Chapter One - A Heroes Calling.
The magical land of Equestria, a land divided into three kingdoms. The first kingdom, and the largest, was ruled by Princess Celestia. Celestia was a kind and benevolent ruler that was adored and loved by her subjects.
The second kingdom belonged to Princess Luna. Luna’s realm was smaller than Celestia’s, and Luna herself was old fashioned for some somepony so young, but was loved by her subjects none-the-less.
The third was under the rule of Empress Twilight. Centred around the Crystal Empire and the surrounding mountain ranges, the Crystal realm is difficult to access and as such, little is known about the reclusive kingdom.
The magical land of Equestria, a land divided into three kingdoms. And a realm that was currently at war!
***
Princess Luna sat upon her throne, gazing at reconnaissance reports when one of her Lunar Guard came hurrying into the room, looking quite out of the breath.
“Your Majesty!” he announced in between breaths. “I come bearing news from the Eastern Border!”
“From Ponyville!?” Luna asked. “State your report!”
“Solar Guard were spotted massing near Sky Mirror Lake and their numbers are staggering.” He wiped some sweat from his brow as a handmaiden brought him a glass of water. “It’s only a matter of time before Ponyville falls and they make their way here to the castle.”
Luna’s brow furrowed as she listened. This was grave news indeed and there was little that she could do against Celestia’s superior numbers. She turned to the stallion standing next to her throne and clicked her fingers. “Aegis Shield! Summon the Council at once. It would appear that the day of the decisive conflict is upon us.”
Aegis Shield, Captain of the Lunar Guard and Princess Luna’s personal knight, nodded and hurried off the nobles’ bedchambers. Luna herself nodded to the guard that brought her the news and dismissed him to get some food and rest. “Celestia’s getting quite bold,” Luna thought as she made her way to the Central Meeting Hall. “I only hope we can devise a counter-measure…”
***
“So I take it that the little spy took the bait?” Princess Celestia asked, sipping a glass of rich, red wine.
“Yes, Your Excellence!” a mint green unicorn responded, saluting. “They believe that the bulk of our forces will come from the East, when our Pegasus squad will descend from Manehatten in the West and take the Everfree Castle by surprise.”
Celestia smiled and gazed out at the night sky from her tent in the centre of the camp. Soldiers still busted about even at this late hour, sharpening their weapons and polishing armour, making the final preparations for tomorrow’s assault.
Celestia dismissed her spy with a wave of her hand and smiled again as she gazed at the bright, full moon. “It’s just a matter of time dear sister. You can’t hold out forever…”
***
Princess Luna, Aegis Shield and a group of sleepy nobles, mages and old knights sat around a large, round table. One noble looked at the moon Princess and decided to be the first to speak.
“So what is the nature of this summons, that we were required to be roused from our beds, dear Princess?”
Aegis was about to give the pompous noble a tongue lashing… with his own tongue, for such disrespect. Luna raised her hand to stop him, “Be still Aegis, this matter is more important.” She turned to the Royal Council and told them the reason for this late gathering.
“Princess Celestia gathers her forces and intends to take Ponyville in the morn.”
The council suddenly went from sleepy to a bustle of hushed whispers and gasps. This was grave news indeed.
“We believe that Our forces can indeed hold Ponyville… but-”
“It would leave the castle here in the Everfree defenceless.” Aegis finished his Princess’s sentence. “And we don’t know what Celestia has planned, she is quite crafty.”
Murmurs and whispers filled the air, but nopony seemed to offer up any solid plans… until one old mage cleared his throat loudly. Luna raised her hand and the whispers ceased, cloaking the room in total silence.
“Dost thou have a suggestion?” Luna said.
The mage nodded and cleared his throat once more. He was taking his time, but being nearly a hundred and twenty years old will do that to a pony. His horn lit up and he summoned forth a heavy and very old-looking tome. “This… may have the answer Our Lady seeks!” he rasped.
Luna nodded and Aegis brought the tome over to her. The title was too faded to read but when Luna opened the cover and began to read, her eyes widened and a small smile crept upon her face.
“Princess?” Aegis knew that smile. It was one when Luna was sure that victory was around the corner.
