//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 – Crossing a border // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 9 Crossing a border Princess Luna carved a depiction of the borderland into the wall of her chamber, repeatedly carving new routes into the wall and repairing them only seconds later. Scheming new and better ways to escape over and over again. Nothing could fail, everything had to go well. Finally the Princess of the Night smiled when they seemed to have found the perfect plan. Entering the Kingdom through the great gate inside the mountains that define the border. The guards will let him pass and most likely will follow Soul inside. As soon as he is alone, Soul will wander around the mighty and powerful to find the puppeteer. Depending on the outcome, he either will be able to leave the Kingdom without any struggle or he has to bring every griffon in control down to prevent a war. “This plan is plain and simple but will most likely work. Infiltrate, gather Intel and bring the culprit down, but please explain it to me again. Why do you have to go through the usual borderline? You could simply teleport in there.” Soul erased the drawing from the wall and let its usual dark blue and turquoise shimmer return. Slowly the light of his horn vanished and his attention fell back to Princess Luna. “The griffons aren't really a visitor-friendly nation. It is rare to see another race behind the mountains of their Kingdom. So a pony would definitely catch attention. This way round I gain more freedom to search for the puppeteer, but it would limit my time as well.” The old stallion winked at the beautiful mare of the night and showed his most cheeky smile. “Luckily… time does not affect me.” The Princess felt something strange around her. Her body didn't obey her orders, only her eyes could search through the room. Soul walked slowly past his Princess and let her wonder. From the corner of her eyes she caught sight of a little clock on her side table. None of the clock-hands were moving. The time around the chamber had stopped. The strange feeling left and the Princess regained her mobility instantly. She shook herself free from the unusual feel. “Your skills are at their best, as always. You don't have to prove them to me, especially without any warnings in advance.” Soul couldn't possibly hide his laughter. The Princess frowned upon Soul's amusement. The stallion walked a second time on the balcony inside the castle to look upon his soldiers, but this time the curtain stuck in the air, it didn't fall back into its original position. Princess Luna followed him and marvelled at the stallion's skills. Her gaze strived downwards and looked through the lines of ponies. It seemed like an incredibly well drawn picture of soldiers after winning a fight. Perfect to every single detail. “I see. You only freed me from your hold. The other ponies are still frozen in time. There has to be a special reason to show me this. Am I right?” The black stallion searched for a short moment through the crowd but seemed to not be able to find what his eyes desired. Slowly, he turned around and shot her a self-confident smile. The glowing of his horn was still faintly visible. Princess Luna could feel how his magic grabbed her and pulled her through the room. It was only the blink of a second, but when she regained sight again, she was back in the middle of her chamber. Her mouth stood fully agape in amazement. It was only a slight, almost unnoticeable tug, but she had been pulled through space. Soul's face had become serious. The traces of his former laughter and ease were gone and replaced by a dead-serious frown. “Of course it serves a reason. You see, I can almost freely decree over time. I choose who can still wander around or is forced to freeze. There is no way something will happen to me or my companion on this journey.” The lunar mare blinked rapidly and pointed her hoof at her own chest in surprise. Her eyebrows almost reached the ceiling of the room. They were the exact opposite of her jaw before. “You aren't thinking about me? Right?” Soul's horn almost extinguished, but before the light faded, the door unlocked magically. The last of his magic faded through a single little spark. The clock-hands began to work again and something fell through the door. Applejack landed face first on the floor and carefully rubbed her nose. “Hey! This ain't funny or anythin'!” The black stallion merely lifted her with his levitation skills and carefully brushed the dirt from her muzzle. “You might be right, but listening to other ponies conversation isn't either. But listen, you will come with me to the Griffon Kingdom. Alone they might become suspicious, but together with an earth pony they might not. You don’t look very dangerous actually, so this might work. Nopony will see me using my spells.” “Ah guess Ah can't do somethin' like that.” He turned to the farmer and raised his eyebrow, questioning. “I would have never expected such an answer from you. Two years ago, you followed me to the most horrifying place in Equestria without any question. Now you have doubt in front of such an easy plan? Has your unconditional affection for me finally faded? I would love to hear your