The End of Peace: Chapter 3
Stand Firm
By: Ceasertiberius
The day that Aura was attacked by the moose there were skirmishes taking place in the forests of Gildedale and the border mountains. Lord Chieftain Iron Clad of Gildedale was continuously sending squads into the forests to find the deer settlements. Most squads either never returned or came back empty hooved with heavy casualties.
Lord Iron Clad ignored pleas from his soldiers and the advice of his generals to take a different course of action. He was set on his course, believing that if they found the settlements they could destroy the deer. His stubbornness led to heavy loses and dissent in his ranks. These problems came to a head when he continued to throw his own brother into the battles out of spite. His commanders questioned his motives and began to plot a coup for the good of the Union and Gildedale.
His actions became so disregardful of his troops that the other nations refused to send him reinforcements unless it was an emergency. Celestia and the other pony leaders resented Iron Clad’s leadership. There were even rumors that Luna was helping his generals plan a coup to appoint Iron Side as leader. Iron Side had no knowledge of these plots but Lord Iron Clad suspected treachery. Because of his suspicions against his half-brother, Iron Clad sent Iron Side on increasingly dangerous missions. Every time his squad would get massacred while he’d return unharmed and self-loathing for his fortune. Eventually Luna decided to send special troops with Iron Side to protect the potential leader of Gildedale.
In the forests around Gildedale and the Ibex Empire the deer were amassing for an attack. They laid ambushes for the squads sent by Gildedale to conceal their actions. Cornibus grew more and more fervent, wanting to escalate the conflict. He organized a plethora of deer species and readied them to attack Rommule and Mountgomery.
In the mountain pass between the pony lands and the Empire two armies coalesced. Rommule had battalions of tanks and troops at the entrance to the pass with planes ready to go on bombing runs. On the other side Mountgomery was gathering a massive army of Ibex while he gathered prong agents to undercut his enemy. Yet Mountgomery had a much more devious plan to annihilate Rommule’s forces. He was going to use most of his prongs as shock and awe troops. But there was a special prong who invented ways to use weapons of mass destruction on their foes. Mountgomery was putting his whole campaign into that one prong’s ability. The actions of the leaders brought the war to a deadly head in a narrow mountain passage between the warring nations.
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It was early morning in the forests to the east of Gildedale. Although the exact time was impossible to tell underneath the canopy of the forest trees. Iron Side was trotting in between the trees carefully. Every now and then he would motion for his four comrades to move up. Iron side aimed his massive guns that were strapped to his battle saddle down a slope. There were two black tailed deer at the bottom talking. His guns were much too loud so he called over one of his soldiers.
All four of his soldiers were Gildedale earth ponies because the other nations weren’t willing to send troops. As a result their abilities were limited. A small brown earth pony pulled out a silenced rifle and took out the two deer.
Iron Side breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. His iron grey coat appeared dull in the low lighting of the forest. His dark grey and white mane and tail were cut short and cropped back in military fashion. He stared through the scope of one of his guns with his rust colored eyes to see if there were any more deer. When he gave the all clear he rendezvoused with his squad. He was at least half a head higher than all of them. He was also much larger being a lifelong Gildedale soldier. His body was strongly built and buff due to years of roaming the great plains of Gildedale. Iron side gave off a sense of authority and discipline but he was a honest and caring leader.
He began to address his squad in his deep, rough and controlled voice. “Alright we will scout down the hill for more deer then move to the objective. There we will find out if my half brother is right for once. Hopefully we will last till then.”
All of his soldier nodded in unison. They had admiration for their leader even though this was their first mission under him. Iron Side pointed at several soldiers and ordered them to certain positions based on their abilities.
Iron Side hadn’t bothered to learn their names because of his recent tragic missions. His first mission to scout the Shimerwood forest with 12 ponies ended with several dead and most wounded. This event set of a chain reaction which started the war. Then his half-brother Lord Iron Clad ordered Iron Side and his injured squad back into the Shimerwood forest. His squad was getting slowly picked off the farther and farther they ventured into the forest. Eventually Iron Side was the only remaining survivor. He got to their objective which was an empty clearing. There he was ambushed yet he somehow escaped the forest without injury, killing several deer on his way.
Once again his brother ordered him into a forest with a new squad of 5. He learned their names and got close to them just to have them killed off. Iron Side once again escaped unharmed. This built resentment and self-loathing in the large earth pony. He believed it was his fault that they had died and felt that it was unfair that he lived. Yet Iron Clad gave him a new squad and ordered him on a similar mission with the same result. Except that the killings were getting more grotesque.
Iron Side had now lost three squads on four missions while he remained unharmed. He was feeling extremely guilty as a result but other ponies started to resent Iron Clad and said that this was a sign that Iron Side was meant to lead them. This angered Iron Clad who ordered Iron Side on a fifth mission with a new squad. He completely ignored Iron Side’s pleas for a different mission or for him to relive Iron Side of his duty. Iron Clad wouldn’t hear it. This time he ordered Iron Side and 4 Gildedale ponies to the eastern forests to find black tailed deer settlements. This time Iron Side didn’t get close to his soldiers, fearing that this mission would end similarly to the others.
Iron Side sighed again and watched as his squad spanned out. Out of the corner of his rusty eyes, Iron Side saw a small brown deer with a black tail rushing him. Iron Side quickly planted his feet firmly in the ground as the deer made contact. The deer hit Iron Side at full force but it was like hitting a tank. The deer slid off of Iron Side in a daze. Iron Side didn’t even budge from the impact. He turned a grabbed a large spear on his back with his mouth. He swung the spear wide and slit the deer’s throat with the tip. The deer fell, gushing out blood as Iron Side planted the spear into his side. He then removed the spear and cleaned the blood off on the ground.
Iron Side once again showed his prowess with the famous earth pony technique of stand firm. Even his cutie mark reflected his ability with the stance. When he was young his father made him go out on a scouting mission with a battalion. They were near the east encampment when a stampede of bovine sprinted straight for the settlement. The rest of the battalion moved to avoid the oncoming barrage but Iron Side remained. He dug his hooves into the ground, creating a connection with him and the earth that made him immovable. He then took his spear and planted it into the ground next to him. He braced himself as the alpha bull slammed into him. The bull was stopped dead in his tracks. All of the other cows stopped Immedietly and turned around. Iron Side’s bravery saved the settlement when no one else would.
Afterwards an intricately carved wooden and steel spear planted into a mound of earth appeared on his grey flank. The mark represented his talent at the art of stand firm. It also represented his steadfast, strong, honest and disciplined personality. Because of this he quickly became famous amongst Gildedale’s army for being so reliable. He was also honest to a fault, feeling that lies were cowardice and only led to trouble. Regardless of his popularity his younger half-brother, Iron Clad, was made Chieftain when their father died. This was because of Iron Side’s mother. His mother was supposedly a famous earth pony from Equestria but she didn’t stay in Gildedale. Iron Clad’s mother on the other hand was their father’s wife and she was from Gildedale, giving Iron Clad favor. Yet Iron Side never complained, he went on as a good soldier although many thought he should lead.
After he killed the small deer he quickly ran to alert his soldiers. He noticed several of the small black tailed deer sneaking around his soldiers deviously, while snickering. Black tailed deer were the smallest and most devious of the deer species. They didn’t have particularly powerful magic but they were sneaky tricksters. The deer were notoriously mischievous and they were out to prove it. The little deer with their small horns jumped from their hiding places onto his soldiers. Iron Side barreled down the slope towards them.
One of the soldiers was wrestling with the deer but he was getting overwhelmed. Iron Side rammed into them and helped the soldier fight them off. He shot his massive guns into their ranks killing three. The other soldier used his shotgun to deface two other deer. The remaining ones fled.
Iron side turned to help the other soldiers. One orange earth pony was running from the deer towards some shrubbery. The deer snickered as they levitated out crude pistols and shot her in the kneecaps. The soldier yelled in agony as she fell to the ground next to the shrubbery. Several hooves reached out from the bushes and grabbed her, pulling her into their embrace. Iron side ran to the bush and searched for the soldier but there was no sign of her. He then heard high pitched screams off in the distance. The screams were in utter agony. They got increasingly loud until there was a blood curdling screech and then a gurgling sound. Then the screams stopped and childish laughter echoed around them.
Iron Side turned to help his remaining soldiers, shaken from what he had just witnessed. A few deer lit fires in front of one of his soldiers who then proceeded to run. They continued to light fires behind him until he ran over a pile of leaves. The leaves gave way and the soldier fell. All he heard was a bloody and squishy sound as the deer laughed hysterically.
Iron Side growled and looked for his other two soldiers. The one he saved was right behind him. The brown earth pony with the silenced guns emerged from a bush carrying two dead deer. The deer had small holes directly between their eyes. The brown earth pony smiled at Iron Side. “I think that got rid of them.” He then looked at the other soldier then back to Iron Side. “Where are the other two?” He then noticed their haunted faces, “Oh, crap. Well the objective is just on the other side of this hill so we better hurry unless we want to meet the same fate.”
As soon as he finished several black tailed deer leapt at them from the trees. One landed on the other soldier’s back and dug a knife into his shoulder while chuckling. Iron Side kicked him off and fired into his gut. The powerful bullets ripped through his chest leaving a bloody mess. Iron Side and the other ponies started firing into the bushes. They were rewarded with several thuds. The ponies then sprinted for the objective.
They were nearing the location when the forest became decidedly thicker. The deer started to shoot fire spells from within the trees at the soldier in the back. He was getting set on fire and screaming in pain. Iron Side stopped and ordered the brown pony to use suppressive fire on the tree line. Iron Side attempted to put the fires out in several ways but nothing gave meaningful results. As soon as he put out a fire it Immediately relit. At this point the soldier was covered in flames, writhing in agony. His skin was melting off and charring all over him. It was slowly turning black and peeling off while cooking. Even his bones were showing in spots. The soldier rolled on the ground, screaming from the pain as he tried to put out the fires that were eating away at his flesh.
Iron Side closed his eyes and grimaced in horror as he shot the soldier in the head. It was a merciful shot that Iron Side should’ve taken earlier. The screams stopped and giddy chuckling echoed around them. The brown soldier grabbed Iron side and pulled him along. After a short gallop through insane chuckling, they reached the objective. The area was utterly empty. There were some trees and no movement. Iron Side bucked a tree out of frustration. He then huffed, “My idiot half brother is going to get our whole army killed. Another empty, useless objective. There never was a settlement here. What we need to do is fight the FTO and defend against the deer. We can never beat the deer in their own forests.”
The brown soldier nodded, “Yeah your brother, our leader, is an idiot. We’d be better off if you were in charge.”
Iron Side sighed and looked at the ground, “So I’ve heard.”
