Rite to Live

by Total Eclipse

ch. 5 Dragon City Arc - Divide

Divide

1 Year Later

Well at least I thought it was a grand new beginning. Oh it was "grand" and "new" and it was definitely a "beginning". Fuck where my adventure has brought me...

Animus leaned his back against the wall and held his head low, he’d become more accustomed to bipedal stance in the past year due to his recent line of work . “...That's pretty much my story up until I met Rias, you know how everything went after that.” His voice was low and drawled in a wary fashion.

The sun was beginning to peek over the mountains to the west of the Outer Regions Syndicate base. Its light poured into the room that the three teammates had taken to that morning. It wasn’t an exceptionally large or lavish space, but it was cozy. The room’s floor was covered in a dark red carpet made of soft wool, perfect for sleeping on.

“That story is full of more shit than an Appalosan outhouse.” chided Wyzern. The wendigo had heard some tall tales in his day, but the shit Animus was pushing as his life story was too much. “So I’m supposed to believe that you basically grew up with the Princesses and the Arch Mage for fifteen years...” He said in deadpan “That Luna was basically like your mother, Twilight and Celestia were two of your best friends, and they could just send you off to your death without batting an eyelash?” Wyzern didn’t even attempt to hide his snarky tone as he spoke. “If I believe you, I can’t say what's worse. That they stole from you then sent you to die in class or that they lied to you your whole life just to keep the oppressive, genocidal Equestrian ways away from your eyes.”

Air seemed to hang heavy as silence overcame the room. The cloaked figure of Animus glared daggers back at Wyzern, his furious teal eyes burned with raw aether illuminating his hooded face. The wendigo tensed up at the sudden flare of anger that his comrade exhibited.

“ Twilight and Luna would never lie to me! ” He roared out. His voice was laced with magic, causing it to take on the volume of Canterlot royalty and adopt a sound like that of a hundred overlain conversations. The entire idea of his life being a lie was like a stab to his soul. Memories of his old life were almost all he had left to hold on to, and a return to normalcy was what kept him going. His chest rose and fell slowly as his breathing steadied and he calmed himself.

“I don’t think they knew.” He said in a hushed tone.

Animus crossed his arms across his chest and resumed leaning against the wall, he began staring out of the adjacent window in the direction of Equestria; deep in thought, he ran a claw down the glass, he was genuinely angry with himself for what he was likely to bring upon the nation in the near future. That’s the future, but this is now, and for now he was done with Wyzern’s conversation.

Rias had been lounging on the floor in the same room content to keep quiet during Wyzern’s outbursts lest they argue for all eternity; however, this time she felt a small twinge of guilt for not speaking up and stopping him. She had known Animus since the kid was naive and fresh from home, she knew that questioning his past would no doubt cause his emotions to flare, but she hoped that Wyzern was smart enough to figure it out. She couldn't have been more wrong. She could only look at Wyzern and shake her head at him. “Fool.” she muttered under her breath.

The three inhabitants of the room looked in different directions each seeking to avoid eye contact with the others, Rias being the exception looked to Animus ever so often.

The broker stepped into the room with all the ignorance of a new born foal utterly breaking the stifling barrier that was forming between the teammates. Her presence breathed much needed life into air of the room and was exactly what was needed to break the tension between the allies. She could smell the burnt carpet from where Animus’ anger had allowed his magic to coat him with its furious heat. Luckily the hybrid had calmed down.

“Glad to see I’m not interrupting anything.” The broker said mockingly.

Wyzern motioned to make a comment but The Broker gave him a death glare straight from Tartarus instantly shutting the jokester up. Animus noticed the manila envelope held under pegasus’ right wing. The teal fire in his eyes subsided as he began to focus on what he knew was about to come next.

“You’ve got a mission for us.” Animus said dryly.

Rias looked over her shoulders enticed by what Animus said. “Oh really, bout time I was getting tired of sitting on my haunches all day.” The hippogriff stood and stretched out her wings and talons.

