Endgame
Chapter 10
Endgame
“The first thing you’ll have to understand is the fact that Equestria is not alone in this world. Equestria has grown in power and influence from the time I knew it, but still there are the griffons to the north, the zebras to the south and Dragons and Diamond Dogs all around. Things were... a whole lot more grimm in my time. Ponies only had the land at the base of Canterlot mountain to call their own. Ponies were too ostracized to form a nation that could go against the other nations.” Fenrir glanced at his audience and was glad to notice that all but one were paying close attention. The one inexplicably called George was peering at the hill he had ordered the bolters to set up on suspiciously. The pony had not let any of the other ponies know of his suspicion, so the dogs must have been able to hide the armaments well enough.
“The pegasi were the ones most eager to go against the other nations and that was their fundamental flaw. They fought for the control of the skies, but their opponents were usually either griffons, or god forbid, fucking dragons. It was no great surprise that their numbers were kept low through their constant losing battle against races overwhelmingly superior in physical ability.” This tidbit of information got George’s attention. He clearly had not expected his rank of “general” to mean anything more than that he was stronger than any of the wolves under him. Of course, he was mostly right, but the human intellect he could use now had collected the fragments of memories the wolf had already known and woven a lie that was close enough to the truth to be convincing.
“Now, the unicorns had a great system going for a while. They had their magic and they were always pushing the boundaries of what they could do with it. It all came to a head when they figured out how to control the sun and the moon, and as any sentient race is ought to do, enslaved others to grow them food and tend to their petty needs. I am of course referring to the earth ponies of old. Earth ponies were third class citizen and unicorns were the first class citizens. Whoever the unicorns employed to beat the earth ponies into submission fell somewhere in between.”
“That is not true! The princesses would never allow that!” Twilight Sparkle objected without thinking. Fenrir had the urge to jump up and roar a counter-argument, but the human intellect suggested staying calm and letting the unicorn piece it together herself, with a bit of help.
“I hope you understand that Neither Celestia or Luna actually are the sun and the moon. The very epitome of unicorn magic was what guided the sun and the moon in ancient times; these spells would later gain sentience and personality, as a means to bring down Discord. Of course, the unicorns that achieved this didn’t think that the avatars would rise against them to rule all of ponykind, but such is life.”
It was amusing to see this new idea take root in the studious unicorn’s mind. He could imagine her going over every bit of lore and fact she knew of the princesses and their origins, trying to find a flaw in his argument. The princesses were obviously beings of magic, but to think that it had been ancient unicorns that created them? Oh, the absolute mind-fuckery it would cause if The Liar’s argument could hold water against the facts Twilight knew.
It was almost as satisfying to see the purple unicorn sit down dejected, than it would have been to taste their blood and crush their bodies between his jaws. He couldn’t keep down an amused grin that made the ponies bristle. There was some real entertainment to using words, rather than his power to get by.
“Now then, Celestia and Luna take over, their right to rule being the same power to control night and day that gave unicorns their authority, yet the unicorns had lost this ability with the princesses’ rise to power. If Luna hadn’t brought the pegasi under Equestria’s flag, then the earth ponies would have probably slaughtered the royal unicorns that had lorded over them to that point.” He paused for a moment to lock eyes with both Applejack and Rainbow Dash, causing them to flinch back.
“The ability to control the weather makes it laughably easy to grow crops, so the earth ponies were busy befriending the pegasi and processing their bountiful harvest, so the nobles got off with only a few casualties. You know, the sexually abused maids sticking sharp objects right where a stallion don’t want them, and such.” Before any of the ponies could object to this insunnation, he flicked his eyes to Rarity. She flinched back, but still braced herself, probably seeing what was coming. Not nearly as stupid as the human thought her to be.
“Before you object; Rarity, what would you think Blueblood would have been like in the times before Celestia and Luna, when he would have been the highest authority in his small corner of the world? Would he have seen the earth pony maids around him as anything more than walking masturbation-aides?” He inched his head to the side in a way that his human side knew would aggravate the ponies.
“You disgust me.” Rarity hissed back, giving him a glare that had the promise of much pain and suffering. Really, if that glare could be put into words, there would be grand plays exploring the depths and nuances of the hate contained within. The unicorn mare stared at him with those eyes filled with such deep fury for a few seconds, before breaking eye-contact and groaning in frustration. As much as she would have liked to dispute him, it was entirely possible, in her biased perspective, for ponies like Blueblood to sink to such lows. The human in him didn’t believe it to be the case, but riling the ponies up with such outrageous claims would keep them listening, if he didn’t go too far, that is.
“So, the two royal sisters are building their ponies an ideal place to live around Canterlot mountain. They built a castle for themselves right where the Everfree will sprout. I think this went on for a few generations, the ponies’ antics going largely unnoticed by the other nations during that time. The griffons were the first ones to notice that the majority of pegasi that they had been fighting had moved under the flag of Equestria and were making alliances with the unicorns. They had no reason to believe that the militaristic pegasi would not attack with the help of their new allies.”
He noticed the guards listening to the story and a few of the elements turning to the unicorn guarding Rarity as he told them this. The unicorn nodded solemnly, maintaining eye-contact with him the whole time. He had to assume this was either the strategist, or the historian of the group.
“Now, this is where I have actual personal experience on how bad things were. Equestria was not like it is today, beasts rivaling me were all over the place, but I and my pack happened to be the ones to slaughter the first reconnaissance party the griffons sent. You see, The Princess of the Night always did have sway over the predators that would have threatened her ponies, so we attacked anything else, but her ponies. This led to early Equestria having a ring of bloodthirsty predators patrolling its borders.” He paused and observed the group. Who should he focus on while he let this next bit of information out? Fluttershy would not like the idea of animals being used in such a fashion, but Twilight was the one who yearned to understand this.
“The zebras did not take kindly to this, as they saw it a perversion from the natural way of things. You see, the great predators they had learnt to live along with were becoming more and more violent as Equestria’s lands bled further south, driving the striped tribals from their homes. The zebras were just as ready to start hostilities with Equestria as the Griffons were ready to snuff them out before they became a threat. Equestria was sandwiched between two larger nations that did not take kindly to its continued presence.” He glanced at Rover, who had decided to stay and listen to the story. As long as the other dogs stayed in position he saw no reason to stop him.
