Horn and Hammer

by Lancer

Chapter Sixteen- Raised the Stakes

Chapter Sixteen

Raised the Stakes

Canterlot Casle, Equestria

Markus strode through hallway after hallway. The palace’s layout had become very familiar to him over the past few days and the unicorn guard behind him was almost at a trot to keep pace with the longer legged human. Approaching the negotiation room, the same one which had been used to host the talks with the griffon and khanine representatives, he reached out to grasp the door handle and strode into the room, the hemline of his red robes swishing around as he closed the door behind him.

Turning to look upon the table he was surprised to see so many ponies looking back at him. This was supposed to just be a routine progress report between him and Celestia regarding the gateway. Before him sat both princesses of Equestria who looked resplendent as usual. Three more ponies sat at the table too, two of which he recognised. Forlorn Wind greeted Markus with a respectful nod. The pony beside him was Captain Shining Armor, captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard and to his left sat another guardspony, a unicorn decked in the garb and form of one of Luna’s guards.

“Good morning princess, I assume we have a situation” said Markus, gesturing to the other ponies around the room.

“Indeed so Markus, if you would like to take a seat then I’ll skip straight to current events.”

Moving towards the closest seat between Luna and Forlorn, Markus pulled up a chair at the table and sat down. Across from him the Luna Guard eyed him up with suspicion. As Markus recalled Luna’s regiment of guards had been an active part of the changeling hunt, in many cases leading the effort to track down hidden changelings. With them being stationed in Baltimare they had missed many of the key interactions with the Empire soldiers and the aura of suspicion emanating from him was palpable. Cat-like eyes, eyes that showed the signs of their age, swept over Markus, reading his movements and assessing him in a way only a soldier can.

Celestia turned her stern gaze onto the arch lector, shuffling a number of papers and scrolls in her fully restored magic as she did so.

“I am afraid I have mixed news for everybody. Markus, I shall begin with your men and your situation regarding the gateway.” Celestia floated over a number of papers to Markus who caught them deftly and set them out before him.

“What you have before you can be condensed into a brief summary. I’m afraid you have two options Markus. The situation is that the gateway has another one hundred hours or so before it collapses. However the Norscans are still camped on the other side and are attempting to dig through the blockade. It is entirely probable that they will still be there when the gateway collapses Markus. You can either stay in Equestria and wait until we manage to recreate the spell or try to break through their army.

“I know neither option is particularly pleasant, especially since I cannot guarantee how accurate the spell would be if we were to cast it. I’m afraid that without any knowledge of the planet the best my sister and I can offer is the same continent.”

Markus leaned back in his seat, sighing dejectedly. “I was afraid it would come to this. But you say you can cast the spell yourself?”

Interjecting the conversation between the two Luna decided to speak up. “Yes, I conducted the test myself. I cannot cast the spell as it is; the source of its power is, malevolent, in nature. However between my sister and me we can match the power output necessary. After that it is just a matter of creating a spell matrix robust enough to combine all the necessary requirements and to cast the spell with some sort of accuracy. My sister and I can move celestial bodies at will; I think advanced spell manipulation is within our repertoire.”

Placing his hands on the back of his bald head Markus mulled the news over in silence.

“As you all know though this council is not purely a matter of the human’s situation. Equestria is about to come under attack.”

Murmurs immediately erupted from the three pony guard captains present. Celestia cleared her throat softly, once, and all three captains immediately fixed their attention wholly upon her.

“As I was saying I have recently received word that both the griffon king and dog khan have summoned their armies in readiness to begin a campaign.” Celestia’s horn lit up for a brief moment and the image of the two continents appeared. On the left, coloured in light blue was Equestria, South of the country was the Badlands with the Frozen North also labelled. On the right and also connected to the Frozen North was the other continent, known by many and labelled as, the Heartland. Highlighted in green and with its border running to the ocean was the Griffon Kingdom with the slightly larger red coloured Khanine lands further to the north east. Trottingham and Equestria Minor were off the Griffon Kingdom’s coast, one twentieth of the size of its neighbour.

The Luna Guard looked through the projection, addressing his princess in a tone that portrayed his confusion. “But princess, why would they attack? Is Equestria Minor really so important to them to risk such an endeavour? Forgive me but it just seems so, wrong.”

Across from the disturbed Luna Guard, Forlorn merely stared ahead, lost in thought. He was stunned at the thought that two nations were coming to subjugate his home. His mind began to race with questions, worries and darkest fears. They were coming for his home, for his father. ‘Oh Celestia, I need to get home. I can gather the rest of the guard. We can hold them off until help arrives. The dogs hate water, that just means dealing with the griffons. We can hold Trottingham, one hundred and twenty guards in war barding and a few hundred volunteers can hold a few hundred griffons surely.’

