Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 1:10.1 - Frost

Chapter 1:10.1 – Frost

Rows of centaurs and bat-ponies were marshalled in the Great Disembarking Hall, the bright sunlight streaming in through the high windows illuminating their shining weapons and armor. Massive pillars held up the soaring ceiling, their bases adorned with regal statues of the previous great leaders of the White Procession. The stony faces stared down on the assembled soldiers below as they presented their gear for a final inspection, as if daring them to meet their lofty standards.

There is Knight-Commander Rössinän, who gave the White Procession its name and established the title of Banner-Lord, the great wizard noted as he trotted through the room, and Emperor Træstus the Venturer, who led the White Procession personally rather than leave its command in lesser hands. When will we live up to their standards again? Duke Bittræen has assembled a sizable force here, but we only fill a corner of this magnificent hall. This place was built with much grander goals in mind than pillaging Equestrian towns.

“Knight-Commander Bittræen,” the wizard addressed his commander in the centaur tongue as he approached and gave a bow, “It is a great honor to serve under you as you personally lead our troops to victory.”

“We have known each other for many years. Let us speak plainly, Nattalïer,” Bittræen said after waving away the commanders around him so he could have a moment to speak with the wizard alone, “You know as well as I that this is no noble mission we are undertaking. We are no more than bandits and marauders when our purpose is to be conquerors.”

“Of course, but one must comply with the Emperor’s orders,” Nattalïer replied matter-of-factly.

“You say that as if there is some room for interpretation,” Bittræen said, his eyes narrowing, “I know you share my disapproval of my brother’s decision, but be careful that you do not speak treason. I may not agree with the Emperor’s vision for the White Procession, but I will not stand idly by if one seeks to harm him.”

“I was merely stating a fact,” Nattalïer waved off the accusation, “Of course there is no way around the Emperor’s orders.”

The Knight-Commander harrumphed in resignation and looked away, surveying the assembled troops. “I assume you came here for some reason other than to compliment me on leading this expedition personally. Out with it.”

“I was wondering about our target. Why Ponieville again so soon?”

“I understand that your previous expedition was cut short when you allowed my son to be mortally wounded,” Bittræen said critically, still avoiding eye contact, “While I lead the main attack on Cant’r Laht, you will complete your appointed task of gathering food from the fields around the town, avoiding Ponieville itself and especially this wizard that gave you such a fright.”

Nattalïer nearly recoiled at the blow. The memory of that unicorn wizard forcing him to retreat still stung. I am the greatest wizard in the Empire, but how can I be blamed for failure under such conditions? Serving under an inexperienced commander—a whelp granted his first command by his father—and given only a token force. Furthermore, I was given no opportunity to prepare properly for such an encounter; it is truly the scriers that ought to be blamed for the failure, for they are the ones who failed to inform me that a powerful wizard had taken up residence in Ponieville.

“I’m sure we will be successful this time, my lord,” Nattalïer said, giving a slight bow. We’d bloody well better be, or I’ll never hear the end of it. I’m better prepared this time, and I’ll have some of the Procession’s finer wizards at my side.

“Be sure that you do. I am giving you full control of the forces assaulting Ponieville. You will also have Count Ræalis to command and coordinate the troops according to your orders,” Bittræen said as he continued to survey the troops, “You are dismissed.”

Giving another bow, Nattalïer walked away from the duke. The wizards under his command were already preparing to open the rift when he returned to his force. After tucking his beard into his armor, he pulled on his heavy gauntlets before fitting his helmet onto his head, the padded interior sliding snugly over his horns. This time things will be different. And, regardless of what the Knight-Commander said, if I see you this time foul wizard, I will destroy you.

“Open the rift!”

***

Twilight Sparkle galloped through Ponieville toward the Mayoral Keep. The moment she’d felt a tear between worlds open, she’d called for Spike to bring her every volume of Hearthfire Incantations she had at the laboratory. Ponieville had still seemed normal when she’d left with the heavy tomes in her saddlebags, and she’d nearly turned back when she saw the blizzard engulfing Cant’r Laht in the distance. Then, she’d felt a second rift open, and minutes later snowflakes began to float overhead. The sorceress had picked Spike up to increase her pace and navigate through the ponies who were now also making their way to the nearest fortified location after realizing the weather was not quite right for late summer.

As the Mayoral Keep’s gates came into sight, its bells began to toll out a warning. A large group of ponies were crowding into the keep’s courtyard, and Twilight knew she would never get through at a decent pace, so she focused on a spell and vanished from the packed street. A moment later, she and Spike reappeared in the Mayoral Keep’s great hall, which fortunately few ponies had entered yet. Mayor Mare stood at the end of the hall, speaking with her numerous officials, and Twilight approached her purposefully.

“Ah, madam sorceress,” Mayor Mare said as she detached herself from her lackeys, “I don’t know whether I should welcome you for coming to our protection here, or ask you to go someplace else so that my keep does not face the same fate as Golden Oak’s laboratory after your last run-in with the White Procession.”

