Cursed Fire
Chapter 1: Bullet One, Step One - To Walk Again: The Summoning (Edited...Again)
Load Full Story Next ChapterWhen the Astral Clock chimes seven thrice...
When the Mirror is touched by the Shadow...
The Burning World and The Dead World shall begin the Meld...
The Remnants will come with fire and the Old Poison...
And The Dead Ones will bring madness, ruin, and despair...
Equus will broil with War, and call for it's Unyielding Knight.
The day had started so calmly, at first. Normally, even for those in Ponyville. But with the ear rending gongs that sounded out across the world, shaking the heavens themselves and leaving those few pegasi on clouds stumbling, came something not even the eldest among the world's inhabitants ever dreamed of.
A war...
...On a global scale.
First came the quakes. Each tremor, each shudder of the earth, wracked the world to it's core and sundered carefully made cities and precious landmarks like paper mache constructs. Hundreds of thousands died, and before any sort of response could come from authorities, the tears and wounds in the earth resealed violently, crushing those who had fallen prey to the earthly shudders.
Second came the storms. Howlers of wind and speed, hurricanes and lightning, ripping up long secured foundations and flash frying or ripping apart many unfortunate souls in both the air and on the ground. Houses, town halls, malls and markets were all tossed about like the sky was playing roughly with the new toys she had found lying about.
And finally, the Gates opened. Creatures, beasts, and monsters alike spewed forth from black voids in the air, some standing back up and looking around in confusion, but so many others going into fits of blind, instinctual rampages. Many a horror consumed the flesh of Equus' inhabitants, as well as the flesh of their fellow invaders. Many even lost their very souls.
But the bloodshed did not stop.
Pony, Minotaur, Changeling, Griffon, Zebra, and Dragon alike all died by the score. All that they could do was flee, or fight. Many who fought died, and a despairingly scarce few survived unscathed. Those who fled went underground, or scampered off into the wilds with tails between their legs.
Equus, and it's many countries and peoples...
...Had fallen.
The clip clopping of hooves on cracked tile echoed throughout the musty tunnel. A quintet of alicorns walked the worn, shadowed tunnel, colorful eyes seeming to be the only light in the tunnel save the dim, flickering torches. No words passed between them all, their gazes fixed on the path ahead.
Eventually, one saw fit to speak her mind. "Aunties, are you..." Flurry paused and her ears went flat to her skull. "...Are you sure this will work...?" She asked in a hushed tone, as if worried the walls had ears of their own.
"It will, sweetie," Cadance assured, wrapping a wing about her daughter's withers. She pecked her cheek, then reiterated, "It will."
"We spent weeks studying the spell and it's intricacies. I'm sure we all have it down by now," Twilight chipped in, sending a smile to her niece as well as a wink. "Just have faith, okay?"
The young pink mare managed a small smile and nuzzled into her mother's side. "Thanks, mom, Auntie..." Cadance nuzzled her daughter back.
"Anytime," Twilight replied, keeping her own smile and answering for both herself and her sister-in-law.
"We're here," Luna announced, and the five stopped at a set of large, ancient stone doors engraved with countless runes, matrices, and magical symbols of protection. The faces of the alicorns hardened, and Celestia pushed the doors open with a resounding grinding of archaic hinges.
What stretched out before the five mares was a sprawling, open chamber with a floor absolutely covered with all manner of magical symbols and writings, all in the shape of a circle in the center of a hexadecagon. The symbols and writings grew progressively more ornate and detailed the further they moved to the circle in the center, where sixteen candles lay adjacent to each side of the hexadecagon, and with a final, black wax idol in the center of the circle. Five smaller circles lay inside the larger circle, with candles ringed around them that matched the colors of the five alicorn's coats.
Countless guards ringed the room, ready and waiting to pounce. The alicorns stayed at the entrance for a scant few seconds, before trotting towards their respectively color coded circles. Cadance patted her daughter's back before going to hers, and Flurry slowly made her way towards her own, her hooves feeling like lead as she did so. Once each alicorn was in their circle, they exchanged looks with one another, and soon after lit their horns.
The guards tensed up as the sisters all spoke as one.
"We Ageless Five hearken to the Sixteen Ancients. Commune with us, commune with your world again, and hearken to our call," Sweat lined their brows as the glow in their collective horns remained as they spoke these words over and over for five minutes straight. Finally, their horns brightened to blinding levels, and they continued, now as if in a trance. "The Sixteen listen, and obey the whims of the Astral. Listen, oh stars. Listen, oh Immortals. And Sing with Us the Song of Reclaiming." Seven times these words were spoken. Seven times the glow of the alicorn's horns flared. Seven times the flames of the candles grew.
Then, with an unearthly shudder and moan, the black wax idol started to melt. It's wax spread for a short time, before slowly taking shape. In under a minute, it coalesced into an armored and armed bipedal shape. At the same time it's form solidified, the glow of the alicorns horns winked out, and Cadance, Twilight, and Flurry Heart nearly collapsed, Luna and Celestia only just managing to keep themselves from doing the same.
They and the guards fixed their eyes upon the bipedal form of what they had summoned, taking in it's features. They all tensed as they noted it was frighteningly familiar to the forms of many of the invaders that had destroyed their world. Flurry stumbled back, falling on her rear in fear. Luna and Celestia, along with Twilight and Cadance, got into battle ready stances, despite knowing spell casting was beyond them currently.
The countless spears of the countless guards were swiftly pointed at the summoned being in preparation. Then, the being groaned, ever so slowly raising itself to it's knees. All present tensed as they took in it's ballroom-esque mask and heavily armored body, covered only by a worn, black, Old West duster, which itself bore two items which were strapped to it's back. One was a large, blackened, ornate greatsword with silver edges, and the other was what the ponies recognized as what the invaders called a 'rifle' though of what sort they could not tell.
The being groaned, raising a gauntleted hand to it's head, a deep blue bycocket of sorts atop that very head with it's own plume attached to it. "What the heck..." it spoke, voice smooth like silk but deep like thunder and with a light accent. It looked up from it's hand and gazed around. "...Double what the heck..." It groaned again after it made what observations it could, but it's hand soon went back to it's head. "Agh, my head..." It slowly looked up once more. "Anyone got medication for a headache?"