The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 54: Ruin and Opulence

It didn’t take long for Bereloth to recruit soldiers for the Stormcloud cause. Most of Splitten’s ponies were already gathered in the square, and he didn’t have to travel far to find recruits. Both of Splitten’s smithies had been destroyed in the dragon attack earlier that week, but the Splitten guard had plenty of weapons that Bereloth “liberated” for the Stormclouds. As for uniforms, each recruit was issued the standard Stormcloud armor from supply wagons waiting outside Splitten’s gates.

I kept my own armor, my gift from the Griffins, though it was beginning to get a little beat up. At least I would stand out with it, and the Stormclouds would know not to attack me. I did my best to repair it whenever we stopped our march to rest and train the new recruits.

As we met with the rest of the Stormcloud army at Hoofgen, which had been converted from an Imperial fortified city into a Stormcloud camp, I found myself wondering why exactly I was helping out the Stormclouds. It had felt good to help topple Jarl Aria in Splitten, and I was still riding on that feeling when Bereloth had asked me to help. But was that the only reason I wanted to help out? After all, I didn’t exactly agree with everything the Stormclouds stood for.

I came to the conclusion that there was more to this than a thirst for glory. Bereloth had been kind to me since the attack here at Hoofgen, helping me escape and offering to let me stay with his parents, as well as standing up for me before Jarl Stormcloud, and I wanted to pay him back in a way. Also, I’d taken sides in this war once before, helping the Imperials take Dawnstar. I felt like I owed the Stormclouds something if I was really going to stay “neutral” in this war like Jarl Valor’s Blade. Taking Foalkreath would even things out.

According to Bereloth, the Stormclouds would leave for Foalkreath at dawn the next day, so I had some free time to relax. After wandering the camp a bit, and catching a glimpse of Jarl Stormcloud, I settled down with Minotauran Inquiries; Vol. I. I hadn’t had much chance to read it since we sailed to Unicornica weeks earlier. I propped the book open to where I’d left off and began to read.

Animonculory

This room was certainly one of the most important to the ancient Minotaurs. It was here that magic and machinery came together to create the automatons that still stalk their masters’ halls. Each Animonculory was built complete with all the tools necessary to complete the task of building these machines that could move and think for themselves, at least at a rudimentary level.

Automatons of every shape and size were constructed here, from the tiny worker spiders (see pg. 121) to the spindly spheres (see pg. 133) that guard the halls, to the clankers (see pg. 149) used both for heavy lifting and construction (see labor-clanker, pg. 152) and for protection of the most valuable of Minotauran treasures (see death-clanker, pg. 156). Touring an Animonculory, one would expect to see the massive presses used to convert raw Minotauran Metal into the plates and large components of the automatons, as well as molds into which liquid metal would be poured to create the more delicate internal workings of the machines. Also present would be the frames used to carefully place the source of the automatons’ power within them, a mystery to this day, though many suspect soul gems could have been used to somehow generate the steam that drives all Minotauran creations.

These walking (and rolling, and skittering) wonders can tell us much about the Minotaurs themselves. For example, the technology of the Minotaurs is leaps and bounds ahead of what we currently have. They almost entirely shunned natural magic, and instead focused on creating machines that could mimic that magic. Minotauran defenses have been known to shoot lightning, ice, and fire, as well as expel gases that can cause the same effects as nearly any spell a unicorn could cast. The Minotaurs’ sudden disappearance is most peculiar in that they were at the pinnacle of achievement in their time, and in fact still are now. If ever they were to return, there is no nation in the Northlands that could stand against the advanced technological might of such creatures.

The next morning, I was awoken by the sound of the camp preparing to set out for Foalkreath. As the sun began to peek over the eastern mountains, Jarl Stormcloud led the way. Hoofgen was soon cleared, the masses of Stormcloud soldiers marching down the path toward an unsuspecting Foalkreath. I hoped things would be over quickly, with the town’s guards giving up once they realized they were outnumbered. Given the number of soldiers around me, I couldn’t see any way they wouldn’t be outnumbered.

A light snow began to fall as we marched down the path. Jarl Stormcloud looked up worriedly, his eyes peeled for the pegasi that were surely up above us moving the clouds around. The last thing he needed was for this attack to go awry because some pegasus reported to the Legion that Stormcloud was moving his troops toward Foalkreath.

“Are you sure the Legion doesn’t know?” he worriedly asked Zest, who bounded along beside him.