“Mayor Mare, if I were you, I would welcome the help of a powerful sorceress when she comes to you, not insult her,” Twilight said haughtily as Spike dismounted, “I intend to place protective wards over the Mayoral Keep that will guard everypony within not only from attacks by centaurs, but also from freezing to death if the fires go out. However, if it is your wish, I could exempt your personal chambers from magical protection so as not to provoke the White Procession into attacking them.”

“That won’t be necessary. What I said before was only in jest,” Mayor Mare said, but though her tone changed to one of merriment, the expression in her eyes remained the same, “The personal protégé of Celestia is, of course, welcome here anytime. I hope I did not give you the wrong impression.” That’s right, you’d best remember that you’re merely an appointed official, and the right word from me to Celestia could end your term of office in an instant.

Spike held Twilight’s books open as she carefully cast the wards around the Mayoral Keep. When Rainbow Dash arrived a few minutes later, she set her to work drawing runes in vital spots around the keep that Twilight couldn’t reach without flying or levitating. As she was putting the finishing touches on the fortress’s protection, she felt another tear in the world, this one behind her within the great hall. Townsponies fled in panic, and Twilight spun around to face the portal opening behind her. Snow blew through the blazing gap, but it was not centaurs and windigos that stepped through the portal, but three ponies.

In the center was a wine-coated unicorn stallion wearing a royal purple cloak with scarlet trim over leather travelling attire dyed indigo. Leather straps holding pouches and vials of potions hung over his body, and a spellbook hanging by a hook through its spine completed his attire. The stallion had shaved off half of his scarlet mane, allowing the other half to grow out and obscure the right side of his face, and his tail was likely cut short since its end did not protrude from under his cloak.

To the stallion’s right was a sky-blue unicorn mare with a white mane pulled into a braid hanging down beside her head. She was brushing snow from her white robes, which were quite similar to the set that Twilight had ordered to wear around Ponieville. She also had a scarf embroidered in magical runes wrapped around her neck. At her side was a leather case, on the strap of which were several metal rings with cards hanging from them.

On the stallion’s left was another unicorn mare, this one with a cream-colored coat and a strawberry mane. She wore traditional sorceress robes dyed a bright green and across her back was a long wooden staff with a leather loop halfway down its length that would allow her to wield it with a foreleg. On her head was perched a wide-brimmed conical hat that sorceresses usually only wore when attending a meeting of the Lodge of Sorceresses.

“Penumbra Redallion; Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre. My companions: Amaranth Eeethok and Solith de Perth,” the stallion introduced himself and the ponies to his right and left respectively, “Celestia requested that we lend Ponieville aid.”

Twilight Sparkle knew that it had truly been just that: a request that they had accepted. Celestia had held the title of Matron of Sorceresses in Cant’r Laht since she’d taken the city by force centuries earlier and forced the then-Matron of Sorceresses to step down. Technically Celestia outranked every other mage in the Dominions of Cant’r Laht, but sorceresses and sorcerers tended to value their independence. Though bearing a title akin to a unit of Cant’r Laht’s military, mage cadres were independent organizations of wizards specializing in combat magic. They were formed voluntarily by their members, they undertook tasks decided upon by their members, and they answered to nopony but themselves. So, when Penumbra said that Celestia had requested they lend Ponieville aid, it meant that the most powerful sorceress in the world had genuinely made a plea for them to help and they had chosen to do so.

“I appreciate the assistance,” Twilight addressed the cadre’s leader before Mayor Mare could shuffle over and enter a conversation with them, “Were you not needed in Cant’r Laht?”

“The Matron of Sorceresses was confident that Can’t Laht is adequately protected. Evidently, she was less confident that her prized pupil could protect this hamlet,” Penumbra said haughtily.

Twilight frowned. Does he have a problem with me? No, it’s probably nothing personal, just a typical interaction between spellcasters. Then, why does it feel so personal? Maybe it’s that perpetual sneer he seems to have stuck on his face.

“You should not take it as a criticism of your abilities,” Solith said after Twilight was silent for several seconds, though her voice seemed to lack any real warmth, “Your skill means little when put into this context. The magic you wield is, perhaps, not entirely appropriate when dealing with the White Procession’s sorcery, not to mention that I can sense ten wizards of note surrounding us and there is only one of you.”

“So, you came here to help. What is your plan?” Twilight asked.

“To fight the White Procession, of course,” Penumbra replied, still sneering, “Now that we have met with you, nothing is keeping us from our mission.”

“Excellent. I have finished placing wards around the Mayoral Keep, so I shall accompany you,” Twilight announced.

“Hold on,” Amaranth objected, “Celestia wanted you to be safe from harm, and I cannot allow-”

“Let her come,” Penumbra interrupted, silencing the sorceress instantly, “She is a grown mare, and an accomplished sorceress as well. Besides, the safest place for her would be alongside us, unless you doubt your own magical prowess?”

“Hardly,” Amaranth scoffed.

