He could feel it. The same feeling that washed over his well-built heavily muscled form each time he went into battle with his greatest ally atop him. It was the stench of chaos. That horrible feeling of knowing not what would happen next. He despised it, and for good reason. It was another day in the armies camp, awaiting their next glorious battle. He took this precious amount of free time to ponder just what he'd do when he could next get a break with his master.
And then he appeared. The massive man, clad in his shining well-kept battle garments. His armor held a quality of cleanliness above that of anything else in the entire camp. The massive equine that was his steed beamed at him happily, unable to truly convey his cheeriness that his master had returned. He took a look at the steely expression his lord wore, and he immediately knew what the objective was.
“I see you can read me just as easily as ever, Night Lance.” The giant biped spoke. His deep voice rumbled the equines chest to the core, and it just made him more eager to get into battle.
“Ready my armor, squires. We move in less than an hour.” His master continued, before he opened the Steed's makeshift stable.
Taking his time, Night Lance made sure to steel himself as the two squires assist the knight in mounting the massive animal. He felt the saddle slide onto his back and become clasped not a moment before his rider settled upon it.
By time the squires had clasped the massive man into the harness, he was already patiently donning his gloves and greaves. Only the finest of plate armor would do for this Knight, and it showed as such when his massive set was brought in. The first piece to be slapped into his massive hands was the hefty core of the armor.
As he adorned it, the massive beast beneath him wasn't ignored. While the squires were tending to the needs of their important Knight the stable boys were gearing the energetic Pegasus up as well.
Slipping the masterwork barding upon him, they were considerably slower than the Squires working on the Knight above them. By time they'd finally fitted the headpiece to the majestic winged equine, the Squires were finishing up the final touches on their lord.
The now barded Pegasus gave a snort and pawed at the ground in order to psyche himself for the upcoming battle. By now, his sensitive hearing tuned in to the daemonic war cries in the distance, quickly approaching. His lord gave a mighty kick onto the beasts flank sending him into a trot. Leading his steed out of the makeshift stable he began to survey the field they were encamped in he spotted his flight mates off to the side, and away from the camps center. Making their way over, the mighty steed gave a deep whinny, alerting his battle brothers and sisters to their approach.
The group of equines gave a collective whinny of welcome, as their leader rejoined their ranks. As their masters began to discuss, the final remnants of the elite group joined them. After several minutes of trickling reinforcements, they were finally ready. All in all, the group totaled nearly forty one strong when you included their squadron leader. The massive Pegasus was swept out of his thoughts when his master pulled his reins, bringing him to face the rest of his comrades.
The overwhelming baritone of his master drowned out his thoughts as he spoke.
“Fellow Knights. Today we ready ourselves for the battle of our lives! We are the only men strong enough! Brave Enough!”
“The only men able to combat this tide of daemonic taint! We lead the charge, our awe inspiring grace and prowess being a sight of glorious victory to our allies! Rally upon me brothers for today we fight for OUR LADY!”
The short speech was met with cheers and shouts from the squadron, prompting the lead knight to steer his steed back towards the hills. With a kick to the flank and a raise of the reins, knew just what to do.
Breaking off into a gallop, he flared his wings out to each side. Their massive span unfurling and beginning a slow and steady flap. The cords of muscle running throughout his sides provided enough force to life him off the ground at a quick pace.
Gaining altitude at a very rapid rate, he turned his armored head once to view the rest of his group gaining on him. He gave a snort at their slow speed, before his master pulled upon his reins. His head being directed, he began his steady flight towards the north. He could see them on the horizon at this distance. The unending legions of abominations and traitors, every one of them. The enormous armies of both Bretonnia and The Empire were combined beneath him. He could feel the excitement flooding his body. He was ready.
