//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 - Army of Ghosts // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 21 Army of Ghosts The ponies could feel the rumble in the ground getting stronger and stronger from the army that approached them from the horizon. But they couldn't hear any words of the soldiers. Not even War made a noise. She was gloriously carried by a few soldiers on a dark throne. Her mane bopped up and down with every step. Twilight gasped at the sight of the incoming danger and turned immediately towards Phalanx. The undead pegasus stared towards the horizon and licked over his lips before he spoke. “May I introduce to you, this is the last Apocalyptic Pony, War.” Applejack bit her lip by the sight of the demon in this pretty shell. Soul Tearer had spared her life and now it will be up to them to defeat her. She remembered how strong War was back then, and that she certainly hasn't become weaker since then. The reaction of the farmer wasn't unnoticed by the other ponies. Even Rainbow Dash's heartbeat increased by the sight of so many enemies. The gentle noise of Rarity's magic sounded through the air when she ignited her horn. She used a spell she learned mainly to help her knit more precisely, which at the same time allowed her to look closer at things. It was hard to keep her concentration up by the sight that was revealed to her eyes. The soldiers weren't ordinary guards. Rarity had never seen something like this before. The soldiers looked like ghost of different kinds. The army consisted out of dragons, griffons and ponies. She could look in the eyes of every single of them and find nothing but emptiness. Rarity stumbled backwards and fell on her behind. Tears ran down her white cheeks when she stammered incomprehensible sentence fragments before she was able to form something that another pony could understand. “Girls... I'm so sorry. But we cannot win. There is no way we are able to defeat them.” Fluttershy's entire body twitched. How could Rarity say something like this? Every muscle in her body was shaking from the sudden tension. “Why are you saying something like this? There was always hope. No matter what hardships we had to live through.” The white mare simply shook her head while her eyes stared thunderstruck at the ground in front of her hooves. “I won't lie to you. We don't stand a chance against them because they are not normal ponies. This army has dragons and griffons too. This alone scares me already but the most horrifying fact is that they are not alive anymore. This is an entire army of ghosts. How are we supposed to kill something that isn't even alive anymore? They don't even have a physical body anymore!” Rarity felt pain in her face. Twilight has struck her with all of her power. The lavender unicorn was heavily panting. “Nothing is impossible! Princess Celestia has always told me that it is impossible to resurrect the dead. But as you can see I managed to bring Phalanx back! There has to be a way to defeat them... The ghosts have to be connected to this world somehow. We just have to dislocate this connection!” Shadow shook his head, he turned his back towards the army and stared with disgust at Twilight. “They aren’t even here, and you are already talking about defeating them! War wouldn't come with an entire army just for us. There has to be something different that she desires. If you don't interfere, she might not hurt us.” Fluttershy's cheek still hurt by the force of Twilight's slap. She almost wanted to cry but something in the sky caught her attention. A big dark object flew through the sky and headed into their direction. Slowly, Fluttershy realized that the object aimed at them. Her heartbeat increased drastically. She never felt fear like this before but her timidness hindered her from shouting. “Sorry to interrupt you Mr. Shadow. But there is something really big and mean flying towards us and we might consider the option to move on.” The stallion of the Nightmare Legion rolled his eyes but decided to take a look, so he could calm the troubled mare down. His eyes widened when he noticed the flying object as well. A few times his mouth opened and closed but no words left his lungs. The object seemed to accelerate there was no time left to flee. An intense heat was sensible around them, Shadow decided to close his eyes and accept his fate when a sudden pull seemed to drag him away. His eyes shot open again and they found a horrific scene occurring in front of them. In the distance he could see the cave where they had stood only seconds before. The gigantic tree was brightly burning, single branches were already falling to the ground and turning into ashes. A faint trace of lavender magic was still around them when Shadow tried to comprehend what has happened. Twilight must have been teleporting them out of the danger-zone. He turned to the mare and apologized for his attitude before. It was more then embarrassing to him, his pride didn't allow him such behaviour. “I'm very sorry, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for your help, I couldn't react this fast. I'm astonished by your skills. But where have you brought us exactly?” “She brought you to your execution. Kneel