Mindrazer (Siblings Till the End Arc)
Mindrazer
Like an old, unsightly wound, the aptly named Earth Scar blemished what uniformity the soil and shrubbery of the Badlands maintained in its natural order. Steppes generally didn’t have canyons, but this was a special case. The number of rumors surrounding the origin of a ten-mile deep and one hundred mile deformation in the terrain were as numerous as the population of the changeling hive occupying the temperate zone.
For the past week, Earth Scar’s depths had been buzzing with activity. Lumber, food, and various other supplies were being transported to and from the wondrous site constantly. Puzzles existed to be solved and each day the changelings inched closer to placing the final piece.
Twirling an ornate crown in her hand, Queen Chrysalis directed her changeling excavation crews. Like the conductor of an orchestra, she commanded each group of drones to perform a different task. Some jobs where massive, others, tiny; but all of them were of the utmost importance.
“Careful with that! Any one of those parts could be exactly what we need!” She shouted over the commotion of mining.
With what forces she could spare the queen had managed to clear out most of a large cave about halfway down the side of Earth Scar’s eastern wall. She had come seeking legends. For generations tales of The Dark One had been passed down through changeling culture. Exactly what was believed varied from between queens, but one motif remained: whatever The Dark One was, it was powerful and not to be trifled with. Some of their hive worshipped the illustrious being as a god, while others feared its wrath, dreading the day when it would return and exercise them from its territory. Chrysalis didn’t seek to praise this being, no, she sought an alliance with the creature who allegedly turned Equestria on its head and nearly felled both princesses alone.
One of her subjects rushed up to her, a little too excited for his own good. Swift as lightning, the praetor guards surrounding the mare struck the would be threat down, pinning him to the ground at her feet. “Let him speak. Surely, one who would so rudely interrupted his queen’s musings must come bearing good news.”
Even without the guards holding him, the changeling stayed down. His muzzle never left the dirt at Chrysalis’s hooves. “Yo-your majesty, I think we’ve found him. Back, in the f-furthest tunnel on the w-west side.”
Leaning down, the queen gently cupped her worker’s chin in her hand. “You’ve done well, my child. Go now, rest. Your queen will handle everything.” A snap of her fingers was all it to command her armored guards to surround her.
They moved through the excavated cave as a single unit. During their trek, Chrysalis pointed and gestured to the diggers and soldiers still working throughout the caves. Everyone had to be in position, just in case her plan exploded in her face and needed she to save herself and the changelings she brought with her.
The praetors had never seen their queen this cautious. From they had seen, even her plan B’s had plan B’s. The entire situation had all of her guards tense
“It is said that the Dark One’s power is what exiled the infinite waters of the Crater Sea, creating the lands that we now call home. Equestria has started a three way war by trying to invade our lands through both Alkaid and Skyllia. The zebras and griffons both want to know what Celestia seeks so badly that she’d violate all standing peace treaties with them over it,” She sneered. Chrysalis knew exactly what the Diarch of the Sun wanted, but she’d claim him and his treasure first. “If we are to repel these invaders, we need the power of He Who Blackened the Sun and Bloodied the Moon.” Her fingers idly drummed against the ornate crown in her grasp.
“But in the end, he lost, right? How can he be of any use if he could not defeat them back when Equestria was still young?”
Chrysalis chuckled darkly. “I shall share with you a tale passed down from queen to queen for generations...”
Gerald’s POV
1976 years ago
Waves crashed against the side of my ship, rocking the vessel violently. Between the murderous seas and the raging storm over head, the deck of Nebuchadnezzar was utterly drenched. An errant bolt of lightning streaked through the massive thunderheads above, briefly illuminating the stage of what would be the final battle between Celestia, Luna, and myself. As per my command, the maelstrom all kept the skies untraversable and untamable, which regulated any flight to down to a short-lived aerial excursion. Such glorious chaos, I thought as the salty oceanic winds rushed past us. My cape, sash, and skirt all bellowed wildly behind me; I couldn’t help but glare, with empty eye sockets, at the alicorns before me.
Through divination, I had foreseen the sister’s interference in my travels, but even without such magics at my disposal, this moment was too monumental on for them leave me be.I knew what they were trying to do when they attacked me at sea, but oh how short their memory is if they truly believed I was handicapped here. A little preparation on my part put them in the predicament they now found themselves in.
Celestia lay on the deck, soaked and unconscious. Blood leaked out of the goddess’s nostrils, while patches of burned or rotted flesh dotted her battered body. Laying splayed out, limp and grey, on the drenched wood around her face, was her once vibrant and beautiful mane. The sight of what I had done to her only spurred my anger to new heights. Listening to the scrapping of bone on bone from my clenched fist, I let my mind review my plans. Every piece was set, the last items needed to finalize my work were in my cargo hold and would be ready for use once I had returned to my keep across the Crater Sea.
Right next to her, like a good little sister, Luna stood, still intransigent on my goals. She was no worse for the wear. Even if flight would aid her in this fight, the stone clinging adamantly to her wings prevented her from moving them organically or gaining lift. One of her eyes was swollen shut, while her ebony fur was mottled with shimmering, inky stains. Despite our stance as foes, I still regarded the mare with respect. She was on the precipice of certain death, yet refused to leave her sister to die alone. It’s what I’d would do.
Two smoking, purple blades rose to meet my challenge. The magical constructs crackled with power, vaporizing every droplet of rain to come into contact with them. Luna held the weapons at the ready; one prepared to defend Celestia, the other primed to strike me down. “It’s not too late to end this madness! Please, return to us. Gerald, come home.”
"There was a time, before the secrets and the lies, when such a plea would have warmed my heart and broken my resolve, but as you can see, my chest is now empty…" Luna buckled under the mental assault of my voice. I let each word hang in her mind, scraping away thoughts and shattering her concentration with each syllable she perceived.