“Well yes and no. I’ve got missions more specifically a mission for you,” she said, pointing a hoof at Animus. “And one for Rias.”

“Wait, you mean solo missions?” Animus cocked his head at The Broker, the confusion obvious from his tone. “You know we don’t do that because of-”

“Yeah I know, but these two missions are top priority.” She said sternly.

“Well why not just send us at one and when we finish send us to the other?” Rias asked.

“Both situations are basically on opposite ends of the globe and happening simultaneously, you’d never finish fast enough that way. I know you two always work together, s-sorry......” The expression of disappointment could be seen through The Broker’s mask, and her voice drove home that the emotion was legitimate.

“Well, we can’t control every circumstance...” He said with a heavy sigh.

Animus walked over to the pegasus , ready to hear what she had to say. She handed him two photos and a map. She motioned to Rias to pick up her briefing material, Rias obliged and received a three photos and a map.

“Oh come on! Nothing for me?” Wyzern cried.

“These missions require their talents, I doubt you’d be much help on either of them, you know the drill Wyzern. I need you to leave so I can brief them on their missions.” A single swing of her hoof directed him to the door.

The wendigo mumbled something under his breath and floated lazily out the door leaving an icy trail in his wake.

“Okay, I’ll start with you Rias.” The Broker had Rias unfold her map and lay it on the table. She pointed to a decent sized town that had been circled on the map.

“Adamas. It’s a mining town that’s just barely touching Equestria’s outer region borders southeast of here; they trade precious metals and gems with Equestria. Adamas is perhaps their third largest source of enchantable gems and metals.”

“Yeah so what’s the problem?” Rias said flatly.

“They want to remain independent and expand their trade outward, which means higher prices and less material for Equestria. So Equestria offered them a place in their nation, as expected Adamas refused. Equestria’s council didn’t like that very much, so they pulled back all of the Equestrian soldiers that offered protection to the town in a not so quiet way .” The Broker traced a larger circle around the city with her hoof. “This entire area is diamond dog bandit territory, and without the guard to protect the town they were sitting ducks. About the time we started our little escapades we also increased Outer Regions Syndicate presence there to help protect everyone. About three months ago Equestria caught wind of Adamas’ increasing security despite their lack of involvement in the town’s protection." She tapped four spots on the larger circle she had made.

“They’ve blockaded the town, refusing to allow any goods in or out unless a hefty tariff is paid. So pretty much they are cut off from any kind of support. They are running out of food and our agents are in bad shape, Equestrian troops are randomly sacking houses in search of O.R.S. members and when we are found they execute us.” The pegasus

“Why not assault ‘em directly? If they were getting bullied into hiding, putting pressure on the Equestrian Army that way they wouldn’t have to worry about ‘em backing ‘em into a corner.” Rias said throwing a claw up like it was the obvious solution.

“We tried that, and the E.A. was held back for quite a while which is way the town’s situation just became critical.”

“Eventually the lack of incoming goods would cause a shortage of food, causing fewer rations for the O.R.S. and the townsfolk. That coupled with the fear of random house raids has likely lowered morale. Unfocused, scared, tired and hungry they get cut down at every fight. Dreadfully efficient, their commanding officer must be quite the strategist.” Animus said coldly.

“Exactly,” The Broker said nodding. Even though they’ve known each other for almost a year, she’s still surprised by the kid’s perceptiveness. “Anyway, the commanding officer for the E.A. presence in Adamas is a pegasus of master general rank.” The Broker took a photo from Rias’ grasp with her mouth and threw it down on the map. A cyan pegasus mare with an egg shell colored mane and pale yellow highlights was circled. Her mane was slicked back to keep it out of her face and braided to make sure it didn’t cause a fuss in combat. Her tinted goggles and armor blocked her cutie mark and eyes from view but enough visual information was present to identify the pony. “Master General Diosa Dela Lanzas, wielder of the Ten Commandments.” Everyone in the room scowled at that information as if it was painful to hear.

