Our Haunted House

by Iridescence T Wind

Chapter 1: That fated day

It had been three months since that day in the meadow. Since his evolution, that is, with all the new urges it brought forth. The being whom he had consumed to evolved now lingered in his mind, too strong to die, or perhaps it was the curse that was attached to the soul of the Basilisk. Either way, the chandelier like entity that now wandered didn't care, he was in pain. Pain from hunger, hunger for not devouring what it needed to survive. The souls of those who had cheated death. It wasn't that there was a short supply of them, no. It was more of the fact that despite he was playing host to one of Equestria's most dangerous and vicious minds that constantly egged him on to kill innocent ponies who had already as a majority had seen at least one death cheating incident with their reckless kingdom's lack of proper security and their outrageous medical technology that would allow an pony on the brink of death to return fully healed within a weeks time.

It was also the fact that it was raining, something that the fire in soul disliked intensely now that he no longer had that comforting brim of his hat to block from hitting his life force, his flame. Yet there he still stood, with a melancholy expression on his face as another set of urges struck at him trying to get him to kill a school filly not fifty meters away who had cheated death by a simple use of medicine to prevent some strain of feather flu from killing the go lucky girl. He kept his internal debate to himself though, floating silently away from the broken window of the abandoned house he was now dwelling in for the rain, his internal debate with the snake as it attempted to force Soul to move in the other direction settling in,

No, for the last time, I refuse to kill a child. the Chandelure's argument was weak, he knew just like the snake within him that he was weakening the longer he went without siphoning off the energy of the living, or devouring those he was supposed to reap, he would eventually starve out and die.

Do not starve us, just look at him, the brat keeps tempting us by walking the same route five days of the week. He's taunting you. Kill him and feed us, or do you like to fight a war with this shared body that you would eventually lose? The strangely masculine yet still serpentine voice continued, with all the regal and dark tones that would make a Dusknoir shiver in fear.

Once more Soul denied himself, though his basic instincts agreed, he couldn't let this hunger grow, less he die or worse, loose his weakening mind to the basic urges that hunger brought forth. The all too familiar ache of one crudely wrapped eye coming forth once more. The organ had been taxing both his body and mind over the last few weeks, constantly attempting to rouse anger and drive the urge to hunt into his body, it was only with the power of his own mind that he hadn't already succumbed to the urges. He needed to hunt; he had to hunt. With the morning sun still blocked by the rain clouds and not a pony, or animal in sight. Soul left the house instead going towards the swamp that was ever so close to Dodge city, briefly wondering what had happened to his old friends after that last horrid day.

Three months ago...

It was just after Soul's early departure that Celestia and Luna arrived with an entire regiment of the Royal guard in tow. Celestia hopping off her carriage to meet the embrace of her shell shocked yet seemingly untouched student and her friends helping each other out of their locks. What struck her as odd however, was the lack of a certain particular statue in which Basilisk rock was named for. An eerie gloom had descended on the party as well as a certain look of confusion among her little ponies, "Hello everypony, did I miss anything?" That was when chaos ensured.

With almost barbaric yet childish scream a dozen or so Pegasus ponies and a half dozen unicorns and Earth ponies descended upon them, most of them flinging pies and a unicorn even tickling her guards with magically carried feathers of all things, The two largest even tossing a giant blue cotton candy mass out from behind their cover in the clouds. Yet as all this chaos descended upon the co-ruler of Equestria, she simply smiled, her horn lighting up and catching all of the descending food in their arc's and neatly stacking it next to her in the air and crushing the cotton candy into a small basket ball sized compressed orb that also hovered near her. Yet still it wasn't over, the next attack came from the pony who was wielding feathers but they failed to even touch the princess of the day as she encased each magical aura covered feather with her own, halting the feathers before turning them back on the unfortunate unicorn who would then be shortly begging for mercy from the relentless tickling that ensured. All of this happened within five seconds.

"Why thank you for the gifts of food my little ponies." Celestia said with an eyebrow raised noting the looks of dismay at the wannabe rebels faces, "Though I am afraid I must return these... gifts."