“Right then, let us away into the storm,” Penumbra said, turning toward the great hall’s exit, “The White Procession will not wait forever.”

***

The darkened landscape from the storm clouds overhead and the violently blowing snow made it difficult to see very far ahead, yet the ponies pushed on. Rainbow Dash had managed to work her way into the group, making it a party of five. Pinkamena had also wanted to tag along, but Twilight had managed to convince her to stay behind in the Mayoral Keep to keep ponies’ spirits up. Navigating through the snow-covered landscape could have been much more unpleasant, especially after leaving Ponieville itself, had it not been for Solith’s magic. As soon as they stepped out into the blizzard from the Mayoral Keep, Solith projected a protective bubble around the group that kept the worst of the weather from getting in.

The White Procession’s wizards were arranged in four groups around Ponieville, and the group was currently heading toward the northernmost pair. Amaranth seemed to have the best idea of where they were and was leading the way, drawing a card from the pouch at her side every few minutes and whispering a sentence in the Language of the Horns to it before sending it flying into the blizzard. Occasionally a centaur could be seen galloping in the distance or a bat-pony flying above, but so long as they didn’t notice the group, they were avoided. There was no point in wasting time and energy fighting the unmagical troops when the only way to undo the White Procession’s magic was to counteract the wizards’ spells or take them out.

As they got closer to their target, a trio of centaurs did notice the group and charged in. Solith’s barrier was meant only to protect against the White Procession’s weather magic, and the attackers were able to gallop through unimpeded. Rainbow Dash’s sword met the blade of one as Twilight prepared a spell to cast on him.

“Ye seni cavan’r affle!^[1]” Twilight chanted, placing her hoof in the semicircle of runes she’d drawn in the snow while the centaurs were approaching.

At such a close range, and with a stationary target, there was no possible way for her to miss. The lance of magical energy shot through the centaur’s torso, burning away his lower heart. As the centaur began to shake and collapse, Rainbow Dash swung her sword around and thrust the point up under the centaur’s helmet and into his neck.

“Bei misa oro Ye’r fecorar!^[2]” Penumbra yelled nearby, and flames surrounded the centaur nearest to him.

The fire covered the centaur’s body and sought out the gaps in his armor, burning him to death in seconds, while he screamed in agony the whole time. Amaranth threw a card at the hooves of the centaur charging Solith, and an explosion halted him in his tracks. Before he could recover, she drew another card and whispered an incantation to it, transforming it into a crystalline scythe. The centaur backpedaled as the weapon whistled through the air, but the blade still managed to cut a gash through his breastplate and chest. As he staggered, the scythe swung around again, this time vertically, and the tip of the blade punched through the armor between his forelegs and out his back. The centaur slumped to the ground as the scythe vanished into thin air.

The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre was reputed to be extremely skilled at what they did, yet it still impressed Twilight how they were able to cast their respective spells with such ease. They act as if this were a normal occurrence for them, something they do every day. I’ve certainly been practically applying my magic much more often since I’ve moved to Ponieville, but this is something else. These three have been making a living off adventures like I’ve been having with my friends long before we ever met each other.

“Not far now,” Amaranth announced a few seconds after throwing a card into the blizzard.

The ponies slowed as they neared a frosted copse. Shadows moving among the trees broadcasted the centaurs’ presence. Penumbra silently ordered a halt, and the group set about preparing for the fight ahead. Rainbow Dash applied poisonous oils to her blades, Amaranth reshuffled the deck of cards in their case, pinning a few choice ones to her robes for easy access, and Solith magically removed a ball of resin from her staff—which now projected the protective shield—freeing up her staff to aid in casting other spells. Twilight flipped through the volume of Hearthfire Incantations she’d brought along, looking for a good spell for fighting the White Procession that she was also familiar with, and Penumbra flipped through his own tattered book of spells, though it wasn’t any grimoire that Twilight recognized .

Once they were ready, Penumbra took the lead. Magical energy built up around him as he crossed his forelegs into symbols, then rapidly swung them apart to release the spell. An enormous fireball appeared out of thin air and rocketed toward the copse, exploding as it struck the trees. As the smoke was blown away, the extent of the destruction was revealed. A wide path between the ponies and the copse had been cleared of snow and scorched more thoroughly than any wildfire could accomplish. The first few rows of trees were completely gone, disintegrated into ash, and plenty more charred trunks remained beyond them. Smoking pieces of armor were all that remained of the nearest centaurs, and others had been thrown by the explosion and were badly burnt.

“Ætö sïnettöl vittaï mïevirun!^[3]” a centaur yelled a warning somewhere, but by then the ponies were charging in.

The windigos responded first, galloping through the air, and meeting Rainbow Dash’s blade as she slashed the beasts in half. Two centaur wizards and eight soldiers came into view as Solith’s magic nullified the storm. Amaranth transformed a card into a longbow and shot an arrow of fire through the nearest soldier’s breastplate.

