//------------------------------//
// Fear 
// Story: Bred for War 
// by LupoMikti 
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Bred for War

By LupoMikti


Chapter 3: Fear






"So many ponies injured and suffering, and for what? Well, that’s an easy one: for our country to be safe and strong. We are no longer prey, that’s for sure. I’m glad I was able to join the healers in assisting with the wounded. But now I must turn to more pressing matters. What can we do to end this war more quickly? Ponies should not have to suffer like this, for any reason."

These were the thoughts that raced through my mind as I readied myself for the last teleport before I made it to the main camp where the Princesses were. After healing the injured from that ambush, I was telepathically given the location of where I would meet them. It would take two teleports to get to, with an hour rest after each to replenish my energy.

Right now I was on the top of some plateau just outside an unnamed desert. It was good that my armor afforded protection from extreme heat, else I would have been incredibly uncomfortable for that hour. Feeling that I was in travelling condition once more, I stood and readied myself for the jump to my destination.

With a loud crack signaling my arrival—not for lack of trying to keep quiet, but due to there being no need to be silent—I appeared just outside the large war tent of the Princesses. To a normal sized pony, the tent could easily have been a simple two story house. Its coloring was that of a mix of a shining gold on the right half and a deep midnight blue on the other, with the two branching and swirling where they met.

I walked up to the two guards at the tent’s entrance and stated my rank and purpose. After one of them went in to officially announce my presence, I was called in by the voice of Princess Celestia. As I entered, the guard exited back to his post and I let the flap of the entrance close behind me.

I didn’t necessarily take notice of my surroundings too much at that moment. I was too worried at what I might have to endure in the upcoming discussion. I simply made my way before the Princesses and bowed at their hooves. Once I was seated before them, the discussion began.

“Nova, We are certain that thou knowest what thou hast been called before Us for,” Princess Celestia began. “We must discuss thy recent actions in battle. Is it not true that thou admittedly toyed with thine enemy to the point of using excessive force?”

“It is true, my Princess,” I said with closed eyes and my head hung low. "Though I do have my reasons…"

“What dost thou believe thy punishment should be, if any?” Princess Luna had gotten involved at this point and showed a certain measure of displeasure for the subject at hoof.

I knew now that what I said would affect the rest of my service to the crown. Not only that, but in all likelihood, my life was on the line as well. I needed to choose my words carefully for this, and that all started with being able to speak freely in the first place.

“If I may, my Princesses, I would like to explain my actions so that you may judge me appropriately.”

The Princesses glanced at one another, as if communicating by thought. Looking at me with sincerity in her eyes, Princess Celestia ordered, “We will allow this. Speak quickly, soldier.”

“My actions were admittedly in the wrong, but I can assure you both that my heart was in the right place. I did not take pleasure in those acts of torture, and in fact, the wounds I could have inflicted instead would have lead to greater suffering on their part. I only acted in the best interests of our country and I am deeply sorry for my conduct.”

"Is that the best I can come up with?" I thought, the worry gathering in the pit of my stomach and seemingly multiplying by large factors. "Perhaps, I cannot say more, because there is nothing more to say?"

The Princesses once again looked to one another. What felt to be somewhere around ten minutes passed with them like that, though it may have only been three or four. When the nervousness began to permeate my very being, Celestia spoke and their answer was revealed.

“While thine apology sits well with Us, thou wilt not be shown complete mercy. By Our order, from this moment hence, thou art on probation. Thine actions shall be judged most critically, and the punishment most severe. Are We understood, soldier?”

“Yes, my Princesses.”

“Now, We hath called thee here to discuss thy next assignment as well. Thou shalt be sent as guard to a diplomatic envoy. Thou shalt accompany thine asset to the Griffon capital city and see to it that all goes well in terms of avoiding unnecessary conflict. We wish to end this war peacefully, and perhaps now is a good time to initiate negotiations.”

I couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t the proper way to go about negotiations, at least, not yet. I needed to say something, and in a rare display of boldness from a soldier, I spoke out.

“Permission to speak freely on the matter of strategy, your Highnesses?”

“Granted,” Celestia replied, though I could sense trepidation in her voice.

