//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Facing War // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 11 Facing War The purely-white stallion named Pestilence let his forked tongue strive over his lips and hissed a dangerous tone towards Soul and Applejack. The boulder made of pure muscles almost merged with the brilliant white light around them. Even his short-cut mane was shaded in a pure white. The eyes that took aim towards them were pale blue, a wonderful homogeneous mix of colours for such a masculine stallion. “My my, where are my manners? I introduced myself and forgot about my lovely companion to my right.” Pestilence waved his hoof to the crimson mare at his side. Her long wavy, deep brown mane fell over her left eye and covered it completely. Her eyes were coloured in a gentle deep hue of brown. They seemed to be passionate, albeit a dangerous glimmer shone from the inside. The beautiful mare almost resembled the stunning form of an alicorn princess, only the wings and crown were missing to complete her. The stallion let his eyes wander over the marvellous body of his companion and let his tongue snarl for another time. “May I introduce you my sister. War.” The fine lady bowed down humbly in front of Soul and waved her mane out of her face with a gentle toss of her head. “Pleased to meet you, Soul Tearer. Our mistress had warned us about your strength, but she didn't tell us that you are so handsome.” Soul eyed the mare in front of him carefully. Her eyes were indeed wonderful, but she was much more than just a pretty face. From both unicorns in front of him flowed a weird magical presence. It was oddly familiar to the dark stallion. Only a few days ago the same weird presence used to swirl around him. “War? What a harsh name for such a gorgeous lady. Too bad that we are standing on different sides right now.” Applejack stormed angrily in front of the flirting stallion and bucked firmly against his chest. “Hey! Did Ah turn into air or somethin'? How dare do ya speak to this cheap broad in front of meh?” The vigilant mare of war playfully licked her lips and inspected the brash farmer closely. “Oh, I see. You brought your little filly-friend along. Seems like you have a favour for the uncivilized mares. Well, you just have to ditch this filthy little filly, then we can have some fun together.” The orange farmer shot War a gaze filled with pure hatred. “Who are ya callin' uncivilized?” Soul carefully tugged at Applejack's mane. She turned around and noticed that the stallion wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was glaring towards War and Pestilence. His eyes were cold and calculating. She gulped when she realized that the situation could be worse than she had thought at the beginning. The streets of Griffhala were empty and bare. The citizens had left their homes for some unknown reason, and Applejack might have guessed the reason behind it. Soul gently stroked above her necklace and calmly talked into her ear. “Listen Applejack. You have to get out of here immediately. They may look harmless, but both of them are very dangerous.” Applejack pounded her hooves furiously against the ground. “There is no way Ah will leave ya alone here! That over-trained stallion and his saucy mare over there won't get away like this!” War stroked her wonderful, long mane and watched the two fight. “You are really a sweet couple. What a shame that we have to drift you apart.” Soul quickly stepped forward and hid Applejack behind his war-stained body. “What you do you mean by 'drifting us apart'?” The massive boulder of muscles accelerated towards them and aimed for the relatively small looking mare. “It is time to say goodbye, filly!” Soul dashed forward and dived downward towards the ground and hit the legs of the rapidly approaching stallion. He levered him out and Pestilence took off into the air by the pure power of the leverage. Pestilence couldn't do anything other than land upon Soul's back. The black stallion raised from the ground and threw Pestilence against the wall of the traincar. The wood splintered underneath Pestilence's massive weight and clouds of dust raised to the air. War simply watched them before she took action again. “I guess you are one of the tough kind of stallion. You may be harder to beat than imagined.” The black stallion coughed under the unexpected strain, but he was still grinned towards the attractive mare of war. “What do you expect? That I would just give up? I will protect everypony I care for with my life. Your mistress told you everything about me, then you should know how awfully strong I am.” War licked her lips and mustered the stallion in front of her closely. “Strong? We know what kind of unholy power you are wielding. The question is not if we are aware of your power. The question is if you are aware of ours.” In the speck of a second her horn ignited and extended a magical whip from its tip. She tossed her head around and aimed another time for Applejack. The burning crimson whip raced downwards at an insane speed. Soul stepped in and intercepted the whip with help of his horn, but the whip wrapped itself around his horn and wouldn't let go of him easily. War smiled at him, but her eyes looked past him. “Seems like this will be easy.” From behind an ear-splitting sound rang. Soul turned his head as much as the whip allowed him, and he had to learn that Pestilence had broken free of the wreckage and was heading for Applejack's position again. The stallion was laughing at the exposed farmer in his rush. The restrained black stallion concentrated upon his