> The Rising of the Brothers of Light and Dark
>  by Dark Dienen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Rising of the Brothers of Light and Dark



By



Dark Dienen and Lunashonorguard and NobleValor




Art by



2135D




Proofreading and Editing



By



xZeroSoulx






Before the rise of Twilight, the rule of Celestia, the betrayal of Luna, the greed of Tirek, the anarchy of Discord, the slavery of Sombra, the birth of Harmony or the taming of nature; there was darkness, light, and the four kingdoms. Each kingdom was ruled by the three pony tribes of old and each shunned the other, save for the Crystal Kingdom, which welcomed all within. For generation upon generation, each of the kingdoms had been at war upon the other. Until the days of Nightshade.


Arriving from across the seas, a stallion named Nightshade brought his army of horses to the world of the ponies. Upon arrival, he made clear his intentions upon becoming king of all he surveyed. And with those words declared war upon the ponies.


Although each kingdom fought valiantly, the horses unique skills of might and magic were too much for the ponies. Each of the kingdoms had lost precious ground to their invaders. After years of war, each of the tribes saw advantage in making peace with their neighbors against their common foe.


And so it was decided that Rune, champion amongst the earth ponies, would lead alongside Twister, fearless leader of the pegasi, Arcane Bolt, arch mage of the unicorns, and Clear Skies, commander of the Crystal Ponies. With their combined might, they not only managed to halt the invaders advance, but reroute them back to the sea. As each inch of ground was regained, the invaders numbers dwindled with each passing day. However, they underestimated Nightshades ambitions.


In a last desperate and cowardly move, a small force of Nightshade's troops invaded each of the kingdoms in the dead of night. Although most of the force had been eradicated, they had managed to accomplish their mission of kidnapping the heirs of their royalty. Nightshade demanded the surrender of the kingdoms, claiming he would murder them by Summer's End if his terms were not met. Realizing that he was unlikely to keep his word, the generals amassed their forces and marched upon the invader's stronghold. Clear Skies returned to the Crystal Kingdom with promises of reinforcements upon her return. After a week, the generals dared not wait any longer and took matters into their own hooves...



> chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rune looked upon the clear sky as the gentle breeze caressed his coat. In spite of the summer season, the air was deliciously cool to the touch. He could almost imagine being back in the lush green fields of home, spending the day teaching the young ones how to properly channel power into a rune for the desired effect. However, he hadn't the time for such luxuries. He had other pressing matters to deal with.


Like deal with all Tartarus breaking loose.


He traveled amongst the troops of his command, inspecting their equipment with a critical eye. Feeling satisfied that all issues had been dealt with, he began to check the troops of the harness team. Spotting a younger stallion having trouble with his harness ties.

"Not that way, son," Rune assessed, "It'll never stay like that."


"Sorry, sir. I'm trying," the stallion replied, his voice betraying his nervousness.


"Here, let me do it," Rune offered, moving his hooves to the ties. As he adjusted them, he noticed the shaking of the younger pony. "What's your name, son?"


"Green Pasture, sir."


"Of the bottomlands underneath Snowy Peak, correct?"


"Yes, sir. How'd you know?"


"Your accent. Which village?"


"Stony Bottom, sir."


Rune raised his eyebrow questioningly. "I didn't pick the name, sir," Green said with the patient tone of someone who said something a million time and plans to say it a million times more.


"I'm genuinely surprised anyone did, son," Rune replied wryly. "Nervous?"


"No, sir. Scared."


At this answer, Rune finished tying the harness rigging and had a better look at the stallion named Green Pasture. He looked barely out of his teens, his fur and figure still bearing the marks of youth. His light green coat and forest green mane clashed greatly with the bronze of his armor. Although what made him truly stand out from the rest of the ponies here was his light blue eyes. They still had the light of innocence in them.


"Private Green, if you don't mind my asking, what made you join the army?" Green opened his mouth to answer, but was quickly cut off by Rune. "And save that 'It's an honor and the privilege to serve the crown' manure. I mean why you are really here?"


Green closed his mouth and looked contemplative for a moment. "I guess you could say it was because of Princess Violet, sir." Rune gestured for him to continue. "You see, sir, in Stony Bottom, we pretty much kept to ourselves, like most villages. When we heard about the horses from the sea, we didn't think much of them. We just believed that they would overlook our village and leave us alone. When they started attacking, even though I began to have doubts, we still weren't too worried. Once I heard about Pony Coalition Forces forming, I knew it was getting serious. I still didn't join due to thinking that I just wasn't needed, sir.


"That changed once I heard about the princess being taken. I figured, if they could get into somewhere as secure as The Granite Keep, it would be easy to get into Stony Bottom, sir. So I enlisted the next day. That's why, sir. I couldn't live with myself knowing that everypony that I cared about was in danger. Not when I could help stop it."


Rune favored him with a smile. "Remember that and you'll get by fine."


"With all due respect, sir, I'm still scared."


"Look around you. We're all scared, lad."


"Even you, sir?"


"Especially me. Anypony tells you otherwise, avoid them! They're a nitwit!"


Green broke into an uneasy laugh. "Thanks, sir."


Rune gave him a light tap on the shoulder and continued down the line.


After finishing his inspection, he pulled a crystal pendant from around his neck and held it before him. "Twister, respond."


Immediately, an image of a light blue pegasus mare with a grey mane appeared above it. 


"About time, Rune! You ready?"


"Just finished checking preparations. Yourself?"


"My troops are armed, armored, and raring for a fight!" she exclaimed excitedly.


"Hold that thought," Rune replied, "Arcane, how about you?"


The image of a unicorn stallion appeared next to Twister's image. He had a grey coat along with a white mane and beard, both streaked with black. "We are ready," he replied simply.


"In that case, you may commence when you are in position," Rune replied, putting steel into his voice.


"Hey, Codger!" Twister replied to the unicorn, "When my guys go in, make sure to watch your fire! I'd rather not have to worry about your guys aim!"


"Noted. Out."


With that the images vanished and Rune replaced the crystal about his neck, tucking it into his armor. "Form ranks!" he shouted, his orders being relayed to his troops. All was prepared. Now to pull it off without a hitch.


Rune turned his attention to a fortress in the distance. Earth pony made to withstand not only the might of unicorn magic and to be able to repel attacks from above. He had to admit, there was a certain challenging appeal of finding the weaknesses in one's own fortresses. However, if somepony had told Rune that he would have to attack one of his kingdom's own fortresses, he would have called them crazy. 'Oh, well. These are days for madness,' he thought whimsically. 


To the far right side of the battle field, several balls of fire arced into the air towards the fortress. They landed on the parapets of the stronghold, thudding audibly even at this distance. Rune raised an eyebrow, silently complimenting Arcane's placement of the barrage. In spite of the fact that the attack did nothing to the integrity of the fortification, it accomplished the desired effect.


The bombardment of spells were answered by a volley of boulders coming from inside the fortress. Rune smirked, seeing the plan fold out as he had hoped it would. He had no fear that the unicorns would be shielded by Arcane's might. This exchange continued for five minutes before he bellowed his command. "MOVE OUT!"


With that, the hastily but sturdily built siege towers creaked forward under the power of his troops. Rune walked alongside the siege towers, matching their pace with his own. 'So far, so good,' he thought to himself, drawing his sword with his left forehoof. He knew it would be little good at this range, but he knew it was better to have and not need it than to need it and not have it.


Cutting the timing very fine, Twister made her move. From his position, Rune could see her dive towards the fortress with the sun and her pegasi troops at her back. He could almost see the hungry gleam in her eye and the face splitting smile on her face, even from here. He knew that she must have been having a ball.


It was soon cut short as a flight of arrows filled the sky from the castle walls. Most of her troop managed to avoid the arrows, but Rune saw a number of bodies fall limply from the air. He had to admit that detail was a development he hadn't entirely anticipated, but he expected it to be handled shortly.


As if on cue, several fireballs flew to impact the walls and the horses upon it. Several boulders flew from the fortress, colliding with the spells in a fiery explosion. The diminished number of fireballs were then intercepted with force spells thrown from the interior of the fortress.

Twister, never one to leave a fight without making her mark, attempted to charge the fortress again, this time approaching with the wind at her back. Apparently, she had hoped that speed would make the difference. However her attempts were met with a rain of arrows, effectively cutting her force by a third with still no troop landings on the walls.


'Maybe we did our job too well,' Rune thought begrudgingly. Rune hated to admit it, but things were starting to look bleak for the attack. However, there was still the possibility that he might be able to approach the walls without notice and take them by storm.


Unfortunately, those hopes were as darkened as the sky was when the flight of arrows rose to meet his advance. "FORM UP!" his command bellowed above the din of death created by the arrows. As though guided by his will, every soldier not harnessed to a siege tower advanced on his position, facing their shields forward into an interlocking wall of iron. The idea was for the siege towers to continue their advance under the cover of the shield wall as both moved forward towards the wall.


However, as the next flight of arrows found their mark, they ripped through the shields as though they were made of tin sinking into the tender pony flesh that lied behind them. As the wall began forming gaps, the harness ponies began falling victim to stray arrows in their paths. Rune, not seeing any other options, order his troops to fall back behind the siege towers.


The communication crystal around his neck glowed a cyan color. Hastily he drew it forward, Arcane appearing in it's glow.


"Rune, how's your progress?" the unicorn asked.


"Halted. Those arrows are ripping through our armor as though it wasn't even there. Can you take countermeasures?"


"Negative. As long as those trebuchets are intercepting our fire, there's little we can do.

Twister. Respond."


"Kinda busy here!"


"Have your forces break off the attack and prepare to retreat."


"What!?! Retreat! No way! I'd sooner bite off my own tongue than run from a fight!"


"We can't win this way," Arcane replied calmly, "We need to regroup our forces."


"Rune, help me out here!"


Rune was undecided. Twister was known for being able to do the impossible. If she said that she could fly into and out of the gut of a leviathan, not only could she, she'd probably come out with a stack of treasure in her hooves. If anypony could make a landing on those walls, Twister could.


However, as a tactician, he knew the odds of this endeavor were slim. All of Twister's accomplishments were brilliance wrapped in absurdity. They were accomplishable because no pony would ever think of trying what Twister would be willing to try. That was the genius in her stupidity.


Nightshade had left nothing to chance. He saw every measure of the attack and took countermeasure to match it. As much as Rune hated to admit it, Nightshade was probably as good at tactics as he was. Maybe even better.


However, what truly made his decision was the battlefield. The air was thick with the smells of sweat, blood, and death. The bodies of the ponies he commanded lied motionless on the field under a bed of arrows. One in particular stood out among the rest: a body with a green coat, light green mane, and light lifeless blue eyes. A pony whose name was Green Pasture.


"Not this time, Twist," Rune replied, "Arcane is right. I say we cut our losses and fight another day."


Twister grumbled something unintelligible under her breath. "I don't like it any more than you do," Rune replied quietly.


"Fine!" Twister answered, "But I reserve the right to chew you out for it later!"


The sound of horns filled the air as Rune replaced the crystal around his neck. With a heavy heart, Rune gave the order to retreat, leaving the fortress in the distance.


> chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And never once, NOT ONCE, in my entire fifteen years in the service did I ever let the enemy have the field so easily! I felt like a dog slinking away with my tail between my legs! Are you even LISTENING to me, Codger?!” 

“Every word, Commander Twister,” the grey pelted unicorn answered calmly, making no effort to look up from the map he was perusing. 

The athletic mare with the light blue coat and storm grey mane turned her glaring red eyes towards the object of her ire. “Then what was the last thing I said?”

“You were making derogatory comments about our retreat and remarking you felt like a dog with your tail between your legs,” the elderly pony answered flawlessly. He turned his icy blue eyes to meet her shimmering red ones unflinchingly. “That was the extent of it, was it not?” Twister’s angry look shifted to one of perplexity for a fraction of a second then to reluctant acceptance. “Okay, I admit it. You’re good.” 

