//------------------------------// // Cremation // Story: Elements Change the Dark Hearts // by Nightmare_0mega //------------------------------// "Unbound, at last," A thunderous, gravelly voice said with relief, "I thank you, Brother." A goliath of a being stood before his weathered throne, backed by a massive stain glass window decorated in the symbols and colors of his proud empire in this dying world. His dull green stone like skin ached and strained as he moved for the first time for perhaps a few hundred years. His rusty steel armor plating on his chest, shoulders, forearms, and shins, etched with highly intricate gothic designs, shrugged off the dust and excess sediment. Clawed hands encased with metal reinforcements moved digit by digit, enjoying the recovered sensation. His feet shifted slightly, regaining strength and balance. To this monster of a being, his comment was sincere, and as a vampire, that was saying quite a bit. "Your thanks are premature, Dumah," his small, blue bodied, equally nightmarish sibling retorted, "I have not forgotten who's hands bore me into the Abyss." Dumah smiled under his sinister helm and mask that was clearly not made by mortal hands. He knew what his brother was after, and found it only fit to warn him. "The centuries in limbo have honed my strength. Not even Kain is my equal," he boasted. "Even the strongest vampire is vulnerable," said the blue clad being. "We shall test your thesis, Raziel," Dumah declared. "My blood thirst has been superseded by an even darker hunger. I will consume your soul before this day is done." Then we are matched, the mutant vampire thought in revere. This will certainly be interesting. -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- "Oh dear, I should have seen this coming." On the outskirts of Ponyville, within a rather extravagant looking carousel style building, a very nonplussed fashion designer bemoaned her latest out of proportion disaster. Her elegantly curled purple hair bounced against her alabaster coat as she ran about the room ripping open drawers and checking shelves for what she was looking for. It only made the unicorn mare that much more disappointed when nothing turned up. She looked back to the cause of her distress, and sighed from the uneven gem placement. It clearly wasn't complete, and she knew she had a deadline to keep. "Why didn't I restock on gemstones during the weekend?" Rarity complained to herself. She understood that she COULD go and buy some emergency gems, but knew how long those could take to be delivered. Not just that, the flustered unicorn was already having a tough time managing her finances this season. Fashion wasn't on anypony's minds these days as it was, it seemed. "Oh, if only Twilight and Spike weren't in Canterlot right now. I could really use the help looking for more stones to finish my project! I mean, I could do it myself, but it's difficult finding what I need in the usual spot. I'd have to dig down appallingly deep, and that could mat my coat for days..." She groaned in frustration, throwing herself dramatically onto a desk table. "This is the, Worst, POSSIBLE-" she upstarted, before spying a scrap of paper staring at her with an important note. "Oh, hello. What do we have here?". With her natural unicorn magic, she picked up the scrap of paper and scanned it thoroughly. It was her sister, Sweetie Belle's, hoofwriting. "Lyra stopped by to tell you that she found a big deposit of gems in Whitetail Woods - Sweetie. How perfectly convenient!" She said, folding the slip of paper and stashing it in one of the drawers. "I simply must remember to thank Lyra for the tip, and give Sweetie a reward for not letting this pass me by. Perhaps a trip to the ice cream shop..." The fashionista mused to herself as she quickly ran to the kitchen, prepared a couple of sandwiches, one for herself for the road and another for her sister. Sticking the extra one into the ice box for safe keeping, she moved back to the desk. There, she scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper to inform her sister that she'll be gone for a couple of hours, and that dinner is in the fridge. With that, she grabbed her saddle bags marked with her signature cutie mark, three sky blue gems, tacked the note to the door, and headed outside. Recalling the map of Ponyville and the surrounding area, she noted that she needed to head west of the town. Remembering she was on the east side, she decided to take a quick jog through the marketplace to cut her travel time down by half. Maybe even stop for a quick gossip session. -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- Dumah's thunderous footfalls echoed throughout his dead city as he pursued his brother. Once he caught him, he'd be sure make "little" Raziel pay for his