spellbound horn and forced a massive amount of magic through the whip. The whip changed its colour from a deep crimson to a brilliant sapphire blue. War's eyes widened when she realized what Soul was up to. She loosened the bond to save herself from being infected by his magic. “Hah! You won't use that poisonousness magic against me!” Soul's eyes narrowed. He pointed his horn at the ground and let his magic flow into the same. A magical blue radiating circle formed around him and Applejack. Pestilence was blinded by his own certainty and didn't notice the circle around them. The very moment the white stallion was about to cross the circle, a barrier shot from the ground and hindered him from running through. The heavy stallion clashed against the magical wall and was thrown back into the wreckage he had come from before. Soul grinned at the astonished mare and regained his elegant stance again. “Poison you? No, I doubt that it will work here. Demon's Run had an entire effect then this environment. The poison I injected Lunacy with would usually instantly kill a normal pony, but it only paralysed him. So I guess it wouldn't take effect on you.” Applejack scratched her head underneath her hat and shot the mare in front of Soul a thoughtful gaze. “Why shouldn't it take effect on her? She seems pretty average to meh. Even her cutie mark seems pretty usual to meh.” Her eyes wandered to the flank of the graceful mare and inspected her cutie mark closely. It was the lovely image of a rose with two leaves and three thorns. The blossom was in full bloom and tiny drips of a liquid coloured in the same deep red colour sat upon its petals. War tilted her head to her own tenuous flank and groaned with pleasure. “Harmless you say? Don't be mistaken, little farmhand. It only suits my grace and beauty. I gained it after my first murder when I was still a little filly. I would be glad to explain its origin to you. Two colts were fighting over me, so I decided to turn them against each other. One of them got jealous and lured the other one out into the fields far away from home. I wanted to see how far he would go and followed them. The colt turned around and stabbed the second with a little dagger he had hidden inside his tail all this time. When I realized what he'd done, I charged at him and grabbed the dagger with my magic and stabbed into his chest over and over again. For a few minutes, I sat above the blood-soaked body and stared down at my bloody hooves.” The mentally-scarred mare's pupils narrowed and an awkward forced smile crept into her face. “It was so much fun seeing them die only because of me. After this experience my cutie mark appeared on my marvellous flank. For years I've made stallions fell in love with me and let them fight against each other for my hoof. This way I managed to lead entire countries to war, and so I finally got this name. War. The drips on the petals are blood, my naïve dear. Blood from the stallions that seek my love.” Applejack noticed that Soul's expression didn't change during War's disgusting monologue. There were no signs of disgust nor of acceptance. He remained perfectly neutral. For a second he closed his eyes and his neutrality changed to a worried frown. “Many times I've heard that a mare was responsible for war, but I never guessed that there is a mare who actually drives the conflicts forward. It is really a shame. You don't even remember your real name, am I right?” War's grin faded immediately. She gnashed her teeth, but her eyes wandered slowly upwards and looked at something invisible above Soul. “How about you, fraud? I can see many names written above your head, but none of them belong to you! What is your real name? Is it Star Swirl, Soul Tearer, Lunacy or even Black Terror? You've consumed every single one of them! I think the most recent name would suit you most! Isn't it true-...” “Shut your filthy mouth!” Soul's deep voice boomed through the forsaken city and interrupted the wicked mare in her speech. The dark stallion flashed his teeth towards the mare, lowered his position and pointed his horn at her throat. “How dare you speak about me like that! I've fought for the ones I’ve cared about! You are just a murderer!” The crimson mare pounded her hooves against the ground and shouted at the furious stallion. “Don't be ridiculous! You love fighting more than your own life! Just look how you deal with my brother!” Soul's eyes widened a tiny bit when he remembered the pearl-white stallion's existence. Underneath him formed a big, almost circular shadow. “SPLASH DIVE!” To avoid to be buried underneath the massive stallion, Soul jumped towards Applejack and dashed himself and her out of the way. Both of them landed nose first in the dirt. Soul immediately raised back to his hooves and took his offensive stance again. Pestilence soared into the ground and produced a cloud of dust around him. The stallion left the crater and took his place at the side of his sister. “Sorry for interrupting your lovely little chat with my sister, but I'm that kind of stallion that needs soooo much attention.” The dust between them settled and Soul watched the white stallion closely. “Seems like you are quite the rude one? Do you want to tell us your story, too?” Pestilence thoughtfully rubbed his chin and pretended to close his eyes. “I think I will be so kind. My cutie mark is two crossed swords in front of two different flags, you see. I gained it during the scavenging of a town nearby to my home. We killed the residents to get their food and bits. One after another, my friends were either killed or left