Death Becomes Her

by Total Eclipse

Arc 1-2 (What You Never Want to Hear)

It’s so normal looking, even though the mare has an anime face it just walks around and grazes. I got it! I pointed at the pony and colored its coat pink! Then I made its eyes blue, and its mane bubblegum pink, then I hit its mane with a burst of wind. She looked like she had just been in a fight with a blow drier. I beckoned the creature over to me; she trotted over to me nervously nuzzled my hand gently acknowledging me as her master and creator. Pinkie, you shall be my experiment pony. - Day 5
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Today I called Pinkie to me. I had an Idea yesterday, I had created animals, let’s see if I can bestow upon them human level intelligence. I place my hand on Pinkie’s head and focused on what made humans human, and then removed the worst of it. I remember how my sisters use to act and imparted a little bit of her into Pinkie. It didn’t work. Pinkie went into what I believe is some sort of coma. - Day 6

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IT WORKED! Pinkie woke up today and started pestering me about being bored, so, in jest, I suggested to her that she should throw a party. She ran out and tried to her hearts content, but alas there was nothing to make a party with. I could just conjure the material but I wanted to see how she would handle it. She asked what my name was, I didn’t tell her my real name, so instead I said Kokusho...you know, like the Magic: The Gathering card. - Day 7

The skies over Equestria wept. The world had just been robbed of its Element of magic. The forces of natural harmony have been shattered.

Kokusho’s head hung low as he quietly uttered a prayer for the pony, her blood was on his hands. What had happened during his slumber? His mind ran circles, and he gripped at his hair. Why did that mare have an Element of Harmony? It didn’t make any sense, back when Celestia and Luna wielded them against him he could sense their terrible power. There was no way such powerful magic could be housed within a mortal shell and not flay the creature’s soul, yet that mare, Twilight Sparkle held the power at the core of her being.

“Why?!” The human screamed. Kokusho clutched at his bare chest as he fell to his knees. His eyes caught sight of the pool of Twilight’s blood and slowly traveled upwards until he was staring at her dull, lifeless, lavender form amidst a small crimson sea. “Celestia…Luna…”

He was spent, prying open the Gates of Tartarus was no easy task, despite how casual he made it look. Kokusho was hunched over the ground on his hands and knees panting like a tired dog. The rain was relaxing, but unsettling at the same time. The drops were icy, not like cold, more like... sadness or emptiness, the kind of chill that comes from losing a part of yourself. As the water soaked his hair and slid across his naked body, his form started to shift. His black hair lightened up into a dark shade of brown and the vaporous wisps rising from his body started to disappear.

The inhabitants of Tartarus were now pouring out of the gates in droves; all around him dark figures dashed through the brush and glowing eyes of all colors gave fleet glances before leaping off into the forest. The ground started to quake as a towering creature slowly approached the downed. The beast was massive, it was easily over three stories tall. The world darkened and the smell of brimstone and sulfur filled the air as the creature’s shadow started to overtake Kokusho. Kokusho craned his neck upwards towards the cry sky to take in the full sight of the monster in front of him. The rain that dripped off of the creature was blackened by soot and stunk of ash. The creature resembled a horned werewolf. Giant black horns grew from the sides of its head and a burning amber mane. Its deep auburn coat hugged tight to its muscular physique and large amber tufts of fur on its arms blazed with supernatural fires. The claws on each of its hands looked sharp enough to rend steel with little. It arched its back, inhaled, and released a soul shattering howl into the night sky, causing all of the wildlife to scatter. The wolf sniffed the air and growled quietly. It looked to its right and saw the fresh corpse of a young pony, its lips retracted, plastering a devilish grin on its face.

“Ah, Kokusho, I see you’ve already had your taste of revenge. Now, my wolves get to experience the hunt once again.” His throat rumbled with excitement and his claws trembled with delight at the thought of tearing into the herds of succulent ponies. “ALL OF EQUESTRIA SHALL BECOME MY PACK’S FEEDING GROUND!” He roared.

“No,” Kokusho said quietly. He tried to stand, but nearly buckled. “You will subdue the outer most northern provinces. You are not to bring your slaughter into the heartlands. Do you understand Ifrit?” He said shakily. “Don’t overstep your boundaries in your bloodlust.”