“I think this will do.” She said. “This will do very nicely…”
***
A young man panted heavily as he attacked his foe with lightning fast strikes. The first struck the lower torso, before a decisive third struck the shoulder.
“And another vicious dummy bites the dust!” a voice called out and the man turned to see a teenage girl sitting on his back porch, giggling.
“Indeed it does,” he smiled, sheathing his wooden sword and wiping his brow. “So I take it that you are to escort me again today, Reika?”
The petite blond girl nodded and thumped her chest proudly. “If I didn’t come to pick you up Aerin, then you’d never make it to school on time.”
The teacher smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, well…”
It only took a few moments before teacher and student were making their way to the school they both attended. Reika was a third-year student whilst Aerin taught Kendo and Homeroom.
“And at least call me Mr. Aerin at school.” Aerin said to his little sister. “Don’t want to give people the wrong idea or anything.”
“Like what?” she giggled, hugging his arm. “That we actually get along?”
“Something like that,” he groaned. Reika smiled and let go of him.
“Well I’d better get to class,” she said.
“What time are you leaving to meet with our dear mother and father for your overseas trip?”
“I have to leave a little after lunch,” Reika replied. “We’ll be gone for four weeks.”
Aerin petted her on the head and smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to do all my own cooking for a while then.” He laughed.
“You mean eat pizza for the next few weeks?”
“That too!”
The siblings shared another laugh and then headed off to class.
***
Luna stood at the large stone dias as the mages prepared the last of the magic circles. Even Luna’s formidable magic power alone wasn’t enough to pull this off, so her Court Wizard, Arcane Vortex as well as a large group of her battle mages, stood ready to begin the large scale summoning.
“Will this really work?” Aegis asked his princess. “Summoning a hero from the past?”
“We have little in the way of choice my stallion.” Luna replied as she raised her hands. “Please leave this to Us my stallion. Go forth to battle and We shall join you when We are able.” Aegis gave his princess one last look and then hurried away to Ponyville. Luna began to chant the spell as the other mages followed suit and soon the magic circle began to glow brightly.
***
“And no one shows up yet again.” Aerin muttered. Some weeks ago, the PTA had announced their disproval of the Kendo club, claiming it to be too violent and teaching children how to fight and become delinquents. Aerin had gone to great lengths to point out their stupidity and ultimately won their little political battle with the school board ruling in his favour. But that hadn’t stopped the parents from forbidding their children to attend and so this was the third week in a row for no club members to show up.
“Should have figured as much,” he muttered again, locking up the hall he used and heading for the front entrance. “Guess I’ll just have to figure something else out…”
He stepped out onto the street, but his feet never touched solid ground. He looked down to see himself sinking into some sort of glowing glyph. He didn’t even have time to shout as he disappeared into the light.
***
His whole body tingled and itched as though he had pins and needles all over. Aerin groaned and opened his eyes. Standing before him was something that left the young man speechless…
Luna looked down at the creature that had appeared. he appeared to walk upright, like she did, but that was where the similarities ended. Rather than having the long, pointed ears of a pony, this creature had small, rounded ones. His short, brown mane only just covered his head and he had no wings, no horn or even a tail. His sapphire blue eyes stared back at her, full of confusion and perhaps a bit of curiosity. But most importantly…
“What has happened here!?” Luna asked Arcane. “This does not look like a great pony hero of old!”
“I-I do not know…” Arcane said frantically. He flicked through the pages of the tome and gasped. Some of the chants were smudged and it appeared that the target destination was set to the past, but somewhere else.
“I believe that we may have, um… goofed?” he said with a sheepish look, praying he wasn’t about to spend the rest of his life on the moon.
Luna’s eye twitched and she was about to berate the poor old wizard when Aerin spoke up.
“Um… where am I? And who are you?” He asked.
Luna’s expression softened as she turned back to the being she had called forth. “We are to apologise to you. It would seem that Our mistake has caused Us to call you forth to Our world to aide Us in battle.” She reached down and helped Aerin to his feet. “I must go and assist Our troops in battle immediately, but you shall be welcomed into Our castle until we can return you home.” She turned to leave when she remembered. “Our name is Luna… may I have yours?”
