Terror Puppet

by Windrunner

Mirror of Sadness

.

The ponies of Equestria have found themselves facing a conundrum of depth and perplexment most foul. Stand and fight or flee from a crepuscular foe. An enemy bearing such might and some strangely genuine hatred towards them which suggests fighting may prove a form of vanity. A vast army of their own dead flows towards like a seemingly endless tide driven forth by some uniquely singular madness and desire. The form of this assault is puppetry resembling something no pony no matter how depraved of heart has ever dared practice. Necromancy. The effect and results are akin to that word. One barely ever so much as whispered among them.

What maniacal means of treachery and deceit does this represent? To order the dead about as though toys for their own personal amusement. Sacrilege. To defile the honored dead this way was an insult of the worst possible sort to them and their predecessors who must now face them in mortal combat. Something else occurs to the thoughtful. Is their enemy immortal? Not even Celestia claims to be eternal. What of him? He is near old as the sisters. This is no feat to be taken lightly. Already something in the battle feels yet more amiss than the multitude of bad feelings heaped upon those daring enough to mount a defense. The sky remains darkened as though the night has not ceased.

"Shouldn't Celestia back away and raise the sun by now?" Asked Princess Twilight of the elite guards' commander.

"I regret to inform your majesty that she raised the sun ten minutes ago!" He responded in the midst of issuing battle orders. Twilight's eyes and her friends went wide. It was still dark. This suggested some further foul sorcery being employed on a level of might disregarding the average completely and surpassing even the most powerful. Even the mighty Celestia, could not break them? Surely the enemy they now faced was in a different league. Power was expected, but to hold back the gleaming rays of the very sun above? This was true evil on the prowl if there ever was, and in the daytime no less.

"She..what!? That cannot be. Even in the midst of battle, she raised it? Luna, do you know why is it still so dark? It barely lightened up at all." Twilight hurriedly inquired of her old friend. A pegasus came close and spoke to Luna then took off.

"This is a scale of dark magic rarely seen. I am raptly sorry to say even I cannot disperse it. The cloud cover is being held in place with some sheer devilry." Luna jerked her head up quite suddenly.

"Commander.." Was all she said.

"Yes, I see it. They are trying to amass on the right flank of the third barrier and push through. Do they never end?" A couple of extra squads were sent rushing to prevent a sudden loss of control of the battlefield.

Below where the main battle raged Celestia still stood firm, surrounded by unicorn guards casting all manner of defensive spells as she kept any gaps in their lines from being taken advantage of by the hordes of enemies that were by now like a cascade flowing up against them. Her horn afire with rarified raw power. The guards surrounding were too occupied to notice even she was beginning to flag. At this moment a most unfortunate incident began to occur to the left of her position. One of the few elite night guards present started to back away from his position in alarm.

"What are you doing, soldier?" Celestia despite throwing such power about was still conscious enough of what was happening to call over to him. He did not seem to notice at first.

"F-father...T..that's my father's armor. You died ten years ago. Stay away!" He yelped, backpedaling as a formerly hefty looking bat-pony corpse for some reason attached with extras of those strange ethereal cables running to it was stepping forth slowly through the throng. This one could be bad news.

"Soldier, listen to me and me alone. Do not allow them to do this to him. Focus, that thing is not your father, now fight. In honor of his name, fight on!" Celestia was employing some level of that vocal trickery known as the royal Canterlot voice to be heard above the din of combat all about her. Hearing this from her engendered some drive into the poor soldier.

"I..I'm sorry, princess. Yes, for him." With renewed vigor and determination by her words this guard dove back into the battle headlong, severing multiple of the puppeted dead from their cables at once with hoof-mounted claws, a rarely employed weapon which he was cautious to keep from being damaged as he rolled out of range. An amazing maneuver. A multitude of decabled dead now lay still but yet a whole army still advanced upon the outskirts of Ponyville.

"That is how you do it. Keep up the pressure, hold them back." One of the captains was encouraging his squad to fight as heavily as the guard they just witnessed take so many down at once. Despite this, the battle was not going well.

Luna advised Twilight it was time for her to step in and flew down to where her sister was holding the line.

"Allow me take over a while. You must rest, I can see it." Luna said bluntly.

"I..yes. Guards, follow my sisters' lead for now. Be careful." As Celestia's horn ceased to glow it could almost be seen to be burnt somewhat from all the effort. Luna took over holding up the remaining barriers such as they were immediately. Celestia took a cautious route back away from the battle, clearly breathing heavily. She did not fly, opting to trot quickly away, this proved how weary she truly was from the massive effort.

"Princess Celestia, are you alright?" Applejack greeted her at the command tent and noted her huffing so hard it was audible and raspy. Celestia took slow heavy steps.

"Oh my, you don't look so good. Will you be okay?" Said Fluttershy, peeking down from above at hearing her name. Celestia sort of gasped and nodded gently.

"I'll be fine. I just need a moment." She rasped a bit more. Pinkie Pie was suddenly in front of her with a mug of something and offered it. It was gladly accepted. Celestia downed it rapidly and sighed.

"Oh, that was really good. What was it?" An odd time to ask such a question.

"Oh, just my spectacular special berry surprise pick-me-up for super duper special occasions!..and I guess there isn't one much more special than this." Pinkie had a strange point really. When did she even go get this stuff?

"It was delicious, thank you." That really did seem to help Celestia out. Whatever worked right now was good. An odd kind of yell from the battle lines where Luna took over attracted their attention. Looking over revealed the large puppet was engaged in combat with his son. Luna regarded the fight but remained where she was, breaking formation would be an invitation for disaster.

Flitting about and slowly whittling away at the cables controlling his father's decayed body, the soldier displayed the full potential of the elite night guards. The thing swung a mighty cleaver to slam the ground with intense force, missing him by inches. It must have been taken from the kitchens of Canterlot castle as it bore a royal emblem. It could not be seen at distance, but the guards eyes were filled with tears as he fought.