Iron Side looked up at the brown earth pony who had a frown on his face. Iron Side regained some confidence and resolutely gave orders, “All right let’s get out of this forest and back to the outpost before we have any more casualties.”
The brown earth pony nodded and readied his guns. As soon as he did, several spears pierced his sides and dug into the ground, coming from the trees above them. The soldier looked at Iron Side with horror gleaming in his eyes. He spoke in a garbled way as blood flowed from his mouth, “Run.”
Another black tailed deer jumped from the tree and landed on the soldiers back. He took a rusty blade and grabbed the soldier’s mane in his mouth. The deer then took the blade and cut the soldier’s throat while yanking his head back with his mouth. The soldier’s head was slowly coming off backwards. The deer pulled hard with his mouth and the remaining skin holding the head ripped off. The deer pulled the decapitated head away from the body while chuckling. He then held the bloody head in his mouth and jumped off of the soldier’s body that was held upright by the spears. He began to slowly walk towards Iron Side with the bloody head still in his mouth.
Iron Side threw up and back peddled in horror away from the crazed deer. The deer’s eyes shown a crazed and sadistic shine to them. He cackled evilly with the head still in his mouth. Blood flowed from his mouth but it was the soldier’s, not his own.
Iron Side shook from fear and disgust. He shakily stood up and fired a barrage of bullets into the deer. The deer’s whole body was torn apart by the high caliber shots. The bullets left gapping holes in the front before shredding his back apart. The deer’s guts flew out his back as it collapsed in a pool of blood, the crazed look still on his face. Iron Side then quickly turned around and ran through the forest. He was scared, terrified even. He had always been the brave and courageous one but this was too much. As he ran through the forest, magic and bullets flew after him. Nothing ever hit him but they came close.
Before he exited the forest a body fell from the trees above. It was hung from ropes and dangled in front of him. The body was the deformed and tortured remains of the female soldier who was dragged off. She was gutted and partially skinned with her gouged out eyes peering into his soul. Iron Side threw up and started to scream in horror as he noticed her face was also carved up, her ears were barely hanging on. Iron Side’s stomach turned again as he thought that she was alive through most of the torture. He couldn’t take the sight any more, the grotesque display was too repulsive. He closed his eyes and ran again while shaking and screaming in terror.
After what seemed like an eternity, Iron Side burst through the forest and onto Gildedale’s golden plains. He then ran for another mile until he finally reached the outpost. When he arrived he collapsed and threw up more. Soldiers quickly surrounded him to help. Iron Side yelled out in anger, “TAKE ME TO MY BROTHER" He then passed out from exhaustion.
When Iron Side woke up he was on a transport nearing Thatchiholm, the capital of Gildedale. The city was built on top of a large stone foundation. It was an archaic form of defense that would do little good in the current war. The city was mainly built out of stone and wood giving it an ancient look compared to Equestria’s cities. On top of the foundation, in the middle of the city, was the Chiefs lodge. It was a massive, multistoried wooden building. The wood was all intricately and masterfully carved and fitted together. It stood as a symbol of strength and perseverance in the desolate golden hills of Gildedale which stretched for miles.
Iron Side slowly climbed the steps to the grand doors of the lodge. He opened them then walked down the elaborately decorated hall to a large wooden throne that sat in back. All around the throne, ponies rambled and argued about a multitude of things. Sitting on the throne was a fair sized earth pony with a lustrous grey coat and a rusty red mane. The pony sat looking at the carvings on the ceiling while ponies clamored for his attention. He stared blankly off into space in a bored manner, paying no head to his subjects.
Iron Side walked up to the throne and the multitude of ponies parted for him. In unison they all quieted and stared in admiration at Iron Side. The pony on the throne didn’t even seem to notice the sudden lull in commotion. Iron Side narrowed his eyes at his brother and addressed him in a stern and deep voice. “Brother we need to speak.”
Iron Clad slowly turned and frowned at his brother. He sighed heavily, “Yes, what is it? Can’t you see I’m very busy?” As he gestured to the now silent ponies around him.
Iron Side contained his anger, “There was never a settlement there. None of your locations have resulted in anything other than death. Once again my whole squad is dead and we came up empty hooved. Yet I come back physically unharmed but mentally and emotionally scarred from my experiences.”
Iron Clad rolled his eyes and huffed irritably. He looked bored but expectantly at his half-brother. “Well, now we know nothing is there and we can scratch it off our list. Nothing ventured nothing gained. So what’s your point? What do you want Iron Side? An apology for your dead? This is war, it happens.”
Iron Side was visibly angry at his brother who could care less. “We need to stop these settlement missions they’re getting us nowhere. They only lead to death and dissent. I want out of this war or at least assigned a different mission. All of my squads have died. I feel that it is partially my fault.”
Iron Clad stood up. He was spiteful towards his brother and he was going to patronize him. “Are you the Lord of this nation? No, so stop trying to run it. I make the decisions here and I’m in charge. We must find the settlements to defeat the deer. So if you would like to stop telling me how to run my nation, I would like to get back to leading it.”
Iron Side growled, “And how many settlements have you found and at what cost?”
Iron Clad yelled down at his brother from atop his throne. “It’s only a matter of time. Nothing worth gaining comes without sacrifice. If you were a true leader you would know that. So I’m going to forgive your imprudent intrusion of my court and pretend that you came here not to patronize me but instead to humbly ask for your next assignment.”
Iron Side started yelling, “You’re sending me back?! I just witnessed my whole squad get massacred in the most brutal ways for nothing yet you want to send me back!”
Iron Clad growled at him, “You’re so ungrateful. You need to learn your place brother I rule this nation. Father put me in charge.”
Iron Side growled in turn. He spoke through tightly clenched teeth in a sarcastic manner, “Then what’s my mission, my liege?”
Iron Clad narrowed his eyes then replied sarcastically, “Well my faithful subject, you are to return to the same forest and venture bravely to a new location. This one is promising. I even have a special squad for you sent from Luna herself. I guess the old mule is finally coming around to my strategy.”
Iron Side glowered at Lord Iron Clad. “When do I get to meet the future brutalized corpses that I will be leading on another fruitless mission?”
Iron Clad pointed his hoof at a group of four ponies in a corner of the lodge. “Luna sent us two ponies from Equestria, the earth and crystal pony and a Pegasus from Aura and a unicorn from Germaney.” Iron Clad genuinely smiled, proud of himself. “You see Luna has faith in my tactics, so should you. Now go meet them and be on your way.”
Iron Side rolled his eyes as he walked over to his new squad. He greeted each one of them individually while making it clear that names were not to be given. “I’ve had some recent trouble on these missions so I’d rather keep this impersonal. I’ll just refer to you by your race since you’re all different.”
They all nodded in disciplined unison. Iron Side then went through inspecting each soldier while asking questions. He started with the Pegasus from Aura. She had a light blue coat with an oddly purple mane. On one wing she had a machine gun, the other she had a sniper strapped firmly in place. Iron Side looked over her toned and aerodynamic body. “So what can you do?”
The Pegasus replied officially, “Sir, I have excellent sight for scouting and sniping. I can also do effective dive bombs…….without any bombs.”
Iron Side shook her hoof. “Good to have you on the team.” He then moved to the male unicorn from Germaney. He had a pale yellow coat with an orange mane. The unicorn grinned slyly at Iron Side. Iron Side noticed that he had a single basic assault rifle. Nothing flashy like the others. “So what do you do? I noticed you have a very standard rifle.”
The unicorn chuckled lightly, “Ahhh yes, I prefer magic. I can use a vide array of effective magic from sensing to combat. Much more fun zan guns.”
Iron side shook his hoof then moved on, a little weirded out. He then looked at the brown plain earth pony with a tan mane from Equestria. He sighed in relief, finally somepony who’s normal with no strange colors. “What are your abilities?” The earth pony just stared at him silently then nodded to his strong back legs and then to two massive miniguns strapped to his back. Iron Side looked confused, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
The unicorn from Germaney laughed slightly, “Oh he doesn’t speak but he’s one hell of a killer.”
Iron Side smiled awkwardly while shaking his hoof. “Well ummmmm, nice to meet you.” Iron Side lowered his head, trying not to make eye contact as he moved onto the last pony. The last pony was a crystal pony whose coat shinned a light maroon that matched his luminescent light pink mane. The pony only had two pistols strapped to his sides. Iron Side raised his brow at the last pony, “Well you have some interesting colors.”
The crystal pony snickered in a surprisingly deep voice, “Most crystal ponies do but I make up for it in skill passed down through generations of my family.”
Iron Side looked extremely curious at this, “Oh? Such as?”
The crystal pony grinned smugly, “I’m extremely quick, agile and stealthy. On top of that my crystal skin is virtually like diamond and I am skilled with pistols. Also last but not least I can use crystals for certain magical effects.”
For the first time Iron Side noticed that everypony wore battle armor but him. The only thing he wore was a bandolier strap with different colored, small crystals in the holsters, almost like bullets. Iron Side pondered this for a moment but moved on, deciding he knew nothing of crystal ponies and it was probably for the best. Less he get close and personal with his soon to be dead squad. Iron Side stood proudly before them to address them as their commanding officer. “I am honored to have all of you serving under me. Our mission will not be an easy one, I just lost a squad to these varmints this morning. We are to enter a hostile forest and locate the black tailed deer’s settlement. Once we have found it we are to report back its location. Any questions?”
All of the soldiers stood completely still, asking no questions and never shying away from the prospect of danger. The group loaded up on a transport and headed towards the accursed forest. The ponies were for the most part silent during the trip, except for the occasional small talk. During the whole trip Iron Side stared out fearfully towards the forest.
When they arrived it was midafternoon. Iron Side couldn’t help his sense of dread and deja vu from seeing the forest again. It was just earlier that day that he witnessed some of the most graphic scenes of war he had ever encountered yet it seemed like a life time ago. Iron Side noticed that he was shaking violently. He took a deep breath and put on a brave face for his new soldiers.
He turned around and addressed them as they unloaded. “I’ll lead us through the forest, I was just here earlier. We will stick together and work as a team at all cost. Regardless of the need to scout or secure an area we will stick together. I don’t care if you have to piss, we will all accompany you. Black tailed deer are the most vile and evilly mischievous creatures that I have ever had the displeasure of coming into contact with. They will pick us off if we separate and do unimaginably cruel things to us for their entertainment.” Iron Side lowered his head and whispered sadly, “I learned that the hard way.” Iron Side regained his composure and turned back to his group. “Never underestimate those devious beings because of their size. Kill on site and stick with me. We will get to the objective in and out as quick as possible. If anyone is being captured or tortured do them a kindness and put a bullet in their head.”
