Colt of the Damned

by ArtoriasFlagg

Past Mistakes

"Guilty? So then, what happens now?" The little filly's eyes had grown wide as the realization dawned on her.

"Well, I'm not really sure... This isn't exactly an every-day occurrence around here. Trials are rare enough on there own, but trials for inciting an uprising... I can't even remember a time I've read about this happening."

The candles had grown low as their conversation progressed, the early evening hours quickly giving way to the black emptiness of midnight. The turret was well furnished, as befitted the room of a Grand Master's steward. The siblings sat together on the large bed in the corner of the room, just beneath the large, thick window overlooking the river.

"But... But it wasn't his fault? I told them what happened, I told them the truth! Every word of it! How could they still find him guilty?" Tears were welling up in her large, red eyes. Ardent had done everything he could to keep his little sister from hearing the news, but in the end it had down little good. When she had come to him earlier that evening and asked him directly, all the misdirection in the world could not save him from having to explain the situation to her.

"Hey, hey now, don't cry. This isn't the time for tears, Meli. Now look; I'm going to see Star Swirl first thing in the morning. You know the kind of influence his word carries around here. I'll talk to him about the case and see what I can do about getting him to discuss it with the judges. If there's anyone around here who can see the truth of the matter, its him. And if there's anyone who can get those three pompous nobles to listen to reason..."

Meli sniffed and wiped the tears from her left eye, accidentally displacing the bandage covering her forehead in the process. "...It's him. You're right, of course he'll be able to help. Thank you, big brother!" She threw her forelegs around him and hugged him tight as he shifted the cloth bandage which was covering a quarter of her face back into place.

He walked her back down to the medical ward an hour later, once she was confident that she could maintain her composure if any of her friends were still awake. "No more tears?"

She shook her head. "I'm counting on you, big brother. Good luck!" She hugged him one last time before heading back in to join her sleeping squadmates.

The rest if the night passed in a torrent of silent screams and vivid nightmares which kept Ardent from getting more than a few hours worth of sleep. One moment he was lying in bed, nearly passed out from exhaustion, and the next he was back in the dungeons, surrounded by all the most cruel devices pony-kind had ever invented. The walls were covered with a thick black tar, concocted to make the chambers soundproof. The ceiling was riddled with chains, shackles, and terrible twisted hooks. The ground was stained red by the blood of countless victims who had inhabited the room decades before he had even been born. The chambers had not seen true use in almost a century, yet they still stood as a constant testament to the horrors which had once been conducted beneath the castle.

By the time morning threatened to arrive he had managed to, once again, constrict himself in his blankets to the point where he was nearly unable to break free. After a solid ten minutes of struggling he finally squeezed out of the knotted quilts and was left to rummage around in the predawn twilight for his cloak. The sun was just barely creeping into the sky when he reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the small corridor connecting the tower to the small personal library of Star Swirl the Bearded.

The young unicorn was surprised to find his master not only awake, but already hard at work on some complex equation which covered an entire wall of the chamber. A chunk of chalk floated eerily above his head as the sorcerer paused to consider some aspect of the process he was working out in his mind when when Ardent cleared his throat to make his presence known.

"Master. I see you got up early to continue work on the ritual then?"

The only old unicorn laughed. "Well I suppose you could say that. I'm afraid it would be more exact to say I never really made got around to sleeping, though. Is it morning already?" The library had no windows and, though a rudimentary of the wizard's own design hung in one corner, a small mountain of books blocked it from view.

I suppose I really should have seen that coming... He was already three months into his service with the grand master and these sort of meetings were growing more and more consistent. Ardent could not help but wonder when the old stallion actually did find time for rest.

"It is, sir. I have your breakfast here if you want it. Otherwise I can leave it in your solar for you to get around to later."

"No no, quite alright. I'll take it now. Anything to get me away from this damned wall. If you didn't keep coming in to interrupt me with meals every day, I swear I'd wither away to nothing in front of this thing." He laughed again, letting the chalk drop to the floor as he levitated a table and a pair of cushions out from behind one of the nearby bookcases. "I trust you'll be joining me for breakfast, Ardent? You look like you have something on your mind."

"I'm afraid so, sir... Though its not exactly a pleasant topic to discuss over breakfast."

