Blood Moon

by The_Darker_Fonts

Chapter 25: The Murderers

Hemorrhage didn’t speak while they buried the ashes. He didn’t speak while Ailade and Argon both read out the rights over the large grave, nor did he speak when Khan began to whine at the burnt village. He simply stared on and on at the cloud of smoke in the sky, the remnants of an entire city turned to ash. Four thousand innocent lives lost in the course of a night, all because he had been slow to return to the army. He had known the dangers posed by Sombra and his army, but he had risked it all for a simple return trip to the castle instead of sucking it up and returning to the front.

With a soft curse, he stomped into the ground, a small crater forming around the magically accelerated hoof. He stood and began to pace once again, contemplating exactly how this all could have come about in such a short time. Luna’s army should have arrived here hours ago, and indeed, it seemed like they had, seeing as not far from here were the remnants of a struggle. However, there were hardly enough bodies from either side to signal a complete rout, nor were there the signature maulings that he expected from the potential nocturnal forces within Sombra’s army.

He had no clue as to how the entire army could have been defeated in such a short time with minimal casualties and the city be destroyed in a matter of hours. Growling to himself, he lit his horn and levitated a rock towards him, applying more and more pressure until it shattered. With a sigh, he alleviated his rage, the fire burning inside him sated momentarily. Staring at the tiny shards on the ground, he tapped a hoof to his chin. It was time to stop asking how and start discovering.

“Hemorrhage, are you okay,” Argon suddenly asked, resting a large paw carefully on his shoulder.

“Of course not,” he replied sharply, pointing a hoof to the grave they had dug. “I was supposed to protect those ponies, but instead I abandoned them to the armies of Sombra.”

“Armies,” Ailade questioned, suddenly approaching him from his right side. “I wouldn’t expect even somepony as crazy as him to commit so many ponies to murder.”

“Then clearly you have never had to deal with the insane, belligerent type of psychopath that Sombra is,” Hemorrhage answered. “We belittle him with nicknames such as the Bastard King and bastard, but quite clearly he is much more capable and intelligent than the lot of us. He managed to sneak in a devastating attack even after we knew the possibility of such an attack, in the short amount of time between our visit home and now. This is a stupid loss, a loss and massacre as a result of my slowness to react to such intense news. However, we need to find out how exactly this occurred.

“I said armies because that is the only way the Bastard could have managed to both defeat Luna’s army and burn the city at the same time. Most likely, Luna’s army saw Grandshire being attacked and quickly retreated from the battle, thus the minimal casualties suffered by both sides. They attempted to save the town, but by the time they arrived, it was too late, and having given up their optimal position to defend and fight from, they were forced to quickly retreat from any place near the town.”

“Minimal,” Ailade questioned. “There must be over a thousand dead stallions out there, not too far from the town. I would hardly call that minimal.”

“Even if all of those soldiers were members of Luna’s army, that would only be five percent of their forces destroyed in combat, hardly the rout required to discourage an army as large as hers is. Besides, in the average battle between forces of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, Sombra’s forces suffer one hundred and fifty percent of the casualties they deal. With one thousand in mind, that would mean some four hundred Equestrian stallions dead, but six hundred Imperial soldiers killed in return. It doesn’t add up in any way,” Hemorrhage explained, frustrated. “The real question, though, is why Sombra would have the town burned.”

“For fear of course,” Argon presumed.

“That’s what I thought at first as well,” Hemorrhage quickly continued. “But that doesn’t make sense either. Killing everypony is what ponies fear more than anything, and clearly Sombra knows that better than anypony. Besides, think about it. Grandshire is one of the best designed cities, and topographically is the perfect defensive position for an invading force. It isn’t too far from the border, is surrounded by hills and farms, and has mountains defending it from the north. It would take longer for Equestrian forces to get there from Canterlot than Imperial forces from Shanet. Why destroy something so valuable to the upkeep of soldiers and supplies for your army?”

“Because your army isn’t the one that you’re sending to do the fighting for you,” Leper suddenly spoke up, returning from wherever we had been. The others turned to the young lycan as he solemnly sat down, still staring out to a distant hill. “There is a smaller cluster of corpses buried in the hill over there, soldiers undoubtedly, and by the smell of it, the former camp they had set up.”

“Could you tell exactly what type of soldiers were in the camp,” Hemorrhage questioned with sudden realization. “Where there the smells of metal and polish or crystal and smoke?”

“I would have to guess it was Equestrian,” Leper replied unsurely, still staring at the hill that now seemed ominous with the sun setting just barely above its crest. “Not just from the general smells emanating from the area, but also because of the position it’s set up at. Roughly a half mile away from the town, using it almost as a defensive buffer between the two armies. My guess is that their plan involved swapping places with residents and soldiers, having the fighting in town where they have homefield advantage and the civilians will take to the camp, where they can easily be attended.”

“I would agree, save it for one factor,” Hemorrhage stated. “The main priority of this defensive move is to protect ponies, and part of that would be protecting ponies beyond Grandshire. The farms of the Oppotimare Valley provide a third of Equestria’s grain, and by losing those could cause a massive recession and famine that could possibly kill hundreds more. The soldiers would also have moved into a defensive position to protect both the civilians and crops.”

“Which means that wasn't the main camp, but where they actually retreated to,” Argon concluded thoughtfully. “And if they retreated there, then what forced them back even farther? Maybe Sombra sunk all of his troops in the southeast of the Crystal Empire into this endeavor.”

