Chapters CHAPTER I
Prince Nereus is prince of the sea. He controls the waves and currents, the fish and the crabs, the oceans themselves. His coat ocean blue in colour and his mane is blue-green. His necklace is a light blue with a sparkling green gem in the middle and his crown is in the design of the waves with fish wrought in the metalwork every now and then. It is sea-blue in color with white along the edges. Prince Nereus often starts the large waves when the pegasi start a storm.
“It's beautiful...” said Aureole as she gazed up at the towering structures and spires. Crystalline ponies mulled around, chatting and laughing. Every now and then, a group of foals would run past, playing a game or on their way to the candy store.
A couple of hours later, the couple's carriage stopped outside the Crystal Palace. Princess Amare was waiting for them, her mane done in the traditional fashion for formal occasions. She was a light purple alicorn with a pink mane which was streaked with red. Her eyes were pink. She bowed to the couple and they did likewise.
“Half an hour is the maximum you can get,” Said commander Domino. He was the leader of the 6 guards who would accompany the 2 alicorns beyond the border. Even though they'd each seen a lot of fight and had near death experiences plenty, they still looked slightly nervous. They knew the north was far from natural and many scouting patrol had gone out to have none return. Those scouting missions had stopped two hundred years ago but the guards still shivered at the thought of going out there. Even on this side of the huge gate, Nereus and Aureole shivered violently despite the countless layers of furs they had on. Aureole had been having cramps much more frequently recently and Nereus was starting to winder whether this was a good idea. He'd spoke to her about it but she was as stubborn as they came. She would fly over the barrier if she had to, despite the countless warnings about the unpredictable weather on the other side. The barrier itself was too high for any pegasus to fly and was made completely of crystal on this side although there were sayings of it being made of pony bones on the other side. Today, Prince Nereus and Princess Aureole would find out once and for all if that was the case. The six guard ponies surrounded them, Commander Domino to the front, and the giant, blue crystal gate swung open. There was a large dark tunnel leading through the barrier. They walked forward, the commander lighting the way with his horn. The walls were made of pure crystal and was like that for five whole minutes. Aureole began to wonder how thick the barrier was until she noticed that the colour of the walls was changing. It was barely noticeable but it had gone from a bright cyan blue to a dark midnight blue. The tunnel was also not nearly as smooth as it had been at the start. The walls were jagged and some small spikes looked sharp enough to make a deep enough cut. And she wasn't sure, but the princess thought she saw the slight outline of pony skulls and bones in the walls, but it could have just been a trick of the light.
Author's Note
Let me guess:
CHAPTER 2
The newborn colt breathed in his first gasp of air and instantly started crying. The air he breathed was freezing and was sharp as it went down his throat. Most foals first breathed warm air but this one hadn't been born in a hospital. He was lying on the ground, which was made of ice. All around him he saw strange things. They were big and looked like big spikes, but they were also made of ice. They each had an archway in them. In one of the spikes, he saw some furs hanging on a wall and covering the ground. Most of them were white but there were some blue ones and grey ones here and there. There was nothing else in it that the colt could see, so he quickly lost interest and looked at himself. His coat was a pure black and he had what looked like tentacles sticking out of his back, but they were too hard to be. They didn't bend in the slightest. He felt his head and felt a small spike there in the small clump of hair that was on top of his head. Now that he knew his own body, he lost interest in that, too. It was at this moment that he noticed ponies were starting to come out of the spikes. He looked at them as they cautiously advanced towards him. They all had white coats which were VERY thick. One of them, a rather large stallion, snapped at the colt, who just looked at the stallion. He snapped again, speaking in a very guttural and hoarse voice as he made strange sounds in a foreign language. The colt just looked at him, then giggled. He tried to stand but tumbled and fell face-first on the hard ice. The colt began to cry. The large stallion snapped something at the rest of the ponies and several drew strange blades; they were axes, but half of it was a scythe. As they advanced towards the crying colt, a mare walked in front of them. She stood facing the four stallions who had drawn their weapons and told them something in the same language the large stallion had spoken in. They paused until one of them replied, to which the mare snapped something. The ponies glanced at each other, then withdrew. The mare turned and enveloped the colt in a green magical aura. The colt just looked at her with big eyes. They were a bright, stark blue and the pupils were similar to that of a dragon.
