Fall of Equestria: For Honor (revamp)

As the sun began to rise, Twilight woke up to the bustling sounds of the raiders breaking camp as the prepared to set sail and noticed Pinkie had set up a little breakfast buffet and was passing out pancakes nonstop to the hungry workers.

Over by the boats, Double Edge was helping Wulfric and Arminius map out the safest route through the occupied lands and made sure nothing was left to chance before loading the rations they would need for the journey.

"You call this a sword?" Wulfric asked while examining one of the knights rapiers and made it wobble around like a child's toy.

"It's so...flimsy."

"Like a limp dick," Arminius joked.

"Language!" Applejack scolded while smacking him upside the head.

"Ow!" Sigrid and Hilda giggled at their husband's treatment.

“You’d be surprised, Wulfric,” Double said with a smirk as Cherry sat next to him. “What they lack size and shape they make up for in speed and agility.”

Cherry sighed dreamily at Double with a lovestruck gaze.

"If what you say is true then I can't wait to see you wield them in battle." Wulfric said as the last of the supplies were loaded.

"My lord, we're ready."

"And the refugees?"

"Sent to the fortress as you ordered."

"Good. Let's set sail!"

Cherry clung to Double as the sails were lowered and the boat was set off down river. Arminius bumps Wulfric's side. "Pint of ale says they fuck as soon as she gets her voice."

"Two pints says she kisses him first."

"Must you boys make bets on everything?" Thora asked while fastening the ropes.

"Ohh this is so exciting! I love river trips, do you love river trips?" Pinkie rambled on while darting around the boat.

Just then, the crew spotted another ship coming out from the swamp and saw Ryu was at the bow flagging them down.

"Ryu! Finally decided to join the fun eh?" Arminius asked his friend as his crew began to sail alongside them.

"Couldn't let you lot have all the fun, now, could I?" Ryu said with a hearty laugh, he then bowed his head a bit and smiled at them

"It is good to see you all again, my friend. I had hoped we would fight together again."

"You'll get your wish. We got new lands to conquer." Wulfric said before sounding the horn as the rowmen began to increase the speed. While sailing down river, the raiders stopped by any settlements they found and liberated the populace while planting the banners of their rebellion into the soil to show Dainn that this land was not yet conquered.

During one such raid, Ryu had witnessed Twilight breaking the spell on some of their prisoners and saw it took a heavy toll on her as she collapsed once more.

"You can't keep doing this little light." Double Edge said while helping her to stand, other prisoners however were not so fortunate as they were lined up for execution by Wulfric and his axe.

"LET ME GO YOU SCUM!!" One stallion shouted as he struggled against his captors.

"THE KING WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS!!"

Ryu walked over to one of the captors, staring down into his eyes as he glanced over to seeing some of the now freed mares being escorted away.

"There was a time where I would've let you go, there being no honor in killing an unarmed foe." Ryu then gripped the hilt of his katana "But scum like you... Deserve nothing more than to be eradicated from this planet." Ryu then slowly unsheathed his katana. The prisoners seeing their reflection in the steel of the blade.

"Know that your death will put those that have suffered at your hands to rest." Ryu said before bringing down his katana and sliced off two of the prisoners heads clean off.

With one flick, the blood was cleaned off and Wulfric gave his comrade an approving nod before sending the refugees and captives back to their base.

"Take only what we can carry, burn the rest." Arminius said while loading a few crates of food onto his ship.

"Shame, such a damn waste." Wulfric said as he bit into an apple and watched the men set the settlement ablaze using torches and magic.

"Do we really have to do this?" Rainbow asked Ryu as the fires began to rise.

"In war, fear can be a useful tool. This will show that Delmain and his forces are not untouchable, that they can be defeated. A sign to all of his men that we aren't the only ones coming after his head. But all the men and women whom he had crushed under his thumb will take up arms against him. It's that fear that will cause him to slip up." Ryu said as he placed a hand on her shoulder

"This may seem cruel, but it is a necessity."

"And it'll make sure bandits can't use this place as a base." Wulfric added as they resumed their journey.

After three days of sailing, the raiders finally arrived on the borders of the Kirin lands and made camp in by a fork in the river and immediately got to work in setting up barricades while some formed a scouting party to keep an eye out for enemy movements.

Fluttershy was helping Pinkie make some lunch for the troops when she accidentally bumped into Ryu.

"Oh um pardon me." She said in her usual shy manner.

Ryu looked down at Fluttershy and smiled at her

"My apologies, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Ryu said as he carried a few bags of rice "Do you and Pinkie Pie require any help with the food? I have some cooking skills." He offered.

"Umm if you're offering." She smiled and took him to the camps kitchen where Pinkie was zipping around like a pinball as she tried to cook multiple dishes at once.

"Let's see a smidge of this, a pinch of that." She said while seasoning the soup pot.

"How does she do that?" Wulfric asked as he and Arminius watched her work.

"She's got the speed of Sleipnir, I swear."

“A changeling?” Double said. “That’s twice I’ve been surprised by the unexpected. I didn’t think Chrysalis was the allying type.”

"I know my people haven't had the most...pleasant relationship with Equestria."

"That's an understatement." Twilight said with her arms crossed.

"Easy now Twilight, let's not get all sore about the past." Applejack said when another changeling came stumbling in with papers falling everywhere.

"Agh! There you are Ryu, I have the supply reports."

"Oh forgot to introduce you all." Ryu smiled while taking the papers.

"Everyone, this is my younger brother Thorax."

"You have a brother?" Wulfric asked in surprise.

"Well several, he's the youngest." Ryu chuckled.

"Uhh pleasure to meet you everyone." Thorax stumbled about with his papers while introducing himself.

"He's in charge of logistics and supply runs."

"Then shouldn't he be back at the palace?" Rainbow asked with a raised brow.

"Normally yes but mother insisted he should get out more." Pharynx sighed.

"Don't really see why, I-I was perfectly content with living back at the palace." Thorax said

"Because you were content." Ryu began to explain "You can't stay in one place in your life forever. You must continue to grow, to explore, in order to truly better yourself."

"Well uhh if you say so." Thorax sighed as they got to work in setting up camp by the river.

That night, a war council was held as the rebels plotted their next move after their scouting parties had returned to give them a lay of the land as well as the positions of the nearby outposts in the surrounding villages.

"I suggest we stick to the river, use the villages to form a chain of outposts so we can call for reinforcements in case we need them." Wulfric suggested after one of the scouts had given them a map of the kirin lands.

"We could also take this village here, it's secluded and lightly guarded." Arminius said while pointing to another location on the map.

"No no it's too secluded. We'd be swarmed before any reinforcements could get to us. Best save that one for last." Double Edge argued.

As they kept debating over their next move, Cherry walked up and pointed to another spot on the map.

"Is this where you live?" Double Edge asked as she nodded yes.

"Hmm looks to be in the mountains, could be a village or maybe a fort of some kind." Wulfric said after seeing the spot she was pointing to.

"And it looks like we have to go through this mountain pass," Arminius said while pointing at the map. "A good place to ambush. We should strike at night if we see any fortifications."

"Sounds like fun. We'll scout the area tomorrow." Sigrid smiled when her husband gently placed a hand on her belly.

"YOU will be staying here. Can't have something happening to you or the baby if something goes wrong." Arminius insisted.

"You're cute when you care." Sigrid gave her husband a loving peck to the cheek along with Hilda who also rubbed her stomach in anticipation for their new arrival.

"It really is a pain once the first few weeks pass by." Hilda sighed.

"Alright then, Cherry and Double Edge will come with us to scout the pass and-!" Wulfric stopped when he noticed a black sail coming down the river.

"Well it's about damn time." Double Edge huffed while marching towards the shore.

"It's Bulwark." Twilight said after getting a good look at the knight standing on the bow of the ship.

In their usual style, The Black Prior disembarked with eerie silence as they began setting up camp just a short ways from their comrades. Twilight noticed some of them were dressed differently than the others as they wore lighter armor and carried crossbows and daggers; the tools befitting an assassin.

"I do believe we get more deadly with every mile we take," Arminius said before patting the mast and waving over at Bulwark.

"Well now that we've made camp, let's grab some food." Wulfric suggested to his comrades as they returned to camp to find Applejack preparing a hot bowl of stew for the troops.

"Hey that smells great!" Arminius smiled after catching a whiff of the dish.

"Hope y'all are hungry." Applejack said while serving two bowls to the chieftains.

The Black Prior lined up in no time calmly and quietly and when they were served they each said thank you before finding a spot to eat and when they did many of them only partially moved their masks others drank the stew through the mouth piece of their mask and then there was the very few that chose to eat in private away from others so they could take off their masks and eat.

"Wow. If these guys get any more lively, a funeral will break out," Arminius joked, earning a few laughs from his comrades. Sigrid came up and slapped her husband on the back of the head. "Manners."

"OW! Confound it woman, why do you always go for the head?!?" her husband complained as he rubbed the spot where he was smacked as they sat around the fire to enjoy their meal.

"Now this is a meal worth savoring." Wulfric said as he inhaled the aroma of the stew.

"I'm just glad we get to EAT the food." Dash sighed with a content smile as Twilight and Double Edge joined them.

"Sorry I'm late, I was teaching Cherry some sign language. She's a fast learner."

Double Edge calmly ate his meal like a gentleman while Cherry sat next to him. She hadn’t eaten any other meal yet and she was fidgeting in place a little.

“Something that matter, my dear?” Double asked.

Cherry glanced at Double but looked away with a blush.

“You don’t like the food?” Double asked, and Cherry shook her head. “That’s not it, huh?” Double pondered what she could want and asked something out of the blue. “I see. You want me to feed you, don’t you?”

Cherry immediately nodded yes as she seated herself in front of Double Edge while the girls shared a quick laugh since the two of them looked like a newly formed couple.

"Well ain't that sweet?" Applejack said as Cherry happily ate the first spoonful of stew.

"Meh, kinda sappy for me." Dash shrugged.

“Sheesh, just how more adorable can you be?” Double chuckled as Cherry ate another spoonful.

“Careful there, friend, any more sweet talking and she’s liable to break her vow of silence to confess to you,” Wulfric joked.

The Next Day

As the sun rose, the group had already begun their preparations as they assembled their gear and prepared their mounts.

"Fluttershy are the rock lizards fed?" Wulfric asked while tightening his saddle.

"They're nice and full just don't push them too hard or they'll get cranky." Fluttershy advised her friends while gently petting one of the lizards.

“It’s amazing how comfortable she is with those creatures,” one of the northerners said.

“You said it,” another said, and couldn’t help but eye her up. “She’d make a wonderful wife.”

"Focus!" Arminius barked before mounting his own beast.

The raiders then rode out of camp and followed Cherry's directions to the mountain pass and everywhere they went they could see signs of Dainns influence with his banner flying on almost every crossroad and village.

"This is it, from here we walk." Double Edge said as they dismounted and the lizards immediately went to the mountains slope to blend in using their camoflauge.

"Alright Cherry, lead the way."

Cherry nodded and slowly made her way along the path. The road was uneven and some of the men almost lost their footing. Meanwhile, Cherry seemed to be walking along the path with eases as it looked like she was barely touching the ground with each step.

“How is she doing that?” Double wondered. “We can barely get our bearings on this cursed path.”

"Well for starters, she's not weighed down with gear." Wulfric grunted as he adjusted the rucksack on his back while Rainbow hovered slightly overhead with her load as Applejack walked by with the same amount of ease.

"Nothing like roughin it eh boys?" She asked as all three men stared at her flank barely concealed by her loincloth.

"Damn I love that mare." Wulfric said before they finally found a small ledge overlooking the path and could see the temple in the distance.

"Look at that." Arminius gasped before he noticed Rainbow taking out a spyglass from her backpack and handing it to him.

"Try this, it'll help you see up closer."

Arminius looked through the spyglass and found what they were looking for. A band of Stonehoofs were standing guard all around the temple while there was a group of captured Kirin monks huddled together in a group. They were all kneeling with their hands tied together, not moving at all. The chief of the Ghost Clan also noticed some poor female Kirins being raped by stags, yet they didn’t cry out or make a sound. Just pained expressions and tightly shut eyes. When Cherry saw the temple, she went to sprint right towards it but Double grabbed her arm.

“No Cherry! Not yet!” Double said as she reached out for the temple in desperation. Double pulled her back and hugged her. “I know, my dear, I know. We’ll free your people, I swear.”

"We go in at night, take out the guards and rescue who we can." Arminius suggested while handing back the spyglass.

"Agreed. We don't know how many of those bastards are in there." Wulfric agreed as they began to set up camp.

"No fires, we can't risk being spotted."

"Guess it's just rations and water huh?" Applejack said while pulling out a loaf of bread and water flask.

"Lame." Rainbow sighed before spotting a berry bush.

"Hey these look great."

"Careful, could be poisonous." Double Edge cautioned as she began gathering them.

Rainbow rolled her eyes but as soon as she was about to pop one in her mouth, Cherry suddenly slapped it out of her hand.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?!” Rainbow snapped.

Cherry shook her head and made a bunch of gestures pointing at the berry and making it look like she was falling asleep.

“Say what?” Rainbow deadpanned.

“Good gods!” One of the soldiers yelped. “I know those berries! Those’re Eversleep Berries!”

The minute Wulfric heard that, he also slapped the berries out of Double’s hands and proceeded to stomp on every last one.

“The Tartarus is wrong with you?!” Double demanded.

"Eversleep berries. When eaten raw, they put you into a deep sleep and few ever wake up!"

"But when brewed into a potion they make excellent sleeping draughts." Arminius said as he stopped his friend from squishing the rest.

"I think we can use these to our advantage."

Cherry immediately hugged Double as if she was terrified that he’d eat one.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, my dear…” Double said and patted her head. “Men! Fan out and find more of these berries. If what our comrades say is true, they could indeed prove useful.”

"What're you fellas scheming?" Applejack wondered as Wulfric and Arminius began setting up a small fire despite their earlier advice.

"You'll see." Wulfric smirked.

Later that evening

The raiders followed Cherry to the rear entrance of the temple where there were fewer guards but all could hear the disgusting moans and cries of the stags raping the mares from inside the temple corridors, this brought back many horrible memories for Cherry as she clinged to doubles arm.

"It's alright." Double Edge whispered when he noticed some stags bringing out strange looking flowers and began piling them up.

"What are those flowers?"

"Foals breath!" Applejack gasped.

"That's the flower that can cure their silence but what are they doing with all of it?" She asked before another came up with a torch, grinning ear to ear.

"They're gonna burn them all!" Rainbow said before Arminius and Wulfric quickly knocked their arrows and dropped all four guards in quick precision.

"Let's go." Arminius whispered as they rushed forward and quickly hid the bodies along with the foals breath.

“Seems like they want the Kirins to stay silent for good so they can’t retaliate,” Double said in a disgusted tone.

As they finished hiding the bodies, Wulfric caught a strangely sweet scent coming from the temple along with the perverted moans and grunts of the stags inside before he gestured for the girls to stay back.

"Girls stay out here, something's off." he said when Cherry began to tremble and hid behind Rainbow and Applejack.

"Arminius, Double Edge, be on your guard. I got a bad feeling about this."

"Go. We'll watch over her." Applejack said while comforting Cherry as the three warriors entered the temple.

"Whoa, what is that smell?" Double Edge said in a hushed voice while covering his nose with his sleeve.

"Incense candles, a special kind." Arminius answered as he and Wulfric proceeded through the corridors unphased by the smell.

"The herbs used to make these candles are meant for newlyweds but these bastards have perverted their use." Wulfric added as they came upon the temples dining hall to find many Stonehooves and Kirin bandits feasting while the mares were dragged around in chains wearing nothing but rags as they served them while having their bodies groped or violated.

"See that wine barrel?" Arminius pointed to the large barrel at the end of the hall.

"I'll put the sleeping draught in there and once it takes effect, we make our move."

A member of the Ghost clan nodded to his chief before making a large toast to get the Stonehooves attention. Lucky for them, they were all too drunk or absorbed in the Kirin females to notice he wasn’t one of them. Arminius took the opportunity to drug the ale barrel. Now all they need to do is wait.

After an hour of gorging themselves on drink and food, the bandits finally succumbed to the sleeping elixir and passed out in the dining hall, some with their slaves still beneath them when the raiders quickly entered the hall and began breaking them free from their chains.

"It's okay, we're here to help." Wulfric whispered to a frightened kirin as he cut the ropes binding her wrists while Double Edge checked the door for any guards.

"All clear, let's move."

The raiding party had escaped the temple and were almost home free. Almost. Inside the temple, a warning horn blasted through the air. "Run!" Arminius ordered before they all took off like a bolt.

The group fled back through the rear entrance with the slaves and made their way back down the path with no sign of any guards giving chase, it seemed like they were going to make it until they came upon another group of bandits lead by a heavily armored kirin with a crimson red mane and a heavy halberd.

The moment Cherry saw their leader, she immediately ducked behind Double Edge as the stallion gave an amused chuckle.

"Who the hell are you?" Wulfric asked while slowly raising his axe.

