The flightless pegasus named Grim is living in the timeline where King Sombra has started the war against Equestria. Having had enough of that, he decides to reveal the reason why he kept his wings pressed tighty against his body all the time.
When the Crystal Empire returned, it brought King Sombra back with it. Immediately, he had started the war against Equestria... the war that proved to be a terrible disaster, brought tragedies and sleepless nights to the pony nation. Princess Celestia was leading the finest warriors herself, but even with her on the front line, it took every other pony in Equestria working day and night to barely keep up the fight against Sombra's army of the mindless slaves... the army that was growing stronger with every new pony captured and enslaved.
At that point, no effort could help Equestria win that war. To do that, it would take some sort of a... primordial force.
Marked as "Crossover" for main character's strong resemblance to Malthael from Diablo III. Written to celebrate Malthael’s arrival to the Heroes of the Storm game.
It was a regular day at Cloudsdale's school. Nothing out of ordinary. The children had gathered in the class room, preparing for their teacher to come in, some of them were sharing stories, some were getting their student's books ready and opened at some exact page, the others whispered something about how much they hated Math... As expected, in a few moments their teacher had come in, but she wasn't alone.
"Alright, class! I want your attention now!" the teacher's voice had immediately silenced the room, everypony was waiting for what she had to say next, "Today we have a new foal in our class! He's a sweet little pegasus and will make a great addition to the class. But, the life has not been... as fortunate to him as it is to all of us, so, please, be nice to him. Do you understand?"
"Yes, miss Windghast!" the foals replied, some sincerely, but there were a few with a sly grin on their faces. Obviously, the bullies.
"Alrighty then. You may introduce yourself now," the light blue mare with a long white mane had addressed the foal standing next to her. The said foal had a pitch black coat, but his white mane was perfectly matching the teacher's. Yet, the most strange detail about him was his cutiemark: it was a ghostly pony silhouette that looked like it was jumping over a sickle... or was about to be cut it in half by it.
"Hi," he said simply, but there was not a hint of shyness in his voice. Instead, the voice was unusually deep for a foal, and it almost seemed like it was leaving an echo, "The name's Grim."
The slience had filled the class room. Nopony knew what to say. That was one of the most lame speeches they ever heard from a newbie. And yet... the foal's voice had made it sound rather dark, almost threatening. What a combination...
"A-alight," the teacher was the first to break the silence, professionally continuing the introduction, "Class, say 'Hello' to Grim!"
"Hello, Grim!" the class was as obedient as ever. After all, no foal wanted to anger their teacher and get in trouble.
"You may take your place now, Grim," miss Windghast had smiled at the addition to her class kindly, "Be good, pay attention in the calss - and there will be no troubles."
A couple of ponies at the back seats had smirked at that, their eyes were following the newbie.
The days passed, and Grim was doing well at the class. However, he wasn't doing well during the breaks, very much to the certain ponies' amusement. Moreover, it had become clear that the pegasus could not fly. For the reason unknown, he always kept his wings shut. From the ancient times, the flightless pegasus was considered a shame, and was humiliated in front of the others. The time had passed, and the pegasi changed since they had joined the land of Equestria. But such traditions... just remain in the blood for a long-long time.
That was the day when they had finally decided to take a bite. Waiting for the moment when all of the other foals and the teacher went out of the class room during the break, they approached Grim.
"Oh, lookie here... What's that?" Dumb-Bell was the first one to act.
"Wait, that's not a 'what', but a 'who'. Sorry for confusing you for a ball of dirt, kid," Hoops had joined in. Their classic tactics.
Yet, surprisingly, the kid payed them no attention. And that certainly angered the bullies.
"Hey, we're talking to you!" Score yelled, joining the duo. That has caught the foal's attention.
"Don't," he replied simply. His deep and dark voice had sent a shiver down the bullies' spines, even though they hadn't let it show. The answer itself, however, had caught them off-guard. After collecting themselves for a couple of moments, they had finally found the words to reply with.
"Who do you think you are, talking to us like that?"
"Yeah! You're looking for trouble, aren't you, eh... rock?!" Hoops was not great at giving the nicknames.
"Why is he a rock?" Dumb-Bell asked him.
"Because he's gonna hit the ground like one as soon as he steps out of the clouds!" Hoops replied, earning a wholehearted laugh from his fellow bullies. Grim, however, had remained busy with doing his homework during the break. The display seemed to annoy the bullies further.
"Hey!" Dumb-Bell had hit the talble, causing Grim's notebook to jump and his pen to leave a blot on it's page. The foal stopped writing, "You're gonna listen to us when we talk to you, or else!"
"Or else... " the dark foal had slowly turned his gaze the bulky bully until their eyes met, "...what?"
There was something unusual about that gaze, something that had made the dumb jock pause, struggling to find a reply. His friends, however, were there to save him. Score had taken a hold on Grim from behind.
"You're about to find out. I've got him, guys!" he exclaimed. The other two were already surrounding the incapacitated foal. However, he had another surprise for them.
"Is 'rock' a nickname you have given me?" he asked simply, as if he wasn't in any sort of a dire situation.
"Yeah! What about it?" Dumb-Bell's bravery had returned to him at anticipation of having some fun.
"I like it," the foal replied, surprising the bullies further, pretty much to their annoyance.
"Oh, yeah? Well, too bad for ya! We aren't taking any apologies now!" Hoops replied, already preparing to land the first hit on the dark foal.
But at that exact moment, Grim's body had slipped out... no, slipped through the Score's grip, breaking free from it. Before any of them could react, a hard blow had connected with Dumb-Bell's chin. The unconscious body of a bulky jock had hit the floor. Hoops, acting completely out of combination of instinct and fear had tried to land his hit, but simply wasn't fast enough. His body had soon joined his friend's one.
Score was speechless, his mind was struggling to understand what was going on. The dark foal had slowly turned around, facing the last bully standing. His gaze had frozen Score in place. It felt like looking the very Death in the eye...
"Rocks are supposed to hit hard, are they not...?" the dark pegasus asked the shaking one.
It was not long before Score had joined his friends in the Dreamland... He didn't even need to get hit for that.
The time had passed, and Grim had been sent to a school in the town named Ponyville. Being flightless, it was simply not safe for him to remain in Cloudsdale. Not to mention... that incident in the school had caused quite a noise. And it wasn't just about the fact of him beating up the infamous trio, but also... When teacher came back to the class room, she had nearly fainted at the sight of Grim sitting there, calmly doing his homework while surrounded with three unconscious bodies. One of the pegasi, however, had looked at him with admiration and respect since that moment. He remembered her well... She was easy to remember, after all. Her mane was a pure rainbow. Ever since that day, the foal had been considered "problematic", despite not repeating anything like that. And, since he was an orphan, there was no trouble in moving him to the other location.
The new place, however, had accepted him rather well. The new school was nice, and the kids there were the match. They were kind and friendly, none of them seemed to pay attention to the fact he was flightless. They had simply shrugged off the fact that he wasn't talkative, accepting him for who he was. And since that was the case, he was left alone. Perhaps, that's exactly what he wanted.
The time was passing by, day by day... He had graduated along with the others and then disappeared as soon as he had become an official adult pony. Noone knew where he went, and nopony really gave it much thought. Especially since they had a much bigger concern.
The war had quickly become a disaster to the entire land of Equestria... Nearly a half of it had fallen quickly to the unexpected and fierce assault of King Sombra. Those who were not conquered yet, were struggling to keep up the fight, working day and night and doing their very best to support the most brave and skillful of Equestrian warriors, who were on the front line, lead by Princess Celestia herself. And yet... the things were not looking good for them. Every day the front line was getting pushed back, even if for the mere inches... Every day, a little bit more of Equestrian land had been falling before the assault of King Sombra's army of mind-controlled crystal ponies. An army, that was growing with every captured Equestrian pony.
The majestic land had quickly become a dark place, deprived of joy and happiness. Some ponies barely had any sleep as well. There was no more fun, no more games, no more smiles... There was simply no time for any of that, not if they wanted to cling to whatever ghostly chance there was to win that war.
One of those days, there was a knock on a door of Sweet Apple Acres.
"Wait a moment, Granny! Ah'll be right back!" the pony named Applejack shouted over the noise caused by the conveyor. She then headed to check who was at the door. After all, everypony had moved from Ponyville to help support the front line. Almost every pony... She and her family wouldn’t move anywhere else, after all. It was their home. As she opened the door, she had been greeted by the dark figure. A tall, black and rather thin stallion was wearing a cape, the colour of which was matching his coat perfectly. It covered his entire body along with a bigger part of his face. And yet, it was easy for her to recognize him.
"Howdy! Oh, wow... it sure’s been a long while, hasn’t it? What can Ah do ya'll for?"
"I was just passing by," the dark stallion's voice always succeeded in sending a shiver down Applejack's spine, "I'm leaving for the front line."
"Oh..." she couldn't help but feel sad at having to say goodbye so soon to the pony she knew, but hadn’t seen for quite some time. It was true that he never was a sociable pony, but everyone had grown used to him. They had even started to like him the way he was... before he had disappeared, and then the war had forced them all to move to the bigger cities, "Ah... understand. Is there anythin' Ah can help ya with before ya go?"
The stallion had reached to pull something from his backpack. It happened to be an old stuffed toy, and it wasn't at it's finest. However, it had caused Appljack to visibly brighten.
"I have found that in Everfree... I believe, it's still dear to your brother. Please, give it to him."
And so he left, leaving the Apple Family the only inhabitants of once nice and cozy town of Ponyville. Applejack stood there for a couple of minutes, watching him go. The wind was rather harsh that day, thrashing his cape up and down. It might have been a play of the light fooling her eyes, or, perhaps, just her imagination, but she could have sworn that from his backpacks a couple of grimly designed sickles was poking out...
The forest was dark and dangerous, but the mysterious wanderer payed it no mind. He was simply moving forward, like an unstoppable... primordial force, passing through every obstacle, sometimes literally. Nopony had ever found out where he gained that ability, neither had he talked about it himself, but it was there. Though, only a few had ever heard of it... and even less had seen it in action.
He had finally reached a village - the first kind of a civilisation on his long road to the Frozen North. It was called Hollow Shades. The dark yet beautiful place, which seemed to be a rare small village that hadn't been abandoned after the war had begun. To no surprise, however, not a single pony could be found on the streets. Everypony was busy, there was no time for them to do as much as enjoy a walk. The wanderer was walking the empty streets, paying no mind to his surroundings, not really searching for anypony specifically. One of the signboards, however, had caught his attention. It said "Tavern 'Lucky Horseshoe'".
The sound of the opening door had nearly caused the lonely bartender to jump. Quite obviously, a visitor was a rare case those days. And yet, he stayed there, tending to his tavern just in case anypony needed his services. A traveler, perhaps...
"Greetings, sir. What can I help you with?" he said, as soon as he had got over the initial surprise.
"A drink. Anything you have will do," the wanderer answered simply, "And a few rumors, please."
The bartender had raised an eyebrow at his request: it's true that ponies used to discuss the rumors at his tavern, but never had anypony asked him for that kind of information so bluntly before.
"As you wish, sir. A cup of the finest cider coming right up!" serving his visitors had always come first to the stallion, and he was good at his job. His hooves were preparing the drink skillfully, as if they had the mind of their own, while the bartender was satisfying the traveller's other request, "As for the rumors... Well, obviously, the most hot topic would be the war against King Sombra, but I'm pretty sure you've heard of that."
His attempt to make a joke to lighten up the mood caused no desired reaction, only earning a slight nod from the wanderer. Seeing that, the bartender decided to get more serious.
"There is a strange rumor about it, however... It is believed that King Sombra sends his spies to Equestria. Now, I'm pretty sure that crystal ponies would be easily recognized, and they are no changelings, so, the shape-shifting is out of question as well. The rumors, however... say that they remain hidden, laying low, so to speak... and only act during the night, when the shadows are everywhere and it's easy for them to stay out of sight. Some even say that King Sombra had given them the powers to remain completely invisible in the shadows..." the bartender had finished on a mysterious note, yet his tale had been met with another blunt question.
"Are there any signs of them being within this area?"
The stallion stared at the wanderer for a few moments before finding the words to reply with.
"You're dead serious about this, aren't you?"
"I am."
After leaving the tavern, the wanderer continued his journey. Yet, no longer was he traveling absentmindedly... instead, he was paying attention to his surroundings much more than he did before. The bit of information he had acquired from the bartender could prove useful, there was no reason for him to just shrug it off. The road ahead laid through the... forest. Yes, once again, it was the forest. More woods waiting for him ahead. And yet, it seemed to neither scare, nor annoy him. He kept walking forward, no matter the surroundings, no matter the weather, no matter the time of day...
It was only the matter of time before he had successfully passed through the woods, leaving the Hollow Shades to it's business, the nature to it’s blooming... and a couple of fresh corpses to their rotting.
Manehattan had always been one of the most large, fancy and lively cities in all of Equestria. It was always full of life, always in trend, following the latest tendencies of fashion, food and almost every other thing. Back in the day, it was almost impossible to imagine the streets of that city empty for even a few moments. Since the Crystal War had begun, however... Emptyness had become the usual state of the streets of Manehattan. Such was their state when the mysterious wanderer had entered the city... There was nopony, yet one could tell that the city was far from dead. The noise was still on the streets, though it was coming from the opened windows. Everypony was busy working.
So, yes... the megapolis wasn’t dead. It was half-dead. The cinemas, casinos, theaters... even a park was in a completely abandoned state. It was obvious that nopony had been there for a long time. The mysterious wanderer frowned as he was walking the empty alley of once beautiful park. It felt so... dead. Killed along with the other simple joys of Equestria... by the plague-like war. Lost in those thoughts, he kept moving his hooves, step by step walking through once magnificent city. Step by step, he was getting closer to his destination, despite choosing quite a long way to get there.
“Halt, citizen!” the strict voice of a royal guard called to him. It was rather... unexpected to meet another pony on a street, but it looked like a big city such as Manehattan still had the royal guard patrols. The wanderer stopped and slowly turned around to face the stallion addressing him. Facing the dark and mysterious figure, the guard frowned, “State your business in the city.”
“None,” the answer was as short and blunt as ever, “I was passing by, currently on my way to the front line.”
“Yeah, right,” the guard had found the dark figure quite suspicious, especially since he looked and behaved rather mysteriously. Moreover, he heard the rumors about King Sombra’s spies and couldn’t let the potential one go, “New recruits get sent to the front line by the express train.”
“I am no recruit. I am going by myself,” the grim stallion’s answer had caught him off-guard. Not the answer itself, but the tone, the confidence in his voice. If he was a spy, then his tongue would surely begin to tie knots at his cover story being blown. Perhaps, that stallion was actually going to the front line, after all. Yet, the guard pony was not taking any chances.
