They felt only a few things. They could feel the souls of one another; they could vaguely feel the great heat around them, though they were protected from the scorching flames that surrounded them; but most importantly they could feel what bound them. They could feel their prison, their cells, keeping them in place and keeping them away from the world. They had asked for this, they had wanted this to happen; after the great tragedy that they failed to stop how could they not?
Most of them did not keep track of time, only two of them did. The first was the powerful sorcerer among their ranks, he kept track of time as it kept his mind sharp and ready to unleash any and every spell he knew at a moment’s notice. The second was their leader, the one who they would follow to Tartarus and back, the one who they would slay gods for if they were commanded; it was him who kept track of every second that passed not because he wished to keep his mind sharp or to keep himself from going mad or even to stave off boredom but because the imprisonment he asked for was not enough penance for him. He tormented himself by counting the seconds since he was imprisoned, since he had failed, since he had willing left her to serve his punishment.
They knew every moment he thought of her, how he had pledged everything to her, how he devoted himself to everything she was and desired…
And they knew how every moment he thought of how he had failed her…
They all tried at some point or another to console him, trying to lift his darkened spirits to bring a smile to his lips if even for but a moment, but every attempt they made either failed or was ignored. The kindest among them still tried even to this day. She tried and tried to make his sadness and again and again her attempts had no success. It pained them all to see her fail and pained them further to know he suffered.
However for a brief moment it seemed as if something had grabbed his attention and a feeling of hope came from him only to disappear with even greater speed, replaced with a feeling of foolishness.
A faint whisper touched them all. Was it…? Nay, it couldn’t be.
The whisper came again, slightly louder and clearer this time. Their leader had seemed to stop breathing. It was impossible, he thought.
I am here.
The voice was older and held a motherly tone foreign to them but they knew that voice.
I am here!
It was no longer a whisper speaking to them. The voice sounded as if it was crying.
I am here!
She was here… she had returned for them…
I need you… please, I need you all…
It was as if a switch had been flipped. The sorrow and despair they had all felt had left them and was replaced with readiness, resolve, devotion and love.
Their leader reached out.
They could feel her soul fill with happiness and hope as their leader spoke to her.
We are here.
We are ready.
We do as thou command.
We are thy will.
We art thy blade of wrath.
We art thy shield of love.
We art thy scale of justice.
We art thy hammer of vengeance.
We art thy strength, thy wisdom, thy cunning, thy fire, thy shadow and thy light.
Our steel is tempered and sharp.
Our minds are clear and ready.
Our faith in thou is unfaltering.
We answer thy call with steel, with spell, with fire and with holy light.
We stand ever ready.
We are thy Guard.
We are the Princess Guard.
They spoke as one at the final part and they could feel her love wash over them as she pulled their cells out of the great fires of the sun. The seven orbs that held them circled around their princess and goddess, four them large enough to hold a single pony, one was as big as her, another one even larger and one smaller than the rest.
It’s time. Be ready.
There was steel in her voice, a tone they knew only all too well, they did not know where she would take them but they knew what to expect.
Suddenly the princess and the orbs took off through the vacuum of space and down to the planet below. Faster and faster they went as they approached the planet passing through its atmosphere and rushing past clouds. Faster and faster they went tearing through the sky wind streaking by them. And then suddenly, they stopped. Sight and sound returned to their leader, though it was not his own. He had blessed to see through his goddess’s eyes and feel what she did as she hovered in the sky.
And the sights and sounds were as he expected. It could be summed up in one word.
War.
He saw ponies being quickly pushed back by their enemies. He saw minotaurs with massive axes, hammers and swords cleaving through the lines of ponies, he witnessed griffons swooping down from the skies to slice into ponies in the middle ranks with halberds and spears to further weaken the already quickly falling troops.
But what set the fire of righteous fury in his heart alight was the sight of dragons raining down fire on the troops and their lesser kin of wyverns and drakes at the sides of the pony lines using claws and fangs upon any who tried to retreat.
