Midday approached as a barrage of Cannon balls disrupted the tranquility of the still blue sky.
Nurse Gentle Heart exhaustedly casted a healing spell on a fallen Pegasus.
"There, I've stopped the bleeding. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the tendons. At least not here without the right tools." Explains Gentle Heart as she flashes a weary smile.
"Thank you" Expresses a weakened Pegasus as he is lifted to be carried away by two unicorns casting a levitation spell.
"Your efforts have inspired others to lend a hand Nurse Gentle Heart.
If I had known you where this committed. I would've had you doing more than simple desk duty over at the clinic. ...While everypony fled, you continued your duty." Mentions Dr. Lister as he trots towards Gentle Heart. The Stallion was an earth pony with a five o'clock shadow and a short walnut spiked mane. His beige coat peaked from the orifices of his long pure-white lab coat.
"Always glad to lend a hand sir!" Exclaims the nurse while panting from exhaustion. Black body bags piled-up in the scenery as civilians contributed by either tending to the wounded or clean-up duty.
"Call me Lister, there is no need for addressing me as your superior. Frankly i should be the one addressing you with utmost respect, given the circumstances." The doctor complimented as the mare collapsed on her belly. "Take a break Gentle Heart, you've done more than your fair-share. I'll take charge from here." noted the concerned doctor as he observes the exhausted mare with a polite expression.
"Thank you *pant* sir, *pant* i'm just going to collapse hear *pant* for a second" pants Gentle Heart as she attempted to catch her breath while laying on the warm sand.
*************************************************************
"Mummy!... mummy!...Where are you, mummy!" A frail weeping foal cried out as bomb sirens deafen the atmosphere. "Mu.. mu..mmyyy!" Continues the foal as the screeching of magical blasts can be heard in the distance.
Hollow Shades, a once prosperous city, was under siege by the Solar Guard. The tiny bat-pony barely old enough to speak wondered unattended through the rubble of the city as corpses of its citizens laid on the stone-block paved roads. "Mummy...*sniffle* please..."
As the foal wiped the tears from his face, a warm embrace overtook the weeping colt with relief.
"There, there... Mummy's got you. It's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you Alacard" A silver bat pony with bright baby-blue eyes assured as she held her foal tight while tears coursed down her face to be soaked up by her white mane. The dam pulled away to gaze upon her precious creation. "I thought i had lost you... Thank Luna you're okay!"
*.FADES INTO SILENCE.*
"...Hey, runt. Wake up!" A raspy voice demanded as Alacard regained consciousness. "Where.. am i? ...Where's mummy?" questioned Alacard while lifting himself off a cold-moist-stone floor. "Hah! you're mommy? ...She's most likely dead." Teases a shadowy figure from a neighboring cell.
"No! my... my mummy was just hwugging me.." The foal begins to weep. "Hehe, don't worry, you'll be reunited with her soon enough." continues to tease the shadowy figure. "Look around you little foal. You're in an empty cell... Do you know why?" An ancient hypogryph with mangled crimson feathers and a black vulture-like beak emerged from the shadows. Its eyes bright as an ember with a ravaging thirst being emitted from them.
"You like the rest of your kind are being held captive." Mocked the hypogryph.
"After Princes Luna was defeated, your kin was deemed a danger to pony society. ...The situation escalated when Commander Vlad was executed for being associated with Faux's plans to destroy the Canterlot Parliament." The Hypogryph explained as the Colt observed with a confused expression.
"Bah, why do I bother. I doubt you understand the situation you're in. You won't even suffer through your death. So young and without regrets." The Hypogryph squawked as the foals tears began to dry.
"I...do have regwets...I undwastand death because my daty died when my mummy was pwegnant with me. I neva got to meet him. Death...is when a pony disappeaws and neva comes back rwight? If that's what's going to happen to me...I would regwet disappeawing without saying goodbye to mummy. I wouldn't want her to worwy about me." Explains Alacard with an upset look in his eyes as he begins to hang his head down.
"My, my, I underestimated your level of comprehension little one. Hehehehe, how about a deal?" The vulture proposes as a wicked smile forms on its face.