“Yes but we have good reason to believe that Chrysalis has infiltrated their court and is currently operating under the guise of their queen. She has effectively taken control of the king and his kingdom. She is doing this out of revenge” replied Luna.

Nightshade nodded forlornly, grimly accepting the reality before him. “So what do we do?”

Celestia again took charge of the conversation. “Well firstly I would like to ask Markus of what he intends to do, my dear sister moved us ahead of the topic.”

Markus paused for a moment as all eyes turned to him. Leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table he gave the assembled ponies his intentions. “Firstly my duty is to the emperor and my soldiers before anything else. If the gateway is clear by the time it begins to close then we will leave. However if we cannot return to our world then I can promise you we will do everything in our power to help you through the coming days.”

“I suppose that is the best I can ask for Markus given your circumstances. In the meantime I trust you would be willing to provide council until that day comes?”

“Of course princess, I will do everything I can to help the ponies of Equestria. You deserve that much for what has happened.”

“Thank you, now, oh forgive me I forget to make introductions. Captains, this is Arch Lector Markus Holstein, representative of the Emperor Karl Franz’s armies in Equestria. Markus allow me to formally introduce Captain Nightshade of the Luna Guard. I am also fairly sure you have met my other two captains, Shining Armor and Forlorn Wind.”

Markus spared the three captains a quick greeting before allowing Celestia to resume.

“Right, now that formalities have been observed and the situation has been explained I think we should get into the heart of this council. Luna generally handles these situations, or at least you did my sister, so I think it only fair to return to those conventions.”

“Really?” asked Luna, smiling broadly with surprise.

Her sister returned the smile, nodding in consent. In response the Princess of the Night let out an unbecoming squeal of happiness, briefly clopping her hooves together before resuming her composure. “My apologies, I must confess I missed my title as commander of Equestria’s armies.”

“Congratulations Princess Luna” complimented Markus with accompanying words from the three other captains. Still grinning broadly Luna turned to her sister. “So may I do the briefing then?”

“Of course my sister.”

Springing to her hooves Luna began to pace around the table, projecting her own image of the two main continents on Earth before the others. The enthusiasm in her voice was palpable as she began to outline the entirety of the situation for the assembled leaders.

“I shall begin by outlying the disposition of forces. Equestria currently has roughly three thousand Royal Guard spread across the country and sixty of them are overseas in Equestria minor, the other half of your command Forlorn. Of those three thousand, two thousand are pegasi and one thousand are unicorns. All are well trained, extremely well equipped and lack only in experience.

“I am afraid that is the extent of our forces. Our foes however have a considerable advantage from the outset. The Griffon Kingdom’s ‘Marchfeld’ allows them to muster and equip a relatively large army with reasonable equipment for low cost and with speed. Estimates put their number between thirty thousand and thirty five thousand. The griffons have a very small professional standing army because of its society’s feudal nature so on the whole their equipment will be worse and will largely be trained to the minimum. We know for a fact the king can call on one thousand of his personal retinue, soldiers with similar capabilities to the pegasi of the Royal Guard only with widespread battle experience. The main restriction for this system is that they cannot keep this army in the field beyond one year, after that all those troops have farms to tend and families to provide for.

“Tactically we can expect anywhere between five to ten thousand archers, fast moving, lightly armoured, hit and run tactics. The majority will consist of the standard griffon warriors. Expect medium weight armour, varied weaponry with a tendency towards spears, scimitars and axes. They will act as harassing troops using their capacity for mass aerial assault to apply sudden pressure to key points on the battlefield but beyond that they likely would not have the coordination to pull off more complex manoeuvres. They have been known to utilize the weather through cloud cover to conceal troop movements. Griffon soldiers have a reputation for stubborn pride and ferocity in battle to the point of recklessness.”

Above the table the image of an adult male griffon in lamellar armour replaced the two continents. Either side, for size comparison, were a generic human male and earth pony. The human was a head taller with the earth pony half a head shorter than the griffon.

Forlorn had a suitably forlorn expression etched onto his face, he had expected a thousand griffons at most, the king’s personal soldiers not a full campaign army.

Once more the image changed to show a hulking canine form. It had a body structure similar to that of an orc alongside distinctly canine features. Again the two forms of human and pony appeared beside it. In this case Markus was surprised to see the dog was marginally taller than the human at a height that he suspected would equal his own at a stretch. The khanine warrior however was substantially larger than the pony as a result.

