Ironwood

Its funny, all my irl friends I currently have, I met them first online. I think I would have been completely friendless without forums and chats.

Imp and Bladefall walked side by side while inspecting the refugees. Imp couldn't contain himself over asking question of the presence of the Imperial Guard on Equestrian soil. But he was also deeply concerned due to the strained relations between the two nations. He went to about it carefully: -"It is good to have some relief. The Wendigos are relentless and we have nothing to combat them. I hope lady Cadence sent you with a plan?" Bladefall looked back at Imp with an ounce of distrust, but answered politely. o"Well, in a matter of speaking. We will liberate the surface world from the Wendigos. But first there are many preparations that need to be done. One thing is for sure; we need end the hostilities from above. That is why the Empress sent us here..." Bladefall stopped at his tracks and glanced over all the refugees in a line. He closed his eyes and held his hoof at his head. His head slowly turned over each and every refugee until he stopped at Manachin being carried by two others. He was deep in focus for 10 seconds until he opened his eyes again with a smile: "You thought you could hide from us beneath the earth, Manachin? Big mistake.” Bladefall signaled to a group of soldiers that quickly joined him. He continued: “For your crimes, not just to the Crystal Empire, but the entire world as whole, I am taking you in to face the Empress’ justice. Sieze him!” This caused to Imp to panic, as his worst fears has come to pass. -“No wait! He is not your enemy! Manachin is of no threat to anyone. We need to…” Bladefall quickly turned to Imp and interrupted him. o”So you are all with him then? Good. His loyal subjects will not be spared either. Arrest them as well!” The soldiers quickly surrounded the Guardians with their weapons draw, intent to make sure they could not escape. It was at that point Manachin finally broke the silence and exclaimed: x”Hold it! There is no need to do that, general Bladefall. I shall come quietly, but none of these ponies have anything to do with me or my rule”. Bladefall looked at him with utter disgust. o”Why should I believe you, scumbag?” x”You will hear me out first. I have information you will find useful. And then, you can do whatever you want with me. It would be in both our interests to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed.” Bladefall didn’t seem convinced, but still intrigued enough to listen. o”Hmm… Very well.” He ordered two guards to take over the two ponies carrying Manachin's stretcher. ”We will discuss this in a more private place.” Bladefall conjured up a dome of magic from his horn that separated him and Manachin from everyone else. The rest of the soldiers surrounded the Guardians, keeping a keen eye on them. They could do nothing, except watch as they talked to each other inside the sound insulated dome. Minutes after minutes went by until the magical dome dispersed. Bladefall seemed fairly pleased with the conversation. Even Manachin, as stern as he always looked, was pretty relieved too. Bladefall signaled to the soldiers to break formation around the Guardians and get back to their posts. o”We have had a constructive conversation and has come to a few agreements. For one; I shall not arrest any you.” Imp couldn’t tell if he was relieved or even more concerned to hear that. -“Well, that’s always something… Bladefall continued: o”Manachin has surrendered and will be taken to the Crystal Empire for trial. He has also stepped down from his position as ruler. Equestria will become a part of the Crystal Empire, under the rule of Empress Cadence, from now on. Our objective is complete.” Shock and confusion overtook Imp and everypony else. -“That’s it? That is why you were sent here? To conquer Equestria? What about the Wendigos?!” o”We have gotten a step closer to that. But there is one more thing that needs to be done…" -“You mean…?” o”Yes. Equestria was just one nation that needed to be dealt with. There is still the matter with Great Canyon. Either they submit willingly to the Crystal Empire, or we will take it by force. Either way, they cannot be allowed to be off leash. Once peace and order is restored, we can finally take steps in driving out the Wendigos and bring back warmth to the surface.” -“This is foolish! Your priorities are completely misguided. The Canyon is covered in ice by now. How are you even supposed to survive on the surface?” o”The Empress would disagree, whelp. It is important that all opposition is neutralized. And don’t you worry. Our magics will keep the cold away as we do our work. All we expect from you is to stay out of our way…”