This… Luna, she was like nothing Aerin had ever seen. She was tall and defiantly not human, more like… well Aerin couldn’t think of a decent comparison. As he took her hand to get up, he noticed that her skin was covered in a layer of soft, blue fur. Her hair looked like the night sky itself had fallen and came to rest on her head and when she turned he saw that she had a matching tail. Even more curious was that she also had wings and a long, spiral-shaped horn protruding from her head. Almost like a unicorn.
“Um, Aerin.” He replied, breaking out of his trance. “My name is Aerin Skyheart.”
“Well met then, Aerin Skyheart!” Luna smiled. “But we shall talk later, I must go and assist my forces at once.”
Luna seemed worried about something and Aerin remembered that she mentioned a battle. “What is that battle you mentioned?” he asked. “Is it really that bad?”
Luna took his hand and led him to a chariot. “We shall explain on the way back to the castle!” she said. As Aerin picked up his bag and his kendo sword, Luna spied the wooden weapon from the corner of her eye.
“Is thou a warrior?” she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
“I am practiced in the Way of the Sword.” Aerin replied. It was true after all, he had been practicing swordplay since he was young and even now, he never missed a day’s practice.
“Perhaps… perhaps this has not been a wasted venture after all!” Luna smiled and with a wave of her hand, the chariot ventured off her castle deep within the Everfree Forest.
***
“Do you understand?” Luna said to Aerin and he nodded slowly. It was a lot to take in all at once and he wasn’t sure that he could make a solid decision right away. But these ‘ponies’ need help and that was something he understood clearly. Okay, so maybe he had a bit of a hero complex…
“I’ll help as best as I can.” Aerin said. “Though I’m not sure if I can make much of a difference…”
“That is where you are wrong,” Luna said and clapped her hands. Several handmaidens came out of nowhere and began to undress Aerin, much to his protest. “Dost thou feel a power since arriving here? I can sense magic flowing within you.”
“Power?” Aerin had stopped struggling as the maids stripped him down to his boxers and began to clothe him in something else. “I’m not sure, but I have been feeling really good for a while now, Sort of like after getting a perfect nights rest…”
“An interesting analogy,” Luna chuckled as maids began to attach light armour to her. “But yes, that would be magic that you can feel. There is not enough time to teach you how to use it now, but I think you should do fine none the less.”
An old pony in a long robe stepped forward and handed Luna a small box. “Are you sure about this Your Highness? Giving it to somepony that isn’t a hero?”
“Perhaps it may be the wrong choice, but I now believe that Lord Aerin was brought here for a reason and fate has decreed that he is to be Our hero!” Luna said as she took the bax and passed it to Aerin.
It was small and when Aerin opened it, he saw a silver ring with a beautiful blue gem mounted on the top of it. The gem reminded Aerin of Luna’s mane, a swirling mass of stars on a deep midnight background. He wore a slight smile as something came to mind and he just couldn’t help himself.
“Why my dear Princess!” he said with a small gasp. “We have only just met and you propose?”
Luna’s eyes went wide and a blush coated her face. The old wizard looked just as shocked, while several maids blushed and giggled. “F-Fool! It is not an engagement ring!” Luna huffed indignantly as Aerin chuckled.
“I know, I just couldn’t resist.” He smiled and Luna pouted before taking breath and sighing.
“That ring is Excelion, A powerful weapon that was once wielded by a great hero.” Aerin nodded as he put on the ring, but it was a few sizes too big; until it shrank down to fit him perfectly.
“Whoa, that’s cool.”
Luna smiled and nodded, “That’s good, it would seem that Excelion has accepted you… for now.” Aerin was also re-clothed into a long, blue coat. It had a metal breastplate as well as armour covering his shoulders and forearms. He wore a matching pair of metal greaves and as he moved about, he noticed how light the armour was. He barely even realised that he was wearing it.
“So I take it that we’re ready to go?” he said.
Luna nodded as she took a hold of her weapon, a massive axe with a crescent-shaped blade. The handle matched her coat colour, whilst the gleaming blade shone brightly, like the full moon itself. The whole thing was taller that she was and Aerin wondered how she even lifted such a huge thing.
