Paved with Good Intentions

The sun peeked over the cloud layer, the first golden rays of the sun stretching out across the sky and weaving a beautiful tapestry in the early morning sky. But alas, it was a work that would go unappreciated; those who treaded the earth below could see naught but the fluffy ceiling of clouds that obscured the sky from view. And those who dwelled above were far too preoccupied with another matter to pay any attention.

- Star and Zen -

The sunlight streamed out from behind a makeshift shield of three-metre high clouds, leaving the darkened side in shadow as the rays flowed around the twenty=metre long structure. Fifty pegasi, all clad in the same plain sky-blue sets of leather armour that left the wings, neck, face and limbs unprotected, stood in neat formation a little way behind the cloud shield. Clustered in the shadows were fifty more thestrals in dark blue armour of the same design, checking swords, bows, and other assorted equipment. Standing in between the two distinct groups was a pegasus in full black plate armour, striding back and forth and eyeing both groups cautiously.

Eventually, he spoke in a whisper. "Alright, everypony. This is it. What we're about to do in two minutes might change the course of the entire war. But if any of you foul up, we might not come out of this alive, and neither will Pegasopolis." A low murmur stretched out among both the pegasi and thestrals. "However, I have faith in you. If I didn't - if the Thestral Council and Pegasus Council didn't - you wouldn't be here now. We can do this. We can beat those damned unicorns. So here's the plan, one more time." He pointed directly at the cloud shield. "Not far behind here lies the Unicornia Sky Camp. Military Intel says that they've got one or two balloons there, and a team of about fifty guards. We need to take them out before they can send the distress signal, then we get all the heavy equipment in place. King Cyclone's armoured division will come in to reinforce us, and then we strike proper and wipe out the Imperial execution squad down below."

The pegasus poked the cloud floor. "They've got another fifty soldiers down there, so we should be able to overwhelm them if we attack them separately. Remember, if we're too slow Supreme Commander Hurricane won't live to see another day. So be sharp, be quick, and be confident. We'll beat that blasted Unicornia yet. Are you with me?"

The response was appropriately subdued and quiet. "Yes, Commander Stormfeather."

"And if you get the chance," Stormfeather muttered, "make sure Puddinghead dies, too."

A round of nodding, and then everypony went back to what they were doing.

---

- Sharp and Arry -

Ponyville was in a dismal mood, with the clouds hanging low over the town as they were. The very atmosphere was dreary, and though it was only the early morning most were already awake. The setting up of a dozen military tents, Imperial pennants waving in the breeze, just outside the little village wasn't the quietest of activities. A few had come out to watch the process unfolding; just fifty metres away from the furthest tent, and a stone's throw away from the ominous Everfree Forest, lay a makeshift stage of wood planks, stacked hastily and tied together with rope. Two short obtrusions stuck out of the top of the stage.

A pair of bound figures, merely shadowy silhouettes at this time and distance, were being pulled by a trio of Royal Guards, clad in full golden armour, towards the stage. Several more guards were already situated around the platform, spears raised high, as their compatriots pulled the restrained ponies onto the stage.

Four guards were wandering around the town as silently as they could - not that that was very much silence to speak of, with the incessant clinking of their plated armour - and nailing slips of parchment to various structures around Ponyville, like lampposts and walls. They all said the same thing:

EXECUTION OF ENEMIES OF THE STATE: HURRICANE AND PUDDINGHEAD

However, everypony wandering around the town gave a wide berth to a seemingly different piece of parchment lying on the ground, this one slick with still damp red blood. Even the guards seemed to be averting their gaze from the parchment, sticking to their own activities. Anypony could stumble across it easily, but only those accustomed to the crimson fluid would likely approach. And nopony in Ponyville seemed to fit this description except the guards, who evidently had their own higher-priority tasks to pursue.

---

- Eq -

The earth pony front lines were situated a comfortable distance away from the nearest unicorn military presence; a kilometre, to be precise, at least as far as Earth's Republic Intelligence system had indicated. A long line of ten trebuchets was stretched out behind a layer of wooden stakes that surrounded the ten-tent encampment. The camp was a good five hundred metres away from the abyss that was Ghastly Gorge. Ten earth pony soldiers, clad in full plain grey metal armour, stood by in formation beside the trebuchets as a young magenta-violet mare with a flowing grey mane strode up and down in front of them, gesturing to the catapults excitedly.

