Chapters Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
In this world. Is the destiny of pony kind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of fate hovering above? At-least it is true, ponies have no control...Even over there own will!
Rainbow Dash
All she could do was stare. The sky above her always held such an allure to her: The serenity of the infinite blue above her called out constantly as if inviting her to join it in all it's majesty, to mingle amongst the marble white clouds and the birds that made the space home. How she wanted to just leap into the air, to take flight and send herself through the infinite space, but she knew that at a time like this it was impossible. Her gaze was drawn to a single hawk, circling above her and the other hundreds if not thousands of souls confined to the ground below. She envied the creature in it's freedom to travel where it pleased, to be free from any and all orders or responsibility from other creatures. She was torn between wanting to tear the creature from the sky, to make it suffer on the ground with her and the rest of the ponies below, and just continuing in watching it circle without purpose or reason. There was peace in this sight, more so then what occurred below, free from conflict or danger. The thoughts of the pegasus were rudely interrupted as a stray arrow struck the airborne creature in the neck, sending it spiralling to the unforgiving ground below. It was a sight she had seen time and again, just another victim of the war below it.
The barren land surrounding the castle was blotted out by armoured ponies, all of them making a mad dash toward the outer wall to try to breach the inside. Arrows rained down from the battlements, some unfortunate ponies being struck and killed before they even reached the wall. But reaching the curtain wall or portcullis did not assure safety, oh no, the pegasus had learned long ago such a thing was just foolish hope. Most of the time the battlements swapped arrows for stones, using them to crush the head of whatever unfortunate pony they aimed for. If they were smart or served an especially wealthy lord, they would pour scolding hot oil or water on the victims ramming at the gates. Such occasions had been rare in her career on the battlefields of equestria, but she had seen the pain the ram-wielders suffered from such assaults. In this situation, the ponies manning the ram had managed smartly placed a boat over the top of them to dull the hits from the stones that rained down from atop of the portcullis. This was taking too long for her: The gate had barely been scathed by the ram, the ladders that had been erected by eager soldiers had been either knocked down or it's climbers disposed of for recklessly rushing up it to meet the tip of an enemy sword.
Pulling the visor of her helmet down to obscure her face, she finally took off in a charge towards the castle walls. The last wave of soldiers was rushing alongside her, having had the misfortune of being lumped with them. The last wave was always ones who had never killed a pony before, or ones that were too cowardly to stake their lives on the first wave. It didn't matter to her for she had no intention of staying with them, a smirk crossing her face as she picked up the pace. Her wings gradually splayed themselves out, managing to side-step or miss the arrows as she neared the walls until, finally, she launched herself off the ground and into the air.
But as soon as the moment of freedom had begun it was over and she landed on the opposite end of the castles battlements. Archers dropped bows to quickly draw blades, but it didn't matter to the pegasus: She had flown in, breached the supposedly 'impenetrable' defences, and even drawn blood. Right now, in this moment of euphoria, the enemies numbers meant absolutely nothing to her.
The sound of wood collapsing and the cries of horror from the bailey beneath her meant one thing and one thing alone: The gate had been breached at-last. Using the distraction to her advantage, she flared her wings and propelled herself forwards, swiftly fighting her way along the battlements' distracted soldiers to clear a path below. That was where the real money would be: The commanders head.
It took but a few moments after her hooves touched the ground of the bailey before the forces she tentatively called her allies had stalled once again, coming to a halt in the face of a single armoured colt. No, this was no Colt: It was a suit of Armour masquerading as a pony, it's size and bloodied battleaxe instantly halting the once eager and brave mercenaries that had been eager for a pay-check The light grey plates that completely covered the colt from head to hoof made him seem less real and more metal: The only sign that there was a living creature inside of the suit was two holes in the front of the armored helmet where wide, blue eyes glared sinisterly down at the others as he loomed above them.
Making her way through the line of ponies, shouldering passed them amidst complaints and threats. She kept her gaze on the armoured pony before her, and only on him, knowing he was her ticket to a bigger pay-check Before she knew it she was at the front of the line of her scared comrades, stabbing her blade into the ground beside her.
She didn't care about anything else at this moment but her enemy, constantly swinging her sword downwards again and again at the armoured colts mid-section. His armour made him slow, his helmet likely hindering his sight more. A fair duel was just going to get her head lopped off, so she had to make sure he couldn't make a single move. Metal met metal continually as her blade made contact with the metal hilt of the great-axe, forcing Bazuzo into a corner with little hope of retaliating. She just had to keep this up until he stumbled back. If he fell she knew with that armour he wasn't getting back up. Then? It was just a matter of striking where his plates couldn't protect him.
Letting out a cry of pain as her blade embedded itself in the side of his waist, Bazuzo fell down to his knee's. One of his hooves grasped his side in a vain attempt to stop the blood evacuating his body, the other raising itself in defeat.
She moved, collecting her helmet from beside the fresh corpse of the former Grey knight, ignoring her allies as they charged passed her.
Unknown soldiers
From the balcony of the keep above, four ponies surveyed the chaos below them.
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.
“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?”
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
Joining the Band of the Phoenix
Rainbow Dash
She didn't know how long she had been running, and in truth she didn't care. Briefly she looked back at the large bulky creature standing tall over her. She had no armour in this place of shadows and darkness, her wings having all but disappeared and forcing her to have to run to try to escape the beast chasing her. Worse still, she had reverted to being a young filly again, leaving her with no strength to swing that sword she carried with her. She found the creature pursuing her was familiar, it's silhouette reminding her of another pony due to it's large size and bulky build, but she couldn't place the monster due to it's features being obscured by the shadows. All she knew was she had to run as far from it as she could. Spotting the creature reaching out towards her from the corner of her eye, she turned and swung the sword in her grasp at what looked to be it's hoof. Her blade was heavier now, her swing clumsy and short when before she had been able to swing it effortlessly. The beast stumbled back slightly, her blade having successfully cut deeply into the limb, allowing herself to smile slightly at the injury she inflicted. Unfortunately, she saw the creature heal from the injury.
