Chapters Sabre the Elemental Book 1: The Beginning
Prologue- It All Started Peaceful...
Sabre sat atop the roof on his chambers in the castle keep of Atlas, watching as the sun and moon exchanged spots in the sky. He felt the warmth of the day's sunset leave with the sun and the cold evening breeze took its spot as the moon crawled out from the hiding spot on the opposite end of the horizon. He looked up and tried to see the evening sky but a sheet of clouds blocked him from his goal. He shivered slightly as he felt a snowflake touch and melt on his skin. His first instinct was to head inside to escape from the cold but he shooed the thought away. He always enjoyed the winter's first snowfall.
After a few more cold seconds of staring at the season's first snowflakes, Sabre decided to head back into his room. With a small flutter of his wings, to avoid any sprains or broken bones, he smoothly landed on the balcony that overlooked the town. He looked at the candlelit streets and homes and knew that this is the most peaceful that Atlas will ever be at any point in time. He looked away and trained his eyes on the fields just beyond. His thirst for adventure could take no more. He needed to escape before- "Sabre?" a voice wondered from the other side of his bedroom door. "Are you still up?"
"Unlocked." he sighed without looking away. His mother, Princess Emerald, stepped through and shut the door behind her. But she wasn't empty handed. In her magic's grasp were an assortment of things. A blade wrapped in a midnight black rode and a book with a ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz, and diamond engraved on the cover. Sabre averted his eyes from the land below and watched as his mother sat on his bed, the items drifted down onto the mattress soon after. "There's no escaping this, is there?" he assumed as he walked in. He didn't realize how cold it was until he stepped in, the warm air sending goosebumps across his body.
"I'm afraid not." his mother chuckled with the shake of the head and a smile.
"What are these?" Sabre wondered as he joined his mother's spot on the bed.
"What you'll need for the road ahead." Sabre's mind swam in confusion. What did his mother mean? Where is this conversation going? His eyes drifted and fell upon the wrapped weapon. He cautiously grabbed it and took the robe off.
Inside was an onyx black shortsword inside it's sheath. But the hilt was another thing. Though the same metal, on it were an assortment of gemstones. Rubies, topazes, emeralds, diamonds, to name a few. His eyes trailed up the weapon and caught sight of a dragon's head at the base of the hilt where it touches the sheath. He stood and took no hesitation in drawing the weapon. He couldn't believe how light it was for a shortsword. "What......is this?" he wondered as his eyes darted up and down the crimson blade.
With a small giggle, his mother replied. "You know what it is already." Sabre thought hard to identify the blade. His mind clicked when he saw a small gem in the dragon's eye that swam with colors.
"This is......the Elemental Blade..." he summed up with the drop of his mouth. "But I thought-"
"That only the Elementals could wield such a blade?" Emerald finished with ease. "Right you are."
"Then that means..." Sabre's mind clicked again. This time, it was more important. He now knew the one thing that will change his life forever. The one thing he will never forget.
He was an Elemental. A legendary warrior that could bend the Elements to their will no matter the race. Sabre now has the burden of their family's ancient gift and curse.
Off in the badlands behind the castle, two figures watched as the guards walked from point to point on the wall and in the halls. One of them chittered to the other who nodded and they darted off in the opposite direction. In the safety of a cliff lay an entrance to a cave. They rushed through and navigated the mind-bending halls, ducking and weaving past boulders and fallen stalactites that rested on stalagmites. After careful navigation they reached the heart of the cave where thousands of Changelings buzzed and chittered at their arrival. They stopped and bowed before their leader, their ruler, their creator, the feared Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. "We have a report from our scouting." one of them announced, causing the whole room to fall silent.
"Well? Spit it out!" she commanded, her posture changing from leisure to one of interest.
The second scout chuckled with a smirk. His head raised and his eyes fell upon her. "Ready for the taking." was his answer.
A malevolent grin painted her lips as she stood. "Fetch me my armor and Behemoth." she ordered. A few shifted in their posture. But eventually, one of the scouts rushed off to fulfill her orders. "The rest of you," she began as she looked around the room to see all the eyes resting on her. "Prepare for liberation!" She threw her fist in the air and a roar of approval pierced the silence of the cave.
