The Silverfox Chronicles

The palace had gone down quickly. The Wingblasts and the palace guards put up a good fight, but the former was nervous due to Radar's condition and the latter trying to protect the nobles and the royals. Goldenbell was focused on helping her subjects and surrendered when Embane fell, while Embane slaughtered as many soldiers as he could before they overran him. Cross was guarding Radar, hoping that he could be unnoticed in his tall tower room. However, the soldiers searched every room, and quickly apprehended the medic and patient. Even Ellar tried to fight, kicking and biting at the soldier. Due to his lack of sight and psychical weakness, he was one of the first to get captured.

"Ah Silverfox. Pleasure to meet you again." Thunderbird purred.

"YOU!" Silverfox screamed.

Thunderbird sighed. "Oh dear,the charm must have worn off." He turned his head. "Guards, chain them."

Soldiers emerged from the shadows of the room, greatly outnumbering the group of five.

"Don't resist. It's not use. We will just get ourselves killed." Toxic murmured, head down, as chains were placed on the ponies and magic-blocks were applied to the unicorns and alicorn.

They were lined up next to the nobles, Goldenbell, and Embane. Scout scampered next to Radar, happy to see a familiar face. Toxic heard a cry from the injured leader, and quickly assumed Scout had just told him the unfortunate fate of Twistedcloud.

Thunderbird climbed from the stolen throne, looking absolutely smug.

"Ah, my prisoners!" He said, his voice booming around the high ceilings. "Welcome to the first day of a new era! Sadly, most of you won't live to see the next, but it is still a very special day!"

"Are you just sugar-coating your take-over of Equestria?" Toxic growled.

"Silence him!" Thunderbird cried.

A soldier lunged at Toxic, the blade in his mouth stopping inches from the shocked stallion.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Roared Goldenbell, effortlessly ripping out of her restraints and impaling the guards that tried to contain her. She ran to her son, giving the offending soldier a bone-breaking kick. Goldenbell wrapped Toxic in her wings, softly muttering to him.

Thunderbird looked slightly alarmed, then nodded to some other soldiers.

One of Thunderbird's goons managed to restrain the violent alicorn: by stabbing her in the stomach with his sword.

Toxic screamed as blood dripped on him and Goldenbell was stiff with shock. Embane turned to Cross and yelled, "Why are you just standing there?! Heal her!"

He must be reminded of what happened during the Great Alicorn War, Silverfox thought, recalling the event in which Goldenbell nearly died.

When Cross attempted to leave Radar and Scout's side, a soldier aimed his lance at him.

"There won't be any need for that." Cross said quietly but sternly, "I am a doctor, so I am going to heal Goldenbell. I am a neutral figure. I pose no threat to you."

Silverfox couldn't help but crack a smile. Cross most certainly posed a threat to them.

Thunderbird, however, bought Cross's lies. A malicious grin came to his face.

"Alright, since your a neutral, heal the mare. Along with every other wounded pony in the room."

Cross gaped. "W-what?! I can't do that! I will be too exhausted to move after that!" He cried.

Thunderbird shrugged. "Shame."

Cross was visibly shaking as he went, one by one, to the over one hundred injured ponies. He had started with Goldenbell, of course, then the rest of the prisoners(Embane refused to be healed), after that he went to Thunderbird's soldiers.

"This is torture!" Silverfox whispered to Diamondshine with disgust as Cross stumbled and trudged to the next soldier.

"For who," Diamondshine muttered back, cringing when Cross collapse on the ground. "the spectators or Cross?"

Thunderbird trotted to the exhausted heap that was Cross.

"C'mon." He said mockingly. "Isn't it your job to heal the injured? Are you tired? I'm sorry I don't understand unicorn magic." There was no pity or sympathy in his voice, only malice.

The earth pony gave Cross a rough kick to the stomach in an attempt to rouse him. "Get up." He snarled.

Cross struggled to his hoofs, coughing and retching. Surprisingly, he trudged to Embane.

"L-let me heal you..." He murmured, trying to touch his horn to Embane's leg.

Embane shook his head. "Cross, no. You can barely stand." He gently pressed the shuddering unicorn against his side with his wide wing.

