Darkness in the Distance
…And so it came to pass that Discord raised a monster from another world, a creature of hatred and darkness to further his goals of spreading chaos throughout the world. This creature rebelled against its supposed master and those whom he fought, raising his own dark hoards, spreading death and chaos through the land. Discord and the remaining Alicorns forged an uneasy truce, for this demon posed a threat to all of existence. Using their magic, they sealed the beast within the heart of the world, with the hope that he would awaken nevermore.
Celestia awoke in the night to a chill running down her spine. She normally slept soundly after a day of court, but a feeling of unease crept through her bones, and she pulled herself out of bed. She trotted over to the window, looking out into the sky beyond. The stars shined brightly in the dark blue sky, and the moon glowed with an unearthly beauty. Despite the calming appearance of the midnight sky, the Princess was still nervous.
She pulled her crown onto her head and spread her wings wide. Her horn glowed as she opened the window. She closed her eyes as cool air filled the room, and leapt out, flying into the night sky. The wind passed around her, cooling her body and calming her mind. She flew about aimlessly for a while, not caring about anything. She finally landed in the statue garden, her mind at peace once more. She looked around, taking in how different everything looked at night. Her eyes stopped at the statue of Discord, his face frozen in fear and alarm.
Despite everything, she did feel somewhat sorry for the draconequus. He had been trapped for thousands of years before, and would most likely be trapped for thousands more because of the chaos within him. At the very least his chaos had not hurt any of her little ponies this time, unlike his first rampage.
Her mind drifted back to those days, when chaos reigned and madness caused pain and suffering to everypony. She remembered how hard Discord tried to inflict his chaos upon the Alicorns, who fought against him at every turn, and how he had summoned that creature. Her blood ran cold at the memory of the hulking brute, as tall as Discord himself, but it had been heavily muscled and had large spikes running down its back. It roared as it stood tall above everypony, and began to call its own minions.
Celestia shook the thoughts from her head. The creature had been banished, sealed within the world itself by Luna, Discord and herself. It would never be able to harm anypony ever again.
She flew back to her room and lay down to sleep once more. As her eyes shut and her mind went blank, a single thought crossed her head. It is gone for good.
“Whadya reckon happened here Twi?”
Twilight looked to the blonde farm pony, whose eyes were locked on the scene before them. Early in the morning, Twilight and Applejack had been on their way to visit Fluttershy, and they were treated to a horrific sight. Angel bunny was gone, as were many of the animals Fluttershy had been taking care of. Their cages and pens inside and outside the home had been ripped open, and blood, feathers, and tufts of fur were spread throughout the house and the grounds surrounding it. On top of all of this, Fluttershy herself was also gone, missing from the scene.
“I’m not quite sure what to make of it myself Applejack, but we need to hurry. Whatever was responsible for this probably foalnapped Fluttershy, and she could be hurt!” She turned and began to run towards town. “I’ll gather the others. We’ll meet up here as soon as we can, alright?”
Behind her, Applejack shouted a reply, but Twilight was already moving. She focused her magic, putting the image of the Carousel Boutique into her head. With a flash of light she was standing in front of a surprised Rarity.
“Twilight darling, what’s going on? Did something-” Rarity never got the chance to finish, as Twilight put a hoof on the dressmakers shoulder and teleported again, this time to Sugarcube Corner and an expectant looking Pinkie Pie.
“Oh, hey Twilight! What’s going on? Is it an adventure? I love adventure! Is Rarity coming along too because that would be amazing and oh hey! We’re in the park!”
Twilight was sweating at this point, and her mane had begun to fritz. Rainbow Dash was lying in a nearby tree, drooling as she slept. Twilight horn glowed and the Pegasus found herself being pulled to the ground, waking her up and startling her.
“Gah! Hey, what the hay’s going on?” the rainbow mare shouted, but Twilight ignored her, shutting her eyes and focusing her magic on moving all four of them. They were engulfed in light, and found themselves in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. Twilight panted and looked around, spotting the orange pony inside the cottage. She began inside, ignoring the questions of her friends as she approached Applejack.
“So, did you find anything else?” Twilight panted as she spoke, and her head drooped low to the ground.
“First of all, y’were only gone fer a few minutes. And second of all, Ah did find something.” She pointed a hoof towards an open door, and Twilight looked over weakly. “Something bad.” Applejack’s voice trembled, and Twilight’s eyes went wide. What should have been a closet was now a ominous looking stairwell, the end obscured by a darkness that seemed to possess an evil presence that stood in stark contrast to the warm and pleasant environment of the cottage.
The others had let themselves in, and they too looked into the frightening abyss before them. Nopony, not even Pinkie Pie, could think of anything to say. For a moment, they simply stared at the grim staircase.