She woke suddenly with a start, letting out a small sigh as she found herself far from the shadows and monsters of before. With the brief respite, her fear had now been replaced with a keen curiousity at where she was. She was laying down inside a tent that had various crates and chests, her sleeping mat having been placed in the centre of the small indoor area. The brown leather of the tents walls looked old to her eyes. The brown leather was faded and full of holes, looking as though it could be torn apart like a twig at any second with how brittle it seemed. The crates contents remained a mystery to her, but only drew her back to one important question. Where was she? Last she remembered she had been attacked on the road by bandits: Surprisingly well equipped bandits, but from how they had attacked her without provocation she knew it was the only profession for ponies such as that. She remembered there had been another pegasus among them, and also another pony in white armour.
Getting to her feet slowly, being careful not to cause to much pain to her injury, she walked towards the opened flap of the tents entrance, seeing herself out. She winced at the sudden light that blinded her, having not realised or prepared herself for the fact it was daytime outside. Her vision clearing, she saw countless other tents just like her own: Some larger, some smaller, some even in much better shape then hers but all of them were located close together..except for hers. Countless ponies also greeted her outside: Some sharpened swords, others made conversation by the various camp-fires scattered around that appeared to be cooking food and some even gambled. She noticed some were carrying crates or other objects, one or two stopping to direct a glare in her direction as if suspicious of what she would do. Finally, her gaze rested on two ponies: A pink one that seemed to be listening to the cries of a gold coloured one who had a lighter shade of pink for hair herself. She couldn't tell what they were talking about, but she could tell the yellow one was angry about something. This came to a stop as soon as the pink pony noticed Rainbow dash staring at her, prompting the yellow pony to flare her wings and quickly start moving over.
Rarity
All the Purple haired unicorn could do was look at Pinkie Pie and the pegasus walk away towards the nearby clearing, curious about what their leader would want with someone who had killed their comrades. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in that ponies hooves at that moment, for she knew all to well how deceitful Pinkie pie was in how she portrayed herself to others: Sure, she was known to be energetic and incredibly hyperactive around her comrades but, when placed onto the battlefield, it was like she became someone else entirely. Time and again she had shown how brilliant tactically she was, and her skills with a blade were always a joy to see. But even now she didn't know which side of her was the real pinkie pie, all she knew was that if she was to gain any glory she had to stay by her side. She had learned the hard way that to do so on her own was utterly impossible.
Rainbow Dash
“Who are they?” The pegasus asked, referring to the numerous ponies, colts primarily, that seemed to be leering or glaring in her direction. Their unabashed staring at her made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, but she knew she couldn't show it. After all if they got even a whiff of unease from her, she knew they'd be all over her in under a second.
Seeing the other pony give a stretch as they walked out onto a small hill, another question suddenly filled the Pegasus' mind.
Anger started to bubble up inside of the Pegasus: Here was a pony, who had just two days earlier tried to kill her, now acting so happy and acting like she knew her like an open book! It irked her, even more so with how casually and quickly she was able to change from an utter hyperactive child to a calm, focused philosopher.
It was then Pinkie pie once more unsheathed her sabre, the pegasus just now noticing she had been carrying it at her side despite not wearing any armour this time, raising the blade up to her face.
There was no resistance as her blade spiralled down towards her foe, not even a cry of agony from her foe. In-fact, there wasn't even a sound made as her swords edge hit the earth below, leading to Rainbow Dash to realise very quickly that her blow had not made contact. Looking up, she saw Pinkie pie just to the left of where her sword was, the pony again smiling happily right at her. The pegasus moved to raise her sword, but to her horror watched as her enemy jumped up onto the edge, her hooves keeping a sizeable pressure on the weapon whilst her own sword was pointed at the pegasus' neck.
Helping herself to her feet, she spotted Pinkie pie gradually trying to get her own bearings, seeing an opportunity once again. Flaring her wings, despite the pain it caused, she propelled herself forwards, sending one of her hooves into the other ponies face as she made the pass. It connected, sending the other pony onto her back with a cry of pain. Rainbow dash quickly followed up with three more strikes with her hoof while her opponent was still dazed by her other attack, reveling in every single hit. She had been annoyed with how her enemy continued to evade every single strike, embarassing her with the grace and speed she had outdoing her own strength. She would be damned if she was going to lose to this childish mare again: She'd gotten lucky once, something she'd ensure wouldn't happen again. Sure, the pegasus didn't have her sword anymore but wielding that weapon had it's advantages, namely in granting her incredible upper body strength. Her opponent, from what she had observed was quick but she wasn't very strong, her advantage coming from redirecting blows. But she didn't have a sword anymore either, and without that she was useless.
Rainbow Dash let out a cry as a sharp pain ran throughout her whole leg, the small crack signalling it's dislocation and a large roar of praise and laughter to erupt from their audience. The crowd of ponies all came down the hill, many rushing over to congratulate their leader on her 'victory'. The only one that didn't was the purple haired pegasus, who chuckled mockingly down at her before kneeling down to be slightly more level.
The pain in Rainbow Dash's leg from the dislocation suddenly returned full force, gently caressing the limb. This was all so strange: She had never been so forcefully brought into any mercenary group, but it was the leader Pinkie Pie that grabbed her attention most. She acted so foolishly and like a child, but could command all of these men. She seemed to be so innocent, and yet she could calculate movements and figure out how to best someone like herself. This was just too strange, but first thing was first: Relocating her shoulder.
Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
Authors Note: Hello everyone that I assume to have made it this far in. I feel the need to ask a favor of anyone reading this chapter: Open up a tab to youtube, search for “Susumu Hirasawa Forces” and click the first entry. Wait until a point in the story when a soldier says the words “Enemies!?” is uttered and then start playing the song whilst reading and let your imagination do the rest. You can stop it if you want once it switches to Applejacks P.O.V again (Yay, I finally get a chance to do a P.O.V for her!)
I ask this because Susumu Hirasawa is a great composer who honestly needs to get more recognition. I also ask this because, during this part of the original berserk show, this marks one of two times this song is actually played during a scene of the show itself and it really is a very good song.
