The Crusades End

by ColdChimera

13 Goodbyes

The Crusaders moved quickly and quietly along the paths hidden behind some hills. It had been five days since Storm and Tail Wind had shown up on Apple Bloom's doorstep, and now they were making their way down the paths to scout the area around the caves they would be attacking at some point in the next few hours. As they moved Apple Bloom thought about her parting with her family.

---

"Well sis, looks like ah've got to go." Apple Bloom said to her sister looking upon her with sad eyes.

"Seems you do." Applejack agreed. "Just promise y'all are comin' back from this."Apple Bloom couldn't look her sister in the eye.

"Ah, promise." She took a few seconds to make sure she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't let what could be Applejack's last view of her be her crying like a foal. "You sure your alright with this?"

"No ah'm not, but ah can't stop ya and y'all are the best trained and most likely to live when you fight these things so ah have to let ya go." The elder sister reasoned. "Don't mean ah'm happy about it, but ah won't stop ya doin' what ya have ta do."

"Thanks AJ. Ah promise to come back safe and sound." Apple Bloom said hugging her, putting as much feeling as she could into the action.

"Good luck AB, come home safe." Applejack released her sister watching her walk to her brother, give him a hug and say goodbye before moving on and doing the same with Granny Smith. When she was done saying goodbye she walked to the gate that separated the farm from the rest of Ponyville. The other Crusaders were there waiting for her. Big Macintosh sidled up to his sister.

"Ya know she lied when she made that promise to ya don't ya." The big stallion said sadly.

"Of course ah know." Applejack retorted.

---

It saddened the young Earth pony that she had to lie to her sister, and what made it worse was knowing that her sister wouldn't be able to believe it for even a second. She raised her head looking into the midday sky sending a silent prayer to the princesses that she and her friends would come out unharmed, or at the very least alive.

Scootaloo was flying in circles hidden in some clouds on her own. Tail Wind had flown off a few minutes ago to scout the land ahead of them. She was only there to make sure nopony escaped if the other Crusaders got noticed, they were traveling in daylight so the chance of that happening was very low. This also meant she had time to think. She sat on her cloud flapping her wings every so often to keep it moving and allowed her mind to wander, right back to her dad and the teary farewell they had shared.

---

"What do you mean you're leaving? You only just got back." The old stallion asked as he watched his daughter busy herself with packing a saddlebag with food, blankets and worryingly medical supplies.

"I mean there was a reason I left for nearly two years dad. Now it's come to Ponyville and me and my friends aren't just the only ones who can stop it we're the only ones who know about it. This is literally the only time stopping it will be as easy as this, if we miss this chance then I will probably have to spend the rest of my life moving around." Scootaloo explained as she finished packing and turned to face her father. "Don't worry dad." She told him with a smile. "I'll be back before you know it and then you can show me your new job and we can fly together."

The old Pegasus smiled sadly as he looked at his daughter, all grown up. A tear escaped his eye. "I know but I just got you back and now your leaving again..." He jumped forward and grabbed her in a hug using his wings and his hooves. "Just promise me you're coming back Scoots. I can't bare to loose you now. Not again."

Scootaloo jumped at the sudden display of emotion but quickly returned the hug. "I promise dad, I will come back. And when I do I promise I won't leave you alone again." The young mare whispered into the ear of her father, allowing a few tears to escape herself. "Alright that's enough of the sappy stuff I've got to get going I'm meeting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at Sweet Apple Acres, I'll see you really soon alright dad?" Scootaloo said as she broke the hug.

The old stallion sniffed and nodded, "Alright, I'll see you soon Scootaloo, stay safe."

---

Sweetie trotted alongside Meteor Storm in front of Apple Bloom. She was watching her surroundings, scanning for any possible threats. She was also practicing a very useful trick taught to all Unicorn battlemages, the Unicorn would partition their mind so that they could cast spells while fighting hoof to hoof and avoid enemy spells. Sweetie was using this to think about her sister.

---

"So the captain and commander found Moon Shadow. Who is now hiding in a cave near Ponyville and another Vampire called Samael is coming, with an army, to fight him. And it's the job of you five to go into the cave where Moon Shadow is hiding and wait for him to defeat Samael so that he will be weak enough for you five to finish him off." Rarity said summing up all that Sweetie had just told her. The younger Unicorn had returned home to Rarity and told her everything that had happened in the farm house.

