The world shrouded in the eternal night. A regime formed to protect the changed lands of Ponykind. And soldiers who will do what is right to protect citizens from monsters that dwell in the darkness by becoming one with the darkness themselves.
Dusk Spectre's veteran experience as a Lunar Legionnaire can only go so far to prepare him for when a routine patrol through the Everfree Forest goes badly wrong, and an ensuing fight for survival becomes the situation for him and his squad.
Now surrounded by unholy magical monsters craving for the taste of Ponies, will their skill and resolve be enough for them to escape to safety? Or will the God-Empress' protection abandon them, their enemies too strong and numerous, condemning them to die standing as soldiers?
A mighty ringing sound shatters Dusk Spectre’s sleep, a whistle being blown with full force by the garrison’s stallion Earth Pony commander who hustles down the lines of bunk beds, blowing the whistle more and even directly at those slow to react. RRRRRRRR! “Wake up, you fruit addicts!” RRRRRRRR! He spouts with conviction, such a display soon mobilising every Bat Pony Legionnaire in the barracks to awaken. What moments before was a dead silent pitch black room, now teams alive with dozens of troopers rapidly making their beds and standing at attention, cyan coloured torchlights across the walls illuminating the barracks after having been lit by magic from Unicorn lieutenants accompanying the commander.
Rushing as fast as possible and disregarding his tiredness away to the best extent, Dusk Spectre completes his bed and stands to attention alongside his comrades, everypony dressed in dark purple and black attire of the Lunar Empire’s uniform. A few late comers were smoked by the commander, having been “encouraged” to do better next time, but before long everypony was ready for what was to follow, something the commander made clear as day, “If you cave dwellers can move as fast through the obstacle course as you are at making beds, I just might start being impressed. Let’s see how quick you are this time without wings. Move out!”
“Yes sir!” Shouts every soldier back in unison, turning to jog out of the barracks in systematic lines following the commander, Dusk amongst them and in the front quarter.
Upon exiting the barracks, silver rays of the full Moon that stands almighty in the star-filled sky’s centre above shines across Dusk Spectre's body, a subtle chill from the wind traveling up his spine that despite said silver rays being magically enchanted by the Moon to provide daylight warmth without the brightness, still makes him shiver initially. However with each passing moment of physical activity from the running, Dusk’s body soon warms until the temperature was no longer a bother.
The soldiers run through the courtyard of the restored Castle of the Two Sisters (now named the Lunar Castle) and out the front gates, their route predetermined through the immediate area of the Everfree Forest surrounding the castle to be a series of twists and turns broken up by prolonged straight stretches filled with small hills and trenches to traverse. Several obstacles were also placed throughout the trail such as monkey bars to climb across, walls to scale, barbed wire to crawl under, weighted ruck bags to transport to various checkpoints and vertical logs to weave around, in addition to pull-up bars to be used, jumping jacks and push-up sessions along the way.
“Let’s go, you mango munchers! I want to see the same enthusiasm for this that you would have for eating that fruit!” Demands the commander, leading everypony through the trail; a behaviour that the Lunar Empire prides itself on for having superiors who lead by example and from the front, just as their Night Goddess did during the Civil War.
It would total to one hour of this rigorous training until completion, consisting of not only the physical demands but also the mental demands of having to repeatedly recite the Empire’s constitution and praise the God-Empress in perfect timing, all with fanatic zeal. Plenty of troops had fallen behind with heavy panting and slacking postures only to be “motivated” by the Unicorn lieutenants, who brought up the rear, to stand up straight and continue running longer. Dusk himself was one such Pony to fall behind halfway through the training and receive “encouragement”, but by the final quarter he had managed to regain his initial position in the group and keep it.
Breathing deep inhales and exhales, Dusk at last runs out of the Everfree Forest as the imposing Castle fills his vision with its shadowy silhouette, morale-breaking battlements and piercing tall spires - the finish line. Fuelled by final drops of energy Dusk reaches the courtyard and comes to a stop within it, soreness aching across his muscles, his lungs burning. The Bat Pony hangs his head alongside his comrades, all panting and attempting to recover as fast as possible with the commander (seemingly not as exhausted as everypony else) yelling for them to stand up straight, “Real Legionnaires bow to the Empress, not to fatigue!”
More and more soldiers return to the courtyard across every moment, more and more taking their time to at last recover now that the training has finished. A couple minutes after Dusk’s return marks the final trooper’s arrival and the lieutenants trailing him with profanity for being last place. For a few moments longer preceding everypony having recovered fully, Dusk scans the surrounding group, noting 8/10 of the Legionnaires to be stallions with the rest mares, all of whom including himself now being ordered to, “Find your battle buddies and stand at attention together!”
Dusk obliges, searching for his companions with haste, ducking and weaving between others in the large bustling group until he catches sight of them; four other Bat Ponies, three stallions and a mare, waving him over. Jogging to his squad, Dusk soon stands between them and at their centre, displaying a straight proud posture alongside the others. In what was a random though fast alteration that took seconds, squads of the Lunar Castle’s garrison are now arranged in symmetric clusters worthy of an empire’s troop formations. Walking between the ranks, the commander firmly assesses the squads with a prying gaze, shouting at some ponies to dust their uniform down, stand up straighter, or to take a few steps back/forward to be in perfect line with others, his lieutenants offering the same for each column.
Eventually the squads were arranged in satisfactory formations within the Castle’s courtyard, surrounded by the fortress’ towering stone walls that were draped in banners of the Lunar Empire’s flag, the symbolism embracing everypony who were present. One particular large flag that the troops all face consists of the commander standing beneath it, flanked on both sides by his lieutenants, as they too retain a formal posture and firm analytic expressions.
Taking a deep breath in, the commander begins, “Never forget, the Ponies standing shoulder to shoulder with you embodies the most powerful weapon any soldier can have; their brothers and sisters in arms. You can have the sharpest of swords, the most resilient of armours, and the most destructive of spells, but all of it will pale in comparison to what the undying determination of a soldier's morale can offer, fuelled by fighting for their fellow Ponies.
“The Lunar Empire was not founded on the efforts of a single Pony, but with the blood, sweat and tears of many. Even our God-Empress Nightmare Moon required us mortals to win the Civil War and vanquish the tyranny of the Solar Empire. So never forget the importance of your fellow Ponies. Fight for them, they are your strongest weapons and you are theirs’. Praise the Moon!” Burning with imperial faith, the commander holds out a straight hand to draw an imaginary C in the air before pulling said hand over his heart - a drawn crescent moon being pulled into his heart - the salute of the Lunar Empire.
“PRAISE THE MOON!” Shouts every soldier back, including Dusk, in a volume to rival the Canterlot Voice, all present performing the same salute and not one a moment out of timing.
“Bat Ponies, report to your assigned combat training yards at the appropriate time your squad was given! Let’s see if your dummy killing skills are as remarkable as your fruit killing skills.”
Swords clash amongst the combat training yard, metallic collisions resonating throughout the midnight air all around, Dusk Spectre’s squad practicing with the weapons. Sitting on a wooden bench off to the side of the open arena (a perimeter marked with fixed blocky stones surrounding a circular area of dirt), Dusk observes while leaning forward with fixed attention the light green-coloured Pegasi mare instructor with deep-blue eyes parrying, dodging and striking back at one of Dusk’s companions, a tall black stallion Bat Pony with slit orange eyes and a green mane called Midnight Wraith. Both were equipped with real fine-crafted imperial swords that glimmer silver in the moonlight, both donning the dark lavender and light purple coloured armour that was the signature of Lunar Empire soldiers - their experience and training having advanced enough to warrant the use of real equipment.
CLANG! CHING! CLANG! CLANG!
Across several minutes the instructor displays little effort in defending herself, rarely breaking an otherwise perfect stance and martial form, all the while wearing down Midnight’s stamina with a mixture of slow heavy blows combined with quick light strikes, practically dancing around her opponent until at last a final swing of her sword’s razor-shape blade comes within inches of Midnight’s exposed neck - ending the duel and what would have been his life in a real confrontation.
Gritting his teeth, Midnight sheathes his blade and wipes the sweat from his brow, hot air from his tired lungs filling the night like mist. Allowing a few seconds for her student to recover, the instructor soon makes her advice known, “Midnight Wraith, you must work on pacing yourself. Please learn the difference between when to apply rapid strikes, and the slow big ones. You apply too many of the latter too quickly, and it tires you out too soon.”
“Understood, ma'am. I will continue to improve.”
“Then by all means prove it. Go join the others practicing,” informs the instructor, pointing towards the opposite end of the courtyard where the remainder of Dusk Spectre’s squad were present, all of who were running through standard swing and parry manoeuvres on dummies.
Offering a respectable bow, Midnight Wraith walks off to them, having soon picked his own dummy he proceeds to train with it.
Throughout the entire match Dusk had set his unbreaking focus on it, observing with a critical eye the flow of combat and making mental notes what appeared right and what did not, especially taking into account the superior’s advice for pacing oneself. Watching his companion leave, Dusk’s sight snaps back to the instructor who points her sword directly at him with a raised eyebrow, her words an invitation, “Knowing theory is only half the job, the rest is practical. Let’s see what you offer, Dusk Spectre. Have at me!”
With no hesitation and already wearing his Lunar Empire armour, Dusk seemingly jumps to his feet, approaching the arena as adrenaline begins to flow through his blood even if this was not a real battle. Stepping into the stone ring, he unsheathes his sword and holds it vertically with the correct amount of pressure, circling the arena’s inner edge alongside the instructor who did the same opposite to him, her holding the weapon horizontally.
“Your stance is great as always. I expect nothing less than a challenge from my best student.”
“I hope to not disappoint, ma'am.”
CLANG! CLANG! CHING!
A couple of clashes ensure, nothing more than probing strikes from both individuals to test the other before they resume to circle one another again at a distance, analytically watching. Waiting. “Just the right amount of force. Not too gentle to do weak damage, and not too hard to tire you out quickly. If only my ex could have done the same with his sword.”
CHING! CLANG! CHING!
“Hmmmm, don’t overextend the strikes like this, your sides are left exposed,” assesses the instructor, replicating Dusk’s attacks in slow motion vertical and horizontal swings, with the odd jab forwards - an opportunity.
“Well since you say that-“
CHING! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
“Oh you clever bastard,” she teases with a mischievous grin to match Dusk’s, both circling yet again. “You almost had me. I see your lunges have improved.”
“Not good enough though. Almost is not the same as having done it.”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
“Well perhaps you will get that opportunity now. Enough of these courteous maneuvers, time to really battle, not feel like we are at the Grand Galloping Gala dancing.”
“Gladly,” responds Dusk, determined for what was about to occur, twirling his blade to loosen up the final small areas of his muscles still resisting the exercise, now every part of him ready physically and mentally.
Performing the same, the instructor follows up by facing her other students across the courtyard and shouting them over, “Everypony, stop! Come over here and pay attention to what you are about to see, take note.”
Hearing her command, every member of Dusk Spectre’s squad lays down their arms and abandons the dummies, walking to the arena each one positions around its perimeter like spectators. Dusk eyes them all, all fellow Bat Ponies; a bulky brown stallion with orange eyes and a light purple mane (Shadow Star), another more athletic silver stallion with dark blue eyes and a light blue mane (Silver Night), a dark red mare almost as tall as the stallions with yellow eyes and a black mane (Sky Shroud), and Midnight Wraith.
“Maybe this time you can finally defeat her,” expresses Shadow Star clenching his fist, giving an approving nod at Dusk in encouragement.
“Wouldn’t that be something,” replies Sky Shroud, conjuring a smirk at the instructor all in good fun. “The student eventually has to surpass the teacher.”
“Until that happens, I’ll make you all work for it,” replies the Pegasi with a smirk back, twirling her blade again and taking the proper stance, now primed with a stone-cold face set on Dusk.
Taking a deep breath to steady his heart rate, Dusk replicates the correct stance and bites his lip, announcing, “Ready!”
CLANG! CLANG! CHING!
Dusk and the instructor’s swords collide like the sound of thunder claps, violent impacts one after the other in rapid sequence. Opening with a downward diagonal swipe at Dusk, the instructor’s move is perfectly countered by her student who blocks it, retaliating with a horizontal attack only to be met with her blade shooting vertically up in time to block also. Before another moment could pass the teacher jumps back a few feet to give herself breathing room, gripping her sword via the correct way again. Quickly not giving her a chance, Dusk lunges forwards with a jab, the instructor defending by forcing his blade downwards with a flat horizontally-held slam on it with her own weapon, Dusk’s blade harmlessly passing between his superior’s legs, missing. Oh crap!
With the stallion exposed, the mare slashes her sword horizontally at Dusk’s throat, her student throwing his head back and jumping away with mere inches of space to spare from the slash. Gritting his teeth, Dusk repositions into a defensive posture, jabbing his hoof into the dirt. Damnit! She warned me about overextending. That was too close.
Receiving an upwards right diagonal blow this time, Dusk immediately responds to it with a horizontal block, only to have the instructor rapidly and with hard force smash her sword into his in rapid cycles via downward blows one after the other, CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! forcing Dusk towards the arena’s edge, and tiring his arm out from resisting the concussive impacts. Before another blow could reach him however, the Bat Pony combat rolls out of the way and around the enemy, leaving her near the arena’s edge now and giving him some room to rest but not long enough.
The weight of his armour had slowed Dusk, those critical few seconds that otherwise would have been used to mentally reassess his options if the attire wasn’t equipped were spent getting off the ground at a slower rate - but still just fast enough to repulse his superior’s lunge by side-stepping it and getting halfway around her back. I need to go on the offensive!
Seizing an opening from the dodge, Dusk carves his blade downwards with excess energy at the back of the mare’s (leather padded protected) knee joint, the strike connecting THUMP! and the desired result ensuing as the Pegasi falls onto that knee in wide-eyed surprise, “Ahhhhh!”
With her back unprotected Dusk applies a thrust, but having expected that his foe falls forwards and escapes the finishing blow. Rapidly rolling away to escape the first overhang strike down on her, the instructor is able to get onto her back and hold up her blade just in time to connect with Dusk’s second overhang strike CLANG! fatigue affecting them both now alongside frustration, their burning narrowed gazes locked on one another like their swords pressing firmly together - and throughout all of this Dusk’s companions watch on in suspense, holding their breaths.
For a drawn out time the two combatants press their weapons into each other’s, their swords remaining crossed in stalemate, the opposing forces canceling out like one of their Night Goddess’ stars resisting its collapse. Attrition had now become the deciding factor for victory, a wearing down of strength to see who would break first and lose. Beads of sweat glide down both the teacher’s and the student’s foreheads, the latter kneeling over the prior, their bodies tense and muscles firm in trying to hold out longer than the other. At times a few inches were gained by one only to be pushed back by the other, and vice-versa - a situation that would have to collapse at some point. Ahhhhhh, come on don’t break before her! I’m so close!
Burning heat swells in Dusk’s arms, his body struggling to maintain form under such stress. Sinking his fangs into his tongue, the needle pointed tips draw drops of hot blood that he feels, spurring his resolve on longer. Becoming more desperate with each second Dusk prepares to throw his body weight forwards for a breakthrough, but having to change his legs’ positions for that caught the instructor’s attention who instantly determined what the legs shifting implied and matches the added force from her student by arching herself violently up, resulting in an even worse statement for them both - Dusk’s legs now being strained and the instructor’s abs, more of their bodies working and exhausting even more energy. Damn, I almost had her!
In the end it was in vain.
Eventually breaking despite his internal monologue shouting to continue holding, Dusk’s body gives into the overwhelming strain and in defeat he drops the sword, yelling in mixed relief/regretful defeat- only to be met with his superior who did the exact same in equal timing.
Falling onto his back atop the dirt ground next to his teacher, like their swords falling next to one another, both Ponies’ chests rise and descend in quick motions, their lungs working hard to cast away fatigue and replenish themselves with energy. And there they laid beneath the radiant rays of the full Moon, and the sparkle of uncountable stars, a nighttime breeze blowing through their manes - a beautiful view and nice sensation that they both quietly accepted, helping them to feel better, almost as if it was a reward for their struggle.
This tranquil silence was eventually broken by Dusk who, not taking his sight off the divine silver orb in the sky like his opponent did not, admitted with respect and acceptance, “...Draw.”
Receiving an equal toned reply, “...Draw.”
CLAP!.....CLAP!.......CLAP!.......CLAP!
The sudden sound of slow clapping draws everypony’s attention to its origins. Having just caught a glimpse of his companions’ thrilled looks that were on the verge of cheering because of Dusk at least drawing with the instructor, Dusk notices them all turning serious, their bodies immediately straightening and bowing forwards to whoever had approached with the clapping. Looking in the same direction as the others, Dusk’s eyes immediately widen while he scrambles to stand, replicating the same bowing gesture as everypony else with quick pats over his armour to dust it down, the Pegasi next to him performing the same. “Your imperial highness?”
