Dark Ages

A pony of the Silent Harlequins brought the message of the Hoofs of Steel to Pinkie, who was taking care of her old wound on the throat, which still gave her problems. As she read, a shiver of tension filled her at the thought that, if the Hooves had been attacked, then sooner or later they could also been the next .
Pinkie gave the order to convene the other members, and call an emergency meeting.
Within a few minutes, the Harlequins who were out of the den, located in the bustling streets of Yanhoover, were in the large common room, once an ancient pre-equestrian temple of some forgotten cult, waiting for what the spokesmare of Pinkie was going to report them .
The spokesmare, a mare from the cream-colored coat and a dark brown mane, positioned on a dais, and said to those present to be quiet.

" Master Pinkie reported a terrible fact, brothers," began to say, with a strong tone but without hide a certain tension, " the Hoofs of Steel have been discovered, and are now struggling with the forces of Black Nova ."

A gasp from the crowd soared, along with a scary surprise, and the presents began to wonder, first, who could been able to discover them and, later, if even they were in danger.
Also because, unlike the Hoofs, the Harlequins were neither armed nor prepared to counterattack, and an assault would have been able to wipe them out .
Then, some ponies began to propose to run away until they had hooves to run, while others said it was better to do nothing until the last, to avoid being further discovered. The spokesmare of Pinkie tried to silence and calm the pony in turmoil, reassuring that there was no problem for them, but they should have done something about it, starting from organizing patrols and try to steal more possible weapons from the local armories. After finishing the assembly, the Harlequins returned to their jobs, much tenses then before.

The spokesmare went back to report Pinkie that the meeting was over, but she found the pink mare while preparing to leave for, as long as he could, help Rarity .
The spokesmare began to say it wasn't a wise idea to get out of the den, and that it was better to stay away for a while, but the pink mare gave a very severe look at her companion , as if to say that " it wasn't that the time to hide ".
After several attempts, the mare alongside Pinkie went away, puffing and muttering against her master decision, who left taking one of the secret tunnels connected to the sewers. While the mare was advancing trough the dirt and the stinking excrement,she was looking around, trying to hear noises that were not the steps of the mice or the flows of putrid water. In a sense, be mute didn't bothered her that much, and helped to focus and develop the hearing, although she had to give up her jokes and been unable to communicate with others.
While not too distant to the exit of the sewer, she began to hear the voices of some city guards over her head, through an iron grate, arguing about the capture of a spy of the Harlequins at the camp of Ragnarhog.
Pinkie's eyes widened, and so she hurried to get out of there and report all to Rarity and then think of what to do about her captured companion .
A few minutes later (and after killing a guard located in front of the exit ), Pinkie began silently to penetrate through the trees located outside the city, heading to the east in a hurry.

Meanwhile, in her castle, the tyrant was talking with Black Blitz about Ragnarhog and the behavior that he has shown in recent times, in particular for having fractured three ribs to Opal Splinter and for have taken secretly the fact about the spy .
Black Blitz, with his croaky voice, continued to repeat, if not send him back to Phaminae, to just decapitate him and get over it .

" This would imply starting a war with the King, Blitz! And you know that right now we can not permit it ."
" Unfortunately, I know my queen, but having that ... beast among our ranks is a problem bigger than the resistance ."
" I swear that I will take measures against Ragnarhog, but not now. We need his brute force more than ever. "
" My queen, when the New Claudsdale's engineers will have finished your special commission, we could make that rough and rotten steak fry together with our enemies ."

The queen said to lower the voice to his trusted strategist, since there could be prying ears to listen within the walls of the building, and then them both began to speak of another subject.
The general said the attack of Golden Hoof against the Hoofs of Steel was, although the troops of the tyrant had to retreat, still a success, with the partial approval of Black Nova .
After spending a goo half hour, the two went to the balcony of the great hall where they were, and watched the horizon, in the direction of Splendid Valley, where a large number of torches was moving and shining in the darkness. The torches of the soldiers of Nova, who were looking for the den of Rarity and the Shattered Diamonds .

Underground, the large dogs and their leader were still preparing the weapons and the traps to put in the tunnels, trying to make as little noises as possible to avoid attracting the enemies above them. Rainbow Dash and thirty of her soldiers, meanwhile, helped as best they could, while they thought of a diversion to ward off the enemy forces and buy time.
While talking, from the wall made of earth over their heads began to fall the first debris, a sign that they had to get out immediately before it collapsed .
The multicolored-maned Pegasus proposed to send, along with her, a dozen soldiers of the Thundering Clouds out and attack any enemy forces, only for been followed away and thus allow the Shattered Diamonds to leave and head west, to the Smoky Mountain, the emergency den of Rarity .
After preparing herself for good, Rainbow Dash informed Rarity, and the unicorn asked her to be careful and not to be like a few years earlier, when it was repeating a similar event with the troops of Black Blitz and when the Pegasus nearly died.

