March of the dead

Chapters

Chaper 1 The kidnes in war
Chapter 2 Sacrifice
Chapter 3 Death and Kindness
Chapter 4 March of the corps

Chaper 1 The kidnes in war

The land laid scared as remnants of combat could be seen across the entire savanna with villages burned to ash and machines of war laid gutted in trenches. Once this part had hundreds of villages and around a million creatures living in them but now only a hoof full of the smallest ones remind. The only real place of safety and kindness left in these thorned land was the large red hoof camp.

Ever since the beginning of the Zebra civil war that broke families apart whit both politics and religion the red hoof and several other relief organizations. Has done their best to help war refugees caught in the middle of the conflict while politics was hampering Equestria's ability to act. So hundreds volunteered to aid by building safe haven where the injured could be heald and the hungry fed.

It was against this backdrop of kindness and generosity that Fluttershy the living embodiment of kindes joined up with the Red Hoof and now serving as a doctor. When she first had arrived at the camp she had been heartbroken by just how many war refugees there were. So trowing herself hoof first into work she had used the limited resources the camp had to help any creature injured or sick. Using her previous experience with animals and the knowledge she had learned about herbs and rots from Zecora. She drastically decreased the number of creatures injured or sick in the camp decreasing the pressure on the camp supplies.

But all this had started to take its tolls on Fluttershy which she saw all to clear when she was washing her hoofs after an operation on a gazel who had stepped on a land mine and gotten severely injured. Just a few weeks ago the face that was staring back in the mirror would be crying her eyes out but the face that Fluttershy saw where harden by misery and she had long ago run out of tears.

"Hi Fluttershy, you alright," a voice said making Fluttershy jump slightly in shock.

"Oh hi, Scalpel," Fluttershy said slightly embarrassed as Scalpel a fellow nurse at the camp help her up.

"I see that the shell shocked nurse still hasn't gotten used to the battlefield" Scalpelsaid making Flutershys beam red with embarrassment. It all started as a joke due to Fluttershy jumping at the smallest sound and after a while, it had become somewhat of a nickname for her.

"I wich everypony would stop calling me that, it's embarrassing," Fluttershy said meekly while hiding her face in her hoofs as Scapel was giggling under her breath.

"Ah come on it cute and accurate just like you, and," she said and loudly clapped her hoofs earning a shy squeaking noise from Fluttershy "It's the perfect way to know where you are" now laughing at Fluttershy who was getting redder and redder from embarrassment.

"But seriously Fluttershy, you don't need to be a mind reader to know that something is off with you, so what is it," Scalpel said once done laughing. Fluttershy still embraced but now back to her normal color and tinking back to her face that stared back at her from the mirror smiled and said.

"It's noting has just been working a lot lately and having some trouble sleeping" hoping that not lite but not the truth would be god for Scalpel, and to her luck, it was with Scalpel saying.

"Well that's an understatement, I think I haven´t seen you sleeping more than a few minutes the entire time we been here and you are putting in so much overtime that if we were being paid you would be ricer that the princess by this point" with that Scapel left the room on her way to another creature in need.

Fluttershy steadying herself on the sink looking into the mirror at the hardened face of herself that she never in her wildest dream could have imagined having. Also, she thought back to her white lie which she had been telling everyone including herself. It was true that she had been sleeping less and less but not because of not being tired, going true most days almost too tired to walk. But staying awake fueled by the knowledge that while she slept others had to do her work and injuries she could treat was going untreated.

Splashing her face with cold water she walked out of the washing room and made her way true the halls of the improvised hospital that had been built to handle the injured. It was technically not fully complete with earth pony construction crews working day and night to complete it. But for the time being, it was complete enough so that they could treat patients and house everything needed to do so.

Entering into the main office of the hospital Fluttershy made her way to her desk where a usual pile of paperwork had piled up during the day. Most of it was medical journals needing updating or requisition forms for supplies that were on the brink of running out. Sitting down Fluttershy began the grueling work of decreasing the size of the pile while other doctors and volunteer personal added to the pile. Fluttershy having taken on the responsibility to handle most of the paperwork mostly because she volunteered for it and that somehow when she requisitioned resources it almost ended up arriving.

As time passed and more and more workers got some more free time they trickled into the main office swarming around the coffee table and listening to a radio playing tuned to a popular equestrian radio station PON-3 radio. The music giving a semblance of home in the scared land they all fond themself. Fluttershy found herself humming quietly along with the music as she worked somewhat on autopilot. Which made her jerk when the music suddenly turned off and the presenter began talking.

"This is an emergency message to the entirety of Equestria, Canterlot castle is currently under siege by Caribou raiders and princess Celestia is asking for every pony to find safety, we here att PON-3 will continue to deliver updates on the defense until the end" and with that, the calmness of before was shattered. Everyone was in shock just standing there in disbelief standing frozen in the action they were in.

Fluttershy was completely petrified, too scared to even breathe stuck in her motion like a clock with its spring blown, then after a while first slowly then rapidly. Every pony began running towards the communication room hoping to contact their families and loved ones. But the communication equipment wasn't the best and quickly broke down from the sudden increase of usage leaving the entire camp both blind and deff to the larger world.