Cross smiled viciously and a small amount of red magic formed on his horn. A soundless blast erupted from the medic's horn, but there was no damage to the surrounding castle.

Embane looked down, surprised. "What did you do?"

Cross never got to answer. Suddenly, screams echoed around the palace throne room. Silverfox gasp as blood splattered to the floor. The enemy's wounds that had been healed had been ripped open, due to Cross's spell.

This move had also ripped through Thunderbird's stoic mask. He stomped to the unicorn, who was leaning on Embane for support, muscles rippling under his coat.

"What did you do, unicorn?" The orange earth pony snapped, his muzzle inches from Cross's.

The exhausted unicorn smiled weakly. "It's a spell that we doctors are taught in case we are put in a situation like you just put me in. It's rather nifty, huh? I can control who it affects, so my allies are perfectly fine."

"Can't we just kill him now? I would be much easier." Called a soldier behind Thunderbird, limping on an extruding broken leg, most likely newly shattered by Cross's spell.

Thunderbird turning his head, his teeth gritted. "We need a doctor, Ren. Even if I have to torture him into submission." Suddenly, he faced his audience of prisoners. "Speaking of that, would any of you like to join the New Pony Movement wordlessly? I will try my best to make you a prime candidate for being a representative for your species." Thunderbird strutted to Silverfox, running a hoof down her mane. "Especially you, Silverfox. I was so happy I got you to my side. But now I see you have betrayed me. Shame, I thought we had something special."

Silverfox spat at his face. "Gee, I thought the same thing when you had me kidnapped. And when you had your little psycho pegasus run a whip through my fur." She sarcastically grinned. "You really had me attracted when you brainwashed me. That was a sweet move, Thunderbird. I was flattered."

Thunderbird frowned. "But Silverfox, you must have sympathized with me when I 'convinced' you join to us. The amulet has to have something to work on."

This remark caused a ripple of murmurs throughout the prisoner line.

"Of course I sympathized with you! I understand where you are coming from! But your methods are insane, your insane!" Silverfox snarled.

Thunderbird narrowed his eyes and suddenly kissed Silverfox. The unicorn seemed shocked and disgusted, quickly shoving the stallion off her.

"Please, join me, Silverfox...." Thunderbird whispered in her ear.

Catfight and Diamondshine sprung into action. Without warning, her companions leapt on Thunderbird, shouting insults and trying to headbutt until they were driven off by uninjured soldier.

"I'll never join you, creep!" Silverfox screamed, asserting her place in between Diamondshine and Catfight.

Thunderbird turned, dusting himself off with a healthy shake. "Fine. No one else then? This is the last try." A silence ensured, only broken by Scout and Radar shouting some rather obscene things. "Alright. No harm done. I have enough soldiers anyway. I just wanted to save some kindred lives." Thunderbird looked at his troops and started barking instructions. "Don't cause anymore trouble. I am going to have a meeting with my generals and soldiers." After that, the earth pony strutted to the throne, far off from the prisoners, and the rest of the New Pony Movement sauntered in that direction.

Immediately, the chained ponies circled around and began to talk.

"There is no way to escape. What should we do?" Asked Diamondshine nervously.

Embane lowered his head and muttered. "We don't have many fighters left. Cross is completely out, Radar is out of the question, Goldenbell is still woozy from blood loss, Ellar isn't much of a combative, Silverfox looks pretty rough, and I'm not feeling so hot myself."

"I can fight!" Silverfox, Ellar and Goldenbell snapped together, but a distasteful glance from Embane prevented any more interjections.

"And," Toxic added with further disappoint, "We have magic blocks on that only Thunderbird can take off. In addition, the chains are too heavy to fly in. We are pretty much screwed."

"Don't talk like that!" Scout cried quietly, standing up beside Radar. "There is always a chance!"

Radar sighed, a heavy breath that shook the injured pegasus's body. "I like your attitude, Scout, but Toxic's right. There isn't much we can do in this situation. Thunderbird may be a lot of things, but he is not stupid. He made sure to disable the strongest in the group, that's why he made his troops attack my team before the plan really came into progress. He took Silverfox so he could lure Toxic and co into a trap. Somewhere along the line, he took Scout and.." He paused and swallowed. "Twistedcloud. I'm pretty sure he planned to kill all of you."