Sabre the Elemental Book 1: The Beginning
Sabre scanned the pages of the book, which he soon found out that it was a book by all Elementals of everything from spells to masonry. His curiosity forced him to the plethora of blank pages about halfway through. With a sigh of disappointment at the book's sudden end, Sabre was forced to shut it and stare at the cover. "All this information and we still don't know much about the Elementals?" he assumed.
"Right you are, son." Emerald replied. "Now get some rest." With that, Emerald kissed her son's forehead and left him alone with his thoughts. As a sigh escaped his mouth, Sabre fell back on the bed, the book in his arms. Me? An Elemental? he thought as he gave the book's cover another look. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind. This was no dream nor an illusion. This was real. This was happening. There was no erasing this. His mind finally calmed enough to start a night's sleep. He placed the book next to him on the nightstand and closed his eyes. But what he didn't know, will be his downfall.
Hours later his sleep was disrupted by loud banging on his door. He rose slowly and trudged to the door. He cracked it open and saw that one of the butlers was standing there, out of breath. "Sire! You must get out of here at once!" he warned.
"What's going on?" he yawned lightly.
"The castle is-!" he was cut off by a Changeling the tackled him. Sabre stood there in fear and watched as the Changeling tore him to shreds, blood and strands of flesh flew around the hall. Once the screams ended, the Changeling's head snapped into the direction of the prince. It screeched and lunged towards him. Sabre quickly shut the door, the Changeling not giving in and slammed on the door. He could hear the claws ripping the wooden barrier apart. He quickly threw the robe around him and grabbed the book, hiding it in the robe. Sabre gave a small look to the sword and grabbed it. He quickly secured it under the robe as the Changeling started reaching through the door.
Sabre drew the sword and was caught off guard when it went ablaze! He had no time to stare at the beautifully deadly flame and lunged towards the struggling Changeling. The door shattered and the sword plunged deep through the Changeling's body, completely ignoring it's thick husk. It screeched in pain as the flames began to destroy the creature from the inside out. But he didn't give up his assault. One strike after the other, he sent flames around them and into the Changeling as he screamed. His screaming soon turned into laughter. Before he could deal the final blow, he paused as he felt something stirring in him, something he didn't know was there. The damaged Changeling took advantage of this moment and quickly shoved him off. Sabre landed with a thud and the sword slid away from him, the flame disappearing. He quickly stopped the Changeling's head as its mandibles opened and closed with a ravenous pace.
Blood from the Changeling spit out of it's mouth and poured from the cuts. He struggled to keep the beast at bay and to reach for his sword. When he gave up the struggle for his sword, he did the unthinkable. His hand curled into a fist and he brought it up to the Changeling's face. The second before contact, his fist lit on fire and it sank into the multi-jaw of the latter and the creature soared to the wall, shattering it to the drywall before crumbling down as a pile of death. He laid there panting, trying to sum up what has already happened. Changelings are attacking and now he's discovering his new powers.
He quickly rose as he smelled the smoke from the embers that erupted from his sword. Sabre grabbed his sword quickly and rushed down the hall to a massive door that led outside. He was about to open it when he heard a scream in the direction of the throne room, the scream that belonged to his mother. Sabre stopped reaching for the door and ran to her.
When he slammed through the doors, he froze in his tracks. There it was, the largest Changeling he ever saw, the one and only, Queen Chrysalis. In once of her hands was Emerald, being held by the throat as she drained the life from her. He started to shakily back away when Behemoth charged at him and pinned him to the ground with all of his strength. "Going so soon, prince?" Chrysalis wondered with a devilish smirk as she tossed Emerald away like nothing. "It's rude to leave a Queen alone." He strained as Behemoth stared at him, hunger deep in his eyes.
Behemoth backed away as Chrysalis picked him up by the robe. "Now I'm going to take what remains of your pitiful family." she informed. "Where is the Book of the Elements?"
