Bred for War

Chapters

An Instrument of Violence
Broken and Proud
Fear
A Most Formidable Reminder
A Place in Time
The Warrior's Heart

An Instrument of Violence

Author's Note

The following story is in need of some editing and revision, but sets up the series well enough for now. At some point in the future, a rewrite will happen. For now, please try to enjoy the story as much as you can.

An Instrument of Violence

Bred for War

By Lupo Mikti

Chapter 1: An Instrument of Violence

“Thou art a vile and disgusting pony! The world doth not deserve for thine name to stain it!”

“Enough, Sister.” Celestia was quick to quell her sister’s increasing distaste. She made her way over to me instead though. “However, thou speaketh nothing but truth. Surely a pony such as thee sees this as fact?”

I have little strength left. This reply just may be my last. I need to say something. Through the ragged breathing, the blood pouring from my agape mouth and filling my lungs, and the fatigue that has gripped me so, I must reply. “It does not matter… how true… that may be. My name, my very essence… shall live on in history.” The inevitable coughing began. It is violent and painful. I can see the flecks of blood flying from my muzzle and landing before me. I only need a little more strength. “And there is nothing that you can do to change such a fact.”

“Thou art very much in the wrong with thine words. Thou shalt wither and die here with only the knowledge that thine actions and life shall never live on through the test of time. We shall see to it personally,” Celestia said as she lowered her head down right in front of mine. I couldn't look away from her eyes; they were the eyes of a pony who had nothing but the deepest, most loathing hate for the one they gazed upon.

The venom in her voice is entirely noticeable as well. I know that she means what she says. I will not live on. My name and life, my purpose for existing, shall be lost to everyone. As I lay dying, I can only think of those accomplishments, and failures, as the Princess walks away to lead her ponies.

In the end all I have are my own thoughts and memories. In the end, we are all alone.

The darkness approaches.

Equestria:

Population - approximately 17 million;

Total land area - 23,857,461 sq. km;

State of affairs: at war.

The nation finds itself at odds with the great empire of the Griffons after having recently secured more land from dragon territory. The power here has shifted to two sisters that govern the day and night. While negotiating terms with the dragons had gone surprisingly well, coming to an agreement with such a proud and powerful race as the Griffons proved to be a more strenuous task. It was ironic, really: the dragons had always been known for their stubbornness and refusal of compromise, even within their own ranks.

It was after a particularly abrupt and heated discussion between rulers that brought forth ill natured feelings between the species. Eventually, the situation degraded further when arguments of racial superiority arose among the common folk. Fights and skirmishes would break out. Trade was not smooth. Criminal acts increased significantly.

Completely fed up with how things were going, the two ruling bodies attempted one last time to come to an agreement. For the Griffons, however, this meant a secret assassination attempt unbeknownst to the current regent of Griffon territory. His life was taken and he was soon replaced by another who had a more dark vision of how negotiations should have gone. Soon, the two nations were at war.

This battle for dominance, or for peace as some would have it, has raged on for the past twenty-four years. It started small with only a few battles taking place on roads and in fields. Now the violence has escalated. Guerrilla tactics have been employed by the Griffons and their already considerable resistance to magic was not making it easy for the ponies to gain an upper hand.

In fact, one could say that Equestria was losing the war overall. Not in terms of battle prowess, for the Princesses fought alongside their armies and displayed their strength and skill. No, the nation simply could not sustain war any longer. Supplies were low, morale was down, crime was rampant in the streets of most any town and disease coupled with famine was starting to become a serious matter. The Princesses did, however, foresee such complications and had taken measures to hopefully end the war far faster than it would seem to be going.

They had to create a special wartime program to hopefully end the war within one year after the program's completion. It was enacted at the ten year mark of the war. It would take time to come to fruition: fourteen years to be exact. The Princesses had estimated that they could sustain the war effort for at least another decade, but after that, fate and fortune would have to smile greatly upon them. And that's exactly what happened.

The program was unheard of before and kept entirely secret. The Princesses had arranged for twenty children, orphans all of them, to be taken in at a young age and trained specifically for war. Each of these foals was a unicorn. Each would be taught powerful magic that, if not properly regulated and controlled, would cause problems even a single alicorn might have difficulty solving. An immense mental strength would be required of each candidate. The Princesses knew that not each foal would survive the training, for some of the spells they would learn would easily kill or cripple them at the slightest lapse in concentration, conviction or sanity.

As it just so happened, only 6 foals lived through the entire program. But that was all that was necessary to change the fate of the war. The Griffons had been expecting some type of trump card from the Ponies at some point, but they could not hope to be prepared for what was coming. I was one of these foals, and I was the most feared of them all. I was taught by a direct apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded, and my power was immeasurable.

My day of reckoning: It was the day that I would step onto the battlefield for the first time. My only orders came directly from the Princesses themselves. I was to enter the fray if and only if the battle was to turn in the favor of the enemy. My presence needed to be made known to the Griffons. I was to take no prisoners.

I arrived at the base of operations for the small regiment I was to be assisting. It was the middle of the night as I approached them. It was a small camp that looked poorly and hastily set up. I moved slowly through it, weaving between the tents that had been haphazardly erected approaching my goal: the General’s tent. There were ponies present, but they kept their distance. Who wouldn't stay away from some strange, young stallion dressed in battle mage armor of the highest quality?

They were definitely apprehensive of me as they had been notified of a powerful ally coming to assist them. But they must have been expecting more than some kid to help. As I walked past I caught wisps of their conversations and whispers. They thought I was a joke. If only they knew what I was capable of, then they would be singing a different tune.

I kept my head forward and continued to make my way to the General’s tent. The complete disorganization made it more difficult than it should have been. There were belongings and rations spread across the ground and other ponies constantly finding themselves in my path. I couldn't help but think this was the mark of poor leadership. I put those thoughts out of my head when I reached my destination though.

I lifted the entrance flap with a hoof and came upon the General’s base of operations. Appropriately, it was a very large tent to accommodate the necessary equipment and whatnot. I noticed that in the center of the tent was a large table with a map of the surrounding area on it. The three ponies in the space quickly ceased their discussion to look at the newcomer that had interrupted them unannounced.

“My name is Nova. I was sent here by the Princesses to assist in the coming battle, should the need arise.” I spoke as evenly and authoritatively as I could but I didn't believe I was able to communicate that effectively. The General had dismissed the two others that had been present and was now facing me directly.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet the one who is supposedly as strong as an entire battalion, and then some. However, while you’re here in my company I will expect nothing less than the utmost obedience. I’ll not have some kid running about doing what he wants.” With a voice that was smooth and befitting of his position, I remember the smirk he had on his face after speaking that last sentence. It needed to be dealt with.

“With all due respect, General?”

“Sharp. Brigadier General Steel Sharp.” He uttered his title with a jeering pride that actually managed to bring forth emotions I had long thought in control. When I next spoke, I made sure that he wouldn't be flaunting himself as much while I was around.

“Right, General Sharp. I respect that you wish to maintain a strict line of command, but you do not order me around. I take orders directly from the Princesses, nopony else. As such, I hold a rank above most other ponies, including you: I am Lieutenant General Nova of the Royal Equestrian Special Reserve Corps. I hope that we can act civilly for the duration of our time together.”

I punctuated the last word with a dry smile of my own. The now lesser General’s face had visibly shifted from sentence to sentence. It started with the raised eyebrows and the disappearance of his smirk. An outright mix of confusion and anger soon followed. He clenched his jaw, ground his teeth and began to tap his hoof as if he needed to be doing something to prevent him from doing anything else he might regret.

“Of course, sir. Shall I begin informing you of what intelligence we have gathered?” he dryly stated.

“That will not be necessary. As I said, I am here to assist only in the event that my skill should be needed. If all goes well, this will not come to pass.”

“But, if you can help us, why would you wait to do so?” he inquired. He took a slightly more aggressive posture here. I noticed the faintest twitch beginning to creep its way into his left eye. I had to wonder, what exactly was he so concerned about?

“Orders are orders, General. I am not to interfere unless to prevent total loss.” I said in an attempt to diffuse the situation before it could even begin to escalate any further.

“Surely you can make an excep–”

The General was forced to cut his plea bargain as a multitude of screams could be heard echoing from all around. We awaited the arrival of information regarding what had transpired. It was quick in coming as the flap to the tent was sent flying with the presence of one of the soldiers.

“Sir! We’re under attack! It’s an amb–” the unknown foot soldier’s last word was cut short as an arrow found itself stuck through his throat, dripping with the fresh blood of a perfect kill. The rest of his sentence was heard as nothing more than a series of gurgles and sputters as he fell to the ground with blood pouring from the wound and splattering on the dirt beneath his hooves.

“Of all the things to happen!” he shouted having understood the fallen comrade’s warning, “General Nova, won't you please aid us in putting a stop to this cowardly tactic,” the General requested looking only but a bit flustered at the situation.

“I’d love to General, but my orders are absolute. Only if you cannot suppress this attack on your own will I assist you.” I knew the punishment for going against orders well, and doubly so for someone in my position. I could not risk insurrection, even in this matter.

“Fine then. You can keep your orders but I have ponies to save,” he spat with a loathing malice I knew he would harbor for some time. He rushed out of the tent and immediately began doing the job he tasked himself to complete or to die trying.

I stood there, silent with the stain of indifference upon my face. I could still hear the cries of the wounded or those who fared worse. Each scream belied the method in which the soldier had died. There were those who were fortunate enough to be killed from a distance, shot with enchanted arrows through the skull or throat. Their screams were short and guttural, marked by the unmistakable sound of fluid in the trachea.

Still there were those who suffered more slowly through poisons either inhaled or infecting the bloodstream through an open wound. Their screams were those of ponies in great amounts of pain. it was pain the likes of which you couldn't even get close to by torture. They cried out for help, for a savior, but none would come.

Lastly there came the cries of those whisked away into the shadows, abducted for questioning and torture. They were the screams of ponies that would rather die than be subjected to the unknown fate that lay before them. They pleaded for a quick and merciful end, but again, none would come.

All I did was stand there and listen. Their cries mean nothing. I am not meant to care or have any thoughts on the matter. I am meant to kill the enemy within the confines of my orders. And so their screams go unanswered. This battalion started with a force of just over five thousand. It has been but a mere seven minutes, and I can tell we have lost more than half.

The words of my orders began to play in my head as I closed my eyes to listen to the slaughter carefully. Nova, you are to only join in the fight and take command of the forces if and only if more than half of the ponies are killed. You will then be authorized to use any means necessary to eliminate the threat. Seventy-three. There were seventy-three Griffons in the area. It was time to take action.

My horn quickly flared with a goldenrod light and I began to step forward out of the tent. As my hooves came down upon the ground, a loud, thundering boom accompanied each impression. Each sounded as if a large tree had fallen to the ground, never to stand tall again. I went slowly, and gathered the attention of all. The fighting ceased, and for a silent seven seconds all was peaceful. It did not last.

With another flare of my horn, I cast a large dome-shaped shockwave in every direction. The ponies that were present stared at me, wondering what I had just done, but they would find out soon enough. It was a special homing spell designed to only affect those the caster sees as the enemy. With this piece of locator magic, I knew the positions of each and every one of the Griffons that were attacking.

The silence continued for a few seconds more before I made my move. I decided to use the shadows against the Griffons as they had for their ambush. I dissolved into a shadowy mist and glided across the ground. I moved to the trees that surrounded the clearing we camped in, away from the light of the fires that were now burning out of control. There would be no prisoners on this night.

From the perspective of one of the onlooking soldiers, only colored flashes of light could be seen appearing in the darkness. With each one, some form of horrific scream or shriek accompanied the light followed by its abrupt end. Seventy-three howls later, I emerged from the ground right at the hooves of General Sharp.

“It was about time you showed up, sir.” He only let the honorific slip by through clenched teeth. It came as nothing more than a hiss intentionally meant to express his distaste. “I was beginning to think you’d let us all die here.”

“All I did was follow my orders Sharp. It is a shame that so many are now gone, but the threat has been neutralized.” I noticed that the General had sustained several minor injuries in his efforts to lead the troops. I almost considered offering to heal him then and there, but I the chance slipped by as he continued his rant.