"But," Toxic intervened, "he was pretty smug to send Silverfox to do it. I'm pretty sure he didn't count on me snapping her out of the charm. That probably saved all of our lives."

And so, the conversation about Thunderbird's plans continued. Eventually, Toxic began to stop listening. His companions were just restated things they already knew.

"Toxic..?" The alicorn heard a voice whisper behind him.

Toxic's head jerked to the sound of the small voice. And there, crouched behind a stone pillar in the shadows was Dusty.

"Dusty?" Toxic exclaimed, shuffling over to him, trying to not to get the other's attention. A pang of guilt hit him, he had forgotten about the little pegasus he was touring around the castle when Silverfox had gone missing. He must have been here through the attack, he thought, feeling even worse.

"T-Toxic, what's going on? Who is the big earth pony?" The pegasus squeaked.

While trying to find a way to explain the taking over of their country in foal- friendly terms, Toxic saw a window. It was a small stained glass one, but could be easily opened. But it was so small, only a foal could fit through it.... Suddenly, Toxic had a eureka moment.

"Dusty!" Toxic said, ecstatic with his plan. "I need to open that window and fly out of it. Can you do that?"

Dusty nodded, his sand-colored mane flipping in his eyes. "Yes sir! I'm a pretty good flyer!"

"Good. I need you to fly outside and out to the forest. Keep going until you reach griffin country. When you see a griffin, I want you to say, 'I come in peace! I wish to speak with the alpha, it is an emergency in Eclipse!' Once you see the alpha, tell her Toxic needs her help, it's life or death. And to bring warriors." Toxic said, feeling a bit bad for putting the fate of Eclipse in the hoofs of a pegasus who was still in grade school.

"Is that all?" Dusty said with hilarious seriousness, saluting.

"War! Tell her we are at war! We are desperate!" Toxic added, hoping the alpha could drag some kindness from the bottom of her heart and bring help.

Dusty nodded and took off. Toxic watched nervously at the meeting Thunderbird was holding, praying that his entire plan wouldn't come apart because Thunderbird decided to turn around. Surprisingly, Toxic's luck held out. The earth pony showed no notice of what was happening on the other side of the palace.

Once Dusty had cleared the window and was outside, Toxic resumed his place in his friend's circle.

"Hey, Toxic, where did you go?" Silverfox asked, taking note of his disappearance.

"I just did something awesome!" Toxic whispered to her.

Silverfox raised her eyebrows, but her answer was cut off by Thundebird's sudden voice.

"I'm glad you had your last moments of fellowship together." Thunderbird stated, trotting to Embane's throne and sitting down. "Because my generals and I have decided it is just easier to kill you all now."

Shouts and screams went through the prisoner line. Toxic gripped onto Silverfox in fear and Diamondshine looked awfully faint.

"Icebird," Thunderbird said looking at his brother. "Who should we execute first?"

"Hmm..." Icebird said, scanning through the captives with sharp blue eyes. "I say we pick off the scrawny pegasus first. He seems fun. Lets decapitate him."

All eyes shot to Ellar, but no one moved. The seer's blind eyes darted around and he shook.

"C'mon!" Shouted Thunderbird. "Be a real stallion and accepted your fate!"

Soldiers came and dragged Ellar from the spot he sat, throwing him in front of Thunderbird.

"Windbreaker, your hatchet." Thunderbird said quietly, and the pegasus gleefully complied.

The earth pony approached Ellar, who had now started sobbing. Thunderbird steadied the blade on his neck.

"NO!" Screamed Radar, struggling to sit up. "Take me instead! Please!"

Thunderbird smirked. "Aw, what a cute display of bravery. Don't worry, you'll be next."

Thunderbird lifted the hatchet in his mouth, readying a clean cut.

Suddenly, the entire wall of the castle burst in.

The calvary had arrived.

The alpha griffin was flanked by twenty-five warriors, all of varying genders.

Thunderbird dropped the hatchet and stepped back in shock.

"W-What?! Who are you?!" He exclaimed.

Toxic carefully approached the alpha, seeing Dusty was gleefully perched on her head.

"Ma'am! You came!" The alicorn said.

