//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: OC Backstory 
// by tazdarkstripe13 
//------------------------------//


CHAPTER 5 
THE MERCENARY 



500 Years later 

Vindictus was flying over the snowy wastelands past the borders of the Crystal Empire. He had a hunting dagger in his hoof sheath and was looking for a kill. He flew down and landed before drawing his dagger and looking around carefully, scrutinizing every inch of the layout. He closed his eyes and listened intently before opening his eyes again. He heard something different from a small mound of snow so he walked towards it and wiped the snow away. Inside was a small snow fox and it cowered in front of Vindictus, whimpering fearfully. He crouched down and put a hoof on its back. At his touch, it tried to dash away but he just put his dagger in front of it. The fox impaled itself on the blade. It twitched for a few moments, then went limp. Vindictus went into his saddlebags and took out a small campfire kit. He started the fire and filled a small pit with water, which he began to boil. He added separate herbs and spices to it before skinning the fox. He cut off chunks of meat and dropped them into the stew. Once he had a decent amount of meat in it, he stirred it constantly, making sure the stew flavoured the meat and then left it to simmer. Once it was done, he poured it into a small bowl and began to eat. The meat was good after three weeks of fruit and vegetables. He savoured the taste of it with the herbs and spices mixed in and smiled slightly. He finished it quickly, though, as Cadence was expecting him back at the Palace. He quickly packed everything away and took flight again, heading back to the Crystal Empire. On the way, he scanned the landscape beneath him. Even though he knew it was a barren wasteland of snow and ice, he couldn’t help but search for hostility. All he saw was snow, snow and more snow. There was nothing interesting here. 
He flew for a few hours before he reached the gates to the Crystal Empire. The force field prevented entrance from the air so Vindictus landed and walked past the guards stationed at the gate. They nodded to him but he paid them no heed. He’d trained with the guards and found them all to have the exact same fighting style; they all fought by the rules and played clean. He had started like that, but then realized he was getting beaten more than he was winning. So he’d started using dirty tricks and going against the rules. Since then, he had won much more and hadn’t lost in several months. The guards protested, of course, but didn’t argue. 
Now, he walked into the Crystal Palace and smiled as he saw Cadence. In the thousand years he’d spent in the Crystal Empire, Cadence had been his best friend the whole time. He now used the Palace’s forge regularly and made the guards’ weapons and armour. Now, though, he nodded to Cadence and she trotted up to him. 
“How are you, Vindictus?” She asked, smiling. 
“I’m doing well,” He replied. “Yourself?” 
“Good,” she said. “However, we are receiving reports of something coming north,” She said with a hint of concern in her voice. 
“What is it?” He asked. 
“From the reports, there’s a unicorn heading this way. He’s crowned himself king and wants the Crystal Empire,” She looked up at him. 
“Then we have to stop him,” He said. “We have to fight him and make sure he doesn’t take the Empire,” 
“We can’t, Vindictus,” Cadence sighed. “Our numbers are too few. King Sombra is too powerful for us to defeat on our own.” 
“And Celestia and Luna are just sitting back and watching this!?” He asked, anger rising. 
