AN: this chapter is unedited, and optional. read if you want.
Ch10: History.
The six mares and the god Melborn each sat in a circle of a domed room. The walls were smoothed out, and a pedestal rested in the center, with an icy blue glowing stone, about the size of a pony’s head. Melborn slowly got up, his red and black robes swayed as he made his way to the stone. He placed a hand over it, and mumbled a few incoherent phrases, and the stone started to glow.
What happened next was fascinating, the entire room disappeared. They could see the stone, Melborn, and each other, but nothing else.
“Cool…” Rainbow muttered as she looked around her.
“Very.” Melborn agreed as he swept his hand over the stone again. It changed from an icy blue, to a light brown as they were set in a new place. They appeared in a throne room made of sandstone, the pillars had intricate carvings depicting great battles on them, and ornate red and gold banners hung from the rafters. Several guards stood at attention at each pillar, eight in all, and two from each race. They wore armor on the part of their bodies unprotected by their shells, the metal shone in the light, and it was colored bright silver. The eight guards held vicious pikes and halberds, completing the steadfast royal guard look.
Who were they guarding? Four regal Terra sitting at a table by the foot of the throne, one of each race. The Fire Terra was male, wearing nothing but a pair of red and gold strips of cloth draped over his shoulders, a gnarled oak staff leaned against his stone chair. The female Water Terra wore armor made of hardened coral, exotic in color even when out of the water, a steel trident lay in front of her on the table. The Earth Terra, also female, wore armor made of polished marble, and rested her claw on the ball of a large mace she had resting next to her chair. A vicious scar ran diagonally down both her right eyes, and her shell was chipped and scratched in many places. Finally, a male Air Terra, young and strong looking, he wore what appeared to be a white armor made from a foreign metal, and a great sword stuck up from the ground next to him, tip burrowing into the stone floor. His wings were neat, like the rest of him, a complete contrast to his earth sister.
“See them girls?” Melborn asked, and they each nodded their heads. “The Earth Terra is named Crag, the most feral warrior ever to be seen on the field of battle. The Water Terra is Aqua, the oldest yet youngest looking Terra alive; her skill in magic is only rivaled by the Astral that created our world. The Fire Terra is known as Obsidian, he is strong in magic, but is limited to fire spells, but he has been known to melt the faces off the ones he touches. Finally, the air head is Storm, a cocky and stubborn bird if I ever saw one. Despite that, he is quicker than the crack of a whip, and his voice once crashed a mountain on an attacking army.” The girls looked upon the terra before mentioned beings with awe and respect, formidable foes if they were on the field together. “They were the first and only creatures on this world that were able to wield the elements. Powerful weapons that reared their true power in the first era, four seventy six, when Tyr was attacked.”
“Attacked? By who?” Twilight asked.
“There are beings higher than the gods on Tyr, Astral's, who have the power to create worlds of their own, growing in power as things under their control flourish. The more worlds one controls, the more powerful they get, and this was one such an instance, where one tried to increase his power. Watch.”
Storm shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “We need to do something.” His voice echoed off the walls, even though this was a memory of the past, the girls snapped to attention. His voice demanded attention even greater than Celestia’s. “My people suffer at the blades of these… off-worlders…”
“I feel your pain brother, their poison seeps into the waters, harming my people and the creatures we care for. But we cannot leave the plains, not until he breaks the bonds.” Aqua commented.
“They cannot continue to march on our homes. I lose more sons and daughters to these fools than I do to time and disease!” Storm roared.
“Calm yourself Storm, rage will only cloud your judgment, you remember last time you let your anger go unchecked.” Obsidian said sagely.
Storm grumbled as he leaned back into his chair.
“I for one think we should take the fight to them, we are obviously superior to them in might, why not take them out now?” the arrogant Crag said, balling up a claw into a fist.
“We cannot leave the plain; the Astral’s power prevents us from leaving.” Aqua reminded her.
“Can’t believe that thing created us, we’re no more than body guards.” Crag grumbled.
