//------------------------------// // Chapter six: The heart of a dead city // Story: The cold hand of Icecrown // by Space Wizard Novablast //------------------------------// "What are these?" Twilight remembered Andorhal. It wasn't a large city, but it was fairly big. When she had first visited the place colts and fillies had been running through the legs of their parents in joyful games of tag. The grown ups where either bickering with each other at the market or talking peacefully. She couldn't remember a single mare or stallion ever say a bad word about the trade emporium that this city was. There was no bickering now, no foals playing tag, no peaceful talking. Only death. Huge and horrific buildings that looked to have erupted from the ground itself were all over. Some of them looked to be constructed from bones. Another looked to be a schoolhouse, but with graves and corpses littering its playground rather than toys and slides. Another had a gigantic wheel on the top with spikes running along its edge. It wouldn't have looked too horrible if the corpses of the dead hadn't been speared on them, most of them still screaming while the blood ran down their chests. "This is horrible..." Farwing whispered, eyes wide in horror as he saw the twisted ziggurats all around him. He could occasionally see a figure dart around inside of them, but it quickly disappeared again. "Who would do something like this?" "That's what were here to find out," Shining growled, his magic covering his hammer just in case something decided to jump from the burning buildings. The streets themselves were empty, save for the cold corpses of the dead and the occasional still breathing victim the guards had trouble putting to rest. "Can you hear something?" Twilight suddenly whispered, ears high in the air and trying to re-capture the sound, which if her expression was to go by she had. "It's like, someone is sobbing." "If there are survivors then we'd better find them before the undead does!" Shining kicked into a gallop, his sister following to guide with her above exceptional hearing, "everyone have your weapons at the ready! We don't know if we'll face guards." The guards followed orders, as soon the sound of unsheathed swords, free javelins, or in some cases axes, was echoing off the destroyed buildings if Andorhal. "Left!" Twilight shouted. The guards and their two commanders did a complete 90 degree turn down another street, straight to the center of the city, where there was a small spring. And a foal sitting in front of it. He was hunched over a dead body, and it was obvious he was crying. His sobs could be heard everywhere, that was the entire reason they had found him. So why hadn't the undead? Farwing took a few steps towards the foal, but was immediately blocked off by Shining placing a hoof in front of him. "Don't go any closer, it's an obvious trap." Farwing just pushed his commanders hoof down. "Do you honestly expect me to let a foal sit in the middle of a monster infected city without protection?" He asked, looking both perplexed and disgusted. "I'd expect better of you Captain." The other guards nodded their agreement, some whispering to each other, thinking their commander out of hearing range. Yet he could still hear them whispering, "cruel bastard." He heard one, "heartless monster." He heard another, "he's no better than the undead." "even now they usurp your leadership, you must take action if they are not to overthrow you!" The voice he had then heard did not come from any of the guards, but rather from his own head. He could practically feel the droning and hollow tone prickle his skin and chill his blood. It spoke to him, and none of the others had heard it. "Farwing, I want you to go and rescue the foal," he breathed out, barely able to contain himself, "but if anything goes wrong I hold you personally responsible." "Of course," Farwing stepped forward and started walking calmly towards the foal. Some of the guards patted Shining on the back, either in apology or acknowledgement. The Lietnaunt closed in on the frail colt, whom was still busily sobbing over a corpse of an elderly mare. The colt in question smelled awfully, like he hadn't bathed in ages. "Hey, you." Farwing whispered, trying his best not to alarm any of the undead that might've been close to them. "Are you alright?" The colt looked up from the corpse, but didn't turn around. His sobbing had stopped, so at least he realized that Farwing was actually there. "Come with me, it's not safe." He whispered again, waving a hoof towards himself even though the colt had no way of seeing the gesture. The colt slowly turned his head, and stared directly into Farwings eyes. And Farwing wanted to scream. Half the