Old Elements come into play as the mane six learn about hatred, war and death.
Don't read this, it was my first fic. No really, don't.
Old Elements return to wreck havoc on Equestria as the mane six learn about the vanity of war and the strife of hatred.
The Elements were summoned to protect the lands of Equestria from a great evil. Now The Elements have themselves endangered this land. Princess Luna calls upon the aid of a friend one thousand years lost to help her reunite the army of Equestria as well as six mares to fight against forces that threaten the balance and safety of Equestria.
As three opposing forces come to battle with Equestria, the land and its ponies change and face the evil tat is war for the first time in centuries.
The grey unicorn looked up from the stack of papers on his desk as a shadow crossed the papers upon it. Somepony had walked past the lamp in the hallway beyond his office. “Come in,” he called as he opened the door with a small burst of magic.
It had been a long night, his work ended at daybreak and it seemed to be taking forever for the sun to rise today. The shadow cast by the moon slowly crept across his desk. It seemed to him as if it had simply stopped midway. He shook his head to regain his focus on the papers in front of him.
“Hello, sir,” said the secretary pony, lowering the hoof she was about to use to knock on the door. “I have a letter from our informant in Ponyville.” She grabbed the letter from her small saddlebag and deposited it on his desk on top of a stack of paper that towered above the rest.
“And I should care, why?” he asked, his eyes scanning over the many such piles on his desk, some even on the ground nearby. His hoard could almost be mistaken for a bird’s eye view of Manehatten, he thought to himself; a very depressing sight.
“Sir, the letter is marked as urgent.” He patiently reminded himself that she was still fairly new and hadn't gotten used to the ways things worked in the organization.
“Look, dear...” He couldn't remember her name if it was the last thing in Equestria. “What's your name again?”
“Inky, Mr. Chrono, Inky Scribeswell. I started here last month, sir.” She sounded a little vexed that he had forgotten her name; not that he cared much.
“Well, Inky, not to offend you,” he knew it was too late for that. “But I get dozens, if not hundreds of letters in here each day, and almost half of them are marked ‘urgent’.” He let that sink in. “They rarely are; probably just some schmuck in accounting that doesn’t want to wait for my signature." He reached over and swiftly opened another letter with 'URGENT' stamped in red across its surface. He took one look at it and scoffed.
"There hasn't been something really urgent on my desk since that parasprite incident twelve years back.” He smiled as he remembered that incident; the Celestia damned things found their way into his office and ate the letter that was supposed to warn him about them. They ate his lunch too.
“Nothing ever happens in Ponyville. Our little informant probably drank too much apple cider on his way to deliver the letter.”
“I understand, sir, but this is about the Mare in the Moon.” His reaction made her smile, despite her otherwise calm demeanour.
“Has it been that long already?” he mused.
He picked up the letter from atop the pile using his magic, and gently opened it. Inky shifted her weight from hoof to hoof as he read the contents. His scowl grew bigger as his eyes scrolled down the page.
“I want every free operative in Ponyville, ASAP!" he said in a strained voice. "Call the chief counsel, and contact our moles in Canterlot. Celestia's people might know what's going on. I want everything you can get on my desk by the time I get back.”
“Oh, and get someone to clear all this junk,” he waved his hoof around to encompass the entire room. “We have more pressing matters on our hooves!”
He rose up with a grunt, and gingerly avoided the piles of papers scattered all over the floor as he navigated towards the exit, he used his magic to grab hold of a trusty old trench coat and fedora. “I'll be back in a few hours,” he said as the door slammed shut, leaving the secretary pony wondering what she had gotten into when she took this job.
The guards of Equestria are trained to be observant. They spend years training to be stoic shields, protecting all manner of ponies and places. These guards happened to be Celestia's royal forces, the best of the best as it were, and in all their years of servitude, they had never seen a scene quite like this one. They gave each other a quick glance, wondering what the proper course of action in this situation would be; no manual covered this.
The dodgy old unicorn did not care about their training or their fancy manuals: he needed to see Princess Celestia, and he was not about to let three dim-witted fools stop him.
The argument at the gate had lasted for over ten minutes, and he’d had enough. “Look, kid, I don't care what time it is, I don't care that you’re some fancy little Corporal, and I most certainly don't care much for your arrogance. Now you and your two little buddies here had better move out of my way, or I will make you move!” He stomped his hoof into the pebbled roadway in anger, his grey face turning a deep shade of red.
The Corporal’s face twitched. He almost laughed at the thought of this old geezer forcing his way through him and the two guards assigned at the gate. “Look, mister, we can't just let you in like that, you need proper clearance and an appointment. Go see the clerks at the administrative building and they will set you up. Now move along before I give you a ticket for threatening an officer on duty and disturbing the peace.” He moved as to turn around and walk back into the outer courtyard of the castle proper.
“Oh, I have had enough of this! Move, now! This is your last warning, boy. I swear you'll be crying for momma if you don't get out of my way right this instant.” The old stallion was screaming and poking at the guards armoured flank with his fore-hoof. The corporal turned slowly to face him once more.
Nearby ponies gawked at the spectacle unsure of how to react. Something fairly rare in Equestria, especially near the royal castle of Canterlot . As the commotion at the gates continued, a small crowd of ponies started building up, some of the ponies were placing bets on how quickly the old fart would get knocked out. The Corporal looked at the crowd and knew he had to do something. He couldn't let ponies think they could get away with this level of disrespect, after all.
“Guards! Carry this pony to the cells,” the Corporal yelled. Seconds later, two other soldiers galloped out from within the courtyard and headed towards the old man. “Be gentle, he probably just forgot to take his pills, no need to hurt him,” he added in an undertone, betraying his stoic demeanour.
