The Rising of the Brothers of Light and Dark

by Dark Dienen

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Adventure
Length: 8121

When two brothers are made kings they have to make a choise to destory one that they loved or let them destroy what they have made

Power corrupts yet for two brothers, their rule as kings has done anything but corrupt them. Wanting only to help those in need, the benevolent duo watch over the Crystal Kingdom in an age of light. But darkness still exists and these two brothers now face the threat of corruption they swore never to fall to. This darkness comes not from within themselves but from within one whom they trusted with their lives, their kingdom and the future of all Equestria...

Published 2014-01-26 01:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-30 05:18:00 UTC

Prologue

The Rising of the Brothers of Light and DarkByDarkHeart the MagicEater and LunashonorguardArt by2135DProofreading and EditingByxZeroSoulx

Long ago, before the rule of Celestia and Luna or Discord’s fall from power, the land was divided between four kingdoms. The kingdoms of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. The last was the Crystal Kingdom which was the only land to have all three kinds of ponies living peacefully together. The four kingdoms were normally at odds with each other but now were united under one common goal. War, and to be free of the enemy that now plagues their lands. Savage war ponies from across the sea had claimed an old castle and were using it to send troops and supplies throughout the four kingdoms for months. The enemy had stolen the princes and princesses of each kingdom and were holding them hostage at the old castle. The kingdoms had sent troops to cut off communication with the castle so no reinforcements could be called for as they tried to get the stolen children back.

It was a cool summers day with a light breeze blowing through the land, but if one were to look on a lush green plain by the sea where the old castle stands, all Tartarus was breaking loose. The savage war ponies were holding their own in the old fortress for hours now against the ponies of the land. From the castle walls, arrows were being fired into the air at pegasi as they tried to land on the wall from the air. The archers taking notice of the approaching siege towers began to fire arrows at the ponies pushing them. Picking them off one by one. On a small hill a bit away from the castle the invaders could see some unicorns but could not tell what they were doing. Just then a volley of fireballs was sent flying at the castle walls. One of the archers turned and yelled to a pony on the ground "Load the trebuchets and prepare to fire!" The pony saluted and ran to the back of the castle to where the trebuchets could be found.

The unicorns continue to weave great spells of fire and launched them at the castle, trying to bring down the walls. Arcane Bolt yelled through a spell to make himself louder, "Hold the spells longer, they need more power before you launch! Make sure your aim is true, we don't want to hit one of our own out there!" Then the old unicorn called on his magic and made a barrier to protect his fellow mages from the incoming boulders that were flying out of the castle. The invaders had started to bombard the unicorns now. The shield did not make it up in time and four of the unicorns were killed.

The earth ponies were slowly making their way to the castle walls behind siege towers trying to get inside. They were however held at bay by the hail of arrows the invaders were letting loose. Any that tried to come out from behind and move the siege towers forward were soon picked off.  One soldier came out of the tower and saluted another before speaking, "Rune! Sir, we can't move the siege towers any further. The archers on the wall keep killing our ponies. We have nopony equipped with heavy armor to move the tower without fear of death."

Rune looked on to see that nine of his troops had been slain trying to move the towers. He looked to the sky then yelled as loud as he could, "Twister, can you do anything about those archers?''

Twister soon landed as fast as she could, while dodging a few arrows next to Rune. Catching her breath she said, "I'm sorry Rune. We are doing the best we can, but we're having a hard time as well trying to get through those arrows. Every time we try to dive our way in from the cloud cover they start shooting our way the moment they see us." She then pointed to the sky as her troops made another attempt to land and deal with the archers. As always it failed and this time two pegasi were downed and soon killed by the invaders. The mangled corpses were thrown over the wall. The air was thick with the smell of blood. sweat and death.

Rune looked around the battlefield at the corpses of their ponies and with a heavy sigh said, "Damn it. This has been going on all day and we've made little to no head way. Call for a full retreat, we need to get out of here before we lose any more ponies." Twister then flew high in the sky and blew on her horn. All that heard the call then began a full retreat. As the last of the ponies were leaving the field of battle an arrow with a note landed next to Rune. He picked it up and made his way over the hills to the nearby camp they had made in the forest that very same morning.

chapter 1

Later that night, the commanders from three of the four kingdoms were present. Rune, high commander of the earth ponies. He was a plain well-built stallion with a scar across his muzzle. He has a light brown pelt with runes on his legs. A brown mane and tail with green eyes.