Give me advice. Tell me where who should be sent.
Nightborne and Umbra Bark are to cut down the savage minotaurs!
The moment he had finished the orb as large as the princess shot forward and crashed into the minotaur lines. A mad laugh and barking could be heard ever so faintly.
Burning Heart! Soothing Silence! Clip wings of the foul griffons and burn their flesh!
Two of the pony-size spheres shot toward the griffons that were flying through the air. Moments later griffons were falling and being burning alive.
Arion Adonis! Rend the souls of the dragon kin!
Another pony-sized sphere shot to the ground and the leader watched as arcs of blue shot out and crashed into the wyverns and drakes at the sides of the pony lines.
Through the princess’s eyes he saw cliff close to where the dragons rained down their fire from the skies.
Make the dragons feel the touch of dirt, Calm Sight.
The orb that was larger than the princess shot towards the cliff and the leader smiled as what looked like lances soared through
the air and struck the dragons’ wings and they were brought to the ground with tremendous roars.
Soft Heart, do as you always do. Give rest and mending the wounded and dying.
The smallest orb went off to many wounded ponies lay, their wounds no doubt giving them great pain, but instead of rocketing off with the force and speed of the others this one left calmly and gently, yet swiftly, floated down to its destination.
Only one orb remained by the princess’s side now. Golden light washed over her body from her horn as the she and the remaining orb flew towards the dragons. The leader’s senses returned to his own body after being blessed to see the through his goddess’s eyes. The golden orb around him began to fall away as he was able to see and hear the world for the first time in ages.
The golden armor that covered him head to hoof shone brilliantly in the sunlight. The spear clutched in hooves shone just as brilliantly, its tip gleaming and ready to spill the blood of his goddess’s enemies. His eyes flickered over to his princess. He smiled at the sight of the glow that covered her a moment ago dissipated and his princess was left in golden armor that was covered with intricately woven designs and long strips of white cloth that flutter in the wind behind her as her powerful wings flapped and continued to send her ever forward as her magic let him stay with her.
She looked at him smiling, “As always, my Grand Radiance.”
Grand Radiance nodded back, a smile hidden by his helm, “As always.”
They dove toward the ground, the two of them aiming for the closest dragon that had a massive hole in one of its wings keeping it grounded. The princess’s horn lit up with golden light as lightning crackled along the head of Grand Radiance’s spear.
Magic and steel pierced the dragon’s head as lightning shot into the dragon’s brain leaving it burned and charred. Grand Radiance jumped off the dragon to the ground as the princess hovered above him. The other dragons around them turned and snarled at them as they saw their fallen comrade. Grand Radiance raised his spear high into the air and three words echoed across the battlefield.
“PRAISE THE SUN!!!”
Nightborne laughed as another minotaur tried to gather their entrails as they fell out of the gaping wound he created. He spun his greatsword around with his magic and sliced the hand off a minotaur that got too close, the half-bull creature didn’t have the time to scream as a large timber wolf made of pitch black wood leapt at him and tore out his throat. The midnight blue unicorn laughed again as he brought up his greatshield to go against the giant axe of another minotaur and parried it out of the way. His horn burned with black and white energy as a stream of black and white, mist-like energy shot out and punched a hole in his opponent’s chest and tore through the two minotaurs behind him.
His laughter turned maniacal as whirled around, cutting down another minotaur as he went, and saw his old canine friend tear out another minotaur’s throat and clawing at the chest of another one before the chunk of minotaur-meat had hit the ground. A few more foolish minotaurs tried to come near him all of them swinging down at him. His shield came across his back and took the blows as they came down pressing into his dark-tinted plate armor; Nightborne’s knees bent, but did not falter under the weight of the attacks. His horn burned with black and white energy again as the black and white mist returned and spun around him and up into the air.
The mini-tornado of black and white mist tore through the minotaurs right next to him, their corpses were tossed into the air and falling away from the unicorn. He leapt onto his hound’s back, the size difference between them let Nightborne stand on the black timber wolf’s back with all four legs firmly planted on its back.
