Oh nose: It would seem as if I have been distracted by Team Fortress 2 and Guild Wars 2, thus putting me behind on the fanfic. I'm working on the next chapter as of now, but it looks like it's going to be a long one. I really don't want to go through another "chapter a month" faze so I will try...even though that hasn't worked before. Oh well...
Chapter 19 A: False Tranquility
Several weeks after the conquering of Zebrafica.
Briefing in the war room of Canterlot.
"It still makes no sense. How could they come up with an army so quickly?" Shining asked, observing the holographic map in the middle of the room.
"Desolent has always been quick on his hooves and very effective in combat, I will give him that." Flash Sentry complimented. "But this new threat, this Nightmare Twilight...where did she come from?"
"She came from the built up anger and pain that Twilight went through before she perished. Her battles with Nightmare, Discord, and the others must have rubbed off on her, giving her small doses of miasma. Which means she will be twice as powerful and twice as deadly than Twilight ever was." Death Fire stated.
"Sire, forgive me for asking, but Twilight is dead, right. How could this dark form of her still be around if the original is long gone?" Shining asked.
The other guards and commanders in the room started to converse with each other about the topic until they were silence by Death Fire's hoof.
"It is unknown why she remains alive, but she is here no of the less and she must be put down. Flash, present your ideas to your fellow colleagues."
Flash Sentry reached over and grabbed what looked like a remote control.
"With pleasure, sire." He said with a confident smile. "As we know, Desolent, leader of the Undead Supremacy, and Nightmare Twilight, leader of the Nightmare Dominion have been a thorn on our side for over a month now. Twilight has taken almost all of the north while Desolent has taken most of the east, using the fallen bodies of our soldiers as fuel and manpower for their own armies so-
"Get to the point, Sentry, tell us something we don't know." Death Fire interrupted.
"So tell me, how do we cut down our losses, still be as threatening, and prevent the other two forces from getting more ponies? With a simple replacement of outdated technology." Flash said, pressing the button on the remote.
A door opened behind Flash, revealing a black stallion with a bright orange mane and tail. The stallion walked forward and opened his eyes, showing off it's glowing orange color to the group in the room.
"Is that what I think it is?" Death Fire asked.
"Welcome to a new age of warfare...I present to you, the first ever created pony A.I."
Death Fire, for once in his life, could hardly contain himself.
"How did you even make this?" He asked in amazement.
"With the help of the cloning project Shining Armor is working on, we have developed a way to mass produce pony machines and give them, real, organic skin to disguise them for infiltration...or intimidation. The model you see now is for the later, a standard unit among the battlefield but twice as effective as our standard soldiers. In short, we can create soldiers ten times faster than normal ponies, make our army fives times as effective, and take no losses. They don't need food, payment, or sleep. They act on one order alone...kill all that oppose our empire."
"Who is the pony you are basing the machines off of. Surely you picked a pony with a reputation for fitting the part."
"We have, Sire. The pony known as Big Machintosh was so kind as to 'volunteer' for the cloning. They grow three times as fast as normal ponies and once they are ready, we harvest their soulless bodies for their skins. That way we don't have to capture ponies from nearby and force them to 'volunteer as tribute."
"This is preposterous!" A fellow commanding officer yelled. "We worked hard to get an army of over three million, battle hardened, soldiers for your use my lord. Now they are all suddenly obsolete from battle?"
"Lots of bits: earned, stolen, and counterfeited, have been put in into the creation of our army. You can't expect us to do it all over again. We just don't have the fundings!" Another officer added.
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order." Flash said, looking at the two opposing officers. "If you would be so kind, sire." He said, looking to Death Fire.
"We shall see who is the better soldier. You have thirty minutes to prepare."
The time came and went as both the officers and Flash Sentry prepared to defend their right on the battlefield. The two opposing competitors meet up in the training complex outside in the main courtyard, waiting for Death Fire to arrive. Once he did, the rules were set out. Fight until their opponent is defeated.
