"Mommy, help!"
Gossamer Glow did not want to die like this. Not with the last words she'd ever speak aloud being to call for her mother. Not with her mother less than five strides away, powerless to do anything to save her eldest daughter after she'd been pulled from her forelimbs. Not at the claws of these horrible, cold, dead things that were dragging her away, kicking and screaming. And not before she'd seen her fifteenth birthday.
Ironwood was doing his best to try and keep the wights at bay, but it was clear that, with just his bare hooves and basic guardspony armor, he was simply outclassed by the better armored, and very definitely armed, griffin wights that were attacking him. While it was taking a dozen of them to keep him at bay, they had another two dozen to deal with the rest of the group... weakest first.
Gossamer could feel her body getting cold. She'd heard a few of the veteran soldiers talk about the Black Feather War, and about horrors like these and what they could do to you. They said that if you were drained completely by a wight, then you'd likely become one yourself. She didn't want to become like that, but they were so strong... and she was getting so weak...
And suddenly, she was free, their grasping claws suddenly gone. Too weak to stand, she began to fall to the ground...
There was a blur of motion, and she felt herself caught by a pair of strong, warm, forelegs. Looking up, she saw the face of her rescuer... and promptly passed out...
-----------------------------------
Giving the unconscious mare over to the other three mares (One was definitely the mother of the other three, but asides from that, there really wasn't time to take in details yet), Ruggiero turned to take in the surroundings. His spectacular entry (Five wights down in less than five seconds. Even with the element of surprise, that was still a new personal best!) had startled the wights, causing them to pull back from the large crystal pony they'd been harrying. They'd instinctively realized that an opponent able to slay five of their number so quickly was obviously the greater threat. As soon as they rallied, they'd immediately concentrate all of their efforts on defeating the newcomer.
Which was why he immediately went on the offensive.
-----------------------------------
Ironwood had spent a good stretch in the army during the Black Feather War, so he'd seen some wild stuff, but this... this defied all comprehension.
The newcomer, dressed in armor so well-cared-for that it gleamed like new, in spite of the scratches on its surface indicating long use, had charged like a lunatic into the thickest concentration of wights, before the abominations had been able to brace themselves. His sword gleaming with magefire, he began weaving his blade about himself, striking down wights left and right like a farmer scything wheat.
The blade was very obviously enchanted, but anypony who knew anything about swordplay would tell you that having a blade that can cut through steel isn't much good if you're not strong enough, and skilled enough, to swing it effectively. More importantly, using a sword can be exhausting in the extreme, especially when you have to focus both on offense and defense in a massive melee like this one. A twenty-year veteran, armed with such a blade, might, and he'd stress this point emphatically, might have been able to hold his own against half this number for a few minutes, but no soldier that Ironwood had ever met could have ever been able to succeed against such odds...
But this stranger, whoever he was, was to the wights like a shark was to a school of tuna. It was almost impossible to follow, as warrior's blade weaved a lethal pattern about himself in short, devastating thrusts and swings. Not a single movement was wasted, not a single step was out of place. Wights who stepped forward with their weapons ready found themselves suddenly holding sundered spears, headless axes, or sword hilts bereft of their blades. Those who were slightly slower were dispatched instantly with a quick decapitation, while the faster ones might last as long as three seconds after they came within reach of his blade... and were instantly disassembled with a skill and efficiency that was equally awe-inspiring and horrifying.
And he never tired. That, more than anything, was what startled Ironwood the most. The warrior was tackling a small army of enemies who never tired, never felt fear, and did not feel pain... and yet, it was clear that between him and the wights he faced, it was this stranger who was the superior combatant. His stamina, skill, and discipline was sufficient to rival that of practically any military company in the world.
...And he could not have been any older than fourteen years old...
------------------------------------
Ruggiero could not help but laugh. This was truly the best night ever. A single misstep would mean violent, agonizing death. His enemies were strong, fearless, and without mercy. Their assault was unrelenting, and he could see his death on every blow he turned aside, and in the eyes of every foe he faced... and he never felt more alive.