After a long silence, Twilight took a step towards the ominous maw. “Well, come on girls. We have to find Fluttershy.” She turned around, a confident smile on her face. “There’s no way the Elements of Harmony can fail!” The others began to rise, standing tall, courage and pride returning to their faces. “We’ve saved the world from eternal night, stopped the spirit of Chaos when he tried to take over the world, and have accomplished so many wonderful things!” She stomped a hoof, a determined smile stretched across her face. “There’s nothing we can’t accomplish!”
Everypony present let out a cheer, and they stormed down the stairs, ready to face whatever darkness lay within the labyrinth below.
A day passed in Ponyville, and when Twilight’s assistant Spike went out to find his caretaker, whom had left to visit Fluttershy and hadn’t returned, he found an entire community worried about where the Elements of Harmony had disappeared to. By the afternoon of the second day, a mob of Ponyville’s bravest and strongest ponies (and Spike) had gathered before the dark stairwell that they believed held their heroes. With shouts of courage and bravery, the mob descended into the darkness.
Those who waited outside felt pride at the noise of their brave friends and family, secure in the belief that their loved ones would be safe. Within an hour though, the shouts of confidence had turned to screams of terror and pain. By the end of the second hour, the screams had begun to die out, and by the third the labyrinth had fallen silent. Those who still stood watch over the grim portal shed tears in fear and sadness for those who had descended.
As the moon rose into the sky, only a handful of ponies remained, one of them Apple Bloom. She hadn’t cried the entire time, but her body still shook from worry. Regardless, she waited for the sound of hooves climbing the steps, for the muzzles of her brother and everypony else who had gone in to emerge from the darkness, for some sign that anypony had made it.
With the moon dead overhead, she stood alone when she finally heard hoof steps, and then heavy panting and some soft groaning, and finally she saw her brother, Spike, and Caramel emerging from the shadows. But the sight did little to calm her nerves.
Big Macintosh was covered head to hoof in small nicks and cuts, with blood dying him a darker shade of red. Caramel’s eyes were wide, and he trembled with every step. The worst off by far, however, was Spike. The baby dragon was grinding his teeth, eyes shut tight and watering. He had numerous nicks and cuts, but the worst wound was his leg.
Or rather, what was left of it. His leg ceased to exist below his right knee, the stump scorched shut by his own fire. As they pulled themselves from the depths, Mac turned to his baby sister, his gaze cold as stone.
“Apple Bloom,” he said, his voice trembling slightly. Caramel collapsed to the floor and curled up into a whimpering ball. “Ah need y’all to take a letter sweetie.” He set the whimpering dragon on the floor, double checking his wounds to make sure he was alright. Apple Bloom grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper from an upturned table, setting the paper down and holding the pencil in her mouth. Mac cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“To the Princesses. Things are goin’ t’horseapples in town, an’ we need help now. Th’ Elements are in trouble, and strange monsters are showin’ up. Ah kindly request some guards to aid in our endeavor t’save the mares and git rid of these varmints. With all due respect, Big Macintosh Apple.” He turned to his sister, who passed the paper to him. He grabbed it and set it next to Spike, and began to whisper to the small dragon.
“Spike? Can y’hear me little guy?” Spike let out a groan and nodded his head softly. “Listen. Ah need y’tuh use yer flame to send a letter t’the Princess. Can y’do that little guy?”
Spike didn’t respond, instead reaching a wounded claw over to the letter and holding it in front of his face. He let out a small plume of green flame that consumed the letter, and the ashes disappeared with a soft glow. His head fell back as he lost consciousness. Big Mac lifted the kid onto his back once more, and turned to Caramel. “C’mon buddy, Let’s fetch y’some cider and bandages. Yer gonna be alright.”
The stallion rose slowly and walked slowly beside the red giant. Apple Bloom followed close behind, but stopped at the doorway and stared at the foreboding entrance for a moment. As she ran to catch up with her brother, she swore she heard something laughing in a deep, violent sounding voice.
Rumors. For the past year, that had been all the news Gilda had heard from Ponyville. Rumors that the town had come under attack, rumors that strange monsters had risen from the earth and begun murdering ponies, rumors that the dead would rise and kill the living.
Rumors that Rainbow Dash was missing. Gilda had gotten fed up with unfounded rumors and left the Griffon army to see for herself what had happened. She had joined up after her argument, and event five years in the past, and since then had come to terms with herself and her friends actions. Despite the stubborn pride common to their species, Gilda admitted she had been wrong. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to track down Dash to tell her.
For this reason the Griffon found herself on the road to Ponyville, every once in a while passing an outgoing wagon warning her away from the town. She carried herself tall on the way there, a claymore strapped to her back and griffon military armor covering her body. She had grown in the time since she left, and now towered over the average pony.
