Doctor Whooves was helping ponies put up decorations for Nightmare Night, he saw foals running around in costumes already and laughing, he smiled and put up more decorations,
"There, that's all I can do for now, I have to go see my patient." Doctor Whooves spoke,
"You have to work today?" Roseluck asked,
"Of course, my dear, my next patient is a bit traumatized from his experiences." Doctor Whooves answered,
"Oh, well, can you finish early, dear?" Roseluck requested,
"I'll try, Rose, I'll try." Doctor Whooves said, and they kissed one another for a moment and he left. Doctor Whooves entered his office and sat, his patient came in, he was a teenage unicorn, he had a light blue coat, long white and gray mane and tail, gray eyes, and his cutie mark was a brown tome,
"A teenager?" Doctor Whooves asked, the colt nodded,
"State your name and occupation." Doctor Whooves said,
"Soul Medium, I'm an exorcist and a shaman." the colt answered,
"You? A communicator of spirits?" Doctor Whooves questioned,
"The tribe I'm from considers us adults when we turn 13, so in my home area's native culture, I'm already a fully grown pony." Soul Medium explained,
"I see, do you have the money to afford my session?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Yes, sir." Soul Medium responded, and a dark purple aura appeared on his horn while he took money out of his saddlebag,
"Okay, let's begin." Doctor Whooves instructed, and Soul Medium began to tell his tale.
Soul Medium was an orphan from a tribe of unicorn exorcists and shamans, they all chanted and played music to communicate with ghosts, he and the other foals were also trained in using bow and arrows, spears, swords, and shields. Soul Medium left the tribe to live on his own when he turned 13 and began creating charms, kept herbs and spices, and cast spells to protect his home from evil spirits. He lived isolated in the woods in a cabin he built by himself, he prayed and said incantations every night to keep evil spirits at bay. He stopped one night when he heard running and panting outside, he headed outside and saw a teenage earth pony filly running; she had a dark purple coat, long white mane and tail, dark red eyes, and her cutie mark was a microphone; he looked and saw two transparent ponies running and chasing her. A magic aura appeared on his horn and Soul Medium chanted while his voice echoed, dark purple fire appeared on the two ghosts and they turned into light blue orbs and broke apart.
Soul Medium watched the filly continue to run away and four more transparent ghosts appeared, they flew into the trees and they came to life. The trees began to swing their branches down while the filly screamed, Soul Medium shot beams out of his horn and destroyed the trees, the pieces then floated around in midair and he chanted an incantation that set the wood on fire, the four ghosts came out and flew into the filly's body. She screamed and began foaming from her mouth while she had muscle spasms, Soul Medium quickly picked her up and carried her into his cabin. He laid her onto a table and cast bindings onto her and then proceeded to mix various powdered herbs and spices together, he finished and used his magic to open her mouth and pour the mix of powdered herbs and spices down her throat, the filly screamed while white light came out of her eyes and mouth, the four ghosts came out and Soul Medium shot dark purple fire out of his horn at them, they moaned as they turned into orbs and broke apart.
Soul Medium made the bindings disappear while the filly coughed,
"You alright?" Soul Medium asked,
"I think so, thank you." the filly responded,
"What is your name?" Soul Medium inquired,
"Soprano, and you?" Soprano asked,
"Soul Medium." Soul Medium answered,
"I have to get home, my parents are worried about me." Soprano said,
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Soul Medium questioned,
"I was walking home from school, I passed by this old village in the woods and those ghosts went after me, only those six chased me while the others watched from afar." Soprano explained, Soul Medium's attention was caught,
"Take me there." Soul Medium demanded,
"What? Why? It's dangerous." Soprano warned,
"I'm an exorcist, maybe I can exorcise those spirits and make it safe for others to travel through the woods without fear of being harmed or haunted." Soul Medium stated,
"Okay, but I'm not going anywhere near that place." Soprano said,
"I understand your reason, if you start having nightmares of that place, come see me again, it might mean the ghosts there are haunting you in your dreams." Soul Medium explained,
"Oh, Celestia, I hope not." Soprano lamented,
"You'll know if they appear in your dream, let's go now." Soul Medium spoke, and he got his weapons, herbs, spices, and charms and followed her. They walked through the woods while Soprano panted and sweated a little heavily, they arrived at a path,
"This is the farthest I go." Soprano said,
"Where do I go from here?" Soul Medium asked,
"Just follow the path and you'll be at the village, there's a house bigger than the others just past the village, too." Soprano explained,
"Okay, thank you, head on home now, I'll see if I can get rid of these ghosts." Soul Medium replied,
"Please do, I have to travel this path every day when going from home to school and back to home." Soprano stated,
"You go home this late every night? What kind of school are you attending?" Soul Medium questioned,
"No, only tonight, I was helping my school set up an activity and finished late." Soprano answered,
"Oh, well, I'll be going now." Soul Medium said, and he went to the village while Soprano went home.
Soul Medium walked to the village and fog began to engulf the woods, he heard whispering and looked around but saw no one, he continued heading to the village while the whispering stopped. He continued walking while keeping his guard up, Soul Medium heard tumbling up ahead and he cast a spell to make the fog disappear. He saw boulders tumbling down the hill and he quickly shot a zap from his horn to destroy the one closest to him, two more boulders tumbled down to him and he quickly shot them with more zaps to destroy them. Three ghosts formed and Soul Medium looked at them, they were all unicorn stallions, they had dark yellow-orange coats, long light turquoise manes and tails, and dark red eyes'. The ghosts went into the ground and long vines with thorns began to grow out of the ground and Soul Medium said an incantation while his voice echoed, the vines caught on fire and the three ghosts floated up into the air. Soul Medium aimed his bow and dark purple flames appeared on his arrow tips, he shot arrows into the ghosts and they moaned as they winced back, they then turned into light blue floating flames and went to the village.
Soul Medium continued onward and kept his guard up, he heard rustling in the grass but saw nothing, he listened and realized wild animals were stalking him, he walked forward and arrived at his destination. He looked and saw the houses were made from wood and logs with roofs made from thatch, he walked to the bundle of sticks in the center of the village and lit a fire with the rocks and tinder around it. Soul Medium cast a spell and the fire turned dark purple, he saw everypony in the village had the same color coat, manes, tails, and eyes, but their cutie marks were all different from each other's. The ponies were dancing around the fire while drums played, the dancers all wore wooden masks of various shapes and colors that covered their entire faces while the drummers all wore bright red and yellow robes with abstract patterns on them. Soul Medium looked and noticed they were all unicorn stallions, there was not a single mare, Pegasus, or earth pony in the image, five stallions in the image stood out, the one in the center wore a completely black robe, a war bonnet on his head and a pony's skull as a mask, the other four with him wore robes, kufi hats, and masks that looked like the heads and faces of animals, their robes and kufi hats were either red, blue, yellow, or green, the one in red wore a salamander mask, the one in blue wore a fish mask, the one in yellow wore a deer mask that had antlers, and the one in green wore an eagle mask.
