private The Good King

[Prince Midnight 817]

Midnight shook his head, "im fine thanks for asking." he rolled his eyes waving away the medics, "they need your help more than i do, im fine." he pointed to the 1st cav then limped over to shiri, "do you have a map?"

she shook her head, "no..."

 

He looked over at one of the scouts, "do you?"

 

The scout nodded and produced the extra map, "i have an extra.."

midnight took the map and stuffed it into his saddlebag, then took a sword, some food, a canteen and a few other items he could get off of the scouts.

 

"where in the sam hell do you think your going?" night flash frowned, "we just spent hours trying to find you, and now your going to dissappear again?"

 

Midnight smirked, "so now the big bad commander is worried, i think ill be fine nighty," he picked up a bow and quiver, securing them too his body, "in the war with you pegasai, you know how i became a general," he shook his head as he secured some armor to his legs, " after my mate died, i was furious, and i voulenteered for a military position that was guarenteed suicide, but i came out alive, time and time again, i was the scout you ponies called the black death, deadly with a bow, deadly with my mind."

 

Midnight smirked, "so as to where im going, thats for me to know, as to where your going,i believe you have a war to fight."

 

Shiri frowned and stepped forward, "midnight you cant possibly make it with that large of a wound in your leg..."

he laughed, "honestly in the past few weeks i think ive had worse,"

she frowned, "at least have someone go with you...."

Midnight sighed, "you voulenteering?"

 

shiri smirked, "what do you think?"

 

Midnight cracked a smiled "indigo will kill me, but alright then, grab what you can then lets go, and night flash, no following, my plan can only work with 2 ponies at the most, but dont worry, we will be on the battlefield."

[Jadefire 2,796]

Indigo perched in a tree, overlooking the valley. Sunset was fast approaching, and ahead he regarded the divisions of alicorn soldiers in the valley. They were very bold, hunkering down for the night, even before it was dark. There were only a few things this could mean: either Nova was an idiot, or...he was ready to strike. We'll need to make our move soon, Indigo thought. There were multiple battallions that Indigo could see, that made up the bulk of Nova's army, and they all appeared to be the super-soldiers. But there was still no sign of Nova anywhere.

 

Indigo could only assume that Nova was either hiding back in the mountain forests, or he wasn't present on the battlefield entirely.

 

"Sir!" Indigo heard his second say as he approached. "We found them."

 

"The scout troupe?"

 

"Yes, they're being held prisoner in a camp at the canyon's mouth." the scout reported.

 

Indigo looked down. They're not too far away from their current position. "Alright. At the rise of the moon, get in there and spring them out. The information they have could be vital to this battle."

 

"Understood." The second saluted him.

 

"Listen. I have to return to the camp and organize the troops," Indigo said. "Bring the scouts to me as soon as possible for their debriefing. And if at all possible, don't let the guards follow you back. If experience is any indication, the mindless super-soldiers aren't very good at long pursuits, but don't tank the chances."

 

"...understood." The second said, after a pause.

 

Indigo looked him in the eye for a moment, before saluting the scout. "Make me proud." he said, as he turned to return to camp.

 

---

Hours later

---

 

"And that's all you know?" Indigo asked.

 

The single scout, bloodied and bruised, nodded. "Yeah. He left after that, and then they broke all our wings. Wanted an example, or something, I dunno."

 

Indigo contemplated. The rescue went off without a hitch, barring a few casualties, but Indigo only had a single survivor from the advance scout group. The rest had either been executed, or were killed or left behind in the rescue. But the information the survivor has given him...

 

"One more question." Indigo said, "Nova. Do you know where he is now?"

 

The survivor looked at Indigo solemnly. "No idea."

 

"Dammit." Indigo lowered his head and contemplated some more. This new information changes things. "That is all. You are dismissed. Report to the nearest infirmery, you're in no shape to fight today." The scout nodded and took his leave, and Indigo turned to one of his underlings. "You, I ghe-"

 

Indigo was cut off by a massive boom, the sound of which knocked him flat on his back in an undignified manner. The soldiers in the camps immediately became abuzz in shock at the shockwave, and Indigo picked himself up. "Damn..." he mumbled,

 

The underling instead half-shouted, "What in the hell was THAT!?"

 

Indigo shook the ringing out of his ears. "No idea...look, send a message to the Archon right now. I need to speak with him immediately."

 

The underling saluted and took off, and Indigo walked to the outside wall of a tent and sat on his haunches. Now, he could do nothing but wait, and dividing his thoughts between whether that shockwave was an attack, and where the hell Shiri ran off to.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Night Flash watched Midnight run off, carrying out his own plans.

 

He shook his head, "Too many leaders spoil the army."

 

The were was Indigo, who had gone to find his scouts he had sent alone into the Everfree forest when the Alicorns were lurking around, and now, when he had finally found Midnight, he had gone off on another adventure off his.

 

 

One of his underlings approached him, "What now, Sir?"

 

Night Flash went into thinking mode again, "Well, I guess we just wait for Indigo and Midnight to finish messing around. We return to the camp now. Sun is about to set..."

 

His underling nodded and shouted the orders to everyone else.

 

*an hour later*

 

Night Flash's squad arrived back at their camp. He looked around and sighed, "This is hardly a military camp. Looks more like someone tried to go hard-core survival. Get some barricades up here, we can't see anything beyond the trees, we're practically sitting ducks here..."

 

The soldiers quickly went to work and just before sun set, they had managed to set up some barricades and the Unicorn soldiers who had the best magic capabilities, pooled in their magika to send one simple message to Canterlot, nova coming. get ready.

 

They couldn't do anymore since sending messages in that fashion took huge amounts of energy, the Unicorn soldiers were already panting even though they had only concentrated on the spell for about five seconds. One of them actually passed out.

[Prince Midnight 817]

Midnight looked down at the map, "novas army spreads from here, to here." he frowned, "thats,a wide area..."

shiri looked over at him, "and what do you plan on doing?"

midnight chuckled, "get myself killed....what else.." he started to laugh at he appalled expression, "im just kidding, were going to do what we can to disrupt any effort nova tries to use that might stop the malumai."

