//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Black Magic // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Black Magic Applejack paced from one side of the barn to another. Her friends followed the movements of the troubled mare with their eyes. She stopped abruptly and turned in their direction. “This case is serious, Big Mac's been missin' for three days now. Ah already informed a member of the Royal Guard before Ah all invited ya here.” Rarity jumped off from her cushion and squeezed Applejack's face together. “That is truly horrible, Darling! This way he can't even carry my stuff to my boutique. I can't stand it anymore, I have find a solution for my problem.” The fashioner spun around and faced the others. “Who is willing to carry my stuff?” The disapproving gazes of her friends didn't even make her feel uncomfortable, she waved her mane back and pointed her nose in a stuck-up manner to the sky. “Well, if nopony can see the real problem here, even I can't help you anymore. When somepony regains their ability to see clearly, I’ll be in my fabulous, little boutique, knitting fancy dresses.” Rarity tossed Fluttershy aside and walked out of the barn. She looked back a last time and bucked the door close afterwards. Rainbow hovered down and helped Fluttershy stand up. The timid mare shook the last bits of dust out of her mane while Rainbow shot a disappointed gaze after Rarity. “I can't believe she’s behaving like this. Rarity changed so much in the last few months. Only two years ago, she even gave some of her dresses away to ponies who couldn't afford them, and now she is charging insane prices for a tiny scarf.” Pinkie bounced to Rainbow's eye level and even managed somehow to remain there for a few seconds. “You are not different. You are barely coming around anymore and didn't even come to Gummy's birthday party last week!” Rainbow looked at the pink mare with disgust, her mane wasn't as puffy as it is used to be, and her eyes didn't show the same happiness that beamed before. “Yeah? And what about you? I'm sick of your insane party themes. A schizophrenia party? Seriously? Nopony could even understand what they had to do!” Applejack looked at her fighting friends with worries, but she was unable to part them. “Fluttershy, please do somethin'!” Fluttershy looked weakly at Applejack but quickly turned away. “I'm sorry… I can't do anything.” Applejack bit her lips and gnashed her teeth. “What is wrong with ya girls? Rainbow, ain't ya the pony that always brags about her loyalty to her friends? And ya Pinkie, ya always made everypony smile; now ya only try to make yourself smile. Even ya Fluttershy, the old Fluttershy would never allow them to fight this way. What happened to us? When did we became like this?” Ashamed, they turned their gaze away from each other and looked bashfully at the ground. Fluttershy combed through her mane with one of her hooves and covertly looked at Applejack. “I don't know, it just happened some day. I think it all began when Twilight began to lock herself up, over and over again, until she almost completely disappeared.” Rainbow's ears perked up by the mentioning of Twilight. “Yeah, since she feels too fine to hang with us, our gang is breaking apart. Maybe we should do more stuff together again.” Pinkie sheepishly scratched her head, but a small smile began to form. “I think you are right, Dashie. Maybe it is a good idea to have a big reunion party or something.” The pink mare's smile turned into a giant grin that she flashed towards her friends and waited with exertion for an answer. Applejack couldn't do anything but smile. “This is so typical for ya, Pinkie, but Ah think it might really be a good idea.” Fluttershy scratched her hoof against the ground to catch their attention. Without raising her voice. “I'm sorry, but didn't we forget about something? I mean, we met here for a different reason.” Rainbow rocketed into the air with an amazing looking back-flip. “She is right! We have to find Big Mac' as fast as we can!” Pinkie jumped high in the air and grabbed her winged friend. “And then we have to party the whole night!” With determination in their eyes the three mares turned to Applejack. In unison they stated their fidelity creeds. “We will do anything to find Big Mac'. State your orders Captain Applejack.” A huge grin formed on Applejack's lips, she looked through the line of ponies in front of her. “Listen, girls. I'm serious now. I've found evidence that Big Mac' could be colt-napped. Out in the orchards were his hoof prints, they ended in the centre of a clearing. He left two full apple baskets behind, but there were a couple of smaller footprints that appeared out of nowhere. So Ah guess the culprit is either a very strong pegasus or a unicorn with the ability to teleport.” Rainbow Dash began to laugh, but with her last strength she bit on her lips and tried to cover it, tears ran down her face from the heavy laughter. “A pegasus colt-napping Big Mac'? I think we can leave out that one. No pegasus, not even a Wonderbolt would be able to carry him around. So there is only the unicorn thing left. What pony might be able to teleport that we know.” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, her head almost reached the ceiling of the barn and her violently waving hoof produced a stream of air that blew weakly through Applejack's face. “Uhh, I know, I know! Is it Sweetie Belle? Or Vinyl? No! No! It is Lyra? Wait! I've got it now! IT. IS. Pumpkin Cake!” Applejack gently rubbed her forehead with her hoof and tried to comprehend Pinkie's suggestions. Fluttershy weakly raised her voice and flapped her wings to gain some height. “I don't know if it is important, but I didn't find Lyra the other day, too. Maybe there is a connection between the two of them.” The orange farmer was taken aback by Fluttershy's hint. “Ah didn't suspect Lyra anyway, but Ah should report that to the guard. Ah only have one pony in suspicion because Ah know that she is capable of teleportin'. The Princesses are out, Ah doubt that they have somethin' to do with it, but they are able to teleport. Then there would be Sou,l but as we all know… he is gone. And last there is Twilight. There were no signs of a fight or anythin', so Big Mac' must have known his colt-napper. Only Twilight is able to teleport, knows Big Mac', and in addition to her recent behaviour, Ah think she could have somethin' to do with it.” Applejack felt the pain inside her heart when she thought about Soul again, but she tried to cover it as best as she could. “Rainbow, ya will search for more hints in the area of Ponyville. Pinkie, ya will grab your spy stuff and meet meh at the library. Fluttershy, ya will fly to the Everfree Forest and ask your critter friends if they’ve seen somethin'.” They looked at each other in concern before they stared at Applejack once again. Rainbow hovered a tiny bit forward and scratched her hoof through her ruffled up mane. “Twilight? Seriously? I know that Twilight fits your offender profile, but it is Twilight that we’re talking about!” Applejack returned the answer with a almost sad frown. “Ah know, but since the fight against Nightmare Moon, she turned more and more fragile.” Pinkie bounced between Rainbow and Fluttershy, back and forth, her main bopped in the same pattern as her head. “Hmm… what happened anyway, besides the whole everypony-against-Nightmare-Moon-thingy?” A faint trace of sweat built up upon Applejack's forehead. She rubbed the back of her head and looked casually around the barn. “Well, Ah don't know how to explain it. But to convince ya. Ah think Ah have to tell ya the truth.” Fluttershy wings set up by the mentioning of Nightmare Moon, the struggle of fear in her mind, escaped into a faint whisper. “You mean the circumstances of Phalanx's death, right? I always wondered why Nightmare Moon only got him when she could easily take down any of the ponies that were around at the time.” They looked at Fluttershy with their eyes wide open. Only Applejack nodded weakly at the usually so timid pegasus. “We told ya that Nightmare Moon had killed Phalanx during the battle, but the sad truth is that he was killed by the hoof of an ally, or better by a horn. Shining Armor's 'Crystal Knight' spell was broken and its shards were spread on the ground. Twilight grabbed a few of them and hurled them into Nightmare Moon's direction. But unfortunately Ah distracted Nightmare Moon, and the shards missed her and found Phalanx’s neck.” In horror the three friends covered their face with their hooves. When they looked into Applejack's eyes, they could clearly see her sorrow and agony. “The shards killed him instantly without any struggle, at least he died quickly.” Silence turned in while they looked in concern to the ground. “Ah don't know what Twilight is able to do in her mental state. So please trust me, Ah wish as ya do that she has nothing to do with all this, but we have to check.” The ponies saluted to Applejack and stormed out of the barn. Except for Fluttershy, she carefully hovered outdoors. Applejack followed them outside and raced down the road to Ponyville, she had to inform the guard as soon as possible, since more ponies seemed to be missing. She roared down the lonely road, a unusual, cold chill for the time of the day ran down her spine. It seemed like something was sticking to her flank, she turned her head around but nothing was there. But before she could focus back on her way something hit her and tossed her into the woods. The world around her became dark while she slipped down the slope. Thorns and single branches cut into her orange coat until she reached the valley. “Get off meh, ya pervert!” The strong mare bucked out in order to hit the offender behind her, but her hooves didn’t meet anypony. The flow of adrenaline left the mare hastily searching through the woods until her eyes rested upon a dark figure in front of her, and her mind forced her to bow. “Welcome, your majesty.” Princess Luna stepped out of the shadow and extended her majestic wings in front of the trembling mare. Another unicorn seemed to materialize out of the shadow next to the Princess. He bowed formally and pointed his gaze in Applejack's direction. “I feel highly sorry for the drastic measure, Miss Applejack. But we had to contact you as soon as possible.” Applejack grabbed her hat from the ground and placed it back on top of her head. “Ya could have gently asked instead.” Princess Luna folded her wings and presented her proud and jewelled chest. The Princess had quite grown since she became the sole ruler over Equestria. Not only in the physical aspect, but she matured mentally as well. She was almost as big as her older sister and the jewellery she