//------------------------------// // Chapter 34: Get in the box // Story: Souls Apart // by GnollReader //------------------------------// "Calindria? Are you still there?" Celestia called out with worry. The rampage inside the small box had gone on for some time, but then it had suddenly ceased. Even the constant slapping had come to an abrupt end. All that could be heard now, was the constant thumping of hundreds of little spears. The imp, after having gotten bored had left minutes ago. "I'm still here..." the paladin's hesitant voice could be heard coming out of the box, "They got me... sorry." "At least you tried." Twilight tried to console her. "Yeah... didn't help much though..." the paladin replied, "What are these things anyway? There's like hundreds of them!" "I do not know." Luna remarked, "But if I am not mistaken they are preparing additional pots..." There was a short pause. "Get us out of here!" the paladin could be heard struggling furiously, "Where is that bloody necromancer?! I'll have his head for this!" Celestia watched the box in panic, trying her best to think of a way to get her friends out of the trap. She carefully took a step closer, maybe there was a detail to it she had missed? As long as she wouldn't look inside, surely she should be able to do something. In her concentration, Celestia failed to notice the figure that had walked up behind her. And she failed to notice it until a foot was placed on her rear and a strong shove was given, making her stumble towards the open box with a yelp. In her surprise, Celestia looked down and inside. "And in you go." The next moment Celestia found herself on a seemingly endless plane of charred and broken rocks... and surrounded by a horde of creatures she had never seen before. They were tiny, not even coming up to her knees and wearing bizarre, painted masks of wood that hid most of their features. As ridiculous or amusing their appearance and the sight of their even smaller spears was... there were hundreds of them, and they all stared at her with a deadly silence. Somewhere in the back, among what looked like little huts she saw a large fire and next to it, she saw the others bound with rope to large poles. Next to the poles, she saw a ridiculously huge kettle... "Run, princess!" Twilight shouted out, hanging upside down from her pole. Princess Celestia's gaze traveled over the countless masks, and she saw hundreds of tiny eyes stare at her. She was surrounded, there was no escape and if she had heard correctly, magic wasn't an option either. She swallowed, and then decided to try a more diplomatic approach. "Greetings." she spoke up, "I am princess Celestia. Would you please be so kind as to free my friends? I am sure there is no need for this to go any further." The pygmies remained silent for a moment, then they simultaneously looked up. "CHaukMak ak?" one of them asked. Celestia followed their gaze and turned her head upwards. A rectangular opening sat in the sky above her, as if someone had drawn a door into the sky itself. In the opening she could see the sky of Equestria... and the necromancer's face look down upon them. "CHaukMak tha nka?" Aergad raised an eyebrow as the pygmies shook their heads, "Nah... screw that. Get her." In an instant the pygmies were all over her, and within mere seconds princess Celestia found herself bound to her own pole next to the others. "You can't do this! Stop this insanity at once!" Celestia shouted up at his face furiously. "Nope." he smiled, "This is punishment, after all!" he paused, "Twilight is here because she stole one of my books, summoned a demon lord..." Celestia gave Twilight a quick look of disbelief. Twilight merely managed to cringe and grin like a fool, "And because she told him of my presence... That's certainly going to be trouble later on." he muttered to himself. "As for the rest of you." he continued, "Celestia, you are her teacher and as such are to be held responsible for any of her actions. I found it only fair that you should share her punishment. The paladin is here... well, you ignored the warning." he gave the hand a quizzical look, "Why you are here is beyond me, but once you're inside you're part of it." "And Luna is going to stay as well, now that I found out she's been trying to keep Nightmare Night a secret from me!" "You didn't tell him?" Celestia asked her sister with surprise. "Can you imagine what he would do if he was allowed to participate?!" Luna whispered back, "I thought that without time to prepare anything, it would at least be civil!" "And now I just have two days left to prepare..." the necromancer commented sadly. "You're not seriously going to let them cook us, are you?!" Calindria shouted up at him, "Even you're not that mad!" "Cook you?" Aergad scrunched his face, "Why would they do that?" he gave the pygmies a nod, "They're not going to cook you, they're going to cook for you." "That doesn't sound like a punishment..." Twilight gave him a bewildered look. To the side, the pygmies were already starting to carry out huge tables loaded with different ingredients and rolling out large barrels. "Basically, it's quite simple." the necromancer explained, "They're going to cook, it will be delicious, you'll eat it and then you get out." he paused, "That... and you'll gain about twenty pounds in the process." he saw their absolutely terrified expressions, "Yeah... sounds like a punishment now, don't it?" "I don't have time for your silly games!" Celestia called out with a stern gaze after regaining some of her composure, "I will see to a fitting punishment for Twilight myself later, but I need to return to Canterlot as soon as possible! I am expecting an important diplomat from the griffon empire to arrive within the next hours and he will be expecting..." she saw a huge and maniacal grin appear on the necromancer's face, "Nooo!" she shook her head as if in shock, cursing herself for letting the words slip out, "No no no no!" "Griffons, heh?" the necromancer scratched his chin, "Always wanted to meet one..." "Don't you dare!" "Relax, I'm going to be really nice... I promise. Enjoy your meals, ladies!" and with a last smile, the necromancer closed the lid of the box. "THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!"