“Fool, I am The Lord of Devastation. Did you really think that you could command me and my wolves outside of the Gates of Tartarus?” Ifrit bellowed. A circle of wolves was now forming around the two. Golden eyes hidden in the bushes stared out at the man and the beast. “I will do as I please!” The demon wolf declared as he stepped away. He barely went two steps before he suddenly stopped, he tried to force himself forward, but all that accomplished was sinking his hind paws deeply into the mud.

Ifrit whipped around snarling like a wild beast, but it quickly turned into a frightened whimper. Kokusho held on to Ifrit’s arm the human’s grip was like a vice, inescapable. Icy blue eyes pierced Ifrit’s burning amber eyes. Kokusho’s gaze invaded the demon’s spirit, invoking primal terror from the creature. The wolf trembled under Kokusho’s grip.

“I can feel it in the way your blood pumps through your veins, and in the quickening pace of your heartbeat. You. Fear. Me. And that fear is justified. It’s a terror bred into you, the instincts of an animal who knows that it’s outmatched. Heed my words Ifrit, if you stray from the north or turn that place into a mass graveyard I will wretch your damned soul from your still writhing body and dump it into the void.” The demon’s eyes widen at the mention of the void. That dark, cold, lonely place outside of any realm of existence where nothingness ate at every fiber of one’s being until they too become nothing. Demons like Ifrit couldn’t truly die, the only way to be rid of them was to destroy their souls, which was for the most part impossible. But should the soul of a demon become trapped in the void they too would be consumed by the realm of nothingness like everything else that went there.

Kokusho released his hold on the beasts arm and allowed him to walk away, neither looked at each other again. Ifrit growled quietly under his breath and snorted before letting out a saddened howl. The wolves around Kokusho quickly dispersed, leaving the area around him once again barren. The man stared at the ground, face sunken and set into a frown. What have I unleashed upon the world?

His thought process was interrupted by the sound of hooves splashing in the mud, near him. He looked up to see what the possible threat could be, but was instead greeting by the sight of a bright yellow fox like face a few inches from his own. “Belius.,” he said as he released a breath he wasn’t aware that he was holding.

Belius stood a few inches above Kokusho, her lower half was equine in form. She had four legs, all ending in bluish colored hooves and a shaggy off yellow coat with bright yellow fur along her back. Her upper half was similar to a diamond dogs, except slimmer and more feminine. Belius’ upper body maintained much of the same color pattern had her lower body, but on her chest there was a large tuft of white fur with a few clumps of green tips and her coat hugged to her body much more closely. The fur on her shoulders was bright yellow like her shaggy back fur and her arms ended in clawed hands that were the same color as her hooves. She had a face similar to that of a fox, the tips of her ears with the same shade of blue as her hands. On the creatures back where to massive swords crossed like an “X” and held to her by thick brown leather straps wrapped around her shoulders.

“Master?” She said softly, obviously concerned. “You look…unwell.” She nuzzled his shoulder gently to get his attention.

“I-I need to rest.” The man swayed uneasily on his feet, his balance getting progressively worse with each passive second. Kokusho fell forward, but was caught by the soft dexterous hands of the fox face being.

Gently, Belius lifted the human up and place him on her back. He instinctively clutched onto her soft, warm fur. His vision faded in and out, as he allowed himself to sink into the realm of sleep he chanced another glance at the corpse of the innocent pony he had murdered.

Her corpse was gone.

The darkness overtook him before he could fully register what he had seen.

“Sleep well,” Belius cooed. Her hooves started to disintegrate and turn into mist. Soon her entire form as well as her passenger had turned into tiny water droplets. A light breeze passed through the clearing and whisked them away.

Twilight stirred under her covers, tossing her sheets and pillows wildly around her bed. The mare grunted and snorted in her sleep, fits of thrashing randomly came and went as her mind was assaulted by fragments of memories that she couldn’t understand. The lavender mare saw, something, a creature unlike anything she’d ever seen.

“Kokusho…” Twilight mumbled from under her covers.