The ponies stood fidgeting after their leaders unnerving brief. Iron Side looked at his group, they could see his haunted face. For the first time, the ponies hand picked by Luna looked fearful and nervous. Iron Side sighed and ordered the group to form up on him.
They entered the forest but Iron Side quickly took them on a detour. He was thankful that no one questioned this, he was just trying to avoid the path he took this morning. After awhile in the forest, in blessed silence, Iron Side noticed that the unicorn’s horn was glowing. He looked around but saw nothing. “Why is your horn glowing? Did you see something?”
The Germaney Unicorn ignored him for a time before his horn stopped glowing. He then turned and smiled at Iron Side. “Ze coup vas successful!”
All of his squad smiled joyously. The female Pegasus pumped her hoof in the air, “Now we can get out of this creepy forest!”
Iron side stood still while watching his squad celebrate. He was completely ignorant to what was going on. “Ummmmm…..why are you all celebrating? Did you say coup?”
The Crystal pony walked up and put his hoof over Iron Side’s shoulder. “Yes the coup to over throw your brother Iron Clad.”
“Wait What?” Iron Side had no clue what was happening.
The crystal pony laughed loudly. “Yes of course that’s why were here. Luna hoof picked us to protect you. She and the other Union leaders then plotted with Gildedale’s generals to overthrow Iron Clad. It was successful and now we can get out of this Celestia forsaken forest. You see most Gildedale elders and leaders want you to be Chieftain. So we protected you to make sure that happened. Your half-brother was a foolish and arrogant leader. Complete disregard for his citizens and soldiers, disgusting. So for the betterment of the Union and Gildedale we over threw his tyrannical ass.”
Iron Side’s eyes were as large as saucers. “A coup? I mean yeah he was being an awful, inconsiderate leader but the military plotted to overthrow him and make me leader?”
The crystal pony nodded ecstatically, “Yes precisely. He was an abomination of a leader. This mission itself proves it. He kept throwing his troops at deadly goose chases. We just couldn’t allow that.”
Iron Side shook his head to clear his thoughts, “You keep saying was. Did they kill him?” He sounded fearful and sad.
The crystal pony shrugged while the unicorn and Pegasus hoof bumped. “Hell if I know. I’m just saying was because he’s no longer in control. Anyways we should get out of here quickly so we can party and you can be crowned or whatever it is that you do here.”
The crystal pony slapped Iron Side on the back. He then turned around to exit the forest through the path that they entered from. When he turned all he saw were bushes. He then did a three sixty and noticed that they were enclosed by foliage.
All around them there was rattling and eerie sounds. Chuckling and creepy laughter quietly echoed all around the group. Bushes moved slightly and a dark mist started to creep out of the bushes. The laughter increased and got more maniacal. Whispers and snickering progressed in a frightful manner as the forest suddenly got much darker. Everything was slowly moving and whispering but the ponies couldn’t see the culprit.
The group formed a circle and aimed at the underbrush. All of the sudden it got deadly quiet. Then small beady eyes peered out at the group from every directions. Hundreds of them looking crazed and sinister as they narrowly scanned over their prey. Laughs and inaudible chatter started to rise again as the air got noticeably cool.
Iron Side was starting to panic as he screamed at his soldiers, “FIRE! SHOOT AT ANYTHING THAT MOVES! OBLITERATE THIS FOREST!”
Bullets and magic of all varieties cut through the forest in a spiteful fury. Deer started to pounce out of every crevice imaginable as they swarmed the group. The small deer were about the same size as the ponies but they could overwhelm in mass. The ponies were mowing down dozens at a time but the psychotic deer just kept coming. Their eyes reflected an insane desire for cruelty.
The deer were flooding the area in a continuous flow. The earth pony was doing his best to cut them down but they kept coming. The unicorn was shooting fire, electricity and ice at the oncoming deer but they deflected much of it. The crystal pony was making some headway by shooting crystal bullets that exploded or poisoned the deer.
A group of deer charged the crystal pony to try and capture him but he was too quick. He dove to the side, firing into them. Each shot took out a deer. When he landed he took out a large red crystal and threw it into the deer. The crystal exploded in a fiery fury, scorching many of the deer. Another deer ran and stabbed the crystal pony with a rusty blade. The blade broke on his skin and the crystal pony pivoted, planting a heavy buck on the deer’s face. The deer flew back and he shot him twice. He then took out a blue crystal and threw it at more deer. The crystal shocked a multitude of them but they got up and fought viciously through the pain.
The Pegasus flew into the air to snipe the deer. After a short time she had little success as the small deer were excessively nimble. She got frustrated and dove into the deer causing a massive explosion. She then flew out and landed next to Iron Side. The deer were in a frenzy from the explosion but they soon regrouped and charged.
Eventually Iron Side ordered them to fire on one section to clear a path. They concentrated fire on one group, tearing them down. The group finally broke free and made a run for it. The crystal pony threw a white crystal behind them which made a thick cloud of smoke to conceal their movements. They then ripped through the underbrush and continued to flee.
They were all excessively injured, including Iron Side. He had a massive cut on his back where a deer cut him with a scythe. The whole time they were fleeing deer continued to pop out of the foliage to attack. The insane chuckling persevered the whole distance also. After nearly half an hour of running the group finally stopped in a small clearing. They attempted to catch their breaths quickly and move on but they weren’t quick enough.
As soon as they stopped several deer appeared in the bushes. They all slowly started to make their way towards the group. They were cackling manically and twitching as they neared. Several of them were drooling and snarling at the ponies. They all had very archaic and disturbing weapons in their mouths. Several had rusty, brutally carved knifes and others had spiked clubs.
The large earth pony started up his miniguns to mow down the deer. This only made the deer grin wider with frightening glee. Another deer leapt from behind them and landed on his back. The deer took a wickedly curved and serrated knife and dug it into his shoulder blade. The pony started to buck furiously as tears left his eyes. He opened his mouth in a scream but nothing escaped. The deer held on and yanked the knife forcefully sideways. There was a loud crack and blood began to spew from his nearly detached limb. The foreleg flopped to the side as the skin and muscle peeled off, revealing his bone.
The earth pony fell on the ground writhing in shock from the pain. He bit down on his bit, starting up his miniguns. The bullets flew and cut the deer in half, his guts spilt out in front of the pony. As soon as that deer went down a multitude cut the group off from the injured pony. The group started to fire into the deer but they made little progress. The deer were actually defending themselves this time, agilely dodging and magically blocking the bullets. Only a few went down and they were quickly replaced all snickering at the fearful ponies.
Iron Side tried to find the earth pony. All he saw was the soldier being dragged off into the forest with a bloody severed limb in front of him that wasn’t the one that was cut earlier. Iron Side also noticed that there were stakes in his eyes were blood was bubbling out. A line of blood flowed behind him as he was dragged along, his mouth spilling it out profusely. Yet he wasn’t given the blessing of death.
Iron Side lowered his gun and aimed at the earth pony. He took the shot but a deer leapt in front of the bullet. The bullet tore a hole through his chest. The deer feel to the ground laughing insanely as blood streamed from his mouth. When Iron Side looked again the earth pony was gone.
His comrades were still keeping the deer at bay but they were surrounded. There was no exit and the deer were being much more self-preserving than before. Eventually the Pegasus got frustrated and flew into the air. This was a huge mistake. As soon as she took to the air deer leapt on her from the trees above. They took their sadistic knives and stabbed her wings repeatedly. She fell to the ground on the other side of the deer. The deer surrounded her and began to slowly cut her in the most devious of ways.
They took their rusty blades and cut her ligaments slowly, carving at them and her bones to increase pain. The whole time they laughed fiercely. They then bound her wings while she screamed in agony. They slowly started to bite her and rip off skin. They held the bloody skin in their mouths as the blood dripped from it. They then started to slowly rip her wings off with magic. She started screaming in a terrifyingly primal way.
The screams sent chills down the remaining ponies spines as they tried to mercifully shoot her. But every time they tried a deer would either use magic to stop the bullets or intercept the bullets themselves. The whole time the deer made sure that the other ponies could watch her torture.
The Black tailed deer continued to rip her wings off. First came an agonizing crack then the skin started to rip. Blood poured from the wings and the satanic deer stuck their faces in it lapping it up joyously. They continued to rip the wings until the muscle was only hanging on by a thread. They then all grabbed a hold of her wings in their mouths and tore. The wings came off and were being ripped to pieces by the crazed deer who chuckled as they tormented her. She cried and wailed while she writhed in pain. The deer laughed and forced her down. They then nailed her hooves to the ground with large rusty stakes. She screamed and begged for mercy with tears flowing from her face the whole time.
The deer then took their crude blades and started to carve her chest open. The process was slow and chaotic. They ripped through her sternum and started to peel her skin back. She was convulsing from the shock and blood loss, throwing up and spewing blood. Yet the deer wouldn’t give her the mercy of death. Iron Side snapped at this sight. He started going manic, firing shot after shot into the deer. The other ponies followed suit. Eventually Iron Side had a shot and he took it. The top half of the Pegasus’ head blew off, covering the deer in brains and skull. This made the deer cackle giddily, they were shaking from the excitement of the gore and torture.
Iron Side bellowed in rage. He had finally gotten the mercy shot but she had been brutally tortured in agonizing pain for far too long. Iron Side couldn’t take it anymore, these deer were by far the most vile and disgusting creatures ever created. They revealed in the pain and agony of others. Gore and violence was their pleasure. This wasn’t war, this was an unforgivable atrocity. The most heinous and devious act ever committed.
Iron Side went insane. He took out his spear and charged the deer without a thought of his own wellbeing. He swung wildly but devastatingly as he tore through their numbers. His comrades started to go berserk in turn. The unicorn used his magic to rip the deer apart limb by limb. The crystal pony started using his crystals very effectively. He threw a crystal into one of their chests. It began to glow then exploded, causing crystal shrapnel and ribs of the deer itself to embed itself into numerous dear. He then would throw them into the deer, fire, poison or any number of things would terrorize the deer.
Finally a clear path had opened up but the ponies didn’t stop. They were on a vengeful mission. They used bullets, magic and blades to cut the deer in a flurry of motion. Iron Side spun his spear at insane speeds, cutting the deer’s limbs, chests and throats. He also randomly fired his powerful rifles into the crowd, tearing deer apart. The unicorn was using insanely destructive magic, obliterating troves of deer. The crystal pony was agilely running in between the deer, shooting them accurately. He would periodically throw a multitude of crystals into the deer clearing out dozens. After nearly an hour of fighting the deer stopped.
The three ponies were heaving heavily. Hundreds of mutilated, bloody bodies laid strewn out across the forest floor. All of their fear and anxiety that the deer brought them was gone. It was replaced by anger and revenge which propelled the ponies into a deadly frenzy. They were able to clear a whole area of hundreds of deer. But it wasn’t without cost. The ponies were extremely fatigued and injured in numerous ways.
