//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Formalities Part 1 // Story: Death Cometh // by Dracthul //------------------------------// Sorin had slept, something he had never truly done before. In his time on Azeroth, he would slumber in a state of consciousness that let him use his powers across the entirety of the planet without physical boundaries, but he never needed sleep, and he never became fatigued. Now in his mortal body, he found these qualities a burden. He needed food, water, and rest to just stay alive. His bones were brittle, and his flesh was soft. Mortals were fragile, just as he had wanted them to be when he and his brothers had made the Curse of Flesh that turned the Titan’s creations back on Azeroth mortal. He despised being one. As he slept for the first time, he could feel his consciousness being pulled toward something, but he did not know what it was. It perplexed him. Regardless, he awoke in the early morning, the sun just reaching the horizon. He could tell it was morning, because the rays of the sunlight began to come through his sole window and assault his eyes. After rubbing his slightly sore eyes, he came to his hooves and went to his desk. He collected his cloak from the ornate chair at the desk and draped it over his back, snapping the front into place. Through the means of magic, he removed all the dirt from his fur and smoothed his mane back down. He conjured up some water, rinsing his mouth out with some and drinking the rest. Now ready for the endeavors of the day, he went to his door and unlocked it. He slowly pushed the door open so as to not disturb anyone, and exited his room. As the door clicked close, he noticed Spike’s room was already open. Based on this world’s time, it would be the equivalent of six in the morning, so what a baby dragon would be doing awake so early escaped him. He continued down the wide hallway towards the stairs. Looking down from the balcony, he could hear the sounds of a kitchen: clanging utensils and pots. Curious as to what Spike was doing, he went down the stairs, making sure to announce his steps so the dragon would know of his entrance. “Oh, hey Sorin,” Spike said while setting his pan back on the stove as he turned towards the rather tall guest. The dragon appeared to be cooking some form of breakfast consisting of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. Whatever it was, it was overcooked just a little because everything except the juice had a black tint to it. “Good morning, Spike. I can see you’re making morning nourishment,” Sorin responded, chipper as ever. He had hardly spoken with the only intelligent creature that was a parallel between his world and this one, so when Spike said he was making breakfast for everypony, Sorin used the opportunity. “Let me help you with that,” he said before catching a falling pancake with levitation, smiling. Spike nervously chuckled before admitting, “I guess I could use the help.” Sorin whisked the cabinets open and pulled three plates from the shelves and placed them on the nearby round stone table. Continuing to use levitation, he quite literally magicked three equal portions of each food item and let them rest on the plates. Spike collected the necessary silverware and placed them beside the table settings. Just then, a groggy groan could be heard as somepony bumped into a wall upstairs. That pony was Twilight, who was now making her way to the already set table. “Late night?” the only stallion in the room asked, opting to tease the unicorn. The dragon in the room seemed to find this funny as he chuckled. “I stayed up for hours trying to find out how you pieced that sculpture back together so precisely,” the exhausted mare explained while sitting in her place. “All I could find is that to do something so intricate based on memory would require at least an hour due to wood’s complex makeup.” The others joined her, Sorin beginning to pour orange juice into the three glasses. “I’ll tell you how I did it, but you have to promise not to let your jaw hit your plate,” he began, hoping to not see another jaw drop so far like when he first came into town. To him—being made of jaws—it was just a tad bit disturbing and repulsive. Twilight leaned her head in while eagerly nodding yes. He also noticed her mane was in slight disarray this morning, likely from her lack of sleep. “Instead of rebuilding the thing bit by bit, I reset its flow of time from about twenty seconds earlier.” Her jaw dropped—not to her plate—leaving her mouth on full display. “But how?!” she practically shouted. “Time spells are some of the most powerful and dangero—” she rambled, being stopped by Sorin’s hoof over her now closed mouth. “Once again, when we properly discuss magic.” He slowly removed his hoof. She reluctantly began to take a bite of her eggs, letting the matter rest for now. “Now,” he started, “you mentioned meeting your friends yesterday?” “Yes. They will be here in about half an hour. That should give us time to eat and get ready before then.” “Splendid. I do look forward to meeting the other Elements.” The group had finished their meals, Spike having the treat of a small gemstone. The table was cleared, and another larger table had been set up in the center of the house. A teapot was at the center, with cups at seven places in an equal arrangement. An assortment of pastries was also laid on the table near the center. Twilight had brought out some chairs from what was likely a closet and set them up for her friends. “Aaaaand, there we go!” she said giddily as she dimmed the lights just a smudge. She was very excited to introduce her new guest to her friends, more so that she could gain another friend out of all this. Her recent lessons in friendship showed her that you should try to befriend everypony you can because nothing is better than having more friends. A gentle chime rang out through the treehouse as the doorbell was pushed from outside. Spike rushed over and opened the door, Twilight following just behind. As the creaky door fully opened, she was greeted with the sight of her five best friends in the whole world. Sorin sat at the table, observing the ponies who stood at the door. In the front was a vanilla cream-colored pegasus who had a pink