Chapter 20: The Tomb
"Are you ready?" Sombra asked. "There is no turning back from this; no second chances, no giving up after this. It's life or death now."
"I know. He died in pain, in acting out of the pain. And she was rewarded with ending his life, making him look like the bad pony. This should have never have happened." Delta replied, looking among the past kings and queens of Equestria. "She needs to be stopped. She should have saw this coming and acted on it, but instead she let him suffer in pain." He slowly shook his head.
It's been a week since Beta was destroyed by Celestia. Since then, Delta has created his own army from the victims of the bullied, other mutants, and those spared by Beta himself. He was inside a cave, outside of Ponyville in the EverFree plains.
"We know what Celestia has done to Beta. We saw what she did, how she betrayed him and then put all the blame on him. Are you sure you want to do this?" Sombra replied.
"I am."
"This will hurt." Sombra replied as he transformed into a ball of light and flew into Delta's chest. The other past kings and queens did the same, and soon hundreds of balls of light were hurtling themselves at Delta's chest, creating their bond with his soul. If Delta died, they would still be with him when he was reborn or if he bonded with another pony.
"It is done." Delta said his eyes now green and his hair black-turning-green.
"Sir, we are ready." Said a pony from outside the cave.
"How many do we have?" Delta replied as he walked out of the cave with the other pony, another mutant.
"Over 500, Sir. Most are older than you but not by a lot. Some are 13 while others are 15 and 20 years old. Most don't know how to use magic or fly, let alone have the courage to take another life." They were now in Ponyville. Ponies on Delta's left and right began to pour out and follow behind Delta, some carrying backpacks and others pulling carts full of boxes. "150 out of the 500 are carrying rations and medical supplies, Sir. With rations and medical supplies, we would last a week at least." He added.
"Don't call me sir. The name is Delta."
"This will be a complete slaughter for us, Delta" The mutant replied, shaking his head.
Delta stopped and turned around. He looked among the hundreds of ponies and looked beyond them. Around them, building were still burning, smoke filled the air from Beta's recent rampage. "I know that most if not all of you think this will be a slaughter. To be honest, it probably will be." He said aloud, addressing everypony. "We are not like Beta. We are not as nearly strong as him or as powerful as him. But he was a victim, like every one of you. He was a Mutant, an earth pony who could use magic, like almost every one of you. But he was one pony; just one who decided enough was enough and decided to take matters into his own hoofs. And take a look around you, witness what he accomplished. If only ONE PONY could do all this," Delta said as he stood up on his hind legs and spread out his front hoofs. "If only one pony could do this, imagine what an army of over 500 ponies could do." He sighed as he landed on his front hoofs, back on all fours now. "We are all told that we are different from birth. The Cutie Mark we gain when we find what we are meant to do, our special talent, defines and proves that fact. So why are we being treated differently when we are all ponies, just with different talents than most."
Delta looked behind him and stared at the castle, still aflame from its recent battle. He turned and looked back at his army. Most were just in their teens, but mutants and victims of bullying, they wanted revenge. "I…cannot guarantee that anyone of you will survive. I know for a fact that I won't. If you want to leave, leave now. Run from this place for it will be hell when it's over." He turned around and started walking towards the castle, easily a day's walk. "Let's go."
"You decided to start without me?" said a voice behind him, landing beside him and joining the Fight was Princess Chrysalis; the changeling.
"I thought you changed your mind, old friend." Delta replied chuckling. "You left in such a hurry after I told you about my plan that I thought you ran off."
"You really think I would pass up this opportunity?" She said with a grin. "My legs and wings are fine, though the transformation sucked like hell."
Delta frowned. Last year Celestia released an insecticide that was supposed to kill off all insects that would destroy future harvests. However, whoever was working on it was not told that it would be used on edible crops. Unicorns, Alicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies were affected, turning them into an insect/pony like figure. The sugar used in the Insecticide replaced the sugar molecules in their DNA, creating numerous amounts of mutations. Their wings became thin and transparent. Horns became twisted and curved. Their legs, not used to this type of sugar in the DNA, became riddled with holes. Their skin turned black, and their eyes turned blue. However, because of this specific sugar used, they could shape shift. They could imitate any pony they have seen, including humans if they ever seen one, creating the Changeling.
With the ability to shape shift into pony/human, Crime rates skyrocketed as numerous amounts of Changelings abused this new ability of theirs. As a result of this, Celestia banned all Changelings out of Ponyville, Manehatten and Canterlot.