"So you see," she was saying cheerfully, "since I've connected all these trebuchets with a central spring mechanism, you can fire them all at once by stepping on this conveniently placed pressure plate here!" She lifted a hoof and stomped on a plate just behind the centre trebuchet, causing all ten to unleash their stored power and whip their arms upwards.

"Oops. Yeah, like that." She giggled. "Good thing we didn't load them yet, huh? Anyway, you can get them to fire in synchronised motion, if you want to. Less of you needed to fire the things and more of you out fighting, am I right?"

The pony at the head of the armoured group coughed politely. "Um, yes, General Euforia. Thank you. But perhaps it's time to get to strategy now?"

"Oh, right." Euforia's yellow eyes blinked twice, and at the end of it her irises were ice-blue. "Yes. Strategy. Thank you, Commander Stoneheart, for reminding my dear Euforia about it."

Stoneheart blinked, then shook the confusion away. "Sorry, General. I'm still not quite used to your... personality switches."

"Don't worry. It'll be less jarring over time. Just call me Diana when my eyes are blue." Stepping off the pressure plate, she said, "Now, as for strategy, the light infantry will advance quickly, then we fire the trebuchets. Remember, I want the burning ammunition first and foremost. All ten at the portion of the Everfree Forest closest to Ponyville first, then reload and await my command. Armoured divisions, stick behind the light ones and be ready to deflect an offensive. Archers will follow behind, and I'll get the anti-air mobile defences on the move too. I don't expect Pegasopolis to not interfere in this instance."

She turned around and stared at the nearby lightly-armoured group of fifty ponies, under the command of Wolfe. "You'll be responsible for the spearhead. Charge in and scatter the enemies, then free Chancellor Puddinghead. One step too slow and his head will be rolling. I want you to disrupt that execution with minimal fighting; your troops aren't going to hold up well to determined assault. Just swoop in, free the Chancellor, kill Hurricane, then scram. Retreat behind the heavy infantry and assist as you deem necessary. Wolfe, you're in charge of them all, and though I realise this is more than you're used to I trust you do what's needed."

---

- OP -

The brown-green pennants of the Earth military camp waved gently in the morning breeze, visible faintly at the distance from the camp that Hoodwink was at. The Everfree Forest lay just under half a kilometre away from his current position, and the capital of Earth a ways away in the opposite direction. Not much was around his current location but sand, cacti, and other desert-dwelling organisms, though the line marking where sand ended and grass began was not too far away, and notably began near the Forest. It was no secret that beyond the Forest lay the quiet town of Ponyville, or at least as quiet as a town essentially on the border of three warring nations could be. Ponyville was, however, not yet visible from where Hoodwink was standing.

---

(OOC: And so begins this RP. One very important thing to note is this: In this thread, there will likely be little to no railroading. The plot is decided by you, the players, and how you act and react to dynamic events around you can change the course of the world. You're completely at liberty to do whatever you want, so long as it's in character of course. This is the opening post, where I wait for everyone to post first, and then events begin in earnest. Good luck everyone, and have fun.

Final note: On the topic of commanding/ordering troops, I must ensure that this is made clear: You can tell the soldiers what to do, but ultimately the controlling of soldiers is up to me; so control no one but your own character.)

After their little speech, Sonata went back to tending to her at first her bow. The carefully maintained wooden weapon, strengthened with metal bands to give it a decent boost in power, wasn't strung at the moment. She then brought out the abnormal string, and with no small margin of effort, strung the powerful bow. With her main weapon readied for the combat that was about to proceed, Sonata set about preparing her other weapons and further inspection of her gear.

The two smaller crossbows at her sides, cocked, readied, and each sitting with a bolt at the ready for a quick shot. The quiver resting along her back, in-between the gently flapping wings so she had her forehooves free to work with, was full of arrows, along with the smaller quivers at her sides for the small crossbow bolts. The dagger like knives that'd been supplied by the military sat in a bandoleer like addition to the strap that her quiver was attached to. She'd considered wingblades, but given the difficulty in using them, and the limited availability of the carefully made weapons, she'd forgone the larger but still exceedingly light blades.

With her weapons all in accounted for, Sonata then double checked all her armor to be sure that it was all snugly fit and wouldn't interfere with her flying or shooting during the mission. Finding everything in order, Sonata settled back to relax and await the critical moment when the operation would begin. She cast curious glances over at the other pegasi and thestrals she'd be flying with, beginning to wonder if any of them might be carrying something to drink. With as shrug, Sonata pulled out a flask of her own and took a quick drink before capping it back off and stowing it away, hopeful that at least the higher ups didn't see the act.

