"And so it was said that the Draconequus of evil will rise under the first sign war and disunion. If Leon is successful in bringing the End Times, Equestria is doomed. If he becomes victorious once, he'll be again." -The Celestial Scrolls of Harmany and Chaos
...Where...Where am I?... I had no idea where we were going...it wasn't until i noticed the rope bounded on my hands, and the pony in front of me that i finally knew where i was at. I was on a Prison Carriage, on the way to...Creator knows where...The Equestrian Capital? Canterlot? Who knows really? All i want to do now...is go back to sleep...
"Hey, you there!" a voice hollered out. I quickly snapped out of my drowsy state and turned to the one who spoke to me. I quickly jerked my head upwards to see him. I soon got a vivid look at him. He was a blue unicorn, with a brown mane and gold-colored eyes. Oddly, he had a black leather sheath over his horn and his hands were tied by bands of rope. The stallion also wore a weird type of armor, combining black leather scales, a light lavender colored cloth, and some amounts of chain mail. his feet were covered in two black, wolf-fur boots. a null expression was on the warrior's face.
"You tried crossing the borders, yes?" he said to me. I nodded my head in agreement. "You must been caught by the Equines, possibly because you came without your caravan."
A caravan? Maria knows I'm a citizen of Equestria. Why would she send an army and capture those who return to the borders? And Equines? who were the Equines? I thought the guards were called Royaels?
"I feel your pain, many of us were captured because we tried to destroy an Equine shipping cart, and now..." the stallion sighed. "Many other Equestrians were captured because of us."
"Well maybe if you should have stayed loyal!" an older, more scruffy voice yelled out. I turned my head to the right, and noticed another Pony. he looked like he was clothed like a peasant or a serf than say...a Royael. his eyes seemed almost purely black, showing no emotion. All except anger. his body was like that of a starving, beige Earth Pony. his dirty blonde mane was unkempt and messed up. In front of him, and sitting to my right was a white unicorn. His eyes were a deep blue in color, and his black and orange mane was short and coltish, but more clean. He was probably the most well armored of all of us, wearing a type of Iron Plate armor. Like the azure unicorn, the snow colored stallion his hands were tied up with rope, and his horn was sheathed. Oddly, he had some kind of lock on his back plate. Finally, he had some black band around his mouth, preventing him from speaking
"Damn you Eclipsers, and your Empress to the blackest plains of Oblivion!" the beige stallion said to us. "If it wasn't for you two, we wouldn't be stuck like this! The Empress was nice and lazy..." the stallion grumbled.
The blue unicorn began to speak again. "Listen, we are all Brothers and Sisters in binds now, you shouldn't feel as if you need to choose one side or the other. Besides, it was you and you Loyalist pigs that supported her in the first place!" he continued out.
Were they talking about Maria? The same Maria who ruled here peacefully for years? Why has she so suddenly become so oppressive to the point of Rebellion? None of it makes sense...
"Shut up will you?" the Royael guard driving the cart said with a glare and harsh tone. "You all will be executed in Haygen in front of General Armor himself, so you better be grateful!" he continued.
"Fine." the unicorn stallion said in a similarly harsh tone.
Haygen...why...dose that sound so...oh no...not...
"Hey Whitey, what's his problem?" the Earth Pony asked the argent colored unicorn. The iron cladded warrior gave a few muffled groans before the second warrior spoke up
"Watch your tongue, thief. your speaking in the presence of Baron Mordred Eclipse, the bringer of the true Empress."
"Mordred? The Baron of Black Isle?" the beige stallion asked. "YOU'RE the rebel leader?" He sounded concerned, afraid almost.
"NOW I know why we were going to Haygen! We are going to die!"
The blue stallion flared his nostrils. soon, the beige pony looked straight at me.
"You, Changeling." he said to me with intensifying fear. "We aren't what the Equines want, it's these damn rebels that tried to revolt!"