"One machine vs. one stallion. The machine is armed with a standard disintegrator rifle while the stallion is armed with a standard laser rifle. Are there any questions."
"No, more like a challenge." Flash said, turning to the officers. "Do you really believe one soldier can take on my machine. You are only sending your soldier through a suicide mission. For this to be fair, you would need at least ten of your best soldiers to even stand a chance."
"You doubt the ability of your own army?" Death Fire asked.
"No...but even they are no match for this."
"You seem to overconfident but I shall put you up on your challenge. Your creation will fight ten new recruits instead of ten experienced soldiers. There is no point in wasting the lives of those who have already proven themselves."
"Fine then, ten soldiers it is!" The officer yelled, blowing into a whistle.
Ten guards, just as ordered, marched out in a line and stood before the emotionless machine pony.
"Why have we been summoned, my lord?" One of the guards asked, saluting Death Fire.
"The pony before you has defied my orders, kill him." Death Fire ordered.
The guards turned to the stallion with vicious intent, reaching for their weapons on their backs. Before they could draw them though, the mechanical creation had already blasted away three of the ten guards. The remaining seven rolled to the side to evade the incoming fire, but two more were already vaporised into ash. When the guards aimed down their sites, three more had vanished from existence. As the remaining two pulled down on the trigger to fire, another guard was vaporized, leaving the last guard to fire everything he had into the machine. The emotionless creation simply stood there, taking all the shots as if to mock the guard with his superiority, and pointed his destructive rifle at the guards face. The lazers from the guards rifle tore through the flesh of the machine, but it could feel no pain, no anger, no sadness, no emotion at all as the thing approached the guard. The rifle overheated, leaving the guard helpless as he looked up into the machines, glowing eyes.
"Only Equine." The machine whispered, allowing the disintegrator touch the guards muzzle.
"Stand down." Death Fire ordered. "I think Flash's point has been made and I give him permission to continue his project."
"But sire, you can't just neglect you ar-
"I have made my decision, and I suggest you respect it...officer."
Death Fire walked down until he was face to face with the machine, ignoring the shaking guard to the side that was just spared.
"You are the first of many to come and that makes you special in my eyes. And through you we will expand and conquer, leaving none left alive. Do not fail me."
The machine stood emotionless and gave no response.
"Don't bother with him, my king. He's not programed for intelligence or self awareness. Just programmed to be obedient." Flash stated.
"Then keep it that way, I don't want another rebellion forming. As for you two officers, be gone, I have nothing left to discuss with you."
The two officers gave Flash a dark look before departing into the barracks nearby. Flash would later accuse them of treason and framed with plans of assassination, forcing them to be executed without being told why and without a proper trial.
"Flash, escort me to the med bay."
Stardancer laid on the floor drunk in a large, colorful hallway fully of fillies and colts. This was the area Dark Fire placed the small ponies for safety from the outside despite some of them being related to his previous enemies. With Death Fire in charge, the section and it's inhabitants were neglected and forgotten except for a few guards that knew how to cook.
"And then…*hick*...she asked me about cheese wheels. *Hick*...what is cheese wheels anyways...some kind of *hick* gun or knifffffff…"
Stardancer, laying on her back, waved a large bottle of rum around in the air as Sweetie Belle poked her side while her two friends watched.
"Ummm, mrs Stardancer...I was wondering…"
"What are you drinking?" Scootaloo blurted out.
Stardancer sat up and looked at the three fillies, struggling to look straight at them.
"Pure magic…" She said, suddenly belching loudly and falling back down on the floor roughly.
"Can I have some?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Hey, I was just about to ask that!" Scootaloo yelled.
"Well I asked first!"
"But you two don't even know what is is." Applebloom informed.
"Yeah, but look at her, look how happy she looks." Scootaloo pointed out.
Stardancer's had a huge blush and eyes were half closed, babbling out random words with a huge smile.
"That's what I'm worryin' about. Dontcha remember when my sister had her friends over and Rainbow drank Big Mac's special cider. She was acting just like this and my sister told me to not drink it."