“I don’t put it past him to do that, but while Sombra is a bloodthirsty bastard, he’s far more intelligent than we give him credit for,” Hemorrhage reminded them all. “He has managed to not only maintain, but even win, wars against Equestria with a relatively smaller country, all while managing any uprisings or opposition he might face. While we can’t conclude what actually happened here, it is safe to guess that Sombra’s forces are far more powerful and numerous than our allies. We’ll have to tread lightly in this piece of land, lest we happen upon his entire force.”

“Well, the best place to start looking for clues would be up on that hill, if we’re done here,” Leper suggested, flicking his head in the direction of the hill. “I wasn’t able to get a close look, but I could’ve sworn that there was something sticking out of the crest.”

“We’ll check it out then,” Hemorrhage nodded, glancing over to Argon and Ailade. “Hold this position as lookouts, will you? We need to be as careful as possible sneaking around in what could potentially be enemy territory. Besides, if we do find something up there, we may need to retreat quickly depending on what exactly.”

“Contrary to what you think, the safest bet would be to stick together,” Leper stated, giving the other three a long stare. “It’s much harder to kill four nocturnals who are fighting together than it is to kill two pairs. Like you said, we’re in dangerous territory, but if we do have to retreat, there’s no need for secrecy in it. After all, these are the enemy we’re talking about, and if we need to use our nocturnal forms to retreat, who will they tell? I doubt Sombra is ignorant to the possibility of nocturnals working for Equestria.”

“Leper’s right, there’s only danger in splitting up,” Ailade agreed thoroughly. “If we do happen to need to fight, then together is better than separate. If your estimations on the size of their army are correct, then they may be hard to view without being spotted, even from a distance. Easier to keep track of everything and everyone if we move together, and it saves us valuable time. As seen by the destruction of Grandshire, we can’t afford to lose any more of it.”

Hemorrhage glanced down at the ground, thinking hard on what the others had said, tapping a hoof against his chin before finally admitting defeat with the slightest growl. “Fine, we move together, but remain crouched against the side of the hill and wait for my signal to crest it. I will be the first over the top, and on my signal, Leper, Ailade, and then Argon will follow up.” After another moment’s hesitation, he added, “We go in nocturnal form. Whether we find allies or enemies up there, or if it’s abandoned, we would be better prepared for whatever faces us there in those forms. If we do end up fighting, just remember who you are behind the beast.”

The group nodded in unison, agreement solemnly etched on everypony’s faces even as they suddenly began to change. Hemorrhage didn’t stick around to watch his friends change, his own wings emerging from his back as he kicked off the ground, catching the wind in his wings. He suddenly drifted sideways and down the hill they had been on, drifting between the small gaps between the hills as he flew towards the intended one. Slitting his eyes against the wind, he suddenly kicked outwards, flipping him vertical to the ground and stacking his spine to catch the air in his wings, rapidly slowing as he approached the sharp, grassy slant of the hill Leper had indicated.

Expertly landing on the terrain with the softest of thuds, he crouched low to the ground, the hair of his neck brushing with the grass. He kept his wings extended, ready for launching at a moment’s notice in case of any hostility. Slowly, he took his first few steps up the new knoll, listening intently for any noises that could give away potential threats. Hearing nothing but the gentle brushing of grass against itself in the breeze, he continued forward, slinking up the hill swiftly and silently, all the while attentive for any danger. Finally, he reached the crest of the hill, and still hearing nothing but grass moving in the wind, he took a deep breath and launched himself over the top like a snake springing from the brush.

A gasp escaped Hemorrhage as he stared in disbelief at the head of another blue-coated stallion, disembodied save for the spear that held it above his own. The eyes had been scratched out, skin of the sockets torn but long dry of blood. The poor stallion’s mouth was agape, his jaw loosely open as his black mane drifted in the soft wind, a last banner of his lost life. Hemorrhage took a step back from the grotesque display, nearly slipping off the edge of the hill as he stared helplessly around him. Some forty other heads were planted on spears on the crest of this hill, all right on the edge of it where anypony who ascended it would find them.

Closing his mouth and turning to the open hills below him, he simply waved his hoof to signal the others to come, watching them suddenly dash up the hill towards him, still ready for a fight if needs be. He watched them hollowly as they each in turn saw the display left for them, deflating in disgust, anger, or sadness as he had. Shaking his head, he rested a hoof on Ailade’s back, pulling slightly to shake her away from a blue-maned stallion who had not only been beheaded, but had his skull collapse on one side.

“Damn bastard,” Leper suddenly shouted, throwing himself sideways and ripping out a chunk of the ground with his claws, launching the debris into the small valley between hills. Before Hemorrhage could say anything, Argon moved to the young nocturnal, resting his paw on his fellow lycan’s shoulder.

“We will make him pay for this,” Ailade growled, her voice rumbling through Hemorrhage’s own hoof. She began to quiver in anger, causing the mordigan to press his hoof harder into her to grab her attention.

“Careful now,” Hemorrhage warned, moving between her and the heads, giving her a stern look. “Emotion is like any other tool.”

“Easily mishandled,” Argon finished, tugging Leper away from the stallion he was staring at. The lycan’s eyes met Hemorrhage’s, cold realization and rage causing a silver spark to ignite in both of them. What had been done here was a complete violation of life, and a complete monstrosity brought about by a war they had been casually allowed to happen. It was time to step in truly, beyond snooping and advising. It was time to end the war for good. And it started with finding the traitors who had killed their own officers and forcing them to pay.

“Come on,” Hemorrhage coldly ordered, turning to the west, where another cloud of smoke had begun to appear on the horizon. “We need to bury these bodies.”

Author's Note:

Well, now we get back to the darker and more disturbing times. Buckle up. As always, comments, compliments, and questions are welcomed!

P.S. Go say goodbye to B_25, who has released his last story on FimFiction. o7