The camp was in ruin... Hundreds of Gryphons were scattered about, fighting the remnants of our army, surrounding pockets of resistance as the Ponies made for a last stand. I could see grace and her retinue on a small hill nearby, holding, what I saw to be, the triage tent. Her and her soldiers were fighting off a good number of the enemy, bashing them in the face with shields, slicing and stabbing though gaps in armor, or even throwing lances of magic at their enemies.

Farther off I could see the group of ponies I had conversed with before heading into the forest being mowed down with tactical proficiency. They dark forms being lost under the weight of the Gryphon advance.

many of the tents were aflame as the Gryphons ran through camp, slitting throats and dragging mares, whom had yet to get armored, out in the field to have their way with them. I even saw a few take a stallion right there in the field, castrating him in the process with a rusty knife. I could hear their screams, feel their pain... and empathize...

I was brought out of my shock when I heard Amber Rose shout and give a cry as she was knocked off her feet by a large Gryphon. Sentinel quickly dealt with the looming figure as he launched himself at the Gryff and tore him to shreds with his Wing blades and short sword. After becoming a variable storm of blades and death he came to a rest next to Amber Rose, helping her to her hooves and making sure she wasn't harmed.

"Commander Corpus... We must make for Commander Grace... She must survive this conflict if none else do..." Captain Ducati growled out, making me look at him in a slight deadpan.

"And dost thou think that we would leave one of our friends to the demise befit a dog? ...We thought not. Now, Ducati, Roid, Take this child and run back to the capital... we will be sending a few men to escort thee soon... Just wait for thy allies at the town of Huffington Mare... It is a few miles South East of here." My voice brooked no rebuke as the two nodded hesitantly at my orders, letting me lay the child on Roids back as Ducati got off him. Seeing as Ducati was still injured enough to slow them down I motioned him to come near.

"What dost you need now Commander?" he asked, slightly miffed about being sent home.

"We art to heal thee, so that thou might have a better chance of survival and rest there after." I said. Kneeling down in front of him I placed a hand in his still sore chest and pumped a bit of healing energy into his wound, making him hiss slightly in surprise at the soothing sensation.

"Now go, run fast, and never look back!" The two stallions nodded and ran off towards Huffington Mare, their hooves kicking up dust as they went.

"Now... Let's go take that hill..." I growled out, the other three nodding as they pulled out their swords and readied their wing blades for battle.

"May Darkness reign this night..." I whispered in the enemies ancient language.

(S-snap-hiss) A set of red blades sprung to life, jutting though the chest of two Gryphon soldiers, melting their armor and severing their spines as I pulled the sabers to the left and right, yanking the blades through their bodies. They fell as though they were made of bricks. Lone, Amber, and Jazz also struck killing blows against another group of Gryffs, their death screams sounding about the war-zone.

Striding forward with my force enhanced legs I preformed a quick round house and planted the heel of my boot into a Gryphons beak, breaking it and shoving a chunk into his brain. His body fell to the ground in a slack pile of twitching muscles and the stench of urine. Turning the corner of one of the tents I lashed out with my sabers, force throwing them at a quintet of Gryphons trying to drag off a Mare. The blades quickly dispatched them, sending their headless bodies to the floor with blood pouring from their wounds. The cauterization not being enough to stop the pressure and letting the blood flow free.

Lone and Jazz then tag-teamed a group of Gryphons, flashes of silvered wings lashed about them as they used their wings to flay the flesh from their bones and wreak unholy havoc on their number, reducing some even to piles of quivering piles of meat and viscera. A few were only lucky enough to have their intestines ripped from their bodies as the blades cut open their guts and spilled their last meals on the blood soaked ground.

Amber Rose was a different matter though... Walking up to a group of Gryphons as they finished raping a Mare, breaking her neck as that was the only untouched part of her body by then. She stared at them with her empty eyes, making them sneer at her as they slowly slid across the muddy ground. She then gave off a small grin, showing her teeth in a thin line as she looked up to them, her eyes wide and manic in their expression.