“Well well well, I see that one of my Children of the Night is quite the combatant. Congratulations, Legionnaire, even if it was a draw,” humours Nightmare Moon with a fanged grin, her regal tone mischievous but with a hint of good nature to it.
Stopping before her troops, the God-Empress presents herself in a deep purple dress with silver streaks running around it in a spiral, the clothing clinging to her tall sleek body. The ends of the dress trail just above her hooves in a swaying motion due to the breeze, flowing like her starry ethereal mane and tail. She wore an exquisite glistening crown made from the purest of silver with a large striking sapphire in the centre carved in the shape of her Lunar Empire’s sigil. Her natural purple eyeshadow compliments the dress like the blue glow of her turquoise eyes compliments the crown’s sapphire, and all the while a pleasant fragrance of lavender stems from the Alicorn - divinity incarnate.
“Thank you, Empress,” replies Dusk in nervous excitement, holding the bow and his flattery in as best he can but a faint blush was making it impossible.
Noticing the soldier's blush and hearing his less than stoic answer, Nightmare Moon squints her gaze at Dusk who she makes eye contact with from the latter hesitantly looking up at her, the cute intimidation in her Bat Pony’s look making Nightmare Moon grin wider like a trickster - oh how she enjoys invoking such reactions in her subjects. “Arise, soldiers,” commands Nightmare Moon, the order bringing everypony to stand up with formal postures, their adjustment to her unexpected visit slowly occurring.
“Pardon our surprise, your majesty, but what are you doing here?” Inquires Shadow Star.
“I came to watch my dear Legionnaires practice their craft, and such a craft is far more entertaining than statecraft I assure you. As much as I find time to train in combat myself, I wish I could do it more often like you all.”
“Really?”
“Indeed. Politics was always a...tedious role for me, as Princess Luna I often left that area for my sister to handle. Let us just say that administration can become so very boring, at times even more so than when I was on the Moon,” the night alicorn confesses, still displaying a warm smile and chuckling some more only to have her look soon turn into a spicy suggestive glare while eyeing all of those present. “As such, I decided to spend my free time coming here to watch my troops train. After all, seeing Ponies in uniform work can be a very...relaxing activity. And I’m not disappointed at what I have seen, that ferocious fighting in you all is exactly why we won the Civil War.”
“...We are honoured, your majesty,” admits Sky Shroud, giving a small bow.
Casting the suggestive look away, Nightmare Moon returns to a more firm expression but one displaying full encouragement alongside her tone, “That same ferocious fighting is also the reason why I have confidence you will perform your new task well.”
“What new task is that?” Asks Dusk, noticing Nightmare Moon’s sight had fixed on him as she spoke.
“It appears tis your squad’s turn for patrol duty through the Everfree Forest. Or have you forgotten?
“...Forgive me, Empress, but I have not heard about any incidents of fatal monster attacks there in awhile. It sort of...lost its significance to me, seeing it as not as big an issue as it used to be.”
“And you would be a fool to think that.” Narrowing her eyes, Nightmare Moon turns her head to the right, towards the courtyard’s wall, and to the direction that was the nearest way to the distant Everfree Forest, her fist clenching, her voice angered, “Despite our efforts, the monsters there continue to act bold and probe the forest’s border far more so since the eternal night began - we must remain constantly vigilant or else those fatal encounters will become commonplace again, and I will NOT have those creatures harm my subjects.”
Slowly looking to the heavens and at the silver sphere that was her Moon above the world, Nightmare Moon takes in the view of it and the uncountable stars amongst it. Admiring the cosmic canvas that is her life’s greatest achievement of making the eternal night real, such imagery soothes her. Loosening her clenching fist, she shuts her eyes and takes a deep breath preceded by turning around, opening her eyes again and looking at everypony, “Monsters prowl at night, Legionnaires, but we are the night; we will be the monsters’ monsters.”
“We will not disappoint you, Nightmare Moon!” shouts Shadow Star, invoking burning determination in everyone of his fellows like lighting a fire in the cold, everypony performing the salute of the Lunar Empire.
“Thirty minutes should suffice for them all to rest and to gather their required equipment, your majesty,” explains the instructor.
“Excellent. Now….I must return to my own duties, however I wish you all the best.” POOF! And with that Nightmare Moon bursts into her ethereal mist form, the essence flying away as quiet as a whisper in the night in an almost slithering motion through the air - no wonder she had snuck so quietly up on everypony who she had been watching from the shadows.
Viewing the departure of the Alicorn until she was fully gone, Dusk turns to his fellow squad members and incites in the subordinates fevered enthusiasm, “Ready yourselves, fellow Legionnaires! We have the Empress’ blessing, let’s not squander it!”
A slit in the mighty gates of the Lunar Castle slowly grows in magnitude like the light of the full Moon pouring through it, the doors opening with mechanical rumbling to allow passage between them. Now fully opened, Dusk Spectre pauses at the gate to silently observe the world beyond the Castle; the unrivalled glow of the God-Empress’ celestial orb gazing through the gates at him and his companions like an all-seeing-eye, the supernatural blending of shadows in the far off distance that was the Everfree Forest, the passing of clouds within the night sky that blocked out patches of stars like imperial airships snuffing out city lights during war. All of it, the eternal night made real.
Looking behind him, Dusk is met with the indomitable approving looks of everypony under his command, their bodies (including his own) covered head to hoof in metallic dark purple and light lavender armour of the Lunar Empire, their arm, leg and Bat Pony wing joints protected with black leather which offers full movement and even flight though at a more exhausting rate. On each of their backs their silver swords were sheathed, in addition to a secondary short sword at their waists should the primary weapon be lost in combat. A small pouch containing food, water, a magical crystal that can glow and fade with light, bandages, disinfectant, a painkiller potion and a map of their patrol route hangs from each of their waists at the opposite side of the short sword.
“Remember to stick close to one another. Even with our nocturnal vision, the Everfree Forest is as dark as the deepest caves our kind has lived in,” warns Dusk, turning back around and taking the first step out of the Castle followed by many, him and his squad now marching on patrol.
Morphing shadows of the trees dance all around them, the occasional rustle of flora from their movement through the forest being the only noise in this deathly quiet place. The odd streak of moonlight pierces the canopy to fall onto the forest’s ground, like a lighthouse’s ray showing Dusk and the others that there was a world outside the Everfree, which due to its density you could be forgiven for forgetting even while walking shortly through it. As the soldiers travel amongst the undergrowth, their eyes scan their area in every direction, slowly assessing the environment and listening with intensity for anything suspicious. Still retaining his position at the front of the group, Dusk does his best to pick the best route to walk which offers as little resistance as possible for everypony yet even the best was not a stroll.
It had been one hour since the patrol began, however the rough terrain had made it feel longer. During that time, Dusk analysed his map every fifteen minutes to make sure they were not drifting from the route but more than once he determined that was exactly what they were doing, having to bring the squad back on path through this unholy maze of nature. But now after all this time their energy was dwindling, the Bat Ponies' pace slowing and breathing becoming more forced, some of them groaning. Stopping in place which made everypony else stop, Dusk reaches into his poach to pull out the map and crystal again. Squeezing the gem, the act commands its magic to life, allowing it to glow a faint orange hue like fire with the harder the squeeze the brighter the glow.
Holding the gem over the map, Dusk reads over the geography of what it conveyed, noting several natural features acting as landmarks for their assigned path through the Everfree Forest. One particular landmark stood out; a small stream that intersects their route that they had passed not long ago, giving Dusk a rough estimate of where they were.
Trailing his eyes from said estimate, he reads a promising location nearby that would help battle their fatigue. “There is a clearing a ten more minutes away. Hang in a little longer then we can rest there,” encourages Dusk with what enthusiasm he could muster, folding up the map to return it and the crystal to the pouch.
“Finally!” Exclaimed Midnight Wraith in a harsh whisper, stepping into the small forest clearing behind the others. Immediately taking off his helmet and loosening his chest plate straps, Midnight slumps his back against a tree. Holding the still attached chest plate in front of him, the exhausted Bat Pony’s lungs rise and fall in quick succession, having been given more breathing room to regain air now that the weight on Midnight’s chest is gone.
In similar fashion, everypony else found a place to rest either by slumping on a tree of their own, standing bent over with palms on their knees, or even laying on the ground. The clearing’s cool night air was now met with hot breaths escaping everypony’s lungs that rose like mist into the sky, quiet tired inhales and exhales being the only noise everywhere around the Bat Ponies. It would take two minute until all who were present had recovered enough to move again and speak, with the first individual to do so being Dusk, “.....Well done, everypony. A half an hour’s rest here should be enough before moving on, so get into your rations while you can.”
His needle fangs stabs the mango and carves through it, piercing its soft crust and opening up exotic juice from inside the fruit that Dusk begins to suck up, like piercing the crust of the land for oil. Delicious strong flavour falls onto his tongue, the mango succulent, only fuelling his need for more as Dusk readies his fangs for another bite, this time taking a chunk of the fruit off and chewing. “Mmmmnnnffff!”
By now every Legionnaire sat around the small clearing arranged in a circle, each trooper having undone their pouch and consuming some water and what food had been packed, mainly consisting of fruit. Quiet sounds of biting, crunching and the odd slurping was the only noise any of them made, too busy having their food and rest to make conversation.
Finishing his orange, Shadow Star turns and throws the peels off into the undergrowth where their organic nature will make them decompose into the Everfree Forest. The same Everfree Forest that he looked into, staring into the dark undergrowth where he threw the peels, the depth and bluntness of the darkness hiding everything within it even from his Bat Pony nocturnal sight and not even far from the clearing’s edge.
A chill ran up Shadow Star’s back as he turns away from that abyss of an undergrowth to look upwards at the overarching trees that, with their dead branches and towering height, rose into the air with sharp points. Despite being a clearing, even the boundaries of the forest seemed to be seeping its way forwards into the open area, dozens of tree roots crisscrossing the ground as if they were tendrils reaching for the Ponies. “You ever wondered why this forest was never cleared out under Celestia’s reign?” Asks Shadow, looking at the sight of all of this with grimace.
“I heard it was because what troops she had were too busy patrolling Equestria’s borders. Considering how many times these lands were attacked such as the case with the Changelings, the Storm King, Tirek and Sombra, the troops were too busy patrolling the border for external threats like those, and wasn’t able to deal with the internal threats like the ones in this forest to any significant degree,” informs Midnight Wraith.
“Oh right, the Goddess of the Sun in all her weak pacifist ways chose to stay on the defensive against those external threats, never really solving them and also neglecting the internal ones like this,” replies Shadow with sarcastic anger. “Good thing Nightmare Moon took over, she went on the offensive against those external threats and fixed them, allowing us to now fix the internal ones.”
Having a break from eating a banana, Silver Night points at everypony present, asking, “Have any of you been to the satellite states recently?” To which shaking heads was his response from all.
“Why?” Questions Sky Shroud, listening as she begins to drink some water.
“Apparently there is news to further expand the Empire’s borders from them, this time across the ocean. A friend of mine said a few expeditions have already been launched to scout those unknown continents, thanks to the Hippogriffs.”
“Let’s not dwell on what’s happening half a world away please, focus on the here and now,” interrupts Dusk Spectre, finishing his mango.
For a few moments following that the clearing returns to a soft melody of biting, crunching, slurping again. And like last time the trend was broken, this time by Midnight, “Speaking about internal threats, I haven’t heard any news from the Solarists in a long time.”
Like Shadow, Silver throws his banana peel away and turns to Midnight, offering a slight snare, responding in detest, “They, like their false Empress, are still in hiding. They could be planning something big if their activities these past few months are negligible.”
“Really?”
“....It’s only a guess. I’m not an Inquisitor, you should ask one of them if they would even give you the information in the first place.”
“Ha!”
“Hey, Shadow, didn’t you apply to become an Inquisitor?” Asks Sky, looking to her companion as she begins to eat a pear.
A groan escapes Shadow, his large shoulders slumping. “I did...but that’s ancient history. I’d sooner recite the entire history of the Three Tribes than the history of my failed attempt of joining the Inquisition. Let’s just say…Inquisitors are suppose to notice details inside the Empire, and I always was more of a big picture thinker.”
“You should have tried joining the Shadowbolts like me. If you prefer the big picture, I’m sure flying at cloud level would give you a very big picture of the Empire,” replies Sky, making a wide fanged grin and giving him a wink.
“Oh haha!”
Rolling his eyes, Dusk moves onto a different item in his pouch, pulling out a carrot and beginning to munch on it which catches Silver Night’s attention. Conveying a disappointed face like a father stallion would to his child colt, Silver slowly shakes his head at Dusk, joking, “Tsk tsk, you traitor.”
“What?”
“What kind of Bat Pony are you, preferring vegetables over fruit?”
“The one that breaks the stereotype? Hey, I just like vegetables as much as fruit,” replies Dusk, looking humoured with a palm resting on his chest as if hurt by the remark.
“I knew it! You have been spending too much time around those Earth Ponies, their agriculture has gotten to you.”
“Like you spent too much time around the Unicorn nurses?” Retaliates Dusk, giving a fanged smirk at his opponent which had an immediate effect on Silver Night as the latter’s cheeks turned red with a blush, the past coming back to haunt him.
“....That was a real injury!” Defends Silver, extending his leg and pointing at his knee to emphasise the point despite the armour he wore masking the scar on his skin there.
“Sure, and Crystal Ponies are made out of real crystals.”
Silver squints his eyes at Dusk, the tables having been turned against him and the situation being made even worse as Shadow Star joins in, “Come on, Silver, I saw that arrow graze your knee not impale it.”
“So? It….could have been a poisoned arrow and I had to go stop the injection.”
“Riiiiiiight. Did the nurse suck the “poison” out of you?” Teases Dusk, about to take another bite of his carrot but instead directs it in a back and forth motion, sucking the vegetable in a clear analogy to sucking something else.
“N-no! Wha...you..oh shut up!” Complains Silver, leaning forwards and facepalming himself with both hands in strong embarrassment, hiding from the others who all burst out laughing but all in good fun. Even Dusk couldn’t resist to join in on the laughter, their enjoyment of it uplifting each of them and making even the Everfree Forest not feel so scary.
After needing a few minutes to regain composure, the Legionnaires soon return to a state of quietness, some of them having a few more of their rations, most however just sitting quietly and waiting for the half-an-hour break to expire.
Leaning forwards with his chin resting on his palm, Dusk’s mind begins to wander just like his line of sight. Slowly looking up, the squad leader’s view comes to rest on the full Moon and stars. Reminiscing over the many years ago since the last time he had seen the Sun and the blue sky of day, out of the corner of his eyes Dusk notes that a few of his fellow Ponies had followed his observation and was now looking at the same eternal night he was. “It all happened so fast,” he admits, taking a deep contemplating breath of air.
“....You don’t regret it do you?” Asks Sky, unable to turn away from the heavens, like the others.
“Of course not. Our Empress did what she had to do, her subjects did what we had to do…….It’s just…sometimes I can’t help thinking what could have been. If the Civil War could have been avoided.”
“I hear you. But it couldn’t have, you know that.”
“I still can’t believe it, despite living through it. One day the Sun turned into a blazing fire, the Moon rising to cover half of it. And just like that, gone was the Equestria of old. Years of warfare took hold of these lands, but finally the Sun fell from the sky and in its place-“ Dusk stretches out his palm and pans it across the sky, presenting the firmament, speaking in a tone soft with pride but almost hurting, “This; “The Moon never sets on the Lunar Empire.””
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! “Hey, remember what you said about focusing on the here and now?” Interrupts Sky, snapping her finger and replying in a firm but encouraging tone to bring Dusk back down to earth.
Quickly blinking his eyes and shaking his head clear, Dusk reforms his focus away from the sky and places it onto Sky, a little perplexed but otherwise fine. “...Yeah, you are right. Sorry.”
Giving a small smile and nod at Dusk, Sky stretches out her legs and bat wings, making a subtle moan while doing so. Such a gesture signals her body’s awakening once more in readiness to get moving again, as she starts to re-strap her armour on to fit right. “Which direction are we going in?”