“Let us depart for battle my hero!” She said with a triumphant tone and they made their way to her chariot.
***
Aegis Shield was beginning to feel a little pressured. Word had been sent that Princess Luna was on her way at last, but he was unsure on how much longer he could hold out. Celestia’s numbers had been greater than initial reports had made them out to be and the Sun Princess had still yet to take the field herself. He heard a horn and saw Damascus, Celestia’s lead knight take to the field with a fresh battalion.
“Please hurry Luna!” he whispered as he raised his lance and charged off into battle.
***
It was something that Aerin was not expecting. As they made their way to the ‘battlefield’ he couldn’t help but groan and place his hand against his forehead. When Princess Luna mentioned war, this was the last thing he had possibly expected.
The battlefield was now in sight as they made their descent down the slope and he got a full view. Rolling logs atop of rivers. There were tall wooden walls to climb over to proceed and two great forts at either end of the battlefield that housed the opposing ‘armies’.
“It’s just a bloody overdramatic sports carnival,” Aerin muttered, earning him a curious look from Luna.
“What was that?” she asked curiously. “A sports carnival?”
“It’s just that this whole war thing… it’s similar to games played back in my world, only with swords and armour…”
“Oh?”
“Well, I still don’t get it!” He watched scores of ponies take to the field with various weapons to attack the opposing forces. “How come no-one dies?”
“With powerful magicks,” Luna explained. “A large-scale spell called the Tree of Life is erected over most of Equestria and it’s within these designated places that death can be avoided.”
“Well that’s convenient,” Aerin said. He wasn’t sure if he liked the fact that life was played around with like that, but he figured that he would withhold judgement until everything could be explained. “So if I attack someone with a lethal weapon, they won’t die?”
Luna shook her head. “When somepony takes a decisive blow, the magic of the Tree of Life turns them into a chubbie, until either the designated time limit expires or until the end of the match.”
“Chubbie?” Aerin looked out to the battle and sure enough, when somepony was struck down, there was a puff of smoke and they transformed into an adorable little blob with a cute face and four stubby legs. “Unbelievable…” he said as they arrived at Luna’s stronghold.
The two stepped out and Aerin was suddenly the centre of attention. The medical barracks were full of Ko’d chubbies and the remaining soldiers weren’t looking so hot. Aegis Shield approached Luna and saluted.
“Welcome Princess Luna… we have managed to hold out so far, but I fear we lack the strength and numbers to win this one.”
Luna embraced her loyal knight, causing him to blush and Aerin to raise an eyebrow. “You have done exceptionally well dear Aegis.’ She said quietly. “I am here now and we will win this time!”
Luna turned to Aerin and pointed to the battle field. “You job will be to simply whittle down their numbers. This is an elimination battle, so any who fall are out for the match. Can you do that?”
Aerin looked out at the battlefield and then back to Luna. “I’ll try, but I have one more question.”
“Speak,” was Luna’s reply. “We haven’t long.”
He held up the ring and shrugged. “How do I use this thing?”
Luna looked a little surprised and then sheepishly smiled. “Oh, I forgot to tell you how to wield Excelion?” She took his hand in hers and gazed at the ring. “Excelion can become any weapon you desire,” she explained. “Just think and it will respond.”
Aerin nodded and closed his eyes. Excelion began to glow softly and then the next thing he knew, a gleaming, silver sword was in his hand. “Whoa, cool,” he said quietly, admiring the weapon.
Luna took a small, oval-shaped crystal and placed it in Aerins’ right ear. “And this will allow you to communicate with your comrades.”
“Okay,” Aerin was getting a tad nervous now. Just this morning he was at school with his cute little sister and now he was in a whole other world, fighting in a massive battle for god only knows what reason.
At least he wasn’t sitting at home bored and eating pizza.
“Alright, let’s go!” he said with renewed determination and ran out onto the battlefield.
“And so the second half of the Battle for Ponyville is underway!” A loud voice rose above the yells of the warriors and the cheering of the crowd. “I’m your lovely host, Cheerilee, and you all know my partner, Big Macintosh!”
