A new evil threatens Equestria after the War of the Fallen Race
Starswirl the Bearded and General Cloud Hoof must stop a new threat to ponykind when a cult of humans begin to worship Discord. Can they save the day? More importantly, can they save themselves? Set a few years after the events that marked the downfall of mankind in my fanverse of the War of the Fallen Race. This is not a sequel to the original, more of a branch off story.
Ten years. Ten long years since the Armies of the Earth had defeated mankind at their new capital of Canterlot. Ten years since the human army had vanished off the face of the earth and ten years since humanity began to suffer from the Plague of madness that consumed their very souls. General Cloud Hoof counted every day that the Earth Mother gave him as a blessing, and every night as a curse. He would awake, bathed in sweat from the nightmares of what was consuming the humans. But not just that, he would often take his head into his hooves and force down the tears, hating himself for every human that he had killed in battle on The Day of Judgement and for every human that he had sent to their graves just for freeing himself from their slavery.
His only solace in life was his family, his beloved wife Starshine who would comfort him in time of need, chase away the nightmares with her warm touch. And then there was his heart and soul, his daughter Hurricane who had been his reason for living before the War. His little filly had grown so much in her ten years on this earth, and it was her smile and her laugh that kept Cloud from falling to salt addiction like so many other veterans. Simply put, they kept him alive, and he did what he could to make them happy. But both Starshine and Hurricane knew something haunted the stallion of the family, always on the edge of his mind and tormenting him endlessly.
Cloud Hoof was not the only one who suffered. Less than a year after the Princesses left to fight some mysterious monster, infighting and political unrest had forced the various tribes of ponies to split apart, by schism they were rent asunder. The unicorns proclaimed the capital of Canterlot as their own city, banishing the pegasi and the earth ponies from the safety of the walls. This came after Cloud's friend Starswirl, another veteran of the War with mankind, stepped down as the unicorn leader. Some upstart unicorn noble had then declared himself king and ousted any of his opponents, namely the other tribes and the other creatures that still lived in Canterlot.
The pegasi fared rather well in their city-state polis of Cloudsdale, the highly militarized society of warriors fighting off any threat that dared come within their clouded borders. But there was a problem, the pegasi controlled little to none of the ground level and were thus incapable of growing their own food. The ousted earth ponies accepted their fate almost without question, they seemed to prefer the simple life of their small villages and hamlets as opposed to the bustling city of Canterlot and could grow enough food for several nations of ponies. The pegasi had approached the earth ponies, promising protection from their wilder comrades from the war and maybe even the occasional human infected with Chaos Plague. Though attacks were few and far between, the earth ponies had no choice but to accept the deal of the mighty pegasi that still controlled the clouds and thus the rain to grow their crops.
Seeing their underhanded dealings, the unicorn nobility demanded their own share of the tribute from the earth ponies, maintaining that they could never have won the War without their magic. And who knew? Maybe some new threat could arise at any moment. And thus a tenuous agreement existed between the three tribes. It was shaky and based on might is right, but it held.
But Cloud hated the deal, it was the Ephor council's idea to bully the earth ponies into giving them food, not his. And he appealed to them often for a better solution than simply intimidating their brethren. Now was such a moment. He stood in a cloudmasonry forum building, wearing his black ceremonial armor, once again appealing to his brothers in arms.
"Gentlecolts of the Ephor council, I beg of you to please reconsider our agreement with the earth ponies. Such a thoughtlessly brutal alliance can only result in deeper hatreds than we have already created. And on top of that, none of our efforts to aid the humans have even passed a vote, why can we not set aside our political goals and simply help them?!"
An older, robed pegasus stallion with a dark grey coat stood from his bench. "Ha! General you cannot be serious about either issue. Those mindless earth ponies are happy digging in the dirt, we are the ones being generous with our part of the agreement. We already provide them with the rains to make their crops grow, it is only our good nature that gives them protection from the creatures of the wild. And why would we want to aid the demons? They are dying off if you did not know, this is our world now."
"Councilpony Storm Chaser, we must consider the humans as our fellow living creatures! We do not even know what is killing them. What will it do when it finishes off all the humans? I can assure you it will turn on us to feed on next!"
The entire council laughed at the roan red pegasus. "Surely you must be joking Cloud Hoof! The humans themselves even acknowledge that this is some kind of plague that strikes them with madness. If anything we should focus our efforts on reclaiming our place in Canterlot." Most of the council stomped their hooves in agreement. Cloud shook his head and flew away. Outside of the forum he was met by a friendly face.
"General sir!" said a friendly yet kind of serious yellow pegasus soldier.
"Sergeant Snowfall, I do not know why I even try with those ridiculous Ephors."
"Hello to you too sir. But you know what they say about pegasi, we only have three jobs. Soldier, weather pony and politician. Four jobs if you include cloudmason, but that's just a weather pony with architect skills.Those Ephors just take their job too seriously. And Storm Chaser is the worst, you know he just wants one of the open archon positions with the next council election."
"Hmph, if we didn't suffer from the curse of politics we wouldn't be having the strife with the unicorns and maybe we would finally pull our heads out of our asses long enough to help the humans."
The two armored ponies walked on the cloud streets of Cloudsdale. They reached the market square, not much of a market since they stole most of their food from the earth ponies. Various weapon vendors, armor repairs, household items and artisans had stalls here. Not much business though.
"Are you still on about the humans sir? We've been watching a few of their towns, they seem alright to me, no sign of Plague and some of them don't try to kill us when we get near."
"Good, but keep an eye on them, just in case they make some kind of move or are suddenly stricken with Plague."
"With all due respect General, I'm not here to talk about the humans. I'm here about Cadet Hurricane."
Cloud stopped dead and flared his wings. "What did she do now?"
"Well sir, she and the other cadets were all having their lunch break at the Academy, when suddenly she went wild and beat up another cadet. That colt's father is very angry with how his son looked when he came home today."
Cloud gave a small sigh, "When will that filly learn? Thank you Sergeant Snowfall, I'll take care of her."
"HURRICANE!" Cloud yelled as he entered the door to his home. "Get your little flank down here right this instant!"
The little blue filly with the fire red mane trudged down the stairs to her bedroom, clutching a snow cloud to her eye. Apparently she had taken her blows as well as given them. He pointed to the stool where she normally sat when in trouble. Hurricane groaned and sat her haunches on the well used stool.
"Sergeant Snowfall had a little chat with me today Hurricane. Care to explain yourself?"
"Sergeant Snowfall doesn't like me Daddy, he only told you Kicks' side of the story!"
"Hurricane!" he said with a slanted stare.
The blue filly groaned as she shifted the cloud between hooves. "We were at lunch and I was just eating when Kicks and his friends started saying you were a dirty demon lover!"
"What did I tell you about that word?"
"But that's what Kicks said! He said 'my dad is a better commander than that dirty demon lover ever was'. I got so mad that the next thing I knew he was crying and I was beating him up."
"We've been over this a hundred times Hurricane, we never resort to violence unless we have to."
"But Daddy, fighting is what being a pegasus is about. We're warriors, not dirty farmers or snobby elites."
Cloud calmed and shook his black maned head. "Being a pegasus isn't about fighting. Being a pegasus is about freedom, we were given wings to be free, my daughter. We just have the willingness to fight for our freedom. Do you understand?"
She nodded her head with a single violet eye looking at Cloud. "Here, let me take a look." He moved her hoof to look at her eye. Underneath was a nearly perfect black ring around her violet eye. "He must have laid a nice one on you, keep the ice on it and you'll be fine. Now off to your room, you're grounded for a week. Think about what I said about being a pegasus."
"But Daddy..."
"No 'buts', now go to your room." the filly trudged off upstairs to her room, her head hung low in personal shame.
"Well you sure handled that cadet well, General." Cloud turned to see his wife Starshine standing in the doorway, an annoyed look on her face.
"She got in another fight Star, all because one of her fellow cadets said I was a human lover."
She trotted in front of her husband, her mint green fur clashing with her white toga. "Well? Are you a human lover?"
"They did horrible things to us Star, they massacred us, imprisoned us, and made us their slaves. But I still feel love for them."
"You mean, you feel love for that one."
Cloud's gaze shifted off to the distance, "Yes, I do love him like a friend, and I miss him."
Starshine placed a hoof on her husband's cheek, "He is almost certainly in a better place now Cloud."
"I know, just about any place is better than this prison we've built for ourselves."
"Don't be so harsh on yourself Cloud, we fought for our freedom and won. We still have the time to make it right with the humans. Now, about our little cadet's punishment."
"Not harsh enough for you my love?"
"No, the air show is on Thursday, and you know how much our little girl loves the air shows."
Cloud looked his beloved wife in her hazel eyes. "Alright, I think I can be a little lenient. Just this once though, and only because I like the air shows too."
Starshine gave Cloud a peck on the cheek. "That's my stallion. We'll let her be grounded for a few days, then let her out on good behavior."
"Yes Master Starswirl!" The mauve unicorn filly dashed to the older pony's side.
The elder unicorn balanced his instruments carefully while peering through an odd magical device. "My hooves are full Clover, could you make the tertiary adjustment to upper ley-line diaphragm?" His apprentice looked at all the various knobs and viewers with confusion. Unsure of what he even asked, she lifted a hoof to turn a knob at random.
"Not that one! The red one above it! Just two clicks to the left mind you." Clover made the proper adjustment, breathing a sigh of relief that no reprimand came. "Ah! Perfect Clover, well done my student. Care to take a look?" Clover brightened and peered through the viewing devices of the obscure magical invention.
Though not his own child, Starswirl loved the filly like his own daughter, taking pride in her achievements and being there every time she made a discovery. The deep purple unicorn mage led the way in pioneering the study of magic, with Clover being his prize student. Her ideas were so outside the box and bright that he sometimes called her Clover the Clever. The old bearded unicorn didn't demand respect, but his settings did. He had an outfitted laboratory that would have made a human scientist shiver with envy, but also scratch his head in confusion.
Yes, there were the devices like telescopes, bottles of chemicals and charts of the motions of planets, but also strange and downright weird things. The partial skeleton of a dragon was suspended from the ceiling, casting a bony shadow over the various diagrams of complex runes hanging over devices of questionable magical purpose. The stone walls made it look like a mad scientist's dungeon, yet it had more of an arcane feel to it.
"Notice anything my apprentice?" the older unicorn asked.
"Hmm, there seems to be a standard deviation of about twenty degrees in temperature."
"Correct! Aha, no wonder you are my prize student!" He tussled her mane with a hoof. "You are dismissed for the day, but would you do an old stallion a favor?"
"Yes sir Master!"
"Run down to the market and gather some fresh honeycomb from the vendors, we may need it for that alchemy recipe we tried earlier, mostly for flavor mind you." The mauve filly's face squelched as she remembered the incredibly bitter potion they had cooked up earlier. "And here's a few extra bits, buy yourself something sweet Clover." he handed her a bag of bits, giving his pride and joy a small nuzzle.
"Thank you Master!" she proudly cantered out of the lab for the day. Now that she was gone, Starswirl could move on to darker and more dangerous areas of research without risking his prize student. He opened a box that was enchanted to maintain a very cold temperature, and with his magic levitated out a bloody pink mass. Placing it on the dissection table he began his examination.
Musing his thoughts aloud he wrote down notes as he examined the brain on the table. "Subject number seventy-two, intact this time. Species: human. Affliction: Chaos Plague. Managed to buy the carcass from the pegasi warriors that killed it, for once they saw fit not to decapitate or impale it."
Levitating a scalpel he made a careful incision and opened the cerebrum, "Areas of the brain mostly concerned with higher thinking are shriveled, this creature has been afflicted for some number of months, possibly up to a year. Strange, as the humans afflicted usually fight with one another and succumb to their wounds or starve to death. Still no sign of what causes the neural degeneration, I would need a normal human being to act as a control as opposed to seeing only those afflicted."
He continued to cut, "Areas of the brain concerned with sensory perceptions are in perfect shape, no sign of trauma or of infection. If this were a disease as the humans continue to say it is, it would not have such a localized effect, there would be evidence elsewhere." He set down the levitating scalpel, concentrating his magic as a probe. Though several days dead, it could still provide answers through more arcane means.
"Odd, magical probing shows...nothing. Not even residual magic. Humans have never shown magical inclinations, but a complete lack is disturbing to say the least. This may be a quirk of the individual or an effect of the advanced age of the specimen." Having learned everything he could, Starswirl incinerated the specimen. Muttering with frustration, he began to close his lab for the night.
He would wait for His coming for as long as it took. Be it rain, sleet, snow or even a dragon attack the single man would stand upon the hill overlooking his town, awaiting the coming of the Lord. Before what the Army called the Surges he had been a man of little faith, loosely interpreting his holy book just so he might have a bit of leverage getting into Heaven. But then they came, the waves of energy that destroyed mankind's power and hold over the earth. The lonely man had found a certain part of his book that guided him through dark times.
Revelations, the book of the apocalypse, it was all he believed in and all he lived for. It was all he needed. But he did not wait day after day for the Lord God, nay, the Lord had forsaken them in their time of need. The Shepherd had thrown his sheep to the wolves that stalked the skies and prowled the forests. Nay, he had forsaken God, for God had forsaken them. The man waited for the Destroyer, Leviathan. The great beast of many shapes and forms that would be their own savior and the damner of all those who opposed them. The great serpent Devil who would free them from the tyranny of those they despised.
And so he would wait, standing upon the windswept hill overlooking his own flock of foolish sheep. He would be rewarded, they would suffer for their lack of faith. Occasionally he would be visited by some of the townswomen who would bring him food or fresh clothing. They felt pity for him, so he would show them mercy when the Father of Evil came to free their souls.
Existence was starting to get boring. The same routine every day. Find some humans, scramble their brains like an egg, feed, repeat. So horribly boring. Worse yet, it was almost....orderly. Discord shivered at the word, the very thought of keeping a routine went against everything he embodied. It was his near infinite joy when he discovered that he was being pursued by the two alicorns, so much potential for fun with every step! He let them dog his trail, twisting and turning and laying false sign to show where he hadn't been.
Oh how it delightfully frustrated those two insufferably harmonious creatures! But it seemed like he laid on the cleverness a little too thick, and they actually managed to lose his trail somewhere in the Bahamas. It had been such a nice day, sipping a pina colada on the beach, enjoying the last flickering lights of a burning human village while munching on the pool boy's soul. They just showed up with no warning and tried to cast their painfully harmonious magic against him.
How rude of them! They almost got him too, that is, if he hadn't learned that he could teleport they would have gotten him. Obviously not a pair to underestimate, and how dare they try to spoil his fun! Well, not so much fun anymore so much as tedium. Discord needed a change of venue, something to liven up his little quest for delicious chaos. He tried spicing it up a little, literally. Unfortunately human souls don't take lemon pepper very well, and which one of those apes even thought of making something as gross as mint jalapeno jelly, yuck!
So now Discord drifted effortlessly over the hills and woods, come to think of it, this place looked kind of familiar. He could feel his own taint here, he had definitely been here, or around here before. Spying a castle, strangely enough, jostled his memory.
"Just those insufferable ponies. I'll come back for you later my little snacklings." He drifted north, the miles vanishing beneath his feet. Going farther and farther from the pony territory had his taint feeling stronger, swooping low would reveal the occasional human, already fed on though. With his own sick pride he could pick out individuals, remembering each and every single one with crystalline clarity.
Maybe physically killing them was the change he needed. Yeah, that must be it. A order of madness with a side of murder, just the kind of spice he needed. Or so he thought.
Drifting over unknown miles to another town he spied a solitary human sitting on an open hill. Odd, he did not remember this one. But here it stood out in the open like one of the maddened ones. Out of curiosity he drifted closer. He was confused when the human began to speak.
"Oh Lord! You have come for us upon this our day of Judgement! I am your humble servant mighty Leviathan!" the human dropped to his knees and prostrated himself.
Leviathan? Discord looked around for some kind of terrible, two hundred foot tall dragon whose territory he must have invaded. There was only him and the human.
"Are you talking to me?" the draconequus directed to the human. It was odd, though he had killed literally thousands of them, this was the first time actually speaking to a human.
He raised his head from the mud. "Yes mighty Lord Leviathan. I have assembled the masses to do your bidding Mighty One."
This was downright topsy-turvy. Every single time before when a human spotted him they screamed and ran right before he sucked out their souls. Discord felt so confused. Should he kill the human or what?
"Why do you grovel, you pitiful wretch?"
"Respect, oh mighty Leviathan! I have seen this day in my dreams, you descending from upon high to liberate our souls from this world and smite our enemies."
Well, Discord's work was done before he even got here. This creature was an utter lunatic. But that was what he liked, lunatics. This had never happened before, nothing had ever respected him. More along the lines of feared and hated him to the extreme limits, but never actual respect and even reverence. A mad smile crept across Discord's face.
"Well then my acolyte, bring forth the masses so that I may anoint them." He had enjoyed his single pet human, what delightful chaos could come from owning dozens? The human man turned back to his town, running down the hill as he shouted.
They thought he was crazy, but Ed Stewarts was right about something for once in his miserable career as a religious psycho. Leviathan had come! His attention to Revelations had not been some symptom of madness. He still had some doubt, the draconic, serpentine creature wasn't quite as big as the Destroyer he had imagined. But these miserable wretches that once looked to him with pity would see him now as the harbinger of the liberator of their souls.
He screamed his message of religious fervor up and down main street of the fortified town, a few heads poking out of doors and windows to see what insanity Ed Stewarts was up to this time.
"OUR SAVIOR HAS COME! REJOICE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!"
"God damn it Ed, we all let you go on about this bullshit, but there is no God and more importantly there is no Devil! Just the normal shit like dragons and flying horses." said a man who had come out to once again put a stop to this.
"Look upon the hill brother! See our Lord in the flesh!" Ed pointed his emaciated hand back to the hilltop. Unfortunately, Discord had grown impatient and left. "He was there, right there."
Many of the people that had gathered now muttered under their breath about how someone should take the poor fool out back with a shotgun and put out of his misery, Old Yeller style. "Ed, you've been spending too much time out there. We think you might be a little crazy."
A pawed hand grabbed the denouncer by the back of the shirt, effortlessly lifting him from the ground. "And what's wrong with a little madness?" The monster chuckled at the human who struggled and screamed.
"Demon monster! Kill it before it kills us!" he screamed.
"On the contrary, you are the demon little man." With a single touch to the head the man stopped struggling, a wave of gray passing down his body until he looked like some kind of shadowy doppelganger of himself. Discord set him down with no gentle move.
"All glory to the Lord Discord. I will serve until death and beyond." said the new convert.
"That's more like it, now my new apostle, spread my word!" Discord began to spread his evil touch, every human touched turned the shade of grey and turned on their brethren. He did not ingest their souls, that would make them as useless as those mongrel humans he had driven mad and killed as an afterthought.
No, they would keep their minds, they would serve him as weapons of chaos. Tools of his vengeance and the utter downfall of his dreaded enemies, the pony kingdoms. Discord laughed as the new members of his little following gathered up more of their own brothers and sisters to become his slaves of the mind.
King Silverhair could not be considered a tolerant pony by any means. The first of what he hoped to be a very long line of his dynasty, he was the self declared King of the Unicorns and head of the House Sirius. While most of his subjects carried scars from their War with the humans, so many years ago, Silverhair's hide remained flawless. His skill was not in battle, it was in politics. Had he not been king, his opponents would have called him a sniveling weasel, which they most likely did anyways.
And it was his skill in politics that had allowed the weak and destitute House Sirius to take control of the throne after the leaving of the Princesses. Some strategic alliances here, a military appointment there, add a dash of quid pro quo and maybe a pinch of hired swords, and voila! Silverhair had effectively silenced any opposition to his ascendancy and ensured the House Sirius as the most powerful unicorn family in Canterlot.
While the unicorns enjoyed playing their little game of Houses and thrones, the other tribes looked upon such things with disdain, considering them unfair and at times barbaric. So he did the most logical thing that a king can do, he banished them without mussing a single strand of his well groomed silver mane. What could he say? The earth ponies were on the verge of leaving anyways and were considered too dumb to properly engage in politics. The pegasus brutes were more useful outside of Canterlot, their joke of a city in the clouds providing good protection without them knowing any better. And the other creatures were just too dangerous to keep around. The very thought of sharing a street with something as uncouth as a Diamond Dog or uncivilized as a minotaur made the king shudder. So he nonchalantly had them removed, and so far they seemed content with trying to form their own nations.
Sure, Canterlot and indeed ponykind were weakened by this move, but in the end Silverhair knew it would pan out in his favor. In his mind unicorns existed as they properly should, at the forefront of the herd, with himself leading them.
