Bred for War

by LupoMikti

A Most Formidable Reminder

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

At the sharp crack of matter materializing into filled space from a teleportation, I once again took note of my surroundings. Weak as I was from casting that spell, I still had enough energy to move about slightly, though I was still held by my magical restraints. I was back in the camp and in public view. Things had indeed gotten to hectic levels when my absence was discovered. Tents and supplies seemed to be in disarray and soldiers were still running around like ants. I was being drug to the main war tent and as the princess and I passed, those around us began to stop and observe.

I heard Celestia bark a few orders here and there, and then the crack of another teleportation indicating Luna’s arrival. She quickly caught up to Celestia and the two, I believe, struck up a telepathic conversation. While it took little time to get to the tent, my fatigue had made it so time seemed to stretch out in the most unnatural of ways. However, I was still too tired to really care.

We entered the tent and Celestia created a cage of light magic and threw me in. She called two guards – they looked to be special battle mages as well – to stand guard. It was only then that she chose to address me.

“We shall be discussing the nature of thy punishment. If thou hast anything to say to attempt an explanation of thine actions, now would be the time to say so,” she said, her gaze firmly fixated on my own eyes as if attempting to bore into the essence of my very being and make me permanently disappear on the spot.

In this case, I wanted to answer her; I wanted to explain how I was only acting with the ponies’ best interests. I wanted to apologize for the town having been hit instead of the camp. But I couldn’t. A combination of fatigue and not actually regretting disobeying orders prevented me from doing so. I just laid there, panting from exhaustion, staring into her cold eyes.

“Very well then. Luna and I shall return shortly to tell thee of thy fate. We cannot promise it will be to thy liking, and it most certainly will not be forgiveness.”

At that, the Princesses left the tent and I began to accept that I had failed. However, my thoughts would not let me be on that day, in that moment when I felt so drained and weak.

“Well, it was solid attempt, wasn’t it?” I chuckled to myself.

I would call it a success, if I do say so myself.

“And how do you figure that?” I asked the voice responsible for this mess, too tired to fight it off.

Well, even though you hit a different target, it is still significant enough that the Griffons will take notice. Perhaps now they will listen to negotiations?

“I doubt it. If anything, it will only anger them. They are a race that will see this act as one of great cowardice, simply because it attacked the innocent, the ones not involved in this war.” I had no doubts that this would result in massive loss for Equestria. There was nothing that could be done.

Then that just means we have more work to do.

“What are you going on about now? It’s over. I’ll likely be put away for life for this,” I said letting a vicious storm of negative emotions begin to take over.

Come now. Why are you giving up so easily? You see these two guards? You know you could take them out easily. You were the strongest of all the battle mages after all.

“Even if I could move and talk right now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. This cage doesn’t just function as a holding box. It’s nullifying my magic. If it weren’t, I would be able to tap into the ether and draw power from there to replenish my energy.”

While it was true that most magic came from the user’s own energy, more adept unicorns, after being taught to do so or discovering it for themselves, could extend their consciousness into an as of yet unexplained parallel plane of magic energy and take that energy into their bodies. The downside was that it required full concentration, and so was unsuited for battle.

You have time to recover, you know. The Princesses should be awhile and before they get back you should have recovered enough to move freely again. I’m confident you can think of a plan to escape.

“That’s just it. Why would I escape? There’s nothing left for me to do.” I was beginning to get irritated with this voice’s persistence.

That is far from the truth. You see, you have become obsessed with being immortalized as a hero. Well, you haven’t become ‘obsessed’ so much as ‘greatly intrigued by the idea of.’ While this is the goal of many, the real important part of that is being immortalized. There are those who are remembered for less heroic things, Nova.

“What are you getting at now?” I asked, knowing full well the answer before it came.

I’m saying you can end this war with minimal more casualties if you simply become the villain.

“Become the villain? How would that help anyone? You’re essentially asking me to kill innocents, but this time, intentionally!” I had considered the idea for no more than a few seconds as I was being drug to this tent, but I had quickly dismissed it then.

Sacrifices must be made. In order to gain something, something else must be given up. We may not know what that is, or like what has to be taken, but it must be done. Try and think of this logically. If the Griffons will not make a truce through fear or respect, what will they cease this war over?