Spells, memories, and emotions seeped out of her mind like sludge, poisoning her psyche and fueling my magic; she could not hide the full extent of their plans to keep me from reunited with Monica and Mishra. Suddenly, the flow stymied and became saturated with useless junk. Her and Celestia stealing from the cookie jar behind the chef’s back, her perching bucks of pink paint over Celestia’s doorway… "Clever girl."
Realizing that princess was countering my mental drain by dumping useless thoughts to the forefront of her mind, I tried to pull my focus back to the physical realm, but failed horribly. The psychic pounding was enough to force me back a step. Luna’s childhood tainted my thoughts with images of the mare in her purest most innocent form. It was as if someone painted over the pony in front of me and replaced her with a the mare I… No, it wasn’t like that anymore... Every time I moved to finish her, to call down crimson lightning, to summon a whirlwind of ash and flame, I froze.
Why couldn’t I do it? Why couldn’t I-- A peaceful chill spread through my chest, numbing my body. My empty eye sockets leveled on the Night Princess, Luna. Her arm was outstretched, gripping one of the wicked mana blade in her hand while Celestia rested on her right shoulder, slung there haphazardly at best. Icy tendrils of magic spread through my bones, stealing my balance as she forced me back and pinned me to Nebuchadnezzar’s mast. In her free hand, she clenched my crown. Well, that explained why my body was rapidly growing heavy and unresponsive. Magic fled from my grasp in droves, my mind failing to weave any sort of defense. I’d lost this fight.
I chuckled like a child who thought they got away with drawing on the walls. “Tell me, why did you chose to attack me out here? To deprive me of the easily accessible necromantic energies of the earth? Or was it to keep me from feeding on the ambition, jealousy, and selfishness of those around me?” A good filibuster has never failed to stall opponents.
“No,” she started. Honestly, I was surprised. They weren’t trying to cut my off from my most dangerous spells? “We knew that if you wouldn’t listen, stopping you here would be our best chance.” I let my brain sift through everything I’d read about the Crater Sea. Other than the fact that the area was created by a meteorite strike, there was nothing much of note. The only thing here was that undersea trench...
"Earth Scar…"
She nodded sadly. “Gerald, Lord of the Damned, Undead Sea King, Bringer of Crimson Lightning, Hero of the Starfall, and Prince of Equestria; I, Princess Luna, banish you to the greatest depths of the world until either the Sun or the Moon see fit to grant parole.” The arctic sensation washing through my bones surfaced in a surge of dark blue magic. Ghostly chains wrapped around my frame, binding me firmly to the mast and the deck of my ship.
Ideas fought for supremacy in my head, there had to be a way out of this. Calming my mind, I reviewed the battle. I didn’t expect this, but I could still salvage the situation.
“D-do you have any f-final words?” She asked, dropping her arm to her side. Rain or not, Luna still refused to let me see her cry.
If a skull could smirk, the corners of my mouth would be touching my earlobes right now.
"From now, till the end;
Your life, stands still;
Persevere as you must,
As all that you love fades to dust…"
The meaning of my words was lost on Luna, but I didn’t care. Crater Sea’s roiling waters cut out anything she had to say to me, indicating that we were at the giant whirlpool over Earth Scar. I could feeling my vessel tearing apart as it tried to resist being devoured by the abyss, but I knew it was all in vain. The last thing I saw before gelid ocean swallowed me was one of Luna’s feathers resting peacefully on my knee.
I haven’t lost this battle.
Chrysalis and her guards had been so enthralled by by her tale, that none of them noticed they’d been walking through over an inch of thick, black tar-like ichor. The moment she realized the shift in terrain and scenery, the queen raised a hand and halted her praetors. They appeared to be on a segment of a ship’s deck. What she saw defied her understanding of decay. Every wood and metal structure around them was mostly intact, even the shreds of the ancient vessel’s flag. The muck trickled down through rusty metal grates, vanishing into the bowels of the ancient ship. It took but a cursory glance at the mast wedged in the rocks of the hollow to see their prize.
There, pinned to the pillar by a smoking purple blade of pure mana and held firm by magical chains, was the star of the star of the show. The creature sat limply, its ratty white hair covering a face untouched by sunlight in ages. For how long it had been at the bottom of Earth Scar, it’s garb seemed as pristine as the day with was woven. Tough, brown leather armor protected his torso while vambraces of the same make occupied his forearms. Crimson sashes trimmed in honeycomb colored borders hung from beneath the waist of his armor and across his chest piece. A large tuft of fur stretched across his shoulders, hiding where his cape was attached. All in all, he looked like royalty, he looked like a being who could rival the princesses in power, he looked--
“--Dead. This guy’s a freaking waterlogged skeleton. He’s been dead for ages; we’ve wasted our time, my queen,” she informed Chrysalis. Reaching down, the observant guard cupped a handful of the strange ooze. It clinged to the changeling’s dark chitin, spreading a tingling sensation through her fingers.
“I assure you, I am not as dead as you believe.” A young male’s voice cut directly into everyone’s mind.
Lances of psychic pain brought the entire entourage of praetors to their knees, but Chrysalis was not impressed. “Release my subjects, Dark One!”
Within the confines of the creature’s empty skull, twin orbs of blue light burned weakly. “A gift for a gift: return my crown and I’ll end their suffering.”
Chrysalis could feel his touch at the back of her mind, scratching for any loose thread it could latch on to in an attempt to bend her to his will. “You will never receive what you want if you continue to prod around in my head like that,” she said smugly, holding out his crown.
“... You don’t seem to care much for the wellbeing of you guards.” It was trivial for him to increase the intensity of his mental assault on her guards. A few of them immediately dropped to all fours, wailing in agony as his magic torn their psyche’s apart, while the remainder fell into the ichor, convulsing violently as their minds and bodies fought with each other to keep them alive.
