Chronicles of Arche

by Spellbounder

Ch.14- A Horrific Realization

The arrows were stained with the glowing ooze of changeling blood. Zed Blaze sat below a tree, cleaning his knife with an old rag. Arche was standing next to him, shaking hard. Using his magic, he levitates a small stone beside his hoof, then tosses it at Zed’s head. The Unicorn looked over at him with an annoyed glare, releasing a small sigh.

“I’m not a ghost, if that’s what you’re thinking, Admiral.”

“This is madness.”

“Madness is only caused when accepting defeat. I believe it was you who told me that, Admiral.”

“Shut up.”

“All these years, you think you’ve done good, but nothing’s changed.”

Arche slowly takes a few steps back, rubbing his eye with his hoof.

“Do you remember this place, Admiral? We’re now about a mile outside Hayseed. Not too far where it happened.”

“I said….shut….up!”

“Celestia wanted peace among the changelings, but you knew it was never going to happen.”

Anger flustering through him, the Admiral forcefully grabs Zed by this armor plate, slamming his back against the tree. He grinds his teeth, his breathing becomes rapid.

“WHO ARE YOU!?!”

“Heeheheeeeheeee…..”

“TALK DAMN YOU! WHO ARE YOU!?!”

Suddenly, Zed and the tree vanish in front of Arche like smoke. He gasps in shock, shaking harder, looking around him as the entire forest starts to disappear. The other soldiers look over at Arche, their eyes a blank white void. They all start laughing at him, as the color from their bodies starts to fade, until becoming completely gray.

“Hahahahahahahaha…..”

“No….No No No No NO….NO!”

Arche drops to the ground, covering his ears with his hooves. The laughter grows louder, as the ground itself beneath him starts to crack.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! HAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”

“This isn’t real, THIS….ISN’T….REAL…..”

Something begins to slither within the cracks of the ground around Arche. Long thick vines rise out, just like before within the Everfree Forest. Arche begins to panic, attempting to move away before having all four of his hooves wrapped around these vines. Sweat drips down his face, tears in his eye, shivering. He really believed the end was coming for him. Could this really be happening? Was he about to die?

“MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOOOOOP!!!!”

“Heeheheeheheeee…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!”

Those vines slowly rose in front of Arche, taking the shape of a large bug eyed creature. It just laughed, and laughed, and laughed as its fangs began to extend. Arche closes his eye, waiting for this nightmare to finally end. Next moment, he hears the sound of cheering, chants, screams of joy. Opening his eye, Arche found himself back in the Crystal Empire, during the Equestrian Games. His hooves couldn’t stop shaking, sweat constantly dripping down from his face. Something gets his attention, a loud hissing. There stood Zed, staring back at Arche, near the exit of the coliseum.

“Come, Admiral.”

“Not…real…this isn’t real….”

“COME.”

Rising from his seat as fast as he can, Arche trots out of the coliseum. He began following Zed from a distance, his breathing becoming rapid. This couldn’t really be Zed. Perhaps it was finally happening. All those years of trauma had finally caught up to the poor Admiral. Had Arche finally gone insane? He makes his way into an abandoned building, roughly a mile out from the coliseum. There stood Zed Blaze, staring out a window at the vast sparkling beauty that was the Crystal Empire. Arche couldn’t take this anymore. He needed answers, starting with who REALLY was standing before him.

“You’re not Zed Blaze, and your magic can’t break me. Show yourself….you…..filthy changeling…”

“I am not a changeling, Admiral Arche, and what you saw was no spell to corrupt your mind. You’ve already done that yourself.”

“Wha…What are you talking about!?! WHO ARE YOU!?!”

The Unicorn turns toward Arche, gazing at him with those same emotionless eyes in his hallucination. It did appear to be Zed Blaze, wearing his Royal Guard armor plating and helmet, except now it appeared faded, old, and rusted. Zed’s red mane was now faded, and his face was now covered in scars. Scars only seen by Arche himself.

“No….this can’t be happening…”

“You’ve forgotten why you fight, Arche.”

“I buried you….I buried ALL of you….yet you haunt me still?”

“I only exist because YOU will it, Arche. You can try to suppress it, take your little pills and pretend you’ve found peace. But I know you, and I also know you’ve never forgotten your duty as a soldier.”

Arche couldn’t hold it anymore. He drops down to his knees, bursting into tears. The memories flashed through his mind, from the Wedding, to the Basement. Everything was returning to him once again.

“Forgive me……I never wanted this for any of you.”

“Our deaths were not your own doing, Arche. We were all just following orders. Thirty years have passed since she gave her word. Swearing to us that we’d be given justice for what the changelings had done! You’re the only one left, Admiral. You think Celestia can give us what we’ve sacrificed for!?! You saw what their queen had done to her! Even with her own power, Celestia fell before Chrysalis. You can’t deny your pain. You can’t pretend Equestria is safe!”

“No…..no pony is safe….it hasn’t been safe…for so….SO LONG!”

“That is why you are the only one who can stop them!”

“The changelings refuse to show themselves. I’ve done all I can, and gotten NOWHERE!”

“DON’T TALK LIKE THAT! You’re just going to let those monsters win? You say what lies in your basement is simply to hide your shame, but you’re wrong. It’s a symbol of your anger! A symbol of your revenge, OUR REVENGE! A soldier’s mission is never over! Yours is just beginning, Admiral!”

“I can’t do it…..I’d be no different than them.”

“Anger and destruction is all these monsters ever feel. Why do you think they feast on love? It’s because they are incapable of it!”

“Yes…..the changelings are pure evil.”

He finally gets the nerve to stand, Zed now holds the crown of Chrysalis in his hoof.

“No pony will ever understand the fear you witnessed that day. You survived for a reason.”

Zed drops the crown, Arche watching it shatter like glass.

“What do you expect me to do, Zed?”

“The only way Equestria will be safe is by eliminating the darkness that haunts it’s light. Even though she controls the sun, her soul is dark.”

“No….you can’t be serious, Celestia…”

“You said it yourself, Admiral! Equestria hasn’t been safe for a long time. Simply turning your faith away from Celestia isn’t enough. Taking no prisoners isn’t enough! There has to more for true justice to be given! She sits on a throne of lies! She’s weak, and a change of command is immediate for the safety of our entire race!”

“I’ll do anything, but I won’t hurt Celestia. There’s no way I ever could, no matter how bad she’s hurt me.”

“You’re dooming Equestria, Admiral, you swore an oath AS A SOLDIER!”

“I WON’T DO IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“WE DIED AND SHE PROMISED US JUSTICE!”

“GO AWAY!”

“YOU DENY US AS SHE DENIED YOU!”

“GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

A blazing red beam of energy erupts from his horn, shattering a huge section of the abandoned building. Arche began to cry once more, shivering, dropping to the floor. He tries desperately to block out all noise around him. This included the distant screams from the coliseum, as a large cloud of ice plummets down onto it.

Author's Note:

It was always said that suppressing your pain is never healthy. You never know what could come of it.