“You fools!” Nightborne laughed as he looked at the faces of the now weary-looking minotaurs, “You face the Dark Walker! You face the Master of Hexes! You face the Shadow Knight! I am Nightborne of the Princess Guard!”
Black and white energy burned from his horn as he let loose another terrible hex that tore through another two minotaurs. Umbra Bark jumped forward as the hex left the horn of his friend and master. He snarled as he slammed into minotaur and Nightborne leapt back into the middle of the minotaurs, smiling and laughing like a madpony. His laughter increased even more as griffons started to fall from the sky and splattered when they hit the ground.
~~~
Average skill.
Spin.
Cut with the sun.
Average skill again.
Turn.
Cut with the moon.
Just below average skill.
Parry.
Cut with both.
This one was too stunned.
Disarm.
Break a wing.
Far too inexperienced.
Crush their beak and send it back into their brain.
Soothing Silence was quick to depose of her opponents. She didn’t waste any more energy than was absolutely necessary. To do otherwise would be pointless.
Another griffon came.
Somewhat experienced.
Silence twisted herself around the griffon’s weapon and positioned herself just beneath his exposed belly.
Stab with the sun.
The dying griffon fell. Her dark blue robes that concealed her padded amour twisted in the wind caused by the many wing beats of griffons and pegasi. Her ear flicked as she saw two griffons in front of her and heard one come up behind her. One of the griffons met their end at the hands of a lance that rocketed through air to hit them in side and pierce through other. The lance disappeared in a shimmer and the griffon fell to ground, dead before it even knew what happened.
Now all she had to deal with was two—
A war cry hit her ears quickly followed by a squawk of pain. The griffon in front of her looked surprised. She did not let the oportunity slip and she darted forward and slit the griffon's throat with the moon; she turned to see what had attacked the third griffon.
An yellow-orange pegasus with a dark blue mane clad in golden armor with a blue star on the front dipped his head to her. The third griffon was nowhere to be seen.
“Thy name and rank.” Silence said as she turned around to see more griffons heading for them as she heard more pegasi coming into the fray. Soft Heart did her job well, as always.
“Sergeant Flash Sentry, ma’am.” Flash said, “And you?”
“Soothing Silence. Third in command of the Princess Guard.”
“The what?” Flash questioned. One of Silence’s eyes twitched beneath the porcelain mask she wore.
“I am personal protector to the princess and sun goddess, Celestia.” Silence responded. She would let his foolish transgression of ignorance slide as they were in the middle of a battle. It could be addressed later if need be.
“Ma’am!” Flash Sentry snapped her a salute. Idiot. Never salute in the midst of a battle.
Another four griffons appeared in front of them only to become engulfed in fire a moment later.
~~~
Burning Heart titled her head away from the spear of the griffon attacking her letting the weapon pass by and making the griffon get within a leg's reach. She pressed a hoof into her enemy’s chest and her feathers erupted into flames that burned through the soft flesh beneath and back towards the feathers on her wings. The griffon fell to the ground. She heard a number of bewildered griffons question how she was able to summon fire without a horn.
‘Through devotion.’ she thought, ‘That is how.’
Smoke poured from her hooves and blanketed the area around in a thick, grey vale blinding all within it.
Every spark she conjured was a manifestation of her devotion.
A griffon managed to stumble close enough to her by sheer chance and he was met strike so fierce that it sent his large beak partway back into his head and into his brain.
Every dancing flame was her sign of loyalty.
She brought her front hooves together and a ball of fire was conjured between them. It’s brilliant glow the only source of light within the dense smoke and was able to be seen by all within it. Griffons started to move toward her.
Every great inferno was her unleashing her goddess’s fiery wrath of death…
Burning Heart halted her wing beats and folded her feathery apendages against her side as she let herself fall, her tattered and dirty robes and tribal-like jewelry twisting in the wind as she fell, meanwhile the ball of fire remained where she conjured it. As she exited the cloud of smoke she heard the griffon’s weapons colliding with eachother, from the squawks of pain she guess that a few weapons even struck flesh. The next thing she heard was the sound of her floating fireball violently detonating.