That aside, There is another thing I need to discuss. I realise that starting this out I originally only wanted to adapt the story of berserk and throw in ponies but..the more I seem to be writing it the more I'm tempted to slightly change a few things up. Before I go further, let me make one thing clear: I am not going to change the outcome of this story, as everything will still end up having the same outcome and character arcs are going to be mostly similar. But, I'm sort of delving into having a few more additions or slight changes to help this mix of the two universes work better and hopefully make it into something a bit more then just a mash up of the manga, series and films story being told in My Little Ponies universe as a means to advertise and celebrate the original series (Although that is still a big motivation). So while I may be adding in new stuff to keep it a bit fresh and help it meld better, I still intend to keep it feeling like berserk and MLP. But at the same time, I don't intend to change the outcome of a certain eclipse (I won't spoil it for those that don't know what is being talked about here, but...let's just say I imagine some people are going to react rather strongly to that part when and if it's eventually written and posted up here), nor remove the presence of everyone’s favourite skeletal knight as one certain animated adaptation did (Start placing bets on who I plan on placing in that role). Finally, I also realise this chapter was slow coming out and the others may also start to come out a bit slower. I have been very busy as of late and I also am still in the process of deciding which Ponies can fit the role of which berserk character. If you have any suggestions for who should play which role, or even how I should handle certain...creatures (I am still deciding on how to handle the Elves and some members of this incarnation of the Godhand) by all means speak up and don't ever be afraid to offer constructive criticism of any kind. This story won't improve without it, even if it's a pseudo adaptation of a pre-existing story into a different medium.
Don't ever hesitate to leave a comment, and please enjoy this next Chapter. Thank you for your Patience.
Rainbow Dash
It had been a quiet week until tonight: Not a single job had come for this little band of warriors, the rest just stuck sitting around or travelling along between towns or settlements. Things in the camp had been equally as Quiet though, although the Pegasus knew it was herself to blame for that. Between relocating one of her shoulders and waiting for some wounds to heal, she hadn't taken any time to socialise amongst her..'comrades'. It was a term she used incredibly loosely, not trusting a single one of them as far as she could throw them and all to aware that members of this band still viewed her as an enemy. The unicorn, Rarity as everyone called her, had made another attempt to try to kill her two nights ago.
Pulling her mind back to reality, she surveyed the armoured ponies all standing at attention around her at the border of the forest. The moon was only a crescent in the sky above and the stars all but obscured by the clouds that cast themselves in the blackened sky, further adding to the feel of being stationed in utter darkness.
She was going to go through the middle of the enemy forces? Even the Pegasus was surprised by this approach. At first she had assumed this to have just been a simple distraction: They would attack from the rear, while another attacked from the front and sandwiched them. She had done that manuevor a few times before, usually being at the front lines during those kinds of attacks, but to make a back attack in these conditions and make a dash back to the castle? It was like they were just attacking and running rather then staying to fight, something that Rainbow Dash found herself curious about.
Rainbow Dash could only stand their in shock, her eyes immediately wide as hushed whispers of awe erupted around her. Some of them were wandering about the sanity of their leader, others about if this was some kind of test. But, the rainbow haired swordponies wings twitched before she found it in her to respond.”You'll have to handle hundreds of enemy calvary on a straight road through the woods. Do you feel you can handle that?”
Fluttershy
“Is she trying to test her?” One of the colts near her voiced up, with another exclaiming sympathies at their newest recruit being given such a harsh task. A quiet chuckle, coming from none other then Rarity, reached the yellow pegasus' ears.
Despite how she acted absent mindedly and even bubbly in personality at times, She knew their leader was anything but a fool. Pinkie Pie never wasted time on doing tests in critical moments, and she knew she wouldn't start now by giving this recruit such an important task. It would endanger the mission in leaving just a small, but lethal, possibility of complete failure.which left another, far more horrifying prospect to form in her mind: Pinkie Pie, for whatever reason, truly believed that this Rainbow Dash would be able to perform as the rear guard on her own.
As if on instinct, the pink haired pegasus tied her helmets straps as she put it on her head, watching in interest as everyone begun to do the same or pull their visors down. The last one to pull down their visor was none other then their newest recruit, making the Pegasus start to wander if they had made the right decision in letting this newcomer handle such a dangerous task alone.
Rainbow Dash
The pegasus wasn't entirely comfortable in trecking through the river rather then marching alongside it. Despite them having healed, she still didn't wish to burden her wings and risk infection let alone having them wet and hampered if she had to take flight. Despite the harsh winds and climate, the Pegasus knew she could handle flight in these conditions, but she also knew that to just fly overhead would be compromising: Her wings would have made too much noise if she had flown overhead, far more then any bird could naturally and would no doubt alert anypony with keen enough hearing to her presence. Even if that hadn't caught their attention, the large shadow of her looming overhead would certainly capture the attention of those below, especially if they had a torch in hoof. Which, given the curtain of darkness that this hour bestowed to the world and that the enemies headquarters was in the middle of this forest, gave them all the reason they needed to carry light amidst this night.
Plus, the river meant that they could hide their hoofsteps by using the current of the stream. If they had just walked alongside it they would have no doubt had their approach heard easily, even over the noise of the rushing stream. They also had the large gusts of wind to obscure any sounds their hoof falls made through the trip in such a rapid stream. The enemy wasn't likely to foresee an attack from the rear, especially from such a rapid stream and under such terrible conditions and with the setting of fires combined with the fact they were travelling the direction of the wind...meant that their base would be a smoldering inferno in no time. Pinkie Pie had Calculated for every single element in her mind, managing to rethink her strategy even after the weather had turned out so poorly. There had even been recommendations to not even bother attempting to attack during sudden appearance of poor weather, but she had insisted in that calm way she always did that they would be able to manage finishing the task they had been assigned tonight. And the Pegasus, somehow, found herself believing it.
AppleJack
Things had been just a bit to easy so far, the scout had felt it as clearly as the chill that now travelled through her very bones. There had yet to be a single enemy patrol out this way, not uncommon given they were likely directing their attention to the castle up ahead and their employers, but to not have a single pony on guard duty? That just stank of stupidity, even for enemies such as these. But, she had spotted a shimmer of a halberd, two in-fact, as two ponies came from the opposite direction, not yet noticing the warriors in the river. But she saw them, and she wasn't about to let them see them or get a word out about possible intruders: Things had been going so well for them up until now, and she didn't wish to see the current trend come to it's conclusion, the actor in her just wouldn't allow it. After all, it didn't make a good story for the lead cast to perish at the first obstacle.
