Chapter 18 B: The First to Fall.
The air was calm and the area was silent, void of life. The leaves of trees, completely buried under the heavy snow caused by hate as the moon shined brightly above the clouds. Everything was completely still until suddenly, the rocks started to shake. Any wildlife in the area was suddenly startled as the rumbling of what sounded like carriages came closer and closer to their location. Just as they ran off, a huge, steel like beast crashed through the trees, breathing out fire from it's back and spewing out black smoke as it rolled along the field.
Quickly followed by this were thousands upon thousands of soldiers, marching in order and with such power that the entire forest shook in fear. Each soldier looked exactly alike in color and in appearance. They all had a deathly, dark gray coat and eyes that shined red like freshly spilled blood. They were also clothed with black coats with their ranks on the sides of their shoulders, signifying importance in their army. Just like the first machine that passed by, there were more that came, all of which rolled over the field and trees without effort.
The army continued to march until it reached the end of the rotting forest, stopping suddenly in their tracks as they saw a huge wall, blocking access further into the land.
"So this is Zebrafrica…the land of zebras, camels and antelope." Death Fire said, standing in front of his massive army. "I was expecting more."
"That's because you destroyed their once beautiful land with your hatred." Trixie commented harshly.
"And I will continue to do so until this land belongs to me or until they submit. I deserve what they have after the torment this body has went though, and I will have it."
"You're a monster that doesn't know when to stop."
"Be grateful I still keep you around. This world would care less if one mare suddenly vanished from the face the earth."
"If you think keeping me alive will strengthen your power then you're wrong…"
"As I've stated...I don't care what you do...because I know you will suffer in the end." Death Fire said with a wicked smile. "Shining Armor...dispatch a messenger."
"You mean a slave, sire?"
Death Fire nodded.
"Release the prisoner!" Shining signaled.
A cage was opened behind him and a female zebra was thrown before Death Fire, bound in chains.
"Is this your homeland, enchantress?" Death Fire asked coldly.
The zebra refused to look up.
"Speak in our tongue, witch! Before I rip it out of your mouth!"
Once again, she refused to speak. Death Fire smacked her on the face with his hoof, drawing blood as she hit the snow covered ground. Before he could proceed, Trixie stood in the way.
"Leave her alone, she's suffered enough as it is."
"Forgetting your place again, Trixie? You have no power anymore, remember?"
"Did you forget? I thought you didn't care what I did."
It was at that moment Trixie saw fire practically light up in the tyrants eyes, sending a chill down her spin.
"You are one brave fool, Trixie." Death Fire whispered. "Perhaps you should join her..."
Before Trixie could react, she was punched right in the face, landing next to the zebra.
"You have anything else to say!" Death Fire yelled.
Trixie remained silent as blood leaked from her busted mussel. The zebra ignored her wound and crawled over to Trixie, applying snow to her wound to slow down the bleeding, applying pressure as she did.
"Shining...where's second in command?"
"I thought I was se-
"The other second in command!"
"Flash Sentry?" Shining asked in confusion. "What do you want with that guy?"
"He knows the name of the slave here, bring him here."
"Alright sir...but he might be a bit…you know."
"What?" Death Fire demanded.
"Brutal."
"Didn't he use to be kind and reserved?" Death Fire asked.
"He was until you took over, that spell you used to free us of Celestia's hold really made him passionate to win this war."
"Hehehe...that's good to here. Now bring him over."
Shining turned to the army.
"Sentry, our lord has summoned you."
Within several seconds, the orange pegasus landed before Death Fire, kneeling before him.
"Sentry…name of the slave here." Death Fire ordered.
"Zecora." He replied. "What seems to be the problem with her?"
"She refuses to talk or even acknowledge my orders. Get her to talk."
"My lord, before anything, why don't you just demonstrate our power to her. Make an example of her people by wiping them out until she cooperates."
"It's an option...but not what I want to do. I want them to surrender quietly so we can use them for work."
"Please, you really think these primitive animals will surrender quietly." Shining asked. "I agree with Sentry for once...we need an example, and with that example we need a witness…" He said, looking to Zecora.
The Zebra looked up to Shining and the others with a dark look.
"You are completely fools if you think you can use me as your tool."
"So the *#( * can talk after all." Sentry said wickedly.
"And in rymes to…" Shining added.