“Prove that you’re not a spy,” he said to the wanderer, readying his weapon just in case his suspicions happened to be correct. The dark figure had raised his head, his eyes could finally be seen, staring straight into the eyes of the royal guard. The bulky stallion felt a cold shiver passing through his entire body, it felt like looking the very Death in the face. The deep voice of the mysterious traveller had made his legs shake.
“You are still alive... are you not?” the dark figure replied, causing the guard to gulp. His bravery was evaporating quickly. Somewhere deep inside he felt that he was trying to bite more than he could chew. Paralyzed by fear, he stood there as the figure stepped closer to him. Surprisingly, however, the grim stallion had simply put a hoof on his shoulder, before saying, “Believe me, I shall put an end to the Crystal War.”
The once brave royal guard didn’t find any strength to reply, staying there for quite some time, even after the mysterious wanderer had left his sight.
Death... Death and decay. That phrase was a good way to describe the state Equestria had found itself in. Once the land of joy, hapiness, rainbows and friendship, it had become a rather grim-looking place. Working day and night, ponies had no time to share a single laugh. They barely slept, barely ate anything at all. Some just couldn’t take it anymore, falling ill and eventually dying. Some were going insane... which lead them to the same result in the end. The values of the country were slipping away... along with the ponies’ hope to survive that devastating war. It was a rather depressing sight to see.
Those were the thoughts of the wanderer, who had continued his way to the North, to the front line. He had passed through the forest, which then changed to the green fields. The nature surrounding him was as alive as always... but something felt off, as if something was missing. It was rather obvious, however: the ponies no longer had any time to enjoy the nature surrounding them. There was nopony in sight. And, speaking of ponies...
The mysterious wanderer looked around as he stepped into the village. It looked small, cozy and... completely abandoned. There was only one street. The houses were lined up in two parallel rows, and only one of them was located in a distance from the others. And yet, all of them were boarded up. Wait... one was not. Out of curiousity, the dark figure had tried knocking on it, but as soon as he touched the door, it fell off, rising a cloud of dust.
“Ah!” the startled pony’s scream had caught the wanderer’s attention. It was a light blue unicorn stallion, with a messy dark blue mane. His cutiemark was... some sort of a figure made from a balloon and accompanied by the streamers. On the closer look, the pony was in a terrible state. His ribs could be seen through his skin, it was obvious that he hadn’t eaten anything for a long time, “W-who are you...?”
The mysterious wanderer was taking his time, carefully looking the poor pony over. The pregnant silence filling the air in the house seemed to be taking it’s toll on the unicorn’s nerves as the tears began running from his eyes.
“A-are you... D-death? H-have you finally come to put me out of my misery?”
Surprisingly, the comparison seemed to amuse the dark wanderer.
“You could say that,” he replied in his usual deep and threatening voice, “But I have not come for you. Speaking of which... who are you?”
The pony didn’t know how to react to those words. Had Death just confirmed that his time had not come yet?
“I-I’m Party Favor. I’m good at making parties... Well, used to be...” the glimpse of a memory of the happier times seemed to brighten up the poor pony’s mood for a bit, but the thought of reality had made it deflate like a balloon. The wanderer reached into his backpack, pulling out a bag.
“Take it,” he said simply, “You are in a greater need for it than I am.”
Slowly opening the bag, Party Favor couldn’t help but wonder what was inside, until the scent of still fairly fresh food had hit his nostrils, almost causing him to fall back. The primal instinct had taken over the starving stallion, making him pounce at the food like a predator at a prey. But a hoof on his shoulder had brought him back to his senses.
“Eat slowly,” the dark wanderer insisted, “Rushing it will only hurt your starving stomach.”
Taking his advice, Party Favor had proceeded to enjoy his meal. All the while, the wanderer was there, patiently waiting for him to finish. It took a while at that pace, but after being done with that improvised lunch, the poor pony had turned to him, the tears were present in his eyes again, but for a different reason.
“I... I don’t know how I can repay you. You saved me...” he squeezed the words out, through the tears and shaking breath. The dark figure noded to him, then stood up, getting ready to leave, “Where are you going?”
“To the front line,” the mysterious wanderer replied. A thump heard from behind had made him turn his head back, only to witness Party Favor standing on his knees, a glimmer of hope shimmering through the tears in his eyes. For the first time in a long while...
“Please... I beg you... Put an end to this war!” he cried out to the wonderer, who had resumed his walk towards the Frozen North.
“I shall.”
Step by step, he was walking forward. Mile by mile, he was getting closer to the Crystal Mountains... to the front line. As always, he was calm and collected. He knew his goal and he was marching forth to it, like an unstoppable force. It wasn’t long before he reached the local military base. And, quite expectedly, he had been noticed.
“Halt, citizen!” the familiar voice called to him. Did each stallion in the Royal Guard possess the same voice? “You are trespassing!”
“I am not,” was the wanderer’s reply, “I am going to the front line.”
A couple of royal guards had exchanged glances, before pressing on.
“The recruits are arriving here by the express train, after going through at least minimum training course,” one of the guards stated, “We can’t let just anypony pass to the front line.”
“Neither can you stop me,” the dark figure’s second reply was even more blunt than the first one, successfully catching those two bulky stallions off-guard. He hadn’t even stopped walking.
“Halt!” they shouted, after finally recovering from their surprised shock, “Or we’ll have to use force.”
They were preparing for a fight, already having their spears in their hooves and taking a battle stance, when a voice from the skies had called to them.
“What’s going on here?” the female pegasus warrior had descended to the ground. That mare seemed to catch the wanderer’s attention for some reason, causing him to stop in his tracks. She had one metal wing. A prosthesis, obviously. She had most likely lost it in a fight, along with a half of her ear. In one of many, actually. Just from looking her over, one could tell that she had a lot of a battle experience. Everything about her, from her look to the tiniest of her movements, described her as a true warrior, the one that would never back off from a fight. Yet, one of the most noticable details about her was the colour of her mane. It was a pure rainbow. The royal guards had immediately stood at attention, saluting to their superior.
“Mam! That stallion was trespassing, mam!” they replied in unison. As expected, her attention shifted entirely to the stallion in question. She looked him over... He was a dark tall figure, unusually thin. The black coat, the white tail... it rang familiar to her.
“Dismissed,” she addressed the guards. They had saluted once more and hurried up to leave the area. It appeared, the rainbow-maned pegasus was truly respected and fairly feared among the military ranks, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” she had adressed the mysterious wanderer.
“I am going to the front line,” his reply to her was short and blunt as always, yet his deep voice had reached something inside her, making it feel like she actually knew that stallion, “To put an end to this war.”
“Bah!” the sheer indignation at his words had shook her out of those thoughts, “You think you can put an end to this war just like that?! Look at this here,” she pointed at her damaged ear and metal wing, “You see that? This is what a war is like. I have no idea whatever ridiculous heroic fantasy you have created for yourself inside your head, but it’s nothing, I repeat, nothing like the things are at the front line! You hear me? NOTHING!” the further she went with that thought, the more frustrated she seemed to become. The distress of the non-stopping battles was catching up to her. By the end of her little speech she was practically panting, “That’s why you’re going to turn around now, and go home,” she continued, trying to calm herself down, “You will look for the other way to help the front line. And if you really want to get there yourself, you will sign a contract and become an official recruit. Do you understand?”
After she had finished, her eyes were set dead on the wanderer, looking him over and analyzing his every move. To her surprise, after calmly listening to everything she had to say, he stepped towards her. The display of his approaching tall and dark figure would make any other pony back away. Be she wasn’t just anypony, she held her ground.