“Hætten sïnettölï æseï!” one of the wizards yelled another warning before shaking his staff at the other, “Hü vez lïunarï tröyö!^[4]”

The second wizard raised his staff and held out his free hand, a glow surrounding his palm. The centaur soldiers quickly assembled into a line as crystalline shields of ice began to form on their gauntlets.

“Cant’r majia ita Ye’r atoc!^[5]” Solith incanted as she lowered her staff.

A beam of lightning burst from the staff’s end and struck the icy shield of one of the centaurs. The ice cracked, but did not shatter, and the lightning was dispersed across the surface of the shields as the centaurs stood in an impenetrable line.

“Eren’r oxelle soretta Ye’r mathis!^[6]” Twilight called, and behind the centaur lines the earth rose up through the frost in great spikes, punching through the armor of the wizard maintaining the shield spell.

The shields did not disappear immediately, but began to crack under the pressure from Solith’s lightning. As one of them finally shattered, Penumbra threw a vial over the centaurs and shattered it with his magic to disperse the liquid within over several of them, which was not a challenge since they were so close to each other. The moment Solith’s lightning touched the mixture, it ignited and three centaurs went down as they were simultaneously burned and electrocuted. The remaining centaur soldiers shied away, their line broken.

The voice of the non-impaled wizard rang out through the storm, booming in a new and unrecognizable tongue. Around the ponies’ protective barrier, the wind began to pick up and circle violently. A cyclone of blowing snow spun faster and faster around them, slowly constricting. The mage cadre fired off spells into the storm, but they either missed their unseen target completely or dissipated as they passed through the sorcerous gale.

Twilight Sparkle quickly ran to the edge of Solith’s barrier and began to draw a magic circle surrounding all five ponies in the snow. A centaur appeared without warning, charging through the constricting wall of snow as if it had no effect on him. Amaranth barely managed to throw out a card to conjure a shield in time to stop the swing of the centaur’s axe from splitting her head in two.

“Bei urga nof otha Ye’r corar’i!^[7]” Twilight yelled from the center of her magic circle the moment she finished drawing it.

The lines of the rune glowed momentarily before a wall of flame shot up from the edge. The cylinder of flame quickly mixed with the cylinder of blowing snow and rapidly began to circle. The centaur before Amaranth had been standing half in and half out of Solith’s protective shield when Twilight had cast her spell, and now he was divided in half by the spinning wall of flame. The armor and flesh of his midsection melted, and he quickly lost balance on just his forelegs and fell back into the spinning inferno.

Twilight Sparkle continued to feed energy to her spell, maintaining the flames and pushing back against the centaur wizard’s magic. The two mages warred against each other, the columns of flame and wind towering higher and higher as each sought to break through the other. Despite her frigid surroundings, Twilight began to sweat profusely from the exertion of holding up the spell and pressing against her foe. Eventually, the mages’ spells grew so high that they punched through the clouds and the blue sky could be seen above the ponies’ heads.

“Dash, go!” Twilight managed to force out as she struggled under the weight of her own sorcery.

Reading the sorceress’s intent, Rainbow Dash shot up through the tunnel of spinning flame. After what seemed to Twilight to be an eternity, the pressure lessened and her flames burst through the spinning wall of snow and wind, which was now dissipating. A centaur who had been standing too close screamed as the flames burst free and he was turned to ash, and the two remaining soldiers looked anxiously between the wizard they were supposed to be protecting and the group of mages.

Rainbow Dash was fighting the centaur wizard, though he was proving a troublesome opponent as he parried her swings with his staff. Releasing the staff with one hand, he stretched the palm out toward the Hunter and released a blast of magical energy that sent her tumbling through the snow. Even though the wizard was not under attack anymore, he knew that it wouldn’t last. The pony wizards had gone through his guard so fast that the remaining two soldiers would be dead too soon for him to have time to construct another cyclone. Quickly raising up a barrier of ice to protect himself, he ran over to where the other wizard’s bloody and punctured body was still hanging from the spikes of earth and retrieved the crystal ball hanging around his neck.

“Hü yöngï kænü^[8],” the wizard ordered his pupil to hold off the ponies when he saw that the centaur was still clinging to life.

“Vitta yöngï kænösh, elektæ kæs vitta^[9],” the severely wounded centaur promised his mentor through the blood in his mouth.

As the centaur soldiers were cloven in half by one of Amaranth’s conjured weapons, the lead wizard took off into the blizzard. Solith fired a beam of lightning after him, but the injured wizard reacted quickly enough to raise up a jagged wall of ice to block. An ominous aura swirled around the wizard as the pony mages advanced. With the last of his life he called forth the blood that hadn’t managed to drain from his body, combining it with the blood dripping down the spears of earth and pooling on the ground to form hundreds of spears of frozen blood. The mages dove for cover behind the centaur bodies or conjured up shields as the spears shot out in in all directions.

“Falan otha Rainbow Dash!^[10]” Twilight yelled as she saw that her friend was still lying on the ground, and a magical shield appeared around her body and deflected the frozen blood.

