My Little Fire Emblem – Uprising Generation

Chapter 12: Village of Silence

The Princess and her group trotted and galloped tirelessly through the never-ending mountain path.

"Hh... Hh..." Twilight gasped for breath.

"Perhaps we should rest milady." Flash advised "Is it much farther Mistress Amethyst?"

"We're close." Amethyst replied "just half a day ahead."

"In that case, I would ask for a moment's rest before continuing." Flash gulped "we are all exhausted. We can go no farther today."

"No Flash." Twilight refused "I'll be fine. We must not be delayed by my weakness."

"Whew... Hah..." Lyra desperately gasped for air as she caught up "I didn't realise we'd be climbing so high."

"Whoops!" Twilight tripped over a hidden ledge causing her to plant her face onto the mountain grass

"... As I warned you before we set out, the footing here can be treacherous." Amethyst repeated

"Do you ponies truly live in this place?" Lyra asked "the barren crags here do seem to be unfit for pony habitation..."

"material wealth brings strife." Amethyst explained "we've no need for these things. In this, we are of one mind with the Great Dragon."

"The Great Dragon?" Twilight asked but before Amethyst could speak further, a horde of dark creatures covered the mountain path.

"Ah! Princess Twilight! Watch out!" Flash warned as he saw the incoming monsters.

"More monsters... Mistress Amethyst, do these creatures normally inhabit this region?" Twilight asked

"No..." Amethyst shook her head "those things come from the Everdark Forest. It's been a long time since they've ever wandered this far though... It's as the elder says, evil omens take many shapes."

"It seems these fiends have noticed us as well." Cadence noted "We should move Twilight, pitch 12 ponies against the monsters with you and Amethyst as mandatory ponies. Anypony else should secure a safe passage to the village."

Twilight decided to pick the two knights, Scootaloo and Big Mac to lead the front accompanied by the warrior Applejack. Supporting them in the 2nd row is the pegasus knight Fluttershy and the myrmidon Button. The ranged units located in the third row with Twilight and Amethyst is the light priestess Colgate, the mage Twinkleshine and the archer Flitter. Finally, the party supporters in the back is the priestess Bonbon and the dancer Rarity. With the party settled, Twilight raised her Rapier as a signal to charge.

"Remind me why you're helping as well?" Twilight asked Amethyst

"I'm concerned for Sweetie Belle." The sage replied " I just hope she's safe." Unbeknownst to her, Sweetie Belle was hardly safe at all as she was being chased by a raging revenant, north of the party.

"Wo-Woah!!!" Sweetie Belle calmed "Please wait a moment, we can work this out..." The revenant replied with a roar frightening the young filly. "Oh... So you're not interested in talking, are you?" The filly stepped back a little scared "ahhh..." And immediately broke into galloping once more with the revenant in hot pursuit. After Sweetie galloped into a small house and slammed the door shut, the revenant lost interest and set its eyes on the advancing party. In the house, Sweetie gasped for breath as she wiped the sweat of her head.

"Where did all those monsters come from?" She asked herself "I must get back and warn everyone else... But... I wonder if she's alright..."

"There's some annoyin critters waitin in the mountains..." Applejack scouted "a few baels and gargoyles."

"These baels will be a concern..." Button noted "but I'm pretty sure you can take those gargoyles down AJ."

"Ah bloody can, if they weren't so far away" Applejack chuckled,

"Shall I strike the Bael?" Fluttershy volunteered,

"Not a good idea." Twilight warned "both of you have equal health, and the Bael's attack is very dangerous, even if he has a low chance of hitting you. Besides, even your heavy spear won't do a lot. We should wait for it to come down."

"I advise we tread and trot slowly." Amethyst advised "lure the creatures to us, then I shall burn or vaporize them."

"Hey!" Twinkleshine called "that's my job!"

"I admire your pluck, but you've got a long way till you become a sage like me." Amethyst replied

"Anyway, it's decided. We shall tread carefully." Twilight replied "but you can start on the blocking revenant Applejack."