Wolfe nods to the General, turning to his men. "Alright, soldiers! We're going to go in as quickly and quietly as possible. We enter the city and spread out into fives. If you can get the jump on a guard without much delay, do so. The execution is probably in the town square in the center of the city. I will lead one of the groups of five into the center. Our goal is to get in as quickly as possible, cause general chaos all through the town, and save the Chancellor before the executioner can take his swing." Wolfe turns back to the General. "If you can manage to get some anti-air near us, that would be much appreciated. The pegasi have a clear advantage in getting in and out quickly, as much as I hate to admit it, and they might decide to use this opportunity to kill our Chancellor themselves. I leave at your command."

Griff slowly approached to the site after following all those pieces of parchment. He was wearing a hooded cloak, covering most of his body, weapons and light armor underneath. Griff didn't have a good mood, but at least two deaths might spice up his day, two important deaths. He continued walking towards the site of execution and soon noticed the blood-red parchment on the ground. Seeing as other ponies did not care for it or payed attention to it, he walked up to it and carefully picked it up, reading it.

After the pegasus's speech and plan, Dark Wing wandered off to the side, sitting down and inspecting his gear. He took off his aviator goggles and examined them quickly before putting them back on and straightening his desperado hat. Next he took out a ballistic knife, taking off the blade and laying it off to the side. He made sure the spring that actually fired the knife blade was working and the trigger that released the blade wouldn't mess up on him. With a smile, he put the blade back where it was and secured it to a safe spot on his shoulder where he had quick access to it.

Next he looked at the short sword off to his side, considering it for a moment before strapping it under his left wing. He bit down on the handle of the sword and pulled it out of it's scabbard, swinging in the air a few times. It wasn't what he was used to, but it'll have to do. He put the sword back into it's scabbard and looked through his bag again.

He pulled out a net gun and examined it, feeling he wouldn't be using it much, but it was there if he needed it. He only carried a one to two extra nets with him. He strapped the gun to his back and looked into his bag again. He pulled out a bandoleer that looked to be holding move knife blades from his ballistic knife. He slung it over his shoulder and looked it over for a moment. He ran a hoof over one of the blades and smiled. He looked around at the other pegasi and thestrals who stayed in the shadows.

He had to say, thestrals were an odd bunch of ponies. They were like vamponies like in those old foal stories...Ponies who liked the dark more than the light. But they were good for night missions when most pegasi were asleep. Plus they had wings and they were willing to fight with the pegasi to get rid of the unicorns.

Accentria had spent most of the night looking through the Everfree, looking for something... anything, that could point her in the right direction. Towards home---Wherever the hell that was. Alas, the night had gone by relatively uneventfully... Once again.

"Ugh..." She groaned, "This is hopeless!" she continued, shouting in frustration and stomping the ground with her right forehoof. Accentria was a typically calm, optimistic pony. But even the most optimistic of ponies, have their limits, and she? She was about ready to boil over. At least the forest seemed to end up ahead... Accentria had had enough of forests for a good while. A good, long while.

Directly ahead, there was a town. A town on the border of the Everfree? Ah! that's right, Ponyville. It has to be Ponyville! She thought, moving towards the town. Accentria stopped suddenly, looking to her sides.. "Right... Probably wouldn't want to walk into town with you four floating about like that..." She mumbled. Accentria was referring to the four ornate swords that were flanking her, two on each side. With a sigh, she magically willed them into their sheaths and continued approaching the town.

Accentria herself was wearing very little. Aside from the four leather sheaths, she had on only a light chain shirt.

Hoodwink sat still as a statue with his spyglass pressed to one eye, observing the Earth Pony camp while his cloak fluttered in the light breeze, as did the brim of his hat but the pony himself remained stock still, not moving an inch.

The bandoleer around his neck contained his necessary vials but for the most part they were maintenance or rudimentary liquids, acid for locks, painkillers, a small amount of knockout poison. The stallion didn't carry a weapon of his own; his skill in battle left a lot to be desired, he preferred to use his words and his mind.

- Star and Zen -

Stormfeather glanced up into the sky. "Alright. It's time. First objective is the balloon - we'll want it down so they can't send their distress signal. Then we pick them all off quickly. Archers?"

A multitude of pegasi and thestrals nodded, hefting bows and crossbows and standing to attention.