"Well that's all the better really. The food should help dull the severity of the conversation and the conversation should take some of the bite out of this food. I swear tho chefs are just ding everything in their power to make me regret stopping to eat anymore."

Ardent allowed the platter of clearly overcooked bread and mildly singed oats to lower itself onto the table as he took the cushion across from his mentor. "Well, you see sir, there was an... incident, down in the lower village last week."

"Ah yes, the rebellion. I heard a bit about it. Nasty business, by all accounts. How many dead?"

"Fourteen, sir. All earth ponies. One of the minotaurs came away with a fairly severe concussion but that was the closest thing to a casualty that the royal forces suffered."

"A damned shame too. I instated those brutes as guardians, not as a private police force for the nobles... I'm sorely tempted to do away with the entire battalion of them... Don't look at me like that, I'm talking about firing them! We'd be sending them back to the mountains, not killing them."

Ardent switched his gaze to the disturbingly crunchy bread before him. "Of course, sir. I assumed that was what you meant; it's just gotten a little hard to tell after listening to the judges for so long."

"Bah, those three are a disgrace to the position. They've completely forgotten the old ways. Everypony who walks in there these days is instantly guilty until proven innocent... And even then it doesn't always seem to work out the way it should. But, petty politics aside, you were saying?"

"Uh, well no, that's actually exactly what I was getting to. You see, one of the survivors of the... 'rebellion' is a good friend of my sister's. In fact, she was with him when it all happened."

"Good heavens! Fourteen dead and she was right there in the middle of it?!"

"She's likely the only reason there weren't more deaths." It made him proud to be able to relay that part of the tale, if nothing else. "I've told you what a little prodigy she is with healing spells, right? Well, she was down in the village because this friend of hers had asked her to take a look at his father. He had just broken his leg in the fields the day before and... well you know how expensive it is to hire any of the full-fledged Green Cloaks."

"Mmm. Indeed I do. I take it this friend of hers is an earth pony, yes?"

Ardent nodded. "The son of a local smith. His family makes all the nails, chains, and horseshoes that the local garrisons make use of; not to mention the ploughs that the farmers use. In fact, his father was out mending one of those ploughs when he got injured."

"Mhmm... Smithing is a worthy profession, but a great deal of work for very little money around here. A year's salary might buy them five minutes of the Green Cloaks' time... So naturally, since Meliora is training to be one, she volunteered her services free of charge?"

"Anything for a friend. Besides, she doesn't see her powers as a way of making a profit. She's in this field to help those who need it... And this time, I'm afraid she's the one who ended up having to pay for it."

"They didn't!"

"They did... To be fair, they were in a blood-rage, they couldn't differentiate friend from foe, much less pick out one little healer in a group of potential revolutionaries. She managed to protect her friend from the brunt of the swing, but the beast broke through her barrier without much difficulty. From what I understand, he was using a plank that had been laying on the ground. One of the earth ponies he cut down had managed to knock his actual weapon away... Small miracles, and all..."

"So, what sparked all of this madness? Does she remember?"

"Oh she remembers. She testified before the entire court about what she saw, for what little good it did. They listened, they saw her bandages and the way she was limping, and they ignored it all."

"This friend of hers was on trial, wasn't he? That's why this is troubling you so much." It seemed like a question, but there was no uncertainty in the old unicorn's voice. "Tell me everything."

"Sir, if I may, I think it would be better if you spoke with Meliora directly on this matter."

"Oh I intend to, but later. First I want you, as my steward, to tell me what you know of this."

"...Of course, sir. Forgive my indigence, I just... I guess I'm still just a little angry about the whole t

hing."

"As you should be. Now out with it."

"Alright. Well, from what she said, it all started when she had been leaving her friend's house...."

* * * * *

"Exactly, just stay off it for a few days and you'll be just fine."

The old smith bowed as best he could from the awkward position he was stuck in on the bed. "Ye have me most sincere thanks fer all yev done here, little one. If thurs anythin I can ever do for ya, ye just say the word... OREN! DUN JUS SIT THER! Thank yer friend! F'weren't fer her ye'd be the one workin the forge from now on! She jus save ye a whole mess a pain!"