“Indubitably!” she replied excitedly, “No Imperials will stop you this time, Stormy!”

I moved in a bit closer to hear what she said next as she stopped bouncing for a moment to lean in and whisper to the Jarl.

“I won’t stop you either,” she told the deep blue earth pony, “But I can’t be here when it happens. I’m heading back to Earthhaven.”

“Of course,” he replied, just as softly, and Zest bounded away.

What could she have meant by her last comment? Surely she just didn’t want to see the battle, I assured myself. After all, the pale green mare didn’t really seem the warrior type. Shaking off my doubts, I concentrated on following Jarl Stormcloud and preparing myself for the inevitable bloodshed ahead.

“This is it!” the Jarl called back as we neared Foalkreath, “Do your land proud! These Imperials will taste the cold steel they deserve for turning their backs on the earth ponies, for turning their backs on Talhooves! Fight with honor! Sovngarde awaits!”

“Sovngarde awaits!” many of the Stormclouds replied before drawing their weapons and galloping forward.

I was caught up in the swarm, charging forward with the rest, and losing track of where my friends were. A Legion guard posted on Foalkreath’s outer wall caught sight of us as we approached and sounded the alarm. Arrows began to arc over the wall, and into the Stormclouds, striking down many. A few Foalkreath guards and Imperial soldiers charged at us through the gates as we approached.

Suddenly, the two armies clashed, and everything exploded into chaos. Calcion’s Cleaver seemed to move on its own as I slashed it across the chest of a Foalkreath guard before sinking the blade into the stomach of a soldier in Legion armor.

I threw myself against the town’s wall as I reached it, avoiding the blast of flame two battlemages suddenly shot from the gateway. Once the fire died down, I spun around the corner, Calcion’s Cleaver taking the first battlemage by surprise and slicing through his head.

The second brought up a ward before I could reach her. I shot lightning from my horn into it, but she was well trained, and the lightning simply diffused over her ward’s surface. I swung Calcion’s Cleaver around, slamming it into the magical wall, and I actually made a little progress. The blade began to cut through the shield, heating up and sending lightning everywhere.

Suddenly, the battlemage dropped her ward, and my sword went flying forward, sticking into the ground. No time to pull it out, I screamed as fire shot from her horn across my back, burning my flesh through my Griffin armor. With my Changeling axe I swung at her blindly, ducking down to keep from getting my face burned off.

The axe finally found its mark, sticking in her shoulder, and interrupting her concentration enough that she couldn’t cast her spell. I yanked Calcion’s Cleaver from the ground and staggered toward her, the sword flying through the air until it met my Changeling war axe, which she’d retrieved from her shoulder.

I drew back and swung again, our blades meeting once more. I kept Calcion’s Cleaver flying, hoping that eventually she wouldn’t be able to block my strike. Meanwhile, I drew the Blade of Hoofingar and swung it around toward her neck. She reacted quickly, blocking it with my axe, but she opened herself up to the swing that came from my ancient earth pony sword, sticking in her chest. I retrieved my axe as she fell to the ground, her blood staining the freshly fallen snow.

As I tried to heal the burns to my back, my concentration was suddenly broken as an arrow struck my hindleg, finding the crack where my boots and greaves met. I turned to see a Foalkreath guard with a bow firing another arrow at me. I stopped it just before it hit my face, grabbing it in my magic. Grabbing my own bow, I fitted the arrow to the string and fired at the pony.

He ran behind a building, finding cover before firing at me again. I dodged his arrows and advanced toward him, firing my own arrows at him, that began to stick in the building he was hiding behind. I was a bit out of practice, hardly having fired my bow since Mephalda had joined our group, but I picked things up again quickly, hitting nearer and nearer to the enemy archer.

As I passed another house on my way to him, I was suddenly knocked over by a pony jumping from between the buildings, my longbow shattering as I landed on it. I tried to bring Calcion’s Cleaver out to knock the mare off of me, but she smacked my horn with her hoof, killing the flow of my magic temporarily.

With no weapons, I hit her across the face with my armored foreleg, knocking teeth from her mouth. I brought my other foreleg up to protect my face as she tried to kick it in. We rolled across the ground, disturbing the snow as we wrestled. Another arrow struck me, this time grazing my neck and causing blood to trickle down.