Wide eyed, Animus turned to face the pegasus. “You can’t be serious, you don’t expect Rias to confront her do you?!”

“You don’t think I can handle a single pegasus? She doesn’t look that tough.” Rias lifted the photo off of the table and squinted at it while running a talon through her rainbow tipped crest feathers.

“No, I don’t think you can. Actually, I know you can’t, but I digress, she’s irrelevant to the operation, just stay out of her path.” The Broker said dryly. “What I need from you, Rias, is for you to meet up with Rosevine in our safe house at Adamas,” She instructed Rias to drop her last two photos on the table, one depicting an earth pony mare and the other a dilapidated building. “then from a secure location curse the city with undeath and maintain it until the E.A. realize that they are going to be outnumbered, Lanzas is no fool, she’ll call the retreat. Do that and these people should remain independent for at least a while longer."

“Damn, so I’ll have to raincheck getting my claws dirty this time. That’s fine, I get to flex my grave calling skills instead.” The hippogriff let out a grim laugh, one bordering on insanity.

“Okay, so now that I’ve got you briefed you know the deal, good luck Rias.” They took each other’s hoof/talon shook on it and gave each other a stern nod of approval. Rias rolled up all her material and placed into a cylindrical container on her harness.

“Seven thousand, one hundred miles away. I can get there in about 9 hours.” Rias said as she exited the room, on her way out she gave Animus a slight nod.

The Broker motioned for Animus to lay his materials out the same way Rias had. He unrolled his map and laid out his two photos as instructed. She tapped on a circle area obstructed by clouds on the west side of the world. The circled area was labeled Nagus.

“Nagus?” He asked puzzled.

“Nation of the Dragons.” Was The Broker’s simple reply.

“I thought they were allied with Equestria.”

“No. Well, not officially. King Ansgar doesn’t want anything to do with the ponies, but his son Prince Alrik is strongly tied with Equestrian politics and international relations.” The Broker pointed to the picture of a red dragon about 7 feet tall as she spoke about the prince. The dragon had two horns that grew straight back out of his skull and curled at the ends like those of a goat.

“Ok, so why am I going there?” Animus stated uninterested.

“Ansgar’s daughter Princess Astrid is our greatest supporter and heaviest investor and she requires your protection.”

“Me specifically?” He raised an eyebrow at the thought of someone asking for him by name.

“Yes. You are quite the celebrity out there in civilization.” The Broker teased.

“What does she need protection from?” He perked up a little after he learned that he was requested for a mission by name.

“Her brother, like in most monarchies succession of the throne is based on the eldest heir or next of kin. The father is stepping down completely and giving up all his power. Ansgar is going to turn Nagus into a diarchy by splitting power between Astrid and Alrik. The coronation will be in about 5 days.”

“I’m starting to see the problem.” Animus said, getting slightly irritated by the predictable story.

The Broker nodded and continued her explanation. “Alrik wants an alliance with Equestria, similar to the one the Griffin nation has. Astrid, however, wants to accept any outer providence into Nagus for the purpose of building an empire that’s competitive with Equestria which is why she supports the O.R.S. They both have half a nation’s worth of military, and thousands of radicals backing them.” The Broker pointed to all the small, independent nations, cities, and towns around the outer regions as she spoke about Astrid. “As you can suspect with the two siblings at polar opposites of the world in terms of the direction they want to take the nation, there's bad blood between them. But until now they never had any reason to personally oversee hostilities towards each other because their father held absolute power the final say was in his hands.” She elucidated.

“And let me guess, now that the father is passing on his position to both his children they each hold equal power and because they hold equal power they are effectively blocking each other from their respective goals on what direction to take the country in.” Animus closed his eyes as he thought about it. “So basically all I need to do is deter any attempts on the princess’ life until she feels the tensions have boiled over.”