"Your sister isn't here now though." Scootaloo said.
"But she said not to drink it."
"What could it possibly do?"
While the two friends disputed this, Sweetie Belle grabbed the bottle from Starancer and took a sip out of curiosity. She quickly spat it out and regretted her decision.
"That tasted horrible!" She shouted.
"What? Let me try." Scootaloo said, snatching the bottle.
Scootaloo drank it a bit slower then Sweetie Belle and felt the same disgust her friend did, but she didn't spit it out abruptly. She swallowed the liquid but felt a bit sick afterwards.
"Why would anyone drink this if it tastes that bad?" Scootaloo asked.
"I told you not to drink it." Applebloom remarked.
"Well me and Sweetie Belle tried it, now you have to."
"I told you I wasn't going to drink it."
"Oh come on Applebloom, it's not going to kill you."
"I told you no."
"Well I dare you to do it."
"What! You can't do that to me."
"Oh yeah, well I double dare you to."
Sweetie Belle looked back and forth between the two fillies, not knowing what to do as other fillies and colts gathered around to watch.
"I ummm, I still won't-
"I triple dog dare you to." Scootaloo finished.
Now she was stuck. If she backed down everyone would laugh at her. If she drank it, her morals and conscious would make her feel guilty about it and she would be going against her sister. She stood there for several seconds before taking the bottle and drinking a bit of it before the crowd.
"It...it was ok I guess."
"What are you blank flanks doing?" Diamond Tiara asked, standing proudly in the middle of the room with Silver Spoon.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still mean as always, but not as bad as they used to be. After almost having her dad taken away and being stipped away from the luxuries of both of their homes, they learned to appreciate things around her….sort of. Only thing off was that neither parents of both fillies had visited them in over a months time. What they didn't know was that Death Fire erased all distractions from their parents mind, forcing them to forget about their previous lives and loved ones. This included their children and any memories of them, meaning they don't even know they exist.
"Nothing much." Sweetie Belle replied.
"Why do you care anyways." Scootaloo added.
"Look around you, there's nothing to do here." Diamond pointed out.
"We've been bored for so long, it's almost painful." Silver Spoon said, yawning shortly after.
"And pickin' on us is gonna help?" Applebloom asked.
"We never picked on you."
"We just simply pointed out the obvious." Diamond snickered.
Two the fillies started laughing and did that butt dance they normally do...whatever they call it.
"I'll give you two something to laugh at in a minute." Scootaloo said.
"What are you going to do, flap your wings and fly?"
"Why you little-
"Hey, what is this?" Silver Spoon asked, yanking the rum bottle from Applebloom.
"Don't drink that!" Applebloom warned.
"Why not, you trying to hide something? Diamond asked, grabbing the bottle. "Well it's mine now."
The moment she took a drink she had the urge to spit it out all over the floor, but she wasn't about to let these three fillies have fun or become a laughing stalk. So, with great will power, she drank the entire thing.
"Diamond...are you ok?" Silver Spoon asked.
The pink filly blinked several times before looking right at her friend.
"Hey...why are there three of you?" She asked in a slurred tone.
"What are you-
"Hey, give that back!" Stardancer demanded, stumbling towards the fillies. "Didn't your parents tell you not to take things?"
She grabbed the bottle and tried to drink it, but there was nothing left, leaving Stardancer in a very confused state.
"Why is the rum gone?" She asked, looking at Diamond Tiara.
"What, I didn't do anything…" The filly said, stumbling around.
"You!" Stardancer yelled, looking at Silver Spoon. "Why is the rum gone?"
"They did it." She said, pointing at Applebloom and her friends.
"Hold on now, we were just trying it out." Scootaloo said.
"You were so happy and we wanted to know why." Sweetie Belle added.
Stardancer looked at the two of them and was still confused as ever.
"But why is the rum gone?!"
"Well ummm...we sort of...drank it." Applebloom mumbled.
