The War Of Horrors
The first assault
The Abominations did not hesitate after being brought back into existence and, as if guided by an unseen master, immediately launched their assault upon the unaware alicorns, overrunning towns and isolated individuals alike.
This was unexpected behavior, as during the Great Crusade they never willingly searched for a direct confrontation against the alicorns, save for some occasions where they deemed them to be easy prey.
But now these foes were acting with purpose and determination, ignoring the surrounding life to focus their effort on wiping out their enemies of old.
This was soon guessed to be the work of the Enemy, who somehow managed to set its will upon the Abominations and act like their commander, to coordinate the actions of these otherwise independent beings.
The effects of this leadership soon became tragically evident, in their first assault the most isolated villages were swiftly ravaged, resulting in many terrible deaths that shook the alicorns to their core.
Indeed so horrible were the events reported by the survivors, both of this first assault and the following years of conflicts, and so foul had the Abominations become under the guide of the Enemy, that this narration will not describe them in detail.
Let it only be known that not for nothing this deadly conflict was called the War of Horrors. (1)
Yet, despite their first quick successes, victory would not come easily to these fiends.
The alicorns still had unmatched power in the world of the living, and the memory and experience of the Crusade was not wholly forgotten.
Those that served in that previous conflict rose once again to the occasion, and with furious strength managed to buy enough time for many civilians to escape towards the capitals of their provinces, where a respectable host of former legionnaires could hold the cities safe, at least for a short time.
News of this renewed conflict reached Queen Faust as soon as the first blow was struck and, even in the middle of her shocked court, she stood strong and set herself once more into the familiar role of supreme commander.
Immediately she sprung into action, calling to arms every veteran of the crusade, reestablishing the old Legions and their logistic lines, turning again the entire effort of the kingdom towards a war that seemed to have concluded so long ago.
And suddenly, the words spoken an entire Age earlier by the Heralds came back to her memory, and the memory of many: to beware of the arrival of any future foe, for they would undoubtedly be the strongest and more terrible of their already terrible kind.
What could not be known at the time, was that this new Enemy was far more than just another Abomination, and its nature would one day bring forth another conflict, one that would see the end of this world. (2)
As the effect of the surprise began to wane, the alicorns began to mount an impressive resistance, managing here and there to slow the far superior foes, and even fight them to almost a standstill near some of the largest cities of the provinces, where vast magical barriers were erected to protect the defenders.
This was proven to be only a temporary solution however, and with time the defenders came to the realization that the Great Crusade, which they thought had been a war, was actually more like a hunt, while the one they found themselves fighting in now was a real war, with all its complications.
First and foremost, among the problems that the legionnaires had to face, was the sheer number of Abominations.
Indeed despite having become mighty enough in the art of combat that only the most powerful of foes required the intervention of a Titan, never before they had to face more than one at the same time, let alone the coordinated attack of so many.
Another problem was that, while many of these abominations had been defeated before and were therefore familiar enough that the strategy to destroy them was well known, many others were utterly unknown, as they had appeared on the world before the alicorns were even conceived by the Humans, and as such possessed strange and powerful abilities that confounded the efforts of the Legions.
The third one was that the Titans, these Spirits of utter destruction, demonstrated on this occasion a flaw in their design, a lack of flexibility that was one of the reasons why the Humans created the alicorns in the first place.
As they were created to fight the original Abominations by themselves, they fought as individuals, with little coordination among each other, and since they saw others beings only in a sense of how much of a threat they could be to the world, there was the risk of them mistaking another Titan for a foe, and attack it.
This is why there had never been more than three Titans awake at the same time in the world, and all three of them had always been from the same element of origin.
And so these spirits found themselves locked in a constant fight, attacking the most terrible of the Abominations for just enough time to provide the alicorns with an opening to mount a defense or flee, before being recalled to their slumber and leave space for a more appropriate kind of Titans face a different foe. (3)
The final major issue, and possibly the most grave of all, was the Enemy itself.
The Enemy, as it was known at the time, proved to be a foe beyond the worst fears of the alicorns.
This being demonstrated time and time again a sharp intellect and vast knowledge of war, it rarely showed itself in open field, preferring to lead its troops unseen, and many began to refer to it as the General, or the Shadow, and began to fear the very mention of its titles.
But perhaps the greatest cause for concern was its ability of manifesting its influence in the very realm of the dreamscape, something that no Abomination ever was capable of.
There it could disturb the minds of the alicorns, confounding their rest, and in some cases even making access to the Weave difficult, to those most affected by its darkness.
And so it was that the alicorns soon began to lose terrain against this unrelenting assault.
At first, as mentioned before, were the small communities to suffer a swift defeat, but then even the great cities began to fall one after another, despite the heroic defense of their inhabitants.
Of the stories from this time, of the heroic acts of desperate heroism and noble sacrifices, of the courage of those who stayed behind in order to give the others a chance to escape, with little to no hope of salvation for themselves, much has been lost, and for every heroism that had been recorded on the annals of the war, many more will remain forever forgotten, save in the ever increasing number of bright lights appearing in the Caves of Stars.
