He felt his mind slipping closer and closer to the chamber of Souls. The entrance to the deepest part of someones mind, Their memories, their morals and most important of all. Their soul. The mental ward cracked and repaired itself when he struck it with his mind. He struck again. "You will not escape me, Brat!"
And again.
"We can't stay here boy or we both will be prisoners in your mind." Talimara said, her large body covered surprisingly little in the circular room.
"I know but what can we do? He's stronger than any I ever fought." Nero clasped his left arm and a red stream of blood flowed from a gash running from his eye to his jaw.
"There is only one thing to do."
"And that is?"
"This." Talimara descended on Nero quicker than he could react, knocking Nero's soul unconscious. "I'm sorry but you would never had approved of what I'm about to do." She gritted her teeth as she tore out his soul from his body and then escaped Nero's body. All while they pounding struck again.
And again.
Until after what finally had felt for hours he entered the perfectly circular room. He cracked a wicked smile. "And so falls this body to me. I am Wrath, This realm is now mine!" The room usually made of silver gold and marble twisted and groaned as it slowly warped. His smile suddenly warped into a scowl. "NO reply? No struggle? Aah, clever girl! His soul is not here." He tilted his head as he looked around the room. "Never mind, his body is still mine and two lone sould won't live long without a medium." A sword manifested in Wraths hand, with a single step he reached the center of the room and plunged it into the ground. Red runes spread out over the floor. He took a deep breath as a thick dark miasma rose from the corrupted floor. "Aah, much better," said Wrath, as he pondered where the soul of the ancient dragon had taken Nero. Not that it was of much importance any longer.
Then all of a sudden the room begun to shake violently and the rattling of chains came from the wall. Wrath spun around on the spot looking to where he had blasted in before, the wall was already back and outside he could see the soul shackles tighten. "Fuck." He spat annoyed but not angered, this was but a minor setback.
Talimara weaved the chains over and over before being satisfied that Wrath would be contained for now. Just as she was done the pounding begun anew. She then mustered powers from her own soul and did something anyone sane never should do, summon you own Chamber of souls into another body as this could in worst cases rip your soul apart.
Nero, who had so far been sleeping peace fully since they had departed Catersville. Stirred in his sleep moaning painfully. Twilight buffed him in the shoulder to wake him up, Celestia watched her student getting no response except more painful moans. When He started coughing She sharply ordered. "Land the chariot! Now!" The guards quickly did as told and the chariot was in deep descent. After they landed Celestia, Twilight and Applejack left to chariot to help, Nero to rest more comfortably. When she tried to cast a scan spell to see what was wrong with him, he suddenly grabbed her and pulled his face close. Eyes glowing, the one previously sealed, golden and red. The other black and sickly green. He stared deep into hers
"Run, Muster what power you can from the elements and blast us." He said with a gruff female sounding voice. "Let him not get to you." Celestia started to rear back as she was for the first time struck with fear from Nero. This had been completely uncalled for.
"Girls, get away from him..." Her guards quickly reacted to Nero's warning and was already getting in position between him and the girls. "Twilight summon whatever power you can from the Elements of harmony and relay them to me."
"I. I don't kno." Twilight hesitated.
"You can do it Twilight, we don't need much. only enough to stunn him so we can get him back to the others."
"But."
"No but's it's for his own good!" Celestia erected a barrier around Nero. His struggled movement forward was quickening. The currupted magic that seeped from his black eye, gathering around his fist. As he struck her barrier the golden light faded to black, then back again to golden light just not as quick. The corrupted magic hammered against her shield and it begun to fade. "Quickly, that strange magic is canceling my own." She looked back to see Twilight in deep concentration, she had manage to summon the crown and Applejack had her necklace, the others hovered in the air. They pulsated gently with power. Not the blinding light that Twilight or Applejack radiated with.
"The sun is nothing to the rage I feel!" Nero roared.
"Princess!" Twilight called. Celestia let her barrier go and a rainbow beam dominated by magenta and orange shot forth and mixed with the light that emanated from Celestias horn. With the power of some of the elements mixed with her own she shot Nero who had charged into and now stood on top of one of her guards, in the chest. With a Gah. He fell back as the power of the Elements surrounded him.
There was a clash of metal against metal. The golden rainbow subsided and as it did they all saw three humans locking swords. One of them had a small golden dragon lashed on her back, she had something looking like a battle dress on, plates of crude iron armor covering parts of her. They watched as the golden blonde twirled away from the two men and dived back in to attack.
The redheaded man dressed in blue and gold robes vaulted away and lashed lightning from his halberd as he did. He parried a rock that had been kicked at him by the man black plate armor. the corruption slowly seeped out of the joints, he laughed "You really think you have a chance against me, mage?" He swatted away the blade of the female and leaped at the mage.
