A World Apartby TekkonairChaptersNew ArrivalsA Warm Reception - Pt. 1A Warm Reception - Pt. 2IntroductionsMeeting the Forces - Pt. 1PrologueNew Arrivals“Come on, it should be just over this hill!” Shouted an excited purple unicorn, pulling a decent impression of Pinkie Pie as she bounced around joyfully. “Twilight, you’ve said that about the last five hills.” Said Rainbow Dash, hovering just behind Twilight. “I know, but it’s really close.” She said, beaming up at the rainbow-maned mare. “Yea, yea. Remind me what we’re looking for again?” Asked Rainbow, as the other four caught them up. “Last night, whilst doing a bit of stargazing, I saw four streaks of light fall to the ground near Ponyville. I think they were meteors.” “And you’re sure they landed near here?” “Positive. Over this hill is the last possible place they could have landed.” Twilight replied, visibly trying to restrain herself. “Sugarcube, are ya sure it was here?” Asked Applejack in her rustic accent, looking sceptically at Twilight from below the rim of her hat. Twilight nodded energetically, before bouncing up the hill, Pinkie matching her bounce for bounce. Fluttershy followed more timidly. “Oh, I do hope no animals were hit by them.” She said, nervous as always. “Darling, I’m sure if there were any nearby they had the sense to run before they landed.” Rarity said, trying to salve her friend’s worries. Fluttershy smiled shyly at Rarity. “I hope so.” She said quietly, as Twilight peered over the hill. “Oh my…” She muttered, her eyes going wide. “What is it?” Asked Rainbow, peering over the ridge as well. “Well buck me…” She muttered in shock, as the others crept up to look as well. At the bottom of the hill, in the middle of a large crater, four very strange ponies stood. Three of them were stallions, one was a mare. The mare was the smallest of the four ponies, though they all looked big. The largest of them had a white tail, with black fur. The pony wore heavy-looking armour, with a massively armoured left foreleg. A disconcertingly large blade was secured on the stallion’s back, the massive weapon apparently as long as him. The stallion also wore a red robe, the hood covering their head, so only the tip of their muzzle was visible, making it impossible to tell if the pony was an earth pony or a unicorn. The black stallion was talking heatedly with one of the others. This one, a pegasus, had a black mane and tail, and brown fur. The stallion was smaller than the hooded pony, and had lighter-looking, yet still formidable, armour. The armour was fairly thick, though opposed to the larger stallions it looked like it followed the contours of his body, other than his wings and tail, rather than just being a series of plates, save for the gauntlets on the front hooves, which were larger, and appeared to have a series of tubes built into each. The stallion also wore a mask of similar design to his armour, though with thinner metal. The third stallion, a unicorn, sat near the arguing pair, apparently deep in thought. He had a similar build to the pegasus stallion, though seemed more lightly built. His mane and tail were black, and his fur was an off-white shade. His armour was more traditional than the pegasus’, though it was fairly limited, extending only to a pair of gauntlets, a skeletal mask that covered his mouth, paldrons and metal plates along his back and sides. This stallion had a pair of short-handled scythes attached to his sides. The final pony, a mare, stood slightly away from the group, looking around at the world. The smallest of the group, she was also the most lightly built, and another pegasus. Her armour was of a similar design to the pegasus stallion’s, but it was thinner, barely thicker than sheet metal, and was black in colour. It also covered less of her body. She possessed a purple tail and mane, and what was visible of her fur was white. A long handle was secured to her side, and though it was difficult to make out from this distance, something seemed off about her front hooves. “An… Interesting bunch to be sure.” Said Rarity, swallowing. “I suppose you could say that…” Mumbled Fluttershy, trying not to be rude about the four ponies. “They look like a bunch of nut-jobs.” Muttered Rainbow. “Seriously, who wears that kind of stuff?” “We should go introduce ourselves.” Said Twilight. “Are you serious? That big one looks like he could snap you in half.” Dash protested quietly. “The only way we’re going to find out anything more about them is if we meet them. Plus, those two look like they’re about to come to blows.” Pointed out Twilight, before standing up and starting down the hill before anypony could stop her. “Twilight, wait.” Said Applejack, getting up to chase after her. “Oh don’t pretend that you know what’s going on, brother.” Snarled the masked pegasus. “You’re just as lost as the rest of us.” “I’m sure they had a good reason for sending us here.” The larger stallion replied, growling as he tried to keep a civil tongue. ‘You are trying my patience brother.’ He added mentally. “Or they just dumped us on a random world once our job was done. Face it, without the need to maintain balance, they have no need of us, but no one was brave enough to come kill us.” “So why send us to this place rather than a dead world? There are plenty of them.” “On a dead world we could still make trouble. For example, the world of the Ravaiim. How many dangerous artefacts do you think were left there?” “If you two would stop bickering for a moment.” Interjected the mare. “You’d have noticed we have company.” The two stallions looked at the mare, who gestured towards the six ponies coming down the hill. The smaller stallion tensed up and began raising one of his gauntlets, but the, until-now, static unicorn quickly stood and forced the limb down with his own hoof. “They may be the only chance we have of learning what this place is. We play nice.” He admonished the pegasus, before turning to the advancing party. “Well, they’ve defiantly seen us.” Said Twilight, her smile faltering slightly. “No turning back now.” “What do you think those two were arguing about?” Rainbow asked. “No idea, though the pegasus with the mask appears less than pleased.” “They all do.” Observed Fluttershy, trying to hide behind her pink mane. “Let’s hold off judgment until we talk to them. Remember what happened with Zecora?” Asked Twilight, smirking at her friends’ reactions, a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. “Alright Twi, we’ll give them a shot.” Said Applejack, smiling at Twilight. The unicorn nodded, and turned back to the four strange ponies, before walking forwards again. “Hello!” She greeted them, stopping a few yards away. Up close, it was obvious how big they were. The smallest of the four ponies was taller than Twilight; the two smaller stallions were as tall as Big Mac, whilst the biggest of them all was at least a head taller than Mac. “Hello.” The masked unicorn replied carefully. “Who are you?” Asked the massive stallion, in a deep baritone voice. “M-my name’s Twilight Sparkle.” She said, her tone faltering as the giant spoke. The mare looked incredulously at Twilight as she stated her name. “Nice to meet you.” Said the unicorn. “And the rest of you?” He asked, looking at the other ponies. “The pegasus trying to hide behind her mane is Fluttershy.” Said Twilight, glancing back at the named pony. “The white unicorn next to her is Rarity.” She smiled at Rarity waved nervously. “The pony with the hat is Applejack.” “Nice to meetcha’.” Said Applejack, tipping her hat politely. “Likewise.” Said the masked unicorn, eying Pinkie Pie as she bounced around the four new ponies. “That’s Pinkie Pie. Word of advice, don’t try to rationalise anything she does.” “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! You guys look soooo cool! Oh, that’s a really big sword!” She said, bouncing over to the largest pony, who didn’t even flinch. “And the pegasus who appears to be sizing you up is Rainbow Dash.” Twilight scowled at Dash, who appeared to be glaring at the assembled ponies, especially their weapons. “Dash, be polite.” “Hi.” She said flatly. “Now that you know who we are, do you mind me asking who you are?” “I am Death.” Said the masked unicorn. “These are my brothers and sister. War, Strife, and Fury.” He gestured at the largest pony first, before pointing at the pegasus stallion, and finally at the mare. “In our world, we were known as the last of the Nephilim, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” The natives in front of him froze, and even Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing. “Though I assure you, we mean you and your people no harm. Truth be told, we have no idea how we got here, only that we did not wish for it.” “Why are you here?” Asked Dash, a bit of fear entering her suspicious tone. “We do not know.” Said ‘War’, his voice causing the smaller ponies to shudder. “Pray that the reason does not become apparent, for your sakes.” He continued, his tone promising doom if the reasons did come clear. “In our world, we were responsible for maintaining the balance between the forces of good and evil. At least, until the End War.” “The End War?” Asked Twilight cautiously. “The Apocalypse. Judgement Day. Call it what you will. The point is, after the End War finished, there was no need for us. As you can imagine, no one felt comfortable with us staying, so we theorise that they sent us here so we couldn’t cause any further trouble.” “Whose they?” Asked Dash, crossing her forelegs. “The Charred Council. A number of powerful beings. Even the Creator himself. We do not know. All that matters is, we are here now. We might as well do our best to fit in.” Said Death, giving a pointed look to Strife. “Now how exactly are you plannin’ on doin’ that?” Applejack asked, somewhat incredulously. “We do not know.” Said Strife, glaring back at Death from behind his mask. “Ok, I have a few questions.” Said Dash. “By all means, ask them.” Death said expectantly. “Firstly, what’s up with your eyes?” Twilight took a second look at the ‘Horsemen’, blinking as she realised what Dash was talking about. All four of them had glowing eyes of different colours. War’s were white; Death’s were green, whilst Strife and Fury shared a yellow colour. “This is simply how our eyes are. We have no control over it.” “Ok, next question.” Dash flew slightly closer. “How do we know you won’t just attack us as soon as our backs are turned?” “Look around you pegasus.” Said Strife. “Do you see any witnesses? Anyone to stop us? If we wanted you dead, you’d be bleeding into the dirt by now.” Fluttershy shrank back more with a scared noise. Even Rainbow blanched slightly. “Ok, fine. Final question.” She looked at Fury. “What’s up with your hooves?” Everypony turned to look at Fury, who held up a foreleg. The native ponies expected to see a hoof, but were instead greeted with a set of curved claws. “Well, one of my weapons was a set of claws.” She said with a grin. “Plus it helps me grip this.” She grabbed the long handle from her side and lashed out in a safe direction with it, a tongue of flame leaping from the handle like a whip. “Can you imagine me having to do that with my mouth?” “No...” Squeaked Fluttershy, hiding behind Rarity. “I might have an idea as to how we could fit in.” Said War thoughtfully, apparently having not noticed the recent exchange. “An idea? That’d be a first.” Muttered Fury with a grin. War shot her a look before continuing. “Is there by any chance a force meant to protect the innocent in this realm?” “Well, there’s Celestia’s Royal Guard.” Said Twilight. “Celestia?” Asked Death, tilting his head. “Princess Celestia to be exact. She’s one of the two rulers of Equestria.” Twilight blinked and looked towards the sky. “It looks like she’s on her way as well.” The assembled ponies turned to look where Twilight was looking. They were met with the sight of several chariots descending from the sky towards them, accompanied by multiple pegasi, both from the Celestial and Night Guard, who moved to encircle the group. The chariots touched down nearby, two ornate ones, the personal chariots of Celestia and Luna, circled protectively by the more basic, yet still gilded, chariots of the Guard. The Guardponies who had encircled them all glared at the four new ponies with hostility, clearly willing to risk their lives if they turned out to be hostile. “Well, this is new.” Muttered Fury. A Warm Reception - Pt. 1“Stand down.” Said Death, glancing at War who tensed up. “Attacking will get us nowhere.” “Provided they don’t attack us first.” He replied, returning the glares of the