The ornate wooden box clicked close, the golden latch on it snapping shut satisfyingly as she looked down at it. Several snowflakes blew in behind her, as she gave the box one final look-over. After nodding to herself, she left the slight warmth of her tent and stepped out into the blizzard.
Celestia overlooked the snowy landscape with a determined glare. Her brow was furrowed, and her lips were tight against her teeth. While the princess typically kept a calming, warm demeanor about her, currently she was intense, a deep, stirring, flurry of emotions deep within her stomach. A deep, burning inferno that rivaled the sun, as one would expect.
Her tent flapped around violently behind her. Numerous snowflakes billowed past her mane as a particularly rough gust of wind blew through. The Crystal Empire’s weather was untamable; unlike in Equestria proper, the snowstorm around her was unable to be quelled by neither pegasi nor her own alicorn magic.
Numerous magical explosions rang out in the distance, about a mile or so ahead of her. She would’ve joined in on the battle, used her own magic to help her troops, as she had in the first year or so of the war, but as the confrontation ballooned out of control, she realized she was needed as a commander.
As she scanned over the clouded, icy horizons with her keen eyes, she made out a shape approaching from the distance. A pair of wings flapped; a figure descended...
Celestia managed a warm smile.
A beak also rose into a smile as the figure could see her princess’ sleek, white frame and beautiful, flowing mane as she landed.
The griffon had a pair of goggles on yet tugged them upwards as Celestia and a few guards approached. The feathery hybrid shook the chill from her body, a long scarf around her neck helping her warm her bird-like foreclaws. She reached into a small saddlebag and pulled out a letter, offering it to the regal mare.
“Courier Gabriella, are you alright?” Celestia questioned, showing genuine concern for the griffon as she magically grasped the letter.
Gabby looked up at her and gave a cheerful, beaky smile. She was missing her right eye, with a large eyepatch covering it. Faint traces of a pink, jagged scar poked out through her feathers. As she stretched her hind legs, anypony could easily notice her left hind paw was fully metallic, being attached at her ankle by a sturdy belt. Just another tragic loss from the war like so many others.
“Fine as always, Your Highness, but like I said, uh… Gabby is fine,” the respectful griffon said with a grin, a few minor chips in her once pristine beak. Despite her numerous scars and ragged, partly tired appearance, she remained chipper. “Captain Dash has requested some more troops on the front lines, they’re stalemated for the moment. Sent me and a few other couriers back to give the notes, guess I arrived first.”
“What of her squadron’s letter dragon?” Celestia questioned, as she began writing up a note of her own, easily multitasking the conversation and movement of her quill with ease as she drew up a new battle plan.
“Smolder is… well M.I.A. for the moment,” frowned Gabby, her cheerfulness wavering. “Sombra’s forces caused a cave-in by planting explosives under the ice, dropped a small mountain’s worth of ice out from under us. She went in to help out, but with the smoke and the snow, and the avalanche…”
She paused, quivering for a moment.
“I think she’s alright, I know how tough dragons are, but…”
“I understand, Gabrie- Gabby, you are a brave and noble griffon,” Celestia said, her soothing, regal voice calming the carrier griffon’s nerves. “You should rest up in one of my tents, we can offer you hot tea and cak-”
“I’ve got more deliveries to make, Princess,” Gabby said sternly. “With Derpy catching an arrow in her wing last week, we’re still down on deliveries. Even without that, I’ve gotta stick with my squad, I can’t just leave them.”
“I understand Gabby, do you want any other troops for a personal escort?” offered the princess.
“I think I can do this on my own,” admitted Gabby, flexing her larger wings. Unlike pegasi, hers were sturdier, more powerful. “I don’t want anypony to get hurt trying to keep up with me.”
“Very well,” Celestia said, getting a nod from the griffon, who turned to leave.
“I’ll just take a quick refill and be on my way then,” Gabby said, trudging towards the small field canteen a few feet away, currently staffed by a yellow pegasus mare. Reminded her a bit of Derpy, actually.
“Wait,” Celestia softly called, interrupting the friendly courier’s musings.
Immediately, the griffon stood at attention.
Celestia’s face was a swirl of emotions. Certainty, uncertainty, hope, anger, fear, and more. It wasn’t a usual look for the princess but clearly she was wrestling deeply with something. She quickly banished away these emotions and fully steeled herself, returning to her normal, non-conflicted self.
“Before you go, I need you to carry another package,” she said, before magically teleporting the same ornate box from her tent in front of her. “This is not to be delivered to Rainbow Dash, keep it with you at all times, guard it with your life, and when the time comes… you’ll know when to open it.”
“I… how will I know when that time is?” Gabby questioned.
“I trust you will know, everything will fall into place soon enough,” the regal princess managed.
“O-of course, Princess!” the griffon said, becoming sterner and soldier-like, before giving a salute and packing the box into her saddlebag along with her other letters.
“Be safe, Gabby,” the princess nodded.
Deep inside, the feathery courier could feel a hint of warmness seeping through her, as if being in Celestia’s presence alone was enough to destroy the frigid, uncaring snow. It was a love unlike any other member of her species had given her, even the nice ones like Gallus and Gilda!
Soon enough, after restocking her canteen with some hot cocoa, the carrier griffon took to the skies, her spirits lifted as she watched numerous other pegasi and airships join her in the air, no doubt on their way to support the frontlines. Her gray wings splayed out, flapping steadily as she soared. Wind rushed by her face, with snowflakes being caught by her newly adjusted goggles. Her face was one of determination, with her feathery ponytail (griffontail?) billowing about in the wind as she flew at shockingly quick speeds.
She’d been offered the chance to join the Wonderbolts in the past but turned them down. Her calling was mail deliveries. The smile it brought to ponies, (rarely) griffons, even the occasional dragon, it always made her feel brighter, happier. That drove her through the dark times, which there had been plenty of in the past few years.
She still remembered her first day in Ponyville though. Before everything went to Tartarus. She remembered that while many ponies were scared of her, they managed to embrace her eventually. Even at their worst they were better than your average griffon, that was certain.
She kept an eye out down below for any of Sombra’s soldiers. While the vast majority of them were grounded, the arrows and catapults could still catch her. She flew low to still have decent ground vision, for getting lost in the blizzard would destroy her sense of direction Sweat ran down her brow despite the frigid snow constantly pelting her.
Gabby just hoped she wasn’t too late…
A vicious roar rang out as a mighty, armored, quadrupedal frame slammed into Sombra’s forces. There were easily over a dozen of them charging the massive figure, yet they were swatted aside like ragdolls, easily being knocked unconscious from the sheer brutality of the blow.
The figure in question was gigantic, larger than even mighty pony specimens like Big Mac and Shining Armor. No doubt a male from his muscular prowess, the creature was coated head to hoof in a deep black plate armor. His face was covered with a large helmet that covered his face, with a gigantic horn adorning the front snout, making him look almost like a rhino.
He wasn’t one though, as two long, floppy, donkey ears sprouted from his head, with them being covered in miniature interlocking plates. Even his tail was coated in a similar fashion, ensuring no part of him was visible to the dimly lit, cloudy battlefield.
Another small squad charged him, easily over half a dozen ponies strong, not to mention the other four that hung back and drew their bows and arrows. The massive donkey just met their charge with one of his own!
He reared up and dropped the first soldier with a right hoof, knocking his mind-controlling helmet off and leaving him sprawled out on the ground. The second was slammed down into the snow when the huge hulking figure brought his bulk downwards, slamming both of his hooves into the stallion’s back and leaving him downed in the snow as well.