The black robed stallion began dancing on top of the fire while the other four danced around him in a circle, he then held his front legs up with still beating hearts on his hoofs. Soul Medium's eyes widened as he watched the stallion put the hearts into the fire and the orange flames flew up into the night sky and two big red slanted eyes appeared, beams shot out of its eyes and the entire village was engulfed by a red light. The stallions exhaled with ghastly voices, the stallions stopped what they were doing and looked straight at Soul Medium, the black robed stallion shot a black and red blast out of his horn and Soul Medium quickly ducked as the blast came out of the fire and it extinguished itself in midair before it hit anything. Soul Medium listened and heard screaming inside the blast while the fire extinguished itself,
"He is here." a male voice stated from elsewhere, Soul Medium looked up and saw the ghost of the green robed stallion. Black clouds and fog formed around the village while he heard thunder, lightning came out of the sky and was about to strike him, but one of Soul Medium's charms put up a force field and deflected it, crows and mosquitoes then began to fly down and tried pecking and biting him. Soul Medium got pecked and bitten until he teleported away from them and shot zaps at them, they flew around and dodged his zaps as they chased him. Soul Medium took his spear off of his back and spun it around, he cut the crows and mosquitoes apart and black mists came out of them and flew into the green robed stallion. More thunder was heard and lightning tried to strike Soul Medium again, one of his charms deflected it back into the sky, it began to rain afterwards and it froze whatever it touched. Soul Medium cast a spell and made fire surround himself, the fire at the bundle of sticks then lighted again and he saw a salamander's face in it, it roared and threw fireballs at him, he shot zaps out of his horn to extinguish them. The ground shook and began shifting with several parts moving up, down, and to the sides, Soul Medium cast telekinesis on himself to fly up and the green robed stallion threw balls made of wind gusts at him, he held his shield in front of himself and blocked them while they put slash marks on it. A pony's skull appeared to the north while Soul Medium looked to his right,
"Wait, stop fighting him, we have more important matters at hoof." the pony skull spoke without its mouth and jaw moving, Soul Medium realized the voice was of the pony who announced his arrival. The red robed stallion formed out of the fire,
"But, Chief, this stallion is an exorcist and can fight back against us." the red robed stallion said, the blue robed stallion formed out of the rain while the yellow robed stallion formed out of the ground,
"I understand that, but we must pray, or our god will strip us of our powers." the chief spoke, the four stallions' eyes' widened,
"Let's focus on this first, leave him to our citizens for now." the chief commanded,
"Yes, Chief." the four stallions replied, and they all disappeared while the ground fixed itself.
Soul Medium walked around the village while sensing the ghosts, he entered one of the houses and looked for anything suspicious looking, he saw various skulls on a shelf in front of him and a small shrine with pony skulls on it, a stallion's ghost appeared in front of him and the skulls began floating around. Soul Medium shot fire out of his horn and the ghost winced back when one hit him, the stallion made the skulls fly forward and Soul Medium shot them apart with zaps. He destroyed all of them and the ghost floated around frantically while Soul Medium shot fire out of his horn and the ghost screamed, he turned into an orb and it broke apart and disappeared. Soul Medium examined the house and found nothing else, he dug a hole with his magic and buried the skulls in them and exited the house.
Soul Medium stood in the center of the village and cast a spell that allowed him to see what was inside the houses, he saw animal heads in one house and entered it. He looked at the home and saw all of the deer, lion, bear, and wolf heads had not decomposed, they were also frozen in positions as if they were roaring. Soul Medium looked at them closely and the animals' eyes moved around and focused on him, they glared at him fiercely while he tried moving around but the eyes moved and focused on him. The animal heads floated up and they roared with distorted and demonic sounds, they floated to him and the lion, bear, and wolf heads tried to bite him while the deer heads tried to ram and stab him with their antlers.
Soul Medium exclaimed loudly in pain as the lions, bears, and wolves latched onto him and bit into his body, he cast telekinesis as the deer heads began to stab their antlers into him. He took powdered spices out of his saddle bag mixed them together, he then made a circle around himself with it and a symbol inside the circle, he then chanted an incantation with his voice echoing and dark purple flames appeared in the circle, the animal heads on him screeched as they burned and disappeared. The remaining animal heads floated and watched while Soul Medium took a small bottle out of his saddlebag and took a sip of the liquid in it, his wounds healed instantly. Soul Medium cast a spell and made the circle expand until the entire house was in it, all of the animal heads screeched and as they burned and disappeared, the ghosts possessing them also disappeared, he then headed outside.
Soul Medium looked inside the houses and saw one more house of interest, he entered it and saw a lot of dolls in the house, they all had angry expressions. Soul Medium looked at each doll and they were all highly detailed, one doll that caught his eye looked exactly just like him. The doll of him floated up and the yellow robed stallion appeared, he held the doll and began stabbing needles into it, Soul Medium screamed in pain as he fell to his knees. The dolls jumped off of the shelves and began running to him and jumped onto him, they then started biting him and trying to tear him apart. He used his telekinesis to fling the dolls away but they stood back up and ran to him again, he used his magic to tear the dolls apart while the yellow robed stallion tore the horn off of the doll he was holding. Soul Medium screamed in agony and winced in pain on the floor while the dolls fixed themselves and ran to him again, they began to pile up on him and tried to tear him apart. Soul Medium cast a spell and dark purple fire engulfed him and burned the dolls and the ghosts in the dolls floated away.
They began shooting blasts out of their horns at him, they were black and red and bubbling, another one of Soul Medium's charms blocked and deflected their magic blasts, they touched the walls and disintegrated them. Soul Medium still panted from the intense pain in his horn and the yellow robed stallion got ready to bend and break the doll's legs, Soul Medium quickly shot a big blast at him out of his horn and the stallion held his front hoofs up to block the blast while he dropped the doll. Soul Medium used his telekinesis to drag the doll to himself and then chanted an incantation in another language while his voice echoed, the entire house caught on fire and the ghosts screamed as they got burned by the dark purple flames, the yellow robed stallion resisted the flames better, they all turned into floating flames and flew into the floor.
Soul Medium cast a spell to lessen the pain in his body while putting the doll that looked like him into his saddlebag, the ground that made up the house's floor cracked and broke into multiple parts, the pieces of the ground began moving up and down while Soul Medium had trouble keeping his balance, the ground burst open and a creature made of multiple pony and animal bones came out while roaring. Soul Medium readied his spear and shield while the skeletal creature walked to him. The creature punched his shield and the force pushed him out of the house, it continued walking forward while Soul Medium looked for a weak spot, he jumped back when the skeleton's upper-body began spinning around with its arms stretched out and its fists destroying anything they touched. He cast a spell to see which part of the skeleton had the most energy in it, he saw light blue fire on its head and where its heart should be, he ran forward while the skeleton tried to punch him, he jumped while it put a crater in the ground with its fist. Soul Medium ran up its arm and stabbed his spear through its bones at where its heart should be, he watched the flames in that area of its body move elsewhere. The skeleton threw him off and he grunted when he hit the ground, the rocks and trees around the area broke and then flew onto the skeleton's body to form makeshift armor.
Soul Medium got back up and used his magic to fly around while the skeleton shot red and black blasts out of its mouth, one of his charms deflected it, it then tried to punch him and he blocked it with his shield, he got pushed back again while he noticed a big dent in his shield. The skeleton ran to him while Soul Medium tried to pry the rocks and tree parts off with his telekinesis, they did not come off, so he put his shield on his back and took his sword out. The skeleton punched its fists into the ground and made jagged rocks grow out, he ran and jumped over them, he stabbed his spear and sword into the gaps on the rocks and tree parts on the skeleton's head and tried to pry the parts off. Soul Medium grunted as he tried to pry them off but could not, he looked and saw they were held together by tree sap, the skeleton threw him off while he shot dark purple fire into the armor's gaps located around the skeleton's forehead.
Soul Medium fell onto the ground and got back up while the skeleton turned dark purple and its armor exploded into pieces, floating flames flew out of the skeleton and into each piece of armor and the houses. The pieces of the homes and the materials inside them began floating around, the wooden logs and thatch tried to ram and stab him, he cast a spell to burn them while the rocks and logs made from the skeleton's armor began trying to ram him. He saw the skeleton hold its arms out and began shooting bones out of its bodies at him, he quickly put his shield up to block them while casting a magic shield around himself to block the flying objects. He took his bow out and aimed carefully, he shot an arrow into the skeleton's body where its heart should be through its ribs, he hit a flame and the skeleton roared as its body exploded with a flame floating out and its head floated around, Soul Medium quickly shot another arrow at its head and it exploded while a flame floated out.
