"You want to know how I got here?" The glow in his eyes seeming to peer through the hood that covered his head. The brown linen cloth hanging over his entire face. Though the hauntingly light blue-grey gaze seemed to glow quite literally as his horn which protruded from his head showed so much. The mare before him was watching him with disdain. He was sure she was more aware of what he was more than anything else. He didn't care, but he couldn't help but entertain the thought of someone hearing his story after so long. His right hoof stepped forward. It's gash giving it it's jagged form stepping forward as the sound echoed around him.
"You wish to know who I am.." His left moving afterward as he walked slowly towards her. Stopping before her. There was nothing she could do. This world, as it has become had nothing to beat him. Well, that was unless the tree of harmony did something out of the ordinary. But in the end, he didn't care too much about the domination. He only wanted vengeance for so long he wasn't sure what else he could want. Who would even want him now? Who would even spend time with him as he truly was? That was more interesting than anything else that fell forward in this world. He let out a breath. Watching her gaze back at him. Her answer wasn't even needed to be voiced. She was determined and he was more than happy to play this little game. They wouldn't know him.
"Then you best be ready for several nights. Though I may condense some parts of the history. For I have been around longer than most people here. I'd say Discord would be the only one that could come close. Not that age, plays value in power. As so many have found when going up against the princess' it seems. Even I." He stopped for a moment before pushing on further with his hidden grin, fang-filled behind his hood. "Well then, time to start at the beginning. As insomnia will be the main play of my nights it seems. One of the reasons I enjoy the loving twinkles the stars so give."
How I was such a fool back then...how I should have seen all the signs...
The day began as so many others would. The fillies and colts running about. The town was rather small though it wasn't barren. Surrounded by flat lands in all corners. The greens were rolling hills in the distance which would roll to their prairie-like area. Long fields and the trees that would be meeting them to the west were ever present. Winter was something that would have come once in awhile but generally, they weren't too hard on the land. The ponies didn't really show any issues with one other. They seemed larger and more robust than most of the normal ponies. Seeming to be rather powerful for their own area. But it was merely how they stood. For there were legends of longer winters, and their bodies being more than able to deal with it. And the great migrations they would do within their areas in order to protect themselves. Often though, using the nearby fjord to know the location, and which location to go to next. The houses were made to resist most weather climates that they expected. But for the most part, the town was rather quiet.
It wasn't until a group of friends would move towards the forest to the west that would lead to events that could, for the most part, take apart their entire life. The one who would head the adventure would grow to hate this day, but love it the most. Finding his path in life, while at the same time damning him for the eternity that would come after it.
His coat was a silver-white color. He was rather strong like the others and had a straight horn that for the most part was like all normal unicorns. His hair was a mesh of 4 colors. Though a main three seems to form into it, with accents of his fourth. His main colors standing as deep purple, dark blue, and dark red. Accented with black that seemed to leach into it. His eyes were large, and rather lovely looking, with his eyelashes slightly larger than most colts. They were a blue-grey color.
He had nine other friends, they generally would travel with him everywhere he went. They,I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember, I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember,I can't remember, what happened why aren't they there...has it been this long? Why aren't they in my memories...I can't remember...
The forest was rather thick. The layout had made it hard for all of them to travel through the trees themselves as the branches were reaching out as if to hold them back from continuing forward. He had been the only one who hadn't had a cutie mark. Much to his own dislike of course. He would have much rather have gained it at the same time as his best friends. But they were more than happy hanging out with him. Ignoring the others just to make sure that they all understood that he wasn't there just to be made fun of. Though many of the other wouldn't dare to do such things as he wasn't the type to take things without dealing it back in some way.
With another hoof forward he stumbled forward before being caught by one of his friends. They watched him carefully their ........... He looked at the book. As it seemed to rest on the ground. It was rather dusty. But seemed to sit atop a dead stump. There wasn't much else around it as it seemed to have been left there. Maybe there was a house here at some point, but for the most part, they watched him as he walked forward. They didn't seem to say anything. Though he wouldn't see it as much of a problem. If you looked at it, it was mostly just a book. His silver aura hovered around the book as it picked it up and pulled it towards him before he would trot out towards the village itself.
He would begin reading the book. As it would slowly teach him about magic he had never known of. For the most part, their magic was used to help out with survival. Moving things, pushing things and defense or attack. While this one brought forth something he had never heard of before. The ability to bring back the dead and use them at his will. It wasn't something that he thought possible but it seemed to be based on certain factors...it wasn't long though before he even noticed the new cutie mark that seemed to form on his hind legs. The skull that seemed to rest as the main skull surrounded by small ones. Yet his parents never said anything. They didn't care about it, they did care about what he was reading but they were accepting of him. Choosing to say that surely there was a good reason for him having this mark. While the village wouldn't see it as that at all...though in a way they were right to not to.