“That's it! Last straw! Don't say I didn't warn you.” The old stallion's horn began to glow, making his black and white streaked mane shift. He positioned his hooves in a fighting stance and closed his eyes in concentration.
Some of the ponies in the crowd giggled, some requested that they get their money back, all except the unicorns, who could feel the old one’s spell.
The corporal sighed. Obviously the old stallion was past his prime and unable to harness any real magic. He moved forward and put a comforting hoof on the old pony’s shoulder. "Look, sir, it's all right. I'll talk to the folks inside. Maybe we can arrange something for you later this week?"
As the old stallion concentrated the Corporal’s body was surrounded by the grey sheen of his magic. Hel was lifted several feet into the air, eyes wide as he ran without touching the ground. He was soon followed by the other four guard ponies. “Wha... but you can't, the armour!?” The surprised guard stammered.
“Oh, you mean your magic repelling armour?” The old pony smirked at the surprise on the Corporal’s face, ignoring the beads of sweat that were flowing down his head and matting down his mane. “Oh yes, lad, I know about that well kept little secret. I am the one who designed them, after all.”
His horn began to glow once more, and part of the castle’s structure began to move and shift towards the guards, eventually forming a cage around the helpless group of would-be protectors. “Humph. Now about that ticket, mister Corporal?” He said, turning the guards rank into an insult.
The old stallion huffed as he trotted into the castles court yard, muttering something about foalish youths and painful bones.The guards did nothing but paw at the ground, unsure of what just happened. As the old pony left, the gathered group of ponies stared at each other, too stunned for words.
He could hear laughter and small talk from the other side of the door. A door that was currently guarded by two very nervous, uniformed ponies. Thankfully, they were unaware of his presence as he stood at the other end of the hallway, poking his head around the corner occasionally to spy on them. He was unsure of how to get into the guarded room from his position. He thought about it while staring at the clean white marble walls of the castle.
He had snuck through the entire castle to where he was now without being spotted, his old tricks were a little rusty but the lack of any real action or fear on the part of the guards made them dull and easy to fool. Getting to where he was was rather easy.
Aldecry fiddled in the pockets of his trench coat until he found a few bits. He poked his head around the corner once more and looked at the guards. They were almost asleep as their heads nodded in a vain attempt to keep awake. He levitated the two coins into the hallway and fired them past the two sleepy guards with his magic. The coins clattered against the marbled ground and rolled into the corridor beyond. The two followed the progress of the coins then turned their heads in unison towards his grinning face.
“Oh,” he said as he lost his sheepish smile. The nearest guard charged towards him, his hooves clacking against the ground noisily. “Oh well.” Aldecry ran forward and met the running guard halfway thought the corridor with a hoof to the face. The guard stopped mid gallop and flopped unto the floor.
The second guard stared at him wide eyed them looked at his downed partner. “You-” The rest of his sentence was cut off as Aldecry levitated him into the ceiling above, smashing him into the hard rock and letting him go. The guards fell into a lump on the ground in front of him. “So much for the stealthy approach.”
He inspected the hallway and the door. The halls were the same as anywhere else within the castle, but the door itself had intricately carved symbols and designs, it was also reinforced by some very strong magic. He knew that this was either Celestia's own room. Or maybe the vault. Either way, he wanted in.
He looked at the lock and decided to save himself some trouble. He flipped over the body of the still breathing guard and stole his keys. With a small push of magic, he opened the unlocked door and trotted inside.
The room followed the same pattern as the door. Every hoof-pace of wall and piece of furniture looked as if it cost as much as the average pony's house , which they most likely did, rich dark woods with gold-leaf patterns adorned everything. “And this was just the sitting room,“ he thought to himself. Luckily, he didn't have to barge into the Princess of Equestria's royal bedroom
“I told you, I do not want to be disturbed." Said a serene, yet regal voice with an undertone of authority..
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat side by side on a beautiful divan in the centre of the room, the smaller of the two nuzzling her dear older sister as if she hadn’t seen her in millennia. The older sister beamed overjoyed at being with her sister. Her brow furrowed a little, miffed that somepony had interrupted such a private moment between siblings.
“Now, now, Celestia, don't blame the guards: it's hardly their fault. With all the cuts to your guard force, did you really expect them to be able to find me?" boasted Aldecry as he trotted into the room and sat only a few feet away from the pair.
Celestia quickly and gracefully rose up and landed between the old stallion and her sister, wings ruffled and brow furrowed.
Her initial reaction of outrage was replaced by recognition. “Is that you, Aldecry?” Celestia stepped towards the old unicorn, bending down as to bring her head to his height.
“Aldy!” Cried Luna as she raced towards him and tackled him in an embrace. “Oh, Aldy, I missed you so much! I wanted to see you, but I just arrived and...” Celestia dragged Luna by her shoulder and placed her behind an outstretched wing, calming her younger sister back into her usual quiet and reserved nature.
“Aldecry Chrono: I haven’t seen you in over a century, and then you just pop up. In my chambers. At night... I believe this requires an explanation, wouldn't you agree?” Celestia had regained her famous calm composure. She walked back to her sister’s side and sat down gently.
“Just as stuck up as ever, huh, Celly?” He gave he a sly sarcastic grin.
Celestia simply humphed at this and looked away, offended at his lack of manners. “Please get to the point.”
“Well, I was in the neighbourhood and decided to stop by and see lil' Luna here. It's been a while since I last saw her.” Aldecry trotted around Celestia and smiled as his old eyes met Luna's.
“Aldecry, if I remember correctly, you were always a great fan of sarcasm?” she stepped towards him menacingly. “Usually I wouldn't mind a little exchange of wits, but this is a private exchange between my sister and I.” Another step. “I would greatly appreciate knowing why you are here, and when you will leave.” Celestia paused in front of Aldecry and reared her head to it’s full height.
