“Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.”
The aging alicorn jolted upright in her throne chair. She had reached the maturity for one of her species a long while ago, standing as tall as Celestia did. She almost snoozed off on this boring day filled with an empty court.
Until the throne room doors swung open and showed a bipedal creature striding in with her rhyme on his lips.
“Who are you?!” Twilight’s horn flared to life while each guard was held in perfect place, every feature of the throne room was stopped in a purple grasp that wasn’t her own magic.
“My younger self would have corrected you, would have said you’d be harmed or dead if he had so wished,” Lucius smiled, “but I’m going to tell you that I’m here as a potential friend. We grow in wonderful ways.”
Twilight’s horn relaxed and she looked down to him as he walked into her purple tinted throne room, “that we do,” she smiled at the memories of her earliest failures and quirks, “as a potential friend? This sounds like you come with a negotiation on your mind. If it’s one that requires the complete immobility of my entire castle and Canterlot, then you have all of my attention.”
Lucius cracked his mouth wide in laughter, “you’re quite like her, it’s uncanny,” he stopped in front of her throne, offering a short bow.
“Quite like who?” Twilight cocked her head to the side.
“Princess Celestia,” Lucius held out his hand, “I once made this offer to her and now it feels as though I do it a third time.”
“Judging from how you entered, you knew Princess Cadance as well?” Lucius nodded to her words, “very well, what is your offer?” Twilight kept the smallest smile on her face. It was all she could to do prevent hserlf from cracking at the words he spoke.
“For you, for all of Equestria, I once again offer a place in paradise. To journey after death to my kingdom and live where some ponies already are,” that same orb quietly grew in his palm.
“You’re offering an afterlife? You must know that we don’t have anything after this one,” Twilight started to debate.
“Yes, you would seep back into your world’s magic,” Lucius elaborated for her.
The two stood in a eerie silence, neither of them moved, neither of them talked. Both of them just stared at each other, Lucius almost pleaded with his eyes while Twilight only pitied with her pupils. She began to imagine what ponies had already gone there, Celestia maybe, but if her own friends were there.
“Ask, I can see it on your lips.”
“Who is there in your paradise as you call it?”
He smiled, “Princess Luna lives there. I’ve been keeping her company for quite a long while now. She’s-.”
“What about my friends? Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pi-.”
Lucius shook his head at her question and the two fell back into silence.
“I can not force my subjects to accept your offer, but I’d like to.”
Lucius frowned at Twilight’s words and clasped his hand shut, “I sense conditions.”
“As astute as you are well dressed,” Twilight smiled, “my friends. I presume you know them,” he nodded his head at her affirmation, “then...bring them there and I will accept.”
Lucius stood straight, staring ahead in thought. When he had triumphed over Tenebris, he inherited the mantle of the God-Creator and all of the powers with it. He cherished challenges though and gave up many abilities to let them linger and create worlds as they saw fit, never to destroy. When Lucius willingly relinquished much of what he championed, he lost the ability to raise the dead back to life as they perfectly were once before. He could not manipulate time either, though with his own developed and practiced profane power he could hold it still for a length.
“Is that not possible?” Twilight broke him out of his thoughts.
“It is, but I would have to consult those who are researching your world now. I would have to reach with my own dark powers into your world’s natural magic.”
“I trust you not to linger anything negative there,” Twilight gave her permission.
“Of course,” Lucius gave a small bow, “I’ll return to you later in the same fashion.”
“Before you go,” Lucius halted, partially turned around, “were you there moments before Princess Celestia passed?”
“I was, it was my second time offering this to her. She declined all the same.”
“I felt you that day, some kind of incredible surge of energy happened across all of Canterlot.”
Lucius smiled at Twilight before continuing to step out, “I will return, Princess Twilight,” and he walked out of the throne room just as he had entered. The purple shade over the whole castle faded away and the guards panicked with their heads on swivels for threats.
Sure enough, Lucius did return in four days. The researchers he had placed secretly across Equestria along with Luna’s guidance had proved invaluable to him. He only needed to apply their knowledge with his power in just the right way to call them back to one single magical force, to one remembered soul.
Thus he stood with the world around them held in his grip and five little flames in an obsidian cage with his own energy keeping them sealed. They shone independent colors brightly around the room over his shade of purple. Souls like these...
“Princess Twilight, they are magnificent. It is rare for a soul to break a mold and become more, become polarized, become colorful all on its own,” Lucius spoke while Twilight had yet to find her words, “in days long gone, I searched relentlessly for souls such as these. I would try to suade them to my cause no matter how bitter we appeared at first impression,” he raised the cage and formed the same orb in his left hand, “so, how about it?”
“I...I-I can’t believe you’ve done it. This is...necromancy,” Twilight muttered in the painfully still throne room.
He shook his head, “no,” Lucius always had to correct this one, “necromancy is making use of what is dead. A soul is not dead, I would never dream of utilizing a magic so disgraceful to my people,” he gently set the cage to the floor, approaching her throne closer.
“Then...then what magic, what force did you use?” Her studious mind couldn’t resist the temptation of knowledge far beyond her world.
Lucius smiled wide, “no magic. These are powers that have always existed and always will. Born at the very beginning of creation. Light and Dark can exist separately from each other, holy power is forever removed from the world,” his grin grew at his own reminder of the greatest feat, “it was my profane power, which stems from me and my bound partner like a font, that identified these souls and pulled them back to construction from what was always there.”
Twilight shook in her hooves, she came to a morbid realization. Lucius was royalty, a king as he spoke of his kingdom as under his rule, but he was more. This was a God, or something incredibly close to one. Lucius was some presider over all darkness.
“I know that look,” his smile leapt off his lips while he held the orb to Twilight, “Dark does not mean evil. It was always about application. In doing this, I grant you and your friends the rarest gift in past history and the new way in current times.”
Twilight had learned through her rule that inaction often came with consequences of its own. This was a decision she had already decided. After all, this is what the heart wants.
“Make sure Spike comes, too. Once he...you know,” Twilight touched Lucius’ power and the purple strands sunk into her coat before they raced off to the souls in the cage which lightly tinted the chroma purple. One single strand raced far away, out of the throne room, and right to where she had asked.
The souls disappeared from the cage all at once and then the cage itself vanished in black and purple flame, “they will be awaiting you. Please, do not make this mean that your life is meaningless. What you do here is what you will be recognized for in my kingdom as well.”
“I’m not a foal, I have more sense than to cut loose,” Twilight chided, feeling as though she had just stung herself with her own decision.
Lucius heartily chuckled, standing straight before stepping away, “of course you are, I felt the need to say it myself. Luna will appreciate your company if she can tear herself away from our dueling arenas,” he turned, continuing to step back out of the throne room.
“N-nothing bad, right? I mean, no bad consequences,” Twilight piped up as Lucius started to make his exit.
“There was a time when the Underworld was fraught with issues. That time is long past. I look forward to welcoming you to my world in my own throne room, Princess Twilight.”
And he left the room and then Equestria resumed normal activities.