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                 The moon and the unicorn                  
                      -by knut124345-                      
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                          Prologe                          
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Prologe
During the age of ash, ponies moved in great herds and the world was ruled by dragons. Ancient, titanic beings, covered in grey scales, wielding fire with their maws and taking to the air with their wings.
They dominated the skies, the lands and the ocean. They burned ground beneath them. And with their jaws they ate what they killed.   
The lands were their hunting grounds and everything roaming was prey.
Ponies were small, vulnerable yet fertile creatures. Running along the fields and eating the grass on the ground. Always keeping an eye towards the sky.
But during a thunderous night, a mare named Epona gave birth to twin sisters. Both having feathery wings on their backs and twisted horns on their heads. One of them was snow white with a mane of golden curls. The other was blue like the evening sea with a mane dark like the midnight sky, sparkling with little stars.
The white one took the name Celestia. Alicorn of the sun and the mother of unicorns and Pegasus.
The blue one took the name Luna. Alicorn of the moon and the guardian of dreams.
Hundreds of moons and thousands of suns passed as the sisters roamed the land. Together they learned and grew.
They shared the skies with the dragons, watching the world below. Watching them hunt and eat their kin. They decided to act.
Celestia called on her two first born.
Sombra, the first unicorn and his crystal Knights.
Valkyrie, the first Pegasus and her daughters of Calamity.
Both of them knelt before their mother, swearing allegiance.
Celestia looked at the two of them. Sombra with his jet black mane and grey fur. His green pupils glowed like a pair of burning cinders in his eyes. A sharp pointing, crimson horn grew out of his forehead. Valkyrie with her ashen white mane and ice blue coat. She looked at her mother with crimson eyes. Though more than fully grown and outlived both of their fathers they still seemed like mere children to her, her blood flowed through their veins. She accepted their loyalty with a smile.
With Celestia´s descendant at their side, the sisters challenged the dragons.
In the sky, Celestia drew forth a black cloud, roaring with thunder.
Valkyrie and her daughters pulled crackling lightning bolts from the cloud to tear the scales of their hides.
On the ground, Luna unleashed a smog of ice and wind, trapping the dragons inside white crystals.
Sombra and his knights charged and shattered them.
Celestia and Luna stood side by side. The landscape was transformed. A green and vibrant land, now cold and parched, sparkling with the shattered remains of the dragons. They looked over their defeated foe and both knew that the age of ash was at an end.
Thus began the age of moon and sun. An age where sky was clear but for the clouds and the sun, where night sky was black aside from the ice blue moon and the sparkling stars, and towns and villages grew from the ground like flowers in spring.
But now the sun is fading and with each passing full moon, the nights grow ever longer and colder. Unnatural creatures wander the earth during these nights. Everypony born on a night of the full moon enter the world twisted and malformed.

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                 For the heart I once had                  
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For the heart I once had
The white moon reflected in the black sea and a unicorn wandered alone on the beach. She was wrapped in a thick cloak. A wind passed her by, pulling her hood and screaming, quietly in her ear. A shudder passed under her skin.
“Bon-Bon, could you be out here?” Lyra asked herself while closing her eyes to the wind.
Slowly, she made her way forward. Sand grabbed by the wind smacked against her hooves. Soon the wind picked up and the gravel started reaching up to her face. A fierce gust of wind grabbed her cloak and tried to pull it off her, exposing her to the elements. A mixture of salty water and small pebbles sprayed over her body.
Lyra pulled the cloak down and put her side to the wind. She stayed on the beach and searched for shelter with only the dim moon light to light her way. After a few minutes, she found something. A cave overlooking the shore. Without much hesitation Lyra walked up to the cavern. Her horn started glowing and a glowing, golden orb lit the cave.
It was a small, grey, yet deep cavern with sand covering the floor. It was damp and moist inside. She stood at the entrance before taking a few, careful steps inside. There was no visible end to the cave in sight. Not that it mattered, she only needed it until the storm had passed. She took a firm hold of the edges of her cloak and wrapped herself in it before leaning against the wall.
Outside the wind started howling and rain had started to fall.
Lyra stared at the droops of water rushing by the opening. She reached inside her cloak and took out a letter. The envelope was sealed by a blue and yellow stripped bonbon. No name written on it. Carefully, she opened it and unfolded the paper inside.
Lyra, my sweet little pony. Before I meet you, I was a sad, lonely mare. My life was nothing but a grey and bleak trek from one day to another. Each night I cried myself to sleep and hurt myself when I couldn´t bare it anymore. I hoped and waited for it to end. There were days where I wondered why I shouldn’t just end it. But then I meet you and something happened. Something I only have you to thank for. It was the first time we made love, you might even remember it, I cried. A stream of tears that wouldn´t end. After that the days became so bright, so filled with color and smell. Each night became a peaceful drift into endless oceans. The time you gave may have been short but it was the best time of my life.
Lyra sniffed as she turned the paper.
Lyra, by the time you read this I will have gone. I´ve gone to let them take me. I will let them do what they want with me. I don´t know what will happened after that and I don´t know if will ever see each other again. I just want you to promise me one thing.
Don´t come after me and don´t try to stop me.
I know it will be hard for you not to. I know you will hate me for it. But you must try. And if you only remember one thing about me, remember this: regardless of what will happen or what you do, I will always love you.
Forever yours, Bon-Bon.
Lyra rubbed her eye. She´d lost count of how many times she´d read the letter. Gently she put it back into the envelope and looked up at the roof of the cave. She reached back into her cloak again and pulled out another letter. This one was signed Bon-Bon.
“Could she have sent this?” Lyra took out the paper inside.
I don´t know if this letter will ever reach you Lyra. I don´t even know if you´re still live here, let alone if you even remember me.   
Lyra, I´m in Northbury. It´s a little port town next to the sea, close the border of the Crystal Empire. The weather out here is pretty rough and the winds will kick up like an angry mule and the salty smell of the sea is starting to get to me, but I survive.
Lyra, if you want to meet me again, I´ll be waiting by the pier overlooking the port.
“Anypony in there?” A voice asked from outside the cave.
Lyra jumped when she heard it and looked towards the cave´s entrance but saw nothing except the passing rain.
The voice asked again. “Is there anypony in the cave?”
Lyra could hear hooves walking on the hard stone outside the cave. A warm light started spread across the edge of the entrance. Before Lyra could say anything, a stallion holding a lantern on his hooves stared into the cave. His face was obscured by the hood he was wearing but Lyra could see a pair of bright cyan eyes.
“Hello.”
“Hello.” Lyra replied.
“What are you doing out here?”
Lyra hid the letter underneath her cloak. “Looking for a friend.”
“Out here?” The rain smattered against his hood but he didn´t seem to be bothered by it.
“Not here. Were I´m going.”
“Where is that?”
Now Lyra felt unsure of what to tell him. It was too dark for her to tell if he had any emblems off the ecclesiarchy, but it could have been hidden under his cloak. “In Northbury.” Lyra decided to risk it. maybe he could offer her directions or help her get there.
“You´re pretty close then.” He took a few steps inside the cave. Rain run off his cloak and dripped over the floor.
“How close?” Lyra asked eagerly.
“Not far.” He put the lantern down and pulled the hood back. He had a black mane with a blue coat. “A few miles north of here.”   
Lyra smiled and released a small, quiet giggle to herself. She could leave when the storm gave in and be there by sunrise.
“You seem happy about it.” The stallion commented.
Lyra hid her expression behind a hoof. “It´s just been a long time since I meet him.” Lyra lied while staring into the cave´s throat.
“I could take you there now if you want.”
She was more than ready to go and the thought of seeing Bon-Bon made her made want to charge out into the rain and ignore whatever the storm would throw at her. But she wasn´t sure if she could trust him. And what would he do if he found out that she had lied?   
“Thanks for the offer but I´ll wait here until the weather calms.”
“Okay.” He pulled up the hood and turned to the entrance of the cavern. “I´ll leave the lantern though. It can get pretty dark around here.”
“What about you?”