"It doesn't matter." Death Fire interrupted, looking down at the zebra. "You are going to do exactly what I say if you want to live and keep your nation on the map. Otherwise I will have no problem disposing of you and your precious land from the face of the earth."
"You roar like a lion on the hunt, but you have truly gone nuts." Zecora replied.
"I don't have time for your games, do what I saw or die."
"All you know how to do is kill, yet you ignore the fact that your heart is ill."
"You insolent peasant!" Sentry yelled, grabbing the zebra by the throat. "I'll have you hung if you-
"Peace Sentry." Death Fire ordered, holding his hoof up. "You were right about her. If we want her to cooperate...we'll have to make an example of her people."
Zecora's eyes widened when she saw Death Fire's hoof suddenly distort and form a large, red ball covered in black fire. With a wicked smile, he pointed his hoof towards the wall.
"Perhaps she has forgotten how I overthrew the tyrants and defeated their greatest magician. Perhaps the whole world has forgotten how...allow me to remind them…
In a display of red light, Death Fire fired the ball of energy at the wall. When the ball hit the wall, a small explosion went off, drawing all the sound around it before violently collapsing upon itself and releasing a huge, red shock wave. The explosion took down the entire wall within seconds, sending out a strong wind current that almost knocked over Shinning or anypony else that hadn't braced themselves.
"Hahahahaha! A beautiful display of power, don't you think?" Death Fire asked, looking to Zecora. "LOCK HER UP!"
Both Shinning and Sentry grabbed the zebra and dragged her back to the cage she was imprisoned in. Trixie managed to stand back up, but she hung her head in shame.
"Don't worry Trixie...it will be over before you know it." Death Fire said, looking back to his army. "MARCH!"
Thunder and lightning crashed around the large capital city of Germania as fire erupted through in the field. The sounds of swords and metal clashing into each other could be heard loudly as ponies and strange beasts, reeking of foul stench, battled each other to the death. In the distance was a figure, cloaked in black, dashing across the battlefield in a blur of green and black smoke. The large wall of Manelin was the only thing keeping the undead horde out of the city, and this figure was heading straight for it.
"ALL HOOVES AT THE READY, HERE HE COMES!" A guard pony yelled.
"BEREITET EUCH!" Another guard yelled in german.
The black figure quickly ran up the wall and propelled himself into the air. The figure ripped off his clock after performing a quadruple corkscrew and landed hard on two guards, slowly looking up to the other with a smirk.
"I have returned..." Desolent whispered as lightning crashed behind him, darkening his form.
The dark unicorn darted to the first group of guard on his left, slipping under them before grabbing their hooves with magic and tripping them to the ground. He got back up to his hooves with a flip, grabbing one of the guards spears and chucked it into three guards lined up in a row. Without looking back, he slammed his elbow into a ponies face as he ran to attack him from behind. As the pony propelled forward, Desolent spun around and launched a large energy ball towards the guards he left behind. Both rock and gravel were scatter everywhere as the left side of the wall collapsed on itself, sending the guards on the wall crashing to their doom.
Desolent turned to face the guards behind him, laughing as he kicked into the air, catching it with his right hoof.
"With each lose, my army grows. You can't fight us off forever." Desolent declared, licking the blood of the sword he held. "It's been so long since I've tasted the blood of my own kin. I hope father watching me now. Because now he will see devour everything he worked for!"
The guards yelled as they lunged forward to stab the madpony, but they soon realised that he wasn't like anything they had ever witnessed before. The green pony countered the first attack with his sword, slashing across the chest of the guard as he swayed past him and countered another pony. He did this to eight guards within only four seconds before impaling his sword into a captain neck. He held the captain up with only his sword before grabbing the bloody blade with his other hoof and twisting it in one quick motion. The others looked away in disgust, hearing the snap of their fellow comrades neck.
This was enough to make some guards drop their swords and run off, but many were suddenly overwhelmed with rage as they dashed forward. This amused the dark unicorn as he slayed each guard in gruesome ways, only encouraging the guards to fight harder. After kicking a guard off the wall, he jumped off after him, forcing compressed energy into his sword. The guard crashed through the roof of a house and landed on the floor below just before Desolent impaled the sword right into his heart. A high pitch scream came from the sword just before it erupted, blasting away the entire house, the wall behind him and anything nearby in a huge wave of green magic.