"First volley, on my mark." Stormfeather whispered. "Three... two... one... fire."

Quick as lightning, all the archers leapt up over the cloud cover and released a prepared hail of arrows onto the unicorn sky camp beyond. The camp itself wasn't much to speak of; it consisted mainly of a central balloon painted in Imperial gold and fifty unicorns carrying spears, swords, and bows, and who were clearly unprepared for the incoming assault.

The camp exploded into immediate panic as three arrows hit the balloon, causing it to burst. The cloud-walking spell kept it over the cloud layer still, however, and the unicorns quickly retaliated with their own return volley of numerous arrows and fireball spells directed at the pegasi and thestrals. Several fell, but a large number of them continued firing.

"Now it's our turn." Stormfeather growled, pulling out his sword in his teeth. "Chrge!"

The mass of troops leapt forward, weapons drawn, as they charged towards the unicorns.

---

- Arry -

The bloody note was simple and concise. It read, in blood: I have need of your services, mercenary. Enter the unlocked door marked with the Eye. We shall speak further.

Down the street flanked by five other wood houses on either side, there was an unassuming building resting at a fork in the road. The only interesting thing about it was the crudely carved image of an opened eye that seemed to be looking straight at Griff.

---

- Sharp -

As the town drew closer in her field of vision, Accentria would notice the scene which Ponyville found itself in; guards moving around nailing pieces of parchment, the platform being set up just over to the side of Ponyville, the numerous military tents, and the two bound figures being kicked into a kneeling position at the protrustions from the stage. Other than that, Ponyville looked as it would have on most other days.

---

- Eq -

"Anti-air will be at your disposal soon." Diana said. "We're preparing the engines to move. They will accompany the heavy infantry in their charge, but they aren't fast nor light enough to keep up with your squad, Wolfe. Go now. You'll see the trebuchets fire when you get there."

From their current position, Ponyville was not visible; however, the Everfree Forest was. "We don't want you going in there." Diana explained as she gestured to the forest. "Dangerous creatures lurk, and we don't want you to lose any of your number to them. Skirt around the western border, but keep your distance. As you draw close you should be able to see everything you need to see. Now go, and make us proud."

The soldiers under Stoneheart quickly dashed back into the nearest tent to the front of the camp, returning with the not-yet-on-fire-ammunition for the trebuchets.

---

- OP -

Hoodwink didn't yet see any troop movements, not at least until Wolfe's soldiers would eventually charge out of the encampment. However, he did see the trebuchets being reloaded speedily with distinct ammunition, the kind which could be easily set on fire. Nothing arrived to disturb him, except the light breeze picking up and becoming slightly stronger, signalling perhaps the beginning of a storm.

---

- Dragon Soul -

The Everfree Forest was a dark place. Very dark; though the treetop canopy would normally filter out most of the light anyway even in the clearing where they currently were, there was so little light at this point that it would have been almost pitch-dark had it not been for the soft glows of assorted horns from unicorn guardsponies around them.

"Alright." One particular unicorn was clad in a full suit of golden armour that, unlike the other soldiers', included a helmet with a purple plume instead of white. His breastplate had an inlaid emerald in the middle, and no less than four shortswords hung by his side. Over his brown coat, the slightest strand of yellow hair could be seen under the rim of his helmet.

"I'm sure you all know what to do, everypony. The pegasi and earth ponies will try to rescue their leaders; then we swoop in with the ambush." He turned around and surveyed the two hundred and fifty or so soldiers around him. "Make sure all your gear is battle-ready, and then await my signal. Battlemages, prepare the shield and fireball spells. Archers, bows up. Knights, you'll make up the front lines." He stomped his armoured hoof on the soft, muddy ground. "Let's give these ponies what they're asking for, shall we?"

The guards saluted. "Yes, Grand Marshal."

The unicorn shook his head. "Please, no pleasantries on the battlefield. Here I'm just one of you. Call me... Ician."

With that, he stared forward at what seemed to be a random direction, waiting patiently.

Dusk Hammer made sure his armor and weapons were all ready to go. He wore heavy armor, and went with a tower shield and a halberd instead of his usual sword and shield. He was expected to lead his group of knights into the fray once Grand Master Ician gave the word. He stowed away any nervousness he had and steeled himself, knowing any nervousness he had would pass to his knights. He simply remained strong and silent.