wore was created in model of her sister's. Even her eyes had changed, they didn't show the nativity nor the pain of being locked away for a thousand years, but the signs of pride and glory gained during the two years of her reign. “I greet you, dear Applejack. I have to excuse the harsh method of my subordinate; Shadow. But when I heard about your concerns, I decided to focus the investigation of the guards on your older brother. I simply couldn't let a pony suffer who had faced the ponified madness along-side me.” Applejack could only offer her a weak smile despite the great news. “Thank ya, but did ya find out anythin', yet?” A deep frown of concern formed on the lips of the Princess. “Shadow had shaded many possible culprits, even every one of the former Elements of Harmony. During the investigation we found out that many other ponies were missing, too. For example, we can name the unicorn Lyra and the pegasus, filly Scootaloo, who both went missing recently. We couldn't see any specific pattern nor any hints that would convict a single being. But nevertheless, we found a pony that could match the profile.” The faint smile of the orange mare faded quickly, without any hope of return. “Is it Twilight?” The Princess of the Night was taken aback, she blinked rapidly at the smart mare in front of her. Her mouth tried to form single syllables while she struggled for composure. “I guess my sister didn't lie when she spoke of your extraordinary intelligence, my dear Applejack. It is a shame that you are not working for me.” Even the complement from the Princess couldn't cheer Applejack up. Stoic, she kept her petrified expression. “Ah'm glad that ya are thinking so highly of meh, but please excuse if ah only want to focus on the rescue of mah brother.” Princess Luna nodded and took a deep breath before she began. “Another member of my Night Guards could isolate Twilight with a chance of 97.1% to be the head behind the series of pony missing reports. Since the fierce battle of Demon's Run two years ago, Twilight's behaviour had changed. She continued to send letters, with the slight difference that they were addressed to me instead of Celestia. In her very first letters she wrote about coping with the loss of Phalanx, but over the time the themes become more and more abstract. Subjects like the possibility of changing the past and the effect of death on creatures of different kind. My answers were short and unspecific, but I have reason to assume that Twilight is researching black magic.” Applejack's mask of stone cracked by Princess Luna's statement. “Ah don't understand anything of that fancy magic of yours. Surely, Ah understand that black magic means something bad but where is the connection to mah brother?” Princess Luna sighed deeply, her astral mane fell over her left eye and hid it under its ethereal beauty. The temperature around the magically darkened area seem to fall, another chill ran down Applejack's spine. “Some spells that can be classified to black magic require a blood sacrifice of a living creature to work properly.” The mortal mare couldn't bear the suspicion the immortal alicorn mediated her. “Does that mean mah brother and the others are...” The unwanted sobs interrupted her mid-sentence. Little tears rolled down her cheeks. The Princess gave her a sympathetic smile and stroked Applejack with one of her plush wings. “Please don't cry, my fair Applejack. Your brother might still be alive, his blood is only valuable to her while he is still alive. We plan to access the library within the next minutes, and I'm willing to assign you as leader of the mission. The Night Guards may assist you.” Applejack's flow of tears broke and forced the weak smile from before back on her face. The shadow of a stallion stepped forward and bowed once more in front of the still faintly weeping mare. “I swear my unconditional loyalty towards the mare my former Captain adored so much.” She flashed the stallion a dark and sinister gaze. “Ya are one of Soul's former soldiers?” Shadow raised his chest and opposed the drilling gaze of the orange farmer. “I was once a proud member of the Night-crawler, a special unit that worked beyond the border of authority of the Nightmare Legion under the direct control of Black Terror. I mean under the control of Soul Tearer. We were trained to investigate in the shadows hidden from the eyes of public, if necessary, even to kill.” Applejack's eyes narrowed to thin slits, the blood inside her was boiling. “Do ya seriously suggest we kill her?” The stoic gaze of the former special agent was more of a response than Applejack needed. Princess Luna stepped a little bit forward to catch Applejack's attention. “Nopony wants to harm Twilight, but we don't know how black magic will affect her. Black magic isn't forbidden for fun, some of the spells can corrupt its user or do even worse. We have to be prepared for every possible case.” The mare grunted but couldn't see any flaw in Princess Luna's logic. “Fine, but ya won't do anythin' unless Ah order it!” Shadow nodded clearly and waited for the first orders of his new commander. A small smile formed on Princess Luna's lips and her horn faintly glowed. “I won't came along with you, you have to face her on your own. But keep in mind that I will watch you from a far distance.” The faint glow changed into a bright flash of bluish