“I tried not to fall in love with him. I really did. He was too damm nice for his own good. And now he’s gone. Ludwig was taken by them alongside my Dagmire. They took everything from me. And soon I’ll do the same with them. They’ll pay for what they’ve done in blood. I’m going to...i-I’m going to.”
Gilda fell to the earth overcome with sadness
*THUDD*
“AND IM BACK!” Dagmire said
“W-WHAT?! DAGMIRE!” Gilda said as she charged towards the man. She flew through him like a finger through a pice of wet toilet paper
“I’m not actually here right now. This is a spell that protects my image and voice.”
“So...”
“Yes. I’m gone. This is just a construct of my memories. A fallback if I should ever perish when I was with you” the fading jester said
Gilda let out a heartbroken sob
“Im sorry. But you need to listen. This spell can only be cast when I’m being reformed. Basically I have a plan to come back for real but...I need your help. ” the construct said
“What can I help with?!” Gilda said with a mixture of mania and desperation
“I need you to come back to the bar and grab my scythe.”
“And after that? “ Gilda asked
“You’ll see” Dagmire said as he faded away
“NO! DONT LEAVE ME!”
“Hello?” A voice echoed through the void
The owner of said voice wandered the empty plains as he called out
”who are you?” a voice rang out
“Oh thank the gods! I’ve been wandering through this place for months and...and...oh” The wanderer said as he caught on
”why do you wander?” the voice rang out
“Adventure?”
”or are you looking for something?”
“What could I be looking for?”
”the truth. Look to your right”
The wanderer turned and was met with an army of statue’s
“...so it’s a bunch of statues. What’s the big idea?” The wanderer said as his memory slowly returned
”look at the row to your right” the voice instructed
The statues on the right were all the same. Different positions sure but in the end they all had a mask.
It was familiar...
”now why would that man above all others be so important?”
“I don’t get what you’re talking about”
”this is what you’ve been looking for isn’t it? The truth is they are repeating. Not a single mask knows who they really are. All they remember is each other’s pain. Yet one of these is not like the others.”
“...I’m guessing the dragonborn at the end there is special?” The wanderer said as he flicked one of the stone arrows imbedded in the statue
”after Melania of rebirth and death this one has somehow broke free of the cycle. To quote you “the piece of me I didn’t need”. This is what you said right?”
“...I thought I destroyed them all.” The wanderer said
”It seems we were wrong. Even now as we speak this one refuses to submit to destiny.”
“Is That why I’m here?”
”yes. Without order there can be no life. His very existence threatens us. Your splintered soul has caused me a great deal of annoyance. Especially after it took refugee in the soulless husk that was the displaced’s child. I need you to be my sword wanderer. To drive back the darkness. His kind facade will fall. It must! Or we are all truly doomed.”
The statue disappeared and a screen appears in front of the wanderer
”you must stop him before he begins. Drive them out and I’ll remove them from our world” the voice on the monitor said before changing once more
”I am disappointed in you. I gave you everything you needed to stop them and you just let them go? This is unacceptable.” the voice said as lightning struck the wanderer changing his form to a Pegasus
”bring me the heads of his companion’s and take their blood.” the voice on the monitor said as it disappeared
”you have failed me not once. But twice now wanderer. But it is of no concern. I will send you to him once more but this time...”
The wanderer suddenly shifted into the form of A grey unicorn much to his confusion
”you will prevail.”
The wanderer screamed as something overwhelming began flowing through him
”or you will die trying” the voice said as the wanderer was cast off into the worlds past
”for the sake of the world and every other-“
“They all must die” king Sombra said to Celestia and Luna as he plunged the empire into a thousand years of slumber
“So you finally came to call in that favour” death said to Dagmire
“Yep! All I need is for you to let me go and I got the rest covered” Dagmire said
“Alright. But don’t forget this is your last chance. Next time I’ll be taking you with me”
“And I’ll be bringing some shots for my friends above” Dagmire said happily
“They all miss you you know?” Death said
“Same. But I just found the love of my life and I’ll be dammed if I lose that.” Dagmire said as he looked for his ride
“...Dagmire. I’ve always wondered. How is it you rejected god-hood? You had all that power beyond your wildest dreams and yet you use it on the unfortunate. Why?” Death inquired
“Well that’s simple. Helping people is my out of control power fantasy!” Dagmire said with a laugh
“...it seems even I still have much to learn about mortals”
Suddenly a massive blinding light emitted from the wall as Dagmire got up
“Well it’s been fun but I gotta run!” Dagmire said as he cartwheeled into the light
“...he is broken and as splintered as his soul yet somehow he never ceases to amaze” death surmised
Gilda ignored the many snakes swarming the bar as the bright light casted by the moon through the windows rested on a basilisk staring blankly forward as he clutched dumbbell’s severed head in his claws
“Clearance!”
“what?” Clearance asked Gilda with venom in his voice
“Dagmire-“
Clearance pinned Gilda to the wall with his claw around her throat
“How dare you speak his name after what you did!” Clearance said blinded by anger
“I can bring him back!” She said throwing Clearance off guard
“What?! How?!” Clearance asked letting go of Gilda when he saw that Leroy and Hercule were present
“Snake rave that’s how!” Dagmire’s construct said
“What?! Dagmire!”
“Alright. Let me explain” Dagmire said
Gilda played the strange music box outside as best as she could as snakes formed a circle around Dagmire’s urn. A few odd notes strung out as Clearance raised the scythe and hoed a line in the dirt. Clearance slowly grabbed the cremated ashes that were once his friend and fought tears as he filled the line in the dirt with Dagmire’s ashes. Clearance buried the ashes and the snakes circled the ashes as their glow slowly faded and the ashes began glowing.
Gilda followed the music and Clearance held the scythe in the air as the moon caused it to glow almost radiantly. Suddenly as Gilda finished the song lightning struck the scythe as Clearance brought it down into the earth. The dirt tumbled and shook as lightning spewed from the holes in the ground and the snakes turned into spirits and flew above the clouds with their newfound wings. They shortly returned carrying a limp Dagmire from the heavens and laying him to rest in the ashes. The ground exploded and Dagmire burst from it and landed on the top of the bar with the moon behind him.
“And now the hard part.” The construct said
“Wait what? What do you mean hard part?” Gilda asked
“His spirit is unstable and he needs to calm down before he tears himself apart. Basically you need to fight him and knock his ass out” the construct said
Dagmire’s eyes glowed a bloodshot red just like the ponys who killed him. It was obvious he wasn’t in control
“Alright. Any suggestions?” Gilda asked Clearance
“I need you to grab him and hold him long enough so I can turn him to stone-“ Clearance said before getting kicked in the head
Dagmire stopped and looked and the downed basilisk as a look of recognition crossed his eyes. With a blast of sand he went through Clearance and targeted Gilda with an uncoordinated strike. She easily sidestepped and swept his legs under him and pinned him to the ground. Clearance slithered over to Dagmire and stared deeply into his eyes turning Dagmire to stone and solving the problem.
“Hey Gilda?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
END OF ACT ONE