A small cabin in the snowy reaches of the Northern Expanse, a stream runs behind it frozen in these early days of winter, a rack of logs cut and covered along the edge of the cabin, and a great pine and maple forest extends past the river bank. It looked like a trapper lodging or the perfect getaway location if it were not for the stallion that inhabited it. A jet black stallion woke up from his large fluffy bed the daylight had barely broken and yet he was up, not to get a head start on his work but to get himself looking nice. The stallion went to great lengths to style his mane and make sure his hair was looking its best, despite the fact that he was completely alone out there. Taking a deep breath of the sharp frigid air as he opened the door to the pristine wilderness outside the stallion shook himself and pressed his clothes in tighter with his wings. The usual morning routine followed with the stallion checking on his buried larder to make sure not critters had made their way in to it in the night and to check that none of the food had spoiled or gotten mites in it. The smell helped invigorate the stallion, the smell of food preserved and shaped by his own hooves, it only made it all the more satisfying. Finding everything in good order the stallion retreated back into the cold and headed for the forest to check on his traps and snares he had set yesterday. After a hearty trek through the snow the stallion returned from his hunting grounds with three rabbits swing from his mouth, all in all a good catch but he might have to set up a fishing barrier for the later winter months, he thought. First he had to skin these rabbits and add then to his larder, humming a mournful dirge as he did it. If someone had asked him why he had to hum such a sorrowful song he would’ve just shrugged, it just felt natural. With the meat preparations finished he now moved to setting up that fishpond, he walked out into the cold to the larder and picked up reeds and bailing line after hanging the meat to finish preserving. Using his dexterous wings he methodically bound he reed until he finally had a strong lattice, satisfied with its strength he carefully made the squares smaller before he was confident the adult fish wouldn’t get through.
The stallion sighed as now the laborious part was next, heading outside he grabbed a shovel and began excavating a large pond area next the river, the work was hard but by the end of it, he had a good sized space and depth for his fish pond and he had done his exercise for the day, he returned with the net and finally connected the pond with the river. Water poured in and filled up the hole and once it had settled he affixed the net to the sides of the river downstream. He looked at his set up and smiled, it was good work and as his stomach reminded him at that moment good work deserves a good lunch. Brimstone drew a bucket of water from the stream and set it to boil in a big stew pot, grabbing one of his good rabbits from the larder and several carrots and onions and began slicing them all up, it felt like a stew day. Tossing in a few logs into a potbelly stove, he stoked the fire carefully and then brought the water to a boil before throwing in all his prepared ingredients and left it simmer. As he waited for his stew to be ready, the stallion picked up a small piece of would and began carving it into a face he saw in his dreams, it was a stallion’s face rough and rugged, he had a strong jaw but tired and pained eyes, and scars to match those eyes. As the carving took shape he realized that not only was it definitely the stallion in his dreams but he was a dreamy stallion. The hissing of water and smell of a hearty stew from the pot brought him back to reality so he hurriedly took it off the heat and got out his bowl. Then came a knock on the door and before the stallion could move over to it, it flung open and large stallion covered in a long leather coat from his neck to his hooves a large brimmed hat covered his face.
“Brimstone, I presume. The cabin checks out, the coat checks out, the face checks out, and if I’m not mistaken what you are about to say will check out.” The stallion looked up to reveal his face.
Brimstone stared a little confused by it all but then it hit him and as he stared at the stallion’s he finally made the connection, “Y-you are that stallion from my dreams…but how?” Brimstone ran over to his carving and showed it to the stallion “This is you!”
The stallion smiled at Brimstone’s finally realization, “Yes indeed, I’m Crimson, mercenary and Twilight’s royal guard, and under orders from Princess Cadance and Celestia to find you and bring you along with me.”
“Wait WHAT?! What do you need from me?” Brimstone was still a bit shocked and had to take a seat.
Crimson took in a deep breath before he continued “Brimstone I know of your past and I have come here under orders for one reason, Equestria needs your mind and skill, the skills your father taught you. The Princesses have strong reason to believe that the reawakening of the Crystal Empire has awakened another threat that your father had subjugated and sequestered beyond the mountains in order to overwhelm Equestria proper should his forces ever falter or fail. Well if my presence is any indicator, there is a fear that they are starting to come over the mountains and possibly lay waste to everything unless an organized resistance is established. Due to your knowledge of this land, your combat indoctrination, and martial prowess you have been chosen by The Princesses and I am to be your companion for this journey. I know this is sudden but we need to begin by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!? But I haven’t even finished lunch yet. I don’t think I can do this and I don’t know if you have the right person!” Brimstone was quite rattled by all this and he almost just completely shut down and just started eating his stew.
“I understand you might need a minute, if you don’t mind I will just have lunch with you, it was a long trek from the crystal palace. We can work on it today, if you need any help around this place I would be happy to help.”
After some deep thought and two bowls of stew Brimstone spoke once again, “How long would be out there?”
Crimson answered almost immediately, “Depending on the situation on the mountain between two and three weeks, we are a scouting party not a two man army, and despite our capabilities we could not engage such a large force. The journey there will take 3 days and the rest will be spent patrolling and getting reconnaissance about the area for future staging grounds and other such militaristic information.”
Brimstone sighed “Fine I guess I can spend the rest of the day securing the cabin and preparing as much as I can.”
Crimson allowed himself to smile warmly “Wonderful, what do you need me to do?”
The work was hard for Brimstone, there was much he needed to do as he had never really left for this long and he had expected to stay the entire winter here. He sent Crimson into the woods for more wood as to fortify the house in case of heavy snowstorms, meanwhile Brimstone set upon undoing all of his traps and hunting devices as he was not going to need them set up. There was one medium sized fish that had already gotten shored into the fish pond. Brimstone getting playful decided to catch it with his own teeth and while this worked he did just dunk his muzzle into ice cold water. Luckily he had to head inside to prepare the fish and as he finished he heard the cracking and splintering of wood as Crimson was going to town on a fresh tree. Brimstone was impressed by the ferocity but still a little restless over the whole situation; a strange stallion just showing up in the middle of the day in the middle of nowhere carrying with him a royal edict asking for him specifically and even though he was pretty hot it was just too strange an event to gloss over. Despite this the fact that all this could possibly be the work of Sombra, his father’s plans for domination coming back from the dead, was enough to make him place his faith in this stallion’s story. Brimstone was not adverse to his royal blood but his father’s tyranny was a stain on his life and his dark power was a stain on his soul ever gnawing at the edge of his mind.
“Brimstone? Are you okay there?” Crimson’s voice snapped Brimstone back to reality as he stood over the counter, the filet of fish half salted.
“Yes, yes of course I was just thinking of…uh how it was so kind of Celestia to send along such an amiable companion.” Brimstone tried to put up his royal façade of suave and collectedness, but his contemplation left him a little off beat.
“Indeed it was Brimstone.” Crimson said flatly before he closed the door and started stacking chopped logs. Brimstone finished up his salting the fish and moved it to the larder which he spent the rest of the day hiding and disguising in addition to his house as a whole. Brimstone wanted to keep this place as much of a secret as he could, it would spoil his winters if the soldiers that would eventually march on to fight the threat discovered this place. Together Crimson and Brimstone turned the once obviously lived-in area into a slightly misshapen snowdrift from afar or an abandoned and dangerous cabin if inspected up close. All in all it was a well done job but it had taken all the rest of the day so they retired into the cabin for dinner.
“Do you want anything special Crimson? I am known in the royal circles as a fairly good cook.” Brimstone called over from his stove trying to reconstitute his stew and added a bit more into it considering he wasn’t going to be here for quite some time.
Crimson held up his hoof up to decline, “I came prepared with food for two for the duration of our journey, although we might have to ration it if it goes to 3 weeks. Although I’m sure your trapping skills are sharp enough to get us through.”
They both sat nursing their food in silence for a few minutes with Crimson breaking the silence this time, “Do you have any other questions, Brimstone? And do you need any saddlebags?”
Brimstone finished his bowl before answering “I have so many questions, but I’m afraid of the answers I might get for some of them and for the others I really don’t think they’re necessary. And for the second question yes I do need those, my other ones are either too flashy or too loose for scouting.”
“Understood, Brimstone” Crimson moved to go outside “I hid the rest of my gear nearby. I will return in a little while”
“I know most ponies call me by my full name but I’d really like if you called me Brim.” Brimstone quickly interjected before Crimson had made it through the door.
“As you wish…Brim.” The door lightly hit the frame covering up Brimstone’s sigh.
“Good job Brim, you really played that one smoothly” he said to himself. Taking another deep breath Brimstone got up and cleaned up his kitchen quickly before ponderously making his way to the bedroom and to his dresser. He opened the dresser and pushed back all of his clothes, from his one royal outfit to his several pairs of winter and work clothes. He picked out his hardiest of his winter clothes, which happened to be white, his most durable boots, a large winter hat, and his prized brass goggles. Having set all those aside he reached into a secret compartment built into the back of the dresser and pulled out a pair of wing blades, made of silver from base to wingtip and jointed twice more than regular models to accommodate for Brimstone’s large wingspan. The blades themselves were razor sharp black crystal slivers a hoof in length and paper thin and they seemed incredibly fragile from afar but up close anyone could see the magic coursing through them, reinforcing them beyond the abilities of steel.
“I see you have a set of Sombra’s royal guard wing blades, makes me wonder if they were a gift or just an heirloom Brim.” Crimson was standing at the doorway a pair of matte metal plated saddlebags at his hooves and a smirk on his face.
“My father helped me make these, or he made me make these. He believed that a strong warrior needed to know the ins and outs of his weaponry and that he can only trust the blade made by his own hand. I’ve practiced with them since I was strong enough to land and dive, although, this pair weren’t made until I had finally mastered the art. I would say I’m still a master but to be fair it has been quite a while since I’ve trained with them, but at least once a year I try them on and make sure I’m still used to them.” Brimstone explained while messing and fumbling with the blades and joints. “But how did you know what they were, I’m certain no one has seen these in action since his banishment a thousand years ago.”
