NOIRE POV

As dawn, we rose to action, quickly assigning our roles. A bulk of our forces were stationed by the outposts where the enemy army will come from, organised by Luna herself. Burning and Windy have assembled a small force along with one of Gilgamesh's lieutenants to escort the civilians away from the conflict. As for Cadance and I...

"I feel useless." Cadance was leaning on the balcony of Gilgamesh's mansion as we looked out across the town. There were people; knights, commoners, and even children, scurrying through the city. They were working to ensure this town's survival. Meanwhile, we sat by, doing nothing but watching them.

"Same here. It was times like this when my initial response would be playing some game on my phone to pass the time."

"Whatever happened to that device?" I looked back on what felt like years ago, to my first mission, and the events that transpired in that poor doctor's clinic.

"Phones aren't exactly explosion-proof. Either way, we have our mission: protecting the town with all the magic we have left." The plan was simple: Cadance was to create a large barrier to keep the enemy out while I kept to the rearguard as a last line of defence. I objected to this many times, claiming this would mean we're taking the path of higher casualties but a majority vote silenced my fears.

"I'm just worried about if I'll even be able to do this. What if Chrysalis shows up? She could break my barrier without breaking a sweat. If she's here..." I looked back to the griffons and ponies passing through the streets, and my mind wandered to a time when we failed. The roads were paved with fire and the stench of death. A smack of bitterness was left in my mouth when I thought of us failing.

"She may be here but so will we. We're stronger than when we were when this all started, and we're not done yet. So if it's too much..."

"I'll rely on you guys, got it." That seemed to alleviate some of her anxiety, but the boredom never left, "I'm checking up on Gilgamesh. If I have to keep waiting, I'll go crazy." She turned and went to Gilgamesh's study, and with nothing better to do, I followed suit. We searched the mansion for him when we couldn't find him in his study, tracking him to the gardens. There was a multitude of flowers, some familiar and some so exotic I couldn't even guess what they were. He was tending to a large golden flower. Its petals had three layers, curving downwards, outwards, and upwards. Almost like a lion's mane. He gently stroked its petals, looking at it with a sad look. When we were close enough, he spotted us and quickly composed himself.

"I suppose I should've known you two would not have been content with simply watching. If it weren't for this garden, I would've gone mad with boredom as well." We almost forgot that as he was practically the figurehead of the rebellion, he was confined as well.

"If all we can do is wait then can we at least ask you some questions, especially about Aes?" He seemed a bit surprised but accepted, guiding us to a table set by the roses.

"Among wanting to help the resistance and creating an alliance of all the races, we need information about Aes, anything that could tell us where he is." Gilgamesh's confusion rose more with our statement, so we informed him of everything we knew. About the Reguli, Faust, the Controller, and how Aes was one of the few that could tell us how to find it or what we needed to enter. He listened carefully and once we were done, pulled a crest out of his breast pocket. It was of a lion with a sharp mane, reminiscent of shattering earth.

"Aes, or the Terra Regulus as you call him, was our founder, and the one who guided our kind to this land, as the legends say. According to legends, he sent messages to three griffons to gather their people from their once divided towns and gave one instruction to each of them in dreams. Guilatea, a farmer, was told to bring a small pouch of seeds, Guilahad, a paladin, was told to bring a cockatrice, and Guin'vera, a caretaker was taught a song and told to teach it to all the orphans. All of them, while having different instructions, was told to go to the same place: the supposed haven of the Earth King, Opus Terrae." I remembered the song that child sang before meeting us. 'The Three Saints of Aes' was what it was called by many around town. "The rest is different depending on who you ask. Some say when they arrived, Aes gave them blessings, others that the mountain we use as Aes' temple was born, along with other editions from children to adults, but what can be verified is that Opus Terrae is a blessed land. Abundant fields, fertile crops, and a devout following with soldiers ten times as strong as the average griffon. If Aes is going to be anywhere, it will be there." His gaze became fixed on me again, examining me as if something had changed about me. After a few seconds of this, I became uncomfortable.

"Is something wrong? This isn't the first time I've caught you staring," I asked. Gilgamesh corrected himself, bowing his head in apology.

