Amidst the Howling Dark

The Spreading Malice

"We've taken half a dozen of their cities, my lord" Tolmirak told De'mah as the two stood together deep in the badlands, in the cave that had once been the lair of Jilnarok. De'mah's ship was parked outside, awaiting the mighty warrior. "And I've assembled the mightiest of our kind for you to inspect."

"Very good, Tolmirak" De'mah said. He turned and walked deeper into the cave, into the cavern of the lair, and found six elder dragons waiting for him, the lot of them lined up. He approached them, and folded his arms over his chest. "Their names?" De'mah asked, and Tolmirak handed him a sheet of paper with six names written on it.

"Vinturaak" De'mah declared, and a bronze dragon with golden eyes bowed his head to the stones. De'mah ignited his sword and, using the tips, gently carved the sigil of 'Tokam into the dragon's scales. He stepped back and the dragon kept his head bowed, and De'mah looked to the list.

"Kilmeenak" the Sangheili barked, and a cobalt dragon with gray eyes bowed. De'mah repeated the marking with the drake, his head remaining bowed.

"Jormanuk." Another dragon marked. This one red with orange eyes.

"Trevaynak." Another. Green with blue eyes.

"Zornorak." Grey with green eyes.

De'mah looked to the last dragon, black as midnight with a light brown underbelly, his eyes a light cyan. "Aldurmaax" De'mah said, and the dragon bowed. He was noticeably larger than the other dragons, and De'mah marked him. The Sangheili stepped back from the six dragons, who all opened their eyes and looked to their high lord.

"I've summoned you here for am I told you are the strongest and mightiest of your kind. That you are the fastest, most powerful, and most committed. In the name of Sanghelios, in the name of the state of 'Tokam, and in the sight of the gods and Tolmirak as witness, I christen the six of you to be my Zealots! I call upon your honor as mighty Div to serve me as my guards and arbiters of my will! Carry with you the message of De'mah 'Tokam, that ALL who STAND BEFORE MY MIGHT will SUFFER!!" De'mah exclaimed, and the six dragons rose.

"Out there is the Kingdom of Equestria. Theirs is a society built upon falsehoods, a culture of weakness and cowardice. At their helm are two Princesses, two FEMALES, who pollute the minds of their subjects with stories of compassion and harmony! Their existence stands in DEFIANCE of the natural order of the UNIVERSE, and the cosmic TRUTH that the STRONG WILL ALWAYS DOMINATE THE WEAK!! Their 'kingdom' does not deserve to exist. REDUCE IT TO ASH AND CINDERS, in the name of DE'MAH 'TOKAM!!"

The six dragons bowed and set forth, the ground shaking beneat De'mah's feet as they all thundered out of the cave and rose into the midnight sky, spreading out as they headed for Equestria. De'mah followed them out, with Tolmirak close behind, and approached his ship. "There is no room for you. You will have to stay behind. I will have need of your services again, soon" De'mah said, and he climbed into the single-occupant vessel, bringing it to life and ascending into the air.

Equestria awaited.

It was the largest town De'mah had seen in the kingdom, and Ponyville was its name. Near it, he was told, was the Castle of the Two Sisters, his target. To reach it he'd have to fight his way through Ponyville, to ensure it was properly subjugated to prevent any reinforcements from coming to the castle, and to prevent any escape from the castle.

And so it was that he piloted his craft towards the sprawling town, his six Zealots barreling down on it. Already he could see the ponies within scattering and fleeing in the face of the might bearing down on them. The sight of their running sickened De'mah. Were they ALL such cowards? Even their warriors, try as they might to challenge the Sangheili, were hardly honorable.

It dawned on De'mah as he set his craft down that yes, they were all indeed cowards. A society's character was reflected by its rulers. Strong rulers, strong society. Put two creatures like the 'Princesses' in charge, and it would only be an inevitability that a stronger people would erase them from history. This was De'mah's intent. His purpose. Erase the weak, and strengthen the strong.

De'mah leapt out onto the ground, lit his blade, and stalked into the town. He caught sight of one of his Zealots, Aldurmaax, as he smashed apart the roof of the town's largest building, shoved his head inside, and obliterated the entire building with a single blast of his inferno. He rose into the sky and took off in search of another target, and De'mah himself set to work.

Wandering through the streets De'mah set out in search of any pony 'guards' or survivors attempting to flee, eager to cut them all down. He made his way towards one of the few houses not currently aflame, and kicked the door open. The first room was empty, and so De'mah slowly crept through the abode, breaking down every door he came across. Every room was empty, and so he ascended the narrow staircase to the second floor. At the top of the staircase was a room to the left, and a hallway to the right. The room was empty, and so De'mah stomped down the hall. Another door, another room, empty, and at the end of the hall was the final door. He snatched at the handle and yanked.

It was locked.

Grinning, De'mah obliterated the locked handle and the door gave way, the wood around the frame and handle smoldering. He pushed the door open, and there he found his prey. Two ponies, a male and a female, cowering together beside the bed.