Her teeth ground against each other. Try as she might, Chrysalis couldn’t block out the cries of her subjects. “Enough!” Chrysalis shouted, slowly walking towards him. As queen she knew when it was time to fold and cut her losses.
“I see you aren’t as short sighted and heartless as the insects who came before you.” Gerald released the torture spell directed at her guards, but still kept hold of the back of their mind in case he needed to use them a bargaining chips again.
Sneering, she placed the the crown on his head and stepped back. “There. It’s done.”
A single skeletal hand made it’s way to the magical constructs binding him to the ship. The moment he touched one of the chains links, they violently burst apart, sending her sprawling into the tar and releasing a torrent of energy into the caverns. Next came the sword, Luna’s last parting gift. He gripped the weapon by the hilt and sent a blue spark of his own power through it, shattering his final seal and earning his freedom.
Power flooded her senses, radiating from the blade that stabbed through his chest. Magic carried a mental weight, but never before had the density of energy in the air been so stifling. The presence of the hive paled in comparison to the force she was currently subjected to. There was easily enough mana in that blade to reduce a large city to slag and he just dispelled it as if it was nothing.
“Your kind prove, once again, to be just as simple as your less evolved cousins who continuously ram their heads against closed windows and lampshades.” Gerald rose to his full height, his bones creaking with each movement he made. “Like insects, you changelings are so eager to get to the light of the candle that you fly directly into the flames, sizzling away to nothingness.”
The temperature in the chamber spiked as mana rapidly condensed in Gerald’s palm. A searing hot ball of flame and smoke formed in the lich’s hand. “You came so willingly, queen. How could I deny your desires?”
Struggling to her feet, Chrysalis quickly regained her composure and took a step towards the dark one. “I had gone through the trouble of invading Canterlot and retrieving your crown in order to revive you. I’d hoped that would prove my dedication to engaging in a proper alliance with you.” Her eyes and horn flashed green with power.
Gerald’s attack sputtered and died in his grasp, while his undead gaze shifted from blue to the same sickly green as Chrysalis’s magic. Against his will, his frame went rigid. Slowly circled around him, dragging her sharpened fingernails through the fur on his shoulders, and stopping in front him. “I genuinely had all intentions of forgetting any hostilities that were present between you and Queen Myrrah all those years ago. This partnership could have been to both of our benefit, but you forced my hand,” she said sadly.
“You fucking parasite, what have you done?!” Roared Gerald.
The queen held her right hand up to his face, extending her middle finger to ensure he could see the ornate ring occupying the digit. The gold band was decorated with a large, gleaming red stone, one filled with swirling green energy.
“Is that--”
“--A gem from your crown?” She finished coyly, lowering her hand. “How astute of you to notice.”
Chrysalis chuckled proudly. “You are powerful telepath, Gerald, but compared to me you may as well be a foal dabbling in mind reading. You see, I know of the connection between you humans and the artifacts you hold so close to your hearts; they bind your souls to this plane. For one such as myself, it wasn’t too difficult to fashion a geas on you using a component of your artifact. Your actions are now tied to my will until I say release you. Now, kneel,” she commanded mirthlessly. While mind control was a tactic she employed regularly, the absolute subjugation of a targets actions was something she took no joy in.
Shakily, he fell to one knee and place a fist in the muck beneath them. His gaze lowered to the floor, locked there on Chrysalis’s command. “Your parameters are as such: You will follow my commands, though you may interject if you recognize a flaw in my plans or logic; you will not harm me or my subjects, you will answer any question I ask of you, and finally you will not attempt to run away from me or any area I designate you free to roam in. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, my que-queen...” Despite how hard he fought the words still flowed from his mouth.
“Even though your cooperation isn't consensual, I will not keep you from pursuing you whatever side goals you may have. I never intended to.” Chrysalis turned to leave. Her guards having recovered while she bent Gerald to her will. “Now, you will help my changelings gather their equipment. When you are done, you will return to the hive with the rest of my subjects and then you will meet me in the throne room. Clear?”
“Yes, my queen,” he sneered.
She waved her hand and a green glow overtook her and her guards. A sphere of magical energy lifted them up and phased them through the roof and out of Gerald’s sight. “You’ll see your sisters again...”
“RAWWRGH!!!” He slammed his fist against the stone wall of the chamber, sending red lightning arcing across the walls.
Ripples traveled along the strange substance on the ground, each one emanating from where a changeling stood. Gerald smirked at the small disturbances.
Within the confines of Canterlot Castle’s throne room, Celestia had called a meeting. In preparation of her guests arrival, the solar diarch had dismissed most of her guards. She knew that the individuals she was inviting would unnerve even the toughest of her soldiers. Some of them were known as heroes, others as boogeyponies, whose tales were the things of nightmares.
Precious sunlight pour unhindered through the windows, giving Celestia a clear view of the room she ruled from. As usual, the velvety, crimson carpet was just as beautiful and well maintained as the drapes current suspended over the windows; she’d have to show the castle staff that they were appreciated. Her two most trusted personal guards stood at attention on either side of her throne. Both stallions stood stone-still, refusing to move even an inch. They were there mostly to keep up appearances and relay messages between her and other staff; they’d be of limited use if her company decided to move against her. How much longer would she be on this throne? Would she survive her next encounter with Gerald? What would happen to Equestria if Gerald accomplished goal? Were her and Luna not there enough for Gerald? The diarch sat there ruminating on those questions. Some answers she didn’t want to hear, but she knew she’d have to face them all the same. The creaking grind of metal on metal broke her from self torment.