"Apologies my friends, I am Red Hare and I believe you have something of mine." The bandit spoke in an eastern accent with a polite tone but all could feel his bloodlust and were on edge as he stepped closer.

"Return my slaves to me now and I will let you go."

"Not happening." Wulfric said as Red Hare gave a surprised look.

"A northlander freeing slaves...you must be the one known as Wulfric."

"That he is. And if you think we'll let you anywhere near these ladies, then you've got another thing coming," Arminius growled while readying his ax.

"I don't think this is wise my friend." Red Hare said while adjusting the grip on his halberd.

"....GO!!" Wulfric shouted as he and Arminius attacked Red Hare while Applejack and Rainbow took the girls and ran with Double Edge covering their escape.

When their duel first began, Red Hare easily toyed with both warriors as they were tossed around and pushed back with every strike that was parried.

“This is the prowess of the two chieftains of the Warborn and Ghost clans?” Red Hare scoffed as he jumped up and did a split kick to both Wulfric and Arminius’s faces. “How droll…”

"Damn...he's good!" Wulfric panted while rolling his shoulder as their opponent continued to look down on them with a smug grin before a smile slowly appeared on his face followed by a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

"This is gonna be a fun fight!! YAAAAGH!!"

As if possessed, Wulfric began raining blow after blow with his axe and shield as Red Hare was pushed back, much to the shock of his men before finally being toppled over and falling into the dirt.

"GET UP!!" He shouted as his foe began to look at him with fury in his eyes and took a proper fighting stance.

"I'm going to enjoy raping your women over your corpse."

"RAAAGH!!"

This time when the warriors clashed, they were on even footing before Arminius joined in and the bandit leader suddenly found himself on the defensive as both men began fighting him in a more savage manner than before.

"Are they even men?" One of the kirin asked after seeing Arminius attack Red Hare like a true savage.

"No...they are beasts!" Another declared as Wulfric managed to slug their leader with a backhand.

"ENOUGH!!" Red Hare bellowed before he managed to trap Wulfrics arm and swiftly dislocate it with the shaft of his weapon.

"GAAH!!"

"WULFRIC!" Arminius cried out as Red Hare kicked his friend to the ground to prepare the finishing blow.

"And so you die!"

Suddenly, a pair of twin rapiers clashed with Red Hare’s weapon, stopping him from delivering the killing blow by mere inches. Red Hare looked to see who they belonged to as Double glared a hateful eye at the kirin .

“What is this?!” Red Hare said, until Double shoved him away and took a fighting stance.

“You’ve tortured these monks long enough, you sick bastard,” Double said in a calm yet menacing tone.

"Ahh a loyalist of Celestia." Red Hare grinned as he stepped back while Arminius recovered Wulfric.

"Be careful Double Edge, he's on another level." Wulfric groaned while his arm throbbed from the pain.

"Where are the girls?" Arminius asked.

“Safe,” Double said as he and the Kirin circled each other. “I’ve always been rather curious about the fighting capabilities of the Kirin monks.”

“Then allow me to give you a thorough demonstration,” Red Hare said as he lunged at Double.

Expecting to overpower the Lieutenant, he swung his blade in a crossing motion. Double merely sidestepped out of the way and nailed Red Hair in his chest with his knee before jabbing the tip of one of his rapiers in the kirin’s leg.

"He's fast!" Wulfric said as Double Edge leaped over his larger opponent before narrowly blocking his counterattack.

"You're nimble, I'll give you that." Red Hare said before his body suddenly became covered in blue flames.

"But now I will show you what the true power of The Kirin are!"

Sensing the imminent danger, Double Edge jumped back to a safe distance as Red Hare suddenly erupted into a blue fireball. His mane became a fiery blood red and his eyes were slowly whited out as his fangs began to show more profusely all while the very soil beneath him was turned into molten slag.

"A Nirik..." Double Edge said with a nervous gulp as Red Hare finished his transformation.

“I’ll burn you to a bloody crisp! Then sow my young into that little bitch who got away!” Red Hare boasted.

That seemed to have struck a nerve in Double’s heart as he clenched his fists around his swords. He knew exactly who the traitorous kirin was talking about and it made the lieutenant more enraged than he anticipated. As Red Hare was about to charge at Double, the stallion lowered his stance a little and took a deep breath. His leg muscles bulged, his senses sharpened, and the pupils in his eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Before Red Hare could even blink, Double rocketed right at the inflamed enemy with his swords pointed outward.