As Solith shifted position, so too did her protective shield, and Twilight rushed over to the Hunter once she was within the barrier. Twilight cleared away the drift that had begun to form over Rainbow Dash and confirmed that she was still alive. The wizard’s spell had temporarily paralyzed her, but it was already wearing off and soon Twilight was able to help her to her hooves.

“Where did he go?” Penumbra asked, looking suspiciously at the blowing snow around them, and Amaranth threw a card into the storm.

“He is headed southeast. He may be trying to meet up with the larger group to the east of Ponieville, which is nearing the Everfree Forest,” she announced a few seconds after throwing the card.

“Solith?” Penumbra asked, looking at the sky now, still sneering.

“I am able to put more pressure on their spell now, but it is still too powerful for us to have a chance of disassembling it,” the sorceress answered as she injected the ball of resin back into her staff.

“One more group, then,” Penumbra said, turning his attention to the southeast.

***

Nattalïer advanced steadily through the storm he’d architected. All in all, the raid was going quite well. Under his command, bat-pony squadrons glided across the landscape, seeking food stores and crops that the magical winter had preserved, not killed. They returned that information to Count Ræalis and his subordinates, who directed squads of centaurs to retrieve the food and return it to the nearest wizard for teleportation to the rift. Nattalïer’s wizards had cooked up a fine storm to keep any ponies from interfering, and though that irked some of the soldiers (who quite enjoyed bringing terror to this realm’s inhabitants), Nattalïer quite preferred it this way.

“Grandmaster Nattalïer!” one of the three wizards under his direct command called out for his attention in the language of Judd Caradain, letting the crystal ball around his neck drop, “Master Turæken has been forced to retreat!”

“Details,” Nattalïer demanded, though he had a suspicion what the answer would be.

“His position was assaulted by four wizards. He was the only survivor and is making his way to us.”

Upon arriving in this world, Nattalïer had immediately sought out and found the wizard that had foiled him during his last visit using his magic. She had been in the heart of Ponieville, and he had begrudgingly obeyed his orders not to seek her out. A short time after that, three new and powerful magical signatures had appeared in Ponieville, and now it seemed the sorcerers had all joined together to attack the White Procession’s wizards. She’s coming here, with help of course, but she’s coming to me just as I’d wished. Still, I can’t afford to let this distract me from my goal, or Duke Bittræen will have my head.

“Grassun, Alivet, take up the southern position,” Nattalïer ordered two of his wizards before turning to the one that had brought him the message of Turæken’s retreat, “Nössus, send word to the west cadre to take up the northern position, and the south cadre to take up the western position. We will face these pony wizards; their duty is to keep the winter in place.”

“Yes, Grandmaster,” Nössus replied before lifting his crystal ball to communicate the orders.

Yes, come to me, wizard of Ponieville. Bring whatever friends you wish; I will be ready for you this time.

***

Through the blowing snow, the landscape was beginning to look familiar to Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash nodded in confirmation as she saw the sorceress examining their surroundings to be sure it wasn’t merely her imagination. They were nearing the Apple homestead now, along with the wizard they’d chased off, judging by how quickly Amaranth responded after throwing her cards into the blizzard.

The homestead appeared quite suddenly, the protective wall rearing out of the snow before them. The gate had been smashed off its hinges, and the wind and snow were not as severe within the enclosure. A large force of centaurs was assembled here, nearly all of them facing toward the mages as they approached. More rushed around from outside of the enclosure and assembled behind them as they entered.

“A trap,” Penumbra swore, preparing to fight.

“You seek to challenge us, ponies,” a voice called out, “A bold move, I must say, though not a wise one.”

The centaur soldiers kept their weapons up, but moved aside to reveal the speaker. Two centaur wizards stood side-by-side, one of them the wizard the ponies had chased away earlier, and the other familiar to Twilight for another reason. Though the centaurs looked remarkably similar in their full-body armors, this one she recalled. His armor was fancier than the set he’d worn three weeks earlier—magical seals and banners were stamped to it and arcane tools hung at his side—but the voice was the same as the wizard who’d challenged Twilight to a duel at Golden Oak’s laboratory.

“Wizard of Ponieville, I’m very pleased that you came,” he addresses the sorceress directly, “Not only so that I can put an end to your ill-fated attempt to counteract our sorcery, but so that I can face you again, on better terms. I doubt you will find me an easy opponent this time.”

“You know this centaur?” Solith asked of Twilight.

“He may have sought me out to duel the last time the White Procession attacked Ponieville,” Twilight admitted.

“Eh, eh, let’s not be too hasty,” the centaur wizard warned, pointing his glowing staff toward the ponies as Solith raised her own staff and Amaranth levitated cards from her pouch and spread them out before her, “Your goal is to protect your fellow ponies, is it not?”

Twilight followed where the wizard was pointing with his free hand, finding it led to the Apples’ farmhouse. Out front, Big McIntosh lay sprawled on the snow, a dropped claymore nearby and a pool of blood forming beneath him. A centaur in gilded armor stood next to him, the tip of his sword pointed at Big Mac’s throat. More centaurs stood around the farmhouse, torches held ready to burn the place down at a command.

