All Hail Forgot

by Dream Whisper

AHF: Chapter 4 - Cause and Consequence

“They have to pay!” Shattered Laughter threw a candleholder across the room, breaking pieces of grout out of the wall. The impact had been so hard that the thick iron of the candleholder had been ripped apart. Bonefire backed up a little, afraid to cross his brother any more than he already was. Shattered Laughter had been the reason why Brother Crystalline had never allowed the new ponies to gather in the meetings. Seeing such a… disturbed pony would have taken away from their determination.

”That bucking TRAITOR! I could rip his head off!”

“Brother Shattered, calm down. We will get nothing done if we scream around like madponies!”

“You shouldn’t have made him do such a horrib-”

“SHUT UP, BLUNT HOUR!”

“Brother Shattered, calm the BUCK DOWN.”

Bonefire tried to contain his voice, but at the end of his sentence, the anger surpassed his determination to stay calm. If Shattered Laughter continued acting like this, they would have to imprison him in the dungeons. Brother Laughter glared ed at him, almost as if he could cause him to ignite just by his mere stare.

“Brother Bonefire, I think we have come to a dead-end with our conversation here.”

“SHUT UP! YOU ALL SHUT UP!”

This time he didn’t try to stay calm. His hoof swiftly flew into the air, right into Shattered’s face. Although he had expected Shattered to fight or burst out in anger, but instead it seemed to have stopped the rambling. Shattered only rubbed his muzzle, glaring at Bonefire. Now that everything was finally calm, they would be able to speak about more serious manners.

“Our path ends here. You have made us your slaves. You have stolen our memories, our lives.”

“You have given them voluntarily. We have stolen nothing.”

“You have taken us from our families, from our friends, from our loved ones. You have destroyed our lives!”

“I HAVE SAVED YOUR LIVES, YOU FOOLS! Forgot is the only way to salvation.”

“Are you still telling yourself the same lies you have told us before?”

Bonefire opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself. What he had said… It was true, at least partially. He was telling himself lies, but what he had told them had only been the truth. He had told himself that others would be smart enough to see the truth. He had told himself that there couldn’t be something like a traitor in a group dedicated to such a high goal. He had told himself that his brethren were true to themselves and true to him. He had told himself lies. And he had failed the brotherhood. He should have guarded the herd after they had lost their shepherd. They needed a new shepherd...

The problem was just that he had never been able to be as… convincing as Brother Crystalline had been. They had just fallen to his words. His sweet lies… They had taken them like little foals being shown a sugary delicacy. Something he could not manage no matter how hard he tried. He was not Brother Crystalline. His voice was not as dark and soothing and his appearance wasn’t really as calming. He was no father. He was a burnt branch of a broken tree, not the shining example of their holy community. However, that wouldn’t stop him. These ponies were losing loyalty. He had to get them back because if HE wouldn’t do it, nopony would. No, he at least had to try to convince them as Brother Crystalline had done it. He took a deep breath in; What he was about to say would decide the fate of their entire holy brotherhood.

“Brethren!

I know you feel betrayed. I myself feel betrayed.

And yet I hold onto my belief. I hold onto it because I know that the truth lays under the thick layers of our memories. I know that we can achieve greatness through our unity. You all have come here because you wanted something.

You wanted to forget your past. You wanted to forget all those painful memories, all those neverending nightmares of what had once been, all those worlds having fallen apart before your very eyes. YOU chose your ways. We did only accept you into our rows.”

Although some of the ponies seemed to rethink their opinion, most faces continued staring at him without conviction. They would need further explanation.

“Do you … “

“No! Just stop trying, Bonefire!

We are not your brethren anymore. Don’t try to bind us with those lies once again. We have seen the truth. You had planned it all. Following each and every pony, looking for their weaknesses. Turning towards them in the darkest hours, leaving them no option but to accept the offer. The incandescence numbening our senses and the chanting to keep us calm.

It is OVER!”

With that, Blunt Hour turned around. Bonefire knew that he was losing them and yet he could not find the words to get them back. Anger was his natural reaction. Anger about his inability to save others, as he had so often failed to help before. He had failed to help these ponies, he had failed to help his love in her darkest hours and he had failed to help his parents in their struggle against death. “FINE! GO AHEAD, WE DON’T NEED YOU!”

