Book 3, Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own any known characters/places of Redwall or MLP. I do own Shooting Star, Colonel Ashpaw the Brave, Braveheart, Princess Rosethrone, and Storm Breeze
It was still nightfall in Canterlot, and so far Shooting Star's plan was going off exactly as he had hoped it would. With most of Princess Rosethrone's forces fighting stretched thin, it allowed his sister with Queen Evergreen and Princess Chrysalis to sneak in the back to begin their part of the mission. Shooting Star ducked a blast from Princess Rosethrone then returned fire at her. The green alicorn merely picked up one of her soldiers a rat by the neck and used him as a shield to protect herself after doing so she casts his lifeless body aside glaring at him. With the Long Patrol having given Shooting Star's forces Long Bows her archers were at a disadvantage she turned to Ripfang "Captain get down there and give them a charge!"
"Right your highness!" Ripfang said quickly stepping aside to gather forces for a charge.
Shooting Star heard the front gates rattle open and so did Martin the Warrior whom spoke to Shooting Star "Don't worry about the charge mate! I'll deal with it!"
Shooting Star accepted Martin's comment "Of course! Carry on mate!"
Once the gates opened Ripfang was ahead of Rosethrone's forces for the charge, the rat captain raised his cutlass pointing to the attackers "ONWARDS MATES! KILL THEM IN THE NAME OF OUR PRINCESS!"
With that said Ripfang led the soldiers into battle with Martin moving his paws sword in them, he raised it to the sky "COME ON MATES! Let's go! EULIA!"
"EULIA!" was the response as Martin lead the counter charge.
Shooting Star and other archers pelted the enemy's own archers with their Long Bows giving their forces cover. Martin was with Colonel Ashpaw as the two warriors fought with everything they had. Swords clashed on swords and spears clashed onto spears. While both Princesses have seen Shooting Star and his forces fight the enemy before, they were still impressed at how determined the warriors were. Princess Celestia watches the armies collide with Martin aiding the counter offensive and Shooting Star commanding the archers "Even without the Elements of Harmony...These creatures are fighting with everything they have at the enemy. This is madness and a slaughter, things I have never hoped to see Luna but yet strangely, I now deep within my heart, it's the only answer left."
Surprisingly Princess Luna agreed with Princess Celestia on everything she just said "Agreed sister, but it's good creatures fighting and vanquishing evil ones." she then spoke in a way that would've made both Shooting Star and Martin proud "But sister think of the alternative to this. Would you have liked it if Princess Rosethrone had won out and killed everypony that resisted her?"
Princess Celestia put a wing around her sister "No, Luna, I wouldn't have liked that. In some ways you being with Shooting Star has made you a bit more wiser than me in this situation."
Princess Luna blushes red at the compliment "Well, Shooting Star isn't your normal Pegasus Pony, he's a Warrior Pegasus, born to fight for this moment. Plus while traveling to find the other Equestrian tribes and their leaders I got to see a great side in him. Yes, he's a warrior, but he's also all about peace, yet he isn't afraid to go that mile to see evil vanquished. Truly he's a pony that Equestria has never seen in years mostly thanks to Princess Rosethrone."
"How's his sister?" Princess Celestia asked Princess Luna "Or shall I say, hows my sister-in-law?"
Princess Luna giggled but blushed red at her sister's teasing ways as she now heard the hows my sister-in-law comment "Tia! Well...Storm Breeze might've been enslaved but like Shooting Star, so far...She's nearly like him when it comes to fighting vermin and Princess Rosetrone. Now where she lacks in training due to her enslavement to Iron Will, she makes up for in with sheer determination. I'm proud to have her as my possible future sister-in-law."
As she is thinking on her future with Shooting Star she blushes red almost knowing for sure that she'd one day carry their child and give birth. This worried her a bit though what if something like Shooting Star being killed like his father was? No, she shouldn't think that far into the future on that part.
The two Princesses watch as both Martin and Shooting Star commanded their forces against Princess Rosethrone's forces.
Inside the back entrance of Canterlot, Braveheart lead Storm Breeze further into the castle grounds. Storm was cautious as she could be, sure darkness gave her cover but she used everything else to help her out too such as using other darker places to hide herself as the two made their way through the castle grounds. True to his word, Braveheart was avoiding Princess Rosethrone as he knew she'd probably kill him for getting captured by the enemy or something else her crazed mind could think of. Finally Braveheart lead her to the building where his sisters were being held.
"This is the place they are being held" Braveheart said to Storm.