The sun was dropping over the horizon when she finally caught sight of the place, and she had to admit that in the time she had been gone, it had gone downhill. Many of the houses were empty and derelict, the windows boarded up and the doors nailed shut. A few of the homes had been burned to the ground, and the grass was yellow and dead.
“You’ve come at a bad time, y’know?” the young voice seemed to come from nowhere, and Gilda turned about, looking for the owner as her claws went for the hilt of her sword. A joking laugh came from behind her, and she turned around, coming face to face with a young purple dragon. “It’s funny, y’know? How bad things can get in just a year? I mean seriously, it’s just ridiculous how fast things got messed up.”
Gilda relaxed her claws, but kept her eyes locked on Spike. He was wearing what looked like armor made of cloth, and one of his legs ended in a wooden peg. “You look familiar, y’know?” Spike’s words came with an almost mocking tone to them. “Gilda right? Hard to believe you showing up out of nowhere.”
“I’m here for Dash kid.” Gilda’s words came as blunt and aggressive as always, but she noticed the dragon’s smile fade for a second as she spoke, and an instant later a scowl crossed his face.
“Dash’s gone. So are Twilight and the others. There’s nothing left in this dead end town.”
The harsh cynicism came as a shock to Gilda. When she had visited Rainbow before their fight, the place had seemed like one big idealist paradise. To hear such blunt statements reminded her of, well, herself. She shook off the feeling. “If this town’s dead, then why are you still here, huh pipsqueak?”
“Easy birdbrain. I got my reasons.” Spike seemed as confident as before, his devious smile returned. “I’m saving up bits, selling goods to freelancers heading down. They don’t need the bits, and I’ll be able to live like a cave when I leave.”
Gilda turned up her beak. “You just gonna skip town? Seems kinda flaky kid.”
Spike shrugged in response. “I’m not just gonna leave. I’m planning on taking the fillies with me. They don’t deserve to grow up in this hole.” There was a spark of chivalry in his eyes, a touch of idealism, but it was quickly replace with a practiced devious glow. “So, you interested in what I’m selling? It’ll cost yah, but it’s worth every bit.”
The barrier around the cottage held strong as the monsters within beat upon the glowing shield. A bead of sweat fell down Celestia’s brow. Her once flawless coat was covered in fresh jagged scars, and her hooves and horn had been stained a deep crimson color. This past year had taken its toll on her, body and soul, first with her charge into the depths to save those who had been lost, and then with the barriers to keep them from harming anypony else.
When the news of monsters in Ponyville and the Elements disappearing had reached her, she had panicked and flown over with a legion of royal guards and her younger sister. They had charged in, only to face the full might of the monster’s legions. Only a handful of guards had survived, and over the next few days one or two had emerged from the pits, horribly wounded and most on or over the brink of madness. Her sister had also been wounded, and her left side was covered in horrid burns.
The sun was lowering behind the mountains, and with its fall Luna would come and project her shield to protect the town, or whatever was left of it. The royal guard waited in the village, prepared for any breaches of the barrier, and Celestia herself had slain enough of the monsters to last a hundred lifetimes.
The monsters, strange bipedal beasts with crude weapons and the reanimated bodies of ponies continued their relentless assault. Celestia ignored them, focusing her energy on the shield, maintaining and reinforcing it where it was weakening. Twilight crossed the land, and the monsters stopped attacking abruptly. Celestia maintained the shield, but remained wary. She looked up and saw the beasts smiling and chattering excitedly. The mob began to part, and the princesses eyes went wide at the sight of the approaching beast.
It wore a sickening grin full of yellowed teeth and an apron covered in red spatters. Its hand held a large, twisted looking cleaver, just the size of an axe. Celestia recognized it from the stories the ponies had told of the labyrinth. As the beast raised its cleaver, the princess braced herself for the blow. The evil weapon struck the shield, and a jolt ran through her body as the magical barrier cracked and spider-webbed. The weapon crashed again, and the shield collapsed completely.
Celestia charged forward, her horn blasting bolts of energy into the beast, knocking him backwards. The hoards charged around her, uncaring about the one enemy near their evil lair. There was an entire world waiting for them, full of innocents and good kind creatures.
Good kind creatures they couldn’t wait to kill.
Gilda noticed the guards rushing about the town, weapons drawn and ready. She tried to flag one down and ask what was happening, but they ignored her, focusing on readying weapons and armor. She spread her wing and leapt high into the air, gaining altitude and a better view of the town. In the distance she saw a strange mob approaching, and flew over, dropping slightly to get a better view.
