Chapters "Luke, are you doing alright?" Chrom, the crown exalt, walked over to where I sat. We had just won the battle against the fell dragon Grima, but I was the only one not celebrating. "Why don't you join Lucina and the others?" He gestured over to the bonfire in the middle of camp, where others were being merry and drunk.
"You went against what I told you," I answered. "I said that I would deal the final attack, and you agreed. You lied to me."
"I apologize, Luke, but-" I cut Chrom off.
"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to the next generation of soldiers who have to go through all this hell!" I stood up and got in his face. "I could have prevented that, Chrom. If you had let me finish Grima off, those in the future wouldn't have to face such a difficult adversary."
"We made it through Luke," Chrom countered. "Doesn't that count for something?" I sat back down.
"Yes," I admit, sighing. "We did slay Grima and save the world. I just cannot stop thinking if the future generation is able to handle that burden?" Chrom sat down beside me.
"Then it is up to them to build strength and unity amongst their peoples as we did." Chrom looked back to the celebrating soldiers, and I followed his gaze. Among them, Lon Qu', Say'ri, Cherche, and several others were from beyond Ylisse and played significant roles against Gangrel, Validar, and Grima.
"You need to relax, Luke." I looked to the exalt once more. "You haven't even put down your pack!" Chrom gestured to my back, which held my various tomes and medicines. I had a couple of swords strapped to my sides as well.
"You haven't disarmed either, Chrom." I reminded, pointing to his Falchion at his side.
"I'm on guard." He replied. "I should always be vigilant. I'm keeping sober tonight for a reason."
"Lucina has her own Falchion strapped on still as well." I remarked. "You can't just tell us to relax; you have patrols out for Risen."
"There was another thing I wanted to address," Chrom caught my attention once more. "When, exactly, were you going to tell me that you and my daughter had a secret marriage?" Now that caught me by surprise. How did he even find ou- Frederick.
"Frederick told you, I assume. " I ask, defeated.
"Nope." I turned to him a bit shocked. If not Fred, then who? "You did. Just now."
"Damn." I shake my head, then laugh. "I suppose even the Exalt can best his Tactician." Chrom laughed as well.
"It would seem." We looked up to see Lucina walking over.
"Good evening Father," She nodded to him, then me. "And Luke."
"It's fine, Lucina." Chrom spoke up. "I know already."
"Know what?" Lucina, being a decent actress, wore her innocent face.
"He's knows we're married," I answer for him. "So, relax." Lucina looked to us, facepalmed, then decided to sit down between us.
"Frederick?" She asked, as I did.
"No, your husband." Chrom responded nonchalantly as he got up and joined the others as his daughter gawked at me in shock.
"How in Ylisse did my father manage to get that out of you?" She asked, but I shrugged.
"No idea." I respond. "But I do have a different idea." At this, Lucina rose an eyebrow. "We could go celebrate this victory in a much more different, personal way." I looked away, in the direction of my tent, at the other end of the camp.
Without any words spoken, Lucina grabbed my hand and pulled me in that direction. We passed by the rest of the group, still celebrating. Vaike and I made eye contact; the axe-wielding warrior opened his mouth to shout something out, but his own wife, Sully, punched him in the gut before he got the chance. The two bickered for a bit before Sully gave a cold glare to her husband to keep silent. Vaike simply raised a mug of some mead in my direction before sitting down next to Gregor, who has happily drunk. My eyes next made contact with Chrom, who had his own eyebrows raised. I think Lucina noticed as well; I felt her tugging harder towards the tent. Her father stood against his own tent while his sister, Lissa was animatedly talking to him. He nodded to me, smiled then turned into his tent, presumably for the night.
I guess that's our blessing... I thought. I looked forward to Lucina, who had stopped pulling me and stood frozen. I walked over to her side.
"What's wrong, Lucina?" I look to who stood in front of us, a hooded figure. "Henry? Is that you?"
"You killed my father..." I could barely hear the voice, but there was no mistaking it. She removed her hood, revealing her identity.
"A-Aversa?" I could hear the party behind us getting quieter.
"You will pay!" Her hands, nails painted black, and one with a purple tome, were raised. "Prepare for a proper doom!"
I tried to push Lucina out of the way, but was too slow as Aversa's attack was launched and hit between me and my wife. I could hear other people's yells in pain and Chrom's distinct voice calling out. It wasn't long before everything turned black.
~~~~~~~
Chrom uncovered his eyes; the light from the attack had blinded him momentarily. He saw Aversa, laughing maniacally as she raised her hands and let loose spells upon his fellow soldiers.
