Chapter 4

The Dire Wolves Massacre

*****

Not even five minutes in, and the Dire Wolves had already laid waste to the cottage that held the animals from Fluttershy's clinic along with many of the buildings in the town that had crumbled to the strength of the increasing numbers of the savage enemies. The same animals had thankfully been evacuated before becoming lunch to the monsters, but a few citizens had fallen to the savage might of the creatures. This did not bode well for Sterling, who had assessed the situation to the Royal Guard.

"Alright, boys and girls! The only way to efficiently and effectively kill these monsters is to smash, slash, stab or thrust your weapons on the head to put them down for good! And I am giving you all the authority to kill on sight! I repeat: Kill on sight! These Dire Wolves will not hesitate to do the same to all of you, so take down the enemy with your lives! FOR PONYVILLE!!!" he shouted to the men who gave out a holler from his orders. Within moments, the Royal Guard had taken their weapons and readied them to begin putting down the beasts one by one. But even with the help of the Guard, it was still not enough.

Sterling had then summoned one of the weapons from within his card pack and began to fire a few magic bolts against the wolves that were still on the rampage. And as each of the creatures had been slain, Sterling would see the guards destroy a few more as he continued his part of the defense. And as he put down a few other wolves that went into his path, the Captain had looked around the area.

The destruction and blood, along with the scent of the fires, the broken wood and glass, and even the gore that permeated the air had given him a real reason to make him want to kneel down and stick his palms to the ground. He also heard the same screams that echoed in his mind as he had not wanted to remember what had happened in High Trotter City. All of the burned bodies, the blood running faster than water, the pain, sweat, tears and other fluids painting the metropolis-type city. But more than that, he was flashing back to when he saw the first twisted faces of both soldiers and citizens that scarred him for life.

All in all, he was traumatized by the war that he had fought in for longer than fourteen years in his memory....

But now.... he had taken another look at the same scene in front of his waking eyes to see that the same carnage was being delayed with nearly all of the townspeople doing their part. But even as a small smile crawled up on his face, he knew that the demand for the supplies needed for the repairs was going to be too much for even the people of Town Hall to add up to the expenses from how many times the town had been through a great battle.

The streets had become dusted and stained with the blood of the people who had died from the contact via Dire Wolf. The former bearers of the Elements of Harmony had also listened in on how to dispatch the enemy and began to effectively use their magic to wipe out every member of the pack that was in their way. But even their magic as a weapon was still not enough to help the town. And even as Sterling kept killing all of the wolves in his sight, it seemed as if more kept coming for more. The heroes were nearly in a die-die situation with how hopeless it felt. But Sterling was not going to allow his town to fall. But even if it did, he would go down taking as many of his enemies with him.

“Rarity, I hope you don't have a big line-up for winter,” Sterling smirked as he killed a few of the monsters that were closing in on his friends. When he heard the nearest wolf yelp before being lobbed off, he could only count one other loss for the enemy side.

“Oh? And why, dear Sterling, is that?”, Rarity asked him as she too obliterated a few of the wolves with some of her magic dispersing from the shape of an arrow.

“Because that's not the kind of pelt that you'll want for even a blanket to warm yourself up with,” Sterling replied with a shot from his magic when yet another of the creatures lunged forward to only meet their death.

“And I know that all too well, as does Fluttershy here,” she pointed out to the veterinarian who had somehow gotten the courage to lob off the heads of the creatures coming for her with a short sword that she had picked up from the ground before.

"Oh! I certainly hope that we won't have to keep on fighting! I'm feeling a bit faint just from thinking about it," Fluttershy squealed as the black slime had stained a bit of her face.

"Come on, everyone! The Wonderbolts should be here within a few moments! They'll know how to fight them off when they get the message! Until then, the people are depending on us!" Rainbow rallied to her friends as she carried a thunder cloud to step on it before it sent off a lightning bolt that fried a few of the packs into oblivion.

"These meany pants are no fun! And I don't like it when there is no fun in this town," Pinkie spoke up as she also used her trademark party cannon to blast the wolves with its crushing force against the monsters.

"C'mon girls! Let's get this done and over with!" Applejack suggested as she kicked the head of one of the wolves that leapt towards them. The resulting force from the kick sent a few of the pack members flying back.

"Sterling! We'll help out better if we divide and conquer! It'll be a lot better if we do that," Twilight shouted as she flourished a magic arrow through a few of the wolves.