"I always wished I could show you I made it into the guard, father. Just like you, but not like this." He spoke as he dodged the terrifying thing swinging such a large blade about, missing his muzzle by mere inches in a flickering flash of metal.

It was not possible to simply fly and remain out of these things range. Many of the hanging cables somehow danging out of open air were much shorter than others for whatever reason, making it sometimes difficult to hit them at all without being directly in front or beside depending on which way presented itself to have much width.

"If only I could ask what you think of my skills, father." This particular night guard having found himself engaged in battle with his own fathers' husk had practically forgotten the rest of the battle roaring around them. This was their fight, something he never got a shot at showing off in life and he intended to win this one himself. A somewhat hollow feeling inside rose about it.

His armor had taken some dings and he'd been slightly cut in spots from close shaves with that surprisingly large cleaver. The puppet made of his dear father loomed larger than life as their weapons met and clanged against each other time and again, a foul and disgusting air all about as they fought. The scents of blood, gore, and burning wood all round. Some guardsponies were using magically fire-imbued arrows and longbows. Not practiced for real battle using them their aim was not so great on moving targets, but still somewhat effective. Not having had time to prepare properly was causing supply issues, the arrows were running out as they switched to spears or whatever else they preferred in close quarters.

"What they have done to you is unforgivable." This puppet was faster, more agile than the others. It was becoming apparent the extra cables were not just for show but real effect. This sort of enchantment and use of magics was unheard of. Thankfully none of those supporting unicorn puppets were near or not watching. If there was other magic involved with this fight it would be even worse. The enchantments on all the guards' armor and weapons were barely enough as is to give a fighting chance. Designed to disperse and deflect spells insofar as possible, it only provided a modicum of physical protection. The few select ponies wearing full armor suits were quite rare and involved only in the heaviest fighting elsewhere. Why did this have to happen? Fighting his own father this way was dreadful.

The cleaver was most definitely not his father's choice of weapon in life. It was likely randomly given to this puppet due to his size and the unusual nature of the cabling attached to him. The added mobility and agility were daunting. Being chopped up by that thing was not a very appealing fate out of all things that could befall him or others.

"Father, I hope not, but if you are in there at all. I will free you from this nightmare. Hold on." Knocking that cleaver away at angles was really the only way to get chances at inflicting damage on the cables, otherwise, they were too well protected. This puppet was so fast and flexible. It was the kind of thing that would make a bat-pony guard proud.

Their weapons were starting to damage one another. Notches in the cleaver and the claws were causing them to catch and unpredictably move when striking each other's blades. That was a problem. Did these things ever suffer fatigue? He might slowly tire until he died. This might be wrong on so many levels, but a thought came to the guard as they fought.

"This might seem weird, but I'm actually kinda enjoying myself for some reason." Ever so slowly he was managing to scrape and hit the cables, bit by bit the damage was building up. Striking them in the same position each time was a futile proposition, all he could do was keep hitting them whenever possible as that heavy cleaver swung past and away.

"I know this isn't really you, but I'm glad it's me taking you on. As wrong as this all this, something about this feels right at least." Another dodge and another leap to slice across those thick cables in retaliation. It was taking effort and time, but he could pull this off. Oddly, Luna was not sending any support his way. Perhaps she could somehow tell he wanted this to himself. Unfortunately, as he spun away once more the very tip of the heavy cleaver bounced off the shoulder of his armor, glancing across his shoulder sending blood spurting and him yowling in pain, screaming as he dove back to avoid being cut into ribbons or in half in a single blow. Another guard in the fray surrounding offered to engage, but he held up his hoof and huffed.

"No. He's mine." The cut was a wide slash, but shallow. That would surely leave a scar if he survived this encounter.

"I will bear this proudly, father, because it was given to me by you." He said as he launched into a wild frenzy of slashing with those pointed clawed weapons, making more blood flow badly whilst swinging a clawed hoof left to deflect the cleaver as he managed to detach one of the cables at last from the right foreleg of this hideous thing pretending to be somepony he once knew. This gave more openings and made it easier to get heavier and more numerous hits upon them. The cables dissipated once detached into thin air one by one until at last, it hit the ground with the clatter of heavy armor. For just one second he thought he saw a smile on his father's face before it hit the ground and he wheezed in near-exhaustion.

"I must be imagining things. I..finally got to show you what I can do, father." He panted and looked about at the battle. He had best withdraw from the position where he'd wound up or be set upon by far too many very soon and retreated to seek medical attention for his wound which was now pounding heavily. Luna looked and nodded as he passed by. Groups of enemy forces were trying to bypass the locations of the remaining two outer barriers and avoid her. Despite successes, casualties were mounting. Seriously injured guards were being forced to leave the front, thinning their defenses dangerously in spots. If any concentrated effort were allowed to strike those positions the remaining barriers would be lost immediately.

"Well, My turn my turn!" Pinkie said. What was she talking about?

"Pinkie, what are yah..Pinkie!?" Applejack went to ask but Pinkie went running off into the battle.

"Consarnit, what y'all suppose she's up to?" She swiped a hoof to accent her frustration with that. Twilight was keeping a close eye on happenings around the town and looked through her binoculars. Pinkie had saddlebaskets and was throwing what looked like water balloons at the puppets cables which was actually burning through them when they burst? None of the weapons being turned on her seemed at all able to hit her. How was she doing that?

"I don't believe it, she's taking out a whole bunch of them with..water balloons!" This information somehow still managed to surprise everyone in earshot despite knowing what she was like.

"Well..what d'ya know.." Applejack still managed to be stunned by her antics sometimes.