SLASH!!

Double sped past Red Hare with blinding speeds and there was dead silence as Red Hare stood motionless. Double exhaled heavily as the muscles in his legs throbbed like crazy. As soon as he stood up straight, Red Hare suddenly cried out in agony as a pair of deep sword cuts gushed out blood.

“You…bastard!” Red Hare wheezed.

“Silence,” Double snarled, sending a chill down the kirin’s spine. “You dare even think about defiling that girl, I’ll make you eat your own heart.”

Suddenly Red Hares horn began to glow in a similar fashion as the wounds inflicted on him began to heal.

"I changed my mind, I'm going to make you watch as I fuck that girl to DEATH!!"

Double said nothing as his horn glowed again. This time, both his rapiers shined bright.

“Bring it, scum,” Double challenged.

Both warriors took off like blazing comets as their weapons sparked with every clash until Arminius noticed the other bandits coming for him and Wulfric.

"Take my axe!" Wulfric grunted while handing his friend his weapon as he struggled to ready his bow.

"I can pick them off from here."

“This is gonna be sweet!” Arminius growled before going berserk.

The area turned into a complete battle zone as war cries and screams of pain echoed all around with the kirin being butchered to a man by Arminius while Double Edge continued to drive back Red Hare with each passing minute.

"Your flames are cooling old man!" Double Edge smirked after noticing Red Hare was regaining his original form.

"Running out of steam?"

"SILENCE BOY!!" Red Hare screamed as he went for a wide sweep with his halberd only to be left wide open as Double Edge slashed at his stomach with both swords to create a gaping wound.

Before he could end his opponent once and for all, Double Edge noticed a dust cloud forming in the distance and heard the distinct rumbling of warbeasts galloping towards them before running back to help Wulfric.

"Coward! COME BACK AND FINISH IT!!" Red Hare shouted through his pain while Arminius pulled a strange looking sack out of his pocket.

"Compliments of our changeling friends!"

POOF!!

In a puff of smoke, the three soldiers vanished leaving Red Hare to brood in pain as his reinforcements rushed him off the field to receive medical attention.

"This isn't over..." He hissed as he was carried off.

After returning with the slaves and the means to cure them, the raiders celebrated their small victory with a feast while Applejack and Fluttershy helped the elders brew the potion to cure the kirin of their silence.

Wulfric and Arminius were getting medical attention from their lovers with Thora and Luta fixing their chieftains broken arm while Rainbow held him down.

"G-gently girls-GENTLY!"

POP!!

"AAAH!! OW WOW!! oh that hurt..."

“Cry baby,” Arminius chortled before Hilda applied a bandage to his side. “Aaaahhoowww!”

“Look who’s talking,” Hilda said before kissing her husband’s cheek.

"Who did this to you guys?" Rainbow asked after seeing their injuries.

"Some kirin named Red rabbit or something."

"Red Hare? is that it?" Pharynx asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah that's it, you know him?" Wulfric grunted as the last of the bandages were tightened.

"Yeah, he'd come around the myre to raid our villages before we moved everyone into the city. He's cruel, calculating and above all merciless, you're lucky to be alive."

"He's the lucky one. Shoulda seen how Double Edge nearly gutted him like a fish!"

As Double was being treated, he noticed Cherry hugging herself and looking like she was afraid. Double sighed and ushered the medic to stop checking on him for a moment.

“Cherry? Come here, please,” Double said, Cherry did as he asked and sat next to him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“You know of whom they speak, don’t you?” Double said, caressing her shoulder.

Cherry began shedding tears as she nodded yes and hugged him tight and all knew right away that Red Hare was the one who defiled her.

"Next time we see that bastard, I'll have his head!" Wulfric snapped as he stabbed his dagger into the dirt.

"Simmer down hon. You're too banged up for another round, Dash and I will go."

Double Edge held onto Cherry and tipped her chin up to look him in the eye.

“No matter what happens, I will always be here for you,” Double said in a noble tone. “I swear on my honor.”

In that moment, all of Cherry's fears suddenly vanished as she stared into his eyes and her heart suddenly began to beat faster and one could swear there was a glimmer in her eyes as she continued to look at him when Twilight rushed over to the campfire with a fresh brew of potion.

"It's ready! The unsilencing elixir is ready to drink!" The princess said with enthusiasm while handing Cherry the drink.