"Then do it, Princess! And see if you can get some volunteers to help us out! We need to hold them off until the proper reinforcements arrive!" Sterling commanded with his authority in the battlefield.

"You got it!" the Elements shouted as they left to go off to different directions.

"ALRIGHT, YOU OVERGROWN FUR COATS!! IT'S TIME TO TURN YOU INTO CARPETS, AS I SHOW YOU HOW I AM KNOWN AS 'THE SILVER BULLET!!!'" he yelled at the packs after summoning a long sword that he once used to dispose of the undead legions in the many continents that made the world of Equius. And after the rifle transformed into the blade, he swung it around just enough to know it was still in the best shape.

The first wolf to lunge into its attack had its head lobbed off from his sword. The jet-black slime that made up its blood had stained his body and face, along with the blade. And as the other wolves surrounded him, his abilities had been put to the test as the wolves, one by one, had taken a leap towards their intended prey, only to be killed with a swift motion of his blade.

But while he was successful with his defenses, a few of the wolves' limbs and fangs had penetrated his skin from his armored clothing. This in turn made him bleed out a small river of blood as sharp bits of pain had entered his membrane while the black slime of the Dire Wolf Blood had entered the soldiers veins. But the adrenaline within him had overtaken his pain, and thus he was able to kill even more of the abominations that wanted him and the civilians dead.

But as his attackers had lost another dozen, both he and the wolves had then heard the unnatural sound of an unknown creature from the Everfree Forest. But this howl was deeper in its octave. And as it was heard, the other creatures had fled in fear. Naturally, Sterling would have relished in the victory of having taken care of more than ten dozen wolves with the help of his friends, the Royal Guard and the town folk. But his victory was short lived.

Within seconds, a pair of creatures had lunged from the forest and landed on top of the cottage, thus destroying the roof of the cottage as the damage had then collapsed the rubble into the interior of the house. It was just as Sterling had feared, but not as much as the dark Magicians that summoned the undead legions from before. This was just a few degrees more.... fun.

A large pair of Alpha male Dire Wolves had snarled their jaws with the black slime that made their drool. This had raised Sterling's adrenaline by a higher length. 'Flight' was not even in his mind. He would do what he could in order to protect both the town and its citizens. But as the creatures drew nearer, he laughed loudly with a sadist smile that made even his allies fear him for a little bit.

"AAAHH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HHAAAAAH! NOW THE FUN HAS BEEN DOUBLED!!! he proclaimed as his stance had taken the offensive. "BRING YOUR PRETTY FACES TO MY SWORD, FOUL BEASTS!!!" he shouted out his taunt to the monsters. And this had become another epic battle for him to fight in. The first of the creatures had then lunged swiftly towards him. As the creature had then drew nearer, Sterling had summoned a flaming spell that had engulfed his blade as he made a defensive stance. And with a slight chuckle, he said: "Bad move, ugly!"

With a planned move, his blade had then penetrated the chest of the first creature and set the creature aflame. And with his blade within the heart, he ran with his blade, slicing through the whole body in a swift move as if a knife was cutting through butter. And as the very large denizen had howled in its pain, the body was then immolated into ashes and dust. This move had wiped out the monster within a few seconds.

"Whaddya say, number two? Wanna get some?" he growled at the other as his flaming blade had shined out towards it. The wolf had then swiped its long paw against him. "Again: Bad move, dipshit!" he growled once again as his weapon had cut against the limb, setting the whole paw on fire. And with another move, his speed had taken a silvery ethereal blaze around the wolf. And as the flames, after slicing through the wood of the creature, had been put out from the man's weapon, the last creature had then been put through the same punishment. And as the body had then thumped to the ground in ashes and dust, he sensed another presence within the forest. But this new presence... was still in the Everfree Forest.

"No time for idling by! Best get to the source!" he grumbled as he stepped towards the crumbled house. As his steps had then circled around the house, Sterling decided to venture into the same setting that was known for its many dangers. But before he could even make his move, he heard another sound that was very familiar to him. "That.... that can't be!", he shook his head as he stepped away from the broken house towards the river.

And sure enough, his suspicions had been confirmed: a larger dragon with onyx-black scales on its body had descended to where the man was. And seven other soldiers climbed off the drake's back, allowing Sterling to see the people who came down to see the damage. The soldiers had consisted of two Equestrians, a Viking, a Hippogriff, a Leo-Gar Highlander, a Stirrupean, a Dragon & a Chameleon (a Changeling-Equestrian hybrid, to be exact).

