> War of Ali: New and Improved Version > by Soviet_Minister > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: Part I... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dell. Dell, just like any other unicorn, had a good childhood. He had plenty of friends, who would support him in anyway they could. And like alot of his friends, he had a few fantasies. a few of them involved becoming a Superpony, or training to be part of the Royal Guard. But unlike his mates, he had a single fantasy that ruled over the rest. A fantasy that, if came true, could put the entirety of Equestria in jeapordy. Death to all royalty. He didn't know why he hated royalty, or why he wanted them dead. He just did. There was no explanation. No reason. Nothing. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to destroy them. As he grew up, the fantasy grew stronger, more powerful. It was starting to become more of an obsession then a fantasy. He would lay in his bed, thinking up all kinds of way's to torture them, to mame them, to kill them. He would have several pictures of Luna and Celestia, burning, cutting, shredding them into pieces. He would grab toy ponies, paste the faces of Celestia, Luna and other members of royalty on the head of the dolls, and do horrible things to them. Stab them. Decapitate them. Burn them. Numerous other things. Somehow, Dell's parents found out that he had been doing this stuff, and took him to a psychiatrist. Dell spents 3 months visiting his psychiatrist, back and forth, telling the shrink what he wished, what he dreamed about. On his last visit, his parents were called into his room, but Dell was to be left just outside the room. Dell tried to listen to what was being said in the room. He could definitely hear chatter, but he could not make out what they were saying. After a while, the door opened, and his parents slowly walked out. They looked at him, a kind of sadness filling their eyes. His Dad was the first to speak up. "Son, it's time for you to go in. All you have to do is sit in there, listen cloesely to what he has to say, and come out. Then we can all go home, and no more shrink, ok?" "Sure thing Dad.", replied Dell, barely listening as he was playing with a new toy his parents had bought him. "Master Dell, please, come in. We need to chat.", said the shrink, Dell still unable to remember his name. Dell hopped down from his chair, giving the toy to his parents amd walked into the shrink's massive office. "Have a seat, Dell." Dell spied the down-sized seat, which was opposite the shrink. "So, Mister Dell, let's sta-" "What was your name again?", Interrupted Dell, seemingly oblivious that the shrink was talking. "Well, my name is Nuero Dyne, which is an unusual name I know, but my parent's seemed to like it, so oh well." Nuero Dyne. Nuero Dyne. Nuero Dyne. Dell reapeated the name several times in his head, determined to remember the name this time. "Now, as I was saying, lets start by asking you some more questions." "Oh man. Please, no more questions. Can't you just tell me what is with my head?", complained Dell, not willing to listen to anymore 'Questioning'. Nuero Dyne just seemed to stare at Dell, as if he were trying to look into his very soul. "Mhm... Well, I guess we could just tell you what you have, but that would be against your parents' wishes. But, I guess it is better to just tell you, to get it all out of the way. You have severe Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, and misonophobia.", explained Nuero, simutaniously jotting something down on a sticky note. "Well, since we skipped all of the questions and all, you are free to leave, Master Dell. Goodbye." And with that, Dell hopped off of his chair, and walked out of the door, only to find that his parents were nowhere to be found. "Mum? Dad? Where are you?", asked Dell, a worried tone entering his voice. It was then he noticed that everybody in the lobby was on the floor, not dead, nor asleep, but bowing. He looked around at all of the people, until he stood there staring at dark blue legs, complete with hoof-boots. "Well, young colt. It seems we haven't met before." The regal female voice was talking to him, Dell finally realised. "Well? Aren't you going to look up?" Dell, who realised he was still staring at the floor, looked up, and his face turned to an expression of instant hatred. Numerous gruesome images entered his head, even more ideas sprung into his imagination. Luna. Dell's first thought was, *Why is Luna in a Psychiatric's waiting lobby?* Then he remembered. Luna had been trapped on the moon for one thousand years. Of course she would have some mental issues that needed some sorting out. Yet, despite the kind voice and gracious attitude, he despised her. Dell wanted to jump, and rip her head off. He wanted to use his magic to lift every object in the room, anything sharp, and impale her as brutally as he could. And he could, if he tried. He'd found out that he was exceptionaly talented at using his magic throughout his younger years. "Dell, I believe? Well, I've heard about you. And I know some things about you that others don't. As how you are extremely talented with your magic." How the... How did she know that? "I know alot of things, Dell." She can read minds!? What the hell? "Yes, I can. Well, I best not be late for my appointment! Good day, Dell." Luna past Dell with such grace, that only her older sister could rival her. Dell, internally enraged, noticed that his parents were still missing. He looked around one last time, and saw them, still bowing, near the door. "Mum, Dad, you can get up now." said Dell, impatient to leave. His life was back to normal for three months, nothing but school, his toys, and his over-ruling fantasy. His parents were relieved that there were no more sessions to attend. Until the letter came. A letter, complete with the Royal Insignia, was found in their letter box, addressed to Dell. He read over it, the letter stating that he had been automatically accepted into Luna's Magic Academy. His mind spun, the very fact of a letter from royalty made his blood boil. Why would they pick him, out of all unicorns? Why not one of his friends? But, there was no point complaining about it now. Besides, it would be a perfect chance to hone his skills, and destroy the two Alicorn sisters. > Prologue: Part II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LMA. Luna's Magic Academy. Dell stood at the entrance, gazing at the massive, rustic metal gates that opened up into a little university of magic. The words 'Magic is Magical' were planted above the gates, which, unlike the old gates, were brand new. They shone like diamond in the sun, its chromed letters near-blinding anyone who looked directly at it for too long. "OK. All I have to do, is walk in, train, then come back out. Simple.", Dell said quietly to himself, unsure of what to do next, even though he just said it. He walked to the main office, his bags hanging over his back. He entered, finding only three ponies there, only one of which looked official. "Excuse me, can I help you?", the official pony asked. "Oh... Uh... Yeah, I got a pass... thing... yeah...", Dell mumbled awkwardly. Luckily, the official just heard him, and knew what he meant. "May I see the Official Pass, please?" Dell reached into one of his saddle bags, and pulled out a laminated, white sheet of paper, stating his birth, his parents, and his validity for the Academy. He stood there, shifting his weight from one side to the other, waiting for the official to say something. "Well, everything seems to check out. Welcome to the LMA. Enjoy your learning, and enjoy your stay." The official smiled, briefly gave him a time table, and went back to her office duties, which looked like sorting out Semester One reports. Dell went to the room that was printed along with his time table. Fourteen. He searched for Wing C, then went to the second floor. He walked along the corridor, looking for the number fourteen. *Twelve... Thirteen... Fourteen... Fifte- Wait! There it is.