“Moving on to the khanines then. Any pony with any wider knowledge of the world has heard of the Mongrel Horde. More of a movement than a dedicated army, their numbers vary and are generally quite hard to get an accurate estimate of. Our agents put the effective fighting strength at between sixty and seventy thousand. They act as more of a homogenous mob than an army with any kind of tactical thought at its heart. Individuals can command splinters but by and large they live up to their name, they are a horde.

“Again tactically apart from their simple actions as we, I, have already mentioned they are fairly limited. Khan Rex Goldtooth earned his place at the top by being the biggest, baddest and most brutal of the various chiefs. He is not a particularly intelligent being. Aside from that they charge at dawn and fight until the enemy goes away. They do have a tendency to fall back on their burrowing abilities which is their most dangerous asset. Sieges anywhere that is not frozen ground or hard rock will last mere days and it does give them the capacity to launch excellent ambushes and gives them a good flee tactic if they should need it. Equipment is notoriously patchy, light to medium lamellar armour alongside spears seem to be the standard. Again experience and training can be described as random at best.

“One particular anomaly is their shamans however. They are unusually powerful as they spend a lot of their time underground in magically rich mines. Their taste for crushed gems is akin to a combat drug giving them a drastic increase in ability for a time. Shamans have a close relationship with geomancy and basic elements of other magical skills. We do not know how many are travelling with the Mongrel Horde but they are far inferior to both Celestia and I. As a comparison I would put them at three times the power of the average unicorn but with greater capacity for combat magic, these estimations are without taking into account gem dust which is notoriously random.

“Neither race utilises siege weaponry, neither of them need to with their natural advantages. Ranged troops are limited to the griffon light archers with their broad head arrows and hunting bows. The quality of armour is as I explained extremely varied. The lamellar plates are likely either clay tiles or basic iron, neither is particularly resistant to direct attack but the more elite soldiers will almost certainly have steel plate mail.”

After finishing her presentation Luna looked up, reading the expressions of everybody around the table. She expected the stunned silence but what she received was beyond her imagining. The three captains and the arch lector simply looked up at her, at a complete loss of words. The fact that such an honest and battle hardened soldier as Markus was not speaking impressed upon her just how dire the situation really was. A spared glance to Celestia saw that she too had a sullen look despite knowing the information beforehoof.

“Well?” she asked.

“I, I guess I’m not going back to Trottingham then am I?” questioned Forlorn.

“No captain, you and your guards will be needed by the mainland. As of right now Trottingham and Equestria Minor is considered lost.” Luna winced slightly as Forlorn visibly flinched at her words.

Clearing his throat loudly Markus decided to speak up. “So assuming they plan to attack mainland Equestria that would put their numbers at roughly one hundred thousand to your three yes?” The nod of assent from Luna confirmed the numbers. “So forgive me but how exactly do you plan to stop an army which you cannot escape from through protracted siege? You do not have the numbers. I know Equestria has no reserves and barely enough stockpiled equipment as it is to arm said non-existent reserves. In a direct confrontation no amount of meticulous strategy, ambush or any other tactic that I can think of will help. Your only option is to form an army from the populace.”

Luna sighed at the human’s assessment, knowing the warrior was spot on in his evaluation. She spared a glance to her sister, seeing a similar expression on her she decided to face the reality. “Yes the situation is grim, I will not lie. We cannot take on an army with just my sister and I, the threat we face is one which must be beaten in combat. We cannot combat this alliance by attacking their leaders, not now, not with an army around them.”

“So what is the plan then?” pressed Markus.

“We have a number of expectations for what will come next. This example is the most probable of those. I hypothesise that a few thousand griffons will fly straight to Trottingham to secure it, a show of force and an easy victory without sapping birdpower. From there crossing the ocean is too risky to attempt with the entirety of the griffon force along with provisions and equipment, they will go by ship.

“The Mongrel Horde is made up purely of dogs, we call them diamond dogs, and diamond dogs are extremely afraid of the oceans as well as other bodies of water. You can all imagine how they smell” Luna said with a smirk before carrying on. “Well obviously they will not be travelling by sea, when some seventy thousand dogs along with logistical support do not want to do something then they are likely to get their way. Besides it is common knowledge Khan Goldtooth had a traumatic event involving his annual bath when he was young, it is almost a certainty he will be travelling by land. This means they will be crossing the Frozen North, likely without the griffons.”