“Captain Rainbow Dash,” when the wanderer spoke again, she couldn’t help but experience a chill running down her spine. Both at his deep voice and at the fact he knew her name. Did they know each other? Was that why that stallion seemed familiar to her? The stallion raised his head, his cape uncovering a bigger part of his face. When their eyes met, Rainbow instantly knew who she was talking to, “Do you remember me?”
The surprise was too big, even for her. Her hind legs suddenly felt weak, causing her to sit on the ground.
“Grim... Is... is that you?” after spending a few seconds recovering from the initial shock, she had found the strength to form the words again.
“Correct,” Grim replied, his answer short and simple, as always. He decided to take a seat as well, for the third time during his long journey.
“It’s... been such a long time. I... never thought I’d see you again,” the fierce pegasus warrior had suddenly sounded much softer, her mask of a heartless battle machine was visibly falling apart. The dark pegasus stayed silent, feeling there’s no words he needed to say. He simply let her continue, “Where... where were you all of that time? I heard you were moved to Ponyville, but by the time I moved there, you were already gone.”
“I did many things: travelled, observed, learnt, developed...”, he replied shortly, but the confused look on the mare’s face prompted him to get more specific, “Travelled across Equestria, observed the cycle of life and death, learnt more about the world, developed my own... talents,” that seemed to be specific enough, judging by her nod. She stayed silent for a few more moments before continuing, looking away from him.
“You know... it’s you who teached me bravery. To stand up for myself. To defend what I hold dear. I... still remember that day. When I heard miss Windghast’s scream, I rushed to the classroom, only to witness the image that would remain forever stuck in my head, that would... motivate me to work on myself. I remember how you were just sitting there, doing your homework. I haven’t even noticed what was off about it until I looked at the floor. The three of them... those three bastards were laying around you, totally knocked out! The same ones that bullied the entire class. They caused us so many tears and distress... And you had kicked their sorry asses without even making it look like it was something significant. I... was astonished. You’ve made the dream of our entire class come to life that day! You’ve made what we thought was impossible... happen!”
“They thought calling me a ‘rock’ was funny... The joke was on them,” the dark stallion’s reply had confused Rainbow Dash at first, but the look of realisation was quick to dawn upon her face.
“Oh... that’s right. Are... are you still, you know...” she was struggling to ask the question that could hurt her childhood friend.
“I have never been flightless. There is a reason why I kept my wings shut all the time,” Grim’s answer had caught the experienced warrior off-guard.
“B-but... why would a pegasus ever want to stay grounded on his own free will?” she asked, completely confused.
“You will see why... today,” he replied, standing up.
“What? Wait, no! You can’t go there!” Rainbow jumped, quickly blocking his way. After standing there for a few more seconds, Grim was the first to break silence.
“Rainbow Dash... Do you know my name?” his question came out completely unexpected, once more leaving the mare confused.
“I... Of course, I do! It’s Grim,” she said, collecting herself again. The dark stallion then took a step forward, their bodies touched... before he simply walked through the pegasus warior. She had never experienced anything like that, a cold chill ran through her entire body. She slowly turned around, feeling herself over and trying to understand what had just happened. Grim stopped and turned his head to her.
“My full name...” he said, in a voice even deeper than before, causing the poor mare’s heart to skip a bit as the wave of chill had passed through her once again...
“No way...” Rainbow Dash could not believe what was happening. And who could blame her? At first, she met her long lost childhood friend where she least expected to. Then he demonstrated the ability to walk through the others like some sort of an incorporeal ghost. And after that, he revealed his full name that nopony ever knew he had, “You... are Grim Reaper? As in... the Grim Reaper?!”
“Yes... and no,” his reply didn’t bring any clarity to Rainbow Dash’s rising thoughts, “I am no god, no eternal being... not even an alicorn. But I am blessed with the powers of Death... and it is my duty to unleash them only when it’s absolutely necessary.”
The gears inside Rainbow’s head were slowly beginning to connect.
“Your wings... is that why you kept them closed all of that time? Even as a foal...?” she asked, her voice beginning to shake. When he replied with a single nod, she had realised it all. The thoughts about what it was like to know that you can fly, but willingly become what had always been considered a shame to the pegasus race just to fulfill the duty and keep the powers of Death under control... and all of that while being just a foal... It was not long before she had let her tears run freely from her eyes, unable to hold them back.
“This is why I have chosen the long way to get here. I hoped that the need for my powers on the front line will pass. But... it looks like that’s just not meant to be,” his reply had earned a silent nod from the mare who were still trying to fight back the tears, “I’m going to put an end to this war. Today. May I ask for a favour from my childhood friend?” he asked, to which Rainbow was eager to reply.
“Anything!”
“Tell everyone to hold the line... but not to move forward,” the dark pegasus said, resuming his walk towards the front line. In just one skillful move he pulled his grim sickles out, discarded his backpacks and fastened the sickles on his back. They seemed to remain there, held by some unseen force, “Death comes to the front line.”
The battle was as heated as it always was. The fierce attacks of King Sombra’s army, the desparate resistance of Equestrian bravest warriors... It was like nothing ever changed there. Not until a mysterious dark figure had appeared among the fighting ponies. It had caused a small pause as neither side knew who that pony was. The stallion had slowly stood up on his hind legs, his forehooves took two darkly-designed sickles that he kept on his back. Without saying a word, he disappeared.
A mere moment later he was already behind a couple of heavily-armored crystal ponies. Everypony’s eyes followed him there, a few surprised gasps could be heard on an unusually quiet battlefield. Only those two crystal ponies remained motionless... before their heads fell off. An unleashed fountain of fresh blood was quick to follow that scene, as their bodies soon had joined their heads on the ground. A few screams of terror came from Equestrian ponies: even though the battles there were serious and intense, there was no killing... It was mostly about getting a mind-controlling helmet off of the crystal ponies’ heads, or getting captured and having it secured on yours. A few ponies had fainted at the gruesome sight, a few others had lost their lunch. The mindless army, however, did not lose time. Having switched their priorities, the enslaved ponies had surrounded the mysterious figure, viewing him as the main threat at the moment.
The dark pegasus spread his wings and took to the air, dramatically crossing his sickles on the chest. At that exact moment, a strange fog had broken free from underneath his wings, filling the area around him. The crystal ponies took a defensive stance when the fog surrounded them, but soon a strange combination of moans and screams had filled the air. Equestrian ponies watched in horror as the bodies of King Sombra’s soldiers were quickly decaying alive, helplessly thrashing around, no longer understanding what was going on... An even bigger horror filled the brave warriors’ hearts as they witnessed the souls leaving the crystal ponies’ bodies, getting sucked into that mysterious pegasus while the fresh, yet completely rotten corpses were falling on the ground. And yet... the dark figure looked like he had only begun. Spreading his wings further, he unleashed the weird fog upon the crystal ponies, directing it strictly forward. By that time, it was clear: that was no regular fog, but a death shroud. A portion of it seemed to form some shape from his every feather, creating a ghostly extension of his wings. And the larger those ghostly wings were becoming, the more intense the Death Shroud attack was getting. The mindless slaves simply did not have enough time to react, and the fate of those who got caught in it was sealed. Their bodies decayed just like the ones of those before them, their souls getting ripped from them. The fog was like a river... the River of Death, and the souls were drowning in it, hopelessly thrashing around, screaming and trying to break free, much to the rising horror of the Equestrian warriors. The sounds of screaming, moaning, the blowing winds of Death Shroud, the thumps of falling corpses... they all have come together into the one dark... wicked symphony of Death that was dominating the battlefield.
“Attention!” the voice had called from the skies, shaking the horrified warriors out of their trance, “Everypony, hold the line! Not a single pony gets through, not a single pony moves past the line. Not a step back, but also not a single step forward!”
