A strange creature in Equestria

by sykko

The battle of three days

It had been months since the attack on the Crystal Empire. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, Shining Armor, Yona, Silverstream, Gallus, Thorax and Harald sat around a table with the map of Equestria and the lands beyond on it. Figurines representing allied and enemy forces were laid out on the map.

Reading a battle report, Celestia moved a few pieces representing twisted changelings, warped griffons and corrupted diamond dogs to the edge of Vanhoover. "It seems we're loosing ground as fast as we gain it.", she said grimly.

"Indeed.", Luna replied as she looked over more reports, her forehead scrunched in frustration, "Though we've pushed back the forces of Sombra and Chrysalis from the Crystal Empire, Appleloosa and Whinnyapolis, they've pushed in on Manehattan, Maretropolis and have surrounded Las Pegasus." She placed several figurines in the mountains. "The spotty intelligence from the pegasus scouts have discovered they are recouping their losses and are amassing in the various mountain ranges."

Twilight studied casualty reports and supply reports. "If this war keeps going like it is, we'll run out of food for our military." She slapped the reports down in frustration and gave an exasperated grunt.

"We need a way to draw the bulk of their forces out in a battle so we can break their back and deplete their numbers so we can relieve our embattled forces.", Shining Armor said looking at troop estimates.

Harald leaned over the map studying it as an aide interpreted the battle reports for him. He scratched his chin in thought as he dragged his finger across the map. He stopped his finger on a valley leading into a box canyon flanked by to rivers. He tapped his finger on the map, "There!"

Cadance looked at where Harald had his finger. "What's special about box canyon? It's just a dry dusty canyon with some arable farmland several leagues to the east."

Celestia and Luna looked at the canyon on the map. "By the great river! It's a nearly unflankable position!", Luna exclaimed. "What are your thoughts Harald?", Celestia asked.

"The dark one's ego is his weakness. When he attacked my homeland and slaughtered my people, I went out to confront him. He pontificated on end about how none born of mare could kill him. He fled when my harpoon pierced his flesh and I tracked him to this land.", Harald said, his face a mask of grim resolve. He placed a figurine representing himself on the canyon. "I will send out the call that I shall march to here and will accept any who volunteer to stand with me. Once the words reach his ears that I march for a grand campaign, his ego shall stoke him to send the greater portion of his forces against me. He may even show up himself to oversee the battle himself."

"It would take you a week to march there, maybe longer.", Shining Armor said, "Plus it would take us at least the long to muster a sufficient relief force. There's no guarantee you could hold out long enough."

"I could make it there in three day on my own if I summon the weirding and if I push myself. Then a day of rest and recover to regain my strength.", Harald said, "That will give me sufficient time to scout out the area and create a base camp." He drug his finger to the nearest towns. "If the call goes out the day I leave, the first volunteers could be there the same day I arrive."

"What would you need for this forced march?", Cadance asked.

"As much food and water as I could carry.", Harald replied.

Celestia looked around the table. "Any thoughts or rebuttals?" When none replied, she continued, "Then in the morning you will be given a pack with as much food and water as you can carry. May the father above and the mother below send a favorable wind to your back."

In the morning Harald lashed his weapons and armor to a heavily stuffed backpack. Several sack of food and canteens of water were delivered to him, which he lashed to the backpack or to his body. He knelt grasping the leather medallion hanging around his neck praying to the ancestors for speed and endurance. Rising to his feet as he felt the weirding enter him, he slipped the backpack on. Flexing his legs a few time to get used to the weight, he set off in a blur, legs pumping hard. The next three days would be a grueling trek across the countryside at speed.

As soon as Harald was on the edge of Canterlot, the princesses teleported letters across Equestria to every city, town, village and hamlet calling for any and all volunteers to head to Box Canyon. As the letters arrived, runners and criers began scattering shouting the message.

In Ponyville, as soon as the message from the princesses was received, the town crier began calling out for volunteers. The exiled griffons were the first to respond as they began strapping armor to themselves and gathering in the center of town. Once every able bodied griffon had gathered, the banners of Griffonstone in exile and cries of "For Gilda! For Griffonstone!" went out as the armored column took to the air. Over the next few hours the Everfree Rangers gathered alongside the the Ponyville guard in regimented formations. Ponies no part of a military outfit began forming a militia. Applejack with a brush hook strapped to her back and an old pike in her hooves gave her siblings and Granny Smith, before turning to Rainbow embracing her and sharing a tender kiss.

"Now don't get yourself killed.", Rainbow said parting from the kiss.

"It'll take more'n a few changelings tuh stop me.", Applejack replied, "'Sides Ah gotta give you a reason tuh make it tuh the battle."

The two shared one last quick embrace. "Stay safe.", Rainbow whispered as they parted. She watched her wife march off humming an old Apple family song as she joined the militia, before she herself flew off to gather the Wonderbolts under her command.

Rarity came out Carousel Boutique securing saddlebags, flank bag and satchels filled with medical supplies. Locking the door, she tossed the key with her magic to Sweetie Bell, then joined the growing militia. Banners were unfurled as the mass of ponies began marching out, singing an old Equestrian battle hymn.

In the province of Northern, Fluttershy braided her mane and tail, then pulled on traditional pegasus armor. After securing a crested helmet on her head, she grabbed a spear off the nearby rack. Cresting a nearby hill, she watched as the armored griffons were flying off into the distance. Turning her head back to the amassing ponies, yaks and Thorax's changelings, she hoisted the spear above her head giving a great shout. Voices returned the shout as she took to the air and banked towards the front of the column. As they began marching out singing hymns, two ponies that no pony or creature recognized, one an earth pony mare with a grey coat and white mane, the other a blue pegasus mare with a blonde mane, joined the back of the column.

Over the next three day as Harald pressed himself hard, the countryside blurred by him as the scenery changed from the green rolling hills of the Canter Valley, to rolling forests, to open plains, to scrub and finally to desert. Cresting a rise, he saw his desination, the entrance to Box Canyon, the valley leading from it was flanked by two flowing rivers that cut through the land like blue arteries. Pressing himself hard, her forded the river at a shallow spot where two sandbars nearly met and turned towards the entrance of the canyon. Reaching the canyon entrance, he quickly found a cave. Picking up a rock as big as his hand, he threw it into cave, making sure there was no unwanted animals using it a den. He let out a sigh of relief as a small swarm of bats flew out, he made his way into the cave and began setting up camp before releasing the weirding. Slumping against the cave wall, his muscles trembled as the burnt taste of adrenaline filled his mouth, he slid down the wall into a sitting position and greedily drained a canteen. Soon exhaustion overtook him and he allowed himself to slip into sleep.

Harald was awakened some time later by the creak of wagon wheels, the clanking of pots and the clopping of hooves. Grabbing his sword, he hurried out the cave and into the canyon. A sigh escaped his lips when he saw a wagon loaded with cooking supplies being hauled by a scruffy looking earth pony at the head of a column of about fifty ponies.

When the scruffy earth pony saw Harald, he put a hoof to his mouth and gave a loud whistle. Two pegasi flew up from the column of ponies wielding wood axes as the earth pony unhitched himself from the wag and drew from underneath it a weather beaten crossbow. He approached flanked by the two pegasi and asked, "You Lord-protector Irontoothson?"

Harald laid the flat of the sword against his shoulder, shifted his weight onto his heels and nodded. "I am he. And who are you?"

The earth pony gestured for the pegasi to stand down and then laid the crossbow across his back. He walked forward, extended a hoof and said in a jovial tune, "My name's Chuck Wagon! Most ponies jus' call me Cookie!"

Harald grasped cookie's forelimb firmly with his hand. "Greetings Mr. Wagon..."

"Jus' call me Cookie!", Cookie interrupted, "Everypony else does!"

"*ahem* Greetings...Cookie. I am Harald Irontoothson.", Harald said feeling slightly uncomfortable. He looked at the column of ponies approaching and lifted his chin towards them.

Cookie looked back at the approaching column. "This here's th' militia from a lil' town about thirty leagues away called Tumbleweed. Most of us are Apples to th' core!", he gestured his hoof towards the column, "We ain't no fancy solderin' types, but in a dust up ya couldn't ask fer a better buncha ponies tuh have at yer back. Dinit figure we'd'a been th' first uns out here, 'sides yerse'f. But we's here now." Cookie went back to his wagon and hitched himself back to it. After an hour the column of ponies had made camp and had begun digging trenches.

Harald was sitting around a fire with several ponies. He had given his foodstuffs to Cookie to help bolster the food. He shoved a handful of dried fruits and nuts in his mouth before going out to oversee the last of the tranches being dug when he saw several shadows cast on the ground by the afternoon sun. Looking he saw a mixed group of twenty-five griffons and thirty pegasi.

Landing, the lead pegasus, a stallion with an ice-blue coat and silver mane, walked up to Harald and snapped a salute. "Lord-protector sir! My name is Sergeant Cirrus of the thirty-seventh pegasi reservists out of Hailton!", he said gesturing with a wing to a city drifting past on the horizon looking like storm clouds.

Harald placed a fist on his chest and tipped his head, "Welcome Cirrus. Get your ponies settled in then help with the fortifications or set up patrols."

Cirrus snapped a salute then flew off shouting orders to the pegasi under his command as Harald began to converse with nearby griffons.

As the sun began to set, griffons and pegasi who had been filtering in for hours began settling down in tents or clouds they had gathered as others flew out over the camp and beyond on patrol or to gather water.

Harald stood on the upper lip of the canyon to help keep watch, alongside a few earth ponies whom had been carried up by pegasi or griffons. After a few hours, a crude walkway wound up the sides of the canyon constructed from ropes and old boards. Looking out in the growing dark of the evening, he saw the twinkle of campfires on the horizon. Holding two fingers up to his mouth, he gave a loud whistle to catch the attention of one of a flying patrol, then pointed to the campfires. The pegasi and griffons nodded as they banked towards the twinkling campfires in the growing gloom of dusk. Harald starred off towards the horizon as the moon crested above the horizon, breathing in the cooling air of night he knew that things would get interesting over the next several days.
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Sombra sat in a hastily constructed hive overlooking the siege of Las Pegasus as the the yipping of corrupted diamond dogs, the chittering of twisted changelings and the guttural growls of warped griffons blended with the groans and shrieks of ponies being tortured for suffering and meat to fuel his forces. He starred at a crude map of Equestria with several notes scrawled on it denoting troop movements. He looked over the map in deep thought as he ran the reports that several scouts had given him for the past three days. He racked his brain as he thought about why mass movements of ponies, yaks, Griffonstone griffons and Thorax's changelings were heading towards a canyon on the edge of the desert. His eyes narrowed as a realization came to him. "Rimewalker!", he growled as he drew an X on the canyon. Rising from where he was sitting, he walked deeper into the hive.

Chrysalis was making sport of torturing a pegasus filly, she would strike it with a forelimb sending it tumbling across the floor, drinking in its fear and suffering before acting like she was going to let it run away. When she began to tire of her cruel game, she lifted it in her dark magic up to her mouth and ripped one of its wings off with her fangs. She shuddered with bliss as the filly shrieked in pain. After she swallowed the severed wing, Chrysalis licked the stump of the wing then cauterized the wound with her magic. Suspending the filly above her throne with some mucus, she cut cut long gashes into its body and sat under, catching the dripping blood in her mouth. Looking over she saw Sombra walking up and flapped her translucent wings hovering next to the suffering filly as she ran her long black tongue along its gashes. "Ah King Sombra.", she said with a wicked glint in her eyes as she drank in the filly's blood and suffering, "Care to partake?"

Sombra gave a sneer at Chrysalis' vulgar display. "The Rimewalker summons his forces on the edge of the desert in a vain attempt to challenge us.", he said as his eyes glinted red.

"So?",Chrysalis asked derisively, "He must know any attempt to call forth an army will fail." She bit into the side of the filly, tearing off a chunk of skin and meat, the chewed it loudly before swallowing it.

"He stands without the aid of the princesses.", Sombra said, "If you enjoy the suffering of ponies, think of the suffering you could feast on from one human."

