Mussorgskyby BlaringtheyaysChaptersThe BeginningFirst FightGarudaJägerThe BeginningIt was a sunny day above the flowing green fields in the south of the great nation known as Equestria. The birds flew through the air, dancing between air currents as they sung their happy songs. The rabbits down below hopping through the blades of grass, playing their games and searching for food. The silence of nature was shattered by the sound of war drums and hooves. The animals watched from their hiding spots as the armies of the Frozen North passed through their field, en route to the southern border to bolster the Equestrian armies that were massed to prevent a human invasion. Some of the soldiers complained about having to walk so far in such a short amount of time. “Ugh, I hate having to just up and leave my family to help some ponies I don't even know.” Some of the recruits nodded in agreement, also expressing their distaste. “Stop complaining and get a move on. I know it's sudden but if we don't we'll have humans trying to get at us soon enough,” Said Shining Armour as he poked a recruit with the hilt of his blade. The recruits mumbled but never said a word for the rest of the journey. Canterlot “Sister, I do not think this decision is wise. We're sending troops to defend against a threat we don't know will even attack us.” Princess Luna was sitting with one hand on her chin, tired from having been awoken from her weekly nap. “That's what you said about the Diamond Dogs. Look what happened to them.” Celestia was examining a map, trying to figure out defense plans should the human armies get past the first line of defense. She had no idea of their capabilities, so planning was difficult. A scout slowly opened the door and poked his head in. Celestia looked up at him and held out her hand. The scout ran up to the table, handed her a scroll and departed with a bow, returning to the armies he had flown from. “It seems the Northern army has joined up with ours. We should head out.” Celestia stood and opened the window. Luna took a running start and jumped from it, Celestia soon following. “You fly on ahead, I need to visit Ponyville.” Luna frowned at her sister. She nodded and turned to the south as Celestia turned east, to Ponyville. As Celestia landed, she noticed something strange. The town was empty. She had been here few times, but she knew that this was the time of day everyone was out and about. She dismissed this and walked to the treebrary in the middle of town. “Hello Princess.” Celestia turned on the spot and saw Spike holding a bag of shopping. He had quite the muscular body, one she wou- No, no, stop it. “Hello Spike, good to see you. You wouldn't happen to know where Twilight is would you?” Spike opened the door to the library as he thought. “Yeah, she went to Applejack's with the girls. What do you need her for?” Spike was dreading the answer. He knew they'd been preparing for weeks. “It's time, which means I'll need your assistance aswell.” Spike sighed and nodded, putting the shopping on the table and following the Princess to Sweet Apple Acres. This would be a long day... Southern Fields Princess Luna arrived at the rendezvous location, momentarily taken aback by the amount of soldiers there. After a second of scanning the armies, she spotted Shining Armour in the distance and flew towards him. “Good afternoon, Shining Armour.” Shining spun on the spot and hugged Luna. “It's been a while since we've spoken, Luna. How are things back in Canterlot?” Shining glanced to his other generals, who were watching through narrowed eyes. “Indeed it has. Buisness in Canterlot is the usual. Boring. How's Cadance?” Luna watched the generals from the corner of her eye. She never liked the Crysal Empire's military leaders. “She's fine, she should be here so-” He was interrupted by one of the generals, who informed them they needed to plan this defence. Luna and Shining both sighed. This would take a while. Crystal Empire “You see her?” “No, she'll be leaving soon though.” “Aye, I'll go inform the others, you stay here and give the signal if she comes out.” A human disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind is comrade to stand watch. A minute or so later, Princess Cadance left the castle, slowly walking through the empty streets of her kingdom. The human who had been left to watch clicked his tongue four times. Cadance looked around for the source of the noise. She spun around and jumped backwards, seeing a human behind her. “Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!” A fireball erupted from the humans mouth, speeding towards Cadance. She only had enough time to jump to the left. Her jump landed her infront of another human, who launched another attack. “Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!” A large torrent of water was blasted at Cadance, who's wing was clipped by the rushing force of water. She flew across the ground, bouncing off it and eventually sliding to a stop. She got up, scrapes and bloody scratches all over her body. “What do you want?” Cadance coughed, wind knocked out of her lungs from the flight. “Well isn't that a stupid answer, Cadance. We want you dead!” A third human ran at her with a ball of lightning in his hand. “Chidori!” He extended his arm to strike her in the chest, to deliver a fatal blow to her heart. “Katon: Nensho Senki.” A calm voice sounded behind Cadance and a ball of fire rushed past her head, intercepting the lightning before it hit her. Another human had joined the fray. This one however, seemed to be protecting Cadance, instead of trying to kill her. “Who would have thought you'd be this far north.” The human who had attacke Cadance growled as the two techniques cancelled each other out and both users were blasted backwards. The human who had protected her grabbed Cadance as he flew backwards, creating distance between her and the others. “You can either back down now or face a painful death.” The human who had saved her was wearing a long cloak that covered hid his face from view. He had strange symbol on his right hand that disappeared up his cloak. “If you think we're going to back down that easily, you're wrong.” The three humans stood side by side and inhaled. “Katon Renkeijutsu: Karura!” They breathed fire that merged into a single stream forming a dragon head that raced towards them. “Shit, what do we do?” Cadance was panicking. Wait, she had magic, what was she panicking about? Right as she was about to cast a spell, the friendly human stepped forward. “Doton: Dosekiryuu!” A dragon made of stone and earth erupted from the ground, slamming into the fire, smashing it to small cinders. “It seems the Yami no Dangan lives up to his name.” The lead human smirked and clicked his fingers. Two more humans appeared from the alleyways. They both had different markings on their shoulders. The one on the right had a marking on his right shoulder that said 'Fire', while the other one had a marking that said 'Wind'. This was bad. “Princess, we need to leave. We can't take them, these two are famed for their raw power.” Cadance looked at the two humans who had appeared infront of them. They suddenly began a technique. “Shit, Cadance, teleport us away, now!” Cadance thought of the fields where she needed to travel to and activated the spell just in time. Her and the human narrowly avoided a devastating wind and fire combination. “DAMNIT!” The lead human cursed the air. “FIND THEM, BRING THEM TO ME DEAD OR ALIVE!” He screamed to the air and walked back to their camp, seething with anger. Southern Fields Cadance and the human appeared in a small clearing. A small clearing filled with ponies; ponies who immediately raised their spears at the human. “This was the best place you could teleport us, eh?” Cadance gave him a sheepish grin, telling the ponies to lower their weapons. They did so hesitantly. A guard rushed off to get the others. After a minute or so, nine very important looking ponies came racing towards them, looking mildly pissed off. “This can only end well,” the human said as he sighed, preparing himself for anger. First FightCadance stood infront of the human, acting as a barrier between him and her angered aunt. The human, who whispered his name as Jamie into Cadance's ear, was listening to the white alicorn as her voice got higher pitched with each second that passed. “Why in the name of Tartarus would you bring a human HERE?!” She was almost touching snouts with Cadance, who was slightly stunned. “He could be a spy. He could be working for somepony to take us down!” Jamie sighed and rolled