Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen

Rainbow Dash

With the battle now concluded, the conquerors for hire went about rounding up the surviving ponies: Some were soldiers that had been captured, others were just civilians that had taken to hiding underneath the castle in the basement. The latter were being escorted from the ruined by her now former allies, colts and mares of all ages. From elderly servants and staff, to young children. She could tell the latter from the wailing she heard from them, not blaming them for being so scared for only fate knew what would happen to them now: If they were lucky, they might be taken in as servants by a kindly warrior or even allowed to be released. But, more likely, there would be a few that ended up dead...or worse.
“Alright, next!” The calls of the commander brought the pegasus back to reality, now making her way towards a small wooden desk and a chair that the leading pony sat on. It was a quaint enough piece of furniture, likely taken from the castle and set up as a means of distributing pay, but it was undermined by the pile of dead behind it. If she were a lesser pony she would have been unable to take the sight let alone the horrid stench. But, she had crossed too many battlefields in her short life and had just simply gotten used to it as all soldiers did.

“Here's your pay for the two months of service, plus your reward. Go ahead, count it”. The colt smugly stated as he placed a small bag of bits plus several silver ones. Despite assurances from her commander, a slimy looking grey pony with a mane of blonde, short cut hair and a moustache, she picked up the coins to individually count them. Every one of them she bit into, testing if they were real or not.”You know, you impressed me today, obvious fluke aside. Imagine, a little mare like yourself slaying Bazuzo!” He chuckled, taking a sip from a small goblet of wine before continuing but the pegasus just continued counting her coins.”How about you work for me? I'll triple your pay. My clerk even said I can take you on as a knight, even give you a few squires. For a Merc, that seems like a dream come true right?”
“Dreams?” Rainbow dash finally spoke, looking at her former commander as he took another sip of his wine.”Last I checked you couldn't eat those”. The response made the colt relinquish the contents of his mouth, spraying it out across the table amidst a surprised cough.”Besides, my contract with you expires today. Not good business for a Merc to stay with one employer” She had been through this song and dance routine so many times it was tedious: Pegasai were not common on the battlefield, and the few that did fight were hoarded up among various noble lords due to their flight abilities. She'd heard stories when she had been younger about great aerial battles, sieges in cities among the clouds. Of great aerial machines, and of powerful unicorns that wielded sinister magical power. But, those days were in the past:
The great aerial machines had broken, the Pegasai had fled to somewhere in the skies or retired to the ground. And the unicorns? Their once fabled magical prowess appeared to be all but gone
“H-hey! Hold on, I'm offering you riches and power beyond what any mere mercenary could ever hope to have and you turn it back in my face!?” It seemed her employer had tried to follow after her in an attempt to convince her to stay, but she would have none of it. She was a mercenary, she knew where her priorities lay.”I said hold on!” The feeling of her employers hoof on her back made her come to a halt, rage welling within her.
“DON'T TOUCH ME!” She roared, reflexively striking the hoof away and glaring at her employer. She hated, nay loathed, to be touched. She knew all to well the intentions of those touching her, and she'd be damned if she let them get what they wanted. Never again would she give them another chance.”Don't you ever touch me!” She watched the colt recoil from her, satisfied he had the message. She turned and continued walking away, hearing mutters of surprise and distaste from her former comrades as she left the ruined gate.

She bit down the temptation to fly for the time being, noticing the all too present ominous storm cloud overhead. She had learned the folly of flying in storms, and was none to keen to repeat such a mistake.

Rarity

Things had gone well enough during the evacuation. The nobles that had owned that castle had thankfully provided a blueprint of the castle, making them privy to secret passages that could be used to escape. The lords had long since escaped them three months ago, leaving them to guard the castle for as long as possible against enemy forces. They hadn't even lost anyone during the escape either, something she was all to used too from long service in this mercenary band.
But, it was still a retreat from a job and the unicorn couldn't help the feeling of shame that welled in her as she retreated: Three months down the drain, and not a single noteworthy kill to her name. Even now as she sat atop the grassy hill against a rock, she couldn't escape the feeling of failure let alone the amount of bits she still owed.