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Sky’s initiative produces a ripple effect amongst the group, everypony reequipping their armour with metallic CLICK!s while having a few stretches to readjust to the attire. Dusk finishes up on his and pulls out the map and crystal again, assessing the route before placing said items away and pointing to the undergrowth in the appropriate direction. “It seems we go this way. Before long we will reach-“
“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
An air piercing chilling howl floods over the clearing that came from deep within the Everfree Forest, originating in the exact same direction Dusk pointed to. Frantic movement takes control of Dusk as he shoots to his feet with wide eyes, unsheathing his silver sword and gripping it firmly in both hands in a fighting posture, his pulse suddenly racing in a fight response to fear. In the blink of an eye, his fellow Legionnaires follow suit, doing up their armour at a rapid speed before creating a defensive circle around the clearing’s centre, all of them brandishing their silver swords that gleams in the moonlight like purity incarnate, their armour doing the same with its alluring dark purple and light lavender shine.
“Timberwolves,” growls Shadow between gritted teeth, scanning the undergrowth with the focus of a magnifying glass, his ears peeking up like receiver dishes. “How far away are they?”
“That howl lasted 5 seconds, which puts them at a distance of-“
“It’s Timberwolf for “we know where you are and are very close to attacking you.”,” interrupts Silver, glancing over at Midnight who he had interrupted. “How many did the academy say are usually in a pack?”
“I think six, at least.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” confirms Dusk squinting his eyes into the hidden undergrowth, trying to spot the slightest shift of flora that would give the Timber Wolves away as not even the faintest of breeze was blowing to mask it, the air hanging thick with tension.
Haunting silence engulfs the soldiers, painstaking waiting dragging on from that point onwards. Each of them remain set on high alert for their opponents to appear, each watching, waiting for anything that could be a threat. Anything.-
Shifting shadows at the very edge of Dusk’s line of sight occurs, the plant life rustling and the forest parting ways for a mass that was rapidly moving towards him and the others. “Over there, get ready!” Commands Dusk, pointing in the appropriate direction just as additional rustles came into view accompanying the first - more than one threat rushing them. “Attack!”
“WAIT!”
The Legionaries' charge ceases within a few steps of it starting, the momentum of their armoured bodies carrying them a little extra forwards to stop within arms reach of what had erupted from the Everfree Forest, what had just spoke that word; three civilian Ponies (two stallions, a mare and all three Earth Ponies) stand before Dusk and his squad, saddle bags hanging from their bodies, their shirts and pants dirty with mud and cut in some place while leaves and twigs pollute their manes. All of them look upon the troops with frantic eyes combined with exhausted breathing, their voices full of overwhelming relief. “Oh soldiers, thank the Empress!” Exclaims the dark yellow mare with reds eyes and an orange mane.
“Citizens, what in the stars are you doing here!? The Timberwolves, are they pursuing you?” Demands Dusk, looking over their shoulders at the direction the three new Ponies had run from, watching for any sign of pursuit, still clutching his sword like the other did theirs’.
“Yes, but we managed to get some distance between them.”
“Why are you here?!” Shouts Silver, repeating Dusk’s original question as he and the others remain on high-alert, observing the forest while walking backwards to the clearing’s centre, softly pulling the civilians to follow.
“For this,” answers one of the stallions (a dark green individual with a brown mane and orange eyes) upon reaching the clearing’s centre and no longer moving. Undoing his saddle bag, he pulls from it a large rose with burning red at its centre and golden triangle pattern adorning the petals.
“A flower?!”
“This is Aether Rose. It’s a magical flower that only grows in this forest.”
“Why do you need it?” Inquires Sky, making sharp glances at the citizens and holding them in the corner of her sight but paying more attention to the surrounding forest, just like all her fellow Legionnaires who once more formed a defensive circle, now encompassing the new Ponies.
“My foal, he is badly ill with Pony Pox, but a very rare kind of Pony Pox. I learnt from reading about the illness that only this flower could cure it otherwise he will die!” retorts the stallion, placing the flower back into the saddle bag and pulling out of it a poster-size folded up sheet of paper to replace the rose, unfolding it and holding it up. “One book had a map of where in the Everfree Forest Aether Rose could be found, that I copied.”
With the help of his fellow stallion (a light blue individual with a black mane and purple eyes), they held the rudimentary pencil-drawn map up for the soldiers to see; a sea of dark crosses surrounds a collection of closely spaced circles near the paper’s centre that was labelled Aether Rose. A single thick dark line flows out of the circles which twists and turns within the mass of dark crosses, avoiding large triangles and passing through smaller, less blunt, lines amongst the crosses, this main line leading to the very edge of the paper where a series of symmetric squares were drawn labelled Ponyville.
After several glances over at what was being unfolded, Dusk nudges the Ponies on his sides (Midnight and Shadow) and gives a silent “watch” motion command with his hands to the section of the forest he was scanning, indicating for Midnight and Shadow to split it in half and for one of them to watch an extra half and one to watch the other extra half while he attended to the civilians.
The same stallion who was helping to hold the map uses his off hand to reach into his saddle bag, bringing from it a magical light crystal like Dusk had used to read his map earlier. With the primitive looking map now illuminated, the stallion who had created it points at the symmetrical squares of Ponyville and explains, “My friends and I live in Ponyville. As you can see, it’s not far from the Everfree Forest.
“We gathered some supplies and weapons and left to find the Aether Rose,” he further elaborates, tracing his finger from the squares and along the single thick black line while drawing attention to the large triangles it goes around and the smaller twisting lines it passes over, “Even though the route avoids tall hills and the largest of the rivers, we still had to go get over the smaller ones and through the smaller streams.”
Finally, the civilian's finger comes to rest on the cluster of circles in the heart of the crosses - Aether Rose “We finally did find the flowers after a long and tiring trek and we were heading back the way we came-“ his finger reverses over the path it took along the thick black line, however it suddenly stops part way along it and not even far from the Aether Rose “-But we heard Timberwolves howling between us and Ponyville, they had cut us off.”
His finger does a sudden sharp turn and moves into the dark crosses, quickly traveling away from Ponyville to the opposite side of the paper and over its edge, concluding with, “We have been fleeing them for hours. We have been trying to escape the Everfree Forest and reach the Lunar Castle to get safety from the Empress if the Timberwolves were still following us, and a few supplies for the long walk around the Everfree Forest back to Ponyville.”
Folding the crude map up, it along with the magical light crystal are placed back into their saddle bags as the stallion takes a step towards Dusk, desperation in his tone, “Please help us. My foal needs the Aether Rose, we don't know how far behind us the Timberwolves are but they have been getting closer and closer. I don’t know if we could make it out of this place without your help. Please help us!”
A tightness grips Dusk’s chest upon hearing this pleading, the same intensity of pleading being silently shown in the bleak fearful looks of this stallion’s two companions, who both await without a sound, holding their breaths.
By the Empress! Dusk grits his teeth and runs a hand through his mane, taking a couple small pacing steps to process everything and think as clear as possible. Soon he meets the stallion face-to-face once more, asking, “You said you had weapons, what kind of weapons?”
Bringing his hands down to his waist, the stallion seeks to bring said weapon of his fourth with the action catching the attention of his friends who did the same for theirs’, retrieving the objects from their waists. In a few moments the civilians hold their weapons up; three dull single handed axes, one for each Pony, with a kitchen knife in each of their offhands as backups. “We don’t have swords like you soldiers, or any armour, but these have to be better than nothing. You’re our best hope to make it out of here, help us please! Help me help my foal!”
A sinking weight swells in Dusk’s stomach once he notes the weapons(?) the citizens have, everything coming to him in a daunting revelation - these Ponies are exhausted and afraid from fleeing for hours through the monstrous Everfree Forest, Timberwolves pursuing them the entire time while Empress-knows-what else could be in here with them. Their only weapons being no better than low-quality makeshift tools to fight off said horrors, and all in an effort for a father to save his sickly foal from death.
Dusk’s breathing becomes heavy, his heart racing. He swallows a hard lump in his throat and draws upon every bit of focus and zeal he could. We can’t leave them here. We must help these Ponies! “Okay okay, we can escort you out of the Everfree Forest and back to the Lunar Castle. Stay close to us and-“
“Timberwolves!”
Midnight’s cry precedes the trampling of plants around the clearing’s edge and the thunderous scrapping of branches on branches. A hellish growl rings from the darkness, with its only friend being the piercing glow from a pair of green demonic eyes in the blackness. Their owner leaps from the undergrowth and into the clearing - a snarling Timberwolf charging the group of Ponies just as other green soul-piercing eyes appear around the clearing’s edge……..
The first Timberwolf rushes towards the closest Pony to it - Silver Night. Large sprinting strides from its powerful legs closes the distance in no time, the creaking of wood that was its joints lasting only for a moment before the beast leaps at its prey.
Concussive force slams into Silver which, even with his metallic armour on, still blows wind from his lungs. Impacting the ground hard, the Legionnaire was able to twist his sword in the split second before the leap, and still during the fall, so that the blade impales the Timberwolf’s upper jaw as the animal falls on him with its mouth wide-open aiming to rip at Silver’s throat.
A loud canine growl of pain sounds off from the Timberwolf, the sword driving straight through its snout as its lower jaw snaps wildly at the air just inches from Silver’s neck, adrenaline coursing through the Bat Pony’s veins as he heaves to keep the mighty animal away from him, its front paws swiping in the air just above his chest. “Stab it! Stab it!”
Swiftly reacting, Shadow Star drives his sword straight into the Timberwolf’s glaring glowing green eye, the shafting of metal breaking wood ringing fourth as the blade pierces the Timberwolf’s skull. An even louder growl of torment comes from the animal before Shadow withdraws the weapon and stabs the beast again with it, this time at the throat.
POOF!
A sudden bright flash of green mist surrounds the Timberwolf before it fades as fast as it manifested, the results apparent as the Timberwolf’s body collapses into a lifeless mass of sticks and logs, its piercing eyes gone, all sentience having left the creature that was now dead.
Swiping away the many sticks covering him, Silver gets to his feet as fast as possible with the help of Shadow who pulls him up, the two soldiers turning back around to face the Everfree Forest’s undergrowth where eight remaining pairs of Timberwolf eyes flared at them with vengeance and hunger, some of them breaking off from the main group and running around the clearing’s sides left and right.
“They are flanking us! Don’t lose sight of them!” Orders Dusk Spectre, resulting in Sky Shroud, Midnight Wraith and two of the civilians repositioning to cover the group’s back and sides while Dusk, Silver, Shadow, and the last civilian covers the front.
Making simultaneous attacks this time, a Timberwolf charges Sky just as another charges the civilian, a pincer manoeuvre occurring as the beasts attempt to divide their prey’s attention. The Timberwolfs’ swiftness seems almost supernatural, but now more prepared than Silver Night was, Sky throws her bat wings out and jumps into the air with the help of a powerful flap of her extra limbs, dodging the Timberwolf’s pounce.
Twisting around mid fall, the mare points her gleaming silver sword downwards at the monster under her, using gravity for extra force and her own bodily thrust with the weapon to shove the sword deep into the Timberwolf’s head and out of its chin as she lands on the animal’s neck. A harsh snapping of wood occurs during the attack along with a tormented roar from the Timberwolf as the creature rears up on its hindlegs to throw Sky off it, but just as her body was sent backwards into the air, the Legionnaire violently pushes her sword horizontally through the Timberwolf’s neck with further wooden breaking sounds signalling the creature’s neck being broken.
POOF!
Just like its pack mate before it, this Timberwolf’s body collapses into a pile of lifeless plant matter and ethereal green mist, however the inertia of its movement still carries over to Sky who finds herself briefly flying across the forest clearing, coming to an abrupt stop, her body slamming into one of the trees, her ribcage taking the majority of the impact.
SNAP!
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Cries out Sky, seething pain flaring from her chest as a rib shatters, her body falling to the ground.
At the same time all of this was occurring, the citizen pony (one of the Earth pony stallions), rolls out of the way of his own leaping Timberwolf with only inches to spare from its wooden stakes for claws. Getting up in a crouching position as fast as possible, the stallion tightly clenches his axe and swings it horizontally at his attacker’s stomach, the use of his powerful Earth pony strength embedding the weapon deep inside the Timberwolf with half the handle disappearing inside fractured branches and cut leaves, the blade lodging itself in a large internal log that the stallion struggles to pull it out of. Like its companions, this Timberwolf reacts to its injury with a growl of pain and rage-
The citizen’s eyes go wide with shock at the glimpsing notice the Timberwolf’s forepaw turning towards him at a frightening speed in preparation for a slash. Throwing himself backwards with such force to fall to the ground on his back, the act barely allows the stallion to dodge the worst of the swipe - but not the entirety of it.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Screams the citizen, a sensation like piercing fire tearing across his chest as one of the Timberwolf’s stake claws struck him there, specks of red blood flying in the air from the wound.
Short-lived shaky images of the world swirls within the citizen’s vision until it becomes clear again, dread flooding him as the mighty Timberwolf snarls with bloodlust vengeance, its emerald eyes burning. Frantically crawling backwards on his back in a hopeless effort to get distance from the beast, the stallion rips the kitchen knife from his waist and holds it up in a pathetic attempt of intimidation which the Timberwolf ignores.
In the blink of an eye, the monster drives its mighty back legs down in preparations for a final finishing pounce on the citizen-
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
SNAP!
Yelling with battle ferocity, Midnight Wraith dashes forwards with powerful flaps of his bat wings so fast it takes moments for the citizen to register what was happening; the Lunar soldier striking the Timberwolf akin to bayonet-charging an enemy as he skewers his silver sword directly through the beast’s mouth and out the other end, more harsh snapping of wood breaking against metal ringing fourth as a result. His charge saving the citizen’s life.
The hilt of Midnight’s weapon lodges itself between the wooden fangs of the Timberwolf, preventing the animal from closing its jaws but not stopping its rage being made real as it thrashes around, forcing Midnight to iron grip his sword and make chaotic flaps of his wings to try and not be thrown like Sky was.
Risking it, Midnight moves one of his hands away from the sword’s hilt and grabs his short secondary sword at his waist, compensating with extra strong wing beats to not be thrown however the weight of his armour and the force of the Timberwolf’s thrashing was rapidly degrading his strength.
“Die! Die!” Exclaims Midnight, gritting his teeth and savagery stabbing his secondary blade into one of the Timberwolf’s fiery emerald eyes several times in quick succession.
Swallowing her fear, the mare citizen rushes over to her stallion friend and helps him to stand despite the lingering stinging of his lightly bleeding chest scar. Brandishing their weapons, the duo rush to the aid of the Legionnaire, the mare swinging an axe at the Timberwolf’s neck and the stallion stabbing the creature’s other eye, both doing so in quick succession like the trooper, both striking the Timberwolf two times each before-
POOF!
Life abandons the creature, its body collapsing into dead flora remains that Midnight falls into, the final sound of snapping wood occurring as the Timberwolf’s remains breaks the fall of the soldier, the weight of his armour burying him under the pile of wood which he soon starts casting aside to get out of, the citizens helping by pulling sticks and logs aside, pulling him to his feet.
A final attack from the Timberwolves comes from the front again, two pairs of ethereal burning orbs for eyes rushing out of the abyssal undergrowth of the Everfree Forest and straight towards the ponies, one going to the left towards Dusk Spectre and the last (stallion) citizen, and the other to the right towards Silver Night and Shadow Star.
Unlike its predecessors, the beast who attacks Silver and Shadow poses for a leap dangerously close to its prey but drops the act at the last moment, making the Legionnaires to raise their swords directly straight and up at an angle - the wrong direction. With the fake out complete, the Timberwolf rushing forwards and a bit to the side, by the time Silver and Shadow realises the deceit it is too late.
Being the closest to the Timberwolf, Shadow takes its attack. The animal opens its jaws and bites down hard on Shadow’s weapon hand-
SNAP!
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
The only sound of breaking this time being that of bone, Shadow’s wrist exploding with pain as the beast’s solid wooden stump and small stakes for teeth slams into it like a vice, making Shadow drop his sword and almost fall to his knees from the anguish.
Adrenaline surges through the injured soldier’s body like a solar flare erupting from the Sun, his reaction speeds heightening. Using his off-hand, Shadow rips his secondary short sword from his waist and drives it butchery hard into the Timberwolf’s neck several times, enragement on his face, his yelling vindictive. “You- STAB! fucking- STAB! bastard! STAB! Go- STAB! to- STAB! Tartarus!” STAB!
The relentless repeating assault on the Timberwolf from Shadow forces the animal to release its bite, its cries of pain soon chillingly ending as fast as it begins from Silver’s attack; leaping into the air behind the Timberwolf due to strong flaps from his bat wings, Silver clenches both hands around his sword while holding it over his head like an executioner would. Using gravity’s help, the Legionnaire crashes down to the ground, swinging his sword vertically with all the strength he can at a weak point along the Timberwolf’s neck, the loud SNAP! resulting from the strike out doing all that comes before it.
Silver’s blade slices straight through the Timberwolf’s neck and out the bottom, the creature’s skull falling to the ground from the decapitation just a second before it and the rest of the head’s body POOF!s out of living to become another lifeless mass of inanimate plant matter like the rest of its fallen pack mates.
