World of Ponies: The Pony-Human War

by ShadowWalking18

Chapter 20 - Pony/Human: The Horrors of War Pt. 2

Castus

Castus sat under the sparkling leaves of the Tree of Harmony, and tried to find a center of calm. He even tried reciting every passage of the Book of Winds, and the Tale of Malak, but nothing could help him keep his focus; or end the pounding headache that seemed to be consuming his head.

'Why is this bugging me? I've killed parents before. Hell, I've sent entire cities plummeting to the ground like low hanging asteroids.'

'NO! That wasn't me!' He thought then, snapping at himself as he gripped his head.

Usually he could, if at times awkwardly, distance himself from Karsus' memories; his...past life he considered. But in recent days, he found that....it was getting harder to tell the difference between one and the other. It was perhaps the consequence of having two different men's memories in one head. His own, and his own.

'No! Stop! Those are Karsus memories!' He thought, gripping his head tightly, dragging his nails across his head.

"Fire Man. Fire Man. Fire Man."

Castus looked up, and saw Marcus looking down at him with a frown.

"Is something wrong?" Marcus asked.

Castus stared at Marcus, confused before saying, "I...no...yes....everything...is fine." He slowly stood up, and rubbed at his head.

Marcus didn't look convinced, and Castus looked away to get away from that look.

"What is the condition of the hunters?" Castus asked.

"They are....healing.Some can already walk or use their arms again. That....what did you call her? Zebra?" Marcus asked.

"Yes. A zebra." Castus said.

"That zebra pony...Zecora. Her herbal potions....I and the healers have never seen anything like them."

Castus nodded as he began to walk off toward the War room. He rubbed at his head, trying to will the pain in his mind away.

'I've killed parents before. I've burnt whole cities to ash and sank entire islands into the ocean.'

'No that wasn't me. That was......him.' Castus thought.

"Some...so others aren't recovered?" He said.

"Yes. All of Krul's hunters, and some of the other Huntmasters warriors you recovered are not willing to take any help from a pony." Marcus said.

"Idiots. If they keep resisting, force the concoctions down their throats. We need every warrior up and ready for battle and I can't take time to heal them myself." Castus said, feeling irritated by his forces.

'Krul.....there is going to be a reckoning there.' Castus thought bitterly.

He knew that something was not right. The smoke he had seen when he had retrieved Krul had him worried. Krul's tribe had suffered the most from the pony attack of the Moot and had the greatest hatred for the Equestrians. Castus was sure that Krul's force would be rather liberal in their definition of self defense.

'Maybe...maybe I'm wrong.' Castus thought, but the thought felt like a false hope.

He had to know...for sure.

"See to it that they all take their medicine. Tell them it was an order from me, and if I have to come in there and watch them take their medicine, I will not be happy." Castus said.

Marcus looked at him, but nodded. Castus waved him away, but Marcus remained.

"Yes Marcus?" Castus asked.

"Fire Man....you need to rest." Marcus said.

Castus turned on the man immediately, "And what are you my mother now!?"

Marcus recoiled, and Castus only just realized that he had snapped at his most trusted commander and friend.

"I....Marcus I'm sorry...I...I don't know why I did that." Castus apologized. He felt his headache getting worse.

Marcus looked at him with wide eyes, and frowned, "You are exhausted....you try to hard to control everything."

Castus slammed his fist down on the stone table of the War room, and he subconsciously channeled the Wind to crack the stone surface.

"I control everything! I am the greatest mind of Valhrua! No other mage has had my level of power in several millienia and no other man has had as many military victories in war since the time of the First Triumvir! The Wind answers to my will, the very essence of all life upon this world. The very forces of creation, at my command!" Castus yelled, and breathed heavily as he glared all his frustrations at the man who so arrogantly seemed to put him at his equal.

Marcus stared at him, eyes wide with fear and...worry.

Castus then realized....that he had been talking not like himself, but like Karsus. He placed his hand over his face as he turned away from the man.

"Leave. Do as ordered...I....need to be alone." He said, trying to keep his body from trembling.

Marcus didn't say anything, but the sounds of feet walking away told him he was leaving.

Castus soon found himself standing alone, and he leaned against the cracked surface of the table and covered his head with his arms.

"God.....whats happening to me?" He said, and he channeled the Wind to seal the room and he began to cry.

---

Celestia

Celestia sat in her private quarters, and gently sipped from a cup of relaxing tea. Her head was pounding with the ache that only a long day of Kibtz schedules, could do. But now she could finally relax, and perhaps enjoy a relaxing bath to ease her stress away.

At least, that is what she would like to do.

Sadly, it seemed that even after all the official work, she still had so much to do.

She had received a visit from Luna in her dreams, and had learned of the terrible massacre that had occurred within the Bread Basket region. The sheer thought that any creature could commit such a horrible act to defenseless ponies was simply too much for her. She had to banish the images away; or risk heaving up her tea.

