Rebirth of the Damned

by Borsuq

161. Rockin' through the Battlefield

“Well,” Arthas began, frowning as they gazed down from the top of the ravine’s side, “I guess we know now why your spell revealed that the pieces were moving…”

As Clover’s echo nodded, Tucker asked what Arthas suspected most of the paladins were thinking, “What exactly are we looking at?”

“It’s an earth elemental,” Arthas replied, although the same question rang in his mind, with an emphasis on the ‘exact’ part.

Just like the water elemental that Clover had summoned, this elemental was unlike its counterpart from Azeroth or Draenor that Arthas was familiar with. It was a quadruped, with four massive legs made out of boulders that connected to the torso-like boulder, atop which was a smaller boulder that acted as the creature’s head. However, unlike Lady Coralia, who’s face had clear pony-like features, the light brown earth elemental appeared as if somepony had began to chisel a pony’s face into a rock, and then gave up halfway. Two small crevices marked where it eyes were, and under its head levitated a smaller boulder, imitating a pony’s jaw.

“Judging by its size, I’m guessing it must be a lesser earth elemental,” Arthas noted, observing as it slowly trotted down the ravine; the elemental was roughly only slightly bigger than an average pony. “Apparently, similar to Azerothian elementals, those also become more distinguishable the more powerful they are…”

“But how is that possible?” Serenity spoke up, diverting his attention from the elemental. The crystal pony was looking from him to Clover’s echo. “The Equestrian Army had made sure that all of the earth elementals had been returned to the Undercave after the island had been seized. There shouldn’t be any here.”

That was indeed a good point. “Could the piece of Salvation be somehow related to that?” Arthas turned to Clover.

“Tis most likely the case,” the echo replied thoughtfully. Her horn glowed again and she closed her eyes, concentrating. “It must have lodged into its physical body somehow, then after our forces destroyed it... the power of the shield’s enchantments might have caused this elemental to reform here.”

It made sense to Arthas, but something about what Clover said troubled him. He turned his gaze back on the elemental, sizing it up. It was certainly dangerous, capable of defeating many of Equestria’s soldiers. “However, Rockhoof wasn’t just an ordinary soldier, not if what I heard from Clover and what Guard witnessed his echo do is true,” Arthas thought. “This earth elemental shouldn’t have been able to defeat him… The other three pieces Clover was able to locate must be lodged into elementals as well, but if they are the same as this one, then even if they fought Rockhoof together I doubt they’d been able to defeat him… let alone shatter a shield she believes to be nigh indestructible, for that matter.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘reform’?” Arthas heard Tucker ask the unicorn’s echo, and pulled himself out of his musings.

“When an elemental is 'killed’ on the mortal plane, in truth it only destroys their physical form,” Clover the Clever was quick to answer. “Their spirits return to their respective Elemental Kingdom - Undercave for the earth elementals, Endless Ocean for water elementals, Flamelands for fire elementals, and Skyfields for air elementals - where they reform. Well, usually,” the echo amended, glancing at the earth elemental.

“It clearly hadn’t been the case with this one,” Arthas finished her thought. “The elemental might even still be under the effect of whatever Friedrich’s griffons had done to enslave them two thousands years ago. And even if it’s not, I can’t help but think it will be hostile. Still,” he added, turning to Storm, “ I would advise to first approach it and try to speak to it. Resort to violence only if it turns hostile.”

“Of course, Sir,” Storm replied calmly, probably having thought the same already. “Does this mean you won’t be joining us?”

Arthas shook his head. “I trust that you’ll be able to defeat it together without my help. Besides, I wanted to admire the scenery for a bit.”

Storm and the others gave him a look suggesting that they thought he was kidding, but all quickly shook it off. “As you wish, Sir,” Storm replied as all of them saluted, then prepared to make their way down the ravine leaving Arthas and Clover alone.

“How exactly do you defeat one of those, anyway?” Tucker asked before they left, glancing at the other paladins then at Arthas.

It was Clover who replied: “If thou inflicts enough damage to the elemental’s body, it will cause its physical form to break. Striking at its 'joints’ might result in the creature losing a limb, making combat easier, just like when fighting a being of flesh. Both physical damage and magical will suffice.”

