Olden Trottingham; 1,997 Years Ago
If seen from a birds eye view, the streets of Trottingham seemed to be filling with an ocean black and grieving. Ponies wearing their best funeral attire followed a line of hearses that carried the remains of soldiers that had been found amidst the battle field… the ones intact anyway. All in all there were twenty or so caskets, each filled with their own pony body.
Among the dead counted there were Lieutenant Shield Bash, Corporal Stone Hoof, Private Swift Feather, General Stalwart Ward, just to name a few. As a few was all that was left.
A few was all that was left of a force of at least a million. Several thousand ponies, griffons, and other races went up against that monster and he had simply dashed them out of existence like you would brush dust off a shelf.
The grieving were not only the family and friends of the deceased, but the whole growing town. They had lost these great ponies in sacrifice for their country, so that the townsfolk may live on another day without the threat of annihilation over their heads. The Princesses themselves also made a public appearance, dressed also in black to honor the ones who had fallen.
They were trying their best not to join the chorus of weeping, but with so much sorrow in one place it was becoming hard not to. It was as if he had come here for that one reason, to make everypony either dead or miserable.
He succeeded in at least one.
The hearses had finally reached the cemetery that had been dedicated to the fallen soldiers, while everyone else entered through the low hanging arch of the morbid place. Undertakers took the coffins from the hearses, carrying them to their respective graves.
As they did so, ponies with bugles began to play a military tune as the coffins were laid down into the ground. All was deathly silent as Princess Celestia stood on a small stage above the graves while the bugles trilled.
They stopped finally, as the last casket was placed in the hallowed ground and the Princess began to speak.
“Today, Equestria hath been met with its most vicious adversary to date. More violent than any threat posed before. More ruthless than any enemy previously met. His intentions were as evil as he, and had it not been for the brave ponies we dedicate this ground to, his reign of terror may have never ceased.”
The coffins landed below ground in their respective graves, ponies all over were crying, sobbing and sniveling. Mare, stallion, colt, filly, there we even some other species in attendance to pay their respects. Ponies began to shovel dirt onto the coffins. Luna was by Celestia’s side, tears forming in her eyes. She herself had lost a great number of friends in this battle.
For whatever sadistic reason, Ulquiorra decided to focus on the Night Guard more than anypony else. Perhaps they reminded him of himself. There was one filly who was crying by her mother’s side, screaming and crying.
“Mother! Why art they burying father?! Why won’t they stop?! Why art they burying everypony!? He's fine! Stop burying him!” The mother tried desperately to halt the filly as tears flooded down her cheeks, trying to escape her grasp to join her father and stop the Undertakers burying him.
I myself was almost brought to tears when Luna silently flew over to the crying fillie’s side, taking her into her wing span, hugging her. Even then the crying filly wouldn’t stop, and simply continued to cry into her wings. She could only imagine what that monster was doing now that he was entrapped within the black pits of Tartarus.
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Tartarus; 1997 Years ago
Mark was ever so slightly tugging at the little wooden blocks, comprising an even larger wooden tower. The tower itself comprised of wooden blocks put in a certain pattern, three by three to be exact. He tugged slightly at the thin brick at the bottom corner of the towers base. Slowly, carefully… THERE!
He did it! That was his fifth piece! Or so he thought. The tower began to rumble, tipping towards him. He gazed at it with a deadpan look as it began to tumble, wooden blocks falling onto the table inside his unbelievably small cavernous cell. He despised the cartoon logic this world ran on, but hey...
That’s Jenga.
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What ever he was doing, the royal sister’s were sure his punishment was suitable. All around ponies were dressed in black, mares on the shoulders of their stallions, grieving for lost sons or brothers. Ponies were not the only ones who had sustained considerable losses, not by a long shot.
Diamond Dog villages had been forced deeper below ground to avoid the green wrath of Ulquiorra, Minotaurs had retreated to the mountains where they were at least partially safe, and the Griffins fled north high up into the skies where they'd be safer from the constant bombardments. Two whole years did he terrorize the world, but finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, Ulquiorra had been sealed behind the mountainous doors of Tartarus, with the rest of his ilk. Hopefully one day the scar that was Ulquiorra’s visit would one day heal.
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Grave Site Luna’s Point of View; 1,997 Years Ago
In that moment, the filly and I shared a similar feeling. Unrivaled sorrow and loneliness… Our most trusted Night Guard, nay, our friends had been completely obliterated by the monster whose name had been Ulquiorra.
The only ones who truly appreciated our night, who truly loved our starry sky, gone in a flash of necrotic viridian. It was all his fault that ponies were terrified to go out at night, he who brought upon the fear and loathing of the dark, he who had brought so much suffering to our little ponies.
We swore that day, that should we ever see him again, he would know the true meaning of Nightmares. Not only for us, but for the hundreds of others whom he had made suffer. We looked down at the poor filly who was still sniffling in our wings.
It was no use lying to her, no use telling her her father was fine, for if we lied to her then we would have to lie to the rest of Equestria, and the sacrifice that finally destroyed the beast would have been for naught.
We promised to ourselves silently, we would bring about a better era for Equestria, one where ponies would no longer have to worry about monsters such as he. A kingdom under the shroud of night, where ponies would be truly happy and secure in their lives.
Yes, we would do this, and nopony else would stop us…