Her lips twitched upward ever so slightly as she saw griffons falling from the sky, their wings and feathers set ablaze and now no longer able to keep them flying. She suddenly found talons wrapped around one of her wings.
“You’re mine!” the griffon laughed as he raised his weapon, ready to end her life.
A flying lance took his head off.
~~~
Stamp Stamp
A dragon lost a wing.
Stamp Stamp
A dragon lost an eye.
Stamp Stamp
A dragon lost the use of one of its back legs.
Stamp Stamp
Calm Sight pulled another lance from the quiver at his side. He notched it in his greatbow with his teeth and pulled it back as he held the shaft of his bow with one of his hooves. He pointed it where a wyvern had foolishly taken to the skies in an attempt to escape Arion’s sorceries. He let the lance fly. The wyvern fell back to ground no longer alive.
Stamp Stamp
A large minotaur made to move behind Nightborne and attack him from behind while he was dealing with another foe. Stupid fool, the minotaur. Calm Sight notched another lance and let it fly down to the minotaur from the ledge he was currently standing on. The bipedal bull lost its weapon arm.
Stamp Stamp
Umbra Bark finished the wretch. Good.
Stamp Stamp
A few minotaurs in the back lines broke off to try and aid the dragons and go after Grand Radiance. Their last and most foolish mistake. They never got more than four dozen paces before the fell dead from flying lances.
Stamp Stamp
He stopped from a moment. No, they couldn’t possibly be…
Stamp Stamp
Calm Sight’s brow furrowed in anger and he ground his teeth together. They dared?!
Stamp!
He notched a lance and let it fly.
Stamp!
He notched another and let it fly.
Stamp!
He notched a third lance and let it fly toward the third of the five dragons that dared try and strike the Princess down from behind.
Stamp!
The fourth dragon fell dead.
Stamp!
He turned away from where currently had his bow pointed and angled it up to slay a griffon. His goddess had slain the fifth dragon. An honor the coward did not deserve!
Calm Sight took a deep breath to quickly calm his nerves.
Stamp Stamp
Oh, a minotaur had managed to get a little too close to Arion Adonis. He notched a lance and let a lance fly.
The minotaur fell dead with a massive hole in its chest.
~~~
Sorcery after sorcery flew from his horn heading toward the winged wyverns and the land bound drakes. He heard their screams as his attacks struck them and ignored their flesh and tore into their very souls. A drake leapt in front of him and was immediately met with a barrage of small blue spheres crashing into its face to be immediately followed by an ethereal deep blue spear.
The middle-aged unicorn grunted as the drake fell dead and he spied a wyvern rising into the air and that inhaled deeply and exhaled a blast of compressed air from its mouth and crashed against hastily erected purple barrier. Arion turned his head to see a white, unicorn stallion with a front leg bent at an very unnatural angle in purple armor whose horn was aglow with the same color as the shield around him.
“Hail, caster!” Arion nodded, his large-brimmed hat wobbling slightly, “My thanks for thy aid, unnecessary as it was.”
“Unnecessary?!” the unicorn exclaimed, bewildered, “One of those blasts can tear a pony to shreds!”
“It would not have it hit me.” Arion said, “I would have simply moved away.”
“Are you crazy?!” the unicorn snapped, “Even if you know how to teleport you wouldn’t have been able to cast the spell fast enough!”
Arion pulled the staff he had off of his back and whacked the unicorn right on the nose. With the stallion’s concentration broken the shield fell apart to show a small group of wyverns and drakes waiting on the other side. When the shield fell they all came forward at once. Arion brought his staff to one side and summoned a long blade of ethereal blue energy from the top of the staff and swung it in an arc in front of him. The dragon kin fell dead at his hooves as his blade rent their souls.
“Stay back, young caster!” Arion called to the unicorn behind him as his dark blue robes fluttered in the breeze caused by the dead dragon kin, “Fighting is not for one as young and inexperienced as yourself!”