Chrysalis gave ran it through her mind as she licked the wound in the filly's side. Reaching out with her magic, she pulled the filly from the ceiling and tossed it screaming to her changelings who leapt upon it, when they were done only a bloody skeleton and a few scraps of organ remained. Bowing, she asked, "What is your orders King Sombra?"

Sombra gave a wicked smile, "We lift the sieges and fall back to the mountains to consolidate our forces. Then we march to confront his pathetic little band."

Chrysalis rose from the ground and reached out with her mind to her changelings. "It shall be done my king.", she said with a gleam in her eyes.

After Sombra walked off Chrysalis felt something summon her to a part of the hive where the creatures rarely went. As she the dark alcove, a shiver ran through her carapace as dark magic began to swirl about her. On the walls of the alcove shadows of two alicorns manifested on the walls. Taking a step back, she spoke a challenge, "Shades! Who are you?" "Queen Chrysalis, you serve us well.", said a voice from behind her. Turning she saw a skeleton of a goat wreathed in green flames. Bowing, she said. "Lord Grogar! How may I serve thee?"

Grogar walked forward, his bones rattling with each step. "Arise Queen.", he said in a dry, wispy voice, "Dost thou not recognize your other two masters Lord Nightmare and Lord Shadow?"

Chrysalis trembled slightly as she rose from the floor.

"Sombra will soon be no longer of use to us.", Shadow said in a rumbling voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"His ambitions are small and his failure to kill our enemy shows his lack of true loyalty and ambition.", Nightmare said in a whisper that seemed to come from both within and without Chrysalis' mind, "His petty power plays threaten to underwhelm our true plan."

"What do you ask of me my masters?", Chrysalis asked trying to mask the fear in her voice.

"Soon we will find the heir to our king.", Grogar said, "All we ask of you is a sacrifice to show your loyalty and we will assure your eternal service in our court."

Chrysalis bowed again. "Ask anything me, including my life and it shall be yours."

Grogar approached Chrysalis and lifted a sharp stone knife in his magic. Slicing open her cheek, he gathered the greenish-black blood that oozed out in his hoof, the sealed the wound. Producing a changeling egg, he smeared the blood on it. "When the time comes Sombra shall show weakness. Thou art to wound him and we shalt gift unto thee the dark magic we gave unto him."

"As you command, so shall it be done.", Chrysalis said rising.

Grogar, Nightmare and Shadow faded away leaving Chrysalis alone in the alcove. As she walked out of the alcove, she gave a soft chuckle anticipating her rise to power.
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Celestia and Luna looked over reports. "Sister...", Luna said, "Sombra and Chrysalis have lifted their sieges."

Celestia looked over the reports before speaking, "Harald has been gathering forces to him for four day so far and Sombra and Chrysalis' forces will take at least three days to fully mobilize, then another two days to arrive." She turned to a nearby aide, "Send word to Queen SIlverstream to have her mobilize the hippogriffs and seaponies."

Luna turned to the aide, "Send word to Princess Yona and Chief Strongheart to mobilize."

"Yes your majesties.", the aide said bowing before leaving the room to relay the messages.

Celestia and Luna left the room to begin gathering their forces.
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After a week, thousands of ponies, Thorax's changelings and Griffonstone griffons had joined the growing forces st Box Canyon. Harald stood on a berm overlooking the flat stretch of land between the two rivers as three columns of ponies began fording the rivers, one from the north carried the banners of the Province of Northern Equestria, to the south two forded the river, one carried the banners of Ponyville and the other carrying the banners of Rockville and Western Equestria. After the three columns forded the rivers, they merged into one massive column as they marched to the entrance of Box Canyon.

Shouts of of celebration went out from the creatures in the canyon as the massive column arrived. Harald leapt off the berm and went down to greet the massive column. Fluttershy rushed ahead of the column and threw her forelimbs around Harald's neck in a hug as she kissed him. After they broke from the embrace, Harald went along the column inspecting the forces. He noted the pike Applejack was carrying.

Harald reached out a hand to the pike. "May I have a closer look?", he asked Applejack.

"Sure. Here ya go Sugarcube!", Applejack said hoofing over the pike.

Looking over the pike, Harald noted it was old but well maintained, the wood showed no sign of being rotted, the leaf-shaped bronze head was sharpened but in need of polishing, the sharpened iron spike at the base served as a counter balance, it was twice as long as the largest pony. "It is well constructed.", he said handing it back to Applejack, "How old is it?"

"'Cording to Granny, it belonged tuh her grandpappy's great-grandpappy back we was still called Smith an' we was travelling seed merchants.", Applejack replied, "It t'were used in th' defense o' Equestria during the first griffon war."

Harald tapped his thumb to his collar bone in thought. "How long would it take to make enough for the militia?"

"Gettin' th' wood ain't no problem, but gettin' enough iron or bronze might be a might hard.", Applejack replied, "If'n Ah had 'nuffa help Ah could make 'bout a thousand in three days."

Marble Pie stepped forward. "Getting the iron won't be that hard.", she mumble from behind her mane, "The rocks in this canyon have enough ore to make the heads. Getting the copper and tin to make bronze will be hard as it doesn't look like there isn't much of either in the rocks here."

"Hmm...", Harald hummed in thought, "The enemy surely marches. You have two day to gather up materials and make as many as you can."

Over the next two days pegasi and griffons gathered slim, narrow trees from the wooded thickets along the rivers while AJ lead several ponies in shaving them down. Marble set up a smelting operation at the back of the canyon as she led expeditions along the walls of the canyons to gather ore. At the end of the second day eight hundred pike were made. Harald gave a grunt of satisfaction as he inspected several of the pikes.

in the early morning of the third day Harald was roused from his sleep in his tent from a small clamor in the camp. Gently rolling Fluttershy over, he rose and pulled his clothes on, then walked out of the tent. Walking into the canyon, he looked out to the far horizon and saw a growing dark cloud. "Report?"

"Looks like a storm front moving towards the south and east.", a pegasus mare said.

"The storm front moves against the wind!", an earth pony stallion shouted from the top of the canyon looking through a spyglass.

Harald growled softly as he set his jaw. "An advance column of the enemy.",he growled in his throat. He called orders out, "Watch that swarm and put sentries to watch the horizon in every direction for any other movements. Set up listening posts for signs of burrowing. Give me hourly updates." After giving orders, he made his way back to his tent and gently shook Fluttershy awake.

"What's the matter beloved?", Fluttershy asked with concern seeing the stern look on Harald's face.

Slipping on his armor, Harald said, "An advanced column of the enemy has been spotted moving to the south and east..." He strapped his weapons to his waist and strapped his shield hook to his hip, then hung the shield from it. He strode out of the tent as Fluttershy began donning her armor.

As the sun began slipping below the horizon, Harald stood atop a freshly constructed berm that Marble Pie had help build. A green earth pony mare that stood as tall as him and an orange pegasus mare that came up to his chest walked up next to him. Glancing at them, he raised an eyebrow. "You two come with me.", he ordered. Pointing to a wooded thicket several paces away from the mouth of canyon, he said, "Accompany me there on patrol." The three walked in silence to the thicket. As they entered the thicket, Harald walked to the edge of the river, knelt and ran fingers through the water as he clicked his tongue in thought. Rising to his feet, he turned and asked, "Sky Queens, why are you here?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about.", the pegasus mare said.

Stepping forward getting face to face with the pegasus mare. "Lie not to me!", he snapped, "You think I cannot recognize my blood-bound sister?" He leaned his face close to the pegasus mare, narrowing his eyes. "Drop your disguise and lie not to me."

The earth pony mare sighed, "The jig is up Twilight." Dropping her disguise, she revealed herself to be Cadance.

Twilight dropped her disguise revealing her true form.

"Now answer my question.", Harald said in an annoyed tone, "Why are you here?"

"I owe you a debt that I cannot repay.", Cadance said, "You lead the defense of my kingdom and I choose to stand with you here."

"Fair enough.", Harald replied. Turning to Twilight, he asked, "Why are you here and not gathering your forces?"

"My forces are here.", Twilight confidently replied, "The Everfree Rangers, the Ponyville Guard and the Ponyville Militia are here. As for why I am here, I will not idly sit by while my subjects risk their lives."

"Why the deception? Why not lead at the head of your forces?", Harald asked.

"We were in agreement with Celestia and Luna to conceal ourselves so that Sombra and Chrysalis did not know that we were part of the grand army.", Cadance replied sternly.

A toothy grin spread across Harald's face as a plan formed in his mind. "Hold your disguises until after the enemy scouts pass over our positions. It will be a great surprise when two Sky Queens join the fight." Gesturing for them to follow as he began walking towards the edge of the thicket, he said, "Come, we have much planning before the enemy is upon us."

As the three of them of them made their way back to the canyon, pegasi and griffons were gathering up clouds and making ice javelins. Harald grunted in approval as he watched the pegasi use their magic to preserve the javelins.

Over the next two days as the enemy forces began making their camp at the far end of the valley, Harald drilled the pikeponies in basic formations on how to breach and envelop ground forces. Pegasi and griffons began drilling in aerial combat formations. Earth ponies and yaks began gathering boulders as they formed small earthen ramps. Thorax's changelings began drilling in shock and flanking tactics.

As dawn broke on the third day, storm clouds were seen forming in the distance to the north east and west. As Sombra and Chrysalis' forces began forming ranks at the far end of the valley, the allied army began forming ranks at the mouth of the canyon. Pikeponies spread out on the front line as earth pony soldiers filled the gaps. Earth ponies and yaks formed up behind the front ranks as they rolled boulders onto the base of the earthen ramps. Buffalo and yaks formed up as part of the center of the center of the second line shock troops, as the Everfree Rangers and Thorax's changelings formed up on the second rank as flankers. Fluttershy lead the third rank to serve as forces to fill gaps in their lines or push into breaches in the enemies lines. Griffonstone griffons spread purple dye on the crowns of feathers on their heads and around their eyes before taking up ice javelins and joining the pegasi in the air.

DAY ONE

Twisted griffons, warped changelings and corrupted diamond dogs marched forward halfway up the valley before holding their position. Their scouts gave flybys as close as they could to the front lines to try and gather as much information. The front lines parted as a massive griffon with chitinous growths on its face strode forth and stopped several paces from the mouth of the canyon. It shouted in a loud voice, "Throw thrown down your weapons and..."An ice javelin from above cut its word off as its head and chest froze solid.

"You can have that one!", a pegasus shouted a taunt.

The corrupted army began marching forward. They began picking speed slowly as twisted changelings began swarming up from their ranks.

"Make them pay for every step they take!", Harald shouted waving his sword in the air.

As the corrupted army began closing on the mouth of the canyon, boulders and ice javelins began raining down on their ranks, cutting swaths into their formations or forcing them to break ranks. The pikeponies lowered their pike and braced for the charge. Harald gave a nod and Cadance and Twilight dropped their disguises.

Aerial duels broke out above the two armies. "Hold! Hold!", Harald shouted as the enemy front line approached. When the enemy front was a few paces away, Harald shouted, "Brace!" Shields were raised on the front lines as buffalo, yaks and earth ponies braced their bodies against the back of the front line. As the front lines of the two armies clashed, the corrupted creatures tried to avoid the pikes, many were impaled on them. With a lout clatter, bodies slammed into each other. Hooves dug hard into the ground as the corrupted army started pushing, talons and pitted iron weapons tried to find purchase. "Now!", Harald shouted. Twilight fired off a signal with her horn and earth ponies on the top of the canyon came out of their concealed positions. They kicked large boulders off the cliff into the ranks of the corrupted army as several of them loosed bolts from their crossbows. As the corrupted army's ranks began to break up, Harald shouted, "Push!" The front line began pushing with all their might sending the front line of the corrupted army throwing pockets of the creatures back onto their own ranks. "March!", HJarald shouted and the front line of the army began moving forward.