“I´ll be fine.” He walked out of the cave, back into the storm. At first Lyra, could hear his hooves but the howling wind and the smattering rain soon drowned it out.
Lyra leaned back on the wall and stared out into the storm. She rose to go and pick up the lantern. Behind a dirty wall of glass a little yellow flame flickered. It looked downright mesmerizing to her, the way it danced atop its little base. It brought back memories of her and Bon-Bon resting by a bonfire as they roasted bread and stared up the stars. It was one of the few times they managed to get away from the town without any pony noticing. It made her smile.
She walked back into the cave and put the lantern next to her. She pulled the cloak up on the side facing the opening to ease the cold from the wind. She took out the letter again.
Forever yours, Bon-Bon.
Lyra put the paper on her chest. She sighed and smiled. For a solid hour, she stared into the selling and held her hooves crossed over her chest. The wind howled and shrieked outside the cave. A little pool of rain formed on by the cave entrance. Soon it overflowed and a little river started running into the cave. She only noticed it when she felt the water pressing through her cloak and her flank started getting wet.
“Stupid rain.” Lyra shifted her position and let her hooves rest in the river. She hoped that the rain would stop.
But for another hour there was no end in sight. The drops of water kept falling by the opening like falling stars across the night sky.   
After that it started to calm down.
It was enough for Lyra to get up and risk it. She took the lantern and walked up to the entrance. The rain was still falling but it was nowhere near as bad as before. She took the lantern and walked back to the beach.
The sea was wilder than before. The waves stretched out of the surface of the water and feel violently over at the shore.   
Lyra put a hoof before her face and pressed forward. The wind pushed her and the rain smacked against the lantern´s glass. She always liked the sound of rain smattering on glass but now she could only hear the wind howling and shrieking.
Despite the winds best efforts Lyra kept walking. After an hour of slowly walking along the beachside she saw the pulsating light of a lighthouse out on the black sea. And soon after the start a gravelly road started to form beneath her hooves.
A road sign stood on the edge of the road. Lyra raised her lantern to get a better look at it.
“Northburty.” She read and smiled. There was no sign of how far she had left to go. Only an arrow pointing down the road she was on. Lyra wiped a layer of rainwater from her face and kept walking.
The beachside was soon replaced by a thin wall of trees, partially shielding her from the wind and rain. The wind shrieked as it passed through the leaves and branches. With every step she took, Lyra felt her hooves sinking into the muddy trail beneath her. It forced her to keep up a good pace in order not to get stuck. By the time she made it to solid ground Lyra had to stop to catch her breath.   
She looked up and saw a little house with moss covered roof.
Lyra walked past the house and found herself looking down a stone covered road. Her hooves clopped against the hard rocks and splashed the cold rainwater away. She trotted down the alleyway, looking for the water.
A scream came from the town. It was loud and echoed between the houses.
Lyra shuddered at the noise and froze where she stood. What could have caused that sound? Suddenly Lyra felt a cold pulse passing down her spine. She brushed her wet hair out of her face. “Bon-Bon is still out there.” She told herself. “I need to find her.”
The water beneath her hooves was freezingly cold. The cold bit her to the bone. The wind still pulled her cloak and shrieked in her ears. She walked slowly forward and heard the scream again.
Now she could clearly hear that it came from the alley right next to her.
She stared into the jet-black alleyway. Instinct told her to ignore it. It told her to walk away, leave the town and head back home. But the scream was shout of pain. Could it have been Bon-Bon? Or somepony who could help her find Bon-Bon?
Lyra stared into the alley. A cold set of sharp talons gripped her heart and pressed down into the flesh. She closed her eyes.   
When she opened them, she was walking forward, into the alley.
The darkness wrapped around her. If not for the light from the lantern she might has well be blind.
Something moved beyond the reach of the lantern´s light.
Lyra jumped back a small step but after a moment of pause she kept walking forward.
As she got closer the light started revealing what was hidden by the shadows. A thin, shivering, little creature laid on the ground before her with her back facing her. It had black, chrome like, shining skin and pair of blue-green wings sprouting out of its back. Its face was hidden behind a pair of black hooves. The wings buzzed with every breath it took.
Lyra wasn´t sure what to think of the creature that was lying before her. She had no idea of what it was but it seemed to resemble a pony in its size and shape.
“Hello?” She asked. “Are you alright?”
The creature turned towards her with a snap. It´s narrow eyes had a pair of glowing eyes filled to the edges with cyan light and pair of long white fangs grew from the corners of its upper jaw. It hissed and a long, thin snake like tongue stuck out towards her.   
Lyra tripped backwards and the lantern slipped out of her hoof. The glass shattered on impact with the ground and the flame was quickly drowned by the pouring rain.
In an instant, the world became a black void in Lyra´s eyes.
The creature threw itself on top of her. She could fell one of its hooves pressing down on her shoulder and heard the thin wings buzzing on its back. Lyra fumbled with one hoof to reach something to hit the creature with and placed her other hoof under the creature´s jaw. Even though the creature was only half her size it managed push itself down towards, coming ever closer to Lyra´s skin. It opened its mouth a and the slithering tongue licked the center of Lyra´s chest. The taste spurred the creature. It removed Lyra´s hoof with a hard strike and pressed its nose down into her ribcage.
The cold talons that gripped Lyra´s chest before melted as a burning sensation took over. As if the flesh in her heart was slowly being replaced with black, burning ashes.
The creature opened its mouth and bit down on Lyra´s chest. The needle like teeth pierced through the skin on Lyra´s ribcage. The burning feeling in her chest intensified. In one panicked movement, Lyra took a rock of the ground and smashed into the side of the creature´s head. The force of the strike yanked the creature of her chest, taking a large chunk of her skin with it.
Lyra crawled backwards on her back and watched the creature lay on its side. Its limbs twitched and jerked as a little pool of steaming, green blood formed on the side of its head. The cyan eyes rolled over, changing to jet black like its skin.
Without a second look, Lyra turned, put her hooves to the ground. And ran. Out of the alley, back to the streets. Ice flowed through her veins and a fire burned in her lungs. She galloped, like a madmare. No aim or goal. She just kept landing with her front hooves and jumping with her back hooves. As long as nothing got in her way, she kept going.
She tripped and the ground rushed up to smack her cheek so hard that the skin broke. At first there was no pain. She just put a hoof on her face and felt the warm blood dripping from the wound. Then the ice in her veins melted and the fire in her lungs was extinguished. Suddenly Lyra felt the wound on her chest and cheek burning.
Despite every urge from her body, Lyra managed to stop herself from screaming. She put a hoof over her lips and pinched. Fast, small breaths pushed themselves through her nose.
After a few moments, Lyra managed to slow her breathing. She looked to her right, into the dark street, searching for the creature, but saw nothing. Only a black empty void. She put a hoof on her ribcage and felt the warm blood slowly running down her chest.   
“Was that a…?” She asked herself and pondered for a moment on what she had seen. “It couldn´t have been. They were hunted down.” Her eyes closed and she pressed down on the wound on her chest.
“Bon-Bon.” The words passed her lips slowly. “I´ve got to find her.” Lyra told herself. “I´ll find her, and the we´ll go home.”
She pulled her hood back on and felt a small splash of water running down her neck. Lyra shuddered and created a new orb of light.
The light coming of the orb may have been dim but Lyra could hear the ocean and her eyes were starting to adjust. Things were starting to take shape. She could see the walls of the buildings and the alleys between them. Even though she had no idea where she was, the sound of the waves breaching against the shore roared from the east.
She made a note of the direction and moved towards it. She trotted down the little roads and paths. Slowly and carefully, she always kept a watchful eye to the little alleyways to her side.
The rain smattered against her cloak and rolled down into the little rivers beneath her hooves. Drops of blood dripped from her chest and chin. It mixed with the little streams on the ground and rolled down with the water. The crimson color drained quickly as the streams carried the little drops away.
The sound of the ocean grew stronger, louder. It ushered Lyra to pick up her pace. Soon she was meet by a black, endless mass of water. Breaching against the dock with waves topped by white foam.
