Fire Emblem: Six Souls

by Just Some Guy

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Shining Armor, Crossover, DJ P0N-3, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Alternate Universe, Other, Romance
Length: 12710

Long ago, six kingdoms ruled the land of Equestria in peace before being wiped out by a great war. 5000 years have passed since then, and a new war has broken out. Now, it's up to a group of unlikely companions to stop it, no matter the cost...

History tells of six ancient kingdoms that ruled over the land of Equestria in peace. Each protected fragment of a legendary item said to be a gift from the gods. In pure frustration, one of the kingdoms began to attack the others, leaving the country in utter chaos. Legends say the gods banished the volatile kingdom from the world, allowing Equestria to once again rise from the ashes and become the land it once was. All that remained of the six kingdoms was the legendary item kept hidden away.

In the present day, five-thousand years later, three kingdoms now exist that rule over the land of Equestria; Griffonstone, the kingdom of flight and technology; Canterlot, the kingdom of magic and history; and the Crystal Empire, a surprisingly quiet kingdom that likes to keep to itself. Out of nowhere after a long period of peace, Griffonstone forces begin attacking Canterlot for an unknown reason.

It's now up to an aspiring young Unicorn mage and her older knight brother, as well as a rag-tag group of other ponies, to discover why Griffonstone attacked like they did and put a stop to this needless war before it even begins.

I'll be using Fire Emblem: Awakening as my reference for this story, meaning yes, the shipping lord has returned. And with him, children! Yes, as like Awakening, each female character will be given a child in the Paralogues of the story.

I hope you all enjoy and have a great time reading!

Published 2015-11-28 06:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-30 18:56:42 UTC

[Prologue]: The Six Kingdoms

Long, long ago, farther back than anyone had ever known and lived through, there existed six kingdoms that ruled over Equestria as it was in the days of old. They were; Liberalitis, the generous masters of trade; Honestatis, the honest and productive farmers; Fide, the loyal caretakers of the skies; Misericordiam, the kind protector of fauna and flora; Risus, the humorous motivator to face darkness in the eyes; and Magicae, the kingdom most in-tune with controlling magic.

Each shared the land peacefully under the protection of the Fire Emblem, a sacred treasure believed to be given to the six kingdoms by the gods. As a way of not starting a war over it, the kingdoms split the Fire Emblem into six fragments, each going to one of the kingdoms. With the Fire Emblem now in safety, the kingdoms lived in harmony for centuries.

All of that changed when rumors began to spread that should the Fire Emblem fragments be rejoined, a great power would be summoned, granting the holder power. One kingdom in particular, the ancient tomes too faded to know which, was convinced these rumors to be true, and thus began their conquest to rejoin the fragments. Any kingdom that denied these rumors and called them out for it had their houses burned, their people killed, and their realm utterly and absolutely destroyed.

There was no happy ending to this tale, as the kingdom was eventually victorious in wiping out the other five kingdoms and reuniting the pieces of the Fire Emblem. No one knows what happened next, but from the context of religious tomes discovered, Equestria's gods rained hell upon the last kingdom for their crimes and banished them into a world filled with dread and hate, allowing the world to recover from the state it was in, and allowing any survivors of the war to build the world back up from scratch.

While this story may be a fabrication, the Fire Emblem is a real object kept hidden away from prying eyes. Whether it holds a god's power of not is up for debate, but a rumor like that would most certainly be enough of a catalyst to begin a war...

"...which makes me worried, brother," spoke a young Unicorn filly with a lavender coat and a nerdy-cut purple mane and tail "What if that story is true? What if the Fire Emblem actually does contain a god's power, and what if a war broke out over it?"

"Twilight, I highly doubt that would happen," answered a taller and older Unicorn colt with a white coat and a long blue mane and tail, as he twirled around a javelin he used for his training "The three kingdoms have been at peace for so long, and all three rulers of the land are really good friends with each other."

"I know, but..." Twilight sighed "...I know."

"If it helps you feel better, I've gotten much better at using spears and the sort," the colt assured his little sister, continuing to twirl around his javelin "If you'd like, we can go outside and practice a bit. After all, didn't mother say she wanted to see you use magic someday after your little classroom accident."

"I thought you said you'd never talk about that again, Shining Armor!" Twilight shouted a bit, blushing after remembering a week ago when she curiously brought out a fire tome and accidentally cast a fortunately weak fire spell throughout her classroom.

"Hahaha! I know, I know," Shining Armor laughed "But wouldn't you love to harness that power and use it properly?"

"I guess so..." Twilight shrugged "Honestly, I'm not too sure. I might lose control again, and... and..."

"Hurt somepony you love?"

"Yeah, that..."

"Twily, relax, okay?" Shining smiled kindly, placing his javelin down for a moment to comfort his little sister "Everypony has to start somewhere, right? When I began training to become a knight, I was a total klutz, remember?"

"Heeheehee!" Twilight giggled "Yeah, I remember."

"But now look at me," Shining posed a bit for Twilight "I'm the best knight-in-training you could ask for!"

"So... my magic won't hurt you?" Twilight questioned.

"Oh, they will, without a doubt," Shining honestly answered, causing Twilight to feel a little bad "But you won't be aiming your magic at me anyway, so there's really nothing to worry about. Now, grab a fire tome or something and let's head out back!"

"Okay!" Twilight cheered up in a flash, taking the first fire spell book she saw and heading outside with her brother. What she unfortunately failed to see was that the tome she took wasn't any ordinary fire book, but rather one of a much higher level she wouldn't be able to control whatsoever.

Finally, the two reached the courtyard behind their home where they usually went to practice their abilities. It was pitch night outside, with their parents asleep and no one to watch them. While it was usually just Twilight watching Shining Armor do his thing, the former believed she was finally ready to try and control fire magic on her own without causing any accidents. With Shining sitting out of the way, he watched as his sister stepped out onto the field and opened up the book, once again never reading the title.

"Okay, here goes nothing..." Twilight held the tome with the basic levitation spell most Unicorns her age had by now and began reading the word in the book. They were all a series of odd-sounding words from the days of old, but most, if not all, Unicorns could understand it to a degree. This meant Shining immediately took note of the words his sister was muttering.

"Wait, those words are-" he suddenly realized, his eyes widening in shock and fear "TWILIGHT, WAIT!!"

But it was too late. Twilight finished her chanting and released a huge burst of fire from her horn up into the air. But instead of feeling afraid, Shining simply watching in awe and, dare he say, pride in the giant ball of fire. His disregard for watching anything but the flame's beauty would have been his downfall as it was traveling right at him.

"Sh-Shining! I can't..." Twilight struggled "I can't control it! Watch out!

"Twilight!"

Twilight, afraid and worried beyond belief, did her best to avert the fire away from her brother. Lost now in a sea of flames, fear began filling her soul until finally the fire spell dissipated, allowing her to see the damage she caused. Thankfully, only the grass around her was charred and nothing more, allowing her to breath a sigh of relief.

This pause was short lived when she turned to see her brother lying on the ground she raced over to him to check if he was still alive. To her utter joy, not only was he still alive, but he was laughing like a maniac. He soon got up and hugged his sister.

"That was amazing, Twily!" he laughed "That was a Elfire spell, a type of fire magic fillies your age shouldn't even be looking at sideways. Yet you were able to call forth it with utter ease!"

Twilight finally realized what she had done and soon began laughing along with her brother. She pulled away from the hug with a huge smile that was quickly replaced with a small frown and fearful eyes. She looked directly at Shining's face and saw clear as day the burn marks over the left side of his face. They were small enough that they didn't seem to hurt much, but large enough that they would never fully heal even in his old age.