Gaps began to widen in the corrupted army's lines. "Charge!", Harald shouted. The front line rushed forward as pikes, spears and swords were thrusted into the creatures. Soon the first ranks of the corrupted army began to devolve into disorganized pockets. "Break their lines!", Harald shouted. The front lines of the allied army opened to allow yaks and buffalo to charge through into their front lines turning the initial charge into a rout as Thorax's changelings and the Everfree Rangers charged out into the flanks picking off isolated groups, further spreading panic through the ranks. Soon the front ranks of the corrupted army devolved into panicked fleeing or infighting as the rest of the initial push was forced to fall back through the valley. "Hold!", Harald shouted, bringing the push to a stop as the enemy army retreated back up the valley. The allied army slowly backed up into the mouth of the canyon.

Rumbling came from below as shouts of "Diamond dogs!", came up from the ranks. The allied army spread out and unicorns came up and began casting magical barriers where cracks were forming. As the army successfully spread out across the canyon floor, the cracks began to spread and holes began to open up. Pitted iron weapons began hacking at the unicorns magical barriers, causing spiderweb cracks to form. Earth ponies rolled boulders in place as the barriers began to fail. As the magical barriers were broken, boulders were rolled into the holes crushing the creatures pouring out and sealing the holes.

At the mouth of the cavern the ground heaved as several of the berms collapsed when several holes opened up. Diamond dogs rushed out of the holes screaming for blood. Harald rushed forward and slammed his shield into the first diamond dog that came out of the hole, sending it tumbling back down into the hole screaming. He swung his sword severing the paw of another diamond dog, swing his shield around, he connected the edge into the side of another diamond dog's head causing it to collapse to the ground twitching. A diamond dog leapt out of the hole at Harald. Raising his sword as he rolled back onto his heels, the point found purchase and slid between its ribs. As the weight of the diamond dog's body slammed into Harald, he rolled backwards with it until he was on top. Twisting the sword, he withdrew it from the creature's chest and charged forward back to the entrance of the hole, slamming his shield into a knot of diamond dogs pouring out. Several earth ponies rushed up and began thrusting their pikes into the diamond dogs.

Harald thrust his sword into the neck of a diamond dog, giving a flick on the blade he opened up a massive wound sending a spray of blood forward. "Close these holes!", he shouted.

Marble Pie rushed forward with a pick in her mouth and swung it into the lip of the hole. Several rocks dislodged bringing clumps of soil with them. The lip of the hole collapsed pulling her down with it.

Dropping her pike, Applejack reached out with a hoof to catch Marble as she fell into the collapsing hole, but she wasn't fast enough. "No!", she cried out.

Several moments later a small hole opened up and Marble crawled out covered in dirt and scratches, her pick had blood dripping from it. As she pulled herself up onto the ground panting, she kicked her rear hooves causing it to collapse.

Soon the rest of the holes were sealed with either blasts of magic or boulders rolled into them or shovelfuls of soil thrown into them. Above the canyon the aerial duels continued. Bodies of wounded twisted changelings, warped griffons, Thorax's changelings, pegasi and Griffonstone griffons began falling to the ground. Ponies rushed forward to dispatch the corrupted creatures or pull their wounded allies to safety. Soon the warped creatures in the air were turned back. Allied griffons and pegasi landed on the ground panting as sweat ran down the bodies. Water was brought to them as they say on their haunches to regain their strength. Caves along the canyon walls were turned into field hospitals.

Harald removed the helmet from his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wrist, then secured it to his head again. With a flick of his sword in the air, he signaled for the reforming of the front line. At the mouth of the canyon, pikeponies formed into a checkered formation as yaks and buffalo formed in the gaps. Earth ponies formed ranks behind the pikeponies, pegasi and allied griffons hovered above the formation. On the ridges at the top of the canyon, earth ponies readied their crossbows or set up boulders.

At the far end of the valley, the corrupted army began forming up ranks again. As they began marching to the mouth of the canyon, pikes were lowered and the allied army braced for another charge. The front ranks of the corrupted army began to waffle at the sight of the pikes, creatures from behind began to push their corrupted compatriots forward. Soon the corrupted army began marching forward again. As they began nearing the mouth of the cave, they froze looking up to the sky.

A massive column of fired up into the sky from Mount Canter and the energy spread across the sky, turning it red like fire.

"Celestia and Luna are coming and they're calling for aid!", Cadance shouted.

As the corrupted army began backing away slowly, Harald leveled his sword forward and shouted, "Charge!" A shout came from the allied army as they rushed forward. The buffalo and yaks rushed forward slamming their bulk into the front lines of the enemy army, tearing through their ranks. Pegasi and griffons swooped onto the fleeing army, thrusting weapons, hooves or talons into bodies. Allied changelings landed amongst the corrupted army, transforming into massive beasts and mauling their ranks. Unicorns and earth ponies rushed into the ranks, bucking with their hind legs, stamping with their hooves, thrusting weapons or loosing blasts of magic. Holes opened in the ground causing ponies, yaks and buffalo to disappear in them with screams of surprise or pain. As diamond dogs rushed out of the holes trying to turn back the massed charge, many were cut down by weapons or trampled under hooves. The massed trampling of hooves caused many of the holes to collapse as unicorns sealed others with blasts of magic. The enemy army was thrown into a disorganized rout as most of the twisted creatures scattered in a panic, the few who tried to hold a rear guard were either trampled or fought to the death as they were cut off and surrounded.

The corrupted army trampled over its camp as the allied army continued pushing it up the valley. A long hole opened up at the back of the corrupted army and several massive diamond dogs loped out driven by smaller diamond dogs in the rear with whips. As the massive diamond dogs slammed into the allied army, Harald rushed forward with all his might, a buffalo squated down and he ran up its back. As he reached its head, the buffalo stood and thrusted his massive bulk forward, sending Harald through the air in a broad arc. Harald shifted his sword into a reverse grip as he descended onto a massive diamond dog, as his weight slammed onto the creature, he thrusted the sword into its shoulder and threw his weight downward. The massive diamond dog howled in pain as Harald drug the sword through its flesh. As the massive diamong dog fell to the ground with a thud, Harald withdrew the sword from the massive gash and spun to the right, slicing the blade into the thigh muscle of another massive diamond dog. As the massive diamond dog fell to the ground, the allied army took advantage of the gap and pushed hard, scattering the massive diamond dogs. The massive diamond dogs broke in a panic and many trampled over their drivers as the fled back into the hole. A diamond dog lashed out with its whip, wrapping it around Harald's wrist. Harald snatched his arm backwards, the diamond dog stumbled forward as Harald slammed the edge of the shield into its throat. The diamond dog staggered backwards, grasping its throat as blood poured from its mouth, before collapsing to the ground, Harald stomped on its head for extra assurance, then shouted the order to halt.

As the corrupted army fled into the distance, the last of the holes were collapsed. The allied army began looting the camp, gathering what weapons that could be melted into ingots, discarding or burning the rest, tents were burned as what food stores the enemy had stockpiled was inspected for corruption. What food and water that could be used was taked, the rest was smashed or burned. The allied army fell back to the canyon as they gathered their dead and injured. A count was taken of the causalities. Out of the twenty thousand gathered, their losses had been light, one hundred were dead, three hundred were injured, five hundred were missing or unaccounted for. Harald sat on a rock as he took his helmet off, lifting a canteen to his lips, he swilled water, enjoying the coolness of it as it trickled down his throat.

Rarity walked up carrying a medical kit in her magic. "You've been wounded darling.", she said as she gently poked a hoof at a gash on Harald's arm.

Harald looked down at the gash on his arm where a weapon or a talon had slipped under the edge of his armor. "It's nothing.", he said, "I've had worse injuries in training. There are those whom have far worse injuries that need your skills."

"Pish posh darling.", Rarity scolded, "Every injury needs to the treated, no matter how minor." She began dressing the wound as Harald gave an annoyed sigh. After using her magic to disinfect the gash and tying a bandage around it, she gave his arm a gently tap. "Keep that bandage on it and keep it clean. Fortunately it wasn't serious, so you'll be as right as rain by tomorrow."

"Thank you,", Harald grunted as Rarity walked off.

As Rarity was binding the wounds of an injured griffon, Applejack walked up and sat next to her. "Soes Rares, Ah know yer against violence an' stuff, why did ya volunteer for th' militia?", she asked.

"I may be a conscientious objector, but that doesn't mean I'll sit idly like some damsel while my fellow countryponies risk their lives.", Rarity replied, "Besides if I'm here, that means Sweetie and her husband won't have to fight."

"Tha's very noble o' ya.", Applejack said, "But what's a consen-whose-its-what's-it?"

"A conscientious objector darling.", Rarity said in a pleasant tone as she finished binding the griffon's wounds, "It means I'm generally opposed to violence. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pacifist or a coward as I've fought alongside you before. When it comes down to it, I'll pick up the spear to protect those I care about."

"Ah'm sorry fer doubtin' ya Rares.", Applejack apologized, "Ah had always figured with all yer bein' all ladylike an' stuff, ya'd avoid th' war like th' plague."

"Apology accepted.", Rarity said, "It's true that a proper lady avoids getting her hooves dirty, but there comes a time when one must put aside being a proper lady and help our fellow contryponies. After this war is over, I hope you'll join me in the hayva neighgilla." She held up a canteen in a toast.

Applejack lifted her canteen and tapped it against Rarity's. Both mares took a long swill of water as they threw their forelimbs around each other's withers.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, Harald sat at a fire dipping food from a pot onto a plate. As he ate, he sat listening to the ponies, yaks, buffalo, griffons and changelings chatter or sing.

A griffon sentry ran up. "Lord-protector sir!", he exclaimed out of breath.

Harald passed the griffon a canteen, "Calm yourself and tell me what's wrong."

The griffon gulped the water, then wiped his beak with a eagle talon. With gasp of air he said, "There is an enemy griffon who approached our front line holding a flag of parlay. It requested an audience with you, sire."

Harald placed his plate aside and rose to his feet. "Gather up a guard contingent. I will hear what he has to say."

As Harald approached where the twisted griffon was being held, he took a moment to observe it. It had red, multifaceted eyes, an almost crystalline beak filled with jagged crystal teeth, odd chitinous growths covered its head and forelegs, the feathers on its wings were interwoven with writhing tendrils, its hind quarters was covered with small spines rather than fur, instead of claws and talons, it had wriggling tentacles. He approached the twisted and corrupted griffon. "Art thou the one that has come to parlay?"

"K-k-k-k-nay.", the twisted griffon chattered in reply, "K-k-k-I have k-k-k-come to deliver the k-k-k-terms of parlay k-k-k." It produced a scroll from under its wing.

Harald took the scroll, unrolled it then passed it to a guard for translation. "What is thy name?"

"K-k-k-Apothis."

"Sire.", the guard said, "This scroll say Chrysalis calls for you and her to meet in parlay in an hour at the middle of the field. You both will bring five bodyguards each."

Harald looked to the guard then back to the warped griffon. "Very well Apothis, tell your master I agree to their terms of parlay. Inform them if they try any deceit, I shall slay them."

Apothis dipped his head slightly, "K-k-k-I shall relay the k-k-k-message your k-k-k-majesty." As the guards holding him stepped back, he took to the air.

Harald strode to where Twilight was resting and nudged her awake. "Blood bound sister, gather thy sister and disguise thyselves, we parlay with the enemy leader in an hour." He strode off before Twilight could respond. He approached Fluttershy who was sitting around a fire eating. "Gird thyself beloved, we go to parlay with the enemy in a hour."

As Harald strode into the center of the valley with an armored and armed Fluttershy, the disguised Twilight and Candance and two griffons as his bodyguards, he saw Chrysalis approaching with five twisted changelings as bodyguards, the two groups stopped several paces apart.

Harald paused before walking out, looking up to the sky as it turned from a deep purple to black and the first stars winked into view. He took several steps forward as Chrysalis mirrored his steps.

As Harald approached Chrysalis, he said, "Why have you called this parlay?"

Chrysalis slunk around Harald, gently grazing her body against his. "This war has been costly for both sides.", she purred seductively, "Too many ponies, yaks, buffalo, changelings, diamond dogs and griffons have lost their lives already." She ran her tongue across her lips.

Fluttershy fumed seeing the vulgar display from Chrysalis. As an angry growl rumbled in her throat, the disguised Cadance placed a hoof gently on Fluttershy's forelimb and shook her head gently to calm her down.

