Twilight Daylight: Dawn of Equus

by thedarktome

Chapter 32 - The Crow and The Phoenix

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay, dear friends! I've been really busy with new job training.

Anyway, here's a new chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will publish. I hope this can tie you down 'til then.

Ten Minutes Earlier

In the middle of the largest rune ever made sat Narmeelah, ephemeral, body made of stars and the universe lying beyond Equus' atmosphere. Under the protective eye of Psera's current residents.

Her eyes were closed, focused was she on her task that she cared little for the thousands of eyes watching her.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. A small gasp left her throat. She solidified into her Alicorn form.

"Molten," she whispered. She looked towards the north of Psera. A small smirk grew on her face.

"So... That's where you are. Ferilia!"

In a cloud of black smoke, Ferilia appeared behind Narmeelah. Striped coat as dark as her soul. She reached into one of her flared wings and plucked at a feather.

"Yes?"

"Are you hungry?"

Ferilia reached up to her mouth and plucked fur out of her mouth.

"I actually just ate."

"Then have some dessert. Our guests are in the north, in a secretive settlement weaponizing."

Ferilia grinned. Her snakelike tongue sensually glided over her fangs, her curved horn glowing with anticipation.

"I can't wait." Ferilia spread her wings and took off into the air, destination for Serl.

With that, Narmeelah closed her eyes and went back to managing the universe.

Present

So, they had a visitor. Celestia looked down at the map they had over the table of Serl.

"Where could they be?" Celestia asked.

Teek pointed to an area south of Serl. "Over here we have a few structures that were abandoned centuries ago. Inside of these buildings are sensors we use to track incoming threats. That's where they are coming from."

"At the time of the alarm..." Dawn pointed to a meter on the side of a map. "They were an average ten minutes out."

Then they were really close. Odega broke away from the group and walked towards the glass window at the front of the tower. She could sense them out there. As a matter of fact, they felt rather familiar. Odega narrowed her eyes and hummed under her breath, vaguely aware of the decisions being made behind her.

"Have all teams on the walls keep an eye out," Dawn ordered her commanders. "Weapons ready and eyes peeled."

"Ferilia," Odega said suddenly. All attention turned to her.

"What?" Luna asked.

"It's Ferilia. She must be hungry."

"Hungry?" Novo asked.

Odega turned around and walked through them for the exit to the tower. "Yeah. Unlike Maheera, she enjoys eating ponies. I'll go handle her until Arcadia gets back."

"Hey!" Odega turned back to First Light. "Be careful."

Odega smiled. "Always will be, squirt."

She trotted out onto the deck, jumped off, and transmogrified into the phoenix, a fiery mass that flew over the city of Serl and it's protective wall. With a single flap of her wings, she landed on the ground in an explosion of fire that condensed back into her pony form.

All creatures were prepared for a fight. Their commanders watching from the tower, the soldiers standing at the ready along the wall. Ponies in pods behind the entrance into Serl, ready to drive out and meet the enemy head on. All they had to do now was wait.

Dawn grabbed a pair of binoculars from a nearby pony and peered through out the window. Odega must've sensed their opponent's aura, because she couldn't see them at all.

Dawn passed back those binoculars and ordered, "Weapons up, but do not engage. IHT, I require your assistance for aerial security."

Celestia turned to one of her generals and nodded her head. At their command, Pegasi from Equestria took to the sky and formed a line above Serl's wall, watching from above, ready for a fight.

Thank the stars that Scootaloo couldn't fly. A shame, truly, but in this situation, it was probably for the best. She knew her limits.

She shared a glance with one of her fellow soldiers on the wall and swallowed hard. They had yet to even see the threat from the other side of the war. So far, it's just been IHT and Psera`. Now, they would be able to see what they were exactly up against.

Dawn passed her binoculars to their owner and walked back over to the table.

She asked, "Are we able to send a signal out?"

Teek looked to another pony. "Can we send one out?"