“The diamond dogs were hanging around, ready to turn the war into profit. I think the dragons initially refused to take sides because they didn’t like the power Celestia and Luna had over them through controlling the sun and moon, while not showing their seniority the respect the great lizards felt they deserved.” He paused his story on the human intelligence’s insistence. He had to draw this out a little more, so he didn’t object. He saw the ponies getting impatient, glancing at each other to figure out who was going ask him to continue. It should be no great surprise that Rainbow Dash beat them all to the punch.
“The history lesson’s great and all, but what does this have to do with Nightmare Moon?” Fenrir sighed deeply at this, in part to aggravate the pegasus, but mostly just for the fact how everything he’d been building up had gone way over her head. He shifted his gaze to Twilight Sparkle and inclined his head in a way that could be read as him raising an eyebrow. The unicorn flinched back and put a hoof to her chest, as if asking “Who, me?”. Fenrir simply nodded and jerked his head toward Rainbow Dash, and the rest of friends and guards sitting behind her.
“Uhm... What I think Fenrir is trying to set up is an alternate viewpoint as to what happened before Luna became Nightmare Moon. I have suspected that the story we have been told is overly simplified and glosses over most of the nuances of what led to Nightmare Moon’s rise, but... I never could gather the courage to ask either of the princesses.” Twilight Sparkle had turned to address her friends and had to whip toward him to deliver her closing statement. Fenrir had used the chance to inch his head closer to the mare and grinned at the unicorn flinching back at his sudden proximity.
“What you are telling us might be the truth, or it might be all lies, but it is most definitely only from your extremely biased perspective! I refuse to believe anything you say at face-value; not before asking the princesses.” Twilight Sparkle clearly thought she had outsmarted him with the obvious realization that he might not be wholly truthful all the time. Both the human consciousness and the wolf started to chuckle at the unicorn’s naívete. The human consciousness was already thinking of ways to knock her off the pedestal she had set herself up on and Fenrir couldn’t wait to kill the condescending mare. They both knew not to lunge at the mare’s throat, even though he could close the distance fast enough to kill the unicorn.
“Oh my, oh my; the little unicorn has deduced that a general of Nightmare Moon’s army just might be a tad biased when it comes to the war he fought in? I don’t think my body can convey the appropriate amount of sarcasm for this, but Rover here happens to have hands. Rover, clap your hands together, slowly.” The wolf could not help but smirk at the unicorn blushing and deflating as Rover started to awkwardly clap his paws together. The looks her friends were throwing his way were also humorous and it was clear that he had the attention of every guard there. They were just waiting for an excuse to pounce him, not paying nearly as much attention to what was happening around them.
“So, now that we’ve established that I am not omniscient, shall we continue?” The ponies around Twilight were giving him the dirtiest looks possible, but the purple unicorn eventually nodded before meeting his eyes again. She was embarrassed, but she still didn’t want to throw away the chance to learn something new about the princesses.
“Your Queen of Light was too busy caring for her little ponies to see any of this and too stupid to take Luna’s warnings seriously. War was inevitable, the ponies would be annihilated if the other nations attacked; the only choice was to attack first, but open war against the other nations was just as suicidal. Luna only had Celestia’s love for her ponies and her own power over the night to work with...” The human intellect suggested pausing the story there for the ponies to connect the dots themselves. The following questions and disbelief would serve to draw out the story.
“I still don’t see why that would make her turn into Nightmare Moon. Threatening to make the night last forever would surely make everypony attack.” Rainbow Dash thought aloud. He could see recognition in the eyes of some of the guards and Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy was looking dejectedly at the ground and the other ponies were still waiting for him to continue.
“Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon and tried to make the night last forever, just so that Celestia’s victory would be that much more grand. Celestia had to go against something that the other nations could not defeat. If we are to believe your story, then she started a brutal war she fully intended to lose.” The unicorn guard with Rarity stated. He sounded calm, but he could see the anger in his eyes. “Even if I am to acknowledge that you probably did not have a full understanding of the situation and that your story is biased, it would still not make sense to start a war on the off-chance that the ponies, or the other nations would raise Celestia on a pedestal, as your story suggests they did.”
“Hmm, yes that is a fair point, but let’s keep in mind that we are talking about the same mare that healed me by using means she learnt from Discord. This is the same mare that has had a thousand years taken away by the same elements you wear around your necks, only to have her personality torn asunder and pieced back together to fit the image that Celestia painted through a millenia of folklore she doctored to paint her sister as a victim to a separate entity, The Nightmare.” Fenrir could see where the human consciousness was going with this and had to admit that he was genuinely looking forward to seeing their reactions.
“What, you wield the most powerful magical artifacts known to ponykind and you don’t know how they work?” He paused, systematically looking each of the elements in the eye. Pinkie was the only one that didn’t look surprised or confused. The pink mare was only staring at him with a disconcerting look in her eyes. The mare was obviously privy to information she did not fully grasp the meaning of.
Also, she was able to sneak behind the group of mares without anyone noticing. The way the guards flinched ever so slightly as they followed his gaze to find out why he had paused suggested that she had just appeared. A quick glance at Twilight Sparkle putting a hoof to her bare chest confirmed that the pink mare had obtained her Element of Harmony within the same second she appeared. The rational fear he had developed for the impossible mare peaked right at that moment, as she bore down on him with those impossibly old eyes.
“This is all real, this is not part of a show. We are as real and mortal as any creature from your side.” The pink mare blinked and that sage-like calm disappeared from her eyes. “If we leave things as they are, we will be nothing more than extensions to Fenrir’s sad tale!”
Pinkie Pie was hyperventilating and looked to only now become aware of the group of ponies in front of her. Fenrir forced his visage to convey confusion, even though he wanted to strike against the ponies, before they had the chance to do the same. What he would do hinged on how the ponies reacted to Pinkie’s words. On one hand, her precognitive powers were a fact, but she also had a habit of over-reacting to anything new. If the ponies didn’t freak right the fuck out, her grim prediction could be explained away by frayed nerves. Admitting to frightening Pinkie with the story about what had possibly happened to his pack would support this claim.