Time would pass for the most part without anything really eventful occurring. He would loosely test his spells and make new ones based on what would occur to the smaller creatures he would use it on. Ranging from him killing them to things like just bringing them back to see their memory. Yet each time he would go with his friends he'd bring his book with him. As if it was dying for him to forever use it.
As they finally reached they teenish like age. Holding to being stallions and mares. They had finally reached a point in which the village seemed to slowly start to reveal it's dark colors. His mother, having been the mayor of the village, and his father the head of their defense force. Most of the town itself refused to raise a hoof in rebellion. But over time their seeming disgust of his existence would continue to grow. From watching him do a range of experiments on the local dead animals, to his carrying the book everywhere he would go it never seemed to end in a light cycle that so many thought it would when he was younger. To be honest, most just hoped his cutie mark was merely a means to point towards something less brutal like archaeology or something along those lines.
Yet their anger grew. Though it was hidden it seemed to still appear in other things. When he was out and about getting hold of needing things for food in his house, or anything of the sort. It would be certain things added in to kill him or take him out of the picture. Having originally started to just remove the book. They have seen to remove him entirely. However, with each attempt, each passing year. The winters grew longer and colder. Not just in their village but in any of the migration points they had set up for the winters. And so began the worse winter of them all...one after they had finally reached a boiling point.
The cold winter winds howled over the town. Freezing over some of the building doors. Which were opened by heavy hits from the stallions or mares themselves? There was a meeting to be had, a means in order to figure out what was causing this. They had held more than enough secret meetings. It was now time to bring in the mayor in order to see what they would do next. It went on for hours as they yelled and tried to figure out how to make the right move. What was the step to take?
"I'll go." One stallion stated as he stood up. His silver-white coat, his long mane the mix of dark purple, dark blue, dark red with its accent of black that seemed to move on it. And most of all, his skull cutie mark played out a situation they had all hoped for. Something they secretly wished. "I will go and find the source of this storm...this endless cold." He would state with a smile, caring towards his townspeople. His mare having come up with him without a word. Her sapphire coat that only fell upon a black and silver mane. She followed close behind him, along with his friends whom all seemed to move without anything but the sound of their hooves.
"My son, are you sure...taking this for the village..." The mother pleaded as she could see the darkness that seemed to lean in the hearts of all the ponies alike in the area. Something her son seemed to keen on ignoring. Even after all the attempts against him, it seemed he did his best to hold onto believing they were fine. She knew all to well if his father would have been here, he would have gone in his place. But he was already out dealing with another threat.
"I'm certain mother-" Though before he could finish, most of the stallions and mares were already edging him on. Cheering for him to help find the source of all this misery. He smiled as he looked at his girlfriend and friends. Before looking back to them. Nodding to the crowd of horses before him. "I'll be sure to save our town. I will find the cause of it all!" he declared so blindly. And began to get his things ready as he passed through the crowd getting cheers and more.
The snow was rather deep. Reaching close to their knees as they walked through it. Each step felt like a pull on their hearts as they would move further and further away from the homes they had been safe in. They may have been no pushovers. But overall keeping to the herd was just something they were used to. A power in the group. Yes, they would venture off. But never to honestly go after something they had no idea on how to take down at all. Every hoof forward was a cut in the snow. Leaving the trail of the 10 travelers behind as they didn't stop. They would, of course, have their breaks. Their warm linen-like cloaks covering their faces and bodies as they had to fight off the vicious winds that wouldn't stop bellowing towards them all.
Yet they pushed on, cutting through the forests, towards a massive mountain that may have been linked to this all. Having felt a weird force coming from the mountain itself. He was drawn to move the group towards it. The march didn't seem to hold much hardship. As many of the monsters that normally would be around where either frozen to death or had long since retreated from this twisted winter.
The foot of the mountain was laid out before them. The crisp winds were so cold it felt like it was burning over their fur. As it started to freeze over they made for a cave. Hoping to hide from the blasting winds for the moment. The cave was barren as was most of the events up to now. His friends and him sat around a quickly made fire that warmed the area. They all stared at it blankly. The cold had sapped so much energy from them. His mate having brushed up close to him as she nuzzled in. Resting her head under his chin. While the others were doing their own business. They all asked him the same thing that night before they took to rotating sleep. "Don't raise us up. If we die...don't bring us back. Let us rest." And with each pass, he promised them it all. To never do it, and most of all, they all smiled and laughed. Talking about how when they would finally finish this off they could all return home and put this behind them. How they could raise their potential families and teach them about the migrations and the northern winds. With the beauty of the dancing lights in the sky. It would be their last time talking. Their last spoken words of joy...for their next steps would bring forth so much more...
