Eight years have passed since the grand queen of the Changelings, Madora, failed to besiege Equestria in an attempt to bring it to its knees. Now, Equestria has seen a time of peace like no other, with every threat either reforming or falling beneath its banner.
But the greatest threat to Equestria has only just begun to make its move, one who has power far beyond that of the Elements of Harmony. With the six ponies that brought justice to the land scattered throughout Equestria due to their dreams of excelling in the world, and some ponies even becoming corrupted from the inside, will the power of Friendship finally meet its match?
The heavy blizzard that swept across the land created a fog that made it almost impossible to see any further than a pony could stretch out their hoof. A truly strange phenomenon to even the most talented of scientists and professors, the lands further north of the Crystal Empire were constantly shrouded in harsh blizzards, making any chance of being inhabitable completely impossible. Any efforts to get through were deemed fruitless and quickly dismissed, leaving it to forever be one of the mysteries of the planet.
Trudging through this dense cold, a lone figure was making its way further north. It was tall and only used a simple shroud and hood as protection against the violent winds that would send any Pegasus plummeting back towards the snowy ground. Despite this, it seemed completely unphased and oblivious to the cold lifelessness that seemingly stretched on forever that surrounded it. It only walked on at a steady pace, never faltering.
For hours it walked until it came to a stop in front of a cavern. As if inspecting it, its shrouded head rose slightly. By now, it stood upon the very northern pole of the planet. The winds were vicious and the cold would have long killed any normal being by now. It showed no signs of relief upon entering; only continuing its journey into the blackness and away from the wasteland that the sun had never seen.
It slowly walked deeper inside. Despite the blinding darkness that surrounded it, it seemed to know where it was going. Before long, clusters of crystals began appearing on the walls and on the ceiling which emitted a natural light that was just bright enough to show the way through. As well, with each passing step a distant sound could be heard. It sounded not far different from the sound of someone or something letting out a soft, constant exhale into your ear. The sound never seemed to grow any louder, but still felt closer with each step.
The size of the cavern came to a sudden expansion. The walls stretched high up before leveling out and continuing down further inside. Greatly resembling a bottle, the walls and ceiling came to a sudden halt, reaching back down to form a dead end. However, upon this wall was the source of the sound that had been calling to the one that entered.
A great gateway took up nearly the entire opposite wall. It shimmered like disturbed water, swirling into variations of dark colors.
A harsh growl cut through the near-silence. A great beast began walking from the shadows, blocking the path to the gateway. Its three heads glared at the intruder, eying it curiously. It wondered why this intruder looked so different compared to the other beings to the south who walked upon four legs and even flew. This one was taller and only stood upon its hind legs like some kind of monkey or minotaur. Each head began baring their own sharp rows of teeth, determined not to let this strange creature inside the gateway.
The intruder showed no signs of being intimidated by the hound of hell. Instead, it only pulled back its hood to reveal a head with colorless hair. It opened its eyes, they too sharing the same colorlessness. It spoke no words, only glaring back at the beast, as if expecting that it would be the one to back down instead.
The beast replied with a thunderous bark, shaking the very foundation of the mountain that nature had carved this cavern from.
The intruder seemed to let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. From under its cloak came an outstretched arm, the palm facing outward. Black smoke began forming around its hand, extending out both ways and splitting apart towards the top. It wrapped its fingers around the smoke, solidifying it upon contact. The smoke turned to metal, forming a three-pronged trident.
Before the beast could make the first move, the intruder dashed forward at incredible speed, easily closing the gap between the two. With a powerful leap strong enough to rival the takeoff of any Pegasus, it jumped high into the air and came face to face with the guardian of the portal. Taking it as easy prey, the beast opened its mouth to devour the intruder. As the mighty jaw was coming down, the intruder put up its trident, piercing the roof of the beast’s mouth and keeping it open. Jumping outward from the menacing jaws, it grabbed onto the beast’s snout and used momentum to backflip onto the bridge of its nose. With a sweeping kick, the intruder kicked the beast right in its eye.
It let out a howl in pain before bucking its head up, sending the intruder back into the air. He was quickly swatted out of the sky by the beast’s paw. It landed on the on its feet with no signs of being worse for the wear. The center head’s left eye quivered in irritation and pain. The intruder held out its hand again and the trident dissipated back into black smoke, returning to its master where it reformed in the shape of a sword. It sprinted at the beast, which responded by pulling its three heads back and inhaling deeply. Upon lashing them back down, swirling tunnels of fire shot from their mouths toward this strange challenger. It dodged to the right, traveling along the narrow pathway between the two streams of flame. Its cloak became scorched, blackening as pieces fell off and turned to ash.
The intruder threw its blade forward, piercing the thick hide of the beast between the two heads. Using it as a foothold, it leaped up from the blade and onto the back of the beast. The beast began shaking itself, trying to throw the small flea from its body. The sword, still planted at the base of the neck, faded into smoke, quickly surging back into the intruder’s hand in the form a scythe. It ran forward, planting the blade just behind the skull and holding on tightly in order to keep a foothold on the shaking monstrosity.
With a tight grip, it held itself down. “Enough! OBEY ME!”
The beast suddenly stopped its shaking. The whimpering it was making from the blade stuck in its neck ceased, and it calmed rather quickly. The intruder kept its grip tight out of precaution.
The beast lowered itself onto its stomach, laying its center head on the ground to allow its new master the ease of a softer landing. The scythe returned to smoke, this time disappearing completely. The master leaped off of the beast’s head casually as if it had not just fought a battle of life or death. The master patted the beast’s nose, “Stay.”
The beast obeyed, not moving an inch. The master walked past the beast and towards the portal. It stopped just before, looking up and the massive gateway. Carefully, it touched the shimmering wall. From its touch, the wall rippled and sent its disturbance to the very corners of the gateway. It slowly passed through, becoming enveloped in the wavy wall of ether.
It was like walking into a wall of water without ever getting wet, and the sensation left as quickly as it came. When the master next appeared, it was on the opposite side of the gateway. The colorless eyes began to take in the sudden change of scenery.
Far behind it were the beast and the cavern and the harsh weather. Now, it stood upon a large cliff inside an even larger cavern, suspended high above a swirling vortex of green and white. The cliff itself was as wide as the gateway which the master had passed through and narrowed to a point as it came just above the center of the vortex.
There was no ceiling, only darkness. There was no floor, for the vortex seemed to stretch down forever. This was Tartarus, the home to the dead. Appearing to care little, the master marched forward. It took almost a full minute to reach the precipice, and from there it looked down into the vortex itself.
It swirled slowly like a whirlpool. Millions of white dots were scattered all throughout the pool, spinning at a slightly offset rate from the rest of the vortex. The cold eyes moved from dot to dot, searching as if it could distinguish one from another. Finally, its eyes came to a halt on one dot in particular. A smile crept across its lips. It held out its arm, palm facing downward into the shimmering expanse. From the pool, a single dot rose up towards the cliff. It was not white like the others. No, this one was black.
It glided upward towards the master’s palm, which turned in response as it rose to give a platform for the black soul in its hand. It hovered just inches above the palm, looking like a ball that was eternally lit aflame. The master caressed the small field the soul emitted with its other hand as if it were the head of a young child.
“These ponies have grown too soft, too weak… they need to be strengthened once more.”
The young pale colored Unicorn fumbled with her footing along the steep slope. She brushed some of her long white mane away from her cloudy grey eyes, although no matter how much she tried one always seemed to be covered. “I’m coming!”
The black coated Pegasus huffed and rolled his eyes impatiently as he waited for the grounded pony. He sat back on his haunches and started looking up at the clouds to pass the time. During which, the Unicorn continued to struggle and climb to the peak of the slope. Her hoof slipped, and soon the rest of her body followed suit. Before she could make a cry for help or even a scream of fright, she felt a hoof wrap around her own and save her from her descent. She slowly opened one of her tightly clenched eyes and saw a familiar pair of red eyes looking back at her. The Pegasus pulled her up to more stable land, to which the Unicorn gave a thankful smile.
“Thanks Star.” The Unicorn said quietly, a soft smile still on her face
“Don’t mention it.” He replied, ignoring her thanks. “Come on, hopefully you didn’t wake him up.” The two crouched low to the ground, quietly sneaking up along a group of rocks. They slowly peaked over, the Unicorn blowing upward to get her mane away from her one visible eye before returning her eyes to their target.
Green scales rose and fell to the constant rhythm of snoring. A purple hand rose, scratching at them with its sharp claws. A grin spread across the Pegasus’ face as he nudged the Unicorn gently and pointed to a small, darkened cloud not high above them. She nodded as her horn began to glow, encasing the cloud in a white veil. She pulled the cloud came down just above the sleeping beast. Silently and carefully, the Pegasus fluttered up onto the cloud. His devilish grin never fading, he pushed off hard with his legs, causing a loud crack of thunder and a swift bolt of lightening to shoot out as he came back down. The beast awoke with a yelp.
A few moments of silence passed before being disturbed by a single sound. “Hic!”
Both ponies began cracking up on the spot as the dragon continued hiccuping, spurts of green flame shooting out each time. The Pegasus nearly fell off his cloud in amusement.
“Darn-Hic!-it, Dark Star! What did I tell you about interrupting-Hic!-my three hour naps?” The dragon said, clearly irritated by his predicament
“Aw, come on Spike! We’re just havin’ a little fun!” Dark Star replied, peaking over the side of his cloud
“We?” Spike replied with a cocked eyebrow. He then heard a small rock fall to the ground and turned to see the young Unicorn trying to shrink as small as possible behind the larger rocks. “Don’t tell me he-Hic!-got you into this too, Pareidolia.”
Pareidolia slowly made her way from her hiding place, her head hung low so that her mane touched the ground and her eyes were glistening. “I’m sorry Mr. Spike. We just wanted to have a little fun…”
Spike huffed and put his hands on his hips. Despite how hard it was for dragons to lose hiccups, he just couldn’t bring himself to be mad at the young filly. Her ability to use innocence and cuteness to keep anypony from becoming angry was definitely a trait she picked up from her mother.
“Oh, alright-Hic!- I guess I can let you off the hook just this once.”
Pareidolia immediately perked up, a big grin beaming across her face. She quickly ran up and hugged Spike’s waist, to which he smiled and patted her head. Their scene was interrupted by another clap of thunder, causing them both to jump. Another awkward silence passed before they both let out a loud hiccup.
Dark Star began laughing again, receiving a glare and raised eye brows from the two on the ground.
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“Hic!” Pareidolia whimpered quietly.
“You’re fine, hiccups aren’t anything to worry about.” Dark Star said condescendingly as they made their way through Ponyville market. Pareidolia tried to hold in the hiccup that was arising.
“Are we going home now Star?" She said quietly and looked up towards the sky. "It’s getting kind of dark out…”
Dark Star looked up at the sky blackening sky, a slight frown on his face. “Yeah, I guess so… Mom’s probably worried sick by now.”
Before the two siblings could begin their journey home, a voice cut through the crowd to them. “Hey, Dark!” A dark blue Pegasus shot through the air, coming to a halt just above the filly and colt. The frown on Dark Star’s face turned to a grin upon recognizing the voice.
“'Sup, Thunder?”
Thunderclap smirked, “Mom said the weather team messed up again with their precipitation schedule and are running behind. You know what that means?”
As if on cue, a boom of thunder blasted through the air. Dark Star lifted off into the air, raising his hoof towards his friend who then returned the gesture. “Yeah, storm racing!”
Just as the two were about to take off towards the coming storm, a soft voice arose amongst the sound of other ponies heading for cover. “Star? What about me?” Pareidolia asked.
Dark Star bit his lip as he turned his head around, completely forgetting about his grounded sister. “Just head home Dol, I won’t take long.”
Pareidolia hung her head, “But… I don’t like being alone…" Her hoof gently brushed against the dirt beneath her. "And I don’t really know the way home that well… what if I get lost?”
Her brother sighed. A good storm like this only came around about once a month if they were lucky, and he didn’t even want to think about how lame he would look for turning his friend down just to go walking home with his sister.
“Hey, are we doin’ this or not?” Thunderclap cut in, growing impatient.
“Yeah, just one sec.” Dark Star returned to his sister’s side and spoke softly so that only she could hear. “Just wait here for a bit, I promise I won’t be long. Me and Thunder are just gonna go for a quick fly, and then I’ll be right back. Okay?”
Pareidolia’s frown remained, but she nodded regardless. Smiling, Dark Star and Thunderclap shot off into the sky. The Unicorn watched them until they were just barely out of sight. She sat down next to one of the now vacant fruit stands and began drawing little figures in the dirt with the tip of her hoof. One was of a small pony with a line sticking out of its head and the other was of a larger pony that had a few lines and curves on its body, resembling wings. Between them she drew a small heart.
She let out a small meep as she felt something cold and wet hit her on the head. She looked up, and was greeted by another raindrop landing on her forehead.
This was what Dark Star lived for. The excitement, the adrenaline, the thrill of being in danger and just not caring. A bolt of lightening shot out to his right and just behind him he could hear Thunderclap cheering, his blood rushing just as much. Neither could really see where they were going, but that just added to the feeling.
A boom of thunder blasted from behind him and Dark Star watched as Thunderclap suddenly shot forward, shouting unintelligible cheers as he was able to tap into his inner speed. Dark Star was always envious of the ability his friend could harness, but there was always one thing that stopped him from wanting it too much.
“AH CRAP!” Was all Dark Star could hear as Thunderclap’s wings suddenly gave out, sending him plummeting down back towards the ground. He hit the earth rather hard, making a small trail through the dirt before finally grinding to a halt. Dark Star rolled his eyes before gliding down and offering a hoof to his friend. Thunderclap spit out the dirt that had been pushed into his mouth before reluctantly taking the help. “Ugh, one of these days I’m gonna get over my speed limit and finally go as fast as I want.”
“Patience grasshopper,” Dark Star said, deepening his voice to sound older, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”
“Don’t gimme that crap,” he replied, punching him lightly on the shoulder, “You’re just jealous that I’m the faster flyer!”
“Whatever you say, Thundercrash.” Dark Star retorted, sticking out his tongue. Thunderclap raised his hoof, ready to pummel the black Pegasus for calling him by the nickname his mother had unintentionally passed down to him. Before the brawl could begin, Dark Star spoke up, “Hey, do you hear that?”
Thunderclap’s ears perked up, trying to find the sound. Both turned around towards Ponyville, now rather distant. The storm they had just raced through had reached the pinnacle of its strength over the humble village, pouring rain and pulling on the trees with its harsh winds.
“Looks like the storm has really picked up. Didn’t expect it to be this rough from what mom told me.” Thunderclap said, trying to straighten up his mane as the winds reached even as far as their lookout.
Dark Star said nothing. Thunderclap turned towards his fellow Pegasus, only to flinch at the look of horror on Dark Star’s face. “Dol…” he heard him whisper before watching as he shot off towards the village. Thunderclap tried to follow, but the cramps in his wings were still too much to bear.
“Pareidolia!” He shouted, zipping through the muddy streets of Ponyville. “Dol, where are you!?” His eyes searched frantically for his younger sister, but the small Unicorn was nowhere to be seen. “Mom’s so gonna kill me…” he muttered to himself.
He glided down and landed on the muddy trail that was once the path which he thought he remembered leaving his little sister behind on. He began trekking his way forward, “Dol, speak to me!”
“Star?”
His ears perked up. Only one pony ever called him by that nickname, and only one pony was allowed to call him by that nickname. He rushed over to the alleyway he thought he heard the sound come from and from there he could see the small, white Unicorn looking up at him from within the cover of a leftover cardboard box. He stepped closer, trying to wear a comforting smile, “Dol, it’s okay now.”
Pareidolia stayed curled up within her makeshift den, shaking from the cold. She whimpered softly as thunder boomed above them. Dark Star held his soaking wet hoof out, “Come on, let’s get you home.”
She nodded softly before taking his help. The two trudged through the storm together, getting completely drenched. Pareidolia tried using her magic to shield them from the rain, but the bubble lasted only a few seconds before collapsing and showering them with more water.
After what felt like an hour-long journey, the two arrived at a small cottage just outside of town. Dark Star knocked on the door three times before shivering just as much as his sister, and soon a light but hurried shuffling could be heard behind the door. It flew open, revealing a yellow Pegasus with a look of nothing but anxiety on her face.
She gasped upon seeing the drenched filly and colt at her door. Pareidolia’s white mane completely covered her face; more so than usual, covering both her eyes. Dark Star had a weak smile on his face. “Hey mom,” he said with a guilty chuckle.
Fluttershy practically tackled the two young ponies, pulling both into a tight hug and hovering in the air. “Oh my goodness, I was so worried about you two! Where were you? Are you okay? You’re not sick are you? Did something happen? Did somepony get hurt—“
“Mom!” Dark Star gasped, trying to escape from their overprotective mother’s grasp. Upon seeing that she was choking the poor things, she released them and offered a sheepish smile in apology. He turned towards Pareidolia and lifted half of her mane up before tossing it over the side of her head to allow her to see. “We didn’t mean to stay out so late,” he confessed, “We were on our way home when—“
“W-when I asked if we could take the, Um... long way back.” Both pairs of eyes turned to the young filly that had interrupted. Pareidolia shifted uncomfortably, not liking the sudden attention. Her eyes turned to the floor, “Along the way, we got caught in the rain… We thought we could wait it out, but…”
Fluttershy gently bit her lip and shook her head before brought the filly into a light embrace. “It’s okay dear, I was just worried about the two of you… I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen.” Pareidolia smiled and nuzzled her mother’s neck before yawning deeply. Fluttershy smiled, “Come on you two, it’s already past your bed times.”
“Ugh, but mom...” Dark Star groaned.
“No ‘buts’, now come along.” Fluttershy said as she fluttered through the air with the tired Pareidolia cradled in her hooves. Dark Star rolled his eyes before following after the two of them. Fluttershy helped the two dry themselves off, Dark Star insisting that he do it himself. Afterwards, the two were tucked into bed as the candle between their beds began to dim.
“Mom?” Pareidolia mumbled tiredly to her mother, who was about to step out of the room.
“Yes dear?” Fluttershy turned and smiled at the small Unicorn.
“Could you tell me a story? To help me fall asleep?”
Fluttershy smiled and walked quietly to the rocking chair next to Pareidolia’s bed, the soft creaking breaking the silence of the night. “Of course. What would you like to hear?”
The filly thought for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy saw Dark Star continue his bad habit of rolling his eyes and turn over away from the two.
“How about a story about dad?” Pareidolia asked, breaking her train of thought.
“I’m sure you’ve heard just about everything there is to know about your father, Dolia.” She replied softly.
“I know… I just like hearing about him. Can you tell me what he was like again?”
Fluttershy tapped her chin with her hoof, acting as if she was pondering the thought. “Well, your father was a very quiet stallion. A tall, strong Unicorn that towered above most ponies. He had a very dark, black coat, much like Dark Star’s.” Fluttershy noticed Dark Star shift slightly, giving away that he was awake and indeed listening as well. “But he had a mane that was long and white and soft, just like yours.” She brushed a few locks of mane away from Pareidolia’s face, revealing both of her cloudy eyes.
“Was it love at first sight?” The Unicorn asked innocently.
“Actually, I was rather intimidated by your father at first. In fact, you could almost say that most ponies, myself included were afraid of him. You see, when he arrived in Ponyville, your aunts and I were under direct orders from Princess Celestia herself to protect all the ponies that lived here from a race known as the Changelings.”
“But I heard from Feather that there were Changelings in Canterlot!”
“And she’s right." Her mother nodded, "The Changelings have reformed since then, and now aid us as we expand further north. But before that, there were many bitter feelings between the two races. They were falling near extinction and would do anything to survive… even attack innocent ponies. Your father and a close friend of his came to Equestria from a far off land and were sent to defend us from the Changelings. When Ponyville was first attacked, he was the one that held the Changelings at bay.”
“All by himself?” The filly asked, still amazed by such a feat.
“All by himself. I thought it was kind of scary at first, the way he could display such strength… but later I found him not far from our cottage, watching the birds. I decided to speak with him, and learned that he had a much softer side behind his height and all his armor.” Fluttershy smiled at the filly’s many questions and interruptions.
“There’s no way one Unicorn could keep away an army of Changelings!” Dark Star turned onto his side, a skeptical look on his face. “I learned about them in history class a few days ago, and my teacher said that they used their numbers to overwhelm their prey. There’s just no way that one pony could hold off a full-scale attack.”
Both ponies looked at him for a moment, surprised at his sudden outburst. Fluttershy smiled at the colt, “That’s also true… but he did it. Twice, in fact. Like I said, he was a very powerful Unicorn; almost as strong as Celestia herself.”
“Pfft, I’ll believe that when I see it…” Dark Star turned back over and tried to fall asleep again.
Fluttershy kept her motherly smile, but Pareidolia could see the way the light in her eyes that she always got when she spoke about their father began to dim. “I wish you could see the things he could do… For you see, he had to defend against more than just the Changelings. The Changelings had the help of some ponies just like him and who were just as powerful. He sacrificed himself to stop the Changelings, and I believe that if not for him, we would not have won. Not far from here, at the same tree that we first met, he was buried… I go there every day, thanking him for protecting us all… and for blessing me with the two of you.”
Fluttershy wiped away a tear that was forming in her eye. She looked up and saw that Pareidolia had already closed her eyes and had begun to fall asleep. Carefully, she raised herself up and blew out the candle before stepping into the hallway and closing the door.
The rain began to pick up again, a light but constant shower tapping at the windows. Distant thunder could be heard and a bolt of lightning illuminated the room, revealing a tall figure that was shrouded in a robe. It looked down at the sleeping Unicorn with colorless eyes, watching silently.
“Do not worry, dear child…” It said quietly, kneeling down by Pareidolia’s bed and brushing her mane to the side and caressing her cheek. “I have watched your toils and know the secrets you hide from the others, too afraid to reveal lest they grow to see you as different and shun you…” Removing its glove, it placed a bare finger on her forehead, just below her horn. She began to curl up, shivering and whimpering. “But do not be afraid, for I will help you achieve what you desire most.” A smile crept across its lips, “And have the one you desire most.”
Dark Star’s eyes opened slowly. He let out a loud, heavy yawn before trying to reach up and rub the sleep from his eyes. Strangely though, it felt like something was holding his hoof down. Using his other hoof to lift up his sheets, he saw a blob of white holding his entire leg captive. Shaking his head gently, he realized that the mysterious blob was only his younger sister. Letting out an a drawn out sigh, he pried his leg from Pareidolia’s grasp. Upon losing her grip, her grey eyes opened from beneath her frizzled mane.
“Mm, goodmorning Star…” she blissfully hummed, looking up at him and smiling softly as if it were any other morning.
Dark Star merely looked down at her, unamused. “Dol, you can’t keep doing this. You aren’t a little kid anymore and you should be able to stay in your own bed by now.” Her smiling face turned to a frown as her eyes turned away from his.
“Im sorry, I just…”
“Just what?” he said, a little harsher than he meant to.
She curled up a little, as she normally did when put on the spot. “I-I had a bad dream…”
Dark Star let out another sigh, “That’s what this was about?” Pulling himself away from her and jumping out of bed, he stretched himself out thoroughly. Pareidolia sat up, her head tilted to the side so her mane would hide her face. Dark Star ignored her and made his way to the door, “You need to grow up Dol.”
The door shut loudly behind him, leaving Pareidolia alone on his bed. She laid her head down on the sheets and huffed. She closed her eyes and tried to think of some way to get forgiveness from her brother.
Her train of thought was suddenly broken by the sound of shuffling and a floorboard creaking. Thinking it was Dark Star, Pareidolia immediately perked up. “Star, I’m—“ Her eyes widened as she stared at the being on the other side of the room, looking out the window near her bed. It was tall and stood upon two legs and had long awkward limbs. It’s “body” seemed to be made of shadows, or rather scribbles that constantly moved around. What seemed to be its head snapped forward before slowly turning to face the young filly. It had no face and showed no sign of expression other than a thin white line that stretched across the front. It seemed to curve down slightly towards the edges, like a frown.
Pareidolia tried to quickly run away from this “thing”, but only got her legs tangled amongst her brother’s sheets and fell off the side of the bed with a thud. After quickly trying to regain her posture, she peaked over the side of the bed while shaking in fear. She wanted to call for help, but something stopped her at the last moment.
It only stared at her – or at least, she assumed it was staring. Slowly, it turned and began walking around the beds and towards her. Looking around frantically, she used her magic to grab a broom that was lying against the wall in the corner. When the thing came within range, she swung it as hard as she could with her magical grasp. The bristles and wood only phased through the shadows each time. It looked down at its chest, then back to her. Again, the two only stared at each other, the only sound coming from Pareiodolia’s hyper ventilating. It knelt down onto one of its knees, as if to try and lower itself to eye-level with her. Nonetheless it still was twice the size of the young Unicorn even in such a position.
She felt like she would start crying at any second. She closed her eyes tightly, afraid to see what sort of fate this thing had in store for her.
But nothing ever came.
Slowly and only slightly, she opened one of her eyes. The creature of shadows remained where it had before. After what felt like an hour of silence, it cocked its head slightly to the right. Pareidolia responded by unintentionally mimicking its movements. Slowly, it raised one of its limbs and placed it against its chest. Its head bobbed gently.
Is it trying to talk?
Before she could try and figure out what this strange creature was trying to do, the door to the room flew open as a dark blue Pegasus shot through the door. He ran to the other side of his bed, phasing through the creature of shadows as if it were nothing but air.
“Come on Dol, we overslept! We’re gonna be late for school!”
“But—“ She took one last look at the being that her brother unknowingly stood within before Dark Star took her hoof and pulled her onto his back.
Elsewhere in the house, Fluttershy was gently tipping a bag of food forward, letting the brown grams flow out into the bowl in front of her. Three small kittens gathered around the outpouring, meowing in thanks to the one who cared for them. The timid Pegasus smiled in response, petting one gently as they nibbled at their food. At that moment, a blur shot by behind her, causing her mane to blow to the side. All she was able to hear besides the door flying open was what seemed to be something along the lines of “Bye mom!”
Upon following the trail, she could make out her two children flying off towards town. A smile on her face, she closed the door with her tail as she walked outside and forward to a few trees just a short distance away. In front of the one closest to the cottage was a large sword planted in the ground. Planted several years ago, weather proved to have no effects on the metal which was as pristine as the day it was set.
“Sometimes I wonder just where he gets it from.”
Her only response was the chirping of birds that were perched along the hilt. Nevertheless, Fluttershy retained her smile as if it War himself answering.
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Elsewhere, Dark Star landed in front of the schoolhouse with a somewhat shaken-up Pareidolia clinging to his back. She’d flown with him before, but she was more prepared for flight that time. She shook her head gently, trying to fix her blown-back mane. Happy with it once again drooping over her right eye, she looked forward only to wish her mane covered both her eyes. There, by the door that the other young ponies were filing into was the creature of shadows. It stood, slightly hunched over, watching her from afar. Pareidolia shrank down, trying to hide herself.
“Uh, Dol… I know we did this as kids an all, but…” Dark Star, oblivious to his sister’s turmoil, shrugged her off. She fell to the floor with a soft thud. “You’re kind of heavy now.”
Not getting the reaction he thought she would give him, he turned to see the white filly hiding behind him. He cocked an eyebrow, “What’s gotten into you lately?”
“D-don’t you see that… weird thing?” She pointed a hoof towards where it stood, still as a statue. Dark Star’s eyes followed her hoof to where she was pointing.
“You mean Thunder?” he said. Pareidolia looked at him as if he was crazy, but then looked to see that her hoof was, indeed, pointing at the blue Pegasus who stood talking to a filly right at the doorway, inches from the source of her worry. “Yeah, he’s a weirdo, but calling him a ‘thing’ would just be insulting to everything else that’s a ‘thing.’”
Pareidolia frowned, “You mean you can’t see—“
Her words were cut off as Thunderclap and the filly, a Unicorn, took notice of their friend and came to meet him. The filly was the first to speak, “And where have you been? No no, let me guess… you overslept, am I right?”
Dark Star sighed, lowering his head like a child being scolded, “Yes mom, I overslept.”
“Please,” she said, “if you must call me something, then try something more meaningful, like ‘Madame’ or ‘my lady.’ After all, one day I’ll be a world-famous author amongst the high-class of Canterlot!”
“I don’t think Canterlot is big enough to fit your ego, Feathers.” Thunderclap said, feeling sorry for his fellow Pegasus. He too shrank down to avoid the daggers she glared at him. Feather Quill was a goldish-grey Unicorn with a long dark brown mane that nearly reached the ground. Unlike the others, she had her cutie mark by now. A feather quill to compliment her name. It appeared to her shortly after winning short-story contest by writing a sixty-thousand word novel about the flaws in the government over in the Griffon Kingdoms. She substituted political figureheads as mere farm animals simply because she “felt it would be more fun to write that way.”
Before she could continue, Feather caught sight of the young Unicorn that hid behind Dark Star. Immediately, she dropped her high-and-mighty act and pushed Dark Star aside and practically tackled the shy filly, “Oh, Dolia, I feel like it’s been forever since we last saw each other!”
Pareidolia smiled a little, petting Feather on the head as if she were a large pet who was excited to see their master return home after a day of being gone. “I missed you too Feathers.”
Dark Star rose back onto his hooves, dusting himself off. “I swear, sometimes I think you only hang out with us so you can tackle Dol at the beginning of every week.”
“What can I say?” she began, keeping a hoof wrapped tightly around the smaller Unicorn, “We Unicorns gotta stick together!”
Dark Star only rolled his eyes before turning and trotting off towards the door that led into the classroom, “Come on, we’re already late and Ms. C is probably about to start class.” The group agreed began following in his trail. Pareidolia tried to steer away as she neared the thing that still stood watch by the door, but Feather’s tight grip kept her from moving too far.
Class went about the same as it always had. The majority of the class hung on Cheerilee’s every word as she spouted on about arithmetic. Feather Quill was scribbling something or another on the paper she had out on her desk. She would write for a moment, tap her pencil on the edge of her desk, and conclude by writing something off in the corner before repeating the sequence. Thunderclap and Dark Star sat towards the back corner, going back and forth between trading whispers and nearly falling asleep.
Pareidolia, however, was perfectly still in her seat. Her eyes lay only half open, staring off into nothingness. Known only to her, the tall shadow now loomed over her from behind her chair. She knew it was there and she tried ignoring it and acting as “normal” as she usually did when in class. However, such efforts continued to prove fruitless. Instead of being scared of this whatever-it-is, she instead felt like she was being drained of all her energy just because it was close.
A few times she tried to rub her eyes and shrug it off as simply a lack of sleep from her nightmare that night. What was the dream about again? She closed her eyes and strained to remember. There was fire, and a lot of it… they almost felt real, and she remembered waking up in the middle of the night sweating heavily. Something was on fire… a town? She thought it was Ponyville at first, but the buildings didn’t seem familiar. They were much larger and fancier. There were clumps all along the streets… were they ponies? That didn’t seem right, why would… No, there was something else. Amongst all the bodies were more of the shadows that simply stood and watched like statues. However, they weren’t nearly as tall as the one that had been following her and didn’t have such gangly limbs. They all stood, silently facing the same direction. Her eyes followed theirs, towards where what looked like some kind of explosion had happened. A massive structure was in pieces and was crumbling to pieces.
However, this was not what they were facing. They were facing a creature that fit the image of the shadow she saw this morning. It was tall with a long flowing white mane just like hers. Its body was red like blood and looked like it was made of metal. She remembered trying to run away but her legs wouldn’t move. Instead, she found herself coming closer to the one that she assumed had started everything here. She felt slight relief when it only continued staring at the flames. Beyond the crackling of the flames and the booms of the rubble giving away under weakened support, she heard it speak. Despite the haziness surrounding the rest of her dream, the single word it spoke became firmly imprinted in her memory. She couldn’t forget it if she tried.
Obey.
At that moment her eyes shot open. Her normally blue-grey eyes faded to a much duller color. The world around her exploded into colorlessness. The distant sound of Cheerilee’s voice was now completely gone. The mare seemed to be moving in slow motion now, as well as the student who was asked to come up and answer the question.
Even her own movements seemed sluggish, but it was probably just more of her exhaustion taking its toll on her body. Her eyes lazily scanned the room before her ears caught the sound of something moving to her right. It sounded like heavy metal falling softly upon the wooden floor. Curiously her eyes shifted to follow the sound and it was there that she was met with a sight she wasn’t expecting in this colorless world.
It was coming from the being that was following her, but now the shadow was dissipating and falling away like a cloak. The foggy shroud fell away, revealing the same kind of creature but this time with more real features. Like the one in her dream, it had a long white mane just like hers. It looked like only its lower body was dressed in a dark black and blue armor and from the waist up was nothing but its skin. It quietly circled around her desk until it stood before her. She strained to look up and finally see its face, but her body just wouldn’t allow it. As if understanding just from her small attempts, it knelt down on one knee. Even then it was still much larger than she, but now she was able to actually see its face.
Its hollow, tired looking face.
Its mane drooped over much of its face the same way hers did. From behind all the hair she could make out a pair of cold grey eyes staring back at her. They looked so sad and tired, but deep down there was a twinge of some lighter emotion… Slowly and carefully, it reached forward with its long arm and gently stroked her cheek. It was a surprisingly soft touch against her fur. It was like the touch of a loved one, like the touch of a daughter’s cheek being caressed by her—
Her drowsy eyes widened with realization. “D…daddy..?”
At that moment, she could have sworn that there was just the slightest twitch to his lips upon hearing the word. An almost unnoticeable change to his hollow expression.
Her expression was far more vocal.
“Daddy!” she shouted desperately and tried to jump from her seat to tackle her father. However, due to the effects this black and white world had on her body, she only made it as far as the edge of her desk. Her father grabbed her before she could hurt herself and eased her back into her seat. Although her disappointment was obvious, she still wore a weak but nevertheless large smile across her face.
She looked overwhelmed by the feeling of finally being face to face with the father she had never met. How she came to the conclusion that this strange creature was indeed her father was beyond her but she could just feel as though something deep down told her that he was the only possible solution.
Slowly, his hand moved and pushed back the bangs that covered her right eye. He brought himself closer, allowing nothing to break their eye contact. He opened his mouth and spoke, his words coming slowly and sounding as though he was struggling just to speak. “I... am… s-sorr…y…”
She was confused at first, but the confusion was quickly washed away by some new force. Her body suddenly felt very cold and soon she couldn’t even feel her hooves. That distant happiness she saw in her father’s eyes was nowhere to be seen, being eclipsed by the more familiar sadness. She attempted to open her mouth to speak, but no words came. Her vision began to darken until she saw only blackness.
-------------
“Hey Dark, is it just me or is Dolia acting weird?”
Dark Star looked up from his boring game of tic-tac-toe with Thunderclap. Since the two were told specifically to not use their wings under any circumstance, due to them often going far too high, their free time often resulted in whatever possible way they could think of to pass the time. There were a dozen other lazily drawn games in the dirt beside them. “Doesn’t she always?” he said tiredly.
Feather wanted to hit him for his comment, but decided against it for the moment. She turned her head to see the tree in the distance that the young Unicorn filly was sitting against all by herself. “Just look at her…”
Dark Star sat up and turned to look towards his sister. Normally she’d go sit somewhere and hide behind her mane or draw in the dirt or follow him around if he let her. However, now she seemed to look excited and cheerful and from that distance it almost looked like she was talking to herself. His bored expression remained as his eyes rolled back towards Feather. She snapped her hoof in the young filly’s direction.
“What?” he said innocently.
“Go talk to her!” she said, shaving her hoof wildly.
“Why don’t you talk to her? You may as well be her big sister.”
Her anger subsided to welcome a new look of concern. “I already tried… she just ignored me like I wasn’t even there. And she was whispering too quietly for me to understand, but I could have sworn she said ‘daddy’ at least three times.”
“Didn’t your dad die in the Changeling War?” Thunder piped up from the side where he still lay. Dark Star only nodded.
“Just go talk to her.” Feather said, “She thinks the world of you… maybe you can snap her out of whatever trance she’s in.”
Dark Star looked back and forth between the dirt drawings and his younger sister a few times before sighing heavily and rising to his hooves. He lazily made his way towards the young Unicorn just as she was giggling to some seemingly unheard joke. He cocked his eye brow as she looked around, always focusing on random spots of thin air. He noticed the way her ears shifted as if she was listening intently to something. Finally he had had enough and shook her somewhat roughly by the shoulder. As expected, she flinched and turned to face him before her large smile immediately returned.
“Star! I’m so glad you came! I can finally introduce you to my new friends!” she said excitedly.
He looked around and saw she was pointing at nothing, only open field with the rest of Ponyville and the Everfree some distance away. However, what seemed to bother him the most wasn’t quite the way she was referring to nopony in particular, but rather the way she seemed to be looking right through him rather than at him.
“Uh, Dol? Who are you talking about?”
He saw a quiver in her smile, but it remained nonetheless. “Why, all the ponies around us of course! Like Pokey Oaks and his wife Sew n’ Sow, Prairie Tune and Ambrosia, Brindle Young and Bottlecap too!” With each name she spoke she pointed towards a different spot in the vacant air. Dark Star followed her hoof, as if expecting a pony to fall out of the tree and reveal themselves. However, and much to his dismay, no such thing ever occurred.
“Wait a second,” he interrupted, shaking his head gently and snapping back into reality, “Did you say Bottlecap?”
She nodded.
“Dol…” he began before trying to find the right words to say. She leaned in a little closer, trying to encourage him to go on. He sighed reluctantly and continued, “Bottlecap died in a construction accident two years ago… Mom was in tears when she told us.”
For the first time, her smile faded to make way for a look of confusion. “You mean you really can’t…” She turned around and faced the spot where she had said Bottlecap was. Once again her ears perked up, and when she turned to face her brother once more, her smile had returned. “I think I have an idea!”
Before he could do anything to stop her, she pulled his head down and touched her horn to his forehead. He felt a shock and quickly pulled away from her grasp, rubbing his forehead. “Ow…” He said as he slowly opened his eyes. It then took every fiber of his being to keep himself from screaming as he saw a legion of dark shadows all around him and his sister. They were each of different builds and sizes, but he could tell for certain that they were all ponies... or at least that was what he hoped.
He instinctively grabbed the younger Unicorn and threw her onto his back before galloping as fast as he could through the crowds of shadows. He didn’t know for certain if they meant ill will or not, but basic instinct told him that these… things… weren’t supposed to be there. He didn’t look back, and he didn’t even want to look forward. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, ready to butt any of these weird ghosts out of his way, assuming he could even touch them.
His received an answer when he came into contact with something much bigger and heavier than him and fell backwards, Pareidolia falling with him. He rubbed his head for the second time before looking up and shrinking down in fear before what stood before him.
It was much larger than any of the other shadows or ghosts or whatever they were. It stood upon two legs and had long gangly arms like some of the different races that lived over seas, foreign to Equestria. He began to crawl backwards in fear as he now knew they could touch him. Pareidolia, however, was quite the opposite in her reaction.
“Daddy!” she shouted with joy and ran forward to meet it.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of all the freaky things that were looking at him, of all the signs of insanity he was fairly certain she was showing, it was all but the tip of the iceberg compared to what she had just said, and what she had said it to.
“Pareidolia, get away from that thing!” he said as he got back onto his hooves, unconsciously stepping back a few paces.
Once again she turned and looked at him with confusion. It then dawned on her, “Oh, right! You didn’t let me finish the spell. Come here…” She began quickly trotting towards him. He began stepping back once again, but her horn managed to reach his forehead. There was another shock and his skull suddenly felt like somepony had dumped a bucket of cold water on it. When he looked up again, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
No longer were there mere shadows surrounding him. They had been replaced by ponies of all different kinds, each with that same ghostly stare that seemed to look through him rather than at him. When his eyes returned to the larger creature that stood before him, he had to crane his neck back just to look into its similarly hollow eyes. It seemed to wear clothing only on its lower body, reminding him of the pictures of minotaurs that he had seen from school.
“That thing is not our father!” he finally said, unable to take his eyes off of the brute.
“What are you talking about? Of course he’s our dad!” she said with a smile. “Just look at him! He’s got the same eyes and mane just as I do.”
“Well he certainly doesn’t look anything like me…” he didn’t want to take his eyes off his alleged ‘father’ just in case it prove to be hostile.
“Well, he said that you’ve got grandpa’s eyes.”
He risked looking away to give her a stunned look. Did she really just claim that there were more of these things? He shook his head, trying to bring himself back to the situation at hand, “Enough is enough Dol, and you’re coming home right now! I don’t know where you learned this kind of freaky magic from, but…”
As he spoke, he watched as her smile slowly began to fade away with each word he said. She looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re going to make me choose..?” Her eyes began to water.
“Choose?” he said, dumbfounded. “There shouldn’t be a choice, that thing isn’t even a pony! I don’t know what the hay it is, probably some freak of nature of the Everfree that’s just tricking you!”
A stream of tears began rolling down her eyes as she fell to her haunches, lowering her head so her mane fell forward and covered her face.
“Now look at what you’ve gone and done. You made the poor dear cry.”
Dark Star felt a shiver go up his spine. In his peripheral vision he could see the ghosts of the other ponies begin to move away and fade into nothingness. Were they running away? Why were they running away? He didn’t need to turn around to see who spoke, for they made their appearance all on their own. A tall being with similar figure to his alleged father walked past him with cool attitude. Were they of the same species? He couldn’t tell for sure as it wore a cloak that shrouded everything up to its neck, but it was certainly possible. And now that it stood before him, all the young Pegasus could see was the absolute colorlessness in his eyes. Pareidolia had grey eyes, yes – and was mistaken for being blind in her early years – but these eyes just seemed devoid of color, as if color was never meant to be there in the first place.
He strolled past Pareidolia to their father, where an outstretched arm reached up to their father’s shoulder. It would have been comical with the second being about a full foot shorter than the first if the situation wasn’t so serious. The second traced its hand along his back as he walked around until they stood side by side. “And just look at your dear father. He must be so heartbroken to know that his own son rejects him.”
His father’s eyes did indeed look cold and sad. He hadn’t move since Dark Star had run headfirst into the armor that covered his lower body. He only stood and stared with cold eyes, still as stone.
“And dear Pareidolia,” It looked down at the Unicorn as she silently sobbed. Its expression seemed almost condescending while it stood by their father, but now it seemed legitimately concerned for the young filly. “A sibling younger by only moments, and born so small… and all she had ever wanted in life was the love of her older brother.” It stepped forward and knelt down, reaching forward to brush back her mane and reveal that her tears had begun to cease, but lines were still stained her fur. “Ironic that that love is her only sin.”
“You stay away from her!” Dark Star took a stance that showed he was ready to charge. He had no plan, and for all he knew this creature could have some kind of weapon hidden under that cloak, but he ignored those thoughts.
The colorless eyes rolled towards his direction, as if mocking the way that he always rolled his own eyes. The concern was gone, replaced by a more menacing gaze. “And then there is you. Dark Star, named such because of the first star that had appeared that night. It was still early, so the star appeared dim and dark, but still shined nonetheless. Your mother thought it would be nice to name you after such a thing that was first to shine before the others."
It's eyes turned back towards the younger sibling as it moved its hand to rest on her back. “Your sister got her name because she shared the same eyes of your father: War, one of the ‘saviors of Equestria.’ Whenever she looked into those eyes, she saw the emotion that he was incapable of showing with his own expression. And as such, she named her Pareidolia for the things she saw in her eyes.”
Dark Star was beginning to get unnerved by his words. What point was he – if it was really a ‘he’ – was trying to make? “How do you know all this?” he demanded.
It smiled. “I know everything.” It rose to his feet, its arm falling back beneath its cloak, “I know everything, I see everything. I am the Guardian of this planet and I am perfection. I listen and nature itself speaks to me. I close my eyes and I see the very foundations of the mind. I speak, and the heart listens.” He turned back to Pareidolia and took a few steps to the side, ensuring that brother and sister could look at each other without obstacle. The Guardian snapped his fingers once and Pareidolia began sprinting towards him. He had expected something from this "Guardian", but his sister suddenly bounding towards him caught him off guard. Before he could react, he found himself tackled and knocked onto his back. Pareidolia lay above him, holding him down with surprising strength.
“The poor girl loves you so dearly, so… sinfully.” Its last word dripped from its mouth like venom. Dark Star strained to try and get up, but somehow the smaller pony was able to overpower him with ease. Looking up, he saw her face. It was no longer covering her eyes and face, for it now draped around his own face. And just as the Guardian had said, there was something in her eyes. Something the Pegasus had never seen before, especially from his own sister.
Lust.
“You were all she had.” The Guardian continued as it looked down upon the two. “Every day she watched you and followed you, hoping to be just like you. And every day you would push her away from you as if she were nothing. She always thought there was something wrong with herself, something she could fix. She tried her hardest to be by your side, even going as far as to try and learn some of the most advanced magic without any prior training just so she could fly with you, even if just for a moment. She loved you so much that she wouldn’t allow any other ponies to cloud her mind and take thoughts of you away… one could say that she loved a little too much. She was always curious about this feeling, and thought that maybe everypony felt this way about their siblings. Love is a beautiful thing in my eyes, no matter where it comes from and who it is directed to. I saw how she felt and decided it would be best to give her a little… jump-start.”
Dark Star couldn’t see the Guardian’s face, but he could just hear the smile that was on its lips as he spoke. He could only look up into his sister’s gaze and see feelings blossoming in a way he never believed. Before he could react, she had pressed her lips to his. If his eyes could open any wider, they would.
“Truly touching.” The Guardian said as he shifted his hand under his cloak to touch his own heart. He turned to War, who had remained silent and motionless during the scene. The Guardian’s smile vanished immediately, “Kill them.”
Dark Star’s eyes dilated and War’s eyes noticably widened. War’s head turned slightly in his directionm his grey eyes just visible behind his hair. The Guardian was glaring at him, “You heard me.” He said. “Kill them. This world has grown soft because of Equestria’s dominance and mission of peace. Do not misunderstand; I am proud of those that I watch over. But if a new threat were to arise, what would happen? Equestria would fall, just as it nearly did eight years ago. None of the alleged ‘monsters’ of this world are strong enough to pose a threat anymore. But you, War… you simply being alive is enough to cause an uproar. But if you were to kill your only legacy… they would have no choice but to take action. And where a monster would fail, a Demon shall not. If anything can give the ponies a run for their money, it is you.”
He stepped up to War, close enough to be face to face if not for the height difference. “And now, you will kill them.” He demanded. War’s body began to shake as it took everything he had to keep his body from stepping forward towards his only children. The Guardian’s glare intensified. He grabbed the hair that rested on War’s chest and pulled with enough strength to bring War to his eye level. “You will obey me!”
War’s lips parted slowly and shakily and just enough for him to say, “No…”
The Guardian’s anger flared. Its arm flew out from its cloak and black smoke enveloped his hand before solidifying into a knife.
“I… am not afraid… to die…” War spoke slowly. The Guardian pulled his arm back and brought it down, ready to plunge the blade into War’s neck.... But the blade stopped mere inches away from his skin. Its anger subsided as quickly as it had come as a new idea whispered into its ear.
“Yes, that’s a much better plan…” The knife faded back into smoke to be replaced by electricity that shot back and forth between its fingers. “If you will not obey me… then I shall simply bring out a side of you that won’t even need convincing.” The Guardian said with a sinister grin. War’s defiant glare remained until it finally dawned upon him what it meant. Before he could try and react, the electrified fingers were plunged into his chest. A light shined so brightly that War couldn’t see the fingers that felt like they were burning through his chest. It felt like have five burning drills burrowing through his skin, burrowing deeper but never coming out the other side. After what felt like an eternity, the Guardian put its other hand on War’s chest and shoved him backwards. The Horseman fell to the ground with a thud and began panting, completely breathless.
When he finally gained the strength to sit up, he saw not only the Guardian standing above him, but another being that stood where he was just moments ago. It stood as tall as War and every inch of its body was covered in blood red and silver armor. From the back of its helmet was golden white fur that went down to touch its back. It turned towards War to reveal that the only part of its body that wasn’t covered were its piercing blood red eyes.
“The Horseman of Desolation.” The Guardian said with a smile. Desolate turned his head to look at the Guardian. “I’ve heard so much about you. The Destroyer, the Untamed One, the Heartless Annihilator. You brought your world to its knees and proved that the only one that could kill you was yourself.” Desolate said nothing, only glaring down at the colorless being before him. The Guardian’s smile stayed nevertheless, “I would have thought you’d be happier to be alive and in your own powerful body once again.”
“Enough of your feigned praise.” He said. His voice was as dark as his presence. A mask covered his mouth but his voice was still loud and clear. “Why am I alive.” He was not asking, but demanding.
“I brought you back to do that which your reborn self could not. You see, this world has grown soft, and –“
“I am not deaf. I heard all that you had said before.” He stepped closer, bending down enough to look straight into his colorless eyes, “You claim to be the Guardian of this world. When you were created, you were given the mission of protecting its inhabitants as they grew into a people of stature. Yet here you are, bringing the worst possible being to ever breathe in the planet’s air to give it strength once more. I will ask once more. Why am I alive. For if you truly believe these creatures are capable of killing me, you are more naïve then I had first thought.”
“They will not fail their trial.” The Guardian looked smug and confident as it looked into those heartless eyes. The two remained in a locked glare until Desolate’s eyes shifted to see past him. The Guardian stepped aside as Desolate moved forward. “I suppose I shall take my leave now. Enjoy your stay in Equestria.” And just like that, it vanished.
Desolate continued forward, caring little as to whether the Guardian chose to stay or not, and grabbed Pareidolia, who had still been holding her brother down, by the scruff of her neck and pulled them apart with ease. He brought her to his face as Dark Star tried to catch his breath. Her look of lust completely dissolved, falling away to fear. Her eyes dilated and her body began shaking as she hyperventilated.
“Do you fear me, child?”
She didn’t know what to think. The last thing she remembered was sitting in the classroom while some thing was following her. Everything after that was simply a haze. All she knew now was that she was in genuine fear for her life, and her lips felt sore for some reason.
“To think that this twig is of my own flesh and blood.” He continued, not paying attention to War, who was now rising to his feet behind him. “Tell me, child: have you ever heard the phrase, ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul?’ By looking into your eyes, I can see the potential you have. For such a small being, I must commend you for your capabilities… but you will never achieve your true power.” He felt a sudden fluctuation of power, but for the moment it was too small to be worthy of attention. “And do you know why?”
He wasn’t expecting any kind of answer from her. He only spoke because the child deserved to know the truth. “Because you are weak.” Another fluctuation. Where was it coming from? “Because you have chosen to walk in the shadow of your brother and bow to his every whim.” With every pulse that strength he felt became larger and larger. He could simply detect where it was coming from and deal with it however necessary, but what fun was there in spoiling the surprise? “And you will likely die in his shadow, alone and neglect—“
He never finished his statement as he soon found himself soaring through the air before skidding along the ground. Desolate sat up, putting a hand to his armored cheek where he had been hit and saw that he had dropped the filly where he had stood upon impact. What caught his attention more so was that it was War that had hit him and how his hand was bleeding from the force of the hit against his hard armor. In War’s eyes Desolate could see not the hollow cold stare that he had had for years and years, but was replaced by pure fury. Even more was the two leathery wings that had exploded out from his back which explained how he had moved so fast without him noticing.
Despite their distance, Desolate heard War’s words clearly as his wings flared. “Keep… your hands… off.. my. Daughter!!”
Despite their distance, Desolate heard War’s words clearly as his wings flared. “Keep… your hands… off.. my. Daughter!!”
Before Desolate could react, War was within reach. He grabbed Desolate by the ankles and spun rapidly before throwing him directly up into the air. Without missing a beat, War shot into the air after his forefather. When they reached the same altitude War smashed his fist against Desolate’s face plate, throwing him back towards the ground. Desolate flew back in a ragdoll fashion for a short time before War reappeared behind him and thrust both his legs into his back, sending him into yet another direction. Again he reappeared before him, this time flipping backwards at sending Desolate upwards once more with a hard kick to his chin. As Desolate was thrown upwards, showing no signs of movement, War ended his flurry by cupping both hands together and slamming them down onto his head. Desolate flew through the air like a bullet before crashing into the ground.
War landed some distance away, standing between his slackjawed progeny and the small hole in the ground the Demon had made upon hitting the ground. War’s wings flared once more like an animal trying to show that it would not back down. To even his surprise, Desolate rose to his feet as casually as a man getting out of bed in the morning. A few audible cracks were heard as he twisted his neck to each side. “Are you finished? Yes? Good.”
Desolate suddenly appeared in front of War. Before War could react, Desolate reared back his fist before slamming it into his stomach. The breath knocked out of him, War was thrown backwards violently. However, he did not make it far. Desolate was soon behind him and stood adamant as War slammed into him. Desolate’s footing remained stable despite such force. War fell to his hands and knees, struggling to catch his breath. He felt the weight of Desolate’s boot on lower back and his hands take hold of War’s wings. The force at which he pulled on them was enough of a threat to show that he would tear them off if he needed to. In such a position he felt almost helpless.
“I am indeed curious as to how these came back.” He said as he rubbed the leathery texture of the wings with his thumb. “I quite vividly remember you removing them after I showed you what it was like to be free.”
“You made me murder innocent people…” War said through clenched teeth.
“Innocent?” Desolate said, tilting his head questioningly. “Please… no one is innocent. Not you. Not I. And especially not that thing you referred to as ‘daughter.’ You lived as a tool and I strived to break the shackles that held you down and set you free. But you refused my acts of kindness. But that doesn’t matter anymore, it’s all behind us. I’m alive once more, and you are no longer—“
His words were cut short as he felt something small clang against the side of his helmet. His eyes gazed down towards the ground and caught the perpetrator: a small rock. His gaze began to rise only to be met by a rock much larger than the last that was wrapped in a white glow. The boulder threw Desolate off of War, effectively silencing him.
War looked dumbfounded. He turned towards the direction that the rock had flown only to see Dark Star with a determined look on his face and holding a few rocks in his hoof, and Pareidolia looked about ready to collapse as she panted and her horn ceased to glow. War stared at them for a moment before returning to reality and realizing just what they had done.
“Run!” he shouted at them. However, they had no time to respond as the boulder suddenly exploded into fragments and dust. The dust cleared to reveal Desolate standing stoic with his arm outstretched and his palm forward. His palm was glowing a blue light.
“I don’t really like making a habit of killing children, but once they’ve proved hostile I believe my hand has been forced.” The light intensified and a beam of energy wide enough to scar the ground shot forward towards the two ponies. War quickly jumped to his feet and took a solid stance with his arms raised out towards it. The blast made contact but War held it in place. He held his ground against the unwavering force but he was beginning to slide back. He turned his head to the side, “Listen to me… run from here… find your mother…”
Pareidolia was the first to start shaking her head, but Dark Star grabbed her and threw her onto his back. He stopped only once to look back at War before galloping towards Ponyville, despite his sister’s obvious objections. War closed his eyes and concentrated on holding back the force that grew more and more overwhelming with each passing second.
“How noble.”
War opened his eyes and the blast dissipated to reveal that it was growing in strength because Desolate was walking closer. Now within reach, Desolate swung his fist down. However War was already poised to block and caught his strike. Desolate tried once more with his left and War caught it as well. The two stood at a stalemate that appeared to quickly be giving away in the crimson Demon’s favor. To add to it, he swung his head back and slammed their foreheads together. He could see the struggle in War’s eyes just as War could see the arrogance in Desolate’s.
As blood trailed down from his forehead, War called upon every bit of strength he could muster just to hold Desolate back.
“I should have known.” He heard Desolate say. “You’re still just a child.”
War was given no time to respond before Desolate pulled his fist from War’s grasp and planted it firmly into his midsection. Blood came from his mouth, catching onto Desolate’s armor. Using the opening in his defenses, Desolate twisted his other arm around to take War’s wrist. He then grabbed him by the bicep and spun around just as War had done with him, dragging him along the ground before throwing him straight up into the air.
He was thrown facedown into the air, to which Desolate’s own leathery wings shot from his back, allowing him to follow in pursuit and plant his knee firmly into War’s gut. The force of the blow intensified as War was drug further into the air by Desolate’s knee. Desolate’s flight came to an abrupt stop. The momentum was enough for War to continue going up, but the force of which Desolate brought his fists down onto War’s back caused him to be sent back down to the earth at high speeds.
However, Desolate was faster. He caught up to War’s body and grabbed him by the ankle. He swung him around and punched his knee. He wasn’t sure which he enjoyed more: the sound of War’s cry or the sound of his armor and bones breaking apart from the force. Desolate whipped War’s body back around, grabbing his wrist and heaving him up high enough for his other wrist to come into reach. Desolate planted his feet firmly into the center of War’s back and pushed down hard. A tearing sound of flesh could be heard as War’s left arm was separated from the rest of his body. Blood fell down to the grassy plains below from both sources until Desolate tossed the limb aside, watching as it fell amongst the trees of the forest, unlikely to ever be found again except by animals.
And just as he had done with the arm, Desolate tossed War forward into the air away from the plains and towards the forest. His body flailed about until Desolate warped into view and caught War by the neck. “I could crush you like an insect right now. I already have crushed you. All it would take,” His grip slowly tightened, tears streamed down from War’s eyes from the pain, “is a little squeeze.”
War opened his eyes just enough to glare at the man who held his life in the palm of his hand, literally enough. Desolate slowly began to chuckle upon seeing such emotion in his eyes. “But I won’t kill you. Not yet. And do you know why?” He reached forward and tapped right between War’s eyes with his free hand. “Because I love that look in your eyes. That look of determination, of hatred for me. Even after crushing your bones and then some, you still look at me as if you really believe you have a chance.”
The arm that held War up stretched out its length. “This is a whole new world for the both of us, and I’m curious to see just how strong it truly is… So I’ll tell you what: I’ll give you three days. I will give you three days before I begin razing this planet in search of one who can actually prove worthy of a challenge. Until those three days are up, I’ll find some place to set down. Maybe I’ll buy a couch or something. Relax, maybe work on my tan…” Again he laughed, his head falling back at his own sarcasm. “I’m sure you’ll be all better by then.”
With that, Desolate released his grip and War fell into the forest below. Desolate watched until the limp body hit the ground. He stared down for quite a while, thinking to himself. Finally he raised his head once more and looked around, searching for some place to test himself while he waited for the days to pass. His eyes were caught by the sight of a kingdom that jutted out from the side of a mountain. It looked familiar somehow, but he cared little to delve into such thoughts. With a hard flap of his wings, he shot off towards the mountain city.
Down below, War lay still. He wanted to pick himself back up, to follow Desolate and do whatever he could even if it meant dying in the process. Even his right arm, which had suffered little during the fight, refused to respond to him. He couldn’t feel his lower body any longer and all he could feel from the left side of his body was pain, nothing more and nothing less. His vision began to turn cloudy. He struggled to retain consciousness but it proved that even a fight with his own body was a fruitless one.
The sound of rustling leaves caught his attention. The sudden sound gave him a few extra seconds of consciousness to which he used searching around. His head refused to turn so only his eyes rolled around. From his right a blurred figure came into view. Its body was of a peach color while its head was black. It looked like it was holding some kind of long stick or spear in its grasp.
“You look pitiful.” Was the last thing he heard before falling into darkness.
The blackened amber gates slowly parted slowly to reveal a large throne room of similar color. One might mistake it for a cathedral if not for the raised throne at the opposite end of the room and the map of the world towards the center that stood on a table with four large fangs at each corner that jutted towards the center like a dome. As well it contrasted a cathedral in that it contained no stained glass, but instead they were replaced by simple and large open windows that allowed one to view the land for miles and miles unless the horizon was obscured by mountains.
A single man wearing all black sat upon the throne and watched as four men approached him. They stood side by side, splitting right down the middle upon reaching the map table before rejoining before him. They varied in size but three remained similar in stature. The one that stood out to him the most was the one on the far left end, for he stood much taller and his hair was a cold white. To add more to the oddity, the smallest of the group held the same color. A rather unique hair color for ones who called themselves Demons.
“My lord,” The one in the center right bowed courteously, “My name is Horrus Rabe, second of the Horsemen and hold the title of Death. My past life was that of the seer Destruction. I acted as the war strategist during our recent war with the Angels.” God Damien rose up and stepped down from his throne. He stopped in front of Horrus and stood only slightly taller. It appeared that Damien’s green eyes were trying to pierce the vale that was his blindfold in order to look into his eyes and his soul.
“It appears that your strategies were flawed, Horseman of Death.” He said. The man seemed to have a permanent glare and his very presence was like standing in an inferno of flames, but Horrus stood his ground.
“I prefer to think that if the late God Varanesh had heeded my words, our victory would have been assured.”
Damien looked over him one more time. He truly represented the gloom of death with his jet black hair and dark grey trench coat. He remained statuesque and professional in his stance; solid, confident, and with his hands cupped behind his back. His eyes turned to the right towards a shorter man, obviously the youngest of the group. Upon stepping in front of him, the young man put his fist to his chest in salute and gave a small bow.