The ponies slowly walked through the forest, paying no attention to their direction. They just wanted to rest and leave the blood bath behind. Their minds were in a tired and furious haze. It wasn’t until the laughing started again that they were brought out of their stupor.
When they regained their composure they noticed that they were in a large clearing. In the clearing were hundreds of tribal huts. Spiked poles were everywhere with a variety of disemboweled and beheaded creatures put on top for display. A few of the spikes had tortured ponies. All of the huts looked like they were painted with dried blood. The stink in the air was distinctive. It was of decay and death.
The laughing turned even more sadistic around them, if this was even possible. All around them black tailed deer emerged from the forest. They came out of huts and closed in on the ponies. In their current state there was no way that the ponies could fight this many deer. The deer made a path up to a temple like structure. The building looked ancient, made from old carved stone. It stood above the rest of the buildings, looming over the forest. Moss and vines grew on the foreboding structure.
The deer forced the group towards the temple and up the stairs of the temple. The black tailed deer flanked every side of the ponies. They had blood covering them in designs like paint. They all stared intently at the ponies, following their every move with their beady black eyes. The deer whispered and snickered in disturbing fashions, some stomping their hooves with anticipation. The ponies quickly ascended the stone stairs and entered the temple.
The interior wasn’t nearly as large as the outside or at least what they could see wasn’t. There was a long, dark, stone hallway that was slightly lit by torches. On the walls there were faded paintings of ancient deer using powerful magic. At the end of the hall there was an altar covered in fresh blood. Skeletons and body parts laid strewn out across the floor in odd patterns. There were blood smears on the floor, walls and even the ceiling.
Siting on the altar was an all-black deer. As the ponies neared they quickly noticed several things. First was that the deer wasn’t naturally black, it was very old and dried blood that appeared black in the lighting. Second was that he had a skull on top of his head. It was a pony skull with still a fair amount of skin and fur on it. The deer eyed them wildly as he licked his lips while cackling giddily.
Iron Side thought that the skull looked familiar but he didn’t want to think about it. The deer stood up and started to stagger slowly towards them. He was still licking his lip and barring his teeth. The ponies aimed at him in unison. The deer stopped and then hung his head. He turned around and sat back on the altar still licking his lips hungrily.
The ponies eyed him suspiciously when a calm and persuasive voice came from behind them. “He won’t actually eat you, you know. The black tailed deer have fallen a long way from their peaceful and joyous culture thousands of years ago. They may be sadistic, unintelligent and grotesque now but they aren’t carnivores. Even insanity can’t completely change biology.”
The group spun around to look at a large, dirty brown deer. The deer had large antlers that spread out chaotically. The deer eyed the ponies sternly with his small eyes. His face was set in a somehow prideful frown, as if he was disapproving. Iron Side only came up to the deer’s shoulder, he certainly wasn’t a black tail. Iron Side cautiously aimed his guns at the deer. “Who are you? Why have the black tails brought us here?”
The large deer glared down at the grey earth pony. “I am chancellor Cornibus of the Confederacy. I am a white tailed deer here to direct the unruly black tailed deer for an attack.”
The deer grinned deviously at Iron Side, “I already know who you are, Lord Iron Side.”
Iron Side was shocked at the deer’s knowledge. “How did you know my name and besides I’m not the Chief of Gildedale.”
Cornibus laughed haughtily, “Oh I know many things Iron Side. I know about the coup and Luna’s involvement. I also know that you will be made Lord if you escape this place.”
Iron Side stared at the deer, a bit scared of his insight. “What are you doing with these savage beasts then? What attack?”
Cornibus smiled lightly, “The black tailed deer may be barbaric and disgusting but they are effective. I myself prefer magic and civility in war. I believe more in honor and intelligence but they are great pawns. Now to head off future questions let me tell you a story.”
Cornibus smiled whimsically as he reminisced on a time long forgotten. He began to tell his ancient story of legend and lore. “You see a long time ago, thousands of years ago in fact the black tailed deer were very peaceful. The place where you are now used to be an ancient, magical and grand city. Here the black deer lived in complete peace and joy. They were once a very intelligent and revered species. They were close to nature, they revered it, worshiped it even. Then the great deer war came. The poor, small, fragile black tailed deer were terrified. They wanted nothing to do with the fighting all of those centuries ago. So they disappeared into their forest. The forest magically cut off outsiders and sealed the deer inside, shrouding them from the war. It was this way for over a thousand years. Most of the other species forgot about them, they all had their own problems with isolation and the consequences of the war. But one day the forest opened up. When we ventured inside we found a barbaric and simple species. Their culture and intelligence was gone. The once grand city was gone, replaced by huts. All that remained was this temple that is now covered in blood and bodies of the animals that they once revered. The temple used to be a place of magical discovery now it is a grotesque display of sadistic violence. The deer were crazed and vile but they were easy to manipulate.”
Cornibus sighed, “No one knows what drove them to madness, to the point where they mutilate bodies for fun. They became insane and mischievous, simple minded really but they are still herbivores.”
The whole time Cornibus spoke the black tailed deer rolled in the blood on the altar. He was twitching and laughing hysterically at times. He seemed completely content in his vile mess while Cornibus talked. Cornibus paid him no heed as he continued. “Many deer theorize that the utter isolation drove them mad or that the magic of the forest corrupted them. Others say Discord did this to them or a brain disease of some sort. I personally don’t care, I can use them for my own benefit. You see if you can control them, they become very obedient and deadly pawns. Even now I’m readying them to attack the ponies and the Ibex in the mountain pass.”
The black deer started chuckling as he rolled methodically in the blood. Cornibus turned around and sighed disapprovingly. “Do stop that. It’s quite repulsive and unbecoming.” The black deer looked chastised. That didn’t last long as he started to chuckle manically before rolling off of the altar in a fit of crazed laughter. Cornibus rolled his eyes, “I’m not sure why they decorate with bodies or why they wear blood almost habitually. They do it almost as a ritual but they aren’t worshiping anything. They seem to do it for a kind of twisted entertainment. They can’t help but laugh all the time. It’s quite creepy actually.”
The ponies didn’t know what to do or say. They stood there in stunned silence, watching the lunatic black deer and the regal white one. Eventually the unicorn spoke up, “So are you going to let us go, kill us now or just play vith us for your enjoyment?”
Cornibus looked at the unicorn in mock sympathy, “I’m sorry but I can’t let you live. If I do you’ll go back and tell your leaders before the attack. That just won’t do. You know far too much already.”
The crystal pony raised his brow at this, “Well we wouldn’t of if you didn’t tell us everything.”
“On contra, you know the location of this settlement.” Cornibus said slyly.
Iron Side shook his head, “It’s not like we could find it again. We haven’t exactly been keeping track of our movements.”
Cornibus grinned evilly at Iron Side as he levitated the map from Iron Side’s saddle bags. He unfolded it and pointed to the x. “It appears that you have it marked on your map.”
Iron Side’s eyes grew big as he struggled for an explanation. “My brother was actually right?! Look we wouldn’t have known that if you didn’t point it out and besides your deer kind of forced us here.”
Cornibus laughed hardily, “Really now I don’t care. You are acting like this is a hearing, like you’re on trial. I don’t care what you prove or argue I’m going to kill you regardless. This is war my friends and you Iron Side are the new leader of one of my enemies. So why would I let an opportunity like this slip through my hooves?”
The unicorn sighed, “So are you just going to kill us? Easy und clean or are you going to give us a fighting chance.”
Cornibus shrugged nonchalantly. As soon as he did small yellow eyes appeared in cracks all over the dark temple. The black deer sat up excitedly and Cornibus grinned deviously. The ponies readied their guns. They turned around and saw hundreds of deer all still and staring intently at the ponies. The deer went from right behind them to out of the temple and far into the village.
The ponies were about to fire when the unicorn was grabbed and yanked back to the altar by the deer. They took him and tied him down on the altar. The unicorn was killing some deer with magic but he knew it was pointless. The black deer took a shiny knife and stood over the unicorn, drooling happily. The unicorn nodded at the crystal pony then used his magic to push the deer in between them aside. As soon as he pushed the deer away the crystal pony shot him in the head. The black deer on top slumped down sadly, he looked so disappointed and cheated. The whole scene was appalling.
Cornibus just rolled his eyes and turned to the mass of deer. “Well what are you waiting for? Kill them!”
The deer sprinted in a frenzy at the two remaining ponies. They had nowhere to go as hundreds of deer descended on them in the tight hallway. The crystal pony looked around frantically until he finally looked up. He grinned and then grabbed Iron Side with a hoof. He jumped up and grabbed onto a ledge above them, hoisting the surprised Iron Side with him. Once they were on top of the ledge they ran down a small tunnel and out of a small opening that the crystal pony made larger with a yellow crystal. The crystal pony then threw several multicolored crystals down the tunnel. He was rewarded with yelps of pain and an angry Cornibus growling in frustration.
The crystal pony ran to the back end of the temple and flipped off. Iron Side jumped off, landing much harder and much less gracefully. They then made a rabid sprint towards the forest. They didn’t make it far before the deer started to catch up. The deer ran parallel to them, laughing as they went. They would turn to stare insanely at ponies before leaping towards them. This went on for nearly an hour yet the ponies persevered. Eventually their path had started to get rapidly steeper. They were gaining elevation quickly and fatiguing equally as quick. The forest was beginning to thin out and the deer were getting more and more frequent.
After a long run the deer flanked the ponies and pinned them against a steep slope. The ponies were struggling to climb it as the deer rapidly neared. They knew that it was only a matter of time before the deer caught them. The crystal pony looked up at Iron Side and smiled lightly. “You need to escape and lead Gildedale. Your people need you. I can handle some puny deer.”
Iron Side was in shock. He shook his head furiously, “No, I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for me. I’ve already lost several squads and most of this one.”
The crystal pony laughed, “That was our orders. Luna told us to protect you at all cost. This is how I protect you. I’m only following orders. Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain, run.”
Iron Side hesitated but he eventually continued to climb as the crystal pony remained behind. The crystal pony was shooting down at the deer who were climbing up the slope. He was killing plenty but they just kept coming.
Eventually the deer had amassed to where he couldn’t simply shoot them off. The crystal pony took off his bandolier and smiled at the now distant Iron Side. He threw the bandolier down the slope and into the multitude of deer. A million different lights and explosions went off. It seemed to last forever but eventually it subsided.