"That's just..amazingly incredible." Even Fluttershy managed to chime in about that. After clearing a good row of the enemy away from the weakening defensive lines worst spots Pinkie came trotting back smiling wide.

"Ah'm not even gonna ask how you did that, but what the hay was in those water balloons, Pinkie?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, they weren't really water balloons. Something a lot tougher, and I filled them with blazing hot sugar!" Pinkie bounced around a bit as she explained.

"Hot..sugar?" Twilight asked, puzzled by this really strange answer.

"Yep yep. Haven't you ever seen what sugar does when it gets really reaaally really super ridiculously enormously HOT? It burns through almost anything!" Pinkie was bouncing around an awful lot while saying this.

"But how did you..ya know what, nevermind. It worked, somehow so..great job." The commander interjected.

"Yay." Pinkie finally stopped hopping about. That display of being useful was awesome to all who witnessed it.

"Ookay, but we still have a huge problem. These things just keep coming. These can't all possibly have come from Canterlot, can they?" Twilight looked to Celestia but her mentor shook her head uncertainly. A lieutenant from the cannon and catapult squads approached. That was probably not going to be good news.

"What is it?" The guards' commander was incredible at coordinating what forces they had quite effectively on either side of the battle via fast message relay ponies. Scrolls were not really a possibility here.

"Sir, we are coming up short on cannon ammunition and running short of things to launch with the catapults. We weren't ready for an all-out war. They've even pulled an ancient trebuchet out of storage and fixed it but it is impossible to aim accurately and we're running out of things to launch with it too!" The lieutenant quickly finished his report. Celestia turned her head and looked around the town.

"Commander, we are in this for our lives. Maybe our whole world depends on the outcome of this battle. Use anything and everything. Tear down the trees in this very square if you must. House sections, whatever you need to." She looked sad as the commander was quick to send the lieutenant off with this set of orders for those groups.

The outcome of this unusual battle would be the difference between life and death rolling over the countryside. Celestia continued speaking with Twilight. With this much magic being thrown around the air itself felt charged unusually.

"They are trying very hard to pass by on the northwest of the town. Keep a close eye on that area." She looked tired still, but more animated than earlier. She would at least be able to help once more.

"I have tried to use the sun to disperse these clouds. They are dangerous and will not budge or break, and if I press anymore I could wind up frying us as well." Celestia looked up to the platform. That would be very bad indeed.

"My friend, I cannot figure out how they are doing these things. With these cables coming out of nowhere nor the clouds. With all I know this honestly makes me feel stupid. I.." Twilight faltered for a second and Celestia raised a hoof.

"There is nor ever was any doubt you are both powerful and extremely intelligent. It will do us no good to fret now. I know this runs counter to what is happening around us, but you must relax for now. Do not tire yourself out over nothing, there are far more important matters at hoof to attend to." Celestia spoke evenly if a bit raggedly, wisely and with clear past experience. She truly had lived through long torment, more so than any other. Twilight made a decision right then.

"You're right. You are absolutely right. I won't doubt myself further. That is probably something he wants, isn't it? Why he spoke so weirdly and in terms meant to instill fear and confusion. To make us doubt our decisions here. I won't fall for it. He knows we can defeat him or he wouldn't have sent all this at us. We can beat him, right?" Twilight looked more determined than ever. Celestia, her mane flowing softly as ever slowly nodded in affirmation.

"I believe it really is him now. Or..some part of him. As we all are he was not flawless. Everyone has weaknesses and doubts, even somepony claiming stolen authority over the dead." Her eyes flickered with a bit of anger and tears there.

"It may be just some part of him left from long ago, somehow. Something seems like it is missing from what he would really do in such a position. Perhaps it might be possible to get through to him, to stop this if we could find an opportunity to speak once more." Her sadness was obviously very great and keenly visible on her face. Seeing her nearly lifelong friend that way gave rise to some unknown feeling inside Twilight. A disturbed twinge deep in the mind. Tears on Celestia's countenance did not belong. It was wrong in some way she just could not name.

"I'm gonna say something, and please don't take this the wrong way. Don't cry. I need you not to cry." Twilight almost appeared to look a bit panicked saying this to her.

Much to her surprise, her dear mentors' response was much better than anticipated. The gaze returned by her was as filled with love and care as ever, but steely somehow.

"I understand." Celestia began walking back towards the battle lines to the northwest. Twilight relaxed greatly, trying to wait things out patiently. Cannon fire was sparse now. They must have nearly exhausted what ammunition there was. That would only leave slow-firing catapults that could hardly be aimed accurately. Burning trees lay about everywhere on the battlefield, this was slowing the advance of the dead hordes considerably. The most dangerous of these things still remained out of the fight. It must be intentional. Why wait? It was impossible to know their plans.

Something else of concern was apparent. Not all of these were animate bodies, but simple wooden constructs. Just puppets like those before. There could be any number of these things approaching and no way to tell. Hundreds. Thousands? It could end at any moment or go on for far longer than hoped. The worst part of this was the amount of wounded. Though their movements were jerky the puppets could still inflict deadly injuries or worse with ease. Avoiding them was just not always possible and the majority could not be allowed to enter the town from any direction. Fortunately as predicted they were coming solely from Canterlot. No more surprises over the direction they would approach.

This sort of battle was proceeding much as would anything like this, but the horrifying nature of their opponents was wearing on morale and hard to deal with. From above Rainbow Dash swooped in and landed on the platform.

"I think we may have a problem. The drop-bombs you gave us are running out. This has been going on forever and they're almost gone. We aren't causing enough damage." Dash delivered this further bad news, but still looked resolute.

"What about that thing you have?" Dash extended a wing to point at the contraption Twilight had been holding in reserve.

"No, that is an absolute last resort. I don't want to use it at all if it can be avoided." Twilight would not say what it did.