She let the gryphons surround her, two on either side, one in front, and two in back. She then let her wings touch the bloody ground, letting the thin blades lick up some of the blood. Then, in a blur of movement, she shot her wings out and severed the tendons in their front legs, this made them all fall flat on their faces into the blood soaked earth below them. She then moved in another blur of action, this time severing their wings and clipping them for good. Then, finally, as a courtesy, she stabbed them in the skull, right above their eyes killing them instantly.

Like a force of nature we cut through the lines of gryphons with ease, leaving freed ponies and dead Gryphons in our wake. We soon came upon the edge of the hill, right at the tail end of the Gryphon forces attacking it.

"Drain...Life..." I whispered in a dark tone, unleashing a dark miasma upon the gryphons, killing them as their own life force came to my aid, healing my body of most it's injuries... save my broken leg and arm. I motioned for Sentinel and the other two to stay by my side as we walked up the hill towards Grace and her men. The sound of dying Gryphons accentuated our approach. During all this I did not let the miasma go near any of the soldiers under Graces or my commands.

"Grace! Thou art safe, correct?!" I yelled as w got closer, ending the miasma and using our sabers to end their pitiful lives. Burning holes in armor and using the force to hurl them off the hill and into each other. One I picked up by his neck, bare handed, and used his body as a club. When i was done with him he was a bloody mess, still alive though seeing as it was his allies blood covering him. I then proceeded to explode his head... shooting brain matter and bone all over the place, Some of which hit my companions though it didn't faze them in the slightest.

"Corpus! Thou art a sight for sore eyes my friend!" She cried out, charging towards me with a member of her guard. She was covered in cuts an small gashes, many of which would leave scars under her fur but nothing to life threatening. As she came closer a gryphon shot towards her, aiming for her side. Seeing this she rolled and brought her hoof up into the Gryffs barrel, a resounding Crack could be heard as she broke his ribs and shattered many of his organs. She then pushed the dead gryphon off herself and made her way over to my side.

"Tis good to see thee again Grace, and that was a mighty fine kick just now." I greeted her, grinning like a mad man as I shot a lance of lightning out of my index and middle fingers, hitting a Gryphon square in the chest. The lance of lighting was strong enough to burn through and hit the ground behind him, electrocuting several more of the feathery bastards in the process. Seeing as none of them have really seen me use the force before, save to throw my blades around, many of them were shocked to see me use such extensive force on a singular target.

I then looked to my right, scanning for more enemies -as the Gryphons started to retreat- I found a group trying to haul off with a young mare. She was kicking and screaming for help, thrashing about in their grasps as they ran. I quickly deactivated my blades and leaped off in their direction, using the force to augment my jump and soften my landing so I did not cause to much damage to my legs again.

Landing right in front of them i tossed my hilts right at them, using the force to activate them last second as the nozzles were pointed right at the front twos chests. Two red beams shot through them as they instantly died and fell to the ground, making the rest tumble over them. I then force pulled the mare out of their grasp and caught her in my arms before setting her down. Then, gradually I lifted up my left hand, making several of the rocks around me levitate into the air. Once they had gotten up to the height of my brow I allowed them to gravitate around me in a slow circular pattern. Letting the Gryphons regain their faculties I waited to kill them.

They quickly got to their claws and paws, though upon seeing me they drew their swords without response and readied to fight me. Smiling evilly I started to twirl my hand about, in a swirling fashion, making the rocks around me move faster and faster around my position. The gryphons then charged, a few leaping to the air and the rest leaping over their fallen comrades to get at me.

'One rock...' A rock to my right shot off and embedded itself in a Gryphons face, shattering his beak and pulping his brain out his ears as the grey matter shit out everywhere.

'Rock two, three, and four...' Three rocks shot off and embedded themselves in the groin, stomach, and throat of the next gryphon. The first one pulped his organs there, spraying blood and other liquids on the ground as the rock continued on to shatter his pelvis. The second exploded into his innards -turning them to soup in his body-, and shooting out the Gryffs back, severing his spine. The last one... Tore out his throat, also pulling is tongue out with his windpipe... in all, making quite the mess on my face as he slammed into the dirt in front of me.