She didn't have the strength of her brother, but in a situation like this she knew that brute force was just going to get them found out quicker. No, she had to drop these guards not just quickly, but silently: It was nights like this she blessed whatever gods or divine entities that existed for her time spent amongst those performers, and for the skills she picked up from them.
Various Perspectives
“It's freezing out here! Why did they have to make us draw sticks!?” The colt unfortunate enough to be caught guarding the entrance to the wrapped the cloak he wore around himself more snugly, biting back a sneeze that he felt the urge to release. He was instantly envious of his comrades behind him that were huddled around a campfire whilst he was sitting on an overturned log in the midst of a howling, unrelenting gale of wind. He knew his position was important: After all, they had all their warriors up the front whilst a few stayed behind to guard the ammunition for the canons. Someone had to be on lookout to make sure that nobody made any move to try to catch them off guard by attacking their rear, and if there was any attempt made then he could call out to report it.”I just want to go home!” He shivered again, hating that the night was just so foreboding and creepy when so far from comrades or the camp. It wasn't that far, true, but staring into a dark and empty forest in the middle of such fierce winds naturally had some effects on the psyche. Hell, even now he was seeing several flames beginning to approach him!
Hearing the cry of their fallen comrade, the two guards at the front of the tent grabbed hold of their weapons and rallied their allies as a white armoured pony made a dash for them.
Haulting his garrison near one of the burning tents, the lieutenant could only glare at the enemies backs as they made a run through their camp.“Jerry, go to the front and get the commander to bring the heavy infantry down here! This fires going to reach the headquarters in this storm if we aren't careful, and I want them to handle chasing these bastards out so we can make sure these fires get put out” He spoke to the colt at his side who quickly turned and started running for the nearby hill, the lieutenant shaking his head.
“Uhh, well-”The other pony took a breath, pointing at the burning tent they were all standing beside.”S-s-sir, isn't that tent where we keep all the ammuniti-”
Rainbow Dash
“Disengage. Break for the castle, this is done!” The explosion nearby heralded the words of her commander, causing the entire mercenary force turn tail and start to run towards the castle. The pegasus finished off a few more foes before turning to fly off after them.”Move it, double file!” The mercenaries fleeing all moved themselves into two separate lines that ran alongside one another, likely to aid in the ease of movement to the location without having everyone trip over each-other as they made this rather mad dash to the castle.
She clashed swords with one of the ponies that ran up alongside of her for a moment. His attack had some punch but it wasn't going to be enough to match her strength, let alone the blade she wielded. It was a fact she proved quite quickly by pushing back against her attacker, stumbling him and leaving him open for a diagonal slice, ending the fools life.
AppleJack
“What are our losses?” Just returned and already questions were being asked by their commander for progress. In truth, she didn't mind all that much but she did certainly appreciate the slight irony to it all: She was meant to be the scout of this band of mercenaries after all.
The sound of somepony rushing towards them made Applejacks concentration break, turning to face the forest entrance. A hoof went to the sheathed short-sword on her back, ready to draw it in-case this turned out to be a surviving enemy that had made their way into their midst and make an attempt. However, the small silhouette and the light footfall of the one coming towards them made it clear as to the identity of this lone pony and for a great amount of relief to swell in the scout as she rushed towards her.
Rainbow Dash
The amount of ponies she had cut down had escaped her as she sliced through anothers neck, soon using her wings to propel herself forwards and take to the air. She strafed to the left as another blade from behind her was swung at where she had been hovering, moving to counter the blow by slamming the base of her swords hilt into the eye-slit of the assailants helmet, sending him plummeting backwards and moving to cover his eye with one of his hooves, momentarily disoriented by the sudden attack and no doubt swelling of pain. She continued forwards as crossbow bolts were fired, the pegasus tilting her wings at moving very slightly to ensure she wasn't hit with any-more bolts: She'd already been grounded once recently thanks to meeting Pinkie Pie and she was in no mood for a repeat experience.
Her despair shattered as she observed a volley of crossbow bolts suddenly fire into the ponies that were moving in to slay her, the colts all falling over dead. The pegasus swiftly turned, immediately feeling dizzy from the sudden movement as another crossbow bolt was sent flying into the neck of one of the remaining soldiers. Looking at the three figures before her, she immediately recognized the white armoured mare before her.
A line of canons were now stationed in-front of the castles gates and pointed directly into the forest, and by extension the large body of enemy soldiers that had now come to an absolute halt thanks to coming face to face with the firearms.
The screams of the dead were soon replaced with cheers of victory from her allies, The pegasus finally deciding to step down from her saviors back rather quickly. She almost tripped, but quickly got her bearings in spite of the uneven soil beneath her hooves. She may have been grateful to the colt for saving her, but she still didn't enjoy being touched although she understood the need to in that situation. Still, now that the danger was over she had no desire to have him or anybody else in this band of warriors lay so much as a hair on her. She quickly started to shoulder through those that crowded around her, aiming to get away from all these ponies.
AppleJack
It had been a long night, but despite everything it wasn't too late for everyone. Despite their exhaustion, despite how tired some of them happened to be, they still had energy left behind for one thing and one thing alone: Celebrating. They had all been planning something like this for quite some time, particularly in regards to the arrival of their new found comrade. Pinkie Pie had been planning to do it sooner, it had been obvious given how she had a penchant for major celebrations: She had always enjoyed throwing parties over even small accomplishments, or to celebrate occasions such as the arrival of a new group of members into their midst or even for what they were celebrating for tonight aside from as a welcome ceremony: Victory, and also for their new pay.
But, all of that seemed to disappear whenever they celebrated like this. It was like they didn't have a care in the whole of Equestria as they all sat around the various fires, drinking from their mugs and feasting on whatever meat they happened to be roasting over their fires. Everyone reminiscing and celebrating the victory they had achieved, and how they had once again defied the odds of those who had believed them to fail.
