Grogar sat on a make shift throne. The map of the local region he had found had proven useful. He felt more powerful than he had in ages and yet the meager army of a thousand bodies and souls under his command was not enough to bring down the Alicorns. He had learned there were three of them now. Multiplying like flies. Still it wouldn’t matter soon. Another town would soon be in his grasp as the undead marched forward. He could have teleported there but that left his army behind. Sooner or later he would run into the forces of the Alicorns and he needed them properly distracted as he laid his trap. It was time to expend some of his resources to keep them on their toes. Besides as far as he could tell the being he had hijacked to escape his imprisonment had potential use. This required a personal touch though. After this town he would have the power to pull off his master stroke. After all what city had more souls than Canterlot.
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The last soul was drained from the screaming youth. A griffon seemed out of place amongst the once peaceful village but it would be a fine addition to his army. He savored the gamy flavor of the soul as it was torn into its baser elements by his gut. He felt a power that had long passed him. Sadly after he finished his plans he would have to be more restrained in feeding. After all if he culled the herd he would have nothing to eat anymore. Maybe though he would no longer be hungry.
Grogar brought the corpse back to motion with a spark of necrotic energy and ordered it to the rest of them. He needed some time to prepare the ritual. Today he would attack.
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The sun felt nice on my fur and I watched as a revitalized Silver played with Pandora. I wished I could be the one out there but still I wasn’t to be exerting myself yet. Twilight sat next to me rattling on about magical theory that I found to dull to listen to. It was odd but magic was somehow too dull when Twilight spoke it. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and it seemed like a perfect day.
A small green dot appeared in the sky and I could feel his energy immediately. I had never felt terror like this before and I scooped up Olympia and bolted towards Pandora. I didn’t even know how I knew but he was here. Twilight stared at me for a moment till she felt it too and a bubble erected around the bead of energy. The bead though was growing and stretching the bubble already. It wouldn’t hold for long. Silver had gotten Pandora on his back when the bubble burst and the bead swelled in size many times over. Some thirty feet up in the air a portal opened and out swarmed flying undead. They looked mostly alive and yet I could smell the rot from here. Olympia was crying in my arms as we raced for the castle door. Twilight blocked my path with her shield as a pair of griffons crashed into the ground in front of us.
“Bring the strange one to me,” said Grogar’s voice through the portal. “Come my treasure. I shall make use of you today.”
A guard came running out of the castle and started attacking the undead. Out of nowhere he had summoned a sword and was hacking away at the rotting flesh of one of the griffons but it seemed pointless as the undead beast ignored his actions and staggered towards us nonetheless. Twilight’s horn was glowing a bright purple as she worked her magic but the shield wouldn’t hold for long. Not at this rate.
Grogar ,himself, stood at the edge of the portal and shot the shield with a small sickly ray shattering it instantly and knocking Twilight to the ground. More undead was pouring out of the portal next to him and our eyes met for a moment. He wanted me alone and I bolted over the top of the undead who came at us running as fast as I could. The horde followed me and at least Pandora was relatively safe for the moment. The goat teleported in front of me and I felt his horrid magic engulfing me and I bucked and kicked as he lifted the three of us into the air. I wouldn’t let him hurt Olympia and I willed my magic outward. It picked up anything I could feel in range and threw them at Grogar. He deflected the rocks with a simple shield and then I felt the most gut wrenching feeling as we teleported to the portal. I was had and I tried to pull myself free from his grasp with my magic pulling on the castle. Stone started shaking and then a golden blur erupted out of the castle far from us. I could feel the heat coming from Celestia as she sped towards us flying faster than anything had any right to and yet the portal was closing in around us as Grogar laughed. A single feather fell to the ground next to me as the portal closed. Grogar now had me for some reason.
“Hello child,” said Grogar. His voice was old and hoarce and seemed like it hadn’t been used in centuries. “I need you to make me a beast to hold off the Alicorn’s while I consume their subjects. Now be a dear and do so before I have to hurt that little whelp in your arms. Summon forth more fiendish energies. Now.”
I didn’t know what to do. Undead surrounded me and I tried to pull on my connection to the other realms but it remained firmly stuck. Luna had sealed it better this time and I worried what he would do to Olympia if I didn’t do as he said. I charged my magic and tried to use it to erect a barrier between us but he stepped through the field like it wasn’t there. I pushed against him and all I managed to do was slide myself away from him. Still he advanced and his grin was all the information I needed.
“Can’t or won’t, Child?” asked Grogar as he came up to me a few feet from my head.
“Can’t,” I said. “Luna sealed the connection. It can’t be done. Now leave me alone.”
I pushed against him with as much will as I could and while the wall of zombies stopped me from sliding further I did manage to push him a bit.
“You are strong child,” said Grogar. “I’ll grant you that but unskilled. If you had been trained I would have to worry about your magic. As it is you are nothing to me.”
His magic pulled me a couple of inches from his face. I could feel it worming its way into me and the seal that had held the other realm away from me broke. He urged out a surge of energy and I couldn’t control it this time it flowed endlessly out of me. The pain made me black out before long and I didn’t notice the building sized orb of magic that sat above us.