'Rock five and six...' These two shot off to my left and right, flying out and up -out of our line of sight- and back around to the gryphons side and next to his head. They then smashed into his head on either side in the same instant. This action caved in his skull and jettisoning his brains into the air and on to the bloody ground around his now lifeless body.

"Corpus... What..." Grace gawked at me as i strode up to her, Rose, Sentinel, and Heartstrings all looked at me in awe as I soon stood before them, covered in gore and other miscalculation liquids, matter and other stuffs.

"Yes?" Being my only reply.

"What you did... I have NEVER in all my years... That was..." She tried to continue, though I cut her off.

"Monstrous? Evil? Hideous? Impossible?" I deadpanned, feeling their disgust in the force, making her and the others flinch at my condemning words.

"I would say that was bloody brilliant there Commander!" One of the other soldiers called out, a round of yells and praises following suit from the ponies around him.

"Thou decimated them! How could we not be awed and amazed by thee!" Another voice called out, another seemingly endless yell coming up around the pony, a her this time.

"All hail Corpus! Savior of the 3rd!" A voice at the back of the hundred, or so, ponies left called out.

"All hail Corpus! All hail Corpus! All hail Corpus!" The ponies began to chant as I got a small tearful smile at their exact opposite reaction. I was enthralled with their mood, feeling their disgust turn to adoration as they continued to praise me for my actions.

Feeling rather humble I looked across the small hill, searching through the faces I saw, looking into their eyes, trying to find any hint of dissent in their words... I found none... Not form any one of them, though my four closest companions were looking at me in fearful awe and curiosity... Something was going to be said... and I wasn't too sure they were going to like the answer...

Perspective: third person - Ducati & Roid Rage, half an hour after they left...

"Roid, we must hurry! Corpus needs us to warn the princesses post-hast!" Ducati yelled as he dodged a host of javelins were being thrown at them by some lone gryphons. The two of them were rolling into turns and quick dives to out maneuver the incoming dangers, Roid rage on the other hand-er-hoof was trying his damnedest to keep the young Gryphon girl on his back the whole time. Ducati then flipped around to face the enemy, brandishing his and Roids swords in his hooves as he shot through the enemy formation, clipping wings and slitting throats.

"Captain! We must make hast! Do not waste thy time fighting them if we can outrun them!" Roid yelled back as he flew over a javelin.

"Right!" Ducati barked out as he bucked a gryphon in the ribs with his hind legs, breaking many of them and sending the bastard spiraling down to earth. With a massive beat of his wings he shot off and caught up with his ally. Twisting around the flying gryphons as he made for safety.

After flying up and losing the gryphons in a thick layer of clouds the duo, and their precious cargo, managed to get to the Huffington Mare. They were ragged, broken, and very well beaten into submission by the time they had landed in the towns main square. They were finally safe, having come to their lords prescribed destination... What awaited them though was not what they had thought of being possible by their worlds standards, or their limited imaginations.

There in the square was a large wedge shaped construct sitting on three struts as smoke wafted from its far larger end, the feeling of heat billowing form the same area of the thing as they stood and looked at it in fear and awe. They then heard some beeping noises and looked o see a dome like structure on it turn towards them, well what seemed to look like it turned towards them, and project a blue light from a small cone on its surface, aiming it towards the ground in front of them.

"Hello Ducati, Roid, It is us, Corpus... We art talking to thee now as a way of recorded messaging... Similar to a scroll being sent and received many days later... But in a visual sense... Now, we are here to tell thee that thou must get into this construct behind us. An opening will be signaled in a moment and we wish for thou to go to said opening and sit in the seat there in." A hologram of Darth Corpus zoomed to life and begot orders to the two tired Stallions, making them slightly uneasy in its presence.

"Now get in, thou must head to the Ivory City... And warn our dearest leaders of our fate here in the front... And that we shalt need more men..." The hologram then cut off and the large bulbous area of the construct started to lift off letting them see the insides. Seeing as they were given no other choice they decided to do as their commander said.