“Vice Virtus. I hold the title of Horseman of Famine. My former life was that of the assassin Anger. Under the former reign, I specialized in tactical insertion, espionage, assassination and special operations.” The Horseman said quickly but clearly.
Damien didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to his words. He was listening, certainly, but he was much more focused on Vice’s grey-blue eyes. His posture and speech made him sound just as professional as Horrus had, but his one flaw was that his eyes spoke every truth and hid nothing. They spoke of pain, of torment… Something recent? Perhaps the death of a loved one, or a recent failure to someone close? Whatever it may be and whenever it may have occurred to him, it was clear that the thought still plagued him to this day. It was a weakness, no matter what it was. However, a weakness can be the source of great strength.
Damien turned to his left and strode past Horrus to see the next in line. His clothing reminded him of a western character, a dusty brown, almost black, coat with similarly colored attire to match. He removed his hat and graciously bowed, “Dante di Ombre, at your service.” He looked up to reveal an almost condescending smile and a pair of hazel eyes. “Horseman of Pestilence, formerly lived as the Horseman of Carnage.”
If Damien had been one to let the whole God thing go to his head, he likely would have disciplined this Horseman of Pestilence for his seemingly sarcastic tone of voice. And what was this of Carnage? He certainly wasn’t a Horseman that had stood out during history… Damien wasn’t even sure he had even heard of this Carnage character. Either he didn’t exist and the man before him was lying, or Carnage was stricken from history for some reason.
“And what duties did you perform?” he asked.
“Oh, lots of things. A real ‘jack of all trades.’ However, I was commonly sent on diplomatic missions.”
A diplomat? Curious. It was very out of character for such a man to become one of the highest ranking military officials in their world and yet be used for such petty tasks. Damien looked deeper into those dark brown eyes, hoping to see just what kind of person he really was.
… More and more curious. This man wore a mask, that much was evident after searching long enough. However, whatever kind of face that was hidden behind this mask was beyond even him. He was a man of secrets and held a surprisingly intense feeling of…darkness. Perhaps something to look into later.
Damien continued on. When he reached the last man in the line, his eyes slowly moved up see the face hidden behind a veil of white hair. The person in question simply stood before the him, saying nothing and doing nothing.
“And you are?” Damien said after a drawn out pause. He cared little for their introductions, for he knew their names already. He only allowed such ceremony out of courtesy; something he normally did not partake in. However, there was one that didn’t have a recorded name. There was an extended silence as the two men stared at each other; or rather, one stared while the other glared. Damien was about to just ignore him and carry on before a subtle word caught his ear.
“War…”
“I know you are the Horseman of War.” He said, growing impatient. “Tell me your name.”
“… Just War…”
Damien’s eyes narrowed. His eyes followed down his long hair and inspected his cold blue and black armor. Its design was intricate in some places and simple in others. On his shoulder plates was the metal formed in the shape of skulls, as were they on his the plates covering his knees and the buckle of his belt. From where he stood he could only see part of the large sword that rested on his back.
“That much if evident.” Damien huffed, growing irritated with the man before him.
“War’s been around a long time,” Damien piercing eyes rolled towards the source of the voice, and was met once again with that smile that Dante seemed to wear often. The Horseman's hand rose up and lightly tapped his covered head, “Sometimes a man forgets things he doesn’t think are important.”
Not important? What, exactly, did this “War” not deem important? Was it his actual name, or was he trying to forget himself?
“Am I to assume you are his translator?” He spoke with no sense of humor in his own sarcasm.
“I guess you could say that.” He tipped his hat down in feigned bashfulness. Damien only continued to glare. What kind of men had Varanesh put under his command? Vice was only obviously affected by his emotions. Dante was sarcastic and cocky in his speech and posture. War was something else entirely… Horrus appeared to be the only one who seemed professional enough to even hold the position he is in.
“And his former?”
That smug look on his face faded immediately. “Desolate.”
“The Horseman of Desolation?” His eyes rolled back to War, “Well, that does explain things.”
Damien turned and began ascending the steps to his throne. However he stopped halfway up and turned to face the four once more. With his hands cupping behind his back, he spoke with authority, “Kneel.”
There was a moment before they realized that he was giving them an order. Horrus was the first to do so, with Vice in a close second place. Dante gave his superior a short look before giving a small shrug and following suit. War, however, stood as a statue. If Damien was bothered by it, he did not show it. Then again, he rarely showed much emotion other than anger or irritation. “I make the order only so that you may remember who it is that now controls all of the land you can see from this tower. You will fight for it.” He stepped down from the steps and walked past Horrus and Dante and towards the map in the center. “And you will die for it.”
He looked down at the map before him. Every inch of the harsh world was under his command, and he would sooner die then see it driven into the ground like the old God had almost done. Without turning, he continued. “Our world will become a crown jewel once more, just as it was at the dawn of our creation. But in order for that to happen, I must have obedience” He turned his head to the left and focused on one person in particular. “From all of you.”
None of them had to turn to know who he was referring to. War stood still and silent.
Growing more and more irritated with War, Damien continued, “And if that means you must suck in whatever pride you may have, then I expect you to do so.”
“I… bow before no man…”
And just like that, the entire platform which the map was laid upon burst into a fiery inferno. The flames went as high as to scorch the ceiling. The Horsemen, minus War, quickly turned to see Damien standing unscathed by the geyser of flames. The flames almost seemed to follow him as he began stepping towards War.
“I…” War continued, unafraid, “will only act within my duties to the people of this land… I will not kill simply because you command it… I will not destroy simply because you desire it… And I will surely not bow down simply because you demand it…”
The two stared at each other once more. The others chose to remain silent.
“We shall see if this resolve proves strong enough to not be broken.” Damien walked past War and the others and began ascending the steps once more. “You are all dismissed.”
-------------
“As long as King Varanesh is in control, we’ll never get our just rights! We didn’t get a choice in who rules us, so why do we have to live with the consequences of his tyranny?”
Dante sighed and brought his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. War stood silently behind him, leaning against the far wall of the dimly lit room with his arms crossed and head bowed. The two stood before the heads of a rising rebel faction. It wasn’t big enough to call for extreme measures, but it also wasn’t small enough to totally ignore. They had been threatening to create an uprising if they didn’t receive better help during the harsher seasons and protection from some of the more aggressive creatures – both human and non-human – that may catch interest in the rather sizable town. They had even resorted to the manufacturing of projectile weapons. Of all the dishonorable forms of weaponry they could resort to, it just had to be guns. Said guns were ready in the hands of several men, and even some who could pass as children, and each of them were ready to pull the trigger should negotiations become less… tolerable.
“And I will say it again,” Dante said, beginning to grow annoyed after repeating the answer he hated giving, “King Varanesh has not been…himself, as of late. He simply hasn’t had the time to continue fulfilling all his duties, one of which being the full protection of his people. He is trying his best under the current circumstances, but with a town this size and so far from the capitol—“
“Not been himself?” A man wearing a cap with a growing beard slammed his hands on the lone table that stood between them and the two Horsemen. “We’ve all heard the rumors, even this far out. Your ‘God’ is preparing himself for war! He’s more concerned with those damn high-class Angels that he’s forgotten about the people he had sworn to protect!”
“Listen, I can assure you that there not going to be any kind of war with the Angels. Being a Horseman, I like to think I’m pretty ‘in the loop’ with these kinds of things. And if not me, then I’m sure that the Horseman of War back there would have some idea if things were about to go down.”
Each of their eyes turned towards War. His head raised enough to the sound of his title being called for them to catch sight of his cold gaze. Some were unnerved by this, but one man who stood towards the back remained calm even while looking into such eyes. He stepped forward, tilting up his wide brimmed hat to reveal an aging face. “Are we to trust that there is no possibility of you being left out of that loop, boy?”
“Vincent–“
The old man raised a hand, calling for silence. “Let an old man have his say.”
War noticed Dante’s posture begin to stiffen. A small difference in his tone of voice was enough to show that he feared things coming to this. “Yes, father.” He said. He kept his arms crossed as an unconscious form of putting up a defense. “We’re an important part of the government. Outside of Varanesh’s Harbinger and Advent, we are of the highest rank. You can’t get any higher than where I am right now. And if he wants to go to war, I feel it would be appropriate to at least inform hisgenerals, wouldn’t it?”
“That may be so,” Vincent di Ombre said, shifting his weight to one side and crossing his own arms. “But like you said… Varanesh hasn’t been himself lately.”
“It is difficult to accept…” All eyes turned to War, who pulled his weight off from the wall to take a step forward, the light in the center of the room more clearly revealing the deathly style of his armor. “But we simply do not have the resources available for such a task… But we can assure you that you will be the first to receive our aid once we are able…” War began to walk towards the door, but stopped upon hearing a shout.
“That’s not good enough!” The man from before spoke up. “By the time we receive the help we need, we’ll all be long gone! Either from abandoning this town or from being wiped out by those damned dragons that swoop in from the mountains!”
Dante’s fingers curled into a fist, which he slammed down into the metal table, denting it greatly and causing the opposite side to hop off the ground for a moment. “Dammit…” a few heard him mutter. He turned his eyes back to his father and his people. Most seem startled by his outburst except for Vincent and War. A new flare of determination burned in his eyes.
“Then I’ll do it.” He said. “I’ll defend my people on my own. I’m not happy about all this either; but this is my home town dammit, and I’ll die before I see it driven into the ground like this.”
The militia looked rather surprised by his change of heart. Before long they were either cheering or clapping. Due to the commotion, none of them noticed War moving back towards the wall. He put a hand to the side of his head and his other hand to the wall for support. No one else in the room could hearing the deafening ringing in his hears that causing him such sudden pain. He began to shake under his armor and his breathing intensified. Vincent smiled before circling around the table to pat his son’s shoulder. “I knew you’d come through for us boy. Maybe with you on our side, we can finally get recognition this town had deserved after so many years.”
“Are you sure that will be enough?” The nameless man from before spoke up once more, circling around from the opposite side. “I mean, yeah, your support will definitely help, but I think we’ll need a bit more if we want our rebellion to be—“
He was cut off as a large hand found itself gripping his face. War lifted him up to his height, causing his feet to leave the ground. “Correct me if I am mistaken…” War spoke in a completely different tone of voice than he normally gave. The man had his own hands wrapped around War’s wrist, trying to pry free. “But I believe that the punishment for open rebellion…” He continued stepping forward before slamming the back of the man’s skull into the wall. His body went limp as his head was completely crushed.
“…Is death.”
Dante was the first to react, “War! What the hell are you—“ He ran forward, grabbing the arm that hung at War’s side. War turned just enough for Dante to catch glimpse of his blood red eyes before War connect the back of his hand with Dante’s head, sending him into the wall and out into the hallway. Vincent ran out the open doorway to tend to his son. Back in the room, the soldiers aimed their rifles and fired at the great armored behemoth. War dropped the limp rebel and shielded his face with his forearm. The bullets uselessly deflected off his armor and the sound of crushed up shells clanged on the ground before him.
Each of the soldiers watched in fear as War’s arm descended to reveal those bloodthirsty, glaring eyes. In a heartbeat he appeared before one of the men, punching him with enough strength to cause an audible crack from the sound of his bones breaking upon hitting the floor. War snatched out of the air the rifle he had been holding and quickly brought it to the other soldier’s face. He was a young man by comparison. The sight of the barrel mere inches from his face caused him to back into the wall. When he could retreat no further, he began to slump down towards the floor. He wasn’t quite sure which would give in first as he looked down at the pitiful sight before him: the walls that held back his tears, or the control over his bladder. It seemed that they would both cave in at once as War pulled the trigger, only for the response to be an audible click. It seemed that the prior owner had used up every round of ammunition in the fruitless endeavor of trying to kill one such as he the first time.
War shrugged and tossed the gun carelessly to the side. “No matter.” He said casually before raising his other arm up with his palm forward. A blue light glowed from beneath his gloved hand before a powerful blast of energy blew everything apart. The force of energy was enough to blow the door off its hinges. Smoke and debris leaked into the hallway where Dante and Vincent had been. Dante grabbed his father by his jacket and quickly began leading him away. War raised his hand once again, firing another blast. The two took a turn just in time, avoiding the otherwise deadly attack. Feeling a small pain in his palm, he ceased the flow of energy and looked towards where the pain was centered. Most of the glove that covered his hand was gone now, and the skin beneath it had seemed to have melted or burned away. But below the skin was not muscle and blood, but armor plating. Engraved into the armor was a circle containing a five pointed star. Memories suddenly flowed into War’s mind. Memories of wearing a different kind of armor, and taking something sharp and driving it into his own hand, carving out the Seal he now stared at. It had been painful, or so War remembered, but being able to unleash attacks as often as he wished proved more than useful.
Everything then faded to a haze of red. The loud ringing returned to his ears, threatening to destroy them. When it all faded once more, he found himself standing above a broken Dante. He was clutching his chest and lay amongst some equally broken rubble. War, despite efforts to stop himself, raised his palm up towards his former comrade, ready to send him to oblivion. He could only sit and watch as the energy swelled up in his palm, ready to be unleashed. A sudden sting hit his arm, sending it just far enough to the right for the blast to blow apart only the ground. Both eyes turned to see Vincent with a sword in one hand and a handgun in the other. The barrel had a small trail of smoke flowing out.
“Run, son!” he shouted. Dante complied without thinking, trying to get away from his friend and would-be murderer. Vincent covered his son retreat with several more shots. These shots hit harder than those from the rifles for some reason. With each shot, War stumbled back a step. The volley stopped around the sixth shot. War moved the arm that was covering his face only for it to be met by a small round object. It clanged off his breastplate before exploding. As the smoke cleared, War still stood adamant. However, his breastplate now hung loose and some of the skin on his face had been blown off. Once again, beneath his skin was metal plating of either red or silver. He grabbed the breastplate by the collar and tore it off, revealing more scarring and armor. He felt his wings burst from his back as he shot forward, ready to take on this new challenge.
Another haze of blood passed, blurring War’s vision. It came with the same intensities before fading just like before. This time, however, he had control over his body. He stood amongst mountains of rubble and destruction. The bunker that had once housed the small rebel group was now nothing more than ash. His eyes turned down to his own bloodied body. It was not his blood. The wounds that he had received were closing at a rapid pace, his skin fully regenerating. He flexed his wings, sensing that they were still there and intact. His little inspection was halted by the hushed sound of sobbing. His eyes scanned the area, looking, hoping, for that one person that survived his uncontrollable fury. His eyes found that person: a man in black, down on his knees and hunched over. His body throbbed with each near-silent sob. War slowly and cautiously made his way over. Dante didn’t seem to notice or just didn’t care. As he came closer, War noticed that Dante had something clutched close to his chest.
A black, wide brimmed hat.
War fell to his knees. What had he done? What had caused him to commit such an atrocity as murdering so many people without provocation? He reached out, hoping to try and calm the one he had called friend. His efforts to help were blown away as another sob found its way to his ears. He retracted his arm and began stepping back. Every essence of his body told him to right this wrong, but how? How could he stop something like this ever happening again?
Coming to a conclusion for his punishment, he reached back and grabbed the first sword he found on the ground. He bent his head down and, in two swift cuts, severed his wings. They fell one after another, falling onto the hard and broken ground. Dante heard the sound of the cuts, causing him to cease his cries. He slowly turned and saw War, wingless and silent. His hair had fallen to cover most of his face, as it would for years to come.
-------------
The echo of a world long past faded from War’s mind once more. His eyes opened to see, not another moment of the past, but instead he saw an orange sky. As his vision became clearer, he could see the softened twinkles of stars that were beginning to emerge and herald in the night. In his peripherals he could see the swaying leaves of trees.
“It’s about time you woke up.”
His eyes widened at the sound of the voice to his right. His head turned slowly to see, not a pony, but a human being just like him. His appearance revealed him to look no older than a teenager but his brilliant blue eyes were surprisingly piercing enough to make him appear as an adult. His hair was jet black and parted. He sat against a tree, a sheathed sword cradled between his legs and arms with a long wooden spear at his side. He wore simple leather and fur clothing, giving him the appearance of a cold-climate hunter. Tied around his neck was a black piece of cloth. A cloth that seemed oddly familiar…
“H…Horrus..?”
“I’m glad you remember me.” Horrus rose to his feet, carrying his sword by his side.
“But… how?”
Horrus used his sword as something to lean against as he stood above the one he fought so desperately those years ago. “It appears that our dear friend Pestilence had a surprising number of tricks up his sleeves. Including one such Nemod Sol… A strike set to destroy the very soul. I suppose I should be thankful that he did not take into account that Destruction was still alive and well inside me and wanted to make sure I stayed alive.”
War probably wouldn’t have believed it if Horrus wasn’t here before him right now. “Now,” Horrus continued, “It appears we both have a bit of a problem on our hands.” Using the tip of the sheath he put pressure on War’s stomach. War bit his lip, unconsciously clenching his fist. Horrus didn’t seem to care much.
“First, you are going to tell me how that monster is alive and active outside of your body. And then,” He pulled the blade from its sheath. It shone just as brightly as it did eight years ago. “We’re going to work out a way to kill him.”
And so War told Horrus of how Desolate came to be. He told him of the Guardian and of his ability to manipulate other beings, Demon or pony. All the while Horrus had his eyes closed, visualizing the story that he was being told. By the time his story was finished, the night had come and the moon now presided over the sky.
What bothered War, however, was the distant booming he would hear during his story. He questioned Horrus about it, but Horrus waved it off as nothing, saying there was little to do about it right now. War feared that he knew exactly what it was. And as much as he hated it, there really was little he could do to stop Desolate. Even if he could manage to stand, he’d only be killed for real this time, and lose more than just an arm in the process.
Now that he was more conscious than he was before, he asked again. “How… exactly, did you come back to life again... and why you look like…that?”
“I’ll explain later.” Horrus replied quickly. He set his sword on the ground and cracked his fingers. “Right now, we’re about to have visitors, and I need to get you back to full strength.” He strode over and drew a Seal above War’s crushed knee. War couldn’t see what kind of Seal it was but he could see that it was glowing a vibrant green instead of the regular blue.
“Destruction was a master of Seals, creating hundreds beyond the ones that already existed.” Horrus said, reading War’s mind. “They were taught to me as a result. And I hope you enjoy the irony in the energy that was used to kill can be manipulated to heal just as much as I did.” The light intensified, and soon War felt like his leg was being torn off slowly.
“By the way, it might hurt a bit.” Horrus said. War could almost hear the smile on his face.
Horrus glided across the hard stone floor of the Everfree Hive. His blindfold covered eyes scanned the room he had been given, inspecting everything from the number of cracks in the walls to the way the blanket seemed lazily tossed onto the bed. His eyes traced along the edge of the bed, where a faint glimmer caught his attention.
He followed alongside the bed until he came face-to-face with his own reflection that the pony-sized mirror showed. His expression remained indifferent as his clone copied his movements. He sat down and spread his wings, taking in how strange he looked for the first time. Slowly, his hoof rose up until it rested behind his head. He pulled on the cloth, undoing it only enough for it to fall and hang from his neck like a noose.
He kept his eyes shut tight. He wanted to open them. To actually look upon himself, in his new body, with real eyes. What am I afraid of? He thought. I made the decision to take these eyes. I cut them out myself, only to cut out my own in order to make room. So why can’t I bring myself to look?
His eyes lightly twitched, opening just a sliver.
Open, damnit!
Finally, the lids opened wide. He watched as the colors danced around, rippling and waving around his pupil. The rainbows certainly complimented his white coat more than he thought it would.
Wait, my coat isn’t…
The black Alicorn nearly jumped out of his skin as he realized that it wasn’t his reflection in the mirror. Looking right back at him was a mare with a light brown mane. She sat just as Horrus did, only with a calmer face. Horrus, however, lost his surprise only for it to be replaced by anger.
“You!”
The mare smiled lightly. “Hello Horrus.” She spoke softly, like a mother speaking to a child.
“You…" He said again through clenched teeth. "I killed you!”
“Don’t act so surprised.” She said with a gentle shake of her head, “Let’s be honest… I’m a part of you. You’ll never completely destroy me.”
Horrus raised his hoof, ready to shatter the mirror with a single strike. “I can sure as hell try!”
“What do you hope to accomplish?”
Horrus’ hoof stopped mere inches from the reflective surface. He immediately hated himself for holding back. He hated himself even more for responding. “What?”
A quick smile flickered across her face as she saw his hoof slowly return to the ground. “What do you want from all this? Allying yourself with these brutal creatures, these… Changelings. I just want to know why.”
Horrus growled and looked down and to the side. “Don’t act like you’re my mother. You’ve never questioned my motives before.”
“And you haven’t truly looked in a mirror in years. How else could I?”
Was that really all it took? Horrus thought. It was true though. His image wasn’t exactly something he cared for beyond intimidation. As well, a little part of him always felt wrong when he thought about looking at himself with the eyes he stole.
“Why does it matter if I decide to choose a side? My reasons are my own.”
“Do you believe that if you win, you’ll finally get the respect you deserve?”
“I don’t need respect!”
“Don’t lie to me.” Her brow ruffled, not out of anger at his outburst, but in disappointment in his decision in words. “I’ve known you almost your whole life Horrus. I spent day after day, hours upon hours teaching you, honing you into a force of tremendous power both physically and mentally. Do not think for even a second that I can’t see past your words. You may be able to deceive that poor boy by nearly reenacting the most horrific event in his life, but you will have to try much harder in order to make me believe that what you say is true.”
Horrus closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the mare in the mirror any longer. He wanted her to just go away. He kept them squeezed shut, hoping that she would just leave. “I hate you.” He said, finally.
“I know.” She replied, some sadness in her voice, her features relaxing once more. “And I forgive you for it. I should have seen the signs that you were growing restless with me, but instead I put it off just as young ambition. Perhaps if I had just seen the signs…”
“Shut up.”
She flinched at his harsh sounding words. “Stop acting like everything is always your fault. Is it so difficult to believe that the student of the great magister Destruction made his own decisions? That he has a will of his own? Is it so incomprehensible that I wish to go against those who saw me as nothing more than a child?” He stomped his hoof down, “I was not born with the great natural strength like the others were! That lumbering behemoth, that arrogant bastard, that emotionally unstable boy; all gifted with the strength of a hundred men. I worked every day of my life to be in the position that I am in today only to be told that I can go no further. That I was stuck on the ladder of power, never to reach the final peg. Do you understand how that feels?”
His fury was painful to her ears but she stood her ground. She listened to every word he had to say, making sure that nothing went unheard. “No.” she replied. “I do not.”
“Of course you don’t.” Horrus moved to pull the cloth back over his eyes, ready to simply end such a needless conversation.
“Only because power was not what I sought after.”
He stopped, “Power is all that exists.”
“And I cannot argue with that. Power is what defines who we are and what we are capable of. It shows where we stand in our world. I began my life just as you did, always striving for more. To be the very best I could be. But alas, my strength was nothing in comparison to the others. And as thus I used my power to develop newer ways of demonstrating that power which all but I had been blessed with. Every day I created a new form of unleashing power... every day I created new ways to kill. And like the beasts we all are, I was rewarded for my work. All I had to do was draw funny little symbols with my fingers and I was given a new position, a new name. I was labeled as Destruction for what I had done and praised as if I was some kind of warlord.
"For once in my life I felt… needed. I felt like I had a purpose, Horrus, and over time I became arrogant. That is, until the day I finally approached the battlefield. The memory of the land and homes being scarred, of corpses of both beast and man smoldering from the intense heat of the blasts that I had developed. It was then that I gave up my high-backed chair, that I gave up creating new ways for people to murder one another. Instead I put my time into a new subject… one that not even the Angels had delved into too far. Can you guess what it was?”
“… I do not require a lecture on your life story.”
“Healing. I put all of my time and resources into repairing the damage that I had done. To reattach limbs, to mend the very bones that make up our bodies, to stop all of the death and devastation. No longer did I want to be known as the Horseman of Destruction, to be known as the monster behind every murder.”
“Be silent, Destruction!” Horrus had had enough. His eyes had strayed from the Alicorn that watched him from the other side of the mirror as she spoke but now his eyes were locked with hers. The colors that flowed in her eyes had slowed, becoming almost stagnant. Tears stained her white coat leaving darkened trails that led down her cheeks.
“My name is Anna… not Destruction!”
Horrus was taken back by her sudden outburst. “Anna Trandafir. For two hundred and thirty-nine years, I was simply Anna Trandafir. For three thousand, four hundred and eighty-two years I was known as the very essence of Destruction. I spread the knowledge of power and killed more people than you have even seen with my own creations! After realizing what I had done, I renounced my position. The first ever to do so! My resignation was not taken happily, however, but I suppose there is some pride that I can have knowing that I survived long enough to be the first Horseman – albeit a former one – to die of natural causes a thousand and twelve years later.
"I gave up everything I had in order to stop the bloodshed only to be resurrected in the one who would so openly betray his own people as to try and kill the closest thing he had to a family because of a race-war that didn’t even involve you! I taught you the power to heal in hopes that the very opposite might happen! And how was I even repaid for such an act? You tried to murder me. You silenced me from your own mind, cutting out my eyes so that you could replace your own, thinking, what, I wonder? That you might finally surpass all those around you, climbing the ladder of power as if it were some elevator, until you finally reached the top? And then what? What happens when you finally achieve your goal of power, hmm? Do you truly think yourself any different than those fools that have somehow managed to hold power since the beginning of eternity?”
Horrus did not answer. His eyes remained glued to the floor. All was silent between the two until Horrus let out a drawn out sigh. Before long his eyes returned to hers, “Are you done talking now?”
Destruction – or rather, Anna – opened her mouth, about to lash out at him once more, but she stopped herself. She shook her head gently, “What will it take for you to understand there is more to our lives than gaining power over others?”
“More than you can offer, evidently enough.” He replied dryly. “And as for those so-called ‘friends’, they have no reason to care for me, just as I have no reason to care for them. It is not unnoticeable the way that the majority of friendships are rather short lived because of a many numbers of reasons. Two or more individuals remain in this ‘bond of friendship’ for an extended period of time if and only if there is something to be gained from the relationship. Nothing happens without reason, and as such no one will ever so something that is in no way beneficial to them. Humans – be they Demon or Angel or anything else – are all naturally selfish. I am, of course, no exception. I assist these parasites because doing so will give me power over them all. This war cannot be won without my support; not so long as the other Horsemen remain with the Equines.
"Where there is power, there is purpose. And there is nothing more that I desire other than to have purpose in this life. I am one of the renowned Four Horsemen. There are only three others that have more power in their words other than me, and yet I only hold this position because of both my heritage and my rare ability to actually think properly for more than five seconds at a time. A trait rather rare, apparently. Even here, amongst these parasites, I am needed for my mind because these nitwits know nothing more than guerrilla tactics and what somehow passes as attempts at espionage. I have no idea how this species has even survived this long into their lifespans using their feeble attempts at deception! But, this has led to one of those benefits that come from a mutual relationship: I am needed. These creatures will fail, undoubtedly, without my support. Back in Hellion I held power simply because it was convenient. During a time of war, I was able to think logically, quickly, and effectively.”
“And once this war is over? Once these parasites, these… Changelings, have taken control of the planet? What then?”
Horrus closed his eyes and pulled the black cloth over them. Without so much as another glance at the mirror he turned and made his way toward the exit, where the final invasion army awaited his return. “And then I will lay waste to all who oppose me. I will take control of everything and everyone, and then… and then I will always be needed.”
-------------
Horrus's eyes snapped open. He was clutching his sword tightly against his chest. In the distance he could he crashes and explosions. Looking up into the sky he could tell that nightfall should be coming along sometime within the next few hours. His eyes turned to where War lay, still unconscious. He was still breathing, which was good. He didn't want to have wasted all that time and energy closing his wounds and stopping the bleeding from his new lack of an arm.
He noticed War's eyelids begin to flutter and slowly open. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up to catch the attention of the man he had killed not far from here just eight long years ago. "It's about time you woke up."
The gates of Canterlot remained shut as the sun was nearing its final moments in the sky. A royal guard by the name of Bound Shield stood at attention on one end. On the opposite side, similar in every way because of their enchanted armor, was another guard that was nameless to Bound Shield. Their posts at the gates were too far apart for idle chat to allow itself. Besides, he would probably never see this mystery stallion any time soon regardless of whether or not they talked.
The guardspony huffed and glanced towards the sun. As soon as it fell below the horizon, he could leave his post for some other sorry soul to take his place. Ever since the last war with the Changelings came to a sudden end, no pony dared rise against the Equestrian banner. Needless to say, being a part of the military had certainly lost a lot of its flair over time.
Another sigh escaped his mouth before he reached up to rub the tiredness from his eyes. Before he could feel a moment’s relief, the silence was broken. “Look alive, soldier!”
Bound Shield straightened up, hoping that his sergeant hadn’t seen him beginning to doze off. Looking up, however, he was met by the sight of the other guard moving forward in an aggressive stance. Bound’s eyes followed where his fellow guard was looking and could have sworn he felt his jaw hit the floor. Stepping towards them was a creature that seemed to walk solely on it's hind legs and had skin the color of crimson. Bound Shield straightened himself up and grabbed his spear. As it neared, the guardspony was able to get a better look at this intimidating visitor. It was not its skin that was crimson, but rather the armor it wore that covered its body from head to toe. Jutting from its helmet was what appeared to be a blonde mane.
The two guards stepped forward to meet him halfway, “Identify yourself, stranger!” the other guard shouted. Bound Shield gulped as it did nothing but glare with its blood red eyes.
“Maybe it doesn’t speak Equuish?” Bound said towards his partner, afraid to take his eyes off the potential threat. It slowly raised its palm forward and a symbol in the shape of a star began to glow a bright blue light. The last thing the two ever heard before being engulfed in light was a single word: "Children"
The entirety of the main gate exploded inward into the city. Dust and debris poured into the streets, coating entire buildings. Guards and aristocrats scrambled amongst each other, each going in opposite directions. A small squad of guards consisting of two Pegasi, two Unicorns and a single earth pony stood ready to defend their homes against whatever force had broken down the gates of Canterlot with such ease. Needless to say they were shocked not to find a dragon or horde of parasitic insect ponies of which some were still weary of, but instead a single being. As the dust cleared it revealed one who stood tall and was covered head to toe in armor of silver and crimson. From its head came a golden mane.
“Under order of Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia and Her Royal Highness Princess Luna,” the center pony spoke as he drew his sword. “You are under arrest for the destruction of Canterlot’s gates and the assault on Her Majesty’s kingdom!”