“There could be a way.” Obsidian offered.
“Spill it sand strider.” Storm demanded.
“Years ago star fragments fell onto my Kingdome. They bore the seals of the creator, and upon my touch, glowed with power. After a few tests, I found that they have the potential to help us with the Astral. If it can regain its power, we may be free to move from the plain.” He explained.
“If we can get our claws on them, than we could be done with this mess and move on.” Crag said, smiling widely and showing some sharp fangs.
“The only problem is that they choose their bearers. If you are chosen to wield them, than I would gladly march into battle alongside you.” Obsidian said.
“So sweet, I didn’t know you cared.” Crag mocked.
“Seems that way from what I heard last night.” Storm muttered, cracking a smile on his beak.
“This coming from the one who could be heard from across the city, or did you two forget.” Crag said, holding back a laugh. Storm glared at her, but soon the four of them shared a round of laughter.
“Ah old friends, we should have moments like this more often.” Aqua said.
“We should, but our people need us. So Obsidian, where are these fragments?” Storm asked.
Obsidian pulled four fragments from his shell and placed them on the table. The others looked at them unamused; they looked like they were recently mined diamond spikes.
“Is this a joke? I thought that was Aqua’s thing.” Crag asked.
Obsidian merely picked up one of them, and in a bright flash, it transformed into a golden staff with a dragons claw holding a flawlessly cut spherical ruby at the head. The staff had red glowing runes down the sides, and radiated power.
The other three just looked at the remaining fragments. Crag picked one up, and it turned into a fierce golden battle axe: the blades span out like the wings of an eagle and a sharp spearhead donned the tip. At the bottom of the rod, was another spearhead, making this axe deadly at both ends. Between the blades of her axe, was a red imprint of a dragon.
Crag swung her new weapon a few times, “Incredible, it’s like it weighs nothing at all…” she mumbled.
Storm was next: his piece glowed brightly and a great sword fit into his hands. The pommel had a ruby set on it, and the guard above the handle was in the shape of a star. The blade itself was heavy, or should have been it looked like only an ogre could wield it; bit Storm swung it with ease. As the blade neared the tip, it became serrated, like a set of teeth.
“By the creator…” he said as he rested the blade tip in the sandstone, putting a hand to his chin in thought.
Aqua took hers, and it morphed into a pair of whips, or whip handles with dragon heads at the top. She looked at them quizzically, and gave a test swing to them. Water whips formed out of the handles, she swung them in intricate patterns, and then kicked her trident into the air, and with one swing, cleaved it in half vertically.
“Most amusing, can’t wait to see what it does to those pig humans.” She said in awe.
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“Melborn, are those the weapons?” Twilight asked, watching the Terra marvel at their new toys.
“Yes and no, they won’t be in that shape when we go for them, but they will morph into a weapon the user will be most comfortable with.” Melborn answered.
“I call bullshit, how can a creature that large move like that?” Rainbow asked, gesturing to Aqua.
“Looks can be deceiving.” Melborn retorts.
“Why show us this?” Rarity asks.
“This is before it all went to hell.” Melborn answered.
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The room went black again; the sounds of fighting and the screams of death could be heard. The stone lights up blood red, and the land shows itself again. The girls see a gruesome sight, bodies littered the sands of the Ethereal Plain, human, and Terra, but the most heart wrenching sight, is that of Storm looking over the battlefield, expression hurt and eyes glazed.
“We won Storm; we should get to burying our dead.” Obsidian said, putting a hand on Storms shoulder.
Storm remained silent; he looked over the carnage, what had bothered this terra so much?
“They’re all dead…” he muttered. A closer look reveals the broken corpses of Air Terra making up more than ninety percent of the dead on the Terra side.
“We will have time to mourn, but for now we have other duties.”
Storm turned to his Fire brother, anger growing in his features.
“Don’t you see? Do you ever see?” he shouted. “Do you not feel the pain they did before they died? Of course not, you have not the ties to your race like I do. Every soul that was slain, I can feel them, I still can, the spirits are in agony!”