“Hold on, I'll go an' get 'er! Just keep this party going till then alright?” She looked at her brother, tapping his shoulder before leaning over.”I think I might need your help gettin' her down here..”She whispered to her brother, getting to her feet and making her way towards the stairs, looking back to see not just her brother but also her sister following suit.
Rainbow Dash
Taking the time in her solitude to think, the Pegasus looked up at the sky's longingly, the urge to fly once again taking over her. However, her mind kept turning back to how the battle she had fought in had panned out so successfully and with further thought her mind once again turned back to the mare that lead this band of mercenaries. And now, by extension, the pegasus herself.
She felt all eyes suddenly focus on her as she was carried, her discomfort growing into embarrassment as more attention was given to the pegasus that had to be carried through the crowd. Some of them laughed and pointed, others gave a respectful nod whilst others seemed to just give her only a moments notice before she eventually spotted Pinkie pie. She noticed how depressed she seemed to appear, curious about what could be affecting her mood like this, not even seeming to laugh or notice jokes and conversations directed at her. This lasted until she looked up to spot the Pegasus, a large smile of happiness crossing her features as she suddenly sprung to her feet and quickly made her way towards the colt in the middle of the other ponies.
Rainbow Dash simply stood their dumbfounded, not used to such positive energy or happiness amongst ponies. And yet, there was something oddly nostalgic about all of this as if she had been in this atmosphere once before.
As she drank the night away, the pegasus felt surprisingly at peace. She wasn't wanting to fight, or even to find out details on the next mission. She was just happy to drink alongside her newfound comrades and forget her worries. Happiness and company? Suddenly a slight epiphany begun to form in the Pegasus' mind. Maybe, just maybe, this was going to be the start of something great..maybe being happy wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
Authors Notes: Boy did this one take a while. Sorry about the wait, but between having to find new accomodations and dealing with some rather notable real life issues this took more time to complete then i would have liked. I admit this Chapter isn't the most eventful, but i figured it was necessary to have one that wasn't just devoted to fighting and let the characters have some moments to interact. This is also going to be where i start to take some liberties from the source material and start to add in some of my own plot points, but I'm going to aim to at-least finish off the 'Egg of the High Queen'. Depending on reaction, i may make a sequel but that remains to be seen.
Enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading, i again apologise for the time taken to update.
Rainbow Dash
“Still Chattin' with the birds are ya?” Applejacks words caused the rainbow haired Pegasus to stir from her place on the battlements, rubbing the sleep from her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. Her head was pounding, no doubt the effects of all the alcohol that they had used up last night. She was surprised the earth pony before her looked so alert, let alone the fact she was awake at the moment. All the other ponies were slumped over themselves or parts of the castle, still unconscious and fast asleep from the festivities of last night.
Fluttershy had lead the rainbow haired mare into the further edge of the courtyard, seeing the rather naked pink pony lift a bucket of water up over her head from a nearby well, tipping the water up over her head. She shuddered for a moment as the cold liquid washed over her, shaking her now soaked hair wildly without a care as though nothing more then a dog. She sighed in happiness as she moved to refill the bucket, as if the task was a source of joy for her before the Pegasus could stomach this no more: She'd had one awkward moment already today, she was in no mood for a second. Clearing her throat with a slightly louder then intended 'Ahem', the pink pony suddenly froze in her movement in tipping the water over her head, placing the bucket instead down beside her and turning to smile at Rainbow Dash.
“Oh no! I've done it now, havn't I?” Pinkie Pie teased as she burst into laughter, making the Pegasus' anger fade instead into something else: A competitive desire to come out on top. Quickly grabbing a nearby bucket, she broke into a run to the well, aiming to repay watery assault in kind.
AppleJack
Looking down at the duo, the orange mare couldn't help the smile that crossed her face, shaking her head with some delight as she moved away from the battlements towards the stairs. Seeing both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow dash so happy and playing about, especially after the action of the previous evening was something that made the mare pleased. But, it also calmed her nerves after what had happened last night. It hadn't been the battle that shook her, such things were a common occurrence in her mercenary life now and she had long since gotten used to it. What truly made her sweat in despair had been what she had witnessed in her dreams the previous night.
It was still a blur to her, her memory having all but left her. She couldn't even recollect just what had made her so terrified, only that it was something that had struck her right in the very heart of the pony she was. It had been something, she just had to remember it.
“Dangit! Cmon, mah noggin' ain't gonna forget something that scares me outta mah britches! So what was it?” She moved to sit back against the nearby wall, perhaps a bit too quickly, the aches from the sudden action making themselves apparent the moment her rear made contact with the concrete floor. She bit back a growl, her eyes squinting shut in concentration, methodically going back through what she had done before this moment and working her way back to when she was asleep: She slammed herself against this wall, she came down the stairs, she saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie playing, spoke to Rainbow Dash, walked up the stairs to the battlements, dunked her head in cold water to fight off the hangover from the previous night, seating herself up from where she had fallen that previous night, groaning herself awake-
“Twilight...i don't get it, what's so important about this?”The voice of Rainbow Dash immediately made the earth pony realise she was no longer in the castle, but seated underneath a tree that was overlooking a town below. She wasn't alone either: At her left was Fluttershy, who seemed to be fidgeting about rather nervously. No armour was on her person, her hair much longer and more vibrant rather then the shorter pixie cut the pegasus had given to herself so she could make sure 'it wasn't used against her in a fight'. To her right sat Pinkie Pie who, aside from the armour missing, didn't look any different except for the fact her expression was a bit more vacant. And Rainbow Dash, as naked as the others, was flying in a hover alongside a purple unicorn that was swiftly flicking through the pages of a book. Most astonishingly of all was the strange marks that all of them now had on their flanks, almost like tattoo's of some kind. What did the markings mean? She honestly had no clue.”It's just an Eclipse, what's so bad about that? Besides, sitting around up here is Boring~!”She held the last word in a long groan as if to emphasise her disdain for her current circumstances. “There is going to be a solar eclipse tomorrow” The unicorn, which seemed to go by the name of Twilight replied, her voice one of concern. “Still don't see what's so important..” “How often does an eclipse happen?” The unicorn asked. “The last one occurred...why, I can't even remember the last time!” Another voice, Rarity's, was heard on the horizon. Much like the others she no longer wore armour even then she was near unrecogniseable. Gone was the greedy smile, the narrowed eyes, the cocky attitude and the greasy hair. Instead, was a well groomed and cheerful looking mare.”I apologise for being so late Darlings. Spikey-Wikey was asking me about...well, I'm here now and that is the main thing” “What did Spike ask you about Rarity?” Twilight suddenly asked, going over to the unicorn rather hurriedly, seeming to be desperate all of a sudden. Rarity was silent for a long time, her expression reflecting inner turmoil.