"Take her down!" He commanded her. "Take her out now!" He called, but most of his officers were him disarray. Out of nowhere, a shadow of of a wyvern had swooped down. A wing slapped at Aversa, sending her flying into a vacant tent. The soldiers took this moment to surround her, pointing their lances, axes, and swords at the intruder. Chrom stood behind them as she rose.
"Where are they?" Chrom approached Aversa, sword in hand, anger evident in his visage. "Where did you send them?" Aversa continued to laugh, her voice carrying throuh the camp. "This isn't a joke, vile woman!" Chrom jabbed his Falchion closer at the enemy, getting the laughter to cease.
"What, are you going to kill me?" Aversa smirked. "However will you be able to get them back?" This caused Chrom to pull back a little bit, but knocked out the purple tome from her hand with his sword first. "Oh, no, I'm disarmed." Aversa spoke sarcastically. "Whatever can I do?"
"I will ask you again," Chrom gritted his teeth. "Where are my daughter and friend?"
"I do not know." Aversa answered. "That tome was a forbidden transportation spell written in the old language. I know not where it leads."
"Lies!" Frederick stepped forward. "I've not heard of such a spell!"
"You're but a general that uses sticks to fight." The sorceress retorted. "What business do you have knowing what spells can or cannot do?
"You will tell me where they went." Chrom pressed Falchion closer to Aversa once again.
"I do not know." Aversa repeated. Silence reigned as Chrom stared her down.
"Have her tied. Have Miriel cast a spell on her to make sure she can't cast any of her own." Chrom commanded to his soldiers. "We leave at first light. We're taking her back to Ylisse as prisoner until she can tell us where they went."
Frederick, Stahl, and others picked up and pushed Aversa over to another vacant tent, where they would tie her up and keep under guard overnight. Chrom took a deep breath and looked over the camp. He noticed that, besides Luke and Lucina, there were a few others missing. They must have been hit by the spell as well. the exalt thought. As things died down, he returned to his tent, and lay next to his wife.
"Don't you worry, Luke and Lucina," Chrom spoke as though they could hear him. "We will get you back. No matter what."
Author's Note
Welcome to my new fanfic!
Note: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or Fire Emblem: Awakening. Both are under rights of their respective owners, Hasbro and Nintendo.
My eyes shot open; I could feel that I was alive. I desperately needed to know just how bad my injuries were. Sitting up, I checked my body for any wounds or broken bones. Nothing. I slowly got up; sore, but fine overall. I felt behind me; I was still wearing my pack. I removed it and set it on the ground in front of me. I checked and double-checked that I had the same amount of tomes and medicine that I could remember since I had last restocked. I checked my two swords, a Levin and a Killing Edge. I only used a sword if I couldn't reach my tomes. One of which, namely a Thunder tome, I took out for protection. I finally looked up and around, replacing my pack. I was in some kind of forest,but these woods seemed unfamiliar. Chrom's campaign throughout the world had brought me to many forests, but this place was completely unrecognizable.
"Hello?" I called out. "Chrom? Frederick?" Maybe the explosion blew me a distance away from camp? I doubt they would leave without me. I waited a minute for a response, then started walking around. Looking up, I saw the sun. How long was I out? I thought. It's bright, meaning it's still morning, and it doesn't seem anywhere close to its peak. I assumed I had enough time to regroup with them in time.
I began walking North, in correspondence with the Sun's trajectory. Minutes passed until I heard moving water. A river, maybe? I didn't know how rare fresh water would be in this area. Plus, it's common for villages to be built close to one. I set out to find the river when I hear a rustling in the bushes near me. I turn to it, hand raised and tome opened, ready to a spell if need be. What I didn't expect to see was Lucina to emerge, Falchion in hard.
"Luke?" Her eyes went wide the moment they met mine. She rushed forward to embrace me, which I welcomed. "I'm so glad you're unharmed!" I held her for a few more second before she pulled away.
"I'm glad you're doing okay, too, Lucina." I reciprocate. "Would you happen to know where we are?" She shook her head.
"I don't recognize this region." Lucina added. "And we have no map to help us."
"Damn." I cursed under my breath.
"There is a village close by, though." My wife spoke up. I looked to her with raised eyebrows. She pointed northward, where I originally planned heading. With enough scrutiny, I could make out thin plumes of white smoke, indicating a village. "We could get there in a few hours." I nodded, silently agreeing with her plan. We didn't exactly have any other choice. "That is, if we start moving now." She shot me a glare, I was still just standing stock-still. She sighed and started moving in the direction of the smoke.
"Y-yes ma'am!" I shook my head to wake up and followed her. She's small, but can still pack a punch; I wouldn't want to get on her bad side again anytime soon. "Lucina, wait up!" I jogged after her.