The mare’s mind was assaulted by bright flashes, and disorientating sounds. In she jerked forcefully to the left, causing her pillow to be thrown into the adjacent bookshelf. Giant blue claws filled her visual range, and dread filled her heart. What was she so afraid of? Nothing made any sense to her at the moment, everything was so disjointed.

“I won’t let you…” The pillow received her words openly, but returned no comfort. “NO!!” She shrieked like a banshee, filling the library with an ear shattering wail.

The bladed appendages dug into her flesh and shredded her face. Memories of searing pain flooded her senses. She could feel her warm life essence leaking out from her head, Twilight tried to suck in air and gasp, but blood filled her lungs and choked her.

“--ight, Twi--, TWILIGHT!” Spike yelled as he gripped her coat. He had been trying to shake the suffering pony out of her hysteria for several minutes, but all he could get from his surrogate sister was whimpers and wails.

“S-Spike?” The mare choked out.

“...” The small dragon brought her into a deep hug.

“It’s okay Spike, it must’ve all been a bad dream. What the hay did I eat last night?” She chuckled awkwardly into her hoof.

“Twilight, don’t you remember?” He said as he wiped away the last of his tears. “You’ve been asleep for almost an entire week, everyone’s been worried sick!”

Twilight put her face into her hooves and closed her eyes. “Urgh.” The images in her head swirled and combined, slowly creating coherent memories.

“The Princess sent you that letter.”

Flashes of parchment ran through her mind, she remembered being asked to do something important. The sight of the Everfree forest dashing past her and the smell of an approaching downpour took her away from reality.

“I was worried when you rushed out before reading all of it, so I wrote the Princess back and told her what was going on.”

She put a hoof on her chest as she recalled the touch of the ominous magics being using on the Gates of Tartarus. She remembered the creature that was responsible for tampering with the ancient barricade. As more images started to fall in line Twilight found that drawing breath was becoming ever more difficult.

“And then later on in the night you just sort of returned. Your coat was covered in mud, twigs, and blood. I-I thought you were hurt, but other than a few scrapes you were fine.”

She recalled how helpless she felt when she could use her magic, once again she was in that creatures magical grasp. Hello my little pony. It spoke the words with the same love and endearment as her teacher. She started panting rapidly, she could feel her assistant shaking her and she could hear his voice calling out to her, beckoning her to return from the dark recesses of her mind. Elements of Harmony. Twilight had never heard the words spoken with such venom. She trembled violently and sank her face even deeper into her hooves. The claws were so close to her, she could feel the magic energy emanating from them. Her pupils dilated to the size of pin prick as she slowly ran her hoof down her face and across her neck, taking in the feeling of the slightly raised skin of fresh scar tissue.

I’m sorry.

The unicorn’s eyes snapped shut as the hands responsible for her death crashed down on her skull. Twilight tried to yell out, but her throat was already raw. The only sound she could muster was a terrified whimper. Tears streamed from her eyes and rained down on Spike’s head. The young dragon did the only thing he could think of.

Spike let his big sister’s head rest on him as her gently stroked her mane. “Shh.” He whispered into her ear. Just this once Spike wished that he could be a giant, monstrous dragon. At least then he could scare away whatever had brought one of Equestria’s strongest mares to such a state, but for now, all he could do was be there for her.

Twilight’s breathing steadied and she stopped shivering. Spike looked the dishelved mare and gently laid her head down on the pillow that remained on her bed. He smiled at her tear stained face, she looked peaceful. The young dragon shook his head, he still wasn’t sure of what had happened, but at least Twilight didn’t look like she was panicking anymore.

The lavender mare’s nose twitched in her sleep. Even in the grasp of deep sleep her body knew the smell of pancakes and hay strips. She slowly shifted around in bed and poked her nose out from under her covers.

Her mane was all over the place, but she didn’t care. The smell of food was too tantalizing, so like a sailor drawn to the jagged shore by the siren’s song, Twilight forgot about the world and simply drifted towards the kitchen in a daze. Before she even knew what was happening she was seated at her oak dining table. Spike had placed a generous helping of flapjacks in front of the mare.

“Hmm,” She mumbled. She had never noticed how hungry she was before. Between the nightmares and the panicking the fact that she had went a week without eating just seemed like a back burner issue.