"That about sums it up. Shadow has always lived in that cave as far as we can tell. Samael and Moon Shadow are the last of the original Vampires, all the Vampires that exist today are connected to those two, and they hate each other. Samael is finally making his move on Moon Shadow which means that he'll be at his weakest in nearly five hundred years after the battle. This is the only chance we have, if we don't go now whichever Vampire wins will be at their weakest for the last time ever, after this there won't be a single Vampire strong enough to challenge them and we would have to hunt them down one at a time." Sweetie explained, as she sipped the tea her sister had served her.

"Will you be safe?" Rarity asked.

"Much less than normal, we're going into a massive cave system with two rival armies of Vampires. But Storm plans on forcing them to fight while we slip in through a small side entrance. Their attention will be directed towards the front while we get in and sneak up to the leaders."

"Okay, well I guess it's a matter of the closer to danger the further from harm. Just make sure you come back Sweetie Belle, I can't bare to think what my life would be like if you were not in it."

"I would imagine quiet, and you would get more work done because I wouldn't be stealing your fabric to make capes for the Crusaders and we wouldn't be trying to get Cutie Marks in fashion or something like that." Sweetie and Rarity shared a laugh at that.

"Regardless, I wouldn't trade a single second of the time we have spent together, except maybe that time when we weren't sisters, and I look forward to seeing you return home the triumphant hero." Rarity smiled at her sister. "Have you been practising the way Meteor Storm taught you?" She asked loosing her smile, replacing it with a concerned frown.

"Yes, I'm much stronger with it now than I have ever been. I've also been practising shield spells, I can cast a few strong ones at the same time as well as having them all set up differently." Sweetie answered.

"I confess I don't know much about magic, I didn't even know that there were different set ups for shields." Rarity said impressed.

"Yeah, a regular shield like the one that Twilight used to keep us out of the library during that Gabby Gums thing, they can be modified to be weaker overall but resistant to different elements like fire, ice and earth. They are used if you don't know what you'll be facing exactly like a Unicorn could cast a spell that turns part of you to stone or throw a rock at you and an earth resistant shield will block both. If you know that you won't be facing Unicorns a shield that is stronger against physical attacks is a good bet, they actually pulse on a certain frequency so that the Unicorn can still cast out but nothing physical can enter. Anti-magic shields are the same but they pulse on a frequency that disrupts all magic so no Unicorn can cast out of them."

"That's very an impressive amount of knowledge Sweetie Belle." Rarity enthused.

"Just because I couldn't cast before doesn't mean I couldn't read about magic." The young Unicorn dead panned.

"Very true." Her sister forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well if you even think that you are going to be attacked I want you to throw a shield around yourself you hear me?" Sweetie laughed at her sister.

"All right sis, I promise."

"Good, now drink up your tea quickly or you'll be late." Rarity said after checking the clock. "I packed your bag for you." she added as Sweetie placed her cup back on it's saucer.

"Thank you Rarity, I'll see you soon." The young mare said hugging her elder sister, before turning and putting her saddlebags on.

"I'll be waiting." Rarity replied as she walked her to the door. Rarity waved as she watched her sister walk down the road.

I'm not worried. She told herself. I know Sweetie will be as careful as she can be and she can cast spells now so she can defend herself even better than before. She's got her friends and Storm and Tail Wind, all of them will look out for each other. She reasoned as she closed the door. A few seconds later, Rarity fell to her knees crying.

---

The Crusaders continued in silence for a short while until they caught up to Tail Wind. He suggested they stop where they were and set up a small camp to rest and prepare for the coming battle.

They took a few minutes to rest and eat after which Storm started delegating tasks. Scootaloo got sentry duty with him while the other Crusaders were sent to plant the explosives in the tunnels. "Keep an eye to the sky, red sparks mean Samael is here and we need to blow the bombs." he told them before running off to a nearby cliff that he could use to see most of the surrounding area. Scootaloo flying after him.

The three Crusaders crept around the side of the small hill that marked the entrance to the tunnel that required collapsing. Sweetie ignited her horn scanning for magic. "I can't tell. There's a ton of magical interference here somepony could cast right next to me and I wouldn't be able to tell unless I saw it." The young mare told her comrades. "And that would only tell me if there was a Unicorn present the area could be filled with Earth ponies or Pegasi and I would have no idea."

Tail Wind raised his wings slightly feeling the air currents shift. There were no erratic shifts telling him at the least nopony was moving. "I can't feel anything." He whispered to the other two. "What about you 'Bloom?" he asked.

