Darkness of Ages - Book 1: Greyhield

by YoungQuillMaster

Chapter 43: To Save an Empire

Blaze walked along the stony path, the light sound of metal clinking against itself as the troops behind him continued to march in a uniform rhythm. The smaller force he led had been all they could spare from the front, and hopefully it would be all they needed to will this battle. Soon enough, Blaze reached the top of the mountain path, looking down on the Crystal Empire below, Greyhield’s banner fluttering in the wind from its perch on the castle wall. The town around it look rather unchanged from the pictures Blaze had seen before, save for a few new houses and a few missing houses. Blaze looked behind him, giving a nod to his troops before separating from the path and sliding down the mountain side.

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Blaze sat beside a fire, the cold of the surrounding lands still biting at him even as he came closer to the flames. The soldiers had all set up camp outside the range of the Empire inside of a cave set into one of the surrounding mountains. The sun was slowly setting towards the west, marking the end of yet another day Equestria was engaged in a bloody war. Blaze sighed as he looked over the ponies around him. Each of them were quite young, still in their prime. Some of them had families of their own that were waiting for their return, others were alone in the world and had nothing left to their name. These stallions could all be running their own businesses, or working for somepony else; could’ve had a peaceful life, doing what any other pony should be allowed to do, and yet they were all here, locked in combat with a fierce enemy with only a small hope of ever returning to see their families ever again. This was what he fought for. Blaze knew that this war would claim many, and even after the war it would claim many more, but maybe he could make the world close enough to Equestria before the war so that the foals of these stallions could live in a world that was close in essence to the one their fathers had lived in before.

Blaze looked up towards the entrance of the cave. The sun had been set for a few minutes now, and now the last rays of twilight were beginning to fade as the stars began to blink into existence in the sky above. After a few more moments, the land was plunged into darkness, lit only by the Empire’s light and the moon. Blaze slowly stood up, many of the stallions following suit as he stretched his legs.

“Prepare your gear; we’re moving out in ten minutes. Whatever you don’t need for the battle, don’t take, we need to travel light.” The soldiers all saluted and began preparations, some cleaning their hoof cannons, while others put powder on their armor, dulling the reflectivity of the metal. Blaze checked his sword, drawing out before discarding the sheath. He opened his pack, taking a small bite of bread and a short drink of water before closing his pack once more. This battle was certain to drag on, and there was no telling if relief soldiers were on the way in they didn’t succeed. The entire leg of the campaign was in the hooves of a single group of soldiers that was barely large enough to hold a city the size of the Crystal Empire.

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Blaze charged, keeping close to the snowy ground as he and the rest of his troops moved on the city, their darker armor streaking through the white snow. Blaze jumped over yet another snow bank, his eyes fixed on the goal as he galloped with all his strength. The uniform huffing of the soldiers sent clouds of vapor into the air as the mass of soldiers moved through the snowy plains until finally reaching the area protected by the Crystal Empire. Suddenly, two reptilous guards rounded a corner in front of the ponies, completely oblivious to the ponies that approached. Blaze launched off the ground, tackling one of the guards as an arrow slammed into the skull of the other. Blaze slammed his sword into the reptilous’ neck, quickly ending the beast’s life before moving on, picking up the beast warrior’s sword.

Blaze skirted around a corner, half the troops following him while the other half split off a second road. Blaze charged straight down the path towards the castle, keeping to the shadows as he took on small patrols of reptilous with his soldiers providing support in their quick and efficient elimination. Eventually Blaze reached the crystalline castle. The plans he had received from Cadence burning in his mind as he skidded to a halt and charged towards the staircase. Blaze pivoted on his hooves, bucking the door down with one swift kick before turning around and charging down the stairs with half of the troops that were still with him as the other half flooded the upstairs.

Blaze bashed the skull of the prison guard in with his sword before proceeding to take the keys and charge down the line of cells, checking each one, only to find each of them empty until he reached the last one. Blaze skidded to a halt. Inside, a grayish looking stallion lay in the corner, several wounds quite evident on his hide. Blaze tested the lock with each key, finding each to not be the one he wanted until he reached the last one, swinging the door open. He quickly charged into the cell to the wounded stallion.

“Prince Shining Armor?” Blaze asked, lowering himself to look at the dejected pony closer. The pony looked up towards Blaze, his eyes betraying his surprise as he nodded in response. “We’re here to escort you to safety.”

“W-what about… about Cadence, is she alright?” He whispered with a hoarse and shaky voice. Blaze slowly helped the former Captain of the Guard to his hooves.

“She’s safe; the Princess made in behind our lines before Greyhield’s forces could catch her again, all thanks to you.” Blaze replied. “Now we need to do the same for you.” Blaze looked over to the soldiers, giving a nod, at which some of them came forward and helped the stallion out of the cell and down the corridor as quickly as possible.

“Sir, we should move out, the enemy has doubtlessly been made aware of our presence by now and we should aid the rest of our stallions in either delaying them or defeating them.” Sergeant Bastion stated calmly. Blaze gave a silent nod before charging down the corridor, passing the ponies escorting Shining out as he galloped. Blaze quickly proceeded to ascend to the top level, his soldiers directly behind him. This would most certainly be a fight to remember.

Author's Note:

I really don't like how short this chapter turned out, but the recent days have been complicated beyond measure, but I do hope to give you a good size chapter next time.