"WHAT!" Stardancer yelled, grabbing Applebloom and shaking her around. "WHY DID YOU DRINK IT ALL, I WANTED TO DRINK IT! WHY I SHOULD-
"Stardancer, you are needed immediately in the lobby room." The intercom on her wrist informed.
"What, on whose orders."
"Who do you think?"
Stritin, Eccentric, Castigate and Maneful walked down the hallways slowly, refusing to even acknowledge the ponies around them. They had looks of regret, sadness, and remorse until Maneful spoke up.
"Do you think Ammisive will live?"
"It's hard to tell, the back of his neck was completely severed." Eccentric informed.
"What have they done to him…" Castigate whispered.
"What Death Fire has created must be stopped no matter what happens to us. Our lives will only be tools for him if we continue to live this lie." Stritin added.
"One thing is for sure...if Ammisive lives, he will be completely changed and Death Fire knows this more than anyone." Castigate said, looking right at Maneful.
"Then we must stop it before it happens. We have to put an end to this nightmare." Maneful spoke.
"He will never change, he is the most powerful threat Equestria has ever faced, and we sat there and watched it happen." Stritin said.
"But Dark Fire told Nightmare Moon that no matter what he did, he would still love us." Eccentric stated.
"We can't save him though, not when Twilight is dead." Castigate added.
"The element of magic has fallen along with our home...so there is nothing left to lose." Stritin said, looking down with sorrow.
"Then we have no other choice." Eccentric spoke.
"When the clock strikes twelve midnight...we put an end to this." Castigate informed.
"And restore Equestria once and for all." Maneful concluded.
The four ponies opened the door into the lobby room where Death Fire, Sila, and Trixie stood. Trixie looked just as bad as they were, understanding their pain just as they knew her's. Cila, on the other hand, was a different story. The door on the other side of the group flew open as Stardancer stumbled in.
"Are you seriously drunk again?" Death Fire barked. "I don't pay you to be incompetent."
"I'm not in the mood for your pep talks again. I have a serious headache right now."
"Why do I keep you around" Death Fire whispered. "Stand next to Sila and act formal."
"What for?"
"We have some guests."
The doors to the palace opened, allowing a huge group of gryphons to walk in slowly and stand before Death Fire. The gold colored gryphon that stood in the middle unfolded a scroll, allowing it to role on the floor until it was stopped by Death Fire's hoof.
"I assume you know why we are here." The gryphon asked.
"To establish a treaty with our empire for protection against a common foe that had plagued your nation. Yes, I am aware, general Ulfar. Tell me, how is King Thoren VII holding up?"
"Don't play us for fools, Dark Fire, we know exactly what you have done recently."
"Oh, is that so?" Death Fire said with a mocking tone. "I'm sure our negotiations for peace will go nicely however."
"My lord...may I talk to you for a moment in private?" Sila asked almost in aggression.
Death Fire gave her a dark look before quickly controlling his anger.
"Very well, I have scheduled our meeting to take place in the dining room. My…friends...will show you the way there." He said, looking towards the elements.
Stritin stepped forward.
"If you would follow us we will show you the way."
The four diselements left down another hallway as the gryphons followed. Sila quickly took Death Fire and lead him down the opposite hallway, leaving Trixie and Stardancer alone.
"Well, this was completely worthless." Stardancer said, walking away until blue magic held her in place.
"Where do you think you're going?" Trixie asked.
"My room to sleep. Why do you care."
A huge bag of bits landed before Stardancer, instantly drawing her attention.
"I need your help from this point on. Death Fire is planning something horrible and I want to know what. Do this for me and I will pay you way more then Dark Fire ever did. If he asks you to talk about this or anything that might frame me as a traitor, then I will pay double what he offers. Do you understand?"
"Whatever, as long as I'm paid."
Stardancer sighed, stretching as she yawned out of boredom.
"Now listen close because I will only say this once…"
Stritin, the other three elements, and the gryphons continued towards the dining room. There was a large line of Death Fire's guards leading up to the door, all standing still like statues carved out of stone. The halls were dimly lit by candles and the moonlight shining through the windows on their left. The city of Canterlot shining brightly in the distance like the city of New York, but all that glitters is not gold.