Three beings stood in front of the princesses. The one on the right was easily eight feet tall. He was a hulking dinosaur-like thing made of techno-organic material far beyond the understanding of any Equestrian scientist. His entire body was black and covered in stylish red stripes. Two fins as sharp as his claws jutted from his forearms, while similar protrusion decorated his head and spine. One fin took its place over each knee. He stood on what looked like cloven hooves, but his anatomy was alien to everyone present, making any solid calls on what was what pointless. He was known as Rodrick. Casually, he looked to the two other guests. Freyalise he saw all the time because of her frequent ice cream socials with Princess Luna, but It had been over four hundred years since he’d last seen Kenneth and his wife-- now host-- Hannah, or Knightmare as they preferred to be called.
Kenneth and Hannah were an odd pair, seeing as they were both one and two beings at the same time. The combined entity, known as Knightmare, consisted of fair skinned woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties and stood at an average statue. She was of athletic build, giving her an attractive figure. A grayish navy shirt and skirt, complete with a mantle and covered by a thick leather corset hugged her body perfectly. Shoulder length, cornflower blonde hair that flowed gracefully with her movements decorated her head, while her pitch black sclera and yellow eyes gave her a furious, demonic gaze. Instead of a normal right arm, she had a vicious looking flesh armored appendage ending in sharpened claws that looked as if they could fillet the flesh from a pony’s bones effortlessly. It’s threatening presence was magnified by the unsettling orange light emanating from a round space right above the wrist. On her left forearm, she carried a living, writhing kite shield, while a similarly fashioned broadsword rested on the left side of her hip. Unlike most weaponry, metal seemed to be an afterthought in the forging of the blade, seeing as it was constructed mostly from living flesh. A single large eye on the body of the sword and shield scanned the room excitedly, taking a moment to focus on the other occupants of the room. Any who knew the duo was aware that the blade and shield were Kenneth and the body was Hannah.
The last guest in the throne room would have been just as out of place as the other two, if the staff weren’t use to her and Princess Luna’s constant antics around the castle. At the moment she was lounging on her side, batting around a small yellow ball. The white and blue scaled dragoness was known as Freyalise, The Snow White Queen. Her majestic, feathered wings were held close to her body, denying the world a view of their full glory. After helping to stop the Starfall, the draconic tribes chose to ally under the name and guidance of the former human. One would not think that the feather winged wrym, currently enraptured in a toy like a cat with a string of yarn, ushered in nearly one thousand years of peace and founded a unified culture for nearly all of dragonkind in the Ashlands. She yawned loudly, rolling the ball around in her claw.
“Ugh… Is there any chance that we could speed this up, Celestia?” Freya whined. “I have an appointment in thirty minutes. Ponyville, I believe you know the mare. Pinkie pie, I believe her name was; makes the best chocolate lava cake I’ve tasted in the last two hundred or so years.” She licked her chops at the thought of sinking her pearly whites into the delicious treat. “Celly, join us this time. I know you’re curious to know how your ex-student and her council are doing,” the dragoness teased, twirling one of her whiskers.
“This is serious, Freya,” chided Celestia. She glared daggers at the dragoness, but it didn’t stop the queen’s playful smirk.
Knightmare folder its arm across its chest. “Four centuries, and you haven’t changed at all.” Shaking its head the azure knight turned its gaze to Celestia.
Clicking her tongue, Freya rolled her eyes at Celestia and Knightmare. “And what, pray tell, is more important than chocolate lava cake?”
Rodrick chuckled at Freya’s teasing, earning a disapproving look from Knightmare.
“Chrysalis has used Gerald’s crown to release him,” Celestia answered, mirthlessly.
A sharp, ear-splitting bang reverberated throughout the throne room. Shreds of ruined rubber slipped from Freya’s grip as she slowly clenched her fists around the destroyed ball while Knightmare’s eyes narrowed.
Rodrick couldn’t do anything other than growl as he stared at the carpet before snapping his attention to the alicorn on the throne. “Bullshit, Gerald wouldn’t align with no fuckin’ changelings!” Rodrick protested. Despite the fact that he hated Gerald’s guts, he knew how the man felt about changelings. “How the hell do you even know that Gerald’s up and about?”
“My sister was the one who was closest to him, she is also the one who sealed him. The moment he regained his strength, Luna felt him and informed me. The taint of chrysalis’s magic is on him as well...”
Rodrick bared his claws. He remembered what happened between him and Gerald when the mage betrayed them. Rubbing his gut, he growled. “So what now? Do we kill him? I could just fly directly into the heart of the hive and wipe them all out.”
“No! You will do no such thing. Not only do I frown upon such a show of excessive force, but I know that without such force, the changelings will tear you apart.” She stomped her one of her hooves on the ground, cracking the marble at the base of her throne. Images of bodies atomizing before her eyes flashed through her mind; she remembered what some of Rodrick’s weaponry could do.
Huffing, the dinosaur like creature slammed his fist against his palm. “Send Freya! Hell, what about the other Omega tiers?!”
“No, if Freya gets enters the Badland’s airspace Anubia and her dogs will get involved, likely siding with Chrysalis just to spite us. You know Suit ‘n Tie doesn’t care about what becomes of this world and Jeska is off exploring the stars,” Knightmare added calmly, its claw twitching every so often.
The dragoness ruffled her feathers, rolling over and standing on all fours. “Then why am I here, Celestia? Deterrence I assume.”
“That and more. Luna is setting up a scrying array in her tower, by using both of you to channel the moon’s power, she believes that she can create a spell to hide Gerald’s stones from his perceptions.” She held out her palm and conjuring an image of the stones in question. “No doubt he will go looking for them at the first chance he gets.”
“And if he get’s them we’ll have another Starfall on our hands. And with so many of the heroes of yore dead, we may not be able to repel Cazmir this time. That plus Chrysalis adding her power to his means that she could also decide to make another attempt on the capital.” The entire scenario made Freya uneasy.
Rodrick paced about in front of Celestia’s throne. “This situation is all kinds of fucked up. So, Freya’s here to keep Chrysalis’s britches from getting too big, what about Knightmare and I? What’s our role in all of this?” Rodrick asked, curiously.
