The Royal Elite

Prologue

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The Royal Elites.

.....

That was the name of the group of the most legendary fighting force that had set the standards well above what most of today's soldiers and fighters in this world could work very hard to achieve. But there's no man or woman, in all of the world, who could hold a candle or a tome to their many deeds. For that legendary contingent of soldiers was the start of what true hope had looked like for every armed man and woman that had been taken into any war or battle within their home country.

And the many foreign countries that surrounded Equestria had revered them to be almost god-like in their quest against the many massive enemies. This included, but was not limited to, the undead legions of both Ragnarok and Tartarus itself, that had invaded their homes and killed their friends, families and citizens. There were also many a dark mage that practiced necromancy, corrupted leaders that sided with said magic users, and even a whole army's worth of mindless, savage monsters that destroyed everything in their path.

And in Stalliongrad, Centuaria, Prance, Zebrica, the Mareterrainian Islands, the Dragon and Griffon Kingdoms, the Norse Countires, Yakyakistan, Trottsnia, the Leo-Gar Highlands, the Caneighdian Providences, and even the Bugbear Colonies had given off their own myths and legends about the same warriors that fought against all of the evil that plagued the world. But only so few of the many citizens and subjects of said locations had truly known about their existence. And there was also that same small number that had been recruited.

And even though the Royal Elites started their defenses in Equestria, none knew who they were...

.....

In the first Era of its existence, before Celestia and Luna's rule of Equestria, the group was founded by a mysterious royal group that had kept to themselves at first. And not even the rulers of the land from before were able to keep a tab on the group. And such secrecy was needed, given that neither the common rabble, nor the Alicorn High Council, were unable to fight against the massive undead legions, the Chaos Masters, or even their worst enemy: Themselves. Or rather, specifically, the very first legion of soldiers to defect from the Royal Elites to follow the Second Royal Elite in order to form... the Brutes.

The first Prime Royal Elite, who had started the true defense of Equestria's borders and allies within the time span of many millenniums, had the vision of saving the world from all things chaotic and unholy while keeping a low profile. But the Second Royal Elite was corrupted with the evil visions of having glory, riches & power above all else in their grasps. And the Brutes were known to be the best fighters, but had become corrupted with the same evil in their hearts.

The rule of all of Equestria was all that the Brute's could see in their eyes. In an effort to stop the bloodshed from continuing, the Prime Royal Elite had tried to persuade their former second in command to try to come back to fighting for what was right: the defense of Equestria against all of the enemies that wanted to either conquer or destroy the lands. The Second Royal Elite, now titled the first King Brute, was not easily persuaded, and thus the true war against the now Royal Elites vs. the Brutes.

The Royal Elites were once a large, independent group that had operated just well outside of the Royal Armed Forces, as a secret weapon to the defense of the Princesses, while keeping their dignity as armed members of Equestria's forces. But more often than that, they were a force that consisted of the strongest and finest men and women of all races that had fought tooth and nail for their countries.

And they where greatly feared by all of the enemies that had tried to conquer Equestria in the past and present times. And they were also greatly respected by the same rulers of the land, even though they had no clue as to who was within that organization, or why they had fought for the lives of the population of their lands in the way that they did. Not even in the current day of age that all of the people were now peacefully living in. Once there was hundreds of thousands. But now... there was only seven. And no one knew of their identities at all.

But nevertheless, they were still a gigantic threat to have been reckoned with, should any creature or man try to stop the world from turning as it always had with the Princesses' magic. And they were also the greatest allies that the Princesses had ever known. Even though they would never know who was in that unit.

The people within the Elites had been consistent of soldiers from within that great alliance of the many soldier's countries that had fought for the fate of the whole world of Equis.

.....

The only real way for a person to figure out if they were an Elite, or not, was to ask them a simple question: “Do you know what truly happened on 4th day of Aurora's Smile, on the 990th year of the 2nd Era?”

The answer, if a Royal Elite was among them, was this: “Nightmare Moon had become a sniveling, whining, spoiled toddler who wanted to have a toy, in comparison to the real war that had happened, outside of Equestria.”