Never did he imagine the amount of responsibility that a king had before he ascended the throne, all the various bureaucrats and bothersome House leaders constantly pestering him, trying to gain his favor. Normally he would have his cousin and chamberlain deal with them, but Golden Flame was out with his family in the countryside, making sure the earth ponies made good on their monthly shipments. He sat upon the throne that would normally sit Princess Celestia, but in her absence he gladly kept it warm for her. His court mage, Starswirl the Bearded, was now taking the king's audience.
"My liege." The elder unicorn bowed to his so called 'superior'.
"Starswirl, what is your report?"
"My Lord, several of the pegasus ponies that I have dealings with are reporting something odd in the outlying human populations."
The unicorn king had almost ignored the mage, thinking the humans to be nothing more than a pestilent annoyance that existed on their farthest borders. A problem for those pegasus ponies to deal with, and they seemed content with fighting the Plagued humans.
"What oddity could possibly come from those demons? A few more plagued than normal?"
"Yes my liege. They are being seen in actual numbers, not just individuals wandering in on their own! Numbers like we haven't seen since the War ended. And they seem organized, like they have some kind of plan for attacking."
The king's brow furrowed in thought, the plagued demons never organized, not after they had been defeated years ago. King Silverhair scoffed, "Impossible, you yourself say that they have no higher thoughts in those thick skulls of theirs."
"This is true my lord. But they may have some kind of leadership now, some new threat that unifies them."
"The vanished human army?"
"No my lord, those types of humans never consort with their feral brothers. If anything the sane humans are just as threatened by this. That, and these humans show no technological inclination."
The king leaned back into his throne, thinking it over. A smile spread across his face and he began to laugh. "Starswirl you old fool, is this some kind of joke? Or are you having second thoughts about giving up your chance at the throne?" the king's eyes narrowed.
"What?! No my lord! All I want is for this to be taken seriously before somepony gets hurt or killed!"
"Even if we do not have an army like the pegasi or the militias of the earth ponies, we have enough force to crush any kind of attack they may throw at us. Now begone from my sight, the heads of the House Orion and House Ursa cannot be held waiting any longer."
Starswirl shook his head, then bowed before the fool that was his king. "As you wish my liege."
High Priest Edward Stewarts collapsed from his lust. Laying in bed next to a once beautiful woman with ash colored skin he reflected on how much the Lord had rewarded his piety. Preferring the name 'Discord' over his true title of Leviathan, the Lord had made a few changes in the past few days. Most of the townsfolk had undergone his transforming touch, becoming like the gray woman that lay next to him. He had taken to calling them Acolytes, those devout souls who would follow Discord's word to the grave. They still had intellect, but no free will. Anyone besides himself and Discord that tried to order them around would either be met with a stoic stare or be hauled off for Discord to feed upon.
High Priest Stewarts had been rewarded greatly for inviting Discord in so willingly. He now could command and control all of those people that had once pitied and scorned him. Fortunately for him, High Priest Stewarts had not been touched and changed to one of the Acolytes, or worse, one of the Lost. They were the humans afflicted with Chaos Plague, the maddening disease that made once proud and dignified human beings less than animals. The Lost were typically psychotic at the sight of any living thing, but Discord's presence seemed to pacify them. Occasionally a pair of them would break out and fight each other, but they were not needed too badly.
The High Priest reached over to an iced bucket on his nightstand and popped open a bottle of cheap pre-War wine, pouring a glass for himself and this evening's Acolyte concubine.
"Care for a drop of wine my dear?" He gently caressed her grayed hair and smooth skin. She said nothing and did nothing, simply staring at the ceiling, awaiting an order. His Acolyte concubines were starting to bore him, maybe he should have some of them go out and catch some fresh converts to add to his flock. Maybe even bring in one of the prettier Lost women, they seemed like they should be an utter animal in the sack.
Shrugging at her non responsive nature he downed both glasses himself. Standing from his sheets he threw on some basic clothing, having fleshed out his once emaciated bones with the generosity of his new Master, Discord. Every night since his arrival Discord required a sacrifice to his greatness, and the townsfolk that had resisted being converted were the perfect candidates. An Acolyte sacrifice would do in a pinch, but Discord wanted them kept fresh for some reason.
The door to his private suite opened as an ashen skinned Acolyte entered without being summoned. "High Priest, the Master desires your presence and the presence of his sacrifice."
Stewarts waved away the Acolyte, donning his robes of station he was escorted by the Acolyte to the prison area where they kept Discord's meals. The old town jail, it served perfectly to hold the potential sacrifices. It was a simple joint, a front processing area with a pair of barred cells in the back. One cell had the surviving humans pinned against a wall, recoiling from the monsters in the next cell that clawed at them, just out of reach.
Discord thought it would be worth a chuckle to place a rabid pack of Lost in the cell next to his prisoners and meals, just to keep them on their toes. After that treatment, Acolyte conversions among the remaining humans were typically high. What remained were the most stalwart.
One of the remaining sane humans grabbed the High Priest through the bars of their cell. "Ed, please don't do this! That monster isn't here to save us, he just wants to use us for his own ends! He is the source of that plague, he wants to kill all of us or take our minds away like those bastards!" he jerked his head towards the Lost in the next cell.
The High Priest smacked away the begging man's hands, once he had known him as a friend, now he was an offering. "Acolytes, this one will do fine tonight." His two ash colored escorts unlocked the cell door and grabbed the man.
"NO! ED PLEASE SPARE ME! I HAVE A WIFE, I HAVE CHILDREN!" his screams falling on deaf ears. A shame he didn't know that his wife now lay in the High Priest's bed chamber, obedient to his every whim. The Acolytes gagged him and bound his hands, dragging him to the former church where Discord had taken up residence.
High Priest Stewarts led the macabre procession, leading Discord's offering through rows of Acolytes, chanting incantations of dark magic taught to them by Discord. Though their souls were weak and their incantations together barely worth that of a single weak unicorn, they filled the Chaos church with darkness, tainting the very nature of the building.
The Acolytes placed their immobilized offering on a crudely constructed altar, behind it sat Discord, languishing in the evils that he was the source of. The High Priest came forward with a dagger.
"Oh mighty Leviathan! Son of Lucifer and our Savior in this life. We mortals are humbled before your imminence, and only wish for your grace upon our souls! And for your gifts of power unto us, we give this offering of a willing man, may his blood quench your thirst and his death please your immortal power!"
Below him the bound man openly wept, his screams muffled by the gag and the chants of the Acolytes. His eyes looked to his old friend, begging for mercy, wide with fear.
"GO NOW WILLING SOUL! JOIN OUR MASTER IN SPIRIT!" The dagger plunged into the man's chest, his blood spraying across the front row of Acolytes, the crimson red staining their grayed skin. His struggles did not end, and the razor edged blade began to carve into his living flesh. Blood ran down the edges of the altar, and with a single pull the High Priest ripped the still beating heart of his old friend from his chest.
Discord leaned back in his throne of darkness, drawing in the soul of the now lifeless corpse that lay before him. A wicked grin spread across his face as he waved away his Acolytes. With another flick of his hand a pair of the bestial Lost shuffled in and grabbed the still warm corpse, hauling it back to their kennels for their evening feeding.
Throwing the useless heart into a burning sacrificial pit, High Priest Stewarts addressed his Master. Prostrating himself before Discord, he gave obeisance. "Master, has our offering pleased you?"
Discord summoned a file and began to file the nails on his gryphon hand. "Such a pitiful waste of flesh, he would have made a fine Acolyte. We will need the most skilled of them for our next move."
"Are we finally going to enact our revenge Master!?"
"Yes, we will have our revenge my foolish worm of a worshiper. Tell me, what do our enemies treasure most of all?"
"Those accursed ponies treasure their harmony with one another Master! But how can we defeat them? They are too strong in their unity! They would defeat us without a struggle if we faced them openly."
Discord felt satisfied with the condition of his claws, banishing the file with a flick. "Then we break them apart."
The High Priest's eyes grew wide with understanding, a smile going across his face. "But how will we accomplish turning their nation to their own chaos?"
"A simple feat, my Priest." With a wave of his hand six Acolytes walked into the church, dressed in all black and carrying the tools of infiltration. "When they are through with their task, we march your feral brothers into their land. And Discord shall reign!" An outstretched paw created six curved, wicked daggers edged with poison, each floated to an Acolyte which sheathed it in their belt. "Go my children of death and doom, go now and seek pony blood!"
The six Acolytes fled into the darkness, the first link in the chain of Discord's rule over this world had been forged, and he cackled as they sought their targets with unending focus.
Crickets chirped and the breeze was still in the early evening as the sun fell on the horizon. The six Acolytes looked upon the pegasus outpost with silent contemplation from their place of hiding. They had been given a simple task, break apart the pony nations. The Acolytes would succeed, failure was not even a concept to them. Phase one stood in front of them, the dim glow of torches reflecting off the armor of at least a dozen pegasus warriors as they patrolled their posts.
This post was here to prevent cretins like the Acolytes from sneaking into pony territory to cause havoc. But they did not want to sneak around. No, phase one of the Master's plan required a little something from one of the pegasus warriors. Though normally mindless and stoic, this group of Acolytes had been gifted with decision making processes to make their job easier. Without words they drew out a plan for getting what they needed without causing too much of a stir. They each nodded in silent agreement to their course of action. They selected their target, a pegasus warrior that roamed too far from the safety of his post.
An Acolyte picked up a stone, being a former baseball pitcher he used his precision muscles and careful aim to toss the stone near the warrior. The pegasus flared his wings when the stone bounced near him, startled by the sudden noise.
"Damn earth ponies must be trying to run us out again." he muttered to himself. Drawing his sword with his mouth he slowly approached the treeline that hid the Acolytes. Stopping right before the trees he thought to himself that this was an incredibly stupid idea, going out there alone.
The Acolytes saw his hesitation, then motioned for their fellow to try again. The pegasus turned back to his post when a rock struck him behind the ear. Swearing to himself and rubbing the swelling spot with a wingtip he growled back to the treeline. "Whoever is doing this is in real trouble now!" Grabbing his dropped sword he charged headlong into their trap without aid or even the thought of backup. The pegasus ran into a small clearing in the trees, looking for his assailants.
"Where are you damn it?!" Without warning several pairs of fingered hands clamped over his legs and his muzzle, preventing him from crying out for help. A quick slide of the dagger across his equine throat silenced him forever. The Acolytes did not congratulate themselves, rather they quickly began to rip out the pegasus warrior's feathers and take his weapons. Phase one had been completed, and the six Acolytes split into two groups for Phase two.
Chancellor Breezemane preferred the life of a simple pony to that of the warrior pegasi or the noble unicorns. He opened the door to his cottage home, stopping to work out a cramp when he placed his tools in their customary place by the door. Though the elected leader of the earth ponies Breezemane worked his own farm. He raised chickens and grew potatoes and carrots to help pay the tribute enforced by the other tribes. Farm life was appealing, it seemed distant from the never ending political scheming of the unicorns and the military communes of the pegasi. Sighing at their foalishness he looked at what made him happy in life.
His dear wife Soft Song lived true to her name as she hummed a gentle ballad, slowly stirring this evening's meal in the fireplace. Breezemane quietly walked up to her, placing a quick peck on her cheek as she stirred a delicious smelling stew.
"What's for dinner my dear?"
"Well for a hard working, wise and benevolent stallion there is some of my famous stew in the pot. But I'll let you know when such a stallion comes by."
Breezemane chuckled at his wife's friendly jest. "And what about for us regular ponies?"
"I might let you have some too, if you can have the children wash up for supper."
The marshmallow colored earth pony called out to his children. "Kids! Supper's ready!" His two foals Apple Sweet and Windblow came clattering from down the stairs, eager to get some of their mother's famous stew. "Woah there little stampede, let's see those hooves."
The filly and the colt groaned as they presented their hooves for inspection. Apple Sweet passed with flying colors, her dainty hooves always cleaner than her little brother's. Windblow however had a little too much dirt to be allowed at the table. "Apple Sweet, you go on ahead, but don't start yet. Windblow, you scrub those hooves again, then come and eat."
"Yes papa." the colt trotted off to his wash basin. Breezemane couldn't believe how lucky he was to have such a loving family. He wondered if the other tribes enjoyed such simple things in life like enjoying a well cooked meal with everypony they loved. Some of them had to, he had met with the other leaders before. Cloud Hoof seemed like a family stallion, but Silverhair seemed rather detached from his several children and his mostly estranged wife.
The family sat down at their dining table to eat, discussing their days and what they might do tomorrow if Breezemane could finish harvesting crops quickly enough for the monthly tribute. Laughter was aplenty and spirits were high. They finished their meal and continued to talk for hours, both adult ponies having to light some candles and lanterns after the sun set outside.
"Alright kids, time for bed. You two run along and brush your teeth. I'll be along to tell you a story in a few minutes."
"But papa!"
"No 'buts' young colt, you need your rest if you want to grow up big and strong like your papa."
The foals gave in, "Okay papa, but could you tell us the story about the dragons again?"
"Only if you two hurry along now." the two foals left the dinner table, a full day of chores and play having worn out their little bodies. Soft Song and Breezemane stayed up to talk some more, sharing a mug of hard apple cider like they normally did after a hard day's work. Breezemane decided his foals needed to be tucked in for the evening, so he quietly walked up the stairs to their room. Peeking into their bedroom, he saw no need for a bedtime story, both foals were sound asleep.
The heart melting sight was offset by a sudden crash from downstairs, followed by the sound of breaking mugs and plates. The Chancellor cantered down the stairs quickly.
"Soft Song? Are you alright? I heard a noise....NNNOOO!!!" Soft Song had a knife planted between her shoulder blades, a creature of nightmare clutching her mouth shut to prevent her from screaming. It was a human man, one of the demons he had fought years ago in the War. The gray scale man ripped the knife from the mare, letting her lifeless body fall to the floor. The demon whipped his dagger through the air, aimed straight at his true target, the Chancellor. Breezemane ducked to his left, the dagger landing with a solid thunk in a support beam. The wood around the dagger began to blacken and smoke.
Breezemane straightened himself and charged the human, tackling him in the chest. Both fell in a heap, the pony raining hoofed punches onto the monster that dared touch his wife. But the human put both of his feet onto the pony's stomach, launching him off across the room. The demon stood and spit out a bloody tooth, with a jerk freeing his dagger from the post, advancing on the fallen pony. Breezemane saw an opportunity and let it get closer, then he grabbed the poker from his fireplace, jamming the sharp end into the human's gut.
It recoiled in pain, clutching the poker with both hands. It's gaze returned to the pony, and with horror on Breezemane's face he began to rip it out, taking several chunks of flesh and a torrent of blood with it. The human only smiled as he drove his dagger into Breezemane's chest, the light fading from his eyes as his vitae fed the human's desire for chaos. With a wrench the human pulled his weapon free. He did not have much left in him, and death would soon claim the Acolyte assassin. Reaching into his pockets he grabbed a handful of pegasus feathers, strewing them about the room. Taking the pegasus sword he blooded it on the dead earth pony, intending to lay it near him. But a sound came from upstairs, like crying.
The Acolyte felt the need to increase chaos. Death and chaos went hand in hand, so he investigated the noise. Kicking down the door to the foal's room he saw the pair cringed under the same covers, hoping that their papa had come back to them. They screamed in childish terror as the demon lifted a single finger to his lips, swinging the pegasus sword to complete his monstrous mission.
Outside, the same scene played out several times, flames consuming many farms across the land and the screams of terror followed by silence. None were left to see their demonic murderers.
Though not really the most interested in his children, King Silverhair did visit them on occasion before bed. Mostly to see his pride and joy, Prince Silvergaze, his oldest son and heir to the Canterlot throne. He had a total of four children from his wife Azalea, but she preferred to imbibe salt and liquors rather than spend time with her children. It hadn't been the happiest marriage ever, like everything with King Silverhair it was political in origin. He had married her because she was the daughter of an influential head of House, they agreed to it to simply further their own gains. At times like these he envied his cousin and chamberlain Golden Flame, who loved his wife and even loved that insufferable brat of a daughter, Platinum.
After carefully tucking in his prize child, Silverhair adjourned to his private baths. He would often immerse himself for hours on end in the warm, scented waters of the marble baths, letting the heat untie the knots of stress from his day. Silverhair fell asleep in his baths quite a lot, the shear comfort being better in his opinion than sex. Normally a butler would come sometime around midnight to escort his Majesty back to his bedchambers for a proper rest. But Silverhair slept uninterrupted tonight.
Outside, beyond the walls of Canterlot, the three Acolytes sized up the challenge before them. The walls to the city were incredibly tall, and patrolled by unicorns regularly. Luckily for the extremely dexterous and agile human assassins, the walls had easy handholds nearly the entire way up. It took nearly an hour for all three assassins to claw and pull their way up while avoiding the unicorn guard patrols.
Guard patrols would come by often, the Acolytes would use the shadows to their advantage, hiding away and hurling their accursed daggers at any guards that might be around. Running along the wall the three made their way stealthily to the palace. From atop a high tower in the center of town, a herald called the hour.
"Two o'clock and all is well!"
Perfect, these idiots didn't suspect a thing. The castle was much more heavily guarded, and the assassins took their time to pick off each and every individual that got in their way. If they had a minor scuffle putting down a unicorn guard, the Acolytes would occasionally place down a piece of false evidence in the form of a feather or piece of armor. Finding a servants entrance through the kitchen, the three crept in, not sparing any servants that were up earlier than usual. Coming to the wing that housed the royal family, the assassins nodded to one another and split up.
The first crept into the queen's quarters, silently padding his way to her bed. Queen Azalea snored loud, several bottles of wine placed precariously around her bed, an occasional block of salt on her nightstand. Asleep in her drunkenness, the assassin could have brought in a marching band without disturbing her. So without ceremony he made the quick slice across her throat, her snores gurgling as crimson blood stained her sheets. He reached into his pocket and tossed a pegasus feather in her sheets. His job done, the Acolyte would retreat to outside the city walls, find a hiding place and plunge the dagger into his own heart. The cursed dagger would incinerate the corpse of its bearer, leaving no trace. But he had to provide any assistance he could to his brethren first, so he left the dead Queen enshrined by the wine bottles and salt blocks that defined her life, letting the shame permeate.
The second Acolyte took a more gruesome job, murdering the two guards that stood outside the royal nursery with a pair of thrown knives. Retrieving his blades, he silently worked the knob and opened the door to the children's wing. They slept in one common room, with the exception of the crown prince. Two little colts and a filly snuggled in their blankets as the Acolyte had to make the toughest decision of his life, which one first?
Choosing an adorable red filly, not even old enough to have a cutie mark, he began his bloodbath. Raising his dagger high, he hesitated, something scratching at the back of his mind, whispering to him not to do such a monstrous act. The Acolyte placed a hand on the side of his head, trying to drive away the feeling and complete his mission. A hand clasped him on the shoulder, the second assassin whipped around to face his new foe. The first Acolyte assassin stood there with a look in his eyes that said, What are you waiting for?
The magic of Discord overcame the human emotion, and he quickly plunged the dagger into the foal's heart, twisting the blade deeper and hearing the crunch of bone. His fellow Acolyte moved on to the other foals, determined to end this quickly. A few quiet slices had his soul weeping with shame from the deviant, monstrous acts that Discord had forced them to do. Both assassins were planting evidence when a voice interrupted them.
"No! By the Princesses no!" the crown prince stood in his night clothes, sword levitated with magic to face off against his siblings murderers. Roughly a teenager, he had some skill in martial prowess, mostly with the sword. "Come on you monsters, come and get me!" he screamed, hoping some guards would hear.
Both Acolytes leapt at the prince, their daggers moving opposite of one another, determined to end his pitiful existence. The prince swept aside both daggers with his sword, only to face enemies on two fronts. The assassins worked as a team, clumsy in their form but their intent deadly. Prince Silvergaze would parry a dagger thrust only to have to dodge another, breaking his stance. The two advanced on him, daggers dancing in the moonlight. Only his magic saved him as he levitated a second sword from a decorative placement on the wall. Blocking both as they tried a high and low maneuver he pushed the offensive, scoring several small hits on the humans. The prince took a gamble, whirling around to plant both of his hooves into the chest of an Acolyte, throwing him across the room and most likely breaking a few ribs. But he felt a sting in his leg, an Acolyte had taken a chance and made a deft cut in the prince's thigh, hamstringing him. The prince cried in pain, whipping a sword around to take off his assailant's hand, then he plunged the sword into the demon's chest, ending the miserable cretin.
As the assassin fell, his fellow stood behind him, fully recovered from his painful kick. With a flourish he threw his dagger, landing it with precision into the prince's chest. It was not needed, the poisoned blade had doomed the prince the moment it cut his leg. He fell to the floor, the light fading as he looked at the bloody corpses of his siblings, begging for forgiveness that he had not been able to protect them.