“Calm down, I may not feel your pain, but we have a job to do, they knew the risks.” Obsidian countered.
Storm grabbed the Terra by the front of his shell and lifted him into the air. “You said this wouldn’t happen; now my people are down to a handful! We cannot keep fighting do you understand!?”
“Storm, put him down.” Aqua ordered. “He should not be the one to take your anger, it is not his fault. We all lost children today, and it pains me to see any amount of death on our side, but you must know that this is war, they will not hold back.” Storm dropped Obsidian on his back and turned away.
“Where are you going? There is still some cleaning up to do, and not to mention the feast at Země!” Crag called.
“Home, where we will stay.” Storm replied. The others looked at him confused. “Those who wish to stay shall, but my army is going back to Vítr.”
“If you are attacked we can’t help you.” Obsidian warned.
“We have been working on a defensive tactic, we will survive.” With that, he flew off, and most of his army went with him.
“How many stayed?” Obsidian asked.
“Fifty, not enough.” Crag answered. “They’ll be extinct by the time this war ends.”
“Not if we use their troops wisely. Get them back to Pyrus, we will continue planning there.”
“The colony? Are sure it’s wise to keep them there?”
“It’s underground and on the outskirts of our territory, they will be safe there.” Obsidian answered as he made his way to check on the wounded.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Aqua said.
“You and me both, we will go check on storm tomorrow, today we must recover.” Crag agreed.
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“So Storm went off, big whoop.” Rainbow mumbled.
“There is more to our world’s elements than just being weapons. Only together will they grant true power. Only in… blech… harmony can they banish the terrors of the world.” Melborn gagged at the word harmony.
Twilight pondered his words for a second.
“Bit fer yer thoughts Twi?” Applejack asked.
“I'm not certain, let’s wait to see what happens next.” Twilight replied.
“Good choice lass. On to the next scene!” Melborn clapped his hands and a new scene showed itself.
They were sitting on clouds, looking over a city in chaos. Soldiers were killing Terra left and right, and they could see Storm at the top of the center Temple. Their focus made the gem glow and take them there. On top of the temple, was a shrine, with what appeared to be a lightning bolt stylized on the altar. Storm looked out upon his city with Aqua and Crag.
Storm looked detached, and his eyes had a dead look to them.
“You don’t have to do this, we can get everyone out.” Aqua said, putting a hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off.
“Leave; there is nothing else to be done.” He said as he carved a rune into the altar.
“You’re not going to…” Crag started.
“They want the blood of my people, then they must work for It.” he took his great sword and cut his hand, letting blood drop onto the rune. The city shook and trembled, knocking the human soldiers and the other two terra off balance.
“Storm, what did you do?” Aqua asked.
Storm didn’t answer, he just pointed off to the left, and the others were met with the sight of the city lifting off the ground. The humans and non-winged Terra started sinking on the cloud streets of the city.
“Leave.” Storm ordered, and his friends did just that.
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“He made the city fly?!?” Twilight yelled.
“Yes he did, but the very defense mechanism he created would become a nightmare for all..” Melborn explained.
“What do you man?” Twilight asked.
“Just watch.”
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The gem focused on a grizzled human commander: he wore reinforced leather armor with a heavy steel Two-handed sword. His face was pale and had an unkempt grey beard and a scar over his left eye, which was milky white while his other one was brown.
He growled at Storm menacingly from the street he was in. “fall back, get to the siege weapons!” he shouted, voice thundering across the city. He stabbed his sword through the shell of a small Terra, and made his way back to the human lines.
As he marched along, he cut down any Terra in the way. Males, females, children, he cut them all down. As he neared the edge of the city, the clouds turned dark grey. The city flashed yellow once, and a bolt of lightning struck one of the soldiers next to him, frying the poor sod.
“Hurry up if you want to live!” he shouted. The men practically dropped their weapons and ran for the edge of the city.