"So is this why you have called the parlay?", Harald scoffed, "To tell me of the losses I already know of? For some grand leader, I am no impressed."

Chrysalis glowered for a moment before regaining her composure. "No, I did not come to parlay to tell of losses.", she cooed.

"Then speak!", Harald snapped, "Did you parlay so you could show me some vulgar display? Did you come to present yourself to me as some trollop?"

"No. No.", Chrysalis hissed seductively, "I called this parlay to call for the end to this pointless war." She shifted her for to look like a beautiful woman, wearing a flowing white dress with a split revealing a thigh seductively. "Just surrender to me and I shall give you pleasures you have never known."

"So you would make me your prisoner?"

Chrysalis transformed back into her normal form. "No...", she cooed seductively, "You would be free to come and go as you want."

"Stone walls do not a prison make nor iron bars a cage.", Harald retorted.

Chrysalis shifted her form to look like Celestia. "All I ask is that you surrender to me, you subjects and troops will be allowed to leave with their lives. Just bow down and worship me and anything you ask shall be yours." As she turned seductively, she flicked her tail across Harald's nose. "Am I not beautiful? Just bow down and worship me and profess your love for me. I'll even allow you to keep the little yellow one as your concubine. If you so shoose, you can even take Celestia, Luna, Cadenza and Twilight as your bound concubines." She turned her flanks to Harald, lowered the fron of her body and presented to him.

Fluttershy chuffed and ground her teeth at the vulgar display. Stamping a hoof, she when to move foward. Cadance placed a hoof on her chest to restrain her and shushed her.

Harald walked in a circle turning away from Chrysalis who was disguised as Celestia and presenting to him. He kicked a rock with his foot and chuckled to himself. Turning back to the disguised Chrysalis. "You seek to tempt me with a beautiful form.", he said chuckling, "If I were a lesser man, I may fall for your temptations. But I know that no matter what form you wear, it is but a shallow veneer to hide your ugliness." He walked in front of Chrysalis and snarled, "I know who you are! You think yourself a grand queen, but you are but a whore who prostrates herself for the evil one. You try and tempt me with a beautiful form, but your heart is laid bare before and it is filled with rot. I shall not prostrate myself before such an ugly and vile creature who knows not love, courage or honor." He spat on the ground in contempt before turning his back on her.

Chrysalis transformed back into her original form and stood back upright. Walking up behind Harald, she said snarling, "You have chosen death. I will take great pleasure stripping the flesh from your bones. I'll make you watch as I torture that little whore who presents herself before you. Oh I'll make her scream and beg before I take her life slowly. We are done here!" She stamped back to her guards.

"The next time we meet, you shall taste my steel, whore queen.", Harald retorted as he walked back to his bodyguards.

DAY TWO

In the predawn light, a refreshing chill hung in the air over the canyon as the allied army was making preparations for the coming battle. Harald walked amongst the camp giving orders to reinforce the berms. Marble Pie led the effort to dig layers of trenches several paces away from the front of the berms. After the trenches were dug, rows of stones were stacked up on the backside of the trenches fetlock-high to a pony. Earth ponies, buffalo and yaks shaped or rolled large boulders to the base of earthen ramps. Pegasi, griffons and changelings stacked piles of large stone on the ridges atop the canyon walls or flew patrols. The rest of the army prepared breakfast, repaired armor or sharpened weapons. Roiling clouds moved slowly towards each other high above the valley, the occasional flash of lightning could be seen from inside the clouds or tracing along the tops of the clouds, followed by the occasional rumbling.

Harald stopped at a campfire where Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were sitting on some stones eating breakfast. As he sat, Cookie brought over a dented tin cup of coffee and a tin plate of flapjacks.

As Applejack finished eating, she took a last swig of coffee from her tin cup and tossed the remaining liquid containing grounds onto the ground. Stacking the cup on the plate, she joked, "Ah dun know what's gonna kill me first, Sombra and Chrysalis' army or Cookie's food." She passed the empty cup and plate to Cookie.

After taking the plate and cup, Cookie gave AJ the hoof and joked back, "Maybe next time Ah won't put th' antidote in yer food."

"An' Ah love ya too!", AJ teased back, "Welp Ah gotta get back to patrol." She hoisted her pike, stuck her tongue out at Cookie playfully and head off to patrol.

"That's a rude thing to say.", Rarity said as she finished up her breakfast.

"Aw Aj dun mean nuthin' by that.", Cookie said stifling a snicker, "We always tease each other like that. She says my food is poison, Ah tell her that she burnt her fritters. C'mon, ya can't tell me ya dun tease yer family."

Rarity finished drinking her coffee and gingerly poured the last of the liquid containing the ground out before stacking the cup on top the plate and passing it to Cookie. "Well I still tease Sweetie when she makes breakfast if she burned the juice again." When Cookie raised his eyebrow getting ready to question what he heard, she interrupted, "Long story, don't ask." She rose from where she was sitting, cleaned her coat off with her magic. "I've got to check my supplies and tend to the injured."

"Burnt the juice.", Cookie snickered softly as Rarity walked off.

"Sweetie was an over enthusiastic filly.", Fluttershy chuckled, "The story as I heard it from Rarity was that one morning She decided to make breakfast for Rarity and their parents. She burned everything and made a complete mess of the kitchen." She laughed softly before her expression turned dour. "A few months after that their parents were killed on the way to Manehattan when a bridge collapse and they drowned in the river." She gave a sigh. "They their father's body that afternoon but they didn't find their mother's body for a week. Of course they were devastated, but Rarity put on a brave face for her sister." She shoved the last of her flapjacks around on her plate before giving a sigh and dumped out her coffee on the ground. Stacking the cup on top the plate she passed it back to cookie. "I'm sorry Mister Cookie, breakfast was good, but I seem to have lost my appetite."

"Dun think nuthin' o' it darlin'.", Cookie said with a reassuring smile as he took the plate and cup.

Fluttershy placed her helmet on her head, secured her armor, hefted her spear and gave Harald a nuzzle before going off to do some drills with her company.

Cookie turned to Harald, "So Lord-protector, ya got any funny stories from where yer from?"

Harald shifted his weigh and cleared his throat. "It's bad fortune to speak ill of the dead, but my aunt used to make this porridge that smelled so rancid that not even the ravens would come near it.", he said with a slight smile, "And it tasted even worse." He gave a chuckle. "But none of us could bring ourselves to say anything as it's rude to speak ill of one's cooking. We'd pretend to eat it and wait until she had gone to gather berries and roots to dispose of it. My father would dump it around the edge of the village to keep the wild dogs and wolves out." Wiping a tear from his eye, he gave a sad chuckle. "One day she caught my father dumping the porridge and she threw a fit. She made a huge pot and hovered over us after serving it insisting we all eat it. When my mother walked in and saw what was going on, she and my aunt got into an argument that erupted into a full on fist fight. They nearly tore down the longhouse and created such a stir that the whole village came out to watch." He gave a deep belly laugh. "By the Gods, Sky Queen and Sky Kings, I hated that porridge. Don't get me wrong, she was a good woman and made my uncle a happy man, though I think he ate her porridge to keep the peace." He gave a toothy grin as he laughed. "If you ever see the spirit of my aunt, don't tell her I hated her porridge." He gave a long sigh as he suppressed a laugh.

Cookie snickered. "You dun hafta worry 'bout me makin' no porridge. Though you should ask Applejack 'bout th' time when she was a filly an' snuck under th' at her first Apple family renuion an' ate enough fritters to fill up three grown stallions."

"I've seen her eat.", Harald replied with a chuckle. The two of them shared a laugh until one of the griffon sentries gave a screeching call. Downing the coffee, he tossed the last of his flapjacks on the ground, then tossed the cup and plate to cookie. Securing his helmet to his head, he rushed off.

Putting the last of the dishes into a tub of water, Cookie said, "Looks like were havin' a late supper." Reaching under the wagon, he pulled out his weather beaten crossbow, cocked the string and slotted a bolt in it.

Cresting a berm, Harald looked across the valley seeing the corrupted army forming ranks at the far end. Looking up to the sky, the clouds began slowly pushing towards each other. He shouted orders for pikeponies to form up on the berms and for soldiers to fill the ranks. Panning his vision around, Harald saw griffons and pegasi dropping unicorns and earth ponies on the ridges at the tops of the canyon walls. Turning his head over his shoulder, he shouted for the third rank to the backs of the berms to cut off any creatures that tried to flank around the sides or fill the gaps where they on the berms. Taking one last look to the sky, the clouds were beginning to merge high above the valley as the occasional flicker of lightning skated across the bottom of them.

Applejack took up position on the top of the berm. Looking to the sky then to Harald, she said, "Looks like we're in fer a spot of rain."

Breathing in deeply, Harald replied, "Aye."

Shouts came from on top of the canyon walls from ponies and griffons holding spyglasses. Holding his hand over his eyes, Harald looked our across the valley seeing the army beginning to march. Taking one last look to the sky, the last of the clouds began to merge into a massive weather front.

Slipping his shield on his arm, Harald drew his sword and waved it a few times in the air. "Yesterday we made them taste our ferocity and they scattered before us like beaten dogs!", he shouted, "Today we show them our unyielding resolve! Dig in and plant yourselves and they shall break before us like wave upon the rocks! Give nothing and take everything from them! Hah-oo!"

"Hah-oo!", the allied creatures shouted back in one voice.

As the corrupted made it halfway up the valley, a chill wind heavy with the smell of moisture blew across the canyon and valley causing little whorls of dust to dance across the ground. As the corrupted army continued marching, the allied army leveled their pikes as pegasi, changelings and griffons flew patrols above them. It began first as a drop here or there, soon it increased into the pit-pat of steady raindrops, finally they increased into the steady drumming of fat raindrops. The floor of the valley and canyon became a muddy quagmire, the clouds above became dark as the occasional flicker of lightning skating along the bottom of the clouds periodically revealed the two armies. Soon the wind began buffeting the two armies as it blew the rain into a horizontal curtain.

A flash of lightning revealed to Harald the corrupted army nearing the trenches. "Make this their grave!", he shouted above the whistling of the wind and the drumming of the rain.

Shouts came from up and down the allied army as pikes were angled downwards.

Out of the gloom of the storm the front lines of the corrupted army appeared. Harald waited until the pikes began to thrust into the front lines of the corrupted army before he shouted the signal to the earth ponies behind front lines. Boulders sailed through the storm and landed amongst the ranks of the enemy army, scattering dozens as they tumbled through, only for dozens more to fill their ranks. Pegasi and griffons began dropping or hurling large stones on the heads of the corrupted army as unicorns fired blasts of magic in the flanks of the enemy army. Changelings on both sides found themselves grounded as the rain made their wings to wet to fly, instead they loosed red and green lances of energy back and forth along the front lines trying to open gaps in the other's ranks. Pegasi and Griffonstone griffons began fighting aerial duels with corrupted griffons, soon the corrupted griffons in the air were driven off.

As the corrupted creatures charged up the berms, many of the hesitated at the points of the pikes, only for those behing the to push them forward or trample them. Across the allied army, hooves, paws and chitinous limbs dug in as the corrupted army clashed with them. Harald thrust his sword into the neck of a charging twisted griffon griffon, as it coughed up gobs of bright crimson blood, he kicked it back down the berm through the ranks of the warped creatures. The bulk of the corrupted slammed into front line of the allied army, they began slowly sliding backwards. Yaks and buffalo rushed up the berms and pressed their bulk into the back of the front line to brace them.

Up and down the line pulses of shoves and counter shoves rippled back and forth, as pockets of the allied army were pushed back a few inches, pockets of the corrupted army were pushed back inches in other pockets. As the fight on the berms devolved into a battle of inches, weapons, hooves, talons and chitinous limbs thrust forward trying to open gaps in each other's lines. The screams of wounded creatures on both sides mixed with the drumming of the rain.