“Fine, I will depart from here as soon as you answer my little questions.” He tapped his hoof against the marble floor impatiently.
Celestia stopped her advance and started calculating whether it would be easier to teleport him into a cell or call the guards to drag him away.
"Wait, Tia. I-I want to hear Aldy again." Luna's shy smile made up Celestia’s mind for her.
"Guards! Take this pony down to the dungeons!"
Both Luna and Aldecry shared a look of bewilderment as the two ponies, both wearing bruises to both their heads and their prides, walked in and grabbed Aldecry, quite rudely as he later reminded everypony, and started dragging him out of the room with smiles.
"Wait, stop, I can explain! The elements are unbalanced! If we leave them like this, all of Equestria will be in per-" The rest of the conversation drifted away as he was dragged out of the room and down the hallway.
The princess of the sun hesitated then called back with a sigh. "Wait, bring him back." Celestia said, not too pleased with herself.
After a brief moment, Aldecry was back in the room, straightening out his jacket, and gave cold stares to the two guard ponies and Celestia. "As I was going to say before a particular Princess of the sun, whom we shall not name, rudely interrupted me.." Celestia glared at him.
Aldecry decided that cutting to the chase would be in his best interest. "For the past four hours, the day and night cycles have been unbalanced, most likely by the return of Nightmare Moon and her whole fixation on eternal night." Celestia glared at him once more.
“Is this going anywhere, Aldecry? I have better things to do than to hear you ramble on.” Celestia sighed impatiently at him and looked longingly at her sister who was fixated on the old unicorn. Her face reddened in anger but she remained seated.
“Let me finish, please.” He coughed into his hoof for emphasis. “I am going to go on a limb and guess that Nightmare Moon was defeated?" He gave a quick glance towards Luna, who wore a look of bewilderment, confirming his suspicions.
"Unfortunately, the only thing that could stop Nightmare Moon is the use of a powerful Element." He walked toward the back end of the room, four pairs of eyes followed him.
"I know of only three active elements in Equestria that have the power to do this: you, Luna, and me. We can rule out myself for obvious reasons."
"You'll never let me forget that." Celestia mumbled.
"Shush!" He quieted the powerful leader of Equestria. Luna glanced at the two and marveled at the lost of decorum since her departure.
"My sources, which are always accurate, tell me that you were banished to the sun by Nightmare Moon. You were no longer in Equestria. You were helpless. So the only remaining suspect is Luna here, but that is impossible since Luna was Nightmare Moon at the time.”
“Yes, you are correct. What are you trying to say?” Celestia paced around and gave Luna a quick, nervous glance. Luna looked at her eldest sister, then at Aldecry, taking all this information in.
“What I am trying to say is that you, Celestia.” He pointed at her. “ You summoned one of the Elements without telling us.” He sat down with a content huff, proud of having accused a goddess.
“I had no choice! Nightmare Moon banished me to the sun before the solstice. I couldn't possibly stop her on my own from there.”
“It never occurred to you to ask us for help?” He cocked his head to the side.
“Of course it did!” she glanced away guiltily. “I just wanted to handle the situation on my own.” Celestia looked down, ashamed of her actions. “I left clues about the location of the Elements to my student so that she could defeat Nightmare Moon, or at the very least distract her for a decent period of time so that you and your little group could react. I would never dare to endanger Equestria.”
Aldecry deadpanned. “I see... You let a mere student use one of the most powerful weapons in all of Equestria, just so that you could resolve the situation without exterior help?"
He sighed as he got up and headed towards the exit. "Very well, I will have to brief that student of yours. Teach her about the curse you laid upon her.” Aldecry gave Celestia a look of loathing. “Which Element does your student have?”
“The Element of Magic. It matches her mark, she should be able to master it in a few years. I am not so sure about the others,” Celestia said, now avoiding his gaze.
"Fine." Aldecry took two more steps, before stopping dead in his tracks.
“Others. Others?! You used more than one Element? You should know better than that Celestia! If the order of the Elements is thrown out of balance, Equestria will become twisted once more! You've been handling both the Element of Light and Dark for the past one thousand years, trying to keep that very balance in check, now you go and give away not one, but two Elements!”
Aldecry was in a absolute rage. He paced back and forth, fuming for a few minutes. Celestia waited for him to compose himself. “Which one?” he asked her once he had calmed down.
Celestia gulped. “Generosity."
"Well, I can handle two. It will be tricky, but we will manag-"
Celestia cut him off, " As well as Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, and Loyalty. They were given to one unicorn, two earth ponies, and two pegasi respectively.”
Aldecry's jaw dropped and his eyes grew bigger and bigger as she listed them off. “A-all five of the Elements of Harmony.” Rather than going into a rage ,one that he was more than entitled to, he simply sat down on his haunches and stared at the ground. His reaction surprised Celestia.“The Elements were all stored in different facilities across Equestria...” he said in a quiet voice.
“I had them moved.”
“Did you warn them? Did you tell them of the consequences of using the Elements, even once?”
“No.” Celestia's face became grim. “If they knew, they might have refused to do it.”
“My goodness. The last time so many Elements were in play was just before Nightmare Moon was born." Luna blushed and turned her head away from Aldecry.
"This is bad, Celestia, very bad.” Aldecry paused in thought. "Maybe... if their compatibility is low, we could separate them from their elements..."
"It will not work," said a quiet voice that made both Aldecry and Celestia jump. Luna shied away from the attention. "I... well, I used some magic on the bearers of the elements..." Her voice faded away.
“And?” Aldecry encouraged.
“The lowest compatibility came from the blue Pegasus, it was about eighty percent.” Luna finished in a rush.
Aldecry's hope was smashed once more. “What should we do then, Celestia? Should I order my men to eliminate the problem?”