Storm carefully saw the compound guarded by vermin guards and two Unicorn Guard ponies. Braveheart looked worried "As you can see they got this place surrounded...There's no way in!"
Storm looked studying the building then she saw the chimney of the building "True, there's no way in around it from the ground, but...There is one from the sky."
"The sky?" Braveheart inquired confused, then he looked and saw the chimney "You sure you can fit through that?"
Almost immediately he knew that was the wrong thing to say to a mare and she almost lashed out at him as she glared at him speaking in a low but threatening tone "Are you calling me fat?!"
"N-N-N-N, No ma'am!" Braveheart said.
WHAM! She kicked him in the face nearly knocking him unconscious as this was a double insult to her. She was pissed now that he had insulted her, did this young colt not take into consideration that she had been enslaved all her life and that she had been nearly starved. Braveheart sat rubbing his face where she kicked him. She wanted to go on with her beatdown but she spoke silently leaning downward "May that be your only warning. Now get on me, we're going onto the roof!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Braveheart said rubbing his cheek not wanting to receive another kick from her.
He then got on top of her and she spreads her wings and took off just as a guard walked in the spot where the two had been standing hearing the conversation. They arrive but too late, neither guard thought to look up. Quietly Storm Breeze lands on the roof top leaning down whispering "Get off of me."
Braveheart obeyed her carefully doing so. She approaches the chimney seeing she could go down the chimney whispering to Braveheart "It's big enough for us to walk down...Now carefully we'll head down, I'll go first."
Braveheart blushes watching the brave mare carefully walked to the chimney then she leaped down and began crawling into it. He watches her walk down into the chimney and once her backside vanished into the chimney he followed suit. The chimney was dusty and Storm had to use her wings to cover her nose so she'd not sneeze. Braveheart was the unlucky one as he had no wings to protect his nose from the dust but he held it in knowing that if any of them sneezed it would give them away. Amazingly neither sneezed as they make their way down the chimney and into the place where Bravehearts two sisters were held captive. The two sisters turned wide eyed with fright at first and almost screamed but then they saw their brother with Storm. Storm raised a hoof to her mouth for silence. Both she and Braveheart went over to his sisters with Storm speaking silently to the two enslaved girls "Silence is key to your survival. Braveheart and I are here to rescue you."
She uses her teeth to bite the ropes on the sisters whom glare at Braveheart for their misfortune.
"You two can beat him up later" Storm ensured "But right now you all need to get out of here."
"How?" Braveheart inquired in a whisper "Up the chimney."
Storm checked the scenario "You'd need me to fly you all up there, so that's not an option."
She turned her attention to the front door seeing as it was the only door to enter. She made her decision equipping herself with hoof blades that her brother gave her "I'm gonna engage them."
"But you'll be outnumbered!" Braveheart protested silently.
Storm turned her head a dangerous smile on her face "I'm gonna distract them. Braveheart, once they are coming at me and fighting me, I want you and your sisters to exit out the door silently then get to Dragon Lord Torch."
"Of course" Braveheart said seeing that there would be no way to talk her out of it.
He was hiding in a blush as he was starting to fall in love with Storm Breeze. Without haste she made her way over to the door and kicked it open from the back! WHAM! The door flung off it's hinges striking two guards pinning them, luckily they weren't the two Unicorn Pony Guards.
The commotion got the attention of all the other guards "What happened?" a rat asked.
Storm approached wrist blades in her hooves, with eyes that told them she wasn't playing around "Enslavement is wrong. I'm going to show you how wrong that is."
"Get her!" the closest ferret guard ordered.
The vermin guards came at Storm Breeze whom lunged at them not going to give out her warcry knowing that would give her away to Princess Rosethrone. The first two to go down were two rats with one slash of her hoof blades a piece. Four more a rat, a weasel, a ferret, and a fox closed in on all of her sides. Spears ready to spear her. Storm thought fast as she leaps into the air then with one spin kick she knocked all four of them down on each of her sides as she taunts them "Is that all you got?"
The fox whom had aspirations of being a captain in Rosethrone's army spoke "Come on mates! Watch me capture this Pegasus!"
"You're welcome to try!" Storm said.
The fox hurled his spear at her but she flew into the air letting it pass by harmlessly and accidentally nail a rat that was behind her causing him to fall to the ground slain with the spear still protruding from his neck. The Fox growls closing in on her drawing his axe "Come to me Pegasus!"
Storm Breeze waits for it as he swung his axe, she blocked it with a wrist blade he nods to the other two guards that he had with him "Close in on her and stab her!"