down and weep, honorless stallion.” Shadow turned slowly around and was forced to face the mare of War directly. Only a few feet parted them from the army of ghosts and themselves. Their knees began to shake. Only Rainbow Dash showed real determination to fight, but Applejack pulled her down by her tail. Twilight gulped and made a step forward, sweat ran down her cheeks. The teleportation seemed to have awfully failed, but maybe Twilight was up to something. “ I suppose you're this mare called War? Soul has talked about you a few times. Right now he is looking for you to devour your power. I think he will be pretty pleased to know that we have found you.” War gulped visibly. Twilight's hunch was right, War didn't know about Soul's absence. Maybe she could buy some more time until they receive help. The others looked confused at each other until Applejack got the hunch what Twilight was going to do. “Yeah! Soul wants to complete his power at all costs! Ah would bet that he will be around in no time and wipe the floor with ya!” Pinkie Pie jumped on this thought train and jumped on War's throne to face her on eye-level. “He is just waiting to get you in his hooves! Soul doesn't like such big-meanie-head like you! It is just a matter of time until he busts you!” War glided down her throne while Pinkie leaned over her in a threatening manner. Sweat ran down her forehead. The fear of Soul was far to great that she could make a good decision right now. A small ghost snake climbed up her leg and hissed something inside her ear. The worried frown of hers disappeared and was replaced by a victorious grin. “Do you really think I would fall for something like this? Soul has turned you his back to you. He won't assist you any longer! You are all alone! Nothing will shield you against my magic and my army! We can settle this idly if you just hand Twilight Sparkle over to me!” The mare of war was interrupted by the ear-splitting sound of chains clinging together and the flapping of pegasi wings. She pointed her gaze towards the sky and had to learn that the Nightmare Legion was close by, being lead by the Princess of the Night, who was clad in a new golden armour. War shrank by the sight of Princess Luna. She looked back down at the ponies in front of her and yelled her command. “Soldiers! Go get them! Kill the others but spare the lavender unicorn!” The soldier obeyed their mitress and charged at the defenseless ponies. Twilight and Shadow ignited their horns but the claws and hooves of their predators were already too close. They only waited for the sound of claws that ripped of their flesh from their bones. But this sound never came. The claws of their enemies hit a barrier of midnight-blue magic. It seemed as if the stars themselves were mingling inside the magic. Shadow gasped at the sight of this. Turning around, he saw that Princess Luna was already above their heads with her horn brightly shining. The Princess landed gently in front of Shadow and shielded them from the soldiers. “I won't allow such malicious doing as long as I rule over Equestria. I order you to leave this place immediately or you will face the consequences!” War gnashed her teeth and watched as the Nightmare Legion surround her own subordinates. The soldiers of the night were ready to fight. Even War noticed that they weren't like the usual guards of the castle. The atmosphere around them was filled with bloodlust and the urge to fight. The Nightmare Legion was once famous for their power and their phenomenal Captain. Luckily for War, there was no sign of Soul Tearer. A thought raced through her mind, telling her that maybe she could defeat the alicorn Princess with her army of ghosts. But War hesitated. “You are not my Princess! You can't order me around! I will stay and take Twilight Sparkle with me!” The Princess of the Night swung her mane away from her face and glared devilishly at the apocalyptic pony. “You won't take her with you! Twilight Sparkle is a friend of ours and belongs to her family and friends! There is no way you will abuse her for your dark intentions. She is under my personal protection!” Shadow's grin grew wider by every word the Princess spoke. With the power of an alicorn there is way they could loose to War. The dark stallion shot an evil eye at the wicked mare and hissed at her. “Under Princess Luna's lead there is no failure possible! You will go down, moron!” He felt Princess Luna's heavy hoof on his shoulder. Shadow turned around and looked into the dead serious face of hers. She was slowly shaking her head with closed eyes. “I'm afraid that I won't lead you into this battle. Since Soul Tearer has decided to leave us alone, the Nightmare Legion is headless. The mare on this throne may not look like it, but she is a divine creature and you would be no enemy for her. I will take care of her personally. So I field promote you to the new Captain of the Nightmare Legion especially for this battle. Congratulations, Shadow.” Shadow couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. He didn't know if he should feel honoured or like a fraud that betrays his own captain. But there was no trace of Soul Tearer, so he decided to take the lead until the dark stallion’s