light and blinded Applejack. She began to blink rapidly after the light seemed to be gone. Her sight returned and the lonely road she travelled before stretched in front of her. Without conscious thought, her hooves began to walk down the road and quickly shifted into a gallop. Soon she was about to reach Ponyville once more, the library came into view. Applejack stopped her gallop and slid a few feet until she came to a halt. The lone library tree was directly in front of her, no sign of another pony. She stepped in front of the door but the rustling noise of the little bush next to her caught her attention. “Psst, it’s me Pinkie.” The skintight suit pressed head of the pink mare slowly raised from in between the leafs. Her eyes were covered by her orange night-vision goggles. “Okay, we have to do this very smooth, just be careful.” The bubbly mare carefully raised her hoof and stepped out of the bush. She pulled her hind leg after her and got stuck on a loose branch. Face first, she slammed into the door and produced an ear splitting sound. Applejack's disapproving gaze followed her friend's head sliding down the wooden door. Excusing, Pinkie Pie looked back at Applejack and smiled sheepishly at her. “Hehe, I'm sorry.” The door clicked open and the pink mare fell head first into the library with a loud thud. Light fell into the darkened room and illuminated the basement door. The faint shine of a few candles shone underneath the doorstep into the room. While Pinkie Pie turned around and stood up again, Applejack set her left front hoof into the library. Her walk stocked as the basement door clicked open as well. The door slowly opened only a small slit-wide. Applejack eyes narrowed to focus on the pony that would come out of the door. “Twilight? Is that ya?” The movement of the door stopped for a few seconds but was followed by a massive bucking sound that ripped the door out of its hinges and smashed it against the opposing bookshelf. The light inside the basement was extinguished and red glowing eyes stared at the orange farmer and the pink party pony. The thing unleashed a terrible roar and made a massive leap forward. Applejack and Pinkie Pie turned around fled in terrifying fear. They could only flee several feet before Applejack spotted her little sister and Sweetie Belle in front of her. “Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! What are ya doin' here?” The small filly smiled at the appearance of her sister, but something seem to bother her. “Hey Applejack! Ah met Rainbow Dash a few minutes ago, and she told meh that ya went to Twilight’s. Ah wanted to tell ya about some weird dreams Ah had. Ah've heard a weird voice tellin' meh somethin'. Ah only go somethin' about a statue and some evil pony, Ah guess. Do ya know what that means?” Applejack shoveled her little sister on top of her back with her nose when the terrible roar behind her rose up again. Her eyes focused on the shape inside the door frame. Its red eyes drilled into her mind like it tried to suck the life out of her. The shape stepped out of the darkness and was exposed to the sunlight. It closed his eyes shut and covered its eyes with its claws. Pinkie bounced up and down and smiled like a silly filly. “Oh! It is only Spike!” The little dragon ripped his eyes open, the red orbs took Pinkie into focus and a blazing ray of fire shot towards the mare. Out of Applejack's shadow the former unicorn member of the Night-crawlers materialized and blocked the inferno with a magical barrier. “He isn't the dragon, you know! Look closely at him!” Applejack observed Twilight's assistant, it seemed like something really hard was hurled against his scaled head. Several small unhealed injuries covered his body. It looked like Spike wasn't able to feel the pain entirely. “What happened to him?” Applejack struggled for her composure. Shadow charged his horn with the shadow magic Soul had taught him over a thousand years ago. “My guess? I think Twilight Sparkle is experimenting with resurrection spells.” The fuse inside the mind of the farmer snapped and drove her to shout from the centre of her lungs. “Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! RUN!” Applebloom jumped from her sister's back and began to run shortly followed by Sweetie Belle. “Where are we running?” The little Apple didn't stop. She continued running and shouted over to her friend. “Ah don't know, but Ah can feel that this is the right direction!” They raced down an overgrown trail until they dived into a light-filled opening. The light blinded them and made them stop instantly. Slowly, they regained their sight and looked around their environment. It was the graveyard of Ponyville. Sweetie Belle nudged Applebloom's shoulder and shot her a dark gaze. “You're trying to save us by bring us to a graveyard? Smashing... simply smashing...” Applebloom didn't react at all, she just stared at the statue in front of her. The base was decorated with the symbols of the Elements of Harmony. Every single one was carved into the stone to remember the reason for his deeds. Her gaze strived higher as she watched the spot where the beautiful replica of Soul was standing before. Sweetie followed the view of her friend and couldn't say anything anymore in astonishment. “I've expected you, little Applebloom. The time has come to save the ponies of Equestria once more.”