“You think it’s over? This was just an attempt to rattle us before the big battle tomorrow! They have a force over 7000 strong and we've been reduced from 2000 to just above 200 in fifteen minutes. How do you get it that this was a victory?!”

“You’d do well to watch your tone, and as for the remaining enemies, you need not worry. I’m taking control of this fight. Tomorrow, not a single one of your stallions shall have to fight, for I will be the only participant.”

“Are you insane? I don’t care how powerful or mysterious you think you are, you cannot hope to kill over seven thousand Griffons alone. If you have some sort of death wish where you want to be remembered for all time, then be my guest. Our army has no need for heartless ponies like you.”

“Tell me Sharp, does having a heart win a war? Does having a heart have anything to do with being a warrior? If it weren't for this ‘heartless pony’ every one of these brave stallions would be captured or slaughtered. I meant what I said about not losing another life here, and I’ll see it through to the bitter end.”

After that outburst I simply turned and walked away. I didn't know exactly where I was heading to as I didn't have my own tent, but it didn't matter at the time. I just wanted to get away from the General and never have to deal with him again. But something about his words stuck with me. The 'heartless' remark I handled well enough, and yet there was something still lingering in my mind.

I finally figured it out once I was out of the immediate vicinity of the camp. The General had mentioned “being remembered for all time”. I couldn't help but imagine what that would be like; to be a martyr for the greater cause that would surely go down in history was something anyone faced with an impossible situation hoped for. However, I was not faced with an impossibility. It was very much within my power to defeat this band of Griffons and I would surely be praised for it. But would I be remembered?

These thoughts raced through my head as I walked through the forest. It had been dense at first, but I soon realized that the trees were beginning to thin out. I emerged from the woods to find before me a vast expanse of hills and plains with some distant mountain peaks at the horizon. But even more alluring to the eye was the sight of the Griffon’s camp where the rest of their forces prepared for battle.

It had then occurred to me that I hadn't really paid much attention to the time of day. I looked to the east to see the sun just begin to poke over the land and ascend into the skies. It was now the dawn of a new day. And like the sight of the vibrant red and orange hues cast across the heavens above, I was going to soak the battlefield in the colors of war.

Broken and Proud

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 2: Broken and Proud

The sun was now above the horizon in full as I looked out over the plains currently occupied by several thousand Griffons. I had decided to give them the time they needed to organize their troops into battle formations. It was quite impressive actually. The army had been sectioned off into large blocks. A long, rectangular portion about two thousand strong made up the front line. After that came three columns with a thousand each spread across the same width as the first block. The rear was composed of four squares made of five hundred forces each.

The army was now fully mobilized and marched to where the remaining Ponies were camped. I wasn't exactly sure of what exactly I would do once I came face to face with them. Actually, all I thought about at the time was what I would have to report to the Princesses. It wasn't going to be a pleasant experience to say the least. But with that in mind, I readied a teleportation spell and waited for just the right moment.

I didn't have to wait long. The Griffon army liked to announce its presence when engaging in open combat, and this was no different. They sounded their war horns in one long bleat. The trees shook with the reverberation of the air. The deep sound seemed to flow through my body, imbuing it with an extra bit of bloodlust I’m not entirely confident wasn't there before. I took one last breath as I stood overlooking my opponents, and then teleported a few dozen meters in front of the front line.

A quick full stop was issued and the army came to complete standstill. Just a few tense moments went by without myself or any of them doing or saying anything. It was as if they were expecting something. Probably a message of surrender after what they did the previous night. But when it became painfully obvious that I was not forthcoming, they finally addressed me.

“By decree of the Commander of the 248th regiment of the Royal Griffon Empire’s Specialized Forces, we issue you a final chance for total surrender so that we may preserve any further bloodshed on this day! What say you, envoy of the Ponies?”

“I refuse! There will be no surrender on this day,” I answered.

“So be it!” was his quick reply. “We will, however, allow you to return to your forces seeing as you are but the messenger of such disappointing news.”

“I am no messenger, Griffon,” I said, the tone of my voice dropping to enforce the weight of my words.

“And what is that supposed to imply?”

“It means the forces you speak of are already here before you. I suggest you prepare yourselves. I’d like this to at least be somewhat of a challenge.” The upturned corner of my mouth as I spoke seemed to garner not just a fresh wave of confusion in the Griffons that were within earshot, but laughter and incredulity as well. The Griffon that had been speaking to me was the most boisterous of them; his laugh was full and carried far on the wind.

“You cannot possibly be serious. We have over seven thousand soldiers. You are but a single pony. We understand if you have some sort of suicide wish because you know victory will be ours.”

“Enough. The only way you’ll ever see the truth of my words, is by experiencing it for yourselves.”

At that I reared up on my hind legs brought my forehooves down on the ground, channeling my magic through the earth. It took only a few seconds before an earthquake was in full swing and the ground began to split in fissure large enough to swallow a third of their army. But this was ultimately a tactic to demonstrate my power. Griffons do happen to have a certain advantage over earth based attacks: they have wings.

As the entirety of the army took to the skies I conjured up some protective wards. But they were quickly shown to be ineffective as thousands of spears were launched at me. I saw how they were all imbued with enchantments to pierce certain magics. I needed to examine one more closely to learn what they could get through.

Dodging a blanket of spears falling from the sky may seem tricky, but it was actually just as simple as teleporting far enough away to escape. Once I reappeared I caught one of the spears in my magic and studied the enchantments closely. They were effective, but simple, and easy to work around. I made the necessary adjustments to my shields and focused on the first dozen Griffons charging straight for me.

I made short work of one by throwing the spear back faster than he could dodge. Another volley of spears is launched but they pass through me as if I was made of smoke. Seeing that their long range strategy was now useless, the Griffons turned to close combat with sheer numbers to overwhelm me. I was going to have to do some quick thinking now. It looked like their armor and swords were enchanted as well, and with different spells no doubt. Add to that how Griffons are naturally resistant to telekinetic, frost and aero based magics and I might have had a bit of a situation on my hooves.

The first two struck quickly, one going for my neck, the other my limbs. I dodged the more fatal of the two and touched my horn to the other’s breast plate, examining the spells placed on it. It seemed that the armor was protecting them from all other elemental magic, light based magic, and basic dark magic. I also learned that their swords could cut through magic and any wounds inflicted by them could only be healed an hour after they were made.

I teleported once more to safety some hundred meters away. I almost thought that I was going to be in trouble when I remembered that most unicorns aren't skilled in gravity and magnetism based magic. Therefore, the Griffons weren’t likely to be protected from them. I decided those would be my trump cards. I still needed something not as taxing to use against small groups though. The answer came quickly enough when I remembered that lightning was not part of the realm of light magic. The Griffons here weren't protected against it because the only unicorns that could use it were of commanding rank. Therefore, only Griffons of commanding rank would be protected.

A small smile adorned my visage as the forces charged for a second time. I gathered up the required energy, converted it to the proper school of magic, and released it as a wide blanket of lightning that took out the first block of two thousand. Their corpses were nothing more than charred masses falling from the sky. The next three blocks were now hesitant about attacking but charged forward nonetheless.

If there was one thing that was bound to doom an army it was that its armor and weapons were all made out of metal. I teleported into the center of their ranks and cast an overarching spell of attraction that made the tips of all of their weapons attracted to their armor. Thanks to all of the enchantments present, the swords easily went through the armor, killing their wielders. Another three thousand had been disposed of.

At this point, only the high level warriors were left. To make matters worse, they were all accompanied by Griffon magicians that had modified the enchantments to resist lightning and now magnetism. But it mattered little. I teleported right in front of them and played my second trump card.

Every single remaining Griffon except for the commanding officer was pinned to ground under the force of extreme gravity. A multitude of grunting and struggling could be heard as they attempted to stand against my power. I took out the magicians so they couldn't counter the spell by ramming them through with a plethora of enchanted weaponry. I was in control now, and no one was going to stop me.

“What’s wrong?! Aren't I just a single pony? Stand up! Stand and show me what the mighty and proud Griffon warriors are capable of!” When I finished taunting them I reversed the pull of the spell and trapped them in an anti gravity field. They flailed around trying to fly and get back into control, but it was just wasted effort. I slammed them back into ground soon enough and repeated the process a few times. I was just toying with them now.

“Stop this!” I heard the commander shout. “Stop this at once! We surrender, just stop what you’re doing!”

“Sorry, commander. I’m not taking any prisoners today.”

With that having been said, I felt my way through the enchantments on their armor and began to disable them. The commander stood there, watching as I concentrated but never took my eyes off of him. When I had gotten through, I decided their deaths should be slow. I focused my magic once more and heated up their armor until they began to glow faintly. Unable to move, the shrieks of pain and suffering echoed across the land as a symphony of cruelty. They were not simply being burned to death, they were being cooked alive.

Minutes passed before the final scream died out. The commander was frozen in place at what had just taken place before his eyes. I was contemplating killing him as well, but I thought it better that a message be delivered to the Griffon Empire: this war is coming to an end. I turned my back to him and teleported back to the edge of the forest.

The trees were just in front of me as I made my way back to the camp but the presence of another pony I wasn’t exactly excited to see halted my progress. General Sharp stood beside my position his jaw slightly agape as he stared at me. I had half a mind to just teleport away at that moment, but I reasoned I had used enough magic for one day.

“Are you going to say something or just stand there looking the fool, Sharp?” I directed at him giving my best ‘I’m not interested in talking to you’ glare.

“I don’t know how you managed it, but somehow, you just slaughtered over seven thousand Griffons in what was probably only ten minutes. How is that even possible for one pony? If you were an alicorn I’d understand, but obviously that’s not the case.”

“Obviously,” I deadpanned. “Look, all you need to know is that myself and the few others like me are here to put an end to this war as quickly as possible. Now if you don’t mind, I have a report to give.”

The wind picked up and blew a patch of dust between us as I turned my back to him and made my way deep into the forest. I needed to get to a large clearing for the spell I was about set up. A few minutes of soft hoofbeats on the ground heavily laden with fallen pine needles and I found just the clearing I was looking for.

I lit my horn aglow with its deep gold aura and began to burn a magic infused circle into the ground. It was a simple pattern and was done quickly. I took up my spot just outside the center-most circle and uttered the incantation that would link me to the Princesses.

A spark leapt from my horn and set the center circle ablaze with a purple fire. A few seconds later and the Princesses established contact as well. There they appeared, almost like faded ghostly versions of their actual selves in the flames. They both wore their wartime regalia, which appeared more like pieces of full plate armor, as was necessary since they participated in many important battles alongside their soldiers. Though she was clad to the contrary, Celestia still managed to exude an almost motherly presence as she smiled down at me and began the conversation.

“General Nova, ‘tis good to hear from thou so quickly after being dispatched. We take it all has gone well?”

“In a way, yes, your highness. Though I must sadly report that many casualties did result from an ambush attack in the middle of the night. Only a few hundred soldiers remain. I am pleased to report, in light of this tragic news, that the enemy forces were dealt with appropriately and with relative ease.”

“We are curious as to how exactly thou disposed of them so quickly. Wilt thou please elaborate on thy methods and spells used in battle?” Luna had spoken this time around and her stern expression did not bode well. She continued, “We sense that thou hast wasted much magic. The armor that thou possess alerts us should the wearer’s reserves go below a set point.”

“Certainly, Princess. I started off with a mix of magic analysis and teleportation to get around the enemies’ enchantments. Once I had devised a defense to them, I attacked a large number of their soldiers with a blanket lightning spell. I proceeded to dispose of the next large group using magnetism and their own weapons against them.”

It was here that I knew I was going to come under fire for what I was about to say, but it is always best to not lie to the Princesses. I reluctantly continued my report anyway.

“The last group I dutifully repaid for the ambush by repeatedly slamming them into the ground with gravity, then lifting them up with antigravity, removing the enchantments of their armor and heating them up to burn, and cook, them alive.”

I finished speaking in a low monotone, being sure not to let on that I actually enjoyed the cruel display of power I just described. Princess Luna remained stoic as ever, but it was the anger of Princess Celestia that I was more concerned with.

