Storm clouds toiled in the distance, their dark shapes contrasting heavily against the open sky.

Cadance simply watched from where she was perched.

“Three, two, one…” She counted down,

A flash of light, and a second later a crash of thunder. Cadance smiled, she was getting better at predicting lightning strikes.

“-two, one…”

Another strike lit up the cloud, then another. Furrowing her brow, Cadance stood up from the cloud she was sitting on. Two more strikes, followed by their cracks of thunder. The storm was intensifying.

Her smile returned.

There was a chirp off to the side, and Cadance turned to look, only to see nothing. A second chirp, on the opposite side. Turning again, there was still nothing. She tilted her head, then spun around to check every direction.

Nothing.

The chirp came again, behind her.

Cadance whipped around, and nothing, only the raging storm in the distance.

Boom

A thunderwave rocked the cloud beneath her, and it began to crumble.

Cadance smiled again.

The storm, maybe that’s where the chirping was coming from. It only made sense, the worm chirped, and the worm made storms, so if there was chirping in the storm, that meant the worm was there.

Cadance leapt from the decaying cloud, flying in the direction of the storm. It churned and roiled, wrought with wind, charged with lightning, soaked with rain.

How exhilarating.

Cadance readied herself to dive headfirst into the dark clouds.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

She mumbled at the rapid disturbance, shifting under her sheets.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-

“Mmmm-what?” She called out, closing her eyes tightly. Just when she was finally getting a good dream it had to be interrupted.

“May I come in your majesty? It is urgent.” A voice came through the bedroom door.

Cadance blinked in the darkness, then sat up, only to flop back down a moment later.

“Enter.”

She picked herself up again as a servant opened the door, the faint light from the hallway bleeding through.

“I am sorry for the disturbance your majesty, it’s just that this came earlier this morning and I figured you should see it as soon as possible.”

“See what?” Cadance asked, haphazardly throwing her sheets off, “Bring it here”

She squinted at the servant as they shuffled across the room, then she activated the crystal lamp on her bedside table.

Shining Armor groaned on the other side of the bed, “Mmm… What’s going on,”

Ignoring him, Cadance stepped halfway out of bed to accept the scroll the servant was bringing. She unfurled the first roll, then spread the rest of it open as she began reading. She blinked to clear her vision, then furrowed her brow, then she went wide-eyed as her eyes traveled down the paper.

“What should we do about this, your majesty?”

Princess Celestia was having a good morning. She raised the sun without issue, spoke to her sister before she went to bed, and had a nice breakfast, a spread of fruits, pastries, and plenty of pancakes.

Now she sat on her throne, ready to begin the morning day-court. The doors opened, and the first of her little ponies began to trickle in.

“CELESTIA!” Her name was called,

Her expression turned, and she looked around to try and find the source, as did everypony else in the throne room. A shadow then flew past the stained glass windows and what sounded like a crash came from the front of the castle. All the guards in the room tensed, some drawing their spears.

“Celestia!” The voice came again, getting closer and sounding increasingly familiar.

Ponies at the entrance turned around and quickly got out of the way as Cadance tore past them, the guards immediately returning to their positions upon seeing who it was.

“Cadance?” Princess Celestia asked,

“Celestia!” She called out again, galloping across the room, tripping over herself several times in the process.

She skidded to a halt at the base of the throne.

“What is-?” Princess Celestia began,

“Look!” Cadance interrupted, practically shoving the scroll in her face.

Princess Celestia took it, opened it, read the first line, then immediately closed it and took a deep breath.

“The morning day-court is cancelled until further notice,” She announced “I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” She then turned to one of the nearby guards, “Wake my sister, have her meet us in my study.”

“Yes, your majesty,”

She turned back to the disheveled mare in front of her.

“Cadance?”

She stopped hyperventilating to look at her.

“Follow me,” Princess Celestia ordered, “And please try to calm yourself.”

“Hmmm…” Princess Luna pondered, looking over the scroll once more, “What do you think, sister?”

Princess Celestia took the scroll and went over it again, even checking the back, “Well, I certainly expected some sort of reaction from the griffins, but a declaration of war seems excessive.”

“I would be inclined to agree, but given the context of their situation they might be justified in their decision.”

“Perhaps…” Princess Celestia nodded, setting the scroll down and sipping her tea.

“That’s great and all,” Cadance said, “But what are we going to do about it?!”

They both looked at her.

“It is more along the lines of: what are you going to do about it?” Princess Luna said,

“What?”

“Unfortunately, it is true,” Princess Celestia added on, “As much as I hate to say it, there is not much we can do to help. The griffins made that quite clear in their stipulations.”

“They did?” Cadance asked,

Princess Celestia frowned, “Have you actually read the whole declaration?”

“I uh… skimmed it… right after being woken up.” Cadance answered, “Then I came straight here.”

“Right, well it says here that should Equestria intervene at any point, then war will be declared on it as well.” Princess Celestia passed the scroll over for Cadance to check.

“I thought the Crystal Empire was apart of Equestria,” She said,

“Technically you are only an ally, and a close one at that, which is why all of the crystal ponies are eligible for Equestrian citizenship, and there is no need for passports or visas. The Crystal Empire was independent in the past, and it remains so today, but that is your decision to make, Cadance.”

“Is there anything stopping me from joining the rest of Equestria right now?”

“The stipulations,” Princess Luna answered, gesturing to the scroll, “If you declare dependence now, it will be seen as Equestrian intervention.”

“So you’re not going to help me if the Crystal Empire goes to war?” Cadance asked,

“I never said that,” Princess Celestia said, “Should, heavens forbid, war break out, then Equestria will be right by your side in defending the Crystal Empire.”

“But only if war breaks out?”

“If it comes to that, yes.”

“Oh…”

For the first time since she got there, Cadance sat down, she stared blankly at the parchment in front of her.

“Cadance,” Princess Celestia began, “I am assuming you do not want this war?”

“Definitely not,” she answered,

“Then you should act to prevent it, look at the griffin’s demands and see what is asked of the Crystal Empire, then find out what can be done to satisfy them.”

“Okay…” Cadance said, reading more closely into the declaration, “What are their demands?”

“Their main one is the execution of the worm,” Princess Luna said,

“Nope.”

“Then you will have to negotiate. The griffins, while aggressive, are not unreasonable, I am sure that you will find some way to compromise. You already did with the pegasi.”

“You’ve heard about that?” Cadance asked, looking up.

“Of course, you made headlines across every cloud city, there was even an article about the festival here in Canterlot.” Princess Celestia said,

Princess Luna nodded, “I have to congratulate you on your success, it is not easy to get good public reception after a thousand year gap, especially if you leave on less desirable terms.”

“Indeed, though we will have to talk more on that later. Right now, Cadance, you should prepare in any way you deem necessary. You have said you researched how the Crystal Empire works, then how did it operate in times of war? That information will be invaluable to you, and so will any others in the empire that can help.”

“Especially since you have stolen our Captain of the Royal Guard.” Princess Luna added on,

“I didn’t steal him!” Cadance replied, “He came willingly!”

“And because of that I am sure he will help you every step of the way.” Princess Celestia concluded with a small smile, “Now you should go, I believe you have to respond by the end of the week.”

Cadance quickly read through the scroll again, “Oh yeah, I gotta go, Shining Armor doesn’t even know about this yet.” She stood up and began heading for the door.

“Oh, and Cadance?” Princess Celestia called out,

She turned around.

“Remember, it is important to stay calm during this whole ordeal, and while we may not be able to help you that much physically, we are always open to giving advice.”

“Thank you,” Cadance said, “I hope that I can resolve this peacefully.”

“As do we, for everyone’s sake.”

“War?!” Shining Armor gawked, “I don’t believe it!”

“You should,” Cadance replied, giving him the scroll to read, “It seems the griffins don’t like us having the worm.”

“I’ll say. I can see why you left so quickly. What did Princess Celestia say?”

“They can’t help us, we’re on our own.” Cadance answered, pointing to the stipulation on the declaration.

Shining Armor grimaced, but kept reading.

“So, what do we do?” Cadance asked,

“Well,” Shining Armor sighed, rolling the scroll back up, “I guess we prepare for war.”

“What?! But what about preventing it? Shouldn’t we try to avoid fighting?”

“We should,” Shining Armor nodded, “But the war has already been declared, fighting is now expected.”

Cadance frowned, “Why? Why can’t we just refuse to fight?”

“Like a protest? That might work, for any other reason.”

“Why?”

“Given what you told me happened at the festival, and what I know of the griffins, then not doing anything will go poorly. What do you think might happen when the griffin army shows up and finds we won't fight, and that there is nothing in the way of getting what they want?” Shining Armor asked,

“The worm would definitely get in their way.” Cadance argued,

“Granted, he would, but I have a feeling they’ve prepared for that seeing as how he’s their main clause.”

“Alright fine, so we should prepare for war, but try to avoid it?”

“That’s the idea!” Shining Armor exclaimed, smiling, “When dealing with griffins you want to think like a griffin. If we try to match their demeanor, we’ll be a less appealing target, and they’ll be more open to reason.”

Cadance nodded, “Okay, so we get the Crystal Empire ready for war, then negotiate. How should we do that?”

“You tell me Mrs. Researcher.” Shining Armor replied, “I can organize the Crystal Guard just like the Royal Guard, but the empire might have a better way of doing things around here. Has the empire fought in any wars in the past?”

“Not really no,” Cadance answered, thinking, “It has repelled a few invasions though.”

“And how did it do that?”

“The Crystal Heart. It was used to protect the empire with the hopes of outlasting any invading force.”

“That sounds… effective.” Shining Armor said, “Especially during winter.”

“It’s spring.”

“I know, just…” Shining Armor brought a hoof to his chin, “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll get ready to confront the Griffins, but if they aren’t willing to negotiate…”

“We hunker down and wait. Possibly getting help from Equestria.” Cadance added,

“With the hopes that after all that, the griffins will be more open to talking.”

“And there will be little, if any fighting at all.” Cadance finished,

Shining Armor nodded, only to bite his lip a moment later. “Wow, that sounded a lot simpler in my head.”

“How should we start then?”

He took a deep breath, “Let’s declare Martial law first, inform the crystal ponies about the preparations and start fortifying the city. I’ll begin organizing our military, while you should gather some advisors. After that, we’ll look at this in more detail,” he held up the scroll, “and start formulating a response.”

“Okay,” Cadance said, breathing deeply as well, “Let’s do this.”

“And honey?” Shining Armor continued,

“Yes?”

“We’ll get through this, no matter what.”

What was once a calm, early morning in the Crystal Empire was now bustling with activity. Ponies of all types were making their way through the streets, whether it be buying supplies, securing their homes, or contributing to the total preparation of the city. Once they knew about the incoming war, and who it was for, the crystal ponies seemed determined in doing the best that they could for the effort, with all the others simply packing up and going home to avoid the conflict.

Cadance watched the empire work beneath her for another moment before heading back in from the balcony. An impromptu war room had been set up, though it remained sparsely populated. In the time they had ruled, very few had been promoted to the advisory position, something Cadance realized needed to change. At the moment, it was just her, Shining Armor, and two others, an economist and a historian.

“So.” Shining Armor began, “Let’s start this meeting by going over what the griffins have sent us.”