...He idly wondered if this was what sex felt like. If it didn't, he'd be horribly disappointed...
------------------------------------
A loud noise sounded behind the remaining enemy forces. The wights suddenly stopped their advance, their numbers thinned considerably. They backed away from the young warrior, then split into two groups, allowing a thin opening through which a single warrior advanced.
It stood head and shoulders above the rest of its soldiers, and it held a definite air of command that the other wights had lacked. Ironwood noted the rank insignia upon the shoulders of its armor. This one was a captain, or had been before his death. Once it came within ten strides of the warrior, the wight stopped, and the remaining dozen wights began to form a circle around the two.
The taller wight spoke. "I am Bertrand, son of Bertrand, and of Gwendolyn. I hold the rank of Captain of the Black Feather Army, and bear the title of Earl of the Western Marches. In thirty seven years, and in seventy duels, I have never known defeat, save the one that ended my life. I challenge you to a duel."
Incredible. Ironwood had heard stories of how some, typically individuals of strong will, could retain some semblance of their sanity, even after becoming a wight. Such entities were typically much more powerful than their more lunatic kin...
The youth grinned like a five-year-old who'd just been given a shiny new toy, and responded, stating, "I am Ruggiero, son of Malted Barley, and of Galaciella Blackfeather. I hold no titles or rank, but I am confident that I've been in more fights in my life than you had hot meals in yours, and I've yet to meet my better. I accept your challenge."
There seemed to be the slightest hint of a smile on the wight's face as it went into a fighting stance, an expression and stance both echoed by the stranger, this Ruggiero. The remaining wights began to bang their weaponry against their chests as the two combatants began to circle one another warily...
------------------------------------
"So, how goes your research?"
Lady Midnight Black looked over her shoulder at the speaker. Of all the members of the Circle that the lady was required to associate with, she supposed that Lord Fly was the closest thing she had to a friend. The two unicorns had similar interests, after all: Lady Midnight Black was deeply engrossed in the research of the reanimation of corpses. Lord Fly, on the other hoof, was interested in the methods by which life could be preserved, and sustained, even when the body had been critically damaged. Had he different reasons for why he wanted to sustain the lives of others, this would have made him a respectable figure. Since he was a sadistic cannibal who wanted to keep his victims alive for as long as possible, he was obviously anything but.
Lady Midnight Black's arcane research lab was open to all members of the Circle who were interested in thestudy of the dark arts, and the mare had found that Lord Fly possessed an intellect rivaling her own. It was with Fly's help, for example, that she'd been able to discover a means by which to mass-produce wights, creating the forces that would be the backbone of the Circle's army in the days to come. With the old methods she'd had available, it would have taken decades to create an army of wights a thousand strong, but thanks to their combined efforts, she had succeeded in reviving every corpse she could recover from the Black Feather War, and convert every last one of them into wights...
...All ten thousand of them.
Looking at the object of her current research, she could not help but smile. They'd found the object in question hidden amongst Sombra's personal effects, just a few brief hours after the tyrant's death: While the rest of the city was dancing in the streets, the Circle had gutted the warlock's chambers, labs, and storehouses, hoping to discover the secrets behind his unnatural strength. While the majority of the knowledge they'd sought was still being deciphered, the discovery of the object in question had put all of Midnight Black's other research on hold...
After all, how often do you get to study a legend?
Turning her gaze away from the fragments of gleaming white metal, held aloft in a levitation spell, she answered, "Quite well, in all honesty. My original theorem has proven to be correct: In spite of being fragmented, the metal itself still retains a link to its power source. When the device was shattered, it simply rendered that link unusable without an interface. I believe that the hilt was the original interface, granting the holder the ability to access and control the power the blade itself tapped into. I've spent the last two days working on a spell that recreates that interface... and I have succeeded. I've already completed several experiments in which I was able to extract energy successfully." She gestured towards a set of glowing cubes in one corner, then chuckled and said, "In those alone, I have enough energy to craft a spell that would take the entire Circle a month to complete normally. I simply need to find a means of converting it from cosmic energy into necrotic energy, and we could significantly fortify our forces." Her smile became like that of a shark, or like the kind of fish that lives at the bottom of the ocean, the kind with more teeth than body. "I imagine that even Celestia and Luna would hesitate to challenge an army of ten thousand death knights."