"I'll never tell you anything you witch !" Sabre shot as he tried to break free.
"Ignorant fool!" she yelled as she threw Sabre to the ground. "You will tell me what you know or I will feed you to my pet!" Behemoth began to ready himself for a pounce as he joined Chrysalis's side. "Now tell me," she repeated, "Where. Is The. Blasted. BOOK?"
"How about your grave?" Sabre taunted as he placed a hand on the sword's hilt.
Chrysalis could take no more. She immediately with her plan B: kill the entire family. With a single gesture, Behemoth threw his entire weight to his front in a massive lunge. Sabre acted quickly and drew his sword, the blade going ablaze again, and dodged. As he dodged, he attempted a slice at the massive beast. Ultimately, it only left a searing cut and only enraged the beast. Behemoth jumped up, his mandibles wide open and his form, deadly. Sabre jumped out of the way but he earned a bite from the creature. He yelled in pain as Behemoth tore through the robe, his clothes, and his flesh. Behemoth tossed Sabre around, trying to deal more damage and pain. Sabre felt the something from before stirring again. This time, it took over. He roared like a dragon and began to tear Behemoth's jaws open. The beast gave resistance but was defeated. Sabre threw the savage in the direction of Chrysalis who jumped to avoid colliding into the throne with her pet.
Sabre felt his skin start to boil as he flame on his blade engulfed the entire sword. Chrysalis gave her signature chuckle which turned into laughter. "Finally!!" she cheered as her horn began to glow. "A worthy opponent in this scum-filled village!" She lifted her hand as if holding a blade and pointed towards the prince. Soon a blade materialized, a blade much like her sword, save for the jagged edges.
Without thinking, Sabre lunged forward, the blade ready for another attack. Chrysalis parried the attack with ease and Behemoth lunged and took another bite at Sabre, this time at his blade-wielding hand. They both landed with a force that caused the foundation to violently shake. Sabre slammed the fist of his free arm repeatedly into Behemoth's face in a futile attempt at trying to dislodge the beast from him. Eventually, his fist went ablaze again and he plunged it deep into the Changeling. After a little while, Behemoth slumped down and freed his arm. Sabre backed away and growled at Chrysalis who stood in awe of what just happened.
She yelled in rage and lunged at Sabre, who copied her movements. Their blades collided in midair and their combined power caused the foundation to shake to the point where the windows shattered and pieces of the building itself to crumble. Chrysalis was the ultimate victor when Sabre's spike of rage dissipated and he rocketed toward the ground. Before Chrysalis could deliver the finishing blow, something caused Sabre to disappear from the room. As the building continued to crumble, she yelled out a single word:
"CELESTIA!!!!!!!!"
Sabre the Elemental Book 1: The Beginning
Chapter 2- A New Place To Call Home
He didn't know what happened. One moment he was fighting Chrysalis, the next, he was in the snow and his wounds screaming in pain as they bled to the ground. He heard Chrysalis scream for the princess and saw Atlas crumble into a pile of of marble and stone. He limped through the snow and lifted his hood. He was an outcast from his home. The Changelings took over and he was the sole survivor. He was exiled. He was alone. Sabre turned as he heard a small group of Changelings running after him. They picked up his scent. He needed to get away. So he limped as fast he could. He needed to reach civilization soon or else he would become food for these beasts.
He quickly ducked in the snow behind a tree and the Changelings stopped. One of them chittered angrily at the others and it turned to an argument until they reached a conclusion. They charged on and Sabre sighed in relief. Now he can deal with his wounds. He tore a piece of his robe off and looked at his leg injury. He held his breath as he began to wrap it. Sabre choked down a scream as pain traveled to his mind. He tore off another piece and use his mouth to painfully wrap his arm up. He sat a little longer to try and wait most of the pain away. A few minutes later, he continued on.