“A declaration of war?” The historian asked,

“Yes,” Cadance answered as she took her seat, “We are looking to know exactly what is asked of us, then what can be done about it.”

“Negotiate, not conform.” Shining Armor clarified,

“Verywell,” The economist said, “What does it say?”

“Let’s see…” Shining Armor said, pulling up the scroll to read, “‘We, the lords of the High Council of Griffinstone, formally declare war against the Crystal Empire in order to ensure the safety and security of our citizens…’”

“Safety and security?” The economist asked, “What threat do we pose to the griffins?”

“We don't,” Cadance said, “But the worm does, which is why I believe the empire is being targeted specifically.”

“Oh, then I suppose we do pose a threat.”

“Yes, though moving on,” Shining Armor said, going back to the scroll, “‘Under pretense of ancient history, we reserve the right to-’ Blah blah blah,” He skipped forward, “More fluff… unnecessary… uh…”

They all shared a look.

“Aha!” Shining Armor exclaimed, “Demands, here we go. Number one: The immediate and swift termination of the so called ‘worm’”

Cadance shook her head, “Not happening,”

“Second.” The historian agreed,

“Third,” so did the economist,

Shining Armor remained silent, causing them to all look at him.

“I mean,” He began, “It would be easier.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow.

“Kidding.” Shining Armor said. He sighed, “Whatever, let’s just keep going. Number two: The continuous payment of reparations regarding the extreme loss of life in the last millennium.”

“That’s ridiculous,”

“I’ll say,”

“Number three: The disassembly of any and all military powers. Number four: The signing and validation of a non aggression pact.”

“Really?” Cadance asked,

“This is absurd!”

Shining Armor threw the scroll onto the table, “So they want to kill the worm, take our money, then gimp us so we can’t fight back?”

“How is that not just outright pillaging?” The historian demanded,

“It’s all done officially,” Shining Armor said,

Cadance snorted, “Official pillaging. What are their stipulations?”

“There’s more?!”

“Yup,” Shining Armor leaned back, a hoof on the bridge of his muzzle, he picked up the scroll again. “Stipulation one: Any attempts at subterfuge will result in harsher action. Two: The exploitation of the weather is forbidden. Three: Should the nation of Equestria intervene at any moment, whether it be by military, financial aid, or by any other relation, then this declaration will extend to it as well.”

“So there will be no outside help?”

“Not quite,” Cadance held up a hoof, “It doesn’t matter what is said in the declaration, Equestria will help us, but only if war breaks out.” She frowned, then turned to Shining Armor, “The griffins have to know that, right?”

“They should,” He answered, “I could only assume they are trying to exert control over something they can’t. Y’know, make this as quick and clean as possible.”

“Quick and clean?” The economist asked, “Not like that’s an option for us.”

“What about the second stipulation?” The historian asked, “About the weather.”

“I assume that’s referring to the worm, they don’t want him in the fight and I can see why. I don’t think we’re going to follow that one.” Cadance said,

“I think they know that too.” Shining Armor said, “This whole thing seems excessive, clearly they don’t like the worm, and they want it gone, I guess this is how they’re going to do it.”

“And now we have to deal with it.” Cadance concluded, then she clapped her hooves together, “Okay! Tactics, let’s figure out how we’re going to do this.”

Both of the advisors shared a look.

“Your highness,” The economist said, “I’m not sure that we are the best choices for battle strategies.”

Cadance nodded, “We’re leaving the battle plans to my wonderful husband, however you both have useful information that will be helpful elsewhere.”

“Yes,” Shining Armor added, “Such as deciding how to negotiate this war.”

They both nodded.

“Right, so we’re all in agreement over the first demand? We are not executing the worm.”

Another round of nods.

“Good, then what about the second? The reparations.” Shining Armor asked,

“Ridiculous,” Cadance said again,

“I agree,” The historian said, “We aren’t responsible for acts committed a thousand years ago.”

“But the worm is,” Shining Armor said, he then turned to the economist, “What if we were to actually pay them?”

“Without specifics? I can’t say for sure, but any amount will put a strain on the Crystal Empire. Worst case scenario, it’ll bankrupt us, and without financial help from Equestria…”

“That’s more of an after war situation, though I doubt Equestria will be willing to pay our debts.” Cadance said,

“Then we decide. All in favor of not paying the reparations?”

“Aye.” The historian said,

“Aye.” The economist said,

“Aye.” Shining Armor said,

Cadance remained silent for a moment.

“Princess?”

“We can’t just refuse every one of their demands,” She answered, “I know it’s unprompted and unfair, but if we’re looking to negotiate then we have to find something to compromise on. This is the only one I’m willing to go through with.”

“Forgive me for disagreeing, your highness, but every one of the griffin’s demands will be extremely detrimental to the empire.”

“Which is why we won’t be paying them in full, if at all. It depends on how the negotiations go.”

“Okay…” Shining Armor said, “All in favor of negotiating the reparation payments then?”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Alright, now demand number three.”

“We can’t just disassemble our military,” Cadance said, “We’d be defenseless, sitting ducks.”

“What about the Crystal Heart?” The historian asked,

“Turtles then.” Cadance reiterated, “Look, it doesn't matter, without the ability to retaliate, what's to stop the griffins from just going through with the rest of their demands?”

“Equestria?” The economist tried,

Cadance opened her mouth to argue, but stopped to ponder that answer. She brought a hoof to her chin, “That would make us dependents then, which… We’ll have to discuss that more later.”

“I don’t really want to get rid of the guard either, I’ve put a lot of work into it.” Shining Armor said,

“What about the fourth demand?” Cadance asked with an eye roll.

“The non aggression pact?”

“Yeah, that’s… actually a preferable option. Without any of the other demands I would agree to it, but with them…”

“It’s like they're just trying to prevent any retaliation after this is all over.”

“Why didn’t they just come to us with a non aggression pact in the first place? It would have been so much easier than going to war.”

“Maybe the griffins don’t trust us… or the worm to upkeep it?”

“Like we’d upkeep it after they started a war with us.”

“Yes, though if the griffins got their way then they wouldn’t have to worry about the worm in any future conflicts.”

“They shouldn’t have to at all! Why would we, a peaceful, far away nation, have any reason to attack or invade the griffins?” Cadance demanded,

The historian cleared her throat, “Perhaps they are simply afraid, and this is only a precautionary action in order to guarantee their safety.”

“Then we’ll just have to show them they don’t have to be scared.” Cadance concluded,

“Like you did with the pegasi.” Shining Armor added,

“Yeah,” Cadance nodded, “But we’ll have to do it on their terms, I don’t think just showing up in the middle of Griffinstone asking for peace will go very well.”

“Especially if we’re technically at war.”

“But that’s something to work on later, we should work on the here and now.” Cadance said, “What is being done to secure the empire?”

“The ponies are currently securing their homes and workplaces,” Shining Armor answered,

“And we are currently stockpiling essential resources,” the economist added,

“Good, see to it that we have enough to last, perhaps we could buy from Equestria, I’m sure that’s allowed.” Cadance turned to the historian, “Has the Crystal Empire had any relations with the griffins in the past?”

She paused to think for a moment, “With the species yes, but not their current form of government, this is essentially first contact.”

Cadance bit her lip, “Alright, and you would know better than I, has the Crystal Empire fought in any wars?”

“Never on the offensive,” the historian shook her head, “The only case I can think of is when crystal soldiers were sent to clear out nearby barbarian encampments.”

“And how well did that work?”

“There were… some casualties.”

“So we were always on the defensive, and I’m assuming the Crystal Heart was used for that?” Cadance deduced,

The historian nodded.

“What was the longest use of it?”

“About six days.”

“And what was attacking?”

“A dragon.”

Cadance pursed her lips, “How well does that compare to the griffin army?”

“We don’t have a census on the current griffin army,” Shining Armor joined in, “But from what I knew as Captain of the Royal Guard, there’s no way the Crystal Empire could win in a direct confrontation, not without help anyway.”

“How long do you think the Crystal Heart could last against a prolonged siege?” Cadance asked,

The historian shook her head, “I’m not sure, it’s never been tested.”

“Well how does it work?” Shining Armor asked,

“From what is known, the Crystal Heart repels those who have ill intent with the empire itself.”

“Does that include the crystal ponies?”

The historian shrugged.

“What about physical objects?”

“There have been cases where arrows and rocks have been stopped, but others where they have not.”

Cadance and Shining Armor shared a look.

“Are we willing to risk the worm being counted as a part of the Crystal Empire?” Cadance asked,

“It’s plausible, but even then the Crystal Heart may not be enough.” Shining Armor said, “There’s no way to guarantee that it will stop every griffin, nor if its charge will last. It will be hard to keep up spirits in wartime.”

“What else can be done then?” Cadance furrowed her brow, “Can we like… build a wall?”

There was a moment of silence.

“That…” Shining Armor began, “Might help. It’ll stop any ground units from reaching the empire.”

“But since the griffins can fly,” The historian added, “It might not be the most effective.”

“Then we ground them.” The economist piped up,

They all looked at him.

“If we’re not following the stipulation, then we alter the weather, and force them on the ground.”

“Yeah,” Shining Armor nodded, beginning to understand, “And since the Crystal Heart also protects from the weather, we don’t have to bear a storm, but the griffins will.”

“And that will reduce how long they can last, meaning negotiations will improve.” Cadance finished, “Quicker and cleaner.”

There was a round of small smiles.

“Okay, that’s the plan, we just need to start it.” Cadance said, “How much will it cost to build a wall around the empire?”

“It’ll certainly cost us,” the economist said, “But it’s a better use of funds than reparations.”

“Can it be done by the end of the week?”

The economist did a double take, then paused to think, “If we enlist enough builders, probably, but it won’t be the strongest.”

“It won’t have to be,” Shining Armor said, “We just need it finished by the time the griffins get here, then we can reinforce it later.”

“We’ll still need workers within the empire,” the historian pointed out, “Can we spare a few for other fortifications?”

“Maybe, we’ll have to see how quickly the wall can be constructed,” the economist answered,

“I’m sure we can recruit more,” Cadance said, “the crystal ponies seem eager to help.”

“For the guard too,” Shining Armor said, “Though I’m not sure how effective a week’s worth of training will be.”

“Anything will help, now let’s get to work,” Cadance turned to the historian, “Start recruiting, see how many ponies are willing to help.” Then the economist, “Begin constructing the wall, use any resources necessary.” Finally her husband, “Start training, get the guard ready for war. I need to speak with the worm, and see about this week’s forecast.”

On the dawn of the third day, the Crystal Empire was still abuzz with activity, it didn’t even seem to sleep. With a record amount of recruits coming in over the past few days, they actually had to deny some to keep the general population in working order. Because of this, construction of the wall was already well underway, with the brand new front gates already completed along with several sections, and new supports were already being driven into the ground around the entire border.

The guard wasn’t fairing as well, though it was still doing alright. Not as many wanted to take up arms against an invading force, but there was an entire regiment worth of recruits that was already being trained. They had also started patrols, just in case any unwanted visitors showed up earlier than expected.

Along with that there were a number of other activities happening as well, industry was booming, production was skyrocketing, and commerce was commencing. A majority of the money was being funneled back into the preparations, but it was just that little surplus that made everything come together nicely.