It was the voice of Rainbow Dash, the respected and feared captain, known for her bravery on the battlefield and loyalty to Equestria. Yet, the power of fear was taking hold on the hearts of Equestrian soldiers. Noticing that, she yelled in a hope to snap them out of it.
“THAT’S AN ORDER!!!”
At that phrase, the military reflexes had taken hold of their minds, causing them all to salute and reply in unison.
“Mam! Yes, mam!”
Satisfied with the result, she returned her attention to the dark figure of Grim Reaper. Even she had a hard time believing what she was witnessing, but she had to stay strong for her fellow warriors, to give them a boost of bravery. A familiar voice had shaken her out of those thoughts.
“Captain Rainbow Dash!” it was the voice of another pegasus captain, who was flying towards her. After getting close enough, the orange mare had stopped, and both had saluted to each other.
“Captain Spitfire!” Rainbow relpied, already anticipating the upcoming question.
“What’s going on here?” the mare asked, looking around and then focusing her attention on the gruesome scene on the battlefield beneath them.
“It’s a long story...” the rainbow-mane pegasus replied, earning a raising brow from Spitfire.
“I’m all ears,” she insisted.
“And I would very much like to hear it as well,” voice from above them had joined in, causing both mares to raise their heads.
“Princess Celestia!” they said in unison, immediately saluting to their superior.
“At ease, both of you,” she had commanded, knowing there was no time for formalities. She then turned to the cyan mare, “So, Captain, what kind of story do you have for us?”
After taking a few moments looking away and a rather deep breath, Rainbow Dash had openned her mouth to reply.
The grim sickles cut through the heavy black armor of crystal slaves with ease, separating their heads from their bodies, cutting some of them in half, sometimes landing a strike at the very heart. More and more of them were suffering a gruesome fate. Death came to take their souls, to make their bodies rot, and... to free them from King Sombra’s grasp once and for all. And some of those souls happened to realise that, to understand what was going on... Such souls fell silent, patiently waiting for whatever would come next for them as more and more of their enslaved friends were forced to join them. Their falling bodies, cut, decayed and deformed... were no longer a property of their dark King. The Death itself had taken hold on them. And none of the souls could tell what plans it had in mind... until one had gathered the bravery to ask.
“To end the war, to bring down the dark king,” the deep voice of the reaper had answered, getting the attention of the rest of the souls he had collected so far. The thought of bringing down their enslaver had shaken them out of whatever trance they were in after going through the agony of their last moments. The mysterious pegasus kept moving forward, like an unstoppable... primordial force he represented. No one could stop him... no one could stop Death. Having their King’s orders, the mindless slaves tried their best to attack the dark figure, but all who tried perished, having their souls freed from their sad life. That kept happening, the gruesome display repeating itself over and over again... until one dark figure had finally met another.
“Who are you?” King Sombra asked. Judging by his face and the tone of his voice he was rather irritated by losing so many of his slaves so quickly. The mysterious figure did not reply to his question. Instead, he simply moved forward to him, preparing for an attack. The dark king raised his defences, summoning the dark magic. He decided to attack first.
In the mere seconds, the large and sharp black crystals had risen on the battlefield, devastating the area, leaving no escape. A wicked smile appeared on the dark mage’s face, but before he had any time for an evil laugh, his eyes had caught the sight that he didn’t expect to see: the mysterious pegasus was phasing through the crystals, completely unharmed. And, as if it wasn’t enough on it’s own, the deadly shroud was surrounding him. The master of terror had found himself completely aghast at witnessing the souls of his former subjects staring at him from that thick gray fog.
After getting over the initial surprise, he had collected himself, getting more and more irritated at the unknown force he was facing. Clenching his teeth together, he suppressed a deep growl and began to gather his dark powers, switching his physical attacks that appeared to be completely useless against that creature to the magical ones. As his horn gathered enough of the dark energy, he fired the black beam at Grim Reaper and hit... nothing. The mysterious pegasus was already not there. He turned his head, quickly looking around and trying to find the dangerous being. It was only thanks to his dark powers that he was able to sense the mysterious force approaching him from below, and jumped off the crystal the mere moments before the reaper phased through it, swinging his sickle.
He had a hard time understanding what exactly he was facing. It was as if Death itself had come for him... The notes of fear began to play a quiet tune in his black heart, for the first time in a thousand years. Grim Reaper didn’t waste time, launching the other melee attack at the dark king. He blocked it by raising a crystal, and moved away when the sickle had broken through. It was his turn, and he fired another black beam at the mysterious pegasus, only for him to block it by crossing his sickles on it’s path. Slowly but surely, the dark figure was moving closer and closer to King Sombra, while still blocking his magical attack. Seeing that it was to no avail, the tyrant had changed tactics, quickly casting a spell and taking his massive shadow form, becoming completely immune to any sort of a physical attack.
Grim Reaper was fast to react, taking to the skies and unleashing a massive cloud of Death Shroud, which was quick to match the size of Sombra’s shadow. Those two massive and ghostly shapes began to push against one another, both were trying to reach into the very essence of the caster and bring him down. And yet... none of them seemed to be making any progress... until the sudden ray of sunlight stroke from the heavens, dispelling the shadows and returning King Sombra to his physical form.
“Damned sunny bitch!” he growled and was quick to get back on his legs, preparing for another attack when the Death Shroud had enveloped him. Since the dark magic had given him some power over his own death, he called upon it, protecting his body from decaying, but against such a fierce onslaught of the fog, it took all he had just to keep his defences up. Through the fog he couldn’t see where the reaper was, until...
“You may finally be free,” the deep voice called from behind the Shadow King. He didn’t have the time to even turn his head.
A few months have passed since the Crystal War had come to an end. Due to the unexpected turn of events, Equestria had come out victorious. And yet, not much was known about the dark creature that appeared on the battlefield out of nowhere and ended the war. For the reasons unclear, the official sources did not provide much information about that mysterious warrior known as Grim Reaper. The warrior that disappeared right after the last battle. The most of ponies didn’t even know if it was his real name. And yet, as soon as the victory had been officially announced, that topic seemed to get quickly forgotten, giving way to the sheer joy and happiness of everypony in Equestria.
“He did it... he really did!” in a house of a certain small village, a light-blue party unicorn could not hold his tears back, “Thank you...”
The ponies in each and every city, town or even a simple village were overwhelmed with glee. They finally trotted out of their houses, sharing the smiles with each other. Hugging, kissing, dancing, partying... it all was back to the land of Equestria. Ponies had their joy, their free time and their beauty sleep back. The celebration went on for the entire month.
Ever since King Sombra’s demise, the crystal ponies had been set free from his control, showing no intention to continue any sort of a fight. The alliance had been established between Equestria and Crystal Empire. The young alicorn by the name Mi Amore Cadenza had been sent to help the crystal ponies return to their normal life, help them overcome their grief for their numerous losses and learn more about the Empire itself. It wasn’t long before it’s inhabitants had chosen her as their new leader.
Most of the soldiers had returned to their regular lives, but there were also those who had continued their career in the Royal Guard. Most of them were of the higher ranks, becoming the tutors for the newbies, sharing their experience with them. Major Rainbow Dash was one of those ponies, staying in the Royal Guard Headquaters in Canterlot. Her mere appearance earned her a deep respect from each and every newbie that she ever trained. Nopony dared to disobey her commands, and the most of them looked up to her, secretly hoping to become a brave, skillful and awesome warrior like her someday. Once, after a long day of teaching yet another squad of recruits and going for a fly, she decided to land in the middle of Royal Canterlot Park. Some peace and quiet was exactly what she needed. Truth be told, she loved flying more than anything else, but sometimes... a simple walk in the park sounded nice too. The beauty of nature reminded her of her friend Fluttershy, who lived in Ponyville and took care of the animals. They were good friends, Rainbow would come for a visit every now and then. Lost in her thoughts and having the long day at work taking it’s toll on her concentration, she had bumped into another pony.