“Amazing as always Spike!” Twilight beamed at young dragon, causing him to blush a little.

“Ahh, don’t mention it Twilight. I mean I wouldn’t be your number one assistant if I didn’t help you whenever you’re out of it right?” He said with a smile.

“Very true,” Twilight rubbed his head with her hoof and smiled.

The two enjoyed breakfast together as brother and sister. Spike graced Twilight with small talk about what had been going on while she was resting. He explained how her friends visited every day and even helped run the library in the past week. Twilight almost sprayed orange juice out of her nose when Spike told her about how Pinkie thought that she had a super special late night party with her special somepony and she just needed a lot of rest. Spike chuckled at Twilight’s expense, earning himself a swift bop on the head from the flushed mare.

As if the back of his noggin were some sort of mail button, Spike burped plume of green fire. A rolled up piece of parchment slowly floated down into the dragon’s hands.

“A letter from the princess?” Twilight asked as she cocked her head to the side.

“Yeah, I let both her and Luna know that you were finally awake.”

The paper was grasped by Twilight’s familiar purple aura and hoisted away from Spike. Using nothing but her telekinesis she popped the scrolls seal and unfurled the letter.

Dear Spike,

This is wonderful news! I have to see Twilight immediately. Luna and I have been wondering about her well-being ever since you told us the state she returned home in. As soon as I finish writing this letter I shall send a carriage to escort Twilight directly to the castle.

P.S. Spike, thank you for taking such good care of your older sister and my faithful student.

Twilight blinked stupidly for a few seconds before what she had said fully registered. “The chariot will be here any minute!” She could already see the shadowed forms of the pegasi guards and the carriage flying down from Canterlot. She tapped her hoof on her head as she tried to figure out a way to get prepared before her escorts made it to her home. Then it hit her… MAGIC!

The castle seemed much livelier today, kind of like how it was during Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding. Guards trotted to from room to room, some carrying deadly, master crafted spears and others levitating bundles of gleaming golden armor. Twilight cantered briskly through the majestic halls, the clip-clop of her hooves was muffled by the plush red carpeting that Princess loved so much. The fibers tickled her hooves, causing the mare to walk around with a stupid grin plastered across her face. She finally reached the gigantic red double doors leading to the throne room. Two unicorn guards stood stone faced on both sides of the frame, both seemingly glaring at nothing, when in reality they were both diligently scanning the hall for any disturbance.

The royal guards’ expressions softened when Twilight trotted up to them. She was about ask if she could go in, but the unicorn stallion to the right of her spoke up first.

“Ah, miss Sparkle. Celestia was expecting you; however, The Princess is not on the throne at the moment. She awaits your presence in her study,” The guard said as he pointed her in the correct direction. As if she didn’t know.

Twilight trudged through the castle hallways; her eyes traced the patterns on the elegant carpeting. The interest she had in the active status of the guards was soon replaced with a downtrodden thought pattern. Was this her real life or was she in some kind of fantasy, some sort of pony heaven? Had anything she dreamed actually occurred and if none of that was real, then where did the scars under her coat did come?

The unicorn was stopped by the sudden appearance of two massive mahogany doors. Caught up in her mental machinations, Twilight smashed face first into the barrier with her full weight, rattling the wooden frame.

“Ow, ow, ow,” she moaned as she rubbed her throbbing nose with a hoof.

Celestia’s guards snickered at the poor mare under their breath.

“Twilight, Is that you out there?” A motherly voice asked from behind the door.

“Yesh,” the mare said though her hoof.

The doors slowly creaked open and Celestia poked her head out to greet her to greet her faithful student. The Princess beamed down on the young pony and shot annoyed glances at her guards. Celestia was exactly as Twilight remembered her: pristine white coat, lively shimmering magenta eyes, and flowing mint toned rainbow mane. She was the pinnacle of equine beauty.

“Well don’t stand out there like a stranger Twilight!” The Princess called enthusiastically. “Come in, I’ve just prepared a fresh pot of tea.”

