank you,” he said in a still panicked voice. Twilight gathered her friends and rallied two squads of Gryphons. They boarded the train and made their way to Black Feather Forest village.

“General, Highness we can see the dragons just ahead. They have yet to reach the village.”

“Good. We can diminish their numbers before they reach the village. Order the boys to fly out and engage them. Have others stay behind and operate the turrets on the train.”

“Yes, General Amherst.”

Twilight and friends joined Heinrich at the top of the train cars. “Are you sure about this Twilight? I have to defend my hometown but you can stay in the train.”

“I’m sure,” Twilight replied.

“Are you sure sugar cube? I mean; this is fighting winged beasts that aren’t planning on showing any mercy.

“If you want you can stay here.”

“We aren’t going to let you face these dragons alone.”

“Yeah Twi, we do this together or not at all,” Rainbow chimed in.

“I kind of like the not at all idea,” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Come on dear. We need to do this together,” Rarity persisted. If just one of us isn’t there then we can’t use the elements.”

“Come on,” Twilight said. “We’ve just about caught up with them.” The seven of them along with the Gryphon division made their way to the roofs of the train cars and locked on to the dragons.

“They will try to stop us,” the lead dragon said the two by his side. “Are you ready?”

The two nodded to the lead and separated from the group. They immediately turned around and flew straight for the train. Twilight quickly brought up a magical barrier around her and friends and Heinrich. Not a split second later the dragons had doused the train car in fire killing any of the gryphons who had not flown off the car. The dragons looked as though they would be left behind but they clung to the car just five cars away from the gryphons and began closing the space between them. The Gryphons were quick to spring into action; taking flight and circling around the car with the dragons. They fired on the beasts; their magitech weapons tearing through the tough hides of the dragons into the vulnerable flesh underneath. The dragons wailed in pain as they breathed fire at the gryphons. The dragons were strong, tough, and very deadly but the gryphons were much faster and evaded the attacks. The dragons eventually either were forced or chose to let go and fall back. Other dragons soon tried to take down the train. Twilight and friends used the elements to blast the dragons out of the sky while the gryphons either gunned them down or engaged them in aerial combat. This continued until only six dragons and the leader remained. The leader roared and the others abandoned the fight and made their way to the city. The leader then landed on the train and began making his way to Twilight and friends. The gryphons locked their guns on him ready to fire.

“STOP!!!” The dragon yelled. “I have allowed you to slay my fellow fron (kin); well no longer. You. Alicorn. If you are a true tan kinbok (pack leader) then you will fight me alone. One on one.”

“Twilight’s not going to fall for your lies,” Rainbow mocked “and…”

She was cut off by Twilight. “If I do this will you call of the rest?”

“If you defeat me before we reach the sahsun (village) I will call them off. Tick tock tick tock lokom (highness).

“Fine,” Twilight said in frustration. “Where do you want this?”

“By tradition, the accepter of the duel decides the terrain of the battle. I will not try to influence your decision. But perhaps we should find somewhere where no living being will get hit by crossfire.”

“No time,” Twilight said. “The air should be fine.”

“Very well.” The two took flight around the train. The dragon then swung his tail at the train cars severing the connection. The locomotive sped off leaving Twilight’s friends and Heinrich behind. “On guard!” the Dragon bellowed. He charged at Twilight leaving her little time to react. Twilight quickly dove under the dragon barely making enough distance to get by. The leader was also much faster than the others. He quickly turned and pursued Twilight giving her no time to breathe. Twilight could evade the flying lizard but she knew she had to go on the offensive eventually. She tried using basic magic but the beast’s plated armor and already thick hide were enough to make the blasts little more than annoying to the large creature. The dragon snapped at Twilight with its gaping mouth. Twilight evaded this but was left vulnerable. The dragon saw this and swung at her with its claws. Twilight felt the wind get knocked out of her as she began loosing altitude. She couldn’t find the strength to fly so she grabbed at the dragon and held on. She slid down its neck until she reached its end or beginning depending on how one looked at it.

