//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 - Heartstrike // Story: My Little Warcraft - New Friends // by Shin Guyviroth //------------------------------// It was a tough pill to swallow for the blood elf. Both pieces of the branch crashed upon the dirt and, despite the path being very soft and loose, splintered into smaller fragments. The inside of the wood bore more evidence of corruption; streaks of black and purple char and ash ran across the grooves and gradients while turning the rest of the branch into a pale, dull grey colour. It was as though the wood was petrified from the inside out. As though it had all vestiges of life sucked from it. "Gai'vahros…" Twilight felt a chill rush down her spine, causing her mane to stand up on end and her tail to jitter slightly but violently. The unicorn felt her stomach flip and churn, feeling like it was doing high profile gymnastics. Gai'vahros' words made her feel sickly, his words an ominous toll of the death knell. "Have you… seen this kind of thing before?" "Unfortunately, yes," replied the dumbfounded Gai'vahros. A few thoughts began to pass through his mind; the Scourge Invasion passed through his mind, as did the battle of Icecrown. "This is a definite sign of decay, corruption of undeath. This is a definite sign of the Scourge." "But, Gai, didn't you say you defeated the Scourge years ago?" Applejack was perplexed by Gai'vahros' explanation, especially since he had told them about the assault on Icecrown Citadel not a few nights ago. "Do you think that some survived and… made their way here?" "It seems likely--" Applejack couldn't help but feel the same feeling Twilight did, almost feeling sick to her stomach. "--but impossible," Gai'vahros finished, which helped ease Applejack's and Twilight's anxiety. "If this was a Scourge attack, you wouldn't have a forest anymore. You wouldn't even have a Ponyville anymore. But things could be worse, as if that's easy to believe." Against her better judgment, Applejack lowered her head towards another of the cut branches, placing her snout next to it. "Smells a bit funky," she said with a disgusted look on her face as she took a sniff of it, whipping her head away as the smell of rot and burning attacked her senses. It almost felt like it attacked her brain as well as her sense of smell. "The last time I smelled somethin' this bad I had to spend an hour cleanin' out the pigpens." "But what's this about things being worse, Gai'vahros?" spoke Fluttershy. "Aye, I guess I should fill you all in." Gai'vahros quickly stood upright, turning to his companions. "This shares the corruption of what is similar to the Scourge, but it is not identical-- not nearly as mindless nor evil. The damage done here was caused by a dark, cursed blade." "And you know what it is?" Twilight responded. "Shadowmourne." ""Shadowmourne"?" "Yes. Shadowmourne is an axe infused with the blood of evil gods, powers of undeath, and the souls of the tormented. It was forged by the commander of the Ebon Blade, Highlord Darion Mograine, as a hard counter to the Lich King's own weapon, Frostmourne. A haunting blade, to be sure. Only a warrior of immense strength and equally as great willpower could control such dark powers without being overcome by it. By comparison, Quel'Delar only shares but a minute fraction of Shadowmourne's taint before I had cleansed it in the Sunwell, and even I had trouble subduing the blade. Shadowmourne is… a class of its own." "But how did it get here?" asked Rarity with a puzzled look on her face. Gai'vahros let out a small sigh. "I would think the same way I got here-- by accident," he responded, "more than likely through a death gate." "A "death gate"?" "The death knights of the Ebon Blade use their death gate to return to the Acherus. I can only assume that whatever caused my portal to Quel'Danas to malfunction has also taken its toll on other powers that involve translocation." Twilight felt more uneasy than she had been before, and for good reason. The unicorn walked slowly towards the monologue-driven blood elf with a look of confusing and distress. "Gai'vahros… you make it sound like you know who caused this." "Would you like to make an educated guess, my Lady Twilight, or would you rather I spelled it out for you?" It was as much of a shock to everyone else as it was to Twilight, although the way that Gai'vahros had spoken about such knowledge already gave the suggestion that he knew the blade's wielder-- they merely needed confirmation. But, what with this revelation, the others began to feel a bit more relaxed; they had it in their mind that anyone who knew Gai'vahros was surely a friend. "I know this person all too well. It was alongside them and many others that we actually managed to defeat the Lich King." "Who is this person, Gai?" Applejack was almost elated to hear about another hero from Azeroth. "When do we get to meet this dark knight?" "Never, with any luck," snapped back Gai'vahros as soon as Applejack had finished her sentence, holding off on cutting Applejack off in mid speech. "This person is not friend nor-- hopefully-- foe. I do not doubt that their intentions are malevolent, but I can only guess that whatever transpired here was an act of self defence on their