I fought to get my hindlegs under the mare, and I eventually succeeded, throwing her off of me. I spent half a second searching for Calcion’s Cleaver before I found it lying in the snow, and called it back to me, the blade striking the mare in the back of the neck as it did so. As she fell to the ground, I turned back to the archer, wrapping a bandage around my neck as I did so.

<<<WULD~NAH~KEST!!!>>> I Shouted, closing the distance with him in a moment.

Calcion’s Cleaver came up the next moment, chopping his bow in two. As he detached the contraption from himself, he pulled out a sword. Our blades met, slashing to and fro as I forced him back between the buildings. I began to circle around him, until he was trapped between me and the building. With a swing of my forelegs, I swept his out from under him, knocking him down to the ground. Calcion’s Cleaver came down swiftly, slicing through his guard armor and into his heart.

I cast a quick healing spell to finally repair my back before turning back to the main street. I caught a glimpse of Steadfast rushing forward with the Stormclouds, knocking aside a line of Imperial soldiers. I snuck around the back of the house I’d fought the archer by, and galloped through an expansive cemetery until I was on the far end of the town.

A few Imperial soldiers still stood on the wall, but most of them were leaving for the fight, realizing that the Stormclouds were attacking from the east only. Once there were only two standing above the gateway, I summoned a flame atronach between them. They fell, flaming from the barricade, catching it on fire as they did so.

One of the Foalkreath guards not far away noticed the atronach and called for a battlemage to help put it out. As the robed mare appeared, I jumped out from my hiding place, sending ice spikes at her. She raised a ward immediately, and the spikes shattered against the magical shield, though a few of the shards hit the Foalkreath guard standing nearby and wounded him pretty badly.

I slammed Calcion’s Cleaver down on the ward, but it refused to budge. In fact, with a flicker of her horn, the battlemage caused it to glow even brighter, discharging energy that threw me back. Calcion’s Cleaver landed nearby, smoking as lightning skittered down its length. Jumping to my hooves, I retrieved my sword before the battlemage could roast me.

<STRUN!> I Shouted, and the clouds grew thicker overhead, the snow falling more rapidly.

I tucked away my sword and galloped in circles around the mage, avoiding the blasts of magic she sent at me. Lightning began to build in the clouds before it suddenly came arcing down, striking the mage’s shield. She struggled to hold it up as the raw force of nature pounded on it. Eventually she gave in, and the ward collapsed, lightning breaking through and singing her body.

An Imperial soldier about to lop my head from my shoulders suddenly fell as an arrow from Mephalda struck it. My pegasus companion was looking out for me. I got the chance to return the favor as I sent an ice spike through the head of an archer lining up a shot on my feathered friend.

I met the Stormclouds as they rushed through the town, cutting down the Imperials until none remained. As the smoke cleared, I trotted up to where Jarl Stormcloud stood, in front of Jarl Sibli’s longhouse. As the indignant earth pony in royal robes was led from his dwelling, I was reminded of the scene between General Silver Cuirass and Jarl Deala the Aged in Dawnstar.

“Jarl Sibli,” Stormcloud began a speech, “You turned your back on Horizon, and you turned your back on Talhooves by joining these Imperials. And now, you will pay for your treachery.”

Before I could react, Jarl Stormcloud drew his sword and separated Sibli’s head from his shoulders. I gasped as the former Jarl toppled over dead.

“What did you do that for?” I asked the Jarl indignantly.

“An example had to be made,” he said, frowning at me, “Foalkreath abandoned Talhooves when it joined the Imperials, and so it abandoned its right to survive. This town will be an example to all who think of abandoning our Equine and bowing to those accursed pegasi demands.”

“Round up everypony here and execute them,” he ordered his captains, sheathing his sword, “Burn the town to the ground.”

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded with him as his soldiers began to drag ponies from their homes before lighting the residences on fire, “If you do this, you’re no better than them.”

“The Imperials started this war when they signed the White-Gold Concordat!” he shouted back, “They should not have if they weren’t prepared to face the consequences!”

It seemed any attempts to convince Jarl Stormcloud to abandon his folly would be pointless. His mind was made up, and nothing would stop him from destroying Foalkreath. I was reminded vividly of what had happened at Caprika Redoubt as families were executed on the spot, homes lit on fire.

There was nothing I could do to stop the destruction, but I had to at least do something. I did know one pony here, and I was determined to get him out. Running ahead of the Stormcloud soldiers, I made it to a house at the edge of town. I burst inside, staying clear of the flaming bits of the roof already beginning to fall.