"Alright!" Applejack grinned with joy as she chopped the revenant down in two hits. Meanwhile, the group of ponies continued trotting slowly as a group.

The revenant were now on the prowl as they start to fly, float, crawl and lurch towards the Princess' team. One gargoyle decided to dive bomb Applejack with is deadly iron lance but... When was hitting an axe user with a lance a good idea? (Except for the time when it's an axereaver. Unfortunately, this was not the case)

"Hey Flits! Ah'll leave the gargoyle to you." Applejack signalled

"Thank you!" Flitter waved as she finished off the gargoyle with one shot.

"The bael north of us will soon be descending from the peaks. We shall strike as soon as it touches the plains." Amethyst replied

"Roger!" Twinkleshine replied.

Another nearby revenant and Mauthe Dog made a move on Applejack. Of course, facing a highly-skilled fighter with a freshly-risen revenant often yields some bad results, for the revenants that is. With another two swipes, the revenant crumbled back to dust, the Dog was lucky that it was fast so Applejack could only land a single hit. However, the seemingly endless numbers of monsters continued lurching forward, with the nearby Bael touching the ground.

"Now! Strike while the iron is hot!" Twilight signaled and Twinkleshine launched a two thunderbolts from above, reducing the unlucky Bael into a pool of acid.

"It is unwise to attack large gruesome spiders like these, as they have high defence. Their resistance however, not so good." Twinkleshine reminded Twilight.

"U-Understood Twinkleshine." Twilight replied with embarrassment. Just for the sake of experience, Applejack let her big brother take down the weakened Mauthe Dog.

"We must be careful against that gargoyle yonder the peaks." Twilight warned "this guy has a ranged spear, and it's deadly."

"Don't worry!" Applejack comforted "Ah can distract him." And as per usual, the team trotted slowly and packed together.

The Baels started to crawl straight towards the group, but with the amount of speed they can get, they're not doing a very good job... Meanwhile, the gargoyle decided to attack Applejack still from the peaks. Once again, accuracy is worse when facing lances with axes, which comes at an even greater disadvantage when it was a ranged attack.

"Monster's smart to attack from the peaks. Won't be for long though." Twilight watched "Flitter?"

"That's why I'm here!" Flitter winked as she fired two arrows to take the gargoyle down. However, the javelin managed to hit her this time, cutting into a third of her health.

"I'm on it!" BonBon saluted as she said a prayer to activate the staff and heal the archer's wounds. Big Mac decided to attack the approaching Bael. The fat spider was so ridiculously slow that the silent knight stabbed it twice to squash it dead and even dodged the Bael's deadly claws. Once again, the troop continued to march slowly and carefully.

By now, the enemies at the front lines knew that they wouldn't be any match for the living ponies, but since they're conjured up monsters risen from the dead or monstrously forged, they do what they were commanded to and would attack anyway. Three creatures decided to surround the front lines, but could do only much as dealing powerful scratches to the armor or skin. Even though Applejack's iron axe broke, she always has a spare.

Ponies who needed the experience decided to go take down those three enemies. Flitter shot one gargoyle, Scootaloo skewered another, and Fluttershy decided to put the Mauthe Dog to rest. Other than that, nothing really special happened but the careful approach as per usual. Twilight noticed that Amethyst looked very distant.

"Worried about Sweetie?" Twilight asked

"Heh heh, It seems you can read my mind." Amethyst smiled,

"I can't wait to see what monsters leading them this time!"

"Princess, though monsters may be fearful, it seems you have quite an interest for them..." Twinkleshine spotted

"That's what you get for being an intelligent unicorn!" Button joked,

All the baels continued moving towards the group. A Mauthe Dog picked up the scent of some live flesh. 'His next prey!' The monster thought and charged to claim and dine on his victim. The next thing he knew, was that he sunk his fangs into the thick armor of Big Mac. In fact, it didn't even scratch it let alone pierce it.