With the only information coming from the radio and PON-3´s and its constant updates about the fighting which was tuning worse and worse with every update. It didn't take long after news that manehattan had been occupied that many of the volunteers mostly pegasuses began returning back home to Equestria. With most of the rest joining shortly after leaving the refugees to fend for themself.

But there was a small group who just couldn't leave the refugees to fend for themself, mostly the ones that had formed a deep connection with them, and among them was Fluttershy. Now working 24 hours straight she used whatever was left after the other had left taking most of the supplies with them.

We must think about ourselves Fluttershy remembering the words of Scalpel as she and the other who left emptied the storehouses of mostly everything that they would need for their trip back. Fluttershy had been furious and had done everything she could to make them leave something for the refugees, but her efforts fell on deaf ears.

One week later the camp was empty with the only ones remaining were the ones too injured to move. With the rest of the refugees after the remaining food had been used up, moved on taking whatever they could with now only Fluttershy and a hoof full of non-pony volunteers being the last one caring for the injured. All of this laid heavily on Fluttershy who had taken on the role of leader when the previous one left with the main group of volunteers and as she laid sleepless she cursed herself for not going with them.

With the volunteers having taken the radio she could no longer hear what was happening in Equestria and she dammed herself for possibly leaving her friends and family to die. But as a mental image of a crippled orphaned zebra kid filed her mind she also knew she couldn't leave them to their fate.

"What should I do, I'm just one pony," she said to herself as tears tripped down her face wanting to give everything she could but finding that it isn't enough. Crawling under her blanket she just wanted somepony to come and help them hoping that her message that she sent out a few days ago would bring some kind of help. But for the time being Fluttershy knew that she must do everything in her power to save as many as possible.

Getting out of bead she intended to get an early start on the day and to start making preparation for the injured to be moved hoping that would have arrived when they were done. But as she was about to put on her nurse closing she began smelling the faint smell of smoke, then she heard the screams.

The screams were unearthly, sounding like something that could only be found in a madhouse and then the smell of smoke and fire became clearer and clearer. Running out of her room and out of the hospital she was horrified by the scene in front of her. Most of the camp was in flame and the remaining refugees were being cut down by masked zebras who were screaming in a language, not from this world.

Fluttershy knew instantly who these masked zebras were, they were the Amak´holwa, and they were the ones that have split the former Zebra empire. Following some unknown deities they called the benevolent, they had raised cites to the ground and killed whole zebra tribes. Seemingly to always grow no matter how many of them are killed their teachings seeming able to be found everywhere and influence all species on all levels of their society.

"Fluttershy run!!!" one of the remaining personnel said just before one of the cultist soldiers showed a spear rue the stallion's neck killing him. Seeing this Fluttershy was petrified unable to move and as one of the cultist soldiers charged towards her screaming his head off she was unable to escape her fate. But then just before the soldiers would have killed her one of the gazel she had saved knocked the cultist soldier away and before the gazel was killed she screamed.

"RUN!!!" and with that something just flipped in FLutershy and she flew away as fast as she could as burning arrows and spears were shot at her. She didn't dare to lock back at the devastation but she could hear every scream of her patients the ones that had tried to save something.

For hours Fluttershy flew with streams of tears running down her face still hearing the sounds of innocents dying and the maddening screams of the cultist. It wasn't until a thunderstorm rolled in and the rain and wind forced Fluttershy to take shelter in a cave. Curling into a ball from fear and go keep warm Fluttershy didn't know what to do, she had no clue where she was and how to get home, and because of her. Now everyone where dead and it all because she could not abandon them. All she wished, for now, was that she had died and that would have let to that everyone else she cared for would be alive once again.

"Helo anyone there," a male voice said cutting true Flutershys thought and her first impulse was to run but the voice said quickly.

"Wait, don't leave" and then much quiet "please don't leave me alone" with desperation dripping from his words. Following the voice, Fluttershy took a few timid steps into the cave looking for the source of the voice. As she walked the voice asked several more times if somepony was there but Fluttershy was too scared to respond fearing it was more of the cultist and this was some kind of a trick.

But in the deeps of the cave, she found out where the voice was coming and it wasn't what she had expected, they're hanging from a sharp crystal was an alicorn amulet. But Fluttershy didn't know why she knew it was an alicorn amulet because it didn't look like the one that Trixie used to take control over Ponyville. This one was golden and resembling a twin-headed pegasus with black feathers wings with a shield over its chest with a metallic pony skull on it and behind the pegasus, there was a pair of crossed swords with the edge upwards making it lock like unicorn horns.

"Hello," Fluttershy said timidly before hiding behind a large stone and waited for a response

"Hello," the voice said more energetic as it finally got a response, but Fluttershy to scared didn't respond.

"It's alright I'm not dangerous, I just want someone to talk to," the voice said and once again there was something in his voice that told Fluttershy that he was not a threat. It was hearing a vailing puppy after having to spend a long day alone while its owner was away. Tinking of the voice as if it belonged to some sort of animal semed to dar on something inside Fluttershy that overruled her fear and she stepped out from her hiding spot.

"Hi I´m Fluttershy," she said and after a moment the amulet asked.

"Are you real?" which surprised Fluttershy who could only nod, which made the voice break out in desperate laughter, Thinking that this really was a cult trap Fluttershy was about to run away when the voice said.