The climb up was as treacherous as it was to just get there in the first place. Each step felt like their strength was being stripped away. Each breath a battle as it was so cold that breathing the air was a challenge. But they pushed forth. Helping one other, approaching higher and higher as the voices began to echo. Commanding as they seemed to rush around the mountain. As if to make a hurricane-like eye above it. And they were all watching them. Their pale like ghostly bodies. Moving like the air itself. Seeming to suck out the life from everything that stayed. It was them, those where the ones they had to kill. They were sure of it. And so began the vicious battle. One they never had a chance at winning. Not for they were lacking in strength. No, they lacked in the understanding of what they truly were fighting against.
With each colliding blast, a shock wave that would shake the mountain. With each hoof collision, was a chill that rippled throughout the air. With each action seemed to bring forth more of their power. And sap away their own. The winter storm didn't stop, it was getting more powerful with each moment and eventually had begun to cloud up everything. They finally moved to attack. Targeting Winter before any of the others. However, his mate had decided that he wasn't to be hit with the seemingly crystallized winter-like blast that fired towards him. She took the blast head on, blocking it with her body as she fell the ground he screamed out in fear as he held her the best he could. She began to turn cold as she looked up at him. Smiling one last time before hugging him and passing. His gaze shifted upwards towards them out of rage, tears would have been dripping from his eyes if it wasn't for the fact of it being too cold for it to even occur. He charged forth.
Yet as the battle continued, each of them would begin to fall. Each one moving to sacrifice one other to save one of them. In the end, he was attempting to save a friend by firing off his own blast, hitting the winter one which managed to seem to at first destroy it. Instead, however, it leads to a barrage of ice spikes slamming into his friend. His blood painting the snow with red as the entities laughed. Looking to turn to him for a moment. Where he roared in rage as he charged forward. The silver color of his aura seeming to dance all around him as the ground seemed to erupt outwards with the undead. The corpses moving forth as they moved to block the blasts themselves. Taking on the hits as they seemed to block the ghost-like entities from being able to fire at him. All the while he began to make a makeshift raft and placed the bodies of his friends on it. Tieing up the harness, all with bone and other materials that were left behind. Covering them with the linen cloth. Until a crack was heard as the ice spike made it through. Slamming into his side gashing his thigh open, and he moved forward to run. Limp running down the mountain with his friends' corpses in turn behind him as he held them all onto it. The corpse well being used to hold off the blasts as best as possible. All the way down the mountain till the cave, and past that till he ran as far as he could. The blood freezing over on his wound.
He finally slowed as he reached the farthest part of the fjord. Stumbling into the snow as he pulled them forward. The corpse of one of his friends falling out before he put them back into the makeshift bone sled. The sound of voices seemed to dart before him. He knew that his own escape was something of dreams but he couldn't get over it. Even with the voices, seeming to come from a distance before. He began to cry as his body slumped into the snow. Everyone he loved, all his friends and his mate had all died in order for them to just fail. He couldn't run with them anymore. Couldn't be with them anymore. And he wasn't going to go back on their word...no one was going to take them. He would bring them back home. Bring them all back to their families if he needed to.
His eyes began to feel even more heavily now, as his head nodded forward for a moment. No, he couldn't sleep. He had to get up and move. Worse case he would have to find another cave of some sort. He forced himself up. His tears that did manage to come out freezing on his face as he pulled forward. Their dead bodies were heavy. Pulling back on him as they would gain weight from the ice. But he didn't see it like that. They were merely the weight of his failure. His lack of ability to save them. He refused to use his undead in the fight in order for them not to see him as weird. He didn't know why he even thought that...if he had before maybe..for clearly, his disintegration spell didn't work. He pulled more, as his bloodied left thigh burned and he kept pushing forward. Nothing would stop him from pulling them home. Not even death he felt could, as he would occasionally stumble.
The voices became louder after many more hours of marching. Maybe they sent a rescue party or relief? He would think to himself as he would continue down his path. Each step is another towards what he hoped was a relief of some sort. He was just looking for a good place to rest. Before moving on. A group of three appeared from the blizzard. They seemed to be kind for the most part. As they were talking to one other. Their linen clothing covering their body as they continued to walk down this path. Whispering to one other.
"We have to make sure it ends now." Was the words he heard before speaking forth to them.
"H-Hello, can you please help me. I'm trying to get back to the town just south." He was barely to pass the words from his mouth. The cold had sapped so much from him he watched them. As they approached more towards him. They were from his village. As they got closer he could tell whom they were. The baker, a blacksmith and of course the scout. They moved even closer to him.