“Eeyup!” Came the deep, baritone reply of the muscled stallion next to her as several mares swooned when he spoke.
“The Sun Kingdom has the Lunar Republic on the ropes. Will this be another overwhelming victory for our esteemed Princess Celestia?” Cheerilee’s commentary continued. Aerin gazed up to see a large holographic image in the sky with the two commentators on it.
“A floating TV in the sky, why not?” Aerin mused as he made a few practise swings with Excelion.
“Breaking news!” Cheerilee announced. “It would seem that Princess Luna herself has finally arrived with some re-enforcements. One of them being… wait, who is Aerin Skyheart?”
The crowd of spectators began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves. That was an unfamiliar name to everypony. In
Celestia’s camp, the princess sat upright at this news. Just what had Luna done? She clicked her fingers and one of her knights, Lyra Heartstrings, appeared by her side.
“You summoned Your Highness?”
Celestia nodded. “I want all the information you have on this Aerin Skyheart,” she said.
“Nothing at all Your Highness,” Lyra said with a disappointed tone. “This news is new to all of us.”
“I see…” Celestia gazed at the image of Aerin on the screen. He was no stallion, that’s for sure. So what was he? Why was he fighting for Luna? “I think… I shall tend to this personally.” Celestia said, reaching for her sword.
“You needn’t do that!” Lyra said. “You must save your strength for Princess Luna, let your knights handle this.”
Celestia paused and then nodded. “Alright, but be careful. We do not know the strength of this Aerin yet.”
“All will fall before the Eclipse Knights!” Lyra said, placing her hand across her chest. She stepped outside the tent where two other girls were waiting. “We have a mission form the Princess herself!” Lyra announced. “We are to assess the strength of the Aerin Skyheart and defeat him!”
Bon-Bon, one of the knights nodded and saluted. “And so he shall fall…”
“Before Our mighty blade!” the second knight, Carrot Top added. And together, the three knights clashed their swords together. “For the Sun Kingdom! For Princess Celestia!” And with that they ran out onto the battlefield to face their enemy.
***
Aerin hadn’t moved too far from the fort when Aegis Shield caught up to him. “You faring okay there ‘hero’?” he said.
“Still just unsure I suppose,” Aerin replied. “You’re sure that no one will get hurt?”
Aegis sighed and gave his lance a mild twirl. “This is a battle, no matter how you look at it. Everypony is here because they wish to be. Be it for glory or gold, be it for honour or for duty, they know the risks. If you start doubting yourself now, then you will fall.” Aegis put a hand in Aerins’ shoulder and gave him a solemn stare. “For some reason, the Princess is counting on you and so you shall receive my hopes as well. Just do your best alright, nopony is expecting a miracle.”
Aerin nodded and gripped Excelion tighter. “Thanks, er…”
“My name is Aegis Shield,” the stallion replied. “Be sure to remember it.”
“Thanks Aegis!” Aerin smiled and watched as the knight began to head off to the southern side of the field. Aerin noticed about half a dozen troops approaching and took a fighting stance. “Guess there’s nothing to do but to do it!”
“And so a small group begin their attack on the newest addition to Princess Luna’s army. Will it be enough to take him down? Let’s see!”
“Just be calm and focus alright?” Luna’s voice spoke gently inside his head. “Everything will be fine, I just know it.”
“She speaks the truth Master!” another voice spoke this time, as if it were right next to him. He glanced around until his eyes fell upon Excelion.
“No way…” Aerin whispered in disbelief.
“Indeed!” Excelion spoke with a young woman’s voice. “As long as you wield me, I shall guide you to victory!”
The group approaching him and was on him within seconds. Aerin attempted a counter-slash technique out of sheer reflex and his arm moved like a blur, Excelion flashing in the bright sun and the air was filled with sound as the six attacking stallions were reduced to chubbie form.
“Whoa, I did that?” Aerin said, unable to believe that he could move so fast.
“I augment the magic inside your body and increase your natural abilities.” Excelion explained. “Just go with the flow as they say!”
Aerin smiled as he looked at his defeated foes. “Alright, I guess we have a battle to win!” And Aerin headed deeper into the battleground.