"Wait I'm sorry for that but it´s been so long before I have seen anyone and I first didn't think you were real, a yellow winged pony is just was my mind would cock-up".

"Why would that be weird?" Fluttershy said not getting why it would be weird to see a pony.

"Well from where I´m from pony´s arent yellow winged or can talk unless you are on some heavy drugs. I'm guessing the rumors were true" the voice said and instead of answering Flutershys questions it just raised more. Whoever the voice was, clearly saw this and said.

"I'm guessing that I have some explaining to do" getting a nod from Flutrshy who sat down in front of the amulet to her explain how it ended up here.

"Well to begin with my name is Jacob Wilhelm but just call me Krieg and I come from another world called earth and there I wasn't an amulet but a human but that all changed when I went to a convention" he began as Fluttershy grew more and more intrigued the more he spoke.

Chapter 2 Sacrifice

As krige walked down the halls of the convention hall he was amazed by just the sheer size of everything with hundreds of cosplayers in exact replicas of fictional characters and the number of stalls selling handmade items. He felt a little embarrassed when he saw a pair of cosplayers walk past him in perfect recreations of mass effect N7 armor. While he was clad as scruffy as always with his hoddies hod puled up.

This was his first convention and he had wanted to at least try to get some kind of cosplay but he was more of a gamer than a cosplayer and he couldn't afford to have someone make a decent costume for him. But in the end, it didn't matter that much as he could attest buy some cool items. He had already both some figures and a pretty good hand-drawn poster of the spear of Adun from starcraft 2.

Wich, he was especially fond of because of starcraft being one of his most loved games due to his life of real-time strategy games like Star Wars Empire at war and X-COM. Now he was looking for something from one of those games that he could putt on his shelf but so he had no luck finding something he liked.

That was when he saw a tent and from a glims true the entrance he saw some out of this world excellent replicas of some of the most famous fictional items. Feeling intrigued he entered the tent and began looking around at the plethora of items on display.

"Finding something interesting," a voice said almost making Kriege jump out of his skin, turning to the sound of the voice he saw that standing behind a counter was a man clad in a perfect cosplay of the merchant from resident evil.

"Just browsing," Krige said not wanting to show just how shocked he was so he pretended to inspect a seemingly real looking master sword from Zelda. Casually looking towards the merchant who hadn't moved from the counter Krige couldn't help but think about an urban legend he had heard about online. That of a person clad in just the same kind of cosplay that he was wearing and having a shop in a convention just like this. According to the legend of you both anything from him it would send you to an alternate world with the appearance of power of the item you bought.

But Krieg didn't believe in something so ridiculous so as he browsed the shelf he saw a glass case by the counter with several necklaces in it. Taking a closer lock he saw that most of them were magical necklaces from various games and films but one of the necklaces coth his attention. It was a golden twin-headed pegasus wit is black feather wings stretched out with a shield on its chest with a metallic pony skull and behind it was a pair of swords placed so it lied like the pegasus heds had horns. While it didn't resemble anything he had seen before just something about how it liked was oddly familiar and it was just plain awesome looking.

"How much for the one in the center?" Krige asked the merchant trowing a glans att her medallion.

"Five dollars" he then said cathing Krige of guard, as the medallion really liked like it was made with real gold, but Krige not being a man to lock a gift horse in the moth. Pulled out a fiver and the merchant removed the medallion from its case and handed it over to Krige. But as Krige left the tent inspecting his new item the merchant smiled a devious smile behind his mask as he despaired along with the entire tent and everything in it. Looking around some more Krige saw on his watch that it was getting late and he had a bus to catch. Exciting the convention hall with his items in a backpack he made his way to the bus stop which was already crowded with people.

Some like him that had spent their day at the convention and some regular pedestrians that either did their own ting or tock pictures of the convention goers that were still in cosplay. Leaning against the bus stop Krige was about to put in his headphones and listen to some music when he noticed a small girl a possibly her mother who was talking with one of the cosplayers.

The girl seemed intrigued about the cosplayers outfit which was of a character from a monster high in which the girl held a doll of the same character in her arms. The small girl seemed to believe that the cosplayer was the actual character in that way only a child could believe. Wich Krige found a little adorable as the cosplayer and the girl's mother clearly didn't have the heart to tell the girl the truth.

As the bus came around the corner Krige pulled out his bus card and got in line with the rest of the one's att he bus stop but just as the bus was about to arrive. The girl started shooting and throwing its arm around seemingly angry about something her mother and he cosplayer had said. In her wild swings, she lost the grip of the doll and rant to get it wich had landed just in front of the path of the buss.

As Krege saw this everything seemed to slow down as the girl seemingly unaware of what was happening stod there picking up her doll as the buss. It´s bracks screaming trying to stop but it was too late and it seemed intimate that the bust would hit the girl. Without thinking Krige leaped att the girl pushing her aside just as the bus came so instead of hitting the girl it struck him sending him flying.

Krige felt surprisingly little pain as time was still somewhat slowed but as he tumbled true the air his gaze landed on the group standing at the bus stop. Their faces were a mix of horror and surprise but sanding in the back where Krige was sure that none had stod before was the merchant.