A smile played across the stallion's lips. While Midnight Black hated admitting that she was still bound by such trivial things as the base desire to mate, she did find Lord Fly to be devilishly attractive, especially when he smiled. Tall, handsome, muscular, with a pure white body and a blonde mane and tail, it was obvious why he had a sizable harem of willing mares back at his manor. The mares in said harem were completely unaware of their keeper's true 'interests', thankfully, since even a group of gold-digging mares who were more than willing to rut him silly each night in the hopes of bearing his children and becoming his bride would have blanched at the thought of being wed to a cannibal...
...Their loss.
"Truly remarkable," the stallion admitted, looking back to the fragments of metal. "A pity that we lack the means of reconstructing it back into its original state." Tilting his head slightly to one side, he added, "At least, for now."
Lady Midnight Black, the Lady Spider, chuckled, then said, "Sombra actually had some interesting theories about that. However, it seems his use of dark magic without proper safety procedures ended up damaging his psyche, and that resulted in him losing interest in these fragments, and gaining interest into deepening his understanding of dark magic instead. He was well on his way to becoming something... other than a pony, when the 'emperor' came down and destroyed him. Still, what information I've gleaned from the notes is truly impressive, and was of great help in forging the interface."
Nodding, Lord Fly said, without a trace of irony, "An intellect to be envied, certainly, even if he was completely mad." Chuckling, he added, "Still, this is an excellent start: From the reports I just received from my spies in the Crystal Palace, Luna was definitely harmed by the dark energy we had infused into the wight. While the emperor lives, the curse placed upon him definitely caused something to happen to him: A marked change in appearance was observed when he was last seen. Details are sketchy, but I expect further reports to arrive shortly. Moreover, Celestia was somehow injured during a confrontation with an unnamed entity that originated from Luna's contact with the dark energy. The reports are sketchy there as well, but it seems that she has currently exhausted herself, and it may take some time for her to fully recover."
Her eyes widening, Lady Spider admitted, "An excellent start, indeed. Lord Scorpion has already begun preparing all of the other members of the Circle for our endgame scenario. While he would hesitate to strike down Celestia and Luna unless it proved absolutely necessary, with the power now potentially at our disposal, we should easily be able to force them to surrender their authority over the Crystal Empire to us, even if they were at their full strength."
His expression unreadable, Lord Fly asked, "How long until you've succeeded in creating a means of converting the energy into a usable form?"
"Forty-eight hours," Lady Spider said, grinning confidently. "In the meantime, I'll continue extracting energy from the Starblade. By the time the converter is completed, we'll have enough energy at our disposal to wipe out every major city in Equestria, if need be. By this time next year, we could have enough power at our disposal to make world conquest a possible long term goal." With a chuckle, she added, "In the meantime, the upcoming war will be a conflict that will go down in history: I imagine that, a thousand years from now, they'll still be talking about the Three Day War."
NEW CHAPTER UP!
Forty eight hours left in the 3 day war, eh?
I wonder what's been going on with Pan and Co. in the meantime.
4821458
This is still, oh, thirty minutes before the meeting in the chapter titled 'The Wager'. We're close to catching up to current now
So they are making something akin to a nuclear device?
4821470
Something akin to the device that Pan created, only instead of turning Hate into Love, it will turn Cosmic into Necrotic... or any other energy they need.
I can't wait to see how this goes.
Yes nice one !
Hoooooo boy. The stakes are raised to new heights! This is going exactly as nuts as I thought it would.
I like the character of Ruciello and I like the twist that Lord Fly was the seemingly kind stallion that had a harem of mares.
dawn of the second day:
48 hours remain
4821500
When I began this story, set in a space that was between the canon we know of a thousand years ago and the modern age, I knew that, with unlimited freedom, I would likely create something so crazy and off the chain that it would either be a cataclysmic failure... or become an entity of such unbridled WIN that I would spend the rest of my life struggling to equal its grandeur.