colts face was missing, leaving a single eyeball to swivel around its own eyesocket completely exposed. The skull was completely visible, and showed large dents and teeth marks. The smell that Farwing had mistaken for bad hygiene was in fact just the rotting flesh of the ghoul itself. But the worst part, was the large chunk of flesh clenched between the jaws of the colt ghoul, which after further search revealed itself to be the mares throat. The ghoul opened its mouth, letting the meat chunk fall to the ground with a sickening splat. It opened its mouth unspeakably wide and screamed as loudly as it could. It tore at the ears of not only Farwing but the guards and siblings alike. "Kill it!" Shining yelled as best he could above the noise. Farwing looked back to the ghoul who was still screaming. He picked the javelin off his back and placed it right on the monsters exposed throat, he couldn't help but have his eyes glaze with tears, "I'm so sorry." He whispered, before jabbing through the air canal and make the ghoul abruptly stop it's shrieking. It let out a faint question before it fell together in a heap, "where..... Mommy?" And with those words it fell to the ground, the body almost falling apart from its rotten state. Farwing balanced himself on his javelin as best he could. Trying his best not to throw up. Twilight hurried up to him and put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. Shining, however wasn't in the same mood. "So Farwing, was killing an undead foal what you were hoping for when you decided to be a hero?" He snarled. "Shut up Shining...." Farwing spat out, along with the gathering in his throat. "You will speak to your commander with respect Lietnaunt!" Shining shouted, most of the guards behind him were either awkwardly fiddling with their weapons or nodding with angry looks. "continue, you have him cornered now! Eliminate him!" "If you disrespect me like this again Lietnaunt Farwing, I assure you that your punishment will be grave!" Shining looked down at the exhausted pegasus with cold eyes. Farwing returned the look with anger, "understood, Captain." The bickering was cut off completely as the sound of rumbling echoed through the ruined city. The sound of hoofsteps and screams were hammering the eardrums. And then they saw the source. From every one of the alleyways, except one weirdly enough, came hordes upon hordes of the undead. Their horrendous howls petrifying the guards, if only for a second. "RUN!" Once Shining had executed his command, they started galloping as fast as they could. The wave of the dead right behind them. Occasionally Shining could hear the scream of a guard being devoured by the flood of walking corpses, but neither he, Farwing, or Twilight ever let up. Eventually they came to a crossroads, but once again every passage but one was blocked off by the living dead. As if guiding them towards a particular place. Eventually that place was apparently reached, for the ghoulish horde let up on their chase and just blankly stared at them. They had been lead to a pair of open gates with corpses hanging from its walls. "If I remember correctly," Twilight said, occasionally looking behind her and seeing the army of rotting bodies before quickly averting her gaze somewhere else. "This leads to castle Mournwind." Shining looked back at the now blocked passage. "Do we have any other choice?" "No sir," Farwing answered, even though the question was of rhetorical nature. "Then let's go." The inner reaches of Andorhal were peaceful. The gardens were still lush and fertile, the flowers and plants still in their early stages of bloom. None of the buildings they had seen earlier cursed this beautiful scenery. Until they reached the castle itself. What Shining was convinced were guards had been hung with chains from the upper walls just above the morgue. The water looked disgusting, with some of the guard corpses having fallen off and ended there. The drawbridge itself was down, revealing the castle courtyard. And the sorcerer standing in front of the spring. "Necromancer!" Shining shouted, "By the laws of Equestria I hereby declare you under arrest! Follow along peacefully and no harm shall be done to you!" The necromancer completely ignored what Shining had said, in stead turning around to face the guards who by now had drawn their weapons and were growling threats. "Greetings younglings. I am Kel'Thuzad." He bowed his head, "and I am here to bring you a warning." His broken horn lit up and the green magical energy flowed into the spring. The water darkened and soon lifted itself and took upon the form of a dragons head. "Turn back now!" The dragons head roared as the necromancer spoke, "your curiosity will be the death of you."