Bonefire made a grimace as pony after pony left the small hall. A long procession of those who failed to see the true light. A procession of ponies who would let their souls be banished just because of some ridicule accusement. Forgot was still their leader, no matter what the ways of the brotherhood had been. As the last traitor had left the room, Bonefire started to count who was left. These ponies would be the harbingers of a new era. They wouldn’t hide anymore. They would…

“We have to rip, rip, RIP his head off. We will burn, burn, BURN him, we will burn them all. Death to the traitors!” Shattered Laughter shouted, seemingly out of nowhere. He had apparently grown quiet and just slumped in a corner listening.

After giving Shattered Laughter an angry look for that comment, Bonefire started to speak the holy words.

“Non possumus facere contra suam. We cannot act against his will.
They did, and they will suffer for their mistakes.
All hail the mighty Forgot!
For he forgives our darkest moments.
For he erases our worst memories.”

The ponies who were left in the meeting room echoed his call.

“All hail the mighty Forgot!
For he forgives our darkest moments.
For he erases our worst memories.”

---

The warm glow of fire emanated through the empty streets. Slowly, the glowing grew stronger and stronger until the first torch became visible. Following it was a large group of ponies who seemed fit for a huge battle. Not only did everypony wear thick clothing, some even having armor on, but they also had assembled a whole lot of weapons. Most were carrying lances, while some were carrying swords, their blades reflecting each owner’s harsh expression. Swords were an expensive and thus rare weapon, but what they lacked in acquirability, they compensated in their superior handleability. They had come prepared for their battle that was about to ensure. It was time to bring forth the message.

Bonefire smiled, even though the bitterness of the recent events had took their toll on him. He was sick and tired of dealing with what that Swift Haven had done. It was still a matter of disgust to even think that name. Speaking it out loudly had become impossible. He had never trusted that pony and Brother Crystalline should have done the same.

The loss of their leader had been disastrous, but it had also brought the necessity of revelation with it. Without their leader, they were forced to act as the threat of disbanding would be imminent. Only the loyalists had stayed together, those who were worthy of the cause. They would fight together with him to bring the truth to those who had denied it. They would exterminate the memory of denial. Their brotherhood was nothing that you could agree on and later decline. You were bound for life and if you want to quit, there is only one way.

Of course they had been noticed by now. The Memorialists would be grouping up by now, faithful to their stubborn ideology. Nevertheless, his own group was much better prepared for a fight than they could ever be. They had raided their own armory, something Brother Crystalline had prepared decades ago. Already back then, Crystalline had known that a revelation would come at some day. They were delusional to think Forgot would just let his children wander on the path to eternal damnation. No, Forgot would either bring back those willing to rethink their opinion or purge those who didn’t.

Their raid had just started and yet they had already captured five families and called six ponies into their ranks to fight with them. Of course, most of those had agreed because the imminent danger towards their life, but after this battle was won, they would easily be assimilated to the brotherhood. Overtaking the homes was one battle to win, but the overwhelming of those who had proven their will to fight was another one. They would assemble somewhere and it would be his time to lead his brothers into a real battle. He would have never thought to be the leader of the revelation. He had always thought brother Crystalline would take that task for him and now… They would pay for what they have done.

He looked behind backwards. Hundreds of ponies trotting along him, raiding houses, followed by scared screams of those who stood in their way. The warm pathetic glowing of the torches in the night compared to the bright glimmer of burning houses. He felt the adrenaline rushing through his body, being followed by those masses.

They trusted in him, would follow his every step because he had never lost his faith in Forgot. Forgot would give him the power to overcome any traitor. Together with his group of loyalists, he would bring the flame of Forgot into their hearts and homes. Either they would be freed by it, or consumed.

His followers were uncoordinated, galloping blindly into the homes of each and every citizen. Without even thinking about their actions, they destroyed valuable goods that could have been harvested afterwards. They trampled down whatever was inside of the homes like a horde of rhinoceros. They started to burn the houses while their brethren were still inside. They didn’t control their anger and hatred and just let it go. Didn’t they realize that the fire they ignited could spread to their own homes? His sheep seemed to have gone mad.

Worse than any destruction they left was the pain they inflicted on innocents. Truly, there were traitors out there, but there were also those ponies who had not ever heard of Forgot and blessed his great prophecies. Those ponies had not fallen to Memoria yet and could still be saved. It would only make the act of assimilation much harder if his sheep started rampaging in the houses of innocents. It filled him with shame to see his brethren like this, acting as if they had lost their senses.

It almost felt as if they weren’t fighting for Forgot but instead for their own betterment.