"That it? Disappointing." Big Mac sighed as he drove the steel lance into the dog. What he didn't know is that the dog was fast enough to dodge it this time and it landed an extra attack. Of course, Mauthe Dogs are efficient in attacking ponies that have low defence and everypony knows that mere physical attacks on heavily armored ponies are just pointless (unless they're using a hammer or some armor piercing weapon, but Mauthe Dogs have no weapon but their teeth).

"You're fast, ah'll give you that." Big Mac grunted

As the spiders marched closer and closer, the higher chance that they would be UTTERLY destroyed. However, as the team trots on forward, they notice that the creatures do in fact, get harder to kill. Applejack decided to play safe and attacked one of the baels from afar with her hand axe, Colgate decided to go up close to finish it off. Meanwhile, Rarity enabled Twilight to move twice to attack the hostile dog. With one single stab followed up by her signature teleporting critical strike, the dog was as good as dead.

"Princess, if you will allow me." Amethyst bowed and gestured towards the bael still stuck in the mountains

"Go ahead!" Twilight nodded and with that, Amethyst spun around and quickly created a magic circle to invoke two thunder strikes, to reduce it a poisonous pool of liquid along with burning flesh. Now that the South area was clear for now, the ponies were able to gallop to their maximum distance in order to catch up.

Two baels now started approaching in full speed while one was still stuck in the mountains far up north. However, the mogalls and the revenant still stayed put without any reaction.

Scootaloo was brave enough to act as the front guard against the two Baels. Normally, although knights and generals are heavily armored, this rendered them slow. Scootaloo is no ordinary knight however, she may be young and her wings don't work as much, but she is a pegasus clad in heavy armor, and for knights, she moves deliberately fast, allowing her to be very evasive and can smuggle in at least two attacks. Unfortunately for her, the bael managed to hit her this time, dealing a little bit of damage but it poisoned her. Fluttershy supported the poisoned knight with a handy true javelin, breaking the spider's body and killing it in the process. Big Mac also played it safe and attacked from afar with his javelin, scoring two true hits and dealing a lot of damage.

This time, the revenant decided to make a move and attacked the silent knight. The most it can do was just scratch its armor, before losing it's existence against him. The bael that Big Mac wounded also decided to make a move at him, only to miss the knight and gets stabbed once more.

"Scratch another spider." Big Mac replied,

"Still two more Baels." Twilight noted "and I think there's reinforcements coming behind us at high speed. 3 Mauthe dogs and 6 gargoyles. It's going to be a pain."

"Ugh..." Scootaloo clutched her body as she tried to withstand the poison.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" BonBon rushed over as she started to pray "Heavenly creator of Equestria, grant me the strength to remove the poison and sickness of the young knight! Restore!" And with that, the restore staff started to glow and a green light surged from beneath, curing Scootaloo of her poison.

"Th-Thank you!" Scootaloo bowed,

"Just doing my job." BonBon smiled "now knock them dead!" Applejack and Button decided to take the lead against the upcoming enemies while some decided to get ready for the approaching enemies from the south.

"We're getting close to a few houses." Amethyst scouted "I have a feeling Sweetie will be in there..."

The Baels continued forth and one decided to strike the Apple farmer/adjudicator, hoping to make a meal out of her. Its claws connected and pierced nearly most of Applejack's skin, wounding her to just over half of her vitality. As retaliation, Applejack knocked it into critical condition with two overhead swings.

"Now this is what ah call a challenge!" Applejack grinned as she suffers from the pain.

"Those gargoyles are coming in quick!" Flitter scouted "I think one of them's holding a rather dangerous weapon."

"What is it?" Twilight asked

"It looks like a horseslayer." Flitter watched,

"Does that mean we're screwed?" Button asked

"No no no" Rarity comforted "Horseslayers are lance weapons that are effective against ponies of the Calvary discipline. Examples are Cavaliers, Paladins, Rangers, Mage Knights, you know the rest."

"Then in that case, I don't see why that's a problem, Flash, Pipsqueak, all our Calvary is are protecting the convoy and taking an alternate route to the village."