Soul Medium quickly cast a spell while chanting an incantation and dark purple flames engulfed the entire area, everything got destroyed while the ghosts wailed in agony, they all turned into light blue orbs and broke apart. He sighed with relief and looked at the destroyed area for a brief second shortly before heading elsewhere, he walked a little and saw a big house to the north and headed there. He arrived and saw a seal on the door, it was a big black circle with four other symbols around it, the symbol above it was an eagle's head, the symbol to its left was a salamander's head, the symbol to its right was a deer's head, and the symbol below it was a fish's head,
"So I have to take out those four robed guys first." Soul Medium commented, and he walked around the house to look for the other areas around, he saw four temples, he began to think which one he should go to first until he heard voices back at the village,
"Help. Help." a stallion called out, Soul Medium headed back. He went back into the village and saw more floating flames, he got ready to fight them while earth pony stallions and mares of many different colors formed,
"Wait, don't attack us, we come in peace." one stallion spoke, Soul Medium relaxed,
"Who are you guys?" Soul Medium asked,
"We're the original residents of this village, those ghosts haunting this place are a tribe not from around here, they killed all of us and took over this place." a mare explained,
"What can you tell me about those five stallions commanding them?" Soul Medium questioned,
"They're the leaders of the tribe, that stallion in the black robe with the skull mask is War Chief, he's the tribe's leader, that pony with the red robe is Fire Priest, the one in blue is Water Priest, the one in yellow is Earth Priest, and the one in green is Wind Priest." another stallion answered,
"Wait, before you continue, are you familiar about Mother Nature and the four who inherited her elements and powers?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Yes, I was taught about them when I was a kid, Mother Nature is seen as a deity in my tribe." Soul Medium replied,
"Oh, I see, go ahead and continue then." Doctor Whooves said, and he did.
"War Chief's four priests guard his home, they also pray with him to the one who granted them their powers to haunt others in the first place." a mare added,
"We don't know who it is, but we know that person is real, he constantly demands prayer since it empowers him, and the souls of this village's residents are offered to him to make him stronger." a third stallion explained,
"What? Are your souls not sent to the Void?" Soul Medium inquired,
"We are, but the ones offered to their god were caught before they could arrive, we made it to the Void, we're here now because Spirit summoned us to explain to you who those ponies haunting this place are." the first stallion spoke,
"I'll put a stop to War Chief and his tribe, I'll see if I can free the souls of those offered to their god, too." Soul Medium declared,
"Thank you, we miss them to this day, please, free our relatives and friends, we must go now before War Chief and his priests detect us." the first mare spoke,
"Wait, one more thing, is there a certain order I have to take out the priests?" Soul Medium asked,
"Well, there's no certain order other than you have to take out Fire Priest last since he's War Chief's second-in-command, and his temple is guarded by the other three priests, but other than that, you can take them out any order." a second mare replied,
"Okay, thanks." Soul Medium said, and the ghosts disappeared. He looked around and at the temples while trying to decide which one to go to first, he also noticed blue, yellow, and green force fields around Fire Priest's temple. He thought about which one to go to and looked at the sky and saw birds and bugs flying away, he decided to take out Wind Priest first and headed to his temple.
Soul Medium headed north and walked up the path,
"He is here." Wind Priest's voice spoke, he kept his guard up while fog engulfed his vision again. He walked forward slowly while his breathing got a little heavier, he heard thunder in the sky and lightning tried to strike him and one of his charms to deflected it. Soul Medium ran up the hill but stopped when he heard the wind get stronger and boulders began tumbling down the hill, he quickly shot them with blasts from his horn to destroy them. He ran up the hill and shot and destroyed more boulders, strong gusts of wind then began blowing and Soul Medium grunted as he tried to stand on the hill and not get blown down.
Plants got torn out of the ground and began getting blown to him, they did not knock him down, so the wind got stronger and rocks began getting blown at him, he shot them with a blast from his horn and destroyed them. Soul Medium tried to step forward but fell to his knees and got blown downhill a little when he took his leg off of the ground. He looked up and said an incantation and then shot a big dark purple fireball out of his horn. The fire hit Wind Priest's temple and it caught on fire, the gusts of wind stopped and the fog cleared.
Soul Medium panted while he noticed the ghosts putting out the flames and he ran up the hill. He arrived at the temple and he heard crows above him cawing and buzzing, he looked up and saw crows, mosquitoes, and wasps,
"Destroy him." Wind Priest commanded with his voice echoing, and they all flew down to peck, bite, and sting him. Soul Medium shot more fire out of his horn and burned them, he then ran into the temple and saw a big gravestone in its center with an eagle ornament on the gravestone's top, his attention was caught when he saw a painting of a unicorn wearing a black cloak, he had a black coat and red eyes, there were no facial features on him. He looked and saw bird skulls stacked on the shelves to the sides of the picture and they all cawed and screeched at him with their mouths moving. Soul Medium looked at the picture with discomfort since he sensed the figure in the picture was alive and watching him, the figure glared at him and shot red beams out of its eyes, Soul Medium screamed as he was shot out of the temple.
Soul Medium grunted as he fell on the ground, he got back up and saw Wind Priest on his temple's roof,
"It seems our tribe's citizens have failed in dealing with you, looks like I have to deal with you myself." Wind Priest said, and he jumped into the air and transformed, he now had the head, body, and beak of a crow, green hornet eyes, bird feet with bug legs coming out the soles of his feet, he also had four bug wings coming out of his back and a stinger in place of his tail, he let out a demonic roar.
Soul Medium took his bow off of his back while tornadoes formed and moved around, Wind Priest swung his front legs forward and sent out gusts of wind, they cut whatever they touched as they homed on Soul Medium, he held his shield up and the wind gusts cut it. Wind Priest flew down and got ready to grab Soul Medium with the talons on his hind feet, Soul Medium ducked to dodge him and grunted as the winds created by him flying over the ground knocked him down and cut his body a little. Wind Priest turned around and began flapping his wings to create powerful gusts that destroyed the ground. Soul Medium stood his ground and struggled not to get pushed back by the powerful gusts, he growled and shot fire blast out of his horn, Wind Priest screeched when he burned but the flames extinguished themselves. Wind Priest screeched and his eyes lit up, crows, mosquitoes, and wasps formed in the sky and flew down to attack Soul Medium, they began pecking, biting, and stinging him as he used telekinesis on his spear to cut them apart, more formed and joined in. Wind Priest inhaled deeply and then shot a big gust of wind out of his mouth that blew Soul Medium away and he screamed as he fell onto the ground.
Soul Medium laid on the ground while the crows, mosquitoes, and wasps flew to him and began attacking him again while Wind Priest used the bug wings on his back to fly faster. Soul Medium heard him coming and he cast a spell while growling, fire appeared around him and burned away the crows, mosquitoes, and wasps, he stood up and saw Wind Priest about to ram him with his body. Wind Priest flew up at the last second and tried to sting Soul Medium with his stinger, he blocked it with his shield. He flew up and then began to fly back down and got ready to grab Soul Medium with his talons. He aimed carefully while roaring and Soul Medium got on his back slashed Wind Priest's hind feet with his spear, he screeched loudly and flew back up.
Soul Medium stood up while Wind Priest got ready to flap his wings to make more gusts, he took his bow off of his back and shot Wind Priest in his body four times with his arrows, he screeched and began to stagger and fall while Soul Medium also aimed carefully and shot arrows past his bug wings to destroy them. Wind Priest began to fall but mustered his strength to fly up, he got ready to shoot a gust of wind out of his mouth but saw Soul Medium aiming an arrow at him, he stopped and then began to fly down to get ready to bite him. Soul Medium quickly unsheathed his sword and stabbed it into Wind Priest's forehead, he screeched loudly and flew up while shaking his head around in pain, the spiritual energy in Soul Medium's sword went into Wind Priest's body and he turned dark purple and exploded. Soul Medium quickly cast telekinesis on himself to bring himself down onto the ground and landed, Wind Priest's temple and gravestone collapsed while a stream of black mist flew out and went into War Chief's home, Soul Medium sighed and went back.
Soul Medium headed back to War Chief's home and the seal shaped like the eagle's head was gone, he looked to the east and then to the south on which priest he should fight next, he thought about the rain freezing him in place, he decided to get rid of Water Priest next and headed south.