---

Swift Haven slowly pushed forwards, well aware of the burning hell that lay before him. The hospital was right there, just along the street. He wouldn’t have dared to turn around this next corner with Sweet Fire if it had not been their last straw to grasp. Sweet Fire’s situation had only went downhill from that one moment in which he had not been there to protect her. Right now, she was barely hanging onto him, leaning all of her weight onto his shoulders. Her soft touch made his heart rampage in his chest. Sure, the wound had been cauterized, but her situation had still worsened. Maybe an infection or the cauterization had not worked as planned!

It wasn’t any imminent threat that caused him to hesitate, but the pure display of destruction. The fires were still consuming the dry wood and hay. Soon the whole city would go under in flames if unchecked. He closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the image forming inside of his mind. He shook his head and continued slowly moving forwards, carefully paying attention to the street ahead of him. Nothing. Only the distant trotting of hundreds of hooves. Slowly, he dragged Sweet Fire around the corner, careful not to make any sound.

Steadily, hoofstep by hoofstep, they pulled themselves closer to the hospital. While they were making their way at a painstakingly slow pace, the distant noise of hooves on the streets seemed to come… closer? That wouldn’t make sense! They had already been through here, judging by the burnt facades of what had once been beautiful houses. There was no doubt; They were coming closer. He tried to speed up, to reach the hospital before an encounter. While running, there was another question stacking upon the problems bothering his mind: What if there was nopony to care for them in the hospital anymore? He quickly dismissed that question though. They would still be able to take the medicaments and try to treat the wound themselves. At least that is what he hoped for...

All of the sudden, Swift accelerated unintentionally and stumbled, feeling the breeze brush over his fur. He no longer felt the weight of Sweet Fire on his shoulders! He turned around, seeing that she had fallen to the ground. The sound of hooves was only coming closer, like a clock ticking away. He rushed over to her and knelt down, berating himself for being so careless. He scanned her, making sure she didn’t have any injuries. Nothing… Nothing except for the harm he had already caused her. He felt horrendously bad, subconsciously brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She was still as beautiful as she had been the very first time they had met... Did he still deserve her?

“I… I can’t keep up. You… have to go slower.” Sweet Fire trembled as she raised her head to look into Swift’s eyes. Her eyes were two stars sparkling in the paved grey sky. He could have watched that certain twinkle in her eyes for all eternity if there had not been the imminent danger in the back of his mind.

“We need to hurry. They are coming. If they find us out here … “

His voice faded... He didn’t have the strenght to finish that sentence. If they found them out here, they would have no mercy. Still, Sweet Fire couldn’t afford to continue at this pace, but retaining their speed wouldn’t allow them to arrive at the hospital in time. The only possible way to deal with the situation would be to hide somewhere. He looked around: Just the same empty street. Maybe one of the alleys would be fit as a hiding place. The next one was just a couple of hooves away. He could just hope they still had the time. The sound of hundreds of hoofsteps seemed so close…

“We have to hide. Over there is an alley.”

No more words had to be said. Gently, but steadily. he pulled Sweet Fire along with him. He heard first mumbled voices echoing through the street. The glimmer of torches mixed into the golden glow of the fire. For the last couple of hooves, he just pulled Sweet Fire around the corner. Had it been…

“OVER THERE! That alleyway! I have seen some traitors just run into it!”

No, they had been discovered! Running from their prosecutors would be impossible. Fighting would be too. If he was going to die, then Sweet Fire should at least see him die fighting, not running. They had run out of options. He slowly turned around to face whomever might come. The hoofsteps closed in. The alley was a dead end, cold and empty. They were standing alone, facing certain death and Equestrian city layout seemed to be rooting for the other side. At least his final moments would be together with Sweet Fire. That thought calmed him down and he was able to stop his heavy breathing. For this fight he would need every piece of clear mind he could get his hooves on.

Suddenly, Swift heard an ear-splitting screaming coming from all directions. He took a glance out of the alley and was completely overwhelmed by the picture. The incoming forces were being flanked by two divisions. Both had assembled in the unburned houses of each site and were now shooting and throwing all sorts of projectiles. While the unicorns mostly used levitation to crush their enemies, the earth ponies had a more direct approach. They jumped out of the windows and into the confused crowd and took their share with their heavy hooves. Some even had metal platings to give their hooves the necessary impact. The rebelling pegasi meanwhile flew high up into the air, meeting the Loyalist’s and brutally attempting to bring each other out of balance and throwing them down onto the ground where their bones would be crushed upon impact. Some of the pegasi even had torches or sharp objects tied to their bodies. With those, they tried to burn or pierce the other pegasi in midair.