If there was a Brute among them, the answer would be: "It was the day that our goals were in our sights, and yet were set back by an unfaithful group of heretics!"

It was fortunate that the Brutes were no longer in existence... but there was still no way to be absolutely sure. The betrayal was what truly made the Royal Elites a hardened group to be feared against. And with great reason.

.....

And the very reason for that desired secrecy was because of how that very same group was secretly fighting that same legion that wanted nothing more than to destroy the lands of Equis, with all of the inhabitants as fair game to them as they had marched across the world. And not even the Elements of Harmony, their idol heroes, would have been able to fight off the many that were trained and honed to conquer the land. But it was in High Trotter City, within Stalliongrad, that the second war of Equis had started.

The scent of burning gunpowder and metal, along with the immolated corpses decorating the streets of the once beautiful cities and villages all around the world, with a majority of them having been reduced to nearly mountains of rubble, had permeated the once sweet air while ominous black clouds of unnatural origins had blocked Celestia's sun and Luna's moon from the scopes of the many fighters. The blood, sweat and tears, along with other fleshly contributions to the art of war, had been sacrificed for their countries. And even the bodies of a few hundreds of the Royal Elites had fallen to the battlefield as they pushed forward to their goal.

.....

And Sterling Caliber, at the age of ten, and from the land of Equestria, was recruited by the Royal Elites for his raw power and talent as a Card-Summoner. But it was through his many sacrifices, as well as his fierce determination in the battlefields that had earned him the highest praises in his unit.

When he was first starting out as a person from Equestria, he had run away from his village in Equestria when his parents had died in front of him at the age of eight. But before he could even start out as a fighter for his country, the one who picked him up, who was also within the Royal Elites as their Commander, had been saved by Sterling's ability to summon a weapon to kill an undead Viking corpse that was reanimated to kill the leader within a few seconds.

And his abilities with his unique magic were significant enough to allow the Royal Elites to make him their Captain. But as the Second Great War of Equis had progressed, the same power level within him had been significantly tripled by a trio of spiritual passengers that had helped him become much stronger in his abilities in return for allowing them to dwell within his body for a while. The training was grueling, but it was all worth it in the end for him.

As Sterling had foolishly taken point to find a cave for his unit to go to for the rendezvous, a large mortar shell had been fired at him from a distant tank. The resulting explosion, after seeing the ammunition miss him by a few feet, toppled the rocks of the cave while a piece of that metal from the shell had penetrated his chest from the back left side as the rocks then collapsed on his entire upper body, save for his head. He had seen that his death was coming as his vision became darkened with the blood of his body pooling around his collapsed body.

It was then that a trio of royal looking spirits had offered him a choice: If they were allowed to live in his body, they would give him access to a power that had never been seen in ages. One that would help him and his small unit in the many battles ahead of them.

Given that he just had no choice, while feeling the cold kiss of death imminently creeping up on him as that piece of frag pierced his body with the rocks crumbling at his bones, he had allowed the deal to be made. And it was a wise decision on his part. For after that, the many great enemies of the war had come to fear both him and his unit. And all because of that large, solid piece of frag that almost killed him when it had pierced his body through and through from his left shoulder blade.

The same trio of passengers within him were none other than a royal family from the ages before him. Their names were the King Platinum Will, the Queen Palladium Lily, and the Prince Titanium Heart. And they were imprisoned from the view of the world for many a millennium without any outside contact. And when they told him about their desire to be among the people, along with learning that he could teach them the customs of the new modern world, they had come to the same conclusion as the mage did: This was to be the start of a very benevolent relationship.

When Sterling asked them who they were, as he took himself to try to relax while finishing up an assignment in a village in Trottsnia, a gigantic history lesson had been lectured to him. But not only that, a major reeducation on the world of old had been placed into his mind. The soldier did not like it at first, but eventually, he grew to want to hear their voices whenever his friends and teammates would fall to their ignorant ways of conducting a battle. They were like a new family to him. And he grew to love them all as such.

.....