'But did we not do something similar....' A voice in the back of her mind told her.

Celestia bit her lip, and gently set her cup down as she placed her hooves on her table. She could not deny that her own forces had also attacked citizens of the human side. Granted however, she knew that none of her troops had nailed their bodies to a tree. But the underlining core still remained.

'Is this our fate. To keep playing out an age old conflict thought over millions of years ago? Is that what the tree wants?' She thought, thinking on another point that made he both confused and conflicted.

That amulet, which Castus had; revealed sometime in their battle. Celestia could feel the power it had, and it had been similar in ways to the Tree of harmony and the Elements. That type of magic was not somepony who once wielded three of the elements forgot. That amulet was a product of the Tree, and the only way that Castus could have acquired it was if the Tree had given it to him.

But for what reason?

It was one of many questions upon which Celestia found weighing her mind. The other, why did Castus seem so intent in claiming her Severing spell was a death sentence. It was meant only to cut off his connect to the Valhruan Wind magic. It would do no bodily or mental harm to him, and outside of no longer being able to use the Wind, he would be the same.

Or did Castus know something of the spell that she didn't? He did seem...honest in his words. Thousands of years had helped Celsetia acquire a skill in reading ponies, or in this case people, and Celestia knew that Castus had been speaking the truth.

It only made her more confused.

Celestia found the thought troubling, and finally she stood and cast a spell which caused an area of her wall to shift and open to reveal a staircase to her classified study. Perhaps, if she searched deeper she might find a reason for his words; and perhaps prove them wrong.

But whatever the case, Celestia could not forget the fact that Castus had committed terrible crimes against the citizens of Equestria, and even if he had not ordered the atrocity her sister had told her of he still had to be held accountable for the billions of bits in damages and lives lost from his actions.

---

Valen

Valen felt his stomach turning as he sat beside Scootaloo and Tiara. For the one, both girls were leaned up against him, hugging his arms to their chests. Sometimes they looked up at him, before going to glare at each other. Valen could sense the hostility between them, and the fact that he was in the literally middle of it did not make him comfortable.

But the other part, and the more dominate next to the soft firm feeling of Tiara's breasts against his arm, was Scootaloo.

'Stop looking at me like that...like....like a hero. I'm not.' He thought, casting a glance at Scootaloo.

"Come on Valen, say it again." Scootaloo said.

Valen frowned, "H-h-hel....lo."

In the time since the battle....since his....his....murder....Valen had continued in his lessons with the Fire Man in the Pony Language. In that time, Valen had managed to get a basic understanding of the words. He could, partially, understand Scootaloo or Tiara, and he could in turn speak back to them.

The difficulty lay in speaking the words. They were...odd. They didn't roll off the tongue as his natural language. Sometimes he had to speak slowly in order to be sure that he was saying each part of the word correctly. He felt stupid when he had to talk like that, but the Fire Man had said it would pass in time.

"It is easy to learn to understand a language. The true task lies in speaking it properly. You will grow use to it in time." Had been his words.

'Perhaps I should not have asked to learn now...' Valen thought.

If he couldn't understand, he wouldn't have to hear Scootaloo's near constant words of praise of his bravery; especially concerning the beast at the river. The words made him feel like a hero of tales, when he felt more like a villain.

"Maybe you should stop pestering him Flank Blank." Tiara said. Valen thought the last word was odd, and when he thought about it he realized the proper term was Blank Flank.

"Hey, he doesn't mind. Right Valen?" Scootaloo said, looking at him. Tiara also looked at him.

Valen looked between the two, and felt he was stuck in a position where any answer wouldn't be good enough.

'Help me.' He thought, starting to sweat.

"Valen!"

The girls and Valen looked towards the entrance to the room, and Valen thanked the heavens that it was the Fire Man. But the look that he had on his face was....irritating.

It was a slyful smirk.

"Am I....interrupting something?" The Fire Man asked.

Valen felt his face heat up as he did realize that he and the girls were in an empty room. Tiara made a sound and jumped from him, patting at the skirt of her clothes. Scootaloo just stood up and threw her arms behind her head.

"Nah Castus, we were just talking." She said. Valen had to fight an urge to reprimand Scootaloo for her behavior. She spoke to the Fire Man so....freely. And he allowed it? Valen found it both confusing and at times disrespectful to the man who had united his kind and freed them from darkness.

"Oh I'm sure." the Fire Man said, again with that smirk, "Well...I hate to interrupt your....talk, but Valen has somethings I need him to do."

Valen stood up immediately, "Sorry. Talk later....yes?"

"Just hurry back." Tiara said.

"Yeah, there is still a lot we need to talk about." Scootaloo said, "I want to hear all your war stories, I bet you got a lot of awesome adventures."

