Amidst the Howling Dark

The Howling Darkness

It had been months, and it had all fallen apart. After Ponyville, after the castle, it all came crashing down. Baltimare, Trottingham, Buckston, Manehattan, they all burned. And in each, De'mah roamed. Celestia and Luna had retreated to the lands of the Griffons, and she spoke with adviser after adviser, read headline after headline. Everywhere she turned she saw his name. De'mah 'Tokam. The nightmare. The monster from beyond the cosmos, and his justifications never changed. To him, it was his divine purpose to erase the Equestrians from the world, and every day he did just that. With every city annihilated their numbers fell and fell, and Celestia began to grow very afraid for the future of her people.

At least, in all of this, there was Luna. Her sister. The night's avatar had indeed survived, for which Celestia was tremendously grateful. She hadn't even scarred. It was as if De'mah's blade had never touched her, but as gone as the physical scars were, Celestia would never forget the mental ones. Defeating Discord let Celestia believe that she and her sister could handle anything. That they were fit to guide their little ponies into a safer, saner future.

De'mah did more than take lives. He took away their peace. He stole from Celestia's ponies their futures, their homes, their society, and only then did he take their lives. Everywhere Celestia's guard tried to challenge him, he came through unharmed. It wouldn't be long, Celestia was sure, before they were all extinct. A year, maybe two. De'mah's dragons numbered a million strong, and he himself was nearly as powerful. His strange hovering craft, small as it was, allowed him to travel anywhere, completely protected. His new armor absorbed all but the most crushing blows and deflected all arrows and spears, and his sword...

Celestia was sure she'd have nightmares about his blade for the rest of her life. The sight of it, the glow of it, the hum of it. The way the steam would rise from it, the sound of it as it passed across her shield. Sweet mother, the sound. Like the sound of a hot sword being dragged through a block of ice. It haunted Celestia.

The worst of it all, though, was De'mah himself. He was clearly intelligent, profoundly so. He spoke of culture and society, and Celestia could only imagine what his home world was like. That such an intelligent race would reduce itself to such cruelty and barbarism as De'mah displayed shook her.

"Tia... Is all well, my sister?" Celestia heard from behind her, and she turned to face her sister. Celestia's eyes watered at the sight of her sister, but she remained seated.

"No... No, it is not."

"Explain to me, Tolmirak, why you have not yet found their Princesses" De'mah declared, and the young drake smiled worriedly.

"Forgive me, High Lord, but it would seem as though they've disappeared. Most of their cities have fallen to our mighty brothers, but the lands of Equestria go on beyond much of the horizon. Numerous caves dot the mountains, and the Princesses could have any number of hideouts secreted away in places we'd never find."

"I hardly have patience for excuses, Tolmirak. Find them" De'mah threatened, and the juvenile dragon nodded.

"Of course, High Lord. If it pleases you to know, we have some truly extravagent gifts in store for you, to honor your contributions to the Div" Tolmirak said. "Mighty gifts, fit for a High Lord. I feel as though I speak for all of dragonkind when I say we could never properly thank you for what you've done for our kind."

"Bribery now, is it? Tell me, what is it, beyond this armor I wear, that you could all possibly offer me?" De'mah asked, and Tolmirak grinned.

"How about your own city? Work has come along nicely on it, and I do believe the palace alone is ready for you. If you'd like, we could pay a visit right now" Tolmirak said, and De'mah was intrigued. A city built in his honor? The time would come when it would be expanded to honor all of 'Tokam and the Forerunners, but it wouldn't hurt to survey it in its current state.

"Let us go, then."

The two of them walked out to De'mah's craft, which the Sangheili had modified recently to accomodate him and Tolmirak. He took the sticks in his hands and, at Tolmirak's directions, began to fly out in the direction of this city built for him. It was far away from the badlands, it seemed, a fact that confused and displeased De'mah. He'd have preferred for it to be built in the arid desert that so reminded him of home, but perhaps it'd have merit.

As they ventured deep and deeper into the Equestrian homeland De'mah saw all the cities he'd conquered thus far, too many to really count, their names irrelevant and childish. He had started to realize that crushing this species of weaklings was hardly fulfilling. Few, if any, ever put up a fight, and the High Lord was beginning to turn his attention to the Griffons. Perhaps they'd at least offer a true challenge.

As they neared the forest that marked the still-burning castle of the coward Princesses the city came into view, and De'mah marveled at the engineering that had to have gone into it. Not far from the forest and its nearby town was a large mountain, its peak near the clouds, with a waterfall cascading down one side. It was on this mountain that the city had been built, perched on its slopes and faces like some child's story. The stonework was typical of dragons, gray and black, but the architecture reflected their true might. Sharp towers and battlements circled the palace's walls, and little spires glowed with purple fires. It was modest in size, but magnificent in design.

"We've tentatively called it 'Tokamelot, but you are welcome to name it what you like, of course" Tolmirak said from behind De'mah, who nodded. He directed the craft towards a small pad erected for such a vehicle, and the two creatures disembarked. The towers of the palace loomed over them, and De'mah took a moment to appreciate their scale.

"'Tokamelot will suffice for now, but in the future I will see it renamed. The architecture will need to be altered, to better reflect the Sangheili, but that too can wait until I inform the rest of my kind of this world. I'm sure that one day this city will reflect the magnificence of the Forerunners, and the strength of the Sangheili" De'mah said, and Tolmirak nodded.

"I'm very eager to learn more of your grand people and the Forerunners, High Lord. Are you waiting for this business with the Equestrians to be over with before then?"

De'mah nodded. "Yes. Come the day of our final victory over the Equestrians and their allies, I will pass along a message to the elders of 'Tokam bearing the coordinates of this world, and tell them of the mighty Div, so that they might come out to see for themselves. Soon, 'Tokam will become the most powerful state on Sanghelios, and all of the Sangheili will bend to the will of 'Tokam and the Div."

"Why not tell them now, High Lord? Perhaps they could help against those wretched cowards" Tolmirak suggested, and De'mah scoffed.

"I'll not ask the elders of 'Tokam to inconvenience themselves, particularly when we are winning. The Equestrians have no hope, no chance at survival. They will only see but one of my kind, and that is me, and in their dying moments, as the last of their species falls to my blade, they will fear for the rest of the universe should it fall under the collective might and power of the Sangheili" De'mah said. "For now, I will pass along only a small message to inform them of the Div, and the glory of my mission against the Equestrians."

"Very good, High Lord. Now, shall we head into the palace proper? I suspect you'll want to see the rest of it before declaring any changes" Tolmirak said.

"Lead the way" De'mah said, and the two of them stepped forward into the castle. As they ventured into its halls De'mah began to reflect on the Equestrians, and it filled him with wicked glee to know that, soon, by the work of his very own hands, their race would be no more.