Twister, high commander of the sky is a slender pegasus and she has a light blue pelt, with a gray mane and tail. Her eyes are red, but glazed over as if she was blind. Her body has a few scares on it from her long time spent in the army.

Arcane Bolt is one of the few archmages of the unicorn realm. He is an elderly stallion with a light gray pelt, and a white mane, tail and beard. Although you could still see some black strands here and there that just refused to turn white.

All were gathered around a table with the arrow and its note on it.

Rune picked up the arrow and took the note from it. Dropping it to the table once he saw the four pieces of skin on the arrow hidden under the note. Shocked he quickly read the note aloud.

"Hello commanders. I am Nightshade, leader of the forces that now ravage your lands. As you are well aware I have the princes and princesses of your lands held here in the castle with me. You also know that I will not give them up unless my demands are met. Your feeble attempt to get them back has angered me and now I will kill them all if my demands are not met in two days. Here is a little gift for you so you know the extent of my displeasure."

Rune in his rage picked up the arrow and stuck it into the table. "Something has to be done now before we lose the sons and daughters of our rulers! Furthermore, where is Clear Skies with the reinforcements from the Crystal Kingdom? The Crystal King's note said they should be here by now." Just as he finished his statement, one of the guards came into the command tent and saluted the commanders waiting to be addressed. Rune looked to the guard; "At ease soldier." The guard then hoofed him a scroll "What is this?"

"Half the reinforcements from the Crystal Kingdom have arrived, Sir. On approach to the camp, they encountered a large enemy ambush preparing to assault the camp from the rear. They engaged the enemy and successfully eliminated them but suffered heavy casualties." Rune put his hooves to his head and started to rub his temples in frustration. "Sir, there is more bad news."

"What!?" Rune was starting to lose his patience because the day just seemed to get worse.

Nervously the guard proceeded, "Commander Clear Skies was slain in the skirmish. She's dead sir." All the commanders then looked stunned at this most grievous news. Clear Skies was one of the Crystal Kingdom’s most decorated soldiers, and was a hard pony to take down. All of them new this because they had fought her before.

Arcane Bolt then said, "And the scroll?" because Rune was too flustered to speak.

The guard continued, "On approach the Crystal troops were stopped by a hooded pony and was give this scroll. He was told that it is to be for the commanders' eyes only, and when he looked up from the scroll the pony was just gone." Rune then dismissed the guard and with a salute The guard turned and left. Rune, with one hoof, slid the scroll over to Twister and motioned for her to read it.

She proceeded to read the scroll aloud,

"Greetings commanders. You do not know me but I know of you and your plight. My brother and I have been watching from the nearby mountains. Normally we keep to ourselves and do not interfere in the affairs of common ponies, but we can see that you are in need of dire assistance. We are willing to lend our aid. Even if you do not wish for our help, our offer shall stand. Though you may not think two ponies could change the tide of battle we urge you to put our skills to the test. If you wish for our aid, on the back of this scroll tell us how you would signal us to join in the fray. Then the scroll will be transported back to us."

Twister looked up from the scroll with a puzzled look on her face for she knew that the nearest mountains were miles away. "What should we do? This sounds like a joke to me. There is no way anypony could be watching us from any of the mountains around here. They’re just too far away."

The three commanders then looked at each other for a moment. Breaking the silence Arcane Bolt finally spoke, "I do agree with Twister on this one. It does seem highly improbable, but there has to be some merit to what is on this scroll. I can sense the spell that has been placed upon it. I say we at least send them a reply. If we need them, we need them and if not, then we don't. My former teacher always said keep your options open for you never know what the future will hold."

Rune took the scroll and flipped it over then dipped a nearby quill into its inkwell and wrote a message on the back of the scroll. Once he was finished he watched the scroll but nothing happened. A moment later there was a bright flash of light and the scroll was gone.

After recovering from the bright flash, Twister asked, "What did you write?"

"Arcane Bolt believes that we need to keep our options open. So if he believes we are in need of assistance, he will then launch a rainbow colored flare high into the sky, summoning these two to us." Rune stated flatly. "Now let’s get down to business. With Clear Skies gone we will need to take command of the Crystal Kingdom forces. Arcane, crystal unicorns are good at shielding and healing magic, so they won’t be much use in combat. Though I'm sure you could figure something out."

"I can show them a simple spell to boost the power of my mages till their skills are needed. Thank you for the info." Arcane smiled to Rune.