A mare rushed up to the donkey’s left, turning and surging her hind legs upwards, slamming both of them into the donkey’s jaw…
A loud CLONG! rang out, as if she’d struck a gong!
She stepped back, both of her hind hooves aching from the blow, with the pain even temporarily overpowering her mind-controlled state. The donkey hadn’t even flinched from the attack. He just snorted in annoyance as he swatted her away, sending her tumbling in the snow and laying out cold. He dealt with the others in a similar fashion, like ants fighting a dinosaur they fell without issue.
Soon enough, the four who’d hung back had unleashed a volley at the bestial donkey. With their melee troops downed, they were free to fire, as he had his back turned, looking down at the last soldier he’d dropped with a harsh left hook.
The donkey just stood there as he felt all of the arrows slam into his back, shattering into splinters against his armor. Once the attack had concluded, he turned his great head towards them snorting deeply like a bull. Red, glowing eyes peered right into their very being as he turned his full body in their direction.
Sombra’s troops had their fear suppressed from the mind control, but even still, something deep inside forced them to step back in utter shock as the rhino-like equine charged them down, sending snow splattering about with each hoofstep. Like bowling pins, the four were trampled, slammed down and knocked away from his powerful front half colliding with them. His horn-like helmet allowed him a more powerful charge, flinging them about like an annoyed toddler would his toys.
He took one deep breath as they all laid in the snow, motionless but still breathing. He made sure that none were grievously injured, and only then did the huge donkey allow himself a moment to rest and properly examine the battlefield.
It was hilly here. After those bastards had blown out the ice underhoof, he was separated from the rest of the brigade, and thus his squad. Always figured rushing ahead was a bad idea, but still…
“Cranky!” a raspy, hissing voice called out from behind him.
He turned, looking around, before he finally looked upwards, spotting a deep black figure amongst the harsh white. It was pony-shaped but not quite. Had holes in its limbs, bug-like wings, and compound eyes.
“Thorax!?!” growled the rhino-like donkey, his voice tired and pissed and old and rugged all in one, with it being partly muffled due to his helmet. “Get your flank down here you damned idiot! A sniper could see you!”
“Sorry!” the changeling called, quickly rushing downwards into a quick landing. He stepped up to examine the armor-covered donkey, having to look upwards to stare Cranky in the face due to just how big he was. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“I should be the one worried about you!” growled the rugged equine, rolling his eyes. “You stick out like a sore thumb in this snow, why’d you drop your disguise?”
“Ah, sorry, the explosion sort of shook me out of it I think,” Thorax said, before his black, chitinous skin suddenly became a pale white. His eyes, mane, wings and everything else followed suit, changing his colors completely, almost like that of a chameleon. “Nopony told me anything was wrong before I came looking for you.”
“Are the others fine, kid?” Cranky growled.
“Autumn had a batpony fly her down into the cavern, said she’s gonna try to find Smolder,” explained the changeling.
“She always had a soft spot for those dragons,” Cranky nodded softly, a faint sense of respect in his voice.
“Zecora fell back to fetch her brewing supplies and Gabby went to deliver a letter to the princess,” added the changeling, each word of his causing a trail of mist to expel from his warm mouth. “Hopefully that means we can get the big guns down here soon.”
“I don’t know why Celestia didn’t lead with her dragon brigade,” growled Cranky.
“Still held up on the eastern front with Luna and Cadance, remember?” said the changeling. “Given Autumn’s with us though, maybe Ember and her dad will show up.”
The donkey just snorted in annoyance, billowing out steam from inside his helmet’s muzzle.
“Come on, let’s go regroup with the others,” said the snow-white changeling, motioning for his bulky companion to follow.
“We should be advancing!” Cranky bellowed. “We can put an end to this war once and for all!”
“What, just you and me?” questioned Thorax. “No offense but that’s a… bad idea.”
Another snort from the bullish donkey.
“Come on Cranky, we can’t just rush on ahead, you know that!” said the smaller equine, gently placing his forehoof on one of the armored donkey’s shoulders.
While it wasn’t proper skin to skin contact, it was the best he could manage for the moment. This very, very slightly eased the tension inside the donkey, and he let loose a singular huff, nodding.
Thorax smiled softly at that.
“Come on Cranky, let’s roll,” he chuckled, taking the lead as he trotted back towards where the ambush had occurred.
“Lead the way, small fry,” growled the donkey.
Thorax just chuckled, keeping a smile on his muzzle the whole time, his sharp fangs poking out.
A deep, newly formed pit covered the frigid landscape of the Crystal Empire’s exterior. It was easily over two, maybe three hundred meters across, and one hundred and fifty meters deep. No doubt this had been planned for a good long while. Bring down a mountain of snow on top of any forces that dared to follow and reap the time that brought his pathetic attempt at a dictatorship.
Yet deep in this gargantuan pit, something would not give in and freeze up so easily…
Flames blasted outwards, burning away the smoke and letting a brief respite of heat clash against the frigid wastes. The blizzard was temporarily pushed back as a lone, flaming figure burned a path for herself. The fires she produced weren’t standard orange or yellow though, instead being a brilliant combination of red and bluish purple. After letting loose another powerful blast of fire, the nirik blinked away the resulting steam.
“Smolder!” her deep, almost demonic voice shouted. It was a mixture of anger and worry. Anger at the bastard responsible for this, and worry for the orange dragon, obviously.
When there was no answer, she let loose another blast of flames, with them billowing out of not only her blazing mane, but also from her mouth as well. They merged into a single blast, like that of a flamethrower. She craned her head this way and that, only letting up her blaze after a few moments of melting away the snow and ice that had buried her friends.
“Smolder!” she shouted, scanning through a bit more thoroughly now that the blizzard had been pushed back from her heat, along. “Smolder, can you hear me!?!”
Behind her, several batponies (a gift from Luna to help ensure the safety of her sister’s troops) were helping frigid and injured ponies. Even though she was currently focused on Smolder’s safety, Autumn Blaze allowed her immense heat to warm her fellow soldiers, with them getting a minor amount of comfort.
As she scanned around the gigantic hole that Sombra’s forces had created, a batpony landed behind her, sitting down the earth mare he had been carrying. The freezing mare scooted closer to Autumn, shivering and chattering as she joined her brothers and sisters in arms in an attempt to get warm.
“Ms. Blaze,” began the batpony, a vapor of warm air rushing out of his mouth as he spoke. Due to his pension for the cool night’s though, he endured the cold better than his non-batty cousins, “me and my squadron are going to perform a medevac on the soldiers we’ve found.”
“Did you find Smolder?” questioned the nirik, her deep, warbly voice still worried.
“Afraid not,” the batpony said with a deep frown and shake of his head. His vampiric fangs were on display as he showed a genuine worry for the lost dragon. “But we’ll be back in a few minutes. We’ll get an aerial view an-”
“GO!” Autumn Blaze bellowed, causing the near dozen ponies surrounding her to cower back as her flaming mane and tail flared up even brighter, heating everything up.
She was pissed, of course, but she genuinely didn’t want to shout at the poor batpony. Nightstar? Nightmare Star? Night Sky? She sadly didn’t remember his name. Was a hectic time for her and others alike.
Still, he nodded, and he and his fellow batponies quickly got to work taking away the less-frozen soldiers. Wasn’t long after that Autumn was alone, letting her heat things up even more, blasting out stronger flames. A large majority of the injured had been evacuated before she’d even gotten a ride into the massive pit, but still, she managed to rescue a few more, getting a small group of half a dozen with her.