“Nova, we do not toy with our enemies or torture them cruelly! Explain thyself and thy actions immediately,” she ordered. She was fully standing now and towering over my rightfully smaller form. She wasn't angry yet, thankfully. Incurring the wrath of either Princess was certainly not a way to live longer than a few more minutes, and yet it was one of the most difficult things to do. Therefore, I chose my next words very carefully.

“I was only honoring the ponies that had been slain in the night. I thought it appropriate to send a message to our enemies: that we are not weak and that this war is coming to a swift end. If we don’t instill fear into their hearts–”

“Enough,” she interrupted. “Thou art to report back here for further evaluation and discussion of duties. There is much to talk about, Nova.”

“Yes, Princess. Right away.”

The fire extinguished itself in that instant leaving me alone surrounded by trees and silence. I stood there for more minutes than I care to admit contemplating the repercussions of my actions. My best hope was for an oversight of the issue, but that definitely was outside of the bounds of being likely.

The sharp retort of twigs snapping nearby reached my ears and brought me out of my stupor long enough to notice the general behind me. I was none too pleased to see him right now.

“What is it that you need, General?” I venomously directed at him.

“I came to see if you could assist in healing some of the wounded what with your level of power and all. It’s amazing that you're not even winded after that battle,” he mused.

I noticed just how much of a distance he was keeping between us as he spoke. Is he afraid of me? I asked myself, almost surprised that he was, considering all that he saw. I decided that I needed to assuage his worries.

“You're right and wrong about that, General. I used up nearly all of my magic in that battle. Gravity and magnetism manipulation tend to be extremely draining, and coupled with the amount of teleportation I've been doing, it’s no wonder Princess Luna noticed how much was gone. You see, this armor is meant to block fatigue as well as protect. This way, I never feel or appear winded or tired from exerting myself. But I can assure you, if I were to take this armor off, I'd be unable move for hours.”

“Heh, even the mighty have their limits then. Look, we haven't exactly been on the best of terms since you got here, but we’d be more bucked than an orchard of apple trees if you weren’t. Thanks for taking care of things.”

“You're welcome. Now, let’s see what we can do about those injured ponies.”

Fear

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 3: Fear

"So many ponies injured and suffering, and for what? Well, that’s an easy one: for our country to be safe and strong. We are no longer prey, that’s for sure. I’m glad I was able to join the healers in assisting with the wounded. But now I must turn to more pressing matters. What can we do to end this war more quickly? Ponies should not have to suffer like this, for any reason."

These were the thoughts that raced through my mind as I readied myself for the last teleport before I made it to the main camp where the Princesses were. After healing the injured from that ambush, I was telepathically given the location of where I would meet them. It would take two teleports to get to, with an hour rest after each to replenish my energy.

Right now I was on the top of some plateau just outside an unnamed desert. It was good that my armor afforded protection from extreme heat, else I would have been incredibly uncomfortable for that hour. Feeling that I was in travelling condition once more, I stood and readied myself for the jump to my destination.

With a loud crack signaling my arrival—not for lack of trying to keep quiet, but due to there being no need to be silent—I appeared just outside the large war tent of the Princesses. To a normal sized pony, the tent could easily have been a simple two story house. Its coloring was that of a mix of a shining gold on the right half and a deep midnight blue on the other, with the two branching and swirling where they met.

I walked up to the two guards at the tent’s entrance and stated my rank and purpose. After one of them went in to officially announce my presence, I was called in by the voice of Princess Celestia. As I entered, the guard exited back to his post and I let the flap of the entrance close behind me.

I didn’t necessarily take notice of my surroundings too much at that moment. I was too worried at what I might have to endure in the upcoming discussion. I simply made my way before the Princesses and bowed at their hooves. Once I was seated before them, the discussion began.

“Nova, We are certain that thou knowest what thou hast been called before Us for,” Princess Celestia began. “We must discuss thy recent actions in battle. Is it not true that thou admittedly toyed with thine enemy to the point of using excessive force?”

“It is true, my Princess,” I said with closed eyes and my head hung low. "Though I do have my reasons…"

“What dost thou believe thy punishment should be, if any?” Princess Luna had gotten involved at this point and showed a certain measure of displeasure for the subject at hoof.

I knew now that what I said would affect the rest of my service to the crown. Not only that, but in all likelihood, my life was on the line as well. I needed to choose my words carefully for this, and that all started with being able to speak freely in the first place.

“If I may, my Princesses, I would like to explain my actions so that you may judge me appropriately.”

The Princesses glanced at one another, as if communicating by thought. Looking at me with sincerity in her eyes, Princess Celestia ordered, “We will allow this. Speak quickly, soldier.”

“My actions were admittedly in the wrong, but I can assure you both that my heart was in the right place. I did not take pleasure in those acts of torture, and in fact, the wounds I could have inflicted instead would have lead to greater suffering on their part. I only acted in the best interests of our country and I am deeply sorry for my conduct.”

"Is that the best I can come up with?" I thought, the worry gathering in the pit of my stomach and seemingly multiplying by large factors. "Perhaps, I cannot say more, because there is nothing more to say?"

The Princesses once again looked to one another. What felt to be somewhere around ten minutes passed with them like that, though it may have only been three or four. When the nervousness began to permeate my very being, Celestia spoke and their answer was revealed.

“While thine apology sits well with Us, thou wilt not be shown complete mercy. By Our order, from this moment hence, thou art on probation. Thine actions shall be judged most critically, and the punishment most severe. Are We understood, soldier?”

“Yes, my Princesses.”

“Now, We hath called thee here to discuss thy next assignment as well. Thou shalt be sent as guard to a diplomatic envoy. Thou shalt accompany thine asset to the Griffon capital city and see to it that all goes well in terms of avoiding unnecessary conflict. We wish to end this war peacefully, and perhaps now is a good time to initiate negotiations.”

I couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t the proper way to go about negotiations, at least, not yet. I needed to say something, and in a rare display of boldness from a soldier, I spoke out.

“Permission to speak freely on the matter of strategy, your Highnesses?”

“Granted,” Celestia replied, though I could sense trepidation in her voice.

“If I may be so bold, I do not agree that this is the time for negotiation. Not yet at least. We have no guarantee that the Griffons will entertain such a thought while they still think lowly of us. I propose that we strike them in surprise and with such force that they fly away with fear in their hearts and tails between their legs. In this way, when diplomatic negotiations do resume, they will have all the more reason to enter into agreement with us.”

The visages of the two rulers that stood before me went through a short range of changes, from a look of thoughtfulness to one of complete disgust. When one of them spoke, it was Princess Luna who said the first words.

“Thy plan is logical, but flawed. We cannot rely on the chance that they will be frightened enough to listen to us. Their race is a strong and proud one; they cannot be so easily broken.”

Princess Celestia continued, “What’s more, is that this plan doth not align with Our values and intentions. We are ordering thee to never speak of this to any other being and to banish such thoughts from thy mind. Understood?”

“But–”

“Dost thou understand Our order?”

“Yes… my Princesses.”

“Thou wilt be moving out in two days time. Do not leave the camp. We shalt send for thee when the time is right. Dismissed.”

I took my leave at that and bowed before exiting the tent and stepping out to face the sight of war before me. As the flap was moved out of my way by one of the guards, I was momentarily blinded by the light of the setting sun. The same sun that was controlled by the Princess that had outright refused to consider my plan.

I began to make my way through the camp, trying to find the tent of a commanding general to get my quartering assignment. The clank of my armor seemed impossibly loud to me what with the large amount of commotion in the camp. Every step felt more heavy than the last. My hooves were dragging in the dirt as I moved, almost unaware of my surroundings.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?” I thought as I tried to focus on the ground in front of me, putting much more energy into walking than should ever be necessary. The sound of my armor’s movement stopped as I took a moment to gather my bearings. I raised my head to observe the camp around me. And what I saw stirred something in me I was not supposed to feel, not now, not ever: sorrow.

I watched as countless stallions made their ways across my field of vision, going to get food or supplies, relaying messages from superiors, and sitting around and chatting to pass the time while awaiting further orders. A sight that undermined the true sadness of it all. What I saw were stallions doomed to death, with families somewhere back home that were just barely scraping by as the economy went to shambles supporting a seemingly worsening war effort. I saw the eyes of ponies that had killed and witnessed death. They all spoke of future happiness and exuded a cheery tone in an effort to mask their real pain and suffering. I looked upon them, and saw their souls, raw and exposed.

And I felt their self-same sorrow, pain, suffering, loneliness, guilt and fatigue. All their feelings and emotions presented themselves to me, as if begging for freedom, begging for relief. And there I stood, with the power to put an end to it all, or at least speed things up. And what did I have to show for it? An order to stay there amongst such despair while a foolhardy mission was planned to negotiate with those that wished only for unconditional surrender.

“This isn’t right. We shouldn’t be biding our time while all this pain continues. Surely the Princesses see this?”

Of course they see it. They aren’t idiots.

“Who’s there!?” I shouted to the general vicinity. I received several very confused and concerned looks as a result.

Quit your shouting. You’re obviously smart enough to recognize a disembodied voice in your head.

“Who, or what, are you?”

That matters little at the moment, wouldn’t you say? You have more pressing things on your mind. Like the fate of the entire pony race?

At this point I decided it better to have this conversation somewhere a bit less public, even if it was in my head. The stares of those nearby hadn’t ceased since my outburst, and I needed to be able think more clearly. With one last look around, I teleported to the nearest empty tent I could sense. Once alone, I confronted the voice that had so suddenly taken interest in my affairs.

“I’m not about to start listening to what you say just because you know my thoughts. Start explaining.”

Fine, since you’re so intent on answers, you’ll get them. Essentially, I’m you. You remember all those years of mental training; becoming an emotionless killer that follows orders like a good little pup? I am the latent result of that training. Every one of you ‘special’ soldiers has something akin to me inside you. We’ve just been repressed. But you’ve awakened me. And now, I can help you.

“Help me? What could I possibly need help with?”

Right now? Motivation. You need to be pushed to do something you wouldn’t normally do. In this case, insubordination for the greater good.

“What!? I’m not going to go against my orders just because you’re preaching pretty words.”

Well, then we’ll see how you feel about having the blood and lives of all these soldiers on your hooves simply because you were too weak to do something good.

“Hmph. Some help you are…”

No reply came after that, though I stayed in the tent for some time after contemplating this voice's words. My words, apparently. What it said about being a partition of my being could very well have proven true. It was no fallacy that the training I went through required certain mental exercises that could have easily led to some other personality taking form.

And at the moment, I was worried about the forces present having to lose their lives for sub-par reasons that were within my power to prevent. "I can't just go against my orders, though. The penalty would be… severe."

A constant battle continued to rage on with my thoughts. Was it better for me to disobey to save lives? Or did the Princesses really know what was best?

"How can anypony know what's best, even the Princesses? They are powerful, yes, but not omniscient. I know that my plan can bring a swifter end to this war. Why, then, would they refuse it?"

My mind raced and raced, still trying to formulate a way to get what I wanted without punishment. "Perhaps, it would be better to do as I see fit? Even if I am caught, my actions would still have the same result: sending a message to the Griffons that we are to be taken seriously. And that's just it, isn't it? I can only be punished if I'm caught!"

My spirits brightened up at that simple notion. Though the Princesses could use my armor to monitor my vitals, surely there existed limitations to what else they could do. And tracking me over a large distance would be one of those things.

"The best part is, I don't have to move out for two more days. I can easily accomplish this in one. Yes, I'll set out at sunrise tomorrow morning and I'll be back before sunset. News of my attack wouldn't reach the Princesses for a few more days afterward, by which time I'll be on assignment. The deed won't be able to be linked to me. Who knows, if all goes well, maybe I can reveal my actions and be immortalized in tales and text?"

A fitting end to such a fine plan, if I do say so myself.

"You again. Look, why don't you just stay the way you were before now? Nonexistent."

If you say so, Nova. If you say so…

Once I had devised my plan of attack, I realized that I needed a target. I continued my previous search for the tent of a commanding officer to give me my quarters. It didn't take long before I was speaking to a general about his thoughts on the war.