“Ouch! Sorry, I didn’t mean to...” her voice had got frozen mid-phrase as she raised her eyes and realised who she had bumped into.
“Long time no see, Major,” the tall and thin pegasus replied. His coat was pitch-black, and from underneath his cape a pale tail could be seen. On his back, there was a pair of the dark sickles.
“G-Grim!” the mare had finally exclaimed after getting her voice back, “Is that really you? What are you doing here?”
“General Grim Reaper,” the dark figure replied, throwing yet another surprise at the poor mare, “I believe, that answers both of your questions.”
Rainbow’s voice had been taken away again. She froze in place, having her jaw aimlessly go up and down as if trying to pronounce something, but no sound had come out. She had been completely astonished to hear that. It took quite a few seconds for even her military insticts to break through her shock, as she finally remembered to stand at attention and salute to her superior.
“S-sir! Major Rainbow Dash, at your service, sir!” she had finally exclaimed.
“At ease,” he replied in his deep voice. Ridiculously enough, that command said in his voice would most certainly fail to make anypony feel “at ease”, “If that makes it easier for you... then I command you to ignore the formalities when it’s just the two of us, Rainbow.”
“Sir! Yes, sir!” the mare replied on instinct, before realising that by doing that she was directly disobeying the command she had just been given. Surprisingly, Grim chuckled at that. It was the first time she had ever heard any form of a laugh from him, “Sorry...” she added meekly, scratching behind the back of her head. A faint blush had appeared on her face, “So... mind filling me in on what happened after the battle?”
It was a topic that didn’t let her sleep well at night ever since the war was over. The other ponies seemed to have let it go, overwhelmed by the sheer joy of having the happy times back. Yet her... She had never truly stopped thinking about that. Her friend had disappeared once again, and that couldn’t pass by without living a sting in her heart.
“A long or short version?” the reaper asked, slightly cocking his head to the side.
“Hm... how about about a middle one?” she replied jokingly, earning another chuckle from him.
The lifeless body of the dark tyrant had fallen on the ground. Piece by piece. The mysterious pegasus landed right next to it.
“I was not talking about you, demon...” he said grimly. His previous phrase was directed to the souls he had reaped on the battlefield that day. The souls that had helped him in that battle. The souls that could finally pass to the afterlife, no longer enslaved by anypony. As for the tyrant himself... the reaper was going to personally bring his soul to Tartarus. However, he had been shaken out of his thoughts by another being that landed next to him.
“Using your alicorn nature to walk through the Death Shroud unharmed?” he turned his head, facing Princess Celestia, “Clever.”
“Hello to you too, Grim Reaper,” she replied, remaining calm and collected. A few moments had passed in a complete silence, as the two just stood there, staring at each other.
“I have done what I had to,” the pegasus was the first one to break that silence.
“I know,” the Princess replied to him, “And even though I personally am... not a fan of your methods, to say the least, as the Princess of Equestria, I have to thank you for freeing our nation from this devastating war,” she remained collected, but on a closer look, it was possible to tell that she didn’t sleep for who knows how many nights.
“What I did was my duty,” the reaper’s replies were short and blunt, as always, “There’s no need for thanking me.”
Celestia couldn’t help but let a small smile find it’s way on her face at hearing that the wise and sagacious being was willingly freeing her of the need to act polite, if it was against her own will. That fact alone had earnt him quite a few points in her book.
“I’m afraid, you have misunderstood,” she continued her speech, “No matter what you have done today, I cannot deny the fact that you did each and every pony of Equestria an invaluable service... including myself. And even though your actions today went against what our nation stands for, it’s thanks to them the peace have been achieved in the end.”
Grim simply stood there, wondering where she was going with that thought.
“If that is not too much to ask of you... I’d like you to disappear from everypony’s sight for a couple of months,” she said, still earning no reaction from the dark figure, “There’s no need for anypony to remember this day in... details. We have won with the help of the mysterious warrior. That’s all they need to know.”
Two and two could finally be put together, revealing the Princess’s plan.
“But after that... please, come to Canterlot. The Royal Guard could use a... talented General such as yourself,” she had finished, winking at him, before taking off and flying away from the already fading fog.
After spending a few minutes taking the story in, Rainbow Dash had finally managed to form an adequate reply.
“Oh, wow... You just can’t stop bombarding me with surprises every time we meet, can you?” she said, jokingly nudging the General in his side.
“It appears that way,” he replied bluntly, just as he always did.
“So... what now? Any plans for the future?”
“No,” he said, not even taking a moment to think it over.
“I see...”
Both of them had fallen silent after that, sitting there in the park and simply enjoying the nature that was blooming around them, pretty much like the life in Equestria. The birds were singing, the other animals were running free, minding their own business. There was not a single cloud on the sky.
It was a special day. Major Rainbow Dash was in the training room, but instead of a large group of newbies, only four other ponies was there with her. Those four ponies were no newbies. Neither have they come there to excercise or practice that day. The Major had turned to look them over once more.
One of the ponies was a unicorn mare. She wore the light, but an enchanted armor. Her combat skills were all about utilising her magic to benefit her team and disable her enemies. Her role was a support. Her name was Magic Trick.
Standing right next to her was a muscular and heavily-armored earth pony stallion. In addition to his armor, he had a large enchanted shield on his back. His combat skill was a greatly developed durability, allowing him to be a living shield for his allies. His role was a guardian. His name was Bastion.
Next to him was a couple of siblings - a stallion and a mare, both pegasi. Covered in the light armor, those two possessed the skills of moving fast enough to earn a respect even from Rainbow Dash. On their forehooves, they wore the sharp metal hoof gloves, allowing their strikes to break through almost any armor and having a great chance of being fatal for their enemies. Their role was a piercer. Their names were Sharp Wing and Steel Wing.
All of those ponies shared the rank of a Sergeant.
"Are you prepared?" the words of the rainbow-maned pegasus have finally broken the pregnant silence dominating the training room.
"Mam! Yes, mam!" all of them had replied in unison.
"Good," the Major had nodded her head in approval, continuing with her speech, "Your examiner will arrive any minute now. Remember to stand at attention, his rank is superior... even to mine."
The last part had caused those four ponies to exchange the uneasy glances, but no other part of their bodies had moved. And yet, it was rather obvious that the thought of meeting a pony of a rank higher than even a Major had quickly become dominant in their minds. After all, Major Rainbow Dash was the pony of the highest rank they had ever seen. And the only other Major they happened to meet during their training was Rainbow's friend - Major Spitfire. So, they couldn't help but wonder who their examiner really was...
It was at that moment that the door to the training room had openned. The grim figure of a tall and thin stallion had entered. He was wearing the light and probably enchanted armor. On the closer look, that armor was a piece of art: the visual style was in a perfect harmony with it's defensive function, the metal plates - with the pieces of pitch-black clothes, almost making it look more like a mantle than the actual armor. It also had a hood, which was covering the bigger part of the stallion's head and hiding his face in the shadows. On his back, there was a pair of the dark sickles. His wings were sticking out of his armor, indicating that he was a pegasus. The fur of the stallion was pitch black, his mane was hidden underneath the hood, but the tip of his tail was open for the ponies to see, and it was white. Not the bright kind of white, but more of a... gray kind of white. And yet, the most stunning detail about him was a huge star engraved on the very shoulder-straps of his armor, indicating his rank of a Royal Guard General. It took those four ponies everything they had to keep their jaws from falling straight off.