“No!” cried Luna, once more surprising the other two occupants of the room. “They used the Elements to save me without knowing that it might harm them. Please, you have to let them live.” Luna pleaded.
The room grew silent for many minutes as the three contemplated their possibilities.
“They have one year,” Aldecry said quietly as he turned to leave. “My people will watch over them and... evaluate their usefulness. We will meet again then.”
Aldecry left the room, ending their discussion just as it had began.
Big Thanks to Jelfes for his incredible editing, Ɗiscord for being chaosy, the folks at BROHOOF HQ for their help, support, and tolerance and all the Bronies out there for being twenty percent cooler than anypony else. Big thank you to Equestria-Prevails for letting me use his pic as cover (Linkhttp://equestria-prevails.deviantart.com/ )
To anypony else: If you ever spot an error or mistake and wish to report it, simply Quote the entire paragraph then write down what is wrong after it. (you can place this in the comments section to the top right.) Thank you
Gold-wing looked down at the city far below him. It was beautiful. Shining spires made of cloud-rock, as well as gleaming towers that grasped like fingers into the night sky.
He banked and ordered his squad to follow him down towards the spires of the great griffon city of Truebeak. As they approached the city, they could make out more details. The streets were dirty, shops were closed and barricaded and graffiti was sprayed across many of the houses and ran up the side of the once gleaming towers. Truebeak was the last city of a once powerful race. Cloudsdale and Equestria's growing number of pegasi were changing that.
He landed gracefully on the cloud-stone runway and quietly dismissed his squadron of griffons. They were all young, barely older than chicks, he thought to himself. Nonetheless, he knew that they would probably never see action with Equestria to the west of them and Cloudsdale beyond that. They hardly even got a stray storm anymore. He missed the days when he fought claws and beak just to live until the next morning.
“Come on, Gold-Wing, you'll be late again. You know how old man Silver-Claw is.” His oldest friend lieutenant Ruby-Feather chastised him, ignoring the formalities that came with his rank.
“Fine, lets go.”
They walked and flew through the many corridors and hallways until they reached the courtroom of their king. The two young griffon guards opened the gate and let them into the throne room.
“Ah, you are here, Gold-Wing,” said the old monarch with a bemused smile. He was seated on the royal throne at the far back of the once prestigious room. Neglect had taken its toll both on the king and his castle. A small throne sat beside the kings, it was covered in dust and had not been touched even by the cleaning staff for decades.
“My Lord,” Answered Gold-Wing bowing, Ruby-feather followed suit. “You asked for my presence?”
“Oh, always the formal one eh, Goldy?” The king chuckled at Gold-Wing's look of indignation. “You must learn to calm yourself. Or else you will grow old and senile. Like me.” The king rose from his throne with a groan.
“Now, I called you here to discuss a rather private matter.” He gave a pointed look at Ruby-Feather,who Bowed before backing away quietly.
Once Ruby-Feather was gone and the door shut, the king turned back to Gold-Wing. “How's little Gilda?”
“She is fine, my lord. Gilded-beak left to visit an acquaintance of hers in Equestria. She should be back any day now.” Gold-Wing was nervous. The only time the king asked you about family matters was when he got ready to heap trouble on your back.
“And the wife?” continued the king.
“Still dead, my lord.” Gold-wing scowled at his king.
“Hmm... well lad, I invited you here for reasons other than to speak about your daily life. I am dying.” Gold-Wing stepped back in surprise. “Soon, very soon, the griffon nation will fall.” He paused to let the message sink in. Gold-Wing was not surprised, having known this for quite a while, although he was disturbed of hearing it from the beak of his king.
“For the past two thousand years, we have held strong. Fighting when the need arose, making peace when it did not. Our neighbours to the east, Equestria, have given us peace and security for the past thousand years, ever since the great war of night.” Silver-Claw stopped to catch his breath. “We have lost our pride. Our youngsters go to Equestrian schools rather than our own. Most of our population live in poverty on the street.” The king’s expression grew sombre as he spoke. “We need a war.”
“What!?” Gold-Wing exclaimed in surprise. “A war? Why?”
“Listen to me, Gold-Wing,” The king responded in a firm tone. “Our people need something to be proud of, something to look forward to. We need a common goal, whether we win or lose. We need something to get those kids off the streets and make them act like proper griffons. We are the laughing stock of the entire world, losing our main source of income to the pegasi like that.” The king looked up in pride. “The griffon nation shall become strong once more.”
“Sir, with all due respect, this is crazy.” Gold-Wing gulped as he heard himself over stepping his boundaries. “We do have a military force, but for most of it ,myself included, the worst we ever saw was a few border scuffles with the manticores. We are not ready for a war.”
“Oh, I know that child, but we have this.” The king quietly walked to the side of the throne and pushed on the graven image of a crown with his talon. The image pushed into the throne with a small hissing noise, an opening appeared at its side. The king reached in and pulled out a small, nondescript wooden box.
“Do you know anything about the Elements, lad?” asked the king. “Pony tales and old rumours. Stories told to children to scare them or to make them have sweet dreams.”
Gold-Wing nodded and tried not to scowl.
“Oh, but the stories are real. A thousand years ago, during the great war of eternal night, a griffon wielded the Element of Pride, and created this very nation. You, Gold-wing, will become the second.” The king opened the box slowly. Inside, a small jewel on a necklace was placed in the centre of a velvet cushion, it gave off a faint yellowish glow. “Put this on, lad. Then we shall begin to create a new griffon empire!”
Gold-Wing approached cautiously, attracted by the soft glow emanating from the stone. “This is an Element?” he asked.
“Indeed lad, it is; take it. I give it, and its power, to you,” answered the king. His jovial voice now firm and formal.
“But why don't you use it yourself?” The king looked at the jewel longingly before answering.
