Equestrian Souls: Fires of War

EQUESTRAIN SOULS

Chapter Sixteen: Hero’s Ending

Written by TheCrimsonDM

I had waited in that cold room for a long time trying to find my confidence to go out and find my friends. I just wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t give in…not yet. Eventually I found the strength to push myself up and walk towards the door. I opened it with my magic, casting an orange glow over the room around me as I walked out.

The hall was long and lead in two different directions, last time I went left and found a black knight, this time I went right. I continued walking through the quiet corridors for what felt like forever until I finally began hearing some noises. I quickened my pace.

I came across a large open room filled with large cages, most of them were broken open from the inside. It looked like you could fit dozens of ponies inside each one of these cages. I walked between the cages carefully, this room was giving me the creeps.

Around the corner I stopped as I saw something strange. Moon Shadow was standing completely still, amongst a crowd of hollows. The hollows didn’t even turn to face him, it was almost as though they had no idea he was even there. I waved my hoof and got his attention and he walked over to me.

Moon Shadow’s eyes were glowing a soft yellow in this dark room, and he looked upset. I lead him away and asked, “What was that all about?”

“I…I don’t know. Why didn’t they attack me?” he asked, his voice full of worry.

I wished I had an answer for his question, but sadly I didn’t. We walked on in silence after that, these halls were dark, but Moon Shadow had no trouble seeing, and thanks to my magic aura, neither did I. We came across another set of halls that lead to another set of large rooms full of cages. We found some stairs leading to an elevated platform and we jumped from the platform on to the top of a cage and rested there for awhile. This place was quiet, and dark, but it felt a little safer than the other places had.

***

“What do you mean there are no more alters here?” I asked, I tried my best to keep fear out of my voice, I hoped I succeeded.

Myst sat in front of us shaking her head, Storm Feather was sharpening his axe blade, and Rainfall was at the edge of the cage and watching the darkness intently. They had showed up only a few minutes after me and Moon Shadow had arrived, thankfully they looked unharmed, but they came with grave news about our situation.

“We haven’t seen any other alters in here, but we did find the exit,” Myst explained.

I tried my best to not show my fear, for without an altar our flasks would not refill. Storm Feather finally finished with his axe and joined me, he wrapped a warm wing around me snuggly. I felt my face getting hot as I leaned into his shoulder. I hated how his platemail kept us from feeling one another, even though I understood it protected him.

“So what’s the exit look like?” I asked.

Myst stared at Storm Feather, her eyes narrowed. She silently watched us, her teeth bared and she snorted. I could feel the tension in the air being drawn tight, I needed to relax the tension a bit.

I stomped my hoof down hard, Myst suddenly looked at me and shook her head. She finally replied, “There’s snow out there, we’re entering northern Equestria, where the windigo’s took over. I’m not sure what is waiting for us.”

I was about to pull away from Storm Feather but stopped as he leaned in and kissed me. I felt his hot tongue slip in and for a brief moment our tongues met and danced around one another. When he pulled away, I smiled like a goofball. I really did love him.

“I will protect you, no matter what sort of demon tries to get at us,” Storm Feather said bravely.

I pulled away successfully this time. I ignored Myst’s glare as I trotted to Rainfall’s side. The exit was just beyond our reach. I looked at her and asked, “What’s waiting for us?”

“I don’t know, but if I had to guess, it’s the demon. I just know that something is waiting for us, there is no way we can get out of here without a fight,” She replied.

I nodded. Then I looked at the others and explained, “It’s time for us to leave, we need to hurry. The black knight is here somewhere and I really don’t relish the idea of encountering him.”

The others agreed and together the five of us trotted off. We were going to escape this place, and then we would be free. We climbed off of the cages and walked with Rainfall in the lead, next to Myst. Myst however couldn’t stop looking back at Storm Feather, something in her eyes, the way she held intense anger and rage in them, reminded me of what Masqurade had once said about her. He had warned me not to let her join me on my quest, so far she has proven to be trouble, she was just a girl who needed a mom…

We eventually found another hallway, walked through it and up some stairs. When the light at the end of the staircase first shone, I felt my heart race. Daylight. I’d missed it so very much, but now we were about to escape, and I was more excited than ever before. We hurried up the stairs, and through the door, and onto the snow covered ground.