But of all the acts of defiance in the face of despair, perhaps none has most renown that the duel between King Laurent and the Enemy.
The duel of light and Shadow
As soon as its purpose was revealed, and the world shook under the reawakening Abominations, King Laurent charged the then cornered Enemy, but before he could reach its dark form, the fiend had disappeared into the air like a puff of smoke, confounding its hunters.
Not to be discouraged, the King and his guards went back to search in the wide world for their quarry, helping whenever possible the besieged alicorns along the way, but it was not long before they realized that the Enemy had acquired the ability to vanish in the dreamscape, making any pursuit almost impossible.
And so, reluctantly, the chase was called off in favor of dedicating fully to helping the defense of the provinces.
And it would be thanks to the might of King Laurent that many alicorns could escape certain doom and find refuge away from the fighting, but not even his power could turn the tide of the war, and so it was that in a relatively short time the great harbor city of Whiteshore became the last outpost outside of Everfree still held by the alicorns.
Whiteshore, so named for the white sands of the desert of the southern continent where it was founded, had been the first proper settlement built beyond the borders of Everfree, and rose on top of that first encampment set by the alicorns on the coast of that foreign land, following a straight route south from the city of Gate. (4)
Because it came to be during the perils of the Great Crusade, the city was constructed with mighty fortifications, its thick white walls and tall towers were magically empowered to be stronger than any stone, the vast and deep harbor, which had been the subject of wonder and stories among the new recruits of the Crusade, was protected by unbreakable adamantine chains, and the very sky and underground were inscribed with warding runes.
In the long peace of the Age of Marvels many began to question the necessity of maintaining such imposing defenses, but those few who insisted on keeping them in order were vindicated on that hour, as they stood strong even in the face of an horde of Abominations so malignant, that made the skin of even the most tempered veteran crawl in disgust and fear.
And yet, despite this apparent stalemate, many knew that it was only a matter of time before the attackers broke through, and when they did, it would surely ensue a massacre.
This was because the influence of the Enemy over the Weave had grown with every victory, and now it had become so vast and dark that there was no hope of fleeing through magical means.
And so it was that King Laurent took the decision of challenging the Enemy to singular combat.
It is said that as soon as he made his idea known the entire city, and his personal guard most of all, rose in dissension, and there were talks of charging the Abominations head on rather than allowing their beloved sovereign to face certain doom, but King Laurent could not be dissuaded.
He guessed, rightly so, that to exercise its influence over the Weave the Enemy had to keep its focus on the dreamscape, and while he could not be entirely sure that it would accept a challenge to single combat, he was sure that if he could distract, or even wound the fiend enough for it to lose focus, the entire population of Whiteshore would be able teleport to the ever shrinking safety of the city of Gate, from which they could then take the Underpass to cross the mountains of the Grey Wall to finally reach the still secure interior of the Everfree. (5)
But seeing that many still argued to fight, and if necessary die, alongside their King, Laurent took the stage in a great square at the center of the city, and with great voice, he spoke.
Unfortunately, as emotions ran strong on that moment, none had the foresight to record an accurate account of that speech, and between tears of sorrow and hope, even memory failed to recall the details, but it seemed to many that in that moment King Laurent spoke directly to the hearths of the alicorns rather than their minds.
Of all the different, or even discordant, reports that came of that event, only one brief passage had remained consistent enough to be believed to be a true part of that speech.
King Laurent said:
“I am your King, and to be king is to be like a father to my subjects, and like a father I shall not allow this harm to come over my children! Therefore I shall face this Enemy, so that you might see the dawn of many more days, and life may thrive on this world until the end of time!” (6)
And so the alicorns knew that their King would not be swayed, and with tears in their eyes they bowed at his hooves in gratitude and admiration.
He then commanded to be watchful for the very instant when the Enemy faltered, for that moment alone would mark the chance to escape the doomed city.
He then retired to spend the rest of the night in solitude, but while his guards would later swear that indeed nobody else even approached the royal quarters, some have claimed that they could almost perceive something in those rooms, beyond the presence of the King, although who or what that might be, none could tell.
As dawn came, King Laurent exited his quarters adorned in a full suit of armor, elegant and strong, and shining like red gold in the light of the early sun.
To his left he held aloft with his magic a wide shield, showing the symbol of a jeweled crown, and to his right he had a tall spear that shone like silver so hallow that it looked almost blue.
And all that saw him were amazed, for no one had ever seen the king adorned in such glorious armament, yet he moved like it was like a second skin to him, with majesty and grace as if wearing the finest regalia. (7)
The King then turned to his Captain of the Guard, and gave her a sealed scroll to bring back to his beloved Faust, then with one last nod to his subjects, he spread his wings and flew high above the barrier that protected the city, and there he issued his challenge.
As with his speech the day before, likewise his words today had been subject of speculation among scholars, sure it is that King Laurent challenged the Enemy to single combat, calling it craven and weak, and the blows of his trumpet could be heard clearly above the noises of the Abominations that tried to reach him.