guardponies. “If they do, we should still be able to take them, unless they have something up their sleeves.” Said Fury, flexing her claws, the sharp digits sinking into the dirt. Death nodded, looking at Strife to see if he was going to try anything, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw his brother was going to follow his orders without question for once. “War, what can you tell me about these equines?” Death asked quietly, deferring to his brother’s more comprehensive knowledge of soldiers. “The ones in gold armour seem to be on a more defensive stance, whilst the ones in black look more eager to actively engage. Based on the disparity in their armour, I’d say they are separate forces, the gold ones forming a defensive force, with the black armoured ones being the main offensive force.” “So the ones in black are the bigger threat?” “As far as a direct attack goes, yes. However, the gold ones must be able to take punches and give them back again for them to be an effective defensive force.” Concluded War, glancing over the assembled ponies. He tensed up again as the wall of guards parted, two larger equines entering the circle. Death decided upon seeing them that they were the two rulers the purple unicorn had mentioned earlier. Death decided to incline his head slightly as the six smaller ponies bowed. “Rise.” Commanded the smallest of the pair, an equine with dark blue fur, black on her flank, which was adorned with a mark in the shape of a crescent moon, and featured a long horn and a large pair of wings. Her mane was blue and flowed in a non-existent wind, and was dotted with stars. The largest of the pair had white fur, with a mark in the shape of the sun. Her mane also billowed, and had streaks of pink, green and blue. Both the ponies wore armour; the smaller one’s black whilst the larger ones was gold. “My name is Princess Celestia.” The larger pony said, a stern expression on her face. “This is my sister, Princess Luna. We are the rulers of this land.” “An honour, your majesties.” Said Death, inclining his head, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “My name is Death. My two brothers are War and Strife, and my sister is Fury.” “So the Nephilim have come to Equestria…” Luna said, narrowing her eyes. “Pray tell, what is your purpose here?” She asked, stepping forward to stare Death right in the eyes. Death noted that, not counting the horn, this princess was as tall as him, whilst ‘Celestia’ was as tall as War. “We do not know. We were sent here against our will, with no explanation given.” Said War, looking between the various ponies he identified as the commanders of the soldiers. “I can assure you, we do not mean you, or your people, any harm.” Death said sincerely. “He does not lie sister.” Said Luna. “You are positive?” Asked Celestia, raising an eyebrow. “Lying is a deceitful act, and as such lies within the powers of the Night. We would be able to tell if he were.” Celestia nodded, and gestured to the guard, who relaxed slightly, lowering their weapons. “Do you remember how you arrived here?” Asked Celestia. “Unfortunately not. All I remember is waking up in a crater.” “Actually, I saw four lights fall from the sky last night.” Said Twilight Sparkle, smiling at Celestia. “Hmm. If the Nephilim were sent to Equestria, it is likely more beings will follow.” Said Luna. “It is paramount that we prepare for the eventuality of an attack.” “And what if that attack never comes?” Asked Death. “Even so, the preparations will help our military forces. Our elite troops are some of the best on the planet, but the same cannot be said for our more basic soldiers.” Luna grimaced. “A war cannot be fought with special forces alone.” War nodded in agreement. “We defend the Balance, no matter what form it takes. If something threatens the Balance, we neutralise that threat.” Said War. “That is the duty we are tasked with, and the burden we will bear. If training your forces helps maintain the Balance, then I will gladly assist.” “Look at that.” Fury muttered to Death. “War meets a powerful creature and doesn’t challenge it to a boxing match.” She said, grinning. Death chuckled at that. “Well, what say you, Horsemen?” Asked Luna, glancing at Fury. “What would the terms be?” Asked Death, wanting to know exactly what he would be getting into. “You would return to Canterlot with us.” Said Luna, shooting Strife a glare as he snorted at the name. “And beginning training our troops. Ideally, we would include you in the roster of one of the guard forces.” “We accept the terms, provided that you do not put our services to any use other than maintaining the Balance.” Said Death. “Equestria has no territorial ambitions. The only times we wage war are to defend ourselves, or to intervene to end a conflict elsewhere.” Said Celestia. “That explains the airships. I doubt many countries would be happy with a foreign army crossing through it.” Said Strife, looking up at one of the airships in question. “Some of our allies are perfectly happy with it, though some are less than pleased with just the airships.” Replied Celestia. “We must return to Canterlot so you may begin your duties.” Said Luna, turning away from the Nephilim and walking back towards her chariot. “Though I do not believe there will be enough room for you all on the chariots.” “Sister, War may make use of my chariot. I assume you two can fly?” She asked, looking at Fury and Strife. “We’re not the best, but we’ve not been here long.” Said Fury. “We should be able to keep up.” Celestia nodded. “I wish to stay for a while. I would like to talk with my student.” She said, smiling at Twilight, who grinned back. Luna simply nodded. “We shall see you back at Canterlot. It would be best if Death accompanied us on our chariot, whilst War takes Celestia’s.” She said, nodding to herself. The Horsemen nodded, boarding their respective carriages, whilst the others took to the skies. “To Canterlot!” Luna commanded with a stamp of her hoof, and the guard units took to the skies once more. A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I struggled to get this part out. I am also sorry for the length of time between updates, but due to school work, it is unavoidable. I hope I will be able to update more frequently, but don't hold your breath A Warm Reception - Pt. 2“Welcome to the city of Canterlot!” Exclaimed Luna as the chariot swept around the side of the mountain. All four of the Nephilim had seen sights few mortals could believe, yet few compared to the regal mastery of Canterlot castle. Gold-roofed towers reached towards the sky, surmounted by intricate designs of woven gold, prominently displaying the skill of Equestria’s craftsponies. “We take it you are impressed?” Luna asked Death. “Faintly.” He replied sarcastically, though he had to admit the castle was a work of art, though he wondered how defensible it actually was. ‘I’ll have to ask War.’ He thought. Attempting to judge his brother’s thoughts was difficult at times, separated by a few dozen feet whilst being flown through the air was one such time. “We shall give you the tour at a later date. For now, we must introduce you to the troops.” “What exactly do you intend for us, Princess?” Asked Death. “As we have said before, you will be training our guards.” Replied Luna. Death assumed by ‘our’ she meant hers and her sister’s, rather than referring to herself alone. “Our Guard elites will assist you in training. You will find them more than adequate for the task.” “My siblings and I shall be the judge of that, Princess.” He said, looking at her. “Make no mistake your majesty. We are here to serve the Balance, not you or your sister. We shall assist you in training your troops because that will maintain the Balance. However, go back on your promise of peace, and you shall witness exactly what the Nephilim are capable of.” He warned her, glowing eyes fixed on her blue ones. “We understand, Horseman.” Luna replied warily. “Rest assured, violence towards any peaceful nation does not serve Our interests.” “Not like you’d be able to do much with them at the moment.” Said Strife, flying alongside them. “Not one of them has looked up. Might as well replace them with statues and have done with it.” He sneered, looking back down at the city as they approached the castle. “As We have said, Equestria’s military is in a somewhat dire state.” Luna said, eying Strife cautiously. “Which is why your assistance is greatly appreciated.” “You are welcome.” Said Strife, though his tone betrayed what he really thought about the situation. “But do not make the mistake of attempting to give us orders, for we are not your subjects.” “As your brother has made abundantly clear.” Luna replied. Strife nodded, and swept away from the chariot, most likely to resume his sulking. “Do you believe Equestria will be ready, if anything does befall us?” She asked solemnly, taking Death slightly off guard. “Your Highness, I have brought back a civilisation that was deemed to be completely destroyed, and though some of the wisest beings in the universe had been duped into believing he had committed an unthinkable act, I was able to redeem my brother from blame. If those tasks are possible, then I believe I can bring a few soldiers back up to scratch.” ‘Dear Creator, what have I let myself in for?’ Death found himself asking as they swept over the training grounds, only to see what one could be forgiven for mistaking for a bar brawl. Except instead of random drunkards, a platoon of Celestial Guards and a platoon of Night Guards had set upon each other, launching themselves at each other like animals. Death looked to Luna, who was unmistakably furious, then to War. “Where’s War gone?” He asked, looking around after seeing the empty chariot. Fury swept close to him, grinning and pointing down. Death looked where she was pointing, and sighed. “What is it?” Luna asked, looking to Death and then Fury, before following Death’s gaze. “… He jumped?” “Yes.” “Out of a moving chariot?!” “Yes.” “THAT’S HUNDREDS OF FEET IN THE AIR?!” Luna bellowed, slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice. “It’s kind of his thing.” Said Fury, rubbing her ear and wincing. “He likes to make an entrance.” She said, glancing down again. “Take us down.” Luna said to the bat ponies flying her chariot, turning her gaze downwards once more. The squabbling ponies below were oblivious to the massive stallion dropping from the sky, focussing only on braining anyone who they perceived to be their enemy. As such, he went completely unnoticed, even as he crashed down a scant few metres away. War shook himself, smirking slightly as he climbed out of the small crater he left, before glowering as he observed the chaos before him. “Lunar dogs!” “Sun-loving pansies!” “Mongrels!” “Lard-arses!” “Freaks!” “ENOUGH!” Bellowed War, his voice easily reaching Luna’s Canterlot Voice in volume, bowling over the ponies closest to him and silencing the entire mob of ponies. The entire group fixed their gaze on him, eyes wide as he strode towards them, stopping right in front of one of the Night Guard. “What is the meaning of this?” He asked, his voice growling slightly. “Th-they insulted Princess Luna.” Stammered the bat pony, his wings flapping nervously behind him as he quailed underneath the enormous stallion’s gaze. “They called her Nightmare Moon, and said she should have stayed on the moon.” Before War was able to ask who exactly ‘Nightmare Moon’ was, another voice echoed from the building looking over the training ground. “What the buck is going on here?!” An outraged mare’s voice shouted. War looked towards the source of the noise to see a pair of ponies, the first a bat pony mare, the second a unicorn stallion, approaching the group, a white pegasus following them. Judging by their armour, War guessed the unicorn and the bat pony to be officers, or at least of a higher rank than the shivering stallion in front of him. “Oh buck, it’s Wrecker.” Cursed one of the Celestial Guard, already attempting to hide behind one of his comrades. The bat pony, who War assumed to be ‘Wrecker’, broke away from the group to confront War directly. “Who the buck are you and what in the name of Celestia’s sun-kissed flank are you doing on my training ground?!” She bellowed at him. Despite being of above-average size for a pony, War still dwarfed her. He respected her in a way because of that. “Putting an end to this… Squabble.” He said, following his brother’s wishes and trying to be diplomatic. “What business is it of yours?” She asked in a more level, yet still enraged, tone. “Your Princesses have commissioned us to