It wasn’t all going great however. At their current progress, the wall’s completion would be dangerously close to when the griffins were supposed to arrive, the new recruits still had to be put through full training, even if it was at an accelerated pace, and they had to be careful not to use too much of the moisture in the air.

Speaking of, it was currently snowing, which wasn’t exactly uncommon towards the tail end of spring, but it was an odd amount. Cadance wanted every advantage possible for the coming conflict, and that meant the griffins would be working through chest high snow, possibly even head high snow.

“Honey?” Shining Armor called out behind her.

“Yeah?” Cadance called back, turning slightly.

“How are you feeling?”

She sighed, and flicked the switch on the wall, darkening the window. “Fine, just a little stressed is all.” She responded, walking back through the corridor.

“Well I would tell you not to worry, but that wouldn’t really help would it.”

“I guess not. How are things with the guard?”

“Eh,” Shining Armor shrugged, “Most of the other stuff is taken care of, leaving just the recruits. They’re certainly eager, but basic training is a lot. I don’t think they’re all going to stay in the guard once this is over.”

“But they are committing?”

“Yup, not one has dropped out yet.”

“Good,” Cadance said, finally making it back to the study.

“How are things up here?”

“Slow.” Cadance responded, giving a quick kiss to Shining Armor before heading over to her desk. “I started writing an encouraging speech to hopefully speed things up, or at least keep things going they way they are, but I’m having trouble finding things to talk about.”

“You don’t think things will slow down do you?”

“I’m hoping not, but it’s good to be prepared. I’m also working on our argument to the griffins, but it’s not going well either.”

“Have you added anything new?”

“A bit, just an argument over the first demand, and ‘How the worm is a respected individual and is invaluable to the Crystal Empire.’”

Shining Armor nodded, “Then have you started on the second demand? It should be pretty easy to dispute.”

Cadance sighed, sitting down, “I thought so too, but it’s harder than you would think. It’s easy enough to say that the Crystal Empire wasn’t responsible for the actions of a worm a millennia ago, and that it doesn’t have to pay, but then who does?”

“The worm?”

“Exactly, then how will he pay?”

Shining Armor paused for a moment, “I see your point, but we’ll figure it out.”

Cadance just grunted, “If we have to pay reparations we will, but I’m going to try and prevent that, I just have to figure out how to word it.”

“Try to keep it flexible, we don’t know what the griffins will say in response to any of this, and if you need any help, you know where to find me.” Shining Armor said, “Now I gotta get back to training.”

“Actually,” Cadance began, “There was one more thing I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“It’s about the griffin’s third demand, or rather what was said when discussing it.”

Shining Armor frowned, “About how we could rely solely on Equestria?”

“Yeah,” Cadance nodded, “Do you think we should become dependent on them?”

“Well… It would certainly make it easier, but then the Crystal Empire would be subject to Equestrian law.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, but then you would be just another Princess of Equestria again.”

“You don’t think I’d stay the ruler of the empire?”

“Not like you are now, I think you’d be demoted to ‘Mayor of the Crystal Empire.’” Shining Armor said, making quotation marks with his hooves. “You’d probably be a ruler in name only.”

Cadance grimaced.

“It would be like going back to our old lives, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

“Why not? Don’t you ever think about going back?” Cadance asked,

“Sometimes yeah, but if we turned back at every challenge ahead of us, what would we be?”

“Failures?” Cadance guessed,

“Maybe,” Shining Armor said, “or maybe something even worse.”

Cadance stayed silent.

“It’s just something to think about,” Shining Armor concluded, stepping over to the door, “I love you honey.”

“I love you too,” Cadance replied, not looking back,

The door clicked behind her, and she sighed a moment later. Picking up a pen in her magic, she brought it over to the several pieces of parchment in front of her, trying to decide which one to continue. She glanced to the side, where several empty bottles of wine were gathered.

Another sigh, she was going to need more soon.

Day five, the wall was just over halfway done, it now wrapped around the front of the empire. At their current pace it was looking to be completed the day after the griffins arrived. A worrying thought, but Cadance was hopeful that their other precautions would give them enough time.

“Are you sure this is necessary?” She asked, experimentally lifting her hooves.

Other things were going better at least. The first few trainloads of rations from Equestria were beginning to arrive, they certainly felt it in the budget, but at least they had enough to last a while. The recruits were also doing well, with basic training looking to be finished in the next few days, Shining Armor seemed especially proud of that.

“Of course, honey. Now hold still.” He responded,

Cadance did so, only to wobble slightly as a heavy plate was placed on her back. She flexed her wings, then licked her lips. The air was getting dryer, though the depth of the snow was now sufficient, the constant snowfall created an arid environment around the entire empire, and everypony was feeling it.

“It just feels… excessive.” Cadance argued,

Shining Armor stepped in front of her. “Are you telling me you got a headdress done for the games inspector, but you’re not wearing armor for the griffins?”

“Well-” Cadance paused as two crystal pauldrons were placed on her shoulders. “It’s like insinuating that I want to fight, when I don’t. I really don’t.”

“Honey, this follows the same philosophy as everything else we’re doing.” Shining Armor explained, “When you’re facing the general of the griffin army you want him to know we mean business, even if we aren’t looking to fight.”

Cadance huffed, “It’s still a lot.”

“At least we aren’t putting you in full plate armor,” Shining Armor moved off to the side, “This is what? Traditional…” He trailed off.

“Traditional Royal Crystal Armour Set.” The armorer answered,

Cadance shivered as a crystal mail was draped over her haunches, it was hooked under the plate on her back then latched in place at the base of her tail.

“Yeah, that.” Shining Armor said,

“How much more is there?” Cadance asked,

“Just the flank guards and the helmet.”

She sighed, feeling two more weights being hooked in at her sides. Then Shining Armor walked in front of her again, a helmet in his magic.

“Do you want to put it on yourself?”

“Uh… sure.” Cadance took the helmet and turned it in her magic.

It was glaringly bare, just the same solid light blue crystal as the rest of the armor. Lowering her head, she slotted her horn into it and pulled it over her head, the straps on the side hung loosely, but she quickly fastened them into her peytral. Cadance turned her head side to side to make sure it wasn’t too tight, and felt the weight of it on the bridge of her muzzle. It was like she was wearing a giant pair of glasses, only they slightly obstructed her view.

“Well?” Shining Armor said, “What do you think? I think it looks good.” He stepped to the side, revealing a mirror.

Cadance stared at herself in the mirror. She was armored from horn to hoof, from crystalline boots, shin guards, a thick peytral, large pauldrons, a crystal mail skirt, and a layered helmet. It looked quite effective, though a bit bulky and sharp in some areas. But most of all, it was just simply-

“Plain,” Cadance said aloud, “It’s really plain.”

“Yes well, when working with such short notice…” The armorer began, “There isn’t much that can be done for… stylizing. It isn’t everyday that a new royal armor set is made.”

“How does it feel?” Shining Armor asked,

“It’s certainly heavy.” Cadance said, taking a step forward to get used to the weight.

“I know you’re strong enough for it,”

“True, but I was hoping to maybe be able to… y’know…” She opened her wings, the crystal coverings on them clicking loudly, “Fly.”

“Ah,” the armorer butted in, he practically ripped her wing armor off, “A simple modification, we open up the back, and if you think you can fly well we reduce weight and armor elsewhere. In fact, I had to do something similar to the last set I made.”

“Really?” Cadance asked, she turned her head to look, but the helmet started pinching her neck. “Can we make this more mobile too?”

“More movement, less protection,” the armorer stated, nodding.

“Who was the last pony you made a Traditional Royal Crystal Armor Set for?” Shining Armor asked,

“Last Crystal Princess,” the armorer waved off, “Her’s was more stylized though, lots of diamonds and hearts on that one.”

“Ooo, can you do something like that for mine?” Cadance asked,

“Later, dear. For now we should just make sure it works and you like it.” Shining Armor said,

“I would like it with hearts…” Cadance said quietly.

“Simple engravings can be done easily.” The armorer said, removing one of her pauldrons, “Though I should tell you they probably won't last.”

They both tilted their heads.

“Why’s that?” Shining Armor asked,

“Because the armor evolves,” the armorer began, removing the other pauldron, “It changes to suit the user, and the engravings probably will too.”

“What, like magically?” Cadance asked,

“No.” The armorer shook his head, frowning, “I make the changes, and you will ask for them.”

“How do you know that?”

“You asked for it to be changed already.” The armorer shrugged, “You’ll probably ask again after this is all over.”

“Huh, I guess it depends on how often I wear it,” Cadance said,

“Probably.” The armorer walked around front, “Helmet please.”

“Oh, here.” Cadance quickly took it off,

The armorer snatched it out of her grasp and immediately began removing some of the lower plating.

“Okay, I took off some weight and opened it up for better movement,” he passed the helmet back over, “Try it now.”

Cadance nodded and slipped it back on, fastening it. She rolled her shoulders, which felt a lot lighter, then flapped her wings a couple times. It took a bit of effort, but she was able to lift up from the ground.

“This works for me,”

“Good, then I shouldn’t have to tell you, without as much armor, you have to be better at dodging.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Cadance said, she landed and tested her helmet. “Flying certainly helps.”

“Now take it all off,”

“What?”

“You want engravings? I give you engravings, but not while you’re still wearing it.”

“Alright then,” Cadance nodded, taking her helmet off again, then she stopped, “Uh… a little help with the rest?”

“Here,” Shining Armor said, quickly going around to begin undoing her backside,

“You seem to be pretty good at this,” the armorer said,

“Well my name is Shining Armor, I think I would know my way around a suit of armor.”

“Have you ever had to make your own set?”

“Yes actually,” Shining Armor said, “It was a while ago, actually when I was ten, and it was made out of cardboard… But the design was good.”

Cadance let out a small laugh. “Have you ever worn full plate before?”

“Yup,” Shining Armor smacked his lips, “When I was a recruit I wanted to join the heavy armor division, they said okay, suited me up, then bashed me around with everything they had.”

Cadance winced, then continued unstrapping her leg armor, “Did it hurt?”

“Not physically.”

“Oh,”

Lifting the heavy peytral over her head, Cadance exchanged it with the regal one she typically wore. She then stepped out of her boots and pulled the plate off her back.

“Okay,” the armorer said, “I will have this done by tomorrow, you come pick it up then and then we go to war, yes?”

“Yeah,” Cadance pursed her lips, “That’s what we’re trying to avoid… This still feels wrong,”

“What, does the armor not fit or something? Do we need to make more adjustments?”

“No it’s just…” Cadance turned towards Shining Armor, “How do you know this will help with negotiations?

“Well we’re trying to make the Crystal Empire as unappealing to attack as possible…” He leaned forward, raising his eyebrows.

Cadance paused, thinking. “Then the same goes for me as well,” she realized, “I’m representing the whole of the Crystal Empire, I should look the part.”

“Exactly,” Shining Armor said, “Everypony needs a good suit of armor.”

“Maybe not everypony,” the armorer butted in, “That would be a lot of work,”

“And a weapon too,” Shining Armor finished,

Cadance frowned, “Uh oh,”

“What?”

“It feels like you’re going somewhere with this.”

Shining Armor’s expression quickly turned to a small smile, “Well yeah, we need to get you a sword too.”