He rambled for some time about supplies being practically nonexistent and about morale being lower than it has been in months. I was able to use this time to sneak a glance at a current map of known Griffon camps. I found a suitable target quick enough that was a proper distance away and next to a small Griffon town. When I acquired that information, I took my leave and prepared my thoughts for the next day.

As I lay in my tent I felt something I had not felt in a long while: nervousness. I was anxious about the execution of my plan, worrying about every little detail that could go wrong. But my plan was sound, and as the sun began to rise, I went over a quick checklist of what needed to be done.

First, I would need to plan out my teleportations wisely. It would be done in five jumps, with an hour of rest between each and after the final one. Once the plan had been fully executed at the camp, I would come back in another five jumps. This meant the total time for my plan would be just over nine hours.

I also had to make sure that nopony would come looking for me. This was simple enough. All I had to do was post a note outside of my tent explaining that I was in the middle of a day-long meditation in preparation for another assignment. This would ensure that none but the Princesses would be bothered with my whereabouts or try to give me orders, and they had already given their orders to me.

"Okay, everything's ready. It's now or never." I closed my eyes to solidify my resolve. Gathering the magic I would need from within my own being, I cast the teleportation spell and set the first step of my plan in motion.

Looking back now, I can only imagine what must have taken place at the camp while I was gone. Though it's not a very hard guess. The only thing I wouldn't know for sure is the dialogue, but as for what happened, that is all too clear to me now.

The Princesses must have sent a messenger to fetch me. There had to have been a change in my orders. When the messenger returned explaining that I was occupied, they demanded to know with what. Upon hearing the explanation, they decided to come to my tent themselves. When they found naught but a magically produced afterimage of me meditating, all of Tartaros must have broken free.

I'm sure they sent for the other special forces mages that were present to go after me. They had most likely deduced that I set out to implement my plan and so attempted to track me. I'll bet anything that it was but a simple task for them to trace my armor. Why I thought otherwise is beyond me at this moment.

While this was going on, I was currently using many different stealth magics to conceal my presence. Griffons have impeccable senses, especially sight. So, even though I was approximately one kilometer away, the danger was still present.

I was at the edge of some trees and brush that would provide a modicum of cover on its own. Being up on a bit of a hill also gave me an advantage, especially when it came to the spell I was about to cast. It would take some time to charge, and firing it downwards would make aiming a trifle easier.

It didn’t take long to decide on what spell I would cast. The requirements were simple. It had to be big, and it had to be destructive on a large scale. With there being five schools of magic to choose from—Light, Mental, Conjured, Dark, and Elemental—I knew that I would get the best results by combining Dark and Elemental.

I began channeling the necessary energies and weaving them through my mind’s eye. My horn lit up with a deep orange glow, tinged with black in places to signify the Dark school. At the tip, a swirl of black flame sparked into life and began to grow. The spell would have to be large, as the camp was no small fort.

It was probably about this time that the Princesses were realizing that the other special forces wouldn’t be able to teleport to my location in time. So, they decided to make the trip themselves. It would take them two jumps, and not for lack of power, but for the limitations on teleportation distance. They would easily be able to make the jumps without rest, and so set off immediately.

I remember thinking, right before firing off the spell, “This is for the good of all, noble Griffon warriors. I’m sorry your lives have to end for others to live.”

The spell now fully charged, I prepared to fire by raising my head and standing on my hind legs. I needed all of the concentration I could get. But it was all quickly lost when I heard my name called out by Princess Celestia.

“Nova! Stop!”

It was too late. I was caught off guard and had no time to put an end to things. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Having let my concentration lapse, I made a very fatal error in both the strength of the spell, and its composition.

The spell was meant to be comprised of the schools of Dark and Elemental. When my concentration broke, I added in a third school: Conjured. Combining three schools is very draining and very difficult. It’s also very powerful and very unpredictable. And not only was the spell affected, but so was my aim.

Directly behind the camp was the small Griffon village. The slightest change in the angle of my shot, and that town was going to be hit. And that’s exactly what happened. The spell was fired and a black, pulsating ball was sent speeding toward thousands of innocent lives.

The Princesses landed behind me, watching in horror as my botched spell landed in the center of the village. The three of us waited with bated breath for something to happen, hoping that nothing did. But our hopes would not be answered on this day.

In a flash, an interdimensional rift as tall as the town was wide opened up and began sucking everything around it into its depths. We watched as Griffons, adults, children and elderly alike, were swallowed by this monstrosity. My eyes were wide with terror. This wasn’t what I wanted. This wasn’t what I intended.

The town continued to seemingly implode and we could see the Griffons being sucked in as well. Though what was much worse was being able to hear every variety of screech and roar that they were capable of making as their lives suddenly came to an end.

Princess Luna finally went into action, thankfully. I believe she had been analyzing my spell and devising the proper magic to reverse it. She flew out to the town and circled it a few times. From her form shot a bolt of bright blue lightning, probably a Conjured Light Elemental spell, the only thing that would directly counteract a Conjured Dark Elemental spell if it was made powerful enough. Seeing that the situation was being handled, though, Princess Celestia chose that time to confront me directly.

“How canst thou be so wretched? We told thee to stay in the camp! For this very reason! Now innocent lives, THOUSANDS of innocent lives, have been lost to thine insubordination! What say thee!? What say thee for thine heinous crime!?”

I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even look at her directly. I stood there, staring off into the distance at where a town used to be. At where Princess Luna was doing her best to correct my mistake. I had no answer for her. I had nothing to say and I never was.

She calls it a crime does she? What has happened here is regrettable, but still necessary. I’ll be back to sort things out for you. For now, just give yourself up. There’s no point in resisting an angry alicorn.

I couldn’t even bring myself to address that inner voice. That voice that had led me to such an act. The voice that was mine. It was my voice. I did this. I was responsible, no matter how it was looked at.

After receiving no response, Princess Celestia simply tied me up with chains of Light magic. I was brought to the ground and incarcerated, made unable to speak as well. The Princess merely turned her back to the destruction as things were wrapping up. The last thing I saw before we teleported was the rift finally being closed by Princess Luna.

Author's Note

I finally got this chapter done. It was a real challenge having to really quantify Nova's thoughts, but I think I handled it well enough. We're really getting into the plot now.

You might also notice that I hinted at there being a system of magic for Equestria. This is because I have devised such a thing for my other fic, Mind vs Matter. I thought that there should be no reason that system can't be used here. Of course that now means this story is canon to the Mind vs Matter universe (or Terraverse as I'm calling it), though that doesn't exactly mean much.

If you're interested in knowing more about my system of magic and how it works, let me know in the comments and I might make a blog post about it and link it in the next chapter update. Thanks for reading and I hope to have another update within the month.

A Most Formidable Reminder

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 4: A Most Formidable Reminder

At the sharp crack of matter materializing into filled space from a teleportation, I once again took note of my surroundings. Weak as I was from casting that spell, I still had enough energy to move about slightly, though I was still held by my magical restraints. I was back in the camp and in public view. Things had indeed gotten to hectic levels when my absence was discovered. Tents and supplies seemed to be in disarray and soldiers were still running around like ants. I was being drug to the main war tent and as the princess and I passed, those around us began to stop and observe.

I heard Celestia bark a few orders here and there, and then the crack of another teleportation indicating Luna’s arrival. She quickly caught up to Celestia and the two, I believe, struck up a telepathic conversation. While it took little time to get to the tent, my fatigue had made it so time seemed to stretch out in the most unnatural of ways. However, I was still too tired to really care.

We entered the tent and Celestia created a cage of light magic and threw me in. She called two guards – they looked to be special battle mages as well – to stand guard. It was only then that she chose to address me.

“We shall be discussing the nature of thy punishment. If thou hast anything to say to attempt an explanation of thine actions, now would be the time to say so,” she said, her gaze firmly fixated on my own eyes as if attempting to bore into the essence of my very being and make me permanently disappear on the spot.

In this case, I wanted to answer her; I wanted to explain how I was only acting with the ponies’ best interests. I wanted to apologize for the town having been hit instead of the camp. But I couldn’t. A combination of fatigue and not actually regretting disobeying orders prevented me from doing so. I just laid there, panting from exhaustion, staring into her cold eyes.

“Very well then. Luna and I shall return shortly to tell thee of thy fate. We cannot promise it will be to thy liking, and it most certainly will not be forgiveness.”

At that, the Princesses left the tent and I began to accept that I had failed. However, my thoughts would not let me be on that day, in that moment when I felt so drained and weak.

“Well, it was solid attempt, wasn’t it?” I chuckled to myself.

I would call it a success, if I do say so myself.

“And how do you figure that?” I asked the voice responsible for this mess, too tired to fight it off.

Well, even though you hit a different target, it is still significant enough that the Griffons will take notice. Perhaps now they will listen to negotiations?

“I doubt it. If anything, it will only anger them. They are a race that will see this act as one of great cowardice, simply because it attacked the innocent, the ones not involved in this war.” I had no doubts that this would result in massive loss for Equestria. There was nothing that could be done.

Then that just means we have more work to do.

“What are you going on about now? It’s over. I’ll likely be put away for life for this,” I said letting a vicious storm of negative emotions begin to take over.

Come now. Why are you giving up so easily? You see these two guards? You know you could take them out easily. You were the strongest of all the battle mages after all.

“Even if I could move and talk right now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. This cage doesn’t just function as a holding box. It’s nullifying my magic. If it weren’t, I would be able to tap into the ether and draw power from there to replenish my energy.”

While it was true that most magic came from the user’s own energy, more adept unicorns, after being taught to do so or discovering it for themselves, could extend their consciousness into an as of yet unexplained parallel plane of magic energy and take that energy into their bodies. The downside was that it required full concentration, and so was unsuited for battle.

You have time to recover, you know. The Princesses should be awhile and before they get back you should have recovered enough to move freely again. I’m confident you can think of a plan to escape.

“That’s just it. Why would I escape? There’s nothing left for me to do.” I was beginning to get irritated with this voice’s persistence.

That is far from the truth. You see, you have become obsessed with being immortalized as a hero. Well, you haven’t become ‘obsessed’ so much as ‘greatly intrigued by the idea of.’ While this is the goal of many, the real important part of that is being immortalized. There are those who are remembered for less heroic things, Nova.

“What are you getting at now?” I asked, knowing full well the answer before it came.

I’m saying you can end this war with minimal more casualties if you simply become the villain.

“Become the villain? How would that help anyone? You’re essentially asking me to kill innocents, but this time, intentionally!” I had considered the idea for no more than a few seconds as I was being drug to this tent, but I had quickly dismissed it then.

Sacrifices must be made. In order to gain something, something else must be given up. We may not know what that is, or like what has to be taken, but it must be done. Try and think of this logically. If the Griffons will not make a truce through fear or respect, what will they cease this war over?

“…A common enemy. But that’s–”

But nothing. What you just said is the truth and the only thing that will end this conflict quickly and with minimum sacrifice. I ask you this now, Nova. Are you willing to be that figure that gets these two races to unite?

“I’m not going to kill–” I was completely against this plan… so why did it seem so enticing?

Are you a warrior or aren’t you!?

“What?” My previously limp body actually managed a sharp jolt at that question. One of the guards noticed but quickly ignored it. Throughout all of our training as battle mages, one idea had been engraved into our minds from day one: we are warriors that serve the Princesses, nothing more or less. This voice knew exactly where to strike and exactly when. It must have been planning on using this for some time. But the most sad part about it all was thus: it was working.

Are you not a warrior? Are you not prepared to do whatever is necessary for your country, for your fellow ponies? Would you rather risk another few million or so lives and the fate of this entire war just so you can hold on to your petty morals?

“That’s not—what I mean is—how can you–”

Now is not the time for questions; now is the time for an answer. Are you a warrior?

…

“Yes.” Did I even know what it meant to be a warrior? Even if I did, would it match up with what this voice was telling me?

Will you undertake the important role of being the common enemy?

“Yes.” For whatever reason, I agreed to this madness. Maybe it was fear of execution? Perhaps I truly just wanted to end this war as was my only purpose in existing?

And will you put an end to this war?

“Yes!”

Good. Now rest up. You have work to do.