The Canterlot refugees, led by the remaining Guardians, continued their exodus to a new sanctuary. They had finally reached the great Underlot passages. The march was long, tiresome and boring. Endless tunnels seemed to stretch for miles with no suitable spot to set up a more permanent camp. All they could hear at the time was the echoes of their own hoofsteps. But those echoes grew louder and louder. Nopony batted an eye at first but eventually the echoes became too loud to ignore. Imp stopped in front of the group and shouted: “HALT!”. Everypony suddenly stopped in their tracks and waited. The sounds of hoofsteps still continued. He recognized the rhythm; many ponies trotting in a synchronized fashion. It came from the darkness ahead of them. Imp readied his shotgun. -“Something’s coming from the shadows. Brace yourselves!” The Guardians positioned themselves in front of the refugees with their weapons pointing at the darkness. The sounds grew louder and louder. The passage in front of them lit up from torches and soon they could see what they were up against. Soldiers, but not from the Canyon. Their banners and the appearance of the sparkling soldiers gave away their allegiance; they were crystal ponies from the Crystal Empire. Imp slowly lowered his weapon in disbelief while muttering “What in bloody blazes?” The soldiers didn’t respond in a hostile manner despite weapons being drawn at them. Like they were expecting them. They halted in front of the Guardians in salute. A figure in impressive, blood red crystal armor stepped out of the crowd. It was a middle aged stallion with auburn coat, silver eyes and long, combed, golden man. At first he didn’t say anything and just quickly glanced over the entire group. After a quick examination, he finally spoke in a soft and calm voice: o”You have nothing to fear from us, Equestrians. I am general Bladefall, chief-commander of the Imperial Guard of the Crystal Empire. We come on behalf of Empress Cadence to offer our aid.” Imp gestured to the others to holster their weapons. He was still suspicious that an entire battalion of soldiers from the Crystal Empire would be so deep into Equestrian territory. The relations between Equestria and Crystal Empire have been very strained with the death of one of their ambassadors and collateral damage from the war into their borders. But he knew that he was in no position to ask question and needed their help. So he decided to respond humbly: -"Sir, it's a delightful surprise to see that our old ties have not been broken. There are many here who're hungry, sick and wounded, and needs help immediately. We’d appreciate any support you can offer us." Bladefall remained polite, yet one could sense the slight disinterest in his voice. o"Yes, we had been expecting to find refugees down in the tunnels. But rest assured. Not far from here, we have set up a shelter for you. You will find food, water, newly built lodges and fuel for fires to keep you warm. We have also cleared the area of any hostile creatures lurking in the dark. I recommend you stay there for the time being. It is very cold above. I will have one of my scouts lead you all to safety."

I am not from the US, but if I had to pick, I'd go with ABC*. *Anyone But Clinton

Very tired. Haven't slept all night. Want to sleep, but no bed in sight...

Imp sluggishly rose up and walked over to the body, examining it for anything of interest. Other than his uniform, he had nothing else on his person. -"No idea. But we better give him a proper burial then. It's the least we could do. Since we can't take the body to the surface, his grave will have to be here. In the cold dark." The whole area was made of solid stone, making it difficult to dig a grave. Instead, smaller rocks were gathered so that they could create a dome around his body. While it was being build, Imp found big but flat rock to use as gravestone. With a hunting knife, he carved in Fleet's full name, date of death, his title, and a little bit of history. At the end of the gravestone he added: "May his soul find it's way to his ancestors, where he will be greeted with pride and honor". Once the gravestone was finished it was mounted on top of the stone grave. -"Not the prettiest thing, eh? But this is how they used to bury the great heroes and lords of old. I guess it's fitting enough." Imp held a moment of silence before he withdrew back to the fire to rest.