The tan/gray colt was a good five years older than her, yet aside from the possible exception her brother he was easily the closest friend the little filly had ever had. He got up from his spot in the corner and thanked her as he showed her out of the little house he shared with his family when he wasn't off training with the rest of the local militia.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry about my dad. He's a little.... umm... Uncultured?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. The huge slab of meat and muscle that was Oren's father may have been the walking definition of uncultured, had his leg not prevented him from fulfilling the first portion of said role. However, he was also by far one of the kindest, warmest, and most welcoming ponies she had ever met. "Are you kidding? He's great! He even said he'd teach me how to swing a hammer properly if I ever felt like learning. I'm totally coming back once he's up and about again!" She giggled to herself, imagining it as they walked out onto the street.

A wagon had broken down on the other side of the heavily trodden dirt road and the pony who had been pulling it was in a heat argument with the one who owned the corn stand it was blocking. Meliora and Oren walked past, discussing the local happenings as they went. A festival was going to begin at the end of the week, a celebration for the successful harvest which would traditionally last for at least eight days and nights. This year's would only get seven, due to how late the harvest itself had been. However, the palace had promised that they ensure that each day was so packed with celebration that no one would even notice the missing day.

All around them earth ponies of every size, shape, and color were going about there business. A few unicorns, all hooded and cloaked, could be seen standing at some of the market stalls. One particularly shady looking mare in a pitch-black cloak ducked into an alleyway as a small contingent of minotaurs made their way down the street, clearly not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary to herself. Oren and Mel kept walking, not once thinking about how quiet it had suddenly gotten until a cry and a sudden THWACK broke the unnatural silence.

Oren turned first, his eyes narrowing as he saw four minotaurs break into an attack formation, spreading themselves out to block the entire width of the street. Several uninvolved earth ponies went running off down the road as the scene began to unfold. Mel got one good glance at the situation before Oren took off without her, running toward the chaos rathe than away from it.

One of the minotaurs was pulling his mace out of the ruined remains of the corn stand while two of the others began obliterating the broken-down cart with theirs. The proprietor and the driver stood there, dumbstruck, too afraid to object. It wasn't until several other members of the militia arrived one scene that they suddenly realized that their little argument had sparked something far larger.

Oren was the second to arrive, with a mare of the same age racing to the scene just a few steps ahead of him. She had a chain whip clutched between her teeth and a fire-hardened lance strapped across her back, ready to be drawn if needed. Four other arrived moments later, with a dozen more just behind them. Oren made the first move. "What's going on here? What started all this?"

The bull who had just destroy the corn stall snorted, steam erupting from his nostrils as he hefted his large bronze mace onto his shoulder. "What's this? Someone call for the Peasant Patrol already? And here I thought we had this all under control ourselves. Guess these little mud ponies don't think we can do our job well enough, huh fellas?"

His comrade to his right laughed at that, a thunderous sound that shook Oren to his bones. "Looks that way, Corgan. Maybe we should show them just how well we can do it."

The mare with the whip swung her chain, wrapping it around her foreleg to free her mouth. "You ain't doin' nothing but startin' trouble. Now put those clubs away and walk in before we have ta make ya leave."

"That what ya plan on doing with that little poker of yours?" The one on the left motioned toward the Marie's spear. "And here I thought you were off to a sewing lesson, what with your string and needle there. Bwahahahaa!"

Oren spoke next, not about to be shown up by Bera and her blind courage. "We'll take over from here. This was clearly nothing but a little misunderstanding. The four of you turned it into far more than it needed to be. Now get out of here before this gets bloody. We've got you outnumbered five to one."

The first bull laughed again, a smile growing on his scar-covered face. He turned to face Oren. "Well well, you see; what I tell ya, boys? Are we good at our job or what. We break up a street argument and it uncovers a bunch of traitors trying to usurp our authority." He slammed the mace into the ground with all his might, shaking the street itself. "These peasants think they can overthrow us! Lets out them back in their place, boys!"

A roar erupted from one of them, or perhaps all four, as they charged at their targets. The mare with the whip and spear dodged out of the way of the first swing easily enough and retaliated with her own barrage of strikes as the little disturbance suddenly broke into an all out street fight. Oren, however, was not nearly as agile as his rival and managed to nearly trip over himself while backing up and drawing his hammer. In the blink of an eye the bull was on top of him, bringing his mace down with enough force to shatter every bone in the stallion's body.