Nearly two hours had passed as I sat in that cage of magic, recovering my strength and energy. I had enough for two spells, one of a medium caliber and one for teleportation. My plan was simple, but there was no guarantee it would be even marginally successful. It all hinged on the reactions of the guards, and predicting behaviour is anything but simple. If things went awry, I wanted to be able to teleport away.

“Hey,” I called to one of the guards, thus setting my plan in motion. He was a slightly smaller stallion than was normal but had a rather muscular build as indicated through the full armor he was currently wearing. Since he bore the insignia of the battle mages, I knew he’d been well trained. But everyone has a breaking point, and I intended to find it.

Having received no reply to my first call, I tried to get his attention more vigorously. “Hey, breathing statue! Are you just gonna stand there or are you just not alive enough to hear me?” I shouted, pounding my hoof on the ground for good measure. It took but a few more minutes of this before I elicited a response.

“Quiet down! We’ve been authorized to further detain you if necessary, and we will not hesitate to do so.” That’s just what I want, I couldn’t help but thinking as he stated his orders.

“Oh, I’m so scared. The big bad guard with a ridiculously large spear is going to hurt me. Whatever shall I do?” I mocked with increasing sarcasm. “But seriously, that thing is enormous. ‘I doth think the pony overcompensates for something he lacks,’ if you know what I mean,” I said to the second guard standing beside the first.

“Mock all you want, you’re the one in the cage, and I’m out here.” He must have thought he was being witty. Shame it wasn’t going to deter me.

“Oh, yes. How wonderful it must be to stand like a statue and watch a tired pony awaiting sentencing. You must have something better to do with your time? Friends? Drinking away your sorrows? A marefriend?” At that his eyes shifted a bit and he actually had to re-steady himself in his still position. I had found a point to attack. That was pitifully easy, though.

“Ah. I see you’re one of the ones that have somepony waiting for them when they get back home. Well, if they can wait that is.” No response. I was going to have to elaborate a little more.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with how things go. Stallion goes off to war, mare says she’ll wait for him, time goes by and the war get’s worse; eventually the stallion comes home to find his marefriend has moved on to some other stallion. I always wonder what makes them do that. Is it a psychological thing? Are they unable to handle the stress of loving someone that might not return and isn’t there for them right when they need them? Or is it something more… primal?

“Perhaps it’s nothing more than a natural and logical process, especially if she wasn’t fully satisfied with her original stallion, and I don’t just mean emotionally.” The stallion’s expression had been steadily changing as I made my little speech. This shouldn’t have worked as well as it was, considering the training all the battle mages went through, but hey, they say love does stuff to you.

“But of course that won’t happen to you. I mean, that laughably large lance can’t possibly be compensating for anything, right? Well, considering the view I have from here on the ground, that might not be that far off the mark.”

“I told you before to keep quiet!” Check. Only a little bit more was needed before he went over.

“Or you’ll what? What could you possibly do to somepony in a cage awaiting his death sentence?”

“We are authorized to use force to keep you from causing trouble. One more word, and we’ll make sure to do our duty.”

Checkmate.

At that, I made the most wonderfully sinister smile and uttered the word that would lead to my freedom.

“Word.”

The guard rushed forward, almost a little too hastily, and I was able to guess that he knew a spell that allowed him to pass through the cage without issue. It was too bad that reacting at all was his only and fatal mistake. Since I was lying on the ground, I was positioned perfectly for an unexpected attack. Most would assume that when charging another, that pony would back away to prepare for a fight. Unfortunately for him, I moved forward, as well as up. The result of such a movement was… gruesome to say the least. I had rammed my horn through his skull, aiming for the soft skin that stretched beneath his jaw where there was no bone to hinder the horn’s progress.

Since he was only halfway through the cage, I was able to walk out with him still attached, quickly of course. A situation like this doesn’t happen in slow motion.

Sometimes it’s important to remember the small things. Like how magic is a truly terrifying thing. All it took was a simple Dark spell and I was able to drain this stallion of all his energy in less than a second. Even faster was the spell I used to make his head explode as it was still on my horn. You may not realise it, but pulling something out of flesh can prove difficult, and I didn’t have the time to deal with it as the second guard was quickly preparing his attack.

Proving how I earned the highest rank among the battle mages, I outpaced him in spell creation and used another simple Elemental spell to rob him of the air he needed to breathe. I still had no time to waste. I found my armor and began the long process of undoing and modifying the spells attached to it. I kept all of the protective spells of course, but the ones that allowed the monitoring of my condition and the tracking of my location had to go.

This was no easy task. I sat there in front of the metal pieces for well over another two hours before I was done. Undoing alicorn magic isn’t supposed to be easy after all. But it’s not impossible either. It was at the very moment I finished adorning my armor that the Princesses came into the tent.

They had probably sensed that their spells had been removed from one of the sets of armor and suspected the worst. The sight before them probably wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world either. A pony that died from asphyxiation, and one with its head blown off, leaving blood everywhere, especially on me.

“Wha–what hath transpired here!? No, it matters not. Thy sentence is well and truly death, Nova!” They had probably come to that conclusion already before entering to the horrific scene before them. I had to act fast, or risk this whole operation going to waste.

“I’m sorry, Princesses. I’d love to atone for what has happened, but there is much to be done. You may never forgive me, but I will put an end to this war.”

And with those words I teleported away as fast as I could. The princesses wasted no time in firing off spells that would have surely killed me had they hit, but I was just a hair faster. The reason they hadn’t attacked earlier, I guessed later on, was that they needed to charge up more powerful spells to kill me while my armor was on. They were the ones that enchanted it, they would of course know how powerful to make their attacks to damage me.

I came out of my teleportation on the outskirts of a nearby village. I still wasn’t safe, though. While no method for tracking a teleport had been developed, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to do a quick search through all the nearby villages within my teleportation range. I had to keep moving, and I had the perfect place in mind. Someplace where I could put this horrifying plan of mine to be the “common enemy” in full swing: the village where I was orphaned.

A few more jumps a few hours later, and I had arrived at my place of birth. My own personal Tartaros as well, from what I can remember of it. Those days, ponies didn’t really want to be bothered with a foal that could neither feed nor defend himself. When the orphanage was built, it wasn’t out of any concern for these foals, it was to keep us all in one place so we couldn’t bother anypony anymore.

I wasn’t happy to have returned here. But I wasn’t going to be happy for what I was about to do either. In order for this plan to work, I needed to become a threat worse than anything the Princesses could have imagined of me. If there was one thing that they would react most strongly to, it would have been the killing of innocent lives. And though I would hate myself forever more, that is what needed to happen here as well.

Standing just outside the main entrance to the town, I began to draw on the magic of the world. Again, it’s not a very effective method for fighting in a battle, which is why we rely on our own strength mostly. But when having to set up something on this large a scale, as long as your target didn’t try and stop you, pulling on an external source of energy was the more practical thing to do.

Conjured and Elemental would be the two schools I used. I created a large, invisible dome of energy over the entirety of the town. It wasn’t very large and probably had a population of a few thousand ponies. Next came the elemental manipulation. I had to condense the air, funneling in more from the outside when necessary. This took a good twenty or so minutes. When that was done, everything was ready for the big finish.

I may have resented this place, but I never imagined coming back here to do this. I hung my head low as I formulated the necessary magic, my eyes not closed, but half-lidded and with all the life drained out of them. I made one last apology, and created a spark within the dome. Immediately, the flames spread everywhere within their confines faster than you could blink. There was no time for screaming. There was no time to panic or say goodbyes or even to make a prayer. I wanted it to be over quickly. I wanted them to feel no prolonged suffering or pain. They didn’t deserve this, and definitely didn’t deserve to feel the horrors of it.

When the fire had consumed all its fuel, I opened a small hole in the top of the dome. Experience had taught me that it was never a good idea to introduce more air to fire almost instantaneously, unless in a controlled environment. When the hole opened, the outside air rushed into the newly created vacuum and reignited the embers of the charred remains, creating a massive explosion.

I was able to release the dome at that moment, leaving the village to continue burning. My hope was that the princesses would see this and be driven to stop me more than ever. But having the princesses’ hate wasn’t enough. There were two sides to this conflict, and I needed to be at the middle.

“…Shattering the skies above, I won’t rest ‘til I’m drenched with blood.”

Finishing a long incantation, I let loose a magical fury upon the target set before my eyes. With a shrieking and cracking sound not meant for the ears of mortals, the very sky above appeared to rend itself in two. It continued to grow more and more until it stretched the entire length of the city below it. I knew what would be coming next, and forced myself to watch it.

I stood there and watched as a couple hundred thousand griffons were wiped off the face of this land we existed in by glorious pillars of light, raining down from the sky like serpents bent only on taking life. It was necessary that I listened to their screams, howls and roars. It was necessary that I feel every bit of disgust and guilt for my actions as each life was taken away. “It may be a necessary evil,” I mused to myself, “but an evil all the same.”

I had come to a city just outside of the griffon capital. It had been a week since the incident I created back in Equestria. Now, my sights were set on making the Griffons suffer just as much. I can’t pretend that I didn’t feel it slightly more justified, killing griffons. After all, we were locked in a bitter war with them and I had been raised to treat them as my enemy, nothing more. But my heart wasn’t so black as to not feel remorse for their lives.

I spent the last eighteen hours setting up that spell, drawing the required energy, remembering the incantation, creating the spell formula in my mind before releasing it. I could only hope that I would be successful in the end mayhaps these lives not be taken in vain. When the destruction had come to a conclusion, I had but to wait and observe the actions of these two great nations. If they recognized me as a legitimate threat, they would join forces to stop me.

I knew little of the Griffon Kingdoms and their government, though. I knew that there were six kingdoms, each with its own ruler, and a high ruler of all six kingdoms. It was my hope that this monarch would care enough about his subjects to handle the negotiations himself. Only time would tell, though. For now, I needed to go back into hiding. Reconnaissance and gathering necessary information were all that mattered now.

Three months had passed after I attacked that Griffon city. The lack of a response worried me and I had to continue to take more drastic measures, including attacking the capitals of both nations. Those were large cities and I couldn’t destroy them easily like the others. In fact, I didn’t destroy them at all. I just needed to provide some incentive for the two sides to put aside their differences and focus on me.

It worked.

I was now hiding in a cave on the outskirts of the meeting place for the negotiations between the High King of the Great Griffon Nation, Valkyria, and the powerful diarchs of the rising nation, Equestria. They would be beginning the talks any moment now, and I needed to be able to hear what was going on.

Magic is truly a terrifying art. That cannot be said enough. Through some manipulation of the schools of Dark and Conjured, I was able to possess a bat in the cave and have it fly down to the meeting. Tents had been erected, as was expected, and guards stationed everywhere. The bat would be easily noticed, so I didn’t plan on relying on it to do the job of listening in.

Through the bat, I flew around the site for a while seeking out an appropriate target. I was looking for a guard likely to be at the side of the Princesses. He would have been highly decorated and adorned with the best armor, no doubt. Because of this, it didn’t take much longer to get the location of one such guard.

I had the bat swoop down to his position. Luckily for me, he was isolated from any other being at that moment. This was my only chance to strike, and I didn’t intend to miss it. I made the dive for him and succeeded in landing on his back. Before he could react fully, I bit into his exposed body and began the second phase of my plan: transferring possession from the bat to the guard.

When I say magic is truly terrifying, you can be sure it is no exaggeration. The spells I wove next allowed me not only control of his mind and body, but his memories as well. This way, when interacting with others, nothing would seem amiss. From his mind I gleaned that the meeting was about to begin immediately and he needed to get to the main tent.

Everything was going smoothly so far. The meeting was exactly as I expected and was nearing its close. The King of Valkyria, or His Altitude as was apparently the term used to address him indirectly, had only one more thing to reveal to the Princesses, or so he said.

“Truly, I am glad that we hath been able to come to this consensus in such a dire time. There is but one thing left for me to say to thee, seeing as thou art of immortal stature,” he prattled. He didn’t look to be a particularly aged Griffon, though he spoke in the same manner as the Princesses did.

