A Change in Heart

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

Black Daze charged through the crowd of soldiers, killing all that got in his way. He only had one stallion on his mind, and he left the rest to the new soldiers. As Black Daze neared Dawn Guardian, he smirked and teleported to the other end of the battlefield. Black Daze roared and took to the air to chase him, continuing to kill any who opposed him.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor and his troops entered their usual battle formation. Shining set up a barrier, and his unicorn troops shot accurately shot out of holes that he opened temporarily. His pegasi and earth pony troops engaged in hand to hand combat with Dawn Guardian's, accompanied by some unicorns specialized for support. Their skill was nearly even, and soldiers from both sides fell in tandem with each other.

...

After some time, Dawn Guardian was left with only twenty soldiers. Shining Armor had also lost a good portion of his troops, but he still had all the soldiers from the barrier formation. Both Black Daze and Dawn Guardian were exhausted- Dawn Guardian from teleporting around the battlefield, and Black Daze from chasing after him.

The walls of the keep were blackened from stray magic blasts, or were destroyed entirely. Blood covered the ground like a coat of paint, drying on a wall. The metallic smell of the blood drowned out every other smell, except that of sweat and vomit, which were equally potent.

Shining Armor yelled, "Surrender! You're outnumbered, and you're all too tired to continue fighting! There's no point in dying for what you've done!"

Dawn Guardian laughed. "No point? Clearly, you are unaware of what it means to be 'martyred'. We will fight. If you kill us, it will only serve to make others see our side of things."

"You really think others will see things that way, when they know you betrayed Celestia?"

"You make a good point. But allow me to point out once more that your conjectures only matter if we die. But we won't. Or at least, I won't."

"Don't be too sure of that," Black Daze growled.

Dawn Guardian smirked. "We'll see. Men! Omega formation!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

All of his remaining unicorns formed a circle around Dawn Guardian and began to channel their energy. His remaining pegasi and earth soldiers guarded him, preventing any advance from Shining Armor. Black Daze took the time to rest, his stamina nearly depleted. He also took the time to channel his own magical energy, preparing a large attack.

Suddenly, Shining Armor realized what Dawn Guardian's unicorns were doing. "Stop! Stop! You would sacrifice your lives for him!?"

One of Dawn Guardian's unicorns responded, "While you and your men were sitting idly in Canterlot during the Griffin War, we fought! And we killed, and died for our country! We personally would have died if not for his actions! We owe our lives to him, and it's only natural that we give them to him!"

"What are they doing?" Black Daze asked.

"They're pouring their magic- no, more than that, their very life force into Dawn Guardian, making him stronger. But such magic is forbidden."

"He betrayed Equestria, and attempted to kill those that I care about. Learning forbidden magic is a miner offense to me," Black Daze said. "Besides, the magic I use isn't exactly common either."

Shining Armor and his troops began channeling their own magic, preparing for the inevitable conflict.

Suddenly, the unicorns surrounding Dawn Guardian collapsed, and his pegasi and earth soldiers rushed forwards. Black Daze ran past them, dodging their attacks. This time, Dawn Guardian did not run. He stayed and set up a barrier around himself as Black Daze began to breathe fire on it. His soldiers engaged Shining Armor's.

Again and again, Black Daze hit the barrier. But unlike those of the unicorns he previously fought, he could not break it, even when he used his own magic against it.

Damn! So he received this much power? "Are you just gonna sit there while your men die?"

"You think I'm just sitting here? You're rather stupid, aren't you?"

Black Daze's eyes widened in realization. He's setting up another spell- a strong one! I've gotta break this barrier before that. Again and again he pounded on the force field, doing no visible damage. He attempted every spell he knew- "Frango! Diruam! Tempestatum! Ignis!- but nothing worked.

Behind them, the fight went in Shining Armor's favor. They felled soldier after soldier, and Shining Armor took the final kill.