He blocked bolt after bolt with his sword as he made his way towards the edge, the clouds were up to his chest now, and he dove to the ground as another bolt sailed over his head and struck another soldier in the back.
He approached the Trebuchet line with a scowl on his face. “Did the mages finish the weapon?” he asked.
“Yes, the new ammo is ready.” A thin looking scout replied.
“Good. Alright men, get ready!” the soldiers around the trebuchet got into position. The city started getting higher in the air, sending bolts closer t their lines. “Aim!” the men tensed as they readied their weapons. The bolts got closer, and even singed one of the trebuchet’s bases. “Fire!”
The new ammo sailed into the city, exploding into white balls of fire. The screams of pain and agony roared across the battlefield as the denizens burned alive.
The commander smiled at this. “Fire again, doesn’t stop till that city is nothing but ash!” he yelled.
The Trebuchet kept firing, hitting their mark every time, sending a new wave of screaming across the battlefield. After the fourth wave, the screaming stopped, a roar of rage could be heard as the bolt output nearly tripled, striking and destroying the trebuchet and torching the soldiers.
As the commander looked upon the city, he saw a raging lightning storm, with a glowing silver city resting on it. White fires still raged in the streets, which fueled the lightning strikes, still hitting the human lines.
“Fall back, their done!” he yelled as he walked away from the flying city.
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The ponies looked at the battle with shock and disgust painted on their faces.
“How can anypony do something like that?” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Humans weren’t natives to this world, they belonged to another one. But their orders were to kill off this world’s first borne so their Astral can take over.” The world around them darkened and went black once more. “I don’t know what happened to storm, but his weapon floated around the northern part of the plains until the war ended, where it disappeared.”
“What about the others?” Applejack asked.
“Aqua was devastated, Crag was pissed, and Obsidian basically said told you so. Not the best of friends after this incident. Aqua went back to her home while Crag and Obsidian talked strategy in Oheň, the volcano in the center of the plains.” Melborn explained.
The six ponies gave the fallen a moment of silence while the world started to change.
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On a beach, three armies squared off, the prize: Polít, the floating home of the Water Terra. Aqua’s lines consisted of spear troops in front, ballistae and catapult in the city, and archers and mages firing from the walls.
“Fight your way to Aqua’s lines, we mustn’t them fall!” Obsidian yelled. He let loose a group of fireballs from his staff as he and his troops charged into the human lines.
The mares watched the carnage unfold before them as Obsidian and Crags forces flanked the humans. The cries of pain and death filled the air as the surprise attack took an intense chunk out of the human offensive front. Slowly, the invading force was pushed back from the Floating city, giving Aqua a moment to breath as she regrouped with Crag and Obsidian.
“These humans are bold, think you can hold them off while I awake Scylitha?” Aqua asked.
“The serpent?” Obsidian questioned.
“Yes, she was bred to defend the city, but she must be awakened, though I am unsure of how she will react to being forcibly shoved from her bed.” Aqua replied.
“Forcibly… has the damn snake gone through mating season already?” Crag asked, albeit a bit too loud.
“Yes, she is irritable, but what a better time than now to sick her on the humans?” Aqua shrugged before turning down one of the coral streets. “Hold the humans off; get the civilians out of here. Scylitha won’t be happy.” And with those words, she sprinted to the temple.
“She’s going to get herself killed messing with that serpent.” Obsidian sighed.
“Yes, but this should make for quite the show.” Crag countered.
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“Grrr, damn turtles. Magnus!” the human commander yelled.
“Yes?” the mage answered.
“Poison the sea. If they draw power from water, then we will take the power from them.” he said with an evil grin.
“Gladly.” The mage matched it with a smile of his own.
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“What are they doing!?!?” one of the archers yelled over the wall.
Crag and Obsidian rushed up to the battlements to see a mage place a green mist on the water, and it slowly changed the waters color from its vibrant blue, to a sickly green.
“Their poisoning the sea…” Crag surmised.
“The children of water draw their power from the sea…” Obsidian added.