“And Aerin Skyheart defeats his opponents with no effort. Just who is this mysterious warrior? Where has he come from and why is he fighting with Princess Luna’s army?” There was a crackle and the holoscreen split down the middle to reveal Princess Luna. “Perhaps I should explain then?” Luna said earning nod from Cheerilee and a simple ‘Eeyup’ from Big Mac.
“Then I would like to formally introduce Aerin Skyheart, summoned Hero for the Lunar Republic!” Luna announced with pride before putting on a smug smile. “Now would be a good time to panic Tia!” She said.
Celestia glowered at the image of Luna before taking the large, golden sword that lay up against the chair she sat upon. “Alright little sister, challenge accepted!” she said as she put on her armour. “It’s time we ended this once and for all!”
***
Aerin had defeated quite a few opponents by now, but it still seemed that this Princess Celestia had troops to spare. “Geez, Luna really is quite outnumbered huh?” he said to no one in particular. “Is there any way to win this thing?”
“As it is an Elimination Battle,” Excelion explained. “Victory is gained by defeat of the entire enemy force, or the defeat of the General, the General being Princess Celestia in this case.”
“So all we gotta do is beat Celestia huh?”
In an instant, there were three girls standing before him. One of them, a mint green mare wielding a double-bladed sword, gave him a look of both amusement and disgust.
“Like you have a chance against our esteemed Princess!” she spat. “We’ll send you to an early grave!”
“That’s right!” A pale yellow mare with a pink and blue mane added. Her weapons were two small daggers. “You must surely be joking?”
“Maybe he is serious girls?” the orange one said. She held a huge scythe that glinted wickedly in the sun. “Wouldn’t that be a laugh, seeing as how we’re going to annihilate him?”
“And who might you be?” Aerin asked.
“I am Lady Lyra Heartstrings, the Instrument of Death.” The green mare said.
“I am Lady Bon Bon, the Sweet taste of Demise.” The yellow one replied.
And I am Lady Carrot Top, the uh…” She turned to the other two. “What was my cool name again?”
“Urgh,” Lyra facepalmed and groaned. “You’re the Garden of Despair, remember?”
“Oh ye~eah” she said, bopping herself on the head. She turned back to Aerin, looking all serious. “And I am Lady Carrot Top, the Garden of Despair!”
Aerin just stared blankly, were these girls for real?
“Do not be deceived by their foolish act.” Luna said through the message stone. “They are knights for my sister and highly trained. Try and hold out for as long as you can. Aegis is on his way.”
Aerin nodded but readied his sword. He took his usual stance as he eyed off the competition. Lyra appeared to be the leader of the group and was probably the most skilled. Bon Bon appeared to be armed for light, yet rapid strikes and Carrot seemed to be all offense. Deciding that Carrot should be the first to be dealt with, he lunged forward with surprising speed and thrust his sword, trying to take her out with a single blow, but was stopped by a glowing shield.
“What the?” he muttered before he had to duck as she swung the heavy scythe at his head.
“What’s the matter?” she taunted. “Can’t get past my Crest Shield?”
“Crest Shield?” he asked, confused. “What’s that?”
Lyra was shocked. The warrior that had been carving through their troops like a lawnmower had no idea what Crest magic was?
“You’re joking right?” she said. “You’re a knight for Princess Luna and you don’t even know something basic like that?”
Aerin frowned as the three girls laughed at him. Was this something important that he was supposed to know?
“Crest Magic is a technique that all Knights can use.” Excelion informed him, earning a sudden silence from the trio. Did that sword just talk?
“Can I use it?” Aerin asked, all but forgetting about the fight.
“You have a Crest, but currently lack the training to wield it effectively,” Excelion continued. “Right now, all you have is Battle Cry, which is more of an instinct based ability rather than one of skill.”
“Okay, so how do I use it?” he asked the sword, which hummed lightly in response.
“Simply focus your energy and shout!” she responded. “It should be quite simple for you.”
Aerin seemed to get it; it was like a kiai shout when he practised kendo. “Alright,” he said and took a deep breath.