While the loyalists seemed to push the rebel forces back down on the ground, probably due to their heavy weaponry, the rebelling pegasi seemed to overcome their enemies by sheer number. The screams of ponies dieing filled the air, screams of pain and fear and anger. They pierced through the deafening sound of swords crushing bones and steeled hooves crushing heads. It was a horrific disfigurement of sound that reached his ears. The loyalists had started to push parts of the Memorialists back into the buildings, while there were still some places where the Memorialists hold strong. Especially in the air, their high amount of pegasi paid off. While earth ponies and unicorns could hold strong armor, pegasi were limited in that regard. Often having only pieces of leather and a lance, the pegasi were almost similarly armored to the rebelling ponies. The front seemed to shift, bringing more and more loyalist pegasi down.

The scream pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked back down, having just observed the flight of the pegasi. An unarmored rebel had just encountered one of the loyalist ponies with a heavy broadsword. The head just fell down, slit exactly at the throat. The pony seemed to fall in slow motion. The impact caused his legs to tremble. He watched the head slowly rolling further towards him. He turned away, not able to bear what he had seen.

The realization had finally reached his mind: Getting to the hospital right now was not an option anymore. Fear slowly rose and filled his mind. How would he be able to get Sweet Fire out of this alleyway with this … gruesome battle right in front of it. He took a deep breath in before he could finally bring out any words.

“We… We can’t go yet. You have to... stay strong my sweet darling.”

It pained him to see how Sweet Fire stumbled to bring out any words and failing even at that. She wouldn’t hold out much longer. He had to do something. He turned around again, just to be greeted by a familiar face.

“We have you now!”

The laughter that arose from the grimace in front of him precisely matched the ponies name. It was truly shattered, almost sounding like coughing and hacking instead of laughter. While Shattered continued the bone shaking laughter, another pony came around the corner. Bonefire and Shattered Laughter had found them… He looked around again, desperately searching for anywhere else to run. No! They were cornered in by those two ponies! The noise of the battle would overweigh their voices if they screamed for help, but there wouldn’t be anypony having enough time to aid them anyway.

“I want your head.”

While Shattered Laughter had just displayed pure insanity, Bonefire’s voice struck much harder. The sentence had not been screamed and yet said so loudly that it had pierced through the sound of battle. The tone had not been that of just anger or aggression, but of pure hatred. It caused a shiver to run down his back to think about those words. How w...

Before he could finish that thought, Shattered Laughter jumped ahead, a dagger in his hooves. With a quick step aside, Swift just managed to evade the fatal attack. However, Bonefire had already advanced and was threatening him with a short sword now. Although Bonefire’s fierce expression truly disturbed him, he did not tremble. While Bonefire was already taking his next swing at him, Swift had jumped a couple of hooves backwards, avoiding the swishing blade once again. He couldn’t win this fight by sheer luck or strength. There would be only one way to win against such an heavily armored enemy like Bonefire: With some sort of plan. Maybe he could lure Bonefire into the fighting ponies behind him, hoping for a random lance to pierce him up? Too dangerous as that would require himself to join that battle and having the same chance of death. Bonefire seemed to be consumed by hatred… The next movement he could not have predicted. Instead of just swinging his sword, Bonefire actually threw it towards Swift in pure hatred. The sword streaked through the air, and before he could have a chance to evade it, cut a deep wound into his flank and the pain instantly seared into his brain.

“Stand still, you abomination of a pony!”

His back left leg tried to give into the weight of his own body, but his brain didn’t allow him to fall over. With the blade gone now, Bonefire would be much easier to bring down… If there hadn’t been a gaping hole in his flank. While…

Without letting him finish his thoughts, Bonefire came screaming forwards, his face deformed to a horrible grimace.

“I got you now!”

Bonefire caught Swift Haven sunken in his thoughts. He would show that traitor. He was the prosecutor of Forgot’s law and he brings the justice swiftly to those who deny it. Swift Haven was not only a pony who denied Forgot, not only a disobedient part of the brotherhood, not even only the traitor that had caused the split! No, he was much more than that. He represented everything that Bonefire hated. The ignorance and stupidity. The lightheadedness and this inexplicable happiness. To see this pony betraying the whole brotherhood had only shown what those aspects lead to if combined in a pony. Aspects that had to be purged. Aspects that must be forgotten. He would begin by purging the prime example from this new world of Forgot.