explanation.” Applejack put her hat back on her head after she brushed the last dust from its folds. Her stare was hard and unpleasant. For a brief moment, even the stallion that had fought thousands was afraid. “It ain't the plan that ya thought of. Ah'm afraid of what this feather-brain was sayin'. What does 'two of your kind' mean exactly? Ah guess that he knows who ya are and knows about your strength. Showin' absolutely no fear means that they might have something on ya, and even two of ‘em. Mah question is simple. Does anythin' exist that can rival ya?” The Princess and Soul looked at each other in concern. This question had been asked many times before. The answer was always the same before, but this time might have be different. “You could just take a look in the future and find out who they are!” At the bottom of the door frame, in the left corner, Blaze was spying on them. Sheepishly grinning, he stepped inside the room when the gazes of every other pony met him. Soul looked upon him in worry. Blaze was still young and didn't understand the magic of time fully, but that 'two of your kind' thing was bugging him. Soul smiled. “I'm sorry, my little friend, but this won't be that easy. While I was gone, I looked into the future. Something terrible was about to happen, so I tried everything to come back. The moment I breathed the air of Equestria again, I interfered with time itself. The events are already changing. Discords appearance wasn't scheduled. By the recreating of my time-line, I created a new alternate future that involves myself, and since I can't see my own future, I can't possibly tell who is the puppeteer.” Blaze sank down to his plot and circled his hoof on the floor. “I think I understand. So when will we go to the Griffon Kingdom?” Soul's eyelids lowered until they covered most of his blue eyes. The warm caring shine of them rained down on the eager young stallion. Carefully he lifted Blaze's chin with his hooves and offered him a fatherly smile. “Listen, I would really appreciate your assistance, but when you really want to become like me, you have to train and study very hard. I'm sure the Princess will teach you personally, if I ask her to.” Blaze's eyes wandered to the Princess of the Night, she looked touched to tears at her own former student and nodded slightly. “Of course, I will teach him everything I have taught you in the past.” The young colt beamed in sheer happiness. Proudly, he pounded at his downsized armour and saluted to the Princess and Soul. “Yes, my Captain! I will do everything to become like you! Even if it means I have to do boring studies!” Soul ruffled the fine orange mane of the young stallion and nudged him friendly in the direction of the eternal mare. Blaze grabbed the floating mane of the Princess and tugged her out of her chamber. “Come on, Princess! We have to study so that I can become just like Captain Soul Tearer!” Blaze bounced up and down, always the Princess in tow. She looked back at Soul and Applejack. The black stallion nodded at her and let his mouth silently pronounce eight single words. “We will leave for the Griffon Kingdom now.” Princess Luna couldn't acoustically respond to her faithful Captain. Only a small nod was possible while the young stallion held her in his grip. Both of them left the chamber and Soul gently closed the door behind them, only to let his horn shine again and rip Applejack and himself out of the room to the Royal Carriage-Port. Applejack looked through the lines of pegasi between their carriages. She raised her eyebrow and scanned the stallion next to her. “Why are we here exactly?” Soul laughed faintly and walked past the suspicious mare. He stopped in front of the runway and clapped his hooves twice. “We have to go there and give them the impression that we're actually willing to surrender. Do you remember? And besides, I really like to travel in style.” The thunderous clinging of chains and metal sounded from high above the sky. The obsidian-black spare chariot of Princess Luna raced down. The four bat ponies pulling it shot evil glares. The weight of the massive chariot seemed to strain them extremely, but nevertheless they landed softly on the runway and stopped exactly in front of the waiting stallion. He shifted his weight to his rear legs and raised to his full height. While he offered Applejack his left hoof to help her get in, he pointed with his right hoof into the comfortable chariot. “If you will, my lady?” Applejack smiled and walked over to the gentlecolt in the stuck-up manner only Rarity could possibly imitate. A friendly lady-like bow followed, and she happily took Soul's hoof. “Ah'm pleased, my dear Soul. Ya may be allowed to enter this dreadful vehicle as well.” Soul followed her silently, with closed eyes and with his nose pointed to the sky. He straightened his imaginary collar and placed himself next to the fabulous farmer. “Well, well, if the gentlecolts in front may start now? We have a long journey in front of us and I don't want appear there late.” Applejack couldn't resist laughing any longer. Both of them broke down in the chariot and began to laugh maniacally. The four pegasi stallions in front rolled their eyes and immediately began to flap their wings. The heavy