Imp limped up to Manachin, who had miraculously survived Celestia's assault on him. He was wrapped up in bandage and was ready to be carried out. He was still too weak to speak and could only make feint wheezes. But Imp knew what he tried to ask for. -"Its over, milord. The crazed mastermind behind the Wendigos is dead. And so is Celestia. The worst has come to pass. I hope. But we gotta leave for shelter, away from the cold." Once everypony had readied up, the made their way to the extensive cave system underneath Canterlot. It was a cold and dank place, but still warmer than above and no Wendigos around. All the civilians and wounded soldiers had had been moved there to safety. When they saw that Manachin was wounded and being carried, and Celestia wasn't with them, the seeds of concern and fright started to grow in their hearts. This made Imp scared himself. The last thing they needed was panic in the already overcrowded caverns. The group arrived at the soldier's tents and they were quick to have to wounded tended for. Imp sat down by the fire and coughed up a pint of blood. His whole body was aching in massive pain with cracked, and even broken, bones and other internal damages. Imp clenched his teeth and then chuckled it off. -"Shit... I could really go for some booze to dull this pain, hehe." He turned to Rearguard, trying to conceal his pain with an optimistic smile. "Well, ain't this a cozy place, eh? Good enough for now, but we cant stay here for too long. Our food supply will only last us so long. If memory serves me right, this place used to be an old mine. Are there even any other exits out of this place, other than the way we came from?"

Princess Celestia had been restored to her original form as she was freed from the corruption. She did not open her mouth, but her voice ehcoed in the room. >"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I failed you all. You did what you had to do. And for that, I am eternally grateful for all your sacrifices. But it is time to set things right." A bright gold light consumed all of Celestia. "The world doesn't deserve me. But I will continue to serve it. As for Equestria, I leave it in the capable hooves of my subjects. Hard times are ahead, but in your hearts, I see a purity grater than mine. You will prevail." The light around Celestia focused itself into the shape of a beam that launched itself through the roof and into the sky. It pierced the thick clouds covering up the sun and sunlight shone upon the city once more. Celestia was gone... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Imp limped over to Skytracker to check on her. Most of the flesh around her face and upper body had completely burnt away, even so much that pieces of her skeleton was revealed. She was barley hanging on to life, only being kept alive by her vampirism. But this could not last. Imp swore under his breath and panicked. o"Bloody hell! Skytracker, ya crazy lass..." He waved over for the medic to come over! "Quick! Move yer arse over here! She needs medical attention, quick!" [inside Skytracker's mind] Skytracker found herself in an empty space. He mind was dull and at complete peace, like she just woke up from a dream. A familiar voice echoed, calling out her name over and over. She responded by confirming the identity of the voice: -"Nebilac...? *"My apprentice. My little whelp. You have done your part so well. You helped save the world and have avenged me. I see now I made the right choice in extending your life. And I am so proud of you..." -"Where are you, you snake...?" *"Do not worry. We will see each other very soon." -"What? Is this... the end...?" *"For us, sadly not. Our path to the afterlife is going to be a longer one than for most everyone. I know you long to see your loved ones and I am so sorry to have done this to you. But fear not. I swore that I will find freedom. And even in death, I still fight on. And I will free you too. I promise you..." [back in the real world] The medic was trying to tend to Skytracker as Imp held her up, but her body began to quickly turn dry and grey. Imp panicked even more as he saw her littlerally crumble into dust in his hooves. o"What! No... NO! FUCK! NO! NOT YOU TOO!!!" There was nothing to be done. In a few seconds, her corpse turned into a dust pile, with only her clothes remaining intact. Imp lowered his head with tears flowing from his eys. o"Shit. We defeated the corruption and saved the world. But at such a heavy price. What will become of us all now...?"

Dark Neigh’s body halves slowly disintegrated into small, blue light-particles that vanished in the air. One of the particles, that glowed golden, lingered and slowly floated to the incomplete Sword of the Elements. The small, bright light expanded into the shape of a sword. Under its glow revealed the Element of Abstruseness and merged itself with the rest of the Elements, making it complete. Dark Neigh’s body had been completely evaporated leaving only blood, his rag clothing and his mask containing great, demonic power. Celestia launched another tendril attack, but this time it was directed at the blade itself. Several of them grabbed hold of the blade and pulled it towards her. *"I’ll be taking that pesky thing. You worms would not know how to use its power anyways.” The Guardians charged at Celestia to reclaim the sword. But then she stomped her hooves on the floor with such force it created a massive shockwave which tripped over every single pony around her. Skytracker avoided the ripple by lifting herself in the air. Celestia smiled satisfyingly while almost everypony was put to the ground. *"Yes, that’s better…” She held up the blade with her magic and dark energies consumed it, suppressing its glow and slowly disintegrating the blade. “When I destroy this thing, the Elements will be released, never to be found again. Then I can begin my mission... for conquest!" Being the only pony left to stop her, Skytracker dove from the air at Celestia. As she got close to the princess, she got blasted with a searing, purple beam. Skytracker's hide and flesh burned away, but she pushed through the beam and tacked Celestia and proceeded to furiously bite and tear her throat open. The sword was released from her energies and regained its strong glow quickly. Celestia blasted her again with the beam and pushed her away from her with her tendrils. Now the princess was frantically gasping for air and coughing up buckets of blood. She could barley speak properly as she was trying to crawl for the sword *"D-damn you... miserable w-whelp... If only... I c-can... get the... sword..."

