[size=+1]Meanwhile…[/size] “Keep diggin’! We’re almost there!” The sound of all of the Diggers’ pickaxes nearly drowned out the words of Foreman Grizzald. The moment his messenger arrived with word from the daughter of Fulgur, he set all of his available Diggers to the Emerald Lode. “Those sweet Greenies will soon be ours! HAHA!” As the pickaxes continued their work, one of the diggers suddenly struck something (besides rock, I mean). *ting* Befuddled, the diamond dog examined his pick before giving the rock another whack. Another *ting* and this time, the pick mattock cracked. After the third swing, the pickaxe shattered. As his companions continued to work around him, he held up what remained of his pickaxe, which was little more than a thick rod. “Hey, Boss! I need another mattock!” “Me too!” Another shouted, holding up the remains of his shattered pickaxe. “Me three!” Another chimed in. before Grizzald could order his Mutt to retrieve more pickaxes, the entire company seemed to have ground to a halt, all of their pickaxes broken. “Now, what in blue blazes…?” Grizzald scratched his head. “What kind of cheap…” He grabbed his own pickaxe, Myolneer and swung mightily at the opposing, jet black rock. The rock cracked and chipped away slightly. “Ha ha! You see, Diggers? You weren’t hitting it hard enough!” He called for his Mutt. “Mutt! Get these boys some good pickaxes!” He turned back to the workers. “As for you, yer gonna work doubletime when he gets back to make up for lost time. Take five!” Before the first Digger could even sit, the earth around them rumbled. “Cave-in! Get back!” The diggers began to flee, but they were already too late. The mine wall collapsed around them all, crushing them beneath tons of rock and, ironically, emeralds. ----- A slight tremor could be felt within the walls of Stalliongrad Castle. Corona didn’t think too much about it, besides that she didn’t expect the Diamond Dogs to come this far within her borders. Maybe I should pay Foreman Grizzald a visi- “MAJESTY! YOUR MAJESTY! COME QUICKLY!” A panic-stricken guard suddenly burst into the main hall, where Corona’s original game was being played. Only she and Discord remained. “What is it, guard? What’s got you so-“ “OBSIDIAN DRAGON!” The guard practically screamed in her face, causing the latter to back away. “What?!” She followed the guard to the throne room and to a large balcony where she could see a large, jet black, dragon emerge from the ground. From her vantage point, she knew that she was also looking upon the town of Ponigoroda, a small hamlet near the Diamond Dog border. The dragon was rising from the ground, like a jet black mountain, destroying several houses in its wake. Corona watched in horror as the dragon turned its massive head and whipped it into several more residences, annihilating them. “Majesty! Do something!” Corona was completely terror-stricken, almost to the point that her guard had to shout for her to acknowledge him. She had never faced anything this massive before; the most horrifying thing she had ever had to do before her sire left was homework from the Spellcasting Academy. Shaking, the only sound she could manage was a weak, [size=-2]”Okay.”[/size] With that, she hesitantly flew toward Ponigoroda. Give unto them as they deserve… They deserve a Leader.
"okay men, how is our large gift coming along". Millennium said reviewing the largest ever board and figures for equestria risk now with more nations and races. "sir it's done after about five years it's finally done. Now all I need is to chisel the final details of the corona figure and then we can send it. Don't know how though". Said an exhausted craftsmen. "don't worry I'll teleport this and myself other to stalliongrads palace gardens we are right next door anyway". With that said his horn fizzes with energy and him and the board and figures teleported to the palace gardens of coronas palace.
"Did you see that flash, Evening Breeze?" Wise Star glanced up from his books out the window. When he heard a guard shrieking the words, "Obsidian Dragon," he gathered all of the literature he could on dragons to find some sort of weakness for this kind of beast. He hadn't found any thus far. Evening Breeze, meanwhile, was watching the tsarina fly off toward Ponigoroda. "Reinforcements? No...the tsarina didn't call for any... I shall see what it is." In a flash, the unicorn teleported to the royal garden. When she arrived, she heard her hooves click on something hard and wooden. She looked down at the stage beneath her. Still looking down, she scratched her head with a hoof. "Strange...I don't remember Her Majesty asking for any performances today..." Just then, she noticed a pedastal to her left. As her gaze slowly crept up the large, equine figure, she saw that she was in the presence of Pricness Celestia, herself! "Eek!" She shrieked and hopped back. "M-my sincerest apologies, Your Highness! We- We weren't expecting you! I'm so very sor-" She blinked once. Then twice. This wasn't Celestia. It was just a statue of Celestia. When did Her Majesty commission a statue of Princess Celestia...? Just then, she noticed that a large stallion alicorn was standing before her, seeming to look for someone. She immediately recognized the grey coat, gold mane, and the Cutie Mark as none other than... "Lord Millenium!" She quickly dropped to her knees and bowed her head. "I-I-I- Her Majesty wasn't expecting you so I'm afraid that we haven't prepared a proper welcome and Her Majesty has been so busy as of late with the Diamond Dog Foreman and now there's an Obsidian Dragon attacking Ponigoroda and Her Majesty has left to face the problem by herself and...please help her..." Breathing heavily, she slowly lifted her head, her eyes misty and beseeching. She pointed one shaking hoof in the direction of Ponigoroda. "Please?"