“They plan to split their forces?” asked Shining Armor, with a hint of incredulity.

“We have three thousand soldiers, in their minds they can do as they please.”

“And with good reason in fairness Princess Luna” added Markus.

“Yes, that is fair to say.”

Leaving a silence hanging in the room Luna’s horn flashed briefly and the image changed. Towns and cities showed up as black dots, the size depending on the size of the settlement. After that arrows appeared on each three territories, one for each. They began to move across the map. The red arrow moved north from khanine lands, into the Frozen North. The path the little arrow took was long and winding. There was just one black dot past the sky tearing ridges, Wolvenguard, and the little green arrow swerved right around it.

“If I may princess, just what is Wolvenguard?” Markus stood up, pointing a finger at the anomaly.

“It is the capital city of the wolves Markus. Their only city.”

“Do they present a problem?”

“Oh no, they are completely neutral. They have zero interest in anything south of the Crystal Mountains and in all honesty the khanines are weary of them.” Luna brought up another image, the largest wolf Markus had ever seen. It stood at a full two heads taller than its human counterpart on all four of its legs, a beast on a scale which even the creatures of the Old World would rightly fear. The wolf was almost demi-gryph sized!

“I would be weary of them! A civilisation of creatures such as this, they must be powerful.”

“Well they hunt, they travel across their lands nomadically and they stay in the capital only when they need to. They are a proud and solitary race, they will not receive emissaries, they will not take sides. Markus I can personally guarantee they will not be a problem” said Celestia with a certain finality.

The warrior priest nodded his acknowledgement before waving Luna on to continue with the simulation. She reciprocated the gesture and the green arrow continued its journey, coming to a halt at a valley on the very edge of the Frozen North with a large black spot situated in the centre, Stalliongrad. Stalliongrad was the most northern city in Equestria and first in the path of the horde. For the moment the arrow stayed put.

Across the ocean the second red arrow moved a short distance to the coast and a city called The Aviary. From there it split. One smaller arrow leapt across the sea landing in Trottingham. The second arrow moved across the ocean at a slower rate, landing in Manehattan and stopping there.

“From here is where our estimations become vague. I would expect them to move past both cities, rally at Neighagra Falls and then advance on Canterlot. What we do, is the situation we have to discuss. Approximations put our timeframe at just over three weeks, any questions?”

Markus was the first to speak. “Any objections to a draft?”

Celestia responded immediately, as if she had expected the question. “Yes Markus, I will not force anypony to fight for me if they do not wish to.”

“Then that limits the numbers you can raise Celestia. Just how many ponies would you expect to have volunteer? No offence, but the ponies of Equestria are not inclined towards violence or conflict.”

“I would say, Markus, that my little ponies could surprise you.”

“We shall see.”

A heavy and uncomfortable silence descended on the room once more. The three captains were left wondering whether they could make a comment in the absence of anyone else taking the initiative.

Celestia exhaled softly, weighing up her thoughts. After over a thousand years spent in control of a country her mind was quick. She had other activities to attend to and in all honesty she wanted to see how capable her two main captains were on their own.

“I have a suggestion Markus. As you recall I had asked your friend Magistrate Rekthofen for some sparring practice, what with me being rusty after all these years. Would you like to join me? The offer stands for you too Forlorn, the main reason I had you teleported in was to inform you of your district’s situation firsthoof, I can take you back myself?” she asked.

“I would be honoured to accompany you to the Ponyville Camp princess” said Forlorn.

“Oh yes Celestia, I must admit I have been looking forward to watching that particular spectacle for some time. In any case I am sure your captains and the new Commander Luna here would like to get to grips with the situation on their own” added Markus.

“Excellent, I would like a briefing upon my return Luna if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course sister, have fun.” Luna snapped off a mock salute which was immediately followed by two much more authentic ones by Captains Shining Armor and Nightshade.

The immediate environment warped under the effect of the long range teleport spell and in a flash of pearly white light Markus, Forlorn and Celestia disappeared from Canterlot. The sharp crack of magical energy heralded their arrival on the edge of Ponyville. Three minute walk into town down one path, a ten minute walk to the camp the other, they took the path to the camp.

“I apologise for ending so abruptly your input to the council. You must understand though you have a tendency to take control of situations and given your unfamiliarity with our world. . . .”

“I know, I understand. Your captains are facing their first major conventional threat, probably in their lives. They need to be able to act of their own will and upon their own intelligence. I realise that I am something of a burden in that respect, with limited knowledge of your levels of technology, capacity of each race and other such factors. I can always offer my opinion afterwards where it would likely be of more use.”

