Cadance The Crystal Princess

The army of Storm King soon arrived near the clearing of the forest near Canterlot, the faint strains of music from the Friendship Festival in the square just audible in the distance. Storm King and his three generals strolled past the army and stopped to gaze upon the majestic capital. Overhead, airships began to descend stealthily as they manoeuvred to avoid detection.

The Storm King gaze the capital for a while, before turning his head back to his army

"Gentlemen!" He began, raising his Staff of Sacanas high to the army's attention. "Our first attempt to conquer Canterlot may have failed, but this time, we will be ready. This so call Crystal Imperial caught us off guard, but now we know their strength and their tactics."

"These ponies down there think they've seen the worst of us." He thundered. "They believe that because we stumbled once, we will fall again. But they are mistaken! They have no idea the power we possess, the strength we hold! Today, we will show them the true might of the Storm King and his legion!"

He pointed towards the distant city, the music of the Friendship Festival a mocking reminder of their previous failure. "We will strike with precision and fury! Our airships will rain down terror from above while our ground forces crush them beneath our feet. We will show them no mercy."

"Remember, we fight not just for conquest, but for dominance! We will leave Canterlot in ruins and claim it as our own! We will be victorious!" He continued.

The army erupted into a deafening roar, their voices filled with fervor and anticipation. As the echoes of their cheers faded, an airship descended from the sky, its ramp lowering. The Storm King boarded it with a confident stride, turning one last time.

"To victory, my warriors! To the storm!" He addressed his army.

The airship's engines roared to life as it ascended into the sky, the Storm King watching from above as his army began their march toward Canterlot.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Dark Meadow kept flapping his wings, straining to speed toward Canterlot despite his severe injuries. Every beat of his wings sent jolts of pain through his body, but he knew he had to warn the princesses about the impending attack from the Storm King. If the capital fell, the rest of Equestria would soon follow.

The determined pegasus forced himself to keep moving, slicing through the sky and clouds while wincing with each movement of his injured left wing. The pain was nearly unbearable, but the thought of failing his mission was far worse.

After what felt like an eternity of torturous flight, the majestic city of Canterlot began to emerge from the misty clouds ahead. The sight filled Dark Meadow with a renewed sense of urgency. He had no time to lose.

As he pushed onward, his vision started to blur, his flight becoming increasingly sluggish. His eyelids grew heavy, fluttering closed against his will. He shook his head vigorously, trying to clear the fog from his mind and maintain his course.

The grand city was now within reach, its elegant towers and bustling of the Friendship Festival almost close enough to touch. Dark Meadow could see the faint outlines of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight talking through the windows of the throne room.

Summoning his last reserves of strength and determination, he aimed himself toward the throne room window. With a final, desperate burst of speed, he propelled himself forward.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Earlier in the throne room

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, do you think the Storm King would attack again after his failed plan to empower his Staff of Sacanas from our alicorn magic?" Twilight nervously asked while shuffling her right forehoof on the floor.

Both the royal sisters glanced at each other for a few moments.

"Truth be told, we cannot underestimate the Storm King. His desire for power and control is insatiable. My sister and I have already been discussed by the leaders of various races. The Crystal Imperial guards who were brought from the outpost cities in the Frozen North will be joining forces with the Royal Guards and the Elite Royal Guards stationed here. The RGs and ERGs had been equipped with some of the spears and arrows the Crystal Imperial uses." Celestia first responded.

Seeing the Princess of Friendship's confused face at the fact that the RGs and the ERGs would be using Crystal Imperial's weapons when the RGs and ERGs had already had weapons of their own, Luna took over. "The weapons used by the Crystal Imperial guards are different." She said before explaining the use of the weapons to the lavender alicorn.

Twilight’s eyes sparkled with understanding before she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Do you think I should cancel the Friendship Festival and reschedule the festival another day after the Storm King threat has been dealt with?"

Before both the royal sisters could answer, Dark Meadow crashed through the window of the throne room, smashing onto the floor hard as bits of glasses scattered across the floor.