Cadance groaned,

“Unless you want something else, like a halberd or something.”

Taking a sip of tea, Cadance tried desperately to savor the flavor, but it was gone all too soon. She set the cup down, it clattered against the tray in her grip and she steadied herself.

“So, what do you think?” Princess Celestia asked,

“About the tea?”

“Of course,” Princess Celestia said, lifting the teapot and refilling Cadance’s cup, “It is a special blend that is known to help calm the nerves.”

Cadance nodded and picked up her teacup, “I usually go for something a bit… stronger.”

Princess Celestia raised her eyebrows, “Not this early in the morning I hope.”

Cadance bit her lip and looked away.

Sighing, Princess Celestia continued, “How are things going in the Crystal Empire?”

“Hectic. We’re almost done with the preparations for,” Cadance gulped, “Tomorrow, but things aren’t going as quickly as I hoped.”

“What are your preparations? What is your plan?”

“We are looking to make the empire as hard to attack as possible, and force the griffins to endure the arctic for as long as it takes, but we’re also hoping to avoid all of that by negotiating first.”

Princess Celestia nodded, “An excellent strategy, but it is not completed yet?”

“No, construction isn’t expected to finish for another two days and,” Cadance shuddered, “We’ve already spotted scouts.”

“Then I understand your anxiety, however you should have faith in the negotiations.”

“Yes, I have an argument prepared that addresses the demands, but the declaration doesn’t exactly have many alternatives, and the griffin lords seem determined in their goals.”

“Ah,” Princess Celestia began, “But you will not be speaking with the lords of the High Council, they may have declared this war, but they will not be fighting in it. You will be facing the general of the griffin army.”

Cadance tilted her head, “Oh yeah, Shining Armor said something about that. Who is he?”

Princess Celestia exhaled, “I regret not having you do more in foreign relations before, but the griffin general is surprisingly reasonable compared to some other griffins. His name is General Gavis Garfield, and he has been leading the griffin military for almost thirty years now.”

“Garfield?” Cadance asked, “Does he like lasagna?”

“Don’t.”

“Sorry,”

“Anyway, General Garfield is highly aware of the costs of war, for both sides. The griffins may be passionate about their stance against the worm, but he will weigh the costs of the situation and determine whether or not a war is truly the best option. If you were to provide a solid argument, and perhaps even build trust with him, then you may be able to convince General Garfield to agree to the addressed demands, especially if the empire is as ‘hard to attack’ as you say.”

“And what if I can’t get him to compromise?”

“Then unfortunately, you will be forced to war,” Princess Celestia looked down, “But that is what you have been preparing for, and if your strategy is effective enough, then you will not have to spend much to resolve it.”

“I’m worried about any cost,”

“Then do tell me right away if negotiations break down. If General Garfield accepts the cost of attacking the Crystal Empire, then he surely understands the risk of engaging with Equestria as well. I cannot say for sure what will happen, but you will have my full support in fighting this war.”

Cadance frowned, “How long will it take for Equestria to help once fighting breaks out?”

“Not long, but it will take time,” Princess Celestia began, “Equestria is most likely under surveillance, any preemptive mobilization of forces will be taken into consideration. However, if you truly need help, then troops will be on their way within the day, though I estimate travel time to take around two to three.”

“Then we have to last four days?”

“That is only if war breaks out, I have confidence in your abilities, Cadance. No matter which way this goes it will be difficult, but I trust you to make the right choice, and to carry through with it.”

“It will be hard to avoid violence if the griffins start it,” Cadance said,

“But I know you will have tried, and that is worth more than you know.”

Cadance simply stared silently into her teacup.

“Now,” Princess Celestia continued, “What else have you been doing?”

“Heh. Well, Shining Armor made me get a custom set of armor.” Cadance replied, “And a sword,” She added on.

“I expect he would, but you’re not looking to fight, are you?”

“That’s what I said, but he said it would help with negotiations.”

Princess Celestia gave a small smile, “It definitely will, and here I thought it was a passing fad nowadays. You know I have my own set?”

“You do?” Cadance asked,

Princess Celestia nodded and stood up, “I have not worn it in years. Would you like to see it before you go?”

Cadance sat there for a moment, then she took a deep breath, finished off her tea, and stood up. “Sure.”

The seventh day, it was eerily quiet in the Crystal Empire. Public business had ground to a halt, with only the sporadic guard patrol to fill the streets. At the back, builders were working furiously to finish the wall, driving crystals into the ground and fusing them together to create a single, solid object. There was still a large gap.

As such, a large number of guards were posted to oversee the construction and to make sure that no one got through until it was closed. More guards populated the wall, standing atop hastily constructed walkways and parapets, bows at the ready.

Towards the front of the empire, the rest of the guard was gathering. Entire regiments stood atop the fields of slightly yellowed grass, waiting. Crystal barricades were set up in a semicircle around the front gate, though it remained closed for now. Atop it, Cadance and Shining Armor waited along with the finest guards in the Crystal Empire. They gazed out into the frozen tundra.

“Are you ready for this?” Shining Armor asked,

Cadance let out a sigh, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

She looked up. The heavily overcast sky darkened what should be a bright morning into an almost somber one, bringing a chill to the air. The clouds looked to start snowing at any moment, but they waited for the worm’s call, and it waited for Cadance’s signal. Every once in a while there was the dull rolling of thunder, but there was a distinct lack of charge in the air.

Everything was calm, still almost. It was as if time had stopped.

“There!” One of the sentries called out, pointing.

Looking off into the distance, there was movement along the horizon, a mass of brown began to crest one of the frozen hills to the Southeast. It didn’t take long for individual flecks to take to the skies, though some stayed on the ground, distinctly larger ones. They all watched as the approaching army simply grew and grew, seemingly unending as it flowed down the snowy slope.

Cadance let out a whistle, starting low then pitching it higher before dropping back down.

The clouds darkened in response.

“Get ready!” Shining Armor called out, “They’re almost here!”

Cadance turned to a guard, “What’s the status on the wall?”

The guard shook his head, “They’re rushing, but there are still at least five segments open.”

“Okay, then we’ll delay here as long as possible,” Cadance then turned to Shining Armor. “How long do you think we can go without responding?”

“Well…” He began, looking over as the tail end of the army trickled through, “I’m not an expert on the griffin army, but look,” he pointed over to them, they were hardly organized, “They’re traveling right now, but they’ll most likely stop to get into formation before arriving. From there I’d say we could maybe wait an hour… two at most. We do not want them to surround the empire before we’re ready.”

Cadance nodded, “So an hour, maybe two, then we… talk.”

“Parley,” Shining Armor corrected,

“Right, we parley. How should we do that? We can’t just go out by ourselves right?”

“Absolutely not, unless you’re wanting to be held hostage. Here’s what we’ll do;” Shining Armor stepped back and looked down, “We open the gate, then come out with platoons one and two, archers on the wall. They form a defensive perimeter outside of the wall while we parley. If things go poorly, we rush back in and get ready.”

“What if we can’t get through in time?” Cadance worried,

“We won’t stray far from the gate, we can even keep it open if you want, and I’ll have a shield spell ready just in case.”

“Wouldn’t leaving the gate open be a bad thing?”

“Not as bad as you might think,” Shining Armor waved his hoof, “It’s a bottleneck, if the griffins try to follow us through, they’ll be forced into a bad position, that’s why we have the rest of the guard standing ready behind the gate.”

“And we can do the same thing at the back of the empire.” Cadance deduced,

“I’d rather not divide our forces, which is why we should delay as long as possible.”

“But the griffins would divide their forces too.”

“True, though by the looks of it,” Shining Armor squinted at the approaching army, “They outnumber us five to one, maybe even more.”

Cadance’s eyes widened.

“Don’t focus on the numbers, focus on our advantages. We’re in a highly defensible position with devoted soldiers, a master shielder, an alicorn princess, and… a giant worm,” Shining Armor shrugged, “Against an army that has to cross rough terrain in a tough environment with,” he pointed upward, “adverse weather.”

“Doesn’t exactly calm the nerves.” Cadance said,

“I know… But it’s what we have, and we’re working with it. Do you want to go over what you’re going to say to them again?”

“No.” Cadance shook her head, “No, if I do that then I’ll be too focused and go straight to the main points. If we’re trying to delay, then I’m going to have to… ugh… filibuster.”

Shining Armor grimaced, “I take it you don’t like doing that?”

“It’s obnoxious and stupid. I hate it and I hate that I know how to do it, but it works.”

“Just try to remember why you’re doing it,” Shining Armor said,

Cadance nodded, but otherwise stayed silent. Joining her, Shining Armor watched as the griffins drew closer, even at this distance, they could tell they were already struggling with the snow, the flyers dropping below the cloud cover. By the time the army was halfway to the empire, it stopped. However any hopes of it staying that way were soon dashed as the griffins assumed a tight formation, continuing their march a moment later.

Onward they went, crossing the snowy landscape slowly but steadily.

“It looks like they’ll be here within the hour, sir.” One of the sentries announced,

Shining Armor grit his teeth, he turned to another guard, “Check in with the back wall, tell them to go as fast as they can without compromising the base structure. We need the wall done now.”

The guard saluted, then dashed to get off the wall and through the empire.

“Ugh, if only we had an illusionist, then we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“Is there anything else we can do?” Cadance asked,

“Not really,” Shining Armor said, “Unless you want to go and help them yourself, but it’s a little late for that.”

“Mmm,” Cadance sighed,

“Last chance to rehearse, are you sure you don’t even want to go over what to avoid?” Shining Armor asked,

Cadance inhaled deeply, “Shining, I appreciate the effort, but this is something I find I do better by myself, so let me think for a moment.”

And think she did, all the while watching the ever encroaching army draw closer. Their plan was working, as the griffin’s formation began to falter in the heavy snow. The lighter units up front managed to cross the tundra without much issue, but that left the snow weaker to those behind, including the much larger units towards the back. It was hard to tell exactly what they were from a distance, but it was clear they were some sort of war machines. Still, the wooden platforms struggled in the snow, and it caused the whole army to lag behind with them in an attempt to keep together.

Yet they never stopped.

There came a point in time where Cadance had to duck down and get off the wall, as it would have been hard to make the griffins wait another hour if she was clearly just standing there, watching them. They arrived soon after, the guards on the wall fidgeting in place as they waited.

Though she could not see them, Cadance could hear the army on the other side of the wall. Dull conversations, the clanking of weapons and armor, the creaking of wood, the flapping of fabric, and especially the crunching of snow. She turned her brand new helmet in her hooves, it was hard to sit idly by when what was quite possibly the Crystal Empire’s largest conflict was waiting on the other side of the gate.

The seconds ticked by one by one, quite slowly at that. The hushed whispers inside compounded with the noises outside only added to the pressure. Cadance stood up, then sat back down, then stood up, moved forward slightly, and sat down again, stand, sit, stand, move, sit, stand, move, sit. She could hardly decide whether to wait exactly an hour or to vary it a little, much less what to say.

It didn’t help that there was a distinct lack of alcohol today, she didn’t want to let it loosen her tongue, but now she was at risk of tying it in a knot.

This whole thing felt wrong, but they were working to set it right.

Cadance stood, donning her helmet. She looked towards Shining Armor and nodded, who in turn signaled the guards around him to form up.