With the start of the attack, Sonata flew up with the archers, firing her own powerful bow once at the balloon, and then repeatedly at the unicorns as they tried to retaliate. Arrow after arrow, shot after shot, dodge a stray fireball wide enough that the light didn't reveal her dark armor among the early morning hours, pretty standard and easy as she continually fired at target after target.

Despite them spreading out along the cloud, Sonata continued flying forward while she shot. She did however slow her forward speed so that the charging wave of melee active fighters would easily pass her up, serving for her as a 'shield' from the magic blasts of the unicorns, or at least the ones Sonata couldn't dodge.

Even once the melee fighters were fully engaged, Sonata would continue onward with her own flight, still firing the occasional arrow whenever she had a clear shot. Sonata's goal however was to still get to the main objective site, and carry out her mission, and that was where she was continuing to fly to. Sonata however was careful to fly rather high, trying to still avoid detection as she started to fly a bit ahead of the group, and continuing to rain down the occasional arrow on the unsuspecting unicorn still in the fray.

Wolfe gestures to his force. "Men, it's time! Charge!" He takes off toward the western edge of the everfree, leading the charge to ponyville. Diana's plan made sense. Not only were there hostile wildlife in the Everfree, the dense, dark forest made for great hiding spots. No, he would keep his men on the plains. He shouted back to his troops as he ran, giving the everfree a berth of about ten feet. "Remember the plan! We split off by row into groups of five! Front row, you're with me. Other nine rows, I trust in your ability to distract the guards from town square. Do not engage the guards if you can help it. Strike quick, strike hard, and leave."

"Hmm, need of my services, eh?" Griff thought and looked at the large flow of ponies going towards stadium, then back at the parchment on the ground. "This must be imbued with some sort of magic, so somehow only I can see it... or something. Would explain why everyone just walked past it, or maybe they just don't care..." He added to his thoughts and turned towards the house with the mentioned door. "Well, time to get another job, I suppose." Griff thought and walked towards it. After finally arrived, he knocked on the door. "This better not be a trap... I've seen things like that before."

That's certainly... different. Accentria thought to herself upon noticing the figures and their predicament. It didn't take long for her to notice one of the many posters calling for the execution of the two ponies, Hurricane and Puddinghead. Wait a second. Two... ponies.. She looked to the figures once more, then to the poster, and back again. "Oh.." She mumbled, approaching the stage.

"So... Executions, huh?" She said to a nearby guard.

"What the hay are those lot up to?" Hoodwink mumbled to himself as he observed them loading the war machines, clearly intending a lot more than a simple test fire. The stallion had seen the Earth Ponies at war before but he hadn't seen them loading so many machines this quickly before, something had to be up.

"Welp, might as well go meet the neighbours he decided." He tucked his spyglass away, very carefully hiding his bandoleer under his cloak, and trotted off down the path as carefree as one could be; he assumed the Earth Ponies wouldn't fire on one of their own, he made sure to keep his hat off his forehead for this reason, and would let him pass, which would allow him to get a closer look at their operation.

- Zen -
Several pegasi fell, thudding to the cloud floor either dead or dying, but they were making quick work of the unicorns nonetheless. Several were killed trying to activate the warning beacon inside the balloon, and several more died fighting back.

Sonata's arrows caught a fair number of unicorns, sometimes injuring and at other, more fortunate times, catching them through a vital organ and finishing them off immediately.

Surprisingly, within half a minute, it was all over. Every unicorn not yet dead lay incapacitated, and Stormfeather turned to address the seventy remaining fighters.

"We had it easy here, men. None of them had any magic shields. I reckon it would have been a lot harder to beat them if they had, and I have almost no doubt at all that the ones down there, with the Supreme Commander, will be a lot harder to beat. Now, secure the area and wait for further orders."

---

- Arry -

The door creaked open slightly, and a face shrouded completely in shadow under a dark cowl peeked out. "Good, you're here." It said in a gravelly voice, quickly pulling Griff into the darkened interior and shutting the door behind them.

The inside of the house was almost completely dark; not much of it was even visible. Only a single flickering candle on a wooden table slightly further into the room shed any sort of light. The unknown creature took a few steps into the room with a soft knock knock knock on the wood floorboards.

"It's a simple offer," it continued in its gravelly voice. "I have money. You have skills. I pay, and you do the missions. There'll be a lot of infiltration, some killing. I hope you're good at getting into places you're not supposed to be in." It spun around, coming face-to-shadowed-face with Griff. "What do you say... Griff?"