Even still, her ever-burning flames sought a specific, scaly target… A dear friend.
The excavation and searching and rescuing continued, with more batponies flying in and picking up the others the nirik revealed as she blazed her path through the snow and the ice and the rock. She hardly even noticed that there were two new arrivals.
“Woah, she’s in nirik form,” pondered Thorax.
“Maybe you should take the form of a firebreather too,” pointed out Cranky, as the five batponies that had carried him down flew over to help other frigid and wounded out of the pit.
“Right!” Thorax nodded, quickly morphing his body until he too became a nirik, flaming mane and all! “I don’t know if I’ll get as hot as her, but I’ll do what I can!”
Moments later, the changeling teamed up with Autumn Blaze, keeping his distance as he billowed out a thick stream of fire from his maw as well, torching the thick snow and ice into nothing but barren boulders. This allowed Cranky to use his massive bulk to shove them aside when needed, helping to find any other survivors in the ever-present snow.
After about an hour of searching, Cranky shoved aside a particularly large rock, and heard a hissing groan.
“I found her!” he growled out over the sound of wind, causing both Thorax and Autumn Blaze to look towards him. Shock and thankfulness filled the female nirik’s face as she charged over, though Thorax continued his own search for other injured soldiers.
The orange dragon in question looked roughed up, her right wing had been crushed under the rock Cranky had removed, and was currently bent at an unnatural angle, with numerous rips and tears filling the membrane. As the donkey examined her, he could see a hole right through it, with the whiteness of the snow peeking through. Other than that, she was missing a few teeth, with a few small trickles of blood pooling from her mouth. Her eyes were closed, clamped shut as she groaned in pain.
“Can you hear us, kid?” Cranky asked as Autumn Blaze soon was beside him.
“Smolder, are you alright?” asked the blazing nirik as she kept up the heat, trying to give the dragon comforting fire in the icey blizzard. “Open your eyes, it’s me!”
“Au…tumn?” managed the young drake as she managed to crack one of her eyelids open, giving a pained and haggard face as she did. She tried to get into a seated position, but hissed, as the movement wracked her wing with pain.
“Easy with it kid, your wing’s badly broken,” Cranky said, not sugarcoating it at all.
“Come on, let me help you up,” offered Autumn, her tone much softer, despite the naturally deep tone of her nirik form.
With a slow and steady pace, they managed to help the dragoness back up to her feet, with her leaning against Cranky’s large bulk to help her traverse the thickened snow. She limped along with him only, as Autumn Blaze had to stay back, searching for more and more ponies in the icy pit.
Inside a large tent, a bubbling cauldron sizzled and hissed as a robed figure sprinkled several ingredients into the green mixture inside. It slowly began thickening up, becoming almost sludge-like in texture.
The potion maker stirred her cast iron pot with her forehooves. She’d learned how to manage particularly thick brews thanks to Gabby’s help. Every time she could, the alchemist made sure to thank the griffon for that.
The hood of her warming cloak hung down over her muzzle, hiding her face as she worked alone. It was mostly silent, with her hearing nothing but the occasional shout of orders from outside and the sloshing pop of the occasional bubble in her concoction.
Her silent stirring was soon interrupted when a batpony stuck his head in through the flaps of her tent’s entrance. His face was one of stern worry.
“Easily over six dozen are injured, do you think you’ll have enough potions to heal them all?” he asked.
“My friend, trust in the brew, and before long, their ailments will be few,” replied the potion-brewer, pulling back her hood to reveal the face of a zebra. Several scratches and scars dotted her muzzle and face, causing a few pink stripes to mix in with her black and white ones, with a particularly large one being on one of her cheeks.
“Right, right,” nodded the batpony. “Do you need any help, Zecora? I can try to get some other creatures in here if you need to make another batch.”
“Trusting untrained potion makers would be rough,” the zebra said, grabbing another pack of dried herbs off of a nearby wooden table, throwing them into the green mixture as she continued, “I think we should have enough.”
The batpony nodded once more, before leaving the potion maker alone to her own devices, making sure no one else would disturb her as she worked.
She concentrated deeply as she stirred the pot. Even though she’d done this many times in the past due to the war, being on the front lines like this, made her just a small bit nervous, though it was easily shoved aside, as she steeled herself, knowing the duty that needed to be done, for her country. When the cauldron had finished bubbling, she took a small teaspoon and tested the taste of the concoction.
Zecora found herself feeling filled with energy, and thus immediately cut the heat, dousing the logs underneath it and began to bottle numerous potions. She licked the last remaining drops off the spoon as she did, with her holding it between her teeth while she worked at an even greater pace than normal.
The batpony was soon called back in, with him and a few others carrying out the potions to heal the sick, frostbitten, and wounded. All the while Zecora worked like a machine she made sure to sit aside one special vial of the liquid, saving it.
A while later, the last batch had been shipped, and she trotted out of her tent, looking over the icy terrain. Her face remained stern as she tucked the vial into her cloak, reapplying her hood to cover her face from the icy storm.
All around her were dozens of makeshift medical tents, all set up after the trap had been sprung. The gigantic crater itself was only a few hundred meters ahead, with her seeing the edge of it from her current brewing site.
She resettled her gaze on what was nearby, seeing dozens of bandaged and hurt ponies. Some pegasi with broken wings, a few earth ponies with their legs in casts, and more. She grimaced at all of this as she walked by.
While the ponies of Ponyville had met the zebra with shock and scorn at first, she recalled the only pony that actually seemed to care for her company...
Little Apple Bloom.
The poor filly, her and her farm had gone from a beautiful family-ran business to a canning factory for rations. It was an utterly horrible display, watching her go from a lively child to one with the horrors of war thrust upon her. The thought boiled the zebra’s blood, enough to make her enlist in the first place, anyways.
Alchemy wasn’t a common practice in Equestria, thanks to the abundance of unicorns, however, before long the princesses and numerous military leaders realized its usefulness. They had Zecora train as many potion brewers as she could (she even taught Apple Bloom the occasional lesson) but before long, the zebra insisted to be on the front lines. It made sense, no other alchemist could effectively brew potions in such a stressful situation when compared to her.
She recalled the princess had given her a massive, personal thank you. Mayor Mare of Ponyville even issued a public apology to the zebra mare. However, instead of attending a small party set up in her honor, the potion brewer merely spent her last moments before being shipped off with the bow-wearing country filly she cared for so much. Like a daughter she’d never had…
She was snapped out of it all when she finally found her intended target.
“Zecora!” hissed a pale white changeling, ushering her over to an orange dragon who was laid out on a small rollout field bed.
“Thorax, for sore eyes, you're a great sight!” Zecora said with relief. “Tell me, is poor Smolder here alright?”
The dragon in question had several large bandages covering her body, especially around her wing, which had a large splint covering it. She was half asleep, her eyes only occasionally groggily opening.
“Her wing’s broken, we got a field medic to help bandage her up at least,” Thorax said. “You get those potions brewed?”
“Of course I did,” nodded the zebra, pulling a small vial from her cloak. “Just remove the lid.”
The changeling nodded, before suddenly morphing his front hooves into hand-like appendages. He’d found that in particularly delicate moments, using hands and fingers worked far better than hooves and mouths. Especially after his time with dragons and griffons.