The crystal pony then quickly jumped down and started fighting the remaining deer. The deer pounced on him, cutting him with knives but they did little to his diamond hide. The crystal pony jumped and spun over the deer, beating them as he went. He continuously fired bullets into them but he soon ran out of ammo. At this point he made a stand, fighting them off with his hooves. The deer quickly started to overwhelm the crystal pony. Even after the massive explosions and fighting there was still dozens of deer left.
They finally pinned the crystal pony against a rock. The deer parted and allowed the black deer from the temple to step forward with a massive and sharp sword. He grinned and cackled giddily as he drooled eagerly. His eyes looked over the pony in a peculiar manner. The deer was shaking in anticipation but before he could strike the crystal pony took a bright yellow crystal and swallowed it. The deer paid no attention to this. He took the sword and forced it into the crystal pony’s gut. The sword actually penetrated and blood started to flow. The deer howled wildly in triumph. The black deer looked into the crystal ponies eyes with his small black ones. The deer grinned manically and the crystal pony grinned right back with blood dripping from his mouth. The crystal pony’s whole body started to glow a bright red and yellow. The crystal pony waved at the black deer while smiling arrogantly. The deer narrowed his eyes and snickered before he rolled on the ground, laughing hysterically. The crystal pony’s glow brightened then a massive explosion ripped through the mountain side.
The whole mountain shook as a massive plum of fire grew from where the crystal pony was at. At this point Iron Side was high up on the mountain. Even from there he could feel the explosion. A whole side of the mountain was black and there was a massive crater where the crystal pony was just at a second before. There were also no deer in sight.
Iron Side sighed and continued over the mountain and into a valley on the other side. He continued to run through the valley, never looking back at that evil place. If he did get back to Gildedale he would try to end this war. All this cruelty and death wasn’t worth it. With that in mind he ran into another forest near the far mountains towards the Ibex Empire.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was around noon and a large, dark brown elk was wandering through a forest. The elk had massive symmetrical antlers that constantly glowed with power. His eyes remained closed at all times for he was blind yet he could use his magic to see. The elk’s name was Silentium and he was born blind over 370 years ago. As a result he became a master of magic, using it to see the world around him. He can see but in a different way from most animals. Silentium used his magic to sense different rays from what the eyes could see. Because of this he could still see figures and details but different ones from normal elk. He saw at a faster frequency of wavelengths from that of eyes. This allowed him to see slightly into the future at all times which could be a valuable asset and a hindrance.
He used his future sight to see enemies’ movements before they acted but he also saw himself ahead of where he physically was. This could be a problem but he had gotten used to it. He was also used to his sight which picked up objects just as well as eyes but in a different light. Silentium could see magic at a very detailed level but not small details that eyes could pick up. His whole situation was a give and take.
Even though he was blind he was highly regarded. Eventually he married a young doe and had two children. During this time he continued to study and expand his knowledge. He used his abilities to help his species prosper. He was also insanely honest, he saw truth as the ultimate wisdom. The elk in his tribe came to love Silentium as an honored member of society.
Overtime his magical prowess grew and so did his wisdom. The deer in his tribe acknowledged his wisdom and revered it. Because of their respect for him they made him the head elder. When the other deer confronted them to join the Confederacy, Silentium’s tribe made him their chancellor. In the early days of the young Confederacy, he worked to strengthen ties with the other deer. His tribe started the great deer war as a power struggle for ancient magic long forgotten. As a result many of the deer had trepidation about Silentium and his tribe.
Silentium didn’t let their concerns stop him. He showed the deer how advanced and wise his tribe had become. He even apologized for the war even though it was long before his time. He expressed his wisdom on the matter, using it to be in stark opposition of starting a new war. He claimed that his tribe had learned from their mistakes and that they needed unity but not conflict. Silentium wanted to regain glory through unity and peace with all species. This was in direct contrast to Chancellor Cornibus’ view.
At first the deer were torn between the two opposing views. But when the Union and Order invaded their forests unknowingly all of the chancellors quickly sided with Cornibus. Thus the war began and Cornibus used his new found influence to banish Silentium and excommunicate his tribe. His tribe blamed him out of anger and in turn banished him. They felt that his pride and strong antiwar views ruined their chance at unity.
So Silentium left. He wandered many forest and mountains between Shimerwood and his home forest of Sapias. He ventured through the border mountains in between pony lands and the Ibex Empire for several months. He lived with nature and watched the war from afar using his magic. Eventually he got restless due to the escalation of the war, especially on the deer’s part. With a new sense of dread he wandered back to his forest hoping to see his family and set his worried mind at rest.
He was walking in the outskirts of the Sapias forest as the sun was directly overhead. The forest was silent, too silent. Silentium could see a disturbing absence of magic in the ancient forest. He continued to walk slowly through his home forest, ever watchful.
Laughter, it started off slowly and quietly but the closer he got to his village the more frequent it became. The laughter wasn’t from joy or jubilation but was sadistic and eerie. The laughter grew in volume and consistency as Silentium continued to walk. Even with Silentium’s heightened hearing and his sight of low level magic, he couldn’t pinpoint the source.
After nearly an hour of walking through the echoing laughter, Silentium finally arrived at his village. What he saw through his magic was absolute destruction. The giant trees that housed his people were all burned and scorched. There was debris scattered all throughout the area. There was a smoky and deathly smell in the air. It reeked of decay and destruction. Yet Silentium saw no signs of life or of bodies. He continued to walk through the village, checking houses and buildings for any signs of life. There was nothing just debris and chaos. It was almost as if a fire was set and the elk just up and left in a panic, not taking anything with them.
As he thought over the possibilities he came to the large central tree. It towered over the rest and spread out at great lengths. The massive roots curved and dove underground. The tree still sparkled with magic in all its grandeur. Yet it was the only thing that was giving off magic, which in itself was strange. The tree looked burnt but it stood resilient. Inside though the scene was much the same, debris and chaos but no signs of life.
Silentium went around to the backside of the tree and that’s where he saw it. A massive blood stain on the forest floor. It was gigantic, like nothing he had ever seen. Yet Silentium couldn’t see the blood’s tint so he couldn’t determine its age without magic. Somehow there was still no magic in the area, almost like something was jamming it. Silentium noticed several things about the stain. First of all its size, it was large enough that a whole village could’ve been slaughtered there. The second fact though made the first one peculiar, there were no bodies. Nowhere was there any sign of a body or of any parts. It was just a giant blood stain with no magic or visible source. The only objects in the vicinity were some devious looking blades that laid next to the stain. Another thing Silentium noticed was the silence, the laughter had stopped.
Silentium was dumbfounded by the whole situation. He decided to move on and check his own house. He came up to his large tree and was immediately drawn by the presence of magic. He looked above his door and there, strung up on top of the tree was an elk. The elk’s antlers were glowing brightly. There were strange amulets all over him, stretching between his antlers. They too were glowing strangely. The deer was still alive, his chest was moving slightly but he was unconscious.
Silentium noticed all of these things at once but what really caught his attention was the elk itself. Silentium knew this elk, it was his youngest son Virtus. His son was a large, dark brown elk with chaotic antlers. He was middle aged being about 220 years old. Silentium hurriedly tried to use his magic to cut his son down but it failed. As soon as his magic neared his son it cut off. Silentium paid close attention to the amulets on his son. He noticed the pattern and concluded that they were likely channeling his magic to put out a magical jammer. This would drain the use of magic over a large radius. This explained why there was no magical signature in the forest besides the grand tree.
The only reason he was able to use magic was because of his mastery of it. He went back and levitated up one of the strange blades next to the stain. He then returned to his son and used his levitation to propel the blade at the amulets between his son’s antlers. The blade cut many of the stings and several of the amulets fell off. Most of the remaining ones where faltering. Silentium was then able to strip the others away using his magic. He cut his son free and levitated him to the ground.
Silentium immediately noticed magical signatures all around him. Silentium stood over his son as he began to stir. His son came to and looked up at Silentium. He coughed and gasped for air before speaking in a soft raspy voice. “Father? What are you doing here?”
Silentium’s face reflected his worry, “I was worried that something might have happened to my home as the war escalated. I came back to see if you were okay. Obviously something did happen. Do you know what happened?”
Virtus coughed some more before answering fearfully, “It was the black tailed deer. Those savage monsters surprise attacked us. There were so many and they were well directed. I doubt they acted alone, they had to have someone giving the orders. They’re not that intelligent so someone must have used them as pawns. Anyways they burned the houses but only a little. They then gathered all of our people and tortured many of them. We killed a lot but they kept coming, they overwhelmed us. They did awful things to our people behind the grand tree. They then took some prisoners with them. Only a few elk escaped from the black tail deer. They then hung me up to our house and strung me with these magic blocking amulets. I think they meant to send you a message. They then cleaned the whole village of any bodies and then disappeared, leaving me strung up.”
Silentium looked terrified, “How many did they kill? Where did they take the prisoners?”
His son coughed up some blood before continuing, “I don’t know, they separated me early on. I was unconscious for a lot of it.”
Silentium had an anxious and worried look about him now. “Where’s your mother and brother? Are they…..”
Virtus shook his head, “Last I saw they were alive. They might have escaped but I’m not sure.”
Silentium sighed with some relief. “Alright we need to get you out of here.”
His son suddenly looked panicked. He started blurting out words in fear, “The black tailed. They did things, terrible things. The white tail it was him. Told them to do this, to kill and torture. They laughed, they enjoyed it. They will come for you. LEAVE ME!”
Silentium tried to calm his terrified son to no avail. All of the sudden the laughter started up again. This time it was loud and chaotic, surrounding them. Silentium could now sense the source. He could see the magic coming from everywhere. They were deer, black tailed deer everywhere, snickering manically. Silentium stood up and tried to help his son. As he did a deer jumped from their tree and onto his son. The deer raised his head and laughed insanely. He took a rusty blade and stabbed Virtus in the chest repeatedly. Blood was spewing from his chest profusely. The deer had an insane and joyous look in his black eyes.
Silentium back peddled in horror. His parental instincts finally took over and he bucked the deer off of his son. Silentium was much larger than the tiny deer. He was twice their size and the force of his buck proved this point. The deer hit their tree, his insides crushed. The deer fell to the ground twitching.
Silentium ran over to his dying son, attempting to stem the flow of blood. His son was coughing up blood as he attempted to speak. “Kkkillll meee. Pleasse kill meee. Runnnn.”
Silentium tried to comfort his son but he didn’t give him any comforting falsehoods. He just tried to help his son. “Shhhhh son try to be calm. I think my magic can stop the bleeding just stay awake.”
Tears were flooding out of Silentium’s closed eyes. The laughter grew more intense and wild all around them. Silentium could sense the deer surrounding them and moving closer. He ignored them and concentrated on his son. His son weakly grabbed his hoof and spoke slowly through gags of blood. “Daaaddd, looookkk at meeee. Lookkkk at meee with yourrr eyesss.”