They immediately went back to their workstation and began typing away. "According to this, we can send one out."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Luna cautiously asked.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. Secretary? Bring our navy back to Psera. Full speed. Teek, I need a visual on the desert."

"All stations, get us eyes!" Teek ordered.

All the LiVAMS converted from their current feeds to newer ones of every single camera they had out there in those sandy plains.

Dawn moved her eyes from one screen to the other. Narrowed, she focused on everything. What triggered that alarm? So far as they could see, it was empty. Then again, Odega sensed Ferilia out there.

"I have movement!" All eyes diverted to one single screen. Black dots were flying across the feed, heading in their direction. Something with wings.

"Crows?" Luna asked. "Doesn't' seem threatening."

"Not at first. But..." Dawn looked back to the princesses. "Psera doesn't have crows."

They could see them through the glass. A cloud of birds blacker than the storm in the distance coating Psera in an endless torrent of rain.

Odega was nonchalant. This wasn't her first time against Ferilia. They've had their spats.

"Here they come," Teek announced.

The crows eventually arrived in front of Odega. Upon arrival they bundled together, forming a black ball that Ferilia eventually stepped out of.

The Princesses narrowed their eyes. Dawn recognized her. That mare she met before back in Equestria.

Ferilia and Odega held a stareoff. It was thick, full of malice and hatred.

"Ferilia," Odega greeted.

"Odega," Ferilia responded. She reached up to her mouth and flicked out more fur. "Narmeelah said Arcadia Nova's army would be here. A shame you're a part of it."

"It's a shame that all Narmeelah's done has finally come to light. I wonder what else she's been hiding."

"Hmm." Ferilia looked past Odega towards the wall. "You have a very important pony safeguarded on the other side of that wall."

Dawn felt all eyes move to her. Of course it was her. Ferilia made it very clear that she was not her friend.

"There are a lot of very important ponies on that side of the wall," Odega replied.

"There is one in particular I'm searching for." Ferilia stomped her right hoof. "I assume you know of whom I speak of."

"I do. But she kind of isn't here to talk." Odega narrowed her eyes and slowly expanded her wings. "I take it neither are you."

"You know me well, Odega."

"Well enough to know you don't easily go so far out of your way for a meal. Narmeelah sent you here."

Dawn transformed into First Light. "She knows where we are," she whispered from the tower.

"Maybe she did, maybe she didn't," Ferilia countered.

"No, she did."

"Okay, I'm done talking." Ferilia suddenly flew forward, slamming into Odega. She saw it coming.

She flipped over and vaulted Ferilia over her back, who then landed on her hooves facing her again.

"You will find I'm not as easy as before," Ferilia warned. Her hoof slid across the dirt road leading up to Serl's gates. She expanded her wings and sneered at Odega, who in turn sneered back.

Even behind the glass barrier, Dawn could feel the tension in the air. The heat from the friction between the two of them.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Odega shot for Ferilia and slammed into her, sliding them across the ground once more. She grabbed Ferilia around the neck and swung her around, throwing her back into the sand. Alas, she would not be so easy to take down.

Ferilia flipped over and stood her ground, facing Odega. She took a deep breath and let loose a roar. A magic so dark that First Light could feel it from the tower spewed from between her teeth, shooting in Odega's direction.

Reacting just in time, Odega formed into the Phoenix and spiraled around the magic for Ferilia. She slammed into her once more, trapping her beneath a talon.

"Surrender!" Odega shouted. "You will not win!"

Ferilia clearly has other plans. She burst into crows again, slipping out from between Odega's form of capture and began to swarm together in front of the wall, growing bigger and bigger until they had a murder of crows towering over the wall of Serl.

This was getting them nowhere. First Light groaned and ordered, "Engage on Ferilia!"

In a matter of seconds Serl's army began to shoot at the spiral, breaking apart only a small number out of the hundreds that screened off what lied on the other side.