He popped out the cork of the vial and gently poured the liquid into Smolder’s mouth, holding it open for her to drink the healing brew. The dragoness’ face cringed initially at the taste, but before long she instinctively began to gulp it down. Didn’t take long, there were only a few sips in the vial anyways.
After a moment, Thorax and Zecora took a step back, giving the dragoness space as suddenly her eyes shot open, looking more vigorous than ever.
“Woah!” she shot up into a sitting position, before suddenly hissing as she looked back at her wing.
“Smolder, do you feel better?” Thorax asked, transforming his foreclaws back to normal hooves.
“What a freaking rush!” groaned the dragon, rubbing her eyes to fully wake herself up. “What did you put in that stuff?”
“The brew has quite a strong effect,” snickered Zecora, before pointing to the dragon’s injured wing. “Though be safe, despite the energy, you’re not quite perfect.”
“Yeah, yeah,” nodded the dragoness, before looking around. “Where’s Autumn?”
“She’s with Cranky, helping rescue the rest of the soldiers down in that pit,” Thorax said with a smile.
“I-I gotta help her-” the dragon managed, before hissing once more, her wing becoming a serious issue as she instinctively tried flapping it.
“You’re not going anywhere on that wing, Smolder,” Thorax did his best to comfort the younger drake.
“Just stay here and rest up, child,” Zecora nodded. “Nopony will be helped if you go wild.”
“B-but the others-”
“They’ll be fine, Smolder,” assured Thorax, cutting off the feisty dragoness. “Even if we did let you help us, you’re better off back here. You’re our only direct line to Celestia, remember?”
The drake paused at that, thoughts rushing through her head.
“Wait, where’s Gabby?” she asked.
“She should be getting back any sec-”
Thorax went to answer, before being cut off by a familiar, excited voice.
“Incoming!” it shouted, before suddenly a lion-like shape shot out of the sky, skidding to a stop a few feet away from the small, makeshift tent, kicking up snow and a few pebbles as Gabby made her grand entrance, skidding to a stop a few feet away.
The trio watched as she flared out her wings, flapping and shaking them about to knock off any snow that had accumulated in her feathers. She even reached up a foreclaw, grabbing her scarf and wiping some condensation and snowflakes off of her goggles.
“Sorry about that, guys!” said the chipper griffon, reaching up her metal hind paw to gently scratch at the back of her neck, like a cat would. “After delivering the new battle plans to Dash, I had a heck of a time dodging arrows left and right on my way here!”
“Gabby are you alright?” questioned Zecora. “I know arrows can be quite a fright.”
“I’m fine Zecora!” assured the griffon, rushing over to give the Zebra a hug.
She even reached out her other forelimb and tugged in Thorax as well. The changeling felt a large amount of invigorating energy from the griffon’s love and nuzzled into her. Zecora herself tried her best to return the surprise embrace, though before long the three broke away.
“Sorry, forgot, no hugging on the battlefield,” snickered the griffon.
“I’m glad you’re safe, birdbrain,” chuckled Smolder good-naturedly, getting a giggle back from the griffon. As the two shared a laugh, a hippogriff flew in, a large nurse cap adorning her head.
“I’m so sorry about leaving you here,” she said, as she began to examine Smolder, checking over the dragoness’ wings. “We’re spread thin with all the wounded troops… At least it seems you got a dose of Zecora’s potion.”
“I’m fin-aaah,” Smolder managed, being interrupted by the doctor sticking a metal thermometer in her mouth. The teenage dragon made an annoyed face at that.
“Sorry, just checking for internal temperature drops, I know you drakes need your heat,” said the hippogriff. As she continued examining her patient, the other three non-ponies moved away, knowing that the dragoness was in safe claws.
“We should start advancing soon enough,” explained Gabby, “going by the letter, I think Celestia’s army is about to launch their attack on the city proper. At least when our draconic friends get here.”
“I guess we’ll meet up with Luna and Cadance’s forces once inside,” Thorax mused. “Beats having to do a siege.”
“Gabby, that is good news,” Zecora nodded. “Is there any other information we can use?”
The griffon pondered that, unsure of what to say. She still had the wooden box Celestia had given her earlier, keeping it on her and guarding it with her life as the princess had asked, but even then, she wasn’t exactly sure just what she should do with it. Should she even tell her friends?...
Zecora and Thorax cocked an eye at her, as her face was one of nervous panic.
“You uh… alright there?” Thorax asked.
“Ahhh darn it!” huffed the griffon, realizing she’d been too obvious about the whole thing. “Look, Celestia gave me something really important, alright but…”
Gabby looked around, spotting an empty field tent nearby.
“Just follow me,” she said, ushering the two non-ponies towards it with a wave of her foreclaw.
The changeling and the zebra shared glances of confusion, but shrugged, following their feathered friend.
A bipedal blue dragoness looked over the railing of an airship, a large scepter clenched firmly in her right hand as she looked down at the battlefield below. Numerous explosions rang out, and from her vantage, she could spot numerous skirmishes below, though the majority of the war was hazy due to the clouds blocking their vision. Occasionally a few dragons would fly ahead, blasting out fire and clearing up some of the thicker clouds.
In her other clenched hand, she held a letter; one that Celestia had sent her earlier. She knew there’d been a thunderous KA-BOOM! from up ahead a few hours ago, but didn’t pay much mind at the time, given she and her fellow soldiers were fending off their own aerial attacks from Sombra’s dwindling airforce.
She watched off the starboard side as a fleet of dragons flapped ahead, intercepting an approaching airship before it even had the chance to fire off any of its cannons. She really wanted to join them, to engage in combat with her fellow drakes, but should she fall in battle…
The dragoness gave a deep growl, smoke billowing from her nostrils.
“You alright Empress?” a feminine voice asked from behind. Ember turned, her expression remaining stern.
“I will be when that bastard Sombra’s head is on a pike, Captain,” she replied.
The beaked, bipedal captain in question gave a grin at that. She adjusted her large pirate hat.
“I’ve got a feeling this whole thing’s coming to an end soon, you’ll get your wish,” nodded Captain Celaeno. “Just like I got mine with the Storm King.”
“I’m jealous,” admitted Ember with a huff. “You’ve gotten to fight alongside your crew for this entire war while I’ve been sidelined the whole time. Becoming Dragon Lord, I should be on the front lines.”
“I’m not one for politics, but even I can tell you that’s not a good idea,” the captain offered, walking up and gently putting her hand on the dragoness’ shoulder. Dragons weren’t known for their tenderness, but that didn’t stop the bipedal bird from doing her best to console the empress. “You’re a bit more important than a pirate captain, after all.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” grunted the dragoness, looking down at the war below.
Celaeno sighed at that.
“I’m more for swashbuckling than emotional advice,” chuckled the parrot, “but I sort of know what it’s like, being forced out of your calling. Being made to do something you were never meant for. I know you dragons are made for being rough and tumble, but you specifically were made to be a leader, Ember. You and your troops saved my crew’s beaks more times than we can count.”
“Never heard the ‘you were made to be a leader’ line before,” Ember said sarcastically.
“Hey, even if it’s corny, it’s still true!” defended Celaeno with a chuckle, gently punching the dragoness’ shoulder.
Ember smirked at that, making Celaeno’s beak curl into a grin of her own. However, the quiet moment of peace between the two didn’t last long, as suddenly one of Celaeno’s crew members burst up from the lower deck.
“Captain, letter letter for you!” he squawked.
“Probably the new drop zone coordinates,” huffed the captain, turning away from Ember.
“Hey Celaeno,” Ember said, causing the parrot to pause her advance.