Silentium opened his eyes revealing milky pearl orbs. Virtus looked into his fathers blind eyes with his brown ones and smiled. “I love you dad.” He then coughed up more blood and was still.
Silentium began to sob into his son’s body that he was now holding. He could sense the black deer literally next to him but he could care less. Silentium’s son had died and he was mourning. The deer tried to grab him but he used an immense shockwave to push them back. The deer flew away like rag dolls as Silentium stood up slowly. His eyes were still opened and he turned to glare at the deer. His eyes were glowing and they had white magical mist flowing angrily from them. “You destroyed my home, my people and my son. Tell me, who ordered you to do this?”
The deer responded by laughing methodically and snickering at the large elk. Silentium’s antlers glowed brightly with a pearl white aura. A white ring floated above his antlers as it pulsated with energy. Silentium lowered his head and released the energy. The ring went out, cutting and destroying the deer. It went through them like they were butter. Limbs, heads whole bodies were torn apart like they were nothing. Blood and body parts flew everywhere in a slow motion fashion. Silentium closed his eyes and began to serenely walk through the blood bath. As he went deer tried to run only to be torn to pieces. Their body parts separated and then slowly floated away in the air.
The magic was immensely powerful. Some deer had their limbs ripped from their sockets, bones cracking and flesh tearing. Others had their insides ripped out, torn from their chest in a bloody display. Others were simply beheaded with their heads being torn backwards, the skin and muscle tearing as the spine was severed. In some cases the deer were literally turned to bits and pieces. Their bodies were almost exploded from within. Every different situation resulted in blood and parts flying through the air in slow motion
A deer charged Silentium but as soon as he neared his head flew off, floating slowly backwards. As soon as the deer were hit by the magic certain body parts came off like they were nothing. Time would then seem to slow around them as the parts flew off and the bodies fell. Silentium continued to walk calmly through the slaughter as parts fell and tore off in slow motion all around him. It was like a bloody and gory show of power. The moment was almost like the feeling of falling, when everything seems to be moving in slow motion but Silentium was walking normally. It was the magic doing this to the limbs, making them move in slow motion as Silentium calmly walked by.
Silentium exited the village serenely and as soon as he did all of the still floating parts immediately fell from the air. Blood and remains rained down on the village. All of Silentium’s emotions; sadness, anger, fear, loss, all went into that attack. He learned at a young age that he could harness his emotions into powerful magic. The spell would expel all of his emotions in a flurry, well almost all of his emotions. A few tears escaped his now closed eyes as he wandered back through the forest.
Not long after he exited the forest Silentium sensed multiple deer following him. He used an immense amount of magical energy in the village and he was fatigued. The deer started laughing all around him again. There were far too many to fight. Silentium was amazed by how many there were even after he killed so many. They started to chuckle crazily at the large elk. Silentium decided to make a run for it.
He was quick but the deer were small and nimble. They would jump out of bushes and attempt to cut the large elk. Silentium was able to avoid any major injuries by using magic but he was still often cut. The deer’s sheer numbers were staggering, even after he killed likely hundreds, hundreds more pursued him. He continually put up magical barriers and threw the deer to slow their progress but they continued to gain on him. Eventually Silentium escaped the forest with the deer hot on his tail.
Silentium attempted to teleport but every time he did a deer would take the chance to attack. Soon Silentium was in the border mountains nearing the valley in-between. He figured that after he got away from his forest that the deer would stop following him, he was wrong. They actually seemed angry and vengeful at Silentium for his massacre in the village. As if they had any right to be angry, they did worse to his village and his own son.
Silentium had been running for a long period of time when he sensed another mass of deer in front of him. At this point he was in the valley between the mountain ranges. The deer had still given no signs that they were going to give up.
Silentium turned sharply south to avoid the new mass of deer. He was running full speed when he noticed that the masses joined but fell behind a ways. Silentium looked over his shoulder to see what they were doing. In that split second Silentium failed to sense the being in front of him. They collided and laid sprawled out on the ground. Silentium huffed and dragged himself to his hooves. He shook his head and took a deep breath. He then turned and looked at what he hit. Lying a few feet away was a grey pony who was slowly standing up.
The pony shook the dust off of his coat then turned to see what collided with him. Standing next to him was a massive brown elk with closed eyes. The elk definitely had some age to him as there were white streaks on his coat. Iron Side was a large pony but this elk dwarfed him. He was at least twice Iron Side’s height. Iron Side angrily aimed his guns at the elk while growling. “Are you with those damned black tailed deer?”
Silentium looked at the pony curiously, “Most definitely not. They are chasing me to try and kill me so why would I be with them? They attacked my village and killed my son.”
Iron Side hesitated. He was rightfully suspicious of any deer species yet something was different. His honest instincts made him sense the honesty in the elk. With no justifiable reason to, other than his gut instincts, Iron Side accepted the elks answer. He lowered his guns and looked at the elk curiously, “Some white tailed deer named Cornibus is preparing them for an attack. They have now killed two of my squads and are after me. They have done some of the most vile and disgusting things that I have ever seen. We killed plenty but the sadistic monsters just keep coming. I’ve been running for hours but they are still following me.”
Silentium sighed, “So it was Cornibus who ordered the destruction of my people using those devious pawns. It’s not surprising, he did have a grudge against me and he was always one for petty revenge and arrogance.”
Iron Side huffed angrily, “He would even use those things to kill deer because of a grudge. I hate this war, it’s full of atrocities and betrayal and for what? I’m going to try and end this war especially if I get back to Gildedale to lead my nation.”
Silentium nodded understandingly, “I was against the war from the beginning. That’s why Cornibus hates me. I almost prevented his precious war from happening but I failed. Now he’s attacked my home as punishment for my dissent towards him. I too wish to end this war.”
Iron Side smiled lightly as he responded in his deep, booming voice. “Well then maybe we should work together. But first things first, we need to ditch those maniac deer that are chasing us.”
Silentium bowed his head, “I would be honored to accompany you sir…..”
“Iron Side of Gildedale.” Iron Side stated a little too formally.
Silentium continued to bow, “Sir Iron Side. My name is Silentium and I am an elk of the Sapias forest.”
“It is good to meet you sir Silentium. I think we should probably get going now. We need to escape those grotesque deer. Although they seem to be waiting a ways behind us.”
Silentium nodded, “It’s curious isn’t it, like they’re waiting for something or someone…….I know a narrow pass through the mountains that will get us near an Ibex town. There we should be safe from the deer and as long as we stay hidden the Ibex won’t bother us.”
Iron Side didn’t know why but he already had a tremendous amount of respect for this elk. Iron Side nodded and gestured for Silentium to proceed. The two left the valley and made their way up the mountains. When they were a safe distance, they looked back down the valley at the deer. There was a massive grouping of them, standing uncharacteristically still. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a much larger deer stood among them. “Cornibus,” Iron Side muttered under his breath.
Silentium nodded, “Indeed, they will be making headway soon enough. We need to hurry before they start moving again.”
Iron Side agreed and they continued their trek up the towering mountains. Snow whipped around the pair but it didn’t stop them. They were high up in the bordering mountains near the Empire. After a long time of treading through the snow, the pair finally reached the passage. It was a narrow cut between peaks. It was slow moving through but that would also mean that it would be slow for the deer. It was just Silentium and Iron Side going through the pass, the deer had hundreds more to get through or go around for a longer route.
After some time the pair finally got out of the snowy peaks. They eventually made it into the forests below the mountains. In the distance they could see lights in the darkness of the setting sun. Silentium gestured for Iron Side to follow him towards the town. Iron Side followed obediently. He hoped for many things at this point: for their safety from deer and Ibex, for Gildedale and most of all for the war to end.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was midafternoon in a small mountainous town in the Ibex Empire. All was peaceful in the quaint town as it usually was. Yet today was different, there was anxiety in the air. A loud trumpet echoed through the peaks and the town’s citizens quickly fled towards their homes, locking their doors.
A procession started to make its way into the small town. Thousands of tan Ibex with large twisted horns spread out. Standing on top of a large tank was a light brown prong. The prong wore a general’s uniform and had a black beret on top of his head. The prong’s face looked old, showing his experience. He also appeared rugged and was sporting a light mustache. He stood above the Ibex yelling out orders in his formal prong accent. “Round up all male civilians in fighting condition! This is war boys and I plan on leading us to glorious victory!”
The Ibex went from door to door knocking and escorting the males to a large tent. Most of the Ibex civilians went reluctantly but some refused. Those who refused were either beaten into submission or shot. The prong turned to the tank captain, “I have a special citizen that I need to speak with. He lives in a mansion on the outskirts of town. He is an ingenious weapons scientist. The brightest of our generation really. Be sure to have tea made when I get back from my meeting.”
The Ibex captain nodded, “Yes Sir General Mountgomery.”
Mountgomery got off the tank and made his way calmly and slowly up a dirt path towards the mountains. He walked regally with a light smile plastered on his face. The prong was amassing the largest army ever to combat the ponies in the pass. This prong and his magical weapons of mass destruction were key to his victory. He was on his way to personally greet this accomplished scientist.
In a mansion just up that dirt road was a 34 year old prong named Harry. The prong had a light tan coat and bright blue eyes. His horns were medium sized and silver. He himself was a medium sized prong. By just glancing at him he would seem very pedestrian yet he was a genius. Not only was his IQ staggering but so were his magical skills. He could ride lightning and harness electricity better than almost any prong. The government revered him but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. They used his genius to produce magical weapons with unimaginable potential. Harry hated violence and was highly opposed to the war but one couldn’t exactly say no to the government.
Harry was in his kitchen cooking dinner for his family. His wife came in and kissed him on the cheek. She was a medium sized prong with a nearly red coat and shining green eyes. “You know I can cook dear.”
Harry was rapidly cooking at insane speeds. His two kids, a male and female prong watched in awe. Harry just smiled at his wife, “Yes I know my dear Elizabeth but I’m experimenting. Besides I thought you were supposed to be relaxing for your big surgery tomorrow? Who told you to come down? I wanted this to be a surprise.”
Before Elizabeth could answer her daughter Emma spoke up. She was a teenage prong with her mothers red coat. “I did dad. I’m afraid of your experiment cooking and mom always cooks great food.”
Harry narrowed his eyes at his daughter. He then moved over and placed a muffin with an egg on top on her plate. “Well then I guess you get the Eggs Benedict Arnold.” Harry’s eye was bulging and he pointed at it with his hoof then pointed at his daughter. “I’m watching you Granger.”
Harry then went back to cooking happily as Elizabeth chuckled lightly. Emma looked overly confused, “Dad what even is this. I’ve never heard of eggs Benawhatever and who is Granger?”