"Maybe perhaps it's a weapon we could claim for our own?" Fluttershy asked

"maybe, maybe, that's probably why I thought it would be a dangerous weapon." Flitter nodded. Either way, Fluttershy charged forward and crushed the bael that was in critical condition and allowed the group to get out of the narrow mountain valley.

"all of us need to get over to the other side to prepare for the enemies behind us and blah blah blah..." Twilight showered tactics all over her team.

"I think she's been spending too much time with Flash..." BonBon whispered with an embarrassed look on her face.

"And to Lady Cadence, not for the 'right' things either. Always about war and battle and other such riff-raff." Colgate giggled,

"Is that understood?" Twilight asked,

"yes Princess." Came the reply.

"Right, let's put the plan into action!" Twilight snapped,

The Mauthe dogs from the nearby gate spotted the young myrmidon and princess and dashed quickly to feast on their flesh. One managed to sink its teeth into Twilight and survived her retaliating strike. The other decided to pick Button as its meal and it sank its teeth into thin air instead of flesh. What it didn't order was two sword slashes to its body, rendering him lifeless. In other words, it got a free ticket back wherever it came from.

"Have a nice trip!" Button smirked as he sheathed his sword, but the enemy wasn't done yet. Two mogalls started to attack, and set their eyes on the Princess, zapping her with unnatural evil beams. One hit her, the other missed.

"The Princess needs backup, immediately!" Button warned

"It's alright!" Twilight objected "I can still pull through! Scootaloo is the bigger concern here! We need her to defend the back line."

"Princess..." Scootaloo tried to muster a word of thanks,

"seeing you alive is thanks enough." Twilight smiled "now let's take it to them!"

Instantaneously, the front team made their move. Twilight finished off her Mauthe Dog, Fluttershy flew to the side and punctured the mogall, allowing space to attack the final bael and mogall, to which Big Mac and Button respectively slayed flawlessly.

"Nothing to it!" Button chuckled as he trotted away from the evaporating pool of acid with satisfaction. As Twilight promised, BonBon healed the filly knight back to full condition. As a gift for good intentions, Rarity danced for BonBon, allowing her to heal Twilight's wounds too!

"Concerned for others more than yourself." Rarity explained "that generosity is quite something for a Princess of Solaria."

"I made a promise that I would never sacrifice any of my friends. When it comes to either sacrificing a friend to escape or taking the enemy head on, I will choose the latter."

Before the enemy had made a move, everypony managed to bunch up together and get past the back party in order to be safe from the flying gargoyles. Only Applejack, Scootaloo and the magic users stayed behind.

"Are you ready?" Amethyst asked,

"Born ready!" Applejack replied,

"For the light!" Colgate yelled,

"I can do it!" Scootaloo nodded

"Bring. It. On." Twinkleshine answered. A gargoyle sent its axereaver straight into Colgate's ankle, dealing serious damage.

"Argh!" Colgate screamed at the pain and retaliated with two holy lightning strikes, banishing it by death.

"You've got to be kidding me." Colgate replied irritated rather than worrying about her pain. "I was in the woods! it had one third of a chance to hit me, the odds were in my freaking favor! Stupid, annoying gargoyle."

"The damage is done Colgate." Twinkleshine comforted "no need to keep on complaining about it. Besides, there's still one more." The gargoyles from the east flew towards the closest party member, the mauthe dogs entered the valley and one of them managed to strike Amethyst for a minimal amount of 2 damage, such damage for a secondary class is nothing as the sky's wrath done it in with a single strike. A mogall aimed its evil eye at Button, and missed completely. Finally, the second gargoyle made its move against the wounded Light Priestess. This time, Colgate managed to dodge the attack and returned to the sender a purging message "back to the darkness with you!"

"Keep at it, you're doing well." Amethyst replied as with a clap of her hooves, struck a stealthy gargoyle into a pile of ash.

With Princess Twilight's tactics, the enemy reinforcements were taken care of, with a seemingly endless barrage of arrows and spells, the remaining gargoyles were struck down from the sky and plummeted to their deaths. Scootaloo faced the Horseslayer wielding gargoyle and skewered it's head with an leaping tackle. As they both descend, Scootaloo reached out and grabbed the Horseslayer before landing neatly on the ground.