“We know the general location of Gerald’s stones… the problem is that they are in Zebra and Griffon territory. Griffon Thane Salazaar has agreed to let us march through his land, but Lady Asha has refused any and all negotiations and continues to be hostile towards our forces. Alkaid’s High Priest, Ultric, has also made it clear that he will not allow our forces to search through his lands.” Celestia tapped her fingers together, sighing at what she was about to authorize. “Things have been tense, and they will not listen to reason… I want you, Rodrick, to catch up to Flash Sentry’s ponies marching through the Skyverge and I want Knightmare to join Prince Blueblood on his front in Alkaid. In addition to your support, you will send Equestria’s declaration of war to both Skyllia and Alkaid.”
Rodrick’s mechanical voice made a sound similar to a snort. “Been a while since I’ve had a good snowball fight. Don’t worry, I’ll keep ya ponies alive and send ya wishes,” he joked, rolling his shoulder and making his way out of the throne room, the galvanic mechamorph’s jetpack already forming on his back.
Knightmare simply bowed and turned to make its way out of the throne room and towards the airship docks, its armored hooves clattering against the ground with each step.
Silence hung heavy in the air, making both rulers feel as if they were being dog piled. Freya and Celestia stared at each other for a few moments after the room emptied. Tired of gazing into the alicorn’s eyes, Freya broke the silence.
“The world is, once again, on the precipice of disaster due to your machinations. How does this end, chess master Celestia?”
Start the Anarchy (Siblings Till the End Arc)
Flash Sentry was not enjoying his promotion.
As expected, his heightened status came with several changes. Most of which the stallion liked. The pay grade increase from second lieutenant to captain had given him a bit of flex room in monetary matters, whereas, the extra respect his peers gave him was a tremendous boost to his confidence. He wasn’t usually one to wave his dick around, but when you are given command of the nation’s third largest air fleet and the most advanced combat vessel in the world is your flagship, you can’t help but to let it hang out just a little.
Flash was once an unsure officer, barely capable of holding his unit together. One little incident had changed all of that. The day before he was scheduled to be transferred from the Crystal Empire to Canterlot a massive frost wurm, delusional from near starvation, attacked the city. Who’d have ever thought that the young lieutenant had it in him to rally a large group of disorganized troops on his own and coordinate a brilliant defensive effort to guard the palace and a daring, yet functional offensive. When the dust had settled, Flash Sentry’s command won them the day, resulting in an effective live capture and countless lives saved. After everypony was sure the situation was under control and Celestial Sisters had heard about his actions, he was promoted on the spot.
But on the other hoof Flash couldn’t help feeling like he got this job because eighty percent of the ponies around him were twits. They were good soldiers, that much was certain, but not a single one of the ponies with him had a lick of tactical sense. Was he really as smart as they claimed him to be or was he just the only pony who was willing to try something?
Shining Armor himself had been the pony who sent Celestia his recommendations, going so far as to personally vouch for Flash Sentry’s abilities. However, that was far in the past. Sentry figured that this new assignment was his trial-by-fire, and what a trial was. If he was being evaluated per operation, he’d already have be back on the line snapping salutes to his superiors. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. All that the brass cared about were the end results.
Push after push had either utterly failed or brought them so close to victory that when defeat did come it was akin to waving a bottle of milk in a starving foals face, only to replace it with ash ridden pickle juice. His repeated failure was likely the reason for the additional aid that was being deployed to aid his push into Asha’s territory. Ponies just weren’t meant for high altitude combat in constant subzero temperatures.
Dragon fire had delivered the message directly to his desk within the bowels of his command vessel, The Vision, about an hour ago, informing him that a Hero of the Starfall had been placed under his command and was inbound from Canterlot. Before reading that little piece of parchment, Sentry never expected that he’d be working with a human. If Celestia had managed to not only track down one of the world’s greatest heroes, but also go through the time and effort needed to convince them to get involved in this conflict then perhaps his fight was much more important than he thought.
Trotting out of his spartanly office, the stallion mulled over what he knew. His orders were solid, but the logic holes. He knew what he was looking for, an artifact from Equestria’s past that had been lost in griffon territory, but he understand neither side’s thinking. Why Celestia was just now going to collect it and why were griffon’s of Acropolis refusing to turn over Equestria’s property?
Flash Sentry sighed, absentmindedly traversing the steam pipe laden halls of the Grand Pegasi Airforce’s largest airship. Respectful bows and nods were traded as he made his way to the the top deck. According to the note, the hero was due for arrival in a few minutes. On one hoof, he didn’t believe it was possible to get from Canterlot to Skyllia in an hour, but on the other hoof, the Heroes were beings of incredible power. Legends of them claimed that they could do anything from soothing a nation, to commanding legions of shambling undead. So, he didn’t immediately write it off as impossible.
Once the captain passed through the doorway separating the interior from the open deck, he was instantly greeted by respect full salutes from several of the pegasi and unicorn working topside. “At ease,” he said, calmly trotting past them.
Even to this day, modern automated climate control magic amazed him. Even though The Vision was flying through a blizzard, not a single snowflake made it within ten feet of its hull. “It should be here any minute now,” Flash said to himself, staring out into the snow storm.
---*****---
Rattling metal and booming bass filled the inside of Roderick’s all black ‘98 corvette. While the white snowy filled whirlwinds coated everything outside with a fine layer of winter powder, adding just enough beauty and wonder to keep the repeating scenery from becoming repetitive. Both he and his wife, Andrea, were having a hell of a time together. They’d chosen to use this year’s savings to rent out a log cabin in Tennessee's mountains; it’d be like a second honeymoon at best, at worst the trip would still be a good getaway from the familiarity of Alabama.