“Whenever you drop us off, given how hectic things will be… just uh, be safe and all that mushy stuff, alright?” The parrot pirate snickered at that.
“You too, Empress,” winked the captain, before vanishing below deck
“We should be advancing,” Cranky growled, he and the others were sitting around a firepit. The others were in small fold out chairs while he sat on the cold, impacted snow. There was a small wooden roof above the group to ensure no snow would douse the warming flame. For Cranky though, it did little, given his frigid metal armor currently had a few icicles dangling off of it.
“Easy big guy,” Autumn Blaze said as she gently brushed a few of them off of the chin of his helmet as she smiled up at him. “Just a little longer and we will.”
“They could be laying traps,” pointed out the bulky, rhino-like donkey.
“Pharynx and a few others are still disguised among them,” Thorax said with his best attempt at a smile, sitting across from the donkey. “I think they’ll take care of any other traps.”
“Oh like he did with the avalanche and subsequent cave-in?” the donkey shot back.
“Well, ones within the city anyways…” replied the changeling with a frown, before musing to himself. “Sombra must’ve had that one planned before he got on the inside.”
“If we’d had him as a mole sooner, he might’ve,” snorted the bulky.
“Cranky, you’d better quell your ire,” Zecora said with a deep, stern tone, sitting aside a small metal can of apples she’d been eating. “It is not Thorax’s fault his brother was so hard to hire.”
Cranky just looked away with a snort.
Thorax frowned, wanting to say something to console the pissed donkey, but unsure of what exactly to say.
“I’m sorry... about everything that happened,” he managed, his compound eyes filled with sadness. Surprisingly expressive for a bug. “I know how it feels.”
Autumn Blaze bit her tongue at that, looking between the two with wide, uncertain eyes. Zecora perked up a bit but remained silent.
“Okaaay you two are-” the kirin was cut off.
“What would you know about how I feel?” bellowed the gigantic donkey.
“I know what it’s like, losing those you love… It wasn’t the same type of love you had, but I still had love for the members of my hive who stayed with Chrysalis,” the changeling said, his pale white frame partly disappearing amongst the equally white snow. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, Cranky, but I’m genuinely sorry about Matilda.”
Autumn Blaze facehoofed with a groan at the mention of the dreaded name. She was partly ready to leap between the two if needed, but she currently remained silent.
Cranky just glared down at the changeling, the deep crimson, eyes of his helmet staring down at the smaller equine’s frame.
“I read about what happened in Manehattan, in the papers I mean,” managed Thorax, attempting a small smile. “You saved a lot of ponies. Your magical strength boost is incredible! It-”
“Didn’t save her though, did it?” spat the donkey.
Thorax’s smile fell fully, into a sullen expression as he looked away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, snapping his mouth shut.
The donkey continued glaring at the smaller equine.
Autumn Blaze was almost at the point of biting her forehooves in anticipation.
Zecora took another bite from her canned apples.
Thorax was ready to cringe back if needed, feeling the heat of the bestial knight’s gaze on him.
Cranky…
…looked away, removing his glare from the changeling. He was silent, taking a deep breath as vapors billowed out from the mouthpiece of his intimidating helmet.
“You didn’t deserve to get kicked out of your hive, kid,” he said simply, going fully silent after that.
Thorax straightened up at that, managing a small, genuine smile. Felt a very, very tiny twinge of compassion come from the donkey, feeding him slightly.
Autumn Blaze herself nearly fell back in relief.
Zecora just smirked, wiping away some apple residue from her muzzle with a forehoof.
Gabby arrived a literal moment later, flying in with two clawfuls of hot chocolate, a bright grin adoring her beak.
“Hey guys! Did I miss anything?” she called with a smile, balancing herself on her hind legs as she offered one of the mugs to Zecora, who took it with a thankful nod and a small smile.
“Oh nothing, just a… male bonding experience,” Autumn Blaze nervously snickered, trotting over to take her own cup.
Thorax just used his changeling physiology to grow out a long, purple, squid-like tentacle, grabbing the cup from Gabby’s foreclaw and bringing it over to himself.
“Woah, gross!” the griffon giggled at the display.
“Thanks Gabby,” he replied, shooting a smirk back at her.
The griffon offered a mug to Cranky, but the donkey just shook her off, leading her to sit between Zecora and Thorax. She and the changeling clinked their glasses together before they began downing the warming liquid.
Autumn Blaze found it a bit too cold for her taste, despite the steam billowing off of it.
Zecora found it wasn’t the best pairing with her apples, but sipped on it regardless.
The next hour wasn’t much to write home about. They discussed, chatted, on occasion Autumn Blaze and Gabby would attempt to make jokes. Overall though there was this tenseness in the air. Everything was going to end soon enough, that was for sure…
When Ember and her airship escort finally arrived, it landed about half a mile away, being the cover of a few large mountains of snow, ensuring it wasn’t easily targeted in the event of an attack. The moment the dragoness arrived the group went out to meet her at the edge of the camp.
Autumn Blaze rushed on ahead with an excited gait, while the others hung back, watching as both Ember and the kirin basically slammed into one another, giving a deep, powerful hug.
“Hey, I thought they said no hugging on the battlefield,” Gabby huffed.
“I think they meant you can’t hug on the battlefield,” Thorax replied, giving the griffon a comforting, sympathetic pat on the back. “After all, you kinda did bruise the captain’s ribs last time.”
The carrier griffon just sat, crossing her foreclaws with a roll of her eyes, while up ahead, the kirin and the dragon barely managed to break off the hug. Ember wasn’t particularly one for the public displays of affection, few dragons were, but the dragon empress obviously made an exception for Autumn, as she smiled down at her.
“Oh it’s so great to see you again!” the kirin said, almost wanting to go in for a second hug. “How are all those adorable, cuddly little hatchlings?”
“They’re doing great, starting to pick up an appetite for theater thanks to the last time you were there,” snickered the dragon, gently reaching down a claw to place it on Autumn’s shoulder. “How have you been?”
“Aside from the gigantic intercontinental war, I’ve been doing great!” replied the kirin chipperly, giving a wave of her forehoof.
“Well we shouldn’t have to worry about that by the end of the day,” Ember nodded back.
“Yeah, we got orders back from Dash, when your dad gets here, we’re leading a full charge, right?” Gabby piped up.
Ember nodded, looking down at the griffon in thought.
“You’re… Gabby, right?” asked the dragoness, getting an energetic nod back from the bird-feline hybrid. “I remember hearing about you delivering a letter that saved an entire troop of soldiers back in the Battle of Vanhoover. You’re pretty tough.”
“Right, that,” chuckled Gabriella, scratching the back of her head with a foreclaw. “It’s nothing, just doing my duty!”
“Really we should be the ones praising you,” Zecora said with a smile. “Without your dragons generously helping our army, many more of us would’ve been slew.”
“It was the least I could do after Autumn saved an entire clutch when those bozos used up all our lava,” replied the reptile.
“What kinda heartless monster would I be if I let those precious babies freeze over?” the kirin pointed out.
“You’re lucky I removed that dragon debt law,” stated the blue empress. “Otherwise there’d be a dozen of the little guys on your tail right now. Not to mention the fact you saved Smolder. I’m sure Garble will kiss your hooves after that.”
“It’s nothing, really,” Autumn replied, a minor blush on her face from being praised.
“Not to break up the fuzzy feelings,” growled Cranky, absolutely intending to break up the fuzzy feelings, “but when exactly does your father arrive?”