"What's a deal?" Alacard questions while slightly tilting his head towards the hypogryph.
"A deal is a gift like the one you receive on Heart's Warming Eve, but you have to give me a gift back later." Explains the demonic creature.
"You'll give me a gift?" Questions the curious foal as he demonstrates interest.
"It pains me to see such a pure soul be forsaken. You have an entire life of corruption ahead of you little one. If you accept my deal, you maybe even more...hehe. Do you want to see your mama again? I can give you a chance to see her." Persuades the devilish hypogryph.
To its expectations, Alacard turns his attention to the squawking hybrid.
"I wanna see my mummy." answers Alacard.
"What's the point of dying when you have the option to live. With my help you can see your mama again, and perhaps never loose her again." Continues to preach the hypogryph.
"How?" Questions Alacard.
"By granting you power!" Answers the hypogryph.
"Commander, the prisoners have been cleared out of their cells and executed." A voice can be heard from up a stone stairway found at the end of the dungeon's hallway.
"Good...we have received orders from Celestia to execute the young as well. You are to round up the foals and prep them for execution." Responds another voice.
"Commander, that's... that's just..Those are your orders soldier! Dare you not question our princess again! Do I make myself CLEAR!?" Interrupts Commander Dawn Breaker.
"Sir!" Responds the soldier as the shadow of a saluting pony in armor becomes visible down the stairway.
"Good, I expect the task completed before morning." Exclaims the irritated Commander.
*Only the crackling of torches could be heard as silence filled the dungeon*
To Alacard's shock, moments later the silence was broken by the agonizing screams of foals being beaten out of their cells. The whales echoed down the halls as the hypogryph contributed to the sonata with a mischievous laughter.
"Bahaha, here comes the babadook." Teased the hypogryph as Alacard began to shake from the nearing squeals.
"Tell you what. I find myself craving the delicacy that is your soul. Since you foals are typically to young to make decisions for yourselves. I'll let fate guide your decision."
The hypogryph squawked at the inattentive trembling foal.
"I'll give you a sample of the power I promise." A voice answered as Alacard noticed the now empty cell from across the hall.
*Twitch*
Alacard's ears reacted to the gravely voice coming from behind him.
As Alacard turned to the demonic creature he felt the sharp prick of talons on the back of his neck.
"Agh" Alacard groaned as a dark sigil formed on his nape.
A Scarlet aura enveloped the sigil as the tiny foal began to transform.
"Is that all of them?" Questioned a solar guard as he approached a fellow soldier.
"No, there's one left in cell four at sector V." Mentions his commerad.
"Aye, let's hurry. The Commander is in a bad mood. I wouldn't want to end up with the lot of foals." Responds the solar guard.
"I still don't understand why we're sending young to their graves." Mentions his commerad.
"Orders are orders. Besides, it's for the safety of our great nation. And for the safety of our families. Genocide is the price they paid when assaulting our leaders and siding with Nightmare Moon." Responds the guard.
"Yeah, ...your right. Vlad almost prolonged the civil war in Equestria. Neighboring countries would have surely invaded. Responded his comrade as they approached Alacard's cell.
A sudden chilling breeze extinguished the torch-light of the hall as darkness enveloped the guards.
"What the?"
"On your guard"
Peeped both guards as one of them prepped an illumination spell.
Rusted stone bricks and a long dark hallway was all the soldiers could distinguish in the belly of darkness. Pointed ears peaked from the ceiling as drool leaked onto a soldier's cheek. "What's this?" A guard exclaimed as dark mesh began surrounding them.
The squeals of two stallions could be heard throughout the dungeon followed by a tearing of flesh. "What in Celestia was that?" Questioned commander Dawn Guard as the barrack full of Solar Guards became static.
The silence was soon accompanied by a gust of wind followed by the gluttonous darkness.
"Soldiers! On your guard! It appears we've been infiltrated. Magic wielders! Give us some visibility!" Orders the commander.
A few moments pass after the room had become dimmed with light. Nothing but silence surrounded the dungeon's barracks. If a pony where to concentrate, the only sounds receipted would be the faint echoes of weeping foals in the distance along with the clanking of armor from the frightened rookies.