He was indeed a large Griffon with more than a few scars in varying places on his body. His coat was a deep and regal goldenrod which merged elegantly with the white feathers of his head. The brilliant bluish-silver of his armor only served to confirm my suspicion of it being a metal known only to the Griffons, and at his side was but a single double-edged sword, probably made of the same material.

He continued his speech to the Princesses and I began to wonder what it was he wanted to say in the first place. It didn’t seem like much. But it was at that moment I was proven very wrong.

“In short, I am an immortal as well,” he seemed to finish, bringing about expressions of pure shock on the regal visages of the two alicorns and the present guards, including his own. “Naturally, this is not to be revealed outside this tent, but as it hath caught thee off guard, I shall elaborate a little further. When I was nearing the end of my rule, namely my life, something unfathomable happened. I met Death himself, and fought him. Well, I knew it was impossible to kill Death, but I was not going give up my life easily.

“I actually managed to gouge his chest with my blade, drawing blood. Heh, who knew that Death bled? The wound immediately healed, of course, but as a way showing my determination, I licked the blood from my blade, hoping to disgust him. Failing that, though, I did notice a strange sensation within me. Before I knew it, I was back in my bed chambers and returned to my youth. I have been ruling since then.”

The tent was silent. What was one expected to say after learning information like that? However, it couldn’t have been better for me. It was time to put my plan into motion. I released my control over the guard, being sure to implant false memories so he wouldn’t be confused as to what was going on, and returned my consciousness to myself.

So, there is a way to gain immortality after all?

“It appears so. But we don’t have time for that, nor do I want it anymore. I must atone for the crimes I’ve committed, the wrongs I’ve done.”

Wrongs? What is wrong with wanting to end a war? What is wrong with wishing for peace and using your power to do so? Nova, there is no longer any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in this. It matters little as long as you believe in what you’re doing.

“Say what you like, I’ll not be coming out of this unscathed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an announcement to make.”

Ending the conversation, I teleported directly into the tent where the meeting was wrapping up. If the looks of pure shock at the Griffon King’s revelation were akin to a hill in a valley, then the surprise upon their faces at my arrival was nothing short of the tallest mountain in the world.

“Nova!” Celestia exclaimed, turning to me and beginning charging an attack.

“Please, let there not be violence amongst this momentous occasion,” I said, attempting to diffuse the situation before it truly began. “I only wish to talk, and make an offer.”

“There shall be no negotiation with one as disgusting as thee!” Luna interjected, making it quite clear she would destroy me where I stood in an instant.

“I have come here to tell you all that in three months time, I will be waiting in the Scorched Valley. I wish to fight you in one last battle, to atone for my actions more than anything else. I won’t hold back though. A warrior never simply ‘gives up.’ You can exact your sentencing on my life there. In exchange for agreeing to this fateful battle, you can be assured the attacks will stop, on my honour as a warrior. What say you? Will you accept this proposal?”

The silence in the room was nothing short of the calm before the volcanic eruption of legendary proportions. No one dared breathe for fear causing rash actions to be taken. I could sense that they weren’t too fond of my offer, and I made ready to teleport out of there as fast as possible. When we had stood around staring at each other for a good seven minutes, I finally spoke once more.

“Whether you accept or not, I will be waiting. I’m glad you were able to put an end to this war. That had been my goal since the very beginning. It was always my goal, considering I was raised to do it. Now, you know where and when to find me. With that, I bid you all goodbye.”

No move was made as I teleported away, back to the cave I had been hiding in. I couldn’t even begin to express how happy I was that it was finally over. I had accomplished what I set out to do from the start of this whole mess. While I may not go down in history as a hero, I will certainly be a most formidable reminder of what can become of war. A reminder of what a warrior is capable of.

Author's Note

So, how's everyone doing? Good? Some days I'm fine and others… not so much. But this isn't a blog, so on to the important stuff.

Will there be another stupid-long period between updates? Short answer: no. Chapter 5 is mostly written and edited. The only thing left is the first half of the big battle, but I'd really like to take some time to practice battle scene writing and planning things out ahead of time. Considering the things I have going on in real life right now, I would say Chapter 5 should be up just before or just after the beginning of April (so end of March). I know that seems long, but in that time I'll also write out the final chapter (Chapter 6), so hopefully I can just knock out the battle scene and give you two chapters quickly.

As for this chapter… well, there are things I'm not happy with, namely the 'convincing' (and I use the term loosely) of Nova to take more aggressive action in ending the war. That was just… not as I good as I wanted it to be. Leave your thoughts about the chapter and story below and see if you can guess what I have in mind as a sorta 'big reveal' that's probably not as big as I think it is.

Until next time, Emoredoma wid dom sylon.

A Place in Time

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 5: A Place in Time

Time.

The passing of time was all I focused on in the moments leading up to what I knew was my last battle, my last breath more likely. There I stood in the foothills of a mountain range far and away from any populated land. Storm clouds brewed overhead, blocking off the summits of such majestic pillars of rock. Directly to my south was a large forest, thick with pine and having a fierce river run through it.

A warrior always takes note of his surroundings. They are vital to his survival and can be used for many things in battle. I was going to need to use the playing field to my advantage if I was to last even a single minute against my coming foes.

I took one last moment to go over my arsenal. With me I had an ice bow and twenty ice arrows strapped to my back. I procured these from a Griffon outpost a few days ago. I had my short sword, enchanted to be resistant to weather, elemental magic, and large amounts of force that would otherwise break or dent it. The sheath was similarly enchanted as well. I still had my armor that blocked fatigue and provided extra resistance to magic.

Most importantly, I had a crystal from the famed Crystal Empire. Before I had revealed myself to the Princesses at the peace meeting, I took a little trip north to see if the legends about the crystals there being able to absorb and store magic for future use were true. Once I had confirmed this, I spent the better part of the next month constantly pouring magic energy into the crystal. This way, I could use my magic a bit more freely in battle.

The crystal was, of course, strapped around my neck where I could feel its power coursing through me, pulsating as it continued to contain enough magic to rival a fully realized alicorn.

You could still make it out of this alive, you know.

"I gave them my word as a warrior that I would not back down from this fight. Running away now would accomplish nothing." It was true that it would be easy to escape the country and travel to some part of the world where my sins would not be known and I could live out the rest of my life. But I wasn't interested.

You keep using that word. It's like your crutch. Warrior this and warrior that... Do you even know how to be a warrior? You are young, and the majority of your battle experience comes from an unusually intense training from foalhood to adolescence.

"No. I don't know how to be a warrior or even what it truly means to carry that title. But I know what I feel like that word represents and it is everything I wanted to be, everything I strived for. Was it not you who convinced me that I was a warrior? Was it not you who used that word against me to get us where we are now?"

Tsk, tsk. Have you already forgotten? I am you. By extension, you convinced yourself of that. You have only yourself to blame for this mess.

"That's a coward's argument and you know it." He was right though. Who else could I blame? I chose to listen and follow directions. But it was precisely this reason that drove me to seek out such a fitting end.

Nonetheless, I do respect the choices you've made. You are a fine warrior indeed. Now, I believe our guests have arrived. Remember, the time has come to show your pride; solidify your place in time by showing them the heart of a warrior. Do not hide now, do not show them the weakness you have harbored since your escape. Play the role you chose in all this.

"Of course. There's no going back now."

I cast my vision toward the heavens above me to find a speck in the distance that could only be the emissaries of my demise. I stood in silence, gazing back at the ground for a moment before closing my eyes and keeping my head hung. I needed to empty my mind of all unnecessary thoughts. This was something I was taught to do not just to bolster my own strength and focus in battle, but to cut off my mind from any and all horrors I would be committing in the war. In this situation, it would only help in the case of the former.

The Princesses and King arrived not long after I had finished this little ritual of mine. They landed about fifty trots away and made their way toward me. I opened my eyes to observe exactly what I would be up against. Surely, they would come prepared themselves?

The first thing I noticed was the Griffon King. He wore a tarnished silver set of armor that fully covered the upper half of his body, leaving his hind legs and back to be covered by lighter, more flexible pieces. At his side sat an elegant looking sword, hand-and-a-half hilt, dagger pommel, intricate crossguard and a blazing blue sheath that looked as if it were made of crushed sapphire. It seemed to be double-edged as well.

To be honest, I expected a bit more, but I quickly remembered why he was still King and just how old and experienced he must have been. Silly things like a gleaming set of armor that would blind opponents with opulence would do him little good, nor did it seem like he would care for them anyway. The way he was now was as fitting attire as any could wear into battle. But I was sure that it was no ordinary set of armor. Much like my own, I had a feeling it would be enchanted to give him an edge in battle.

After taking note of him, I moved on to the Princesses. I had seen their armor before and was still just as impressed now as I was then. Celestia’s was as golden as the sun she raised and covering most of her body for maximum protection. It confirmed my hunch that she was a defensive heavy that would take the hits I threw and wait for the perfect moment to unleash a massive amount of power that couldn't be easily blocked. No more needed to be said about it, as any design the imagination could come up with would still pale in comparison to the indescribable beauty before me.

Much the same could be said of Luna’s armor. However, there was a key difference. She had much less of it. All I could think was that her armor was designed for maneuverability, especially in flight, as it consisted of a light breastplate that led into a covering for her forelegs that was accompanied by a light-looking helm. Once it got to her wings, much like the King, the armor was broken apart into pieces that would cover vital spots, but that maximized flexibility. And all of this shone in a brilliant midnight blue that somehow gleamed with what seemed to be moonlight.

As for their weapons, they further bespoke of the preferred fighting style each sister employed. Celestia had with her a large two-handed sword of fine make and an Eastern style staff sporting a dangerous looking blade at one end. Luna had but two single-handed swords, probably meant for dual-wielding, and a traditional long bow, with quiver at her side, strapped to her back. I was definitely in for the battle of my life.

With observations over, and my enemies now twenty paces away, we all waited for the first move to be made. The time that passed could not be measured, nor would it have mattered anyway. I was not about to do anything but react to their actions.

At last, Celestia stepped forward and said, “We art getting nowhere simply standing around. We hath decided to offer thee one last chance to surrender for thy crimes. What say thee?”

“I have no intentions of backing down from this, Princess Celestia. I made my choices and I will see them through. Many lives were lost, yes, but the outcome was as I wanted. Peace is once again in these lands, and my only hope is that it shall remain that way for many more moons.”

Luna spoke up this time, saying, “Thou canst not have any hope of winning such a battle. Thou faceth not one, but two alicorns, and an immortal Griffon King highly skilled in combat. There shall be no happy endings here.”

“I did not say that I hoped to win, Princess Luna. I simply want to die a warrior’s death…”

“Then you shall have it,” the King chimed in, standing on his hind legs and drawing his sword as he said so. “No more words. It’s time to fight.”

With a powerful thrust of his wings, the King rushed forward, sword held firmly in his claws and poised to slash under my helm, a notable vulnerability. Waiting for the moment just before he was fully upon me, I then teleported to safety some hundred meters behind me. With this maneuver, though, I had made a crucial and novice mistake. I stopped focusing on all of my opponents to dodge the one in front of me. I couldn't believe I had fallen for such a simple feint. I quickly searched for where the next attack would be coming from and just in time noticed Luna speeding toward me from above.

She held both of her swords in her magic, so I drew mine in response only having enough time to prepare to block the slashes. When she was within but a few feet of impact, though, she twisted her body in the air, angling her wings to provide enough downforce to slow herself enough to get me to falter. With this motion came the repeated slashes of her swords from different directions, each of which proved more difficult than the last to parry or withstand. It was immediately clear that the longer I engaged in sword-to-sword combat with her, the faster I was going to lose the battle.

Before I could do anything to get myself out of such a one-sided situation, I noticed Celestia positioning herself for something and the King about to rush in once more to add pressure to the onslaught I was facing. And just when things couldn't look much more bleak, Luna used my distracted state to put more force into her next attack. With speed that I could barely keep up with, her swords flew toward my side intent on bashing in my armor and breaking more than a few ribs. Had I been a fraction of a second later in raising my blade to block the attack, the two lunar weapons would surely have hit their mark.