"Your... face..." Twilight sighed.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Shining smiled "it doesn't hurt that much, I promise. What's important is that you discovered something amazing about yourself."

"But... what would mother and father think of this?" she questioned.

"First, we would be very ashamed that you stole one of our fire magic tomes from us and used it without out supervision" spoke an adult male voice behind Shining Armor. The two looked back and saw two Unicorn ponies, a mare and a stallion, looking quite cross with them. The stallion had a deep blue coat with a styled darker blue mane and tail, while the mare had a light silver coat with a white and violet mane and tail not unlike Twilight's.

"Second, we would be furious that you burned off part of your brother's face which may never heal again" the mare added.

"Mother, father, I can explain!" Twilight desperately tried to tell her parents what happened "I wanted to try out some of my fire magic abilities, and I didn't know the tome I picked up was an Elfire tome and-"

"But third," Twilight's father gave a warm smile "we would be proud of you."

"W-What?" Twilight stuttered a bit.

"While those two previous points you're certainly getting punished for," Twilight's mother rolled her eyes a bit before following after her husband and smiling as well "after seeing your display of magical ability, I don't think we could be more proud of you than we are right now. This is your first step into mastery of the magic arts, I can taste it!"

"Magic... arts..." Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Way to go, Twily!" Shining Armor squeezed Twilight affectionately "You managed to impress mother and father!"

"Now, you two go to your rooms this instant," their mother spoke in a no-nonsense voice "We will discuss your punishment tomorrow, but I think you both deserve at least a night's rest."

"O-Of course, mother" Twilight nodded and walked with her brother back inside their home. As their parents watched them go back inside, they turned to one another with excitement in their eyes.

"Night Light, did you see that!" their mother said ecstatically "Our little girl is growing up so fast!"

"Velvet, dear, aren't you the least bit worried about Shining's burns?" Night Light questioned his wife.

"Of course I am, but you and I both know he's been through worse" Velvet giggled a bit "He's a big boy anyway, right? I'm sure a burn or two won't faze him that much. Besides, I bet you bottoms to bits that he'll be popular with the fillies at school since he has a few 'battle scars' to show off now!"

"Of course, dear," Night Light sighed "Are we actually going to punish them though?"

"Oh yeah," Velvet smirked "Though, it certainly won't be as bad as we may have made it sound. Now, I'm rather tired from all this. Would you care to join me in bed?"

"You had me at 'bed'," Night Light smiled, bringing his wife closer to him and taking her back inside their house where their children were waiting ever so patiently.

The next morning had been quite the surprise for the entire family. As the new sun cast its rays over the land, Night Light and Twilight Velvet were rearing themselves to go and lightly punish their kids for their antics of last night. However, just as they were getting out of bed, they heard a peculiar and rather polite knock on their front door.

"Goodness, who could be knocking this early in the morning?" Velvet asked her husband.

"Only one way to find out," Night Light shrugged. Velvet sighed and walked softly toward the door. She opened it with a casual and still half-asleep face that was quickly diminished once she discovered who it was that was knocking at her door.

She was taller than most mares, without a doubt. Her coat was as white as snow and her long pink, blue, and green mane and tail flowed in the air, despite there being no wind at the time. Around her neck was a golden royal necklace with a purple gem infused into it, as the same with her golden crown. She wore the most beautiful of of pale gold slippers on her hooves, and her face showed no kind of hostility whatsoever. She donned both a pair of wings and a long horn on her head. Velvet immediately recognized this mare as Princess Celestia, the late teenage daughter of Canterlot's reigning king, King Solaris.

"P-Princess Celestia!" Velvet was utterly shocked by her arrival "What a wonderful surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I come here on a mission from my father," she responded politely "Last night, a large, rather uncontrolled Elfire spell went off in this courtyard and frightened a few residents. I was to send some guards to investigate the matter, but then I realized it could simply be a someone trying to learn magic."

"Ah, yes, I apologize for that..." Velvet sheepishly chuckled "It truly is remarkable. She was able to cast Elfire and at such a young age... Obviously, she couldn't control it, but still remarkable..."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, yes, allow me to get her for you," Velvet smiled and called up to her daughter "Twilight, dear! Somepony very, very special is here to see you!"

"Oh, coming!" Twilight called from upstairs, the little patter of hooves rushing down to the front door "Is it Uncle Frost Bite, or maybe... Aunt... Star...." she saw the mare in the doorway of her home "P... P... Princess... C-Celestia?"

"Hello, little one," Celestia smiled kindly, trying not to giggle at how admittedly cute the young filly was "So... It was you who used that Elfire spell, hmm?"

"Y-Yes, P-Princess..." Twilight nervously stuttered.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here, correct?" Celestia continued "Well, I saw your little light show last night, and I have to say that my father and I were most pleased with what you were able to accomplish. That's why, after much thought, we wanted you to join us in our royal court of mages."

"R-Really?!" Twilight's expression beamed.

"Well... The problem is we had no idea you would be so... young," Celestia sighed in shame for saying such a thing, causing Twilight to become slightly disappointed "But... why don't I take you under my wing and train you to use your magic skill even better than before?"

"Princess Celestia, if I may?" interjected Night Light "But my daughter might be too young to join the royal court of mages, let alone be allowed to be taken under your wing. Besides, I don't wish for my little Twilight to get hurt..."

"Shut it, Night Light!" Velvet growled at her husband with a look that could kill, before turning back to Celestia with a welcoming smile once again "Princess Celestia, so long as my daughter is perfectly alright with you taking her under your wing and... y'know... away from us, then we will not... uh... stop her..." Velvet found herself with tears in her eyes all of a sudden.

"Mother, I would love to go!" Twilight gasped in delight "I want to know more about magic! I want to know how to control it!"

"If that's what you... wish..." Velvet sniffed "Th-Then... Okay, I'll allow you to go."

"Aww, mother, don't cry..." Twilight hugged her mother.

"Twilight won't be leaving for the castle for a little while anyway," Celestia explained "We need time to prepare ourselves for... certain things. Twilight, my child, would you leave us three alone for a moment?"

"Yes, go and tell Shining Armor about the news!" Velvet kindly smiled. Twilight nodded and rushed upstairs to explain to her older brother the opportunity that just arose for her. Celestia continued to smile until she knew for sure Twilight was out of sight. It was then when she became slightly more serious and began to speak her mind.

"Your daughter has extreme power I have never witnessed before in my life," Celestia said "To cast such magic at such a young age... I'd say she was dangerous, but I think it's rather remarkable."

"What are you getting at, Princess" Night Light saw right through the usually kind mare's watering down of the situation.

"...do you feel it, Velvet?" Celestia asked.

"How did you-"

"That's not important right now," Celestia convinced her "What's important is my question. Do you feel it, Velvet?"

"...yes, I do," Velvet nodded with a sigh "I just never thought... in my lifetime."

"Then you know why we must train Twilight, correct?" Celestia further asked.

"Yes, I do," Velvet nodded.

"I as well," Night Light stepped up "But why this early? Can we not spend more time with our daughter before you-"

"Night Light, you know as well as everypony here that the start-from-scratch training to become a royal court mage is long and tedious," Celestia explained "The sooner Twilight is able to train with us, the better."

"I know, but..." Night Light felt a bit of anger swell up inside him "She's our daughter, for god's sake! She's still so young, so fragile, so... innocent... I know this has to be done, but..."

"I won't pretend I know how you're feeling," Celestia began "but just know that Twilight, while in our custody, will be raised as if a princess herself. Of course, we'll try her best not to spoil her" she laughed a bit at her own joke "And worry not; is your son not training to be a knight? She will have some good company to keep her head on straight."

"Fair enough," Night Light nodded, finally accepting this revelation "...but if I find out my daughter has been hurt by your men in any way, Celestia, you'll find that hell isn't that far away after all."