The dragon laughed at the young mare mocking her. “Aw, tired already? Here I though I was fighting a kendov do lok (warrior of the sky).” Twilight knew she had to find a way to get an attack through somehow. Regular magic didn’t work so maybe a more direct approach to it she thought. She slowly and hesitantly freed her hooves from holding onto the dragon and began concentrating her magic to them. Her hooves glowed with a purple aurora and she slammed them into the dragons back. This force alone was enough to knock her off the beast but her plan worked. The dragon wailed in pain as it lost altitude. It quickly recovered and was back to hunting Twilight but she had found a kink in its armor. Twilight would let the beast charge her and then use that opportunity to get on its body and deliver a blow. Twilight did this three more times before the dragon had had enough of it.

The dragon grabbed Twilight in his claw and brought her inches from his face. “You are a pest ko lok (pest in the sky). I will fry your body and leave you to the lok paagoliik (sky walker). Know my name and have it ring in your head in you final moments. I am saat ven. your slayer. He slowly opened his mouth and put Twilight just above it. Twilight stared down the long throat of the dragon. He began forming fire in his mouth. Twilight began squirming trying to escape from saat ven’s claw. Twilight felt the heat emanating from his lungs and knew if she didn’t act fast she would burn alive. Twilight quickly fired a beam of magic down the dragon’s throat. The beast coughed and breathed in rasping breaths as he struggled to get air in his lungs. Twilight quickly flew away until her magic was stored in her hooves. She then turned around and headed straight for saat ven who was still reeling from the magic beam he took in the throat. Twilight slammed into the dragon’s abdomen with all her strength. Saat ven was sent flying as his enormous body, to everyone’s astonishment, was guided by the relatively small alicorn into the ground below. Twilight stood atop the massive dragon with a look of triumph. That was soon replaced with fear as Twilight felt her legs give way from all their use. The magic had apparently taken its toll on the muscles in her legs and she collapsed. Saat ven rose to his claws and looked down at the lavender mare. Twilight waited to be crushed by the reptile but to her amazement he smiled at her.

“(Huff) n…not many could hold their own against a dovah (dragon). It would be disgraceful to kill you when you couldn’t raise a hoof in defense. Even if you haven’t won the battle; you’ve won my respect.” He grabbed Twilight in his claw. “You wanted me to call off my pack? Well let me do you a kendov hindah (warrior’s favor). Saat ven took flight with Twilight in the palm of his claw. Twilight stared at the dragon in complete awe. She never knew that a non domesticated dragon could have such honor nor such respect for a pony. After a minute Saat ven caught up with the other dragons. Dii fron (my kin) halt thy journey.”

One of them now leading the others turned his head. “Saat ven! I see you are done fighting.” He looked down at Twilight. And it would seem that you’ve caught an Alicorn.

“Not caught. She has proven herself in the frod do vukein (field of battle). I made a vow to call off the attack if she showed her valor.”

“Is that so?” the dragon said in disgust. Well then, YOU ARE NO TAN KINBOK.

“What!” Saat ven yelled.

“You are no longer our leader. I own the clan now.”

“This duziirah (insolence) will not be tolerated.” The dragon laughed. At this Saat ven lost his patience. He lunged at the dragon sinking his teeth into his neck. The dragon wailed in pain as he plummeted to the ground.

“What are you doing? Saat ven,” one of the dragons wailed.

“Retaining my honor. You will stop this attack or I will kill you!”

“We are loyal to Peryite and Peryite alone,” the dragon replied.

“As am I,” Saat ven said. “But do you truly think this is what our unagein (patron) would want? This order comes not from him but from Petrenko.

“We will follow the orders we are given.”

“Then you will die.” Saat ven then lunged at the dragon ripping into his neck. The dragon then began to plummet like the last. Two of the remaining four dragons then stayed behind to slow down Saat ven. The three clashed in a battle of strength and fire. This continued for about eight minutes before Saat ven killed the other two.

“We need to hurry,” Twilight urged. “The other two are already at the village.” The mare and dragon looked in horror at the dragons setting the village ablaze. Saat ven cringed and re-firmed his grip on Twilight and sped off to the village. The dragons noticed this and began flying in a circular motion. They breathed fire in the whirlwind they made. After a minute of this they had formed a firestorm and set it loose in the village. The two smiled at this but their satisfaction was short lived as Saat ven slammed one into the ground below.