“I am old. I will die soon. And I want my death to serve as a turning point for the people that I love. You are young, yet mature, your men have confidence in you. You are strong enough to push back the temptations of the Element.”
“I see.” Gold-Wing blushed at the compliments given to him by his monarch. “I will accept your... proposal.” Gold-Wing reached into the box with his talon and touched the necklace. Immediately, he felt a great shock course thorough his body. His paws lifted from the ground, his eyes started to glow a dull, sickly yellow. He felt stronger.
Once he was back on firm ground and no longer glowing, he went about inspecting himself. The changes were small, but noticeable. He felt faster and stronger, his body was lighter, but tougher. His feathers and fur had a new radiance to them. “I feel.. wonderful.” The king chuckled. Gold-Wing punched the ground in a way that would have broken his fore-paw. Rather than hurt himself, he ripped a hole through the thick layer of cloud stone.
“Anything else? Think of our nation. Of this kingdom,” asked the king softly.
“I feel... pride, honour, and gratitude that I was born as a griffon, and not of some other measly race.” His words surprised him.
“Good, now we can start.” The king turned and walked to one of the many doors at the side of the room. “Follow me.”
Gold-Wing complied. He followed the King down the winding corridors that led to the dust covered war-room. The room would have been fairly large were it not for the shelves on every wall containing piles of old tomes, books, and scrolls. In the centre was a large, thick wooden table, Something fairly rare in a city made of clouds, and on said table was a very large map of Truebeak and its surroundings.
The king traced a curved line across the map with the tip of his claw. The map glowed a faint green, then the ink lifted from the parchment to form a topographic image that floated in mid air. “Tomorrow, a shipment of food and supplies will leave Manehatten and circle around the Everfree forest. This happens every year the day after the summer solstice, a gift from Equestria to its poorer neighbours. You and a group of dedicated soldiers will attack them here.”
The king stabbed at the map with his fore talon, immediately, a bright red sphere appeared at that point on the map. “This is where you will strike. Let none of them escape, kill, injure, or imprison them. Bring the goods back to the city proper.” The king smiled at Gold-Wing. “We will be waiting for our new hero.”
“I understand, my lord.” He could feel pride swell in his chest as his king detailed the plan that would finally let his people shine. “What will you do of the political repercussions?”
“Simple. I'll die.”
“What!?”
“Oh, calm down lad. You see, Celestia will most likely send over some fancy diplomat to try and make peace and the likes.” The king waved his claw in the air. “So I'll make that diplomat kill me, or at least, it will look that way. I am an old, useless king, but in death I'll move my people to renew our glory!”
“Yes, my lord!” Tears of joy and pride dotted the corners of Gold-Wing's eyes as he saluted his king.
Demitry looked up as Doris stopped into his tent and stood in front of his desk. "How many?" Demitry asked in a sombre tone.
"Six this time, two of Dorm's kids.” Doris raised a hoof to wipe sweat off his brow, the warm sun outside was causing the best of them to tire quickly. “Demitry, when are the supplies from Equestria going to arrive?"
Demitry shook his head and walked out of his field tent silently. He cringed at the thought of talking about that subject. It was a sore and uncomfortable thing amongst them all.
"I don't know, Doris. I don't know." They both knew that the emergency supplies promised by Celestia were now over two weeks late, and that if today’s harvest was too small they wouldn't have the strength to work the next day.
Doris scanned the field to his right. It was a sol flower field. Their main source of food, and like most of their fields, this crop was wilted and dead. A few weeks beforehoof, the sun did not rise when it was supposed to. Instead, the moon stayed up till mid afternoon causing the flowers to lack the sunlight they so vitally needed.
Every year, the Everfree stole a little bit more of their precious crop lands, and every year, their neighbours in Equestria would send supplies to celebrate the summer solstice. They were always tight on food at this time of the year. It had become a simple fact to them, but with the loss of over half their crops, and with no aid forthcoming, Demitry did not see how the entire deer nation was going to survive.
"The moon be damned if I see another deer die of this foolish famine." He muttered under his breath. His chatter was cut short by a deep, rumbling from beneath his hooves. He grabbed on for dear life to his nearby desk until the shaking subsided.
He heard a scream followed by many panicked voices from field number forty-two. Turning around, he saw that many of his friends and fellow workers crowded in a semi-circle at the far end of the narrow field.
They shared a quick glance at each other before galloping off to see what the big commotion was.
He ran over and let his jaw drop before he could catch himself. His fellows were looking down the shaft of a hole. A very large, jagged hole.
"Donovan was standing right over here just a second ago." Said a young buck. Demitry recognized him as Dominic, who was currently very agitated.
"Do you think he fell down there?" Asked Daisy, who was looking worse for wear after the sudden weight loss.
Demitry didn’t respond to her question, he did not have an answer. He stepped closer to the edge of the chasm and noticed that there were steps carved into the side of the walls. They looked like the tooth-lined mouth of a great worm.
He stood there and stared into the pit, just as his fellow deers were doing. Taking a deep breath to steady his legs, he made up his mind. "I'll go take a look."
Before anyone could protest, he gingerly walked down into the abyss. When he looked up, he could see the many heads of his companions looking down at him, most with expressions of worry. He ignored their pleas for him to return.
Eventually, after many minutes of difficult climbing, he hit the bottom. The sky was just a tiny point far above his head. The area he was in could have once been part of a great castle's courtyard. Everything was faded and covered in dust, grit, and rust. In the centre of the room was a lump of fur that he recognized.
He walked up to the remains of Dominick slowly, and gently tapped him with the tip of his hoof as if to awaken a sleeping foal. Dominick's body rolled over, exposing the crushed torso of what had once been a friend and fellow worker.
