Blood and Sunfire

Chapters

Chapter 1- Pride of the Pegasi
Chapter 2- What Unicorns Do Best
Chapter 3- Midnight Meetings
Chapter 4- Your Unwavering Allegiance

Chapter 1- Pride of the Pegasi

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Pride of the Pegasi

“I call this meeting of the Council to begin!” Cried King Sky-Render.

The Council hall was filled with both pegasi and gryphons, each taking seats on cloud-stone steps surrounding a low center stage. On the stage was a middle-aged pegasus mare clad in full battle attire, her coat was of a sky blue and her mane the color of the very clouds that surrounded the Council.

“The Council brings to attention the actions of Commander Bright Hurricane!” Roared the Gryphon High-King Malcolm.

“She is accused of several counts of treason, including the unauthorized claim of territory, desertion, rebellion, and fraternizing with her sworn enemies the Earth-Pony Coalition and the Unicorn Kingdom of Lymorah.”

“What does the Commander have to say in her defence?”

She looked down and sighed before glancing up at the Council. She stretched out her forelegs and yawned.

“I commited treason in order to save my City-State?” She mocked.

“Guilty! Even now the traitor acts as if her allegiance is to the earthbound!”

Several cries of uproar followed the first only to be silenced by the piercing shriek of High-King Malcolm. The pegasi lords continued to stare at her with disgust and hate. Getting out of this wouldn’t exactly be the most fun Hurricane ever had, but then again she didn’t really care for what the Alliance had to say anymore.

“Both I and Sky-Render understand and easily forgive why you moved Cloudsdale away from the blizzard,” Said Malcolm.

“What we don’t understand is why you have openly declared your City-State to be foreign territory from the Alliance. That tiny problem is why you’re here.”

“Tiny? The earth-loving bitch left us for worthless farming peasants and scheming mages!” One of the Council members stood up in his seat and thrust a hoof towards Hurricane.

The rest of the pegasi in the room all shouted their agreements.

“I say we make an example of her now!”

Followed by even more shouts of agreement.

“Funny my friends... but perhaps you’re forgetting who the one with the real combat experience is,” Hurricane hissed.

The others shuddered for a few moments each questioning if they should continue. Their hearts were bolstered by a cry from the top row.

“You aren’t invincible Hurricane, and you aren’t the only one with thirty years of veterancy on the front lines!”

The crowd was once again silenced by Malcolm who stared down at the Commander with mixed emotions. They had for many years been close allies and rivals, choosing each other in sparring matches and giving each other scars to remember. Long had they defended their most noble City-States and reaped both honor and glory, but the question entered Malcolm’s mind.

Did she truly betray us?

He sighed and ran his talons gently over his face. He was becoming far too old to deal with these minor lords and their petty issues.

“Please Bright, raise your hoof in the air and swear to the blasted Pantheon that you didn’t join our enemies,” Malcolm grunted.

“Malcolm, you know that I did,” She sighed and looked at her friend.

Hurricane stood there for a few moments before continuing. They were good friends but her time in the alliance was over. She had to focus on the well being and safety of Equestria nothing else mattered.

“I’m sorry friend... but I would go so far as to even suggest that the Pantheon sides with me on this matter.”

That did it. Even some of the gryphon Aerie-Lords got involved now. The crowd shouted and hollered at her only barely managing to keep themselves from jumping off of their seats and mobbing her.

“Hurricane what you say is not only treason, but heresy!” Sky-Render stood and trotted down to the stage.

“I’ve fought on the line for three decades only to spend half of one freezing to death and watching the elements claim the lives of my citizens!” Hurricane cried.

“I moved Cloudsdale to safer territory only to find that the storm literally followed us because we continued our fights with the earthbound!”

No longer were cries of hatred and anger heard; instead, bouts of uncontrollable laughter assaulted the Commanders patience. It went on for a full minute before Sky-Render intervened and began to speak.

“Yes we’ve all heard stories of these magical beasts that plagued you. Hurricane that blizzard was nothing more than a freak act of nature!” Sky-Render quipped.

“One that we couldn’t control?” Hurricane said haughtily.

“Can’t you see it? We’ve been killing each other for far too long, the Pantheon is getting restless. I had to share resources with the earth-ponies for five years all while losing good soldiers to unicorn battle-mages.”

“A fact that should only make you dislike them more.”

This was Hurricanes final chance. She figured they wouldn’t understand, not unless they experienced it themselves. They had to be there in that damn freezing cold cavern to truly understand the wishes of the Pantheon.

“I was frozen solid by malicious wild beasts and saved because my subordinate saw what I wasn’t able to see. We can be allies with the earthbound, there isn’t even any reason we fight them. We all preach taking honor and glory in fair conflict, but how is it fair to let the sun whither the Coalition’s crops? Is it fair to cause tornadoes in unicorn settlements?”

“Usually they don’t even have the ability to fight back, they can’t attack our City-States or the gryphon Aerie-States! It isn’t like they can fly, or stand on clouds!”

“The only reason any of us fought, was because we lived under centuries of racial oppression. We’re all ponies and besides they really aren’t that bad when you get to know them,” Hurricane took the moment to glare at Sky-Render.

“Spoken like a true dirt-licker!” One of the Council members laughed.

“I also seem to recall hearing stories of the times of old when pegasi and gryphons fought a constant blood feud over aerial supremacy,” Hurricane continued.

“We aren’t even of the same species! If we made that arrangement work, then by the Gates of Tartarus we can make this one work.”

The room was silent for a moment, all of the Councilors had their eyes on Hurricane just waiting to see what she would do next. The silence was suddenly broken by heavy hoofsteps. A very smug looking Councilor in a robe struck his hoof off the cloud-stone steps in a slow sarcastic applause. He then proceeded to get up and move slowly over to Hurricane while chuckling to himself.

“A most inspiring little speech Commander, but I think we all know where this is going.”

“The earthbound are not blessed by our gods, the unicorns do not fly, and the earth-ponies are even worse. Compared to us they are sick trash!” He turned now to glare at her.

“I would die before I ever thought of the earthbound as my allies!” He said staring Hurricane in the face, barely inches away from her.

A few seconds, that’s all it took. The Council gasped in surprise as something shot out of the Commander’s shoulder and impaled the Noble through his lungs. A sharpened rod of feather-steel rigged to a magical chamber on Hurricane’s right shoulder was the cause. The Councilor gasped for air and scratched his hooves weakly against Hurricane until finally his muscles relaxed and his life force left him. Hurricane shoved the corpse off her weapon and looked at the rest of the Council.

“Oh... looks like he was telling the truth,” She remarked with a severe lack of empathy.

“Do you all like it? It’s called a Lance, a bit of a gift from the unicorns.”

“Commander! Are you looking to start a damned war?” Sky-Render barked.

“Listen to me... and listen well for I shall only tell you this once. If any one of you come near my country with the intention of killing its citizens, Cloudsdale will retaliate in force! You will have the whole of a veteran pegasus legion to contend with,” Hurricane shouted.

“Bright please calm down,” Malcolm made a final attempt at peace.

“No Malcolm... I’m sorry but when my citizens get threatened and insulted how do you expect me to react? Senseless killing isn’t what we stand for, and I along with my comrades refuse to be a part of it. The Councilor died here because he insulted the existence of my brethren, I hope to the gods that none of you make the same mistake,” Hurricane finished and turned her back to the Council members.

Her leave was showered with insults and warnings, typical of the Council members when they didn’t get their way. One voice in particular carried above the others though, a loud angry voice.

“Hurricane! If you leave, you invite hundreds of legions into your damned Equestria! This will not stand before the Alliance you traitor! Cloudsdale will rain red!” Sky-Render threatened.