We stood on a ruined corpse of a building, the walls had fallen so very long ago, the roof didn’t exist, and the ground was cracked and broken. The mountain went down and headed straight north, but a dense layer of cloud prevented me from seeing how far it went or where it lead too.

I trotted out towards the mountain, my body was surprisingly warm with this blue shirt on. An iron bolt whistled through the air before slamming into the snow just a few feet in front of me. I stopped, looked up to the top of a ruined wall and cringed. There were several characters that I had not expected to see there.

Copper Axe, stood next to a pegasus with gray fur, and a black and white stripped mane. The hopped off the wall, their hooves crunching in the snow as they did. The pegasus held the crossbow in her forelegs, and took flight a few feet in the air. A third pony appeared at the top of the wall, he stood on his hind legs, his red robes were trimmed with gold billowed in the chilling winds, a silver crown sat upon his dark brown mane.

I stumbled forward, my mind went blank and I felt my body shaking. “Reed?” I called out, confusion filled my brain.

Reed smiled jumped down in-between his comrades and smiled. “So after all this time, after I nearly killed you and burned down your tavern, you still hold love for me in your heart?”

I stopped.

“Or is it because you have amnesia?” Reed asked?

I shook my head. “Wait, what?”

“You don’t even know why you got rid of your memories in the first place now do you?”

I looked back at my friends, Rainfall looked worried, Storm Feather was shocked, Moon Shadow simply growled, and Myst smiled. This was a disaster.

“What happened? Didn’t we used to love each other?” I asked kindly.

Reed let out a sigh. “Yeah, we did. It was great for awhile, you had your weapons, and your fights. I ruled my kingdom of silver, it was beautiful. It wasn’t until I decided to take on Princess Twilight that you got upset, I guess you were always just a student to her, and you never really got past that.”

“What the hay are you talking about?” I demanded.

“I am at war with your old teacher, and you didn’t like that. So what you betrayed me and defected to her side. I don’t even know how many years ago that was. But it still burns me,” Anger crossed not his eyes, and they changed color becoming black. “So I struck you down, burned your inn and you defeated me. I captured you later, and locked you up here, but I suppose that doesn’t really matter to you now does it?”

I hated it, I hated every single word of it. I loathed the things he was saying with every fiber of my being, I was disgusted by the mere thought of it, and I was mortified by the truth that I knew he spoke. I could vaguely remember what he was saying, I knew that it was true. Moon Shadow, Princess Twilight, and even Masquerade had known, but they had all lied to me.

It was clear that I wiped my own memories, in part to make sure he could never read my mind, and in part to make it possible for me to do what needed to be done. I needed to kill my old love, because if I didn’t , he would lash out and destroy the best chance of survival this world has left.

I looked hard into those black eyes, and was reminded that he was no longer there. He had become changed when we went to the Gray’s. it was like something else had taken over, and the stallion I once knew was gone. But what was it? What had possessed him so? And finally why did it do this? Those questions were just the tip of the iceberg, but I wasn’t sure that I’d ever receive the answers that I wanted. I wasn’t even sure we would survive this conflict.

Reed looked over to the pegasus. “Blackout, you remember the plan.”

“Yes, I do. And I’m finally going to show this brat whose the real top dog,” She replied coldly. “Guess some things never change, huh stretch?”

The nickname filled me with both anger, and sorrow. Stretch had been her nickname for me, I remembered that now. I think we used to be friends… well sort of. but now she’d chosen her side and I’d chosen mine. This was going to end, now.

Blackout launched a bolt free from her crossbow, it flew towards me but I whipped out my sword and deflected it. Normal ponies would not be able to block such attacks, but I was not normal, I was the perfect soldier.

I charged forward, my head low, my broad sword drawn. Rainfall unleashed several arrows at Blackout, but the pegasus flew away, Rainfall gave chase. Moon Shadow followed me, as well as Storm Feather, and we charged into Reed and Copper Axe. Copper Axe took on Storm Feather and Moon Shadow, leaving me to fight Reed.