“Basically that's all you’re doing, oh and don’t let her get killed either,” She said as she nodded her.

“Other than not letting this nation join Equestria in the near future what kind of compensation are we getting for this?” Animus asked.

“She has information that likely leads to another gem containing more of your powers.” Her lips pursed up into a sly grin.

“Exquisite.” Animus said with a toothy grin. He rolled up the map and photos then placed them in a slot on his left armored gauntlet. “The sooner I leave for this, the better I can do my job as assassin repellant.” Animus dropped down to all fours and began to trot towards door.

“Wait!” The Broker yelled suddenly as she threw a hoof out into the hybrids path. “There’s....one more thing.” The Broker’s voice was quieted and she held her head low, something was off.

The pegasus walked over to the window that Animus had been leaning on earlier, she started staring off into the distance and took a deep breath. “It’s almost certain that you’ll fight the brother’s radicals.” She stopped talking, obviously not wanting to continue. “If...if you kill any of them, steal their treasures...” She was looking away from animus not willing to face what she knew was to come.

“Excuse me?” He said coolly.

She looked over her shoulders just barely meeting his gaze with hers. “Steal. Their. Treasures.”

Animus’ face contorted in a mish mash of anger, sadness, and disappointment, he gritted his teeth until one broke with a barely audible crunch. The tooth was replaced in a heartbeat and Animus wiped the blood off of his his muzzle.

“After what I’ve told you...how, how can you ask this of me?” He said sadly.

“Animus--” The Broker started, but she was swiftly interrupted.

“ HOW?!” He roared at her, his voice permeated the air with burning aether, slightly charring the surface of everything in the room. The Broker remained still and unfazed.

“Look, I understand your aversion--” She eked out.

“ YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND A DAMN THING! ” He bellowed, enraged. Animus took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“I guess I expected too much from you. You didn’t feel it and you never will so you couldn't have possibly understood what it was like when it almost happened to me from the scarce amount of details I was willing to share.” He walked up to the window next to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her to face him. He wanted her to really hear what he was about to say. She tried to shy away, but he gripped her shoulders tighter.

“A dragon’s treasure is their special talent, like a pony’s talent and cutie mark it’s a large part of who they are,” He explained “and just like the magic that makes the cutie mark appear on your flank, the magic that makes a dragon’s treasure is a part of their soul,” He said as he ran a claw across her chest.

“Imagine being in a dreamlike state and connected to someone else, body, mind, and spirit to the point where you two might as well be one. Then rip out everything that makes you, you. Imagine it all being there, but slowly moving to your other half and then you realize too late that the other you was a parasite stealing all that you are. Now shock yourself awake and imagine seeing someone else standing above you drawing out your birth given gifts as you slowly slip into deaths arms, there’s no pain. Just the emptiest feeling you’ll ever experience in your life.”

His claws were around her throat which prompted a spell of shivering from The Broker. “And you ask me to do this to another? What would you be without your special talent?”

“I'm sorry. Unity, I had no right to ask something like that of you.” She felt completely defeated like the energy had been sapped straight out of her body.

“Nine thousand and four hundred miles away....I can teleport half way there from here and from there get there in about two hours if I run.” He said as he turned away from her.

Animus walked to the door in preparation to leave; suddenly he stopped at the threshold and turned his attention to The Broker. “I’ll do it, not because you told me to, but because I’m committed to your cause and my goals. If I lose some of myself on the way, so be it, just as long as some of me is still here by the time everything is over and I can see my family and friends again. And sadly, I need to become more than what I am now to see those goals through.” With those words her left her alone in that room.

The Broker fell to her knees, she removed her mask and her mane draped across her face and down to the floor. Tears began to pour out from her cyan eyes in a way they hadn’t in years. When had she become so callous?

She allowed her mind to wander...........back to that day.