“There is nothing we can do!” 
“We can fight!” 
“If we fight, we die! And I would much rather live...” 
Vindictus was breathing heavily. “You have already given up,” He said. “You spend months making me your friend and never give up when I refuse. A unicorn wants to take over your kingdom and you quit before the battle even starts. I should have known. You’re just a coward.” He turned and walked out of the Palace. Before he left, however, he heard a sob from behind him and instantly felt a stab of guilt in his gut. He ignored it, however. He was too angry to care about it right now. Once outside, he spread his wings and took flight, flying south. He flew higher and higher until he was above the clouds. He breathed in the air and breathed deeply, tears streaming down his cheeks. Cadence had been his only friend, the one who had housed and fed him all these centuries and he yells at her for this. They had never once had an argument before, not even when Vindictus told her his carnivorous appetite. She had just smiled and made him promise to eat his meals when he hunted them. 
Vindictus kept flying, staying above the clouds. He didn’t know he could walk on cloud at this point, so he didn’t try landing on them. 
He flew for hours when finally his wings began to get tired and strained. He began to descend and flew through a patch that was clear of clouds. He then flew lower, straining his wings a lot to stop himself from falling to his death. Finally, though, he landed and folded his wings. He breathed heavily, getting his breath back. Once he was fit enough, he pulled his hood up and made sure he had his weapon on his back before taking in his surroundings. 
He was in a city similar to the Crystal Empire, but it was very different. The walls weren’t transparent and they didn’t shimmer in the sunlight. The ponies were also different; they weren’t crystalline, either. And they took one look at the rugged alicorn before turning their noses up and walking away. They all wore rich, expensive clothes and spoke in a very posh manner. Vindictus didn’t care he just started walking down the street. Everything was so different, he didn’t know where he was or where he was going to. He looked up and saw a castle looming over the city. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it before. 
Before he could think much about it, however, a hoof grabbed his mane and yanked him off the road. He yelped and instantly drew his dagger before turning and putting it to the throat of the pony who’d grabbed him. 
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t pour your blood all over the ground,” He growled. 
“Because I have a job for you,” The pony said. It was a stallion, slightly shorter than Vindictus, and a military green in color. His mane was black and he was wearing military uniform. 
“What kind of job?” Vindictus asked. 
“The kind where you fight,” The stallions replied. “You look like the kind of stallion who likes a fight. The West want to hire you.” 
Vindictus froze. “Hire me for what?” He asked suspiciously. 
“A war. South and West are going at it and we need mercenaries like yourself,” 
“Mercenaries?” He blinked. He’d heard that mercenaries were muscle for hire. They didn’t live long as whoever hired them wanted them dead before they could turn and betray them for more bits. He didn’t want to be like that but at the same time, he didn’t really have a choice. If he just stayed here, jobless, he’d die very quickly. And fighting was all he knew, so being a mercenary... he had to take the chance. 
Vindictus lowered the dagger. “Take me to the army,” He said. 

