The weather is beautiful outside. The sun is shining brightly upon the land, with not even a single cloud trying to hide it, or the magnificent sea of endless blue that is the sky today.
It’s probably an especially good day for a walk with your pet - if you have one, of course. Just as well of a day it is to hang out with your friends, spend a day together just idly chatting with each other on a picnic or something of that sort. Or you might even go on an impromptu adventure to the nearest forest. A pleasant and peaceful everyday life can go as it is supposed, for there’s nothing to disrupt its serene quiet and peace.
Well, in some better place than the mountain pass where the borderline fortress of Equestria is set, that is.
Although it’s as peaceful there as in every other place in Equestria, it’s still not the place where you would like to find yourself at. The reasons for that be as simple as you might think at the first glance.
Whilst it’s warm and comfortable inside the fortress itself, you risk to end up freezing to death if you don’t prepare yourself accordingly for the walk out of the confines of its walls. Going outside without so much as at least being used to it can not be called a good idea either, as the sun up in the sky turns just the task of looking at snow into a rather unpleasing thing to do.
This fortress was the farthest that Equestria laid claim into the mountains of Yaket range. It was build not so long ago, figuratively speaking.
Basically, until recently this whole territory was terra incognita for ponykind, possibly with exception of two immortals that are taking their place as a diarchy rulers of the land of Equestria. That changed, however, when the Crystal Empire was brought back by an unknown force along with its ruler of the past, king Sombra, and then promptly freed from his influence.
Now, this place is a well known part of the map, albeit only until the mountain pass where the aforementioned fortress stood. Few expeditions were sent out further, to discover what laid beyond it, but none of them succeeded, and nobody returned.
After the third one failed, it was decided to build the fortress. You would think that a few failed expeditions should not be enough to warrant such measures, but it should also be noted that the third expeditions had a means to communicate in spite of any distance and weather.
Needless to say, it was rather disturbing when no word was received from that expedition ever again. Hence the fortress was built, and built in somewhat of a hurry. Despite that fact, the fortress still stood proud and strong among the snow covered peaks, sure to defy any challenge and attack that could be thrown at it.
I sigh.
Doesn’t make the fact that I’m gonna spend a year and a half more in this Celestia-forsaken place any more bearable. I sigh again, righting a halberd beside me with my right hoof, making sure so that it doesn’t fall over.
Being here alone is boring as buck, but at least I can enjoy a company of fellow guards when I’m inside. Those stupid shifts, this stupid fortress in the middle of nowhere, my stupid wish to become a guard years ago. Buck it all to Tartarus. I think as I’m trying to get some more warmth somehow by breathing at my hooves.
Seeing as this fortress was an exceptional case, the rules applied there were different from usual ones. More a courtesy of the commandant of it than anything else, but whereas usually the sentry role will be imposed upon rookies, and one officer to check up on the sentry posts, in this frozen land of mountain peaks and snow everyone received the same treatment where the sentry duty was concerned.
Probably her way of getting across the point that every soldier matters in this place. I change my position to a more comfortable. oneHa, like we don’t know it already.. Not like we would be there if we didn’t.
It was the first thing that they were told, and that was repeated countless times - the fortress is hundreds of miles away from the closest place they can receive at least a temporary change, much less reinforcements in case something really happened. Thus, everypony being subjected to a proper sentry duty - herself included - seemed as a good idea for a commandant.
Well, at least my shift will soon be ever, I thought while looking out over the land covered in snow. And nothing seems to be happening… just as always.
Not that I wanted something to happen, don’t get me wrong, but just seeing the same sight over and over again gets boring really fast.
I hear hoofsteps approaching. I already know who it is, so I decide to not turn around unless said otherwise.
“Yo, Freezer," she says after propping herself against the stone wall.
I cringe on inside, not this nickname again.
“I thought we were over it already," I grumble, while tearing my gaze from the wast plains of snow I’m supposed to keep watch over to look at her.
“With how you are behaving lately, I might as well return to it," smug grin on her face and a teasing note in her voice.
I roll my eyes, even thought it’s true enough. I haven’t been in my best mood for some time now, so technically she has all rights to be like this. Doesn’t make it one bit less annoying.
Few minutes pass in silence.