Twilight screamed while both Celestia and Luna yelped at the sight of one of their royal guards being injured lying before them.

The three princesses rushed toward Dark Meadow as the pegasus weakly raised his head to them.

“Dark Meadow, what happened?” The solar princess asked, her voice gentle but urgent.

The injured pegasus struggled to speak, his voice weak. “The Storm King... he’s coming... army... airships... Canterlot... must... warn...” His words trailed off as he lost consciousness, his head falling onto the ground.

“Sergeant Emerald Sweeper! Get a doctor quickly!” The lunar princess shouted as she pointed at the sergeant.

Emerald quickly saluted before running rampant from his position stationed on the right sides of the throne room's doors to fetch a doctor while the Princess of Friendship cast a healing spell over an injured pegasus, his wounds closing up.

"Corporal Lila Swirl, alert the Royal Guards, the Elite Royal Guards, the Crystal Imperial and the Pillars! Get the city defenses ready and start evacuating the civilians to the nearest shelters now!" Celestia commanded the corporal.

Lila swiftly saluted before running from her position to warn her fellow guards, the Crystal Imperial guards and the Pillars about an incoming attack, leaving the three princesses alone in the throne room.

"Princess Celestia, do you think the RGs, ERGs and the Crystal Imperial can stop the Storm King and his army?" Twilight asked in fear.

Before both the royal sisters could answer, the doors of the throne room being thrown opened caught their attention and turned their heads to see Gabby panting heavily while hovering above the ground.

"Your... your highnesses... a... a fleet of airships had just emerged from the black cloud that appeared in the sky over Canterlot. The soldiers... They had dropped from the airships are now attacking the square as I speak." The young griffon said while still panting from her flight.

Both the royal sisters gasped while the Princess of Friendship's eyes widened in horror.

"Princess Celestia..." Twilight began, getting the solar princess to turn her attention to her. "Cadance and Shining Armor are still at the Friendship Festival."

Celestia's eyes widened in horror and terror.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Earlier in Canterlot Square

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor strolled through Canterlot Square, enjoying the lively atmosphere of the Friendship Festival. The air was filled with laughter and music, and colorful decorations adorned every corner. Ponies and creatures from all over Equestria had gathered to celebrate friendship and unity.

The Princess of Love smiled as she watched fillies and colts play games and enjoy the festivities. "It's wonderful to see every ponies and creatures so happy." She said, turning to her husband.

The Prince smiled back, his eyes scanning the crowd while nodding his head to the Royal Guards, Elite Royal Guards and Crystal Imperial guards who saluted at him while they patrolled the square. "It really is. After everything we've been through, it's good to enjoy without anything happening."

Songbird Serenade and her band were singing on the main stage as the crowd facing her cheered, danced, and celebrated while fillies and colts played games within the festival, their laughter mixing with the music. Both Cadance and Shining could not help but feel proud of Twilight for hosting the Friendship Festival.

Suddenly, a dark cloud began to loom over the square, casting an ominous shadow. Songbird faltered to a halt, her eyes widening in fear as she gazed upward. The crowd turned almost instantly, their expressions mirroring the singer's alarm. Meanwhile the some of the RGs, ERGs and the Crystal Imperial guards started to usher the civilians to the nearest shelters while the rest of them prepared themselves for attack.

The Princess of Love's eyes widened in horror she immediately recognized the cloud. "It's the Storm King's army." She said urgently, turning to her husband who began to cast shields around the civilians as they were being escorted.

Airships bearing the Storm King's flags began to emerge from the clouds, descending rapidly. The sight of the formidable vessels caused a wave of panic to sweep through the square. The crowd erupted into screams of terror, ponies and creatures scattering in every direction.

"Stay calm! Get to the nearest shelters!" The Prince shouted, his voice barely audible over the chaos. He immediately took off to help the guards to confront the army. Cadance ushered the civilians to safety while she cast defensive spells around them.