“I’m sure it’ll make an interesting story, but we have a long trek tomorrow and I would rather not keep you up with my war stories, I bid you good night Prince Brimstone.” Crimson turned to leave but was stopped by Brimstone’s hoof on his back.
“Crimson are you sure you wouldn’t rather keep me company in my sleep? It’s rare I get another body to fill the bed with and truth be told I think you would fill it very nicely.” Brimstone was laying it on thick, his usual princely instincts taking control for a second.
“Brim I bid you good night and although I am flattered by your offer, I will be staying out here for the night. I will wake you in the morning and don’t you worry, food will be waiting for you.
“Well you can’t blame me for trying, Crimson. I guess this is good night, then.”
“Yes, good night.”
Brimstone slowly started packing his clothes and tools into the saddlebags, his mind was busy trying to process this weird day. The more he thought about what Crimson had said the more he questions he had and the more confused he got. He only snapped out of it when he was trying to strap in a small shovel with a sock, facehoofing at the realization. He quickly finished up his saddlebags after that and started his nighttime routine of preening his feathers and making sure his coat was all smoothed out. As he looked himself in the mirror he contemplated what other strange things could possibly happen before shooting his reflection a devilishly good look and going to bed.
The morning came like it usually did in the snowy north, crisp and cold but this time with the scent of fruit and oats. Brimstone picked himself out of bed and did his morning routine as usual, remembering yesterday’s events like a dream and not really sure if it had really happened or if he hadn’t just imagined it all in the fit of a fever. I mean who could blame him, a stallion just showing up on the front doorstep of his secluded and secretive cabin saying he has a mission for him somehow knows all about his past and all the while hinting that he knows even more then he was letting on. It all sounded like some fillytale and Brimstone would have continued on believing that if he did not trip over the saddlebags into his door. Brimstone shook his head looking at the saddlebags, “Where did these come from? I don’t remember getting any-”
“Good morning Prince, I was wondering when you would finish with your morning ‘fancying up’ as Celestia put it. I do believe I’ve finished preparing breakfast at the perfect time. I don’t think it’ll win any awards back in Canterlot but I’m sure it’s good enough.” Crimson placed two bowls on the table, simple oats topped with fresh berries. Brimstone picked himself up off the floor and dragged his saddle bags into the kitchen before plopping himself down in a chair and eating the oatmeal in front of him. He had to admit the taste of nature had grown on him the past few years since he had lived at the cabin, there were times he enjoyed it almost as much as the food served at the grand galloping gala each year, one of his few public appearances each year, the other being whenever Celestia or Cadance needs his help with some ceremony or commemoration of some new event, those all seemed to be in honor of some brave deed Princess Twilight did and Brimstone was thinking some were starting to overlap. Crimson ate his oatmeal opposite Brimstone adopting his initial stoic demeanor and staying silent until they finished.
“Thanks for breakfast, Crimson was it? ...I guess this means that yesterday wasn’t a dream and that I am really am coming with you…on a dangerous mission to ensure the safety of all Equestria did I miss anything?”
Crimson shook his head “I think you got it all and thanks I’ve been trying to pick up cooking under my service to Twilight, she says I’m coming along nicely. As much as I would like to dote upon the joys of cooking it’s time we head out, I brought a white cloak for you just in case you need it, and it also makes a fine blanket. I’ll be waiting outside.” And with that Crimson left to make final preparations with his gear.
Brimstone stroked his hooves through his hair mentally preparing for his journey ahead. He got up and began a well memorized routine of affixing his wing blades. He did so with great pomp and circumstance as he adorned his mantle as if he was at a royal event, rhythmically popping in each of the joints and ridges in a fluid motion and finally spreading his wings as far as he could in an extravagant display of his plumage. Brimstone closed his eyes and imagined himself the star of the gala or the centerpiece of a military parade, he relished in the attention, in the glory, in the majesty of it all. Brimstone slowly came back to reality as he realized his wings started to hurt for being in such an unnatural position all fanned out as much as possible. He threw his saddlebags over his back and strapped them in tight jiggling himself to test the hold of the straps, satisfied he took one final look in the mirror and headed outside.
“Well it looks like Prince Peacock has finally decided to join me, or was it Prince Wiggle Butt?” Crimson playfully punched Brimstone as he left the cabin, “Now you count yourself lucky, my jokes only come once a month.” Crimson gave a big smile and barely controlled his chuckle. Brimstone turned a little red in the face as he locked his cabin up and said a silent goodbye to his vacation home. It soon became a nothing more than a stream next to a big snowdrift as the large snowfields and icefields of the great northern mountains came into view. The icy expanse extended for a hundred miles before it even touched the foothills of the mountains. The pair traveled along giant ravines hundreds of feet long stopping at frozen kettle lakes for the night going ice fishing and telling tales of the royals and equestrian legends from Twilight’s ruinous appearance at the grand galloping gala to the legends of the North. On these occasions Brimstone would try and get Crimson to tell more about his past hoping to find out why he knew so much about Sombra, but to no avail as Crimson simple gave the same two excuse, ‘I wouldn’t want to bore you’ or ‘There isn’t enough time for that’. It was starting to irritate Brimstone although he would forget about it during the day; the scenery was just too spectacular for his frustration to linger. On the fifth night they made it to the foothills of the mountains. The sky was shimmering in a magical display, all the stars twinkling like droplets of silver, the icy ground looked like an endless ocean of satin, and it was in this moment that Brimstone remembered why he loved the Northern Expanse, he wistfully thought that maybe that that too was what brought his father here in the first place, it was a fantasy but he wanted to believe.
“Brim why don’t you come inside the tent, the wind is picking up and I would hate for snow to fill up this tent to our bellies.” Crimson motioned for Brimstone to join him by their little stove in the middle of their tent.
“Huhh? Oh fine Crimson, but will you finally tell me something about yourself or about my father?” Brimstone’s tone was tinged with a mixture of desperation and frustration.
“Alright I’ve been waiting till we got here, mainly because I didn’t want you to lose sleep over anything I said considering we needed to make good time here, but I guess we have time to relax, I’ll let you ask one question and don’t complain if you don’t like the answer.” Crimson set a pot of water to boil on the stove.
“Way to be a tease, Crimson”
“All in a day’s work, so what do you want to know?”
Brimstone eyes lit up and he pointed at Crimson dramatically “How do you know King Sombra, my father?”
Crimson took a deep breath and poured some of the hot water into his mug of tea, taking a long draw he started “That one is easy to recall but painful to remember. Your father used to work for me, he was one of my greatest advisors and one of the most powerful unicorns I’ve ever met, well that was before you were around let’s just say he had a bit of a dip when he turned when he first got defeated. Anyway he was my head of statecraft and there wasn’t a better statesman in land. A real tactical genius he was, I could always count on him, until well I couldn’t. He was always so brimming with life and the star of any party or conversation, a real Casanova. He never did marry while he was serving, the reason for which he never gave, I can only assume he didn’t want to have to step down from his position. I can’t really blame him, he had one of the most important and at times demanding jobs in the kingdom but yet he always looked and did his best. It was a true loss when he fell to his pursuit of dark magic. So enthralled by it he gave everything so that he could to understand it more and be able to use it more that: he gave up his position, his kingdom, and his life to achieve secrets that no unicorn should ever dare to discover. It was this that led him into his downward spiral of power and insanity. It took more than all of my strength to bring him down and even then I couldn’t track down every piece of his malignant energy. This of course leads us to his takeover of the Crystal Empire when he managed to reform, his plans for you, and his interment outside of reality, his return, and finally his defeat. All of which I believe I was there for except maybe the interment outside of reality. That’s really all I’ve got to say about Sombra and I’s relationship, it really went downhill in his search for knowledge didn’t it? I wish I had known what he was spending his time searching for before he found it, to lose a friend like that, to do nothing to stop it, to fail to protect someone I...” Crimson trailed off leaving the cabin in silence apart for the slurp of tea and nervous shuffling of Brimstone’s hooves. Despite being in the small tent Brimstone felt as if he was a thousand miles away from Crimson, it felt like an ocean of sadness that had been bottled for so long. Brimstone was a little concerned to say the least.
“Crimson, are you okay?” Brimstone reached over and put his hoof on Crimson’s shoulder.
Crimson composed himself again “Yes, yes I’m fine. It’s just that I haven’t really remembered that far back with such precise focus. It’s been hard for me to recall with detail, but it’s something I owe to you and to your father. I bet you have a bunch of questions don’t you?”
Brimstone had to force himself to stay calm “Well of course I do. You just spoke of history I’ve never even heard of, I don’t know if I can even believe any of it. I mean how long have you been alive? I won’t even try and ask about how that’s possible considering I don’t even know how I’ve been alive all these years. My burning question is about my father’s dark magic and his transformation, I’m sure you know about my own worries over the magic that festers inside of me. Celestia has kept a watchful eye on my power and when my father returned, she had me guarded day and night, her warnings constant and grave. I want to know why my father left me with this and what he intended with me.”
Crimson looked down at the ground, “I’m sorry Brim, I just can’t tell you that yet. All I can tell you I’ve been around for much too long, seen too much war and fighting, seen too many good ponies come and go, and failed to save so many. I can only give you my word that I am telling the truth, because I don’t think anyone from that time would talk about it, either because they don’t want to remember that time or they are too busy trying to kill you in their fallen savagery.” Crimson spaced out again his mind lost in a land far away, being brought back by Brimstone’s hoof once again. “Thank you Brim, I think I will retire now, good night.” Crimson got into his sleeping bag leaving Brimstone alone with his thoughts.
“Thanks for answering me Crimson, it means a lot. Hopefully, we get another chance to talk like this again.” Crimson turned downed the stove and got in his own bag. His mind was moving at a million miles an hour, but he was able to find peace in the new knowledge that his father was once a pony to be proud of.