Though I was able to block the attack and prevent bodily harm, the force was still great enough that I was sent flying through the air at an albeit uncomfortable speed. As Luna quickly sped further away from me, I finally realized why Celestia was positioning herself so far away. With what strength I could muster, I turned my body just enough to see where I was flying to, and as sure as the day was bright, she was there, waiting with her staff ready to impale me wherever it may collide with my form.

Time was quickly running out and I had to do what came instinctively: teleport. I gathered the magic and prepared to teleport, knowing full well that objects in motion stay in motion, even when instantaneously moving from one point in space to another. I couldn't just teleport anywhere, so I chose to teleport to the one place none of my opponents would expect: the sky.

Now above the clouds, I was rushing to the ground under only the influence of gravity. I had less than a minute to get of my new predicament, but I had planned for this anyway. Using the energy stored in the crystal, I began to weave one of the most complicated spells I was taught in my training: how to create artificial pegasus wings made of pure magical energy. The spell was almost entirely theoretical and was said to have only been successfully implemented for more than a few minutes under his own power by Starswirl the Bearded. What Starswirl didn’t have however, was a magic storing crystal filled with enough energy to rival an alicorn.

The spell began to take shape, that being the easy part. Once I had the shape of the wings created I needed to begin the admittedly painful process of connecting my nervous system to them so that I could control them like normal wings. When I started this, I had just fallen through the cloud layer. Naturally, if my opponents were as cunning as they are powerful, which they are, they would eventually look to the skies for my whereabouts. So it came as little surprise when Celestia began firing bolts of magic at me almost immediately and Luna and the King begin to fly toward me.

The spell completed itself, myself having avoided harm from the projectile magic. Spreading my new wings, and reveling in the shock that momentarily appeared on my combatants’ faces, I turned toward the mountains in the distance, flying only coming naturally through my intense training. Oh yes, we unicorns were taught to fly as well as any moderately competent pegasus and some of us even took to it better than that. Granted, we did not use a wing-creation spell as complicated as this one, but I needed speed and nimbleness in aerobatics, hence the wings I was using at the moment.

All three of my enemies were now giving chase. This was phase two of my battle strategy. I actually didn't think I would last long enough to implement any phase past one. Phase two was short and simple: fly to the mountains; get above the clouds before they did; find a ledge to stand on; ready my bow and arrows to strike as they surfaced above the clouds. I knew I couldn't waste shots and so decided to aim for their exposed wings. Removing their ability to fly was integral to the battle.

Almost everything had been going according to plan. I flew above the clouds before they did, but before they left my sight, I noticed Celestia flying toward the ground while the other two continued to follow. I wouldn't be able to do anything to her if she didn’t come along as well. After I found a place to land, I quickly drew my bow, nocked an arrow and waited for signs of my pursuers. With missing a beat, they surfaced right when I expected them to, and I fired the first arrow at the Griffon King.

He was surprised, I could say that for sure, but he was prepared and dodged the arrow by retracting his wing and going into a roll, unfurling it once he was righted again. I continued to fire arrows, but I was only succeeding in delaying their advance toward me. When I was down to five arrows, though, I noticed a side effect to my tactics I honestly should have seen coming. A large chunk of the cloud cover was now a gigantic iceberg in the sky and was quickly falling to the ground below. And who should be directly under it other than Princess Celestia?

She didn't look the least bit worried. On the contrary, if I were closer to her I'd wager a guess that she was smiling. And why shouldn't she as the vassal of the sun? With what must have been the least amount of effort possible, Celestia shot an enormous, but stunning, stream of blue fire from her horn, engulfing the entire ice block rushing at her. It must have been fire that was a measurable portion of the heat of the sun as well, because it took only half a minute for it to not just melt, but evaporate.

The resultant steam spread in all directions and covered each combatant from each other’s views. I knew I didn't have any time to waste. I spread my wings and took off as fast as I could toward the forest in the distance. "It’s time to implement Phase three," I thought as I turned to look behind me to, as expected, see my two pursuers gaining ground, or in this case, air. What wasn't expected was the decision of a certain white alicorn to teleport to the edge of the forest and begin opening portals to who knows where in my flight path.

Each one that popped up was a different color, signifying a different, horrible end to my life with every one that I passed. I had only a few kilometers left to go, but they were appearing in faster succession at more random intervals. I dodged two more, barely scraping by through basic aerial maneuvers. I may have known how to fly, but that did not translate to 'fly as well as a trained pegasus squadron in the heat of battle.'

The distance to the forest was trickling down with each second, but unfortunately, so was the distance between myself and my pursuers, and at a much faster rate. It was going to be a close call, but I was confident I could make it to where I needed to be. At that moment, noticed Celestia’s assault had abruptly ended. I began to think as fast as I could as to a reason why this would be, but the answer came faster than my mind could figure it out. With nothing but a few hundred meters left to go, a portal the same distance in diameter opened up in front of me, ensuring that I had no room or time to dodge. Once again, I had to react instinctively, and without seeing exactly where I was going, I gambled on a teleportation behind the deadly obstacle.

It was much closer than I would have liked, but I managed to get past it. However, teleporting while flying isn't as simple as one would think, and not because of the magic. The actual teleportation was very easy. It’s just that going from flying through a substance such as air to moving in an airless void protected by a sphere of magic energy unable to move the slightest bit and returning to substance tends to ruin your chances of regaining control when back in the air.

Such was the fate I suffered on the other side of that large portal to nowhere. My artificial wings were instantly whipped around in ways that would crush or otherwise internally and structurally destroy a normal pegasus’s wings. The result was a shattering of the solidified magic and the continued spiralling and falling motion I was currently undergoing. I needed to think fast. What spells did I currently know were designed for slowing one’s velocity?

None. Plan B: use the magic from the crystal to lift and telekinetically control the water from the nearby river to rise up and engulf my body in way that could slow it down so I don’t hit such an incompressible substance as if it were the ground. I had about ten seconds to do this, therefore I needed a full twelfth of the crystal’s energy to accomplish it. I had no time to observe the reactions of my opponents, but considering that I wasn't being attacked while performing this move, I’d like to assume they were deeply shocked.

Once on the ground, or in the river rather, I teleported once more to hide myself in the forest and performed the spells I knew for going undetected. Phase three was now in motion. Celestia, Luna and the King, whom I had just realized I didn't know the actual name of, landed in a nearby clearing after searching for me by air. Unfortunately for them, it was one of the several that I had set a trap in before the battle began. I remained in the shadows, melding with them and drawing my bow while preparing an arrow.

Celestia had taken the silence as an opportunity to try and coax a response out of me through taunting by saying, “I hath little problem with the idea of burning this entire forest to the ground if it meant getting rid of thee, Nova. I doth suggest thou cease with this cowardice and face–”

Firing an arrow at her most vulnerable spot, and really I cannot fathom why the base of her horn was unprotected, I promptly silenced the little speech she was about to give before it could really begin. The arrow did not pierce anything—I suspect she had wards in place that prevented piercing or impalement from sources with little force behind them—but it did what I set out to accomplish by aiming for that spot anyway. A unicorn’s greatest strength is his or her horn. And so it is reasonable to assume that it is also the unicorn’s greatest weakness. There are many ways to disable one’s ability to perform magic. The difficulty depends on how long you want to stop this. In this case, hitting the base of the horn would normally equal five minutes. Freezing it would equal ten minutes, for a combined fifteen minutes of magic incapability. As for an alicorn. though, I estimated that I had less than three, if that at all.

Celestia seemed to take note of this as her expression changed from one of her normally calm demeanor to one of agitation, though still not in the realm of anger as had been Luna’s default expression for the duration of this battle. Celestia attempted to speak once again, getting only a few words out, but I couldn't waste the opportunity I now had. It was time to activate my trap.

A magic circle the size of the clearing each of them stood in appeared beneath them. From the look on Luna’s face, she immediately knew what it did and that she didn't have time to react and nullify it. This particular circle was meant to do one thing, and one thing only: make flight for those that were caught in it impossible and to slow down their movements in general as long as I had magic energy left through gravity magic. I suspected that because they were alicorns, the effects wouldn't last that long to begin with. They did have the option of overpowering the spell, but since I was using the crystal to power it, doing so would likely drain them of everything they had left.

The light from the circle’s activation quickly faded and they all lifted their heads and opened their eyes after shielding them. It was Luna that explained what had just happened by saying, “It would seem that we are no longer capable of flight or quick movements. That was a gravity well circle, very complicated and time consuming to set up properly. Nova hath prepared for this battle well.” She turned to her sister with a slight smirk and said, “Might I suggest thee cease talking for a while lest anything else unfortunate happen? It seems nothing good comes of thine outbursts.”

“Now is not the time, Luna,” Celestia said with a hint of frustration in her voice. You know, the kind you often hear between siblings when they patronize each other. I would have chuckled to myself in that moment were it not for the weight of the situation.

“I must admit, things are going much more smoothly than I thought they were,” I thought, taking some time to gather myself for the next stage of battle. All the while I was continually keeping watch on the three, ready to react to their next move. “It’s disappointing, almost, how easy this is compared to what I was expecting. That is to say there weren’t any close calls—there certainly were—but I thought they would put up more of fight considering how upset they are with my previous actions.”

I needed to get them more angry than what they were displaying. After, this battle was to be my death wish. I was not supposed to win. Doing so would not be what anyone needed at this point. But as I said, I would not be holding back. That would be no different than taking my own life. I needed this battle to become more intense, and I knew what I needed to say to do so.

“This battle’s gone on long enough,” I whispered aloud. “It’s time to up the ante.”

“My thoughts, exactly!”

I whipped around having heard Luna’s retort come from behind me. to my utter surprise she was poised to strike with her swords and all I had to defend myself was a bow made of magic ice. It was before I was hit that I realized she must have created an afterimage or clone to take her place while she did a more thorough search for me. I braced for impact expecting to be flung into a nearby tree. What happened instead only confirmed my thoughts that they were holding back earlier. I was not only sent flying into a nearby tree, but through it and the dozens of others behind it all the way to the selfsame river I had used to stop my fall.

I landed and came to a stop after a few nasty bounces next to the water, my head mere hooves away. I drew on the crystal to create an automatic healing spell, a simple one that would heal flesh wounds, mend broken or fractured bones and stop minor internal bleeding. I let that go to work, but could not move immediately. When I turned my head and opened my eyes, Luna was there, standing over me, her swords pointed at my neck. Celestia and the King quickly caught up thanks a teleportation. It was the former of these two that next spoke.

“Nova, this battle is over. Surrender thyself for a public trial and execution. There is no point to continuing this.”

I looked around at my present company, settling my eyes on Luna last. Noticing this, she said, “Any last words, vermin?” I thought about my options, and they were limited. Would this be the end? Was this all I was capable of doing? I closed my eyes and readied my answer. This battle was not over yet.

Author's Note

Took longer than I wanted to get the battle well enough for me to even begin to consider posting it, but I finally have something I can be happy with. As an added bonus to those of you who are still reading this, the next, and final, chapter is already done. I'll give it a few more passes for final editing and it'll be up later today (it's 4:30 am pacific time right now, so maybe noon or before, hopefully).

The Warrior's Heart

Bred for War

By LupoMikti

Chapter 6: The Warrior's Heart

I opened my eyes to stare into the piercing gaze that Princess Luna so intensely cast in my direction. I wanted to drill my conviction into her mind so that she would know I was never going to surrender and the battle would rage on. I chose my next words carefully and decided to deliver them in a way that only Luna would understand.

“Sener genikse sur kamro pfose cyke. Sener kakidoresa sur pügrome y mirmsa kräda. Senerewonein kakre y den jo trevre!”

My words were in a language lost to time, the language of the once thriving race of wolves. While in training, this was the chosen language of secret communication among those of us that showed enough skill to not just fight in the war as special assets, but who had the potential to embark on missions of espionage and intelligence gathering in other nations. Luna taught us this language personally, and my only goal in uttering those words in Lykärn was to make it as personal as possible.

The expression of pure shock but also outrage on Luna’s face would be enough to send any of the most resolved warriors into shaking spiral of fear, and I was no exception. Luckily, those words doubled as an incantation for a spell that would save me from my predicament.