“I believe I know what triggered this mental breakdown.” Fenrir evenly stated, gaining the attention of everypony present. Rover was inching toward the hole in the ground, probably expecting him to order the attack soon. He gave the dog a glare that froze him in place before continuing.
“I shared some rather morbid details about my past with Pinkie earlier today, while she watched the dragon getting butchered.” Twilight looked suspicious, Fluttershy was mortified and the rest of Pinkie’s friends were looking at him disapprovingly. He couldn’t tell what the guards thought about it, but they had not moved into positions to guard for an attack yet. “I understand in hindsight that this was unnecessarily cruel of me and downright petty, but I did not have the patience to deal with our resident pink party pony at the time.”
“So... Celestia didn’t kill your pack?” PInkie asked, her hair inflating slowly as hope glimmered in her eyes. Twilight leveled a downright venomous glare at him for such a blasphemous claim.
“Celestia would not kill your pack just for the -”
“As far as I know, she did.” Interrupting Twilight’s holier-than-thou rant felt extremely satisfying. “I only know that I was locked away in Tartarus and there was no trace of my pack in our old hunting grounds when I came back. You might think of her as a benevolent goddess, but she is more than capable of slaughter, if it means helping her little ponies. She is the one that used the elements against her own sister, after all.”
“But you don’t know that she did! Your pack probably relocated in the 1000 years you were gone. I believe they might be the arctic wolves I’ve read about. They grow to be around your size and hunt in packs on the tundras.” Twilight answered his speculation with some facts she must have read up on after his appearance. He didn’t even have the energy to smirk at her annoyance, this was starting to get tiresome.
“So, it is either that my kin was butchered in the hunting grounds I fought tooth and claw for, or that they were driven out into the frozen wastes? I think I preferred the option where my hardships were not in vain.” His speech regressed into an aggressive snarl as what Twilight suggested sunk in. His kin, the young ones he had shed so much blood for had been banished into the frozen tundras. Not only had the ponies disgraced him and his pack by sparing their lives, but they even stole his children their birthright!
“But we are not talking to Fenrir right now, are we? Not really; you are what Luna summoned to heal him.” Twilight finally pointed out. He had known that this was part of the reason they came to him, but he had hoped to guide them off the subject with the history lesson. Surprisingly Twilight didn’t look too smug about knowing this, only kind of sad and annoyed. Her friends looked leagues more confident and confrontational behind her, sans Fluttershy.
“And are you expecting me to deny or admit this? Am I to reveal to you my true name and plans to dominate the world, just because you figured out an ancient wolf couldn’t know about Rarity’s brief meeting with Blueblood, or many other things I’ve let slip?” Now the ponies just looked confused, trying to blink away their confusion at his strange forwardness.
“Your dear Princess of the Night tore my soul away from my own body and forced it into the body of her old pet. I know your names, I know how you all got your cutie marks and I know that I’ve been an outsider looking in for a long time. I know next to nothing of myself, or what I have become, but I do know Fenrir’s pain and his past.” The look of compassion from Fluttershy was aggravating, as the human mind shied away from it. Without its help he couldn’t make the words come out as easily, so he avoided looking at the yellow pegasus as much as he could.
Then again, looking at the shadows, he didn’t have to keep talking for long. Staging this battle to take place at twilight made both of them chuckle inwardly. He found the idea of killing the Elements of Harmony when both Princesses were equal to be the ultimate insult to the princesses, while the human simply thought the idea of Twilight dying at twilight to be the pinnacle of irony.
“Why didn’t you ask us for help? I’m sure we can help you, if you will let us.” The human mind had gotten a little out of hand and let some facts slip that Fenrir would have rather not have the ponies know. Now the ponies knew that the human truly was a separate entity to him and that would influence the possible effect the Elements of Harmony had on him. Again, the human mind took control of his body and let out a loud barking laugh at Twilight’s words.
“You think you can help me? I take it you are going to use the elements on me and hope to save me from within this colossal beast, thinking I am the same as Princess Luna was within Nightmare Moon?” Fenrir pulled his muzzle into the unsettling grin the ponies had started to get used to.
“Make no mistake, Twilight Sparkle, you tore Nightmare Moon apart and then put her back together with the pieces that fit your image of the Princess of the Night. Your Elements are powerful magical artifacts that bend pure arcane energy according to your will, nothing more. Think hard on the time you used them on Discord; the elements created a shield that undid Discord’s magic, something you had witnessed your own shield do mere moments ago.” He took a step toward the purple unicorn, the guards all around her readying their spells and weapons. Rover had already snuck into a hole in the ground when no one was watching.
“You use the power of your friendship to bend the world to your will alone, Twilight Sparkle. Your friends did not know Nightmare Moon was Luna, yet she was saved by the elements when you called them out for the first time.” He lowered his head slowly toward the unicorn, until their eyes were on the same level. Twilight Sparkle did not flinch, nor did she look like his words had gotten to her. There was a determination in her gaze that both sides of him appreciated.
“We are frighteningly similar, you and I. The only difference is that while my power is my own, you use something entrusted to you by those that trust you. While I do not blame my claws and fangs for the deaths I caused, you think that the weapon you wield is responsible for the things you have done. The Elements of Harmony did not tear into Nightmare Moon, you did. The elements of Harmony did not turn Discord into stone, you did.” He paused to turn his head toward where the setting sun would have been if the Everfree didn’t absorb any bit of sunlight trying to pierce through the canopy. He did not care for Twilight’s reaction to his words, as the human intelligence only insisted on them to make her using the elements that much more difficult, or dramatic.
“I hoped we could part ways in less grim circumstances, I really did. Still, I am nothing more than a puppet that sees the strings. Well, at least I am not naked and blue, so thank the lord for small mercies.” The human barked out a laugh and took a few steps away from the ponies. He could hear the guards relax somewhat as he turned his tail to them. He stopped at the edge of the circular clearing the dogs had cleared out. The ponies were not quite in the middle of it, but they were close enough.