The second Acolyte had survived with no more than a couple of cuts and a nice pair of hoof shaped bruises on his chest, grabbing his fellow's severed hand that still gripped his dagger he plunged it into the fallen Acolyte's heart. Instantly the corpse began to smolder, falling to ash as the dagger worked its cursed magic. It would not do to have such incriminating evidence lying around, and he threw down a pegasus dagger and an emblem from the warrior they had killed earlier.
Meanwhile, the third assassin was having less actual luck with his most important of targets, the king himself. Creeping into the royal bedchambers he was surprised to hear movement and moaning coming from His Majesty's bed. The king sounded like he was enjoying a romp in the hay, metaphorically speaking. Silent as the shade of death itself the assassin crept up to the bed, ignoring the very embarrassing scene before him, prepared to kill an additional target. Slipping a bit more poison onto his blade he heard the exchange between the lovers.
"Call me king baby, yeah, you're my queen aren't you?"
"Mmm, you're my king tonight butler boy!" The mare and stallion giggled as they violated their king's bed.
Wait, this wasn't the king? The assassin felt confused, his magical hard wiring giving him a certain list of targets. Priority one, the royal family. Priority two, soldiers and witnesses. Priority three, himself after the completion of his mission. He could kill these two now, but they had no idea he was here plus he would have no idea where the king was and still be no closer to completing his portion of their plan.
The two giggled and moaned under the sheets, the Acolyte standing over them, dagger in hand and a look on his face that recalled the old computer problem of 'blue screen of death'.
"Wait, Mystic. I think I hear somepony out there. It might be the king!" the mare was panicking now, the assassin snapped out of his logic loop and ducked into the shadows.
The obviously servant ponies pulled the sheets down and looked around for any intruders, their eyes passing over the Acolyte in hiding.
"Relax baby, it was probably a bird at the window. The king never leaves his bath unless I come and wake his ass up. Now where were we?" The pair pulled the sheets back over their heads and resumed their infidelity. The Acolyte grinned, good things indeed came to those who waited, and the heartbeat of a mouse made more noise as he crept out of the royal bedchambers, seeking the king's bath house. He met up with the other Acolyte in the main hall of the wing, most of the inhabitants were dead, so they could speak to one another openly.
"Have you finished the Master's plan?" asked the second Acolyte, clutching his chest in pain.
"No, the king yet lives, he sleeps in his royal bath, pickling like a cucumber." he looked his companion up and down. "Do you have the strength to complete your final objective?"
"I am not sure."
"Then by the Master's will I shall complete our mission and end you if you are incapable. Do you know where the baths are?"
"The sounds of flowing water were prevalent this way." The Acolyte pointed down a hallway, the pair lighted down that way. Their assumption was correct, the feel of moisture grew on their pale grey skin, the temperature growing warmer as they approached the dimly lit resting place of the king. They spied him laying in his bath, a large marble tub flowing with steam and the powerful scent of roses. He snored loudly, the Acolyte assassins took to either side of him and plunged their daggers under an armpit, puncturing his lungs. The king's eyes shot open as he choked, not being able to breathe anymore. A scarlet wave came from his chest into the bathwater. Of all their targets, he had been the easiest by far.
The pair planted more evidence at the scene, then without congratulating themselves they took off for the outside walls before the light of day or the changing of the guard shifts ruined the Master's intended effect.
Starswirl was having a horrendous nightmare, some kind of demon monsters creeping around and slaughtering everypony in the castle. He awoke with a start, panting and coated in sweat. He lifted a shivering hoof to wipe away the drenching sweat. It had seemed so real, so close to him. He could still see the blood dripping down the lifeless limbs of the king's children, hear the screams of a familiar earth pony face. Cursing himself he stood from his bed, his old bones complaining with every step.
Going to a wash basin in his chambers he splashed some water in his face, looking into the mirror he saw age was finally creeping up on him. He wasn't a young pony when the transforming magic had come to make him thus, but the nuances of the Earth Mother's magic had made them equals to humans, including an increased lifespan. He decided this late night terror was a result of an experimental potion he and his assistant Clover had brewed that day.
"Never going to try that one again, not even if it's sugar coated." The aged unicorn slowly walked back to his bed, laying down he tried to get back to sleep. But he stayed wide awake, concerned for the royal family. "Why am I so concerned? Fine, I'll go check on them, even though they have guards to do that on the hour."
Throwing on a simple robe Starswirl left his chambers in the dungeon area, his slow pace taking him to the royal quarters. Coming up on the pair of guards that normally stood at attention in front of the Royal family's quarters, he noticed they looked slumped over.
"Hey, wake up you bums, your shift is almost over, you can sleep back in the barracks." Starswirl poked one with a hoof, his hoof coming back stained with a crimson wetness. He recoiled from the pair of murdered guards, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He looked past them and murmured to himself. "By the Princesses, the children...." Dashing past the murdered pair he charged to the door which housed the royal nursery. He didn't give a rat's ass about Silverhair and Azalea, they were a worthless pair of political miscreants, but if somepony had harmed their children....
"No...no no no no!" The children lay in pools of their own blood in the nursery. Starswirl walked to the crib of the youngest, a filly that had been barely able to walk, much less even talk. Her little eyes were open with terror, a rending cut over her heart telling the old unicorn she had gone in agony. With a hoof he closed her little eyes, wanting nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare.
He had to tell the guards, but all the ones he had seen were murdered. He had to tell somepony, so he ran as fast as his old legs could carry him to the main hall. He slowed to catch his breath when he saw two shapes in black run through a hallway.
"You there! Stop!" he shouted. He quickly gave chase to the upright forms. They were some kind of monster obviously, their path out of the castle was littered with bloodstains and the corpses of ponies Starswirl had known for years. The first signs of dawn were upon them when the creatures ran out to the wall with Starswirl not far behind. One monster seemed fitter than its companion and reached the wall first. Pulling a dagger from its belt it shoved the weapon into its own chest, hurling itself from the wall. The now lifeless corpse became a pile of ash in seconds, falling like fine snow from the castle walls. The other monster had pulled out its own dagger, preparing to do the same.
"No, you're not getting out that easily!" Starswirl's horn glowed fiercely with his magic, encapsulating the dagger and ripping it away from its owner. He then grabbed the creature with his telekinesis, holding him secure as he tried to jump off the wall. Starswirl panted at the exertion of running throughout the castle. The first rays of dawn revealed the identity of the murderer.
"A human. Why?" The human looked at him with stoic, dead eyes. Totally unlike his feral brethren, this monster was something new. Something that had effectively eliminated the entire royal family of Canterlot, and possibly put all of ponykind in jeopardy.
Starswirl levitated the human to his laboratory. He might try to get some answers out of the monster before he ripped out its intestines to hang it with for what he did to the children. He slammed the human onto an exam table, forcing magical bonds to hold down his hands and feet. Starswirl placed its strange dagger on a nearby table. He turned back to the human, the first thing he noticed was that this one was vastly different from any other human he had seen. Their skins came in many colors, white, tan, black, shades of yellow, but never gray. Even the eyes seemed like some kind of gray mirror image of a normal human. He began his interrogation.
"Who are you, who sent you?" The demon's gaze floated over to Starswirl, hatred flowing with every blink. The monster remained stoic.
"Why did you murder the king and his children? TELL ME DAMN IT!" The gray human only smiled at the unicorn's anger.
"I'm going to start counting, and every time I reach three I'll remove an inch of your hide with my teeth, demon. NOW WHY DID YOU MURDER THEM?!"
The stoic human maintained his silence. His head turned to the dagger that lay unreachable on the table, his bound hands reaching futilely for it. Starswirl could not control his anger, lifting a hoof he crushed the human's hand on the table, expecting a cry of pain as bones crunched under his hoof. The human looked at the unicorn in annoyance, then continued to futilely reach for his object of desire.
"What in the hell are you, demon? A cold soulless murderer, or just a hired blade?" He looked at the dagger, "You want that? I'll give it to you, I'll plant it straight in your heart if you want it so badly!" Starswirl grabbed the dagger in his mouth, putting his forelegs on top of the table he positioned the blade to fall directly into his heart. The gray man seemed eager for this to happen, his death filled eyes egging on the aged unicorn with memories of the murdered royal family, all of the guards and servants that had fallen under the same blade.
"Master! No!" Starswirl snapped out of his rage fueled fog. His student Clover stood in the door to the laboratory, her mouth open and her eyes watered with fear.
"Clover...." he looked at himself, at the demon monster that he had almost become, like the one he had almost murdered in cold blood. Starswirl dropped the dagger, the cold steel rang on the floor. Running to his student he threw his forelegs around her neck, thanking her for saving his soul. "Clover, you should not be here. Do you know what happened?"
"Yes Master. The guards are all saying the pegasi have murdered the royal family. Their feathers and weapons are at all of the crime scenes! I was so concerned for you Master, I came right here as soon as I heard."
"The pegasus ponies?"
"Yes Master, and some refugees from the countryside are saying that the earth pony Chancellor was murdered too by creatures with pegasus weapons."
Starswirl turned back to the immobilized human, walking to the table he was strapped to. "What is your goal? Do you want war between the pony tribes?"
The human did not respond.
Clover crept closer to the bound man, turning her head and squinting her eyes to try and get a better view of this strange creature. "Master, what is that thing?"
"It is a human Clover. Our old enemies from the War. I am surprised you did not know what it was. They are still fairly common."
Clover got closer to the stoic human. "Why is it here? Why were you going to kill it?"
Starswirl sighed. "This is the actual assassin Clover. This creature and a few of its companions murdered the entire royal family. And I would guess they did the same for Chancellor Breezemane as well. If only I could get it to talk!"
Clover looked at the human closely, scrutinizing him with her clever eyes. "He doesn't have to talk. Why don't we look into his memories?"
Starswirl was impressed by her mental clarity in such a situation. "Clover, I have known you since before you got your cutie mark, yet you still never cease to surprise me." His horn glowed with magic, he lowered it to the human's head to access his memories. Almost instantly he came up against a wall, preventing him from seeing inside. He tried to go around, but could not find a way in.
"Damn, his memories seem to be blocked off, like somepony was anticipating this. It's almost like his memories have been erased."
Clover thought for a second, her hoof rubbing her chin like Starswirl always did when trying to think. An idea burst her cloud of thought. Magic flared to her horn and she touched it to the human's head. His pale skin began to take on color in a wave of magic that spread from his head to his toes. Once complete he began to scream in pain and fear.
"Clover! What did you do?!" Starswirl shouted as he pulled the filly away from the screaming human.
"I brought back his memories with a spell that the healers use on ponies with concussions."
"Well it seems to have the side effect of changing him back to normal. Human, what is your name?"
The human screamed in agony, struggling against his bonds. "Make the pain stop!" he cried.
"Clover, get the pain relief potion from the shelf over there, quickly!" The mauve unicorn filly fetched the vial from the shelf, passing it to her master. "Human, open your mouth and drink this." The screaming human had to be told twice before he complied, reluctantly drinking the pain potion. His wracking pain from his injuries seemed to alleviate, slightly.
"Now human, tell me your name."
The man panted and gasped from his pain. "Alex."
"Alex, who sent you?"
The human's eyes grew large and he almost wailed in fear, "Leviathan! The monster of the apocalypse!" He was shivering now, possibly in fear, possibly from the pain of his wounds.
"Why did you murder the royal family? Tell me Alex!"
"Monster! I killed them all..." he was weeping now, remembering how he had murdered the young foals of the king in cold blood. "...he wants war..."
"The War has been over for a decade, why would this 'Leviathan' want to rekindle a lost cause?"
"Not our War...he wants you to fight each other...make yourselves weak...God forgive me! I'm a monster!"
Clover stepped forward to the human. "It's alright Mr. Alex, you didn't do those things. You were under the influence of dark magic."
The shivering, weeping man looked to Starswirl, "You have to stop them...north, go north...not far....save our souls." He screamed in pain again, his back arching off the table. Starswirl dumped another bottle of the potion into the man's mouth. Still he convulsed in pain, Starswirl ripped off the human's shirt to look for additional wounds, right above his heart was a small, pulsating scratch where the tip of his dagger had scratched before Starswirl had ripped it away from him.
"We have to remove the poison, Clover!"
"NO! There is no saving me...blade is cursed to kill its bearer....I'm already dead." The human was breaking into tears again. "Don't let Him succeed, save our souls. God, forgive me please." he closed his eyes, awaiting the black magic curse to take effect.
Clover looked at the dying man with pity, this was the first time she had ever seen suffering like this, much less something on the verge of death. She placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I forgive you."
The man opened his eyes and looked to the unicorn filly. "Thank you." He convulsed and began to scream, a burning heat emanating from his body. Starswirl pulled Clover away as the human turned to ash. Over on the table his dagger turned to the same fine dust as its former wielder.
"And so dies our evidence, and our hope of reuniting our nations."
Cloud Hoof sat in his kitchen with his wife and filly, eating a simple breakfast of grains and oats. Hurricane's punishment was over, her black eye healed back the her normal blue fur tone. Cloud was reading an old human book, determined to understand their culture. But this one didn't seem to match up with any of their history, probably another one of their near infinite works of fiction. Damn good book though.
"How come Dad gets to read at the table, but I can't?"
Starshine looked to her husband. "Cloud, no books at the table."
"Mhm, I'll do it this afternoon Star." he said without thought.
"Cloud!"
"Fine." he set down the book, determined to finish it sometime later, maybe check the archives to find the sequels. Whoever this 'Aragorn' character was, he knew his way around a sword and more importantly around a fine woman. Kind of like himself, Cloud liked to think.
"So I was in the market earlier this morning, some of the soldiers are saying that the earth ponies and unicorns were attacked last night." Starshine said to the occupants of the table.
Cloud spit up his mouthful of coffee, "WHAT?!? How do you know this and I, the Commanding General of the Army, do not?!"
"Gossip typically travels faster than actual messages Cloud. Besides, it's just gossip, if something actually happened we would know about it by now."
As if on cue a messenger burst in through their front door, scattering the clouds it was formed from. "General sir!" she snapped a salute.
"At ease private, what is your message?"
"The earth ponies and the unicorns suffered fatal assassinations last night, Chancellor Breezemane and King Silverhair were murdered! And the news gets worse!"
"How could it possibly get any worse!?"
"The other tribes are holding US responsible! Below Cloudsdale the militias of the earth ponies and a host of unicorns are assembling, calling for justice!"
"How could they possibly think such a thing? Private, take an order to all units, do not under any circumstance engage the aggressors!" Cloud stood flew from his dining room, up to his bedroom to don his black armor. He stopped in his kitchen again to address his family. "Starshine, Hurricane, if I can't talk this through in a few hours, I want you both to go as far east as you possibly can, take refuge with the gryphon king Grelkas."
"Daddy, what's gonna happen?"
"I don't know, let's just hope I can talk some sense into them." Cloud grabbed an old toga, tearing it into strips that he tied on a pole. With his white flag of parley he leapt from the clouds.
Landing softly between the two armies he stuck his flag into the ground. A unicorn general approached, along with a militia leader from the earth ponies. Cloud removed his laconic helmet to show his face.
"General Cloud Hoof! As representative of the pegasus tribe, you are hereby under arrest!"
"Under what charges?!"
"Murder, conspiracy to commit murder, infanticide, and an attempted political coup!"
"Impossible! My tribe would never do such things."
"General, we know you personally are incapable of such acts, but in the stead of your tribe we must ask you to come back to Canterlot to face trial."
"If it will end this madness, I will consent to represent my tribe." Cloud kicked over his white flag of parley as a pair of unicorns bound his hooves.
King Golden Flame held the honorary title of judge for this trial of the pegasi. After his cousin's brutal murder he had assumed the throne as soon as he could get back to Canterlot. He mourned greatly for the loss of his family, especially Silverhair's children, who he loved like his own Platinum. A large delegation of earth pony militia leaders and town mayors took the right side of the massive throne room. The House leaders and nobles of the unicorns took the left side. Chained and stripped of his armor, General Cloud Hoof sat dead center, representing his entire tribe.
King Golden Flame opened with his accusations. "General Cloud Hoof, you stand accused of the murder of King Silverhair and Chancellor Breezemane along with the slaughter of dozens of others around them. How do you plead?"
The massive door to the throne room slammed open. "We all plead 'not guilty'!" The entire Ephor council of Cloudsdale had come to his defense, Cloud placed a hoof on his face, thinking that this day could not get any worse. Taking a flighted position above the other tribes, the robed council ponies acted as his defense.
"I must say that for once, I agree with my fellow Ephors." Cloud acceded. "We pegasi are innocent of any crime, where is the proof of your charges?"
An earth pony prosecutor walked forward with a bundle on his back. "Here is all the evidence I need of your treachery!" He unfurled the bundle, throwing a bloody sword to the floor. "This sword was found coated in the blood of our Chancellor, next to the mutilated corpses of his children! And these as well, wing feathers from one of you pegasus ponies!" He threw down a bundle of feathers for the king to see.
King Golden Flame slammed his rod of office as a gavel. "Order! General Cloud Hoof, is this not a sword carried, without exception, by your soldiers and only your soldiers?"
Cloud looked over the weapon, "Yes your honor, this blade is of pegasus make and carry."
"Then is it not possible that one of your soldiers went rogue and murdered the Chancellor and his family?"
"Anything is possible your honor, but a single warrior going on a killing spree, murdering everypony of importance? That your honor is next to impossible!"
The king's eyes slanted. "Watch your tone General, my cousin and his children were among the nearly forty ponies that died last night!"
"Your honor, Cloudsdale has ever been the watchful protector of our lands, why would we turn on our allies and brethren?"
A unicorn House leader yelled his accusation. "It is common knowledge that you brutes resented Silverhair for removing you from Canterlot, it only makes sense that you would murder him to try and regain your position in this city!"
Storm Chaser retorted. "Silverhair was a bigot! Even if we did want back into this city, why would we bother to kill Chancellor Breezemane? That is a casualty that makes no sense!"
The earth pony prosecutor attacked back, "You both think you are so superior to us earth ponies, demanding your tributes like some kind of conquerors! Breezemane constantly fought against the tributes, I think this is some kind of conspiracy to put us in our place by both unicorns and pegasi!" The earth pony delegation stamped their agreement.
"ORDER!" King Golden Flame slammed his rod of office, resounding his call for order throughout the hall. The three tribes eventually settled. "General Cloud Hoof, I present my own evidence." From the side of the throne he levitated the dagger of a pegasus warrior and the emblem one wore on his toga. "These were found in the royal nursery Cloud, the dagger plunged into the heart of my nephew, he was barely old enough to walk, Cloud. This emblem was near crown prince Silvergaze when we found him this morning. He died fighting off an unknown attacker. Silvergaze had great prowess with the sword, and the only ponies he said that had greater natural skill than himself were the pegasus warriors. Feathers from the wing of a pegasus were found in the nursery and the bedchambers of Queen Azalea."
"Your honor, I mourn the loss of your family as much as you do. Such a tragedy cannot go unpunished, but we must find the true killers before they strike again."
"Cloud Hoof, with all evidence pointing towards the pegasi, I am afraid we must point to you as well."
"THE PEGASI ARE INNOCENT!" an elder voice shouted from the back of the courtroom.
Cloud Hoof turned to see an old friend, "Starswirl..."
"And what proof do you have Starswirl? All evidence points to a pegasus military conspiracy."
Starswirl took his place next to Cloud. "This was not the work of the pegasus ponies, nor was it the work of any pony at all!"
The whole court leaned forward to hear the mage's revelation, King Golden Flame included.
"This whole assassination was a plot by the humans! They murdered the leaders of the earth ponies and the unicorns in an attempt to turn us against one another, to weaken us!"
"Starswirl, these claims are incredible, what proof do you have that this was the work of the Demons?"
"I captured one of the assassins this morning, but he died and his body burned away. He was under the influence of extremely dark magic, possessed by some monster he called Leviathan." The whole courtroom murmured, some in disbelief, others in anger.
"And you conveniently have no evidence of this Demon assassin? Starswirl, your friendship with Cloud Hoof is well noted, how can we be sure you are honest and not trying to defend an old friend?"
"This human was different, my apprentice cast a spell of memory on him, and it changed him back to a normal human being, not a Chaos Plague monster. He claimed that this was only the beginning, that this Leviathan wanted our tribes to go to war with one another. And that Leviathan was stealing their souls and making them do horrible things."
"And where is this 'Leviathan', Starswirl?"
"The human said that he was to the north, in a human settlement. We should take action before they realize their failure to tear us apart and strike again."
