The light of day came bursting forth unto Twilight, Shining and Rainbow Dash's eyes so terribly hard after being in the dark for so long. Unfortunately, their day was not a pleasant one, as they saw the castle courtyard had been absolutely overrun by Griffonstone forces. Pony guards were dropping like flies to the sheer power of the griffons. Without a doubt, it was an unsettling sight to see. With hearts heavy, the trio all took a deep breath and prepared themselves for whatever may come their way.

"This is NOT happening..." Rainbow watched in horror as her home started to fall "What in Equestria could drive the griffons to do something like this?"

"I personally don't wish to find out," Twilight admitted "We have to escape the castle as quickly as possible. There must be a safe route around here somewhere, right?"

"This is not good," Shining said after having a quick look around "Every entrance and exit is blocked off by Griffonstone forces. As much as I hate to say it, there's no safe route this time."

"So we go through them?" Rainbow wondered.

"If that's the way we have to do this, then so be it," Shining nodded "But we can't do this alone. It'll be just us three against what looks like all of Griffonstone. The odds are just ludicrously low for us when it comes to victory. Look around, you two; there must be at least two ponies wishing to get away from this all as well."

The trio looked as much as they could, but alas to no avail. It wasn't long before the area around them began to crumble after having been attacked so much. All three of them moved out of the way and just narrowly escaped. In fact, Twilight never would have gotten out uninjured if not for the aid of a new pony which she had never laid her eyes upon.

(Music Stop)

"Are you okay, milady?" he asked.

Twilight brushed herself off and finally had a good look at the new company. His coat was orange and his mane and tail were a bright blue color. Both were cut rather short for military purposes, yet he was able to retain some of his own personal style with the spikes in his mane. He too wore the front torso armor all knights were given with the blue vest underneath, only his had blue spirals going around certain parts. On his side were a pair of magnificent wings, as well as an axe as his weapon of choice.

"Yes, thank you," Twilight nodded "May I ask for the name of the one who saved me?"

"Hey, aren't you all those pupils of Celestia's?" the stallion questioned "Whoa! Drop the whole 'milady' crud, this is awesome! I can't believe I'm actually in the presence of-"

"Still your tongue for a moment!" Twilight raised her voice a bit, half-jokingly of course.

"R-Right, sorry..." the stallion apologized sheepishly "So I guess you're trying to get out of here as well?"

"Yes, you're correct," Shining Armor stepped up "But I think my sister asked you a question, did she not?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry," the stallion sheepishly blushed a bit before extending his hoof in greetings "Hello there! My name is Flash Sentry of the axe knights! I kinda got separated from my troop, but I think that doesn't really matter right now..."

"Well, you got that part right!" Rainbow exclaimed "We have to find a way outta this castle, and fast!"

"The only problem is the placing of all these guards," Twilight brought up for Flash's sake "We've looked and there doesn't appear to be any way safe for us to exit out of. We have to press forward and hope that we're not TOO caught up in the crossfire."

"Y'know, I think you guys may be in luck," Flash smirked a bit "When I was coming over here, I think I found an exit that looked pretty narrow, but abandoned enough for me to slip through. I left it when I saw you guys were in trouble, but I think if we make a mad dash there, we'll be able to get out safely."

"A fine plan!" Shining smiled, nodding at Flash's suggestion "Right, you heard the man! That exit may very well be our last chance out of here. Lead the way, Flash."

"W-Wait, for real?"

"Yes, I did call your name, did I not?"

"Ah, yes, sorry," Flash apologized "I guess I'm just used to taking orders rather than giving them, sir Shining Armor. R-Right then! Everypony, follow me to freedom!"

"Don't get egotistical though..." Shining muttered under his breath.

(Music Stop)

The four looked over to where they needed to go next. They noticed several griffon guards lazily avoiding the situation at hand. Unfortunately, they were far from being asleep, meaning the team would have to get through them first if they truly wanted to escape. Thankfully, they seemed like the same rank as the soldiers they fought previously.

"Hey, you guys? I got this," Flash proudly stated "I know you already know this, being Celestia's pupils and all that, but axes are thicker than lances, thus can block them and thus are stronger than them. I'll have no problem with these losers."

"But also be wary that axes are heavy," Shining reminded his new company "You won't be able to move as far as, say, a lance or a sword before needing a chance to break."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Flash rolled his eyes, as any rookie would. Shining merely sighed at this, knowing full well who he just recruited and what burden he had placed upon himself.