"And don't worry Ryu, I sent a potion to the queen. Hopefully this will get your prisoner to talk."

"Thank you princess." Ryu smiled as Cherry looked down at the potion and looked back up at Double.

“I understand your kind has a vow when it comes to silence, but Twilight also told me the vow can be broken as long as you desire it to be,” Double said.

For a few moments, Cherry stared at her reflection in the brew and thought about all the pain and humiliation she and her fellow monks endured but then began to recall the kindness shown to her by Twilight and the others and so without a second thought she slowly drank the elixir to the last drop.

Cherry sat still for a moment and suddenly began clearing her throat. She rubbed her neck a little as if feeling something she hadn’t felt for a while until she smiled widely and looked at Double.

“Well? What’re you waiting for? Let’s hear that-MMMF?!”

“Oh my!” Twilight gasped, covering her mouth.

“Woohoo!” Arminius cheered.

"Dang girl! Simmer down!" Applejack said while Sigrid covered her sons eyes.

After a few more moments, Cherry broke the kiss and with a tearful smile she held Double Edges cheeks and spoke in the sweetest voice.

"Thank you."

Double Edge blinked in surprise but a slow soon crept along his lips. He leaned his forehead against Cherry’s and gazed into her eyes.

“Of course, my dear, it’s my pleasure,” Double said.

After composing herself, Cherry Bush stood before Wulfric and Arminius and cowtowed before them as if they were kings along with several of her fellow monks.

"You have saved the lives of me and my sisters. For that, we are indebted to you and you have our eternal gratitude."

"Please, stand up." Wulfric said as they got back to their feet.

"We accept your thanks and whatever help you can offer."

With their voices now restored, the kirin mares were able express their gratitude and some were even shedding tears of joy as they held the hands of their saviors.

"Um excuse me Lord Wulfric?" Cherry called out to Wulfric.

"Just Wulfric please, we're all friends here." Wulfric smiled as Applejack brought him some ale and sat on his lap with a warm smile.

"I was curious, how were you able to resist the scent of those candles? I've seen those things turn men into lust-crazed beasts yet you and your friend seemed fine."

"Oh well that's easy." Wulfric smirked as he pinched Rainbows butt making her give a short squeak as she gave him bedroom eyes.

"We got it out of our system the night before and I must apologies on behalf of my people." Wulfric bowed his head to Cherry who seemed confused.

"Those candles are meant for couples on their wedding nights. They are a symbol of each lovers eternal passion for one another but thanks to the so called "King" their use has been perverted."

“I’ve wondered about where you came,” Cherry said as she sat on Double’s lap. “If you wouldn’t mind sharing, that is.”

A smile crept onto Wulfrics face as he began to recall their homeland and described it to his friends as they began to gather around like children listening to a story.

"Our home is Valkenheim; A land far to the north. The land is rugged, freezing but beautiful in its own way." He said with his eyes closed as he began to imagine himself on the grassy plains of his birthplace.

"There are fields of wheat so vast that one could swear they stumbled upon a sea of gold and forests with trees so tall and ancient that you might think you stumbled into the fae realm and then there is the spring thaw." Wulfric sighed as he stared at his mug with a nostalgic expression.

"When the sun shines on the ice they glimmer like diamonds and the first notes of birdsong are heard as you step outside to feel the cool air just before the sun caresses you with it's warmth....that was our home."

"It sounds amazing." Twilight said with her thoughts beginning to wonder what it would be like to go there.

"Wulfric, I promise when this war is over we WILL establish good relations with your people."

"And I swear on my oath, I will see to it that Dainn and his clan pay for what they've done to yours." Wulfric raised his mug to give a short toast as the group began to settle in for the night.

Meanwhile

In his stronghold, Red Hare was finally able to recover from his wounds yet he would find no rest that night even with the slaves he was given to relieve his stress. His thoughts drifted back to his previous battle with Double Edge and the two chieftains.

Through his entire career as a warlord, he had never met an opponent who was his equal in battle and as the memory of being pushed back and injured reentered his mind a mixture of frustration and joy began to fill him before he finally broke out in a sinister laugh and stared up at the moon with a wide gaze and smile.

"At last..." He said as he held out his arms.

"FINALLY! I HAVE FOUND WORTHY ADVERSARIES!! Rest now while you can my foes for tomorrow our true battle begins!!"

End.