Major Rainbow Dash, however, didn't quail for even a moment. She stepped forth and saluted to her superior, reporting in.
"General Grim Reaper! The squad of four challengers is ready for the exam and awaiting your command, sir! Reporting in, Major Rainbow Dash!"
The dark stallion saluted back, waiting for the cyan mare to finish her report and then took a moment to look those four ponies over.
"At ease," he had finally said. His voice, deep and threatening, had left an echo in the training room and sent a shiver down the spines of the challangers, certainly not making them feel at ease in the slightest, "Major Rainbow Dash..." he turned to the mare, causing her to stand at attention at being addressed by her superior, "Go to the observation room and get the timer ready," his command was short, yet held all the information needed for it's fulfillment.
"Sir! Yes, sir!" she replied, immediately dashing off from the training room. The observation room was located a floor above, and the view on the entire training room could open from there. Rainbow Dash was already aware of her role in that exam: she was responsible for the timer and the announcements.
"Now..." the dark stallion had switched his attention back to the challengers, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grim Reaper, General of the Royal Guard, and today - your examiner. I shall now explain the rules of the exam."
The ponies he was addressing to couldn't help but gulp at his voice, his look and the mere thrill of being in the presence of a General for the first time in their lives.
"Rule number one," Grim had continued with his explanation, "During the exam, the challangers are allowed to use any method or tactics they wish. Rule number two: if your helmet or the armor on your chest breaks, you are considered "eliminated" and must quietly wait for the rest of the exam, remaining in place," the further he went with his explanation, the less those ponies understood where he was going with it, but they were taking his every word in regardless, hoping that everything would become clear in the end, "Rule number three: leaving the training room is not allowed until the end of the exam. Doing so will immediately result in a failure," after making a pause to let the information sink in, he asked, "That concludes the exam rules. Are there any questions?"
"Sir! No, sir!" the challengers replied in unison as the rules themselves were clear, indeed. They wondered about the goal of the exam though...
"Good. I shall now explain your task during this exam," it felt like the dark stallion had read their thoughts, "When the exam begins, I shall openly attack you. Your goal is to survive for one minute. I remind you that you're only limited by the rules. Those who pass the exam shall be promoted to the officer rank of Lieutenant and become a true member of the Royal Guard," he had finished his explanation, and taken a few moments to allow it to sink in before asking, "Are there any questions?"
"Sir! No, sir!" once again, the challengers replied in unison to their superior, the whole picture of the upcoming exam had finally become clear to them. And yet... they were about to face the General himself. It was a well-known fact that the rank of the Royal Guards indicated their power, skill and... danger. And since that was a pony of a General rank, he was supposed to be... extremely dangerous. That thought have caused the ponies to gulp again, but Grim Reaper paid it no mind.
"Good," the dark stallion said, turning to look in the direction of the observation room, "Major Rainbow Dash..." he called out.
"Aye, sir!" the voice of the mare in question replied from a speakers in the training room.
"Is everything ready on your side?"
"Sir! Yes, sir! Awaiting your command, sir!"
After looking the challengers over for one last time, General Grim Reaper had slowly raised to his hind legs, confusing those four ponies. His forehooves had slowly reach behind his back.
"Are you ready?" he asked, reamining still while waiting for the answer.
"Sir! Yes, sir!" once again, the four replied as one.
After hearing that, the dark stallion had gripped his grimly designed sickles and separated them from whatever force had been neatly holding them on his back.
"Major Rainbow Dash, begin the exam," he called out.
"Yes, sir!" the cyan mare's voice replied from the speakers, "The exam begins in 3..."
As she had started the countdown, the tension in the room was visibly rising. The four challengers had focused on their examiner, preparing themselves for what is to come.
"2..."
The battle hadn't begun yet, but it was already getting intense. Each of those four ponies was quickly trying to come up with a plan.
"1..."
Bastion's face hardenned. Magic had started to focus the energy on her horn. Sharp and Steel had exchanged the glances. Grim Reaper had remained completely still, standing on his hind legs. The minor part of his face that was visible from underneath his hood was showing no emotions.
"BEGIN!"
All of sudden, the two pegasi had charged in, closing the distance between them and the General and whirling around him for about two seconds, trying to confuse the dark stallion before finally pouncing at him, openly attacking their superior. The sound of clashing metal could be heard, and yet, Grim Reaper remained entirely still. If he had moved at all, it must had been too fast for the naked eye to notice. Sharp and Steel turned their heads to see if their attack was successful. It was at that moment that their chest armor had broken into pieces and fallen down to the floor with the loud crashing sound. Their jaws had metaphorically followed the suit.
"Sharp and Steel Wing are eliminated," the voice of Rainbow Dash had announced.
Remaining on his hind legs, the General of the Royal Guard had begun walking to the remaining two challengers, slowly and gracefully, like something dark, something... inevitable. Magic Trick felt her legs beginning to shake. What exactly was she facing? It had been merely five seconds, and two of her teammates had already been taken down. When it was just a few steps between her and the approaching dark figure, the latter leaped forth, instantly closing the distance and landing his strike... which had been blocked by the large shield.
Bastion was quick to react, playing his part and protecting his teammate. He shouted something to her, but her own heart was pounding too loudly in her ears for her to make out the words. Grim Reaper had started to attack the bulky stallion from different sides, as if testing his reaction and guard. But the guardian was blocking off the attacks flawlessly, never losing his focus even for the mere moments.
The unicorn mare still couldn't find the strength to engage into the battle. She knew she had to do something, to aid somehow. But the fear had taken hold of her mind, she couldn't form even the simpliest of spells. She was afraid that by doing so she would draw the attention of the dark and deadly pegasus. And yet... it happened on it's own. The dark figure had somehow appeared behind her, already swinging the sickles. Her only reaction was a meek squeal, but the incoming attack once again had been blocked by Bastion, who was there in time.
"Thirty seconds remaining," the voice of the Major had announced through the speakers.
At that moment, the General had changed his tactics. Instead of testing Bastion's reaction by attacking him from different sides, he had begun what could only be described as an onslaught. His attacked had suddenly become much heavier, but also much more frequent. The bulky stallion had nearly been forced back by the sheer impact of those attacks, but he held his ground, even though the small pieces of his shield had started to fly off.
"Fifteen seconds remaining," another announcement had rung in the ears of Magic Trick. The mare was still overtaken by the sheer terror induced by the opponent her team was facing. She hadn't even noticed how she backed away from two fighting stallions. Speaking of which, their fight had been getting more and more intense with every passing second, and it looked like Bastion's shield was about to break at any moment, yet the muscular guardian didn't have any intention to take a single step back, bravely facing the grim onslaught.
"The exam ends in 5 seconds," the final count down had begun, "4..."
Grim Reaper had combined his strategies, keeping the weight and speed of his attacks while also starting to move around the earth pony, attacking from different sides. Surprisingly, Bastion was always able to react in time, moving his heavy and half-broken shield in the way of the incoming strikes.
"3..."
It was getting truly intense, and yet the brave guardian was not quivering.
"2..."
Suddenly, with an especially hard blow the dark stallion had broken the shield into pieces and immediately prepared for the finishing attack.
"1..."