“If I may be so bold, I do not agree that this is the time for negotiation. Not yet at least. We have no guarantee that the Griffons will entertain such a thought while they still think lowly of us. I propose that we strike them in surprise and with such force that they fly away with fear in their hearts and tails between their legs. In this way, when diplomatic negotiations do resume, they will have all the more reason to enter into agreement with us.”

The visages of the two rulers that stood before me went through a short range of changes, from a look of thoughtfulness to one of complete disgust. When one of them spoke, it was Princess Luna who said the first words.

“Thy plan is logical, but flawed. We cannot rely on the chance that they will be frightened enough to listen to us. Their race is a strong and proud one; they cannot be so easily broken.”

Princess Celestia continued, “What’s more, is that this plan doth not align with Our values and intentions. We are ordering thee to never speak of this to any other being and to banish such thoughts from thy mind. Understood?”

“But–”

“Dost thou understand Our order?”

“Yes… my Princesses.”

“Thou wilt be moving out in two days time. Do not leave the camp. We shalt send for thee when the time is right. Dismissed.”

I took my leave at that and bowed before exiting the tent and stepping out to face the sight of war before me. As the flap was moved out of my way by one of the guards, I was momentarily blinded by the light of the setting sun. The same sun that was controlled by the Princess that had outright refused to consider my plan.

I began to make my way through the camp, trying to find the tent of a commanding general to get my quartering assignment. The clank of my armor seemed impossibly loud to me what with the large amount of commotion in the camp. Every step felt more heavy than the last. My hooves were dragging in the dirt as I moved, almost unaware of my surroundings.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?” I thought as I tried to focus on the ground in front of me, putting much more energy into walking than should ever be necessary. The sound of my armor’s movement stopped as I took a moment to gather my bearings. I raised my head to observe the camp around me. And what I saw stirred something in me I was not supposed to feel, not now, not ever: sorrow.

I watched as countless stallions made their ways across my field of vision, going to get food or supplies, relaying messages from superiors, and sitting around and chatting to pass the time while awaiting further orders. A sight that undermined the true sadness of it all. What I saw were stallions doomed to death, with families somewhere back home that were just barely scraping by as the economy went to shambles supporting a seemingly worsening war effort. I saw the eyes of ponies that had killed and witnessed death. They all spoke of future happiness and exuded a cheery tone in an effort to mask their real pain and suffering. I looked upon them, and saw their souls, raw and exposed.

And I felt their self-same sorrow, pain, suffering, loneliness, guilt and fatigue. All their feelings and emotions presented themselves to me, as if begging for freedom, begging for relief. And there I stood, with the power to put an end to it all, or at least speed things up. And what did I have to show for it? An order to stay there amongst such despair while a foolhardy mission was planned to negotiate with those that wished only for unconditional surrender.

“This isn’t right. We shouldn’t be biding our time while all this pain continues. Surely the Princesses see this?”

Of course they see it. They aren’t idiots.

“Who’s there!?” I shouted to the general vicinity. I received several very confused and concerned looks as a result.

Quit your shouting. You’re obviously smart enough to recognize a disembodied voice in your head.

“Who, or what, are you?”

That matters little at the moment, wouldn’t you say? You have more pressing things on your mind. Like the fate of the entire pony race?

At this point I decided it better to have this conversation somewhere a bit less public, even if it was in my head. The stares of those nearby hadn’t ceased since my outburst, and I needed to be able think more clearly. With one last look around, I teleported to the nearest empty tent I could sense. Once alone, I confronted the voice that had so suddenly taken interest in my affairs.

“I’m not about to start listening to what you say just because you know my thoughts. Start explaining.”

Fine, since you’re so intent on answers, you’ll get them. Essentially, I’m you. You remember all those years of mental training; becoming an emotionless killer that follows orders like a good little pup? I am the latent result of that training. Every one of you ‘special’ soldiers has something akin to me inside you. We’ve just been repressed. But you’ve awakened me. And now, I can help you.

“Help me? What could I possibly need help with?”

Right now? Motivation. You need to be pushed to do something you wouldn’t normally do. In this case, insubordination for the greater good.