The Ferret and the Weasel guard obeyed him coming at Storm's flank spears ready to thrust into her. She smirked and broke the lock and uses both of her hoof blades to clash onto the two spears giving the fox room to try to take her out, and take her out he tried as he tries to cleave her in half but once more, she was too clever as she disarms the ferret and the weasel then tucked in her stomach and flew into the sky causing the axe to miss her. The fox glared at her hating that she eluded him, surely no Pegasus was this hard to kill heck he under Slopjaw's orders had to kill three of the Pegasus Pony slaves. The two Unicorn Pony guards now approach but hesitate to act.
"What are you two waiting for?!" The fox demanded "Capture her with a spell!"
Before the two could react Storm swoops onto the ground spinning around gaining winds and once close she unleashed a horrifying tornado that was shot at her opponents from the sides! The Ferret, Weasel were slain on impact but miraculously the fox survived but barely laying flat on his back wondering what was the difference in this Pegasus, she didn't fight like a normal pegasus.
Storm spoke in a warning "I'm no normal Pegasus Pony, I'm a Warrior Pegasus! There's a big difference."
Suddenly she felt pain as one of the unicorn guards now stun her with a spell and the other threw a magical net pinning her. The fox smirked getting up eyeing the two Unicorn Guards "Good, you finally did something right."
He approached Storm raising his axe "Even you couldn't stop them from using their magic"
Storm watches confidently with her eyes secretly watching Braveheart and his sisters sneaking out of the door and towards the opened back door of Castle Canterlot. She had bought them enough time for that! She watches as Captain Slopjaw approached "Wot's going on here?"
"Oh Captain Slopjaw!" The fox said "This Pegasus somehow sneaked into the house here where we're keeping Braveheart's sisters. We just captured her and are going to take her to Princess Rosethrone!"
"Oh you were hugh?" Captain Slopjaw said stepping forward eyeing Storm Breeze.
For once Storm thought that this was the real Captain Slopjaw but then she saw the unseen wink in the Captain Slopjaw's eyes and knew it was Princess Chrysalis! Storm watched as Slopjaw walked forward "No need to do so, I'll be doing that."
"AH! BUT I CAPTURED HER!"
Captain Slopjaw glared at him "And look what it cost you! It nearly cost you all your fellow guards! Only two other than you remain alive."
The Fox growled hating higher ups always taking credit for his work, besides it wasn't like Rosethrone cared for her soldiers well being, but then it hit him, as he eyed Storm brandishing his axe "WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THERE?!"
Storm smirked not going to let him know why she fought the guards like this "Ah, you aren't talking! Luckily I know how to make you talk!" he reaches for a whip "Beating you with-"
The moment he drew his whip to beat Storm Breeze with it did Captain Slopjaw draw his cutlass and plunge it into the back of the fox "Captain?!" the fox inquired with surprise in his voice.
Seeing the fox lying dead slain by Captain Slopjaw made the two unicorn guards gulp what if Slopjaw killed them? Instead Princess Chrysalis returned to her normal self as she looked at the guards whom were a little spooked at now knowing a Changeling was the true mastermind of the death of the fox.
"Easy there" Chrysalis said "We're here to get you out of here. Release Storm."
The guards hesitated but Storm spoke "She's with us mates. My brother Shooting Star is freeing all ponies that we can find. Now let me go and go to the back exit of the castle, there you'll be able to get to safety."
The guards now released her thanking her and went the way she told them. Storm Breeze looked at Chrysalis smiling at her "Thanks for the save Chrysalis."
Princess Chrysalis smiled back seeing that Storm would've been able to handle the situation she was in herself but having Changeling allies were a big assist to it "Queen Evergreen, myself and our Changelings managed to find the other slaves and are working escorting them out. We must get out of here ourselves."
"Indeed" Storm agreed.
The two walked out towards the exit.
Back at the main battle, Captain Ripfang's charge wasn't going according to Princess Rosethrone's plan. At least not with Shooting Star and the archers keeping Rosethrone and her own archers at bey. Yaks jumped up and down repeatably creating massive quakes that shook underneath vermin feet enough for them to meet their demise against Long Patrol weapons and Martin's sword which had killed many unlucky vermin it it's wake. Currently Martin himself was clashing against Captain Ripfang and while Captain Ripfang was a ruthless captain, he was completely outmatched by the warrior mouse! The rat captain had tried everything he could think of from laying out expert fake feints to downright trying to play dirty by trying to blind his opponent. Martin never faltered or fell for any of his opponent's tricks then with one expert slash of his sword, disarmed the rat captain of his cutlass with his blade at Ripfang's throat clearly defeating him with Martin ordering "Surrender!"