"My apologies, but your ki is simply fascinating. Like a nexus of different magic merged into one, new soul." I raised a brow at his statement. being the second time he had referred to my 'ki' "I see you're a bit confused. Ki is just what we griffons call magic. We believe the energy that inhabits our body is just an extension of Aes but changed by our souls. With training, sensing the nature of one's ki, and by extension, soul, is incredibly useful. It has saved me from many assassinations in the past." The thought of learning this crossed my mind, and Gilgamesh immediately picked up on it. He stood from his seat and gestured to an empty spot in the gardens "I could give you some pointers to you. To you both." He turned to Cadance "It would be helpful to at least sense danger while protecting the town. What do you think?" I looked to Cadance, who looked receptive to the idea. We both agreed and we followed Gilgamesh for training. As we walked, my mind wandered, thinking about how Tidal was doing back at the Crystal Empire.

TIDAL POV

I was worried. Anxious. Even a bit scared as I paced the floor of the medical ward. Curdle was busy checking the test results of my 'situation'. The changeling in my body was a concern, yes, but what occupied my thoughts was a Noire fighting out there. "He'll be fine," I thought "He's a strong kid and has Cadance, and an army of... to help him. He'll be fine." I stopped and gazed at the floor, then out the window "So why am I so tense?"

"Maybe because you're not as fine with this as you thought." I spun around in shock to find Ayra in a seat, watching me worry like an overprotective mom. I sighed and took a seat on a bed. "I'm sorry. Your emotions were so strong I couldn't help but speak out. Do you feel like talking about it?" I was about to say no but she interjected "Just so you know, holding this in is definitely going to result in an explosion. Like Noire and Cadance's first date." I killed that thought immediately.

"Fine. I guess I thought I was past all of this. After Noire consoled me after what happened to my mother, I thought I was okay but now he's in their homeland, fighting in a civil war. What if history repeats itself? What if something happens, like Chrysalis, or Shining, or Grim!? I can't stand being out of the loop like this!" I fall flat on the bed. I look at my belly, looking a bit larger than it was a month ago. Small, but worrying nonetheless. "Do you think I'm pregnant?" Ayra almost choked on air for a moment, hearing her coughs from across the room "I know everyone's been avoiding the subject but I want to know from you. Is this... situation a child? A tumour? If we get it- him? her?- will it be breathing? Will I have to be a mother? Will Noire and Cadance want to keep it? Just so many questions that I barely know where to start." Ayra just sat quietly, listening to me rambling on until she came over to me and held my hand.

"Tidal, I have no idea what is happening to you. We normally come in eggs and take weeks to come out, with at least 2 months until we become mature enough to perform our duties. I've never seen a case like yours. I don't think even Chrysalis knew what she was doing when she did that. However, what I do know is that this... whatever is happening to you, belongs to you. It is your choice what to do and how you see this child. The best we can do is support whatever decision you make." I gave her a tight hug, silently thanking her for her words.

"When did you become so good at this?" I asked.

"Well, working with the Princess of Love and evolving into a changeling queen does have some benefits."

"Yeah! Like that ass!" Curdle yelled as she pushed herself away from her workstation and towards us. Ayra gave her a playful punch as she gained a tinge of red in her cheeks "Now enough therapy! We got your results and we got answers to some of those questions. Like the ~gender~" Curdle singsonged the last part as she explained what was happening. Noire was in for a shock of a lifetime when he got back.

"Yes, he will come back to me. I know he will."

NOIRE POV

The both of us sat in front of Gilgamesh as he demonstrated the fundamentals of ki. While explaining beforehand that ki was essentially magic for griffons, some things set both of them apart. Most importantly, how they are used. ON Gilgamesh's arms were two gold bracers with two garnets embedded on the back and front. He took a seat on the floor in front of us and changed his breathing. As he did so, I was able to see the magic as it began to pulsate from the ground, through his veins, and eventually to his arms. The garnets glowed dimly before Gilgamesh stopped his breathing and the magic. "Should I have brought a pen and paper?" I said jokingly

"Perhaps but I have been made aware of some of your abilities so this should be a relatively easy explanation for both of you," Gilgamesh responded as he stood up, got into a stance and punched the air, creating a small shockwave "Nature, nurture, action. Those three consecutive steps are fundamental in how your ki develops. It is not like magic where it increases through training or ascension: your ki never gets stronger. It only becomes purer as you train it to communicate with the earth. In short," he sent a kick towards us, sending an even stronger gust of wind that almost knocked us over "Create a circuit between your body and the earth. This circuit can increase all your abilities, including magic spells as well as alert you when someone else's ki is nearby."