As the sickly green spread across the ocean, it started showing on the water Terra. Some of them dropped to their hands and knees from exhaustion, and others were sent into coughing fits. The earth and fire terra tried to help, but since the water was poisoned, the only hope for them was if Scylitha could fix what those humans did.
“Heads up!” someone yelled as a giant boulder sailed over the battlements and smashed into a building, creating a hole in the stonework.
“Troops get your wounded brothers and sisters to safety!” Obsidian ordered. The humans pushed forward again, but the Terra mages kept them at bay with fire spells that set the beach on the front lines ablaze.
The terra who weren’t fighting helped drag the incapacitated water terra out of the city and towards the nearest safe haven, Země. Other terra from the walls followed them to provide cover, but once half of them left the city…
A loud roar pierced the air, as well as a shrill cry of terror.
“Stars above…” Crag cursed.
The city shook, soldiers from both lines halted their marches as they looked towards the temple in the center of the city. Large yellow eyes opened within the dark spire, and a set of white teeth showed themselves as if smiling. A large blue head emerged from the spire and the rest of the creature snaked its way to the infected water, but instead of being harmed, it healed the sea. Where it swam, the water went back to its clear blue color. The serpent slithered on the shore and the humans and terra alike backed away.
“Is that…” crag started.
“Scylitha.” Obsidian took in the size of the serpent, it was as big as a juvenile leviathan, which on average were half the size of mountains, and had a hunger in its eyes to match. A near translucent sail went down its back, and small arms stuck out from its sides. It licked its lips and lunged towards the humans, scooping many of them up in her maw. “Quickly, we need to leave this place!” Obsidian yelled. The others were happy to oblige.
“What about Aqua?” Crag asked, seizing a hold of obsidians arm.
“She is lost, that scream was hers.” He said. “We need to leave, save as many as we can.”
He shrugged off her claw and followed the others. Crag stood back and took one last look,saying a silent prayer for her sister.
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Fluttershy passed out in fright from the sight of the serpent, and the others just said their own prayers for the humans who stood no chance against Scylitha.
“Why would they do this?” Twilight asked.
“The humans were following the will of their creator… the Terra were helpless as their Astral grew weak throughout the war, drawing power to keep itself alive from its very creations. There were some who were not in the plains at the time, but they stayed isolated where no other creature would dare go.” Melborn explained. “Both races are like cockroaches, they will survive no matter what, but the city on the other hand, seeing nothing left, Scylitha sank it to the bottom of the sea, where she would live out her hibernation”
“What about the elves?” Rarity asked.
“They stayed in their territory, they had free roam, but they were still new to life, and were weak because of it. The Astral kept them hidden, a failsafe if its first fell. Scylitha sunk the city the day after the human army retreated; they were hurt and scared of the Terra’s power. half the force they came with deserted and hid wherever they could, but there were still enough humans left to fight against this world’s first.” He explained.
“Ah don’t think ah want to see more.” Applejack said, her eyes downcast and mood soured.
“I agree with Applejack, we don’t need to see more, we just need to teach those guys a lesson!” Rainbow yelled.
“No, you need to see what you’re up against in Země and Oheň.” He answered.
“Why not just tell us?” Twilight asked.
“Some things, are best left shown.” Was all they got when the world went black and shimmered to life again.
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The world opened up to a tropical forest, a stone city jutted from between the trees. The Temple rose high, the largest of the four cities. All the buildings were made from smooth granite and marble, all had the same shape but different feels, the homes had a different aura than the shops, it also helped that the homes had runic symbols carved into them to differentiate them from the shops. A large crowd formed around two Terra near the temple in the center.
“Graah!” Crag yelled as she swiped Obsidian with a claw.
“What’s gotten into you!?” he yelled.
His sister had tears streaming from her eyes. “How could you be so cold as to ignore everything around you? Your brothers and sisters lie dead and you do nothing!”