“Rebböfettö Ræalis, den vez sïnettölï vittaï mïevuï, hü vez helkintär ïssatö,^[11]” Nattalïer ordered Count Ræalis to kill Big Mac if the mages tried to attack, “If you try to resist, their lives will be lost.”

“You think we are not prepared for collateral damage in order to stop you?” Penumbra laughed dangerously and began gesturing to prepare a spell.

Twilight realized that Penumbra’s challenge to the centaur wizard was no bluff. The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre was ruthless, and they would be willing to sacrifice anything to obtain their objective. She had no doubt that the three wizards beside her would attack, and in the next instant Big McIntosh would be dead, followed by the rest of the Apple family locked in their farmhouse several agonizing minutes later as they were burned alive. The sorceress’s mind raced. and the rest of the world seemed to move in slow motion. There was only one course of action she could take; it was as if it had already been decided for her.

Before Penumbra could send a wall of flame crashing into the centaurs around them, or Solith could slam her staff to the ground and raise shields around their bodies, or Amaranth could send her cards flying to burn through the helmets and skulls of their enemies, Twilight Sparkle teleported into the midst of the centaurs. She appeared next to the centaur holding Big McIntosh hostage, on the opposite side from Big Mac. The instant she arrive, she placed a hoof on the centaur’s armor and poured just enough magical energy into it that the joints bound to each other and Count Ræalis was momentarily immobilized.

“Essoc soretta Ye!^[12]” Twilight yelled while he was still immobile and the surrounding centaurs still didn’t realize what was going on.

Count Ræalis’s sword shifted violently in his hand, spinning around and breaking his fingers. The blade shot out of hand as it tried to fulfill Twilight’s command for it to come to her, and punched through the weak protection of his armpit and through his heart before coming to a stop as the crossguard became stuck. Ræalis collapsed, and all hell broke loose.

The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre fired off their spells, throwing centaurs aside as if they were made of straw. Nattalïer began barking out orders, and Turæken (the wizard they’d chased off earlier) started casting enchantments on the remaining centaur soldiers to improve their resistance to magic. Rainbow Dash charged into the lines of centaurs and wildly attacked with her sword and bombs. Bat-ponies took to the sky with crossbows and began firing down at the ponies. Windigos and rock-hounds charged forth at their handlers’ commands, adding to the chaos of the battlefield. A few seconds after the fighting broke out, the centaurs surrounding the Apple farmhouse remembered their orders to set the home ablaze.

“Mrinessen’r torrisal’i!^[13]” Twilight called out before they could touch their torches to the thatch, and they were encased in ice.

“Ye seni cavan’r seyat’i!^[14]” the sorceress followed up before they could break free, placing her forehooves upon the two rune-covered ribbons she’d thrown on the ground and bombarded two lines of centaurs with magical arrows simultaneously.

As a centaur’s axe crashed down beside her, Twilight jumped to Big Mac and teleported them both out of danger. They appeared within the farmhouse, and the sorceress saw Applejack, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Fluttershy in the instant before she teleported back out to the battlefield. She reappeared atop the back of the centaur that had tried to kill her, and immediately cast a spell that caused the earth to drag him down and swallow him up. Stepping across the ground as it closed over the centaur, Twilight surveyed the chaos around her.

Rainbow Dash had taken to the sky to fight the bat-ponies and reduce the strain their crossbow shots were putting on Solith’s protective spells. Penumbra, much like Twilight, had teleported out of the centaur encirclement and was wreaking havoc among their lines with his offensive spells. Solith had allowed her weather-blocking spell to fall now that the centaur wizards were doing her work for her, but she was still maintaining protective shields around the fighting ponies. In addition to that, she was engaged in a duel with the wizard they’d followed here, and the two were firing spells back and forth at each other and attempting to nullify their opponent’s sorcery before it reached them.

Near Solith, trying to avoid being struck by the spells of the duel, was Amaranth. Piles of dead centaurs surrounded her, yet more advanced her way. She had not managed to get through the fight unscathed; one of her forelegs had been badly cut, and though she had a hoof clamped over the wound to staunch the bleeding, it wasn’t the perfect solution. Amaranth threw a card in the direction of the charging centaurs and it transformed into a pony-shaped figurine and clattered to the ground. Next, the sorceress cast another spell on the figurine and it grew into massive golem of volcanic rock. As it took on the centaurs, breathing fire at them and forcing them back, Amaranth was able to patch herself up.

Twilight marveled at the feat. Remarkable! She’s bypassed the laws of artifact compression by first compressing the golem and then transforming it into a card. It may take more skill and energy to do, but decompression is significantly cheaper and more stable. The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre really is something.

“Cavan’r majia thula Ye assi cavan’r falan!^[15]” Twilight called out, encasing herself in another layer of magical protection.