Rune, deciding that was as a good a time as any to step in, cleared his throat. “Twister, you knew as well as I did that the plan was unlikely to succeed. I admitted that much from the start.” When Twister’s eyes met his, her glare returned with it. Rune decided to continue. “Nightshade has proven to be a competent tactician and he’s had at least two months of planning for this event.”

Twister snorted at this explanation. “I still don’t see what was wrong with my plan.”

“Charging headlong into a fight, while having the advantage of simplicity, is not the proper response for every event,” Arcane replied, having returned to the map.

“If it works, don’t fix it,” she muttered stubbornly.

Before anything further could develop, a guard appeared at the open flap of the command tent. “General Rune, sir.”

“Enter.”

“The tallies have been finished, sir.” The guard held out a scroll in his hoof. “Thought you and the other commanders would like to know.” 

Rune took the scroll with a curt nod, opening it to read its contents. He closed it with a sigh. 

“What is it, Rune?” Twister asked, looking concerned. 

He gave the scroll to Arcane, who took it in his magic and opened it before him. “Well, you and I were rather lucky,” Arcane replied, “You lost a third of your command while I lost a quarter. Acceptable figures, all things considered.”

Twister shot Arcane a cross look that said more than any word combination she could have picked. Arcane sighed, rolling the parchment up and giving her possession of it. She took it and opened it with more force than was strictly necessary. As she read, her mouth slowly went slack and fell open. 

“Rune,” she replied hesitantly, “I’m so sorry.”

Rune looked at his two co-commanders with a determined expression. “They are waiting for our briefing.”

Arcane gave a short nod as his reply. Twister crumpled the scroll between her hooves with a look of frustration plain on her face. She looked as though she wanted to hit someone, but was uncertain who it should be. After a moment, she nodded her consent and made her way to one of the tent flaps. 

Each of the tent flaps were closed by the commanders, darkening the interior from the light of the setting sun. They approached a small table with a blue gem the size of a pony’s head inlaid in its center. Arcane laid a hoof on it, closing his eyes in concentration. After a moment or so, the image of four ponies appeared over it, one for each kingdom; Granite Cliff of the Earth Ponies, Shooting Star of the Unicorns Ponies, Funnel Cloud of the Pegasus Ponies, and Cold Stone of the Crystal Ponies. Each of them looked either tired or irritable in some form or fashion.

“Your Majesties,” the three commanders said in unison, bowing slightly as they did.

“Rise and report,” Granite Cliff commanded.

When the three rose, Rune stepped forward. “Your Majesties, I wish to report on behalf of all present.” Seeing that none of the monarchs objected, he continued. “Your Majesties, I regret to inform you that our attack on the fortress failed.” 

Shooting Star was the first to react to this bit of news. “And your own losses?”

“Roughly forty percent casualties, Your Grace,” Rune answered emotionlessly.

“And the fortress,” Cold Stone asked concernedly. 

“Unblemished, Sire.” 

“I knew we should never have trusted some earth pony to come up with a battle strategy!” Funnel Cloud stated angrily. 

“That ‘earth pony’ as you name him, has had more success in defending our lands against your raiders than any commander before him,” Granite Cliff stated in defense of his general.

“I think you are both missing a crucial detail,” Shooting Star stated,shooting a glare at Cold Stone. “Our ‘ally’-” gesturing to the unicorn king of the crystal ponies “-gave us his word that fresh troops were on their way to help resupply and relieve our current forces. That was three days ago and we’ve yet to see a hint of the crystal pony banners.”

“Are you stating that I would purposefully leave our lands, and my son, in the hooves of those barbarians?” Cold Stone asked, his tone deliberately calm.

“I think that the subject of the false implications of my general is the matter at hoof!” Granite Cliff stated glaring at the leader of the pegasi. 

“False my left hoof!” Funnel growled, looking as though he wanted to reach through the illusions of the crystal to throttle the earth pony king.

“HEY!” Twister shouted, slamming a hoof on the table as she spoke. “Rune just lost half his guys in that farce of an attack that you ordered him to make! He tried his hardest to make that attack work and the next one of you says anything more about his ‘ineptitude’ is gonna get a hoofblade up the flankhole! Courtesy of me!”

The tent went silent due to Twister’s outburst. Rune, deciding to act before any of the rulers could, placed a hoof on Twister’s shoulder and reprimanded her silently with a shake of his head. 

“Your Highnesses, might I be allowed to speak?” Arcane spoke, his voice quiet, but clear. 

“At long last, a voice of reason,” Shooting Star replied, clapping his hooves together, “Go on, by all means.”

After making certain he had the consent of the other kings, Arcane spoke in the same tone as before. 

“First: Allow me to apologize for Twister’s unfortunate eruption. Secondly: Although I can’t agree with her word choice, I can agree with her sentiments. Our effort was a failure not as a  result of Rune’s ineptitude, but rather Nightshade’s preparation. He obviously planned for this outcome well in advance and had months to prepare for it.

“Thirdly: Given our current location deep in the Crystal Kingdom, Crystal Skies troops were far more likely to reach us in time than any levies from our respective kingdoms. Even Twister has stated that reinforcements from the Pegasi would be hard pressed to reach us in time.” 

This comment was accompanied by a nod from Twister. Seeing this, the Archmage continued.

“Unless I miss my guess, Crystal Skies is traversing along the Cold Stairs. As I’m certain you are all aware, mountain ranges are difficult to travel in spring and summer months, but that one especially so. No doubt the commander wishes to minimize her troop losses by taking her time moving across the mountain range. Allotting for that, it should only take an extra two or three days at most to reach us. 

“Lastly: Even without reinforcements of any kind, we still have roughly four thousand troops we can place in the field. We have them surrounded with no means of fresh supplies coming in. I’m certain, with a combined effort, we can hold them at bay until Summers End, if we must. 

“Do not let emotions cloud your judgement, gentleponies. I implore you. Rest assured, when the crystal ponies arrive, we will amass a new assault. Until then however, there is little else we can do.” 

“My lords,” Cold Stone replied, “we have all suffered the same misfortune. Might I suggest we resume this in three days time. I’m certain Crystal Skies will show before then and we can discuss this with clearer heads.”

“Very well,” Shooting Star replied, looking as though he had swallowed a quart of lemon juice, “If the others have no grievances, we will leave this in your hooves, generals. Inform us should any new developments arise.” As none of the others had anything to add, the crystal went dark. 

“Excuse me, but I believe I have some papers that need to be organized,” Arcane said, his cloak trailing behind him as he left the tent.

“Was it my imagination or did Arcane just agree with me? That has to be a first.”

“I think there’s a more important matter we need to discuss, don’t you?” Rune replied, turning to Twister. 

“I know,” Twister replied, holding her hooves in front of her, “I should watch my mouth around my superiors.”

“Yes, you should,” Rune agreed, leaning closer to the mare. 

“Off the record though,” he whispered, “even though you were wrong for doing so, thanks for sticking up for me.”

Twister cleared her voice uncomfortably. “Yeah, well… Nopony is allowed to chew you out, but me. And don’t forget it either!” Even though she tried to hide it by raising her voice and poking her hoof at his chest, the embarrassed blush on her face was clearly noticeable.

“Sir!” a guard shouted appearing at the tent flap. Twister looked at the guard crossly, but made no further moves.

“What is it?” Rune asked calmly, feeling his own blush appear. 

“We have received a missive from the fortress, sir!”

“How do you know it’s from the fortress?” Twister asked, giving the guard her undivided attention.
“It came on this,” the guard explained, pulling a black horse arrow from his shoulder bag.

> chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rune sat calmly as he honed the edge of his blade. Since Arcane disappeared into his tent to check the message crystal for any traps, there was little else to do but wait. Seeing as that was the case, he decided it was a good a time as any to sharpen his sword. 

As the whetstone was drawn along the surface of the steel, the metal rasped in accompaniment. Rune found the steady action oddly relaxing. Or it would have been had it not been for the restless pegasus in the tent with him.

“Twist, if you don’t stop pacing like that, I’m afraid I will have to nail your horseshoes to the ground.”

“Well, what’s taking Codger so long?” Twister asked for the umpteenth time, ceasing her pacing much to Rune’s relief.

“I’m certain he’s going as fast as he’s able,” Rune replied, not looking up from his task. “I know you are anxious, but be patient.”

“I wouldn’t mind being patient if I knew how long he would be,” Twister complained.

“He will be as long as he will be. Just keep calm.”

Twister grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, but thankfully did not resume her pacing. “Mind if I ask you something?” she asked after a moment of silence. 

“Go ahead.” 

“Why do you sharpen your sword everyday? Won’t it hold an edge?”

Rune smile and chuckled a little. “Nervous habit I picked up. The night before my first battle, I was nervous about my sword not being sharp enough. After spending half the night sharpening it, I managed to relax enough to get to sleep. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Rune could feel more than see her quirk her eyebrow in confusion. “And that helps?”

“Has for years.”

The silence was only broken by the rasping of stone and metal before Twister spoke again. “Got an extra one I can use?”

“You can use this one” Rune replied, offering the whetstone to Twister, “I was about to start cleaning the blade anyway.” 

Twister took the whetstone as she settled next to Rune. She removed the hoofblades attached to her forelegs and began the process of honing them. 

As Rune wiped the surface of the blade with an oilcloth, he caught glimpses of his reflection in the steel. His brown mane sat in a constant state of disorder on his head, falling about unevenly. His tan coat was markless save for the runes upon his legs and barrel and a single scar across his muzzle.

“Admiring the scar I gave you?” Twister asked, her voice smug with self assurance. 

Rune gave her a lopsided smile. “I won that fight, in case you don’t remember,” he shot back playfully.

She gave a snort of laughter. “You got lucky and you know it. If it wasn’t for my training you, you’d be hopeless as a fighter.”

Rune had to chuckle. “True, and don’t think I don’t appreciate it.” 

“I can’t have you dying on me. I could still make fun of Codger, but he doesn’t reply to it half the time.”

Rune couldn’t help but laugh. It was almost comforting to know that even in someplace as grim as this, a laugh could still be found.

“You know, it’s funny,” Twister remarked after a second, “When I heard about the Crystal Kingdom, I thought it was a fake. I mean, the idea of all kinds of ponies living together sounds like a bad joke. Now…”

“Makes you wonder what we were missing before,” Rune supplied for her, sheathing his sword.

“Yeah,” Twister replied, “and you know something? If somepony had told me five years ago I’d be fighting alongside earth ponies and unicorns, I’d have called them crazy. Makes you wonder what was wrong with us for not seeing it before. Could I see that oilcloth, please?”

As Rune gave it to her, a curious thought occurred to him.

“Hey Rune, you alright?”

“I was just wondering if things were gonna go back to how they were before the horses showed up.”

“How do you mean?”

Rune gave a small shrug. “Let’s face it: the kings aren’t getting along as well as we had hoped. When Crystal Skies told me of this ‘cooperation,’ she confided in me that part of the plan was to not only end this war, but all the wars between us. She and King Cold Stone had hoped to show the other kings that much more could be accomplished through supporting each other rather than competing against each other. Given how the meeting went, you can see how well that endeavor worked.

“That got me thinking that, once this whole business is over, we would all be back at each other’s throats. Even if we can manage to save the heirs, it will be a matter of time before we will be ordered to kill each other.”

Things were silent before Twister began chuckling. “That’s one reason I don’t envy you smart ponies your brains.”

Rune looked at Twister while cocking an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Let me ask you something: what if a stone were to fall from the sky and kill you where you sit?”

Rune racked his brain a moment before answering, “Is there a point to this?”

“Why worry about tomorrow’s problems? We have enough of those for today. Besides, for what its worth, I don’t want to fight you. None of you.”

“Really?” Rune asked curiously, “I thought you liked fighting.”

“Only my enemies,” Twister clarified, “and call me crazy, but if I trust you enough to bind my wounds in front of you, then you automatically become my friend.”

“And you do get a lot of wounds,” Rune replied insightfully. 

“Scars make me look cool,” Twister replied unashamedly, “One thing I’m curious about: why did Crystal tell you and not me or Arcane?”