“Hey, Someone's coming!” The unicorn looked up absently from examining a few gems that one of her underlings had asked for her to check to see if it was real before returning her attention to the gem. As usual, she couldn't trust her men to tell a gold bit from a button and found that the gem was a forgery. She didn't know how many times she had gone over how to tell the difference between a fake and the real thing, but as always they had ignored her. She decided to ignore the call: After all, unless it was a group of soldiers patrolling or an enemy heading their way she had better things to do then watch every ruffian that walked the path. Plus, the prospect that at-least one of these gems she had not yet examined may just be real enough to warrant the amount of bits that exchanged hooves for these forgeries was enough to keep her attention on the task at hand.
“Hold up! That's the mare that killed Bazuzo!” And with that detail, her priorities instantly changed.
“Hang on, she's not our enemy any more so why the hell should we care?” Another of her underlings spoke, another giving a grunt of agreement.
“Then again, that bag of bits she's got is just filled to the brim, I can sense it!” Rarity poked her head up between two of her subordinates, a greedy smile making it's way across her face as her hooves moved to pull them closer to her.”She got a lot of bits for killing Bazuzo...Bits, might I add, that rightfully belong to us!” She had made a bet with some of the other commanders that Bazuzo would be her kill after the job had been done. She could have finally had a bit of glory for killing someone famous only to have this Pegasus crush it under her sword. But she was going to have the last laugh, and the bits to show for it. But, desires for banditry aside, she knew she couldn't just run off.”Hey Pinkie-pie! Mind if we go and get her?” She called back

The pink earth pony was resting on the grass, her hooves behind her head as she gazed up at the blue sky. There had been some fears of a storm earlier but, luckily, the clouds had given way to clearer weather.
“Do what you want”. Pinkie-pie sighed out in boredom, not even giving the unicorn a second look. Not that she cared: She had the permission to do as she wished!
“Alright boys, with me!” She laughed happily, grabbing her helmet and spear, eagerly moving to the edge of the hill before a sigh of discontent hit her ears. A sigh she knew all to well.”Fluttershy, what are you moping about?”
“You won't be able to beat her Rarity, not with your abilities”.
Rarity scoffed.“Let me tell you something Darling: I was the one who was going to kill Bazuzo and I won't be satisfied until I kill the one foolish enough to come between me and the glory that is rightfully mine!”
“In that case you'll die”. The morbid tone of her words made Rarity scowl.
“It-is-on!” She turned, placing her helmet on her head before grabbing her spear.
“Oh no, Sugar-cube..”The southern accented earth pony spoke in concern, looking up briefly from a wood carving she was busy working on as rarity walked by.”Pinkie-Pie. Are you sure it's ok to leave this up to her?” She asked the pink haired leader, only to receive no reply.

Silence befell the rest of her comrades as the last of Rarity's men donned their helmets and grabbed weapons, a sight that made that greedy smile return to the unicorns face.

Rainbow Dash

Noticing the clouds dissipate above her, the Pegasus stopped in her travels to stretch her wings. With no fear of a storm stopping her now, she knew that flying would be easy. Hearing a twig snap nearby, she froze in place like a deer, gazing in the direction the sound originated. Spotting nothing, she shook her head with a sigh.
“Just my imagination” She knew paths through the hills, especially when the wind blew with a bit more velocity then normal, tended to make you hear things that weren't truly there.

The peace of the realisation was shattered as she heard the sound of hooves galloping in her direction, looking up to see a horde of armoured ponies brandishing weapons. It was all to clear what the origin of the earlier noise was these bandits and she needed even less time to realise she was their target.
Putting her bag of coins down beside her, the mare put her helmet on her head, pulling the visor down.
“Dan, Get her!” The one leading them, a Pegasus from the look of the horn jutting out through her helmet, spoke. The other, Dan, let out a loud Yeehaw! Of delight as he charged right for her, ready to bring his sword down on her.
Taking a few steps back, Rainbow Dash unsheathed her great sword and flared her wings as her enemy approached. Just as he was mere moments away, she propelled herself fourth, slicing through the ponies chest as she took to the air, decorating the ground she had once stood with her enemies blood. Forgetting for a moment that she was still hovering in place, she turned to see a flail being swung downwards at her by another of the bandits. She barely had time to manoeuvre herself out of the way, the spikes just barely grazing her cheek as the weapon hit where her body had just been seconds before. She immediately countered this assault by swinging her sword down at the other ponies outstretched hoof, severing the appendage to the sound of her enemy screaming Her opponent lost his balance, falling the rest of the way down the hill and collapsing in a squealing heap. He grasped helplessly at where his hoof used to be, unable to stop screaming.

“Dear God. She's so...powerful”. The bandit that had ordered her first victim blurted out in shock, having come to a stop alongside the rest of her henchmen.