---

- Sharp -

"Yes, ma'am." The guard said expressionlessly. "Enemies of the state, as I'm sure you know." He gestured to the two bound and gagged figures, one a grey-skinned, silvery-blue maned pegasus with a scowl on his face, and the other a dark brown earth pony with a poofy yellow mane. "Hurricane and Puddinghead. They've been rotting in the dungeons for long enough, they'll be happy for it to be over. You're welcome to stay and watch, citizen; just don't go near the Everfree Forest."

---

- Eq -

Wolfe's soldiers responded to his command with a resounding "Yes, sir!" as they galloped forward, drawing ever nearer to the town square. Soon, the town would become faintly visible in their line of sight, should they continue on their current path, but more prominently the platform upon which Puddinghead and Hurricane resided would soon become only too clear.

---

- Dragon Soul -

The soldiers waited for Ician's command in silence, with nary a movement or sound breaking the blanket that encompassed the area. Ician himself seemed to be distantly staring into the distance. A green snake suddenly peeked its head out of his armour and looked around, flicking its tongue at the forest around them, then ducked back quickly into cover.

---

- OP -

Hoodwink had gambled correctly; not a shot was fired in his direction, although several cries of "Get out of here, authorised personnel only" came from the Earth Pony encampment, which, as Hoodwink steadily approached, would be revealed to be teeming with activity; ponies in heavy and light armour alike pushing around strange contraptions such as huge crossbows on wheels, and some more standard types like small catapults, while yet others were hefting normal-sized crossbows and loading them. If he still continued to draw nearer, however, he would soon find his path obstructed by two bulky, iron-armour clad guards carrying heavy-looking spears, who emerged from the encampment.

"Authorised personnel only." One guard repeated, frowning at Hoodwink. "Are you lost? What's your name?"

Sonata let out a sigh as the first objective proved almost easy, and with the beacon secured, she flew down to join her fellow pegasi and thestrals. After Stormfeather's words of encouragement, Sonata wordlessly started gathering up the still intact arrows she could recover. When she'd refilled her quiver as much as she could, Sonata then wandered back over towards the beacon, just to make sure no wounded would tried to sneak over and activate it. If any tried, they'd find a crossbow bolt piercing their skull.

When she got over to it, Sonata would once again pulled out her flask and took another, slightly longer drink. Recapping the flask and storing it away for the coming combat, Sonata set one of her arrows in preparation for the next stage of the assault.

Griff was slightly prepared to be pulled inside, as he already fell into failed traps like that before. "I doubt they'll kill me in front of anyone.." he thought and thus didn't even bother taking out his twin swords. As he was pulled into the dark room, he quickly transformed his eyes into ones of a cat, and was now able to see in the dark. Griff listened carefully to what the shadowy figure had to say. The last part, where it mentioned Griff's name slightly spooked him. "Don't worry.. I probably just built up a name for myself... this slight fame could be a good thing.." he thought before answering "I do not mean to be rude, but, first of all, who are you, if I may ask... build a little trust, you know.. and second of all, may I know the details of this mission first?" Griff said and grinned, already catching glimpse of his employer's face thanks to his cat-like eyes.

Dusk was certainly on edge, and the forest wasn't helping matters. He felt some sympathy for the captain of all the knights here, as he had to watch twenty knights, and help ensure they made it home alive. He slightly shifted his stance so he'd be able to stay standing for a while without too much discomfort. He certainly had no idea when the word would be given to move.

Wolfe would hold up a hoof, easing backwards out of line of sight. "It's... out in the open? Right between the town and the everfree... I don't like it. Change of plans. We go in formation. Two right lines, stick close together and far from center. Same with the two left lines. You guys will act as shield and alert in case the unis come out from our flanks. Do not stop moving, no matter what." Wolfe raises his hoof, leading them back on their charge toward the execution area.

Accentria sighed internally at the mention of the Everfree. Damn forests.
"...And watch I shall." Accentria says, sitting near the stage. "You know, Mister guard, you really should lighten up." she continues, her attention on the stage. "Dull and monotonous is cool and all, but it gets... well, dull."

"Tea Leaf." Hoodwink informed the officer, happily handing over the name he hadn't been known as for years so that the officer wouldn't know who he was talking to. To be fair Hoodwink was surprised the officer hadn't recognised him from the cloak and hat but bigger priorities he guessed.