"The greatest hero is the one that can sacrifice everything in the name of their cause, may the princes find your worthy of standing by her, side," the merchant said, and moving as if time wasn't slowed he snapped his fingers and disappeared. As he did time reverted to normal and at harrowing speed, everything returned to normal. Hitting the ground hard Krige rolled violently down the roe as his mind seemingly left his body and entered into a void of nothing.

"Then when I got my senses back I fond myself in this cave feeling as if my entire body had been ripped from me and what's left of me shackled to the wall," Krige said finishing his story. With Fluttershy in tears after hearing how this Krige died and was transformed into this medallion by some kind of entity. She couldn't help but comparing it to fairy tales when princesses were transformed into stone or animals by an evil queen or unicorn.

"How long have you been here?" she asked remembering how desperate he was for any kind of contact when she first entered.

"I don't know," he said, "I tried to keep track of time by the passing of light from the cave opening but I just stopped counting after a while and not long after my sense of time derailed".

"You can see?" Fluttershy asked not seeing any eyes on the medallion.

"Yah, I see true the eyes of the pegasus on the medallion, how did you think I knew you were a pony," Krige said and Fluttershy blushed, having forgotten that he had known that she was a pony before she had had to say it.

"So that my story how about you, I know my knowledge of horse's behavior is not up to date but I'm pretty sure that ponies don't live in caves," Krige said. With Fluttershy happily was about to tell her about her life back home in Equestria and her work with the red hoof. The memories that had been pushed aside by Krige´s story and she began crying rivers.

"What... I... Was it something I said" Krige said and Fluttershy true er sobbing told him about what happened at the relife camp and Equestria completely breaking down in tears afterward. Krige stunned by just what this small mare had gone true making his sob story feel like noting in comparison. As Fluttershy cried he wanted to reach out and comfort the mare and do something to help her but in his current form all he could do was try to come up with some comforting words.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the little khala, ngane that escaped us," a sudden voice said, and walking down the cave with a group of masked zebras following was the same cultist that had attacked the camp and killed the gazel. Fluttershy instantly recognizing him and tried to crawl away but there was no way to escape.

"It took some time and great sacrifice to the benevolent ones to find you so I'm hoping that you are willing to repay it with everything you have," the cultist said and prepared to stand over Fluttershy intend on doing gods know what to her. Scared out of her mind she grabbed some rubel and threw it at the cultist with no effect. The cultist and his entourage laughed at Flutershy's attempt to harm them.

"Well we can't have you flailing around while you give your service to in the benevolent mother," the cultist said raising a bloody sword and swung it at Fluttershy. Only for it to be coth on the protruding crustal that the medallion hung from, and the blow of the impact knocked the Medalion free landing around Fluttershy neck.

"Don't worry Fluttershy I will save you" Krige said inside the mind of Fluttershy as she suddenly lost consciousness.

Igazi the commander of this group of believers was annoyed that his divine blade had gotten stuck and he got furious as he heard his fellow believers laughing behind his back. Once he was done with this iponi he knew who he would throw on the alter for the benevolent gods for a new a bigger sword.

As he got his blade loss he was about to cut the legs of this iponi and have her made to his personal slave to do as he saw fit, in the name of the benevolent mother of course. But just as he was about to swing a flash of metal filed his wishing and before he knew it his head fell to the ground.

The other believer who served as Igazi´s bodyguards were stunned as in a few seconds the scared who would have been adored on an altar to the benevolent ones. Now stop there with anger in her eyes, blood spatter over her face, and in her hoof a saber, unlike anything the believers had seen. Unlike their weapons that were mostly cobbled together with whatever that they could scavenge and empowered by the power of the benevolent.

This sword was almost glowing with its metal blade shining and the handle of the sword adorned to lock like a twin-headed iponi ezindizayo. As the body of Igazi fell to the flor the shock of seeing his die was replaced with rage as a mere iponi had dared to lay its inselo on their leader. Rasing their weapons they charged the Iponi only to be cut down with swift action leaving one single believer remaining.

The last one raised its hoof where he held a caster rifle, the main projectile weapon of the believers as while they mostly used swords and spear in devastating charging attacks. It was quickly discovered that the combustion weapons that were commonly used by their main adversary the followers of the false gods were powerful enough to stop any advance of the beliefs.

So as a way to prove that their gods were superior to the false gods the warlocks of the believers used their connection to the higher dimensions where the benevolent resided. To craft powerful magical orbs that were placed into the chamber of the weapons the believer held. Looking like a ripped out ribcage extending from one's hoof with a round fleshlike camber on the back of the weapon.

Pressing the trigger of the weapons with a howl the weapons shout out a green fireball that sore true the air striking the Ipony in her shoulder. Expecting that to be enough the believer was surprised when the iponi show no sign of pain and began firing wildly as the iponi charged him, sword raised.

With a quick slash of his saber krige first cut off the weird weapon on the cultist hoof before cutting its head off as he had done with the other cultist. Once done he used his sword to cut off some of the leather wichs the cultish used as armor, to bandage his wound on Fluttershy's shoulder.

It had been a weird experience to suddenly go from not having a body to possessing the body of a pony but he had a duty to do. He could feel inside him how Fluttershy was still unconscious with her taking a bigger hit from Krige's possession of her body.

Once done bandaging up his/her wound Krige began walking towards the opening of the cave, moving casually in case there were some more cultists outside. But as he made it to the opening he saw no sign of any additional cultist so he sat down just outside the cave looking at his blade.