The morning came with a foot of snow, an overcast sky, and a freezing wind. Brimstone was up first and began his new morning routine of cooking up a small breakfast of oats and snowberries he had picked up the previous day. Crimson was up not much later, fully dressed and ready to head out the moment his eyes opened. He happily took a bowl from Brimstone and ate it all down quickly so he could get to packing up everything. It was like watching a machine so deliberate and precise were his movements. Brimstone had gotten the impression a while ago that Crimson had done this for a long time and probably in a variety of life or death situations, but the conversation last night confirmed that that was the truth and just a long time was probably an understatement. Crimson went to look at Brimstone when he finished, his head tilted “You okay, Brimstone. I know I asked you to watch my flanks and back but I didn’t mean my butt.”
Brimstone has been absently mindedly eating his oatmeal as Crimson had been packing and he had been gazing off into space at Crimson’s rear, for the most part accidentally. “I’m so sorry I was just so distracted thinking about what you said last night and I guess my gaze has a mind of its own to find the best looking thing around.” Brimstone was trying his best to play it off but the redness in the tips of his ears gave him a way even if they blended in his with his hair pretty well.
Crimson gave him a sly smile “Oh is that the case? Well how about you finish that oatmeal so you can stare at it some more when you are following me.” This only made Brimstone blush harder; he kind of liked the teasing. It helped him feel more relaxed around Crimson. The two of them made their way to outer edge of the forest that hugged the edge of the foothills and finally the full majesty of the mountains could be seen. Brimstone didn’t want to admit it but those mountains scared him a little: the peaks pierced the heavens making them feel impossibly high even for his wings, the currents up there were equally harsh and ragged sure to slam any hubristic pegasus into the jagged outcroppings and the giant glaciers that populated the sides could crush anything in their way. The only blessings was that everything was either not where they needed to or slow enough to not be that much of an issue, it still didn’t make Brimstone feel any better when he imagined himself getting knocked out in the path of one of those glaciers. Crimson brought his attention away from the mountains and back to the job at hand; all they needed to do was investigate one of the only passes through the mountains and check for any disturbances.
Brimstone hoped there wasn’t any, not to say he was scared or anything. He was no stranger to fighting after all, it was just that he would rather try to avoid a direct fight with enemies that he know nothing about and if it required Crimson’s attention it must be dangerous business. Brimstone could only guess on Crimson’s prowess but he knew by the look in his eyes that he was definitely something, that and he was the only guard posted to Twilight, the danger magnet of Equestria, so there must be something to him. The day went by mostly uneventful besides an encounter with some less than passive wolves and foxes that tried to stalk them all morning. They quickly ran when Brimstone spread his wings out wide or when Crimson shot them a gaze and snorted, deep and angry. At noon they encountered a large glacier that had made its way right in front of them forming a 100 foot tall wall of ice a mile thick. Brimstone offered to carry Crimson across and he hardly gave him a chance before he grabbed him, unfortunately for Brimstone Crimson was much heavier than he expected and in hindsight Crimson’s body was all muscle and he was bigger than Brimstone but Brimstone decided to follow through with his rash decision and just barely made it to the top of the glacier leaving him sprawled and panting on the ice.
Crimson “I guess I should have warned you not to that unless I asked for it. Otherwise even the best fliers in Equestria would have a hard time lifting me up in air, if my size wasn’t a big enough issue the amount of gear I carry is. Although I must say I am very impressed by your strength and endurance.” Brimstone could barely manage a wing up for a second. Crimson shook his head and laughed a little before he walked over to Brimstone and threw him over his back to carry him over the glacial expanse. Brimstone had managed to recover from his fatigue by the time they arrived to the other side although he was a little bit sleepy from Crimson’s rhythmic march, another artifact of his military background. Brimstone got off Crimson, a little reluctantly but Crimson helped him by tipping him over onto the ice. Brimstone picked himself up and offered to take Crimson down the edge of the glacier, slightly less serious this time. Fortunately for Brimstone’s wings and back Crimson refused, getting a sigh of relief from Brimstone, until he saw Crimson just walk over the edge. Brimstone ran over to the edge ready to grab Crimson only to get a face full of Crimson’s tail.
“Brim, I’ve heard you’ve always been a bit forward but this is getting a little ridiculous” Crimson then started descending the wall as if it were level ground. Brimstone just gave up at this point and sat on Crimson’s butt all the way down. “So how was the ride Brim? I hope it was pleasant. I guess I should explain that it’s my gravity gauntlets, it’s a new device that the Princesses dreamed up.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Brimstone was a bit more delirious then before and he was barely listening and just kept nodding on his way down. Crimson unceremoniously bucked Brimstone off his butt into the deep snow leaving a near prefect spread pegasus impression in the snow.
Crimson then hauled him straight out of the hole. “You ready to go?” Brimstone nodded in agreement picking himself up and shaking himself off. Night time found them without any issue and they settled down again. This time a little bit more permanently as they had gotten within an hour or two of the mountain pass and the rest of their time here was going to be spent exploring the mountain edges and the forest. Brimstone and Crimson spent the rest of the evening setting up their little outpost, setting up snares, traps, alarms, cutting down a few trees and gathering any winter spices or berries they could scrounge up. The tent was now easily big enough for three and their stove turned fire pit but still Crimson and Brimstone stayed as close as they did when they were in the smaller tent. Brimstone felt it was just more usual at this point not to mention he kind of enjoyed being close to other stallions, oh and the biting cold digging into the tent. They decided on carrots for the night with a few potatoes on the side.
As the food was cooking over the stove, the smell reminding him of his own home, Brimstone spoke up a little nostalgia in his voice. “I know you said I can only ask one question and that was yesterday, but…I really enjoyed our talk yesterday even if it did leave me with so many more questions. Sooo I was wondering if just maybe we could have another night like that. I know I don’t have any way to make you answer any of my questions, but I don’t think I have any way of finding these answers out myself unless my father himself reappears before me taking me on a father foal bonding trip.”
Crimson looked up from turning the carrots his face illuminated by the fire giving him the appearance of a grave prophet. “Well you can ask away but there are still questions that I won’t answer. Although I must warn you again that there is somethings that are better left unknown, so pick your question carefully. And just to be a tease you only get one this time as well, so what’s your question? I’m all ears.”
Brimstone thought for a moment, he had so many some he really wanted to know but was afraid they would be in the off limit zone which made him fear the answers even more questions were much less burning in his mind but he was certain he would get a full answer. Brimstone racked his brain for a good balance; he didn’t know how long he had with Crimson so he wanted all his questions to be meaningful. After several minutes of contemplation he finally decided. “Okay I think I’m ready, what I really want to know is how old are you and how are you that old?”
Crimson breathed in “Sorry, but that’s one of the questions I won’t answer until I have to answer to my crimes. However I can answer why you have lived so long if that interests you.”
Brimstone looked a little defeated at first but he quickly regained his inquisitive and happy demeanor, “Well of course I do, not even Twilight has information on that and she would love to bore me with all sorts of theories.”
“Well then, I guess I should begin with your father and his mad desire. As I said before he had an insatiable lust for power and in his lust for power he knew his rule must be absolute and forever if he was going to conqueror all of Equestria. So in his mad raving he managed to find a cure to for aging, it cost the lives of scores of villages but finally he managed to secure his agelessness. However despite his eternal youth he was not immune to the artifact of Equestria or mystical armaments, like the weapons I wielded all those years ago. So he planned for a way for him to come back even if his body was destroyed, that plan was you.” Crimson jabbed his hoof at Brimstone and handed him a bowl of food with the other. “Now eat, I still have more to talk about, so his plan is the reason you exist. You know why you have that dark power that claws at the sides of your mind and you can feel it gnaw at your soul every time you slip? It’s because he put that there. Even after his defeat at my hooves his souls was still strong, but it took him millennium for him to reform and it was then that he decided he need to act fast to enact his plan before his retribution came on wings of fire and without mercy. I had stopped him before he could do it the first time, but I was busy with my own penance in my homeland when he reared his head for the second time. He implanted into you that dark power although he would have to rely on you to exploit that power for yourself, maybe even become an evil tyrant yourself in order to use you to return. To make sure you made it that long he granted you his secrets of life everlasting, I know you don’t know them but that dark power does, that’s why no Princess has ever tried to remove that stain from your soul lest you waste away on the spot. I’m afraid that I really don’t know how to fix it and my only suggestion is to learn to control that power because as long as isn’t used to corrupt or take control over others you might not lose yourself to him.” Crimson stopped for a minute before continuing again “I’m afraid there might be another part of him still around and even closer to the rulers of this land, if you would indulge a stallion with his theories…”
Brimstone was a tad overwhelmed to fully understand what Crimson asked but said yes nevertheless.
Crimson began his voice low and even more serious “You know that new royal baby, Flurry Heart, that alicorn baby. Alicorn are not born unless there is a dire need for stability in Equestria, enough latent power in Equestria, and that was only with the Royal Sisters as far as everypony knows. I believe that baby wasn’t going to be an alicorn but instead something powered it up during Cadance’s pregnancy. Now most ponies would point to the crystal heart defeating Sombra, but the power of that heart dissipates everywhere but quickly returns. The only other sort of power anywhere near Cadance was Sombra’s dark presence. As you can guess by now I believe that Sombra used Cadance’s massive latent magic potential as an alicorn to store his essence and from there began empowering the foal. It did shatter the Crystal Heart and almost bring about a cataclysm to the Crystal Empire that only the likes of Sombra’s offspring could survive, ponies like you and if my theory is true, her. I believe that Sombra intends for both of you to fall to his influence and together bring about his return. He is making you an evil bride to make his kingdom. I guess even in death he is a pretty good father at least that’s the theory anyway. I urge you to be conscious of your powers and even if I am at death’s door, DO! NOT! SUCCUMB TO YOUR DARK POWERS!” Crimson pushed his hoof deep into Brimstone’s chest fluff. “My soul is forfeit, yours is not. You still have a life of freedom and a chance at love and friendship. I have lived a full life like that and all I have to look forward to is the opportunity to safeguard all of Equestria. I want to make it so everypony can pursue that life. I know it might be difficult to contain it but you must try if not for Equestria but for me and your father.”