Suddenly, a massive crow burst through, Talons out, wings outstretched, and beak wide for the roar that escaped its throat. Ferilia grabbed Odega and pushed her back into the wall. The impact was enough to break straight through, forcing the the cambatants posted there to scatter.

Scootaloo ran to the right to avoid faking with the rest of the debris. She made it to a ladder and began to slide down before the destruction finally reached her. The concrete the Ladder was connected to broke off, leaving the ladder itself connected to nothing.

Buck. Scootaloo held on as the ladder began to tilt backwards towards the roof of another building with a section made of glass.

"Buck," Scootaloo muttered. At the right moment, Scootaloo jumped, hoping to make it onto the concrete. Alas, fate had other ideas. She fell through the glass and into a carpeted office.

"Ah!" She shouted. A sharp pain made it's way into her shoulder before she rolled over. A large shard had sheathed its way through Scootaloo's fur and into her body.

The fight could be seen for miles. Even going so far as to reach Cadance and Twilight driving through the pouring rain they could make out the dust from the collapsed portion of the wall, as well as the shrieks traveling for miles.

"They're in trouble!" Cadance concluded loudly over the rain, thunder, and motor.

"I see." Twilight reached into the back and opened up that case with her new gear. "I'll armor up. Here, take the wheel."

Cadance reached over and grabbed "the wheel" of the vehicle. How does one even drive this? It seems the wheel controls the direction, but what controls the speed?

Once Twilight made it to the back, Cadance jumped into the seat and put her bottom hoof on a button. That seemed to increase their speed. How would one stop?

She pressed another button. Immediately, the pod braked, almost throwing Twilight back into the passenger seat.

"Ugh! Cadance!"

"Sorry, sorry!" She put the vehicle back in drive and continued their journey for SERL. "I don't know how to drive this thing!"

Twilight righted herself in the back and began putting on her gear. Helmet on first then everything else.

Cadance glanced up to the rearview mirror and widened. "Wow. You look... Godly."

"Thank you, Cadance."

"But don't think that gets you out of this Final Switch situation."

"Sure. Now, please speed up so I can rid of our little visitor, and perform a proper demonstration of these weapons."

---

The fight lasted for awhile, creating destruction all throughout Serl before Odega finally managed to toss Ferilia beyond what remained of the wall.

She crashed into the mud and was flipped over by Odega.

"ENOUGH!" Odega shouted. She sheathed her talons into Ferilia's chest, pinning her into the mud.

They both turned back into their pony forms, with Odega on top, glowering.

"You will not win this," she told her. "You don't have to do this. If you do not surrender, sister, you will die!"

Sister? Dawn and First could sense each other's confusion. Maybe she meant that in a friendly way. Best friends forever? Sisters? Practically the same thing.

Ferilia growled and shook her head. "You were kicked out of the circle because you were corrupt, Odega. You went against our ways, you went against the plan. So you were made as a soldier, and you were made one for a reason."

Ferilia slammed her hoof up into Odega's muzzle, enough to throw her face to the side and her body off. She landed in the mud before Ferilia stood over her, clutching her pierced chest. Snarling her fangs and wings outstretched, illuminated with power.

She flapped her wings once, gently lifting her off the ground. But a ripple of magic shot Odega across the battlefield and through the wall, blowing bricks and destroying an entire section of SERL's defense.

She was getting stronger, beginning to show her true power. They had to put a stop to this now.

"Soldiers of Equus," First Light ordered. "Let violet magic rain upon her."

All soldiers within the walls trained their weapons on Ferilia and her glowing figure and pulled their triggers. The first stream of magic bounced off her glowing figure before the rest followed.

Buck.

"Get down!" A guard tackled First Light to the ground before the ricocheting shots blew through the glass of the tower, damaging equipment and nearly hitting personnel who took cover.

"This isn't good," Shining thought aloud from behind a cabinet.

Eventually, someone called a ceasefire. The shooting ceased, ending with Ferilia standing there with a nonplussed expression.