"I've often wondered why you won't fight back" De'mah said, approaching them. "A cornered animal is often the one that fights most tenaciously, after all. Now I know." He paused before the couple, the tips of his energy blade mere inches from their faces, their eyes locked on it. On him. "You're all cowards. In the truest sense of the word. Cowards, weaklings. That your society has lasted as long as it has is not a coincidence, it's an injustice. A grave injustice. And I? I am the judge."

With a flick of his wrist De'mah cut the two ponies down, his blade lancing their torsos. He kicked their limp bodies aside and searched the rest of the room, finding it empty. He paused by their corpses, and grew curious. They'd been huddled on the floor beside the bed. Why not on it? This was not the only room with a bed in it, either.

Silencing his blade De'mah gripped the flowery mattress and tugged, yanking it off the frame. He pulled and the mattress slid free, and he flung it aside. There, cowered beneath the frame, was the answer to his question. Another pony, one of the truly small ones. A whelp. She whimpered as her gaze flicked from the corpses of her parents and the Sangheili towering over her, glowing in the light of his blade. De'mah took a moment to think of what to say, and it occured to him 'why say anything at all?'

Why indeed?

De'mah was about to strike the pony whelp down when the whole house was rocked by a tremendous explosion, the floorboards and walls splintering and cracking. The window to the room shattered, and De'mah growled. He'd spent too much time in the house and now one of his dragons was about to obliterate it. He stalked over to the window just as one of his dragons soared overhead, and he craned his neck to follow. He watched as the dragon, Vinturaak, set himself down on one of the town's houses and let loose hellfire into the sky. A dozen pony flyers, maybe more, circled around him, firing arrows. A few of their magic types ran down the street towards Vinturaak, and De'mah frowned.

The mighty Sangheili turned back to look at the pony whelp and thudded across the floor to her. He wasted no time on words or ceremony, running her through like the animal she was. His work done, the Sangheili climbed into the broken window and leapt out onto the ground, finding himself behind the magic ponies as they formed a shield phalanx and approached Vinturaak. The mighty drake had incinerated the flyers harassing him, and he took note of De'mah has the Sangheili stalked down the street towards the magic ponies.

De'mah nodded and Vinturaak moved, distracting the ponies as much as he could. He clambered down from the house an into the street, and lowered himself, his tail high. He swung the agile limb, smashing it through a house and sending debris towards the magic ponies, where it was deflected by their shields.

"Stand firm, bucks! We'll fell this dragon, and then do the same to his kin!" one of the ponies yelled, and De'mah grinned. Such false bravado, it was amusing. He reached their group and swung his sword, the blade flashing through two of their number, killing them instantly. The remainders panicked and spun.

"HOLY CELESTIA, it's their High Lord!!"

De'mah struck again, his sword recoiling off the pony's shield, and they all backed off and grouped up again. Focused on him. Vinturaak darted forward and bit down on the pony nearest to him, chomping the hapless stallion in half. The few ponies remaining scattered, and the two warriors went after them. De'mah chased after a pair, while Vinturaak rose into the sky with a beat of his mighty wings, and roared as he soared towards the other pony. The ponies De'mah was chasing skidded to a halt as he closed in on them, and they spun to face him, shields lit. De'mah swung early, on purpose, missing the first pony's shield by inches. With the false opening the pony dropped his shield, and De'mah swung back the other way, his blade plucking off the top half of the pony's head.

The Sangheili spun and was about to descend upon the other when he fired, hitting De'mah square in the chest. De'mah barked and staggered back, and the pony fired from his horn again, this time hitting De'mah in the shoulder. The shots hit hard, but couldn't penetrate his suit. He growled and lunged forward, his swing off-mark, the blade's tips instead raking the stallion's flesh. He yelped in pain but was otherwise unharmed. He fired again as De'mah struck forward, the shot glancing the Sangheili's side, and he stumbled to the side.

"Rrrr, enough of this!" De'mah barked, and he lunged forward again, his blade flashing upwards and cutting only air as the pony dodged to De'mah's left. His horn charged again and, although the angle was awkward, De'mah swung. This time the blade found its mark, lancing across the stallion's back and killing him.

De'mah rolled his shoulders and growled at the resulting pain. The hits had been little more than the equivalent of blows from a blunt weapon, but it was proof that their kind could harm him. He'd have to be more wary of magic types and crossbow wielders in the future.

He paused and looked around the burning town, catching sight of Vinturaak as he came back. The elder dragon landed before the High Lord and bowed before he spoke. "Their town burns, my Lord. We Zealots stand ready for your next command."

"Very good, Vinturaak. It is time we descend upon the pony castle, to destroy their Princesses. I will return to my ship and we will all fly on the castle in the nearby forest. None will escape, and before this day is done I will stand upon their castle with their Princesses's heads in my HANDS!" De'mah exclaimed, and Vinturaak grinned.

"It will be as you say, my Lord."