Everfree Liberation Army

Princess Celestia had left for Canterlot the moment Twilight gave her the news, only to return as soon as she got there with a full battalion of Royal Pegasi. She was deeply concerned about the safety of her subjects, the newly arrived strangers were armed and they seemed to be the cause for the storm that had swept through Ponyville. After deploying the royal troops around the town she entered the town hall and waited for the stranger's dignitaries.

"Brethgurt, court wizard and appointed ambassador for Soon-To-Be-King Gruthvink the cruel." The old man said respectfully as he bowed his head.

"Grunthar, general of the Everfree liberation army's forces and King Gruthvink's Lieutenant." Grunthar declared emphasizing his resolve as to who the king was, which earned him a look from Brethgurt telling him not to act up.

"I am Princess Celestia, Goddess of the sun and ruler of Equestria, why have you come into my domains and caused such an inconvenience for my subjects?" The Princess inquired firmly, still not trusting the men in front of her.

"We are sorry for any troubles we may have caused for your subjects" Brethgurt answered in an apologetic tone. "But we are in great need, many of our people are sick and starving, our soldiers are tired of the long journey and we are being chased by a tyrant, we needed to leave the forest as fast as possible and the spell that had us bound to its depths could not be broken without consequences." He was trying as hard as he could to gain the Princess's forgiveness and trust without sounding  too desperate, but his voiced betrayed him as well as his face, upon both the clear sign of desperation was imprinted and it was not easy to miss.

"And what exactly would you have me do about this?" The princess was now wary of the situation, these men were armed and they were fugitives, for all she knew they could be running from justice and giving them protection could start another war but now against an unknown foe.

"Food and shelter." Was the dry and curtly reply Grunthar gave before Brethgurt could do anything about it. "There may still be some among us who are innocent to the sins of civil war."

Northern Everfree forest

Frethnk the merciful and his army marched through the thick forest floor, always moving north. Frethnk's army consisted of five units of irregular infantry and militia, with each unit made up of a hundred soldiers, one unit of regular heavy infantry a unit of woodland archers and one unit of beast masters. His irregulars, which conformed most of his army were lightly armored, fast moving infantrymen, their equipment reflected upon their social status as few of them could afford even the most rusty of chain mail armor with their weapons being of a varied assortment; swords, maces, axes, daggers, broken branches and basically anything they could get their hands on.

His regulars however reflected the actual might of his army, fully coated in chain mail with an iron plated cuirass and an open helmet, their resistance in battle made up for their lack of speed, their weapons were made of the finest iron that could be extracted from the mountains that flanked the Everfree forest, a full assortment of iron shields coated in manticore leather, long swords and battle axes, this were the cream of the crop, ready to charge into the fray and turn the tide of battle in an instant. With his archers similarly equipped as his irregulars, with the exception of a longbow, all that was left were Frethnk's beast masters, terrible men that controlled hideous beasts, there were only thirty of them but half as much would have been enough to destroy an entire army. The beast masters were trained since their infancy to control the varied assort of monsters the Everfree forest launched at them, they however specialized in the training of timberwolves, with very few manticores at their disposal. The repertoire included twenty timberwolves each one assigned to one beast master, and one manticore kept in a cage and controlled by ten beast masters.

Frethnk smiled from his position in the center of his army, he would not be defeated this time.

From the back of the army a young noble woman by the name of Garith talked with one of her fellow lords.

"Unflack, i don't know how much more of this i can take! Frethnk just gets furious when either one of us tries to approach him, i'm not sure if he will ever forgive us for Gruthvinks escape." Lady Garith was saddened by the recent events that led to her monarchs discontent. She had been a loyal servant of her lord and king for her entire life, she had supported his every decision and he had always proved himself worthy of her trust, but now when Frethnk needed her the most she had failed.

"Don't worry love, after that traitor is brought to justice our king will return to his former self and we will once again be in his favor." Lord Unflack reassured his lover with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her, they had been together in secrecy for over three years and their plans of marriage had been spoiled by Gruthvinks revolt.

But they had more to hate him for, after the rebellion started, hundreds of peasants rose up in arms and assaulted their landlords, Gariths mother had perished in her estate, nailed to a tree by an angry mob of commoners. The situation did nothing but worsen, as King Frethnks army tried to quell both the rebellion and the riots in the city, Gruthvinks supporters burned down the house of nobles, in which many of the countries most notorious citizens resided, killing half a dozen men, women and children. When publicly confronted by the king, Gruthvink only sent a letter in which he declared social supremacy abolished and announced that all nobles that were captured by his forces would be executed, along with the letter he sent the heads of several nobles and a note in which their "crimes" were written down along with the signature of several of his newly formed People's Court of Justice. King Frethnk retaliated by burning alive several of Gruthvinks supporters, caught after the burning of the house of nobles, along with their families.