* He entered the room, and found his roommate, who was a obviously a unicorn, asleep in bed. Dell couldn't tell whether it was a Male or Female yet, so he just referred to it as 'IT'. Dell went across the room, where the spare double bed was, and set his saddle bags on it. He unpacked everything, trying hard not to make any noise. He had started off well, not making so much as a peep, until he brought out his favorite snow globe. He got it out nice and slowly, and also silently, but when he went to set it down, he was distracted by a fly, which caused his magic to faulter. The snow globe dropped the rest of the way. It didn't smash, but it made a reasonably loud THUMP! "Ugghh... Uhh.... Whasss goin on...." Oh shit! Dell looked over to the bed, where a Female unicorn was rising. "Sorry I woke you. I just dropped something, that's all." Another loud THUMP echoed through the room. The snow-globe had rolled off the bedside table. It still hadn't smashed. "It's alright, newbie. It's almost time for my next class anyway." She let a long yawn, and got fully out of bed. Dell picked up his snow-globe, and set it back on his bedside table. He inspected it, making sure there weren't any cracks or chips in the glass. To his satisfaction, the snow globe didn't have a scratch on it. He looked back to his saddle bags, and saw his favorite book, 'The Season's Pass'. It was a book about how romance and violence can destroy friendships, and relationships. He relished it simply because it was a gruesome book, full of ideas on how to destroy ones friendship, or ruin anothers life. Life long pain was much more effective then death. But the dream to kill all royalty still remained. He stayed in that room, conversing, studying, sometimes even flirting with the unicorn who he now knew as Ali Serenity. He aced nearly all of his classes, his grades never dipping below A-. His teachers were more than a little impressed, so they called in the expert on extra talented unicorns. She was scheduled to arrive in three days. Other unicorns were showing signs of jealousy, ignoring Dell when he said hello, or just plain talking behind his back. Dell tried to shrug it off, but it was getting to him. Each day was somewhat worse than the last, being called a nerd, a know-it-all. A teachers pet. Ali stood up for him whenever she had the chance, but her classes were always at the other side of the university. The third day arrived. This so called expert was supposed to arrive this afternoon. He studied as hard as he could, trying to remember as much as he could handle. He paced, he yelled, he was easily frustrated. And he was extremely nervous. "Dell, just calm down. You still have another two hours before she arrives. Why not take a break? You've been studying since dawn." Ali slowly walked up to Dell, levitating the work he had been doing onto the bed. She went close to him, her face only a few inches from Dell's. " Why not... have a little fun?" Ali said as she backed up, her luscious hind hitting the desk. Dell, who had been having feelings for Ali for some time now, walked up to her as she sat on the desk and spread her legs. "C'mon, don't be shy..." Dell leaned over Ali, his rapidly quickening. And just when he was about to wuss out, she pulled him forward with all her might, gasping loudly as he entered her. "Ooh... I can tell I'm gonna enjoy this..." Whispered Ali, as she started moving back and forth. Some time later, Dell went back to his research papers, having only half an hour before the expert arrived. He quickly had a shower, washing down all of the sweat, some of it not even his. He quickly reviewed over his study sheets, memorizing everything he could. Then Professor Clive opened the door. "Dell, she's here. She will be coming up to the Auditorium in five. Lets go." Dell ran his hoof through his hair, and set off. He walked from the dorm room, through the corridor, down the stairs, past the classrooms and into the large room called the Auditorium, his nerves getting the better of him, step by step. But he forced himself to push forward, pacing himself to make sure he didn't trip in front of the special arrival. He walked to the center of the large room, his hoof-steps echoing off the walls. He waited there for about two minutes before the doors to the Auditorium opened. The expert walked through, and as soon as Dell realized who it was, he almost dropped. Standing there, with her midnight-blue coat and regal crown, was Luna, Princess of the Moon. "Ah! So we meet again, Dell!" Shouted Luna excitedly. Dell, on the other hand, was struggling extremely to contain his rage. "Well, my young colt. It seems that I was called to witness your talents, so I may have the chance to take you under my wing!" Luna walked, with such grace, over to the seats. From then, he was put through rigorous sessions, testing the magic of this talented unicorn. He spent hours standing there, doing what the teachers, and what Luna, told him to do. He made objects appear and disappear. He morphed objects into completely different things. He showed his levitating skills by lifting all five of the teachers who sat at the back, some whooping, some letting out a short scream when they where lifted. His stamina was depleting by the second. Wiping sweat from his brow, Luna chucked in one last suggestion. "Teleport from there to the other side of the room." Dell went wide eyed, remembering that he never even considered doing research on that spell. He stood there, mentally kicking himself in the groin for being so forgetful. But, even though he hadn't even tried it before, he had a crack at teleporting. He stood there, concentration plastering his face, sweat beading from his forehead. He stood there for about a minute, until he felt a cold, empty sensation crawl over his body. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it had gone. And he was now standing on the roof of the Auditorium. He wasn't really concentrating on where to teleport, only on the teleportation itself. And it worked! He did it! He teleported! "Well, I'll be blown up twice. You did it!" Luna, flying with her beyond strong wings, rose above the roof, and was now looking down at Dell. She took him back down, got him to sign some paperwork, then got him into her chariot. "You will do well being my apprentice. Someone with your skill has great potential to become something big!" It took three long hours before they arrived at the Canterlot Castle, it's white and gold structure standing out like a fire in the darkness. They landed on the east wing, where Luna's private quarters was. Dell spoke up, "Rather nice room you have here..." "Thank you! I think it looks great as-well." They made their way to a corridor, which was one floor below Luna's floor. She led him to a large room with nothing, apart from a king sized bed and two bedside tables. "Need anything else?" Asked Luna, her smile reaching from ear to ear. "No, thank you." replied Dell, as he walked into his room, and slammed the door shut. He jumped onto his bed, and that was the last thing he remembered until he woke in the morning. For three years, he trained to become Equestria's next best unicorn. He went through rigorous training, rough tests and extreme sessions. His magical stamina grew stronger and stronger, his magic strength growing just as much. He did nothing but train, and train, and train. But no matter how much training he was put through, how nice Luna or Celestia were to him, he still hated them with all his heart and soul. *Some day...