The swing came down heavy and awkwardly as it glanced off a pyramid-shaped barrier of crimson energy. The minotaur stumbled forward as his weight of the unexpected miss pulled him along. A split second later a small filly in a light green cloak was standing beside him, kicking him as hard as she could with her hind legs. The impacts were about as painful as being hit by a leaf, but the humiliation of the entire situation was enough cause him to retaliate. He swung around to bat her away with the back of his monstrous hand, but she dove under the strike and disappeared as three colts charged in to help the brave little unicorn out.

One managed to drive a wooden spear into the minotaur's chest, only to have it snap as it connected with his muscles. For his trouble, he was pounded into the ground by the mace. The next was less fortunate, as the bull was unable to bring the mace around to kill him with a single hit. Instead he was grabbed up by the foreleg, swung in the air, and thrown into the shattered remains of the corn stall; leaving him impaled on a pile of jagged wooden planks.

Oren had managed to jump back as the monster freed his mace from the crater he had made out of the first colt. The upswing missed him by a few inches and gave the third earth pony the perfect opportunity to take a Jane with his spear. Learning from his comrade's mistake, he avoided the obvious target of the bull's chest and instead stabbed at his hand, knocking away the mace as it reached the climax of its swing. Enraged, the minotaur grabbed the spear away from him, jammed it through the colt's leg and into the ground, pinning him in place. He then proceeded to pick up a nearby cart-plank and spent the next minute-and-a-half beating the brave warrior into an unrecognizable liquid state with it.

By the time he was finished Oren and Mel had worked their way to the rest of the militia which had formed up on the opposite side of the street where the filly was tending to as many wounded ponies as she could. The bull roared as it spotted them and charged headlong toward them with its new wooden weapon. Oren spun and threw his heavy iron hammer at the monster, but it bounced harmlessly off the creature's reinforced skull, right between his massive horns. Discouraged, Oren took a step back, but Meliora stood her ground, her eyes and horn both glowing with a dark red light as she threw up another pyramid of energy while simultaneously mending their nearby allies.

Without the element of surprise on her side, however, the barrier proved to be far less effective. The first swing split the board, but it also cracked the crimson shield. Mel worked quickly to fix it, but as she did her rage subsided and the blood-red glow faded from her eyes. Without any anger left to fuel her, the new barrier was far weaker. This time the bull's swing shattered it completely, though it also reduced his board to a hail of splinters. Unfortunately, many of these caught both of the young ponies directly in the face, with both falling to their knees as blood began run down their necks.

Meliora had only received minor wounds to her cheeks and forehead, while on of the splinters had taken Oren directly in the left eye. The little filly saw this and prepared to do what she could to mend it before he lost his vision on that side entirely. "Oren, just hold still, please! This is going to sti-GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH"

The bull had clearly not been satisfied with simply maiming the pair. As Mel was focusing on healing her friend the monster had taken the shattered remnants of his plank and brought it down with all his strength on the little filly's leg, separating it in two with the board wedged so tightly between them that it effectively held back what would have otherwise been a fountain of blood.

The filly's scream must have been what finally pushed the old smith over the edge.

* * * * *

"...By the time the other evokers and myself arrived the street was bathed with blood. The other three minotaurs had stopped when they saw Lade shamble out of his house."

The old wizard nodded. "The way you described that smith, I can't say as I could blame them. Even a minotaur would know he's beat when a mountain of muscle armed with... What did you say it was he bashed the beast's head in with?"

"An anvil... on a chain. I didn't ask why he had it or what he used it for under normal circumstances. I just know it was enough to shatter the minotaur's skull right at the punt where its horns connect."

"That would be the thickest point in its head... No wonder the others gave up."

"...Yeah... It was, uh... It was quite a site..."

"You're not telling me something, Ardent. Out with it."

"What? No, no that's it. The others and I arrived just as it was wrapping up. They got to Mel in time to reattach her leg and get her back to the medical ward without incident. The minotaurs were locked up and the earth ponies were put on trial. That's the extent of what I know."

"...You don't trust me, do you Ardent?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why do you continue to lie to me?"

"Master, I swear I don-"

"I put together the minotaur brigades, I know how they function. Every single one has exactly five members at all times... So tell me, and this time don't leave anything out... What, exactly, happened when you arrived?"