Holding a defensive posture with sword in hand, Dusk stands ready next to the last stallion citizen who also holds a similar posture with the axe-
In the final moments before the charging Timberwolf leaps at them, Dusk shoves the citizen to the side and out of danger while he side-steps the jumping Timberwolf. Swinging his sword with brutal precision and speed, the Legionnaire leader cuts straight through one of the Timberwolf’s front paws during its mid-fall, preventing the creature from supporting itself during the landing.
SMASH!
Smashing into the Everfree Forest’s ground, the Timberwolf carve slides ahead several feet digging up dirt and shrubs as it went until finally stopping, roaring in shock, pain and frustration.
Struggling, the Timberwolf attempts to make a quick awkward stand atop its legs but the one missing woefully slows it down - a fatal hindrance the Legionnaire leader exploits.
Jumping through the air due to quick strong flaps from his bat wings, the full Moon hangs at Dusk’s back as he accelerates to the ground and slams his plated hoof into a weak point in the Timberwolf’s neck, SNAP!ing it.
Simultaneously as his hoof finds its target so does his sword, Dusk brings the razor sharp weapon vertically down (while still standing on the broken neck of the Timberwolf) to skewer his sword straight through both the animal’s upper and lower jaws.
Gritting his fanged teeth, Dusk rams the weapon to the side at a tilted angle, forcing the upper and lower jaws to part ways left and right, SNAP! breaking them, just like the Timberwolf’s neck.
POOF!
And with that, this adversary dies like the rest, Dusk snapping his angered sight to the other piercing green eyes hidden in the Everfree Forest’s undergrowth as they lock gaze with him, his palms tight around the sword’s hilt and ready to brandish the weapon again at a moment’s notice, his armoured body standing victorious on the corpse of their fallen pack member.
For a full minute the two stare at one another, Bat Pony and Timberwolves almost assessing each other for any hint of weakness or flaw in their readiness to continue fighting - deathly hunger in the Timberwolves’ ethereal demonic eyes, and protective zeal in Dusk’s as bright as the God-Empress of Ponykind’s full Moon in the heavens overlooking them.
The way the monsters dwell hiding their bodies in the undergrowth implies they are almost afraid to step into its light, but more truer is them afraid of Dusk and his soldiers as the latter uninjured ones reposition around their leader in battle-ready postures, resulting in the green orbs in the darkness vanishing, the rustling of flora and brief shaking of the undergrowth signalling the Timberwolves’ retreat and the Ponies’ victory(?)
“...…They’re gone. We are safe for now. But they will be back….and in greater numbers…”
Performing agonisingly slow adjustments to roll herself over and sit up in a more comfortable position, Sky Shroud makes quiet grimaces from the odd tender spike of pain from her broken rib, made the more worse from the battle fatigued panting she needs to make to regain energy. Every too deep breath forces said tenderness to flash again, but as her mind works to dull the pain via adapting to it the best it can, Sky’s breathing also steadies again before long.
Sinking her back into the tree trunk she was thrown into, the mare reaches for her helmet and takes it off, rubbing her eyes. “Remind me to thank the blacksmiths when we get back,” says Sky, running a palm down to the caved in section of her breastplate, feeling the battered metallic material that was the impact site of her body slamming into the tree - the armour having performed its purpose of protection masterfully or else her injury of a single broken rib could have been far worse.
After assessing the armour’s damage, Sky reaches for her satchel bag hanging at her waist and takes from it a vial containing a sparkling blue fluid that thankfully did not break from the battle. POP! Pulling the cork off, she takes a big gulp of the liquid and swallows it down before closing the vial again and putting it back in her waist bag, breathing a gentle long sigh as the painkiller medicine goes to work.
Meanwhile, Shadow Star makes the same effort to heal himself by drinking his own painkiller potion. Kneeling on the damp Everfree Forest ground, the stallion grabs a hold of his waist bag with his still working hand and holds it up to his fanged teeth to awkwardly bite it and pull to loosen it up.
Once the bag is open, Shadow puts the bag down and takes the potion out. POP! Biting and pulling the cork off, he too takes a single gulp of the metallic tasting fluid and swallows. The dull burning sensation at his broken hand almost immediately cools to a more bearable feeling, a higher degree of movement of the hand being granted but even a moderately fast reposition of it would cause said pain to flare again - Shadow’s weapon hand still useless.
The final causality is one of the stallion civilians who gives into the need to lay atop his back across the undergrowth dirt and mud that he was knocked onto, taking steady breaths. Pulling up his tattered and filthy shirt, the stallion observes a single slash mark strewn across half his chest, the scar given to him (by the dead Timberwolf he lies next to) not fatal by itself, but still bleeding at a modest rate, small trails of red running down his body.
“By the Empress!” Whispers the dark green, brown mane and orange eyed stallion between gritted teeth, flinching from the stinging soreness of the large cut now that the immediate danger of fighting was gone, making his brain register the wound with higher focus.
Slowly pacing back and forth to clear his thoughts about what happened, out of the corner of his eye Dusk Spectre spots the hurt civilian, stopping the pacing and recognising him as the stallion father had the Aether Rose flower with the goal of using it to to save his ill colt.
Sheathing his sword and replacing it with his own painkiller potion, Dusk approaches and kneels next to the hurt Earth Pony, nudging the vial at him, explaining with a stoic expression but with a tone concernful, “Here have some of this. It should help you feel better.”
Offering a faint smile, the citizen obliges and takes the vial, consuming a mouthful of the blessed fluid then giving it back to the Legionnaire, an immediate lessening of the stinging from the scar following. “Thanks.”
‘Don’t thank me yet,' replies Dusk, placing the vial back into his satchel bag to pull a different vial out from it that holds a dark orange fluid which Dusk opens POP! and holds up in one hand next to a medical cloth in the other hand, also from said satchel bag. “This will disinfect your scar…..but it will sting.”
Swallowing a lump in his throat, the citizen’s eyes show a look of acceptance despite him not saying a word, something Dusks notes. Taking a deep breath, the Earth Pony reaches for a stick from the nearby Timberwolf’s corpse and places it into his mouth horizontally, ready to a firm bite down on it. Giving Dusk a nod, the citizen closes his eyes and braces for what happens next.
“Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Clamping his teeth hard around the stick, a muffled painful growl comes from the citizen at the same time he clenches both his fists, the short burning of the disinfectant covering his chest feeling like a raging fire under his skin, the disinfectant destroying all possibility of an infection forming in the scar.
The pain does not last long. With a few final rubs of the cloth Dusk finishes applying the liquid which harmlessly trickles down the stallion’s body, closing the vial the liquid came from then placing it and the cloth back into the Legionnaire's satchel bag. “Sorry, I am not a Healer. Those Unicorns are all back at the Lunar Castle. You and my comrades can see them once we get there,” comforts Dusk, placing a hand on his fellow Pony’s shoulder.
Offering a small smile up at Dusk, the citizen’s focus drifts to the sides as he looks at each of the other soldiers scattered around the forest’s clearing, either resting from their injuries or remaining on high alert for any future Timberwolf attacks - all of them Bat Ponies, “Why didn’t you bring a Healer with your squad?”
“Healers are non-combatants,” answers Midnight, standing with his sword raised at the edge of the forest’s clearing, giving passing sideward glances at the civilian and Dusk as he elaborates, but spending more focus on watching out for danger. “Those Unicorns dedicate all their magic to medical care, which does not leave much left for martial magic. They would have been a liability if we brought one with us…...especially into a place like this.”
“Not to mention that the Empire only has so many qualified Healers in the Legions,” further explains Sky, still laying her back under the tree she was thrown into. “And not in as great numbers as what the recruiters would have you think. Let’s just say…...we are more expendable than them,” admits the mare in a low tone, her voice hinting at hopelessness as she gives a waving point of her hand at each of her fellow troopers.
“But not to me. None of you are,” retaliates Dusk with no hesitation in his words, giving Sky a firm look of determination, then switching to each of his subordinate soldiers, and friends, with the same look. “We are going to make it out of here. If we got this far into the Everfree Forest we can make it out.
“And that goes for you and your friends too,” vindicates Dusk, looking back at the civilian. “The fact you three made it this far in this place, with the tools you have, is exceptional.”
“Thank you, soldier.”
“Dusk Spectre. You can call me Dusk Spectre.”
“Well….Dusk Spectre, I am Terra Hoof,” the citizen replies, giving a point at each of his fellow Earth Pony companions as he calls out their names; the light blue stallion with a black mane and purple eyes. “That is Aqua Harvest,” then the dark yellow mare with a blue mane and red eyes. “And that is Lemon Gold.”
Giving a quick wave to each of them who returns the wave back, Dusk Spectre repeats the same introductions for his own friends; the tall black stallion with orange eyes and a green mane. “That is Midnight Wraith.” The bulky brown stallion with yellow eyes and a light purple mane. “Shadow Star.” The athletic silver stallion with dark blue eyes and a light blue mane. “Sliver Night.” The dark red mare almost as tall as the others with yellow eyes and a black mane. “And that is Sky Shroud.”
“Nice to meet you all.”
Turning away from looking at his fellow Bat Pony soldiers, Dusk brings his attention back to Terra Hoof’s scar which the blood was thankfully leaking less and less from it now, the red liquid starting to clot. “I need to bandage your wound, after that you should be fine.”
Finally pulling from his satchel bag a rolled up quantity of clean cloth, Dusk starts to unravel it to a suitable length to wrap around Terra’s chest and back to cover up the scar, biting into the cloth with his fangs to cut it after unravelling said correct cloth length.
Taking off his dirty cut tattered shirt and leaning forwards for Dusk to bandage him up, the Earth Pony’s sight is unable to look away from the Everfree Forest’s environment; the cage-like canopy of dead branches complimenting the floor’s tree roots surrounding the clearing like tendrils of this unholy forest frozen mid process of reaching for the Ponies, the deathly quiet dark that hides Empress-knows-what within the haunting undergrowth, and the towering trees and thick bushes whose strength and barrier-forming close proximity to one another would make fast retreat through them difficult. “......Not until we get out of this place,” replies Terra, acknowledging all of this.
Looking down at his broken hand then to his sword that fell from it to the ground, Shadow Star frowns as he picks up the weapon with his offhand. Attempting to make some twirls with the sword to get a new feel for it, Shadow spots Silver approaching to investigate, the latter asking, “How’s your swings?”
Trying to replicate the same professional slashing as what his main weapon hand would do, Shadow’s offhand produces sloppy motions for the sword as it thrusts and arches through the air at bent angles along with slower speeds, diminishing the weapon’s lethality.
Growling, Shadow awkwardly sheaths his sword with his one usable hand and equips the smaller (though lighter) secondary short sword, practicing with it just as with the primary blade and finding it much easier to use but at the cost of weapon reach.
“...Maybe I should have taken those dual-wielding classes after all,” regrets Shadow, still trying to adapt his secondary hand to fill the primary’s role.
“Surely it can’t be as bad as that one time you challenged one of the Empire’s Changeling Spies to a game of poker,” jokes Silver, getting a quick look of embarrassment/annoyance from Shadow.
“I-I was drunk. I was not thinking straight.”
“Then you must have been as hammered as metal on an anvil. Everypony knows how good Changelings are at deceit.”
Overhearing the stallions, Sky joins in, joking all in good fun. “True, but I guess it just takes Shadow losing 80 Bits to learn what everypony else knows as common sense. Tuition well spent.”
“Hahahahahaha!” Sliver bursts into laughter from Sky’s words, the laughing contagious as the mare herself soon joins in.
Snapping to both his fellow Legionnaires with a stronger expression of shame, Shadow stutters, “S-shut up you two! Hey at least I’m wiser now!”
“Hahahahahaha!- Ahhhhh!” The laughter, having carried on for a short while, dies by Sky’s painful cries from her broken rib, a nerve being struck as she grits her teeth, cursing under her breath.
Shadow and Silver become serious, worried they both walk over to their fellow Legionnaire and look her over. “.....How bad is it?” Inquires Silver, spotting the beaten-in section of the mare’s armour where her broken rib is.
“I’ll live. The pain only comes if I breathe too hard or quickly…..looks like that includes laughing too much.”
“...I am guessing flying or running is out of the question than?” Asks Shadow.
“And fighting…” Responds Sky, looking Shadow in the eyes before drifting her sigh down to his broken weapon hand - too relatable. “...Effective fighting anyway.”
Making the bandage wrap around Terra one last time, Dusk Spectre bites into its end with his fanged teeth and cuts it there. Tying off the fabric, the act signals his last step for patching up the civilian as best he could as complete….even if only a much smaller amount of bleeding is occurring, it is still bleeding regardless-
Hoof steps approaching from behind gains the squad leader’s attention. Giving a final nod at Terra who gave a nod back, Dusk gets up from his kneeling position and turns around, meeting Silver Night whose hand gestures coax Dusk to follow him away from Terra.
Several steps halfway across the forest’s clearing, gaining distance from Terra Hoof and everypony else, Dusk and Silver stop to look at each other face to face. “Things are not looking good for us, Sir. Shadow’s weapon hand is broken and so is Sky’s rib, neither of them can fight well.”
Sir? Ponders Dusk, mentally repeating the same way Sliver addressed him…..recognising its meaning as a habit his friend does when the squad is in danger. A habit Dusk notes Silver still has not broken over the years since their battlefield deployments during the Civil War.
Processing his friend‘s assessment, Dusk resists the urge to look at the ground despite a foreboding weight landing on his shoulders. Taking a breath, he questions, “How are those two holding morale wise?”
“All things considered, they seem to be thinking straight. But...you know-“ Silver’s eyes begin to drift away from Dusk’s, an almost jittering movement to them while they look around at the Everfree Forest surrounding them- “….some the stories you hear of this place-“
Dusk puts a firm hand down on Silver’s shoulder, instantly snapping his fellow Bat Pony’s focus back to reality. Conveying his fangs in a gritted snare, Dusk levels at the taken aback Silver, “And that’s what they will stay as for us; stories, fictional ones at that. You’re a soldier, Sliver, not a writer. You keep your imagination on a short string, do not let it get the better of you. Understood?”
Making quick blinks, Sliver feels a tightness in his stomach loosening due to his superior’s words and conviction. Calming down his pulse, Silver replies without fear, his mind set on a purpose, “Acknowledged.”
“Good,” states Dusk, letting Silver go, returning to a more analytic expression and normal in tone. Anything else?”
“How’s the citizen?”
“The bleeding has mostly slowed, but it is not stopping. We need to bring him to a Healer back at the Lunar Castle as soon as possible before he loses too much blood.”
“So what’s the plan, Dusk?”
Silence. A soundless phase that stretches on. Within that time Dusk’s mind buzzes with what information about the situation he has, trying to organise it and think of what should be done next. Eventually formulating something, Dusk announcing, “Everpony, come here!” As his hands reach into his waist satchel bag, retrieving the magical light crystal and the map, both being the same ones he used to guide the squad to this clearing in the first place since leaving the Lunar Castle.
Squeezing the crystal, its torch-light illumination allows Dusk to find a dry patch of dirt on the ground to lay the map out on. Placing stones on its corners to stop the item from blowing away, Dusk then crouches next to it. As everypony gathers around the map and crouches down as well for a better look, several of the Legionnaires (Midnight, Silver and Shadow Star) stay standing as sentries for the group at its edge, though still looking over at times at what was being shown and still listening to what is being said.
“Okay listen up, here is the situation,” begins Dusk, pointing at a circular, open-to-the-sky, red spot on the map engulfed by a green sea of dense trees all around it stretching across the map. “This is where we are.” The only breakage to the canvas of trees being the random looking blue lines running through it all (representing streams) and the tightly wrapped black circles representing rapid increase in elevation (such as hills) scattered around it too.
Dusk then withdraws his finger and lands it near the very edge of the map, atop a large formation of thick black squares and circles (representing buildings) each inside another outwards from smallest to largest. “This is where we need to be. We have to get back to the Lunar Castle as fast as possible to stop Terra’s wound from bleeding.”
“Is it…..that serious?” Probes Terra Hoof, worry the foundation of his words while he looks down at his tattered shirt to place a hand over the spot his bandaged scar is under it...a dull pain resonating from the action.
“At the moment no, but I have seen wounds like that during the Civil War…..it is only a matter of time until when, not if, it will be serious.”
“Okay so we need to get to the Castle fast. Can’t you Bat Ponies fly us there?” Wonders Terra Hoof’s friend, the light blue stallion with a black mane and purple eyes called Aqua Harvest.
“At first glance that would be the best option. But it has some serious problems. Look,” directs Dusk, bringing everypony’s attention closer to the map as he grips the magical light crystal harder to shine it brighter.