"No more horse slaying for you anymore!" Scootaloo joked as she pocketed the new weapon into her inventory. Button spotted two nearby houses where the mogalls were positioned. Visiting one let him converse with a very worried mare on how monsters like these started trespassing into the realm of the great dragon. With hopes of protection from the beasts and safe travels, the mare passed a Barrier staff to Button. Twilight on the other hand, visited the other house and found none other than Sweetie Belle.

"Oh hello Princess!" Sweetie exclaimed,

"Glad to see you're safe Sweetie." Twilight sighed with relief "are you hurt?"

"Not at all!" Sweetie smiled "I took care of a whole mess of them before hiding!"

"And I'm pretty sure that mess was still standing out of the house you were hiding in." Twilight laughed "though we took care of that."

"Anyway, I know that more of them are going to show up." Sweetie continued "so I think it's best that I should come with you to the village!... If that's okay with you right?"

"Agreed. It's far better than leaving you here." Twilight nodded "let's stick together now. I may need some use of your magic to help."

"Yahoo!!!" Sweetie jumped in delight and followed Twilight out. Letting her cape float in the wind, Sweetie the pupil was ready to fight for the Princess.

Despite a large decrease in enemy numbers, the defensive barrage left Flitter wide open for a Mauthe Dog to attack.

"Cloudchaser would be very mad at you and me and everypony else if she was here." Twinkleshine warned as Flitter applied pressure to the wound.

"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of taking hits anymore. I can handle it now." Flitter replied, determination and perseverance flaring in her eyes.

"It seems the tearful archer has undergone a drastic change." Twinkleshine noted "for the better, of course."

"Don't call me that..." Flitter moaned,

"just don't cry." Twinkleshine sighed, "Princess Twilight's suffering from evil eyes."

"I heard that!" Twilight yelled from afar "I can handle it too!"

"There." Twinkleshine smiled as she made a few wide gestures in casting Thunder, then critically blasting the dog into dust.

"Sweetie," Twilight called as she weakened the attacking mogall into a critical state, "it's all yours!"

"Haaahhh!!!" Sweetie concentrated and stumbled as she tried to summon some fire magic. After a mere ten seconds of stumbling and flailing, an twisted pillar of flame only seemed to escalate the monsters body temperature to extreme levels rather than scorch and burn it. But as Twilight weakened it to critical condition, it was enough to melt the monstrous mogall.

"My first kill!" Sweetie jumped for joy,

"That's just me. Once this battle is over, Flash will take over for your training, and it will be merciless."

"I-I'm ready for it!" Sweetie nodded with determination.

"Shall I share the front lines with you?" Fluttershy asked with Amethyst in tow

"Eeyup." The silent knight replied.

"Is that the best for a Tavros!?" Amethyst taunted as she elegantly dodged the swing of the Steel axe and threw three identical shapes made by magic into a triangular position in the air. The three shapes combined and Amethyst used it to create the magic spell-casting symbol once more. Landing a direct critical strike to annihilate the Tavros.

The party continued advancing carefully, as BonBon healed any necessary wounds. The enemies did not seem eager to charge after them, or so they thought...

"This is like one of the longest missions ever!" Button complained, can't we have something fun?

As an answer to Button's question, 4 gargoyles came as reinforcements from the North East, carrying steel lances and eager to stab any living pony.

"Um... Yay?" Button replied,

"I see the boss monster up ahead!" Scootaloo scouted, "It looks like a Tavros, but at the same time, it's awfully covered in mysterious colours.

"I see..." Amethyst spoke "that is a Maelduin. And they're the promoted versions of normal Tavros. Like them, they use axes and bows."

"This one holds a halberd and Steel Bow!" Twilight scouted "but the Steel Bow is flashing green! Maybe we could get it?"

"I think we've got enough Steel bows as it is." Flitter replied "let's find a way to get the Halberd instead."