“You’re too late, Saat ven.” Without speaking a word Saat ven crushed the dragon’s skull with a piece of rubble. He then turned his attention to the last dragon who was setting fire to the village buildings. He charged and killed he final dragon.

“We need to stop this ‘thing’; before the fire spreads.” Saat ven and Twilight tried to stop the firestorm, he with winds and she collected water with magic to put it out. “It’s not working,” Twilight wailed.

“We need to go into the eye of the storm and kill it from the inside.”

“How can we even get inside?”

“We dovah (dragons) feel little to no wrath from fire. Do you have enough magic to disrupt the base of the firestorm?”

“I think so,” Twilight said, a little short of breath and strength. Saat ven cupped his claws around Twilight and dove into the firestorm. When he reached the eye he opened his claws.

“NOW.” Twilight focused all her remaining magic into a blast. The magic ripped apart the firestorm leaving embers in its wake. “You did good goraan gein (young one).”

Twilight tried to speak but felt exhaustion spread around all her body. She smiled to Saat ven and said, “There are (huff) still (huff) fires around the town. We need to put them (huff) out.”

“No WE don’t. You need to rest. I’ll handle the fires.” Saat ven, with Twilight in his claw, flew around Black Feather Forest Village; putting out fires with gusts of wind he made with his wings. After fifteen minutes all the fires in the village were put out. Twilight looked down at the damage. The village was mostly intact but the fire had consumed much of the plant life in the town square. The buildings were also scorched, not beyond use, but their beauty was lost. There were almost no casualties but those few were enough to cripple the townsfolk’s morale. They wept for their dead and the husk of their town. The damage was not permanent but Twilight knew it would take time to repair; even longer for the populace to return to normal.

“I have committed many of these volrogs ‘atrocities’ before in my existence. It is what we have come to call nature; to pillage and burn. Yet I find myself asking is it right to do such things. We do what we must to survive; to collect food. Yet both you and Peryite fight your wars for the populace. Yet you both have dragged the populace into this war. Neither of you can say you are truly right. You can’t even say you’re the lesser of two evils.” Twilight wanted to protest but she knew he was right. “It would appear that your zeymahzin (companions) have arrived.”

Twilight looked down at the train station and saw her friends get off the train. Saat ven glided down to the mares and Gryphon. Twilight’s friends watched the dragon approach, not sure weather or not to prepare for a fight. Saat ven landed by the train and released Twilight from his claw. “Twilight!” her friends shouted. They came to her side to aid the wobbly mare.

“I’m fine, girls,” Twilight assured.

“I assume you can handle yourself from here.”

“Yes, thank you,” Twilight answered the dragon.

“Wait, why do you care?” Rainbow asked indifferently.

“It would be wrong to leave such a strong mage warrior in dire condition. I assume you will see her back to health.”

“Wait, so are you on our side?”

“Nyet. My loyalty lies with Peryite. I have lent you my aid this day because you have shown valor uncommon to ponies. I mean that with no offense at all. I will be returning to the heart of the UGER now.”

“Before you go, it’s only respectable I know your name; what was it again?”

“Saat ven, highness. It means sails the wind.”

“It was an honor to have met you Saat ven.”

“Thank you highness.” With that the dragon flew off into the unknown.

“Are you OK Highness?”

“I’m fine Heinrich.” General Amherst looked unconvinced by Twilight’s wobbly legs. “Well maybe not OK but I’m not hurt.”

“You girls get Twilight some therapy for that back at the base. I need to stay here and make sure that anyone hurt gets medical attention.

“Stay safe general.”

“I’ll be fine highness.” Twilight’s friends helped her onto the train and sped off to the base.

“Sir we have reports from the village.”

“Has it been destroyed?” Petrenko asked.

“No sir. We have had no report from the dragons or Saat ven.”

“I see,” Petrenko said with frustration.

“Uh sir, I have something else for you.”

“What is it?”

“It would seem that King Peryite has requested that you join the forces around northern Equestria.”

“For what reason?”

“I know not sir but you must obey the king.”

“Very well.” Commissar Petrenko boarded a Zeppelin and left Fort Wilhelm.

After fifteen minutes they found themselves back at the Alliance base. Twilight had her legs treated and after a half hour was on her hooves. As if on cue Casimir entered the room. “Good to see you’re back to health Twilight.”