assist in the training of your soldiers.” War said, before glancing up. “And it appears one is on her way now.” The bat pony officer looked up as well, only to see the Princess of the Night swooping towards them. The officer dropped into a bow as she landed, as did the rest of the guards, the Celestial Guards with a hint of reluctance. “Your Highness.” Greeted ‘Wrecker’. “At ease Lieutenant.” Luna said, biting back her anger for the moment. “What happened here?” “According to Bright Wing.” She gestured to the white pegasus who had accompanied her and the unicorn officer. “A fight broke out between the Celestial and Night Guard, and said, in his words, we ‘needed to stop it before somepony got killed’.” “He was afraid that there would be a murder?” Asked Luna, clearly surprised. The bat pony nodded. “I’m as concerned as you are, your Majesty.” “War, what did this one tell you?” Luna asked the Horseman, gesturing to the still-quivering stallion. “He claimed that the Celestial Guard began insulting you Princess, calling you by the name ‘Nightmare Moon’.” He said, looking back at Luna who sighed. “Is she to forever be a stain on my soul?” She muttered quietly, before raising her head again. “Lieutenant Beacon, I leave their punishment in your hooves.” The unicorn officer nodded, before wading into the knot of ponies bellowing orders. “Lieutenant Shard, follow Us.” She said, turning away and walking towards the building, before pausing and looking back. “War, would be so kind as to accompany us?” She asked, careful to phrase it as a request rather than an order. The Horseman nodded, following alongside the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant Shard, meet War. War, Lieutenant Moon Shard of the Night Guard.” “Nice to meet you, ‘War’.” Said Moon Shard, looking at War and smirking. “Likewise.” Said War, examining the mare next to him. Like all bat ponies, she had a dark grey coat, bat-like wings and tufts of fur on her ears. Beyond that, she was larger than the average pony, about the same height as his brother Death. The mark on her flank, which War had already guessed to be some sort of representation of something about the pony, was of a flanged mace shattering a shield. He flicked his eyes back to Shard’s, who had raised an eyebrow. “Checking me out big boy?” She asked teasingly. “Lieutenant, check your tongue around your Princesses.” Luna admonished her. “Apologies your Highness.” Shard said, bowing her head. Luna nodded, turning her attention to the building ahead of them. “Your brothers and sister are already inside.” Luna said to War. “They’re waiting for you so they can begin discussion with the officers of the Guard.” “Then we should not keep them waiting.” Said War, part of him dreading this. Even the forces of Heaven and Hell had bureaucrats, and he felt he’d more than filled his fair share of dealing with them in his days as a pawn of the Charred Council. ‘Once more into the rusted gears of bureaucracy.’ He thought, stepping into the building. A/N: Hey guys. Sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed, but I wanted to get it out by the end of the week, and today was the last day I'd be able to work on it until Sunday, so here it is. I may come back to it once my timetable is less full if it is truly awful Also, whilst the Horsemen have lost vast amounts of their power, they have gained the use of THE ROYAL CAPS-LOCK in return, so except high-volume hilarity in that regard IntroductionsAll heads turned to the trio as they entered the large chamber. War examined the room quickly as he entered. The chamber appeared to be a war room of sorts, with maps and charts pinned to the walls, and with a large, ovular table in the centre, covered in what War could only assume to be tallies of equipment and force rosters. War then turned his attention to the individuals assembled around the table. His brothers and sister were isolated on one side of the table, the other ponies giving them a wide berth. War frowned slightly at this, taking his place next to his brother Strife. To his surprise, and of several other ponies around the table, Lieutenant Moon Shard sat next to him. Luna raised an eyebrow at Moon Shard, before taking her own seat between an officer of the Celestial Guard and an officer of the Night Guard. “Well, now that we’re all here, perhaps the Lieutenant would care to explain her tardiness?” A white unicorn with a Major’s rank insignia. “A fight broke out between a platoon of Celestial and Night guard on the training ground, sir.” She replied. “Lieutenant Beacon is administering appropriate punishment.” “I will question Beacon about it later then.” Replied the Major. “For now, to business.” He said, looking to Princess Luna. “The floor is yours, your Highness.” He said with a salute. “Thank you Major.” Said Luna, looking around the assembled faces. “We think it would be best to introduce our new guests. Or, allow them to introduce themselves.” She said, smiling slightly at Death as she gestured for him to speak. Death cleared his throat as he stood, glancing at Lieutenant Shard as he did. “Thank you Princess.” He paused. “Where we are from, me and my kin are known as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He took a second to note the various reactions of the assembled ponies. The general reaction of the Celestial guard was to tense up defensively, whilst the Night guard looked almost eager. “We are the last of our species, the Nephilim. We were agents of a power known as the Charred Council, who was dedicated to maintaining the ‘Balance’.” “The Balance?” Asked one of the Night guard officers, this one a Captain. “In my world, there were two opposing powers, known as Heaven and Hell. They were constantly at odds with each other, as well as various other powers that constantly vied for power. Our mission, as it were, was to ensure that no one group became too powerful. Quite literally keeping the balance of power. The only way to ensure peace between the groups was to ensure that no one power could easily defeat another power.” “So you were peacekeepers?” Asked the Celestial Major, causing Strife to let out a bellow of laughter. Death glared at Strife before turning back to the Major. “No. We were some of the most powerful and brutal beings in our world. Our mission was to maintain the Balance, through any means necessary.” He replied, letting the implications of that sink in. “Then why are you here?” Asked the Night Captain. “There are no large wars at present, and Equestria is enjoying a time of peace.” “I do not know. The first we knew of being sent here was when we woke up in a crater. However, the very fact we are here means it is possible for beings from our world to pass through as well. And given the state that your military is in, any one of the powers I mentioned would make short work of ‘Equestria’.” “Are we to take it you are here to assist us then?” Asked the Major. “We are here to maintain the Balance. Evidently part of that is assisting you.” Death said carefully. The Major nodded, before the Night Captain spoke up again. “You have introduced the group, perhaps now we may be introduced to the individuals?” He asked, treading more carefully around the Horseman. “Of course, where are my manners? My name is Death, eldest of the Horsemen and, for all intents and purposes, the leader.” He turned to Strife. “This is my brother Strife. He is an excellent marksman, if short-tempered.” Strife snorted at Death, glaring at him from behind his mask. “The only female in our group is our Sister, Fury.” The named mare grinned unsettlingly. “And is in many ways the ‘joker’ of our group. And finally, we have War, the youngest sibling and physically the strongest of our group.” War simply nodded, rolling his shoulders. The Captain nodded again. “You said you come from a different world. Do you mind elaborating?” He asked. “Yes, I do mind.” Was all Death said in return, causing the Captain to blanch again, as the Major turned to Princess Luna. “Your Majesty, what level clearance are we to assume the ‘Horsemen’ have?” He asked. Luna thought for a moment. “Assume complete security clearance. They have access to the details of the entirety of our military assets. However, they may not assume a command role outside of training, for now at least.” She looked at Death. “Is this acceptable?” “It is, your Highness.” He said respectfully, pleased that they were willing to be open with him. “Now that I have introduced my siblings, I must admit I am curious as to your identities.” He said, looking around the table. Princess Luna nodded, motioning for the Major to begin. “I am Major Bomb Burst of the Royal Artillery Corps.” The white unicorn said, smirking slightly, before turning to the officer to his right, an Earth pony in Celestial Guard armour. “Captain Quick Draw, First Celestial Rifles.” The stallion said, in an accent, War noted, that a human would identify as Russian. “Lieutenant Warden of the Equestrian Shield-bearers.” Reported the Earth pony mare next to Quick Draw, another Celestial Guard. “Captain Dead Eye, First Lunar Rifles.” The next stallion said, a bat pony that, curiously, lacked wings. “Stalker-Captain Shadow of the Lunar Prowlers.” A winged bat pony mare said. This one, rather than the extravagant, gilded armour that most of the Guards wore; this one was wearing what appeared to be leather, fitted with a few metal plates and studs. The entire set was in a subdued colour, better for stealth than the heavy metal armour her counterparts wore. “Lieutenant Shard of the Royal Siege Breakers.” Moon Shard said with a grin. “Sky-Captain Fire Bolt of the Celestial Rangers.” A pegasus stallion said next, Death noting the lighter armour that this pony wore. “Brigadier Stampede of the First Royal Infantry Brigade.” An earth pony stallion said. Unlike the others, whose armour was either decorated to show they were part of the Celestial or Night guard, the Brigadier’s was split between the two. ‘Presumably he commands Celestial and Night guard’ thought Death. “Major Aurora of the Lunar Unicorn Corps.” A lunar mare said, this one lacking wings, but instead had a horn. “Lieutenant Cannonade, Celestial Heavy Support Company.” A large earth pony stallion said, looking impassively at Death. “Colonel Praetor of the Lunar Chargers.” Said the final pony in the room, a lunar earth pony a few inches taller than Death, and heavily muscled. Death nodded, storing the names away for later reference. “Nice to meet you all. I assume it is no accident that there are equal numbers of Celestial and Night guard in the room, as well as an independent officer.” Said Death, gesturing to the Brigadier as he finished. Stampede shook his head. “I’m sure you noticed the incident on the training ground as you arrived?” Asked Stampede. Death shook his head. “Whilst it is less of a problem amongst the higher ranks, though still a present issue, there is a large amount of distrust between the Celestial and Lunar guard. We held this meeting with equal numbers of officers, as well as myself, an independent officer who outranks my comrades, to assure the lower ranks that no one force is being prioritised above the other.” Death nodded, seeing the Brigadier’s point. “Trust between comrades is essential.” Said Captain Quick Draw. “If you spend too much time worrying about allies, enemy will make short work of you.” He said in an unchanging tone. “I have seen it happen before. Not pleasant, especially afterwards. Allies blame each other for failings.” He sighed, looking a tad melancholy. Fire Bolt nodded in agreement. “I am highly reluctant to train ponies who are not mature enough to leave their tempers and bigotry behind when they enlist. Unfortunately, we have no choice in the matter, so we have to try and make them work together.” “Make them hate someone else more than they hate each other.” Said War, with an oddly thoughtful look on his face. “War?” Asked Luna, raising an eyebrow. “Do the Celestial and Lunar guard attempt to constantly out-do each other?” He asked. Several officers nodded. “They seek to show-up their rivals, making themselves better than those they hate, in their eyes.” He smirked slightly. “Give them an instructor they hate, and they will begin to attempt to best that instructor, and make them eat the insults they have given. The only way to do that will be to work together. Make them work towards a common, personal goal, and eventually they will see past their differences.” “Unusually astute, War.” Said Strife, genuinely surprised by how much sense his brother was making. War chuckled slightly. “I am the Horseman of War. War