"I see that you are just as good with animals as you are with people, young Caliber," the dragon laughed along with the Viking. It was not too far off to know that the others soon joined the laughter. Sterling did not respond to their titter, having only been frozen at the sight that he beheld before him.

"Fixer.... Odin-Cloak.... Quinn.... Faith.... Grizzly.... Baltic.... Axe.... and Clawshield," he recited their names in disbelief from the tags on them. "I... I thought you all died at the Zanzebra 27th Mountain Base! You're all supposed to be dead! I saw your corpses on that Tirek-damned base!", he shouted from his lungs, feeling the gravity take over his ability to walk as his legs were pulled down to the ground.

"What you saw was Baltic's best work in deception against the enemy. And it seems that it worked too well on you too, Captain! That's what you get when you have a Chameleon on our side," Fixer lightly chuckled to the young man who was kneeling before them.

"Seems that you've just learned that one valuable lesson once again. Right, Captain?", Onyx acknowledged Sterling with a smile. If it were not for the fact that the former Elements of Harmony were standing just twenty yards away from him, Sterling could only look to see the confusion on their faces. There was no point in hiding his identity from the former Element bearers any longer. And not just from the Princess who had just given a raised eyebrow to him.

Sterling had then been given his reality check: the same unit that he had acknowledged in front of him also knew very well how to deceive their enemies into thinking that they were all dead. Both they, and himself, had all learned that same lesson from the very same everlasting spirit known as Elitus Regium, the first Prime Royal Elite from eons before.

"That's correct, Royal Elites! Lothokriin, vhaszadarrou Equus... sahnahvv-adarraagcht!", he spoke to them in the ancient Alicornian militant vow that was known well to the Princesses, excluding Twilight.

"Sahnahvv-taraahkuu, vhasza-chatakarrou.... Equus dhuvhacht Faustia!" the unit shouted back to him in the discipline that he knew that he could take pride in having drilled into them.

The girls could only stare in awe of the scene that took place before them. But as they saw the militia group up for a short reunion, both the Elites and the Elements had heard the scream of another citizen from the town. It seems the Dire Wolves were not done yet with their ruinous campaign.

"Royal Elites, the time for our reunion will have to wait! These are my orders to you," he shouted to his soldiers, who stood at attention from his command. "Welcome to Ponyville, soldiers! This is where the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, both live in! The Dire Wolves are still rampaging the village, killing both the citizens and the Royal Guards. Now: Grizzly! Quinn! Odin-Cloak! You three take the east and northeast sides of the village! The hospital is in need of your help with getting the wounded into the vicinity of the hospital. If you see any of those monsters in your way, smash them to pieces!" he ordered the Viking, the Stirrupean and the Hippogriff, who both saluted him in compliance. "Faith! Baltic! Axe! The three of you take the town square, the Sweet Apple Acres farm, and the Town Hall! And while you're at it, use your powers and knowledge to stop the Guards from making any mistakes! So get to it, soldiers!" The same three had then taken off to their designated marks, obeying his command. "And finally.... Fixer! Onyx! Protect the Elements and the Princess! And while you're doing that, make sure that they all know about us! From the eons to right now!" he ordered the final two soldiers.

"And what are you going to do, Captain Caliber?", Onyx spoke up, hoping to get a quick answer from his young superior.

"I have it on a hunch that the noise that I heard from the Everfree Forest, before I heard your roaring, had come from a malevolent spirit that is possessing some poor soul. So I intend.... to save that innocent person, or else it will be High Trotter City all over again," he nodded to his Lieutenant with a firm look.

"Good luck, Captain," Fixer saluted Sterling with a spark in his eye.

"Oh fuck off and save the town, you dick-less Titan!" Sterling moaned with a growl as he sped off to the source where the Dire Wolves came from, leaving the dragon and the Equestrian to laugh heartily at his remark. But their laughter was cut off as Twilight grasped Fixer's battle vest to get his attention.

"Okay, so.... what the heck is going on around here? Royal Elites? High Trotter City? Dire Wolves? Somebody better talk to me!" Twilight ordered them angrily as she had never felt more out of the loop than anyone that she ever encountered. She was beginning to feel unneeded as the thought of Princess Celestia not telling her about these things was a sign that she was no longer wanted by her friends and former mentor.