Guard, who had already starter walking away along with Storm and Serenity, glanced back over his shoulder. “Hit it until it stops moving,” he simplified for Tucker who continued to look at Clover with confusion.

“Ah, okay, got it, thanks babe,” Tucker said, nodding to Clover before he hastened to caught up with the others.

“What a peculiar pony,” Clover commented, her gaze following the paladins, as both she and Arthas sat down.

“Yes, peculiar is one way to describe it,” Arthas replied, sighing. “I am deeply sorry if his behaviour is making you uncomfortable. I’ve been trying to make him act more respectfully, but it’s tougher than making somepony a paladin.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Clover quickly said, waving her hoof dismissively; despite that, however, Arthas noticed a slight blush spread across her transparent cheeks. “I’ve experienced worse behaviour than thy paladin’s from some of our soldiers. I am just… not really accustomed to such attention. Especially from unicorns…” she added in a quieter voice, trailing off.

Sensing that it was a sensitive subject, Arthas didn’t pry, and instead turned his attention to his paladins and the earth elemental, then after noticing that they still had a short distance to cross to reach their mark, he did as he told them he would: admired the scenery.

“Thou weren’t jesting,” Clover spoke up as he began to scan the surrounding them area. Arthas glanced back at he to see the echo was giving him a mildly surprised look. “Might I ask why hast thou taken such interest in our surroundings?”

“We are now far from the site of the battle between Princess Celestia and Bane the Hippogiff,” Arthas replied, shrugging. “I was wondering if the land arounds us still bears any mark from that fight.”

He hadn’t forgotten the power he had briefly felt when Princess Celestia let him know just how upset she was because of the whole situation between him, Twilight and Rainbow. Arthas would lie too if he said that he wasn’t curious at the prospect of seeing what the full extent of her power could do; especially when he wasn’t its target.

“Oh, I see,” Clover’s echo replied, sounding a little surprised, then looked down at the ravine, her brow furrowed. Arthas was about to follow her gaze, worried that she spot something that was about to become a problem for his paladins, but she raised her head to meet his gaze the next second. “Then I suppose this explains why I have no memory of seeing this ravine, even though from my point of view I had crossed it yesterday on the morrow?” she asked, her hoof pointing below.

Arthas blinked, then looked back at the ravine, his gaze slowly travelling down along its length. It was about twenty yards deep and appeared to be at least several miles long. He had known that the mountain where the memorial had stood was destroyed during the battle between Celestia and Bane, but he had thought that it was an exaggeration. But to create a ravine like this, with just a magical beam that most unicorns were capable of casting… Despite knowing how kind-hearted the Princess was or that she considered him a friend, he felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up as he recalled her irritation from that memorable moment, or how she had blasted him when he had interrupted Shining Armor and ‘Cadence’s’ wedding saying that it was a warning.

“Had I really believed once that nothing in Equestria could stand against the power I wielded as the Lich King?” Arthas thought, conflicted emotions surging through him.

“Those eight hundred years did well to mask that it wasn’t nature that formed this landform,” Clover continued, either oblivious to his inner conflict or choosing to ignore it. “But if thou look closely at the walls, thou would notice sections that are too smooth and at an angle that would not be possible unless they had been shaped by magic. And… now that I’m here, I can feel a faint trace of strange magic that looms around it, much brighter than the one binding me and the other echoes on this island. Perhaps this could be the reason why this elemental chose to remain here?”

Arthas began to nod, only to stop as sounds of battle had reached his ears. Even though he wasn’t worried about the outcome of the fight - and that Raogrior was watching over them from the Shadowlands - he still wanted to see how well they could fight a foe like this. He turned his attention towards them just in time to witness the earth elemental charge at his paladins while roaring in fury.

“So much for diplomacy,” he thought calmly, undisturbed; he had expected just as much. Whether it was still bound by griffons’ commands from two millennia ago, or had the piece of Salvation affected its mind, or had it simply grew insane due to the isolation, time, or all of the above, it was far more likely that it would react hostile to their approach. “Well, I suppose we wouldn’t be able to take the the fragment of that shield out of its body without damaging it, anyway…”

As the elemental neared the paladins, Guard, bathed in Light, stepped forward, his shield raised to meet the hoof-like boulder as it smacked down upon them. A loud resonating sound erupted from the ravine as the paladin blocked the attack. If the earth elemental was surprised by a creature of flesh withstanding the strike, it did not show it; it merely reared on its hind legs, aiming to bring both of his forehooves on Guard Shield.

