//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: The Resurrectionists // by Captain_Hairball //------------------------------// The Gray Pony wasn’t hard to find. It soared through the dark void between worlds, trailing a plume of gray light like a comet. Even the beasts who lived in the darkness feared it, and kept their distance. They kept their distances from the Princesses, too — some of them had met their kind before, and weren’t taking any chances. “What do we do?” said Skanky, shouting to be heard over the roaring silence of the void. “You are to marshal your strength for when you are needed,” said Luna. “Do not attack!” “It isn’t alive,” said Celestia. “Not in the sense we understand. It isn’t even properly dead, like you are.” “But it still has a soul. We need to find a way to destroy its soul, if we’re going to defeat it,” said Luna. Skanky had an empty feeling, deep in her belly. “I ate Eternal Enigma.” Celestia giggled. “Naughty!” Well. She’d snapped back quickly. “Sister!” snapped Luna. “This is not the time!” “No,” said Skanky, “I literally ate his soul. Because I was mad at him. Can you to do that?” “We do not know,” said Luna primly, “We have never tried.” “I’m guessing no, though,” said Celestia. “I’ve never read of any such thing. I don’t even think Twilight could do that.” Skanky grinned. “So you’re wrong, Luna. I’m not a thanatomancer. I’m a Thanatovore.” “Then use if for good, child!” said Luna. “Do not despair.” “Despair?” scoffed Skanky. “As if. That thing killed me and all my friends. It’s payback time.” They’d caught up with the monster. It raced through the darkness beneath them, still looking like a giant pony in front, but flapping tatters of gray behind it. “Be ready!” Shouted Celestia, as she and Luna rolled away from her and dived. The void lit up with flashes of magical light. Well. Now what? Eat that thing’s soul, somehow. Where was the soul kept? She’d just eaten all of Eternal — the more she thought about that the sicker she felt — but she didn’t think she could manage the Gray Pony on her own. Beneath her, the sisters’ searing rays of gold and indigo light tore shreds from the Gray Pony’s body. Its roar of agony echoed through the void. It rolled over in place, kicking vast hooves. Beams of gray light shot out from its mouth, eyes, and wounds. The sisters had to spin and dive to stay out of the way. Skanky began to worry about them, but then some of the beams of light shot towards her, and she had to raise a shield to keep from being turned into dust. The energy dried her eyes and cracked her skin, even through the shield. Skanky flew away from the place she’d just been, trying to fly as erratically and unpredictably as possible, because there wasn’t anything to hide behind out here, and the best that she could hope for was being hard to hit. Tiny little spheres of grayness welled up from the thing’s body like boils. They raced towards her en masse like a swarm of missiles in a Neighponese cartoon, opening out into normal-sized gray ponies as they flew. A dozen Eternal Enigmas, coming for her. Skanky turned and fled, firing force bolts behind her without effect. Something vast moved in front of her. A cobalt eye the size of an apartment building opened, and blinked at her. A void beast! She was getting too far from the sisters! She spun in place, formed a conical shield, and hurtled back towards the battle, knocking the gray ponies away from her. They bounced away and spiraled into the void, where dark things snapped them up and ate them with unsettling crackling noises. Ahead of her, the Princesses and the Gray Pony were tiny shapes moving against the darkness. As she got closer she could see that the Gray Pony was getting the best of Celestia and Luna. Light shot from their horns, blasting off one if its forelegs, but it didn’t seem to care. It aimed a barrage of energy bolts at Celestia, distracting her, then swung its remaining foreleg at her, knocking her spinning into the darkness. “Firmament!” screamed Skanky, accelerating towards the battle. “We need your help, Little One!” screamed Luna, who was suddenly standing alone against the Gray Pony’s onslaught. Skanky had an idea. Maybe if she hit that thing going fast enough, she could knock it into little, bite-sized pieces.  Rainbow Dash had scoffed, but why not?  It was worth a try. Skanky gritted her teeth as the acceleration began to pull back on her body, drawing her eyelids back from her eyes and pulling her lips back from her teeth. She felt the void distort around, her bending to her will. It was working! Skanky had a feeling like she was smashing through something… no, more like diving into a pool. A ring of dark light spread out around her, sending void beasts scattering. “Sonic deathboom, bitch!” laughed Skanky. The Gray Pony snapped its head towards her, eyes wide in alarm. Skanky’s vision narrowed and darkened. Luna saw her coming, and darted away. Plowing into the Gray Pony’s body was like hitting a brick wall while going ninety miles an hour. She felt her body liquefy, bones crushed to powder. She was aware of the remnants of her body ripping out the other side of the thanatovore, while its body spread out behind her, broken into smoky rings by her impact. Then she was someplace else. ✭☆✭☆✭☆✭ She was on the shore. Waves slashed against her hooves. Gray mist swirled around her. Her horn hurt like she’d slammed it in a door, but a hasty inspection confirmed that it, and the rest of her, were