The unicorn king leaned back in his throne, placing his hooves on his temples, rubbing them slowly. "Let me get this straight Starswirl, you claim, with no evidence, that a group of humans infiltrated our most secure city and murdered the old king and blamed the pegasi. Whereas the prosecution claims, with plenty of evidence and motivation, that a group of rogue pegasus warriors assassinated the king AND the chancellor and left a trail of evidence a mile wide."
"In a nutshell, that is my argument, my king."
King Golden Flame had to make a decision, find the pegasi guilty, war breaks out and untold numbers of ponies suffer and die. On the other hoof, he goes on a wild goose chase looking for a cult of humans being reigned over by some monster of dark magic, most likely finds nothing and war breaks out amongst the pony tribes anyways. Without deliberation he decided to give Starswirl a chance.
"Starswirl, I grant the pegasus ponies temporary reprieve from this court of law, but only on the condition that you personally can provide evidence of such a claim."
The old unicorn bowed to his king. "It shall be done, but I must make a request. General Cloud Hoof and some of his warriors must come with me to find these humans."
The king was taken aback, "I cannot allow such a thing Starswirl, what if they flee, what if they turn on you?"
"Then you will send some of your warriors with us, and why not a few of the earth ponies as well?" The leaders of the various delegations murmured to one another, distrust ran rife, but a possible outside threat could not be ignored. And from their oldest enemies nonetheless.
Storm Chaser landed with a soft clatter of his hooves, "We, the pegasus delegation, agree to these terms."
The prosecuting unicorn noble received a few nods from very influential House heads. "We unicorns agree to these terms."
The earth pony that had taken charge of his people's prosecution sighed. "As representative of the earth ponies, I agree to these terms as well."
King Golden Flame nodded. "Very well, Starswirl the Bearded, you and General Cloud Hoof will seek out proof of this human threat, doing all in your power to stop it if possible. You will be escorted by three warriors from each tribe. You begin your search as soon as possible, tomorrow if it is necessary. This court is adjourned." He ended the odd case with a slam of his rod of office. Ponies of all tribes began to talk amongst themselves and file out of the massive doors.
Cloud turned to his old companion. "Well, is there really a human threat?"
"It is worse than you could possibly imagine, gather your things, we have a dangerous road ahead of us."
The unicorn mage and his pegasus friend walked together after Cloud's trial. To Cloud it seemed they wandered aimlessly through the great castle of Canterlot, but Starswirl would take turns without warning his friend.
"Shouldn't we be getting ready for our journey, Starswirl?"
"We are getting ready, at least I am. Walking like this has always been calming to me, and I will need all the calm and clear thought I can get."
The red pegasus raised an eyebrow. "Well that is fine and dandy, but I need my armor back, maybe a weapon or two. And what about supplies? And where are we even going? I have to know these types of things, I'm a general for hay's sake!"
The unicorn was still deep in thought, but he pointed a hoof to a solid oaken door bound with iron. "Take what you need, and maybe just a little of what you want."
Cloud pushed open the door with a heave, inside lay gleaming racks of only the finest weapons and armor. Every make and style of armor, gold burnished plate mail that guards wore sat next to exquisite Diamond Dog crafted steel chainmail. Rack upon rack of longswords, maces and even several heavy crossbows. And of course in a corner lay his own black armor and his cheap, mass produced pegasus weapons. Starswirl nudged the younger pony. "Close your mouth before you start catching flies."
To a warrior like Cloud Hoof, this was like stumbling on a dragon's hoard with the dragon already slain. Grabbing an appealing sword he tested the heft, maybe just a half ounce heavy on the pommel, but still the finest weapon in this armory. A quiver of javelins and a short spear joined his pile of loot. Though his armor choices were mouth watering, Cloud stuck with his own armor, a pegasi's legacy was recorded in his armor. Every scratch and scrape was a tale of battle and a badge of honor. Besides, this was the armor he was to be buried in, or pass on to his heir.
Starswirl looked at Cloud's choice of weapons, looking at the sword tore wounds in his heart. "I know this blade Cloud. I enchanted it myself, the bearer's courage will never fail in battle as long as he bears this blade."
"Who was it meant for?" asked the pegasus general.
Starswirl fought back the pain, "It was meant for Prince Silvergaze, to be given to him on his next birthday, a gift to show he had become a stallion."
Cloud looked at the exquisite blade at his hooves, it indeed seemed fit for a prince. Besides the excellent workmanship, the grip was laced with gold and pearl inlay, in the pommel lay the emblem of House Sirius, the cluster of stars with the dog star central among them. "I am sorry Starswirl, I did not know." He moved to place the sword back on the rack.
"No Cloud, you keep the blade. Silvergaze would have been honored to have his sword born by such a noble and honorable stallion."
Cloud placed the sword into his armor harness, "Then I shall bear it in his name, and avenge his spirit." He placed a hoof on Starswirl's shoulder, "We will find whatever is causing this, Starswirl. We will bring justice to them, and nopony will die because of it."
Starswirl looked his old comrade in the eye. "Why do I doubt that?"
"Do not lose faith in harmony Starswirl, we will prevail over these agents of chaos, and I will fight to my last breath to see our tribes have peace and harmony. Come now, gather your weapons, we have some humans to find." The pegasus general turned from his friend and walked out of the armory, carrying his chosen weapons to his provided quarters.
************************************************
It was time, Cloud rose from his uncomfortable feather mattress and began to strap on his armor. Though supposed to be the ultimate comfort, a feather mattress had nothing on a proper cloud formed bed. With breastplate on Cloud used his prehensile wing tips to strap on his spears and buckle his sword belt. He then placed on the coup de grace, his helmet. Based on an ancient human design, it had a horsehair crest on top with metal cheek plates. He looked at himself with a small chuckle, this was what humans considered intimidating? He remembered shaving his own mane for the hair to outfit this helmet. Other than that he had more sharp objects on him than a porcupine and more metal than a human war machine. Quite the intimidating persona, if he didn't collapse of exhaustion from carrying all of it. Making a last minute decision he dropped his quiver of javelins in a corner, throwing a light pegasus round shield on his back instead.
He trotted to the appointed meeting area, the predawn light shrouding the courtyard of Canterlot castle as he looked at his traveling companions. Three of his own brethren, armored as he was, carrying their spears with grim familiarity. Starswirl stood with his three chosen warriors, dressed in his flowing blue robes with bulging saddlebags. His soldiers were the gold armored unicorn guards, lightly armed with weapons, but armed to the teeth with magic.
Oddly enough, four earth ponies stood with them instead of three, all armed with short swords and crossbows. Cloud recognized his earth pony accuser from the trial. He gave a short nod and proceeded to join his soldiers, who gave crisp salutes for their general. As a group the party of twelve warriors walked to the gate to be met by their loved ones.
Cloud saw with hope that Starshine and Hurricane had not fled in fear of their fellow ponies, but came here to see him off. All around him ponies embraced their family members and close friends. Starshine kissed him deeply and without bar. Breaking away slowly she whispered to her husband. "Come back bearing your shield, or come back on it." Cloud Hoof gave her another kiss in response, never wanting to leave his beloved. Cloud turned to his daughter, kneeling to see her eye to eye.
"No matter what happens Hurricane, I will never stop loving you. Never forget what it means to be a pegasus; but more importantly, never forget what it means to be a pony."
Her violet eyes were moist with concern for her father. "Dad..." a single tear slid down her cheek.
Cloud raised a wing and brushed away the tear, "Don't cry Hurricane, I'll always be with you here." With a hoof he pointed to her heart. King Golden Flame himself approached the gate, waiting for the warriors to finish their goodbyes. Cloud stood to listen to the unicorn king.
"My fellow ponies, we stand upon the brink of chaos. A great wrong has been done to us, a horrible deed that threatens to tear us apart. But know that whomever has done this to us has sealed their own fates, for we ponies are strong! We are strong because of the love we hold in our hearts, for the unity that binds us. And now our enemy will quake in fear, knowing he has only brought us closer together! You twelve warriors stand as a beacon of hope for ponykind, your unity and strength of heart will carry the sword of light to strike at the heart of darkness. I task you to find this demon threat in the north and show them what we can do when ponies come together!"
Hooves stomped their applause, the armored ponies placing on their helmets as they began to march out the gate. Cloud donned his laconic helmet, but noticed Starswirl had not yet stopped saying goodbye to a mauve unicorn filly. The heavily armed and armored pegasus placed a hoof on his friend's shoulder. "Starswirl, we must go."
Starswirl talked to the filly, giving instructions as well as goodbyes. "Remember to recalibrate the ley line scanners everyday Clover. And don't touch the cooling box. I will miss you so much Clover, if I do not return, always remember to think with your mind and your heart."
"Yes Master Starswirl." He gave her mane a tussle, then joined his armored companion. Together they exited the front gate of Canterlot to find the hiding place of the murderous Cult of Chaos.
*******************************************
Their walk was mostly silent, the extreme discipline of every soldier prohibiting idle chatter. The near exception was the crossbow bearing earth ponies. Being only militia, they broke their paired formation often and had to be reprimanded by their leader nearly on the hour. Cloud could almost set the time by it.
"Snowy, back in line!"
Six times since this morning, must be around noon. Cloud was getting tired of staring at the tail hairs of the unicorns in front of him. Starswirl had the best knowledge of the humans of any of them; thus, he led and his three warriors followed close.
The twelve companions passed farms and villages of the earth ponies. Though they worked their fields diligently, many of the farmers had a look of unease about them. Some even stopped their work, staring mostly at the pegasus ponies in the middle of the column. Many farmers had swords strapped to their waists or crossbows leaning against a doorframe. Cloud knew that these simple farmers and villagers held him and his tribe responsible for their suffering, for the murder of their beloved leader.
And now he would march to the ends of the earth to change that view, to bring the true killers to justice. And the wounds of mistrust would not be healed if they did not talk to one another. Cloud slowed down to walk with the earth ponies.
"So, I never did learn your name sir." he addressed his accuser from court. The tan earth pony muttered something under his breath. "Sorry? I didn't quite catch that."
"I said 'flutter off fly-boy'."
The pegasus general felt hurt, and cantered to the front of the column to speak with a pony he knew would be much warmer.
"So Starswirl, how have the years been?"
"I do not feel like idle talk Cloud."
"Come now, if we ever want to heal the rifts between our tribes, I think the first step would be to talk to each other."
Starswirl glared at him from the corner of his eyes. "Like we did with the humans?" Cloud's mouth clamped shut, this unexpected hostility catching the pegasus in a moment of hypocrisy. He fell back to his own trio of soldiers. Cloud never really was a social pony, but now he felt the need to chatter like a squirrel.
"Wedge?"
"Yes general." replied the pegasus soldier to his right.
"How is the family?"
"Sir?"
"You heard correct soldier, I want to hear about your family."
"Sir, yes sir. My wife left me recently for another stallion in my platoon. My son isn't doing so well in the Academy and can't seem to get his wings about him, custody of my colt is mostly on my wife's side, though I get to see him every other weekend, sir."
Oh for the love of the Earth Mother! Cloud was annoyed by the shear amount of bad luck and negativity coming from the twelve companions. "Well Wedge, I'll see what I can do about appealing to the judge to grant you a little more custody."
"Thank you sir."
Cloud viciously clamped his jaws down on his own tongue, hoping to stop the infernal organ from doing anymore damage. Hours passed, at least six by the count of 'Back in line' commands by the earth pony leader. The twelve ponies walked the dusty road to the frontier, not as distant as it would be in the coming years. The earth pony farms and settlements seemed different the closer they got to the protected border. They seemed more unwelcoming, if possible, and more paranoid.
Earth pony farmers slammed their doors shut as the small column marched by, locking their windows and calling their foals inside. More than one earth pony was actually seen standing on his hind legs, toting his crossbow in his forelegs, standing guard over his homestead and his family, waiting for the next attack by the debated enemy. The tan earth pony ran to the forefront of the column.
"Stop!" He had stopped them in front of a farmhouse. "I want the general to see this."
"What is the meaning of this interruption? We must be at the border fort by nightfall!" Cloud interjected.
"I'm not lifting a hoof until you see what happened here."
Cloud stood firm, but seeing the look in the pony's face he conceded, "Fine, I will submit to this one transgression." He and the still un-named earth pony trotted to the farmhouse, leaving the rest of the warriors to rest for a few minutes. The tan pony pushed open the door and grimly beckoned the heavily armored pegasus inside.
It was a travesty, shattered plates and bowls covered the ground. The kitchen table was overturned and a pair of dried bloodstains decorated the floor. This was definitely a crime scene, though the corpses had been removed and interred in the earth. Swallowing the bile in his throat, Cloud asked the earth pony, "Who lived here?"
The tan pony blocked the stairs in the back, preventing Cloud from going there. "Chancellor Breezemane called this cottage home. I was the first one to come here in the morning. I wanted to check on him after so many other farms had been burned to ashes." the pony choked back the pain, "I found that damn pegasus sword up these stairs, next to his children. They suffered General, the monster took pleasure in making those innocent foals suffer. I can still hear little Apple Sweet laugh, but I still see her eyes frozen in fear as she tried to protect her little brother. She was like my own filly."
Cloud placed a wing on the other stallion's shoulder. "I cannot tell you how much pain I would feel if I lost my little Hurricane. And I could never say that I understand the pain of somepony that has, but I would never do anything to put my family in danger. And I would never put somepony else's family in danger."
The agony of loss defined the face of his comrade, "I know you would never do such a monstrous act General, and I only want to bring justice to the monsters that would."
"Come on, we will discuss the next stages of our journey when we reach the border post."
*****************************************
The sun's fall and the sounds of early evening touched everypony as they trudged into the border post that marked the current extent of the pony nations, separating them from the wilder, more untamed lands where the humans dwelt. The pegasus ponies could have made the trip in just a few short hours with their wings to bear them, but they walked to keep pace with their unwelcome traveling companions. Cloud led the way into the post, saluting his troops. Sending the rest of his pony companions to the travelers boarding house he entered the commander's office. A solitary pegasus sat behind his desk, writing a missing ponies report when he noticed the entry of his general.
"General sir! We were not expecting an inspection at this hour."
"At ease commander, we're here on more serious business than a simple inspection. Are you aware that the entire unicorn royal family was assassinated and the earth pony chancellor as well?"
The commander of the post looked shocked, "No sir, we heard that the unicorns and earth ponies were upset about something. But not something that serious!"
"None of that matters now, we have obtained certain intelligence that says humans are responsible for these actions. And that these humans came from the north, most likely right through here."
The commander looked at his report, "That could explain this. General sir, a few days ago one of the guards left his post and never returned, do you think that the humans had something to do with it?"
"It is possible, the king and chancellor were both found with the weapons and feathers of one of our warriors near them."
"General Cloud Hoof sir, there is something else you should know. The demons are showing more signs of movement in the past few days. We've actually seen the plagued ones moving in packs, like they were out hunting."
"Damn, and we have to go into that territory."
The commander's eyes grew wide, "Sir, I would not enter demon territory with any less than a full legion of soldiers. My entire command is going with you."
"No, stealth is required for this mission. And if you abandoned your post to chase humans with me, they might take advantage of the hole in our defenses and attack."
The commander settled, "Of course sir, I will send a missive back to Cloudsdale to request reinforcements, just in case they do try something."
"Excellent commander, I take my leave for the evening." The commander snapped a hoofed salute, Cloud returned it.
**************************************
Cloud slipped the heavy pegasus armor off his shoulders, using a wingtip to try and rub out the soreness and chafing. He could have taken private quarters for visiting officers, but he chose to stay with his companions. Even if Starswirl and his still yet unnamed earth pony companion refused to try to heal the rifts, Cloud would be damned before pony forsook pony. He walked through the doorway separating the barracks from the mess, as he predicted the ponies were separated by tribe, his warriors in the corner, eating their standard staple of grains and oats. The unicorns sat in front of the fire, each one reading from a complicated looking spellbook while taking bites of hay. The earth ponies sat roughly in the middle, their eyes shifting between the other pony tribes as they took their supper.
Cloud grabbed a bowl with his wing, walking to the hearth he scooped out a helping of stew from the kettle. And to the surprise of his warriors, took a seat with the unicorns. "Evening everypony."
The three unicorn warriors glared at him from the corners of their eyes, not trusting or liking the pegasus. Starswirl did not pay any attention, the old unicorn sighed as he stared at his spellbook.
"Starswirl, I am sorry for whatever I did. Please forgive me. Please, just talk to me."
Starswirl looked up from his book, his eyes were bloodshot, deep bags that seemed almost hidden by his vibrant purple fur. "It is not you Cloud, this is something that plagues me and me alone. What they did tears wounds in me, and rips open old wounds from the war."
"Starswirl, I do not know how unicorns deal with such pain, but amongst pegasi we talk to our friends to alleviate our sorrow and regrets. And even to find a shoulder to weep on if needed."
The old unicorn ran a hoof through his mane, sighing. "It's White Dawn. I still remember her, ten years after those...those demons took her away from me. And now they come back to tear away everypony that I love again. I couldn't save her ten years ago, and I couldn't save the royal family days ago. I hate them Cloud, I hate those motherless demons with every shred of my existence, but you say we have to give them another chance, try to help them."
"If we let them suffer and die without cause, we become no better than they were. We become the very monsters we rebelled against for our freedom. And I for one have seen the good in their hearts, I know they can become our friends if we show them something other than hate, fear and repulsion."
Starswirl's head shook, "Not all of us had the privilege to be held prisoner by the humans, much less get the chance to talk to one on equal terms."
Cloud chuckled, "I wouldn't exactly call it 'equal terms', the first time Dr. Patterson and I talked, he tried to give me a carrot and pat me on the nose while saying 'There's a nice pony.' I told him I wasn't the fondest of carrots." The unicorn warriors were breaking their stoic facade, small smiles creeping up the corners of their mouths as they tried to hold in their snickering. A light grin even crept up Starswirl's face.
"So what is with our friend over there? My old prosecutor."
"Him? He's normally just a lawyer for some of the pony villages, must have joined the militia a few years back. He took your case because Chancellor Breezemane's wife was his cousin."
"I understand that part, but what is his name? I can't go on a journey, fighting side by side with him just calling him 'you', 'hey' or 'tan earth pony with the waterfall cutie mark'."
"You don't know?" Starswirl glanced at his warriors, who all now had big grins on their faces, stifling their laughter. "If you didn't know that's probably why he didn't tell you."
"Well, what is his name for hay's sake?" Cloud'e eyebrows came together in annoyance.
Starswirl and his warriors were laughing openly now, "It's Sunny! Sunny Brook! Ha ha ha!"
"Sunny Brook? Isn't that-"
"Indeed, a mare's name!" the old unicorn was stomping a hoof on the table, laughing enough to where he had to catch his breath. Cloud took a chance and glanced in Sunny's direction. The earth pony was red with embarrassment and rage, his fellows continued to eat their stew, used to his oddity. Cloud stood and walked over with his bowl of stew. Sitting down with the earth ponies, he cleared his throat.
"So, um, Sunny, I was wondering how a pony could even use a crossbow with such efficiency as yourselves."
The tan pony glared, "Practice, now go migrate south, bird brain."
Cloud faked a laugh. "Ha, funny. Bird brain, cause I have wings like a bird..."
"That's the joke, feather head."
Cloud shifted uneasily, tapping a hoof on the floor. He took a slurp of his cooling stew, he nearly spit it out with how hot it was. "So, these soldiers know how to make a good stew eh?" One of the earth ponies shrugged. Damn it! He had to find a way to get them to trust him, if they didn't somepony was likely to get killed out there in the human territory.
"So Sunny, I can kind of see how you got your name. The Sun is a very powerful force, heck, the humans even say that the Sun created everything, including the Earth. And a brook, well, um....brooks are very pure in nature, sign of purity and true oneness with everything."
The tan earth pony stared at Cloud, wondering what kind of salt he had licking tonight. "Are you completely serious?"
Cloud nodded, his black mane shaking. "Yup."
"HA! Never looked at it that way 'General'. You are really that desperate for my approval? Alright, I'll tolerate you and your feather brained brutes. But I still don't like you."
"That's all I needed to hear." Cloud stood with his ever present stew, going to sit with his own warriors.
The ranks of the Cult were great, but the Master required more souls to accomplish his task. Dozens of the ash skinned Acolytes presided as his cultists and handlers of the less savory members of the cult. The beast like Lost, the humans who had fallen victim to the mind altering, soul stealing madness that was caused by Discord, their Master and defiler. Though little more than cannon fodder, the Lost caused chaos in their own delicious way. Along with a few Acolyte handlers, dozens of the Lost would descend upon human villages and farms, violently tearing apart anything living that got in their way.