The trio looked on as their opponent closed his eyes and took a breath. Battle Cry was a magically augmented shout, similar to the Royal Canterlot Voice their Princess could use. But this guy wasn’t even a pony, how could he use magic?
“HHRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Aerin’s voice sent shockwaves blasting out across the battlefield as everypony around heard it. But to the trio standing before him, it was enough to knock the girls off of their feet.
“W-what the hay!?” Lyra’s ears were ringing as she attempted to get to her feet. “That was nuts!”
“How is that possible?” Bon Bon said. “What is he?”
“That was cool!” Carrot giggled. “Do it again!”
That was something Lyra would not allow as she rushed forward to attack Aerin. Aerin raised Excelion and blocked her strike, countering with a Debana-waza counterstrike, using Lyra’s rigid stance to deal several blows to her armour. As Lyra fell back, Carrot came in and brought her scythe down like an axe. Aerin side-stepped as the long, curved blade sank into the ground. Carrot could only blink in confusion as she tried to pry her stuck weapon, only to receive the same punishment as Lyra.
Bon Bon looked on as her partners were dropped in the blink of an eye. This was no hero, this thing was a demon! She drew her daggers as the crest on her right hand glowed.
“Level One Crest Technique! Hurricane Blade!” She shouted as she twirled the blades in front of her, generating a powerful tornado of wind. Aerin turned to the attack as he realised he had no counter for it. A second tornado, one made form dark, grey wind, like a swirling storm cloud, cancelled out the move however.
“Need a hand?” Aegis called out as he ran up to Aerin. “Cause it looks like you could use it.”
“Thanks for the save!” Aerin said gratefully. “This magic stuff’s weird.”
“If you’re gonna fight, then you have to learn about it,” Aegis replied. “But we’ll talk about that later… first things first.”
He twirled his spear above his head as his own crest lit up. “Level Two Crest Technique! Heavy Storm!” The tornado was much larger this time and it swirled and twisted towards the trio of knights. All three screamed as they were launched high into the air by the powerful twister, before being dumped unceremoniously on the ground with a loud thud.
“And that takes care of that!” Aegis said and dusted off his armour.
“That was cool!” Aerin applauded the stallion. “I have to learn how to do that!”
“And so the trio of Lady’ s Lyra, Bon Bon and Carrot are defeated by Aerin and Aegis Shield, what a stunning upset victory. But it would seem that it’s time for the main event, Princess Luna versus Princess Celestia! Who will come out on top?” Cheerilee’s announcement made Aegis’s iris’s shrink. This was bad!
“Come Aerin, we must assist Luna!” he said running off to the centre of the battlefield.
“Is Celestia really that powerful?” he said. “Cause I figured that Luna is pretty strong in her own right.”
“She is!” Aegis snapped, think that Flare was insulting the princess. “But summoning you drained her of a lot of power, power that will take days to recover!”
“And she came straight here…” Aerin felt bad now, that it was his fault that Luna was weakened. “Let’s book it Aegis!” he said and bolted at full speed.
***
“What’s the matter little sister?” Celestia said with a sweet tone. “Feeling a little under the weather?”
“Tis no concern of yours!” Luna panted. Her armour was barely hanging on, as pieces of it broke away. Her axe lay embedded in the ground next her as Celestia stood over her with barely a scratch.
“So what is the reason for this pitiful performance? That thing you summoned? It is a curious creature by the way, where did it come from?” Celestia rested her sword in front of her, seeing as how Luna had no strength left to fight back. One more blow would win the battle for the Sun Princess.
“His name is Aerin!” Luna snapped. “And since we are on the topic, why is thou being such a mule! You were never like this before.”
Celestia, for a brief second had a pained expression, before her scowl replaced it. “Hero or not, victory has not come to you today, just like always…” She raised her sword and swung it down as Luna closed her eyes to receive the final blow, but it never came. She looked up to see Celestia’s weapon being blocked by Aerin and Aegis.
“And so Luna’s little Knights come to her aide,” Celestia mused. “What do you hope you hope to accomplish here?”
Then she noticed the weapon that Aerin held. “Y-you gave it to him? You gave him Excelion!?”