"Twister, crystal pegasi are well trained in archery and hoof to hoof combat. If you use them to make a hole in the enemy line you should be able to get your troops in there and deal with the archers." Rune stated. Twister replied with a simple nod of her head. "Crystal earth ponies normally are equipped with heavy armor. With their aid, I should be able to move the siege towers into place and get my ponies in there, without needlessly getting any troops killed. Is this plan of attack agreeable with you two?" Twister and Arcane both nodded.  "All right, let’s get some rest. We will re-engage the enemy at dawn!" All the commanders saluted each other then left to get some rest for the following morning they would go back into Tartarus.

chapter 2

The following morning Twister sounded her horn and all the troops lined up. Twister and Arcane bolt stood in front of the troops looking at them as Rune paced back and forth. He stopped and spoke loud and clear “As you all may know the troops from the Crystal Kingdom arrived last night and lost ponies defending the camp from an enemy ambush. In the skirmish Commander Clear Skies was slain. Do to this unfortunate event we will be taking command of the Crystal troops. Pegasi you will be going with Twister move out and get your orders from her. Unicorns you will be with Arcane Bolt go see him for your orders and earth ponies you’re with me.” With that the groups divided and moved apart to go over their battle plans.

“Crystal ponies step forward.” Rune barked. The Crystal earth ponies soon lined up in front of him. “Seeing as you are equipped with heavy armor you will be put on the sides of the siege towers. It will be your task to move the siege towers into position. The archers on the wall are very skilled and I lost a lot of good ponies trying to move the towers, but with your heavy armor you have no reason to fear them. Once the towers are in place move into the enemy base and and let all hell break loose.” Rune saluted his troops and they did the same.

“All right here is the battle plan pegasi. We will go up into the clouds, once above the enemy base I want you Crystal archers to fire at the enemy on the wall. You need to keep them busy long enough for me and my troops to land. Once we are down and dealing with the enemy come and join the fray. Is that understood!” Twister barked. All the pegasi saluted her and she did the same to them.

Arcane Bolt just smiled as his troops lined up. “Good now that you’re here we can begin. I was informed that you Crystal unicorns are adept in shielding and healing magic, but are not well versed in battle magic. Is this correct?” They replied with a simple nod of their heads. “Ok then seeing as there are six of you I shall need four of you to assist the bombardment teams. I shall teach you a simple spell to boost the power of the unicorns you will be assisting. With that said I need the two strongest shield casters to help me guard the bombardment team safe from the trebuchet fire coming from the castle.” With that said two of the Crystal unicorns step to the side. “Good now you four pay close attention this spell is very easy to do.” Once Arcane was done showing them how to do the spell they were off with the rest of the troops.

Moments later they began their attack on the castle again. A few of the earth and pegasi ponies were downed on their way to the battlefield by the archers. Though thanks to the reinforcements from the Crystal Kingdom the attack was going well. The unicorns were able to put more power into their spells and brought down a small section of the castle wall. Thanks to the heavily armored crystal knights, they were able to push the siege towers into place. Though the crystal knights looked like porcupines with all those arrows embedded into their armor. Rune was the first out of the siege towers. The runes on his legs glowing giving him more power as he was hacking away at the savage ponies from the beyond the sea screaming "Charge!"

Now that the battle was in full swing again and the archers under heavy assault, by the Crystal archers. Twister and her troops were able to get onto the wall and flank the enemies along with the ponies from the siege towers. Off in the distance you could hear Arcane Bolt yelling, "Group one get into that castle and aid our allies as you see fit! Group two with me! Now spread out and tend to the wounded. Treat the more severe injuries first!"

Rune was laughing as he split the skull of one of the enemies as he thought, "We've won! The battle is ours!" Just then the loud bellowing of a horn could be heard and the ground began to tremble. Rune looked around and saw a dark purple unicorn standing on top of the tower blowing the horn. The unicorn had a crown upon his head, it was Nightshade. Just as Rune moved to go after Nightshade he heard a loud roar, some screaming and saw the flare that Arcane Bolt was to launch. He turned to see what was going on and froze in sheer terror at what was happening. There was a heavily armored Ursa Major rising out of the ground.

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Just moments before Arcane Bolt and his group were running around the field looking over their injured for any that needed aid. As he was trying to save the life of a pegasus that took an arrow to the chest, he heard the bellowing of a horn. Just then the ground right under his hooves began to move. It looked like a small hill was forming and kept getting bigger till he was well above the castle. The ground began to slide away as a loud roar and the scream of his troops filled the air. He was then falling toward the freshly moved earth. In a split second he shot the rainbow flare high in the sky just in time before he hit the ground and was knocked unconscious.