me, but I continued and became more and more confident until I realized that it meant to be my destiny!” Applejack followed Soul's lead and mustered the seemingly over-trained stallion. “How can ya be proud of somethin' that horrible? Both of ya are monsters in mah eyes!” War and Pestilence looked at each other and barely managed to cover a giggle. The mare of war pointed straight at the black stallion in front of Applejack and shot him a devilish glare. “You consider us monsters? What a twisted view of the world. The handsome stallion right next to you has murdered thousands just for his own pleasure as well! Only a few selected died by my own hooves, but his hooves are spilled with so much blood that I can't even see his real face anymore. With pleasure and delight he burned his enemies in times of war. It was such an enjoyable view.” The orange mare mustered War and narrowed her eyes. She raised her hoof and laid it upon her chin. “Enjoyable view? Ya look barely older than meh. How could ya see him so far in the past?” War laughed at the naïve mare. Even her brother couldn't resist joining in. “You still didn't realize who we are, do you? History class wasn't your favourite, huh?” Applejack was already prepared to howl at the arrogant stallion, but Soul raised his hoof and blocked Applejack's view at them. She hesitated and let her eyes wander to the dark stallion. Soul frowned, but he was still highly concentrated upon their opponents. “This is enough. Applejack, tell Princess Luna what happened here and that I will follow you as soon as possible. She isn't allowed to come here or send any reinforcements at all. I will deal with these two on my own.” Applejack hastily pushed his hoof down and leaped in front of him to face him properly. Soul's eyes wandered to his companion and met Applejack's with a determination filled gaze. “I ain't goin' anywhere. Ah will stick to your side! No matter what happens!” Soul only offered Applejack a sympathetic smile. He lifted his hoof for a second time and stroked gently above her mane. “This decision isn't up to you anymore. I'm sorry, Applejack. I'm so sorry.” She gasped when his horn ignited and wrapped the necklace around her neck in his gentle blue shine. “Wait, ya...!” Applejack disappeared in a bright sapphire blue flash of magic and left only dust behind. War and her brother grinned at the lone stallion. Their pupils narrowed to small dots. The magic inside of them was already eager to leak out of their horns. Pestilence made a little step forward and ignited his horn to its full extent. The blinding light melted the snow on the nearby roofs and turned it into steam. “I guess playtime is over! Now the real fun can begin!” A sphere of raw magical energy built at the tip of Pestilence's horn. In a fragment of a second the sphere accelerated towards Soul and burned the ground underneath its path. Soul concentrated upon the death-bringing sphere and let his magic flow around his horn. The ball of magic met the ground and burned everything in its range. Nothing could grow on this ground, not even in a thousand years. Too fierce was the magically-inflicted burn. There was no trace of Soul anywhere. Pestilence looked around his surroundings but couldn't find a glimpse of the black stallion. “This was everything he had? What a disappointment. I guess the way is cleared to create a new world under the reign of our mistress...” A cold chill ran over Pestilence's spine. From the corner of his eye, he saw Soul charging at him from a hole in the fabric of reality that Soul had created himself. The dark stallion inhaled deeply and pressed a roll of pure black fire out of his lungs towards the stunned form of Pestilence. Pestilence couldn't react or dodge at all. The flames wrapped around his body and scorched the coat on his flesh. The flames dispersed into thin air when their deed was done, but the white stallion still stood in the centre of the place where the flames had burned before. Still shivering in fear, Pestilence stared at Soul. A thin layer of crimson magic sparked from his coat faded completely. Soul had reintegrated at the exact same spot he had stood before. He was glaring at them, the intent to kill was well visible inside his eyes. War flashed him her teeth. Her pretty face had turned dark. “You won't do anything to my brother, Black Terror! Even with this wretched combination of your space magic and the magic of madness, you won't be able to defeat the two of us!” The shadow underneath War's hooves began to wave. Soul stared coldly into the eyes of the graceful mare and didn't even twitch for a second. War could feel the movement beneath her and reacted quickly when several tendrils of shadow leashed out for her. She managed to land next to her brother and hissed at the dark stallion. Soul's posture remained calm, albeit his eyes told a different story. He suppressed his anger as well as he could. “Why do you call me by this cursed name? I call myself Soul Tearer now, and I will stick with it.” War's heartbeat calmed again and she loosened her tension a bit, though she still kept her horn charged. “You are right. Soul Tearer is the name you chose, but it is really the name that reflects your true self?” Another spear of fire raced from Soul's horn towards War and Pestilence. The white stallion lowered his front hooves and cast another powerful spell. The spear deflected and split the spear into thousands of little sparks that levitated through the air. Pestilence hissed and snarled at the dark stallion, but his sister put her hoof in front of his mouth and stopped him. “No