//------------------------------// // Heresy // Story: The Wolves of Equestria // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// The darkness around me was cold, unbelievably so, and felt like it was pushing down on me as I slowly moved forward, in what I was sure was a downwards slope. The light from the torch was barely illuminating the area round me, and was certainly not allowing me to see far ahead of me. Occasionally I paused, keeping my hooves firmly rooted to the floor as I turned my head to look around at the total darkness, my eyes unable to even see the walls, let alone the rock slide, and I had no desire to accidentally turn myself around or walk into a wall. “Hello?” I called out again, edging forward once more. “If you can still hear me, say something, I’m coming.” The sound reverberated around the tunnel, but as with all the other times, there was no reply. My mind screamed at me to get back to the rockfall and wait for Ravar and reinforcements before moving into the darkness, but I couldn’t ignore the voice. The injured pony may be unconscious and dying, and if I later found their dead body, I would never forgive myself for not trying to help them. Even so, my heart was sinking as I still didn’t find the pony, and every minute made my search seem more pointless. “Did somepony say something?” I froze at the voice, narrowing my eyes as I tried to pierce the unnatural veil. “Who said that?” I called back. “Sergeant Progenitor Storm, Black Ravens Second Company, who are you?” “Wolf Lord Hoarfrost, Arctic Wolves ninth,” I replied. I could just about make out a few hushed whispers, but nothing else, and I raised my voice again. “Are there others with you?” “My squad,” Progenitor replied. “We were sent to guard this tunnel.” “Sent by whom? Are the lost companies down here?” “All three of us. I can’t say more, but if you come to us I can take you to Captain Scorpan and the other commanders.” “I can’t come yet, there’s an injured pony in here, he was calling out, I have to find him first.” There was a long pause, before the voice finally replied. “An injured pony? Yes, we heard him, he was one of ours, we’ve taken care of him, our company is seeing too him.” “You’re sure?” “I am, Wolf Lord, please, come out of the darkness, too much time in there can send a pony mad.” I didn’t need to be told twice, breaking into a cautious trot and letting the torch out in front of me as far as my headband would allow. Finally, mercifully, I saw another speck of light, one that grew closer and closer, before I finally pulled myself from the darkness, my body warming quickly as if I had just walked out of a storm. Shaking my tail instinctively, I looked around at Sergeant Storm and his squad, the ten ponies standing in a lose formation, the dice that they had presumably been playing with prior to my arrival still on the floor, along with a few bits. Progenitor followed my gaze, before glaring at a few ponies. “Gambling is technically against the Empresses word,” I pointed out. “This isn’t gambling, Sir,” Progenitor answered quickly. “It’s errr, our Legions own game.” “Really?” I chuckled. “Because if it were Liar’s Dice, somepony’s got a pretty good hoof there.” “Quite, Sir,” Progenitor nodded, his lips tight. “I should probably take you to Captain Scorpan, he will be pleased to know that you’ve arrived.” “You were expecting me?” I asked, my relief giving way to a small pit of doubt and suspicion. “No, we were just given orders that if anypony else made it through the darkness we were to bring them to him,” Progenitor answered quickly. “Now please, follow me, Wolf Lord.” I nodded, following after the Sergeant, the rest of his squad watching me carefully, before returning to the dice. I smirked slightly as I quickly recognised Liars Dice, before I lost sight of them down the twists and turns of the tunnel, before finally emerging into a colossal chamber, far bigger than anything that I had seen in the den to date. I couldn’t see into most of the room, a hastily erected mound of rocks shielding my view, and presumably acting as a guard post for the Companies in there. I still couldn’t help but whistle in amazement however, drawing a soft chuckle from Progenitor. “It’s quite something, isn’t it?” “Yeah, I’ll say,” I nodded. “How long did I walk through that darkness? We must be far deeper in the earth than intelligence said the den went.” “That’s what we thought as well,” Progenitor explained as we walked towards the command post. “It looks like the dogs were digging this for years, even during the siege. They must have had thousands of diggers down here to make this.” “But why, going deeper wouldn’t have helped them, and I didn’t think the Dogs ran from a fight.” “I believe I can answer that, Hoarfrost,” the voice was familiar, and I turned to see Scorpan approaching me. “Thank you, Sergeant, you may return to your squad.” “Captain,” Progenitor nodded, before turning and leaving me with Scorpan. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Hoarfrost,” Scorpan smiled, slightly taken aback when I pulled him into a tight hug. “As you are too, friend,” I laughed, finally breaking the hug. “I was worried I would never see you again when I heard you had gotten yourself lost.” “No such luck, Wolf Lord,” Scorpan shook his head. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, am I right?” “Quite a few, yeah.” “Well, come into our little command centre and I’ll do my best to explain the situation to you.” Following after Scorpan, I entered the ad-hoc building, the walls being little more than stacked stones piled roughly two meters high. There wasn’t a need for a roof, nor the ability to make one, and so it had been left out. Inside was a large boulder that seemed to act as a table, Captain Salamander and the master of the Night Lords, and leader of their first company, both milling around it. The Night Lords armour was covered in bones, both new and old, and on his back was a large cloak. Unlike mine however, it was made of flayed skin, sewn together as a macabre reminder of what happen to those who crossed the Night Lords. “You already know Salamander,” Scorpan began, the Drakeguard nodding at my arrival. “And this is Kyroptera Raptus, leader of the Night Lords and their elite first company.” “Kyroptera,” I nodded. “Wolf Lord,” Raptus returned the nod. “Now then, Hoarfrost, I believe it is time we brought you up to speed,” Scorpan began. “You walked through the darkness to get here did you not?” “Yeah, it was unnatural, and injured one of my Rune Priests when he tried to illuminate it.” “So that’s what that was,” Raptus grumbled, tapping his horn in recollection, the small finger bones that ringed in clacking together softly. “Wait, you caused it?” I asked in surprise. “Alright, what’s going on here? Why did you create the darkness, and why did that Sergeant seem to expect me?” “Still so young,” Scorpan chuckled. There was no humour in the laugh. “Question’s deserve answers though. So I will tell you the truth of the universe.” “Why are you…” I began. “What do you know of the warp?” Scorpan cut in. “Never heard of it,” I retorted. “No, I didn’t expect you too,” Scorpan shook his head. “The warp, Warpspace, the Immaterium, the Empyrean, the Ether, the Sea of Souls. All of these are but parts of the whole, and together, they form the Realm of Chaos.” “Discord,” I snarled, my magical grip tightening on my hammer. “A servant of Tzeench,” Scorpan nodded. “He was a daemon, a powerful one, but one daemon can be defeated. But ten? A hundred? A thousand? These numbers are nothing, the warp could spew forth a thousand thousand daemons, and then what?” “So, you’re looking for a way to stop that?” I asked in confusion. “Then what was the darkness, and how the hell did you cause it?” “Rituals dabbling in warp magic can create shadows,” Raptus spoke softly, his voice more like that of a snake than a pony. “A shadow in the warp can block out everything else. Magic, light, even time, given the chance.” “What are you talking about?!” I bellowed. “Settle down, Wolf,” Salamander snarled, flexing his muscles as he glared at me. “Try it Drakeguard,” I snarled back. For a moment it looked like Salamander was going to dive at me, before Scorpan clicked his tongue, Salamander instantly backing down, the scowl remaining on his face. “I believe it would be easier to show you of that which we speak. Follow me.” It was not a request, and I begrudgingly followed behind him, Salamander and Raptus moving in behind me. My subconscious started to work overtime as I suddenly found myself surrounded by ponies who I no longer felt I could trust. Before I could think on it for long though, we exited the building, allowing me to see the rest of the chamber in earnest. True to my earlier assumptions, the chamber was massive, and I could only just make out the other side. What really drew my attention however was the large stone alter in the middle of the room, and the skulls piled on top of it. Surrounding the alter were more body parts, arms of Diamond Dogs, and more alarmingly, heads of ponies, some old, while some still oozed blood. I fought back the urge to vomit as I saw what had to amount