"You were fools to come here, Ulfar. Times of peace are over." Stritin said to the gryphon.
"I was given orders by king Thoren to come here and seek help. Our nation-
"Your nation will only find perel here. Are you blind to what has been happening? The ruler that was Dark Fire is gone."
"Then who is the one that sits on the throne?"
"A demon that seeks the destruction of everything he sees."
"What you are saying is treason you know."
"I don't care what you say or what he says, what you are about to do will cost you everything your race has worked for. Even if he offers peace, you will soon find out that it is riddled with lies and false promises. You will be signing your own death warrant."
"But we have been under attack for weeks now, barely surviving each time. We are almost out of food and supplies. Your master is the only one that can save us."
"Then it is already too late."
The doors opened to the dining room, allowing the light inside to fill the dark hall. The diselements stopped and motioned the gryphons to walk inside. The gryphons took their seats and quickly forgot their manners by eating everything they saw on the table. Meanwhile, Death Fire's guards were watching from a distance, drooling at the sight of food. They probably haven't eaten in days.
"Maneful, grab the scraps of food the gryphons drop on the floor and give them to the guards. It's the least we can do." Stritin said, observing the scene.
"Stitin, it looks like meat though...almost all of it is in fact. How can the guards eat that?" Eccentric asked.
"It will have to do." Maneful said, darting under the table and appearing back in several seconds.
"You use magic?" Stritin asked.
"No, I used fairy dust…" Maneful remarked with sarcasm as she held at least five pounds of meat in her hooves. "I hope this helps."
Castigate continued to look at the table and the gryphons, feeling very odd.
'The looks in their eyes are strange and their faces show signs of surprise, almost like this is completely new to them.' Castigate thought. 'I'm sure hunting is allowed in the Gryphon kingdom, but still. They act like they have never eaten this kind of meat before.'
"Castigate, what are you thinking about?" Stitin asked.
Castigate remained silent before turning to them.
"I think we should go, there's nothing we can do here...and leave the meat behind."
"What about the guards?" Maneful asked.
"If I'm right about this, eating food will be the least of their worries. It is about eleven at night...we have one hour to prepare."
Several minutes later
"But what's with all the peace nonsense, I thought you wanted world domination." Sila said in aggravation.
"I will not spoil the surprise, just make sure your soldiers are in position to make the switch. We will soon have these gryphons under our control in no time."
"How are you going to do that with all the cameras?"
"They will broadcast to every city in Equestria, and they will see...they will all see why I am forced to fight. Hehehehahahahaha!"
Death Fire faded away in black smoke, leaving Sila with an echo of his evil laugh.
"I hate it when he does that."
Good, he want's you to.
"...**** off narrator."
Fine, i'll just cut to a different scene.
"DON'T YOU DA-
The gryphons waited for at least an hour, getting impatient and losing their civil training they took several minutes to learn before they came. The only thing that made them stay was the constant food that continued to come in. Within a flash of darkness, Death Fire appeared in the chair reserved for him with his hind-hooves propped up on the table.
"This meeting shall be recorded for future references. Now, shall we begin."
Ulfar stood up and read the peace treaty from the scroll he held.
"We, the Gryphon kingdom, need your help. We have been under siege and attack for over weeks now and we are running out of food and resources to keep our country together. Both spirits and undead forces from the depths of hell itself have returned to life and are now at war with us. We need the help of Equestria in order for us to survive. Lord Fire, it has come to our attention that you do indeed have possession of resources and supplies we can use. We humbly request if we may borrow these resources so we can defend ourselves. We also ask for your soldiers to defend us while we recover from these supernatural attacks. The fate of our kingdom is in your hooves, please help us."
Ulfar later discussed the situation and conditions to the treaty itself. He also stated what Death Fire would receive in return in exchange for the help. Unfortunately for them, Death Fire was ignoring every word. Instead, he was casually eating the meat off of some large ribs.