"My parents would love to be here but they have their own kingdom to run now." Chrysalis replied with a frown.
"Well, time to gain revenge." Delta replied as he galloped towards the Canterlot. "We have a day's travel ahead of us."
"Yes we do." Chrysalis said as she looked ahead.
The two snickered as the Changelings joined forces with the mutants as they walked towards the castle.
After 12 hours of walking and flying, the two armies camped out for the night before a forest. Fires were placed every few 20 yards away from each other and 40 yards away from the trees. The stars filled the night sky, giving the ponies and changelings something to stare at and calm down before nodding off.
Delta watched his army 50 yards away from them within the forest for a few minutes before turning around and walking away to scout ahead.
"You are aware that this will be a slaughter, are you not?" said a voice behind him.
Delta looked around to see that no pony was near him. He then realized who spoke. "I am aware of that, Sombra. But there is no other choice."
"There is always a choice."
"Not in these times. I tremble to imagine what would happen next if we don't fight against Celestia." He replied as he hopped over a fallen log. The air smelled of rotten wood and decomposing plants. It was mossy and dark. A glowing orb flew out of his chest, Sombra, and flew in front of him, acting as a light source.
"There is always a choice." Sombra repeated. "Who is the Changeling?" He asked, changing subject.
"Her name is Princess Chrysalis. An old friend of mine."
"What happened?"
Delta looked at the trees around him. Cedar and oak trees surrounded him; their branches and leaves dampening noise from outside, leaving him in absolute silence. Once in a while, he could hear the skittering of a squirrel climbing up the trees, an owl hooting in the distance or the sound of the trees swaying ever so slightly in the wind.
He shook his head. "Celestia released an insecticide that had a horrible side effect to whoever ate the crops that it was sprayed on." He stopped suddenly and listened as his voice was absorbed in the forest. It gave him an odd but familiar feeling of awareness and isolation at once. "Enough of me, what about you?"
"What do you mean?" Sombra asked.
"You have been with me for as long as I could remember, helping me and showing me things that others would not have noticed. But I do not know who you actually were, why you continue to help me, or what happened to you." Delta explained as he ducked and weaved through the labyrinth of fallen trees and vines.
"I was a former King of the Crystal Kingdom, a place beyond the mountains. I ruled there. I was loved by my people and by the visitors that came there to meet me. Unlike normal Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes, I was a social Unicorn." Sombra explained as he glided in front of Delta. "Watch out for that hole in front of the tree."
Delta jumped over the tree and passed the hole hiding on the other side. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. As I was saying, I was more social than other ponies of royalty. Instead of staying inside the castle and sending servants out to buy food, I, myself, would go out into the market and buy food. I would normally overpay the price, giving farmers extra money to help themselves. I would visit the schools, often playing with the foals and fillies during their recces. Although there was a tax that was to be paid ever week, I made sure to lower it during bad harvests and raise it when there was too much money." Sombra continued. "We had an army, a strong army. I taught the Generals myself. I made sure that each guard was doing well in school and knew how to heal themselves and others. When other kingdoms were in peril, I would send parts of my own personal army to aid the kingdoms, filled with Medical supplies and rations. I would even send bits to the kings and queens, helping them rebuild their economy."
He said, glowing brighter than before. Squirrels and Owls began to follow the orb, aware of whom it was. Some squirrels climbed upon Delta's back and rode on his back listening to the Old King talk. They were now in a flat section of the forest.
"I was a close friend to the King and Queen of Canterlot and Ponyville. I would often send messages and gifts to them. During our best harvests, they, along with Canterlot and Ponyville would visit us and stay there for a few weeks. Games, Festivals, Events, Bonfires, and so much more were held when they visited." He chuckled.
"What happened?" Delta asked, ducking under a fallen log.
The orb slowly halted and began to glow faint. The mood swiftly changed as Sombra remembered his fall, sending the owls and squirrels to the trees. "As like everything that is alive, it dies. The king and queen died due to a sever fever, leaving 19 year old Princess Celestia in charge." Sombra halted.
"What's wrong?"
"Celestia, back then, was a troubled mare. Although she was given the job to raise and lower the sun, she was born with extremely short temper. Nowadays, she has learned to control it, but back then, she was just learning how to control it. She could be sent into a furious rage if something did not go according to who she exactly wanted it. I went to visit her myself, one day, and had jokingly insulted her."
"What did you say?"
"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight."
"You called her fat? Really?" Delta replied, moving forward. The orb continued to fly in front of him.
