Warning! The following contains scenes of violence, brutality, coarse language and mild gore which some readers may find highly unsettling. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

This chapter contains the first actual action scene since Chapter 1.

Time after time, as we march side by side

Through the valleys of evil, and the torturing souls

Night after night, for the glory we fight

In the kingdom of madness

And the tales from the old

Death by our hand, for the higher command

As the darkness surrounds us, with the cries as they fall

Far burning steel, and the tyrants will kneel

Hearts burning stronger, with the power of the sword

Twilight and Fluttershy made their way to Ponyville as the morning began to take over the sky. They both yawned widely from having been awake all night listening to Ascentia's stories. The glaring sun burning out their tired eyes, they walked on, the town visible on the horizon. They had never noticed just how far away Ponyville was from the Everfree Forest, but now that they had the added exhaustion as a constant reminder, the distance was very evident.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“What?” Twilight asked with a smile.

“Wh... What if there are Val'Kyr in Ponyville?” she asked.

“Then we'll hide from them,” Twilight replied.

“D-d-didn't Ascentia say that they could sense your power from a mile away?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight's hoof froze, along with the rest of her, “I forgot about that... but why would she suggest I go to Ponyville if they can sense me the moment I get within shouting distance?”

“Maybe there aren't any in Ponyville?” Fluttershy suggested, perking up.

“If she knew that, there wouldn't be any need for recon,” Twilight pointed out, with a flat stare.

Fluttershy shrank a little bit, “I-I'm sorry, I was just trying to help.”

“I didn't mean it that way, Fluttershy,” Twilight said quickly, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, “It's just... I don't know. This is the first time I've heard of Equestria being in a war in the last two thousand years. Even Nightmare Moon was banished by Celestia alone.”

“Is what you said true?” Fluttershy asked, “Did Ascentia really fight Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on her own... and win?”

“I didn't see it, actually,” Twilight replied, “They left us to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, and went to fight her. Then she burst through the armoury gate. It looked like she'd fought them, her armour was broken in places.”

Fluttershy didn't say anything in response, though Twilight thought she heard a terrified squeak come from the yellow pegasus.

Celestia flew overhead with Pumpkin on her back, the both of them scanning the terrain below for anything out of the ordinary. They were told that the creatures that the Val'Kyr used as foot soldiers left very powerful residue wherever they went, and that anyone with the slightest amount of extrasensory abilities could detect it. True to the word, Celestia and Pumpkin could determine the exact path the twisted monstrosities had taken. They had all gone towards Canterlot. Celestia had to admit that it was a sound plan. Take the capital and the rest would be easy from there.

However, they had been gone for several days, and the trail didn't lead anywhere but Canterlot. Cloaking them in powerful magic so they wouldn't be detected, Celestia could see Val'Kyr occupying several towns, but their creatures were nowhere to be seen.

“Are you doing okay, Pumpkin?” Celestia asked.

“Yea-WHOA” Pumpkin shouted as Celestia banked west and sped off, “Where are we going in such a hurry?”

“I must know if my sister is alright,” Celestia replied, knowing how reckless such a detour was.

Ascentia was mending several rips in her robes when she heard a sultry voice behind her.

“Ah, one of them on their own? Lovely...”

She turned around to see a strange creature glaring at her. It had the appearance of Celestia and her sibling, but... she looked almost necrotic. Her mane was straight and slimy, and there were numerous holes and indents in her legs. Her wings were also insect-like, and her horn crooked and jagged.

“I have no quarrel with you, stranger,” Ascentia replied, “Be on your way.”

“You speak as if you do not know who I am?”

“You would be correct,” Ascentia replied, “I've never seen you before, and I feel I have no desire to become more acquainted.”

“How dare you!” the stranger snarled, “Your kind come into my kingdom and slaughter my changelings, and you toy with me?”

“I am not with my kind,” Ascentia replied, “They act without me.”

“A pathetic lie, for a pathetic race,” the stranger snapped, “My vengeance will be most sweet!”

Ascentia flipped the blade of her sword behind her back to catch the blast of green magic, reflecting it into a nearby tree. She spun and her sword collided with the stranger's horn with the same clash of sparks from when she duelled the Princesses. She spun around and swung low at the stranger's knees, but it took off into the air.

Ascentia, having lost the ability to fly a long time ago, stood with her sword ready, her eyes following the stranger's every move.

“If you wish for a duel, you could at least have the civility to tell me your name!” she said.

“I am the Queen of the Changelings! The mighty Chrysalis!”

“From what you told me, General Xebre has made you Queen of nothing!”

Chrysalis growled and charged at her.

“Always so predictable,” Ascentia muttered as she sidestepped the charge and slashed at Chrysalis' hindquarters.

Chrysalis hissed before spinning around and charging again. This time, Ascentia leapt over her, flipping in the air to swipe her blade across her back. The two hits were superficial, causing pain but no lasting injury.

