My Little Fire Emblem – Uprising Generation

Twilight Sparkle suppresses her feelings of unease and continues to search for her brother. Passing through Seramany, the group crosses into the Crystalis Empire. From here on forward, there is no doubt that they are treading into enemy territory. In hopes of avoiding unnecessary trouble, Twilight and her company head for a sparsely populated region of Crystalis. But it was too late, their movements have already been followed.

Chapter 6: Victims of War

General Sombra was communicating with a Shaman.

"Tell me..." He said "you are certain of Twilight's whereabouts?"

"I am. I sent some of our men to follow the Princess as she fled Seramany. They told me that Twilight and her friends will be coming this way shortly. Our ambush is ready and prepared, they won't escape this time. Like rats in a sack as they said..."

"Very good... That wretched Lightning Dust will be delighted. Now about this Princess Twilight, I heard she and her team of ponies were quite a handful. Apparently, her paladin withstood Lightning's lance. Tell me, are you certain you can handle this assignment?"

"Everything is under control. I've brought along a certain something from Solaria. It will negate whatever futile resistance they offer. Ha ha ha..."

"Heh heh heh... I'll pray that it goes well as you said it would be. Do what you must then, I must return to the capital."

"Will you not stay and see how Twilight looks in captivity?"

"Unlike two other layabouts I know, I don't have time to waste. I have a lot to do for our master. A mountain of tasks await me. My time is too precious to waste it on the likes of that royal whelp. These trifles are better left in the hooves of servants... Like you."

"Of course sir... Travel well then." As the General disappeared in his own shadow of smoke.

"Freakish unicorn. You should have watched, you might have learned something. I will capture the princess, and replace you at our master's side. You shall stew in regret and I'll enjoy every moment."

The Shaman appeared right in the midst of Twilight and company as they were traversing through the plains.

"Ha ha ha..." He greeted "Princess Twilight Sparkle of Solaria! Accept your fate, you have nowhere to flee!!!"

"What!?" Twilight jumped "who are you? And... Where did you come from?"

"You're as beautiful as I'd heard... And you're even wearing your crown. Maybe we should start there. May you surrender that lovely little accessory?" He asked

"Hey!" Flash cried in shock

"My crown..." Twilight asked "why do you want it?"

"His Majesty desires it. That's reason enough." Came the shaman's answer. "Once I present it to him, he will make me a General and I will become famous. Hand it over, do it quickly and I'll leave you alive."

"Don't do this Princess!" Flash warned

"Of course not." Twilight comforted

"Obedience will save you pain." The shaman continued "you came all this way to aid your captain Shining Armor, have you not? A foal's errand. Shining fell under the empire's might. He is now wasting away in a cell in Rearvall, meekly awaiting his execution."

"My brother!?" Twilight cried "that's a lie! A pitiful worm like you could never defeat my brother!"

"Whatever, protest all you like, it doesn't change the truth. Shining has lost and it was Crystalis who defeated him!" Twilight stayed silent after the Shaman's cruel words

"You're not going to acquiesce, are you? Very well then. Bring me the twins." He ordered

"Waahhh..." Pound Cake cried

"Ah!" Twilight cried at the realisation that two young twins from Solaria has been captured

"Looks familiar? They are a citizen of your precious Solaria. Give me the crown or the twins die!"

"No, please..." Twilight pleaded "very well. You win then, but promise me that the children will suffer no harm."

"Princess, wait. The crown--" Flash protested

"It's not worth a foal's life." Twilight interrupted "I'm sorry Flashy. Please forgive me." And handed the crown over to the shaman.

"Yes... There can be no mistaking it!" The shaman's eyes greedily sparkled from the crown "now your weapons. Take them off and hand them over."

"No." Flash objected "surrendering our weapons will tantamount to suicide. You are demanding too much of us, and we're not taking it anymore."

"Hmm... I see the peace and idleness has not dulled the wits of all Solarian knights. I guess my hostages has no more use to me huh? What a waste... Hang on, I've got a delicious idea. Have you heard of the giant spiders travelling around this region of the plains? They are known as Baels. They would appreciate a nice hot meal now. Would you agree?"

"Why you...!" Twilight objected

"Waahhhh!!!" The twins cried

"Ha ha! This shall be a delight to watch! These foals will curse the day they were born to Solaria!"

"How... How could you!?!?" Twilight cried "how can you do such a horrible thing!?"

"This is war! There are no rules here! In war, you can do anything. Anything! You curs of Solaria have lost! Your ravings mean nothing..."

"That's enough! Shut your damned mouth!" Twilight interrupted, a sense of anger and a power of rage started to engulf her.