With a pat on the back of the unicorn and a phrase of comfort, Rainbow Dash assured her friend that they would still met again, and then took off, leaving from a secondary tunnel and detaching the flight, for then attack with the automatic crossbows she and her troops were equipped the enemies, cought out of guard, who began to seek refuge behind the boulders located in the area or raising their shields. Shortly after, Nova's troops began to fight back with their bows and chasing the pegasus in flight, leaving behind few pony to search in the area. After a few minutes, long enough to Rainbow Dash and the other ponies to stave off most enemies, Rarity gave the signal to emerge.
The Diamond Dogs, with their strong nails, began to dig up, sniffing with their flair, superfine smell the ponies above, getting closer and closer, while the latters beginning to feel the earth tremble under the hooves.
With a powerful charge the Shattered Diamonds surprised the ponies and began to attack, with their big, heavy weapons created from the fusion of diamond and iron.
As they came out, the Diamond Dogs were increasingly armed and armored, and the soldiers of Nova increasingly helpless and ready to retreat. Accompanied by his four most trusted Dogs, Rarity came harnessed with a very fine armor, with components in diamond and silver and a helmet that covered her forehead and cheeks, carved finely, something that only she could accomplish. With the use of magic, the unicorn threw bright darts against enemies, hurting them with her firing and burning magic, and making so retreat the few enemy warriors who remained, allowing the resistance forces to move towards the west.

" What happened ?" Asked Black Blitz nervous to his queen, watching the torches burn out quickly in the distance, " what they your troops are doing, Nova !?"
The angry tyrant watched the scene in silence, while the purple smoke that poured from her eyes grew more and more dense.
" Blitz, move from there right now ."

Nova, with her magic, wrapped herself in a thick purple smoke, and launched into the air at great speed, destroying part of the balcony.
From their valley, Rarity and and the Shattered Diamonds were seen arriving, falling from the sky, the tyrant, and tried with their weapons to stop her before she could hit the ground, but it was useless. The magic of Black Nova destroyed the arrows with tips in diamond before they could even hit her and the heavy bombshells of the portable cannons of the Diamond Dogs bounced on the magic shield she created as if they were made of rubber.
With a deafening rumble, the tyrant destructively landed, and lifted a dense curtain of smoke and dust, while the rebels were re-preparing to face the great threat ahead of them, but it wouldn't be enough. The tyrant threw, against her opponents, powerful magic arrows, who where capable to cut through the tick armor in diamond and piercing the bodies of the dogs, who where falling to the ground lifeless.
Rarity tried, as best as she could, to protect her canine companions with shields of magic and fast healing spells, but the more she try, the more she understood that it was worthless. Then, the white, blue maned mare decided to take a very risky decision.
Attack Nova directly .
With a magical ray, the unicorn struck the tyrannical alicorn, who stopped for a few moments, and concentrated so her attention on Rarity.

"Listen me, Nova, if you only try to hurt another of my beloved dogs, I swear on the name of the ancestor that -"

Rarity couldn't finish to speak that Nova hurled a powerful magic beam, but the mare dodged it by teleporting behind the tyrant and then, quickly, tried in vain to hit her with another magic ray, which was saved.

" You're going to do nothing, Rarity. We both know," said the tyrant, and then hang up again with another magic ray, but this was saved by Rarity, who did the same.
"No, you're wrong, you traitor ! You are no more the Twilight I know, but only an abomination, a megalomaniac !"

Nova, even more angry, increased the power of her attacks, while the Diamond Dogs were freshly prepared to attack.
Now, Nova had to handle two attacks, one on the front and another on her sides, and so she created around her a special magic shield, reflecting the powerful attacks of his opponents weapons against them.
This tactic went on for a good half hour, since Nova began to feel a strange itch on one of her front legs, which gradually became more of a pain for her.
In a move, she managed to teleport at a short distance from her opposes, and the tyrant was able to observe what was given her that bothersome on the legs: both limbs were transforming into crystals at a dramatically speed.
The effect of the remedy of Ingenium Demens was finished, and the use of magic only increased the process, but the tyrant had a job to do, a duty that she had procrastinated for too long, and nothing would stop her into fulfill it.
Thus, the tyrant headlong charged towards Rarity, assisted by her magic that made her faster and faster, while the Diamond Dogs were swept away by the power of Nova.
Rarity raised another shield, which slowed the tyrant but by no means diminished the impact of the attack, which made Rarity flew for several meters and threw off of her the helmet, leaving her head unprotected, while the tyrant where now coming back at great speed, willing again to finish her leathery half. Unfortunately for Nova, the crystals were slowing her down, with more and more crystals progressing to painfully piercing her flesh and, while breaking the bones, making her movements more rigid.
Rarity took this advantage for trying an attack, going towards Nova surrounded by a magical barrier. Both, then, with a loud and blinding explosion, crossed their horns, which still gave off sparks of magic blue and purple.