The roars of the waves drowned out any of the noises coming from the town. Lyra stared across the dock and within a moment she found what she was looking for. The pier overlooking the port. She could see it covering the edge of the horizon, standing in line with the lighthouse at the far end.
With a smile on her face, Lyra galloped towards the pier. She ran, the pain in her chest and cheek numbed out by her heart beating with anticipation. She had to stop herself from laughing with joy.
She was standing at the base of the pier when she saw her. A pony with cream-white coat and curly mane. One half of it blue. The other pink. She stood there alone waiting.
Lyra stopped. She stood still, her hoof in front of her mouth. “Bon-Bon!” She shouted and galloped towards her. “Bon-Bon, I´m here!”
The pony at the end of the pier turned to face her. Her grey-blue eyes meet hers and now Lyra knew without a doubt that it was Bon-Bon at the end of the pier.
“Bon-Bon!”
Bon-Bon gave her a warm smile and tilted to the side. Slowly, she fell off the pier. The dark sea swallowed her in a large gulp.
Lyra felt a cold lump of ice shooting from her stomach, into her throat. She ran. Even if the sea had swallowed her, Lyra didn´t care she ran up the end of the pier and looked down into the water. She only saw her blurred, distorted reflection in the water. “No.” She said with a weak voice. “This can´t be happening.” She fell to the hard pavement. “This can´t be happening.” She repeated.
She lied still, the rain sprayed her and the waves crashed against the pier.
“It couldn´t have been her.” She told herself.
The thunderous roars of the waves started to subside as the wind slowly died down. Lyra lied on the pier, shivering, trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks.
A new sound started filling the town. The sound of wings buzzing. Lyra looked up and saw dozens of glowing cyan lights coming from the pier.

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               The sinner and the berserker                
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The sinner and the berserker
The Berserker dragged his cart through the evergreen forest.
He was old and weary. His body clad in a black, crystal enforced armor. The cart was heavy and slow. Dragging it was tiresome and tedious. Yet inside it carried something precious.
He grunted as he pulled the cart over a rock. The cart gave off a rattle and the Berserker stopped. He looked over his shoulder. He looked at the cart.
“I´m okay.” A voice said from inside.
“You sure?” He asked, anxious.
“Yes, I´m fine.”
“Okay.” The old Berserker kept trotting. His muscles ached just from walking long distances at his age. Dragging a loaded cart along a stony, twisty path while in full armor was enough to make his bones creak.
A wolf howled in the forest. The sound was loud and clear and followed by another howl further away. The Berserker didn´t make a note of it but he could hear a whimper coming from the cart. As much as he would like to stop the cart again and assure her that there was nothing to be worried about, he knew that it would put them at a risk. If one wolf howled, there was another. If two howled, there was a pack.
He put it aside and pulled the cart. Although he did start to trot faster. He hoped to put the forest behind him and reach his goal before the sun would set.
Soon enough he saw a clearing between the trees. It was no end to the thick forest but it was a pause from it.
When he reached the clearing, he saw a deer galloping out of the forest. A stillborn fetus hung from her behind. It swung and slapped between its mother´s hind legs with every step she took.
A grey wolf came after. A large, ragged beast with a silver white back and yellow eyes. A smaller, black one followed and two brown ones after that. Together they chased after the deer.
The black one reached her first. With one hard yank, he pulled the fetus from the mother.
The Berserker stared as the black one’s teeth dig into the pink flesh.
The deer tripped and feel.
The other wolves attacked her. She tried to get up but the grey one put his jaws around her neck and bit down.
The deer didn´t even bark. She just stood like she was frozen as blood started running from her throat. Quietly, she went down as the other wolves started pulling the skin from her stomach and tore into her flesh. Behind them, the black one feasted on chunks of pink, crimson stained flesh.
He forced his eyes to on the path and ignored the sounds coming from the wolves. A light shriek came from the cart.
The Berserker wandered past the wolves and the wolves merely glanced at him before returning to their kill.
The sun moved across the sky in an archway. Even under the trees thick crowns he could still see it peak through.
As he reached the edge of the forest he could see the red-orange sun hovering above to the horizon. The path started to straightening and flattened. On the edge of the horizon he could see the silhouettes Ponyville´s tower. They were too far away for him to reach before sundown.
But he could also see a pillar of smoke coming off the top of a hill, far closer to them than Ponyville. Close enough for him to reach before sundown.
“Should we try and make it for the camp?” The voice asked.
The thought of reaching the camp before the sunset warmed him but it also troubled him. But it was either that or staying out in the open during the night, close to the evergreen forest.
“Yes. We will try the camp.” He replied and dragged the cart forward.
When he reached the foot of the hill, the cart got a lot heavier and slower. With each step, he took felt his muscles strained.
As he got close, he saw five stallions standing over a mare´s corpse. Each of them holding a weapon. They laughed at the crowd of ponies in front of them.
“Now start bringing us the gold or we´ll kill the rest of you.” Said the leader while standing next to the corpse.
All the ponies backed off. None of them dared to approach him. Only a mare in black and white robes dared staying behind.
“Please, have mercy.” Begged the mare. Her face was partially hidden behind her hooves as she went down on her knees. “We don´t have any more gold.”
The leader punched the Nun in the face. “If that´s the case, then you´re useless to us.”
The Berserker looked at the scene before him. He wanted to leave it. He didn´t want to become involved. He grunted and stopped the cart.
“I´ll be back soon.” He said as he reached into the cart and pulled out a sword. The weapon was so large and broad that he had to lean it against his shoulder.
“Any last words?” The leader asked as he raised his sword to strike the Nun.
A large piece of metal passed across his head and flung most of his body away with one hard swing. He rolled down the hill limbless.
“What!?” One of the bandits stared at what just happened in shock.
The Berserker stared at him with cold, blood red eyes. “Run away.” He said with a rough gravel.
One of the stallions decided to attack with his short sword. The blade glanced off the Berserker´s armor.
He gave the attacker a gaze with narrow eyes and swung his sword around him. In one massive sweep, he tore hooves and heads from all the four bandits and let their severed body parts roll down the hill. They ones who didn´t lose their heads died from shock and blood loss moments later.
The Nun´s face grew pale as stared at the corpses lying in front of her. When she looked up at the Berserker she felt ready to vomit. The rest of the ponies backed further away.
“Please, good sir.” She begged. “Don´t hurt us.”
The Berserker felt his gut twisting. He looked down at the nun. She was golden brown with green, watery eyes. He took a hard swallow before answering. “I´m in not going to.” He removed his helmet.
The face that meet the Nun was nothing short of hideous. He had an overgrown muzzle with a wide, pink scar running from his forehead down to the lower part of his jaw. His lip was broken on the right side and a large chunk of the cheek was missing, exposing a set of his broken teeth. Though unpleasant to look at, she felt a sense of gratitude towards him. “Thank you, sir.”
“Will you allow us to spent the night here?” He asked.
“Us?” The Nun asked gently.
The Berserker put his helmet back and pulled the cart up. As he trotted back up the rest of the ponies in the camp started approaching but they quickly retreated when he got closer. The Nun could her abbess in the corner of her sight but she kept her distance as well.   
When he got back to the nun, he stopped. He reached in and a grey Pegasus with a blond mane climbed out. She leaned on him as she walked. The Berserker was big but next to a pony only half as tall as him, he looked downright gigantic.
At first the Nun didn´t realize why she was doing leaning on him, until she saw her stomach. It was wide and bulging, heavy with foal.
“Can we stay?” The Berserker asked again.
“Yes… Yes, you can stay.” She nodded towards him.
“Good.” Carefully, he let the Pegasus of his shoulder. “Help her.” He turned, walked towards the cart and started dragging it again.
“Do you want to lie down?” She asked the Pegasus. Unlike the Berserker she had a very soft and kind face. Her eyes were crossed and golden yellow.
She had a hoof to her stomach. “Yes, thank you.” She smiled warmly.
The Nun helped the Pegasus walk to her tent. She had been lucky and got tent all to herself. It was small but at least she could sleep alone.