chariot began to move. Both ponies inside slipped slightly to the back until they softly met the smooth seat. Slowly, they raised up again and placed themselves neatly in their places. The massive, black hull of the chariot, ornamented with celestial bodies and stars, took to the air. The seat beneath their plot was one long soft bench seat crafted out of the finest deep purple sartene. She was still faintly laughing and covered her mouth with her hoof. Soul looked down upon the charming mare and let his horn gently ignite. Attracted by the light, she looked upon the sparking tip of his horn, the marvellous light reflected in her huge green eyes. The dust in the air condensed and formed into always-growing black particles. A lovely, worked pitch-black pendant began to take shape. The light of his horn carved the illustration of his own cutie mark into the unknown material. It was perfectly burned into the black matter. The magic even left the depiction shining in a brilliant white light. The matching ribbon originated from a single loose feather, pulled from one of the pegasi in front. It changed its from and expanded to create a necklace, suited for the neck of a special mare. The magic around the necklace weakened, it merely levitated in the air in front of Applejack's eyes. The black stallion smiled genuinely at his companion and gently stroked her cheek. She slightly blushed under the pleasant feeling but didn't shy away. “What’re ya doin', Soul?” Soul didn't hesitate and looked directly into her eyes. The shine in his blue eyes made Applejack feel even more comfortable around him and her heart began to beat faster. “I want to give you this necklace. I crafted it out of the noble gases in the air and my very own magic. It will protect you from any harm even if I'm not around. When the worst case occurs, and you or I am captured, you just have to concentrate upon the necklace and it will bring you back into Princess Luna's chamber.” The ribbon of the necklace opened up again and slowly levitated around Applejack's neck. It firmly closed behind her mane and laid itself neatly on her chest. The touched farmer looked down on the new piece of jewellery and blushed faintly, but his words were still in her mind. “Ah thought it was impossible for somethin’ to go wrong. Why would I need this?” The gust blew through his fine grey mane. His gaze turned away from Applejack, he just stared into the far distance. “I'm pretty sure that there is nothing that could actually hurt us, but there is still a high possibility of Discord playing the role of the puppeteer, so I don't want to risk your life so easy. Even if he is able to trick us, you will be able to return soundly and safely.” Applejack laid her hoof upon the finely-worked necklace and admired the depiction of his cutie mark for a moment before she paid him more attention. The delight and cheerfulness was gone, sorrow and grief took hold of her mind instead. “Do ya really think that Twilight and Discord might be this ‘two of your kind’?” Soul didn't really react, only his horn ignited like so many times before. “Gentlecolts, please brace yourself. We will jump now.” The surroundings around them blurred away. Only a split second went by until the environment seemed to be normal again. Only the temperature seemed to have fallen. The magician gazed at the wonderful snowy mountaintops of the Griffon Kingdom and frowned. “I guess you want to know what I will do to Twilight if your suspicion is correct?” Applejack nodded quietly. She was braced for the worst, playing with the little pendant to distract her from her sinister thoughts. But she wanted to have certainty about the possible upcoming events. Soul laid his hoof in a caring manner on Applejack's shoulder and offered her a caring smile. “You don't have to worry, Applejack. If we really have to encounter Twilight, I will do everything to save her. When we can't convince her through words, I will lock her up in time just like I did with your brother and friends. There she can't hurt others and more importantly… she can't hurt herself there.” The orange mare began to tug gently at the sartene beneath her. The mentioning of her brother threw her back into her most recent memories. Simply terrifying was the sight of her brother being turned into something so gruesome. “Thank ya, Soul. Ah know that ya will keep your word. Ya even returned from deah to save us. How could Ah ever distrust ya? At least Ah know what happened to mah brother. What really worries meh is that Ah don't know 'bout Applebloom.” Soul gently tipped Applejack's hat down from her head. It fell to the floor right in front of the seat. She looked at him with little tears in her eyes. His face was so perfectly calm. How could he be so relaxed with Applejack in such deep tremor? “I didn't see Applebloom in Fluttershy's memories.” Applejack gasped. The tears dropped out of her eyes and met the smooth material beneath them. He gently smiled at the worried mare and took streaks of Applejack’s mane out of her face. They had fallen over her wonderful green eyes when her hat fell from her head. “I didn't see your little sister or Sweetie Belle in Twilight's basement. That means she is somewhere safe in Ponyville. She may