Suddenly whole sections of the forested areas of the map changes from bright green to deep dark green, the crystal illumination revealing the lighter green portions concentrated around the Lunar Castle and stretching outwards from it at uneven distances, like a splat of paint colour atop another paint colour.
With his offhand Dusk points back at the red circle within the forest that is the clearing everypony is currently in, proceeding to make a slow direct line trace with his finger from the clearing to the Lunar Castle on the map...that passes directly through the dark green section of the map through almost its whole journey.
“I am the best flyer here, but even I can’t make it 1/3 that distance without stopping to rest, and that was with all my equipment. Having that and carrying a whole other Pony would be worse,” admits Midnight Wraith.
“What does that have to do with this?” Asks the civilian dark yellow mare with a blue mane and red eyes named Lemon Gold.
“A direct flight route to the Castle would be fastest, but would need us to land several times in unmapped territories of the Everfree Forest, fatigued, while we rest. These unmapped areas would almost certainly have monsters in them that could ambush us while we are weak,” explains Dusk.
“....Is there another option?”
“Yes. You see this path?” This time Dusk Points his finger at the red circle clearing again, but now traces it across the map over a bright red winding path that twists and turns through the illustrated landscape until eventually ending at the Lunar Castle’s front gates. “That is the patrol route my squad and I took to get here. It is relatively much safer than the alternative.”
“But it is the long way around. Much longer too,” observes Aqua Harvest.
Running his palm through his mane, Terra Hoof bites the edge of his lip, his breath becoming faster, stress swelling in him. “The bleeding can’t be that bad...right? I mean….I don’t feel bad.”
Shaking his head, Dusk replies without a drop of hesitation or doubt, “Again I am not a Healer, but I am telling you a wound like that is fatal. The bleeding is not stopping, your time is running out for us to get you help, Terra.”
Strength seemingly abandons the Earth Pony’s legs, his body swaying for a moment before falling. Before the fall, the quick actions of his friends (and nearest Ponies) manages to take hold of Terra and slow the descent, easing him to the ground for him to kneel.
Shocked realisation manifests as a deathly lost look on the citizen’s face, his posture defeated and afraid. Looking down again at the section of his chest where the slow bleeding would be under the shirt, Terra’s eyes go wide as a red patch is now present there - the fall having made his shirt press against the wound, and the muscle’s sudden readjustment sending dull pain from it. “Oh no. Oh Empress…..”
“Terra. Terra Hoof, look at me, look at me,” firmly coaxes Dusk, snapping his finger several times in front of Terra’s face to no avail. “Terra!”
Breaking out of his hopeless daze, Terra snaps back up to face Dusk eye to eye at their crouching level, the map separating them.
Tightness grips Dusk’s chest, his efforts to stay professional becoming harder and harder as he offers Terra a softer tone, hopeful at what needs to be done, “I am sorry but we cannot dwell on this, we can’t afford the time to. I need you to focus, work with me and everypony else please. We can do this.”
A pause follows. A time of optimistic reassessment for Terra as he swallows a lump in his throat, his breathing resuming to a normal rate, his body and voice regaining determination. “Okay. Okay. I am listening.”
“Good,” congratulates Dusk, giving a small smile.
Taking a deep breath, the veteran Legionnaire ponders a little while longer, ultimately coming to realise what could be done, meeting everyponies’ gaze with his. “...Okay so, everypony, ideally we should have two choices. We can either go the long route, but risk Terra’s life in exchange for relatively better chances the rest of us will make it. Or we can go the direct route, giving Terra much more time to get help but have a higher risk of further monster attacks, and while we are fatigued….That’s being ideal.”
“.....But because of my broken rib, we can’t fly that fast through either route. Meaning Terra will have less time to get back to the Castle,” further explains Sky Shroud.
“Meaning….taking the long route would be almost guaranteed fatal for Terra,” confirms Midnight Wraith.
“....I guess the direct route is our only option-“
“What?! No, you cannot be serious,” retorts Terra, fear and hopelessness of the situation turning into outrage for it, no more hesitation in the Earth Pony. “You just said how dangerous the direct route will be!”
“We don’t have a choice,” retaliates Dusk, slamming his finger down at the map where their positions are on it. “We are out of options. No Pony else is coming to save us, to save you, in time!”
“There is always a choice! I am not risking my friends’ lives and the rest of you for mine. I can make it through the long route. If I start passing out, hit me to keep me awake, splash water on me, anything!”
“You will make it out of that long route as a corpse! And I am not going to let a colt lose his father under my watch.”
“So what, you want to gamble losing everypony else?! Deep down I knew what I was risking coming into this cursed place, but I still had to get the Aether Rose to save my colt.” Standing up, Terra Hoof unlocks his satchel bag at his waist and shows Dusk the Aether Rose inside it in all its large flora burning red coloured centre and golden triangle pattern petals glory and rarity. “And now that I have it…..my friends can give it to my boy if I do not make…”
“Terra…-“
“No, Lemon!” Retorts Terra, looking at both Aqua Harvest and Lemon Gold. “You both knew something like this could have happened, yet you still came along.”
“This is madness.”
“We are not going the long route! I am not sacrificing you for us. We are soldiers, we make sacrifices for civilians, not the other way around!” Demands Dusk, standing up to glare at Terra.
“You will be sacrificing other civilians with you if you go the direct route!” Shoots Terra back, matching Dusk’s glare with his own.
“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way.”
“Really? Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?”
“I-“ Dusk opens his mouth to fire back but falls short, Terra’s words hitting him like a battering ram, not a sound coming out of the Bat Pony…….
The clearing becomes quiet as a ghost, everypony feeling uneasy while looking on at Terra and Dusk, everypony awaiting and wordlessly wishing for some kind of resolution to occur - a period of time that feels like it drags on for so much longer than it does in reality. Every moment agonising.
Soundless nothing……...
Eventually Dusk surrenders, his angered expression giving way to deadness, no colour in his eyes. Looking at the ground in defeat, the Legionnaire's posture slumps somewhat, no possible argument back to be made, the truth clear as the daytime of old…
“.....That’s what I thought,” says Terra, looking at the ground as well, his own sense of brokenness potent….
Dusk’s gaze drifts onto the map beneath him, his mind questioning how all of this happened and how they could get out of this. His mind torments him, his consciousness struggling to find something, anything, to help everypony reach safety without harm... Impossible. It is impossible. We are not going to make it out of the Everfree Forest….at least not all of us maybe. At least somepony probably won’t….
“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” Terra’s breaking rhetorical question replays over and over again for Dusk, the undeniable truth it contains overwhelming.
“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ...No, I can’t.
“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ...Somepony may die, at least one may die...
“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ….I do not know who, but at least one might not make it.-
“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way. Recalling his own statement, it soars within Dusk’s mind like a piercing force breaking free, its significance something his consciousness can not ignore, it complimenting Terra’s statement after Dusk’s accepts this truth of the situation……..-
And then it hits Dusk, the responsibility for what needs to be done is undeniable, non-negotiable.“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way.” No, not we. You all could still make it that way.
“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?”
“....Yes,” answers Dusk, looking back up at Terra and everypony else, his slit eyes narrowed, his fists clenched.
“C-Come again?”
“Yes I can promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route,” promises Dusk, his words resonating through gritted fanged teeth.
“But the monsters, the Timberwolves, will have to attack us again there.“
“The Timberwolves will not be there….if they are busy pursuing something else.”
“Something else? What do you-.....” Terra’s eyes blink, his words ceasing to move from his throat - a daunting look of revelation in the Earth Pony’s eyes. “You mean…...”
“Somepony else. Myself. I will be a diversion and pull them away from the route,” declares Dusk with no fear, flaming zeal for the task ahead burning in him. “I am the best fighter here. I have the best chance of fighting them off once they come for me. I will try to follow along as best I can, but I will be sure to keep them away from all of you.-“
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A demonic sound carries through the air as spine chilling as the mythical winter blizzards of the Wendigos, the howl of hunting Timberwolves originating from deep within the Everfree Forest’s unseen depths. The howl, a hunting howl, signals the pack of beasts are on the prowl once more, out for revenge on the Ponies who survived them during the first encounter.
“They are coming!” Growls Dusk, picking the map up off the ground and placing it back into his satchel bag with haste. Equipping his silver sword and the magical crystal light, Dusk’s posture displays battle-readiness as he walks past the group towards the direction of the Timberwolves, commanding, “Midnight, I am placing you under command of this squad. Your orders are to lead everypony to the Lunar Castle ASAP and as safely as possible!”
“It will be done!”
“Move out!”
“Legionnaire! Dusk Spectre!” Shouts Terra, stopping Dusk just at the border of entering the Everfree Forest’s undergrowth, the latter turning around to face the prior. “...Thank you.”
“...It’s what a good soldier does.”
“I won’t forget this. Ever.”
Holding out his non-weapon hand straight ahead to draw an imaginary C in the air, Dusk pulls said hand over his heart - a drawn crescent moon being pulled into his heart - giving Terra the Lunar Empire’s salute, then receiving it back, finally expressing the best of wishes, “.....May the Empress protect you. And may you save your colt.” With that Dusk Spectre turns away, vanishing into the darkness of Everfree Forest’s depth.
With purpose the Bat Pony advances towards the Timberwolf menace, his mighty Lunar Empire armour not slowing the pace, his razor-sharp imperial-crafted silver sword in one hand, the arcane crystal light shining in the other (complimenting his Bat Pony nocturnal vision to grant Dusk Spectre full visibility).
The distant and ever decreasing volume of flapping wings from the other Legionnaires sounds off until disappearing altogether - leaving Dusk alone without any further help.
Just before the gorgeous glow of the full Moon disappears from sight overhead behind the Everfree Forest’s trees, Dusk gazes up at its protective, gentle, watchful place in the heavens; a shimmering tear falls from Dusk’s eyes, his hand holding the warm magical crystal light over his heart for a prayer.
“….may you save your colt.” Please, God-Empress, please I beg you to let him succeed where I failed.
Small groups of faint silver rays from the full Moon descend through the Everfree Forest’s canopy at uneven intervals, producing a mystical glow of shadows within the undergrowth of thick foliage that twists and turns like a natural maze. The barely-existent passing of wind breaks up the otherwise stone-like stillness of the branches and bushes to make them sway, the air itself almost afraid to pass through such a wicked place of nature.
In addition to the gentle wind passing through the plants, Dusk Spectre's rustling movements amongst the undergrowth are the only sounds within all of this. The soldier's pace is steady and senses heightened for any sign of danger. His main hand grips the silver sword with battle-ready tightness while his offhand hand holds up the magical light crystal for illumination, the arcane item complimenting the solider’s natural Bat Pony nocturnal sight to grant full visibility.
Dusk’s mind continues to pay attention to roughly how much time has passed since his departure from the others, his travel speed constant not only to conserve energy for fighting but also to estimate how far he has traveled from the clearing in hopes of helping him to pinpoint his location on the map he brought when the time comes to check it.
Every once in awhile Dusk comes across a sizable gap in the Everfree Forest’s canopy allowing a clear line of sight to the Empress’ stars, his focus set on a particular bright celestial body that was the North Star - a tool further useful for navigating the eventual retreat back to the Lunar Castle-
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Five seconds. They’re close! Very, very close!
If he makes it back……
The Timberwolf howl originates from a frightening distance, an encounter with such cursed monsters imminent because of that howl’s duration being one Dusk remembers Midnight Shroud and Silver Night informed earlier as Timberwolf for “we know where you are and are very close to attacking you.”
Dusk’s heart races, his muscles tense, his breathing rapid. Terror anticipation for what is to come drowns out the rest of his bodily and thought processes to mobilize them all for the fight response, combat readiness becoming him.
Catching another glimpse of the North Star, the trooper briefly crouches to a stop to pull out his map with haste and reveal its feature with the light crystal. Using the North Star and his distance estimate, the soldier determines a rough position of his location on the map that he scans speedily, questionable looking shadows at the edge of his vision forcing Dusk to snap around up, left, right and over his shoulder a few times at the haunting undergrowth for the entire time this happens.
Dusk’s gaze fixates on a specific part of the map not-too-distant away from where he is; a potential clearing like the one he left from. Doubt about said clearing’s existence however rises in the Legionnaire at the same time as conviction to reposition to that location, the rough guesses of the unmapped sections Everfree Forests’ layout being shown having been collected by aerial scout parties who flew over it - no Pony who actually set hoof in it. It does not matter, it is the best nearby place I have and the best chance I have.
Casting aside his doubt, Duks puts the map away, stands up and begins jogging to said possible clearing, anticipating for its open space to allow much greater space for maneuverable dodges and sword swing attacks than the tight undergrowth he is in at the moment.
Further and further the solider rushes towards his objective, the ever growing sound of parting foliage he soon blitzes through playing on paranoia that some of it is the Timberwolves pursuing right behind him, Dusk’s adrenaline building in concentration the longer such thoughts play out...
Several times the wish to look behind to put said thoughts to rest comes up, only for the wishes to collapse away every time due to the non-negotiable speed the Threstal is traveling at to get to the clearing in time - said speed running a high risk of colliding into one of the trees or tripping into the bushes ahead he weaves around if he does not watch where he is going above all else, thus forcing his paranoia-fueled adrenaline to continue building in quantity…... I need to get to the clearing, the Timberwolves are almost here!
Yes! At last his destination is reached.
Erupting out of the treeline into the clearing, Dusk Spectre welcomes the open, flat, ground all around him, the convenience of having it instead of the rugged, cluttered, undergrowth relieving.
Now slowing to a walk, Dusk’s breathing takes its time to decline from a rapid rate to a more controlled steady one, exhaustion minimal due to effective pacing. Recovery comes ever more easier now that clear night skies bathes the Threstal, the access to clear air a blessing in contrast to the thick mixture from the shrubs-
Dusk’s body freezes in place upon reaching the centre of the clearing and at the sight before him, a cold hardness manifesting in his stomach, his eyes widening while also looking up at what towers over him; a mighty stone cliff leading to a plateau above. Oh no….. The cliff having been missed from the scouting parties flying far above it, its existence on the map not recorded….
The seriousness of having such a landmark standing opposed to the soldier soon sets in, his mind contemplating what options are available, ….That cliff is too smooth, too steep and too high to climb. I could try flying up there. But with all this equipment…- The Bat Pony pauses to glance down at his full body armour, primary sword and short secondary short, then behind his shoulder at the Everfree Forest he came from - in the direction of the monsters coming from it for him. -and the fatigue I will have after fighting the Timberwolves…..I won’t be able to fly to its full height.
Dusk runs a palm through his mane, grinding his teeth together. ...Abandoning my equipment is out of the question. Even if the less weight does let me reach the top of the cliff, I will be armourless in the Everfree Forest…..and Empress knows what else I could come across in this place without it…
Turning his back on the cliff, the solider stands facing the shrouded depths of the forest all around him, his weapon hand stabbing his sword’s blade into the dirt under hoof. The only way out is the way I came in….
The gleaming silver hue of his sword at the corner of his vision eventually brings Dusk’s attention to it, the stunning shine of it reflecting the greater stunning shine of Her Majesty’s full Moon that the Bat Pony turns to look behind him and up at; the celestial orb’s glow so beautiful, its unpolluted light rays of purity travelling through the deep void of space that surrounds it everywhere, the Moon’s gentle light like a lighthouse amidst that abyssal black ocean of unknown.
Aching awe of such beauty fills Dusk, his heart beating with appreciation so much that his eyes become watery. Empress….
Grasping with both hands his sword’s pommel that contains the carved platinum insignia of the Lunar Empire, Dusk continues to hold the weapon vertically into the ground as he takes a knee with it. The full Moon stands higher, more grandiose, at his back than even the mighty cliff face that traps him…..the mortal soldier taking a pray as he stares with fear/courage into the void of dark-magic-tainted trees and unholy monsters, “...Oh God-Empress, Nightmare Moon, hear my words. I plea for your blessing, I plea for your strength. Please spare this faithful subject from the-“
A piercing bright-green pair of infuriated eyes appears within the void, demonic slits settting on the lone trooper, Dusk’s faith remaining unflinching, his gaze not looking away from the Timberwolf’s
“Please spare this faithful subject from the nightmares of the night, for you are the night incarnate that protects us all. Please offer this faithful subject the-“
Many pairs of equally frightening eyes manifest within the darkness, all focused solely on Dusk, all burning like the hottest flames of Tartarus. Suddenly the eyes begin to rush closer all at once, the distant sight of foliage being trampled and shoved aside displaying the Timberwolves’ ferocity. Yet still Dusk continues.