Soul Medium walked down the hill and began to almost lose his balance as the ground suddenly became frozen and slippery, he soon slipped and slid down the hill into ice cold water. Soul Medium quickly swam up and gasped for breath, he stepped out of the water and shivered,
"Kill him." Water Priest's voice called out, and Soul Medium quickly cast fire on himself to warm himself up. He looked around and saw the temple was in the center of the lake and at the bottom, he reached into his saddlebag and took out two containers, one had herbs while the other powdered spice in it. He wrapped the powdered spice in the herb and smelt it while taking a deep breath, he exhaled and then ate it, he then jumped into the water. He swam down while casting a spell to put fire around himself to keep himself warm, the herb and powdered spice he smelled prevented the water from entering his nostrils. He heard swimming around him and looked around, it was too dark to see anything, so he cast a white light to see the area better, he saw the temple up ahead and a lot of fish, sharks, eels, octopi, jellyfish, and stingrays around him.
The marine animals began swimming at high speeds and towards him, the sharks tried to bite him while the octopi tried to wrap their legs around him and trap him with their suction cups. Soul Medium cast a teleporting spell to escape them and went into the temple, he entered and saw another gravestone with a fish ornament on its top in the center of it and a painting of the black hooded figure again, there were fish skulls everywhere on the floor inside the temple. He looked at the picture again and figure glared at him, it shot a black blast out of its horn and shot him out of the temple. Soul Medium went back into the ice cold water and the stingrays and jellyfish tried to sting him while the eels tried to electrocute him, he quickly swam away and the fish intercepted him and began biting him, he quickly cast a spell and teleported.
Soul Medium appeared above the water and cast telekinesis on himself, something on the water's surface lunged at him and he floated back quickly,
"Whoa!" Soul Medium exclaimed, he saw snakes slithering on the water's surface, he flew up higher so they could not reach him, the fish and sharks then began jumping out of the water and tried to bite him, so he floated up higher. He cast a spell and shot fire into the water, the marine animals got engulfed in flames but did not extinguish, Soul Medium then teleported onto the land and waited, his eyes widened when all of the animals came to the surface and began coming after him. Soul Medium ran away while the marine animals flopped around or slithering to him while they burned with their flesh melting off, he ran back but his exit was blocked by a wall of ice, he looked back and saw the marine animals catching up to him, he quickly shot more fire at them and turned into skeletons. The skeletons continued coming towards him and he kept shooting fire at them, he said an incantation and made his fire stronger, the skeletons burned away, Soul Medium sighed with relief and went back to the body of water.
Soul Medium arrived back at the water and saw Water Priest standing on its surface,
"I didn't think you'd actually win against my pets, looks like I have to deal with you myself, I will avenge Wind Priest." Water Priest declared, and he went into the water and transformed, he had the head of a shark, crab pincers, octopus tentacles with jellyfish legs coming out of his suction cups, a stingray's stinger for his tail, and electricity around his body. Soul Medium used his telekinesis to fly up above the water but Water Priest grabbed him with his jellyfish legs and he screamed as they cut him and injected him with venom, he got pulled into the water and breathed differently as the venom took effect. Soul Medium became paralyzed while Water Priest summoned sharks to eat him, he tried to force himself to move while the jellyfish venom continued to immobilize him, he tried to grunt but could not as he struggled to move. He began to move very slowly and tried to reach into his saddlebag while also trying to cast a spell, the sharks continued biting into him, he focused as hard as he could and barely had enough energy to cast a healing spell.
Soul Medium moved normally again and he cast a ring of fire around himself to burn the sharks away, Water Priest summoned jellyfish around himself to sting Soul Medium, he used his magic to teleport around since the water slowed his movement, he could not say his incantations, and his powdered herbs and spices did not work underwater. More fish, sharks, octopi, stingrays, and eels appeared and they swam after him while he teleported away and shot fire at them to burn them away. Water Priest generated electricity from his body and electrified all of the water, Soul Medium screamed and quickly teleported out of the water. He appeared above the water and used his telekinesis to float above it, he aimed his bow at Water Priest but he opened his mouth and four long snakes came out, Soul Medium quickly aimed and shot an arrow into his mouth and he winced in pain.
The fish and sharks began jumping out of the water and trying to bite Soul Medium, he floated around to dodge them while Water Priest summoned rain that froze whatever it touched. The water eventually froze with the marine animals in it while Water Priest slithered onto its surface, he stood on the ice and opened his mouth to make the snakes come out again. He tried to grab Soul Medium with them alongside his octopus and jellyfish legs, they got a hold of him before he could move and he was bitten by the snakes and stung by the jellyfish legs. Soul Medium became more paralyzed than before while Water Priest drags him to himself and then stings him with his stingray stinger to make the paralysis stronger. He then proceeded to grab him with his pincers and got ready to tear Soul Medium in half, Water Priest watched him trying to break free from the paralysis with his willpower again, he began stinging him with his jellyfish legs to paralyze him even more while also trying to rip him in half.
Soul Medium felt his bones and body stretch out and he tried to break free from the paralysis, he mustered every ounce of his strength to try to cast a healing spell, sparks came out of his horn and Water Priest noticed it. He proceeded to pull Soul Medium towards himself and bit his neck, he tried to rip his head off while Soul Medium endured immense pain, he continued trying to cast a healing spell and his horn glowed, he exhaled loudly as he cured himself of the paralysis. Soul Medium teleported out of Water Priest's grip and mouth and stood on the ice, he took more powdered spices out of his saddlebag and put a circle around himself. Water Priest made it rain again and the circle blocked Soul Medium from them, he then slammed his octopus legs on the ice to make icicles grow out, they began cracking the ice and Soul Medium used his magic to float up.
The sharks began jumping out of the water again and trying to bite him while he floated and teleported around, Water Priest aimed his octopus legs at him and shot ice and lightning out of them, the circle deflected them away from Soul Medium until Water Priest broke the part of the ice Soul Medium was standing on to make the powdered spice float away in the water. Soul Medium breathed deeply while being submerged in the ice cold water, Water Priest shot lightning into the water to electrify it and Soul Medium screamed while the marine animals swam to him. He quickly teleported out and decided Water Priest had to be taken out quickly, he began shooting arrows into his head while he winced in pain from each one, the snakes on the water's surface tried to lean up and bite him while the sharks leaped out of the water and tried to eat him alive. He cast fire into the water and said an incantation to empower it, the entire water caught on fire and all of the marine animals disintegrated and got absorbed into Water Priest, he then quickly shot more arrows into Water Priest's head and he got stunned, he quickly teleported to him and stabbed his sword into his heart, Water Priest screamed as he got engulfed by dark purple flames and exploded.
Soul Medium got knocked back and fell onto the ground, he stood up while Water Priest's temple and gravestone collapsed with a stream of black mist heading to War Chief's home, he sighed and left the area. He walked up the hill that was not frozen anymore and the ice wall was gone, he headed back and began sneezing, he ate a herb to stop it and continued walking. He saw War Chief's house up ahead with the seal shaped like the fish's head gone, he hid behind a tree when he saw War Chief, Fire Priest, and Earth Priest together,
"Wind Priest and Water Priest have fallen." Earth Priest reported,
"I'm aware, even with their best efforts, they couldn't beat him, you and Fire Priest are not to underestimate him." War Chief replied,
"You're our last line of defense, Earth Priest, don't fail us." Fire Priest added,
"I don't intend to, plus, our tribe's citizens are standing by and ready to fight, too." Earth Priest stated,
"Good, because at this rate, he will take out all of us, we have to stop him." War Chief commented,
"I will continue the prayers to the one who granted our powers for now, but if you fall in battle, Earth Priest, I will try to stop him." Fire Priest declared,
"Okay, I'll be on my way to my temple now." Earth Priest responded, and he and Fire Priest walked in opposite directions while War Chief disappeared. Soul Medium walked up to his house and turned to his right, he saw the elevation of the path to Earth Priest's temple was the same as his current location, he began walking there.