"Yeah. Now that I look at what I did, it was really mean. But I did not try to be mean. Her mother was a cake fanatic and was aware of her weight, but would usually send insults in a joking way back at me."
"Like what?"
""I think those screams that the fillies and foals yell have sent your brain to bedlam."" He recalled.
"So she called you insane?"
"In a joking matter yes. Sadly, her daughter never learned about it."
"What did she do?"
"She sent an assassin after me, and in the end, the Assassin succeeded."
"Oh."
"Death by poison."
Delta frowned as he looked around. He was nearing the edge of the forest. What he saw made his heart skip a beat and made Sombra fly back into Delta.
About 200 hundred yards away from the forest lay an army of guards. Hundreds of tents and fires lay scattered across the land. His attention changed as he heard a branch crack behind him.
"Oh shit…" said a female voice to his right.
Delta looked around to see Chrysalis beside him. Her black skin camouflaged her in the dark. He saw movement behind himself out of the corner of his eye and realized what he saw; behind him stood his and her army, all hiding within the cover of the forest. Noticing that their leader was gone, they decided to pack up and enter the forest.
"We don't have enough." She admitted, her eyes glued on the tents. "We can't fight this. There isn't a way we can win."
Delta looked at her and back at the tents. His mind raced as he thought of the options. Blindly running straight at them would have the element of surprise but would not last very long. Surrounding them wouldn't work either for if reinforcements came along, they would slaughter the thin line of ponies. He realized he didn't prepare for this at all. He didn't prepare for anything. Delta was outnumbered 5:1. Delta looked at Chrysalis. Her skin had camouflaged her in the darkness, if it wasn't for the moon light, he wouldn't know where…
"That's it…" Delta whispered to himself.
"What is?"
"We use the cover of the dark, lure them into the forest one by one and kill them here. Hide the bodies and lure more." Delta explained. The other ponies heard and began to spread out, hiding in bushes, behind fallen logs, and trees. Some changelings flew up into the canopy of the trees to get a view of their surroundings while others blending into the darkness. In 20 minutes, the forest looked bare, with only 2 ponies still out in the open.
"What should I do?" Chrysalis asked.
"Do what you must, stay safe and stay alive; fight to live another day." Delta replied.
She took to the skies. "I'll be watching."
Delta took a deep breath and watched the tents. "I could use some help right now."
A glowing orb flew out of his chest and floated beside him. "Close your eyes." Sombra's voice announced. Delta closed his eyes. The orb shined brightly for a few seconds before disappearing, catching the eyes of a few guards. Delta retreated into the darkness, watching as 5 guards cautiously enter the forest, their spears sweeping the area for any signs of the bright light that they saw.
Sombra appeared for a split second in the view of guards, running to their left, and then vanishing.
They walked past Delta, without noticing him hiding behind a tree. One guard, a unicorn, was in gold-plated armor while the 4 where in silver-plated.
"The officer." He whispered to himself. He looked to his right and saw a changeling hiding behind another tree. Getting his attention by waving his hoof in the air, he pointed towards the office and placed the tip of his hoof in front of his mouth, before slowly making his way towards the guard. The changeling nodded and followed, stalking them silently.
The guards, oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked, that they were prey, continue to walk deeper into the forest. Nearly blind in the dark, the officer lit up his horn, shining light everywhere. Once he did, he wished he hadn't. They were surrounded by ponies and changelings, their eyes seemingly glowing in the dark as they reflected the light. They froze as they realized they had no way out.
Delta, literally standing behind the officer, reached over him, grabbing his mouth and clamping it shut in a deft move with his left hoof. With his right hoof, he grabbed the Officer's horn and, with a sharp and swift yank, torn the horn off.
The officer screamed in agony, muffled by Delta's hoof forcing his mouth shut. The other four guards looked at Delta, their spears aimed at him. Delta turned and watched as Sombra appeared behind them, and killed them, silently, with 4 white bolts of magic.
"Draw them here, kill them silently." Sombra said after hiding the bodies. 5 changelings put on the armor and shifted into the 5 guards they had killed. "You know what to do." He said, nodding to the guards. They grinned and nodded back, grabbing the fallen spears and walking back out into the open.
As the rest of the ponies got back into their original places, Delta and Sombra walked back to the edge of the forest. Sombra stopped as he reached the end. "You are aware of what this means right?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the tents, watching the guards return.
Delta looked up at Sombra.
"What you will start now will be blamed all on Beta. He will be blamed for all the casualties of this war. This war will not exist and Celestia will place it all on Beta."