So glad it was the latter .
I feel my like my excitement for the next chapter is about to explode! Or it might just be my pain medication running out allowing my migraine to return with explosive force...
4821554 While its current heading is the the epic grandeur, it still have the possibility of crashing and burning.
But I have confidence that you won't allow that to happen.
4821476 Just wanting to confirm something about Pan's device, It only turns 'Hate into Love' not 'Any to Any' or 'Any to Love' perhaps?
I wish I were around to give this advice earlier, but this story has plunged deep into Too Many Characters Syndrome. There are way too many characters and not enough time to get to know them—or, hell, even remember them. I read through this whole chapter not having a clue about who any of the characters are. I don't care what happens to these people.
Cut back, please. Give a few characters "POV Character" status, and for the rest of the story only write from the point of view of the POV characters. It would make this story far more involving, as well as a lot easier to follow.
4821933
Your opinion is noted.
Edit: Gah, I can't let it go at just that, as much as I'd like to. Too Many Characters Syndrome is a rather relative thing, and I know my story doesn't have THAT many characters in it, and I try to flesh them out well.
I know that multiple viewpoints can be tricky to read sometimes, but in the thick of a battle, you can't expect everyone to see everything, so you have to switch from viewer to viewer, or you're giving your character an omnipresent viewpoint and limitless knowledge of everything going on. You may as well have the observer be a bird in the air instead of a person. There will be few POV characters in later chapters, and the folks here will be given more details to their personality, but since this was a battle, things were naturally going to seem a little hectic.
I actually enjoy all the different points of view. Yeah, it can be a mite rough figuring out who is who at times, but I love the varied insights into a very hectic series of events ... reminds me of some military Sci Fi novels I read in that respect. And I think Ruggiero is now my new favorite character ... I love how much of a cavalier badass he is ... and that fight scene gave me some serious Diablo III flashbacks. Uh oh ... the Circle has the Starblade ... you magnificent bastard, you made us think Ruggiero had it.
4822026
It definitely starts improving after chapter 2, so keep with it.
4821933
I'd have to agree with Unknown- the characters do get mixed up....at least for me. It's still a great and well-written story; I'd just be careful to not branch off too much with other mini-plots and characters.
--RJ
4821933
4822014 Don't be too upset about it. That's how I feel about Game of Thrones. I kind of wish it was told from Daenerys Targaryen's perspective, and just about her retaking the throne. As it is, with all these Starks and Lannisters and that guy up there with the ice zombies and the creepy spy people and a billion others I've forgotten, I can barely keep the storylines of the characters I do care about straight.
So yeah, too many characters to follow is a problem, but you're in good company at least.
4821767 If you read the chapter the orb's purpose was mentioned in(, and if I'm remembering correctly,) it implied that "Hate > Love" was only one application of Pan's orb.
How do they know it'll be called the Three Days War?
Hmm...
(The Dresden Files: Skin Game, chapter eight)
About that maden up backstory in chapter 27 about Кощей бессмертный and Arthur...
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/103/256/i-fucking-love-cocaine.jpg
4822380 magic
Is it a coincidence this was open in the next tab over and also features an ironwood?
And so the identity of Lord Scorpion has officially been revealed (I forget. Did this get revealed in a previous chapter? If it was, I'm sorry for the oversight.) And as many suspected, it was the master of the wine cellar himself, Malted Barley. Oh, is the Shit gonna fly when Pan finds out.
Ruggiero is turning out to be an interesting character. I do wonder if, in the end, he'll turn against his father and join Pan.
Hm... Assuming that happens, and assuming that Pan's descended from Lord Scorpion as his house name would imply, that would mean that this would be the first time Pan's had another member of his family that would be on his side. (Pan's brother, Andro, doesn't count because he died before he could make any progress in that area.)