What was visible of the barracks displayed a large rusted stone box with a pair of support pillars on every corner. There where two halls separated by a corner which where being guarded. One lead to a division of private quarters following an exit to the Solar castle's courtyard used for executions. While the other hallway lead to the prison's main hall.
Both halls proposed an equal threat in the events of an invasion. The Commander kept a close eye on both pits of darkness as dragging sound became louder with the passing seconds.
*Plop*
A sack of mangled flesh splashes blood on the unfortunate stallions guardian the prison hall.
Two soldiers puke as the rest stood in shock. The commander stared in confusion at the mangled remains.
'What? ... I've never heard of such a ritual... Could some beast have stowed into the prison?' Thought the commander as dark mesh began to creep behind him.
"Ahhhh!" The mesh began to engulf his limbs as sharp curved teeth emerged from it to hook the stallion in its grasp.
The stagnant soldiers quickly turned their attention away from the halls to face the commander being butchered behind them.
The large blob of darkness began to take the shape of a large wolf's head with hundreds of ember eyes and teeth all around it.
The unicorns quickly began casting holy spells after processing what they where up against. The wolf mesh sprouted dark tentacles from its mouth that jabbed towards the unicorns. Soldiers scattered towards the exit after the unicorns where left penetrated and dismembered by the projectiles.
"That's it Alacard! Kill them all!" A voice demanded as vulgar images transmitted into Alacard's mind from the slaughtered soldiers. The images depicted atrocities committed by the assimilated individual. Images that a foal should never have to bare.
"Hehehehehe! This is the reality of pony kind Alacard! Murder, Rape, Blackmail, Cheating! The list goes on!" A demonic voice announces as Alacard continued his hate-fueled rampage.
Unexpectedly, Alacard stops pursuing the fleeing soldiers.
"What! What is it!? Why did you stop!? They're getting away!" Complains the vulture.
The dark blob begins to shrink as Alacard regains his form. At the foul's hooves, a stallion with a navy blue coat and a long black mane laid dead.
"Datty? ...you...i...?" questioned Alacard as the stagnant image of a ravaged mare panting on a prison floor crossed his mind.
"Well... that was a buzzkill. You encountered your biological father, did ya now? Yes, its true. You're the spawn of this Pegasus. A bastard conceived during war-times. Hah, your mama always told you he had died a war-hero didn't she?" Squawked the hypogriph as it manifested itself behind Alacard.
"You see little one, every pony takes advantage of what they can in this life. Nothing has a true value or purpose to their name. Everything and every pony is an expandable tool/resource. Your mama was this stallion's sex relief, nothing more. Hah! In this cruel reality! You are either a sheep or you are a wolf!
...A few moments ago, you where about to be executed along with the remaining young of your kind. Instead of raising your generation with purity and zeal. Genocide became the preferable alternative. Why!? Because Celestia like i are wolves among sheep! Your pitiful existence matters not in the scale of a deity!"
Mocks the devil as he glares at the traumatized foal. The vulture's ember eyes glowed brighter with every breath Alacard took.
the foal dropped his head away from the stallion's corpse while shutting his eyes in sorrow. "Mummy...datty... my familly... my life... it's all meaningless... why?... WHY!? Why can't pony kind just STOP HURTING EACH OTHER!?" Barks the tearing colt as he faces his father. Why do you toy with us devil!?" demands Alacard with a surprising confidence.
"Are... you not going to agree... pony kind is worthless? ...Heh, you're angry at me?" Questions the devil while stepping closer to the foal.
"Why do you believe that i'm to blame? I do not attach strings to their limbs and mouths while controlling their every last action they make." Squawks the devil in defiance.
"The power you granted me just earlier. It... was pure hatred... You... you're no deity! You're a miasma manifested from sin. You feed on hatred, fear, corruption. You are not a part of us... but we did create you. A lingering addiction for gratification. The way i absorbed the lives of all the ponies i slaughtered... You fed on their tainted souls corrupted by sin. It prolongs your existence. So yes, i blame you. Because you are recklessness incarnate." Concludes Alacard as he begins walking up to the vulture.