Skytracker declined Beeper's assistance and pointed to Manchin's broken body. -"No, help Manachin. He needs it more than I do. I have been through worse..." She joined the rest of the Guardians in their attempt to take down Celestia. She took several bullet wounds but seemed to regenerate rapidly, making every shot seem futile. Imp got caught by several tendrils and started to violently choke him until his bones crunched and blood was gushing out of his mouth. In a desperate attempt to escape, he sent a concentrated electric shock from his horn through his entire body, frying all the tendrils holding him and Celestia herself, making her stagger and drop everypony she caught. Dark Neigh saw an opening for an attack while she was stunned and charged at her with Devotion in his hooves. With a mighty lunge, the blade penetrated through her heart. A moment of silence filled the hall until her evil laughter echoed loudly. Her body radiated brightly and a burst of energy was released, making Devotion fling across the hall and slammed Dark Neigh to the ground. Celestia sent forth a barrage of tendrils to attack him as he tried to get back up. He tried to fend them off with fire magic, but there was too many of them and eventually his entire body got impaled by dozens of tendrils. She lifted him in front of her, and spoke with a malicious tone: *"It is time for you to return where you belong, demonspawn!" The tendrils began to pull and tear in opposite directions. Dark Neigh screamed in agony as the tendrils split him in half. His blood splattered all cross Celestia's content face and she tossed the body halves to the side. Devotion's glow completely ceased and the blade was completely dead. All the Guardians were rendered speechless over the gruesome death of one of the Elements. Nopony could help but feel terror and despair as Celestia laughed manically and victorious. *"You think I will let you stop me?! Like you did with my sister? I shall rid the Elements from the face of this world! Nothing will stand in my path!!"

The dark Princess Celestia began to laugh maniacally and then stopped abruptly. Her evil, bloodthirsty stare struck everypony's heart in the room. -"I AM your Princess! Your rightful sovereign! That fool Manachin thought he could usurp my throne? Never!" Black tendrils came out of her back and grabbed a body underneath her. It was Manachin, beaten and bloodied. One of his legs was completely twisted. She lifted up his body and threw him at the hooves of the group. A faint breath of air could be heard from him. Celestia continued on: -"This is what awaits those who defy me! Those loyal to me will be rewarded. Those who oppose me... will be DESTROYED!!" Her very aura around her sent fear and doubt into everypony. But Dark Neigh unsheathed Devotion, with its glow increasing along with his enthusiasm. *"You reek of delicious, evil power. Finally, a worthy opponent!" Imp shook of the feeling of terror and held his shotgun ready. His horn emitted electric sparks which spread to the rest of his body. o"I dun care if you're the princess or not. You're completely corrupted and insane. The future of Equestria requires your death!" The Princess seemed to become even more infuriated. -"So this is what you choose? Such a pity. You would have made for great subjects..." The air around the room felt thicker and everypony felt heavier. Skytracker, who was still on a moment of shock, completely snapped out of it with the sudden change. Like reality itself had been altered. Celestia's eyes glowed even brighter and summoned more tendrils from her body. She spoke as if her voice got even deeper and slowed down: -"....instead you all will know.... that there are far worse fates than death!" In a flash, she launched all her tendrils to attack the group. Skytracker managed to dodge them, but one of them cut deep into her left leg.