The creatures were like nothing she had ever seen, many carrying weapons in the same way she did. Some carried what looked like battle standard made of stitched together pony hides, some with the cutie marks still visible on them. Gilda drew her blade and swooped in. She didn’t know who these invaders were, but there was no way they were friendly, and the macabre flags didn’t help their case.
She swooped in low, using her momentum to drag her sword through the beasts, cutting a long path through their ranks. She banked hard, and swooped through, cutting another path, chopping her new enemies to bits. They began to scatter and flee as she took to the skies once more, her keen eyes spotting them even in the darkness. She continued her hit and run tactics, picking off small groups of disorganized monsters until those that remained had fled to the cottage on the edge of town.
Gilda landed just outside the cottage, retracting her wings as she scanned the scene. There was no one else around, pony or otherwise, but as far as she could tell there had been someone there recently. A sudden noise caused her to jerk to the side, raising her blade high only to find a stallion with three horseshoes on his flank. He stumbled about, hiccupping and belching at odd intervals.
After letting out an irritated sigh, the griffon sheathed her blade and walked over to the intoxicated colt. He suddenly looked up at her, eyes wide, the stench of liquor on his breath. “Can’t a colt take a piss w’out somepony watchin im?” He stumbled around a bit more, before collapsing on the ground sobbing. Gilda watched the tan stallion with pity in her eyes, and a bit of disgust when he relieved himself then and there.
She ignored him and began to look around. The small cottage seemed twisted, wrong, and undeniably evil. The thatched roof had sprouted long draconic looking spikes, and the ground looked burnt and diseased. The walls moved as though they were alive, and an ominous red glow emanated from within the place. She began to step forward and investigate when a pair of hoofed limbs wrapped around her waist.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! He’ll kill yeh, just like the rest!” There was a primal fear in the stallions voice, and he clutched her feathered body close to himself, as much to comfort himself as to keep her from entering. Gilda pulled him off, turning to face the pony.
“Calm down you drunken mule. Who are you talkin’ about, and why do you think he could beat me? Didn’t you see me whoop those monsters back there?”
The caramel colored stallion’s eyes were wide, and he began to tremble more than before. He wrapped his forelegs around his head, and began shouting like a madpony. “The cleaver! That Luna-damned cleaver! It,” He stumbled over his words, tears falling down his face as he spoke, “It killed everypony! I couldn’t do anything! I saw them! The bodies! They were all over me!” His babbling descended into incomprehensible babbling, and Gilda shrugged and turned back to the cottage.
A voice suddenly broke through the air, and the Griffon felt a cold shiver down her spine. The pony turned and ran away with his hind legs limping. The voice was low and guttural, a voice that struck fear into the hearts of anypony who heard it, as well as Gilda herself. It spoke only a few words, a few words that carried the kind of power that topples kings.
“Ahh, Fresh Meat!”
Gilda jumped to the side just in time to avoid the massive cleaver that was set to chop her in half. She turned as she drew her claymore, sizing up her new foe. The creature was twice as tall as she was, with two horns sticking out of the sides of its ape-like head. The cleaver it carried in one hand was twice the size of a normal axe, and had a strange, unnatural growth going up the flat of it. This was nothing Gilda had ever seen before, and she had to admit that she was scared.
She jumped into the air, her wings flapping to keep her out of the creatures range. It swung wildly, and each swing came dangerously close, most leaving small nicks and cuts on her body. She responded in kind, slashing at the creature with her blade, leaving long but shallow cuts on the demon. The two traded blows, neither giving their opponent an inch.
The monster finally got a lucky blow through as his cleaver sliced through one of Gilda’s wings, causing her to fall to the ground screaming. Her severed wing twitched a few times, and the beast towered over the fallen warrior, cackling evilly. He raised his cleaver high into the sky. As a last ditch effort, Gilda rammed her sword up at the beast, and his cackling stopped abruptly, replace by a grunt and a low gurgling noise.
The sword extended through the back of the creatures flabby neck, and reddish black ooze poured from its newly opened throat. It grunted and gasped as it brought the axe down for a final blow. Gilda twisted, her body still wracked with pain, and the cleaver smashed into the ground an inch from her beak. The creature collapsed backwards, and lay still. Slowly but surely, the griffon regained her footing.
She went to retrieve her sword, only to find it had snapped when the creature hit the ground, leaving her with a worthless hilt. Sighing, the griffon was prepared to trek back to town when she spotted the cleaver embedded in the ground. The metal seemed unnatural and evil, but circumstances had pointed to her dying horribly without a proper weapon.
With a bloody axe strapped across her back, the one-winged griffon returned back to town, content with the job she had done.
The butcher was dead.