Demitry ran to a far corner and dry heaved from his empty stomach. A few moments later, he rose up from the ground where he was crouched, and looked around once more. There was a small passageway cut into the cliff's face, from within came a pulsing red light. Demitry rose from his croutch, he was unsure of what to do next. Return with the disappointing news to deer who had heard enough?
Demitry decided to explore further looking for anything to distract him, and in the end, if he died it would be one less mouth to feed, his friends far above would be freed from one more burden.
The small crevice lead to a long winding hallway carved into the stone in what had once been a neat line, but was now covered in cracks and moss. At the end of the hallway was a great sealed door. His curiosity once more urging him on, he touched his hoof to the door.
Deer folk, he knew, had the ability to sense magic not use it, they also had the ability to dispel just about everything. The door in front of him had more seals and locks, and of greater complexity, on it than he had ever seen in the entirety of his life.
He looked behind him, he was never a coward but what lay in the area behind him made his stomach twist and turn, best to move on he told himself.
Demitry shoved against the rotting door and managed to pry it open enough for his slender frame to enter the glowing room. What he saw made him gasp. The room was circular, with portraits decayed beyond repair dotting the gilded walls. In the centre stood an enormous podium on which sat a nondescript red stone. The ball of rock was the source of the red glow. His face twisted in concentration and yet he could sense no magic coming from the blowing stone.
Demitry was captivated by the small object. He approached it cautiously wary of any traps. There was once a lavish carpet covering the ground but now only rags were left. He looked at the ball carefully, on its front a fang like symbol had been carved into it. He touched the stone ball with the tip of his nose.
In a flash, he felt himself hit the back of the room. Hard. He could smell something akin to burning fur, and upon further inspection he noticed that he was, in fact, on fire. Demitry yelled and rolled across the uneven ground to put off the painful, burning sensation that had taken over his chest.
He focused on his magic and dispelled the flames with a sigh of relief. He sat on his haunches, panting for a few minutes, before looking down to inspect the damages. In the centre of his chest was a pendant adorned with a simple red gem and engraved with the symbol of a sharp fang or tooth. The fur that was charred around the medallion was quickly growing back to its original condition. He wondered at this and at exactly how the medallion appeared there in the first place, but his musings were cut short by a sudden pang of hunger.
He needed food, lots of food.His stomach growled with a longing he had never felt before. “Yes,” something whispered into his ear, “You must eat. We must feast!”
Demitry felt his mind slipping as something else took over his body, moving his limbs for him. Despite all his struggling, he could not order his body to stop, and soon found himself heading towards the chamber where he had found Dominick.
Let go of me! he thought.
“No! We must eat first.” Answered the voice.
His body walked on its own accord towards the door. It touched the door with a forehoof and the old door slammed against the wall and shattered, the heavy locks thumped unto the ground and created lonely echoes through the caves. His body walked through the narrow hallway and into the room where Dominick lay.
With horror, he felt his body bend forward and bite into the carcase of his friend. He could taste him, and would have vomited if he could.
A few dreadful moments later, his body rose from its meal and looked at the steps that lead upwards. “More.” It said simply. “I need more nourishment if I am to survive.” Demitry noted with a pang of distress that the voice had become more eloquent, more educated.
He felt and saw himself slowly ascend the steps till he reached the edge of the hole. He, no, it looked at the group of ponies that stared at him with worried expressions. He licked his lips. No! screamed Demitry in his own mind. You can't! Please, no! His body recoiled from the mental assault.
Daisy ran forward and caught him, she was soon followed by Donovan who ran to his other side and help him with his hooves. “Poor dear!” cried Daisy, “He is covered in blood, someone fetch doctor Darwin!”
He could feel his body be dragged forward by his worried friends. “Don't hurt them, please, don't,” he pleaded to his captor.
“Why? I am quite hungry,” was the response he received from his own mouth.And these friends of yours seem quite tasty, was whispered into his head from the thing that had taken over his body. His eyes inspected his friends with a quick eye. “They are a little thin, though.”
“Of course, my dear,” said Daisy in response to what his body had said, before she ran to a nearby patch of wilted Sol flowers and picked a few into her mouth. “Here, eat this,” she said as she dumped them at his hooves.
His body bent forward and nibbled at the dying plants, tasted them, then announced, “I need more.” He felt his head turn around and take in the sight of the fields filled with dying plants. “These plants need to be more nutritious if I am to eat them. Otherwise I will need to find another source of food.” The real Demitry was aware of what that other source might be, and once more tried, in vain, to take over his own body.
“Oh, my dear, these plants are plenty nutritious,” said Dominic. “At least, they are when they are healthy.”
“Then I shall make them healthy. Then I will proceed to eat them,” said his mouth, in a matter of fact tone.
From within his body he felt a great force started to materialize. His eyes began to glow and beams of sickly coloured light shot out of him and into the sky, only to arch over and hit the entire field. As the beam spread from field to field, the once dying flowers rose up and shined with new life. The deer folk looked at this in awe.
“You... you saved us, Demitry!” said Daisy, with tears in her eyes. Her acclamation was soon followed by others who agreed in a heartfelt fashion.
“I was hungry, so I made food,” Demitry's body said, apparently questioning the sanity of the deer.
“Thank the goddess!” said Donovan in awe. “We won't have to wait for the Equestrian supplies anymore.”
“Supplies?” he asked.
Dominic looked at him quizzically. “Lad, I don't know if you hit your head or something, but after what I just saw, I don't give a damn! Yes, the supplies. The food sent here from Equestria!”
“Food!?” His entire body perked up at the word.
“Oh, yes, my dear,” said Daisy, who was nearby and stuffing her face with sol flower petals. “The best food there is! Apples and oranges, as well as pastries and cakes!”
“Where is that food?” asked his body, licking its lips in excitement.