 

shiri tilted her head, "which could be?"

midnight sighed folding the map back up and placing it in his saddlebag, "i dont know in all honesty, but its best we keep our heads low until we find out, okay?"

 

shiri nodded, then crossed in front of midnight stopping him, "first things first, that leg of yours is probibly already infected, let me heal it."

midnight sighed, "alright, but make it quick."

'as shiri began to apply the small bit of magical solvant she frowned "how did you get this anyway? it looks like it was made by a sword..."

[AnonyPoni 564]

(OOC, Ok guys, we need to get to the actual fighting really soon)

 

The Officers and Sule sat in shock. Their ears were ringing with a loud, high pitched whistle. The sound the cannon made had blown them back several feet in the snow. Sule tried to pick himself. He hobbled around a bit and looked over the hill to see his cannon....

 

Intact.

 

"We need more of these...." Sule said. He was getting his hearing back, apparently sooner than the others.

 

"WHAT!?" Starcrest yelled, "WE CAN'T HEAR YOU SIRE!"

 

"Captain, I'm standing next to you...."

 

"WHAT!?"

 

"Get more of these made!" Sule yelled into Starcrest's ear.

 

"Gah! Yes sir!"

 

 

***an hour later***

 

The soldiers were hard at work, building more cannons. By now, Glaive had sent more groups. There were over a 100,000 troops on that mountain ridge now.

 

Sule was out on the ridge, looking over the horizon when he saw a lone Maluma fly in. He landed next to the Archon and saluted.

 

"Sire, Ancient Indigo sent me. He needs you down near the front."

 

Sule sighed. "Why?"

 

"He didn't say specifically, but I think it's because he thinks Nova is going to make a move on... uh... 'Cattlelot' I think?"

 

"I see"

 

"Also, there was this GIGANTIC BOOMING noise."

 

"Don't worry, that was us" Sule laughed, pointing at the cannon behind the messenger.

 

"What do y- HOLY BUCK! WHAT THE HAY IS THAT!?"

 

"Long story. Anyway, I'll go soon"

 

"I... uh... *ahem* Alright. Bring some reinforcements, sire... we're a bit short hoofed down there."

[The Awesome One 1,314]

(OOC: Truth be told Mr.Archon, I found the part where your underling is screaming right into your face rather funny. Just needs more rum)

 

Night Flash took one last look at the camp, which was now looking more like a small headquarters. There was the main 'command room', the tents for all the remaining soldiers, and the wooden wall on all sides.

 

"Great work, guys. Although this would go great with a gigantic bar over there!", said Night Flash as he pointed to one corner of the mini fortress.

 

The soldiers simply rolled their eyes, they had gotten fed up of rum after the bar incident.

 

"Well, we'll be moving soon guys, so let's get some sleep, Midnight and Indigo can come back whenever they want.."

 

At the same time, a small band of Alicorn super-soldiers appeared out of nowhere, it took just one flaming arrow to set fire to the whole place.

 

"Buck that...EVASIVE ACTION!", screamed Night Flash as he ran for cover.

 

The whole camp had been so peaceful a few seconds ago, now, it looked like hell.

 

One Alicorn landed right infront of Night Flash, showing his large teeth to him. Night Flash quickly went for his sword and realized that it wasn't there.

 

Night Flash chuckled, "Hehehe...Bye!"

 

The commander took off in the air and climbed straight up vertical, "Let's see if I still got it..."

 

After reaching cloud height in ten seconds flat, he floated in the air for a couple of seconds and singled out the Alicorn. He dived straight at him, creating a 'v' shape in front of him. He crashed straight into the Alicorn and dust flew up everywhere. When it cleared up, a dark coated Pegasus was standing on a dead mutant pony with a big grin on his face.

 

"Yeah..still got it."

 

By that time, most of the Alicorns were dead, since there were only five or six of them.

 

"Don't let them get away or they'll inform Nova!", shouted Night Flash.

 

At that moment, there was only one Alicorn left, who had enough sense to retreat. Some of the archers tried to shoot him down but failed.

 

"Damnit...after him!", said Night Flash, as he took off again along with his Pegasus archers.

 

They chased him for half a mile until one of the archers managed to hit him straight in the head, because impaling them through the chest didn't work. He fell down onto the ground with a loud thud.

 

Night Flash ordered two of his soldiers to hide the body while the rest went back to him to asses the damage.

 

They had managed to put out the fire with some water but the amount of smoke that was in the air was enough to signal their location five miles away.

 

"Well...no rum tonight."

 

(OOC: Damnit, almost hit the 2000 mark)

[Prince Midnight 817]

Midnight looked up and elbowed shiri, "look...over there."

shiri raised her head, "smoke....do you think everypony is okay?"

midnight frowned, "i dont know, but we cant exactly do anything to help at the moment." he peeked over the edge again down at the two guards below them.

 

"You take the one on the left, ill take the one on the right?" shiri smirked,

midnight nodded, "3...2...1" both of them dropped at the same time, landing on the super soldiers, midnight pushing his hoof into the back of the neck his magic causing the supersoldiers body to go ridgid then slowly relax as the life left what was left of its eyes.

 

Midnight looked up at shiri who nodded as both of them made their way into the cave, looked around at the weapons and armor, midnnight shook his head, "no nono, it HAS to be here," as he started to rummage through the many barrels and boxes of weapons.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

The soldiers managed to stop the smoke from flowing as well, but the damage had been done, any one within a five mile radius knew where the Equestrians were and that included Nova. During the chaos, the Equestrians had let one super soldier get away.

 

"HURRY! PACK YOUR GEAR! WE MOVE NOW, OR GET KILLED!"

 

Night Flash ran around the camp waving his hooves and what not.

 

"Sir, what about the bat freaks?", said one soldier.

 

Night Flash gave him a dirty look, "You mean Malumai, the one's who are saving our flanks? They can come at their own time...I think the Archon's been working on something."

 

"What gives you that idea?"

 

Night Flash recalled the loud boom and a smile crept across his face again, "Who knew being an egg-head would help."