The mage swung his halberd pommel side into the black knights chest and lifted him into the air, he sailed over the chariot and landed with a crash. "So you think you can take me that easily?" He commented back.
"Great one! Now zap him with some of that nifty lightning thingy." The female giggled.
"you mean this?" He swung at her, a arc of electricity flew toward her, the miniature dragon sailed away from her just before it struck her and landed safely on Lance's shoulder. "Tali sits on the strongest of us remember. Don't get cocky Artemis Ohh and call me Lance. His blue eyes flashed of gold as the dragon landed.
"Twilight, Applejack. Let's get to a safer distance. The same goes for you four." Celestia addressed her guards. They gave a confirming nod while AJ and Twilight stood their ground.
"Why can't we help him. What ever happened to him is our fault!" She said rather loudly.
"Heck yea it is!" Artemis called to them, she was getting up from the lightning strike by doing a handstand so she faced them upside down. "Now stay out of it!" She called, flipped back upright and charged Lance.
"But we can help you!" AJ called back.
"No you can't!" Lance called back as he grabbed Artemis in a red aura of magic and tossed her away to the bushes of the forest they landed next to. She flew sailed away with a scream. The knight jumped up on the chariot and kicked Lance in the back. Lance quickly spun around in his fall and used the halberd to straighten himself kicking back at the knight. "Wrath!" He screamed.
"Boy!" Wrath called back,
"Can't we do nothing to help?" Twilight pleaded.
"I don't know dear, they say no." Celestia stomped the ground. "That, Wrath character is dangerous and must be subdued. then again we don't know what will happen to Nero if we do. Always causing me trouble that man, if it comes to it... Then I will fight him of."
"But princess."
"I said no but's. I have fought evil before and that thing is not friendly and I will not tolerate it harming my subjects." She then turned to her guards. "If that happens take the girls to safety."
"Yes ma'm!" They all called.
Wrath and Lance exchanged blows, knuckles against a halberd, still Wrath seemed to have no problem keeping up with Lance who used both spells and a longer range weapon. They could only watch in horror as the little dragon ascended from Lance to flee Wrath, as he grabbed his neck and pressed him down to a kneeling stance. Power seemed to flow from Lance to Wrath.
"Your power! Your knowledge! Shall be mine!" He laughed as Lance become paler and paler, his short red hair becoming gray as he was drained. Barely breathing Lance slumped to the ground emptied almost completely of magic he was in a daze. "And now to fully gain your power." Wrath swung down with the halberd. Iron clashed against hardened wood as Artemis, who had rushed back to the battle when Tali had woken her up. Blocked the attack.
"Missed me?" She agilely spun around and struck Wrath in one of the weakpoints of an plate armor. Under a plate. Her sword struck his abdomen, the chainmail was not nearly enough to shield fully from the blow. Wrath staggered off laughing. "Does it look like am joking to you!" Artemis swung at Wrath again, paying no mind to the small wound he dodged easily. The small dragon flashed cyan for a second and Artemis whispered under her breath. Suddenly she picked up a blinding speed slashing away, kicking and plain right punching Wrath in the face.
"Insolent brat!" He hissed as he once staggered away from Artemis. She took her chance to get the upper hand and found it. Sweeping a low kick from the right, Wrath fell back. Artemis grabbed his arm and locked him down hunching over him. "Let me go, wench!"
"In your dreams." Her eyes lit up and Wrath could feel himself being drained as Lance had been minutes before.
"Yes, corrupt yourself!" He said with glee.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" She twisted his arm some more. "I'm just sending all that power to the nether, burning your mana circuits in the process." Wrath looked at her in horror before he began to trash around trying to get free from her grasp. With a sickening crunch he broke his own arm, screaming on top of his lungs he kicked out at her. She tried to dodge but got hit in the throat instead. Coughing she stumbled back.
"Don't think this is the last time you see me boy," Wrath started to draw power beyond his current measure.
"Is it really a good idea to burn yourself out like that, just to get away."
"Better than death. Everything is better than death." He disappeared in a flash of light.
"Ah, Fuck it." Artemis coughed up blood. "That dude can kick." She turned around to the chariot, the ponies was starting to come closer from the forest again, she didn't care much. Her target was on the chariot itself. Lance. Striding up to him she saw that he had pulled a new weapon from his robes. He aimed at her, "Fuck!" she dove down. Lance barely missed her as the Gun silently spat out a round.
"Only one *Cough* of us can survive, Arty!" He called.
"Yea, so? Because of that the magician starts relying on cheap tricks? How many rounds do you think you can handle conjuring up without breaking down? Two? Three?" She called from her hiding place.