"Just how far can this technique go?" Cadance asked in curiosity. Gilgamesh responded by asking her to stand. Once they were at least three metres away from each other, it began. I activated my vision again to see Gilgamesh's circuit extending, attaching itself to her. Cadance, once it was established, was shocked by the sensation but calmed quickly.

"If you train it enough, intercepting attacks is a common ability. High-level ki users can sense from greater distances and, if you know the person well enough, identify them specifically. They can link to others to share their enhancements and in the situation where two high-level users enter battle, they can enter this sort of 'showdown' where their ki is linked to one another, turning into a measure of skill rather than power. An easy way to even the odds with those of a higher calibre." He disabled the link, causing Cadance to calm a bit, her power decreasing as the circuit retreated from her body. After that demonstration, we were both eager to learn; Cadance was even more so, potentially as a way to grow to at least be on her aunts' level.

The easiest and quickest way to develop ki enough to at least accomplish the basics was joint meditation. Alone was helpful but creating a circuit with a trained user helped speed up the process. However, the hard part was remaining focused enough to maintain the circuit. With the experience I had in magical circuits, it was easier for me but Cadance struggled. Often our circuit was broken due to a loss of focus on her end, with no warning. After a few failed attempts, we broke off for the day to rest. Cadance was feeling down on herself so I led us inside to our guest bedroom to relax a bit. As she lay on my chest, I noticed her thoughts growing more irritating to her as her brow furrowed. "Careful. Think any harder and your brain may explode." Cadance flicked my nose and sat up.

"I messed up. I could barely manage simple meditation." She laid backwards on the bed, arms splayed out in exhaustion "I know what you said about me not being inadequate but it's hard when people repeatedly show you how incompetent you are in something important. Chrysalis, couldn't handle a shield and an inexperienced knight, no offence, with a month's sword training defended me." Cadance gripped the sheets in frustration and closed her eyes, thinking back over our many battles. I just sat beside her, allowing her to let out all her feelings. "Canterlot, dwarfed by my aunts. Tirek, I was useless. Now we have another invasion, and I can't even focus." She covered her face with her arms "I'm doomed to be bad at what people need me to do."

"Maybe you're thinking about it wrong?" Cadance lifted her head slightly, curious "I mean it sounds like your focus isn't where it should be. Remember when I stupidly decided to take over captain duties I was not equipped to handle." She giggled as she recalled my face a week in, eyes so baggy and brow so furrowed, you could've mistaken me for a shelf. "When I finally stopped doing everything and thought about what made me special, it became so much clearer. It wasn't my authority or my powers, it was what I wanted to do from the very moment I saw my father die. I wanted to protect. It sounds like you need to go back to basics too."

Cadance pondered on that for a moment before crawling back up to me, holding me down on the bed. "The basics..." she said "Like back when you first got here. When I thought I had my life together. When I had something to cherish with all my might..." she laid a kiss on my lips for a while, sucking the very breath from my lungs "I love you, Noire."

"I love you, Cadance," I breathlessly replied. With no words exchanged, she lowered herself onto me.

WINDY POV

We were about 12 hours away from Guilatea Town and behind me, I could feel so many emotions; anxiety over the future, sadness over their present, and some little specks of righteous fury. It was all so familiar I couldn't help but chuckle a little, causing some of the guards to look at me in disdain. They probably didn't understand, likely because most were griffons, accustomed to the belief that ponies were strangers to true conflict. They were correct to some extent. If you were in Canterlot, or some of the well-known cities, you were safe, save from the occasional attack from a magical foe sealed thousands of years prior. However, those tiny towns, towns you would have to look closely to find on a map, had less fortune. I wanted to turn around and say it would be alright to those fretful citizens but I had lost faith in promises a long time ago. Instead, I did the only thing I could do to provide some safety. If not for them, then myself.