his eyes, which earned him a glare from Celestia. “I'm also a human who's in the middle of a camp comprised completely of ponies who I'm pretty sure would kill me if I twitched the wrong way.” Celestia was about to argue when she realised he had a point. There was nothing he could do here anyway. “Why did you bring him here anyway, Cadance?” Shining Amour had decided to speak up, so as to prevent anything else from being said. Cadance turned to look at Jamie. He shrugged. “Weeeeeeell...the thing is...he kind of did save my life.” Everyone's jaw dropped. Literally. Nobody could believe that this human had saved one of Equestria's Princesses. “You might want to get that checked,” Jamie said, noticing the jaws on the floor. While the others dragged Cadance with them to explain what had happened, they left Jamie alone with Celestia. “So...nice weather huh?” Celestia just stared at him, looking him over. She was silent for a few minutes before finally speaking up. “I suppose...if Cadance trusts you, so can I.” Jamie felt relief spread through him. It was short lived, as Celestia suddenly had her hand under his chin and was quietly whispering into his ear. “One wrong move and you'll be nothing but a pile of ashes, understand?” Jamie gulped and nodded, fully understanding she wasn't messing with him. “Good. Now, since nopony will want you near them, you get to bunk with me.” “What?!” Celestia had a victorious smile on her face as she pulled Jamie through the camp to her tent. As they walked, the soldiers watched him. Some were sharpening their weapons, while others scrapped their hooves against the ground, as if preparing a charge. Now he was glad he would be staying in with Celestia, since he'd have a rough time if he had to stay with them. “I almost forgot. What's your name?” She turned around to look at him once she reached the majestic tent that was hers. “My name is Jamie. I know yours already. Celestia, correct?” She nodded slowly and pointed at her tent. “This is where you'll be staying until I found out what to do with you. Have a nice time~” She grabbed him and practically threw him into the tent, sealing it with magic should he try to leave. “Magic chessboard huh...” He spotted a chessboard that had the words 'Magical Chessboard. Play by yourself!' underneath it. “Why not?” He began to play, waiting for anthing interesting to happen. Medical Tent While Jamie was busy playing by himself, the others were launching questions at Cadance. “He didn't try anything did he?” Shining Armour always jumps to those conclusions doesn't he? “What abilities did he use. Was it anything strange for a human?” Twilight, wanting to know anything strange about the human. “Oh my, how did your clothes get in such a state?” Rarity...worried about clothes...as usual. “Oh I'll get those humans for attack OUR Princess!” Rainbow Dash, being loyal as always. “Want some cake?” Pinkie Pie. “Ya seem pretty hurt thar Princess, ya alright?” Applejack finally asked a question she could answer. “Yes, I'm fine Applejack, just some scrapes. Could have been worse.” Luna walked over from taling to the doctor. She had asked when Cadance could leave, humans were approaching from the south and were visible on the horizon. “Cadance, you may leave when you are ready. I shall go inform the generals of our...guest.” Luna's voice was cold when she said the word 'guest'. Cadance was slightly worried for her little human. Her fears grew when Celestia walked in without him. Her aunt seemed to notice this in her face. “Don't worry, Cadance, he's fine.” She was skeptical of this, seeing how she was increadibly angry with the human. Even so, she didn't question it. “So...anypony know why he helped Cadance?” Celestia watched as everyone went into thinking mode. Celestia's Tent “This thing thinks better than a bloody dragon,” Said Jamie as his frustration at the chessboard grew. He'd played six games. He'd won two. He heard war horns from outside. Seems like they had some company. “Good thing I placed that seal on Cadance's arm.” His sly grin was only seen by the chessboard. Front Lines A human messanger was standing infront of the pony armies, waiting for the Princesses. “What's the meaning of this?” Said Celestia as she appeared infront of the human, everyone else trailing behind her. “I come here on behalf of King Solas The Fourth. A message for Princess Celestia of Equestria.” He coughed, preparing his voice. “I, King Solas The Fourth, hereby give the armies of Equestria a chance to flee. We will not harm any who wish to do so. If you wish to stay and fight, we will be happy to kill you all. I await your humble response.” The messanger bowed and turned to leave when Celestia stopped him. “Tell your King he's a fool if he thinks we'll back down.” The human merely smiled and ran full sprint back to his battalion. “Get everyone ready, they'll attack. You there, what's your name?” She was pointing at a recruit. “Defense Breaker, ma'am.” She nodded and pointed towards the camp. “Head to my tent at the back of the camp and break the sealing spell on it. Tell the human inside to come to me.” Defense nodded and ran through the camp. “What are you doing?” Luna was curious as to what her sister was planning with the human. “He needs to prove himself, this is his chance.” Twilight was skeptical. The Princess just wanted to judge his abilties. What WAS she planning? Celestia's Tent Defense Breaker opened the tent right as Jamie screamed at the top of his lungs. The pony put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at the human. “Sooo...” Jamie looked at him then threw him a piece of paper that had two names on it. 'Jamie' and 'Chessboard'. Jamie had two written underneath. Chessboard had sixteen. “Ouch. Anyway, Celestia wants you on the front lines, follow me.” Jamie nodded, following the white pony out the entrance. “So, is that your normal coat colour or is it the armour?” Defense chuckled. Always that question. “It's the armour. My normal coat is yellow.” Jamie nodded slowly. Huh, enchanted armour. Sounds useful. Front Lines “Let's get this party started!” Everyone turned as the human arrived. Twilight was finally able to get a decent look at him. His eyes were a strange goldish colour, his short black hair spiked up slight at the top. He seemed to be around...six foot two, practically the same height as Celestia. “Indeed. Now, Jamie, you'll be fighting alongside Luna, so I suggest you inform her of your style. Jamie nodded and walked over to Luna. She was far more intimidating than Celestia, in his opinion. “I'm fast and agile, I wave between attacks. I can get up close and personally if I want to,” said Jamie to Luna as she thought up a strategy. If she used a heavy weapon like an axe, he could pick off any attackers that got close. “This could work...” While Luna got to explaining the strategy to Jamie, Celestia was arranging the others into groups of two. “Applejack, you go with Rarity. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Twilight and Shining Armour. Fluttershy...you go with Defense Breaker here. Cadance, you're with me.” Everyone partnered up and left for their respective positions. Each one was in command of a regiment. There were six regiments. War horns blared from across the fields. The human battle group was charging forward. Celestia gave the order to move out towards them at full speed. Jamie was checking the lines as he ran. He was searching for a particular human he would adore to kill. The two sides clashed and the two front lines of soldiers were taken down almost immediatley. Jmie and Luna were the first to enter the fray of the Regiment Leaders. Luna remarked Jamie's speed and deadly precision when aiming knives and swinging his sword he had been given. Luna swung at three soldiers as Jamie ducked. He launched a knife at one soldier who got under the axe, embedding it in his shoulder blade. The other Regiment Leaders had entered the battle and were doing well. Celestia and Cadance fired spells into the crowd, hitting as many humans as they can. Twilight fired spells forward while Shining Armour protected them. Fluttershy threw strange potions while Defense Breaker knocked humans down. Rainbow Dash knocked soldiers off their feet while Pinkie hit them with her party cannon. Rarity and Applejack attacked at once, with Applejack bucking and Rarity launching needles. It continued like this for a while, until the First Regiment, Celestia's, was beginning to fall back. “Cadance, watch out!” A recruit shouted at the Princess, who whipped around to see a sword thrusting towards her. Jamie