As they crossed the camp, the Abbess walked passed them. She was dressed in the same way as her but there was no mistaking her harsh blue eyes. The nun gave her a nod and smile, as she was taught to, and the Abbess replied with a crocked mouth and a deep frown. The Nun tried to put it out of her mind and walked into her tent with the Pegasus leaning on her shoulder.
“Here.” She helped the Pegasus down to her bed. It was a hay filled mattress and thin blanket at the base.
“Thank you.” The Pegasus laid down on her back. She moaned and rubbed her belly, softly.
“What´s your name?”
“Derpy.” She said with a tired tone.
“I´m Windy Bubbles.” She started preparing a bowl of warm blueberry soup from the little pot she had next to the bed. She held it to Derpy, helping her as she drank.
“Thanks again.”
“Who´s your… friend?” She tried asking politely.
“Bulk Biceps.” She took another sip of the steaming soup.
“Bulk Biceps…” The name rang in her head before she remembered. “The white death?!”
Derpy chocked on the soup in her mouth. She started coughing.
Windy took the bowl from her and helped her by turning her to her side and slammed her back with her hoof.   
Derpy´s throat cleared and she turned back too Windy with a red face.
“I´m sorry.” The Nun took a rag, dibbed it in some cold water and gently pressed it against her forehead.
“It´s okay.” Derpy said with a smile. “I was just a little surprised.” She leaned back and rubbed her belly. “Yes, he is the white death.”
“But how? He´s been missing for years.”
“He´s been with me.” She looked at Windy with her crossed eyes.
“I understand.” Windy smiled and nodded. She took the blanket from the base of the bed and pulled it over Derpy. She tucked her in and Derpy went to sleep within a few moments.
The Nun took a sigh. She rubbed her eyes and stared into the ground. Could he be Bulk Biceps? The white death. The famed butcher of the crystal empire.
She peaked out of the tent. The Berserker was walking around without his armor. The color of his fur was snow white with only a sharp, square line of brown-blond hair on his head. His muscles were overgrown and pressed up against his skin. After a closer look, she saw a pair of underdeveloped wings between his shoulder blades and a ruby colored vial hanging from his neck.
An urge inside her wanted her to go up and ask him. But she didn´t want to leave her tent again. The other ponies in the camp stayed away from him. All of them shied away from his gaze and stayed out his way. They feared him.
The Abbess left her tent and trotted towards the Berserker. He had a collection of logs on his shoulder.
The Berserker stopped when he saw the abbess coming towards him.
“What are you doing, Bulk Biceps?” The Abbess asked him, bluntly.
He was stunned as she said his name. “Gathering logs for a fire.”
“For what?”
“To burn the bodies.”
The Abbess frowned at him. “Are you planning on burning the bandits? Turning their bodies into cinders?”   
The Berserker paused a moment before answering. “I´ll bury the bandits.”
The Abbess nodded. “Good.”
With a grunt, he put the logs down and picked up a shovel for digging. As he walked past the entrance of the camp, he picked up the bodies and walked down the hill. There was still some time before the sun would set. He wanted to have the bodies buried before then.   
The grave turned out shallow and narrow. Just large enough the fit the bodies without the limbs they had lost. He tossed the soil over them with three strokes. Enough the bury the scent of death. Not enough to stop creatures from digging up bodies back up and feast on them.   
On the horizon, the sun was starting to set. The Berserker leaned the shovel over his shoulder and walked back to the camp and started preparing a pyre.
He put the logs on top of each other as the sun slowly sank into the tree tops. He had no axe to cut them with, just placed them over each other like he found them. The pyre was short but more than large enough to fit the dead. He picked up the bodies with great care and placed it on top of the pyre.
The Abbess came up behind him with a book in her hoof.
Next to her came Windy. She held a torch in her hoof. As she walked past the Berserker she tried to avoid looking at him, keeping her eyes locked on the pyre she was going to lit.
The Berserker grabbed her by the shoulder and she shuddered.
“Derpy?” He asked with an anxious tone.
“She´s-“ The words got stuck in her throat. “She´s fine. She´s sleeping back at my tent.”
The Berserker let go of her and smiled. “Thank you.” He turned and walked back to her tent.
The Nun looked over her shoulder as the Berserker walked into her tent. On one hand, she was happy that Derpy had someone looking over her, on the other she was nervous if she was even going to sleep in her own tent tonight.
“Windy.” The Abbess remarked by grabbing the Nun´s arm. “Light the pyre.”
Windy nodded and did as she was told. The fire started as a little flickering flame before the orange tongues started licking the bark and wrapped around the logs.
“Celestia.” The abbess read from the book. “Our holy mother and alicorn of the sun, this pony has been taken from this earth. We burn his body and turn his body into glowing cinders in the dark night. Hear our prayer, let his soul be guided through the realms we cannot see. Let his spirit be put to rest. Long live the golden sun.”
“Long live the golden sun.” The rest of the camp chanted in unisons with her.
The flames started embracing and consuming the body. The fur twisted and turned black. The stench of burning fat filled the air as little orange cinders rose from the pyre. They whirled into the sky alongside the grey smoke. Soon the pyre turned into the base of a grey tree, reaching into the sky. The fire consumed the logs, turning them into a mass of orange flames.
“Long live the golden sun.” The camp chanted.
The sun set and darkness started consuming the world.
Twinkling little stars filled the black sky. Like little snowflakes, they sparkled. And in the center of the was the grey-white moon. Only a crescent of it was missing on the edge.
Windy sighed in relief before her heart started raising again. “A full moon is coming.” She said and looked back at the tent. She trotted back towards her tent and found the Berserker lying on the ground next to the bed. His eyes were open and when Windy walked in he looked up at her. Once again, the blood red eyes startled her.
“Sorry.” Windy said. “Didn´t mean to disturb you.”
“It´s okay.” He rose and walked up towards her. “Keep watch on her while I set up our tent.”
“I will.”
“Thank you.” He left the tent and walked up to the cart he had placed right next to Windy´s tent. It took him a solid half hour to get all the things out and set up the tent. He pulled out a large mattress filled with hay and a thick blanket to go along with it.
He walked back to the tent.
Derpy had woken up and she was drinking some warm blubbery soup Windy had given to her. “Hi, Bulky.” She said with soft voice when he saw him.
“Hi, Ditzy.” He smiled. “The tent is ready. Unless you want to sleep here.”
“No, I´ll sleep with you.” Derpy gave the bowl back to Windy and climbed out of the bed.
The Berserker offered his hoof to Derpy and she took it. Leaning on him, Derpy walked to their tent. He put her into the bed before laying down next to her and pulling the blanket over them. He rubbed Derpy´s belly and kissed the backside of her ear.   
Derpy felt him shivering. “Are you cold?” She asked.
“No. I´m terrified.”
“It´ll be fine.” She took his hoof pressed it against her face, hoping that he wouldn´t feel her own heart razing. “We´ll be in Ponyville tomorrow and be back home within a few days.”
The Berserker´s breath tickled her ears as he exhaled. She could feel his heart pounding against her back.
“I hope so.” He whispered.
Derpy rubbed his hoof and felt the foal moving inside her belly. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.
The Berserker blinked slowly and put his chin against Derpy´s head. Soon his eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.   
The moon passed overhead.
During the night, the Berserker dreamt he was walking down a city street. His sword was already dripping with blood and his armor was stained with it.
A pony was standing before him. It held a knife to a filly´s throat. It told him not to come closer. It told him stay away.   
The Berserker trotted forward. His sword leaning on his shoulder and his face hidden behind the helmet.
Once again it told him stop.
He swung his sword. The blade cut roughly through the pony´s body and cleaved the filly in half. Green blood came from the pony, red blood from the filly.
The Berserker looked at the scene before him.
He started trembling in his sleep.
Derpy comforted him by taking his hoof and rubbing it on her round belly. He still trembled, but much less and slower than before. It was no cure for his nightmares. It simply eased his mind. She kept rubbing, hoping that he would stop and she could fall asleep again.   
The night was long, almost longer than the day.
The Berserker woke before the break of dawn. He tried to forget his nightmare and rose out of the bed.   