is my business, and as such so are the soldiers that fight it.” “Wow, War said something thoughtful. What next, is Strife going to smile?” Asked Fury sarcastically. War shot Fury a look. “I will happily become the instructor the troops hate, so you do not have to tarnish your reputations.” Said War, looking around the officers. “I care not for my reputation, so long as the troops can actually work effectively.” Said Captain Shadow, a few of the other officers nodding. “I’ve already got a bad reputation outside my unit anyway.” Said Moon Shard with a chuckle. “If it gets the troops behaving more like soldiers, I’ll happily help.” “Excellent. Now that that’s sorted, I would like to know more about the specific units in the Guard forces…” Author's Note Well, I finally managed to get this chapter done. This chapter is focused on introducing some of the commanders the Horsemen will be working with. In this fic, the Lunar guard include unicorns and earth ponies as well as bat ponies, though all have slit pupils, dark grey fur and tufts on their ears. A lot of questions regarding the roles of the regiments mentioned here will be answered in future chapters, though I will give a brief summary of their roles here. The Royal Artillery Corps is fairly self explanatory. They are Celestia's corps of siege engines, ranging from Cannons to Catapults. Their job is to harass and pin down the enemy forces from afar The First Celestial Rifles are the elite Musketeer company of the Celestial Guard. They generally wield muskets, though specialist units within the company do wield weapons such as blunderbusses, or more exotic and experimental weaponry. They are a ranged company first and foremost, but are armed with sabres and flintlock pistols for close-in work The Equestrian Shield Bearers are a unit of the Celestial Guard. They are, as the name suggests, shield-bearers. Their duty is to provide mobile cover for the ranged elements of the army, though they are trained in personal combat, such as formations similar to the Tortoise used by the Romans The First Lunar Rifles are the mirror of the First Celestial Rifles. However, the Lunar Rifles put a greater emphasis on experimental weapons, especially concerning weapons that can be used at great ranges The Lunar Prowlers are a covert infiltration force of the Lunar Guard. They run assassination and sabotage operations, and are one of the most professional and highly trained units in the Equestrian military. Their signature weapon is an enchanted stiletto dagger forged of a matte black metal The Royal Siege Breakers are another unit belonging to the Lunar Guard. They are siege warfare specialists, experts in demolition and tunneling. They are regarded as a commando unit, and as such are held to a higher standard than many other regiments The Celestial Rangers are comprised entirely of Pegasi, equipped with lighter armour and foreleg mounted crossbows, they harass the enemy from the skies. Some specialist units exist within the Regiment, and are armed with various weapons for air assaults The First Royal Infantry Brigade is formed of equal parts Celestial Guard and Lunar Guard. At Brigade level and up the organisation of the Equestrian military unifies the Celestial and Lunar guard. There are three Infantry Brigades in all, each numbering five thousand soldiers each. There are also other Brigades, but they shall be mentioned when and if the need arises The Lunar Unicorn Corps is comprised of unicorns, though they rarely fight as a single unit. Usually, platoons are divided between other Regiments and Companies, to facilitate magical attacks and defenses throughout the army The Celestial Heavy Support Company forms the middle ground between Artillery and the Rifles for the Celestial Guard. Equipped with saddle-mounted, smaller siege weapons, they sacrifice some mobility for added firepower. Their slowness makes them vulnerable, and as such they are often protected by the Shield Bearers or other front-line infantry regiments And finally, the Lunar Chargers are the heavy infantry of the Lunar Guard. They wear much heavier armour than most infantry, but have the strength and endurance to do battle in it. They also wield heavier weapons, such as poleaxes and war hammers. The Chargers are one of the oldest units in the Equestrian Military, having been formed a hundred years before Nightmare Moon's banishment That's if for now people. I probably won't be able to work on the next Chapter until February, so until then, goodbye Meeting the Forces - Pt. 1“Launch!” The bellowed command was responded with the groan of bending wood, as one of the Royal Artillery Corps’ catapults launched a boulder at a target four hundred feet away, demolishing the wooden bulls eye. “Impressive accuracy.” Said Strife, the first real compliment he’d made since arriving in Equestria, as he eyed the work of the catapult crew. “Thank you sir.” Said one of the crew. “Our trebuchets have a greater range and accuracy. However, they are complex to make, not as manoeuvrable, and are more complex to operate.” “Not to mention bloody lethal if you’re standing behind one.” Said another operator. “The way the mechanism works means you can’t have as dense batteries of artillery pieces.” “Which either means less pieces overall or less room for the troops to manoeuvre.” Finished Strife. The operator nodded. “Yes sir. It seems a curse of artillery pieces that the better the piece, the less you can field. Nothing beats a cannon in sheer power, but you can’t arrange them in batteries of more than one cannon deep.” The earth pony said, leading Strife to one of the cannons. The cannon was an iron monster, more than four metres long and a barrel that Strife was reasonably confident he could crawl inside. “This is the Mons Meg.” One of the unicorns declared proudly. “This beauty can fire twenty inch cannonballs at an airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.” “Do you mean an Equestrian or Zebrican swallow?” Asked the earth pony, smirking. The unicorn frowned, gaining a deeply thoughtful expression, causing the earth pony to break down into hysterics. Strife simply rolled his eyes. “How many of these pieces do you have?” He asked the earth pony once he had prevented his sides from splitting. “Six, including this one. We have two posted to cover each of the three gates into Canterlot.” He said. “Loading is fairly lengthy, so we stagger the firing of the cannon, one firing when the other is half-way through re-loading to keep a steady rate of fire.” “And how long does it take to reload each cannon?” Asked Strife. “Depends on the crew. The best in the Corps could probably reload one in twenty seconds, though anyone capable of doing that is usually left to handle the larger guns.” “You have guns larger than this thing?” Asked Strife, with a touch of incredulity. The earth pony nodded, grinning. “Not many, mind you. The largest cannon we have are, for all intents and purposes, static emplacements. We have four, one for each gate, and one extra for the main gate to the south, watching over the valley on the approach to Canterlot.” Said the unicorn. “Abandoned your swallow conundrum?” Asked Strife. “No actually. The Mons Meg fires cannonballs at the airspeed velocity of an unladen Equestrian swallow, or of a Zebrican swallow carrying a coconut.” “Why would- Never mind.” Said Strife, feeling a migraine coming on. The unicorn simply smirked “What am I supposed to be looking for again?” Death asked, a little bored. “You’re about to see one of the most common siege tactics used by the Royal Siege Breakers. We tunnel under the enemy defences, and can then use explosives to either bring the walls down or to sow mayhem behind the walls, creating a tunnel for friendly forces in the process.” Said Moon Shard, chuckling. Death nodded wearily. “I assume that in reality the enemy would be too preoccupied by the on-going battle to worry about tunneling ponies?” He asked. “Actually, we do a lot of our work at night. Less risk of a stray cannonball or magical explosive causing a cave-in, and in the rare occasion we do bollock it up and come up too soon, there’s a much lower chance of us being spotted when it happens.” Death nodded again. “Makes sense I suppose.” He said, planning on going back to dozing when the ground around the pair suddenly erupted, dropping a rough circle of earth they were sitting on by a few feet, ten Lunar Guard appearing out of the dirt around them, weapons drawn and pointing menacingly at the pair. When Death got his heart working again, he chuckled. “Very impressive. But remember, some of your enemies will be capable of burrowing as well.” “That’s why the pony in front is always a unicorn who specialises in manipulating the earth.” Said Moon Shard. “The more powerful ones can compact the earth around the enemy into spears which they can then use to incapacitate or kill the enemy. Even our middle-powered earth shapers can form a sphere of rock around an enemy.” She continued, smiling. “In that case, we then attach an explosive to the rock, which the earth shaper then moves inside the sphere. It usually leads to a very satisfying pop.” She finished with a grin. Death blinked, mildly concerned. ‘Ok, add mild sadism to the list of reasons to avoid this mare.’ He thought, shaking his head. “I’m assuming tunneling isn’t your unit’s only specialty.” “Nope. We use some specialised siege engines, like petards, battering rams, that kind of thing.” Moon Shard replied. “The Siege Breakers handle the offensive part of a siege normally. The Celestial Siege Engineers are the ones that construct the other things needed to mount a siege. Barricades, trenches, those kinds of things. They also build siege towers.” She continued, grinning. “We only have three permanent towers, most are built as and when we need them. The permanent ones are made of steel and can mount a siege weapon each. Usually a cannon or a ballista.” Death nodded. “And how often are they actually used?” He asked, causing Moon Shard to break her train of thought. “Umm… Very rarely.” She admitted, grinning sheepishly. “But we train with them regularly, just in case.” She said, causing Death to nod again. “Good. It does not do to neglect your training, even in peace time.” He said approvingly. “Is there anything else you wished to show me?” “Yep. Come with me, and we’ll show you some of our explosives.” Said Moon Shard, rushing off. Author's Note Hello fellow ponies! Before I say anything else, I apologise profusely for the shortness of this Chapter and the time it took to produce it. Between exams, school and writers block I have been unable to write much lately, and I also apologise for another filler chapter. I hope to get the plot up and running properly in a couple of chapters time, but in the mean time, please bear with me In other news, it amused me to no end that the closest word to 'Zebrican' that my brower's spell check could find was 'Americanize', and that it didn't recognise 'Ballista'. Perhaps it is due an upgrade... And, excitingly, inspiration for another story has smacked me straight in the face. I shall reveal nothing about this new story idea, save for the fact I will not be posting any until the entire story is finished (perhaps a single taster chapter with which to tease you), and that it shall be based on the lyrics to Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' That's all for tonight! PrologueThe End War is finished. Balance has been returned. But what of its propagators? There is no place for them here anymore, now they are no longer required to keep the balance. Yes, but what do we do with them? Condemn them to the same fate as their kin? No, they should not be punished for doing their duty. Then what? They are no longer controlled. What can we do with such a force? Send them elsewhere. Somewhere else, to watch the balance. It cannot be denied they went beyond their call to maintain the balance, but can they be trusted to continue to do so? And where would we send them? There is a world, with grim portents of the future. Many races within this world face a fate similar to that of the Third Kingdom. And you want to prevent this? Will not sending them to this world put the inhabitants at greater risk? The inhabitants are already at risk. Sending them would not create a gate to this world, as they already exist. They do? This is disturbing news. It is. This is why I recommend sending them to this world. To prevent the defilement of another world. To maintain the balance there. Then it is agreed. Here they are no longer required. We send them where they can be of assistance. Agreed. What is this world we shall be sending them to? Equestria.