[Prince Midnight 817]

shiri looked over midnights shoulder, "what ARE you looking for?"

midnight shook his head, "i had this magical weapon of sorts, a bow, even I didnt know its full potential per se, but a pegasus general gave it too me with his dying breath, why? i dont know, he probibly thought me to be a pegasus, or he knew i was a malumai, but had a good feeling about me.....i have no idea," he used his magic to open some of the securely locked chests.

"before we left, i went to find it, it could have helped a bit.....but it was gone, nova must haved taken it, but he has no use for a bow, hes a magic or knife user," midnight shuddered recalling the event a few nights prior.

"Anyway, he would most likely store it until he was ready too...." midnight sighed, "here it is."

 

He pulled out a sleek black recurve bow, but it wasnt made out of normal material, in fact it wasnt made out of any KNOWN materiel at all, inside the shape of the bow this bluish gas swirled around, and some sort of small stars blinked in an out of exsistance.

"Wow....." was all shiri could say, "its beautiful..."

midnight smiled, "i know, but come on, weve wasted enough time, i dont want to get us spotted..... yet." he winked and secured the bow to his back, before relocking and shutting all the lockers and chests,

 

As soon as they were safely in their small camp overlooking Novas army from behind, midnight shook his head, "now for the plans, when the malumai army gets everything together and actually BEGINS the attack, novas army is going to be occupied on all fronts, what our job is, to cause mass mayhem INSIDE novas army."

shiri frowned, "well we could have done just that with the weapons storage."

midngiht smiled, "way ahead of you sister."

[Jadefire 2,796]

Indigo stood, admiring the dew, when he heard sounds being carried on the mountain air. Upon turning toward the source of the noise, he saw a gray column rising from further down the canyon. "Is that smoke?" Indigo asked to nopony in particular.

 

As if on cue, a duo of large shadows dropped from the sky and landed with a heavy thud in front of him, before the shadows shifted and raised to a standing position, their blue orbs for eyes starkly visible against their black bodies.

 

Alicorn supersoldiers. Indigo swore to himself, they've been found.

 

Both supersoldiers looked at Indigo (or so Indigo assumed, as their eyes were a solid blue with no irises or pupils), and one of them spoke. "High value target Indigo identified. Initiating wanton slaughter." With this, both alicorns suddenly charged toward him.

 

"Oh crap." was all Indigo could say before he dashed to the side to dodge their attacks. The supersoldiers charged past him before coming to a stop and turning. In this time, Indigo had kicked a sword off the ground and threw at them; the sword lodged itself into one of the soldiers' bodies. The soldiers quickly broke into a charge, the soldier with the sword in him apparently not hindred. Indigo scowled, raised his shield, and braced for impact.

 

Indigo deflected the soldiers strike and jumped to the side as the supersoldier moved forward. In a quick and fluid motion, Indigo pulled his spear off of the spine of his armor and plunged it into the flank of the supersoldier as he charged by, but the soldier stopped and turned, and quickly charged at Indigo again.

 

Indigo raised his shield, but the supersoldier's body quickly overwhelmed him and threw him back. In a moment the supersoldier had him pinned, but before any blows could be struck, Indigo watched the alicorn above him flinch three times in rapid succession as a three arrow appeared lodged in the side of the creature's head. Indigo turned his head to the source of the arrows, and to his relief, found three Malumai charging his direction. Indigo took advantage of this distraction by squirming out from under the alicorn's grasp and took to the air.

 

Indigo looked down at the two supersoldiers on the ground, who were now engaged by the other Equestrian and Malumai soldiers on the ground. The recently arrow'd supersoldier was fending off the malumai, whereas the other one was currently getting fried by lighting cast by a pair of unicorn soldiers. Indigo was unable to relax for long, though, as the supersoldier knocked the malumai away and cast a beam of acid green energy in Indigo's direction. Indigo dodged the spell, but immediately had the alicorn charging upwards towards him. "Oh right. They can fly..."

 

Indigo readied his spear and thrust it as the alicorn reached him, catching it into the supersoldier's shoulder. This was evidentally enough to hurt the alicorn, as it suddenly lost momentum and dropped, giving Indigo an opening; Indigo pulled his spear out in time and swung it hard along alicorn's back, shredding its wing. The creature dropped further before catching itself and swung at Indigo, who retaliated with two strikes into its head. The creature swung again, clipping Indigo's legs and knocking him off balance, before he quickly gained altitude and swung awkwardly at its back again. His swing met it's mark, and the alicorns remaining wing shredded and it plummeted to the ground. It hit the ground hard, and immediately after Indigo dropped on it hard, plunging his spear into it hard enough to skewer it into the ground. Indigo removed his spear from the supersoldier's body and stabbed it into it again, and the creature's flailing ceased. Satisfied with the alicorn's death, Indigo lifted his spear and wiped the sweat from his brow...

 

...and was promptly greeted with an energy shockwave from the side, knocking him clear. Indigo landed on his side sans his spear, and quickly rolled to his feet just in time to see the second alicorn, fresh with lightning burns charging at him. Indigo barely had time to raise his shield before the alicorn charged into him.

 

Indigo found himself slammed into a tree hard, and he looked forward to the alicorn on him. The alicorn raised its hoof up, and Indigo close his eyes in expectance of the coming blow.

[AnonyPoni 564]

A bit earlier....

 

“Sire, are you sure you're taking enough soldiers?” Starcrest asked, a bit worried.

 

“Captain, I think 300 ponies is more than enough.” They were on the ridge of the mountains, with a large squadron of Malumai. The moon was rising to their advantage, and they were suiting for battle. “I need to meet with Indigo, and we need to provide them with reinforcements”

 

“Sire, what about the cannons?”

 

“What cannons?” A voice said behind them. They turned around to see Colonel Gaive, and looked up to see the rising moon blacked out by thousands of Malumai.

 

“Whoa...” Sule said.

 

“I decided to send the rest of the military in one shot. Much more efficient” The Colonel said.

 

“I'll say...”

 

“Anyway, Sire, I left a small force at the city for now. However, pretty much our entire military is now here, and they should be ready for a full on assault. Now, what are these 'cannons' you were talking about?”