50 YEARS LATER
Vindictus swung the pickaxe for the last time that day. He'd been working on the spire since two days ago and had gotten no sleep. He didn't mind, he didn't get a lot of sleep anyway. His spire was of average size, not as big as others but not the smallest in the village. The colt had grown slightly and the so-called tentacles on his back had begun to grow some skin between them, so he now knew they were wings. When he would be able to use them, he didn't know. He didn't really care if he could use them or not, he was fine with walking. There was nowhere for him to go, anyway. This village was his life. It was all he knew and he wasn't sure he wanted to leave it. His mother had apparently saved his life when he was first born. Well, he called her his mother but according to her, he had just appeared in the middle of the village from thin air. She had decided to take him in and raise him as her own. He knew he was different from everypony here. They all had thick, bright coats. His was thin and black. And everyone else were either ice ponies or pegasi whereas he was an alicorn. Many had wanted to cut off the small spike on his head but his mother had stopped them.
Vindictus landed on his right wing and heard it snap instantly. He screamed in pain and the sound echoed through the tunnel to be answered by nopony. He whimpered in pain but slapped himself. Now was not the time for tears. He pushed the pain aside and pushed himself to his hooves, then looked around.
CHAPTER 3
Vindictus Vulnere emerged from the deep pit, the left side of his face very bloody and his hooves were tatterd from the climb up the jagged wall of ice. He squinted at the sunlight. He had no idea what time it was but it didn’t really matter. In the North, the sun was always high in the sky. He had heard of two powerful ponies further south who raised and lowered the sun, but their magic must not stretch as far as where he was.
Uguns wrapped the scarf tighter around his face as he squinted to see through the snow. He saw the outlines of the telltale spires which meant there was a village ahead. He quickened his pace, breathing heavily as he fought through the blizzard. He was running low on provisions and would have run out over the next day or two. He was lucky tis village was here. If they had a forge, maybe he’d stay for a while. He thought for a moment, then shook his head. No, maybe he wouldn’t. It would remind him of Vindictus. Just thinking about the young stallion now made him sad. He’d been like a son tot he blacksmith and could have been a fantastic apprentice. Every day the alicorn would visit his forge and watch him hammer a pice of metal or sharpen a blade on the grindstone. They would have long conversations during which Uguns would tell Vundictus about different methods of forging weapons and armour, what to do and what to avoid, how to tell if when the metal’s ready to
For thirteen days, Vindictus Vulnere screamed in pain as fire rushed through his veins and his coat turned into ice. He thrashed and the village had not thought something like this would happen so they locked him in the medical spire which also muted his screams slightly. Uguns stayed outside the pale blue spike, keeping watch over the young stallion. For the first couple of days one of the ponies would attempt to feed Vindicus but after one of them got their skull caved in by onw of his hooves, they got the message and stayed out of the spire. By the end of the fourth day, ponies had taken to praying or cursing whenever they passed the spire, throwing pitiful, fearful or hateful glances at the ice sike and Uguns. He didn’t bother himself with them, though. The chief had allowed them leave to spend their time in the village until Vindictus was well enough to leave. After that, though, they would have to leave. In his time travelling, the blacksmith had gained several friends in decent enough places who would be able to give them a hoof.
After exactly thirteen days, the screams stopped abruptly. Uguns snapped awake and looked around, wondering what was off. He was on his stool, he still had his hammer, nopony had stollen his gold... then he remembered. It was silent. The blacksmith stood and flung the door to the spire open. Inside was Vindictus, lying amidts the debris of what was once a home. He walked over to the young stallion and checked his pulse before moving him into a comfortable position. By this time a small crowd had gathered to see what had happened. The healer walked in confidently and grunted to Uguns before gesturing for him to get out of the way.
He flew for several minutes before his wings began to hurt from exertion. He began to descend and tried to land carefully but was going too fast. As he landed, his hooves went out from under him and his face met the ice. His snout broke and he tumbled, gaining several new bruises. He was too tired to scream in pain as his snout broke and instead just groaned. He forced himself to his hooves and wiped the blood from his nose before noticing that his jaws were still locked on Uguns’ hammer. He took it out of his mouth and held it in his hoof, fresh tears coming to his eyes as he remembered the closest thing he’d had to a father. But Vindictus wiped his tears away and looked around. He had no idea where he was and no idea where to go. So he put the hammer back in his mouth and started walking in a random direction. Whenever his wings felt like it, he took flight again but could never stay up for very long. He covered a lot of ground when flying, however.
He saw Uguns again, but he was different. There were countless scars on his body and it looked like they would open up again at the slightest push. His eyes are blank and dead as he stared straight at Vindictus.