Fluttershy

“Look at what that mare did to Dan and Earl!” One of the colts watching the spectacle spoke.
“Dammit, what is Rarity doing: Fight or just get out of their already! She's gonna get herself killed!” Another spoke in distress, but the yellow Pegasus just sighed and shook her head at their disbelief. She had known Rarity was going to get into trouble and bite off more then she could handle: She had always been a glory seeker, motivated only by the riches of mercenary life and nothing more as far as she had seen. True, she was among one of the earliest members of Pinkie-Pie's band of warriors, but she remained the weakest of the commanders. She recalled many times that she had been forced to double back and save the Unicorn, from either an enemy or from her own retched greed and stupidity. She was by no means the worst fighter among them, but she wasn't about to go and lump unwanted praise on something like that. Not when she was the one that truly excelled.
“Fluttershy, go handle this”. The voice of Pinkie-pie instantly alerted her to what needed to be done, instantly filling the shy Pegasus with anger. Her? Help Rarity!? She had gotten herself into this, and as far as she was concerned she could get herself out without her help this time.
“M-me? B-but this is all Rarity's Faul-” Pinkie-Pie's blue eyes opening and staring at her made her finish her sentence there, any anger at the situation dying down into silence.”O-ok..I'll do it”

She knew that she had no choice, not where Pinkie-Pie was concerned: whatever their leader told her, she did without question. She was her sword, to be used in whatever Pinkie-Pie needed accomplished.

The pegasus donned her helmet, moving to grab a crossbow from nearby. Making sure to check her sword was at her back, she spread her wings in preparation for battle with one of her own species.

Rainbow Dash

“Donnelly! You go!” Rainbow Dash floated in the air, simply waiting to see if her opponents would wise up and decide to retreat. Unfortunately the unicorn and her ilk seemed to be persistent, despite the rather glaring disadvantage of being unable to get off the ground.
“Why me!?” The other bandit complained to their leader, prompting Rainbow Dash to lose her patience. She'd given them a chance to run, but they hadn't taken it. So she'd take their heads instead. Raising her sword up, she flew down at the leader, aiming to cave the unicorns head in with a single blow just as she'd done to Bazuzo. The unicorn screamed in terror, bracing herself for the impact.

A sharp pain erupted in her side, making her cry out and end her hover. This had the dubious side-effect of making her ungraciously fall and hit the ground with a sharp thud. Wincing, she slowly picked herself, curious as to what had happened until she saw...another Pegasus? These bandits had a Pegasus on their side!? And with her current injury making flight difficult, she had just turned this fight in her favour Whoever she was, she was no amateur.
The newcomer flew over rather swiftly, standing guard in front of the unicorn and her men. It was rather sad to admit that she found the pegasus a more intimidating sight then the group of armed bandits, but she could tell this new enemy wasn't like the ones behind her. Rainbow dash grabbed at her side, finding a crossbow bolt embedded there. She pulled sharply, causing the bolt to be removed and a cry of pain to escape her as she let it slip to the ground.
“Fluttershy? You've come to back me up?”
“Of-course I haven’t, I'm here under Pinkie-Pie's orders”. The Pegasus shoved her crossbow into the hooves of the unicorn, glaring back at her before she felt her new enemies attention turn back to her.
The newcomer Fluttershy, as the bandit leader had called her, let out a cry of anger before unsheathing a short-sword and swooping down to slash at her. Dash's eyes widened, blocking the blade with her own. The other Pegasus turned in the air quickly, making another pass that Rainbow Dash was again able to block. Her enemy didn't let up, attacking with surprising ferocity that left her unable to attack. It was a smart tactic, she had to give her opponent that: This Fluttershy's assault seemed to be designed to not allow for her enemy to counter attack without risking serious injury and against any other pony it might have worked. But, Rainbow Dash noticed that there was a slight delay where her back was turned. It was only a brief window though, and she knew if she was to have any hope of winning she'd need speed. There was one way she could do it, it would hurt but if she pulled it off then she could knock this Fluttershy out of the sky.

