Heavy and thundering footsteps echoed across the dark, obsidian halls of the Storm King's Realm, brisk and with purpose behind them. Anyone who heard these footsteps would all think their disappointment of a life was reaching its end, and for good reason.
The figure making these noises was tall, large, breathing the very aura of power itself. He wore golden-like armor, stained with dirt and blood from battles long passed, and detailed in a way that made him look far stronger than what was underneath. He wore a helmet that covered his entire head, a helmet that provided him with a new face, that of an aggressive, bearded individual who has seen everything war had to offer. The only place where someone would see his true face were through the small, dark eye-holes.
The figure continued his march toward his destination, his red cape fluttering behind him. He had no guards escorting him, nor did he need none.
He was a feared figure across the Kingdom, every soldier regarded him as a brutal, but effective commander, who does not hesitate to kill even those under his command. Even the Storm King himself had feared him, often ordering him off to a far-away region just to be away from the brutal Commander.
He was finally reaching his destination, a large obsidian doorway that was as dark as everything else here. His pace quickened, making his thunderous steps even louder than before. The two guards who stood watching the doors attempted to stop him, but they did little to slow him down, as both of them were killed without a moment's notice.
After that was done, with an unimaginable amount of force, he slammed the massive doors open, revealing what he was looking for.
In the center of the room, sitting on a round table, were the people he was after. They were startled, both looking upon him, wide-eyed, fearful.
The first figure sitting at the table were one of the creatures that he hated with a passion. Ponies.
By what he could see, it was a simple white unicorn mare, complete with a red mane and a formal attire befitting an elite of Canterlot, indicating her high position.
The other sitting with the pony was an ape creature like any other in the Storm King's Realm. He looked old, wrinkles outlining across his face. Unlike what most would expect to see from creatures of the Storm King's Realm, he did not wear the customary armor, instead wearing a dark blue kind of toga, revealing his disgracefully weak stature. On his head, lay the crown that denoted the King of the Realm.
False King.
He drew out a massive blade that looked as though it was a combination of a spear and a sword from his back, causing the two figures at the table to gasp, and their eyes widening further then previously.
He marched on the false King, the grip on his blade tightening with anger.
The false King attempted to order him, stuttering, "S-Stand down, Commander! Y-You will threaten the peace talks if you k-kill me!"
But the Commander did not listen. Nor did he care.
Instead, he swung his massive blade, decapitating and killing the false King. The pony screamed in terror as blood spewed from the false King's headless body, staining the floors with the red liquid before it fell to the ground with an audible thud, besides the rolling head.
With the false King taken care of, the Commander turned his attention towards the pony, who flinched in terror.
Then, he began to march over to her.
The pony reacted quickly, getting off of her seat, staggering back from the towering Commander as he approached with the intent of ending her life.
In a pitiful attempt to hurt him, she shot a magical bolt through her horn. The only thing it did was harmlessly bounce of his golden armor.
"Did you think that was going to work?" the pony froze as the Commander spoke for the first time. The whole room was engulfed with his booming and firm voice, its aggressive tone filling her with even more fear.
Taking advantage of her unmoving stature, the Commander grabbed her by the neck, and raised her to his eye-level.
The pony clawed at his armored arm with hee hooves, desperately trying to free herself from his grip in vain. She looked into the black, dead eye-holes with her own eyes, pleading for mercy.
The Commander offered none.
Instead, he drove his massive blade through the pony's abdomen. She screamed, only for blood to seep through out of her mouth. Not even a few seconds later, she fell limp, dead.
The Commander pulled his blade out of the pony, and released his grip, allowing the corpse to fall to the floor.
He looked upon his work, satisfied with what he saw, two dead corpses of those who had wronged the Kingdom.
The false King had came to power after the demise of the Storm King, and had immediately moved to make peace with all of the Kingdom's enemies, starting with Equestria. The Ponies, thinking they had superiority, constantly demanded that all nations conquered by the Storm King, which were now in a state of rebellion, be returned to their former independent entities. And the false King agreed.
But when the Commander had heard news of this, he was beyond enraged. Enraged that the false King had willingly surrendered all the lands that took years to conquer and hold. Enraged at how he had willingly sacrificed the Kingdom's honor in exchange for an unhonorable peace.
So the Commander had ordered his army off to the Realm to bring back the old order, and to remove the false King from the throne.
Impatient with his army's speed, he went ahead of them, determined to kill the false King and restore honor to the Kingdom.
Once he arrived at the Realm at last, he marched into the castle, at times killing entire squads of soldiers that got in his way. No one was stopping him from his goal, and he wanted to make that clear.
Finally, he has completed the goal of killing the false King. Now he had to restore the Kingdom's honor.
His army will arrive soon, and with them, his plans would finally go forward.
Equestria had desperately hoped for peace as the new King of the Storm Kingdom offered to have peace talks with its enemies.
They had walked in, confident that the violence across the former Storm King's Empire will finally end.
But then tragedy struck.
In a turn of events, there was a coup d'etat within the Storm Kingdom. An army had marched into the realm, killing anyone they thought was wronging their Kingdom. In the end, the new King, as well as all the foreign dignitaries present in the realm, were slaughtered, and a new government was put in place.
The army who had taken the Realm hailed their Commander as the new King, and he swiftly began to make work of those he saw as enemies.
The rebellions that had erupted across the Kingdom after the Storm King's demise were brutally suppressed in a way thought unimaginable to the world, their leaders executed in a punishment that had been abolished in all nations thousands of years before: crucifixion.
With these developments, Equestria now knows that peace with the Storm Kingdom is an impossible endeavor, for now a new, brutal ruler has taken charge, and he intends to bathe the world in the fire of total war.
His name is Lanius, but those who have dealt with him call him by a different name.
The Butcher.