"Will we ever be married? Or will the fires of war never stop pulling us apart?" Garith whispered sadly as a small bird flew over the branches of the trees singing its sad song into the morning mist.

Ponyville

Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrived at Sweet Apple Acres to find most of the trees devoid of apples, which had been splattered against the barn. The apple family stood outside their home and stared at their ruined crops, they had done so ever since the wind died down.

"A.J. hey! Are you guys ok?" Rainbow Dash called out as she flew over to her friend, Rarity followed close behind at first but was soon left behind by her flying friend.

"Ma'h ma'h farm..." Was all the orange earth pony could say.

"Oh Applejack, we are so very sorry for this tragedy! Is there anything we can do to help?" Rarity said as she finally reached the group.

Applebloom was crying her eyes out on her brothers back while Big Mac's hoof cleaned a few tears that started to leave his eyes. Applejack said nothing else, her friends hugged her and tried to help but she was too devastated, all she did was stare at the destruction as several tears of her own ran down her cheeks.

Back in the rebels camp the sun had started to go down but the cheer and celebration was still fresh! After the camp had been raised and the few scraps of food and drink had been assembled, the remaining soldiers and their families celebrated their escape from social slavery, and a familiar figure to all of them was seen for the very first time in months.

"Gruthvink! Gruthvink! Gruthvink!" Came the excited ovation for the leader of the Everfree Liberation Army, Gruthvink the cruel had been recovering from an arrow wound he received in their flight from the woods, and now there he stood with a grin on his face. As he received the cheers of his men, the tall man with a chestnut colored hair and thick beard, raised his flagon of mead into the air and shouted.

"Today, we men and women from the Everfree forest can finally say that we are free!" His shout was received with a growing cheer and happiness. "No more will our families be exploited for the benefit of an old landlord! No more will we have to see our children grow to be nothing more than slaves to some old pig in a throne! I tell you all, no more!"

The crowd exploded with excitement as the beer and food was devoured, no longer concerned about conserving it, all men women and children basked in the freedom and ease of heart they felt, they were no longer subjected to Frethnks oppressive rule.

Princess Celestia thought about the decision she had made, she wondered if what she did was correct and if it would put her kingdom in danger, then she heard the celebration from the refugees camp and a small sensation of satisfaction mixed in with her worries, she heard children laugh, the sound reassured her of her choice, she thought nothing was of more importance than bringing joy to those innocent ones, she believed at that moment that her decision was one she would never come to regret.

Brethgurt had spent the past ten minutes shouting and snapping at his friend for his response to the princess, but Grunthar could not care less. The princess had agreed, they were safe for now, all he needed to worry about was to bolster the army with a few Equestrian militants and set a large wooden wall around their camp.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice story Brethgurt but i need you to shut it, and to start getting the word around town of our noble cause and how much we need their help to fight tyranny. Can you do that?" Brethgurts eyes grew wide as pure anger overcame him.

"How in hell can you think of such a thing? We have just arrived! The princess barely gave us shelter and we wrecked half the town with that goddamn storm! And you want to spread war propaganda around?! Gods damn your stinking hide!" Brethgurt furiously snapped at him and then walked away in a hurry.

"I dont see what the problem is..." Grunthar said to himself and walked off in a different direction trying to find something to eat.

Brethgurt was angry to say the least, the episode with the Princess would not go without consequences, he was certain! But on the other hand, his people were safe and content, he could hear the celebration from a distance by now. "Gods preserve us, but Grunthar is right, we do need more swords for the cause..." Brethgurt let out a sigh, and continued his aimless walk.

"What. Are. You?" Came a voice from behind him.

"What?" He turned around to see the small purple unicorn that had lead them to the town hall earlier that day.

Answer me! What are you and what do you want?" Twilight's horn glowed with a purple aura as she interrogated Brethgurt.

"We mean you no harm, we are humans from the Everfree forest, we have come seeking aid against our war against a tyrant and oppressor." Brethgurt noticed he had use his propaganda speech without noticing. "We only seek shelter."

Twilights horn stopped glowing as she approached the man, curiosity gaining on her cautious side.

"What's a human?" She asked.

"It's a very long story that of us humans, only the most intelligent of ponies can hope to grasp such knowledge." Brethgurt was sure he had seen such curiosity before, but only in the eyes of those who sought to know more than anything. If he played his cards right, he could gain the little unicorns friendship and support in little time.