But at that moment, Dawn Guardian cast his spell. A blinding white light emanated from him and caused Black Daze and everyone else to flinch. When they next opened their eyes, they realized that they could not move. No matter how much they struggled, their bodies did not budge an inch, a centimeter. Dawn Guardian, however, casually moved about them, inspecting the effects of his spell.

"Excellent, just as I planned."

"What, you planned for all your soldiers to die?"

Dawn Guardian spun to face Black Daze- although, he faced his back as Black Daze was still positioned towards where Dawn Guardian had cast the spell. "You can speak?"

"It seems so."

"Hmm... You shouldn't be able to. I wonder why you can? Perhaps it is part of what makes you an abomination. But it does not matter. You still can't move. You can't fight against your death." He walked back towards Black Daze and sat down in front of him. "Since you're not going anywhere, I can take my time killing you."

"What spell have you cast?"

"Heh. Impressed, are you? It's a tenth level magical attack that was created by Starswirl the Bearded himself- according to the story, he first used it against a dragon that had lost it's mind and began attacking ponies. He cast it, and the dragon could not move, and he killed it while it was immobilized."

A dragon that attacked ponies? Sound's like Daravoc. "What was the dragon's name?"

"That's hardly relevant information. Anyways, the spell causes immobilization in all of those that the caster considers to be enemies, while allowing allies to move around and kill at their leisure. It takes an immense amount of magical ability, though. To be honest, this was my final trump card, to be used only if the battle appeared lost. You should consider yourself honored that I'm using it against you."

"And the death of all you soldiers?"

"An unfortunate nick in my plan. But that does not matter. The end justifies the means. I will take all the lives I need to in order to make Equestria great."

"Even civilian lives? Innocent lives?"

"Anypony who does not work to further Equestria's standing is hardly an innocent. To be honest, this was the first time I cast this spell in actual combat, since I needed the sacrifice of my soldiers in order to get enough magical energy to cast it. Though, others have sacrificed themselves for the sake of practice."

"Aren't you worried that the spell will run out of time while you're talking to me?"

"The spell lasts for an hour, or until the caster dies or dispels it. I've plenty of time."

"And what will you do after you kill me?"

"I'll leave, and kill all those who associated with you, blemish that you are. Captain Shining Armor, behind you, for starters. That Trixie, and Stargazer, and the Elements, they will be next."

"You would kill the Elements?" Black Daze asked, fear in his voice.

"If they associated with something like you, they aren't worthy of their position."

I see. Then I really have no choice but to use that spell. "I'm sorry."

"..." Dawn Guardian was dumbfounded. He stared directly into Black Daze's eyes and said, "Excuse me? You can't exactly apologize now. You'll die either way."

"I'm not apologizing for what I've done, and not to you. I'm apologizing for what I'm about to say."

"What-"

Earlier...

Black Daze stood before the bones of the great dragon Daravoc. He had been called in after receiving news from Twilight Sparkle.

"What is it?"

"I heard what was said. Do you intend to go?"

"Of course."

"If what you told me about your opponent is true, then the way you are now, you will most certainly lose."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going."

"Well... I can't allow my student to go and die on me. Before you go, allow me to teach you one last, simple spell."

"What does it do?"

It instantly kills your opponent."

"Why didn't you teach that to me in the first place?"

"This spell is not cast through the use of magical energy. It is a word from the Old Language, the first Dragon Language. It is cast using your life force.

"What's the catch?"

"You must look them in the eyes as you cast the spell. And, whenever you cast the spell, there is a 50% chance that you will die along with your target."

"... What is the word?"

"You know it already. You just didn't realize it's power until now."

"..."

"Must I spell everything out for you?"

"That would be appreciated."

"It is my name. Daravoc is the ancient word for Death. Now that you have this power, use it wisely.

"Thank you, master. It has been an honor to learn from you."

Now...

"What-"

Black Daze inhaled, exhaled, and, looking into Dawn Guardian's eyes, whispered.

"Daravoc."

Instantly, Dawn Guardian's eyes rolled up, and he collapsed.

And so did Black Daze.

End of Chapter.

Author's Note

Man, it's been a while.
I blame school and anime.