80 YEARS LATER

The eve of battle was always the worst. The tension, the foreboding, the expectation of death the next day. Everypony was making their final preperations; sharpening their weapons, making sure their armour was the best it could be, training for what could be the last time of their lives. Vindictus was at the forge, putting the finishing touches on his own helmet. It was forged in the shape of the top of a dragon’s skull and was made of osmium. When he put it on, the whole top of his head was covered by the skull and the teeth created a cage around his lower jaw. His armour was mostly plain, although it had loads of small spikes on it. The spikes all curved upwards and towards his head so if he ran into somepony, they would get several bad gashes. 
After finishing his helmet, he put it on. There was a horn on the snout of the dragon and his own horn was sorrounded by 4 curved blades that were all longer than his horn and all met at the top to create a deadly point. His wings were poking out of the armour as well. He’d made flaps on the sides to allow him to extend his wings without the membrane being torn to shreds. All the spikes on his armour had been sharpened to a deadly point and he took great care in getting it on. Once it was on, he drew his weapon; the long pole with the axe blade on the end, but also a scythe blade. On the axe blade, the inscription was still clear: 

மரணம் எப்போதும் 

He swung it with precision and began his training. All the other ponies made sure to stay out of reach of the weapon, not wanting to die before they had a chance to fight. Vindictus didn’t care much, really. He was here to kill and die, should it come to that. He stopped and sighed. Cadence had tried to take all the anger out of him but she had failed. Vindictus guess that she knew it was hopeless to rid him of his feelings but even then, she still tried. She didn’t give up. He pushed the memory from his head before it got a hoofhold. The war had been going on for forty years now. Now nearly every continent was fighting; Equestria, the West, and East and the South. The North had stayed out of the battle; They took no part in wars. The Crystal Ponies were also missing and that made Vindictus worried. That King Sombra unicorn probably took over the Empire. Vindictus closed his eyes and fought back tears. That probably meant that Cadence was dead. 
Again, he forced the thought out of his mind. He had a war to fight in. Ponies had taken to calling this The Great War and they reckoned it wouldn’t end for a long time yet. The royalty from all kingdoms were making alliances, breaking them and fighting their old allies, then siding with whoever looked like they would win then stabbing them in the back... Every army had experienced wins and losses, they had lost commanders and promoted ponies to that position only to have them killed again. Mercenaries had been hired by one land, the turned and joined with the opposite side at the jingle of coins. 
Every army was growing tired and the royalty were currently meeting to discuss peace treaties while the generals still commanded the armies. Vindictus was now part of the Southern army. For the most part, he’d fought for the East but then his own comrades had tried to kill him during a battle with the South, so he switched allegiances. He’d had to use hoof-me-down armour in the East but the South had a healthy supply of osmium, so he made his own armour. He had several new scars; three across his belly from a pony using a rake, one on his chest from an axe, several on his legs from swords and other weapons. He had killed more ponies than were in any of the armies now and all four kingdoms had resorted to dragging stallions who were over the age of ten and under the age of seventy to fight. Half of them had never held any form of weapon other than a rake of shovel before. Most of them died in their first battle and the ones who survived were usually promoted instantly to fill in the blanks of the ponies who’d also died. So many had died that the soldiers didn’t even bother clearing the battlefields now, leaving the bodies for the crows and vultures. 
Vindictus sighed and closed his eyes. He promised himself that he would visit Cadence when this was done. He promised himself he would not die until he’d made sure his friend was alive. 
“Vulnere!” A voice snapped him out of his daydream. He opened them and looked at a corporal standing before him. “Prince Harena has summoned you,” He turned and walked away. Vindictus sighed and walked towards the prince’s tent. This prince was very daring, to fight alongside his soldiers. But seeing their leader in battle gave the soldiers morale and they had won the most victories out of all the kingdoms. He stood outside the tent and took a deep breath. He’d heard that this prince was very demanding and loved to cross every line possible to infuriate his subjects. He pushed the flap aside and walked in, still clad in his armour. 

Vindictus was flying a little above the royal carriage. Prince Harena had been called to the peace treaties in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. He had wanted Vindictus to be his personal bodyguard, much to the discomfort of his small council. They didn’t like the idea of a mercenary guarding their prince, but Harena wasn’t one to let others tell him what to do. If he wanted to do something, he made sure he got it. He didn’t know how good of a fighter Vindictus was, but he knew that the armour was very intimidating, so he chose him. It was all for looks, there would be no bloodshed at this meeting. It was purely a peace treaty and nothing more. Vindictus was just there so Harena could say “ Look what I’ve got! I’ve got a big brute just as a bodyguard! You can’t do anything to me!” 
As they drew closer to the mountainside city, Vindictus felt a feeling of déjà vu. He followed the carriage as it landed outside the castle and he looked up at it. He’d seen that castle before but he couldn’t place it... he shook his head and followed Prince Harena into the palace. It had a large interior but he didn’t bother admiring the decor. He just stared straight ahead, his armour clinking quietly as he walked. His helmet made him look more menacing than he already was and his ice cold eyes just made it seem scarier. 
After twisting and turning through the corridors, they reached a small room. In the room was a table and around the table were the royalty from all 4 kingdoms were gathered. Harena sat next to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna while Vindictus stood behind him. Then all the ponies started yelling at each other at the same time, leaning on the table and throwing accusations around. They were all screaming angrily, getting louder and louder as they tried to shout over the top of each other. It soon became too much. 
“STOP!” Vindictus roared, silencing them all. He spoke in the Northern tongue, so everypony just looked at him. There was silence for a while, in which Vindictus just stayed silent again. Before long, the ponies started talking again but this time, they did so in a civilized manner. They took turns in talking and didn’t shout once more. Vindictus could see the bodyguards whispering to each other on the other side of the room and he eyed them suspiciously. The treaties went on without further incident and an agreement was finally settled. The war was over. 

Or so they thought.