Brimstone was filled with determination he was ready to make a promise and ready to solidify their friendship in an oath of their tinted souls. “Alright I’ll do it but I want us to make an oath together, please for my own peace of mind.”
Crimson was curious and raised his hoof “For you? What is the oath?”
“That no matter what, if either of us falls to the darkness nesting in our souls that the other makes sure they don’t threaten the peace. I ask not expecting that I will have to try and stop you, but after what you have told me, I fear for my own willpower and strength. So what do you say?” Brimstone held his hoof out his eyes closed.
“Brimstone you are one brave stallion or just one of the brashest, I’ve meet good ponies on the verge of complete mind control that didn’t make peace with themselves like that. So you know what Brim, that’s a promise. However, I expect that we will be seeing more each other before that day dawns, can you make that promise to me?”
“It’s a deal!”
“Then it’s a deal! Till the end and for the good of everything Equestria we are brothers in battle and soul.” The two locked hooves and put their heads together. “Shall we live to see peace triumph once again.” They both looked at each other, a glistening in their eyes and a smile on their faces. Both finally felt that they had found someone they could rely on.
Brimstone was overjoyed he believed he had finally found the missing piece of his father that he had been yearning for, his history. Brimstone wished so much for the Sombra of Crimson’s tales to come to him, to be his father again, to teach him all he knew, and to inherit his father’s positive legacy. He knew all he had was memories, the memories from another stallion of his father and that made them all the more to cherish and to enjoy. He couldn’t let Crimson leave and disappear like dust from his life. He needed a promise to keep them together and now all he had to do was keep living.
Crimson turned down the stove and shuffled around getting himself situated comfortably before he drifted off to bed. Brimstone sat up for a moment more, although his father’s plans for him had been intended for an evil purpose, he was happy to be his own stallion, to see Equestria in all its beauty and to be able to find such good ponies. Brimstone laid down to rest his heart felt warm and his mind was happy.
The next day marked the end of the storms and the start of clear skies, the morning was crisp once more and the few snowbirds were chirping in the cold air. Freezing dew covered the tent and the pines of the tall evergreens. Brimstone took a deep breath, it reminded him of his winter home where every day was like this but he thought that he was starting to like this a little bit more. Brimstone guessed that it must have been his soldier instincts kicking in, the feeling of being on the march and finally arriving at his destination. He stretched out his wings and legs his eyes and mind felt sharper and he felt attune with the land. He decided to do some flying exercises; the air was cold and thin and offered some challenge. He loved it, he had such little opportunity or excuses to fly that he almost forgot about it, but his embarrassment yesterday made it clear that he needed some practice again to help supplement his natural advantage in this environment.
He had to try and remember his drills he used to do all those years ago but after a while he managed to cobble together a workout plan that left him winded but definitely feeling well stretched and exercised. Crimson had already gone out for the start of the patrol and had left some of their usual breakfast for Brimstone with a rough map explaining where he was and a few of the natural landmarks to orientate himself with. Brimstone worked to memorize the map of the area as best he could; it would be bad form for him to be flying all over the place like a lost bird just staring at a map almost flying into a mountain or a tree. Finished with his breakfast and map reading Brimstone beat his wide wings quickly ascending above the tree tops and glided over them keeping a watch on movement from the mountains. He didn’t notice anything as he descended to the rendezvous point where he found Crimson waiting for him, buried into a small snow embankment overlooking the large glacial river bed that came from the mountain pass.
Crimson greeted Brimstone as he approached “I’m glad to see you were able to find this place and you got my map. Did you notice anything on your flight over here? Any sort of camp remnants or hoofprints? ”
Brimstone saluted and let himself play the part of a scout “I did not see anything, sir. If I may I am confident that the have moved either east or south and out of those possibilities I am guessing on that they either have headed east or have not arrived yet. If they are a true military unit like I have been led to believe they would not travel in a river ravine as it would be too exposed.”
Crimson raised his eyebrow a little willing to play around “Very well soldier, good report. Your next assignment…should you choose to do it, is to investigate any movement from the east. If you are to encounter the enemy contact me with this device.” Crimson handed him a small metal device which he placed in Brimstone’s ear. “I will arrive shortly in the event of you calling me, don’t engage them without me, that’s an order. Do you understand Major Brim?”
Brimstone saluted “Yes, sir!”
“Then I wish you luck, if they arrive here I will send you a message through that device, so don’t be alarmed if my voice comes from nowhere. It won’t be loud enough for anyone else to hear. In order to use it all you need to do is tap on your ear and it will record a few seconds. Include as much tactical details as you can, I need to know how to engage the enemy. Now go and I will see you in a few hours.”
Brimstone left the snow fort and walked for a ways down the river bed before taking to the air, not wanting to give away the location of the hideaway in case unseen eyes were watching. He quickly rose into the air feeling the icy wind on his muzzle as he went. On his right side stretched a vast forest thick and green, the smell of the pine resin was refreshing and it kept him invigorate for his long flight. On his left side was the icefields of the lower mountains it was all so white that it looked like a foam ocean with the rare grey stone looking like an island. Occasionally another small stream or river bed would cut across the two bodies, most were frozen but there were one or two that were still flowing that must have been hot springs. Whenever he came across these rivers of steams he would mark them in his map for later, especially the hot springs. He flew for hours to the east staying low to the trees and yet he found nothing, not a single indication that the soldiers beyond the mountains had made a camp anywhere along the forest or mountain’s edge. Brimstone knew that even a small party of soldiers would need more water than just what they could melt and unlike Crimson and Brimstone if they needed to keep their existence a secret they couldn’t just start chopping down trees to maintain a fire, combine this with the lack of felled trees in the area and Brimstone was confident in his theory. Brimstone stopped for lunch on the border of the forest and mountains were they finally thinned out, stretching out in front of him were hundreds of square miles populated only with the occasionally tree and small mammals.
This was the start of icy road to the Crystal Empire; only a well-supplied army could make the trek across it to the arches of the Crystal Palace so Brimstone knew that the soldiers had to be behind him or hadn’t made it over the mountains. Brimstone made a short report of his findings while settling down for lunch, he grabbed several pine needles from a nearby tree to make tea with and sat to enjoy the view while the water boiled and the tea steeped. Brimstone relayed his theory about the hot springs and he finally got a crackle in response of Crimson’s deep steady voice telling him to investigate and once again warning to not engage them alone. A soft whistle marked that the water was finally ready and after a few minutes Brimstone was drinking his tea and left with his thoughts. He contemplated the Crystal Empire before it’s disappearance along with his father, before his father had even arrived there. What was it like? Brimstone knew that only what was left in the traditions as the crystal ponies had lost almost all of their scholars and historians those thousand years ago and the other crystal ponies hadn’t ever been taught any of that. It was just the way of the crystal ponies, their longevity left them with nothing but guilds, when a pony got his cutie mark he joined a guild and stayed there. Brimstone could barely remember getting his cutie mark, it just sort of happened in a flash of light and searing pain as he was training under father’s orders one day, knowing what he did now it must have been the right time for Sombra to imbue him with his essence and it struck like a bolt of lightning leaving Brimstone collapsed and unconscious for days afterwards stuck in the cave of the Primordial Crystal. It must have been a resonant chamber for magic for that was the only way Sombra could have put so much magic into him.
Brimstone finished his tea and packed up his gear before heading back to check out those hot spring streams for any sign of habitation. This time Brimstone flew high to get a larger picture of the streams as all he was looking for was either a pool or diverted course of water or if he was lucky just any other pony. Or perhaps it would be unlucky to find the ponies themselves, Brimstone hesitated a bit. Brimstone made sure that he stuck real close to the trees now, the sense of danger dawning on him more as he became surer of his theory. Brimstone flew the entire length of the last hot spring river he had seen and saw nothing of note as it came to an end in a big crescent pond. Brimstone landed to investigate the clearing skirting around the edges of the trees with his hair standing on end. He had psyched himself out on his flight and he was starting to get paranoid at even the smallest sound from the babbling of the stream to the swaying of the trees. A rustling from the small shrubs making him cower behind the trunk of the nearest tree and he almost called for Crimson when nothing but a small northern squirrel bounded across the clearing and began digging at the ground near the edge of the pond. The squirrel emerged victorious with pawfuls of nuts and Brimstone released a small sigh of relief. Brimstone buried his head in his forelegs trying to settle down his nerves, Brimstone had wound himself up so tight that he was sure the sound of silence could make him snap. There he sat sitting for several minutes just practiced his breathing exercises.
After his butt had gotten suitably cold enough Brimstone took to the sky trying his hardest to keep calm and collected, he knew better then to worry. A paranoid soldier after all was as alert as possible but very easily distracted. Brimstone was better trained than that so he steeled himself going forward, making a promise to himself to show his stone face. Brimstone found the last of the marked hot springs two thirds of the way back to the main camp and began a now well trained technique of low flying with the trees. He had managed to relax a little and he was almost at the end of this streams length and he was very confident that the enemy soldiers hadn’t made it past the pass. That was until he saw what he though was a blood red flank, Brimstone instantly dropped to the ground as quietly as he could and began to crawl ever so slowly to where he thought he saw that flank disappear into the trees once more. On his belly he went moving slow enough to make him look like a harmless snow turtle to the most observant of sentry. Eventually the harsh, ragged, and icy voices began to play in Brimstone’s ears chilling him to his core, Brimstone was used to the evil inside him but he felt something more sinister and cruel in these voices. He didn’t want to take any chances and decided to call Crimson; he knew that these were the soldiers they were looking for. As quiet as he could Brimstone relayed his message to Crimson who only responded with the sounds of gritting teeth, a soft “stay hidden”, and the rush of air as Crimson made his move.