"Alright, but when the last bomb is delivered all us flyers are gonna have to join the ground forces or retreat. Speaking of retreating.." Dash was looking to where several squads had launched a retreat signal flare. That was not good.

"Princess, we are barely holding the lines. We may have to abandon the outer areas and fall back to the final barrier on that side. Luna has been putting up quite a harassment action over there but as expected we are slowly losing ground everywhere." The commander did not sound fearful or concerned, merely following the action and adjusting the actions of their own forces accordingly. He was an extremely competent strategizer working under epically difficult conditions.

"Alright, listen up soldier. At this rate, we will be engaging in urban combat shortly. Inform all pegasi to follow this plan of action. As squads bombs are exhausted re-equip with ground weaponry and form up behind the main town barrier. When full squads are assembled they are to fan out in defensive formations along the line and hold. Remind them despite their ground assault training this is not a normal engagement, do not attempt to hold positions if in danger of being overrun after the barrier goes down. Go." The commander watched Dash salute and take off. He took a deep breath and returned to the surrounding messengers and his positional map covered in unit pins. Things were not looking so good.

"I hate waiting like this. Our friends are getting seriously hurt and I can't do anything about it." Twilight said aloud.

"Maybe I can assist you with that." Said a familiar voice from beside. Twilight turned her head to see Starlight had levitated herself up on the platform.

"Starlight! Am I glad to see you. We could certainly use your help. Are you aware of what's been happening since you left?" Twilight queried her. Starlight's ears and tail drooped at the question and she shook her head.

"I only heard something terrible happened in Canterlot? It fell? I came here quick as I could." Starlight said dejectedly.

"There is so much to explain... I guess I have time though. I will sum it all up." Twilight explained it all as Starlight's jaw went more and more slack as the story went on until she was positively shocked in appearance.

"Oh my gosh. That was clever of Rarity, Trixie helped her too? This is all so horrible. The guards. The poor princesses. They must feel just awful." Starlight exclaimed. Twilight kind of snickered under her breath hearing all that.

"Are you..laughing? This isn't funny in the least!" Starlight chided her. Twilight raised a hoof to wave back and forth.

"It's not that. It's just, A long time ago that's the last thing I ever thought I'd hear you say." Twilight smiled at her.

Starlight couldn't help but blush before regaining her composure.

"Uh, ahem. I was never trying to kill anypony." She claimed.

"Could have proven me a foal." Twilight said in a sort of whisper.

"What was that?" Starlight wondered what she just muttered.

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, that's the whole sordid story. Things have gotten so bad. The real trouble hasn't even started yet. Those four reported at the back still haven't joined in the fighting at all." Twilight was extremely worried about them.

"What can I do to help? Should I head to the frontlines? I can hit them with everything I've got." Starlight offered. She was truly among the most powerful of unicorns, but Twilight had other plans for her now that she was here.

"No, stay with me for the moment. When it comes down to it I am going to need your help. Once those things get into town, and they will, it is going to become really hectic. I will need to keep my full attention on the really bad ones. You have to help the ground fighting. Luna and Celestia will be back here by then as well. Assist them, got it?" Twilight hoped she would follow her request this time. Starlight nodded.

"Well, okay. Twilight, are Trixie and Rarity alright? I don't see them anywhere?" Starlight finally noticed they were not among them.

"Utilizing charged magic items to channel power on a level like that hurt them both seriously. Don't worry, they'll be alright. They have been moved out of town with the rest. They're safe." Twilight assured her. Starlight relaxed visibly at those words.

"Say, how did Trixie even get involved anyway?" She asked Twilight out of curiosity.

"You know, I never got to ask. Applejack, Pinkie, how did she wind up helping us?" Twilight asked down below. Pinkie was still resting against one of the platforms supports after her incredibly fast run through the battle.

"What happened to Pinkie? She's usually so over the top and..bouncy." Starlight was quite surprised. Applejack was viewing things through a telescope which was magically enhanced to see in the dark and looked up at them.

"Why, pinks there took out a whole slew'a'them there all by herself. As fer your other question. Trixie ran into us at the train station, and she once used an artifact like that herself so we brought her along. Good thing too, yeehaw!" Applejack finished.

"She..did?" Starlight looked both amused and confused. Twilight simply had to explain that too.

"Trixie used it against me actually. She nearly went completely mad with power." Twilight said.

"Whatchya mean, almost? She wanted me ta grow apples without peels..and cores!" Applejack yelled up. Starlight had not really heard the fine particulars of a lot of such incidents before. Apples without cores?

Now Starlight really did have a look of shock on her face.

"I really need to ask Trixie some questions once this is all over. She's done more than I thought." Starlight mused.

"I have to admit something. I sort of treated Trixie a little badly way back then. Most of us kinda did, but it wasn't really intentional. So the reason she came after me then is a bit on us too." Twilight did feel a little guilty sometimes over mostly innocuous things, but they did harbor some blame for that incident and a few other things from time to time.

"Aw, shucks. Yer right, Twi. Ah never meant no actual harm to the poor gal either. But she's been decent friends with us for a while now, that makes up fer it, right?" Applejack did have a point about it. After all, she helped save Twilights life.

"Remind me to thank her later." Twilight meant that. Starlight smiled at this little conversation.

"Okay, so here is how you take these things down." Twilight gave an extremely thorough explanation of what worked against the puppets being used. It might not be true with all of them, but who knew? She'd only faced off against him, and the two powerful ones that combined into one. What weird things would these four do? It was going to be supremely dangerous for certain once they entered into the action. The picture presenting itself was just all-around negative for the defending forces. Despite fighting fiercely they were inexorably being driven back towards the town. There was no way to stop them from entering once past the outskirts. Soon enough all remaining guards and their air support would be fighting on the ground.