"Yeah...it tastes just like I remember…"
"Lord Fire...what do you mean?" Ulfar asked.
"Nothing, continue your message."
Death Fire continued to eat and "Listen" as the gryphon continued. He needed to wait just a little bit longer. He didn't mind however, because after all, who knew his disobedient servants tasted so good…
"These are our terms, now the only thing left is for you to sign this document."
Ulfar put the pen down before Death Fire.
"I will need time to think about this. You are free to walk around and do what you need to do. You have five minutes." Death Fire said, getting up and looking at the cameras and nodding.
The cameras turned off, meaning that everyone watching was about to endure five minutes of commercials to endure. But it also meant they were clueless to what was about to happen. Death Fire walked to the back of the dining room and entered a doorway. Once he was deep inside the room to where no one could see him, he summoned Sila.
"Are your changelings of hatred ready?"
Sila chuckled to herself at his question.
"They are twice as powerful as Chrysalis' soldiers. They will get the job done."
"Then commence with the plan."
Sila appeared in a room full of changelings, all glowing red instead of green to represent their hive.
"You know what to do."
Sila vanished in a flash of red magic, leaving the changelings alone. They stretched and morphed into the gryphons they had seen outside, ready to make the switch.
"Kill the ones we take...they are worthless anyways."
"Like you are any different." A voice said from above.
The changelings looked up just in time to see a huge ball of green, ghost like fog, fly down and hit the ground. The ball cracked and shot out into the changelings mouths, turning their eyes into a dim green color. They stood perfectly still as Ammisive dropped down and looked around at his newly corrupted servants.
"Continue with your plan, but when it's finished you will attack Dark Fire. Now get out of my sight." He ordered.
The door opened and the changelings walked out. Ammisive slowly walked out into the hall and looked into the dim light of candle fire.
"Oh Death Fire...no matter what you do I am always one step ahead. No matter how powerful you have become I will always be stronger. You are just a fading light in the dark...soon to be snuffed out. "
Ammisive walked away from the candle light, casting a strange shadow that didn't represent him at all. It instead represented the shadow of none other than Desolent.
'There are several powers at work here, pulling strings in the dark just like I have. But who are they? Death Fire seems to be doing his part, but what of the others I am sensing? No matter, they will soon be dealt with. Everyone meets their end eventually.'
The five minutes that were given to them had passed and the gryphons returned into the room. All of the gryphons were switched with changelings except Ulfar, who was completely clueless of the situation. Then again, Death Fire was unaware that the changelings were now working for Desolent. He was also unaware that the elements of disharmony had taken positions in the room to assassinate him. In short, no one was ready for what was about to happen.
"We may now recommence with our meeting. General, the papers if you may." Death Fire said, holding out his hoof.
Ulfar got up and walked over to Death Fire slowly, holding the scroll. However, even he could tell something was off. Once he placed the scroll in the tyrants hoof, Death Fire levitated a pen and placed it on the paper. The cameras around him were once again turned on as everyone watched with anxiety.
"Let it be known on this day that I, lord and king of Equestria, accept your offer of peace. From now on, the Gryphon kingdom and the United Equestrian Empire will put aside their differences and become allies."
Death Fire then slowly looked up and put the pen down before even writing a single letter. He gazed directly into Ulfar's eyes as his horn continued to glow.
"That is, of course, if you agree to MY terms and conditions."
Ulfar suddenly took on a look of shock before the lights suddenly went out along with the power to anything throughout the castle. Death Fire's guards looked around confused as the gryphons did the same.
"What are you talking about?" Ulfar asked.
"Well now that the cameras are offline I can say anything I want, not that it prevented me from saying anything before." The dark king said with a smirk. "First of all, I am Death Fire, not that weakling Dark Fire. Unlike him, I will actually get things done. Unfortunately for you, I'm not so kind or generous as he was. You promised me many things like gold, silver, thing of material value. I don't care for that, what I want is power and your land. So I will make this simple for your bird sized brain of yours. Give me your land without opposition and I will not slaughter your race like I did with the zebras."