The cold air filled his muzzle. He exited the tent and stared out across the camp. Apart from little orange embers flying from the pile of black ash, the camp was a black, silent place.
A deep orange glow started forming on the horizon as the Berserker started putting his armor back on. By the time he was done, the sun had climbed over the edge. Its warm light started covering the camp.
He saw the rest of the camp waking up. None of them talked to him. Few even looked at him. The Berserker figured they wanted him out of the camp. Scared of his legend and what they had seen him do.
Before he put the helmet on, he stared into it. He saw a dim reflection in the black metal and thought about what he looked like in it. Neither of his faces were beautiful, but he wondered which one was more unpleasant. He put it on and walked back to the tent to wake Derpy.
“Hey Bulky.” She said when he entered the tent. Her kind smile on her lips. “Is it time to go?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.” She turned and rose. “I´ll manage it myself. You can start packing up.”
“Okay.”
The Berserker started picking the tent apart and put it back into the cart.
“Are you leaving already?” Windy asked him.
“Yes.”
Windy bit her lip. “Where are you going?”
“To Ponyville.”
Windy rubbed the back of her head. She looked over at Derpy, sitting on the ground, wrapped in a blanket and rubbing her stomach. “I want to come with you.”
The Berserker turned to face her. The red eyes seemed to glow through his helmet. “Why?” He asked.
She sucked in a short breath. “Derpy could give birth any minute now, before you reach Ponyville.”
“Hmm…” The Berserker pondered for a moment. “What about the ponies here? Won´t they need your help?”
“Their needs aren´t as urgent as hers.” It would only take her a day from Ponyville to the place the camp was moving.
The Berserker looked over Windy. “If your abbess allows it, you can come.”
Windy smiled for a second. Then she wandered, slowly towards the abbess´s tent. Inside she was sitting behind a table, writing some letters.
“I´m going to follow the Berserker to Ponyville.”
The Abbess looked at her with narrow, harsh eyes. “Why?” Her voice was hard and cold.
“In case Derpy gives birth before they reach Ponyville. Once they are there I´ll leave and head back here.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“A day to get to Ponyville. Half a day to get back.”
“Make sure you get to Ponyville before nightfall. Before the full moon rises.”
“Thank you.” Windy rushed out of the tent and rushed back to the tent. She took a bag of medical supplies and walked to meet the Berserker.
Even through his helmet, she could see the faint signature of a smile.
Derpy smiled and reached out to hug her when she told her that she was coming.
Windy wrapped her hooves around her neck and helped her to the cart. By the time she had gotten Derpy into the cart, the Berserker had filled the cart with the tent, some food and his massive sword.
She helped the Berserker strap the cart back to his armor and walked by his side as they left the camp.
Behind them the sun was rising, and the sky was changing from black to red, from red to blue. Grey rain clouds started forming above them. Soon the skies started weeping.
“Are the stories true?” Windy asked the Berserker.
“What stories?” He asked with a bitter tone in his voice as the rain smattered against his armor.
Windy doubted for a second. “The stories about you bringing the changelings to extinction.”
"I´ve killed changelings.” He replied.
Windy thought about asking him again but stopped herself. The stories she had been told about him were nothing short of unbelievable. Stories about him wandering into a village overrun with changelings and leaving nothing but a trail of bodies behind him.
They wondered throughout the day. Once the sun had passed the center of the sky it seemed intent on rushing back over the horizon.   
The Berserker picked up the pace. They were walking through a muddy part of the road when one of the cart´s wheels started digging itself into the dirt.
He struggled and pulled to get it lose. Windy tried to lift the wheel out of the mud but she just felt herself and the cart sinking deeper down.
“We´re going to have to leave it.” Windy said.
The Berserker made one final pull before giving up. “Help Derpy out.” He said.
Windy helped the Pegasus out of the cart. Once she was out, the Berserker removed the straps and the cart almost tipped over. He reached in pulled out his sheathed sword before they continued.
With Derpy leaning on her shoulder, Windy felt her hooves sinking into the mud. Making her steeps slow and heavy. But that was nothing compared to the Berserker.
His armor and his sword pushed him down, his legs were almost swallowed by the mud with each steep he took.
Before them, the grey sky started shifting into the black. By the time they made it to Ponyville the clouds had disappeared and the sky was black apart from a shimmer of fiery, orange light behind Ponyville. Its highest tower reaching out to the sky like a black, sharp straw.
“Oh no.” Derpy said with small voice.
The Berserker frowned and glared at the horizon. “Move.” He said, growling as he took point into Ponyville.
Inside Ponyville all the streets were empty. The doors and windows that hadn´t been barred up were torn down, long abandoned and neglected.
“We´re too late.” Windy said with Derpy leaning on her side. “They´ve already left.”
Derpy gave of a small shriek of pain. She fell from Windys shoulder and put a hoof on her stomach.   
The Berserker dropped his sword and ran up to her. “Are you okay?”
Derpy looked up at him. Her face was turned red from pain. “I´m fine.” She said. “Just a little kick.”
The Berserker turned to Windy. “Is it still at the center?” He asked. “Around the church?”
“Yes.”
He looked back at Derpy. “Help her Windy.” He turned around to get his sword. With one movement, he pulled the sheath of and threw it over his shoulder. Windy put Derpy´s hoof over her neck and helped her forward.
They walked into Ponyville. The Berserker walked in first, Windy and Derpy walked behind him. Their progress was slow. Derpy fell of Windy´s shoulder regularly, forcing the group to stop while Windy helped her back up. The Berserker stopped and kept watch while she lifted her back up. Underneath the helmet, his breathing growled.
A black shape ran towards them.
Before either Derpy or Windy could see it, the Berserker´s sword slammed down on the shape, splitting it in half over the body. It squirmed and squealed under the blade for a moment before it stopped moving.
The Berserker grunted and lifted his sword back up on his shoulder. A puddle of blood grew from the two halves.
Windy looked at the creature. The two halves put together were longer than them. The parts were covered in rough, tussled fur with a sharp, rat like nose. A pair of curved, yellow fangs stuck out from under its upper lip. She knew the beast. She knew that there would be more of them.
The Berserker turned to them. He looked at Derpy. “Run.” He turned back around to face the tower. “Now.”
Windy ran, as fast as she could with a pregnant mare leaning on her shoulder. The Berserker constantly looked over his shoulder and waited for them to catch up. He considered leaving his sword behind and carrying Derpy by himself. But without the sword they would be defenseless and he couldn´t walk with just two legs.
“Aaaaiiiiii!!!” Derpy shrieked and dropped to the ground.
The Berserker turned around. “What happened?”
Derpy put a hoof between her legs, it was wet and her face turned pale. “No. Not now.”
Windy looked at Derpy and the Berserker. A cold wave of goosebumps spread from her head down to the tip of her hooves. Her mouth hanged open and a tear rolled down her cheek. “What do we do?” She said with a whispering tone.
The Berserker lifted his sword and smashed one of the barred-up doors into splinters. “Get in there.” He pointed with his sword.   
Windy stood still.
The Berserker´s sword came crashing down towards her. It landed next to her, killing another one of the creatures. “NOW!” He shouted into her face.
Suddenly, Windy got free. She picked Derpy up and ran into the house. Once she was in, the Berserker tipped another door down before the entrance, stooping anything from coming in, or out.
Windy put Derpy down against the wall. She screamed again and clutched her stomach. Windy put her bag down, pulled out a blanket and put Derpy on it. The Pegasus´s skin was burning hot, downright boiling with sweat. She took a towel from her bag and whipped Derpy´s forehead with it.
“Derpy.” Windy looked her in the eyes. Her face grimaced in pain and shrieked with every breath.
“Derpy!” Windy pulled her ear and she opened her eyes. She was panting and sweet ran down her face in little streams. “Listen to me. Take big, deep breaths, okay?”
Outside the Berserker, took out the vial from under his armor. In the dim moonlight, he could see yellow, hungry eyes coming towards him. Their teeth clicked and smacked together as they took slow steps towards him.
He growled under a heavy breath and opened the visor to his helmet. He put the vial to his lips and took a sip. The liquid burned as it rolled over his tongue and down his throat. Then his heart slammed inside his ribcage. A fuming hot breath passed his lips. He stared at the creatures in front of him with narrow eyes.
