Fallen Foes

by The Cyan Recluse

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Daring Do, Ahuizotl
Length: 1228

Ahuizotl stands above the remains of his mortal foe. Mrs. Do’s sudden passing evokes a great many feelings in the ancient immortal. Triumph is not one of them.

Ahuizotl stands above the remains of his mortal foe. Mrs. Do’s sudden passing evokes a great many feelings in the ancient immortal.

Triumph is not one of them.

Fourth Place in the August Write-Off - I Regret Nothing.

Published 2015-09-27 05:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-27 05:10:02 UTC

Fallen Foes

“It would seem that this is the end of the line for you, my old enemy.”

I speak the words softly as the green glow of healing magic fades from my tail-hand. Removing the appendage from your chest, my fingers gently close your blankly staring eyes. Really, Mrs. Do, a heart attack while dodging a paltry few falling rocks? I knew the years were catching up with you, but this…

This is not how I expected things to end. If I am to be honest with you, I had forgotten that they would end. That you, like everything else, would eventually fade away into dust, memories, and finally, oblivion. Do you have any idea of what an accomplishment that is? To make one such as I forget, even briefly, that all things must end? All of the ruins you explored, all of the traps you evaded, the relics you discovered, the plots you foiled.

Did you even realize that your greatest achievement was making me feel alive again?

Me, an immortal who has seen eternity. Who has watched ages pass. Who has seen his own civilization fade from life, to memory, to myth, and finally to nothing. Everything my people made, every bustling city, every magnificent statue, every written word and awe inspiring wonder, lost and forgotten. Ground away by the inexorable passage of time.

I can still remember the day we first met. The look of shock on your face when you woke me from my slumber in that ‘Ancient Tomb of Evil.’ Did it never occur to you that despite all the dire warnings, the ominous carvings, the deadly traps and clever puzzles, there was nothing actually keeping me in my so called ‘prison?’ I will admit that my décor may have been a bit melodramatic. But its purpose was not to keep me in but to keep troublesome trespassers such as yourself out. When I constructed that place, I wished to be left alone. To wallow in my ennui and sleep away the centuries. To avoid the pointless trivialities of existence until existence itself came to an end.

Would you believe that upon awakening my first act was going to be to berate you for disturbing my slumber? I would merely have cast you out, dusted off my hands, and returned to my fugue state.

But you spoke first. I can still recall your words:

“An evil monster! Jinkies! What villainy have I unleashed upon the world?”

As I am sure you’ve noticed, I have something of a flair for the dramatic. I could hardly allow a line such as that to pass! You expected a villain, so I gave you one. As overblown, megalomaniacal, and melodramatic a villain as there ever was. When I ‘fled’ my ‘prison,’ I merely planned to wander the world for a few moons. See how little of the world I once knew remained. Then return to my slumber once a certain winged house crasher had left.

But you... you followed me. Tracked me. Stalked and harassed me. So quick to leap into action! So quick to leap to conclusions! You had such fire, such passion and determination! Such drive and energy! All directed towards defeating me, your nemesis.

It was magnificent!

Is it any wonder I went to such lengths to fulfil the role you set for me? The ridiculous speeches, the flawed death traps, the clueless minions? Did you truly believe the baubles I ‘sought’ meant anything to me? Watching you rescue a few small scraps of the past from oblivion was the true prize.

Oh, deep in my heart I knew it was all futile. The bits and pieces you collected were naught but echoes of the past. And echoes fade with each generation, until there is nothing but silence. Did it ever occur to you that someday all that will remain of your civilization will be a few bits and baubles resting in glass cases? That the artifacts that you were so proud to have ‘wrested from my evil grasp’ will be naught but dust? Did you ever realize that all that you spent your life doing was, at best, delaying the inevitable?

No, I am certain that those thoughts never crossed your mind. Such an epiphany would surely have robbed you of the joy and exuberance you derived from each new discovery, each scrap of knowledge and whisper of the past. Your energy and ignorance were infectious, and for a few brief moments you allowed me to forget the truth and revel in the here and now.

And now you are gone. And already the world grows cold without your fire, your passion. Perhaps it is time I returned to my slumber?

“You! You killed her! You killed my mother!” And suddenly there is an angry pegasus filly before me. Gold furred and gray maned, her rose-colored eyes stare right into mine. Your daughter I presume? I am embarrassed to admit that I had not realized you had brought her along on this little quest. An unforgivable oversight on my part, Mrs. Do. But in my defense, your sudden passing has left me out of sorts.

I wish I could comfort her. Tell her that you meant as much to me as you did to her. Tell her that in the pain of your loss, we are siblings.

But I cannot.

I am the villain. That is the role you cast me in. The mantle I happily accepted and embraced over these few, short decades. And I cannot help but feel it would be disrespectful to cast it off so soon after your passing.

“You’re going to regret killing Mommy!” Your daughter growls at me, and I must say Mrs. Dashing Do, she has certainly inherited your passion. The fire in her eyes is unquenched by the tears pouring out of them. Those angry red orbs glare at me accusingly, filled with such sadness and rage and above all determination. Staring into those eyes, so young and yet so like yours, I find it difficult to summon a proper villainous sneer. But I persevere.

“Miss Daring Do, I am the immortal Ahuizotl. I regret nothing.”

Perhaps sleep can wait a few more decades.

Author's Note

This story was written for the Write Off association's short story contest "I Regret Nothing." It came in fourth, and missed third place by a whisker.

The original inspiration for this idea was the story "Temporary Haitus" by TheMessanger. It's an enjoyable little fic and heavily influenced the original seed idea for this story.

When I first started modifying the original 750 word story to meed FIMFiction's thousand word minimum requirement, I planned to expand it with a whole bunch of additional material. References to Ahuizotl planting historical documents and clues to ancient ruins in the libraries Dashing Do frequented. Mentions of past battles and artifacts. Perhaps a comment on the fact that if he had truly been dangerous, then that youngling the ponies called Princess would have tried to do something about him.

But I just couldn't seem to fit that material in without ruining the flow of the story.

So here it stands with only a few minor tweaks and additions, basically unchanged from it's original form. Hopefully it has retained the charm that served it so well in the Write Offs. :pinkiesmile: