//------------------------------//
// The Lair of the Chief 
// Story: The Lair of the Dead 
// by God-Of-Toasters 
//------------------------------//

	The chief’s house was, to say the least, a splendor in the rubble. It was made of pure wood from the groves of St’aälion, breathing dazzling energy and life. At the top was a large dome, being savaged by the equine figures. Chased by hundreds of former ponies, Bronze Tusk ran into the majestic building and shut the door. Inside was as pastel colored as the ponies that have inhabited the world. Hidden in all of these colors were strange scribbilings, possibly a language, but indeterminate. In the center of all this was a throne. Its figure gracefully looped around the dome, directly in front of a mural detailing the Alicorn princess Feoirnifaern, the Mistress of Existence. There sat the chief, an olden Earth Pony, beard thick as blood, grinning and conniving. 

“What is it my child?” Asked the chief.

Bronze Tusk grumbled, pointing to the door, which was in the process of being destroyed.

“Oh right, the revenants! I forgot about those!” Said the chief, “We wouldn’t want to break the oath now, would we?”

Bronze Tusk took his sword out of his mouth to ask about what in the many realms of Tartarus this oath was. But before he could utter a syllable, the chief grabbed a ceremonial dagger and charged Bronze Tusk with full force. Bronze Tusk mumbled an esoteric swear and parried. He didn’t last for long, and was pinned to the ground by the great veteran.

“Allow me to introduce myself” said the chief, “My name is Chief Exposition. I could just kill you now to get my plan over and done with, but due to a serious medical condition, I have to explain my plan first.”

Bronze Tusk muttered another swear from ages past, as Chief Exposition rambled on.

“You must have been called by some sort of prince or princess long ago. Well, I was called by my loyal Feoirnifaern, Mistress of Existence. She sent me long, droning messages about how I should sacrifice half of my town and she would repay me with nookie.”

Bronze Tusk reached for his sword silently. He decided to humor Chief Exposition a bit, after all, he may explain something about what was going 
on.

“But then for some reasons, the people I slaughtered came back with a vengeance. I don’t think it was a bad thing though, I didn’t like my residents anyways. Unfortunately, my babe hasn’t come yet. Maybe through some sort of mystical occurrence, she’ll appear so I can bone her. You know, guy stuff.”

As soon as Chief Exposition mumbled these words, the ceiling burst open. Above the two Earth Ponies hovered an enormous palace. It was pure gold and encrusted with jewels of all shapes and sizes. There were balconies holding gardens of most exotic flora and fauna, sculptures of chimeras, centaurs and manticores, symbols of the other gods, truly a summation of all things living. The equine forms shuddered in fear as this flying palace descended. Out of this magnificence stepped an Alicorn. She was a light pink, and around her were animals of all shapes and sizes. Chief Exposition squealed in delight as he ran towards the princess.

“Hey babe,” Chief Exposition flirted, “What’s a pretty lady like you doing in a town like this?”

The Mistress of Existence bellowed a piercing scream. Her eyes turned an iridescent teal as she turned to the Chief and stared at him for a solid minute. She slowly wrapped around Chief Exposition and proceeded to bite his head off.

“This is what I get for following the rules of an ancient god! I remember when I was young, they said that I was going to –” The Chief screamed as his neck tore off from the rest of his body. Feoirnifaern smiled as she feasted upon his head, spitting out the odd helmet piece. 

Terrified, Bronze Tusk ran for his life, slicing the occasional revenant in twain with his rusty blade. He could only wonder what kind of being would interfere with this mad ruler’s plans, certainly he would have done so if he got the chance. Maybe it would be better if he was able to know what was coming next. But maybe, just maybe, this weirdness was necessary for Hippoborea to survive. He shrugged it off and departed into the great beyond of Hippoborea.