felt a slight tingling in his arm. “Luna, I'll be right back!” She grunted, which he took for a yes and vanished. A black flash from above Cadance blinded the human momentarily. Cadance's face was splashed with blood as she felt the air suddenly become hot. The soldiers surrounding them froze and watched as the dust cleared. “Holy Tartarus...” Jamie was stood infront of the human, hand through his chest. The wound wasn't bleeding, as the heat had sealed it. “So...” “Who wants to dance?” Author's Note Okay so can anyone guess who the romance pair(s) are? I might add more later but for now, only two~ GarudaJamie grabbed his swords from their sheaths and in one swift motion, cut through a soldiers armour. He ducked under a mace and sliced upwards, blades going through the chin. “Cadance, go help Luna!” He shouted to Cadance, who had gotten separated from him. She hesitated, but ran off anyway, searching for Luna in the thick of the battle. Jamie retreated slightly until his back met Celestia's. “Hi there, need some help?” Jamie said to Celestia as she cut down another five humans. “Would be appreciated. Think you can take on the ones behind me?” Jamie nodded. Now, how to take down the heavily armour unit infront of him...boiling them in their suits of course! “Katon: Goka Mekkyaku!” A great wall of fire was created when Jamie exhaled the flames. The soldiers laughed at first, their magic resistant armour stopping the initial damage. What it couldn't stop was the heat. A lot of the weaker soldiers collapsed from the high temperature. When Jamie stopped, atleast three quarters of the heavy soldiers had been taken out. “Much more effective than I thought.” He drew his swords once again, blocking the claymore thrust at him and stabbing the soldier in the eye. He heard a whooshing sound behind him and ducked right as Celestia's sword cut through the air where his neck was. “Careful!” He punched a soldier in the privates and sliced up across his chest. “Sorry, it's hard to watch where you are when I'm in the midst of a battle you know.” Celestia was taking them down cleanly, needing only one strike to take them down. “Oh shit!” Four enemies had jumped into the air. She wouldn't be able to block them with magic in time. “Iwa no Yoroi!” The sun mometarily reflected off of Jamie. A rock like transparent armour was covering his skin. He pushed Celestia down and was on all fours above her protecting her from attack. The four soldiers who had jumped launched fire attacks at them. The armour managed to withstand the flames, although Jamie was burned on his back where his armour had melted. “Thanks,” said Celesita as she blocked a swipe from an axe. Jamie merely grunted. He had used a lot of chakra succesively. Even if he had a large chakra load, the continuous use of it made him feel ill. “You okay?” Celestia noticed he had paled slightly. He ignored her, cutting through a few more soldiers. “Gah!” He failed to block a blade from his right side. The blade cut through his thigh, severing a few tendons, rendering him unable to stand. “Grab on to my hoof!” The second he grabbed on, she teleported, casting a flame spell which burned the surrounding enemies. The medics at the back of the fighting were slightly startled when a ring of fire suddenly burst into existence. “Take him, make sure he gets proper care.” She placed him on a table and teleported back to the fight. “So...anyone know human anatomy?” Asked a nurse as she tried to stop the wound from bleeding. A grizzled doctor grabbed some tools and started to work. “Human anatomy is mostly similar to pony anatomy, with a couple of differences here and there.” He worked as if it was something he does every minute of everyday. It was done in less than five minutes. “Keep an eye on him. If he wakes, don't let him get up, that leg shouldn't have weight on it for a while.” And with that, he walked away, going to tend to other patients. “Well that was interesting.” The other doctors walked away, slightly confused at what had just happened. The nurses sat near him, chatting while making sure he didn't move. Jamie groaned and opened his eyes, a burning sensation coming from his right thight. He was also hurting all over from using up the last of his chakra placing his seal on Celestia's hoof. “Where am I?” A nurse jumped up to him and put a hand on his head, checking the temperature. He was boiling. “You're at the temporary medical station at the back of Celestia's battalion, you got cut in the thigh. Don't stand up, you'll damage it” Jamie just grunted, sitting up and looking towards the battlefield. “Don't even think about it.” Jamie looked the medical mare in the eyes. She was a tough one alright. He'd have a hard time convincing her to let him leave. Well, he would have, if one of the seals on his hands wasn't burning. His right hand had an intricate seal, just like his left. He'd marked Celestia with the one on his right hand. “Sorry about this.” The nurse was confused until he disappeared in a black flash of light. He appeared underneath a human about to spear Celestia and punched him in the gut, sending him into the crowd. Cadance grabbed Jamie and dragged him out of the way of the many swords. “You're an idiot, you know that?” Cadance yelped as she felt a sword nip her back. Her eyes widened when she saw the blade cut through Celestia's hoof. Jamie screamed, his burning hand filling the air with smoke. She grabbed it and read the writing. 'Seal Release' What did that mean? “Garuda! Jamie launched himself at a group of humans, fire completely surrounding him in the shape of a bird. The humans were blasted backwards in all directions. Others tried to stab and slice at him, their swords melting before they could get close. “Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!” Six humans spit water dragons at him. They stopped inches from him, getting slightly closer all the while. Jamie's flames grew, pushing back the water dragons. The fire suddenly disappeared. “Taika Iguru!” He pushed the flames away with a powerful burst of chakra, creating a burnt circle that gave them some breathing room for the moment. As everyone crowded around Celestia, Jamie slowly walked over, energy now completely gone. He looked up towards the human side of the field and swore. “Ahhh shit.” On the other side of the field was a tall, muscualr man with a sword big enough to kill five goats at once. “What do we do about him?” Luna was looking him over. She knew just by looking at him that he was gonna be a though one. “We fight.” Jamie was out of chakra but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. Time to really dive into the fireworks. JägerJamie grunted as he felt pain shoot through his leg. It still hurt, the doctor was only able to do so much, it seems. Luna wrapped her arm around him and helped him wobble along, his little weight surprising the Princess. “So, Jamie, any ideas on how to deal with this human?” Celestia asked him, the rest of the group turning to look at the human. “Well, first thing I can tell you is that his armour is impervious to any type of magic. My techniques included.” The unicorns of the group shuffled slightly, becoming a bit nervous. Their horns were basically their whole lives. Yes, they had hands, but that didn’t stop them from using magic for everything. “The good part is that normal weapons DO work against him, which means we have a chance.” Celestia still felt nervous about the coming fight. “I feel a but coming here…” The Sun Princess said, Jamie smiling. “There always is. The bad part? His henchmen. Them two are… basically the big problem with fighting him. They’ll attack you with quick fire techniques, throwing off your balance and leaving you completely open to the giant sword.” Luna looked out over the field, seeing the armoured human was closing on them. They had five minutes at most. “Sister, let me and the human take them. He has fought him before, it seems. I can provide magical protection and he can get in close.” This was a sound plan, of course, there was one little problem. “Luna, while that plan is a good one, we mustn’t forget the human has an injury to deal with.” Celestia had a point, Luna thought. The human would be hindered by his leg. “That won’t be a problem.” The all looked at Jamie again, Celestia raising an eyebrow. “As long as Luna takes care of his two friends, I can easily take him out alone, even with an injury like this.” Celestia looked between her sister and the human. She had just met him, but she felt an urge to trust him. She nodded to her sister, who picked up her axe and