The Equestrian turned and glared at us with disdain. "I said 'Shut up', what the bloody hell don't you thick-skulled ponies understand!?" he actually attempted to pull out what looked either like a long dagger or a short sword. "Quiet down! I swear to Faustus, I'll kill you all right on our way to Haygen. I don't care that the General wants you bastards for whatever reason, if you continue I'll go and make sure..."
The prison driver stopped his conversation with us and looked up at the Royaelist flag upon a massive stone wall. he looked back at us(or maybe just the rebel and the baron) with a curled, even sadistic grin. "Oh...we're here...hope you all get ready for your last rites..." he said with a low laugh.
The high, cobblestone walls were leering over the cart in a very intimidating way. the two heavy wooden gates opened up, revealing a rather regal looking white unicorn sitting atop a wingless, dracolt mount. He had white fur, like the baron with me, but his mane was an electric blue in color. the unicorn was adorned in purple-colored plate armor, all with a weird shield shaped engraving. he held a large, thorny pike in one hand, which I swore i heard crackle and even glowed with a spark of electricity. The Equestrian made eye contact with the driver, before he ordered his dracolt to get closer.
"General Armor." The driver said with the utmost respect. "I have returned with the rebel leader, along with his allies."
General Armor, the now revealed cavalry man, and looked out to all of us. he smiled before turning his mount around and ordered it to move by tugging at its mouth with a piece of leather. "Very good Heavyweight." he said in an oddly young tone, almost adolescent. "Bring them with the others to the block."
The driver nodded his head. "Yes, General" almost instantly, the cart began moving again, closer to...gods I don't know...all I really saw was a massive tower, with the Equestrian banner draped over its main doorway. near the tower, as I expected, were a circle of other prison carts, almost all of which carried ponies wearing the same armor as the blue pony.
"Hey..." the blue pony looked to the beige one. "What village are you from?"
"The hell do you care?"
The unicorn looked over to Mordred. "He taught us all...our final thoughts," he turned back. "should be of our home, the ponies we grew with, we loved and hate, and how they will feel after our death..."
The Earth Pony uttered out his nigh-final words. "Whitesun." he said in a depressed and almost fearful tone. "I'm from Whitsun...I was a dracolt breeder..."
The unicorn flashed a small grin, but it was easy to see he was saddened by what he heard. I, personally, never knew the stallion. To me, he was just a filthy peasant with some infamy as a brigand. I felt sorry, but no remorse or even sadness on his story. And by the look at the way the baron had made no contact the entire trip, I'd say he didn't care either. A massive jolt had taken our group by surprise, and the cruel Heavyweight got off the cart. The Earth Pony cringed, and even began to break a cold sweat.
"Wh-why are we here?" he said fearfully. The blue Unicorn told him in an emotionless tone.
"What do you think?" he said, looking down at the planks of the cart. "End of the line..."
We all had to get up and get off the cart in some kind of order; First the baron, then the peasant, and then the blue Unicorn.
"Come on, bug." he told me. "We shouldn't keep our gods waiting for our demise." he soon got off, and I had to follow. I hopped off the cart, behind the baron and the Earth Pony. two other ponies, both Pegasi, were waiting for us. one was a leather-clad stallion holding a book and a quill. he had grey fur, and a red mane. around his waist was a sword in it's sheath, proving that he may be of higher rank. the other was a mare, wearing the armor of a Captain of the Solar Legion. she hade pure white fur, but her mane was hidden by her helmet, yet her golden tail pointed toward her being blonde. she had a wicked looking sword, curved and thorny, like a sharpened branch made of steel. I recognized the blade; It was made of Ebony and Silver! those were key ingredients in a Changeling Sword, mostly used by my kind deep in the Badlands. She had most likely earned that from slaying the others thanks to that damn law, The Black Blood Cause. Thanks to it, my people were now considered threat if they haven't lived in an Equestrian territory.
"One at a time!" the stallion said. "Now, Armor wants you all in a single filed line. We'll let you go up in order."
