"We're almost to Canterlot. Remember the plan." Silver had to shout to Rainbow Dash to be heard over the wind. "You and the Shadowbolts will attack the Solar Flare academy, knocking out communications and placing charges at key structural points. I don't have to tell you how important speed is to this mission. If they get out a call for help, we'll end up with Elites on our hooves, and we don't want that." Rainbow Dash grinned. "Speed? Remember who you're talking to! I'm the fastest Pegasus, like, ever! This will be a piece of cake!" "I hope so, but if there is any trouble, the Night Guards and I will be right overhead. Do not hesitate to call for backup. Remember..." He pointed to the Element of Loyalty around her neck. "...There's more at stake than just your life."
It was another day at the Solar Flare Academy, and the day was blessed with clear weather and perfect viability in all directions. The Flare's were either busy training or attending to last minute preparations of their upcoming invasion. The Flares were receiving orders to prepare for an upcoming attack after seeing Night Guards and Shadowbolt's sighted at Ponyville. Knowing that an eventual attack was bound to happen, the academy was reinforced at critical areas. Meanwhile... After receiving these reports, Celestia's inner circle decided to send out one of their best Flare's to help decided to help defend the academy. Dressed in Elite armor, he was currently the only one in Black Armour, the others protecting Celestia instead of defending the academy. The figure leaned up against a wall looking eastward toward's Ponyville, it would have been a matter of time.
As Silver Crescent and Rainbow Dash drew closer to the Academy, Silver could hear alarm bells ringing. "Blast and damnation! They were expecting us! Night Guards! Protect the Shadowbolts! They need time to place the charges!" While Dash led the teams into the Academy, Silver stayed out in the courtyard to deal with the majority of the Flares. As he held the Blades of Tartarus, he could hear the voices of the Ardak Luvanius screaming in his mind. The dark magic that had created the weapons had also locked their souls into a state of eternal pain and torment. It was easily one of the cruelest fates that could befall a pony. It was also what gave the Blades their power. "You should have run when you had the chance... Kill. Leech. Suffer. KRII LUN AUS!!!" Silver's shout staggered his enemies, and as they struggled to stand back up, they realized that they all suddenly felt much weaker, and that their armor seemed to be rotting away somehow. As they tried to understand what had just happened, Silver charged. Within moments, every Flare in the courtyard was dead. He eyed the Elite that was now approaching. "I wasn't impressed with your underlings. Think YOU can give me a challenge?"
The Elite walked towards Silver in his black armor. He appeared to be a middle aged Stallion,with a short silver mane and an impressive goatee to help add to his bright blue eyes and his Ebony coat. While he knew that Silver would have never faced an Elite before, he knew of the dragon magic that he processed. Upon hearing Silver's statement, he laughed. "A Lunar Pegasus. Quite a good way to die then, eh? I can provide you with much more then a challenge....." The Elite said as an enormous gold greatsword was pulled from his back as he got into a stance, holding the weapon with one hoof with ease to show his amazing strength. "Don't even bother with Dragon magic, it's useless against Elites. I promice to keep your friends busy." He said as hundreds upon hundreds of Pegasi flares suddenly appeared from behind the pillars and launched themselves at Rainbow Dash and her Shadowbolts, ignoring the Night Guards.
Silver spoke quietly, but he knew that his Night Guards were listening and heard him clearly. "Kill them all." The Shadowbolts were the fastest Pegasi in the Republic. It was easy for them to keep ahead of the Flares. As the Equestrians struggled to catch up to them, the Night Guards attacked. Ignoring the more dangerous foes turned out to be a fatal mistake, as the Flares quickly found themselves outmatched by Silver's hoof-picked team of warriors. Silver laughed at the Elite's claim. "Immune to Dragon Magic? I have my doubts. Still, it will be fun to beat you the old fashioned way. Tell you what..." He sheathed the Blades, and laughed. "While my Night Guards are busy slaughtering your Flares, you and I can have ourselves a little duel. To make it fair, I'll even fight you without my weapons and magic." His smile widened, and he made a taunting motion. "Well? What are you waiting for? Show me what an Elite can do!"
