Equestrian Blood

The rain beats down heavily on the ground, turning it into a sea of mud. Thunder rumbled slowly in the background, adding to the tense silence of the ponies who were dismantling their camp and getting ready to fight. The silence was unnerving and the wind mimicked the howls of the tortured souls from Tartarus itself, where Tirek now lurked.

Things must have been pretty bad for Celestia herself to approach the Everfree who, thanks to her, had been reduced to nothing more than a small nation of mercenaries.

According to her, the Elements of Harmony had finally snapped and that all of the guards that had been sent to investigate the castle had not returned.

"The bitch has some real nerve" Shuriken said, reflecting on the events of the previous night. He sat down on a ruined archway that had once been the glorious gate-way of this magnificent yet dark castle, now towered over him like a fierce giant. He took out a packet of cigarettes from his saddle bag and lit one, while calmly laying back to observe his scout teams getting ready.

"Sire, the men are all set to go in."

Shuriken turned his head to meet the eye of an old blue stallion; his mane had faded to grey over the years. One could tell from his eye that this pony had seen many wars; he was a seasoned veteran and the commander 3rd Legion. He wore an eye patch where his left eye should have been and a dark long robes that hung loosely on him. His single grey armor made him look strong, but Shuriken doubted that the armor would've made even the slightest difference if he'd not been wearing it.

Shuriken jumped down from the comfort of the archway and threw his cigarette away.

"Very well commander, send the men in ahead of us, both teams should take separate routes."

"And Celestia's Mage?" The commander asked raising an eyebrow.

"She'll come with us.”

"Yes sir," Commander Torek bowed and turned to leave so that he could pass on the orders to his captains, he felt uneasy about this job on his journey to Ponyville he'd seen nothing but bad omens; a broken tombstone, dead crows and broken bridges.

It was a well known fact that Torek was among the most superstitious ponies in the Everfree.