“Open the gate!” He called out as they were surrounded by a protective troop.

There was a wave of response from the griffins outside, and the guards atop the wall set about unlocking the gate. The crystal cross bar was lifted out of the way, and a team began pushing it open. The large crystal panels groaned as they moved, and not long after a crack of light began shining through them. Cadance watched as it grew wider, revealing legions upon legions of soldiers, all standing at attention in the snow.

Though they were all armored, there was a general lack of insulation, with only light coats to keep them warm. Every breath was visible in the air, and while Cadance didn’t know what natural protection the griffins had, if she had to guess it was only a matter of time before they started shivering, especially if the weather worsened.

Perhaps this would go better than expected.

There was a divide at the center of the army, leaving a clear path towards a large tent, its flaps open. Cadance looked towards Shining Armor, he looked to the tent, looked back, then shook his head.

Letting out a shaky sigh, Cadance took another step forward, the rest of her entourage following suit. She took a deep breath, but before she could begin, the sound of thunder rolled in the distance. A number of griffins looked up at the disturbance, and Cadance suppressed a frown, they were probably under suspicion of refusing the demand, and this certainly wasn’t helping.

“I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, formally refuse war with Griffinstone,” She began loudly,

All of the griffins jolted into attention, and there was movement inside the tent.

“I seek nothing but to fully resolve this conflict as peacefully as possible. It is my duty as both the ruler of the Crystal Empire and the caretaker of the worm to ensure their safety as well as prevent any-”

Boom

Cadance was interrupted by a crack of thunder directly overhead. It was loud, just below deafening, and every griffin tensed in reaction, so did some of the crystal guards.

“Not now,” Cadance whispered under her breath, risking a look upwards.

A single raindrop plinked across her armor plated snout.

Gritting her teeth, Cadance brought her gaze back down to the griffins. This was going too fast, if they wanted to delay as long as possible, then the weather would have to hold, but there was no way to communicate that to the worm now.

A few more droplets landed around her, but Cadance ignored it,

“In order to prevent any harm from coming to them or going out…” Cadance trailed off, a dark spec flew past her vision, causing her to blink,

Boom

One of her guards gasped to her side, but she hesitated to turn her head. It didn’t last long, and she looked to see him staring at the ground, following the guard’s gaze, Cadance took notice of the many red spots littering the snow around them. Frowning, she crossed her eyes, watching as crimson liquid seeped through her armor and into her fur.

That was not rain.

By now others from both sides had begun to take notice, more and more looking up as the droplets continued to fall. Cadance looked up, right as the clouds above were lit up with orange light.

Nor was that lightning.

A familiar screech echoed down, followed by a roar. An actual lightning bolt flashed, revealing a dark shape in the clouds.

There was a sudden increase in red rain.

Another flash of lightning with a deafening crack of thunder, and the shape was a lot closer.

“EVERYPONY GET DOWN!” Shining Armor shouted right as two forms tore through the clouds.

They screamed through the air, slamming down onto the ground with such force that Cadance had to fight to stay upright, others were not so lucky. Shielding her eyes against the incoming onslaught of snow, ice, and even dirt, Cadance looked over to see what had just fallen from the sky.

The worm, atop a black dragon. They thrashed together, rolling across the ground for a bit before coming to a stop near the crystal wall. Pressing the advantage, the worm coiled its body around the dragon, causing it to struggle and release a bout of flames. Undeterred, the worm lunged forward, grasping the dragon’s head tightly within its pincers. It roared, and attempted to claw up at the worm.

With a simple twist, its neck was snapped.

The sickening crunch was heard throughout the crowd, and Cadance shuddered as the black dragon fell limp. The worm then lifted up from the body, and breathing heavily, it let out a triumphant screech.

Roars echoed down from the storm clouds as a response.

There were more.

The worm shot back up into the storm, leaving the two sides at a loss. Cadance looked around frantically, this was not part of the plan, and based on the reaction of the griffins, nor was it a part of theirs.

“Move! Move! Move!” Shining Armor was the first to speak, “There are dragons about! Get to cover and assume defensive positions!”

A crack of thunder followed his orders, spurring the crystal guard into action, they flattened out against the wall, some retreating back through the gate. Cadance only followed loosely, she stared up at the clouds in shock as Shining Armor directed them. The griffins took a bit longer to respond, their army scrambling together and reforming into a more defensive formation, shields raised and bows drawn, larger targets being abandoned.

Just then a lightning bolt lit up a shape in the clouds, and a moment later another dragon dipped through. This one yellow, it gazed across the outspread army, then unleashed a torrent of flame. Many were outright torched, but many more were set ablaze, screams and shouts soon filled the air.

“Archers!” Shining Armor demanded,

Arrows were released up into the air, arcing towards the dragon, those that hit simply bounced off its scales, with most missing completely. Still, its attention was grabbed, and it turned to spew fire at the wall. Crystal guards dove out of the way, only for the flames to wash across an invisible dome, the Crystal Heart was protecting them for now.

“This is not how I expected negotiations to go!”

“I realize!” Cadance shouted back, she looked at the dragon as it went back to assaulting the griffin army.

It was then a blue dragon descended through the clouds.

“We have to do something!”

“Won’t this make things easier though?” Shining Armor argued,

Cadance stared at him, “Not if it means they all die.”

A hail of arrows rose to meet the two dragons, but didn’t do much against them.

“Alright fine,” Shining Armor said, “Ballistae! Up front and center, aim high!” He turned back towards Cadance, “Are we letting them in?”

She nodded, “A sign of goodwill, we never intended to fight.”

Shining Armor sucked in a breath, “Okay. Soldiers! Form a perimeter and open the gate!”

The ballistae fired, the crystal bolts flying through the air, only one managed to hit, but it was certainly more effective than an arrow. The yellow dragon roared, and they both turned their attention back to the empire. The blue one breathed fire, while the yellow one tried a different approach, it dove towards the wall, only to smack against the same invisible dome.

The sound reverberated through the empire, and everypony inside winced as the dragon slid down the side. Once it reached the ground it got back up and pushed against the dome, clawing and biting in an attempt to get through.

By now griffins were already funneling through the gates, but it was slow going, the bottleneck design showing its drawbacks. Seeing the opportunity, the blue dragon swooped down and landed close to its fallen ally. It reared back, flames licking at the sides of its mouth.

Cadance shot a beam at it, hitting the side of its head and causing it to stumble and cough smoke.

“Help them in,” She said, “I’m going out there.”

“What?!” Shining Armor exclaimed, “No.”

“I have to.”

“No.” Shining Armor repeated, he stomped his hoof, “It’s too dangerous,”

“The worm needs my help,” Cadance pleaded, “And it might distract the dragons.”

She pointed to the blue one as it recovered and shook its head, only for one of the ballistae to shoot it. The bolt shattered across its back, and it roared as more arrows came from the griffins. Ducking below the wall, the dragon leapt back into the air to begin another run.

“You’re talking about fighting dragons, Cadance!” Shining Armor replied, “That’s not something you just do!”

“I know, but there’s at least more than three dragons. Two now,” She gestured in the direction of the dead one, “But the worm had trouble with just one before! Who knows how long he could handle five, six, maybe more!”

“That was in a cave though! Who’s to say the storm won’t be enough help?”

“I’m not taking that risk,” Cadance said, she stepped forward and flared her wings. “Do all that you can to protect the griffins as they enter, then the empire once they're in.”

“Wait!” Shining Armor stepped in front of her, he set a hoof on her shoulder, “Who’s going to protect you?”

Cadance sighed, then leaned in to hug him, “We’ll protect each other, and hopefully make it through this.” She pulled away, “If things get too bad then we’ll come right back, okay?”

Shining Armor sniffled, “Okay. Please be careful.”

“I will, I love you.”

With that, Cadance took off. Flapping hard, she quickly left the protection of the Crystal Heart and rose to enter the storm, but not before sending a few magic blasts towards the blue dragon. It roared, then spotted her in the air, and followed her in.

Inside was turbulent, but not oppressively so, Cadance was able to keep a level path in the storm, though in no way was it straight. The dark clouds made it hard to see, and the crossing winds made it hard to keep a bearing, but she continued nonetheless, heading towards the heart of the storm.

Her coat grew damp, and water began to precipitate on her armor, only for it to freeze a moment later. She shook some of the frost off, but it would only get worse in these conditions, she had to find the worm soon.

The center of the storm moved.

Cadance blinked, then changed her orientation to follow it, that was a clear indication of where the worm is. She didn’t get very far before it moved again, raising up, she beat her wings harder to match its altitude, only for it to shoot back down to the right. Grunting, she entered a steep glide, but the worm moved again, away from her, completely outpacing her.

There was no way for her to keep up with the worm in the storm, which meant the dragons were probably experiencing the same thing, though since the worm kept moving, they might not be having as much trouble as she was. If only they could cross paths.

It seemed Cadance’s wish would come true, as the center of the storm rocketed towards her position. Eyes wide, she only had a moment to dive down as the worm tore through the clouds. In an instant the air was crackling with electricity, and Cadance’s fur stood on end.

“Wait!” She called out,

The worm stopped dead in the air, then circled around to look at her, clicking wildly.

“I’m here to help. How many are- Oooo…” Cadance cringed, now that she had a better look at the worm, she could see it was already injured.

There were a multitude of claw marks along its body along with quite a few bites as well. Some of its plates were scorched, though they were only minor burns.

Cadance reaffirmed herself, “How many dragons are there?”

Before the worm could respond, a bolt of lightning revealed another shape in the clouds behind the worm, a puff of orange light to their side announced a second dragon, and a roar behind Cadance signified a third.

“Oh dear.” She said,

The worm screeched, launching past Cadance and into the dragon behind her. She only caught a glimpse of blue scales before they disappeared back into the storm. The first dragon followed suit, a flash of red scales appearing in her peripherals. The second dragon also let out a roar and attempted to do the same, only for Cadance to blast it with magic. Her light blue bolts splashed across its green scales, and it turned to look at her, smoke billowing from its maw, that was when she realized something.

She didn’t know how to fight a dragon.

It blew fire in her direction, and she quickly brought up a shield to block it. Then they just hovered there for a few moments. Cadance drew her sword, then tilted her head.

Rule one: Stay focused

Narrowing her eyes, she breathed in sharply. This fight was happening right here, right now, no distractions.

The dragon roared and lunged forward, Cadance dove down to dodge.

Rule two: Be aware

Cadance turned around to look at the dragon. Large body, tough scales, capable of flight, fire breath, sharp teeth and claws, strong, angry, and maybe smart. She looked down at herself. Comparatively small, reduced armor, also flight capable, hooves, sword, and magic. Speed was up for debate, though Cadance was fairly sure she was more nimble.

Looking around, they were surrounded by the storm. Reduced vision, wet environment, occasional cloud cover, high wind, and weather hazards. Cadance certainly had the advantage there.

With a mighty bellow, the dragon spewed flames in a wide arc. Cadance brought up another shield and grit her teeth from the strain, but otherwise remained unharmed.

Rule three: Offense and defense

Another bout of fire, though Cadance rolled to the side to avoid it. She continued with the momentum and spiraled around the pillar of fire closer to the dragon. Once she was right up next to it she brought her sword around and slashed at its head.