In a single slick move, the black man flicked a panel up, revealing the LCD touch screen controlling his sound system and quickly programmed in a playlist. As a mechanic and tech expert, such a setup was simply for him to rig up. His wife help with a lot of the wiring as well, being an ex- combat engineer of corps, she had a quite a bit of pointers. He tapped the play button, and let the rest fall into place on it’s own.
Heads bobbed, matching the beat of a dubstep remix of Kid Rock’s Cool Daddy Cool There was no way the couple would let this chance to sing along with one of their favorite childhood movie, Osmosis Jones, pass them by.
Roderick’s favorite part of the song was approaching fast, he couldn’t help but let his voice drip with excitement. “Young ladies, young ladies, I like ‘em under 18. Some say that’s statutory...”
“But I’d say it’s mandatory!” Andrea finished, smiling brightly from hearing the goofy lyrics.
The music and company helped keep Roderick’s nerves steady. Tennessee’s mountain roads were notorious for rock slides crushing travelers. His wife’s voice was exactly the thing he need to make sure he didn’t fly off the deep end with worry. She had offered to drive those parts, but the man simply huffed and declined.
Roderick was broken out of his trip down nostalgia lane by some 18 wheeler’s annoying honking. The vehicle was coming up behind them much too fast and showed no signs of slowing either. “What the fuck is he doing?!”
“Babe, look!” Andrea pointed at the driver of the big rig. He was shouting and gesturing to their right.
Suddenly, it dawned on them to follow the man’s gestures and look to the cliff-face. “Fuck!” Roderick shouted, putting the pedal to the metal.
Boulders poured down the side of the mountain like beads of sweat rolling down an Olympic sprinters face. Each bump and bounce of a stone upheaved another, and that upheaval caused another, forcing a chain reaction of falling rocks creating falling rocks. It was like a constant barrage of thunder, drowning out even their music.
Andrea gripped her seat and one of the safety handles. Her eyes were locked on the rolling orbs of death coming for them.
An errant stone smashed into the road, missing by mere feet, and eliciting a loud yelp from both Roderick and Andrea. He turned hard to the left, the corvettes tires skidding along the ground as they struggled to maintain a grip on the icy asphalt. He chanced a look of out the passenger window to check where the boulders were. Immediately, he slammed on the brakes, his eyes wide with horror as the closest rock sailed cleanly over the hood of their car, had they been a few more feet forward, Roderick shuddered at the thought.
“Oh my god, Roder--” Before he could snap his head in Andrea’s direction, he was hit with enough force to slam him into the driver side door. His head smacked against the window hard enough to crack the glass, reducing his world to one of hazy lights and sounds of rending metal. A shrill cry was the last thing he heard before he was taken by darkness.
Frigid winds whipping across his face roused the man awake, but his body was racked with pain, while he couldn’t seem to fight away a strange weightless feeling. Opening his eye’s, he was greeted by the most horrifying sight he’d ever seen. To his left, hundreds of feet below and growing closer with each heartbeat was the ground, and his right, the unconscious form of his wife, boulders, and the bent safety rail their car had been thrown over. This was it, after being married for five years, they’d perish, together, because of a stupid rock slide. He wanted to rage at the christian God for forsaking him like this, for letting this happen, and for not sparing Andrea, but his voice wouldn’t work.
Shards of glass mingled with globs of blood and tears as the vehicle plummeted. Roderick stared blankly, having given up hope, he simply awaited the end. That’s when a strange red light made itself known to him. The odd wisp of light hovered over Andrea’s chest, silently calling out to her. Was it here to save her? He didn’t know, but it was her only hope and it just felt right that she have it. Pushing through the pain, he reached out towards it, eventually grasping the object. He tried to put it into his wife’s hand, but the moment he touched it, red light washed over him, warming both his body and soul. What happened next was all a blur and a flash of images. Him floating out of the doomed vehicle, the explosion when it hit the ground, and finally the tunnel to someplace else…
Roderick shook his head clear. Snow storms always brought up unpleasant memories of a past he just wanted to forget. To this day he still hadn’t figured out why he had been chosen over his wife. In the end it didn’t matter, he had been given a second chance and would live his life to the fullest.
Off in the distance he could see his target destination, The Vision. It was a massive airship built by a collaborative effort between the best pony and griffon engineers in both nations. He chuckled to himself at the irony of the situation. The vessel was built after the Skyllian- Equine War as a sign harmony that the nations shared, but now the ship’ cannons were being turned on the their designers and declarations of war were being sent.
Dialing back on the throttle of his jet pack, Roderick quickly reduced his speed down from hypersonic to a safe landing velocity. After orientating himself appropriately and flagging down the soldiers on the deck, he managed to touch down without a hitch. It wasn’t too difficult for him to spot Flash Sentry. The young stallion had been making waves in the news for a while now and Roderick was one of the more informed and down to earth heroes. A few of the naval mares and stallions recognized him, acknowledging the hero with bows, nods, and salutes as he walked passed them.
He towered over Sentry for a moment, examining the pony’s reaction to his imposing stature. The captain’s legs trembled weakly while his eyes seemed to struggle with maintaining the closest thing to eye contact they could manage, but the stallion refused to back down. Most wouldn’t have been able to pick up on it, but having have techno-organic computer for a brain and highly detailed visual capabilities allowed him to detect and analyze such minute movements. It was normal for ponies to fear him, all that mattered was that the pony in front of him was willing to stand his ground against a force that he had no chance of fighting against.
“Flash Sentry.” Was all the Roderick said.
He gave his guest a deep bow, “An honor to meet you in person. As you’ve likely heard, our forces have not been doing well on this front.”
“Then we have a lot to talk about.”
... But the Hills Have Eyes
From the peaks of Skyllia’s Skyverge Mountain range, Asha’s forward assault squadron watched the ponies’ solemn flight towards certain death. They appeared to have received backup, but it was only one unit. Perhaps a messenger.