“…A common enemy. But that’s–”

But nothing. What you just said is the truth and the only thing that will end this conflict quickly and with minimum sacrifice. I ask you this now, Nova. Are you willing to be that figure that gets these two races to unite?

“I’m not going to kill–” I was completely against this plan… so why did it seem so enticing?

Are you a warrior or aren’t you!?

“What?” My previously limp body actually managed a sharp jolt at that question. One of the guards noticed but quickly ignored it. Throughout all of our training as battle mages, one idea had been engraved into our minds from day one: we are warriors that serve the Princesses, nothing more or less. This voice knew exactly where to strike and exactly when. It must have been planning on using this for some time. But the most sad part about it all was thus: it was working.

Are you not a warrior? Are you not prepared to do whatever is necessary for your country, for your fellow ponies? Would you rather risk another few million or so lives and the fate of this entire war just so you can hold on to your petty morals?

“That’s not—what I mean is—how can you–”

Now is not the time for questions; now is the time for an answer. Are you a warrior?

…

“Yes.” Did I even know what it meant to be a warrior? Even if I did, would it match up with what this voice was telling me?

Will you undertake the important role of being the common enemy?

“Yes.” For whatever reason, I agreed to this madness. Maybe it was fear of execution? Perhaps I truly just wanted to end this war as was my only purpose in existing?

And will you put an end to this war?

“Yes!”

Good. Now rest up. You have work to do.

Nearly two hours had passed as I sat in that cage of magic, recovering my strength and energy. I had enough for two spells, one of a medium caliber and one for teleportation. My plan was simple, but there was no guarantee it would be even marginally successful. It all hinged on the reactions of the guards, and predicting behaviour is anything but simple. If things went awry, I wanted to be able to teleport away.

“Hey,” I called to one of the guards, thus setting my plan in motion. He was a slightly smaller stallion than was normal but had a rather muscular build as indicated through the full armor he was currently wearing. Since he bore the insignia of the battle mages, I knew he’d been well trained. But everyone has a breaking point, and I intended to find it.

Having received no reply to my first call, I tried to get his attention more vigorously. “Hey, breathing statue! Are you just gonna stand there or are you just not alive enough to hear me?” I shouted, pounding my hoof on the ground for good measure. It took but a few more minutes of this before I elicited a response.

“Quiet down! We’ve been authorized to further detain you if necessary, and we will not hesitate to do so.” That’s just what I want, I couldn’t help but thinking as he stated his orders.

“Oh, I’m so scared. The big bad guard with a ridiculously large spear is going to hurt me. Whatever shall I do?” I mocked with increasing sarcasm. “But seriously, that thing is enormous. ‘I doth think the pony overcompensates for something he lacks,’ if you know what I mean,” I said to the second guard standing beside the first.

“Mock all you want, you’re the one in the cage, and I’m out here.” He must have thought he was being witty. Shame it wasn’t going to deter me.

“Oh, yes. How wonderful it must be to stand like a statue and watch a tired pony awaiting sentencing. You must have something better to do with your time? Friends? Drinking away your sorrows? A marefriend?” At that his eyes shifted a bit and he actually had to re-steady himself in his still position. I had found a point to attack. That was pitifully easy, though.

“Ah. I see you’re one of the ones that have somepony waiting for them when they get back home. Well, if they can wait that is.” No response. I was going to have to elaborate a little more.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with how things go. Stallion goes off to war, mare says she’ll wait for him, time goes by and the war get’s worse; eventually the stallion comes home to find his marefriend has moved on to some other stallion. I always wonder what makes them do that. Is it a psychological thing? Are they unable to handle the stress of loving someone that might not return and isn’t there for them right when they need them? Or is it something more… primal?

“Perhaps it’s nothing more than a natural and logical process, especially if she wasn’t fully satisfied with her original stallion, and I don’t just mean emotionally.” The stallion’s expression had been steadily changing as I made my little speech. This shouldn’t have worked as well as it was, considering the training all the battle mages went through, but hey, they say love does stuff to you.

“But of course that won’t happen to you. I mean, that laughably large lance can’t possibly be compensating for anything, right? Well, considering the view I have from here on the ground, that might not be that far off the mark.”

“I told you before to keep quiet!” Check. Only a little bit more was needed before he went over.

“Or you’ll what? What could you possibly do to somepony in a cage awaiting his death sentence?”

“We are authorized to use force to keep you from causing trouble. One more word, and we’ll make sure to do our duty.”