The Acolytes would prevent the maddened creatures from killing potential new converts; anyone who went willingly would be converted into more Acolytes, those who fought either died or served as sacrifices to Discord. Though chaotic and perversely divine, the discord caused by the expansion of the Cult was limited to the territories of the humans. Their lands burned and their souls fed the monster of darkness that sat at the center of the cult. But Discord had given his Acolytes specific instructions, no forays into pony territory. Not until those wretchedly harmonious creatures fought one another and made themselves weak. Until then, his army could only grow more powerful, but at the same time, become more of a powder keg.
High Priest Stewarts walked around the Lost kennels escorted by his pair of Acolyte guards. He never went here willingly, it just happened that the ever growing and expansive kennels were on the way to just about anywhere in town. He lost count of the amount of rabid, sub human creatures that now had to be crammed into their cells. And still more trickled in every day! At one point Stewarts had asked his Master how many of the creatures he would need, and how many they actually had around.
"You would ask such a question, wouldn't you? You humans are always so delighted by numbers and math. But let me tell you a little something High Priest; numbers are harmonious, numbers represent order, numbers never change!" The mad monster reared back his gryphon paw and gave the human a slashing back hand across his face. It threw him across the room, the only thing breaking his fall being an unfortunate pair of Acolytes. Those poor bastards probably had broken ribs and several bruised organs, but they did not feel it, they served the Master until death.
The High Priest placed a hand on the still warm wounds that had scabbed over. The triple set of claw rends cut across his right cheek. He never was a vain man, but he thought the scars might seem a little intimidating, and that pleased him. He had grown complacent in his power, and word of the Cult was spreading amongst the remaining human towns in the area. Sometimes a raiding party would enter a town to find it completely deserted; the sane, unaltered humans having caught wind of what was happening and fled. Other times the Acolytes and their Lost rabble would find organized resistance, and when backed into a corner some people fought like wild cats, often the Acolytes had to retreat and regroup here, then take a massive force of Lost to wipe out the resistance. The prisoners always managed to fill the holes in the Cult's ranks.
Doing a quick calculation, the High Priest guessed there to be around five thousand Lost crammed into those kennels, with around three hundred Acolytes in town at any given time. The Lost were what made this place a powder keg, only the influence of Discord kept them from their normal psychosis and pacified them. If Discord decided to leave, who knew what could happen? And it was just that, influence. Not control, just influence; if two of the Lost somehow broke free of his pacifying influence for just a moment, they would tear each other apart and the survivor would either go on a rampage or kill himself. Which with Lost outnumbering their Acolyte handlers several dozen to one was happening more often as more Lost filtered in from the wilds.
Stewarts enjoyed his power, limited as it was. He served as little more than a ceremonial figurehead, cutting out hearts at sacrifices and leading the incantations of dark magic. But he could safely order the Acolytes to do his bidding, and in doing so could have the Acolytes extend their own limited control over the Lost. He enjoyed his luxury, having his servants fetch whatever he wanted. The only reason he came to the Lost kennels today was to select some raiders.
"Acolytes, take some of our feral brothers and find some fresh flesh for my bedchamber. I heard there was a mostly untouched town near the border with the pony territory with plenty of nubile young women. Bring them here alive and unspoiled."
The pair of Acolytes simply stood, one of the few times they actually defied him. "What are you waiting for? Go on now!"
"Your order conflicts with the Master's orders. We are to go nowhere near the territory of the enemy."
He fumed at this obstacle to his lust. "It is not that close you buffoon! Besides, after I process the new converts, the Master will be pleased with the additions to his flock." Pleasing Discord was the one thing that could override anything in the Acolytes tangled hardwiring.
"It shall be done, High Priest." The pair unlatched a gate, letting out a dozen of their maddened brethren to mill about and mutter to themselves.
The High Priest saw this basic lack of discipline, looking around he spotted three more Acolytes that actually had experience in raids. "You three, join them! You know how I like my new converts, fresh and unspoiled!"
Cloud fell from the skies wearing his armor, a javelin clutched in his mouth. All around him lightning danced and the roars of human weapons deafened the pounding of his own heart. Releasing his spear he let it fall spinning through the back of a human soldier. Quickly he pulled out his sword as his falling hooves crushed the skulls of a pair of humans standing together, firing their dreaded weapons at his friends and allies. All around him other pegasus ponies did the same, throwing their spears and killing the human army with the dance of their blades. Cloud looked at their corpses, these were not soldiers, not like he knew. These were just people, not the demons of nightmare. He lifted his own hooves, stained crimson by the blood of those humans he slaughtered in battle, he saw the faces of the families that were broken, the children that would never see their fathers or brothers again. Their blood was on his hooves, and it would remain there forever.
"Cloud Hoof." a voice called from the abyss. Without thought Cloud assumed the voice to be of his wife Starshine, who would regularly wake him to chase away the nightmare. He reached out with his forelegs and wrapped them around his wife. It was only after the warm pony in his clutches began to struggle that he actually opened his eyes. The face of Starswirl the Bearded was forcefully and uncomfortably close to his own. "Let go of me you great oaf!" He obliged, lightning quick his hooves left their assumed position around the unicorn and curled against his own chest. "Is that how you pegasus ponies greet each other in the morning?"
"I'm so sorry Starswirl, I thought you were my wife."
"You bothersome dope, you were talking in your sleep. I was trying to wake you up when you grabbed me and hugged me to your chest!"
Cloud uncovered himself from his sheets and stood, stretching out his muscles. "Well then, I should have warned you. I have night terrors, and typically my wife wakes me up from them."
"Hmph, judging by what you were saying, you still have dreams about the Day of Judgement."
"How did you know?"
"Remember Cloud, I was there too. What was it you said last night? That when pegasi feel pain and regret, they talk about it with their friends. I don't think you've talked this one over."
The pegasus sighed, "You're right, and I won't."
"Cloud, I never fully forgave myself for the way we slaughtered the human army that day, but each day I see as another day to redeem myself just a little more. And the first part of that day is to confront the nightmares and say 'You won't control me.'"
"It doesn't control me, it just makes life a living hell." Cloud stared absently out the window, the dawn mist being burned off by the first warm rays of sunlight.
That morning the pegasus general didn't bother with his not so subtle diplomacy, just eating a simple breakfast with his own soldiers, then going back to his room to don his armor and weapons.
Though he was done in minutes, he had to wait for the less than professional earth ponies to finish their breakfast and grab their supplies. The rest of the party waited outside of the barracks, fully ready to dive head on into the vague borders of human territory. Sunny Brook and his crossbow ponies came out together, joining the others. Sunny cantered to Starswirl and Cloud, ready to discuss their path. The group took off for the wilds, passing the wooden palisade that separated pony territory from the lands where humans dwelt. The three leaders took the front.
"Glad you could join us Sunny."
"Don't call me that, please."
"Fine, how about Sun? That seems fairly inoffensive, right Starswirl?" The old unicorn nodded, not really caring what his companion chose to call himself.
Starswirl cleared his throat, just like before one of this lectures in Canterlot. "Now then gentlecolts, the humans we are after are different from your normal humans. Unlike any race of human I've seen before, they have completely gray skin and features."
"Are they like the plagued ones that wander in occasionally?"
"No Sun, these humans are intelligent, and wickedly so. Think of them as some kind of midway between a normal human and a Chaos Plague human."
"Can't say I've ever met a "normal" human, Starswirl. Sure, I fought in the War but I never set down my spear to have a chat with one of them."
Cloud interrupted his companions. "I did Sun. If somepony hasn't told you already to try and humiliate me, I was a prisoner of the humans. They are easily frightened and will act in self defense if pushed too far. But other than that they are just like us ponies."
"What if we encounter some of the more "normal" ones?"
"Then we either keep our distance and ignore them, or we try to talk to them if they are not hostile in appearance." Cloud reasoned.
"And the plagued ones?"
"No helping those humans, kill on sight." muttered Starswirl. It was a harsh reality, but the other two ponies had to agree. Chaos Plague humans could no longer be considered human at all, and one of them would go out of his way to harm them.
"You know, it seems kind of foalish to just walk into this forest without knowing what's ahead. Wedge, Jet Stream! You two dull your armor and scout ahead, report back on the hour, every hour."
"Yes sir General!" The pair of pegasi saluted and took off northward to scout for danger.
*****************************
The pair of pegasus warriors drifted over the forested wild lands, their sharp eyes scanning through the branches to seek out any threats. So far so good, Wedge was not seeing anything except a few squirrels and some deer. Jet Stream drifted close and bumped the warrior. Looking at Jet, the other pegasus nodded forward. Looking forward instead of down, Wedge saw the forest end very abruptly. Massive fields stretched out, farmhouses dotting the landscape. But something was not right, many farms billowed with black smoke as the buildings burned. Jet Stream signed to Wedge in the aerial sign language used during scouting, he wanted to land and investigate.
Wedge signed back to his gray and white dappled companion, roughly saying that they should turn back and tell the General. Jet Stream beckoned Wedge over to a large cloud where they could land without detection.
"Wedge, we need to see what kind of danger is down there before we tell the General that there is danger!"
The rusty red pegasus retorted. "Jet, what if we manage to get our sorry flanks killed down there? Then the General would just waltz straight into this!"
"We have to report back on the hour, if we didn't show up General Cloud Hoof would know something was wrong, pigeon wings."
Wedge growled at the insult, "Fine, we do this your way. But don't be surprised when demons come out and shove a thunder weapon up your muzzle." The pair dove down to the nearest farm, the main building still smoldering in the late morning light. Both drew their swords, ready for a demon attack. Nothing came.
Sheathing his sword, Wedge began to look at some of the tracks around the house. All human tracks, hard to say how many. Tracking wasn't his specialty, that was Crosswind's job, and he was still back with the General.
"Jet, how many humans typically live together in a family group?"
"Do I look like an anthropologist? I don't know, maybe about four or five from what I've seen before."
Wedge scrutinized the tracks around the house. "Because it looks like at least a dozen of them came through here. Maybe more. We really need to tell the General and get Crosswind out here to see this."
Jet Stream nudged one of the tiny metal cylinders that human weapons spat out; it lay in the dust, surrounded by blood with human prints all around it. "Wedge, this wasn't some random attack, this was human on human violence."
"Why would they attack each other? I thought they were all busy just surviving."
"That old unicorn is starting to sound a little less crazy with every second." Jet Stream shivered at the thought of the humans becoming violent and erratic like this. The pair walked to the still standing barn, swords drawn as they pushed open the door. It creaked open on rusty hinges, inside it looked like a normal barn. Bales of hay stacked up in a loft, tools hanging from the rafters and a general dustiness that came with such an atmosphere. A large metal machine sat in a corner, though it had not moved in over a decade through lack of fuel. Swords leading, Wedge and Jet Stream searched every nook and cranny of the oversized barn, looking for any sign of the attackers and maybe some sign of the defenders.
Wedge sheathed his sword, convinced the barn was clear. "We should get out of here Jet, we only have a few minutes before the General said we should report in."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jet Stream said. The pair started towards the door when a sound had them both on full alert. It was a tiny sound, like a whimper or a squeak. Both pegasi had their wings flared and their swords ready as they stalked towards the old machine in the corner, the source of the sound. Wedge looked at Jet, motioning for him to remove a tarpaulin that covered the machine. Standing back, Jet grabbed the tarp in his mouth and yanked it off. Wedge prepared to swing at whatever was underneath, but held back when saw it. It was a human; a very small human. It looked at the pegasus with terror filled eyes as it cringed into the corner of the barn, awaiting the death blow.
Jet had not yet seen it, "What is it Wedge!?"
"Jet, calm down and put your sword away, it's just a child." Wedge sheathed his own blade, slowly approaching the human child. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. Shhh, calm down, there's nothing to be afraid of." The boy cringed and whimpered as the pegasus got closer. Wedge couldn't really say for certain, but he guessed this poor defenseless child was no more than four or five years old. His freckled face was covered in ash, streaks running down from where he had been crying. His sandy blonde hair looked burnt in places, and the child had an injury on his leg, likely from his attackers.
"What do we do with him Wedge?"
"I don't know Jet, the poor thing is frightened out of his wits. You report back to the General, I'll stay with him."
Jet Stream looked disapprovingly at the other pegasus. "What if his parents come back and see you here? They'll tear your heart out for touching their young."
"Humans aren't like wild animals Jet," Wedge leaned close and whispered to his companion, "Besides, I think he's probably the only survivor, the poor boy."
"How can you keep calling that thing poor?! It's a demon Wedge! The things that we fought against for our freedom!"
Wedge grabbed Jet's breastplate with his hooves, pulling him close. "It's not a demon damn it! It's just a child, alone and scared! Now go back to the General and get everypony up here as quickly as possible!" He let go of Jet Stream, the other pegasus stumbling backwards. Composing himself, Jet took off out the door and took to the skies. Wedge turned back to the human child.
It whimpered when he got closer. "I won't hurt you, don't be frightened. I'm Wedge, what's your name?" he asked as gently as possible. The little boy stopped trembling as violently, not sure whether to trust this strange creature that his parents told him was bad. Wedge looked at the wound on the boy's leg. "Does that hurt? Let me look at it." He creeped just a little closer, extending a wing to brush against the wound. He cringed when the delicate wing tip brushed his leg, Wedge got a closer look at the wound. Five long bruises, shaped roughly like human fingers, with scratches on them. Like a human had grabbed ahold of this poor child and tried to drag him away. Wedge pulled out a roll of gauze from his saddlebag and his canteen. Dabbing some water on his wingtip, he washed the wounds carefully.
With military precision Wedge wrapped the gauze around the injury, not too tight, not too loose. "There, not the best job, but I think you'll be okay." The pegasus removed his helmet and saddlebag, placing them on the straw covered floor. Wedge lay down on the floor, taking a drink from his canteen. Wiping it off, he placed the canteen within reaching distance of the child.
The child looked at the canteen with want in his eyes. Wedge nodded to it, "Go on." Very quickly the canteen was emptied, the child greedily slurping down every last drop. He retreated back to his corner after finishing, still frightened of the talking, winged horse in front of him. Wedge extended one of his wings and began to carefully preen himself, straightening any out of place feathers and plucking any that needed to go.
"Are you one of the Bad Men?" The child's sudden break from silence forced Wedge to accidently rip out a feather. Wedge sighed as the perfect, rust colored feather landed in the straw. He looked up at the child inquisitively.
"Who are the Bad Men?"
"They come at night, they hurt us. Mommy says they are Bad and she wanted us to go away."
"What do the Bad Men look like?"
"They're big and scary, with gray skin. They came with the crazy men and took Mommy and Daddy away." The little boy was on the verge of another bout of crying.
By the Princesses, everything Starswirl said is absolutely true.
"I'm not one of the Bad Men, they hurt us too, and I want to stop the Bad Men." The little boy edged closer to the pegasus.
"Are you a superhero?"
"A what?" Wedge raised an eyebrow at the strange word.
"A superhero, you fly and stop the Bad Men, like a superhero from Daddy's old comic books."
Wedge tossed around the thought in his mind. "I guess you could call me a superhero. But my name is Wedge, what's your name?"
"I'm Noah, hi mister Wedge." he put out a little hand. Wedge was unsure what to do, so he extended a hoof, gently shaking his hand. "Mommy says not to talk to strange people, but you're a pony, so I think that's an exception." Wedge smiled. This human child reminded him of his own colt; friendly, a bit timid, but warm and welcoming after you gained his trust.
"Mister Wedge, I'm tired. But if I sleep the Bad Men might come and get me."
"I won't let that happen Noah, the Bad Men will have to go through me first." The child lay down in the straw next to the pegasus, closing his eyes and getting comfortable. Wedge felt the need to protect this innocent creature, and without regret he draped a rust colored wing over the sleeping child. Like he had with own son when he had nightmares.
Wedge felt a nudge at his shoulder, opening his eyes he realized he had fallen asleep on the barn floor. It was only made worse by the fact that the one poking him was the General.
"Fall asleep on active duty, Corporal Wedge? Normally that's KP for the night, but since we are in strange territory with no kitchens around, I'll forgive it this once."
"General sir!" Wedge snapped to attention as best as he could without standing.
"What's the matter? Break a leg? Where is this human child Jet Stream was yelling about?" Wedge carefully lifted his wing, underneath the human child lay curled in a ball, snuggled up against Wedge. "Well then, I see you've made a friend."
"Yes sir. I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. He was helpless, scared and injured."
"Don't get too attached Wedge, we can't take him with us."
The rust colored pegasus stood. "We can't just leave him here General! What if the evil humans come back for him? What if he can't survive on his own?"
"And if he comes with us he will be in greater danger than ever before."
"General, please. He said that the gray humans didn't kill his parents, they just took them. We have to help them sir! You yourself always talk about how we should help the humans, how we need to be their friends! This is our chance to help them sir."
General Cloud Hoof was caught, sighing he gave in. "He's your responsibility Wedge. If anything happens to him, the blood is on your hooves. Crosswind has the trail of the humans that took his parents, we're moving out in five minutes."
Private Crosswind was said to have some Diamond Dog blood in his veins. In a good way of course, he had tracking skills unmatched by anypony he knew, some even said he must have the nose of a hound. And the way he tracked was like a hound, face nearly touching the dirt, scrutinizing every bent blade of grass and every out of place crumb of dirt.
Undoubtedly the best tracker in all of Cloudsdale, and that was his claim to fame. One of the earth ponies had also taken up tracking the human raiders, an orange furred crossbow bearer by the name of Brawny. Brawny put Crosswind to shame almost as soon as they got on the trail.
"Fifteen of the Chaos humans, five of them being the gray ones. At least twenty prisoners, all went this way about twelve hours ago." Brawny said while barely looking at the ground.
Crosswind was supremely annoyed by this earth pony who was tarnishing his good name. "No, try fourteen of the Chaos humans, one of the prisoners is just injured."
"Oh yeah? How many female humans smart pony?"
Crosswind bent his muzzle to the ground, sweeping with sonar like precision. "Hard to say, around twelve of them, four of the Chaos humans excluded."
"Crosswind is it? I'll bet you that it's fifteen Chaos humans and twenty prisoners. Fifty bits or my left hoof!"
Fifty bits! This pony was serious, that was more than the army paid Crosswind in two weeks. "Alright, you're on." Crosswind smiled, spitting into his hoof he held it out for the earth pony. Brawny gladly spit on his own hoof and shook.
"Will you two cut it out? This is dead serious business here! Lives are at stake!" Shouted Cloud Hoof.
"Yes sir General!" Crosswind resumed tracking the Cult raiding party. The rest of the party marched forward, Cloud Hoof and Starswirl not pleased at all with the pace and the delays. Every second they wasted was a second the Cult had to get stronger.
"Do you think we'll be able to take this little raiding party Starswirl? They are more numerous than us."
"Bah, numbers have little meaning here. We have courage and justice on our side, and as a bonus: actual trained warriors. The bulk of their party are Chaos Plague victims, hardly a challenge if they don't scare the wits out of you."
"I'm not worried about them, a few slices with the sword and they are down. I'm worried about the Grays. If only a few of them did such damage in the castle, what is facing an army of them like?"
"I do not want to think about that Cloud." the old unicorn shuddered at the thought of those gray monsters in human skin.
The twelve ponies, plus the human child on Wedge's back, galloped onward to hopefully close the distance before the Cult party could reach safety. Wedge seemed overly protective of the child, even going to the point of cleaning him up after they found him. All the better, Cloud thought. If a human and a pony could trust each other like this, maybe there was hope for peace between their races. And if they hurried, maybe a chance to reunite a family.
Acolyte Simms marched his prize of twenty prisoners like a slavemaster. Which he technically was until they basked in the never ending glory of Discord's touch. Though not the assigned leader, Acolyte Simms took over the position of leader, carrying his rifle and whip with authority. He and the other four Acolytes were given the simple task of capturing more potential converts, and keeping those subhuman dogs from breaking loose from Discord's influence.
In their "natural" state, the Lost never felt fear or pain. The damn creatures were just as likely to kill themselves as kill anything around them. Acolyte Simms noticed one getting a little antsy around one of the prisoners, flicking his wrist he lashed out with his whip. The Lost cretin snarled in pain, in its pacified state some level of cognizance had been restored to him, and he actually feared the lash wielded by his intelligent cousin. The cretin dropped down to all fours and paced like a dog near the prisoners.
The marching prisoners stared at the gray human. A middle aged man pushed his way closer to the Acolyte. "Why are you doing this? We're humans for Christ's sake, not some group of ponies in human skin!"