As was expected the bombs ran out soon thereafter as squad after squad began lining up behind the final barrier before the town itself would be exposed to getting overrun.

"Gee Twi, that is a whole heap. How many ya reckon we got here?" Applejack asked from below.

"With the waiting reinforcements and all we brought. There are about three thousand ponies total if they are called in, and they will be soon. I estimate we are facing similar to the same. No idea where they all came from. I didn't think there were that many still in Canterlot. It's gonna be close." She was stating a very unfortunate fact. Canterlot was quite large.

"If we hadn't begun evacuations at that time we would now be facing almost seven thousand for certain." Twilight looked dour explaining this. Starlight placed a hoof over her shoulder causing Twilight to glance over.

"Look at it the right way. You saved a lot of lives. None of this is on you." Starlight said, giving a look of appreciation.

"Thank you. I just wish I could have saved more." Twilight was very on edge about the ongoing battle as well. Had she done everything possible to prepare for this? There was no way to tell. Everything hurt so much lately.

"So, we are facing some steep odds. Nothing new is it?" Starlight sort of joked. It actually was almost funny.

"Starlight, there is something else I need you to do. I don't want you to exhaust yourself before the battle reaches us, but I want you to place static shields above as many streets as you can without tiring yourself out. Don't overdo it." That was an odd request from Twilight. Starlight appeared a bit dumbfounded.

"What are they for?" As she asked Twilight looked up at the strange dark clouds above with apprehension.

"An abundance of caution. Make sure pegasi can still pass through them. Better get started." Twilight told her to go.

"Aye aye." starlight gave her a mock salute and went down to street level before beginning. The commander called up.

"I see what you're doing. Good idea. Got any more? Haha." He immediately went back to whatever task he was at now.

"Alright. With Starlight here we have some more major spellpower." Twilight felt that tiny bit better now. It helped a whole lot. The battle out beyond the barrier was getting rather intense. More squads were signaling full retreat. None were advancing any further beyond. It was best they not get too far past the trapped areas anyway. The incoming waves of dead walking and puppets were finally beginning to encounter the various traps set down out there. Each was filled with a hot burning fuel of long duration and hidden. It would give a fair amount of extra time before those behind could pass by.

The traps only set off once something reached their very center section. This meant decently large groups of them had been taken by surprise and engulfed by flames. That part of the defensive plan at least was actually working. The pegasi had also set them up so soft wind gusts would fan the flames and smoke away from the town just enough and in such a way it mostly affected the enemy. While they clearly were not using a normal means of vision, it must not have taken such a situation into account. It was actually helping. A slight gamble on the defender's parts that was paying off. They were certainly not going to retreat. Neither would the enemy. That was known since the start of the engagement.

"Twilight, we..aren't killing ponies, are we? They..they aren't really still in there somewhere, right?" Pinkie Pie asked in that unusual tone of voice from her. That almost hurt just to hear. Twilight nearly felt like crying at this question from her friend.

"No, of course not. It's not like that at all. I do not detect any life of any kind from them. They are just animate atrocities. We simply must stop this madness." Twilight was confident in her assessment of them. That seemed to reassure Pinkie. Looking around the field, Twilight could see the guards in retreat were not in disarray. Skilled and following the plans well. Very good.

Starlight was emplacing shielding over and along streets at a leisurely pace.

"Well, I really must thank Trixie later. She actually helped save a lot of lives from the sound of it." She said to herself as she wandered the by now familiar streets of Ponyville. Passing by carefully chosen guard backup positions where first-aid stations and supplies were waiting. She continued to cast as she walked. They would be simple shields. The most basic possible.

"I wonder what Twilight is thinking with these? Oh well. Must be a good reason I'm sure." She finished this street.

Occasionally she would meet one of the patrol guards who would ask what she was doing. At least it was quick and easy to explain.

"Oh, really? They aren't telling us much back here. How are things going up front?" One asked her.

"From what I got, not so good. Two of the barriers went down almost instantly, but the lines were mostly holding when I left. The fighting was getting really intense out there." Starlight could only offer that much. He looked relieved.

"If we are holding those things back at all, that is good. I was in Canterlot when it all went down." He said.

"You were? I was told what happened, but only from one perspective." Starlight wondered.

"It was the most horrible thing I have ever seen. All the princesses in a panic, buildings exploding. Death all over. The city wreathed in fire." He was starting to breathe heavily.

"Whoa there, soldier. Easy. Easy now. They will pay for it. I promise." Starlight offered a friendly expression. He nodded.

"Sorry, I better continue on. I'm okay. Thanks." The guard went on down the street.

"Maybe that was even worse than I thought." She imagined it in her head from that conversation.

Over where Celestia was amidst the fighting things were getting quite dicey. The lines were slowly being pushed back as more and more puppeted dead streamed into the fight. Twilight must have been right about how many there were. Both Celestia and Luna came to the decision at nearly the same instant.

"Fall back! There are too many to hold out any longer. Launch the flares." They both gave almost an identical order at once on both sides of the battlefield. The sky was lit with so much light and so much fire that a lot of the outer battlefield could now be seen. Carnage was revealed all over. Felled puppeted dead and now deceased losses everywhere.

The elite guard was putting up the fight of their lives but still began to perform well-practiced running retreat maneuvers even while battling. Hours were slowly ticking by in this daytime darkness. This organized retreat went very well resulting in few losses. By this time all pegasi squads had reassembled. This would give the defending forces a real chance to hold out long enough to put an end to this. Rainbow Dash returned. For once she looked really frazzled.

"Commander, almost all pegasi accounted for. Must still have lost a few here and there somehow. I couldn't really tell you how." Dash was a bit shaken by those losses. In the distant past pegasi were considered great warriors.