“To be fair, she was drunk at the time. Seeing as that was the case, I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about me telling that to others, so I kept it to myself. Besides, I think Arcane may have figured it out for himself.”

“He does seem to be two steps ahead of everypony,” Twister agreed. Pausing for a moment, she began to snicker. “You want to hear something funny? We pegasi thought that you earth Ponies could actually force plants to grow when you like and the unicorns made the sun and moon rise and fall with their magic.”

“You mean Arcane admitted that they can’t use magic like that?”

“No, Codger said it was possible that unicorns could move the sun and the moon if they had to, but seeing as they moved by themselves, such a feat was unnecessary.”

“That sounds like him,” Rune agreed, “However, you want to hear something even stranger? Earth ponies thought you pegasi could control the weather.”

She snorted. “Nah, we can sit on clouds, but that’s about it. Although, I did hear something about a pegasus that managed to force rain out of a cloud using something called ‘elemental magic.’ I never saw it though.”

Rune’s face fell as the earlier topic reared its disturbing head in his mind. “Hey Twist, what would you do if we were ordered to fight each other?”

Twister gave it a bit of thought. “Try to convince you and Codger to desert with me to the Crystal Kingdom to stick it to Funnel Cloud.”

Rune couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of the idea. “Oh yeah!” Rune managed to gasp between breaths, “I bet he would love that!” This only served to cause Twister to laugh along side of him. They continued for several minutes before they noticed Arcane standing in front of them and watching the scene with an enigmatic expression on his face.

“I hate to interrupt this joyous ruckus, but I’ve finished.”

“About time you got here, Codger!” Twister replied, getting to her hooves with Rune following her example. 

Not rising to her challenge, Arcane used his magic to lower the flaps of the tent again. He then removed an arrow with a small cotton pouch from his satchel. “The good news is that nothing here seems meant to cause us any harm.”

“Wait a minute! What I wanna know is how’d that thing get here in the first place?” Twister asked, “And how come they ain’t using more like it on us right now?” 

Arcane raised an eyebrow in amusement. “To answer your first query, the arrow had an acceleration spell placed upon it. Rune, would you care to explain the latter portion of her question to her?”

“They don’t use those arrows on us because they don’t have to,” Rune explained, “As long as they hold the heirs, they don’t need to get to us.” Twister looked unamused, but accepted their answers. Rune turned to the archmage. “Arcane, if you would.”

The elderly unicorn gave a curt nod in response. Using his magic, Arcane produced a small pink crystal from the pouch. Placing it upon the table, he activated it in a glow of power. Immediately, the figure of a horse appeared over the crystal.

His coat was pitch black, like a moonless sky at midnight. His long, straight, greasy mane was a shade lighter than his coat and fell about evenly along his neck. He wore red regalia about  his body, giving him an almost regal appearance. He would have passed for handsome had it not been for two traits. 

The first being his horn. It jutted from his forehead, longer and straighter than any unicorn pony horn could have. However, unlike most unicorn horse horns, it had been filed to a fine point, only adding to his menacing appearance.

However, what truly made him stand out from any other being they had seen was the lifeless gaze of his eyes. Staring into them was the equivalent of staring into a blackened pit. There was simply nothing there. Even having never seen this stallion before, all these factors made it clear who he was.

“Good evening, Commanders,” the stallion said, his voice carrying like honey poured over thunder, “Allow me to introduce myself: I am Nightshade, Terror of the West.”

Twister flew up to the image, effectively coming muzzle to muzzle with it, and glared at him. “Why don’t you cut with the formalities, come out of that stone shell of yours, and fight like a pony!” she half-growled, half-yelled at the image.

“Twister, he can neither see nor hear you,” Arcane supplied, “This is a message crystal, not a communication crystal.” 

When she turned to the unicorn, her mouth opened. “I wanted to see how you’d react,” Arcane supplied, causing Twister to close her mouth. “I took the liberty of pausing the message for your benefit. Shall I continue it?”

Twister shifted her glare between the illusion of the horse and the unicorn before nodding her consent. As the message continued, Nightshade’s expression soured.

“I stand before you… disappointed in your course of actions. The most recent of which being your recent and unwarranted attack. After I have been gracious enough to extend my hospitality to your princes and princesses, you have the tactlessness to punish me for my good will. Even after I have allowed you the means of having them returned to you,I am perceived as a villain.”

Nightshade’s expression took a dark undertone that was not unnoticed by the commanders. 

“As a result, my patience and generosity has reached its limit. I now submit to you these demands: If you wish these juveniles-” Nightshade spat the word as though it had an ill taste to it “-relatively unharmed, I wish for the unconditional surrender of the Pony Lands to me. And, in retaliation for your foolish and ill conceived actions, these demands must be met by Midsummer’s Eve or I will see their corpses fed to the crows.”

Nightshade then smirked as he spoke.“And, should you doubt the sincerity of my words, I have included a small token to show the extent of my displeasure. You shall doubtlessly find it included in the same parcel as this was.” Nightshade’s image was dismissed by a curt nod, allowing the image to fade into nothingness.

Rune looked to the bag the crystal had come in, eyeing suspiciously along with Twister. Arcane, taking the pragmatic approach, lifted it into his magic. After a second or three of rummaging, he removed a small piece of folded canvas from it. 

Lifting an eyebrow curiously, Arcan began unfolding the canvas. Reaching the center, Rune felt his eyes widen then narrow at its contents: four pieces of flesh.





> chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The flesh hung in Arcane’s magical grip, dangling like wet rags. As they were placed on the table, Rune could see the ragged edges as though they had been ripped off rather than sliced. Rune easily recognized the faint purple of Princess Violet’s coat. The other’s he could easily guess belonged to the rest of them.

As Rune stared at the skin, he felt anger rising in him like water in a rainstorm. However, he knew better than to act on it. As much as he would’ve liked to march into that fortress, find Nightshade, and plunge every inch of his sword’s steel into his gut; he knew he could not act upon that instinct. Instead, he would use every ounce of it to take the bastard down. Right now, he had a more immediate concern.

Anypony else looking at Arcane would have noticed no difference in his appearance. Rune, being all too familiar with the reserved nature of the Archmage, saw a completely different picture. He noticed the slight tensing of the jaw and the barely noticeable twitch in his right eye as he stared at the message crystal. It was obvious to Rune that Arcane was furious beyond words, however it wasn’t Arcane that had Rune concerned with.

He turned his glance to Twister, genuinely surprised. Twister was a passionate mare by nature. She was blissfully unaware of things like logistics, tactics, and reason. When she performed any action, it wasn’t because it was the smart thing to do; it was because it was the right thing to do. That was her greatest strength and weakness. 

The fact she was still present was a testament to how enraged she was. However, Rune knew it would not last long. If he knew anything about Twister, it would only be a matter of time before she would act on it, for good or ill. He had to stop that before it happened.

“Twister,” he said warningly, “don’t do anything foolish.”

Quicker than any lightning strike, she grabbed one of her blades. Before Rune or Arcane could react, she lifted it overhead and brought it down with the force of fury behind it. Arcane managed to erect a shield around Rune and himself as Twister shattered the message crystal with her blade, sending crystal shards flying about the tent. 

After the shards had settled, Rune released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Feel better?” Rune asked.

“A little,” she answered emotionlessly.

“It seems the situation has escalated,” Arcane said, dropping the shield.

“No kidding,” Twister answered, sheathing her weapon, “our deadline got moved from months to days. Ain’t there anyway to get the location of Crystal’s forces?”

“Any attempt to do so might alert the horses to their location,” Arcane replied, the twitch in his right eye showing itself once more. 

“We can’t just sit on our flanks and do nothing!” Twister shouted.

“We aren’t,” Rune replied, silencing the mare with a look and tone that could freeze stone, “Rest assured, the next time we attack will be all or nothing. For now, we plan, we strategize, and we prepare to hit him where it hurts.” Rune felt his anger rising again, made more potent  by the current helplessness of the situation. “That bastard hurt a child! He will NOT get away with that!”

“Then perhaps some assistance would be welcomed,” an elegantly masculine voice replied.

Instinctually, Rune and Twister drew their weapons while Arcane’s horn glowed with power. Looking about, the tent was empty save for the commanders. “Be at peace, Commanders,” the voice said further, “we only wish to speak.”

“Then show yourselves,” Twister said, her teeth gritted.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the crystal on the table glowed to life. Above the glowing crystal, two cloaked and hooded figures appeared. They were obviously equine in nature, but anything beyond that was difficult to ascertain.

“Perhaps introductions are in order,” one of the figures replied, his cloak swaying gently as he spoke, “I am Whitelight and this is my brother, Darkheart.” The second figure gave a curt nod at his name. 

“What do you want?” Twister asked, gripping her blades more tightly.

“As I said, Twister,” Whitelight answered, “we wish to assist.”

Rune lowered his blade so it’s point rested on the ground. “Perhaps you could elaborate a bit.”

“Very well, Rune. We’ve become aware of your plight and wish to assist in overthrowing that tyrant-in-the-making Nightshade. We’ve witnessed the atrocities carried out in his name and have no wish to see it continued.” 

“How come you ain’t showed up before now?” Twister asked skeptically. 

“We are all too familiar with the ways of your kind,” Darkheart answered harshly. His voice reminded Rune of the sea: deep, powerful, and dangerous.

Whitelight nodded solemnly. “Yes, the hatred your kind shows to each other is appalling,” he stated, disapproval clear in his voice, “Truly, there is no greater tragedy than the tribes of ponies forever split because they simply cannot share their world with each other.”

“Then why bother to help us at all?” Twister asked, clearly confused. Rune had to admit, he was also confused at this.

“Because of your potential,” Whitelight said gently, “In spite of your nature, we have seen acts of compassion unparalleled to any other. We have witnessed families with barely enough food to survive take in one more homeless child and find a way to stretch a blanket over one more freezing body. We have seen ponies with next to nothing literally give cold children the cloaks off their backs. And we have seen mercy granted to those who have literally done nothing to deserve it. Even in these darkened times, you ponies have shown that qualities of benevolence shall not fade from this world. And besides, even if you were to submit to his demands, I have doubts that Nightshade would keep his word.”

“Not telling us anything new,” Twister muttered under her breath, much to Rune’s acquiescence.

“Not that I wish to come off as skeptical,” Arcane said stepping to the forefront, “but I doubt the acts of two beings could make the difference in a battle.”

“Arcane, my brother and I have witnessed events where the acts of one individual have changed the tide of the world,” Whitelight retorted, amusement in his voice, “However, our power is quite substantial and, if I do say so myself, you will need all the help you can get.” 

“And you are asking us to trust you when you aren’t even willing to show yourselves to us?” Twister asked, raising her eyebrow.

“An unfortunate precaution,” Whitelight stated, his voice stating his discomfort, “however, we find that ponies respond better to us if they can’t see us as we truly are.”

“And how do we know we can trust you?” Twister asked.

“You don’t,” Darkheart answered, “you don’t know if you can trust us any more than we know if we can trust you.”

Whitelight cleared his voice audibly. “We understand your hesitance in the matter, but our offer is genuine. Should you require our assistance, send a single rainbow colored flare into the sky.”

“You’re that close?” Rune asked confusedly, “Funny our troops haven’t come across you on our sweeps of the area.”

“You wouldn’t,” Whitelight stated with a touch of amusement, “unless your sweeps just happen to cover the Northern Peaks, as well.” When Whitelight saw their confused expressions, Arcane’s being only a raised eyebrow, he merely chuckled. “I see you have much to discuss, so we shall take our leave.”

“A moment,” Arcane said, “did you see the location of the Crystal Forces?”

“Alas, we did not,” Whitelight replied, “Our sight is vast, but not infinite. Until we meet again, Commanders.” Both figures bowed as the crystal dimmed and darkened.

“What do you think, Twist?” Rune asked.

“It sounds like a bad joke,” she replied, dropping her weapons to cross her forelegs across her barrel, “Even if they were telling the truth, the Northern Peaks are too far away to be of immediate use.”

“I don’t know,” Rune replied uncertainly, sheathing his sword, “I’m not one to turn down any help that’s being cheerfully offered.