"......"

* * * * *

"Ardent, stay back! She's going to be fine but she needs space. I need you to stay back while we get her stabilized."

The Green Cloak was tending to her and the young earth pony at once; a great wave of energy leaving his horn as he channeled his power into the two of them. The Evokers blocked his path to his little sister, not wanting to take any chances after what they had just witnessed. The old smith was standing nearby, casting glances at Mel and his son whenever he wasn't looking distrustingly at Ardent.

A few feat away, the bull who had had its skull shattered lay groaning as his squadmates were rounded up. Another yard to the left of him were the remnants of what appeared to be a small black campfire, its embers smoldering coldly as it slowly died out.

"Ardent, I'm not going to warn you again, stay back! Go back to the castle, we'll handle this from here. Go take some time to cool down before you do something you'll regret!"

He suddenly realize that the war-mage was shaking. He had stood his ground, true enough, but if Ardent had taken even one more step toward him or the injured ponies he was guarding, the Evoker likely would have backed down without so much as a whimper.

The sergeant came up from behind him and pulled him aside, drawing his attention away from his broken little sister for a brief moment as they prepared to move her. "Ardent, your not needed here. I know you want to remain with Meliora but that simply isn't going to happen. She's going back to the medical wing, she'll be just fine, you have my word... But you cannot accompany her. Do you understand the severity of what happened here today?"

The stallion said nothing.

"You understand the part you played in it, at least? I cannot condone the use of that sort of force against non-magically-sensitive combatants. If it had been another unicorn they might have been able to save themselves, to keep it from turning into such a ghastly scene at the very least. But a minotaur is no mage. You light one of them on fire from the inside like that and they are going to burn all the way to the ground... Slowly. You knew that full well when you cast the spell, did you not?"

No answer. His eyes drifted away from the sergeant to the smoldering pile of ashes and cinders that may once have been sentient creature. Somehow he doubted the universe would hold it against him.

"Are you listening, Ardent? You can't go throwing that kind of power around at those who can't defend themselves from it! That kind of display is all that's needed to spark an all out revolt. Imagine how this must look, having a royal steward come charging into the lower village just to assassinate a guard in cold blood."

"You think the ponies down here stood any chance against these monsters without our intervention? The minotaurs came here just to throw their superior strength around, to keep the populace afraid of them. They got what was coming to them. Now if you'll excuse me," he stepped past the sergeant and the Evoker. "I'm going to accompany my little sister back to the castle."

"Ardent, get back here! ...Ardent!" The sergeant cursed under his breath. "And just what am I supposed to tell the captain when he asks what happened to you?!"

"I couldn't care less. Tell him I overpowered you, if it will make you feel better. He'll believe it..."

* * * * *

"Blackfire? My, my... I had no idea you had an interest in that sort of magic. Where exactly did a colt your age pick up knowledge of something so... dark? If I may be so bold?"

Ardent shifted uncomfortably on the cushion, the story was a long and arduous one, filled with terror and painful memories. "I read of it once... In a book..."

"I see. I would very much like to see this book at some point. But we'll discuss that later. Right now, I feel there may be a little filly down in the medical ward who I should go have a quick chat with. Thank you for bringing all this to my attention, Ardent. I'll see what I can do about straightening out this whole situation."

He left his assistant to finish clearing the remnants of their overly crispy meal. The door closed behind the old wizard, Ardent found himself gazing around the library. As Star Swirl journeyed further away from the room, the pale lanterns hanging from its walls began to dim. By the time his master had made it the medical wing, Ardent was left in complete darkness. Left alone with the books and memories, the young sorcerer was forced to light a candle.

Comments

[ArtoriasFlagg]

Alright, so here we have the first of our weekly chapters... I don't know if they'll all be this long, I got a little caught up during one of the scenes and just couldn't stop. As such, enjoy, but don't necessarily expect all the weekly updates to look quite like this.

[Mlpcmc89]

Excellent. There were some minor spelling errors but overall, great. Do you plan on introducing the royal sisters in any part of this story?

[ArtoriasFlagg]

I do, yes. I'm not entirely sure how its going to play out just yet, but a little later on they will absolutely show up... Or at least Celestia will. Like I said, still kind of hammering out the details there.