part." "How do you figure that?" "Simple." Gai'vahros strode over to beside Applejack and Twilight before turning back round to face the littered path. "Look before you. A fight resulted in a sullied dirt path covered in the remains of forestry. Considering the fight was between a huge clawed creature and a heavy bladed weapon, what's missing from this picture?" The ponies looked to each other as though they were hoping another would provide the answer. Rather, that one of them would say it. They already knew what was missing. "The bloodshed," Gai'vahros finally revealed after such a deep pause of silence. "I would think the lack of blood-- or body parts-- would suggest that they fended off their attacker without using lethal force. That would also explain why there are embedded talon marks on the trees; the attacker probably had them against the trees and took a swing, missing them as they moved out of the way and striking the bark instead." "That still doesn't explain why half of the forest got a trim," pointed out Applejack. The pony wasn't wrong in pointing out the flaw in Gai'vahros' explanation, either; it was a perfectly valid concern. "If this person did retaliate in self defence, then what part of it gave the idea of cuttin' down the forest like a hyped-up lumberjack?" "Sometimes the best deterrent is to just swing your sword," Gai'vahros responded with a shrug of his shoulders, "but you do have a point. In any case, I cannot guarantee anyone's safety now. We should call the whole thing off until I can verify if who we're dealing with is friend or not." "But… I thought you knew this person, Gai'vahros," spoke Fluttershy is her usual soft manner. "aren't they a friend of yours?" "They are not. This person does not follow any tenets, morals or code. They do not follow the orders or whims of anyone besides their own. Hell, they only joined in the fight against the Lich King for revenge, as most of the other death knights of Acherus did. Most importantly of all, this person is a death knight; an undead warrior whose very nature is to cause death and destruction. It is in their way of living in the same way that breathing and blinking is in ours." Before anyone could continue the discussion, Rainbow Dash bolted over the tops of the trees above the group, rustling the remains and stumps of branches that still jutted from the canopies and causing more leaves to rain down softly upon the heads of those within. The pegasus quickly swooped down to hover between Gai'vahros and the remainder of the group. "Everything's been taken care of," she exclaimed, gesturing a salute towards Gai'vahros. "So are we gonna keep camping?" "Change of plans," Gai'vahros responded without even turning to look at Rainbow Dash. "We're heading back to Ponyville until I can figure out what to do next." The elf threw his right foot forward to kick at some of the cindered branches that were scattered in front of him, the force of his foot causing them to crumble to pieces. "Are the children secured, my Lady Rainbow Dash?" "Yup," she replied, "I sent them all back to the library with Spike. I just hope they haven't wrecked the place." "I also set up a ward spell around the library before we left," joined Twilight. "You know, just in case we do end up having a break-in. The spell will block out anyone who hasn't been scribed on its ward stone, so only us girls-- and guy-- should be able to get in." "Good." The elf marched past the six of them back to the main pathway, turning to look east and then west. Finally, he turned back to face the girls, letting off a small yet deep sigh. "I'm sorry that we have had to cut our camping short, but it's vital that we are not to proceed any further for the moment. As I've said before, I do not know if this woman is friend or foe-- only that she is violent and has no qualms in attacking the innocent should her bloodlust call for it." "We all understand, Gai'vahros," responded Twilight, "and you're right; we should head back to Ponyville to make sure everything is okay." "I'm glad you agree, my Lady Twilight." Gai'vahros' voice dropped in tone by the end of his words, becoming more brooding and sullen-- and fearful. It was this scenario that he did not want to happen, to have others from Azeroth find this place, knowing full well that most people he knew would come here to spoil the land and to treat it as though they had right to harvest their lumber, ore and food supplies. It was even more heartbreaking for him that the person he knew did not need trees, minerals or livestock to satisfy their hunger. They only needed souls. "Then we are to depart immediately. Lady Rainbow Dash, can you direct us back to Ponyville?" "Sure thing, Gai. Just follow me." Rainbow Dash took off at a quick pace, knowing that all of them needed to get back to the village as soon as possible. The group were all too eager to do the same, bursting out into a sprint. "Hey, Gai," Applejack responded between her own beats and breath, "you never… told us who this knight was." "Perhaps some other time… Lady Applejack," he responded, not thinking this the best of time to start asking questions, preferring to lead with caution and to not divert his attention from the surrounding area. "I'll perhaps explain… when we get back." Applejack nodded in acknowledgement of the elf's suggestion. "Guys! You're back!" cried out Apple Bloom, turning to see the front door swing open to reveal the visages of the mane 6 and the blood knight. The young filly rushed to her sister, wrapping her forelegs around hers and nuzzling into her coat. Sweetie Belle did the same as soon as Rarity stepped inside. "I was worried about you, sis…" "Huh, no need to sweat sugar cube," Applejack responded with a chuckle and a hoof around the neck of her tearful sibling, comforting her the best she could. "We had Gai with us, after all." "Did you… did you find who you were looking for?