“I suppose there’s nothing to report? I’m ought to be moving to the next post now," she inquires.
“Nah, it’s as dead as it always is," I honestly doubt anything can or will happen here after this half-year I spent there already.
“Got it! Well, i’ll be moving than, captain," I groan, she always finds a way to get to me.
I honestly am not sure if what our commandant is doing right, or not, but it sure gives Marygold a few more ways to annoy me.
At least this was more interesting than watching empt… My train of thought comes to an abrupt stop as I see some dark spec on the horizon. I try my best to focus my vision on it, and see what it is.
The shape of it distinctly reminds of a pony, but that’s about everything I can see from so far. To see a pony in this lands is strange as it is, but at this side of the fortress? Disturbing would be the right word.
What’s even more disturbing, I can see more and more silhouettes appear.
Without a second thought, I raise alarm. Better safe than sorry, as the saying goes. Within two minutes I can hear fastest of my comrades already climbing the stairs up the wall.
By that time, I can already see the ponies approaching the fortress clearly. They look just fine at the first glance, but when you think about it, there’s one rather serious reason to believe there’s something seriously wrong - none of them are dressed. No normal pony can survive more than half an hour in this place without wearing a proper cloth, and it’s doubtful they just appeared from thin air so close to a fortress.
Nobody asks me dumb questions like ‘what happened?’ or something along the lines of it, everypony can see it for themselves. Everypony is up and ready, all a bit nervous - this is the first unusual thing that happened here since the fortress was built after all.
I feel like something bad is about to happen.
~~~
The siege is going for three days now.
At first you wouldn’t even call it that. The mob of unknown ponies that came from the north were just hurtling themselves against the gates as if they don’t feel the pain. With how they paid no mind to the freezing cold temperatures before this, it wasn’t even all that surprising.
After some thought, it was decided to do nothing about it for the time being, and just a missive was sent out about this unusual event.
However, the next day brought with it more surprises. Far less pleasant than the first one, if you can call that so.
From the direction mysterious ponies first appeared, the siege engines appeared, with countless more ponies. Thought, it was not so much the presence of said machines was disturbing, but how they looked. Somehow composed of pony bones, they weren’t only intended for the siege itself, but to bring down the fighting spirit of the opposing side. That’s when the siege really started.
In spite of the fact that besieging force clearly outnumbered the garrison of the fortress, and had the proper engine for the siege, the lack of individual capabilities in their ranks was evident and was what let the besieged defy attack after attack with ease.
There wasn’t a single casualty on the second day - only few ponies received wounds that were mild at best and didn’t really cut out their ability to fight.
There was still a negative side to it, however. Somewhere around the time the siege engines arrived, the communication was cut out completely. From the words of a master mage of the fortress, it was as if someone was blocking any magical communication entirely.
On that day, the mystery of who - or rather what - the attackers exactly were was uncovered, thanks to a few corpses falling inside the fortresses courtyard instead of back into the mass of attackers - one of the battle mages, after inspecting the body, said that it was dead even before coming here. In other words, it was a zombie. Nopony can say they were glad to hear it.
The next day it only went downhill.
~~~
I narrowly avoided the arrow hurtling towards me by yanking myself to the left.
Phew, that was a close one. Glad I wasn’t swinging my halberd at the moment I thought while letting my halberd cut few abominations that decided it was their chance in half, in a swift, half-circle motion.
I’m glad I choose halberd when I started training to become a guard in the future. It gives your blows a power on par with great axe if you wield it like I do, while not limiting your reach quite as much. It wouldn’t have been quite as efficient if not for a few spells woven into it, of course, but the main part is about the years of training and exercise I put into developing and honing my skills.
There’s, however, a downside to using it like this. You ought to get some room between you and your allies to not hurt them on accident. Well, it’s a downside only arguably, I always preferred fighting alone anyway. Plus, this allows me to take care of a bigger part of the wall, thus letting others spread more to help in the other places.
I’m not the only one who can cover a three ponies worth in defending. One of my friends, Steel Shield lives up to his name even in his fighting style - he uses a shield to crush his enemies just as well as to defend himself and his comrades. Though, he wouldn’t be able to use it to its fullest if not for him being a unicorn, his ability to parry practically any attack is something that comes from his skills purely, not from his magic.