I’ll never understand why the equines can’t seem to keep their grubby little hooves out of griffon affairs. You’d think that suffering loss after loss would be enough to deter them; you’d think that the frigid peaks of the Skyverge, separating our nations, would keep their muzzles stuffed up Celestia’s harmony dripping cunt, but no. The ponies continue to dance on our borders, ready to jump when that coward Salazar says jump! The Dracogryphon chewed over what both parties had to gain from this venture. No matter what the ponies claimed their motive was, it all came down to a single motive in Asha’s mind. Power. Celestia wanted to recover that stone from her lands because of the untapped magic within it. That was a weapon she would not give the ponies. She knew the history behind what she had.
Asha growled, releasing a small stream of fire from her beak. How trash like Salazar came gained power over his province completely eludes me. Her wings twitched, both in anger and restlessness. Way too much predatory blood flowing through my veins. Seeing all that meat coming to the grind house fills makes my heart skip a beat
Raising to her full height of six foot two, the hybrid stretched out her wings and popped the bones along her spine. Burgundy fur covered her body from neck to paw, while black draconic scales covered both of her forearms. Black markings made from the down-like feathers on her head framed a set of sharp, intelligent yes eyes almost drawing attention away from the two curved horns protruding from her head.
Ornate bronze colored armor with decorative red and bronze sashes protected Asha’s toned body. On her back rested a black and gold partisan. It was easily seven feet long, having to be mounted on her back at an angle to make the weapon carriable. Reaching back, she absentmindedly ran her claws along the shaft of the deadly weapon. It had been his gift to her, given with his last breath and on the promise that she’d keep their nation strong.
The crunch of someone plodding through the powder ripped her mind away from it’s current train of thought. Whipping around, Asha acknowledged her company. He was a young thing, barely out of the egg. She guessed that he was no more than twenty. He’d likely joined this campaign to bring honor to his family or impress the lord of his province, ie, me.
“Speak.” Her request came off much harsher than she expected, but it caught the young soldier’s attention well enough.
His ragged breath barely won out over the howling mountain winds. “Lady Asha, our forces are prepared to snuff out all pony interlopers over the Skyverge flats.” The kid sounded terrified.
Looking behind him, she could see her griffons finishing up the preparations for the attack. White tents were dropping quickly and soldiers were lining up in squads, being outfitted with repeater rifles and blades; each awaiting her word. Above their heads, three small Adya class airships hovered threateningly. Every rotary cannon and rocket pod swiveled and spun up, testing to ensure that the weapons would be ready to massacre Equestria’s forces when the time came. She popped her neck, relieving a bit of tension and sending the blood rushing to the rest of her body.
“Another day, another slaughter,” Asha whispered to herself
Meanwhile, Under the Ice of the Skyllian Tundra
A weak stream of frozen wind brushed across the bare skin of my neck, causing goosebumps to slowly stand up at attention. The sudden plummet in temperature sent a chill down my spine, shocking my addled mind into gear. “Gerald! Mishra!” I cried out, only to have my own echo answer me.
Where the hell was I and how did I get here? I wondered as my eyes fluttered open. Against my will, a weak groan escaped my lips. The noise echoed loudly, scaring the shit out of me for a moment.
From what I could tell, either it was night time and there were no stars-- Yeah, fat chance of that-- or I was trapped under something. The second seemed much more likely. You know, because of the echo. Wherever I was, it was colder than an Eskimos corpse and I doubted I’d survive much longer if I stuck around.
I tried to reach out in front of myself to get a feel for how much space I had to work with. Immediately, I noticed that I couldn’t move my left arm. Great! I was buried, lost, and injured! Let’s open door number two and see just what else the universe want to screw me with. And I swear, if it’s not at least seven inches long, brown, and attached to a nubian stud named Tyrone, God and I are going to have a falling out.
The second thing I noticed was that my right hand had hit something cold and solid. Okay, that’s a start. I waved my hand around, hitting random surfaces all around me. Chilly, stuff with the texture of powder landed on on the bare skin over my collar bone. Barely a second later, I felt a cold sensation roll down the skin and between my breasts. Shit, that’s cold! In addition to giving me a fresh coating of goosebumps, that little experience let me know that I was buried in snow. This entire situation was fucking ridiculous. I can’t seem to remember what the hell I was doing a few hours ago, but I know I wasn’t out in a fucking blizzard.
Whatever. I wasn’t going to get out of this by bitching about the situation. “Buck up or shut up”, dad used to say. Guess it’s time to see if I’m a survivor or not.
---*****---
An hour… It took me an entire hour of clawing at snow to get free from that frozen death trap. And you know what? Fuck you universe! That’s what. Once I heaved my five- foot ten ass out of my snowy dugout, I realized that it was infinitely worse topside! Seriously, where am I? The top of Mt. Everest?
Now I found myself wandering through a goddamn snowstorm. Gaige the Mechromancer was not fucking dressed for arctic environments. Period. Yeah, I had a hood, but that’s really about it. I’ve got nothing to fight off the weather, striped leggings, a slightly tattered reddish skirt, a thin red shirt, and a dark grey hooded vest just weren’t cutting it, and there’s no civilization in sight. Damn… This was not looking good for me.
My skin was coated in frost and I could barely feel my fingers and toes. I even stopped shivering… That’s good right? Who am I kidding? I’m going to fucking freeze to death in this wasteland. I mean, it’s not like that metallic clanging noise can help me at all.
Wait, what? My eyes and ears must have been playing tricks on my mind. In front of me, the snowstorm was slowly clearing up, revealing a scene that looked frighteningly similar to a battlefield. From what I could tell, two groups of aerial warriors were clashing head- on over some dispute. Flashes of light followed by puffs of smoke let me know that some of them were using guns, while others seemed to be firing off neon colored lasers!