His paladin brothers didn’t give it a chance. Both Storm and Tucker jumped at its hind legs, slashing at them with their Light-empowered swords. It wasn’t enough to damage them, but it did give the elemental a pause. It turned its head around as it backed away and dropped down to all-fours, apparently having a difficult time deciding upon its next target. Before it could pick one of the paladins, Guard charged at it, bashing its head with his shield. Storm and Tucker use this chance to once again attack it. Even from where he and Clover stood, Arthas could see small pieces of the elemental’s rock body being chipped away.

The elemental roared in fury and swung around with its hooves at all three of them. Guard blocked the attack, and Storm and Tucker evaded it with ease. However, this gave the elemental a very brief moment of respite, enough to rear on its hind legs again and slam its forehooves onto the ground.

Arthas felt a slight tremor of the ground from where he stood as three giant stalagmites erupted from the ground beneath the three paladins. At the same time, though, barriers of golden Light enveloped them, shielding them from harm. Arthas smiled as he looked at Serenity, who held back from the fight, held up her forehooves that glowed with the Light. It was a sound strategy, to have the one who was most attuned with the Light stay back, ready to intervene if her comrades needed protection or healing.

She wasn’t content with just protecting the others, though; as soon as the three paladins were out of danger, she stopped holding the shields around them, and instead turned the Light against the earth elemental. A blast of Light shot from her outstretched hoof, smiting the creature’s head. At the same time, Guard, Storm and Tucker renewed their attacks, all three putting even greater strength into them, both physical and Light-infused. As they brought their weapons down on their foe, a white light flashed, and the body of the earth elemental fell to the ground, breaking apart.

Arthas nodded with satisfaction. As he expected, the earth elemental, while still a formidable enemy, was no match for all four of them. Even if they would each fight such creature one-on-one, Arthas suspected that all of them would have managed to win; the fight would just be far more challenging. He had trained them well.

That wasn’t to say that he enjoyed that they had to “kill” the elemental. If it weren’t for the fact that, similar to Azerothian elementals, Equestrian elementals were also bound to another plane, he would have intervened and tried his damn hardest to resolve this fight without destroying it. Even as it was, even though the elemental would recover in the Undercave, Arthas still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. He knew first hoof that dying wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“But it couldn’t be helped. It attacked us on sight, like a rabid animal,” Arthas thought, saddened. He wasn’t a shaman - although thanks to Ner’zhul’s memories having been practically seared into his mind he wouldn’t be surprised if he knew more about shamanism than half of all shamans in existence - bound to honoring the elemental spirits, but he would grieve seeing any kind of creature being reduced to such state. “Hopefully, its mind will recover upon its return to the Undercave.”

“Thy paladins are great fighters,” Clover commented, sounding impressed. “Most of our soldiers had great difficulty facing their first earth elementals. Even if it was four of them against one, they had done well.”

“That they did,” Arthas agreed, watching as they searched the elemental remains - with Tucker poking one of the boulders that made its body suspiciously, as if expecting it to rise again - looking for the fragment of Salvation. “Hopefully, it will be as easy to collect other pieces.”

---

It turned out that it was.

“Huh,” Arthas thought, looking at the remains of the final earth elemental that his paladins had just defeated. “I honestly half expected that at least one of them would turn out to be bigger or something…”

But none of them were. The other three elementals were all of the same size as the first one his paladins had fought; not only that, they all looked identical, even to him. Each of them had also reacted the same way to the sight of them, by charging to attack, and although the battles that followed varied from one another a bit - at one point Arthas had to raise a Light’s shield around him and Clover as the elemental cast a giant boulder in their direction (or rather, at Tucker but missed) - all had concluded the same way; with the four paladins being victorious and reclaiming another fragment of Salvation.