New Arrivals“Come on, it should be just over this hill!” Shouted an excited purple unicorn, pulling a decent impression of Pinkie Pie as she bounced around joyfully. “Twilight, you’ve said that about the last five hills.” Said Rainbow Dash, hovering just behind Twilight. “I know, but it’s really close.” She said, beaming up at the rainbow-maned mare. “Yea, yea. Remind me what we’re looking for again?” Asked Rainbow, as the other four caught them up. “Last night, whilst doing a bit of stargazing, I saw four streaks of light fall to the ground near Ponyville. I think they were meteors.” “And you’re sure they landed near here?” “Positive. Over this hill is the last possible place they could have landed.” Twilight replied, visibly trying to restrain herself. “Sugarcube, are ya sure it was here?” Asked Applejack in her rustic accent, looking sceptically at Twilight from below the rim of her hat. Twilight nodded energetically, before bouncing up the hill, Pinkie matching her bounce for bounce. Fluttershy followed more timidly. “Oh, I do hope no animals were hit by them.” She said, nervous as always. “Darling, I’m sure if there were any nearby they had the sense to run before they landed.” Rarity said, trying to salve her friend’s worries. Fluttershy smiled shyly at Rarity. “I hope so.” She said quietly, as Twilight peered over the hill. “Oh my…” She muttered, her eyes going wide. “What is it?” Asked Rainbow, peering over the ridge as well. “Well buck me…” She muttered in shock, as the others crept up to look as well. At the bottom of the hill, in the middle of a large crater, four very strange ponies stood. Three of them were stallions, one was a mare. The mare was the smallest of the four ponies, though they all looked big. The largest of them had a white tail, with black fur. The pony wore heavy-looking armour, with a massively armoured left foreleg. A disconcertingly large blade was secured on the stallion’s back, the massive weapon apparently as long as him. The stallion also wore a red robe, the hood covering their head, so only the tip of their muzzle was visible, making it impossible to tell if the pony was an earth pony or a unicorn. The black stallion was talking heatedly with one of the others. This one, a pegasus, had a black mane and tail, and brown fur. The stallion was smaller than the hooded pony, and had lighter-looking, yet still formidable, armour. The armour was fairly thick, though opposed to the larger stallions it looked like it followed the contours of his body, other than his wings and tail, rather than just being a series of plates, save for the gauntlets on the front hooves, which were larger, and appeared to have a series of tubes built into each. The stallion also wore a mask of similar design to his armour, though with thinner metal. The third stallion, a unicorn, sat near the arguing pair, apparently deep in thought. He had a similar build to the pegasus stallion, though seemed more lightly built. His mane and tail were black, and his fur was an off-white shade. His armour was more traditional than the pegasus’, though it was fairly limited, extending only to a pair of gauntlets, a skeletal mask that covered his mouth, paldrons and metal plates along his back and sides. This stallion had a pair of short-handled scythes attached to his sides. The final pony, a mare, stood slightly away from the group, looking around at the world. The smallest of the group, she was also the most lightly built, and another pegasus. Her armour was of a similar design to the pegasus stallion’s, but it was thinner, barely thicker than sheet metal, and was black in colour. It also covered less of her body. She possessed a purple tail and mane, and what was visible of her fur was white. A long handle was secured to her side, and though it was difficult to make out from this distance, something seemed off about her front hooves. “An… Interesting bunch to be sure.” Said Rarity, swallowing. “I suppose you could say that…” Mumbled Fluttershy, trying not to be rude about the four ponies. “They look like a bunch of nut-jobs.” Muttered Rainbow. “Seriously, who wears that kind of stuff?” “We should go introduce ourselves.” Said Twilight. “Are you serious? That big one looks like he could snap you in half.” Dash protested quietly. “The only way we’re going to find out anything more about them is if we meet them. Plus, those two look like they’re about to come to blows.” Pointed out Twilight, before standing up and starting down the hill before anypony could stop her. “Twilight, wait.” Said Applejack, getting up to chase after her. “Oh don’t pretend that you know what’s going on, brother.” Snarled the masked pegasus. “You’re just as lost as the rest of us.” “I’m sure they had a good reason for sending us here.” The larger stallion replied, growling as he tried to keep a civil tongue. ‘You are trying my patience brother.’ He added mentally. “Or they just dumped us on a random world once our job was done. Face it, without the need to maintain balance, they have no need of us, but no one was brave enough to come kill us.” “So why send us to this place rather than a dead world? There are plenty of them.” “On a dead world we could still make trouble. For example, the world of the Ravaiim. How many dangerous artefacts do you think were left there?” “If you two would stop bickering for a moment.” Interjected the mare. “You’d have noticed we have company.” The two stallions looked at the mare, who gestured towards the six ponies coming down the hill. The smaller stallion tensed up and began raising one of his gauntlets, but the, until-now, static unicorn quickly stood and forced the limb down with his own hoof. “They may be the only chance we have of learning what this place is. We play nice.” He admonished the pegasus, before turning to the advancing party. “Well, they’ve defiantly seen us.” Said Twilight, her smile faltering slightly. “No turning back now.” “What do you think those two were arguing about?” Rainbow asked. “No idea, though the pegasus with the mask appears less than pleased.” “They all do.” Observed Fluttershy, trying to hide behind her pink mane. “Let’s hold off judgment until we talk to them. Remember what happened with Zecora?” Asked Twilight, smirking at her friends’ reactions, a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. “Alright Twi, we’ll give them a shot.” Said Applejack, smiling at Twilight. The unicorn nodded, and turned back to the four strange ponies, before walking forwards again. “Hello!” She greeted them, stopping a few yards away. Up close, it was obvious how big they were. The smallest of the four ponies was taller than Twilight; the two smaller stallions were as tall as Big Mac, whilst the biggest of them all was at least a head taller than Mac. “Hello.” The masked unicorn replied carefully. “Who are you?” Asked the massive stallion, in a deep baritone voice. “M-my name’s Twilight Sparkle.” She said, her tone faltering as the giant spoke. The mare looked incredulously at Twilight as she stated her name. “Nice to meet you.” Said the unicorn. “And the rest of you?” He asked, looking at the other ponies. “The pegasus trying to hide behind her mane is Fluttershy.” Said Twilight, glancing back at the named pony. “The white unicorn next to her is Rarity.” She smiled at Rarity waved nervously. “The pony with the hat is Applejack.” “Nice to meetcha’.” Said Applejack, tipping her hat politely. “Likewise.” Said the masked unicorn, eying Pinkie Pie as she bounced around the four new ponies. “That’s Pinkie Pie. Word of advice, don’t try to rationalise anything she does.” “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! You guys look soooo cool! Oh, that’s a really big sword!” She said, bouncing over to the largest pony, who didn’t even flinch. “And the pegasus who appears to be sizing you up is Rainbow Dash.” Twilight scowled at Dash, who appeared to be glaring at the assembled ponies, especially their weapons. “Dash, be polite.” “Hi.” She said flatly. “Now that you know who we are, do you mind me asking who you are?” “I am Death.” Said the masked unicorn. “These are my brothers and sister. War, Strife, and Fury.” He gestured at the largest pony first, before pointing at the pegasus stallion, and finally at the mare. “In our world, we were known as the last of the Nephilim, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” The natives in front of him froze, and even Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing. “Though I assure you, we mean you and your people no harm. Truth be told, we have no idea how we got here, only that we did not wish for it.” “Why are you here?” Asked Dash, a bit of fear entering her suspicious tone. “We do not know.” Said ‘War’, his voice causing the smaller ponies to shudder. “Pray that the reason does not become apparent, for your sakes.” He continued, his tone promising doom if the reasons did come clear. “In our world, we were responsible for maintaining the balance between the forces of good and evil. At least, until the End War.” “The End War?” Asked Twilight cautiously. “The Apocalypse. Judgement Day. Call it what you will. The point is, after the End War finished, there was no need for us. As you can imagine, no one felt comfortable with us staying, so we theorise that they sent us here so we couldn’t cause any further trouble.” “Whose they?” Asked Dash, crossing her forelegs. “The Charred Council. A number of powerful beings. Even the Creator himself. We do not know. All that matters is, we are here now. We might as well do our best to fit in.” Said Death, giving a pointed look to Strife. “Now how exactly are you plannin’ on doin’ that?” Applejack asked, somewhat incredulously. “We do not know.” Said Strife, glaring back at Death from behind his mask. “Ok, I have a few questions.” Said Dash. “By all means, ask them.” Death said expectantly. “Firstly, what’s up with your eyes?” Twilight took a second look at the ‘Horsemen’, blinking as she realised what Dash was talking about. All four of them had glowing eyes of different colours. War’s were white; Death’s were green, whilst Strife and Fury shared a yellow colour. “This is simply how our eyes are. We have no control over it.” “Ok, next question.” Dash flew slightly closer. “How do we know you won’t just attack us as soon as our backs are turned?” “Look around you pegasus.” Said Strife. “Do you see any witnesses? Anyone to stop us? If we wanted you dead, you’d be bleeding into the dirt by now.” Fluttershy shrank back more with a scared noise. Even Rainbow blanched slightly. “Ok, fine. Final question.” She looked at Fury. “What’s up with your hooves?” Everypony turned to look at Fury, who held up a foreleg. The native ponies expected to see a hoof, but were instead greeted with a set of curved claws. “Well, one of my weapons was a set of claws.” She said with a grin. “Plus it helps me grip this.” She grabbed the long handle from her side and lashed out in a safe direction with it, a tongue of flame leaping from the handle like a whip. “Can you imagine me having to do that with my mouth?” “No...” Squeaked Fluttershy, hiding behind Rarity. “I might have an idea as to how we could fit in.” Said War thoughtfully, apparently having not noticed the recent exchange. “An idea? That’d be a first.” Muttered Fury with a grin. War shot her a look before continuing. “Is there by any chance a force meant to protect the innocent in this realm?” “Well, there’s Celestia’s Royal Guard.” Said Twilight. “Celestia?” Asked Death, tilting his head. “Princess Celestia to be exact. She’s one of the two rulers of Equestria.” Twilight blinked and looked towards the sky. “It looks like she’s on her way as well.” The assembled ponies turned to look where Twilight was looking. They were met with the sight of several chariots descending from the sky towards them, accompanied by multiple pegasi, both from the Celestial and Night Guard, who moved to encircle the group. The chariots touched down nearby, two ornate ones, the personal chariots of Celestia and Luna, circled protectively by the more basic, yet still gilded, chariots of the Guard. The Guardponies who had encircled them all glared at the four new ponies with hostility, clearly willing to risk their lives if they turned out to be hostile. “Well, this is new.” Muttered Fury.