“Twilight...i promise nothing is wrong. He just needed to speak to me about....things..” “What things?” Twilight probed even further, her expression determined. “Hey now sugar cube, don' you think you're overreactin' just a little bit?”Applejack finally spoke to the others, appearing to know this Twilight on a personal level given how she addressed her.”Just 'cause Spike acted a bit different don't mean he-” “Yes it does!” The unicorn roared out in anger, stomping her hoof into the grass below.”Nothing has made any sense for the last two weeks..everypony is acting strangely and I don't know why. Even the princesses left after the stars formed that marking and...and...” The unicorn started to break down into tears, slumping onto her backside and starting to bury her face into her hooves. “Hey...”A sudden desire to comfort the unicorn rushed over Applejack, slowly moving over and placing a hand on the weeping mares shoulder.”Sugarcube, there ain't nothing to cry about” “They were so scared..Princess Celestia was terrified when she saw those stars form that marking. What could...what could be so bad that could terrify Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” She took a shaky breath.”Things have been strange since then, everyone forgetting things and acting like they are different people one moment and then act like nothing was wrong the next. And then Pinkie-” Shaking her head, the Unicorn hesitated for a moment before continuing.”It feels like something horrible is going to happen, something worse then anything that's ever happened” “If something tries to cause trouble then we'll fight it! It's worked well for us so far” Rainbow Dash spoke with confidence, landing beside Twilight with a smirk on her face.
“But..what if we can't?” She looked at the pegasus then around at the others, her expression one of utter despair that seemed to suck the hope right out of everyone present. “Applejack!”
With a helping hoof from her elder brother to get her off her backside, which she now realised was hurting like no tomorrow as the pain come flooding back, the three siblings made their way over to the nearby crowd of people.
Rarity
A grin worked its way across the mares face as she collected the bits from the latest unfortunate pony that had lost their earnings to her. He let out a loud cry of anguish as this happened, begging her for another chance to win back what he had lost.
If she had to pick anyone as a friend, she was likely the closest person to it in this mercenary band. Sure, the two weren't exactly all that close but they had grown to have a certain rapport with one another and an understanding, with even hints of a playful rivalry between them. Her other siblings weren't exactly hated either, but Macintosh rarely spoke a word to her and Applebloom was far to innocent in how the world worked to be of any solid company. She had a soft spot for the young filly though even if she was a bit rough with her sometimes, having been among one of the first to object to her placement on the battlefield and had done what she could to look out for her on the occasions Applejack or Macintosh couldn't. Fluttershy and herself were both loyal to Pinkie Pie, and they could co-operate to an extent but that was as far as their interactions went. The two often butted heads due to how willing Rarity was to be underhanded and dishonest, whilst Rarity was simply confused at how someone so soft spoken off the battlefield grew such a backbone whenever in a fight or following an order from their commander. If she had a greater willingness to ditch her morals and apply her sword skills when not under order from their commander, the mare reckoned the Pegasus could have made a fantastic Bandit.
She was well aware of how careful Fluttershy was in these betting matches: It seemed to be her one vice so to speak, but the unicorn suspected that Pinkie Pie may have pressed it as a way of interacting more with her fellow comrades. She was a shy one, her name oddly appropriate in that regard, but she was also very cautious when it came to this activity. It almost made it boring..if not for the fact that Rarity was aware she always won these bouts. It was almost too easy.
Her eyes flashing with a desire to have those bits be hers, the unicorn slammed the wooden cup down on the ground between them, perhaps with a little bit more force then necessary with a grin on her face.
“Wasn't it the rule that you only had 'one shot at glory, nothin' more'? Or did that change just now?” Applejack spoke mockingly, shaking her head at the unicorn.”Now go on and pay up” The crowd immediately started to laugh at Rarity's sudden turn in fortunes, the mare growing both embarrassed and angered at this turn of events. With a quick shove of the bits she had lost towards the pegasus across from her, she moved to her feet and stormed away, grumbling to herself in an incomprehensible rage whilst the rest of the ponies present celebrated the Fluttershy's triumph.
Rainbow Dash
It had been a long, almost gruelling, duel between the two ponies for who would submit first in the duel but eventually Pinkie Pie had submitted. She sat back against the well with a loud laugh, throwing her hooves up.
After a moment, she nodded her head towards it.
This Behelit was definitely an odd but ugly thing, circular in shape like an egg and coloured red as though it were an organ. It was a solid object, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was alive in some way, getting a great sense of unease whenever she stared down at it. It looked as though somebody had taken parts of a face and rearranged it onto a sphere. A closed eye was up on the top left of the bauble, while another was down on the bottom right. On the right side of the sphere was what looked like a closed mouth, whilst in the centre was..what looked like a nose. She could tell from the nostril holes when she tilted it downwards that it was meant to be one but, it didn't look like one any pony would have. It looked like something that would belong to a totally different species, but not one that the pegasus was familiar with.
By luck, Pinkie Pie caught the piece of Jewellery as it fell, looking at Rainbow Dash with a curious expression.
“Oh, that reminds me, why I asked you here today” Pinkie Pie suddenly returned to her more bubbly self.”I was really impressed with how you took out all those ponies back there and protected so many of us. So, I'm making you our Commander of the Raiders” The pegasus was speechless, surprised at this very sudden and rapid promotion to a position of responsibility: She was a warrior, not a leader!
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Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
Three Years Later: Beginning of the Golden Age
Three Years Later
Rainbow Dash
The pegasus could only watch the battle that unfolded before her eyes with a growing sense of embarassment and annoyance. The sweltering heat was bad enough, the mare feeling herself cooking inside of even her light armor and helmet as the sun burned brightly up above her. The hill she stood on overlooked the large open field, grass and dust kicked up as the ponies below scrambled to try to get into battle. Or rather, escape from the black armored squadron that was slicing through the center of the field as though the armored ponies were nothing but leaves against their steel.