"Ahhhh!" the scream of the unicorn mare had echoed through the training room. Instead of finishing off the stallion, the General had instantly closed the distance between him and the other challenger, already swinging his sickles. Too paralysed by the shock and sheer terror, she couldn't even teleport away. The sickles had connected with the chest armor...
The chest armor of Bastion the guardian, who had managed to push his teammate out of the way at the very last moment, taking the hit for her. With a loud crashing sound his chest armor had been broken into pieces.
The signal had rung through the training room. The announcement had followed shortly after.
"The exam is over! Bastion has been eliminated."
Major Rainbow Dash had returned to the training room, and the challengers had been commanded to form a line, facing the General and awaiting the announcement of the obvious: the results of the exam. Magic Trick, the only pony who had managed to survive until the end of the exam, had been experiencing a rather fierce inner conflict: she was delighted to have passed the exam, yet, at the same time, she knew it was a pure luck. She didn't deserve to pass, she did nothing during the entire exam. The guilt was clashing with joy inside her.
"I shall now announce the results of the exam," the deep voice of the dark stallion had echoed through the room, shaking everypony out of their thoughts, "Today, only one of you has passed the exam."
Anticipating what was about to be said, Sharp and Steel looked down sadly. Bastion glanced the unicorn's way and managed a small reassuring smile. Magic's guilt was starting to overcome her, she could barely hold a tear back.
"I commend you on successfully passing my exam... Sergeant Bastion," the announcement had been a surprise to all of the challengers, and, most of all, Bastion himself. But it couldn't even begin to compare with what had followed shortly after that, "Starting tomorrow, you shall be promoted to the rank of Captain via my personal orders."
Once again, those four ponies had to give it their best not to let their jaws fall off. Bastion's facial expression had changed for the first time that day. His eyes had gone wide and he stared at the General blankly, as if hypnotized, as if his mind had gone into a reboot.
"You don't have to ask," the voice of the dark stallion had managed to shake him and the other challangers from their thoughts, "I know you have questions. I shall now explain."
That announcement had successfully caught attention of everypony. They were nearly dying to hear that explanation.
"First of all, I said that surviving for one minute was your goal... I have never said it guaranteed passing the exam," his words had almost earned a loud "Ooooh!" from the challengers, but those four ponies remembered to remain silent in the presence of their superior, who had continued with his explanation, "Imagine the fact of successfully passing the exam as a lock. To open it you need two keys. The first key is Mastery. Show me the sheer skill in fulfilling your role. The second key is Teamwork. Show me how you can cooperate with your allies, what synergies you can pull off. But that is rather unfair... is it not?"
Grim had let his question hang in the air for a while, letting the other ponies think about what he meant before proceeding with the further explanation.
"If you have a misfortune of being grouped with the incompetent teammates, how can you possibly obtain the second key?" his words had made the eyes of those four ponies widen a little at the realisation, "Teamwork is a two-way ticket. It's impossible to reach on your own. And in that case... The challenger can use a secret key for the second keyhole. The key which can replace the Teamwork one when there is no team. And that key is... Overcoming. If the challenger pushes their capabilities to their limits, if they manage to pull off training and progressing on the battlefield, during the very exam, they shall obtain that special key... and be promoted to the rank of Captain instead of Lieutenant. Sergeant Bastion..."
The sudden fact of the General addressing him caused the bulky stallion to shiver. He had been standing at attention that whole time, since there's been no "at ease" command yet.
"Intrigued by your reaction and dedication to protect your ally, I had decided to put your skills to a real test. First your reaction... and then your strength and durability. I was impressed, but that still wasn't enough. And so, after breaking your shield at the very last second, I had put you to the final test: attacked your ally. You could have taken that chance and done nothing, not only surviving for the said minute, but also having a revenge on your ally who did nothing to help you. And yet... doing so would result in failing the exam. Your dedication to the role of guardian you have taken had forced you to act, and you were fast enough to react and take a hit for your teammate... and to pass my exam. There is no more doubt - you are a true Royal Guard to your very core."
No words could possibly describe how honoured and appreciated Bastion felt at hearing that. The General of the Royal Guard himself was commending him, a mere Sergeant, on his skills and decisions on the battlefield! After reading all he wanted to know on the guardian's face, the dark stallion nodded approvingly before addressing the other ponies, who happened to been the pegasi siblings.
"As for you... It is important for every soldier to have a confidence in themselves. And yet... there's no enemy as dangerous as your own overconfidence. You didn't know what I am capable of, but you have bluntly attacked me regardless. Your failure is the result of that," the words of the General was not rubbing their failure in their faces. Far from it. Instead, they were pointing at where exactly they've made a mistake, coldly and accurately. He had then turned his had to the last of four challengers.
"And you... have done nothing. Overtaken by shock, you have given in to your own terror, letting it paralyze you and lowering your efficency down to zero. If you want to progress, I suggest you train more. And yet I feel compelled to point out that serving in the Royal Guard is not for everypony. If you wish to continue, I suggest you remember the reason why you have joined in the first place," his words have made the poor mare to look down on the floor sadly, but she knew she deserved no mercy after being that useless when her team needed her. After finishing his explanation, General Grim Reaper had addressed all of the challengers at once, "Are there any questions?"
"Sir! No, sir!" as their military instincts kicked in, all four of them had replied in unison despite being lost in the thoughts induced by the General moments ago. The dark stallion had turned to the rainbow-maned pegasus.
"Major Rainbow Dash, I'm leaving those four at your command," he said.
"Sir! Yes, sir!" Rainbow had replied, saluting to her superior. Grim Reaper then nodded and slowly walked away, phasing thought the door of the training room and making the pair of the siblings realise why their attack didn't even leave a scratch on him.
The Royal Canterlot Park was as beautiful as ever that evening. The birds were singing, the nature was in bloom. And the air was fresh and calm, not a mere sign of wind. In the center area of the park, a General of the Royal Guard was resting on the bench. The tall and thin pegasus stallion wearing a grimly-designed armor. It was hard to tell exactly for how long he had been sitting there, entirely motionless, until another pegasus had landed near him.
"Same time, same place, ain't it?" she said casually, catching his attention.
"Yes," his reply was short and simple. He had done his fair share of talking that day. The rainbow-maned pegasus mare had taken a place next to him on the bench. For a few minutes they had been sitting quietly, simply enjoying the peace surrounding them.
"You know, you were really awesome today," Rainbow Dash had finally broken the silence. General Grim Reaper had cocked his head to the side slightly at her words, "I knew you were great in battle, but I've never known you were so good with words. Maybe that's 'cause you never talk much?" she said, nudging her superior in the flank playfully.
"I prefer action," his answer was simple, and yet contained everything needed to answer the question. After a few moments of silence, the pegasus mare looked away.
"Do... do you think I have that special key?" she said with the hint of sadness in her voice.
"Yes," the reply was instant, said moments before she had even finished her question, "You're wearing it on your left side."
Confused, Rainbow had looked to her left side. Her eyes had widenned at the realisation.
"M...my wing," as her confidence had returned to her, she smirked and said, "Wow, you always know just what to say to this mare."
Her eyes had gone wide once more as her mind had caught up with what she had just said. A blush was quick to appear on the tough Major's face, for the first time for quite a long while. Grim, however, had said nothing. He was simply sitting there, enjoying the moments of peace. After all... who knew how long they were destined to last?
After what seemed like an eternity, the pegasus mare had leaned her head on the General's shoulder and closed her eyes. Truth be told, no matter how ironic that was, she had never felt so calm, so safe, never allowed herself to let her guard down anywhere else as much as she did while being around that stallion. And she had to admit... it felt nice.