“Right,” Ember nodded, becoming less jovial and more serious. “Within the next hour. He’s a bit busy helping Luna and Cadance with the rest of Sombra’s naval fleets and airships. A bit longer, and we’ll be cruising our way to victory.”
The donkey just snorted twin jets of steam from his nostrils, them coming out of his helmet. He then looked away, going back to a quiet and shockingly reserved demeanor.
From there, it was a waiting game.
Thorax sat beside Cranky, and occasionally tried to help the Donkey’s pissed off mood lighten up, despite the oncoming battle. Gabby took a selfie with Ember, tucking the resulting picture into her saddlebags. Zecora brewed more potions for the upcoming battle, meditating the entire time her cauldron toiled and bubbled. Autumn chatted up just about everyone, giving her best bedside comedy shows in an attempt to cheer up ponies and non-ponies alike, with Gabby joining her on occasion.
Overall, it was a strange sight. A frozen wasteland, a band of numerous mismatched species, and one shimmering city surrounded by massive, well-defended, black crystalline walls laid just a few dozen miles ahead.
Few could predict such an alliance…
When Torch arrived, it was basically game over. The gigantic former Dragon Lord barreled through the exterior crystalline walls of the Crystal Empire, bursting forth into the synthetic, sunny environment that the magic of the empire had created.
While Sombra’s power had made sure that the reinforced walls were easily over five or six meters thick, they still couldn’t withstand a several thousand-ton dragon charging into them for long. Especially when that same dragon brought several others as back up…
Sombra had likely expected the ponies to throw themselves at him, but when dealing with another set of species, that was a completely different story. This unity between them wasn’t even remotely part of the plan.
Nevertheless, as his soldiers began to line up the catapults to fire upon the dozens of adult dragons smashing through their weakening defenses, they began to find the war machines malfunctioning by the dozens. A screw loose, a rope cut, a wheel broken, all of this and more. Even some of their bows, arrows, and swords found themselves falling to pieces, as if they’d been sabotaged by an invisible force!
Little did the mind-controlled soldiers know, a changeling disguised as a rock amid the rubble was chuckling to himself. Pharynx would soon join the battle, turning into a gigantic insectoid creature. He swatted aside the ponies in a surprise attack when a few of them were wandering towards him.
While he didn’t kill any of them (this was a massive shock, but Thorax had done a lot to help ensure the changeling wouldn’t) he definitely felt a deep joy at bashing away ponies. It was almost like he was back in the attack on Canterlot. Finally, he was allowed to fight like the warrior he was! No more softness and friendship, just smashing and bashing!
High above, a giant, sleek, white insectoid monster buzzed about. It was like a mixture of a scorpion and a dragonfly all in one. In its massive front left claw, it held a gigantic, bulky, armored frame.
“Cranky, are you sure about this?” chittered Thorax, his new monstrous form making his voice warbled.
“As long as you can aim right, I am!” bellowed the pissed off donkey.
“Alright,” said the unsure changeling turned giant monster.
With a powerful wind up, he spun around in the air, gaining more momentum before tossing the bulky, armored frame of the long-eared equine. Cranky’s immense bulk rushed forwards, firing out like a cannonball that had been launched with an excessive amount of gunpowder. His rigid armor clattered about a bit, the wind rushing by his face as he narrowed his eyes.
He was headed right for the castle…
Ember watched from above, riding a low-flying airship into battle as she looked down at the field below. She saw the flying, armored frame of the donkey smash through easily four or five buildings, coming to a stop in the middle of the street, at which he charged from the rubble, smashing through everything in his path.
“That is one tough donkey,” she mused.
Gabby walked up beside her.
“Honestly this is a good day for him,” she smirked.
Ember gave the griffon a confused look, before shrugging, spreading her wings and taking flight herself, with her leaping off the deck of the airship.
As she dived, she could see Luna and Cadance blasting away any incoming projectiles, incinerating rocks and arrows out of the air. The two rulers ensured the safety of the thousands of flying pegasi, hippogriffs, dragons and griffons that buzzed around the city like pissed off hornets.
Sombra’s air-based forces had been reduced to almost nothing, but there were still half a dozen airships buzzing about above the kingdom. Ember led what was easily over two dozen dragons, hippogriffs, batponies, and other fliers with her as she went about bringing them down.
Gabby soon flew in beside her; the mail carrier griffon had little more to do when it came to deliveries, so she joined the dragoness on the front lines proper.
She zoomed quite quickly beside Ember, who led the way towards a nearby airship. The Sombra-controlled soldiers were attempting to point their cannons at the swarm of fliers, but before they could, Ember, Gabby, and many more pissed off species rained down on them!
Gabby shoulder-checked one of the cannoneers, knocking the mare to the ground before the griffon leaned back and punched her, partly destroying the helmet and knocking the pony out.
“I’m really, really sorry!” said the bird-lion hybrid, before she had to rush over, tackling into an approaching stallion.
As she wrestled with him, three others came up behind, attempting to help pin the griffon down. However, before they even got the chance, another, larger, and bulkier griffon came in, tackling all three of them to the ground. Gabby punched the pony she was dealing with in the muzzle, and looked over, before suddenly seeming starstruck. She fully turned away from the pony she’d knocked down, though he was slowly trying to get back to his hooves.
“Oh my gosh, Gilda, hiii!” Gabby squeaked, before using her metal hindpaw to slam it into the pony’s helmet, knocking him out.
“Not now, Gabby!” grunted the bulkier griffon, as she held the three crystal ponies in a chokehold.
Ember decked a nearby stallion as he charged her and turned to see a mare lighting up a cannon, aiming it at her. The dragoness smashed her staff into the barrel of the weapon, knocking it to the side and causing it to misfire into another cannon a few feet away, blowing it apart and leaving a five- or six-foot hole in the bow of the ship. Thankfully nothing major was damaged, letting everything stay afloat as over six or seven dozen fliers swarmed it, trying to down as many crystal ponies as non-lethally as possible.
The war in the air raged on, being rather one sided. Below though, everything was dragging out a bit more…
Autumn Blaze bucked a barrel at a squad of four or five soldiers rushing at her. They didn’t have time to do much other than endure the full impact of it, with it slamming into them and splintering apart. The kirin did consider going full nirik on them, but didn’t want to burn down half the city in the fight.
As they tried to claw their way back to their hooves, suddenly a gigantic bug-like creature came in, carrying a sturdy wooden crate that had an opening in the bottom of it. The group looked up, and immediately the insectoid form of Thorax slammed it down onto them, using the crate as a makeshift wooden cage.
The two soon heard loud grunts and shouts of pain from nearby, and looked behind themselves just in time to see three unconscious crystal ponies fly out from a nearby alleyway. They remained limp in the dirt as a striped figure walked into view, a large spear in her right forehoof.
“Zecora, are you alright?” chittered Thorax.
“Don’t worry about me,” chuckled the zebra. “I’m as dandy as can be.”
The others nodded, with Autumn Blaze of the bunch looking around.
“Where’s Cranky?” shouted out the kirin, as she turned and bucked another oncoming soldier, sending her tumbling to the ground.
“He’s making a charge straight for the palace!” Thorax chittered, pointing a sharp forelimb towards the center of the city.
The crystalline palace that jutted out of the ground was a mockery as to what it should’ve been. Instead of being a beautiful pale color, it was a deep, charred black, interwoven with the occasional green or blood red crystal. The whole thing was a horrific sight of tyranny that the evil king had crafted after his second coming.
Still, that did little to deter the non-pony heroes!