"Humph. And what makes you think that i am unable to understand your history! I bet i can get to know better than yourself!" Twilight said taking the bait. Her love towards knowledge always her weakness.

"Really? Well then, is there some place were we can discuss this matter more appropriately?" Brethgurt smiled knowing quite well he still was a master of the mind.

"Follow me to the library and then we'll see who is the underachiever." Twilight replied with a slightly arrogant tone as she led Brethgurt back to the library.

Grunthar had not walked for more than a few meters before a blur of pink passed him and a familiar Pinkie Pie stood before him with the same smile she always wore.

"Hey there!" Pinkie said happily as she greeted the warrior.

"Blessed be my eye! If it isn't you Pinkie Pie!" He said with a smile of his own as he kneeled to be on eye level with the pony.

Pinkie giggled as something came to mind. "You sound like my zebra friend Zecora! Do you know her? She lives in the forest! Maybe you saw her house! Its not very pretty and it's kind of spooky, but shes very fun! and she talks in rhymes!"

Grunthar burst out laughing in his particularly rough voice, this pony was just too much for his serious face to handle. Several of the ponies that had recently begun to emerge from their homes watched the scene with confusion and the fear they had felt for the strange man was now slightly replaced by curiosity as they saw the pink mare make a new friend.

Pinkie had no idea as to why the man was laughing, but she joined in just for the fun of it. After the outburst of laughter had died down Pinkie decided to give her newest friend a tour around town.

"Hey! How about a tour around town! It will be fun! I'll show you the park, the candy store, and all the other fun things! Please please, please?" Pinkie put on her best puppy face and Grunthar, who would much rather be showed around town than go back to meet with Brethgurt agreed and after Pinkie had jumped around in happiness for a few minutes they set off to meet everypony.

Twilights eyes were wide with amazement as Brethgurt narrated about the war between ponies and men and then continued on to explain the flight into the forest and how civilization began, although he did hide or modify some of the most gruesome stories so as not to startle his new friend, he soon felt carried away in his own stories, it had been too long since he had been able to do what he loved the most, to teach about mankind heritage, he loved to tell these stories but few would listen to them in times of war and those that did were more interested in finding ways of slaughtering each other rather than listening for the pleasure of it. For once in a long time he felt relaxed.

"... and that, my dear Twilight, is how King Breregur the fourth expelled the Hydra and its worshipers from his kingdom!" He was now openly smiling, delighted to be teaching one of his personal favorite stories.

"Wow, I never thought Hydras could be intelligent enough to lead a cult, even less lead an army!" Her bewilderment was as obvious as her fascination.

"Oh, most of them are not. This one however possessed a rather strange peculiarity that made it quite intelligent! You see the secret to the Hydras intelligence was..." He was cut off short by a very angry rainbow maned pegasus as she violently opened the door and launched herself towards Brethgurt tackling him.

"Stay away from us you monster!" She shouted in anger as the old man was sent tumbling back loosing his balance.

"Rainbow! Wait!" Twilight tried to stop her friend before she injured Brethgurt.

"He destroyed Applejacks farm!" Rainbow relentlessly tried to attack Brethgurt, angry tears in her eyes.

"He did not! That was the storm!" Twilight had not heard of Applejacks tragedy but she was certain that the man being attacked could not be the offender. Twilight kept Rainbow suspended in the air with her magic, the rainbow maned mare kicking and punching wildly trying to conect with Brethgurt.

Gruthvinks wife, Jifvres, was happily part taking in the celebration happy her husband was finally back on his feet after that arrow had injured him. Jifvres loved Gruthvink deeply, maybe more than she should, he was the only one who had cared for her after her brother became so absorbed in his wars and schemes. Gruthvink had always been there for her, and after he had proposed and married her, that love only grew. When dark times came and Gruthvink could no longer stand to see the horrid conditions the people lived in while the nobility enjoyed luxury beyond belief, she stood by him when he confronted her brother, and even after he commenced his rebellion she did not desert him, she lost her luxuries and her way of life, but being by his side was all she cared for, and now after many troubles they were finally free and out of her brother's clutches.

She let out a deep sigh, and took a breath. Feeling relaxed she walked over to her husband, her blonde hair moving under the winds influence, rendering her a stunning appearance.

"Will my lord and king honor me with a dance?" She asked, her sweet voice carrying through the wind as her bright blue eyes looked up to her husband,

"My pleasure."

The music turned softer and more romantic as the melody switched from telling tales of defeated foes and fallen beasts into a ballad of love and compassion. Soldiers and peasants alike began to dance with their spouses around the King and his wife. The night air was soft and pleasant, the bright moon shone above in the sky. For the first time in many years, the present men and women did not dread the arrival of a new year.