The house seemed empty, which explained why the soldiers had simply lit it on fire without dragging a pony outside. I knew, however, that there was probably still somepony in here. I smashed open the wardrobe at the far end of the room, and revealed a ladder leading down. Carefully I headed down the ladder, until I reached the bottom and found a knife point held against the back of my neck. I slowly turned around until I was staring at a snow white earth pony.

“Berefs,” I warned him, “You need to get out of here now! The Stormclouds are burning the town to the ground!”

As if to drive home my point, the ceiling above us began to creak as a particularly large portion of the roof collapsed. Flames began to trickle through the floorboards.

“All right, let’s go,” he said, flicking lanterns over onto the forged documents he had lying on a small desk, making sure they were destroyed.

I led the way up the ladder and made sure no Stormclouds were around before leading Berefs to the back door. Once outside, I kept a lookout for the soldiers, hiding Berefs whenever I had to. Both exits from the town were blocked by Stormcloud soldiers, so the only way out would be over the high wooden wall. I nearly jumped out of my skin as a pegasus landed beside.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s you, Mephalda,” I said once I’d calmed down, “This is Berefs. Do you think you can get him out of here without the Stormclouds catching you?”

She sized both him and the wall up for a minute before nodding.

“Yes, I think I can do that,” she said.

“Great! Thank you so much,” I said as I ran back in toward the center of town.

“Where are you going?” Mephalda called after me.

“I’m going to find Jarl Stormcloud,” I called back, “I have to try at least once more to get him to stop this madness!”

I found Jarl Stormcloud right where I’d left him, standing in front of the Jarl’s longhouse. Jarl Sibli’s body had been dragged away, piled up with the other corpses to make way for the ponies that were being dragged from the longhouse and executed before Stormcloud.

One of them, a mare I recognized as Sunny Skies, broke free of her captors. However, instead of running away, she ran right up to Jarl Stormcloud and collapsed at his hooves.

“Oh, thank Talhooves!” she said, “I knew you’d come! I told everypony that someday you’d come free us, and here you are!”

“And you are?” the Jarl asked.

“Sunny Skies!” she proclaimed happily, “I’ve supported your cause since it was founded!”

“I don’t think so,” the Jarl said glumly.

“What do you mean?”

“You never supported me, never fought for the cause, never even supplied us with anything, even information.”

“Well, it wasn’t easy to get away,” she stammered, “But I told everypony how you were in the right. I tried to convince Jarl Sibli to join with you. I prayed to Talhooves every night that you would succeed.”

“But you didn’t do anything,” Jarl Stormcloud said coldly, “Finish her.”

Sunny Skies protested and pleaded for her life as the Stormcloud soldiers pulled her away from the Jarl. My plans to persuade the Jarl suddenly seemed pointless. If he was crazed enough to do something like this, there was nothing I could say to him that would convince him to abandon the destruction of Foalkreath.

I looked away as they executed Sunny Skies. I approached her body before it could be dragged away to the growing piles. The amulet of Talhooves I had used to blackmail her months ago was still hanging around her neck. A scrap of paper protruded from her pocket, and I shakily pulled it out to see what it was. It was an invitation to Golden Bullion’s wedding, no doubt the item she had had Berefs forge for her. I crumpled it up and stuffed it in my saddlebags as I left the town, tears rolling down my face for all the ponies dying around me.

I wandered a bit, though my friends caught up with me shortly outside of town. I had a lot to think about. I’d just helped Jarl Stormcloud kill off an entire town. How could anypony cope with that? There was no justification for it, and I knew I was just as guilty as the Jarl was.

Steadfast suggested I get my mind off things and do something else. I decided it was time to finally fulfill my promise to Jarl Radiance to train her guards how to fight dragons. Of course, I would be training the Legion as well, and perhaps I could make penance for what I’d just done.

General Silver Cuirass was happy to see me, but was less happy when I told him what’d happened in Foalkreath. Of course, I omitted the fact that I’d been part of the initial attack. I doubted I’d get out of there with my head still attached if I told him that.

I spent the next few days training Hoofingar’s guards and the Imperial Legion every trick I knew about how to fight dragons (besides Shouting.) The nights I spent tossing and turning haunted by nightmares filled with the ponies I’d killed. They appeared to be getting worse, and closer together. I barely got a wink of sleep except when I was so exhausted I simply couldn’t stay awake.