*, He thought, *Some day, I'll trample over their limp bodies as I take Equestria for myself...* It wasn't until a year later, when he had the courage to stand up to Luna. It was in the hallway that led to Luna's quarters, that he decided to confront the majestic Princess. "Dell? What are you doing here in the middle of the hallway?" All he could manage was a nasty, sinister smile, bearing his teeth. As Luna was about to ask what was wrong, an orange aura surrounded Dell's horn, and out of nowhere, a large wooden table flew past Luna's head. Dell was a master wizard, but he still had minimal accuracy when throwing objects around using telepathy. As quickly as he could, he recovered the table just before it ht the marble wall, which would have rightly smashed the table to bits and pieces. He threw the table once again, but even if the aim was spot on, he hit nothing but air. Luna wasn't where she was anymore. He looked around the large hallway, an expression of fear plastered on his face. "I-I'm not scared of you. Not now, n-not ever...", shouted Dell, struggling to believe his own lie. "But you should be... You fool..." Out of thin air, Luna flew down and smashed Dell's head into the hard, marble floor. The impact should have caved Dell's skull in, but his quick thinking had led him to use his levitation power on himself, causing the impact to dramatically reduce. Dell, who was shocked and stunned by the impact, quickly rose to his hooves, this time preparing for anything. Which is what he should have done in the first place, seeing how Luna is an Alicorn. "Time for you to DIE, LUNA!" This time, he decided to take a massive risk, putting his own life in danger. But if it meant Luna's death, then so be it. He concentrated all of his power on the roof, his horn flaring brightly, almost blinding Luna as she tried to counter Dell's magic. But, because she could hardly see, she couldn't find where he was concentrating his magic, therefore she could not counter it properly. Then, as Dell was about to give up, he heard cracking. Cracking and crumbling. Then, he felt a cloud of rocky dust fall onto his head. It was working. He pushed himself to keep going, to cave the roof in. He would have had it done quicker, but he was now trying to hold a force field, it's purpose to keep the royal guards out. Fighting Luna was enough without having to worry about guards coming from all directions. He was running out of energy, yet he kept going, the cracks in the roof getting bigger and bigger, until finally, a large chunk of marble came crashing down to the floor, spraying rock and dust everywhere, some small portions of the boulderous marble hitting Dell in the face, getting his eyes. But that didn't deter him from caving the roof in. If anything, it encouraged him to keep going, showing that his plan was working miraculously. Then it occured to him: What if I DON'T make it out? What will happen? What if Luna escapes unharmed, and I die for nothing? Then he stopped. He stopped trying to cave the roof in, and instead, he concentrated on Luna, whose leg was trapped under the massive chunk of roof. "Pinned, and helpless. There is no way this could get better." Dell said, a malicious smirk appearing on his face. Then Celestia walked in. Dell jumped around with joy. "Oh, how wrong I was! HAHAHA!" But, unlike her sister, Celestia was a quick thinker. She picked up the boulder of marble, and threw it at Dell. He stopped it with his own magic, though barely. He struggled to stop it, but he had no difficulty sending it back. With all his might, he sent the boulder flying through the air, faster than Celestia, or Luna could throw it. Luna jumped to the side, proving his sister wrong that she was a slow thinker. Her sister, though, was less fortunate. The boulder collected Celestia, her and the boulder flying through the air, and crashing into the doors that led to Luna's quarters. Luna, now lost in a feeling of psychotic rage, threw Dell into the wall, and with a sickening crack, his head hit hard, blood steadily pouring from his wound. He fell from the wall, and with a dull 'THUMP', his body hit the ground, motionless. Luna ran to her quarters, lifted the boulder, and threw the boulder out of the large window that let light into her room. All Luna could do was stare in horror and shock. There lay Celestia, blood coating her from head to hind. She was breathing, though Luna feared that she might not be for very long. She sat on her haunches next to her bloodied sister, tears falling down her cheeks. Luna sat there, not knowing what to do. She then thought that maybe a new spell that she had learned would help. It was to repair injuries, but she wasn't sure she could use the spell to save her sister from near death. Besides, it might put her in more pain. But, when it came down to it, she had no other option. She would either have to perform the spell, which might save her, or leave her own sister to die beaten and broken. The choice was obvious. She quickly ran through her memories, trying to remember the spell. She found it, and prepared, as this spell took a lot of stamina. Trying to heal injuries was one thing, but healing from near death? That was another matter altogether. She gathered all of her strength, and started the spell. It took Luna three long hours, before her sister was finally strong enough to walk. She still had trouble keeping her balance, but she could walk long enough to make it to her own quarters. Once she made it to her own bed, she collapsed, falling into the deep abyss named unconsciousness. Luna, remembering Dell, ran back to the half demolished hallway, and found no sign of Dell, other than the pool of crimson blood that had left the wound in his head. *He'll be back...*, thought Luna, fearing the worst if he did. Two long, long years passed, and the land couldn't be better. Everything in the palace was back to normal, the Princesses telling the absent guards that Luna had gone through an 'Episode'. Those who DID see, were sworn to secrecy, never to tell another living soul what had really happened. And the best part was, that Dell hadn't been seen during the time it took to return things to normal, which was a relief. Celestia hadn't forgotten about what Dell had done to her. He had humiliated and harmed her. And she wanted revenge. Sweet, delicious revenge. But, what the royalty of Canterlot did not know, was that Dell was building an army. Murderers. Sadists. Rapists. Terrorists. Ayone who could kill, ravage, humiliate and destroy could join. Dell had destroyed three of the highest security prisons, all with his magic and help from a certain unicorn friend. These prisons were Barwon, Port Fillip and Pentridge. All of Equestrias most dangerous, ruthless criminals were now out and about, already forging new plans to kil, to steal, to destroy. But, once he had the chance, Dell had pulled them into line. He had organized the most danerous ponies in the country. "We have all been cheated! We have all been brutalized! And now, our time for revenge has come! We will pillage! We will kill! We! Will! Conquer!" The up-roaring noise of applause shook the ground, everypony there showing their allegiance to the insane unicorn who led them. It was when he put on a brilliant show of magical fireworks that he collapsed, though it was unknown what had caused it. He was in a white, empty space of... well, he didn't quite know what it was. A void? That was his best guess. He wasn't standing, but he wasn't flying either. He was floating. Then, out of nowhere, a great, bright ball of light flew into his chest. He went back into consciousness the moment that light struck. But, the moment he awoke, he was in pain. A pain unimaginable to the normal pony mind. His back felt like it was tearing itself apart, his spine sawing the flesh that stood between it and the open air. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. And he felt better than ever. He looked out to his army of criminals, and was astonished to find them bowing to him. Bowing! He had no idea why, but they were treating him like he was a king. Like he was somepony to be feared. He went to jump in joy, but once he was in the air, he didn't go back down. He looked behind him, and there they were. A pair of beautiful, big, orange wings. Wings! Ir took a few minutes for him to take it in, but when he landed back on the ground, realization struck him. They were bowing because they DID fear him. He was an Alicorn. "It is time, my brothers! Time to take the war to the City!" The ground shook as applause roared all around him. He had finally did it. He had an army, and to his surprise, he was now an Alicorn. He ,lifted his wings, and with minimal effort, he took to the sky, flying to Canterlot as fast as he could. The unicorns were strong, so they teleported across the landscape towards the City, and the earth ponies simply ran, though they had superpony amounts of stamina. Dell didn't know fully whether he would win or not, but one thing was certain: This. Is the Rise of Dell. > In The Beginning... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fires billowed from houses, from the White Tail Forest. From the graves of the thousands of ponies that were killed in the attack. The fires were spreading swiftly, burning down houses and businesses, burning many ponies that lived there to death. The forest fire was spreading, though the powers of the forest were fighting against it. Nopony had any idea what the powers were, but they were battling against the flames, and that was all they cared about. The City of Canterlot was now a candle, hanging off the side of a cliff. The surrounding cities were being attacked by hundreds of criminals, burning, killing, robbing. Destroying anything and anyone that was in the city. Some of the ponies fought, but it was a futile attempt, as the opposing defenders of the city were wiped out as quickly as they had formed. Dell could be seen flying towards Canterlot, a private army following him. Though he could be seen, he was hardly noticed, what with all of the fighting going on in the nearer cities and settlements. Dell had mastered his new power rather quickly, like he had with many other things. He was an extremely quick learner, and it was proving extremely handy. Though it wasn't long before they met with a part of Celestia's and Luna's opposing army. Without hesitation, both sides clashed, ponies falling from the sky as they brutally killed each other. Dell tried to avoid the fighting completely, as he was saving all of his strength for the fight with both of the Alicorn sisters. He flew past the battle, hoping to not be caught in the combat. But, as he feared, about ten of Canterlot's soldiers flew to stop in front of him. They did not hesitate. They pulled out their spears, and got ready to strike. But there was something wrong with the spears. They weren't as light as they should have been, and they shouldn't have been moving and wriggling around in their mouths. It was too late when they realised that Dell had put a hex on them, turning them against their owners. Dell flew away, the sound of spears piercing flesh and the screams that followed filling the air. "Life is good. But it will get better." Dell told himself, dodging a falling Pegasus, who obviously, had been killed. The castle was now in his sight, and as he flew towards the massive structure, realization struck him. *Why would the Princesses send all of their men out here, if they need protection at the castle?* Then, out of nowhere, an invisible force knocked him out of the sky. He fell and fell, and nothing could stop him. He was trying to regain flight, but he wasn't skilled enough to do that yet. He had yet to find out how exactly he became an Alicorn. He hit the ground with a dull, but bone breaking 'THUD'. He turned his head upwards to see who had the power to even touch him. It didn't surprise him when a Midnight Blue Alicorn landed next to him, her mane flowing, as though it was magically enchanted. Oh wait; It was. "Dell, your treachery has gone on for long enough. I demand that you stop this at once!" Luna was too occupied to notice that Dell was now an Alicorn. Dell couched loudly in Luna's face, spittle getting into her eye, temporarily blinding her. "I beg to differ, you horrid bitch!" Dell threw Luna across the ground, landing in a heap several metres away. He levitated the earth infront of him, forming a humongous, thick wall of dirt, grass and rocks. He intended to crush his old mentor with the very earth they sought to control. But before he could let the wall of earth go, he was hit by an extremely painful headache, causing his magic to faulter, and fall to his haunches. He tried to turn his head to see who it was, but had no such luck, as the pain seeped from his head to his arms, making him yell in unimaginable pain. "You fool! You think you can defeat us, defeat our army!? You are SCUM! You are NOTHING!" Celestia. How did Celestia survive that marble boulder? How had she recovered? He couldn't answer his own question, which frustrated him inside. "Were you so stupid to think that I would not come back for my revenge!? You are... You're... You're an ALICORN!?" Celestia had only just noticed that he had wings AND a horn. "Wha... What? Who's an Alicorn?" Luna had recovered from where she lay, bruised, but not beaten. "Dell... Dell's an Alicorn. An ALICORN!" Celestia lost her concentration, and her spell faded. The pain inside Dell had faded just as quickly as it had arrived. It was all Dell needed, as he put his own spell to use, though it wasn't what Celestia had expected. Dell used a magical blast that had a power similar to King Sombra's crystals. The bolt shot from Dell's horn to Celstia's own. Once the bolt hit, the effect was immediate. Dark, grey crystals started infecting the Princesses horn, rendering her horn useless. He then used a spell that took a lot of his energy, though it was quick. He teleported Celestia to a random location, but made sure that she was sent far, far away. Even though she had her wings, she still wouldn't get back in time to save her sister. "Now it's just you and me, bitch..." Dell levitated Luna into the air, rising up and up, until Luna was nothing but a spec in the air. Then, he let go, downing his levitation field and waiting for the drop. But nothing happened. Then he remembered; FUCK! WINGS! He took flight, pursuing the Princess through the red sky. She cast a green bolt at him, and missed. He retaliated, and also missed his mark. Then, they both cast the same spell, shot them, and the bolts collided, causing a mass explosion knocking the two Alicorns out of the air. Dell regained his flight, but Luna was not as lucky. She had been closer to the explosion than Dell, and Dell could tell from here