“Oh well, no point at looking a gift horse in the mouth I suppose,” Arthas concluded, mentally shrugging, as he trotted closer to see Guard pick up a slightly bent piece of white metal with barely visible, worn-away lines on side. “Just like the other three… as Clover had said, it’s not enough to recreate the shield completely on their own,” Arthas mused, frowning as he pictured all the fragments they had found, “but a skilled blacksmith should be able to reforge it…”

Assuming they could find more of the metal Salvation was made from in the first place. It was clearly not steel, or any metal Arthas was familiar with; though to be fair, he hadn’t really looked up Equestrian’s metallurgy.

“I’d better ask Clover if she knows something about it,” Arthas decided. “For all I know, this metal’s ore can be only found in the Frozen North, where those diamond dogs lived. Would be better to learn that while we have here the only pony who lived in that area - well, after a fashion - that’s still around.”

“That makes all four, right?” he heard Tucker ask, interrupting his musing. The unicorn paladin had turned to Clover. “Are you sure there isn’t any big last boss or something that we have to fight next?”

The echo gave him a puzzled look as she replied. “Um, no, that should be-”

“Lady Clover?” Guard’s question cut her off. “Should those fragments be doing this or…”

Arthas turned to the earth pony, first with confusion, and then with alarm; the single fragment of Salvation that Guard was just about to put away into his saddlebag was now instead levitating above him, vibrating. And it wasn’t “single”; the other fragments had also risen from the saddlebag, along with the shield boss, and hung in the air together.

At the same second Arthas exclaimed: “Guard move away!” the remains of the earth elemental also flew up towards the pieces of the shield.

He didn’t need to repeat his order to the others; everypony was already moving away as the boulders began to circle around in the air. They weren’t just rocks that made the body of the elemental; patches of the ground around them also rose, as if drawn by a magnet, and flew towards the fragments, melding together with them and the remains of the elemental.

“You just had to say it,” Arthas heard Serenity mutter to Tucker as they backed away.

“Oh, how is this my fault?!” Tucker defended himself, pointing at the floating rocks and boulders before them.

He had a point; whatever was happening, it was very unlikely that it was caused by his comment. Still, Arthas couldn’t help but say “Tucker, you are forbidden to speak until we leave the island, that’s an order.”

The unicorn left out a groan, then mumbled something incoherent that sounded awful lot like “This is bullshit.”

Having dealt with that matter, Arthas glanced at Clover, who was looking at the event before them studiously. “Clover?” he asked, reaching for his hammer.

“I haven’t seen anything like this,” she replied to his unspoken question. “I would think that might be how an elemental would reform itself, but…”

She trailed off, her expression a mixture of perplexed and fascination. Arthas, who was far more worried than curious at the moment, focused on the floating mass of earth and rock that kept growing bigger. Within seconds the fragments, which had stopped circling around the remains of Salvation, began to meld together, forming a shape. Before Arthas could blink, they also created four shapes around that, becoming legs that dropped to the ground and causing it to shake just as a head began to form above its torso.

An earth elemental, about five times bigger than the ones they had faced, now stood before them.

Arthas did a double take of it. It wasn’t that it was just bigger; it also resembled a pony far more than the previous ones. He would almost take it for a sculpture of an earth pony if he hadn’t seen it form just before his eyes. All of its very dark brown body, four legs, torso and head, were physically connected together, and on top of that, it had a mane and a tail, made out of grass and moss that covered the rocks it had absorbed to reform itself.

But its appearance wasn’t all that was to it: Arthas could sense primal power stirring within the elemental, and had the feeling that it was about to unleash it upon them.

Beside him, Clover uttered a surprised gasp. “A Boulder Duke?”

Arthas would have loved to ask just what the hell a “Boulder Duke” was, but as Clover’s echo spoke, the elemental’s head turned to them. With a groan, it - “Or rather ‘he’ if it’s a ‘Duke’,” Arthas mused - raised his massive foreleg. He did likewise, uttering a quick prayer of protection, and in the corner of the eye saw Clover’s horn had started to glow. As two layers of barrier, one made out of Light and the other of pure arcane magic formed around them, the elemental’s forehoof slammed against it, faster than Arthas would have expected.

Wincing a little from the effort to keep up his barrier through that attack, he turned to Clover. “What’s a Boulder Duke?”