placed it on her back. Jamie felt enough strength to walk alone and the two turned around, walking towards their armoured enemy, who was right in front of them. “It’s been far too long, Vermilion.” The armoured Juggernaut spoke, stopping in front of the pair. Jamie chuckled, nodding. “That it has, Hunter.” The Juggernaut’s companions looked at their leader, who growled inside his armour. “You dare insult me by saying my name in that language? Enough talk, let us dance.” The Titan swung his blade, Luna using her magic to move Jamie and herself out of the way. The two lapdogs jumped into the fight immediately, launching to fire attacks at them. Luna blocked the fire with a shield, Jamie taking advantage of the momentary smoke cover to run at Hunter. He gave him a swift punch to the gut, the armour taking most of the damage. Even so, Hunter grunted, staggering slightly. “What’s the matter Hunter? Can’t take a little punch?” Jamie taunted his opponent, Luna’s shield appearing to his right as it blocked another fire attack. The Juggernaut roared and with surprising speed, launched himself towards Jamie. He tackled the smaller man, Jamie feeling the heavy weight of the armour on him as the two rolled. “Let’s make this fair, shall we?” Hunter threw away his sword, slamming his fists together. Jamie jumped out of the way as a fist fight began. Luna meanwhile, was busy dealing with the other two humans. Their fire was easy to deal with, Luna’s shield more than enough. They seemed to figure this out quickly, switching to other elemental attacks. Luna didn’t notice one of them behind her, focusing on a fire attack from the other. “Doton: Doryuudan!” A dragon made of earth shot from the ground, Luna’s eyes widening as she turned. The dragon impacted her, a cloud of dust engulfing the area around her. The two humans gave each other a high five, thinking the battle over. When the dust cleared, their eyes were the size of pinpricks. “You’ve made a grave mistake…” Luna was covered from head to toe in armour the same shade as her fur. Her shield was emblazoned with her cutie mark, her axe growing slightly in size. She grabbed it, rushing forward suddenly. The two humans jumped away, one of them getting clipped by the axe. He stumbled when he landed, his leg bleeding. He looked back towards Luna, now face to face with the helmet that adorned her head. Luna slammed the shield into the human, knocking him down. She raised her axe and brought it down, severing his head. The other human roared and ran towards Luna, forming seals on with his hands. “Take this you pony bitch! Jisatsu-en bāsuto!” His body was covered in flames as he lunged towards the Moon Princess, latching on to her. Moments later, his body exploded, a giant fireball swallowing the Princess. Not too far away, Jamie was still managing to hold his own against the Juggernaut, although he was sporting a nice bruise on his left shoulder. He heard the explosion and glanced over to where Luna was, spotting the explosion. His momentary distraction gave Hunter all he needed to land a hard right hook on Jamie’s face, launching him across the ground, sending him a good fifty metres away. The Juggernaut laughed and began making his way towards Luna, who was kneeling down on the ground, now visible as the flames had vanished. Her armour was in pieces, her breath ragged. When she saw the Juggernaut approaching, she stood, smiling. “Show me your strength!” Luna said, going into a defensive stance. Hunter smiled, shaking his head. “You really shouldn’t fight while injured, pony.” The man lunged at Luna, just missing her as the Princess ducked and kicked off his side, pushing herself away. Hunter was growing tired of chasing and lifted up his hand, his massive sword flying towards it. Luna spotted her axe a few metres away, walking over to it and grabbing it. Without her shield, she’d be unable to block effectively. This didn’t matter, not to her. She wasn’t going to let him hit her. He ran at her, swinging his sword horizontally. She ducked, bringing her axe around like a samurai’s sword. Hunter used his previous swing to move his sword into a blocking position, Luna’s axe bouncing off it. “For one so big and heavy, you move fast.” Hunter chuckled, giving her a swift kick, knocking Luna away and leaving her lungs without air. “All it takes is training, Princess. Training and determination.” Luna managed to stumble to her feet, her chest sending waves of pain through her body whenever she inhaled. Her opponent swung his sword at her. The Lunar Princess knew she wouldn’t be able to bring her axe up in time, but moved to block anyway, hoping to avoid severe damage. The sword was deflected by the axe slightly, but still cut into her side, leaving a deep gash above her left hip. Luna screamed in pain, rolling backwards away from the swinging sword as Hunter brought it around again. He laughed, an evil laugh that sent shivers down her spine. She stood tall and proud, going into a stance her opponent found strange. He ignored it, rushing forward again, this time, bringing his sword down in a vertical swing. Luna sidestepped and kicked him in the back, using her wings to balance herself in the air. Hunter’s eyes widened and he hit the ground, sliding a bit before growling and slamming his fists into the ground. When he picked himself up and turned, he found himself face to face with Jamie’s fist. Another kick and Hunter fell backwards. Luna pat Jamie on the shoulder, landing next to him. “About time you woke up.” Luna noticed his bruise. It had extended to his chest and back, leaving quite the mark. His face was also in bad shape, blood trickling down the left side of it. The pair devised a quick plan as Hunter stood, now really pissed off. As the man charged, his massive sword balanced on his shoulder, Luna took off again, flying in front of the sun. Hunter followed her, the light blinding him. When he returned his gaze to the ground, he smiled, seeing Jamie swinging the axe at him with his right arm. Silence engulfed the battlefield as both sides of the conflict watched on. Hunter’s head hit the ground, rolling a bit before finally stopping at Jamie’s feet. Luna landed next to him and the two began to walk towards the pony front. “CHAAAAARGE!” The two turned as they heard a human voice shout across the field. Once again, the humans were running across the field towards them. The ponies did the same, running with all their strength towards the humans. Luna and Jamie were soon greeted by Twilight and Cadance, the two escorting to the rear. There, they were tended to by some medics. Luna was looking towards the fight, seeing her sister in the air. “How much longer, nurse?” The pony nurse who was tending to Luna finished placing a bandage on the Princess before smiling. “Well, you and the human are free to rejoin the battle. Just watch the bruises!” The nurse’s talking turned to shouting as the two made to quickly rejoin the battle. Jamie stuck with Luna, his left shoulder forcing him to rely solely on his right arm. He grabbed a sword from a dead body, using it to slice and stab at any soldiers that came up behind Luna. After an hour of fighting, Jamie felt a familiar surge in his body. He smirked, dodging another earth bullet shot towards him. He formed seals with his mouth and inhaled. “Katon: Karyuu Endan!” He shot a long stream of white hot fire towards a line of human ninjutsu users, leaving them as piles of charcoal where they stand. As dusk came upon them, the two armies retreated back to their respective lines, a non-spoken ceasefire between them. Jamie simply ignored everyone and went back to his shared tent. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He heard the flap on the tent open and he looked over. Of course, it was Celestia. “Hey, your bruises okay?” She asked. He had noticed in his years of travelling that these ponies were usually very nice when it came to worrying. “Yeah, they’re fine, how about your injury?” Celestia lifted her leg, showing her bandaged hoof. “Nothing I can’t recover from.” She eyed the chessboard and sat at the table. “Care for a few games?” Jamie looked at the board, bad memories coming up from earlier that day. He eventually shrugged and took a seat opposite Celestia. The first match began, Jamie having the black set, he went second. After about five moves, Jamie realised Celestia wouldn’t be a normal opponent. The two played well into the night, their worries of the day’s battle fading into quiet happiness as the night progressed. When they finally did sleep, they slept without dreading the battle to come the very next morning.