He fought on his hind legs, and I stood to match him. My heart raced as the battle drew on, I would swing my sword and Reed would dodge with practiced ease. It almost felt like sparring with an old friend. He would lunge forward with a kick, and I would dodge his attack. It felt like we were evenly matched.

“You don’t understand why I can’t let you escape, do you?” He asked as I stepped forward.

“No!” I replied, swinging my heavy blade down.

He flipped into the air, missing my blade, and then he kicked my sword so hard that it was knocked away from my telekinetic grasp. He landed, and smiled. “You are one of the four, just like me. I am the Conqueror, it is my job to rule everything. You are war, and the only reason you fight me is because I would otherwise stop all fighting. You can’t have peace now can you?”

I charged, pulled my hammer free and slammed it across Reed’s chest. He hadn’t expected my hammer blow to be so utterly fast, but I was pissed. “Twilight was like a second mother to me, you could never understand that could you?” My mouth worked before my brain and I added, “Because you never had a family!”

He landed on his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. He pulled free a healing flask and drank greedily from it before tossing it into the snow. He wiped the blood from his lips and scowled. “I was a slave you dumb slut. I never got to meet my parents, chances are they died after I was born.”

He stepped forward, and moved so quickly that I could barely keep up with my eyes. Fear gripped my heart with icy talons as his hoof smashed into my face, then his rear leg swung up and caught me in the gut. I kneeled over, all the air washed out of my body and I struggled for air, another hoof came up and smacked into the head knocking me into the air. I landed with a hard thud in the cold snow.

My entire body ached, I could feel my broken ribs, and fire raced across my head. I rolled over, and coughed a few times. Blood came out. Breathing was hard to do, and blackness filled the edges of my vision. I reached out and grabbed at my flask, I brought it to my lips and drank.

My vision repaired, my bones righted themselves, and my pain vanished. I stood up on all fours and let out a dangerous growl. My hammer was in the snow, but I couldn’t rely on it to win now.

My horn lit up and I channeled magic through it. Three balls of fire were summoned forth and I tossed them all at Reed, he dodged, and leapt, and flipped out of the way of them and their explosions. Magic was clearly not going to work either, that left me with very little. He charged at me.

I looked down to my side, the Trickster Blade. It was still there, but what could I do with it? Well it was my last shot.

I pulled it free, and it held a faint glow to it. I smiled, and swung at Reed, he jumped back but a line of blue energy danced across the snow covered battle field and struck him. For a moment he stood still, his eyes wide, and his breathing rapid. There was clearly no damage done to him, and the second he realized this he grinned.

“Your last trick didn’t work, now did it,” he replied.

He took a step forward and I stepped back. Slowly he advanced, murder clear in his eyes, I knew that this was it. Suddenly the ground beneath him glowed with a blue light. He looked down, and his eyes grew impossibly wide. “The Trickster Blade, the sword of bad luck and ill omens… you re-forged it…” he looked up at me and smiled, his eyes relaxed. “Well played, Amber. I should have taken you more seriously. But it looks like King Silver’s reign has come to an abrupt and unfortunate end.”

The ground gave way beneath him, and two giant hands, reached out. The clasped around Reed’s body and he screamed, as he was dragged down into the pit beneath. I took a few nervous steps forward, and saw both of the demons standing down there. They were smashing the ground with their hands with so much effort that all I could was a cloud of dust, and their crimson stained hands. I looked away.

It was over. Reed, also known as King Silver was dead. I looked to my friends and frowned. Rainfall had returned, her left wing had a giant tear in it, and she was holding down Myst, while Myst screamed and laughed, her eyes were wide and her pupils were small. I looked around and saw Moon Shadow with a spear stuck through his chest, he was sitting in the corner, prodding it nervously. Where was Storm Feather?

I charged and slid to a stop in front of where I had seen Storm Feather fighting before. I looked desperately to Rainfall, she was had her eyes narrowed, the veins on her forehead and neck stood out as she held Myst down.

“What happened?” I asked Rainfall.