“Even the strongest of pegasi with a favorable wind couldn’t make it in less than half an hour or so,” Twister pointed out almost sagely.

“Have you ever tried?”

“My concern is how they contacted us through the crystals without having one.” 

Twister shot an unimpressed look at Arcane.”How do you know he didn’t?”

“When active, crystal communication give off a distinctive magical hum. One that was lacking through the entire conversation.”

“COMMANDERS! COMMANDERS! BANNERS! THE CRYSTAL PONIES ARE HERE!”



> chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The commanders rushed from the tent eager to see their comrade. They could hear the cheering of the troops and the clanking of armor from ahead of them. Rather than try to push their way through the crowds, Rune gave Twister a knowing look. Giving a nod, Twister inhaled deeply. “ATTENTION!” 

Immediately the troops quieted and stood in a rigid stance. “These troops have been to the Crystal Kingdom and back,” she said fluttering in front of them, “Give ‘em a chance to rest. There’ll be time for celebrations later. Now,DISMISSED!”

The troops broke ranks and found better things to do elsewhere. Once alone with the crystal ponies, Twister smiled. “Sometimes, it’s fun pulling rank.” 

Rune approached the weary troops, hearing sounds of heavy breathing and seeing the scuffed and dirty armor. An earth pony mare separated herself from the group and gave a crisp salute. “Lieutenant Glaive, Twenty-Third Battalion, sir.”

“At ease,” Rune responded, returning the salute, “Are these the reinforcements?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, “but there’s something you should know. Something I can’t say here.”

Rune nodded. “Have your troops fall out. Looks like they’ve been to Tartarus and back. In the meantime, would you come with me?” 

“Yes, sir,” she turned to the troops, “Junior Lieutenant, have the troops fall out, get some food, and hit the sack.”

“Yes, ma’am,” one of the troops replied, issuing the orders as the troops broke rank.

The trio of commanders and the crystal mare walked in silence save for the occasional creak or groan of the armor she wore. When they entered the tent, the group turned to face the new mare. “Would you like a seat, Glaive?” Rune asked, offering a cushion to the mare.

“N-no, thank you, sir,” she said.

“Well, make yourself comfortable anyway,” Rune suggested. Lieutenant Glaive removed her helmet, revealing a mane full of black hair. Now that they were in better light, Rune got a good look at her. She looked like a soldier should: well built with a healthy amount of muscles. From what he could see of her head and legs, she had several scars along her coat. Not as many as Twister, but enough to be noticeable. Before she raised her head, she brushed her mane to her right side of her face. Raising her head, she revealed a single light purple eye with the other covered by her mane.

“Now quit leaving us in suspense, kid,” Twister said, “What’s this news you couldn’t tell us?”

Glaive sighed heavily. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: Commander Clear Skies is dead.”

The tent seemed to lose all sound as the news hit the air. Everypony was too stunned by the news to speak, save for the mare who delivered it and she had nothing else to say. Rune thought it was just as well, this seemed the situation where a moment of silence was in order. 

“How did it happen?” Arcane asked after several moments.

“Well, a day out of the Cold Stairs, we came across an ambush of horses. They were there, ready and waiting for us. We managed to eradicate their forces, but we lost a good fraction of our forces doing it and most of our commanding officers.”

“So who’s in charge?” Twister asked.

“I am, until somepony says otherwise,” Glaive replied, clearly uncomfortable with the idea, “Also, most of the casualties were the offensive unicorns. The ones that made it are from the medical division and the only spells they are comfortable with are shielding and healing spells. The bright side is we managed to hold most of our supplies and equipment and our archery squadrons were relatively untouched .”

“Thank you for informing us, Lieutenant,” Rune said emotionlessly, “You better get some food and rest. You look like you need it. We’ll inform you later of any further developments.” 

Glaive responded with a nod and a salute, leaving the tent carrying her helmet in her foreleg. 

“Hey, Rune,” Twister said, “you alright? You don’t look so good.”

“I need to take a walk,” Rune said, leaving the tent and heading into the cool night air. 

The sounds of the camp filled his ears: the raucous cacophony of the troops, the crackling of the campfires, the various sounds of metal being handled, and the silence of the stars. Along with his ears, his nostrils were flooded with a conglomeration of aromas, ranging from the smell of wood smoke to the unmistakable fragrance of blades being drawn against whetstones. All in all, it was a peaceful and beautiful night, one that was lost on Rune as he hung his head with a sigh.

He walked through the camp at a steady pace, not drawing any unnecessary attention to himself. However as he passed by the various tents, several soldiers praised him as he trod by; some offering food, some offering drink, and some offering the simplicity of song and conversation. However, he was interested in none of it. As appreciative as it was, his praise was undeserved. 

He made his way away from the campsite, staring out into the darkness to where the fortress laid. It stood there, as unimposing as a tortoise, yet more dangerous than a rogue storm. He knew he would have to go back in there soon and bring Nightshade down. He was not afraid for himself, but he would be leading over four thousand ponies in with him. Their lives, their futures, and the future of his kingdom would hang on his decisions. And what was worse, the futures of his friends and their kingdoms would be hanging in the balance as well. Just as Clear Skies was, he thought glumly.

“Quite a night,” Arcane observed, sitting next to Rune. Rune made no effort to reply, leaving Arcane and he in silence as the din of the camp barely drifted past them. After a moment, Arcane spoke, “What happened to Clear Skies wasn’t your fault.”

“Wasn’t it?!” Rune asked angrily, “I knew what Nightshade was capable of! I knew it the second I learned he kidnapped the prince!”

“As did Clear Skies,” Arcane replied calmly, “Blaming yourself won’t help her or us.”

“I can’t help anyway,” Rune said helplessly, “Every battle I ever fought in, I was only able to succeed by outsmarting my opponent and using the numbers to my advantage. How can I fight someone who is my equal in that respect?”

Arcane was contemplatively silent for several moments. “Perhaps by following Twister’s example and doing the unexpected.”

Rune snorted silently. “Never thought I’d hear that from you.”

“Nor did you,” Arcane replied, giving Rune a stern look that said everything. 

“Don’t worry,” Rune answered, “I doubt she’d believe it about you anyway.”

Arcane nodded and was silent again, prompting Rune to speak again.

“Arcane, do you think we can trust them?” Rune asked with a sigh.

“You mean the ‘mysterious ones?’” he asked, receiving a nod of agreement. “I am uncertain. The time may come where we might need their assistance, but I have not become an Archmage by being uncautious. If it comes down to us actually needing them, it would be best if we were in a situation where we have nothing left to lose.”

“That’s why you will be the one to send out the flare should the need arise,” Rune replied, “and also why we shall keep this to ourselves. Even from the kings.”

Arcane nodded his agreement, looking out into the darkness. 

“Of course,” Rune supplied glumly, “that still leaves us to arise with a plan of attack.”

Arcane was characteristically silent as he stared out into the darkness. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Nightshade decided to leave the siege towers standing?” he asked.

“Not really,” Rune replied, “he probably doesn’t feel a need to put them to the flame.”

“Why do you believe that?” Rune asked. 

“Well, if I had to guess…” Rune froze as he was about to answer that, a realization coming to him. “...It’s because he wants us to use them.” 

Arcane smirked. “And why is that?” 

“It doesn’t matter. The point is if he wants us to use them, we won’t!” Rune smiled smugly. “Not the way he expects us to anyway.”

“You have a plan?” Arcane asked knowingly.

“Depends. How much magical prowess do your unicorns have?”





Rune and Arcane entered the command tent to find Twister pacing to and fro as though in deep thought. “Where the hay have you two been?”

“Someplace,” Rune answered smiling, “but first we want to know what you think about not telling the kings about the message from the mysterious ones?”

“Fine by me,” Twister stated with an uncaring shrug, “I’m all for insubordination. Now what has you all giddy?”

Rune told her his idea, seeing her grin from ear to ear. “Rune, you are one crazy pony! I’m impressed! But what about Lieutenant Glaive?”

“What was your assessment of her?” Rune asked simply.

“I’d do her,” she said immediately and casually, causing Rune to look at her wide-eyed as though he were seeing her for the first time. She broke down laughing two seconds later, rolling on the ground clutching her sides. “Sorry,” she gasped between breaths, “I couldn’t help myself. She seems alright. A little green maybe, but she’ll do.”

Rune nodded. “And you Arcane?”

“Obviously new to command,” Arcane replied, “she might have potential, but not in the immediate future.”

“That’s about what I figured. We’ll ask her about giving us temporary command during the battle. In any case, where does this new plan leave us?

“I believe the phrase is between a rock and a hard place,” Arcane answered. 

“I've had worse," Twister said confidently, almost to the point of smugness.

“As have I,” Arcane replied, more as a statement of fact.

“So, when do we attack general?” Twister asked, giving a half mocking salute. 

“We will call Glaive in here to discuss the details before first light,” Rune replied, looking over the map he had lying on the table, “If all goes well, we attack at dawn.”



> chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rune felt himself feel apprehensive at what he was gonna do. Facing an army several times his size was one thing, however this was something else entirely. Quashing any nervousness he had, he turned to the assembly of troops that had gathered in the camp, their armor gleaming dully in the pre light of the early dawn. Steeling his nerves, he forced himself to speak.

“Pony Coalition,” Rune began in a forced calm, drawing the attention of every pony there, “Needless to say that all of us here wish we were somewhere else. Some would rather be out having a good time; maybe be playing with the kids; or even a few of you would rather be bickering with the spouse.

“However, that way of life was threatened when the horse known as Nightshade landed on our shores. He attacked our homes, our villages, our cities, and our citizens. In spite of the differences we’ve had with each other, our troops were the only casualties of our conflicts. However, in Nightshade’s clutches, even mares and foals were no exception to their slaughtering.

“Even in the midst of defeat, they resorted to cowardice and kidnapped more innocents in one mad equine’s pursuit of power! And just last night, we have received a message stating that he would kill them unless we surrendered to them. 

“Here is my reply to that.” Unceremoniously, he spat much to the surprise of everypony there. “Even if we cowed to his demands,” he said, his voice rising as he spoke, “he has not struck me as an equine that would keep his word. Even if he were, more lives have been lost in this conflict than have been lost in any single war between ourselves. I have no intention of having them, and the lives of our future rulers, count for nothing!”

He calmed himself, having no intention of lying to the troops under his command. They were willing to die by his orders, they deserved no less. “However, acting as such would go against the orders set by our sovereigns. So, if there are any among you who have any objections to this, please speak up now. They will be noted and no action will be taken against you.”

After a moment of silence so intense that it bordered on oppressive, Lieutenant Glaive of all ponies stepped forward. Whereas last night she seemed slightly on edge, now she seemed placid, almost to the point of serenity. “General Rune, sir,” she said, her voice loud enough to be heard over the silence, “I believe I speak for all of us when I say to Tartarus with our orders.”

As soon as the words left her lips, a cheer broke from the ranks. Perhaps it was due to the silence from moments before, but it seemed louder than any that had been given before or would ever be given again. The commanders approached the younger mare, who seemed to shrink a little at the praise she was receiving. 

“Oh, yeah!” Twister said, smirking at the mare, “I like you already!”

Somehow the mare seemed more awkward than before, a slight blush appearing on through her coat. Thankfully, she managed to snap out of it and stand at attention. “I think it’s safe to say that the troops are ready to fight,” she replied in a business-like manner, “Where would you like us crystal ponies, sir?”

Rune felt himself smile. “Funny you should ask…”





Feeling the comforting weight of his armor pressing on him, Rune viewed the fortress in the distance through the slits in his helm. He felt himself scowl at it in distaste.‘Success or failure,’ he thought, ‘this ends today!’ Finishing that thought, he turned to the crystal pony lieutenant behind him. 

“Are the troops ready, Lieutenant Glaive?”

“Ready, willing, and able, sir!”

“Then move out.”

“Yes, sir!” Glaive turned to the troops. “FORM RANKS! FORWARD MARCH!”

