The Lost Prophecy of Equus

by AlphariusOmegon

XIV. Making Friends

The morning after the whole training fiasco was tense, to say the least. Especially at breakfast. Celestia had not slept well, her thoughts about the previous day's events keeping her up well into the night. Void was up for a bit of the night as well, racked with guilt about what had taken place. He hadn't gotten much sleep over the past month anyway. Having to plan for an intergalactic war on top of shouldering the weight of not one but two entire species will do that to you.

That morning, everyone was around a table eating breakfast. Celestia had provided pancakes for everyone, even Void who she had shot an angry look towards when she had served him his plate. The room was silent as everyone ate. Sol was the first to speak, trying to ease the tension.

"So, how was everyone's night?"

"It was fine, dad," Celestia answered. It was obvious she was trying to hide the discontent in her voice.

Twilight hadn't thought about yesterday's events that much. She knew that Void or Celestia hadn't intended her to go berserk. She looked over to Void with concern. Void met her gaze and then turned back to Celestia.

"Celestia, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

"It's fine, Void."

"It's clearly not. The tension in the room is so thick that one could cut it with a knife."

Celestia sighed, trying to release her anger. "Void, can we please talk about this later? Besides, your kids are at the table."

Ender and Star Rift looked up from their plates, clearly confused. They weren't paying attention.

"Mom, what's happening?" Ender asked. Luna leaned over and whispered to her children so Celestia wouldn't hear.

"Your father and aunt sometimes don't see eye-to-eye, sweetie."

"I see..."

Void turned to Sol. "Foster-father. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to send a few of my brothers to get acquainted with the local populace."

---

Rogal and Perturabo stood next to each other on a hill, surveying the landscape of Equus.

Rogal sighed quietly as he looked over to see Canterlot. "Brother, I am quite disturbed at the fact that Canterlot seems to have no defenses."

Perturabo grumbled under his breath. He saw what his brother saw: a city left defenseless. On top of that, they were the ones who had helped with building Canterlot's previous defenses all of those years ago. "To think that they would willingly tear down the walls that could keep them safe. The ones that we designed no less."

"I can't help but feel slightly... offended. Do you think that we could pitch a new design to the Equestrian monarchy?"

"Perhaps. Sol might be willing now that Sheol has returned. Maybe a design similar to the Obsidian City's walls."

"No. Those walls are built on solid stone. If we replicated it here on the soft soil of this world, the walls would sink into the ground over time."

Perturabo nodded in agreement. "True, true. Besides, the Equestrians would probably want something that reflects themselves. Something that is in harmony with nature perhaps?"

"I believe so," Rogal answered. "There are two I remember brother mentioning during our voyage here. One who is an expert on nature and the other an expert in fortifications. I believe he was able to save his entire village by digging a moat. Both of them live in Ponyville."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get walking."

---

Leman and Magnus walked through the streets of the Crystal Empire, this time as visitors instead of trespassers. As they walked, crystal ponies stopped and stared at the two alien giants that now openly walked their streets. Some waved with nervous smiles, some actively avoided them, and others couldn't help but stare in wonder.

Magnus took a deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled with joy. "Can you smell it, brother? The pure magic that flows through this place! It's almost like back home!"

Leman shrugged. "No, I don't smell it, brother. All I smell is the scent of every pony around us. That, and their fear." Leman looked towards a group of ponies who were whispering. He could hear their conversations about him and his brother. They clearly weren't speaking kindly of the two brothers.

"You're such a damn hard head." Magnus sighed.

"And you're a nerd." Leman chuckled, patting Magnus on the back. "Although, the cold does remind me slightly of home, so I do see where you're coming from."

The two approached the gates of the Crystal Palace. Magnus took in the sight of the massive spire of pure crystal that he stood before. It reminded him of the Impossible fortress. Granted, the Crystal Palace was nowhere near the size of the Impossible Fortress, but its material and structure were similar.

"Halt," one of the guards called to the two brothers. Magnus and Leman stopped in their tracks as three guards approached them. "State your business here."

"We're here to answer Princess Amore's summons. She asked for us by name." Magnus presented a letter to the officer of the guards. The officer took it and looked it over carefully, meticulously looking for any discrepancies. The memory of the incident was still fresh in everyone's mind.