"More than enough Arty. As I said only one of us can live" He coughed a few times again. Artemis started to crawl closer. "And I know who." The sound of a cocking gun was heard and then a pop. The splatter echoed around her, From afar she could hear the shocked gasps of the ponies who had personally witnessed the act.
Artemis ruched up to the chariot. "NO!" She screamed, she grabbed Lance's collar and started to shake the lifeless body. "Oh, no no no no NO! You! You fool!" Something pulled from Lance into Artemis. Soon a pained wheezing came from her shoulder. She snapped her head to see, the Miniature dragon, Tali, she looked gray and weak, with a last wheeze she suddenly split into a array of tiny golden lights. The lights quickly faded. "Fuck you!" She snapped back to Lances life less body, only to see that to gone together with the blood and brains splatered over the chariot. The last of what was pulled from him entered Artemis. Blinding lights flashed before her eyes.
Everyone else saw the lights too. When they died down, Nero stood on the chariot holding his white mantle in his hands. he sported the same blonde hair as Artemis. Twilight and Celestia walked closer. "Ahh I'm so stupid! What was I thinking!" To their surprise Nero was still female. "Of course, killing off my male side was Bloody Brilliant!" Nero pulled her fingers through her hair. "I know it was the only way to get back to normal with out properly resurrecting Talimara. But Suicide? I am stupid ain't I? Now healing the male side then blowing off my head as a girl now that would have been much better."
"How is killing yourself in anyway the answer?" Twilight deadpanned.
"Oh I didn't want to revive Tali. You know big mean, mostly immortal rampaging dragon."
"Oh her... Wait back up a minute! What in the name of Equestria was that fighting about. That, Wrath character?" Twilight said.
"you know how I have been away for two weeks and not even a single day has passed for you?" Nero said.
"Yea. So?"
"Well I kinda was infested by this ancient spirit that kinda wanted my body. Only now he got one for himself." He turned to Celestia, "that's kinda what I wanted to tell you earlier." He chuckled awkwardly
"Did this happen happen beacause of the Elements or was it something that we just hurried the process of." Celestia said, she rose to Nero's height.
Nero let herself fall into a sitting position "I don't think it was the Elements at all, I mean if you didn't blast me at all I would have probably just been taken over by him instead. But atleast we don't have to worry about him for now. He burnt up most of the magic circuits he possessed... rather I stole them and burnt them for him. Bad thing is so did most of mine"
"What does that mean for you, and him." Twilight asked, taking a seat next to Nero.
"I'll need to relearn all the magical knowledge I had, Wrath stole it when he drained me. Actually he only retook what was his, you see it was, Talimara that brought, Wrath to me. The first time we met, he latched into my soul. I didn't even know he was there. That time in the cave you know. All I learned was mixture of magic from Talimaras homeworld and Wrath, they seemed to hail from the same kingdom. But the good thing is, I burnt away most of what he knew too. He won't be a problem for a long time."
"How can you be so sure?" Twilight asked, Celestia had ordered over her pegasi and Applejack had silently joined them on the chariot.
"Because I will have the same problem, normally one can not regenerate magical circuits alone." The chariot was now once again moving and soon they way flying back towards Ponyville. "But Wrath got away with a part of my body, my almost Immortal body. Although not, 'ahem' probably not properly immortal, still he might regenerate them in time."
"And you being a... Woman was it? Will that just regenerate?" Celestia asked.
"That was... Not something I wanted to do, looks like the side effect is this." She gestured to herself. "I'll probably need a bit of help to get back to normal." Nero said grimly
"Spirit magic, a rare type indeed. I can't help you with that. Maybe Twilight or her friends know one?" Celestia said, hinting to Twilight.
"I do know one. Question is I willing to ask her." Twilight teased.
"Yea Ah recon Ah know one too. Did wonder with tha' Poison joke. Also yer shorter now." AJ added.
"Hardy hardy har." Nero said. "Like you would not ask for help in my situation? And did you think I didn't notice that."
The ponies around her giggled like little foals for a moment, then Twilight said. "Well just don't think she's a miracle worker, because she's not."
"Nah a miracle worker would make me mortal again. Not just this semi-mortal thing I managed."
"Semi-mortal? What do you mean?" Celestia now asked.
"I made it so, well, I'm more like an ordinary person, like I used to be. That said you could probably tare my arm of and it'll regrow. But who am I to complain."
"Sounds like me and, Luna then. Ageless, but bound to the needs of mortals. But we do pay a price for it." She nodded
Nero nodded in agreement. "Then again price we pay is well worth it. I feel if I don't, I'll grow arrogant, I'll rather do things this way, atleast my immortality is mostly on my terms. The need to sleep, relearn magic the proper way. The fear of death again."
Celestia reacted a little on the last one. "The fear of death? You do mean temporally... Right." Nero nodded.