Soul Medium walked and quickly lost as his balance and fell as the ground began shaking,
"Whoa!" Soul Medium exclaimed as the ground broke into pieces and moved up and down randomly, he began running and big stones formed out of the ground in front of him to block his path. He strafed around to run past them and sinkholes began appearing while Earth Priest moved his temple farther away with his magic, he ran around them and jumped over one that was too wide to run around. Earth Priest continued to move his temple farther away while the ground shook with pieces of it moving around and vines began growing out of the cracks and holes as they attempted to entangle Soul Medium. He shot fire out of his horn to burn them and continued running while trees began to grow in front of him and two grew very close to one another and Soul Medium got stuck between them. He cast fire again to burn them and saw the road to Earth Priest's temple become covered with sharp and jagged rocks growing out of the ground, he decided to teleport there to avoid them.
Soul Medium teleported into Earth Priest's temple but saw nothing inside, he realized it was an illusion while the temple moved farther away from him, he cast a spell and the illusion disappeared. He looked at his surroundings and saw trees everywhere, he heard growling and realized the wild animals were stalking him again,
"Destroy him." Earth Priest commanded, and the wild animals jumped out of hiding. Soul Medium saw bears, lions, deer, and wolves come out, they began running at him and the wolves jumped and tried to bite him, he ducked to dodge them while the bears and lions ran after him, he quickly said an incantation and shot a beam into the sky. The beam spread out in the sky and the animals stopped attacking and bowed to him,
"Do your job." Earth Priest commanded as he broke the spell and the animals began attacking Soul Medium again. He held his spear and shield out and stabbed the wolves when they jumped at him, one jumped over his spear and he quickly held up his shield to block its bite, the wolf jumped back and tried again, Soul Medium slashed it with his spear and it disappeared. The bears and lions began running to him and they bit his shield and put holes in it, he quickly shot fire out of his horn and they burned until they turned into skeletons, they tried to bite him again but fell apart. The deer began charging at him and he teleported to behind them, he said an incantation and they caught on fire and soon disappeared, he then headed to the temple.
Soul Medium ran to the temple but stopped when he saw arrows in the sky, he put up his shield to block them, he saw the remaining citizens up ahead and they shot more arrows at him. Soul Medium waited for the arrows to come near him and said a word in a foreign language while his voice echoed, the arrows got engulfed in dark purple flames and shot back at the ghosts, they quickly floated away while the arrows hit the ground and the flames went out. The ghosts flew into the various trees, rocks, and boulders around the temple and they began moving on their own and attacked Soul Medium, the trees swung their branches down while the boulders tumbled around and tried to ram him. He rolled to his right to dodge a boulder and a tree close to him began to swing its branches down, he shot a zap out of his horn and broke the branch off, he heard another boulder tumbling his way and he shot a zap to destroy it.
Soul Medium continued to the temple but rocks grew out of the ground and blocked his path,
"Get the doll in his saddlebag." Earth Priest ordered, and the citizen ghosts got more aggressive. Soul Medium began shooting zaps in every direction to destroy the boulders and trees, the ghosts came out and combined their blasts together into one big blast. Soul Medium quickly put up a magic shield while he shot a blast at them. He entered a deadlock and was overpowered immediately, he teleported when the blast was right in front of him and reappeared behind the ghosts, he shot a big blast at them and they screamed as they got engulfed by dark purple flames, they turned into light blue orbs and broke apart,
"War Chief, the last of our citizens have fallen." Earth Priest reported with his voice echoing throughout the woods,
"It's up to us now, I wish you good luck." War Chief responded while his voice echoed,
"Thank you, Chief." Earth Priest said, and the voices stopped, Soul Medium headed into the temple. Soul Medium entered the temple and saw another picture of the hooded figure, the skulls on the shelves to its sides were lion, bear, deer, and wolf skulls, and Earth Priest's gravestone in front of the painting in the very center of the temple's interior, the gravestone had a deer ornament on its top. The the animal skulls growled at him while the figure in painting eyes glowed and Soul Medium was shot out of the temple by an invisible blast, he grunted when he hit the ground and stood back up, he saw Earth Priest standing in front of him,
"I didn't think our citizens would fall to you, I will not allow you to reach Fire Priest and War Chief." Earth Priest declared, and he transformed, he took the form of a quadrupedal creature, he was covered in brown fur with snake scales visible in the areas where he had little fur, he had spider fangs in front of his mouth and snake fangs sticking out of his upper lip, antlers and horns growing out the top of his head, tusks and ant mandibles growing out of his cheeks, a turtle shell on his back, scorpion pincers coming out of his shoulders, and a scorpion's tail with a stinger on it.
Soul Medium got ready to fight while Earth Priest got into a fighting stance, he walked forward and tried to grab and restrain Soul Medium with his pincers, he jumped back and shot fire out of his horn, the flames extinguished themselves when they touched Earth Priest. Earth Priest lifted his front legs up and tried to slash Soul Medium with his claws, he blocked the slashes with his shield. He shot sand out of his mouth and into Soul Medium's eyes, he grunted and got stunned, Earth Priest leaned forward and got ready to bite into him but Soul Medium quickly turned around and slashed his throat with his spear. He panted but his eyes widened when he saw no cut on Earth Priest's body, he snickered while Soul Medium saw his spear was chipped, he looked and saw armadillo scales under his fur that made his entire body armored.
Earth Priest shot sand out of his mouth again and tried to shoot it into Soul Medium's eyes, he held his shield up to block it and Earth Priest then slammed his front legs on the ground, it cracked into pieces and each piece moved up and down randomly. Soul Medium stumbled around and Earth Priest made big boulders appear to the sides and they quickly collided into one another while Soul Medium quickly teleported. He reappeared in front of the boulders and shot fire out of his horn at Earth Priest, it extinguished when it touched his body; Earth Priest summoned lions, bears, deer, and wolves to help him fight, they ran to Soul Medium and he quickly said an incantation to make them disappear. Earth Priest raised his front legs up into the air and vines with thorns grew out of the ground, they wrapped around Soul Medium and he screamed as the thorns cut him, he cast fire magic to burn them while more vines with thorns grew out, he teleported away and Earth Priest pressed his front legs on the ground to make him get imprisoned in rocks and metal.
Soul Medium tried to teleport out but Earth Priest encased his horn in rock, he shot a zap out of his horn and broke it, he looked and Earth Priest was nowhere to be found. He appeared behind Soul Medium and bit his neck. He screamed loudly while Earth Priest injected venom into him from his spider fangs and snake teeth, he began to breathe a little hard while feeling nauseous, his neck began to swell up as well. He began to get dizzy but still tried to cast his healing spell, Earth Priest quickly bent down and stung him in his neck with his scorpion tail, he began twitching around and drool fell out of his mouth, his vision blurred while the venom took effect. Earth Priest put one of his pincers around Soul Medium's neck and got ready to close them and sever his head, he tried to move but Soul Medium had an aura on his horn and chanted an incantation under his breath to hold his pincer back, Earth Priest could not get near Soul Medium, he then tried to cast his healing spell while having trouble focusing but managed to cast a weaker version of it.
Soul Medium regained his vision slowly as he healed himself, he soon saw things clearly and teleported out of the rocks and metals imprisoning him. Earth Priest charged after him with his head down and aimed his horns and antlers at him, Soul Medium enchanted dark purple fire onto his spear and swung it around, he sent waves of fire forward and Earth Priest exclaimed as he caught on fire with them cutting through his scales, Soul Medium smiled while Earth Priest growled. Earth Priest held his arms out to the sides and all of the rocks and trees in the area floated off of the ground and broke apart, they attached to Earth Priest's body and formed armor. Soul Medium held his shield out but Earth Priest caught him off guard by burrowing underground, he moved around while destroying the part of the ground he went to, he went to where Soul Medium was at and rose to the surface, he slammed his front legs down and made jagged rocks grow out of the craters. Soul Medium jumped back and swung his spear a few times, the fire waves did not penetrate his new armor, he tried shooting arrows at him but they bent and broke when they hit his body, Earth Priest smiled and burrowed back into the ground.