"I'll be right on it, let me just teleport in some armour, a shield and a sword. Oh and take care of this largest equestria risk board now with more nations it took 5 years to make and I don't want it broken on the first day". With that said he put on his armour grabbed the sword and shield and galloped off towards ponigoroda and after 25 minutes caught up to corona. "ah, I heard about the incident corona, need any help. I only came here to give you a gift tat took 5 years".
As soon as they returned to the hallways, Eclipse motioned for his men to return to the barracks. The apparent captain took off his helmet, throwing it to the side, before following after. Eclipse stared out to the horizon. If Celestia holds out on planning the Eclipse for too long I WILL be forced to take actions. Afterall, the Eclipses are all that stops the frozen kingdom from dieing and I will not allow that. She should know that by now. Or is she too busy enjoying herself to notice that? He spread his wings out before walking into a throne room, glaring his eyes around the ice walls and floor, allowing the darkness in his eyes to spread around the room as lights rayed everywhere.
After her awkward and rather embarrassing conversation with Heculius, Aries went back to her bed chamber. She sighed and thought to herself 'Why do I feel so useless? Surely there is something I can do...' Then she thought more about her fear of hurting other ponies, even if it had to be done to protect loved ones. 'What if I were to stufy some new magic? Maybe I can learn some protection spells that can help me find a loop hole to my little 'fear' of hurting other ponies. Surely the archives have some pretty hefty shield spells or something.' With that thought she left her chamber and headed toward the Canterlot Archives.
Corona had tried reasoning with the dragon, initially. The dragon, in reply, roared and tried to devour her. Realizing that she would have to come up with a different plan of attack, she flew around the dragon while planning on overall strategy. First, she would have to lure the dragon away from the village. Since it was mostly focused on her at this point, she considered that bit completed. Second, she would have to find some sort of weakness. She hovered in the vicinity of the dragon’s back, hoping that she’d be able to find an opening of some sort, but it was no good. The dragon appeared to be completely covered in jet black stone. While she considered her options, she spied Lord Millennium galloping toward her. After distracting the dragon, she landed nearby him. When he informed her of his intentions, she cast an aside glance at him, noting his sword and shield. “You seem awfully well-prepared for delivering a gift, M’Lord. In any case, I could surely use your assistance. I can’t seem to find any way to stop the creature, and I can’t transform into anything large enough to combat it on its own terms.”
"I only just teleported the armour in as soon as I heard about it, anyway my strategy guide it into diamond dog territory and teleport away as soon as possible". With that said he teleported from one place to another getting further away from the village and guiding it away the dragon was obviously attracted to him due to his armour. "Okay here's diamond dog territory now just Guide it to that mine other there and done". Millennium teleported away before any diamond dog could see him. "I've dealt with it dropped it of by a mine close to the Borders the sign said foreman is grizald. Now how bout a game of equestria risk on the worlds largest board. But first I might need some medical attention with all these burns".
Corona had no reason to not believe that the threat of the Obsidian Dragon had been dealt with; she hadn’t actually seen it defeated, but she didn’t think that Millennium would lie to her… Would he? At the mention of Risk: Equestria on the world’s largest board, she tittered slightly. “Now, that I’d like to see.” With that, she took to the sky and headed toward the palace. ----- Meanwhile… “…and you will all bow to me, Queen Evening Breeze! Mwahahaha!” Evening Breeze stood on her hind legs and threw her front hooves in the air while giggling manically. She stood at the center of the Risk board, while the figurines were arranged around her in a circle. “Even Lady Corona herself will be powerless to stop-“ She was suddenly interrupted by a deadpan voice coming from behind her. “What on Equestria are you doing?” Wise Star tapped his hoof while raising his eyebrow at the maiden unicorn. Breeze returned to all fours and scratched the back of her neck with one hoof. “Uh, heh. Just…nothing.” Star brought his face closer to Breeze’s. “If you have plans against Her Majesty…” Breeze gulped. “N-no sir!” “I want in,” the elder unicorn finished. “I…what?!” Breeze took an astonished step back. Wise Star snickered and winked, “I merely jest. Don’t get all bent out of shape.” He walked in between the figurines, scrutinizing them as he went. “You hadn’t come back after you went to investigate the flash in the royal garden. I was beginning to get worried, so I thought I’d investigate.” He tapped his hoof on the board, producing a hollow clopping sound. “A gift from Lord Millennium, I presume?” Breeze nodded. “It is. He claims