Each of the rebels eyes widened in sudden fear, and their leader, presumably, due to how he was wearing a silly looking hat that said leader in bold letters, shouted, "Retreat!" and fled with his comrades back into the woods in which they came.

Rainbow dash had an incredulous look on her face, "Was that Thunder lane we all just saw leading those ponies?"

Applejack had a similar look, albeit toned down compared to her rainbow maned friend, "I believe so sugar-cube."

Pinkie pie however, was more focused on the cannonball like Cotton candy sphere, attempting to grab at it from it's position in the air barely out of reach of her pinkie hooves, all the while shouting, "Blue cotton candy? Don't they know that pink is the best color to launch a surprise attack with?!"

Luna and Twilight shared an raised eyebrow at Pinkie's antics while the others laughed. It was interrupted by Twilight as she had to ask, while looking up to her seemingly infallible mentor, "Why did Soul leave?"

With a careful facade of a neutral expression Celestia asked, "I do not know Twilight, but what is important now is that no one was hurt."

"Couldn't say the same for these horrid... things." Came the voice of Rarity who was staring at one of the several Pokémon, Arbok to be more precise, who had been seemingly knocked out by their rescuer.

The strange Pokémon didn't move. They hadn't even stirred since Soul had hit them. Their breathing was at bare minimal expected of something who was in deep sleep. Though their features failed to hold any of the personality they once had. The longer any of them stared at one of the various unconscious Pokémon, the more of the feeling of something not being right struck at them. Even Celestia felt the unease, separating herself with a gentle touch from her students embrace, she trotted over to one, the duo of orbs that had once been Wheezing, his eyes were still open, missing their pupils, it breathed but only the bare minimal expected of one who was close to death or in a coma. Inwardly Celestia sent a mental probe of magic towards the creature, an act she didn't take lightly as it was highly intrusive towards the host, and found... Nothing. Not one trace of who the Wheezing had been. As if it's soul had been removed, something that had not been seen since the days of King Sombre a bit less than a thousand years ago in the little remembered Crystal empire.

It worried her, however she didn't show any signs of it, instead calling to her guards, "Take these... Things in. I will wish to study them myself as soon as possible. Have them monitored for any sign of consciousness and report directly to me if they do."

Her students voice echoed her own question back to Celestia, "What about Soul?"

A chorus of agreement from Twilight's friends came with it and Celestia didn't hide the grim look that was now on her face, "I am afraid, my little ponies, that Soul needs to be... arrested."

"Soul arrested?!" Rarity dramatically shouted, "Whatever for?"

Applejack quipped in, "Sorry for speaking out your highness, but what in tarnation for? Soul saved us from those things."

Celestia sighed and waited as an massive argument battered against her ears and waited until the voices calmed down before speaking again, "I'm afraid that Soul has committed a federal crime, he removed their soul's from their bodies, which is a forbidden black magic by any standard of the law."

"Wait what?" Rainbow asked, "How in Equestria does hitting things with purple fire remove their soul's?"

Celestia raised her eyebrow, she had not heard of such a way of removing soul's, only a talented unicorn or Alicorn could remove the soul through directly ripping it out in a crude yet effective method and stuff it elsewhere. The fact that this creature had left absolutely no trace of any form of soul was spectacular in it's own right, yet it was weaponized for combat? Such a thing was unheard of in Equestria and it's neighbors. This sort of threat was too much to risk and she would have to assign her elite force into taking the creature down.; else risk more equestrian citizens to another incident that reminded her bleakly the same as King Sombra's rule that had happened almost a thousand years ago. In a bleak sense it was funny how similar they were in a way. Returning her mind to the present Celestia guided the conversation through until the sun began to set and then gave them a ride home on the spare carriages that she had been insightful enough to bring.

They were also put under guard in case of a follow up attack from any of the remaining forces of the lion mafia. However forgotten, a piece of the machine in the tree line that had once been the shape of Darkrai had crumbled to dust, the remaining energy from the cursed metal forming a dark wisp of black smoke slithering off like a snake. No one did notice the pair of green eyes with purple after trail that had leeched off the dark material and rejoined the living. Though it would take at least two years to get to and find it's body and the only thing on it's mind was of the crystal kingdom he once ruled with an iron hoof.