4822737
Honestly, I imagine Ruggiero will follow whichever path strikes him as the most interesting, the most challenging, and the most violent. He might end up on the side of good only because it’ll give him license to be totally bad(ass) for two days, nonstop, and suffer absolutely no repercussions for it.
Hmmm, I wonder if Ruggiero will win over the fair maiden Gossamer Glow? Could happen.
Love this story. (And I enjoy the multiple characters point of view. I've read many a novel, so I've gotten used to reading several character perspectives.)
so lord fly will turn the starblade into necrotic energy? well pan is probably going to get fat off all that energy is he decides to turn it into love with his converter. either that or metamorphasize into a changeling king.
Interesting.
4822380 Because after the third day they complete their I Win button.
Is it just me, or does Ruggiero's intro make him seem like a bad Mary Stu OC? I really hope he gets a narrative deconstruction, or an anticlimactic death.
Also, Lady Spider why did you make Cosmic Cubes? They're dangerous!
W-what?! Blackfeather?.. So this wight officer is his... aunt?.. I imagine this:
4822287 So we just have to make something that changes Necrotic to Hate.
4823423 What, cosmic power in cube form is always fun.
Cool,gotta wait fer more mate
4822380 Because history is written by the victor, and they plan to be the victor.
I've just thought of something: what is your idea regarding the Circle's members in the 'prime' timeline? (I think that's the term you're using!)
4822014 This is nothing new, and it is the reason the Lady Wasp (I think that was her name) thing seemed to come out of nowhere a while back. There are just too many characters to fully keep track of, let alone pay attention to all the subtle hints about them and figure out what is really going on.
4823423
Well, his fighting skills are definitely top notch, but I think that you might be missing something: Ruggie joined the pony side because they were being attacked by a larger and better trained force, and because they had mares his age. At what point did any sort of morality enter into his decision? More importantly, how can a 14 year old be able to fight on the level of a master of the sword? Keep watching, there's a lot more to this kid than there seems.
If there was anything that I had planned for our young hippogriff, it is a deconstruction of several tropes. Which ones? If I said that, I'd spoil a whole bunch of stuff that's gonna happen.
And now we have Jeffry Dahmer pony...
Yep, the story has no officially gone completely off the deep end.
4823351 Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that Celestia had long ago perfected the "You Lose, Beeeyatch!" button.
It blasts the enemy to bits with super bananas.
Found something you may want to edit. You forgot to space at one point.
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
4824324 Considering that Pans device only converts Hate into Love and they plan to convert the Cosmic Energy into Necrotic Energy you would need a third converter to bridge the gap between Necrotic and Hate.
Oh and i'm pretty sure that Ruggerios sword has the hilt of the cosmic blade or at least a fragment of it that allows him to run on its power and pummel a bunch of wights into submission and pieces.
4824094
I think it just me but I can see Ruggiero being similar to Damian Wayne from Batman.:
The wights kinda reminded me of the zombies from One Piece:
One Piece's zombies
Lord Fly kinda reminded of this psychopath from Hunter X Hunter:
Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou:
d173.diamond.fastwebserver.de/series/HunterXHunter/0349-004.png
4824094 "There's a lot more to this kid that there seems." That's exactly what I'm hoping for. All of the character points established for him in this chapter are hallmarks of bad OCs: improbably skilled at a young age (five wights at once, when trained soldiers fall to just one? plz), possession of supernatural powers or weapons (nice sword), even the hybrid species thing to a lesser extent... All he's missing is raven-black
hairfeathers and a melodramatic backstory!Ok so the circle is now working on the "nuke" part of "Nuke it from orbit" so I got the current power level about right.
The problem is, Winter will need to get much more powerfull to be as strong as the unkillable, unfightable eldrich abominations discribed by Lovecraft. I think I might lose my bet. Wait, I have to lose the bet or there would be a paradox...though that would make it pretty eldrich... hmmmm...
Bring on the madnezz. bring on the battle. Uh... Maybe not yet but still... The 'early' skirmishes is getting more and more intense.
And this little bit is for the device that Pan created. It just feel funny to me.