Waiting for her enemy to make another swoop, Dash jumped to the side and quickly flared her wings. She bit down a growl of pain from her injury, knowing it hurt to spread her wings. However she didn't need to fly..she just needed a push. Flapping the down, she used the momentum to propel herself forwards as her enemy turned, stabbing her sword at the rival Pegasus' head.
Hearing a cry of surprise escape her enemy, Rainbow Dash knew she had done it. She watched her enemies helmet be dislodged as her sword hit her, the equipment managing to save her enemies head from being sliced through as she tumbled back onto the ground.
“How dare you!” Fluttershy cried out, making a mad rush at her and swinging her short-sword down in anger. The blow was easily blocked, with Rainbow dash replying with a kick to her opponents stomach, sending her back before starting to swing wildly at her. The tables now effectively turned, the Pegasus continued her assault and repeatedly swung her blade down, leaving her no chance to counter.
“Fluttershy's cornered!” A voice rang out from above.
“That's impossible. None of us can beat Fluttershy but Pinkie-Pie, yet this mare's making it look so easy..I think we're in trouble here”. A second spoke up as the pegasus swung diagonally across, changing her blades direction and knocking the sword from Fluttershy's hooves and sending her tumbling down. Raising her sword up, Rainbow dash looked down at the shocked expression of her enemy: She knew that look, it was the one that soldiers gave when they realised they were going to die.

A spear lodging itself into the ground beside her was the only thing that stopped her from dealing the final blow, immediately looking to the side to find the origin: It was a pony wearing white armour, with a strange helmet that looked like an opened birds beak. Only a sabre was sheathed at her side, immediately reminding Rainbow Dash of those festivals where nobles paraded down the streets. But, despite the strange appearance, the Pegasus couldn't help but keep her attention on this strange pony.
“Pinkie-Pie! Be careful, she's very strong!” Fluttershy spoke as the newcomer, Pinkie-Pie, stood across from them. Despite the visor, The pegasus could feel her stare, as if she was the only thing in this ponies world.
“Will you lay down your sword?” The question made the Pegasus' eyes narrow, proceeding to raise her own blade up in-front of her.”I see..”A sigh came from the earth pony, almost as if it was of regret, but the Pegasus shook that from her thoughts. She was her enemy, nothing else mattered but beating her!
Letting out a roar, she rushed forwards and swung her blade down, expecting it to cleave through this seemingly 'fake' warrior like a fine cake. However, the clang of metal showed that her enemy had drawn her blade to block the incoming blow, the small blade surprisingly sturdy against the strength of the Pegasus' blade. She spotted a smirk on her enemies lips before she tilted her blade down, ending the clash and causing Rainbow dash to stumble forwards due to her blade slipping forward. Turning quickly to retaliate, she could only watch in horror as her enemies blade embedded itself in her chest. She was surprised at how graceful and quick her enemy was, having expected her to go down easily as the others had. But, with a flick of her wrist, Pinkie-pie withdrew the blade, allowing the Pegasus to fall back, the pain of the blow finally coming to her in full force.

How could this pony, an earth pony no less, be so fast?

Fluttershy

Relief washed over her as she saw Pinkie-pie deal with her foe in a single stroke, her allies immediately cheering happily at the victory.
“Amazing, you beat her in just a single attack!” She permitted herself to smile as she moved towards her leader, wanting to check to see if she had been injured in any capacity.
“Hmmph! That Ruffian was a fool to go up against Pinkie-Pie!” Rarity's confident statement made Fluttershys anger return full force, quickly turning to point her sword at the unicorn. Did she not understand how much she had just cost them, or that she had placed Pinkie-pie in danger!? No..of course she hadn't. She never did.
“You're the whole reason this happened Rarity, I don't want to hear another word out of you!” To most it was a shock to see someone who was normally so meek and shy be so aggressive, or even carry any authority. But, her comrades knew that on the battlefield, she was just as serious as the others.”If you can't fight, then don't create trouble” Her words made the unicorn back up slightly, her hooves out in-front of her.
“I'm sorry Darling, I promise it won't happen again!” Fluttershy knew that was a lie if she'd ever heard one, and was about to speak further when she heard movement nearby.
“Unbelievable, s-she's still able to stand!”

Fluttershy looked up in shock to see the other Pegasus slowly limping over, a look of determination on her features. Her first instinct was to move over near her leader, quickly getting into an attack stance.
“Step aside Fluttershy” The pink-haired pegasus was about to argue until she heard a cry of anger, looking to see the Pegasus rush towards them. She readied herself, about to attack when her injured opponent collapsed to the ground,a stopping just before Fluttershy's hooves. She saw a glare of defiance directed towards Pinkie-Pie, who just looked down at her fallen foe indifferently before moving to undo her helmet, freeing her fluffy pink hair from underneath and allowing it to pool out. She stared down at the rainbow headed pegasus until she passed out.”Take her back to camp”.

The order made everyone murmur amongst themselves until two ponies moved to carry the unconscious mare away, whilst Fluttershy just stood there in silent shock.