“I think I never finished Rorschach in Equestria... Meh, C’est la vie.” Fenrir pulled his snout into a wide grin before turning his head up and letting out a long howl that rattled the wildlife in the forest around them enough to mask the sounds of the dogs striking matches to light the fuses. He could hear the dogs kicking up the gravel as they ran up to roll the bombs toward the ponies. PInkie Pie looked like she was having a seizure and her friends were concentrated on her, nearly missing the round urns bouncing toward them.
“Shield!” George shouted as he noticed the bombs rolling toward them. Fenrir saw few horns light up before the first bomb threw up enough gravel and smoke to obscure the ponies. One of the bombs was on a shorter fuse than the others for this reason. Fenrir calmly walked over to the trees and swiftly disappeared into the shadows as the rest of the bombs detonated.
“Bolas at the ready! Target the pegasi only! Bolters, fire into the smoke! They couldn’t have moved that much!” The ancient part of him hated the fact he was not tearing the ponies to pieces by now, but there were enough OP unicorns in their little group that he couldn’t be confident in a straightforward attack. He would have to attack when they least expected it and break their ranks. The flashes of light and the high-pitched sound of the bolts hitting something told him that at least one unicorn had been able to throw up a shield in time.
“Spears, listen for the hum of their horns!” He roared and after a moment heard a pony cry out in pain and saw the smoke shift. He grinned and tore at the ground to charge at the group of ponies. The smoke had barely started to clear at this point but Fenrir still aimed at what he remembered to be the center of the group of ponies. Even if he couldn’t see them clearly enough to crush them, he could still break their formation with his size alone.
To be fair, it was pure luck that George chose that exact moment to try and gather his bearings by raising above the smoke. His first instinct was to go for his spear, Fenrir’s first instinct was to open his jaw and crush the pony between his jaws.
George wasn’t fast enough.
Twilight Sparkle
The acrid smoke from the bombs Fenrir had prepared made all of them cough and squint their eyes as the shield blinked out of existence. Twilight tried to focus on a shield spell to protect her friends from the bolts that were still fired in their general direction. Valor was still on the ground after he was impaled from below by a spear. She didn’t have time to check on him, as the bolts were still whizzing past them, either crazing them or barely missing them. She didn’t have time to be amazed at their luck.
“I knew it! Oh, that wolf is so dead!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and moved to jump into the air and find Fenrir. The hot-blooded pegasus was able to jump into the air before George appeared above her and smacked her back down. Twilight saw George open his mouth to berate the blue pegasus mare, before his ears flicked to the side and he went for his spear in response to something he had heard or seen.
Pinkie tackling her out of the way of Fenrir’s huge paw answered that question a second later. If Pinkie had not pushed them out of the way, then Fenrir would have crushed her under his considerable weight. Twilight pushed herself out from under the jittering Pinkie and frantically searched for her friends. They had to end this, but if even one of them was hurt, or if Fenrir had taken them, or if they had been shot by the Diamond Dogs…
“Everypony, gather around me! Don’t pursue Fenrir!” Twilight screamed frantically, blindly staggering forward to where Valor still lay. She kept her eyes closed as she poured every bit of concentration into a shield spell that would protect them, something that would cover the earth under their hooves as well. She could feel the ponies around her jerk as more bolts were fired at them and could hear them either bounce off of the guards’ armor, or whiz past them. Why hadn’t they hit any of them, when the smoke should have cleared already?
She released the spell just as she hear a loud “snap!” right next to her right ear and felt something warm start trickling down her neck. The pain only hit her after she opened her eyes and was able to relax when she saw the purple shield around her friends and the group of guards surrounding them. Out of pure reflex she brought a hoof to her ear and immediately regretted it as she poked at the tattered side of her ear, making the pain flare up with a vengeance.
“Twilight, you’re bleeding!” Rarity exclaimed and rushed over to her side, forcing Twilight’s head to the side to look at the wound. “Oh dear! Don’t you worry, it will be fine, just fine! There will be barely a scar! One of you unicorns knows healing magic, right?”
“No!” Twilight exclaimed and took a step back, as some of the unicorns tried to step up. “I’m holding the shield up, your magic so close to my horn could disrupt the spell. I’m nowhere as good at shield magic as Valor…”
She paused and turned her eyes down to the silent figure of the unicorn in question. The ponies around her followed her gaze and saw the still unicorn. The unicorn guard next to Rarity quietly used his hoof to nudge Valor and nothing happened. There was a pause as this unicorn swallowed a shaky breath and started to levitate the helmet off of Valor’s head.
“The game stands at two to nil, ponies! You better step up your game, or this will get boring!” Fenrir’s growling voice jeered from the shadows of the trees around them. The dogs had not been firing bolts at them while Twilight’s shield was up and the shock of Valor’s condition almost made them forget their situation.
“Valor… you little idiot, still playing the hero.” Regal Poise muttered as he knelt down next to his brother, showing no sign he had heard Fenrir’s jeers. Valor’s helmet clattered to the ground as the extent of his injuries became apparent as the helmet’s enchantment lifted. The spear that had actually pierced through his enchanted armor had made a sizeable dent on the saddle part of the armor, despite the underlying armor and physiology it would have had to go through. The wooden pommel of the spear had snapped as Valor fell to his side and Twilight could only see the broken tip, as his forehooves were curled on top of the wound. From the noticeable dent and the angle of the pommel Twilight imagined the spear would have either gone through his lungs or heart.
A cold rational part of her commented it would have to be the lungs, as he had enough time to cradle the wound and he had lacked the capability to scream cry out. He had probably drowned in his own blood, the enchantment on his helmet stopping anypony from noticing the crimson spittle forming at his mouth.
Her friends recoiled back and sought comfort in each other, while the guards stood around them solemnly, keeping their eyes on what happened outside Twilight’s shield. Twilight couldn’t move from the centre of the shield in fear of disturbing it and giving Fenrir a chance to break it, so she witnessed the grief settling in the eyes of the unicorn guard that had to be Regal. She wanted to look away or close her eyes, but couldn’t.
“Get up… Come on, walk it off, you wimp…” Regal Poise strained out as he poked his brother weakly. There was no heart in his words, he obviously was not under the delusion Valor would get up, but he clearly hoped he could believe such a lie.