"...I'll keep that in mind," Celestia grimaced "Good day to you two. And Velvet, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to train your daughter. You will not regret it."

"Well, I guess that statement of mine will have little meaning if I see Twilight as a proud court mage" Velvet smiled.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, nothing. It's an inside joke."

"Ah, I see. Well, farewell!" Celestia stepped away from the door and allowed the married couple to close it.

She stepped back into the royal carriage she used to get here in the first place and allowed the guards to pull her back home. Waiting for her was her assistant Raven, who had a white coat, a brown mane and tail both tied in bun, a white collar with a red frill on the neck area, and a pair of large glasses. She waited until Celestia was seated and they took flight to speak with her.

"Milady, did you discover the identity of the future mage?" she asked he superior.

"Yes, I did," Celestia nodded "Turns out she is a small child who lost control of an Elfire spell."

"A filly did that?!" Raven looked utterly shocked.

"And I fear her power will only grow stronger with each passing day," Celestia sighed "I know what she is and who she's descended from, and I'm thankful we were able to find her before she began those pesky rebellious teen years. Gods know what she would have done then."

"O-Of course, milady," Raven nodded "...since I'm going to guess she's too young to join the royal court of mages, what are we going to do in the meantime?"

"I certainly know what we can do at this moment," Celestia nodded before raising her voice a bit "Guardsmen, set a new route for the hidden area. I wish to check on the Fire Emblem."

SuperKamek presents...

A Team Brachydios production...

Starring:
Twilight Sparkle
Shining Armor
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie
Rarity
Fluttershy
Applejack
Cadence
Vinyl Scratch
Octavia
Gilda
Princess Celestia
Princess Luna
King Grover

Also Starring:
Midnight S.
Blitz Wing
Sticky Note
Ribbon & Thread
Spring Breeze
Alexander
And more...

SIX SOULS

Literally Everything by:
SuperKamek

Team Brachydios does not own anything borrowed in this story. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a trademark of Hasbro Studios. Please support the official release. Fire Emblem is a trademark of Nintendo. Please support the official release. Team Brachydios isn't owned by anyone because unlike George Lucas, we don't sell our entire company because Disney wants shit. I mean, seriously George? Well, at least you did it tactically and kept the rights to merchandise stuff. Smart man. Speaking of tactically, please enjoy the story!

Author's Note

And thus it begins.

I love Fire Emblem, and I'm probably the one most looking forward to Fates and the Shin Megami Tensei crossover. I wondered for ages why I hadn't done a story like this yet, and it was probably because I was intimidated by how well the other stories did. However, I'm here now to enjoy this awesome strategy game with you!

Also, please don't be turned off by this first chapter. This was only the prologue, so I need to set things up for the main bulk of the story. Please, for me, read the real chapter one before deciding if this is your kind of story or not. Thank you, guys.

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!

[Chapter 1]: Suprise Attack

In the land of Equestria, there exists three kingdoms that keeps the country balanced. Canterlot, the kingdom most in-tune with magic, as well as the one with the deepest bond to the past; Griffonstone, the kingdom of flight and new technological advancements; and the Crystal Empire, a peaceful kingdom isolated in the frozen north that never really makes too much of a ruckus to be noticed too often. Smaller towns off of each kingdom exist, but the bulk of the land is ruled by these three.

There hasn't been a war between the kingdoms for a millennia, as peace has been kept thanks to our equal views on things. There have been arguments, yes, but nothing so bad to start a war over. Each kingdom helped each other out when the need arose, and the world was at peace. Everyone was happy.

Which made a certain lavender Unicorn question why Griffonstone forces would attack Canterlot after so many years of peace. It all began on a seemingly normal morning in Canterlot castle. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and not a cloud was in the sky. It would seem even days like these can hold dark futures.

Today was finally the day she had been anticipating since she was seven years old; Twilight was about to take her magic exam. If she passed, she would be allowed to join the royal court of mages and finally fulfill her dream. Ever since she was a filly, she had been dreaming of the day this would happen, and fourteen years later, her dreams had finally become a reality.

She looked in the mirror one more time just to make sure she was proper for the exam. Well, as proper as being a mage was, anyway. Over her back and along her front hooves was a black coat with gold linings and white stripes down the sleeves. The sleeves themselves were quite baggy, and had a thick gold line wrapping around the end. She removed the hood over her head and saw her now much longer purple mane, now with a streak of lighter purple highlight through it. At her left side was a brown pouch large enough to carry a few spell books, and on her right was a sword sheath for emergencies only.

Without much haste, she grabbed two tomes from her desk with her levitation magic, one Fire and the other Wind, and placed them in her pouch, locking them in tightly. She looked to her right and saw the small steel sword which was just small enough to fit in the sheath on her side. With a bit of hesitation, she took the sword once again with her levitation and placed it on her side. She wasn't the best with a sword, but it never hurt to have one.

"...heh, well, maybe it does a little bit," she thought aloud, giggling a bit "But still, I can't believe this is finally it. Fourteen years have been leading up to this very moment."

"And not a moment of it was wasted," a familiar voice to Twilight spoke with a small chuckle, making her eyes light up dart over to her open bedroom door.

There stood her brother, Shining Armor, now much bulkier in size from all the training he had done. His mane and tail had remained largely unchanged, if not slightly longer than when he was a colt. He wore a bit of silver armor over a blue vest on the upper part of his torso, as well as a brown sheath around his waist that held his trusty iron blade firmly. He still had the burn marks under his left eye from all those years ago.

"Hey, Shining," Twilight greeted politely "Sorry I can't watch your knight exam. I tried talking to Princess Celestia about changing the time, but there's nothing I can do."

"Relax, Twilight, it's alright," Shining smiled "Honestly, nothing would bring me more joy than to finally see you as a royal court mage. In fact, I should be the one apologizing that I'm not able to watch you blow the competition out of the water."

"Do you really think I can do this, Shining?" Twilight wondered.

"After what you did when you were but a filly, I think you have the capability to do this," Shining chuckled, remembering the first time his little sister used Elfire "I know this is going to sound very corny, but so long as you believe in your abilities, you'll succeed without a hitch. Trust me."

"How much longer until the exam?" Twilight wondered.

"About half-an-hour," Shining recalled before remembering something "Oh, Rainbow Dash wanted to speak with you about something. She said it was important, but... you know her and her ideas of what is and isn't important. She's waiting for you in the mai-"

"Or she could have gotten bored and followed you here to her friend's room," spoke a rather tomboyish voice from behind Shining and Twilight. They both turned their attention to the hallway outside Twilight's room and saw that a new pony had either recently joined them, or had been there the entire time.

Her coat was cyan like the sky, and her rainbow mane and tail were long and messy. A powerful set of wings donned her back, giving her the capability of flight. Her entire torso was covered in silver armor with seven long, blue and white feathers sticking out the bottom of the back of the armor. On her side was a javelin safely stored away as not to hurt anyone. Her face showed one of mild annoyance, but also a hint of cockiness.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," Twilight politely greeted "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"First off, shiny butt over here is gonna have to leave us for a sec," Rainbow stared directly at Shining Armor. Not wanting to cause a commotion, especially around a cross Rainbow Dash, he left the two mares alone, walking to his training area in an attempt to be the first to take his exam. As soon as he was out of sight, Twilight looked at her friend with a glare that could kill.

"Rainbow, you have to stop calling my brother such names," Twilight sighed.

"What? It's not like he really cares anyway," Rainbow shrugged "He's just that one guy who can go into any situation and never feel bad. In fact, I bet you bottoms to bits that he has never cried at a wedding because of how tough he is."