"Wha... What?" The shaman stepped back after realising the cute, weak, timid and innocent filly was gone he knew was gone. Replaced with a determined, crazy and furious mare, no, a fearless leader.

"I..." Twilight continued "we, the people of Solaria, have long honoured our allegiance with the Crystalis empire. Now you've invaded without warning. You ravaged our land. You killed my teacher... Even then, I've told myself not to hate Crystalis or her people. If I gave in to my hate, our bonds of friendship between our lands will be lost forever. I refused to hate. Instead, I have lived for the day our nations will know peace again.

But... If this is Crystalis' true face... If you could extinguish Solaria without pity, without remorse..." She pulled out her rapier, pointing it at the shaman's neck "If that's the case, there is no room in my heart for forgiveness. Any enemy that gets in my way shall pay with their blood! And I'm starting with you!"

"Impudent girl!" The shaman retorted "do you expect your words to save your countrymen? They will not. Your beloved people will all die and so will you and your pathetic group!" And he teleported away with the twins back to their mother.

"Ha ha ha!" The shaman laughed "if you must curse someone, curse your dear Princess."

"Help!!!" Mrs. Cake cried.

"Cry! Scream! HAHAHAHA!!!" The shaman crazily laughed and teleported the twins and Mrs. Cake with Mr. Cake who were stranded near the mountains.

"Honey" Mrs. Cake cried "are we going to get eaten?"

"Don't worry." Mr. Cake comforted "someone will rescue us." And he embraced his wife and kids.

"Dang it!" Twilight cursed "I want to stab that cur through the head!"

"We all do milady." Flash replied

"But there's no time to let our rage consume us. We have to save them!" Twilight ordered

"Calm down your highness." Flash calmed "this may be a trap. This area is covered with a thick fog, we're virtually blind to our enemy. Certain enemy soldiers around here can be poised to attack."

"I know, but how are we going to see through this fog?" Twilight asked "we can't abandon these people while any hope remains."

"Well..." Flash thought "in tight spots like these, knights normally use a torch to see through the fog and night. Pipsqueak managed to pick a few up back at Rearvall. There are also staves called Torch. Any stave user can use it to light up a big area. We've bought some in Rearvall as well as some steel weapons before leaving."

"And..." Cloudchaser butted in "There's me."

"Oh yes! I almost forgot about you Cloudchaser. Thanks." Flash replied

"Wait, what's the deal with Cloudchaser and fog?" Twilight asked

"Allow me to explain" Cloudchaser instructed "ponies in... My profession such as thieves, rogues and assassins have very sharp eyes. If there's any enemy that's far away, I can easily see them so don't worry."

"Is that so? Then... Lead the way!" Twilight commanded

"I'll assign Flitter to back you up." Flash informed. "Princess, you'll need to bring 10 ponies this time and that includes yourself. Bring torches and Cloudchaser."

"Cloudchaser and Big Mac, you're in the front. Scout out any enemy you can see." Twilight instructed

"Flash, Derpy. My mind's eye can see that the citizens are near the mountain range. Get there as fast as you can before the Baels."

"Twinkleshine, Button Mash, back up Derpy and Flash."

"Dinky, Bonbon, I'll need you to light up the area when possible."

"Flitter, you'll be with me to cover Cloudchaser, Big Mac, Dinky and Bonbon."

"Everyone set? Let's teach this shaman that Solaria doesn't die that easily!" And Twilight raised her Rapier to signal the charge.

"Holy moly! There's a ton of enemies in front of us!" Cloudchaser scouted from the woods. "2 soldiers, 2 mercenaries, a knight, there could be more!"

"Look out! Stay in the woods!" Twilight warned

The soldier nearby spotted Cloudchaser and went to attack her, but do you know how hard it is to hit a thief? Even with a lance?

"In your dreams." Cloudchaser taunted as the enemy stabbed a tree and she freely retaliated with 2 neat slices. It didn't kill him though.

Cloudchaser took watch at the fort after Flitter dealt with the soldier that attacked her friend.

"Oh Celestia, there are a ton of enemies around us!" Cloudchaser reported. "Be careful everyone!"

"Got it!" Twilight noted "remember everyone! There are a lot of enemies! Try to go around them Flash and Derpy!" She advised as the party cut their way through quietly and quickly using the woods to their advantage. Twilight is a good tactician just like her brother.

"En Garde!" Flash challenged as he charged and critically hit a mercenary.

"Here, give me your sword. It will be easier to dodge without a weapon." Twilight advised taking Cloudchaser's iron sword.

Sure enough, Cloudchaser became a target, as many tried to attack her. Luckily, she managed to dodge all the hits while Button and Big Mac had one to deal with on his own.