Desolate’s only response was to throw his arms wide, beckoning forth the soldiers. The Unicorns were the first to respond, their horns glowing a golden aura and quick bullets of magical light firing towards their target. Desolate’s body was tossed about with each direct hit, but his feet remained planted to the ground. One shot hit him square in the head, causing him to bend backwards. The Unicorns halted their salvo, waiting to see if their efforts were enough to stop the intruder. Their jaws fell as Desolate slowly returned to his straight posture with no signs of ever even being hit.
“My Turn.” Desolate’s hand shot forward and a blast of light burst forward. The soldiers were quick to react, dodging left and right around the attack’s cylindrical form. They chose not to be distracted by the sound of explosions behind them, only focusing on the task at hand. The Pegasi reached him first with spears in hoof, ready to pierce through such intimidating armor. Desolate closed his flow of energy, cutting the blast short. Both hands rose to block the attacks. The tips shattered like glass upon impact and the wood cracked and splintered. The twin Pegasi barely had a chance to recover before disappearing behind another set of blasts. The Unicorns wasted no time mourning their comrades before unleashing a heavier volley of magic. Desolate bent backwards, dodging the majority of the assault. He then flipped himself forward and, using his momentum, launched himself towards his attackers. He moved at an incredible speed through the air but only managed to catch one of the guards. The Unicorn was crushed under his boot while the other narrowly dodged to the right, avoiding his otherwise certain death. With some quick thinking the guardspony grabbed a rather large piece of rubble from the devastation Desolate had previously left behind. Like a sling the object swung around in an arc before flying towards its target. Unafraid, Desolate pulled back his fist and punched, shattering it like the gates. Instead of being met with the sight of the Unicorn, however, Desolate found himself face to face with the earth pony from before as it spun face-up.
With rather astounding force Desolate was met by the guardspony’s hind legs. It was enough bring Desolate off his feet, but not nearly enough to stop him as a threat. With flip backwards and a rebound with his hands Desolate was soon braced against the ground, his hands digging into the concrete. Some strange metallic clicks were heard and part of his helmet slid back, and the last thing the earth pony saw was a bright light.
-------------
“Your Majesties!”
A single royal guard sprinted down the halls of Canterlot castle like a bat out of Tartarus. He nearly fell to the ground trying to stop before running face-first into the very Princesses he was looking for. Princess Celestia caught the fumbling guard with her magic before placing him back on his hooves. “Calm yourself, guardspony. Take a moment to catch your breath… Good, now tell me: are you here on behalf of the explosions coming from the gates?”
“Th-The gates… they are gone, Your Highness…” The Unicorn said.
“What!?” Princess Luna exclaimed. Her wings flared for emphasis, “Preposterous! Nopony has ever breached the gates of Canterlot! Be they dragon or any other threat, they would surely be brought down long before–”
“I… That thing was no dragon!” The guard threw off his helmet, revealing a mane that was damp with sweat. He quickly brushed it aside before continuing, “It… he… Whatever it was, it was some kind of strange bipedal… Like a Minotaur but with covered in armor and not nearly as bulky. It must have stood at least eight or nine hooves tall, and its eyes… They were the color of blood, Your Highness.”
Luna looked fearful of what kind of force had managed to so easily break into Canterlot and was reckless enough to stand alone. Celestia, however, only turned her head to see the pony that stood a few paces behind her. “Do you think it’s one of them, Twilight?”
Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped forward and stood at Celestia’s side, opposite Luna. “The description certainly fits… But Dante or War would never try to break into Canterlot like this, I know they wouldn’t!”
Celestia’s hoof rose to her chin, “Then perhaps it is not them that had returned to our world, but another that only shares their form…”
“Wait, I know him! That’s War! But he wouldn’t just attack without being provoked, unless… What color were his eyes?”
“I didn’t get a good glimpse, I had to return to the castle and—“
“What. Color. Were. His. Eyes.”
“I-I think they were red… They looked like the eyes of a demon… ”
A light gasp met Celestia’s lips. It couldn’t be… could it? But how? “Soldier, prep the citizens for an evacuation.”
The Unicorn gave a hasty salute, “Y-Yes Your Majesty!” He sprinted off down another hall before disappearing around a corner.
Luna turned to her sibling, confused and wanting answers. “An evacuation? Sister, pray tell, what kind of threat doth we have on our hooves?”
Celestia looked down at her younger sister, and in her eyes was what almost seemed like genuine fear. “One that may very well tear our land asunder…”
The three Alicorns vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind the emptiness of Canterlot’s halls.
--------------
Desolate felt like yawning. In mere moments he had bested Canterlot’s first line of defense, devastated the surrounding homes and businesses and crushed any resistance that dare challenge him. Needless to say he was not too excited when a bright light shined behind him. He took his time turning around to meet the gaze of three Alicorns. One was small and lavender and it cowered at the sight of his work. Next in line of height was one that was a cool blue and it appeared furious at his actions. The third and final stood between them. Its coat was like the very essence of light and it only looked down on him with contempt.
Desolate responded to their looks of both fury and fright just as he had with the guards from before: by throwing out his arms, pleading for them to strike him. “Perhaps you can offer me some kind of challenge, Your Majesties.”
“I wish it were a pleasure to meet the one that nearly eradicated the Changeling threat all those years ago.” Celestia said as she took striding steps toward him.
“I don’t do it for the praise.”
“We have had enough of this!” Luna said, her wings flaring once more before she used them to leap a small distance, landing between the great Demon and her elder sister. “Do not waste our time with idle banter! Stand down or face our wrath!”
Desolate chuckled, “Oh? Are you actually going to fight your own battles for once? What’s the matter, no little girls to call upon to stop the looming threat of destruction that stands at your doorstep? Or would you prefer to remain in ignorant bliss as your kingdom is ravaged by an army, only to show up after it all, like nothing ever happened?”
Luna began shaking with fury and rage. Such was evident in her renewal of her old dialect, “ENOUGH! WE SHALL NOT BE INSULTED IN OUR OWN HOME! WE MAY HAVE STOOD IDLE DURING A TIME OF CRISIS, BUT NO MORE! NOW, FEEL THE WEIGHT OF OUR MOON!!”
She bent her head and fired a magical blast of extreme proportion. With no time to dodge, Desolate resorted to blocking the attack. His heels dug into the ground as the intensity of the beam magnified with each passing moment.
In the distance a large bell could be heard. After its second ring a booming voice could be heard, clearly amplified by magic to be heard across the entire city. “ATTENTION! A MASS EVACUATION OF CANTERLOT HAS BEEN CALLED FOR! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT: A MASS EVACUATION OF CANTERLOT IS NOW UNDERWAY! ROYAL CAPTAINS ARE TO ASSEMBLE AT THE CITY SQUARE!”
Desolate didn’t have much time to think about the announcement as he saw Princess Celestia take flight and land behind him, her own horn beginning to glow. A blast of similar proportions fired from her horn, causing Desolate to use his other hand to block it. He remained locked between two beams of death, each ready to tear him apart. He looked forward and was met by the smallest of the trio. Twilight looked afraid of the monster before her that was succeeding in holding back the combined strength of the princesses. The weight of his glare felt like someone had tossed a saddlebag with three tons worth of books onto her back when she wasn’t looking.
Princess Celestia? What are we doing so far out from the rest of Equestria?
Twilight, please. I’ve asked you so many times to simply call me Celestia from now on… we are equals now, after all.
Oh, right… Old habits are just hard to break, you know?
Now, I’ve brought you all the way out here for a very special reason… can you guess what it is?
Um… Are you going to teach me some kind of magic? It makes sense, considering our seclusion will certainly exclude any possibilities of distraction so that I may retain the utmost concentration and—
I brought you out here because there may one day come a time when the Elements of Harmony –your dear friends – may not be within reach during a time when Equestria itself is at stake. After the banishment of Nightmare Moon my connection with the Elements was lost, leaving them as nothing more than decorative pieces and stone. There were many times when I wished I was once again compatible with them, but alas I was not. I had a kingdom to protect and with hidden threats around almost every corner, I had to develop some new form of defense… which is what I am about to teach you. I will warn you now that this magic is devastating and incredible and you will likely not get the hang of it right away… but I have confidence that when the day comes that we all must put our life on the line for the sake of all of Equestria, you will know what to do.
Magic began swelling up within Twilight’s body. As it grew, it threatened to overwhelm her but she suppressed the want to let it explode out in every direction. She channeled the power to her horn where it began to rapidly build up.
Just a little more… Just a little more…
Her concentration was broken by the sound of metallic clicks and metal plates sliding alongside each other. She opened her eyes to see pieces of Desolate’s face plate sliding open to reveal… his mouth? He opened his mouth to take in a deep breath of air. Curiously, he held out his tongue as well. Twilight was confused until she saw what looked like a five-pointed star, similar to the ones engraved on his palms, cut into his tongue. As he inhaled it began to glow until he exhaled heavily, unleashing another mighty blast. Twilight was shaken with fear as time seemed to slow down, allowing her to watch as her imminent death approached at rapid speeds. Time returned to normal as she felt something tackle her from the right, throwing her out of the path of Desolate’s attack.
Twilight was dazed and shook her head until the stars disappeared. She looked up to see Celestia atop her. Celestia had halted her attack in order to save her, to which she was grateful, but as a result Desolate was given his arm back. Palm raised up, Desolate fired a blast against Luna’s. The Alicorn’s power proved to be no match and she was thrown back by the force of Desolate’s attack.
Desolate’s face plate slid back into place. “Do not believe that the weight of your little pebble in the sky is enough to hold me down.”
Luna growled at him, insulted. If only it were truly night, and she would be at full strength once more. Celestia risked taking her eyes off the Demon to speak to the small pony that was holding to her fur, “Twilight, you must take flight and leave Canterlot immediately.”
“What!? No! I won’t leave you and Luna behind!”
“Please Twilight, do not argue with me.” Twilight had rarely ever seen her idol appear so serious. “This beast… He will not go down easily. The other Elements may be required to stop such a foe. Luna and I shall hold him here.”
Twilight was torn. On one hoof she would be traveling far away from such a monster to retrieve her friends, but on the other… she would be leaving behind Celestia and Luna to fight for their very lives. She sighed, knowing that if she stayed she would only get in the way once more. Biting her lip to hold back the tears, she gave her former teacher a nod. Her horn began to glow and Twilight soon found herself no longer in the embrace of Celestia but standing on the outer walls of Canterlot. With one last look back at the battleground, she took flight towards Ponyville, only one of the destinations she would need to go to.
Celestia rose back to her hooves in an aggressive stance. Luna did the same as she landed to her left. Desolate stood ready, waiting for them to make the first move. The first attack, however, came not from the Alicorns, but from an unknown challenger to his right. With a quick thrust of his fist the wall of a blown back building was split in half as it soared through the air in an attempt to catch him off guard. With a lazy turn of his head he caught sight of a mare in beautifully adorned golden armor unlike the ones the other infantry wore. Her horn continued to glow as several more pieces of random buildings were lifted by her magical grasp.
On the opposite side a stallion adorned in night guard armor landed amongst the destruction. His wings flared, revealing razor sharp wing blades.
“Captain Dawnstrider.” Celestia said, a hint of pride in her voice.
“Captain Moon Shield.” Luna said proudly.
“And now my foes seem to come to me,” Desolate said, his hands curling into fists. “Like lambs to the slaughter.”
“Silence!” Dawnstrider commanded. Her eyes turned to Celestia, “Princess, please begin the mass teleportation spell. Moon Shield and I shall hold him back for you.”
“Nay!” Luna shouted, “He will simply kill thee like the others! We will not allow—”
“My liege, please,” Moon Shield interrupted, his cat-like eyes not leaving the threat for a moment, “do not underestimate us. And if we should die, then we shall do so here and now rather than like dogs on their last leg.”
Luna was about to interject once more when she felt a hoof fall upon her back. She looked over to find Celestia looking back at her, “Sister, they are correct.” Luna noticed the way her elder sister bit her lip, trying to hold back from denying them their duty. “Come, I will need your help for the spell.”
Luna huffed, torn between her choices. Finally she nodded and the two Alicorns rose into the sky.
“Take your time.” Desolate said as he cracked his neck, “This won’t take long.”
Dawnstrider responded by chucking both objects she had held in her magical grasp. Desolate did away with them with the backs of his hands, reducing them to ash. Desolate was given no time to recover as Dawnstrider was in his face with her blade in her mouth, ready to slice his head from his shoulders. Her sword never made contact as Desolate was just too fast for her. His fist slammed into her throat, throwing her to the ground on her back. Her sword left her mouth upon impact, allowing it to easily fall into his left hand in a reverse fashion. Behind him he could hear the air being split by the sound of Moon Shield’s wing blades. Waiting until just the right moment, he swung his arm back, sliding the blade straight through the bat pony’s chest. Moon Shield shot past Desolate and Dawnstrider, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times. Shallow breaths and slight twitches revealed he was still alive, albeit barely so. Dawnstrider crawled towards her fallen comrade using one hoof to pull forward while the other held to her throat.
“Moon…” She whispered and coughed, oblivious to the crimson Demon that stood just behind her. She could feel his bloody eyes burning through her, causing her to turn and look up at the cause of the devastation around them. In those eyes she found no remorse, no mercy, and certainly no regret. One of Desolate’s feet rose up, ready to crush the mare below him. Dawnstrider closed her eyes and held tighter to Moon Shield. She waited for her end to come, for his boot to come down and break her in half. However, her end never came. Her eye inched open and she found herself not surrounded by death and destruction, but by green fields and trees. She looked up, confused, and noticed at least two hundred other ponies around her with similar looks on their faces. She looked around frantically before catching eye of Canterlot Castle hanging from the mountainside miles away.
-------------
The stone shattered like glass beneath Desolate’s boot. He cocked his head to the right slightly, curious as to where his prey had vanished to. He turned just as Celestia and Luna touched back down to the ground. Their horns ceased to glow but Desolate could still feel the power swelling up within them even from as far as he stood. “Now we are alone to fight this battle.” Celestia said.
“Now we shall not have to hold back.” Luna hissed.
Desolate smiled beneath his mask. Two dark, large leathery wings sprouted from his back. The three of them bent down before firing off into the air at the same time at alarming speeds. Desolate was the first to strike, throwing his full weight into a punch towards Luna. The blue Alicorn shot higher, giving her sister a clear shot at the Demon. Desolate dodged her attack before flying along its edge. Despite his weight, Desolate flew with intense speeds and Celestia noticed only too late that Desolate was right on top of her. He grabbed hold of her horn first and then her chest. His extra weight was too much and the two began falling back towards Canterlot. Celestia struggled to break free but his grip was too strong. She could only watch as his face plate pieced itself apart revealing an already charging blast from his mouth. Celestia braced herself as Desolate inhaled, but Luna descended onto him, wrapping her hooves around his neck and flipping herself backwards. Desolate lost his grip on the white Alicorn and was arched back. His blast did not cease to come and all across Equestria a blue light was seen shooting into the sky, first towards the horizon and then straight into the air before dissipating as it neared the opposite horizon.
Luna held him in a grappled position, keeping his back arched with her hooves around his neck and her hind legs around his legs. The two plummeted further as Luna tried to spin them around so Desolate was below her. He tried to pull her hooves off of him, but her grip was surprisingly tight. “Just because We lack the appendages that thou has developed, does not mean We cannot hold thee down!” Luna said. Desolate could hear the smile on her lips from how she spoke, as if thinking she had already won.
The ground was rapidly approaching and at the last moment Luna used him at a platform to launch off of, flying across what was left of Canterlot as Desolate hit the ground hard, kicking up plenty of dust and debris. Desolate picked himself up in the small crater he had created, touching his mask to make sure the pieces slid back into place properly. Just then he felt a sudden intense presence. His eyes shot up to catch sight of a ball of flames roughly the size of Ponyville. He had to admit that even he was surprised that Celestia, who hovered just below it, had managed to accumulate so much power so quickly. The flames lashed out like snakes before falling back into the small sun.
“Now,” Celestia said, her head held high and her eyes glaring down at her foe. “Feel the fury of my sun!” With that she lashed her head down, causing the ball to drop.
Desolate grinded his feet into the ground and rose both arms high. He fired a simultaneous blast from his hands directly upwards. The dual beams turned one collided with the miniature sun, but it was not enough to stop its descent. Desolate felt the heat as it grew closer and he intensified the blast. The extra surge of power shot through his attack and actually managed to slow the ball down. Celestia saw this and used her magic to force it down faster. It was dangerous and could possibly destroy the entire mountain, but Desolate was proving to be a threat worth taking risks against. The ball began quickening in its fall, to which Desolate replied with more strength. It fell and fell, soon reaching buildings that had not been topped over. They fell apart, turning to ash before the ball even touched them.
Desolate clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, focusing on the attack that was stopping a small sun from falling on him. His legs slowly began to bend and his head fell forward. Should he die, he would not die without a fight and so he pushed his body to the limits. He felt the ball slow down once more before finally becoming suspended not far from where he held up his arms.
And then, the ball began to suddenly began to feel… lighter? He opened his eyes and looked up to find a young girl in the crater with him. She wore a pure white dress and had blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. She didn’t look much older than a teenager. Her arm was stretched out above her head just as his were.
“Go away!” Desolate shouted at the girl, causing her to take her eyes off the fiery ball and look towards him. Her eyes revealed a case of sectoral heterochromia, leaving one asymmetrically half dark blue and half bright amber. “I don’t need your help!” His faceplate split apart and he added to his power with a third heavy blast. His body felt drained and his arms felt like they would soon fall off but he pushed himself further. The pain was intense and he screamed out, only causing to intensify the blast coming from his mouth. Slowly the ball began to rise back up into the sky. The inches it moved turned to feet, and those feet turned into yards. It began flying back towards Celestia faster than it had even fallen. Her eyes went wide and she tried to use her magic to halt it, but it was no use. It was simply going too fast. Her only option was to detonate it.
The ball sucked in on itself before suddenly exploding outward. A visible shockwave burst out from the center, not too dissimilar from the sonic rainboom. The wave cut through the top of the mountain, causing it to explode outward. The blast wasn’t close enough to kill Celestia but it did scorch her harshly. She plummeted to the ground, barely conscious. She tried to use her wings to slow her fall but it was only enough to cushion her impact with the ground.
“Tia!” Luna landed next to her unconscious sister, tears rolling down her blue fur. Her attempt to comfort her fallen sister was short-lived as she soon found herself skidding across the ground. She curled up into herself, clutching her kicked midsection. She opened her eyes to find Desolate standing just above her. He had that familiar look of mercilessness in his eyes. He had her right where he wanted her and he lifted his leg to crush her neck. He brought his foot down and the head was severed from the body... but it was not the same Luna he had intended to kill. Rather, he now stood above what appeared to be a cardboard cutout of Princess Luna.
He turned his head around towards where Celestia lay to find Luna in the arms of some kind of chimera. Its body was some number of random pieces. It set Luna down beside her sister before standing its long body back up straight.
“Dis…” Luna whispered.
A hat appeared on Discord’s head and a diploma in his pawn “Actually I graduated at the University of Manehattan, but that’s a good guess.” Both items vanished in a puff just as quickly as they appeared as a smile formed on his lips. His odd eyes scanned the area, his smile fading away to a frown. “I leave home for a few days and look what happens.”
“Discord… he…” she tried again.
“Quiet Lulu.” He said, cutting her off, “You’ll need to save your strength to get out of here with Celestia.”
“What!?” Luna said as she pulled herself up off the ground. “Discord, that monster nearly killed the both of us!”
“I know.” He said. He snapped his claw and Luna and Celestia disappeared from sight, reappearing on Canterlot’s outer wall.
Discord gave Desolate his full attention. “I’ll have you know that the only one allowed making the lives of those two ponies a living hell is me.”
Desolate took a deep breath to help his heart rate return to a more steady level after exerting so much power. His faceplate clicked back into place and he cracked his neck once more. “Then let us see who is stronger then. Kill me, and they are all yours.”
Elsewhere, Luna was pulling Celestia onto her back. Once she was confident her elder sister wouldn’t fall off, the Princess took to the skies. She knew she wouldn’t get far but anywhere other than Canterlot was certainly better. She tried to keep herself aloft but with each flap she came gradually lower and lower to the ground. She could tell she was going to fall short of reaching any towns and would end up, of all places, having to make a landing within the Everfree forest.
Her landing was less than graceful. She hit the ground hard, Celestia falling off and Luna rolling a few times in the dirt. She looked towards her sister and crawled towards her. It was not an easy feat being that she was already panting from the flight over. She checked her sister for any new wounds and was relieved to find that not even her previous wounds had reopened. She looked up towards the orange sky and used the last of her strength to both lower the sun through the rest of its journey and allow the moon to peak over the horizon. With that, her head fell onto the ground, inches from her sister’s.
Dreams of stars and the night sky faded from Princess Luna’s eyes as they slowly opened. She groaned as she tried to cover her eyes with her hoof from the sun as it shined seemingly on her and only her. She was angry at herself for forgetting to pull her blinds back at the end of the night. She attempted to use her horn’s magic to encase her within peaceful darkness once more, but her attempts were futile. It was then and only then that she came to remember the past events and her raising of the moon in an effort to assure her subjects across the world that everything was indeed alright.
Her eyes snapped open and her body spasmed as she attempted to quickly roll back onto her hooves only for her to end up falling right on her face. A face full of dirt was definitely the wake up call she needed, if not the one she wanted. She looked around and inspected her surroundings now that that she was out of her sleepy daze. She was prepared to face what kind of horrors that the monster Desolate had created during her and her sister’s absence, but she was not prepared to see that nothing at all had changed. The wind still blew, the trees still swayed, and the birds still chirped. One could daresay she was more shocked to see everything was alright than she would be if everything had gone to her vision of a worst case scenario.
The Lunar Princess lifted herself back onto her hooves and took a few steps back to look towards a familiar mountain. Canterlot, as she could see, was all but leveled. Not even the mountain itself had come out unscathed, with the peak being blown straight off. Outside of that, however, it seemed that the world had simply kept spinning.
“Ah, lovely. You’re awake.”
The sudden sound of a voice made the Alicorn jump. She spun around and was met by yet another of the creatures that had referred to themselves as “Demons” standing just outside of the small clearing she stood in. Strangely, it was not one she recognized. What also appeared strange to her was that it looked quite young by comparison of how she remembered War and Dante, and even when compared to Desolate.
From behind him came another being, but this time it was no Demon. Celestia’s body was far different compared to the last time Luna had seen it. She was smaller, much smaller. Her mane no longer swayed under an ethereal wind, nor did it contain the sparkling rainbow of colors that it once did. It was now two shades of pink. Her horn no longer had the length that it did just yesterday and now she simply appeared like an Alicorn child rather than an Alicorn Princess.
“Tia!” Luna galloped forward and embraced her sister tightly, nearly sending the elder sister onto her back. She heard a lighthearted giggle come from the sun goddess followed by an embrace of her own.
“It is good to see you too, sister.” Her voice sounded different than it had before. Smaller and lighter, not even close to the commanding-but-motherly tone she normally had. Luna took a step back, inspecting her sister once more.
“Tia, what has happened? Why art thou so… so… small?”
Celestia giggled again, “Perhaps you should take a look at your own body, little sister.”
Luna raised an eyebrow to her elder sister before following a short distance where they came to a gentle river. Luna looked down and her eyes spread wide when she saw her reflection. Like her sister, her, Luna’s mane no longer blew in the invisible wind. It no longer sparkling like the night sky, but rather it was the same shades of blue that it was shortly after she was purged by the Elements of Harmony and the threat to Equestria known as Nightmare Moon was banished forever.
“Sister… what has happened to us?”
“It would appear,” the Demon had remained silent up until this point, “that your duel with Desolate has left the both of you feeling… exhausted. I would assume that the lack of power coursing through your body is being represented in your physical form, leaving you as mere children of your previous selves. Quite curious, really.”
“And who might thou be, who hath taken such in interest in Alicorn physiology?” Luna suddenly became quite defensive against the one who might possibly have had a hand in their surviving through the night.
“My name is Horrus. I am, or perhaps I should say was, one of the Four Horsemen, specifically the Horseman of Death.” He spoke without the interest in his voice that he had when he was theorizing the new form of the once-powerful Alicorns.
“The Horseman of Death?” Luna held her head high as she began taking steps towards him. "We believe we recall hearing of a betrayal by your hand, as well as your assistance in a certain invasion of our land?”
Horrus showed no signs of backing down as Luna’s muzzle came just within inches of his own face. “I recall not being the first to betray your land.”
Luna glared softly at the Demon, who returned in kind. “We expected thou to be taller.” She said dryly.
“Same to you.”
Luna huffed, a sign Celestia took to intervene on the situation. “Horrus here protected us through the night. He healed our wounds, but it appears that we still need time to recharge our magic.”
“I am not deserving of such praise. Your wounds were not extreme, and even if they were then I am sure they would be no trouble. Healing Seals are simple enough. The only trouble is that the one being healed often feels the same amount of pain, more or less, that they felt when receiving the wound. You should be thankful for your exhaustion for leaving you in such a deep sleep. You should also be thankful Desolate didn’t do to you what he did to War.”
“War?” Celestia looked perplexed, “Is he here as well? You Demons certainly have a tough time dying, don’t you?”
“It would appear so. Come, he is just up the river.”
With that, Horrus spun on his heel and began walking. The two weakened Alicorns followed the Horseman upstream to where they found an incline in the land as well as a small waterfall. Within the path of the water was a rock big enough for the large size of War’s body to sit cross-legged upon. His eyes were closed as water went down his hair and back, only a little actually running down his face. His breathing was slow and paced, giving the Alicorns the impression that he was in a deep state of thought or meditation. Upon hearing the footsteps and hoofsteps disturbing the small rocks along the line of the river, his eyes opened and tracked the three as they came within range.
“Well, at least I’m still able to recognize one of you.” Celestia said with a smile. War rose to his feet and stepped off the rock and into the river itself. The water barely reached his knees as he moved forward.
“Enjoy your bath?” Horrus said. The princesses were unsure of whether his tone was sarcastic or serious.
“Simply… washing the blood off.” He reached up and scrubbed a small trail of dried blood that was on his left bicep.
“What happened?” Luna asked, only now noticing just how much blood there was even after War's supposed attempts at cleaning himself.
“I only lost something for a short time… nothing that cannot be replaced.” Both sisters quietly gasped to themselves as they realized just what he was implying. “But that is not a topic for the current time… Where is Desolate?”
Celestia was the first to snap out of her daze, “We are not sure… Judging by the surprising lack of destruction, I would feel it is safe to assume he is still in Canterlot. You don’t plan to go after him alone, do you?”
“He is my responsibility.” War began walking past the Alicorns.
“You’ll get yourself killed.” Horrus crossed his arms as he watched the giant continue his long strides. “You’re not even close to the man you were a decade ago.”
War stopped and turned his head to the left gently to show he was listening. Horrus took a seat on a rock before continuing. “Sit down. There’s a couple things that need explaining.”
-------------
Twilight Sparkle felt a wave of relief as she saw the sun rise back over the horizon. “Thank goodness, Celestia is okay…” She had to continue her journey on hoof, having dropped to the ground some hour or so ago after her wings simply couldn’t bring her any further. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, flying was just something she couldn’t seem to get a hang of. The adrenaline rush she had gotten from escaping the battlefield had long worn off, leaving her exhausted with only her willpower and desire to find her friends leaving her on her hooves.
Her first stop would be to find Fluttershy. No doubt she would still be at her cottage at this time of day. She trotted through open field until she found the correct path, where she then proceeded up to the door and took a deep breath, rubbing her face in hopes to wipe away her tiredness. She knocked on the door three times and heard shuffling from behind it. She waited a few moments before knocking again. This time the door opened almost immediately and Twilight found herself face to face with a small Unicorn.
“Oh, hi aunt Twilight.” She said with a smile.
“Hello Pareidolia,” Twilight replied with a somewhat forced smile. She was always happy to see the little filly, but right now she didn’t have much time for idle catch-up. “Is Fluttershy home?”
The filly nodded.
“Um… can I see her?” Twilights smile was slowly fading.
“She’s… not feeling well.” Pareidolia looked off to the side as if she didn’t want to make any further eye contact.
“Not feeling well?” The lavender Alicorn questioned, “Is she sick?”
“Well… not exactly. She kind of fainted when we told her that dad was alive again, but I think she woke up just a few minutes ago.”
There was a long moment of silence as Twilight processed what the child had just said. “War is alive!?”
There was suddenly a loud thump from the next room over, followed by “Oh, come on!” The next moment, Fluttershy was being dragged into the room by her tail by her own son. He pulled his neck back up and spat out her tail before taking a look to see who had just had to come and knock out his mother again.
“Oh, hey aunt Twilight.” He said rather casually.
Twilight rushed through the door, quickly sliding into place by her canary yellowed friend. “Fluttershy!” She tried rocking the Pegasus to wake her and was, only to receive light groans in response. Her eyes rolled around in their sockets before they finally refocused on the ponies around her.
“Oh… Hello Twilight, I mean, Princess, I mean, Twilight… Um, what are you doing out here?”
“I think the better question would be to ask what happened to you... You look like a mess Fluttershy.” She licked her hoof and tried to rub away some of the dirt that stuck to the Pegasus’s fur.
“I-it’s nothing, really. I’ve just been feeling a little… light headed, recently.” Fluttershy soon found herself being levitated off the ground and carried away further into the house. Pareidolia quietly closed the door with her own magic before following after the Alicorn. Twilight set her yellow friend down on the couch before taking a seat in an open chair.
“So, judging from what the little filly told me at the door, which I can likely assume is true due to your ‘light headedness’, it seems like we both have some things we need to talk about with the other.”
“What do you mean, Twilight?" Fluttershy replied, finally seeming to ease out of her previous state. "Is something wrong back in Canterlot?”
Thoughts of the devastation caused by the one human flushed back into her mind. “Yeah, you could probably say that. But first I want to know what’s going on here. What’s all this about their father…?”
Fluttershy looked like she was about to fall back over so thankfully her children decided to fill her in. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“Um… can I get the middle version? I don’t have a lot of time, but if there’s some detail in what happened here that could be vital to saving Equestria then I need to know!”
Dark Star looked to his younger sister and nudged her forward. She reluctantly stepped forward, hoping her nervousness wouldn’t get the better of her even with just a one pony audience.
“Well… I can see things now,” she said softly as she gently brushed part of her mane back.
“…things?”
A sigh came from Dark Star’s direction, “She means ghosts.”
“Yeah, those.”