Delta returned his gaze on the tents. The changelings have perfectly blended in within the others and split up, causing havoc. He watched as smoke rose from the camp as fires burned down the tents, and flashes of light from guards attacking others.
"This battle will not exist."
In the background, thousands of black dots filled the skies. Chrysalis landed beside Delta, grinning. "I did not come without back up." She said as she watched thousands of changelings black out the moon light. "My parents decided they wanted to help as much as they could." The Princess continued. "So they sent 2/3 of their army to come and join the fight."
Delta looked up and watched the appeared and landed in the camp, aiding with their brothers and sisters against the enemy. "I do not want them killing ANY civilians." Delta told Chrysalis. "Only kill those that are armed or pose a significant threat. Do you understand?"
Chrysalis looked at Delta. "I understand, and they do too."
"Everything that happens here will be blamed on Beta." Sombra said, turning his attention to Delta.
"Everything will be blamed on him."
Delta opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the hospital. Alpha's left wing had, subconsciously, covered Charlie and Delta and brought them closer to him. He slowly shifted around and fell back asleep.
"So, you are the reason why I am blamed for so many deaths." Beta said, softly.
"How do you know that?" Delta replied, shocked, looking around. It was dark, he wasn't in the hospital anymore. "Where am I?"
"Calm down Delta. It's Beta. We are in your mind." He said, walking from the darkness. "You were shaking and crying in your sleep. I woke up Alpha and he saw what you and Charlie were doing. He placed his wing around you to give you two some comfort and fell back asleep."
"Did it work?"
"After a while, you and Charlie stopped crying and slept peacefully. I did not know that when the wing touched you, my mind would connect with yours. I was in your dream. I watched what you did." Beta's face reddened. "I appreciate your concern and you willingness to get revenge for my death and for what Celestia has done." He said as he walked around Delta. His skin was white, his hair black-turning-green and his eyes glowed a light green.
"You do realize you invaded my mind right? You pretty much mind-raped me!"
"I did not mind-rape you. If I wanted to mind-rape you," Beta said, his eyes glowing dark red. "I would have already done it already, and you would be on the ground, twitching as your mind collapsed." He paused. "And it's considered dream watching. Luna does it all the time, actually. She is the guardian of dreams for colts and fillies."
Delta stared at Beta. "To be honest, I thought you were much different."
"How so?"
"I thought you protected those who were bullied or discriminated. I fought and died for a pony who stood up against all odds, who killed those who hated him and went against the only pony who actually had any power to stop it." Delta replied.
Beta clenched his jaw, staring at Delta. "I did kill those who hated me and bully me. I did go against all odds and tried to end the only one who had any power at stopping it but who chose not to." He unclenched his jaw and closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "It's all in the past now. I am here to help Alpha."
"Why him?"
"I bonded with him when he was being tortured, having his right wing literally burned off with his own welding torch at the Rainbow Factory. He reminded me of myself when I was alive, a week before my "accident.""
Beta instantly vanished, leaving Delta looking off into the distance.
Alpha slowly came to his senses and growled in pain. He looked to his left to see his wing covering Charlie and Delta. His right wing, still in its metal brace, extended itself again.
"I have no idea why that happens." He admitted as he shut his eyes and grimaced as pain shot through his body. Slowly getting up, Alpha placed his blanket in his bag and closed it. He placed it beside the door, then slowly walked outside into the hall. Outside of the room, he began to walk around for no reason but to calm his mind. "So, what did you learn?"
"More about my past and after my death; nothing useful to us."
"Well," Alpha replied as he looked back towards his room, "I'm going to stay near Charlie for a while."
"Why?"
"Kind of like him. I understand the depression he is going through but have no idea why he wanted to stay at the factory."
"Did not learn about that though. I did learn who Delta is."
Alpha walked into the lobby and went to the front desk. "Hello, are there any showers here?" He asked with a smile.
The nurse behind the desk looked up, saw Alpha, and nearly screamed in shock and horror. "D…down the h…hall and t..t.t.t..take a right, first door on your left." She stuttered.
He looked behind himself to see what she was looking at but saw nothing. "Thanks," Alpha replied as he walked down the hall.
"What the hell is her problem?" Beta asked when they walked into the showers. On his right was a sink with a mirror. Alpha walked over to the sink, standing on his hind legs and placing his front legs on the sink and looked up.
"That's why she reacted so badly." He said as he saw his appearance. His scar was open and bleeding. He had one black eye, several scratches across his face and 3 missing teeth. He tasted blood and spat. Blood splattered across the white sink. Swearing under his breath, Alpha turned on the faucet and washed the blood away. Making his way towards the showers, he looked around to find a place to store his wing so it wasn't stolen.