The tattoo of marching hooves and dulled clanging of armor filled the air. They marched slowly, the fortress grew steadily bigger as the distance shrank. Rune cleared his mind, letting a calming stillness take its place.

As they marched, there were no signs that a counter attack was coming. Rune wasn’t surprised by the lack of ordinance raining from the sky, in fact he expected it. Undoubtedly, Nightshade knew of their approach and was waiting for them. If he had to guess, the siege towers were the point of no return. 

“QUICKEN PACE,” he yelled over the din, “MARCH!”

As soon as the order was issued, everypony broke into a canter. The ground quaked under the cadence of thundering hooves and dust billowed into the air like smoke from a great fire. Rune could feel the rattling of armor vibrating the very air. 

A flight of arrows filled the air with a whistling. The arrows fell short of their targets, impaling harmlessly into the ground. Rune knew that the next flight or the flight after that would hit their marks, however if everything went as planned their aim would count for naught. 

Rune charged past the towers, ignoring them completely as he drew his sword. Ramming it into the ground, he came to a stop several yards ahead of the siege towers. “FORM UP!” he bellowed, a blanket of polished shields rising around his location.

A second flight of arrows landed about them, filling the air with the sound of dirt being struck along with the occasional chink of metal on crystal. Rune knew that the next flight would be on target. However, he had planned and timed this to the degree and within several seconds, nothing the archer could do would matter in the slightest. He turned his eyes to the east, smiling like an expectant father. 

A glorious dawn broke over the horizon, warm golden light expanding steadily as the sun moved towards its zenith. As the light washed over the Pony Coalition Force, the sun reflected from the polished surface of the shields. As one, the shieldponies angled the light so it hit the upper parts of the walls and into the eyes of the archers lining them. 

Rune heard the sound of approaching hooves from behind him. He smiled, knowing that the unicorns had just arrived. Shortly after, several earth ponies strode forward at a brisk yet strenuous stride while dragging the siege towers behind them. As the towers passed, several unicorns with their horns lit in magical auras while straining with a great weight. With the magical might of the unicorns along with the immense strength of the earth ponies, the siege towers moved at a greater pace than they had yesterday. All save for three of them. 

As soon as the mobile towers were within thirty yards of the walls, Arcane and the remaining unicorns acted. Rune heard the sound of unicorn magic activating, knowing precisely what Arcane was trying to accomplish. Seeing that the moving towers were close enough, he turned to his troops. 

“ASSAULT TEAMS, WITH ME!”

With that command, a quarter of the shieldponies dropped their shields and ran forth with Rune himself leading the charge. Rune held his sword aloft, the light gleaming and dancing along its edge. As though in response, several other swords were drawn, the sound leaving a slight ringing in the air.

When they got within two hundred yards of the walls, the mobile siege towers were just locking into place along the walls. All that remained were the missing towers to join the engagement. As the sound of a horn filled the air behind them, Rune smiled grimly knowing that there was no going back now. 

As though on cue, the sky above him darkened as the siege towers sailed overhead. They flew through the air with the accuracy of a missile heading towards the walls of the fortress along with its brethren on the ground.

Directly behind them flew the pegasi ponies led by none other than Commander Twister. Rune looked up at her, able to tell her apart from the others up there. He found her looking down upon him, giving him a smile and a firm salute before flying to their destiny. 

The towers flew over the walls, landing in the courtyard in a thunderous roar of splintering and cracking wood. The pegasi followed suit, flying over the walls leaving a rain of arrows in their wake. Defenders along the walls fell like so many flies, leaving behind lifeless heaps of flesh and hair behind. Sensing their opportune moment, Rune picked up his pace his troops doing the same. 

Rune ran up his tower without realizing it, sending magical energy into the markings along his coat. He emerged from the tower in front of a horse that somehow escaped the rain of death from earlier. With his weapon readied, Rune struck him down thoughtlessly, the horse spraying blood as his form was sent flying from the wall.

Rune, along with everypony that followed, leapt over the battlements and fell into the courtyard below. Normally, such a drop would be seventy feet straight down. However, the siege tower missiles had two useful consequences. Firstly, it would render the siege engines in the courtyard useless as they would be buried under the debris, if not destroyed by them outright. Secondly, it would shorten the fall while leaving a more manageable landing surface than the compacted ground below. With this advantage, Rune’s assailants could easily descend to the courtyard below to accomplish their portion of the mission.

As Rune’s teams regained their footing from the fall, they rushed to the inner wall. Several troops took a defensive position. A few from each squadron began digging through the debris by the wall’s base while several unicorns that had been recruited by Rune were examining the wall. All Rune could do at the moment was help defend the position while his troops finished their work. 

As moments became minutes, the number of castle defenders attacking the squadrons dwindled. However, Rune had enough experience to know that they were falling back and regrouping with the main force to overrun them. Regardless, he and his troops had to hold them until…

“It’s done, sir!” One of the unicorns stated, saluting hastily. 

“Then everypony take cover!” Rune shouted over the din, the troops leaping into the hole the others had dug in the rubble. Leaping in last, he grasped the crystal around his neck. “Arcane, now!” 

Rune heard the massive roar that followed those words. Although Rune’s sight was obscured by the makeshift trench his troops had dug, he could imagine the destruction that had been inflicted. The explosive charms the unicorns had set in the siege towers had gone off along with barrels of fine-grained sawdust that it had been placed inside. That by itself would have been enough to weaken the walls, however with the additional charms that Rune’s recruits had placed along the wall’s interior, it was more than enough. Whatever was left of the wall was now raining down in bits of rubble. 

Rune lifted his head to peer through the lid of the hole watching as the troops on the other side of the wall moved forward in a single wall as thousands of voices combined in a single yell of blood and glory. At that moment, those ponies were not an army. They were a sea of death, surging forward to wash over the field of battle. As the sky above him darkened, he turned his eyes upwards.

The pegasus ponies flew overhead, circling like a horde of crows over a carcass. With a silent, unnecessary cue, they dove en masse, blotting the sky with the mass that was their bodies. Before any of the horses could muster a defense, a second flight of arrows pierced through the air clearing space on the walls for Twister and her troops to land. 

As Twister landed, her movements became fluid, as though her entire body had been replaced with water. ‘The Wind Scythe’ they named her and the name had fit her. When she fought, her movements became a veritable whirlwind of blades Where most troops fought with vicious strokes and halting movements, Twister practically danced across the field. She truly was a goddess of the blades.

However, Rune knew that in spite of this fact, she was only mortal. He knew this because he had seen her bleed. He had no intention of letting her fight alone. Besides, he had a score to settle with Nightshade. Steeling his resolve, he turned to the ponies in the holes with him.

“For the homes you defend, ATTACK!”

With that, Rune and his group came out of the ground like rabbits from a warren and charged the mass of horses in the debris littered courtyard. As the horses saw what was coming, a hasty wall of spear was lifted to intercept them. As Rune approached it, he pushed the spearheads to the side like a dense patch of brush, the sounds of metal clashing against metal filling his ears.




> chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was filled with the sharp report of metal striking metal as the final battle for the Four Kingdoms waged on. As the massive army of ponies charged the horses, the wall of troops had broken into several smaller fights. All in all, the battle was going well for the ponies. 

In spite of this, Rune was worried. 

He couldn’t explain it, but ever since his group had charged the ranks of the horses he had the unshakable feeling that something was missing.  He knew that with very slight variations in the stream, the tide of the battle was going in their favor. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that the battle was going too well for them.

Glancing at the battlefield, he could see Twister as she practically danced along the walls, horses falling with every movement of her body. Everywhere he looked, the sight of battle and death filled his vision. Looking at the numerous bodies upon the ground, most of them horses, he felt a small tinge of regret. Even though they undoubtedly deserved it, it still seemed such a waste.

The light of magical aura streaking across the battlefield brought Rune out of his reflections. It didn’t matter what he thought. The horses had gone too far and had to pay for it. Bringing his sword into play once more, the sound of a shrill horn sounded overhead, turning all eyes upwards. 

Rune felt his eyes widen as he witnessed the sight before him: every horse unicorn standing upon the balconies of a single tower looking down upon them. And standing there, above them all in a king’s regalia, stood the tyrant Nightshade. However, what truly unnerved Rune at that moment was the cragadile smile that Nightshade wore upon his muzzle. 

Rune would’ve surmised that they were safe among Nightshade’s own horses intermingled with the Kingdom’s ponies, but Rune knew better. He knew that Nightshade was more than willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for his own petty ambitions, and was even willing to sacrifice his own troops in his pursuits. Seeing that smile, Rune felt an irrepressible and unmistakable sense of dread fill his senses.

However, Twister had a more pragmatic solution, giving the order to open fire. Upon that, the songs of several arrows filled the air. Seeing this, Nightshade’s smile seemed to widen. In response, several horse horns lit in response causing a large magical shield to materialize. The arrows clattered against the barriers, falling harmlessly to the ground. 

Nightshade’s smile widened further as his own horn, along with every other horse upon the balconies were shrouded in magic. Rune grit his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword, waiting for whatever onslaught Nightshade unleashed. What he hadn’t expected was for the ground to suddenly quake. 

Somehow, this didn’t seem right. Nightshade was willing to sacrifice anything to see his will be done, as long as he survived to see it. If he was shifting the ground beneath them, there was a chance that Nightshade would perish along with them. Rune knew something bigger was at play, and when the ground broke open, he knew he was right and hated every second of it. 

A great body of metaled might rose from the fractured earth. The ground quaked with each shift of movement, causing pony and horse alike to stumble. Those caught in the center of the courtyard went falling towards the outer walls as the courtyard was filled with the iridescent glow of starlight. Although this was the first time Rune had ever seen an Ursa Major firsthoof, he knew it could be nothing else.

The entire battlefield fell into a grisly silence as every eye fell upon the beast of legends. It creaked slightly in the beaten bits of metal plate it wore. It’s cold yellow eyes looked about the battlefield and Rune realized that Nightshade and the horse unicorns were controlling it. 

“Kill them all,” Nightshade ordered, his voice clear as a bell over the deathly silence. The Ursa roared in thunderous response as he started to lumber forward. 

Rune sat there, unmoving with his jaw agape. Nightshade had been planning this endgame from the beginning. He knew that there were very few things that could stand up to the onslaught of an Ursa Major. With it, Nightshade was nigh unstoppable. 

“Hey, Rune! Got any suggestions?!” Twister shouted through the gem around his neck. 

Rune heard the words, but failed to process them. His mind churned with probabilities and possible outcomes. Upon reaching a decision, he felt a strange sense of calm overcome him. Grabbing the jewel around his neck, he began to issue orders.

“Twister, have the troops fall back at least seven hundred yards beyond the walls. Arcane, fire the signal once the troops are outside the courtyard.” Rune watched the scene unfold as his ponies ran into the gaping holes of the rubble.

“And what about you?” Twister asked, “Where’ll you be?”

As though on cue, a rainbow colored flare filled the sky, drawing the Ursa’s attention upwards. “Buying time. Arcane, Twister, if things don’t go as planned...prepare for the worst. Ponies, it’s been an unequaled honor.” With that, he tore the crystal pendant off his neck and let it fall to his side. 

Sheathing his sword, he hefted a spear abandoned by the fallen and, with his runes glowing more brightly than before, lobbed it directly at the nape of the Ursa’s neck.

The Ursa roared in a fury brought about in pain as it turned its eyes towards Rune, narrowing them in response. Letting loose a growl, it’s body followed its sight and it began to charge towards the lone earth pony.

‘In for a bit...’ Rune thought, his body becoming iridescent as his runes glowed with raw power. He drew his sword once more, his mind and his will set, and charged the beast himself. With every step he took, all the tricks and techniques Twister had ever taught him flew out of his head. His mind was filled with savagery and the need to battle. Winning would not be his intention, merely putting off the Grim Galloper his due. When he was within striking distance, Rune’s legs coiled in a jump, leaping towards his opponent with a battlecry that promised blood.





“What does that idiot think he’s doing?” Twister asked rhetorically, her voice filled with rage and concern.

Arcane made no attempt to reply, watching the fortress with an enigmatic gaze. Twister, however, paid no attention to the stallion. 