Checkmate.

At that, I made the most wonderfully sinister smile and uttered the word that would lead to my freedom.

“Word.”

The guard rushed forward, almost a little too hastily, and I was able to guess that he knew a spell that allowed him to pass through the cage without issue. It was too bad that reacting at all was his only and fatal mistake. Since I was lying on the ground, I was positioned perfectly for an unexpected attack. Most would assume that when charging another, that pony would back away to prepare for a fight. Unfortunately for him, I moved forward, as well as up. The result of such a movement was… gruesome to say the least. I had rammed my horn through his skull, aiming for the soft skin that stretched beneath his jaw where there was no bone to hinder the horn’s progress.

Since he was only halfway through the cage, I was able to walk out with him still attached, quickly of course. A situation like this doesn’t happen in slow motion.

Sometimes it’s important to remember the small things. Like how magic is a truly terrifying thing. All it took was a simple Dark spell and I was able to drain this stallion of all his energy in less than a second. Even faster was the spell I used to make his head explode as it was still on my horn. You may not realise it, but pulling something out of flesh can prove difficult, and I didn’t have the time to deal with it as the second guard was quickly preparing his attack.

Proving how I earned the highest rank among the battle mages, I outpaced him in spell creation and used another simple Elemental spell to rob him of the air he needed to breathe. I still had no time to waste. I found my armor and began the long process of undoing and modifying the spells attached to it. I kept all of the protective spells of course, but the ones that allowed the monitoring of my condition and the tracking of my location had to go.

This was no easy task. I sat there in front of the metal pieces for well over another two hours before I was done. Undoing alicorn magic isn’t supposed to be easy after all. But it’s not impossible either. It was at the very moment I finished adorning my armor that the Princesses came into the tent.

They had probably sensed that their spells had been removed from one of the sets of armor and suspected the worst. The sight before them probably wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world either. A pony that died from asphyxiation, and one with its head blown off, leaving blood everywhere, especially on me.

“Wha–what hath transpired here!? No, it matters not. Thy sentence is well and truly death, Nova!” They had probably come to that conclusion already before entering to the horrific scene before them. I had to act fast, or risk this whole operation going to waste.

“I’m sorry, Princesses. I’d love to atone for what has happened, but there is much to be done. You may never forgive me, but I will put an end to this war.”

And with those words I teleported away as fast as I could. The princesses wasted no time in firing off spells that would have surely killed me had they hit, but I was just a hair faster. The reason they hadn’t attacked earlier, I guessed later on, was that they needed to charge up more powerful spells to kill me while my armor was on. They were the ones that enchanted it, they would of course know how powerful to make their attacks to damage me.

I came out of my teleportation on the outskirts of a nearby village. I still wasn’t safe, though. While no method for tracking a teleport had been developed, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to do a quick search through all the nearby villages within my teleportation range. I had to keep moving, and I had the perfect place in mind. Someplace where I could put this horrifying plan of mine to be the “common enemy” in full swing: the village where I was orphaned.

A few more jumps a few hours later, and I had arrived at my place of birth. My own personal Tartaros as well, from what I can remember of it. Those days, ponies didn’t really want to be bothered with a foal that could neither feed nor defend himself. When the orphanage was built, it wasn’t out of any concern for these foals, it was to keep us all in one place so we couldn’t bother anypony anymore.

I wasn’t happy to have returned here. But I wasn’t going to be happy for what I was about to do either. In order for this plan to work, I needed to become a threat worse than anything the Princesses could have imagined of me. If there was one thing that they would react most strongly to, it would have been the killing of innocent lives. And though I would hate myself forever more, that is what needed to happen here as well.

Standing just outside the main entrance to the town, I began to draw on the magic of the world. Again, it’s not a very effective method for fighting in a battle, which is why we rely on our own strength mostly. But when having to set up something on this large a scale, as long as your target didn’t try and stop you, pulling on an external source of energy was the more practical thing to do.

Conjured and Elemental would be the two schools I used. I created a large, invisible dome of energy over the entirety of the town. It wasn’t very large and probably had a population of a few thousand ponies. Next came the elemental manipulation. I had to condense the air, funneling in more from the outside when necessary. This took a good twenty or so minutes. When that was done, everything was ready for the big finish.