“We’ve gotta back him up! If he goes one-on-one with Sombra, who knows what might happen!” Autumn shouted.
“Alright, hang on!” Thorax nodded, quickly picking the other equines up and flying towards the path of destruction the bulky, rhino-like donkey had left.
Which… wasn’t hard, given he left an innumerable amount of unconscious soldiers and smashed up houses in his wake. As he took flight, numerous ponies below fired off arrows at him. Yet they just shattered uselessly against the bug’s chitinous exoskeleton. Occasionally, the gigantic insect would spit globs of thick, sticky saliva back down at the archers, sticking them in place, non-violently removing them from the equation.
“I can’t believe Equestria used to hate you guys,” Autumn mused, holding on tight. “I mean, that's awesome!”
“One bad dictator spoils the whole lot,” Thorax sighed, his compound eyes looking a touch sad at that.
“Do not let Chrysalis’ hateful displays make you frown,” Zecora offered. “You are your own equine, not bound to that dictator’s crown.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” the changeling chittered, sounding genuinely thankful for their support. Soon, Thorax sped up, rushing above the donkey’s path of destruction. “For now, let’s finish this!”
As they approached, the mighty armored donkey came into sight.
About a fourth a mile ahead, Cranky decked down another squad of soldiers, KO’ing them without much effort. He was close to the castle now. Only about a block ahead.
Far above him, the old donkey could see an airship being pelted by dozens of aerial troops. He soon ignored that, and went back to the half-dozen ponies firing crossbow bolts and arrows at him. They hid behind a pile of sandbags, ducking back down to reload after they let loose their volley.
He just advanced through it though, letting the arrows shatter and ricochet off of his armor before he slammed through the wooden-enforced sandbanks, sending debris all over. He quickly got to work on beating down the group.
Soon enough, the rhino-like equine just began charging ahead, smashing through everything in his path. He was on a direct collision course for the reinforced metal gates of the gigantic, evil-looking castle.
Even as over three or four dozen soldiers tried stopping his advance with their arrows and their barricades, it did very little, with them being smashed down and trampled beneath his immense frame. Before long, he slammed into the gate!
It did stop his charge, though only barely, as it bowed inwards, nearly snapping apart. Ahead lay a courtyard, and beyond that, an entrance to the castle proper. Cranky just stepped about a dozen meters back. He brought down his right forelimb, raking it against the dirt and snorting like a bull.
After a quick windup, he then charged ahead again, his head down. He let loose a roar as he smashed fully through the metal this time, with rivets giving way and multiple large SNAPs! sounding out as he crashed his way inside!
It was a mad dash from there. Not only for Cranky, but the others as well!
The donkey smashed his way inside of the castle, barreling through the walls and numerous self-portraits Sombra had strung up along the crystalline interior.
Thorax, Zecora, and Autumn Blaze easily flew over the exterior walls of the castle, with a few pegasi, griffons, dragons and hippogriffs following behind, taking on the numerous dozens of ponies guarding the heart of the Crystal Empire.
Up above, Ember and Gabby were flying the ship dangerously close to the massive castle, circling around the exterior as the griffon used her keen eagle-like eyes to try and spot the best entrance for the two.
Overall, it was a right mess…
For someone fighting a multifront war with numerous other kingdoms, Sombra was taking it quite well. No shouting, no breakdowns, just… silence.
He had beaten a few prisoners personally that morning, but all in all, not much information was spilled, and by this point, things were quite dire. All he could do was just sit on his throne and wait for the forces to inevitably come through and attack him on his home turf.
The alliance with the Storm King didn’t work out now that he was dead, Chrysalis was just plain nuts, Tirek would’ve stolen his magic if he freed him from Tartarus, and Discord was… Yeah. Overall, things were looking rather grim.
Even now the evil ruler looked haggard. Making a doomed army run had made him weary and drained.
Things only got even more grim when moments later, the front door of his throne room was kicked completely off the hinges, with it shattering to pieces as it slammed downwards. The absolute biggest donkey he’d ever seen strutted in, with numerous unconscious bodies of his troops laying in the hallway behind him.
Sombra half expected some type of boast, or threat, or heroic speech like he knew the princesses would occasionally give. However, there was no real heroic speech in Cranky, he just flat out charged the tyrant king like a bullet train. The king’s horn flashed a mixture of purple and black as he fired it out in front of him, creating a large wall of crystals.
Cranky’s massive, bulky frame just smashed through them. It bought Sombra enough time to turn into a cloud of sentient smoke. He billowed out across the room, using his magic to reach out shadow-like hands to grab at Cranky, trying to feel out his fear. He only got rage in return, that and a twinge of loss. Few other emotions were inside the donkey’s head. He even tried mind control, but alas, it felt like something was… shoving him back. Couldn’t get a good grasp on him!
That wasn’t right…
Cranky for his part was more focused on attempting to smash apart every crystal that got into his way while simultaneously trouncing the inky black cloud the king had turned himself into. He reared up, crushing a large black crystal, though Sombra began growing more of them attempting to encase or even impale the donkey if possible. The crystals just shattered against the bulky equine’s powerful armor.
Out in the hall, Thorax’s gigantic form smashed through a window, utterly shattering it and bashing apart some of the crystal lining.
“Alright, throne room’s just up ahead!” he chittered, turning towards it. He let the two mares go as he slimmed down his bulky bug frame a bit, though he still remained in the armored, monstrous form.
“Let us go post haste! There is no time to waste!” Zecora shouted, running ahead, barely trailed by Autumn Blaze.
Inside, the tyrant king stood above Cranky, perched on a large crystal pillar he’d made. Sombra was firing down black bolts of magical energy at him, though the donkey was shockingly quick as he side-stepped and jumped around, avoiding them and making the ground below shake with each impact.
“Stand still you ponce!” shouted Sombra with a growl.
Cranky’s retort was just to rip a gigantic slab of crystal out of the ground and chuck it up at him. Sombra’s eyes widened, but he reacted quickly, turning into a cloud of smoke and billowing downwards. He flew into Cranky’s face, obscuring the donkey’s vision in inky blackness.
Maybe he could try to attack his mind again? More properly this time, yes! A beast like this donkey would be worth a platoon of crystal ponies!
However, as Sombra tried to infect his mind, once more, something deep inside pushed him away, so much so that he actually fully manifested into his tangible form. He looked dazed, as if he’d been flashbanged.
Cranky took this opportunity to give a right hook to the bastard’s jaw, sending him flying backwards and slamming into a support pillar. Sombra growled in hate and pain as he fell downwards, barely catching himself on his forehooves.
The tyrant king didn’t even get a chance to breathe before suddenly a potion slammed into his face, cutting up his muzzle with glass. He let loose a shout of surprise as he stumbled back, partly blinded.
“That brew should restrict him from becoming smoke!” Zecora shouted, rushing up and standing beside Cranky, with Autumn Blaze and Thorax joining her. “Now let’s get this bloke!”
Sombra shook away the liquid, seeing them glaring down at him. His horn lit up, and he tried to become intangible once more, however he found the zebra’s words rang true. He couldn’t change his form anymore!
While he tried this, Thorax divebombed right at him, changing shapes mid-flight. Sombra’s eyes widened as a gigantic white polar bear slammed claw first down into him, with the beast's forepaws impacting into his chest with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Had it not been for his armor, that might’ve been game over for the king!