be staying with one of her schoolmates.” She wiped the little salty drops from her cheeks and forced a smile. Bit by bit, smiling felt easier to her. Slowly, she leaned over to Soul and laid her hooves around the black stallion. Applejack squeezed him firmly and pressed her head against his warm chest. “Your words are really calmin' meh down. Ah will just rely mah thoughts on you. Nothin' will happen to her, Ah'm sure of that. Ah think Ah couldn't stand any more hardships.” He felt the weight of the warm body on his chest. Even the heartbeat of the orange farmer was perceptible to him. It felt relaxed and homely. Nothing could have driven him away from the mare in this moment. “I know that what happened to your brother isn't easy for you to take, but you are strong. As long as you have faith to your friends and family, nothing can bring you down.” Applejack tightened her grip around the empathic stallion and dried the tears in his coat. “Ah ain't talkin' about Big Mac' or Applebloom. Ah'm talking about ya. Just like that, ya left us. Ya can't believe how painful it was to realize that ya would never return. That ya were gone. Do ya know what’s the worst of it? Ah will answer ya that question right away. Your return was one of the most painful experiences Ah've ever had to endure. To know that ya could have returned anytime ya wanted, and that ya still were gone for two long years, made meh feel sick. Ya didn't have to go in the first place, right? Ya just choose to...” She pressed her hooves as hard as her strong farm-trained muscles could. Her hooves were deeply buried in his coat. Soul looked down at the weeping mare. “I feel sorry that I let you experience such a hardship. I really wanted to protect you from any harm, but it was unavoidable. It was my fault that Lunacy was able gain so much power, andI had to stop him. I had to make sure he would rot in hell. Sometimes things don’t work well, and you have to improvise. Please believe me. I couldn't return a second earlier. Every second I was gone, I had to resist every temptation and every sin. I thought many times about the Princess, your friends and you. In my own present time, there is nothing to return to, but here are so many wonderful ponies and you are one of them. Please forgive me.” Applejack's hooves glided down his back and she slowly withdrew from him. The small, sheepish smile returned to her face. “Ah don't know if Ah can forgive ya, yet. Even if ya could do nothin' against it, but ya have to promise meh somethin'. Promise meh that ya won't vanish a second time.” Soul grabbed her hooves and simply nodded. “I promise. I won't leave any of you again.” The light of the dawn dipped their surroundings in a gentle orange light. The ambiance perfectly matched Applejack's still watery eyes. They looked each other directly in the eyes. Her lips were quivering. The pleading expression in her eyes invited Soul to lean forward and take Applejack into a heart-warming embrace, but before he could bring himself to move, the mare spoke up again. “While ya were gone, could ya talk to Harmony?” Soul broke the eye contact and stared passed the flying pegasi in front. “Harmony's soul has been scattered into million tiny shards. Nothing of her is left. There is no hope. While she was trapped inside the Elements, her soul could have been reconstructed, but since I used her and my combined power to close Hell's Gate, she is lost. Like she never even existed.” “What about this Midnight Veil pony? Ya talked about her like ya really liked her. Did ya love her?” His gaze fell back at the smart mare. Nothing seemed to be safe in front of her vigilant eyes and ears. Without a twist of emotion, Soul turned away again. “I think it wouldn't make sense to try to hide anything from you. You could consider her my first crush. We made it together through the military academy and worked so hard to finally join the special unit of the Nightmare Legion. I missed so many opportunities to tell her how I felt… and then she died against that dragon. I could do nothing against it. Maybe it just wasn’t to be.” Applejack bashfully looked away. She had quite a talent to ask difficult questions. She stroked her own mane and only dared to look at Soul from the corner of her eyes. “Ya seem to have bad luck with mares, huh'?” Soul leaned forward and hid his face in front of Applejack. She couldn't see his eyes anymore. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking in this moment. Applejack didn't know if the cold chill in the air was just the cold in the air or Soul's aura. “It seems so, but instead of walking away, they just die...” Applejack bit her lip. How foolish could she be to say something like that? She didn't know how to save this moment. In fear of saying something even worse, she turned her gaze to the other side of the chariot. The pegasus in front shouted through the wind. “Captain! The Griffon Kingdom is in front of us! Please prepare yourselves. We will land soon.” From the corner of his eyes, Soul caught sight of the majestic entrance gate to the Griffon Kingdom. For a brief moment, he looked at the mare next to him and whispered something that would be lost in the wind forever. “I pray that you won't met the same fate, Applejack.”