“We must not let the humans take the last two cities! If-”
“What is a stone structure compared to the life of our kin?” she said, cutting Obsidian off.
“They knew the risks, when they joined, they became expendable.” He answered.
She shook her head and swiped at him again, cutting his shell. Three claw marks were emblazoned on his chest now, a sign from her that they were no longer kin. “Leave Obsidian; There is nothing for you here now!”
He stared at her in shock. He put a hand to the fresh cut, it went deep enough to start bleeding, it burned, but his physical wound did not hurt the most.
“I said leave Obsidian, take your Sand Striders and go home.” She snarled, using the old insult to salt his wounds.
“Fine… I will go… goodbye Crag.” He said as he signaled his troops to leave for Oheň.
Storm fell to her knees and sobbed. Over the past month more and more cities fell and her brother merely watched as their kin were slaughtered. He refused to send troops to help the others, and in doing so, left them for dead. Now she felt dead, with what she did, she separated her people from his.
“Are you alright elder?” a terra from her right asked. She looked over to see her high general looking at her with concern.
“No Shale, I'm not okay.” She replied.
“I hate to add more bad news, but the humans have been sighted at the edge of the forest, they are prepared for a large battle, and with Obsidian gone…” the high general started.
“Get me Seraph and Mace; we are going to use the Miasma.” Crag said.
“Are you sure? It hasn’t been perfected; test subjects turn into mindless zombies instead of going to sleep.” Shale warned.
“With the element’s power… it will be enough.” She said while drying her tears and standing up. She walked to the temple and shut the large wooden doors with a loud slam.
“Clear the area, there is nothing else to see here…” the high general ordered.
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“What just happened?” Twilight asked.
“Crag and Obsidian used to be mates, then she learned how cold hearted he was. The irony of this is that he only knew loss when he lost the one closest to him. That’s when the scale of this war finally took its toll on him.” Melborn explained.
“So they were really close, then she dumped him?” Rainbow asked.
“Bingo.” He replied.
“What happens next?”
“Watch…”
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“Are you sure this will work Crag?” a grey terra asked. His entire body was a dull color, but his claws were bright silver and a ruby amulet hung from his neck.
Crag thought for a moment. “No mace, I'm not.”
“Alright then, let’s get this over with. Shale, tell us when they get within our borders.” Mace ordered.
“This may go horribly wrong.” A clay colored terra warned. His body resembled a walking bundle of molded clay, even his claws took on a dirty appearance.
“I know, but this may help.” Crag said, taking out her axe, she then morphed it back into its crystalline appearance, and waited.
The three heard boulders crash against the walls of the temple, but no screams, either the humans had terrible aim, or the bulky earth terra got better at dodging. Their spines chilled as they waited, getting more apprehensive about what they were going to do.
The door slammed open, and the high general stumbled in, a gaping hole in her shell bled profusely. “They… have breached the lines…” she gasped before dropping to the floor. The life left her eyes as Crag started the spell.
Crag gathered energy within her claws and used it to float the crystal between her and the two other Terra. They did the same and let their power flow into the crystal. The element glowed a bright orange as the power in it reached its peak, and then it went purple and emitted a strange mist.
“The spell is going smoothly thus far, do not lose concentration.” Seraph ordered.
The mist covered the crystal and thickened. It soon became a solid purple ball with stray wisps of smoke leaving its surface. The sounds of conflict grew outside as the ball slowly became bigger and bigger, it eventually took up the space between the three terra as the first human entered the temple.
“Stars above what is that?” he said to himself. The general and several men joined him after, staring at the ball of purple mist.
“What is that?” the general asked his mage.
He gasped in fear and surprise. “They have created the miasma?!?! We must retreat!” he yelled, scrambling from the room as fast as he could, the men and general following soon after. Once the last foot exited the room, the ball exploded outwards.
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A translucent purple dome covered the city, humans on both sides of it banged their fists on the energy barrier in an attempt to open it, but it grew futile as the mist covered the city and then blocked the view from the outside, hands that were previously gripping the shield slid downwards, and the mist slowly dissipated. The fog was still thick, but now it allowed some form of sight. The humans on the outside stared in, hearts pounding as they waited for the first sign of life… then it hit them.