The blade a saber with the handle similar to the amulet with a twin-headed pegasus felt familiar, just like the medallion had done when he first had seen it. he knew that he had been displaced to another world where seemingly ponies and zebras could talk. just as those weird urban legends you fond online of a merchant that sold you an item for dirt cheap and you would be transported to another world. the thing is, if the rumors are right Krige should be in the body of a video game carakter. the truth is tough, he is a piece of jewelry that is currently possessing a pony, and the medallion itself where both familiar to him and completely unknown. Sheeting the sword in a sheath that also just had appeared on his/Fluttershy flank.

"This is annoying," he thought to himself as he once again was unsure if he was just inhabiting Fluttershy's body and should see it as her´s ore just see it as his body for now as it felt like it. Looking up in the sky and seeing that it was night, he decided that there were more important things to do. The first thing he needed was a camp of some sort and not wanting to spend the rest of the night in the corps filed cave.

Walking some distance away he found some dead trees by some rocks slabs that laid over another in such a way that would give him cover against the rain. Using his saber to cut some wood krige made a fire that he lighted with a stone and his saber, Wich he didn't know he knew how to do but was happy nonetheless to have some warmth after so long in that damp and cold cave. With a deep yawn, krige felt a deep from the exhaustion Fluttershy must have felt before arriving at the cave and the soft warmth of the fire. So with his head resting in Fluttershy's hoofs, Krige drifted off to sleep for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Author's Note

this chapter will contain some zebra words, here is a translation to common Equus
iponi - pony
iponi ezindizayo - pegasus
khala, ngane - crybaby
inselo - hoofs

(translated from English to Zulu with zulu as the stand-in for Zebra languish)

Chapter 3 Death and Kindness

Fluttershy was laying on a towel at the Manehattan grand beach where usually there would be hundreds of ponies spending a warm summer day. But this day when she had invited all her friends to have a beach party just as they arrived the sun disappeared beyond some clouds and a cold wind seeped over the beach. Now most of them had been trying to prepare the food which Fluttershy had brought that unfortunately due to her putting it in the cooler was completely frozen to the core.

She knew her friends wouldn't say it but she could feel their angry eyes dig into her neck and also some ponies that Fluttershy hadn't invited had just sown up sad that Fluttershy hadn't invited her. But Fluttershy just turned the page in her bock which was the art of war by some accent griffin warrior.

Fluttershy knew this was a dream as it was a common nightmare of hers that she got whenever she went to bed sad or scared, but this time was different. Usually, when she had this dream she always tried to run away or try to fix things which only ended up making things worse, but now she had just laid down her towel and started reading. She knew that she should be scared or upset but something inside her gave her more courage and determination than ever before.

Then as she just had finally come over the fact that she no longer was afraid, a demonic scream rolled over the beach, and from the horizon on a wave of blood and corpses was the Amak´holwa cultist. Standing up Fluttershy desperately looked around for her friends only to find herself alone. She wanted to run, to find shelter, to find anyone that could defend her but as she tried to run away her body steeled itself. It was then she realized that she wasn't scared, she was angry, angry at herself for letting others fight for her, angry for letting her emotions control her, angry at the cultist for killing everything she cared for.

Seeing a thick leather trenchcoat lying under here where her towel had just been, she knew what she had to do. Not because she wanted to do it, not that she was the best at it, but that it was her duty. Putting it on she drew a sword that hung from her flank rasing it towards the wave of cultist she gave them the stare and said to the wave of cultist.

"Do your best" raising the sword she was prepared to die to defend the ones she loved and as the wave crashed over her she with a fierce battle cry swung at the wave. Only to disorientedly jerk awake jumping up only to fall on her flan and bumping her shoder at the ground which hurt like Tartarus. Unable to understand why bumping her shoder would hurt so Celestia banished much, she looked at her shoulder and almost vomited.

There was a large wound running down her solder with some of it covered by coagulated blood and as she saw this at a press of a button she suddenly felt the immense pain from the wound. Holding back the pain surprisingly well she tumbled around where she had woken up noticing the smoldering remains of a fire. She knew what she needed to do and she knew she wasn't going to like it.

Grabbing some wood that had been piled up by the fire she got the fire starting again and when the flames roared high she held her shoulder just by the flames. Removing some leather scraps which seemingly had been used as discount bandages she leat the heat from the fire cauterize the wound. Biting down on a piece of wood Fluttershy's eyes filled up with tears as the pain tripled almost becoming too much to handle.

She had done a variation of this but on a smaller scale during her brief medical training before she arrived at the Red Hoof relief camp with the idea was to quickly stop any bleeding and disinfect the wound. Back then she had used medical instruments but with the only place with any kind of medical equipment by this time probably burned to ashes she had to improvise.

Once done she sat down, spitting out the wood, and tock some heavy breaths astonished by herself for being able to manage this alone. Looking around she saw that she was no longer in the cave but outside by a came made under a large stone slab, the camp was nothing fancy, a fire, and some spare wood to keep the fire going. Also lying on the opposite side of the fire from herself laid a pony.