"Quite the arsenal isn't it?" He asked casually, strolling past the guards with a false curious look to stave off any aggression, playing the part of an innocent, overly curious wanderer. "What d'you need them all for out here in the middle of nowhere?"

- Zen -

"Alright, just wait for the signal..." Stormfeather whispered, in a reverent tone. "Any time now. Any time now..."

Then it came: A booming voice over the horizon, a voice that was charismatic, brimming with energy, and authoritative. It was the voice of a leader. "Everypony! This will be the day we've waited for! This will be the day we free our beloved Supreme Commander from the weak grasp of those dirty unicorns! This will be a day of freedom and justice. Today will mark the beginning of their end. Pegasopolis will emerge triumphant from this fight, and we will take what is rightfully ours!"

"Charge!" Stormfeather declared, diving down through the clouds, followed quickly by the others. The cloud layer parted to reveal the scene beyond.

To their right, hundreds of pegasi in full white-plated armour descended from the skies, led by a figure in sky-blue, a gleaming crown upon his head instead of the helmets that the others wore. As one, they descended upon the unicorns below; just ten of them actually at the makeshift wooden stage that stood right ahead, though numerous others were dashing out of their tents to reinforce their comrades. Around the stage, there stood a ring of wooden stakes that were clearly not meant to be a defence against flying opponents. A hastily dug half-metre wide, half-metre deep half-ring moat, the ground inside just filled with a shallow layer of wetness, faced away from the Ponyville.

A soldier carrying a bucket towards the moat noticed the pegasi and spilled all the contents of the bucket all over the ground in his panic to reach his weapons. This agitation was mirrored throughout the camp; fireballs began flying up at the attack team from the cluster of tents, while the unicorns at the stage itself began setting up admittedly weak-looking shields around themselves and the two leaders.

---

- Eq -

Wolfe would see a scene around the stage similar to what Sonata saw, as well as a cloud of pegasi descending from the heavens, outnumbering the current earth pony numbers by a fair amount. They moved towards the stage with clear intent.

Wolfe's soldiers followed his commands to the letter, though they began moving faster subconsciously as they saw the scene unfold before them. Behind Wolfe's contingent, however, there soon arose a thundering of hooves and the clinking of heavy armour, as well as the heavy clanking of equipment. Ballistae and catapults, escorted by knights and archers, rumbled their way towards the stage.

---

- Sharp -

"Sorry, but I must be disciplined. We are trained not to show emotion, and that is what we must..." He trailed off as he glanced up into the sky, from which a veritable swarm of fully armoured pegasi was descending. His eyes widened. "Holy crap! Shields up! Initiate emergency protocol!"

The unicorn guards at the stage, in their panic-driven state, did exactly as they were told, standing fast against the incoming threat and raising their weapons in what would likely be futile defiance. A flickering shield went up against the hordes of both pegasi and now, as was becoming apparent, earth ponies as well. Reinforcements were coming to their aid from the camp, but they didn't look very well-prepared for this attack either, save one, a blue stallion with a grey mane, who seemed to outrank the others; his armour was golden-purple instead of the usual colour scheme. He strode towards the camp with a sense of purpose, enveloping his soldiers that advanced with him in a much stronger magic shield.

The guard who had been talking earlier turned to Accentria again. "You should go. Now. Go somewhere safe."

---

- OP -

The guards moved again to block Hoodwink's path. "No entry. Authorised personnel only." The first one repeated. "These are classified military secrets."

He looked like he was about to say more, but a thundering of hooves signalled the departure of a large number of the troops - heavily-armoured knights and bow-hefting lightly-armoured archers, predominantly - in the encampment, as well as siege equipment such as ballistae and catapults. The guards turned around, hesitating for a moment, but then turned back to Hoodwink and held him back. "No entry." He repeated, as if he was trying for the part of a broken tape recorder, had such devices existed at the time.

There they stood in silence for a little while, until at last the trebuchets heaved and loosed a cascade of burning objects at the Everfree Forest. A brief second later, an entire side of the forest burst into flames, burning brightly enough to be seen from the encampment.

---

- Dragon Soul -

The slight noise of a commotion from somewhere to the side of the forest echoed into the clearing. Ician's ears perked up. "There's the signal. Alright, time to move. This wa-"

He was cut off abruptly by a loud crash to their right, and a second later the entire row of trees burst into a wall of fire, burning towards them with a rapidity that was dangerously menacing. The flames licked away at the ground near Dusk's hooves, and smoke clouded the air.