"It's dragon metal; it won't malfunction if it's submerged under water."
With a sigh, he walked into a cubicle and closed the door, locking it. Turning around, he placed his wing on the wall with the shower head and twisted the knobs. Warm water splashed onto his face and seemed to wash away not only the blood but the stress and pain. "What day is it?"
"The 5th."
"What month?" He asked, his eyes closed as he was memorized by the warm water cleaning the blood out of his coat.
"October."
Alpha froze, his eyes widening, the water still falling onto his face. He stood frozen for a full minute then, shaking his head, shook off the feeling.
"Why?"
"It's not important." Alpha replied as he turned off the shower and dried his mane and tail. He cleaned his left wing then, grabbing his brace, unlocked the door and left the cubicle. Outside stood several nurses and doctors, all standing, waiting for him. Alpha stared at the group, slowly placing his brace on. He saw movement behind him and knew it was too late to react. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and before everything went black, he heard Charlie scream in panic.
Alpha stirred as he woke up. He looked up and saw lights moving above him. He was on his back, for some reason. He moved his hoof to push his hair out of his eyes to realize he couldn't move it. He couldn't move at all. There were doctors on his right and left, pushing him. He was on a trolley.
"Hey! Let me go!" He said once he was fully awake, struggling.
"No can do, Alpha. We know what you did and now you will suffer the consequences for them." One of the doctors replied behind the facemask he had.
"This is your last chance. Let me go or all of you will die." Alpha replied, his mane and tail slowly turning red. 2 of the 5 doctors let go and stepped back. The other 3 just kept pushing, ignoring the colt's attempt to scare them off.
"Fine, your funeral." Beta replied as he took over. The doctor on his right, the one who replied to him looked at Beta with shock in his eyes.
Twilight turned the corner after getting up from a bed in the Mental Patient Ward room. She slowly shook her head to shake any confusion left and took a right only to see what she thought was a vision of hell. There was blood dripping from the ceiling and the remains of what looked like ponies on the side. Bones stuck out from the walls on the side and limbs on the ground, some still twitching as the muscles died from the lack of oxygen and blood. In the middle of all the death and blood, in the middle of the hallway was a trolley. Standing upon that trolley was Alpha, his mane and tail glowing in streaks of Red and Blue. His eyes were glowing as well. Left eye brown, right eye red. He jumped off the trolley, landing in the blood and walking towards twilight, ignoring his surroundings.
"You…You killed them." Twilight stuttered as she backed away from Alpha/Beta.
"We did, yes. Where is my wing?" Beta asked.
"It's…it's…in my office. Just don't hurt me. My crown is in there as well, you can have it too."
"We don't need nor want your stuff. We just need our wing back. Where is Charlie?"
"Who?"
"The colt who was sleeping beside us in the room."
"There was no other colt."
Beta sighed loudly. "Alpha doesn't want to hurt you. That doesn't mean I will. I will ask you one more time, where is Charlie?" He said.
"What will you do to me if I don't tell you?"
"I can assure you that you won't survive to tell any pony what I did."
Twilight's eyes widened in fear.
"Shall I give you a list of what I intend to do?"
She kept staring at him.
"Ripping off the horn, burning off your wings, cutting through your left hind leg with a butter knife…" He began to list off what he would do. "Shall I go on?"
She shook her head.
"Fine, then tell us were Charlie is."
"He…he isn't here anymore…"
"WHERE?"
"The doctors took him before I could talk to him. They said "You won't see him ever again."" Twilight said as she shook in fear.
"Thank you." Beta said as he turned around walked down the hallway. He took a right and walked into the office and nearly bumped into two guards checking the place over.
Easily destroying both, Alpha walked in between the dead figures, grabbed and slipped on his right and left wing braces. Flexing both wings he walked out of the room and walked to the lobby. "Remember me?" He said as he walked past the nurse at the desk. Walking into his room, he grabbed his bag and vanished in a bright light as Beta teleported himself away.
Appearing on the roof of the Hospital, Alpha and Beta looked for any signs of Charlie and Delta.
"You know, he could have been returned to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale."
"It's been two fucking days, Beta. I doubt they rebuilt the damn thing in two fucking days."
"And if they did?"
"They didn't." Alpha replied looking in the sky for any sign leading to where they took his friend to. He squinted and saw a carriage being pulled by two guards in the sky. The carriage was made out of wood; light and durable. Shaped as a square, the cell had two barred windows on each side, made of steel. The wheels were made of wood. Pulled by two guards, the carriage would be a hassle to break any pony out of.