Soul Medium ran backwards and sideways while Earth Priest continued moving underground, his head came out of the ground and he opened his mouth, a lot of sand came out and a sandstorm began. Soul Medium coughed while covering his eyes and Earth Priest made more vines with thorns grow, they wrapped around Soul Medium and Earth Priest came out from under him with his mouth open. Soul Medium jumped and used his telekinesis to float up higher, the vines held him down and he used his telekinesis to destroy them, he floated up higher and shot arrows into Earth Priest's mouth, he swallowed the arrows and then shot them back out alongside a lot of sand with rocks in it. Soul Medium stopped using his telekinesis and put up a magic shield while pointing his spear down, he fell while being hidden in the sand and stabbed the spear into Earth Priest's forehead. Earth Priest's eyes widened while the flames on the spear's blade engulfed his body and his armor exploded.
Earth Priest stood and glared at Soul Medium, he then slammed his front legs on the ground again to create another earthquake. Soul Medium jumped and tried to stab his spear into Earth Priest's head, but it did not penetrate his scales, he jumped back while Earth Priest held his front legs out and shot logs and rocks forward. Soul Medium put his spear and shield on his back and unsheathed his sword, he moved his front hoof across the blade to engulf it in dark purple fire. He jumped again and Earth Priest shot sand and rocks out of his mouth again, Soul Medium put up his magic shield as he fell and stabbed his sword into Earth Priest's forehead, his eyes widened as the scale Soul Medium stabbed got cracked and penetrated, the dark purple fire engulfed him and Earth Priest screamed and exploded.
Soul Medium stood up while Earth Priest's temple and gravestone collapsed and a stream of black mist came out and floated to War Chief's house, he panted while he looked around and saw nothing of interest, he sighed and headed back. Soul Medium arrived back at War Chief's house and the seal shaped like a deer's head was gone, he looked at the path in front of him that led to Fire Priest's temple, it was a downhill path, Soul Medium took a deep breath and headed there. He walked down the path and the ground soon began to shake, it broke apart in several areas and lava began to erupt out of the ground, he ran around while lava covered the path and ash blocked out the sky. Soul Medium continued dodging the parts of the ground that erupted and Fire Priest used his magic to make the entire path be set on fire, he cast his magic shield while sweating profusely, he continued running and stopped when he saw fire blocking his path. He teleported and appeared on the other side of it, he continued running while enduring the heat and dodging the erupting craters in the ground, he saw another fire blocking his path and he teleported past it, he kept running and soon saw Fire Priest's temple up ahead, there was another fire in his path and he teleported past it.
Soul Medium arrived at Fire Priest's temple and a circle of lava surrounded it, he quickly teleported into the temple, he saw a painting of the black hooded figure again, to its sides were shelves with pony skulls on them, and in the temple's center was a gravestone with a salamander ornament on its top. The figure in the painting eyes glowed and Soul Medium got shot out of the temple again, he grunted when he hit the ground and quickly stood up, he saw Fire Priest standing in front of him,
"To think our entire tribe has fallen to the likes of you, even Earth Priest, their best fighter, couldn't win against you. As War Chief's personal bodyguard and last line of defense, I'm not going to let you pass so easily, prepare to die." Fire Priest declared and he transformed, he took the form of a dark red dinosaur looking quadrupedal creature with black stripes on his back, he had claws on his four legs, a tail with a sharp end, and razor-sharp teeth in his mouth.
Fire Priest roared loudly while Soul Medium readied his spear and shield, he opened his mouth and shot fire out while Soul Medium blocked it, his shield began to turn red and became too hot to touch. Soul Medium tried shooting Fire Priest with a zap and it had no effect, the shield turned red and he threw it at Fire Priest's head, it bounced off while it also had no effect and Fire Priest laughed at him. Soul Medium held his spear with both of his front hoofs and jumped high into the air, he aimed for Fire Priest's head but the ground erupted and a wall of lava appeared around Fire Priest while he also made a circle of fire appear around himself,
"Whoa!" Soul Medium exclaimed as he used telekinesis to get himself away from it while he felt the heat from them. Fire Priest shot fire out of his mouth and Soul Medium used telekinesis to fly around and dodge them, he looked for an opening across the fire and lava around his enemy but did not see one. Fire Priest jumped out and landed in front of him, the ground exploded around his four feet while lava erupted and a big explosion happened around him that sent out an orange shockwave, Soul Medium put up his magic shield to block it while the shockwave sent him flying into a wall. A crater appeared on the path that he fell on and he quickly stood up while rubbing his back, he teleported to Fire Priest and tried to stab his spear into his body, he heard a clank and saw his spear was not sharp enough to cut through Fire Priest's hide.
Fire Priest lifted one of his front legs up and slammed it down, Soul Medium jumped back before he made impact with the ground, his foot put a crater in the ground and made lava shoot out. Soul Medium rolled to his right to dodge the lava about to fall on him, he then enchanted his spear's blade and dark purple flames appeared on it, he swung it around and sent fire waves at his target, but they stopped and turned orange when they reached him and went back to him, he rolled to his left to dodge them while he realized Fire Priest's fire was stronger than his own. Fire Priest focused his gaze on Soul Medium's spear and it caught on fire, he exclaimed while he dropped it, Fire Priest then jumped and tried to land on him. Soul Medium ran elsewhere and almost fell into one of the holes, he took his bow off of his back while Fire Priest landed.
Soul Medium aimed and shot arrows at the back of Fire Priest's head, but they bent and broke on impact when they touched him, he put his bow on his back and unsheathed his sword. Fire Priest made the ground under Soul Medium's feet break open and erupt, he fell into the hole and held himself up with telekinesis while lava shot up, he cast a magic shield around himself to block the lava while Fire Priest used his powers to close all the holes and craters on the ground. The lava flowed up quickly and completely filled in the underground area, Soul Medium teleported onto the ground's surface and it was completely engulfed in flames. His vision was blocked by the fire and smoke and could not see anything, Fire Priest's head burst out of the ground and broke through his magic shield, he bit into Soul Medium's abdomen. Soul Medium screamed loudly while Fire Priest shot fire into his body, he quickly stabbed his sword between Fire Priest's eyes as hard as he could and stabbed through his hide this time, the spiritual energy in the sword went into Fire Priest's body, he turned dark purple and exploded.
Soul Medium watched and the fire and lava did not disappear, he heard movement underneath himself and saw Fire Priest moving around underground. He readied his sword while he watched Fire Priest move around since wherever he went made the ground crack open and lava spewed out, he soon came out of the ground and sent a wave of fire out, Soul Medium saw it was too big to jump over or dodge, so he teleported. He reappeared behind Fire Priest and he got ready to slash him with his sword, but Fire Priest lifted his tail and slammed it on the ground, it made a circle of fire appear and it spread out everywhere, Soul Medium jumped over it. He landed while Fire Priest turned around swung his front legs around, his sent waves of fire from his claws forward, Soul Medium put up his magic shield to block the flames and ran to Fire Priest, he made a wall of fire appear between them and Soul Medium jumped over it, he continued running to Fire Priest and stabbed his sword into his sternum, he turned dark purple and exploded again.
Soul Medium got pushed back by the explosion and he stood up, he realized Fire Priest was not down yet since the fire did not disappear and his temple was still intact, he saw him moving under the ground again with lava coming out of the cracks he created by moving around. Fire Priest rose out of the ground and his body was now made completely out of fire with lava dripping off of it, he shot fire out of his back and into the sky, it began to rain down and one of Soul Medium's charms deflected them, he said a word in a foreign language with his voice echoing and the falling flames extinguished. Fire Priest opened his mouth and shot about ten lava streams in different directions while more came out of his eyes, they burned everything they touched and caused explosions, Soul Medium summoned his magic shield again while the lava breaths pushed him back. Fire Priest transformed into a big blob made of fire and lava and began slithering towards Soul Medium, he got to him and Soul Medium began to sweat profusely as he felt the heat past his magic shield, he quickly teleported elsewhere.