"Equines and your damn lists" the blue horse said under his breath
the silver pegasus looked down in the book. "Mordred Eclipse, Baron of the Black Isle, and Imperator of the Dracocorns." The white stallion walked up to the lister. "General Armor has been waiting for you."
my blue friend lowered his head. "It's been an honor to serve you, Baron Eclipse..."
The grey stallion scrolled through the book again. "Claymore of Maneland" the Unicorn walked up to him as well. all I heard him say was a curse under his breath.
"Mathias of Whitesun" the beige pony soon panicked.
"No, please, I'm not an Eclipser!" he screamed out. "I'm innocent! Please!"
Claymore tried to reassure him. "Face death with pride, peasant!" It was obliviously to no avail. Mathias soon sprinted away to the edge of the tower, however he collapsed after a bolt from a crossbow got him straight in his neck. I turned over, and noticed General Armor holding the weapon that ended the peasant's life. He looked over at the rest of the prisoners, and cruelly stated; "Anypony else feel like escaping?" all that was here was silence. the silence was broken when the grey Pegasus noticed me.
"Hey, you there, come closer." he said. I obeyed, and he spoke again. "Who, are you?"
I told him everything. I told him my name was Deux, and that I was a Changeling who had lived here for the majority of my life. I had lived here in Haygen as a merchant, and had actually sold goods outside of Equestria. I had crossed into the Badlands for my most recent sale, and had recently returned home, but only to be caught by these Guards. The Pegasus soon jotted some more words down in his book.
"I think I've heard of you from Maria's messages. Do you have any brethren from the Badland Horde?" I shrugged, it was far too long. Before I continued my story, he turned to the Captain with the Changeling Sword.
"Captain, what should we do?" he asked her. "He isn't on the list."
Ok, he!?
The Captain looked over to him. "Forget the list, he goes to the block."
I felt a little hurt at that jab.
"As you wish, Captain." the grey stallion looked back at me. "I'm sorry friend, at least you will die at home." he soon pointed over to the rest of the prisoners.
I went near the other prisoners, near the chopping block. There, I saw Mordred, General Armor, a priestess, and an executioner. The priestess wore simple beige and light red robes, and she held a staff tipped with large sapphire. I couldn't make out what kind of pony nor the color of her mane because of the hood on the robes blocked her face. The executioner was almost just as difficult. He wore a black tunic with metal chains over it, as well as a leather mask. All I can notice was a pair of pure red eyes. In one hand, he held a massive greataxe tipped with a wicked spearhead.
"Mordred Titus Eclipse." the General began. "Some here in Haygen call you a hero." the tone of his voice seems to be almost as if he's speaking with a young colt in trouble. "But heroes don't try to kill the Princess and usurp her throne."
He tried to kill Maria!? Why in the Creator's name would he do such a horrid deed. Is THIS what the whole damn thing was about. Mordred himself just released a couple of muffled grunts. Armor laughs coldly as he ripped the leather out of the Baron's mouth. Soon, the onyx and orange maned stallion coughed a couple times before glaring at Armor.
"Do you know WHO you're dealing with?" he said in a similarly adolescent voice, but colder in a way. "I have the blood of the Arisen and his Pawn; Lord Zero Eclipse and the Baroness Kyla!" Armor just laughed at Mordred.
"You think your little children stories and magic voodoo will give you 'powers'?" Armor was trying his hardest to keep himself from laughing. Mordred's anger was escalating.
"They AREN'T stories!" he yelled. "They are recorded pieces of history, immortalized in legend!" Mordred continues on rambling, but Armor simply retied the piece of leather to his mouth. All of a sudden, I heard some kind of quiet, soft roar. The General pointed at the priestess.
"High Priestess, give them their last rights." he ordered.
The staff wielding mare walked upwards, near the headsman's block. "For long it has been, for now at the end of your life will not go without the blessings of Faustus and Alaric, the gods will bless thy with unending grace and..."
"Oh for the love of Allicia, could you shut up and just get this over with?!" A snarky, female voice hollered out. I turned and noticed a grayish, lavender colored unicorn. she had a light blonde mane, and deep, golden eyes. Like the rest of the prisoners, she wore the Eclipser armor. The priestess simply had her walk up to the block.