Seconds later, his army came flooding over the destroyed walls, charging deeper into the city with hunger in their eyes. The necromancer dropped the sword handle, seeing that there was nothing left of it after the attack, and slowly walked forward as waves upon waves of undead minions ran past him.
"I shall make this city the capital for my risen servants, but first I must dispose of the rats infesting my new home."
He teleported to the top of a tall building, holding onto the spire with a hoof as he observed the entire city from above. He looked around until he noticed a large building made of stone, standing proudly in the heart of the massive city.
"Reichstag...created to symbolize the Manelin empire. That will have to do…
He released his grip on the spire, dashed across the sky in a green ball of flame, and then dropped to the ground below like a large bowling ball. Without the slightest hint of doubt, his hind-hooves slammed into the concrete street and created a crater that sent cracks throughout the road. Before him, about a thousand feet away, was the building he desired to take. It was of course modified before the battle to act as a fortress for those inside but it wasn't enough to stop what was about to hit them. Desolent took his hoof and placed it before the ground in front of him.
A black flash flowed through his hoof and into the grass, sending a wave through the ground toward the fortress. The wave passed under the guards like a strong current, doing nothing as it passed by. The guards were confused up until the point where huge, black spikes sprung up from the ground and impaled everything living in their stomachs without even giving them a chance react. Over the screams of agony, Desolent submerged into the ground and launched forward towards the entrance.
The ponies that were left could only see a large crack rapidly approaching the fortress as they retreated to the entrance of the Reichstag, attempting to close the huge doors as they converged for a final defence. Before the doors were shut, Desolent sprung out from the ground and dived through the entrance, clotheslining the two guards behind him before he fired off energy waves to both the right and left of him. In the spur of the moment, Desolent slammed his hooves forward and launched out a large ball of green energy that destroyed everything in it's path. The ball flew through the wall and carved a tunnel right to the center of the building before detonating in the center.
The green pony's horn flashed, unhinging the door behind him and causing it to fall. His creations poured forward past him as Desolent vanished in a cloud of pestilence, flying to the ceiling and fading through it without a trace. Desolent reappeared on the rooftop of the building and gazed around at the city from the top. He spotted the flag of Germania and walked towards it as green fire suddenly erupted from within the building, consuming practically everything around him. Once he reached the flagpole, he reeled back his hoof to chop it down but was stopped by a voice.
"So this is became of you, Prince Breaker, heir of the throne." A pony in royal attire said, holding a golden imperial sword.
"And you must be Prince Mutige Macht III, my father's younger brother." Desolent said darkly. "Tell me...why shouldn't I kill you just like I did to my dear father."
"I tried to tell him that his actions were wrong, but he refused to listen. He paid for his crimes by your hooves and now his blood, along with his violent desires, has passed down to you. You have no right to take out your anger on our country no matter what her ponies had done to you."
"No right...I believe I earned the right when I watched my mother die by your nations people. What's out of right is you, uncle. Now back down from this fight you know you can't win."
"Not when there's still ponies suffering and dying because of what you have done." The brave prince said, holding his sword tighter.
"You don't get it do you. I am death reincarnation and you stand here and challenge me with that oversized toothpick. Leave this place, Uncle, leave your position behind...I have no business with you."
"I would rather die than surrender."
"It won't end well for you...this isn't a fairytale, Uncle...drop the sword and run before I change my mind."
"No…"
Desolent turned to him and fired one concentrated beam of magic at his uncle, but to his surprise, the prince raised his sword and deflected the beam back at it's source. Desolent reflected the beam to the sky with his hoof before launching a burst of wind at him, throwing the prince back and skidding across the ground. Once he stopped, he stood up and glared at Desolent through the growing fire.
"I suggest you stay down if you know what's good for you." Desolent declared.
"You act like I'm a little child, Nephew. Did you forget who's family you belonged to!" The prince asked, summoning a surprisingly large amount of magic into his horn. "Let's have a little history lesson shall we."
The prince fired forward a huge wave of magic that forced Desolent to leap out of the way before retaliating with a blast of his own. The Prince simply sliced through the blast with his sword before vanishing before Desolent and slashing his sword, leaving a green streak of magic behind it. The green sorcerer ducked and rolled out of the way of the slash, forcing the prince to hit the pole with his sword, cutting the rope of his nations flag. Just as the prince realized what he did, he was tripped and then suddenly kneed right in the stomach. The prince cried out in pain as he dropped his sword, watching his countries flag fall.