****************************************************************************************************

Several Years Ago

She had abandoned her friends years ago in search of the truth behind a set of events that tore her social circle apart, now after finally having found the answers she was face to face with one of the mares she once called friend. Fires blazed around them, consuming the stone structure and weakening its integrity with each passing moment and filling the air with lethal amounts of ash and smoke. Their magic was the only reason they were still alive amidst this inferno. The Broker was protected by a spiritual turtle shell summoned from the aether that completely surrounded her and her friend by bodily enhancements, fire and its heat were simply absorbed as it came to her while ash and smoke never entered her lungs.

The Broker’s form fitting leather bodysuit was scorched and torn in some places and her mask was barely holding together even if was still doing its job of concealing her features from her opponent. She stared powerfully at her friend turned foe, cyan eyes drilled into the Unicorn that stood before her.

And she stared back from under her hooded cloak with, eyes aflame with white aether. Her cloak had been frayed, and burned. Her armor had huge indentations and gashes on it from her bout with The Broker, but other than that the mare was physically fine.

A loud crackle followed by the snapping sounds of failing support beams rang out through the air. One huge piece of wood swung down between the two and passed between their lines of sight like a massive pendulum before falling down to the floor.

“Why fight us? We just want everyone to have a chance at equality and independence!” The Broker yelled out over the roaring blaze. “Is it too much to ask that Equestria leave the Outer Regions to their own devices?”

“Don’t lie to me terrorist. You ponies just want to steal resources away from Equestria’s main cities and leech off our prosperity all the while trying to push that Sun Tyrant Celestia crap!” She fumed, in a magically enhanced voice.

“Open your eyes, can’t you see what Equestria is doing?” The Broker pleaded. “With your status and authority it shouldn’t be that hard to find out the truth for yourself if you dig a little!” She could just tell her everything, but things had escalated much too far by this point and the kindness in her heart knew that the information in her head would break her friends mind into a million pieces.

“I trust my princesses, they wouldn’t lie to me, I don’t need to dig!” The unicorn shouted out over the roaring flames. “What I do see however, is the terrorist headquarters burning and its leader at my mercy.” The mage Arch Mage wore an accomplished smile on her face.

She held her head back and began weaving a spell. Suddenly all of the air and fire in the building was being absorbed by the unicorn and formed into a glowing yellow orb at the tip of her horn. The orb began to grow and pulse at an increasing rate and even seemed to generate its own gravity. Boards and chairs started flying towards the point, only to be annihilated by the orb of superheat. The unicorn raised her head high into the air and giggled like a school filly.

“She’ll be so proud of me,” She said to herself as she dropped the miniature sun.

The Brokers eyes grew three sizes as she gasped in horror.

It was an event like no other, the explosion was so loud that it rattled the very heavens and could have awoken slumbering gods, the flash, so bright that it blinded creatures for miles, and the force, so great that it vaporized the entire left side of the mountain they were on and leveled the forest below. Half of Equestria saw it, all of Equestria felt it.

Out from the smoke and falling rubble from the explosion something jetted upward into the sky at breakneck speed. It was carried away by silver wings that trailed ash clouds behind it. The Broker had survived.

The Broker looked over her shoulder as she flew through the air at supersonic speeds aided by her magical hawk wings. It was now official, she was in a war. She had chosen her side, but it was against her friends. She could never return to them now, not as long as things were as they are. For now, she was alone. She clenched her eyes shut fighting back tears and memories that they shared throughout the years, she took a few heavy breathes and did her best to lock them away in the recesses of her mind. She focused on her spirit gem and willed more magic into the hawk wings to give herself a speed boost. Her responsibilities came first, she had no more time for friendship.

****************************************************************************************************

Animus trotted out of the structure that was the Outer Region Syndicate’s main base of operations. The building was far off in the middle of nowhere and situated in a small, out of the way town as to not look conspicuous. They were thousands of miles away from Equestria and separated by a vast ocean, Equestrian forces wouldn’t stumble upon this place anytime soon.