Harry paid little attention to his daughters’ questions as he hummed a song to himself. “Just eat it, If it's gettin' cold, reheat it, Have a big dinner, have a light snack, If you, don't like it, you can't send it back, Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it, Get yourself an egg and beat it,”
His wife and son giggled, not quite sure what was happening as Emma sat grumpily playing with her food. Harry was always random and funny. Even though most of the time they had no idea what he was saying. Elizabeth learned when she first met Harry his reasons for his randomness. When he was young both of his parents died in a laboratory accident in Hong Prong. He was taken in by his Aunt Victoria. Harry was a sad child for a long time until he saw a kid being bullied in school. The kid hid afterwards and cried to himself.
Harry decided to try to cheer up the child because he knew how it was to be depressed and always crying. He easily made the kid laugh with his random and hilarious humor. That’s when he found that making others happy made him happy. From then on he was cheery and always joking to cheer others up. It covered his pain and helped others cope with theirs. After that he began trying in school and he was quickly found to be a prodigy. His IQ was astounding and he was told to skip high school and go to college.
That was how he met his wife. She was also extremely intelligent. She skipped two years of school making her only two years older than Harry. But Elizabeth was a loner because she got made fun of for being smart and nerdy. As a result she always appeared sad, school work was her only escape. Harry noticed her and tried to make her laugh. When it didn’t work he followed her around until she agreed to go on a date with him. On that date she broke down crying saying that he was the only one to ever care if she was happy or not. After that they dated for two years before marrying.
Elizabeth was no longer a social introvert and laughed often with plenty of friends. Harry was the happiest prong in the world. They graduated Grad school quickly, Harry as a physicist, Elizabeth as a doctor. Immediately the government took notice to Harry. Harry agreed to work for them on their energy problems but Elizabeth wanted to move to a small town to be their doctor. Harry agreed and moved with her. There he continued to work on his own projects while they raised a family. But when the war began the government came for him. They essentially forced him to make terrible weapons with threats against his family. Harry continued to be joyous especially around his wife and kids, Emma and Timmy. Yet he carried resentment with him for the war and the government.
At this time though, Harry was enjoying time with his family. He served out his strange food to his family and they sat down and ate. They were enjoying quality family time but it didn’t last for long.
There was an abrupt knock at the door and Harry went to answer it. He swung the door open and there standing in the doorway was a prong, fairly larger than Harry. He had a calm and formal smile on his aging face. The prong bowed slightly then looked Harry over with his stormy grey eyes. “Ah Mr. Harry, just the prong I was looking for. Well aren’t you going to invite me in?”
Harry stared coolly at the General for a moment. He then happily jumped up frantically. “Oh hello General Mountgomery, what a pleasant surprise!” Harry called back into the kitchen, “Honey we have important company over!” He then smiled joyously at the General, “Oh do come in General. I must apologize for the mess in the house. I would’ve cleaned up if I knew someone as esteemed as yourself would be coming over. Here let me spruce up a bit.”
Harry pulled out a feather duster from nowhere and started brushing the General. He dusted the General’s face furiously making the General cough. Harry then put the duster away, “Ah all better.”
Mountgomery coughed again and regained his composure. “Uh quite, much better indeed. Thank you Harry. Now would you be so kind as to put some tea on.”
Harry shot into the kitchen then came back just as quickly. “The tea is boiling. Now may I take your jacket General?”
Mountgomery raised his brow, “I don’t have a jacket Harry it’s nearly summer.”
Harry then reached over Mountgomery’s shoulder and took a wool jacket from his back. He then hung it on the coat rack. Mountgomery looked completely perplexed. He had no idea where it had come from. He’s never even worn a wool jacket. Mountgomery was in a confused stupor as Harry pointed at his beret. “May I also take your hat sir?”
Mountgomery shook his head, “No that’s quite alright Harry. I prefer to keep my beret on.”
Harry shrugged, “Okie dokie lokie, whatever you say Mr. General pants.” There was a whistle from the kettle in the kitchen. Harry then shot into the kitchen to get it. Mountgomery was about to follow but he was still staring at the jacket suspiciously. He had no idea where it had come from. He then turned around and Harry was standing there, levitating two cups of tea. The General levitated his tea towards him cautiously. He started towards the kitchen.
Harry cut him off abruptly, “My family is still eating dinner. Let’s go into the living room so we don’t disturb each other. The kids don’t need to hear about the war.”
Mountgomery nodded and followed Harry into the living room. They sat down on a pair of red couches next to the fireplace. The room was comfy with a light red paint that matched the furniture. Mountgomery set his tea down on the coffee table and smiled softly at Harry. “Sorry that I interrupted you at dinner.”
Harry shook his head, “It’s no problem at all really.”
Mountgomery looked him over slowly, “So what have your kids been doing?”
Harry stared blankly at the General, “They’ve been doing.”
Mountgomery stared at Harry, waiting for him to continue. When it became apparent that Harry was done he continued on. “Alright then Harry. Let’s skip the pleasantries and get down to business.”
Harry looked disappointed, “But pleasantries are so pleasantly pleasant and business is so busily busy. It’s not as funerific unless it involves explosions.”
Mountgomery had no idea how to respond. “Well……Harry this does involve explosions. Massive explosions in fact, that you get to create.”
Harry was looking at him expectantly with undivided attention. Mountgomery hesitated then continued. “As you know there will soon be a battle in the mountain pass between us and the ponies. I have amassed the largest army in history so victory is assured but I need something from you.”
Mountgomery waited for Harry to respond but he never did. Mountgomery looked uneasy as he continued. “To minimize our casualties we need to use your special magical weapons to defeat the ponies. It will save countless Ibex and prong lives. So if you could ready your weapons of mass destruction and show up in the pass tomorrow at noon that would be much appreciated. I expect that you do know what will happen if you don’t show.”
The General leaned in closely, insinuating something devious. Harry sighed, “Of course sir but first may I send my family off to Hong Prong?”
Mountgomery sat back grinning arrogantly. “Of course, send them off. Take your time. Just make sure that you show up on time tomorrow. We wouldn’t want anything to happen in Hong Prong now would we?” Mountgomery looked at Harry suggestively, “With the ponies of course.”
Harry nodded slowly, “Well it was good seeing you General. I have a lot to do, ready the weapons and send my family off. So I bid you farewell.”
Mountgomery stood up and bowed. “I will see you tomorrow Harry. Thank you for your hospitality.”
The General then went into the entrance way. He looked at the jacket suspiciously before he reluctantly took it. He then tipped his beret to Harry and exited the mansion. Outside there was an Ibex guard. The guard saluted then addressed the General. “Sir, should we get guards stationed here to ensure that the scientist comes?”
Mountgomery shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary. He will come, no matter what. I know he will, even if it’s not how we want him to show up. There’s no controlling that one.” Mountgomery then wandered off down the path.
Harry quickly ran into the kitchen to talk to his family. “Honey you and the kids are going to my Aunt Victoria’s house in Hong Prong.”
Elizabeth raised her brow, “Why honey? You know I have that surgery to perform tomorrow.”
Harry was running around frantically searching for something. He kept muttering, "The government, it’s all lies and evil.”
Emma rolled her eyes, “Great, mom dad’s lost it!”
Elizabeth chuckled, “Honey your dad’s never had it and you know this.”
Timmy the little white, male prong spoke up for the first time. He was coughing and wheezing slightly. “Mum, what’s wrong with dad?”
Elizabeth shook her head, she appeared concerned. “I’m not sure. Harry who was at the door? What are you freaking out about?”
Harry abruptly turned around, “General Mountgomery. The military wants me to use my weapons tomorrow. You have to get to my Aunt Victoria’s home in Hong Prong immediately.”
Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide, “Kids let’s go pack. Dad’s busy.”
Harry’s family went up stairs to pack as Harry ran around frantically. He then bolted down into the basement. There were large missiles and blueprints in the basement, papers were everywhere. Harry quickly started dismantling the missiles. When that was done he levitated every paper and took them to the living room. He stuffed the papers into the fireplace. They were over flowing the small fireplace. Harry shot lightning at the papers, setting them ablaze. His family came down the stairs dressed for travel with suit cases in tow.
Harry ran over to bid his family farewell. He first went to his young son Timmy who had been mildly sick for a few months. “It’s okay tiny Tim you’ll make it to Christmas.”
Timmy coughed, “Dad what’s Christmas?”
Harry hugged him and kissed his head, “It’s okay son you’ll make it. Bye son keep your mother and sister safe. You’re the man now.”
“Dad I’m only 7 and I’m sick.” Timmy said while laughing.
Harry responded in a slight whisper, “Shhhhhh, you’ll do great.” He then saluted his son, “We’re all counting on you son. Make us proud.”
Timmy laughed as Harry moved to his daughter. “Emma remember to keep your priorities straight. Don’t die or even worse get expelled and don’t fight a troll alone in a bathroom.”
Emma had no idea what her strange father was talking about. “Dad if we're going Hong Prong I won’t be in school. Also I’ve never even seen a troll. Aren’t they just legends?”
Harry just made a goofy face with his tongue hanging out and his eyes going sideways in response. Emma sighed, “Mom what’s wrong with dad.”
Elizabeth chuckled, “Oh he just likes to break things.”
Harry kissed his daughter on the head then turned to his wife. “Like the wall!”
Emma looked even more confused as her parents laughed, “What wall?”
Harry narrowed his eyes in mock seriousness. “The wall. The wall of secrets, bum bum bum!” Harry then
turned and kissed his wife. “Be safe honey. Remember to tell Aunt Victoria exactly why I sent you. She’ll know what to do. Oh, and tell her to stop wearing black it’s been years since Uncle Albert passed away.” He leaned in and whispered to his wife conspiratorially, “I think she’s a bit crazy.” He then made a loopy face while rotating his hooves around his ears.
Elizabeth laughed. “Oh what gave you that idea honey?” She asked her husband sarcastically in a joking way.
Harry shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s weird because the rest of my family is so normal. Especially me.”
Elizabeth kissed her husband while she laughed hysterically. “Bye honey. Stay safe.”
His family made their way out of the house waving and saying goodbye to each other. Elizabeth ran back and kissed her husband again with a worried look. “Please do stay safe Harry. I’ll miss you.”
Harry kissed his wife again and hugged her, “I will but this might last for a while.”
They broke their embrace and Harry’s family made their way down the dirt path, waving back. Harry waved down and yelled in a stupid accent, “Now ya’ll come back again ya hear.”