The gates shut on the Council chambers and the yelling was instantly muffled. She took a moment to breathe and gather her thoughts, that whole meeting was just a mess to her. She moved to a balcony and viewed the bustling air space that was the City-State of King Sky-Render. Dragonmaw Fortress was quite a sight, filled to the brim with soldiers training in the streets and weather detail maintaining its white halls. It was the site of an epic conflict between Sky-Render’s grandfather and the great dragon Mor-Krag’ one hundred years ago. Once a true monument to pegasus spirit... now an absolute insult to her face.

“Who do they think they are treating their cousins like dirt?” She asked herself.

“Who did I think I was?”

Her moment of contemplation was interrupted by a gruff masculine voice.

“Commander!”

At first she expected to find another Councilor, she almost wheeled in place and dislocated his jaw right there. She turned sharply only to find that the voice in question belonged to one of her personal guards, Iron Hoof. The stallion wasn’t stupid; he sensed there was something wrong.

“Are... are you ready to go ma’am? We just thought seeing as you’re out here...”

Iron Hoof looked confused and a little worried. With another sigh Hurricane trotted past him and confirmed his question.

“Yes Iron Hoof... let’s just go home.”

With that they were off. Hurricane came to Dragonmaw accompanied by nine guards each armed and armored to the teeth. During their three years of inactivity in Equestria, the pegasi of Cloudsdale had little else to do except train, and unfortunately the blizzard they went through claimed the weak and inexperienced leaving their military with only the best warriors. They were the elite, the hardy aerial masters of Equestria and the only real warriors in the Equestrian army besides the Battle-Mages who were so few in number. If war came to Equestria then the pegasi would be the only real defence the country would have for a long time. At least when it came down to it, their partnership with the unicorns and earth-ponies would make Equestria the best supplied nation around.

A great citadel was being built by the unicorns, to replace the old fortress they left. Canterlot as they called it would be the Capital City of the nation, and the central bastion of defence for both earth-ponies and unicorns alike. Hurricane supposed it was grand fortress... for the earthbound, but nothing not even her new friends would tear away her love for her home. Cloudsdale was just an image of perfection, it was always complimented as being one of the most beautiful City-States in the alliance. Hurricane was highly decorated and often times brought the Council nothing but victory, the realization of what just occurred began to sink in. Many of them did used to be her friends, and then there was Malcolm.

“I wonder if he thinks I’m a traitor as well...”

“Commander?”

“Oh nothing Artemis, it was nothing.”

For what seemed like an hour the group soared through the skies completely silent, the only thing that could be heard was the wind moving gently past their ears and the occasional rustle of helmet crests. They soared past clouds and allowed updrafts to take them, after the spat in the Council chambers the only thing Hurricane really wanted to do was fly. Finally they broke through the clouds to have the early sunset wash over them, the sky was bright red and orange and if one looked carefully enough they could see the flares and fiery halos of Sol herself. The absolutely perfect moment was ruined by a piercing shriek from higher in the sky.

“Gryphons!” Barked Iron Hoof.

“Three of them, two guards and I believe an Aerie-Lord.”

Hurricane looked up to the party that was following them. Iron Hoof was correct, three gryphons each of them heavily clad in armour. One let a small banner hang from his back in the wind, a herald by the looks of him. This sort of guard complement was common for aerie-lords. Hurricane realised that the only gryphon who would likely bother trying to track her down at this hour was Malcolm, and sure enough she was right.

They banked downwards drifting over slowly towards Hurricanes soldiers, the Herald gave another loud and lazy shriek to inform the pegasi that they meant no harm. Malcolm sped up slightly to fly next to Hurricane.

“I’ve decided I want to have a look at this Equestria of yours,” He said in his deep resonating voice.

“Don’t worry I won’t stir up trouble... I just think the Council may have overreacted initially.”

“Overreacted? I killed one of the Councilors in cold blood...”

The other pegasi exchanged confused glances and proceeded to mumble nervously.

“Oh don’t worry about that, Lord Eclipse was being an ass lately anyway. Most of the other Councilors were planning to do exactly what you did,” Malcolm chuckled.

Malcolm's mirth was always infectious to those around him. Soon enough the entire party was laughing hysterically, all nervous thoughts being banished in the minds of the guard-ponies.

“The pegasi are just upset that their most distinguished military leader left them for the ones they consider inferior. We on the other hand can’t seem to find it within ourselves to give a single feather, I’m just sort of broken up that I’ll get to beat you in duels less often... really brings a tear to the eyes you know?” Malcolm feigned sorrow.

“Oh I agree my friend... just remember where you got that scar,” Hurricane smirked as Malcolm’s smile vanished.

“Well I like it, it makes me look more attractive!”

“Oh... a male bird wanting to look pretty, isn’t that just so unheard of.”

Hurricane caught an updraft and rolled lazily over Malcolm while they joked. The party carried on like that for some time still. The bulk of the City-States was a moderate distance away from Equestria, but they were nearly there after an hour and a half of flight. All sense of formation was eventually lost, they all just maintained a flight path and broke formation soaring with whomever they wished.

Finally, as Sol finished her descent past the horizon, they broke through the clouds and gained their first view of Canterlot Citadel. A tall spire of marble stood nestled on the edge of a mountain. The spire was surrounded by areas still undergoing construction but the centerpiece was completed. The roof of the spire scraped a few low hanging clouds, for the earthbound it was a sight indeed.

“Oh how lovely, I can’t believe I’m going to have my first civil chats with unicorns. I really hope our forefathers aren’t watching... I think mine would skin my hide,” Malcolm groaned.

“Play nice, you brought this on yourself.”

The party landed on an open path of marble halfway up the spire. Hooves and talons clattered on the marble surface eventually coming to a halt directly in front of an opened gateway made of sturdy oak. The guards all sat down to take a rest, their heavy breathing could have practically been heard from inside the spire.

“Oh Commander Hurricane!” Came a voice from across the marble runway.

“I do hope your trip was comfortable darling.”

A silver coated, purple maned mare trotted slowly towards them. She was covered in the most extravagant clothing that the wealth of the unicorn kingdoms could afford. Princess Platinum... once the final heir of her kingdom’s royal line, now one of the three grand-marshalls of Equestria besides of course for Hurricane and Smart Cookie who took over the leadership of the earth-ponies after the previous Chancellor’s peaceful death.

“Comfortable if you’re one to enjoy being yelled at... we have things to discuss I’m afraid,” Hurricane responded.

“Then I assume your visit went just about as well as Clover’s with the unicorn royalty to the east... they weren’t interested in working with the ‘ungifted’,” Platinum rolled her eyes.

“To be honest? I think it went worse.”

Platinum halted when she noticed Malcolm standing not too far behind the Commander. She looked confused for a few moments and then continued forward again.

“You have guests?” She asked.

“An old friend of mine decided he wanted to observe the different ponies living together for once.”

“Oh well then pleased to make your acquaintance... er...”

“Malcolm, High-King Malcolm,” He said as he bowed slightly.

“It is a pleasure to meet you as well... Princess Platinum I presume. I knew your father... the stallion nearly took off my head but spared me, at the time I thought he was the only honorable unicorn I had ever met.”

“Oh my well um...”

Malcolm gave a deep throated laugh, and wiped a tear from his eye. He bent low to be at eye level with Platinum and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’m merely here because I’m hoping that finally I can see an end to the Council’s thirst for blood. I think I’ve seen far too much combat in my time,” He said seriously.

“Well you’re perfectly welcome to stay in our borders until such a time when you decide to leave,” Platinum smiled and shook one of his talons with her hoof.

Hurricane trotted separated the two of them before they started talking for hours, she knew both of them well by now and both were very prone to it.

“Listen I’m glad you two are being nice, but Platinum... we have a serious problem.”