“Thank you Markus, I appreciate your understanding, it’s impeccable as usual.”

The small group fell into step with each other. Forlorn was content to listen in on the two leaders, assuming the natural guard role for the princess. Besides, it felt to him that the princess and Markus had much to talk about, a sign of the times, lots of talking and not much action. ‘I wonder if Pieter and Rainbow Dash are by the pit. What with the council and everything I had to skip training’ thought Forlorn.

“Just out of concern though, what do you expect to happen here? One hundred thousand enemy soldiers cannot be talked down. Do you think you can lead your ponies to their deaths and the deaths of thousands of enemies?”

“I know so Markus, I may not have had to deal with such situations as of late but I can tell you this, I will fight tooth and nail to save Equestria and my ponies will do the same.”

“I hope so Celestia, I envy your world, watching it burn would wound me deeply.”

They strolled up to the guards on the edge of the camp. A gentle breeze swirling around the group picked up the manes of the two ponies, Celestia’s own mane merely rippled while Forlorn’s flared wildly. The soldiers on guard were Soldiers of Sigmar, Markus’ retinue. They had been stood stock still as the three had approached. As Markus passed, both soldiers intoned a quiet recognition of “father” and drew the mark of the Holy Hammer on their chests.

“Menric” replied the priest to the older soldier on the left of the path when they crossed the checkpoint.

Once they were in the camp’s boundaries they began to come into contact with the majority of the camp’s denizens. On either side as the two leaders passed, men stood to attention and the occasional guardspony knelt in a bow for their princess. They walked straight through the camp’s centre, entering Markus’ tent for a minute while he quickly collected and dropped off a few miscellaneous items before proceeding to the ring where Willhelm waited.

The area set aside for training and drills had swelled over the past few days. No doubt it was a result of Pieter’s brief stint as acting commander. Above, twenty pegasi had just taken off, they were Second Regiment, the guards who had fought at the Battle of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters were First Regiment and had a day off for leave. Their lances had been set and they hovered in formation while Sergeant Summer Gale moved to their head. Forlorn made a note to go check up on his sergeant, Forlorn had been gone barely an hour but it was force of habit.

At the centre of the drill square was the ring itself, the usual gathering of men and ponies crowding around it and were shouting encouragement at the combatants within. The two sparring beings were a bright blue pegasus mare and a bare chested human, clean cut, short haired and with mild scarring on his chest and arms, Pieter. It was clear that both Celestia and Markus were paying little attention to the bout. Their focus was on the White Wizard on the northern end of the square. Forlorn kept glancing over with interest at the two fighters. It was evident that Pieter was toying with Rainbow Dash, they were only training after all. Each strike she aimed at him was parried, countered or dodged and each time she received a rebuttal.

Forlorn had a lot of respect for the mare. Her dedication and loyalty were admirable traits, her speed both in flight and in combat were equally impressive. Rainbow Dash was easily faster than Pieter or himself, it was her impetuousness and inexperience which held her back, prior martial arts training gave her some discipline at least. The fact that she was currently pinned to the ground by Pieter after a lightning fast, but unfortunately predictable charge perfectly showcased Forlorn’s opinion. The Empire captain’s constant stream of advice mixed with mocking taunts reminded Forlorn that he had challenged the man himself yesterday after Pieter’s practical joke with the punch.

Realising that Princess Celestia no longer needed accompanying he left the two to make their way over to the human wizard, he himself took wing and approached the pegasus unit in the air.

“Summer” called Forlorn, rising to the same level as his sergeant and hovering beside him. Summer Gale turned and greeted him with a lazy salute

“How was the council captain?”

“Bad. I’ll brief you and the lads later Summer, but yeh, it was bad.”

“Damn, well why are you back so soon? I’d expected you to be gone longer if there was a crisis to deal with.”

“Like I said I’ll brief everypony later but the council was called for Princess Luna and two of the captains, Nightshade and Shining Armour primarily. I was just there since our district’s involved. Arch Lector Holstein was there to discuss the human’s future in Equestria. Besides, stop pressing for info Gale I’m not telling yet and the princess is about to have a friendly duel with Magistrate Rekthofen, oh yes, I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

Sergeant Summer Gale very nearly managed to maintain his composure but an immature smile spread across his face before the veteran guard reeled it in. “Right now?” he asked with evident eagerness. Forlorn’s happy nods confirmed. The pair looked over to see the two figures, Celestia and Willhelm moving away from the camp towards an empty field. “Would you mind me calling a break Forlorn?”