“They are one of the most powerful earth elementals;” Clover explained, frowning; considering how effortlessly she had kept her barrier through her fight with them, Arthas assumed it was due to her contemplating what had just happened rather than a sign of exertion; “there hath been only a few of them in the Griffonian army, and each wrought devastation on the battlefield.”

“Lovely,” Arthas couldn’t help but comment. A grunt escaped him as the elemental struck again. “Any idea as to why he suddenly reformed around the fragments of Salvation?”

“I think… he must have fought with Rockhoof and won, but just as Salvation was shattered, so was he. The event must have caused the essences of the elemental and the legendary shield to intermingle with each other. It must have resulted with the Boulder Duke to be bound to those fragments, but… He hadn’t had enough power to reform completely, and it resulted in splitting into smaller earth elementals, thou might say shards, around fragments of Salvation. Now that we brought together the fragments of Salvation together…” she trailed off, finally pausing after having told them what she has deduced so quickly that the Boulder Duke only attacked four more times during her speech.

“Will you be able to do something with the fragments to prevent him from reforming again?” Arthas asked her.

“I should be able to separate the Boulder Duke’s essence from Salvation’s fragments... but first we’d have to shatter his physical form,” Clover pointed out.

“Yes, I figured that part out already,” Arthas muttered with an eyeroll, then louder he added, “Alright, I’ll draw his attention, and my paladins will protect you while you channel a spell strong enough to shatter him; I trust you know a spell or two that would do the trick?”

Clover nodded. “Yes of course, but art thou certain-”

“Wait,” a voice from behind them spoke up, interrupting her.

A little surprised, Arthas glanced at Storm, whose voice it was. The pegasus was standing beside his paladin brothers and sister, the others behind him and Clover but still within the protective dome they had conjured. Arthas had been dimly aware of the four muttering something among themselves while he and Clover had talked, but as the Boulder Duke occupied his attention, he hadn’t bothered listening in. It appeared though that he was about to learn what his paladins have been discussing.

“Sir,” Storm began, turning to Arthas, “the four of us would like to ask your permission to deal with the Boulder Duke ourselves.”

Apparently, they’ve been discussing ways to commit a mass suicide.

Arthas was so taken by surprise by this request that it took him a moment to consider his request. He managed to suppress the first reply that came to his mind - “Hell no!” - and the desire to yell it immediately; instead, he wondered why in Equestria would they ask for this. He could tell it wasn’t just Storm who wanted them to fight the powerful earth elemental; the other three were looking at Arthas now with equal determination as the knight-lieutenant.

“Why?” he simply asked Storm, not having the time to ponder this by himself.

“You’ve sent us here on a trial, Sir. You wanted to be sure that we would be able to serve Equestria even in the darkest of times, and wanted us to be sure as well,” Storm reminded him, then nodded and the Boulder Duke. “True, you didn’t mean for us to face such beings, but if something like this creature would attack Equestria while you were away and Rarity, Lady Twilight, and their friends were out on another world-saving adventure? We would face it, regardless if we’d feel like we could defeat it or not. But a little boost of confidence and some experience wouldn’t hurt.”

Arthas bit his lip, finding it difficult to come up with any counter arguments. He was right; this was their trial. The whole reason for them being on this Light-forsaken island was so that they would be ready for whatever future might hold in store. Light forbid there would be a war anywhere in Equestria’s future, with one side enslaving elementals to do their bidding to boot, but what if that would happen? Or what if somepony would just enslave a being like this for nefarious purposes, or if one of the Wild Gods from the Everfree Forest would stray into Ponyville? What if they would have to face more foes as dangerous as this one or worse?

Those four were warriors of the Light, each of them already capable fighters in their own rights. As Arthas glanced at the Boulder Duke, he thought carefully about how well they fought so far, and what he knew them of being capable off. They could defeat this elemental; it would be a tough battle for sure, way tougher than anything they’ve faced so far (aside from Clover’s echo), but they could defeat it.

The question was, was Arthas going to still hold their hooves, or would he believe in them?

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, then exhaled. “A blow from such creature could crush your entire body,” he said, giving them this one final warning to change their mind. “It would be out of Raogrior’s powers to bring you back, not to mention mine. Are you certain you still wish to fight it?”