"I'll go scout ahead," and I took flight far ahead, searching the roads and expanse around me for anything suspicious. Half a mile, nothing. A mile, squirrels and the like. 2 miles, nothing but my thoughts of Trottingham's fields. The place where I had first learned to take my first shot, was my teacher. A handy griffon he was. I was about to make it 3 miles away when I noticed something on the ground. I descended for a better look. Footprints heading back to Giffonstone. Made by one person. "Who would go this far to Griffonstone alone?" I flew back to the troupe escorting the refugees. Most of the guards were displeased with my departure.

"Did you enjoy your little break?" One asked sarcastically. I ignored him and went straight to Burning and one of the griffon lieutenants, Gato. I informed them of the footprints I had found, quietly enough to not disturb any of the refugees behind us. We moved further away to discuss this in private.

"This could be just a dud. Just a traveller. We have many of those coming to and from towns, looking for adventure," Gato reasoned.

Burning interjected with his own opinion "Perhaps but a lone traveller heading to Griffonstone of all places, right as a civil war is underway. Plus, no creature of the sort has entered since we got here and we haven't seen one since we left so either this is a dud and some griffon just left their town and wandered into a dangerous area or somebody knows we're heading to Guilatea Town."

Gato sighed and turned to his guards "Either way, we can't turn back now. If anything happens, we have to believe we are prepared. For now, we'll just be extra cautious. As for you, General," he said towards me "Please stay close to the group from now on." I merely shrugged in acceptance and Gato went back to inform the troops.

"You've been quiet," Burning said. I wasn't fazed by his comment, inevitable by that point "Wanna talk about it?"

"It's nothing you haven't heard before. A place that reminds you of home, and home is not exactly my favourite place to recall." I couldn't help but remember the night I had decided to become a vigilante, stealing from rich snobs to give to the worse off folks. Coming back from another secret archery lesson by my master, only to find the burning remains of my house. My desperate attempts to enter but denied by the roaring flames. I could only wait for them to die out. "Remember what I told you when you got out of your 'history catch-up class'? How you weren't the only one with nightmares?"

"Watching on helplessly as the one thing you treasured was reduced to nothing? Yes, I remember that talk. You shared your past so I didn't have to feel alone in a new era." We both walked on silently for a time until the refugees began lagging, forcing us to take a break. They all took seats wherever they could, basking in momentary relief. Meanwhile, we remained stood, wary of any threat we might encounter. Burning and I continued to talk about the old days; training together, drinking, causing some mischief on my end, but all of those things were turned sour by a realisation that Shining intruded every memory. We did all those things with him once.

"Can you believe that we've never seen what's become of our best friend?" Burning let out a sigh of relief as Windy uttered the words that lingered in his heart for months.

"I have to." We didn't say anything else, just staring at the horizon for the enemy, praying in our minds that Shining Armour wasn't on that path. At least not today.

NOIRE POV

Another day had passed and now we could feel a tension in the air. The hustling and bustling had quietened as civilians were taken to Guilatea Town, leaving only a deadly silence. Gilgamesh, Luna, Cadance and I took to the walls as I had terrible trembling in my stomach. We watched the horizon like gunslingers in the west, waiting for the enemy. I could feel her, that same sickly aura stacked at least fifteen times. Gilgamesh started the day sceptical of me but soon realised the weight of the situation as the aura got closer. At the rate it was moving towards us, there was no way a confrontation was going to be avoided dangerously close to our walls.

"It's disgusting, malformed. Was she anything like this when you fought her?" Gilgamesh asked.

"It wasn't this strong, but it took both me and a general to stop one of her attacks," Cadancr responded "and I don't think she was using her full power then. If she's gotten this strong then-"

"Then we show her we weren't twiddling our thumbs waiting for her," Luna interrupted "Gilgamesh and I will join the vanguard while you two stay in the back." I wanted to stop her and say I was going as well, but I knew this needed to happen deep down. I was stronger than anyone in that army in terms of magic but also a glaring target for an attack and I was needed to defend for this battle. As Luna and Gilgamesh teleported away, I felt Cadance take my hand.