“Go for it, they won’t be paying attention once those two start throwing around spells anyway.”

“Awesome.” Summer Gale called in the Second Regiment. They each fell out of formation and rushed to the edge of the camp. This initial rush caught the attention of the surrounding humans and what few ponies were around the drill square at the time. The crowd began to grow as word of mouth spread the event to come across the camp.

Forlorn positioned himself just above the tents on the camp’s edge, some one hundred metres from the two white figures stood alone in a field. A whistle caught his attention and he turned to see Summer Gale floating down with a bundle of clouds for the pair to sit on. By now well over half the camp was gathered, one intrepid state trooper was organising a betting ring accepting bits, Reiksmarks (the human’s currency) and anything else of value.

“You know for all their vulgarity, these human soldiers have really grown on me” commented Gale fondly.

“Yeh same for me, only really got to know Pieter von Grunberg what with us escorting the Element Bearers but he’s a solid friend. He saved my life too.”

“His soldiers love him. If you listened to the way they talked about him, Arch Lector Holstein and the late Captain Dietrich you’d think they were talking about family. I think it’s that funny religion of theirs.”

“These men have fought together for years Gale, only natural they’d form a bond such as that. Besides I’ve heard of what this Sigmar can do for them, hard to argue with that.”

“I’ll stick with the princesses all the same.”

“Same here mate, still though, they are an interesting bunch.”

---

Willhelm Rekthofen faced off against Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria. He bowed in respect just as she did before backing up to increase the distance between him and his opponent. Without the need for words the practice duel began.

Noticing that Celestia had immediately began to charge up an offensive spell, Willhelm responded with a counter. The alabaster alicorn’s horn began to swell with energy, an orb of bright light coalescing upon the tip. Her regal features were accentuated by shimmering light and with a flap of her wings she lifted herself gracefully into the air to take a height advantage.

Knowing he was at a disadvantage in terms of power, physical abilities and familiarity with the magic of this world he knew he was going to have to rely on his wits and skills. Swinging his staff across in a grand sweeping gesture he began to shine himself in a similar way to Celestia’s horn did. Birona’s Timewarp took hold of him, slowing down time brought a number of distinct advantages but in the brief period of grace it earned, he immediately began to cast another spell. Intoning the words and crafting the spell took an age when time ran slower but he was in no hurry.

Celestia released her spell. Several streams of white magical light glided towards him almost lazily thanks to his spell. Smashing his staff’s end into the ground he added Speed of Light to the previous magical buff which he was imbued with. They had stood half the field apart at the beginning of the duel but Celestia had closed that distance somewhat during the casting of her magical barrage, now they were only fifty metres from one another. The streams of magic were only thirty away. With his body saturated with both speed and time working to his advantage he nimbly dodged Celestia’s offensive. The dull thumps sounded strangely low in pitch as earth exploded on contact with magical blasts, the flow of time extending the experience for Willhelm.

Brushing the few specks of dirt from his robes, those specks which were travelling too fast for him to dodge effectively, he readied himself for a heavy counterattack. In her close proximity he could feed off her presence, the presence of magic casters capable of utilising the Wind of Hysh, multiplied its power. The earth was still flying through the air, obscuring visual contact between the two but Willhelm had no need to be able to directly see his opponent. He fired off a Banishment spell for barely two seconds in real time although for him it lasted for several.

He felt Celestia raise a shield to counter from beyond the dust and earth which continued to rain down lazily. By then he had already sprinted in a curve to the left, taking the princess by surprise with his speed. Again he blasted at her with Banishment, she still did not have enough time to react to the sudden attack and again she weathered the attack from within a shield. He held the attack, pouring magic into it and intensifying the Banishment spell, shards of raw magical energy splashed and sparked upon the two spells reaction. The girth of the beam grew to the extent that it was as wide as Willhelm was himself. He could see Celestia’s shield flickering, feel her own magic pouring into it. What she did not know was that his spell was designed to rend apart magic.

‘I cannot intensify this spell any further, I already run the risk of shattering that shield and killing her.’ But Willhelm underestimated his opponent. With an immeasurable amount of magic the shimmering orb around Celestia turned from translucent to opaque.

Then it expanded violently.

The Banishment spell fell apart under a sudden back blast. The pressure wave impacted Willhelm hard, his robes billowed, beard whipped about and lifted over his shoulder, and he was forced backwards a few paces. He was left stunned by her counter; Celestia had shattered his attack through raw power alone.