"Everypony, the best of luck to you all," Twilight nodded before jumping out and revealing herself to the griffon soldiers. The others soon did the same. Taking notice immediately, the griffons aimed their weapons at the oncoming ponies hoping to flee from the field of battle. It was clear that they had no intention of allowing them to do so.

Player Phase

Twilight immediately ran forward and hid herself by some fallen debris. She looked over and saw the soldier patiently awaiting her to emerge so he could strike. However, with him being just out of reach, Twilight was able to cast some fire magic onto him and deal a good amount of damage onto him.

"Yes! Score one for the home team!" she whispered to herself.

On the other side, Rainbow and Flash had teamed up in order to advance father and hit harder. As soon as Rainbow had flown right next to another one of the soldiers, she dropped her new friend off and allowed him to strike.

"Take this, dirty traitor!" he shouted as he jumped into the air and dealt critical damage to the solider. The soldier however managed to shake it off somehow and attempted to strike back at Flash, actually managing to get a hit on him as well.

"What exactly was that about axes being stronger than lances?" Rainbow chuckled a bit.

"Oh, shut it, you," Flash grumbled a bit.

"Relax, buddy, I got this one for you," Rainbow whipped out her javelin and flew right into the griffon, ending his life immediately.

"And that is how you do that!" Rainbow twirled around her weapon before sticking it into the ground as a sign of victory. Flash was quite confused by this, however.

"And you do that why?" he asked.

"Because it looks cool and I'm awesome," Rainbow simply said.

"...fair enough," Flash shrugged.

Shining Armor on the other hand had gone ahead by himself and engaged one of the closer soldiers. With his sword in his magical grasp, he ran up to the griffon and attacked him with all his might. His worst fears came true when the griffon dodged his attack and immediately struck him in the side, knocking him down.

"Fool! Do you think you can face the full might of the Griffonstone empire?!" the soldier exclaimed.

"Empire?" Shining questioned "I'm starting to question just how self-absorbed you guys really are..."

Enemy Phase

The griffon's response was a hard thrust of his spear downward upon Shining's body. Shining was fortunate enough to be able to get away with his life, but not before suffering a scar on his arm. He quickly got back up however and made short work of the griffon, sheathing his sword and grinning a bit.

"Some grand empire, huh?" he chuckled.

Meanwhile, Twilight was having her own problems with the soldier she fired her magic at previously. He had made it a goal to kill her, Twilight was certain of it. Of course, she was even more certain when he had pulled her out himself with his talon and grinned almost devilishly as he prepare to impale his foe.

"Not this time..." she managed to get out into the world, pulling out her short sword and stabbing him in his vital area, ending him for good and making him and her fall onto the ground. She stretched a bit as she sheathed her sword.

"No respect for mages, I swear..." she sighed and shook her head.

On the other side of the field, another soldier had approached Flash and Rainbow with a stern look upon his face. This soldier, however, had much thicker golden armor all over his body on with red stripes here and there. He flung around his spear before engaging the duo in combat.

"He looks pretty tough, but I've fought toughe-" Rainbow smirked before watching Flash get beaten down by the griffon's weapon "Really, Flash? Aren't you supposed to be stronger than those spears?"

"Y-Yes, but I'm kind of... well... a new guy..." Flash admitted.

"Are you joking?" Rainbow's jaw dropped only slightly "Look, fine, whatever. Just sit back and watch how the pros do this, alright?" she aimed her javelin at the armored soldier and flew right through him, dealing a pitiful amount of damage.

"Good going, pro," Flash rolled his eyes.

"Shut-up, SHUT-UP!!" Rainbow shouted at Flash.

"Let me try it this time..." he stepped up to the plate this time and jumped up into the air, swinging his axe down upon the armored griffon and dealing a much better input of power this time. The griffon still didn't go down, but it was very clear that the griffon had been inflicted with some heavy pains.

"Try that next time," Flash cockily said.

Player Phase

Rainbow wasted no time in striking down her armored foe, finally ending his life after all the trouble he managed to cause for her and Flash. Suddenly, for some weird reason, she began to feel a little stronger than usual. She wasn't sure where this power was coming from, but it felt as if her entire being had, in a sense, leveled up.