“What!? I’m not going to go against my orders just because you’re preaching pretty words.”

Well, then we’ll see how you feel about having the blood and lives of all these soldiers on your hooves simply because you were too weak to do something good.

“Hmph. Some help you are…”

No reply came after that, though I stayed in the tent for some time after contemplating this voice's words. My words, apparently. What it said about being a partition of my being could very well have proven true. It was no fallacy that the training I went through required certain mental exercises that could have easily led to some other personality taking form.

And at the moment, I was worried about the forces present having to lose their lives for sub-par reasons that were within my power to prevent. "I can't just go against my orders, though. The penalty would be… severe."

A constant battle continued to rage on with my thoughts. Was it better for me to disobey to save lives? Or did the Princesses really know what was best?

"How can anypony know what's best, even the Princesses? They are powerful, yes, but not omniscient. I know that my plan can bring a swifter end to this war. Why, then, would they refuse it?"

My mind raced and raced, still trying to formulate a way to get what I wanted without punishment. "Perhaps, it would be better to do as I see fit? Even if I am caught, my actions would still have the same result: sending a message to the Griffons that we are to be taken seriously. And that's just it, isn't it? I can only be punished if I'm caught!"

My spirits brightened up at that simple notion. Though the Princesses could use my armor to monitor my vitals, surely there existed limitations to what else they could do. And tracking me over a large distance would be one of those things.

"The best part is, I don't have to move out for two more days. I can easily accomplish this in one. Yes, I'll set out at sunrise tomorrow morning and I'll be back before sunset. News of my attack wouldn't reach the Princesses for a few more days afterward, by which time I'll be on assignment. The deed won't be able to be linked to me. Who knows, if all goes well, maybe I can reveal my actions and be immortalized in tales and text?"

A fitting end to such a fine plan, if I do say so myself.

"You again. Look, why don't you just stay the way you were before now? Nonexistent."

If you say so, Nova. If you say so…

Once I had devised my plan of attack, I realized that I needed a target. I continued my previous search for the tent of a commanding officer to give me my quarters. It didn't take long before I was speaking to a general about his thoughts on the war.

He rambled for some time about supplies being practically nonexistent and about morale being lower than it has been in months. I was able to use this time to sneak a glance at a current map of known Griffon camps. I found a suitable target quick enough that was a proper distance away and next to a small Griffon town. When I acquired that information, I took my leave and prepared my thoughts for the next day.





As I lay in my tent I felt something I had not felt in a long while: nervousness. I was anxious about the execution of my plan, worrying about every little detail that could go wrong. But my plan was sound, and as the sun began to rise, I went over a quick checklist of what needed to be done.

First, I would need to plan out my teleportations wisely. It would be done in five jumps, with an hour of rest between each and after the final one. Once the plan had been fully executed at the camp, I would come back in another five jumps. This meant the total time for my plan would be just over nine hours.

I also had to make sure that nopony would come looking for me. This was simple enough. All I had to do was post a note outside of my tent explaining that I was in the middle of a day-long meditation in preparation for another assignment. This would ensure that none but the Princesses would be bothered with my whereabouts or try to give me orders, and they had already given their orders to me.

"Okay, everything's ready. It's now or never." I closed my eyes to solidify my resolve. Gathering the magic I would need from within my own being, I cast the teleportation spell and set the first step of my plan in motion.





Looking back now, I can only imagine what must have taken place at the camp while I was gone. Though it's not a very hard guess. The only thing I wouldn't know for sure is the dialogue, but as for what happened, that is all too clear to me now.

The Princesses must have sent a messenger to fetch me. There had to have been a change in my orders. When the messenger returned explaining that I was occupied, they demanded to know with what. Upon hearing the explanation, they decided to come to my tent themselves. When they found naught but a magically produced afterimage of me meditating, all of Tartaros must have broken free.

I'm sure they sent for the other special forces mages that were present to go after me. They had most likely deduced that I set out to implement my plan and so attempted to track me. I'll bet anything that it was but a simple task for them to trace my armor. Why I thought otherwise is beyond me at this moment.