Seeing his weakness and sensing that Celestia’s shield was diminishing his ability to read her actions he replied in kind. The glimmering white barrier of Pha’s Protection spread from his staff’s tip, providing some measure of protection from her retaliation. He repositioned himself under the barrier, careful to never stay too long in the same place.

Willhelm felt a tremble in the earth, but no blasts speared through his barrier. Momentarily confused he glanced down as the ground he stood upon, indeed the entire field under which his barrier protruded over began to shimmer in the trademark glow of Celestia’s magic.

‘She’s targeting the field?’ pondered Willhelm, unsure of her tactic.

All too soon it became evident what Celestia’s intent was. Fissures opened in the earth as it cracked and split under an enormous amount of pressure, Willhelm shook as the soil began to vibrate and shudder beneath him. He felt a moment of inertia and the ground beyond the area of Celestia’s control began to fall away. In fact Willhelm was rising.

Panicking he released a number of fireballs towards where he expected Celestia’s shield to be in quick succession. Magical exhaustion was beginning to affect him and the two buffs he had in place were likewise beginning to fade. In his mind’s eye he reached out for the spell matrix behind the princess’s telekinesis spell. At the full stretch of his mental capacity he attacked the spell itself. He could feel her will responding to his own, her personality and essence struck back, soft yet firm. Willhelm had fought to dispel against such opponents before in friendly competition but none could claim the same strength of will and sheer presence of the princess. In comparison he had crushed Twilight Sparkle’s teleportation spell with barely a second thought, although he did have surprise in all fairness. Pushing the limits of what was safe and with growing discomfort Willhelm managed to force Celestia to back down.

The ground fell away below, crashing to its previous resting place and re-joining the rest of the planet it had been separated from. Willhelm was sent sprawling, a sharp stab of pain lanced through his knees, another reminder that his age was increasingly becoming an issue. He gasped audibly but rose to his feet nonetheless. Scanning the skies he saw Celestia hovering some distance away, watching his movements. Further away he could make out the camp and the soldiers watching him, some cheering him as he readied himself once more. Among the crowd he could make out the figures of Captain Pieter, Markus Holstein and the diminutive forms of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.

To his chagrin Willhelm realised all of his spells had faded away, he was defenceless. Acting quickly he snapped off a number of offensive spells. Streams of white fire flashed from his staff, scything through the air. Willhelm was almost shouting in exertion as his attacks sped towards his opponent but in a flash she disappeared from sight, teleporting to safety before he could react.

Celestia reappeared behind Willhelm barely ten metres from him, her face stern and deep in concentration. He twirled around, fiercely dragging his staff across and dispelling her partially charged spell. Countering in a swift and graceful twirl of his staff he held it high in the air, wreathing the immediate area in a swirling ring of expanding fire and forcing Celestia to teleport again.

The problem was each spell drained him visibly now and without Timewarp, Speed of Light and Protection he could no longer comfortably attack and defend against a more powerful foe. He quickly cast Protection, not having the time and with diminishing means to cast the others. The shield of light once more sprouted outwards.

Celestia however no longer seemed content to sit back and spar at a distance. With a speed he had not thought her possible of she dived straight through the barrier, impacting the ground hard enough that she sunk into it. Earth was sent flying once more from the crater she had created. Celestia emerged from her impact zone with a calm and regal air. Her entire body glowed with latent power, barely a drop of sweat on her impeccable features.

Willhelm parried the first burst of magic, forced backwards as his staff sent the magical blast spiralling into the air. He countered once more, taking the initiative and charging towards her. Closing the distance in a few bounds, Willhelm struck at her with his light imbued staff, using the chance to draw his sword from within his robes. Celestia backed up, her calm visage cracked in surprise at Willhelm’s sudden offensive.

A barely perceptible smirk crossed her features and with a flash of magic, armour plates suddenly appeared on her, similar in almost every way to her sister’s but gleaming white just as her coat.
Knowing he stood little chance in physical combat considering his diminishing power he called out.

“Stop! I concede Celestia”

In response she returned her intricate interlocking plate armour to wherever it first came from. Celestia smiled with evident satisfaction, bowing in respect for the gasping White Wizard.

“A good bout Willhelm, you possess a very unique and challenging set of skills.”

Willhelm could only nod in response, clutching his wheezing chest and leaning on his staff. He did offer a weak smile himself though.

“Allow me” said Celestia, her horn lighting up and surrounding Willhelm in the same white glow that he had fought against just moments ago. With a look of deep concentration she fed magic into the aging wizard. Healing magic regenerated his depleted stamina, his breathing quickly returned to normal, his aches and strains ceased as well.