“What do you want Casimir?” Casimir was about to speak but Twilight cut him off. “Don’t pretend that you really cared. You wanted something from me, or to report something so what is it?”

“Well,” Casimir said. “Your test results came back. I’m sorry to say you have a terminal amount of wit inside you.” Twilight shot him an unamused look. “I have come to inform you that the bomb is complete. We are ready to launch whenever you’re ready. The choice is yours highness. You can end the Union’s presence here; here and now. Come on kid. Don’t you think these poor Gryphons have suffered enough at the hooves of the Union? Come now, we live in a time of war; we need to take life to save it.

Twilight sighed. “You’re right, the Union has gone too far. You may launch the rocket, Casimir.”

“I feel you should get the honors, highness.”

“Very well.” Twilight and friends followed Casimir to the launch control room.

“Go ahead, Twilight. Push the button.” Twilight approached the large red button. She felt somewhat nauseous looking at it. She turned her head around to see Casimir smiling at her with expectancy. Twilight turned back to the button and slammed her hoof down on it. Alarms began to sound as the warhead began to emerge from its silo. Twilight and friends watched with Casimir as the missile left the base and was launched at Fort Wilhelm. They watched and stared in terror as the missile made contact with its target. Seconds later they gazed at the husk of the fort.

All of them were silent until Casimir broke the silence. “We should check to see if any survived. Or if anything useful survived.”

“OK,” Twilight said with uncertainty. “Stay here girls. I’ll be back soon.” None of Twilight’s friends had any real objections to this. Twilight, accompanied by Casimir and a division of Gryphon troops, made their way to what was left of the fort. The two disembarked from their barge and began looking around at the destruction. The place looked as though it had been hit by the apocalypse. All around was scorched earth and buildings; nothing was left untouched. The smell of burnt flesh and fur filled the air. What bodies had survived were either desecrated to the point where all traits of the troops were burnt away. Twilight was taking in the scene when she heard movement from one of the passages. She watched in horror as three Union troops emerged; mangled, dismembered, and desecrated. Their bodies looked as though they had been through a meat grinder. Ligaments hung alongside torn tissue. Their manes were singed and burnt. One had lost his front leg and collapsed dead. The remaining two continued towards her. Another who had lost his ear and had a visible stomach fell to his knees and died. The final one limped on to Twilight before falling to the ground. Two of the Gryphon soldiers came to his side to aid him but when they tried he waved a blade gauntlet at them shooing them away. He got back onto his hooves and advanced towards Twilight. He fell to his knees in front of her and pulled himself to eye level with her. He stared at her; wide eyed and with blood forming in the corners of his mouth. He spoke not a single word but his stare said the only thing on his mind; one word. “Why?” He then slumped over Twilight’s shoulder and stopped breathing. He was dead.

Twilight threw the body off her and gazed down at it. All of them had lives; and in the blink of an eye they were all gone. These were not criminals or monsters or any form of evil. They were ponies who fought for what they felt was right. Many of them most likely hadn’t been soldiers for long. They had families that would now wait forever for their return. Twilight felt she was going to lose her lunch when she felt a claw on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault.” Twilight looked up at Heinrich. “I came when I saw the missile get launched. Casimir said he had you push the button. I want it to be very clear that this is not on you.” He wiped a tear from Twilight’s eye. “It takes two monsters to make such an atrocious war. Both equally just. Both equally determined. Both equally evil in their own ways. At least they’re gone now. We received word that Commissar Petrenko, the one responsible for trying to burn the village, has fled.

“We need to find him,” Twilight persisted. “If we let him go more will die.”

“I’ve had enough of war for one day, Twilight. Plus we don’t even know where he’s going. Chin up, Highness. Many who would have died today now live because of you.

“A…and what about them?” Twilight retorted, pointing at the corpses surrounding them.

“We do the best with what we can, Twilight.”

“It’s not enough.”

“It never is, Highness. It never is.” Heinrich patted Twilight on the back once more before leaving her company.

Twilight stared at the destruction once more before Casimir came to her. “Effective,” he said indifferently.

At hearing this something inside Twilight’s head snapped. “EFFECTIVE!!” She shouted in anger she never knew she had. “YOU’RE INSANE. You don’t have even a shred of remorse or morality, do you?”