Perspective: Corpus

"Corpus... What is it that thou can do... For what we have seen is... Beyond many of our Mages, even our best here in the army..." Grace started, making the other three nod in assent, each looking slightly more confused than the last. AS of now we had been walking towards the front of our small formation, marching back towards the last known uncontested town so that we could regroup and resupply... So we could make it back to the capital and requisition more troops from the Princesses. Grace and I led the march with the rest of the Stallions and mares following many meters behind us. Though with us traveled Heartstrings, Sentinel, and Rose... The three of them acting as my personal guard and interrogators.

"Yes, the way thou had lanced Lightning from thy fingers was also something! And how, might I add, did thou manage to jump so high! And on a broken leg no less!" Jazz cried, making flailing motions with his fore legs as we continued to walk.

"Aye Commander. Thou dost have a way of preforming the seemingly impossible..." Sentinel drolly stated, letting his words out slowly, making me chuckle, jazz and Grace seemingly joining in at his 'insightful' words. Lone sentinel was one of very few words and was a... stallion of few words, having not needed to persuade many or talk to many in his long time serving the crown.

"Impossible, nay, but improbable... Much so!" I called back, making the rest bark out a laugh at his expense. Lone Sentinel grumbled lowly as he soon joined in on the laughter, helping to raise everyponies spirits and ease the tension that had been building up in everyone else.

"Aye... So, we take it that you wish to know where my power comes from yeah?" I looked sidelong to each of them, getting affirmative head nods in return...

"Alrighty then... First, though, we must ask... Where dost thou think we art from...?" Once my words had been uttered, they each begot a thinking face and began to ponder my words, each trying to think of an instance of hearing of where i was from, and guessing from which region I may hail from if they did not know. ...Damn Do I feel like a teacher or what nowadays! First with Luna... Then Celestia, and now these four... wow... I think this is the first time that... I have actually been unable to enjoyed teaching before... but now, with these four and the Princesses... I have actually enjoyed this feeling of telling others about myself.

"hmm... Might we be the first to try and answer thy question?" Jazz asked, his quizzical stance not going unnoticed by me, just the look on his face was enough to make me smile.

"Aye Jazz, go ahead!" I laughed at his embarrassed face. He then began to stutter slightly before regaining his composure and speaking his mind.

"Verily good Corpus... Are thou from the north? From the frozen tundras of the rocky mountains?"

"Nay jazz, but good guess our friend... Maybe next time." I then winked at him and turned to Amber as she then cleared her throat.

"Yes Amber? Thou hast a guess for us?" I asked cheekily, making her twitch her left brow irritably as she glared into my Blue eyes.

"Corpus... Are thou from the Minator tribes? Those of the western fringe?"

"Nay again our fair Rose, but closer..." I said, remembering that the capital was close to that general direction.

"Ass..." Amber Rose commented back, making Jazz and Sentinel chuckle at my sour expression.

"Well then, If thou art not from any of those places Corpus... Than where art thou from?" Grace cut in after a few moments, making me smile brightly in her direction and ruffle her mane slightly with my hand.

"Well... we might just say this then... We come from the Capital... Though more specifically the forest near there... But before that we came from a much farther... place... one might say..." I said, smiling as they looked at me quizzically, not making much sense to their linear minds. "Think... Hast any of thee EVER seen our kind running around thy kingdoms, or heard of us in the tales of those that traverse the inns and taverns that thy frequent..." I said as we started coming across some hills and small farm houses the farther north and west we traveled. The four of them then walked off together so they could come up with a suitable answer, though I knew that they would not have heard of me I let them have their fun.

"Nay... we hast no recollection of any tales of those like thee being spun in any way where we would have heard." Grace said a moment after they had finished convening.

"As We would have thought, We have not been here -in Equestria- for very long... Possibly a few months to the day or so..." I said -a finger pressed up against my chin as I tapped it- confusing them even more so than they already were.

"That... Makes little sense my friend..." Grace interjected, making me look at her with a grin plastered to my face.

"We know..." This in turn just infuriated them to no end.

(A/N: I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I'll see you all next time!)