Soul Medium appeared behind Fire Priest and shot a big beam out of his horn, Fire Priest divided into two and went around it and slithered towards him again. He formed back into one and became a bigger body of fire, he began shooting streams of fire and lava out in every direction and burned everything they touched, he shot a big blast at Soul Medium and he laid on the ground to dodge it. He watched Fire Priest carefully while he continued moving forward slowly and shot fire and lava blasts everywhere, he readied his sword and enchanted dark purple flames onto it. Fire Priest continued moving and soon got to him, Soul Medium put his magic shield down and Fire Priest began to move down to consume with his body of fire and lava and burn him, he lowered himself and Soul Medium stabbed his sword into him, Fire Priest's body turned dark purple and he screamed as he winced back and exploded.
Soul Medium got shot back and he grunted as he hit the ground, he panted heavily and sweated profusely while all of the fire and lava in the area extinguished themselves, and Fire Priest's temple and gravestone collapsed, a stream of black mist then came out and floated to War Chief's house. Soul Medium stood up after a few minutes and gathered his things, he saw his shield was still red and too hot to touch and his spear's wooden handle was charred, he checked it and saw it was still useful, so he put it on his back and carried his shield with telekinesis, he then left the area. Soul Medium arrived back at War Chief's house and the seal in front of his door was gone, he cast a healing spell on himself and swallowed a few herbs and powdered spices, he then headed in. He entered the house and saw another painting of the hooded figure and the skulls of ponies, birds, fish, lions, bears, deer, and wolves on the shelves, he heard the birds cawing and the animals growling, he also looked and saw a big gravestone in the house's center with a pony skull ornament on its top.
Soul Medium walked forward and saw War Chief behind his grave and looking at the painting, he turned around and faced him,
"We finally meet face to face." Soul Medium commented,
"You're the first one to ever make it to me." War Chief said,
"Why? Why did you seek out power from that hooded figure in your paintings?" Soul Medium inquired,
"He is our god and provided us to continue being here instead of going to the Void, we offer him prayer in exchange of our own powers, hail Claudius." War Chief explained,
"Claudius?! Great whickering stallions!" Doctor Whooves exclaimed,
"You know him?" Soul Medium questioned,
"Yes, some of my former patients mentioned encountering him, too." Doctor Whooves answered,
"What? You mean... he's actually real after all?" Soul Medium inquired as his eyes widened,
"I hate to say this, but yes." Doctor Whooves responded, Soul Medium's eyes widened,
"Let's continue, our time is almost up." Doctor Whooves said, and Soul Medium continued.
"Claudius? Why did you seek him out to get powers after death?" Soul Medium asked,
"So me and my tribe can continue doing what we do to others." War Chief answered,
"So you can offer their souls and grow stronger." Soul Medium deduced,
"No, he only needs our prayers and worship." War Chief corrected,
"Then why do you all harass, torment, and kill others?" Soul Medium questioned in a stern tone,
"No reason, we just like doing stuff like that." War Chief answered,
"I will end you and your tribe, I will send you to the Void to be judged." Soul Medium declared while seething, and the figure in the painting eyes' glowed red and shot him out of the temple.
Soul Medium stood up and saw War Chief standing in front of him, he jumped into the air and transformed, he changed into a winged dragon with claws on his four legs and two big horns coming out of the top of his head, he was completely black like a shadow with glowing red eyes. He flew up high into the sky and flapped his wings, waves of black energy appeared and everything they touched became corrupted with dark magic, he continued sending waves of dark energy forward and Soul Medium shot arrows at him, they got absorbed into his body and then shot back out. Soul Medium jumped around and dodged them while War Chief flew elsewhere, he went behind Soul Medium and shot red lightning out of his eyes, they destroyed every part of the ground they touched and summoned zombie ponies, they moaned as tried to grab and eat Soul Medium, he cut them apart with his sword and disappeared. He turned around and War Chief shot a purple blast out of his mouth, Soul Medium held his shield forward with his telekinesis to block it, the shield began to liquefy and fell onto the ground, a blast shot out of the liquid and faces of screaming ponies appeared in it.
Soul Medium watched as the purple blast began spreading out in different directions and burrowed into the ground, he heard more screams while plants and rocks made of black energy came out with screaming ponies embedded in them. He stepped back carefully while he felt his life energy get drained from the dark energy corrupting the environment, he heard loud noises upwards and saw War Chief flying down to him, he had the claws on his hind feet spread open and mouths with sharp teeth opened on the bottom of his feet, tongues came out of them and wrapped around Soul Medium to restrain him, he tried to break free but War Chief grabbed him with his claws and flew up. He flew through the air while Soul Medium screamed from the mouths biting into him, he felt dark magic go into his body and it weakened him, he groaned while War Chief let go of him and let him fall. Soul Medium's vision blurred as he tried to see what he was falling to, he could not see and cast his healing spell on himself, his vision fixed and his eyes widened when he saw sharp and jagged crystals growing out of the ground at where he was falling, he quickly teleported and reappeared on the ground.
Soul Medium stood on the ground and he saw War Chief flying above him, he flew down again and a big mouth filled with razor sharp teeth going from his collarbone down to the bottom of his abdomen opened, more tongues came out and wrapped around him, Soul Medium said an incantation and they exploded while pushing War Chief back. He slashed War Chief with his sword and he grunted while the dark purple flames engulfed his body and exploded, he flew back and opened his mouth, he got ready to shoot dark energy out and Soul Medium shot an arrow into his mouth, he winced back while Soul Medium shot more arrows into his body. War Chief absorbed the arrows and they went into him, he spread his limbs out and shot them back at Soul Medium with dark energy on them, he ran around to dodge them while watching War Chief carefully, the mouths on his feet opened and dripped acid out, they melted the ground and he began flying around. Soul Medium summoned his magic shield and teleported around while the streams of acid got bigger and harder to dodge, he looked carefully and saw War Chief flying over him, he put his magic shield down and took his spear off of his back, he threw it and it went into War Chief's abdomen, he screeched loudly while and soon exploded.
Soul Medium got knocked back by the explosion and he stood up while he saw his spear got destroyed,
"Fire Priest, Water Priest, Earth Priest, Wind Priest, follow my lead." War Chief commanded in a distorted voice while four streams of black mist came out of his house and went into his body, his body was still shaped like a dragon's but now had various animal parts on him; his face had was a salamander's, bear's, shark's, and bird's face fused into one, he had a sharp beak and rows of teeth with venom dripping out of them inside his mouth, fur and feathers covering his body along with shark hide and armadillo scales under them, salamander claws and bird talons on his feet, and an octopus tentacle with a stingray's stinger on its tip and octopus suction cups on its bottom with jellyfish legs coming out of them. War Chief flapped his wings and sent out waves of fire and sand blown by strong gusts of wind, Soul Medium teleported to behind them and shot fire out of his horn at War Chief, it turned orange when it reached him and got shot back. War Chief made the ground shift up and down while lava erupted from the cracks, he also froze Soul Medium in place and flew down to him while entangling him in the jellyfish legs and the tongues coming out of the mouths on his feet, the jellyfish legs and stinger stabbed through the ice and injected Soul Medium with paralyzing venom. He remained paralyzed while War Chief made the ice disappear and proceeded to bite into his neck; Soul Medium used his willpower to resist the venom and heal himself, he moved slowly at first but soon got faster, he regained his full speed quickly and slashed War Chief's body with his sword, it had no effect. War Chief flew back up and summoned rocks around himself, he made fire appear on them and shot them forward as meteors, Soul Medium slashed the rocks with his sword to break them and then shot them back with his telekinesis, War Chief caught them with his front legs and enchanted them with dark magic, he threw them forward and Soul Medium jumped up on them and stabbed his sword into his body, War Chief screamed as he got engulfed in flames and exploded.