Eventually, he found a small cottage in a tree. He banged on the door repeatedly. Soon enough, a bright yellow pegasus opened the door. Before she could say anything, Sabre charged in and fell unconscious on her couch. The pegasus was rather confused at this point. Once she shut the door. She began to look at his wounds in wonder. How could someone be this badly damaged? Was he in the Everfree? She didn't know, but what she did know is that he won't survive in this state.
Sabre snapped up and found himself in his bed back at home. He sighed in relief and realized that it was all just a nightmare. He rose and threw on a white robe and went down the hall to the kitchen. Inside, he found his mother sipping a cup of coffee. He smiled and went to get his own cup. "How was your sleep, Sabre?" she wondered after sipping some coffee.
"Weird."
"Explain."
"Well," Sabre thought a little before he continued, "I had this dream where the Changelings attacked and you were there but Chrysalis killed you."
"That's right." Sabre choked on his coffee and realized that it had somehow turned into blood. He looked up and saw the empty husk of what was his mother. "You left me to die." she accused. "You could only think of yourself."
"No. That's not true!" he denied.
"You left us all to die." He whipped around and saw the husks of the citizens advancing on him. He started to panic and began to push past them. He managed to escape them but felt his steps getting heavy. Sabre looked down and saw blood starting to rise beneath him. He panicked more and tried to escape. Eventually, he was under the surface of all the blood. He struggled to swim but he felt the air escape his lungs in the form of bubbles that rose. His vision blackened and he sank down into the abyss.
Sabre woke up with a snap and a scream. His breath was heavy and sweat poured down his face. His body trembled with the realization that he was the sole survivor of the Changeling's first successful assault on Equestria in over a decade. The door opened and a nurse entered. "Oh, you're awake." she noted with a smile. "My name is Nurse Redheart."
"Tell me Nurse, how long was I out?" Sabre wondered.
"E-Excuse me?"
"How long, was I out?" he repeated.
"F-Four months." she hesitantly replied. Sabre's face was the right response for awe. Four months? What's happened while he was comatose? Redheart pressed the PA button next to the door and it dinged two times, one high note and one low note. "Comatose Patient 42 has woken up. Repeat, Comatose Patient 42 has woken up." she announced before heading out. Sabre looked down at his hands and saw how thin he had gotten. He thanked in his head for the life support for saving him. He reach to his head and felt that his hair had grown while in his coma. "Four months is a long time." a voice noted from the door. He looked over and saw a lavender alicorn propped against the frame. "Princess Twilight Sparkle and you are?"
"Prince Sabre from what used to be Atlas." Sabre looked down at his hands again and thought about the destruction months ago.
"News of Atlas spread like a wildfire and the other princesses and I chose to fortify each town with Royal Guard and a local militia." she informed. "The Changelings have been off the radar for years. Almost a decade now." Sabre stayed silent. His home, his family, his friends, all of them were dead. Twilight stepped further into the room and the yellow pegasus from he night he went comatose entered. "You gave my friend Fluttershy quite a scare when you barged in." Twilight chuckled.
"Forgive me, Fluttershy." Sabre nodded politely. "I just needed a place to crash."
"I-It's alright..." she accepted. "I did the liberty of washing your clothes and sewing them." Sabre just realized that she was crying a neatly folded stack of his clothes. On top of it was the Book of the Elements and his sword. Those were the only things that reminded him of home. He swung his legs around sat on the edge but when he put his feet on the ground, he knew something was of when he felt his injured leg give a solid metal thump. Scared, Sabre moved the leg so he can see in and found that it was completely metallic. Not just one part but the entire thing. He was going to touch it but found that his battle-bitten arm had changed as well. "We couldn't risk anything." Twilight informed. "Changeling have been known to infect a person by a bite."
Sabre clenched his fist and it went ablaze like before. "You kept some flesh though." he noted.
"Only non-infested flesh. These are experimental. You and thirteen others have these."
"That's okay." He relaxed his hand and the flame disappeared and he stood.
"I can help you with your PT if you want..." Fluttershy offered as she turned away so he could change.
"I would be grateful for that." he accepted as he made himself more presentable. "Anyway, where am I?"
"Your new home." Twilight told.
"Ponyville."