We were betrayed... by those who we believed had our best interest’s at heart. The enemy came in their thousands... they died just as they did before. As the battle raged we knew victory was at hand until it happened or did not happen. They promised us reinforcements... they promised us salvation. The walls and our gallant and brave warriors fell under overwhelming odds.
The enemy pillaged and killed with lustful abandon for nothing was sacred to them. Only our own paranoia saved us. MY paranoia saved us. The tunnels were created during the dark times for a last resort... never to be used unless we wished to court death. I am the leader of our small band of survivors... a mixed group of nobles, peasants, fools and mages.
The Hammerhai has fallen and will forever shamed until it is reclaimed for the son’s and daughters of the smith.
This is the first entry in the dairy of Luke Hammer-Son
Luke lifted his head and observed the motley crew that had survived the fall. Luke counted three hundred and fifty adults and fifty seven children most of whom were to young to take the trails of adulthood. Many of the survivors were injured from the fighting and Luke could tell that unless they escaped the tunnels they would die and all the death and sacrifices would be meaningless. Luke stood and all eyes turned to him, waiting to see how their leader would save them. Fear was evident in their eyes, the children more so than the adults... those who had eyes at least. “ Breaks over people we need to continue moving.” grumbling filled the chamber as the group rose and followed Luke to survival and salvation.
The tunnels were designed to confuse and stall large forces while the citizens of the Hammerhai found the rooms hidden between stones and where they could rearm and set up resistance. Luke knew the tunnels better than anyone in Hammerhai, a boast that had earned little before and less now. The group regretted their various teasing and small bullying as Luke found his third room. The supplies proved to be a god-send as bags were filled with food and medicine. Arms and armor were donned and equipped by those who could fight and Luke let himself sigh in relief as his group’s chances of surviving skyrocketed.
A voice that dripped with religion and sensuality broke the silence “ Gather around my children and be ready to give thanks to the smith for his gifts.” Luke silently groaned and observed as a women dressed in what was supposed to be a humble and conservative dress that showed nether bust nor leg. Yet on her all it did was hug the body and tease all who gazed upon it. As she began her sermon Luke turned and continued to fill the packs with supplies, trying his hardest to ignore the stare that was doing a commendable job burning a hole in his back.
“... I believe that our fearless leader should say the final rights as I am feeling a sudden bout of fatigue.” Luke let a small growl as he felt more eyes on him and with a sigh turned and walked towards the group of adults who were kneeling around a tall woman who was being held up by two men and fanned by two small girls. The woman’s aqua green eyes danced with mischievous glee and hidden lust as she watched Luke march towards her. How she enjoyed placing him in awkward situations, he always looked so cute and never disappointed her when he raised to the occasion.
Luke could not believe her, why did she do this to him. As he stood in the circle he turned gazing and memorizing each face and name. “ The lord smith who has guided us and held us in is loving gaze...” Luke began not noticing how the group drank in his words “ we ask you oh lord smith to guid us in our time of peril, to show us the path that we must tread oh lord smith by the fires of the holy forge we proclaim our loyalty and re-enlist our services in the war against your enemies hail Hammerhai!” the resounding shouts of “ Hail Hammerhai!” reverberated in the room giving of the illusion that the dead were shouting their defiance and loyalty along with the living. The sound of gears moving after many years of disuse pierced the air and the ears of the group. Luke whirled to see a large segment of rock split down the middle. Before their eyes the group watched as the door open letting blinding light and fresh air enter the room.
Above the cacophony a fatherly voice could be heard “ My children, I have heard your pryers and have found you worthy...” Luke never knew who the smith was before this moment but now all his fears and doubts about the lord smith were dashed as he gazed upon the lush forrest, clear blue sky and hovering great hammer before him. The smith was real and gave them a chance to rebuild. The voice rang out again “ Luke I entrust you with the safe keeping of my children, hence this mighty hammer is your’s, signifying your place as leader and blessed disciple with all responsibilities and privileges attached.” The great hammer flew into Luke's hands and Luke felt something slip into place inside him. “ Holy mother Selecia bless my disciple.” Selecia rose and shaking with fear began the rights of blessing. Luke reached out and took Selecia’s face in his hands and turning her head gazed into her eyes and gave her the best reassuring smile he could. Selecia let out the breath that she had been holding and nodding to herself began the rights. The voice gave a small laugh and proclaimed “ Here is Equestria home to the sister goddesses Luna and Celestia, here is where you will rebuild and where you will take back your home from the enemy... know this my children you will always be in my heart and in my mind fare thee well.” everyone in the room could feel the voice of their god leave and they turned to regard their new home each thinking the same thing. Equestria...salvation...hope
end of chapter 1
Two months have passed since the smith last spoke to us. Clearing the forest at the base of the mountain took far to much time as we only had four ax’s with us and two of them were so rusted that they weren’t even good enough for scrap. The people have kept a stiff upper lip about the whole ordeal however I fear once the wall is constructed and the food situation is sorted out that the old factions will return. I do not jest for just last week Tension and Marcia both got into a terrible fight over what kind of wood we are using. If i did not know any better those two had that fight just to annoy me and give them some entertainment. the “town” is coming along well enough, the wall covers most of the front of the town and we do have the church built. the houses would have been torn down and the workers lashed back home but here they will have to do. The fields are producing food... just not enough for everyone unfortunately. The food that we do have is odd, edible and not fatal just odd. I am worried about what we may find in the forest since the two guard towers haven’t seen anything due to the fact that the thick forest makes those two towers useless. The people follow my orders though I hear the worried whispers and see the suspicious looks they shoot at me when they think I can not see them.