The Acolyte stared at him, pulling the bullwhip from his belt again he threw it over his shoulder and brought it down on the prisoner. The man cried in pain, but Acolyte Simms was not finished yet. He continued his flurried attack of whip cracks on his chosen example, only stopping after the man lay whimpering on the ground, a bloody mess that leaked his vital essence in the dust.
"This wretch is but an example of those that defy the Master. Does anyone else wish to question us?" The remaining humans quivered and wept, eyes wide at the monsters that their old brethren had become. Acolyte Simms took their silence as a "no". As an afterthought he unslung the rifle on his shoulder, ending his 'example' with a careless shot to the chest. Several of the prisoners screamed, silenced quickly by the snarls of the Lost. "Brothers, we make camp here tonight."
"We cannot be delayed Brother, the High Priest waits for us." Another Acolyte stated flatly, as if he could state it any other way.
"The High Priest ordered his converts to be fresh, he will be displeased if they are half dead with exhaustion when we return."
"You know we only obey the High Priest because the Master enjoys his pet."
"The Master would be displeased if he heard your blasphemies, Brother." The Acolyte cringed at the thought of displeasing Discord.
Acolyte Simms ordered a fire to be built, having the Lost ring around the prisoners as they sat down. The subhumans looked hungry, and there happened to be a pile of fresh meat laying on the ground. Simms gave the order for them to feed. He had to, if he didn't the damn Lost would just starve themselves to death. The horrors of the cannibalistic feast would be burned into the minds and hearts of the prisoners until the day they died.
"General sir? Did you hear that?" Jet Stream said with both ears perked.
Cloud shivered at the sound that brought back so many horrible memories. "Thunder weapon, not too far ahead of us."
Cloud glanced at Crosswind and Brawny, "Do you two think it is the ones we hunt?"
"It is possible sir, the direction is right, but what would they stop to shoot at?"
"It doesn't matter, we are gaining on them. Wedge, you're the fastest flyer, leave your friend with us and scout ahead. Stick to the clouds."
The rust colored pegasus gently set the human child down and prepared to take off, Noah grabbed him around a leg. "No! Don't go!"
"I'll be alright, stay with the General and I'll be back soon." The boy let go reluctantly, and Wedge took to the skies.
The sun was setting when he returned with his report, Noah had taken a shine to Starswirl, and the old unicorn seemed to reciprocate.
Cloud saluted the corporal. "Report?"
"General, at least fifteen of the Chaos humans, five of them being the Grays. Only nineteen prisoners though." Wedge sweated and swallowed. "There were twenty sir, the shot we heard...they murdered one for the Chaos Plague humans to feed on."
"You mean?"
"Yes sir, they're cannibalizing the unaffected humans. We've got to stop them."
"How far Wedge?"
"Three miles, their town is another fifteen miles to the north."
Cloud shouted to the rest of the group, "Everypony gather to us! Wedge, draw the enemy positions as best you can."
The rusty pegasus traced a rough sketch of the Cult camp, labeling where the prisoners were and where they expected the enemy to be. "Alright everypony, here's the plan. Those humans have thunder weapons, and they are completely unmatched at a range. Sun, you and your crossbow ponies sneak as close as you can and kill the priority targets, the Grays. This treeline should be close enough to their camp to allow for us to get the drop on them." The yellow earth pony nodded at the plan. "Starswirl, you and your unicorns go for the prisoners, protect them at all costs. My warriors and I will deal with the rabble once the Grays are down. Remember, the prisoner's safety is priority number one, is everypony clear?"
"Excellent plan General, with one exception. There are only four crossbows at our disposal, and five Grays. If we killed all four of his fellows somehow, the last one could do untold damage before we could reload." Sun said.
"Leave him to me. Maybe a prisoner of our own would do us some good." Starswirl said.
"Alright, we hit them quick and hard. Now move out!" The twelve ponies galloped towards their targets, who lay unaware of the impending attack.
The sun had fallen hours ago, the only light visible being the blazing fire of the Cultists. The twelve warrior ponies watched the gray humans patrol around the prisoners, the Chaos Plague humans standing stark still, sometimes twitching or muttering to themselves. Cloud waved the unicorns and earth ponies closer to whisper the plan.
"Alright, Sun, you and your warriors see what you can do about dulling your fur. Starswirl, once Sun and his archers are in place, you and your unicorns place a shield around the prisoners. That will be the signal for your archers to fire Sun." Cloud turned to his three warriors, "Wedge, Jet, Cross, we're going defensive. Hind legs phalanx, one rank deep. I'll take center."
The three warriors nodded as the earth pony archers silently crept through the brush and trees to take their position and choose their targets. Cloud reared up on his hind hooves, placing his foreleg through the loops on his shield and gripping his spear in his open fetlock. His wings flared behind him to provide some balance to the ungainly pegasus. His warriors did the same, going shoulder to shoulder to make a shield wall with their spears resting on top. Movement was hard on their hind legs, Cloud wondered how the humans managed to do this all day. They would just have to march forward and thrust with their spears, about all they could do with this stance.
Cloud noticed the subtle movement of leaves in the earth pony's position. Drawing in his breath, he let it out slowly and gave the call of a nightingale. The Chaos humans looked up from their various evildoings, be it feasting on flesh or resting on the job.
The plan was going well, the humans barely suspecting a thing....
"Daddy! Mommy!" Noah ran out from the tree line, his small form running straight to the prisoner humans. All the Grays snapped out of what they were doing, the Chaos humans rushing to attack.
"NOAH!" Wedge broke the shield wall, running into the clearing to protect the child from these monsters.
"WEDGE! Buck it! EVERYPONY, NOW!" In haste several crossbows twanged their response to the General's order. Two of the Gray's stumbled and fell, not nearly enough. Three horns glowed in the dark and with a hissing noise, a forcefield dropping around the prisoners, separating them from the Chaos humans who clawed and snarled at the magical barrier.
Cloud and the two pegasi still in formation marched forward as another volley of crossbow bolts brought down two Chaos humans and another Gray. Lifting the spear in his fetlock, Cloud slammed it on his shield as a challenge and a taunt to those that still stood. The maddened creatures charged, screaming their lust for blood.
Cloud thrust out with his spear, catching a Lost on the shoulder. It clawed at the spear, nearly wrenching it from his grip. He pulled back, bashing the cretin in the skull with his shield, crunching bone and breaking it's neck. Jet and Cross held their own, fighting the enemy to their front and defending the pony to their right. One of the Chaos humans flanked Cloud from his left, swinging a rusted kitchen knife. Cloud moved his shield to block, barely deflecting the blade from his withers. Cloud whipped around to impale a mad human, only to have it explode in flames. The beast writhed in pain, swatting the magical fires as it fell to the ground.
Two of the unicorns stood back, only one needed to maintain the shield around the prisoners. Horns glowing with magic they hurled balls of fire at their adversaries, catching many ablaze.
"Pegasi, BREAK!" Crosswind and Jet Stream dropped their shields, pulling out their swords with a metallic rasp and breaking the ungainly phalanx formation for the ease of movement that came with four limbs on the ground. Cloud took a chance, dropping his shield he lobbed his spear at a still standing cultist. It pierced through his gut, coming halfway out his back. When he fell, Cloud reached to draw his sword, but instead saw something peculiar. When the cultist died, the Lost around him clutched their heads and screamed.
"The gray ones are the handlers....THE GRAYS ARE CONTROLLING THEM!" Cloud shouted. Several of the plagued humans now fought wildly against anything that moved, especially one another. One Acolyte handler still stood, clutching the child with a knife to his throat, and soon the plagued ones were back under his influence and advancing on the broken formation of pegasi. The Acolyte raised a hand, and the attack stopped. The Lost clawed at themselves, eager to sate their thirst for chaos.
"Hold your fire!" shouted Cloud. The four crossbow ponies advanced from the trees, walking on hind legs with crossbows aimed at the demon's chest. Their fetlocks were steady as they curled around the lever to fire. "Let the boy go, demon, and we may spare your life!"
The wicked man tightened his grip on Noah. "Foolish pony, the Master will prevail against your wretched race! We will watch this world burn under Discord!"
"Give it up! We have you outnumbered, now let the boy go!"
"My death will mean little, this pitiful creature's death even less so. I am an Acolyte of chaos, servant of unbalance and disharmony. Your pathetic attempts to save yourselves and the lives of our converts are hopeless. You cannot stand before our tide of darkness! These Lost souls stand as testament to our Master's might and reign over this world." He looked to the feral Lost, scorn in his voice of the feral humans.
Starswirl appeared next to Cloud, Cloud whispered to him. "What do we do? If we get any closer, he'll kill the boy."
"I have an idea, just keep him distracted Cloud." Starswirl began to shift out of the Acolyte's line of sight, preparing a magic spell.
Cloud turned back to the Acolyte. "Your Master is nothing. I'll wager that he is nothing more than some puffed up, slothful, unwashed, perverted, detestable hog of a human being! And I've seen your kind try things like this before, your pathetic excuse for some grand plan of world domination. You'll fail, oh yes you'll fail. Your little plan won't work because you humans always collapse in on yourselves; every time one of you rises, three more will come to rip you down!"
The Acolyte quaked in rage at the insults, not the ones at himself, but the insults to Discord. "You will suffer greatly for your blasphemy!"
Starswirl had snuck to the point where he needed to be. "WEDGE, CATCH!" His horn burst with arcane energy, teleporting the child from the Acolyte's grasp and onto Wedge's back. But he was not finished, Starswirl used the same teleporting slipstream to put himself inches behind the confused Acolyte. He rammed his glowing horn into the human's lower back, concentrating on another spell.
The Acolyte was unable to react quickly enough, and color spread into his face and limbs, liberating him of Discord's enslaving touch. The freed man fell to his hands and knees, panting and gasping. The Lost around him screamed into the night, free of the influence of Discord. Starswirl powered up a lightning bolt on his horn, blasting away the three nearest cretins. "Finish the rest damn you!" he screamed to his companions.
A few slices of the sword and clicks of the crossbow had all the insane humans put down. The unicorn maintaining the force field let it down with a sigh of relief. The freed human prisoners looked apprehensively at their saviors, only two of them rising. "Noah! Get away from those monsters!" shouted a woman.
The child climbed off Wedge's back, running to his mother. "Mommy! Mister Wedge said you were okay, and he made the bad men go away!" Wedge took a few tentative steps closer to the humans.
"Are you alright m'am? Did they hurt you?"
The woman recoiled with her child. "Stay away monster! You won't harm my child!"
Sun snapped at the ignorance, "Preposterous! If you didn't notice, we just risked our lives to save yours!"
Cloud blocked the angry earth pony with a foreleg. "Sun, calm down. They've been through quite a bit in the past few days, and indeed the past decade, they're just frightened." He turned his attention back to the humans. "We do not mean you any harm, we are here to hunt down the source of these creatures." His hoof nudged the impaled corpse of an Acolyte.
The former Acolyte stood and coughed, still panting from his magical purge. "I'll tell you everything. But on one condition."
"And what is that, cultist?"
"I don't serve them anymore, and all I want is to live. Spare me and you get all the information you need."
The three pony leaders glanced at one another and nodded. "We can guarantee that we will not harm you, but we have no say over them." Starswirl pointed a hoof at the humans that were still orienting themselves.
"Good enough for me. The ones you seek call themselves the Cult of Chaos. They worship some monster called Leviathan, like out of the book of Revelations. They think he's the incarnation of Satan himself. The gray people are called Acolytes, and they have some kind of influence and control over these...Lost." He kicked the corpse of a Chaos Plague victim.
"Why are you telling us this, human?"
"Because I hate the Cult! Nobody willingly becomes an Acolyte, Leviathan reaches into your mind, he twists you and makes you do things. He makes you a husk of what you were, but he leaves your soul to watch the sins that your body commits. Everything the Acolytes say about Leviathan bringing the world back under human control is a pack of lies! He doesn't care about us, he only wants to use us for his own ends!"
Starswirl pushed the interrogation. "What ends?"
"Darkness, man. He wants to make the whole world his maniacal plaything. But he hates you guys for some reason, like you did something to royally piss him off. He keeps saying something about 'the creatures of Harmony', then Leviathan gets really angry and typically kills a few Acolytes. So through his order and the High Priest's order, we had to keep refilling the gaps that his tirades and sacrifices left in the Cult, hence the raids."
"Why do you control the Lost? Aren't they diseased and infectious?"
"That's the thing! We didn't control them, Leviathan controlled them through us. If one of us dies then the Lost under our influence go mad and kill everything. Like they did after you freed me. And they don't seem contagious at all. But after Leviathan feeds on one of us, we become one of the Lost."
"This Leviathan is the source of the Chaos Plague?"
"In all likelihood, yes. But I think I know a way to stop the Cult, but it will cost you."
"Name your price." Cloud said.
"Absolute insurance, my little pony. After you guys leave these people over here are likely to tear me apart for being a cultist. I want full assurance that they won't."
"How are we supposed to provide that?"
"You are apparently so smart, you figure it out." The former Acolyte edged away from the freed humans, who were trying to find their location on a map from one of the dead Acolytes. Several of them were scavenging weapons from the corpses, including a few guns. The armed ones placed themselves between the ponies and the humans.
Starswirl, Cloud and Sun all huddled together, "We could just leave him, maybe he's just pulling our legs about stopping the Cult."
"Not likely Sun, I know how much the purged Acolytes hate the Cult. One of them told me how to get here in the first place!"
"If he hates the Cult so much, I think he would just tell us how to stop them without expecting payment!" the earth pony retorted.
"Let's just humor him Sun, what can we do to keep his brethren from tearing him apart?"
Cloud considered for a second, "What if we armed him? They would be much less likely to attack him if they knew he could fight back."
"But then he might turn on us!"
"Damn, you're right. Even if he is purged of the dark touch he still might harbor resentment against us ponies."
"I won't, I just want to be free and get as far away from Leviathan as possible!" the human shouted, obviously hearing the heated debate.
The ponies turned back to their private discussion. "Starswirl, do you think you can teleport him?"
"How far?"
"I don't know, a few miles maybe? Enough for him to get a random head start."
Starswirl considered for a second, "Yes, I think I could, he is just one person."
"Then there we have it." Cloud turned back to the former Acolyte. "Alright, we'll teleport you to an unknown location, but only if you tell us how to stop the Cult!"
The human had fire in his eyes as he shouted. "STAB THE HEART! CUT THE HEAD OFF THE SERPENT! Destroy the weak link, and the chain that is the Cult with shatter!"
"What do you mean!?"
"Leviathan! Kill Leviathan and the Cult will collapse like a house of cards! Now send me away!" Starswirl's horn flared with mystical power, with a flash the human disappeared to a location chosen by the unicorn mage.
"Well, now we know. Kill the monster at the head and the Cult will destroy itself. How do we accomplish such a herculean task?"
"I don't know, but even if we stopped this raiding party, the Cult still grows stronger every second we give it."
"More reason to press onward. Ponies, we move out!" The three leaders turned their gaze back northward, their soldiers filing in behind them. All except for Wedge, who still stared with pain in his heart at the reunited human family.
Though his wife still held the extreme prejudice against the ponies, Noah's father walked to the pegasus warrior. Uneasily he extended a hand. Wedge placed his hoof in the man's hand and shook it.
"I know humans like me aren't supposed to talk to you, old hatreds and all. But... thank you, friend."
"It was nothing, I hope you would have done the same for me. And as for Noah, any father should be proud to have such a loving, smart, and wonderful son. He reminds me of my own colt."
The human man smiled. "May God smile on your most holy of missions, and may our sons grow up to live in harmony together."
"May the Earth Mother grant you open skies, and smile upon you, friend."
The freed prisoners had their bearings, and together began to walk southward, towards their ravaged homes. The man joined his people. Noah looked back to the pegasus, smiling he waved. "Bye Mister Wedge!"
Wedge raised a hoof and waved back, a small smile creeping up his helmeted head. "Goodbye, my boy."
Impatience was getting the better of both of the Cult leaders. Discord enjoyed making his pets do his dirty work, and the sacrifices brought a whole new aspect of corruption to his tedious task of wiping these monkeys from the face of the earth, gore. Sweet delicious gore. He enjoyed how the sane humans screamed as their vital essences were torn from their bodies as an offering to none other than him. Flattering to say the least. And the way the blood would always shower the front row of Acolytes was artful, and they say the artful soul always had a touch of madness.
"If the artful soul is touched with madness, I must be walking masterpiece!" Discord chortled. The Acolytes continued their chants in front of him, doing their pitiful magics. It provided the illusion of permeating darkness throughout his church, and nothing more. But it gave those apes something to do while he plotted his next move against the ponies. One of the Acolytes gasped hard and fell to the ground, dead from the exhaustion of chanting nonstop for several days on end.
"Oh, that's right, you creatures need "rest". You are all dismissed." The Acolytes stopped their chanting, rising from the pews to take care of bodily needs and to rejuvenate themselves. Discord was alone for the first time in days, and thus alone with his wild and crazy thoughts.
In his crazed mind a miniature draconequus popped into existence, appearing on his right shoulder. The little Discord was wearing, oddly enough, a business suit like a human. "Discord, how shameful. This quarterly report is an absolute disaster in terms of our expected quota!" A miniature chart hovered next to the business like phantasm, showing a very obvious drop in the past few weeks in terms of profits.
"Don't listen to him, dude. We're doing fine the way we are." Over on Discord's other shoulder an equally small draconequus sat, dressed in a leather vest and wearing a headband. "We're like, totally doin fine bro'. Stay the course."
"Who the blazes are you two?" Discord said to the imaginary draconequui hovering near him.
"Isn't it quite obvious darling? I do declare that we are figments of your joyfully overactive imagination." a tiny Discord sat on his hoof, dressed in some garish pink dress while sipping what looked like a mint julep.
"Am I really that crazy?" the real Discord asked himself.
"You're durn tootin there pardner!" Said another of the Discord phantasms, dressed as a cowboy, six shooters and all.
"Alright little Discords, why are you dressed like those insufferable apes out there?"
Another of the creatures came into existence with a poof, dressed shabbily and in need of a good shave. He walked up the real Discord's chest, limping on a cane as he moved. "It could be a symptom. When was the last time you were out of the country, did your father have any genetic disorders?" The crazed little doctor pulled a tiny pill out of his pocket and slurped it up with his serpentine tongue.
"A symptom of what? And what country am I even in?"
"Hell if I know." answered all of the ever increasing micro avatars of Discord.
"Like I was saying, it probably is a symptom." said the tiny doctor.
"Of what? Start making sense before I start taking some of those pills the humans eat to treat psychosis."
"You wouldn't do that pardner. 'Sides, then what fun would you be anymore?"
"Indeed dearie, they probably wouldn't work on you anyways."
The doctor Discord cracked the cowboy and the belle over the heads with his cane. "As I was saying, it's a symptom of boredom."
"Boredom! Please doctor, say it isn't so!" Discord swooned, placing a clawed paw on his forehead.
"Snap out of it! Fortunately this a very treatable syndrome. Here, let me write you a prescription for some Vicodin, you'll love 'em, trust me."
The business Discord appeared behind the doctor's head, grabbing around his horns he twisted, snapping the phantasm's neck. "Narcotics won't fix our situation, Discord. Now, if you'll take a look at this chart, you'll see we've suffered an almost ninety-five percent decrease in our gains per month, causing this 'boredom plateau' here." With a claw he referenced his ever present line graph.
"That was a bit harsh, killing my doctor like that. He really was a handsome fellow."
"For the last time, we aren't real!"
A puff of smoke drifted from the side, Discord looked over to see the beatnik version of himself with redder eyes than usual. "What really is 'real', man? Are we all just a part of some great story, subject to the every whim and idea of some all powerful storyteller or writer?"
All the imaginary Discord's stared at the beatnik. Discord summoned a fly swatter, smacking the figment of his imagination.
"This is all very entertaining, but could you please cut to the chase?"
The professionally dressed draconequus cleared his throat. "As you can see, since the day you started your 'vacation'," he threw up air quotes, "We haven't been getting enough souls! Sure this little vacation is a lovely respite from your normal schedule, but it simply isn't efficient enough to keep going at this rate."
"What? That can't be right, how many was I consuming every day before?"
The tiny Discord crunched some numbers, summoning a calculator. "Anywhere between five hundred individuals to three hundred thousand, depending on the population density. Ooh, with a standing record of five hundred thousand."
"Gotta love New York baby." Discord stopped to receive the accolades and applause of his various insane apparitions. "And how many have I been consuming lately?"
This time the suited figment took no time to calculate. "Two."
"Two hundred?"
"No, just two a day."
Another Discord popped into existence, wearing gray sweats with a cigar in his teeth and a sweat rag over his shoulders. "Come on Dissy ya bum! Ya gotta eat souls and crap chaos! You're a lean, mean, human exterminatin' machine!"