"Did you really think you could challenge your brothers son to a duel and win?! Did you forget why he tried to kill me in the first place."
"No...and i'm sorry...I truly am, Dust Breaker. But you know in your heart that your mother saw something deeper in you then that. She saw a hero…"
"Don't tell me what my mother say in me! It was because of your brother that she died!"
"And you should be grateful that she passed when she did. Because now she doesn't have to see what you've become."
"I've heard enough from you." Desolent said, lifting him up to face the city as it burned with fire. "Soon...this whole planet will suffer just like your people and I will be the one that decides their fate."
"They are your people to, Dust...or did you forget that as well."
"I never forgot...I just chose to not remember…"
Hundreds of miles north of Equestria, not to far from the Gryphon Kingdom.
"Do you need anything else my queen?" A stallion asked, carrying a plate with a cup of hot chocolate on his back.
The queen didn't even bother to turn around as she spoke.
"No...that will be all, thank you." She said in a high pitched voice.
As the stallion left her presence, the queen looked out her stained glass window to see the rising snow storm approaching her castle of ice and snow.
"This stinks!" She said, looking at herself through the glass.
The queen's name was Marona, she was only eight years old and about to turn nine. She became the new ice queen after her mother and father perished almost a year ago when they went south to investigate the disappearance of the sun. Now she's all that's left of the family in their kingdoms time of need and she had no idea what to do. She sat back in her throne and slouched, not caring who saw her as she took off her golden crown and placed it to the side.
"No one want's to play with me because I'm a queen now. They think I'm going to put them in time out or something."
She sat like this for ten more seconds in silence before screaming in complete boredom. At the sound of her cry, about fifty guards, both mare and stallion, came crashing through the doors with light blue armor and ice spears ready to attack.
"What's wrong, my queen?! Is someone attacking?!" The captain asked in panic.
"NO, FOR THE LAST TIME, NO ONE IS ATTACKING ME WHEN I SCREAM OUT OF BOREDOM!"
"Sorry my queen...we're just doing our job."
"WELL…" She tried to yell, but then sighed. "I'm sorry…thank you for being so faithful."
As the guards returned to their posts in annoyance, already having doubt about their leader, the captain closed the door behind him and threw his helmet to the ground.
"I can't take this anymore!" He yelled.
"Calm down, captain, she's just a little filly." A guard informed
"Our ponies are starving to death and we have a kid on the throne who still hasn't even passed the fourth grade! Are we suppose to just sit here and watch this happen!"
"Are you...are you saying we should…"
"NO, of course not!" The captain shouted. "It's just...I wish the others would return."
"Even if they did, what makes you think they could do any better. Sure, we are used to the ice, but ever since the sun vanished-
"I know, I know...I need time to think." The captain said, walking away.
The stallion walled down to the main entrance of the castle and walked outside.
"The weather seems to be brewing up a storm. Close the main gates and tell the citizens to stay indoors for the night."
"But it's always nig-
"I KNOW!"
The guards dispersed to the courtyard to inform the citizens while the captain worked on closing the main doors. Everything was going smoothly until a mare in a black cloak approached him, shaking.
"Visiting hours are over, citizen, go back home."
"No, you don't understand, I need shelter."
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you, you're just going to have to."
"Please...I need help…"
"Who are you?"
"They call me...Princess Twilight."
"Where did you find her again?" Marona asked, fiddling with her hair.
"Right outside the main doors. She wanted shelter for the night." The captain said, looking at Twilight like a prisoner.
"But it's always nig-
"I KNOW!" The captain screamed, silencing Marona.
"...sorry..."
"Forgive me, my queen...the stress is getting to me."
"Just go to bed then."
"It's only six in the afternoon."
"I know, it's getting late."
"I can take care of myself, my Queen. For now, I'll let you decide what to do with her." The captain said, leaving the throne room.
Marona had a confused look on her face as the captain left.
"Strange, he usually asks for permission before leaving." She said, looking at Twilight with a warm smile. "My name's Marona, I'm a queen, but you can call me by my actual name. Do you need anything?"
"A nice warm drink would be nice.." Twilight said looking at her
"Ok, I'll go get it myself, I really have nothing better to do."
Marona got down from her throne, making it look like a high chair, and ran to the room to her left.
