> Life's a Story: Stigma > by Vorelicious > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle cries echoed through the scorched land, arrows flew high above the cloudy skies, and screams that would haunt the lands echoed. Two sides raged war at one another, one side flying through the battlefield like graceful dancers while the other side charged through all that stood in its path. In a castle of crumbling stone stood a group of three, one with a large, glowing sword, another with a staff of crackling energy, and the last with a strap around his waist, bottles of different concoctions bubbling and splashing on the glass. “My Rose...my Nightshade...” The one with the staff spoke, his voice having an air of love and care, towards the two others in the group. “We are not going to win this war...we have lost many men and women…we must organize a retreat” “We can not retreat you old fool!” The one with bottles snarled, his voice showing his young age. “I refuse to be thought of as a coward who ran away while his home was destroyed!” “Then what do you plan to do?” The man asked. “You have no more Lach Potions, all of them have been summoned and killed.” “Then I will die with them.” The young one growled. "You will not!" The holder of the sword gasped, the tone of voice surprisingly feminine and melodious. "I won't allow my only son to be slain! “Well, what do you propose we do mother?” --- The snow fell like a shower of chilling beauty, the landscape being that of a blank, white canvas that an artist has yet to touch with a brush. Soon the smooth surface of the snow was disrupted as a creature who had been buried under the chilling snow stood. The creature had a skin of a sickly purple that was coated with snow, and silky, dark pink hair stuck to his back. Soon his eyes opened, shining a crimson red. Said eyes scanned the land with confusion, his lips pulled back in a frown. “Where...am I…” He muttered, slowly taking a step only to let out a grunt as he fell to the snow. Letting out a growl he rolled onto his back, looking down at his feet. His eyes slowly grew narrow as he saw that he no longer had feet, but what looked like hooves. “What the hell...?” He growled, shaking a bit as he got on his hooves, shivering a bit as he could feel another appendage above his rear, what felt like a tail. “I’m...an equine now…” He muttered, taking a few steps to get used to the hooves. As he grew more comfortable using his hooves, he finally remembered the freezing cold biting at his skin. He started to walk a bit faster, stumbling a bit in the deep, thick snow. He could feel the snow sapping his energy away, most of it already gone from being buried in the frozen slush. His vision was clouded by the snow falling and already he could feel his legs shaking. “Weak...you're...weak…” He muttered to himself, panting as his lungs burned from the freezing cold air he was inhaling. Finally, he could take no more and fell to the snow, the process of being buried all over again already beginning. --- Princess Mi Amora Cadenza laid in her room, her pink skin glowing with beauty as she simply rested, her long, multi-colored hair spread around her bed. When alone, she simply liked to let loose, as shown by her being in only her undergarments, a large, black bra that held her large breasts and matching panties wrapped around her large hips and thighs. She looked up at the crystallized picture that had been created when her workers had made her and her husband's bedroom. It showed her on top of the Empire, her wings outstretched and the crystal heart in front of her chest, glowing as a large, black mass was shown in the left corner with a glowing green eye that glared at her. She let her own eyes close, simply letting the warm room wrap around her body, a small smile on her muzzle. Sadly that smile vanished as she felt a sudden spike in magic out in the cold tundra that surrounded her Empire. Normally she would not worry, as it could just be the Windigos that inhabited the tundra, but her horn felt the heat building in it as if it were near a flame. Slowly she got out of her bed, standing at a tall 8.4, and used a simple spell to clothe herself in a black sweater and tight, red skinny jeans. With a flick of her horn, the clothes were heated to be able to withstand the cold of the tundra. She walked over to the balcony of her room and let her wings open wide, breathing in the crisp air of the Empire before taking flight, heading towards a very faint wall of blue magic. The large shield that surrounded the whole Empire and its farms were made by the crystal heart. It kept out the tundra that used to rule the lands during King Sombra’s rule. Cadence took a deep breath as she flew through the shield, gasping as the temperature changed instantly, the cold grasping her body like tendrils. She shook off the tendrils, focusing more on her horn, looking for the heat. Her eyes scanned the snow-covered land, watching a large group of Windigos scatter as they sensed the princess of love nearby. She watched for anything that could be causing the magical heat, as her horn seeming to have grown cold. She was about to turn back when her horn suddenly burned, causing her to let out a small yelp as the heat was enough to hurt. Slowly she turned her head, feeling her horn grow hotter and hotter. It seemed to cool down as she looked away from the east. Slowly she glided towards the cardinal direction, her eyes looking for the source of the heat. Finally, her eyes caught sight of a small form, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw that it was, by its figure, a passed out mare. Surrounding the mare was fire of a deep blue and as she got closer, seemed to die down. Finally Cadence landed in the circle of fire which dissipated the moment her hooves touched the snow. She let her horn glow a light blue, sending a dome of magic around her and the mare. She leaned down and placed a hand on the mare’s back, looking over the flawless, sickly purple skin the mare had with long, silk-like hair that was tainted by the white snow. Slowly and carefully Cadence rolled her over onto her back, letting out a small gasp as she saw the stallion like muzzle, the nose not as pointy as most mares. Then there was the limp shaft that rested between his legs. Cadence could not stop the thought that entered her mind, he looked amazing, even covered in the snow he looked like he could win a beauty pageant. She quickly shook her head, forcing the thoughts from her mind as she closed her eyes, focusing her magic on a pair of boxers, jeans and pink sweater that were in her closet. With a small pop, the clothing appeared and she quickly clothed the stallion, unable to stop the small smile on her lips as she looked the stallion over in the clothing. Seeing that he was clothed, she focused a large amount of magic around them, the image of the medical ward in the Empire appearing in her mind. With a burst of magic, she and the stallion were no longer in the tundra, leaving only a small hole in the snow, slowly being filled up with white slush once more. Screams echoed in the stallion’s mind, explosions filling his limited view. He could not turn his head, or look around, all he could do was watch as his father fought off large amounts of creatures with black chitin, with an appearance like human insects. Green flames exploded from their crooked horns, only for his father to swipe away the flames with his staff. He tried to move, tried to get to his father’s side, wanting to help in the destruction of the disgusting creatures. But it was all in his mind, he had no physical body in this world, all he could do was watch as one of the creatures slammed into his father’s back, impaling him on its horn. As soon as he was run through, the others were quick to rip him apart, tearing flesh from his body with their gnashing fangs, and bathing his face in goblin green flames, completely mutilating him. But he didn’t scream. He did not yell or call for help. He knew there were no more soldiers… no more mages... no more citizens. He was doomed and would not show the creatures his sorrow. But he did one thing, something Stigma knew him well for. He smiled. Slowly, an aura of magic collected around him and the large group of insects. The magic aura grew wider and wider, the ruined castle being surrounded by the golden aura. Stigma, while lacking a body, could feel himself smiling as the kingdom’s most powerful mage used his last spell, and where the large, ruined kingdom once stood, was nothing but a clean cut crater.