"The both of us better start at the beginning, but we need to escort all of you to the castle while you learn the history of our dedicated unit," Fixer spoke to the Princess and her friends, while Onyx transformed into his dragon state.

"Let's ride to the castle now!" Onyx suggested to them all. The only compliance that the girls could utilize was to climb aboard Onyx's back before he took off from the ground and flew off to the castle. But as the dragon circled around the town as his fireballs had been shot towards the lupine monsters, Fixer had begun to speak the history of the Royal Elites to the passengers.

And this conversation was going to be a long one, indeed. Far into the Everfree Forest, Sterling Caliber had felt the poison of the Dire Wolves seeping more into his veins. But he would not allow the source of the creature summoning to go without being severely punished by him.

"I've.... got.... to.... destroy.... the evil.... ghost!," he shouted in between pants as he followed the green-glowing aura to where his target would more than likely have taken residence in. And he had hoped, more than the preservation of his own life, that the one who had been possessed would be saved....

.....

Meanwhile, deep within the Everfree Forest, Leviathan had chuckled evilly as he smelled the scent of sweat and blood getting closer to where he intended to see the action from his spot just a block away from the man who was in a rush.

"Yes, Captain Caliber.... yyyeeeesssssss.... save the Zebrican if you can, but you will truly die from the poison within your body. The blackened poison of the Dire Wolves will soon reach to your heart and reverse the blood flow of your ticker. I was hoping that I would be the one to kill you. But, oh well... I can always kill those closest to you..." he chuckled before disappearing into the background of the dark forest.

.....

Within a few minutes, his guided steps had taken him into where a tree hut had been set by a person that lived there for a while. But the same person of interest, as he had sensed from before, was not the true cause. He broke into the hut with a kick on the door and saw that a Zebrican female shaman, from his quick observation, was being possessed by an evil spirit that had caused the evil creatures to come around the cottage to attack the village. The scent of the same denizens had marked the place, causing him to nearly vomit from the pungency of the rotten smell. He knelt before the woman who was flinching and seizing out from the spirit possessing her and had started to yell out to her.

"Madam! Don't worry! I'm here to exorcise the spirit that has now possessed you!" he shouted out with his fear starting to climb into his heart.

"No need to kill me, you ignorant and insignificant piece of scum!" the spirit called out with a sneer.

"Oh but there is, you malevolent denizen!" And with a card pulled out from his pack, he looked to the evil ghost as he sneered back. "This will be the end of you, demon of Tartarus!" he growled to it. "Now..." he whispered with a breath to clear his mind.

"No. No! NO! NNNOOOOO!!!", the demon screamed as it saw the spell that the Captain was about to cast.

"With the power vested in me, by the grace of the Lady Faust, I cast this evil spirit back to the circles of Tartarus! For we are strong in the power of the holy light!" he chanted to the demon, who had shrieked an ungodly scream. With no words or time wasted, he slapped the card to the shaman woman's chest. And as the bright light of the spell had become brighter, the demon within the woman had shrieked its last words:

"Beware, Silver Bullet!! The True King of the Brutes has risen from the confines of Tartarus itself to take back the world that is rightfully his!! SO IT SHALL BE DDOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNE!!!"

And as the last of the malevolent denizen had been destroyed with a small explosion, Sterling then snickered and said:

"And when I see him, he's next!" he whispered as his body had then found a couch to rest himself on. The powers that he had activated, as he already knew, had suddenly taken their toll as his world had then become as black as night.

"Good sir.... are you injured?" a deep, soft voice could be heard before the entire world was now just as unconscious to him as the poison from his enemy had nearly reached his heart. It would be just a moment before all of the pain would finally leave him.... and perhaps, after having done his deed.... he could finally see his parents in the Heavens.

.....

Within the same hut, the Royal Elites had seen their Captain flail around as the poison of their enemy had begun to make him pale up. The Princess Twilight and her friends were also able to see that the same new neighbor was failing to open his eyes.

"We need to get him to the hospital, along with the other wounded soldiers and civilians! Make haste," Fixer ordered his soldiers.

"Yes, sir!" they shouted.

"Oh, no! Sterling!"

.....

"Sterling...."

"Sterling...."

.....

(Beep. Beep. Beep...)

(To Be Continued.....)

*****