The griffin flicked her tail. "Kidka insisted that I come and help. And your little messenger wouldn't shut up." She glared at Thunderbird. "I'm gonna assume this is your enemy."

Embane struggled to his feet. "Ah, Tsarina. My son sent for you? Wonderful. I need you and your warriors to fight alongside us." The prince turned to his nobles. "If you are too weak to fight, evacuate now."

Thunderbird growled and his troops surrounded him. "You really think you can beat me with that many warriors?"

Embane smirked and Tsarina joined his side, able fighters stirring behind him. The only ones that had to run was Cross and Radar, but still they crept in the shadows, ready to fight if needed.

The two armies faced each other, neither daring to make a move.

After some long seconds, Embane shouted, "REBELS, ATTACK!"

The dueling groups crashed into each other with various battle cries. Griffin claws flashed and pony legs kicked as the sides fought.

Silverfox dodged a knife-wielding earth pony and lashed out with her horn. Even though the magic block was in place, it was still the equivalent of a small drill attached to her head. She, along with the other rebels, had broken out of heavy chains that limited their mobility. As she gave her attacker a devastating kick to the jaw, Silverfox spotted Thunderbird running off from the battle.

That coward, she thought.

Hearing a familiar cry behind her, Silverfox turned to see a pegasus holding down Toxic.

Windbreaker!

But before she could bring vengeance on the mare, a white horn flashed from the shadows, stabbing Windbreaker right between her shoulder blades. Cross! The white unicorn shakily stepped out and gave the pegasus a good kick. She didn't stir.

"Thanks!" Silverfox screamed over the sounds of battle. "But I wanted to kill her myself!"

Cross smiled, kicking a new attacker.

Toxic pulled himself up and murmured a quiet thanks to Cross.

"Toxic!" Silverfox cried, watching the passage where Thunderbird disappeared. "They won't stop attacking until Thunderbird is dead!"

Toxic nodded, taking a break from fighting. Around him, a griffin and a sword wielding unicorn brawled.

"What about his little posse?"

Silverfox gritted her teeth. "Round up the others and tell them to go for Windbreaker, Elven, and Icebird." Her eyes narrowed with determination. "I'm going after Thunderbird."

Toxic nodded and rushed off to spread the word.

Silverfox ran through the thick of battle, avoiding as many frays as she could. Behind her, she saw Embane and Tsarina fighting back to back, Embane showing off the unorthodox way of horn use as seen in his past.

There it is, Silverfox thought, spotting the passage that Thunderbird had escaped through. Silverfox had seen this place before, it led to a long staircase. Beyond that was a medium sized room with a couple chairs.

Rushing up the stairs ahead of her, Silverfox wondered if she could really take Thunderbird down.

After some heart-thudding seconds, Silverfox arrived at the door, which was closed.

Here we go, she thought, shoving the wooden door open with her head.

~

Diamondshine headbutted his opponent and, once again, searched the room. To his surprise, Elven stood there, feet away, most likely looking for more targets. Diamondshine shuddered with anticipation and a bit of fear. It wasn't since the Demonfox incident that he had fought, and he couldn't even use his magic. Now he was fighting for his life and home.

Giving himself a healthy stretch, Diamondshine ran at Elven, a battle cry rising in his throat.

Before the unicorn reached Elven, Ellar came out of nowhere and tackled the mare from behind. The skinny pegasus screamed and bit at Elven's back and ears, also hitting her with his wings, which basically was a weapon on its own.

Diamondshine rushed to his side, kicking the mare when she threw Ellar off. Elven quickly drew her machete from the sheath and faced her attackers.

"Two against one.....that can't be fair, right?" She hissed, blowing her green mane out of her eyes.

The three ponies circled each other, the rest of the world dead to them. Elven lunged first, slashing Ellar's face with her blade. Diamondshine slammed his horn on Elven's machete, standing in front of the bleeding pegasus. Elven, however, went slack on her knife and gave Diamondshine a harsh kick to the chest. Diamondshine was throne back, gasping for breath.

"Get away from him!" Ellar cried, the scrawny pegasus stumbling to Diamondshine, guarding him with his body. When the mare closed in for the kill, Ellar suddenly struck out. With a surprising display of power, Ellar hit Elven at just the right angle. A sickening crack sounded around the area and Elven fell to the ground, limp. Ellar had broken her neck.