(I'll allow Auto-Hitting for this fight) "Very well then...." The Elite dropped his great-sword onto the ground and was ready to ad-bide to the rules of the duel. The moment that the Greatsword made a *Clank* sound, the Elite was already upon Silver after launching himself at seemingly impossible speeds. Even Ocean could not launch herself that fast. He performed an uppercut to Silver followed by a Cross and ending it with a pheora of blows that could have killed a normal pony through sheer strength alone. The Elite jumped over Silver's head while performing a stylish backflip and kicked Silver in the back of the head, sending him flying hundreds of meters across the streets of Canterlot before hitting a concrete structure. Following up with his attack, the Elite galloped at ridiculous speeds to make another move. (I like the fact that Celestia's own Centurion corps is now being used as fodder.)
Silver, completely uninjured, grabbed the charging Elite and flung him into the wall, smashing it into rubble. He laughed mockingly. "I said I wanted a fair fight! Why would you throw down your weapon?! With your sword... and maybe a few dozen friends... you may have stood a chance. Right now, though... I suggest you stay down." An explosion shook the ground, and Silver looked over to see the Academy collapsing, leveled by the Shadowbolts' demolition charges. He watched as Dash led her team quickly away, flying for home.
The Elite, appearing uninjured laughed to himself nearby Silver. "So it's true about what they say about you." the Elite said. ""Even if i survive, do you really think that she is going to let me live? Celestia is killing any deserters of the army, and she will treat my defeat as such. She's going mad...." He managed to say before entering a coughing fit.
"Even if you survive..." Silver laughed. "I have no intention of killing you! I'm having too much fun!" Easily dodging several blows from the Elite, he countered with a brutal, bone-snapping kick to the foreleg. "Besides... I need you alive and screaming for what I have planned."
The Elite felt his entire right foreleg snap in half, and tried to hold back the pain to the best of his ability, making him only wimper instead of screaming in agony. He fell to the ground and looked up at his superior counterpart and tried to think about what he was talking about. He spat out blood as his eyes stared directly at his. "What....are you planing?"
Silver chuckled viciously. "What am I planning? I'm planning on causing so much chaos to this city that your precious Phoenix Queen will have no choice but to come out and face me herself. Your Academy was just the tip of the iceberg. I will raze all of Canterlot if I must!" Screams and explosions could be heard throughout the city as the Night Guards went from building to building, planting explosives and slaying all who opposed them. "We offered her peace! She chose war instead! Let the death cries of her subjects be her reward!" He grinned, and applied pressure to the broken leg. "Now... scream for me!"
Just before the Elite screamed, a light arrow penetrated straight through Silver and came dangerously close to his heart before landing right next to a tree, it's sheer force snapping it in half. The Elite looked past Silver as he seen two Elites holding Light Bow's, and Celestia herself in full armor. She walked up slowly towards Silver's body, followed by her Elite's as their weapons changed to the form of primitive pistols. "You will do no such thing Silver to this city. You know you cannot kill me by your lonesome, yet your hope you have placed in your weaponry seems to do so." The Queen said, just as the Elites were shooting vital sections of his organs, furthering his pain. "There is a reason for my disagreement for peace, the Alicorns will always eventually turn on each other. Why did you think i ordered the almost complete extinction of my own kind? In the end, only one will rule and rule alone." Celestia had nothing at her side, but seemed very confident about herself if a fight were to arise. "Kill him, destroy his soul completely to ensure no future resurrections. Cheating death once is enough." Celestia said, walking away from the mess to allow the two Elites to finish Silver off. The other Elite disappeared entirely into an unknown location, despite his shattered leg.