"Is she really the queen of this place.." She looking around the room "She's so...young...how the heck did she get the throne. Hm...If she's in control then this place must not be doing well.." She said, walking to the window behind the throne. "It looks like her kingdome is doing fine, but I wonder how she controls all of this..if she can that is."
Twilight turned and started to admire the beauty of the ice formations inside just before Marona walked in happily and gives her a cup of hot chocolate.
"I hope you like it, I made it myself." She said, sitting down in front of her and looking right at her.
She continued to stare for over two minutes straight, not even bothering to drink her own beverage in her hooves.
"So...you're the queen of this kingdom.." Twilight asked, feeling awkward.
"Yeah...do you know how hard it is?" Marona said with a smile. "Everypony is always bothering me about food. I gave them all I had, what else can I do? I even gave them all the gold coins in the big room next door."
Twilight's curiosity was now peaked. If she could befriend this little filly and get on her good side, she would eventually take over by default.
"They act like my parents, always telling me what to do. I just want everypony to be happy." Marona said, looking to the side in sadness.
"How long have you been ruling.." Twilight asked.
"I've been ruling for..." She trailed off, silently counting with her hooves until she ran out of hooves. "Ummmm, can I borrow yours."
"Borrow my hoofs?" She said raising her eyebrow.
"I only have four, I need yours to count...please." She said as her ears folded.
"Fine.."
She counted to eight and then realised it was still not enough.
"Dang it, I need more hooves."
"It doesn't matter anymore, I get it" Twilight said with an annoyed tone. "Where are your parents..?"
"I don't know. They left to go see the princess with the sun on her butt but they never came back. I think they just took a very long vacation." She said, looking down with sadness in her eyes. "What's your name anyways, it's been so long since i've had somepony come over."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle...but ponies know me as Nightmare Twilight."
"Nightmare Twilight? Why, you don't seem that scary."
"Ponies seem to think I am though." She chuckles and crosses her hoofs
"I don't see why, you seem nice."
"I can be nice when I want to."
"Why don't you stay nice then?"
"I don't know I just choose to. Being nice doesn't get anywhere anyways."
"But being nice is so much better, you get more friends that way."
"Like I need friends..."
"But I'm your friend, right."
"We'll see how it goes and how things turn out."
"How long are you going to stay?"
"No clue, maybe for a few days"
"YAY, A SLEEPOVER!"
"...A what?"
"A Sleepover, you stay up all night, do each other's hair. It will be fun!"
"Do each others hair?" Twilight said with worry, starting to pet her mane "I don't really do my mane.."
"Let me try then, come on, I haven't had a sleepover in forever." She said, grabbing her hoof.
Twilight looked at her before sighing in defeat.
"Fine we'll do the sleepover thing."
The filly cried out in joy, practically jumping through the roof.
"THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN!"
Before Twilight could respond, the filly pulled Twilight into her room and shut the door. The bedroom was, to no ones surprise, made of ice. However, with the help of magic, the room was given lighting that made the ice light up with a beautiful display of colors.
"Wow this looks nice...is this your bedroom?"
"Well...it's my parents...but they aren't here to tell me to get out, so it's mine now." She said with glee.
"But how do they...how does anyone sleep here? It's so cold."
"We use borrow fur from animals, I'm sure they don't mind."
"Yeah...I'm sure they are ok with it." Twilight said, noticing the pelt of a large snow leopard on the bed. "Well..what now."
The small filly was digging through her mothers drawer before he pulled out a box
"Makeup time."
"Wait what's that..." Twilight said, backing up to the wall.
The little filly took out some lip balm and approached Twilight.
"Hold still will you."
"Huh I don't know about this.."
"You'll be fine, it's just lip balm."
"I don't even know what that is!"
"Just hold still."
"Fine.." Twilight said, shaking from either worry or the cold.
The little filly leaned in to Twilight and tried her best to apply the makeup. After about thirty minutes of messing up and accidents, the filly finally was satisfied with what she did.
"Ok, I got it this time."
"Can I have a mirror please.."
Marona pointed to the large mirror near the bathroom.
"It's over there."
Twilight get's up and walks to the bathroom
She looks into the mirror and her eyes widen. She puts her hoofs on her face and starts to open her mouth in shock
"This...looks...Awesome!"
"REALLY!"
She turns to her smiling
"Yeah!"