Rune was soon snapped out of his frozen state by Twister when she screamed, "Run you fools!" The Ursa roared as it ran up to the castle. With one swipe of its claws, it threw ten ponies up into the air and leveled more of the wall. The ponies were dead before they hit the ground. A few were split in two from where they were hit by its claws.

Twister was blowing the horn for a full retreat and Rune was yelling, "Get away from it! Run! Run for the forest!" The Ursa continued to swing it's paws and thrash about injuring and killing more ponies.

Rune stood his ground against the beast as he yelled to his troops, "Run, I'll hold the beast here!" He picked up a spear with his rune glowing more brightly and threw it, piercing the beast deep in its nose. The beast roared in anger, and brought its paw down trying to kill him. Rune however just barely rolled out of the way, but the force of the blow however sent him flying into the rubble of the broken wall, hitting his head hard and knocking a large rock from the wall landing on his back left leg. This would have kill him if the protective rune on his armor had not softened the blow leaving him stunned. With bleary vision and a broken leg he could barely make out his surroundings as the Ursa lifted it's paw again, ready to bring it down on Rune himself.

Rune looked to the sky in rage. "Where are those two!? They said if we called they would come!" He looked up as the beast was bringing its paw down full force. Rune closed his eyes waiting for the end to come. Smiling knowing he gave his life so more of the ponies could flee but the end did not come. Rune opened his eyes thinking he should be dead to barely see a young snow white pony next to him. He looked around to see a dome of golden light stopping the killing blow, but only just. It wavered under the force of the beast's blow, though the white pony was slightly bleeding from the side of his mouth because of the shock wave caused when the beast hit the shield.

The white pony then smiled at Rune and said "Sorry we're late; my brother is really hard to wake up. Are you okay?" Rune looked at the pony in awe and confusion only to yell when the dome began to crack. The white pony with a strain in his voice then yelled, "Brother, do it now!" Rune heard a loud booming noise. Then all of a sudden the Ursa was knocked down on it's side.

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Moments before, the ponies that had gotten to the forest edge turned to look at the carnage, seeing Rune stand his ground before the beast. Then getting tossed aside after hitting it in the nose with a spear. The Ursa was just about to kill Rune and Twister was screaming,

"Nooo!" being held back by her troops as it brought it's paw down, throwing dust into the air with the blow. She let out a sigh of relief when the dust had settled and she could see an orb of light around Rune and one other pony stopping the killing blow.

Then she heard somepony shout "Brother, do it now!" All of a sudden a loud booming noise filled the air. Everypony turn to see a huge black fireball ripping through the sky. The blazing ball smashed into the side of the Ursa Major's head, hurling it to the ground. They all cheered at this sight, but then were struck with fear when the beast began to get back up. Though pieces of the helm that guarded it's head fell to the ground as it stood.

Now under the falling piece of metal Rune was shocked by what he just saw through the still standing but cracked ball of light. Once all the metal fell to the ground the white pony undid the spell and Rune saw the Ursa hit by the blazing fireball again, this time in the jaw knocking it onto its back. Rune's vision was now clear and he saw what he thought to be a black pegasus come out of the fireball. The pony landed next to him and the white pony that saved his life. He could now see that there was something off about them. They both had pegasus wings and a unicorn’s horn. Rune had never seen anything like them before in his life.

Just as Rune was about to speak, he was tossed onto the back of the white pony by the black one. The black pony then said, "Brother, take this pony to the others I saw by the forest edge. He needs healing and I saw unicorns in the group. I can hold my own against this beast till you return." With a quick nod of his head the white pony was off. The black one then turned and saw the Ursa was getting back up. With a quick jerk of his neck to pop it the black pony roared, "Come get some, monster!" and attacked the beast once more.

By the edge of the woods, the ponies looked on in awe as the Ursa was knocked to the ground time and time again. Though it did hit the black pony a few times plowing him into the ground, the pony would just get up and charge again. Soon the white pony landed, laying Rune on the ground and said, "Come quick, I need a healer. This pony has bad head injuries and a broken leg."

Rune could hear two voices shouting for others to move out of the way. It was Twister, who hugged him, after slapping him the moment she got to him and Arcane Bolt who just woke up after being knocked out. Twister looked up to say thank you but the white pony was already flying back to battle. Arcane Bolt began to heal Rune as he tried to get a good look at the white pony but failed. All the ponies looked on as the white one began to blast the Ursa with spells, throwing up barriers to defend when the beast was sure to land a hit and was still taking some damage.