Valen felt like a knife was stabbed into his heart.

"Right. Valen. Come." The Fire Man said and Valen followed as they left the Fire Man's special room he created to house both the zebra Zecora and the girls.

When they had gone a distance, Valen slipped back into his natural language and asked, "What do you require of me Fire Man?"

"Nothing. I just thought you might want to get out of a hairy situation." The Fire Man said.

Valen blinked, "Y-you saw?"

The Fire Man smirked, "Just enough." The Fire Man chuckled and Valen felt his face heating up.

But as they walked the embaressment became guilt.

"I...Fire Man...Scootaloo..." He began.

"No!" The Fire Man said adamantly.

"But...she gives me praise I do not deserve.." He said.

"You take it and ignore it then. You will not tell her anything. It won't serve a purpose." The Fire Man said.

"Serve a purpose!? Fire Man..I-!" Valen said, shocked at the words, but he stopped when the Fire Man turned on him with a deathly glare.

"Speak nothing. When we have victory, then we can tell her." The Fire Man said, turning away and walking in a different direction.

Valen gulped and said, "Can we even win?"

The Fire Man stopped and sighed, Valen thought he heard something but he could not be sure. Finally the Fire Man turned and looked at him.

"Go train or something....then stand guard over the girls room when Zecora returns. I have...I have something I need to do."

"What is it?" Valen asked.

The Fire Man was still turned from him, but Valen thought that the Fire Man sighed deeply.

"I must learn....if I must pass judgment." The Fire Man said, before walking off.

Valen blinked, and watched him go. He could not be sure...but....he had a feeling he knew where the Fire Man was going.

Digging into his furs, Valen pulled a locket from its folds and opened it. He looked into the pictures of Scootaloo's father and her family.

"Judgment...." Valen said, he put the locket away.

Would he pay judgment too?

He felt that....he should.

---

BlueBlood

Blueblood grunted as he worked his hooves. They were cracked, chipped and cut, but his freedom depended upon this work.

He stopped and turned, sitting his flank over the hole he had made near the wall as he heard the sound of the guard doing his normal patrol.

Despite his predicament, Blueblood had learned that the humans were not good in keeping guards. The one human male constantly walked past his cell, stood in front of it for a time, then moved on. Sometimes he didn't come back for a time. No doubt he believed that the roots, though certainly enchanted, would keep him caged.

'I'll prove the sweaty monkeys wrong.' Blueblood thought, waiting for the guard to leave before turning again to his work.

A small hole, dug near the wall, and the lose stone he worked to pry from the ground. It had the right edge that, with some work, he could sharpen enough to cut the roots. He had done some tests and learned that the roots didn't seem to attack anything that came too close from the inside. If that was the case....

'...just....need a little more time and I'll be free....and then...then these smelly monkeys will pay.' He thought, and continued to work.

They would pay for messing up his hooves and mane.

Flying Brick

Flying Brick groaned, and she gasped as she bolted up and was immediately assaulted by pain.

"Hold still. Nurses over here!" A pony, dressed in a medics uniform said, forcing her back down.

Flying Brick looked around, confused, "I...where...where am I?"

"Easy now. You are back in the camp of the Equestrian Army. A number of scouts found you and brought you back. Your injuries aren't too severe but you need to rest and not move around a lot." The medic said.

Flying Brick blinked, and looked around. She noticed the signs of an Equestrian Medical tent; she had been in one a number of times.

"I...my team? Stout Heart? Where is Stout Heart!?" Flying Brick asked, grabbing the medics hoof.

Stout Heart...where was he? He had been with her in the fight and....

"Oh no....No..." She said, finally remembering. The medic looked at her, and his frown deepened.

"I'm sorry...." The medic said.

"No......No!" Flying Brick said, her hooves going limp as she lay back.

Stout Heart. Her Stout Heart. The stallion of her herd, and father of her loveable niece.....dead.

Flying Brick was not normally a mare to cry, but in this....in this she could not stop the tears that flowed from her eyes. She covered her face as she cried, taking deep sobbing breathes.

'Who...who.....him!' Flying Brick thought, remembering the scene.

That human. That human had killed Stout Heart!

Flying Brick played the image in her mind, ignoring everything as the medics tended to her. She wanted to keep the image strong in her memory, and so that she could get a good idea of the human she was going to find....and kill.

'Stout Heart....I will see your killer dead...or die trying.' She thought, and knew it to be true.

That human would die. And die painfully.

---

Castus

Castus stood once more upon the location of which he had picked up Krul and his hunters. His Well was nearly empty, with only enough to open a small waygate back to the Sanctuary. He would have to refill it when he got back.

But till then...he looked in the distance, where he had seen the smoke trail.

"Guess I walk......great." He said, and began the long trek.

After a long walk in the cold and snow, and after some long bouts of complaining and swearing about how cold it was, Castus finally cleared a ridge and stood still as he gazed down.