I pull my halberd back after the swing to block the incoming hit that my senses warned me about. Only after the blow lands it registers in my mind that it was magic, and if not for my halberd being enchanted, I would be dead where I stand. My eyes go plates for a second, but then I have to jerk to the left to avoid another magical missile. I hide behind the wall quickly.
This just became bucking ridiculous. How in the name of Celestia are we supposed to fight against battle mages when ours are all busy, as the thought passes my mind, I hear the sound of hoofs galloping up the stairs.
I slice another zombie in half with my halberd, then make a half-twist to the left, so as to avoid another missile and see who’s coming.
“You don’t even know how glad I am to see you right now, Mary," I tell her before performing a back swing.
“Judging from that arcane missile, I guess I have a rough estimate on it," she answers jokingly, her grin always present, making a rush to the left so as to not leave me without enough space for my attacks.
“I didn’t expect to see you here thought." I say after another dispatched zombie “I thought you and other battle mages were working on breaking that barrier that prevented communication?" I make to avoid the incoming fireball, but it’s deflected by Mary’s shield.
Her laughter rings out as she sends a fork lightning into a mass of enemies, somewhere where opponent mage should be “Yea, we were, but after someone reported that there appeared enemy mages, Aleina said, mind me, I’m quoting ‘To Tartarus with this barrier, just send someone by hoof’ and rushed out to help in defense. She’s unleashing true inferno right now upon those trying to breach the gates. Needless to say that without the only mage with knowledge on how to break high-end blocking barriers we had nothing else to do than to join in on a carnage going there”
Mary seems to have hit a bullseye with that lightning 'cause I don’t see any magical missiles for a few minutes now. Real glad about that, to be honest. Don’t wanna try my luck like with magical attacks.
The battle rages on.
~~~
It’s the fifth day of the siege going now. Our strength is sapping bit by bit. Even though we have resources to hold a siege a month long, we just don’t have enough pony numbers. Our enemies requiring neither sleep nor rest doesn’t help matter one bit.
I’m relatively alone right now - Mary had to go have some rest because she put too much strain on herself, trying to eliminate enemy mages the moment she notices new one. It helped of course, a lot, but it seems like enemy forces just have no end, whereas we already lost 20 pony dead, and around the same number injured.
If only enemy could attack from all side, we would be already overwhelmed, but gladly, they can only come at us from one side.
The other interesting detail to note, is that the enemy forces last two days turned from zombies to mainly skeletons. Well, it would have been interesting, if only it didn’t make it harder for us to defend. Most of us specialize in slicing kind of weapon, not bludgeoning, so about half of our forces had to readjust their fighting styles, which ultimately led to some of the casualties.
I get another skeleton down by kicking his head off its hinges, quite literally. I have to quickly duck however, as another one, tried to get a sneak slice for my neck. I hit in the face with the flat side of the blade, and send it flying of the wall.
I block yet another fireball that I just got to see so often nowadays. I swear, if we ever get out of this, I’m gonna throw a damn big bag of bits at one mage I know for him to cast a redirecting spell on my halberd. It’s just too infuriating how I can’t do anything to this damn enemy mages.
As I slice a zombie in half, I see a flash of light nearby. I turn my head slightly, to see Mary standing there unphased and already throwing up a magical shield.
“I thought teleportation makes you dizzy for a few seconds?" I tease her with the memory from guard academy, my usual somber demeanor all but gone a few days ago already.
“Hmph, not when I use an anchor," She sends a fireball hurtling into the crowd below. After a pause, thought,she tells something that makes my heart beat faster “You know, I would like to talk with you about something... when this is all over”
I know she wanted to say if, but in the end she decided against it. And I’m glad about that. It gives me something to look ahead to, something to hope for.
~~~
It’s the seventh day
Mary… she’s gone. It seems she met a worthy opponent yesterday. One of her level, or even better than her… and gave up her life to take him with herself. Stupid, stupid Mary.
But I can’t. I don’t have the right to breakdown. Not now. We have to live on, I have to live on. I have to remember and cherish what she did for us all. No, what she did for me.
I will surv… the darkness welcomes my tired mind.