Rainbow Dash
1 >>> 2

"Hey, I'm not one to argue," she shrugged.

"What?" Flash questioned.

"Uh... nothing," Rainbow disregarded "Um, why don't you go and help Twilight out? I think I'll be able to handle a few griffons over in this neck of the woods."

"Sorry, no can do, Rainbow Dash," Flash shook his head "If Twilight needs help, Shining Armor is closer. You and I have to stay close less we want to have an even worse chance at defeating another one of those armored griffons, like that one over there!"

Without warning, Rainbow saw Flash gallop off towards the extremely durable knight. He cast down his axe and did a decent amount of damage to his armor, though was mostly unfazed. The knight swung his lance and got a blow on Flash, dealing unfortunately heavy damage to him. With his quick wit and perseverance, however, he was able to hover in the air for a small moment and recover his balance before dropping his axe onto the soldier's head, killing him immediately.

"Not a rookie now, am I?" Flash questioned with a slightly smug grin on his face.

Flash Sentry
1 >>> 2

"Did we actually just clear out all the soldiers?" Twilight asked no one in particular "Is it safe to move forward?"

"Hang on a moment, Twilight," Shining halted her, pointing over at a lowered white flag with a red cross surrounded by a blue heart right in the middle "Do you see that flag over there? That's a sign of good will towards our people in the military. If someone from our troop is able to raise it, it might attract some other ponies over here to help us in our escape."

"May I do the honors, then?" Twilight questioned.

"Please," Shining nodded and allowed his little sister to raise the flag. After a bit, the flag was fully raised and was now proudly flapping in the wind, hopefully calling the attention of others who may be trying to escape from the battle.

(Music Stop)

Victory

"Quickly, everypony," Shining Armor called out "let's get out of here before some of the Griffonstone forces find us. Surely anything beyond that exit is better than where we are now."

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Flash nodded and immediately began running out of the castle courtyard as fast as he could, with the other three following him in hot pursuit. As they left, they never noticed that two ponies had actually seen the flag and watched them flee from the battle.

"Well would ya look at that?" one of the ponies asked the other in a female country accent "A way outta this hell-hole o' a battle! Well ah'll be... Are ya ready ta go?"

"F-Finally... I'm not sure how much more of that bloodshed I could have taken..." the other pony shivered a bit "...y-yes, I'm ready. I don't wish to stay h-here any longer..."

"Do ya think thems ponies there will let us join 'em?" the first mare wondered.

"Oh, I hope so..." the second answered "B-But what if they're spies? Oh no... Then we would be in trouble... oh..."

"Ya worry too much," the first chuckled a bit "C'mon, let's go an' say hi."

The army of four finally made their way out into the great plains of Canterlot, which happened to take up most of the kingdom. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but grassland and lone trees for miles. A forest eventually halted the plain, but beyond even the forest was a high mountain with a grand city sitting on top of it. That was the city of Griffonstone, resting in the kingdom of Griffonstone on Mt. Griffonstone.

"...it recently occurred to me that griffons really have terrible names for their claims," Twilight pointed out "All of their locations are named after their kingdom, not to mention every griffon's name begins with the letter G. I just find it so... perplexing."

"Ahhh... Big words..." Flash clutched his head.

"Really, dude?" Rainbow rolled her eyes "You're part of the military; have at least SOME intelligence, okay?"

"Rainbow Dash, don't be rude," Shining called her out right away "Besides, we can't focus on arguing and insulting others. We have to find a place to rest before-"

(Music Stop)

"There they are!" a few griffon soldiers came out onto the group's left and right, now surrounding them. They all brought out their weapons and prepared for a battle. In retaliation, the four began pulling out their choice weapons as well, readying themselves for an onslaught of a battle.

However, before anyone could engage anyone, another soldier came out from the army. He was of course a griffon, but instead of the normal brown feathers, his head feathers were black and his lion torso was gray. His yellow beak was chipped only slightly, and a scar went over his eye, which had a brown eyepatch covering it. He wore menacing golden armor much spikier than normal Griffonian military, signalling he was someone of much more importance than any ordinary soldier.

"So, you're the four that have been swatting my men down like flies, hmm?" the griffon asked in an aged but extremely gruff-sounding voice, signalling he had known warfare for many years "I'd be impressed if I wasn't disappointed."

"And just who the hell are you?" Rainbow growled a little bit.