~~~~~~
"Do you think we're nearly there?" Lucina asked, obviously out of breath. We sat under a large tree, thankful for the canopy; the sun was in its peak in the sky, the heat was getting unbearable.
"I do hope so," I answer hopefully. "Last I checked, those smoke plumes seemed to be closer. "We should reach that town within a couple of hours." Lucina nodded in understanding. "Ready to continue?" I ask. In response, she stands and looks to me, giving me her hand. I take it and rise. I smile in thanks then we continue our walk. However, our positive thinking wouldn't last for long.
Grrrrrr A loud growl cut our silence, causing the both of us to draw our weapons. Out of nowhere, two wolves popped out of the brush. After merely a moment of observation, I could tell that these weren't normal wolves. Their eyes glowed a sinister green, and their bodies were comprised of fallen branches and and leaves.
"What sort of sorcery...?" I heard Lucina mumble under her breath. I guess she noticed it too. It wasn't long until we moved forward towards the wolves, an attempt to scare them off. These wooden wolves acted as expected, splitting up to circle around us. Lucina and I now stood back to back. Her Falchion was steady in her hands, its point following her opponent, while I kept my hand raised at mine. There was a minute of silence. "Any ideas, Luke?" I heard Lucina whisper.
"We obviously have the reach advantage here, we just have to wait for an opening." I answered. I stood patiently, and the wolf pounced as predicted. "Thunder!" I call out, and the spell hit the monster right in its face, sending it flying back and exploding upon impact with a tree trunk. I turned to see Lucina already finished with her enemy, the latter had been reduced to a pile of twigs at her feet.
"That was a quaint distraction." She spoke up. "I've never even seen these kind of wolves before."
"They could be a new Risen." I offer, but Lucina shook her head.
"No," She replied as Falchion was sheathed. "These eyes were green, not red."
"I guess it would make sense." I agree, then take a quick look around at our surroundings. "Let's get to town before we attract more." Lucina nodded, checking the ground for any forgotten belongings. Once that was done, we continued walking.
"Do you think anyone else from the group was sent here?" Lucina asked.
"I hope not, yet I hope so." I answered. "We could use their help if they also appeared here, but then I hope they haven't met a fate by creatures worse than those wolves."
"I see what you mean." Lucina said. "I do hope it isn't the latter." She stopped at my side; we've come to the edge of the forest.
"That's weird," I thought aloud. "I though this forest would go on for longer." I could see the town more clearly now, and it was more of a small village. "I can see the town clearly though. Not that far of a walk- WHAT IS THAT?" I point to something in the sky above the town.
"Where?" Lucina asked, trying to follow my finder. "That thing in the sky? Probably a bird, Luke."
"I don't think so," I reply. "It's going way too fast to be a bird. Maybe someone is on a pegasus over there?"
"Then that means that village could have pegasus soldiers as well, Luke." Lucina added. I contemplated that thought. We had Sumia and Cordelia as our group's pegasus riders, but we have also seen the enemy do the same thing. "Not all villages are friendly, dear husband." She added, patting me on the head. I scowled at the unwelcome action. I still agreed with her statement, though I was hoping for friendlies.
"We should get closer then," I said. "So we can figure out who these villagers are."
"Agreed." Lucina nodded, keeping a hand closer to Falchion. "Let's get going then."
Scootaloo was having the time of her life! The little orange pegasus was watching her idol, the awesome Rainbow Dash display her incredible skills as a flyer. The filly's eye followed the prismatic mare through every loop-de-loop, corkscrew, rise, and dive. She was so into the little demonstration, Scootaloo barely registered her two friends coming up alongside her.
"Hey, Scootaloo," Sweetie Bell greeted her. No response.
"Uh..." Apple Bloom waved her hoof in front of the orange filly's face. "Scoots? You there?" Apple Bloom followed the blank gaze to the skies. "Oh, Rainbow's doing stunts again."
"SCOOTALOO! " Sweetie Bell yelled into the pegasus' ear, finally catching her attention.
"Ow, ow, ow," Scootaloo rubbed her hurt ear. "What was that for, Sweetie Bell?"
"You weren't listening!" the unicorn answered. "You said you had an awesome idea for Crusading today!" She gestured to the small shovels in the wagon she had been pulling.
"Yeah!" Apple Bloom added. "What's the idea this time?"
"Oh, right!" Scootaloo face-hoofed. "I was thinking... Diamond Miners!"
"Ooh!" Apple Bloom was excited. "That sounds pretty cool!"