that Luna's wing was broken, seeing the wing-bones sticking out of places they shouldn't. He flew down to where she landed, finding Luna was still staying strong. "Why won't you DIE!?" He stomped Luna in the ribs as hard as he could, hearing multiple cracking and snapping sounds. Then, seeing how much pain she was in, he had a better idea; Humiliate her and cause her as much pain as possible. Luna started to cast another spell, though Dell had his back turned towards her. And luckily, the spell was silent. She put her horn to her leg, and started healing herself. "Luna, you were no match for me. I had your skill when I was just a unicorn, and now that I'm an Alicorn, I will obliterate ANYPONY who stand in my way! You, your sister, your army, NOPONY can stop me!" Dell continued his rant as Luna healed her leg, which was working quite quickly. It was only a broken bone, and they were easy to mend. She stood up, testing her leg. It was good as new. She qucikly but quietly backed away from Dell, who was still ranting about how the holders of the Elements of Harmony would be his trophy's. She cast a simple, white bolt. It flew from her horn straight to her opponent, knocking him off of his feet. He lay there, stunned for a quick moment before he got back up and looked behind him. Luna was gone. "SHIT! Come back here, you stupid whore!" He was a fast flyer, a fast learner, and a fast spell-caster, but if there was one thing he could not do, it was run. He thought about flying after Luna, but he would make too easy a target, especially since Luna would have near perfect accuracy because she wasn't flying. Luna, on the other hand, was working on healing her wing, which was taking longer than she thought. The complex structure of the wing was slowing it down, frustrating Luna. She cast a random bolt to the back of her, but didn't here an impact. That's when she almost ran into Dell, who was now right in front of her. He had teleported. Luna levitated Dell, but he left her field of lift, and spear tackled her, dragging them both across the ground. His horn, which was filed down at the end to make it sharper, impaled Luna's leg. When Dell noticed this happen, he cast an expanding spell, bursting Luna's leg open wider and wider, until he could see the whaite of the bone. He took his hon out of her leg, wiping Luna's blood off his horn and face. He lifted his front leg, a malicious smile plastered on his face, and with all his might, he stomped on the bone, snapping it and sending splinters of bone everywhere. "Isn't this enough to tell you I want you gone!?" Dell flew away from Luna, trying to keep from turning around and snapping her neck right there. "Can't you see?" He paced back and forth, a ring of his soldiers gathering around to see the death of his old mentor. The princess lay lorn on the rough, rocky ground. Her wing was rotated in the wrong way, her bones that made up the wing sticking out of places they shouldn't be. Her leg bone now unrepairable, seeing that most of her leg bone was scattered around her. She was in immense pain, and as she screamed, Dell laughed loudly. Her sister was nowhere to be seen, as she was humiliated and hurt. She heard the cheering of Dell's guards, not really near where they were, but still audible. Luna's eyes opened, glowing a teal aura. "Dell... Please... Can't you see that you have taken this far enough? All of the ponies that live in canterlot, and Manehatten, and everywhere else, they're innocent! Why kill them?" Luna looked into Dell's eyes, looking for some form of mercy, or redemption. Unfortunately, all thoughts of mercy and redemption had been lost long ago. Dell had the chance to end one of Equestria's most powerful ponies, and he was NOT going to let the opportunity to torture her escape his grasp. Luna, in a desperate attempt to hurt Dell, cast a small bolt of light towards him. Dell, however, had seen this coming, and effortlessly cast the bolt aside. "Oh, Luna, I know all of your spells, your tactics and my way through Equestria! I don't think that your petty attempts to hurt me will work! I'll over-throw you, Celestia, and all royalty that remains!," The orange Alicorn chuckled. "Yes, Equestria will be MINE! MINE! ALL MINE! Your family will perish, your friends will burn! And I'll make sure you and your idiotic sister watches EVERY bit of it! There was a low rumble in the earth, little grains of dirt jumping up and down. A large crack appeared in the ground, Dell and his army stood back. They stood there, just waiting for something to come out. Then, like death himself rising from hell, a large creature with the form of a giant Praying Mantis climbed out, its legs desperately trying to find a stronghold to hold onto. The giant creature finally got out, the expression on its face, if you could call it that, showed that it was glad to be out of that pit. The large monster walked towards where Luna was laying. Judging by the size of it, the creature had to weigh more than Luna, Celestia, Dell AND Cadence combined. Centipedes, millipedes and multiple other creepy-crawlies of such started slithering out of the ground, as if under control, crawling towards where Luna helplessly lay. The creature stared down at Luna, its eyes containing evil that seemed impossible to imagine. Its mouth, containing rows upon rows of gleaming, razor-sharp teeth, opened to let out a horrid screech. Luna laughed uncomfortably, "I'm guessing THAT is your team mascot?" Dell hovered over the giant creature, smiling to himself with pride and joy. "Tyrunant, take her from my sight." The earth below her became loose, and tendrils, worms, and othr creatures started to pull her under, Dell staring down at her with a giant smile planted on his face. "NOOOOOO-" Luna was cut off as the earth fell on her, completely submerging her. Luna was on her way to Dell's version of 'Hell'. > Awakening... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dragon Gem awoke to find herself in a bed with wrinkled, cream-colored sheets, and thin, rough blankets. She had never seen this bed in her life, until now. She looked around. She was in a small, white room. Inside the white room were multiple white cupboards, a white, marble desk and a very clean, reflective white floor. The door to the room opened. An earth pony, with an orange mane and a light-shaded yellow coat, rushed in frantically. "It's about time you woke up! I think you're the new record holder for...something," The unknown pony said. "The name's Carrot Top. I'm one of the surgeons who helped operate on you. I really would love nothing more than to stay and chat, but we're evacuating the hospital. So I need you to get up. Now." "Wait, wait. What are you talking about? Evacuating? As far as I can tell, nothing is happening that is bad enough for an evacuation." Dragon Gem stared at Carrot Top, confusion on her face. "An announcement was put over the radio network that Intel had identified a Nuclear Warhead that was fired from an unknown location. Its estimated path shows that it might land in the ocean a few miles from here. Don't know why, and I don't really care. But we REALLY need to get going." Carrot Top, with impatience, trotted over to where Dragon Gem lay. She pressed something, and the metal bands that kept Dragon Gem down on the bed, retracted into the bed. Dragon Gem didn't even notice them until now. She looked back at Carrot Top, who, looking even more impatient, started tugging at Dragon Gems' leg. "Why was I bound down?" "You started to have... spasms, in your sleep. It was starting to become dangerous, seeing how you were still healing from your surgery. We had a case where one of our incisions split back open, but we stitched it back up, and it healed back, good as new. Now, as I have already said, we MUST get going." "Well, I'm glad I can see again. It was a curse, having no eye-sight. And the wings! I can fly now!" She let out a little squeal of delight. She climbed out of bed, the weight of her new Cybonic parts weighing here down. She stood for a few seconds, trying to adjust to the weight. When she felt confident enough to walk, she took a step towards a filing cabinet, where the records of all major surgery records for this hospital were kept, and almost fell over on her face. She stood straight again, this time just standing there for a bit longer, and tried to walk again. She succeeded, and walked slowly across the room to the cabinet. She pulled out three records that caught her attention, and quickly read over them. Patient: Twilight Sparkle Species: Alicorn Gender: Female Age: 29 Diagnosis: Annoyance with wings. Treatment: Wing amputation Patient: Dragon Gem Species: Unicorn Gender: Female Age: 27 Diagnosis: Blindness, No magic. Treatment: Cybonic surgery. Patient: Dell Fillivon [Currently classed as Escapee] Species: Alicorn Gender: Male Age: 11 Diagnosis: Insanity, Unstable temper control. Treatment: Uncertain. Await further instructions. "OK, that's it. We're going. NOW!", yelled Carrot Top, who was now filled with frustration. "Alright, alright, calm down. Lets go then." Dragon Gem, now kind of used to the weight, spun around, to see that Carrot Top was holding three pills. "Take these, they will help you adjust to the weight of your new Cybonic parts." Dragon Gem took the pills out of the yellow mares' hoof, looking at them as if they were riddled with disease. "Oh, just take them, would you!? We don't have much time left!", Carrot raced to a radio that was sitting on a table, which was in the corner of the room. She turned it on, and switched it to the 'Alert' Channel. She listened attentively, still waiting for Dragon Gem to take the pills. "This message is a recording, and is set on repeat, not lively. Please listen, as this may save your life. 'To anyone in the Celestial Valley; The Royalty Intelligence has identified a Nuclear Warhead, launched from an unknown source. We suspect it may be the Zebras of Zebrabwe, but it is not certain. Orders are to evacuate the area IMMEDIATELY. At the time of this recording, the warhead had forty-five minutes until impact. This message was uploaded to the network at 4:57am. Check the time immediately to see how long you may have. Good luck, everypony.' Carrot ran to the nearest clock, seeing that the time was 5:13am. Dragon Gem caught up to Carrot Top, the adjustment pills working quite swiftly. "What did the radio say? Do we have much time?" "No, we have to go. Now." Dragon Gem and Carrot Top bolted down the corridor that led to the elevator down to the ground floor. Carrot flashed her ID card over the scanner, pressed the button to open the door, and waited. After a while, nothing happened, so she tried again. Again, nothing happened. "Celestia, help us..." said Carrot, cursing under her breath. "Ok, this isn't working, and we don't have time to just stand around and wait. We gotta take the stairs.", said Dragon, an impatient tone taking place in her voice. Carrot said nothing, but agreed with a silent nod. They both ran towards the emergency exit, which took them down the stairs, towards the ground floor. Carrot, who was not much of an athlete, tripped on the last set of stairs. She hit the temple of her head with a wet crack. Dragon, with almost superpony reflexes, caught Carrot before she hit the floor. She pulled Carrots' unconscious body onto her back, so Dragon could carry her. The added weight did not really affect Dragon, as the tablets that Carrot had given her earlier were really starting to kick in. She bolted out into the lobby. It was completely empty, seeing how most of the town was probably evacuated already.The main entrance was in her sight. She bolted towards it, glad to finally have the chance to get out of this horrible building. She ran, jumped over some knocked over tables and stopped at the doors. There was a problem. They weren't opening. "No! No, no, no no, NO!", she yelled, stomping her hooves on the ground as hard as she could. She checked the time on a clock that sat on the wall, in a near-perfect position. 5:17. Gotta hurry. She set Carrot down gently, but quickly on the floor. She went to the doors, backed up, and with all her might, she bucked out, shattering the fragile glass that made up the majority of the door. The sound of the glass smashing and hitting the floor sounded deafening in the empty, silent hospital. She wondered if you could here it from space? She dismissed that distracting thought, and ran to Carrot. She picked her up, now with hardly any effort, bolted out of the hospital, and down the street. A few ponies were still in town, either gathering possessions, or rummaging through the stores that were left, wide open for anypony who could give a shit to walk in and take whatever they want. Right then she felt, more than heard, Carrot regaining consciousness. She moved a bit, made a little noise, then fell back into the deep, dark abyss called unconsciousness. Dragon looked back to check the state of Carrot. Blood. That was the first thing she noticed. There was blood covering nearly all of her face, dripping into her open mouth. And it was starting to soak down to her torso. Either way, she needed something to stop, or at least suppress, the bleeding. She decided that they would stop at a medical store, seeing as how she didn't want to go back to the hospital. "C'mon Carrot, don't die on me now..." She finally found a small medical center on the outskirts of town. She entered, and just as she feared, it had been ransacked. Most of what was useful had been stolen, and what was left wasn't really useful. But, luckily, she found what she needed right in the middle of the floor. She picked up a little bag off of the floor, and put the roll of bandages in. She then took the time to run around the shop, taking anything that may have looked useful. Morphine, weaker anesthetic agents, antibiotic tablets, antibacterial agents, anything tht could serve a good role in this situation. When she was done, she bolted back to the front door, but check the time first. 5:27. Not much time at all. She sprinted out the door, and down the street that led out of town. Anywhere that was opposite the ocean was an ideal route to take. She ran, and she ran. She pushed herself harder and harder, and when she would reach her limit, she would push even harder, and break that limit. It got to the point where she couldn't stop if she wanted to. Her legs were running for her. But, no matter how fast she ran, how much she pushed herself, she knew that in her heart, she wouldn't beat that nuke. She kept wishing that she had done something to her legs as-well, something that improved them Cybonically. Then she had a new wish. She wished that she could trade her wing upgrades for leg upgrades. And that's when she remembered: She DOES have wings! She can fly! And everypony knows that flying is A LOT faster than running. She had hope, she had new energy. She ran a little faster, then, she jumped. She jumped as high as she could, bracing herself for a face plant, or falling on her side. But none of that happened. She was flapping her wings. She was flying! "Oh Luna, and the other gods above... I'm FLYING! ME! HAHAHA!" she shouted as loud