still intact. She could feel her ribs through her coat, and the coat itself was dry and patchy, but maybe that went hoof in hoof with being a thanatovore. She turned her attention to her environment. Where was she? Another part of the death realm, maybe? Probably not in the void, anymore. It seemed to her like there were different kind of universes — literal spaces like the pony world, the mirror pony world, the human world, where there was an objective reality that most observers would agree on; and liminal spaces like dreams, death, and the void, where the things were a lot more subjective and changeable. Was that from Luna’s books? Skanky couldn’t remember. She heard a mewling noise in the distance. The edge of the water was the only visible landmark, so she followed that in the general direction of the noise. Cold, frothy little waves soaked her fetlocks. Wet sand caked her frogs. Skanky hated the beach even in good weather. Death was really unpleasant. The mewling noise drew closer, then began passing Skanky on the inland side. She headed towards the sound, hoping she’d be able to find her way back to the sound of the surf. She didn’t have to go far. It was writhing in the sand, a little Gray Pony grub about a foot long. Legless, like Eternal had been after she’d blasted him. “So that’s your deal. That’s why you’re giving the sisters so much trouble. Whenever they defeat you, you just fall back and regrow, don’t you? You can never be killed because you’ve never really been alive.” The Gray Pony hissed and spat at her. Leg buds were starting to form. “But then I come along. Death magic pony. A gift from the universe, allegedly. Totally random pony that just happens to turn into a thanatovore when she dies. Imagine that.” Luna landed next to Skanky. “You had best devour it while it is still small, Little One,” she said, folding her wings. “Is Celestia okay?” said Skanky, looking up at the dark princess. “She is injured but recovering. Her indisposition gives us an opportunity to talk.” Skanky narrowed her eyes. “You did this to me. I dream of it sometimes. You came into my dreams when I was a foal, and fed me part of that thing, and now I’m…” Skanky looked down at her gaunt forelegs. “Well, I’m awesome. Totally metal. But I’m not going to win any beauty contests, and I’m never going home again. Thanks to you. I’ll bet you arranged for me to be accepted to Smart Cookie University. And to get me near Eternal Enigma. You planned everything.” Luna shook her head. “You give us too much credit. My auguries divined the best candidate for my experiment. The universe did the rest.” Skanky’s lips pulled back from her teeth. “You sacrificed me for the greater good, hmm? The Gray Pony stole Eternal Enigma — she’s the bad guy. She can do that. Celestia gave Firmament a second chance. But you. You came into my room and you fucking stole my soul.” “You consented,” said Luna. “I was a foal!” “Your sacrifice will save the lives of billions.” “I would have liked a choice about it! What am I supposed to do now? Hang around being dead for the rest of eternity?” “Death, like life, is what we choose to make of it, Little One.” “Bite me, Moonbutt.” Skanky drew magical energy from her body as quickly as she could, and formed it into a bolt of black light. Luna, taken by surprise, was knocked back into the mist by the force of the blast. Skanky was on top of her in a second, teeth sinking into her shoulder. Because apparently that was what she did now. She felt something passing from Luna into her. It felt good. She didn’t want to stop. “Skanky, no!” Wet hoofsteps in the sand. Skanky felt a heavy, leggy weight on her back. Skanky pulled her head back and opened to mouth to snap at the new intruder, but she realized it was Hearthie, and even with all the darkness in her heart she just couldn’t. She let Hearth pull her off Luna, and collapsed, shaking, on the wet sand next to her. She bit her lower lip. She was not gonna cry. “Will you two explain to me what the buck is going on?” saif Hearth. So Luna told Hearth everything. Skanky had to give her credit for that — she didn’t pull any punches. While they talked, a little death crab scuttled through the sand next to Skanky’s nose. She snapped it up. It was mealy and tasted bad. Skanky felt sorry for herself. “The Gray Pony is rousing, Little One,” said Luna. You must act!” “I don’t wanna,” moaned Skanky. “It hate everything.” Heath kicked her in the ass. “Skanky, don’t be like this.” She growled. It was a satisfying timber wolf-like growl. She pushed herself to her hooves. The Gray Pony was slithering towards them, as big as a pony, leg buds digging through sand. It snarled and snapped at Skanky, making her dance and shy to keep from getting her hooves bitten off. “It would have been easier if you had destroyed it before now, Little One,” said Luna, massaging the bit on her shoulder with glowing indigo magic. Skanky ignored her. She pulled up one of those soul blasts, but the Gray Pony rolled aside with shocking speed, and the blast did nothing by spray sand everywhere. Skanky swore, and reared back on her hind legs, trying to rub sand out of her eyes with sandy fetlocks. She felt the Gray Pony lunge, knocking her down. Razor sharp incisors snapped near her face. She pushed it back, growling, trying to get her jaws near it, but she wasn’t strong enough. A pink hoof slammed into the thing’s face. The hoof came away from the blow gray, flaking and raw, but that was all