“Well, if it arrived, then it must be at Danderhoof, to the east,” said Dominic, his eyes narrowed in worry replacing his usual expression of calm. He seemed to be the only deer who did not view the past events without suspicion.
“Then you will bring me there. To this 'Danderhoof' of yours,” he replied. Donovan and Daisy shared a quick look before answering.
“Of course, Demitry, we can go to Danderhoof if you want,” said Donovan, a little sceptical.
“Oh, yes, we must share the good news!” Daisy piped up, hugging Demitry once more. A cheer rose up from the deer who had began to congregate in that very field.
News quickly spread that Demitry had somehow made the crops grow again and had saved the village from the slow death that starvation would have brought
His body surveyed the towns people who were rushing out of their houses to the fields, overjoyed at the sudden turn of events. “We will go there. All of us. Yes, we will eat. Eat, and eat, and eat until we are hungry no more.” A wicked grin spread across Demitry's face.
Morning Star adjusted the scope with a quick tap of his hoof. He was laying uncomfortably near the top of Crescent hill, overlooking the estates of a small group of Zebras who had gained the attention of Chronos.
His goal was simple at first. Gather information about the compound and its movements for twenty-four hours, then fly back to the rendezvous point without being spotted.
His orders had changed.
His target was a renowned politician with deep ties in the world of zebra narcotics,the politician had recently acquired an item that made him a threat to Equestria. It was Morning Star’s duty to eliminate that threat. That’s why he was laying on top of the hill, cradling a very big, very long, and very powerful crossbow on such a chilly autumn night.
He was looking around, desperate to find a source of entertainment, when out of the corner of his eyes he caught some rapid movement. Shifting his scope over to the entrance of the mansion that dominated the estates ,he noticed that quite a few of the zebra guards were fighting. Throwing punches and bucking each other, they were soon joined by some of the luxurious guests.
He saw his target walk out and throw a few kicks into the melee himself. That was odd, most of the time zebras were stone faced and placid, never showing emotion; especially not violence, unless sufficiently provoked. He picked up the com unit from the saddlebags at his side with a quick swipe of his hoof.
“Home, this is MS, I have very.. unusual activity here,” he silently dropped the small magical device, just as a thin, shallow voice answered.
“MS, this is HQ, we have nothing on the situation at this moment. Please specify condition.”
“Subjects are acting like drunk colts at a party, sir,” he noticed that most of the hits were missing, and that they were running as if they were very dizzy and disorientated.
“Repeat that, MS?” came a bewildered reply. He could understand their suspicion, he couldn't believe it himself.
“They are behaving like mad drunkards, the guards as well as the guests are fighting between themselves with no apparent order or groups.” The entire group turned and looked at the door as if someone had called their attention. He was too far away to hear anything, but he strained his ears anyway.
A young zebra filly walked out of the mansion, stopped a few feet from the door, and waved her hoof as if to chastise the entire group. They all looked down as if they were disappointed, some even started to cry.
Morning Star felt an odd longing in his chest at seeing the zebra filly. He tweaked his crossbow's scope. She was a small zebra youngster not altogether different from the average child. All that adorned her was a simple, small necklace containing a small, blue jewel. Something about her captivated him. He wanted her to be happy, to be proud of him. He understood now why the other zebras fought each other. They were fighting over her, for her. “How dare they!” he muttered. “They don’t deserve her. She should be mine.”
“MS, can you repeat that last message?” He looked down, surprised out of his thoughts. He had left the com device on. He slammed his hoof on it and returned his eyes to his scope.
He felt a burning rage build up as the group sat in rapt attention of the filly. Why would she speak to them and not him? That rage became jealousy, and before he knew it he was boiling with rage.
He tried to reason with himself but the sight of her giving undeserved attention to them infuriated him.
He had pulled the trigger.
The arrow whizzed in a small arc and hit the head of the zebra nearest the filly, and planted itself in the ground opposite the unfortunate zebra. The filly let out a loud shriek of surprise and fear. The others never let their eyes off her, barely noticing that one of their comrades was dead.
He could clearly hear the scream as it echoed in the hillside. “MS, this is HQ, please respond,” chirped the device that he had only partially damaged.
Guilt hit him hard. He could have hit her. Maybe he scared her, maybe she was mad at him. The thought of her angry, or worse, scared, drove him to tears. He took off suddenly. Leaving all his equipment behind. He flew straight like the arrow he had just fired. Gaining more and more altitude until he could hardly breath, yet even this was not punishment enough, his mind told him. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He could pay her back life for life. A small smile crept unto his face as he closed his wings and dropped to his death all the way to the rocky hillside.
The mighty and valiant Prince Blueblood stood in the center of the runway which led to the main gates of Truebeak’s castle. He dared not step off the carriage for fear of falling through the cloud layer, and hitting the ground far below. He knew there was a spell that allowed a unicorn to walk on clouds, but he had never really cared about magic, and never bothered to learn it.
Blueblood was about to order one of his guards to call out his arrival once more when the gate opened up, and four griffons walked out calmly. “About time you come out to greet me!” he said, failing to notice that the griffons were followed by another pair which flew down from above and landed at his rear.
He did notice that they had not addressed him, and that they seemed more interested in his guard ponies than him. “When speaking to me you shall address me as your highness. Now bring me to your king.” He tried to remind them of just who he was.
The griffons, now six, encircled his four guards and pounced on the nervous pegasi. Two of the griffons jumped on the pegasi at the head of his sky-chariot, they clawed at the surprised ponies until all that was left of them were two bloody lumps on the cloudy ground. The other two had time to see their compatriots die before they too were assaulted. One of the pegasi raised his hooves in surrender only to receive a sharp blade across the throat for his efforts. The last pegasi upon seeing his companions dead, jumped into the air in an attempt to flee, but was hit in midair by a bolt fired from the castle’s parapet. The pegasi landed on the ground with a thump, one of the griffons quietly walked towards the pleading pegasi and stabbed him through the chest with his sword.