Deep within the labyrinth that housed him, the dark one felt the life of one of his more powerful minions being snuffed. He found it strange, especially given that the Equestrians were not known for battle. The being stirred in the dark chamber that housed him, resting as his minions razed the land above.
He wasn’t upset about the loss of the butcher; if anything, he was simply annoyed. The butcher was an insane, bloodthirsty monster who loved nothing more than dismembering a fresh corpse. All in all, he was a perfect minion.
The dark one leaned forward, resting his clawed hands on his knees. He grew tired of waiting, both for his strength to return and for his minions to claim the town above. He was bored with sending soldiers one after another only to have them return empty-handed or not at all. But he was stuck, at least for now.
He thought back to the last time he was free, the last time he had been loosed upon the world. Discord had sought a tool, not a full fledge monster such as himself. He betrayed the mashed up vermin, and raised his armies of sin to fight for him. Even the Alicorns were powerless against him, with their King perishing most beautifully.
The King. An evil smile spread wide across the monster’s face, revealing long rows of dagger-like teeth. A sense of malicious cruelty filled him, and he channeled just a hint of his energy into a set of bones within his dark domain.
An act of benevolence, he thought, returning their king to them. Let them weep tears of joy at their old lord returning to them, and their beloved princesses bow before their father. Let them scream out in joy for the return, and the herald to a new age.
An age of terror.
“Ow! Watch it pal!” Gilda’s body jolted as the nurse cleaned the stump on her back. She had managed to reach Ponyville alive, fending off a handful of monsters that had followed her from the cottage. She now sat in a tree, bandages being placed on her wounds and a large red stallion and a cream colored filly with a ribbon measuring her and working with her armor and various bits of steel.
“Didja really kill that creature? Ah mean, Caramel’s been goin’ crazy ‘bout how it was sposed’ to have left the cottage.” She chatted incessantly, and even with the change of heart she had, Gilda was getting irritated.
“She hath definitely slain the demon from the pit.” The booming voice came from behind the wounded Gilda, and the filly and nurse bowed down. The stallion simply glanced over and gave a slight nod before returning to the metal he was working with. Gilda turned around to see a pair of Alicorns, the royal princesses. They were both covered in the marks of intense combat, especially in the elder of the two. “Thou hast accomplished an amazing feat in defeating the butcher.”
Gilda’s head twitched slightly. “The butcher? Hang on, you know that jerk’s name?” She stood up tall on her hind legs, and the nurse and filly both waved for her to stand down. “How do you know it’s name, huh?” Gilda was at eye-level with the younger princess, but neither princess seemed intimidated.
“The butcher is just one in the arsenal of the demon who dwells beneath Ponyville. We fought him once before.” At the statement of the princess of the Sun, the red stallion turned around and his ears perked up.
“Y’all fought these things before?”
“We fought alongside the greatest heroes of the Alicorns, amongst them our dear father the king.” Luna’s voice boomed out, enhancing the tense atmosphere. “The butcher claimed the lives of many a good pony.” There was sadness deep in her eyes, as though she was trapped in a sorrowful memory. “When the dark war ended, my sister and I banished him and his horrid master.”
“Hey! Are you telling me you know what’s going on here?” Gilda shouted, much to the shock and horror of the nurse and the filly. “What else do you know? Huh? Do you know where these things came from?”
“Ah’d be int’rested t’know why y’know so much s’well.” The shock on the mare’s faces doubled as the muscled stallion approached the princesses. “Especially since mah sister an’ half the dern town got taken by them beasties.” There was a fire in his eyes, and his voice gave a tone of accusation.
The princesses shared a glance, and then turned back to their audience. Celestia stepped forward, her expression deep and solemn. “It was millennia ago, during the time of Discord. He summoned and created many creatures to create chaos through the land, and every time the Equestrians responded with our powers of harmony.
“Unfortunately, his powers were too strong. We lost much land, and we teetered on the edge of destruction. At that time, we created the Elements of Harmony to fight back the chaos. And it worked, for a time. Discord began to lose the battle, and in desperation he created a portal to another plane of existence.”
A dark scowl crossed the princess’s face. “In his foolish desire for chaos, Discord unleashed a monster from the deepest pits of evil. A devil, a creature born from purest evil.
“A being known as Diablo, the Lord of Terror.” The princess lowered her head and gave a fatigued sigh. “He unleashed thousands of his minions upon the land, and Discord saw the error of calling on such a being. He aided us, and together we destroyed Diablo’s body and banished his soul beneath the earth. But now…” she stopped, darkness over her face.
Luna stood tall and continued for her sister. “It seems that Diablo hath returned, using the Elements to restore his power. Even now, his power doth grow, and the land itself twists for his dark presence.” She rested a hoof on Gilda’s shoulder. “Noble griffon, you hath slain one of Diablo’s darkest monsters and proven yourself to be a warrior of great skill and power. We ask of you, please aid us in destroying this monster once again.”