"Any losses we take will be well-honored when this is over. Providing we are not lost ourselves. Get your ground gear on. You know which unit to join up with." He ordered. She saluted and headed for one of the supply areas to grab some armor and weaponry. There were several secondary command areas set up by now. Naturally, this was the Wonderbolt area. Tired from the endless aerial bombing runs, she was getting fatigued. There was time to rest just a bit.

"Captain Spitfire." Dash landed with the heavy clank of armor.

"Good, your back. Bet you never thought you'd be seeing active combat did ya?" She was surprisingly relaxed.

"Nothing we can't handle." Rainbow said, as though an absolute fact.

"That's right, and don't none of you forget it either." She looked at the rest.

"Yes, ma'am!" All surrounding ponies replied at once.

"We have our orders. Stay on-ground unless necessary and provide support for less experienced units. We are to protect lives and keep them in the fight. Got it?" Salutes were given in return.

"Pardon me, Captain. It feels wrong for us to be down here." Somepony said.

"Yeah, I know. This is where we are. Now, are we gonna fight and fight hard!?" She asked loudly. A rousing cheer of yes came in response.

"Good. Be ready. Glad to see you're safe, Dash. Not that I had any doubt about one of our members." She walked off.

"This is getting totally out there. I could tell she was nervous. never seen that before." Rainbow found herself wondering if any of them were really going to survive all of this craziness. They would be right in the middle of the approaching ground combat very soon.

At the main command tent, things were getting very hectic as units returned to formation. Many were missing ponies.

"How are you holding up, commander?" Twilight asked from the platform.

"I'll live, for now. To be honest I've never actually had to coordinate so many at the same time. I can only hope I am doing a good job of it." He was quite open about that. He took a swig from a canteen.

"You are doing excellent, commander. I know they made a great choice in you. Keep it up and we will win for sure." Twilight assured him. He nodded and returned to his duties. He'd been going almost 24 hours straight now.

"Twilight, is he going to be alright? Even I got some sleep. You did too." Said Pinkie Pie, very concerned for him.

"He can take it. I trust him. If he thought he wasn't up to the task he would tell us." Twilight was confident in his ability.

"There aren't too many units left to report in. After that things are going to get really bad. If any of you feel any doubt about this, you should go." Twilight particularly looked at Fluttershy on the edge of the platform. As usual, she was quiet most of the time.

"I will stay, with my friends." That was surprisingly brave of her. Twilight gave her a soft pat on the shoulder.

Celestia and Luna along with their personal guards were following up the retreat defensively. Their own shields were taking a battering from a myriad of different types of magic. They were mostly focused on taking out the enemy unicorns and made a very serious dent in their numbers. That would surely help later on. Their respective units met up on the way back to Ponyville. It was good to see so many had survived this long against such implacable foes.

"I see thou art intact." Luna stated-matter-of-factly. Her sister gave a soft smile, despite being disheveled.

"We best remain together for the duration of the battle now." Celestia suggested. She agreed.

"Looks like we're the last. This went as intended at least." Luna said as she fired off yet another beam that took out three entire sets of those whispy cables at once sending the attached dead tumbling to lay still.

"Showoff." Celestia teased, which got a smile in return.

"Some traps have not been set off either. I think this huge delaying action has done the job." Luna was rather pleased about it.

"Don't have too much fun now. This is serious business." Celestia chided softly. Luna simply nodded in return.

Seemingly out of nowhere a powerful long-distance magic blast knocked Luna to the ground making Celestia go wide-eyed for a moment, stunned.

"Luna!" She called, but her sister was already beginning to get back on her hooves. She huffed heavily.

"Hold yourself. I am alright, it was a glancing blow that sent me atumble. I got careless. That shan't happen again." She looked really angry with herself for allowing such a moment to occur.

"I'm just glad you're okay. Come, we must get back to town." Celestia felt some relief seeing her standing once more.

"The amount of power we have both expended is vast. I hope there is time to recoup some of it." Luna was concerned about that. Magic was being thrown about at all scales and levels. This was very unusual in itself.

"The main town barrier should hold for a while. Also, I believe I sense the presence of Twilights protégé. She should prove useful." Celestia was just that little bit more powerful than her sister and better at noticing things like that.

"Truly we have a grand array of forces here. A pony mainline army like this has not been needed in quite some time." Luna observed as they continued their sluggish retreat. Their personal guards were nearing exhaustion and breaking point.

"I know you are all hurting and in need of rest. We are almost there. Keep moving those legs. Move, move!" Celestia encouraged them to work through the pain and effort. They would reach the town barrier within twenty minutes if they could keep up the pace. Twilight was watching from afar as they made their slow progress back towards town, fending off attackers. They had made good enough pace to leave most of the enemy far out on the field.

"Excellent. I know this looks bad, but I think we have taken as minimal losses as possible." Twilight couldn't quite be happy about that. Many ponies and others still died. There would be more ahead.

"Not even in my worst nightmare did I ever imagine such horrible days as these, Twi." Applejack was very struck by all the violence and death. A more empathetic and compassionate sort than her would be hard to come by. So much pain.

"Me either. I don't think any of us did. They must be made to pay for their crimes, but this is going to get worse before it gets better I'm afraid." Twilight had been on the edge of tears during nearly the entire battle thus far. It wasn't fair. So many were getting injured and dying, for what? Somepony who had hurt feelings? It made no sense. There must be more to this. If there wasn't then it defied all reason and was nothing but true insanity. Something she'd never seen until recently.

The sun and moon should be shining above, instead, neither could be seen by day or night. To have gone this far was unimaginable to her. It was too much for too little. She could not wrap her mind around it. The two sisters finally stepped through the barrier and panted heavily. The guards swapped for fresh ones. The sisters, however, would be in no condition to do anything more for a while and were helped away to awaiting refreshments and a chance at resting a little.