My jaw dropped as I watched the winged troopers-- one side escorted by smaller menacing looking battleships while the other side seemed to mostly be defending their own airships-- battled it out with rifle- like firearms and motherfucking lightning bolts! The more I stared, the more off everything seemed. People neither had wings-- bionic or otherwise-- nor had we weaponized lightning. The hell are they then? If they weren’t people, where the fuck had I ended up to be in a position to encounter intelligent, non human life?
Falling forward, I barely managed to catch myself on my one good hand and knees. Darkness crept along the corners of my vision, the cold sapping my strength away with each passing second. Yep, that’s it. Game over, I lose. Tears poured from my eyes, freezing to my skin barely halfway down my cheeks. The only things who could probably help me were too far away to hear my cries and unlikely to give a fuck because they were too preoccupied murdering each other to save a life.
Not even a second later, a bright blue flash, accompanied by agonized yelling, broke me out of my self imposed pity party long enough to look up. The shouting was coming from one of the winged soldiers. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Lightning crackled around his body as he spun out. I could tell that his landing was not going to be fun. If I cocked my head and squinted, it really looked like the poor guy was going to crash right where I was-- shit! My mind put two and two together, but even with the resulting surge of panic induced adrenaline, my body couldn’t move fast enough to clear to impact zone.
An electrical pop, and the muffled slam of a body against fresh powder let me know that the soldier had hit the ground. I didn’t even have the time to brace myself for the burst of electricity that washed over me. Power surged through my body, locking my muscles and causing digital displays to flicker in and out of focus. I hit the snow face- first, hard.
My entire body screamed in pain. Burning bits of wooden wreckage rained from the sky, peppering my skin with shrapnel. I could feel myself twitch every so often, but the feeling was surreal; like being stabbed all over, but watching it happen from outside of your body.
One by one, the static-y images in in my view settled. Near the bottom of my sight range, was a digital compass with all the standard directional information, along with “Level 72 Legendary Anarchist” printed on top of it in block text. Off to the left of the compass, sat a quickly filling blue bar with a flame animation along the borders. It read “200283” once the bar was done moving and above it was the symbol for “Summon Deathtrap”. A blue bar displaying “9/9” with a teal and pink emblem of a grenade next to it, occupied the other side of my vision. The last image to settle was at the top right. At the moment it was nothing more than a beveled teal square with a darker teal outline and a slightly different colored patch in the center, which was joined by a yellow triangle.
“Ugh...” No idea how long I stayed down, but did it really matter? Somehow I was alive. Shakily, I picked myself up out of the snow. The first thing that caught my attention, other that the HUD was that I could move my left arm. Next came the realization that I wasn’t freezing my metaphorical balls off. The electricity must have jump started all of my gear. For a moment, fury flooded my body as I realized what the sudden revitalization of my “injured” limb meant. My arm, my real flesh and blood left arm was gone! One more kick, in the face that the universe decided to send my way, I guess. What’s going on? How’s any of this possible? I felt my stomach lurch, the stress of my predicament finally catching up, forcing me to calm down, lest I lose my lunch.
Sadly, I didn't get the time to take those deep breaths that I needed. Have you ever felt like you just needed to check behind yourself? Well, the familiar spine tingle of my sixth sense went hit me with a vengeance, all but forcing me to chance a glance at where the soldier had crashed.
It was moving. The one fact was enough to replace my blood with ice water. Okay, there is no way that thing is a human. No normal person could survive a fall like that. Whatever it was, it looked hurt, seeing as it tried, and failed, to stand multiple times. I swallowed my fear, much too loudly, because both of us heard the gulped.
Two ears stood up at attention as it looked in my direction. At first it regarded me with curiosity, but after examining me for a moment, that curiosity turned into alarm, then to fear. I could understand where it was coming from too. Seeing what was essentially a dark green horse faced person was… well, creepy. Straw colored hair covered most of the human- horse’s features from view, only parting for the spiral horn jutting out from his forehead. A unicorn? This was incredible, a unicorn!
Standing, I slowly made my way over to the creature, holding my hands up too make myself look defenseless. It didn’t like that though. The moment the horseman decided that I had gotten too close for comfort, its horn lit up like a damn fog light. My chest was hammered by an invisible force, knocking the air from my lungs, but otherwise leaving me standing. Oh, god… Blue hexagons filled the edges of my vision, worsening my nausea.
The thing’s horn was smoking. It… It shot me… If I didn’t have my Firehawk shield, whatever it hit me with would’ve turned me into a splatter. My shield gauge quickly recovered the five thousand or so energy that saving me had required and flashed, indicating that it was full again.
We stared at each other; him in horror at fact that his little attack hadn’t really hurt me, and me enraged at the him for even attempting what he did. He sighed, resigned to his fate, but the look in his eyes said he wasn’t going to go down without taking me out first. Lowering his head, he prepared to do… whatever he did that first time again. But I wasn’t having that. I took off towards him like an olympic runner, my heavy footfalls tearing up the snowy earth beneath my shoes. I needed a weapon! Something, anything! Gaige’s hammer! And it was right where it should‘ve been, bouncing happily on my toolbelt.
I crossed the distance between us nearly instantly, scaring the shit out of the unicorn. The blast was fired prematurely, striking me in the knee. Instead of fighting to stay standing, I raised my hammer and let the momentum of my fall add to the damage my own strength would cause. The tool impacted his skull with a wet crunch, caving in bone and pulverizing grey matter as it went.
Pulling back, I wrenched my bloody hammer from his face. I’d always known that a hammer to the face could do some real damage but-- everything I’d eaten that day came up and spilled out of my mouth, leaving a multicolored stain in the snow. I would’ve stayed there, hunched over, sobbing and crying, had my focus not been drawn away from the corpse by the approaching sound of wingbeats. I took one final look at the dead horse- man- thing and noticed something new in my HUD right above the compass.
With the way things were going, I’d probably need those stacks sooner rather than later…