"Ah, forgive me," the griffon apologized and bowed "I am Gunter, commander of the Canterlot invasion campaign and one of the high griffons in the court of Griffonstone."

"See, there it is again," Twilight whispered to her brother.

"You four have done wonderfully thus far in defeating quite a few of our soldiers," Gunter grinned a bit "But most of all, I'm impressed you managed to make it this far and find a way out without engaging our battle, even though I told those damn fools to guard that exit with their lives..."

"So why not let us go then?" Shining questioned "You are well aware of what we can do, and we simply wish to get away from all this commotion."

"It's because I know what you can do that I will not allow you to leave," Gunter explained "Besides, if I let you leave, you and your little groupie would create some sort of rebellion against the griffons, I'm sure of it. That's why I want to end your life here and now..."

"Oh yeah?" Flash stood up against the griffon "Well, come and get us then!"

"Boy, do you have any inkling of what you're doing?" Gunter was oddly amused by this "I am a high commander, and you are just a lowly axe knight. What hope do you have to-"

"INCOMIN'!!!" shouted a loud voice through the narrow exit Twilight and her troop escaped through. Everyone, including the griffons, looked down through the path and saw two shadows emerging. Finally, a pony rode out of the exit with a lance on their side and another pony on their back. They were able to knock down a few guards, but unfortunately nothing more.

"What in god's-" Gunter began before finally laying eyes on the two ponies.

The first, the cavalier, was orange with a blonde mane and tail both tied into a pony tail and each held together with a red hairband. She wore much thicker silver armor along the front of her torso and front legs than the others, with blue tints here and there. She had rather adorable white freckles on her face, and donned on her head was a brown stetson. Her face was one of pure joy and excitement.

The second, the rider, was cream yellow with a long pink mane and tail neatly groomed and slightly curled. She wasn't wearing any sort of armor whatsoever, but she was wearing a white dress over her her entire torso with holes cut out as to allow her very pretty wings to move freely, as well as a drawn back veil over her head. On her back was a silver staff with a blue crystal at the top and a set of silver wings. Her face was one of utter horror and fear.

"A-Applejack, p-please..." the riding mare shivered in terror "D-Don't do that a-again..."

"Oh, quit bein' such a party pooper," the cavalier mare rolled her eyes before noticing the other ponies in her presence "Oh, howdy, y'all! Ah know who y'all are; yer those Celestia's pupil's right? But ah reckon ya dunno too much 'bout lil' old me. But believe me when ah say ah know enough about yer lil' axe-wieldin' friend there."

"Oh, heh... Hello, Applejack..." Flash sheepishly waved.

"You two... know each other?" Twilight questioned.

"Heh... Everypony, meet my ex-marefriend, Applejack," Flash awkwardly introduced her.

"Look, ah'd love ta introduce mahself ta y'all, but we need ta get outta here, and fast!" Applejack reminded the group "Thems griffons ain't gonna let us be nice ta each other ifin we stick around!"

"Of course," Shining snapped out of his trance "Let's get a move on, everypony!"

(Music Stop)

"Right!" all ponies present nodded and began running away from the Griffonstone army. The archers of the army began pulling back their strings, waiting for the perfect moment to strike at them, but Gunter stopped them immediately. This, of course, caused some commotion to arise in the crowd.

"Sir, if I may?" a soldier inquired "Why are we letting them go? Didn't you say that-"

"I know full-well what I said," Gunter spoke sternly "No point in chasing them. They're simply too small to even be considered a small threat against the glorious Griffonstone Empire. Besides, chasing after small prey would be deviating from our goal, and you know how I get when our goals are not met..."

"Y-Yes sir," the soldier gulped.

"You lot will all go back to besieging the castle," Gunter commanded "As for me, I think I believe I have a little date planned to meet with the king. Don't worry... I'll be sure to cut to the chase..."

After having been running for so long, the six noticed that night had actually begun to cast its cloak over the world, reminding them to finally stop for a while and find a place to rest for a while. Since they were on the edge of the forest they saw in the distance back at Canterlot castle, they decided this was the best place to set up camp for a while. With Twilight's fire magic, they were able to make a small campfire and find comfortable places to sit around it. It was then when everyone began to talk.

"So, hello there, everypony new here," Twilight smiled kindly "If you don't know this already, my name is Twilight Sparkle; student to Princess Celestia and mage well versed in the arts of Fire and Wind. These are my friends and brother, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, and Shining Armor respectively."