to thousands of bodies, some maimed and clearly mutilated, while others look like they were merely sleeping, although I was sure that if I turned them over I would find massive injuries. “What…what’s going on?” I asked breathlessly, looking at Scorpan. “The future, Hoarfrost,” Scorpan replied simply. I made to pull my hammer out of its sheath, before I felt it ripped from my magical grasp. Turning, I saw Raptus holding my hammer, his own horn glowing, before Salamander head-butted me hard. The blow knocked me to the floor, and I saw Salamander stamp hard on my crossbow, shattering the weapon, while Raptus experimentally twirled my hammer, examining in closely. I glared up at Scorpan, spitting blood and teeth onto the floor as two Drakeguard move towards me, grabbing hold of me and hauling me to my hooves. “I hadn’t wished for you to come to harm, Hoarfrost, truly I hadn’t, but you went for your weapon first,” Scorpan sighed. “Traitor,” I snarled, trying to get closer to Scorpan, only to be punched in the gut by Salamander, the blow denting my armour slightly. “And to think I called you friend. I suppose that was all a lie too.” “Enough!” Scorpan bellowed. “And no, Hoarfrost, it wasn’t a lie. We were friends, we can still be friends, but as it happens at the moment…” “You’re my enemy,” I snapped. “Don’t be blind, Hoarfrost,” Scorpan snapped. “The world is not black and white, there is no clean cut good and evil. What did I tell you? That the warp can spit forth thousands of daemons, each worse than Discord, onto this planet without caring. We can’t stop that, not you, not me, not the Warmistress, and certainly not Empress, weak as she is.” “A heretic too?” I snarled back. “Heresy? For you maybe, for me and those who follow the true path, enlightenment. How do you stop daemons from killing you? Simple, you join them, you fight beside them rather than against them. There is no other way.” “So instead of fighting, your answer is to turn tail and flee like a whipped Drakeguard,” I sneer, bracing myself for the blow to come. Only Scorpan’s quick intervention stopped Salamander, the Black Raven slowly grinding his teeth. “You are trying my patience, Hoarfrost. I am trying to be reasonable and explain my side of this tale, and you will listen, I will gag you if I must to ensure as much.” “I will never listen to heretics and turncoats,” I snarled, before wincing as course rope snaked around my muzzle, pulling painfully tight and sealing my mouth shut. “He warned you,” Raptus cracked his neck. “Try and run, I have yet to practice my skill on your Legion.” “None of that, Raptus,” Scorpan was once again calm and collected as he began to walked towards the alter. “Chaos cannot be stopped, by definition it is an inevitability. But chaos can be hastened, and in doing so, can find out who supports it, and who opposes it. What we do here will prove our devotion, and will safeguard ponykind and Equestria from destruction. That is all I ever wanted, Hoarfrost an end to fights, and end to the bloodshed of our kind. Surely you can see that?” I snorted, but the rope held my retort in my mouth. “But chaos does not just manifest because one wishes it,” Scorpan continued. “It requires sacrifice, it requires blood. That is what we are doing here. The Diamond Dogs we killed, those taken to the mass grave sites? They were exhumed by members of their own kind who have sworn themselves to chaos, while our own dead were intercepted on the roads and brought down here as well. The slaves taken in this den? Those who died trying to liberate it? All of them are down here. Do I have your attention now?” I slowly nodded, blood starting to stain the rope where it had cut my flesh. “Raptus, allow him to talk, as long as he has something pertinent to say.” I winced as the rope was quickly whipped off, leaving burn marks across my muzzle. “How many?” I breathed softly. “How many what?” Scorpan asked. “How many slaves did you butcher?” I asked, my voice breaking. “The slaves weren’t soldiers, they weren’t your enemy, they were civilians, and you killed them?” “Two thousand nine hundred and six,” Scorpan replied coldly. “You said you wanted to protect Equestria!” I bellowed, the outburst earning me the rope around my muzzle again. “Of course I want to protect Equestria, weren’t you listening?” Scorpan snarled, showing real anger for the first time, before calming himself down again. “I remember each of them, Hoarfrost, every face that we put to rest. Their sacrifice will bring about peace, for that I would pay almost any price.” He turned to the Alter and took a deep breath