Harmony's Wrath

by hahatimeforponies

Fealty

Thump. Something was stirring. Thump. Something big. Thump. Something angry. Crash. Calvade jumped back in panic from the tree she was just swinging on, and it crashed to the ground under the foot of something, something that levelled trees like mere shrubs. For a brief moment, both her and her gryphon adversaries were united in terror as they scrambled away and looked up at the colossal, scarlet dragon that had just barged on to the battlefield. The din of battle began to subside as the combatants gazed up at this new factor in the combat equation. As another figure revealed itself, the terror began to drain from one side, increasingly filled with bravado, only to add to that of the other; a grin crept across Rose's face as a flowing set of pale green robes, a soft pink mane and a pair of pastel yellow wings revealed themselves on the dragon's head.

"Wingscale..." she whispered, staggering back on to her hooves. She cheered as she backed out of the way, allowing the Beastmistress of the Everfree Forest to go to work.

Meanwhile, Dawn was not leading the charge into battle. The militia's unicorns were spread out among the forest, backing up their non-magical allies with covering spells and healing, leaving her without a unit to lead. However, she could tell that something was afoot. Bolt's frantic fleeing from the city, the beacon, the sudden appearance of the horde from nowhere... there was something she was missing. Under the cover of battle, with the guards scrambling able-bodied ponies to arms, she had no problem entering the city of Canterlot and investigating what Spectra had been running from. Before she could get very far, she was yanked into a side alley.

"Hey, what thmff!" A finger was pressed to her mouth. She looked to her side. Corundum had pulled her from the street.

"I got the same idea you did and ran ahead. The Priestess was stabbed in the palace courtyard."

"Do you think..."

"It's not impossible it was Spectra. I haven't been able to get close enough to the body to investigate any further." The Baroness peered around the corner to survey the scene. Mass panic and delirium, and frantic conscription in the streets. "They're still on the lookout for you. Stick with me."

"... I've got an idea. Whatever spell you're using to hide yourself and get around, I can boost it. We should be able to get into the palace undetected and get close to the body." Corundum gave the street one last look, before turning back to Dawn and nodding. With a brief flash of light, the two unicorns were rendered invisible and silent to all but each other. They sprinted to the palace, any traces of their hoofsteps removing themselves after a moment or two.

The body had been hastily cleared inside, a trail of blood making it easy to follow - it lead from the courtyard to the hall, where the body lay, squarely in the middle. A brass dagger lay beside the corpse, smeared in congealing blood. Dawn instantly recognised it as gryphon-made, based on similarity to the spear shown earlier. Tell me she didn't...

---

Outside, the pegasi had begun to settle into a patrol, receiving fewer and fewer assaults from the gryphons. This sense of security - watching a dragon terrorise the ground-bound forces - took them all the more by surprise when a renewed assault came, not from the ground below them, but the air above them - a cohort had splintered from the main group to flank the pegasi. Spectra was stunned and sent spiralling to the ground, and crashed at the base of the wall. She was not severely injured from the fall, but when she rolled over to look up at what had downed her, her assailant had made themselves very obvious - a large gryphon pinned her where she lay, a gilded trident stuck in the ground, just inches from her head.

"Aurum!"

"Well, well! Small world after all, Spectra." she taunted. The pegasus just seethed, her injured body unable to properly throw the bulkier gryphon off. "Y'know, my offer still stands. I'm accomodating like that."

"It'll be the only thing left of you standing when I get through with you!"

"Ah-ah-ahhh, I don't think you're in the position of strength here. Just think about your options for a moment. You could join me, or I could slice you open right here. Or even better! Rip your wings off feather by feather and watch you suffer life on the ground like those other mules." Spectra just growled through narrowed eyes. "Well? I don't have all day, an answer would be go-"

"Don't even think about it." a voice called out from the side. Aurum's attention was immediately grabbed by the flat ultimatum, and the sound of a fuse. Her eyes widened, and she immediately threw herself into the air, putting a yard or so between herself and Spectra, only just enough room for a rocket to whizz through and explode on a tree in the distance, igniting the dry leaves. Once clear, the pegasus rolled away to the side, giving the most relieved grin of her life at Diana, before taking off into the sky once more. Diana was already stuffing another firework into the tube mounted on her shoulder, pouting and determined, glaring daggers at Aurum. Cursing, the gryphon turned to the earth pony to deal with her. However, the sound of another fuse burning made her think twice, and she took off after Bolt.

Spectra's bruises made her much slower than she would have liked, and it wasn't particularly long before she felt a gryphon claw grasp around her hoof, and she was pulled into a spin. With two rotations' wind-up, Aurum flung the pegasus to the nearest wall. Fortunately for Bolt, it wasn't a wall she was going to meet at high speed, but a large window - unfinished stained glass. In a moments' quick thinking, she tossed her spear ahead of her to break the pane and lessen the injury from the impact.