Luke Hammer-son entry number fifteen
Luke set down his quill and laid his diary down on the table, making sure that the seal was set and secure Luke took the Hammer from its resting place and with one final glance at his home closed the door and bolted it. The sun was high in the sky as Luke walked briskly down the dirt road. Luke held back a growl as the men moved out of his way and the women herded the children away. “ They act like I have the bloody crows on me.” Luke thought as a young girl no older than twelve held her siblings back all the while giving him a look of fear. The look pierced his heart and Luke forced himself to look away and continued walking. Walking down the road Luke silently marveled at how fast the others had rebuilt what they could in the last two months, though once the food situation was taken care of and more resources were found Luke knew that these wooden “houses” would be replaced with sturdy stone battle-hovels and large multi-family garracks. The sounds of laughter shook Luke from his musings and drew him to the plaza. The Plaza was located in the middle of the town and all roads lead away from it, the fields to the south, the wall to the west, the housing area to the north and the council to the east. The plaza itself was a large circle with a large fountain in the middle, on top of the fountain was a large anvil with a large double headed hammer standing upright. Children were scattered around the plaza playing with happy couples keeping watch on them. The truly strange thing about the plaza was that it appeared several days after everyone began to settle the land and clear out the forest, of course Selecia had declared that this was a sign from the smith and asked for a few days of prayer and celebration. This was naturally opposed by Luke and Tension who reminded her that right now they had to get started building houses and getting food. Selecia had stubbornly held her ground on the issue until Luke had pointed out that in their current state, any celebration and prayer would be far to underwhelming to properly convey their thanks to the smith. Selecia backed down but vowed that when everything was taken care of then the celebrations would begin and so help her she would tie them both up to a post and force alcohol and food down their throats. Chuckling softy Luke’s foul mood lifted as he turned and started walking at a brisk pace towards the fields.
Tension was a man who could be summed up in in one word: practical. The fact that he was a sixth generation farmer who was currently in charge of feeding the entire group brought out the best the man had in him. Such as Practicality, clever thinking, clear headedness and a insane amount of concentration on the task at hand. Unfortunately it also brought out the worst aspect of his personality: stubbornness. This annoying trait was being demonstrated for Luke in the most superb way as he continued in vain to convince Tension that he could not expand the fields as they did not have enough men to properly patrol and guard the farmers. Tension snorted and said in a gruff voice his one good eye never leaving Luke’s own “ Then pull some from the expeditions or better yet away from that witches laboratory, would be a better use for them anyway!” Luke griped the bridge of his nose so hard that looking back on it he would wonder why he didn’t break anything. “ look Tension the expeditions back into the tunnels are to find anything useful that we don’t have or can’t make ourselves currently... and Marcia is not a witch.” Tension did not look convinced but decided not to pursue the matter of the “witch”. Tension turned and spat a wad of saliva and tobacco before turning to face the fields and without turning said “ Luke I know that the people look to you for guidance but unless you can find some teraforming or a survivor who has a affinity with the mother well run out of food by the months end.” Luke cringed at Tensions bluntness even though he suspected that this was the case, somehow having the truth shoved in his face didn’t make hurt any less. Luke sighed and knowing he would regret it later said “ Fine I’ll see if I can convince Marcia to let me pull some guards and I’ll see if the expeditions can be put on hold for a little while.” Tension turned and swiftly snatched Luke up in a bone crunching bear hug. Luke never would underestimate Tensions upper body strength for the rest of his life. Tension released Luke who started patting himself for any broken bones. Tension began to laugh his signature “ Gra ha ha gra ha ha!”. Luke just smiled and began to wonder if Marcia would be angry if she lost some of her guards as she never really asked for them in the first place. Luke assigned them to her as she was the only Technosear they had and thus the only one who could build and repair the more fragile and complicated infrastructure that they would need. “ Wolves are attack- gah!” turning quickly both Luke and Tension could see Robert fending off three wolves with another seven forming a outer half ring behind the combatants. “ To arms men.” Tension roared as he charged towards Robert fully intending to rip everything not human in half with his bare hands.