"I think this area is a good place to stand our ground!" Twilight commanded. "Get ready to lure and take on the oncoming enemies!"

Only the reinforcement gargoyles continued moving towards the gate, but the rest of the force did nothing else.

"I'll lure out the Tavros from the east!" Button noted and hid in the woods close to the Tavros' range.

"I'll back you up!" Flitter followed behind, ready to release an arrow.

"We'll take the front." Applejack stated, "do somethin' bout those gargoyles."

"Let's form a line!" Scootaloo advised,

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed,

"May I join in?" Amethyst volunteered "I may be a magic user, but I'm of the secondary class, I'm pretty sure I can dodge those gargoyle attacks. Just to protect our..." She looks at Sweetie, Colgate and Twinkleshine "primary units..."

As the Gargoyles flew within attack range of the party, while still staying in the peaks, the eastern Tavros took the bait as he charged for Button, only managing to make a dent on a tree, and got his behind critically handed to him.

"The Gargoyles are trying to surround us!" Twilight noted, "form a box formation!"

"Coming!" Button replied, and joined the outer wall,

"Stay back Sweetie." Amethyst warned

"Bring it on you dolts!" Big Mac roared,

One gargoyle managed to land a furious blow on Scootaloo, damaging her for nearly half. Spinning her spear in the air, Scootaloo retaliated and killed the beast. However, another one decided to have a go, and struck her true once again, bringing the poor pegasus' health to one HP. This time, Scootaloo managed not to kill the creature so the other 2 gargoyles can go bother someone else instead of her. One gargoyle went for Button and struck its lance against Button's skin. With rage, Button landed his first attacked, then followed up with a critical. The final gargoyle however, had a javelin and he threw that at Scootaloo. Lucky enough, she managed to dodge it this time. The enemies turn was over, and vengeance now belongs to the ponies.

"Stupid! Lucky! You annoying little--!" Scootaloo raged as she repeatedly stabbed down the Gargoyle in front of her.

"Calm down Scoots, rage will never let you win. Or win properly." Flitter calmed as she critically shot down the javelin-wielding gargoyle.

"It's okay, it's okay." BonBon cheered as she healed the filly knight's wounds. Big Mac stood in front of the stair case as he decided to lure the 2 bonestalker guards towards his location. Meanwhile, a separate aloof party decided to travel to the east in order to access a nearby vendor.

The sword wielding bonestalker made it's move on Big Mac, but the big silent pony dodged the moment it swung the sword and countered with two spear thrusts.

"Let's make a chokepoint and corner that entombed for Sweetie to kill." Twilight planned,

"Yes princess." Colgate nodded,

But nope, the Entombed (or the remaining two gargoyles) did not move AT ALL.

"Dang it!" Twilight snapped, "I'll take point then, Sweetie get behind me." And the princess started climbing the stairs.

"BonBon, your presence may be needed." Fluttershy called,

Yes, her presence was indeed needed, but not for Twilight, the Entombed refused to move, but one of the gargoyles did, and it went straight for Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie! Run!" Twilight gasped as she pushed Scootaloo out of the way and took the attack instead.

"Princess!" Sweetie called,

"It's okay." Colgate cheered, "she's a tough Princess, it will be more than that to take her down."

"Get Sweetie out of there!" Fluttershy called as she was the one to skewer the gargoyle, though she herself took some damage in the process.

"I guess I shall take the Entombed out myself." Colgate sighed as she called upon the heavens to guide her and help her defeat this monster. Since she said it so nicely, the heavens returned with a critical bolt of holy lightning to end the Entombed's walking days.

"Don't worry" Twilight cheered Sweetie "Flash can definitely run some good training sessions for you!"

The remaining gargoyle aimed itself at Fluttershy and yes, it did hit her despite having a 23% chance to hit. Fluttershy at this point, was losing blood and in a critical condition.

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy wept "I don't think I can take this anymore..."

"Don't worry." Twinkleshine added "the fact that you survived two gargoyles is proof that you're a powerful princess! Just like Twilight!"