Twilight was beginning to lose confidence that these children could really help her, but for some reason she decided to feel like she would humor the filly. “So, you can see ghosts now… As in, right now?” She nodded. “Are there any in the house right now?”
She looked around for a moment before returning her gaze to the Alicorn, “No, not right now. I asked them to stay outside because it was scaring mommy.
Twilight looked to the elder of the siblings to see if she was being serious, and he just wore a bored, borderline-deadpan expression on his face. “She’s not lying. Trust me.” Pareidolia gave the princess a light smile.
“Ooookay then. So, what does that have to do with anything?”
“Well,” she continued, “After I became able to see them, this big one kept following me around everywhere I went… after that, everything went really blurry, like I had fallen asleep. When I woke back up, I saw my daddy and some other thing that looked like him, but more like a dragon.”
“There was another one, like dad.” Dark Star stepped in, “He was like dad, but... greyer, I guess?. He got mad at dad because he ordered him to kill us, but he refused to it. Next thing I know, there’s a lot of light and there’s a third one. It tried to kill us too, but dad stopped it and told us to run.”
“Well, I guess that explains Desolate being here… kind of.” Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof as she took in this new information. Apparently War was alive again and fought with Desolate, but where was he now? He obviously failed to stop the monster. And what of this “greyer” being? Was he a Demon as well?
“Aunt Twilight? Are you okay?” Pareidolia stepped forward and nudged the lavender princess, startling her.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry… I guess I was just spacing out.” She smiled sheepishly. “Would you two mind making some tea for your mother and me?”
“Sure!” Another wide smile came to Pareidolia’s face as she rushed to the kitchen, more than happy to help one she considered family. Dark Star remained where he was until a magical aura appeared around him and he was dragged to the kitchen too.
“Anyways,” Twilight cleared her throat, “Fluttershy, about Canterlot… it’s gone.”
The Pegasus covered her mouth with her hooves, turning her gasp into a sharp breath. “W-what do you mean ‘gone’? Is everypony okay? Did something happen to the princesses?”
“Calm down Fluttershy,” Twilight spoke in a hushed tone, hoping that the fillies weren’t eavesdropping. “Everypony in Canterlot is okay, and as for the princesses… well, I don’t really know. They sent me out of the city to make sure I could escape in case the worse should happen. However, I am confident that they managed to make it out alive considering that the sun is still in the sky.”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
“But that’s what brings me to my being here in the first place: I need your help Fluttershy. We need to find the other girls and use the Elements to stop Desolate once and for all. If anything can stop him, I’m sure that our friendship can!”
“You’re right… but what about the other girls? It’s been years since we’ve had to use the Elements, and most of them have already moved on to different parts of Equestria to follow their dreams… what are we going to do?”
“Obviously we’re going to go out and find them! We’re going to need their help if we’re to save Equestria, and I’m sure that’s just a little higher on Rarity’s schedule than the next line of fashionable outfits.”
The two laughed together. It was already beginning to feel like old times. Fluttershy was the first to return to calmness. "Oh, but what about Star and Dolia? I just don't know what I'd do with myself if something were to happen..."
Twilight smiled softly and reached over to touch her friend. "They're older than Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were when we used to go on our old adventures, you know. I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine."
Fluttershy didn't exactly look convinced, but it really didn't seem like she had much of a choice at the moment given the circumstances. “Can… can I say goodbye to them before we leave?”
“Of course, Fluttershy. I’ll be waiting outside.” The lavender princess hopped off the chair and made her way to the door. After hearing the sound of it closing, Fluttershy picked herself up from the couch and made her way into the kitchen. There she found Pareidolia just about to carry a tray with two full teacups and a steaming kettle into the room over.
“Oh, I’m sorry Dolia, I know you worked hard to get us some tea but it looks like there’s been a teensy change in plans. Aunt Twilight and I are going to be leaving for maybe a day or two. Do you think you and your brother will be alright without me for that long?”
“We’ll be fine mom.” Dark Star said as he leaned against the wall by the doorway. “Go and do what you need to. We’re old enough to look after ourselves.” He added a smile at the end, officially scoring a point for him as Fluttershy embraced the both of them tightly before heading out the door.
Pareidolia hovered the teacup to her lips and took a quick sip. “So, what do we do now?”
“You heard aunt Twilight, something big is going on in Canterlot and dad is involved. We need to figure out how we can help.”
“What could we possibly do?”
“We’re the son and daughter of a hero, Dol. Not to mention you’re suddenly extremely adept at magic thanks to that one jerk. I’m sure there’s something we can figure out.”
-------------
“To you ponies,” Horrus said as he and the other three sat in a small circle near the river, “The concept of friendship is the most important thing in the world. It gives you motivation to survive and prosper. For us Demons, the concept of the soul is the most important thing. Death is something that is inevitable and unchangeable – except for very, very special cases – and that is widely accepted. When one of us dies, our soul leaves our body and will one day return to be reborn in a new body. Death isn’t as much of a big deal as it probably is here since, technically, no one really dies.
“However, if the soul were to be destroyed somehow, then there would be no coming back. It is considered extremely taboo amongst our people to even think of developing a way to destroy the soul, and that’s beside the fact that it is extremely dangerous for the person doing it. It appeared that Pestilence, whom you know as Dante, had learned how to do such a thing. He was likely unsure of whether or not my soul would remain in this world to be reborn like it normally would in our world, so to be safe he decided to do away with my very core. However it would seem that he was not expecting my former life, the one known as the Horseman of Destruction, to save my life. She deflected his attack and I only lost part of my soul rather than all of it. The part of my soul that Destruction resided in was severed and lost. Because of this, it is as if Destruction was never a part of my life. My body appears to have reverted to the form it was in when Destruction and I first became one, and because of this I have lost much of my ability, including the eyes I had stolen from her.
“I feel it is proper to assume that the same can be said about War’s situation. This man, ‘The Guardian’, as he calls himself, essentially tore his soul in half and pulled out the part that contained Desolate which allowed him to be reconstructed. In doing so, your body has also reverted to the time you and Desolate became one, which would explain the regrowth of your wings. It would also appear that your mental and emotional states have been changed to something you aren’t used to anymore. For the first time in years, you aren’t feeling so hollow. Am I right? I saw the way you charged at Desolate when he took hold of that filly. Anger is what saved her, but it was also what led to your ass ending up in the sorry state I found it in. You came at him blinded by your fury and were unable to even scratch him. If you’re to even come close to standing a chance against that Demon, then you’ll need to learn to calm yourself again. You must be patient and wait a moment. Breathe.”
“We do not have time for patience, Death.”
“See? Even your speech is no longer slow and dull. And don’t call me Death anymore, I am no longer a Horseman. But that is beyond my point; my point is that you won’t make it more than five minutes against that man until you are able to fight with one hundred percent of your ability.”
“We don’t have time to be waiting around, Horrus." War replied as he looked into Horrus's eyes. "Desolate plans to level this world if he is not stopped in three day’s time. And that time started yesterday.”
“And I’m calling Desolate’s bluff.”
All eyes locked onto Horrus after such a statement. “What? Are you really telling me that I know Desolate better than you? Take a minute to think about it War; the man has never killed someone without reason. Anyone that was killed in Canterlot was likely just in his way or challenged him directly. The man loves a challenge, and if it means waiting a little longer to fight what I assume to be the only four beings here remotely capable of even standing a chance… I’ll put my money towards his patience.”
“And if Desolate is not bluffing?” Luna asked, slightly unsure of whether or not this plan was foolproof.
Horrus rested his chin in his hand, “Well then, I doubt we’d live long enough regret our decision, now won’t we?”
“I at least presume you have a plan to deal with this being that has so easily destroyed our home?” Celestia chimed in, having had enough of just sitting on the sidelines.
“Of course I have a plan!” Horrus defended, “And my plan would be to stay out of his way for now…”
“Thou cannot be serious!”
“I’m always serious. Besides, I’m more concerned with this ‘Guardian’ right now…”
“Yes, this Guardian… is he something from your world?” Celestia’s tone was far more pleasant compared to her sister’s.
“In a way. Every planet with life – this is a theory, mind you – has a sort of watcher, a Guardian. This Guardian holds a duty of making sure a specific race capable of real intelligence can make it to a point in their lifetimes where they can survive on their own and not die off within the first few years.”
“We’ve never heard of his so called ‘Guardian’ in all our time as rulers of Equestria. Where is your basis for this?”
“Hushed whispers, mostly. People don’t like to talk about things they don’t understand, but at least his existence is confirmed now.”
“And what is he capable of?”
“I’m not sure. He – if you can truly call it a ‘he’ – is an enigma. It’s strange that he has even made an appearance. They are supposed to remain distant from the ones they are meant to protect, which would lead me to assume that something is wrong. Of course, his presence all does well to explain another question: how did we get here? It is likely that it saw your kind in danger with the threat of the Changelings and thought that outside assistance would be necessary. Judging by the fact that Dante and Vice are no longer here, he probably allowed them to leave back to our home on Hellion. But that does nothing to explain why he would bring War back from the dead. Tell me, have there been any extraordinary dangers to Equestria as of late? I haven’t seen much but being contained to this forest in hopes of not being seen hasn’t exactly done wonders for my outside knowledge.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary has worked to endanger our land.” Celestia responded, “In fact, this last decade or so has been surprisingly peaceful.”
Horrus slid off of the rock he sat on and knelt down and began drawing lines in the dirt. Celestia and Luna recognized one of them as the Seal that was engraved upon Desolate’s hands and tongue, but the others were mysteries to them.
“The Guardian brought us here to end a threat…” the former Horseman mumbled to himself as he continued to draw one after another, “And then brings one back in order to disrupt the harmony in the land… it doesn’t make any sense. It’s doing the exact opposite of what it was designed to do.”
“And by whom, exactly, was this ‘Guardian’ designed by?” Luna asked.
Horrus quit drawing his Seals and looked at them like they asked an elementary grade question. “You really don’t know? You’re the immortal rulers of the land, the very existence of the world depends on your ability to move the sun and moon in a proper rotation, and you don’t know what gave life to all of you? Well, looks like we’re going to be sitting here longer than we thought.”
Horrus rose to his feet and drew his sword from the sheath upon his back. “But first, I feel it would be best if we found something to eat.” He picked up a stick that had been sharpened at one end and tossed it to War, who caught it with ease. “You’re better at sitting still than I am.” War nodded and proceeded to step back into the river. Horrus remained quiet for a moment before quickly spinning around and throwing his sword, beckoning forth a gasp from both princesses. Upon closer inspection, they could see that the sword had nailed a small critter to the side of the tree. One of them held their hoof to their mouth in hopes of blocking any desire to throw up.
Horrus gave them a smile, “Hope you like squirrel.”
Years ago, long before any of us were even conceivable as an idea, everything began.
No one is sure how exactly it all began. Some say the universe began as a wave of devestation, wiping clean whatever existed before to allow for a new age of existance to emerge. Others say that there was nothing, and then everything came together to be molded for the time when we would one day come to be. Either way, six factors are always held in common between these two unconfirmed theories.
Life. Time. Order. Emotion. Creation. Death.
These are the six aspects of existance. Without them, things cannot be. The Aspects were there from the beginning and were blessed with unimaginable power at their fingertips. However, as I had said, without each of their efforts, things simply cannot be. The Aspects came to control their powers and realize their potential, and together forged our universe.
Together, Life and Creation brought the stars and planets to be what they are today. Emotion would breath into whatever they created, officially making them whole. Time and Order held everything together, forming a bond between what has, is, and will be and ensuring that their creation did not fall apart. And when things did come to fall apart, Death was there to wipe it away so that new life could be raised and allow for the evolution of consciousness.
However, not all was well among the Aspects for long. One may notice that I mentioned the Aspects in groups: Life and Creation, Time and Order and Emotion. But Death stood alone.
He saw the way that whenever his brothers and sisters would create something beautiful, he would be forced to take it all away. He believed that the others were indeed blessed in their abilities, but his ability was a curse. He did not show the same passion in his duties as the others did, and one of the other Aspects noticed this.
Emotion sensed his instability and hoped to help him through his depression. Death welcomed her to try but awarded her no confidence. Nevertheless, Emotion tried effortlessly to bring Death to a state of happiness. In time, what was once concern for her brother blossomed into something new. She grew a strong attachment to Death and hated whenever he frowned. She made it her personal duty to do whatever it took to see him happy once more.
The others seemed not to notice what was happening between Emotion and Death. Except for one: Order. Order seethed at the thought of something happeneing between his brother and sister, and despised Death for it. For he loved Emotion more than anything in existance and would even go as far as to give up is own abilities if only to have her. He was incapable of seeing Emotion as holding a single fault, and as such blamed Death for their relationship even though Death was in fact oblivious to any such relationship existing.
Meanwhile, the conflict arising between Order and Death was not the only thing that was forming over time. Creation grew jealous of Life. He hated that no matter what he did, that which his hands crafted were merely hollow objects, and any desire for more required Life's assistance. Life tried to explain to Creation just what value he truly had, but the Aspect's words fell upon deaf ears. In anger and frustration, both Order and Creation left the other Aspects, disappearing. It is widely thought that Order's unstable pysche is the reason that the concept of evil exists in the universe.
As well, it has been said that Emotion disappeared shortly after the secession of her brothers. She blamed herself for what happened, as her mind was so consumed by thoughts of her brother that she did not realize just what was happening between Order and Creation. Her heart broke, and sadness appeared in their creations for the first time.
Before all of this, the Aspects created a number of worlds with living creatures residing upon them. On our world, the Aspects created six dimensions. The first dimension is unanimously called the realm of the "living." Apart from this realm are the four that are directly connected: Hellion, Haevora, Zion, and Atlantis. Indirectly connected to every realm is an invisible ring: The Ring of Transcendence. Each of our bodies houses a soul within them. When the body dies, the soul enters the Ring and after a varying amount of time reenters one of the other realms via the form of a newborn child. Each soul has its own base characteristics such as anger issues, benevolence, and other base personality traits no matter how many times a soul passes from one body to another. However, how the new body comes to terms with these base traits is various depending on events in their lives.
How a soul comes to enter a new realm is completely based on their heart's desires in their past life. If the heart yearned for benevolence, it is reborn as an Angel in Haevora. Those who live in decadence are often found in the form of Demons within Hellion. Those who live for the fortifications of either themselves or others reside as Nephilim within Zion's borders. Finally are those who live for the sake of wisdom, who are the Syreni inside Atlantis. Of course, just because a soul entered a particular realm does not mean their personalities are fitting of such a place. Like I said, various events can affect their lives. More than a handful of Angels have broken their own laws and fallen, while Demons have devoted their entire lives to enlighting the lives of those around them. It all falls under unforseeable circumstances.
Once these realms were created, the four realms of Haevora, Hellion, Zion, and Atlantis were given three leaders each: A God, an Advent, and a Harbinger. These three beings were the only immortal beings to exist on the planet, save for the Aspects themselves. They would live to ensure balance and peace among the world and all of its peoples.
It is also rumored, and seemingly confirmed now, that the Aspects did not simply leave after the creation of the realms and their rulers. They left behind a being who would watch over the realms from affar and ensure their survival. A being known only as the Guardian. An enigma in every sense of the word, even I, being in rank just below the Harbinger, was unaware of their existance save for the occasional overhearing of a slip of the tongue.
-------------
Horrus paused in his tale to take a bite out of the crisp fish that had been pierced on the stick he was currently using to hold the fish in place. He noticed the way that the younger of the two Alicorn sisters still flinched slightly every time he took a bite and tore away at the muscle, but that was simply unavoidable. As an omnivore, such nutrients were simply required. He only wished that the squirrel he had killed had cooked better...
"It is extremely likely that not every world that the Aspects created was created the same way. I believe that the Alicorns are equivalent to the Gods of our world... more or less. Considering that the two of you claim to not be the first Alicorns to exist here, it is likely that your predecesors were aware of the existance of the Aspects, but the knowledge was not properly passed on to the next generation. While curious, such a tragic loss of knowledge is not important at the moment."
"I must admit," Celestia said quietly after swallowing a few berries that she and her sister had found in the forest. "Your tale is quite an interesting one..."
"And thou truly believe that these beings, these... Aspects, currently reside somewhere out beyond our world? Even though your kind has not seen them in generations?" Luna asked. Horrus could sense her skepticism as easily as one could spot a black dot on a white piece of paper.
"Whether or not the Aspects exist is hardly arguable. The Guardian's existance here in Equestria is proof enough of that."
"Yes, I have been meaning to ask quite a few questions about this Guardian-" Luna began, but Horrus swiftly cut her off.
"I am well aware that the Guardian has not made himself... itself? It's technically genderless, as gender is unneccesary for one such as it... regardless, just because the Guardian has not made it's presence known to you is hardly ground for debating its existance as a whole. In case you were misinformed, the last time I saw this man," Horrus pointed a finger towards War, who was calmly eating his own food in silence. "I had just thrown my sword into his chest. Yet here he is, good as new and back from the dead."
"Which brings us to a question that I have been meaning to ask." Celestia said, hoping to stop any possibility of a debate over a being's existence to occur between her sister and the Demon. "In the report I had read, I was under the assumption that you too had fallen during the battle. And yet here you are, good as new and back from the dead."
Horrus's brow furrowed at the way she smiled at him. Did she think herself clever just because she used his words? Nevertheless, he took one last bite from his dinner before tossing the stick aside. "Yes, well... I suppose this explanation was going to be happening quite a few times. In case you are not aware, the Demons known as the Four Hoursemen are almost always chosen because they had been great warriors in a past life. War's past life was that of the Horseman of Desolation, whom I am aware you have been recently introduced to. In my past life, I was known as the Horseman of Destruction. Normally, who we were in a past life has no influence on us save for the base traits of our personality. However, we have obtained the knowledge to bring our most recent past life into a conscious state. This greatly increased our lifespans and through them we learned how to become even more powerful.
"However, I was rather... discontent with the fact that the woman who was once Destruction know resided within my head and was tasked with the duty of telling me what to do for the rest of my life. It infuriated me to no end... And eventually I forced the part of my soul that contained her consciousness to be consumed by my own. As a result, I metaphorically tore her apart and obtained new abilities that she had obtained in her life. One of which was what had been dubbed at the time as the "Eyes of Destruction." An ability that was in otherwise constant use, it allowed me to see into the future a short distance. Depending on how much I strained myself, I could see up to at most twelve seconds into the future. However, this ability was quite taxing on my body and often became distracting in my day to day activities. As a result, I created a special Seal that I placed on a blindfold in order to contain the power while still granting me sight. Although I had originally intended to totally consume Destruction, I later discovered that such a feat was an impossibility. She remained, if weakened, within the very back of my mind. She constantly tried to make contact with me, but I always refused and ignored her.
"And then, on the day of the final battle, I found myself on my knees as Pestilence, whom you know as Dante, was sending a specific energy wavelength through his blade that was designed to destroy my soul upon impact. A rather taboo art amongst even the Demons, I was rather surprised he even knew of its existence, let alone that he had mastered it. Either way, he thrust his sword upon me with the intent of obliterating me completely. And that was what he did... to an extent. You see, Destruction was one who had devoted her life to understand the soul and learning how to manipulate its power. As a result, and for reasons beyond me, she was able to deflect the otherwise lethal blow to my soul upon herself. The being known as Destruction now ceases to exist entirely because of what she did, and it allowed me to survive. As a result, my body degraded to what you see now. I am a much younger version of myself. A teenager, by normal accounts, as such was my appearence on the day that Destruction was awoken within me. As well, I lost the eyes that I had stolen. The only remnant of my old self is my memory and comprehensive ability. Outside of that, I am rather... lacking."
Horrus took a moment to let himself rest. One never truly grew used to giving such long lectures about the existence of the universe and the current state of his body. "I managed to survive what should have been a fate worse than death. After the events that occured, I retreated into the forest with my sword and have been living here ever since. I have watched the community that I had nearly destroyed from affar, and payed special attention to certain individuals as they matured." The Princesses noticed the way the Horseman's eyes turned to his much larger companion. "I felt it was... the least I could do for my actions. To simply ensure the safety of a few choice individuals from whatever may choose to threaten their comparatively short lives."
A soft sigh could be heard from War's direction. He never met Horrus's gaze or even the gaze of the Princesses. He had long since finished his meal and now merely stared down at the toasted stick in his hand.
"And what of you, War?" Celestia asked calmly upon seeing the Demon's melancholy mood. "How did you come to return to us? And why is this force known as Desolate attacking us so suddenly?"
War said nothing at first, merely tossing the small stick aside. His cold, grey eyes turned to the Princesses and for the first time since their meeting all those years ago, he spoke to them. "The Guardian... used my children to reconstruct me... It did something to my daughter... allowed her to see the dead... and corrupted her from the inside... It expected me to be obedient towards it... and to destroy... But I refused... It because furious... And tore Desolate from my soul... We are no longer one in the same..."
Since their meeting, both Celestia and Luna had more than once wondered how the giant's voice may sound if he had ever spoke. Was it strong and commanding? Was there even a voice to be spoken? To hear it come so softly and slowly... and with such saddness resonating with each word was a small shock.
"I believe that what happened to me has also happened to War." Horrus said, his own voice almost becoming as quiet as War's. "When Desolate was torn from his soul, he reverted to how had been when the two first became one. I watched the fight happen from a safe distance and noticed the way he acted. War's style was usually calm and calculated, using powerful strikes to quickly break his foe's will. However, in his fight against Desolate his style was aggressive and quick. As a result, Desolate was able to defeat and tear him apart." Horrus eyes the scar that still remained since the reattachment of the Demon's arm. "Quite literally."
Celestia eyed the scar as well. "This Desolate... what is he? What does he want from us?"
War slowly turned his eyes to meet with the Solar Princess's. He said nothing at first, merely blinking silently. Soon his eyes turned to the rocky surface that his feet rested upon. "What Desolate wants... is to die..."
-------------
For years - as long as she could remember, in fact - Fluttershy had never exactly gotten along well with heights. To say that her heart was beginning to race with every swift and regretful glance towards the ground would be more accurate than she would like to admit. However, her body relaxed upon seeing her destination. A plateau upon the top of a cliff tall enough to tower even over some of the clouds. The mountain itself was not important, but rather what resided on top of it: the Wonderbolt Academy. Only there could she find what she was looking for and hope to end the nightmare that was threatening Equestria.
Gently she allowed herself to glide down onto the runway, only to have to quickly regain her balance as a pair of Pegasi flew past her at speeds she would otherwise find too dangerous. She shook her head until her eyes stopped rolling around and ran a hoof along her mane to make sure that it didn't become ruffled by their reckless passing. She made her way off the runway and towards a building that stood alone from the others. She reached forward to pull the wooden door open, but it came at her far faster than she had expected. She let out a squeak of pain and grabbed hold of her muzzle. A warm feeling was forming just behind her eyes, but now was not the time for such a thing and she'd be damned if a bruised nose was going to slow her down. But still...
"Ow..."
"Oh gosh, are you alright!?" A familiar and still slightly boyish voice asked, causing the yellow Pegasus to open her eyes. She was met by a Pegasus as tall as she, orange in coat and with a purple mane that wore an outfit that anypony could easily recognize as a Wonderbolt Academy uniform.
"S-Scootaloo?" She asked, slightly surprised to have run into the pony she had known since long before the Horsemen's arrival some years ago.
"Fluttershy?" One of Scootaloo's eyebrows rose up as her head cocked to the side. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't really have a whole lot of time to explain everything... I'm sorry." She apologized as she rubbed her muzzle gently. "Do you know where Rainbow is? I kind of need to speak to her right away... I mean, as long as she's not busy. No, wait! Even if she is busy! It's really urgent and if I don't talk to her then some really really bad stuff is going to happen and-"
Fluttershy was interrupted as the orange Pegasus stuffed her hoof in Fluttershy's mouth in hopes of getting her to keep quiet for just a moment. "Calm down," she said with a smile. "She's in her office, third door on the left."
Scootaloo removed her hoof and Fluttershy smiled and nodded her head in thanks. The two were about to part ways when the older mare noticed a small gleam out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, and congradulations on getting to be Lead Pony. I'm sure Rainbow Dash is very proud."
Scootaloo turned and looked at the mare for a moment before looking down at the small pin attachted to the front of her uniform. With pride she puffed her chest out and straightened the pin, "Please, did you expect any less from the second most awesome pony around?"
Fluttershy's smile grew and she once again turned to enter the building that her old friend had just came from and after a small journey to the left, arrived at her destination.
Despite being above plenty of clouds, Rainbow Dash's office was surprisingly dark. None of the lights were on for some reason, the blinds on the other side of the room were almost completely closed, letting in only enough sunlight for a pony to be able to see their hoof in front of their face.
All along the walls were pictures and notes which Fluttershy couldn't make out properly. Opposite of her was a desk with various paper work spread out atop it and just behind that was a large chair that was spun around so that the pony who sat in it - granted there was one - was invisible to any new visitors.
The silence was only broken by the gentle ticking of a clock that hung from the wall. Fluttershy wasn't even sure if her old friend was in the room, for the Rainbow Dash she knew would likely be driven insane by such a mundane atmosphere. Perhaps Scootaloo didn't see her leave her office at some point? Just as she was about to turn and leave, a voice stopped her.
"Listen, if you're here about that whole incident with Hail Storm and Snowball, that doesn't fall under our jurisdiction and is currently being handled by their respective families. Now if that's all, I trust you can find your way out. Have a nice-"
"Um, Rainbow...?"
The sound of the other pony jumping in her seat could be heard before Rainbow Dash quickly spun around in her chair and reached across her desk to pull the chain that hung from the lamp at the corner. Instantly the room was lit up enough for the yellow Pegasus to see everything clearly once more, including the wide and surprised eyes of her dearest friend.
"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?"
Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at the similarity between both Rainbow Dash's and Scootaloo's reactions to her appearence. "Well, I needed to talk to you about something. But what was that whole thing about...?"
"What?" Rainbow Dash's eyebrow rose and her head cocked to the side. Fluttershy had to hold back from giggling again. The similarities between the two "sisters" was just too adorable. "Oh, you mean that stuff I mentioned earlier? Eh, don't worry about it. Just a little scuffle that happened yesterday. So, what's up?"
Fluttershy took a breath, knowing the long explanation she would probably have to give. "Equestria is in danger-"
"Oh, oh! Who is it this time? Has Discord finally shown his true colors? Did Chrysalis go back on her promise?" The excited Pegasus slammed her hooves together. "Let me at 'em!" She suddenly gasped, "Wait, is Thunder okay!?"
Fluttershy smiled at Rainbow's concern for her son. "He should be perfectly fine back in Ponyville. And actually, it's neither of those two." She replied quietly. Upon seeing the quizzical look her friend was giving her, Fluttershy continued. "Rainbow... do you remember War?"
-------------
"Well, I was just about to ask if you were sure you knew where we were going, but..."
Much to Twilight Sparkle's appreciation, finding her old friend Rarity proved to be surprisingly simple. Since the Unicorn's center of industry was located in Canterlot, she, along with the rest of the population of the capitol, were transported to Ponyville after the mass evacuation teleportation due to it being the closest settlement. The two ended up finding each other completely by accident.
Sadly, this happily accepted coincidence did not apply to the other missing members of the group. Fluttershy had been tasked with finding Rainbow Dash and convincing her to pull herself away from her job, while Twilight (and now Rarity) took it upon themselves to find the two earth ponies of their sisterhood.
Which earned another sigh of relief from the young Alicorn, as both happened to be located in the same city: Manehattan. Just a simple teleportation spell away.
Applejack would prove to be the more difficult to find, as, to the both of their knowledge, the farm mare had practically dropped off the map entirely. Pinkie Pie, however, proved to be less... inconspicuous.
Just across the street from the two mares was a store that resided on a street corner. It must have been painted a hundred different vibrant colors and, as if that wasn't enough to make the building stand out, it appeared that Pinkie had requested some help from a familiar blue Unicorn when it came to the design of the sign that was above the door. Almost covering the part of the sign that was the name of the store were a series of swirling colorful contraptions and pyrotechnics. Were those miniature fireworks shooting off from the sides?
Behind all that were the unmistakable words: Pinkie Pie's Fantastic Wonder Emporium of Fun, Smiles, Good Times and General Public Centre of Pleasent Feelings.
"Leave it to Pinkie Pie to stick out like a sore thumb only in a metropolis like this one." Rarity said with a giggle. Together the two trotted across the surprisingly quiet street and dared to venture into what would likely prove to be a myriad of wonders.
What they saw was somewhere in between a candy store, a super market, a joke shop, and the sign on the outside of the building. To say that anything within the mare's view range was subtle was by far an understatement. Ponies were gathered inside the store as if it were some kind of popular convention.
"So, um..." Rarity began, trying to avoid too much physical contact with the numerous amount of ponies that resided within the store. "Where should we begin?"
"Well, I figured we'd just see her around the corner or something, but..." Twilight replied as she took in just how surprisingly big it was inside the shop. It almost seemed like the surrounding buildings were, in fact, actually a part of this shop but only appeared to be seperate.
However, it would seem that any analysis on the surrounding area would have to wait, as a loud noise blasted into her ear and proved enough to topple the purple Princess over.
"Hey!" Twilight said, putting a hoof over her ringing ear, "What do you think you're-" She was ready to chew a pony's ear off for startling her in such a way, but her anger subsided the moment that she saw just who it was that commited the act.
If Pinkie Pie had gasped any harder, she may very well have swallowed the party favor that she held in her mouth. "Girls!" She quickly scooped up both the Unicorn and Alicorn into a backbreaking hug, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit? I would have planned a party!"
"Well... That's because..." Twilight tried to speak as she gasped for breath. Thankfully, Pinkie let them go and the two fell back to the floor with about as much grace as a dead bird.
"But don't you worry!" Pinkie continued, oblivious to whatever it was Twilight was trying to tell her. She pulled out a small metal box with an antenna sticking out from the top and a big red button in the middle from seemingly nowhere. "Here at Pinkie Pie's Fantastic Wonder Emporium of Fun, Smiles, Good Times and General Public Centre of Pleasent Feelings, a party is always right around the corner!"
With a push of the button, an upper part of the walls began to rise and reveal a seemingly endless row of party cannons lined up one after another. With a huge grin, Pinkie pressed the button once more. With a deafening boom, the cannons fired simultaneously. Twilight and Rarity closed their eyes and covered their ears. When they opened them again, it was like the entire store had suddenly changed. Gone were the shelves and tables full of various odd objects and electric buzzers, replaced instead by various treats and pastries. Somehow, the first objects had simply disappeared. Strangely, the ponies inside the store didn't even seem to notice and simply went about their business, talking and laughing with one another.