Brimstone moved to a small berm he saw near the sources of the voices, and as he approached he saw the soldiers, one pegasus was wielding a weird weapon perched in the trees and acting as the lookout Brimstone guessed. Six earth ponies, stallions big and strong, sat in the center of the small opening around a magic fire pit and Brimstone saw the blood red flank he had seen at the stream. At the center of this gathering was a unicorn who was obviously the leader both in his mannerisms and look, he was chanting in a language that alluded Brimstone but it was his voice that was filled with icy daggers. Most of the stallions were either a deep red or an ashen grey wearing light blue armor but the unicorn seemed to be made of ice because it looked like there were ice shards growing up from his hooves, his mane was a snow white, and his eyes were like glass staring unblinking into the fire. As Brimstone listened more he began to understand some of it, whether it was some passive magic within him or the unicorn was actually changing language he couldn’t tell.
“…The darkness was defeated but I sense…will come back…he has lived…close…only one stallion in our way...” The ice unicorn began to rise “Visitors from the past…come to clean away…” The unicorn began to raise his hooves “Our Master will not come…war. We shall join…seems he is not ready…” A chilling wind began to circulate around the unicorn swirling snow and ice all around him. “The Lord and…must reach their full power…join together. We will become unstoppable.” A cold fire ignited in the wild wind and with a terrific flash the wind died and the cold fire burned within the glassy eyes of the unicorn staring straight at Brimstone’s location “ARE YOU READY TO LEAD US ONCE MORE, SON OF THE LORD OF SHADOWS?” A bolt of cold magic raced toward Brimstone along the ground glowing with its cold fire.
Brimstone leaped to his hooves and pushed as hard he could with his legs and beat as hard as he could with his wings. Brimstone flung into the air high above the trees and he fly as fast as he could away from the demon of a unicorn. Two loud bangs followed by a sharp pain in both of his wings as two bullets tore jagged holes in his wings thin membrane and ricocheted against his plated saddlebags. Brimstone dropped from the sky as the shock from the pain overtook his mind crashing hard into the stream bed. The moment Brimstone could get up he ran as fast as he could along the stream bed his heart pounding as his hooves splashed against the water and his mind screamed to run. Brimstone breathing grew more and more ragged as the water and snow behind him were stained with his blood. The sound of the chase broke the quiet winter scenery as the guttural yelling of the enemies erupted from somewhere behind Brimstone. He thought he was going to get away until a dark grey pegasus descended from the sky and rammed into Brimstone sending him sprawling into a tree with incredible force.
The pegasus stood over Brimstone his smile crooked and full of sharpened teeth, it was not one Brimstone had seen at the gathering, but his voice was full of rust and hate. “Where are you going Prince of Shadows? You are running from your destiny. It looks like we are going to have to reteach you.” The pegasus lowered his weapon to Brimstone heart. Brimstone’s face was drained of everything but pure fear and he could only manage small noises. Brimstone closed his eyes and not a moment later a thunderous crack echoed out across the forest.
Blood and bone spilled out onto the snow from the stallion as ribs gave way and the lungs ruptured under the tremendous force. Brimstone opened his eyes to see Crimson standing on two legs his forelegs in a fighting stance of the griffons. His face was no longer obscured by his hat and high collar, Brimstone could fully see his scared face and long flowing sanguine mane. His eyes were an inferno and his mouth was in an angry snarl. Crimson hauled Brimstone to his hooves. “Fight if you want, but don’t get in my way.” Crimson left without another word racing toward the other soldiers at breakneck speed. Brimstone was suddenly alone with adrenaline pumping through him and out of wings and not wanting to leave the enemy soldiers uncompensated for their attacks against him he flew into the air blocking out the pain from his wings as best he could. Despite his injuries he managed to catch up to Crimson who was busy chasing the icy unicorn who was gliding across the ground like a wisp. Several of the earth ponies were splayed behind the rampaging Crimson, their bones crushed and ferocity demolished. The two remaining ones were trying to support their unicorn leader with large slabs of metal mounted on a yoke but if the clangs and dents into the metal were any indication they wouldn’t last long under Crimson’s almost rabid flurry of punches.
Brimstone spotted out of the corner the pegasus that he had seen at the clearing who was preparing to shoot Crimson and so he banked down and cut into the weapon with his wing blades and the force of his descent. Like lightning the pegasus dropped the weapon and dodged out of the way of Brimstone’s second swing with his other wing. He grabbed a knife from his leg with his knife and faced Brimstone, refusing to yield. Brimstone now ready to fight flowed right into his combat maneuvers jumping in and out of the other pegasus’ range and dazzling him with a wing blade dance quickly overwhelming the enemy leaving him wide open as Brimstone plunged his wingtip in between the other pegasus’ foreleg and chest, disabling him or so Brimstone thought as the pegasus suddenly jumped onto Brimstone his teeth snapping wildly like a wolf searching for Brimstone’s supple neck. Brimstone gave him a heavy kick sending him careening back to the ground before Brimstone pounced and planted his wing blades into the pegasus’ heart ending the savage life as quickly as he could. Brimstone quickly searched for Crimson and found him standing over the icy unicorn, the two metal shields with a large bloodstained hole punched through each of them flat against the snow.
Brimstone landed next to Crimson dipping slightly as a surge of pain traced through his leg alerting him to a cut in his right foreleg. The icy unicorn curled into a smile as he saw Brimstone approach. “Ah I see The Master has found a disciple and the Prince of Shadows no less. Master it seems you wish to take back our old home for yourself. When the rest arrive I’m sure they will pledge their loyalty to you, forgive me for my transgressions Master.”
Crimson’s voice was filled with something beyond anger as he yelled back at the unicorn pinned underneath his hooves, “MASTER!? YOU DO NOT CALL ME THAT WORM!”
The unicorn bowed his head a bit, “I am so sorry, My Lord. You are royalty after all.”
Brimstone could hear the sound of ice cracking as Crimson pushed harder into the unicorn. “YOU DARE? YOU DARE! I AM BEYOND THAT.”
The unicorn began to have a look of panic across his face as Crimson shoved harder and harder “Forgive this lowly servant of yours Your Worship, your our everything, our God. I am most sorry for my transgressions against Your Holiness.”
Crimson’s pressure loosened and the unicorn relaxed a little, “Your God? Your GOD?! I AM NOT YOUR GOD! YOU ARE MY ETERNAL PAIN!” Crimson roared as he slammed both forelegs through the pony’s crystalline body making him screaming in supernatural agony as a spirit escaped the soul cage.
The spirit hovered for a bit in front of Crimson’s eyes, still burning with hate. “I see that you have really changed. What made you stop the path of the conqueror? Or was it…Who?” Crimson roared at the last word as the spirit flew away into the great beyond. Crimson began attacking the icy shell crushing it into shards and the shards into dust. When he finally calmed down Brimstone went over to him.
“Are you okay Crimson?” Brimstone was very careful as he placed his wings across Crimson’s shoulders.
A few droplets of water melted the snow at Crimson’s hooves dripping down from his mane. He rose his head to meet Brimstone’s his eyes filled with those tears. “As long as my friends are in danger because of my past mistakes…I don’t think I can really be okay.” Crimson quickly went back to his old self after a minute of standing their next to Brimstone. “Now, let’s clean up these misguided fools and patch you up.”
The rest of the day was spent gathering up the bodies, giving them their funeral rights and Crimson seeing to Brimstone’s injuries. They didn’t speak until they got back to the camp and even then it was just to check up on Brimstone. It wasn’t until after dinner that the silence was finally lifted.
Brimstone hesitated to speak, “So…Crimson, I know I might be overstepping my bounds as a companion to talk about it, but those ponies seemed to know me. That unicorn was staring into my very being and that ice cold fire in its eyes. I need to know why they want me so bad and you seemed to know them! They knew you for sure; I know they called you their Master. What was that all about?” Brimstone was starting to get heated rising to his full height and started to jab his hoof in the air at him. “Crimson I almost died back there, I need to know.” With an accusatory glare on his eyes he pointed to his patched wings. Crimson lowered his hat and leaned back facing toward Brimstone, pain and discomfort was slightly visible in his posture. Brimstone took a step back and calmed himself “I didn’t mean to be so accusatory, I could see in the fight today that whoever those ponies were that they were someone you have a lot of bad history with. And whatever that unicorn…shell was must have been someone from your past with the way he was addressing you. I didn’t think about how it was all affecting you. You just seemed like a stalwart and stoic stallion of war and when you were fighting you were a fiery engine of battle. When it was all over you seemed to just return to your old self. I’m sorry Crimson, I just really wanted to know about all this, about you, and about everything I can. I just need to know.”
Crimson slowly took off his hat letting his long mane run down his shoulders, his eyes glistened with the same expression of deep rooted pain they had these past nights. “Crimson I know you want to know about your past and history more than any other pony in this land. Yours has been a life shrouded in the shadows of your father, and I think I can really keep it hidden from you, well at least my part in it. I’m sure if I don’t tell you about it then the soldiers that come across that ridge will be more than willing to shout out the litany of my misdeeds and of my failures.” Crimson settled into his chair gazing wistfully at the ceiling trying to recollect his memories from all that time ago. “I guess I should start at my beginning, tell you who I really am, it was back then that all this started. I am assuming that is the question you want answered, right Brim?”
Brimstone nodded and was preparing to listen as well as he could, he was finally getting Crimson’s unabridged story. “Hang on a second let me grab some paper.” Brimstone rifled through his saddlebags finding his nature journal and his wing pencil holder. “All set to go.”
Crimson smiled as he lost himself to his history, “Well it all started millennium ago, long before the emergence of chaos, the ice of the Windigos, or even the royal sisters birth. Equestria was a raw primordial ball full of energy and magic but lacked the life that could use it. As life continued to grow the magic began to form dense pockets and occasionally they would be granted life. These ponies were known as Smiths and they helped guide ponies to master the mysteries of the new world: the magic and life among them, the fire and technology that supported them, the seas and oceans that drew them, the air and sky above them, and the earth beneath them. It was through the guidance of these Smiths that Equestria was populated and the creatures of this land began to live and grow on their own. This was still before the Royal Sisters were around.” Crimson paused to prepare himself something to eat before he continued on.