The enemy has the team entirely surrounded, they have to act fast. Twinkleshine dealt with critically reducing an archer to ashes. Flash defeated a mercenary and took his iron blade. Derpy finished off the knight Big Mac was fighting. To protect her, Big Mac focused on forming a wall by attacking the javelin solider. With her new steel bow, Flitter shot a soldier dead with two arrows. Twilight guarded Flitter while Dinky headed for the village, lighting her way to see if no stray enemies came after her. Bonbon also lighted an area to see if there were any other enemies ahead. Sure enough, a cavalier was behind them, as well as a sneaky troubadour.

The enemies still started to attack Cloudchaser while some went for Twilight and Twinkleshine. Twilight got hit by a javelin but since Twinkleshine was on the mountains, it seemed impossible for the fighter to reach her. To add insult to failure, she flung a fireball at him. However, the enemies started to overwhelm the group. Such as the pesky healers.

Things were very crucial now. Everyone has to strike.

"Derpy!" Flash commanded "get to the citizens! I'll help the princess!"

"Ok sir! Come with me Button!" Derpy asked as she carried him along. Everyone was doing their best to take out any enemy such as Flash ending the troubadour. Cloudchaser got her sword back and was attacking anyone she could. So did Twinkleshine and Flitter. As the enemy phrase rolls over. The party dreaded that they were done for.

Seemingly, all enemies seemed to aim for Flitter. However, she dodged nearly all of their axe swings. But Derpy was getting hit by some soldiers and a knight.

Derpy managed to survive and came close with the citizens. She took a vulnerary to heal her pains. Twinkleshine and Twilight managed to free Flitter from the enemy ambush. Big Mac and Flash kept on giving the enemy a hard time and Dinky got some antitoxins from a nearby village.

Sure enough, the enemies still went for Flitter and Bonbon, especially a knight and cavalier. Again, they miss and miss. The knight persevered and continued to strike Derpy.

It was time to end it all. Twinkleshine took out the knight, Flash ended the cavalier and Flitter and Big Mac teamed up to take out another cavalier thus finishing off the main force of the army. Derpy dropped off Button Mash to deal with the knight.

"All enemies are cleared Princess." Twinkleshine reported

"good! Help out Derpy and Button!" Twilight replied

"Yes milady. Follow me Twinkleshine" Flash obeyed before picking up Twinkleshine to gallop off.

The soldier and knight that attacked Derpy turned their attention to Cloudchaser. Cloudchaser had no problem in fighting the soldier but she was having a hard time with the knight. A bael was secretly making his way towards the citizens and was spotted by the baby.

"Mommy! Daddy! Spider! Waaah!!!!!" Pumpkin Cake cried

"Crap! I've got you!" Derpy comforted carrying the twins. Button Mash joined in taking care of Ms. Cake.

"We've got to do something about that Bael!" Button Mash warned.

The bael continued to approach his meal of citizens.

"Waah..." The babies started tearing up.

"It's ok dears." Mr. Cake comforted. "It doesn't know that we are being protected by the kind pegasus knight and Myrmidon." The knight continued to chase Cloudchaser managing to hit her with the javelin.

"Dang it!" Cloudchaser cursed as she took another vulnerary to heal up.

"You shall not harm the thief any longer!" Flash promised as he caught up to the knight and killed him.

"Great! I'll drop off the twins." Derpy said putting the twins down in a safe place.

"Get the dad!" Button commanded "I'll deal with this Bael."

"I see the coward shaman!" Dinky spotted as she lit up a certain area.

"Well he better know what he's in for!" Twilight grinned readying her sword.

The Bael, his venomus mouth drooling, was ready to claim its meal until he felt something whizz past, back and forth. Irritated that his lunch was interrupted, he snapped at the fleeting flash, but failed and was given two sword slashes in punishment.

Derpy rescued Mr. Cake and carried him to safety.

"See the family to safety and help Cloudchaser and Button deal with the Bael." Flash commanded dropping the mage on the mountain "I must run to milady's aid."

"Whatever." Twinkleshine waved goodbye as Flash galloped off.

"You shall not eat anymore innocent lives!" Button Mash yelled at the Bael "So die!" With his Killing Edge, Button cut of the Bael's legs in one wide swipe and with the second attack, plunged the sword into the Bael's poisonous mouth. The Bael squirmed from the pain of the killer's edge before ceasing to move and crumbling into a pool of poisonous spit where it evaporated instantly.

"Oh. So you guys don't need my power after all." Twinkleshine said disappointed

"We'll take care of the citizens." Cloudchaser planned "go help the others."