"Seems like everything is in order," The officer said with a hint of reluctance in his voice. "Right this way."

The two brothers were led into the crystal palace by the guards who kept a very close eye on them.

---

Rockhoof and Fluttershy were out in her garden, tending to the flowers and other assortments of plant life. Rockhoof dug holes for Fluttershy to plant new flowers for the coming of spring.

"That should be all of them!" Rockhoof said with joy.

"Thank you so much, Rockhoof. Digging is not my strong suit. I'm very grateful for your help."

"It was nothing. I'm always happy to help..." Rockhoof stopped as he saw two armored giants approaching from the distance. Rogal and Perturabo had arrived.

"You are the one they call Rockhoof?" Rogal asked.

Rockhoof gulped as he formed his response. "I am."

"Good. My brother and I require your advice." Rogal looked over to Fluttershy who was obviously scared of him. "You too."

Fluttershy shyly approached the two primarchs and stood next to Rockhoof. "Um... hi... my name is Fluttershy."

"A pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy." Rogal extended his hand in greeting. Fluttershy, not wanting to be rude, took Rogal's hand and shook it gently. "This is my brother, Perturabo," Rogal said, looking toward his brother. "We are two of the brothers of the Emperor of the Azur. We have come to ask for advice."

Rockhoof and Fluttershy looked at each other, puzzled by Rogal's words.

Perturabo spoke up. "We seek to help fortify Canterlot and Ponyville to prepare for the coming storm. Of course, we know that the design will have to be submitted to your sovereign. So, we need help with designing something that would be both culturally pleasing to your people while also being a formidable defense against any demonic incursions. We were thinking of something to do with the natural beauty of Equus. We have heard that you both would be experts on this topic."

"I- I'm honored," Fluttershy said, still nervous as ever. "W-would you two like some tea? I have a kettle on the stove right now..."

Perturabo looked at his brother and shrugged. "I don't see why not."

---

"Thank you both for coming." Shining Armor said to Leman and Magnus as they sat at a table of crystal. Cadance was holding Flurry Heart in her hooves, sitting next to Shining.

"It is a pleasure to be here," Magnus said, taking a sip from the small teacup in his hands. Even with all of the niceties, he could sense what they really wanted to talk about. "Your hospitality is much appreciated, but I assume we're all here to discuss the... incident."

Shining nearly choked on his tea. "Y- yes... how-"

"He can read minds," Leman interjected.

"Leman, I think we can both read the room."

The four sat there in awkward silence for a bit before Flurry Heart opened her eyes and recognized Leman. She flew from her mother's arms and flew around Leman like a bumblebee. She was clearly happy to see him again. Leman smiled before gently taking her in his arms.

"Aye, little one, I'm glad to see you again too."

Magnus crossed his arms, clearly jealous of the affection Flurry showed Leman. "Princess, from one child of divinity to another, your child is sacred."

"Yes, she is sacred to me."

"No, I mean literally sacred. Divine magic runs through her like a river's current. I've only seen this kind of power once before when Void was but as Flurry is now."

Shining Armor and Cadance looked at each other with a mix of pride and worry. They knew their daughter was powerful... but this was a revelation.

"Which means that she is a prime target for Sheol's demonic forces, whether it be kidnapping or straight-up murder... I don't think I have to explain it any further to get the point across."

"I assume that's why you were so interested in her in the first place, Magnus," Shining said, holding Cadance's hoof in the reassurance that he would let nothing happen to their daughter.

"Indeed..."

The rest of the talks were brief, only discussing strategy and trade. When all was concluded, the two brothers took their leave. An entourage of Azurian Knights was waiting for their primarchs outside of the palace, relieved to see their leaders emerge from the gates.

"All went well, gene-father?"

"Yes, Ahriman." Magnus responded, "All is..." Magnus stopped before eyeing something peculiar. He felt something familiar, something dangerous. He reached out and grabbed one of the palace guards by the throat, hoisting him up into the air. The aura around the guard faded, revealing something the brothers knew all too well.

"They're already here... CHANGELINGS!" Magnus shouted. Cadance and Shining could hear from the tower above.