The pegasus could have taken these armored bastards down with ease, and here she stood above because of her commanders orders: On the signal, she and her raiders would swoop down to lead a charge against the black armored foes. They were the Black Horned Manticore Heavy cavalry, among one of the best warriors that the kingdom of Cavolia had to offer and also had been responsible for devastating the last two forces that were sent to impede their efforts to get closer to Canterlot. But, to the pegasus their victories meant nothing, it was the fact that their heads were her paycheck. If it wasn't for orders, she would have already swooped down into this field of death and despair to do what she did best.
“In the name of Cavolia, we will have the kings head!” The pegasus was surprised to hear the roar of the black devils themselves, but something that should have been painfully obvious to her became apparent: There were no more ponies being crushed by cannonball or skewered by horns, no more dead lay in there way and no more ponies stood between the hill to the north that held their benefactor and the rapidly advancing force of black clad ponies.
The aroma's overwhelmed her senses the second that she flew over the carnage that was below. The smell of blood, of soiled armor, of sweat and of fear. It was the nostalgic scent of death, the smell of war and suffering that the pegasus had breathed almost everyday since she could walk. Even at the mercenary camps she had been unable to escape this smell despite it being obscured by the other smells that usually were found in such places. It had become apart of her life over the years, but even now the pegasus found herself wondering if she actually enjoyed the smell the assaulted her senses as she charged. It was one she had grown used to during her career, true, but she didn't know if she really liked it as she did other things such as flying.They never look up. Their loss She quickly diverted her trajectory to move directly down once she overtook the enemy force below. Her timing her to be just right for this: To soon and she would fly just over their heads and possibly leave herself open to retaliation, to late and she would end up faceplanting into the ground that was now soaked in the blood of ally and enemy alike. She took a breath, holding it as she continued her free fall to the ground below.Now! As the knight neared her and the ground closed in, she stretched her wings outwards and moved her sword back to prepare for a slash. Her fall quickly became a swoop, moving herself upwards in a glide just as the caped soldier neared her. As she did this, she swung her sword up as she moved, creating an upwards slash that sliced through her enemy and sent him flying high into the air with the pegasus. The edge of her sword made contact with the leaders chin, managing to penetrate the armor and dig into the jaw of her enemy through the helmet. If the trauma of the blow hadn't killed her enemy, the sickening snap she heard as her enemies head was suddenly sent backwards indicated she had broken his neck and killed the colt herself.
Flying down in another pass she brought her greatsword by in another cleaving swing, severing one of the confused and halted soldiers heads in the process. She followed up by parrying a blow from another attacker before slicing through his chest in an upward arc, bringing her blade down on another charging attackers head before propelling herself upwards as she noticed one of the enemies charging her from the side. Looking down, she allowed a small smirk to cross her face when she saw the attacker skewer his ally and be sent tumbling in confusion whilst she hovered above. They had no ranged capabilities, and she had a whole days worth of energy to burn: She could take them, with that she was confident.
“We're being flanked!” The soldier roared, soon standing still.”That...white armor. Is that the Band of the Phoenix?”
Fluttershy
Yet again she hadn't followed orders, had acted recklessly despite orders to stay put. She swore the other pegasus did this to her on purpose: Her “Comrade” was nothing if not full of blood lust, and while that helped in making sure the front lines were often cleared it meant that they regularly had to put up with many 'spur of the moment' charges into the thick of the enemy force. It was frustrating her beyond belief that Rainbow Dash was so reckless and absorbed in her ego, but right now they had a battle to focus on.
Whilst the raiders charged from the front alongside Pinkie Pie, the pegasus soon found herself raising herself into the air and taking flight. She drew her sword and kept a steady pace behind their commander and the raider forces that were leading the charge. Such a shame their commander had abandoned them yet again, but they didn't care as they found themselves locked in combat against the confused forces.
The pegasus swooped down, cutting through one of the black manticores necks as she passed him by before landing in what she assumed to be clear ground. However, upon quickly surveying, she noticed that there were warriors rushing from the sides to try to skewer her with their armored horns, the female quickly launching herself up into the air to avoid the innevitable death that would have awaited her had she remained there. While most of them collapsed into one another or skwered each-other, one of the six managed to come to a hault just short of the collapsed heap that his allies had become, letting out a sharp exhale of relief that he had been able to stop. Unfortunately, the pegasus had other plans as she turned her swords blade down and allowed herself to fall from above. By the time the Unicorn had looked up, she had already stabbed her sword through the colts back, the male falling on his face from both the weight and the pain that now swamped his body. She wriggled the blade until it came free, only to find some blood splatter up into her face from the trauma, making her wince and shake her head in order to recover quickly.
The Royal Knights
“Cavolia's forces are retreating” One of the knights to the left of the king spoke, an elderly colt that looked as though he had seen his share of battles throughout the years.
The four of them surveyed the mercenaries below, cheering and congregating together before beginning to make their way back towards the camp they had made. Some stayed behind to help the surviving troops or collect their own fallen allies, but all of them made their way from the battlefield within a similar time frame to one another.
Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
How things have changed and stayed the same
Rainbow Dash
The battle had long since ended, and yet the Pegasus still felt the rush of excitement. The thrill she felt as her blade made contact with flesh, ending lives in the field of death that she had spent her whole life meandering through. Dodging and weaving from incoming attacks, either from an arrow or from another’s blade, escaping with her life through just her willpower and luck, the adrenaline knowing she had bested the odds fate had thrown against her. It was all as natural as breathing for her, to the point she couldn't see herself doing anything else. Well, except for one thing: Flying.
She had departed from the body of soldiers as they made their way back from the battle to the camp and flown off into the sky above. She felt at peace in the sky, soaring through the blue expanse that seemed so divorced from the land that lay below her hooves. It was like a whole other world up here, unbound by the tenuous and complicated affairs that went on below. Sometimes she enjoyed flying at high speeds, having taken to it like a fish to water the first time she had spread her wings. It was natural to her, as though something in her mind told her the motions for this. But, there were times where, such as today, she just wished to relax and take it at a pace after the battle.