While this was going on, I was currently using many different stealth magics to conceal my presence. Griffons have impeccable senses, especially sight. So, even though I was approximately one kilometer away, the danger was still present.

I was at the edge of some trees and brush that would provide a modicum of cover on its own. Being up on a bit of a hill also gave me an advantage, especially when it came to the spell I was about to cast. It would take some time to charge, and firing it downwards would make aiming a trifle easier.

It didn’t take long to decide on what spell I would cast. The requirements were simple. It had to be big, and it had to be destructive on a large scale. With there being five schools of magic to choose from—Light, Mental, Conjured, Dark, and Elemental—I knew that I would get the best results by combining Dark and Elemental.

I began channeling the necessary energies and weaving them through my mind’s eye. My horn lit up with a deep orange glow, tinged with black in places to signify the Dark school. At the tip, a swirl of black flame sparked into life and began to grow. The spell would have to be large, as the camp was no small fort.

It was probably about this time that the Princesses were realizing that the other special forces wouldn’t be able to teleport to my location in time. So, they decided to make the trip themselves. It would take them two jumps, and not for lack of power, but for the limitations on teleportation distance. They would easily be able to make the jumps without rest, and so set off immediately.

I remember thinking, right before firing off the spell, “This is for the good of all, noble Griffon warriors. I’m sorry your lives have to end for others to live.”

The spell now fully charged, I prepared to fire by raising my head and standing on my hind legs. I needed all of the concentration I could get. But it was all quickly lost when I heard my name called out by Princess Celestia.

“Nova! Stop!”

It was too late. I was caught off guard and had no time to put an end to things. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Having let my concentration lapse, I made a very fatal error in both the strength of the spell, and its composition.

The spell was meant to be comprised of the schools of Dark and Elemental. When my concentration broke, I added in a third school: Conjured. Combining three schools is very draining and very difficult. It’s also very powerful and very unpredictable. And not only was the spell affected, but so was my aim.

Directly behind the camp was the small Griffon village. The slightest change in the angle of my shot, and that town was going to be hit. And that’s exactly what happened. The spell was fired and a black, pulsating ball was sent speeding toward thousands of innocent lives.

The Princesses landed behind me, watching in horror as my botched spell landed in the center of the village. The three of us waited with bated breath for something to happen, hoping that nothing did. But our hopes would not be answered on this day.

In a flash, an interdimensional rift as tall as the town was wide opened up and began sucking everything around it into its depths. We watched as Griffons, adults, children and elderly alike, were swallowed by this monstrosity. My eyes were wide with terror. This wasn’t what I wanted. This wasn’t what I intended.

The town continued to seemingly implode and we could see the Griffons being sucked in as well. Though what was much worse was being able to hear every variety of screech and roar that they were capable of making as their lives suddenly came to an end.

Princess Luna finally went into action, thankfully. I believe she had been analyzing my spell and devising the proper magic to reverse it. She flew out to the town and circled it a few times. From her form shot a bolt of bright blue lightning, probably a Conjured Light Elemental spell, the only thing that would directly counteract a Conjured Dark Elemental spell if it was made powerful enough. Seeing that the situation was being handled, though, Princess Celestia chose that time to confront me directly.

“How canst thou be so wretched? We told thee to stay in the camp! For this very reason! Now innocent lives, THOUSANDS of innocent lives, have been lost to thine insubordination! What say thee!? What say thee for thine heinous crime!?”

I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even look at her directly. I stood there, staring off into the distance at where a town used to be. At where Princess Luna was doing her best to correct my mistake. I had no answer for her. I had nothing to say and I never was.

She calls it a crime does she? What has happened here is regrettable, but still necessary. I’ll be back to sort things out for you. For now, just give yourself up. There’s no point in resisting an angry alicorn.

I couldn’t even bring myself to address that inner voice. That voice that had led me to such an act. The voice that was mine. It was my voice. I did this. I was responsible, no matter how it was looked at.

After receiving no response, Princess Celestia simply tied me up with chains of Light magic. I was brought to the ground and incarcerated, made unable to speak as well. The Princess merely turned her back to the destruction as things were wrapping up. The last thing I saw before we teleported was the rift finally being closed by Princess Luna.