The BeginningIt was a sunny day above the flowing green fields in the south of the great nation known as Equestria. The birds flew through the air, dancing between air currents as they sung their happy songs. The rabbits down below hopping through the blades of grass, playing their games and searching for food. The silence of nature was shattered by the sound of war drums and hooves. The animals watched from their hiding spots as the armies of the Frozen North passed through their field, en route to the southern border to bolster the Equestrian armies that were massed to prevent a human invasion. Some of the soldiers complained about having to walk so far in such a short amount of time. “Ugh, I hate having to just up and leave my family to help some ponies I don't even know.” Some of the recruits nodded in agreement, also expressing their distaste. “Stop complaining and get a move on. I know it's sudden but if we don't we'll have humans trying to get at us soon enough,” Said Shining Armour as he poked a recruit with the hilt of his blade. The recruits mumbled but never said a word for the rest of the journey. Canterlot “Sister, I do not think this decision is wise. We're sending troops to defend against a threat we don't know will even attack us.” Princess Luna was sitting with one hand on her chin, tired from having been awoken from her weekly nap. “That's what you said about the Diamond Dogs. Look what happened to them.” Celestia was examining a map, trying to figure out defense plans should the human armies get past the first line of defense. She had no idea of their capabilities, so planning was difficult. A scout slowly opened the door and poked his head in. Celestia looked up at him and held out her hand. The scout ran up to the table, handed her a scroll and departed with a bow, returning to the armies he had flown from. “It seems the Northern army has joined up with ours. We should head out.” Celestia stood and opened the window. Luna took a running start and jumped from it, Celestia soon following. “You fly on ahead, I need to visit Ponyville.” Luna frowned at her sister. She nodded and turned to the south as Celestia turned east, to Ponyville. As Celestia landed, she noticed something strange. The town was empty. She had been here few times, but she knew that this was the time of day everyone was out and about. She dismissed this and walked to the treebrary in the middle of town. “Hello Princess.” Celestia turned on the spot and saw Spike holding a bag of shopping. He had quite the muscular body, one she wou- No, no, stop it. “Hello Spike, good to see you. You wouldn't happen to know where Twilight is would you?” Spike opened the door to the library as he thought. “Yeah, she went to Applejack's with the girls. What do you need her for?” Spike was dreading the answer. He knew they'd been preparing for weeks. “It's time, which means I'll need your assistance aswell.” Spike sighed and nodded, putting the shopping on the table and following the Princess to Sweet Apple Acres. This would be a long day... Southern Fields Princess Luna arrived at the rendezvous location, momentarily taken aback by the amount of soldiers there. After a second of scanning the armies, she spotted Shining Armour in the distance and flew towards him. “Good afternoon, Shining Armour.” Shining spun on the spot and hugged Luna. “It's been a while since we've spoken, Luna. How are things back in Canterlot?” Shining glanced to his other generals, who were watching through narrowed eyes. “Indeed it has. Buisness in Canterlot is the usual. Boring. How's Cadance?” Luna watched the generals from the corner of her eye. She never liked the Crysal Empire's military leaders. “She's fine, she should be here so-” He was interrupted by one of the generals, who informed them they needed to plan this defence. Luna and Shining both sighed. This would take a while. Crystal Empire “You see her?” “No, she'll be leaving soon though.” “Aye, I'll go inform the others, you stay here and give the signal if she comes out.” A human disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind is comrade to stand watch. A minute or so later, Princess Cadance left the castle, slowly walking through the empty streets of her kingdom. The human who had been left to watch clicked his tongue four times. Cadance looked around for the source of the noise. She spun around and jumped backwards, seeing a human behind her. “Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!” A fireball erupted from the humans mouth, speeding towards Cadance. She only had enough time to jump to the left. Her jump landed her infront of another human, who launched another attack. “Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!” A large torrent of water was blasted at Cadance, who's wing was clipped by the rushing force of water. She flew across the ground, bouncing off it and eventually sliding to a stop. She got up, scrapes and bloody scratches all over her body. “What do you want?” Cadance coughed, wind knocked out of her lungs from the flight. “Well isn't that a stupid answer, Cadance. We want you dead!” A third human ran at her with a ball of lightning in his hand. “Chidori!” He extended his arm to strike her in the chest, to deliver a fatal blow to her heart. “Katon: Nensho Senki.” A calm voice sounded behind Cadance and a ball of fire rushed past her head, intercepting the lightning before it hit her. Another human had joined the fray. This one however, seemed to be protecting Cadance, instead of trying to kill her. “Who would have thought you'd be this far north.” The human who had attacke Cadance growled as the two techniques cancelled each other out and both users were blasted backwards. The human who had protected her grabbed Cadance as he flew backwards, creating distance between her and the others. “You can either back down now or face a painful death.” The human who had saved her was wearing a long cloak that covered hid his face from view. He had strange symbol on his right hand that disappeared up his cloak. “If you think we're going to back down that easily, you're wrong.” The three humans stood side by side and inhaled. “Katon Renkeijutsu: Karura!” They breathed fire that merged into a single stream forming a dragon head that raced towards them. “Shit, what do we do?” Cadance was panicking. Wait, she had magic, what was she panicking about? Right as she was about to cast a spell, the friendly human stepped forward. “Doton: Dosekiryuu!” A dragon made of stone and earth erupted from the ground, slamming into the fire, smashing it to small cinders. “It seems the Yami no Dangan lives up to his name.” The lead human smirked and clicked his fingers. Two more humans appeared from the alleyways. They both had different markings on their shoulders. The one on the right had a marking on his right shoulder that said 'Fire', while the other one had a marking that said 'Wind'. This was bad. “Princess, we need to leave. We can't take them, these two are famed for their raw power.” Cadance looked at the two humans who had appeared infront of them. They suddenly began a technique. “Shit, Cadance, teleport us away, now!” Cadance thought of the fields where she needed to travel to and activated the spell just in time. Her and the human narrowly avoided a devastating wind and fire combination. “DAMNIT!” The lead human cursed the air. “FIND THEM, BRING THEM TO ME DEAD OR ALIVE!” He screamed to the air and walked back to their camp, seething with anger. Southern Fields Cadance and the human appeared in a small clearing. A small clearing filled with ponies; ponies who immediately raised their spears at the human. “This was the best place you could teleport us, eh?” Cadance gave him a sheepish grin, telling the ponies to lower their weapons. They did so hesitantly. A guard rushed off to get the others. After a minute or so, nine very important looking ponies came racing towards them, looking mildly pissed off. “This can only end well,” the human said as he sighed, preparing himself for anger.