“Please offer this faithful subject the power to resist the horrors in the shadows, including the horrors hiding in his soul’s shadow. And please, God Empress of the Night,-“
Their bodies come into view now; savage animals of plant-matter and wicked arcane power that were never meant to be. Their spiky shoulders and legs compliments the sharpness of their fangs that snarl vendettively, their need for vengeance incalculable.
“And please, God-Empress of the Night, Nightmare Moon, please allow this faithful subject’s actions to not be in vain. I beg of you for my friends and the civilians with them to return to your loving embrace unharmed.”
Standing up, Dusk Spectre rips the sword from the ground and takes a battle posture, his slit eyes glowing their cyan colour, his vampiric-like fangs on full display in enragement, his bat wings outstretched.
“For the night is dark and full of terrors.”
The first Timberwolf bursts out of the undergrowth straight towards the Legionnaire, its firm thighs and calves pumping away during the rapid charge before tensely crouching for a leap at its prey.
Jumping backwards and using his wings, with a single shuttering flap that sounds like the air breaking, Dusk dashes out of reach of the beast’s attack, causing the Timberwolf to stumble to a semi-fall/stand upon hitting the ground again.
Not giving his opponent time to prepare for another action, the stallion jumps forwards with another big wing flap so strong it throws dust up and sounds like a whip cracking.
SNAP!
Ramming his sword straight into the Timberwolf’s chest, Dusk’s single strike holds so much force and precision that the shattering of the animal’s wooden body parts there sounds off just moments before the rest of the wooden limbs break also.
POOF!
The Timberwolf collapsing with a burst of harmless emerald energy into a lifeless mass of motionless leaves, branches and logs - dead - before it could roar in pain. One down!
Quickly taking another defensive posture, the trooper spots within the undergrowth the ethereal green eyes of two more Timberwolves advancing to attack from the left and right simultaneously, moments before they too pierce into the clearing, the left one closer than the Timberwolf to the right.
Get down! Thinking on his feet, Dusk crouches just in time to barely evade the left Timberwolf’s leap which overshoots him, while managing to hold his weapon’s blade up and skewer the monster’s stomach as it falls onto it and over him.
SNAP!
Heaving the Timberwolf over himself with the considerable help of its forward momentum, Dusk’s move results in the beast crashing to the ground but the sword lunges itself into its victim during the act and is torn away from the soldier just as the Timberwolf on Dusk’s right arrives.
Oh fuck! Wide-eyed shock forms on the Threstal’s face as he half shoots up straight from the crouching positions and throws himself back in hopes of escaping the new Timberwolf’s far-reaching jump but to no avail-
CRUNCH!
“Ahhhhhhh!” Screams Dusk, pain registering at his left shoulder, the Timberwolf’s jaw biting down hard into it with countless small sharpened stakes for teeth that just pierce the armoured shoulder pad there, Dusk’s skin now punctured but (due to the armour) not too deeply.
Using its superior weight advantage and the Bat Pony’s already backwards moving motion, the Timberwolf slams Dusk onto the ground across his back, pinning him there with its jaws lodged in place, stuck in the armour.
SLAM!
“Gahh!” A sharp winded exhale shoots from the stallion’s lungs upon impact, glaring Bat Pony and Timberwolf’s eyes locking face-to-face with the latter jerking its head around like a rabid dog to pull its lodged teeth out of its prey’s armour, tearing at the plating. At the same time the creature’s hind legs slam down on Dusk’s legs to further restrain him, the armour down there helping to absorb the impacts but still not completely blocking the pain. “Ahhhh!-“
Enough! Before his arms could be pinned, Dusk shoves his hand down to his waist with his non-injured arm and rips the secondary short sword from its sheath, proceeding to rapidly stab the weapon into the Timberwolf’s eye and neck several times by ferocity-fueled adrenaline and revenge. STAB! “Get-“ STAB! “off-“ STAB! “of-“ STAB! “me!-“ STAB! “Die-“ STAB! “you-“ STAB! “filth!-“ STAB!
POOF!
Like its packmate before it this Timberwolf also dies in an arcane burst of harmless green energy, freeing its foe from its pin. Throwing aside the now dead pile of plant matter covering him, Dusk clenches his teeth in an effort to ignore the stinging pain at his bleeding shoulder that is forced to adapt to the combat strain on it for survival.
Getting to his feet as fast as possible, Dusk makes a run for the first Timberwolf that thankfully stayed paralysed across the ground, twitching and making soft whimpers in pain from having the Legionnaire's sword still lodged in its body.
Spotting the many more rapidly approaching Timberwolves from their devil green gazes in the Everfree Forest’s darkness and wanting to put his opponent out of misery, Dusk bites down on the secondary short sword’s hilt and holds it horizontally in his mouth for rapid access. Tearing his primary sword out of the wounded Timberwolf, the trooper brings his full strength down with an overhead vertical swing of the weapon at the monster’s neck.
SNAP!-
POOF!
A clean decapitation that kills the savage in an instant, Dusk spitting on its “corpse”. Go back to Tartarus-
They’re still coming?! Snapping back towards the non-ending assault from the Everfree, another pair of Timberwolves pierces the clearing but unlike the last pair this one does not bother with flanking, instead making a direct rush for the Bat.
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
In a sequence of quick and strong wing flaps, Dusk kicks up loose dirt on the forest ground that blows at the Timberwolves, the majority of it landing in the eyes and nostrils of the right one who staggers to a stop, wheezing and blinded.
Having separated one Timberwolf from the other, the solider takes the opening for a vertical swing down on the remaining one still attacking. Committing to the move, the swing’s momentum soon prevents it from stopping until completion, much to Dusk’s short-lived shock as the Timberwolf manages to weave out of the blade’s way at the last moment to sink its jaws into the Bat’s calf.
“Ahhhhh!” Screams Dusk, a similar puncturing injury occurring at his leg like it did at his shoulder, the sudden jerk backwards the Timberwolf then does forcing its opponent down on one knee. Block it quickly!-
Spitting out his secondary short sword, Dusk catches it mid fall and drives it into the Timberwolf’s open maw of a mouth that is withdrawn from the calf and lunging towards its enemy’s throat.
CRUNCH!
Stabbing into the Timberwolf’s upper jaw, Dusk lodges the weapon in there to prevent the beast's mouth from clamping shut, having just done so within a breath away from his throat being bitten.
Not letting up, the stallion uses the armoured plating surrounding his fist to punch the Timberwolf right on the snout, Gahh! Bludging the Timberwolf’s sensitive nose and forcing the animal to rear its head back in pain - Dusk mentally yelling from the punch’s injury to himself, the hardness of the Timberwolf’s body enough to bruise his knuckles. Finish it!
Using the newly created space for it, the Legionnaire takes his main sword’s hilt with both hands to shove the weapon through the Timberwolf’s chest a few times until it is done, yelling why doing so, “Ahhhhhh!”
POOF!
Dusk not realising the Timberwolf had died after the first strike, the follow up ones overkill. You brought this on yourself.-
“Bastards!” The stallion grimaces, rushing to stand as two more Timberwolves arrive to reinforce the now recovered Timberwolf that his earlier wing flaps had blinded - three in total to fight now alongside no shortage of more coming from the shadows. There’s too many, take off now!
Crouching down then lunging his body upwards FLAP! Dusk leaps into the air in collaboration with another air-cracking pump of energy from his wings, escaping just in time to barely avoid the outstretched claws of the jumping Timberwolves that fail to grab ahold of his legs.
Flying into the sky before stopping to hover in place at forest canopy level, Dusk pants harsh breaths while sweating. His heart beats maddeningly with a grip still iron around his main weapon in one hand and the secondary weapon in the other (that he snatched from the Timberwolf’s corpse while crouching for takeoff), duel wielding both.
By the Empress….. The full extent of this Timberwolf pack becomes known soon after the Bat Pony hovers out of their reach - twelve demonic beasts of nature eventually making their way into the clearing and circling beneath him like sharks beneath the ocean to a swimmer on its surface. Dusk having just fled from being overwhelmed.
Staring down at his foes, the solider watches them with intensity for a minute, trying to identify the alpha amongst them, a potential prime target for future attacks-
There you are…. Realises Dusk, spotting a group of three Timberwolves snapping their jaws at the others who stray out of position, one of them the alpha and the other two the second-in-command betas.
Clenching both swords tightly, Dusk grits his teeth, pondering while not looking away from the enemy leaders, Should I go for it?.....
The close proximity of each Timberwolf never changes, their body language on the verge of retaliation for any move against them, their numbers too high. Losing his firm grips, Dusk now holds his weapons more comfortably, cursing, Dammit. It is too dangerous, it is not worth it.
Still hovering in the air, the trooper sheaths his swords and replaces them with the painkiller potion from his waist satchel bag. The sparkling nature of the blue fluid is made more obvious within the moonlight at Dusk’s back POP! the Bat Pony removing the flask’s cork and taking a big gulp of the liquid down, its bitter taste a small price to pay for the more tolerable stinging burning at his bleeding shoulder and leg calf.
Placing the flask back to replace it with a shimmering orange one and medical cloth from the same bag, Dusk groans as he pours some of the potion onto the cloth, trying to motivate himself. Just do it, it won’t last long…..-
“Gahhh!” Dusk hand then squeezes the soaked cloth above his wounded shoulder, the magical disinfectant dribbling onto the injury to incinerate any chance of infection forming there and safeguarding it further. Come on, just one more time…..- “Ngahhh!” The same action occurring at the hurt calf.
With damage now treated as best as it can be given the situation, Dusk puts the disinfectant away with the painkiller and takes one final look down at the still circling Timberwolves, seeing small specks of his blood dripping down to them, his expression contemptible. Let’s try not to get injured again… Before his sight moves to the stars, spotting the North Star once more and turning in the north-west direction at the horizon - to the safety of the Lunar Castle. …..I cannot fly that full distance without stopping to rest, but hopefully I can put enough distance between myself and these creatures…..Hopefully...
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAPS!
And with that Dusk flies away like a shadow in the sky, the Timberwolves vanishing into the dark forest after him, the dripping specks of blood from their prey a perfect trail they prowl after….
Straining tightness forms at Dusk’s wing joints, each flap he performs placing larger exhaustion on the soldier who now takes forced breaths of air after flying for so long, his overworked lungs demanding a break, sweat dripping down his forehead.
There. Unable to fly any further, Dusk mentally marks a spot on the Everfree Forest below him and takes a final flap, sighing as he holds out his wings to glide to the ground. Tucking in said wings upon reaching the canopy, the Thestral tumbles through the branches unceremoniously before throwing his wings up again like a short-lived parachute to catch himself from hitting the ground hard.
Rolling into the fall, the stallion comes to a stop against the trunk of a tree, his mane messy with tweaks and leaves. Grabbing the soft dirt under his palm, Dusk sighs again at the sensation of the soil, the feeling of standing on it once more to rest reassuring, his pulse and breathing already easing. “F-finally…” he pants.
Several noiseless minutes pass by, the alluring need to close his eyes for a nap tempting Dusk in that time, cast aside by the occasional light slap in the face or head shake the Bat Pony does to himself. “I cannot sleep. Not yet. Not in this place…”
On and on it goes, the absence of danger combined with the fatigue from fighting and flying persuades the stallion’s body to be at ease, despite his mind’s protests that continue to resist the urge to rest fully. Stay awake, Dusk...
Every strange looking shadow in the dark, every notice of foliage moving due to the soundless wind, every part of the environment plays on Dusk’s mind that periodically triggers with alertness that helps starve off the sleep also, in those moments his hand ready to reach for his sword or body ready to stand again. Stay…awake....
But soon it becomes too much to hold back…..
Stay…. The exhaustion. The strange comfort of the tree trunk he rests on. The beautiful sight of stars in the night sky above. The chemical afterglow of adrenaline that was flooding his veins. All of it too much to hold back…
Stay….awake?.... Closing his eyes, Dusk’s sinks into light rest, his bruised, blooded, messy and drained body overpowering his willpower to say otherwise. The Legionnaire enters much needed soft slumber, a moderate amount of disturbance able to awaken him but nothing else…………...-
Thirty minutes.
It will total thirty minutes for Dusk to recover like this, until the most terrifying parody of an alarm clock brings him to consciousness again, a sound hammering him to focus again and not forget where he was, to not forget the monster’s pursuing him.
Snapping open his eyes to end the short rest that was soothing his wounds’ pains and rejuvenating energy, Dusk Spectre grasps his sword and stands with haste, his body rising to life once more with purpose, his mind clearing the shroud of tiredness from itself quickly.
With his back against the tree (he was laying against) to prevent attacks from that side, Dusk holds a combat posture with the sword, watching the forest around him for the signature eye glow of the Timberwolves to appear again. Readying himself for another tough battle, the combatant flexes and relaxes his wing joints, arms and legs, in addition to making subtle body shifts in his full plated, black and dark purple, Lunar Empire armour.
Come on you twisted creatures, where are you? Interrogates Dusk, gritting his fangs, his heart racing, his eyes darting between the shadows and bat ears standing up straight like receiver dishes for the slightest odd sound coming from the deep unseen Everfree Forest depths…..
There you are. Almost a minutes passes by until his adversary makes its presence known; a pair of arcane green eyes manifesting in the dark directly ahead of the Legionnaire, the much denser nature of the undergrowth in this part of the Everfree Forest allowing the Timberwolf to approach closer without detection.
Charging towards Dusk, the Timberwolf soon changes to a zigzag movement that throws the Thestral off by forcing him to shift his pose constantly in hopes of anticipating which direction the creature will leap from and counter it. Stay still damnit!-
A diversion. From the corner of his field of view, Dusk spots a much closer Timberwolf rushing him from the right, its distance shockingly close so much so that the soldier can only manage to turn his head towards it in time to witness the beast leap at him. Dodge it!
Diving under the leaping Timberwolf, Dusk combat rolls out of its attack path, forcing the Timberwolf to smash its body into the tree trunk and tumble to the ground. However the weight of his armour slows Dusk’s efforts to stand again, precious time the first zigzagging Timberwolf takes advantage of.
Half standing up again, the Legionnaire tries to swing his sword around in time to strike the original Timberwolf but to no avail. “Gahhh!” Gasps Dusk, his body winded from the concussive impact of the Timberwolf’s heavy mass falling onto him, pinning him to the ground atop his back.
During the fall, the Timberwolf’s action forces the Batpony’s sword hand to turn and hold the weapon horizontally, the blade acting as a protective bar that digs into the feral creature's neck to just hold its snapping jaws and swiping claws away.
Using his (padded) offhand, Dusk grabs the pointed end of the sword and harshly jerks the weapon left and right, performing a quick sawing motion to force the blade to dig into the Timberwolf’s throat.
Pulling up in retreat, the Timberwolf stumbles away from Dusk gagging and wheezing, unable to retaliate for a critical stretch of time its opponent ceases.
FLAP!
Rushing to his feet, the legionnaire uses a strong single concussive wing flap to dash forwards, smashing his plated hoof into the Timberwolf’s damaged neck in a sideward kick.
CRUNCH!
POOF!
Breaking said neck and killing the Timberwolf-
FLAP!
Not letting up, Dusk then blitzes towards the first Timberwolf that threw itself into the tree in an almost-successful attempt of catching him off guard - an act the Thestral repays, as the Timberwolf stands just in time to turn towards the rushing Legionnaire. The last sight it sees.
CRUNCH!
Skewering the arcane creature through the chest, Dusk’s sword pins the Timberwolf to the tree trunk who gags and whose body becomes limp.
End it! Enraged with glaring eyes and snarling fangs, Dusk rips his short secondary sword from his waist to jam it into the Timberwolf’s chest and pry it open. Then shoving his fist into the Timberwolf’s chest, Dusk rips out from it a faintly glowing green compacted mass of moss and leaves - the Timberwolf’s heart.
Turning around while panting, the soldier spots several more Timberwolf eyes set on him from the dark forest all around, his exhausted agitation at having to still fight so many showing as he slams his palm closed on their packmate’s heart.
POOF!
Destroying it and the monstrosity behind him it belonged to. Abominations.
Three Timberwolves advance this time, each at an equal distance from one another in a line. Tearing his swords from the tree, Dusk duel wields both weapons and runs forwards with them to meet his foes head-on, no longer on the defensive.
Side-stepping to the flank at the last moment to use one of the Timberwolves as a barrier to the others, Dusk horizontally swipes the primary blade at the nearest beast and cuts into one of its front legs.
CRUNCH!
Forcing the Timberwolf to the ground where the legionnaire quickly stabs the secondary blade into its back twice-
“Ahhhhhh!” Fiery pain flares up at Dusk’s hand holding the secondary blade, forcing him to let go of the weapon before another strike with it could be done, one of the Timberwolf’s managing to lash out to shut its hard sharp jaws around the soldier's hand.