A Warm Reception - Pt. 1“Stand down.” Said Death, glancing at War who tensed up. “Attacking will get us nowhere.” “Provided they don’t attack us first.” He replied, returning the glares of the guardponies. “If they do, we should still be able to take them, unless they have something up their sleeves.” Said Fury, flexing her claws, the sharp digits sinking into the dirt. Death nodded, looking at Strife to see if he was going to try anything, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw his brother was going to follow his orders without question for once. “War, what can you tell me about these equines?” Death asked quietly, deferring to his brother’s more comprehensive knowledge of soldiers. “The ones in gold armour seem to be on a more defensive stance, whilst the ones in black look more eager to actively engage. Based on the disparity in their armour, I’d say they are separate forces, the gold ones forming a defensive force, with the black armoured ones being the main offensive force.” “So the ones in black are the bigger threat?” “As far as a direct attack goes, yes. However, the gold ones must be able to take punches and give them back again for them to be an effective defensive force.” Concluded War, glancing over the assembled ponies. He tensed up again as the wall of guards parted, two larger equines entering the circle. Death decided upon seeing them that they were the two rulers the purple unicorn had mentioned earlier. Death decided to incline his head slightly as the six smaller ponies bowed. “Rise.” Commanded the smallest of the pair, an equine with dark blue fur, black on her flank, which was adorned with a mark in the shape of a crescent moon, and featured a long horn and a large pair of wings. Her mane was blue and flowed in a non-existent wind, and was dotted with stars. The largest of the pair had white fur, with a mark in the shape of the sun. Her mane also billowed, and had streaks of pink, green and blue. Both the ponies wore armour; the smaller one’s black whilst the larger ones was gold. “My name is Princess Celestia.” The larger pony said, a stern expression on her face. “This is my sister, Princess Luna. We are the rulers of this land.” “An honour, your majesties.” Said Death, inclining his head, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “My name is Death. My two brothers are War and Strife, and my sister is Fury.” “So the Nephilim have come to Equestria…” Luna said, narrowing her eyes. “Pray tell, what is your purpose here?” She asked, stepping forward to stare Death right in the eyes. Death noted that, not counting the horn, this princess was as tall as him, whilst ‘Celestia’ was as tall as War. “We do not know. We were sent here against our will, with no explanation given.” Said War, looking between the various ponies he identified as the commanders of the soldiers. “I can assure you, we do not mean you, or your people, any harm.” Death said sincerely. “He does not lie sister.” Said Luna. “You are positive?” Asked Celestia, raising an eyebrow. “Lying is a deceitful act, and as such lies within the powers of the Night. We would be able to tell if he were.” Celestia nodded, and gestured to the guard, who relaxed slightly, lowering their weapons. “Do you remember how you arrived here?” Asked Celestia. “Unfortunately not. All I remember is waking up in a crater.” “Actually, I saw four lights fall from the sky last night.” Said Twilight Sparkle, smiling at Celestia. “Hmm. If the Nephilim were sent to Equestria, it is likely more beings will follow.” Said Luna. “It is paramount that we prepare for the eventuality of an attack.” “And what if that attack never comes?” Asked Death. “Even so, the preparations will help our military forces. Our elite troops are some of the best on the planet, but the same cannot be said for our more basic soldiers.” Luna grimaced. “A war cannot be fought with special forces alone.” War nodded in agreement. “We defend the Balance, no matter what form it takes. If something threatens the Balance, we neutralise that threat.” Said War. “That is the duty we are tasked with, and the burden we will bear. If training your forces helps maintain the Balance, then I will gladly assist.” “Look at that.” Fury muttered to Death. “War meets a powerful creature and doesn’t challenge it to a boxing match.” She said, grinning. Death chuckled at that. “Well, what say you, Horsemen?” Asked Luna, glancing at Fury. “What would the terms be?” Asked Death, wanting to know exactly what he would be getting into. “You would return to Canterlot with us.” Said Luna, shooting Strife a glare as he snorted at the name. “And beginning training our troops. Ideally, we would include you in the roster of one of the guard forces.” “We accept the terms, provided that you do not put our services to any use other than maintaining the Balance.” Said Death. “Equestria has no territorial ambitions. The only times we wage war are to defend ourselves, or to intervene to end a conflict elsewhere.” Said Celestia. “That explains the airships. I doubt many countries would be happy with a foreign army crossing through it.” Said Strife, looking up at one of the airships in question. “Some of our allies are perfectly happy with it, though some are less than pleased with just the airships.” Replied Celestia. “We must return to Canterlot so you may begin your duties.” Said Luna, turning away from the Nephilim and walking back towards her chariot. “Though I do not believe there will be enough room for you all on the chariots.” “Sister, War may make use of my chariot. I assume you two can fly?” She asked, looking at Fury and Strife. “We’re not the best, but we’ve not been here long.” Said Fury. “We should be able to keep up.” Celestia nodded. “I wish to stay for a while. I would like to talk with my student.” She said, smiling at Twilight, who grinned back. Luna simply nodded. “We shall see you back at Canterlot. It would be best if Death accompanied us on our chariot, whilst War takes Celestia’s.” She said, nodding to herself. The Horsemen nodded, boarding their respective carriages, whilst the others took to the skies. “To Canterlot!” Luna commanded with a stamp of her hoof, and the guard units took to the skies once more. A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I struggled to get this part out. I am also sorry for the length of time between updates, but due to school work, it is unavoidable. I hope I will be able to update more frequently, but don't hold your breath
A Warm Reception - Pt. 2“Welcome to the city of Canterlot!” Exclaimed Luna as the chariot swept around the side of the mountain. All four of the Nephilim had seen sights few mortals could believe, yet few compared to the regal mastery of Canterlot castle. Gold-roofed towers reached towards the sky, surmounted by intricate designs of woven gold, prominently displaying the skill of Equestria’s craftsponies. “We take it you are impressed?” Luna asked Death. “Faintly.” He replied sarcastically, though he had to admit the castle was a work of art, though he wondered how defensible it actually was. ‘I’ll have to ask War.’ He thought. Attempting to judge his brother’s thoughts was difficult at times, separated by a few dozen feet whilst being flown through the air was one such time. “We shall give you the tour at a later date. For now, we must introduce you to the troops.” “What exactly do you intend for us, Princess?” Asked Death. “As we have said before, you will be training our guards.” Replied Luna. Death assumed by ‘our’ she meant hers and her sister’s, rather than referring to herself alone. “Our Guard elites will assist you in training. You will find them more than adequate for the task.” “My siblings and I shall be the judge of that, Princess.” He said, looking at her. “Make no mistake your majesty. We are here to serve the Balance, not you or your sister. We shall assist you in training your troops because that will maintain the Balance. However, go back on your promise of peace, and you shall witness exactly what the Nephilim are capable of.” He warned her, glowing eyes fixed on her blue ones. “We understand, Horseman.” Luna replied warily. “Rest assured, violence towards any peaceful nation does not serve Our interests.” “Not like you’d be able to do much with them at the moment.” Said Strife, flying alongside them. “Not one of them has looked up. Might as well replace them with statues and have done with it.” He sneered, looking back down at the city as they approached the castle. “As We have said, Equestria’s military is in a somewhat dire state.” Luna said, eying Strife cautiously. “Which is why your assistance is greatly appreciated.” “You are welcome.” Said Strife, though his tone betrayed what he really thought about the situation. “But do not make the mistake of attempting to give us orders, for we are not your subjects.” “As your brother has made abundantly clear.” Luna replied. Strife nodded, and swept away from the chariot, most likely to resume his sulking. “Do you believe Equestria will be ready, if anything does befall us?” She asked solemnly, taking Death slightly off guard. “Your Highness, I have brought back a civilisation that was deemed to be completely destroyed, and though some of the wisest beings in the universe had been duped into believing he had committed an unthinkable act, I was able to redeem my brother from blame. If those tasks are possible, then I believe I can bring a few soldiers back up to scratch.” ‘Dear Creator, what have I let myself in for?’ Death found himself asking as they swept over the training grounds, only to see what one could be forgiven for mistaking for a bar brawl. Except instead of random drunkards, a platoon of Celestial Guards and a platoon of Night Guards had set upon each other, launching themselves at each other like animals. Death looked to Luna, who was unmistakably furious, then to War. “Where’s War gone?” He asked, looking around after seeing the empty chariot. Fury swept close to him, grinning and pointing down. Death looked where she was pointing, and sighed. “What is it?” Luna asked, looking to Death and then Fury, before following Death’s gaze. “… He jumped?” “Yes.” “Out of a moving chariot?!” “Yes.” “THAT’S HUNDREDS OF FEET IN THE AIR?!” Luna bellowed, slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice. “It’s kind of his thing.” Said Fury, rubbing her ear and wincing. “He likes to make an entrance.” She said, glancing down again. “Take us down.” Luna said to the bat ponies flying her chariot, turning her gaze downwards once more. The squabbling ponies below were oblivious to the massive stallion dropping from the sky, focussing only on braining anyone who they perceived to be their enemy. As such, he went completely unnoticed, even as he crashed down a scant few metres away. War shook himself, smirking slightly as he climbed out of the small crater he left, before glowering as he observed the chaos before him. “Lunar dogs!” “Sun-loving pansies!” “Mongrels!” “Lard-arses!” “Freaks!” “ENOUGH!” Bellowed War, his voice easily reaching Luna’s Canterlot Voice in volume, bowling over the ponies closest to him and silencing the entire mob of ponies. The entire group fixed their gaze on him, eyes wide as he strode towards them, stopping right in front of one of the Night Guard. “What is the meaning of this?” He asked, his voice growling slightly. “Th-they insulted Princess Luna.” Stammered the bat pony, his wings flapping nervously behind him as he quailed underneath the enormous stallion’s gaze. “They called her Nightmare Moon, and said she should have stayed on the moon.” Before War was able to ask who exactly ‘Nightmare Moon’ was, another voice echoed from the building looking over the training ground. “What the buck is going on here?!” An outraged mare’s voice shouted. War looked towards the source of the noise to see a pair of ponies, the first a bat pony mare, the second a unicorn stallion, approaching the group, a white pegasus following them. Judging by their armour, War guessed the unicorn and the bat pony to be officers, or at least of a higher rank than the shivering stallion in front of him. “Oh buck, it’s Wrecker.” Cursed one of the Celestial Guard, already attempting to hide behind one of his comrades. The bat pony, who War assumed to be ‘Wrecker’, broke away from the group to confront War directly. “Who the buck are you and what in the name of Celestia’s sun-kissed flank are you doing on my training ground?!” She bellowed at him. Despite being of above-average size for a pony, War still dwarfed her. He respected her in a way because of that. “Putting an end to this… Squabble.” He said, following his brother’s wishes and trying to be diplomatic. “What business is it of yours?” She asked in a more level, yet still enraged, tone. “Your Princesses have commissioned us to assist in the training of your soldiers.” War said, before glancing