the distraction Skanky need. She went for the throat. The Gray Pony’s flesh gave way like stale bread. It shrieked, trying for a counter blow, but Skanky grabbed its mouth first, tearing away its jaw and gobbling it up like a candy bar. After that, it was easy. She felt sick when she was done. She tried to vomit, but couldn’t. Hearth put a hoof on her shoulder. Skanky looked up. A white form, slumped but glowing in the mist, was advancing towards them across the beach, wings dragging, pink mane hanging limp along her neck. ✭☆✭☆✭☆✭ Luna weny to meet Celestia. They touched muzzles, and their horns glowed, indigo and gold. A wave of light swept out from them, scouring the air. It stung as it passed over Skanky. Sisters had made everything beautiful. The sky was clear and powder blue. The sea, sparkling and green. The sand under Skanky’s hooves was dry and fine. She could hear the cry of seabirds in the distance. A weight slammed into her side. Oh no! But it was just Heath hugging her. It hurt — it hurt to be touched anywhere — but not so much that she could bring herself to push Hearthie away. “We did it,” said Hearth. “We saved the world.” “Go us. Where’s Ether?” “Oh. My. Gosh. I had such a time trying to find you. We looked everywhere. At one point we ran into a bunch of dead scientist ponies. They’re trying to comprehend the void by doing the same experiments over and over. He wanted to stay with them, so I let him.” Skanky nodded. A happy death was as good a fate as any pony could hope for. Celestia and her sister were talking quietly. After a few words, Celestia stepped away from Luna and walked towards them. “Equestria owes you more than we can repay,” she said. “You have suffered greatly, and no reward I can give you can compensate for that.” Damn straight thought Skanky, but she decided to keep her mouth shut, for once. “Can… can you bring us back to life?” asked Hearth. “I cannot,” said Celestia, hanging her head. “That power lies outside my domain. Though perhaps…” “No,” said Luna. “Sister, please,” said Celestia. “They’ve suffered so much for us.” Luna shook her head. “At best I could attempt to return your souls to your dead bodies, which you would regret even if it succeeded. Death is not mocked, little ones. But I can offer you a different gift, Hearth and Home. You are a dead soul, now — a very lucid one, but that will not last. If you wish to fade, and wait for rebirth, you may. But if you wish to travel with your friend for a time, I can make your soul into a soul of a dreamer, who can walk aware amongst the dead.” Hearth looked Skanky in the eye. Skanky shrugged. “I could use the company, Hearthie, but it’s your funeral.” Hearth looked at Luna and nodded. The dark princess stepped up to her, and laid her horn on her head. An indigo light rippled through Hearth’s body. She stood up, and shook the sand from her fur. Her injured hoof was now whole. “Whoa," said Hearth. "Do they have alcohol in the afterlife? Because I felt like I was sleepwalking before, but everything just hit me. I think I can hold it together for now, but there needs to be some drinking and crying in my very near future.” Luna nodded. “We may know of a tavern or two.” “I’m there,” said Skanky, holding up a hoof. Hearthie bumped it. “We’ll totes grieve together.” “So what about me?” said Skanky. “I guess I’m a soul eating monster forever?” “‘Monster’ is a matter of perspective, little one. One might instead think of oneself as a guard. There are other creatures like the thanatovore roaming the void. Equestria would be grateful for your help.” Skanky snorted. “I’ll consider it.” “One will also find,” said Luna, “that one’s appearance in this world reflects one’s self-image. Something to consider, if you do not wish to look like a monster.” Skanky tilted her head to one side, narrowing her eyes in thought. He form rippled, and then she was her old self again. A bit thinner, and taller, and with bat wings, but otherwise the same. “Sick,” said Skanky, flaring her wings. “Do I count as an alicorn, now?” “No.” said Luna and Celestia at once. “I like the look, though,” said Hearth. Celestia spoke. “I have a gift for you as well, my little ponies. Something I find that I do not need as much as I thought I did. If you’ll pardon me for a moment.” Celestia’s hooves rose off the sand. Light swirled around her body. Golden at first, but soon joined by cerulean streaks. When her hooves settled again, a frail blue body was tucked under her wing. “Firmie. Oh my Harmony!” Skanky pounded across the sand and swept the trembling and confused little pegasus up in her forelegs. “Skanky!” wailed Firmament. “I missed you so much!” Celestia let them hug for a while before she spoke. “The soul is not a static thing. It grows and develops over time. The spark my sister hid in Firmament’s body was mine, but it is no longer. Now that the crisis is past… well, it will take me longer to recover without her, but I cannot, in good conscience, keep what does not belong to me.” “Thank you. So much,” said Skanky. “Now,” said Celestia. “While you were speaking I was able to contact Twilight Sparkle. She and Spike have closed the rift to the void and defeated all the creatures that came through. Smooth Operator and Wild Oats are in custody. Our subjects await our return, but I think they can wait a few hours more. Luna, you said something about a tavern? “Tell Princess Twilight to easy on Oates and Smooth, okay?” said Skanky. “It wasn’t really their fault.”