~~~
I awake in infirmary. I feel like my head’s splitting up from the pain. I can also feel that at least one of my legs is broken, or worse yet, was gnawed upon. A possibility when you’re fighting zombies, you know?
Some part of me wishes I just died from that hit, but this part is quick to hide somewhere in the deep corners of my mind as I awake completely. I can smell the blood and hear the sound of battle, but I know it’s in vain. It’s at least two more full week before reinforcements will come in, that is, if a messenger got to his destination successfully and uneventfully.
I try to rise, but headache my wound gives me is too much, and I blackout again.
~~~
When I wake up next time, I can feel almost no pain, but quick check up confirms that no miracle happened - I probably just waked up right after painkillers were applied.
I get out of bed and set out to find the commandant. I have a serious question to discuss with her.
When I see her nowhere in vicinity, I’m both glad and annoyed. Glad she didn’t get any wound that will force her to fall back, but also annoyed, because I can’t take a decision like this by myself.
I find a closest rookie who’s capable of walking on his own and send him out to go and find Memento, and say that the second in command has an important matter to discuss.
He scurries off to get this over with as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, I sit down to relax. Thanks to my activity, painkillers effects are already starting to fade.
She comes in a five minutes, minor cuts and wounds all over body.
“What is it that you wanted to discuss, Wide?” She asks after calming down a bit.
“I will be as straight-forward as I can be - you realize as well as I do that this is a hopeless battle, don’t you?" At first she doesn’t get it, but in a few seconds she gets my meaning and momentarily turns into that stern instructor I knew in academy.
“Absolutely not. As your superior, I command you - you will not do anything you will not be able to regret unless you see my cold corpse. You understand?" Guess it wasn’t my best idea to ask her agreement. Oh well..
“Yes, captain." I reply.
She leaves me after that to return to battlefield - every warrior there counts. I stand up on my hooves, and slowly go over to my place in infirmary, the painkillers completely dissipated.
~~~
I don’t know what day of the siege it is, and frankly, I don’t really care. I only can tell that after some time I returned to my place on the wall, fighting a battle that can’t be won.
Who would have that the fortress which stood so strong and proud mere weeks ago will look so battered and almost ready to give in to an enemy onslaught.
I remember fighting in place of three ponies. Well, I guess I can consider picking up a slack of four other and myself as my personal record. Not that I have time to enjoy that thought, with all the dodging and attacks I have to perform to not let even a single one slip past me.
I hear a clatter of hooves up the stairs. Why would someone come here? I wait for them to start the conversation so I can go from there, I’m too preoccupied to turn my back and the fortress walls.
“Fall back!" I hear a voice shout over the cacophony.
After repelling yet another wave of undead, I do just that. Immediately after I do so, I see two battered but still up for a fight soldiers taking up the place I was just swinging my halberd at. Okay, I think I can relax a bit now.
I turn myself to the one who shouted for me to fall back.
“What’s the matter?" I ask the moment I see Shield’s face.
“Memento was fatally wounded. She said she lifts all the restrictions," I barely hear the second part of what he said as I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Wide? Wide!? Wide!" he is trying to get to me, even though I clearly hear him. I just need a minute. Thought, it looks like I don’t even have that much.
“I hear you Shield," I say, “I leave everything else to you," and with that I take my leave.
~~~
I’m walking in the deepest parts of the fortress. Only few chosen ones even know that this tunnels exist, even fewer now what is hidden deep within.
The room that both exists and not. It was the very first part of the fortress created - it was designed by twin rulers themselves to become the last resort of the defenders. The room, that will take emotions of a willing pony and their soul, and fuel with it a spell of grand magnitude, designed so that it will completely ruin the mountain pass as a whole, taking anything that there is with it so as to make it impassable.
Wide Sweep never thought why Princesses would even create something like that. He never doubted them, and he was sincerely glad he didn’t. Probably, they knew what was beyond this mountain pass. After all, they’re older than Equestria itself, so their knowledge must be vast beyond imagination.
The room is sphere-shaped, countless runes carved into all of its “walls”, all neatly arranged, with a pedestal at the bottom for the pony who will activate the mechanism of the spell.
As I enter the room, the runes of dark magic are already starting to glow and pulse. No wonder, I must be just radiating despair and sadness. But what really throws me off, is that I hear what I would’ve never expected to - laughter.