Mere seconds after the last word left my mouth, dozens of shadowy tendrils sprang up from the ground wherever a shadow was cast. The ones that came from Luna’s shadow shot up and pierced her armor and hide wherever it was exposed. Blood gushed from every wound while Luna shouted in agony and fell onto me as I lied there, planning my next move.

The King was attempting to fight the shadows off and was driven back, away from me, however, his sword was able to defeat each tendril it cut, confirming my suspicion that it was powerfully enchanted, though with what I still did not know. My concern was now with Celestia. If everything was going favorable, her horn would still be numb enough to be unable to perform a spell complicated enough to block mine. My hopes were not high as she had teleported to this location easily enough before.

My fear was confirmed as, calm as ever, she readied a spell composed of light to burn away the shadows. Everyone was momentarily blinded while the spell was in effect, but I had to act fast or end up in another difficult situation. I teleported away, once more hiding myself in the thick of the forest.

I wasn’t safe at all though. Even from my now considerably farther away hiding spot, I was able to hear Celestia shout, finally angered with me, “I hath had enough of thine tactics of hide-and-seek!” This could only mean one thing: fire, and lots of it.

I needed to get out of the forest fast, but to someplace they wouldn’t see me at first. My mind raced for an answer until it came up with one solution: take to the skies once more. I drew on the power of the crystal once more to create my wing spell. I knew I didn’t have much time, but I was to complete it. Once finished, I immediately teleported into the air where I knew I would be able to see where my opponents had gone. They were still unable to fly after all.

I scanned the area outside the forest and found them quickly enough. If I had any doubt of Celestia’s power before, it was quickly wiped out at what I witnessed next. At the tip of her horn, steadily growing, was what I could only described as a miniaturized sun. The shear heat from the thing kicked up violent winds whipping every which way imaginable. Once it reached the size of, oh I don’t know, five Ursa Majors, she fired it in an arcing pattern toward what looked to be the center of the forest. How she was able to remember exactly where it was and then aim for it from the ground I’ll never figure out completely.

The moment it hit, the brightest flash of light all day by far forced me to shield my eyes once more and when I opened them, every last measurable quantity of that forest was on fire. I couldn’t imagine the amount of heat pouring out of the inferno. Everyone was still until it was over. We were literally watching the world burn in all its rage filled glory. I flew closer to my combatants, making sure they would not notice me or my shadow.

When I was close enough, and the fire had finally died down and most everything was ash, I heard Luna ask Celestia, “Dost thou not think that might have been overdoing it, sister?”

“I think it was rather impressive, actually,” I said, getting their attention. They all turned to face me as I hovered in the air, only half surprised to see I escaped. “It was a brilliant display of power and exactly what I expect of an alicorn. However, I must say I’m extremely disappointed in the performance you’ve displayed here.” It was time implement Phase four of my plan: rile them up and end the battle.

Celestia spoke up next saying, “Disappointed? What dost thou mean by that word?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, Princess. So far, I have managed to escape all of your attempts to defeat me. I was expecting this battle to not last even five minutes, yet we’ve been fighting for nearly twenty. I expected more of a challenge. This is supposed to be the battle that leads to my rightful death, is it not?” I only needed to push a little bit harder. At the very least, Luna might have become angry enough to engage me with as more power as Celestia displayed.

I decided it was time to go for the gut shot. If there’s one thing that gets the Princesses riled up, it’s death of the innocent. I started off slowly, saying, “Or did all of those lives I slaughtered mean so little to you that you cannot even muster the strength and ability to defeat me? Are you not the nearly omnipotent beings everyone believes you to be? Perhaps… I need to destroy a few more villages and cities before you take this seriously enough to pose a challenge.”

There was silence for a moment as Celestia stared at me with the most cold and spiteful eyes imaginable and Luna stood, visibly shaking, with her eyes closed tight and head hanging slightly. I couldn’t read anything from the King’s face. He just stood there, staring at me. My confusion at his reaction was lifted, however, the moment Luna shouted, augmenting her voice magically as she did so, “Enough with thy wretched words!”

She looked to Celestia who only nodded in response as if they had an entire telepathic conversation in a mere second. She looked back to me, spread her wings, horn aglow, and hovered at the same level I was. It was safe to assume my gravitation spell had already worn off. But that wasn’t my concern. I was only focused on what she was about to do next, and that happened to be saying a chant or a poem. I’m not quite sure what it was, but I know I didn’t like what was being said.

With wings spread wide, I shine my light
To act as a guide through the dark of night.

Shadows cast, they rapidly spread
Opposite the blinding light.
Omnipresent protection offered
With incomprehensible might.

Manifest now my power of the night.
I am all thou fear, yet thine only hope.
I am the silent guard, protecting thy mind,
Holding out a helpful rope.

Let now my true form be revealed.
Let now my title be heard.
I am the Princess of the Night,
Alicorn of the Moon and Shadows.

Know my name and gape in awe,
For I am the one, the only,
Stella Lympha Nox Renascentia!

I had lost count at this point how many times a blinding light had shone during this battle. This only added one more to whatever that number may be. When it was over, Luna could be seen again, but this time without any of her armor or weapons, her wounds healed, eyes glowing, having a darker coat, flowing mane filled with stars in contrast to her previously motionless light blue mane, being as large as Celestia if not larger, and with darkness pouring out from different places on her body, including black lightning.

The only way to describe what felt at that instant was pure, unending terror. I knew then that the Princesses had power beyond what the military knew normally. I had no idea why they would have to keep this power sealed, but every fiber of my being screamed that I was about to find out.

I went to draw on as much power from the crystal as I could to protect myself from whatever was coming. But at that moment, I found that almost all of it had been depleted when just before Luna transformed, there was still a good sixty percent of the total energy left. I only had seconds to contemplate where it had all gone though, for faster than I could see, and with no indication of teleporting, Luna was above me, speeding down and charging up what looked to be nothing but pure magical force to hit me with.

I saw not but her glowing white eyes before being hit with the full force of a mountain falling from the sky and subsequently crashing into the ground, everything in my body momentarily shattered before what energy was left in the crystal mended things enough that I didn’t die upon impact. But Luna was not done yet. She silently teleported next to me, looked me in the eyes and said, “Bärnremonze sylore sei y mäd komi de fenirafärlos. Atewlizredoma imon dar nykta a neigredoma pfür.”

Before I could fully process her words, a white dome surrounded me, telling me they were words for a spell as well. I didn’t even want to guess what was about to happen. my best hope was that I was being transported somewhere. When the dome disappeared, I found myself in the same place and confused as to what may have happened, but quickly received an answer.

It’s very difficult to describe pain in detail. There are different kinds of pain as well, from emotional pain, to physical, to even mental. At that moment, I did not just feel pain… I knew pain. It was as if the very meaning of pain was being forced into every particle that made up my existence. I knew all the types of pain, all the ranges of intensity they could produce. I was able to know pain through all five of my senses. I of course felt pain, but I also heard pain, tasted pain, smelled pain, and saw pain. I was convinced I was being unmade from the universe because of how much pain I was in, and it continued like this for probably the next five minutes, but you don’t keep track of time when you’re in pain.

When it was finally, thankfully, over, I was left unable to feel anything else. My body was numb and I lay there awaiting death. Luna was swift in granting me more suffering, though. I was lifted into the air, hovering just above the ground. I was held still for a moment more, then countless spikes of what seemed to be solid moonlight were shoved through my body as if the concept of armor was foreign to them. When they dissolved I was dropped back onto the ground in a pool of my own blood, the last of the crystal’s energy repairing the wounds on the flesh, but unable to repair my damaged organs. I was certain a lung was punctured and had collapsed. I collapsed where I lay, barely gasping for air as everything went dark.

Coming back to reality, unable to feel anything, one eye refusing to open, gasping for air in my dying moments, I attempted to look around for the three I had fought. They were gathered around me, waiting to see if I was truly dead. It was then Luna approached me, back to her normal form.

“What dost thou feel for thine actions? Regret, remorse, guilt? What possessed thee to take so many innocent lives? Answer us!”

Answer her? Did I even have the strength to do so? I knew what I wanted to say, so I mustered up what I could and responded weakly with, “Reason? Regret? These are… things that no longer… plague my mind.” I had pause for a fit of coughing but continued nonetheless. “I accomplished… what I set out to do. Whether my mark on history… was a good or bad one… at least my name will be remembered for ages to come,” I said, now with a weak smile on my face.

Luna’s retort was quick. “Thou art a vile and disgusting pony! The world doth not deserve for thy name to stain it!”

“Enough, Luna.” Celestia was quick to quell her sister’s increasing distaste. She made her way over to me instead though. “However, thou speaketh nothing but truth. Surely a pony such as thee sees this as fact?”

I had little strength left. This reply would probably be my last. I needed to say something, though. Through the ragged breathing, the blood pouring from my agape mouth and filling my remaining lung, and the fatigue that had gripped me, I had to reply. “It does not matter… how true… that may be. My name, my very essence… shall live on in history.” Another coughing fit began after I had said this. It seemed feeling was returning to me, because this one was violent and painful. I could see flecks of blood flying from my muzzle and landing before me. I only needed a little more strength. “And there is naught that thou canst do to change such a fact.”

What Celestia said next, though, was the first truly terrifying thing I had heard in my life. “Thou art very much in the wrong with thy words. Thou shalt wither and die here with only the knowledge that thine actions and life shall never live on through the test of time. We shall see to it personally.”

The venom in her voice was entirely too noticeable. I knew that she meant what she said. I would not live on; my name and life, my purpose for existing, would be lost to everyone. As I laid there dying, I could only think of those accomplishments, and failures, as the Princesses and King walk away to lead their nations.

Darkness is now fast approaching. I have only my thoughts to accompany me, and the blood of the many I’ve killed. My body grows cold and I prepare for the end.

I can save you, you know.

“What are on about now? I got what I wanted, now leave me to die in what manner of peace I convince myself of.”

Unfortunately, I can’t let you do that, Nova.

“What? Wait, what do you mean?”

You see, we may be connected by our minds, but it is time I come clean to you. We are not one in the same. I am a separate entity, a life all its own.

“Like I didn’t expect that to be case, and you know it. You can die here too then.”

True, you did have your suspicions. But you listened to me anyway.

“Well, if you’re not me, then who are you? Surely you have a name?”

Oh yes, I do. I am Sombra. Pleasure to meet you.

“Charmed.”

My goal was to use your body as a vassal to carry out my plans. But then you had to go and have a death wish. So, I needed to formulate a backup plan. You noticed the crystal drained of a significant portion of energy, correct?

“Ah, so that was you then? Well, let’s have it. What do you need all that energy for?”

Well, I’m glad you asked. You see, I needed it to take over your body as my own.

“What!? No! I won’t let you do that!”

Oh, but you see, it’s not a choice I’m giving you.

I can feel my body attempting to move itself. In fact, my wounds are starting to heal! I have to fight him off. There’s no telling what he has planned.

It’s useless, you know. I have more power than you. And with this power, I can easily imprison you in the depths of my mind, something you should have done to me a good while ago. Good bye, Nova. I’ll be back to speak with you, eventually.

“Sombra!”

…

“Hmm, I can’t go around looking like Nova. I’ll have to change my appearance a bit. A grey coat and black hair will do fine. Now, let’s go get some crystals.”

To be continued…

Author's Note

Yep, this story's finally done. Now I can move on to some of the other things I have to do. Like rewrite Mind vs Matter, my other story. And write the sequel to this. And all the other story ideas I have. Oh, and to try and come up with an update schedule so it's not months between updates. Really sorry for that, by the way. I at least hope you've enjoyed the story so far.

Now for the little extra bits: those two instances where Nova and Luna speak a different language are a language of my own creation called Lykärn (pronounced Lee–CARE–n). It's meant to be the language of the old wolves, a race considered long dead, and a language of magic (there are a couple of them, this being one of them). The first one, spoken by Nova, translates as "This soul was born for battle. My heart was built for war. Those who run, will be burned." Luna's translates to "Not even the moonlight can save you. Stare into the night and know pain."

It's been a real pleasure writing this story for you and I hope I didn't disappoint with what I consider a refreshing take on Sombra's rise to power.

Emoredoma wid dom sylon.

~Lupo