"Of course we will help you. Just let us take this off you. We'll be sure to pull this. You seem tired." The scout stated. Her green eyes seeming to gleam as she fluttered her Pegasi wings. And with a light gesture, she took off the harness he was holding and pulled it herself from him. As he almost stumbled from the weight being taken off from him. He wasn't fully able to keep himself up. His eyes hazing over as the two others rushed him, he couldn't do much to react as he was thrown off the side of the cliff. He watched their eyes as they all smiled as he flew over the cliff side. Falling to his brutal death. His hooves would slam against the ridges as they would tear chunks out of them, his body getting gashed open. As he felt each blow from the rocks sticking out the mountain side of the fjord. And the cracking noises that followed by some of his bones ripping through his flesh told him of all the information he needed to know. He was going to die...that was fine. In some weird feeling, he was fine now. He knew if anything they would surely bring the bodies to the village. They would at least see their children once more before they would be buried. Sure he would have a blank spot. But that...he was doomed to be alone. No matter what, his friends all died he had nothing left there. His parents barely tolerated him...nothing mattered.
"Cut up the bodies. We can't risk them being brought back. Winters Breath, make sure he's dead Jubly." One of the voices stated. Why did he hear this? He was far from the mark of being able to hear. Resting dying on the floor of the fjord. His body couldn't move. But he couldn't let this happen. Never....he was tired of looking at their potential. How good they could be. He gave them everything, ignored all the signs...if they wanted a monster...he would give them one. No one was going to mutilate his friends, his love. NO ONE.
His cutie mark seemed to glow brilliantly in color as his silver like aura danced around his entire body. And with a loud roar, he pulled his broken neck forward. His horn ringing with nothing but solid silver like color before the blast was fired from it. The beam cut through the unsuspecting Pegasi, slicing her entire body in half as her guts spilled forth to the ground her body crashing not far from him as the earth around him began to shake. Tears of blood raining down his face as he turned his consistent beam forward cutting into the cliff side of the fjord. The rocks being cute threw as they are incinerated from the contact of the beam as he continued to carve out the fjord. Each motion to get them away from the body and causing a rock slide down towards him. He fired off a blast after blast from his horn destroying the rocks when he finally found the bodies of his friends he brought them down to his side. Though, the area around him was now covered with rocks from the massive cliffside now missing its normal fjord. Having cut off more than enough to fill it. The bodies were laid about. So he could see all their faces. Though one was slightly cut up from the blade that would have cut into them. His gaze turned towards the corpses of two. The third was still alive. As a darkly twisted grin grew on his mouth. His teeth having changed from the dark magic he had used. Canines lined his smile as his Blue-grey eyes watched the man. His neck wasn't even turned naturally, broken it looked to the man who was trying to move away.
"Oh...where do you think you are going, Mr. Cake..." He stated, as the nearby corpses of the Jubly and the blacksmith twitched and rotated around. Sliding, twisting or stumbling towards Mr. Cake.
"Please... stop... We were...we were just listening to orders...."
"I don't care about your orders...you have harmed so much, and tried to destroy my friends... I will not forgive you.." The bodies continued to the earth pony as he tried to move before his legs were cut off at the knees. The silver beams making sure it would work.
"M...m...monster!"
"Yes...yes that's what I am. I am the death you all were so scared of. The death I tried to never be." He returned as the two descended upon their former brother in arms and began to tear him apart. Ripping his body to shreds before turning around and moving towards him. The screams of the man, having died down after they had finished, his groans were that of a now new complacent member of his undead army. "They will all pay...for merely the thought...for all those years of trying to kill me, poison me. They all need to die...they will all serve me in end, and then they will see...The monster they wished to see. I am sorry my friends. This would have never happened if they just...would have left you out of this." He voiced as he closed his eyes as the undead moved towards the corpses of his friends. Moving them to the side before they began to work. More undead coming out of the ground from varies things that died as they moved towards their new master. He was not going to let this pass...but first...he'd have to get out of this Fjord.
Author's Note
Just figured I could toss this up on here. Figured why not. I'll see how far it goes! though I do have 3 planned arcs but it doesn't mean it can't continue to pass that part.
The room illuminated. The rough crackling could be heard as a split in the empty space in the room seemed to rip open. A gateway into what seemed like nothingness. The sounds of anything being completely drowned out by the waves of the swirling like lightning that seemed to tear a hole into space-time as a clawed like hoof stepped into the room. Once more the cloaked like entity had walked into the room. The gate closing as soon as he was done. His cold eyes looking through the dark cowl that seemed to hide his face. Much like the cover that hid well most of his body. Aside from the hoofs themselves. He was well aware of the picture that was slowly being painted.