"...I don't understand your logic sometimes," Twilight shook her head a bit before getting back on track "So, you wished to speak with me about something?"

"Ah, right," Rainbow nodded "Apparently, Princess Celestia actually managed to pull through on your request."

"Y-You mean...?" Twilight gasped a bit in excitement "The exam times have been shifted?"

"Now hang on, I never said that!" Rainbow hushed her friend immediately "Actually, she never really made the details all that clear on what she was planning. All she said to me was to tell you that your request was accepted and that she was working on a way to compensate. Bet you it was to just shut all your complaining."

"Hey!"

"Relax, I'm joking!" Rainbow chuckled.

"So did she tell you when my exam is beginning?" Twilight inquired.

"Same time Shining said," Rainbow recalled "By the way, you might want to start going now. The earlier you are to your exams, the higher chance you have of being first in line."

"R-Right, of course," Twilight nodded "Thank you, Rainbow, and have a wonderful day," she excused herself from the conversation, closing her room door behind her and and walking in the direction of the training grounds. Rainbow simply stared as Twilight trotted on down the hall, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Dammit, Twi, why do you gotta be hot?" she muttered to herself, chuckling all the while as she walked in the opposite direction "Don't let me fall for you even more, okay?"

(Music Stop)

"Twilight, so good to see you here," spoke the kind voice of her mentor and friend, Princess Celestia, as soon as Twilight entered the training grounds. Her outfit, nor size, had changed all that much since Twilight had first met her.

The training grounds themselves were located in the basement of castle Canterlot. Held together by cracked stone pillars that had faded over time, the entire circular floor was covered in sand, allowing an easy grip for anyone practicing. Seats had been placed around the training grounds as well, should the need for a crowd ever arise.

"And I you, Princess," Twilight quickly bowed "I'm here for my training, or rather, my exam."

"Your exam?" Celestia questioned "But that's not for another fifteen minutes. Nopony is even here yet."

"I understand that, Princess," Twilight nodded "I just wanted to get here earlier as to try and get in line first. I know that sounds extremely childish, but hey, first come first serve, am I right?"

"Oh Twilight..." Celestia giggled "Truth be told, I actually expected you to be here earlier than anypony else."

"Hmm?"

"Has Rainbow Dash told you about my decision?" Celestia wondered, to which Twilight nodded "Ah, good. Then you must know that I've taken your request to heart. However, instead of changing the times of the exams..."

Twilight bit her hooves a bit.

"...I've decided you, Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash should all take your exams at the same time," Celestia finished "Privately, if I may add."

"I... what?" Twilight stood there, confused as to what to say and how to react.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rainbow Dash swept in from the air and side-hugged her friend "So, turns out we're all doing our exams at the same time! Yeah, we all totally set you up. But wasn't that just the best surprise?"

"Heh... This was all a prank?" Twilight laughed a bit.

"Yes," Shining Armor walked out into the middle of the training grounds and looked right in Twilight's direction "Sorry about that, Twily, but it's been far too long since we were able to prank you without you finding out about our plan seven steps ahead before we could even plan our first, so to say."

"Well, this certainly took my by surprise!" Twilight grinned ear to ear "This is the best thing that could ever happen to me! My best friend since I've known from day one who always wanted to be a Pegasus knight, and my big brother who stayed true to me all the way through training to be a knight himself, and both of them are here with me to aid me in my final test!"

"And you're gonna help us with our own tests as well, you hear?" Rainbow ruffled her friend's mane a bit "Now, enough talking and more smashing something!"

"Right, of course," Twilight calmed herself and turned to her mentor "What's our final test going to be?"

"This last test will be one that will show what you have all learned over the course of fourteen years," Celestia explained "Now, I believe all of you have an idea of what the field looks like, correct? Think of it as like a game of chess, where you are the pawns and those dummies out there are from the opponent."

"Dummies?" Twilight looked over and noticed all the red training dummies littered about the training grounds "Huh... How did I not notice those at all?"

"Your goal is to take out those dummies using the skills you've all learned up to this point," Celestia explained "The dummies that appear just out of reach will be targets of Twilight, who's magic has a range to it. The dummies that are on the ground will be the targets of Shining Armor, who's on-land combat will make short work of them. The dummies on the higher ground-"

"Will go to me!" Rainbow interrupted "Yeah, I can take them on! They're just dummies anyway, right?"

"Well... no," Celestia admitted "These dummies are not your average training dummies. They have the full capability of fighting back. Well... to an extent. They can't kill you, but please do take caution."

"I'm ready for this if you are," Shining went up next to his little sister.

"I was born ready, brother," Twilight nodded "But I was also trained ready, because I-"

"I get it, Twily, thank you," Shining chuckled a bit.

"Everyone prepare yourself..." Celestia raised her head high in the air

"On your marks..." she prepared a spell from her horn

"Get set..." everyone anxiously anticipated the moment when they could begin. The thought of failing itched at the back of their minds, but quickly faded away once they focused on their goals again.

"GO!" Celestia shouted, firing her spell into the air, which made a loud banging noise.

(Music Stop)

Player Phase

The three dashed off immediately and went straight for their targets, pulling out their respective weapons of choice.

Twilight went straight for the first two dummies she saw, which happened to be the closest ones to her. Flipping open one of her books with her levitation, she began chanting some words that eventually caused her horn to glow, eventually creating some fire that absolutely destroyed a few of the nearby dummies.

"Haha! Got you!" she laughed a bit before moving onto the next ones. However, to her surprise, one of the dummies had actually attacked her back with some magic of its own.

"What? Hey! You can't do that!" Twilight crossly stated "I-I mean... You're going down next by my hoof!"

At the same time, Shining Armor had gone up to one of the dummies with an axe lodged in its side, acting as if it was an axe user on the battlefield. He grinned before pulling out his sword with his magic and striking the dummy with everything he had, eventually causing it to collapse and break apart.

"Swords beat axes..." he recalled from his training "Axes are too slow to truly counter from sword attacks, therefore they are weak to them. On the other hand-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he looked to the sky and saw that a spear was headed right for him. He just narrowly dodged the attack. Looking to his right, he saw that a dummy just out of reach had thrown that spear at him. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but he swore he saw a glint of amusement in the dummy's button eyes.

"...spears and lances are strong against swords, as they have a much longer reach than the latter," he remembered "So you really want to be taken out that much? Then I'm coming for you next!"

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had been flying around, striking her javelin, which she held with her hooves somehow, into any dummy she happened to see. Some had attacked with their fire and thunder magic, but everything had been dodged by her thanks to her amazing agility. She grinned and impaled her blade into one of the dummies with satisfaction.

"I don't know what Celestia was talking about," Rainbow let out a hearty laugh "these things are easy!"

It had been at that moment when two dummies had actually teamed up and fired their magic attacks at her at the same time. She was knocked down by the second fire attack. She hit the ground and rubbed her head a bit.

"Ow..." she groaned "Note-to-self: don't be cocky."

Enemy Phase

The dummies, lacking any sort of soul or brainpower, could not therefore did not move. Instead, they opted to attack anything in their reach. The dummies close to Twilight reared up their magical attacks, which hit Twilight and sent her flying back a bit. As soon as she got back up, she looked at the cotton statues with daggers in her eyes.

"Okay, so I see that's how you all wish to do this?" Twilight asked the inanimate objects, knowing full well they could not respond back "Then have a bit of this!"

She opened her second book and called forth fierce winds to quickly dispose of the attacking dummies. Three of the dummies went flying so far, they actually knocked over the rest of the dummies as well, making them unusable.

"Huh... Well, I guess that's that then," Twilight shrugged.

The dummies close to Shining and Rainbow were unable to attack the two, save for one javelin-throwing dummy that attempted to strike Shining down again. Thankfully, he was able to dodge once again, more effectively now that he was focused on it.