“Reform the line!” she ordered, ponies following her orders flawlessly. “Prepare to charge! We’re taking him headon!”

“Negate that order,” Arcane replied, loud enough to be heard yet not enough to be considered ‘raising his voice.’

“Don’t Arcane!” Twister warned, pointing a hoof at him, “Not this time!”

“You heard Rune’s commands as I did. We are not to interfere in this.”

“Arcane…” Twister growled, glaring holes at the unicorn. 

“His orders were to prepare for the worst. Besides, it’s illogical to sacrifice a thousand troops for one, even Rune.”

Twister bolted towards him, her eyes locked into his. “This isn’t just some fight, Arcane! That’s a Ursa flanking Major! He’ll be killed out there and you don’t even care!!”

Arcane stared calmly into her gaze, their eyes reflecting each other. As Twister’s gaze deepened, she didn’t see the icy calm demeanor that Arcane seemed to project. Instead, she saw a mountain of sadness that seemed to deflate the indignation she felt. If that hadn’t, then his words to her would have.

“He’s my friend too, Twister,” he said quietly. 

Twister backed away a hoof or so, her gaze falling to her hooves. She hadn’t meant it and she knew it the second she said it. Unfortunately, she had a tendency to shoot her mouth off when she was scared and, generally speaking, it was an asset, but not this time. Whenever she had been scared, she embraced her anger and used it as a weapon against whatever she was fighting. This time, she had let fear and anger shape her thinking and, as a result, lashed out at one of the few ponies she could call a friend, at a time when he could use her support.

“What I said,” she said in a shamed whisper, “was out of line.”

“Yes, it was,” he answered calmly, his gaze overlooking the fortress, “but we’ll discuss it after. For now, all we can do is hope.”

“Did you mean hope that those two are as good as they boast, if they show at all, or hope that Rune will survive?” she asked, her gaze never lifting.

“Yes,” Arcane answered simply.

Any further attempts at conversation were silenced as another roar pierced the air. Absent-mindedly, she touched the crystal around her neck. ‘Survive, Rune,’ she thought, ‘Please, survive.’





Rune felt the beads of sweat stinging his eyes and the heavy panting of his breath. He had meant to strike first, leaving a deep enough wound to injure him significantly. Unfortunately, the Ursa was more adept at dodging than Rune had given him credit for. He had managed to land a few blows, but they were glancing and shallow at best. Most of his efforts were placed in avoiding the massive blows the beast tried to land. What had started as a strategy of hit and run turned into a game of cat and mouse, with Rune himself as the mouse. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Rune could see the light from his runes starting to dim. He felt a small bit of panic start to well up in his throat. While he was not helpless without his marks, he was more vulnerable. If he was going to make a move, it had to be now. 

The Ursa lunged forward, under the mental commands of the horse unicorns, and swiped a massive paw at Rune’s form. Although it’s attacks contained more than enough power to take down one of these walls with but a single swipe, they were sluggish and easy to predict. Using this to his advantage, Rune darted closer and scored a blow to the beast’s chest. 

After another roar of pain, the Ursa batted his claw at Rune, who was unable to dodge it. The sound of metal buckling filled his ears as the force of the blow pushed him aside. He felt the brief lift of flight before smashing bodily into a wall. 

Rune groggily tried to collect his thoughts. He felt his breathing pain him, telling him he probably broke at least a rib; he felt a numbness in his left forehoof, telling him it was fractured if not broken; he was undoubtedly bleeding internally and had a concussion. However, that would mean little in moments. Even with the incessant ringing in his ears, he could hear and feel the lumbering steps of the Ursa approaching. 

Unable to do anything else, he laid and wait. He would not survive the battle, but if those two strangers were true to their word, the others and the sovereigns would survive. He just laid there and waited for the end, his thoughts drifting to Twister.

However, a crash brought him out of his thoughts as he forced his eyes open. His vision was blurred, only able to see a dark smudge standing between him and the Ursa.

The Ursa staggered up, seemingly dazed from a blow. Rune wondered briefly what could’ve hit it so hard as to accomplish that. Seeing no other explanation, Rune could only come to the conclusion that the new pony had done it. However, that knowledge seemed to hold no interest for the Ursa, who lifted his paw to swipe once more.

Rune found himself watching as a golden magical shield materialized before them, stopping the blow mid strike. He heard a brief snort, his posture never changing. “Took you long enough,” said a familiar voice, though Rune could not place where he had heard it.. 

“Now, brother,” another voice chided gently, “not everyone can fly as hastily as you.” Rune recognized this one as well, yet could not recall where he had heard it. 

He felt a glowing warmth fill his body as his vision cleared. “Apologies, General Rune,” the second voice said, “I could only heal the majority of your wounds.”

As Rune’s vision was free of blurriness, he saw a pony kneeling before him, his horn glowing in golden radiance. His coat was as white as a snowy mountain peak and his mane shimmered like a golden sun, cascading behind him like water in a river. Looking into his eyes was like looking into a freshly budding field of grass. He wore a calming smile upon his face, as though he were on a picnic rather than on a battlefield. 

“It’s fine,” Rune replied, clearing his throat of the dust and dirt in it, “I’ve handled worse. Who are you?”

The white pony chuckled. “Where are my manners? This is the first time we’ve met in the flesh. I am Whitelight and this is my brother, Darkheart.” 

Rune turned to the other pony, the one who was positioned in front of the Ursa and the magical barrier. His coat was as dark as a starless sky while his royal purple mane and tail billowed like roaring flames. His eyes reminded Rune of the first time he had ever seen the sea: Mysterious and deep. He stood with his wings flared out on his sides, ready to take flight. 

Looking between them, he noticed the resemblance. Even though Whitelight was lean where Darkheart was muscular and Whitelight’s smile seemed to be an extension of his face while Darkheart wore a perpetual scowl,  Rune could tell at a glance at the pair’s unspoken nature between each other that they were brothers.

“Might I suggest we save the meet and greet for later and get Rune out of here so we can deal with this?” Darkheart asked, his gaze narrowing as the Ursa swiped ineffectively at Whitelight’s barrier once more. 

“There’s always time for niceties, Dark,” Whitelight replied, carefully lifting Rune in his magical aura, “It’s not as though I were suggesting a spot of tea now, were it?”

Darkheart spared an annoyed glance at his sibling, but made no comment further.

“Are you certain you can handle this beast alone?”

“For as long as you need,” Darkheart replied, smirking and adjusting his stance to a crouched one.

“Just be mindful that once I depart, the shield shall fall,” Whitelight replied, concern apparent in his voice.

As Rune was placed upon Whitelight’s back, he noticed what it was that seemed so off about the pair. He glanced at the ponies sides and at their foreheads, noticing both wings and a horn. Any further thoughts were interrupted as he heard Whitelight speak.

“Have you ever teleported before, General?”

“No, why?”

“Because you are about to,” Whitelight answered simply, Rune’s face dropping a bit, “Apologies for being unable to fly, but my brother will require the space. You will feel a wave of dizziness and displacement, but worry not. They shall pass. Ready?” 

“About as ready as I’ll get,” Rune muttered. It wasn’t that he distrusted travel by magic, he simply never saw the point in flashing from one point to the other when walking would be just as good.

“Good. Oh, you might wish to hold on. It can be a bit bumpy at times.” As Rune tightened his grip upon the strange pony’s side, Whitelight’s horn lit in it’s golden glow, the light becoming more intense by the second. Rune shut his eyes at the light, his hearing filled with a popping sound and the feeling like he was being squeezed through a tube coated with honey.

Upon opening his eyes, Rune’s sight swirled before his eyes. Shaking his sight clear, he noticed that he was placed outside the fortress. While Whitelight had proven right that the feeling of displacement corrected itself, Rune decided that would be the last time he willingly traveled by teleportation. Any further thoughts were interrupted as he was tackled into a hug by a blue blur. “So Twist,” he said, a smile blossoming on his face, “I guess it’s safe to say you missed me a little?”

“Shut up, you jerk,” Twister replied quietly, her voice cracking.

That hurt Rune more than anything else she could’ve said. In all the years Rune knew Twister, as a friend and a foe, she had never once insulted him. She belittled, she teased, she even pranked a time or two, but never went as far as insulting. As far as he knew, she only did that to those who ‘crossed the line’ as she phrased it. Of course, only she knew where that line was, but the second you crossed it, you knew about it. 

Gently, he placed his hooves around her. Once in contact, he could feel her shake a little beneath her armor and he felt immediately worse. However, it seemed to lessen as she squeezed a little tighter. 

“You might wish to exercise caution, Commander Twister,” Whitelight warned in a teasing tone, “I’ve not had the opportunity to heal all his injuries.”

Twister released her grip on Rune, an indignant look upon her face as she crossed her hooves over her barrel. After a second, she punched Rune’s shoulder hard enough to sting through the armor. Rune might’ve thought she was angry had it not been for the slight blush forming on her cheeks. 

“Arcane,” Whitelight said, bowing his head slightly to Arcane, “it’s a unique pleasure to meet an Archmage of your caliber. Your work is quite insightful.”

Arcane gave a small bow at the acknowledgement, studying the winged unicorn with scrutiny. Before anything else could transpire, everypony’s attention was caught by a wall bursting from the fortress.

“Pardon me, fellow ponies,” Whitelight said hastily, “There may be a small crisis that need be averted.” With that he took wing and flew off at a good pace. 

Twister blinked a few times at the departing pony as he flew off. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Rune,” she stated, “but did that pony have wings and a horn?”

“Yes,” Rune answered, “he did.” In truth he had shrugged it off at the time, but now that the current situation was calmer his mind had turned to it again. “His brother too.”

“Shouldn’t that be, you know, impossible?” Twister asked.

“Not impossible,” Arcane answered, watching the fortress.

“Then how is it possible?” she asked.

“Because those two happen to be alicorns,” Arcane answered certainly.

“Alicorns?” Twister asked, doubt in her voice, “I thought those were just myths. You know, old ponies tales.”

“I can assure you they are not,” Arcane stated, “Although, I will admit I am curious as to how they exist at all.”

“Okay, let’s just say I admit they’re alicorns, which I don’t, what does that mean.”

“It means,” Rune answered, “that we just might win this fight after all.”

“You serious?” Twister asked.

“I saw the white one hold a shield against the Ursa while he was healing me,” Rune stated as seriously as he could manage, “and I can’t be sure, but I believe the black one hit the Ursa hard enough to cause him to stagger.”

“He’s serious,” Twister stated to Arcane, who was currently looking over the battlefield.

“Excuse me, sir,” Glave stated trotting up, “but I believe I heard that pony from earlier say that you still had injuries. Perhaps we should get you to the medics.”

“Not yet,” Rune stated, “I want to see this.”

“Then maybe we should give you a better view of it,” Twister replied, offering her body as a crutch.

Rune nodded his thanks to Twister, before turning to watch the outcome of the battle. He had no idea where these ponies had come from or even what they were, but he knew one thing: They came when they had called and had saved his life and the lives of his troops, risking their own in the process. He could ask no more than that for anypony. He truly hoped they survived the battle so he could properly thank them for their service. For now though, he had to be content watching the fates of the ponies who had the fate of their kingdoms upon their shoulders.


> chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkheart sat up, the rubble of what had once been a wall falling around him. ‘I’ll be feeling that later,’ he thought, shaking the bits of rubble from his head. He turned to glare at the Ursa as it strode towards him confidently.

“You got lucky that time,” he said, “but don’t expect to do so again!”

The Ursa’s grin seemed to widen a fraction. Darkheart tilted his head oddly at the action, but quickly shrugged it off. He had just hit a wall at an alarming speed and that was bound to make him not notice a few things. Without wasting a moment more, he lifted himself into the air with a great flap of his wings and launched himself at the Ursa with renewed vigor. 

The Ursa lumbered forward, delivering a heavy swipe towards the alicorn. He effortlessly dodged it with a bare adjustment to his wings. Darkheart traveled towards the Ursa, his speed increasing with each flap of his wings as he barreled towards his objective. As soon as he was within range, he folded his wings to his side becoming a living missile. Darkheart impacted the massive beast with a massive clap of sound, sending the Ursa staggering back a few steps. 