"Whoa nelly, they looked horrible. Poor gals have been out there so long." Applejack spouted.

"They are strong, I'm sure they will be okay." Twilight said while wondering if they really would be after all of this.

Starlight was making good progress emplacing shields above the streets. She still had no idea why Twilight wanted her to do this. There must be a good motivation for it.

"I haven't had to cast this sort of thing in a while. Guess I should practice more often. Whew. Don't overdo it she said." Starlight huffed and continued on. The town did look well defended now. There were guards and pegasi units everywhere.

"I never realized we had so many guards. I should look into what they all do." She wondered what their purpose was. This was a significantly higher number than she imagined in total. It was a somewhat strange sight to see.

"Judging by how those things move it will be a while before they can regroup properly and assault the town. We should be able to hold them off. I think." Starlight had never read about or seen a large battle before, having little idea what to expect as it dragged on. The one thing obvious about it was that the longer it went on the more would be injured and even killed. Death on this scale was not something heard of these days. They were thought long placed away in history texts.

"War. An actual war. Against the undead. Well, I guess they're not zombies really. This is something else, not necromancy I'm sure. They have no life at all. Just strings." Starlight was considering what all this meant.

There were still plenty of those things heading towards the town at that shuffling pace. This situation was wildly dangerous and could easily slip out of control completely. An uncertain amount was still gathering. They would be at the only remaining barrier soon enough. How long it would hold was an unknown. The others went down almost ludicrously easily, but this one was larger and more empowered. Hopefully, it would at least allow them to keep taking potshots for a while at those on approach. Ponyville taking a central place in a real battle was not something she ever imagined before finding out what was going on and hurrying back only to find Canterlot off-limits. It was good she returned.

"This is taking forever. What good will it do anyway? Once that huge barrier goes down, and I can see it will... how is this going to help anything? I know she is very smart. I should just trust her and get this done." Starlight hoped this would not turn out to be wasted power and effort. Putting up these static barriers was an easy task for her but a time-consuming one. She had spent years studying shield and attack spells herself, uncertain of ever actually using them until...

"No, don't think about it. I really was somepony else then. I'm better now. I have real friends, and trusted ponies all around me. Ponies that trust and value me, and that is good." Starlight thought these things as she continued. At last, it was done.

"That certainly took a while. I better get back to Twilight and see how things are going up there." Starlight took off at a trot. She had covered nearly every street in Ponyville with a weak shield as instructed. It had taken all day long. The moon was nowhere to be seen. That was very disturbing. It should be above by now. Still dark. Darkness enforced by those clouds held above. It must be consuming an enormous amount of power. Starlight couldn't think of a way to break them either.

"That is so strange. I don't know what magic this is. Twilight didn't seem to know either." Starlight commented to herself as she returned to the platform. It was clear things would heat up again pretty soon.

"Twilight, I'm all done. Pretty much every street is shielded." She informed her.

"Excellent, you should go get as much rest as you can. Enemy forces will begin trying to breach the barrier within hours. Recover what power you can." Twilight suggested. A break sounded good. Only hours? The speed of the enemy was concerning. Slow as they were, they never ceased moving forward resulting in covering more ground than anticipated.

"Alright, see you in a while." Starlight really did need the downtime after all that. Celestia and Luna were also still resting. They would need to be in the best condition possible for what lay ahead.

"I don't like this. Those four we know are at the back of the battlefield did nothing this whole time. Absolutely nothing. They might be trying to have us wear ourselves out but I don't think so." Twilight considered so many angles but could come to no real conclusion on what they were up to. Something terrible no doubt. Those four certainly had special abilities. It was guaranteed. They were going to bring something awful to the fight when they finally stepped in. Thinking about it was a strain on the head. Things were bad enough already without those things waiting to spring into action. There must be some condition they were waiting for and then they would strike. What could it be? What would signal their intrusion?

"Ah dun like it either, Twilight. We know they are gonna come rushing in at some point, but we are surrounded by friends here. We can take'em." Applejack was practically raring for a fight by now after seeing all the destruction.

"I know you can take care of yourselves. Just don't get hurt, okay?" Twilight said to her friends below and beside.

"No promises, Twi. This here's a big heap'o'trouble." Applejack could not overstate that. No one could. She made sure her family was well away from Ponyville before things got started. It was much too dangerous for them to remain.

"There are so many ponies and griffons here helping us. Surely this is enough?" Fluttershy asked demurely.

"I hope so. There are even a few yaks and changelings in the reinforcements. Never thought I'd see the day. That could really prove useful. We must trust in them all. I know they can do this. I know we can do this." Twilight had gotten much better at being motivational over time.

"We better." A voice interjected. It was the commander, finally taking a short break again. He was massively overtired. It was obvious.

"Commander, please take at least a short proper rest. You need it, I am not asking." Twilight ordered.

"Aye. Alright, but If we lose here, this is everypony. Equestria would be lost. All the best fighters, flyers and unicorns are here. I really hope you are right." He sounded utterly taxed and spent.

"With ponies like you on our side, we can't lose. Now rest, we can't have you falling asleep on your hooves." Twilight waved him off and he went to to eat, drink and rest. At most he would get a few hours sleep.

"You better count griffons in that number, princess." A fast messenger griffon flying by said. They made great couriers.

"Of course we do. I count on all our friends." Twilight waved as he flew on past. It would be all too soon.

"I think we have done all we can to prepare." Twilight once more took in the situation, exactly as expected enemy groups were forming up in good orderly fashion. Those controlling them were very versed in tactics, likely highly experienced. Every group of theirs was well-supported. Elite guards facing off against the very same level of skill. That was a bit unexpected.

"I still cannot find a way to easily dispel those cables. They are surely ethereal, but not much works all that well except extreme force or chipping away at them. They're so tough." Twilight thought. She had been thinking about it this whole time. The cables deflected nearly everything physical or magical that made contact, but they did take damage. It was vexing.