He shouted out a grunt of pain as Thorax raked a claw off of his face, leaving three large gashes in his muzzle, drawing some of the king’s crimson colored blood. His horn sparked, and he managed to quickly let loose a blast of weakened energy in the bear’s face, causing Thorax to stumble back.
Sombra quickly turned to get to his forehooves, only to feel something powerful grip his left hind leg. He looked back only to see the helmeted face of Cranky glaring down at him. The tyrant loosed another blast of energy, though unlike Thorax, the donkey didn’t even budge, letting it impact his helmet and ignoring the entire display.
“Let go of me you buffoon!” managed the king, though a hard punch to his jaw shut him up, chipping one of his teeth.
With the pony dazed, Cranky further responded by lifting Sombra up, using his front forehooves to grip tightly onto the king’s leg. Sombra managed a shout of shock before he was slammed back-first into the crystal floor, cracking it and making his teeth rattle. Cranky then picked him up and slammed him back down again, once, twice, a third time!
Each time, Sombra’s body ached harder and harder, and he grunted with each powerful impact!
“Cranky, I’m open!” shouted Autumn Blaze, her voice deep and warbly as she was now in her nirik form.
The donkey snorted and then tossed Sombra’s frame right at her. Immediately the king was met with a mid-air fireball that blasted him upwards, letting him impact against the ceiling. He made such an imprint into it that he was stuck there for a moment.
Thorax leapt up, going from a polar bear into a bugbear, as he grew wings and a stinger, which was aimed right for the tyrant king’s chest. Sombra thought quickly; his horn flared as he grew numerous crystalline spikes out of the ceiling. This slowed Thorax’s advances long enough for him to get blasted out of the air by the king's magic.
Still, Sombra was more haggard than before, breathing deeply as his unique horn sparked a bit, clearly low on energy. It seemed Zecora’s potion had drained him thoroughly, but he had a bit of juice left…
His musings were interrupted whenever the entire left wall of the throne room was smashed open!
The crystalline walls let loose a loud CRACK!!! as the wooden front end of an airship created a nice draft. Soon, in flew Ember and Gabby!
Not much time was wasted, as the king leapt down from his ceiling-top vantage, creating a large crystal staircase to catch himself as he rushed down, turning and sending a blast of energy at the two newcomers. The griffon and dragon duo dodged out of the way quickly.
Ember countered his attack with a flurry of fireballs, though Sombra threw up a crystalline wall to shield himself. Even then, that did little as Autumn rushed up and began breathing an intense flame onto the barrier. To the king’s shock, it began melting from the combined heat of the nirik’s and the dragoness’ flames. His crystals were glowing hot as they warped and sizzled.
Gabby herself couldn’t do as much as her ranged sisters in arms, but she sure tried her best, when she rushed up, trying to circle around and divebomb Sombra.
He growled at her and shot out a blast of energy at shockingly quick speeds, clipping her in the wing and sending her tumbling out of the air. She slammed to the ground with a grunt, though Sombra couldn’t follow it up with a killing blow, as currently he was creating more crystals to protect himself.
“Gabby!” Thorax shouted, rushing his gigantic bear-like frame over to her, Zecora following right behind him.
The griffon herself slowly got into a sitting position, rubbing her head with a foreclaw. Her saddlebags had flown off and clattered roughly to the ground during her fall. They rested a few feet away, with the large wooden box Celestia had given her still being in it, though it was cracked open currently, the top portion having snapped off at the hinge.
Inside of it were six strange looking necklaces, and a single crown, all a deep gold in coloration with numerous gemstones adorning them. The construction was immaculate, more so than any other jewelry seen in Equestria.
“That was quite a fall! Are you hurt at all?” Zecora asked.
“I’m fine,” the griffon managed, though as she stood up, she and the other two noticed something… strange about the extra luggage the griffon had been carrying…
They were glowing!
“What the…” Gabby managed, feeling herself drawn to the pink necklace. It was as if it called out to her with a will of its own, demanding to be placed on her neck.
Her eyes flashed with magic.
“I know what to do!” the griffon said, as if new knowledge had been implanted in her head!
Without a moment to waste, she grabbed the pink-jeweled necklace, putting it on, before she offered Thorax the orange one. Zecora herself felt the crown call to her, and she soon placed it on her head.
“I hope you’re right about this…” Thorax said, turning back to his normal black changeling form to properly fit the necklace.
“I think I am!” Gabby smirked. “It was our friendship for each other that drove us this far, got us through this war, helped us beat Sombra’s army… now all we gotta do is combine our powers, and we can stop him for good this time!”
“When we examined these artifacts earlier, they did seem fantastical, but with this crown on my head, it feels… magical,” managed Zecora, as she felt invigorated by a newly found energy.
Gabby grabbed the last three and flew over to the other three, with Ember and Autumn keeping up their firepower on Sombra’s ever weakening wall.
“Guys, put these on!” she said, throwing out the elements to the three.
Cranky caught the red one, Ember the purple one, and Autumn instinctively grabbed the blue one. It seemed the necklace was durable, not melting despite the intense heat.
“What’s this?” Ember asked.
“Please, just trust me!” Gabby squawked.
“Kid, it’s a bit small for me,” offered Cranky, with it barely fitting around his thick, armored neck.
“Something about this feels… right,” Autumn said, her necklace now adorning her neck.
Before long, every non-pony in the room was adorned with the strange trinkets. Sombra peaked up over the molten slag that used to be his crystal wall, only for his eyes to widen.
Are those the-
There was a powerful flash of light!
Yep… those were the Elements of Harmony alright…
“Son of a-” Sombra barely was able to shout before a gigantic, rainbow-colored blast of pure magical energy engulfed his throne room.
The power of the elements didn’t stop there though; harmony had been thrown out of whack across the entire kingdom! The rainbow blast expanded further and further, engulfing the entire castle, and then the entirety of the empire itself! Everycreature had to look away or shut their eyes as the blinding brilliance of magical power expanded across the land. Every crystal pony that wasn’t unconscious immediately had their mind-control helmets destroyed, with them disappearing in flashes of light, evaporating completely into nothingness.
They were… freed… The land was freed!
It didn’t take long before numerous cheers rang out across the empire. The battle immediately stopped as Sombra’s forces were immediately stopped in one fell swoop. Back inside the throne room, the only thing that remained of Sombra was the stone statue that encased him, permanently frozen in a scream of shock and anger.
“What should we do with him?” Thorax asked, cocking his brow.
Autumn Blaze was the only one to answer.
“Maybe we could make him a display in a public-”
Cranky interrupted her when he walked over and bucked the statue, shattering it into thousands of pieces…
“-...park.”
“That was for Matilda,” spat the donkey to the pile of stone.
The Equestrian Army’s Non-Pony Division was granted an innumerable amount of medals and gratitude that day. They were paraded about Manehattan, Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and even lands beyond, such as the Dragonlands or Hippogriffia.
The entire ordeal was a great weight off of the shoulders of Princess Celestia herself. Not only because of the war ending in a decisive Equestrian victory. Nor just because of the fact her and Sombra’s armies suffered minimal casualties. Not even because this made Equestria more united with its surrounding kingdoms than ever…
No, it was because at long last, Harmony had returned.
After so many things going wrong, winding up just plain off, after her sister’s second banishment, or the attempted takeover of Canterlot, or the innumerable other horrific fates to befall her land… she finally could rest easy.
Somehow, some way, the world had rebalanced itself.
Even in the darkest of time, hope prevailed…
…And the Tree of Liberty was watered by the blood of a tyrant that day.
Author's Note
Happy 4th of July, everybody!