Chapter 2- What Unicorns Do Best

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What Unicorns Do Best

A large thick cloud of dirt flowed around the chocolate colored fur of Knight-Captain Clover as she and her party of Battle-Mages trotted down the road. The diplomatic meeting in Frilacia’s capital city went over horribly as expected of Platinum. The Unicorns there were simply too consumed in their arrogant superiority and still very fiery hate for the pegasi. What came completely unexpected however was the name calling. Clover figured they would be cautious around her party but to openly call her a “Talentless-loving Whore”? She would have challenged the Noble to a duel then and there were it not for Princess Platinum’s specific orders.

“I see no reason they won’t try to antagonize you Clover, whatever happens don’t give in to their petty challenges!” Platinum’s words were still fresh in her mind... likely on account of the memory spell she put in place.

Stalliongrad was a nice enough city, when the nobles weren’t spitting at Clover that is. Frilacia bordered Equestria to the north-east, and ever since the founding there was a rise of Frilacian battle-mages taking up residency in the border town “New Saddle”. The town had a direct connection to the main road and could easily spew forth soldiers if a southern invader presented itself.

Or if they grew the balls needed to attack us, Clover thought.

The trip back from Stalliongrad had been a long and tiring one. The party was still a few hours away from the border and they were beginning to run out of rations. The entire trip was just one big disaster. Clover wondered if the Commander was any better off on her journey.

The heat of the summer day beat mercilessly down on the robed party. Uniforms made of metal breastplates and silk tunics may not have been the best choice for a long march in the sun. On several occasions she had to stop the party and rest in the shade of the trees on the side of the road, a problem which only delayed them further and occasionally wasted even more of their rations.

“Captain, just how far away are we?” Asked Lieutenant Star-Charmer.

The Lieutenant was one of Clover’s favourites but she really asked too many questions. Throughout the entire journey Star-Charmer had been playing a constant game of “Are we there yet?”. It was beginning to get irritating.

“Star-Charmer please... we’re getting closer to the border! Once we get there we will set up camp for the night and reach Canterlot on the morrow,” Clover barked.

Star-Charmer looked pained, as if Clover had just struck her. She was a remarkable mage but she got very sensitive over the tiniest things. Clover could hardly blame her though, the condition her fellow Mages were in was just absolutely terrible. Some of them even tried to remove their uniform, an action which got them hollered at by Clover. She hated making them undergo this but Clover just didn’t trust the Frilacians to uphold their promise of safe passage.

“Captain... can we take another breather?” Asked one of the Mages in the back of the column. The Mage in question was a new recruit, Crescent was his name.

“We have to make it to the border, Crescent... forced march and no complaining.”

There was no response from the Recruit, only a collective groan from the other Mages. They continued on for another five minutes, their tunics were drenched with sweat and their armour was searing hot under the summer sun. Eventually the chirping birds fell quiet and all seemed very still. The only sound was the trotting of hooves as the party continued to kick up a dirt cloud. The eerie silence was broken by a single odd bird call.

“Hold,” Clover ordered.

The column of mages halted behind her, a few even bothered to sit down for as long as they could before they would be forced to move again. The bird seemed to fall silent as soon as they stopped. Star-Charmer looked around in suspicion but there was no trace of where the call came from.

“What do you think that was?” The Lieutenant asked.

Again with the questions it seemed. Clover was nearly about to yell at her when they heard the call again. This time louder... closer, but still nothing could be found. Just when Clover was about to order them forward another sound reached her ears.

“Captain!” Came a strained cry from the back.

Clover and the others turned to find Crescent being wrestled to the ground by unknown cloaked unicorns. One of them held his legs down while the other was attempting to choke him with some cord. There was no time to waste, Crescent needed help and he needed it now. Clover called forth her willpower and focused it through her horn. A bright bolt of magical energy shot forth and caught one of the Assassins in the head silencing him immediately.

“Get him!” Clover yelled and pointed at the remaining Assassin who was still trying to strangle him.

The others wheeled about and charged towards where Crescent and the Assassin were wrestling on the ground. Another recruit was the first to get there, she focused her willpower and tore free the blade that was strapped to her saddle-bag. She wasted no time in striking the pony, slitting his throat for good measure. The others pulled Crescent to his feet and returned to Clover.

Too late did they notice that there were more of the cloaked assassins hiding in the trees. They charged forth yelling insults and preparing spells of their own. These were clearly Frilacian mages, that much Clover was certain of. There were also far too many of them to fight off.

“Tactical retreat! Double time it down the road, move!” Clover yelled.

Clover’s soldiers began to break out into full gallop. Some would turn and cover the others by firing off bolts at the assailants, and then continue to run. Most simply ran in a disorganised manner. The Assassins came from all sides and tried to box the retreating Mages in, Clover and her subordinates only barely managed to escape but the Assassins were still hot on their heels.

“Captain, what do we do? We can’t keep running until we reach Canterlot!” Star-Charmer yelled.

“Keep running until we find an area that can be used as cover. If we can slaughter them while they’re in the open we might have a chance!” Clover replied.

“What cover? It’s an open road and the forest is likely crawling with more of them!”

“Lieutenant, just keep running!” Clover roared.

That was the end of that. The Battle-Mages continued their mad gallop for safety. It wasn’t long before useable cover actually presented itself... in the form of a blockade. Several overturned wagons and other pieces of wood were piled together to form a wall of debris in the middle of the road. Behind the wall was a collection of more Frilacian mages, each of them ready to shed blood. It happened so quickly, the blockade unleashed a volley of bolts directly at Clover and the others. Death on a mission of diplomacy definitely was not what Knight-Captain Clover had in mind.

She poured forth her will into one desperate attempt at salvation. From the tip of her horn was formed a mighty barrier that sent the bolts cascading in random directions. The others halted behind her and frantically searched for ways they could escape.

“Lieutenant, take the others and line up in front of me... when I give the word run for the barricade!” Clover yelled, fatigue was evident in her voice.

“...Captain are you su-”

“Do it now!”

The others formed into a line before her and waited. The horde of Assassins was gaining on them and time was of the essence. This had to be done perfectly.

“Captain?” Star-Charmer asked nervously.

“We’re running out of room here...”

“Just wait for it!” Clover replied.

When the advancing horde was nearly upon them Clover transferred the energy of her shield into a blazing white beacon of light. The horde stopped in their tracks and tried in vain to block out the light while those who manned the barricade were taken completely off guard and stumbled back in a daze.

“Go now!” Clover ordered.

The line of Mages ran for the barricade with their backs to the flare, ready to kill the previous occupants who were still rolling on the ground screaming. From behind Clover the other Assassins were firing blind hoping to accidentally hit her and cease her spell-casting. Their shots were of various degrees of power but ultimately the Assassins were very untrained apprentice mages and knights. Clover’s sorte jumped the barricade and came down hard on their enemies. They used magic to enforce their strength and proceeded to beat the enemy senseless, none survived the assault and the barricade was now officially an Equestrian fortification.

Clover had to yet again transfer her power quickly. She called back the flare and recycled every bit of energy she could in order to perform a quick desperate teleportation spell. She disappeared and reappeared behind the barricade in a flash of blue just as the still present horde shot concentrated bolts at her. The chain of spells left Clover severely weakened and tired, she was having trouble focusing her vision and could only barely hear Star-Charmer yelling at her.

“Captain... Captain are you alright?”

Clover just moaned a response and got up on her hooves shakily. The barricade was being ravaged by the hostile onslaught, if they didn’t act quickly they wouldn’t have any cover to hide behind. They needed to fight back, and now was the best time to start.

“Use fire,” Clover said weakly.

“Lob it over the barricade to the road...”