~~~
The green-scaled dragon snarled at the little pony that stood in front of him.
Things had been going so well, he thought. They had the ponies in an absolute massacre! They were dying left and right from the combined might of the alliance that the dragons, griffons and minotaurs had made! Not that it was needed, of course, as a large enough force of dragons could lay waste to Equestria but the elders were hesitant to risk so many of their own without aid. The elders had turned to the griffons and minotaurs in the hopes that at least one of them would be willing to join them. Both of them had jumped at the chance to strike at Equestria; the ponies had been slowly annexing more and more of their lands in recent years and the griffons and minotaurs were too afraid of the backlash that would be brought down by the Sun Princess and her sister, the Moon Princess.
He swiped at the pony dressed in golden plate-armor with his claws and the pony all but danced out of the way.
It was perfect! Equestria may have had a military but it had not seen actual combat or even war in centuries, meanwhile the dragons, griffons and minotaurs, who lived out in the harsher places of the world were constantly having to fight off nature or other wild creatures that could prove a threat, and for something to be threat to a dragon that was something, so the three species should’ve had the upper hand!
He tried crushing his opponent with his tail only for that to fail as well.
They had every advantage! That was, until Celestia descended from the sky with seven orbs of light in tow. Each orb shot off in a different direction and the drakes and wyverns that the dragons had brought with them were being thrown back, the minotaurs were being hacked to pieces, griffons were being set on fire as the fell from the sky and even the dragons were being grounded--by flying lances of all things!--and were being cut down by a pony with a spear and by the Sun Princess herself!
He breathed a torrent of fire at the small equine. The pony spun around so that his back was facing the flames and was consumed by the fire. The dragon laughed. He had done it! The little dragon slayer was gone! Now where was—
“RETREAT!!!”
The booming voice of Dragon King Alcavar resounded across the battlefield as their forces turned and ran for their lives. No! What were they doing?! Couldn’t they see that—
The dragon’s thoughts were cut short as lance pierced his head.
~~~
Grand Radiance pulled his lance out the dead dragon. He turned his gaze upward where his beloved goddess hovered above him.
“My sweet goddess!” he cried, “Shall we give chase to our enemies? Say it and we shall hunt them to ends of the world!”
“Nay, my beloved Captain!” Celestia responded as she descended and landed next to him, “They flee; the point of this battle was self-defense, plain and simple, no chase shall be given.”
Grand Radiance dipped his head, “As you command.”
The sun goddess turned, “By my side, Captain, as always. We must return to General Sky Sword post haste.”
Grand Radiance trotted after the princess and managed to keep pace with her with one leg preoccupied with hold his spear.
“My goddess,” Celestia turned her head slightly to listen to Grand Radiance, “I must ask thee: why hath the griffons, minotaurs and dragons chosen to fight against thee? The mere thought is that of a stupid jester’s!”
“Alas, my dear Captain, times have changed.” Celestia let out a small sigh as she and Grand Radiance went around the fleeing enemy forces, “I am still a goddess, but few truly recognize that for what it means. The do not see me as a great force that could cast them into blazing inferno with flick my horn, but rather they just see a long-lived pony.”
“Blasphemy!” Grand Radiance cried coming to a halt.
Celestia stopped as well and turned to look at her Captain, “I know what thou must think, dearest Captain, but please, keep thy thoughts to your own mind for now.”
Grand Radiance bow his head, “Yes, my light-giving goddess.”
“Good.” Celestia turned and began walking back to her army again, “As always.”
“As always.” Grand Radiance echoed as he followed her.
Celestia tried to not look at the carnage around her. So many of her ponies had died before she went to gather her Guard. They had held the lines valiantly and almost looked about ready to push the enemy back, but then…
But then that thing... that beast of the race she had thought long dead appeared and ripped through her little ponies like they were wet paper. She swore she heard the monster laugh as it cut down her subjects and cast blazing fire down upon them, her soldier’s weapons unable to pierce the massive creature’s stone scales. With her lines broken the beast took to the air and left the battlefield, the task it was sent to do completed and the enemy pushed forward massacring her ponies. It was then she left to go to her great star and gathered the only ponies she knew of that could turn the tide of this battle.