Vindictus woke up with a scream and punched at Uguns, who he still half saw in front of him. He felt his fist make contact and fell back, taking deep breaths. He finally blinked and realized he was awake, but that wasn’t the only difference. He looked around. He was no longer in the snow or leaning agaist the dark blue ice. He was in a spire... but it wasn’t a spire. It was a room, square in shape. He was also lying in something soft and warm. It was large and covered part of the room’s floor. The walls looked like ice but even from the soft thing he was on, he could tell it wasn’t. It was too blue. He looked down at himself and saw that there was a arge piece of cloth over his body. It was very soft and comfortable. He raised a hoof to stroke it and noticed his hoof was red. It was also wet. With blood.
Princess Cadence walked through the corridors of the Crystal Palace to where their guest was staying. She was slightly annoyed that he had assaulted one of her staff but this was all a new experience for him. And if the North was as harsh as she had heard, he was going to be hostile. This was why she had multiple guards with her. Just two hundred years as princess and she was already dealing with foreign ponies. Cadence sighed and shook her head slightly. This would take some getting used to, especially since she was still very young for an alicorn. At least her mother had taught her about being a princess. She felt a pang of sadness as she thought about her mother who had passed away seventy years before. She had been ill for a long time before the pain finally ended. Cadence had been distraught and had spent three weeks crying and refusing to leave her chambers. It took a stern talk from one of the military commanders to make Cadence realize that it was now her in charge.
CHAPTER 5
500 Years later
Vindictus was flying over the snowy wastelands past the borders of the Crystal Empire. He had a hunting dagger in his hoof sheath and was looking for a kill. He flew down and landed before drawing his dagger and looking around carefully, scrutinizing every inch of the layout. He closed his eyes and listened intently before opening his eyes again. He heard something different from a small mound of snow so he walked towards it and wiped the snow away. Inside was a small snow fox and it cowered in front of Vindictus, whimpering fearfully. He crouched down and put a hoof on its back. At his touch, it tried to dash away but he just put his dagger in front of it. The fox impaled itself on the blade. It twitched for a few moments, then went limp. Vindictus went into his saddlebags and took out a small campfire kit. He started the fire and filled a small pit with water, which he began to boil. He added separate herbs and spices to it before skinning the fox. He cut off chunks of meat and dropped them into the stew. Once he had a decent amount of meat in it, he stirred it constantly, making sure the stew flavoured the meat and then left it to simmer. Once it was done, he poured it into a small bowl and began to eat. The meat was good after three weeks of fruit and vegetables. He savoured the taste of it with the herbs and spices mixed in and smiled slightly. He finished it quickly, though, as Cadence was expecting him back at the Palace. He quickly packed everything away and took flight again, heading back to the Crystal Empire. On the way, he scanned the landscape beneath him. Even though he knew it was a barren wasteland of snow and ice, he couldn’t help but search for hostility. All he saw was snow, snow and more snow. There was nothing interesting here.
80 YEARS LATER
The eve of battle was always the worst. The tension, the foreboding, the expectation of death the next day. Everypony was making their final preperations; sharpening their weapons, making sure their armour was the best it could be, training for what could be the last time of their lives. Vindictus was at the forge, putting the finishing touches on his own helmet. It was forged in the shape of the top of a dragon’s skull and was made of osmium. When he put it on, the whole top of his head was covered by the skull and the teeth created a cage around his lower jaw. His armour was mostly plain, although it had loads of small spikes on it. The spikes all curved upwards and towards his head so if he ran into somepony, they would get several bad gashes.
மரணம் எப்போதும்
He swung it with precision and began his training. All the other ponies made sure to stay out of reach of the weapon, not wanting to die before they had a chance to fight. Vindictus didn’t care much, really. He was here to kill and die, should it come to that. He stopped and sighed. Cadence had tried to take all the anger out of him but she had failed. Vindictus guess that she knew it was hopeless to rid him of his feelings but even then, she still tried. She didn’t give up. He pushed the memory from his head before it got a hoofhold. The war had been going on for forty years now. Now nearly every continent was fighting; Equestria, the West, and East and the South. The North had stayed out of the battle; They took no part in wars. The Crystal Ponies were also missing and that made Vindictus worried. That King Sombra unicorn probably took over the Empire. Vindictus closed his eyes and fought back tears. That probably meant that Cadence was dead.
Vindictus was flying a little above the royal carriage. Prince Harena had been called to the peace treaties in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. He had wanted Vindictus to be his personal bodyguard, much to the discomfort of his small council. They didn’t like the idea of a mercenary guarding their prince, but Harena wasn’t one to let others tell him what to do. If he wanted to do something, he made sure he got it. He didn’t know how good of a fighter Vindictus was, but he knew that the armour was very intimidating, so he chose him. It was all for looks, there would be no bloodshed at this meeting. It was purely a peace treaty and nothing more. Vindictus was just there so Harena could say “ Look what I’ve got! I’ve got a big brute just as a bodyguard! You can’t do anything to me!”