Apple Bloom closed her eyes, feeling the magic in the earth concentrating on any vibrations that could be coming from within the cave, whenever a pony or other creature took a step it sent vibrations through the earth that resonated with the magic therein. A skilled Earth pony geomancer could sense those vibrations to within a millimetre of the actual step and bend the earth to their will. Apple Bloom wasn't that skilled she could sense movement within a general area but that was the extent of her skill. "Nothing,we should be safe for a quick look-see." She told the stallion. He nodded stepping forward so he was at the very edge of the entrance. Very carefully he lent his body around so that he could see the inside of the cave. Nothing moving, it looked like it was clear. He risked leaning a bit more to allow himself a better view. He saw it stood just inside the entrance, a pony made of stone. He quickly pulled back around the corner.

"I think there's a Golem in there." He whispered. "I can't take it out, it'll see me and I'll never get close enough. Sweetie, you may be able to, if you reach in with your magic you can break the plate off it's chest and pull the crystal that powers it out." Tail explained talking quickly and quietly.

"OK I'll try." Sweetie told him nodding. She closed her eyes and lit her horn. She reached with her magic placing herself in it's grip, she reached around the wall 'saw' the Golem and the small fracture like lines around a plate on it's chest. She found the small piece of stone that kept it closed. Her magic gripped a stone and raised it over the latch, she dropped it breaking the piece of stone clean off. The plate swung loose slightly. Sweetie reached through the small opening to find a medium sized diamond, pulsing with energy. She gripped it and pulled ripping it out of the Golems chest, which promptly turned to a small pile of rocks. "Done." She said coming back to herself, bringing the diamond with her. "What should I do with this?" She asked.

"Keep it if it has power still. They are useful to power spells or recharge your energy levels after large spells or a long time casting." The older stallion told her. "Lets go we have a few more charges to plant after this cave. Apple Bloom stay out here and keep an eye out." Tail Wind instructed before entering the cave with Sweetie Belle.

---

Scootaloo sat next to Storm surveying the area. They were hidden from the land below them by some rocks at the mouth of a cave at the top of a cliff that stood to the left of the group of hills that hid the cave system belonging to their enemy. The area was quite rocky with many small cliffs and very little greenery, because of this there were many places where a group of Vampires could easily walk in the shade. Forcing the Crusaders to maintain a constant watch.

"Hey Storm?" The orange Pegasus asked glancing briefly to the stallion on her left.

"What is it Scoots?" He responded.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked a little nervously.

The older Crusader chuckled softly. "You've just asked two, I don't see how one more could hurt, go ahead."

"Heh yeah. Well, when we were going to 'The Candle' and we stopped to rest in that cave, me and Apple Bloom were awake with Tail Wind and we were curious so we asked how he became a Crusader." She explained taking her gaze away from the landscape to focus on Storm.

"He told you, and now I'm guessing you want to know mine?" He asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Tail told us it was quite upsetting and that you didn't like talking about it so if you don't want to that's fine." She said watching him carefully.

"You have a right to know." He responded glancing her way briefly. "But that's hard for me to talk about. I promise to tell you after this battle, when this is all over."

"Okay, I get it. Everyone has a story they don't want to tell." The orange mare told him. "But I want you to give me your word that you'll tell someone, it isn't good to keep things bottled up for too long."

"Who?" He asked.

"My Mum." she answered, instantly understanding the question.

"Okay, I give you my word that after this battle I will tell you my story." Scootaloo smiled a little at that. "If." She lost the smile, listening. "If you tell me about your Mum."

"How can I be sure you'll keep your promise if I keep mine?" She asked a little defensively.

"You don't trust me Scoots? I'm hurt." He chuckled. "One, this is more than a fair deal. Two, I always keep my promises. Three, in the Command Centre in 'The Candle' there is a cabinet to the right of the door as you enter, in the second row down, third draw from the left there is a letter under a false bottom. That tells my story, it also has instructions in case of my death."

"Thank you Storm. For the record I do trust you, but Applejack tried to run form her friends instead of telling the truth once, so I want to make sure there isn't a way out that I've overlooked."

The sun was just about to set so he turned back to Scootaloo. "They should have finished planting the explosives now go back to camp and tell them that Sam is most likely going to arrive at midnight." The young Pegasus saluted before turning to take off. "Goodnight, little bird."

Scootaloo stopped and looked back angrily at the Unicorn. "Only Tail Wind is allowed to call me that." She told him.

"My apologies. If I may ask, why are you so defensive of that nickname?"

The young Pegasus sighed. "It's the nickname my mum gave me."

"I see. I'm sorry. Goodnight Scootaloo."

"Goodnight Storm." She replied before taking off, and flying back to camp.

A few hours later a group of six red sparks flew into the night sky. The battle was about to start, the Crusaders who were already wearing their armour checked their weapons over and performed some other last minute checks on their equipment, then they waited for the attack to begin in earnest.