With a long jump he managed to throw Swift Haven down onto the cold hard ground. His momentum carried him a little bit closer himself, almost right next to his sword. He picked it up in one fast move, turning the same movement into a critical strike. This time Swift Haven had been careful enough to avoid the imminent attack and yet he had failed to properly evade it. His blade cut through the unholy flesh and crushed the bones of betrayal. Swift Haven dropped like an old sack of potatoes. Bonefire slowly closed in, looking at that rotten piece of filth before him. He pulled his sword up into the air and…

He stopped in his movement. Unbelieving, he started to look down onto his own chest. A short piece of metal, covered with his own blood protruded close to three inches out of it. Not willing, not even able to mutter any last words, he turned around. The last thing he heard was the chilling laughter echoing through the streets.

---

Swift Haven had failed her. It wasn’t the imposing figure of Bonefire standing high above him with his sword raised that worried him, it was the fate of Sweet Fire. His death didn’t matter anymore. It would just be one of the casualties, one of the heads rolling towards another pony. It would be nothing but a turn of fate, nothing but what he deserved for his foolishness. He should have never taken that route. He had not only let himself be manipulated, but actually believed in what had been said. Far worse than that was that he had caused Sweet Fire to get curious through his absence. There were so many things that HE could have changed in the past. So many things he could have changed in the future…

And now he would be dead…

The sizzling of the steel had caused him to close his eyes. His last second took its time. It seemed like an eternity…

Nothing. Was he still alive? He could still feel the cold ground beneath him and the soft wind washing over his coat. The sound of steel crashing onto the earth startled him and he opened his eyes in order to see what had caused it. Bonefire… was gone?! Slowly, he pushed his body upwards, until his back leaned against the wall. The wall stabilized his head that had started to swirl a bit upon moving. Lying right in the middle of the street was Bonefire, pierced by a sharp piece of metal that now stuck out of it almost as if somepony had tried to erect a victory flag. Who that somepony was became obvious as Shattered Laughter started to cough and scream in joy.

Swift Haven looked around, trying to locate his special somepony. As his eyes found her though, his whole body tensed up. She was lying unconsciously behind Shattered Laughter. The soft skin he had used to let his hoof glide over was completely taken apart. The giant leaping wounds had been cut out to... spell something: ‘All Hail Forgot’

Each and every letter had been sliced with ambulant care. Shattered Laughter had taken the time that he had been dealing with Bonefire to do… this. Now, finally, he vomited to his side. In the last days he had seen a lot, but this… this… this was just unbearable.

“Ahh… Swift Haven. I see you like what I did. Don’t worry, I’ll still get her head pierced onto a lance after I am done with you. However, I want you two to still be alive when I peel your skin off. That is why I couldn’t allow Bonefire to finish his dirty work. Your coats will make nice pieces of art, hanging on our altair.”

No. NO! NO! Not his Sweety! This pony was beyond insanity. He could still feel the pain and the weakness, but with every second his will became stronger. He forced himself to stand up, not caring for whatever pain that inflicted, whatever wounds that opened. Even if he would die in the attempt to kill Shattered Laughter, it would be worth it. Saving Sweet Fire from such insanity would be worth everything.

With a quick, painful step, he arrived at the sword piercing out of Bonefire’s body. He pulled, hearing the bones shatter under his violent grasp.

“Do you think you could fight me?” Shattered taunted.

Swift Haven stormed forwards, lifting the sword up. It wasn’t heavy anymore. His steps were quick and without hesitation, but wrought with pain, but that didn’t matter. The only thing that still mattered was Sweet Fire. Not his own fight, not even Shattered Laughter, not hatred, anger or disgust. Nothing mattered but protecting Sweet Fire.

For her.

As soon as the sword had its momentum given to it, it slowly searched its way. At first there was only air to pierce through. Inexpensive, but not satisfying either. When the first hairs were finally cut, it knew that today was a good day. The flesh was soft and tasty. Without losing much of its momentum, it was able to get through that deliciousness. The flesh was always the best part. The next part however, would probably stop it once again. The bones. It had promised to be such a feast… The bones however, seemed to be weak this time. Or maybe it had just had more momentum. The bones were just collapsing apart under the force of its arrival. Then came flesh again. When it had feasted enough, it pierced through empty air again until colliding with hard stone, stopping its movement at once.

Swift Haven’s legs finally gave in as he saw the sword landing its mark, cutting through. He had done it. His Sweet Fire would be safe...

Nothing else mattered.

Comments

[Elderly]

Is this a romeo and juliet story

[EnderBlaze]

3593331
What do you mean by that?

[Elderly]

3593387 as in, these two belong to opposing lands yet they fall in love

[EnderBlaze]

3593395
Ah. Well, sort of.
Their love is forbidden, yet they had known each other before he got involved with Forgot. Religion has driven a spike in between them.

[Elderly]

3595063 ok that makes sense