it took him five years to make it.” She trotted up next to the Luna figurine. “It’s quite marvelous.” “Indeed.” Wise Star examined the intricate woodwork, admiring the detail put into it. “Tell me the truth, Evening Breeze: Do you believe that Lord Millennium has designs on Her Highness? Perhaps he wishes to court her.” Breeze blinked a few times and blushed. “Why…why would I know something like that?” Wise Star tilted his head at his companion. “You are Her Majesty’s handmaiden. Surely if Her Majesty has any opinions on the subject, you would know.” Breeze turned her hoof and glanced away. “Her Majesty has her suspicions. If he does, he hasn’t let her know.” Wise Star nodded solemnly. “I see…” He glanced downward, pensively. Breeze approached her elder. “Why? Why do you ask, I mean?” The Court Advisor said nothing for a few moments, then returned the handmaiden’s gaze. “I’ve noticed that since Tsar Fulgur’s departure that Lord Millennium has shown more interest in Her Majesty. It could be nothing…or it could be of vital importance… I know not.” As the two contemplated the meaning of Wise Star’s words, a pair of alicorns could be seen not too far from the royal garden. Evening Breeze spotted them first, and brought it to Wise Star’s attention. “Mm. So the dragon has been dealt with,” Wise Star concluded. “Very well. Let us leave the Her Majesty and His Lordship to their business, shall we?” He bowed to the two alicorns (who may or may not have spotted them) and took his leave. Evening Breeze did the same shortly thereafter. ----- Corona’s eyes widened at the sheer size of the board as they made their approach to the royal garden. “It’s…so HUGE! M’lord, you’ve really outdone yourself!” She gleefully clapped her front hooves. “We simply must play!”
Having taken down a large stack of books about protection magic, she dug into the countless pages of text. 'Protection magic (Green Magic): Created by the mysterious white mage's who were serious combat supporters. Green magic helped save many lives in early aged combat, however it was seldom used afterwords due to the amount of energy it required to use.' She looked through more books studying history, usage, methods, and spell examples. 'Massive aura: Weaker aura made for protecting large amounts of land (Warning: May experience migraines and fatigue). Strong Aura: Aura made to protect anything inside, smaller aura, works as a shield for 1-3 people at most. (Warning: This shield is not intended to be put over large masses of land, doing so could cause you to faint due to fatigue.)' "Seems like it could work, and if it's only a decent aura, at least it's better than nothing." She focused the magic to her horn then imagined a picture of another pony near her. She then imagined wrapping the pony in an imaginary blanket of light. She closed her eyes and pushed the magic out and then opened them and formed the light into a sphere around a piece of fragile china. Then she let the sphere hang there and stopped the flow of magic energy, then shot a magic bolt at it. The shield absorbed it successfully, but the impact cracked the china a bit. "A little scratch like that cant mean much, it was quite fragile, I call that a success.
"why yes we must, its good to take a break from duties. Anyway me and your father we were close sort of like a brotherly relationship" millenium said landing on a podium on the risk board overlooking it. "anyway, shall we begin, ill start by moving my haven gaurds onto my borders". His horn glowed and the figures were moved from his capital
“Ah, yes,” Corona nodded. “My father spoke highly of you when he…” She stopped suddenly and glanced downward. “You know… When he was here…” She swept her front hoof from side to side, then she coughed slightly. “He would be glad to know that you treat me so well. I sincerely believe that.” She glanced at the board beneath her hooves at the units before her. She knew that she should fortify her position before Millennium had a chance to attack. Sadly, opening strategies were not her strong suit; she usually left the early moves to her advisors. [size=-2]”TAKE HIM DOWN, YOUR HIGHNESS!”[/size] Corona glanced up toward the balcony, where she saw Evening Breeze leaning over the railing and waving her hooves. The unicorn seemed to be yelling with all of her might. [size=-2]”SHOW HIM THE MIGHT OF STALLIONGRAD!”[/size] Corona smiled and waived at her foalhood friend. “No need to worry!” she replied, utilizing the Royal Stalliongrad Voice. ”He will fall before my mighty stratagems!” [size=-2]”MOST EXCELLENT, YOUR MAJESTY!”[/size] Evening Breeze rested her front legs on the balcony ledge, and watched eagerly. Corona chuckled and returned her gaze to Millennium. “It seems we have an audience, M’lord.” She moved several of her units to the border of Stalliongrad. “Let’s give her a show, shall we?” she cooed.
"why of course, ive already set up strong border defenses, oh i should mention as im in charge of equestria and haven you can control the griffon empirevas your second nation. Your move corona". Milleniums tone was serious yet relaxed. He turned to the balcony to see more ponies turning up both from stalliongrad and haven and said to them "were going to need help moving the units come down and help us".