"Alright then, if you really wanted to perish so badly..." he grumbled.

Player Phase

Shining Armor took no time in rushing straight for the dummy that had attacked him twice now and had stricken it down with his sword, absolutely decimating it and causing it to fall apart in a pile of fluff and patching. He swung around his sword in victory before sheathing it and grinning a bit.

"And that is how you do that," he nodded before looking to his next targets "Now, time to finish up the job."

Meanwhile, Rainbow had gotten up from her fall and was now out for revenge. She flew back up and circled around the dummies that she had problems with before and knocked them all down with a simple strike to their nonexistent heart. They all fell down to the ground before they exploded in a burst of cotton.

"How does that feel, dumb, uh... dummies!" Rainbow laughed a bit as she looked around the area for anything else she could destroy "Hey, did I actually get them all? Nice!"

"Guys! We did it! We won!" Twilight cheered as she rushed towards her two friends.

(Music Stop)

Enemy Phase

Out of nowhere, the ground began to shake, as if something horrible had just happened. Any dummy that may have remained after the trio's onslaught was knocked over and considered defeated. But that was the least of their concerns right now. Everyone, including Princess Celestia, heard footsteps rushing down into the training grounds area. They looked to the southern entrance and saw four soldiers come down with spears in their yellow talons, rearing for a fight.

Yes, talons.

These guards were no ordinary soldiers. They had brown feathers on their head and body, with a lion's lower body, complete with legs and tail. They had golden helmets over their heads with gold armor on their upper torso and red vests underneath said torso armor. Proud yellow beaks and nearly unfeeling eyes came from under the helmet. Brown wings were neatly tucked away on their sides.

"Griffons?" Celestia wondered "How were you four able to get in here? This is private property of-"

"Silence!" a fifth griffon emerged from the entrance, shouting his order with pride and confidence. He was much bulkier than the other griffons, with scars along his beak and body and a blue feather protruding from his helmet, but was otherwise the same as his troop.

"Wha... How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" Celestia shouted back "Who gave you orders to be here anyway?!"

"I don't have to answer any of your questions, wench," the soldier stated "After we take this kingdom, you will give us what we want without hesitation."

"Not if we can stop it!" Twilight courageously stood up against the soldiers, bringing out her fire tome again "How dare you even think out saying something like that to us!"

"Griffonstone was always at peace with us... Why would they attack now?" Shining though aloud to himself before looking directly at the griffons "That doesn't matter right now, though. What matters is that I will NOT allow you to fell our kingdom! I don't know why you've come, but I do know you will be defeated!"

"Man, I used to actually like you guys..." Rainbow scoffed, whipping out her javelin and pointing it at the griffons "I really hope you're just a bunch of rebels though..."

"Griffons, attack!" the commander shouted.

(Music Stop)

With next to no warning, one of the griffon soldiers ran up to and attacked Twilight, landing a solid blow onto her and knocking her back a bit. Not caring much for that, however, she got back up almost immediately and used her fire magic on him, doing a hefty amount of damage on him.

On the other side of the grounds, Shining Armor was being attacked by another one of the griffon soldiers. With a mighty thrust from his spear, the griffon managed to successfully get a hit on the knight-in-training. Shining was not one to give up, however, and retaliated with a swing of his sword. Despite being the weaker of the two due to his choice of weapon, he was still able to get in a nice hit.

Player Phase

"Twilight!" Rainbow immediately dashed off to help her friend, swooping in and striking the griffon knight in his side and ending his life once and for all "Twilight, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks..." Twilight nodded "Just a small scratch, I assure you. If it was any worse, I would tell you."

"Well, alright then," Rainbow nodded before looking over to the other soldiers and grinning "Say, why don't you and I team up and take that guy out? It would certainly be in favor for both of us, right?"

"I suppose so," Twilight considered "Alright, follow me then!" she grabbed Rainbow by the hoof and brought her along with her right at the griffon, who prepared himself for whatever attack they had ready. Without warning, as a sign of revenge she convinced herself, Twilight cast away her wind spell and dealt a good amount of damage on him. To finish up, Rainbow flew her javelin directly into her foe's heart and defeated him.

"Easier done than said, that's for damn sure," Rainbow proudly stated, flipping around her weapon before driving into the ground as a sign of victory.

On the other side, Shining Armor had advanced forward and was now about to engage the final soldier. He ran forward and struck the griffon on his arm. With the griffon having more range thanks to his spear, he was able to hit Shining and knock him down for a moment. What he wasn't expecting however was Shining jumping back up and going for another attack, which he was able to pull off. The griffon's life didn't last very long afterwards.

"You invade our home and don't even put up a fight?" he asked the now lifeless corpse, shaking his head and sheathing his sword "Absolutely shameful."

Enemy Phase

"Impressive," the griffon commander raised an eyebrow "You trainees of all things managed to defeat several men of the proud Griffonstone kingdom. But you will not get past me, Gavin of the court of griffons."

With those words having been said, Gavin pulled out his own spear and prepared to engage his opponents.

Player Phase

"I'm too weak to try and fight someone like him right now," Shining Armor admitted, feeling the pain from his previous enemy encounters begin to inflict themselves on him "You two have to finish the job. Don't worry; I'll pray for you to succeed. Think of him as your final test!"

"Our... final test..." Twilight repeated "...of course, yes! If I defeat him here and now, I would not only help my kingdom, but pass the test as well! Rainbow, let's get a move on!"

"Those are the words I want to hear!" Rainbow grinned, following Twilight until they were face-to-face with Gavin.

"So, you two will be my opponents today?" Gavin wondered.

"Don't make this some kind of friendly game, you bastard," Rainbow rolled her eyes "You think you can just waltz in here and try to kill us, huh? Well, we have something to say about that! Go for it, Twi!"

Twilight nodded and shot a blast of fire at Gavin, to which he managed to dodge somehow. Laughing, he struck his spear into Twilight, injuring her and causing Rainbow to become increasingly angry.

"How was he able to dodge my fire?" Twilight gasped in shock "It's magic; you shouldn't be able to dodge it!"

"And yet, I did," Gavin smirked "It seems you two were only lucky when it came to defeating my troop. I guess there was no real challenge after all. Now, take this!"

He ran forward and attacked Twilight once again, hitting her front leg and surprising her. She collapsed onto the ground and clutched her leg in a desperate attempt to stop the flow of blood.

"Why you..." Rainbow grumbled before her entire body began to glow a faint light "You're going to hell!" she charged up her javelin before throwing it at Gavin, dealing massive damage to him and leaving him near-death on the ground. Twilight took this final opportunity to cast her fire magic on the griffon, finally ending his life.

"H-How... Im... Impossi... ble..." were his last words before his soul left forever.

(Music Stop)

Victory

"Twilight, are you alright?!" Shining Armor ran over to his little sister the best he could.

"Shining, I'm fine, thanks," Twilight winced in pain "Well, at least I'll live anyway. Nothing a little vulnerary can't fix..." she brought out a small flask and dripped some of its contents on her wound, rubbing the pain away. She then got right back up as if nothing happened, much to the relief of both her brother and friend.

"So, those guys really were from Griffonstone, huh?" Rainbow wondered "What could make them attack us after years and years of peace between us?"

"I do not know," Celestia came up to the three with a look of seriousness on her face "What I do know, however, is that you three must escape this place as soon as possible. Those weren't the only soldiers who have advanced their forces into our castle, I'm willing to bet. Griffon aren't stupid."

"Where would we go?" Shining asked.

"Anywhere but here," Celestia sighed "Please, you must go. I wish not for my students to be killed."