The battle was fierce, neither side wanting to give an inch, but the commanders could see the two ponies now fighting the Ursa alone were losing. The beast had just caught the black one with a good hit launching him toward the forest. He hit the ground, digging into the earth as he slid. Everypony gasped as they knew no pony could have lived through a hit like that, but what shocked them more was that after the dust had settled, he crawled his way out of the ground, bleeding from one bad gash down his side. Everypony there now got a good look at the black pony and Arcane Bolt had a look of utter disbelief on his face. The black pony coughed up a lot of blood before growling as his coat began to turn crimson red, "Damn beast. You will not be rid of me that easily." Snapping his dislocated wing back into place, he took off after the beast again.

“Rage shift.” Arcane whispered.

Rune saw the look on Arcane Bolt's Face and asked "What is wrong my friend, do you know what that strange pony is and why is he red now?"

"Yes I do, but I thought them to be only myth till now." he replied, then asked "Tell me, does the white one look like the black one?" Rune was puzzled by his friend’s words but answered with just a nod of his head. Arcane Bolt then told everypony what he knew, "They are alicorns! One of the most rare and powerful of the pony races. The black one turned red because he rage shifted. It is a unique ability to us unicorns. When we are overcome with rage, and if we have substantial magical power our body's color changes. We get stronger and gain more power for a short time."

Twister asked "What does this mean Arcane?"

"That we are privileged enough to be in their presence, and we may live through this battle to save the princes and princesses with their help." he replied. All the forces watched in awe as these two alicorns traded blow for blow with the Ursa Major. With each hit both the alicorns and the Ursa became more tired. Each hit was as strong as the last. The brothers tore into the Ursa with all they had, landing some gruesome blows, though the Ursa did the same. The battle went on till night fall, but it looked like the Ursa was going to win. In the end, the brothers could not stand up to the Ursa's might and were pinned under it's paws. The beast then tried to crush the life out of the two alicorns. Just as they were about to die, something happened. The two alicorns each turned into a ball, one black and the other White. Both flew high into the air and mashed together.

Rune asked "Arcane, what is going on?" slightly covering his face with his hoof because the light and force of the shockwave made when the balls smashed together was too much.

"I don't know, throughout all my studies I've never seen anything like this." he replied. Then suddenly as the light appeared it was gone, but now in its place was a new alicorn. This new alicorn was two colors. Split right down the middle, the left half of it's body was white with three black wings. The right side was like looking into an inverted mirror for it's body was black on this side with three white wings.

The alicorn then said in a voice that hurt the ears of Ursa Major and all of the ponies listening, "You shall not take another soul this day beast, not while I have the power to stop you! Now begone!" After it finished speaking it shot a beam of swirling black and white magical energy at the Ursa, tearing it's armor asunder and launching the beast, a few yards away. The beast along, with the invaders went running for their lives. The fight ended a swift two minutes after the two alicorns transformed. The new form split back into two balls again and landed on the ground. The ponies by the woods came running over and cheering with all their might, but that soon stopped once they saw their saviors looked half dead. They laid on the ground, breathing heavily and cringing from their wounds. They were covered in small scratches and scrapes, but they also had a few very bad gashes that were bleeding badly.  A pool of blood began to form around them.

Rune, now limping to them with the aid of Arcane Bolt and Twister asked, "Are you both okay? You look like you’re on your death beds."

"We are fine, just used too much power." was all the white one could say before he passed out and a sort of crystal cocoon formed around him.

"Need to rest... So tried…" the black one replied before he too was encased in a crystal cocoon.

"What is going on Arcane? We need to help them, they save our flanks." Rune barked.

"It will be okay; you heard them just as I did. They are fine Rune, they just need rest. So don't yell at Arcane." Twister snapped.

"But then what's going on with them?" Rune replied.

"I believe that this is a form of defense to keep them safe when they're recovering from that form they turned into. It looks like it drained them of all they had to save themselves and us." Arcane said. Though everypony could tell he was guessing.

One of the soldiers stepped up, "Sir, what now?"