mane covering half of her face. Next to her was a light blue pony with wings who had the whole color spectrum as the shade of her mane. Behind the two in the front, the familiar face of Rarity beamed with the glow of Equestrian makeup. In terms of appearance, Sorin found her the most profound of all the ponies he had met so far. Looking to the seamstress’s right, he spotted a peach-colored mare who had a very light blonde mane that was mostly covered by a brown cowboy hat. In this case, it was the hat of a cowmare. “Hey, Twilight! Is this a surprise party, because you mentioned ‘surprise’ when you talked about today?” the last mare shouted while jumping into the air. Her fur was pink, her mane a very similar but slightly darker shade. This one unmistakably seemed the most excited out of the group. Another thing he noticed was that every one of the group was a female. He had seen mostly mares when he arrived in Ponyville, leading him to wonder where most of the stallions were. “Not quite a party, but there is somepony I want you all to meet,” Twilight replied lightly. On cue, Sorin stood up from where he was sitting and trotted towards the group. All eyes were on him, all of them looking up at the towering stallion. The cream pony ducked down for some reason, using her mane to cover even more of her visage after taking a single glance at him. “This,” Twilight began while turning to him, “is Sorin. He will be staying with me for a while.” Said pony had a welcoming smile on his face, which helped the shiest in the room feel safe to slowly come out from the shelter of her hair. The other four mares at the door began to come forward to greet him. He extended his right hoof to the first to reach him. “A pleasure, Sorin. I’m Applejack; Ah work the fields at Sweet Apple Acres.” “A pleasure to me as well,” he said while shaking ‘Applejack’s’ hoof, finding her hoofshake as firm as his. “Pinkie Pie is the name, epic parties is my game!” the pink one rhymingly said before vehemently shaking his hoof. With a smile, she went to the table, following her hat-wearing friend. “We already met, dear, but now it’s official. As you know, I’m Rarity.” “How could I forget?” the stallion kindly said before following up with, “Your name comes as no surprise, considering you are such a rarity yourself.” That comment made the unicorn blush before heading over to her seated friends. Sorin saw a blue blur come about half a foot from his horn before it seemed to materialize into the rainbow-haired pony he saw earlier. She gently fell to the ground when her wings stopped their flapping. “Hey there, Sorin. That’s a pretty cool name, by the way,” she started in her normal “cool” voice. “I’m sure you know who I am.” The pegasus’ smug expression fell when he stood there in silence. “Ah come on!” She flew in a loop above Sorin, careful to avoid pricking herself on his javelin of a horn. “Rainbow Dash, the greatest flier in Equestria… ring any bells?” she asked hopefully. “Sadly, I’ve never heard of you, Rainbow Dash. If it’s any consultation, I’m not from here,” the stallion offered, hoping to repair the mare’s pride. It seemed to work because she threw it off with a shrug before shaking his now extended hoof. After Rainbow Dash left, the last pony became on her own. Her eyes landed on his before bouncing to the floor. In another effort to calm her, he lowered his head slightly to appear less menacing before trotting over to her. In an instant, she looked up at him, seeing his calming smile. Coming out from her mane, she spoke—or rather whispered—to him. “I-I’m Fluttershy.” That explains it, Sorin thought while keeping his composure the same. “As you know, I am Sorin. I hope you will all find me good company,” he replied a little quieter than with the others, using his words of “you all” and “hoping” to convey a message of non-hostility. Being the God of Deception meant he knew his way with words, regardless of their purpose. “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy,” he finished with before heading to the table alongside her. He took his seat and Spike poured the tea into everypony’s cups, mixing in sugar if they requested. “Now that that’s out the way,” the hostess began, “let me share some details about us.” Sorin leaned in after taking a small sip of his tea. It had a strong taste, the flavor of cinnamon overtaking it after a second and leaving a pleasant taste in his mouth. “We are the six Elements of Harmony. Applejack is Honesty, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, Rarity is Generosity, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Fluttershy is Kindness, and I am Magic. Together, we make up Harmony, the strongest force in all of Equestria. When we wear the physical Elements, we connect with them to tap into their power. “In a way, the Elements choose you. If someone tried to use one who was not worthy, I fear what it would do to them.” Those last words hung in the air. Most enchantments like that will instantly kill those who try to use it and do not possess whatever the spell requires. “I have encountered similar magic before. They are most akin to binding spells; quite unbreakable. I have heard of the power of friendship, but I have never witnessed it in person before.” “I agree. In my brief studies of the Elements, they seem to have properties similar to a binding spell, but they also channel the magic of friendship from each of us.” “Hmm,” Sorin hummed, contemplating the power of the Elements that he would most likely face eventually. “Either way, it would be interesting to one day study them.” “So,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “You really haven’t heard of me?” Sorin chuckled at that. “This again?” The mare’s face deflated. “I’m sure you are an excellent flier, and maybe you could show me some tricks some time, but I haven’t heard of you.” “Sorin,” Fluttershy started, “not to sound rude, but why are you so big?” She started to panic when she saw one of his eyebrows raise. “I-I mean, you are almost the same size as Princess Celestia, and your horn is really long for a unicorn.” “No offense taken, dear Fluttershy. To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve always been a large pony, but maybe I’ll find out