The almost ant-like forms below the squadron quickly grew into a swarm. They were gathering in their lines and preparing. He could see the horde of chaos worshipers doing exactly the same. The combined armies began their march, The Emperor at their front. He was mounted upon Deathclaw the mightiest of his griffons and clad in the shimmering armor passed down throughout the generations. Within his muscled arms lay Ghal-Maraz. This mighty Warhammer was one of the single most destructive artifacts ever created by the Dwarves, passed on to The Empire's leader hundreds of years ago for his prowess in battle. It was a symbol not only of power, but of trust between the two races.
There was a silence. A deafening silence halted only by the sound of innumerable feet in the distance. Readying their weapons, the armies of The Empire and Bretonnia waited. Then they gained true sight of their foes. Slowly cresting one of the many hills in this valley of death they could see them. The barbaric chaos fiends, headed by the very worst of their kind. At the forefront of their army was Archaon the Everchosen. A being on unimaginable evil, and champion to the gods of chaos.
A war of its own right was fought at that very moment. Between the eyes of The Emperor and Archaon it was waged, the hate emitted off of each of them was almost palpable. Then they charged.
It was then that the warcries pierced the heavens, they say. The sheer amount of screaming emitted was enough to shake the leaves out of the trees it seems. The combined armies of Man met with the forces of Chaos and the battle truly began. Swords clashed and blood was spilled in copious amounts. From his position, he could see it all. That's when they began their attack. Swooping down with a whinny of attack, both he and his master lashed out. His hooves connected with dozens of chaos warriors, slamming into them with the force of an Imperial Handcannon. His masters greatsword did much worse.
It slammed into their foes, ripping even the most masterly crafted armor to shreds. It's energies tore into their bodies and sliced them to hell and back.
All of this was in the span of the few seconds it took to beat his wings and get back up into the skies. In the short time, they'd decimated a dozen of marauders, either outright killing them or throwing them to the ground and concussing them. Similar attacks were constantly being carried out by not only their entire squadron, but by the other groups that were in the army.
The battle lasted the longest out of any they'd partaken in thus far, but it was worth it. It had been hours later, his pristine coat covered in the blood of friend and foe alike, that he caught sight of The Emperor and Archaon's battle once more. It had been continuing since they'd started and neither had done much to the other. All around them were corpses of their respective armies. The elite Reiksguard's corpses lay in droves around Archaon, his body glowing with chaotic energy as the blood continued dripping off of him.
The Emperor looked very similar. His once pristine armor was caked in the blood of the fallen, as well as his own. He and Archaon took no breaks however, their great weapons clashing time and time again.
It was here, watching this battle of epic proportions that Lance was caught off guard. A bolt, fired by one of the enemies shoddy crossbows impacted his side. He felt it slam through the light armor upon his body and tear into his body, and with a mighty whinny of pain he fell. He slammed into the ground with force throwing his knight off of him. He struggled to stand amongst the sea of corpses around him. He watched his master slam his blade into a warrior of chaos and split his skull. He watched many men of both armies routing, sprinting away from the battle and trying to escape the bloodshed.
It was then that he saw something truly horrifying. The Emperor, upon seeing his men flee the battlefield gave a bellow of anger, screaming at them.
“By my word as the Emperor of the mightiest force on this planet you will fight alongside me or these monsters will kill all of you!” His voice echoed throughout the valley.
At this, many of those same men began to reconsider. To many it was obvious to keep fighting. War was inevitable, so why not finish it here?
However, saw Archaon preparing to strike his arch-nemesis off guard, and that he knew, would lead to his defeat. He took to a gallop and time seemed to slow down. Everything was slowed as he galloped towards the Everchosen of the Dark Gods. He took a leap of faith, throwing himself just ahead of the blade of this vile demon. He felt it cleave a great gash in his side before Ghal-Maraz struck Archaon in the skull.
He dropped to the ground like a rock, his faceplate caved in and blood flowing freely from it. It was here that the Emperor did something unexpected. He knelt down next to this wounded Pegasus and took its injured body into view. He gazed at the pegasus as his breaths became shallow and pained, and the blood began to pool. He began to speak in a heavy tone.