“I find it strange you are shedding no tears for the other casualty, but who am I to judge if you value an unicorn over a pegasus. You racist little ponies, at least I hate you equally!” Fenrir let out a cruel barking laugh at his own joke as he stepped out from the shadows of the forest.
“Why? Why are you doing this?!” Fluttershy choked out through tears. The sight broke Twilight’s heart, but further hardened her resolve on stopping Fenrir. He had shown his true colors without any room for debate. He was a monster that deserved his eternity in stone, as a warning to those after him. A flick of the ear was the only indication Fenrir had heard her, before he began talking in his rumbling voice.
“I owe you no explanation, little ponies. Your concept of fair play is greatly detached from reality and I do not plan on indulging you.” Fenrir started circling them in the clearing they had been attacked in, deftly stepping over the craters his bombs had made. If he was not indulging them by playing fair, then why was he talking to them? “The flying one was quite tasty, by the way. If only he had not whimpered at such a high pitch.”
“Be calm, he’s goading us to attack, while trying to distract us from something. I can see no other reason he would show himself without attacking us.” Regal Poise sternly said as Rainbow Dash looked like she was ready to force her way through the shield to hurt Fenrir. Fenrir had brought the fact that George had also died only moments ago to light. Two ponies had died and Fenrir was throwing insults at them. Regal Poise straightened himself from looking over his brother’s body and turned to glare at the smirking wolf.
“Warn the stars in the clouds, the wolf sees beyond the mirage.” Pinkie Pie suddenly blurted out and stood at a relaxed and calm stature as the words flowed from her lips. She had been crying silently while following Fenrir’s circling form before, but now she had stopped and her eyes held an eerie certainty to them. Twilight noticed how Fenrir’s circling halted for a moment, before he stopped entirely.
“I knew you would be the most trouble out of all of them, with the possible exception of the zebra.” The wolf sneered and moved to resume his circling of the group of ponies, but several flashes of light at his feet caused thick branching vines climb up his form. The vines rendered him completely immobile as they grew into trunks of trees snaking up his legs. Even through the shield Twilight could hear the trees creaking as they tightened their grip on the gargantuan wolf.
There was no order to attack, but pegasi clothed in dark uniforms dove down from the scattered clouds above the clearing and some even detached themselves from tall trees to attack the wolf with curved daggers affixed to their hooves. Twilight, along with her friends could only watch as the pegasi silently rocketed towards the wolf.
At their first pass of attacking the wolf, two pegasi aimed to blind the wolf, but the great wolf violently thrashed against the tree holding him as they approached and was able to snap his jaws on one of the pegasi’s outstretched hoof. Twilight watched with morbid admiration as the pegasi’s partner did not stop his attack, but stabbed one of his daggers in the wolf’s eye, then twisting in the air to straddle the wolf’s snout, facing his partner dangling from the wolf’s clenched jaw. After only a moment’s hesitation and a few words possibly exchanged between the two ponies, the pony swung his remaining dagger down to sever the mangled hoof, before Fenrir could swallow the rest of the injured pony.
This series of events could not have taken more than 10 seconds, but Fenrir was now blind in one eye, with a curved dagger embedded into it. The two ponies flew away from the wolf, with the injured pegasi supported by the one that blinded Fenrir’s right eye. Rainbow Dash started pumping her hooves in the air and cheering for the pegasi, while Fluttershy and the rest of her friends just averted their eyes. The other pegasi did not seem to be able to cut very deeply into the wolf, as his fur was too thick and his paws were covered in the vines keeping him in place.
“Fire on targets!” Fenrir roared and again thrashed his head around as something small flew into his mouth. The guards and her friends looked around, waiting for whatever Fenrir had been planning to hit, but nothing happened.
“Hah! Seems like your dogs abandoned you, Fenrir!” Regal Poise sneered, clearly enjoying the homicidal canine’s suffering. Everything beyond the shield was muted in both detail and sound, but Twilight noticed a change in the movement of Kamos’ pegasi. The zebra himself had not shown himself, but she was sure he was nearby, commanding his troops.
“I hope you enjoy standing around looking menacing, since that’s all you’re going to do from now on!” Rainbow Dash jeered triumphantly, motioning the rest of the elements to get ready. Twilight Sparkle was just about to comply when a low and silky voice spoke up.
“Do not take down your shield, Twilight Sparkle. Fenrir might seem beaten, but he has not lost hope. He still thinks he can hurt you and I do not plan on letting him have the chance.” Kamos calmly stated and trotted out into the clearing. Fenrir focused his one eye on the zebra and the unbridled hate in that glare was something Twilight hoped she would never see again.
“With all due respect, but go buck yourself, Kamos. It’s your damned plans that got us into this mess and got my brother killed.” Regal Poise spat out as the zebra calmly trotted over to the shield’s edge, with Regal Poise meeting him on the other side. “Let these girls stop this now and prevent any further blood being shed.”
“Letting the elements out of the safety of that shield would be idiotic. The elements are rendered ineffective by the three hostages Fenrir has, or have you forgotten the reason you confronted him?” Kamos scanned the ponies within the shield with his steely eyes and Rainbow Dash’s bravado wilted at the reminder. Twilight had to admit she had forgotten about the CMC being the reason they were drawn into Fenrir’s trap, but it was true that there was no reason to think Fenrir had been telling the truth about what happened to the three fillies.
“Gah!” A stallion’s pained cry sounded out from somewhere above them and Twilight could see something moving in her peripheral vision. She turned just in time to see a pair of Kamos’ pegasi catch a shimmer in the air, with a pommel of a spear jutting out of it. It only took Twilight a moment to remember the camouflaging cloaks Kamos’ unicorns had worn and realize what had happened.
“Stars in the clouds… Kamos, you had your unicorns hide in the clouds?” Regal Poise blurted out, watching the pegasi take their wounded comrade away. Kamos turned to glare at Fenrir’s still form, but nodded in response. “Ugh, you and your cloak and dagger bullsh… This is not the time. The point is that Pinkie Pie predicted that your cloaked unicorns were going to get hit and if you had been with us to guard her, then you could have prevented this!”
