//------------------------------// // The Spook's Apprentice // Story: The Last Apprentice: Equestria's Redemption // by general cat4 //------------------------------// My name is Thomas Ward. I am The Spook's apprentice. His last apprentice. I am the last apprentice. The wind was sharp and cold as it nipped at our exposed faces in the future burial site. My master The Spook, Grimalkin, and I were preparing a pit to trap the Fiend, the dark made flesh. We were on a large hill, inside a magical field guarded by a sleeping dragon. Most people think dragons are large fire breathing beasts, but that's not quite true. Dragons are wind elemental spirits, that sleep for centuries at a time. Dragons are brilliant at cloaking strong amount of energy, light or dark. Normal people can't see dragons, but some feel uneasy when one is near, and that's part of the reason we chose this place. The hilltop was surrounded by twelve standing stones, creating an ominous look to the place. Inside we dug a large rectangular prison, deep in the ground. We coated the pit with a bone mix of salt and iron. Salt and iron are effective against most enemies of The Light. salt and iron can burn away and weaken them. Above the pit was a gigantic stone held by a large wooden gantry, also coated with the bone mixture. That was to fall on top of the pit once The Fiend was in place. The sun was going down, and we were running out of time. Grimalkin, The Spook and I were ready to fight though. You see, The Spook and I are from The county, which has three major witch clans. The three clans have never seen eye to eye, until one of the Old Gods brought them together to summon The Fiend. The Spook and I tried to stop them, but we failed. The Fiend was let free into our world and if no one stops him, then Earth will fall to his power. The Spook and I want him gone because it's our duty to the county to stop him, and I might be the only one powerful enough to stop him. Grimalkin, a witch assassin to the Malkin witch clan, has a personal grudge against him. The Fiend and witches can form a pact. The Fiend can't come near the witch, or do her harm unless she requested it...if she bears him a child. Most children of The Fiend are either witches or horrible mutated daemons. Grimalkin's child was a perfectly normal baby boy. The Fiend is allowed to visit the child once, when it is born. In a fit of rage, The Fiend threw the baby against a rock, smashing it's brain everywhere. We all knew that if we didn't defeat The Fiend here, then the world was doomed. The only reason he wasn't here yet was because of my blood jar. Inside it contains three drops of my blood, and three drops of The Fiend's daughter's blood. This kept him from being able to come near me at all times. Grimalkin stood on top of the pit while my master and I stood inside, to lure him in. Grimalkin was carrying two sacks, one she placed on the ground. She opened the other, which contained four silver tipped spears, large silver nails, and two hammers. She handed us each a spear, and my master a hammer. She carried one spear in hand, and another on the ground. A few nails were in her left hand, which was in a glove. Witches can't touch silver without burning. She had an assortment of knives riddling her body in various sheaths. Her painted black lips were in a smiling position, revealing a row of sharpened teeth. In a strange, violent way, she was beautiful. My master and I each held a silver spear. We had our pockets filled with salt and iron, but they would not be needed against a god. I had my silver chain coiled around my left hand. The Spook did not, as he gave it to Grimalkin to make the tips for the spears and nails. He would miss it dearly as it belonged to his old master, who died. Our staffs were hooked to the back of our cloaks, and would probably not be needed. I had the Hero Sword in it's scabbard, ready to take The Fiend's head off. The hero sword was crafted by the old god Hephaestus himself. Only three exist, and this was the strongest of them. The hilt had two blood red rubies, the eyes of a skelt. The skelt's long bone tube of a mouth went down the length of the silver alloy blade. The plan was for The Spook and I to draw The Fiend into the pit with us. I was to stop time, a gift from my mam, and drive a spear into his heart. Grimalkin would then nail him into the pit, and we would impale him with as many weapons as possible. We would cut off his head, and then trap him inside for eternity. "Lad," The Spook said, lifting down his cloak from his face revealing his stone features, and stubble of a beard, "it's time." The sun had gone down, and the only light available was from a few lanterns we had scattered along the pit. "Lad, give me the blood jar!" I gave him the jar, and he held it in the air. "Be ready. The Fiend will show no mercy, and he will be here as soon as the jar breaks!" The Spook threw the jar and it landed into a nearby standing stone with an audible crack. My knees nearly gave way, but I held firm. We waited for The Fiend...and waited. Time was creeping by...seconds turned into minutes...until it happened. The lanterns suddenly became dim, daring to go out with every small breeze. The air became much colder. The ground started shaking, then we were plunged into pitch black darkness. My mind was racing, stopping time too quickly or too late would doom us. If I stopped it too early then he wouldn't appear in the pit. Stop it too late, and he would have already stopped it himself. There was a low growl, very feral. Suddenly the lanterns turned back on, revealing the God within the pit. The Fiend had taken the form of a tall monster. Half man, half bull, and about 20' tall. He let off a dark, cold aura. His body was strong and muscular, covered in black hair, two large horns piercing out his temples, and his bull head contained eyes with thin vertical slits for pupils. I instantly closed my eyes and focused my mind, trying desperately to slow down time. Concentrate! Squeeze time! Make it stop! When I opened my eyes The Fiend wasn't moving. I realized The Spook and Grimalkin weren't moving either. I thrust my spear at The Fiend's stomach, but I noticed that every heartbeat was slower than the last. The spear was moving slower as well. The Fiend was fighting back! I tried harder, but my spear was barely moving, inches from his abdomen. My vision was fading, but I kept pushing desperately... My eyes opened quickly to see my master yelling at me, his spear in The Fiend's chest. My own spear had ripped through his back. "Get up lad! He's not down yet!" The spook barked at me. Grimalkin threw a spear, and her aim was true. The spear pierced through his left shoulder, into the bottom of the pit. He let out a loud roar, shaking the ground. "Gregory!" Grimalkin yelling as she threw the last spear to the spook. She picked up one of the large hammers in her now free hand. The Spook grabbed the spear and jumped onto The fiend and rammed the spear into his other shoulder. Grimalkin quickly and expertly hammered hails into his knees, hands, and feet, hammering the remaining gigantic nails into his eye. "Now Tom, cut off his head!" Grimalkin shouted as she jumped out of the pit, opening the second sack. I now understood that I needed to throw it into the sack. I drew the hero sword, the blade shining in the lantern light. I stood at his neck and brought the blade down hard. The sword ripped through his neck, spurting black blood everywhere. The sword stopped at the bone. "RROUUGHH!!" The fiend roared in a voice that wasn't even human. The blood was burning the floor of the pit like acid. "Again!" Grimalkin shouted urgently. "Strike again.!" "I brought the sword up, and brought it down again, ripping through the bones. His severed head rolled around in the pit, his large horns putting it at a halt. His body was twitching oddly. I ran over to his severed head, which was still dripping blood. I grabbed it by one of the horns, turned, and threw it out the pit. Grimalkin caught it with the bag, a smile on her face, which briefly vanished. "Get out now!" she shouted at us. The thick rope was corroding as a little blood splashed on it when I threw it. My master and I ran for the edge of the pit where Grimalkin was waiting, ready to pull us out. It was too high to jump out....That's when I forgot the hero sword. I quickly turned, and grabbed it, as it was only three feet away. As I sheathed it my master yelled at me. "Lad! His body, it's going to explode!" The fiend's body was shaking and convulsing. I ran as fast as I could towards The Spook, who was ready to throw me out of the pit, until the stone fell on top of the pit, trapping us inside. Everything became dark...