“I got back after that bitch took my wing out, I dropped her down a Cliffside. Myst was stabbing a spear repeatedly into Moon Shadow’s chest. She was laughing like a mad mare and Storm Feather is gone,” Rainfall replied.

I trotted over to Moon Shadow. He looked down at the spear, and then up at me, there were so many holes filling his chest and stomach that I couldn’t imagine how he was still breathing… he wasn’t breathing. His lungs were smashed, but yet he was still moving, looking around and moving.

“Amber,” he said, his voice was harsh and raspy. “I think something’s wrong…”

I grimaced. I didn’t know what to do, I mean what could I do. He clearly wasn’t going to die, but his body was a mangled mess. I grabbed the spear with my magic and I yanked it hard, it was stuck fast, I had to had my teeth and my magic before it pulled free with a disgusting crunch.

I looked over at Moon Shadow, and his eyes were glowing yellow. Slowly he stood up, and looked around. “I don’t feel anything. I’m hurt, but I can’t feel it.”

“No,” I replied sadly. I knew what he was now, and why the hollows didn’t attack him earlier. “You’re not hurt, you’re dead.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. I think I’ve been dead for a few years now that I think about it… it’s strange, I’m not scared, or sad… I’m actually relieved to know.”

I looked back at Myst and growled. “Where the Tartarus is Storm Feather?”

She stopped laughing, cocked her head to the side and grinned. “I think I killed him.”

I sat down, hard. Storm Feather couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t be. He was around here somewhere, I just knew it. I looked around desperately but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I began screaming out his name, but I couldn’t find him. Eventually I also realized that Copper Axe was missing, but I don’t know where he was either.

After awhile we let Myst go, she giggled consistently, but she didn’t try and attack us so we left her to do whatever she wanted. She followed us, and I made sure that we all had our eyes on her while we moved, just in case she tried something. I couldn’t believe that she had killed Storm Feather, I just couldn’t.

Evenatually we found him, and I really wished that we hadn’t. He lay across some rocks, his wings were matted red, and a row of daggers were placed firmly in is back and around his neck. Copper Axe lay near him, his legs were bent in the wrong direction, and Storm Feather’s battle axe was stuck firmly in his back.

“See,” Myst said. “I told you that I thought I killed him.”

***

I couldn’t think, I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t feel. For awhile I just stood there, until Moon Shadow nudged me. We tied Myst up, and I dug a grave for Storm Feather in the snow and earth. We buried him, and after we were done we found some shelter. It was dangerous here, so close to the asylum ruins but there wasn’t anywhere else to go, and a snow storm was brewing.

“We have to travel back down by hoof,” Rainfall said. “That means a long trek to the north, and another long one back to the south. It’s going to be harsh.”

I stared at the fire that I had started from some broken chair pieces.

“There will be windigos, undead, frozen horrors, and if we’re terribly unlucky, we will have bat ponies,” Rainfall explained.

The silence was deafening. The only sounds we had were the gagged noises that Myst was making, and then Rainfall’s attempt at speaking, and finally the crackling fire. But I refused to speak. The one person who had been there for me since the beginning of my journey, the one who had kept me safe, saved my life, and loved me… he was dead. He was dead and there was nothing I could do about it.

I hated Reed, for becoming a monster, I hated Twilight for not telling me the truth, and I hated myself for not being better. Most of all I hated Myst, she was crazy, insane, and she killed the one person that I loved more that anything in the whole world. I hated her.

At the very least she was calming down, I couldn’t hear her any more. That was nice. Moon Shadow looked at me, and his eyes widened. I wondered what was wrong with him at first, and then I realized, Myst was far too quiet.

I spun around, saw the flash of steel bearing down at me, and I rolled out of the way. Myst was standing there, she had taken my hammer and swung it down at me. She was trying to kill me with the very weapon that Storm Feather had given me. She just signed her own death warrant.

I lashed out with my magic, drew my broad sword and swung at her. Fire raced down my veins as she blocked with the hammer. She wasn’t strong enough to stop me though, and I knocked the weapon away from her. She back peddled and I stepped forward. Her eyes grew wide, fearful, and I grinned.

“No, wait. I just wanted you to love me,” She said, her tone was pleading.