As the airships touched down, their ramps lowered, and Storm King's soldiers began to pour out, spreading out with their weapons ready. Meanwhile, the Storm King, standing at the bow of leading airship, overlooked the scene with a malevolent grin while the airship was positioned near the clouds to remain unseen.

The remaining guards who stayed behind sprang into action, rushing toward the invaders, being led by Captain Crimson Chaser and Captain Night Shadow. Simultaneously, the Pillars, the Mane 5, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, Dew Nourish, Nimbus Dash, Grimhoof, Furx, Midnight Blossum, Yeth, Mallow Sear in her Nirik form, Sunwing, Ironclaw, Thorax, Pharynx, Ember and guards from the various races charged toward the army, alongside with Queen Seraphine, King Fire Blaze and Queen Rain Shine in their Nirik forms, Stormfeather, Thunderhoof and Au Hasard.

The clash was immediate and fierce. The square, once filled with music and laughter, now echoed with the sounds of battle. The guards charged forward and grappled with the army's soldiers. Some of the guards stood firm, their spears poised as they unleashed a barrage of magic bolts, striking the Storm King's soldiers and knocking many unconscious. before they recharged the spears. Behind them, archer guards released arrows tipped with explosive magic, causing devastating damage to the enemy ranks.

Both Crimson and Night Shadow worked together and coordinated their respective guards while fighting and dispatching the soldiers with their swords and bracers. Shining Armor provided shields for the guards from the enemy's attacks.

Clover enveloped herself with her magic and lifted herself up in the air before letting loose a barrage of magic bolts, hitting precisely at some of the soldiers and knocking them out. She then summoned multiple blue crystal shards before directing them to the Storm King's soldiers, impaling and killing them immediately. Starswirl and Mistmane aided her by letting a barrage of magic bolts at the army.

Dew swung her spear multiple times as she walked forward, hitting and killing some of the soldiers who were unfortunate enough to stand in her way before she stopped and aimed her spear at one of the soldiers who was running away. She let loose her shot, which hit the soldier's back before it fell face down unconscious. Meanwhile, Rockhoof used his shovel to smack the soldiers, knocking them out of action, while kicking the rest with his hindlegs to the wall.

Mallow let loose a barrage of fire magic bolts, catching the invaders' soldiers on fire as she charged forward. Fire Blaze and Rain Shine mirrored her, engulfing the Storm King's forces in a sea of fire. The kirin guards in their nirik forms engaged the army either by letting loose a barrage of fire magic bolts or kicking them with their fiery hindlegs.

The yak guards, Yeth and Thunderhoof charged forward with their horns pointing straight at the army, causing the soldiers to be flung in the air in different directions.

Rainbow Dash, Hurricane, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Nimbus, Grimhoof, Ember and the dragon guards flew in the sky and attacked several airships that were still floating above Canterlot, along with the guards who can fly. Rainbow flew up into the sky and diving down toward the three airships before unleashing her sonic rainbow, causing all three airships to slew around before falling down to the valley.

Hurricane landed in one of the airships, where his forehooves transformed into crystal gauntlets, and started to punch the soldiers out of conscious and out of the airship while Somnambula swooped down to aid him by kicking the soldiers in their faces. Flash and Grimhoof crashed into soldiers, causing them to fall, while Nimbus attacked soldiers with her spear on the airship. Ember and her guards unleashed torrents of flame, catching the airships on fire before they exploded and went down to the valley.

Hasard and Midnight flew up and dive down toward the army, with Hasard using his sharp bracers to decapitate the soldiers' heads while Midnight used the spear dropped by one of the guards to stab them.

Queen Seraphine strode forward, her changeling magic unleashing beams that cut through soldiers, her guards and Furx swiftly dispatching those she missed. Pharynx transformed into a manticore, charging ferociously, while Thorax transformed into a bear and roared before mauling an unfortunate soldier.

Stormfeather, Ironclaw and the griffon guards flew in the sky and fired their muskets at the soldiers before reloading and doing it again. Gilda tackled one of the Storm King's soldier to the ground before Sunwing stabbed it with his sword while the hippogriff guards dispatched the rest of the soldiers.