It bounced right off its snout.

“Uh oh,”

The dragon snarled.

Cadance flipped backwards, sending a few more magic bolts upwards as she dived down. The dragon shielded its face with its claws, then dove after her. It started gaining, fast, and Cadance flattened herself to go even faster.

Downward they went, racing through the clouds with reckless abandon, Cadance squinted as more frost began to build up around the edges of her helmet, but she didn’t dare try to clear it now. The dragon roared behind her, sounding closer and closer by the second. Maybe this wasn’t the best of ideas.

Before she could pull out of the dive however, Cadance pierced through the bottom of the storm. She then immediately curved back up and latched onto the bottom of the cloud. Not even a moment later the dragon burst through, it continued down further before stopping to hover and look around.

Cadance dropped.

Flipping through the air, she landed square on the dragon’s back. It yelped in surprise as she swung her sword as hard as she could into the back of its neck.

Chck

The sword cracked. Cadance’s face dropped.

The dragon rolled its shoulders, but Cadance remained on top of it. Then it turned its head to try and look at her, and when that didn’t work it reached back and swiped blindly with its claws. Cadance stepped back and nearly lost her balance, then began looking around frantically. Spotting a new target, she turned to the side and plunged her damaged sword into the membranous wing of the dragon instead.

There was no immediate reaction, but as Cadance pulled her sword upward a large hole was ripped into the wing near the base. A small amount of blood began to seep from the tissue, and as the dragon flapped the hole grew wider, the membrane flapping uselessly in the wind. They both listed to the side, and with a growl the dragon continued into the turn, forcing Cadance off.

Flying up above it, she gave a small smile at her first successful strike, only for the dragon to turn in the air and blast her with fire. Not having time to pull up a shield, Cadance held up her hooves as the flames washed over her. Her face tightened from the heat, it wasn’t enough to burn her, only singing her fur. She blinked, watching as steam rose from her armor. Maybe the frost buildup wasn’t so bad after all.

A roar came from below, followed by the heavy flapping of wings. Cadance summoned a shield just in time to block another burst of flames, but before she could fly back up into the storm, she heard a second, distant roar. Looking down, a yellow figure was also making its way upwards.

It looked like everything was done on the ground.

Cadance whistled, alternating between a low and high pitch several times. The effects were immediate, the thunder increased in volume, both intensity and quantity, electricity began actively arcing through the clouds, and it started to snow.

Then sleet.

Then hail.

A few ice chunks plinked off her armor, and Cadance surrounded herself in a full body shield. The wind picked up, and she used it to rise back into the storm, two roars from below meant it wouldn’t be long before the dragons got back as well. Closing her eyes, Cadance felt through the storm, it was a bit harder to tell, but the worm was still zipping around rapidly. It must still be busy with its dragons, and now Cadance had to face two as well.

She bit her lip.

Flames erupted from below her, engulfing her completely. Her shield held for the duration, but fizzled out along with the rest of the flames. Cadance shook her head and rolled to the side, tracking her movement, the dragon spewed more fire, but it was easily dodged.

Cadance shielded herself again to avoid more hail damage, then flew out of the dragon’s effective range.

This wasn’t going to work. If she couldn’t deal with her dragons effectively, and the worm couldn’t with its two, then things would progressively get worse. A bad case scenario, they would have to retreat back to the empire and go from there.

Cadance sent a few magic blasts at the green dragon, then a wave of fire came from her left. Just barely dodging to the side, she turned to see the yellow dragon closing in on her. She flapped hard, turning and continuing deeper into the storm.

There were four of them, and if it took six days for one dragon in the past, then depending on that outcome they could get in in less than two, or they would have to last nearly a month before they were driven off.

Both dragons gave chase, and though the green one was lagging behind slightly, they were both gaining.

The armies would help, but if they were truly hosting the griffins then they would have to support more than double what they planned for, even if they brought their own supplies. And with Equestria at least four days away, depending on how fast she could get the message out, this was certainly looking like a worst case scenario.

Rule one: Stay focused

Cadance jolted in her flight, and blinked rapidly as she looked around. That wasn’t helping, right now she had to figure out whether to fight or flight, then communicate that to the worm. She looked behind her, the two dragons tailing her were ever present, and unchanged in their demeanor. She couldn’t attack them directly, the crack in her sword attested to that, but she could damage their wings. Slow them down or ground them, that would certainly make this fight easier.

Looking back, the dragons’ wings flapped in tandem, beating hard and fast, certainly a difficult target for a sword. Cadance doubted her magic blasts would do much either, at least at her current output, but any higher would require more concentration, something she didn’t have much to spare.

Dodging another column of fire, she began to look for more options. She only managed to score a hit from a sneak attack, something she doubted the green dragon would let her do again, and it was too risky to try with the yellow one when they were together. That meant she had to separate them enough to outmaneuver their attacks and get up close and personal, where things got even more deadly.

Or she could just keep going, avoid the fight and return to the empire with the worm so they could stage a better defense. However speed was an issue, Cadance couldn’t escape the dragons alone, she would have to go with the worm, provided she could get to it first, and it was still racing around the storm.

Rule two: Be aware

The storm! The worm used it to its advantage, so why shouldn’t she?

Scooping up pieces of cloud as she flew, Cadance formed a large ball in her hooves. Once it was big enough to hold a decent charge, she turned around and squeezed. Her arms buzzed from the electricity as it surged, and a bolt of lightning shot out towards the yellow dragon. It exploded across its chest, residual electricity crackling along its scales. Cadance could see its arms lock up before the dragon regained control a moment later.

It didn’t do much, but it was certainly more than she could do with a sword.

With a mighty bellow, it hurled a fireball towards her. Reacting quickly, Cadance chucked the now spent cloud upwards, it intercepted the fireball and in a puff of steam it flickered out. She continued deeper into the storm, utilizing the new tactic against the dragons. They followed, though they remained at a steady distance thanks to her efforts.

The worm must be doing something similar, only it could hit harder and take harder hits. Cadance could not, meaning she had to keep her distance and wait for the right opportunity to strike.

Rule three: Offense and defense

The dragons were too close together, their combined attacks proving too much to get through. Since they didn’t appear to want to let up anytime soon, Cadance had to find another way. She flipped upward, balling up another cloud along the way. Angling it down, she launched another lightning bolt at the yellow dragon, specifically its wings.

A glancing blow, though she could see them still freeze up for a moment. The green dragon rose to intercept her, while the yellow one entered a straight glide.

That was all she needed. Cadance dove down to meet the green one, using the cloud to shield herself from a burst of flames. Pulling up at the last second, she avoided its awaiting claws and teeth and swooped down behind it. Her sword in her magic, she dragged it across a larger portion of the dragon’s wing. It was only a shallow cut, but as the wing flapped it was pulled apart.

It roared, and whipped around to slash at her, only to find it was now below her, and still dropping. The dragon flapped harder, managing to just hover, it then looked up and unleashed another gout of flame. Cadance expected this, and easily moved to the side, only for a second bout to come from the side.

The yellow dragon had come back around. Cadance’s shield was wrapped in flames, burning away along with them. She looked around to try and see where the dragon was, and spotted it closing in rapidly, mouth open and claws outstretched. Eyes wide, she just barely ducked beneath its charge, only for the dragon to whip its tail downwards.

It struck Cadance on her hind leg, sending her spinning out of control. She reeled from the impact, then extended her wings to right herself. Still a little dizzy, she flew up and into a thicker part of the storm, the hail not making it easy to stay aloft.

Fire came from below again, lighting up her hooves and forcing her to pull up further. Cadance shook her head, then looked around quickly to get her bearings. The yellow dragon was coming around for another run, and the green one was struggling to get to her. It was close, another hit to the wings and it would be forced to land, then she could focus on dealing with the yellow one.

Provided she could avoid it first.

Cadance took a deep breath, pulled her sword close, then summoned another shield. Her armor protected her body from the hail, but not her wings, and she didn’t want a repeat of the last time she was caught in a hailstorm.

The yellow dragon was getting close, its claws and teeth preceded by a wall of fire. Increasing the intensity of her shield, Cadance brunted the heat and got ready to dodge again. Once the dragon was near she feigned to the left, then dove to the right. It fell for it, though Cadance continued down to avoid its tail as it passed by. She then flipped back up and swung far at its wings. Her sword only clipped them, leaving just a small nick in the membrane.

A pillar of flames rose up beneath her, and with a roar the green dragon lunged upwards. Cadance just barely avoided the swipes of its claws, and she kicked down on its nose. It snapped back at her hooves, but she just blasted it in the face with magic. Keeping an eye on the yellow one, Cadance moved over and fired a few magic bolts in its direction as well, but not before blasting the green one again.

Two roars meant two angry dragons, and Cadance watched as the yellow one lined itself up again for another attack. Similar to before, Cadance prepared herself to try and dodge. She dipped below the flames this time then got back up to see which direction the dragon would favor this time.

Only to find it had stopped its run and was hovering right in front of her.

She only managed to gasp before it slashed at her. Her shield shattered, the dragon’s claws coming within inches of her face. Jumping back, Cadance brought her sword up and swung it wildly, the first few swings missed entirely, but the third one hit and got stuck. She looked up, seeing her crystal blade caught in the dragon’s mouth. It then bit down, snapping the sword at the base, Cadance pulled the hilt away and dropped it, watching it fall through the clouds. The dragon growled, then inhaled for another bout of fire. Cadance quickly rolled to the side, trying to get as much distance as possible in order to avoid it, only to be caught in a different fire stream from behind.

It burned.

She writhed in agony, screaming out in pain as she fell through the smoke. Her whole body pulsed as the cool air rushed by her, and she curled into a ball.

Downward she went, falling faster and faster. The dragons followed.

The sound of thunder assaulted her ears.

Cadance didn’t respond.

She broke through the bottom of the storm and into the open air.

Still no response.

She fell faster than the hail, the air whipping by and nearly forcing her limbs apart.

Nothing.

Only a few seconds before hitting the ground.

Cadance opened her eyes, and flared her wings, her singed feathers just barely catching the air. She entered a steep glide, gritting her teeth from the strain before looking down to the still fast approaching ground. She held her hooves out and braced for a rough landing. Her hoof caught snow and she continued in a running motion, only to trip and tumble into the deep snow.

She quickly came to a stop on her back, and then laid there for a moment as loose snow trickled onto her. The biting cold soothed her burns, and even though hail was raining down around her, and her armor was digging into her back, Cadance was content with just laying there.

That was until she heard the roar of the dragons.

Rocking from side to side, she turned over and got up, her burnt fur cracking with her movements. Blinking the tears from her eyes, she noticed her tail was on fire, and she quickly kicked some snow onto it before looking up. Two figures were dropping from the storm, one yellow, and one green.

Turning back around, Cadance saw that the empire was further away than she would’ve hoped, they must have moved a lot in the storm. The dragons drew closer, and Cadance stepped away. There wasn’t enough time for her to run to safety, but if she started now there might be enough time for something else.

Breaking into a full sprint towards the empire, Cadance whistled a single, high pitch note for a few seconds. She then continued to run, stumbling through the snow, her plan was working a little too well. Looking back, the yellow dragon was making headway to her position, while the green dragon followed slowly, it looked to be having trouble keeping speed and height.