“Ye seni cavan’r essoc!^[16]” she incanted after throwing down another rune-covered ribbon from her saddlebags, and a blade of pure magic sliced through the centaurs approaching her.

Five pillars of earth shot up around the sorceress, and the ground beneath her shifted. She teleported away an instant before the hand of soil constricted into a fist. Immediately, she sought out where the spell had originated and spotted the lead wizard staring at her from across the battlefield. Nattalïer reached up with his free hand and removed the faceplate of his helmet, revealing his grotesquely flat centaur face, largely hairless and with a small pink nose instead of a muzzle. His eyes flashed as he attached the faceplate to his belt and drew his sword.

“Cant’r majia tanya Ye’r fecorar!^[17]” Twilight called, and lightning lanced down from the sky to strike Nattalïer, but the centaur merely raised his staff and captured the lightning before redirecting it at Twilight.

“This is my storm. Do not think to use it against me,” he warned as the sorceress rolled through the snow to escape the lightning.

Twilight threw a ribbon to the ground and prepared to cast a spell, but before she completed the incantation, Nattalïer struck his staff against the ground and a line of flames lanced out and incinerated the ribbon. Twilight retaliated by returning a line of flames that looped back around as the centaur sidestepped them. Spinning his staff around, the centaur coated the ground around him in a layer of ice, extinguishing the flames.

“Eren nof onon, leya nof ita senarey’i’r kalar!^[18]” Twilight incanted, and the earth to either side of her rose up into pony-shaped mound.

“Falan othat Ye!^[19]” she summoned a shield around herself to deflect the lance of magical energy that Nattalïer fired at her.

Quickly, the sorceress wrapped rune-covered ribbons around the bodies of the dirt statues next to her. With a word, the statues were brought to life as crude golems. Twilight pointed them in the direction of her adversary, and the golems shambled toward Nattalïer, picking up discarded centaur weapons in their mouths as they went. Nattalïer charged forward, decapitating both golems with a swing of his sword before bringing the blade down upon Twilight’s crackling shield.

“I expected better from you than half-baked creations, wizard of Ponieville,” Nattalïer taunted as he forced his staff through the shield.

Before he could cast any spells, the centaur wizard was struck by a tackle from one of Twilight’s golems. The other aimed a swing at his head as he rose up and Nattalïer parried with his sword. Both golems charged the centaur, both now fully restored. The centaur cast a spell that froze the golems solid before smashing them to bits with the end of his staff and a hoof. To his shock, the pieces reassembled, the ribbon glowing slightly as the strands reattached.

“It is an enchantment of my own creation,” Twilight Sparkle caught Nattalïer’s attention from where she’d retreated to safety, “The golems I have applied it to may not be the best, but you will find them difficult to defeat all the same.”

As the golems attacked again, Nattalïer surrounded them with an inferno, but the flames only seemed to harden their forms, and the magical ribbons wrapped around them remained untouched. He sought to break them, burn them, crush them, yet nothing seemed to work. Every time he struck the golems down, they returned to their previous form and attacked him again. Finally, he melted them into pools of muddy water, and retrieved the ribbons from the puddles before they could reconstitute themselves. To ensure the ribbons wouldn’t come into contact with the dirt and bring the golems back to life, he wrapped them around his hands and sought out Twilight, who’d been out of his sight for far too long.

“Ye seni Mer Isroc’i’r Dorentai!^[20]” Twilight incanted, and the long, blade-covered chain rose up from the runes she’d drawn while Nattalïer was preoccupied.

Not this again! Nattalïer poured energy into his sword, lengthening it and causing the blade’s edges to glow a golden color. As the enchanted chain swung for him, he sliced through the links with his sword, managing to deflect most attacks before they hit him. A large portion of the chain, cut off from the end Twilight was wielding, returned the raw magical energy that drifted away.

Twilight was not finished, though. She had been busy while her golems distracted the wizard. A small cloud beneath the main cloud layer hovered over Nattalïer, and the snow it released sizzled when they struck his armor, marring the surface. To protect his face, the centaur replaced his faceplate, just in time for the snow to turn to hail, the stones of which managed to burn though his armor completely in some places and strike the leather layer and flesh underneath. Calling upon the storm he’d conjured, the wizard used harsh winds to tear the poisonous cloud apart and destroy it.

Off to one side, Nattalïer saw Turæken fall beneath the combined onslaught of spells from Solith and Amaranth. I am locked in a stalemate, but if two more of these wizards join the fight, it will become a losing battle for me. The battle was also going extremely poorly elsewhere. A legion of highly trained centaurs and bat-ponies was still nothing against a cadre of wizards, even if they were lowly ponies. If I stay any longer, the losses will be unacceptable. I’ve wasted too much time here anyway; I must turn my full attention to the mission, regardless of my desires to crush this pony wizard who has foiled my attacks twice now.

“Vittaï menüttö kattaï! Vittaï sattö sæ nessissæ kattaï!^[21]” Nattalïer sounded the retreat, magically augmenting his voice to ensure all his troops heard him.