Rune thought for a few moments and said, "Twister, you take three fourths of the troops and see if you can find the princes and the princesses. The rest of you, make two stretchers. We are taking these two to the camp and guarding them till we are given our orders by our respective royal ruler's child." Everypony saluted and went to their assigned tasks. Once at camp with the two alicorns, the troops got the fires going and waited on good news from Commander Twister.

chapter 3

Twister turned and looked to the gathered troops. “Pegasi take to the air, surround the castle from the sky and kill anypony that is not gathered here! I want you Crystal Heavy Knights and three unicorns to follow me!” She turned and glared at the castle with fury “It’s time to get our Princes and Princesses back!”

All those present saluted shouting “Yes Ma’am!”

“Then move out!” Twister bolted for the castle with the ordered troops fast on her hooves. Once they were by the castle wall they saw their way in. A dark corridor that looks like it ran the length of the castle wall. “I want two heavy knights up front with a unicorn close behind using a light spell, the rest of you fall in!”

As they began to move into the castle the stale, dank air made them gag the deeper they went. Once they reached the end of the first wall they turned to move down the second wall. All they could smell was mold. Besides the dark corridor in front and behind them, all they could see was the slimy moss growing out of the cracks in the old castle walls. Soon they came to a door and opened it to find it opened into the courtyard then they continued down the corridor. After continuing down the corridor they came to a winding staircase.

They began the slow descent into the dark of the castles lower section. Once at the bottom they could see they were in some sort of dungeon. Small torches burned on the wall and they could her talking in the back. “Hurry and get those kids I want to be gone before somepony comes looking!”

Twister pushed past her troops and broke for the back of the dungeon. After the shock of their commander rushing past them the troops gave chase. They saw Nightshade, a small colt and some troops standing by a tunnel that opened into the dungeon. Three of his troops were trying to open a great steel door. “Father who are they!” The colt was pulling on Nightshade's robes while pointing at Twister and her approaching troops.

“Damn! Once you three get that door open kill the brats. The rest of us are leaving!” Nightshade and his troops moved into the tunnel. Once they were inside Nightshade pulled a lever and the wall began to move blocking the tunnel entrance.

Before Twister could get to the great steel door Nightshade’s troops got in and shut it. Plus the wall was now covering the tunnel Nightshade himself fled down. “All right I want you unicorns to….” Twister was cut short by dying screams and the sound of fighting. She then took a step back as something wet touched her hooves. It was blood, thick and red began to run out from under the door.

Thinking the worst she began to beat the door while the others did what they could to try and open it as the screaming continued. Twister was about to slam her hooves on the door again and stopped just before they hit. Her ears twitched back and forth but she couldn’t hear anything, the screaming had stopped. She and her troops stepped back as the door began to slowly open it was one of Nightshade’s troops and he was covered in blood and had a look of absolute terror plastered on his muzzle. He was looking into the dark of the room “Please don’t kill me! I was just following orders! Please I..I don’t want to die!” The stallion began to cry as he looked into the dark.

Then a dark evil laughing could be heard coming from the dark. The stallion quickly turned and tried to run away but was dragged back into the room. Twister Stepped forward and tried to see what was going on only to be covered by a huge spurt of blood as a stallion screamed. She quickly wiped the blood from her eyes to see the stallion hit the floor wheezing and coughing blood. His body jerking around like it was being pulled at.

Once the stallion drew his last breath twister looked up to see two blood red, soulless eyes staring at her. Just looking into those eye made her shake with fear but what scared her most was the blood dripping from its fangs. “If you are here to hurt the little ones I would run before I make a snack of you too!”

Twister mustered what courage she could before this bloody, fanged smile and soulless eyes. “I’m here to get them out. We are their servants.”

After a few heart pounding moments “Very well, enter.” was the last thing she heard before the torches in the room relit and what ever had those eyes just vanished.

The sight before them was gruesome, Nightshade’s three ponies lay on the floor dead. Their throats were ripped to shreds and their guts were spilt all over the floor. In each case their chest was ripped open and their heart was gone. There was so much blood all over the place Twister had to force herself not to throw up at the sight before her. Though her troops failed to do the same.

Twister and what few ponies were done puking walked through the mess to the back. There they found the Princes and the Princesses chained to the wall. Just from looking at them She could tell they had been beaten badly. “Lets get them out of here.”

“Twister is that you?” The Prince was looking up at her through his one good eye.

“Yes Prince Swiftwind It’s me.” The colt tried to say something but past out before he could. “Get these chains off them now!”