The pony looked like a moror image of herself but this pony was a stallion and his mane was shorter. The pony laid under a large trench coat that looked exactly like the one she had had in her dream, but when Fluttershy tried to talk to the pony he just vanished leaving the trench coat behind. the coat was grey and resembled something she would have seen on a military officer. Also, Fluttershy couldn't put her hoof on it but there was something powerful about the trenchcoat as if just wearing it, it broth whit it respect and fear by anyone that laid their eyes on it. Initially, she didn't intend on taking it but as she was about to walk away a feeling of unease washed over her as if she was leaving behind a part of herself.

As she put the coat on she noticed a belt around her flank which she hadn't felt earlier and the sword that hung from it. Never having seen a weapon before less tushing one, Fluttershy was about to remove it to the same feeling of unease stopping her from removing it. Now clad and armed with the disappearance of her mirror duplicate Fluttershy was at a loss on what to do.

Turning the alicorn amulet in her hoofs she tried fruitlessly to get Krege to talk to her but there was just something in the eyes of the medallion that told her that he was sleeping or something similar. She was still in the same predicament as before with not knowing where she is or how to get him. Feeling how tears began veiling up in the corners of her eyes she blinked them out preparing to walk in any direction until she found help.

But just as she was about to and thundering of hoofs held her movement and in reaction, she climbed up and hide on the top of the stone slap. Rolling over the savanna was a large hoard of Amak´holwa cultist on large chariots the side of large wagons pulled by dozens of chained creatures looking as if they were on the brink of death. But yets they were piped so hard that flesh was ripped off by groups of cultist branding wipes.

As the chariots drew by for a brief moment Fluttershy could see the one in the middle chariot which was even larger and decorated with bone and burning markings unknown to Fluttershy. But it wasn't the chariot that coth her gaze but the creature standing on top of it. It was a zebra but something was not right with it, being twice as large as other zebras with his body scared with engravings, demonic wings protruding from its back and its eyes glowing and oozing magical energy.

But nither that was what broth dreed over Fluttershy as she saw the convoy pass her, it was the staff that the zebra was holding which was made from the corpse of the very gazel that she had saved. Its legs had been riped clean of flesh and tied to a metal rood by its entrail and its chest flayed of, reviling its ribcage where a red orb had been shoved in. But it wasn't the way one of her patients had been desecrated after that, because the gazel was still alive.

The gazel was screaming at the top of its exposed lungs unable to stop the pain nor close its eyes from the horrors inflicted upon her. As its mouth and eyes had been wired open and when she stope the orb in her chest would glow reviving her and she would start screaming once again. As the caravan of horror passed Fluttershy's location with the echoes of the gazels screams echoing inside her mind and Fluttershy was furious.

Without thinking of herself nor her own fears, Fluttershy flew after the cultist caravan intending to catch up with it and save the gazel. But her new and surprising courage had not both with it more flight strength so it was not long until the cultist caravan disappeared above the horizon. But luckily it left a clear track of weal marks and blood which when tracked led Fluttershy back to the Red Hoof relief camp, ore what had risen over its ashes.

There standing where once a place of healing and compassion had stod now was a castle spewing fire and smog from large shimmies as hundred upon hundred of enslaved creatures mined in enormous holes in the ground spread around the area. The walls of the castle were adorned with the same burning emblems as the ones of the chariot mostly rings with runs in them with the largest being a steel zebra skull with a sword coming down on its head and exiting true its shattered moth.

Also walking between the mines and the castle was hundred upon thousands of cultists making the enslaved creatures work until they were nothing but bone and ash. as Fluttershy saw this her hopes of saving the gazel ore at least put her out of her misery sunk like a rock. there would be no way she alone could charge the castle and there were just too many cultists there so she could sneak in.

then a cold scream sounded behind Flytershy and with lightning reflects Fluttershy spun around drawing her sword just in time to block the blade of a cultist. angeling her blade Fluttershy sent the cultist blade into the ground leaving the neck of the cultist exposed. she knew she needed to kill him not just because of her own safety but for the safety of the countless creatures he would harm in the future. but as Fluttershy raised her blade to slice the head of the cultist but she just couldn't, even with her rage and newfound courage, she could not kill.

"I handle this," a voice said and with a jerk, Fluttershy felt her mind being thrown out of her body and when she got on her hoof again she saw how her body swung the sword cutting the head of the cultist.

"hu?... what?..." Fluttershy said terrified with her previous courage seemingly gone.

"Sorry for that, but we are one now and I won't die again," Fluttershy's body said coldly, then her body froze in its step, and continuing the step emerging grom the body was the male mirror image that she had seen before.

"Krige," Fluttershy asked recognizing the voice as his but not understanding why he looked like her.

"seems like I once again have some explanations to give," Krige said extending a hoof helping Fluttershy up.

"what's going on?" Fluttershy asked seeing that it was not only her body that had frozen but time itself leaving everything frozen in its action.

"Well, the short version is that when I was pleased around your neck, your and my soal were fused together so now we inhabit the same body, have you noticed any changed to your behavior recently?" Krige said and Fluttershy realized that the feeling with the coath and her sudden burst and loss of courage was because of this merger of soals.

"Is this safe?" she asked with Krige just shrugging.

"none of us is dead yet and none of us is a vegetable so I guess it's safe enough," he then said as he turned towards the cultist castle. it was then Fluttershy realized if all her courage came from Krige. there would be no way for her to rescue the gazel or anyone held imprisoned by the cultist. as this sat in Fluttershy began crying.