"C'mon, you two, you heard the lady!" Rainbow proudly stated, flying up the southern entrance towards freedom "If you're still feeling out though, take you time."

"Shining, are you okay?" Twilight concernedly asked her brother.

"Yeah, I'll be good," he nodded "Like you said, nothing a vulnerary can't fix, right?"

"Just take it easy, okay?" Twilight tried to keep him out of trouble "A vulnerary can only do so much. No big maneuvers of attacks if we're faced with a problem, and nothing-"

"Hahaha... I get it, Twily, thanks..." Shining laughed as he rubbed his own vulnerary on his wounds "Okay, I'm all set to go. Let's meet up with Rainbow Dash."

"Right!" Twilight nodded as she and her brother ran up the stairs as fast as they could before stopping all of a sudden "Princess, are you going to be okay? Maybe you should come with us or-"

"I'll be fine, Twilight," Celestia smiled a bit "Besides, there's something I must do here first before I can escape."

"...right, of course. Best of luck to you, your highness," Twilight nodded and continued up her path with Shining Armor. As soon as the duo were out of sight, Celestia let out a small sigh.

"Maybe one day I can tell you, Twilight," Celestia shook her head "But today is not that day. I wish you all the best of luck."

Author's Note

And this is the first chapter, in case anyone read the last AN.

I understand that some people may be turned off by the whole Player Phase and Enemy Phase thing, but I want to make it as close to the source material as possible. I so far included the literal Fire Emblem, vulneraries, phases, and the weapon triangle. There will be a lot more included, but that's all for now.

And yes, there will also be the OP lancer on a horse at the start of the game, like all Fire Emblem games have. She'll be included in the next chapter, I promise.

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!

[Chapter 2]: Shambles and Ruin

The light of day came bursting forth unto Twilight, Shining and Rainbow Dash's eyes so terribly hard after being in the dark for so long. Unfortunately, their day was not a pleasant one, as they saw the castle courtyard had been absolutely overrun by Griffonstone forces. Pony guards were dropping like flies to the sheer power of the griffons. Without a doubt, it was an unsettling sight to see. With hearts heavy, the trio all took a deep breath and prepared themselves for whatever may come their way.

"This is NOT happening..." Rainbow watched in horror as her home started to fall "What in Equestria could drive the griffons to do something like this?"

"I personally don't wish to find out," Twilight admitted "We have to escape the castle as quickly as possible. There must be a safe route around here somewhere, right?"

"This is not good," Shining said after having a quick look around "Every entrance and exit is blocked off by Griffonstone forces. As much as I hate to say it, there's no safe route this time."

"So we go through them?" Rainbow wondered.

"If that's the way we have to do this, then so be it," Shining nodded "But we can't do this alone. It'll be just us three against what looks like all of Griffonstone. The odds are just ludicrously low for us when it comes to victory. Look around, you two; there must be at least two ponies wishing to get away from this all as well."

The trio looked as much as they could, but alas to no avail. It wasn't long before the area around them began to crumble after having been attacked so much. All three of them moved out of the way and just narrowly escaped. In fact, Twilight never would have gotten out uninjured if not for the aid of a new pony which she had never laid her eyes upon.

(Music Stop)

"Are you okay, milady?" he asked.

Twilight brushed herself off and finally had a good look at the new company. His coat was orange and his mane and tail were a bright blue color. Both were cut rather short for military purposes, yet he was able to retain some of his own personal style with the spikes in his mane. He too wore the front torso armor all knights were given with the blue vest underneath, only his had blue spirals going around certain parts. On his side were a pair of magnificent wings, as well as an axe as his weapon of choice.

"Yes, thank you," Twilight nodded "May I ask for the name of the one who saved me?"

"Hey, aren't you all those pupils of Celestia's?" the stallion questioned "Whoa! Drop the whole 'milady' crud, this is awesome! I can't believe I'm actually in the presence of-"

"Still your tongue for a moment!" Twilight raised her voice a bit, half-jokingly of course.

"R-Right, sorry..." the stallion apologized sheepishly "So I guess you're trying to get out of here as well?"

"Yes, you're correct," Shining Armor stepped up "But I think my sister asked you a question, did she not?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry," the stallion sheepishly blushed a bit before extending his hoof in greetings "Hello there! My name is Flash Sentry of the axe knights! I kinda got separated from my troop, but I think that doesn't really matter right now..."

"Well, you got that part right!" Rainbow exclaimed "We have to find a way outta this castle, and fast!"

"The only problem is the placing of all these guards," Twilight brought up for Flash's sake "We've looked and there doesn't appear to be any way safe for us to exit out of. We have to press forward and hope that we're not TOO caught up in the crossfire."

"Y'know, I think you guys may be in luck," Flash smirked a bit "When I was coming over here, I think I found an exit that looked pretty narrow, but abandoned enough for me to slip through. I left it when I saw you guys were in trouble, but I think if we make a mad dash there, we'll be able to get out safely."

"A fine plan!" Shining smiled, nodding at Flash's suggestion "Right, you heard the man! That exit may very well be our last chance out of here. Lead the way, Flash."

"W-Wait, for real?"

"Yes, I did call your name, did I not?"

"Ah, yes, sorry," Flash apologized "I guess I'm just used to taking orders rather than giving them, sir Shining Armor. R-Right then! Everypony, follow me to freedom!"

"Don't get egotistical though..." Shining muttered under his breath.

(Music Stop)

The four looked over to where they needed to go next. They noticed several griffon guards lazily avoiding the situation at hand. Unfortunately, they were far from being asleep, meaning the team would have to get through them first if they truly wanted to escape. Thankfully, they seemed like the same rank as the soldiers they fought previously.

"Hey, you guys? I got this," Flash proudly stated "I know you already know this, being Celestia's pupils and all that, but axes are thicker than lances, thus can block them and thus are stronger than them. I'll have no problem with these losers."

"But also be wary that axes are heavy," Shining reminded his new company "You won't be able to move as far as, say, a lance or a sword before needing a chance to break."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Flash rolled his eyes, as any rookie would. Shining merely sighed at this, knowing full well who he just recruited and what burden he had placed upon himself.

"Everypony, the best of luck to you all," Twilight nodded before jumping out and revealing herself to the griffon soldiers. The others soon did the same. Taking notice immediately, the griffons aimed their weapons at the oncoming ponies hoping to flee from the field of battle. It was clear that they had no intention of allowing them to do so.

Player Phase

Twilight immediately ran forward and hid herself by some fallen debris. She looked over and saw the soldier patiently awaiting her to emerge so he could strike. However, with him being just out of reach, Twilight was able to cast some fire magic onto him and deal a good amount of damage onto him.

"Yes! Score one for the home team!" she whispered to herself.

On the other side, Rainbow and Flash had teamed up in order to advance father and hit harder. As soon as Rainbow had flown right next to another one of the soldiers, she dropped her new friend off and allowed him to strike.

"Take this, dirty traitor!" he shouted as he jumped into the air and dealt critical damage to the solider. The soldier however managed to shake it off somehow and attempted to strike back at Flash, actually managing to get a hit on him as well.

"What exactly was that about axes being stronger than lances?" Rainbow chuckled a bit.

"Oh, shut it, you," Flash grumbled a bit.

"Relax, buddy, I got this one for you," Rainbow whipped out her javelin and flew right into the griffon, ending his life immediately.

"And that is how you do that!" Rainbow twirled around her weapon before sticking it into the ground as a sign of victory. Flash was quite confused by this, however.

"And you do that why?" he asked.

"Because it looks cool and I'm awesome," Rainbow simply said.

"...fair enough," Flash shrugged.