"Hey," Rainbow waved a bit.

"Greetings," Shining nodded.

"I already know who Applejack is..." Flash sighed a bit.

"And ah already know who ya are, Flash Sentry," Applejack sounded slightly cross with him "But enough about that. In case ya dunno already, mah name is Applejack. Ah'm not the best cavalier I'll fully admit, but hey, ah get the job done."

"Wonderful to meet you, Applejack," Twilight nodded before turning to the other mare. Just as she was about to speak, the cream mare hid her face and shivered a bit.

"Sorry 'bout her," Applejack sighed, rubbing her shy friend on the back "She has some difficulty talkin' ta ponies. Just a thin' she was born with, sorry ta say. Her name is Fluttershy, and ah'm sure ifin y'all dun scare her outta her wits, she'll be a great ally ta ya. She's a healer, see? She'll mend yer wounds whenever ya need it. So long as that staff o' hers dun breaks on us."

"Th-Thank you for introducing m-me, Applejack..." Fluttershy spoke shyly "I'm um... pleased to meet you all..."

"See, she's already warmin' up ta ya!" Applejack chuckled a bit.

"While I think this is wonderful that we are starting to become friends, there's still the matter of Griffonstone forces attacking Canterlot castle," Shining Armor brought up "What could have caused such an attack and why they attacked us now are just a few of the questions I don't have answers for. But I'm almost certain that after this, Griffonstone will attempt to attack other parts of our home. Perhaps even the Crystal Empire."

"But the Crystal Empire..." Flash brought up "It's such a peaceful nation, though. I would know..."

"Brother, surely you can forget this for at least a night?" Twilight rolled her eyes "If you can't get any sleep, how will we be able to retaliate against the griffons?"

"You mean?"

"Yes, so long as everypony here is okay with it," Twilight nodded "I think we should begin a resistance-like thing, like that griffon commander Gunter suggested we do."

"Ah'm up fer it!" Applejack grinned "But we'll need more troops..."

"I'm sure through our adventures, we'll find some totally cool guys and girls who are just itching to get back at those griffon bastards," Rainbow laughed "Whatever the odds, I'm in."

"Oh, well, um... those mean griffons did hurt all those... ponies..." Fluttershy recalled before sighing "...I-I'm... um... I'm in."

"You had me at resistance!" Flash stood up and smiled "Count that as six!"

(Music Stop)

"Shining, before we continue, there's something I would like to give you," Twilight remembered as she pulled out a long cape with white on the backside and blue on the underside. On the white side was an insignia of a six-pointed star, just like her cutie mark symbol and his cutie mark symbol.

"A cape?"

"A cape I made for your birthday," Twilight admitted "It was going to be in a few weeks, but I think you need it more than ever now. Think of this as a sign of our resistance, a sign of the friendships we'll make on our journey, but most importantly, a sign that you and I will be brother and sister forever."

"Twilight, I... I'm speechless!" Shining smiled and hugged Twilight "Thank you so much. Now, as for this cape..." he let go of Twilight and held it up in the air with his magic "Let this be a sign of peace and justice across the land! Whenever our foes see this, they will know we're coming. Together, we will rid this kingdom of our enemy and bring peace back to Equestria!"

As the five ponies clapped and cheered, Shining tied the cape around his neck with the string Twilight thankfully attached along with it. Today marked a new day for these six ponies; they would begin their campaign against the Griffonstone Empire, as they liked to call themselves now, and take back the things they lost.

But first they would obviously need some rest.

Author's Notes:

And here I am again with another chapter! WOOHOO!!!

So, we finally have a character resembling a villain person who may or may not reappear later in the story. Well, obviously he is because he's one of the main antagonists, but I won't tell you HOW he'll be appearing later on in the story. It'll be a doozy, that's for sure!

Oh man, Fire Emblem Fates approaches fast, and I am more than excited to start my shipping antics again! Suggestion: Buy the special edition. You a great deal for the price, and it's more than worth the online searching. It starts at $80.00, but considering all three games would equal to $120.00, I'd say that's well worth it.

Be sure to Upvote/Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow, and until then, dream on everyone!

AND ONE LAST THING!!!

If you want to try and ship characters for this story, you can make suggestions here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/568759/fire-emblem-ships-fan-poll-thing-kinda-not-really