Ician coughed, sweeping the smoke away from his nose. "Ach, fire. Should have guessed Euforia would be up to that. Cunning. And Diana knows how to use it well."

He turned around, surveying his troops. "Alright, new plans. We go this way," he pointed in the general direction away from the fire, "and wait when I tell you to stop. Battlemages, I want the strongest shields up that you can manage, and have one or two of you ready your telekinesis, if you can try to redirect that ammunition. The rest of you, wait under the shield. Let's go!"

Ician dashed through the trees, followed shortly by his forces and a slowly forming magic shield of gold, so thick that it appeared almost opaque. He soon came to a stop at a new spot that was not too near to the fire, away from the clearing and in relative darkness, and held up his hoof. The soldiers stopped and waited.

"Alright, we wait for the next volley," Ician whispered, "and when it's over then we can rush out. When you're out there, be careful for the enemies. They might be expecting us."

---

- Arry -

Griff would catch just the barest glimpse of a neutrally-set mouth on a white coat - the only part of the face not covered by the hood itself - before the figure turned away abruptly, denying Griff any further examination.

"You do not need to know who I am." The figure said in a strained, discontent tone. "You can call me... Drem. And your missions will vary, but I have your first one here. It's an infiltration mission. There will be tens of thousands of bits behind just this one alone. So here are your instructions, should you choose to accept." It paused for a moment as the ground shook and the sounds of conflict began outside, but otherwise did not react.

"I need you to go to Canterlot, this address." It stepped aside and allowed Griff access to the table, upon which there rested a single piece of paper with the words 11 King Street on it. "It's a pub. Go in and ask the bartender for 'a pint of peace'. You'll get more directions from there."

It stepped over to the door and pushed it open, simultaneously extinguishing all the candles in the house. Just beyond Ponyville, the first beginnings of a battle could be seen, with armoured pegasi descending from the skies upon a puny unicorn detachment standing staunchly at a makeshift wooden stage. "Go. Get out of here." As soon as Griff would leave, the door would swing shut behind him.

Sonata had dove into the cloud before the speech had even finished, picking her first target and readying herself to make a kill shot even at the long distance. First is Arrow drawn, second the bow's flexing, third string is taunt, Now the arrow's sailing, Sonata said to herself in a reminiscent fashion as the speech was finished and the charge order was given, Sonata released her arrow, aimed at the unicorn closest to Hurricane on the stage. Before that arrow even had a chance to find it's target, Sonata already had her next arrow readied and fired.

After that second arrow Sonata was joining the charge, but again she was hanging back and firing off near constant shots as she flew forward. As the fighting began again a smile danced onto her face, the thrill of the fight, her arrows traveling fast enough it was hard and disorienting to follow them with the eyes, her powerful bow constantly snapping back as the arrows were released marking it ready for the next one. This was a scene that rivaled her concerts from before, now if only there could be some music, that would make it all the more grand. Maybe, when this was all over, she'd write a new piece, one to compliment or belittle this battle depending on how it went.

"Ruddy shields! Push through them!" Wolfe charges forward to attempt to break the flickering shields surrounding the stage with brute force, hoping the combined push of his soldiers would break the shield. He also hoped to reach the stage and complete his mission before the soldiers from the camp met him. That would be bad news. The strengthened sides of his formation might hold them back, but there was no way he was even going to penetrate the shields of that larger force, let alone fight them

"Very well, then,... Drem." Griff said and took the piece of paper off the table to make sure he wouldn't forget the address. 'A simple infiltration mission for thousands of bits... I can already taste the beer it will buy me... or perhaps its still from the previous drinking.' He then walked out and slightly jumped as door shut behind him. 'Better get outta here before I get too involved into this war...' Griff said and transformed into his eagle form. It did not look like any other eagle, as it seemed to have the necklace made out of teeth around its neck and some leather on the edges of wings, some small leather belts around talons and a thin leather collar. From far away, however, it still seemed like a normal eagle.

After a good half an hour or so of flying, Griff finally arrived to Canterlot, where he landed in a dark alleyway and transformed back into his unicorn form to not seem to suspicious to anyone. He found the location quickly and entered the bar with small haste, walking up to the counter and sitting down at one of the free stools, waiting for bartender to come up to him. As the bartender approached Griff and asked him what would he want, Griff looked at him dead in the eyes and quietly, loud enough for bartender to hear, said "A pint of peace, please." before going back to acting as a normal bar patron and waiting for bartender's directions.