The animal’s wooden stake-like teeth pierces Dusk’s wrist armour to draw blood. Making the Batpony clench his teeth and retaliate with a thrust of his primary weapon straight into the Timberwolf’s neck, forcing the animal to let go and rear back just as the third Timberwolf jumps to the front to take its place.
Crouching and shoving his primary weapon up into the air, Dusk uses the Timberwolf’s weight against it to force the animal to lodge itself onto the weapon while falling. Heaving the Timberwolf aside with the help of gravity and the monster’s momentum, Dusk throws the Timberwolf away but his lodged sword goes with the creature, torn out of his grasp. Additionally the sudden excessive exertion of strength at the move’s apex forces Dusk to fall to the damp forest ground, growling from his sore muscles. Get up, you have to move!
Spotting the secondary blade he dropped earlier near the first Timberwolf, Dusk harnesses his dwindling energy reserves to quickly try crawling across the ground to the object, growling as he kicks up some dirt and mud to mess himself-
“Ahhhhhhhh!” Stabbing pain resonates from an unexpected part of the Bat Pony’s body as the second Timberwolf of the three comes back after recovering from its blow, the arcane predator clenching its jaws around the Legionnaire’s ankle to inflict a new wound.
Dusk’s armour, like the rest of his injuries, takes most of the trauma but never all of it. The too-strong-to-oppose jerking back of the Timberwolf’s head soon follows, Dusk being pulled away from the secondary sword he just barely fails to reach in time.
While still being dragged, Dusk turns onto his back and lands two solid kicks into the Timberwolf’s snout using his other (metal plated hoof) leg, resulting in the animal letting go and readying to leap at him in relapse from the momentary lowering and flexing of its back legs the Bat Pony spots moments before said leap occurs. Block it!
Extending his bat wings out, Dusk engulfs his front facing body in them like a protective leather blanket just in time, the nerveless and flexible skin absorbing most of the Timberwolf’s attack as small (painless) tears in the wings are made.
Pulling the now damaged wings back and with the Timberwolf’s head being so close to his own, Dusk grabs the monster’s jaws to hold them still before opening his mouth and jamming his vampiric-like fangs into the Timberwolf’s eye.
A growling shrill of pain comes from the Timberwolf, its body weight shifting on reflex that allows Dusk to start wiggling out from under it while still awkwardly holding the animal’s jaws away-
It's getting up! Thought Dusk, spotting the first Timberwolf of the three that is close to the Legionnaire's secondary sword slowly began to stand, recovering from its injuries.
FLAP!
Having wiggled enough away from the Timberwolf on top of him, the pony beats his wings again (that despite them being damaged, are thankfully not critically so to prevent rapid movement and flight) to send himself hurtling into the standing Timberwolf, his shoulder guard out front in a brutal battering-ram manoeuvre to stop it the Timberwolf from coming to the aid of the others.
CRUNCH!
“Gahhh!” Dusk cripples the Timberwolf, the sound of its stick-for-ribs breaking, the creature collapsing again in a hurt yelp, like Dusk collapsing with it in a winded pant from the impact.
Breathing harshly, the very end of Dusk’s energy from continued fighting starts to show, his muscles hurting, his lungs sore, his fatigue becoming too much to fight back. And as a result, soon the Timberwolf’s will be too.
Taking the secondary sword he landed near, Dusk mounts the Timberwolf he rammed to pierce the blade into the monster’s neck before violently thrusting it sideward, slitting its throat.
POOF!
Not resting for there was no time to, Dusk gets off the dead pile of foliage and runs for the second Timberwolf of the group that still stays twitching on the ground from the pony’s sword impaled through it. Rushing around the third Timberwolf at some distance, Dusk moves through its literal blind spot he caused to delay its attack, a move that pays off.
Reaching his target, Dusk rips his primary sword out from the limp beasts under him and delivers a swift stab and twist of the blade through the Timberwolf’s neck, breaking said neck.
CRUNCH!
POOF!
By now the one-eyed Timberwolf spots him, along with two fresh additional Timberwolves rapidly reinforcing it from the forest. Growling, the Timberwolves rush Dusk who the later conveys an almost hopeless shift in posture, slumping somewhat and looking truly done.
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
Taking off into the sky, Dusk retreats from danger knowing to stay any longer will guarantee being overwhelmed from the monsters. Flying into a large tree, Dusk finds a sturdy branch to collapse on, the entire pack of the remaining Timberwolves (eight remaining) soon circling the tree maliciously, glaring up at him and snarling their teeth.
Several long minutes pass by, Dusk using this god-send of a break to catch his breath. Removing his helmet to place it on his lap, the stinging soreness of his many wounds make their painful presence amplified now that the trauma-numbing ability of combat-induced adrenaline is subsiding.
Gritting his teeth whenever he moves too quickly in a certain way to constantly adjust to the uncomfortable tree branch he lays on-
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Small shuttering shakes resonate around the tree without stopping, a CHOP!ing sound coming from the ground that Dusk looks down at with an almost dead-inside expression on his face at what he sees; the Timberwolf pack, seemingly under the jaw-snapping and snarling directions of the one-eyed Timberwolf, begins to take turns claw-swiping and biting away at the tree trunk - trying to cut it down, even now not stopping to reach their Pony enemy.
“You…” growls Dusk under his breath, narrowing setting a glare on the one-eyed Timberwolf’s activity, clenching his fist, realising, “You’re the alpha…..I almost had you dammit.”
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Looking around at the nearby trees surrounding the one he sits in, a sinking sensation fills the Legionnaire at the observation that not one of them has a branch sturdy enough like this one, not one of them having another safe to rest spot once this one comes crashing down before long.
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Stronger vibrations resonate across the tree now, Dusk instinctively leaning back into the trunk for extra support to avoid slipping. Looking down at the maddening pack of Timberwolves continuing to hack away at the thick, centuries old, dead wood, Dusk soon turns his gaze to the horizon, at the full Moon, and the same direction he originally was moving towards - towards the Lunar Castle and its safety.
How much further? By the Empress, how much more!? The Bat Pony hopelessly questions, a groan in his mouth and a desperate hint in his expression being present while doing so….-
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Taking out from his satchel bag the glistening blue-fluid containing flask, Dusk gulps down the remaining amount of it with an instant relief from the aching torment across his body, the blood clotted or still slowly bleeding left shoulder, right wrist, right calf and left ankle - all places his body has been attacked by the Timberwolves - feeling less hurting.
Replacing the flask with the burning fire-like fluid holding one and an unused medical cloth (all from the same satchel bag), Dusk takes quick breaths to mentally prepare himself for their applications, something that still burns. “Grhhhhhhh!” A similar repeating sound of angst occurring for each wound he disinfects, the end of it not having any limits on how soon Dusk wishes it could come. “F-finally….”
Holding up the now empty object whose internal fire substance is extinguished, Dusk stares at the dark green-tinted empty flask that matches the fate of its pain-killer counterparts, their usefulness exhausted like the soldier's stamina….
CHOP! CHOP!- SMASH!
Out of spite, Dusk pelts the useless flask down at the current logging Timberwolf, the glass of the object shattering with enough force and with sharp enough shards to make the monster yelp and back away for a while. “Soulless bastards,” curses Dusk down at them.
Buying himself a small extra moment’s break as a result, Dusk curiously examines his primary and secondary swords’ blades and curses again under his breath; the normal razor sharp edges now chipped in places, his finger running along them to find the swords dull from overuse. Putting the swords away, the Thestral groans again as he runs a hand through his mane, agitation and concern not letting up. Okay okay, stay calm. Stop and think... I can rest up here for now, but once this tree comes down I need to start flying again towards the Castle. Dusk looks once more in the direction of the Lunar Castle, trying to draw on fleeting optimism. Hopefully I can make a good distance towards it and away from these animals before landing again.
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Hopefully…..
CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!-
The tree’s strength gives, its collapse imminent from the quick tilting of it complimenting its creaking.
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
Taking off, Dusk flies into the air and out of the way of the falling tree, its large size colliding into the ground in an almighty SMASH! that kicks up leaves and dirt, the Timberwolves having avoided the fall as well.
Giving a final contemplative glance down at the circling monsters, a sudden weight begins to manifest in the Dusk’s heart, the hovering in place flying harder to maintain; his mind starts to wander to memories of his friends - Midnight Wraith, Sky Shroud, Silver Night and Shadow Star. He pictures their faces, their past conversations, their time together, until those images drift into ones that show the civilians that left with them, Aqua Harvest, Lemon Gold and Terra Hoof….the stallion who went through all of this is trying to save his sick foal. “....Please, please let them be safe,” whispers Dusk in a quiet prayer up at the full Moon, a tear falling from his eye, “No matter what happens to me….please just let them be safe...…”
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
And with that Dusk flies ever further towards the safety of the Lunar Castle, towards the place he longs to see his fellow Ponies again unharmed, the same place the Timberwolves never cease to chase him towards…...
His eyes fall heavy like his body falls from the heavens, Dusk’s wings unable to support him any further as their final flaps give way to no further ones. Descending to the ground, Dusk crashes through the Everfree Forest’s canopy and barely manages to hold out his wings in time as a short-lived parachute to soften the fall, his body tumbling far more with incoordination and painfully compared to the last time, the wind being knocked out of the Bat Pony upon impact. “Gahhhh!”
Panting, Dusk’s head spins as he lays limp on the dark, damp, forest floor, exhaustion refusing to allow him to go any further as he stays there in a messy pile of leaves, twigs and mud. His once clean mane and tail ruined, his formal armour filthy, pierced and battered, his wounds still hurting and bleeding, the slow continuation of blood loss now coming ahead.
Dusk stays there, still as a stone, his breathing the only sound in an otherwise cold, desolate, place. Fighting to keep his eyes open, the temptation of permanently closing them becomes harder and harder to fight back, his body having taken too much strain for far too long. D-Don’t give in...You cannot give up yet...Don’t c-close your eyes….Don’t!...
Reaching out, Dusk clutches the ground ahead of him and drags his body forwards in a slow crawl, still fighting the urge to close his eyes fully the entire time he continues to move again this way. The sense of time and distance abandons the Bat Pony, his entire effort directed only on still moving forwards no matter how little the distance covered is or how long it will take, anything but stopping. Not now, not after what has been done so far. Get up…...You have to get up….The Timberwolves are coming and you cannot afford to risk resting like last time…..You should be almost there anyway…..Get up!
Painstakingly rising, Dusk gets to his knees and moves a little faster that way before finally shifting into a weak stand to move ever so slightly faster again, the need to lay down and give up always there, but the dream of pushing on just enough to rival it. Dizziness hits the soldier at times, his hooves stumbling a little that forces Dusk to reach out and lean on some of the trees he passes by for support, his sight clouded and unable to tell what shadows are the Everfree Forest’s lack of light ones and what are the ones are the passing out ones swimming in his vision.
And so this breaking endeavour drags on for many minutes that to Dusk feels like many hours, his skewered senses unable to focus on anything else other than to see where each hoof step forward was going and if said hoof step is in the right direction, sometimes realizing it was not and thus forcing him to correct his path finding - but no matter what, one thing that stayed just good enough above the rest is his spirit telling him to keep going, promising him everything is going to be okay. D-don’t close your eyes, Dusk…..Don’t fall down…..Y-You need to keep moving….Don’t close your eyes…..It will all be over soon….
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!
……...It will all be over soon…
The undergrowth becomes sparse suddenly, more light from the sky able to reach its interior and more wind passing through it to make breathing easier. Quickly, so quickly, the Everfree Forest begins to almost disappear around him as Dusk stumbles onwards until it goes away all together, leaving an open flat patch of land ahead and all around, its most striking feature of all being at its centre. “There it is!” gasps Dusk, spotting the Lunar Castle, its all encompassing battlements towering into the sky to compliment the starry sky and full Moon - sanctuary. Its mighty spires ascending upwards from the place Dusk toils through - salvation. And the place his friends should be in, safe and protected - home.
Falling to his knees then to his stomach, his body no longer able to hold itself up, Dusk’s eyes well up to become watery, his relief beyond measure to match his fatigue. I made it! By the Empress, I actually made it!
“Who goes there!?”
“Wait that’s one of ours!”
“He’s hurt!”
“Everypony on me, we have to help him!”
Distant yelling of his fellow unseen Legionnaires manning the walls echo in Dusk’s ears, help coming at long last - but something else as well-
The rustling of foliage behind him catches Dusk’s attention. Rolling onto his back, he stares at the abyssal black undergrowth he came from to see the signature green eye glow of the last eight remaining Timberwolves charging him. Panicking, Dusk crawls away as quick as he can, kicking up dirt while doing so but his hurting injuries and blood loss is not fast enough.
“Timberwolves! Unicorns, open fire!”
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
A torrent of multicoloured arcane lights shoot past Dusk like a horizontal rain downpour that lights up the night, the Unicorn sentries’ spells racing into the Everfree Forest at frightening speeds, their flashing almost disorienting Dusk.
The Timberwolves are met with this firing line of arcane wrath without a chance, many being hit in the first volley - the Timberwolves’ lack of true sentience allowing for the use of terrifying magical spells that otherwise the Lunar Empire has outlawed in combat.
The result is a massacre; one Timberwolf is shattered into wooden pieces via a concussive blast so strong it breaks the air around it. Another is dragged through a small rift in reality straight into the heart of Tartarus, kicking and wailing while going before said rift shuts close behind the demonic creature. One Timberwolf is set ablaze with searing flames, its short-lived last moments spent rolling on the ground in agony before burning to ash. One becomes entombed in a magical goo latching onto its body that spreads like a parasite before the goo morphs to liquid to melt the Timberwolf to a puddle, revealing it to be acid.
“Fire again!”
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Of the few Timberwolves that dodged and rushed through the first volley, next to none survive the second, their fates similar or entirely different to their fellow packmates after being hit with the spells but the results are the same - their brutal but quick deaths. The only Timberwolf to make it through the spells (though hurt and limping) is one Dusk recognises; the single-eyed alpha Timberwolf, the very last of its brethren.
“You,” growls Dusk, gritting his teeth and feeling a rekindling flame in his fighting spirit.
Pressing his damaged sword into the ground, Dusk leans on it as a makeshift walking cane to stand up. Stumbling towards his foe who does the same to Dusk, both Bat Pony and Timberwolf collapse several times along the way, both setting on ending the other after everything that has happened.
“Legionnaire, get out of the way!” Shouts one of the Unicorn sentries, the mages struggling to get a good line of sight on the Timberwolf due to Dusk blocking them. “We can’t assist without harming you!”
“Stay back, we can help!” Offers one of the melee combatants whose group continues to run towards Dusk’s aid but still too far to arrive in time at this rate. “Sir, don’t go any closer! Pull back!”
Ignoring their warnings, Dusk limps onwards, unable to stop, unwilling to. Now very close to the hurting Timberwolf who he locks eyes with, Dusk grips his sword tightly and flexes his wrist holding it. “This ends now.” The two stare at each other while still moving nearer, Dusk fighting to keep himself standing knowing that at this distance the next one to fall would completely expose themselves to a fatal strike from the other.-
“Dusk!”
Dusk freezes, his whole body not moving any further except for his eyes that widen upon hearing the sound of a familiar voice, a voice he had hoped to hear, a voice he has missed so much.
Weakly turning around, Dusk sees his friends, Shadow Star, Sky Shroud, Silver Night and Midnight Wraith, running towards his aid alongside the other soldiers - all of them safe, all of them having made it like he has.
Dusk’s watery eyes break, a tear falling from them and down his face at the revelation that everything he has endured has not been in vain. Everything has been worth it.
Facing the Timberwolf again, Dusk’s new found strength holds him up longer than the Timberwolf who falls down in submission, defeated. Taking a few final steps towards the defeated beast, Dusk holds up his sword whose silver finish briefly flashes in the moonlight before the Bat Pony delivers a final use of strength to cleanly decapitate the Timberwolf leader.
CRUNCH!
POOF!
Dusk winning at long last. ..It’s over….It’s finally over….
Dropping the sword, Dusk weakly turns towards his friends, their faces bringing him to quietly weep that becomes more potent when he looks to the full Moon above them whose divine protective light shines over his friends and himself - a sight Dusk will never forget, a sight he utters his last words to, "Thank you…..Thank you so much…”-
The world falls away beneath Dusk, his legs giving out as his body collapses to the ground, his vision flooding with black nothingness as sound, touch, hearing and taste become numb….. The last thing the Bat Pony trooper hears is the muffled, fearful concerned words of his friends shouting to the others to “Help him!”, “Bring him into the Castle!”, “He needs a Healer!” - all voices belonging to Ponies he saved, Ponies he cared so much for, Ponies that he knew for certainty are now safe…..
A fact that brings deep relief to him, so much so that he gives in to the void consuming his being without regret, letting it take him without any further fighting of it....