Ulfar gazed him dead in the eyes, becoming angered.
"I will never give you my home, no matter what you do to me!" He shouted, slamming his talons on the table.
"Oh but that's where you're wrong. You see, you're the deciding factor of annihilation or preservation, what you do next will decide the fate of your land forever. Walk away and ensure your end, or surrender and ensure your survival. Either way…I win."
"You're sick…" Ulfar stated under his breath.
"Decide your fate or I will chose for you, and you wont like what I chose." Death Fire said, licking his lips hungrily at the gryphon. "And before I do, is it true that gryphons taste like chicken."
Ulfar continued to look at Death Fire until he slowly gazed to the table, finally realising what the mysterious meat was that his own soldiers ate. Becoming completely enraged, the gryphon picked up a large steak knife and tackled Death Fire to the floor.
"YOU MONSTER!"
"Oh don't be angry, I eat my own kind all the time. It grows on you after a while. Hahahaha!"
Before Ulfar could stab Death Fire, he was suddenly paralyzed, freezing him in a pose that indicated he was about to strike.
"This was easier than I thought it would, and it's all because of you. Once the power is reactivated, all of Equestria will see your kind as murderous savages and they will beg me to invade your land with full support. And once I have control of your land, there will be no other race to stop me, and I will rule the world forever!"
As Death Fire started to laugh, he saw to the corner of his eye a laser pointer aimed right at his head. His laugh was quickly silenced as he teleported quickly, avoiding the laser blast that would have taken off his head. He appeared on the table and flared out his wings.
"COWARD, COME AND FACE ME!"
The elements of disharmony emerged the four corners of the room, looking directly at the tyrant.
"What...you guys? What do you think you're doing!" Death Fire yelled.
"Why don't you take a guess!" Maneful shouted, aiming a large light rifle at Death Fire and firing.
Death Fire though none of it as he stuck his hoof out to deflect it, but when it made contact, his hoof suddenly exploded in a bright ball of light, forcing Death Fire to scream out in pain.
"Where...did you get that?!" Death Fire whispered in rage as he reformed his hoof.
"You don't remember, do you?" Eccentric asked calmly.
"It's the same spell Celestia used on Nightmare Moon to prove she was made of miasma back when you put her on trial." Castigate informed.
"In other words…" Stritin added.
"The only way to finally kill you!" They all yelled, firing all at once.
Death Fire quickly formed a defensive shield around him in panic, blocking the bright beams of light from hitting him.
"FOOLS, I AM NOT PURE MIASMA LIKE THAT FOOL, NIGHTMARE!" Death Fire yelled before turning to the gryphons. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, ATTACK NOW!" He ordered.
They simply looked at the scene before them and remained emotionless as Desolent jumped down from the ceiling undisguised.
"Impressive, you managed to turn everyone against you." Desolent mocked. "Now it's time to wrap things up. Finish him off!" Desolent commanded to the gryphons.
The gryhons quickly glowed with green and yellow magic before their wings extended and fired huge beams right at the tyrant. The elements we're both stunned and relieved that things were going their way, but they didn't want their chance to go to waste. They doubled the efforts as Death Fire continued to shield himself from the blasts.
"GUARDS, DO SOMETHING!" Death Fire ordered.
"What's the matter?" One of the guards replied.
"Is the great king in need of help?" Another added.
"How amusing."
"Here you are, all talk and no bite."
"Powerless to defend himself."
All the guards chuckled together, sounding exactly like Twilight as they lost their color and turned into black, smoke like looking ponies.
"Consider this revenge for trying to destroy me!"
The "guards" joined in by firing blackish purple beams of smog like magic into Death Fire's shield. At this point anything could happen but Death Fire wasn't ready to accept what seemed like his fate.
'This isn't happening! This isn't happening!' He thought to himself in panic. 'ME, defeated by MY elements, a rejected student, and….a mare?' He thought in disbelief.