She held back a whimper as a terrifying thought entered her mind. If one of them yet existed, then there may be more.
She could see the main bulk of her forces now and she spied tents father behind them. She tried to not look anywhere other than straight ahead lest she somepony’s dead and vacant eyes staring back at her. She focused her eyes on the many ponies that were being tended to around the tents. She hoped that Soft Heart was able to tend to the more severely injured of her ponies.
“Thou art troubled.” Celestia turned her head to look at her faithful captain, whom had just spoken.
“Yes.” She said simply, turning her head back around.
“Of the enemy?” Grand Radiance asked.
“For my little ponies.” She replied as they passed by a few stragglers finally making their way back to the main army.
She could feel his eyes upon her, looking at her with great intensity. She knew well that was not the answer he had expected. She felt his eyes looking her over, trying to find something, anything, which might clue him in to what had made her say what she did. It truly was that she did indeed care for her ponies, all of her ponies.
“You have changed in more than just appearance.” Grand Radiance stated. His eyes still hadn’t left her form.
“You have been gone a long time.” Celestia said, a golden glow ahead caught her attention, “I do not even know how long, I did not keep track.”
“I kept a count.” Celestia stopped. She looked at Grand Radiance’s eyes through his helm.
“What?”
“I kept a count of how long we were gone as part of my penance.” Grand Radiance dipped his head, “I did not lose a single second of time in my count, no matter what the others tried to pull me away from it; I refused to let myself rest while I was to be punished for my ultimate failure.”
“I can see Savior Cleric Soft Heart just ahead.” Grand Radiance spoke before Celestia could say anything, “Shall we meet with her before we meet your general?”
Celestia stared at Grand Radiance. Curse that helm that hid his features from her. She couldn’t see any change in his stance or feel any shift in his emotions. She hated that she taught him how to do that now. She stared at him a moment more before nodding her head.
“Soft Heart!” Celestia called as the two of them approached the most faithful of her clerics from the old times.
A small mare in white and gold robes turned her head at the sound of her name. A moment later a small chime sounded followed by a golden glow and a hiss of pain.
Soft Heart immediately turned back around to look at the solider that she had been tending to muttering something under her breath. Grand Radiance drew closer to the small mare, looking at the stallion she was tending to. Oh, that leg did not look like it was bending the right way…
“My good Captain and friend I ask for thy brief aid,” Soft Heart spoke her voice light and soothing, “The momentary distraction you and our goddess didst cause for me made me mend this one’s leg wrongly. Harm must be done to correctly give mending and rest to this soldier.”
The captain of the Princess Guard nodded and raised his spear, “Where?”
Soft Heart gripped the stallion’s leg and extended it as far as it would go and pointed at certain spot, right where the incorrect bend was at.
“This will hurt.” Soft Heart told the soldier. Grand Radiance brought his spear down, the shaft colliding with the stallion leg with a loud crack as the leg of broken again.
The stallion gave cry of pain and looked ready to start weeping.
“Thou art a part of our goddess’s great army, yes?” Grand Radiance said as Soft Heart brought the chime she held in her hoof close to the stallion’s leg, “Such a small thing should not bring thee to bare such openness about thy pain.”
The robed mare began muttering under her breath as Grand Radiance returned to Princess Celestia’s side.
“I believe we ought go to see the general now.” Grand Radiance said quietly the telltale sound of Soft Heart’s chime let him know that the small mare had healed the soldier’s leg again and lack of the sound of pained cries told him it had been done correctly this time.
“Agreed.” The Sun Goddess nodded, just as quietly. She pointed to a tent that was slightly larger than the rest with a white banner that was emblazoned with her cutie mark on it planted in front of it.
“The general awaits us my beloved captain.”