Shining Armor on the other hand had gone ahead by himself and engaged one of the closer soldiers. With his sword in his magical grasp, he ran up to the griffon and attacked him with all his might. His worst fears came true when the griffon dodged his attack and immediately struck him in the side, knocking him down.

"Fool! Do you think you can face the full might of the Griffonstone empire?!" the soldier exclaimed.

"Empire?" Shining questioned "I'm starting to question just how self-absorbed you guys really are..."

Enemy Phase

The griffon's response was a hard thrust of his spear downward upon Shining's body. Shining was fortunate enough to be able to get away with his life, but not before suffering a scar on his arm. He quickly got back up however and made short work of the griffon, sheathing his sword and grinning a bit.

"Some grand empire, huh?" he chuckled.

Meanwhile, Twilight was having her own problems with the soldier she fired her magic at previously. He had made it a goal to kill her, Twilight was certain of it. Of course, she was even more certain when he had pulled her out himself with his talon and grinned almost devilishly as he prepare to impale his foe.

"Not this time..." she managed to get out into the world, pulling out her short sword and stabbing him in his vital area, ending him for good and making him and her fall onto the ground. She stretched a bit as she sheathed her sword.

"No respect for mages, I swear..." she sighed and shook her head.

On the other side of the field, another soldier had approached Flash and Rainbow with a stern look upon his face. This soldier, however, had much thicker golden armor all over his body on with red stripes here and there. He flung around his spear before engaging the duo in combat.

"He looks pretty tough, but I've fought toughe-" Rainbow smirked before watching Flash get beaten down by the griffon's weapon "Really, Flash? Aren't you supposed to be stronger than those spears?"

"Y-Yes, but I'm kind of... well... a new guy..." Flash admitted.

"Are you joking?" Rainbow's jaw dropped only slightly "Look, fine, whatever. Just sit back and watch how the pros do this, alright?" she aimed her javelin at the armored soldier and flew right through him, dealing a pitiful amount of damage.

"Good going, pro," Flash rolled his eyes.

"Shut-up, SHUT-UP!!" Rainbow shouted at Flash.

"Let me try it this time..." he stepped up to the plate this time and jumped up into the air, swinging his axe down upon the armored griffon and dealing a much better input of power this time. The griffon still didn't go down, but it was very clear that the griffon had been inflicted with some heavy pains.

"Try that next time," Flash cockily said.

Player Phase

Rainbow wasted no time in striking down her armored foe, finally ending his life after all the trouble he managed to cause for her and Flash. Suddenly, for some weird reason, she began to feel a little stronger than usual. She wasn't sure where this power was coming from, but it felt as if her entire being had, in a sense, leveled up.

Rainbow Dash
1 >>> 2

"Hey, I'm not one to argue," she shrugged.

"What?" Flash questioned.

"Uh... nothing," Rainbow disregarded "Um, why don't you go and help Twilight out? I think I'll be able to handle a few griffons over in this neck of the woods."

"Sorry, no can do, Rainbow Dash," Flash shook his head "If Twilight needs help, Shining Armor is closer. You and I have to stay close less we want to have an even worse chance at defeating another one of those armored griffons, like that one over there!"

Without warning, Rainbow saw Flash gallop off towards the extremely durable knight. He cast down his axe and did a decent amount of damage to his armor, though was mostly unfazed. The knight swung his lance and got a blow on Flash, dealing unfortunately heavy damage to him. With his quick wit and perseverance, however, he was able to hover in the air for a small moment and recover his balance before dropping his axe onto the soldier's head, killing him immediately.

"Not a rookie now, am I?" Flash questioned with a slightly smug grin on his face.

Flash Sentry
1 >>> 2

"Did we actually just clear out all the soldiers?" Twilight asked no one in particular "Is it safe to move forward?"

"Hang on a moment, Twilight," Shining halted her, pointing over at a lowered white flag with a red cross surrounded by a blue heart right in the middle "Do you see that flag over there? That's a sign of good will towards our people in the military. If someone from our troop is able to raise it, it might attract some other ponies over here to help us in our escape."

"May I do the honors, then?" Twilight questioned.

"Please," Shining nodded and allowed his little sister to raise the flag. After a bit, the flag was fully raised and was now proudly flapping in the wind, hopefully calling the attention of others who may be trying to escape from the battle.

(Music Stop)

Victory

"Quickly, everypony," Shining Armor called out "let's get out of here before some of the Griffonstone forces find us. Surely anything beyond that exit is better than where we are now."

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Flash nodded and immediately began running out of the castle courtyard as fast as he could, with the other three following him in hot pursuit. As they left, they never noticed that two ponies had actually seen the flag and watched them flee from the battle.

"Well would ya look at that?" one of the ponies asked the other in a female country accent "A way outta this hell-hole o' a battle! Well ah'll be... Are ya ready ta go?"

"F-Finally... I'm not sure how much more of that bloodshed I could have taken..." the other pony shivered a bit "...y-yes, I'm ready. I don't wish to stay h-here any longer..."

"Do ya think thems ponies there will let us join 'em?" the first mare wondered.

"Oh, I hope so..." the second answered "B-But what if they're spies? Oh no... Then we would be in trouble... oh..."

"Ya worry too much," the first chuckled a bit "C'mon, let's go an' say hi."

The army of four finally made their way out into the great plains of Canterlot, which happened to take up most of the kingdom. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but grassland and lone trees for miles. A forest eventually halted the plain, but beyond even the forest was a high mountain with a grand city sitting on top of it. That was the city of Griffonstone, resting in the kingdom of Griffonstone on Mt. Griffonstone.

"...it recently occurred to me that griffons really have terrible names for their claims," Twilight pointed out "All of their locations are named after their kingdom, not to mention every griffon's name begins with the letter G. I just find it so... perplexing."

"Ahhh... Big words..." Flash clutched his head.

"Really, dude?" Rainbow rolled her eyes "You're part of the military; have at least SOME intelligence, okay?"

"Rainbow Dash, don't be rude," Shining called her out right away "Besides, we can't focus on arguing and insulting others. We have to find a place to rest before-"

(Music Stop)

"There they are!" a few griffon soldiers came out onto the group's left and right, now surrounding them. They all brought out their weapons and prepared for a battle. In retaliation, the four began pulling out their choice weapons as well, readying themselves for an onslaught of a battle.

However, before anyone could engage anyone, another soldier came out from the army. He was of course a griffon, but instead of the normal brown feathers, his head feathers were black and his lion torso was gray. His yellow beak was chipped only slightly, and a scar went over his eye, which had a brown eyepatch covering it. He wore menacing golden armor much spikier than normal Griffonian military, signalling he was someone of much more importance than any ordinary soldier.

"So, you're the four that have been swatting my men down like flies, hmm?" the griffon asked in an aged but extremely gruff-sounding voice, signalling he had known warfare for many years "I'd be impressed if I wasn't disappointed."

"And just who the hell are you?" Rainbow growled a little bit.

"Ah, forgive me," the griffon apologized and bowed "I am Gunter, commander of the Canterlot invasion campaign and one of the high griffons in the court of Griffonstone."

"See, there it is again," Twilight whispered to her brother.

"You four have done wonderfully thus far in defeating quite a few of our soldiers," Gunter grinned a bit "But most of all, I'm impressed you managed to make it this far and find a way out without engaging our battle, even though I told those damn fools to guard that exit with their lives..."

"So why not let us go then?" Shining questioned "You are well aware of what we can do, and we simply wish to get away from all this commotion."

"It's because I know what you can do that I will not allow you to leave," Gunter explained "Besides, if I let you leave, you and your little groupie would create some sort of rebellion against the griffons, I'm sure of it. That's why I want to end your life here and now..."

"Oh yeah?" Flash stood up against the griffon "Well, come and get us then!"