"You always were a fool, Celestia." Bleeding heavily from the wound in his side, Silver got to his hooves and laughed. "The Blades of Tartarus..." He drew the Blades with lightning speed, slashing at the Elites. The instant the swords struck, the Elites simply ceased to exist, utterly annihilated by the power of the Blades. "...Powerful though they may be..." He walked slowly towards the Phoenix Queen, laughing. "...Were never truly part of my plan to defeat you." In one swift motion, he sheathed the swords and reached for the small round object worn around his neck. Before Celestia move to stop him, Silver had charged forward and placed the Ring of Mountains on her horn. Leaping back to avoid the imminent counter-attack, he whistled sharply, signaling to the Night Guards that it was time to leave the city. Still laughing, he addressed Celestia. "That will take away a sizable portion of your power... Don't bother trying to take it off. The magic in that ring is as old and as powerful as the Elements themselves. Not even you have the ability to remove it."
Celestia looked up at her horn, unimpressed. "You are going to use the rings of power to defeat me? What are you, 12?" The Queen then felt her magic being drained away. "What a shame, you do know that the creator of these rings did create a fail safe for them. I used to know the secrets....but it looks like that i've forgotten about them. And seeing how this acts like the Alicorn amulet, then you do have a temporary advantage over me. I'll be back, i would highly suggest that you should alert my sister about what is about to happen." Celestia said before staring to walk away. "One more thing, Fire....." Celestia said, giggling as she disappeared in a puff of red smoke and leaving her foe confused for a second. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (I'm going to assume that any ponies of power, including NM, are out of town attending to war issues.) It was another peaceful day in Crystal City, the capital of the New Lunar Republic and a metropolis of culture, learning and living. Millions of ponies went about living their lives, bothered that noting was going to harm them due to the frontlines being thousands of miles away at Equestria. Children were playing in the park, ponies enjoyed themselves at cafes and places of gathering and others loved living under the rule of Nightmare Moon in general, finding her as a much better counterpart then Celestia. However something seemed very wrong.... A loud defining noise echoed across the sky like thunder as the sky began to ripple with orange shockwaves. This confused the population of Crystal City for a moment, until they noticed these tiny orange like dots coming from the sky, getting bigger and bigger. By the time ponies see them in the air it's already too late. The moment it hit the ground, time seemed to stop as a flash of white occurred. The earthquake the weapon produced was stronger than any earthquake ever encountered in history, breaking the charts while producing winds up to 500 km. A tower of bright orange light could be see as far as Roam. 3rd degree burns occurred to any-pony on the surface within 88 km from the Crystal City, the sheer secondary air blast flattened buildings on the surface 33 km from Ground Zero, the first and closest air blast leveled almost every building on the surface with 13 km of ground zero, the fireball produced by the laser was six kilometers in diameter. Nothing survived at ground zero, now a crater almost a kilometer deep and three kilometers wide. The judgement of Celestia was now in full swing, and it would take a day for the weapon to recharge and to aim itself at another location. For the first time in Republic history, they were petrified at the madpony that Celestia was. Nopony but the brave would dare stand against here, nopony
Despite her bravado, Silver could tell that the ring had had frightened Celestia. He knew that she would try everything in her power to remove it, an he knew that she would fail. "One down, four to go. Then she'll finally be vulnerable." As Silver flew back to the camp, he thought about the last thing Celestia had said. What had she meant by "Fire?" His confusion turned to shock, and then rage, as he flew further north and saw the massive column of smoke in the distance. As fast as his wings would carry him, he rushed to what had once been the largest city in the Republic. Several hours later, he returned to camp and informed the army what had happened. He had chosen his troops well. Not a single pony at the camp wanted to run away. Instead, they all wanted to attack Canterlot immediately. Celestia had succeeded in destroying a city and frightening civilians, but she had also given the armies of the New Lunar Republic a new reason to fight. They were no longer fighting for freedom. They were out for blood.