First FightCadance stood infront of the human, acting as a barrier between him and her angered aunt. The human, who whispered his name as Jamie into Cadance's ear, was listening to the white alicorn as her voice got higher pitched with each second that passed. “Why in the name of Tartarus would you bring a human HERE?!” She was almost touching snouts with Cadance, who was slightly stunned. “He could be a spy. He could be working for somepony to take us down!” Jamie sighed and rolled his eyes, which earned him a glare from Celestia. “I'm also a human who's in the middle of a camp comprised completely of ponies who I'm pretty sure would kill me if I twitched the wrong way.” Celestia was about to argue when she realised he had a point. There was nothing he could do here anyway. “Why did you bring him here anyway, Cadance?” Shining Amour had decided to speak up, so as to prevent anything else from being said. Cadance turned to look at Jamie. He shrugged. “Weeeeeeell...the thing is...he kind of did save my life.” Everyone's jaw dropped. Literally. Nobody could believe that this human had saved one of Equestria's Princesses. “You might want to get that checked,” Jamie said, noticing the jaws on the floor. While the others dragged Cadance with them to explain what had happened, they left Jamie alone with Celestia. “So...nice weather huh?” Celestia just stared at him, looking him over. She was silent for a few minutes before finally speaking up. “I suppose...if Cadance trusts you, so can I.” Jamie felt relief spread through him. It was short lived, as Celestia suddenly had her hand under his chin and was quietly whispering into his ear. “One wrong move and you'll be nothing but a pile of ashes, understand?” Jamie gulped and nodded, fully understanding she wasn't messing with him. “Good. Now, since nopony will want you near them, you get to bunk with me.” “What?!” Celestia had a victorious smile on her face as she pulled Jamie through the camp to her tent. As they walked, the soldiers watched him. Some were sharpening their weapons, while others scrapped their hooves against the ground, as if preparing a charge. Now he was glad he would be staying in with Celestia, since he'd have a rough time if he had to stay with them. “I almost forgot. What's your name?” She turned around to look at him once she reached the majestic tent that was hers. “My name is Jamie. I know yours already. Celestia, correct?” She nodded slowly and pointed at her tent. “This is where you'll be staying until I found out what to do with you. Have a nice time~” She grabbed him and practically threw him into the tent, sealing it with magic should he try to leave. “Magic chessboard huh...” He spotted a chessboard that had the words 'Magical Chessboard. Play by yourself!' underneath it. “Why not?” He began to play, waiting for anthing interesting to happen. Medical Tent While Jamie was busy playing by himself, the others were launching questions at Cadance. “He didn't try anything did he?” Shining Armour always jumps to those conclusions doesn't he? “What abilities did he use. Was it anything strange for a human?” Twilight, wanting to know anything strange about the human. “Oh my, how did your clothes get in such a state?” Rarity...worried about clothes...as usual. “Oh I'll get those humans for attack OUR Princess!” Rainbow Dash, being loyal as always. “Want some cake?” Pinkie Pie. “Ya seem pretty hurt thar Princess, ya alright?” Applejack finally asked a question she could answer. “Yes, I'm fine Applejack, just some scrapes. Could have been worse.” Luna walked over from taling to the doctor. She had asked when Cadance could leave, humans were approaching from the south and were visible on the horizon. “Cadance, you may leave when you are ready. I shall go inform the generals of our...guest.” Luna's voice was cold when she said the word 'guest'. Cadance was slightly worried for her little human. Her fears grew when Celestia walked in without him. Her aunt seemed to notice this in her face. “Don't worry, Cadance, he's fine.” She was skeptical of this, seeing how she was increadibly angry with the human. Even so, she didn't question it. “So...anypony know why he helped Cadance?” Celestia watched as everyone went into thinking mode. Celestia's Tent “This thing thinks better than a bloody dragon,” Said Jamie as his frustration at the chessboard grew. He'd played six games. He'd won two. He heard war horns from outside. Seems like they had some company. “Good thing I placed that seal on Cadance's arm.” His sly grin was only seen by the chessboard. Front Lines A human messanger was standing infront of the pony armies, waiting for the Princesses. “What's the meaning of this?” Said Celestia as she appeared infront of the human, everyone else trailing behind her. “I come here on behalf of King Solas The Fourth. A message for Princess Celestia of Equestria.” He coughed, preparing his voice. “I, King Solas The Fourth, hereby give the armies of Equestria a chance to flee. We will not harm any who wish to do so. If you wish to stay and fight, we will be happy to kill you all. I await your humble response.” The messanger bowed and turned to leave when Celestia stopped him. “Tell your King he's a fool if he thinks we'll back down.” The human merely smiled and ran full sprint back to his battalion. “Get everyone ready, they'll attack. You there, what's your name?” She was pointing at a recruit. “Defense Breaker, ma'am.” She nodded and pointed towards the camp. “Head to my tent at the back of the camp and break the sealing spell on it. Tell the human inside to come to me.” Defense nodded and ran through the camp. “What are you doing?” Luna was curious as to what her sister was planning with the human. “He needs to prove himself, this is his chance.” Twilight was skeptical. The Princess just wanted to judge his abilties. What WAS she planning? Celestia's Tent Defense Breaker opened the tent right as Jamie screamed at the top of his lungs. The pony put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at the human. “Sooo...” Jamie looked at him then threw him a piece of paper that had two names on it. 'Jamie' and 'Chessboard'. Jamie had two written underneath. Chessboard had sixteen. “Ouch. Anyway, Celestia wants you on the front lines, follow me.” Jamie nodded, following the white pony out the entrance. “So, is that your normal coat colour or is it the armour?” Defense chuckled. Always that question. “It's the armour. My normal coat is yellow.” Jamie nodded slowly. Huh, enchanted armour. Sounds useful. Front Lines “Let's get this party started!” Everyone turned as the human arrived. Twilight was finally able to get a decent look at him. His eyes were a strange goldish colour, his short black hair spiked up slight at the top. He seemed to be around...six foot two, practically the same height as Celestia. “Indeed. Now, Jamie, you'll be fighting alongside Luna, so I suggest you inform her of your style. Jamie nodded and walked over to Luna. She was far more intimidating than Celestia, in his opinion. “I'm fast and agile, I wave between attacks. I can get up close and personally if I want to,” said Jamie to Luna as she thought up a strategy. If she used a heavy weapon like an axe, he could pick off any attackers that got close. “This could work...” While Luna got to explaining the strategy to Jamie, Celestia was arranging the others into groups of two. “Applejack, you go with Rarity. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Twilight and Shining Armour. Fluttershy...you go with Defense Breaker here. Cadance, you're with me.” Everyone partnered up and left for their respective positions. Each one was in command of a regiment. There were six regiments. War horns blared from across the fields. The human battle group was charging forward. Celestia gave the order to move out towards them at full speed. Jamie was checking the lines as he ran. He was searching for a particular human he would adore to kill. The two sides clashed and the two front lines of soldiers were taken down almost immediatley. Jmie and Luna were the first to enter the fray of the Regiment Leaders. Luna remarked Jamie's speed and deadly precision when aiming knives and swinging his sword he had been given. Luna swung at three soldiers as Jamie ducked. He launched a knife at one soldier who got under the axe, embedding it in his shoulder blade. The other Regiment Leaders had entered the battle and were doing well. Celestia and Cadance fired spells into the crowd, hitting as many humans as they can. Twilight fired spells forward while Shining Armour protected them. Fluttershy threw strange potions while Defense Breaker knocked humans down. Rainbow Dash knocked soldiers off their feet while Pinkie hit them with her party cannon. Rarity and Applejack attacked at once, with Applejack bucking and Rarity launching needles. It continued like this for a while, until the First Regiment, Celestia's, was beginning to fall back. “Cadance, watch out!” A recruit shouted at the Princess, who whipped around to see a sword thrusting towards her. Jamie felt a slight tingling in his arm. “Luna, I'll be right back!” She grunted, which he took for a yes and vanished. A black flash from above Cadance blinded the human momentarily. Cadance's face was splashed with blood as she felt the air suddenly become hot. The soldiers surrounding them froze and watched as the dust cleared. “Holy Tartarus...” Jamie was stood infront of the human, hand through his chest. The wound wasn't bleeding, as the heat had sealed it. “So...” “Who wants to dance?” Author's Note Okay so can anyone guess who the romance pair(s) are? I might add more later but for now, only two~