 

Sule pointed at the five metal behemoths behind him. “Let's just say it's our new advantage against Nova”

 

“I see. You've really out done yourself here, sire”

 

Sule was approached by one of the ponies from the squadron he was taking out and told the Archon they were ready. Sule nodded and turned to Glaive. “Colonel, your experience is going to be useful in case we get into serious combat.”

 

“What about us, Sire?” Starcrest asked.

 

“We'll signal you when it's time for the main force. However, we need somepony in charge of the cannons. Congradulations Major, you're now the commander of the First Cannon Division.”

 

“W-what?”

 

“You heard him” Glaive said, “Congrats on your promotion”

 

“I... I don't know what to say....” Starcrest stuttered.

 

“Don't say anything, just get some intel on the Alicorn locations, get the cannons ready, and rain hell on them” Sule said.

 

Starcrest saluted. “Yes Sirs, I'll get to it. You two better get going as well”

 

“Right” Sule turned to the squadron he assembled, “Ok, Move out!”

 

 

 

**

 

The messenger was leading Sule, Glaive, and the Squadron to Indigo's location. They were flying over a dark, ominous forest.

 

“You sure they were here, right?” Glaive asked the messenger.

 

“I'm positive! I mean.... why would they leave if they expected to see the Archon?” he replied.

 

Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder. They looked up to see if a storm was a approaching, but instead saw a clear night sky.

 

“What's goin' on?” The messenger said.

 

There was another clap of lightning, this time they saw the flash... in the trees. They could hear yelling and the sounds of fighting on the ground. As far as they could tell, there were two large Alicorn Soldiers on the ground fighting Malumai and Equestrian Forces.

 

Sule also heard yelling behind him. He turned around and saw at least five Alicorns attacking his squadron. A most of the ponies were diving below the tree line, hoping to lead confuse the Alicorns. The Super Soldiers followed them into the forest, leaving Sule, Glaive, and the Messenger alone in the air.

 

“Sire, below us” Glaive pointed down. Right below them, an Alicorn had pinned Indigo to a tree. As it reared its hoof for a final blow, Glaive pull out his sword, folded his wings, and plummeted to the ground.

 

Glaive landed right on the Alicorn's head, stabbing his sword straight through its skull. The force of the blow caused the Alicorn head to be thrown downwards, pinned to the ground by the sword. Glaive calmly got up and brushed himself off. Indigo still had his back against the tree, his eyes wide open in amazement.

 

“Ah, Indigo, long time no see. I believe you had needed to speak with the Archon?”

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Night Flash gave one last look at the progress and gave a nod, "Alright...to Ghastly Gorge then...but we need to send a messenger to Indigo and Sule first, problem is, I don't know where they are."

 

After a short conversation with his officers, it was decided that he take a small squad to find them, the rest of the military would carry on to Ghastly Gorge and set up a base there.

 

Night Flash chose five soldiers and called out their names. The last two were Whirlwind and Pansy, who were no where to be seen.

 

"Eh..one minute guys.", said Night Flash as he started to look around for them.

 

Night Flash did find them, by following some strange noises he heard, he carefully approached just in case it might be a Super Soldier. Thankfully, it was them, but he didn't find them how he was expecting them. They were both having.... Night Flash's eyes became twice their side as he slowly backtracked before they noticed him.

 

He returned to the remaining three soldiers, by now, the whole Equestrian military was already gone, "On second thought, why not just the four of us go?"

 

The soldiers shrugged and took off in a 'V' formation. Night Flash wasn't completely blind as to where he was to go, he knew for a fact that they wouldn't be any where in the North, which is where Equestria was, and they wouldn't be anywhere the West, which is where the Griffon Nomad's hunting grounds were.

 

After about flying for thirty minutes, Night Flash finally spotted Indigo, fighting a Super Soldiers.

 

This is my chance to save him

 

Night Flash went into full gear and started creating a gap between him and his wingponies. He was so close to the Alicorn but that moment, another pony took his head off, Night Flash quickly corrected his path so he wouldn't crash into him but slammed head first into the sand and landed right in front of Indigo with a mouth full of dirt.

 

He spat it out, "Uhh..'Sup?"

[Jadefire 2,796]

Indigo dropped to the ground coughing, before getting up and surveying what happened, before looking up at the Archon. "Perfect timing there, Sule." Indigo coughed again, before looking at Sule seriously. "First of all, how soon can we get our entire army marching to Canterlot sir?"

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Night Flash first looked at Sule, then Indigo, and shook his head, "No, if we went straight to Canterlot, that would make any other settlements that are close to the border sitting ducks. That's why we're going to Ghastly Gorge. The canyon can easily be blocked by a phalanx and it's the only way to Equestria, unless you're crazy enough to take the other route and go into dragon territory."

 

"Umm..you do know they can fly?"

 

"I'd like to see them try and get through my archers. Plus, they fly pretty slow, target practice by any standard."

 

The (badass) Glaive nodded, "Making observations, have we?"

 

Night Flash smiled, "I'm not always drinking, you know."

 

Indigo spoke up, "So you want us to help you set up a defence at this canyon?"

 

Night Flash nodded, and then looked back at Sule, "About that booming noise..."

[AnonyPoni 564]

Sule cleared his throat. Standing over the body of a impaled Alicorn and hearing the battle fought out by his forces in the forest, he didn't think this was the best time to discuss these matters. "Let's just say that loud boom is a new invention of mine that makes your archers' arrows look like pin needles."

 

"What's that supposed to mean? You think your little machines are going to be -"

 

Glaive interrupted, "Show some respect when you speak with the Archon!" Night Flash was taken aback.

 

"Colonel, it's -" Sule tried to say

 

"Secondly, do you think that you'd understand the mechanics of a war machine created by a genius? Probably not!"

 

Now Night Flash was getting defensive, "Hey, who do you think you're talking to!? If it weren't for my army, you guys would still be bowing down to Tyrannus!"

 

"And if it weren't for your bucking arrogance, we wouldn't need to fly all the way here and save your sorry plots after you bucked up in fighting the Alicorns! You -"

 

"Colonel, stand down!" Sule ordered, a bit of a shock to Glaive, "We aren't here to rub it in to the Commander's face. We're here out of good will."