Star-Charmer nodded and looked towards the other Mages. Clover was reminded as to why she chose Star-Charmer as her lieutenant in the first place. The mare could be a seriously commanding figure when she needed to be. Within mere moments she had the others preparing their own miniature blazes. There was still a problem however, they needed to be guided to their target as they were firing blind. Clover supposed she could try to direct the path of the volley with her telekinesis but even then she needed to see the enemy herself.

Quickly she moved to the left end of the barricade and tried to peek around. The Assassins were standing in the middle of the road completely oblivious to their plan. They didn’t seem to notice Clover yet but she resolved not to test that. Quickly she pulled her head back around the edge and waited for the others to unleash the inferno. She expected them to take some time as many of them were still newly promoted mages, but this was a ridiculous wait. Finally Star-Charmer gave the order.

“Fire!”

Clover hated puns, but not was not the time to think about that. The the horns of the Mages erupted in a cloud of smoke and a dozen or so sizeable balls of flame were launched into the air. Clover looked around the edge again and saw the fireballs high in the air, some of them would hit their intended targets but the others would likely veer off into the woods if Clover didn’t intervene. She once more focused her willpower, all this would take was a slight push in the right direction. Her focus lingered and flowed around the scorching volley, for all of it’s hot intensity it was really quite soothing. Soon she felt as if she could see the enemy from the direction of the fireballs... that is of course if fireballs could even see. Clover was in the moment and nothing would break her concentration.

“Take cover!”

“Where you damned idiot?”

“Then scatter!”

The flames were slowly directed towards the Assassins who were now frantically searching for an escape. The flames seemed to speed up when they got closer to the ground splitting off from the bulk of the volley to individually seek clusters of assassins. Clover let go of her focus and allowed the fireballs to travel on their own paths. The only thing heard for the next minute and a half was the collective screams of the dying. Clover chanced another peek and saw the Assassins running in random directions many of them engulfed in flames.

“Star-Charmer... put them out of their misery,” Clover ordered.

“Yes Captain. Over the barricade, kill them all!” The Lieutenant replied.

Star-Charmer, followed by the tired Equestrian Battle-Mages, hopped the barricade and began to strike the Assassins down with flurries of magical energy. It wasn’t long before the road was littered with the still flaming corpses of the enemy. Nopony else was in sight for the time being, but it was still deathly quiet. A few of the Frilacian Assassins managed to retreat back down the road but they were too few in number to be considered a threat now.

Clover had never forgotten what it was like to see her enemy rout. During her years as an apprentice to the previous Knight-Captain of Lymorah, Regal Shadow, Clover had led raids against the Coalition whenever the Royal Family felt it necessary. The raids could hardly be considered a true fight, there wasn’t much the farmers could do when taken completely off guard by magic. That no longer mattered anymore... they were done killing each other, or at least Clover had thought. The events of the day clearly proved otherwise, and now they were even forced to kill their own kind.

The others needed to hear about this and quickly. Clover didn’t want to give her enemy the chance to regroup. The party did not tarry long in the distance a war-horn could already be heard.

“How many more of them are there?” Asked Crescent.

“It doesn’t matter. Down the road, go!” Clover ordered.

They turned to find three Frilacians dressed in rather expertly crafted attire standing before them. The one who stood at the front, wore an intricate helmet made to look as if it had wings spanning up the sides. A knight and his followers it would appear, a rather commanding knight at that.

“And where do you think you’re going my friends?” The Knight asked.

“You wouldn’t leave my Lord’s lands so soon now would you?”

“We’ve barely even begun to meet one another...”

Clover trotted up until she stood but only several feet away from the arrogant looking unicorn. Her eyes were burning with barely contained hate and fury. The stallion was more than close enough for Clover to just lash out, but in her tired state she figured it would be unwise.

“What is the meaning of this?” Clover growled.

“We were told that we would be allowed to leave unopposed!”

The Knight stood there for a few moments silently regarding her with a wide smirk. Against her better judgement, Clover began to feel the need to give him something to fear. Even before the founding of Equestria, Frilacians considered themselves superior to almost every other unicorn, let alone the pegasi and earth-ponies.

“Yes that is correct... King Crimson stated that you would be set free. Though you must realise, your presence here was a great insult to the rest of the nobility,” He replied haughtily.

“It was only a matter of time until somepony else tried to capture or kill you... perhaps both.”

The Knight strode forward confidently toward Clover, his guards in tow. The sudden action caught Clover off guard and made her shuffle in place. With all of her energy expended, she realized she wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the strange stallion should he try anything aggressive. It was then that Star-Charmer quickly relocated herself before Clover. She glared at the Knight and lowered her horn, a silent gesture warning the stallion to back off punctuated by the thumps of her hooves as she pawed at the earth. The trio seemed to take the message and halted their approach.

The sun was still beating down on Clover and the others, the Frilacians did a great job at hiding it but she could tell that they were affected equally if not more so by the harsh rays. They carried on in silence for some time before the lead knight started to chuckle, his small display of mirth turned into a bout of uncontrollable laughter as he looked towards Star-Charmer.

“Isn’t it just lovely to have a little guard dog?” The Knight choked out between laughs.

Star-Charmer was visibly insulted, her face turned a slight shade of pink and she murmured several curses below her breath. Clover was not surprised with what came next. This problem arose very often during Star-Charmer’s training; she was quick to learn but also quick to anger. The temper of this relatively recent addition to the Battle-Mage ranks was in no way bountiful.

“I expected Frilacians to hold some kind of respect for fellow mages,” Star-Charmer hissed.

“You’re allies with the dirt lickers... I can hardly call you fellow mages.”

“Our status is not measured in titles or social classes... it’s measured in power,” The ever ambitious Star-Charmer.

“From the display of your recruits, I’m beginning to get the feeling that skill is something Frilacians have lacked as of late... but what could I expect from low-born mules?”

The Knights laughter ceased and his face twisted into a grimace. The classical game of “Unicorn Superiority”, they were all born to play it... some better than others. There was only one thing this verbal exchange would lead to and Clover dreaded the thought of it.

“Perhaps you would like to demonstrate what your dirt loving mind perceives as skill?” The Knight growled.

“No, no one is dueling anyone!” Clover shouted and forced Star-Charmed back.

As much potential as Star-Charmer had Clover couldn’t be sure if the Knight had even more. To many factors were present, the heat and exhaustion to name only two. What the Equestrians needed now was anything but more fighting. Clover desperately searched for a way to distract the Knights and move them from their path.

“The Lymorahns are not only traitors but cowards too! So shocking,” The arrogant Knight pressed the issue.

“Clover... please?”

“That is Knight-Captain Clover to you Star-Charmer!” Clover shouted.

“Clover...” Star-Charmer said again.

The look on the mare’s face was one of desperate plea, it was as if Star-Charmer was a damned filly begging her parents for yet another gift. It was something that only she could get away with too. Clover made one last concerned look and then shook her head in irritation. The silent approval was given.

Clover trudged slowly back to her tired soldiers, mentally dreading the fight to come. There was one thing a unicorn had to do in order to spell-cast, they needed to believe in a cause. They cast spells with their own emotions as much as with their horns, the more passionate the unicorn the greater the mage, however there was a small problem. If said unicorn let their emotions control them instead of the other way around, destruction would ensue. An emotionally compromised unicorn could expend all of their power in too short a time and set the path for their own failure.

“Well hurry mule, my comrades don’t have all day!” Star-Charmer taunted.

The Knight merely narrowed his gaze and began to pace. They started stalking in a circle eyeing each other up, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Star-Charmer went first, a lance of bright red magic was sent arching towards her opponent. The Knight deflected it with a lance of his own and the two continued in their dance. This went on for some time, one would exchange a blow that the other would counter almost effortlessly. Their shots began to speed up until they would occasionally fire off multiple bolts in rapid succession. Some would collide in the air while others would splinter and fall off course.