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity as she looked up at her, then to Gai'vahros. The elf only shook his head, however. "I'm sorry," he responded in disappointment, "we weren't able to find them. They're still out there somewhere." His words were not the best of encouragement, evident to him immediately as he looked to the group, seeing the worried faces of the young fillies. "Applejack. Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo. I want you all to go home this evening." "What? Why?" Rainbow Dash retorted, feeling somewhat offended by the fact that Gai'vahros took her lightly. "We can fight this thing together! We can all--" "No, you can't." The elf's voice became much more broad and commanding as he exclaimed to the floating pegasus, causing her to shrink her head back into her shoulders while Gai'vahros fixated his stern eyes upon her. "Death knights are not easily beaten, by sword or sorcery. I'm sorry to say that your might and magics here are futile at best, especially if your guards rarely carry their weapons and your highest grade of magic is gender-swapping." "Hey! Don't underestimate us, Gai!" If Rainbow Dash wasn't offended before, then she certainly was now. Her temper got the better of her as she zipped across the meter gap between her and the elf, staring to prod at his chest with her hood between her words. "Do, not, think, I'm, weak!" Before the pegasus could even finish giving him a scowling look, a hand dashed out forwards and grasped her by the top of her head. Gai'vahros' palm lay flat across her forehead while his digits curled around her temples and cranium, gripping tightly and only getting tighter. Rainbow Dash tried her best to wriggle out using her head alone but couldn't get it to budge. Her hooves wrapped and gripped around his wrists, trying to pull away, but to no avail. Suddenly she gave out a squeal as she felt his hand clamp tighter around her head. "G-Gai! Stop! Y-you're hurting me! Ahh! L-let go!" "Gai, what are you--" cried out Twilight, stepping one hoof forward. "Showing her how weak she is." Gai'vahros did not turn back to look at Twilight, but merely kept his gaze fixated upon the whimpering pegasus. No one else could believe what was going on; everyone looked on in horror as Gai'vahros single-handedly manhandled Rainbow Dash. Cries of "stop!" and "let go of her!" bombarded the elf, but he paid no attention. He knew they would not act, because he knew that they knew that he would not harm her further. "Please, Gai! Let go of me!" Between her yelps of pain and discomfort, Rainbow Dash pleaded with the elf to release her. "You do not listen to reason, my Lady Rainbow Dash… so I must bestow reasoning upon you by force. Forgive me…" His fingers relaxed, dropping Rainbow Dash to the floor as she began to feel the pain subside. The pegasus couldn't help but whimper, and to look up upon the knight with mortified eyes. But all she saw was the look of a distraught blood knight with a single tear down his cheek. "A death knight will not listen to reason. A death knight will not listen to your pleas of release and cries for help. Rather, they would, but for their own sick amusement before crushing your skull to pulp. So please, my Lady Rainbow Dash… go home." Everyone, including Rainbow Dash, was speechless. The pegasus only gave a scared glance at Gai'vahros as she trotted past him, quickly taking off through the doorway and northward. Most had eyes on her as she left the building before turning to gaze back at Gai'vahros, but Twilight had always kept her gaze upon him. It was painful for her to bear witness to such a thing to the point that she just wanted to cry out. But she couldn't. "Gai… How could you?" the unicorn spoke up, trying not to choke on her own words. "You went too far!" "I know." The elf hung his head low, breathing in deeply before drawing a heavy sigh. He turned his head to Twilight's direction slightly, but dared not make eye contact with her. He didn't want to see the look on her face, just as he did not want her to see his, his bangs obscuring the sadness in his expression and the tears in his eyes. "But it was the only way to get her to understand, to understand that she would only get herself killed if she confronted them. Maybe I could have convinced her some other way… but it was the only way I could think of." It didn't matter to him that he could fully justify his action to himself; it was the fact that he could not justify it to everyone else. "Well, we'll be headin' off," Applejack tried to break the tension, but not for Gai'vahros' sake. She, too, was