GarudaJamie grabbed his swords from their sheaths and in one swift motion, cut through a soldiers armour. He ducked under a mace and sliced upwards, blades going through the chin. “Cadance, go help Luna!” He shouted to Cadance, who had gotten separated from him. She hesitated, but ran off anyway, searching for Luna in the thick of the battle. Jamie retreated slightly until his back met Celestia's. “Hi there, need some help?” Jamie said to Celestia as she cut down another five humans. “Would be appreciated. Think you can take on the ones behind me?” Jamie nodded. Now, how to take down the heavily armour unit infront of him...boiling them in their suits of course! “Katon: Goka Mekkyaku!” A great wall of fire was created when Jamie exhaled the flames. The soldiers laughed at first, their magic resistant armour stopping the initial damage. What it couldn't stop was the heat. A lot of the weaker soldiers collapsed from the high temperature. When Jamie stopped, atleast three quarters of the heavy soldiers had been taken out. “Much more effective than I thought.” He drew his swords once again, blocking the claymore thrust at him and stabbing the soldier in the eye. He heard a whooshing sound behind him and ducked right as Celestia's sword cut through the air where his neck was. “Careful!” He punched a soldier in the privates and sliced up across his chest. “Sorry, it's hard to watch where you are when I'm in the midst of a battle you know.” Celestia was taking them down cleanly, needing only one strike to take them down. “Oh shit!” Four enemies had jumped into the air. She wouldn't be able to block them with magic in time. “Iwa no Yoroi!” The sun mometarily reflected off of Jamie. A rock like transparent armour was covering his skin. He pushed Celestia down and was on all fours above her protecting her from attack. The four soldiers who had jumped launched fire attacks at them. The armour managed to withstand the flames, although Jamie was burned on his back where his armour had melted. “Thanks,” said Celesita as she blocked a swipe from an axe. Jamie merely grunted. He had used a lot of chakra succesively. Even if he had a large chakra load, the continuous use of it made him feel ill. “You okay?” Celestia noticed he had paled slightly. He ignored her, cutting through a few more soldiers. “Gah!” He failed to block a blade from his right side. The blade cut through his thigh, severing a few tendons, rendering him unable to stand. “Grab on to my hoof!” The second he grabbed on, she teleported, casting a flame spell which burned the surrounding enemies. The medics at the back of the fighting were slightly startled when a ring of fire suddenly burst into existence. “Take him, make sure he gets proper care.” She placed him on a table and teleported back to the fight. “So...anyone know human anatomy?” Asked a nurse as she tried to stop the wound from bleeding. A grizzled doctor grabbed some tools and started to work. “Human anatomy is mostly similar to pony anatomy, with a couple of differences here and there.” He worked as if it was something he does every minute of everyday. It was done in less than five minutes. “Keep an eye on him. If he wakes, don't let him get up, that leg shouldn't have weight on it for a while.” And with that, he walked away, going to tend to other patients. “Well that was interesting.” The other doctors walked away, slightly confused at what had just happened. The nurses sat near him, chatting while making sure he didn't move. Jamie groaned and opened his eyes, a burning sensation coming from his right thight. He was also hurting all over from using up the last of his chakra placing his seal on Celestia's hoof. “Where am I?” A nurse jumped up to him and put a hand on his head, checking the temperature. He was boiling. “You're at the temporary medical station at the back of Celestia's battalion, you got cut in the thigh. Don't stand up, you'll damage it” Jamie just grunted, sitting up and looking towards the battlefield. “Don't even think about it.” Jamie looked the medical mare in the eyes. She was a tough one alright. He'd have a hard time convincing her to let him leave. Well, he would have, if one of the seals on his hands wasn't burning. His right hand had an intricate seal, just like his left. He'd marked Celestia with the one on his right hand. “Sorry about this.” The nurse was confused until he disappeared in a black flash of light. He appeared underneath a human about to spear Celestia and punched him in the gut, sending him into the crowd. Cadance grabbed Jamie and dragged him out of the way of the many swords. “You're an idiot, you know that?” Cadance yelped as she felt a sword nip her back. Her eyes widened when she saw the blade cut through Celestia's hoof. Jamie screamed, his burning hand filling the air with smoke. She grabbed it and read the writing. 'Seal Release' What did that mean? “Garuda! Jamie launched himself at a group of humans, fire completely surrounding him in the shape of a bird. The humans were blasted backwards in all directions. Others tried to stab and slice at him, their swords melting before they could get close. “Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!” Six humans spit water dragons at him. They stopped inches from him, getting slightly closer all the while. Jamie's flames grew, pushing back the water dragons. The fire suddenly disappeared. “Taika Iguru!” He pushed the flames away with a powerful burst of chakra, creating a burnt circle that gave them some breathing room for the moment. As everyone crowded around Celestia, Jamie slowly walked over, energy now completely gone. He looked up towards the human side of the field and swore. “Ahhh shit.” On the other side of the field was a tall, muscualr man with a sword big enough to kill five goats at once. “What do we do about him?” Luna was looking him over. She knew just by looking at him that he was gonna be a though one. “We fight.” Jamie was out of chakra but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. Time to really dive into the fireworks.
JägerJamie grunted as he felt pain shoot through his leg. It still hurt, the doctor was only able to do so much, it seems. Luna wrapped her arm around him and helped him wobble along, his little weight surprising the Princess. “So, Jamie, any ideas on how to deal with this human?” Celestia asked him, the rest of the group turning to look at the human. “Well, first thing I can tell you is that his armour is impervious to any type of magic. My techniques included.” The unicorns of the group shuffled slightly, becoming a bit nervous. Their horns were basically their whole lives. Yes, they had hands, but that didn’t stop them from using magic for everything. “The good part is that normal weapons DO work against him, which means we have a chance.” Celestia still felt nervous about the coming fight. “I feel a but coming here…” The Sun Princess said, Jamie smiling. “There always is. The bad part? His henchmen. Them two are… basically the big problem with fighting him. They’ll attack you with quick fire techniques, throwing off your balance and leaving you completely open to the giant sword.” Luna looked out over the field, seeing the armoured human was closing on them. They had five minutes at most. “Sister, let me and the human take them. He has fought him before, it seems. I can provide magical protection and he can get in close.” This was a sound plan, of course, there was one little problem. “Luna, while that plan is a good one, we mustn’t forget the human has an injury to deal with.” Celestia had a point, Luna thought. The human would be hindered by his leg. “That won’t be a problem.” The all looked at Jamie again, Celestia raising an eyebrow. “As long as Luna takes care of his two friends, I can easily take him out alone, even with an injury like this.” Celestia looked between her sister and the human. She had just met him, but she felt an urge to trust him. She nodded to her sister, who picked up her axe and placed it on her back. Jamie felt