"As you wish..."
General Armor went up and grabbed the mare by her arm. after dragging the arrogant filly to the block, he soon put his ironclad boot to put her on her knees, and then until her entire body got on the ground. Her neck now lined up perfectly to the block. The filly just closed her eyes and grinned, before uttering her final words. "My King, mother, and goddess are smiling at me, can you not say the same, General?"
The executioner raised his axe, and swiftly brought it down on her neck. A sickening crunch was heard before the head fell into a basket. Many of the prisoners and the citizens were arguing in a mix of horror and rejoice. many were either like "Equestrian Bastards", "Justice", and "Death to the Eclipsers". Claymore walked up next to me.
"Hilda was as fearless in death, as she was in life." he said before lowering his head. I did the same, despite the fact that I didn't know her than less than a minute. She felt as if she had been innocent, and death came by a single blow.
"Next, the bug in the rags!" the Captain pointed at me. The roar came again, this time it was more audible. Now, everypony noticed the roar. The General even heard it.
"What was that?"
The Captain got impatient, and yelled at her superior. "I said, NEXT PRISONER!" she yelled out. General Armor soon grabbed me by my banded hands, and dragged me to the block. As soon as we got there, he pushed his boot on my back, and forced me down. I looked up, and noticed the executioner. his ruby eyes glowed as he raised the greataxe with might. I closed my eyes. I was just far too scared of what was to come. that's when the roar, that savage, bloodlust-filled roar, became almost earsplitting.
"WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT!?" I heard the General screamed out. My eyes shot opened as I noticed the beast that created such a horrifying sound. It was a massive creature with the head of a pony, a unicorn most likely. the rest of it's body was meshed up with other animals, like ravens and panthers. Its entire body was coated in black fur, feathers, and scales, while it had deep amethyst eyes. the monster had a third, red eye in the center of it's head, just slightly under it's spear-like horn.
"DRACONEQUUS!" a citizen yelled out in fear.
The beast landed on top of the stone tower, and pieces of stone flew off of it. one actually hit the executioner while in mid-swing, needing him quickly. the draconequus' third, red eye seemed to gaze, or more likely, stare at me. the beast almost didn't care about the town, and more about...me?
"Strun...BAH QO!"
The draconequus' cry sounded almost as if he was speaking a kind of language. out of nowhere, the sky's clouds clumped up and became violent. Shots of lightning were striking houses, soldiers, and prisoners all alike. I noticed the greataxe next to me, so I attempted to cut the rope off with the axeblade. It worked-thank Faustus-and I tried to get up in the middle of the chaos. The crimson, grayish haze of blood, smoke, and dust were clouding my vision and restricting my airways. The draconequus wants to suffocate me! The sounds of screaming, curses, and other obscene words were all muffled in my head. everything almost faded, I heard very little, I saw nothing...until...
"Hey Bug!" I heard the sound of Claymore's voice. It wasn't long until I saw and extended my hand to him. "Hurry! The gods won't give us another chance!"
Claymore grabbed my hand, and dragged me near another abandoned stone tower. Two other Eclipser soldiers helped us inside, and even bared the wooden door shut. I noticed Mordred, and his new form. The horn-sheath was gone, revealing a curved grey horn. The backplate was unlocked, and he unleashed two "wings". I say that because his "wings" were nothing more but pieces of bone, and three sharp ended pieces made it's wingspan. He was a Bonewing, a more unicorn-dominant halfling of the Dracocorns.
"M'lord, is that really Leon?" he sounded tense to his master. "The bringer of the end times, like in the legends?"
"Legends don't burn down villages..." Mordred scoffed.
The entire tower began rumbling, and the roar of the draconequus grew louder. "We need to move, NOW!" the Bonewing cried out. "I'll hold off the rest of the Equestrians while you get our friend here to safety!" he pointed at Claymore.
"OK, get up the stairs!" Claymore once again grabbed my arm as we sprinted up the stairs. near the base of the second floor, an Equestrian nocked an arrow on his bow. before he drew it though, the draconequus rammed his head through the stone wall, and noticed the archer.