Everything froze for Alpha for a nanosecond, and he knew why. He felt his adrenaline surge through his veins, giving his muscles a short burst of pure energy. He felt his heart speed up, allowing his body to consume more oxygen. His adrenaline mixed into his panic and rage giving him an instant rush of speed. His mind raced to absorb what was going on.
Twilight destroyed the door to the roof in an attempt to stop Alpha. She ran out towards him, several armed guards and doctors behind her. She saw him, standing at the edge of the roof and slowly made her way towards him, a floating syringe hiding behind her head. The needle was an inch away from Alpha's flank when he vanished. Twilight pulled her hoof away and looked around. She noticed the white colt disappearing, already a mile away from the hospital. Her eyes widened as she looked where he last was.
"Aw shit." She said as she braced herself, using her wings to cover her face.
There was a bright flash of red and blue as Alpha's sonic color boom detonated, its halo cutting through the hospital like a hot knife cuts through butter. Twilight stepped back just in time to watch as the edge of the ring slice through a guard behind her in two. She looked up and watched as Alpha flew towards the carriage.
As he got closer to the carriage, something seemed odd. It wasn't white as he thought it was. The guards had what looked like a purple variant of a normal guard's armor. The Carriage was purple, not white.
"Ah, Alpha." A guard said when he realized Alpha was flying towards him.
Alpha slowed to a halt, but did not speak.
"Prince- I mean Luna said you would follow us. Come, this way." The guard replied as he turned away from the Castle and towards the EverFree forest.
"Where is Charlie/Delta?" Alpha asked, landing on top of the carriage, riding it.
"In here." Delta replied within the carriage. "We are fine."
"Alpha," Charlie spoke. "Chill out, we are okay."
Alpha relaxed slowly. "Where are we going?" He asked the guard.
The carriage jerked down and to the right as they began to pick up speed as the entered the forest. "If I were you, sir, I'd get into the carriage."
"Why?!" Alpha replied, shifting his stance to gain more balance.
The carriage groaned as it was being jerked left and right, weaving through the branches and trees. The Guards grinned at each other and began to fly faster. "Sir, no time to explain, get into the carriage now." Beta instantly teleported themselves into the carriage.
"What the hell was that for?"
"They are Luna's guards. You can trust them." Beta replied.
The guards turned hard left and began to fly straight at a wall. Alpha looked out from the window on the side to see the cave he was living in 50 meters in front of them. "PULL UP! WE ARE GOING TO CRASH!"
"Pfft. He still doesn't know, does he?" The guard asked.
"Apparently not." Replied the other as they flew into the wall. Instead of crashing, they flew into the wall.
"It was a cover…" Alpha whispered.
The Mountain he was living in was hollow. The carriage landed, bumping violently as it met with the ground. When it finally stopped, the guards took of the harness and walked to the back, opening the doors and letting Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta out to look around. The place was huge. Lava holes were scattered, allowing warmth and heat to fill the mountain. It was dug out apparently, some time ago. Staircases littered the sides and balconies stuck out from the rock. Alpha looked to the side to see the two guards that brought them there taking off their armor and walking up one of the staircases to be welcomed by their squad before entering one of the doors.
"Home sweet home," Delta responded as he took a fresh breath in. "It's been a loooong time."
"Oh, there you two are." Luna said from above. She jumped from the balcony and landed in front of them. "I was beginning to wonder if you two would get here. I want to show you something, Alpha. Delta, you are welcome to look around."
"See you later, Alpha." Charlie said as he looked around and began to wander his way through the labyrinth of tunnels, doors, and staircases.
"What did you want to show me?" Alpha said, following Luna down a large hallway. Stone carvings of heads and words filled the walls. Torches were carved into the side of the wall, giving the orange light that forced the darkness to flee. They stopped at the end of the hallway and stood before a wall.
"What did you want to show me?" Alpha asked, looking around.
Luna nodded at the wall. Alpha looked closer and read the letters dug into the wall. He felt his heart stop, and felt Beta lower his head in shame.
"What now?"
"Now, we plan for the next battle against her.." Luna said, walking out of the hallway, Alpha following her.
As they left, Alpha stopped and looked behind at the wall behind him. He turned around and read what was written on the wall behind him one last time.
Here lay the remains of Beta.
"What a shitty birthday for me." Alpha said to himself as he left the tomb.
END OF PART I