“This Pegasus, This war beast of Bretonnia has used it's own life to ensure us victory. It saved my life at the cost of its own, and has earned my full respect. It has single-handedly ended the possibility of the End-Times appearing now that The Everchosen is dead!” His voice carried on throughout the valley, echoing once more.
The cheers of what remained of his mighy armor began to join his own chant, filled with mirth and thankfulness for this horribly war finally being over.
He could feel his body numbing, before he spotted the previously thought-dead Archaon raise his hand. His face was bloody and surely his skull was shattered but it seemed to matter not to this demon. He raised his arms, calling upon the chaos of this battlefield to his power. The Emperor had no time to react before used the very last vestiges of his strength to throw his hooves out. They threw the emperor to the side in surprise before a great portal appeared beneath both where he had once stood, and the mighty equine.
It was wracked with the feeling of chaotic energy as he began to fall. The very last sound he heard before being dragged into darkness was the satisfying crunch of Archaon's skull as Ghal-Maraz flattened his head once more.
His body was dragged through this portal and he felt nothing but pain as it did so. He felt a torrent of energy filing his body as he traveled through the impossibly deep vortex of chaotic energies. It was some impossibly long amount of time later that he finally felt the cool sensation of air flowing around him, and yet the familiar feeling of chaotic warmth persisted.
His eyes shot open once more, to be greeted with a multicolor sky. Kicking his hooves, he did his best to stand once more, barely able to ignore the searing pain coming from his wounds. Around him seemed to be a forest of epic proportions.
His eyes locked onto what seemed to be a pathway formed out of the trees themselves, and with no other options he began his trek. Down the path he went, taking his time to survey his surroundings. The woods around him were incredibly thick to the point that he had no idea how long it would be before he could exit. They seemed to shift and change every second they could to the point that every tree was completely different by time his eyes returned to it.
Walking down the path he found himself thinking quite deeply. Where was he? How far from his homeland was he? These questions plagued his mind, yet he found no answers. The most obvious however, was that he was no longer bound to his master.
It was several hours later before he heard anything other than the occasional bird, or rustling of the leaves. In the distance he heard voices. Civilization! At the very least, someone to speak with!
He sped up his trek as be began to gallop down the path. As he got closer and closer, the world seemed to grow ever warmer. It was the uncomfortable feeling of Chaos energies, he realized.
Eventually, he could vaguely make out whatever their conversation was.
“You know even with those lawn-ornaments you two still couldn't HOPE to fight me!” The unidentified voice laughed.
It was here that Lance finally gained line of sight on the speaker. It was a chaotic abomination of various animal parts, he though.
'What is this demon spawn?' He asked himself, before continuing his observation.
The strange patchwork creature seemed to speaking to two horned pegasi. One was bright white and giving a harsh glare towards the speaker. Her eyes were filled with what seemed to be disgust, with perhaps a sprinkle of hatred. To her immediate left was another horned Pegasus of a deep Sapphire coloration. She too seemed to hold considerable hatred for this spawn of chaos.
His eyes shifted back over to the patchwork beast when it snapped its claw, and a bright light began to form upon it. Able to sense the sheer amount of energy just from where he was watching, Night Lance knew immediately that this was bad news. Time seemed to slow down as he made his sprint towards the beast, and he knew his cover was blown.
However, he could not idly sit by as a creature of chaos attacks the innocent no matter what was unknown about the situation. He saw the other two horned pegasi react in surprise to his appearance but payed no attention to them. He was focused solely on his target. The creature looked to him in surprise just as he leapt.
His forehooves slammed into the beasts head, and he heard a sickening crack. It seemed to do nothing however, as he was thrown to the side forcefully. He recovered, standing back upon all fours quickly and shaking off the disorientation before he heard the creature speak once more.