return. Shadow quickly bowed down in front of the Princess and shouted from the bottom of his lungs. “Soldiers! Today, I ask for your loyalty and assistance in this battle! Soul Tearer won't assist us today. But we have to make him proud of us and win this fight in glory! For the Night! For Soul Tearer! For Princess Luna!” The soldiers hesitated for a short moment but quickly agreed and responded to the motivating shouts of Shadow. In unison they shouted back. “For the Night! For Soul Tearer! For Princess Luna we shall fight!” Shadow never grinned wider in his entire life. He extended his hoof towards the army of ghosts and exclaimed his first orders as new captain of the Nightmare Legion. “My fellow soldiers! Build a ring around us and guarantee the safety of these ponies. Kill as many enemies as possible and make space for the Princess to fight frankly!” The pegasi took into the air and the unicorns charged their horns. Together they affirmed their orders and charged at the enemy. “YES, SIR!” Some of the unicorns created magical chains. The pegasi grabbed these chains and flew towards the dragons. They dodged the dragon's claws and fire breath and laid the chains around their necks. The chains magically tightened and pulled the dragons to the ground. Another group of unicorns created gigantic swords and beheaded the chained dragons. Magical arrows and heavy bombs fell down on the never ending army of ghosts, thrown by the unicorns and pegasi of the Nightmare Legion. Thousands of ghosts lay immobile on the ground. Satisfaction rolled through the lines of soldiers. But their delight was quickly gone. The ghosts raised themselves to their hooves and claws and grinned maliciously at soldiers of the Nightmare Legion. Shadow gasped along with his soldiers. “This won't be easy.” The only thing that Twilight could say was to acknowledge the skills of this soldiers. Soul Tearer had trained them really well. She could see why the Nightmare Legion was feared throughout the world. Princess Luna used her magic to crush the throne of War. The mare jumped of her seat and charged at the armoured Princess. War used her magic to catch Princess Luna inside the tendrils of her roses. But a few wing flaps were enough to escape the deadly flowers. Princess Luna flew high in the sky and stood exactly between the sun and War. She ignited her horn with all of her power and forced the moon in front of the sun. Darkness rolled over the countless soldiers of both parties. The Princess expanded her wings with all of her power and surged power from the moon. “I will end this pitiful act quick and painless!” A concentrated beam of moonlight soared down the sky and headed for the stunned unicorn. The full force of the beam hit her and cut through her body. Princess Luna glided down in a circle pattern, she always hold enough distance to the seemingly dead mare. War lay still for a few seconds before her body began to twitch. She rose back to her hooves and shook the shock out of her coat. The hole in her chest healed without leaving a single scar. She laughed faintly at the attempt of Princess Luna to kill her. “Is this everything you got? This is supposed to be the sister of the Sun? Don't make me laugh! You are nothing in comparison to your sister! You even underestimate your enemies...” Before Princess Luna could respond she felt something sticking to her chest. She looked down and saw a single rose blossoming. She felt her magic being drained while roots shot out of the blossom. The roots blocked her wings and made it impossible to fly. The Princess crashed into the ground and laid now immobile in front of the apocalyptic pony. War approached her and stopped just in front of Princess Luna’s muzzle. The Princess of the Night forced her neck to bend upwards. “How did you know my sister, you impure creature?” The wicked mare began to laugh at the mare on the ground, even tears were running down her cheeks. “You are still the naïve little mare you always were! You still haven’t realized who your sister really is! And now die!” One of the roots grew in its diameter and created a gigantic sharp thorn. The root leashed out and headed for Princess Luna's neck. A cold shiver ran through her spine while she prepared for the impact but a fast, dark object pushed the thorn away. It was shadow, a literal shadow was holding back the deadly weapon. The Princess silently whispered to herself. “How can this be? A shadow while I darkened the sun? How is this possible?” Then she suddenly realized what kind of magic had saved her. Magic that she hasn't seen for a thousand years. Princess Luna managed to turn around and she caught a glimpse of her saviour. Shadow was standing on a single rock, his eyes brightly shining in the flow of his raw magic. Princess Luna's eyes widened when she finally remembered the nameof it. It was the magic that gave Shadow is name. A pony so bright would never be named Shadow, he has earned that name due to this spell. This spell was called 'Shadow's Asgard'. It takes the shadows of other soldiers and turn them into independent soldiers. A frightful and powerful spell. Even War was astonished by such magnificent magic. The roots around Princess Luna loosened ,so she