" Nova Listen, you can not win this battle . Retreat now and leave us alone !"
" I have already withdrawn too many times, Raity ! This time... I will not let you destroy my kingdom that I created with so much difficulties !"

Rarity threw a magical ray to the face of Nova, who lost her crown of ebony and metal, leaving her unprotected as Rarity.

" You have not created anything, you abomination. Once this land wasn't sick, and its inhabitants didn't have to live in fear. But since you arrived, you have done nothing in good ! "
"Nothing, you say !? Who created the Magic lanterns, who has expanded the territories of Equestria, who funded your weapons ? I allowed that you had everything I created, and you and your stupid, miserable comrades still do not want to accept it ?"

Nova threw with her black magic a powerful ray to Rarity , too powerful to be parred for the unicorn, but quickly dodgable with teleportation.
The attack created a deep chasm few meters long but very wide, which destroyed many trees and, when it stopped, made a devastating bang, followed by a large flash and a huge column of smoke.
Rarity finally struck the tyrant, who was now at the extreme of the forces and couldn't dodge the attack.
Nova fell to the ground, and tried to stand up, but now she had her legs covered by the blood-spilling crystals, which caused her excruciating pain.
Rarity slowly walked towards the tyrant, with her horn bright and ready to launch some kind of spell that would end the tyrant, but she was just over a meter from her, that the unicorn looked straight into the eyes in tears of the tyrant.
Now, Rarity wasn't know what to do, if finish her or get caught by compassion and memories.

" Go away ." Rarity said softly in a voice that covered her tears, " Just go away before I kill you, Twilight."
"... I'm not ... Twilight, why you keep cal-"
" I see it in your eyes. And I doubt that you get completely subjugate by that necromancer ."

Nova looked panting the unicorn for a few seconds, then she managed to get up and fly away quickly, but not before she pushed Rarity.
Shortly after, while the unicorn still watched Nova went away, Popo led to his lady helmet in diamonds.

" Uh... Miss Rarity ? Why did you let Black Nova go ?"
" … I do not know. I felt it had to be done. "
"It's not that you've stopped only because once you both were ..."
"Not a word, Popo. We have a long journey to make, now, and it's better if you save your breath. "

Popo apologized obsequiously, then came back in the ranks and follow Rarity, in head-to- the Shattered Diamonds, thinking about what had happened, and still unsure of why she let her go.

Meanwhile, after reaching Blitz, Nova was now assisted by different curators and his guards while, once again, it was torn from her flesh and bones large crystals of a dark purple tone, while screaming in pain and crying dark tears.
So chaotic that moment, however, was worse after Ragnarhog entered furious, which had brought two Hog guards armed and armored.

"Nova ! For the putrid backside of Bòglin, what the hell have you done ?" asked the furious Hog, while Flash and two other guards tacked front with guns blazing, "And you, squealings, rise yours hooves ! "
"And you get out of this room, stinking pig !" Replied Flash Sentry to the now more angry Hog.
"Oooh no, now I have to listen to your queen, immediately !"

Ragnarhog began to make a long, boring and irritating speech to Nova, on the usual fact that she is a ill queen who can no longer rule over Equestria and that he is tired of listen to her.
Nova, gathered forces, hurled one of his crystals against the Hog, straight to the teeth, breaking someone and making him bleed.
The two Hog who had accompanied their general went in front of him, ready to fight and kill everyone present, but Nova stopped them in time with a freezing spell.

"Now listen to me, Ragenohger: the King sent you here under my command, and until you have my services do not think anymore to come in here so foolishly ... or I swear on the name of your unhealthy Bòglin that I will kill you with my hooves. "

The Hog looked with hatred Nova, but he knew very well that that alicorn, although ill, could still very well kill him as she said. So, after freeing his two guards from the ice, he went off the runway, again leaving Nova to the care of its curators.

"But this time Ragnarhog partly right. Why do you run away, if you could kill Rarity and his dogs? "He asked doubtfully Flash Sentry, but with a respectful tone.
" … I do not know. And then, what is it? You were anxious for me to die? "Said the tyrant, who laughed in flashes, interrupted by the curators who now were removing the smaller fragments and devious.

And so, another day was over, while the Diamonds Infranti had gathered to Thundering Clouds and now were heading to their new home.