//------------------------------// // Chapter 44: Enter the Lich // Story: Souls Apart // by GnollReader //------------------------------// "How did things turn out like this?" Aergad sighed and placed his frail hands on both of the statues, concentrating to let his mind traverse through the stone. After a short moment, he found himself surrounded by darkness... and in front of the two alicorn sisters. The connection had been established. "Aergad?" Celestia looked at him with surprise, "Is that you? We thought you had perished..." He reached up and pulled back his hood, revealing his already decaying head, "I did." Luna watched his empty eyes with horror, "What happened to you?" Aergad replaced the hood with a small chuckle, "I turned myself undead, so that I could fight Discord on more even terms." "You what?!" Celestia was shocked. "A necromancer can surpass himself if he becomes a Lich, an undead. This way, the amount of mana I can channel throughout my body increases dramatically..." he sighed and fished out a small pebble from his robes, "Though it holds quite a risk to take this step, I'm afraid." At first Celestia didn't understand the importance of the small rock he was holding, but then her mind made the connection. "Your soul?!" she shook her head with sadness, "Aergad... I..." "We don't have much time for chit chat." he interrupted her and returned the stone to his pockets, "I had hoped to have your assistance in dealing with Discord... but it seems the situation requires a different approach." "You can not fight him like this!" Celestia replied, "Even if you are more powerful than before I fear that it will not be enough." he gaze turned even sadder, "And should that stone break during your fight..." "Sister, I don't understand..." Luna cast Aergad a worried gaze, "What will happen if that stone is destroyed?" "I die." he replied with a solemn voice. "Then you must not do it!" Luna said with dread, "You have to trust in Twilight Sparkle and the bearers of the elements to..." "That won't work." he cut her off, "He's been keeping close attention on making sure none of them get out of Ponyville. Even with my minions helping them, they'll need me to buy them some time so they can surprise him... I need to make sure he won't have the time to bother them." he chuckled, "Plus, I still have a score to settle with that joking son of a bitch." "But how?" Celestia asked him. "As I said, the situation requires a different approach..." a frail smile appeared on his cracked lips, "And as I am now... I can channel a lot more than before." he turned to Celestia, "Remember the last sunrise I came to visit you? It was lovely... don't you think?" Celestia seemed confused at his question, but then her eyes widened considerably, "You can not be serious! Dead or alive... it would be your end!" Aergad let a small laugh escape him, his hollow voice making a strange, rasping sound, "I know... I know... But this is the only thing I can think of that may actually work." he held up his hands towards them, "Don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything suicidal..." he lied, "And I'm certainly not going to let that fuck have the last word in this either." --- Queen Chrysalis stretched her legs with a small sigh as she went through the plans for the hive of the upcoming months. The necromancer had supplied Celestia with the vessels and once the alicorns had made their purpose public the changelings would start to supply the necromancer with the bodies of those that had passed on. The necromancer... Chrysalis couldn't help but think that their last meeting had already been a while back and she always had stress that needed to be worked off... Something he had proven to be quite capable of. Unknown to Chrysalis, her subjects had noticed this as well. After his last visit, the changelings didn't know if they were dreaming but Chrysalis was smiling for days... she didn't even snap or shout at anyone... they had even gotten a bit of free time, something that had never happened before. As the days passed though, the smile grew smaller and smaller again and by now, the changelings were actually hoping for the necromancer to make another visit. They had even set up special patrols outside all entrances to make sure he wouldn't stand before closed doors again... and to lead him through the tunnels when he finally did decide to visit again. The peace inside the hive came to an abrupt end though, as a miniature changeling came shooting through one of the tunnels and into Chrysalis' chambers shouting at the top of her lungs. When Chrysalis finally understood what Xhergis was shouting about, she felt her heart come to a stop for the first time in centuries. --- A thunder clap shook Canterlot castle, one of the walls exploding a moment later as Tobie shot through it and into another wall. "Stupid... lizard..." Tobie mumbled as he tried to get up again. By now, half of his head and several arms were missing, not that it made much of a difference to him. He flopped around on his belly and started to push himself up, but froze when his remaining eye spotted something in front of him. Tobie's voice became soft, "Father?" "You did good, Tobie." a frail hand patted his head softly, making Tobie smile as he watched the figure before him, "Now go help the paladin, I'll handle the rest." Even with only half of his head remaining, Tobie couldn't help but marvel at his father... He was burning, flames of pure mana dancing over his robes and breaking skin. And even though his dead eyes were unmoving, they too seemed to burn with the magical flames. With each motion his father made, each step he took and every word that left his lips... sparks sprang to life around him. Tobie watched his father quietly step through the hole in the wall, noticing with wonder that the flames of mana were composed of three colors... a shining white that ran over his left, a deep velvety blue that surrounded his right... and a pitch-black ring of fire that floated around his head.