For an hour the two shoved back and forth as the stink of adrenaline, sweat, exhaustion and blood mixed with the smell of the storm. As gaps began opening in the allied left flank, Twilight dropped her disguise and crested the berm. Igniting the magic in her horn, she swung her head from the left to right loosing a continuous stream of magic. Scores of corrupted creatures were turned to ash as their bodies flew apart like piles leaves in a strong wind. She charged up a ball of fire and fired it through the ranks of the corrupted army. Twisted creatures turned to ash almost immediately, as the fireball exploded, were scattered like a foal swatting a stack of blocks. Her mane blew on an ethereal wind as he eyes glowed white, the soil turned to glass under her hooves as she marched forward. Charging her magic, warped creatures near her turned to stone or were frozen solid or gave gurgling screams as their flesh melted. The corrupted army's right flank devolved into a rout as twisted and warped creatures scrambled over their own rank or trampled their comrades as they tried to escape the wrath of the magenta alicorn.

Cadance took to the air over the center of the line as she charged up her magic and loosed balls of explosive energy into the center of the corrupted army. Bodies of warped creatures sailed through the air like dolls thrown by an angry yearling foal. Charging up her horn, she unleashed hundreds of needle-thin lances of magic that felled hundreds of creatures. Dozens of twisted griffons flew up to challenge her. Igniting her horn in a wreath of flame, the twisted griffons burst into flame and fell to the ground leaving streaks of black smoke in their wakes.

Watching from a nearby patch of reeds, Chrysalis snarled to herself silently. Reaching out with her hive-sense, she ordered the army to fall back. "Sombra has outlived his usefulness Queen Chrysalis.", Nightmare's voice rumbled in the back of her mind. She turned and began walking back to the command tents.

The allied army gave shouting cheers as the corrupted army fell back into the gloom of the storm. Twilight her magic as her mane went back to the normal dark purple with bright magenta stripe in it. She helped the medics gather up the wounded. Giving a gentle smile to nearby trembling ponies, she said in a praising tone, "You fought well."

As Chrysalis entered the camp, Sombra stormed out of his command tent. "Why did you order my forces back?!", he shouted.

"Our forces were suffering too many casualties and were gaining no ground!", she snapped back, "In case you haven't noticed two princesses are amongst their ranks."

Sombra gave a derisive snort before scoffing, "I will deal with Cadenza in due time and the Crystal Empire shall be mine."

"You sit her safe in the back and waste the greater part of the strength of our army against the Rimewalker.", Chrysalis retorted, "You are either a fool or a coward, maybe you're both."

Sombra stormed forward and raised his hoof to strike Chrysalis. Lighting the dark magic in her twisted horn, she enveloped his fetlock in a red aura.

"What is this?!", Sombra shouted as he tried to free his hoof from the grasp of the dark magic, "Release me now!"

Chrysalis hurled Sombra to the ground with her magic. "I challenge you for control of the army!", she snapped in a derisive tone, "You are no longer worthy to lead."

Twisted griffons, warped changelings and corrupted diamond dogs formed a packed circle them to watch the duel.

Rising to his hooves, Sombra wiped the mud from his face and gave an angry snort. "Very well, I shall enjoy breaking you.", he growled dangerously. Lighting the magic in his how, he wrapped Chrysalis' limbs in black crystals.

Chrysalis threw her head back in mocking laughter. "Crystals? Really?", she chuckled derisively. Stepping forward, she effortlessly shattered like they were brittle glass. She unleashed a blast of of dark magic into Sombra's wither.

Snarling in pain as he gripped his wither, Sombra charged his magic and unleashed a thin beam of dark magic that pierced through Chrysalis' chest. He gave a laugh of triumph as greenish-black blood oozed from the hole in her chest, the laughter died in his throat as he watched her wound close up on its own.

Chrysalis licked her lip as she chuckled. "You think too small Sombra.". she cooed. Dark magic crackled in her horn as she charged up a blast.

Sombra leapt backwards as the blast of dark magic vaporized the the mud where he was just standing. Charging his horn, he gave a bright flash of red light, blinding all near him. His mouth curled up in a cruel smile exposing his rows of sharp fangs as he saw Chrysalis staggering disoriented. Lowering his horn, he charged forward and encased his horn in hardened crystal. His horn slammed into Chrysalis' barrel, piercing through her carapace and into the organs beneath. The corners of his mouth curled up cruelly as he saw her spit up a gob of greenish-black blood.

Chrysalis twisted her neck to Sombra's ear and ran her black tongue across it. "That almost hurt.", she hissed in a simultaneously derisive and seductive tone. She morphed her win into a scorpion's tail and grazed the dripping stinger across his neck.

Sombra tried to withdraw his horn, but found himself stuck tight. Placing his forehooves against Chrysalis' barrel, he tried to shove himself free.

Chrysalis nipped Sombra's ear and ran her black tongue down his cheek and across his throat. "Your fear is like fine wine.", she cooed, "I wonder if your suffering will be as delectable." She slammed the scorpion stinger into his neck and injected him with a paralyzing venom. She allowed Sombra's horn to to slide from her body. As he staggered to the ground, she turned to face him and gave a moan.

Feeling his strength fading, Sombra charged up his horn for an all or nothing attack. As he went to loose the spell, Chrysalis spat a gob of mucus that enveloped his horn and hardened almost immediately, causing his spell to rebound, enveloping him in crystal.

Chrysalis held her head up his as she walked over, swinging her withers and flanks with each step. Raising her chitinous hoof, she struck Sombra across his face shattering the crystal and knocking him to the ground.

Spitting blood out of his mouth, he glares up at Chrysalis and snarls, "You whore!"

Chrysalis stomps on Sombra's horn, shattering it. Igniting the magic in her horn, she surrounds him in a ring of black flames.

Sombra pushes himself up weakly to his haunches and in an act of defiance, he holds his chin up in a stoic expression as the spell drags him down into the diamond dog tunnels.

As the rain and wind buffets her, Chrysalis holds her head up and lets out a laugh of triumph. Turning to the gathered creatures, she bares her fangs. "Any challengers?" She cackles as the creatures back up and bow. "The king is no more! Long live the queen!", she shouts victoriously.

"Long live Queen Chrysalis!", the creatures shout in earshot.

Landing on the stone in the diamond dog tunnels, Sombra rises to his hooves. As diamond dogs leap out of the shadows at him. Bellowing a challenge, he sinks his fang into the throat of the nearest diamond dog. As the other diamond dogs descend on him, the tunnels devolves into a brawl of hooves, fangs, paws and pitted iron weapons.

Turning to nearby officers, Chrysalis orders, "Pull back our forces and consolidate! We must work on a plan to breach those berms."

Harald held his shield blocking the rain from the storm from his face. Looking across the valley, he sees flashes of red at the far end.

Twilight walks up next to Harald. "There's dark magic at the far end of the valley.", she says, "What's going on?"

A toothy grin spreads across Harald's face. "Infighting.", he says through the grin, "Let us fall back to consolidate our forces and tend to our wounded."

Leaning against a wagon, Harald take a long slug of water from a canteen as Twilight stands nearby. Cookie passes him a tin bowl of carrot soup that he slurps down greedily.

Cadance walks up as Harald finishes his soup. "So what happens now?", she asks.

Handing the tin bowl back to Cookie, Harald wipes his mouth and replies, "Once their 'issue' with leadership is resolved, they will fall back and consolidate their forces."

"Do we continue to hold the berms?", Cadance asks.

"Put yourself in the mind of the enemy and think like they do and you'll know what they're planning."

Twilight goes into the library in her mind as her mental self draws up military strategy books from memory, while drawing out equations, battle plans and plays hundreds of games of chess against herself all in the matter of seconds. Drawing a breath, she speaks, "I can say within an eighty-point-three-five percent likelihood with a chance for error of two-point-three percent..."

"Just give what you think are the most likely plans that the enemy will use.", Harald interrupted, "We don't need equations and mathematics."

Twilight sighs before taking in a deep breath. "They're most likely to hold back their forces until they breach the berm."

Harald taps a knuckle to his lips thoughtfully. "I concur. So what plans do you have to counter that?"

Twilight hastily draws out the canyon and valley in the mud with a hoof. "They'll either use diamond dogs to collapse the berms or use magic to blast them apart."

"So why haven't seen any of the tunneling creatures yet?", Harald asks.

Twilight holds her head up to the clouds as the rain runs down her face then squishes some mud under her hoof. The storm has saturated the soil, so it would make any exits to the tunnels they make unstable and would limit any reinforcements from below limited."

Harald gives a small smile as he he twirls a braid in his beard. "And why haven't the tunneling creatures tried to come up through the caves in the canyon?"

Twilight hems and haws as she wracks her brain for an answer.

Seeing Twilight struggle for an answer, Harald points to Marble Pie and gestures for her to come over. When Marble walks up, Harald says, "Please enlighten us as why the tunneling creatures haven't come up through the caves in the canyon."

Marble kicks a rock as she mumbles.

"A little louder please?", Harald say.

C;earing her throat, Marble says, "Though the walls of the canyon are made from sandstone, the bed rock is a double layer of dolostone over the top of basalt. If the diamond dogs had steel tools, they could tunnel up through it in a week."

"How were they able to make tunnel exits yesterday?", Twilights asks.

Marble kicks a rock before speaking, "The floor of the canyon and valley is a mixture of clay and sandstone atop the layer of dolostone. The storm has saturates the sediment layer above preventing any effective upwards tunneling. They could collapse sections of ground to make temporary exits."

"Thank you Miss Pie.", Harald says, "You may go back about your business." Turning back to Twilight, Harald asks, "Why has their flying creatures been limited to the lion-eagles?"

Twilight flexed her wings flicking the water off them. "Feathers aren't as weighed down in rain as chitinous wings, so the changelings are ground bound, even if they shift into feathered creatures."

Tapping a finger to his mouth, Harald says, "So they only have lion-eagles, their shifting creatures are ground bound, their tunneling creatures are limited in effectiveness, that leave only magic to breach the berms."

Cadance listened nearby to the conversation before deciding to walk forward and interject. "Harald, why not say what you intend instead of holding Twilight by her hoof while nudging her towards the answer?"

"A leader needs to hear all possibilities when making decisions. I am not holding her hoof or nudging her towards any conclusions, I am simply laying out what we know and offering my own insights to allow her to make a more informed decision.", Harald said calmly, "Please offer your insights."

Cadance turned to the berms, "Well if we know the berms are coming down, we need to form barricades behind them to slow them down when they push through. Create gates and fences to force them to spread their ranks out, dig tranches and shallow pits to make them stumble, place a wall of stakes spread a pace apart to form kill lanes for our forces, put every available unicorn and crossbow on the ridges to thin their ranks."

"Not just stakes, but also a pike wall", Twilight said in a ah-ha moment, "Put a third of the yaks, buffalo and changelings in hidden places at the bottom of the canyon walls to slam into their flanks."

Harald rubbed his mouth thoughtfully. "Are we in agreement?" When the two alicorns nodded their heads, he asked, "How long do you think we have before the enemy regroups and attacks again?"

"If we're lucky, two and a half hours.", Twilight replied after a quick moment of thought.

"So we had better aim to complete as much as possible in an hour.", Harald said.

Twilight's face turned stern as her eyes went into thought. "Make it so.", she said before walking off to inspects the forces. She suddenly felt like a great burden was chained to her back.

Over an hour pegasi and griffons that weren't on patrol were sent out to gather wood to turn into pikes or sharpened stakes. Wagons were disassembled or flipped on their sides to form barricades, every scrap of iron was stripped from them to turn into pike heads. Trenches and shallow pits were dug behind the berms. Nails and scraps of chain not usable for pike heads or weapons were turned into caltrops and scattered on the ground in front of the berms.

Cadalce landed next to Harald and said, "We have constructed as much as we can. What now?"

Hefting a pike, Harald turned his face to Cadance and replied, "Now comes the wait. Every minute the enemy stalls is a minute they have to consolidate their numbers, but we cannot be idle and every minute we must wait is a minute we further fortify."

"So it's like a game of chess, move and countermove. The only difference is that neither side can see the other's pieces until one finally commits.", Cadance said.

"I like to think of it as a hand of hold with the option of a reshuffle.", Harald replied.