One of the unicorns quickly undid the locks and place all the unconscious Princes and Princesses on the back of somepony to be carried out of the castle. Twister and her troops quickly rushed them to the medic tent and were kicked out by the head medic. Almost an hour and a half later he came out. “How are they Doctor?” Rune had a deep look of concern about him.

“They have been better. Swiftwind has a broken wing and three broken ribs. The wing was easy to fix but it will be some time before he is flying anywhere. He also has a very swollen right eye, but from what I can tell his eye should be fine and the swelling should be gone by morning. Violet has two broken ribs and her front right leg is broken was well. Starlight had a dislocated shoulder and a crack going down her horn. I was able to fix her horn but till we be quite some time before she is doing magic again. As for Soul Stone I am afraid he had it much worse than the little ones. His left eye is swollen shut but should be fine by tomorrow. His jaw, left shoulder and right hip were all dislocated. Both is back legs were broken along with seven ribs. He had two shallow stab wounds. Also in all cases they had cuts and bruises from being whipped, plus a patch of missing skin. They were all dehydrated and need something to eat as soon as they wake.” The Doctor stopped took a breath and looked to all very seriously. “Furthermore Soul Stone came to and after telling him what was wrong with him, he ordered me to use a very dangerous spell on him. At the cost of great physical pain I forcibly accelerated the healing of all his bones. He will be fine but very sore.”

After that the Doctor walked back into the tent. Everypony there was furious at what they had been told. Then one of the Crystal Heavy Knights walked up. “What do we do now sir?”

Rune jerked his head up to meet the gaze of the mare. “As I said before we will wait and do as the Princes and Princesses say. Until then I want ten ponies on watch all night Switch out every four hours! Is that clear!”

All the troops saluted “Sir Yes, Sir!” Arcane Bolt and Rune walked back into the Medic tent as Twister and nine others took the first watch.

chapter 4

Chapter 4

The camp was very lively the next morning. The Princes and Princesses were just coming out of the medic tent when the pegasi troops ran over to see the Prince and yelled, "We’ve got Prince Swiftwind back. Hip, hip, hooray." Arcane Bolt and what was left of the unicorn mages did the same for Princess Starlight.

Rune and what was left of the earth pony forces saluted their Princess till she said, "At ease soldiers."

"Good to finally have you back, Princess Violet,” said Rune.

"Good to be out of there," She replied.

Rune then turned and walked over to the Crystal Prince, standing taller than the younger royals, and at eye level with his remaining troops. Then he said, "Good to see you again, Prince Soul Stone."

"Ah Rune, my good friend. How long has it been? Oh, by the way, where is Clear Skies? I know father would only trust her to come get me," Soul Stone said.

"I'm sorry to report that she was killed in action. The enemy was about to flank us as we made camp for the night, her and her troops ran into them on the road as they made their way to join us. They killed all those that stood in their way, but you lost half your troops and the commander. She is a war hero sir, as are all your troops that fell. I'm afraid not but one fourth of your troops stand here. We could not have won without them," Rune replied, saluting the Prince as all the troops there saluted him.

"At ease," Soul said as a single tear fell from his face. The Prince then snapped back to reality. "What happened to the field, the castle and what became of the enemies?" he queried.

Before Rune could answer, Violet asked, "And why do so few stand before us?"

Rune choked on his words as he tried to tell the royals before him what they wanted to know, but could not.

Twister replied, "The field, castle and loss of troops were caused by the enemy's Ursa Major." The royals gasped, "Furthermore, the Ursa's defeat and the full retreat of the enemy, plus the saving of the lives of what few troops still stand, is thanks to those two there." Twister pointed to the crystals by the fire.

All the royals went over and looked at the would-be heroes. "What are they, and why are they like this?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, please tell us." Swiftwind said in a commanding tone.

"Based on their appearance, I believe them to be alicorns, your highnesses. And, as for their current condition, they are resting in a defensive crystal shell to recover their powers. What we saw them do was unbelievable," Arcane Bolt replied.

"You must be joking, Arcane. Surely you don't expect us to believe them to be mythical alicorns, now do you?" Swiftwind scoffed.

"What else could they be, my young lord? I mean, just look at them! They both have a pegasus’ wings and a unicorn’s horn. Plus, they took down the once armored Ursa Major with little more than their own hooves." Arcane said in response.

"The beast was armored?" Starlight shockingly asked.

"Yes my lady, but that is not all. They traded blows with the beast as if they were ones themselves. Then, the Ursa pinned them and just as it was about to kill them, they turned into black and white orbs which smashed together, causing a blinding light and a shockwave." Twister excitedly yelled.