"We'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know. We'll be fine." By the time we had managed to steal one more kiss, the horizon turned a sickly green, a light in the distance indicating their arrival. Chrysalis had appeared. As I was about to head to my position, a scroll appeared in front of Cadance. A letter from Windy and Burning.

The king is here.

LUNA POV

By the time we arrived at the vanguard, we could already see what had produced such a powerful aura. An army of chimaera like the ones that attacked Canterlot trudging along towards the battlefield, with a large draconic one behind them. I clenched my teeth, watching amalgamations of ponies mutated, merged, or both. Upon closer inspection, I could see them twitching and writhing but remained limited by an unseen grip, like being dragged along the dirt by a puppeteer. Said puppeteer walked in front, a face full of confidence. It was Chrysalis as expected.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, Prince Gilgamesh, Princess Luna. I had my preparations to make." She gestured to her legion of chimaera, growling and crying out. I felt my grip on my blade grow tighter, my breath heavy as the tide.

"You have defiled our nation for far too long, pest. I swear on my title as a princess that every wound you've inflicted on our subjects will be returned a hundredfold. You are not leaving this battlefield in one piece."

Chrysalis ate every single word with an irritating smirk before raising her hand to me "Then I'll make sure princess isn't inscribed on your grave." With a flick of her hand, her army charged at us, obscuring her behind their amalgamated forms.

I took to the skies to search for Chrysalis: she was the weakness of the entire army. "Once she goes down, everything else follows," I thought, but as a bolt of magic struck my side, I knew this wasn't going to be as simple as that. Chrysalis, a few metres away, gestured to me. Give it your best shot, without so much as a word. I charged her, both of my blades ready. I layered them with magic. I sent two, blue magic slashes at her as I approached, both of them impacting before she could react. However, she seemed unaffected. In retaliation, she met me halfway, colliding in an explosion of blue and green as our magic collided. I continuously hacked and slashed while she defended, blocking with her magic and occasionally firing bolts. It was clear that while I had the advantage in speed, her defence was too much to overcome with simple magic. Chrysalis began to tire of our exchange and forced me away with a powerful laser. I was caught off guard and was pushed back down to the ground, right at my allies. My all of my strength, I raised my blades to stop myself and stop the attack.

Some of the ponies and griffons looked up to see a giant pillar of green descending upon them, with only myself to save them. Some of them cheered for me, but I was too busy to notice. I wanted to yell at them to focus but any focus away from my task would cost me. With a loud battle cry and a swipe of my blades, I managed to cut the beam in two, sending them far away from the conflict. "I see why Cadance and General Tidal had so much with you," I said as I enchanted my wings and jetted towards Chrysalis. Chrysalis was caught even more off guard as she wasn't even able to reply before I left a large gash in her torso. She cried out in pain as she turned around to see my blades shining an even brighter blue, almost like Noire's own magic. "You're using arcane magic."

"A gift from our saviour: a redistribution of power. You ponies shouldn't be the only ones with it," she quipped, the wound already beginning to heal. "You know better than anyone else here that they're selfish hypocrites that can't handle the truth that their world isn't as pure and happy as they think. That someone can come along and truly knock them off their thrones."

"Is this an attempt to turn me to your side?" I said as I subtly readied myself for a surprise attack. A well placed cut to her head and it would be over.

"Oh no!" she replied mockingly. I could see her fortifying herself with arcane magic. "I know your history with Grim. We already know you would never side with the enemy of your one that got away. Don't worry-" I shot at her mid-sentence, blades aimed at her neck for a quick and clean decapitation. I could feel them about to enter but a tendril wrapped around my waist, suffocating me in its grasp. I traced its origin to the chimaera dragon's tail, extended to reach our height. Chrysalis leaned into me with a smug grin "- you'll be reunited in the new world Grim has for us. Maybe." With a downward motion of her hand, the tail pulled me down to the ground, shaking the ground on impact. Perhaps as an act of mercy, she permitted the tail to release as I collected myself. I observed my surroundings.

Gilgamesh was dispatching chimaera by the dozens with each strike of his gauntlets. We were outnumbered, but overpowering the army. However, I knew it would only take an order from Chrysalis to have the beast destroy the entire army and what chance we had of opposing Gilgar. I could not leave her idle. In the few moments I had left to recover, I sent a message to our rear guard.