Star-Charmer recalled her will and focused it through her horn. A small dome of pale red light formed around her just as her opponent lobbed a miniature fireball. The ball of flame washed over the shield and eventually dissipated. Reacting quickly, Star-Charmer recycled the energy used in the shield for her next spell. Her head buzzed with a familiar sensation as she projected mental power through the focusing point of her horn, three more magical lances put the Knight on the defensive.

Clover watched all of this with mixed emotions. On one hoof Star-Charmer seemed to be doing well, on the other hoof she was worried Star-Charmer might do too well. The fight escalated quickly, Star-Charmer sent a barrage of magical lances to catch her opponent off guard, when the Knight called a barrier of his own she made her move. Star-Charmer charged forward and used her telekinesis to tear free the blade that was sheathed on her armour. The Knight barely had enough time to duck after he brought down his barrier, prompting him to gain some distance and mentally grasp his own blade.

Star-Charmer lunged first, she jumped forward and pulled her blade down onto that of the Knight’s. He managed to put enough strength behind his block to force Star-Charmers blade away. It was the Knight’s turn to lunge, he made for an uppercut but was quickly parried by the quick mind of Star-Charmer. They began to put more force behind their blows, standing up on their hind legs and pushing with their forelegs. Eventually after a minute of struggling, the Knight pushed Star-Charmer away from the melee and used his horn to scorch the area between them with flame. Star-Charmer drowned the flames in water that her horn ripped from both the air and plants around her.

She fired one lance of magic as a distraction and then once again charged forth. Clover could begin to see it in her Lieutenant’s eyes, rage. Star-Charmer’s blade clashed against the Knight’s armour, none of her opponent’s blood was drawn but it sent the arrogant stallion to the ground. Star-Charmer stood there for a few moments and sneered. She waited for the Knight to regain his footing before she continued her onslaught.

With a shout she brought her blade down again, it was barely blocked. Then again, and again... something was wrong. Their blades interlocked and they began to once more push against each other. The Knight was close to shoving Star-Charmer off again, she just didn’t have the strength to do something like that for long. Right when he nearly had her on the ground, Star-Charmer slammed her right fore-hoof into the Knight’s face. She reinforced her blow with telekinesis and a sickening crunch was heard. The Knight reeled back and spat out a thick glob of crimson vitae. He forced a shield from his horn while he tended to his bruised face. Star-Charmer acknowledged the shield for a moment before hunching over in a stable position.

She directed her horn towards the shield and fueled her spell with will and purpose. It started out slow, a pinprick of bright light materialising at the tip of her horn. The light grew to the size of a hoof, eventually a head. Soon her horn was balancing a large ball of magic just waiting to be used. She let it go.

The ball arched outwards toward the shield. The bolt sundered the air around it, making a loud crack. Clover’s eyes went wide in surprise; never had she known her Lieutenant capable of performing a spell of that magnitude of raw power. Everypony looked on in curiosity, all asking the same question: Did the spell actually do anything?

The shield still stood proudly... for a few moments. It visibly began to break apart and fracture until finally bursting outwards and fading away. The Knight stood there staring at Star-Charmer in disbelief. She took advantage of his moment of weakness. With telekinesis she grabbed several rocks and slammed them into his head and neck. While he was stunned she grasped her blade and swung at him madly. Something was off about Star-Charmer. Clover realised that her Lieutenant’s crimson mane seemed to become more ethereal and alien, while her pearl coloured coat glowed intensely beneath her raiment. The signs of an emotional flare.

With a shout Star-Charmer struck at his head with her hooves again and again. He became battered and bloody but he still held on. Star-Charmer tossed him back a few feet and then began to ready another spell. It’s over, Clover thought.

At the height of her fury, Star-Charmer was practically a mare made of white hot flames. She began the spell that she planned to end her opponent's life with, a simple one of fire. When she was nearly ready to immolate the Knight, she stopped and swayed in place. It was becoming difficult for Star-Charmer to keep her focus. The Knight managed to rise to his hooves during the Lieutenant’s stupor. He saw his chance and laughed. Without her defences up all it took was a simple lance to send Star-Charmer back through the air. Her body lost all signs of the alien vibrancy it once possessed, and she was sent sliding across the dirt road. She wasn’t moving.

The Knight was still laughing by the time Clover made it down by her Lieutenant’s side. Clover turned Star-Charmer onto her back and began her inspection to see if she was alright. She definitely appeared to be unconscious, and a hole was melted through her breastplate where the bolt struck. There was some blood flowing out of the wound, all of this would have been acceptable if Star-Charmer was actually breathing. The injured mare didn’t seem to be reacting to any outside contact.

“Skilled mages don’t let themselves succumb to petty rage. I am Duke Ky-Berlhai, and you are my lesser!” The Duke punctuated his statement with red-tinted spittle.

Clover looked up to find the area around them to be crowded with a reinforced band of Frilacians. The damned duel was a distraction so that they could be surrounded. It boxed them in... and claimed the life of the one mage Clover truly adored. She looked back to find the rest of her party preparing to fight to the death. She realised they couldn’t win this.

“Stand down,” Clover choked out.

The others looked to her confused. If they fought now they would have no chance at survival. She prefered to wait for a more acceptable time, that is if one ever presented itself. She relied on the hope that Platinum would take notice of their extended absence.

The so-called Duke let out a final little chuckle and gave the order.

“Take them.”

Chapter 3- Midnight Meetings

---------------------------------------------------Chapter 3---------------------------------------------------

Midnight Meetings

Hurricane hurried down the dimly lit hallways of Canterlot. It was currently late at night and, despite the horrible choice in time, they could delay the meeting no longer. Clover was three days past her predicted arrival and Platinum was starting to worry. Even with the absence of the only unicorn military officer in Equestria, the matter with the Alliance had to be properly solved.

The City-States had already made their presence known; three large warbands from Atmos were gathering in cloud banks at the edge of Equestrian air space. As of yet the warbands remained docile, but Hurricane could tell they were simply waiting for their order. Sky-Render wouldn’t let the argument go without at least some sort of confrontation. Hurricane began climbing the Citadel's stairs, the looming shadows cast by the torches dancing across her vision. She didn’t have claustrophobia per se but she disliked Canterlot’s halls; they seemed to be incredibly dusty for a tower so recently constructed.

The Meeting Hall was on the seventh floor, nearly halfway to the top. Hurricane was currently on the sixth and already panting. For all of her stamina in flight she could never bring herself to walk great distances. As she trotted up the final two steps, her strength left her and she leaned against the wall for several moments, breathing deeply. It was then that her second in command Lieutenant Pansy climbed the steps and walked briskly past her. Hurricane elevated her from Private after the Founding, to both recognise her importance and to apologize for the many years spent being the Commander’s favorite target.

“Oh, hello Commander,” Pansy said in her fairly shy tone.

The cowardice streak never really left her, but the Lieutenant was surprisingly an excellent tactician. So long as she contributed to troop movements she was an invaluable resource, and unbeknownst to any besides the other Founders, Hurricane and Pansy had given up their differences and put their hooves down on the first step towards friendship.

Hurricane took a few more moments to catch her breath and then responded.

“Aye, hello Pansy... how are...” She paused still panting.

“How’s your...”

“What’s up?” The Commander finally asked.

Pansy smiled for a moment and then trotted over to assist Hurricane with getting up. The offer was only waved away by Hurricane’s hoof who managed to slowly rise after more effort. Pansy nodded towards the Meeting Hall and gently pulled on Hurricane to follow.

“The others are waiting, we should probably hurry,” Pansy squeaked out.

Hurricane silently obliged and followed her through the main doors. The two were met with hollering, something Hurricane had regrettably become accustomed to as of late, but never from her own friends. Platinum and Smart-Cookie were in the midst of a growing argument surrounding military distribution.

“Clearly Chancellor, you don’t know what the Frilacians are like!” Platinum shouted.