“Thank you Celestia. I must say I did not think you capable of so much raw power.”

“Really? I thought my reputation was if anything overinflated.”

“Oh no, I fought Chrysalis briefly at the Battle of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. She was nothing compared to that.”

Celestia did not respond to that at first, merely looking back towards the camp and signalling that they should head back with a flick of her head. “Yes well, when we fought in Canterlot I was at a disadvantage beyond my knowing. She had drugged my tea when we shared breakfast that morning. Don’t tell Luna but I think she did the same to her with a sleeping potion. But anyway, she had recently fed and I was under a magical dampener. Smart tactics, at least that I can concede.”

Before them stood at least a hundred onlookers, they quickly began to disperse now that the excitement was over.

Two figures rushed to meet them, a human in white robes and a lavender unicorn.

“It looks like our students approach” commented Willhelm.

“Yes, no doubt Twilight would like some instruction in the magical martial arts, such a curious mind.”

“Do her and her fellow bearers know the extent of their connection to their Elements?” asked Willhelm, finally feeling confident enough to ask the princess the question he had withheld since his first encounter with the Elements. When he had commented on Twilight’s ‘impressive magic’ he had not meant the paltry translation spell.

Again Celestia did not answer right away, pausing to collect her thoughts before speaking. “No I do not think so. They are only minor abilities which they can already utilise. Telling them would serve little purpose, but I have other reasons.”

By now their students had almost caught up to them. Sparing a glance behind him, Willhelm smiled at the scene of utter devastation they had created. The field they had fought in was turned to nothing but craters and churned earth. Specks of dust still lingered in the air, catching the morning light and greying the already pockmarked green grass of the field. Birds chirped and he could make out the laughing and jovial conversation of the soldiers in camp. A good start to the day considering.

Comments

[Shattercrazy]

IDENTITY:•••••••••••
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VERIFYING...........

Good evening Inquisitor.

Activate favorite button for scanning of heretical writings.

Processing.......

Process complete.

That will be all for now. The Emperor protects.

[kork]

I would like it if you could say this is a crossover of wich story. Who know, maybe I will like the universe .

[Rakaziel]

Well written, I especially liked your strategical evaluations and the duel.

[Lancer]

2720695
It's a crossover with the Warhammer Fantasy universe mate, it's not one dedicated story.

[kork]

2721981
ok, thanks for the response. Do you know a website that resume clearly enough the world so I'm not lost in this cross-over?

[Lancer]

2722171
Honestly i think you'd struggle, most of the basic overview is stuff you'd find in the rulebook and various army codices. Problem is they're in books which are very hard to get hold of online since Games Workshop (the company who own it) are extremely reluctant to give any shred of knowledge away for free.

I tried to keep the warhammer references to a minimum or at least general and explained enough so that someone looking in from the outside wouldn't be lost at least if that helps.

[kork]

2722883
ok thanks for the advice, i will try it and see if can enjoy even without the knowledge of the warhammer universe

[Lancer]

2722919
If you ever want a hand with it then pm me, i'm usually on at least 3 times a day. although i'm on holiday twice over the next 2 months so maybe not so much over the next couple of weeks.

[kork]

2722969
thanks, I will keep that in mind (though I won't be able to read it until the end of my exams )

[Allsmiles]

Hmmm, very entertaining, I'm rather fond of this writing. And the Mongrel Horde... pretty awesome name choice.

I'm really feeling for Celestia and the Ponies right about now though... ... Can't they call on some help? The Zebras maybe? The Buffalo tribes? Saddle Arabia even? Celestia raises the sun each day, Luna raises the moon, they have powers over the spheres that other groups just can't much. Surely they can't be alone in this?

[assassinsrul3]

Surprisingly, I own all of the Warhammer games, but I haven't played any of them... Thinking I'm gonna add this to my Read Later and come back in a month or so when I know what the hay is going on.

[Lancer]

2820433
That is something that i planned to deal with in the very next chapter my friend. Don't worry i have it all in hand.

[Bronzer]

You know, Warhammer Fantasy is as overpowered to "spell and sword" genre universes as Warhammer 40,000 is to...well... everything.

[Lancer]

2882275
Yeh i really don't go in for such tropes. I've seen it that much myself that i'm sick of it . It appears that way to them because Willhelm attacking the wizards caused them to miscast thus the portal. But then these are Tzeentch sorcerers. Honestly that line was something of a parody of the endless stream of 40k fics which do it.