Twilight and Rarity were shocked, to say the least. They were even more shocked to see that somehow, colorful paper party hats had found their way onto their heads, with even smaller colorful paper party hats sitting on the tips of their horns.
"What...?"
"How did...?"
Pinkie only giggled at their response, a hat of a similar style sitting upon her own head. Rarity fussed over trying to pull off the hat that was on her horn while Twilight quietly took off the larger one first. "Pinkie," she said, "I know your probaby busy with your shop and everything..." She took a moment to look at the astounding number of ponies that filled the building before continuing. "And I'm sure it would be difficult for you to leave on such short notice, but Canterlot-"
"Oh no! Something happened in Canterlot!?" The excitable pony said, every possible catastrophe scenario immediately running through her head. "What happened this time? Is Canterlot about to fall off the mountain? Is there an ostrich flu epidemic? A shortage of cake? Did Discord finally learn how to divide by zero without rendering nearby chickens sterile and in the form of monkeys!?"
"...Something about what you just said doesn't make sense, but I won't ask." Twilight said with a shake of her head. "But no, none of that... It's far worse, I'm afraid. Canterlot has fallen, and all of Equestria is in grave danger."
"Pfft, please Twilight," Pinkie said with a smile. "When are we involved and all of Equestria isn't in grave danger?"
"You don't understand Pinkie... this is worse than anything we've ever encountered. But I'll explain all the details later. Right now, we need to find Applejack. Do you know where she is?"
Pinkie's posture and smile fell at the sound of the final member of the group's name being said. Her eyes turned away towards the floor. "Yeah... about that..."
-------------
The sun was slowly beginning to finish its daily flight across the sky, painting the sky the same orange and yellow that it shined. Horrus watched its descent, the silence only being broken by the gentle sound of the river at his feet. Slowly he reached up to touch the edge of his eye. The feeling of no longer wearing a blindfold still felt so foreign to him. And to even think that this was the first time he had watched a sunset with his own eyes in the last eighteen hundred years almost felt... inconcievable.
As his hand drifted away from his face, his eyes followed the length of his arm down to the rest of his body. Wearing a simple outfit made from the leather of animals he had hunted in his time in the forest, he was certainly a far cry from his former self. In truth, all that he carried from his former body was the blindfold that he had worn, now wrapped around his neck, and only one of the twin swords, as bringing the second one would prove to be more taxing than useful in his new state. The sword and its sheath were strapped tightly to his back.
His eyes drifted back towards the edge of the hilt that he could see out of the corner of his eye when he turned his head. He reached back touched the metal edge. It was the same sword that he had thrown into War some years ago. An act commited in hopes of obtaining new power above the other Horsemen and, one day, above all others.
He sighed to himself and let his arm fall limply back to his side. A foolish desire that only led to his near death and the destroying of the one being that had promised to stay by his side no matter what path he took. To dream of wanting to turn back time and change it all was childish... but wasn't that exactly what he was now? Destruction was brought into his life when he was at the age of one hundred and two, not even an adult by most Demon's standards. Yet he held a mind above so many others, capable of seeing right through his foes even before he obtained new eyes. It was through this mind that he had been found and given the gift of strength beyond strength and later obtained sight beyond sight. His life span had increased to a state far longer than any Demon hoped to live, and even at the age of nineteen hundred and thirty-three he still held the appearence of a young and healthy adult.
And now here he was, the powerful Horseman of Death, reduced to the form of a teenager and left stranded within a forest. For if word had gotten out that he had survived, then it was likely that he would only be hunted down by those he had once campaigned against. As for whatever may have happened once he was found, there was numerous possibilities. Death as an example and imprisonment for treason were obvious possibilities, and even the event of forgiveness and pardon had crossed his mind once or twice.
But to find the one that he had killed falling from the sky - his soul literally split in two by one of the most powerful forces in existence - and to then help said one recover from countless injuries and even a severed limp, followed by the finding and once again aiding of the two monarchs who, at one point, probably would have rejoiced at the thought of their once enemy defeated and dead, was certainly an outcome that was outside even his scope of possibility.
And yet here he was. War's recovery had been rather quick, despite the process taking some eight to twelve hours, and the healing of the Princesses Celestia and Luna had hardly been worth writing home about due to its ease. And soon they would probably move to retake the capitol city, defeat Desolate, and live happily ever after.
But what about him? A shadow of his former self and public enemy in the eyes of any who may have remembered his involvement in Madora's attempt at besieging the country, what was he to become if they actually managed to defeat the one who had only died because he had allowed himself to? Would he somehow be welcomed into a society full of creatures so drastically different than him, or would he have to return to the shadows of the forest in hopes of living a peaceful life? Was peace even obtainable for him anymore?
Of course, this was all considering the group actually succeeded in killing arguably the most powerful Demon to ever live. Should he participate in the final conflict? Would he be able to participate in the final conflict? After all, he was hardly a threat anymore. Outside of his knowledge of strategy and Seals, he could be mistaken for a regular human at this point.
Horrus rubbed the bridge of his nose. Perhaps that was being a little more fiction than fact. As a Demon, he still had some ability that put him above many others. But would that even be enough against the might of a powerhouse like Desolate?
No, there had to be something he could do. Anything. If he were to just sit back and watch as War and the others failed, then he may as well have joined in killing them. He had already made that mistake once before, and look where it landed him. But what could he do? Surely in a fight against the Demon he would merely get in the way. Hell, it was possible he'd get in the way even if the loss of Destruction had left him with his old body.
Horrus closed his eyes, trying to calm his thoughts. He knew that if he kept thinking so negatively than he would never find the answers he was looking for. If a general went into a battle with the mindset of inevitable failure, than he had surely already lost.
Now, what did he know? Desolate resided within the capitol city of Canterlot. It was extremely likely that there were no civilians there, as they had been evacuated when Celestia and Luna had battled with him. The two put up a strong resistance, but they failed. Their power had been drained, but was not irratrievable and they estimated that they would be back to full strength within a few more hours. According to Celestia, she had sent another Alicorn to find others known as the Elements of Harmony in hopes that their combined power as a weapon could defeat Desolate as it had defeated many others in the past.
Horrus brought his thumb and index finger up to his lips. Every so often as he thought, he would feel the sharpness of his teeth with his thumb. A habit that he had had since a child, it was one that proved to be unbreakable even after so many years of life. If Plan A failed, then it would be left to War, Celestia, Luna, and himself to deal with Desolate personally. While the idea was certainly less preferable, Horrus could not deny the possibility of things coming to that. That was their Plan B. But, of course, what if that failed? Any good strategest would keep a Plan C well within reach on the chance that the first two plans are seen through... but what else was left outside of himself and the others, and Celestia's living weapons? Surely if there were any other ponies of noteworthy power out there in the land, then Celestia or Luna would have made some mention of them. But what about something from outside Equestria...
His thumb slid along his canine before slipping out and leaving his lips to smile. It would appear that there was something he could do - granted it was a long shot. However, if living in this world of ponies that were born with catalysts to display the power of their souls had taught him anything, it was that nothing was outside the realm of possibility anymore.
However, before he could even shift his foot forward too far, a voice caught his attention.
"Where are you going..."
Horrus sighed softly to himself. He turned is head to see War standing by the edge of the river. He looked just as he did all those years ago. His torso was free of armor, while his legs and feet were still covered. His long white hair moved gently in the wind and his grey, cloudy eyes looked down at the Demon that had been his killer. Oh, how fate had been cruel to them both.
"Just going out for a walk." Horrus said simply. He didn't need aid for the task he was about to embark upon. If he succeeded, then Desolate's downfall may actually be feasible. If he failed, then at least he would die knowing he tried to redeem himself.
War, however, would not be swayed easily. Quietly he stepped into the stream. His heavy boots sloshed through the water. Even when Horrus was in his old body, War towered above him by roughly a full head. Now, however, the former Horseman stood just high enough to be able to headbutt the bottom of the behemoth's ribcage.
"You wish to go alone..."
Horrus sighed again. "I'm not off to fight Desolate on my own, if that's what your thinking. If i wanted to get myself killed then I would have come out of the forest a long time ago."
Horrus was about to take a step forward again when he felt something grab his shoulder. He quickly brushed off War's hand, "And no, you are not coming with me. You're not in any state to be fighting right now." War's eyes flickered to his arm, but Horrus caught the glimpse. "I'm not referring to that. I'm referring to what's in here." He tapped the side of his head a few times. "I saw you fight Desolate that first time. That's how I found you before you bled out. You don't fight like you used to. Before, you were very controlled in your movements and attacks. This time, however, you were aggressive and reckless."
War's eyebrows came together, but quickly moved apart once more when Horrus stuck his finger up towards him.
"Right there, you did it again. War, without Desolate in your head you are a very different man. Before, you subconciously held your emotions in check out of both fear and precaution that Desolate might use those emotions to get an upper hand and take control of your body. This allowed you to remain unreadable during combat." Horrus turned to fully face the larger Demon and crossed his arms. "You are the first person that has ever proven to be a challenge to me in the game of chess. Pestilence was too relaxed and often didn't realize whenever he was giving his movements away, while Famine practically screamed his intentions whenever you pushed enough pressure onto him. You, however... Your eyes rarely moved as you kept the whole board in your vision. You only moved to move a piece. It was like fighting a statue. Even trying to get you to speak proved little results.
"Now, however, Desolate is no longer there and your brain feels like it does not need to hold itself back anymore. The thought of your children... foals... offspring, in danger infuriated you. I daresay you took even Desolate by surprise. However, I don't need to tell you just how that fight ended. Desolate read you like an open book and easily disposed of you. And until you can learn to control yourself once more, you will fail. As much as I hate to put all my faith in one person... I truly believe you are the only one who will be able to kill that monster."
Desolate said nothing and remained still. His eyes were locked with those of the younger Demon. For a full ten minutes, the two merely stood there. Horrus took note of the way War's breathing had increased - if only a little - when he had begun telling him of why he failed against the being that once resided in his head. After the first minute, however, it returned to its normal, slow rate. Just what was he thinking behind those quiet eyes of his?
Without a word, War reached forward and grabbed the hilt of Horrus's sword. Horrus replied with a raised eyebrow but did not react as the other Demon pulled the sword out of its sheath. The blade came between their line of sight, and for a moment the two merely looked into their own reflections. One saw the beautiful blue of the sky, while the other saw the clouds that covered the sky when the storm was ready to come.
Slowly, War reached a hand behind his head and grabbed his hair at half its length. He silently reached back with the sword and swiftly cut the hair from his head. His hair now rested just above his shoulder blades, the rest being held in the open palm of his hand between them.
"Emotionless... Heartless... That is what you ask me to become once more. But I will not defeat Desolate by becoming Desolate. Your words are true, and my heart must be steeled..." War held out the arm that held his hair and let the snowy strands blow out into the wind and fall into the water to be swept away. "But no longer will Desolate dictate what I am and am not allowed to show... And it will not be the War in my soul that rages to bring his end... but the Peace in my heart that brings him to his knees."
Canterlot was silent, save for the gentle flapping of wings followed by the sound of weight being put on rooftop shingles. From here, Horrus saw just what he expected to see: the total destruction of anything and everything that got in Desolate's way as he beelined straight for the castle. In fact, Horrus was surprised that more of the city wasn't reduced to ash. Besides the crater near the center of the city that Celestia had apparently caused during the battle, it almost seemed like the city would have been in a worse state if something like a hurricane blew through. Perhaps he figured there was no point in destroying if there was no one else here?
And speaking of the which, where exactly was Desolate anyways? The castle looked intact, so perhaps he was there? In that case, it would be best to avoid that section of the city. It was possible that Desolate had not sensed Horrus's soul coming into the city. Hell, perhaps the beast was sleeping, for all he knew. The last light of the sun gave small illumination as the moon began to take its course along the sky. The darkness would certainly help mask his movements, but it could also hinder his ability to find his real target... assuming his target was even here.
"Why am I not surprised to see you skulking about in the shadows?"
Horrus smiled. He turned and faced the one he had come here to see. "For the same reason that this city is in the sorry state that it's in: It's just a Demon's nature."
The Guardian didn't seem amused by Horrus's words. It merely looked over at the young Demon from its position on the other side of the roof with indifference. It wore a brown cloak that surrounded its entire body, save for the head. The skin was pale and its eyes and hair were colorless. There were no defining features that marked it as either male or female besides its voice being slightly too deep for the average woman.
"You're either a fool who came here thinking he could take on the Horseman of Desolation all on his own, or you are here for something else. The question is," It cocked its head to the side slightly, "Which is the true reason?"
"Well, if you really must know..." Horrus said as he moved to face the other fully. "I'm here for you."
"Here I am." It replied.
"I want you to help us." He said quickly. The Guardian gave no reply, simply looking deep into the eyes of the one before it. "As much as I hate to say it, I seriously doubt that the power of not only War, but also the two beings who raise and lower the sun and moon every day might not be enough to kill such a creature."
Strangely, the Guardian sighed. From his cloak came a hand that was covered by what appeared to be a leather glove. The same kind of material covered what little of the rest of its body that Horrus could see as it reached up to rub the bridge of its nose.
"You really don't understand, do you?" It said, clearly frustrated. "I brought the Horseman of Desolation into this world to ensure that Equestria could still protect itself in the event of a cataclysm."
"Because it is obviously prepared for such a threat!" Horrus threw his arm out towards the ruination of the city. "Do you not see the terror you've unleashed? It took the entire might of Hellion's army just to bring the man literally to such boredom that he killed himself! And in doing so, wiped out a thousand soldiers and gifted the landscape with a new two mile wide crater!"
"Enough!" It shouted, pulling its hand away from its face. "This discussion is meaningless. The inhabitants of the planet are not yet finished. They are still capable of defeating this - their greatest foe!"
"He's not even supposed to be alive, let alone be alive here! I've seen first hand that these ponies are, for the most part, completely defenseless against someone of a Horseman's calibur!"
"You simply do not understand." The Guardian closed its eyes for a moment. When they opened, its passiveness had been replaced with a sudden aura of hatred. "And speaking of things that should not be alive..."
In its open hand, a black smoke began to appear and swirl around. It extended out until it was as tall as Horrus himself before taking the color of steel. The Guardian gripped its sword tightly in its hand and held it out, pointing the sharp blade in the direction of the young Demon.
Horrus glared and reached behind his back to pull out his own sword from its sheath. His wings spread and he took a defensive stance. The Guardian merely smiled. "Normally, I stay my hand when it comes to conflict on the planet. But I would be lying if I said that my patience for this outcome has grown thin." With his free hand, he undid the tie that held his cloak up. The wind swept it away, revealing a body bound in leather and straps. Its smile remained as not two, but four wings burst from his back and spread wide. One was a bright white and matched that of a bird. One was dark and almost looked like it was made of stone. One also matched that of a bird's wing, but it was entirely skeletal. The last was not a wing at all, but more took the appearence of a fin.
Horrus's eyes were simply wide. "The fu-"
The Guardian gave the Demon no further time to prepare. In an instant, it slammed its sword down, forcing Horrus to block the attack. The shingles beneath the Demon's feet shattered, causing the roof below him to collapse. The Guardian now stood alone on the rooftop, peering down into the dark hole in front of him. He casually rested the blade on his shoulder. He bent his legs and jumped high into the air just as the rest of the roof exploded outward. From the dust and rubble, Horrus shot into the sky and swung his blade but the Guardian blocked it with ease.
"Predictable."
With a swing, Horrus was sent flying back towards the ground. He landed hard against the roof of another building, and opened his eyes just in time to be able to roll to the side and dodge the sword that was quickly coming to pierce his chest. Acting in retaliation, Horrus's strike proved to be too slow as the Guardian bent its body backwards in a frontflip motion, tearing the sword from its position with ease and dodging the blow.
It twisted its body around, swinging the sword straight for the Demon's head. Horrus jumped up and then disappeared from the Guardian's view. Its eyes twitched for a moment before following the length of its arm down to the sword that was still held straight out. The young Demon stood atop the blade and had reared his leg back, kicking the Guardian in the face before it could react.
Horrus landed on his feet and saw his opponent fall onto its back. Not wanting to give it enough time to retaliate, he lifted his hand towards the sky and quickly drew a few lines within the circle of a Seal. Upon placing his palm against it, six bolts of light shot into the sky before arcing away from each other like a blooming flower. Each falling star turned in the air and flew towards their target: the Guardian.
Horrus saw the Guardian react at the last moment, but he then quickly disappeared behind a wall of dust and debris. However, with a beat of every wing the dust flew outward, revealing the Guardian to be in near-perfect condition, save for the dust and dirt that was now on its skin and in its hair.
The dust blew harshly at Horrus, forcing him to shield his eyes. The Guardian took advantage of this, shooting forward and grabbing the Demon by the neck as he ascended into the sky at breakneck speeds. He let go of Horrus, letting the momentum take him just a few inches higher before planting his palm firmly against Horrus's gut. There was a glow, and then the Demon was sent rocketing through the air before slamming against one of Canterlot Castle's tallest towers.
Dazed by the hit to the head, Horrus dropped and only barely caught onto a flagpole that hung on the outer wall with his free hand while the other still clutched tightly to his sword. He quickly looked around, searching for his opponent. When it proved nowhere to be seen, the sound of flapping above him alerted him to the Guardian's presence. Looking up, he could see the Guardian standing atop a similar flagpole near the top of the tower.
"Foolish child." It said. "It is because of I that you were brought into this world to begin with, and you dare question my plans for the world?" Tightening its fist, it held out its arm and bent it's elbow at a ninety degree angle. It then took the blade of its sword and held it against his forearm. "Can you not understand... that the hand of fate is my own?"
With a swift cut, the blade went right through the Guardian's arm. However, the limb was not severed, and it appeared that nothing had happened at all. However, the sound of a boom from the tower proved that false. The top of the tower began to slide down, appearing to have been cut at the same angle that the Guardian had seemingly cut its own arm. As it slid down, it continued to fall apart, its pieces shattering into chunks both large and small. The Guardian seemed unphased, merely turning to face the falling debris and swinging its sword before disappearing behind it all.
Horrus cursed under his breath before pulling himself up and getting his balance on the pole. With a few light bounces, he judged that the pole would be suitable for possibly the worst idea the strategist had ever had. He began to jump, each time the pole bending further and the wreckage of the tower coming closer. Pushing the pole to its limit, Horrus leapt high into the sky at speed far faster than he would have been able to achieve from a normal takeoff. He readied his sword and cut the first piece of wreckage in half. He hardly had enough time to block the swift strike from the Guardian's sword, who had been falling just behind the piece.
The two locked swords. One held a look of frustration and struggle, while the other was indifferent. Just as it had before, the Guardian succeeded in breaking the lock. Horrus was flung backwards, but found his footing on a large piece of the tower. The Guardian landed opposite of him and he unleashed a flurry of strikes and stabs. The Guardian deflected and blocked each attack and even responded with a few slashes of its own, but Horrus refused to let this supposedly "perfect" being get the better of him.
The stone beneath them suddenly shattered, each piece shifting so that the two combatants stood upside down compared to the other. The two slashed wildly at each other, sparks flying from the metal. Suddenly there was a crack and a noise, and in what felt like slow motion Horrus watched his sword shatter into pieces, just as the tower had. And behind those pieces of metal were the uncaring grey eyes of the Guardian.
There was a flash. Before he knew it, Horrus found himself with his back to what stood of the broken tower and a hand tightly gripping his neck. He grabbed at the arm that held him captive and tried to pull it away but it was no use.
"Do not be so ignorant as to believe these events are beyond my control, child." The Guardian said quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of wreckage crashing against the ground. "Everything that has happened, happened because I allowed it to be so. I have orchestrated every event that has occured since you're arrival on this planet." For a moment, those cold and colorless eyes looked away from the Demon, "While I must admit that your little insurrection was a tad unexpected, as was the one called War's resilience against me, all has still fallen according to plan."
Horrus tried harder to pull away from the position he was locked in as the Guardian merely shrugged off his attempts at overpowering it. "By tomorrow's end, Desolate will be defeated and the land will be saved. And, perhaps, the beings of this world will realize the importance of maintaining their strength, and I will not even be needed anymore."
A small smile came to the Guardian's face. The first sign of true expression since the two had encountered one another.
"You're insane..." Horrus growled and choked.
The smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. The Guardian pulled the Demon from the wall and swiftly threw him towards the ground. Horrus shot through the air before colliding with a statue of Celestia that stood in the castle's gardens. The statue was torn in half as Horrus fell to the ground, motionless. The Guardian glided down, landing beside his now former opponent.
"Your opinion means nothing," It whispered, "Little puppet."
The Guardian's eyes moved from the body of the Demon before him and turned to face the one who watched from a distance. Grey eyes met with those of bloody crimson and the two stood without saying a word. Desolate crossed his arms and shrugged before turning away and walking back towards the castle.
"Not my fight."
-------------
"This is where Applejack works!?"
Twilight's jaw almost hit the ground as she looked up at the towering skyscraper in front of her. The sun was setting behind it and left the small group of old friends underneath its shadow, almost giving it a menacing feel. In large lettering was the title LIVING STEEL, INC. on the front of the building above the doorway.
"Mhm..." Pinkie nodded briefly, her regular vibrant aura still disturbingly missing.
"So..." Rarity said, finally managing to look away from tower. "Who wants to go in first?"
Rarity looked to Twilight, who in turn looked to Pinkie. With a gentle sigh, the pink mare lead the group through the double doors and into the building. The room was large and plain, much like the outside of the building. Immediately to the left and right of the mares were four vacant metal chairs on each side against the wall. After them were a pair of pillars engraved into the wall with a rifled pattern chiseled out along its surface. After them was two red doors, another set of pillars, two more doors, yet another pillar to finish the symmetry, and on the far wall was a massive picture of what appeared to be the skyscraper when it was still being built.
The room would have been silent if not for a single mare typing away on a typewriter that rested on her desk which was dwarfed by the picture. She wore a simple business atire and a simple pair of glasses. The mare didn't even seem to notice that the group had entered the building, much less cared to greet them. Rarity decided to take the initiative and moved forward. The sound of hooves against the hard floor joined the repeated tapping of the typewriter until the seemingly long journey to the other end of the hall came to an end.
"Ahem," Rarity cleared her throat in an effort to get the mare's attention. However the mare either didn't hear her or simply ignored her. "Excuse me?" She tried again, this time earning what felt like a glare from her as she continued typing away, stopping only to slide the paper back. "Eh, we're here to see Applejack?"
The mare sighed before leaning back in her chair and turning to face the small group. "Who?"
Before Rarity could say another word, Pinkie stepped forward. "What she means is, we're here to see Living Steel."
The mare's eyebrow lifted. "You're kidding, right?"
"Please, Ms...." Twilight said, squinting her eyes to see the small plaque on the desk that gave the mare's name. "Harvest Moon? It's really important that we see-"
"Princess Twilight?" The mare said, her bored expression disappearing immediately and being replaced by one of surprise. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you behind the others." She straightened herself up and coughed gently into her hoof, clearly embarrassed by her lack of attention.
Twilight smiled upon seeing the mare act more like a pony and less like a zombie. "But like I was saying, we really need to-"
"Yes, yes, you need to see Ms. Steel..." Harvest Moon let out an anxious sigh, fidgeting a bit as her eyes looked back and forth between the princess and the button that activated the intercom. She bit her lip before reaching over and pressing the red button. A click was heard, and she began to speak. "M-Ms. Steel? There's a few ponies here to see you..."
A loud, annoyed sigh could be heard through the speaker. "What is it this time? I swear, if it's-"
"Wait a second, is that-?"
"They look... really important, Ms. Steel, and I think it would be a good idea if-"
"Alright, fine. Send them up already."
There was another click and the intercom went dead. Harvest Moon swallowed audibly before reaching under the desk and pulling out a small, golden key. "Here," she said, handing the key over to Twilight, "Use that on the elevator and it will take you straight to the top floor."
Twilight took the key in her magic. "Um... elevator?" She asked curiously. What in Equestria was an elevator?
Harvest Moon pointed over towards one of the red doors, which Pinkie was already standing near. With a cocked eyebrow, Twilight and Rarity approached the door. The Alicorn took note of the way Pinkie pushed a button beside the door, causing said door to slide open and reveal... a small room? Pinkie and Rarity stepped inside, followed by a very curious and confused Twilight who proceeded to inspect every corner of the room.
"This is an elevator?" Before Twilight could question the tiny room any further, she turned and saw the door slide shut. The Alicorn immediately began to panic, but was stopped as a pink hoof pressed against her chest.
With a gentle roll of her eyes, Pinkie took the key in her teeth and turned her head to an array of buttons that went up and down in numerous rows. Above all of these buttons was a small keyhole, in which the key was inserted and twisted. Suddenly, the small room shook and began to move.
"Ohmygoodnesswhat'sgoingonwherearewegoingwhyarewe-" Twilight clinged tightly to Rarity, practically on top of the mare. Her frightened shaking was almost enough to make the room itself shake - which likely would have just made her more afraid.
"Twilight, dear, you really must calm down!" Rarity said, crouching down slightly.
"Elevators have only been in use for the last year or so," Pinkie said with a gentle shrug. "So I suppose it's not too surprising you haven't used them... or head of them... Especially given the fact that you have wings.
Twilight got a horrible feeling in her body as the elevator came to a halt on the top floor. A soft ding was heard as the door slid open, but Twilight was still concerned about this new contraption. "I-Is it some kind of magic? Is there a Unicorn on duty just to move a metal box? But how would they know where to-"
"It isn't magic." A smooth voice said sternly. The voice called forth the gaze of all three mares to a mare who sat at a beautifully crafted wooden desk. Papers and models covered the entirety of the top, save for the very front which stood a simple plaque that read LIVING STEEL, C.E.O.
The mare herself was a strong looking earth pony with an orange coat and a short, golden mane. "It's called industr-" Her green eyes looked up from the paper she was writing on to meet with those of her latest visitors.
A long silence passed as they simply looked at each other.
"Applejack...?" Twilight finally said.
Applejack sighed and set down her quill and rubbed her temple, muttering something under her breath.
"Applejack, darling, you look so..." Rarity put a hoof to her chin as she tried to think of the proper word. "Different?"
"Yes, eight years does that to a pony." She simply replied.
"And what happened to your accent? You sound so much-"
"Smarter? More professional? Well, you see, that's what is required of you if you want to succeed out in the real world. Not everypony can make it big simply by fixing a mistake they made by accident." Applejack said, her eyes slowly turning to a glare. Twilight and Rarity's jaws dropped at their old friend's hurtful words and stare. Pinkie stood behind them, simply sinking down a little and looking away. Another sigh came from the orange mare's lips, "I apologize. That was... uncalled for." She quietly picked her pen back up and continued writing, "I can only assume you've come here for reasons other than to question my accent."
"Well, yes, but..."
Another sigh from the mare's lips as she set the pen down quieter this time. "Eight years, Twilight Sparkle. In eight years, you became a respected part of our country's royalty. Rarity became one of the greatest fashion designers in all of Equestria and was even able to set up shop in Canterlot. Fluttershy had twins. Rainbow Dash achieved her dream of become a Wonderbolt and even had a foal of her own after being there for Fluttershy through her pregnancy. Pinkie Pie managed to open up a shop here in the city to sell all sorts of treats and curios. Meanwhile, I was spending time on a farm with my family, doing the same thing that I had been doing for years. Wake up, do chores, go to bed. Day after day, month after month.
"Foals were born, life goals were achieved... and I was hitting trees. I felt like I was wasting my life away. So I left home to find more in life, just as I had done when I was younger. Except this time, I left family behind. I decided to make it on my own; but the question was, what was I trying to make? I didn't exactly have any life goals like Rainbow Dash. I had everything I needed back at the farm. So, I decided to go down the path that any pony who was trying to make it on their own would: the path of an inventor.
"Of course, there was a few things that were holding me back. Rather, one thing that held me back and one thing that gave me an advantage. My advantage was that I was one of the world renown element bearers. Who wouldn't put their faith in the Element of Honesty? I was sure to be put ahead of others... but I didn't want that. If I wanted to make it, I didn't want it to be because I was something of a celebrity. Rainbow didn't become a Wonderbolt just because she was the Element of Loyalty, she became a member because the girl busted a myth when she was still in flight school!
"So, I changed my name and Living Steel was born. Just to make sure, I even got my mane cut. But there was still one thing holding me back. You see, most ponies have this ideal leader in their heads. They want a certain kind of pony at the head of the herd." Her voice slowly became angrier, although she didn't seem to notice. "A kind of pony who spoke like they did. So, I practiced and practiced and after about a week, my accent was gone. And do you know what happened? Ponies started listening to my ideas. And as more ponies listened, more investments were made... and Living Steel, Incorporated was born. My company's influence now spands through every earth pony-centered city, and I even have a few contracts for exports overseas."
At this she smiled, proud of what she had accomplished and proud of the fact that she had rendered her old friends speechless. As her eyes looked past the two mares that were closer to her, she noticed that Pinkie had not said a word the entire time and stood towards the back of the room, trying to avoid eye contact completely. Memories began to return, and the orange mare's smile faded. "Of course, changing my name, looks, and accent wasn't enough to stop some ponies from knowing who I really was. But by that time, I was already so far into being this 'new' me that it just... didn't feel right. Almost like I was taking the friends of my old self from my old self. I had to cut a few ties..." Applejack hopped off of her chair and slowly turned away from the others to look out the window at the city skyline. "Some friendships ended with a bit more... wordage, than others."
A small sniffle from behind was enough to bring Twilight and Rarity to look behind them and see their pink friend staring at the ground, sobbing quietly. "Oh dear..." Rarity said as she embraced Pinkie Pie, to which the mare gratefully accepted and squeezed the Unicorn tightly.
"But," Applejack continued, "I did what I believed had to be done..." A light thump could be heard as the mare let her forehead drop against the glass window. "Oh, this sounded so much better when I rehearsed it in my head..." She closed her eyes and bit her lip, desperately trying to calm down. She had rejected everything - and everypony - from her past life without even so much as a goodbye to some of them, and now her past was here to remind her that it wasn't planning on going anywhere. At least she had managed to block out Pinkie's cries... but then why was she still hearing her sniffles? And why did they sound so much louder and closer? And what in the world was holding onto her so tightly... Oh.
Pinkie was embracing her old friend as tightly as she could. While a normal pony might be trying to gasp for air or push away the usually eccentric mare, Applejack simply found herself returning the gesture.
"Pinkie, I..."
"Shh..." Pinkie hushed before releasing Applejack from her hug. "All of that can wait... Right now, we have bigger problems. All of us do."