"She.... Did I....." Ellar gasped.

Diamondshine pulled himself up and blinked a couple times. "You did it. That's one out of three. Let's find the others."

~

"Ah, Silverfox. You came." Thuderbird said, his eyes reflecting him the dark room.

"Of course I did, you coward. I want to end this war." Silverfox snarled.

"Clever." Thunderbird said, trotting to a chair and stroking the soft fabric. "You realized that since I was the leader of the New Pony Movement, so if I was killed, the attacks would be over."

Silverfox nodded.

Thunderbird smiled. "I was hoping no one would spot me sneaking away. I wanted to preserve myself, even if we lost."

"How could you do that?! Completely abandoning your brother and generals?" Silverfox yelled, infuriated.

Thunderbird shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, if I complete my goals, why should my underlings share the glory? I am simply using them so I don't have to be in the fray the entire time. My brother is rather smitten with the equality idea, but he is just going to be a representative for the unicorns. I am going to be the leader."

Silverfox narrowed her eyes. "You're singing a different tune than when you were trying to convince me to join your group, huh?"

Thunderbird smirked. "Yes, after some time I realized that leadership won't work like that. Someone will get power hungry and slowly try to take over the council. I might as well make that me before things get out of hand, right?"

"Embane and Goldenbell are better leaders than you could dream to be." Silverfox hissed.

"Ah, Silverfox." Thunderbird murmured. "I had such big plans for you. Sadly you decided to put blind faith in your rulers."

"Blind faith?! I know them!"

Thunderbird laughed. "Really? What was Embane's best friend's name? What is the name of Goldenbell's parents? Huh, huh?" There was a silence as Silverfox bit her lip. "You know nothing of them."

"I know nothing of you either! But thing I know for sure is that you are a horrible pony!" Silverfox screamed.

Thunderbird shook his head. "Now, now, dear. Give me a break. I had a pretty hard life."

"That's no excuse for being a tyrant!"

"Weren't we going to fight, mare?" Thunderbird snarled, crouching down in a offensive pose and drawing his hammer.

Silverfox lowered her head, horn aimed at Thunderbird. If I had my magic, this would be over in no time, she thought.

~

"Only Icebird is left." Embane said, watching Tsarina strut away from the limp body of Windbreaker. It had been an easy fight, the alpha griffin had effortlessly grabbed the pegasus from the air and snapped her back. No one on the other side seemed very sad.

Embane's sharp eyes scanned the battle ground. His castle was in ruins, curtains were ripped, holes littered around and blood stained the ground. No sign of the blue unicorn.

His army seemed ok, no one was seriously injured. Just some scratches.

Toxic had told him that Silverfox had went after Thunderbird, so they had to hunt down his brother fast.

"Father! Someone, help!" Toxic cried.

Embane immediately looked for the source of his son's voice.

Toxic had cornered Icebird, the unicorn fiercely fighting back with his staff. Embane surged forward to his son, throwing enemies out of the way.

As if on cue, soldiers gathered around Embane, blocking him from interrupting the fight between alicorn and unicorn.

Toxic kicked back Icebird's staff and flew up. Icebird fired beams of magic at him, and it was getting increasingly harder to dodge them. I have got to play offense, Toxic thought. Bracing, the alicorn threw himself at Icebird, a reckless, dangerous tackle. The two stallions, rolled across the hard floor and stopped in front of one of the palaces's grand pillars. An idea came to Toxic. The alicorn pushed Icebird under him and started to headbutt the pillar above them.

Icebird struggled under him, reaching feebly for his staff, which was thrown away from him when Toxic tackled him. Hearing the cracking sound, Icebird's eyes dilated, he realized what Toxic was doing.

Crack!

When the pillar fell, Toxic took to the air. Hearing the disgusting sound of bones breaking, he cringed. Icebird had been crushed by the heavy piece of marble.

At the death of the last general, the room went quiet. The rebels were gleeful, while fear flickered in their opponent's eyes.

All that was left was Thunderbird.