I jerk my head to look at the ceiling, and sure enough I can see a silhouette at the top of the room. It jumps down, and I see that it’s some kind of spider. It’s standing on two legs, the other six hold a dagger each.
“Kuhuhuhuhu, waiting here just in case proved to be a wonderful idea," we look at each other appraisingly, “and what a handsome young pony we have here, kuhuhuhu," I almost choked on air after hearing this.
Seeing a look on my face she just laughed more. Gotta give her that, she has a good voice, but… she’s in my way.
“Step aside," I say while reaching for a halberd and assuming my fighting stance.
“Kuhuhuhuhu, did you really think I would?" I ready myself for whatever will come “So energetic to die, aren’t we? Kuhuhuhuhu”
I blink - and she’s already at point blank, reaching out with two daggers of six, the other four hands are hidden behind her back.
I manage to block one of them, but the other leaves a cut. Weirdly enough though, it barely even draws blood. This repeats several times, every new cut complimented with her laugh.
She’s… she’s just playing with me! To say this irks me, would say nothing, but I hold myself in check. It’s probably her goal, to make me lose my cool and just rush her careless. Huh, think you are the smartest here? Well, let’s see
I charge her, and when I’m about to hit her, I suddenly strike back with a flat end of the shaft.
She’s sent flying across the room, right into the wall. I turn around and look as she raises to her feet. “Huh, so, some kind of teleportation. I think I can work around this," I comment with a smug grin on my face.
Her own smile turns from that of a sadist playing with a helpless victim, to that of a person who just wants to kill the other.
She’s at me again in less than a second, all six daggers are now looking for a soft flesh to dig in. I spin my halberd momentarily, deflecting all of them. Well, not really, as I have to jump to the side so as to avoid a strike from the back, but the thought doesn’t it?
“Would you," I thrust my halberd to stop her advance, “kindly," I throw it up and jump to the side, the halberd narrowly missing it’s goal, “just stop," I grab my weapon before it touches the earth, immediately after I block another strike, “trying to kill me!?" I finally get to finish the sentence, jumping away from her.
Despite all that I’m doing to prevent her hits connecting, she’s just way too fast. I already have more than a dozen of bleeding cuts, and it starts wearing on my endurance real fast, and it seems like she’s not about to give me even a second of rest.
She jumps again to start another flurry of attacks, but suddenly my head injury reminds of itself, and I drop to my knees. Guh, such a stupid mistake I feel a dagger cutting into my skin, ripping through my flesh... and barely missing my heart.
I want to laugh as I swing my halberd upwards. Just half an inch and I would be dead right there, but she missed. She stands just out of reach of my halberd, untouched by my upwards swing.
“What is your name?" I ask.
“Kuhuhuhu, you now want to know it when you’re practically dead? Well, I’ll give it to you as my final courtesy for giving me an entertaining fight. My name is Delilah, Kuhuhuhuhu," She covers her mouth with one hand as she laughs.
“Di-le-lah," I spell it, as though tasting it, “a beautiful name for sure, I will remember it,” a grin on my face.
“Wha…” Than, the enhancement hits her. Her body sliced in half, she is a threat no longer.
I try to laugh, but instead I cough up blood “Khe-he-khu-khu-khe… he-he, no regrets in asking for this enhancement from Princess Luna instead of promotion and raise in salary,” I mutter to myself.
I cough againthis doesn’t look good, I better hurry
I walk up to the pedestal, using my halberd as a walking stick Oh irony
I’m trying to recall the words of an incantation, and they come, simple and obvious, and at the same time most sacred and important.
As I finish the words, and am waiting for the magical mechanism to get going, I have some time to ponder over things, and remember the life I lived.
“Some hero I am, he-he-khe-khu-kha...” I can’t stop the coughing fit this time around, so I just let it be.
The room is lit more and more as the spell is feeding of the energy I provide it with, but the light is fading from my eyes. But I can see another light slowly seeping in through my eyes. All my friends are smiling at me.
Mary, Shield, Memento, all the others… I’ll be joining you soon, just wait a bit more…
~~~
Somewhere deep in a personal armory of the princesses, a loud pop of teleportation spell can be heard. The rack that awaited a long time for a weapon it was created for is no longer empty.