Luke charged and swung his hammer at one of the wolves shattering the torso of the beast and sent the rest of it flying. Tension had another wolf by the head and with a mighty roar tore the wolf down the middle. Robert was swinging his ax around trying desperately to decapitate his opponent. The wolf was dancing around the swings and leaped. Robert screamed as the wolf sunk its teeth into his right shoulder. Out of desperation Robert thrust his fingers into the wolfs eyes,yellow ichor bursting from the wound. The wolf released its hold and fell to the ground, yellow ichor forming a puddle around it. Robert stood and retrieving his ax, began to chop and hack away at the wolf. Luke rushed to Robert’s side and with a mighty swing with his hammer smashed the head of the wolf. Looking up Luke noticed that the pack of what was seven hungry, pissed off wolfs grew into a pack of twenty hungry, pissed of wolfs. Growling the pack began to circle the three men and it was only then did Luke notice that these wolfs weren’t like others he had faced. They were made out of wood and before he could make anymore brilliant deductions a wolf leaped at him mouth open and ready to feast on his face. jumping back Luke swung hard and connected sending pieces of shattered wood, yellow ichor and a copse flying. Backing up Luke noticed that Tensions fists were covered in teeth and scratch marks while Robert was trying to wipe the ichor out of his eyes swinging his ax every few seconds to discourage any attacks. A wolf leapt at Luke jaws wide when a pitchfork slammed into it’s side followed by several arrows. “Guys hold on were coming Duck!” the three men hit the dirt as pitchforks and arrows flew overhead. A cacophony of barks and yelps followed as the pack retreated back towards the woods. Luke stood and looked at the pack as it retreated deeper into the woods howling as they ran. Luke turned to Tension and said “ Take care of Robert and keep a eye on the forest.” Tension nodded and asked “ what are you going to do?”. Luke turned and began walking shouting back “ When you’re done with that meet me at the council.”
Unknown to the group on the ground a armored pegasus turned and with a running start began flying towards Canterlot from his perch on a cloud. Duel shuffler knew that the princesses were concerned about the two legs sudden appearance but with the “altercation” between the two legs and the timber wolfs, they would be very concerned. Duel shook his head and with a sigh began the long flight towards Canterlot.
End of chapter 2
Interlude
Interlude
It was not often that the staff in the castle met to discuss gossip. Canterlot proper was the place where one can get the best gossip not the castle. The rumors revolved around the princesses and their sudden interest in the Everfree Forrest. Many knew that Luna would often lock herself in the library or laboratories for weeks or months on end, however the fact that Luna and Celestia were locked in the library was what the maids and some guards were gossiping about. Luna sighed and let levitation spell dissipate causing the tomes around her to fall with obnoxiously loud thuds. Luna wiped away the dust that was kicked up with a wave of her hoof and asked “ Tia have you found anything yet, this side has nothing as usual.” that last part sounded bitter even to her. Celestia calmly levitated the tomes back into their proper place and replied “ No Lu-Lu I haven’t found anything ether.” Celestia gazed at the mountains of books and noted the amount of dust “ Lu-Lu I suppose I’ll have the maids do a thorough cleaning, this dust isn’t good for my eyes.” as if to punctuate her point Celestia’s eyes began to tear up. Luna sighed and looked at a mirror grimacing at the light coat of dust that had settled upon her. Both sisters had been locked in this area of the library for the last week and for their efforts and sleepless nights they were rewarded with the same thing: nothing.
No mention of these bipedal beings were to be found and though they had yet to check the Star Swirl the Bearded section though both sisters admitted that even though “Starry” had been a major bookworm and explorer, the chances that they would have any success was negligible at best. “ Lu-Lu lets call it a day and get some sleep, maybe the answer will find us then.” Luna nodded suddenly feeling fatigue and sleep with a vengeance. “ Oh my you two are just precious running yourself’s ragged looking for answers in the dust old books right Tia.” Both sisters jumped back and with horns ready, back to back began to scan the room for the voice. “ Discord how did you escape!?” Celestia was not happy but the idea that he was out again made her consider some very dark things... things that should not see the light of day. “ Oh Tia relax I’m not out...yet I’m just talking to you in your heads ok.” the glow on both sisters horns dimmed, but just. “ What do you want trickster?” Luna asked not expecting any response in return.
A pained sigh and groan was the response both sisters got “ I’m here to help you girls.” Both sisters eyes grew with that revelation “You help us...why?” Celestia asked and was stunned by the answer “Because i need your help.” Discord replied pain evident in his voice. Discord continued “ But before I spill the beans I want the elements of harmony here so I don’t wast my breath repeating myself.” Then suddenly both sisters hear the sound of snapping fingers and they appeared in the throne room. Attendants and nobles alike jumped back in fright and shock while they stared at their monarchs. Celestia shook herself and straightening she proclaimed “GUARDS BRING US THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND THE BEARERS OF HARMONY AT ONCE!”
End of interlude