Rias noticed Animus as he came out of the building and called him over. The light of the setting sun cast on her comely steel grayish blue feathers gave her an aura that made her form look as pristine as master crafted gems. She sat there on her haunches, staring at him with her magenta eyes, as he trotted closer. Animus sat down close beside her and they watched in silence as the sun began to creep slowly towards the horizon.

“Our first solo missions.” She said “We can’t rely on each other for this one...” She shifted a little, a knot the size of boulder began to form in her throat as she fumbled through her mind for something not awkward and less mushy to say.

Rias was trying her damndest to maintain her cool nonchalant demeanor. She stared up at the dull sun, attempting to keep her gaze off of Animus. “Unity, I’m not there to make sure you don’t get in over your head,” she gave a small forced chuckle. “Don’t...don’t die out there. Come back.”

Silence took over, her heart raced and her face burned during the awkward moments while she awaited his response. Just as she felt the urge to speak up and break the painful silence, she felt something wrap around her neck and press tightly against her chest. Unity held on to her as if he would sink away into some terrible place, as if she were his only lifeline out here.

Rias moved her hand to caress his face, but stopped herself upon realizing how out of character that was for her, she instead opted to gently push him off of her and hold him at arm’s length. They hippogriff stared at his face for a bit before opening her mouth.

“Whoa there Cas, don’t get all lovey dovey on me...” she said as her face turned a deep red. She unfurled her wings and performed a few powerful flaps to lift herself into the air, Unity’s claws drug across her neck, down her arms and across her talons as she rose out of his grasp.

Unity was left on the ground staring at the dirt. “How do you deal with it, the death that has become us?” He said staring up at her.

“I became death when my father murdered my mother and the soldiers slaughtered my father. The circumstances of my life haven’t allowed me to be anything else.” Rias looked down on her friend, her one friend. “I’ve been shattered by this harsh world, but you...you help me pick up some of the pieces of me and hold them together.” She turned away from him so the he couldn't see her face. “The night we first saw each other, I was trying to die.” She gave him a sly look over her shoulder. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

“Rias...”

She took off straight up into the sky, causing a huge displacement of air that nearly suck Animus up with her, once she became a tiny spec in his vision she jetted off in the direction of Adamas instantly breaking the sound barrier, causing a resounding roar that echoed for miles. The air quivered in her wake causing a widespread shudder across the small town as the stone buildings rattled. The signature rainboom propagated for miles coloring the entire sky in a myriad of hues as its light dissipated near the horizons.

Animus watched her rainbow trail until it fully vanished from the sky.

He clenched the fur on his chest right over his heart and closed his eyes. Ever since he first began unlocking the true depth of his powers these prayers had started to come to him naturally.

Earth,
You know the secrets of all hearts
For you know who is just and you forgive the repentant sinner
Hear my prayer in the midst of destruction;
Give me patience and hope
So that under your protection and with you as my guide
I may one day be reunited with my family and friends
In peace, tranquility, and love

As Animus stood there praying he wove his spell, the threads of aether obeying his whim as if they were a part of his body. White magical energy began to spark around him arcing and jumping randomly. As he focused the pearl lightning started to settle down, becoming less random and more focused, it began to hug his body and surge through him. A dull white bubble formed around him. The light grew in intensity and the magic field began to pulse slightly. It pulsed outward one last time before collapsing in on itself fully with a thunderous CRACK. Nothing was left behind save for glassed sand and the smell of ozone.

****************************************************************************************************

In Canterlot

Luna stood on the balcony of her private quarters, staring out towards the forest that separated Equestria from the outer regions. Her mind raced with questions, most of which about how her sister had become so incompetent. The moon princess understood the importance of allowing the ponies to mostly rule themselves, but allowing them so much power in matters of inter kingdom relationships was foolish. She reran the entire court meeting in her head over and over again, before Celestia had “banished” her for having even humored such a dangerous course of action...but this newer Celestia, this for the ponies Celestia seemed to allow the ponies to make foalish decisions and even support them.