Celestia whipped around and retreated back into the recesses of her study with Twilight in tow. The lavender pony watched her teacher’s regal stride, had it always been so... Forced? The alicorn gestured for Twilight to take a seat on comfortable looking red and gold phoenix feather pillow. Between them was a small table upon which sat a kettle of tea. The princess took her seat across from the unicorn and gave her a weak smile.

“Twilight, I can’t began to tell you how happy I was when I found out that you were fine.” She bit her lower lip. “When I thought I had lost you…” Celestia looked away from her company and gazed dreamily at the setting sun. “Twilight, I never want to feel like that again.” The sun god’s cheeks shimmered in the honey colored sunlight.

Twilight had to rub her ears to make sure that she was hearing everything correctly. She rubbed her eyes to straighten her vision; obviously something was off because she was sure that Celestia was crying. The thought of such a thing was so alien to her that it would have been downright hilarious if it wasn’t playing out right in front of her. Twilight’s muscles locked up and her eyes shakily scanned the princess.

What do I do, What do I do!?. She thought. If this were Fluttershy or Pinkie, a hug and some encouragement would go a long way. For Applejack and Rainbow all she had to do was be there for them show that she had their back one hundred and ten percent. And if were Rarity, they would sit down and talk it out over a meal or maybe take a spa trip and cool off. But this was Celestia, Princess of Equestria, and Goddess of the Sun. How does one comfort the most powerful being on the planet?

The air was thick with the uneasy feelings of the two mares. Celestia, noticing her student’s muddled expression, coughed quietly into her hoof to snap the young unicorn out of her daze.

“I apologize Twilight, it’s just that everything is just so...” The princess grunted uncouthly and put a hoof up to her forehead. “Never mind, we aren’t here to talk about that,” she said dismissing the thoughts from her mind. “How about some tea to ease our tensions?”

“Y-yes that would be nice Princess.” Twilight watched as her mentors golden aura encompassed the tea kettle and the two porcelain cups and tray. The china rattled and rose unevenly from the table. Is Celestia struggling? Twilight mused. She continued to watch as the alicorn started to shakily pour them two cups of tea with her telekinesis.

The white cup slowly floated over to the unicorn, it was almost to Twilight with The Princess’ golden aura suddenly released the piece. It all happened so fast, before either mare could even react the table between them and all of the china had been shattered into a million pieces. The lavender mare’s coat had been stained brown by the unexpected assault of tea.

“Oh, Twilight, I’m so sorry let me just clean this up.” Celestia said embarrassed.

“It’s not that bad Princess, here let me hel-”If Twilight’s jaw hadn’t been connected to her skull it would have fell through the floor. Princess Celestia’s flowing mane mane fell limp on her neck like a normal pony’s and her beautiful mint polychromatic mane became a solid cotton candy pink.

“Princess, y-your mane!” She said a little louder than she wanted.

Celestia looked up at Twilight and cocked her head quizzically. She shifted her eyes to the left and saw regular pink colored hair hanging down over the side of her face. She drew in a large amount of air, but quickly threw her hooves over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Her horn once again started to glow, but every time it lit up it immediately faded away. With each pathetic pulse of her dwindling magic the prismatic coloring of her mane attempted to return, but to no avail. She hid her face from her student and stood up.

“This is not a good time, I-I don’t wish for you to see me like this!” She said as she trotted briskly into the back room of her study. She closed the door behind her and called out from the other side of the bookcase. “Just give me some time to collect myself.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. Her idol just had a breakdown in front of her and she had done nothing to comfort her. Am I really so weak that I let her status keep me from treating her like a friend? The mare held her head down and stood up from her comfortable plush cushion and slowly trotted towards the door. She invited me here to show me how worried she was about me, and how important my safety was to her, but when she needed me I just sat there. Her mood had just taken another one – eighty. Twilight had no idea how much longer this roller coaster would last, but the one thing she knew for sure was that she wanted off, now. This ride that she was on wasn’t fun. So far it had been mostly highs of confusion and lows of depression. I just want to know what’s going on. Why are the guards mobilizing? What happened to me that night? Why does Celestia look so fragile? She knew that the answers to those questions would only bring more questions, so the mare did all that she could at the moment.

She cried.