Gilda was silent for a moment, and then she looked up at the princesses. “You have got to be shitting me.” The princesses, despite their age and experience in languages, looked a bit shocked at the griffon’s profanity. Their chance to respond was interrupted by a scream from outside the house. The princesses charged out, and Gilda rose, going to her newfound weapon.
“Hold on there missy.” Gilda stopped and turned to find the stallion nudging a pile of armor towards her. “Y’all need some armor iff’n yer gonna be fightin’ s’more.” Gilda lifted it up, inspecting the steel. It was well made, expertly crafted. She quickly put it on, pulling the chain shirt on and tightening the straps for the breast plate and shoulder guards. With a quick nod she charged out of the house and into the street.
A guard lay still upon the ground, at least for a moment. Just a foot past him stood an Alicorn, or at least it had been an Alicorn. Its body was bare of any flesh or muscles, simply a skeleton with elegant, if ancient, barding upon it. The skeletons horn glowed, and the deceased guard rose slowly.
“The warmth of life remains above my master’s crypt.” The creature rose up high and brought its hooves down upon the ground, cracking the stone beneath. “Prepare yourselves to serve him for eternity in death.” He charged forward, horn and hooves at the ready. The princesses were stone still, eyes wide in fear. Luna had even begun to cry at sight of the bones.
Gilda didn’t care about this fact, instead swinging the large axe at the creature. It missed the monster itself, but the evil weapon ripped through the barding over its front. For a moment she simply starred in awe at the damage the axe inflicted, and then she leapt back to avoid the creature’s horn. Their battle resumed the pair trading blows. The Butcher’s cleaver ripped through the creature’s armor, and Gilda’s newly improved armor stopped every blow.
The real threat came from the corpses the alicorn raised from the dirt. Their teeth and hooves lashed out, distracting the griffon and leaving her open for other attacks. Every time she struck one down, the skeleton would simply resurrect it to keep fighting. She chopped and chopped, severing zombified limbs and breaking bones until she stood knee deep in her disassembled enemies.
The princesses were still struck still, but the remaining guards had formed up and readied their weapons. Only two warriors remained, Gilda and the Skeleton Alicorn. It charged again with its horn ready. Gilda braced herself, the axe resting on the ground. As the creature of bone reached her, she swung the dark weapon in a wide ark that ended with a resounding crack as the skull shattered.
The bones clattered to the ground, the evil energy controlling them dispelled at last. Gilda stood still, panting from exhaustion and drenched in sweat. The two princesses trotted up to the bones, pushing through the shattered bits to grab a dull golden crown. The stared at it with sorrow in their eyes, and Gilda felt a hint of sadness in watching them.
The years had allowed her to look beyond her perspective, and in an instant she could see the connection between the bones and the mares of the sun and moon. She knelt down, resting her weapon and clasping her talons together. “Rest now, long forgotten king. I shall avenge you.” The princesses looked at the griffon, both surprised and grateful for the warrior’s courtesy.
The sun began to rise over the distant hilltops, and Gilda allowed herself to rest for the first time since coming to town.
Hellfire and damnation! The lord of terror roared loudly as he felt the skeleton king perish. He had not expected his soldier to fail, especially with all the corpses in the town. For such a minion to fail…
Briefly Diablo pondered sending another of his elites, another warrior to face the creature that would dare to threaten his reign, but he dismissed the idea. He remembered that other world, the world he was from before, and how he sent his legions to stop the heroes that emerged from under his rule.
He would not make the same mistake this time. He rose from his throne of twisted metal and bones, his feet shaking the ground beneath him. There was no time to delay, no time to give his enemies quarter. He was strong enough to fight them himself, and their great weapons, the Elements of Harmony, now fueled his power and his hatred.
Deep within the darkness, an army began to move. They would claim Ponyville, and then continue on, destroying all who would oppose them. He would scorch the very world beneath him, burn it to cinders in his own name.
Diablo began to march up the corridors of his domain, his soldiers following close behind him. There would be no survivors, no saviors. Only evil.
Only Terror.
Celestia and her sister sat across from their one-winged warrior inside the Ponyville Library. She had magically healed her wounds, though the unnatural nature of the cleaver that removed her wing prevented it from being restored. With that over with, the three had decided to discuss the coming battle against Diablo.
“So Lemmie get this straight,” Gilda said in her typical blunt manner, “Even if we chop him to tiny bits, we still freakin’ can’t kill him?”
“Not necessarily.” Celestia’s voice had returned to its calm and gentle tone, and her eyes had regained a sort of gentleness to them. “Diablo’s physical body can be killed and destroyed, but his soul remains within the soulstone within him. With the stone, he can be resurrected with time.”