The yellow eyes stared back at him. They all stood a good few feet away from him. One would take a step forward only to immediately regret it and rush back to his kin. Soon after, another would make the same move.  
The Berserker kept his ground. He shifted and moved to try and always keep an eye on them, but he never moved from his position in front of the door.
“Okay, Derpy.” Windy looked in between Derpy´s legs and rubbed some of the sweat from her forehead. She had to focus to hear anything but the sound of her heart ponding inside her ears. “Ready?”
Derpy nodded.
“Breath in.” Windy inhaled violently. “And push!”
Derpy screamed and the Berserker roared.
He swung his sword in a semicircle in front of him. Anything in range of the black blade was cut to pieces. Blood smacked onto the street around him.
The creatures shrieked and charged in a wave of teeth and shrieks. The rat like beings ran and jumped for the Berserker.   
He swiped the ground around him, stopping the creatures that ran but not the ones who jumped. They landed on top of the Berserker, clawing at his armor with their claws and teeth. Their efforts were not enough to make a scratch but enough to fill his ears with a grinding noise and block his sight.
Around him, the sea of fur came closer.
The Berserker slammed down the sword in front of him and took two brisk steps forward. On the third step, he gripped the sword with both front hooves and turned on one of the back hooves. The momentum spun him in a circle and the blade cut a clean path through the horde of creatures. Warm blood was thrown around him. The creature that had clutched onto his armor lost its grip and was tossed onto the horde.
He looked at the clearing he had carved into the horde. A clearing filled with red, steaming blood and brown, ragged fur. The Berserker grinded his teeth and growled. The horde was coming towards him again. His muscles started twitching and his instincts took over.   
Wave after wave of fur and teeth came towards him. His sword meet the waves and cut the limbs and heads from their bodies.
His blood boiled. His breath came in grey puffs of smoke. Warm blood splashed against his armor and ran into the crevasses of the plates. It mixed with the sweat and ran swiftly down the inside of the metal. The heat from his body cooked him inside his own armor. It was a familiar feeling. He hadn´t felt it for years but it still evoked ancient memories in his mind. Despite it, he felt cold. An icy lump had formed in his stomach and the chill spread out to his skin. Causing icy goosebumps to rise.
Time became a blur. He only felt blood and running down his skin and the sword in his hooves. Every movement he made was driven by instinct. Skills and moves edge into his mind by hundreds of battles and thousands of kills. The pain from his joints and weariness from his muscles were separate from his mind. They always stayed there in times like this. He could feel them but they did not move him. The only thing that still touched him, was the cold. It bit into his mind. With every swing of his sword, it grew stronger.
The creatures came out of the streets. They came out of the windows, they squeezed between the alleyways. They came and he turned them into broken bones and torn guts. The walls behind him were painted red. The broken limps and torsos started gathering up in big piles and the stench of corpses filled the air.
And then, after dozens of swings, the Berserker saw the creatures drawing back. He paused and listened. The sound of the creature´s claws running filled his ears but it grew smaller until there was nothing but a distant scratch.
He leaned on his sword and took a moment to catch his breath. The pain he had kept isolated in his mind came rushing back. The joints on his legs stung like cold needles had pierced his skin. His breath was thick and ragged. He slipped and fell to the ground with a loud clank.
A filly´s cry came from behind.
The Berserker rose and tore the door away. He was meet by Windy crouched in a corner and Derpy wrapped in blanket, a splash of blood was on the floor. “Derpy?”
She looked at him with her golden, crossed eyes. She smiled. “Say hello to your Daughter Bulky.” She pushed the blanket away and revealed a little pink unicorn wrapped in a white blanket.
The Berserker lifted his helmet of slowly and blinked. He stood still, staring at Derpy and the little filly with a wide-open mouth. He took a step forward. Then another. Despite his legs growing weaker with every step, they got easier the closer he got to her. The corners of his mouth rose and twitched. Tears started rolling down his eyes. He took off part of his armor and reached out to touch the filly but stopped himself.
“It’s okay.” Derpy said. “You can touch her.”
Carefully, he touched her little cheek. “She´s so soft.”
Windy rose and walked up to the pair. She chuckled softly and took a slow breath through her nose. “We need to go.” She said.
Derpy looked up at her with wide eyes.
The Berserker sighed. “She´s right.” He put the armor and helmet back on. “Can you walk, Derpy?”
“I´m not sure.”
Windy reached out her hooves and carefully cupped them around the little filly.
Derpy was a slightly reluctant to give her up at first but let go once Windy had wrapped her hooves around the filly. She grimaced at first but quickly settled when Windy started slowly rocking her.
“Let’s go.” Windy said.
The Berserker nodded and lead the way.
Outside the street was caked in blood and spotted with gore. Windy almost slipped as she raised her hooves to guard the filly.   
Derpy tripped but the Berserker caught her just before she hit the ground. A few drops of half-dried blood stained her cheeks.
“I´m sorry.” The Berserker turned away from her and walked through the mixture of blood, bones, gore and fur.
Derpy whipped the blood of her cheek and sighed as she followed him. Just after taking one step she looked over shoulder and glanced back at Windy.
She put a hoof over the filly´s eyes and followed them. The metallic smell of blood stung in her nose. When she tried breathing from her mouth the smell turned into a taste that reached down her throat. Windy closed her mouth, covered the filly in a thin cloth and continued.
Out in the streets again they saw it. The tower in the center of Ponyville. A warm orange light beaconed at the top. It flickered and danced against the black sky.
They followed it and soon came to the bridge leading to the inner wall. The path to the other side was blocked by the locked, black iron gate.
The Berserker walked up and slammed his hoof against the gate. “Open up!” He shouted with a loud voice.
The gate remained closed and the wall was silent.
He slammed his hoof against the gate again. “Now!”
Windy walked up Derpy. She offered her the filly. “Hold her for a second.”
Derpy took the filly in her hooves and promptly started rocking it. She hummed the tone of a lullaby she knew.
The Berserker pounded the gate with his hoof. This time he made sure that the metal meet his armor, creating a loud clang. “Open the gate!” He roared.
Windy walked up next to him. She reached up and grabbed his hoof. “Let me try.”
He looked at her. Then at the gate and then over his shoulder. “Make it quick.” He turned and kept his eyes focused in the street behind them.
“In the name of the-“
Dooooooonnnngggg!
The sound of a bell ringing behind the wall interrupted Windy.
The Berserker looked over his shoulder and the filly started crying in Derpy's hooves.
Dooooooonnnngggg!
The bell rang again and furry creatures started emerging. They came from the shadows. They came from the alleys. They came from the houses. Their eyes glowed like little yellow flames under the dim moon light. One of them charged for Derpy and the filly.   
The Berserker´s blade rammed into his stomach and threw the body back with its back folded up backwards.
He glanced down at Derpy and put himself between her and the creatures. “Back up!” He shouted while swinging his sword towards the horde.
They stayed just of range.
“Back to the gate!”
Derpy sat frozen and clutched her filly in her hooves. She closed her eyes and shrieked.
Windy galloped to Derpy and grabbed her by the hoof. “Come with me.”
Derpy opened her eyes and struggled to get back up. Windy leaned on one knee and lifted Derpy with the filly in her hooves.
Behind them the Berserker stood his ground. He shouted and roared towards the creatures, trying to keep them away. At first it worked, but the horde grew thicker with every moment and the creature’s attempts to approach the Berserker became more frequent.
At first the small ones tried. Bullied by the larger, walking ones behind them they charged on their claw like feet. Once they came into range, the Berserker butchered them with one swing of his sword.
Three swings, that was all it took and all the smaller creatures in the horde were turned into blood caked pieces of brown fur.
The Berserker stared at the walking ones. They were standing on their hind legs and some of them had rough, jagged knifes in their paws. His sword hoof trembled. Quickly, he glanced over his shoulder. Derpy and Windy were both up against the gate. Their backs facing him. He stared back at the horde and reached for the vial. He took a large chug and felt his muscles flooding with hot blood. The muscles tensed and stretched to their tendons at the bones. A drop of blood fell from his nose. It steamed as it splattered against the ground. He roared and charged into the horde.