Celestia went into the throne room as several Elites surrounded her. "I want all civilians of New Canterlot to be evacuated immediately, i don't care where just get them as far away as possible from New Canterlot as you could, otherwise there will be a slaughter happening. And get this ring of my horn! Bring me the instruction manual about the rings of power from the ancient section of the library, i don't want any more civilians to die today !." Celestia said, starting to get paranoid about the ring and her own well being . "If the Republic wants me, they need to find me first!" Celestia, along with the last of the Elites and Flares still under her control then evacuated to an undisclosed location, a bunker that only a select few of the individuals knew about. Despite being weakened, she could still kill ponies like Midnight, even if fully controlled by Plague and at his full power with a simple backhoof to the face. She still processed strength, speed and magic powers considered to be comparable to a god. She had managed to capture a Republic general as well, and was going to show that she meant business about the Republic. Her actions of destroying Crystal City had changed the entire outcome of the war. Disgusted by their queen and seeing her for what she actually is, almost all of the Solar Flares deserted Equestria and serves alongside the Republic. This also affected a large percentage of the army as well, leaving to fight for the Republic and for a better cause. Scientists, civilians, workers and so forth. All who had seen the monster of Celestia had left the Empire. Soon, after constant mistreatment, a revolution began in the Empire. Despite slaughtering millions in a single blow, Celestia failed to realize that her actions have doomed her chances of winning the war. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venquis stood up once he had finished his cooking. "Feel free to have some, it's a traditional recipe. It's a bit spicy, but that's about it." The Ryborian stood up and watched the drones that guarded the facility. "I have a feeling that their leader is that Ryborian we encountered before, Falahindra." He then closed his eyes and smelt the air. "I smell explosives, and not the normal kind. The chemicals used to make them are still in the air. So if we both capture this place, it's likely that they would trigger the explosives to trap us inside. Clever move." The Eriborian has his eyes locked on the Flares. He knew if they made a move, they would be slaughtered. This fact alone would have kept the Flares, the elite section of the Empire's army at bay. It turned out there was Rangers present as well, but not in as heavy numbers. Whatever the progress that has been made in Ardelan, it must have been groundbreaking. Maybe war changing.
"The building is lined with chemical explosives? If you want I could probably set them off from here." Tricorna almost smiled as she went to taste some of the food Venquis had prepared. "Something tells me that traitor has a bigger plan than just blowing it up if we capture it to trap us, though. Also, what is in that building. Do we even know? Since most of the guards are here, it's safe to assume there's probably something worth protecting in there... Didn't one of the papers he gave us say the way to make juggernauts had been made here? Think that's it?" She shook her head. She wasn't thinking completely right, and she knew why.
The Eriborian's horn lit up as a document seemingly appeared out of nowhere and began to read over it. "Yep, this entire facility is where they produce the Juggernauts. There could be something else in there, but nothing of value. The only real object of value is the chemical that makes these monsters, which must be destroyed." He said in a clear voice before setting it on fire to prevent loose ends. "We could blow up the entire facility, all it needs is a simple lightning spark. If you wish to destory the facility, feel free to do so. It would cause more damage to Equestria in the long run, since the short term option is retaking the facility in it's current state." Venquis pulled out Moonsaber and looked at the Flares, a wide smile across his face for avenging those lost during the Equestrian invasion of Ardelan.
Robin stood in the library. Holding the rings manual with his magic. He finished reading it as soon as an Elite walked in. "I guess Silver forgot to mention me and how I teleported over here. Anyhoo, It seems this book is set for a recall. For info deemed far to sensitive." He pulled out his bow and fired at the elite before jumping out the window and landing in a fountain. Causing the book and robin to be soaked".
With the first Ring of Downfall in place, Silver knew that it was only a matter of time before Celestia grew desperate enough to attack the camp directly. He needed to make sure the other four Rings were active before she did. With Robin busy in Canterlot, that meant that Ocean and the Ring of Air were the obvious choice for the next attack. He sent a Night Guard to find her and ask her to come to the command tent.