Cyan eyes peered through a crack in shutters of one of Celestia’s windows. Luna had seen everything that transpired within the confines of her sister’s study. She was supposed to join them in welcoming Twilight back, but ever since the young unicorn stepped onto the palace grounds she had been sensing a dark, powerful aura from her. She watched as the young unicorn sulked around the study, deciding that it was now or never, Luna focused what magic she could gather and tossed herself and Twilight through space.

The sudden teleportation caused Twilight sway on her hooves. She leaned against a walk as she waited for the stars in her vision go away and when they didn’t fade, she resorted to rubbing her temples to clear her senses. Once she looked around the room and noticed that the walls and ceiling were decorated like the night sky she understood that she wasn’t going blind or crazy. It didn’t take long for the mare to realize where she was. Celestia’s room was decorated with beautiful reds, golds, and whites, mimicking the day the Princess brought; whereas, this room was the antithesis of Celestia’s which could only mean…

“Hello Twilight,” The dark alicorn intoned. Like her sister, Luna’s mane was solid and made of hair, just like any other pony’s. It no longer flowed supernaturally; instead it just hung there, static. Unlike Celestia thought, Luna looked much more energetic, a far cry from fine, but still a lot better than Celestia.

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. Twilight’s eyes began to narrow on the pony in front of her. Something about Luna’s tone, and the way she stood before her intensified the unicorn’s irritation.

“What is going on!” Twilight growled. “The guards look like they’re gearing up for war, You and Celestia look like you both have one hoof in the grave, and I can’t remember everything from that night one week ago!” She was panting heavily after the outburst.

Luna let the young pony vent, if anypony deserved to be angry, it was Twilight. Celestia dragged her deeper into this conflict than any other being on the planet. The Princess of the Night sighed heavily as she prepared to break her young friend’s heart.

“This is hard to explain Twilight, please bear with me,” She said as trotted slowly to the large window on the far side of her room. Luna gestured for Twilight to join her. They both looked through the window and down into the courtyard below. The guards were preparing many large contraptions which Twilight recognized as catapults and ballistae, things she had only seen old Equestrian history books.

“Yes, we are preparing for war, yet war is not the correct term.” Luna looked at Twilight and could see the confused look on her face. “You see, war implies that both sides have an equal chance at victory, but as it stands…” She looked back down on the soldiers moving diligently to and fro. “We will be slaughtered.”

“How can you be so sure Princess?! Whoever these enemies are I believe that Royal Guard can handle them. My brother is fit to lead this time and I’m sure that he wouldn’t let anything within a mile Canterlot!” The young unicorn said. Her face beamed with pride and confidence when she mentioned her brother.

“You know this enemy Twilight. Do you really believe that we have a chance here?” Luna’s company simply shook her head at the princess’s statement.

“I know the enemy?” The unicorn asked.

“Think.”

“Kokusho.” Twilight whispered. Images of large titanite doors sliding open flooded her mind.

“He opened the Gates of Tartarus one week ago. When he escaped he brought with him an army of monsters the likes of which Equestria hasn’t seen for thousands of years. Chances are that he wants both me and my sister’s heads on a pike and when he’s done with us, he will lay waste to Equestria.” Luna was gritted her teeth at the thought of a her country burning.

“Y-you and Celestia. You two can stop him! If he was in Tartarus then you defeated him before, right?” She eked out.

“That goes with your question about the current state of my sister and I. No Twilight, we cannot stop him this time. Somehow, Kokusho is draining our strength. Celestia is in such bad shape because all of her magic is being used to keep up her appearance, she has the most public duties after all. I have been able to hold on to much of my strength by using magic sparingly. Celestia always meets threats head on, she’s never felt so powerless.”

“I just…” Twilight placed her face in her hoof. Everything was messed up even with an explanation given to her she still didn’t understand. Luna and Celestia killed, Canterlot a warzone. Impossible. She didn’t know if the words Luna spoke didn’t make sense because she couldn’t imagine war in such a peaceful time or because she simply denied that such a thing was even true in the first place. She placed a hoof on the window for support and looked up at Luna. Her face was that of somepony who was broken, with little left to lose.

Twilight closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. “What happened to me that night, one week ago?” She asked sternly.

“You died.”