In all his years Ripfang had never met a mouse that was able to outmatch him in single one-on-one combat, clearly this warrior mouse's experience paid off and Ripfang was forced to issue out to the survivors "Retreat mates! Back to the castle!"
Ripfang and the remainder of his forces retreated back into Castle Canterlot where Rosethrone now noticed that ponies had gone missing "What's going on here?"
Malagor answered returning to her "Your highness! This big battle was just a diversion! While we were all pinned down, Changelings infiltrated the back entrance of Canterlot and freed the slaves!"
This angered her "And you didn't do anything to stop them?! Where's Slopjaw? I need to execute him!"
Malagor brought out the slain corpse of Slopjaw "Found him where most of the slaves were at."
Princess Rosethrone looked like she would burst, Slopjaw was dead clearly by Queen Evergreen!
She turned her eyes towards Shooting Star "SHOOTING STAR!"
Shooting Star looked up at her as his sister with the Changelings arrived with all the remaining slave ponies and Rosethrone's former warrior ponies calmly as she berated him "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
"You only have yourself to blame Princess Rosethrone" Shooting Star told her calmly as he could be "No one has the right to enslave others and use them like you did. Peaceful ponies should live their lives in peace and harmony."
"I BROUGHT THEM SO MUCH MORE THEN PRINCESS CELESTIA AND PRINCESS LUNA EVER COULD!"
"All you did was terrorize them and place fear in them" Shooting Star shot back "Such things make you a weaker ruler than any other creature I know."
She growls hearing this but Shooting Star gave his forces a nod for the single to keep the siege going but made sure no other of his creatures would get charged. He then addresses Rosethrone as the two locked eyes "When daylight emerges Princess Rosethrone I will be back to slay you in one-on-one combat."
She glared back realizing that if she managed to kill him then perhaps she could still turn this tide! Anger was mounting in her as Shooting Star with the tribe leaders, Colonel Ashpaw, Martin the Warrior and the two Equestrian Princesses simply seemed to vanish.
She quivered with rage and Ripfang gulped nervously he had seen her angry before but not like this. She glared at Malagor and Ripfang "Okay, Shooting Star, I'll play your game. I'll fight you one-on-one and you two are going to assist me if it seems I'm losing!"
She gripped their throats as if to force them to obey "RIGHT?!"
Malagor and Ripfang gasped for breathe clawing at the air as they had no choice but to obey her "Shall be done!"
"Good"
She loosened her grip while looking outward not going to let Shooting Star take everything from her "If he wants a fight to the death so be it! I'll kill him just as I did to his father!"
Once out of hearing range Shooting Star emerged with Martin, Colonel Ashpaw, the tribe leaders, and the two Equestrian Princesses. Storm watched knowing that the final battle was approaching and this meant one thing, finally her brother was going to take Rosethrone out once and for all. Princess Luna still didn't like the idea of him fighting Rosethrone alone "Are you sure you don't want my help Shooting Star?! Clearly I can be of help!"
Star Swirl answered for Shooting Star "It's Shooting Star's destiny to end Princess Rosethrone's life Princess Luna."
Shooting Star nodded grimly "Indeed, she's only going to grow more dangerous now that she doesn't have shields to hide behind and subjects to brutally murder. I must fight her one-on-one just as Lord Brocktree my adopted father done to her own adopted father. It's the only solution, as I said before, Rosethrone must be stopped, no matter the cost and for the fate of Equestria" he pauses drawing his hoof blades testing them "I must be the one to do so. Martin you are in charge of the battle."
Martin agreed with Shooting Star "I'll be glad to do so. Just watch your back. She maybe plotting some dark tactic she has Ripfang and Malagor still."
Shooting Star shook his head yes "No matter what, we will gain control of Canterlot and defeat Rosethrone once and for all."
Princess Luna stepped closer nudging him and he let her do so clearly she was afraid to lose him, but she was trying to keep her spirits high that he would survive. He looks at her with serious eyes that he loved her so much that he himself was slightly afraid of not returning to her but at the same time he realized he had to do this.
Princess Celestia walked over to Princess Luna to help council her and whispered something to her ears that made Princess Luna perk up a bit glad to at least assist somewhat, so much that she nodded towards her sister for once trusting her once more. Thus the stage was set for the upcoming battle.
End of chapter
The final battle approaches in the next chapter! It should also be the final chapter before the epilogue.