Cadance trundled on, flapping her wings for that little bit of extra thrust, but it wasn’t enough. The dragons were approaching fast, and they were going to reach her in only a few seconds.

There was a screech from the storm, and the worm tore through the clouds. It streaked downwards towards Cadance, and in only a moment it was upon her. Several dragons roared in the distance, and the worm coiled around her protectively.

“We have to go,” she began. “There’s too many and I don’t think I can fly anymore.” She extended her wing to reveal most of her feathers were only shafts. “We should return to the empire and go from there.”

The worm turned to look at her, and she gasped.

Blood poured from its head, most of it coming from a massive wound where one of its mandibles once was. Cuts, scrapes, slashes, and gashes lined its body, with several burn and bite marks to go along with them. Purple blood oozed from its wounds, pooling in the snow around them.

“We’re leaving.” Cadance concluded, “Let’s go, now.”

The worm grunted, but otherwise lowered its head. Cadance quickly climbed on, but before she could get settled the worm jerked back upwards, nearly causing her to fly off. Gripping hard on the worm’s back plate, Cadance looked around frantically. The yellow dragon flew overhead, circling around and landing on their side. The green dragon approached on the other side, having landed earlier to run instead.

The worm looked back and forth between them, Cadance being forced to follow its movements. They both reared back and unleashed fire on both sides. Cadance brought up a shield against the green one, while in one swift movement the worm unfurled its tail and swept it across the ground, spraying a wave of snow up to dampen the yellow dragon’s breath. It then continued the motion, twisting around and whipping the green dragon in the face. Cadance winced at the impact as it was sent sprawling across the snow.

The yellow dragon roared, but before it could attack Cadance lasered it across the chest. The worm turned and spit lightning, hitting the dragon dead center and causing it to fall to the ground spasming.

“Okay, now let’s get out of here before the-”

She was interrupted by the sound of beating wings, and in a puff of snow, the blue dragon landed at their side. A moment later the red one arrived as well, settling down opposite of the blue one.

They were surrounded.

Cadance looked at the two new arrivals, they were a lot more worse for wear than the other two. This was made evident by the streaks of red flowing down the blue dragon’s scales, and while it was a bit harder to tell, the red one looked even worse, considering one of its hands was ripped off.

The snow took on even more blood.

They both roared, and in that time the other two dragons recovered enough to block any escape in all four directions.

Except for up.

Both Cadance and the worm seemed to realize this at the same time, and together they attacked. The worm hawked a giant ice ball towards the blue dragon, knocking it back while Cadance dragged a beam between the green and red dragons, specifically aiming for any openings, be it eyes, mouths, or severed wrists. The yellow dragon charged forward, intent on sinking its claws into the worm, only to meet air as they shot up into the sky.

At first the worm turned towards the empire, but it was moving slower than normal, giving the blue dragon enough time to shove the ice off of itself and fly up to meet them. Its fire breath came soon after, searing the underside of the worm and causing it to veer upwards. It screeched and picked up speed, ascending back into the storm with most of the dragons following closely behind.

Cadance tapped the worm, “We just need to get into the empire and we’ll be fine.”

It either ignored her or couldn’t hear her, as it continued further into the storm. Cadance frowned, then pulled up another shield for the hail. Looking back, she could see three figures in the clouds, keeping up with them rather well.

“Don’t push yourself, but please go faster.”

Again she didn’t get a response, and the worm turned, beginning to growl. Her hooves started to buzz like earlier, and as they finished turning to face the coming dragons, Cadance could see electricity crackling around the worm’s head.

The first to arrive was the blue one, and it was rewarded with intense electrocution, as lightning came from both the worm and the storm. It let out a pained roar, dropping as its wings locked up, only for it to recover a few seconds later.

The yellow dragon then came into the fray, and it blew fire along the worm’s body. Cadance did the best she could to block it, but her shield wasn’t big enough to stop everything.

Finally, the red dragon arrived, but as it went to breathe fire, the worm retaliated. It spun around, forcing the wind to come together and form a small tornado, it then flicked its tail and sent it spiraling towards the dragon. It didn’t have any time to react before it was sucked in and twirled around, disorientating it.

The blue dragon came back up, belching fire at their underside again. The worm screeched as it was burned, and Cadance winced from the shared feeling. She sent a few magic blasts downwards, but only a few hit. The worm then dipped down as well, forcing Cadance to hold on tight as they charged the dragon.

She shielded another fireblast from the yellow one, then braced as they struck the blue one. With only one mandible to attack with however, the worm couldn’t grip onto the dragon, and it slipped off to the side, biting and clawing as it thrashed, a large gash left in its shoulder.

They turned back around, where the red dragon finally exited the tornado. Its flight path unstable, it dove down to get to them, claw extended. The worm simply stopped in the air, and the dragon flew past in front of them, missing entirely. The yellow dragon then came down, and it did not miss. Claws raked across the worm’s body, just barely getting through its armor. The fresh wound began to bleed, and Cadance turned to fire much larger blasts of magic in return.

They didn’t do as much as she liked, and Cadance began to regret breaking her only weapon, now all she had was her magic. Her eyes then lit up, and she summoned forth a magic dagger. The light blue ethereal blade turned in her grip, and with nothing else to do she lobbed it at the dragon. It went decently far, but quickly began tumbling in the wind before fizzling out.

With a huff, she brought up another one and threw it harder, it soared through the air before pinging off the dragon’s yellow scales. It looked at her strangely, then a second dagger hit, followed by another, and another, and another until Cadance was throwing them too fast to count. Most didn’t do much, but as time went on more and more began to find purchase, hitting between scales or piercing them entirely.

The dragon roared, getting ready to attack, but the worm beat them to it. With a screech it whipped its tail, and the hail started increasing in size. What started at marble size soon grew to golf ball size, then hoof size, and finally to the size of a softball. Cadance could feel each chunk of ice pounding off her shield, and pretty soon the dragons started feeling it too. She never let up on her attack, and neither did the worm.

Enraged by the countless peppering, the yellow dragon bellowed, flames shooting out of its mouth, it turned to them to unleash as much fire as it could, only for a wave of frost to explode in its mouth. Ice curled around its teeth, freezing its jaw open and blocking any more attempts at fire. Cadance aimed higher, sending her magic daggers into the dragon’s wings. Though they could not slash, they began puncturing many holes in the membrane.

The yellow dragon flew backwards to retreat, and they would’ve followed if the blue dragon didn’t spew fire behind them. A wave of heat washed over Cadance, and she stopped throwing daggers to make sure her shield held. The worm whipped around, and the blue dragon slashed at its face. Even though that’s where its armor was the thickest, there were still deep marks left in the chitin.

Bringing up another dagger to throw, Cadance paused as the worm dove down. The dragon attempted to follow, only to be smacked in the face by the worm’s tail. The worm then turned back up and charged from below, clipping the belly of the dragon and continuing forward, dragging its spines along the entire time.

With a roar the dragon fired back, but they were already out of its range. Turning around, the worm lined up another charge, but not with the blue dragon, with the red one below it. Rocketing forward, Cadance held on for dear life as they began to spin, gaining speed and momentum. She couldn’t tell if they were on target, but the worm kept spinning faster and faster.

She braced, and a moment later they hit. Cadance shot forward from the impact, but managed to keep holding on. Blinking, she shook the dizziness from her head and looked up.

The red dragon was gasping, holding onto the worm’s mandible as it impaled it just below the ribcage. Blood began to pour from its mouth as it tried to pull itself free. The worm jerked its head upwards, forcing itself further in. The dragon froze, then fell limp, a final sigh leaving its body.

The worm then righted itself, allowing the body to slip off its mandible and fall through the storm below. Cadance pressed her lips together, unsure if this was a cheer worthy moment. Before she could finish deciding however, a roar came from behind them.

Turning around, the blue dragon was approaching fast. The worm began to move again, but it was too slow, that was when Cadance realized it was looking at her. It raised a claw, then swiped at her as it swooped by.

Once again her shield was shattered, but the claws did not miss. Three razor sharp talons dragged across her body, one slicing up her leg and into her shoulder, another going along the side of her neck, and a third scraping across her side, continuing into her armor.

She was knocked off the worm, pieces of armor flying off due to the damage, and she was falling through the storm again, without the ability to fly.

Flailing wildly, Cadance attempted to catch herself on something, anything, but she was going too fast to find any reliable purchase in the clouds. There was a screech above her, and the wind shifted in her favor, but a moment later a roar followed, and it reverted back. Ignoring the searing pain along her left side, Cadance flipped in the air, spreading her wings out as far as possible then her arms and legs to get as much drag as possible.

She broke through the bottom of the storm again, and when the tall spires of her crystal castle came into view she realized they were right above the Crystal Empire.

She wasn’t going to land in the soft snow.

Her breathing quickened, and she began looking for any alternatives. A tree, a bush, even a haystack, anything to break her fall. Nothing came into view nor mind, and the ground was getting closer every second. Cadance flapped her wings frantically, and similar to before they weren’t able to generate much lift. Her trajectory barely changed, and she looked down at where she was going to hit.

An open field, certainly better than a crystal building or the road.

She closed her eyes, tensing every muscle in her legs as she plummeted, preparing for the inevitable.

Except she didn’t hit the ground. Her hooves sank into something smooth and stretchy, and she slowed down, her momentum being absorbed. Opening her eyes, she watched as a shimmering pink bubble bowed around her, stopping her just above the ground before raising her back up a little. A hole then opened on the side, allowing the air to rush out and causing it to start deflating.

Looking around, Cadance saw Shining Armor approaching her, horn glowing. She quickly crawled across the shield and dropped to the ground, then ran up and hugged him.

“Thank you.” She squeezed him hard despite her seething cuts.

“What happened to protecting each other?” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow.

Cadance sniffled, and blinked fresh tears out of her eyes. “Things are bad, really bad.” She looked up, “We tried to come back but they wouldn’t let us. I’m hurt and so is the worm and he’s still up there and there’s still dragons and…” She paused to take a deep breath,

“Whoa whoa,” Shining Armor interrupted, “You’re hurt?” He pushed her away and looked her up and down, from the charred fur to the skeletal wings to the mass of blood flowing down her side. “Oh my goodness that’s your blood.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Cadance exhaled,

“It just seems you have a habit of getting covered in… Nevermind that, are you okay!?” Shining Armor asked, then turned to the side, “I need a medic over here!”

“It hurts, but I’m trying not to focus on that right now,” Cadance strained, “We have to get the worm inside, it’s too much for him up there.”

“I don’t know, he’s been through some pretty rough situations.”

“Not like this, there’s just too much risk, and I don’t want him to die while we do nothing about it.”

“Can you call him down?” Shining Armor asked,

“I’ll try,” Cadance said, she took a deep breath, then winced and stopped.

She only managed a weak whistle before losing her breath completely.

“You do it,” she whimpered,

“He might not respond,”

“Just try,”

Shining Armor breathed in deeply, then brought a hoof to his mouth, letting out a shrill whistle. They both looked up into the storm, waiting for anything to change, and yet there was nothing. The same dark clouds curled in on each other, a periodic flash of lightning followed by a thundercrack, the gigantic hail bouncing off the invisible dome surrounding them.