"By all that is unbalanced, have I really been that lenient lately?" All the phantasms nodded and grumbled their agreement. "I got so bored consuming all those souls, all those delicious, tasty, easily reachable souls."
All of his imaginary clones began to lick their chops, mouths watering at the thought of a fresh human turned to chaos, and the more the better.
"Oh that does bring back delightfully chaotic memories. But that still does not explain why you are all dressed like humans!"
The various Discord incarnations began to disappear in puffs of smoke, "Something about all those human souls you've been chomping down on, their memories and such are bleeding over into your mind."
"Any way to stop it?"
"I'd personally try consuming more souls, but that's just me." The suited Discord vanished, bringing the real Discord back to reality. In front of him stood the High Priest, looking extremely confused.
"What are you looking at?" he snapped at the less than savory human.
"My Lord Leviathan, one of our raiding parties has not returned from their mission."
"And this concerns me...how?"
The High Priest shifted uncomfortably. "My Lord, there were five of our most experienced raiders in that group, if they haven't returned yet, something has definitely gone wrong. And whats more, our spies report that there is only a little increased chaos in the pony territory. I think the two are connected."
Discord pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head at the despicable creature that he (for some reason) let live. "Once again, you are too lucid to be around me. Go smash your head on a rock or something until you make a little less sense. Maybe enjoy your petty 'sins of the flesh' with some more barely mature females. And yes, I know about that."
"But my Lord! We needed those Acolytes, especially the potential converts! We are barely able to control the Lost as it is, we need all the influence possible to keep this place from exploding!"
"No 'buts'! Head. Rock. Smash. NOW!" The High Priest shuffled out of the church of Chaos, wondering how big of a rock he needed. Discord sat back on his throne, wondering if he really should go back to the way he normally did things. At least then he didn't have to deal with idiots like High Priest Stewarts.
"By Celestia's rainbow mane..." The twelve ponies lay crouched on a hill overlooking the human town that had become the hiding place of the Cult. They always thought the human fortress of Stronghold was the polar opposite of their citadel of harmony at Canterlot. They were dead wrong, this place had to be the greatest concentration of hate and chaos on the planet. Black smoke poured from several buildings, Acolytes slaving over various projects. Hundreds of them trained on simple weapons like swords, spears and daggers. But they were only the minority, literal thousands of the Lost milled about town. Sometimes a scream would come from the town, only to be quickly silenced.
"They look like they are preparing for war. Starswirl, if the king ever had any doubts about your claim, this is enough to vindicate a thousand royal assassinations."
The ponies crept back to the safer side of the hill, quietly discussing their next move. "What do we do!? We can't get in there without being seen! If that human wasn't lying to us, Leviathan should be in the very center of town, through thousands of monsters that would tear us apart!"
"The first step is to stay calm Sun! We just have to go back and get reinforcements from our tribes."
"Not a chance Cloud, by the time we got back this army could be hot on our tails, burning down all of ponydom. It would be far too late to warn them then." Starswirl retorted. "We need to think of a way to cut the head off the serpent. If we kill Leviathan then this whole army will dissolve. But how do we get to him?"
"We could fly in and try to get the drop on him." Jet Stream suggested.
"Not a chance if he is in a building, we need to find out where he is first!"
One of the other unicorns thought of something. "We could magically destroy the entire town! Level this place like hail on wheat stalks."
"The human said there are prisoners in there, we can't kill innocents. Besides, it would take hundreds of unicorns to have enough power to destroy this place." Sun replied.
"GAH! We should have brought that entire legion with us! Stealth won't even help us here, only a full sized army could take this place!" Cloud threw his helmet on the ground, mussing the horsehair crest.
Starswirl had a look of secrecy on his face, like he knew some way in. Cloud noticed and got closer to his old friend.
"You look like you know something, Starswirl."
"Forget it, it's just some experiment of mine. It would never work in a thousand years."
"And why not? What is this experiment that it can't possibly work when we may have no other options?"
"I said forget it Cloud!" Starswirl turned away.
Cloud gave a winged leap over the unicorn, landing in front of him. "No, not when it might work!"
Starswirl growled, "Fine, I'll tell you what it is, then you can judge how terrible of an idea it is!"
"Just so long as you stop keeping our possible salvation to yourself!"
"Hmph, my assistant Clover and I discovered early on that we magically have the ability to change something's very form. We toyed with the idea for weeks, changing rocks to logs, squirrels to hawks, deer to dogs, and so on. But then we got the thought, if we can transfigure other objects, why not ourselves? Clover and I enjoyed our little game, she enjoyed being a sparrow for a few hours and I made major headway in magical research."
"And what does this have to do with us getting into the Cult hideout?"
"Quiet Cloud, one night after Clover had left for the day, I started my more dangerous areas of research, as usual. I had the corpse of a Chaos human that your warriors had killed and sold to me. I looked into its blood....and found the key."
"You can't possibly mean..."
"Yes, I discovered the proper nuances for human transformation. I wrote it all down in my journal, I haven't yet had the opportunity nor the reason to try this spell on myself or any living thing."
"You mean you could say a few words, throw a few magic sparks and pow!, you walk on two legs and have extra digits?"
"In theory, yes. But it is an incredibly complicated spell, if a single word went wrong or a single magical weave were laid astray, then you would not be a human. You would end up as a twisted mutant of magic, unable to function and most likely unable to survive."
"But if we at least look like them, then we can get into town and possibly into Leviathan's hiding place. A hell of a lot more than we could get as ponies if you ask me." Cloud reasoned.
"I agree with the general, we need to work whatever advantages we have to the limit."
"Not you too Sun! Even if I did get the spell just right, would we just waltz into town, parading ourselves up to Leviathan?"
Cloud shrugged his shoulders, "Why not?"
Another unicorn stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Master Starswirl, I have an idea. There are literally hundreds of humans down there, if we applied a little illusion spell and made your skin grey, they might not notice you. Who knows? They might even point you straight to Leviathan!"
"An excellent point my good sir. Starswirl, I have to admit that this plan is sounding better with every second."
Starswirl stood resolute, but his willpower was crumbling before this superior logic. "Oh alright! I'll need a test subject though. Just in case I don't get it right."
Cloud sat in a circle protected by magic runes, just in case something went horribly wrong. He had stripped off his armor and now sat in his most natural state. Starswirl reached into his saddlebag, pulling out a tiny book that held his notes and journal.
"Um, that's your grand and glorious tome, high and mighty mage?"
Starswirl passed a hoof over the cover while muttering an incantation. The book sparkled with magic, growing in size until it was a massive tome that Cloud thought he could not lift by himself. Starswirl gave him a smug glance. "Still doubting magic, huh Cloud?"
He flipped his tome to a certain page, showing a fresh drawing of a man spread eagle, but with two sets of limbs. Next to him was a drawing of a pony, with a similar limb spread to the human. "That's a little drawing some human did who knows how long ago. I find it very accurate when portraying human anatomy. Better write down the name before I forget it." He whisked out a quill, quickly scratching a note under the human picture.
"Now then Cloud, before we begin I'm going to have you sign this form here." The unicorn mage levitated a piece of paper from his saddlebag.
"What's this for?" he asked as he scribbled his name on a dotted line.
"Nothing really, it's just the standard form we unicorns have our test subjects fill out before we try new and unknown magics on them. It forgoes me of any liability for your death or mutilation and provides your next of kin with a decent settlement in court, should it come to that."
"Suddenly I'm not so sure about this..."
"Too late." Starswirl began to read from the tome, muttering the incantation while weaving the magic with his horn.
"Alright Cloud, before we start, be sure to keep your hooves and head inside the circle at all times. And if you feel a slight tingling sensation...there's nothing we can really do about that. Homo sapiens, here we go!"
The magical weaves latched onto the pegasus, probing down to his every fiber of being. The magic bonded with his blood and flesh, altering as it went. Cloud felt his bones becoming lighter, more delicate, straightening out and becoming longer. His fur began to recede, his naked skin growing much finer hairs and losing its normal toughness. He lifted an awkward hoof, his single hoof thinned and grew small, more digits extending from either side.
With several minute crunches his muzzle shortened and receded into his face, nose separating from his mouth and his eyes coming much closer together. His pointed ears shortened and rounded off, resting next to his head. Within minutes, Cloud's own mother would not have recognized him. If she was capable of recognition that is, she had died as an unaltered horse before the war.
"Well, how do I look?"
Sun was green in the face, retching he ran for the nearest bush. Starswirl looked rather proud of his work. He turned to his fellow unicorns, smiling and shaking their hooves. Having finished his self applause, he turned to the changed pegasus. "Congratulations Cloud, I declare the operation to have been a complete success! You are the first pony to have ever made the complete transition to human form!"
Cloud's hands were curled in a paw like fist, fingers not knowing how to extend yet. He touched his own face, feeling so much detail with his fleshy hands. He looked with his alien eyes at the hands that adorned his legs. No, not legs, arms.
"Aaron my friend, if only you could see me now." He said to the sky. Shakily he tried to stand on all fours, it was incredibly awkward, with such long back legs.
"General sir, try the hind legs defensive." suggested Jet Stream.
"An excellent idea." He reared back and almost fell on his buttocks. The human form didn't require extra balance, it just stood almost on its own. "Woah, this is so awesome! I feel so tall, so nimble. Jet, give me my sword!" The warrior drew the general's sword from his armor pile, handing it to his general in primate form.
Cloud wrapped his fingers around the handle, he felt the cold steel, caressed the soft velvety wrap around the handle. With skill and precision he twirled the blade through the air, the enchanted blade whistling in the general's hand. He held the blade close to his face, seeing his own reflection in the cold steel. It was an alien face that looked back. He still had his own green eyes, with mid length brown hair reminiscent of his mane. Cloud smiled a toothy grin with his human lips. He lowered the blade, taking a few tentative steps. Though odd, he caught on to the technique fairly quickly.
"Starswirl, you have got to try this! I can see now how they managed to do everything they did! These fingers are so versatile, I can touch everything, pick up anything and feel so much!"
The unicorn seemed a lot shorter than normal from Cloud's heightened view. "You make it sound like being a human is just one of those things you give the old 'college try', if my cultural idiom is correct."
"Try everything once! This is fantastic, come on old friend, just go for it!"
Starswirl did see the appeal in human form, "Well, I can't exactly send you in there alone, I guess I'm in. Sun? Would you care to join us?"
The earth pony clutched his stomach and looked queasy from the very vivid transformation of his companion, "Sure, why not. I fought the humans long ago, why not become one for a day." He swayed into the circle, still not lucid enough to be making such an informed decision. Starswirl joined him, powering up his horn for a two-fer.
The yellow earth pony's eyes snapped wide open as he realized something. "Wait, what did I just agree to?!?"
Once again too late, and within minutes an older man plus a queasy looking blonde haired man sat in the circle. "Right then Cloud, now that we look like them, getting in should be no problem at all! Shining Tear, would you do the final adjustments?"
"Yes Master Starswirl." the unicorn embraced his arcane power, laying on the thick illusion of gray skin and features on the new humans.
"We'll fit right in! Only one problem though Starswirl. Humans typically wear clothes when out in public....."
The old man looked at his vulnerability. "Hmm, that could present a problem."
The three naked, gray humans hid behind a fallen logjam outside of the main gate to the fortified town. Three Acolyte guards stood watch out front, their gazes never drifting from the road. The trio of new humans guessed they had enough clothing between them to outfit all three of themselves. Though physically indistinguishable from the group at the gate, they still needed the clothes to cover up their still present cutie marks and the gigantic tattoo of wings on Cloud's back.
"Alright, are we all ready?" Cloud whispered. They were all armed with whatever they wielded as ponies, Cloud with his sword, Sun with his crossbow and a dagger on his belt, and Starswirl with a simple mace. "And remember, no killing!" The other two nodded.
Cloud walked out into the open. "Hey boys! Leviathan is nothing more than a zit on a dragon's shit covered, scaly ass!"
The trio of Acolytes charged in fury and in defense of their Master's name. Cloud ducked behind the logjam again. The Acolytes chased him behind the logs, getting clubbed on the back of their heads by Starswirl and Sun. They weren't killed, only stunned for a few seconds. And with those few seconds Starswirl threw his hands on their heads and cast his memory spell. The three Acolytes gained color and changed back to normal humans. Panting, they looked up at their incredibly odd saviors.
"Thank you! We thought we would never be free!" said one of the freed Acolytes.
"Yeah, about that, we're going to be needing your clothes." Sun said casually.
"What?" the ex-Acolytes asked in confusion. Minutes later the freed humans ran for the treeline in nothing but their filthy underclothes, thankful for being saved, but quite cross about being mugged in the process.
The trio of ponies in human skin struggled to get the human clothes on. "How do they manage with these shoes? They are way too tight for my hooves, I mean "feet"."
"Trade with me Starswirl, mine are too big. Sun, your shirt is inside out."
"How can you tell?"
"The seams are on the outside when they should go in. Even I know that." A bit of grunting and trading later had them marching in a rough formation through the front gate, into the jaws of oblivion itself.
They hid their weapons under their clothes, maintaining the stoicism that they saw on the faces of every other Chaos human in the compound. They walked without aim, looking for some sign of a central headquarters. Occasionally an Acolyte would stare at them, then to their relief return to his menial task. Cloud took the front, being most familiar with human culture and idiom.
"You there!" all three froze, looking around they saw a rather disturbing sight, a normal human with his own forehead coated in blood, pointing directly at them. "Stop right there!" This human was robed in red, and carried himself self importantly, like he ran this show. They kept their visages of stoicism and indifference, hoping he wouldn't notice. The bloody man marched across the street to confront them.
"Are you Acolytes on an assignment?" Cloud would have breathed a sigh of relief, but it might have blown his cover.
"Yes sir." he answered curtly.
"Well consider it cancelled, I need escorts to the prison!" He turned away without them agreeing, shrugging to one another they followed. Cloud leaned close to Starswirl, hissing into his ear.
"Do you think this is Leviathan? He acts like a leader."
"I don't know, he isn't some monster at all. Give it time, maybe this one will tell us something."
The hodge podge group of ponies in human form and a half crazed Chaos priest marched with all haste to the prisons. The priest shoved open the door to a small human style jail. In the front a pair of Acolytes stood stark still as guards to prevent prison breaks, they let the Priest and his escorts through with no question. The Priest opened the door to the back with a large key. Two large cells covered the back wall, one filled with psychotic Lost, the other filled with frightened and imprisoned humans.
"Fetch me a concubine, Acolytes. And make her a pretty one." They stood still, biting their lips,hoping he meant some other Acolytes. "What are you waiting for? The Master has ordered this, I order this!"
Sun took a step forward, heading to the cell jam packed with humans. He grabbed the handle and twisted it, opening the door. Several people recoiled to the walls, not wanting to be the repugnant High Priest's next plaything. Sun grabbed a young woman by the arm, forcing her to her feet. But he pulled her close for a second, holding her there. The young brunette look confused, then understood. Lowering her eyes she walked willingly out of the cell, going to her master for the night.
"Excellent choice, Acolyte. I've been looking for a nice brunette for days now. Come my dear, you will meet the Lord in the flesh, but not until I have given your flesh my own purity." His smile was wicked and filled with lust. The young woman showed no defiance, but walked with him, eyes on the floor. Sun rejoined his companions, not showing any signs of remorse.
The High Priest walked out the door, his 'Acolytes' following closely. Once out in the streets, the High Priest waved a hand at them. "You are dismissed, we conduct our sacrifice in a few hours."
"Yes sir." Cloud replied flatly, controlling his rage at the earth pony who had damned that young woman. They walked away as a group, pulling into an alley Cloud grabbed Sun by the front of his stolen jacket and slammed him into a wall.
"Damn you Sun! Why!? You just sent that woman to her death!" Starswirl's hands wrenched away Cloud's, releasing his companion.
Starswirl placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders. "Keep it together Cloud! If we had done nothing we would have been discovered. All we worked for would have been for nothing!"
"Calm down both of you, I knew what I was doing, and I would never damn an innocent soul, not without giving it a fighting chance."
Starswirl and Cloud stared at him with confusion and rage. Sun grabbed the side of his coat, lifting it he exposed his empty dagger sheath.
High Priest Stewarts paraded this evening's prize around town like a slab of prime rib, showing it off to the various Acolytes and Lost, as if they could even comprehend giving a damn. The carnal desires of the High Priest were extremely well noted by anything of intellect within ten miles of the Cult hideout. Stewarts was pleased with the odd Acolyte's choice for this evening, a brunette woman around the age of seventeen or eighteen. Probably fresh off the farm, and completely unspoiled by the touch of a man or the touch of Discord. He directed the oddly compliant girl into his home, decorated garishly with anything that could be considered luxurious.
She sat in his bed, slightly shaking and her hair covering her face. The High Priest popped open a bottle of cheap wine from before the war, filling two glasses, one for himself, one for his 'guest'. Discreetly he slipped in a little 'extra something' into her glass. He sat next to her on his little love nest.
"Mmm, service to God is a great honor. You should be honored to be meeting him in the flesh. After I show you the purity of flesh, of course." He drained his glass, lifting a lock of her hair he inhaled her scent. The young woman shivered and cringed from his repulsive and unwanted touch.
With a finger he began to slip the simple dress off her shoulders, exposing her sun tanned and soft skin.
But she knew the truth, that Acolyte was no ordinary agent of Chaos, he had given her a little edge for the evening. Letting it fall out of her sleeve, the young woman knew she would only have one chance. Grabbing the dagger, she threw his hand off of her shoulder and slammed the dagger into his shoulder, hopefully close enough to his heart. She punched the Priest in the face, making a break for the door with this opportunity.
The Priest struggled to stand up, reaching up he grabbed the weapon and pulled it slowly out of his shoulder, grimacing and grating his teeth as he did. The young woman wrenched open the door, running out into the street and past the walls, to freedom.
Stewarts yelled his frustration, leaning against the doorjamb he yelled to a pair of Acolytes passing by. "YOU TWO! The sacrifice has escaped, AFTER HER!" The pair nodded and sprinted in the direction the Priest pointed.
Stewarts stumbled to a wash basin, grabbing a rag he doused it with some hard whiskey and pressed it his wound. He screamed as the burning fluid cleaned his wound of infections. He wanted to train as a paramedic before the War, and he took a shot of whiskey as he dug a rough needle into his skin to suture the wound. The High Priest collapsed on his bed from the pain, wondering what kind of death he should give that little bitch when those Acolytes found her. He noticed for the first time the oddity of the dagger she had stabbed him with.
Grabbing the bloody blade, he noticed that the grooves in the handle weren't made for fingers. No, they had the look of being gnawed on, like they were made for teeth. With his thumb he cleared the clotted blood from the pommel, under the crimson stain was an emblem. An emblem he had seen before. A four way divided shield, with various plants and the sun in another pane.
"Ponies...the god damned PONIES!" He thrust the dagger into his mattress, spraying feathers everywhere. How could this be possible!? Those Acolytes checked every prisoner thoroughly for any weapons or even objects that could be weapons on a daily basis. This dagger had to have been smuggled in, but why a pony dagger?
High Priest Stewarts' head cleared enough to give him an idea. He grinned as he realized who and how to expose the rats that had infiltrated.
The trio of ponies in human form continued to traverse the town, looking for any sign of Leviathan while still trying to look busy. Nearing dusk they only had one building left to search, the large white building near the center of town. The one with steeples and the bell. They just had to get inside, then it was up to any of them to kill the monster that had started all of this.
Their wandering was interrupted by the deep ringing of the massive bell at the church. Acolytes all around them literally dropped whatever they were doing, all making a migration to the source of the call.
Sun was panicking, "We've got to leave now, this is our only chance!"
"No, if they are gathering for something, I think our target might just be there as well." Cloud stated. Like they had any choice, they were swept up in a flowing gray crowd that moved with a single track mind to the church. The mindless Lost were left to their own devices, nobody really caring for the maddened beast men.
The crowd filed into the church, taking their pews and placing their hands together, beginning their dark chants. The ponies in human skin took a pew in the very back, folding their hands and imitating the chant. Starswirl gasped, the whispered to his companions. "Don't say the words! It's a dark magic spell, I know it well!" The doors of the church closed, two of the more well trained and armed Acolytes standing guard. Without speaking, they all agreed that this had become a one way mission.
The Priest from earlier entered from a side door, standing behind the pulpit, he raised a hand and silenced the chanting masses.
"My brothers and sisters. A terrible tragedy has befallen us. Our enemy stands resolute in the face of our great efforts to bring them into our coven of Chaos. Our Master is most displeased with such a failure."
All around the trio Acolytes shivered in fear of failing their Master.