---

Suddenly, the very spear Dawn was thinking of entered the scene; it crashed through the pane of glass at the back of the room, where the window was still being repaired. It whistled between the two hidden unicorns, missing their heads by inches, before sticking in the carpet on the floor. Soon after, its owner followed - the cyan blue pegasus careering through the window and skidding along the ground, coming to a halt with her nose just in front of the Priestess' body. The unicorns uncloaked, bemused expressions on their faces.

"You better have one damn good explanation, Bolt." Dawn glared. It took Bolt a moment to piece together what was going on here as she picked herself up.

"The- it wasn't me!"

"Just consider the evidence against you." Corundum interrupted. "You were last seen fleeing from the direction of the palace with guards in pursuit, moments after the beacon went off. The murder weapon was this." She levitated the bloody blade up to eye level. "A gryphon dagger. One you could easily have received with that spear you nearly killed us with just now when you went up north a week ago." Spectra was dumbstruck. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she didn't have any hard evidence to the contrary.

"B-b Hornblende!"

"Sounds a lot like a scapegoat to me." Dawn butted in. "Unless she's gotten much better at magic since I last saw her, then I doubt she'd be able to pull off the spells necessary to get out of here." With the two unicorns unrelenting in their accusations, Bolt sighed, her options quickly exhausting. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"... If... if this is what you've convinced yourselves of, and you won't take my word for it, then... I guess you can kill me here." She pulled herself up and sat before the body, sniffing back a tear. "I won't run." The unicorns looked at each other for a moment, only for their deliberation to be interrupted when a terrifying white and auburn form swept in the window and landed with a firm thud on all-fours. Bolt dove across the body and reclaimed her spear, missing the gryphon's landing by inches. Aurum looked up with murderous glee in her eyes. Wasting no time, she had charged the three ponies in the middle of the room. Spectra easily backed up to the top of the hall, but the two unicorns were not so lucky. Dawn took a claw to the shoulder, throwing her across the floor, and charge knocked the Baroness flat on her back. Dawn was winded against the wall and struggling to rise to her hooves. Eyeing an opportunity, Aurum scooped up Corundum held her by the neck, giving her a blow to the head sufficient to stun her. She then turned to the roof holding her hostage aloft.

"Last chance, pegasus." she screamed. "Skewer this bitch or get out of my sight." Dawn gasped, crawling from cover, watching in horror as Bolt lowered from the ceiling, rearing back the spear. She recoiled behind her cover again. She couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't want to either. She wouldn't allow herself to watch, but she couldn't fully withdraw herself from it - nothing would block out the blood-curdling scream that followed. However, the ensuing sound turned her conclusion on its head. "My wing!" She opened her eyes to find the Baroness intact - if, still unconscious and dropped to the ground - and the spear embedded in Aurum's right wing, blood beginning to dribble from it.

"I missed your head." Spectra replied, deadpan, as she lowered to the ground. Aurum let rip a brutal roar as she pulled the spear free, and chucked it haphazardly at the pegasus. It just clattered along the ground ineffectually. Bolt kept her eyes locked on Aurum.

"You'll get yours, mule!" the gryphon yelled as she leapt back through the window, barely getting enough lift to carry the jump off properly with just the one wing.

Dawn scrambled to her hooves, and ran up to Bolt; not in attack, but in something of a tearful, pouncing hug.

"I'm... I'm sorry I doubted you..." Dawn sniffed. Spectra inhaled, smirking stoically.

"Don't worry, you couldn't have known any better..."

"What happened? What did she mean by 'last chance'? And... the guards? Why were you running away?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there." Bolt protested. Corundum was just beginning to come to and pick up some of this. "One thing at a time. Okay, last week when I went to find something from the north to bring back, I landed in this town that was being attacked. I went in to help, but I was stopped and Aurum cornered me, and, well, she offered to let me join her." Dawn went wide-eyed. "Of course, I spat it back in her face. And then just now, outside, she came up to me with the same offer. So I can see why you might have doubted me on that, since... since I didn't say anything."

"And the Priestess?"

"I was there when she was killed, but I was only watching. I sneaked in to see what the Priestess' plans were when Hornblende burst in and started whining some load of garbage about how you 'tried to kill her'. And then, the moment the Priestess went out the door, she stabbed her in the back and sent up the signal. I tried to take her down right there, but she got away, and that's when I had to get out... which... means she's still out there!"

"We'll take care of her, you've got pegasi to lead, and Aurum is getting away too!"

"Right!" Bolt grinned, regaining some of her composure as she scooped up the spear and made for the window.

Comments

[catrianheir]

Hellz yeah!! Mr. Dragon joining the fray was the last thing I expected.

[Therizzen]

Geez, I have come to realize that I am only on lowly chapter nine. Here there are thirty four chapters and a sequel, my God, this is all that will be happening tonight.

You sir, have skill my friend

[Super_Big_Mac]

102088 I shall call him Thorn.