The moon had risen as he kept his gaze locked on her, and her back at him. Regal and calm she kept her eyes on him, laying on her bed. Waiting, patiently it seemed.
“So we continue,” She stated as she didn't shift much. If anything, one could probably see these as very odd tales. Stories maybe before one would rest. Her voice wasn't loud though, she seemed to show no fear of him mostly. Merely a gaze that watched him without much more then the intrigue you would expect someone to have. So long as they were willing to listen.
“Of course, we will continue where I left off.” The distorted voice echoed back. Though it wasn't something that was loud. It merely bounced in her mind. He was talking though, it wasn't that. Just the way he was damned to talk. The sort of thing you could expect from someone in his condition. Something of the additive to his fun moment. He moved to the front of her door as he did last time. Standing in the same position as he never stopped watching her. “So, this part may be a little rougher than the last.” his voice continued as he cast a spell for them to see the story unfold.
The wind broke through the fjord without much stopping it. Even the massive cliffs seemed to merely make it reflect back and build up in strength. But he couldn't bother with these minuscule problems. Problems that were so small they could do nothing but annoy him. If he could, he would silence the wind if need be, he needed to keep himself together as he watched the growing undead army work to clear out the massive avalanche he had caused. Well, a rockslide would have to have a better term, though snow had, for the most part, covered it, it was far from safe to walk on. That and he couldn't really walk right now. As the dead moved, his body was slowly repairing itself. He had never tried to test the limits of his magical power, and yet here he was. Seemingly driving off a limitless stream of magic. No real issue as he would keep raising any of the dead close enough for him to bring to life. While all the while using healing magic to reconstruct his body.
He guided the dead with orders, each one seeming to be presented to groups. At the moment, he managed to harvest around 400 dead, though they were mostly skeletons, ranging from ponies, yaks and whatever else was in the area. He wasn't going to stop this. No, they all deserved the endless pain. The pain they caused him, the pain they were going to inflict on his friends. They all deserved to be punished cruelly and most of all slowly. Even his own parents didn't do much to stop it, they were just as likely to have been part of it for all he knew. But for now, he had to read his book, to keep himself distracted as the magic from the book, well the magic he learned from the book was the main reason he was even able to heal himself, to raise the dead. Everything seemed to be easy from this book. Maybe it could tell him something else.
He summoned forth the book. As it fell out of a seeming pocket dimension that it had written in it. A means to keep it close at all times, while impossibly far for those who had no idea of how to get it. And even then it wasn't an easy task. He opened it, his silver aura twisted with darkness it seemed as it opened up the book. He shifted through the first few pages with an easy turn. It wasn't like he didn't know this book like the back of his hoof. But it was rather...odd. No matter how many times he turned the page, each page was different but seemed...to not lose the count of the pages overall. There were at least 1000 pages the last time he looked, and yet, past 500 it should well be at the halfway point but it didn't even move from being ¼ at most. Did this book change again? Interesting as it was. It stopped around the 1000th page in terms of spells. Well...it did for a moment. Until it started to write out a new spell on it. The page just began to write more magic onto itself as he looks it over and thought for a moment. Does this book make new spells? Maybe, it was a history of spells in general? Odd, to say the least odd.
His gaze moved towards the workers themselves as they had a group that was just keeping to the graves they had been making and guarding. All for his friends. He would use all the rocks that had fallen here to make a tomb for them. A place that would protect their bodies from the strains of weather. The blistering cold that would be here and more. He would not ever forget them...never would he forget them.
The silence was all he really did for the entire moment of which he rebuilt his broken limbs. Well healed. His body seemed to be more than ready, but no matter how hard he tried his scars that seemed to be the massive gashes into his hoofs seemed to stay there. Giving him a rather odd impression on the snow. Like a mix of claw and hoof. His tree padded like hoof marks, marking the snow with each footprint he made. His long mane was flowing with the wind as his eyes glanced over the massive tomb that was resting on the side of the fjord. Making a sort of like stairway up towards the top of the cliff. For those who wanted to use it...more for his undead whom he may need to move through the area. He looked at it once more. Feeling his tears pressing up towards his eyes as the red lines dripped down the sides of his eyes. Touching the snow as they dripped past his snout and dropped into the darkened red puddle below. He wiped his eyes with his hoof before turning to walk towards the fjord itself.
“I'll avenge you all...none will survive my vengeance. All will know of the monster they so feared..” He whispered as he walked forward, leaving the area with a set of 1000 undead to watch over the area.