Ascentia landed on her feet, and spun to meet the third charge by parrying Chrysalis' horn with the bracer on her wrist, then deflecting another blast of energy with her blade. The two began an exchange of blows, sword to horn and vice versa. Chrysalis had the upper hand, her dark coat and hair allowing her to blend in with the darkness of the Everfree Forest.

It seemed they both realized this at the same time, as once Ascentia pushed the crazed changeling off of her, she disappeared into the thick trees. Ascentia whipped around, looking for her. Sadly, her ageing eyes could not penetrate the darkness. She lowered her sword, and knelt down.

Her eyes closed as she took a calming breath, and she waited... listening.

Silence, that was all she could hear, but noise was not what she was listening for. Instead, she was listening for something far louder. Rage, anger, fury, and hatred. The reckless nature that these emotions created, and the desperation for revenge.

Her sword arm raised and parried a lightning quick charge from the east. Almost as quickly as it came, it vanished. She waited again. Another charge came from the south, she parried it again. A small glint shot from the corner of her eye, and she deflected the magical blast with her sword.

“I can sense your movements, changeling,” she called out, “You cannot hide from me.”

She heard Chrysalis fly away, but kept her guard up as footsteps started to emerge from the darkness. She lowered her sword when the dark blue robes of her comrade, Deagoun, came into view.

“Deagoun?” Ascentia replied, “What are you doing here? This is a warzone, no place for a scribe.”

Deagoun smiled, “Ascentia, I worry about you sometimes. You are far too reckless to be fighting General Xebre on your own.”

Her eyes snapped wide, then into a glare, “I'm sorry, General who?”

“General Xebre, why is something wrong?”

Ascentia reacted quickly, slicing her blade deep into Deagoun's leg and severing a tendon in his ankle.

“You never referred to Xebre by his rank,” Ascentia replied, “You always thought the man a child who never deserved such an honour. A skillful attempt, changeling, I respect that.”

Chrysalis morphed back to her true form and took off into the distance, her hind leg bleeding profusely. She was shouting curses at Ascentia until she was no longer in earshot.

Looking down at several cuts in her skin, Ascentia sighed, “That thing is dangerous.”

Taking off at a blinding speed, Ascentia ran off toward the direction of Ponyville. Considering the circumstances, she had foolishly sent Twilight and Fluttershy to their deaths.

As Twilight and Fluttershy made their way into Ponyville, the graveyard stillness of the city started to take hold of them. Nobody was outside, and the entire city looked like a ghost town. After searching for a half an hour, they were about to retreat to the forest, when a whisper was heard from the east.

“Psst!”

Turning in the direction of the sound, they could see Pound Cake calling to them from Sugarcube Corner. Ducking low, the two mares crept to the sweet shop, and hid inside.

As soon as they were inside, the adolescent Pegasus rounded on them.

“What are you doing out there?” Pound snapped in a low whisper, “Those things could fly by at any second!”

“So they are here?” Twilight asked, “How many of them are there, Pound?”

“Whoa whoa, hang on a second,” Pound replied, shaking down Twilight's questions, “First of all, where's my sister?”

“She's doing a fly by with Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied, “They're searching for the trails of the creatures we saw a few days ago.”

“Good,” Pound sighed in relief, “Second, where have you been? Those things came in days ago, and we were all hoping you and the Princesses would come and kick them out!”

“Alright Pound, let me explain,” Twilight replied as she told him all about the Val'Kyr, the occupation, and about Ascentia. After an hour of explaining, Pound started to get anxious.

“Wait, you decided to trust one of them? Those things are monsters, Twi!” Pound snapped, “How do you know she won't kill you too? They tore Sweet Apple Acres apart in seconds!”

“I know they're dangerous,” Twilight replied, “But I also have this.”

She levitated a small book out of her saddlebags and laid it down in front of them. Pound wasn't capable of magic, but being Pumpkin's brother meant he saw it first hand on many occasions. The book was titled The Blades of Virtue and detailed the many weapons wielded by the Val'Kyr, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Another book, titled Secrets of the Light and Shadow gave detailed instructions on very powerful spells. Twilight hadn't had a chance to examine them in detail, but she knew this was her chance.

Leaving Fluttershy and Pound to peruse the spellbook for anything particularly useful, Twilight examined The Blades of Virtue, looking for the sword Ascentia wielded. She found it in the third chapter.

The Blade of the Serene Apprenti

Class 9 Sword

The Blade of the Serene Apprenti is gifted to a powerful Val'Kyr once they pass their trials in the Chambers. The sword is given to the apprentice by Lord Ryder himself, and only one Val'Kyr at a time is ever given permission to wield it. The sword is constructed from bronze plated saronite ore, and infused with holy energy. The blade is capable of deflecting almost every known brand of physical projectiles and magical attacks, and is sharp enough to slice through most finite materials.

In the year 146,640 AD Earthen Calander, the sword was presented to Ascentia Kortai after her defeat of the dark sorceress Linaria.

Construct Factor: 40

Twilight flipped through the book a little more until she came to an index with the weapon classes and construct factors, and carefully read through the charts.

Virtue Weapon Class Index

Class 1: Typical swords and staves made of finite materials commonly found on Earth and Mercury. Materials include iron, steel, bronze, and aluminium.