Brimstone was taking careful notes and he took the pause as a time to clarify a few things. “So where did these Smith’s go? This is the first time I’ve ever heard about them and I can only guess why that would be. Did they disappear or did something stop them?”
“The five Smiths that manifested where able to bend the world of their respective teachings to their every whim, they helped shape the lands of Equestria to shelter all its creatures from the trade winds that move great storms to the streams that flow through the towns and the life of the oceans to the fires that helped ponies survive winter and the inventions that followed. When there job was over they disappeared back into the magic they had been formed from, their magic returning to the land if it should ever need pool together to defend itself or the life of its creatures. The Smith in charge of magic and the land remained for longer, to help ensure the natural order was maintained in all things. That is where I come in.” Crimson stood up in an elegant bow “I am the Gaian Smith, the fifth smith, the mover of land and shaper of mountains, the king of the first kingdom of Creatures United, and partner to the first smith.” Crimson demeanor sharply fell as he ended “That’s what I was once. That once was many lifetimes ago and now I’m just Crimson…a battered old soul trapped by a promise from returning. Crimson the name shouted in horror and arrogance by the ponies I once knew. If you wondered how I could have lived so long and how I could have known all I do, then there’s your answer.”
Brimstone was stupefied, part of him did not believe Crimson, it just all seemed too bizarre and wild and…impossible. He had never once even heard of these Smiths and yet this stallion claimed that he was one of them, an all-powerful being capable of bending the land to his whimsy. “Now I know you are pulling my leg, if you were really all powerful or this manifestation of magic as you call it then how come your face is so scared up and why don’t you have wings and a horn? If you were really a being of magic you would have those.”
Crimson sighed, he knew Brimstone had good reasons to doubt but it still hurt. “Brim do you really want to know why I lack those symbols of magic and why I am in this form, I warn you the answer is not pretty.”
“Of course I do!”
“Then I’ll show you” Crimson pushed his hair out of the way to reveal a jagged scar the shape of a circle in his skull where a horn would be, a small shard of the horn could be seen jutting out a tiny bit. The horn was shattered and sharp, but as Brimstone looked at it longer he started seeing things much worse. The horn was scorched with dark magic and he could see some of it still festered. Brimstone was starting to believe Crimson’s story more and more as he knew that the only one capable and evil enough to do something like that was Sombra.
“By Celestia! I had no idea; I can’t believe my father did this to you.” Brimstone was almost in hysterics over learning that that evil spell his father had concocted was actually used on another living thing.
“Don’t worry Brim; this is a wound that I received all that time ago when your father corrupted himself in the perversion of the first smith’s work. It is the price for my negligence of Sombra and my kingdom as a whole. I bear this form as a penance for my failure as a guide of this land. The story is far from finished but I believe it is time to retire for the night. The only thing I need to tell you is that these soldiers are the descendant of a group of cultists that begun praising the spirits of the land making them the Windigos, they went with Sombra as he was hurtled across Equestria, but they have technology from the peak of united society so be careful when we see them next. And Brim, you remember to keep yourself together, okay?” Crimson put his forearm around Brimstone as he came down from his hysterics.
“N-n-o...P-problem, Sir.” Brimstone was silent for a while occasionally shaking and sniffling as he came down from his sadness. Eventually a snoring emanated from Brimstone letting know that he had fallen asleep in Crimson’s arms after not too long, and so they spent that night next to each other, both feeling guilty for things they would give anything to change. Crimson did not fall asleep for a long while but Brim did quite quickly as he cuddled in Crimson’s chest.
“Maybe someday, you can change it Brim…” Crimson whispered into his ear before dozing off himself.
Morning found Brimstone curled up against a patient Crimson only covered by his clothes and blanket with his sleeping bag sitting unused. His slow breathing puffing out small clouds and a thin layer of melted dew had accumulated on his eyelids running down his muzzle. It wasn’t until the morning light had broken through the trees and trickled into the tent did Brimstone finally wake up. For a few moments he didn’t really remember where he was after all falling asleep with the warmth of another pony was usually reserved for a very different situation and location. Once he remembered where he was he shot bolt upright and almost fell completely backwards as he quickly tried to disengage unaware that Crimson was awake.
Brimstone covered himself up to try and hide his shame. He usually didn’t worry about situations like, after all most ponies would jump at the chance to get close with royalty and especially one as good looking as Brimstone, but this was not the usual case. Now it was he who wanted to get close to somepony, a feeling that he rarely felt much less gave into. Usually it was a case of his predilection for his dark magic. It came out more easily when he was…caught up in a single emotion, worse if it was a strong desire and when it came out he gained the cruelty of his father. It usually ended in more horror and tragedy than in bliss with the unfortunate pony ending up in medical care when he succumbed to it.
Crimson broke Brimstone’s train of thought “Brim, I didn’t know you were always this way when you woke up in the company of another. The redness in your face betrays that very clearly. You did sleep very soundly last night and that only leads me to believe that you made peace with what I told you last night. Today we will not be doing any scouting, but prepare yourself for combat. The soldiers we encountered yesterday mentioned more soldiers to come across that pass and even if there are more scouts out there, they are of little concern to us now with a forward assault group. I know it sounds pretty impossible for just the two of us to take on what you can only imagine as a well-supplied and well trained army of deadly soldiers. Trust me when I say that we can do this and that no matter what they pit against us we can win. Now enough about that, we should eat.” Crimson moved over to the stove and prepared their usual breakfast which he ate in silence before heading outside. “I’ll be waiting at the pass, you can take your time if you wish. I will notify you if anything comes through before you arrive so stay alert.” With that Crimson left the tent leaving Brimstone alone with his half eaten breakfast and the simmering stove.
Brimstone finished off his breakfast ponderously, mulling over all he had heard the night before again. He was still astonished at the small glimpse he got of his companion and a little guilty about what had happened to his horn. However he decided that it would be best if he could separate himself from his father’s evil and become his own stallion once again, like he had as a colt.
It wasn’t long until Brimstone finally managed to pony up and leave the tent where he prepared himself for his new flight exercises and stretch out his wings. He also made a mental note to himself to not cuddle before he might have to preform acts of rigorous flying. Although with the events of yesterday he had to be more careful to make sure he didn’t tear into the holes in his wing and at the same time he pushed himself to try extreme turns and spins to get his wings accustomed to the much harsher and extreme evasive maneuvers he concocted up. It took several hours and several undignified spirals into the snow with a few close calls with some trees as he persevered with steadfast determination. Fortunately even though he crashed a couple times and was doing high g maneuvers he avoided injuring his wings at all, in fact he was astonished that he didn’t feel much pain besides the usual pain associated with crashing. After he had thoroughly tired himself out Brimstone decided that he deserved an early lunch and while he was at it he might as well make some for Crimson. The main part were these large sized dumplings that Brimstone had read about in a Yakstani cookbook Princess Twilight had given him on the last Hearth’s Warming Eve. He guessed that she knew about his winter retreat and wanted to give him access to some hearty and warming food, she had even included ratios for meat which made him wonder for a good week after he started cooking from it about how she could have known. Brimstone had made these plenty of times before hand; they were filling and could be packed away easily if anytime called for them it would be this time. He quickly chopped up all his ingredients and in a few minutes he was ready to finally head for the pass, dumpling in his mouth and in his pack.
He was in high spirits as he lazily glided to the pass doing a few of his practice maneuvers but at much slower speeds all the while whistling a short little shanty, he really did look and sound like a giant clothed hummingbird at that moment. He made his meandering way to the little fort in front of the pass where Crimson was waiting. The fort looked a little different and as he landed he knew what it was, the weapons that the pegasi were wielding had been mounted into the fort wall and the armor and plates had been camouflaged and used to reinforce the wooden logs of the fort.
“Been busy, Crimson?” Brimstone asked as he landed finishing off the last of his dumpling. “Looks a little different.”
“Does it now? Guess I didn’t camouflage it enough” Crimson gave him a bemused expression “What was that you were eating? I hope you brought some for me, it’s been a full morning’s work getting all this prepared so come on what’s in the saddlebags?”
“Well you’re in luck I did make some extras…well I cut up too much filling and I didn’t really want to waste it.” Brimstone riffled around in his pack producing two of the half-moon dumplings. “Twilight gave me a book with all sorts of recipes for this sort of stuff. She can be one of the biggest weirdoes in Equestria but she also knows her books. There is a few more for later as well.” Crimson and Brimstone decided to retire to the fort for lunch. Crimson was took big bites out of his dumplings as he looked out onto the pass. Brimstone started nibbling on his second dumpling like a squirrel as he watched Crimson. He felt like today was going to be a good day. As the afternoon wore on Crimson began to inform Brimstone on the nature of the weaponry that the enemies had wielded and told him of the plan of attack should the enemy show up.
“So these weapons here are much like bows and arrows but instead they use something called gunpowder or a magical powder that fires a metal ball, known simply as firearms. These specifically are rifles, meant for long range and accurate shooting, but are slow and hard to reload for the untrained.” Crimson reached down and pulled something out of a bag on the ground; it was a brass tube with a cold iron tip. “Now this is the self-contained version, a bullet. Both of these things were a technology that Celestia thought was best kept suppressed whenever she rose to guide ponykind after the return of order. Now I don’t have to tell you that these small things really hurt but there is something more sinister in these bullets.” Crimson retrieved another of the bullets from the pouch and turned it to show the very tip. “You notice anything different with this?”
Brimstone stared intently at the tip “It looks like there is a liquid in the tip, what is it?”
“That is quicksilver, a blood poison and you should count your lucky stars that they didn’t hit you in the body. Without a unicorn to here to help with healing you, you would be out of commission for quite some time. To make matters worse it was enchanted by that unicorn soul to start to freeze the body as the poison flows. It didn’t break on impact with your wings which kept your blood from getting even colder than it already is.” Crimson was lost in thought as he started to play with the bullet in his hoof.
Brimstone who was very familiar with that expression knew something was disturbing him. “Crimson what is it?”