Or so they thought.
CHAPTER 6
Vindictus Vulnere sat in the equestrian medical tent. He had a needle and thread in one hoof and was stitching the third gash on the left side of his stomach. The deep cuts had been done by three separate weapons, it was just coincidence they had slashed so parallel to each other. The sharp, curved needle punctured his flesh and he pushed it through the cut and back out through the other side or the gash. He then pulled the thread through, feeling it rub against the skin and muscle as he pulled it tight, closing part of the gash. He continued this until it was half stitched, which was when he heard a voice.
It was midnight and ponies were still awake, too nervous to sleep. They were laughing around the campfires, trying to enjoy what could potentially be the last night of their lives. They exchanged stories and spoke about their families and special someponies, recalling their good memories and having an overall good time. The colts were trying to fit into armour which was a bad fit in the first place but it would keep them alive longer than if they were naked. They spoke with fear in their voices and looked around with wide eyes. The older colts, the ones in the 16-17 age group, were ore bold and interacted with the other soldiers freely, thinking they would go home as heroes and not even be slightly swayed by the horrors of war. Then there were the old ponies, the ones with greying hair and smoking their pipes and already ready for the upcoming battle.
18 hours later...
Vindictus was lying on the battlefield, a large gash across his throat. The rest of his body was covered in smaller cuts, all oozing blood. He was extremely lucky; the gash hadn't gone through any major veins, arteries or his windpipe. His armour was scratched but nothing serious. It was very bloodstained, though. The thorns and horn blades were the worst, having been used to kill just as many ponies as his weapon. His breath was ragged and short, his body trying to prevent too much movement so as not to damage his throat any more than it already was. His teeth were clenched together hard and his hooves were still clenched around the weapon.
CHAPTER 7
Vindictus flew faster than he ever had before, going until his wings burned and feltas if they were going to fall off. Only then did he descend to the ground and continue on hoof. He was a long way from the Crystal Empire yet and he knew it would be a long time before he got there but he didn't care. He'd heard too many rumors that Cadence was alive and imprisoned by King Sombra, the very unicorn Vindictus had wanted to fight all those years ago. With the Great War over, everyone seemed to be taking a break from battle and polishing up the peace treaty in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Vindictus had eft immediately after the battle, however, not even saying goodbye to the mare who's practically save his life. He still didn't know why he had been in his dream; she wouldn't have been alive then, he#d just been a few hundred years old, if that. Maybe the mare just looked like his dream, but the resemblance was very close.
He woke up thrashing, knocking several ponies unconscious and causing himself great pain. He fell back and roared I pain as he rushed his wing. He finally took the time to look around. The room he was in was white and small, with one window in the far wall and a door in the other wall. He wa sin a soft bed which was nothing more than a metal fram and a matress with some pillows and the top part at an angle. Vindictus thought for a moment, then realized he was in a hospital room. He looked around and only now noticed a mare in the room.
Chapter 8
Vindictus flew down and sighed. Back in Manehatten, where the Great War had ended so long ago. It seemed like just weeks since the battle had ended when it had, in fact, been over 5 years. In that time, he’d seen many battles, countless horrors and had killed more ponies, griffons and other creatures than he could count. But he seemed to always return to Manehatten and when he did, he always noticed one pony. It was a mare, a unicorn. She was tall and very pretty. She looked at least 20 years old and seemed to always be at the entrance to Manehatten. Whenever Vindictus saw her, however, she turned and ran. He knew he wasn’t the most good looking stallion in Equestria, but he’d never had a mare run from him before. He guessed it was just nervousness of seeing a killer, he’d be scared as well. But he’d been to Manehatten more times that he could count, now, and every time he arrived, the same mare was always standing there, always running when he got within seeing distance.
Minty’s house was an apartment on the top floor of a regular brick building. It was small, with only one bedroom, a couch and a bookcase as well as a few miscellanious objects. Minty turned when he entered and sighed.
By the time he finished his life story, Minty Lemon was wide eyed and right beside him, almost touching.
Author's Note
I got the idea to give him a special somepony a while back, but never put it in because Vinny isn't exactly the kind of stallion who would want to have a mare. But then I got an idea that includes a special somepony, so this mare won't be permanent, I promise you that.