"Twilight, sugar. No worries now. Nopony could have been prepared for this. It ain't right." Applejack had noticed her mood. Twilight took a deep breath. The air smelled wrong. It was never meant to be this way. The smell of death and fire surrounded and permeated the town by this point. The best that could be done was to have it fanned away as much as possible. It was a dense and terrible scent that now drifted about. It gave a terrifying further tinge to it all. Right now, this was not the Ponyville she'd known for so long. It was a terrible arena where light and dark were now almost literally vying for control and dominion. She shook a little bit at the thought. It was made more bearable with friends near.

"How many more do you think are out there?" Fluttershy actually asked. Perhaps just to say something. Twilight had kept a tally. Each side had lost a near equal amount, but she could not really count any opposing forces as injured. Many had their cables damaged enough or were otherwise effectively immobilized by whatever means. They may still be dangerous in that state. There was no real way to know without taking dangerous risks. It wasn't worth it.

"We are still facing far more than I would like, and those other things which have made no moves. Why don't they get involved? They could probably have done a lot more damage." Twilight was trying not to worry about them for now.

One of the commanders strategists from the command tent overheard them.

"I can probably tell you why." He volunteered.

"Oh? What do you think?" She was genuinely curious.

"A battle like this is similar to a board game. Both sides size up the other and try to come up with a better strategy than the other. If those things are anything like you indicated, then they are their most powerful units. It is a common tactic to hold back such units until a finishing blow can be struck. I think that's the idea." He made a valid point.

Twilight grit her teeth for a second.

"Do you think we should have made a run on them with everything we have?" She asked. He shook his head.

"No. They are just standing out there as intimidation. It might even be working a little. We won't back down, of course. It is likely they feel secure enough in their defenses which are probably formidable. Doing something like that otherwise would just be foalish." He got called over to discuss something or other with another strategist and left.

"He is right. They must have something really big in store for us." Twilight was remarkably calm overall as she mused.

"Something we haven't seen or counted on, but this is all we can do. This is the most powerful barrier I have ever seen. It should deflect nearly anything thrown at it. Despite that, somehow I know they will get through it. We can only hope it takes a lot out of them." Twilight could feel the force of magic emanating from the extremely dense barrier surrounding the town. It was even set underground so there could be no surprises from that direction. Everyone felt it was a wise precaution after what befell Canterlot and why. The guards were also instructed to remain on the solid roadways wherever possible just in case. The minutes felt like they were slipping past one into another. At least morale was still high.

The real fight was still ahead. All this was nothing more than a prelude to whatever horror would be set upon them next. Another messenger approached on hoof.

"Princess, I have a report for you." This orange-coated fellow was direct and gruff sounding.

"What is it?" This was curious.

"I am to tell you guards from different units have been reporting they felt an unusual feeling of slight downward pressure while fighting. It seems to have been random. Do you know what to make of it?" He looked very puzzled.

"Actually, I do. Kind of. The same thing happened to me when I was near the leader of this mess, but it was much more intense. Were there any more details about it?" As she asked he just shook his head.

"That is mighty strange, Twilight. What could it mean?" Applejack wondered.

"Whatever it is, it is definitely nothing good for us. We couldn't figure it out earlier and don't understand it now. There is a lot about this to dislike. We knew it would be dangerous. I have nothing to add." Twilight finished speaking. The messenger left at a gallop. This was going to get much stranger, and more deadly. A sudden yell went up. Huh?

"INCOMING!" Was being belted out along the lines behind the barrier as an immense white and black ball of whirling frizzing energies impacted against the barrier and spread out all along it causing a ripple to temporarily form along the entire surface as it dissipated the blow. The impact felt like it shook the very ground. The power behind that blast was ludicrous as expected.

"Jumpin junebugs, Twilight. How the hay are we supposed to stand up to that? The whole dang place shook from one hit!" Applejack was really shocked.

Twilight picked up a megaphone she'd kept nearby.

"Everypony remain calm. The barrier held." She said in as steady a voice as possible. The real question was, how long would it be able to take that?

"I've never seen this kind of dark magic either. That felt like something..writhing and sickly and..sad. I don't know how to describe it." Twilight held a hoof to her chest and breathed out to calm herself as well. Everyone was a bit shuddery after that. The approach to Ponyville was lit again as another massive ball of violent energies shot towards the barrier. This time it was different. How odd. The same thing, swirling the opposite way and double-hued in purple and black as it slammed into the barrier even harder than the first, making the ground tremble as though a light earthquake.

The massive barrier rippled under the amazingly hard blow. A slight flicker in it was a bit worrying.

"There is no way they are going to take that down in just three shots, right Twi?" Applejack was gravely worried now.

"No, I am certain it can take more. This just has to be wearing them down somewhat. Even a whole battalion of unicorns couldn't just waste that much magical power at once. They have to be hurting." Twilight was absolutely certain of that. She could tell the barrier took serious damage from those, but it still stood. Celestia and Luna had been roused by the commotion. They looked a lot better now. Good. They were going to be needed in very short order.

"Here they come. All guards ready for battle. Follow your orders, and live." Luna commanded. Flares were launched once more to order all stand ready. Her personal night guards looked eager to fight once more under her command.

"They will be upon us in no more than fifteen minutes or I'm a foal." Celestia said. It was finally time. So the enemy really would break through much faster than hoped. The commander returned, definitely a bit refreshed.

"Another one coming." He noted as the barrier absorbed another white and black mass of fritzing twirling energy across the whole surface. So much power.

"Any moment now." Was all he said.

---

Dark come seeping, all dressed in white.

Comments

[Windrunner]

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Hmm? Hehe. If you're happy and you know it clap your hooves..