“You dare attack me? I'm Discord, you fool! Don't you know who I am? You are NOTHING compared to me!” He roared, spitting a glob of blood.
It was here he saw the two horned pegasi pulling something from their bags. They looked to him and he could practically see the hope rolling off of them. It seemed he'd need to buy time for them.
Looking back to his foe he was taken by surprise as a claw slammed into his muzzle. It tore his mouth and raked down his face, but he held firm and replied with a suitable answer.
Beating his wings once, he was launched several feet into the air. The second beat launched him towards his foe, and he banked right to avoid another razor-sharp claw. He slammed another hoof into his foe, before quickly swinging himself away and back onto the ground. With each attack his enemy made he seemed to be less and less convinced that this was just another apparition of the Chaos gods.
The minutes passed by and the battle only got more fierce as time went on. His body was battered, and the old wounds from his previous fight had reopened. He looked more like some warhorse raised from the dead rather than a knight's steed.
He realized quickly that this foe was something more. His armor had taken a beating, and he'd lost his shoes by now, when something happened. His foe seemed to laugh it off, slapping him to the side. Night Lance slammed into a tree, and he felt the crack of his bones as he dropped onto the ground winded.
He was dragged away back into the open by his enemy before he started a speech.
“You see this, Ponies?” He laughed. “Even your most formidable champion thus far can't beat me!” He raised one claw, gloating as he tossed the battered stallion to the side.
He turned around to face the princesses, his pose held firm and eyes closed when the field was encapsulated in a blinding light. As Lance struggled to gain his footing, he heard one of the voices speaking.
“Hold still, little one.” The feminine voice spoke. “You will be fine, yet I simply must know, Who are you? I know for sure none of our warriors joined up in this crusade against Discord.” She asked.
He gave a heavy cough before he was able to answer her. “I am named Night Lance, ma'am, may I catch yours as well?” He spoke. “I am not from around here, and I've never quite seen an equine like you.” He confessed, glancing at her horn wearily.
She chuckled at him with a smile on her face. “It is not every day you see an Alicorn, no. You may call me Celestia, and my sister Luna. Where are you from however, if not Equestria?” She asked
“I hail from the high mountains of the kingdom Bretonnia, my lady. I was a warhorse of the finest caliber, before my arrival in this land.” He gave a smile at her, before glancing to the now-stoned creature.
“This..'Discord' as you called him. What is he? He greatly reminds me of the chaos horrors of the wastes, and yet he's not as revolting. Nor as instinctual as they.” He questioned as he studied the stone statue.
“He was a tyrant and a monster is what he was” Luna spoke up, shutting off her sister's answer. “He lived for no reason other than to cause misery and suffering in the world and we're much better off without him.” She informed him, before joining place next to her sister.
He gave them a smile and a light bow before continuing with his questioning. “So if this is not my homeland and you've not heard of it… Where am I exactly?” He gave a puzzled expression.
“You are by the Shady Groves forest, my friend. At the base of Cantertrot Mountain.” Celestia informed him.
“I see. May I know what the plan is as of now? Undoubtedly there is much for me to learn, and I wish to start immediately in this new land.” Lance told them.
It was then that they began their first lesson. They spoke for great lengths of time about this land and it's inhabitants. From the mystical and powerful Unicorn nobility to the honorable Pegasi, even as far as the industrious and ever working Earth Ponies.
Their lessons carried on well into the night, and it was here he learned that the two he spoke with were the ones in control of both the Sun and Moon. And by dawn he had learned much.
They decided to rest for the rest of the night before traveling to their last encampment to share the great news.
As he laid his weary body on the ground of this foreign land, his thoughts were able to drift to something he'd not thought about for a very long time…
His future.
Author's Note
And thus the first chapter was done. Feel free to submit any errors to me, be they in the comments or in a PM. Any other feedback is well appreciated as well. To prevent spoilers, any characters that will be in will be kept secret until they are actually revealed.