Then, as the King called out his foe for the third time, and some began to fear that the plan would not work, the Enemy came.
It is said that it did not accept the challenge lightly, for even if it had grown to be a foe well beyond the scope of mere mortals, it still remembered how the King almost reached him during the hunt, and doubt clouded its judgment.
Moreover it is believed that the fiend suspected some trickery, but in the end it could not remain idle in the face of the brazen challenge issued by the comparatively small creature, for even if it still held control over the Abominations, refusing would have been a sign of unacceptable weakness. (8)
And so the Enemy came, rising from the ground in a black cloud that obscured the Sun, and at the center of that cloud there was something, like a shadow beyond darkness from which a feeling of terror came forth.
This shape had the vague semblance of a grotesque and serpentine alicorn with a bare white skull instead of a normal head, and protruding from that skull, forming some sort of wicked crown, there were many sharp horns. (9)
This vision of horror caused many of the alicorn to quail in terror, such was the power of the fiend, but King Laurent stood firm against it, like a bastion of light against a dark storm, and in the very moment when the Enemy lunged forward, he answered back in kind, and so began the greatest duel in the history of the alicorn kingdom.
In that moment the entire world seemed as if holding a silent breath, even the Abominations would not move, and the Titans themselves restrained their fury, and the wise have said that this was the doing of the Humans, for They would not allow such honor bound event to be fouled by external influences, and so the squaring of the might of the King against the Enemy proceeded undisturbed. (10)
And King Laurent proved on that day that the power of the alicorns was indeed something to be in awe of, for even as the Enemy attacked relentlessly, striking with what seemed like claws of living darkness and bolts of wicked magic, he avoided and parried with his shield every hit, and sparks like lightning erupted from every blow, so that to those in the city it looked like a great dark storm was churning outside of the walls, with bright thunderbolts illuminating two shapes locked in combat.
And it was during one of those strikes that the King lunged with his spear, and hit the Enemy.
A horrid screech resounded then, a noise so terrible that many who heard it would remain troubled by its memory for long years after, but in that moment, as foreseen by King Laurent, the alicorns in the city managed once again to access the power of the Weave, and so began to portal back to the Everfree.
Only a few managed to get through the portals before the Enemy severed the link, and it became evident then to both the citizens and the King that many more blows would be needed before all the besieged alicorns would escape. (11)
And so the duel continued, for hours the lightning storm raged and King Laurent struck the Enemy again and again, and with each wound more alicorns escaped the siege, but as the hours went, and the land became fouled by the black blood of the fiend, the King also began to tire, and his strength started to falter just as the Sun began to descend under the horizon.
But more alicorns were still trapped in the city, so he soldiered on until when, as the Moon was already up in the sky, only a few citizens still remained, and among them was his faithful personal Guard.
It was at that moment that the Enemy finally managed to strike him.
That first blow felt like a hammer on the chest of those who witnessed the fight, for king Laurent was thrown by its force almost to the ground, before he skillfully escaped the grip of the enemy and rose again in the sky.
Tragically from that moment the tide began to turn, and the Enemy appeared to gain more strength each time it could land a hit on the King, who in turn began to show wounds even despite his armor, and some believe that had it not been for that magnificent armament, he would have surely perished from that very first blow.
But the sovereign would not give up his fight, and after each strike he came back to answer in kind, in the hope of allowing the last of the alicorns to escape.
That hope however was fast waning, for the King was now exhausted and gravely hurt, while his foe had become a colossus of living darkness even more terrible than the most vile Abominations, and suddenly the alicorns were aware that their doom was fast approaching.
Then, King Laurent stood up, and it was as if a great peace came to him, for he turned his head towards the city, and with a broken but clear voice, he shouted his last words.
“Leave, now!”
Then the alicorns watched in awe, and even the Enemy staggered in doubt, as from the King came forth a great light, and suddenly it was as if he was wreathed in golden flames, and his eyes burned with a brilliance unseen since the Masking of the Humans, and many would later believe then that it was no less than Sol himself that lent him a spark of his power, for in this flaming presence he shone like the Sun itself. (12)
Then, with a valiant cry loud enough to shake the air around him, King Laurent charged the Enemy and struck the wicked skull with a fury comparable only to the assault of a Titan.
And in that moment, the night became day.
A spark of pure white light erupted from the impact, shooting in all directions until it encompassed the entire battlefield, and accompanying it there was a sound like thunder, so loud, and high, and deep that the city shook with it, and all of its glass was shattered.
But even louder was heard then another noise, a screech of utter rage, pain, and fear, that entered the very bones of the alicorns that still witnessed the duel, and in that moment they knew, the Enemy was gravely wounded, and this would be their last chance escape the siege.
And so they did, the last of those still in the city entered the portal and reached without trouble the Everfree, but with them, heavier than any pain or remorse, brought also the knowledge that King Laurent, sovereign of the alicorn kingdom, secondborn of the Humans, was gone, fallen in a hopeless battle against the Enemy, so that hope may yet endure for all of Creation.
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