“Some hail,” Shining Armor said,

By now a medic had arrived, forcing Cadance to look away as she was treated. She winced at every turn of the bandages, and began working on undoing any obstructing armor. She slipped off her helmet, a clear outline of it left by her darkened fur, and clenched her teeth as the cut on her neck was cleaned and dressed.

“This is surprisingly shallow,” the medic began, “Any deeper and we might’ve needed more than just bandages. I guess that armor works huh?”

“I don’t want to think about it,” Cadance shook her head,

“I don’t think he’s coming down, honey,” Shining Armor said,

She didn’t look up, instead staring at her helmet as she turned it in her hooves again. Brand new and already battlescarred, surely that meant something. She sighed, she didn’t want to ponder that right now.

“Wait a minute,” Shining Armor began,

Cadance’s ears flicked, and a strange feeling started building up in her, one that was oddly familiar.

Three

Two

“One,” She said aloud,

Boom

A deafening thundercrack sounded overhead, one that echoed across the empire. She looked up, barely catching the tail end of lightning arcing through the clouds. Shining Armor turned to look at her.

“What?” He asked,

Cadance blinked, “Three, two, one…”

A flash of lightning quickly followed by thunder.

“Whoa, how are you doing that?”

Standing, Cadance continued, “-two, one…”

The storm was lit up once more, then again, then two more times. It was intensifying.

Cadance gave a small smile.

That was when the first body fell.

A large yellow form dropped through the clouds, passing through the dome and crashing into the ground nearby. A spray of grass and dirt exploded outwards from the impact, and everypony nearby stared in shock as it settled.

Cadance and Shining Armor shared a look, then quickly moved over to see what had happened.

It was the yellow dragon, still twitching as the remnants of an electric charge dissipated. Large patches of its scales were blackened and burnt, some falling away to ash as blood seeped from its wounds. Cadance looked towards its head, where there was still a crust of ice around its mouth. Smoke and steam rose from the body, but not from the head.

“Is it…? Is it dead?” Shining Armor asked,

“Let’s check,” Cadance said, summoning a magic dagger and flinging it into the dragon’s open eye.

Shining Armor looked away as the blade sunk into the eyeball before disappearing, leaving a large slit in its place. There was no additional movement besides the occasional spasm or twitch.

“Its dead,” Cadance confirmed,

“Then that means…” Shining Armor said, still averting his gaze.

“He’s still fighting,” Cadance said, looking up, “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Well if he’s doing this to them…”

“But what are the dragons doing to him? He was already badly injured when I fell.”

Shining Armor bit his lip, “How many are left?”

“Two,” Cadance answered, “One green and one blue.”

“So that makes five right? Black, red, yellow, green, and blue.” Shining Armor counted, “If most of them are already… gone… then it should be easier for him to fend off the last two.”

“Maybe, but some of them looked really nasty. I just wish I helped more before…” Cadance extended her wings.

“I’m sure you did all you could,” Shining Armor reassured, “and it’s not like there’s much that one pony can do against five dragons.”

“Mmm, what about one worm?”

“That’s different, he’s just like that. This may be a lot for him, but it doesn’t seem like it’s impossible. You did your best, have faith that he’ll do his.”

“Okay,” Cadance nodded, “But it’s hard without knowing how he’s doing.”

“Well if this is anything to go by…” Shining Armor gestured to the corpse, “Then clearly not the worst.”

A thundercrack sounded above the rest, and a moment later a portion of the crystal wall exploded. They all shielded their eyes from the rain of debris, soldiers drawing weapons and looking towards the disturbance. As the rubble and dust settled, a glimpse of green scales was visible amongst the crumbling wall.

“There’s another one.” Shining Armor commented,

“One left…” Cadance realized, “He might actually do it.

Shining Armor nodded, and looked up into the storm, “I guess we wait and see.”

Cadance also looked up and watched.

It didn’t take long before an echoing screech came from the turbulent storm. The high pitched wailing forced everyone on the ground to cover their ears for the entirety of its duration. When it was over Cadance opened her eyes and watched as a third form fell through the clouds, dropping fast and impacting on the other side of the field.

She ran over, Shining Armor quickly following behind. Her wounds flashed with every step, but she pushed through it to go see what had fallen.

Her breath of relief was cut short as she arrived. It was too small to be the worm, but purple blood painted the blue dragon’s scales. It flowed down its broken body, limbs snapped and bent to the point that they were torn open, bones showing. Its wings were folded in all the wrong ways and its entire torso was crooked and misshapen, crushed under an immense weight. They walked around the side to the head, and saw bulging eyes and an open maw, expression locked in pain as red blood poured out of its mouth.

“That’s the last one! So where’s the worm?” Shining Armor asked,

They both looked up again, but nothing else came from the storm. It growled and flashed, sending countless chunks of ice downward in a seemingly uncontrolled anger. Then it started to die down, first the lightning went, flickering in and out before stopping completely. The hail shrunk down to a gentle snow, which began to cover the beaten landscape. The thunder trailed off, creating larger and larger gaps between each crack before leaving them in silence. Cadance shook her head as the clouds lightened, their movement soothing as the wind slowed.

“That’s not right. That shouldn’t happen. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Something’s wrong,” Shining Armor deduced,

Cadance tried to whistle again, and managed to give a short note before being forced to let it go.

The clouds above gave no response.

“Come on, where is he?” She asked, her eyes frantically scanning the sky,

“There!” Shining Armor pointed,

She looked, and a long purple shape broke through the clouds. The worm coasted downwards, flying over them and curving back around as it dropped. It wavered as it flew, and it crashed into the ground before them, sliding through the grass and dirt and coming to a stop just a few meters away.

Cadance gasped, and immediately ran over.

“No no no no no.” She muttered, stepping up to feel the worm.

It groaned at her touch, and seemed to deflate across the ground. Cadance looked it up and down, numerous cuts actively bled, and purple blood was already pooling around it, mixing with the loose soil to create a thick mud. There were many burns across its body, blackening the worm’s armor and skin and leaving it cracked and crispy. A large chunk of flesh was torn out of its underside, going so deep that what looked like organs were exposed. Cadance covered her mouth at the sight, then almost fell backwards as she continued.

The worm’s tail was gone, the entire tip was ripped off along with a few segments, leaving a pulsing mass of flesh that leaked blood every second. By now the small crater it had created had started to overflow, and purple blood began to spill out and across the grass. Cadance paid no mind to it, even as it flowed around her hooves, instead she moved around to get in its view. Thankfully the worm’s eyes were untouched, but they remained unblinking as blood dribbled in and out of them.

“You did it,” Cadance whispered, “Thank you.”

The worm clicked slowly, each intake of breath stuttered and painful.

“It’ll be okay, you can rest now.”

It continued its guttural breathing, but it grew fainter every moment. Cadance blinked, fresh tears beginning to gather around her eyes, and she hugged up against the worm.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay,” She repeated, taking a shaky breath, “It’s okay,”

The worm gave a single, low whine before falling silent again. Cadance put her ear up against its body, ignoring the fact that she was getting coated with blood.

There was only the faintest of breaths, a slow in and out that each lasted a few seconds. She couldn’t discern any heartbeat, and the worm wasn’t making any other noise, it was only its breathing and the distant sounds of conversation.

“It’s okay.” Cadance continued,

She felt a weak pulling sensation.

Opening her eyes, her vision was blurry from the tears and turning purple from the blood.

“Go ahead,” She pressed up tighter against the worm, “Take as much as you need.”

It pulled more, but it was slow going, the worm either unwilling or unable to feed faster. Cadance never once broke contact however, and she stood with the worm for minutes on end as it fed. Eventually her eyes grew heavy, and a strong urge to yawn overcame her, but the worm’s breathing returned, taking long, even breaths.

The sensation stopped, and Cadance stumbled backwards, bloody mud splashing across her legs. Looking down the worm, its wounds had stopped bleeding, with only residual blood dripping down its body. It was still seriously injured, but it was stable.

“You’ll be okay.”

A smile on her face, Cadance turned around with half lidded eyes, and just now noticed the crowd that had grown around them, most of them griffins.

The worm was also incredibly vulnerable right now.

With a sharp intake of breath, Cadance raised a gigantic shield around them. She scanned the crowd with wide eyes, summoning several magic daggers around her. Several griffins stepped back, and several stepped forward, weapons raised.

“I won’t let you hurt him!”

They started murmuring, which was quickly followed by shouts, and a few stepped even closer, stopping just before the shield.

“Enough!” A voice cut through the crowd, “Stand down.”

The griffins stopped and lowered their weapons, some begrudgingly so, and they moved away from Cadance and the worm. The crowd then split, and a well dressed griffin stepped through followed by Shining Armor.

“Cadance,” he began slowly, “They won’t hurt you, or the worm.”

“They won’t?” She asked, her orbiting daggers fading.

“If they don’t want to be court-martialed they won’t.” The griffin announced, then he turned to Cadance, “You have my word that they won’t harm the sky worm.”

She looked towards Shining Armor, and he nodded.

“We talked while you were in the storm, and came to an agreement of sorts.”

“Okay…” Cadance slowly lowered the shield, “General Gavis Garfield I presume?”

He gave a small bow, “And I presume you are Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“I am,” She returned it, clearing her throat, “You’ll have to forgive my presentation, this is not how I expected today to go.”

“Easily overlooked. What matters is that you are here now.”

Cadance tilted her head, “What is the agreement you have come to?”

“Straight to the point eh? Verywell then.” General Garfield said, “I have decided to return to Griffinstone and convince the council to approach this matter in a different way.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Cadance immediately relaxed, dropping her stance.

“Yes,” General Garfield continued, “They may not like it, and my men may not like it, but I cannot deny the hospitality you have shown today. I recognize the opportunity you had when the dragons attacked and I am grateful you chose otherwise. It means a lot to let an enemy into your borders in the face of a mutual threat.”

Cadance just nodded along,

“Our casualties are high, but they would have been higher. I will not forget what you have done, and I assure you there will be no military action against you in the immediate future, regardless of the sky worm’s outcome.”

“I… Thank you,”

“Now I will take my leave, there are many things to prepare for.

Cadance blinked, “But what about the demands?”

General Garfield chuckled, “They are hardly relevant now, and I have a feeling that you are in no condition to discuss them right now anyway. Neither am I, but there will be time in the coming days. Will you allow us to reside in the empire while we recover?”

“Of course, though it’s not like there’s much we can do to stop you.”

“There is a difference, but it is appreciated.” He bowed again, then turned to leave.

Cadance bowed as well, when a wave of dizziness fell over her. A familiar feeling, the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, and an intense fatigue filling her legs and body. She wobbled, then promptly fell face first into the grass.

“Ow… Shining please help me up,” She extended a hoof in his general direction, “I want to go back to bed.”

“Sure,” Shining Armor said, grabbing her hoof, “But let’s get you cleaned up first. I don’t think you want to track blood throughout the castle do you?”

Cadance just mumbled into the ground.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

I can't believe I couldn't find a place to split this into two chapters. 18,000 words is a lot, and honestly, I can't read all that in one sitting. I have been working on this chapter pretty regularly since the last, and am surprised at how long it is considering how much time has passed. Finally past the 100,000 word mark for a fic, and am expecting my award within the next 5-10 business days.

Also Calamity lore update go brrr.