“Wha- What Is this? I demand to speak to your superior officers right away! Such actions will not be tolerated in my presence!” blurted out Blueblood, uncertain of what was happening, even now that the short battle was over. He was hardly used to seeing violence of any sort, and the bleeding bodies of the pegasi left his mind reeling.
Two of the griffons flew into his carriage and grabbed Blueblood from both sides as he shook and squealed in a futile attempt to liberate himself.
Another one of the griffons landed in front of Blueblood and raked him across the face with the back of his claw. “I guess your blood isn't all that blue, huh? I am Ruby-feathers. Got the name from dipping my wings in the blood of my victims.” Blueblood shrank back and became quiet. He had never been hit before. Nor had he ever seen his own blood. This shocked him more than seeing the bodies of his guards being dragged away by yet another group of armoured griffons.
“I want to go home. Auntie Tia will be mad!” he squeaked.
“You’re lucky the boss said that you had to be alive, little pony.” Ruby-feathers let the implication linger while he signaled his group to form up and drag Blueblood into the castle.
Blueblood yelled and pleaded with the griffons to no avail until they tied a sack over his head.
He tossed and turned, and quickly lost all sense of direction as they hauled him deeper, and deeper into the castle, until they quite rudely dumped him onto a chair and let go. He flailed about trying to grab them once he realized that he could not stand on the clouds without being supported.
“Calm down you ungrateful idiot!” yelled a voice that sounded to him like an angry banshee.
The sack was pulled off his head and Blueblood quickly took in his surroundings. He was in a cozy yet richly decorated room, dominated by a large wooden table packed full of appetizing food. There were at least a dozen seats around the table. He was at one end flanked by the two griffons that had carried him, while the griffon whose voice he had heard sat at the opposite end of the table, on a high backed chair; he had a smaller griffon to his right. The chair he was on did not sink through the clouds despite his weight. This fascinated him until he noticed the simple runes carved into it.
“Who am I speaking to?” He asked, a little more subdued than usual.
“I am the bloody king! I thought the crown was a dead giveaway!” came the less than formal response from across the table.
“Why yes, good sir, you do seem to be the king of this, uh... place.” Blueblood had to exercise caution not to say something that might offend his hosts. “And who might you be noble griffon?” Blueblood addresses the griffon to the kings right who was dressed in full battle-mail and wore an odd yellow pendant around his throat.
“I am Gold-wing.”
“Not the talkative type I see. Well, off to business then.” Blueblood coughed into his hoof. “I demand to be released immediately! I also want compensation and aid for the ponies you have injured. I also want you to carry me back to my carriage with a letter promising that the griffons will no longer threaten Equestria!” Blueblood looked down from his rant only to find that the two griffons were speaking in hushed tones. No doubt fearful of him, he thought.
“Did you put it around his neck yet?” Asked the king while looking past Blueblood, who turned to see that he was speaking to Ruby-feather.
“No my lord. Do you wish for me to do so now?” At a nod the suddenly polite Ruby-feather flew over to Blueblood and strung a small glass bottle on a golden cord around his neck.
“What are you doing? I would never wear such an unclothe monstrosity against fashion! Remove it at once!”
“Permission to beat him sir?” Ruby-feather asked with pleading eyes.
“Not yet.”
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘not yet’?”
The king ignored Blueblood and turned to one of his servants. “Allow our esteemed guests into the room.” The servant griffon nodded and gently trotted out the room via one of the great gilded doors. Soon, the room began filling with what was considered the nobility of Truebeak. Blueblood acted with courtesy and introduced himself to each guest in turn from his seat, but they all ignored him, preferring to sit at the table. Some silently dabbed at their eyes with the sleeves of their expensive coats while others wore stoic expressions.
Before he could speak up once more Gold-wing grabbed his attention as he flew over the table and landed at his side. He reached over to Blueblood and grabbed his tongue between two talons.
“It is customary within the griffon nation that the guest and the householder share a drink.” Gold-wing dragged a cup closer with his wing tip. He let go of Blueblood’s tongue to open the vial at his neck.
“Wha-” Began Blueblood but he was cut off by a look from Gold-wing.
He emptied the contents of the vial into the goblet and turned once more to Blueblood. “Pour some wine for the king.” Blueblood did not question the fearsome griffon and complied using a little bit of unicorn magic to tip an already opened bottle of wine into the goblet.
“Send the cup over to the king.”
“Shouldn't I drink from it first?” asked Blueblood, somewhat aware of proper etiquette. Gold-wing answered with another glance at Blueblood, who had the opportunity to see his eyes glow a dangerous yellow. He quickly levitated the cup over the table spilling some into a vase of flowers in his haste. The flowers wilted alarmingly fast. The guest shrank back from the fumes.
The king grabbed the goblet in his outstretched talon raised it above his head and drank deeply of it. He crashed the goblet into the wooden table with a resounding bang and said “For Truebeak and the noble griffons!” before falling off the side of his chair making only a soft sound as his body hit the cloudy ground.
Gold-wing quietly walked forward and touched the king’s neck. “The king is dead,” he said formally as he rose up. All the griffons in the room nodded once, some broke out into tears and outright sobbing. “I, Gold-Wing, now take possession of the royal throne and declare war upon Equestria and all those who dare oppose the might of the griffons.” He gently removed the crown from upon the king’s head and placed it on his own, eyes glowing yellow the entire time.
He glanced towards the shocked Blueblood and motioned his guards to take him away. “You shall face trial for the murder of our king with all griffons present acting as witnesses. Take him away.” The last he told the two griffons that had never left Blueblood's side. They dragged the screaming prince away leaving a room full of mourning griffons.