"There are only two forces in this world that can kill me properly. Wrath, for he is now essentially carrying a part of me, although he will need some help to do so. And me, still I can feel the taste of death even if it's only temporary. Today taught me that more than anything else, I am not indestructible and I'll never be." Celestia settled to a more comfortable position and agreed. "Also I don't have a death-wish, I'm twenty for god’s sake." ‘So he´s four years older than me then.’ Twilight thought
"It looks like you learnt a lesson today." Twilight and AJ followed the conversation idly.
"Yea, never trust an old grumpy dragon, she'll smack you in the soul and make you fight against yourself."
"That happened? Interesting. What will you do now, Nero? Or is it, Artemis?"
"Nero. Definitely, Nero. And I don't honestly know, not after what just happened." Nero decided to lean back against the big rear section of the chariot, Twilight had carefully joined AJ on the other side of him.
"You still have the ability to channel mana right? Magic?" Twilight asked, Nero felt around a bit. Still finding that spark of life that was called mana.
She nodded. "Would not pose a problem. A bit weaker than before." She snapped her finders twice. "Still need re-training or I might hurt myself" She gulped. "or worse.
"Then might I suggest that Twilight teach you the basics, I can only see the benefit in that experience for both of you, as for your circuits, what do you think can help you there?" Celestia said, looking straight ahead not looking on ether of them. Twilight opened her mouth to say something several times before finally.
"Me? Teaching? I d."
"It would do you great in your own studies to teach, not only about magic" She looked back on Nero who stared out in the distance not even listening to them anymore. "It looks like he might need it." Nero snapped back to reality when she noticed Celestia looking at her.
"Ohh sorry, you said something? Ohh yea the circuits, I don't know really."
"Nothing at all, I just told Twilight that because she has the most experience about humans she would be an excellent teacher. Don't you think?"
"Hmm, maybe so." Nero answered as she once again slipped back into her own thoughts.
"I see. Alright I'll do it! You won't be disappointed Princess!" Twilight said cheerfully. Hiding her concern about what had happened only ten minutes ago back on the ground, she could not help looking at Nero and her tattered clothing. Had he really been gone only for two weeks?
They touched down before Twilight's Library only a few minutes after they had left AJ at her farm. The sun was soon to be gone on the horizon. The Princess excused herself for a moment and lowered the sun, the moon gently rose in it's place. When she rejoined them she spoke to Nero. "Are you sure you want to stay, there are more than ample space in Canterlot."
"There is no direct need for me to be in Canterlot right?"
"Not really, but Twilight was more than willing to stay until the Wedding." All of the Elements had been 're-invited' to the wedding before Twilight and AJ had first departed Ponyville. "I thought that Twilight might want to use main library in Cantelot to help you progress."
Nero let out a 'thss' sound. "Baby-steps Princess, Baby-steps. And I like the freedom that Ponyville gives. Less of that stuffy city. So I'm sorry to decline your invitation to your palace at this moment, your highness." Nero said and lightly bowed, Celestia giggled lightly again.
"Then I will be off for now, I will see you both two days before the festivities. And don't worry about Wrath for now, I will have him tracked down and captured until we decide what to do with him." Nero and Twilight said their goodbyes to the Princess and waved her off as she flew away in the night sky. Nero let out a relived sigh.
"What was that for?" Twilight asked curiously
"I don'no Celestia makes me feel... Well.. I have this feeling of unease for some reason." She said with a shudder.
"I have never sensed something like that, I was admittedly a little scared of her at first, but since then I have seen what a gentle and kind ruler she really is."
"Still you fear her judgement." Nero inquired.
"I have not grown arrogant just because I'm her personal student and now your mine, so you better be a good student." She said quite seriously.
"Yes Miss Twilight." Nero said jokingly, granting her a cold stare from Twilight, Nero just laughed it off. "Why so serious?"
Twilight suddenly shined a smile. "Let's just be super serious during the lessons." She took a long look at Nero properly. "AJ was right you are shorter., also don't show those damaged clothes to Rarity she will freak out like never before." She said as she opened the door.
"You Give That Back Now!" A young colt cried, Spike ran around the library holding a dark gray mantle followed by a unicorn colt around the crusaders age age. The young colt tried to charge a spell but failed. "Common Spike! I need that!" Twilight and Nero shared a glance, then they looked back to the two kids.
"You know that kid... Don't you." Twilight said bluntly.
"Yea that's Eclipse." She said, looking at the two.
"Eclipse was blue gray and smaller when I saw him earlier today."
"That cape of his is enchanted to alter his appearance and the jewel that keeps it in place is a weak amplifying crystal... He told me about it when I first took him to Canterlot." Twilight looked confused at her. "How about I tell you later when they are not wrecking your home?" He said when another loud crash was heard.