"I can take it!" Sweetie volunteered, and with her unstable fire, landed a lucky hit on the gargoyle, burning it into dust. "Oh yeah!"

"Well done Sweetie!" Twilight complimented "another kill!"

"Keep the EXP coming!" Sweetie replied,

"We've got two enemies left. If we want to get the Halberd, we've got to make it use it's bow." Twilight instructed. "There's also that Spear wielding Bonewalker too."

"Let me or Scoots handle it Princess." Big Mac volunteered "ah'm sure we'll stand strong against it."

"On second thoughts," Twilight remembered "you have the Javelin. Why don't you use that on the Bonestalker first?"

"Good idea. Ah'm ready." With a small and silent prayer, Big Mac stepped up to the plate and began throwing Javelins at the Bonesalker, killing it in two blows.

"Now all that leaves is the Maelduin..." BonBon watched as she healed Fluttershy's wounds.

"Let's surround it to the point where he can only use his bow to attack us." Fluttershy suggested. "Not me of course, I'm a pegasus knight."

Scootaloo stood to the side of Big Mac and Applejack and Button followed behind. The Maelduin did indeed swap to its bow and set it's sights on Big Mac. Landing a direct blow, it took away a third of his health. Big Mac retaliated with a javelin throw and he also managed to strike the Maelduin. Unfortunately, it took only a few damage, and the Maelduin has a lot of health. The main thing however, was that the Halberd was swapped for the bow and in Twilight's mind's eye, the Halberd is now flashing green.

"Let's try the new Horseslayer!" Scootaloo gasped, "since the Maelduin is like a centaur, perhaps he's also a Calvary unit!"

"We might as well!" Twilight approved,

"Hurragh!" Big Mac roared, driving his steel lance into the Maelduin's chest, since the monster was using it's bow, it was unable to retaliate.

"Yahh!" Scootaloo yelled, and she successfully stabbed the monster with the Horseslayer. The Maelduin yelled and roared in pain as he tried to shake off the flightless knight.

"Wow!" Scootaloo exclaimed "it actually worked!"

"One more hit should do it!" Twilight scouted.

"I'll do it! Yeah!" Button cheered as he jumped high into the air and delivered a fatal slash on the Maelduin's heart. Ending it's monstrous life.

"Game Over pal." Button smirked as he took the Halberd as his prize.

"A brilliant win!" Twilight commended, raising her rapier to signify victory. "The others should have probably reached the village by now. Let's make haste!"

Twilight and co managed to meet up with the reserve party and made it to the entrance of the valley. The elder of Solus Oppidum met them at the front gate.

"Amethyst..." The elder croaked "is that you? Tell me, does the great dragon fare well?"

"I have no answer for that elder." Amethyst apologised "I'm sorry. I searched to west, and found nothing."

"How unfortunate..." The elder sighed "And may I know your companions?" Turning to Twilight and the rest.

"I am Lyra, Princess of Lunata." Lyra greeted "Our journey has encountered some issues and problematic circumstances. If you would allow us, we would like to pass through."

"Please." Twilight added,

"Hmm..." The elder wondered, peering at the two princesses before her "we of Solus Oppidum have turned away from the world outside. All our honour and esteem holds and lies towards the Great Dragon alone. In this place, all are equal, including Princes, Princess, Paupers, and all such nobles. Is there a problem with that?"

"No." Twilight replied,

"...No." Lyra agreed, pushing aside her differences "... I understand that."

"In that case, you are welcomed to be guests in our homes." The elder smiled "and that some of you are injured, allow my offering of this rock moss, it should help treat those wounds. We may have little beyond our needs, but we can provide food and bedding. You may rest as long as you like."

"Thank you." Lyra bowed, "but we wish not to trouble you greatly, we would just like to pass straight through."

"I see your perseverance." The elder continued "but don't let pride drive you to foalishness. You for one," gesturing to Twilight "you look like you're about to collapse at any moment, walking through the mountain ranges looking that ill. Can you prepare some tea for the lass Amethyst?"