“That’s right!” Aerin said as he parried away Celestia’s sword. “And now I’ll defeat you and win this battle!”
Celestia laughed and a massive golden crest appeared behind her. “Defeat me!? You cannot be serious?”
“This is bad!” Aegis said. “This is her strongest attack!”
“Level Three Crest Spell, Supernova!” Celestia raised her hand and an enormous ball of fire appeared above her. It looked like a miniature version of the sun itself.
Aegis Shield stepped forward and raised his own Crest. “Ultimate Shield!” he said as a large dome shield appeared over them.
“That won’t save you!” Celestia said and flung the attack at them. Aerin had an idea and raised Excelion. The fireball struck the shield and exploded with tremendous force, sending a blast of force and heat across the battlefield.
“And there it is, Princess Celestia’s Supernova!” Cheerilee cried out dramatically. “And this assures the winners for todays-“
“Eenope!” Big Macintosh replied, cutting of his co-host.
Celestia looked shocked and turned back. The column of smoke rising from the crater began to dissipate and there was something there. A great silver shield bearing the insignia of the moon sat in front of Aerin and Luna. Aerin’s armour was in tatters as was Aegis’s, but they were still in the game.
“Well that escalated quickly!” Aerin said. “Good thing I remembered that Excelion can become any weapon, including a shield.”
“And I’m surprised that it even worked,” Aegis replied. “Are you alright Princess?”
“I am fine my stallion, but Our sister is…”
“Interesting,” Celestia said, before rushing forward with her blade raised.
“Y’know, I think I may have this figured out,” Aerin said as he turned Excelion back to a sword. “The whole Crest thing I mean.”
The Lunar crest of his hand glowed as he suddenly rushed a surprised Celestia. “Crest Technique!” he said as he smacked away Celestia’s sword with his own and made a quick follow up attack. “Lightning Blade!”
Excelions’ blade became wreathed in crackling lightning as he swung into Celestia’s mid-section, shattering her armour and sending the Princess skidding across the ground. “Well would ya look at that!” he said before passing out on the spot.
***
There was total silence as the whole kingdom watched a complete stranger defeat the ruler of the largest nation in Equestria. On national holovision no less!
“We-we won!?” Luna said in disbelief as the crowd cheered with a mighty roar. Celestia’s forces looked shocked and exhausted. This was a victory that was well deserved by the Lunar Republic.
“And the winners are… the Lunar Republic!” Cheerilee announced to confirm the victory. "All prizes and awards will be handed out during tomorrow night’s celebration, so be there!”
“Eeyup, congratulatons everypony!” Big Mac added, causing more mares to faint.
***
“Unbelievable!” Aegis said as he helped Princess Luna to her feet. “To think he would pull of a Crest Technique after seeing it only a few times!”
“T’would seem that fate has indeed smiled upon Us!” Luna smiled as Aegis helped up Aerin. She walked over to her sister, who was being assisted by her own knights. “So what do you think now, dear sister?”
“I think that you only won because of him!” Celestia responded. “And that I won’t underestimate him next time!”
Luna sighed and offered her hand to her sister. “Will you at least stay for tomorrow night?” she asked in a quieter tone. “It’s been a while since you attended one.”
“I have things to do!” Celestia replied. “And a re-match to plan for!”
“Is obtaining Star Breaker that important to you!?” Luna said, pointing at her axe as tears streamed down her face. “A stupid weapon is more important than me?”
“It’s complicated.” Celestia replied and turned away from her sister. “Come you three, we are returning to Canterlot!”
Lyra, Bon Bon and Carrot gave Luna a sad sort of look, but quickly ran after their own Princess, leaving Luna with Aerin and Aegis.
“I take it that I missed something?” Aerin asked as he rubbed his throbbing head.
“Tis something we shall explain later.” Luna replied, rubbing the tears from her eyes. “Come now, we have a celebration to prepare for!”
Aegis saluted and Aerin followed suit, copying the stallion. This world was weird in more ways than one, but it seemed interesting and Aerin had the feeling that if he stuck around, he would only see more interesting things. Plus it was great practice, way better than a wooden dummy!
“Guess I’ll just go with the flow!” he smiled and followed after his Princess…