"Oh, at last!" Leman drew his sword with anticipation. The Azur Knights readied their weapons as they saw a swarm of dark changelings coming towards the Crystal Palace over the horizon.

And Chrysalis was at the head of the swarm.

---

"I'm impressed with what you two have done here," Void said as he inspected the new fortifications around Ponyville. The walls were a mix of Equus's natural beauty and practicality. A few artillery cannons and weapons emplacements, donated by the Imperial Guard, lined the walls of the now fortified Ponyville. Twilight could only gaze in awe at the new fortifications.

"Well, we can't take all the credit. Fluttershy and Rockhoof here helped us with the design process," Purturabo said triumphantly.

Twilight looked over to see Fluttershy and Rockhoof standing with some Azurian architects, overseen by Rogal. She felt pride well up in her for what her friends were doing for Ponyville.

"This will be the first of many joint projects between our people to come," Void said to Twilight. "Oh! Speaking of, I have a present for you!"

Void opened a rift and grabbed a large box from it. It was made of obsidian and was carved with holy symbols of both the Azur and Pony-kind. Twilight opened it and gasped.

"Your own power armor and power sword. Courtesy of my brother, Vulkan. And the best part is that it will change form as you do! The sword is engraved with an aetherium crystal, a source of power and prosperity to our people. The blade is pure adamantium, as is the armor. The right pauldron is adorned with your cutie mark. The left with the Elements of Harmony."

Twilight stared in awe of this gift that Void had given her. "I've always wondered what all of those purple crystals were..." Twilight said as she took and admired the sword.

Suddenly, a shout came from the walls. It was one of the pegasi who agreed to help move materials from the ground to the higher places of the wall. Void and Twilight flew up to see what the commotion was about. Across the horizon, an army of demons could be seen for miles. Twilight's heart jumped to her throat when she saw them.

"The artillery still needs to be loaded..." Void muttered to himself. Void flew off the wall and immediately started giving orders. Twilight followed him down.

"Rogal! Perturabo! Have your warriors begin loading the artillery batteries!" Rogal and Perturabo gave no response, rather they set about organizing their warriors and relaying Void's orders. The skies began to darken with black clouds, almost blotting out the sun. A few minutes later, Celestia, had arrived in Ponyville with a contingent of her royal guard. There was a fire in Celestia's eyes.

"How long do we have?" Celestia shouted.

"Not long. I don't think they brought any siege engines. They expected Ponyville to be unguarded. But the artillery still needs to be loaded. The ammunition is only just beginning to flow to the emplacements. Rogal and Perturabo are already on it."

"Shit," Celestia muttered under her breath.

Void froze for a moment, almost as if he were in a trance. "Magnus reports that the Crystal Empire is also under attack as well," Void said as he snapped back to his senses.

"A two-pronged assault. Sheol is trying to divide and conquer. Mom and Dad are back at the palace with Luna and Nox. Canterlot is preparing for refugees."

"You will have enough time. The walls will hold as long as the demons don't bring-"

ROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!

"...a titan." A massive beast rose from the ground unlike anypony had ever seen before. Its hide was a pale leather, and its eyes were white as snow. Chains and nails pierced its flesh as if it had been punished for an ancient crime so long ago.

"This complicates things... that thing can punch right through the walls... we need more time to get the civilians out."

"Did someone say they needed to stall for time?" A voice yelled. Void and Celestia turned to see Discord leaning up against the wall like nothing was happening. "Sounds like to me you need a distraction."

"Hello again, Malal." Void sighed. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to help!"

Celestia and Void looked at each other and looked back at Discord with a bit of concern. Void was the first to speak up.

"Fine. Just give us enough time to get the civilians out and the guns loaded."

Discord snapped his fingers. In but a moment he was dressed in the attire of a medieval knight and had grown an over-exaggerated goatee. Void recognized it immediately.

"Wait you've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"

"You're not the only god who has seen Terran cinema." Discord answered with a French accent.

"What the hell is a Monty Python?" Celestia asked. "Forget it. Just get on the wall and do your thing!"

"Yes, mam!" Discord flew as fast as he could over the wall. Celestia and Void turned to Twilight.

"Twilight... you don't have to fight if you don't want to. I can give you the duty of leading the civilians to safety in Canterlot." Celestia said, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"We will lure out the leader of this assault, but I want you to face them personally," Void interjected.