Applejack was ducking and weaving through the ranks with agility, switching from tripping up soldiers with her lasso to lashing out with powerful kicks. Pinkie Pie had conjured her party canon and fired a volley of confetti at several soldiers, knocking them out of action.

Rarity summoned a barrage of sharpened gems to drive back the soldiers while Starlight unleashed powerful beams of spells to the airships, causing the ships to go down in flames. Fluttershy was escorting the Young 6 and Cutie Mark Crusaders to the shelters while Harry the bear protected them from the soldiers. Meadowbrook brought injured guards to a safe location and used her healing abilities to nurse them back to health.

The Princess of Love watched the battle in horror and concerned for her husband. Something else caught her eye and she turned to see a crystal changeling and a crystal kirin fighting one of the Storm King's general holding a broadsword and losing. Before she could process what was happening, the general made one clean sweep with his broadsword, and took off the heads off both the crystal guards.

"NO!" Cadance screamed as she let loose a beam of her magic bolt towards the general, blasting him back to the railing, where he tripped over and fell into the valley to his death.

The two Storm King's soldiers, who managed to make their way through while injuring some of the guards, noticed the Princess of Love and made a run straight for her, only to be blasted away by multiple magic bolts. Cadance turned to see Celestia, Luna and Twilight descending down from the balcony to the ground and her mother, Amore, walking on the ground while their horn were flared up.

"Mom! Auntie Celly! Auntie Lulu! Twilight!" Cadance called out to them as they reached her before she hugged her mom. Both the solar princess and the lunar princess conjured a shield around the five.

"Cadenza! Are you alright?" Amore urgently said, embracing her daughter while the three princesses looked at the scene smiled amidst the chaos.

"I'm alright, mom. Just a bit terrified and concern for my Shiny." The Princess of Love answered as she hugged her mother tighter before letting her go reluctantly.

"Where's Shiny?" The Princess of Friendship asked in worry.

Right after she asked Cadance, a second general of the Storm King was flying into the air and crashed onto the ground in front of the shield before the Prince ran inside.

"Shiny!"

"BBBFF!"

They both shouted at him, embracing him for a while before letting go.

"Twily! Cady! Glad to see you and the princesses. The Storm King's really bringing everything he could to take over Canterlot." Shining said.

"Then we must defend the capital. We cannot let him take Canterlot." The lunar princess stated, flaring her wings and her face in determination.

The solar princess nodded her head in agreement. "Luna's right. We will chase him later, but for now we need to protect the civilians."

"Then we better get started." Amore said, flaring her horn, to which the four princesses and the Prince flared theirs.

The royal sisters dispersed the shield before the group charged toward battle.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

The Storm King could only watch in anger from his ship as his army were not only fended off by the guards but were gradually being overwhelmed. He had thought that if he surprise attacked them during the second Friendship Festival, they will be terrified and ran away including the guards. Yet, his army was gradually losing ground to not only the ponies living in Canterlot, but to the four alicorns.

Not to mention, there were also the Crystal Imperial guards who had defeat him the first time were now fighting together with the ponies, helping them to push his army back off the capital.

Just as the Storm King thought the situation couldn't get any worse, loud screams from the nearby airships caught his attention, turning his head only for his eyes to widen in horror.

The same crystal red scaled wyvern had managed to grab hold of one of the airships and had started to eat his soldiers while swinging his tail to push them out of the airship, causing them to fall to their death down the valley. Meanwhile, the same large crystal yellow scaled dragon was smashing the airships with his tail while unleashing torrents of blue flames on the others. The Storm King could only feel more rage washed over him, as after the two dragons finished off the airships, they went down to the capital and helped those fighting his army in the city, their added effort accelerating the inevitable conclusion to the battle.

"MY KING!" The third general's urgent voice caught the Storm King's attention, and he turned to face the general. "We're losing more soldiers to them than they are to us! Not to mention, we have lost two of the generals. What are your orders?!"