in, before continuing, raising his voice as he starred at the blood drenched stone. “Chaos will wipe clean the filth of this land. Diamond Dogs, Minotaur’s, Griffons, every race that has ever threatened our glorious Equestria. The faithful shall rise anew, anointed with the powers of the gods to carry their world forth. None who oppose us will be spared, all shall be offered to the gods, their skulls padding the skull throne of Khorne, their minds turned into playthings of Tzeench, their souls tortured for eternity by Slaanesh, and their bodies remade by the hands of Nurgle.” As he spoke, two Black Ravens appeared atop the alter, a Diamond Dog I recognised from intelligence reports as Boss Dog Headsplitter, dragged with them. He was beaten and bruised, hundreds of scars covering his body, and yet he still look defiant, glaring at Scorpan, Salamander, Raptus and I. “Ponies no be trusted,” he snarled. “I pledged to your gods, you pledge to protect den.” “I would never stoop so low as to actually protect your kind,” Scorpan spat, climbing the steps and standing before Headsplitter, drawing a knife as he went. “You are a disease that must be wiped clean, I only allowed you to live for this long because we needed slaves to dig this chamber, and to steal the bodies we need. Now, your usefulness is at an end, and therefore, so is your life.” With one quick movement, Scorpan sliced through Headsplitters throat, catching his body as it fell and pulling back on his head, making it easier for one of the Black ravens to slice through the rest of his neck with their gladius. “Khorne! Lord of blood! Master of Rage! I present to you this skull for your brass throne! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!” Tossing the skull to the floor, Scorpan returned to me, wiping the blood off his knife as he went, signalling for my mouth to be ungagged again. “Chaos is coming, Hoarfrost. Neither you, nor I could have stopped it, but I can stop it from destroying Equestria. I offer you this chance to join me. Swear allegiance to Chaos, turn away from the God Empress and her false promises. Chaos can grant you all you can wish for. You wish for strength? Khorne can elevate you to the status of gods, smiting down enemies in his name. You wish for knowledge? Mighty Tzeench knows all, see’s all, and controls all. You wish to live for an eternity? The Church of the Fly Lord never closes its doors. Or perhaps you seek the thrills that only the Prince of Excess can provide. Whatever you desire, Chaos can provide, if only you will swear off your old ties, and pledge yourself anew. Bring your company, your Legion, into the fold, and together we will save Equestria.” “Join you? Turn my back on the Empress?” I asked, before shaking my head. “Never. You may speak of wanting to protect Equestria, but you only serve yourself, as do all who oppose the light of the Empress. I shall never join you, nor shall any of my Legion, not while breath remains in our bodies. You wish to fight us? The Wolves will never back down from a fight, and we do not lose. So if you’re going to kill me, going to sacrifice me to your pathetic excuses for gods, then get on with it, because I am tired of looking at traitors and listening to heretics.” “It’s such a shame,” Scorpan sighed, shaking his head slowly. “You had…such potential, Hoarfrost. I could almost see you at the head of a host, truly protecting Equestria, not willing fighting to keep it in darkness.” The two Drakeguard slowly moved away from me, but I was too busy glaring at Scorpan. My hammer may have been taken from me, but I could still do my best to kill the traitorous Black Raven before the others got me. Just before I leapt into action, Scorpan spoke again, his words causing me to pause. “I suppose you were right after all, master. Perhaps I was wrong to ever doubt you in the first place.” “Master?” I asked in confusion, taken aback slightly. From the way Scorpan had been talking, I had assumed he was in charge, certainly over Salamander and Raptus, and yet now he was willingly admitting that he was not. “Who the…” “I told you of his stubbornness,” a chillingly familiar voice cut through the cavern like an axe blade. “No, that’s not possible,” I whirled around, trying to find the source of the impossible voice. “He was always too passionate for his own good, Scorpan, even when he was but a child.” “Show yourself!” I bellowed, before I felt a shadow looming over me, and I turned to face the last pony in existence I had ever wanted to see again. “Hello, runt,” Grafter leered down at me. “It has been a long time.”