up. “And it appears one is on her way now.” The bat pony officer looked up as well, only to see the Princess of the Night swooping towards them. The officer dropped into a bow as she landed, as did the rest of the guards, the Celestial Guards with a hint of reluctance. “Your Highness.” Greeted ‘Wrecker’. “At ease Lieutenant.” Luna said, biting back her anger for the moment. “What happened here?” “According to Bright Wing.” She gestured to the white pegasus who had accompanied her and the unicorn officer. “A fight broke out between the Celestial and Night Guard, and said, in his words, we ‘needed to stop it before somepony got killed’.” “He was afraid that there would be a murder?” Asked Luna, clearly surprised. The bat pony nodded. “I’m as concerned as you are, your Majesty.” “War, what did this one tell you?” Luna asked the Horseman, gesturing to the still-quivering stallion. “He claimed that the Celestial Guard began insulting you Princess, calling you by the name ‘Nightmare Moon’.” He said, looking back at Luna who sighed. “Is she to forever be a stain on my soul?” She muttered quietly, before raising her head again. “Lieutenant Beacon, I leave their punishment in your hooves.” The unicorn officer nodded, before wading into the knot of ponies bellowing orders. “Lieutenant Shard, follow Us.” She said, turning away and walking towards the building, before pausing and looking back. “War, would be so kind as to accompany us?” She asked, careful to phrase it as a request rather than an order. The Horseman nodded, following alongside the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant Shard, meet War. War, Lieutenant Moon Shard of the Night Guard.” “Nice to meet you, ‘War’.” Said Moon Shard, looking at War and smirking. “Likewise.” Said War, examining the mare next to him. Like all bat ponies, she had a dark grey coat, bat-like wings and tufts of fur on her ears. Beyond that, she was larger than the average pony, about the same height as his brother Death. The mark on her flank, which War had already guessed to be some sort of representation of something about the pony, was of a flanged mace shattering a shield. He flicked his eyes back to Shard’s, who had raised an eyebrow. “Checking me out big boy?” She asked teasingly. “Lieutenant, check your tongue around your Princesses.” Luna admonished her. “Apologies your Highness.” Shard said, bowing her head. Luna nodded, turning her attention to the building ahead of them. “Your brothers and sister are already inside.” Luna said to War. “They’re waiting for you so they can begin discussion with the officers of the Guard.” “Then we should not keep them waiting.” Said War, part of him dreading this. Even the forces of Heaven and Hell had bureaucrats, and he felt he’d more than filled his fair share of dealing with them in his days as a pawn of the Charred Council. ‘Once more into the rusted gears of bureaucracy.’ He thought, stepping into the building. A/N: Hey guys. Sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed, but I wanted to get it out by the end of the week, and today was the last day I'd be able to work on it until Sunday, so here it is. I may come back to it once my timetable is less full if it is truly awful Also, whilst the Horsemen have lost vast amounts of their power, they have gained the use of THE ROYAL CAPS-LOCK in return, so except high-volume hilarity in that regard
IntroductionsAll heads turned to the trio as they entered the large chamber. War examined the room quickly as he entered. The chamber appeared to be a war room of sorts, with maps and charts pinned to the walls, and with a large, ovular table in the centre, covered in what War could only assume to be tallies of equipment and force rosters. War then turned his attention to the individuals assembled around the table. His brothers and sister were isolated on one side of the table, the other ponies giving them a wide berth. War frowned slightly at this, taking his place next to his brother Strife. To his surprise, and of several other ponies around the table, Lieutenant Moon Shard sat next to him. Luna raised an eyebrow at Moon Shard, before taking her own seat between an officer of the Celestial Guard and an officer of the Night Guard. “Well, now that we’re all here, perhaps the Lieutenant would care to explain her tardiness?” A white unicorn with a Major’s rank insignia. “A fight broke out between a platoon of Celestial and Night guard on the training ground, sir.” She replied. “Lieutenant Beacon is administering appropriate punishment.” “I will question Beacon about it later then.” Replied the Major. “For now, to business.” He said, looking to Princess Luna. “The floor is yours, your Highness.” He said with a salute. “Thank you Major.” Said Luna, looking around the assembled faces. “We think it would be best to introduce our new guests. Or, allow them to introduce themselves.” She said, smiling slightly at Death as she gestured for him to speak. Death cleared his throat as he stood, glancing at Lieutenant Shard as he did. “Thank you Princess.” He paused. “Where we are from, me and my kin are known as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He took a second to note the various reactions of the assembled ponies. The general reaction of the Celestial guard was to tense up defensively, whilst the Night guard looked almost eager. “We are the last of our species, the Nephilim. We were agents of a power known as the Charred Council, who was dedicated to maintaining the ‘Balance’.” “The Balance?” Asked one of the Night guard officers, this one a Captain. “In my world, there were two opposing powers, known as Heaven and Hell. They were constantly at odds with each other, as well as various other powers that constantly vied for power. Our mission, as it were, was to ensure that no one group became too powerful. Quite literally keeping the balance of power. The only way to ensure peace between the groups was to ensure that no one power could easily defeat another power.” “So you were peacekeepers?” Asked the Celestial Major, causing Strife to let out a bellow of laughter. Death glared at Strife before turning back to the Major. “No. We were some of the most powerful and brutal beings in our world. Our mission was to maintain the Balance, through any means necessary.” He replied, letting the implications of that sink in. “Then why are you here?” Asked the Night Captain. “There are no large wars at present, and Equestria is enjoying a time of peace.” “I do not know. The first we knew of being sent here was when we woke up in a crater. However, the very fact we are here means it is possible for beings from our world to pass through as well. And given the state that your military is in, any one of the powers I mentioned would make short work of ‘Equestria’.” “Are we to take it you are here to assist us then?” Asked the Major. “We are here to maintain the Balance. Evidently part of that is assisting you.” Death said carefully. The Major nodded, before the Night Captain spoke up again. “You have introduced the group, perhaps now we may be introduced to the individuals?” He asked, treading more carefully around the Horseman. “Of course, where are my manners? My name is Death, eldest of the Horsemen and, for all intents and purposes, the leader.” He turned to Strife. “This is my brother Strife. He is an excellent marksman, if short-tempered.” Strife snorted at Death, glaring at him from behind his mask. “The only female in our group is our Sister, Fury.” The named mare grinned unsettlingly. “And is in many ways the ‘joker’ of our group. And finally, we have War, the youngest sibling and physically the strongest of our group.” War simply nodded, rolling his shoulders. The Captain nodded again. “You said you come from a different world. Do you mind elaborating?” He asked. “Yes, I do mind.” Was all Death said in return, causing the Captain to blanch again, as the Major turned to Princess Luna. “Your Majesty, what level clearance are we to assume the ‘Horsemen’ have?” He asked. Luna thought for a moment. “Assume complete security clearance. They have access to the details of the entirety of our military assets. However, they may not assume a command role outside of training, for now at least.” She looked at Death. “Is this acceptable?” “It is, your Highness.” He said respectfully, pleased that they were willing to be open with him. “Now that I have introduced my siblings, I must admit I am curious as to your identities.” He said, looking around the table. Princess Luna nodded, motioning for the Major to begin. “I am Major Bomb Burst of the Royal Artillery Corps.” The white unicorn said, smirking slightly, before turning to the officer to his right, an Earth pony in Celestial Guard armour. “Captain Quick Draw, First Celestial Rifles.” The stallion said, in an accent, War noted, that a human would identify as Russian. “Lieutenant Warden of the Equestrian Shield-bearers.” Reported the Earth pony mare next to Quick Draw, another Celestial Guard. “Captain Dead Eye, First Lunar Rifles.” The next stallion said, a bat pony that, curiously, lacked wings. “Stalker-Captain Shadow of the Lunar Prowlers.” A winged bat pony mare said. This one, rather than the extravagant, gilded armour that most of the Guards wore; this one was wearing what appeared to be leather, fitted with a few metal plates and studs. The entire set was in a subdued colour, better for stealth than the heavy metal armour her counterparts wore. “Lieutenant Shard of the Royal Siege Breakers.” Moon Shard said with a grin. “Sky-Captain Fire Bolt of the Celestial Rangers.” A pegasus stallion said next, Death noting the lighter armour that this pony wore. “Brigadier Stampede of the First Royal Infantry Brigade.” An earth pony stallion said. Unlike the others, whose armour was either decorated to show they were part of the Celestial or Night guard, the Brigadier’s was split between the two. ‘Presumably he commands Celestial and Night guard’ thought Death. “Major Aurora of the Lunar Unicorn Corps.” A lunar mare said, this one lacking wings, but instead had a horn. “Lieutenant Cannonade, Celestial Heavy Support Company.” A large earth pony stallion said, looking impassively at Death. “Colonel Praetor of the Lunar Chargers.” Said the final pony in the room, a lunar earth pony a few inches taller than Death, and heavily muscled. Death nodded, storing the names away for later reference. “Nice to meet you all. I assume it is no accident that there are equal numbers of Celestial and Night guard in the room, as well as an independent officer.” Said Death, gesturing to the Brigadier as he finished. Stampede shook his head. “I’m sure you noticed the incident on the training ground as you arrived?” Asked Stampede. Death shook his head. “Whilst it is less of a problem amongst the higher ranks, though still a present issue, there is a large amount of distrust between the Celestial and Lunar guard. We held this meeting with equal numbers of officers, as well as myself, an independent officer who outranks my comrades, to assure the lower ranks that no one force is being prioritised above the other.” Death nodded, seeing the Brigadier’s point. “Trust between comrades is essential.” Said Captain Quick Draw. “If you spend too much time worrying about allies, enemy will make short work of you.” He said in an unchanging tone. “I have seen it happen before. Not pleasant, especially afterwards. Allies blame each other for failings.” He sighed, looking a tad melancholy. Fire Bolt nodded in agreement. “I am highly reluctant to train ponies who are not mature enough to leave their tempers and bigotry behind when they enlist. Unfortunately, we have no choice in the matter, so we have to try and make them work together.” “Make them hate someone else more than they hate each other.” Said War, with an oddly thoughtful look on his face. “War?” Asked Luna, raising an eyebrow. “Do the Celestial and Lunar guard attempt to constantly out-do each other?” He asked. Several officers nodded. “They seek to show-up their rivals, making themselves better than those they hate, in their eyes.” He smirked slightly. “Give them an instructor they hate, and they will begin to attempt to best that instructor, and make them eat the insults they have given. The only way to do that will be to work together. Make them work towards a common, personal goal, and eventually they will see past their differences.” “Unusually astute, War.” Said Strife, genuinely surprised by how much sense his brother was making. War chuckled slightly. “I am the Horseman of War. War is my business, and as such so are the soldiers that fight it.” “Wow, War