The Storm King turned back to the battleground in the capital, deep in thought. He stood there for a while before turning back to his third general.

"I want you to order the remaining soldiers and airships to pull back. We are retreating, but we will be back later once we have gathered more soldiers and airships." He commanded.

The general saluted and ran off to do his order.

"Actually, wait!" The Storm King's voice made the general stop in his tracks before turning back to see his king giving him a sinister smile. "After you do that, I want you to bring me a spear. If I can't get those four alicorn's magic, I can at least wound one of them severely."

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Amore, Cadance, Shining, and Twilight were blasting the soldiers, their magic creating a dazzling display of power. Celestia and Luna soared overhead, their wings outstretched as they rained down beams of solar and lunar energy upon the soldiers.

The combined might of the four princesses, a Prince, a powerful grown up unicorn, the Pillars, the Bearer of Elements of Harmony, the Royal Guards, the Elite Royal Guards and the Crystal Imperial guards were a sight to behold, each one contributing their unique abilities to the battle, creating a formidable defense that repelled the invaders with increasing effectiveness.

Soon the red-scaled wyvern swooped down, snatching up soldiers in its jaws and tossing them aside like ragdolls. The yellow-scaled dragon landed with a thunderous crash, its massive form dwarfing the combatants around it. With a mighty roar, it unleashed a torrent of blue flames that incinerated the enemy ranks, turning the tide of battle even further in favour of the defenders.

The scene on the ground was one of utter devastation for the Storm King's forces. The once-proud soldiers lay either dead or incapacitated, their weapons scattered and broken. Almost all airships, either destroyed or burning, sank slowly down to the valley, their frames twisted and charred.

Seeing this battle as a lost cause, the remaining soldiers and airships immediately retreat, soldiers dropping their weapons as they ran back and disappearing through the forest while the airships turned themselves before swiftly propelling themselves and disappearing through the cloud.

The ponies and creatures cheered and celebrated at the defeat of the Storm King's army as they watched them retreated to their stronghold. Some of them stared down in sorrow at their fallen friends and guards.

The group watched the enemy retreat, their bodies covered in sweat. The royal sisters landed on the ground, equally exhausted.

"Are you all alright?" Celestia asked, her voice heavy with concern.

"We're fine, Princess Celestia." The Princess of Friendship answered, and the others nodded in agreement.

Soon, the Pillars, Clover, Dew, Hurricane, Nimbus, Grimhoof, and Hasard arrived. They began reporting what they had seen during the battle.

"The enemy is in full retreat." Hurricane said. "Their morale seem to be broken."

"We saw them dropping their weapons and running." The combat medic added. "It looks like they won't be coming back anytime soon. Or at least for a while."

As Amore, the royal sisters, and Twilight discussed what to do with the Storm King and his army with the Prince and the group, the Princess of Love stood staring at the remains of the battlefield as the RGs, ERGs and the Crystal Imperial guards helped out their fellow injured mates. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the spear hurtling towards her from the sky until she heard her husband's exclamation.

"CADANCE! LOOK OUT!" Shining yelled as he ran past the group and shoved his wife out of the way, the spear piercing his chest and lifting him off the ground, his body sliding across the ground before stopping.

"NO!" The Princess of Friendship yelled in horror.

The three alicorns, four unicorns and the unicorn guards immediately launched a barrage of magic bolts at the airship from which the Storm King had thrown the spear. Their spells either missed or impacted the airship as it sped off into the distance, disappearing through the clouds while the pegasi guards and the guards with wings flew after it.

Cadance got up and stared at her husband lying still in horror. "SHINING!" She cried out, rushing to his side. She cradled him in her hooves as his blood stained her coat.

"Please, don't die on me. Don't leave me and Flurry alone." She whimpered, hugging him tighter as tears streamed down her face just as Twilight ran toward them with teary eyes and kneeled next to her brother.

The group watched the scene in horror, their heart sinking at the sight of both mares crying and Shining Armor.