"what's wrong" krige said walking over to Fluttershy and whipping off her tears, she explained about the gazel who saved her and now was being kept alive in an unimaginable existence. Krige after hearing that just needed and returned his gaze to the Kastle. Fluttershy was baffled how this person who was so kind and warm to her in the cave now seemed so cold, and krige seemingly noticed Fluttershy's confusion.

"The reason why I don't act as I care is while you got something in our mergers I lost something, my compassion" krige said, "I'm am unable to have any emotion, this" he motioned towards the torment in the castle "do not face me and I have no compassion for the salves. instead you must act as both our conscience as we liberate the prisoner" he finished.

"but how we are just to ponies?" Fluttershy said having stopped crying, the presence of Krege having returned some of her courage.

"We are two of the same coin" he began "Separate you are nothing more than a scared kid and I an uncaring asshole who could see the world burn. But together we have what's needed to fight back against the cult so others do not have to get hurt, feel sorrow ore die" reaching out his hoof krige said, "Fluttershy do you trust me". Fluttershy didn't know what to think, while she hadn't know Krige for very long she somehow could see in her mind what kind of person Krige truly was and that he in his deepest essence were neither cruel nor evil.

"I do," she said grabbing Krige's hoof and when she did waves of energy emerged them and Fluttershy felt a wave of courage sweeping over her.

"But we are still only one pony," she said as she stepped into her body.

"Don't worry Fluttershy this amulet of mine still has some tricks left," Krige said joining her inside of Fluttershy´s body. as she that she was overflown with a feeling of might and power as golden energy began encasing her and of in the distance, the sound of macing hoofs filed the air.

Chapter 4 March of the corps

Warmaster Unyaka, the leader of this sect of Believers was sitting in his new throne room inside his newly erected fort, fitting of a Believer of his status. The room was large and elaborate whit slaves hanging from the walls, whose blood dripped down into a central pool. Where five warlocks were conducting a ritual to expand his castle and field of influence until this entire region was joined under the gaze of the benevolent.

He should be happy, he should be in his cambers reeling in some of his favorite slaves and consuming of the flesh from some of the previous inhabitants of this place. Yet he sat on his throne grumbling as his son was still missing. While it was not one of the sons he liked particularly much, it was neither one he hated and he wanted to share in his victory with his son, to later use him as a sacrifice in his rise to demonkind but that was a whole other thing.

"Have you located my son yet dark casters?" Unyaka asked the warlocks trying to at least sound a little honorable to them, as they were the backbone to his strength. Whit his possession of five being a rarity among other warbands, but he also knew that due to warlocks' connection to the Benevolent ones, made they both independent and powerful. And one wrong word can make them decide to defect to another Warband.

"No ascended one, while we are able to see his soul in the void of the Benevolent ones, his flesh and mind are somehow eluding our gaze," one of the warlocks said angering Unyaka. Not only had he stolen one of his sacred blades he had also disobeyed his orders and charged ahead of the main hoard when they were purging the site for the construction of Unyaka´s fort. Then he had the gall to run away saying that he was going to hunt down some iponi that had escaped the cleansing.

Leaning back on his throne he began imagining what torture he would inflict on his disappointment of a son, but his mind was pulled to different places as he heard a faint sound. It sounded like hoofs stomping on the ground which wouldn't be too uncommon in a believer's fort. But that was usually in a glorious disharmony as a tribute to the Benevolent ones, this was harmonious, in unison.

Grabbing his newly forged void staff, he walked to a balcony looking out towards the horizon where the sound, which was steadily growing stronger whit every passing moment emanated from. Looking out just in time to see something falling from the sky and erupting in a tremendous fire explosion as it struck the courtyard below. Caught off guard Warmaster, Unyaka looked towards the horizon as new series of explosions rung out.

At the edge of the horizon was a large tide of grey iponi´s all clad in the same garb and moving as one coming as the tide over the horizon. located just behind them were metallic constructs whit large hollow rods pointing up into the sky wholly unfamiliar to the warlord. as he looks at the structures, the top exploded in fire sending something flying towards his fort, and once they landed a large explosion followed damaging his fort and killing his Warband in the outer courtyard.

Whit fury pumping true his veins with such ferocity that dark magick was pouring from his eyes and mouth Warmaster Unyaka. Raised his void staff and whit a deathly wail as a prayer to the benevolent father, cast a spell to both shields his fort and to summon forth aid from the realm of the Benevolent.

As another salvo was fired from the massive hydra canons Fluttershy looked true a pair of binoculars as the same zebra she had seen before whit the staff made from the gazel dis something at the top of the fort. Just as the shells from the canon would impact, a swirling magical sheld grew around the fort protecting it from the salvo. As continuous salvos were unable to break the shield, Fluttershy raised her sword signaling for the artillery to stop.

As the artillery grew silent the world around Fluttershy turned pale and time stopped, as emerging from Fluttershy's chest were two balls of energy. One yellow and pink and the other one black and white with both balls of energy forming into a pony.

"Well I really hoped that we would be able to do more damage, but I wasn't expecting a magical barier" the black and white figure representing the soul of Krieg said. While the other one, the embodiment of Fluttershy's soul looked on in horror.