The shield shattered as a wave of animated dead flowed into the remaining human lines. Soulless black marbles staring out of once living bodies charged at the remaining humans.
“Retreat! Retreat!” the general yelled, the mage hadn’t made it out like he had, he would have stayed and fought, but he wasn’t going to be zombie bait.
The humans fled, but those who weren’t fast enough were dragged back into the city, kicking and screaming for their lives, not knowing the fate that was to befall them.
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“How in Equestria did they do that?” Rarity asked; the only pony not disgusted with what Crag did.
“The spell was designed to put the target to sleep, but they haven’t perfected it. Instead, it killed the target and raised the body from the dead.” Melborn explained.
“Remind me not to mess with magic like that.” Twilight said; a look of shear revolt on her face.
“Don’t mess with magic like that.” Rainbow joked.
“Don't get smart with me Dash, you don’t have the brainpower.” Twilight retorted.
Just as Rainbow was about to reply, Melborn cut her off. “Time to see the last of the elements fall, and the first place you will be going to.”
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The world shimmered again, the view of a raging volcano was the first sight for the viewers, and a city of dull brimstone dominated the center of the raging giant. Roars of rage could be heard from the city and angry cries of blood from the sides of the volcano could be heard. As tensions boiled, so did the magma in the mountain. At the entrance, the two leaders of the respective clans squared off, eyes both filled with enough rage to force a dragon into submission.
“I will give you one more chance, leave now or I will be forced to end your meaningless existence!” he bellowed, staff clutched firmly in his claw.
“We will leave only when the rest of you degenerates are dead!” the general growled back.
“Then so be it…” Obsidian’s eyes glowed brightly as he unleashed a torrent of flames upon the general.
The general raised his shield in time, but his troops were not so lucky. Those who weren’t ready got torched, and their charred bodies rolled down the volcano. He pushed forward, shoving the Terra backwards with a shield bash. Obsidian responded by unleashing blow after blow with his staff. As they focused on goring each other, the rest of the battle started. Humans flowed into the city, weapons bared as they charged full of zeal. The Terra practically let them in, only to just unleash their own powers of fire to burn their foes. The smell of charred flesh permeated the air alongside the smell of sulfur. Weapons locked, spells were tossed, and the screams of the dying pierced the heavens.
“Give up human!” Obsidian ordered as he smashed his staff over the general’s head.
Shaking away the pain, he sent a glare to his opponent. “Not until one of us is dead!” he yelled back.
The two locked weapons and started shoving against each other. This was a fight of pure power, no tricks. The human kicked the elder backwards and unleashed a flurry of swings with his sword, all of which the Terra blocked with unnatural ease. He shoved his attacker back and swung for his head, the gold staff connected with a sickening crack against the general’s skull. Blood started flowing from where he got hit, he dropped his shield and held the spot, tightly gripping the sword in his other hand and sent a death glare towards his enemy.
“You won’t leave this fight alive!” He yelled and lunged at the towering turtle.
Obsidian knocked the sword from his grip and hefted the man up by his neck. He sent a glare right into his eyes and began to tighten his hold. Dropping his staff, he balled up a fist, and brought it back, “this,” he sent a bone shattering punch into the man’s ribs, “is for Storm.” he brought it back, “this,” another punch, “is for Aqua.” he brought it back again, “this,” the sound of bone snapping and a deep gurgle sounded from the trapped general, “is for my mate!” he dropped the man to the floor. The general curled up into a ball, the pain stopping him from keeping his strong demeanor. “And this…” he brought his hoot over the fallen general’s head, “is for every other Terra you killed!” he brought his foot down, the ground cracked under the force he applied.