As Regal Poise argued with Kamos, another pained cry could be heard and another pair of pegasi caught a falling shimmer of an unicorn. Even with a cloud-walking spell, a unicorn could not maneuver in the air well enough to dodge something like a spear aimed at them.
“For Celestia’s sake, have your unicorns retreat! Fenrir’s dogs are using the glow of their horns to aim for the clouds they are on!” Regal Poise shouted as he glanced at the retreating pegasi. Kamos was still wearing his mask of calculative confidence, but there was fire in his eyes, probably for being played. The zebra made a quick gesture above his head with a hoof and a few of the pegasi hounding Fenrir broke off to the clouds above.
“Hammers!” Fenrir suddenly barked out, gaining the attention of the gathered ponies and zebra. Just as the question of what the hell he had meant was about to form, the ground around him exploded, as a group of Diamond Dogs jumped out of the ground. Kamos moved faster than the rest of them could follow and one of the dogs had a blow dart in their neck before the rest of them landed from their leap. The remaining dogs swung their strange hammers at the vines holding Fenrir down and 3 of his legs were blown free with more force the small hammers could possibly produce.
It didn’t take the wolf long to twist his neck around the remaining collection of vines and tear them off. The homicidal wolf then swung his head back around and the eviscerated bunch of thick vines slammed into the side of Twilight’s shield Kamos had been standing against. Fenrir’s remaining eye burned with cruel joy as he leapt into a the air. Twilight had but a second to brace herself before Fenrir’s whole weight slammed onto her shield. She couldn’t risk screaming out because of the sudden strain on her horn, she had to keep the energy constant. Any fluctuation in an enclosed shield like hers would cause it to visibly crack, prompting Fenrir to press his attack and kill her friends.
“Come out, come out, little ponies!” Fenrir roared as he casually hopped onto his hind legs and brought his paws down on her shield. Despite, or maybe because, the ever intensifying pain on her horn, the memory of Winona doing the same thing on her squeaky toys flashed across her mind. Was Fenrir doing this because it was fun for him? Could his motivation be so simple?
“Or I will huff...” He jumped on her shield again. Twilight’s eyes were becoming unfocused and her friends sounded hysterical. She closed her eyes to block out the distractions. “And I will puff…” Another hit on her shield, her horn felt like it was burrowing into her head now. “And I’ll blow your house down!”
Twilight briefly wondered why Fenrir’s words broke through to her, when her friends were just needless distractions. There was something wrong with that, but all she had to do was keep the shield up and them alive. At least Fenrir was just mindlessly roaring at the shield right now, maybe Kamos could take the opportunity and jab the dagger in his eye the rest of the way to his brain.
“It works both ways, I guess.” Twilight didn’t have the energy to open her eyes, or to even begin deciphering Fenrir’s words. Her head was just a big lump of meat with freezing shards of glass in it and her horn was a red hot piece of metal stirring it up with everything Fenrir did. “Fine, stay there cradling your dead red shirt, I’ll go kill the zebra.” Twilight felt how Fenrir jumped off of her shield as another jolt of pain scraped at her brain.
Kamos
Kamos had underestimated Fenrir’s intelligence. He had thought it was only knowledge he had acquired through Luna’s spell, but there was a real intelligence there. The way he had used himself to be able to target his unicorns strongly hinted toward an understanding of strategy and a will to forego self-preservation to achieve victory. It would take minutes to summon replacements into the battleground he had set up, but given the situation, that would be too slow.
“Or I will huff… and I will puff… and I will blow your house down!” Fenrir roared, as the monster jumped on Twilight’s shield with insane glee. Kamos couldn’t believe he had been so blind to Fenrir’s true nature. To assume your enemy couldn’t surprise you was something he had warned those he trained about, yet he had fallen for Fenrir’s juvenile tricks.
“Damn.” Kamos whispered as another blow dart disappeared into Fenrir’s thick fur. Fenrir was powerful enough to break Twilight Sparkle’s shield and Kamos no longer had unicorns he could call to stop him. His fur had probably been magically enhanced during Nightmare Moon’s war, making it impenetrable by conventional arms. To make matters worse most of his pegasi were busy with escorting his wounded soldiers to safety.
“It works both ways, I guess.” Fenrir growled and absently scratched at the shield he was perched on. Fenrir’s dogs might not have been as strong or intelligent as him, but they fought with a fanatical fervor Kamos though he would not see within Equestria’s borders. His pegasi had suffered a few losses because the dogs ignored their diversionary tactics and charged them without a care for their own safety. The bolas might have been crude in design, but they did serve their purpose in trapping his pegasi on the ground for the few seconds it took them to cut the ropes, giving the dogs time to rush in and overpower them.
“Fine, stay there cradling your dead red shirt, The wolf growled out and jumped off of Twilight Sparkle’s shield. “I’ll go kill the zebra.”
Kamos had underestimated their enemy and now ponies were dying. It had been his plan and his decisions that had caused the deaths so far. Kamos drew his own dagger halfway out of it’s sheath and opened a small vial with a practiced flick of his other hoof. Positioning the vial on the dagger’s curved blade and let the contents trickle down along it and into the sheath. His weapon of choice had failed him, so he had to try a more direct approach.
“What could you possibly hope to achieve, Fenrir?” Kamos asked as he dropped down onto the ground. Fenrir had locked his one remaining eye on him the moment he landed, so Kamos had decided to forget trying for a surprise.
“Really? Are we seriously doing this?” Fenrir scoffed as his gargantuan form somehow bled from shadow to shadow as expertly as Kamos did. The wolf had started to circle the zebra counter-clockwise, to keep his good eye on the zebra. Kamos started to circle the wolf in response, begrudgingly letting the wolf know that he did not have ponies waiting to attack Fenrir.
“You seem to enjoy talking and I am genuinely interested.” Kamos curtly answered. The wolf had shown a flare for drama, but Kamos did not think the wolf would waste the little time he had to end the Elements on monologues. His ponies had sent word of the Elements being deployed to Canterlot. He thought it was unlikely that the princesses would trust the elements to solve the problem. Not if it was Fenrir.