The sword swung in his hoof and everything in its path was cleaved in half. Blood and flesh replaced the walking ones that came in the blade´s path.
The Berserker raised the sword above his head and slammed it into the ground in front of him. Sparks reflected in the blood as the edge meet the ground. He stood up on his back hooves and spun around in a circle. A thick strip of dark blood flung from the tip of his blade.
The creatures started falling back and the Berserker retreated back to the bridge.
The walking ones followed him. They stayed out of the range of his sword and he stayed on the bridge.
A loud drum beat in his ear. It pounded and squeezed his ear tubes, making the world shift and sway beyond his control.
A large shape moved behind the horde. It was at least twice the height of the walking ones and three times their size. Patches of brown fur were spread across pink, pale skin. Thick, muscular arms reached from the shoulders down to the ground. Thick, slow running pieces of saliva hanged from his brown, crocked teeth. The slaver jiggled in rhythm with his ragged breaths. It looked at the Berserker with large, sharp, bloodshot eyes.
The Berserker leaned on his sword. He closed his mouth and slung the blade on his shoulder. Despite the pounding in his ears he could still hear his daughter crying behind him. “Go away.” He said, with a whispering tone.
The beast coughed and growled.
“Go away!” The Berserker roared until his throat dried.
The beast shrieked. A high-pitched scream that cut into his ears. Inside the jaw was a row of curved, miss formed teeth.
The Berserker took a short breath…
And the beast charged. It ran through the horde, trampling and crushing the other creatures under its paws. One of the arms rose and came rushing for the Berserker´s head.
Taking one step forward, he took the full force of the strike with the side of his armor. He strained and swung the blade in front of him.   
The edge dug itself into the beast’s side. The pale skin broke and it tilted to sideways before pushing its paws into the stony ground.   
The Berserker pulled his sword back and cut the beast across the chest. He could feel the edge crashing into flesh and bones. Through the visor of his helmet he could see the pink, leathery beast falling before him.
It meet the ground with a loud thud.
The Berserker lifted his sword above his head, ready to strike down on the beast when a jolt stung him in the side. He tipped to the side and barely managed to catch himself by pushing his sword into the ground. A warm, wet felling spread over his stomach. He looked down and saw steaming blood dripping from the armor onto the pavement below.
The beast rose. It leaned on all fours and pressed the talons against the stony ground. A crimson gash ran across the ribcage. A broken, white-brown rib stuck out of the back. Blood mixed with the saliva hanging from the beast´s jaw. The thick pieces of liquid flung from its jaw with every breath.
“Go away! The Berserker roared again.
One of the claws reached out and slashed at the Berserker again.
He meet the claws with his sword. The curved talons shattered as the edge meet them and the arm wielding them bent unnaturally at the impact.
The beast clutched its broken arm and the Berserker stroke for his head. He missed and the tip cut clean through the beast´s shoulder. He twisted his upper body and dragged his sword hoof after him. The blade rammed into the beast´s lower jaw, splitting it up to the muzzle. The beast hung from the tip of his sword.
“Bulky!” A cracking voice yelled behind him.
A creaking, metallic noise came from behind the Berserker. He turned and smiled.
The gate was opening.
“Come on!” Derpy yelled with their daughter in her hooves.
With one hard yank, the Berserker pulled the sword free and moved towards the gate. He took one step and felt the joints stinging with hundreds of sharp needles piercing the muscles, right down to the bones. A dry breath passed through his teeth. He threw the sword over his shoulder and galloped forward.
Two stallions dressed in black came out of the gate. They grabbed Windy and Derpy and dragged passed the gate. Once they were inside, the gate started cracking again. It was closing.
The Berserker galloped forward. He raised his sword and screamed. The edge sparked as it crashed into the metal reinforcements. He hammered at the gate, tearing of small splinters and making dents in the metal. “Open!” He shouted.
The horde moved forward. The climbed over the body of the beast and started closing the gap between them and the Berserker.
He kept hammering at the gate. The clangs of metal banging against metal drowned out the sound of the horde behind him.
The Berserker stopped hammering. He leaned his forehead on the gate and his sword hoof slid to his side. The blade rang as it bounced on the pavement.
The sound of the creatures where right behind him. He twisted and swung the sword with him. The blade transformed the creatures into chunks of bloody meat. Steaming breaths passed through his visor as looked out over the horde.
They were a sea of fur and teeth. Among them he saw some standing on their hind legs, some holding twisted spears but nothing like the beast before. Just a living ocean with no horizon in sight. They stood there, out of reach of his sword. Waiting for one of them to go first.   
“Celestia,” The Berserker said with a whispering voice as he yanked the vial from his neck. “Guard over my daughter. Let her live the life I never had.” He lifted the vial to his lips and let the remaining content pour into his mouth. Once empty, he threw it aside. The glass shattered as it hit the ground and the blood in his veins burned like molten metal. The drum banged in his ears. With his muscles being turned to embers and blood flowing from his wound, he roared and charged into the horde.
Every swing of his blade cut down a semicircle full of the creatures. Every time the drum pounded an electric pulse went through his skull, in sharp, narrow streams that stung like icy water was rushing through them. His sight blurred.
The moment he had finished a swing of his sword, the area had been filled by new creatures. Driven on by the walking ones behind, they came. And he cut them down like grass.
The pavement in front of him grew thick with blood. The water under the bridge turned into red, carrying floating pieces of flesh and fur downstream.
Suddenly, the sword hit nothing but air.
There was a moment of pause before he attacked again. The blade glided cut through the. Nothing slowed it down.
He stopped. His vision was blur, but after a few moments it cleared. The drum pounded in his ears. The bridge was coated in a thick layer blood and guts. Two mounds of flesh and guts had formed on either side of the Berserker.
Nothing was moving.
The Berserker pushed the tip of his sword into the ground and leaned on it. He panted and felt blood dripping off his armor. Every muscle in his body burned like smoking ice. The joints stung as if a thousand, hair thin needles were pressing against his bones.
The drum stopped pounding and the Berserker slipped from his sword. He hit the ground with a loud clang. He laid still on his back and stared at the pale, blue moon. He sighed and felt his eyelids growing heavy.
“BULK!” Derpy punched the gate with her hooves.
“Open the gate!” Windy shouted at the stallion.
He shook his slowly. “It´s too late. If we open it we´ll be overrun.”
“No!” Derpy screamed and the filly started crying in her hooves again. She looked down at her daughter, pressed her against her chest and cried as she sank with her back against the gate. “He´s still out there.” She said, her voice cracking. “He´s still out there.”
Windy put a hoof on her shoulder. “Derpy.” She looked into her crossed, watery eyes. “I´m sorry. He´s dead.”
Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She buried her face into her daughter´s. The filly cried and Derpy whimpered.
Windy put a hoof around Derpy. “Come on.” She lifted her up and helped her find a room and a bed to lie down in.
Derpy put her daughter down in the bed next to her. She looked at her and cried.
Windy pulled the cover over Derpy and her daughter. She tucked her in carefully and sat down on the side of the bed. “I´m sorry, Derpy.” She stroked her shoulder. “I´m sorry.”
Derpy didn´t answer. She kept crying and staring at her unicorn.
Windy sighed and left the room. Outside she was meet by the Bishop, a tall white stallion with bright blue eyes. “Hello Windy.” He said with a deep, warm voice.
“Hello Father.” Windy nodded.
“It gladdens me to see that you managed to make it through Ponyville unharmed, considering the circumstances.”
“Thank you.” Windy kept her eyes to the ground. “I am glad to see you as swell.”
“Tell me, is the filly in there the daughter of Bulk Biceps?”
Windy swallowed. “Yes.”
“Did you help deliver her?”
“Yes.”
“And she was born without deformities?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Do you know what this means? Who she could be?”
Windy closed her eyes. Her lips seemed to be sewn shut but she forced them apart. “Yes.”