could quickly turn her body around and buck War in her face. The mare of war stumbled backwards and was blinded by the brash kick for a few seconds. When she regained her ability to see, a blade of moon-silver raced towards her neck. By instinct she released a raw pulse of her magic and deflected the blade just in time. The ponies of the Nightmare Legion fought alongside with their shadows against the seemingly immortal ghosts. Many members of the Legion had fallen, but not a single ghost seem to disappear. The army of ghosts might be the first army that can outrun the famous and dreaded Nightmare Legion. They were pushed back and forced into the small circle they've built. One of the soldiers defended them with all he had. Between the strikes of his enemies he managed to speak. “Captain! We can't defend this any longer! We have to retreat and save what we can to strike a second time! Without Captain Soul Tearer we don't stand a chance!” The ghosts hadn't screamed of strain or pain the entire fight. But now they began slowly to raise their voices. It was a terrifying sound. The ghosts began to break down. They hold their hooves and claws over their heads. It must have been a terrible pain that caused them to flinch in that way. But what was the reason behind this? Everypony looked around their surroundings but they couldn't find anything. The only pony that didn't look confused was War. She just stared into the sky above Shadow and the others. Princess Luna followed her gaze and ended up upon a single cloud. Her eyes widened, this sight was familiar but something has changed. The other ponies followed the lead of the Princess and silence turned into the battlefield. Only the ghosts were screaming in pain. There he was standing in the sky. Soul Tearer looked down upon them. There was no mercy or joy in his eyes, they were just cold and cruel. Applejack shook her head when she caught sight of him. “This can't be, there is no way...” Soul Tearer has changed. His coat may have lightened and become grey, but his eyes had changed into a blood-red hue. Only the slit-formed pupil was missing. Soul's mane and tail had become purely white. A pitch black ribbon laid around his neck with a skull pendant attached to it. War gasped at his sight. Her pupils has shrank to the size of thumbtacks. “This pendant belonged to my sister, Death... What have you done?” The gasping mare at the ground breathed in to say more but she didn't get the chance to finish. Soul Tearer disappeared from the cloud. Only a fragment of a second later he reappeared in above War and tossed his rear hooves into her chest. The mare was thrown to the ground, she couldn't expand her lungs anymore. They were deflated by the force of Soul's kick. In an instant the entire ground around them sank down several feet. A deep gorge built around them not even the moonlight reached really into the depth. Only a faint light illuminated the scene that occurred in front of their eyes. The screams of the ghosts became weaker and weaker, one after another dispersed into thin air. Soul's hooves touched almost the ground only a flat layer that was once War parted him from the soil. Soul didn't grin nor did he frowned, he just looked coldly at her. “Tell me, what was your name before you became War?” He took his hooves away and allowed her body to regenerate. The mare began to breath flatly, with all of her will she forced a two words out. “Alice... Why?” Soul grinned for the first time. But instead of lightening the atmosphere up, it became darker than ever after his words. “I just like to know the name of the ponies I murder.” War's eyes widened for the last time when she felt Soul's magic devouring her body and magic. Her sight slowly faded, she couldn't move or scream anymore. War just felt tired and alone until her sight finally faded completely and her consciousness finally fell into an eternal slumber. War's whole magic was absorbed by Soul Tearer. Princess Luna shifted the moon along with the sun and so light could fall inside the gorge again. Soul stood alone in the moonlight. War has disappeared. Princess Luna was terrified by the bare sight of him. He has devoured the power of every four of the apocalyptic ponies. The Princess gasped in fear of his next actions. “What... What happened to you? What is the meaning of this... please, Soul don't tell me you...” The turned stallion turned around, it felt like he looked every single pony in its eyes at the same time. Coldly, he raised his deep voice. “It only has come this far because we were blind all this time. The real enemy was just hiding in the light, a place where we never would have searched for her. Am I right... Helia?” Princess Luna's heart almost stopped when her older sister stepped out of a faint ray of light that fell into the gorge. Her red-pinkish eyes and her dark pink mane flew in the solar wind, even though the sun was covered by the moon. Discord was twisted around her neck like a giant snake and showed his cheeky grin to Soul. Princess Celestia put on her most gentle smile when she looked at the demon-like stallion in front of her. “How do the ponies say? Right under the lighthouse is the darkest spot? I suppose they are right, black colt.”