NOIRE POV

I could see our forces colliding, the juggernaut standing above the conflict, and trails of blue and green soaring through the skies. Some time into the battle, I could feel both powers rising, almost to a level I would consider a code avatar to have. I turned to Cadance, whose hands began to tremble.

"Why does their magic feel so similar to mine right now?"

"They're using arcane magic now. Aunt Tia and Luna refrain from using it unless it's necessary. As to why it feels like yours, it's because arcane magic is 'pure magic, straight from the origin of magic itself.' At least that's what Aunt Tia said. If I had to make the distinction, imagine the taste of pure squash. What's worrying me is that Chrysalis has it. Shining's simple unicorn magic was able to counter you and Tidal. Arcane magic fuelling it would practically allow it to move on its own."

It was during our talk that I felt a ringing in my head. I could hear Luna's voice, laboured and hoarse 'We need you to get rid of that dragon. Now. Cadance stays back.' I saw Cadance frown slightly at the message she must have overheard. I pulled her in for a kiss and placed my forehead on hers.

"I'll be fine. When have I ever not come back to you?" I whispered.

"I know. Go play hero," she replied as I took a step back and took flight, charging straight at the dragon. From my view of the battle below, we were winning for now, but looked like Chrysalis was starting to get bored of her duel with Luna, defences tightening as Luna's attacks were beginning to have less of an effect.

As I got in range of Luna and the beast, I harnessed my magic into my blade "Final Decode: Encode Boost!" before releasing it in a wave. Luna's sword glowed even brighter as they left a cut on Chrysalis' cheek while I charged straight at the dragon's face, shooting a beam of magic into the beast's maw. It could do nothing but take the attack, its face beginning to fall apart from the heat and damage. Meanwhile, Chrysalis was in shock, but too preoccupied with the barrage of attacks she had to counter to stop me. However, I saw her look at her pawn, causing her to take several more wounds to her arms. They fell limp to her sides, and as Luna prepared herself for a killing blow, she vanished from sight. She had teleported straight to the dragon's back.

"It looks like Tirek really did help you grow stronger. I knew that was a bad idea," I tried to close in on her but I was pushed away by several magic beams. All across the dragon's sides were faces. Ponies, humans, and even some griffons were included "However, I can't return to him without some results, so I'm going to need you to step aside while I get rid of this pesky rebellion!" With that, she sunk into the dragon's flesh. The eyes of the faces turned from a pale white to a sickly green and through many distorted voices, she spoke "COELESTIS ASSIMILATION!" The army looked on in horror as the beast began absorbing all of its surroundings, tentacles protruding from the faces' mouths and grabbing any soul or soulless being unfortunate enough to stand in its path. Chimaera, griffon, and pony alike were grabbed and consumed by the beast.

"RETREAT!" I heard Gilgamesh cry. Luna and I flew as fast as we could around the beast, cutting as many tendrils as possible, all the while dodging tendrils from grabbing and consuming us too. However, there were too many to cut, and they kept regenerating.

"Noire! We have to go!" Luna yelled.

I turned to her, incredulous "What about-"

"There's nothing we can do! We need to help the retreat!" she dove down to the fleeing army. I clenched my fists, fighting with myself when I heard that sickening voice speak again.

"Awww~ Are you leaving already~? We were just getting started." Her mocking was what finally see me off. I called forth two Phantom Excaliburs and threw them at the dragon's torso. They passed right through but noticeably weakened the body, its glow dulling significantly. Chrysalis re-emerged from the torso, panting as she tried to collect herself. I rushed to chop off her head but tendrils wrapped around my arms and legs. "You'll suffer a hundredfold for that!" She spread out her hand as the tendrils began to pull at my limbs. I cried out in pain as I felt bones break, and I was about to be pulled apart when Luna cut me loose and caught me.

I couldn't tell what was happening, the pain, dulling all of my senses as I felt the wind rushing against my form. We retreated in utter defeat.

Author's Note

I'll spare you the details. I think most of you get how life works. School, Work, Burnout, blah blah blaaaaaah.

I can't tell how much I missed writing this story. It wasn't a smooth start but I'm still here, trying, so I hope you guys will keep reading and