His family went out of sight and Harry returned to burning papers. It was now late afternoon and Harry had finally completed burning all the papers. He also dismantled all of the weapons. After he was done essentially destroying his work for the government, he then headed out to the forest around his house. He planned on watching the military’s movements. He had no intentions of helping them slaughter millions. Instead he was planning to end this war, for his family and for the world.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The sun was setting slowly behind the mountains. The once peaceful town was now erupting with military activity. In a nearby forest two creatures sat, watching the commotion. One was a grey earth pony named Iron Side, the other was a brown elk named Silentium.
Iron Side grumbled as yet another transport full of Ibex soldiers drove by. “I thought you said this was a small peaceful town. That we wouldn’t have to worry about the Ibex. Yet here we are, hiding in a forest because the town is overrun by the whole freaking Ibex army!”
Silentium sighed, “I have no idea why they are here. There is no strategical importance to the town and the population is low.”
Iron Side grit his teeth, “Whatever the reason is they’re here now.”
The pair walked deeper into the forest, moving away from the town. They saw a large mansion in the distance and approached it. The mansion appeared empty but the pair didn’t take any chances. They stayed back and watched for movement.
As they watched carefully from a distance a voice came from behind them. It had a strange formal accent yet it was almost silly. The voice was most definitely a male. “Hey what are you guys doing?”
Iron Side grumbled in exasperation, never turning around. “Spying on the Ibex. Well watching their movements from a safe distance.”
The voice got extremely high pitched and exited, “No way! Spies! I’m also a spy! Well sort of. But I am watching the Ibex army’s movements! I’m also hiding and being all sneaky like! I got cool gadgets and stuff! OH THIS IS SO EXCITING! WE’RE SPY BUDDIES!”
Silentium shushed the voice without ever looking back or considering it. “Shhh, we can’t be spy buddies if you’re loud and blow our cover.”
The voice still sounded excited but it was whispering. “Oh sorry. I’ll just sing my spy song quietly.” The voice actually started to sing, his excitement was noticeable. “There's a man who leads a life of danger. To everyone he meets he stays a stranger. With every move he makes another chance he takes. Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow. Secret Agent Man, Secret Agent Man, They've given you a number and taken away your name.”
Both Iron Side and Silentium looked at each other in confusion. They turned around to look at the voice behind them. They both asked the same question at the same time. “What’s a man?”
The voice responded nonchalantly but still excited, “I don’t know.”
Iron Side stood up and stumbled out of shock. Silentium stood up and back peddled slightly. Neither of them had even considered the voice behind them. Now they were looking at a fair sized prong with a tan coat. He was standing right behind them, he was the whole time. He was smiling at them happily with excitement written on his face.
Iron Side aimed his guns at the prong. “Where did you come from? Why were you behind us? Are you going to try and kill us?”
The prong was practically bouncing from the excitement. “I guess now we’re interrogating, how fun!”
Iron Side pointed his guns directly at the prong. “Who are you? Answer me prong, I’m serious.”
The prong was giddy with excitement. He then noticed Iron Side’s guns. “Yeah serious time! MINES BIGGER!” The prong then pulled out a massive cannon from nowhere. The barrel was gigantic and it was pulsating with lights.
Iron Side appeared slightly scared. He talked in a nervous voice trying to sound threating. “Lower the weapon or I will shoot. What are you even doing here?”
The prong started talking in a jokingly serious tone. “Now it’s my turn to ask questions.” He then asked a strange question in a very odd, whinny and high pitched voice while flailing. “Where were the other drugs going!?”
Silentium raised his brow, “Drugs? What drugs?”
Iron Side started to get mad, “Put the weapon down or I put you down.”
The prong then changed his accent making it deeper and more rugged. “You want to do this the hard way hu? Then go ahead make my day.”
The prong then aimed down his sights. He once again changed his accent, making it exotic while speaking some strange language. “Hasta la vista baby.” The prong then put on sun glasses that also appeared from no-where. He then aimed at the pair and fired the cannon.
Out came a flood of white pills. Iron Side and Silentium stood in utter shock. The prong then yelled and jumped into the pills, stuffing them into his mouth. He yelled excitedly, “Yeah, there are the drugs!” He continued to stuff his face with the white pills while making a “nom” sound repeatedly.
Silentium levitated up a pill and ate it. His eyes opened up surprisingly, revealing his milky orbs. “They’re mints!”
The prong was still eating the mints happily while he talked to the pair. “So you guys are being chased by deer and want to end the war hu?”
Both Iron Side and Silentium looked taken back. Iron Side asked the prong suspiciously, “How did you know that?”
The prong threw mints up in the air in feigned exasperation. “Because I was spying! DUH! I even sang a song!”
Iron Side just stared at him blankly. All of the sudden the prong got a lot more serious. “By the way my name is Harry. I too want to end the war and I would like to accompany you.”
Iron Side and Silentium stood still, mouths agape. Iron Side was being cautious, “Well you just admitted that you were spying on us so doesn’t that mean you’re with the Ibex?”
Harry shook his head furiously, “Nope not that kind of spying you silly filly.”
Iron Side was scratching the back of his head in confusion. “Uh hu, well I guess you could come.”
Silentium then raised his head high and alert. “Well then we better hurry. I just sensed the deer. They’re moving and they're closing in fast.”
Iron Side and Silentium grabbed the prong and ran south, in the opposite direction of the deer. While they ventured south the trio exchanged stories. They told each other about their past, how they got here and why they hate the
war. Iron Side told of his childhood in Gildedale and the start of the war. He talked about his encounter with the black deer and the loss of several squads. He also went into the coup, his brother and Cornibus.
Silentium then recounted his early years in his forest. He then went on to explain the Confederacy and Cornibus thoroughly. After that he talked about what the black tailed deer did to his home and son.
Harry didn’t just tell his story, he made a game out of it. The whole time he made jokes and added random inclusions. He went through about being a scientist that made powerful weapons and about his family. He then recounted Mountgomery and his plans.
After that the group discussed each sides plan for the passage battle. These conversations went on until the early morning. The whole time they were staying just slightly ahead of the deer. By the time they reached the mountain pass it was noon.
They came into the pass from the north. The pass was massive. It ran from the edge of Equestria into the Ibex Empire. The valley pass was at least a mile wide and an indiscernible length. Each side of the pass was flanked by massive mountains that were thousands of feet high, all snowcapped. Near the middle of the pass ran another series of valleys going from north to south. The valleys met the pass near the middle forming a cross shape. These valleys were smaller, more broken up and much more rugged. They had hills and small peaks breaking them up unlike the main passage which ran west to east.
On one side of the pass the pony army amassed. Thousands of tanks were divided into battalions in the pass. Soldiers laid spread out, behind the tanks and into the mountains. Planes constantly flew overhead and deployable missiles were stationed. Their tech and accommodations were unrivaled. The army looked like more of a show of strength and grandeur than anything.
On the other side was an army that was at least four times the size of the ponies. There were very few tanks and no planes. Their conditions were rugged, same as their weapons. Yet there was an innumerable amount of Ibex soldiers. They took up several square miles on their side of the pass with crowded soldiers. There were even hundreds of prongs which would present a challenge for the ponies.
Iron Side, Silentium and Harry stood on top of a large hill at the cross. They were looking down on each of the massive armies, bent on destruction. From up here they could even see the General’s tents. Down on the ponies’ side there appeared to be a commotion at Rommule’s tent. Their eyes were then drawn to the Ibex side by a bright flash. It came from Mountgomery’s platform in the middle of his army. They could see the General standing proudly on top of it, now there was another prong next to him. Both sides were organizing but something appeared to be troubling each side.
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Rommule was looking over a map of the passage in aggravation. The small, grey unicorn was grumbling angrily to himself. His assistant Proditorem came in and set a glass of beer next to the General. The General swiped the glass off of his desk in frustration. Proditorem ducked and the glass flew over his head. It hit the side of the tent, spilling and falling to the ground. Proditorem quickly scrambled out of the tent in fear.
Rommule sighed in frustration. “Vat does Celestia zink zat zis vill accomplish? Does she van't us to loss half of our army? I need more time to make a feasible plan but she commands me to attack early. Zis vill result in heavy casualties.”
Rommule flipped his desk in annoyance. He was heaving heavily when he heard a commotion from outside his tent. It sounded like some of his soldiers were arguing but there were two female voices arguing along. Rommule then thought that he recognized one of the voices. His eyes grew wide. “It couldn’t be, he should be dead,” Rommule thought. He heard the voice again and he now felt uneasy. He made his way to the tent flap and opened it to the outside.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mountgomery was standing regally on top of his wooden stage. He was just finishing addressing his soldiers when a bright light flashed next to him. Standing there was James in a new white tuxedo. The brown and white prong had wounds all over his body. He appeared to be in pain but he was trying to hide it due to his pride. James held his head high as he approached the General.
Mountgomery smiled lightly at James. “Ah James. I see you have a new tuxedo.”
James didn’t have his usually cocky grin on him. Instead he had a serious demeanor about him. He saluted the General, which Mountgomery found oddly official. “I have captured both Generals and returned them to Hong Prong.”
Mountgomery eyed James’ wounds carefully. “Good, another mission accomplished. Congratulations James, you are our best spy.”
James stood next to Mountgomery in utter silence. He was completely stoic and Mountgomery found this disconcerting. “You seem a little worse for wear old chap. Something happening on your mission?”
James huffed irritated, “There were a few inconveniences. There were some who objected to my work and they made themselves known. They very well could be a problem in the future.” James growled, “I even had to get a new tuxedo. I barely escaped with Fire Storm. Aura was hell between the moose attack, the military and some nuisances.”
Mountgomery decided not to press James, “Well we have the General’s in custody and were about to destroy the ponies.” Mountgomery looked up to the hills to the north. He was looking directly at Harry. “Ah and Harry is just on time. Perfect, well old chap how about we get some tea. This is going to be quite the interesting day.” Mountgomery gestured for James to follow him. He then turned and winked towards Harry.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Harry saw Mountgomery’s gesture. He cringed at it then looked back down at the armies. All of the sudden Silentium spun around. He yelled for the trio to get down the hill. Right behind them emerged hundreds if not thousands of black tailed deer. Standing in front of them was Cornibus. He took a deep breath then smiled down at the group. He then turned around and disappeared into the multitude of cackling deer.
The trio continued to run down into the valley. They were nearly in the middle of the pass when they noticed that the deer weren’t following them. They then looked up to the mountain slopes. The black tailed deer stood completely still in ranks. All of the sudden a plethora of different deer started to come out of the tree covered mountains. Both sides of the pass were now being covered by every species of deer. They almost seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.
Both the Ibex and the ponies were in chaos. Guns were being pointed everywhere and the battle almost started that moment. The whole pass was in utter chaos as the three sides met. Right before the fighting seemed to begin the whole pass froze. Everything from deer, Ibex and ponies stood completely still. The pass was in complete silence and calm as a massive roar echoed throughout the mountains……….