“I knew this diplomatic mission was a horrible idea, they probably have Clover and her company in shackles by now.”

The Princess had been more and more worried about Clover’s absence with each passing day, and by now she had been practically demanding that they send a battle-force after her.

“I understand y'all are worried f’er the Captain, but ye’ can’t just leave us defenceless!” The Chancellor replied.

“Think about it, if we send out a rescue force then it’ll leave us undermanned. We don’t have enough soldiers to deal with two problems at once! This Atmosis-thingy er whatever could take us by surprise if we sent the pegasi after her.”

Platinum leaned back in her chair and bowed her head low. She didn’t seem to have the strength to continue the argument. A taloned hand suddenly appeared over Platinum’s shoulder, and it was only then that Hurricane noticed Malcolm was present. Smart-Cookie kept on giving suspicious glances to the Gryphon, but she tried to be discreet.

“Y’all sure we should let him in on this?” The Chancellor was focusing her attention on Hurricane now.

“I’ve already made it perfectly clear to the Council that the Gryphons won’t take part in any war. Any Aerie-State that fails to comply to my authority will be dealt with,” Malcolm stated.

“That don’t really mean you need-”

“It’s fine Chancellor, I trust him well enough,” Hurricane cut her off.

Smart-Cookie sighed, and shook her head before mimicking Platinum and falling back in her chair. The situation was weighing heavily on all of their minds. They’d all experienced war, but they weren’t ready to effectively fight back so soon after the Founding. Cloudsdale’s military would only suffice for so long; eventually they would get overrun without help. The disappearance of Clover didn’t make anything easier, they were just one useful warrior down now.

Hurricane heard a shuffling behind her and turned to find Pansy struggling to arrange several maps and documents. She was about to assist when Malcolm strode over and decided to earn his place in the meeting. His talons clicked against the center table as he unrolled the current Equestrian map. As of right now Equestria was merely a large valley crowned by the mountain range to the north that held Canterlot. Within the valley were several small settlements that were for the most part still being constructed. They had barely enough farms to feed the entire country as it was; any that were burned down in a raid could spell their doom.

Hurricane studied the map carefully. The Alliance’s Cloud-Cities were gathering at Equestria’s southern border. For now they seemed to be employing their standard strategy: the forces of Atmos would take the lead into battle, followed by more powerful city-states if need be. The shock-troopers of Dragonmaw wouldn’t likely enter the field unless necessary, but even without them Equestria faced the notorious disadvantage of numbers. Atmos could be handled, but after that who would they send next? Raiders from Cirrowing perhaps, damned pirates all of them, and they’d definitely head for the earth-pony farms.

“Alright everypony pay close attention,” Hurricane sighed.

The others focused their gaze on her and listened.

“Atmos constructed a cloud bank that they’re using as a forward outpost here,” Hurricane punctuated her statement with a timely thrust of her hoof towards the southern mountains.

“You should probably already be aware that they have three warbands each about a hundred strong.”

The others nodded and waited for Hurricane to continue.

“Cloudsdale currently has a full legion of active soldiers, approximately one-thousand on head count. Atmos’ forces won’t be a problem; what will be is where they attack from.”

“In order to defend Equestria, we have to spread the Legion out. That makes any current engagement on even ground with our enemy.”

Hurricane paused to let the information soak into their heads. Platinum seemed distracted, and Smart-Cookie was busy studying the map. It was only a short time before the Chancellor rose her hoof in the air, her faded orange coat given an abnormal texture in the dull torchlight.

“Do we know how long it’ll be ‘fore they try somethin’?”

“Cloud-Bank Outposts are commonly maintained for about a month before they’re abandoned. If nothing happens before then, we can count ourselves in the clear for the time being,” Hurricane responded with a deep yawn.

The room reverted back to a state of silence, the only noise being that of the flickering torches. Another hoof was raised, this time Platinum.

“This is a force of pegasi, what good would we be when the fight is happening in the sky?”

“You wouldn’t honestly... for now any attack that is made would have to be repelled by Cloudsdale. Unicorns could try to shoot spells into the air but at that height I doubt you’d hit anyone.”

“Then what do we do, just sit around while you all drop from the skies?” She asked with a bit more volume than she intended.

“Don’t unicorns have things like cloud-walking spells?” Pansy asked quietly.

“We could get you on makeshift platforms and lift you up into the battle...”

“The amount of pegasi needed to lift clouds that are weighed down by other ponies would be too great,” Hurricane dismissed the idea.

“We wouldn’t have the amount of soldiers needed for the first strike if we entertained that plan.”

Pansy nodded and went back to looking at the map, while Platinum gave off a very loud and dramatic growl before leaning back yet again. Malcolm casually observed the small figures used to simulate Equestria’s airspace, clouds to be used to Hurricane’s advantage. It was her signature strategy, ambush from cloud cover. The Gryphon silently wondered whether or not it would work for his friend this time around. The strategy had been used time and again, and were it not for the fact that clouds could be moved... it would be very predictable. He moved his talons over the little standards, symbolizing five groups of two-hundred Cloudsdale warriors all spread out over various important targets.

Lieutenant Pansy asked the next question, pointing her butter coloured hoof to the map.

“Do you think they would go straight for Cloudsdale?”

Hurricane pondered this for a moment, rubbing her chin with a forehoof. It seemed likely, taking out Cloudsdale would mean taking out the source of Equestrian military power. The Alliance would be free to pillage the unicorns and earth-ponies for revenge after that. Atmos was a large city-state, but their warriors were untrained levies. They could use numbers alone to dismantle Cloudsdale’s defence force but they would need more than just three-hundred. It was actually rather insulting to Hurricane that the Alliance sent Atmos rather than Fogfeather or even Dragonmaw itself.

“It’s possible, but unless they gain reinforcements before the attack it’s unlikely they would succeed in taking the city,” Hurricane replied while moving to another side of the table.

“If perhaps they do we’ll leave one battle-group in the city, while I take one to intercept them.”

“The unicorns and earth-ponies should have rallied their own defence forces by then just in case any ground target is threatened,” She finished.

The other two nodded their heads and stood back up to meet by Hurricane. The call had already gone out for militias to be formed in every earth-pony settlement, and the remaining Battle-Mages were on high alert around the Citadel. The board was set; Equestria needed only to wait for the first strike. Now came the problem with the actual battle.

The Equestrian map was removed to make way for a blank sheet of parchment. Pansy figured the appropriate space for the battle would be around three miles of sky, pockmarked with clouds of course. She had already reviewed the strategy herself. Hurricane would be present in whatever battle-group was attacked, therefore a forward outpost of their own would be brought up near the fighting. This platform of clouds would serve as the mobile base for Pansy to direct forces from, while Hurricane flew off to be a hero and led her men directly.

The platform itself was already prepared; Cloudsdale always came accompanied with three of them in the past. Scouts would scan the air constantly for any sign of Atmos’ advance and when that happened Hurricane would have the platform and its accompanying battle-group moved to meet them head on. For a while they moved pieces around to simulate multiple ways of how the battle could play out. The Equestrian sky had already been prepared manually by the Cloudsdale weather teams, they put together cloud formations that would last for at least until after the month had passed. Freak weather would likely not be a problem so for now they didn’t bother reviewing it.

Platinum and Smart-Cookie had politely waited through the hour even though they weren’t really required to be there for that. Malcolm had even taken part in placing some of the Atmos banners on the map and advising certain move orders to Pansy. It was no secret to Hurricane that the Gryphons were actually unhappy with how the Alliance was being run as of late; Malcolm did not wish to see the faction fall apart completely but he did feel that it needed to be “rearranged”. Once the session was concluded they went back to answering a few last-minute questions.