With a flap of his wings, Darkheart regained altitude as he recovered from the blow. “Not so tough now, are you?” he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

The Ursa turned to glare at the alicorn, before lifting its lips in a half-smile and snorting in reply. Seeing this, Darkheart’s wings faltered for a moment as his mind processed this information. He wanted to dispense of the idea and call himself ridiculous for even thinking it. 

Yet, this was Nightshade he was dealing with. His depravity, much like his ambition, knew no bounds. There were no depths he wouldn’t stoop to to accomplish his goals, even going as far as to go against the very idea of magic and robbing that what makes life sacred. 

Darkheart was brought out of his reflections by an angry growl. He would’ve berated himself for his carelessness had he the time. As it was, he barely had time to look up to see the blow that would strike him. He used the time he had to brace himself as best he could.

Fortunately, he was saved the trouble by a golden aura enveloping the paw before it struck him. The held paw was flung to the side, the Ursa going along with it. As the Ursa landed with a heavy thud, the makeshift armor clanking and falling off in pieces.

“Letting your guard down, brother,” Whitelight’s voice gently chided with traces of teasing lining it, “That’s a touch careless of you.”

“Never mind that,” Darkheart snapped, pointing to the Ursa, “perform a scan on the Ursa. The one that searches for magical traces.”

Whitelight shot a puzzled look towards his brother before he closed his eyes in concentration, his horn glowing in response. As moments passed, his face shifted from concentration to horror to righteous indignation. Upon seeing his brother’s eyes, Darkheart had his answer.

“HAVE THEE NO SHAME NOR DECENCY, NIGHTSHADE?!” Darkheart shouted, his voice rivaling thunder, “IS NOTHING SACRED TO YOU?!”

“When I fight,” the Ursa answered rising in Nightshade’s smug tone, its voice sounding much like rocks tumbling down a cliffside, “I fight to win.” 

Darkheart scowled at the insult, his hair bristling slightly in response. “White, can you dispel the magical binds that tie wills of the unicorns to the Ursa?” he asked in a hushed tone just low enough to be heard by his fellow alicorn.

“Yes, but there are one hundred and seventy-eight magical streams attached to the Ursa’s aura,” Whitelight said, his voice managing to sound impressed in spite of the circumstances, “It will take time. Time we do not have, I’d like to add.”

“Do it,” Darkheart said in a tone that brokered no argument, keeping his eyes on the beast as it was still gaining its footing, “I shall hold him.” 

“Darkheart…”

“I shall hold him,” Darkheart stated in the same tone, his horn lighting in a violet aura that could rival the night sky.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Whitelight open and close his mouth several times. It was as though he were mentally having every argument about how bad an idea this was, but unable to find another option. In truth, Darkheart was less than thrilled about this himself, but it was the only way. Where he was the strength, Whitelight was finesse, and the both of them knew it.

Darkheart was brought out of his thoughts as a single hoof touched his wither. He glanced back, finding Whitelight giving him a sorrowful look that touched his own melancholy. “Be careful, brother,” Whitelight said, flying to a still standing portion of wall. Darkheart turned back to the now standing Ursa, his stance at the ready. Darkheart charged in for an aerial assault upon the Ursa, his horn lowering as he flew.

With a flare of his horn and his magic, Darkheart conjured a battering ram in front of him and hit the possessed Ursa with enough force to shove it back a few feet. However, the Ursa managed to stand its ground, swatting a giant paw at the ram. Seeing this, Darkheart dispelled it and flew out of range of the attack. 

He darted back, coming just within range of the Ursa’s swipe before veering away from his paw. As he turned, he fired a magical salvo at the Ursa, causing it to falter as he rammed into it with his hooves. Unfortunately, the Ursa reacted more quickly than he had anticipated and smacked him with a paw. He was promptly rammed into a wall and pinned there, slowly but surely crushing him.

As Darkheart struggled against the pressure, unable to gain proper leverage, he decided another tactic might be necessary. “What’s the matter, Nightshade? Too cowardly to finish me off yourself?”

The Ursa chuckled, still applying pressure. “Do not take me for a fool. I am aware of what you are doing and it will not work. After I crush you, I fully intend on taking care of your white companion trying to sever the influence of our weapon.”

Hearing that statement, the invisible barrier of Darkheart’s control snapped. He lit his horn with every ounce of available magic he could gather in a second, almost splitting his horn in two. “No,” he answered in a cold tone, “you won’t!” With that, he fired his salvo point-blank range at the Ursa’s muzzle, freeing himself from the paw. 

His vision started to alter, but he failed to notice it. All that mattered was stopping that Ursa before it would hurt anything else. 





Arcane winced in pain, a forehoof going to his horn.

“Codger, you alright?” Twister asked, shifting herself slightly to look at the elderly unicorn.

“I felt a shift in the magical field,” he answered, rubbing his horn, “as though a great dam of power had been unleashed.”

“Is that a good thing?” Twister asked uncertainly.

“I am uncertain,” Arcane answered, his tone shaky, “it felt...corrupted. And for me to feel it as I did, I am certain a great many unicorns present did as well.”

The thing that alarmed Rune the most about that was the tone of Arcane’s voice. If there had been one thing he could count on from Arcane, it was his stoicism under fire. In that moment, he sounded almost afraid. That did more to shake Rune than anything else.

“Think it could be Nightshade?” Twister asked.

“I....do not know,” Arcane stated, “what I do know is that anything with that power, we should be wary of.” 

Rune silently gulped, fearful of anything on the receiving end of that power.





Darkheart lashed out with one magical assault after another. As soon as one had been charged and released, another was sent hurdling after it like stars in a meteor shower. With every strike he placed, it still would never be enough. They needed to be stopped, they needed to be punished, they deserved…

Stop.

Darkheart blinked, finding himself somewhere that seemed both strange and familiar at the same time. There he spotted the figure of a horned, winged pony. Although his features were hazy, Darkheart knew that he was the focus of the pony’s attention.

This is not the way, Darkheart heard, knowing the larger pony had said it.

It is what must be done, a new voice answered, causing Darkheart to turn to face the source of the new voice. He was faced with a dark figure, whose coat was ink black and whose eyes glowed red.

He must face justice!

Justice can only be claimed when it is tempered with mercy, the first figure replied.

Would they show mercy? Would they be so willing to stay their hooves? They must be stopped! 

And when does the bloodshed cease? How many must perish at the sword before peace can be restored?

As many as needed, the second figure answered coldly.

That is not for you nor I to decide, the shadowed pony answered, turning its attention once again to Darkheart.

Darkheart became silent, the slight tingling of power residing in him. He knew this was a mere fraction of what was available and what he could do were he to have access to all of it. With but one word, it would be his to command.

However, Whitelight appeared in the forefront of his mind. Whenever Darkheart saw his brother he had a smile on his face, seemingly making the days brighter just by being present. As he pictured how easy things would be if he accepted the mantle of power, one single thought stood above the rest: ‘Would it be worth it?’ 

He had his answer before the question was ever asked.

Darkheart found himself back in the fortress once more. The Ursa laid sprawled in front of him, trying to raise himself onto his paws. He spared a glance towards his horn, finding the aura had darkened to a darker shade of violet. With a sigh, he snuffed the power from his horn and turned his eyes towards the wall his brother was placed.

“How close?”

Whitelight’s answer came in the form of his magical aura intensifying with brightness. “Almost there,” he answered strainingly.

“This is not over,” the Ursa stated, attempting to rise from the rubble it had been placed along, “Hear my words, this is far from over.”

Darkheart felt more than he saw of the magical release of his brother. It was immensive, as though a dam had just been released, yet as calming as a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Darkheart shook ruefully as Whitelight greedily gulped for air. 

“It’s finished,” Whitelight said between gulps of air. 

Darkheart nodded in understanding, flying to be alongside his sibling. He leaned in so Whitelight could use his body for support. Even though Whitelight could possibly do so much more with his magic, it had been a good many years since he had strained himself in that manner. Whitelight smiled appreciatively at Darkheart and placed a wing on his withers for support. 

They heard Nightshade’s amplified laughter coming from the tower. “YOU THINK THIS WAS MY ENDGAME?! YOU THINK IT MATTERS THAT THE BEAST IS FREE?! IF IT CAN’T SERVE MY PURPOSES UNDER MY INFLUENCES, THEN IT SHALL SERVE THEM WITHOUT IT!”

The Ursa shook its head back and forth, as though its vision were clearing for the first time. He looked at the alicorns with confusion in its eyes.

“There’s no need to fear us,” Whitelight said, his voice calming, “You are now free.”

The Ursa narrowed his eyes at the two alicorns and let loose a bellow that shook the fortress. Darkheart and Whitelight folded their ears against their heads to protect themselves from the onslaught of sound. Darkheart opened his eyes just in time to witness a massive paw as it came crashing down upon them. He didn’t remember the flight through the air, but he did feel the crash of the impact. 

The first thought to jump into his mind was the state of his brother. Frantically, he looked about, finding Whitelight laid four hooves away. He seemed a bit scuffed up from the fall but was otherwise unharmed. Darkheart breathed a sigh of relief as he checked his own health.

His right wing was a bit sore and would keep him grounded for the immediate future, but otherwise he was intact. Those thoughts were put on hold as he heard another bellow from the fortress as the Ursa Major was further collapsing the wall that stood between him and the alicorns.

“I was afraid of that,” Whitelight muttered, rubbing his forehead at the base of his horn, “The Ursa had been under their influence so long, his mind is feral.”

Darkheart looked upon the fortress as the Ursa glared upon them with hate filled eyes. He turned his eyes to what lied beyond them and saw masses of ponies upon a hilltop witnessing the scene with varying degrees of worry. He then looked upon his brother, seeing him wearied and barely able to stand.

“We have to end this.”

Whitelight looked upon his brother with shock. “You don’t mean…”

“Yes, I do,” Darkheart interrupted, not wishing for Whitelight to finish that statement, “Brother, look at us: My wing is injured and can’t be used and I dare not use any magic, even if it could help. You can’t even stand unaided and none of the ponies up there are experienced to do what is required to salvage the beast’s mind.”

Whitelight’s expression became pained as he silently pleaded with Darkheart. 

“As it is, that beast knows only rage and seeks only oblivion. We are the only beings on this plane who can grant it peace and keep it from hurting anyone else.” He turned to face the ground, unable to look his brother in the eye. “I do not like it any more than you do, but we have no other choice. If it makes you feel better, you can blame me for this, but we have to do this.”

He felt a feathery appendage touch his withers as he turned to face the smiling tearful face of his brother. “This error belongs to both of us,” he said, his voice quiet and serene in spite of the circumstance, “We’ll both shoulder the blame for this.” 

Darkheart favored his brother with a small smile before the sounds of the wall crumbling brought them from their moment. “We best act with haste, Dark.”

Darkheart answered with a curt nod as he closed his eyes to focus.





“Hey, what’s happening?” Twister asked as the area around the pair of alicorns was engulfed in light.

“To be honest, I’m not certain,” Arcane answered, “I’ve never seen nor read of anything like this.”

Rune watched silently, wondering what was going to happen. The light slowly dissipated as the two beings turned into two balls of energy, one white and the other black. They floated into the air as they merged into one. 

What emerged from the combining of the energies was a single being. The best term to describe him was unique: he had two coat colors, separated down the middle. Upon his right side, he was black and on his left he was white. His mane and tail were billowing like grey fog. However, the strangest feature about him were his wings. He had six of them and they were white upon his right side and black on his left side. 

“Creature,” said the being in a voice that could shake the earth and calm the seas with but a single syllable, “I have no wish to harm you, but I shall not stand idly by whilst thy tear the world asunder. Leave now and thou shalt be spared.”

The Ursa roared at the being and charged for it, heedless of the consequences.