"Yol...TOOR SHUL!"
As soon as he said those words, a massive burst of fire was exhaled out of his mouth. when the fire died down, he withdrew his head and flew off. I went to the hole in the tower, and saw a burning inn. I guess it's now or never, so I attempted to fly. unfortunately, due to my wings being small and full of holes, I fell into the the floor stomach first. I slid on the splintery planks, and fell down on the first floor of the destroyed inn. I got up, and tried running away to safer ground. That's when I saw the grey Pegasus again. He had his sword unsheathed, and was pointing to a young colt to come close. it was most likely his own child, due to white coat and tiny wings he had. The colt ran to his father, and the eldest embraced him. He soon told the boy to go run with General Armor, and the colt sprinted for dear life. I hollered out to the Pegasus, and he hollered back. I ran to him, and he ran off.
"Still alive prisoner?" he asked. "Good, now follow me!"
The plight to escape Haygen was perilous, but very fruitful. we even had to hide from the draconequus before he shouted the fire blast again. Before long, the main keep is right in front of us both, but we had an unsuspecting foe. It was Claymore, holding the weapon that gave him his name. A massive, iron greatsword with some kind of etching on the blade. He glared at both of us.
"Claymore, you damn traitor!" the Pegasus ally yelled at him. "Out of my way!"
Claymore laughed at him. "Your resistance is futile, you're not stopping us this time!"
"Fine, I hope Leon takes you ALL to Obligon!"
The two ran to two opposite doors to the keep. The Pegasus kept egging me to go with him, but Claymore tried to grab me to the other side with the magic coming from his horn. disaster struck the pegasus, as the draconequus snapped his jaws on him. Claymore threw me in the doorway.
"Hurry! Get in!" he cried out, before throwing me on the ground. everything went black after that...
Author's Note
Celestial Scroll Dossier.
Alaric- The Destroyer, and younger twin sister of Faustus. She is symbolized as a Draconequus and is responsible for breaking the hordes of evil laid by Tiamut, the Arquebus goddess, and harbinger of destruction.
Allicia- Discordant Prince of corruption, and the first Dracon after feeding off the milk of Alaric. She was once a Unicorn Squire during the reign of Lord Titanium, a Unicornian Prince who had attempted to break her vows to the gods.
Black Isle- an island territory, with an abundance of Dracon Ebony, and the Homeland of the Dracocorns.
Badlands- a desert-like land, with very little food and water above ground. below, it is home to the Changeling Horde and has a huge surplus of food, shade, and water.
Changelings- insect like beings, who originated in the Badlands. many were ruled by large females called "Queens" and smaller Changelings who serve them are called "Drones". Myth states them being born from mud
Dracocorns- Half-breeds of Unicorns and Dracons, who dwell in the Black Isle. many of the hardy, magic blessed Equines harbor a hatred towards the Kirin, due to years of oppression.
Dracons- The mythical "Mothers" of the Dracocorn race. many were considered bloodthirsty "Island Draconequus"
Draconequus- The monsters that were considered to be the "Demons Reborn in Equestria." Many follow their goddess Alaric, and generally are peaceful creatures. Those under Leon, however are ruthless and bloodthirsty.
Dracolts- Tame, wingless dragons that many sentient Equines use as mount animals.
Discordant Princes- Powerful demigods who were once mortals blessed with powerful magic. Many became too powerful, and Faustus along with her sister Alaric banished them to the plane of Oblivion (Obligon in the Dracocorn Language, meaning "chaos" or "demon's bane")
Equestria- A large, and powerful kingdom of the Diarchist Equestrians.
Equestrians- Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi
Faustus- The Creator, and elder twin sister of Alaric. She is symbolized as an Alicorn and is responsible for bringing life and order to an otherwise bleak and unforgiving world.
Haygen- A play on "Helgan"
Leon- The harbinger of death, and the Draconequus god.
Whitesun- A play on "Whiterun"