“It’s just…these ponies are monsters and even though this seems so cruel, I know that they are capable of cruelty much worse and their technology much more horrifying. The only thing I can take peace in is that they have long lost the ability to manufacture the most hideous of their war machines and the only ones they have would be relics. So they would only send them in a large all-out assault, where defeat is a major possibility. We will still have to watch out for these firearms so make sure you maintain awareness at all times and try to get rid of enemies that have these.”
“You can count on me Crimson, I was practicing a whole new set of maneuvers all this morning before I cooked lunch.”
“Brimstone...you’re a good pony, you know that.”
“Uh, ex-excuse me?”
“You’re reliable, you think for yourself and you’re a great fighter. I don’t know if this is making me sentimental or something, but it feels nice.”
Brimstone blushed a little bit, “Well thank you sir. It’s nice to be with you…but what does this have to do with the enemies?”
“Ahh yes that, I thought that I should give you a little bit more information about them. They used to be known all that time ago as the Cult of the Windigos and they formed sometime after the other three Smiths disappeared back into the magic of Equestria. They founders of the cult were a group of deeply spiritual unicorn explorers and cartographers that discovered the Windigos on a journey to the northern expanse past these mountains. They brought back tales of these mystic creatures never before seen in any form in Equestria up to that point. They began to theorize that it was the magical residue of the other Smiths and thus the worship began. They let the Windigos into their hearts and souls and it began to fester and pervert their idolatry into fanaticism. They grew powerful and as many followers were from the capitol of the Smith of fire and technology, they grew very advanced as a collective. At first it was harmless and fairly dispersed but it grew to be a rather frightening and large militia in a short while. They were of course loyal to the Smiths and served as our specialist fighting force against other splinter factions and creatures that had grown vicious and jaded against ponykind, like the dragons or a large faction of corrupted griffons or lawless bands of wild ponies that preyed on the growing villages and towns outside of the capitals. They were scary to utilize as soldiers given their temperament but they proved loyal for the longest time. Until they suddenly assaulting the capitols denouncing me and my partner as Smiths instead they claimed we were heretics and that we had taken the mantle of the Smiths and were leading everypony astray. They called themselves the Children of the Windigos and demanded my immediate surrender and death, I refused of course. As I later found out as I started the campaign to push them out of our land that it was Sombra in his fall to dark magic that he had engineered their betrayal and convinced their highest leaders of this lie. They were the beginning of his army and with them he laid waste to several settlements until we finally tracked him down and stopped him. The rest of his troops fled to the north with the shards of their new master and there they bided their time until the day arrived when he would return and then again they were banished away when Sombra was sealed along with the Crystal Empire. I guess they are sick of waiting and are coming to deliver retribution for their master. It seems that some of them have forgotten who their master is and have either remembered who I was and believed or they confused me for the King of Shadows. Given how long it has been since they’ve seen him I guess it’s a reasonable mistake. That explanation doesn’t make it any less infuriating to me though.”
They sat in silence for a bit before Brimstone cleared his throat, “Crimson, I appreciate the history and all but I’m not sure I understand how this made you feel nostalgic for that time.”
“Oh right! It’s nostalgia from the war, despite how horrible it was I did get to meet a lot of ponies and fight alongside them. I was the strongest warrior so I was on the front lines as often as I could and every couple of nights I would bunk with different soldier and get to know them. We would become battle brothers and I got to know my soldiers. Although I never had one cook for me.” Crimson chuckled and hit Brim on the shoulder.
“Well, I’m glad you I could give you something special.” Brimstone shot back with his eyebrows wiggling.
They both shared a hearty laugh and enjoyed the last of the meat dumplings before getting back to watching the pass. Not even ten minutes passed before a sharp crack filled the air and the thud of a high speed impact was heard from outside. Rushing to the windows they saw the forms of twelve ponies with four of them being pegasi one of which held the smoking gun.
Crimson snapped to attention, “BRIMSTONE! BATTLESTATION!” He bolted out of the fort and charged the enemies across the open ground. Brimstone was stunned for a few moments and then he remembered what Crimson had said and picked up one of the rifles and aimed as best as he could and fired at one of the pegasi that were being to perch and take aim at Crimson. He fired his shot remembering to hold his breathe as he pulled the trigger; it was a direct hit with the pegasus’ shoulder making him drop his own firearm and fall from the tree. A wave of grey smoke filled the fort that stung at Brimstone’s eyes and the deafening boom of the discharge left Brimstone’s ears ringing. Undeterred he picked up the second rifle and took aim at another pegasus he was faster to take aim and fire this time around. The smoke in his eyes and his rapid heartbeat following the shock of firing them for the first time made him shoot wide and he only managed to hit their wing making them shoot wide at Crimson. Brimstone cursed himself and reached into the bag for more bullets and hurriedly tried to reload the weapons.
Meanwhile outside Crimson rushed through the shallow snow galloping at full tilt as he weaved side to side dodging the bullets from the remaining pegasi. This time their leader seemed to be a large and self-important pegasus about the size of Brimstone and covered with the crystalline armor of the Children, he wielded a lever-action rifle and was taunting all the while. Pegasus blood was quite prideful Crimson thought as he narrowly dodged his shots. The other ponies except for two were big earth ponies wielding the large shields that the other war party had been wielding except these were covered in spikes and through the gaps two unicorns were holding spears ready to run Crimson through. They began to charge him shouting in a blood rage as they ran. Crimson did not flinch and only put on more speed and stopped weaving meeting their charge.
Brimstone had managed to reload the rifle as Crimson closed in on the ground troops and this time he made sure to take careful aim this time at another pegasus and with another crack his bullet found it’s mark right in the heart of the pegasus. Brimstone gave up trying to reload the rifles as it took too long and Crimson looked like he was going to be in trouble very soon so he dropped the weapon and flew as hard he could toward the pegasus he had shot in the wing. Flying high to get the sun at his back he plunged like a stone with his wings folded, it wasn’t until he was seconds away from the pegasus that he unfurled his wing blades and sliced the pegasus from shoulder to flank on his stomach. As Brimstone recovered from his dive he heard the screams of glory as the pegasus praised that their leader would be so gracious as fight him. This cry unnerved Brimstone a little bit as he went to find the last pegasi in the sky.
Crimson had finally reached the charging infantry but right before they clashed he kicked a stone into the air and in one swift motion moved to stand on his rear legs and punched the stone through the shield directly in front of him going into the head of the pony. Crimson then slid on his two legs jumping on the now overturned shield and riding it toward the two unicorn who he quickly dispatched with a single punch to the side of the body making them crumple instantly into a neat pile. The rest of the earth ponies roared as they turned about face and charged again. Crimson quickly tossed up the spears and kicked them with tremendous force impaling them through the shields. When they finally closed in they only were only 4 in number and this time Crimson did not move as they boxed him on all sides. They were all snarling and grunting like feral animals, but it must have been some way of communication because after they stopped they begun a coordinated attack trying to crush and skewer him. Crimson leapt into the air to avoid the attack and as the four clashed shields he descended upon one of them breaking his back and leaving two of them open to his graviton gauntlets which reduced them to ragged piles of steel and fur in a blink of an eye. The last one stood his ground in the face of the engine of war that was Crimson who began to walk slowly with the intent to destroy written deep in his eyes. The soldier started to retreat as Crimson advance but the stalemate was not fated to last as the crack of a rifle and the cackling of a pompous pegasus filled the air. The soldier collapsed blood pooling out of his head staining the snow and melting it. Crimson scanned the air for the pegasus and saw that he had retreated back to the mountain pass’ entrance.
“It looks like the trash really couldn’t take out such a marvelous warrior such as yourself. But tsk tsk, what’s this I see, two against one? Now that’s just unfair, two great warriors against just one other great warrior, this can’t stand. I guess we will have to just even out the playing field.” The pegasus tapped on something with his hooves and flew back towards the trees where Brimstone made a charge for him.
“Brimstone! Stop!” Crimson yelled out as loud as he could.
Brimstone stopped short and retreated to a position opposite the other pegasus on the other side of the pass. “What is it, Crimson?”
The pegasus looked a little defeated “You just had to go and ruin my little plan didn’t you now uhmm…Crimson Smith is it now?”
“It’s just Crimson to you, and what do you have hidden in that pass.”
“I’m so glad you asked. READY!” The pegasus roared. Crimson could see dim red lights appear in the tunnel.
“AIM!” A quiet but gut churning whine could be heard and Crimson knew immediately what it was.
“Brimstone get down now! Evasive maneuvers now!” Crimson roared over the whine as it got louder and louder.
“FIRE!” The pegasus brought their hoof down and the whine stopped for less than a second before being replaced by a roaring like the sound of buildings being torn asunder as a bright beam began to trace its way to from Brimstone’s previous location toward Crimson. Crimson broke into a sprint toward the source of the beam as soon as it fired trying to get inside its firing arc as it traced its way through the terrain. He managed to get inside but then he heard the hiss as projectiles were fired out of the machine, half went toward Brimstone who saw them and was already in his evasive maneuvers while simultaneously trying to get closer to the pegasus captain. Crimson managed to dodge the beam and his half of the missiles but their explosive blast caught him and threw him sprawling right close to the source of these weapons. Brimstone also managed to dodge the missiles coming after him and was flying toward the captain when the beam suddenly stopped firing and a loud explosion fired off behind him and then another and another. Everywhere the laser had traced began to explode in the same order that it traced and try as he might Brimstone couldn’t get away from the explosions and he was caught from below and flung out in the open.
For a second everything fell silent as Brimstone and Crimson laid face down in the snow and then the creaking of a large mechanical monster roared over everything as the thing inside the pass began to move. Crimson escaped being crushed by a giant slab of metal as he dodged out of the way at the last second but he could not dodge the slab when it flicked at him catching him full on and throwing him out of the darkness of the cave several meters. The creaking continued as the beast made its way out of the pass stopping when it was halfway exposed.