"Hahahaha! Wow! I did not expect to encounter a foal with the wisdom of a sage! Hah! ...It's a bit unexpected, if i must be frank. Random would be the proper word but Discord was defeated a few hundred years back so i accept this spontaneity as my doing. Now, ...my question to you Alacard, what will you do now? Chirps the unsettled vulture as he stands static awaiting the foal to reach his position.
"I'll take your deal recklessness!" Demands the trotting foal.
"The name is Lewd. And it would be my pleasure to accept your soul. Hah!" Gloats the hypogryph.
"About that, you have no power over a pony unless they commit sin. Unless they act upon reckless behavior for the sake of gratification. An act denoted by the harming of themselves and others. The more sin corrupting pony's heart, the greater your power grows when you consume their soul, am i correct?" Questions Alacard without dropping a speck of confidence.
"Yes, you are correct yet again. I am incapable of snagging the soul of a pony that practices abstinence from live's perversions. The greater the sinner, the more lives affected, the greater i grow. By accepting my deal, you will be granted unimaginable power and immortality. But at the price of your soul once it's ripe for the picking." Mocks the hypogryph.
"So that's it? You grant immortality to ponies with the purpose of fermenting their souls? Okay... Lewd, i accept your deal. I'll become a pawn of your creation, but you will never have my soul. I will prove to you that pony kind can learn to care and respect one another." Alacard holds up a hoof as he finally reaches Lewd.
"Hehehehehe, I look forward to claiming your soul one day ...Alacard." Concludes Lewd as it shakes Alacard's hoof.
*.Fades Into Silence.*
*********************************************************
The clanking of ice cubes is followed by a swerving straw within a glass of blood. Alacard remains stagnant on the ledge of Rich Inc. "Why... was i remembering that... just now?" Questions Alacard as the beating sun begins to boil his exposed flash.
"Oh? ...The sun has begun to drop." Mentions the dazed Alacard as he tilts his umbrella hat and moves to take refuge in the shade.
"Ah, the discomforts of being a Vamppony. The burning is tolerable but the memories triggered by the sun are agonizing." Alacard begins ranting to himself as he punts the glass of the building.
"Well, looks like Synapse has managed to diminish the size of the storm fleet. Guess i was right about him. He hasn't changed in any way. His will burns as strong as always. His heart aches to protect the once he loves. I'm glad you remember... I hope it's not too late for me... Will you keep your promise, my friend?" Rants Alacard as he observes the dragon destroying a zeppelin- then shortly switching his view towards nurse gentle heart- then concluding with a peaceful smile while looking back at the agile dragon.
After a grim look to his past. Alacard is eased by the fact that we ponies are all alike in terms of serenity. We all share a common caring heart and an affinity towards love. Sometimes a pony's perception can be tainted by a thorn in their heart. Festering by unwanted perverted events in life. Corrupted thoughts and hatred emerging from the puss.
A choice must be made.
Let our hearts rot with hatred and our souls fester with displeasure, or learn to respect what life offers and abstain from furthering temptation on perversion. Synapse walks a warm path towards a serene perception. A healthy pony with an aspiring personality and new found values.
'I hope to walk beside you on the same trail someday. Free from my curse and warmth all around.' Alacard thinks to himself as he drops into a dark alley bellow. A trench between two skyscrapers where the light does not touch.
A cannonball hits the wing of the transformed changeling as the dragon whales in pain. Scales scatter around the injury as Synapse continues his assault.
'I don't know how much longer i can keep this form. I have to find the flag ship before i reach my limit!' Synapse thinks to himself as he spews green flames that engulf numerous storm-beasts manning cannons.
*Sonic Boom*
A large circular rainbow engulfs the expanding sky as the Wonderbolts race to the city's aid.
"Okay guys and gals! Objective up-ahead! Those son of a mules think they can invade Equestria! Pffft, yeah right! LET'S POP THOSE BALLOONS!!" Commands Spit Fire as the Wonderbolts enter a Valkyrie formation with Rainbow Dash in the center.