Gilda leaned in, taking a bite from an apple left by Big Macintosh. “So, can’t we just drop the stone in a volcano, or some junk like that?”
Celestia sighed. Luna spoke, her voice booming. “After the dark war, we attempted to do such. The crystal proved indestructible to the powers of harmony and chaos alike.”
“To leave the crystal alone would cause the world around it to rot and decay. In the end, we worked with Discord to seal the evil within the earth.” Celestia looked Gilda in the eyes, her own expression matching the serious one on the griffon. “As far as we could tell, the only real solutions would be to seal the crystal within the earth,”
“Because that worked so well last time.”
The princess ignored the comment, heaviness in her gut. “Or to imprison him within the body of one willing to fight him.” She paused, her guts knotted up inside her. Gilda was silent as well, contemplating the words spoken. She finally looked up, fear and understanding in her eyes.
“So you’re sayin’ that there’s no real way to kill him, just keep him controlled.”
“I’m afraid so. We have yet to devise a way to truly defeat or banish Diablo, and Discord was the only one who knew how to open the portal. We worked on a permanent solution for centuries after we defeated him, but after time it seemed the threat was gone forever.” Celestia’s voice wandered off, and her gaze went to the side. Luna and Gilda were just as quiet, and a strange silence overcame the treehouse.
After several slow passing minutes Gilda looked up, her gaze focused. “So. How we gonna do this?”
The few remaining townsfolk and guards worked together, setting up traps and fortifications to stop the demons. Over the next few days more and more of the creatures came. Reinforcements from Canterlot arrived, and they began forging plans to slay Diablo and his minions. Gilda fought upon the front lines with the princesses, the demonic cleaver carving through the forces of evil. The ponies worked defensively, stopping the demons from advancing past the perimeter of the cottage, but staying far from the actual battle.
Gilda grew stronger, each night of battle growing her physique and endurance. Even as the monsters grew stronger she kept fighting. She sought to protect the town and the ponies within, and to vanquish the monsters that rose from the earth. But more than that, she fought to free Rainbow Dash. She had promised herself to apologize to the pegasi, and skies be damned if those beasts had killed her.
The monsters grew more powerful, more aggressive, and even harder to destroy. One harsh battle brought a demon that strode upon two legs, covered head to toe in blood red armor. He called himself the warlord of blood, and he fought with the ferocity of an enraged Ursa Major, and before his defeat he was able to wound Celestia badly. She was removed from the fight, forced to recover while Luna worked with Gilda to defeat Diablo’s forces.
That was when he came. His minions scattered and ran towards the barricades, traps and defenses killing many of them before they could fight, but behind them, in a burst of fire and brimstone came Diablo himself. He stood at twice the height of Princess Celestia, red muscled body covered in spikes and scales. Upon his head was a twisted golden crown, mounted around a blood red gem set between his eyes.
“Wow.” Gilda stared at the colossus before her, a shiver passing down her spine. She readied her weapon and began to advance, a slight pause in her steps. Luna’s horn glowed bright as she lashed out at the demon, bolts of magic striking him solidly. He turned to the princess of the moon, an evil look on his demonic face. He raised his arm, fire swirling about the outstretched limb. Luna’s eyes went wide as her wings flapped, her entire body making a desperate effort to dodge the oncoming threat.
Fire roared from the ground, scorching the princess and turning the ground to blackened soot. Luna fell from the sky screaming, her fur charred and one wing burnt to a crisp. Gilda shuddered at the sight of the wounded princess, and turned back to the enemy. Diablo tossed another arm up, burning a path towards the griffon. A quick leap allowed her to narrowly avoid the flames, but she gave a slight shriek as the fire scorched her good wing.
She swung the cleaver at the lord of terror, a shock running up her arms as it impacted. Blood as hot as fire splattered across her exposed arms and face, and she winced slightly as it dripped near her eyes. A clawed hand smacked into Gilda, restoring her powers of flight for a few seconds. She smacking into the ground and pulled herself up slowly, the taste of iron within her mouth and red warmth leaking from her beak. The ground began to crack, and bright orange lines of light emerged from below.
The griffon rolled over, just barely dodging a burst of flame. An evil cackle came from behind, and she spotted Diablo standing over her. She jumped to her feet, dodging another clawed attack that zoomed inches from her face. She brought the cleaver down again, and it struck between his ribs. Another burst of blood splashed upon her, and she felt a large hand grip her by the neck.
She began to gasp for air as her feet left the ground, and she found herself looking into the eyes of the devil. The butcher’s cleaver clattered on the ground beneath her as her vision began to blur. Diablo opened his mouth wide, his breath smelling like burnt carcasses. Grasping for any possible chances for survival, she reached out with her talons, raking across the inside of his mouth.