“A true scientist refuses to be stopped by petty morality. I have taught myself to feel no pain for others. So to answer your question no; no I don’t.”

“I won’t let something like this happen again,” Twilight said.

“Spoken like a true Alicorn.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tell me, Twilight. If you could shape the world; and need I remind you that you can because of your position, how would you shape it?”

“I would make a world without all this suffering. A world where everyone’s problems would be heard and fixed.”

“Exactly,” Casimir snapped! “That is exactly why I hate you.”

Twilight looked at Casimir with confused eyes. “I…I don’t understand w…why?” Twilight asked.

“Do you know why I hate you? Well I suppose hate is a strong word to use. I hate Celestia and Cadence because of something more personal. You I just detest because of what you are.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked. A royal?”

“No, I don’t care if you’re a royal. What I hate is Alicorns.”

“Why?”

“Because they all make the world more perfect.” Twilight looked at Casimir, confused. “In that perfect world of yours, let me ask you, what role is there for a scientist like me? I thought about that for a long time and the answer I came up with was; nothing. NOT ONE THING. Don’t you see? For a stallion of science like me perfection is a dead end -- a condition of hopelessness where the world sees our irrelevance and tells us; ‘we don’t NEED you anymore’. If something is truly perfect THEN THAT’S IT!!! There’s no room for improvement, for imagination. I despise perfection and so I despise you. When I first came to Equestria I had no idea the Alicorns even existed. When I saw them I felt absolutely frightened. If such a being existed why would ponies come to a scientist to make their lives better when there’s a being of perfection they can look to. You aren’t like an ordinary royal. You aren’t even like the noble royals that care for their citizens. You help EVRYONE. You remind me of my Father, Twilight. I never even got to tell him… why I never told him I loved him… why I always fought with him. He frightened me Twilight. All he wanted was to save the lives of others and while I admired him for that, the truth is, his actions would have made me a nobody. My only true purpose was to make Science and in my case the Science of war. You remember don’t you? You relived that day like you said. On that day a peace treaty was made for both the Caels and Uralian’s. You and Peryite want to save this world; in different ways maybe but the goal is still the same. You don’t have the beggar come to you and plead for a bit, NO. You go to the beggar and ask him if he wants a coin purse. If you make your perfect world then I will lose all purpose in life. I have seen what happens to scholars and artists when they become obsolete. Once-great Stallions and mares become drunkards, bums, and addicts remembered by no one. They are spat upon and those who once worshiped them, viewed as lazy good for nothing wastes. It’s not as though they want this, it’s just that they are so mortified they don’t see reason to go on living. They slowly travel down a path of self destruction until they reach their demise. I will not become one of them. Every step you make towards that perfect world is another knot tied in my noose. I know it’s not your fault that you became what you are. But the fact remains that your very existence fills me with fear.”

Twilight stared Casimir down for about a twenty seconds before taking in all he said. “Is this why you refuse to call any of the princesses ‘highness’?”

“Indeed, Twilight.”

“Casimir?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask a favor of you?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m worried about my brother.”

“You want me to check up on him, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I guess I have other weapons to test. Very well, I will send them over to Gryphonholm.”

“Thank you.” With that Twilight walked back to the barge.

As he watched her leave Casimir said under his breath, “You would have made an excellent subject nine, Twilight. Perhaps I might still get the chance to experiment on you. If only you could understand the true purpose of the augmentation program. Only eight candidates were ever tested. Of them only one survived. The program was meant to find a way to save billions if not trillions of lives if not limited to ponies only. Science has and always will be trial and error and this experiment was no exception. Still though, I wonder -- would you be willing to give all you have to save lives? Even if those you are trying to save are already dead?”

As Twilight flew back to the base her thoughts turned to her brother. “I wonder how he’s doing.”

In Gryphonholm, Shining Armor lay motionless in a fountain filled with three inches of blood and corpses of Gryphon and Equestrian troops alike. Union infantry transports rode by as the soldiers inside killed any survivors, and smiled as the surveyed the scene

Comments

[Final fantasy forever]

6207591

Thank you my friend

Also I can take criticism so long as its valid and not just heinous bashing.

As for location. There are many locations which one did you want me to elaborate on?

PS if you like it there's a small button you can click near the top that shows you did.