“I guess you could say I am doing the same thing you are; following Luna’s orders.” Kamos had to catch himself from tripping over a root in the forest, as the wolf suddenly answered his question, instead of attacking. He really didn’t think the wolf would answer him, but if he could keep him talking…
“Luna did not order you to attack the elements. You will not convince me otherwise.” Kamos tracked the wolf’s one glowing eye and heard him chuckle.
“I had no intention of doing so, but I am not lying. I believe you were not ordered to stab me in the eye, but it is what the orders you were given are driving you to do.” Fenrir’s voice drowned out the noises of Kamos’ ponies fighting the wolf’s scattered dogs in the forest around them. Kamos was reminded of the situation further as one of his pegasi strayed too close to Fenrir and was swatted down like a bug with one swipe of Fenrir’s head. Fenrir hopped over the groaning pegasus and a grey dog in bloodied armor pounced on the stunned pony with claws and teeth bared.
“You are delusional if you think Luna wanted this. She gave you a new lease on life and you are letting your anger control your actions.” Kamos answered and jumped back to avoid Fenrir’s sudden lunge. Kamos heard his jaw snap shut and stabbed his dagger where the wolf’s head had been, but Fenrir’s form dissolved into the shadows before he could make contact. It could still be because of the wolf’s speed, but Kamos thought it was likely due to another enchantment placed on the wolf during the war.
“Luna wanted me to understand, rather than to serve. She gave me no choice in the matter. The bitch thought that I was a hurdle she could surpass in her road to absolution.” Kamos could hear the bitter hate in the wolf’s growl and saw the wolf quicken his pace slightly.
“She did not want you to die worshipping her. She thought it was disrespectful, taking your admirable loyalty to her. You deserved the truth, at least.” Kamos answered the wolf and had to flatten himself to the ground to avoid the wolf’s speeding form. He was exceptionally lucky, as Fenrir did not step on him as he passed. He quickly zeroed in on the wolf’s location and ran the other way, while hoping for the wolf to keep talking, instead of running after him wholeheartedly.
“I understand forgiveness, I understand her guilt and the reason for her actions! I understand what she wants from me and I refuse to give it to her! She ordered us to fight a losing war! She sent me to die at the hooves of her sister’s forces!” Fenrir roared and charged at the calm zebra, all attempts at stealth forgotten in his anger. Kamos felt fear build in his chest as the wolf charged through the forest, the great trees surrounding them blown into smithereens from the unnatural force of the wolf’s charge.
Kamos waited for the wolf to open his mouth before rolling to his blind side and bringing out his poisoned dagger. He felt the blade cut into the side of the wolf’s mouth, but he was flung away from the wolf immediately afterwards. He curled his legs under him and braced for impact. The force he hit the unrelenting mass of an ancient tree still took the wind out of him, but at least he had not broken anything immediately crippling. Kamos fought to ignore the pain and staggered away from the tree, locating the form of the wolf smacking into another gargantuan tree, without going through it. There was some magic he didn’t know about at work here.
“Yet you still use the gifts Nightmare Moon bestowed upon you, despite claiming to hate her.” His head was swimming from the impact and his side ached with every breath. He had to keep the wolf talking. If the wolf stayed fixated on him, then the elements and their guards only had to deal with Fenrir’s dogs. If it weren't for the three fillies, the elements would have been used on Fenrir already. “Yet you resort to the same atrocities you damn Celestia for.”
“The three fillies’ continued wellbeing keeps the elements inert. You have not given me reason to flay them into steaks quite yet.” Fenrir brought a paw up to rub the small wound Kamos had inflicted on him. He sniffed the blood on his paw and growled at Kamos as anger flared in his eyes. “I see you have poisoned me. I will assume it is the strongest stuff you have, taking your earlier failures at doing so.”
“Hammers! Focus on the shield!” Fenrir bellowed out and started making his way toward the clearing, ignoring Kamos, not seeing him as a threat anymore. The Elements and their guards were trapped inside the Element of Magic’s shield. Kamos did understand that the elements had not been in situations such as this before, but the guards should have known better. He had to assume the personal protége of Celestia had kept the shield up in her panic.
“Dogs, when the shield fails, aim for any of the ones wearing jewelry.” Fenrir’s snout was covered in blood on his blind side and the cut to his cheek was both bleeding profusely and making it look like he was snarling permanently on one side. The elements did not look like they were in any condition to go against the bloodied beast and even the guards inside the shield looked hesitant at the sight. Kamos rushed to get in range to use his blowgun on the dogs bearing those strange hammers. If the elements refused to go against Fenrir, then it would be better for them to stay safe until reinforcements arrived.
“THIS ENDS NOW!” A familiar voice boomed above them as the dark clearing was suddenly bathed in blinding light. Not only did Celestia shine bright like a miniature sun, Kamos could hear the air crackle with the heat and magical power she radiated in her fury. Fenrir didn’t act surprised at Celestia’s appearance, but Kamos was pretty sure it was because of the paralyzing effect of his poison was starting to kick in.
“Break the shield!” Fenrir roared at the gathered dogs around him, only to see them collapsed on the ground. The great wolf turned his head to and fro to see the same fate had befallen all of his dogs. The wolf had not felt it, but Kamos had known the battle was over when he felt Luna’s soothing whisper wash over him. The wolf had used the forces he had available well, but the exhaustion of battle and breaking so many taboos was easy for the Princess of the Night to exploit.
“Et tu, Luna?” The great wolf chuckled tiredly and staggered in place, his eye finally starting to lose its crazed focus. Kamos knew the wolf was extraordinarily strong-willed and probably enchanted to be a weapon of war, but he should not even be breathing with the amount of poison in his system. The wolf still started to stagger toward the forest, where he could use the shadows to his advantage. Celestia landed next to Twilight Sparkle’s shield and wordlessly shot a tendril of fire out of her horn at the wolf. The elongated flick of flame wrapped itself around the wolf’s throat and Fenrir was savagely yanked back, landing in front of Celestia.
“You have lost, beast.” The usually kind and regal Princess Celestia hissed at the broken wolf. Kamos was one of the few beings that had seen Celestia angry, but he had never seen her enraged to the point where it was obvious she wanted to kill someone, slowly. The zebra had to wonder why the wolf was still alive.