“Ye seni cavan’r seyat!^[22]” Twilight yelled, not intending to let the wizard escape so easily.

Nattalïer summoned up a magical shield to absorb the swarm of arrows that assaulted him. Once Twilight’s spell subsided, he pointed his staff at the Apple farmhouse. The entire building vanished, only to reappear in the sky where it seemed to hover for a few seconds before beginning to plummet. While Twilight watched in horror, the wizard galloped away into the storm, joining the rest of the retreating centaurs.

Twilight estimated the velocity of the falling house in her head before teleporting into it. Penumbra was already inside the home when she arrived, and made eye contact with her for an instant before teleporting away with Big Mac. Twilight grabbed hold of Applejack, tuned out to whatever she was saying, and teleported to the ground. The farmhouse crashed to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces. Twilight was relieved to see Fluttershy drifting down with Apple Bloom on her back, and that Amaranth had teleported in and saved Granny Smith.

“We need to return to the Mayoral Keep!” Penumbra announced, yelling to be heard over the blizzard, which had picked up in intensity now that the White Procession no longer needed the area clear for combat.

“What about stopping the White Procession?” Twilight yelled back, though inwardly she was glad that they could escort the Apples and Fluttershy to safety.

“The storm has become too strong!” Solith yelled in response, then returned to her normal voice once she had a protective shield over the ponies again, “If we want to stop the White Procession now, we would have to take all their wizards out. We cannot chase them through the storm forever.”

“We did our best, but all we can do now is wait out the storm,” Penumbra announced, and led the way back toward town.

***

Nattalïer watched the ponies through the thick storm that kept him hidden from their view. Next time, he’d need to bring an even greater power to bear, if Duke Bittræen allowed him to come here again. The chances of that were slim, given how many soldiers he’d once again lost. At least this time, he’d be able to explain that an elite cadre of wizards had caused the losses. And the Ponieville wizard, of course.

Just who is she, and how can she wield such inexplicable power? On the surface, that purple pony appeared to be simple wizard, a highly skilled one, but no more than that. Yet, there was something otherworldly there beneath the surface, and not otherworldly like the things of this world were to the residents of Judd Caradain. If only I could capture her and do experiments on her.

The centaur wizard started as he realized that the strange energy he was sensing was not only coming from the Ponieville wizard, but also from three other ponies. The one with the sword that was fighting us is giving off a strange aura as well, which may explain why she was so remarkably fast. The one in the dark robes and that orange one possess it, too. Just who are these ponies, and what is it that makes them so special?

Author's Note:

Translations:

^[1]Language of the Horns (spell): I wield heaven’s lance!
^[2]Language of the Horns (spell): Fire be bound to my foe!
^[3]Standard Angaeic: A wizard is attacking us!
^[4]Standard Angaeic: Wizards!  Reinforce the troops!
^[5]Language of the Horns (spell): Power of sky, be my weapon!
^[6]Language of the Horns (spell): Spears of earth, come to my aid!
^[7]Language of the Horns (spell): Fire surround and protect my allies!
^[8]Standard Angaeic: Hold them off
^[9]Standard Angaeic: I will, my teacher
^[10]Language of the Horns (spell): Shield protect Rainbow Dash!
^[11]Standard Angaeic: Count Ræalis, if the wizards attack, kill the pony
^[12]Language of the Horns (spell): Sword come to me!
^[13]Language of the Horns (spell): Winter’s prisons!
^[14]Language of the Horns (spell): I wield heaven’s bows!
^[15]Language of the Horns (spell): Power of heaven, garb me with heaven’s shield!
^[16]Language of the Horns (spell): I wield heaven’s sword!
^[17]Language of the Horns (spell): Power of sky, strike my foe!
^[18]Language of the Horns (spell): Earth and stone, rise and take the form of soldiers!
^[19]Language of the Horns (spell): Shield protect me!
^[20]Language of the Horns (spell): I wield The Chain of Blades!
^[21]Standard Angaeic: Retreat!  Into the blizzard!
^[22]Language of the Horns (spell): I wield heaven’s bow!

Comments

[Misty Spell]

So, when Penumbra said that Celestia had requested they lend Ponieville aid, it meant that the most powerful sorceress in the world had genuinely made a plea for them to help and they had chosen to do so.

Geez, no wonder they have such puffed up egos!

placing her hoof in the semicircle of runes she’d drawn

Why a semicircle? I mean a circle I could understand, that's practically tradition, but a semicircle? That kind of feels...incomplete.

“Solith?” Penumbra asked, looking at the sky now, still sneering.

Why?! There is literally nothing to sneer about!

A bold move, I must say, though not a wise one.

Why not? It worked well last time.

The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre was ruthless, and they would be willing to sacrifice anything to obtain their objective.

Probably should have sent the 1^st or 3^rd then. These guys are assholes.

The Cant’r Laht 2^nd Mage Cadre really is something.

Eh, I'd argue that who you are is more important than what you can do.