Imp sighed and shook his head in frustration. -"Like things couldn't get any weirder. Now I kinda regret ever leavin' the taverns and the wenches for this lifestyle." He pulled out a comm-radio and attempted to reach Manachin, but there was no response at all. Imp threw his radio at the ground in anger. "Dammit! Manachin never turns off his radio. It must've been destroyed. Why can't things ever go our way...?" He turned back to the soldier. "You. Send word for all the other squads to rally inside the palace throne room.. With the enemy army disbanded and crippled, 'ere is no need to keep up the defensive formation." The soldier nodded and ran off. Imp turned to the rest of the group. "I don't understand, but I think we are in some deep shit. There is something up there, capable of taking out two squads of soldiers. How could it have gotten into the palace? Not only through our soldiers, but the magic barrier as well. But we aren't going to stick around. We're goin' in right now. Together we should be able to take on whatever foe that stands in our way." Everypony entered the palace and made their way to the throne room. The whole area was filled with immense, dark power, putting everypony on edge. As they got closer, they could even smell smoke. When they finally arrived at the throne room, they were hit with the macabre sight of broken, mangled and even burnt bodies of many soldiers scattered all across the halls. At the center of the room stood a large, black covered pony with glowing veins covering its body. It looked up upon everypony else and spoke with a demonic, taunting voice: *"Welcome. I have been waiting for you... my little ponies."

As the ship began to plummet down, Dark Neigh and Imp finally arrived at the scene, covered in blood from fighting soldiers. Skytracker was still sitting by Hirsan's body, paralyzed with sorrow. o"There you are, lassie! We've been lookin' all over for you. C'mon, we gotta g..." Imp became shocked. when he got closer to Hirsan. "Wait... is that Hirsan? No, I can't believe it..." The ship was shaking violently upon impact with the force barrier. The barrier was about to break, but ship would explode in a matter of seconds. Dark Neigh spoke as his horn began to emit dark, fiery energies. *"Time is growing short, little ones. We need to leave, lest hell will swallow us all". A portal made from dark-purple fire appeared in front of him. He gestured to the others to enter it. Imp felt a little intimidated over entering it, but still grabbed Skytracker, forcing her to give up Hirsan's body, and jumped inside the portal with her. In a flash of bright light, they all appeared safe and sound on ground level behind the force barrier. From there they could see the ship penetrating the barrier, but it didn't come far as the explosion pretty much consumed he entire ship, leaving only bigger parts raining down from he sky. Imp stared in disbelief over the whole situation. o"Well, I'll be... We did it. And still have our heads attached. We lost Hirsan, but we still managed to stop he Great Canyon and their mad schemes. Manachin and Celestia needs hear of this.... One of the soldiers walked up to Imp and saluted to him. Imp saluted back and asked: o"What do you have to report, soldier?" -"Something terrible has happened. It's... its hard to explain. While you were gone, there was a bright light coming from the top of the palace. We sent two squads to investigate it, but... They haven't come back. And we were forced to hold our positions outside in case of an attack." ((Ok, at this point I had for a long time planned for one last big fight before the RP ends. But if you all wish to wrap up this RP quickly, we can skip this part.)))

Skytracker crawled over to the hole and stared into it. Ventus had fallen and vanished in the thick layers of mist below. It was over. It was finally over, she thought. When she got up, she quickly trotted over to Hirsan's body. She sat down next to him and held him in her frontlegs and whispered to him, with tears flowing from her eyes: -"For the longest time, I gave up on all hope. All my friends and loved ones were killed in the war. And I got turned into a blood-drinking monstrosity. When I found you again, you gave me a hope. A purpose. You saved us all, but... I could not save you..." She paused briefly, trying to regain her composure and wiping off her tears. She leaned over and kissed Hirsan on the lips. -"With all my heart, I will never forget you for the rest of my cursed unlife and beyond. If there is a beyond for me..." The moment got interrupted by flashing red lights and loud noises. Some kind of alarm had been triggered. A voice could be heard from the speakers in the room: o"Emergency engines activated. Full speed engaged. Initiating code EX-381." Even though the the reserve engines had been set in use, the ship was still rapidly losing height. Just in a faster pace. It seems that the whole ship was plummeting down to the ground. Right below them they could see Canterlot.