The feeling wind brushing passed her soothed her soul as well as the swinging of a blade, and the weightless descent of free-fall was as euphoric to her as when she had sent that unicorn commander flying with a swing of her sword. No, this was more powerful to her then just that. This was safe, it was calming, but above all it was freedom.
“Rainbow Dash!” The annoyed tone of voice that still carried a hint of authority was unmistakable to the Pegasus.”Can I speak to you?”
Fluttershy
She knew Rainbow Dash would be here, it was where she usually was whenever free time became available to her. Sometimes she was practising with her sword on the outskirts, sometimes keeping to herself in the camps and those rare occasions she chose to socialise with others outside of her unit with Pinkie or the other Lieutenants. But, if all of those failed she was always to be found in the clouds and sky. She failed to see what was so special about the sky, she had seen it so many times before and it wasn't about to change.
“What's the problem now?” Rainbow dash grumbled, landing lazily on the grassy hill on the outskirts of the camp, everyone having long since returned from the battle to relax.
As soon as the last accusation had left the pegasus' mouth she immediately felt the air be pushed from her lungs from being slammed backwards. She winced, feeling her back make contact with a nearby large rock that sat beside them. It was quite painful and uncomfortable, especially due to her wings being forcibly squashed up against her back whilst she was stuck staring into the expression of pure rage of her fellow pegasus. Her eyes were narrowed in a glare, her mouth curled into a fierce snarl, and yet for all her rage she sensed a sadness. Had she really been so hurt by what she said earlier?
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie's voice distracted her enough to turn from the second in command she had pinned to the rock side, looking around to spot the still armoured mare walking towards her. She would have assumed she had just gotten off of the battlefield if not for the lack of helmet on her head.
Time froze for those few seconds before the other pegasus nodded, slowly making her way over the hill and back to camp. She thought she heard muttering about “being to soft on her” but she chose to ignore it given the more pressing matter before her.
“Pinkie....” The pink pony in-front of her slowed down, looking back at her with a curious gaze.”About the battle. I'm sorry I charged off like that”
“I'm lucky to have a friend as great as her” She thought with a smile whilst continuing to walk alongside her.
The camp was already bursting with life once they arrived back, the two soon diverting down separate paths. Pinkie made mention she had to see to other things, but recommended that Rainbow Dash spend some time with her comrades as many had been asking after her. Along the way she noticed Fluttershy petting some of the guard dogs they had at the camp, but aside from a brief moment of eye contact the two didn't say a word.
Rarity meanwhile appeared frozen in a state of complete horror, looking around at the bits that had scattered before starting to try to gather them all up again. She begun screaming out incomprehensibly at their backs, the pegasus hearing something about 'over an hour' and 'tanning your hides' but otherwise made no note of it as she made her way towards the scout siblings.
Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen
Minister Whooves
The various knights and lords that existed only to serve their king, or like the minister their own ambitions, had all gathered neatly on both sides of the room. Some shifted uncomfortably to create some more space between them, others tried to move their weight from one hoof due to having to stand for so long. The minister was close to the front of his row, standing in the middle on the left row of ponies that surrounded him. They all wore varying expressions of disgust, embarassment or, much like the minister, utter indifference. Oh, it was a truly despicable event happening and the precedence it would set was equally as horrifying. But, the pony had learned long ago that it was best to treat ones face as a mask to conceal ones emotions rather then reveal them.
Realising he was being addressed, whooves turned his head slightly to see the three knights now staring at him. It was as if they were hoping to have him sort this argument out for them, to act as a referee in the gossip of children. And whilst he had his own opinions on this matter, he felt it would be better to keep his cards close to his chest for now.
Rarity
“In the name of God and the holy spirit, I make you a knight. Be courageous, be courteous and be faithful to god and to the kingdom-”
The mare was grinning like an idiot, unable to contain her joy at what was happening: All of those years they spent clamouring across battlefields, risking their necks in the dirt and mud, going from place to place with only a tent and bed roll to call home. All of it was, finally, coming to an end.
Out of all of the Phoenix soldiers in the room, the young applebloom had been the most awestruck by the throne room. Sure, it was a bit sparsely decorated but it was still a throne room: Commoners like them were lucky to enter a palace even once in their lifetime, so to be allowed into the throne room was nothing short of remarkable.
“Now that we're apart of the army, you should learn when to be quiet Rarity. We're going to be judged from now on by our actions, and those actions will effect Pinkie Pies reputation. And I won't have you embarrass her at her own ceremony” Fluttershy's stern voice was still no less irritating at a moment like this. Could she even go one minute in her life without having to adhere to her personal code for Pinkie? The unicorn started to think not. Fluttershy's life had been tied to this band since the day she had joined it, a day Rarity had been present to see. She had watched her grow as a warrior, but also in how she had taken to following the earth pony down to the letter. If Pinkie was to disappear out of thin air, the unicorn doubted the pegasus would be able to last more then a second before losing her cool.
As if sensing this, Fluttershy unhanded the still shocked unicorn, who quickly surveyed the room around her. Thankfully, aside from one or two knights glancing back, nobody had cared to notice them. The ceremony still continued on.
In the furthest corner of the courtyard, between two small tree's was an all to familiar blue shape. She moved in a single motion each time, striking the air from above with her sword. The familiar two handed blade let off a glint of light whenever it was raised, the sun catching the edge and reflecting itself off of the surface to any who bore witness.
“Arise, Sir Firehawk”
Silence hung in the room for some time, many of the lords appearing to take some time to register that the ceremony had ended, obviously lost in their own thoughts as the unicorn had been. But, with a quick clearing of the kings throat, the whole room slowly burst into applause. It was a slow clap, gradually spreading along the columns, the lords and knights at the back of the room beginning the applause first before it made it's way to the front. It was an odd phenomena, but the unicorn found herself caught up in it anyway.
She quickly disregarded the last part. Demons? There was no such thing! It was likely just some units excuse to try to explain away their failings, which wouldn't be the case this time. After all, with pinkie leading them, this was bound to be as simple as the time they held that fort.“Demons? Hah! Honestly who do they think we are, Foals?”