When the machine stopped a loud burst of static filled the air before being replaced by a slightly distorted but powerful and imposing voice “Well if it isn’t false king. I thought you were unbeatable, indomitable, and most of all unmatchable. But now all I see before me is the crumpled body of a usurper and a traitor to the land that gave us life. Would the Gaian Smith really fall to the power of Ignatius’ creations, and to one as old as this? I must say you put up quite a wonderful display dodging most of the weapons of this holy machine.”
Crimson was getting aggravated “You dare profane his name with your evil ambitions, your cruel nature, and empty words. The technology of the Crab Walker are not yours to slaughter the innocent people of this land.”
“My…my…you certainly seem to remember something about that lie you live, you actually cared about another Smith, and I’m impressed. You would almost make the title of Gaian Smith proud, but even if you were him you have abandoned us, you betrayed all of us. We revered you as gods and what did you do? You drove us out of your land and destroyed all that we held dear. Burned our lush land into nothing but a hell blasted wasteland and sent us to suffer in the frozen north for millennia blocking out our communion with the Windigos, the True Smiths.”
“It was you that drove me to banish you to the North and the Windigos are not the Smiths they are creatures of magic that you perverted and turned against ponies. Your ancestors are to blame for your own demise” Crimson stood tall and yelled the fire in his soul burning in anger.
“LIES!, you forsake us and then what do you do, you disappear from the homeland, go and put those Princesses on the throne that rightly belonged to the Smiths and disappear into the aether never to be heard from in anything but whispers and rumors of the Gaian Smith’s true return to. So we hold onto that hope and pray that maybe he has returned and was going to lead us back to our rightful position as the hammer of the Smiths. Now I see that it was all lies you are nothing but rusty trash, the only thing I can congratulate you on is that you managed to steal enough life essence from the ponies around you to keep you alive this long, just how many ponies have you drained to heal your mortality?”
“That’s it! I will not listen to you slander me and spread your lies any further! You will fall this day I promise that in memory of all those your misguided belief has killed.” Crimson thundered as he sprinted toward the machine.
Brimstone was now one on one with the churlish and egomaniacal captain who had dropped his rifle and brought out his own wing blades and blades on his forelegs. “I guess I get to fight the son of our true lord, I hope you aren’t just one of his bastard offspring that claims that they are better than everyone else every time one of his mixed bloodlines gets enough self-importance to make noise about the connection. His children can be such weaklings and turn into such submissive little foals when a little pressure is applied.” The captain licked his blades while staring straight at Brimstone “I wonder how much you’ll squeal. I hope I don’t kill you quickly, I need some fun after all this.”
Brimstone ground his teeth and his eye started twitching but said nothing, he let himself indulge in the anger.
“Not the talking type then? I guess I’ll just have to make you learn.” The captain cackled as he lifted his head high.
Brimstone charged without hesitation trying to cut him down in his moment of weakness only for the clang of blades to meet his ears. “Did you think it would be that easy? There’s a reason I’m a captain boy.” On the last word spit flew onto Brimstone’s face making him even angrier. Brimstone and the captain disengaged and clashed blades on the ground and air as Brimstone’s ballet of blades met with the captain’s discordant display of daggers. The two styles were at odds as the captain’s volume of blades nullified Brimstone’s precise and agile stabs.
Crimson’s battle was not as much of a delicate display of technique and finesse. The walker’s legs were like giant shovels digging into the ground and throwing up a shower of boulders and stones and they were also trying to bisect Crimson with a direct hit. Crimson was being tossed around in the debris and shockwaves from each foot fall. It was grueling but he managed to clamp onto on the legs and he started to climb it as it thrashed the leg around and tried to crush him against the walls of the pass. Crimson’s plan was foiled as the leg folded to face the ground and prepared to plunge into the ground. He detached just in time and thinking quickly he jumped on the head of the walker and setting his rear gauntlets to keep him stuck to the top as he started laying blow after blow of punches to the hatch of the machine, causing it to lurch and stumble around as the vibrations shook and rattled the control circuits, but the harden shell remained unyielding to the shower of blows.
Brimstone and the captain were at each other’s throats, they both decided that their short ranged fury wasn’t going to solve their battle so they distanced themselves apart and began charging at each other in an aerial joust. Sparks flew as they kept grinding the entire length of their blades at such high speeds. Brimstone was getting winded and his adrenaline was wearing thin so on his final pass he aimed the sparks toward the captain and dived as fast as he could to hide beneath the trees.
The captain began circling ahead after he noticed his disappearance. “So this is what passes for honor among your misbegotten kind. I knew you half breeds were cowards and dishonorable bastards.”
Brimstone pushed off as hard as he could from the ground and pushed with the limit of his strength in one final strike, all or nothing. “I am my father’s son and you will obey me! Now die!” The captain brought down his wing to try and deflect Brimstone’s charge but missed and Brimstone’s blades sliced right through the wings and went on through to spear the heart as the blade went all the way through. Brimstone sighed in relief which quickly turned into distress as the full weight of the other pegasus pulled him straight down to the ground breaking and pinning his wing. The pain of Brimstone’s injuries finally came to him in shocking resolution but he was content in his victory and he just decided to lay there in his exhaustion on the edge of the forest.
Crimson was still hammering on the hatch his frustration mounting higher and higher making his blows harder and harder. “ENOUGH!” the machine roared suddenly an electric pulse covered the entire surface and electrocuted Crimson and deactivated his gauntlets sending him arcing in front of it again. “I’ve had enough of you, you imposter! I’m going to settle this with you once and for all.” From the hatch came a sharp hiss and it open to reveal an elaborately dressed stallion unicorn. Covered in silver robes and adorned with a whole cave’s worth of crystal of perfect clarity shining like lanterns in the afternoon sun. His long robes and headdress were obscuring something in the other seat. “I am a high shaman of the Children, I am one of the most powerful men in my land. I came here to crush you and destroy your profane memory. Once a little soul told me of your presence here I decided to lead the first assault into your lands. Now to bring you low I will use the one thing I know that the real Gaian Smith would take pleasure in as told by the scrolls of the Old Ones. To all others it will break their soul. Behold you arrogant fool!” The shaman revealed what he had been hiding. It was a mare, pure and innocent, her eyes full of terror and her body covered in robes. She was affixed to the hatch immobilized and atop her head was a circlet that was cutting into her head making bloody trails down her amethyst coat. “The death of innocence was the pride of Gaian Smith if I recall, let’s see how valid your claim is.” In one agonizing motion the shaman slit the mare’s throat.
Crimson blood froze and he stopped dead in his tracks. His knees gave way and he collapsed on the ground unresponsive.
“Yes, you cannot deny it now it is for the whole world to know. It is you who is the betrayer and you shall have your retribution.” The whine of the laser once again buzzed through the air.
Brimstone saw from his pinned position and struggled to get free “Crimson! Move! Snap out of it!”
“Enough out of you bastard, you are not worthy of the blood of The Lord of Darkness. You betrayed your father.” The shaman entered a few more commands and then the hiss of missiles joined the choir of the machine and this time they were all focused on Brimstone. Green smoke began to leak from Brimstone’s mouth as the missiles neared, he was facing death and a little corruption was better than death. He started to channel the energy within him to blast them away.
“STOP!” It was Crimson’s voice, he was fully upright. His was head down with his mane covering his entire face. He raised his hoof and the missiles stopped their course and exploded on the spot. “Brim! Stand down…I will defeat him.”
The shaman laughed “Beat me? You think your weak mind can withstand the might of the Children.”
“You dare…” Crimson said barely audible.
“What are you saying, turncoat? Are you surrendering?” The shaman taunted
“You dare!” Crimson yelled advancing toward the machine
“I do, you deserter.”
“YOU! DARE! I am the avatar of destruction and you think that a simple machine can lay me low…I will make you see oblivion I will make you feel the pain you have caused!” Crimson bellowed at the shaman. Brimstone could sense a drastic change in Crimson, Brimstone had just felt it himself when he was about to surrender himself to his dark power. Crimson took off his long duster revealing his skin. Brimstone was shocked at what he saw, scars covered his whole body and on his back were too large wounds were wings would be. On all of his legs there were crimson colored cracks that ran up his the grey legs and they began to pulse and light up like magic was being conducted through them. Crimson’s skin began to change it looked like it was hardening into rock and the veins looked like they were turning into magma. Crimson’s whole body got larger and started shedding off slabs of this stone skin revealing a bubbling and boiling mass of molten rock.
“I am Volcanic Ash, I am your precious Smith, but you are not one of my precious ponies. You will be destroyed.” The monstrous creature that Crimson had turned into was still shaped like a pony but was bigger than the crab walker. Volcanic began his assault on the machine, pounding its legs in and snapping them off. The walker fired off all of its weapons and explosions quaked all over Volcanic’s body but it did not phase the monster as it plunged its molten hooves deep into the heart of the machine tearing it apart piece by piece before lifting up the entire machine and shoving it into mountain pass causing it to collapse into the walker burying it and the shaman.
Brimstone managed to free himself and started running for Volcanic, what he planned to do he didn’t know but he ran all the same. Fortunately for Brimstone, Volcanic dissipated as soon as he had appeared and Crimson’s body soon emerged as the magma and rock disappeared back into his body. Brimstone ran up with Crimson’s hat and duster, but he was out of it for a few minutes while Brimstone stood there where he could finally get a good look at Crimson’s body. Brimstone was first drawn to Crimson’s hooves which he could barely see under the gravity gauntlets, the hooves were cracked and a deep scarlet to match his main mane color. From the hooves came those cracks that traveled up each leg almost the entire length and when Brimstone tapped them he didn’t know what to expect but them being as hard as stone was not one he had considered. Brimstone reached out to touch the scars on his back but was halted as he felt a hard rush of air in his lower stomach and the sound of the air as he was laid out on his back in a flash. Crimson stood above him his face conveying his surprise and bewilderment which was replaced by apologies as he returned to his senses and let go. Brimstone sheepishly offered him his duster and hat which he gladly accepted and together they limped back to base. They barely made it to the tent before they collapsed into a pile of hooves and winter clothes.