"Bigger problems?" She replied with a raise of an eyebrow.
Twilight took the opportunity to finally speak up. "Canterlot, as well as Equestria, is in grave danger."
"Oh please, Twilight." Applejack said, unsurprised. "What is it this time? Is Canterlot about to fall off the mountain? Ostrich flu? Don't tell me that Discord finally learned how to-"
"No, no, no, none of that!" The princess huffed. "This is a serious threat! The monster that lived inside War and helped defeat the Changelings eight years ago has come back and destroyed half of Canterlot!"
"Hold up now, back up." Applejack said, gesturing with her hoof for the purple Alicorn to cease. "War? You mean the big freaky stallion that turned out to not be a stallion at all, but was actually some kind of Demon from another world that had an even more demonic Demon in his head? That one is back?"
Twilight nodded furiously. "And he's likely to go and devestate the rest of Equestria if you don't take up your element once more and help us to fight him!"
"Well, why didn't you just say so?" The orange mare questioned as she turned around and trotted over towards a cabinet by the far wall. "Honestly, the whole of Equestria is in danger and you still got that bad habit of getting side-tracked." She hid a small smile as she opened the door to reveal a black box. She lifted the top off and reached in, pulling out an old looking stetson. The mare looked at it for a moment, as if lost in thought, before closing her eyes and placing it on her head. It certainly clashed with her business atire and Rarity would have likely thrown a fit if the circumstances weren't so dire.
"It's... about time..." She said slowly, her voice changing into something more familiar. "That Ah stopped livin' a lie."
The light was blinding, forcing Horrus to shield his eyes and allow them to adjust. His head, no, his everything hurt and the last thing he needed was some ball of flames up in the sky taking away his ability to see. He groaned as he tried to lift himself up, but he quickly gave up on the effort and let his hand fall back to the ground.
"It's about time. And here I was, thinking that you had gone and died so easily."
Horrus growled at the voice as he let his head fall to one side so he could see the one who had left him in such a state. The Guardian stood not too far away on the castle wall where he laid, its arms crossed and that same indifferent look in its eyes.
"Why did you keep me alive?" Horrus said, glaring the victor of their previous battle. "You said yourself that I don't belong here."
"Yes, I did. But I decided that your death could wait. After all, I want the one who thought me so foolish as to not have a contigency plan to see the events unfold before I strike him from this world forever."
"Tch, I didn't expect something like you to feel pride." Horrus smiled when he caught the slight twitch in the Guardian's eyes that signaled its irritation.
The Guardian turned its head away, taking its gaze over the ruined and hollow city instead. "Pareidolia's corruption was found before it was ready, and the Horseman of War's resilience to my control proved rather... surprising, to say the least. But this time, my plan is fool-proof."
"And just what is this plan of yours anyway? What hope could this land have against something as foreign to it as a Demon that couldn't even be held down by his own people?"
"Oh, you will see in due time. In fact, Equestria's last hope has almost arrived..."
Horrus forced himself to roll over and pulled himself up onto his knees. He followed the Guardian's gaze into the city, to one spot specifically.
Ruination surrounded him. Rubble, dust, and silence. But the Horseman of Desolation didn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, he almost seemed content to just be sitting there cross-legged in the middle of the city. The piece of armor that covered his mouth was slid back, allowing him to drink from a small cup that he held in his hand. Every so often, he would set the cup down on the tray in front of him and take a surprisingly well-intact teapot and pour more into the cup and repeat the process of drinking and refilling.
His eyes were closed as he simply took in all that was around him. Not the desolation that he had caused, but rather how life seemed to use his destruction to form anew. Somewhere in the distance he could hear the sound of baby birds chirping for their mother before momentarily going silent as they were finally given the meal they craved. It was interesting to him. No matter what happened, life always found a way of persevering.
His eyes did not open to the sound of the birds, and they did not open to the new wind that blew through the streets. But the crimson orbs were opened to meet with the six who stood just across the way, each adorned in some kind of amulet or relic. Their glares were met with indifference as Desolate took another drink from his cup.
"How long will you stand there, staring at me?" He said just loud enough for their ears to hear. They had only just arrived, but already nearly two minutes had passed and they had not acted against him.
"We're here to put a stop to your destruction!" The lavender one stated aloud. She was given the opportunity to escape at the risk of the other princess's lives, and yet here she was again. At least she had not come alone, otherwise he would think her insane.
"That didn't exactly answer my question." He replied simply, taking another drink and looking down at what little remained in his cup. "You claim to be here to stop me. Well, when do you plan on doing so? Between the seven of us, I doubt I'll be the first to die of old age."
He dipped his head back to take in the remnants of his drink before setting it down on the tray once more. "Before you do whatever it is you plan on doing to me, will you at least sit down for a moment and have a drink? Surely at least one of you must be thirsty and I know I would rather not fight while parched."
He gestured towards the second cup on the tray, but the blue one quickly seemed to take offense to his suggestion. "Yeah, right!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she took to the sky, her wings betraying her anxiousness, "You probably put some kinda poison in that to trick us!"
Desolate took the pot and poured more into his cup. "Take a moment to look around yourself. Do you truly think I would resort to mere tricks to bring your end? If I wanted you dead right now, we wouldn't be speaking." He took another drink. "Come see for yourself. It is merely water taken from the mountain itself. Have you ever tasted it before? It is really quite something... probably the purest I've ever tasted."
He took another sip, and when his eyes returned to the ponies that stood before him he found that one of them was much closer. She was an unfamiliar mare, one that War had not spent much time around during his time at a warrior here. An orange coat and blonde mane, curiously adorned in both a stetson and business suit.
"Applejack, what are you doing!?" The mare from before spoke up, "It's gotta be some trick!"
"Calm down, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack said, her voice rising to the same level as Rainbow Dash's. "Ah'm the Element of Honesty, remember?" She looked deep into Desolate's eyes for a moment before sitting down across from him. "Ah think Ah know when Ah'm bein' lied to."
Desolate merely looked at her, half expecting her to attempt to strike him now that he was in reach. But, to his slight surprise, she took the teapot and poured herself a drink. She lifted the cup up to her nose and took in its scent, her natural instincts getting the better of her when offered a drink by her enemy. It smelled just as water should, and tasted even better than expected.
Applejack looked down at the emptiness of her cup. She had drank it all in practically two gulps, yet he was able to take a sip some half of a dozen times before having to refill his. She looked up at the Demon and looked at his uncovered mouth. Rather, not his mouth, but the skin around it, and how she was able to count at least four scars just on that part of his face alone.
"Ah wanna ask ya somethin'." She said calmly, her gaze moving from his skin to his eyes. "Why?"
His eyes moved from his water to hers faster than she had expected, but she did not back down under his gaze. "Why?" He asked.
"Why do you fight? Not just against us ponies, but against everythin'?"
Desolate slowly closed his eyes and set his cup down on the tray, leaving it alone this time. He opened his eyes again as his body straighted up. "I have been asked that question many times, and if I live this day than I will likely be asked it many more. Only once have I ever given an answer. What makes you think that you deserve to know the truth?"
"Because Ah know that underneath all that armor, you really ain't such a bad guy. You wanna know how Ah know that?" She gestured towards her cup with her other hoof. "Because even though you didn't know what kinda company you'd be gettin' this mornin', you still thought to give them the finer glass."
Desolate's finger reached down to his glass, traching it along the single crack that went down its frame, while the glass that Applejack held was in perfect condition. He couldn't help but smile. In fact, he couldn't help but laugh.
Some of the mares looked scared by this laughter, while the others simply looked confused, unsure of why he was laughing in the first place. It certainly wasn't your typical evil villain laugh, but one straight from the gut.
"To think," he said, his laughter quieting down. "I have fought so many, yet the one with the finer eye for detail is the pony from another world... You are wrong to think that I am not a "bad guy", I'm afraid. But I was not always so bad, even though some did think of me as such. Thief, street rat, vermin - now that's one I've heard many times - all of which were names for me when I was young. But the name that I preferred... was survivor. Despite being the land of the decadent, Hellion is not such a bad place to live nowadays. However, it was not always so... Your family was the most important thing to you during that time. And if you did not have a family... you had to make one. And so my dearest friend, my only friend, and I looked upon the world with eyes eager and ambitious. Yes, we stole food, but the life of a thief on the streets was not always to be our lives. We sought to change the world..."
He laughed again. Not the same heavy laugh as before, but instead a light chuckle. "We were children, hardly even a century old... That is young, by our standards. And yet there we were, looking up into the stars and thinking that one day we would bring down that light and illuminate our people. But as time passed, it became more and more clear that my friend and I were not looking up at the same star. I sought to change the world by becoming a beacon of hope to our people. To show that even a simple vermin like myself could ascend to such heights if only we put our minds to it. My friend, however, did not wish to simply change Hellion from within, but from both within and without. To destroy our world's way of life and replace it with something new, where it is the people who decide what is right and wrong, not some ancient God.
"I did not see my friend for some time... and then the day came when a servent of that ancient God came to me with a proposition." He began to bear his teeth and the mares could see the way that his hands tightly gripped his knees. "A succubus in every sense of the word. A Horseman, or Horsewoman, as some seemed to prefer, came to me on a peaceful morning like this one. She came to me to ask for my assistance in dealing with a problem. She claimed that a group was planning to destroy our world and everything in it. She said that she was initially given the task, but her "busy" schedule just simply couldn't allow it. And so she came to me, offering me all kinds of rewards should I agree. Pleasure, money, a home to call my own, but I still refused. I had little desire for such things when I got by just fine on my own. And then she made me an offer that I just could not refuse...
"She told me that certain people had been keeping an eye on me for quite some time. When I asked why, she smiled and told me that I was the reborn spirit of the first Horseman, supposedly the most powerful mortal to ever live. It was the reason that my soul was so much more powerful than the souls of others, she said. I had limitless potential, all I needed to do was take hold of it. She promised me power. Enough power to fulfill my dream and creating a new world, a world worth living in. I took her offer, and with bloody fists clenched I marched alone on the growing rebellion."
-------------
The sky was beginning to darken. A storm was likely to come soon, and outside two men began debating on whether or not to leave their post for shelter. Before an agreement could be reached, one of them saw a boy walking towards them. He didn't look very old, surely not even an adult yet.
"Hey, kid! You should get inside, it's probably going to rain soon!"
But the boy said nothing. He simply looked at them with burning red eyes. Before they could bark at him again, he lifted up his hand towards them. It was covered in blood, causing them to stop momentarily and look curiously into the crimson. When they noticed the glowing Seal that had been carved into his hand, it was already too late. When the light faded, the two men were gone and the doorway they guarded was replaced by a gaping hole that almost reached the other end of the building.
Most events after that were merely a blur. The sounds of bones breaking and the flashing lights of his Seals burning away these traitors were all that remained after so many years. He did, however, remember that none of them managed to land a single blow on him. None, except for one.
There was a bang.
-------------
"It was amongst these traitors that I found my dearest friend. Beneath me were the corpses of the people she cared for, and in her hands was a gun - a taboo weapon amongst my people - which she used to give my my first scar." He unconsciously reached up and traced two fingers along the armor that covered his cheek. "She told me to leave. To leave and never return. But it was too late. I was already too far gone. The promise of power had set my soul ablaze, and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. Not even her. When the blood haze lifted, I stood above her: the final enemy. She looked up at me with hollow, dead eyes. I still remember... one was two colors. An after effect of when I hit her there.
"And then the succubus returned, congratulating me on a job well done. I wasted no time in taking her by the neck and squeezing until her throat was crushed. She promised me power... but I did not need her to unlock such a hidden reserve within me any longer. Her corpse joined those of her enemies. Oddly enough, events did not end there. For the next sound I heard was that of clapping. I turned and was met by one of the immortals, the very Harbinger of Hellion himself. Fate proved that it was not done with me yet, and he offered me her place as a Horseman."
------------
"You will need a new name for yourself, of course." The Harbinger said, putting a finger to his chin as he casually strode past the bodies of the fallen. "Something that defines you... Perhaps, the Horseman of War?"
The boy said nothing at first and simply continued to stare into the cold eyes of the one person he had ever cared for in life. His fists clenched tightly together once more, small chips of dried blood falling to the ground. They slowly relaxed again as he spoke.
"No... War can be ended. War does not have to be surrounded in death and destruction, but it also does not always bring people to new heights. But most of all, War is not absolute. I would prefer something that sounds a little more... permanent."
-------------
"I had done it. I had reached the pillar of strength and influence that I desired by becoming a Horseman. But at this point, my desire to bring about a new world of hope was something I had lost all faith in. After all, if I had to slaughter innocent people, if I had to slaughter the very one I loved just to reach this new world... then it was not a world that I wanted to live in anymore. The death of a hundred were on my hands, and the deaths of a thousand more would come as I was used as a tool of devestation. But I had had enough. The souls of those that had fallen before me cried out and demanded my death. Their memory haunted me, and still haunts me to this day. Everywhere I go, I see her. I see those hollow, damaged eyes looking into mine.
"I had thrown away everything I had lived for. What was there left for me? My new desire was not to bring peace to the living... No, my desire was to give relief to the lives that I had taken away. But, my soul would not allow me to end my life by my own hands. Any attempt ended in my own body fighting against itself. And so I called upon the greatest warriors the realms had to offer. And my call was met. Two thousand Demons surrounded me, each prepared to take my head for themselves and take my place. Alongside these Demons was a single Nephilim. An Advent, much to my surprise. Before the battle, he and I sat together and drank water just as you and I are doing now. Despite the restlessness of the Demons around him, he refused to allow them to strike me. He threatened that the first to disobey him would have two enemies on the battlefield. And what did he do?
"He talked. He talked on and on about his life. The battles he had encountered, the different people that he had met. He told me of his wife and daughter back at his home. He told me of his most treasured moments and of the people most precious to him. 'This is why I fight.' he said, 'Now tell me, why do you fight?'"
"And so I told him. I told him everything that I am telling you now. Of how I fought to bring hope to the people, but in the end all I did was give them fear. I told him what I now desired, and he told me that he would give everything he had to ensure that my dream came true." Desolate took a moment to sigh, his eyes no longer looking at the mare but rather through her as they ventured deeper into long lost memories. "It was the greatest battle I had ever fought. Just he and I, fighting not for control or pride or anything else, but instead for the simple desire of righting the wrongs that I had comitted. And even though he drew his last breath, even though he had abandoned his family, he still died with a smile on his face. For he died fighting for others, and not for himself. A true Nephilim of Zion if I had ever seen one. It was that day that I realized that the greatest warrior of my world had fallen, and none would ever hope to hold a candle to him. I would not let his death go in vain... so I used every essense of my soul to bring down desolation upon both myself and those around me. Even I was unable to escape my final blow against the world. My soul refused to let me run from the fight, but it also refused to allow myself to die in such a way... I was stuck. And I couldn't have been happier.
"When I next opened my eyes, I was looking through a window. I had refused to let the Demons take hold of me, and so they robbed me of my death and put my spirit into a new body to control. I did everything I could to try and break him down, to make him hate me... only in hopes that he would one day be able to break me instead and repress me. To absorb my soul into his and achieve dominance so that I could finally rest. Sadly, it seemed I still have yet to go before I can get the rest I so desperately desire."
Desolate stood and looked down at the mares. "I ask of all of you a single question... can you give me that which I desire?" Past the mares he saw a being not unlike him in form. A young girl who looked up at him with damaged eyes. "Can you give them the rest that they so desperately desire?"
The six eached looked at each other, taking in his words. For so long, they had thought him as only a monster. And yet, now...
"We can try."
Desolate said nothing, but a few of the mares could see the softening in his eyes. The sound of metal sliding against metal was heard as his mouth piece slid back into place. "Then try." He took a few steps back to give the mares room and held out his arms wide. "My stomach, my heart, my eyes, wherever you so choose... I offer you the first blow. Make it count."
The six nodded and moved to take position. The wind began to pick up and Desolate watched as they began to rise into the air, their accessories glowing brightly. Suddenly, a rainbow colored vortex enveloped them and shot high into the sky like a tornado before arcing back down and heading straight for him. He watched as it began to swirl around him now, blocking his view of the city and the mares. He looked around, trying to understand the nature of what was going on. But the moment he felt his body growing stiffer, he knew it was too late. He looked down at his legs and saw the way they were changing from their normal red and silver to a solid grey. The petrification rose up through his body from his feet and from his finger tips.
When the vortex finally dissipated and the mares regained their focus, they looked over and saw the statue of the one who was now allowed to have his dream come true. He had been looking down at his hands, as if trying to study what was happening to him while it was happening. They each breathed a sigh of relief.
-------------
"Ha! Do you see now, little Demon?" The Guardian said, smiling triumphantly as it pointed towards the statue of Desolate. "The Elements of Harmony are the single most powerful weapon that Equestria, no, the world has to offer! The Elements had split up to see their individual dreams fulfilled over the years, which caused them to drift apart. But now, I have brought them closer than they have ever been in their lives!" The Guardian looked over to Horrus, who was looking down at the scene and was as pale as could be with his eyes wide and his mouth open and speechless. "What's wrong, child? Too shocked to see yourself so wrong? So dumbfounded that-"
Crack.
The Guardian stood still, his mouth open in mid-speech. Slowly, his head turned towards where it's finger pointed. Desolate still stood, grey and cold as he did a moment ago. Now, however, there was a large crack that went straight up his arm. Even the six mares stood awestruck at what they saw.
Another crack spiderwebbed across his palm. The stone began to fall apart, dust and pieces dropping to the floor around the joints of his hand. One by one his fingers began to move. Soon his wrist was free, then his elbow, and before any of the viewers could speak a word he was was tearing the stone pieces from his body.
With his chest free, he reached for it and put a single finger against it. From his finger came a glowing light that left a trail wherever it went. When the Seal was complete, he pressed his palm against it and the stone exploded, leaving only Desolate to stand there, seemingly untouched.
"A worthy attempt." He almost sighed, brushing a small amount of dust from his forearm. With what looked like disappointment in his eyes, he walked forward towards the six mares. Some shrank back while the orange and blue one took a more defensive stance. He closed the distance between himself and Twilight quickly, snatching the tiara from her head.
"H-hey!" She cried out and immediately attempted to use her magic in retaliation, but Desolate grabbed her by the horn and squeezed firmly, causing the Alicorn to whimper and fall to her haunches.
The Demon examined the Element piece for a moment before releasing Twilight with a shove, pushing her onto her back. With one eye open she reached up and rubbed her horn, and then watched in horror as Desolate took the tiara in both hands and snapped it in half.
The Guardian simply had no words. His hand was visibly shaking as he looked down at the scene below. "And you called me the fool..." Horrus muttered as he regained his composure. "Did you even stop and think of the possibility of the Elements failing?" The Demon struggled to pull himself to his feet, "Shall I name just a few reasons as to why your plan was destined to fail? Desolate is from another world, what guarentee did you have that the Elements of Harmony would even work on something like him? Assuming they did, who's aspect of 'harmony' do they even use as a template? If it is from those of the ponies, Desolate just admitted that everything he did, he did for the sake of bringing harmony to those who have already failed. By offering himself, he was attempting to bring harmony and may have not been percieved as a threat to the land any longer due to his more honorable reasonings. If it's from his own viewpoint, which is still plausible due to the fact that most wretches in the world are well aware of their own evil aspects, than it wouldn't effect him at all due to the fact that he believes he's doing the right thing! You left far too much room for error, and now this world will pay the price!"
Slowly the Guardian's hands turned to fists. Even from where he stood, Horrus could practically feel the emotional unbalance growing within the godlike being's soul. This emotional unbalance became even more apparent as the Guardian's body even began to change physically.
"This wasn't supposed to happen..."
It's otherwise colorless features began to Change. Its hair and skin began to darken to black as its eyes rolled back into its skull to show only pale white. The straps of his attire began to fall apart, hanging down and seemingly catching fire spontaneously. Downward facing horns grew from it's head, and it began to look more and more like the Demons that it had been toying with. Now, however, it was looking as though it was the one being toyed with. It's odd set of wings flared out and the Guardian burst forward into the city, leaving Horrus alone on the wall to simply watch what was about to happen.
For all of its rage, the Guardian landed rather softly some distance away from the red behemoth. Desolate tossed away the broken pieces of the Element of Magic and turned halfway to meet the gaze of the one that had brought him here in the first place. "Well," he said, "I didn't realize that Halloween had come early this year."
As expected, his words only worked to fuel the Guardian's already unstable rage. Without warning, the distance between the two was closed as it rushed forward and grabbed the Demon by his helmet, flying forward at breakneck speeds and holding him forward as the two broke through building after building as if they were mere clouds. Those who spectated the fight could only stop and watch as each piece of architecture that happened to be in their way came either came crumbling down or had been decorated with a new hole that a cannon may as well have left.
The Guardian used the Demon to shield itself from every impact until the city wall finally came before them. Much thicker and sturdier than mere houses and shops, when Desolate collided with the wall his head was buried into it and new cracks that reached as high as the very top threatened the stability of it all. The Guardian only tried to push his foe deeper into the hardened structure.
"You were supposed to die!" It growled in anger. It's hand covered most of the Demon's face, but it could still see as Desolate's eye snapped open and glared at it. Before anything could be done, Desolate grabbed the Guardian's wrist and held to it tightly. The Guardian struggled to pull away from the Horseman's grasp, but it was no use. Desolate pushed his free hand into his captive's gut and, with a bright light from his seal, sent it flying backwards through the last building he was pushed through and into the city street.
The Guardian quickly pulled itself up off the ground and clenched it's fists tightly in frustration for not being able to defend itself from the Demon's strike. "I must say," Desolate said as he landed on nearby rooftop and stretched his wings out as he looked down at his new challenger, "That new look really suits you more than the whole 'colorless' thing. Very intimidating."
Just as expected, the Guardian lashed out in anger in response to his mocking. Forming a sword in it's hand, it gave a beat of it's wings to get high enough and swung, carving a new wound into the house but missing it's real target. Desolate sidestepped and dodged back as the Guardian's sword swung relentlessly in an effort to end his life.
Taking a quick look behind him, Desolate noted just how close to the edge of the rooftop he was getting. His eyes rolled back to the task at hand and he pulled his head back just in time to see the tip of the Guardian's blade scratch the front of his helmet as it swung by. Determined not to let it happen again, Desolate pulled his arm back and threw his fist forward. The Guardian blocked the attack with the width of it's sword, but the strike was still strong enough to shove it backwards, kicking up small amounts of dust around it's feet.
"Look at you... like a child, furious because things didn't go their way!"
The Guardian slashed at the rooftop with its sword, "Silence!" It thrust its palm outward and from it came an overwhelming blast of light. "I have seen the birth of nations!" The force of energy threw the Demon back, the pillar of light expanding halfway across the city before Desolate used his own soul's flow of energy to break the attack apart only to be met by the Guardian's feet being planted square into his chest and sending him even further back, this time soaring back towards the ground. The Demon landed hard on his back but was able to use momentum to roll backwards and land on his feet. He skipped backwards just as the Guardian landed in front of him, once again swinging it's sword. "I saw the foundations of the planet being laid!"
Desolate had intended to anger the Guardian to send it into a reckless fury - and had clearly succeeded in doing so - but the ancient being's attacks came so unpredictably that it was becoming increasingly difficult to catch his opponent off guard and take advantage of the situation. Even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, the former Horseman felt his heart skip a beat when he suddenly found himself unable to back up any further. It was now the Guardian who was taking advantage of its opponent no longer being able to retreat back and thrust its sword forward, piercing through the armor that covered Desolate's chest. However, the armor was the only thing it pierced as Desolate clapped both hands together around the sword to hold it back from being plunged any deeper than it already was.
"I was there to see the conception of imagination," The Guardian's words dripped like venom from its mouth, "Of a species..." With his back against the wall, Desolate found himself being lifted off the ground by the Guardian's sword. All the while, the Guardian gaze never seemed to pull away from the Demon's eyes. "And you have the audacity to call me a child!?"
Suddenly the Guardian felt a chill run up its spine. Out of the corner of its eyes it could see a pair of pale hands reach forward and gently run along its cheeks. They were not solid and looked more like those of a-
"You must have been so lonely... so many years on your own..." A voice whispered into its ear. It couldn't help but inhale sharply as the soft words reached into him, causing him to quickly spin around and confront whatever it was that dared interrupt its battle. However, it was not expecting to see the ethereal body of a young female, the same species as Desolate and the other humans it had brought into the world. It wore a simple white dress and looked at him with a pair of dark blue eyes. However, it appeared that one of them was also the color of amber in an odd, unatural way. It drifted backwards, its feet not touching the ground. Its damaged eyes looked sad for a moment and the Guardian swore that it heard apologize for something before it suddenly broke apart like mist. What it happened to break apart against was a sweating lavender Alicorn which had an alarming level of energy swelling up within its horn.
Twilight bit her lip so hard that it bled as she charged everything she had into her horn. The very rubble around her began to lift up off the ground as if gravity had suddenly turned off. She braced herself and bent her head forward to unleash a blinding light that soon overtook the Guardian and Desolate both. Her spell looked similar to the blast of energy that the Guardian had used just moments ago against the Demon, but it trumped the attack tenfold.
As her reserves began to diminish, the blast of light faded away. Twilight's eyes barely even opened back up before her body collapsed from exhaustion. Thankfully, her friends were theret to grab her lest her fall onto the hard ground be painful.
"You okay, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked as she helped the Alicorn into a sitting position.
"Yeah, I... I'm fine." She said quietly as she trembled. It was taking all of her willpower just to ensure that she stayed conscious long enough to see if her attempt would be futile or not. And if she were to judge just that on only the amount of devestation that now laid before her... she'd assume she had done a pretty good job.
Everything between the Alicorn and the far wall of the city had been obliterated. A scar on the land stretched all the way to the torn down wall, showing the horizon in the distance. What else the ponies could see of in the distance disturbed them almost as much as seeing their Alicorn friend pull of such a terrifying feat.
Desolate lay near the edge of the city. He groaned as he reached up and took the blade that was still held in place by his armor and pulled it out swiftly. He pushed himself up off the scarred ground into a sitting position and looked over to see a certain being lying face down.
Before the Guardian could so much as try to push itself up, Desolate was up and planted his foot squarely against its back. Its hands curled into shaky fists and its head turned to see him. For reasons Desolate cared little for, its pupils were back.
"You... ruined everything..."
Desolate merely tilted his head to the side slightly. "Ignorant and prideful to the very end." Desolate tossed the blade around and grabbed it by the hilt before plunging it straight down into the Guardian's back. It cried out and writhed in pain, but the Demon spared it no mercy. "You brought this down upon yourself." He said as he turned away to finish what he began.
"I... refuse... to be put down!" The Guardian gasped between breaths as it still tried to pull itself up. "I... am..."
The Guardian didn't hear Desolate turning around due to it's heavy breaths, but all of that became apparent when the Demon roughly pulled the sword from the Guardian's body and firmly kicked it in the side to flip it onto it's back. Wasting no time, Desolate took the sword and once again plunged it into it's body. This time, however, the sword was put straight through it's neck and was pushed deep enough to penetrate the stone below.
"You are nothing."
The Demon wasted no further time in dealing with the misguided being. With slight frustration fueling his steps, he made it out of the scar and was soon back in front of the ponies who now stood cowering before his form. His crimson eyes seemed to pierce into their very souls as he watched them huddle up together.
"I must admit," He softly began, "If not for my armor, I would very likely be dead right now." From his palms came a light that quickly was beginning to intensify, "Whether or not you were merely mimicing what you've seen from the battlefield, even I am rather surprised by your capabilities." He stretched out both arms and spread his fingers out. The mares could see the glowing outline of the seals that had been carved into his hands. "Allow me to shower you in thunderous applause."
The ponies held tightly to each other and closed their eyes. It was clear that Twilight would never be able to pull off another attack like that one after another, and if they were to try and run then he would only pick them off one by one until he got bored. This was their end.
Or, at least, that was what they were thinking. When there came no blinding light and intense heat, they risked opening their eyes to see what was going on. Desolate still stood there with his hands outstretched, but he did nothing. When their eyes opened further, they saw what must have been the reason.
The one that they had thought lost in the past, War now stood just to Desolate's right with his own arm stretched out. Near his palm was a glowing light in the same shape as Desolate's own seals.
For some strange and almost disturbing reason, the mares couldn't shake the feeling that Desolate was smiling at the moment.
"Well, well, well... I was afraid you might have died in that forest." Desolate turned his head to meet War's cold gaze. "How's your arm?"
As if to respond, War's palm touched the seal and a blast of light exploded outward. It never made contact with its target as Desolate used a hard flap of his wings to throw himself backwards and out of the line of fire. War immediately moved to put himself between the ponies and his former self.
Curiously, Desolate touched a finger to his chin. "You look different somehow..." As if doing so unconsciously, Desolate quickly began drawing a seal off to the side. More curiously, the area around him began to darken. "Did you do something new with your hair?"
Suddenly he slammed his palm against the seal he had drawn. A bubble-like forcefield formed in a sphere around his body. Not a moment later a massive bolt of lightening came down from the dark clouds that had quickly formed above him. As the clouds dissipated so too did his shield. Only bothering to turn his head, he glared at the Alicorn princess that stood some distance behind him.
"How rude. To think that this land's great monarch would outright interrupt two guests of her kingdom in such a way."
"You are no guest of mine." Celestia replied bitterly. "A guest wouldn't go about ransacking an entire city!"
"Well, perhaps next time the apocalypse comes around in this world, you'll be better prepared for it. Speaking of the which, where is your dear sister? I'm a tad surprised to see the two of you so far apart... And before you ask, I did a bit of light reading during my time here - I like to know a thing or two about the things that are trying to kill me, you see. Very interesting history you and your kingdom have. So many troubles or disasters... reminds me of home."
"You hardly spoke a word the last time we fought, now you won't shut your mouth." Celestia said surprisingly harshly.
"I won't lie, I didn't expect much from you or your sister during our first encounter. But now," The metal that covered his mouth slid back, revealing his twisted smile. "Now, I'm excited!"
He threw out both arms, each one's palm facing the two new arrivals, and let loose his mighty power. Celestia and War held their ground but it was clear just how much they had to dig in their heels in order to stay there. As the force of his blasts intensified with each surge, Desolate could only smile. That was, at least, until he sensed a power unlike one he had met so far fast approaching. In the amount of time it took for him to turn his head forward, it was already on top of him.
Like a train, this new power slammed straight into his gut and caused him to lose concentration on his seal's flow. The Demon was thrown backwards at a speed that likely would have been lethal to any man or pony that could be considered normal.