Marona jumped around happily until a guard opened the door, holding a scroll.
"My queen...I have some bad news."
"What is it?" She asked.
"Whatever is going on in the south, it's coming here, and fast."
"What?"
"I don't know...but it's big, that's all the letter says. It's sort of...burned."
"What does it say?"
The guard looked at the letter and read.
'They came without warning, destroyed everything in sight, left nothing behind. They hold sticks that shoot fire and they have ponyless carages that can not be stopped. Please...help us before...'
"That's all it says."
"And it's coming...here?!" Marona asked, worried.
The guard nodded.
"Death Fire…" Twilight whispered.
"Who?" The little filly asked.
"Somepony I know, don't worry"
She turned to the guard.
"Are you guys even prepared for this?"
"We have an army, but this letter...it's disturbing." The guard said, looking over the letter again.
"You're going to need a lot of ponies.."
"How many?" The guard asked.
"If this is an actual invasion force and not just some piddly little scout team, I would say around Four-hundred thousand. However, I don't think he expects much resistance, so the number will be fewer, giving us an advantage."
"We have one-hundred thousand ponies on standby, but no general to lead them."
"That's good enough."
Twilight turned on the sink and rubbed away the makeup on her face.
"I'll have a few of my men back you guys up as well. They are more than qualified."
"But...I never lead an army before, what do I do?" Marona asked.
Twilight looked at the small filly and smiled.
"I can do it for you, Marona."
"You can?" She said with increased hope.
"My queen, is it wise to hand over that power to a stranger?" The guard asked with concern.
"If I were you I wouldn't reject help, soldier. You are fighting an enemy you don't even know the face of. I have looked their leader eye to eye, I know what he's capable of. You, on the other hoof, are disposable and mean nothing. It would be unwise to reject my help." Twilight said with slight anger."
She quickly smiled at the filly and patted her head.
"I can command your army, but under one condition."
"And that is?" Marona asked with a smile.
"I want complete control…"
Several days later.
"What do you mean, 'progress is slow!" Flash Sentry yelled into telephone.
"The resistance in the north is more organized than we originally thought. We had the numbers, but they seemed to counter our every move. We've lost far to many ponies to continue so we had to fall back and regroup."
"And just what are you going to tell Death Fire? What am I suppose to tell him?! That you got your flanks whipped and are now coming home with your tails between your legs!"
"Commander Sentry...forgive us, please. We underestimated them, it will not happen again."
"Oh I know it won't happen again, Death Fire will be sure of that!"
Sentry slammed the phone down and opened the hatch door behind him. The cramped hallway could be compared to that of a submarine as he slowly squeezed through the small doors. He eventually reached the command deck, spotting Death Fire proudly standing in the middle of the room with his "acquired" royal robes.
"Sentry...did I summon your presence?" Death Fire asked in his usual dark tone.
Sentry quickly kneeled, lowing his head and hoping it would stay on his neck.
"I-I-I'm sorry my lord...it's just that our forces in the north have been pushed back temporarily."
"By whom?" The dark pony asked, continuing to stare at a large city in the distance.
"From what i've heard, Twilight is the one commanding the forces."
Death Fire's ears twitched at the sound of her name before Flash continued.
"But...I thought she was dead, sire...how could she-
"The cold has gotten to their heads, Sentry. What they have seen or heard will for now on be hallucinations and are, hence, useless."
"Then how do we explain the losses of-
"Do not ask questions, only obey with a simple statement, is that clear?"
"Yes, sire."
"Now rise and focus on the matter at hoof."
Sentry got up to all fours and stared out the window towards the city. There, on the horizon, was the capital city of Zevera, the last remaining city in Zebrafrica to fall.
"We have the city surrounded, but their chief has not replied to our warnings in any way. What is it about their undeveloped race that makes them want to keep fighting? I have shown them the might of my army and the power I possess, why do they persist in a losing battle?"
"Have you allowed any zebras from previous settlements to reach the city?"
"I have allowed plenty to escape, the rest that weren't so fortunate to die in battle have been shipped to Equestria for slave work. They have no excuse to not know who I am now."
"I have an idea, and if it fails, you will have 'no choice' but to annihilate every peasant that walks within Zevera's walls."
"You have three hours...do what you wish. When they are up, and no message has come, they will all die without mercy."
"You have my word."