“Once the battle is concluded, considering it happens to begin with, I must beg you for a company of soldiers Hurricane,” Platinum stated.

“Yes Platinum don’t worry, we will have her back,” Hurricane sighed a response.

“Just remember that she might simply be delayed, don’t expect the worst until we have more evidence.”

Hurricane moved her attention to the Chancellor now.

“What’ll we do if they send more than just this wave?” She shifted her eyes nervously.

“Let’s just focus on the now Smart-Cookie. We don’t have enough factors yet to decide,” Hurricane answered.

Pansy seemed to nod in agreement as if to assure the Chancellor. The earth-pony seemed very tense about the situation, and rightfully so. The Coalition hoped to finally escape the slaughter with the founding of Equestria; being ripped away from such a promising future was unsettling for them. Hurricane took one last look at the table and then closed her eyes.

“The meeting is dismissed, we have our plans...” She said finally.

Platinum and Cookie were the first to leave, Platinum to spend a second night attempting to magically spy on Clover, and Smart-Cookie to return to her village. Pansy rested a hoof on Hurricane’s shoulder before leaving as well. She stood on her hind legs with her forehooves resting on the table for several minutes. Hurricane found herself thinking of nothing in particular, just reveling in the peace that her mind rarely got as of late. No sound but the faint torches, until a tapping noise rung out from behind her. Malcolm was clicking his talons on the wall out of what appeared to be boredom. Hurricane scowled realising what would come next.

“The earth-pony has a solid reason to worry you know...” He said, while in the midst of his tapping.

“Sky-Render won’t just stop with one assault. He’ll keep at it until your entire nation is brought down, no matter how many soldiers it costs the Alliance.”

Hurricane sighed but could think of nothing to respond with. She resolved to simply stay still and wait ever so patiently for him to finish. Best friend or not, Malcolm had a habit of getting into subjects she felt he ought not to.

“You’re correct in the idea that currently you won’t have to think about it... but it will come you can be sure. Success will not be obtained alone.”

“Then help us...” Hurricane murmured.

“Bright, my people are tired with the wars of the ponies...” He ceased tapping the wall and rested his talons down on the stone floor, the action accompanied with yet more clicking.

“While I may take no interest in joining the assault with the Alliance, it does not mean I’d do the exact opposite and join with you. Even if it is with the Great Commander Hurricane!” He put on a mock expression and chuckled.

“No Bright, I’m sorry but not this time. You’d need to give me something in return, and unfortunately there’s nothing you can.” His eyes dropped and his proud stature diminished somewhat.

“You have four more days...”

With that the Gryphon strode out of the room, leaving Hurricane to truly be alone. She dared not move a muscle for fear that the calm moment would be over. In time she too departed, her hoofsteps reverberating through the halls of the Citadel, leaving behind the dying torchlight.

Chapter 4- Your Unwavering Allegiance

---------------------------------------------------Chapter 4---------------------------------------------------

Your Unwavering Allegiance

King Sky-Render’s personal quarters were rather spacious, expertly crafted and furnished. Every accessory in the room was made from cloud stable materials, no enchanting necessary. Bookshelves lined the cloud-stone walls and furniture placed neatly, if rather scattered, around the area. Three columns stood to the front of the room acting as the entrance to an open balcony. Several chairs and a long couch were placed around a center table of glass and pewter. Several more chairs and another couch were placed along the back wall with yet more tables for a party’s convenience completed what was King Sky-Render’s Study.

The room was brilliantly lit by a chandelier, and rather cold due to being exposed to the southern night air. All was peaceful, the air flowing gently around the columns, the occasional far off shout somewhere in the city from midnight drills, and even the owls that dared roost so high in the clouds would hoot softly from places unknown.

A calm night, a beautiful night... so rudely interrupted.

“My Lord! My Lord wait... if we do manage to take Cloudsdale, what then?” Came a cry from outside the door.

“What do you mean you impudent fool? We kill them all, that’s what!” The harsh response called.

The door was suddenly flung open to reveal the King himself strolling through followed by four of the more “important” council members. Sky-Render was infuriated to put it mildly. The Gryphons had refused his call to arms and withdrew their leaders back to the Aerie-States. His face was crimson from his bottled rage; anypony who saw him would never have known his coat was a steel-grey. They didn't need the Aerie-State’s help; even without the Gryphons they could still annihilate the nation of “dirt-lickers” that so foolishly opposed them.

Councilman Noble-Flare took an unopposed seat upon the main couch, while Greagoir and Cloudhoof rested themselves on the adjacent chairs. Mist-Charger remained standing and staring at the King with a look of concern.

“Three hundred is far too few to use against their numbers, and the levies of Atmos no less!” Mist-Charger cried. He paced back and forth waiting for the King to respond or even acknowledge that he was there.

“Their forces are spread thin. We simply need to push on through with the warriors we have and then reinforce them when they’ve sacked Cloudsdale,” Cloudhoof uttered through a mouth full of lettuce. He was one of the younger members of the Council.

The seated councilmen were busy eating the contents of the table’s tray. A fine assortment of vegetables and fruits was laid out to entertain guests. The others wasted no time devouring as much as they possibly could before anypony else got their hooves on the snackage. They were each Sky-Render’s greatest allies in the Council, representatives and leaders of some of the more wealthy city-states.

Sky-Render stamped out to his balcony and took in the sight of Dragonmaw. He watched as his soldiers marched about the streets and fought viciously in their training yards. His legions were the pride of the pegasi, well equipped as they stormed the skies and let loose hell down upon the earthbound. Part of him wanted to gut Bright personally, to send Dragonmaw first instead of Atmos, but the Council decided it was in their best interests not to waste any prime soldiers on rebels. A levy would not last against a well trained warrior for long; luckily, Atmos was bringing to bear something that Cloudsdale could not. Accompanying the warbands was a unit of donated siege machinery. Several years ago the Gryphons had shared their renowned ballistas with the pegasi, and now Atmos finally found the chance to bring them to bear. This should make their withdrawal rather ironic, Sky-Render thought.

The machines were a rather late addition. They propelled spears up to a hundred yards and could skewer anypony who was unlucky enough to be targeted. With those contraptions, even the Atmos levies could hope to defeat Hurricane’s rebels. After he was done reassuring himself of their success, he returned to the inner area of the study. Mist-Charger had even finally taken a seat near the others and waited attentively for the next part of the King’s tirade. Sky-Render stood before the others and made for one final show of confidence.

“Yes... they engage in just a few days, and by that time Cloudsdale will fall!” His eyes were wide with excitement and he shook a hoof as if to drive away flies.

“For the Pantheon!” He shouted.

“For the Pantheon!” The others chimed their response and leaned forward.

They began to relax again when a sound was heard. Something of a quiet laugh, hardly audible, but yet so noticeable. It echoed around the room and penetrated their very bodies. Sky-Render looked around but could find nothing, not a shadow out of place to show that somepony was spying on them. The party cautiously got to their hooves and inspected the room as well. Their search revealed absolutely nothing out of place but the gathering dust of the bookshelves.

“You all heard that, correct?” Noble-Flare asked with a certain edge to his voice.

“Whatever it was, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Cloudhoof replied and then casually returned to his seat.

None of them seemed to notice that the chandelier began to dim, casting rather malicious shadows across the study. The shadows themselves did not stay the same, they twisted and turned, providing a new image every time. It was only when the room grew even darker that Greagoir saw. The shadows began to shift more quickly, forming odd images. At first it seemed like a conflict, the shadows danced and formed figures of ponies struggling with each other. Afterwards, an image of what could only be described as monsters and faces, cast evil glares through the dim enchanted candlelight. The images froze and slowly began to disappear, the light in the room returning to normal.