as she could across the sky, knowing now that she may have a chance of getting both her and Carrot to safety. "Ugh... uh... what... what happened... why are we sO HIGH UP!?" Carrot screamed. She hung on for dear life as she looked down at the vast landscape below. Her fear of heights getting the better of her. "I'm Flying! Carrot! I'm FLYING!" Dragon shouted again, with pride and joy filling her voice. "Oh god... I think I'm... I'm gonna... uhhhh..." Right at that moment, Carrot fainted. "Pfft. Typical doctor..." She flew and flew, until she was absolutely certain that the nuke wouldn't hit them. But Dragon was exhausted, and she couldn't fly for much longer. She had Cybonic wings, but that didn't make her stamina that of a superpony. She set Carrot and herself down in a large crevice that inhabited the cliff, which looked over the Celestial Valley. Dragon, who was absolutely tired, set Carrot down nice and gently. She opened the baggie she had packed the medical stuff in. She pulled out the bandages, and unwrapped about a metres length. She gripped Carrots head, and as gentle as she could, she wrapped the bandage around the cut on her head. She made sure it wasn't too tight, but made sure that it was going to stay on. Then Dragon herself decided to lay down next to Carrot, snuggling up to her, half to keep warm, and half because she had already developed feelings for Carrot. But, before she could get to sleep, she heard an enormous 'BOOOOOSH', which shook the very ground they lay on. Dragon weakly looked up, a bright, orange glow filling the sky, and saw that infamous atomic mushroom cloud. The nuke had finally dropped. Five minutes early. But she couldn't focus on that any longer. She closed her eyes, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. > Rune of Pain > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- She was in a black void, her thoughts of home vanishing, replaced with thoughts of fear and death. She was spinning and spinning, not being able to stop herself. Her innards felt like they where in her throat, as if they were going to jump out at any given moment. She shouted, she screamed, she begged for help. But there was nopony to listen, and she doubted that they could here her anyway if there was. She could see nothing, hear nothing. Feel nothing. She was drifting, alone, in a great big space of nothingness. Was she dead? Is this what Limbo was? She wasn't sure, but she was scared to the core. Nopony to talk to, to listen to. She couldn't even see herself. Was it that dark? Or was she becoming blind? Again, she wasn't sure, but now she could see somepony. It was a stallion, she was certain. The face structure showed it. He, too, was drifting out, alone. But wait! He had a tether attached to him! Which meant that this wasn't a great big space of nothingness! She reached out, but realized that she couldn't move her body. And she couldn't speak, or shout, because the fine pony would not hear her. Yet she opened her mouth wide, and tried again to scream, to shout, to do anything that would make noise. But, alas, she could not do anything to grab his attention. The stallion was turning around, now starting to head back to whence he came. She tried again to reach out, but had no luck. One more time, she screamed, and this time she heard herself. -----REALITY----- Luna woke with a start as she tried to move her front hooves, but they were tied down. She couldn't see a thing, thinking that she was still in her nightmare, but she had second thoughts when she could hear herself panting, gasping for air. Sweat covered her from head to hoof, soaking her coat and giving off an awful smell. Once her eyes adjusted, she could make out a large black wall in front of her. It was probably a different colour, but the darkness didn't reveal what it was. She looked down, and saw that she was in a strange chair, which had wires running from the bottom of it, and out into the darkness behind her. "Okay, where in Equestria am I?" She tried again to lift her front hooves, but was reminded that she was tied down. She looked down towards her front hooves, seeing that a very thin but strong twine kept her hooves down to the arm rests. She let her eyes adjust some more, and saw that they were tied down with piano wire. And as if that wasn't bad enough, when she tried to pull them up again, they cut into her flesh, causing a burning pain to shoot through her front legs and into the rest of her body. She moved her head, and noticed that somethng heavy was on there. It fitted like a helmet, yet it was heavier than normal. She listened now, trying to make out where she was. She could hear lots and lots of chatter, yet she couldn't understnd any of it. It all just blurred together, and the fact that she had half a leg, a smashed up wing and probably a major concussion, it wasn't really helping her work out what all of the chatter was about. She took a peek at her half-leg, and saw that somepony had professionaly disinfected, dressed then surgically attached a Cybonic leg to the stump. So she took a glance at her wing, and saw that it was replaced with a Cybonic wing. *Why would they improve me...?* Luna thought. Then she heard hoofsteps. They coming behind the stage, and Luna was growing anxious. When she saw that the pony was heading the other way, however, she let herself relax a little, ad concentrated on trying to get this kink out of her neck. But, before she had a chance, she heard chains clinking together, then she was blinded by a terrible, bright light. All of the chatter she could hear before turned into cheers and taunts, filling the room with enough noise to give Luna a migraine. When she finally gained back her sight, she couldn't believe where she was. She was staring out to almost seven thousand ponies, and she instantly knew who they were: Dell's army. An army of criminals. Murderers, rapists, the lot. The worst ponies in Equestria were now right in front of her, just waiting for the order to rip Luna apart. "Ladies and Gentlecolts! I have gathered you all here for a very special occassion! Tonight, we shall drink! We shall feast! And we shall have a little fun! For tonight I, Dell Fillivion, bring you the Princess of the Moon, Luna!" Everypony gave a loud applause, their hooves banging against the earth, shaking the earth. Luna spun her head towards Dell, and their eyes locked. While hers was a smile of mercy, Dell's was a smile of malice, of torture. He walked up to the Blue Alicorn, a remote in his hoof. Before she could ask what it did, Dell pressed the green button, and the chair she was tied to now straightened out into a platform, where she lay momentarily dazed from the sudden change. A mirror appeared in front of her, showing her what state she was in. To her head, she had strapped a large helmet-like device, with cables running from the back of it to a gap inside the benches leg. Down further, she had another strange device strapped to her chess, though this one in particular was not run by electricity. It was run by magic, and magic alone. She could feel it. Down some more, and she would find strapped to her legs a trap in which, if Luna were to break the bonds, three blades would be impaled into each of her hind legs, which would keep her from running. She felt the bench move, and then the enitre army was facing her again. She was now hanging from the platform. Though she was secure enough to not be able to escape, she was still hanging from the front legs, the piano wire cutting more into her flesh, the blood trickling down and dripping on her and the floor. How she