"Damn it all." he said, looking at the charred remains of the town.

Steeling himself, Castus drew upon the Wind himself, and he nearly pitched over as its intoxicating power washed over his tired body.

"Better make this fast...." He said, and wove a simple tracer spell.

A tracer spell....for death.

It didn't take long to find where the bodies had been lain to rest. Castus dug into the snow, and nearly retched when he finally unearthed the frozen body of a pony corpse.

"Jesus Christ." Castus gasped, noting the damage.

The pony was a young mare, and had hear scalp cut off. Her face still bore the marks of blunt trauma and her body stab wounds, with a large gaping wound in her side. She had not died painlessly.

Castus had to stand and walk away, holding a hand to his mouth and trying to forget images of death that played out in his head.

'Why am I like this. I've seen death before.' He thought.

'No! That was him! Not me!' He then thought, trying to push away the memories of a dead man.

Finally, taking a deep breath and holding it in, Castus turned back to the corpse and placed his hand on its head.

This was a spell he was not very good at, but....he could get a decent enough image of the mares last moments....if he used enough power.

Drawing on more of the Wind, and nearly hurling his stomach contents, Castus wove the spell and the last images of the mares death, soon played out in his minds eye.

The humans came over the ridge fast, charging down into the village. Their large hulking forms, wielding terrible weapons as they cut down young and old, stallion and mare. Some grabbed ponies and impaled them on spears, still alive. Others smashed bludeons to the children or old, crushing their bodies, while others merely cut down any they passed.

Some began setting fire to houses, after blocking any exits and standing outside to watch as ponies were roasted alive in their homes. The last thing then he saw....was the image of a human lunging at her, forcing her to the ground and cutting at her scalp, before his fists began raining down on her face and his knife her body. The end finally came, with the breaking of her neck.

Castus released the Wind, staggering backwards and he hurled up his lunch. He fell to the ground, coughing and heaving as the power left him and he felt weak and lifeless.

"Damn you...Damn you Krul.....we did not need this.....and we cannot afford what I must do." Castus finally said, wiping at his mouth.

Castus took time to get his bearings, and to rebury the body. He also, with great care, drew upon the Wind to give the dead some last few comforts. A spell that would keep scavengers away. It nearly brought him to his knees....but at least they could rejoin the earth whole and not be made into meals.

It was all he could offer for now.

"I'm sorry....I ....I didn't want this......and I can't give you the justice you may seek...." He said, standing over the graves. He drew upon the Well and opened the Waygate.

"But...I will give you justice....." He said, and turned to head back to the Sanctuary.

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Man, Krul is so going to get owned and it seems Castus just realized that having the memories of his past life is not good for his mental health. Also, poor Valen having two girls infatuated with him and being responsible for killing one of the girls' father (Scootaloo's) must be hell for him, especially because he's forced by Castus to keep quiet because Castus can't bring himself to tell the truth to Scootaloo. Also, Valen is in for it now that Flying Brick is still alive. Question, was Flying Brick married to Stout's Heart along with Scootaloo's mom? It seems that she wasn't Stout's sister/cousin, but considers Scoots to be her niece and mentions being part of a herd. Does that mean that herding exists in the story and, if so, is it similar/different from other herds like those in Xenophilia?

[Mr Dorito]

Welp, looks like Krul is about to get his shit kicked in. I wanna see more fighting though.

[BarthoBalchi]

insert Castus and Krul here

[Odd_Sarge]

6548189
Wow this is insanely accurate.

[xluferx]

6548189 i will flip if it happens in this way

[The Great Derpsby]

After a long while, things have taken a turn for the worse. And I have to say... I'm actually kind of pleased.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't really wish ill on the characters just like that. But actions should have consequences, and Castus is finding it out the hard way now. Equestria has been facing consequences for a while now: The humans' revolt. But now it's Castus' turn to see the downsides to his choices. He's still trying to run from some of them personally, but they're catching up to him.

6548189
6548025
6548088
I'd be lying if I said Krul didn't have it coming. What he did and had done was barbaric and wrong. However, Castus needs to be very careful how he's going to do this.

He's already coming across more and more like a tyrant because of the stress and the memories of someone who did horrible things, plus a need to be in complete control are interfering with his thoughts. More than just Krul's tribe are feeling vengeful. If the Fire Man descends on them like a ton of bricks then they'll feel it wasn't justified. He's in command of the humans because they accept him as a leader. What if they no longer do? Will he force them? You know, like slaves? These are all things Krul can openly say to him, where everyone can hear them.

This whole situation is a powder keg waiting to go off. And that's not even going into the tiny little problem of the hypocrisy of passing judgement while keeping quiet about what happened to Scootaloo's family because it would be uncomfortable for himself.

[Vibrant lies]

had hear
to hard

Had her
Too hard