On our third night there, I was awoken by a particularly vivid one, in which I relived the entire battle for Foalkreath, and the massacre afterwards. Only, in my dream, I had taken part in the massacre, though against my will. Unable to get back to sleep, I took a walk outside to clear my head and fill my lungs with crisp Horizon air.

Strangely, music wafted through the air, different than what normally came from the Bards College, especially at this hour. Curious, I tracked the source of the music down, arriving at the courtyard for the Bards College, where a party was being held.

“I’m sorry,” a guard said as I tried to enter, “Admission to the Bullion-Ironshod wedding reception is by invitation only.”

I fumbled around for the invitation I’d taken from Sunny Skies for a moment before presenting it to the guard. He looked skeptical, but let me pass. The courtyard was filled with wealthy ponies from all over the Unicorn Empire, reveling and feasting as they celebrated Golden Bullion and Francis Ironshod’s wedding.

I found the newlyweds standing on the far end of the courtyard, Golden Bullion looking a bit tipsy as she downed yet another glass of imported wine. Her husband stood next to her, looking only slightly more joyful than when I’d last seen him.

“Did you hear about that ghastly business at Foalkreath?” another noblepony asked the bride and my ears pricked up.

“Oh yes, just dreadful wasn’t it,” Golden Bullion replied, “The bright side is that neither Francis nor I have ever had any business there, so we’ve lost nothing. Also, I’m sure General Cuirass is planning a retaliation right away, which means lots of business for my ships transporting all those troops and soldiers over here.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! Ponies – lots of ponies – had died, and Golden Bullion was more concerned about her business! I felt a great disgust for her, standing here and basking in her luxury while she considered taking advantage of the fact that a whole town had just been wiped out.

“Oh, it is late,” Golden Bullion said, faking a yawn, “I’m headed off to bed. Don’t wait up too long Francis.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing, but I began to follow Golden Bullion as she left the party, her words still fresh in my mind. She didn’t trot too far before she entered a large and opulent house near the Bards College. She left the door open as she entered, and I followed her inside. As she trotted upstairs, I silently followed her, the words she’d spoken echoing around inside my head.

As she entered her room, I slowly trotted up behind, drawing Calcion’s Cleaver. It was a mystery why I’d even strapped it on, but I suddenly felt glad to have it with me. It was as if I was in a dream, unable to control exactly what was happening. I saw Calcion’s Cleaver cut through Golden Bullion’s wedding dress and into her heart, but I didn’t feel it.

Suddenly, things snapped back into focus. I was shocked to find that the golden-coated unicorn was now lying dead on the floor, and I was holding a sword stained in her blood. Had I really just murdered somepony? Frantically, I cleaned my blade and fled from the home. The party was still going on, but I barely heard it as I galloped for Castle Dour.

I was forced to sit down inside the castle as I began to hyperventilate. I’D JUST KILLED ANOTHER PONY! And it hadn’t been for some reason like all the other times. This was cold-blooded murder, pure and simple. I’d been angry, and the next thing I knew, I’d killed Golden Bullion. She’d been smug and self-centered, but she hadn’t deserved to die. How could I ever forgive myself after this?

All I knew for the moment was that I had to get out of here. Somepony was sure to find Golden Bullion’s body, and I was finished if they figured out it was me. As I galloped through Castle, Dour, I heard General Cuirass’s voice and stopped, waiting outside the door to his planning room.

“We have to move now,” he said, “There can be no more neutral ground in this war. Jarl Valor’s Blade must understand that.”

“But launching an attack on Whitetrot?” a mare’s voice, probably Legate Rapid Winter’s, asked, “Wouldn’t that prove us to be the tyrants Jarl Stormcloud claims us to be?”

“None of that matters if he takes over all of Horizon himself,” Cuirass retorted, “We’ve lost Foalkreath, yet Stormcloud is fortifying the hold. In order to get to a real target, like Splitten, we have to pass through Foalkreath hold, a hold that now contains nothing of strategic value. The only other option is to go through Whitetrot.”

“Thane Sapphire, she won’t like this,” Winter said about me.

“Of course not, but she has to understand. Valor’s Blade is standing in our way, and the only option is to hit him now while he still doesn’t suspect.”

For the moment, all my worries about Golden Bullion were gone. General Cuirass was planning an attack on Whitetrot. I had a new mission in mind. Jarl Valor’s Blade had to be warned what was coming.