Death Fire's veins started to emerge from underneath his fur as his anger boiled within himself, causing a red like smoke to emerge from his body.
'A MARE….A STUPID, PURPLE MARE….DEFEATED ME?!'
He exploded with energy in complete rage and violence that it was a surprise that everyone in the room didn't disintegrate from the heat. Everything around Death Fire slammed against the walls so hard that anyone not trained properly got their internal organs flattened like a pancake or suffered a fatal concussion. Those that were trained were simply knocked out painfully except Desolent, who was standing proudly before Death Fire, slowly clapping his hooves.
"Still as angry as ever are we...hahahaha...you're like a spoiled child." Desolent remarked.
"And you must be Desolent. Can't say I'm impressed." A seductive voice answered before the guards on the floor turned to smoke and converged on the other end of the table.
Within seconds, a dark mare was formed wearing what looked like vampire cape colored dark purple instead or traditional red.
"You like my outfit, I think it fits me quite well." The mare said, brushing her mane to the side.
"Nightmare Twilight...I should have known." Death Fire said with anger.
"Oh don't act all calm now. I read what was going on in your mind, I must say I'm amused."
"You have to be kidding me…" Desolent whispered. "Now there's two of them!" He yelled, slamming his hooves onto the table, forcing it to collapse.
"I expected much from you Dusty so let me state this once. I am nothing like that fool you despise so much, in fact, I am the darkness you tried to release within her heart. My name has already been stated by sir hot head over here, so you may call me Ntwi."
"I care not what you are called, you represent the mare I swore to destroy, so give me a reason why I should end you now." Desolent scoffed.
"Because I'm the only mare in this little trio of yours, a mare that can think I might add. Stallions with too much power tend to become babbling idiots. Just look a Sombra if you don't believe me."
"Or you could just be a feminist egg head that has no knowledge of war or battle." Desolent retorted. "Thus by talking, you have wasted my-
"If you would let me finish instead of throwing in your opinion then we might actually get somewhere!" Ntwi yelled, losing her control over her emotions before quickly correcting herself.
"You have talked long enough! PREPARE TO-
"Desolent! Shut the &*# up will you!" Death Fire yelled. "You have a brain in the head right, well use it for once!"
Death Fire was slightly surprised that Desolent listened to him, absorbing his hatred for him the the process. However, that wasn't the reason he wanted him to be silent.
"As I was saying, a three way conflict between us at this time would be pointless. No one would win. We do, however, have a common enemy. Celestia and her friends are still running around somewhere, probably trying to find a way to take us down. So why don't we take them out first."
"Are you suggesting we work together?!" Desolent asked in disgust. "I will never work for-
"Desolent, silence...she might be on to something." Death Fire said.
"Think about it from a historical perspective. Each time someone rose up against Celestia they almost prevailed. Luck and their knowledge of magic seemed to have saved them each time. Death Fire might have "killed" Twilight, but what prevents her return, what prevents Celestia from finding another element, what prevents your elements of disharmony from turning against you?" She said, looking at the unconscious element bearers. "Absolutely nothing!"
"Go on." Death Fire said, intrigued.
"I say we make a temporary alliance, put the war against our factions on hold, and focus completely on Celestia and her followers. With our combined armies, we will be the most powerful force in the entire world and she will have no where run."
"But I desire the Gryphon Kingdom, I planed to take it over before you two even showed up and ruined it all. Both of you have attacked it before in an attempt to claim it for yourself, so what prevents you from taking it behind my back."
"Simple, I do not want that land anymore and I don't think Desolent does either. You can have your land, but you will honor my proposal. Leave my controlled territory alone as well as Desolent's and we will do the same. Once Celestia is dealt with permanently we can resume our conflict. The sooner she is put down the better for everyone. We will soon have our revenge. Do we have a deal?"
"I accept." Death Fire answered.
Desolent hesitated to answer but soon gave in out of better reasoning.
"I accept as well."
"Then let this be the beginning of a new era."