CHAPTER 4
Several months had passed since the stallion had been brought into the Crystal Palace and Cadence was still uncertain about keeping him here. Many Words, her translator, had spent almost every day with the stallion. So far he’d learned that the stallion’s name was Vindictus Vulnere and that his father had been killed by one of the villages. Hehad also translated the parchment, which read:
Where is the hammer? Uguns’ hammer, I need it. Please, give it to me.
Many Words thought he was referring to the hammer that the guards had found him with just beyong the Barrier so they had given it to him and he’d never let go of it since. Aside from that, the translator had been teaching Vindictus how to speak Equestrian and he could now be understood although he had a thick accent. Cadencse decided she would visit him today. She hadn’t seen the stallion since that first time. Apparently he’d only slept a few times in the minths he’d been here and had slowly been losing his fear and uncertainty of the crystal around him. He had needed to be taught to bathe, though. The falling snow must have been enough to keephim clean in the north, apparently. Other than that he hadn’t been allowed to leave his chambers. Many Words had reported that he felt like a prisoner and wanted to be let out but Cadence wasn’t ready to take that chance. She had to protect her subjects first and foremost and if that meant keeping a foreign pony prisoner, so be it. But she couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. This stallion has fought his whole life and seen his father torn apart before his eyes. He only just learned to fly a few months ago and has probably forgotten how to by now. She might have to teach him herself, seeing as she was the only pony in the Crystal Empire with wings. But would their difference in wing type affect anything? Probably not. At the end of the day, all wings were made of a set of bones. Wether it was membrane of feathers connecting them shouldn’t make a difference.
Vindictus snapped his head around. He’d been leaning on the windowsill while looking outnover the Empire. It was so bright and colourful and he could see everypony bustling around in the streets. He saw foals playing and adults chattig and laughing with each other. He even saw a stallion helping a small colt who was crying on the ground. Vindictus felt a stab of sadness when he saw that but pushed it out of his head as he heard the hoofsteps spproaching. The door opened to reveal the pink alicorn with feathered wings. He looked her over and stayed silent. Princess Cadence walked in but kept her distance.
Vindictus snapped awake still in the same position as when he slept. He raised his head and looked around and saw that it was nightime. He’d only recently gotten used to the world getting dark at certain times. He stood and walked back to the window, looking down at the empty streets. All was silent except the slight whispering of the wind. He closed his eyes and listened to it, sighing quietly. A small smile found its way to his lips. He felt calm, calmer than he had in a long time. He opens his eyes and sees a flash of a huge maw, razor sharp teeth coming at him as the Wyrm attempts to swallow him. Vindictus yelps and jumps back in surprise and fear, falling on his flank and staring fearfully at the open window. After a few seocnds he blinks and shakes his head before muttering to himself angrily. He should know better than to think there would be any Wyrms here. This was too far away from their tunnels. It was just a dream, nothing more. Vindictus walked back to the desk and looked at the parchments on it. They were his own attempts at trying to write in Equestrian but he didn’t understand any of it. He’d given up several days ago and had only glared at the translator when he prompted him to continue.
மரணம் எப்போதும்
Once that was done, he stopped it altogether. He got the last remaining osmium from the still burning furnace and used it to attach the scythe and axe blades together with a metal pole in the middle. He held the three parts together as they dried, making sure to scrape any excess osmium off and make sure it was smooth and flawless. After half an hour, he carried the near-finished weapon to the grindstone and began sharpening the blades. As the sparks flew, he thought back to the North. He had been at home there. He may not have been accepted, he had even been shunned, but he’s grown up there and would go back if given the choice. But he’d asked to return to his homeland during his time in the Crystal Palace but everypony had given him the same answer; He would never return home.
Several hours later, Vindictus snapped out of his daydreaming and looked around. He saw that he was still sharpening the blade and had absent-mindedly been switching between blades as he did. He stopped turning the stone wheel and looked at the edge. It looked sharp enough but he put it to his fur to make sure. With only the slightest pressure, the skin broke and a small red bead of blood appeared over the cut. He nodded and wiped it away before grabbing some leather and fashioning a sheath for it, which he strapped to his back. He put the weapon in it and grabbed a hooded cloak from a hook on the wall. He put it on, pulled up the hood and walked outside. It was evening and the sun was going down. He had nowhere to sleep and he had nowhere to go, so the alicorn began to wander. Strangely enough, he saw no guards. Nopony was pursuing him, even though he’d escaped from right under their snouts. Vindictus narrowed his eyes but kept walking through the darkening streets. They were deserted now and he was thankful for that. It meant there were less ponies who may be hostile towards him.