upset and angry with what had just transpired, but more upset for Rainbow Dash than for the action itself. She knew that Rainbow Dash needed to listen to Gai'vahros, but even she didn't deserve what she got. "I don't want my head crushed for nothin'. Come on, Apple Bloom…" The young filly followed Applejack, distraught but still hopeful for the elf. "Gai," Apple Bloom called softly, turning her head back to the motionless elf, seeing only his tense shoulders and dropped head from behind as she stood by the doorway, "we're still friends, right? We're all still your friends… right?" There was no response. Still he stood motionless, unwavering, unsaying. Apple Bloom only bore the look of sorrow as her ear dropped down before turning back to the door, following her big sister home. "Gai… I… I thought you were cool…" Pinkie Pie hiccupped between sobs, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But… you're just a meanie…!" The pony burst out into tears as she ran out the door and down the streets. Fluttershy, too, was brought to tears by Gai'vahros' violence but did not say or do anything; she was too in shock to even move. Rarity, on the other hand, was all but full of words for the elf. "Gai… I never thought you--" "I know what I did," the elf spoke back, cutting Rarity off. All of it was just too much for him. "… I'll take my leave…" Gai'vahros tried to keep his head down and away from the eyes of those present, avoiding eye contact with anyone as he turned. He stopped at the door. "But, please… Lady Rarity… Lady Fluttershy… stay here for tonight. Your homes are too close to the forest. You'll be much safer here with Lady Twilight around…" With that, the blood knight took his leave. The stars were especially bright tonight. Each wasn't listened in the void of the sky like a beacon of hope in the surrounding darkness. At least, that was hope Gai'vahros wanted to interpret the view, as some sort of metaphysical semblance of how he felt at the moment-- his heart, the star; the sky, his anxiety. The moonlight shone upon the still grieving elf who sat upon a bench only several meters from the library. He had always felt that the sky could bestow upon him some sort of comfort if he gave it a little attention and a little thought. It helped him to reflect upon himself and the things that he had done through his life, especially his more questionable actions. footsteps rang through the air, echoing softly as they slowly began to become clearer, approaching the blood knight. Gai'vahros, though, was too deep in his thoughts to even warrant paying the sound any attention. However, he would soon change his thoughts upon hearing a familiar voice. "I thought I might find you here," called Twilight, stopping only some feet from the bench. Her voice did not sound pleased in the least bit, and a soft sigh from her mouth only helped reinforce that fact. "I thought you said you were going?" "I still have some friends that need protecting," he responded before turning to give his attention to the unicorn. He only saw the drooped eyes of disappointment gazing back at him. "Even if you hate me, it won't change that fact." Gai'vahros waited for a response about how they didn't need him, or how he wasn't their friend anymore. But nothing of the sorts was said. Nothing was said. He didn't know whether to take that as a good or a bad thing. "… How is everyone…?" "I managed to calm Fluttershy down. I told her that, sometimes, people do the harshest of things in order to protect the ones they love. I told her that you're a great person and that, even though you were harsh to Rainbow Dash, you'll do anything to protect her and the rest of us. I told her that you were one of the greatest friends we could have." "Do you believe that, Lady Twilight?" "I don't. Well, not at first. But, after hearing myself say it out loud, I've come to realize that it is true. It was still hurtful seeing you do that to Rainbow Dash." "I know. I only wish I could apologize to her. She probably doesn't even want to see my face ever again." drawing a heavy sigh, the elf looked back up to the stars. "For these last few hours I've been trying to tell myself that what I did was acceptable. That what I did was justifiable. But every time I try to tell myself that, a voice in my head tells me it wasn't. Tell me, Lady Twilight; was it?" "I'm not the one you should be asking. Tomorrow, you should go see Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale and apologize to her." "But she won't want to even so much as see me, let alone talk to me. Please come with me, Lady Twilight, so you can talk to her too." "Sorry, Gai'vahros, but you're on your own with this one. Don't worry. If you really want to apologize to her, with all your heart, then you'll be able to find a way to do it. Just have some faith in yourself, okay? But, you know the way to Cloudsdale, right?" "Sure thing. Northwest of here, right?" "Right," spoke Twilight with a nod before turning away, making her way back to the library. "And come inside. You'll catch a cold out here." "It's okay. I don't mind the cold. I think I'll sleep out here tonight if it's all the same to say, Lady Twilight." "Okay… Goodnight, friend." "Hm. Goodnight, my Lady Twilight."