As the time stretched out over the next two hours, the allied army built low earthen walls between the berms and scattered loose rocks on the ground amongst the fortifications. Where the pikes would be erected, layers of sand was spread out. Shouts went out from the pegasi and griffon patrols warning of the approaching enemy army. Ponies, yaks, buffalo and changelings rushed up the where the pikes were laid out. Hundreds of pikes were raised in overlapping layers to form a wall of sharp points. Earth ponies and unicorns were lifted onto the ridges on the canyon walls, crossbows were cocked as magic was readied. Fluttershy was put in charge of the second rank to fill any gaps that formed in the lines. Twilight and Cadance took command of the third rank to serve either as counter-flankers or additional bodies to fill gaps. Buffalo, yaks and changelings hid at the base of the canyon walls amongst scrub or threw blankets over themselves. From beyond the berms the sounds of the corrupted army was heard. As the sounds of the marching corrupted halted, the wind began to whip the rain in ever direction at once making it seem to come straight down, sideways and from underneath at the same time.

Raising his pike, Harald seated the butt of it against the ground and planted a heel on it to further brace it. He shifted his shield across the left side of his chest. The wind of the storm died down causing the rain to drum straight down. The occasional muffled ping, thwap or thump began to mix in with the drumming of the rain as hailstones bounced off metal, bodies or the ground. Every breath seemed to collectively catch in every throat simultaneously as the seconds seemed to stretch into hours. The drumming of rain drops and hammering of hailstones seemed to become deafening. In a bright red flash, a berm flew apart with a blast of dark magic. Clumps and grains of soil seemed to fly through in the air in slow motion. The other berms flew apart in blasts of dark magic, soil for a few seconds mixed with the rain and hail in the air as it showered down. Bolts of lightning skating across the bottoms of the clouds revealed the two armies to each other in split second flashes.

The allied army bristled for several seconds in the drumming rain and hammering hail before shouting in wordless voices challenges. Screeches, roars, yips, howls and chitters came up from the corrupted army as the charged forward. Hooves, paws and chitinous limbs dug in at the last second in the allied army. The front ranks of the corrupted faltered, quailed or tried to turn back trying to avoid the pike wall, the ranks behind them shoved forward onto the sharpened points or trampled over them in a mad press forward. Rank upon rank of corrupted creature fell shrieking in pain as they were shoved onto the sharpened points of the pikes. Shouts of hold went up and down the allied lines as pikes bent and groaned under the strain. As the front ranks of the allied army were slowly slid backwards by the growing weight of the corrupted army pushing forward, more pike points slid forward creating a wall of sharpened death.

Loud cracking sounds came from amongst the allied line as pikes here and there broke. Shouts of "push" came from the allied front line, followed by the rhythmic stamps of limbs as the allied creatures began shuffling forward shoving the points of the pikes into the corrupted army. Crossbow bolts and blasts of magic rained down from the canyon walls into the ranks of corrupted creatures. Twisted griffons took to the air, pegasi and Griffonstone griffons flew up in a counter aerial charge. As the air above the canyon turned into twisting brawls, the ranks of the corrupted army were slowly pushed back as their every pulse forward failed as the allied army inched forward. Yaks and buffalo stampeded out from their hidden places along the base of the canyon walls, slamming their great bulk into the flanks of the corrupted army. The ranks of the corrupted army shattered as they lost cohesion and scrambled over each other in a rout. The twisted griffons scattered as they retreated.

As the corrupted army fled, shouts of victory came up from the allied army. Orders were shouted above the cheering and drumming of the rain and hail. The pike wall fell back into position as the yaks and buffalo swung into the flanks and rear.

"Looks like we dun whooped 'em good!", Applejack shouted to Harald.

"This was just a probing attack to reveal our location and test our strength!", Harald shouted back.

"By my counting they dun sent twenty thousand at us an' that was jus' a probe?", Applejack shouted, "When does th' first wave hit?"

To answer her question, a wall of twisted and warped creatures began marching out of the gloom of the storm.

Gritting her teeth, Applejack braced her pike while saying, "Ah had tuh jus' open my mouth."

In the center of the corrupted army's ranks, Chrysalis atop the back of a gigantic diamond dog flanked by dozens of her changelings. "Break their front line!", she shouted.

Massive loping diamond dogs were ran forward by smaller diamond dogs with whips. As the massive diamond dogs loped forward howling in rage, crossbow bolts and blasts of magic rained down on them from the canyon walls. Twisted griffons filled the air in a flying rush, pegasi and Griffonstone griffons took to the air. The occasional crackling flash of lightning revealed the aerial brawls above the canyon. As Chrysalis stomped her hoof to order the gigantic diamond dog she was riding forward, a blinding white flash of lightning revealed a dozen more gigantic diamond dogs walking forward slowly on all four limbs with dozens of. Ordering the massive diamond dogs to a halt, she looked across the canyon floor. "Break their pikes. ", she said, "I'll support the initial push." As waves of hulking mutated diamond dogs loped forward driven by whips , Chrysalis loosed streaks of dark magic at the canyon walls. Screams of dying ponies, blood, body parts and pulverized rock filled the air as bolts of dark magic exploded against the canyon walls. The pike wall braced as massive loping diamond dogs loped forward. The pike wall slid backwards hard as the crazed mutated diamond dogs slammed into their sharpened points. The sounds of splintering wood filled the air as pikes snapped or shattered against the bulk of the massive enraged diamond dogs.

Harald slid backwards on his heels as his pike snapped in half. Shoving the broken half into the maw of a hulking form of a mutated diamond dog, he drew his axe and stepped forward. Swinging the axe in a downward arc, the blade slammed into the skull of a diamond dog holding a whip and cut to its teeth. Wrenching the axe free, blood and brains fell from the blade, he swung it in a horizontal arc slamming it into the rib cage of a loping diamond dog as big as him. Giving a snatch of his arm, Harald pulled the axe free as blood and lung chunks sprayed onto the battlefield. Flipping the axe around to the spike, he swung it in a downward arc into the skull of a diamond dog holding a whip. The diamond dog twitched and spasmed as the sharp spike dug in deep. Harald twisted the axe, causing the spike to rip out the diamond dog's face, spraying his armor with blood and viscera. As a twisted griffon leapt at him, Harald swung the spike in an upwards arc slamming it into the creature's gut. As the spike made purchase, he yanked it backwards, spilling the twisted griffon's intestines on the ground. As the twisted griffon laid on the ground thrashing in pain, Harald strode forward squishing viscera under his feet. Swinging the spike in a horizontal arc, it embedded into the hip of a loping diamond dog, a split second later the point of a pike exploded out the back of its skull. Giving the axe a twist, the spike came free with a loud crunch as the hulking form of the twisted and corrupted fell to the ground. Harald nodded to the earth pony holding the pike as he flipped the axe back around to the blade as he turned to to find another creature to slay.

After several minutes, the last of the waves of massive loping diamond dogs were scattered in a panic as the either trampled over the drivers with whips or were cut down by their own ranks. Most of the pikes lay on the ground broken and useless. Bodies of pegasi, allied griffons and twisted griffons plummeted out of the air wounded or dying onto the ground below.

"Send the first wave,", Chrysalis said through the hive-sense. Hundreds of twisted griffons, warped changelings and corrupted diamond dogs rushed forward in a writhing mass. The allied army rushed forward in a counter charge. As the two armies clashed, Thorax's changelings rushed out from their hiding spots and transformed into Ursa majors. They ripped apart warped bodies with their claws or scattered scores of twisted creatures with massive swipes. As many of Chrysalis' changelings transformed into Ursa majors, the canyon floor devolved into knots of brawling.

Applejack thrust the bronze point of her pike into the chest of a corrupted diamond dog. Withdrawing the point, she swung the haft of the pike in a wide arc scattering dozens of corrupted creatures away from her. Using the momentum of the swing, she flipped the pike around to its sharpened iron counterweight and thrust it into the eye of a twisted griffon. As the griffon howled in pain, she bucked her rear hooves into its chest, sending it sailing backwards through several charging creatures. Flipping the bronze point back around, she counter charged a knot of charging warped changelings. As the changelings scattered from the point of her pike, she spun on her hooves, using the weight of its haft to knock over or scatter creatures near her. A corrupted diamond dog knocked the pike from her hooves. Applejack rolled to avoid a wild swing of its pitted iron axe and bucked her hooves into its throat. As the diamond dog fell over clawing at its neck, she pulled the brush ax off her back. The hardened steel of the brush ax gleamed as Applejack raised it with a hoof and slammed it downwards into the wither of of a twisted griffon. The weapon bit deep and severed the forelimb of the creatures. The twisted griffon howled in pain as it fell to the ground, she reared up and crushed its skull under her hooves. She swung the sharpened hook of the brush ax into a warped changeling and split it carapace like an overripe melon.

Holding a pick in her mouth and a sharpened shovel in her hoof, Marble Pie rushed forward. She slammed the sharpened edge of the shoved into into the skull of a diamond dog, sending a shower of viscera across the battlefield. Swinging her neck around, she embedded the pick into the body of a warped changeling. She twisted her head around around to free the pick, but it held fast, she opened her mouth, letting it drop. Stamping a hoof on the ground, she launched a sharped rock into the air and smacked it with the flat of the shovel. The rock sunk deep between the ribs a twisted griffon, it coughed up gobs of bright crimson blood as the sharpened rock ricocheted inside its rib cage. As a twisted griffon slammed into the ground in front of her wounded, she raised the shovel and crushed its skull.

Fluttershy flew close to the ground, kicking her hooves into the heads of warped creatures or thrusting her spear into their throats. Landing near where five corrupted diamond dogs had surrounded two earth ponies. Rushing forward, she slammed the point of the spear into its back, as the blade made purchase, it ripped through its organs and exploded out its chest. Withdrawing the spear from the dying creature, she swung the but of it around into the muzzle of a diamond dog on her right, sending a spray of blood and teeth through the air. Keeping the momentum of her swing going, she slashed the blade across the throat of another diamond dog. The diamond tried to scream but instead a wet gurgle came out as blood poured out its mouth and throat as it fell to the ground gripping its neck. She thrust the point of the spear into the mouth of another diamond dog, the blade easily pierced through its brains as it exploded out the back of its skull, making the creature spasm violently. As she withdrew the spear, blood and viscera sprayed across her face and mane. As the last diamond dog tried to flee, she thrust the spear into its neck, giving the weapon a twist, she withdrew it. Blood spattered her coat as the diamond dog fell to the ground. Taking a second to wipe the blood from her face, she helped the earth ponies to their hooves.

As the casualties mounted, the first wave of the corrupted army began to crumble and fall apart. "Send the second wave.", Chrysalis ordered before tapped her forelimb driving the gigantic diamond dog she was riding forward. As the second wave of the corrupted army swarmed forward, the gigantic diamond dogs strode forward in long strides, sending rumbling impacts through the ground. Chrysalis cackled with glee as she loosed blasts of dark magic into brawling knots of creatures on the ground or in the air.

Cadance and Twilight ordered the third wave forward, before taking to the air. Grasping a massive boulder in her magic, Twilight hurled it at the head of the gigantic diamond dog Chrysalis was riding. Chrysalis loosed a blast of dark magic, turning the boulder into dust and rock splinters before. Twilight charged up her magic and enveloped the head of the gigantic diamond dog in a magenta aura. The head of the gigantic mutated creature twisted violently as its neck broke in a series of wet pops. As the gigantic diamond dog staggered and fell to the ground, crushing scores of charging corrupted creatures under its bulk, Chrysalis leapt from its body and landed hard on the ground. Cadance lit her magic and sent dozens of needle-thin beams of magic into the body of another gigantic diamond dog, causing it to stumble into its neighbor, sending the two of them crashing to the ground.