"How many do you think died?" she asked and Krige while sounding uncaring she could feel his regret even true the gasmask that obscured his face. That had appeared whit the rest of their new ensemble when the full power of the amulet where activated. As before it consisted of the trenchcoat and belt but now under it was a full military officer ensemble and bodysuit that covered Fluttershy from head to toe. It even had the before mentioned gas mask and a metal helmet whit a twin-headed pegasus on top.

"In an artillery engagement, the first barrage is always the most devastating, as no one is prepared for it and usually the artillery hasn't completely zeroed the target. So I would guess that almost everyone outside the castle is dead by this point" he said and Fluttershy could feel a sting of sadness in her heart.

" I can´t speak for the dead but if their choice is betine death or enslavement to this cultist I would choose death" Krige then said laying a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. She knew that he was speaking the truth as even she knew that if she were in the same situation, she would have a hard time not wishing for her own death.

"But we will save the rest?" Fluttershy asked and received a nod from Krege as time returned to normal. Drawing her sword she raised into the air and with a bombing voice that reached the entire battle line she shouted out a single command.

"DEATH CORPS OF EQUESTRIA ADVANCE!!!" and with that hundred of ponies clad in grey simple uniforms whit, a gas mask, simple metal helmet, and grey trenchcoat and thick leather bots that combined covered their entire body began marching towards the cultist castle. As they did the artillery began to roar again dropping dozen upon dozens of tons of high explosive shells on the magical shield hoping to break it.

But whatever powered the shield stayed strong, forcing the artillery to one again go silent, and as it did it gave just the opening the cultist needed, and true opening in the shield they came rushing out in great waves. Screaming and chanting demonic curses as they bean charging headfirst towards the guard's ponies of the death corps of Equestria. The scams and cants were to spread fear among their enemies, to make them run and cower to be easier cut down and sacrifice to the benevolent, but the guard's ponies didn't flinch.

Walking in perfect coordination shoulder to shoulder, flank to flank none stoping, none fleeing just marching forward towards what would seem like inevitable death. Then like funder from an empty sky, the artillery erupted once again but this time not firing at the shield but at the ground just in front of the guard's ponies. The cultist died in droves as fire erupted from the ground laying waste to everything, except the guard's ponies.

Who just as coordinated walked just behind and out of reach of the devastation of the slowly forward creping artillery strike. The first sells almost instantly obliterated the cultist, and those who survived quickly ran back towards the fort, but as there was no longer an opening in the shield for them to run true they were traped. Slamming their hoves on the wall of the shield begging to be let back in but the magical wall stayed closed. So when the artillery began striking the shield again this time the cultist were turned to red mist evaporating into the air.

For hours the barrage continued and the cultist so used to being on the offensive grew more and more restless and was on the verge of sliting other troths, silence fell. And the moment the warlord opened up the shields for a rush no one remembered what happened last time and rushed out ready to face their enemy, only to find the plains before them empty.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy peeked around the corner of the main gate to the cultist fort she saw that the plan had gone perfectly, just as Krige had predicted. He has suspected that they would get extremely anxious being trapped behind their won magical barrier. Meaning that they would rush out at any moment given, meaning they could be easily killed by the artillery. But they both knew that this strategy was only god fore one or two times before whoever was leading the cultist would use the slaves. Trowing them into the meat grinder to save their own forces. Meaning that if they could not go true the main gate or bomb the main enemy hoard from above, their only solution was to go under them.

"Lord commander ma´am, all units ready and awaiting orders," a large death corps soldier said.

"I need you and the rest of your Grenadier to take care of any survivors while I take care of however lead this enemy force," Fluttershy said to the soldier who after saluting tock position whit other large ponies having taken position behind some dirt made into a makeshift barricade. They were Grenadier, heavy weapon and explosions specialists that distinguished themself from the regular death corps troper by bing about twice as big, clad in a heavy cheapest and shoulder guard, and being armed whit high explosive grenades and the C-08 caster rifle.

A specialist variant on the ZT-05 caster rifle the regular soldiers had, which was a single-action rifle that fired a magically energized crystal shard at the enemy. While efficient in a large formation its slow speed of fire and somewhat pore ammo capacity only begin able to fire 40 shit from a weapons crystal. On the other hand, though the ZT-05 caster rifle did make up the flaws whit it being excellent in armor penetration. With the crystal, shards to be able to pierce almost all kinds of light armor.

C-08 caster rifle was similar, firing a crystal shard charged whit magic but for the C-08 it was fully automatic, held over 300 shots in an external pack that the soldier wore on their back, and could penetrate everything except heavy armor. It manege this due to the weapon being almost twice as bulky as the ZT-05 and it sacrifices its range only being able to shot at about one-third in comparison to the ZT-05. Also if the weapon was not carefully maintained or suffered massive blunt force it could lead to drastic overheating of the main crystal core causing the explosion of the weapon.

But Fluttershy did not worry about that due as she ascended the fort due to the Grenadier being elite soldiers who knew what would happen if their weapon quality slipped. so as the opening barge of the C-08 sounded below here she had full trust in her soldiers to hold the line. as she ventured higher in the fort whit a hoof full of soldiers acting as her bodyguard while she searched for the zebra cultist she had seen before. the one who had turned the poor gazel into a staff and was senselessly torturing her with never-ending pain and suffering, and she was going to save her.