Flash left the command deck and walked down to the prison room. He came to the third cell and opened the door, reaching in and grabbing the prisoner inside.
"You are coming with me!" Flash yelled, grabbing Zecora by the slave collar they forced around her neck.
Not to long afterward, the hatch for the large command vehicle was opened and Zecora was thrown out into the snow.
"You are free, slave." Flash said, taking out a knife and cutting off the collar and mussel put on Zecora. "Now go to your chief and tell him he has three hours to respond to our messages, or he and everyone there will be wiped out from the face of the earth.
Zecora remained silent, looking up to Flash and then turning her gaze.
"You still do not understand. Nothing you do will make me betray my motherland."
"You stupid & #, I gave you an order! Do you not want to be free?!"
Zecora got up and started to walk away, only turning her head back to say one last thing.
"You used to be a pony filled with kindness, now you are nothing but wickedness."
"Like I care."
Flash closed the hatch door, angrily walking away to wait for the three hours to pass
"Three...two...one...times up." Flash said, looking at the clock on his wrist. "Still no response."
"Have I not made it clear to them yet?! What more can I say to get them to understand?!" Death Fire said with aggression.
"You have made it clear to them, sire. They were the foolish ones to not heed your warning."
"Prepare the army for battle." Death Fire ordered. "For we will spill their blood like wine by the days end."
Death Fire put on his royal robe and walked down with Flash to the transports exit. Flash opened the hatch, allowing the chilly winter wind and snow to rush inside before the two walked out into the open.
"Tell Shining Armor and the other captains to load up the troops, I will inform the stallions on what to do."
Flash nodded and ran off, leaving the tyrant alone. He slowly walked before the soldiers and motioned them into position with a simple sway of his hoof.
"These worthless creatures have pissed me off for the last time and for that they will pay dearly. I've waited long enough for a simple reply from them, a simple response. Have I not made it clear to them?! I gave them a choice to fight or surrender, to drop their weapons and or die like animals. So what have they done? Absolutely nothing! Just sweet…%#&!( silence for over five hours!
So here is my new request for you, stallions. For each head you bring me, I will give you ANYTHING you desire! Food, weapons, money, mares, whatever the #& # you want! In exchange, I want you to completely obliterate everything you see before you! Decimate their homes, burn their crops, rape their wives and female abominations, I don't care what you do. Just make sure you leave no one-
"Death Fire! Enough!" Trixie shouted over him, walking down from the transport's stairs.
"Who let you out of your cage, whorse?!" Death Fire barked.
"By cage you mean your bed chamber?" Trixie remarked. "And that's not what you called me last night anyways."
All the stallions started to either snicker or get distracted until Death Fire slammed his hoof down, scaring all the soldiers back into formation.
"You are only proving my point, witch. What do you want?"
"For you to stop. You already hav-
"You really just love to talk don't you? I have heard your pleas and I don't care about you or anyone else. Your voice means nothing anymore in my empire, and I intend to keep it that way."
Trixie stood and glared at Death Fire calmly, trying not to feed him more hatred. The dark tyrant turned back to the city and raised his hoof.
"They took too long to decide...so now they will pay for their arrogance!" Death Fire said, firing a huge ball of light into the air with his hoof. "Destroy them."
The entire army raised up their rifles and began to fire what looked like bright, glowing lights into the city. The sounds of mortars and cannons could be heard as the army held nothing back in their onslaught. Death Fire, under the deafening sounds of gunfire and mortar shots, turned back to look at Trixie. To his surprise though, Trixie seemed emotionless, almost uncaring. Had she given up or was she just tired of trying. Either way, Death Fire didn't like it.
Five minutes of constant bombardment passed until the order to stop was given.
"Take anything that's left and kill the survivors. Leave nothing behind." Death Fire ordered.
The army broke off from position, confident there was nothing to be worried about, and slowly walked towards the remnants of the city. Death Fire on the other hand, walked back to Trixie with an angry glare.
"Why are you not angry or depressed?! I just wiped out an entire city of innocents and decimated their entire country against your will. You never have acted like this before...so...tell me...what are you hiding?"
"Only what you are to blind to see."
Meanwhile in the city, the soldiers searched and searched for anything that could have survived the attack. They found nothing. No bodies, no weapons, no food or supplies, everything was gone. The only thing they found was a note, scorched by fire, that stated the message, "Where the world ends."