Class 2: More refined weapons, made up of several materials, or refined in certain manners to permit them to be more effective than Class 1 weapons. Examples include the Katana, the Scimitar, and the Ild.

Class 3: Weapons of powerful or immaterial strength. Such weapons often have their blades or striking faces comprised of titanium, diamond, or energy based technology. Such weapons can be used to block physical projectiles, though great skill and training is required to perform such a feat.

Class 4: Energy weapons devised in Earthen fiction and later techonology. These weapons are comprised of plasma or ionized striking surfaces. The most popular example in Earthen fiction was called the “lightsaber”. Humans attempted to manufacture such a weapon, but the electricity required to power such a weapon is impossible to create in a compact form.

Class 5: Weapons crafted from otherworldly materials such as Adamantium, Elementium, Ultimanium, or Titansteel. Swords in Class 5 are deadly sharp or strong, and can crush or slice through most forms of armor.

Class 6: Class 6 weapons are crafted from diluted saronite, and are used in the training of Val'Kyr.

Class 7: Class 7 weapons are crafted from diluted saronite and imbued with holy power to permit them certain properties. They are used when Val'Kyr enter their apprenticeship.

Class 8: Class 8 weapons are crafted from saronite, and imbued with holy energy. They are the typical weapons used by the Val'Kyr and come in many forms to suit many styles.

Class 9: Crafted from saronite and typical metals to imbue them with special properties, Class 9 weapons are used by elite Val'Kyr and must be presented by either Lord Ryder (deceased) or the Grand Lord herself.

Class 10: Grand Lord Megan's claymore is the only class 10 weapon in existence. Do not under any circumstances permit mortals to touch the blade.

Twilight continued to read through the book until Fluttershy and Pound Cake alerted her to something they found in their spellbook.

“Twilight, over here, we found something!”

Twilight shut the book and trotted over to them, looking over Fluttershy's shoulder to read the spell she had pointed out.

Rapture of the Father

When correctly cast, Rapture of the Father can cause instant death in mortals, regardless of any properties or abilities they may possess. In immortal or Divine beings, then spell can cause massive physical harm, but is unable to slay them. Under no circumstances should a Val'Kyr be permitted to cast Rapture of the Father. The resulting Shadow energy is enough to corrupt them.

Twilight got a big grin on her face.

“Twilight... I don't like it when you smile like that...” Fluttershy replied, shrinking down.

Twilight said nothing, but continued to peruse the book, looking for more spells and their instructions.

Ascentia appeared to have overshot her destination by several kilometres, as she found herself at the foot of Canterlot. She had noticed Princess Celestia and Pumpkin fly into the city, and felt she needed to investigate. Twilight and Fluttershy would have to wait.

As Princess Celestia lowered herself down into the palace courtyard, two Val'Kyr watched from overhead.

“Sir, should I order my apprentice to strike?” one of them asked.

“No... allow her to continue. I do not want her dead... I want her broken.”

Celestia slowly made her way into the throne room with Pumpkin on her back. The throne room was very dark, and she could not see a thing. The both of them ignited their horns to cast two beams of light to see where they were going.

The wished they hadn't.

Their lights fell upon a splatter of blood across the walls, leading to behind the throne. Celestia rushed forward, despite Pumpkin's very vocal protests, and dashed behind the throne, only to find what would make her heart stop.

Princess Luna lay behind the throne, a large gash sliced into her throat, and the words “Death Becomes Thee” written into the floor in her blood. Luna made a choking gasp as she looked up at her sister.

“S....Sister...” she choked, “Why... did you... leave me?”

“I wasn't given a choice,” Celestia replied, kneeling down beside her, “I was taken...”

“They... will kill us all... and that outlander... will allow them... She... did this... to me...”

“Ascentia is trying to help us... please hold on, my sister. We will get help.”

“Her actions... betray her words...” Luna gasped, “Trust me, she... will be the... death of us all.”

Luna's eyes fluttered for a moment, as she laid her head down.

“Fight for Equestria, sister... I love you...”

Luna's eyes slowly closed and she fell limp. Celestia could not believe what she was seeing. In all her life, she could never have imagined being forced to look upon her sister's lifeless body. This was no dream, and she could not wake up.

“General Xebre will pay for what he's done to your family,” Ascentia said from behind her, “I swear it.”

Celestia, having heard her approach, stood and glared at her, “All of you will pay for what you have done to my family.”

“I had no hand in this,” Ascentia replied, “Neither did my Lord.”

“If what Twilight tells me is true, then you came here with the same purpose your General does now,” Celestia snapped, “Your failure to complete your task is what draws your General here to slaughter my ponies. Help Twilight if you must, but you are a war criminal, and will die like your brethren.”

Celestia carried Pumpkin out of the throne room without another look at the stoic woman. Ascentia looked down at her hand, the one that was clawed and blackened.

“I know... possibly before you did, your Highness,” Ascentia replied, too quietly for Celestia to hear her. Next Chapter: Terminal Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 4 Minutes