Celestia went wide-eyed "ARE YOU INSANE?!" She shouted at Void.

"Now is not the time!" Void shouted back.

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Twilight shouted. Celestia stared at Twilight, shocked that she raised her voice at Void... and herself. Twilight was on the verge of tears "Celestia... I'm not a filly anymore. I need to be the Pony everyone needs me to be now. Please, just trust me..."

Celestia stared at Twilight with tears in her eyes before nodding begrudgingly. "I understand..." Celestia responded. "I'll rally the civilians then..." Celestia flew off and began giving orders to her royal guard.

Although he didn't physically show it, deep down, Void was shocked. He wanted to place a hand on Twilight's shoulder to reassure her that she had made the right decision, but he couldn't find it in himself to do it. Twilight took up her sword and began to put on her armor.

"Now it begins..." Void whispered to himself as Twilight ignited her sword with magic.

---

The leader of the assault rode up to the wall on his demonic steed. He was clad in black steel, carrying a jagged flail as his weapon, and his beard was made of sentient snakes.

"Hello?! Anyone home?!" He shouted. The demonic army chuckled at the jest. They knew that there was a feast of souls that awaited them in Ponyville. What they hadn't expected was the wall.

Discord popped his head over the wall to see the demon leader staring straight back at him. "Allo! 'Oo is it?"

"I am Gotholgar, the lord of suffering! And this is my army! Whose fortress is this?"

"This is the fortress of my lady, Princess Celestia!"

"Go and tell her that this fortress now belongs to Sheol! If she surrenders, her people will be unharmed but will be our captives until this war is over! We'll also give you a... uhhhh gold dispenser!"

"Bullshit," Celestia muttered as began to sneak the civilians out through secret passages that had been carved during Ponyville's founding in case of an event like this.

Discord shrugged mockingly. "Well, I'll ask 'er, but I don't think 'e'll be very keen-- 'e's already got one, you see?"

"She already has one?"

"Oh yes, is's ver' naahs."

"Well... ah... um..." Gotholgar was genuinely taken aback. He didn't expect a divine royal of Equestria to have a gold dispenser from Hell's fourth circle. Of course, his inner nature was getting the better of him. If the ponies had one, then there would be riches to go around for days amongst the demons of his army. It would also be a great offering to win Sheol's favor. "Can we come up and take a look?"

"Of course not! You are demon types!"

"Well, what are you then? You're clearly not a pony!"

Discord crossed his arms as if he were offended. "Ah'm French! Why do this out-rrrageous accent, you silly demon?!"

"If you're not a pony, then what are you doing in Equestria?" Another demon shouted. Gotholgar spun around and whipped the demon once with his flail, rending some of its flesh. The demon screamed in pain before being seen to by what Discord assumed to be a medic. Gotholgar was getting impatient. "If you will not show us your gold dispenser, we shall take this town by force!"

"Hah!" Discord taunted Gotholgar. "You don't frighten us, demon pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person! Ah blow my nose at you, so-called "Sheol Keeeng"! You and all your silly demon Knnnnnnnn-ighuts!!!" Discord then banged on his helmet and stuck out his tongue, making strange noises at the demons. The taunts were clearly working, Gotholgar's pride was getting the better of him. "Now look here you mother-"

"Ah don' wanna talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food-trough wiper! Ah fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"

Gotholgar exploded with rage, his patience at an end. "MY MOTHER WAS NOT A HAMSTER YOU FUCKING DICKBAG! AND MY FATHER DIDN'T SMELL! THEY WERE BOTH PROUD DEMONS OF THE CIRCLE OF WRATH AND SERVED HONORABLY IN THE WAR OF- wait, you're just stalling for time aren't you?!"

"Well, shit." Discord muttered before ducking behind the wall. Celestia had just ushered out the last of the civilians and shut the passageways.

"May the wind be at your back, Twilight..." she whispered.

"OPEN FIRE!" Void yelled. And with that, the thunder of artillery sounded on Equus for the first time in many an age.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

The fight is going to be epic.

Where did Spike go though? Shouldn't he by Twilight's side?

[Samurai_Arashi]

okay using Monty python and the Holy grail in this story got me to smile. Good work!