~

Unaware of the victory taking place downstairs, Silverfox and Thunderbird dueled. Both sides had injuries- bruises and cuts that bled, but they didn't notice.

Thunderbird knocked Silverfox back with surprising strength and pinned her down.

"After I kill you," He whispered, "I'll kill your friends next."

This sparked anger inside of Silverfox. She surged up, throwing the larger earth pony off her.

"No. You. Won't!" She screamed, lunging at him. The unicorn stabbed him with her horn, eyes flashing with malice.

Thunderbird gasped in pain, squirming under her attack. Thunderbird slammed his head into her and retreated, jumping up on one of the chairs in the room. He stood there, panting, blood dropping from his body.

Silverfox stalked towards him, head ducked down and eyes narrow.

"You're not brave enough to kill me!" He exclaimed, his voice however was filled with obvious doubt.

"I am a writer. I open letters for a living. I get paid with food." Silverfox hissed. "But this does not mean I will be cowardly to kill you."

Before Silverfox could attack, Thunderbird leapt on her, hammer in mouth, and slammed it into her leg. Silverfox cried in pain, her voice carrying around the circular room. She felt her bones snap and shatter, it had to be the most intense pain she had ever felt. Silverfox fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Thunderbird raised the hammer high, aiming it directly over her head- a one hit kill shot.

With a quick movement, Silverfox slid out from the blow and sent her horn into Thunderbird's neck.

The hammer dropped from his mouth and Thunderbird made an odd, gurgling sound. Blood dripped from his mouth and his eyes went dull. Silverfox was shaking, his blood was sliding down her face. She easily slid her from the dead earth pony's neck and Thunderbird went crashing to the floor. She felt an odd sensation on her horn and the magic block was released.

Stepping back from Thunderbird's body, what had just happened hit Silverfox hard: she had stopped the New Pony Movement. She dumbly summoned magic to her horn, just to see if it still worked.

Still in a stupor, Silverfox opened the door, looking at the stairs beyond her.

I guess I should officially end this, she thought.

Enveloping Thunderbird's body with a levitation spell, Silverfox threw it down the stairs. She limped after it, stopping at the door, facing the battlefield. The fighting still seemed to be going on, if scarcely.

"The fighting is over!" She exclaimed, Thunderbird's body splayed in front of her. "Your leader is dead!"

Everyone stopped. Soldiers gasp and ripples of conversation spread through the room. She heard Scout and Radar scream in victory.

"Silverfox!" Toxic said, the alicorn running to her. He had some wounds and blood splattered on him, but otherwise fine.

That seemed to break the stillness. The rebels jumped for joy and Embane rushed to see her. Suddenly overcome by exhaustion and an agonizing pain in her leg, Silverfox swayed on her feet. She was quickly supported by Toxic, who had a look of concern on his face.

"New Pony Movement soldiers!" Embane boomed to the crowd. "You have two choices: surrender and help build back to castle to atone, or refuse and be banished!"

After some seconds, a mare came up to Embane, trembling.

"I-I will like to surrender..." She murmured.

Embane smiled. "Thank you, madam." He said quietly.

Eventually, most of the enemy ponies came to Embane to surrender. The ones who refused, however, left the castle with heads held high.

With the soldiers organized, Embane came to Tsarina and bowed deeply.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. You can return home now, with the knowledge you have helped a neighbor in need." He murmured.

Tsarina laughed heavily. "Your son saved my daughter's life." Calling to her warriors, the griffins left through the hole they had came.

It was Goldenbell who spoke now. "If you are injured, please go and rest in your room. Cross or I will attend to you soon."

Scout and some Wingbolts that had been trapped outside went to the New Pony Movement's base to retrieve Twistedcloud's body. Thunderbird's and his general's (along with the other soldier's) bodies had been cremated, despite being cruel ponies, they were given a small service, because of the due to the dead. Cross helped Radar to his room, letting him rest for the remainder of the night. Diamondshine and Catfight refused to go back to their houses, sleeping in the castle instead. Silverfox limped straight to bed, her bag and paper returned to her room by a kind Wingblast. Toxic also went to sleep, but Embane and Goldenbell oversaw the rebuilt of the castle. After sometime, the rulers allowed the ponies to rest, then they too went to bed.