The sounds of fighting stopped. Every eye was on him; Obsidian hefted up the dead general like a prized kill and let loose a primal roar. The humans were sent running for their lives, the mountain started erupting and magma flowed through the streets. Obsidian just stood, seething with anger. He felt rage towards the humans, but even more to himself. The magma flowed past his legs, but didn’t burn him; it never burned him, or any of the other Fire Terra.
“Obsidian…” someone started from behind him.
“What is it Brimstone?” he asked, dropping the dead body into the burning red liquid, he turned around to find his brother staring at him, several others bowed at his gaze.
“The others lost hope, saw rage overtake you, but they are wrong to fear you. A true Terra must not adhere to the commands of underlings like that blasted Astral. You, were, and still are, the true leader of our race.” He took a knee in the flooded streets.
It started to recede as crag looked at the approving faces of the remainder of his people, in his eyes, the other didn’t exist anymore. He looked over the two hundred Terra, the last of the eight hundred who lived in the city, “my friends, brothers, sisters, today will be marked down in the stone of history. No longer will we allow our betters to hold us behind; no longer will we tolerate the scourge that has tainted our lands. We are the last true sons of the sand, and as long as the humans still live, we will fight!” a cheer rose from the crowd. A bright light enveloped the element, and dissipated. The jewel from before shone in place of the weapon, its power drained, its purpose fulfilled.
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“Whoa, didn’t see that coming.” Rainbow said, marveling at the violence displayed by the once peaceful mage.
“Obsidian broke when his mate slashed him, to a Terra; there is no equivalent, only pain and loss.” Melborn sighed. The world fizzled out, and the seven of them stood before a map, it was divided into three sectors, the ethereal plains, the human lands, and the elven country. The plains were highlighted red, and so was a spot in the Frostbite Mountains on the border of two human countries.
“What’s the significance of this?” Twilight asked.
“After he left the city, he led his followers to a new home in the Frostbite Mountains. After a few years the ones who followed Obsidian’s son moved back in. but without the still very much alive elder living there, it started to sink. The living left, and left their mummified dead in the tombs of the temple. Years of aimless walking for both Obsidian’s disciples and the dead in Země, a new home was found in both. The marble city sank beneath the earth, and the Terra started a new clan that would only accept “true Terra.”” He explained.
“So the Terra we’ve seen are the descendants of the ones from the war?” Rarity asked.
“No.” the mares all gasped when he said this. “The ones you’ve seen have all been there when Obsidian snapped. His son, the current elder, rounded up the drifters from the battle and retook old minor cities for the once proud race to live. Yes, there have been new ones born, but they are too few, not many live to see their adult days. Parents have buried their children more times than they care to admit. It’s a miracle some of them survived until now…” his voice held pity to the one proud race; even the gods mourned the declining species.
“What do we do?” Pinkie asked all seriousness in her voice. The other mares stared at her, mane straight, eyes hard, and muscles tense.
“You go to the temples, find the elements, rally troops, and kill that blasted king.” He explained.
“What about the Astral?” Fluttershy asked.
“What about him?” Melborn questioned.
“The Terra have been through a lot, and it seems that if all this was done for that big meanie, then why not get him to leave the poor dears alone?” she explained.
Melborn thought for a moment. “That might work, it would be difficult, but they deserve peace.”
“Then it’s settled, after Vold is taken care of, we will help give the Terra freedom from their oppressor.” Twilight said; she then held her hoof out between the other mares. “Who’s with me?”
“If it mean we can go home and help these poor creatures at the same time, then yes.” Fluttershy said without hesitation, it seemed all shyness almost disappeared after they saw the battles.
“These here critters deserve better, ahm in.” Applejack agreed.
“Let’s go kick some flank girls!” Rainbow yelled.
“Vold and that Astral won’t know what hit them.” Pinkie snarled.
“I was never much of a fighter, but if you are all Tartarus bent on getting hurt, then I’ll be there to patch you up.” Rarity sighed.
“When do we leave?” Twilight asked.
“Tomorrow, we need to set up some supplies; White Fang will be your guide through the Ethereal Plains to the four main cities.”