said something thoughtful. What next, is Strife going to smile?” Asked Fury sarcastically. War shot Fury a look. “I will happily become the instructor the troops hate, so you do not have to tarnish your reputations.” Said War, looking around the officers. “I care not for my reputation, so long as the troops can actually work effectively.” Said Captain Shadow, a few of the other officers nodding. “I’ve already got a bad reputation outside my unit anyway.” Said Moon Shard with a chuckle. “If it gets the troops behaving more like soldiers, I’ll happily help.” “Excellent. Now that that’s sorted, I would like to know more about the specific units in the Guard forces…” Author's Note Well, I finally managed to get this chapter done. This chapter is focused on introducing some of the commanders the Horsemen will be working with. In this fic, the Lunar guard include unicorns and earth ponies as well as bat ponies, though all have slit pupils, dark grey fur and tufts on their ears. A lot of questions regarding the roles of the regiments mentioned here will be answered in future chapters, though I will give a brief summary of their roles here. The Royal Artillery Corps is fairly self explanatory. They are Celestia's corps of siege engines, ranging from Cannons to Catapults. Their job is to harass and pin down the enemy forces from afar The First Celestial Rifles are the elite Musketeer company of the Celestial Guard. They generally wield muskets, though specialist units within the company do wield weapons such as blunderbusses, or more exotic and experimental weaponry. They are a ranged company first and foremost, but are armed with sabres and flintlock pistols for close-in work The Equestrian Shield Bearers are a unit of the Celestial Guard. They are, as the name suggests, shield-bearers. Their duty is to provide mobile cover for the ranged elements of the army, though they are trained in personal combat, such as formations similar to the Tortoise used by the Romans The First Lunar Rifles are the mirror of the First Celestial Rifles. However, the Lunar Rifles put a greater emphasis on experimental weapons, especially concerning weapons that can be used at great ranges The Lunar Prowlers are a covert infiltration force of the Lunar Guard. They run assassination and sabotage operations, and are one of the most professional and highly trained units in the Equestrian military. Their signature weapon is an enchanted stiletto dagger forged of a matte black metal The Royal Siege Breakers are another unit belonging to the Lunar Guard. They are siege warfare specialists, experts in demolition and tunneling. They are regarded as a commando unit, and as such are held to a higher standard than many other regiments The Celestial Rangers are comprised entirely of Pegasi, equipped with lighter armour and foreleg mounted crossbows, they harass the enemy from the skies. Some specialist units exist within the Regiment, and are armed with various weapons for air assaults The First Royal Infantry Brigade is formed of equal parts Celestial Guard and Lunar Guard. At Brigade level and up the organisation of the Equestrian military unifies the Celestial and Lunar guard. There are three Infantry Brigades in all, each numbering five thousand soldiers each. There are also other Brigades, but they shall be mentioned when and if the need arises The Lunar Unicorn Corps is comprised of unicorns, though they rarely fight as a single unit. Usually, platoons are divided between other Regiments and Companies, to facilitate magical attacks and defenses throughout the army The Celestial Heavy Support Company forms the middle ground between Artillery and the Rifles for the Celestial Guard. Equipped with saddle-mounted, smaller siege weapons, they sacrifice some mobility for added firepower. Their slowness makes them vulnerable, and as such they are often protected by the Shield Bearers or other front-line infantry regiments And finally, the Lunar Chargers are the heavy infantry of the Lunar Guard. They wear much heavier armour than most infantry, but have the strength and endurance to do battle in it. They also wield heavier weapons, such as poleaxes and war hammers. The Chargers are one of the oldest units in the Equestrian Military, having been formed a hundred years before Nightmare Moon's banishment That's if for now people. I probably won't be able to work on the next Chapter until February, so until then, goodbye
Meeting the Forces - Pt. 1“Launch!” The bellowed command was responded with the groan of bending wood, as one of the Royal Artillery Corps’ catapults launched a boulder at a target four hundred feet away, demolishing the wooden bulls eye. “Impressive accuracy.” Said Strife, the first real compliment he’d made since arriving in Equestria, as he eyed the work of the catapult crew. “Thank you sir.” Said one of the crew. “Our trebuchets have a greater range and accuracy. However, they are complex to make, not as manoeuvrable, and are more complex to operate.” “Not to mention bloody lethal if you’re standing behind one.” Said another operator. “The way the mechanism works means you can’t have as dense batteries of artillery pieces.” “Which either means less pieces overall or less room for the troops to manoeuvre.” Finished Strife. The operator nodded. “Yes sir. It seems a curse of artillery pieces that the better the piece, the less you can field. Nothing beats a cannon in sheer power, but you can’t arrange them in batteries of more than one cannon deep.” The earth pony said, leading Strife to one of the cannons. The cannon was an iron monster, more than four metres long and a barrel that Strife was reasonably confident he could crawl inside. “This is the Mons Meg.” One of the unicorns declared proudly. “This beauty can fire twenty inch cannonballs at an airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.” “Do you mean an Equestrian or Zebrican swallow?” Asked the earth pony, smirking. The unicorn frowned, gaining a deeply thoughtful expression, causing the earth pony to break down into hysterics. Strife simply rolled his eyes. “How many of these pieces do you have?” He asked the earth pony once he had prevented his sides from splitting. “Six, including this one. We have two posted to cover each of the three gates into Canterlot.” He said. “Loading is fairly lengthy, so we stagger the firing of the cannon, one firing when the other is half-way through re-loading to keep a steady rate of fire.” “And how long does it take to reload each cannon?” Asked Strife. “Depends on the crew. The best in the Corps could probably reload one in twenty seconds, though anyone capable of doing that is usually left to handle the larger guns.” “You have guns larger than this thing?” Asked Strife, with a touch of incredulity. The earth pony nodded, grinning. “Not many, mind you. The largest cannon we have are, for all intents and purposes, static emplacements. We have four, one for each gate, and one extra for the main gate to the south, watching over the valley on the approach to Canterlot.” Said the unicorn. “Abandoned your swallow conundrum?” Asked Strife. “No actually. The Mons Meg fires cannonballs at the airspeed velocity of an unladen Equestrian swallow, or of a Zebrican swallow carrying a coconut.” “Why would- Never mind.” Said Strife, feeling a migraine coming on. The unicorn simply smirked “What am I supposed to be looking for again?” Death asked, a little bored. “You’re about to see one of the most common siege tactics used by the Royal Siege Breakers. We tunnel under the enemy defences, and can then use explosives to either bring the walls down or to sow mayhem behind the walls, creating a tunnel for friendly forces in the process.” Said Moon Shard, chuckling. Death nodded wearily. “I assume that in reality the enemy would be too preoccupied by the on-going battle to worry about tunneling ponies?” He asked. “Actually, we do a lot of our work at night. Less risk of a stray cannonball or magical explosive causing a cave-in, and in the rare occasion we do bollock it up and come up too soon, there’s a much lower chance of us being spotted when it happens.” Death nodded again. “Makes sense I suppose.” He said, planning on going back to dozing when the ground around the pair suddenly erupted, dropping a rough circle of earth they were sitting on by a few feet, ten Lunar Guard appearing out of the dirt around them, weapons drawn and pointing menacingly at the pair. When Death got his heart working again, he chuckled. “Very impressive. But remember, some of your enemies will be capable of burrowing as well.” “That’s why the pony in front is always a unicorn who specialises in manipulating the earth.” Said Moon Shard. “The more powerful ones can compact the earth around the enemy into spears which they can then use to incapacitate or kill the enemy. Even our middle-powered earth shapers can form a sphere of rock around an enemy.” She continued, smiling. “In that case, we then attach an explosive to the rock, which the earth shaper then moves inside the sphere. It usually leads to a very satisfying pop.” She finished with a grin. Death blinked, mildly concerned. ‘Ok, add mild sadism to the list of reasons to avoid this mare.’ He thought, shaking his head. “I’m assuming tunneling isn’t your unit’s only specialty.” “Nope. We use some specialised siege engines, like petards, battering rams, that kind of thing.” Moon Shard replied. “The Siege Breakers handle the offensive part of a siege normally. The Celestial Siege Engineers are the ones that construct the other things needed to mount a siege. Barricades, trenches, those kinds of things. They also build siege towers.” She continued, grinning. “We only have three permanent towers, most are built as and when we need them. The permanent ones are made of steel and can mount a siege weapon each. Usually a cannon or a ballista.” Death nodded. “And how often are they actually used?” He asked, causing Moon Shard to break her train of thought. “Umm… Very rarely.” She admitted, grinning sheepishly. “But we train with them regularly, just in case.” She said, causing Death to nod again. “Good. It does not do to neglect your training, even in peace time.” He said approvingly. “Is there anything else you wished to show me?” “Yep. Come with me, and we’ll show you some of our explosives.” Said Moon Shard, rushing off. Author's Note Hello fellow ponies! Before I say anything else, I apologise profusely for the shortness of this Chapter and the time it took to produce it. Between exams, school and writers block I have been unable to write much lately, and I also apologise for another filler chapter. I hope to get the plot up and running properly in a couple of chapters time, but in the mean time, please bear with me In other news, it amused me to no end that the closest word to 'Zebrican' that my brower's spell check could find was 'Americanize', and that it didn't recognise 'Ballista'. Perhaps it is due an upgrade... And, excitingly, inspiration for another story has smacked me straight in the face. I shall reveal nothing about this new story idea, save for the fact I will not be posting any until the entire story is finished (perhaps a single taster chapter with which to tease you), and that it shall be based on the lyrics to Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida' That's all for tonight!
PrologueThe End War is finished. Balance has been returned. But what of its propagators? There is no place for them here anymore, now they are no longer required to keep the balance. Yes, but what do we do with them? Condemn them to the same fate as their kin? No, they should not be punished for doing their duty. Then what? They are no longer controlled. What can we do with such a force? Send them elsewhere. Somewhere else, to watch the balance. It cannot be denied they went beyond their call to maintain the balance, but can they be trusted to continue to do so? And where would we send them? There is a world, with grim portents of the future. Many races within this world face a fate similar to that of the Third Kingdom. And you want to prevent this? Will not sending them to this world put the inhabitants at greater risk? The inhabitants are already at risk. Sending them would not create a gate to this world, as they already exist. They do? This is disturbing news. It is. This is why I recommend sending them to this world. To prevent the defilement of another world. To maintain the balance there. Then it is agreed. Here they are no longer required. We send them where they can be of assistance. Agreed. What is this world we shall be sending them to? Equestria.