"Boy, do you have any inkling of what you're doing?" Gunter was oddly amused by this "I am a high commander, and you are just a lowly axe knight. What hope do you have to-"

"INCOMIN'!!!" shouted a loud voice through the narrow exit Twilight and her troop escaped through. Everyone, including the griffons, looked down through the path and saw two shadows emerging. Finally, a pony rode out of the exit with a lance on their side and another pony on their back. They were able to knock down a few guards, but unfortunately nothing more.

"What in god's-" Gunter began before finally laying eyes on the two ponies.

The first, the cavalier, was orange with a blonde mane and tail both tied into a pony tail and each held together with a red hairband. She wore much thicker silver armor along the front of her torso and front legs than the others, with blue tints here and there. She had rather adorable white freckles on her face, and donned on her head was a brown stetson. Her face was one of pure joy and excitement.

The second, the rider, was cream yellow with a long pink mane and tail neatly groomed and slightly curled. She wasn't wearing any sort of armor whatsoever, but she was wearing a white dress over her her entire torso with holes cut out as to allow her very pretty wings to move freely, as well as a drawn back veil over her head. On her back was a silver staff with a blue crystal at the top and a set of silver wings. Her face was one of utter horror and fear.

"A-Applejack, p-please..." the riding mare shivered in terror "D-Don't do that a-again..."

"Oh, quit bein' such a party pooper," the cavalier mare rolled her eyes before noticing the other ponies in her presence "Oh, howdy, y'all! Ah know who y'all are; yer those Celestia's pupil's right? But ah reckon ya dunno too much 'bout lil' old me. But believe me when ah say ah know enough about yer lil' axe-wieldin' friend there."

"Oh, heh... Hello, Applejack..." Flash sheepishly waved.

"You two... know each other?" Twilight questioned.

"Heh... Everypony, meet my ex-marefriend, Applejack," Flash awkwardly introduced her.

"Look, ah'd love ta introduce mahself ta y'all, but we need ta get outta here, and fast!" Applejack reminded the group "Thems griffons ain't gonna let us be nice ta each other ifin we stick around!"

"Of course," Shining snapped out of his trance "Let's get a move on, everypony!"

(Music Stop)

"Right!" all ponies present nodded and began running away from the Griffonstone army. The archers of the army began pulling back their strings, waiting for the perfect moment to strike at them, but Gunter stopped them immediately. This, of course, caused some commotion to arise in the crowd.

"Sir, if I may?" a soldier inquired "Why are we letting them go? Didn't you say that-"

"I know full-well what I said," Gunter spoke sternly "No point in chasing them. They're simply too small to even be considered a small threat against the glorious Griffonstone Empire. Besides, chasing after small prey would be deviating from our goal, and you know how I get when our goals are not met..."

"Y-Yes sir," the soldier gulped.

"You lot will all go back to besieging the castle," Gunter commanded "As for me, I think I believe I have a little date planned to meet with the king. Don't worry... I'll be sure to cut to the chase..."

After having been running for so long, the six noticed that night had actually begun to cast its cloak over the world, reminding them to finally stop for a while and find a place to rest for a while. Since they were on the edge of the forest they saw in the distance back at Canterlot castle, they decided this was the best place to set up camp for a while. With Twilight's fire magic, they were able to make a small campfire and find comfortable places to sit around it. It was then when everyone began to talk.

"So, hello there, everypony new here," Twilight smiled kindly "If you don't know this already, my name is Twilight Sparkle; student to Princess Celestia and mage well versed in the arts of Fire and Wind. These are my friends and brother, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, and Shining Armor respectively."

"Hey," Rainbow waved a bit.

"Greetings," Shining nodded.

"I already know who Applejack is..." Flash sighed a bit.

"And ah already know who ya are, Flash Sentry," Applejack sounded slightly cross with him "But enough about that. In case ya dunno already, mah name is Applejack. Ah'm not the best cavalier I'll fully admit, but hey, ah get the job done."

"Wonderful to meet you, Applejack," Twilight nodded before turning to the other mare. Just as she was about to speak, the cream mare hid her face and shivered a bit.

"Sorry 'bout her," Applejack sighed, rubbing her shy friend on the back "She has some difficulty talkin' ta ponies. Just a thin' she was born with, sorry ta say. Her name is Fluttershy, and ah'm sure ifin y'all dun scare her outta her wits, she'll be a great ally ta ya. She's a healer, see? She'll mend yer wounds whenever ya need it. So long as that staff o' hers dun breaks on us."

"Th-Thank you for introducing m-me, Applejack..." Fluttershy spoke shyly "I'm um... pleased to meet you all..."

"See, she's already warmin' up ta ya!" Applejack chuckled a bit.

"While I think this is wonderful that we are starting to become friends, there's still the matter of Griffonstone forces attacking Canterlot castle," Shining Armor brought up "What could have caused such an attack and why they attacked us now are just a few of the questions I don't have answers for. But I'm almost certain that after this, Griffonstone will attempt to attack other parts of our home. Perhaps even the Crystal Empire."

"But the Crystal Empire..." Flash brought up "It's such a peaceful nation, though. I would know..."

"Brother, surely you can forget this for at least a night?" Twilight rolled her eyes "If you can't get any sleep, how will we be able to retaliate against the griffons?"

"You mean?"

"Yes, so long as everypony here is okay with it," Twilight nodded "I think we should begin a resistance-like thing, like that griffon commander Gunter suggested we do."

"Ah'm up fer it!" Applejack grinned "But we'll need more troops..."

"I'm sure through our adventures, we'll find some totally cool guys and girls who are just itching to get back at those griffon bastards," Rainbow laughed "Whatever the odds, I'm in."

"Oh, well, um... those mean griffons did hurt all those... ponies..." Fluttershy recalled before sighing "...I-I'm... um... I'm in."

"You had me at resistance!" Flash stood up and smiled "Count that as six!"

(Music Stop)

"Shining, before we continue, there's something I would like to give you," Twilight remembered as she pulled out a long cape with white on the backside and blue on the underside. On the white side was an insignia of a six-pointed star, just like her cutie mark symbol and his cutie mark symbol.

"A cape?"

"A cape I made for your birthday," Twilight admitted "It was going to be in a few weeks, but I think you need it more than ever now. Think of this as a sign of our resistance, a sign of the friendships we'll make on our journey, but most importantly, a sign that you and I will be brother and sister forever."

"Twilight, I... I'm speechless!" Shining smiled and hugged Twilight "Thank you so much. Now, as for this cape..." he let go of Twilight and held it up in the air with his magic "Let this be a sign of peace and justice across the land! Whenever our foes see this, they will know we're coming. Together, we will rid this kingdom of our enemy and bring peace back to Equestria!"

As the five ponies clapped and cheered, Shining tied the cape around his neck with the string Twilight thankfully attached along with it. Today marked a new day for these six ponies; they would begin their campaign against the Griffonstone Empire, as they liked to call themselves now, and take back the things they lost.

But first they would obviously need some rest.

Author's Note

And here I am again with another chapter! WOOHOO!!!

So, we finally have a character resembling a villain person who may or may not reappear later in the story. Well, obviously he is because he's one of the main antagonists, but I won't tell you HOW he'll be appearing later on in the story. It'll be a doozy, that's for sure!

Oh man, Fire Emblem Fates approaches fast, and I am more than excited to start my shipping antics again! Suggestion: Buy the special edition. You a great deal for the price, and it's more than worth the online searching. It starts at $80.00, but considering all three games would equal to $120.00, I'd say that's well worth it.

Be sure to Upvote/Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!

AND ONE LAST THING!!!

If you want to try and ship characters for this story, you can make suggestions here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/568759/fire-emblem-ships-fan-poll-thing-kinda-not-really