Celestia and War stood their ground, surprised by what had just joined the fight. It held the shape of a pony, that much was certain. The differing factor was how this pony seemed to be set ablaze in black fire and had wings larger than any Pegasus. Only it's red eyes were not consumed by fire. As it's wings began to relax, something that stood out from the darkness could be seen. A small, white Unicorn that seemed to be holding onto the flaming pony for dear life. Her eyes were closed, but the moment they opened and saw the Horseman of War, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Daddy!"
To say that War was surprised by the sudden arrival of his daughter would be an understatement. This was nothing to say of the foal's mother's reaction to her child arriving in such a fashion on the battlefield.
"Pareidolia!" Fluttershy rushed forward, not much caring for the still looming threat that was the Horseman of Desolation for the moment. The mare quickly grabbed the young Unicorn and embraced her tightly. As they gently hovered in the air, the flaming being suddenly began to shrink down to a size not much larger than Pareidolia. There stood Dark Star, not at all looking amused now that he was back to his original self. Upon seeing this, the otherwise timid mare took her colt in her hooves and practically squeezed the life out of them both.
"Crushing...bones..."
"Can't...breathe..."
"What in Equestria are you two doing here, of all places!" The worried sick mother exclaimed, her wings flapping rapidly due to her newfound anxiety. At that moment she felt something grasp her shoulder. She knew immediately just who it was. But as she turned to face him, her protective side began to melt away. "And as... as for you..."
She just couldn't help it. Looking into those grey eyes, as cold as they may be, she just could not help but feel a sense of peace. "Calm yourself..." He said quietly as his hand guided the mare back towards the ground, where she released the two foals from her vice grip but kept them at hoof's length. He knelt down on one knee to be closer to their height, "Spirit has no age... and I believe we need it most in this battle."
Keeping his hand on Fluttershy, he reached down and placed his palm on Dark Star's head, running it gently through his mane once before moving to caress Pareidolia's cheek. "The why is obvious..." He said, watching the filly nuzzle into his hand. "But as for the how..."
"I believe I can be of assistance in that explanation." Celestia stepped forward, standing tall and strong despite the state of her city all around her.
"Princess Celestia!" The other mares quickly rushed forward, gathering around the princess and the Demon. The Alicorn gave the young mares a smile in hopes of relieving some of their stress.
"Hello, my little ponies." She closed her eyes and used her wings to embrace the closest one - Twilight. "I am so glad to see you safe."
"Ah'll say! We'd likely o' been long gone if not for you two!" Applejack said with confidence.
"Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed as she leaped into the air with joy. "Now it's time to fight back against that big meanie, put him in his place, and be back home in time for dessert!"
Rarity stepped back in hopes of avoiding the ecstatic mare's duel with an invisible foe as she spoke. Despite being more happy than she's ever been to see the princess of the land and what was most likely to be the subject of necromancy before her, she couldn't help but bring forward something that she had noticed. "Erm, princess? I do understand that we're having a good rally here and all, but I must ask... where is Princess Luna?"
Celestia smile faded to a slight frown. "I asked her to remain behind. I understand that this may very well be our final battle against Desolate... and if something were to go wrong, if we were to lose this fight, I would not want my ponies to be without guidance in such a dark time."
The Princess of the Night certainly had not been happy with the decision in the slightest, and the last thing that Celestia would want is to not bring every capable being she could to a fight to determine the state of her land, but they both knew what could happen here within the next few hours. It was just a sacrifice they would have to make.
"And as for these two," The regal pony's eyes turned down towards the colt and filly before her. "I was curious as to just what was rushing forward during our fight and almost believed that my sister had come in spite of the consequences. Needless to say, I was rather surprised to see that such a large spike of power came not from an Alicorn like my sister, but instead from two of my youngest subjects." Her lips curved back into a smile, which she offered to the two she spoke of. "Am I right in assuming that such a powerful source of magic came from you, Pareidolia?"
The white filly smiled and nodded her head, her mane swaying. "I was able to find a way to directly flow my magic into my brother, making him bigger, stronger, and faster!"
Celestia nodded once before turning her eyes to Dark Star, who only shifted a little uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I didn't really do anything special... It was all her."
"Do not be so quick to put yourself down, Dark Star. While Pareidolia's magical reserves are incredibly impressive, it is just as impressive that you were able to take in that much power and use it properly. In fact, I am rather surprised that both of your bodies are still fully intact after such an output..."
"The Guardian unlocked her inner potential..." War responded. "Its intentions were to unleash her power in such a way that she could not control, and eventually the outcome of such would prove to be a threat to the nation... It planned ahead for the case that such a power could destroy her, but it did not anticipate my disobedience and its plan failed... What it did next, you already know."
Celestia nodded to show she understood. Beneath her wings, Twilight pulled away and looked up towards her oldest friend, "What do we do now? The Element of Magic was broken, and, well... no offense to either of you, but you've already tried to take down Desolate once before..."
The Alicorn closed her eyes and brought her hoof up to her chin as she pondered what their next move should be. It was true that both her's and War's power may only prove to delay the inevitable, but she also could not deny that they may succeed in wearing the Demon down. Either way, it would take much time. Perhaps...
"Pareidolia, how confident are you in your ability to directly release your magic into something else?"
Pareidolia shrugged gently, "It took a bit of practice before I was able to make my brother look the way he did..."
"How long do you think you can do it for?"
"Princess," Fluttershy spoke up, unconsciously pulling her daughter closer, "You don't really plan on making them fight, do you?"
"Of course not, dear Fluttershy." She responded, her tone not changing despite the mare's accusations. "While the combined power of myself and War may prove enough to put Desolate down once and for all, I cannot deny that we will still need all the help we can get. If we use the power of the remaining Elements, as well as Pareidolia's ability to take in and release large amounts of magic without causing any harm to herself, we can repair the Element of Magic and once again use their power."
"And you're sure this will work?" Twilight said, unable to not feel slightly nervous about this plan. "Have the Element's ever had to be repaired like that before?"
Celestia shook her head gently, "No... but it may be our only hope of winning this fight."
"Does anyone else want to join this battle!?"
All eyes shot towards the direction that the shout came from. A short distance away, Desolate stood with his arms out and his eyes searching around the area. "Anyone at all? I welcome the challenge!" Despite his words, it was clear that he was begining to get frustrated with the amount of late arrivals. "No one? Excellent." With his mouth piece still slid back, he inhaled deeply before opening his mouth and using the third seal on his tongue to fire a mighty blast. The attack shot forward incredibly quickly and only War reacted fast enough to get in front of the others, but it would appear that his effort was unneeded.
Out of fear and surprise, Pareidolia's horn began to glow brightly and the group of ten were surrounded by a forcefield. Upon impact, the shield managed to hold it's ground against Desolate's frustration. The group inside looked around in surprise as the Demon's attack split apart all around them. Both powers faded together, and Pareidolia closed her eyes and let out the breath she had taken in while Desolate merely stretched a bit.
"I feel much better!" He said as he rolled his shoulders each a few times. "Now, let's make things exciting again, shall we?"
The Demon shot forward, both fists thrusting ahead only to be caught in the hands of his younger half. War's feet slid across the ground as the force threw him backwards and past the others, but he refused to be pushed down this time. His eyes were lit by defiance towards Desolate, and Desolate basked in that look.
"Yes, YES!" Desolate laughed as he continued stepping forward, pushing War back with each proceeding step. "That's the look that I want to see! You tamed that fiery rage, I can tell!"
War grunted as he risked the stability of his defense to lift his right leg up and slam it into Desolate's chest. The kick was enough to push Desolate back, allowing War a moment away from the other Demon's seemingly limitless strength. Desolate held his arm up, the seal already glowing, but he did not see what was occurring just behind him.
The other ponies quickly moved out of the line of fire to begin repairing the Elements. Meanwhile, Celestia stood her ground and closed her eyes as her horn began to glow brightly. It began as an ember just above the tip of her horn, but it soon grew to a flame. She began shaking her head in a circular motion and the fire began to stretch, growing ever longer with each rotation around. The fire grew hotter and once it was long enough, the Alicorn swung the fiery whip around where it grabbed onto Desolate's forearm, holding it back and scorching his armor.
The sudden weight against his arm caught him by surprise and gave War enough time to strike. His fist slammed against Desolate's helmet and caused him to recoil back, but he managed to catch War's second attack in his hand. With a kick to the back of his knee, War was brought to one knee and gave the Demon enough time to grab the whip and give it a hard tug.
Celestia was thrown forward, her weight not enough to keep her in place. Taking advantage of War's position, Desolate grabbed him by the head and threw him at the Alicorn princess. The two collided with a satisfying thud. Opting not to give them another chance, Desolate held out his hand and his seal began to glow, but before it could be fired there was a blinding light behind him followed by a shock wave that surged across the city. The seal went dead, and even Desolate felt mildly disturbed by what he had felt.
"He didn't..." He muttered to no one in particular as he turned his head back to the scar in the land that the young lavender one had created earlier in an attempt to kill him. There was another surge of power that exploded out, this one not nearly as intense as the thunder that had heralded the event. Stepping out of the destruction came a man, appearing just as human as he. He almost expected it to be that cursed Guardian, but Desolate could feel the power overflowing from the being's soul. It was similar to the Guardian, but the texture of it was different.
From their hands formed two identical swords, each held out at their full length. From his back came four different wings, each one exploding out one after another. A black cloth was tied around his neck and his eyes, despite being a pleasant shade of blue, seemed to pierce through even Desolate's armor.
Horrus felt the presence of two approaching long before those who were distracted by battle. Even he had to admit that his eyes had a hard time keeping up with just whoever or whatever it was as they rocketed forward and threw Desolate into the air.
When he saw Desolate thrown off his feet, he immediately took the one chance the Demon figured he would get to move. Quickly and quietly he made his way down to the battlefield. He slid down into the scar that had been created by Twilight until he reached the bottom, and it was there that he was met by a sight that made him far more uncomfortable than he would have originally assumed it would.
There lay the Guardian, somewhere between it's old form and it's newer, more angry looking form. It's eyes stared wide into the sky and the sword that it had used was halfway buried into It's neck. Oddly, there was no blood. Horrus cautiously stepped forward and knelt down beside the body. He first put his hand against it's chest, and felt nothing. He then put his fingers against it's neck and surely felt nothing. No heartbeat.
The Guardian of the planet was dead. It was only when the young Demon returned to his feet and turned to walk away when he suddenly felt something grab his ankle that he found himself to be gravely mistaken.
Horrus quickly spun around and was met by the still wide eyes of the Guardian, but now they were staring directly at him. It opened it's mouth, but instead of words there were only gasps and coughs. Horrus's eyes looked back and forth between the Guardian and the blade and he understood what was attempting to be said. Grabbing the hilt with both hands, the Demon pulled as hard as he could. Despite the painful sounds made by the Guardian as it slid upwards, Horrus continued. If it wasn't dead now, then this surely wouldn't kill it either. Not that Horrus cared too much at this point... Nearly being killed tended to leave one with a few distasteful feelings towards their would-be killer.
As soon as the blade left the Guardian, it put it's hand over the wound. It's hand began to glow and it started cringing and writhing about, it's body twitching in a seemingly uncontrollable way. After a few moments of this, it began to calm down and it's hand slipped away to reveal a far less grevious looking wound.
Horrus knelt down beside the Guardian and grabbed it's wrist, taking a look at the palm just in time to see the image of a seal disappearing.
"A regeneration seal," He curiously stated, "You've been able to heal yourself this whole time?"
"One," the Guardian was taken by a sudden coughing fit, "can find it difficult... to heal a would when the blade is still in their neck..."
Horrus looked down at the sword, noticing that it continued to confirm his theory that the Guardian didn't have blood in it's body, tossed it aside. "Fair enough,"
"One," The Guardian continued quietly as it placed it's hand back over it's throat, "tends to have a bit of time to think while pinned under their own sword..."
"Well, certainly take your time in doing so." Horrus said as he returned to his feet for the second time. "While you do that, the rest of us will continue trying to put down the dog you sicced on the land-"
"I... have made so many mistakes in my time as Guardian of this planet." It slowly closed it's eyes as it recalled time in it's memory. "Nary lifting a finger to aid the land while it was under Madora's first siege, absent for one thousand years while Discord reigned and played... and when the land was threatened again, I suddenly felt... afraid, for it's future. I tore open a hole in space and brought outsiders into the world without even thinking of the consequences."
As the glow from it's hand began to cease, it pulled away to reveal that the wound was now completely healed. However, the Guardian did not move from it's spot on the ground. "And then, when the land finally achieved the peace it needed, I became afraid once more... If there were no threats, there was no need to be stronger. And if a threat ever came, would the land be able to handle it? And so I created a threat, but it failed to develop into what it was intended to be... and so I tried again, and it failed..."
"Everyone makes mistakes-"
The Guardian sat up quickly and grabbed the shirt that Horrus wore and pulled him down so they could meet eye to eye. "I can't make mistakes!" It breathed heavily and it visibly shook before it slowly, if only slightly, relaxed and fell back to the ground. "If I make mistakes... things die... And if things die, then... I have failed..."
"Then help me make things right!"
Horrus grabbed the Guardian by the collar and pulled it back up so they could look each other in the eye again. The Guardian almost looked surprised. "I honestly have no idea what compelled you to think that releasing arguably the biggest catastrophe from my world into this one was a good idea, but I would certainly hope that you've realized just how bad of an idea that really was. You were crafted by the very Aspects themselves, surely there is something you can do against him!"
"Were you not watching, young one? Even in anger, I was unable to defeat him. And now, here I lay... Beaten, stabbed, and broken by not only him but also the ones I was tasked with protecting."
"And yet you are still alive," Horrus continued to argue, "You still breathe and can still hold a weapon, so I fail to see just what's holding the oh-so great and powerful Guardian of the planet from still trying his damndest to do his job!"
The Guardian was quiet for a moment as it merely looked up at the young Demon. "You, who stand even less of a chance against the Horseman of Desolation than I, still remain so confident that you can win so long as there is even a sliver of a chance for victory..." It quietly began to laugh. "Perhaps you would make a better guardian than I."
"As much as I'd love to agree with you right now, I doubt we have very much time left before Desolate decides that he's had enough. Now, if you'd kindly get off your..." Horrus stopped himself as he began to notice the way the Guardian's eyes were no longer looking at him, but rather looking off into the distance and occasionally looking back and forth the same way they unconsciously do when a person is mentally imagining something. "What are you thinking?" He asked.
The Guardian did not answer right away but it's eyes did eventually return to the Demon. "I am not worthy of protecting these lands any longer... And you, by all rights, should be dead..."
Suddenly the Guardian grabbed Horrus's face and held to it firmly. Horrus, surprised by this, tried to pry the hand away but it was no use.
"Calm yourself, Horseman of Death. Perhaps there is a way we can assist one another with both of our problems..."
The Guardian's body began to glow a bright blue. Before Horrus had a chance to question this new light, his body began to feel like it was preparing to tear itself apart. He tried to scream in pain, but the hand of the Guardian muffled the cry. A blinding light enveloped them both, so bright that it was all the Demon could see when he tried to keep his eyes open. Like thunder, a deafening boom rolled throughout the land.
When the light faded and his ears stopped ringing, Horrus reached up with one hand to cover his eyes and with the other to rub his ear in hopes of relaxing his senses. Not a moment later, he noticed that the Guardian was no longer holding his face. Opening his eyes and blinking a few times to do away with the spots in his vision, he realized he was alone. The Guardian was nowhere to be seen. He pulled himself to his feet and noticed how he suddenly seemed much... taller?
Horrus looked down at his body and was shocked to see that he was no longer in the form of a child, but instead back in the form of an adult. No longer was he covered by simple animal skin, but instead he found himself in the Guardian's attire. Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Horrus curled his hands into fists and released some of the energy that was swelling up within his soul. The air around him was forced back, and to this Horrus could only sigh and then smile.
"That bastard... Going to make me clean up your mess, will you?"
He turned and stepped out from the crater where he was met by the sight of Desolate staring him down with an open palm towards War and Celestia, who were for some reason lying on the ground.
Horrus held out his hands, and just as they had for the Guardian, weapons formed in his hands first in the form of smoke before becoming physical. Two swords, swift and precise just as he prefered. With a smile, he spoke, "The Pale Horseman... rides again!"
Horrus launched forward and attacked Desolate with both blades. Going on the defensive, the Demon attempted to dodge every swing of the swords, inevitably being forced to back up from the torrent of steel. The old Horseman of Death was certainly moving far faster than Desolate had remembered him moving the last time the two of them fought, but it was clear that he was not dealing with the same man anymore.
Desolate dodged and dodged before deciding that he had had enough. When Horrus swung with both swords, the Demon used the armor on his forearm to to block the attack. Both blades dug into the armor, and it appeared that they were actually stuck. Not wanting to give him a chance to realize what had happened, Desolate used his free hand to charge the seal and prepared to release it straight into his opponent.
However, Horrus would be the first to take pride in his own observation skills. He noticed the moment the seal engraved in the Demon's hand began to glow and immediately moved his hands to try and catch the attack and succeeded in doing so. That's not to say he was not pushed back, of course. Horrus's feet slid across the ground as he was shoved back by the force.
Horrus dug his heels in and pushed his fingers inward towards the center of the attack. He threw his arms in opposite directions, effectively tearing the flow of energy apart. Horrus looked forward, daring his opponent to try such an attempt again. Desolate, on the other hand, merely had a curious look in his eyes.
"You can see how my energy flows now, can't you?"
"Not only that," Horrus replied, holding his hands out as the swords planted in Desolate's armor evaporated, only to reappear in the other Demon's hands. "I can feel it. Like the water in a stream, I can see and feel where the current is slowest... and tear it apart."
Desolate laughed, "Ha! So be it!" He proceeded to audibly crack his knuckles, "To be honest, I always prefered a fist fight anyways."
Horrus steeled himself for whatever flurry was to come and held his swords tightly in his hands. "I've beaten you once before, I can do it again!"
"You only stood a chance because the boy wouldn't allow me to take full control. You merely fought my arms!" Desolate threw his arms out to emphasise his words. "But now you fight everything."
"He will not fight alone." The voice of War spoke as the Demon took his place to Horrus's left.
"Never alone." A less familair voice stated. He turned to his right and saw as Celestia took her position on his other side. The three stood together like an immovable wall that dared to defy the unstoppable force that was Desolate.
"Then come!" Desolate threw his arms wide, "If fate demands that the fallen be avenged, then let it's will be done! Kill me!"
Celestia took to the air while Horrus and War rushed forward. Horrus shoved both blades forward but were deflected by Desolate's armor, allowing him to lift his leg up and plant a kick into the Horseman's chest, sending him back once more. War was quick to take his place, coming in from the right and throwing his fist forward only for it to be caught by the Demon. Desolate responded in kind, only for his fist to be grabbed as well. As the two struggled for dominance, a ball of magical energy was growing larger just above Celestia's horn. She fired her spell and it rocketed towards their position, where the two dodged back just in time to avoid the blast.
For a moment, all Desolate could see was the dust and debris swept up by the blast. As it began to fade, he noticed a figure quickly moving towards him. He braced himself for War's coming strike, but it was too late before he realized that it was not War before him.
The beat of Horrus's wings sent the dust flying in every direction as he flew towards his foe. Desolate managed to catch the first blade aimed for his chest in his hand, and he growled in pain as he felt it cut through his glove and his skin, and dodged his head back to watch as the second blade's tip scratched his mouth piece.
Before he could retaliate, Horrus leapt up and planted both feet square into the center of Desolate's chest, sending him backwards as he released his grip on the sword. He did not move far back, as War was behind him and ready to deal the blow straight into the small of his back. The strike caused the Demon to recoil in pain, and he barely had a chance to look behind him before he found himself surrounded by a pale glow. Celestia threw the Demon high into the sky with her magic.
War followed closely in pursuit as the Demon was tossed higher and higher. When he came within reach, War grabbed Desolate's wrist and quickly spun around, using the momentum to hurl Desolate back towards the ground. The former Horseman spun about uncontrollably as he raced towards the ground, eventually falling onto his back hard enough to crack the stone beneath him.
He landed not far from a balcony area where one could look out over all of Equestria. War landed closer to the edge with Horrus soon joining him, while Celestia covered any chance of escape by taking a position behind him.
Somehow, even after all that, Desolate slowly made his way back onto his feet. The three could hardly believe their eyes. Just what did it take to kill this Demon?
"Stay down, Desolate!" Horrus shouted in the Demon's direction, "You can't win! This is over!"
"Over?" Desolate repeated as he stood with a small but noticable limp. "Are you kidding?" Unexpectedly, he reached up and put his hands on either side of his helmet. The helmet slid off and his hand's fell lazily back to the side, one still holding the piece of armor. Underneath the helmet was a man almost identical to War, save for his crimson eyes. His face was covered in scars, each one telling the story of a different battle. His messy, snowy white hair barely reached his shoulders. His lips turned to a wide grin, "I'm having the time of my life!"
He suddenly tossed the helmet aside and fell to one knee, slamming his palm into the ground. The ground beneath them lit up to reveal a massive seal that had been premptively carved into the ground. The area around them shook violently enough to throw the two other Demons off balance before the entire balcony began to fall, with only Celestia being the one to remain on stable ground.
The large chunk of stone fell freely until connecting with the mountain, where it began to slide down the steep incline. Desolate quickly closed the distance between Horrus and himself, slamming his fist into the Demon's stomach. He smiled as blood from Horrus's mouth splattered on the ground, with only a small amount adding to the crimson on his armor. He grabbed Horrus by the neck and tossed him to the ground before turning his gaze towards the oncoming threat that was War.
Desolate dodged the first blow with ease before grabbing War's shoulder and slamming their foreheads together. War winced in pain and tried to keep his eyes open but all he could see was flashing lights and the wild grin that Desolate wore that they tried to hide. That grin quickly vanished, however, as he felt a massive gathering of energy far above him. His eyes shot upwards to see in the distance Celestia using her magic to form another small sun. Shoving War back, he spread his wings and fired into the air, leaving the two Demons and the balcony to their fates.
Seeing this, Celestia threw her head down, sending the sun plummeting downward upon Desolate once more. She would have prefered to wait longer and let it charge further, but she simply had no more time.
Desolate made no effort to avoid her attack, only rushing toward it and gathering speed with every passing second. Feeling it's heat, he smiled and all three of the seals engraved into his body began to glow simultaneously just before he and the ball collided. He vanished within it with a thump, and suddenly all became quiet. The sun froze in midair for a few moments before violently exploding. Desolate, untouched by the sun's flames, rocketed upward at an even greater speed. Celestia, shocked and dumbfounded by what she had just seen, was unable to react in time as Desolate's fist hit her with an uppercut.
Taken by the surprise and pain, her wings fell limp and she began to plummet towards the ground. Some distance away, Dark Star watched as the ruler of his land began falling downward. Without thinking, he grabbed Pareidolia and tossed her onto his back. He immediately felt the immense magic that his sister held flow back through his body and returned to his flaming form. The young Unicorn held on for dear life as her brother shot into the air after the solar Alicorn.
He was successful in catching her in his hooves, but she was far heavier than the colt had anticipated. The three fell to the ground regardless of Dark Star's efforts, but not nearly as hard as Celestia would have if he had not intervened.
The other ponies quickly rushed to their ruler's side, and she gratefully accepted their aid in order to even make it back onto her hooves before Desolate arrived. The Demon in question landed on the ground not too far away, and without any further crude remarks he held his arm out and fired a powerful blast towards the group. Once again Pareidolia's magic saved their lives with a forcefield, but Desolate did not back down in his attack this time. He strided forward at a quickened pace until his palm nearly touched the magical barrier. Dark Star bit his lip as he looked back towards his younger sister and saw the way she was sweating and straining to hold the Demon back.
"What of the Elements?" Celestia hastily asked.
"It hasn't been fixed yet, but I think we're almost-" Twilight was cut short as cracks began to visibly form along their protective shell. Some of the girls huddled together while Fluttershy moved to be closer to her foals. Celestia looked around her, frantically trying to figure out some way that they could possibly make it out alive. Her eyes caught side of the broken jewel that was once the Element of Magic. It was almost complete save for a thick crack down its center where it had been fused together once more.
Her eyes widened as an idea came to her mind. If even one thing failed, if a moment was mistimed, then they may die... but if it were to succeed...
"Twilight," Celestia said as she looked down towards her former student, "When Pareidolia's shield breaks, I need you to form another one almost immediately!"
"Almost!?" The lavender Alicorn questioned, but she quickly reclaimed any arguments she had for this plan when she saw the flames in Celestia's eyes. With a gulp and a nod, her horn began to glow in anticipation for the moment. Meanwhile, Celestia took the Element jewel in her magical grasp and quickly began pouring as much of her power into it as she possibly could. Her form began to shrink and her mane lost it's ethereal movement and array of color with each passing second.
Pareidolia whimpered as the strain finally became too much and the magical shield shattered. Only for half of a second was the shield down before Twilight's shield formed around them, and in that half of a second the Element of Magic was sent soaring through the air. The star-shaped gem twirled through the air, far past Desolate who only focused on intensifying his attack, and into the hand of a Demon who had only just made his way back up to the city.
War looked down at the gem for a moment and could easily feel just how much power swelled within it's small form. His fingers wrapped around it tightly and he clenched his eyes shut as the overwhelming energy began flowing into his body at a rate that may have easily destroyed a Demon of lesser strength. When his eyes opened once more, they were only a shining light, a testament to the strength that now flowed through his veins.
Desolate felt the surge of power the moment it began to flow and spun on his heel and threw his other arm out to fire yet another powerful blast while maintaining the first one that continued to hammer away at the forcefield. He felt himself grin as he felt War be overtaken by the bright light, but... something was wrong. Very wrong. War was not being swept away by his power, but rather-
Before Desolate could put the thoughts together in his head, War burst out from the bright light and delivered a punch into the side of the Demon's head that was enough to break his concentration completely. With eyes wide, Desolate did everything in his power to avoid his younger self's attacks. War's movements were alarmingly quick, even for him. What disturbed the Demon most, however, was the way that his forearm seemed to be taken by a rainbow colored fire. It's flames, despite it's miniscule size compared to the sun that he had devestated just moments before, were all the more intense.
In his efforts to avoid War's fists, Desolate momentarily lost track of his surroundings. His heart fell when his back suddenly made contact with something solid. A piece of the castle, broken likely from the Guardian's fight with Horrus the other night, proved to be the deciding factor in the battle.
With nowhere left to run and no time to dodge, War's fiery fist connected with Desolate's chest - right where the Guardian's sword had pierced. The armor shattered and broke apart, and War's fist pushed straight through Desolate's body. With such power and force behind his blow, a small chunk of the stone blew apart on the opposite side from where Desolate stood pinned, despite being a dozen feet back.
With absolute shock in his eyes, Desolate's gaze turned down towards where he had been hit. War's fist was pushed deep into his body, deep enough that it could no longer been seen. His eyes then turned to meet with War's which were only just becoming visible once more as the intense light faded. In his eyes, he saw not anger or fury or hatred... but a strange calmness.
Finally, his eyes turned towards the sky. A beautiful shade of blue, there was hardly a single cloud that threated to obscure the color. Because of this, a single star could be seen despite the sun's powerful rays.
As blood trickled down from his lips, Desolate gave that star a pleading smile. "Eva... even after everything... you still shine... so brightly..."
His voice came in a quiet whisper, so hushed that War almost missed those final words as Desolate fell limp, his head falling onto War's shoulder. War pulled his fist from the Demon's chest and stepped back, holding onto the body's shoulders to keep it from collapsing upon the ground. Strangely, the body began to dissolve in his hands, vanishing before his very eyes until all that remained was a single, glowing light. It hovered in place for a moment before shooting high into the sky. War's eyes tried to keep track of it as it ascended, but it's light was soon overtaken by the light of the sun and seemed to disappear.
War felt something collide with his back and turned to see a familiar yellow Pegasus gripping his torso tightly. As his mind returned to what was around him, he heard the cheers and shouts of glory that came from the other ponies. He hardly heard a word that they said as each voice was muffled by another. The only one who didn't seem to be cheering or congratulating him was Celestia, who merely smiled at him and gave him a nod. He returned the gesture before his eyes caught sight of something in the distance.
He gently pulled Fluttershy and his children away from him before quietly making his way towards the one who stood near where the broken balcony once resided. The other ponies soon understood and hushed as War drew nearer.
Horrus stood overlooking the horizon. He did not seem excited or even happy about their success over such a powerful foe. Without turning to see who it was, he knew who stood just behind him. "Power." He said, "It is what I have sought after for all of my life. And now, I have the power to rival even the Gods of our world..." As he felt War's hand fall upon his shoulder, he held out his hand. In his palm was the black cloth that he once wore around his eyes. It swayed gently in the wind. He then smiled and released it, watching as the cloth spun and swayed like a serpent in the wind. "But power was what Horrus Rabe desired... and last time I checked, he died long ago."
Horrus turned toward's War, who too watched the cloth. "What will you do now? Without Desolate, you're life span has been dramatically cut..."
To these words, War's eyes turned to look into the other's, "Whether I should only breathe for another ten years or another one hundred," War smiled, "It will be more than enough time to live."
Horrus looked into War's pale eyes, and then to the ground, and finally stopping when they turned back to the horizon. He smiled calmly, "Perhaps you are right...."
"I believe the better question is... what will you do now?"
Horrus remained quiet as he thought. What would he do? With the power of the Guardian, he could do nearly anything he desired. Space and possibly even time were within his reach... but there was one thing that stood out amongst the rest. One thing that he had to do.
"I... have quite a few apologies to make."
War patted his shoulder as a vortex opened behind them. A doorway that led to another world. "Go to them, dear friend. And when you see them, please... tell them to live as well."
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The birds happily sung their songs into the wind as squirrels scurried in and out of the trees they lived within. Against one of these trees, near a small cottage, was a sword. A sword that had been used to cut down hundreds in the past that now only stood to mark a hollow grave.
On the opposite side of that tree were a family. A man, once so dreaded and feared, now rested with his back against it. No longer did he wear armor, for he had no need. No longer did he take a weapon in his hands, for he had no desire. By his side, his hand rested upon the back of a Pegasus that had looked beyond the coldness of his eyes and saw a place of warmth. On his other side was a young colt, relaxing in the grass and basking in the sun's warmth to keep him comfortable as he slept. In his lap was a young filly, curled up and in a state of bliss as her father ran his fingers through her mane.
He smiled. He smiled for the birds and he smiled for the beautiful day. He smiled for his love and he smiled for his children. And despite that he had every right not to, he smiled for the two stars in the sky that shined brightly enough to even be seen in the sky during the day.