And after more than ten years of fighting in the greatest war that Equestria was not allowed to know about until a later time, his unit's official purpose had died out from the final battle that costed him the lives of his friends and family. But the real war was still going to go on until the end. The battle for all of the neighboring countries and continents of Equestria was over. But the truly final battle would be fought on his homeland. And Sterling knew of such things. It was taught to him in all of the times of both his little skirmishes and major battles.

And Sterling fought through all of the major battles between the ages of 10 through 22. And now as that young adult in his early twenties, Sterling had looked back into his mind as it was being cleared of all that he stood against. The many tests of the war had made his heart harden, even though the fires of his desire for love and friendship were still there.

At five feet and ten inches tall, and weighing in at 177 pounds with a quite muscular body, as well as a few scars here and there all around his midriff and on his face, he had still considered himself to still be an ugly bum. His face, counting all of the scars aside, was actually a very handsome one in the eyes of both men and women. That, and he had a real silver color in his eyes. But he had always doubted that he was a good looking guy. So much so that it drew himself an infamous name that stuck with him from the moment that he was given that title: Silver Bullet. But he also earned that name to not only disguise himself. It was also from how fast and powerful his actions were against his enemies.

But what he didn't know, much to his obliviousness at the time, was that the women that were in his unit, fighting the many battles with him, had already thought of him to be quite a handsome, nice and charming guy once they got past his stern demeanor. Most of the women, either they were in his unit or was a civilian, would even consider dating him if they had the chance. He never once believed that he was given that kind of compliment in a sincere way at all. And he was always brushing off the gestures like the figurative dust and gunpowder on his clothing.

.....

It was on the very last day that the war was finally over for his teammates. Before he could take the transport from a small island just outside of Zebrica's coast to make it back to his home country, he had asked his former Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Fixer, if he could take a last look around a little sector of the island, just a bit outside of the HQ, for a last patrol. The request, though a bit hesitantly, was granted.

But as he looked over the oceans for the last time when he got there, he was able to see a sight that had been denied to him for a lot longer than he had been fighting. And all while he was ten, with no means of training beforehand. The same sun that Princess Celestia had raised and lowered every day was now rising as the afternoon was approaching. Sterling had then, by some internal desire, taken a nap right after closing his eyes for a moment. The same rays of her benevolent star had given him the warmth and peace that he had so desired. And even the moon, during his many nights, would shine over him.

And then... when his nap was done, he heard a gigantic explosion coming from the mountains. The same ominous cloud of smoke had permeated his nostrils with the same scent that he knew was an omen of death. He rushed over like a bullet to see the damage that had just arrived. The panic was rising in his heart, the sweat was caking the sand on his face and his blood pressure was hastily spiking. There was no doubt that the base was now destroyed. The same home that Sterling had taken refuge in all those years ago was struck hard and fast.

As he looked over to the now burning HQ, his fears were confirmed: He was now the last.... of the Royal Elites. And he... was alone. This was what he had feared more than losing a battle for his squad. And whoever it was that ordered the hit against his unit... was also looking for him, he had concluded. But the perpetrator would die in his hands, no matter what it took from him. This he swore to the Goddesses above in the heavens, so help him both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

And with a flight spell being used from a summoned card, he had traveled back to Equestria. And not just in the hopes of being able to find the one who had wiped out his entire unit to kill them. But to avenge his fallen friends in arms. But under the training with his CO, along with his passengers' wise teachings, he would not just go charging into the battlefield like a bloodthirsty beast.

He would have to plan out the big offensive for a long time on how to draw out the ones that wanted him dead. And when it was successful, he would expose them to all of the country to see them for the traitor that they truly are. Because if he was correct.... to which he hoped he wasn't.... then the very same person who had wanted him dead.... was also the one who caused the start of the war against the countries outside of his own. And he would not rest until his friends and family.... were finally avenged.

"No matter where you go, no matter who you are.... When I find you, you will not die by my hand! But! You will be given a far worse punishment than what you have done to me! So help me sweet loving Fausticorn of Equestria!" Sterling had yelled out to whoever his true enemy was as he continued to zip-line across the horizon.

And the Ultimate Punishment spell, one that was taught by his spiritual passengers, to which he used against one of his great enemies from before, had become the last resort that he would use if it was the only way to remove the last form of his many conflicts.

.....

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