 

Glaive backed off and took a deep breath, "*ahem* I'm sorry, sire. I just... I just wanted the let the Commander know that he needs to learn a little respect."

 

"And you did." Sule turned to Night Flash, "What you're suggesting is going to be an all out bloodbath for all of us. A phalanx is outdated and Nova isn't going to have trouble through around it, arrows or no arrows. As you can see," Sule pointed at the dead alicorn at his hooves, with Glaive's sword through it's skull, "It's going to take a lot more than some arrows took take them down. And Indigo," Sule answered the Ancient's question, "We can probably fly our troops there in an hour, and two hours tops"

 

"Why? What are you suggesting?" Night Flash received a angry look and a snort from Glaive, "..... your Archoness..."

 

(OOC, You answer, Jade)

Edited October 23, 2012 by AnonyPoni

[Jadefire 2,796]

Indigo looked up gravely. "Either way, it doesn't matter what we do at Ghastly Gorge. Nova's already there. By the time we arrive, his forces will have already passed through. Fighting them at the Gorge won't work."

 

Night Flash looked at Indigo incredulously. "What? And how the hay do you know that?"

 

"I made contact with the recon team we sent before our army arrived. He was captured, but he managed to eavesdrop on Nova's battle plan first. According to him, they intend to make a mad dash through "the gorge", I assume that's Ghastly Gorge, and they're going to march on the capital today at noon."

 

Glaive looked down. "That's in seven hours."

 

"Indeed," Indigo responded. "So we have seven hours to chase the army down and destroy them. And that's not even the worst news..."

Edited October 25, 2012 by Jadefire

[The Awesome One 1,314]

"Hold on. Since we're attacking them from behind, this would be a big advantage for us. So why not make the most of it?", said Night Flash as he brushed the remaining dirt off himself."

 

(badass) Glaive raised his eyebrows, "What are you suggesting?"

 

Night Flash paused for a second, then spoke out loud, "Well, I'm suggesting THAT WE DRUNK ALL THE RUM!"

 

His reply was a couple of facehoofs and sighs.

 

"Just kidding, I say we mount a surprise attack on them. Alicorns are tough, but from what I've seen in combat, they don't think much."

 

At that moment, a soldier approached the group, "Sir! We found where the Alicorns were camping, and we found Nova's personal journal."

 

Night Flash patted him on the back, "Good work. Did you find anything important in the journal?"

 

"No, Sir, but we did find something interesting. Nova's real name is Rainbow Snuggles, and his mane was originally pink before he dyed it."

 

There were a couple of giggles, then loud laughter.

[Prince Midnight 817]

midnight looked around, the sight before him made him want to retch, ponies, and lots of them were being forced along with the alicorns, mostly as slave labor. "okay i dont think any of the alicorns noticed us, we follow them to their destination then hit from the inside."

shiri looked around a little fitfully "are you sure this is safe? i mean one little thing and we could die."

midnight laughed softly, "wanting to back out now? the offer is still valid, you can help the malumai."

shiri shook her head, "no, i want to help here."

 

midnight nodded, "again, indigo..." he paused and winced as one of novas unicorns came by and whipped his back hard enough to make a large cut "no talking, back to work."

midnight narrowed his eyes but shook his head and waited till the unicorn left,

"anyway, indigo woould kill me, if anything happened to you, but that cant be helped anymore, hes too far."

Shiri nodded, "alright then, but what are we going to do? and what did you do to that weapons pile?"

 

midnight smiled, "theirs a type of explosive powder that sule created, but it seems nova had made some of his own off of sules notes," he stopped talking as the unicorn trotted forward and dissappeared among the soldiers.

"anyway, i kind of....tampered with it." he grinned, "there was some nitroglycerine, a type of VERY volitile liquid, can be set off at a feathers touch." but if one of the barrels i tampered with is jostled around, boom."

midnight winked, "in any case, lets keep pulling, i think were almost to our destination."

[AnonyPoni 564]

The laughing was cut short by a bright flash of lightning. One of the Alicorns in the forest battle had fired a stray electric bolt, which set a tree ablaze. The tree became engulfed in flames, quickly spreading. Some of the Unicorn soldiers tried to put out the flame with magic to no avail. The blaze grew with more intensity

 

As if on cue, several Alicorn soldiers appeared, surrounding the group. Glaive drew his bloodied sword from the dead Alicorn's head. Indigo quickly pulled his spear of the spine of his armor. Sule drew the small dagger on his belt. The Alicorns lunged forward at the Unicorns, who quickly jumped out of the way. Indigo charged forward, driving his spear into the eye of one of them. Glaive dodged a magic bolt and slashed his sword at another one, "GET THE ARCHON TO SAFETY!" He yelled before being thrown against a tree. Several of Sule's soldiers who rushed out of the forest attempted to get Sule out of the blaze when another Alicorn came between them and Sule.

 

"Target acquired. Awaiting orders..." The Alicorn used its magic to throw some of the attacking ponies into the fire, "Take alive"

 

Sule tried to run away, but suddenly every muscle in his body went limp. He fell head first into the ground. The Alicorn picked him up, slung him on his back, and took off.

[Jadefire 2,796]

Indigo watched Sule being taken away, before pulling his spear out of one of the alicorns heads and taking flight. "DON'T LET THEM CAPTURE THE ARCHON!" he yelled, as a number of Malumai took flight after him, leaving the fracas below them as the ground grew alight with the streaks of energy from the unicorn soldiers firing their spells.

 

"Their wings are their weak points, shred 'em and they'll fall!" Indigo ordered, and he and his troupe quickly caught up to the alicorn carrying Sule. The troupe fired a salvo of arrows, and a number of them struck the alicorn in the side, prompting him to stop and turn to face the aggressors. Indigo, however, did not lose his momentum; he raised his shield and charged the alicorn as hard as he could. The alicorn staggered, but still maintained it's grip on Sule's body. Indigo raised his spear to attack it again, but a flash of light in front of him stopped him. Indigo was now facing two alicorns, buzzing in midair.