An enemy mage tried to hit Derpy.

"You silly girl!" Derpy taunted "don't you know that pegasus knights are resistant to magic?" And threw back a javelin.

Big Mac finished off the mage while everyone prepared to attack the shaman. After dealing with a soldier, Twilight faced the Shaman first.

"No! It can't be..." The shaman cowered in fear "they've made it this far?! Grr... Must I do everything myself!?" And casted a flux against Twilight damaging her greatly. As Bonbon healed her wounds, Twilight turned to strike but Flash went first.

"Let me handle him. I'll let you finish him off." Flash remarked then attacked "you wretched cur. This is for stomping the name of Solaria into the mud!" Striking him with twice the slim sword.

"Arrgh!!!" The shaman cried with pain. One more hit and the accursed shaman is gone.

"Now Twilight! Your turn!" Flash called with Twilight turning in on the offensive.

"See for yourself! Solaria may have fallen but we will not lose! Especially not this battle!" Twilight scolded

"You insolent foal..." The shaman cursed spitting out blood "you would desert your own ponies to the Bael?" He tested "it would have finished them by now!"

"Actually no" Twilight corrected "the Bael himself has been finished by my soldier ponies! Those citizens are now safe." The shaman had his face covered in fear realising his plan has failed "now Crystalis scum! I am your end!" Twilight yelled and Plunged her sword into his head.

"Aah... Is this... the end? No fame? No... Glory--" The shaman thought his last moments before belonging where he rightfully should be, Tartarus. Twilight breathed with a sigh of victory raising her special rapier in the air for victory.

The Cake family rushed up to the Princess.

"You're safe now." Twilight comforted the twins

"Waaaaaaaaaa!!!" The twins replied with cries tears of joy.

"Thank you so much." Mrs. Cake thanked "for saving us."

"Please" Mr. Cake came up "I was once a former archer, but I stopped being a soldier to take care of my wife and kids. I have the memento of an archer right here in my hooves. Please accept it as a token of our gratitude." And he gave the Princess an Orion's Bolt.

As the family ran to safety, Flash came up with Twilight's crown he received from the dead shaman.

"Your late mentor. Princess Celestia..." Flash confessed "she ordered me to keep silent until the time arrived. However, with all that has happened, with Prince Blueblood's actions... It is imperative that I must speak the truth to you Princess Twilight Sparkle. Are you ready to hear the secret behind your crown?"

"I am..."

"As you know, Princess... Solaria houses one of the legendary Sacred Stones."

"That's right, it's in the temple being a ward against evil."

"Milady, the true stone is a ward against evil, but the one in the temple is but a forgery. The real Sacred Stone of Solaria lies underneath the royal castle. Guarding it is an immensely powerful seal that has an infinite complex lock of sorts, created by Princess Celestia herself."

"What? Is this true?"

"Yes. Princess Celestia seems to have other plans when she agreed with Shining to promote me to his' second in command. She confided in me herself. The Sacred Stones banished evil long ago and possesses powers beyond our ken. The ancient rulers of Solaria felt it prudent to seal ours away. They were afraid that people may use the stone for the wrong reasons. Without any hesitation and temptation, the keys to break the seal were hidden. One was forged into a crest of Solaria, the other was forged into a crown with the symbol of magic... The very ones that you and your brother, Captain Shining Armor, wear."

"My Crown? My BBBFF's Captain crest? How can Princess Celestia keep this a secret from me for so long?"

"'They must know nothing of the crest and crown. Tell them only if some great peril strikes.' These were the exact orders of Princess Celestia. Captain knows nothing of his crest's secret either. The Princess told me this out of fear that something might happen to him. So that, when the time came, the two of you would learn the truth."

"These accessories have such meaning..."

"Yes. And we are the only living souls who knows the secret of the Stone of Solaria. At least, that was what I was given to believe. And yet--"

"Yet the Crystalis army has made it clear that they want me only for my crown."

"Yes, quite clear at that... I don't know how, but Prince Blueblood must have learnt the secret somehow. And now, his troops are pursuing the crown, and we are no closer to knowing his motives."

"He would use the accessories to unlock the Sacred Stone and destroy it in secret..."

"Perhaps"

"Which means my brother... And his crest..."

"If he's been captured, they may have the crest already, and he may be--"

"Shining..."

"Princess, we must take that shaman's words to be true. We must hurry to Captain Shining. The enemy soldiers that have fled the battle will have reported our location by now. If the captain is being held prisoner at Rearvall... I fear they might execute him once they learn of our approach."

"You're right. We've got no time to waste. We must hurry to Rearvall! Let's go rescue my brother!"