Soul Medium fell to the ground but quickly stood up, War Chief glared as his eyes glowed and it began raining fire and icicles, lightning also tried to strike Soul Medium but one of his charms deflected it, the fires and icicles fell everywhere while War Chief made rocks and boulders grow out of the ground to block and trap Soul Medium as he dodged them. He tried to run and strafe around but rocks and boulders appeared in his path every time, he was soon trapped and War Chief shot a breath of dark energy, fire, lava, water, ice shards, sand, rocks, and wind out of his mouth, they destroyed the ground and Soul Medium screamed as he got caught in it and everything hit him. He put up his magic shield to try to block the debris in the breath, he tried teleporting out of it but it homed on him, the debris in the breath hit his magic shield and he saw it was getting weaker, he looked past the debris in the attack and saw War Chief flying in the sky and watching him, he shot fire out of his horn at him, it turned orange and got shot back at him. He ducked to dodge it and noticed War Chief continuing to direct his breath attack with his mind, Soul Medium got an idea and ran forward while his magic shield lost its energy from the many attacks, he began to grunt in pain and soon fell while War Chief smiled, Soul Medium stood back up and walked slowly, he then used telekinesis on himself to float up and went to War Chief, the debris in his breath attack had no effect on him, so Soul Medium stabbed his sword into him again, he turned dark purple and exploded.
Soul Medium landed on the ground and all of the rocks and boulders disappeared, he cast a healing spell on himself while he saw War Chief's new form, he was now made of black energy, red fire, blue water, yellow rocks, and green wind. He shot red and blue lightning out of his eyes and Soul Medium jumped and dodged the red lightning strikes while his charm deflected the blue ones, tornadoes made of fire then formed on the ground and moved everywhere. Soul Medium ran around and dodged them carefully while War Chief made the ground break apart and water appeared below the parts, he then summoned crows, mosquitoes, wasps, fish, sharks, octopi, eels, stingrays, jellyfish, snakes, lions, bears, deer, and wolves, they all went after Soul Medium while he took his sword out and enchanted it, he sent dark purple flames flying everywhere and the spiritual energy burned them away. He ran and jumped from ground piece to ground piece and strafed to dodge the fire tornadoes, War Chief made boulders and mountains appear in his way but Soul Medium teleported on top of them, he jumped and stabbed his sword into War Chief's heart, he screamed as he turned dark purple and exploded.
Soul Medium landed on his hoofs and the environment returned to normal, he saw War Chief's house was still standing, he reappeared in front of him in his pony form holding a sword. Soul Medium unsheathed his sword and the two began fighting one another more, their swords clanged against one another and War Chief shot black and red bubbling zaps from his horn and Soul Medium dodged them by moving his head around. He enchanted his sword and swung it around, waves of fire went forward and War Chief jumped over them, he swung his sword downwards and sent a black wave with the sound of screaming ponies coming out of it. Soul Medium's eyes widened when he heard them but sidestepped to dodge it, War Chief teleported to in front of him and tried to cleave his head, Soul Medium blocked his sword with his own and forced it back, he forced War Chief's front legs up above himself and then slashed him across his neck, War Chief yelled as he stepped back.
Soul Medium ran up and tried to slash War Chief again, but he quickly recovered and blocked his sword with his own, he shot him back with his magic and Soul Medium grunted. He began teleporting around and slashed Soul Medium at his blind spots, he grunted loudly and he began teleporting, the two appeared in random areas for a while before clanging their swords against one another, they teleported around again and their swords hit one another from now on, they soon stopped and the two began doing combos and their swords clanged against one another with each attack until Soul Medium saw an opening and slashed War Chief across his chest, he yelled and teleported away. War Chief began shooting dark magic forward and it homed and engulfed Soul Medium, he screamed as he felt his life energy being drained, he focused and began shooting dark purple fireballs, War Chief deflected each one with his sword, so he teleported to him and slashed War Chief's horn, he yelled as he stopped casting his magic. War Chief slashed Soul Medium across his chest and he grunted, he quickly lifted up his sword when he saw War Chief swinging his down, he blocked War Chief's sword, the two began swinging their swords around again and they clanged each time, the two soon entered a deadlock and Soul Medium stood up, he forced War Chief's front legs up and he quickly recovered and blocked Soul Medium's next attack, he forced War Chief's arms to his right and then stabbed his sword into his forehead through his skull mask,
"IMPOSSIBLE!!" War Chief yelled as he got engulfed in dark purple flames and exploded while he screamed.
Soul Medium got pushed back a little while panting heavily, War Chief groaned while he was on his knees, Soul Medium walked to him and War Chief quickly moved and tried to stab his sword into him but Soul Medium dashed past him and did a horizontal slash across his throat,
"Game over, War Chief." Soul Medium declared, and he floated into the air while screaming. The entire village turned light blue and Fire Priest, Water Priest, Earth Priest, and Wind Priest appeared behind him, they all screamed while explosions appeared in the area,
"NOOOOO!!" War Chief screamed as he and his four priests turned into spheres and broke apart one by one. War Chief's house and gravestone then collapsed,
"It's finally over." Soul Medium said as he sheathed his sword, he walked back to the entrance and saw the ghosts of the village's original natives,
"Thank you so much, we can now finally rest." a mare stated,
"Were you able to free those whose souls were taken by the tribe?" a stallion asked,
"I'm sorry, but no." Soul Medium answered,
"You have our utmost thanks, now that they are gone, others can pass our village with no fear of being harmed any longer." a second mare spoke,
"We will be in the Void if you need us, we'll help you now to repay what you've done." a second stallion stated,
"Thank you." Soul Medium said,
"We'll be going now, have a good life." a third mare spoke, and they disappeared. The sun began to rise as he walked down the path he used to enter the village and arrived back into the woods,
"Soul Medium?" Soprano called out, he looked to his left and saw her running to him,
"Did you do it?" Soprano asked,
"Yes, I've exorcised the village." Soul Medium replied,
"Oh, thank Celestia, I was worried all night about you." Soprano stated as she hugged him,
"Thank you, I just finished exorcising the village a few minutes ago, too, it wasn't easy, but it's done." Soul Medium spoke, Soprano let go of him,
"I'll be heading home, I need to get some rest." Soul Medium stated,
"Yeah, you should, you look exhausted." Soprano replied, and he walked home while she watched him and smiled.
About a month passed and Soul Medium was visited by Soprano every now and then, he began to have bad dreams about his experiences in the village and sprung awake panting and sweating, he performed a ritual and chanted to see if any ghosts were haunting him and sighed with relief when he saw they were not. A few days passed and Soprano arrived with bits,
"Soul Medium, uh..., drat, how do I say this? I've noticed you've been having nightmares recently and I convinced my parents to give me some of their money to give you so you can, like, go see a therapist or something." Soprano spoke,
"Thanks, I can use that right around now." Soul Medium replied as he took the money,
"I do hear that Doctor Whooves in Ponyville might be a good choice." Soprano suggested,
"I agree, he'd probably understand my situation without calling me crazy, too." Soul Medium replied, and he looked at a map and teleported to Ponyville.
Doctor Whooves and Soul Medium sat across from one another,
"Soprano still comes over and checks on me, her company has helped me with the nightmares quite a bit." Soul Medium spoke,
"That's good, when you recover, I'd like to recruit you, me and several others can use somepony like you in fighting Claudius." Doctor Whooves stated,
"I'll join, but after I take a break and recover from my bad dreams." Soul Medium responded,
"Of course, I have a medicine that might help you. Here." Doctor Whooves said as he gave it to him,
"Do you also need a shield and a spear?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No, I made new ones after exorcising that village." Soul Medium responded,
"Okay, well, that's all the time I have, if you continue having nightmares or want to talk about your experiences, my door is always open." Doctor Whooves spoke,
"Thank you, I'll be taking my leave now." Soul Medium responded, and he paid him and left. Soul Medium looked around Ponyville and saw everypony getting ready for Nightmare Night, he remembered his experiences in the village again and shook his head to stop the flashbacks, he teleported back home and the bottle's instructions on how to take his medication, he swallowed a pill with water and then continued on with his day.