 

Flash!

 

Flash!

 

Flash!

 

Within short order and a rapid series of flashes, Indigo and his men were now surrounded by a ring of alicorn supersoldiers, having teleported in. Indigo scowled while he turned around facing them all, when there was another flash from behind him, followed by a familiar voice...

 

"That's quite enough, dear Indigo."

 

"What the?" Indigo turned around. Standing astride another supersoldier's back was a red unicorn with striking vibrant green eyes. Indigo immediately readied his spear.

 

"I recommend you don't do that, my boy. My soldiers will rip you apart before you could hit me." Nova stated in a neutral tone. He seemed impossibly stable and balanced, as if he weren't standing on a creatures back floating a hundred feet in the air.

 

"They didn't seem all that fast so far. Not fast enough to stop me from killing you first." Indigo replied.

 

"Are you sure you want to risk that?" Nova said matter-of-factly.

 

"Are you? I could rush your guards long enough to kill you and end your stupid coup right here and now. I'll say this once. Give. Me. The. Archon!" Indigo said with venom.

 

Nova responded with a slow and soft chuckle, that Inidgo was surprised he could hear clearly despite the wind in his sensitive ears. Everything about this unicorn felt slightly ...of. Unnatural.

 

"My boy. There is so much at stake here that you don't even realize..."

[The Awesome One 1,314]

*a couple of moments earlier*

 

"DON'T LET THEM CAPTURE THE ARCHON!"

 

Night Flash nodded, "GET TO THE ARCHON!"

 

He joined Indigo and his ponies in the chase until he, Indigo, and the rest of the soldiers were surrounded. One of the Alicorn soldiers that were surrounding them, slightly stood out, he had a gold helmet on his head, and Nova was sitting on him. He started talking to Indigo. All the soldiers including Night Flash felt as if they couldn't move...as if some force field was holding them. A chill ran down Night Flash's back when his eyes met with Nova's eyes. He felt as if something was unusual about Nova, besides his maniacal craze to rule all of Equestria.

 

Nova finished talking to Indigo, "My boy. There is so much at stake here that you don't even realize..."

 

Night Flash suddenly found the urge to talk, "Uhh...Oh yeah? Well...don't get so cocky....Rainbow Snuggles."

 

Nova turned even more red, he was looking straight at Night Flash. He gulped.

 

What have I done?

 

"You....I'll kill you right here....and then have your head as a nice trophy.."

[Prince Midnight 817]

(later that night)

Midnight looked around, then back at the sleeping shiri, "alright, no sense in bringing her into this, if i get caught, she will be fine."

midnight laid a letter under her hoof letting her know he was probibly going to get himself caught, and if so, to get out as fast and sneakily as possible, and find sule, indigo and night flash and give them as much information as possible.

 

As midnight snuck around some of the weapon carts, he looked around and was about to tamper with some more of the gunpowder barrels, but his eyes suddely started glowing slightly green, "yes master......" he shut his eyes and shook his head, "nnng, ill....be there soon."

[Jadefire 2,796]

Night Flash released a strained “Urk!” before suddenly going completely silent and clawing at his throat, while Nova turned his attention away from him and back to Indigo.

 

“Now, where was I?” Nova asked, his composure returned.

 

“Uh, something to do with pretentious vagueness.” Indigo answered, deadpan.

 

“Ah, right. My boy, everything I’m doing isn’t just a grab for power. I’ve seen far more than the average pony has. Your little dictator, Tyrannus? He’s nothing more than a footnote in history. Nothing compared to what’s coming.”

 

Indigo was fed up. “What are you talking about!?” he barked, “What the hell is coming?”

 

“Your brain can’t comprehend it, and I don’t have the time to explain it. In short, chaos. Gods, demons, discord; our people are walking out of the chaos of the past era and right into the chaos of the next.”

 

“Is that it? You and half of Chiroptera believe the same thing.” Indigo replied. There were far too many super soldiers buzzing around him. If he could keep Nova distracted long enough for an opening, he could either kill him or escape and find backup.

 

Nova shook his head. “My boy, it’s nothing like that. My visions were quite telling, and there was nothing trivial shown.

 

“What do you mean?” Indigo asked, his eyes level with Nova. He scanned what was visible in his peripheral vision. Still no opening, a sudden move will provoke the super soldiers onto him.

 

“The gates of Tartarus opening, entire cities vanishing into the night, ponies starving to death under the night that never ends, the devil of chaos playing with us all like playthings of a foal.”

 

“You’re insane.”

 

“Perhaps.” Nova admitted, his voice still remaining impossible smooth as ever, “But I’m not willing to take that risk. The goddess has already forsaken us, son. The Wendigos, the wars, your own Tyrannus; my omens are no more insane that what has already happened. Only now, the gods will fight amongst themselves and we’ll all be crushed underhoof. Equestria will grow powerful, but our new society cannot survive the coming darkness. I am the only one willing to do what it takes to ensure we live through this era.”

 

“And that involves sitting your ass on Equestria’s throne, so you can see to it yourself?” Indigo surmised, raising his eyebrow.

 

“I’m never one to leave anything to chance.”

A groan came from behind Indigo, and he turned around. The alicorn soldier carrying Archon Sule was still present, and Sule was now struggling back his motor control. “N...Nova, you...”

 

“Sir!” Indigo shouted. “Sir, are yo-” Indigo became aware of a green glow in his vision before he was suddenly hit with titanic force and violently thrown aside.

 

“Out of my way.” Nova said, as Indigo was tossed out of sight and the super-soldier he was standing on hovered closer to the captured archon.

 

Indigo could see stars and a faint blur before everything went dark...

 

“Ah, and if it isn’t Sule. I tell you, I certainly didn’t expect somepony like you to be this strong-willed, bringing your entire army to forge this alliance.” Nova said, addressing the archon, who was now back to lucidity.

 

“P-ponies seem to get that misconception about me...” Sule said. His mind was clear, but his body was still pinned to the alicorn, and he struggled against them.