enough strength to walk alone and the two turned around, walking towards their armoured enemy, who was right in front of them. “It’s been far too long, Vermilion.” The armoured Juggernaut spoke, stopping in front of the pair. Jamie chuckled, nodding. “That it has, Hunter.” The Juggernaut’s companions looked at their leader, who growled inside his armour. “You dare insult me by saying my name in that language? Enough talk, let us dance.” The Titan swung his blade, Luna using her magic to move Jamie and herself out of the way. The two lapdogs jumped into the fight immediately, launching to fire attacks at them. Luna blocked the fire with a shield, Jamie taking advantage of the momentary smoke cover to run at Hunter. He gave him a swift punch to the gut, the armour taking most of the damage. Even so, Hunter grunted, staggering slightly. “What’s the matter Hunter? Can’t take a little punch?” Jamie taunted his opponent, Luna’s shield appearing to his right as it blocked another fire attack. The Juggernaut roared and with surprising speed, launched himself towards Jamie. He tackled the smaller man, Jamie feeling the heavy weight of the armour on him as the two rolled. “Let’s make this fair, shall we?” Hunter threw away his sword, slamming his fists together. Jamie jumped out of the way as a fist fight began. Luna meanwhile, was busy dealing with the other two humans. Their fire was easy to deal with, Luna’s shield more than enough. They seemed to figure this out quickly, switching to other elemental attacks. Luna didn’t notice one of them behind her, focusing on a fire attack from the other. “Doton: Doryuudan!” A dragon made of earth shot from the ground, Luna’s eyes widening as she turned. The dragon impacted her, a cloud of dust engulfing the area around her. The two humans gave each other a high five, thinking the battle over. When the dust cleared, their eyes were the size of pinpricks. “You’ve made a grave mistake…” Luna was covered from head to toe in armour the same shade as her fur. Her shield was emblazoned with her cutie mark, her axe growing slightly in size. She grabbed it, rushing forward suddenly. The two humans jumped away, one of them getting clipped by the axe. He stumbled when he landed, his leg bleeding. He looked back towards Luna, now face to face with the helmet that adorned her head. Luna slammed the shield into the human, knocking him down. She raised her axe and brought it down, severing his head. The other human roared and ran towards Luna, forming seals on with his hands. “Take this you pony bitch! Jisatsu-en bāsuto!” His body was covered in flames as he lunged towards the Moon Princess, latching on to her. Moments later, his body exploded, a giant fireball swallowing the Princess. Not too far away, Jamie was still managing to hold his own against the Juggernaut, although he was sporting a nice bruise on his left shoulder. He heard the explosion and glanced over to where Luna was, spotting the explosion. His momentary distraction gave Hunter all he needed to land a hard right hook on Jamie’s face, launching him across the ground, sending him a good fifty metres away. The Juggernaut laughed and began making his way towards Luna, who was kneeling down on the ground, now visible as the flames had vanished. Her armour was in pieces, her breath ragged. When she saw the Juggernaut approaching, she stood, smiling. “Show me your strength!” Luna said, going into a defensive stance. Hunter smiled, shaking his head. “You really shouldn’t fight while injured, pony.” The man lunged at Luna, just missing her as the Princess ducked and kicked off his side, pushing herself away. Hunter was growing tired of chasing and lifted up his hand, his massive sword flying towards it. Luna spotted her axe a few metres away, walking over to it and grabbing it. Without her shield, she’d be unable to block effectively. This didn’t matter, not to her. She wasn’t going to let him hit her. He ran at her, swinging his sword horizontally. She ducked, bringing her axe around like a samurai’s sword. Hunter used his previous swing to move his sword into a blocking position, Luna’s axe bouncing off it. “For one so big and heavy, you move fast.” Hunter chuckled, giving her a swift kick, knocking Luna away and leaving her lungs without air. “All it takes is training, Princess. Training and determination.” Luna managed to stumble to her feet, her chest sending waves of pain through her body whenever she inhaled. Her opponent swung his sword at her. The Lunar Princess knew she wouldn’t be able to bring her axe up in time, but moved to block anyway, hoping to avoid severe damage. The sword was deflected by the axe slightly, but still cut into her side, leaving a deep gash above her left hip. Luna screamed in pain, rolling backwards away from the swinging sword as Hunter brought it around again. He laughed, an evil laugh that sent shivers down her spine. She stood tall and proud, going into a stance her opponent found strange. He ignored it, rushing forward again, this time, bringing his sword down in a vertical swing. Luna sidestepped and kicked him in the back, using her wings to balance herself in the air. Hunter’s eyes widened and he hit the ground, sliding a bit before growling and slamming his fists into the ground. When he picked himself up and turned, he found himself face to face with Jamie’s fist. Another kick and Hunter fell backwards. Luna pat Jamie on the shoulder, landing next to him. “About time you woke up.” Luna noticed his bruise. It had extended to his chest and back, leaving quite the mark. His face was also in bad shape, blood trickling down the left side of it. The pair devised a quick plan as Hunter stood, now really pissed off. As the man charged, his massive sword balanced on his shoulder, Luna took off again, flying in front of the sun. Hunter followed her, the light blinding him. When he returned his gaze to the ground, he smiled, seeing Jamie swinging the axe at him with his right arm. Silence engulfed the battlefield as both sides of the conflict watched on. Hunter’s head hit the ground, rolling a bit before finally stopping at Jamie’s feet. Luna landed next to him and the two began to walk towards the pony front. “CHAAAAARGE!” The two turned as they heard a human voice shout across the field. Once again, the humans were running across the field towards them. The ponies did the same, running with all their strength towards the humans. Luna and Jamie were soon greeted by Twilight and Cadance, the two escorting to the rear. There, they were tended to by some medics. Luna was looking towards the fight, seeing her sister in the air. “How much longer, nurse?” The pony nurse who was tending to Luna finished placing a bandage on the Princess before smiling. “Well, you and the human are free to rejoin the battle. Just watch the bruises!” The nurse’s talking turned to shouting as the two made to quickly rejoin the battle. Jamie stuck with Luna, his left shoulder forcing him to rely solely on his right arm. He grabbed a sword from a dead body, using it to slice and stab at any soldiers that came up behind Luna. After an hour of fighting, Jamie felt a familiar surge in his body. He smirked, dodging another earth bullet shot towards him. He formed seals with his mouth and inhaled. “Katon: Karyuu Endan!” He shot a long stream of white hot fire towards a line of human ninjutsu users, leaving them as piles of charcoal where they stand. As dusk came upon them, the two armies retreated back to their respective lines, a non-spoken ceasefire between them. Jamie simply ignored everyone and went back to his shared tent. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He heard the flap on the tent open and he looked over. Of course, it was Celestia. “Hey, your bruises okay?” She asked. He had noticed in his years of travelling that these ponies were usually very nice when it came to worrying. “Yeah, they’re fine, how about your injury?” Celestia lifted her leg, showing her bandaged hoof. “Nothing I can’t recover from.” She eyed the chessboard and sat at the table. “Care for a few games?” Jamie looked at the board, bad memories coming up from earlier that day. He eventually shrugged and took a seat opposite Celestia. The first match began, Jamie having the black set, he went second. After about five moves, Jamie realised Celestia wouldn’t be a normal opponent. The two played well into the night, their worries of the day’s battle fading into quiet happiness as the night progressed. When they finally did sleep, they slept without dreading the battle to come the very next morning.