The battle froze in time as a wooden door appeared on the canyon floor. As the door opened, Discord walked carrying a bunch of bananas. Peeling a banana, he tossed the peel under the foot a one of the gigantic diamond dogs and shoved the meat of the fruit into the face of warped changeling charging Marble Pie. Picking up several of the charging creatures, he turned them facing the direction they were running from. Walking over to Rarity where she was crouched low defending a wounded buffalo as two diamond dogs charged her and a third stood behind her with a pitted iron axe over its head. He plucked the axe from its paw and replaced it with a banana, he then turned the two charging diamond dogs to face each other and lowered their pitted swords to each other's chests. Thumping her horn, he caused her magic to ignite, picking up a nearby spear, he slipped it into her magic pointing backwards and gave it a gentle push towards the diamond dog's throat behind her. Walking over to Fluttershy, he grabbed the necks of the two twisted griffons charging her from behind. Lifting her up, he moved her aside so the warped changeling charging her would miss and angled the tip of her spear level with its head. Walking over to Harald, he pulled the pitted iron weapons from the dozen diamond dogs leaping at him from all sides and slipped the remaining bananas into their paws. "I'm only helping you because you make Fluttershy happy.", he whispered into Harald's ear, "Don't make me regret this." He walked into the valley past the mouth of the canyon, slipped on a pair of horn rimmed glasses with a piece of take in the middle, pulled out a keyboard and a computer monitor, he began typing on the keyboard pulling up dozens of command prompts, pressing enter on the keyboard, a voice said, "Artillery strike inbound! Mortars inbound! Airstrike inbound!" He turned to the fourth wall and winked. He walked over to Chrysalis, slipped on a pair of wrestling tights and pulled out a steel folding chair. "If you want me to mess her face up with this chair, give me a hell yeah!", he shouted. Bleachers with hundreds of discord clones waving signs and foam finger apeared shouting ,"Hell yeah!" He slammed the steel chair into Chrysalis' face. Tossing the chair away, a red convertible corvette appeared before him. Stepping in, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Of course she would send me to voice mail.", he scoffed, "*ahem* Consider that little pest problem taken care of for today. You and woowoo owe big time lesty, bye." Cranking up the the Corvette, he vanished in a flash.

The battlefield erupted into chaos. Twisted and warped crashed into each other blunting their charges. A gigantic diamond dog slipped on a banana peel as explosions rocked the valley. The two twisted griffons charging Fluttersy from behind fell over dead as their necks made wet crunching sounds, the warped changeling charging her was impaled on her spear as its body careened past her. The diamond dog charging Marble Pie had the flesh of a banana squished into its eyes, blinding it, causing it trip over its own feet, she crushed it skull under the flat of her shovel. The two diamond dogs in front of Rarity slammed into each other, sinking their pitted swords into each other's chests, the diamond dog behind her slapped a banana into her flank as a spear in her magic pierced its throat. The dozen diamond dogs leaping at Harald splatted bananas harmlessly on his armor. They fled from him in a panic as he swung his axe wildly into their bodies. Chrysalis was rocked violently by dozens of blows from an unseen attacker before she fell to the ground unconscious. Twisted griffons pulled her body to safety before flying off with it. The corrupted army fled in a panicked rout as the allied army began slaying scores of their number. As Celestia and Luna flew fast and hard to the massive storm over Box Canyon, a cell phone appeared before Celestia blinking one missed call. Swatting the cell phone from the air, she turned to Luna, "It looks like Discord bought us some time!" The two sisters looked over their shoulders seeing thousands of pegasi being led by a yellow streak, a grey streak and a rainbow streak.

The allied creatures gathered up their dead and wounded, then piled up the the dead bodies of the corrupted creatures into heaps. Twilight and Cadance use their magic to burn the heaps of corrupted bodies.

Applejack accompanied Rarity and Fluttershy in a cave as they performed triage on the wounded ponies, yaks, griffons, buffalo and changelings. "Ah coulda sworn we was 'bout to buy that big farm in th' sky as we was gettin' ov'rrun an' then th' army dun went crazy like that as it completely feel 'part an' run off."

Rarity held a bandage to a bleeding wound on the barrel of a pegasus with her hooves. "Press here hard.", she directed Fluttershy. "Yes it's most unusual, it's almost like fate or some other force intervened on behalf to turn them back at the right moment." Tying off the bandage she lit her horn to numb the pain of the pony. Walking away, she shook her head, "She's not going to last the night."

"Discord helped us.", Fluttershy said.

"Well thiss def'natly has his handiwork all o'er it.", Applejack said. She froze in her track and her breath caught in her throat as she saw Cookie laying on the cave floor coughing, long gashes and burns covered his body. "Cookie!", she shouted running over with tears in her eyes. She knelt down and cradled his head.

Cookie looked up at Applejack as a weak smile spread across his lips. "Looks like Ah'm not gonna be able tuh eat yer burnt fritters again.", he said weakly.

"Dun talk like that, Rares c'n patch ya up.", Applejack said sniffling.

Rarity laid her head on Cookies chest, lifted her head, closed her eyes and softly shook head softly, "There's too much fluid in his lungs, I can ease his pain, but that's about all I can do."

Applejack rocked Cookie's head gently. "Chuck "Cookie" Wagon, ya can't die on me. Braeburn will be crushed.", she whimpered, "Yer a fighter an' an Apple tuh th' core."

"Apple...*kaff*...tuh...*kaff*...th'...*cough*...core...*kaff*...", Cookie said weakly between wet coughs, "T-tell G-ranny...t-tell Granny that...*cough*...th-that...it was...was...was..." A gurgling rasp cut off his sentence as his eyes rolled up in his head.

"Nooooohooo-oh-oh!", AJ cried out. "Come back Cookie!", she begged, "Ah gotta getcha home! Pleasepleaseplease! Tell me how Ah burnt th' fritters 'gain!" She gently stroked his mane crying.

Rarity reached over and gently closed his eyes with a hoof as tears swelled in hers.

Twilight and Harald sat stony-faced as they poured over of their dead and wounded. Out of the thirty thousand that had joined them, they had lost nearly twenty thousand over the past two days.

Cadance walked up seeing the dour expressions on Twilight and Harald's faces. "How bad is it?"

"Not good.", Twilight replied, "Over the past two days we've suffered two-thirds causalities. If we put every available weapon into the limbs of all the creatures that can walk or limp, we'll be lucky if we can get up to eleven thousand." She shook her head. "Chrysalis hasn't fared much better. By the best estimates, her army suffered nearly eighty percent losses and they still outnumber us by at least five to one at best."

Chrysalis woke up in her command tent being tended to by dozens of warped changelings. Sitting up as he head still rand, she scattered the changelings from her. Rising to her limbs, she walked to a nearby griffon with chitinous growths covering its wings, a ring of writhing tendrils surrounded its jagged beak, dozens of red twitching eyes covered its face. Raising her chin, she said, "Report."

"I don't know what happened my queen.", it said in a croaking voice, "Even with the two princesses helping them, we were about to break their forces and overrun them. The the whole attack went to pot when our forces turned on each other and those explosions decimated our ranks. We're down to sixty thousand. Our army just descended into panic and chaos."

"Discord!", Chrysalis snarled. She walked out the tent as the light of the day faded putting the storm tossed valley canyon into darkness. Lifting her head, she shouted over the drumming of the rain and hammering of the hail, "Have your victory this day Celestia! I will strip the flesh from your whore apprentice!" Forking arcs of lightning lit up the darkening sky as they skated across the bottoms of the clouds or skipped across the tops of the storm. She narrowed her eyes at the raging rivers as she swore she saw figures in them.

DAY THREE

As dawn broke Harald stood at the mouth the canyon with the allied army camped to his back. As the rain and hail pelted his armor, he swore he saw figures swoop amongst the roiling storm clouds above or peek out of the raging rivers. Looking to the north and south he saw massive dust clouds on the horizon moving fast. Turning to face Mount Canter, he saw beyond the edge of the storm what looked like a massive cloud moving fast and hard. "Just a few more hours.", he whispered to himself under his breath. Turning back to face the far end of the valley he saw the corrupted army begin to form up ranks. Pegasi and griffons flying patrols swooped over the allied camp shouting alerts that the corrupted army was forming ranks. Harald made his way back to camp to grab a quick breakfast.

As the corrupted army began marching down the valley, the allied army formed up ranks at the mouth of the canyon. Harald strode out in front of the army several paces finishing an apple. Taking one last bite, he threw the core onto the ground, slipped the shield on his arm, adjusted his helmet and drew his sword. Turning to face the allied army, he addressed them in a loud voice, "Know that what ever happens on this day I am proud of you. When bards sing of this day let them say we stood fearless before the great horde.", squaring his stance and shoving out his chest, he continued, "I know many of you are afraid. The same fear that desires to devour your also plagues me. If you fall and open your eyes finding yourself in a hall filled with feasting and drinking, weep not for you have been found worthy to join your ancestors. Know that all who have stood with me and shed blood are my family and for that I am proud of you all. Of you my are my brothers. I only ask of you to steel yourself one last time as we prepare to charge into the breach. On this day bards will sing that we few stood against the many. In the years to come when I am old and grey, I will roll up my sleeves to show the scars...", he lifted a sleeve on his armor to give impact to his words, "...and I shall recount the tales of how I stood with my battle bound brothers and others who listen will think themselves unworthy and turn faces downcast. At the end of this day we will sing songs of how we few stood against the many and strode over corpses in victory. Cast not your countenance downwards, nor mourn. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" He lifted his sword high over his head, "Together we stand alone." He pointed his sword across the valley and shouted, "The mindless horde fights only out of fear driven forward by whips and threats like slaves. We stand as free brothers and for every one of you I would gladly give my life. If that comes to pass, then my only regret is that I can only die once for you all. Raise your head my brothers and give a glad shout." He began to stamp his feet and banged his sword on his shield as he shouted over and over again, "WE ARE BROTHERS! WE ARE BROTHER!"

The allied army began to stamp and shout loudly as one voice, "WE ARE BROTHERS! WE ARE BROTHERS!" The shouting and stamping began reverberating off the canyon walls and across the valley, the corrupted army quailed momentarily before resuming their marching.

As the corrupted army crossed halfway across the valley, Harald leveled his sword at them and shouted, "Forward!" He forward in a furious charge as hard as his legs could carry him. With loud shouts, the allied army charged forward. The thunder of hooves, paws, talons and chitinous limbs echoed down the valley as the rush of wings filled the air.

The two armies clashed in the drumming rain and hammering hail with the sound like unto thunder. Harald sung his sword into the chest of a diamond dog, as the blade bites, it cuts through flesh and bone like a hot knife through snow, the wound is wide and deep, blood gushes from the wound, Harald smiles as the creature dies screaming. Thrusting his sword forward, it finds purchase in a warped changeling, the sword splits its carapace as easily as sharp knife splits a melon. Wrenching the blade free, the Warped creature collapses nearly split in two. Stepping into the breach, he swings the sword horizontally and it bites into the neck of a twisted griffon, its head floats in air weightlessly for a second before plummeting to the ground, its body collapses thrashing. Swinging the sword upwards, Harald splits a diamond dog from groin to chest. Stepping forward, viscera squishes under his feet. Slamming the edge of his shield forward in a punching motion, it slamms into the face of a twisted griffon, shattering its beak, the griffon screams before a sword thrust into its throat silences it.

Applejack rushes forward bellowing as her pike pierces the three warped changelings almost effortlessly. Using her earth pony strength, she pushes forward opening a channel through the corrupted army that allied creatures scramble in to fill. Once her momentum stops the three changeling impaled on her pike slide off the end. She swing the haft of the pike side to side smashing corrupted creatures aside. The creatures as a massive diamond dog strides forward, a chain hung around its neck with hooves of pony attached to it. It clangs its two pitted iron axes in a challenge before pointing one at her saying, "Your-your pretty scalp will make a pretty trophy! Yes-yes!" "If'n ya want it, come'n claim it!", AJ shouts back in a challenge. Leveling the pike, she drags her hooves across the ground and snorts, as she readies to charge. "Blood-blood!", the diamond dog howls as it charges. A primal bellow erupts from Applejack's lips as she charges. Aiming the pike at the diamond dog's throat, she gives a mighty thrust. The diamond dog duck under the thrust and rushes AJ. She quickly flips the sharpened iron counterweight around in a counter thrust. It spins away from the counter thrust and she swing the haft of the pike around in a smashing attack. The diamond dog slaps the pike out of AJ's hoof with the flat of its axe and leaps at her. Applejack rolls away from the attack, pulling the brush ax off her back. Swinging the hardened steel blade, it bites deep into the diamond dog's thigh, severing muscle and tendons. As it collapses to its knees, she uses the momentum of her swing to bring the hardened steel blade around again. The diamond dog crosses it axes in defense as the brush ax swing around. The hardened steel blade lops off its right paw as it shatters the bones in its forelimb. Applejack raises the brush ax up high as the diamond dog's blood drips from the blade. As she swings the heavy steel blade downwards, the diamond dog tries to lean away from the attack. Applejack gives a bellow as the hardened steel blade of the brush ax bites into the shoulder of the diamond dog and splits it down to its chest. A pregnant silence hangs in the air around Applejack for a second before she withdraws the blade of the brush ax from the freshly slain creature in a wet "schlick".

