Souls Apart

by GnollReader


Chapter 36: Price of Peace

Celestia's mind was struggling to keep her thoughts at bay. Had the necromancer actually just gotten control over his own nation? She had already planned for several punishments in view of his recent behavior, but with this she would have to become a bit more... creative.

The moment that lord Redbeak left the room though, heavily drunk and leaning on his guards for support, Celestia was surprised to see the necromancer fall over backwards and onto the floor with a tired groan, "That..." he wheezed, "May have been a bit too much..."

"Why, you!" Shining Armor fumed as he got up again, "I'll..."

"Careful now, Shiny." the necromancer held up a warning finger, "I'm down, but I'm not out... there's still enough juice left in me to make certain parts shrink... a lot." Shining Armor cringed and stopped approaching him, a nervous look on his face.

Celestia slowly walked to where he was lying, studying his face as she stood above him. It did not seem like he was playing with her again; He looked exhausted, fatigued... and there was a new strand of gray in his hair.

"Hey there, Celestia." he chuckled weakly, "How's the sun of my life doing today?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Better than you, apparently. What did you do to wear yourself out like this?"

"You mean, what didn't I do?" Aergad huffed, "If you have to know, I killed and contained a demon lord, raided a changeling hive, had a quick one with Chrysalis..." somewhere in his pockets, the still-shrunken Xhergis cringed, "Then I had to rush back here, put a sleep spell over your guards, turn Shiny into a butterfly to see if he glows..." a small grin spread his lips while Shining Armor blushed, "Which he did. Then, I had to drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol without getting drunk, which is hard considering it's Ruby Coast..."

He stiffled a yawn before continuing, "All the while keeping the safety and peace of this world at my highest priority, mind you..." he pointed a finger at Celestia, "And during all of that I had to keep an enchantment running to keep two incredibly powerful pony deities trapped inside a pocket dimension." his hand fell flat onto the floor again, "So yeah, you try and deal with all of that and not get tired." he paused, "You have cake in your mane, by the way."

"Not cake." Celestia corrected him with a frown, "Banana sundae." she shook her head before turning her attention to the contract by his side. "I can not believe you actually got Redbeak to agree to something like this..." she murmured as her eyes traveled over the parchment.

"What does this contract entail?" Shining Armor asked out of curiosity.

"This contract..." Celestia replied with a slightly surprised voice, "This contract gives the necromancer complete control over the region formerly known as Blackshadow Reach, guaranteeing that he is the legitimate ruler of the area under three conditions..." one of her eyebrows started to rise, "One is that he will take care of the threat posed by the diamond dogs to ensure the regions stability, set up a toll-free area for trade..."

"You're welcome!" the necromancer held up a thumb.

"And third..." Celestia paused and her eyebrow rose even higher. She gave him a skeptical look, "You actually agreed to a Rite of Consent?"

"Sure, why not?" Aergad replied, "I mean it's more of public act anyhow, ain't it? I'll visit them, swear to be nice, kiss a few babies..."

"That is not what it means." Celestia interrupted him with a frown.

"It's not?" Celestia shook her head, the necromancer cringed, "Then what did I agree to?"

To the side, Shining Armor couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Oh, this is hilarious! You agreed without even knowing? I mean, what kind of..." a quick glare form Celestia shut him up, "Sorry."

Celestia returned her attention to the necromancer on the ground before her, "As it is, this contract is binding for the griffons, and it will guarantee that there will be no military conflicts concerning this area. So stepping back from it would only cause more problems... upholding it though, would ensure safety and wealth for all sides involved." she paused, "Congratulations, Aergad. You now not only have a nation of your own..." she placed her own seal on the contract, "But you're also going to get married."

"I am?"

"You are." she closed the contract and summoned it away, "The Rite of Consent was specifically called into life for situations where a third nation stood between two others. Very basically, to ensure you are loyal to both nations you will take brides from the royal families of both."

"I'm marrying?" the necromancer's voice was nothing but a whisper now.

"You are. Take my word for this, since you are the one who started this I will see to it that you finish it as well."

"Great..." Aergad groaned, "I already hate royals and pansy princesses... but a griffon and a pony?" he shivered.

"Don't worry, I will find a suitable bride for you." Celestia replied.

"Please tell me I won't have to marry you!"

Celestia shook her head with a groan, "No, you will not..." she saw his face grow pale, "And you are not marrying Luna either."

"Huh... well, I guess it could be worse... I can still always take the window if everything else fails." he slightly propped himself up on his elbows, "How did you get out of the trap anyway?"

"A young foal named Pipsqueak turned the box and shook it." Celestia replied with a frown, "The others are currently cleaning up the mess that accompanied our escape..." namely three hundred pounds of cake and dessert.

"Shook it? Clever boy..." a brief moment of concern passed over his face, "Wait. You did lock the lid, didn't you?"

"It can be locked?" Celestia asked with surprise.

The necromancer let his head sag back onto the floor with a loud groan, "Great. Just great... Just when you think things can't possibly get any worse, I get married to two princesses, and they forget to lock the box."

Celestia's eyes narrowed, "Why? What happens when you don't lock the box?"