“If that is how it must be, then so be it. May thee find the peace denied to thee in life.” With that, a massive ball of white and black swirling energy amassed on the tip of his horn and he shot it at the Ursa. It pierced the Ursa, through hide, hair, muscle and bone. The beast’s momentum slowed, eventually he skidded to a halt as his body dragged along the ground. The beast’s eyes fluttered closed as he went still.

The being turned his attention to the ponies, who were all standing wide eyed in shock save for Twister who also had her jaw slack as well. His eyes peered at the ponies, like two stars of darkness and light as they flickered slightly. Just as he had turned, he became a ball of energy once more that split into two as it landed in front of the ponies.

Rune saw the energies take the forms of the alicorns he had seen earlier, although more bruised and beaten than they were earlier. The darker of the two seemed worse for wear while the lighter only seemed exhausted. 

“Okay, wow!” Twister said, still slackjawed, “Just...WOW!”

Darkheart gave a smirk. “Commander Twister rendered speechless? That has to be some kind of record.” 

As he finished that, the two of them were slowly becoming encased inside something resembling crystal.

“Are you two alright?” Rune asked, becoming worried.

“Fine...exhausted…” Darkheart replied, losing himself in unconsciousness.

“Forgive us,” Whitelight said, barely able to keep his eyes open, “it has been some time since we exerted ourselves in this manner. We shall be fine after a respite. In the meantime, you have other matters to attend to.” With that, the two were engulfed in a mass of crystal. 

“Wh..what just happened?” Twister asked, as though she seemed uncertain of speaking.

“I might be mistaken, but I believe that to be a form of defense to protect them from harm, much like a turtle with its shell,” Arcane stated, seemingly a bit shocked from what had occurred.

“Pardon me, sir,” Glaive stated meekly, “but isn’t it tortoise?” 

“Never mind that,” Rune stated, “like the pony said, we have other matters attend to. Glaive, you and I…”

“Nope!” Twister said, turning her fiery red eyes into his green ones, “You came from battling an Ursa about ten minutes ago. While most of your injuries might have been healed, that ali-whatchamacallit said nothing about restoring your energy. Now, Arcane is going to take you to the medics, you are going to get yourself some rest, and you are not going to give anyone any trouble about it!”

Rune briefly thought about arguing, but the look in her eyes convinced him otherwise. It seemed to be genuine worry coupled with raging fury. It told him that he was going to do as she said, whether he complied with it or not. It was made worse when she leaned in, their noses touching as her eyes bored into his. “Am I making myself clear, General?” she asked, her voice eerily calm.

“Yes, ma’am,” he squeaked.

“Good,” she said, shifting her gaze to the troops behind them, “Pegasi and unicorns, create a perimeter around the fortress. Anything coming out of it, give it one chance to surrender! If it doesn’t take it, kill it! Everyone else with me, we search that fortress from top to bottom! Leave no stone unturned! Arcane, take Rune to the medics and help secure the perimeter!”

With that, the various ponies began to bustle about following her commands. As Arcane went to support Rune, he leaned closer to the unicorn. “Arcane, there’s times when that mare scares me,” he whispered.

Arcane glanced about quickly before replying in the same hushed whisper. “I’m certain that just about every stallion here will agree with you on that observation.”


> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ma’am, we’ve searched the entire fortress from top to bottom and there’s no sign of any horses save for the dead,” a soldier said to a fuming Twister.

“They have to be here somewhere!” she said shouting, “Seven hundred troops just don’t vanish into thin air!”

“Well, there’s no trace of them, ma’am,” the soldier said, receiving a glare from Twister at his steadfast nature.

Glaive winced in sympathy. She had heard that a glare from Commander Twister was enough to make the boldest stallions quake. 

“Yo, Glaive,” Twister said, drawing her attention, “got any suggestions?”

Glaive rubbed her chin in thought. She put herself in Nightshade’s placet: he had less than a thousand troops under his command and his place of power has been short of demolished. Were she in his position, she would retreat or fall back.

However, the fortress was surrounded by the air and the ground, so there was no where to fall back to. Unless…

“He probably moved to the tunnels,” she answered.

“The tunnels?” Twister asked.

“In earth pony fortresses, they sometimes dig tunnels for quick getaways should it ever be compromised. Even if they hadn’t, the horses had time to dig tunnels of their own.”

“Assuming that the earth ponies dug tunnels, where would the entrances be?”

“In strategic spots around the fortress,” Glaive answered, “Possibly hidden so they couldn’t be followed.” 

“Well, that’s just great!” Twister pouted, leaning against the wall. Her annoyed expression shifted to a surprised one as the wall shifted under her weight. Twister then motioned Glaive over, both of them moving the wall with their combined muscle power. As the wall-turned-door reached its widest opening, everypony there gaped at it, their jaws slack from surprise.

“WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?!” the lower ranking soldier yelled, his voice a combination of mirth and surprise. “I bet you couldn’t do that again if you tried.”

Twister recovered next, her expression shifting into a steely eyed scowl. “Send a message to the perimeter guards and tell them to keep an eye out for tunnel exits. And bring the rest of the troops here. We’re going in!”







The sound of the tunnel were filled with the muffled noise of hoof clopping from Glaive and Twister. Glaive held the torch steadily as Twister’s eyes and ears darted about, her hoofbaldes gleaming dangerously on her bracers.

As the ponies descended into the darkness, they soon discovered that the tunnels branched in several directions, like many tree roots. In order to cover more ground, Twister sent groups down the several branches in the hope that one of them would succeed. However, as their trek into the tunnels deepened, Twister’s own group dwindled so there was only Glaive and Twister left in it. 

“What was that?!” Twister asked hushedly, bringing her blades up. 

Glaive paused mid stride, her eyes and ears moving for any signs. “I neither see nor hear anything, ma’am,” Glaive said confidently. Twister’s sensory appendages darted about a bit more before she lowered her weapons. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” Twister replied, giving a wave of her hoof, “Let’s get moving.” Glaive might have believed her, had Twister’s breathing and her twitching wings not given her away. 

At that moment, Glaive could’ve smacked herself for being so slow. She remembered that pegasus ponies didn’t do well in enclosed spaces. The open skies were their domain and their fellow aviators of the air were their traveling companions. Ponies like Twister had a sense of mistrust and dislike bordering on fear of the unnatural darkness of earthen tunnels, where it was barely possible for a pegasus to stretch their wings properly.

Glaive knew it was her duty to help her commander, but how was she to do that? Twister was a pony of great distinction, a living legend who practically lived up to the legends. What could a pony like Glaive have in common with a pony like her? 

Then her mind hit upon an idea.

“Commander Twister, might I ask you a personal question?”

“Go ahead, just cut out that ‘Commander’ stuff when there’s just the two of us here.”

“As you wish,” Glaive replied, “I was just wondering how long you’ve been infatuated with General Rune?”

To Twister’s credit, she didn’t falter for more than a fraction of a second. After a second or two of silence, she hung her head slightly. “Is it that obvious?”

“Do you want me to answer honestly?” Glaive asked, receiving a nod of agreement. “Well, the hug you gave him when he came back didn’t help, but I thought it was more apparent from the worried pacing you did on the hill.”

Twister sighed. “I guess ever since the Siege of the Westerlands, the first moment I laid eyes on him.”

Noticing Twister’s calming state, Glaive pushed onwards. “How did it come about, if you don’t mind my asking that is?” 

“Well, it was my first campaign as a junior officer. The earth ponies had moved onto this patch of ground somewhere in the Western Hills. What they wanted it for I couldn’t tell you, but the fact they wanted it was enough reason for the King Funnel Cloud to say they couldn’t have it. So we moved in, finding the earth ponies wouldn’t give it up.

“So, once the battle started everything was chaos. Every move we made, the earthies countered it. This being my first real fight, I wanted some action, so I went to find their General. Needless to say, I found him. 

“Rune stood before me, imposing in bronze armor broken only by these weird writings on it. He stood out like a phantom amongst the carnage, but I was pumping. With weapons in hoof, I charged him.

“I’m not going to lie he fought terribly, but what Rune lacked in style he made up for in ferocity. He hit like a mountain and was twice as tough, but still I didn’t give in. I had to pull out every trick I knew to keep him from landing a lucky hit on me. I managed to force him back onto a nearby cliff when things went south quickly.

“While setting up an assault using the principles of Capo Ferro, I misstepped. Seeing the opportunity, Rune rammed me with a shoulder forcing me to the ground. As I landed, my weapons were knocked from my hooves and I felt his blade pressing into my throat. While waiting for the killing blow that didn’t come, I finally got a good look at this peerless general.

“I wasn’t really surprised at how young he was. He didn’t look much older than me, his smudged tan coat still a bit bright, but what really struck me were his eyes. They were the same color as fresh spring grass.

“Needless to say I was a bit awestruck at all this, but it was what he said next that hit me harder than any blow he could’ve thrown.

“He simply said, ‘Please… please, I don’t want to kill you.’”

Twister’s eyes became a bit misty as she wiped her eyes with the crook of her foreleg, flushing a bit at the memory. “It was at that moment, I saw him as he saw me: a living being. He had no desire to kill me because I was living. He simply saw me as a pony who was as scared of him as he was of me.”

“What happened then?”

“Some green troops ran up the hill to get his attention, giving me a chance to headbutt him, giving him that scar across his muzzle, and get away.”

Glaive giggled a bit. “Well, greater romances have been started on less.”

“I wouldn’t go that far with it,” Twister said blushing, “I mean, he is a nice guy and everything, but that’s just it: He’s nice to everybody. I doubt he’d be interested in somepony like me.”

Glaive smiled knowingly. If the look on his face when he held her meant anything, he felt the same way about her that she did about him. 

However, any further conversation was cut off as Twister held a foreleg up, her ears pitched forward. “Douse the torch,” she whispered, Glaive quick to follow the command. The tunnel was submerged into darkness, leaving the mares blinded by the profuse lack of light.

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Glaive noticed the faint flicker of light ahead of them. Twister gave a barely visible forward motion, causing Glaive to follow her quietly towards the source. As they peered round the corner, they knew they had found the horses. 

They stood in a great chamber, one that split into several smaller paths like talons on a griffin’s paw. Heat radiated from the room like a furnace, along with the rank smell of sweaty flesh and fur. The hushed murmur echoed making it seem as though it were coming from many places at once. Glaive silently gulped at the number of them.

“Looks like there’s about twenty-five of them,” Twister whispered, her eyes reflecting the glare in them. “Sounds like they’re saying something.” Once pointed out, Glaive could also make out the faint din of a conversation. Straining her ears she picked up a portion of its contents.

“...In addition to the numerous deserters, it seems that your son has also betrayed you, my lord.”

What followed was a voice that Glaive would’ve recognized anywhere, even without the earlier amplification. “Never mind the facts,” Nightshade answered, “I want details.”

“Well.... Roughly one hundred troops have joined your son in his insurrection against you while an additional three hundred and fifty troops have broke the ranks altogether. If you recall, I did warn you that something of that magnitude might happen.”

“It matters not in the long run,” Nightshade replied, “I am playing for higher stakes. Those traitors shall receive their just desserts in the end.”

“And of your son?”

“Oh, his rebellion was to be expected,” Nightshade said, no small amount of pride in his voice, “He is my son, after all. I shall deal with him myself when the time is right. In the meantime, we have other matters that need seeing to. Where are those royal brats, by the by?”

“Chained up further in this tunnel. Ready to be removed at a moment’s notice.”

“Good,” Nightshade said darkly, “they may yet be of use to us.”

“We have to get them before those horses do,” Twister said, practically growling.

Looking about, Glaive came to a decision. Slowly but surely, she began removing her armor. Seeing this Twister raised an eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

“I’m going to sneak past the horses to get the tunnel where the princes and princesses are kept,” she said, never pausing in her task. “My coat is dark and, hopefully, they’ll be partially blinded by the torchlight.” 

“You sure about this?”

“Do you have any better ideas?”

Glaive nodded in agreement, but the question was how. Assuming that anypony was coming for them, it would be a while. That would mean that they had to go for them themselves. “I’ll go.” 

As if reading her thoughts, Twister said, “I’ll get them."