The lord of terror roared and chomped down on the griffon’s arm. His claws released his prisoner, and Gilda screamed as she hit the ground. Diablo raised a giant foot high and brought it down on the collapsed griffon. No screams emerged this time, instead the wounded warrior whimpered as her ribs cracked from the pressure. The dark one pulled his foot off, leering down with razor sharp fangs. He raised his arm once more for the final blow.
Gilda was weak, exhausted. Her arm was tattered and bloody, tears pouring from her eyes. She clawed around, trying to find something to defend herself, her good arm grasping a weapon’s handle tightly. She swung upwards at her attacker in a final desperate strike.
From the battlements of Ponyville, Celestia watched the battle unfold. The champion of Equestria had fallen, with Diablo standing tall above her. His armies were shattered, but he himself was more than a match for any of his soldiers, and even alone would bring about an age of devastation.
As he brought down the final blow, Gilda lashed out with a final blow of the butcher’s cleaver. Claws struck steel, and the cleaver crossed the devil’s chest. For a moment the world fell silent. And then the lord of terror recoiled, and blood began to spray from his chest. He roared as he stumbled back, and fell. In Celestia’s eyes he fell for an eternity, before he struck the ground. The ponies nearby began to shout out cheers of joy and victory, and the princess leapt forward to the battlefield.
Luna had taken to her hooves again, wincing with every step. The two approached the fallen champion, worry obvious on their faces. Gilda slowly rose to her feet, covered in blood, burns and bruises, and turned to Diablo. Silently she crept forward, axe in hand. She wedged it into the dark ones evil crown, pulling out the red stone. As it came out, the body began to harden and crack, dissolving into dust. Just beneath the dust were six ponies, unconscious and emaciated five wearing elegant necklaces, and one with a tiara that bore a crystal in the shape of a star.
Gilda walked over to one of them, a light blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane, and sat by her side. The princesses followed with concern in their eyes.
“They’ll be alright, yeah? They’ll be back on their feet in no time, right?” Gilda’s voice showed signs of sympathy and worry for the ponies on the ground around her.
“With time, we believe they shall recover completely. The land itself will heal as well, and as the years past we believe this land will return to its former glory.”
Gilda’s face was still down, and she winced slightly as she ran her wounded talon through Dash’s mane. Her childhood friend Rainbow Dash. The griffon’s eyes went down to the soulstone, the relic of the evil monster responsible for everything.
“They won’t get better while this is around, right?” She tossed the heavy crystal in her hand, feeling the weight. “This damn crystal.”
“We could attempt to seal it again, but we would need to keep it far from here.” Celestia tried to judge Gilda’s thoughts and decipher her thinking, but was met with a face bare of emotion.
“You said it could be sealed in a body. Contained, right?”
The two sisters looked upon the griffon, confusion on their faces for a moment. But as the conclusion came to them, their eyes went wide.
In a single motion, Gilda drove the crystal into her own head.
As the sun rose over the horizon, a loud scream echoed through Equestria.
“In hindsight, I should’ve asked if I could just keep the soulstone on me. It burned as it entered my skull, and my vision turned red. I got blood in my eyes, and I started to hear voices in the back of my mind, angry, tortured voices. I guess I just did what seemed necessary. Diablo is wasted, trapped within me.
Occasionally I wonder if I’m strong enough to contain the monster, keep him from causing anymore trouble. Sometimes I can feel the evil crawling through me, prying deep inside me and my soul.
In order to keep everyone safe in case of things going bad, I’m leaving Equestria. The princesses said they would work to find a way to finally banish or destroy Diablo once and for all, and that if they found something they would track me down immediately. But for now, I’m heading east, to the ancient homeland of the Equestrians, a barren land devoid of anything but the baddest, toughest creatures.
I figure I’ll fit in pretty well.
A couple months have already passed since I left Ponyville. I’ve tried my best to get over the horrors I saw, the monsters I faced. Let’s face it, those things were horrible. Not even griffon mythology has things like that. I don’t sleep that often these days, with horrible nightmares whenever I lay down to rest. I’m on the road to a place that was left barren from hatred, and as I go, it feels more and more like the good parts of me are getting left behind.
Despite these bad feelings, I’m still pretty hopeful for the future. Before I left, I asked the princesses to give Rainbow Dash a message. A real simple one, only a few words.
‘I’m sorry Dash. Stay cool till I see you again.’
The wagon’s stopping now, and the pony in front’s telling me that I’ll be traveling on foot from here. I guess that’s it. Ciao everyone.”
-Gilda’s Journal, Final Entry