The night princess closed her eyes and took in the world around her, she stood there, allowing her mane to wave gracefully in the warm, humid breeze of the spring evening. The breeze brought with it the sweet, citrus smell of lilacs from the castle garden; Luna loved the purple blossom, every aspect of them took her to a calmer place and allowed her mind to wander.

Sure there were gaps in her memory. Luna couldn’t remember why she went to war with Celestia, or when the Nightmare corrupted her. Over one thousand years of nothing drifted through her mind, but it didn’t matter. She remembered what she needed to; she remembered a decisive Celestia, a Celestia who loved her ponies dearly, and allowed them to form Equestria as they saw fit, but would steer them away from ruin with her own two hooves if necessary. Current Celestia seemed to welcome, even embrace ruin and this Luna hated.

“How could Celestia allow the council to proceed with such actions?” Luna said quietly to herself.

As if summoned, she appeared, the exalted princess of the sun, Celestia. Her mane bellowed gracefully in a preternatural, never present breeze. The Princesses form radiated warmth and love, and commanded the same in return. Luna cared for her, but since her return she hasn’t been able to eye her and return the warmth that Celestia gave her; all she had for her beloved sister was disdain...why?

“Something wrong sister?” Celestia asked, innocent as a newborn foal.

“Nothing.” Luna said. She put on her prettiest little sister smirk, yet barely managed to reply in a tone that wasn’t obviously deadpan.

Celestia eyed Luna with a worried expression. “If you’re sure, I’ll retire to my chambers for the night. Today’s council meeting was pretty tiring.” She let out small yawn.

Yeah, tiring...It’s so hard to let the bureaucrats dig Equestria into a hole . Luna thought. “Goodnight Celly.” The nickname burned her throat like acid... why?

Light bathed Luna’s backside as Celestia teleported away, leaving her sister alone as suddenly as she had graced her.

Luna stared into the deep crimson dusk sky and watched as the sun began to sink below the horizon. The night princess closed her eyes and took in the world around her.

Nagus, City of Dragons, what has Celestia entangled you in?

****************************************************************************************************

The absolute silence of the barren dunes was broken by the unexpected crack of lightning, and the sound of displaced air. Animus appeared in the deserts between Nagus and headquarters in the exact moment his existence outside of the safe house ended. He stumbled over his legs slightly and almost fell into the soft, white sands. Quickly, he regained his balance and began inspecting his surrounding in an attempt to get his bearings.

“Calcii Dunes,” He whispered under his breath. “They truly are beautiful,” He said solemnly as he watched a bone scorpion crawl across the top of his claw. He held his claw up and examined the arachnid, it looked exactly like a regular scorpion except it was white as chalk, would live for three centuries and grow to be the size of a house. For all intents and purposes it was a monster in the making, but Animus only saw another one of earth’s creatures, a kindred spirit whose right to live should be respected. He lowered his claw back to the sands and let the creature continue on its way and for a brief moment, he felt like himself again. These calm moments helped keep Animus, Unity and he’d hold on to himself as long as possible.

“I can’t dawdle here.” Animus let out a loud sigh, thoughts of rolling in the sand had to be pushed aside so that he could focus on the task at hand. He rolled his shoulders and took off in a powerful stride, gathering aether as he went. The magic was naturally woven into every fiber of his being; it needed no spell to do its job. As the energy inside him grew he began to pick up speed, suddenly he dashed off in a blur. He began to pump his legs harder, urging them to carry him faster until he surpassed the speed of sound several times over, causing a deafening boom and violent displacement of air. The friction between his clawed feet and the sand left a path of molten glass in his wake.

Two hours.................

Comments

[roman117]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING IN THE PICTURE

[Total Eclipse]

749488

That is a Kirin, though i am going to change it.

[Total Eclipse]

1329510

It's Fluttershy, I figured that instead of a big attention drawing memorial she'd rather have her grave at her home with her animals.