"And more, our enemy is amongst us dear children. This very night they have tried to take my life and stole our sacrifice, but thankfully they failed my children. I still walk amongst the living, yet our offering has left us for the ignorance of those who do not receive the Master's touch. But I say we have been given an even greater opportunity to please his Lordship Leviathan. An opportunity to sate his thirst, WITH THE BLOOD OF PONIES!" The High Priest pointed a meaty finger at the trio in the back, knowing they had smuggled in the dagger, and knowing why they had hesitated in the face of a direct order.
Dozens of Acolytes screamed their rage, grabbing the three men where ever they could. Hauling them to the pulpit, they were forced to their knees before the High Priest. "Yes dear children of Chaos, they are the enemy, hiding in the flesh of those we know!"
The shouts and threats of the Acolytes were silenced by a slow clap. From the shadows drifted the form of Discord, present the whole time, but hidden in his favored darkness. "Bravo, bravo. You ponies indeed put up a valiant fight. But all for nothing."
"Leviathan..." whispered Cloud.
"I was going to save your souls for later, after I had feasted on these wretches here. But it looks like dessert came a little early for dinner." He raised a feline paw, glowing with magic. "Come now, let me see your faces, the faces your precious Mother gave you." A wave of magic came from the monster, funneling into the three men. Their bodies began to warp and shimmer, leaving them as ponies again. The Acolytes ripped off their human clothing, leaving them in their natural fur.
"You'll never get away with this! All the evil you've done will come back one day and get you!"
"On the contrary dear pony, I plan on staying the way I am, on top of the world!" He gave a twisted chortle. "You know, I think I need some new recruits, someone to fill the ranks that you depleted." Discord looked to the world, shouting.
"Did you hear that! I will make your precious champions my slaves for all eternity! You failed, now I will reign over this world, and harmony shall be ground into the dust!" With a flourish he touched his clawed hand to Sun's head, a wave of gray passing down his body until he was an ashen image of himself.
"No, Sun NO!" cried Starswirl.
"All hail the Master, Discord." replied the earth pony. He was let up by his Acolyte brethren, another of the gray mass that served the monster of madness.
Discord chuckled at the suffering of the two normal ponies. Next he tried to lay a claw on Starswirl. His gryphon finger touched the head of the unicorn, and Discord yelped as his claw sizzled and burned when he touched the unicorn. He spread his teeth in a growl, placing his whole hand on the unicorn, again he felt the burn.
"WHO PROTECTS YOU!?" he screamed. Looking at his burned hand, Discord felt the signs of harmonious magic at work. "So, She chooses to give you aid, little unicorn. Let me tell you something, one day I will pierce Her very heart with darkness, and among the souls I consume to give me power shall be yours." He once again addressed nothing. "DO YOU HEAR ME! HIS SOUL SHALL BE THE ONE I USE TO KILL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
High Priest Stewarts edged to the angered draconequus. "Who do you speak to, my Lord?"
"Foolish human! I insult the spirit of the Earth herself! And She mocks me with her petty protection of this pony." A clever idea came into the maddened mind of Discord. "If I cannot harm him, why not have someone else do it?" Discord placed his wicked touch on Cloud. The pegasus struggled and fought against the tide of assimilation that flowed down his body, corrupting him with Discord's dark touch.
Cloud Hoof was released by the Acolytes, he stood. "All hail the Master."
"Cloud, no." the unicorn begged, his voice losing all vestige of hope. He looked to Discord, "YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Discord shook a finger, "Naughty little ponies deserve to be punished. At first light, you will become the first of many pony souls to join my own. And to make sure you behave, you need a little bit of a leash." With a flick of his wrist he summoned a twisted wire that he wrapped around Starswirl's horn. Starswirl tried in vain to reach his magic, but the wire prevented him from touching anything arcane.
"Throw him in with the other sacrifices." Discord said to the Acolyte masses. The draconequus retired to his throne, his new pet ponies taking position on either side of him.
They hauled the aged unicorn back to the prison area without care or decency. The pair of Acolytes threw him into the cell the Lost had once been in, across from the human sacrifices, they themselves waiting to die. As soon as they closed the door he scrambled to his hooves, turning his back to the door he began to kick it as hard as he could. Again and again, screaming his frustration. But one of the Acolytes opened the door to the front, letting in several of the Lost cretins, upon spying the unicorn kicking at the door they screamed and began to claw through the bars to get him. Starswirl recoiled, unable to fight them.
Falling back to the back of his cell, he collapsed, hating himself for making his friend go on this suicide mission. Damning himself for even giving them the idea of infiltrating the Cult hideout. The humans in the adjacent cell whispered with each other, wondering why a pony had joined them in their damnation.
"Hey, hey pony. Can you speak?" Starswirl looked up from his pain of failure, one of the humans was looking right at him, as close to the bars as he could while staying back from the Lost.
"Yes, I can speak. Now leave me be." Starswirl lay his head against the wall, trying to think of ways to kill himself, just so his soul would not feed that monster with the rising of the sun.
"You're thinking about it, aren't you pony? Don't kill yourself, they'll win if we just give up."
"And what would you know about it? That thing consumes our souls! If I die now I return to the Earth Mother; if I die in his grasp I only make him stronger. There is no winning against such evil!"
"Come on, don't be like that, pony, you have to have faith. You gotta believe that we can overcome this somehow."
"And what do you suggest, human?"
The man in the other cell shrugged. "I don't know, you're a unicorn right? So that means you can do magic?"
"Not any more, I've been silenced by this infernal contraption!" He scraped his horn along the wall, trying desperately to get it off. "Do you think you could get it off? I don't have your digital dexterity."
The human recoiled with his brethren. "No way, the last guy that reached through the bars had his arm torn off by those fuckers." He spat at the nearest Lost, landing his loogie solidly on the cretin's face. "What I wouldn't give to have a little revenge against those gray fuckheads, and their little pet crazies too."
"Consider yourself lucky, human, tomorrow I am the replacement sacrifice for one of you."
The human he spoke to leaned against a wall, "Well, I thank you for the extra time you will be giving one of us. What's your name pony?"
"Starswirl. Some call me Starswirl the Bearded."
"Well, Starswirl the Bearded, I'm Ron. Some call me Ron the Optimist." he said with a grin. "Not many people have been calling me that lately, not much to be optimistic about nowadays."
"Well Ron the Optimist, I'll have you know that Leviathan starves tonight. His intended sacrifice got a little 'sharp' with the High Priest, we assume she escaped completely."
His human compatriot smiled. "Any other night I would celebrate with a bottle of aged whiskey and a set of good friends. But it seems that one or the other is always in short supply."
Starswirl gave a grunted laugh. "All I wanted was to come here and give myself a second chance at helping you humans. But it looks like I failed at that too."
"You know Starswirl, you're cool by me. And I would gladly spill some Cult blood beside you, if I had the chance that is." The other humans nodded their heads in agreement, all wanting to tie Discord to a rack and slowly pull his limbs out of his sockets.
Starswirl had a pained smile on his face, "Good to know." He laid down his head on the concrete, coming to terms with the end of his existence as metaphysical sustenance for the very monster that he fought to destroy. He whispered to himself, hoping his prayers reached more loving ears.
"Clover, I'm so sorry my apprentice. I'm sorry I couldn't stop these monsters; I know you'll grow up to be a lovely, smart mare with her heart always in the right place, and I hope I had some hoof in that. White Dawn, I love you, I always will love you. But it looks like we will never see one another again, in this life or another. And Cloud, forgive me, brother."
Starswirl did not sleep that night, he simply lay on the floor of the prison cell, sending his prayers to those he loved. He begged for forgiveness, and received some. The humans across from his had accepted him as a fellow, but they were not enough to cover for his failures. When the Acolytes opened the door to his cell, he stood without a fight as they grabbed him by both legs.
"STARSWIRL!" The old unicorn looked to the other cell. All the humans stood close to the bars, his companion amongst the forefront. "Don't let those fuckers get the satisfaction of fear."
The unicorn nodded. Looking to his Acolyte handlers, he gave his acquiescence, "I'm ready." They walked him to the church, all the Acolytes gathered for this most important sacrifice, the one that would begin Discord's true march of madness across the world. Behind them the Lost roared, very nearly breaking free of their bonds as the Acolytes chanted for the blood of the unicorn. Starswirl was led into the doors of the church, down the aisles and to the altar. His Acolyte bearers placed him on the altar, tying down his legs. He breathed hard, waiting for the High Priest to begin his sermon.
Stewarts placed himself behind the pulpit, dagger in hand as usual before a sacrifice. Discord sat behind him, impatiently awaiting the bloodbath and his feast of a pony soul.
"Dear children, we have gathered here today to witness the death of a heretic, and the birth of our triumph! With his blood I will seal the bond between ourselves and our Master. Oh mighty Leviathan! Grant me the strength to complete such a daunting task!"
"No." said the avatar of evil.
"What!?! My Lord, what have I done to offend you?"
"Nothing personal, except the fact that I hate you. I want 'him' to do it." He pointed at Cloud Hoof, who still sat motionless beside his Master. The pegasus rose from his seated position, drawing his sword with his teeth. He walked slowly to the front of the altar.
"Yes my pet, destroy that infernal Earth Mother's desperate attempt at harmony. Slay your oldest and dearest friend."
Starswirl looked into Cloud's eyes. "Cloud, please. Don't do this. Please, remember me."
The gray-red pegasus awaited his Master's order. Discord nodded. Cloud raised the blade.
"Cloud, please remember! Remember Starshine! Remember your friend Aaron!" The pegasus hesitated, something scratching at the back of his mind. "Remember me Cloud, remember Hurricane!"
The pegasus dropped the sword, "Hurricane..." he murmured.
Discord flew to Cloud's side. "What are you doing?! KILL HIM!"
"Cloud, no. You can choose! You always had a choice! You always controlled your own destiny!"
"No you don't, kill him now!" Discord shouted.
The pegasus now had his hooves to his head, the forces battling inside him.
"You....don't.....control...me!" Cloud grabbed the sword and with a sudden thrust shoved it into Discord's belly.
The draconequus screamed, both hands going around the blade that shed his blood and burned his body with its magic touch. The Acolytes around him all screamed their own pain, clutching their stomachs as if they too had been skewered. Discord flared with magic, teleporting from the place. The sword was left behind, it fell clanging to the floor of the church.
The Acolytes now screamed from a different pain, they all clutched their heads and twisted, searching for the ever present influence of their Master. Outside, a different cry filled the town. Thousands of Lost all suddenly became free, and began their rampage.
Cloud reeled from the pain of Discord's departure, but he grabbed the sword once again and sliced through the bonds that held down Starswirl. Grabbing the wire in his teeth, he ripped it from Starswirl's horn.
"Thank you my friend!" shouted the unicorn as he applied the memory spell to Cloud. His color returned and he regained his mind. Their companion still reeled on the floor, still an ash skinned Acolyte. Starswirl ran to him, applying the memory spell in haste. Sun regained himself and stood.
"We have to get out of here! The Lost have all broken free and are going to tear this place apart!"
Some of the Acolytes began to regain their senses, seeing the ponies free, they roared. But something broke down the door to the chapel. Dozens of bestial Lost leapt in and clawed furiously at their former masters. The Acolytes fought back, their martial prowess overcoming the individual Lost, but failing utterly at the onslaught before them.
The three ponies ran out the side door of the church of chaos, and it seemed as though the whole town had gone insane. Everywhere Lost fought each other and tore apart anything that moved. Starswirl took the lead, "We have to get to the prison!"
"Why?" shouted Sun as they dodged the psychotic creatures that fought.
"Promise to a friend!" Starswirl shouted back. They came to the front of the prison, only to discover a few Acolytes had regained minimal control of a pack of Lost. They barred the way to the prison. Cloud still had his sword out, Sun raised his crossbow, and Starswirl charged up a combat spell. One of the Acolytes was about to shout for an attack when a javelin from above pierced his skull and dropped him like a sack of grain. Two more javelins dropped two more Acolytes, and the pack of Lost wailed and began to claw one another. Bolts from crossbows began to drop them in trios.
Three pegasus forms dropped in front of the ponies. "We thought you could use a little help general!"
"Wedge you beautiful son of a bitch!" Cloud shouted. The earth pony archers rushed in from their sniper posts to cover the rear flanks. Starswirl's unicorns were nowhere to be found, but the explosions in the other parts of town gave subtle hints as to what they were up to. Crosswind tossed Cloud his spear and shield, Jet Stream dropped off his armor. Outfitting himself, Cloud charged into the breach.
Kicking down the door to the prison, he skewered a Lost without a second thought, ripping his spear out he whipped around to down another. His soldiers did the same, trampling any unorganized resistance. Starswirl ran to the prison area, charging up his horn he went to the human prison cell. "Get back!" he shouted to the humans. The bars shivered and shook, shattering into hundreds of pieces. The humans were apprehensive, not leaving their confinement. "You all said you wanted to fight the Cult, now is your chance!" His companion Ron smiled, then charged out, grabbing the leg of a chair as a club.
"Come on brothers, lets ride 'em out of town on a rail!" The humans cheered, grabbing whatever they could use as weapons and joining the ponies. They ran back outside, the unicorns had joined the earth ponies in firing at whatever Lost or Acolyte scum that got in their way.
An Acolyte stood down the street, aiming a rifle at the general. A crack like thunder resounded, but not from the Acolyte rifleman. Dozens of armed humans ran out into the streets, shooting the Cultists and capturing any that they could.
Wedge saw that they were led by a familiar face. He lifted his spear and gave a pegasus war cry, the father of Noah raised his rifle and gave an Army war cry. Their ragtag force joined the pony led force, and together made their way to the edge of town clearing the streets of any Acolytes and destroying any Lost.
************************************************
Pain, physical pain!
Discord clutched the wound done by the enchanted blade, summoning more magic he forced it to heal, closing the wound and making it seem like it never was there. He lay on a rock several hundred miles from the town he ruled. He panted from this new feeling. And something inside of him seemed satisfied and smug, like it was gloating at his suffering. It most certainly wasn't himself that was feeling that way, more like something that he had absorbed.
"Damn you human souls!"
He had half a mind to go back to that wretched town and tear it apart, molecule by molecule for the rage he felt. But he felt something else, something he hadn't felt in weeks. His pursuers.
They had felt his magical surge, and were now hot on his trail again. "Vacation is over I guess. Horrible idea in the first place."
And with his mind set against trying some stupidity like starting his own cult again, Discord resumed his normal hunt.
With the aid of their human allies the ponies had cleared the town of any trace of an organized cult, even burning down the church to symbolize the end of the Cult's madness. The Lost had effectively taken care of themselves, after being freed they simply slaughtered one another or committed suicide. There was no sign of the High Priest, and a handful of Acolytes had escaped into the wilds surrounding the town. They would be problematic, but no real threat to either of the races.
Starswirl and his unicorns worked long into the afternoon restoring the minds of the hundreds of captured Acolytes. Upon their revival, any Acolyte that wished simply to keep living was officially pardoned for his crimes by both races.
The leaders of the ponies and the leaders of the humans gathered to confer. They met outside of the wall to the town, with the ponies packed and prepared to return to their homelands. Cloud walked forward and extended a hoof to the leader of the human expedition, father of Wedge's temporary charge. With gratitude he took Cloud's hoof and shook it.
"General Cloud Hoof of the pony nations, we are well aware of your actions on the Day of Judgement. We all did horrible things that day, but on behalf of the race of Man, I forgive you of any crime." Cloud looked surprised, then glanced back at Starswirl, who seemed incredibly intent about not looking at Cloud.
"And I forgive you, sir. May our children know harmony with each other." he gave a bow, his human counterpart did the same.
The optimistic human from the prison walked up to Starswirl. "We did it buddy."
"Indeed we did." The human curled up a fist and held it out for the unicorn. Starswirl looked at it oddly.
"Come on Starswirl, don't leave me hangin'." The unicorn mage smiled, lifting his hoof he bumped the human's fist. "See you around sometime?" he asked.
"Absolutely, maybe you could come stay at my place for a while, if you are ever in need of a bed to rest your head on, Ron the Optimist."
The man began to chuckle at his now official title. The ponies turned to begin their journey home, the way made safe by the humans who now let them be instead of attacking them. Wedge stopped as he crested the hill overlooking the town. He turned back, flying down to the gate where his friend still stood. "Sir, I wanted to ask you something."
"Anything for the pony who helped reunite my family."
"Would you give this to your son? I know his mother wants me out of his life, but I wouldn't feel right leaving him so completely." Wedge took off a medallion emblazoned with a the winged head of a pegasus, symbol of Cloudsdale.
"I have a feeling that it will be one of his most treasured objects, seeing as all talks about is his own 'superhero' who came from the darkness and saved his parents from the bad people." He accepted the medallion from Wedge, placing it in his pocket. He stood back and gave a salute to the warrior, Wedge smiled and returned his salute. Turning back, Wedge flew to rejoin his companions and make their way home.
General Cloud Hoof once again stood before the court of law, presided over by the unicorn king, King Golden Flame. Starswirl the Bearded stood with him, and so did his former prosecutor, Sunny Brook of the earth ponies. The delegations of all three tribes stood in attendance.
"Starswirl the Bearded, please step forward." said the king. Starswirl took a few steps forward and bowed to his king. "Did you find evidence to back your claim? Were the humans behind the murder of King Silverhair and Chancellor Breezemane?"
"No my lord, the humans were innocent, as well as the pegasi. The only creature guilty of a crime is the monster that consumed souls and twisted their minds to do horrible things. With the aid of a few humans we destroyed the Cult of Chaos, though our assistance was not truly needed. The Cult was on the verge of collapsing in on itself, as evil always does."
Sun walked forward without being summoned. "It's true great king, the humans were being forced to do such horrible things, their will had been taken from them and they were led by an utterly mad creature of darkness."
"I see, General, how do you plead to the charges against you?"
Cloud stood proud with his friends. "On behalf of my tribe, I plead 'not guilty'."
The unicorn king looked hardly surprised, "Very well then, in the absence of substantial evidence to say otherwise, case is dismissed." He slammed his rod of office. The three delegations cheered, glad they would not have a war with one another. And relieved some threat from the humans had been taken care of, and in fact turned into a better situation than before.
Two mares landed from the pegasus delegation, Cloud not having seen them for what seemed like centuries.
"Daddy!"
"Hurricane!" Cloud shouted as he scooped up his filly in his forelegs, hugging her and nuzzling her. "I love you Hurricane, I never stopped loving you." It was his love for Hurricane that had pulled him from the darkness, their love shone bright in the chaos and paved the way for this victory for harmony.
"I love you too Dad." Starshine joined their embrace, Cloud let go of Hurricane, focusing on his wife. He kissed her deeply and with passion.
Cloud broke away, "I saw through their eyes, and I reunited their families. They forgave me Star, and I forgave myself." She looked him in his eyes, he no longer seemed haunted by his exploits in battle and his eyes glowed with love for his family. She threw her forelegs around her husband, giving him a bone crushing hug.
"I'm so proud of you, Cloud. Come on, let's go home."
High Priest Stewarts crashed through the brush, his red robes torn and muddy, catching on every single slightly non-flat surface in existence. He had been the first to flee after Discord had been wounded, and the first to reach relative safety here in the woodlands. He had run for literally two days straight, pausing to drink water from stagnant pools and eat questionable berries.
He stopped in a meadow clearing, resting from his adrenaline powered escape. He lay on the ground and tried to sleep for several hours. But his out of shape body had gotten so used to luxury and lust that it simply would not accept any surface harder than a feather bed. Rising, he began to form a plan.
"I'll rebuild the Cult, to greater power than ever before! Leviathan was merely a test, a test to see if I could survive and lead!" he announced to the squirrels in a nearby pine tree.
"YES! The Cult of Chaos was a mere sham of what is to come next, I'll recruit my own followers. I won't have to be dependent on that sickening freak anymore." he shuddered, wondering what he ever saw in Discord.
Stewarts noticed that the forest had gone silent. No birds chirped, and his squirrel audience had left very quickly as well. "To hell with you all anyways! I don't need a bunch of forest critters to listen to me!" A twig snapped behind him.
Stewarts turned to see a young woman standing there, looking fairly harmless and not wearing any clothing. "Ah, my first new convert! Come sister, join my flock and together we shall rule the world!" Despite having just witnessed his source of power being wounded and his entire Cult tear themselves apart, the High Priest still fell prey to his carnal desires and his delusion that he actually had influence over the Chaos humans.
He walked to the woman, extending a hand he moved aside her filthy and matted hair. Underneath was a wild and feral face. His look of potential success turned to horror as she snarled and leapt on him like a wolf. What could she say? The Lost were hardwired like that, they had to increase chaos. And chaos and death went hand in hand.