As the allied army begins bowling over the front ranks of the corrupted army, Harald wades through the ranks of the twisted creatures, slashing with his sword and smashing with his shield, leaving dead or dying creatures and viscera in his wake. The army parts before him as a massive twisted griffon lands with a shriek. Its talons and beak gleam like bronze, black tendrils writhe on its crown, its claws on it hind legs gleam like steel, sharp bony growths extend from its wing tips. The griffon spreads its massive wingspan and screeches a challenge. Harald slaps the flat of the sword on his shield and roars back a challenge as drool drips from his lips into his beard. The two circle each other as the griffon snarls and Harald begins biting his shield. The two charge each other and at the last minute the griffon does a spinning turn, sparks fly from Harald's shield as the sharp bony growths scrape across it. The griffon rakes its hind claws across Harald's shield as he swings his sword downwards, severing its tail. The griffon rolls across the ground roaring in pain as blood spurts from its severed tail, lunging forward it wraps it talons around Harald's shield then wrenches it off his arm, then tosses it away with a crooked smirk. Harald draws the axe from his belt as fleck of foam begin to form at the corners of his mouth. The two charge each other again. The griffon latches its talons on Harald's shoulders and the sword plunges into its chest. The griffon snaps his beak at Harald's face as the two struggle for dominance. Harald slams his helmet into the face of the griffon, causing a crack to spread across its beak. Staggering away, the griffon wipes a talon across its face before dragging the talon across the wound in its chest and licks the blood from it with a vicious smile. The two charge again and the griffon rears up grasping Harald's helmet in its talons as he thrusts the sword into its gut. As the griffon rips the helmet from Harald's head, he wrenches the sword, splitting the griffons stomach open. The griffon falls to the ground as its intestines spill out, it raises a talon in defense as Harald swings the his axe and it the blade bites deep, severing its forelimb. Harald stalks around the wounded and dying griffon, swinging the sword, he severed a wing from its back.The griffon tries to drag itself away, trailing its intestines behind it. Harald thrusts the point of the sword through the muscle of the griffon's shoulder. As the griffon screams in pain, the spike of the axe plunges into its skull. The griffon make gaging sounds as it body spasms, Harald swings his sword severing its head. He kicks the severed head from his axe and charges forward with a mad howl.

As the allied army pushed through the ranks of the corrupted army, hundreds of warped changeling swarm foward biting and gnashing. They swarm over ponies, yaks, buffalo and griffons, they rip chunks of flesh from the bodies consuming them. Allied changelings transform into bulls, goats and rams as the rush forward. The two armies stall as their ranks devolve into brawling.

Rarity slams her horn into a warped changeling. Charging up her magic, the changeling explodes. Greenish-black goo drips from her mane and coat as her eyes burn with fury. She rushes forward again looking for a fight.

Fluttershy thrusts her spear into the neck of a twisted griffon. Gobs of bright crimson blood fly out its mouth a split second before she twists the weapon. Wet popping sounds come from its neck as its head is nearly twisted off before she withdraws the weapon.

Marble Pie swings her sharpened shoved, splitting a warped changeling nearly in two. She swings the flat of the shovel around, shattering the skull of a twisted griffon. A pitted iron pick slams into skull and buries in deep. Her body goes stiff for a moment as her eyes roll into the back of head and blood oozes from her ears and nose.

In Ponyville, Pinkie opened the oven to put a cake in. As her heart skips a beat, the cake tin falls from her hoof, dumping the batter on the floor. She collapses to her haunches and puts a hoof to her mouth as she whimpers.

Maude was sitting in her house inspecting some interesting strata of a red sandstone sample when she felt her heart lurch. The rock drops from her hoof and she raises her head. He stoic expression is marred by a line of tear going down her cheeks and a quiver of her lips.

On the Pie family rock farm, Limestone was splitting stones with her pick when a shiver ran down her spine. The pick dropped from her mouth as tears glistened in her eyes.

Cloudy Quartz was putting a pot of rock soup on the stove when she felt her heart drop.

Ingneous walked over and said, "Cloudy, why did you spill a pot of rock soup?"

"Marble.", Cloudy whimpered as she began crying.

A diamond dog holding the pick embedded in Marbles skull have a twisted smile as it drew a jagged iron dagger. There was the flash of steel as a brush ax slammed into shoulder hard, splitting it down to its groin. Marble's lifeless body slumped to the ground as it gave a few twitches.

Applejack hefted the brush ax onto her shoulder. She slid Marbles shovel and pick nearby, the took up the grim duty of guarding Marble's body. "Pinkie's gonna to kill me,", she said under her breath.

The two surging rivers broke their banks, flooding the valley fetlock deep. Sea ponies sprung from the water and transformed into hippogriffs. They swooped into the flanks of the corrupted army, ripping the twisted creatures apart with their talons.

The storm suddenly stopped and the clouds dissipated. Gold and silver light radiated on the valley as the two sisters revealed their beautiful and terrible glory.
"STARE UPON THE MOON AND REPENT!", Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice.

"GAZE UPON THE SUN AND BE CLEANSED!", Celestia shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice.

Thousands of pegasi in bright blue armor filled the sky. Three streaks descended upon the battlefield, one yellow, one grey, one rainbow, followed by crackling lightning. A second later the thousand of pegasi folded in their wings amd dove onto the battlefield.

Harald strode across the flooded battlefield striking down corrupted creatures with his axe or sword. His eyes burned like green flames.

Chrysalis strode through the water, striking down any pegasi or hippogriffs that got too close with her dark magic.

Cadance swooped across the battlefield, sending corrupted creatures flying with her hooves.

Twilight strode across the battlefield, her mane whipping in ethereal wind, her eyes glowed white. A cloud of steam surrounded her. Any corrupted creatures that got too close to her either turned to ash or turned to stone.

Celestia and Luna dove into the fray. Fire and ice erupted from where they landed. Celestia's coat became like the surface of the sun, her mane and tail became raging solar storms, her eyes shone like ray of the sun. Luna's coat became the bright silver of the moon, her mane and tail became black as stars twinkled in them forming constellations, her eyes shown in a cold silvery light. Corrupted creatures fled in a panic from the avatars of the sun and moon striding in their ranks.

Taking a deep breath, Luna blew out an icy wind, freezing scores of the panicking corrupted creatures solid in solid ice.

Celestia flapped her wings and a tornado of flame issued forth from her ripping through scores of the corrupted creatures, clouds of scalding steam erupted from the flooded battlefield as the smoldering bodies of corrupted creatures were flung through the air.

Harald and Chrysalis met on the battlefield.

"So this is it?", Chrysalis said in a grim tone, "Are you prepared to die Rimewalker?"

Harald raised his weapons. "I now fulfill my promise to you whore queen.", he snarled.

The two of the charged at each other.

Harald swung his sword and opened a gash in the carapace of Chrysalis's shoulder. Greenish-black blood dripped from the blade of his sword.

Placing a forelimb to the gash an her shoulder and licked the greenish-black blood from her chitinous hoof. An evil smile spread across her face. "One for you.", she said in cruel tone, "And..." She charged Harald who counter charged. As she lunged at Harald, dozens of barbed tentacles sprung forth from her limbs and lashed them out. As he ducked and weaved avoiding the tentacles as she closed on him, one of them lashed across his forehead, opening up a gash. As he slashed at her with both weapons, she leapt back recoiling the tentacles. "One for me!", she cackled as she licked the crimson blood from the tentacle.

Harald rushed forward in a zip-zag motion. He swung high with his axe forcing Chrysalis to duck. As he swung low with his sword, she struck the flat of the blade with a chitinous hoof, knocking it from his hand.

Chrysalis rose up on her hind limbs and Harald drove forward hard with his shoulder. She tumbled backwards, landing hard in the shallow water. Rising to her limbs, she saw the army was in full panicked rout. Summoning dark magic in her horn, she fired a blast of energy sending a wave of mud and water momentarily blinding Harald, then ran off.

Wiping the mud and water from his face, Harald squatted down retrieving his sword. "Flee while you can!", he shouted.

Many of the panicking corrupted creatures tried tried to take to the air or ford the rivers, only to be crushed by pegasi hooves or drowned by sea ponies. The few that did make it across the rivers we caught in an ambush when the very rocks and cacti sprung to life, revealing Thorax and his changelings.

Chrysalis ran fast and hard up the valley. Flitting her wings, she prepared to take to the air when dozens of blue armored pegasi descended to block her. Turning back, she froze in her steps as Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight landed. Flopping to her haunches, she began laughing. Extending her forelimbs forward, she said, "I guess it's back to the Canterlot dungeons."

In a flash of multicolored light, Flurry Heart appeared. Her ethereal man flapped about on an unfelt wind, multicolred fourth-dimensional shapes ran through it, energy crackled across her coat and eyes. "Burn.", she said in a voice that sounded like thousands speaking at once.

Chrysalis' eyes melted in her sockets as her flesh liquefied in the immense heat and poured out in cracks in her carapace. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a short-lived gurgle before it was replaced by the sounds of crackling. A few wisps of smoke curled forth as her carapace crumbled into ash.
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Sombra limped out of the tunnels into a cave fetid cave, covered with bites and gashes. Viscera clung to his hooves and fangs. As he approached a swirling pool of dark magic at the back of the cavers, he recoiled when a three dimensional shadow of an alicorn rose from the pool "L-lord Shadow!", he said shivering as he lowered himself to the ground.

Shadow said nothing and instead teleported them both to a dark temple. Sitting on a stone was a pink pegasus mare with a curly blue mane and tail, bleeding arcane runes were carved in her flesh, she held an onyx knife in her hoof, fresh blood dripped from the tip of the blade. Grogar and Nightmare flanked her as she chanted ancient esoteric words.

She turned her head and when her eyes locked with Sombra's, his blood ran cold. Her eyes were black orbs of pure malice. "Bring him.", she said in a voice that seemed to rob the very air of heat.

As shadow shoved Sombra forward, Grogar extended a skeletal hoof.

"No! No!", Sombra begged as the dark magic was leeched from his body in tendrils of red and black. When the last of the dark magic was pulled from his body, his withered husk collapsed to the floor slowly crumbling to dust.

Grogar gathered the dark magic into a red and black swirling ball, then passed it to the pegasus mare. Taking the ball of dark magic in her free hoof, she slowly shoved it into her chest. "Bring the egg.", she said in a crackling voice.

Grogar laid the changeling egg on the table.

Rubbing a hoof on the egg and letting a drop of blood fall on it, she said in a voice of malice, "Die and be reborn, Chrysalis."

The egg cracked and a black grub wriggled out. Over the next several seconds, the grub warped and writhed as Chrysalis grew to her full height. "So good to see you Cozy Glow.", she said.

The bleeding runes on Cozy's body closed over, becoming black pulsing runes. Rising to her hooves, she walked over to a stone throne and sat on it. As a black gnarled horn grew from her head, she summoned over a black iron crown and lowered it onto her head. "Cozy Glow is no more.", she said in a voice that came from everywhere and nowhere at once, "I am Empress Nihilus, heir of King Nihil."

Grogar, Nightmare, Shadow and Chrysalis bowed before Nihilus.

Nihulus's black eyes looked for as a malicious smile spread across her face. "Bring unto me a grand army so that we may lay low Clan Invictus."

Author's Note:

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out.
I plan on doing an epilogue before working on the sequel.
Thank you all for reading.
I hope you all enjoy.

I will try to take all criticisms as constructive.

Comments

[The_Darker_Fonts]

Damn good fighting. Damn good chapter.