"Thank you, elder." Twilight bowed

"You may call me Grandmother, dear." The elder replied "that's what all the villagers call me."

As the group hunkered down in Solus Oppidum for the night, Twilight, Cadence and Amethyst sat with the Elder.

"Grandmother," Twilight started "If it is alright, I would like to ask a question."

"What do you wish to know?" The elder asked,

"The Great Dragon..."

"Ah, the inquisitiveness of youth." The elder chuckled "do listen to my words, young dear. The Great Dragon is... A blessing and a sign of hope, one that watches over all ponykind. In days long past, when the Demon Centaur made it's presence..."

"Is this regarding to the legend of the Sacred Stones? I'm sure I've heard of the great hero Crystalis who used the power of the 5 sacred stones to seal away--"

"No, no... Unfortunately, that legend is not right." The elder interrupted, shaking her head "surely, must ponykind of the outside world forget it's debt to the Great Dragon? If one heard the story, they would think the ponies alone brought victory. Sadly, that is not the case, and is a horrendous misunderstanding and mistelling of the tale. Only the mighty strength of the Great Dragon could seal the Demon Centaur away!"

"The Great Dragon and the Demon Centaur..." Twilight wondered,

"Although ponykind may have forgotten their debt, the Great Dragon never forgets." The elder continued "it watches over the Demon Centaur in the Everdark Woods. It has it's role of keeping the dark brood of the Demon Centaur from swarming the world of ponies. The Great Dragon has kept us safe from their blind rage with his vigilance alone."

"I see..." Twilight took it all in "my apologies, I never knew..."

"Hmph." The elder replied "you won't have to remember everything, but at least you should remember that."

"And yet Grandmother..." Twilight continued "we have encountered these creatures on the way here. And they are also beginning to appear in the places that we live as well. What does it mean?"

"Ah..." The elder replied "It appears that you have the effects of the omen appearing in the south. There lies an energy which is fouling the air and poisoning and darkening the sky. The Great Dragon left the Everdark Woods towards the south in order to investigate. In order to protect the Great Dragon, I sent Amethyst, my Granddaughter, along as well. However, they have been embroiled in battle, and the Great Dragon disappeared. Since that time, there has been no sighting of the Great Dragon here or abroad. We then grew worried and so I set Amethyst once again to find any trace of the Great Dragon. I am horribly worried that the foul energy from the south may be responsible."

"A foul energy..." Twilight repeated "from the South? I think Spike said something similar to this too... Perhaps the Great Dragon that you speak of... Is he of the dragon race mentioned in the tale?"

"A mere dragon race?!?" The elder abruptly yelled "how dare you speak of the Great Dragon like that!"

"I-I'm sorry." Twilight gulped,

"But as you've seen the noble Spike, I might as well proceed more quickly. Our Great Dragon has taken the form of Master Spike in his travels. And you tell me you've seen the Great Dragon yourself then?"

"Yes." Twilight nodded "he is currently journeying with my Brother."

"What!?" The elder continued "where is this brother of yours!?"

"He leads a force of mares and stallions against Crystalis, and Spike rides and gallops with him."

"Amethyst, this is urgent!" The elder stated "you must leave for Crystalis at once and save the Great Dragon!"

"Understood." Amethyst nodded "I will..."

"Wait." Cadence held "where are you off to? If you're going to go to Crystalis, Mayronyl is the swiftest route to get there. Perhaps it would be to your advantage if you journey with us for the time being. It's much safer than being on your own."

"Good point..." Amethyst stated "Mistress Twilight, the protection of the Great Dragon is my duty. Please allow me to travel with you on the road ahead."

The sun came up once again, and the team were ready to descend from the mountains.

"Thank you everything matron." Lyra bowed "we are in your debt."

"No problem, all our guidance comes from the Great Dragon. Amethyst,"

"I know." Amethyst replied "here is the road to Mayronyl."

"Thank you so much for everything once again grandmother." Twilight thanked,

"I know you'll help the Great Dragon." The elder smiled "but do also look after Amethyst as well. She may not be sociable, but she's the only grandchild I have."