The undead wasn't entirely mindless. They were able to carry out basic commands, and for the most part, do basic problem-solving. They were tools, but they never judged. All his words were seemingly final commands and as such, they would listen to it, no matter what the situation presented to themselves. He was more than sure he could have them make a dam with their corpses and they'd hold it. At the same time though, it seems that even as he kept bringing more and more back to life, they would just take them in as if they were always there. No need for real introductions, seeming to just function as one unit. It was interesting, to say the least, and he could learn more about it if he wanted to. But for the moment it, he much rather extracts his much-needed revenge on those who had done him wrong. Who had harmed his friends...who had wanted him dead. Believed him to be a monster. When he had never harmed anyone.
The book floated in the air as he held it up and read. His own body though, after what felt like a few hours to him, seemed to have decided it was hungry. A driving like a thought that seemed to permeate into his mind as he looked around in the blizzard that was presented to him. The cold wind wildly blowing his hair about as he watched the area. He was very hungry...though he didn't know why the thought of eating carrots or such hadn't been the first thought on his mind.
“You, move get me food,” he commanded a squad of the undead. They watched for a moment getting the order and ran off. Their bodies seeming to skip, twitch, limp or slither as they moved through the snow. Keeping his current entourage he stood in the snow as they moved about lifelessly. They would dig into the snow others keeping alert and then seemingly to trade the routine with another as if they had timers in their minds. He breathed before looking into the book. His snout buried into it as he listened for it, for them.
They had finally come. The sound of dragging body behind them as they brought forth what seemed to be a dead corpse that rested before him. The body had been mostly cut up. It's head massively damaged as some of the squad he sent was what you could call injured they still stood before him. He looked them over quickly before enveloping them in a calm silver aura and repaired the broken bones. With the same motion, he stood up, having laid down in the snow without realizing it from reading. He tilted his head forward and didn't realize he had been drooling. Pushing his face down into the animal before him he tore a massive chunk out with a snap of his own neck and chewed it. It was blissful. A Delight he had never had before. The flesh of this animal was amazing but most of all...he stopped after swallowing the meat. He hadn't noticed something. Moving his tongue in his mouth he felt sharp edges in his mouth. The teeth themselves seemed different. Was this...his mind was blanked for a moment as he tried to think back to when this could have happened. But in the end, it may have surprised some...but with all the power he had used he wouldn't be surprised if something like this was going to happen to him. He had read in some books about certain effects magic could have..maybe this could count as such. Not too bad....the food wasn't bad either.
The corpse was now part of the entourage of which he told the undead, though he knew they didn't need to eat if they felt that they wanted to eat they could take part in it. Though they were bringing it with them. Dragging it behind. He watched carefully their surroundings. There could have been actual carnivores around. Not that they would be a problem...no, he didn't seem to fear or feel much. It was more along the lines, he could kill it to put it into his growing forces.
The long march if you could call it as such was halted for a moment. As he looked towards something he was searching for. A pony was walking about, seeming to travel around pulling a sled behind them with logs. There was also a trail leading behind them, most likely towards their village. A cruel dark smile crawled on his face. As he thought to himself, finally. He had finally found them. And his village was going to pay. Not...in a way they would have assumed would happen. No...no they deserved a rather darker fate. A fate that could make it where he could spread despair and tear out their hearts at the same time. A way to devastate and crush their souls...in the end..all would serve.
He had his army of around 2500 undead wait in the snow, or around. Essentially keeping that at a far enough distance before he followed the pony towards his village. He didn't stay close to them, no. he kept his distance. And looked towards the village. His former village it was larger then he remembered but to say the least there was still a good group of them. And he could feel the dead...he could feel their bodies around and near him. Standing still he breathed before they were being rebuilt underground. Their flesh on those who had been long dead being reproduced onto their corpses. His icy blue eyes glowing in the blizzard as his horn continued to glow with the silver aura, an aura that held a haunting like black color in it. His hair gaining a white streak where his black streak once was as he continued his spell. The ground would crack open, as night would come over. And the dead would raise up. Looking fully awake as they walk towards him. A group that managed to stop before getting to close to their master only to hear his words in their minds.
“Rejoin their lives.” Those were his first orders to them. To re-enter the lives of the ponies. To gain back their love, something he hadn't tried before. Giving them a twisted means to act out how they once were but forever with a sort of aspect towards their master. He wasn't going to let this stay forever, but this was a first for him. This dark desire that climbed around him to see them scream in despair, for them to suffer before being consumed by the ones they loved so much. He had longed for them to feel it, to see it. They all would suffer this pain.