 

Nova could only mumble his dark, unnatural laugh. “Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter.” Nova looked down at Sule. “In the end, the result is the same.”

 

“I may be no unicorn, but even I know you shouldn’t trust your so-called ‘visions’”.

 

“Typical.” Nova turned and faced the other direction, looking out over the forest. The army hadn’t yet responded to his arrival, still on the ground fighting the remnant alicorns. After a moment’s pause, Nova spoke. “Tell me, how has Miss Clover been lately?”

 

Sule paused. He knew this subject was on a tangent, and knew Nova had an angle. “Fine, thank you?” It took a few seconds before Sule began to realize. Oh, no...

 

Nova responded with a baiting tone. “Are you sure?”

 

Sule remained silent. He knew what was coming.

 

And Nova would deliver. “Your sweetheart is not fine. As I told your friend Indigo, I’m not one to leave anything to chance. And do you think I’m the kind of pony to leave Chiroptera without leaving an agent behind?”

 

“NO!” Sule barked in anger, before suddenly he felt an invisible force constrict around his throat.

 

Nova continued, “Tell me, how does it feel to leave her behind like this, at the mercy of a monster? Crushes your heart, doesn’t it?” Nova raised his voice “And yet you left her behind while you left on this glorious crusade? In a castle, surrounded by her race’s sworn enemies? And you know what else? She knows how to see the future like I can. Did she ever tell you that? She and I see the same thing, and it scared her. And we saw another thing as well. Your pathetic corpse. I know you know, she was pained and distant after you broke into my lab and figured out what I was up to. How it must hurt that she saw your corpse in her visions before you even left.”

 

Sule was in pain, but choked out a few more words. “Wha-...how...you...?”

 

Nova shushed him, like a foal. “You would be surprised at how much I know. You see, understanding the future with such limited glimpses is an art. One act leads to another. Dominos fall, gears turn, you know how it is. As luck will have it, we are at one of those lynchpins.” Nova stepped forward, and quickly a row of alicorn soldiers flew in front of him. Nova descend the backs of the soldiers like a demented staircase.

 

Sule began to realize something: his bonds were starting to weaken. Perhaps he could...

 

“And soon,” Nova finished with a flourish, “history will be mine. And will not let anypony, even you, the good king of the maluma race, stand in my way”.

 

Sule coughed out. “Predictable...”

 

Nova cocked his head. “What?”

 

“You... you're nopony new.... Power?” Sule chuckled slightly, “So pathetic. Here I thought you were more complex...”

 

Nova turned and looked down at Sule. “Excuse me?”

 

Sule struggled to speak, “What is your... real motive?”

 

Nova snorted. “Weren’t you paying attention earlier, my boy? I will take over Equestria and-”

 

Sule interrupted him, “No, that’s...that’s what Tyrannus would do, and I know that’s not the truth.”

 

Nova laughed. “We’re cut from different cloths, you and I, but mend into a similar cloak. We both wanted power, but you were given it. I’m merely taking mine. You can compare me to your late dictator all you want.”

 

Sule coughed, and spoke up, “You and I... have something else in common....we’re thinkers..... It’s not like you to ‘do’ without ‘thought...’”

 

Nova watched Sule for a moment, before lessening the constriction on his throat. “And what, pray tell, makes you think we’re anything alike?” he asked him, his irritation beginning to become apparent.

 

Sule was on a roll, and couldn’t let the oppurtunity to quote his opponent slip past. “You’d be surprised at what I know... I may be a grease monkey from a factory, but even I can spot a faker...”

 

Nova and his alicorn mount rushed forward as a crackle of green energy appeared in the air, and a summoned dagger appeared in front of Nova. Nova grabbed the dagger with his teeth and held it against Sule’s throat. “What did you just say?” He spat with venom.

 

Sule, however, was unfazed. His plan was going smoothly... “I see identity crisis. I see discomposure. I see somepony who is methodically doing something that doesn’t fit him...”

 

Nova roared with anger. “You think I’m a joke!?”

 

Bingo. However, Sule couldn’t enjoy his victory as he felt the knife against his neck again, this time with a sharp pain as the blade broke the surface of his skin.

 

Nova spat in anger. “You think I’m a joke, just like everypony else!?”

 

Sule groaned in pain, but heard what Nova just said. “W-what was that?”

 

Nova froze, realizing what he just said out loud, before removing the blade from Sule’s neck. “...nothing. It was nothing.”

 

Sule paused, taking into account Nova’s slip. “I think I’m beginning to understand you better.”

 

Nova closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. History will only remember the victor, in the end.”

 

“Aaaaand you’re back to a cliche.”

 

Nova narrowed his eyes at Sule. “You think you’re better than me. That’s why you’re mocking me like this.” Nova shook his head. “I’m ashamed I fell for that. You and Tyrannus are merely the same pony in different skins.”

 

Sule paused. “...no, we’re not.”

 

Nova snorted. “Going to start up with some self-righteous spiel on justice and compassion now? You kings are all the same.”

 

Now was his oppurtunity. “No! I am not just any king!” Sule lashed against his magic restraint hard, and immediately felt it give and break. Sule righted himself and stood up, astride the alicorn soldier’s back. “I am the Archon!”

 

“...what?” was all Nova could say, before it suddenly clicked in his mind: Sule just broke his restrainment. And now Sule was reaching into his armor. “WHAT!?”

 

Sule pulled out a small fleshy sack, full of his blinding pepper spray. Nova responded by conjuring a large green energy shield in front of him. Sule, however, had a different idea.

 

Sule threw the sack downward, into the face of the alicorn soldier he was riding.

 

The soldier screeched, and Sule dove off the side of the soldier and into the sky. “Man, that line was corny...” was the first thing Sule thought on breaking free...