I may have resented this place, but I never imagined coming back here to do this. I hung my head low as I formulated the necessary magic, my eyes not closed, but half-lidded and with all the life drained out of them. I made one last apology, and created a spark within the dome. Immediately, the flames spread everywhere within their confines faster than you could blink. There was no time for screaming. There was no time to panic or say goodbyes or even to make a prayer. I wanted it to be over quickly. I wanted them to feel no prolonged suffering or pain. They didn’t deserve this, and definitely didn’t deserve to feel the horrors of it.

When the fire had consumed all its fuel, I opened a small hole in the top of the dome. Experience had taught me that it was never a good idea to introduce more air to fire almost instantaneously, unless in a controlled environment. When the hole opened, the outside air rushed into the newly created vacuum and reignited the embers of the charred remains, creating a massive explosion.

I was able to release the dome at that moment, leaving the village to continue burning. My hope was that the princesses would see this and be driven to stop me more than ever. But having the princesses’ hate wasn’t enough. There were two sides to this conflict, and I needed to be at the middle.

“…Shattering the skies above, I won’t rest ‘til I’m drenched with blood.”

Finishing a long incantation, I let loose a magical fury upon the target set before my eyes. With a shrieking and cracking sound not meant for the ears of mortals, the very sky above appeared to rend itself in two. It continued to grow more and more until it stretched the entire length of the city below it. I knew what would be coming next, and forced myself to watch it.

I stood there and watched as a couple hundred thousand griffons were wiped off the face of this land we existed in by glorious pillars of light, raining down from the sky like serpents bent only on taking life. It was necessary that I listened to their screams, howls and roars. It was necessary that I feel every bit of disgust and guilt for my actions as each life was taken away. “It may be a necessary evil,” I mused to myself, “but an evil all the same.”

I had come to a city just outside of the griffon capital. It had been a week since the incident I created back in Equestria. Now, my sights were set on making the Griffons suffer just as much. I can’t pretend that I didn’t feel it slightly more justified, killing griffons. After all, we were locked in a bitter war with them and I had been raised to treat them as my enemy, nothing more. But my heart wasn’t so black as to not feel remorse for their lives.

I spent the last eighteen hours setting up that spell, drawing the required energy, remembering the incantation, creating the spell formula in my mind before releasing it. I could only hope that I would be successful in the end mayhaps these lives not be taken in vain. When the destruction had come to a conclusion, I had but to wait and observe the actions of these two great nations. If they recognized me as a legitimate threat, they would join forces to stop me.

I knew little of the Griffon Kingdoms and their government, though. I knew that there were six kingdoms, each with its own ruler, and a high ruler of all six kingdoms. It was my hope that this monarch would care enough about his subjects to handle the negotiations himself. Only time would tell, though. For now, I needed to go back into hiding. Reconnaissance and gathering necessary information were all that mattered now.

Three months had passed after I attacked that Griffon city. The lack of a response worried me and I had to continue to take more drastic measures, including attacking the capitals of both nations. Those were large cities and I couldn’t destroy them easily like the others. In fact, I didn’t destroy them at all. I just needed to provide some incentive for the two sides to put aside their differences and focus on me.

It worked.

I was now hiding in a cave on the outskirts of the meeting place for the negotiations between the High King of the Great Griffon Nation, Valkyria, and the powerful diarchs of the rising nation, Equestria. They would be beginning the talks any moment now, and I needed to be able to hear what was going on.

Magic is truly a terrifying art. That cannot be said enough. Through some manipulation of the schools of Dark and Conjured, I was able to possess a bat in the cave and have it fly down to the meeting. Tents had been erected, as was expected, and guards stationed everywhere. The bat would be easily noticed, so I didn’t plan on relying on it to do the job of listening in.

Through the bat, I flew around the site for a while seeking out an appropriate target. I was looking for a guard likely to be at the side of the Princesses. He would have been highly decorated and adorned with the best armor, no doubt. Because of this, it didn’t take much longer to get the location of one such guard.

I had the bat swoop down to his position. Luckily for me, he was isolated from any other being at that moment. This was my only chance to strike, and I didn’t intend to miss it. I made the dive for him and succeeded in landing on his back. Before he could react fully, I bit into his exposed body and began the second phase of my plan: transferring possession from the bat to the guard.

When I say magic is truly terrifying, you can be sure it is no exaggeration. The spells I wove next allowed me not only control of his mind and body, but his memories as well. This way, when interacting with others, nothing would seem amiss. From his mind I gleaned that the meeting was about to begin immediately and he needed to get to the main tent.