Noble-Flare was already reaching for his weapon, a bladed horseshoe. The others seemed to follow suit, not sure of what would come next. After several minutes of an unnatural silence and tensed muscles, another laugh was heard. This time it was much louder, echoing like rock upon rock, bouncing around the room. The feeling in Sky-Render could only be explained as an intense unease; his senses failed him until his body was simply unresponsive. Greagoir seemed to sweat and look around cautiously.

The shadows shifted once more and instead of a moving image, a still symbol seemed to thrust itself into existence below the chandelier. A star it was, eight very gruesome-looking points protruding from the center. Even with all of the room’s shadows focused to one point, it was still noticeably darker outside of the chandeliers range. The laughing ceased to give way to a new sound: a scraping noise like that of an earth-bound serpent as it slithers along the ground. Sky-Render turned slowly to see what greeted him.

...Nothing.

He relaxed, letting out a sigh and lowering his weapon. He resolved to blame the occurrence on unicorn magic then and there.

“Hello!” Cried a voice directly next to his ear.

Sky-Render jumped forward, turning over a chair in the process. The others whipped their heads to meet the sight that awaited them and let their jaws drop. A... thing hung from the ceiling, even more disturbingly it hung from nothing on the ceiling. The creature’s serpentine body was coiled together above them, and there it stayed, seemingly defying gravity. Its arms and legs were crossed and it swivelled its head around to see them. The creatures limbs did not match; nor did its horns, and from the snout was sported a single long and very sharp fang.

“I must say I’m absolutely ecstatic to meet you all!” The creature spoke with a curiously high-pitched voice.

The thing let its body drop to the floor. Its head never seemed to move from the action. The others seemed far less frightened and instead more confused now. Sky-Render rose from behind his cover carefully and looked at the sight, what he saw elicited a short gasp of breath. The creature turned its focus to the King once more and gave a wide toothy grin, its fang jutting out from the smile wickedly. It seemed to slither towards him... through the air.

“Get back creature!” Sky-Render shouted while lifting his bladed hoof, poised to strike. The creature’s grin dropped and it leveled its eyes at Sky-Render, in clear disinterest.

“How rude... I most certainly am not a creature... I am a being,” It said as it waved around one of its taloned fingers.

Sky-Render was taken aback for a moment. This thing was insulting his manners inside his own study, after it blatantly ambushed him and every other councilman in the room. Cloudhoof appeared ready to speak and forced himself forward.

“Well... what are you then?” The boy asked.

The thing lifted itself into the air and floated towards him... upside down? When it got close enough it began to coil the lower part of its body around the frightened councilman. It lifted its pawed hand to its chin as if in contemplation and uttered a loud sigh. Suddenly its face contorted into an unsettling grin and it continued to wrap itself around Cloudhoof. When its head was level with his ear the thing spoke again.

“A creature.”

It was toying with them, that much was obvious to Sky-Render. He didn’t like it one bit. He mustered his courage and marched out into the center of the room. His face was filled with rage and determination, and he growled as he spoke.

“Why have you come here? You invade my own quarters and terrorize my fellow politicians!” He roared.

“Tell me why we should not simply end your life now and throw your body off of the city?”

“That’s the spirit!” It replied in a sing song voice. Sky-Render held his tongue, finding his mind devoid of retorts as he watched whatever it was wrap itself around Cloudhoof.

The thing coiled tighter. “I’ve been watching you squabble for some time. What fun it’s been!” The laughter echoed from the recesses of Sky-Render’s subconscious. It frowned now, twisting itself closer and closer to a squirming Cloudhoof.

“But your friends on the ground and the traitor pegasi, they want to spoil my fun.” It tutted. “And I wouldn’t want that to happen, now would I?”

Cloudhoof appeared ready to burst into hysterics. Greagoir and Noble-Flare were petrified; Sky-Render found himself hanging on the creature’s every syllable.

The grotesque head turned slowly to a terrified Cloudhoof.

“I think the time for games has passed, my friend!” It announced. The poor councilman squealed, and the beast unwrapped itself from its victim, laughing. Mist-Charger collapsed on the floor.

Sky-Render fixed the creature with a cautious glare and calmed his nerves. It still had not fully revealed why it was there in the first place. The thing glanced at the fainted Mist-Charger, then made what might have passed for a shrug. Returning his gaze to Sky-Render, it spoke in what Sky-Render guessed was a sly whisper.

“I’m called Discord,” It said with a content smile.

“And I have a proposition for you.”

Sky-Render jumped at that statement and readied his weapon yet again. He did not deal with monsters, especially when they break into his home and terrify his subjects. He figured that any deal this creature would try to make would surely be filled with trickery and deceit. This creature, this Discord, was no doubt damned by the Pantheon, and he had no interest in being involved with one such as it. Steeling himself, he prepared for a confrontation should he agitate the creature too much. He fueled his next words with as much courage and fire as he could currently muster.

“I will not deal with one such as you daemon! Be gone from my city!”

“What... you don’t even want to hear my unusually generous offer?” It fixed Sky-Render with another bored gaze.

“I was going to offer you Commander Hurricane’s head on a platter... a wooden platter that is, silver is just used too often it gets rather boring,” It stretched the last word out as if it were a curse.

This got Sky-Render’s attention for a time, but a promising offer or not, he still didn’t trust this Discord. During his moment of contemplation, Discord took to circling around the room, hovering while seemingly laying on its serpentine back. It served to provide an excellent distraction to Sky-Render’s train of thought and only provoked him further.

“You say you can give me Hurricane... but what is it that you want in return?” Sky-Render barked.

“Well I’ll be blunt with you if you really want me to be,” It said while rolling its eyes... in opposite directions.

“Your total allegiance and the desecration of that ridiculous Pantheon you love so much. For you see, we don’t have room for false gods and fairy-tales.”

Noble-Flare and Greagoir opened their mouths in shock and looked to their King. Sky-Render was baring his teeth and barely suppressing the urge to attack the creature on the spot.

“Leave now!” Sky-Render shouted.

“I will accept no deal with the likes of you!”

The Discord sneered and floated closer to him. He halted mere inches from his face and chuckled. “Not even if I asked nicely?” It asked while drawing its head back and readying its arms for a hug.

When several seconds of silence passed the Discord backed away and dropped his pathetic gesture. Sky-Render was beginning to lose his patience with it.

“Fine, but a few words of warning,” It said while waving its taloned hand.

“Hurricane and her soldiers fly under a different element entirely, whether they know it yet or not the clouds are no longer their home.”

Sky-Render huffed and responded with indignation practically dripping from his words. “That’s it? That’s all you have to tell me?”

“No there is one more thing. This is not the last time we will see each other; I will come again in a few days to make the same oh so generous offer,” It said with what passed for a mocking expression.

Before Sky-Render could respond the creature was gone, and the room reverted back to its original state. Noble-Flare and Greagoir whipped their heads around trying to find any remaining trace of the monster, but it seemed that even the chair that Sky-Render had overturned in his search for cover was upright once more. Cloudhoof was shakily getting back to his hooves, and Mist-Charger was still out cold on the floor. Sky-Render looked down at the Councilman in disgust and prodded him forcefully with his weapon until he woke up.

“Get up you fool!” Shouted Sky-Render.

Mist-Charger obliged after about the fourth prod, and rose to a state of attention as if he were a younger stallion back in training. The King turned his attention to the tray of food, where once was leftover shreds of lettuce, was instead a pile of neatly stacked chocolate chip cookies and a note.

‘Love Uncle Discord’

Sky-Render growled furiously and grabbed the tray. Trotting to the balcony he threw the pastries out into the city, a clattering noise and a responding yelp from a guardspony filled the night air.

“My lord?” Called Noble-Flare.

“What should we do?”

He took a few moments to breath deeply and regain his composure before cantering back into the study. Fixing the councilman with an even gaze and a forced smile he issued his response.

“Prepare for battle.”