3 months, that was the time he saw fit to let them mingle once more with all those who had fallen. It was to drive them even further into the lives of those they loved. All the ponies they thought were never coming back. Who had died. The chance they had been given to see them not as the rotting corpses they were but as the way they were all that time ago. Oh, how he could feel them meeting up with those they loved. How he could feel them sharing their memories, their wants, their feelings. It was something that grew his mouth into a vicious twisted grin. Over gazing his icy blue gaze as he watched the village in the winter. The blizzard seeming to never die down but, still holding to the more warm side of the cold. It wasn't cold enough...not yet to make it where even the snow itself would freeze before falling down.
At the start of the 3rd month, the night would be one of horrors and terrors. As he would begin his march towards the village. His eyes looking at all those who came out to see him. They were telling him to stop, as he killed the first guard with a fire from his horn. The guard being torn in half as his skull dropped his brain to the ground the blood flooded the snow before some charged towards him, while others ran away. His undead army running from behind him as they charged into the village and he continued his slow trot into the village. Each step on the path that had been padded down from all the hooves walking on it. How did they even survive was beyond him, though it wasn't like he took much towards caring of the situation either. They needed to suffer. They all were the reason his friends died. They all deserved this. No one else could stand in his way.
And so as they pulled on their loved ones. They would turn on them. Turning instantly and tearing out their throat, causing them to bleed onto the snow. Immediately they would begin biting into them, tearing out their intestines, dragging them across the ground with it and killing them outside. Others being trampled on by the others until they died or even some being fully consumed and then vomited out. The scene was grotesque. A fitting scenario it would seem to match the endless pain he had to go through. He would raise all of them one by one until they surrounded the main stall. He walked up towards the door. The building wasn't really large per say. Just differently designed...to be honest, most of these buildings seemed much different than the hay top stone ones he was so used to. His eyes looked to the windows as the eyes of fillies looked back at him, and the hundreds of undead that seemed to not move. Before the door busted open and the stallion charged out towards him. Throwing a spear before being captured by the mouths hooves and claws of the dead themselves. Pulling him down as he heard the back door open and the charge of what he could guess was another wave of the family within the house.
He watched as they ripped out their eyes, and tore off their legs. Gnawing on the ligaments, pulling the muscles off like strings on a stick. They were tearing the people apart as he felt nothing. He was hoping to feel something more from this. No, he felt nothing as he watched them get their torn in half bodies dragged across the snow as they struggled to hug one other in massive pain. Screaming in agony before he slammed his hoof into the head of the man who tried to harm him. Crushing it like it was nothing between his messed up hoof. The tri markings squishing brain matter up between them as well as blood as he walked to the edge of the village.
“Burn it, we need the firewood to maybe draw more here..worse case we'll find my village.” He stated coldly as he turned his gaze towards the horde that had been behind him. The undead merely unifying in a gurgle like scream as they moved to burn the village down. Using different means to light it aflame. He could tell now that this wasn't his village. Just another annoyance in his path. Yes...another one that needed to be cleansed for it's mistreating of him. He would find his village for sure. And be sure to exact such revenge upon it...
He looked back to the burning village, not far but seeing that the heat was enough to melt the snow that was on the roads. The area itself seemed to burn brightly. Yet he felt nothing...so odd. But maybe it was the cause of the cold itself. Maybe he just didn't feel it cause it was hot enough to melt the snow, but not him. He pulled out his book. Pulling it from the pocket dimension before looking through it. More spells, good. Something for him to read and test on the dead that he deemed worthy of being tested on for it. He looked to the massive frozen wasteland before him, his snout out of the page for the moment as he glanced about.
“I'll make you all pay..” He stated coldly as his eyes went back to the book before him.
He would march for some time. His army growing with each village he took down. Most of the time, he would use the same tactic. Perfecting it as he worked more and more towards mastering his own way to kill those who had killed his friends and him. But more so he would keep his mind set on getting them. On the sweet revenge that was to come. The taste of it would be something more then he would have ever wished for. A release maybe from his seemingly endlessly hungry mind for the saving of his friends.
He noticed something though as they were jumping village to village, killing and raising the dead. There was a spear wound on his left flank and he felt nothing. And furthermore, as time passed, parts of his body would fall off. Well, the flesh that was and he didn't show any feeling to it. His undead troops where the same for the most part. Walking levels of decay. He himself seemed to be that way...and it hit him, he had been dead this entire time. So much...made sense now. His seeming lack of feeling and more. The worse of it all, he believed most would have probably fallen into depression. A sort of natural thing, so he figured in this situation. But he didn't feel that it was needed. No, his mind was far more focused on what was going on ahead.