"Yeah," Scootaloo added. "We can even help Rarity by collecting a ton of gems!"
"But," Sweetie Bell interrupted the other two's excitement. "Rarity said the mines were dangerous! The Diamond Dogs are probably still there!"
"But we're not going to those mines," Scootaloo waved her hoof at the unicorn filly. "There's a secret one near the Everfree Forest! We can follow the central path in town to the long path to the forest."
"Oooh," Sweetie Bell recalled one of the longer paths to the forest; it was the path to Zecora's hut. "Ok, I guess that's alright."
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: DIAMOND MINERS!" The three fillies cheered as they high-hooved each other. "YAY!"
With that, the three made their way through to town to reach the path. The other ponies in Ponyville occasionally glances at the fillies as they traversed to their destination. Many rolling their eyes or smiling; the girls were known to go out on wacky adventures so that they can achieve their Cutie Marks. Yesterday, they'd gone an caused an overflow of taffy at Sugarcube Corner, backing up several orders for the establishment. The three fillies were already at the end of the town's center street when somepony called for them from afar.
"Hey, you three!" The Crusaders collectively looked back at the familiar voice, and much to their surprise, it was Pinkie Pie. "Where are you girls heading today?"
"Zecora's hut." Scootaloo lied. "We're gonna try potions making again, now that Sweetie Bell's gotten better with magic." The other two fillies nodded.
"And we're sorry about yesterday" Apple Bloom added. "We didn't mean to overflow the taffy machine."
"Oh, no it's fine!" Pinkie assured them. "The Cakes managed to fix up the orders this morning!"
"Oh, that's nice," Sweetie Bell spoke up. The Crusaders were starting to slowly step away from the pink mare and towards the aforementioned path, which was only a few yards away.
"And why potions?" Pinkie began. "You could always try to bake a cake, baby sit, mow a lawn, play, draw, paint, cook- OOH that reminds me of cookies! And when I make cookies it's so fun, but I'm pretty sure Gummy's favorite part is eating them, but I tell him 'No, Gummy, that's for the customers!' but then I end up trying some cookies myself and before ya know it - they're gone! Then Mr. and Mrs. Cake get mad at me and make me bake another batch, but that's okay, 'cause I always have fun doing it and... wait," Pinkie finally looked up to see that the fillies were gone. Was she not paying attention? Where'd they go? More importantly, did she remember to actually make that second batch of cookies? "Oh well, better get back to work." Pinkie Pie started bouncing back to Sugarcube Corner.
Now on the path to the Everfree Forest, the Cutie Mark Crusaders stopped to take a breath. They had just escaped the Pink Menace, and now were able to make their way to the mine. Sweetie Bell, however, was having second thoughts. Stopping at a peculiar bush, she finally spoke up.
"Um, girls?" the unicorn called out, the other two were a little ahead of her. "Are you sure this'll be safe?"
"Totally!" Scootaloo said, buzzing up a foot into the air. "I went into it yesterday. I could see a ton of gems just in the entrance!"
"But it could be dangerous!" Sweetie Bell exclaimed. "Rarity said-"
"Rarity isn't here to boss you around, Sweetie Bell!" Scootaloo argued. "Do you want to get your Cutie Mark or not?"
"Y-yeah," Sweetie Bell answered. "But not in a way that can get us hurt or killed!"
"We've done much worse," Apple Bloom butt in. "We could handle a cave." That much was true.
"I guess it would hurt to give it a try." Sweetie Bell finally gave in. "But let's not stay in there too long, ok?"
"Fiiiine." Scootaloo replied impatiently. "Now c'mon! Let's get some cool gems and our Cutie Marks!" The pegasus led the charge into the Everfree Forest. Little did they know, there was something watching them.
~~~~~~
From inside the bush, two humans sat awestruck at what had just transpired. Lucina was dumbstruck, whie I was just plain confused.
"D-did those horses..." Lucina was still trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Talk?" I finished for her. "Yeah. They seemed pretty young though. They sounded like little girls."
"Talking horses?" Lucina was still trying to get that in her head.
"What, they didn't have that in the future?" I attempted a jest, which was answered by a sharp glare. "Sorry."
"But you're right," Lucina said. "They did sound like young girls. Maybe this is just some weird world where the horses can talk back to their masters?"
"Could be." I said, unsure of answer. "We should go after them, and make sure they get back safe to the village. That should give us a positive look for them."
"Good idea." Lucina nodded, standing up and patting my head again. "I expect nothing less from my tactician husband."
"It's Grandmaster! " I correct her, fixing my hair. I also stand up and start jogging after my wife back to the forest, to follow and possibly save these little horses.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.