could manage the pain, she did not know, but she did. Dell, whose sanity had been lost long ago, walked up to the Princess, who was completely at his mercy. He had a new piece of piano wire, and he wasn't planning on fixing his piano, that's for sure. "I've been waitin a long time for this, you whore! Too long! Now, you will suffer, you will die! And when I chuck you in a hole with everypony else, I'll piss on your grave! HAHAHA!" Dell, in his psychotic rage, pushed the piano wire into Luna's mouth, and with all of his force, Dell pushed the wire through her cheeks, creating a bloody smile across her face. Blood was flowing steadily from the two cuts, creatig a tiny pool under her. Dell, who had been through Luna's library, had learnt the spell to heal bones. But he had also worked out how to heal flesh. He put his horn to the two large cuts in Luna's cheeks, and concentrated on just healing them. Nothing more, nothing less. Just heal them. When he had finished, there wasn't even a scratch left on her face. "Ha! Now that I have this spell, I can hurt you, heal you and hurt you again all I want!" Dell's insanity was growing worse with each passing second. Luna tried to knock him off his feet with her magic, but she was too weak from exhaustion. Not just from the torture, but from fightng Dell yesterday aswell. Wait, was it yesterday? How long had she been here? Then she looked back at her Cybonic parts. They would have taken atleast a fortnight to attatch, then another week to confirm that they work. A few more days recovery, and that makes three weeks, four days. What had happened to her sister in that time? Was she ok? Was Celestia even looking for her younger sister? All of this she didn't know, and it angered her. But she could not do anything about it, because that anger was soon gone, as the helmet on her head started to contract. "GAAAAAHHHH!!" Screamed Luna in pain, the helmet device crushing her head like a vice. Before the helmet killed her, however, Dell came and put his horn against Luna's head again. So, while he was using his powers to heal, the helmet was crushing the bone over and over again, the next break seemingly more painful than the last. It lasted for about five minutes until Dell stopped the machine. He may have been powerful, but he had not been able to adapt well to his new transformation; He was still trying to figure the wings, let alone the advanced magical abilities that came with being an Alicorn. "Okay Luna, time to introduce you to some of the prisoners. A lot of them you tossed into jail, and now here they are, roaming freely around my new home. They want your head on a platter and your guts in a pot. Best hope they aren't carrying any weapons, hmm?" Dell winked at Luna, then set off backstage. Surprisingly, all of the prisoners lined up single file, going one at a time up onto the stage. The first prisoner, one that Luna recognised as a thief, walked up, spat in Luna's face, and walked off. He didn't utter a single word. The next prisoner, one that Luna didn't recognise at all, walked onto the stage and stood in front of the Princess. "You know, you're awful pretty, Luna. You still... you know... Pure?" The prisoner cracked up laughing, then looked back at Luna. "Well, you gonna answer me, Sugarflank?" All Luna did was keep quiet, and stare at the floor. But the floor wasn't in her vision for long, as the prisoner bucked her in the face as hard as he could. At first, she was blinded, then all she could see was red. The prisoner had just left the stage, when Dell came back and ordered everypony to their seats. "We're running low on time! So, we're gonna have to skip the...fun part, and go straight on to the Rune of Pain!" Dell set his eyes on the large device strapped to Luna's chest, his horn glowing a magical orange aura, and the device glowing the same shade. As he focused, she coud feel more than hear the gears and cogs working, the device shaking slightly. She could also feel it startin to heat up inside. She thought that everything inside the machine was working so fast that it was heating up. Boy, was she wrong. "Have you ever heard of the 'Rune of Pain', Luna?" Luna stayed silent, refusing to reply to Dell in this state. And though she was hardly listening, she still thought that the Rune of Pain sounded familiar. "Fine," Said Dell "Just trying to feed your curiosity." As the machine worked, so did Luna's brain, which was trying to come up with a way out of here, and trying to remember what the Rune of Pain is. She had heard of it before, but she only vaguely remembered it, like it was in a foal's book, and quickly forgotten. She spent about ten minutes thinking, before the incredible burning pain hit her in the chest. The pain was horrible, unimaginable. She screamed and screamed, begging for mercy but not getting it. She could smell her own coat and flesh burning, the smoke from her chest rising into the air, and stopping at the roof. She screamed, shouted and yelled for help, but it wasn't coming. The only pony who could help her was very far away, and probably thought that Luna was dead anyway. "Ha! Feel the pain, you dumb bitch!" "Fucking die, you whore!" "I hope you burn to death, you two-bit mole!" Everypony in the audience was throwing insult after insult towards Luna, taunting her. Some started to throw rocks and cups and beer cans at Luna, some of the objects drawing blood, while others just bounced off. he objects started getting bigger, and more dangerous. Unicorns were hurling chairs and tables at the Princess, missing their mark, but only barely. Dell had heard the commotion, and came back from backstage to check what was going on. He saw Luna, who was almost passing out from the pain. Then he saw his army, all nearly out of control. "Everypony calm down! I know that this horrid slut has ruined all of our lives, and I know that you all want revenge for that. How do you think I feel, standing here right now with the power to snap her neck, or to pull each of her teeth out, one at a time? I'm struggling aswell, but if I can hold it, so can you. Just calm down. Keep throwing rocks at her, though. She could use a good stoning! HAHAHA!" As Dell walked off, laughing at his own joke, Unicorns, Pegasai and Earth Ponies alike started picking up large stones and throwing them at Luna, who was still in unbelievable pain. It wasn't until about a dozen rocks hit her, that the device stopped. The horrible machine sprayed water onto where it burned, making it sting even more. Once the machine pulled away from her chest, she looked down, her eyes only just staying open. Dead center on her chest, was a huge, burning mark. But not just any mark, oh no. This mark was enchanted. The Rune of Pain was now coming back to Luna's mind. Another rock hit her square on the forehead, and a large gash appeared across the area. The Rune of Pain was a magical rune where any unicorn who turned it on could inflict large amounts of pain towards whoever had the mark.The victim could be on the other sife of the world, and still feel the immense pain that followed the Rune of Pain. But any species could carry the mark. Earth, Pegasai and Unicorns alike, the damage was brutal, but not lethal. That was the worst part. You couldn't die from the pain, nor pass out. The victim could suffer weeks, maybe even months of that same brutal pain. It would rive them mad. Another horrible war machine built by the Unicorns during the War between the Earth Ponies, Pegasai and the Unicorns. "What...? What!? You can't mark me with this! The Rune of Pain!? PAIN IS WHAT I CAU-AARRGHHHHHHHH!!