He had decided to move south. Something he didn't decide to do, till he was sure he killed off all the ponies that were present in the north. His next move of going south seemed to be drawn by something down there. A weird sense that may have been to be for the ponies that eluded him. His village. It wasn't something that he could just ignore and so he began his march. And with the thousands of dead that had accumulated under his power, he was more than able to keep up his pace. As time passed too, he was learning more and more spells. Though he kept using the same ones for more simplistic needs, he was learning different dead based spells. And even working on his own variations of spells. There wasn't much he couldn't do on the mini-breaks he would take. Not so much from exhaustion, as much as just him wanting to see if there was anything new in the book itself. Before moving forward, he would just keep up with his testing on his undead, bringing them back to par if need be.
He had organized his group into different units in some ways. Keeping them set up like heavy chargers, fire users and more. It was merely something he thought would be more efficient in his attacks on the villages. Which proved to be true. With each one, he could crush the entire one down to ash. Without a need for his own magic. Though the march south did take longer than expected.
He passed by a pony, whom he killed on sight. Looking towards what seemed to be a massive castle that was surrounded with more and more houses. The area around it was green. Oddly so with the weather that was around. There where ponies moving about inside of it too. All of which seemed just too weird. The magic used here was probably in his book. However, no matter how much he searched he couldn't find it in there. It was odd such a thing would be there. He stopped on an overlooking cliff as he watched. His skeletal form was probably harder to see than anything else. He had lost all of his flesh at this point, but he didn't care. His gaze blue-grey as it stared at the active castle and its entourage of houses and village space. This was a place for him to take down. How could his town have grown so much?
It angered him as he slammed his hoof down. The area around them turned into a vicious blizzard, though the Crystal like castle seemed to keep a barrier around its subjects. More anger drove into him as he felt this was holding back his revenge. He commanded his men to attack, him coming up from the rear as they charged forward, passing through the barrier easily and began to slaughter all the ponies that were in their way. Before the Crystal Castle fired out a blast towards the undead. Killing a group of them. The guards and soldiers pouring out as they formed a wall against the wave of light undead he sent in. His response as simple, sending in the chargers as the soldiers tried to hold the line they were trampled before another blast was fired. Killing a chunk of his chargers. He looked up to where it was coming from.
A pink haired unicorn was firing off her blasts to kill the undead that was attacking her people. It seemed this was the mayor. She had indeed changed since the last time he saw her. But that didn't matter. His mother was just as guilty as any of the others. Of course, much like the others, these were more of his delusions he wasn't aware of at the time. The princess seemed to come down the overlooking balcony by jumping onto a building roof. Killing undead on her way down all the way till she was near her guards who fought off the dead. Though they didn't expect something else to occur.
He rose the dead villagers without a thought sending them forward towards the guards and soldiers which caused them to scream in fear and agony as they had to fight people they knew. People they had cared for maybe. He didn't care as he charged towards the princess who was, for the most part, killing more of his undead then he wanted.
He fired off a blast from his horn as he continued to charge her. A guard jumping in the way as he was punctured threw and the blast bounced off into the air as it hit a shield she had made. The guard's body exploding in the process as some of the reflected blasts fired into him, and destroyed his body. She weeps it seemed at the same time as she fought before he got close enough to get into direct combat with her, though one could say it was more of close combat magic exchange as she would fire off blasts while keeping to her barrier. The echoes of his increasingly more powerful blasts were heard throughout the city even over the conflict that was arousing around them. He pushed her back, she wasn't close to as powerful as he was. His vengeance, his hatred.
They would get to a massive room, well she would be pushed into a massive room. It was through the wall of the crystal castle that she was blown threw. Her shield barely holding up as he walked into the darkness. You could see his eyes and his silver aura as it danced around his horn. Her eyes were red with tears as she watched him back. Even if she would have spoken he would have ignored her. Nothing she could say would stop him now. Nothing. He pulled his head back before a sudden flash was held. Something began to pull him in. A deep and light force. He turned his gaze from her for a moment, the heart was floating as it had opened up what seemed to be a portal.
“You will stay in their for eternity Death. My people will not be beaten by you...even if you were better at direct combat. You didn't seem to think of what may have been hidden in the castle and city you so willingly attacked. I hope you find your peace..in eternal sleep.” She said to him.
No, he wasn't going to lose. He slammed his hoofs into the ground as they tore into the very crystal. Tearing out chunks as he raged and fired off a massive blast before being ripped into his prison. The undead turned to dust, as he vanished. No longer keeping them in existence. Frozen in time. He was banished to a prison within a Crystal Heart. Outwitted, he was a fool to let her do this.
Author's Note
Another throw into this. More fun for everyone in that way :P what more will he tell in the next visit hmm hmm :3 what reaction indeed!