[AnonyPoni 564]

***Chiroptera Castle***The Castle’s throne room was something of marvel. The room itself was a large circle, it’s circumference lined granite pillars. It’s floor was made of a black marble, streaked with white veins that made it seem like lightning storm. The throne itself stood stoically at the opposite end of the room. The overall effect was a monolithic assertion of the Archon’s power.Clover could see why Sule stayed in his office.“Admiring our hoofwork, m’lady?”Clover turned her head to see a tall, dark stallion walk up to her. “I would, but I can barely see a thing. My eyes aren’t as sensitive as yours.”“But, of course.” His voice was a deep and comforting kind with a stern tone. The stallion looked around the room and spotted a servant, “You, light up the room!”“Yes sir!” he replied. The servant flew up to a ledge that circled the ceiling of the room. He pulled a lever and dim lights came faded on around the perimeter and throne. Not torches, but actual light.“Fascinating” Clover said, “It’s like Unicorn light!”“Yes, The Archon created these ‘Light Bulbs,’ as he calls them. He claims they are more stable than torches.” The stallion blinked his eyes. The light was a bit strong.“How does it work?”“I am not familiar with it’s workings, as it’s much ahead of my time. I honestly don’t see the point, though, with us being nocturnal.... Do forgive me, I have neglected to introduce myself,” The stallion said with a bow, “I am Mundus, curator to this fine castle.”“Oh, nice to mean you. I’m -” “Clover the Clever, yes. I must say, it’s an honor to welcome you to my castle.” Mundus said with another bow. “I take it the Archon is too busy saving the world and has not yet given his esteemed guest the grand tour?”Clover cracked a smile and shook her head.***Clover and Mundus were in one of the underground wings of the castle. When they came into one of the hallways, Mundus stopped.“Look around us.”The walls, ceilings, and even parts of the floor had things carved into it. Statues of Malumai all looked as if they were standing naturally there, admiring the ornately carved scenes and frescos.“This hallway depicts the story of the Malumai race. Our legends, stories, theories to our recorded and lived history are carved out for us to look back on.”“Wow... I never realized Malumai had such a rich history.” Clover was trying to take it all in. The fact that they pulled this off was amazing....“Malumai started off as miners. Chiroptera itself was built on top of massive marble deposit, which is what this hallway is carved into of. The marble under this section of the city is ideal for sculpting.”“Fascinating” Clover walked forward in disbelief, past all the statues until she came across one with an menacing smile on it’s face. “Mundus, who are these statues of?”“Malumai rulers, my dear. The walls around them reflect their rule. That one is Tyrannus. A rather accurate depiction of him in his prime.” Mundus paused a bit, “He was an interesting child. Not very clever, but would always get his way. He was a bit of a spoiled apple, if you will." He stood in front of the wall, looking at the carvings of Tyrannus's rule, and sighed. "I never expected him to become what he did...""Wait, you knew Tyrannus when he was young?""I raised the colt. In many ways he was my pride and joy."Clover paused. If this was true, Mundus had to be over 70 years old or so. "You must have seen much in your years""I have, but by far the most important thing that I've seen is Sule becoming Archon." Mundus said, walking to a proud statue of him. Sule's statue was different than the other rulers. Instead of looking at the wall, he was looking down the hallway where things were not yet carved. "To symbolize his view for the future of the Malumai."Clover couldn't deny, it was a rather flattering statue of Sule... but looking at it made her heart drop. She didn't cry, but sadness was just as strong."I understand you and the Archon were involved?"Clover didn't answer."I'm sure he'll come back a hero for both our lands...""I just hope he comes back...""...I understand..."The short silence was broken by the sound of hoofs clopping on the ground. One of the castle guards was rushing down the hallway. He stopped and said with a pant, "There... there's a threat on the Princess's advisor's life... we need to get her to safety..."

***1st Cannon Division***

 

After the 18th cannon was made, Major Starcrest decided it was enough. More cannons would just be overkill which he and his ponies didn't have the resources for. The workers were now focused on making the ammo. Cannons lined the precipice that looked over Equestria. The teams stood by at a moment's notice to start a volley. One of the soldiers did some math and found out what they needed to get the cannons to be as accurate as possible.

 

Starcrest himself was by the first cannon, the only one that had been fired so far. It put him in awe, how such a simple concept could be so destructive... and loud. One could only wonder why the Archon gave him that power...

 

"Captain, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" yelled a voice behind him. Starcrest turned around and immediately saluted the Maluma General who had approached him.

 

"Sir, it's Major now."

 

"Really? They promoted the likes of you?" The battle weathered pony said with a sneer. "What the buck is that thing?"

 

"That.... is a cannon sir. I'm the Commander of the First Cannon Division."

 

"Really now? What is it, a big telescope?"

 

"No, it's..." The Major took another look at the pony before him. He was rather old and probably wouldn't believe Starcrest if he said a cannon was a big tube that shot a metal ball by use of ignited powder, ".... er... something like that..."

 

 

***Everfree Forest***

Sule flew into the trees to find Indigo. Around him, he saw more and more Alicorns warp into the vicinity. Any of the remaining Equestrian/Malumai forces were beginning to retreat. After several panic stricken minutes, Sule found Indigo. He was unconscious and stuck in a tree.

 

Sule flew up to him and slapped his Ancient across the face to wake him up.

 

 

(OOC: Sorry guys, that was all I could write today. I was going to do more, but I'm running out of internet time. Jadefire, I hope that's enough for you to post next...)

[Prince Midnight 817]

Midnight landed next to nova, then smirked through the pain in his head, from novas control over him, novas face was red with anger, "tough night?"

nova frowned, "dont push it midnight, your friends, the ancient and the archinon got away from me, i dont know how, my magic must be getting weaker," he looked over at midnight, "hmm.." his eyes glowing as midnight screamed in pain and fell to his knees.

"no, thats not it, or else you would have been able to resist that," he smirked, "honestly i think thats where you belong dont you agree?"

midnight panted "bite.... me." as another burst of magical energy coursed "y-yes....m-master," he growled through gritted teeth.

"good boy." nova laughed, "you might prove to be of some entertainment after all."

 

midnight snorted, he had been thrown in a cage, and was being treated like an animal, "damnit sule, indigo, i hope you two have a plan, beacuse im going nowhere."

 

suddenly two of the barrels on the pile rolled off the top, having been carelessly placed there, rolled off, and slamed into the ground, and caused a mass explosion that could have been seen from miles away.

 

(and thats all i could fart out, so do what you will.)