transgressions of over competent boasting. He was rather surprised that Kain's once proud and noble first born lieutenant did nothing but flee, but considered that he was perhaps just that intimidating. To be fair, though, he was disappointed, figuring this encounter would at least prove to be interesting, if not more entertaining. The massive vampiric creature did note a strange happenstance, however. In that it seemed like Raziel was only going fast enough for him to easily follow at an exact distance, but his own pride considered it to be nothing more than a coincidence. Perhaps my dear older brother is exactly as fast as I am after all these years, he mused. It didn't occur to him that the blue wraith had cooked up a trap for the invincible titan. By the time Dumah realized what exactly his brother was thinking, it was already too late. Raziel lead Dumah into a large once locked and sealed massive chamber, and took a swipe for the first time this entire chase. The pathetic attack didn't do anything to his stone like skin, as he laughed at the absurd and pointless action. Before Dumah could return in kind, the blue clad creature zipped away at a much greater speed from his monstrous brother. Dumah tried to give chase, but was suddenly too slow to keep up, as Raziel stopped atop a raised platform and twisted a valve. The valve, he thought, what was the valve used for again? As Raziel swiftly leaped off the edge of that part of the room and made his way to the other end, Dumah had an epiphany. Horror donned on his face as he realized what was going on. In panic, he tried to cross the room and make a break for the exit, hoping to be faster than his brother's actions. However, Raziel seemingly timed his movements exactly, and pulled the lever just as he reached just one foot away from dead center. As Dumah moved across the center platform, too far in to turn back, and not far enough to be able to get out, and noticed a terrible hissing noise. Turning his head to Raziel's location, he realized just where his older brother lead him. The Crematorium. Before he could form another thought, the blast furnace before him ignited, and blew flame at the force of a hundred earth shattering quakes. Pain was all he could register as the forced fire burned him into a blacked mass of ruined and vulnerable mound of flesh, even melting his proud armor. Everything within and outside his body perished, as he toppled over in a heap of flames, and his soul released to the ether. It was over. Raziel had bested him, and proved strength and pride alone were not enough for the world. Not for a warrior and certainly not for a king. -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- Rarity reached White Tail woods in record time. Turned out that there as actually very little news going around town that day, which left little for the fashionista to muse over. Never the less, she was here for gems, and gems she will find. Igniting her horn, she went to cast her spell, sniffing out the beautiful stones and followed its pull. Cutting through the usual track for the Running of the Leaves, she took the time to admire the natural beauty of the forest around her. It wasn't often that she'd come out here, after all. Before she could find this promised gem deposit, she heard a lengthy, thunderous roar, punctuated by a heavy crash. She froze at the sound, praying it wasn't a manticore, or something equally as dreadful. Upon further consideration, the roar in question was not only quite a ways away, but one that didn't belong to any creature she's ever heard. In fact, it sounded more like a torrent of flame. It was then she could smell something burning. "Oh dear!" she panicked as she raced forward, hoping to catch whatever it was that was set aflame and put it out in time. Moving at a brisk pace, she moved from the path and through the trees, before coming to a large clearing with a crater at its center. Scorch marks etched the outline of the hole as remnant flames withered and died on the dry ground of the clearing. Taking caution, she took a shaky step forward to try to see what made that mark, but before she could get any closer, she noticed movement. Wait, is somepony down there already? Watching on, the form in question seemed less and less pony like as it rose from the scorched hole, on its hind legs no less. The smoke made it very difficult to see any proper details, but whatever she was looking at, it certainly was rather big. Much taller than even that ghastly Elvis fellow Pinkie is friends with. There was one other thing she could point out, even in the smoke. Close to the top of the creature's full length, she could notice a pair of glowing red lights, as if they were the figures very own sinister eyes. The same eyes that suddenly looked directly at her.