"You simple souls," she said. "You thought that could stop me. Foals!"

She rose up on her rear two hooves and spread her wings high and wide.

"I am a Daughter of Narmeelah! Pony of Power! I have never been defeated by any army, nor will I ever be!"

She pointed up to the tower, where could see the current Queen of Psera.

"You, will be my meal!" She shouted. "And I will feast upon—"

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a golden beam of magic shot from out of sight made impact on Ferilia. In a flash of light, she blew into brown dust, mixing with the mud of the world around them.

From many yards away, with Cadance at the wheel, Twilight leaned out the side of the pod, balancing a long rifle painted a reflective gold matching her armor, glowing with runes. Smoke expelled from the barrel slightly.

"Done," Twilight reported. She returned to her seat next to Cadance and looked her way. She seemed a lot more confident driving. "How's it feel?"

"Pretty good, actually," Cadance admitted. "I could do this all day."

"There's a career in it. Although, you have yet to deal with other drivers. Give it some time, change your environment, and you'll begin to hate it. We're coming up on the wall, so you'll have to slow down to make the turns. So come of the left, and slowly press on the right."

Cadance did as instructed, making their way towards the soldiers walking outside the wall to investigate what remained of Ferilia's ashes. Twilight leaned over and pressed on the horn, grabbing their attention. They didn't have a comm block, they would have to grab their attention.

One of the soldiers reported their location and pointed through the hole in the wall.

"Okay, so this is where things get tricky. Want me to take over?" Twilight queried.

"No, no, I got it," Cadance insisted.

"Okay. Make the turn."

Their pod, ever so slowly, maneuvered through the hole and gently over the debris, snaking their way into SERL with the longest train any of them have ever seen.

The doors into the tower opened, letting out their Kings, Queens, and Military Commanders, watching them snake past below.

First Light's eyes tracked one of the pods. "Those are a lot of weapons," she muttered.

The line was so long that they had to snake through the entire facility and make it all the way back to the hole facing southwest Psera before they could park again. Once the Pod came to a complete stop, Twilight hopped out in her new gear and faced the approaching commanders.

"Quite the mess," she commented on the security breach. "Psera will have to rebuild the wall."

"That's not even the least impactful situation on our minds," Celestia commented. She eyed the snaking line of carriers. "These are the disintegrators?"

"The very same." Twilight plucked off her helmet and set it by her hooves. Her mane quickly soaked in the falling rain. "I used one to get rid of our little problem. She won't be returning, unless Narmeelah recreates her. The policy for no magic used still applies. No doubt she knows we're already here, but secrecy is our best strategy."

"I agree," Queen Novo replied. She looked around SERL and hummed through her thoughts. Most of their army was in shambles. Just a little unorganized, but unorganized nonetheless. Some of them were even injured.

"I motion we setup camp for the remainder of the day," she said. She turned to the curious eyes of her colleagues. "We have to form a strategy. SERL has eyes on most of Psera. Perhaps we can spy on a few cities and work on a strategy upon approach to Cop."

"That's a good idea," First Light acknowledged. "We must replenish our strength before we can fight. It's for the best."

Sky Duster flew forward and hovered over the group. "As mentioned before, I can easily sneak in and get a better eye of the land."

"That sounds like a plan," Twilight agreed.

"And while we're planning..." Cadance walked into view from behind Twilight and placed the cube holding the Final Switch in the middle of the group. "...you can explain this to the rest of the class."

Curious gazes shifted from Cadance's suspicious expression to Twilight's annoyed one. Great. Another secret. Wonderful.

Dawn took back over and let out another sigh to add the hundreds from before.

"Mom, what is that?" She queried.

Twilight slapped her helmet back on her head and picked up the cube from the ground. She walked through the group, destination for the tower. "I'll explain it to you later. Right now, Let's get back inside and see if we can find anymore cameras. If Narmeelah's watching us, I believe it's time we return the favor."

Comments

[Wakijima]

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