He handed her a sparkling knife. The pommel was golden with the white alicorn painted with silver on top of the carvings. She had her wings spread out, her eyes closed and her hooves crossed over her chest. It felt cold and heavy in Windy´s hooves. She looked up at the Bishop.
"I´ll be expecting you tomorrow.”
“Yes Father.” Windy bowed.
The Bishop left and Windy stared at the door. Her hoof trembled.
The next morning the Bishop walked to the room and found it empty. Nothing but a nun´s clothes, hastily thrown about on the bed.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
              The cadence of her last breath               
//-------------------------------------------------------//
The cadence of her last breath
The grey mare laid in her soft bed, dreaming inside her seaside house.
She walked slowly through an empty throne room. The floor beneath her was covered by a thin layer of white ash. The roof was gone. Torn away by great strength and mad rage. Two empty thrones sat beneath a cracked glass window. One was white marble, adorned with golden, glowing gems. A skeleton laid strewn out on the throne and the floor before it. The other was black crystal, sparkling with white diamonds. It was empty apart from a drop of crimson blood.
Octavia walked forward, the ash moved aside with every step she took. The sound of her hooves against the floor echoed through the empty hall. She climbed to the thrones and looked at the white throne. A skull with a horn sat in the chair.
When she reached out to touch it and saw a single tear rolled out of one the empty sockets.
A full moon watched above.
“Are you my mom?” A familiar voice asked behind her.
Octavia turned around. The throne room was gone, replaced by an empty grass field. It stretched and spread all the way out to the horizon. A black sky covered with little stars rose out of the edge. On the top of a hill, an ancient oak tree stood. A frail little creature laid next to it. Octavia walked up to the tree. The grass beneath her hooves shifted color from green to ashen grey and the to jet black. It was warm for a moment before the grass turned icy white and a chill spread up her legs. Little icy crystals started forming on the blades of the grass.
She put a hoof on the oak´s trunk and felt the icy crystals crushing and melting under hooves.
“Are you my mom?” The creature asked again. It was a small, trembling little voice but there was still a small amount of joy in the tone of it.
Even in a dream, Octavia had no voice to answer with. She rounded the oak and saw the little creature. It only reached up to the base of Octavia´s hoof. The creature was skinny with only a thin layer of dark blue fur. She had a pair of thin wings sprouting from her back. Only a narrow membrane of leathery skin grew between the wing´s fingers. It looked at her with pale blue eyes.
“Mommy has wings.” She said while holding out her hooves, waiting to be embraced.   
Octavia wrapped her hooves around her and let her press her face into Octavia´s raven black mane. She stroked the back of the creature’s head softly and sighed. She wanted to sing a lullaby, she wanted to gently put her to sleep in her hooves.
“Where is mommy?”
Octavia kissed the creature´s head and leaned back into the tree with the creature in her hooves. She began rocking it back and forth as the creature buried its face on her mane.
“Where is mommy?”
Octavia´s eyes opened and she woke in her bed, alone. She pushed her hoof through her mane and touched herself between her legs. She had that dream before. Sometimes she would meet the creature on an island in an eternal ocean, sometimes in a bleak, grey desert. It would always be them, alone.
She shifted her bed and stared at her cello, leaning on the wall opposite her bed. The bow laid next to it. Octavia got out of the bed and put a pot of tea on the stow. The steam started rising out of the pot after a few minutes. She poured the liquid into a cup mixed it with a collection of herbs that gave it a sweet smell, like a fruit or a berry.
Sitting down in her chair she thought about the rest of her dream. The creature, whom she named, Dreamcatcher, had been a reoccurring character in her dreams for years. But the throne room had only recently started appearing.
She sipped her tea and wondered if it couldn´t have something to do with Celestia and her sister. The thought lingered in her mind long enough for the tea to grow luke warm in her cup. She stared down at the water and finished it all in one swing. The temperature made it tasting strange on her tongue, downright vile almost.
Octavia put the cup aside, took the cello and the bow, and walked outside. The sky was still dark and the air was cold. Goosebumps rose from her skin. She walked out to the to her balcony, overlooking the sea.
The water was calm and shimmering. The stars reflected in the water´s surface like little sparkling snowflakes. The moon was only a crescent shape in the black water.
Octavia stood right next to the edge, leaning on the railing as a gentle wind brushed her cheek.
With her right hoof, she pushed bow against the strings. With her left hoof, she pressed the strings on the neck of the cello. Her hoof danced on the neck and graced the strings. Together they formed a clean, sharp yet graceful sound.
And then she stopped. She put a hoof on between her legs. It felt dry and cold. She frowned. A grunt passed her lips and she put the bow in the railing. She rubbed her lips and puzzled. In the past, this would bring her joy, excitement. It would make her warm and wet.
A smooth, humming tone came from behind her.
One of Octavia´s brows raised. She turned but she only saw the ocean and then the tune began again.
“A kite above a graveyard grey.” A set of voices sang. Octavia listened carefully and could make out at least three voices. All of them singing in similar tones.
“Oh, how beautiful it used to be. Just you and me far beyond the sea.” Only one of the voices sang.
Octavia felt a warm wave spreading from her head down to the tip of her hooves. She moaned and picked up the bow.
“At the end of the river…” The voices paused.
Octavia closed her eyes and started, frantically stroking the strings of her cello. Her movements were fast and jerky but every note was made with careful thought and consideration.
“The sundown beams.”
Then the voices went silent and Octavia started playing with any forethought. Every note was made on a whim and once it was done it slipped from her memory.
It didn´t matter. She just kept playing and the voices started singing again. The lyrics were on replaced by humming tones. They were cold, yet symphonious and harmonic with themselves and the sound of her cello.
White strings started hanging from the tips of her bow. The sound of her cello grew sharper, thinner and longer. She pressed her hoof down on the neck, and then she let go just before pressing down again just a little bit further down. Her hooves repeated this process, working their way down the neck, deepening the tone of the cello.
Octavia moaned and felt a set of warm, narrow fingers on her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of narrow cat-like purple eyes staring into hers. The face that meet her had yellow, bright skin framed by fiery orange, curly hair.
One of the siren´s slim fingers traced Octavia´s cheek and placed itself under Octavia´s chin. A sharp smile grew on the siren´s lips.
Octavia leaned on the tips of her finger as the cat eyed being leaned in kissed her violently. Octavia shivered with ecstasy as she felt the slim fingers pushed through her hair.
She pulled away from Octavia, a thin string of saliva hung from between them for a moment before it broke. She moved behind Octavia and wrapped her arm around the mare´s neck.
With the siren behind her, Octavia could see two other ones, hovering in front of her. One was purple with eyes the same as her sister. The other was icy blue with crimson eyes. All of them had cat like pupils and long slim bodies. From their torsos tails covered with fish like scales that shimmered in the dim light. Dorsal fins with sharp spines ran from the center of their backs to the end of their tails. They hovered just above the ground, cold sea water dripped from their shining scales.
Slowly, they hovered towards Octavia as the siren behind her pushed her head back and started kissing her throat.   
The feeling of the siren´s lips on her skin was hypnotic and dreamlike. Only soft moans passed her lips as the three worked on her.   
The blue on curled Octavia´s face between her hands, kissed her softly.
The purple one went below her sister, between the mare´s legs. She entered Octavia with her slim fingers and her soft, wet tongue.   
Every muscle in the mare´s body quivered. She felt her hooves lifting of the ground. The sirens were lifting her into the air. Her head tilted to so far that the skin on her chest started stretching. She moaned and sighed.
Then a set of fangs bit into her in the groin. A drop of blood trickled down her leg. She tried to scream and struggle but the sirens held her firmly.
The only noises that escaped her lips were muted screams, blocked by the purple siren´s mouth covering her lips and biting into her cheeks. Blood started rolling down Octavia´s face in red fingers. The energy left her body.
The sirens started nibbling at her skin. Blood dripped on the ground, staining the white pavement with crimson stains.   
The orange siren sang a soft tune before biting down Octavia´s neck. The narrow fangs clipped through the skin like thin paper. A third stream of blood formed on the neck and the mare stopped twitching.