The ninja zebra didn’t hurry in walking to the clearing Fenrir lay beaten in. His breathing was more labored than it should have been and his head was still swimming. He was pretty sure he had a concussion and at least a fractured rib or two. Despite his condition, he still saw the tall figure mold out of the shadows and fall into step next to him.
“I underestimated Fenrir. I take full responsibility for the losses we suffered today.” Kamos admitted in his usual stoic way. He could see the tall figure next to him look in his direction briefly, before averting her gaze.
“You did your best to solve a problem We brought into being.” Kamos glanced at Luna and saw the alicorn hanging her head slightly as they slowly made their way to Fenrir. The zebra assumed Celestia was not killing Fenrir because Luna had something else planned. It might have been the probable concussion, but he couldn’t quite figure out what.
“How are you planning on solving this problem?” Kamos asked bluntly as they stepped into the clearing. Luna had absolved him from the use of her title, but the Princess still gave him a brief glare at his rude demeanour. Kamos glared right back at the princess. There had been too many deaths in the ponies under him there to any ambiguity in the wolf’s fate.
“We… I owe you an explanation, at least.” Luna sighed as they approached the wolf. Luna’s horn took an indigo sheen as Fenrir’s shadow snaked all around his body to keep him in place.
“Luna, this has to end here.” Celestia boomed out, still in full-on rage mode and radiating both heat and blinding light from her very form. Her tendril of fire flickered out of existence as Luna’s shadow binding was complete. Kamos had to avert his eyes as the avatar of the sun glared at the Princess of the Night.
“I know, sister.” Luna replied and after a moment of Celestia staring at them silently, she turned to trot over to the Element of Magic’s shield. Kamos turned back to Luna and saw sadness etched into her features even more so than before.
“I did not only heal Fenrir and give him intelligence, Kamos. In my selfish desire to have him understand, I bound another living soul into his psyche. I will attempt to undo what I did and send the soul home, if I can.”
Kamos stood there quietly and allowed this new piece of information sink in. If there was another soul inside of Fenrir, then some things the wolf had said started to make sense, but some made even less sense.
“Luna, I believe this another soul is not someone you have to save. Everything that happened here, happened because Fenrir was ready for us. The other soul was not necessarily trapped inside Fenrir; it is far more likely he was helping the beast. If he is not downright evil, then he is insane.” Luna nodded slowly at his words, stepping toward the wolf’s unconscious form.
“I will still try. I will not condemn a soul I forced into this horrific situation to death, just because it is the easy way out.” Luna calmly stated as she bent her head down toward Fenrir. Luna’s horn started to glow in a silvery light that grew brighter by the second. Kamos watched as Luna lowered her horn toward Fenrir, until he saw the silvery glow of her horn jump into Fenrir’s still form and disappear.
“I hope you succeed, Luna.”
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3214651
your timing is uncanny.
In Scotland, we shorten comments down to "WOO!"
OH MY GOD YEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THESE STORY IS BUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luna done screwed up and now ponies be dead. Good job Luna.
I was about to laugh about it myself, actually.3214656
Quite fortuitous, if you ask me.
I was hopin the endin to this story would be less... daek. Ah well, it was certainly a wild ride.
It is all Luna's fault.
No you can't have it be so short of a story
That title placeholder.
Fuck.
NO!
NO, PLEASE FINISH IT!!!!
THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME AND IF YOU START WITH GTA V THERE Is NO TELLING WHEN YOU'LL BE BACK!!!
I BEG YOU!! FINISH IT!!!
Oh. So that's his ultimate plan.
He wants the Elements of Harmony to see all of this destruction and hate towards their princesses, know the reasons why. And then see him be either killed by their princesses, trapped forever in stone, or have his mind forcefully changed.
He wants them to see their princesses at the lowest he can make them go.
3215586
troll.me/images/evil-raccoon/yes-yes-let-the-butthurt-flow-through-you.jpg
Seriously though, I never saw Fenrir having a happy end, nor could I imagine his sanity holding out much longer. I just don't have it in me to drag this story out any longer, but I will most likely continue my next project in the smae universe.
3217915
sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/look-down-and-whisper-no-3.png
Seriously, I started the game already and I will occasionally pop on the internet to jerk around and write. Maybe...
3215245 I'm just going to blame Discord. His spell and all.
3218811
True, but it was her choice to use it.
3218857 I see your point, but I just can't find it in me to blame Luna.
3218866
Well, I'll throw you a bone. *Ahem*
Discord gave Luna this spell and it is logical to assume that the human's loss of identity is a part of it. The question Luna and the ponies should be considering is as follows: What could Discord possibly gain from basickly driving an ancient tool of war insane? And why would he use spirits from beyond this "Veil of Night/ Reality" to do it, when he's proven himself capable of doing it on his own?
Now, the question you should be asking yourself is: Is this real fact, or is ti just fantastical bullshit the author decided to pull out of his ass?
I'll end with saying that you might or might not be right to assume Discord is more guilty than it might seem.
3218921 I still can't blame Luna... And now I want to know what happens next even more.
3218948
All according to Keikaku...
3219445
.... Yahoo?
3219445
Translator's note: keikaku means plan
3223166
THANK YOU! Someone gets the quote.
3223292
Hey, look at the monitor on your right?
3223447
hmm? What ever do you mean?
3223452
i.imgur.com/ioIJpx5.jpg
3222429
No?
3217934
Well... close, I guess. When you look at it a certain way, then yes.
I also think you're giving Fenrir too much credit. He's not some criminal mastermind, he's just a ruthlessly manipulative asshole with a violent streak, if you look back at what he's actually accomplished so far.
3224505
No?
3226403
Interesting. I really haven't been keeping up with anime, to be honest.
3225810
Twilight is suspicious as fuck, just for those reasons, but she's learned to trust her friends, before her own instincts.
It is both, actually. Althought the mythology of Fenrir is different from what we have.
*sees story in update queue*
Yay!
*sees it's not updated*
BETRAYAL!
Damn, I liked George. I feel it'd be appropriate to mourn his death by giving him a moment of silence.
...
Moment over, I think I'm in the mood to go read some vore now.