Everything was going smoothly so far. The meeting was exactly as I expected and was nearing its close. The King of Valkyria, or His Altitude as was apparently the term used to address him indirectly, had only one more thing to reveal to the Princesses, or so he said.

“Truly, I am glad that we hath been able to come to this consensus in such a dire time. There is but one thing left for me to say to thee, seeing as thou art of immortal stature,” he prattled. He didn’t look to be a particularly aged Griffon, though he spoke in the same manner as the Princesses did.

He was indeed a large Griffon with more than a few scars in varying places on his body. His coat was a deep and regal goldenrod which merged elegantly with the white feathers of his head. The brilliant bluish-silver of his armor only served to confirm my suspicion of it being a metal known only to the Griffons, and at his side was but a single double-edged sword, probably made of the same material.

He continued his speech to the Princesses and I began to wonder what it was he wanted to say in the first place. It didn’t seem like much. But it was at that moment I was proven very wrong.

“In short, I am an immortal as well,” he seemed to finish, bringing about expressions of pure shock on the regal visages of the two alicorns and the present guards, including his own. “Naturally, this is not to be revealed outside this tent, but as it hath caught thee off guard, I shall elaborate a little further. When I was nearing the end of my rule, namely my life, something unfathomable happened. I met Death himself, and fought him. Well, I knew it was impossible to kill Death, but I was not going give up my life easily.

“I actually managed to gouge his chest with my blade, drawing blood. Heh, who knew that Death bled? The wound immediately healed, of course, but as a way showing my determination, I licked the blood from my blade, hoping to disgust him. Failing that, though, I did notice a strange sensation within me. Before I knew it, I was back in my bed chambers and returned to my youth. I have been ruling since then.”

The tent was silent. What was one expected to say after learning information like that? However, it couldn’t have been better for me. It was time to put my plan into motion. I released my control over the guard, being sure to implant false memories so he wouldn’t be confused as to what was going on, and returned my consciousness to myself.

So, there is a way to gain immortality after all?

“It appears so. But we don’t have time for that, nor do I want it anymore. I must atone for the crimes I’ve committed, the wrongs I’ve done.”

Wrongs? What is wrong with wanting to end a war? What is wrong with wishing for peace and using your power to do so? Nova, there is no longer any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in this. It matters little as long as you believe in what you’re doing.

“Say what you like, I’ll not be coming out of this unscathed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an announcement to make.”

Ending the conversation, I teleported directly into the tent where the meeting was wrapping up. If the looks of pure shock at the Griffon King’s revelation were akin to a hill in a valley, then the surprise upon their faces at my arrival was nothing short of the tallest mountain in the world.

“Nova!” Celestia exclaimed, turning to me and beginning charging an attack.

“Please, let there not be violence amongst this momentous occasion,” I said, attempting to diffuse the situation before it truly began. “I only wish to talk, and make an offer.”

“There shall be no negotiation with one as disgusting as thee!” Luna interjected, making it quite clear she would destroy me where I stood in an instant.

“I have come here to tell you all that in three months time, I will be waiting in the Scorched Valley. I wish to fight you in one last battle, to atone for my actions more than anything else. I won’t hold back though. A warrior never simply ‘gives up.’ You can exact your sentencing on my life there. In exchange for agreeing to this fateful battle, you can be assured the attacks will stop, on my honour as a warrior. What say you? Will you accept this proposal?”

The silence in the room was nothing short of the calm before the volcanic eruption of legendary proportions. No one dared breathe for fear causing rash actions to be taken. I could sense that they weren’t too fond of my offer, and I made ready to teleport out of there as fast as possible. When we had stood around staring at each other for a good seven minutes, I finally spoke once more.

“Whether you accept or not, I will be waiting. I’m glad you were able to put an end to this war. That had been my goal since the very beginning. It was always my goal, considering I was raised to do it. Now, you know where and when to find me. With that, I bid you all goodbye.”

No move was made as I teleported away, back to the cave I had been hiding in. I couldn’t even begin to express how happy I was that it was finally over. I had accomplished what I set out to do from the start of this whole mess. While I may not go down in history as a hero, I will certainly be a most formidable reminder of what can become of war. A reminder of what a warrior is capable of.