Rune finally found his voice again and finished the story, "Once we could clearly see again, the orbs were gone and in their place was a new alicorn. The left half of its body was white with three black wings and the right was the exact opposite. A black body with white wings. This new form blasted the armor off of the Ursa and launched it a few yards. After the Ursa and the enemy ponies all fled, they split apart, and said they needed rest. Then, these crystals grew over them."

All of the royals looked at the two alicorns in disbelief, but they could tell by the look on the faces of every soldier standing there that they were not lying.

Not long after that, the camp was packed and everyone was saying their goodbyes as they prepared to leave to their respective kingdoms. Rune, Twister and Arcane Bolt stood together talking with each other. "Well the past few days have been nuts to say the least, but we did what we came here to do. I also got to meet some amazing ponies. Twister, I see why you’re the Sky Commander. I've never seen a pegasus move as fast as you or be able to pull off those maneuvers. Your own troops could barely keep up with you." Rune said.

"Stop it. I was just doing what I do best." Twister said while blushing.

"I mean it, you were great out there. And Arcane, you are far wiser than you let on. Your power and understanding of so many spells is well beyond any unicorn I've ever met. You’re a great strategist and excellent healer to boot. My leg feels great." Rune said. Just to prove his point he smashes a rock that was near them.

"I was just doing what I could to help, and don't sell yourself short Rune." Arcane Bolt replied.

"He's right you know. You’re very strong and brave. I was one of the first to reach the forest and when I turned to see you throwing that spear at the Ursa, I was shocked. To see you risking your life to save your troops put me to shame." Twister said sheepishly.

"We all did good, didn't we? I hope to see you both again someday my friends. I was hoping to go with the crystal prince to make sure our new friends are okay, but duty calls." Rune said.

"I feel the same way." Twister and Arcane said simultaneously.

The three saluted each other and all at once said "Till we meet again." They then turned and started to walk to the group of princesses and princes. On approach, they could see that the royals were arguing about something and soon they were close enough to hear.

"They have strong magic. They should come to my realm where it can be put to good use." barked Princess Starlight.

"No, they should come with me. My troops are the most fit." Prince Swiftwind barked back at her.

"Everypony calm down, surely we can settle this without starting a fight. Prince Soul Stone, what are your thoughts? You have yet to say anything on the matter of what should be done with those two in the crystals. Since you're several years our senior, I believe you may be able to come up with a more well-thought out solution." Princess Violet said.

"I do agree with you and our men, without their aid we would still be in the dungeon and I would feel terrible if we just left them here like that. Although I think they should come with me. I have more troops at my disposal and my kingdom is just a day’s walk from here if we do not stop for anything. By the time we leave I could be home just after nightfall. Plus I only intend to keep them in my kingdom till they're fit to leave. From what the commanders said, these two like to be alone and normally don't meddle in our affairs. So if they want to leave I will let them, but if they want to stay they can. I believe the ponies of my kingdom will be more welcoming to them since I have ponies of all races living there. Though I don't know why you don't want to take them Violet." he replies.

"For the same reasons you said dear. I've the least amount of troops between the four of us and my kingdom is the farthest from here." Violet answered.

"So will you allow me to take them with me?" Soul Stone asked. The other royals replied with a small nod of their heads just as the commanders got to them.

Rune saluted before saying, "The camp is packed and everyone is ready to go. Shall I have those two hooked up to your crystal knights Soul Stone?"

"Thank you, but I will handle it Rune. You and the rest will be leaving before me. I hope to see you again and wish you a safe journey my friend." he replied before leaving to his troops. The signal was given and the three royals and their troops moved out leaving Soul Stone and his troops alone. "Okay ponies, we're going to be taking those two with us till we know they are okay. Get hooked up and move out, I want a defensive perimeter around them and me at all times. I truly doubt the invaders are gone. I want everypony on high alert, is that understood?" Soul Stone barked.

"Sir, yes sir!" the troops replied as they followed their orders. Once the two alicorns were on the stretchers, they were placed on two sets of crystal knights to carry them. With the help of a levitation spell from the unicorn troops, some of the weight was lifted off the crystal knights since both alicorns were still in the crystal cocoons. The prince stood between them and the formation he ordered was set.

"Okay troops, move out but keep on your toes. I don't want any surprises on this trip. Let’s go home." Soul Stone said with a smile.

chapter 5

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chapter 6

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chapter 7

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chapter 8

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Chapter 9

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