Solemnness hangs thick within the gathered crowd standing in square formations around the funeral pyre erected in the centre of the Lunar Castle’s courtyard. No Pony present utters a sound, instead all take this time to pay respects to the dead hero’s body who lies on said pyre, his eyes closed, his Bat Pony wings tucked away and arms at his side as proud as he once stood while alive at attention - Dusk Spectre.
The deceased wears his pristine dark purple, black, and silver coloured Lunar Empire Legionnaire armour after it was restored to its former glory. Dusk’s wounds under the platting are now scars, the trauma having been healed too late to save his life from the severity of his battle injuries and blood loss. All of it having been too much for even the miracle magic of qualified Imperial unicorn Healers to amend.
So there lies Dusk Spectre. The soldier has received his final relief of duty. A duty that through those he saved told others about, a duty that through his actions led to his sacrifice so that his fellow soldiers, his friends, and civilians did not have to suffer the same fate - Ponies that felt the heaviest of sorrow above all those present, Ponies that stood closest to the pyre - Midnight Wraith, Silver Night, Sky Shroud, Shadow Star, Aqua Harvest, Lemon Gold, and Terra Hoof with his small colt at his side the Aether Rose was able to reach in time and heal.
“Daddy, who ist this Pony? Why is he sleeping on a woodan bed?” Asks the young colt quietly while tapping his father’s leg for answers, the little one’s innocence making him also wonder why everypony was standing around, not saying a word, and looking sad.
Terra Hoof nuzzles his colt to stop and also gives a soft, “Shhhhh,” to which the little one complies. Terra then gently says, “This Pony is that hero I told you about, like the ones in your bedtime stories. He fought monsters like them and helped me bring that magical flower to you.”
“Whoa, what a nice Pony. I hope he has a good rest after all dat.”
Terra’s watery eyes that he was holding back since the funeral started breaks, a small tear gliding down his cheek. Showing a small smile, the Earth Pony gives a light nod and rests his hoof on his colt’s shoulder, softly nudging the little one towards the crowd, “He is. He is. Go back to mummy now, daddy has to tuck him in for sleep.”
“Goodnight, herow. Thank you for halping,” happily says the colt to Dusk, smiling at the sleeping soldier before turning away and jogging towards his mother in the crowd who walks him and herself away. After all, that Bat Pony must be really tired to be sleeping on a wooden bed, so he should have as much peace and quiet as possible…..
The towering wooden doors to the Lunar Castle’s interior opens with a CREEEEEEEEEEK!, yet neither that sound or more significantly the mare who appears standing at the top of the stairs at the doorway brings anypony’s attention to look away from the pyre - the same pyre she also faces, a clear path laid out to it before her flanked by the ranks of her Legionnaires that mourn the loss of a brother in arms. Like she internally mourns the loss of one of her Children of the Night.
Wearing a dark purple gown with silver streaks along its sides to covers her tall sleek body, Nightmare Moon holds a straight regale posture as she begins to descend the stairs and walk towards Dusk Spectre’s pyre, the soft crunching of gravel under her hooves the only sound within the otherwise silent courtyard.
With each step the Alicorn takes towards the pyre her heart becomes heavier despite the stoic expression she tries to keep up, the sight of the same skilled combatant Child of the Night she spoke to days earlier now gone from her - everypony, including her, knowing what he did. Everypony knowing why this ceremony is happening. And everypony knowing what she will do next….
At last coming to stand over the fallen trooper, Nightmare Moon places a delicate palm on Dusk’s cheek, giving it soft strokes for a time like a mare would do to her colt. By now the Goddess’ fight to hide her sadness wanes, her gaze becoming regretful, a lump forming in her throat that she swallows.
Eventually Nightmare Moon takes her hand away and uses both to bring out from a pocket in her gown a majestic, dark blue, metal star resting above a silver, upside down, crescent moon. The metal’s potent purity is undeniable and all of it hangs from the finest royal purple silk of a ribbon.
Taking another deep breath to regain her composure, Nightmare Moon slowly moves her hand to place said object over Dusk Spectre’s heart, addressing in a voice full of gratitude and professionalism matched only by its melancholy underpinning for everypony around to hear, “For your selfless service, Legionnaire Dusk Spectre, I, God-Empress Nightmare Moon, award you with the highest medal of courage - the Night Star of Solace…..”
Nightmare Moon closes her eyes and grits her fanged teeth, her fist clenches as a tear breaks through and falls down her face. For a time the Empress stands there, surrounded by the hurting masses of her subjects that she could feel, their pain her own.
Eventually opening her eyes, the Alicorn looks across at Dusk’s closest friends; the soldiers she had sent with him into the Everfree Forest that day. The ones who had lost the most with Dusk’s passing.
Reaching out, Nightmare Moon rests her second hand over Dusk’s heart and speaks up again, her unexpected words receiving surprised hushed whispers from the gathered Ponies in the crowd, and wide-eyed reactions from Dusk’s friends. “.....I also declare you, Dusk Spectre, a Saint of the Lunar Empire. You shall join the legacy of those who also gave so much for us still here. Your name and sacrifice, Legionnaire and Saint Dusk Spectre, will be remembered forever.”
Contemplating what she decreed and accepting it for being what is right, Nightmare Moon repositions both hands around her straight back. At the same time her horn’s magic comes to life, an ethereal field manifesting in front of her that begins to take the form of a mystical, shimmering, dark blue torch that burns cyan fire.
Reaching out to grab the torch’s base where the real handle would be, Nightmare Moon shows it to be safe to touch as she holds out the item over Dusk, towards his companions and civilians. “I am sorry for your loss. Take this. All of you deserve to do it.”
Midnight Wraith, Silver Night, Sky Shroud, Shadow Star, Aqua Harvest, Lemon Gold and Terra Hoof each grab the torch. With a final look at one another, the Ponies ease the magical fire down at the base of the pyre and set it alight, the torch then fading from existence from Dusk’s pyre igniting.
Before Nightmare Moon was lost from their sights behind the building walls of cyan flames that quickly begin to glow bright within the night, she offers in a tone both soothing and ominous, “...Take as many hours as you all need. When you have the ability too, please come and see me in my quarters. I need to talk with you all in private……”
Silver Night, Shadow Star, Sky Shroud, Midnight Wraith, Lemon Gold, Aqua Harvest, and Terra Hoof remain as a group as they walk through the pristine hallways of the Lunar Castle. The high walls they pass along are adorned with beautiful paintings of night time landscapes and skies, complimenting the finely-made vases and columns that break up the pattern. All of these stand atop pristine red carpets and under silver glittering chandeliers.
Rounding one final corner, the group is presented with a long hallway with only one door within it, located at the very end. As the Ponies approach closer, they see said door flanked by two Legionnaires in full Lunar body armour, equipped with body shields, their hands resting on the hilts of of their sheathed swords - the door metallically inscribed with the cutie mark of the Empress.
As the Pony group nears the door ever closer, a conversation between three could be heard coming from the other side, one being the recognized and signature tone of Nightmare Moon.
“Can it be done?”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“How long?”
“With the amount of Legionnaires and Airships assigned, if they are and stay well supplied, and the troops given a healthy cycle rate…..this campaign should take roughly three months.”
Shadow Star nods at one of his fellow Legionaries who guards Nightmare Moon’s chambers, each party recognising one another. The sentry who nods then opens the door and peeks inside, stating, “Pardon the interruption, my Empress, but the Ponies you asked for are here.”
“Excellent timing, see them in here. And you are dismissed, Generals,” orders the Empress, her words immediately being put into action as the sentries step aside with the one who announced Shadow Star’s group’s arrival holding the door open for them.
Two individuals (a Changeling female and a male Pegasus) wearing formal black military suits with slight night cameos to them exit the room first, their shoulder pads and chest displaying numerous medals and stripes of high ranking individuals. Without a word these Generals leave with silence down the same corridor Shadow and the others came, each General giving a quick glance to the group that arrived, their cold eyes showing a state of deep thinking and planning for future events.
With the Generals gone, Shadow Star and the others step into the inner sanctum of the God-Empress.
The spacious room is covered in night themed shades of colours consisting of blues, purples, blacks and silvers. The air is a pleasing scent of lavender from the wall-hanging flowers of the same kind. The room consists of a lit fireplace at the side, its fire magical and the same cyan colour like the flames for Dusk Spectre’s funeral pyre. Opposite the fireplace is an Empress-sized bed with pullable curtains around the side for privacy. In the corner of the room is a study desk with a small pile of scrolls, books, and papers - decrees, reports, and statements of the Lunar Empire’s bureaucracy. Opposite the main door is another that is the balcony’s door made of glass that allows for light rays of the full Moon through it. This door leads to a grand balcony outside offering a splendid look of the Lunar Castle, the night sky and the lands of the Empire. Finally at the very centre of the room is a massive marble section of tiles in the floor that shows a complete and detailed map of the Empire, its vast territory exactly matching the Equestria of old.
You wished to see us, Empress?” Inquires Shadow Star, bowing with the others.
“Thank you all for being here. Arise,” replies Nightmare Moon from across the room, her back at the full Moon outside the balcony. As she sees her subjects stand up again, she takes a breath and begins. “I brought you all here to make a promise. Something I think you all deserve to hear.
“...Losing Dusk Spectre was a tragedy. He was one of the best Legionnaires I have come across, but beyond that he must have been a far more important friend and leader to you all.”
“...And a hero to us and my colt,” spoke up Terra Hoof, a small lump forming in his throat.
“...Yes...Yes he is. Which is what my promise will be.” Stepping forwards to better reveal herself, Nightmare Moon’s gaze is an equal mix of burning retribution and grieving sympathy. Her hand points to the side and at the floor - exactly at the spot on the large marble map everypony stands on that shows the Everfree Forest…..clusters of wooden triangles, squares, and rectangles surrounding its edges, circles placed on various spots over the Everfree Forest… “My promise is to avenge Dusk Spectre. What he gave will not be in vain.”
A revelation spreads within the group, the Ponies’ eyes going wide. “...Those Generals. Those troop formations. Your majesty, you’re not implying-“ Nightmare Moon holds up a hand to stop Silver Night from talking, her following words confirming what everypony was suspecting.
“I am transferring the Empire’s military resources away from colonial expeditions and the hunt for my sister. Instead I will use it for the scouring of the Everfree Forest.”
Nightmare Moon slowly walks towards the battle map on the floor, her eyes narrowing with vendetta all the while she talks without looking away at the battle map, pointing at the square formations. “I am declaring a Crusade into that cursed place. The Legions will surround it from all sides and march into it en mass, killing all monsters they come across.”
Silver Night and the others gather around the battle map as the Empress carries on, the Alicorn now pointing at the circles inside the Everfree Forest. “In addition to destroying any and all hostile beasts in there, their objectives are to seize areas where vital magical plants or other useful substances can be collected for the Empire, like the Aether Roses.
“Our scholars will study ancient texts and maps beforehand to determine where these materials are in the Forest, again just like you told us you did for the Aether Rose. Our scholars will also be sent into cleared out safe areas of the Forest to study any new species of flora or fauna that could be beneficial to Ponykind.”
Nightmare Moon’s finger then shifts towards the masses of triangles, everyponies’ sights following along, “All the while this is happening, the Shadowbolts will maintain daily control of the weather overhead, making sure no harmful weather could hinder the Legions or the Airships. They will also be used for rapid rescue if any ground troops need excavation for medical attention.”
She then concludes with the rectangles, “Finally, Imperial Airships will stay on standby for bombing missions if Legionnaires need to retreat from certain places. They will also be responsible for levelling the Forest once every useful resource from sections of it has been collected and can be replicated from our scholars.”
Finishing her explanation, the Night Goddess looks up at every Pony present, their still taken back looks at what all of this was meeting her glare of suppressed need for retribution, her voice daunting, “This Crusade will see the Everfree Forest, this stain on the Empire’s map, and the domain of monsters that has terrorised Ponykind since time immemorial wiped away. This scorch will finally make my subjects safe. And I, as their Empress….will lead this Crusade personally.”
“B-But, your majesty, why tell us all of this? We are just simply soldiers,” ponders Sky Shroud.
“And we are just farmers,” adds Lemon Gold.
“You were there. You fought and survived in that place. And you lost somepony along the way. You deserve to know this because of all of that,” replies Nightmare Moon, calming down.
“But the Satellite States; The expeditions; The hunt for Daybreaker. Surely you can’t withdraw so many resources from those things. That could open the Empire to weaknesses across those areas?”
The Empress slowly shakes her head, her demeanour informative and understanding. “For almost a year now, my Inquisition has informed me that the resistances in those fringe areas of the Empire are negligible, some are gone altogether. Ever since we started offering their members Imperial citizenship and extra incentives to turn themselves in or their fellow “freedom fighters”, conflict in those places have collapsed, especially after they realised the Lunar Empire keeps its word….I keep my word.”
“But what about your sister? She is still out there, she is still your biggest threat,” points out Midnight Wraith, to which surprisingly Nightmare Moon shakes her head again.
“She is indeed. But look around you, my little ponies….The Civil War is over. My sister and her supporters are gone, most definitely hiding away on one of those unknown continents. What they are doing there...I don’t know…” Nightmare Moon pauses and takes a deep breath. “But I cannot keep chasing after her after the many years I have done so since the War ended and she fled from it during its final days….I cannot keep forcing myself to run after and fight enemies of the Empire...if I neglect to care for its inhabitants and leave them behind in doing so, like you, my little Ponies….”
Nightmare Moon looks to the ground and wipes her eyes. Turning to those present again, she concludes, “...Many years ago, I would have said it to be absurd to protect the things you love over destroying your foes. But now…...now I believe it is the alternative that is absurd. That….-“ the Empress gives a sweeping point at the map of the coming Crusade, her voice almost breaking near the end of her words, “That is why I am doing this. Why I must do this.”
“...Duck Spectre was the final straw for me to finally see that. He must have fought so valiantly and for so long to make sure you all were safe. I declared him a Saint because, like all Saints before him, he made a significant and lasting contribution to the Lunar Empire for the better - he was the Pony that convinced his Empress to protect the things she loved more than to destroy her enemies.”
A firm silence fills the room that stays in place a long time after that. A prolonged pause of contemplation takes place throughout it, everypony taking their time to understand and accept what was said; questions having been answered even if the questions were not asked.
In the end it would be Nightmare Moon herself to break the silence, her voice regal again but her eyes showing an almost mother nature to their cyan glowing slits, “Thank you all, my little Ponies. You are dismissed. Please take as much care and time as you all need for your loss.”
Without a word, everypony gives a respectable bow and departs the God-Empress’ quarters, Silver Night, Shadow Star, Sky Shroud, Midnight Wraith, Lemon Gold, Aqua Harvest and Terra Hoof feeling at peace…...just like Dusk Spectre does. Just like their monarch, Nightmare Moon, who turns away from them to slowly walk outside to her balcony.
A breeze glides over her in a soothing motion, her mighty feathered wings tucked at her side, her sleek body’s tall height allowing her to stand above and oversee all like the Goddess she was. Nightmare Moon stands at the edge of her balcony, her eyes fixed up at her full Moon - a beautiful sight that so much had been sacrificed in the Civil War and the countless conflicts since then. A sight she does not feel as proud of anymore, her heart heavy and her feelings low.
Sighing, Nightmare Moon slowly turns away from the full Moon, her Eternal Night, and instead turns towards the horizon - the direction her sister fled in so many years ago.
She glares at the distant edge of her Empire’s known world, staring in the direction her sibling would be in matter how wide the unknown oceans and unexplored continents separating them are. And for several minutes she holds her look there….until feeling a gaze look at her back. “I know you are out there. I do not forgive you for what you did and I doubt you forgive me, but…it is over. I...do not care about finding you anymore, sister. Do as you will half a world away.
“ I will, I need, to care for these little Ponies. Our little Ponies. Call it a way of spiting you if you wish, but I will not stay as the tyrant you think I am any longer. You started the War, but I’m ending it here - I will be different, I will be better, I will….be like the old you before the War….I will be like the old me before the War.
“I don’t know when, but once we finally meet each other again….I hope it is at the negotiation table and not the field of battle. That time seems so far away, but perhaps it is closer than either of us thinks? That does not matter for me right now. What matters now…..-“ Nightmare Moon closes her eyes and clenches her fist. Taking a moment, she eventually opens them again to look down at the Lunar Castle’s empty courtyard below - Dusk Spectre’s once funeral pyre now ash, the Alicorn’s eyes breaking as a tear falls down her face as she meets the horizon again. “What matters now, is protecting the things I love. The Ponies I love….and maybe the same Ponies you still love. What matters now, is protecting our little Ponies, sister…….”