“And that’s why you killed my lover and tried to kill me?” I spat enraged.

“Yes!” She cried.

I had enough of her insanity. I had given her a final shot at living. I had tied her up instead of ending her after what she did, but now I didn’t care about morality, or justice, all I wanted was to make sure she paid.

I heard Moon Shadow’s horse voice as he shouted at me, and Rainfall joined in, I think they were telling me to stop. I don’t really know, because in that moment I swung my sword down into Myst’s neck as hard as I possibly could. She coughed up blood as the sword got stuck halfway through, so I grabbed my hammer, and swung at her skull sideways. When I heard the sound of bone snapping, and flesh tearing I knew that I had succeeded. Her head went flying to the side and her body dropped.

I grabbed her twitching corpse with my magic, and her head, and I tossed both of them out of the door of the small room we were occupying. Then I closed the door, returned to the fire and stared into the flickering flames. Nopony made a sound after that.

I vowed to myself that night, that I would never allow such a thing to happen again. That I would never allow my followers to betray me, and the rest of us so horribly that it ended up in misery for the whole group. It was that night that I learned the most important lesion of them all, the one that Reed had learned the hard way, that treachery can only be paid for in blood.

***

Six months later. I was at my newly renovated tavern, the name was changed to Storm Front, in part to remember my love. My belly had gotten rather big since then, and all I could do was smile as I looked rubbed it.

“Shh, it’s okay Stormy. Mama’s going to get some food,” I whispered at my unborn baby. I wanted cake, and he wanted ketchup, so we compromised. When Moon Shadow came out with a piece of cake with ketchup on it, I grinned hungrily.

He set the plate down and smiled at me. He was breathing again, but we discovered that his breathing was only an old habit, if he wanted to, he could stop breathing and nothing would happen… well until he tried to speak. He still needed air to speak.

“How are you two doing tonight,” he asked.

I smiled. “We’re hungry.” I took a huge bite of the cake, and it was like heaven descended into my mouth. He cringed in disgust as he watched me eating. If my eating habits could disgust an undead assassin, than I felt like I should have won some kind of prize.

“Six months,” I said as I finished the bite. “Now Twilight is gearing up to wipe out what’s left of Silver’s kingdom, and she wants me to lead the charge.”

“The battle won’t actually start for at least a year,” Moon Shadow said. “If you don’t want to help Twilight, if you just want to stay at home and relax. She’ll understand.”

I shook my head. “No, I need to do this. This war was something I could’ve stopped a long time ago, but I didn’t have the courage. I’ll stop it this time.”

“Have you given any thought to what Reed said about you being the pony of war?” Moon Shadow asked.

“Of course I have, but I suppose I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about. I mean, the dead have risen, demons have virtually vanished, and now there’s going to be a war between ponies for the first time in… well as far as I know that’s never happened,” I said. “Well not in Equestria’s history at least.”

Moon Shadow shook his head. “We found pestilence, and conquest. Now we just need to find death, because clearly he is not doing his job.”

I nodded and took another bite of cake. “Maybe he can tell us how to stop the undead, because honestly when the war starts, I’d rather not have the other teams soldiers getting back up and killing us.”

“I know it’s been hard on you two,” He offered. “But I’m here, as always to keep you safe.”

I smiled at him. He had sworn his fealty to me a long time ago, and since then he’s proven to be my best and closest friend.

Even Rainfall hasn’t gotten back in touch with me for a while. She went to go and get help from the Rainbow cult but failed, after that she’d only spoken to me once or twice. Her guilt over that might have prevented her from talking to me freely.

I really hoped not, because I don’t blame her for her failure, I blame Lord Rainbow for not listening to her and aiding me on my request. One day I’ll make Lord Rainbow bow to me, he could spur me now, but he will live to regret that mistake of his.

I looked back at my plate, it was almost gone already, and I was still hungry. “Moon Shadow, do you mind getting me another plate?”

He smiled. “Of course not.”

As he trotted off I added, “And add pickles this time.”

His face distorted as though he had just digested something sour. But he continued onward to the kitchen, only saying, “If you want.”

THE END