“With all respect, Sir,” Guard spoke up, “when I decided to join the Royal Guard, I hadn’t expected to be brought back to life if I would die on the line of duty. I didn’t expect it when I joined the Order of the Celestial Light, either. None of us expects that. Also,” the earth pony added while the others nodded in confirmation of his statement, his lips curving up to a smile,“we don’t plan on letting him hit any of us. Well, not our bodies at least,” he amended, raising his shield a little.

Arthas locked eyes with him, then with the others. Everypony, even Serenity, was still determined to defeat the Boulder Duke by themselves, without his help or Clover’s.

Sighing, he gave up. “Could you teleport us - on my signal - about thirty yards away from here?” he asked Clover. “Far away to not get get dragged into the fight but close enough to interfere if they’d need saving?”

The echo looked at him for a second before answering, considering his request; as well as his paladins’, no doubt. “If that’s what thou thinks is best,” she finally replied, turning her attention back to the Boulder Duke. “On thy signal.”

She wouldn’t have to wait long; keeping up his barrier for so long while the powerful elemental kept slamming its rocky hooves - even if half of the strengths those punches had had been absorbed by Clover’s barrier - had been more taxing than Arthas would have liked to admit. He would be able to hold it for only a few more moments.

“Light,” Arthas prayed, looking back at his paladins, “please, don’t let my choice be wrong.”

“You’d better stay alive,” he told them, his glare inviting no argument or humorous reply. “I might not be able to resurrect you if you’d die, but I will still be able to summon your spirits. And as you know, I once excelled at tormenting souls.”

Despite how threatening this might have sounded - Arthas himself wasn’t sure if he wasn’t kidding - the four paladins all smiled as they stood up straighter in attention and said: “Yes Sir!”

A ghost of a smile crossing his lips, Arthas turned to Clover and nodded.

For a brief instant, he saw the echo’s horn’s glow increase, and suddenly their surroundings have changed. Arthas didn’t even feel anything as Clover teleported them a safe distance away. His concentration disrupted, he had stopped channeling the barrier. Putting his hoof down to the ground, he looked at his paladins as they dropped into battle stances while the Boulder Duke loomed over them, with nothing between them.

“Art thou sure this is a good idea?” Clover, standing beside him, asked.

Arthas didn’t reply immediately. “How many ponies have died in the war because they weren’t ready?” he finally asked.

“... thou haven’t really answered my question,” Clover countered.

He didn’t reply to that, but somebody decided to do it for him. “They charge bravely into combat with valorous hearts, eager to prove themselves,” Raogrior said, her golden wings flapping as she landed behind them. “What right would you have to deny them this battle?”

“I could think of a few,” Arthas commented in his thoughts, “or make some up, whatever.”

Turning his attention to the fight that has began in front of them, he once again prayed to the Light to watch over his paladins.

Comments

[taelonso]

i find it kind of funny that i've been on a reread of this and it up dates i'm currently on (chapter 47 Plans for the next few days) i'll be getting to the new chapter soon

[Garuda IV]

Can't say how glad I am to see an update. Looking forward to the next one.

[Booster Spice]

Thats the best, nastiest booby trap Ive ever seen.

At least its not trying to hatch a Uranium Dragons egg.

[Fireeaters]

New expansion's out.

[forrest yuchnitz]

i dont even remember whats happening anymore i know they went to the island full of ghosts and fought clover and thats it

[Draice]

YEA!? new chapter!

[hydra30]

Finally, good chapter. Hey it's been so long since the last update I have forgotten one thing, I know that they are on the island to train but I also remember that they are there to collect shards of special metal. I don't remember what Arthas wants to make with them so can someone refresh my memory, please.

[Lord Death]

9119698
the shards are a "side quest" same with the shield thing, i think they only went to the island to visit the monument and it spiraled from there...or maybe they went to cleanse/free the echos.

[Panicing_in_pain]

9125388
Ree, my guy. A very. Loud. Ree.

[Greatazuredragon]

Nice work, keep it up.

[Prince Aquarius]

This is getting good. Hope Tucker doesn't say something that would make Serenity buck him in the nether regions

[Alot Master]

9132270
He cant until they get off the island, remember?