offence, brother, but charging at him blindly might lead to your destruction. There is a reason we are here together. What I will tell him now is a warning for you at the same time.” War dared to step towards Soul. It was only two steps, but that already placed the mare in great danger. “A thousand years ago, you were known by the name of Black Terror. You were grateful for the care your Princess had offered you, but you never embraced the meaning of your name. Until this one faithful day. The day Midnight Veil died you made yourself responsible for her death. You became fierce and cruel. Ponies began to fear your name. Everywhere you appeared the ponies cringed in fear, but this changed after you met Harmony. She cracked your hard shell and revealed the soft core beneath. Then the Sun goddess killed her and you lost control over yourself and vanished. When the Elements of your very Harmony forced you back into this world you decided instinctively to change your name. You choose your birth name that you learned only a few month before. Like Black Terror is a synonym for everything bad, Soul Tearer is a synonym for everything good inside of you. Your righteousness, sense of justice and your desire for harmony. But this name became just another mask after you returned from the realm of Death. You are consciously using the power of madness that you reobtained after the battle of Demon's Run. You are as rotten as we are, Soul.” Soul couldn't restrain his anger anymore. His heart pumped more and more blood into his muscles. His horn was already sparking by the raging torrent of magic underneath its surface. “You are pretty well informed about my life. I guess I won't have the pleasure to learn about yours.” War blinked, baffled. When her eyes opened again the black stallion was gone. Despite the warmth that the still levitating sparks of fire provided, a cold chill ran down her spine. Her jaws opened, but before she could shout Soul's rear hooves raced down on the back of her brother. The pressure of his kick pressed Pestilence deep into the soil. The shock wave drove War away from her brother and swirled a huge amount of dust into the air. She hesitated until the dust had settled down and gasped at the sight of her brother. His spine was broken and the rest of his bones probably, too. “You sick bastard! You don't know what you have done!” It was exactly the same as before. Soul placed himself for a second time at exactly the same spot as before. His precision was unimaginably accurate. Soul narrowed his eyes when the broken mass on the ground began to move. Pestilence raised from the ground, his broken bones cracked and creaked until they slipped back into their original position. His horn was glowing brightly and repaired every single bone inside of his body. “You dirty son of a fraud. How dare you attack me like that? Never before had somepony tried such a foolish act and survived… and neither will you.” His horn ignited brightly in his pure-white magic. Even his eyes shone in the same brightness as his very horn. “I WILL SHOW YOU THE MEANING OF PESTILENCE!” Everywhere around them something began to dig from underneath the ground. Single bones and rotten parts of armour raised from the ground and clicked together. Hundreds of undead griffons marched towards the collected stallion and screamed a horrifying roar. Pestilence grinned at Soul in belief of his certain victory. “You will die, filthy stallion. You are not suited to become one of our kind!” The countless undead soldiers were seeking for Soul's blood. They closed in to the stallion and hissed by the pure hatred that had awoken them from their eternal slumber. Soul watched through the levitating sparks of his magic at the lines of griffons until he focused at Pestilence again. The tip of Soul's horn began to glow again. “Aren't my lights wonderful, my dear War?” Pestilence cooked his eyebrow and waited for Soul to continue before he would charge at him. War wasn't as careless as her brother. A tiny voice inside her mind told her to run, to leave her brother behind. That he has already fallen. She felt a strong tug at her neck and saw the world beneath her vanishing. For a brief moment she looked upwards and saw a half snake and half dragon like being pulling her away from her brother. War's gaze fall back to her brother. With disgust she had to witness the scene below. Soul left his stance and flashed his cocky, victorious grin towards Pestilence. The sparks were flying around the griffons and Pestilence, surrounding them completely. “Perish, you scum!” The sparks ignited into a merciless inferno and burned the undead into dust again. Pain pulsed through Pestilence's body when the flames devoured his wretched form. The black flames faded and left the scorched remains of the stallion behind. He was still breathing but would certainly needed a long time to recover. Soul approached him slowly and stopped right in front of him. “One of you?” Inside Soul's eyes a faint glow shone. The soul of the defenceless stallion in front of his hooves floated upwards until it met Soul's own horn. The former body of the white stallion perished into dust just like his soldiers did. Soul looked around his surroundings, completely left alone by every imaginable life-form. He used his magic to disintegrate his body. Piece for piece his body crumbled and left Griffhala. Before his head faded away, he thought about the mare of war. “I thought they are only a myth. I doubt that I will ever become something like you., but I would never have guessed that I will be facing the Apocalyptic Ponies on my own.”