eventually, especially since I predict you all will be interested in me.” As he finished what he was saying, he felt a particular tinge with his senses. It was the feeling of a powerful being approaching, and to make it weirder, it felt familiar. “Anyway, I would like to know about you all,” he continued, avoiding suspicion. He then felt the sense more profoundly, recognizing the signature of the being nearby. “I’ll start first!” a light blue mare said. “As you know, I’m the best flier in all of Equestria. I hope to join the Wonderbolts—the best flying team in Equestria—someday. I grew up in Cloudsdale, which is where I met my first friend, Fluttershy.” Cloudsdale. Yes, I remember that floating city in the sky from the map. “You two have known each other since you were both young?” Sorin asked. “Yes. In fact, Rainbow Dash helped me discover my special talent of caring for animals years ago,” Fluttershy added in her tender voice. “I live in the hillside cottage, close enough to the Everfree Forest to take care of the animals that live there.” “The Everfree Forest?” he unintentionally deadpanned. He did not know of such a place. “Oh, yes. The only forest in Equestria that has its own weather. All kinds of scary creatures live there, but there are plenty of kind ones that I help take care of.” “How interesting…” “My passion is fashion, as I’m sure you could guess. I own the boutique, and I have occasionally worked outside of Ponyville. My clothing lines are quite the marvel, not to sound too boastful.” “There is no harm in being proud of your work, Rarity.” “Why, thank you. I live with my sister, Sweetie Belle, in the boutique,” she finished. Sorin nodded in understanding. “Ah,” Applejack began in her country accent, “live on Sweet Apple Acres with meh brother, granny, an’ sister. We tend the orchards there, makin’ all sorts of apple products.” “A most respectable line of work.” “Thank you.” Pinkie Pie took in a long breath before she started to spill her story. “I used to live on a rock farm—which was super boring—before I found out I like planning, throwing, and attending parties. If you didn’t know, my special talent is parties!” Really? I never guessed. “So, I came to Ponyville. I work at the Cake’s bakery, making pastries all day.” Her mouth seemed to water at the thought of pastries, her mind filling with images of cupcakes. “I do like me the occasional frosted cupcake,” Sorin lied, not actually knowing how a cupcake tastes. The mortals he faced in his time on Azeroth surprisingly never offered him a cupcake during battle. “I already know a little about you, Twilight, but what else can you tell me?” “Well,” she said while looking upwards in thought. “I always liked magic, but I was not the greatest at it as a foal. “One day, my class had a test, and the one who passed would become Princess Celestia’s personal student.” “I can guess who passed.” “We had to get a dragon egg to hatch. In a burst of magic, I got the egg to open, which was when I first met Spike. “After that, I moved to Canterlot to start my studies under the princess. Eventually, I warned her about Nightmare Moon returning, but she wanted me to make friends in Ponyville. I did so, which was how we were able to end up stopping Nightmare Moon from casting eternal night over Equestria. And that leads us to now.” She had the most interesting story by far, according to Sorin. Her whole life revolves around power, which was something he could respect. Everyone from the group of friends had shared details about their life, so he was the one who appeared unsocial at the moment. “Since you all shared, I might as well fill you in on some of my past. There is not much to know, simply that I studied the various aspects of the world while I traveled, experiencing the nomadic thrill. Then, I heard about Twilight defeating Nightmare Moon and I came here to find that pony, and I did—as well as her friends.” They seemed satisfied with his answer for now. “I have some news,” Twilight said with a grin, changing the mood of the conversation. Everyone looked to her in expectation. What Sorin didn’t know was that Twilight had recently come into possession of two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, the most important social event in Equestria that happens only once a year. Each of her friends had valid reasons to go with her, but she only had one spare ticket. After a whole ordeal, she had decided to forfeit her own ticket as well as her extra since all of her friends could not go to the gala. In response, Princess Celestia had given her eight tickets. She had one extra, and she was unsure of what to do with it. Daring not to throw it away, she left it upstairs. “I have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, one for each of us!” Spike looked sad, so Twilight held a ticket to him. “One for you too, my favorite assistant.” Both of them had beaming smiles. Sorin didn’t expect to get a ticket, nor did he want one. He did not wish to attend parties unless he had something to gain from it. Frivolous interaction was useless. The mares all cheered together, some leaping into the air and others letting out lady-like giggles of glee. They were all overjoyed that they would be able to see the wonders of the gala for the first time. Based on their passions, they each had their own reason for wanting to go. Keeping on the topic of passions, Twilight did not know what Sorin’s was. She had never seen his Cutie Mark since it had been covered by his cloak the entire time, and he never spoke about it either. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your special talent?” she asked out of pure curiosity, looking directly at the lone stallion. Luckily, they could not see the menacing set of jaws on his backside. He was saved from answering that question when the doorbell rang, something the hostess was not expecting. She got up from her seat and went over to the entrance of her home. Pulling the handle and opening the door, she was greeted with an unexpected pony. Sorin instantly recognized her, her signature telling him who she was minutes ago when she was still flying to Ponyville. “Princess Celestia,” he said respectfully as he looked at the alicorn standing at the door, his mock smile brimming with hate.