//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: No refunds // Story: Souls Apart: The Apprentice // by GnollReader //------------------------------// "Yes, just like that, dear." Rarity continued to take her measurements. "And... done." she smiled. "You can relax now." Pipsqueak returned to a relaxed posture with a broad smile. "I can't believe I'm really getting my own cloak! This is so cool! What will it look like?" "Oh, you just wait and see." Rarity smirked as she got out a piece of green cloth, but paused as she pondered on something. "Tell me, dear. Are you really going to be his apprentice?" The thought of the innocent little foal becoming the apprentice of Death himself was more than troubling to her... yet Pipsqueak seemed absolutely ecstatic. "Isn't it great?" Pipsqueak beamed at her. "He's going to teach me everything about magic!" On top of his head, Xhergis couldn't help but pray that Aergad would keep whatever he intended to teach Pipsqueak appropriate and safe for the young foal. "He is?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't you have asked Twilight instead?" Pipsqueak shook his head. "Could you tell me a bit about him then? I'm curious to know more about Aergad." The little foal scrunched his face. "Well..." --- "What do you mean I can't call in a refund?!" Aergad glared at the scythe in his hand and shook the dead cat in his other hand to emphasize his point. "How the hell am I supposed to explain this then?!" a silent voice answered from his scythe. "Tell her that its time had come?! Why didn't I ever think of that?!" he gave the scythe an angry shake. "Oh, wait... Because she'll never buy it!" He waited for the scythe to give him a response. "Well of course I could just raise it! But that's not the point! Without the correct soul to put inside everything will get messed up! Not to mention that it's still a dead cat! How long do you think it would take her to rot?!" --- "He is responsible..." Pipsqueak rubbed his chin. "And..." --- Aergad gave the cat a pondering look. "What do normal people do with dead pets?" --- Pipsqueak smiled. "He always knows what to do..." --- Down in the boutique, Aergad was frantically operating the handle of the toilet. "Flush! Flush, damn you! Oh crap... oh, no. Don't you dare come up again!" ever so slowly, the toilet started to flood the bathroom. "What do I do?! What do I do?!" --- "That sounds very lovely, dear." Rarity chimed. "Still..." she reminded herself of just who Aergad was, "Are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna alright with this?" "They always visit him..." Pipsqueak tilted his head in thought. "They seem to get along well." --- A bright flash flooded Celestia's chambers in light as she repeated the summoning ritual to make him appear again. "Aergad..." she started to talk before she actually saw him. "I know you don't like to be called like this, but we still need to discuss..." she trailed off as she saw the soaked and dripping object in his hand. "Is that... is that a dead cat?!" "Don't judge me!" he returned with a wail before disappearing again in another flash. --- "What is your name?" Calindria asked the diamond dog sitting bound in her tent. "Buster..." the diamond dog managed to stammer as he was treated with a full view of her armor up close. Calindria gave a short nod. "And you're a member of one of the clans living here?" Buster only nodded in reply. "Which clan do you belong to?" "The Redbacks... my queen." Buster didn't even know why he said it. It was a slip of his tongue, but somehow he felt compelled to do it. No matter how terrified he was at being surrounded by the dead, he found himself enthralled by her appearance... the way her golden hair moved, the way she smelled... the air of authority surrounding her. Everything about her mesmerized him. "Queen?" the paladin asked with a frown. "Why do call me that?" "You... you are the Pale Queen, are you not?" Buster carefully asked. "I... I heard them call you the Pale Queen." Calindria shook her head with a sigh. "Damn rotten bunch... I can already imagine who put that idea in their head." she paused. "Which other clans live in this area?" The dog seemed hesitant to answer. "What... what are you going to do with me?" "That depends on you." the paladin replied with a grim voice. "The griffons and Equestrians have decided that a new nation will be founded within Blackshadow Reach. I have been sent here to secure it." she pointed a finger at him. "Which brings me to the matter of your kind." "Since we can't have you making trouble, I will see to it that the different clans fall in line." she paused to let her words sink in. "Three options. One, you follow me and become a part of the nation that will be born here. You'll have shelter, protection and the opportunity to make something of yourself. Two, you leave the area. No one will pursue you. Three... you decide to put up a fight." her face darkened and she pointed a thumb towards the flap of the tent. "That's what they are for. One word from me and they'll go straight down into your dens... and you'll join their ranks after they're done. Do you understand?" Buster gulped and nodded. "But... but what do you want from me... my queen." Calindria sighed. "Enough with the queen already, will you? I am paladin Calindria Westwind, first general of the necromancer." It cost her effort to mouth that last part, but all things considered it was her current position. "And what I want from you is your help." Seeing that the dog did not respond, the paladin continued. "I would rather not make use of option three, but I will not hesitate to do so if necessary. If I can see to it, I'd rather have you lot work with me or leave. So..." she leaned towards him. "I want you to take me to the clans, so I can talk with the alphas..." she put a hand onto the hilt of her sword. "And negotiate their subjugation." Buster's eyes widened as the sword came from its scabbard and the tip was pointed at his face. "To make this perfectly clear; I'm taking over." As Buster was staring down the tip of the sword, weighing his options... the flap of tent was opened and the monstrosity calling itself Tobie entered the tent, dragging a bloody pulp behind him. "What in the world is that?" the paladin raised an eyebrow when she realized the mangled object was actually stuck to one of Tobie's arms. "Tobie find cat with funny tail!" the abomination smiled broadly and held up his arm. "Tobie tries to pet but cat bites!" a toothy grin appeared on his face. "So Tobie pulls off head!" Again, the flap of the tent was pulled back and one of the dead dogs poked its head inside, "Boss! We'hs found us a manticore near the camp!" the undead paused and scratched his head. "Can't find the bloody head though... do you want us to..." he spotted Tobie. "Oh... never mind then. Big guy, can ya give us the head? We wants to munch on it." "Ahhh... but Tobie still wants to play!" "I'm surrounded by undead idiots." the paladin groaned and rubbed her temples before returning her attention to the terrified Buster. "So, what will it be?" Behind her, Tobie was using the manticore's head like a hand puppet... it didn't take Buster long to decide which option he would choose. --- When Pipsqueak and Rarity came back downstairs, the necromancer was sitting on the couch and playing with his fingers. "Look!" Pipsqueak exclaimed happily as he walked up to Aergad, a light green cape with a hood and golden lining on the edges now attached to his small shoulders. On the front, a golden brooch with an inset gem held the tunic together. "It's my own cloak!" "Well, well now." Aergad stood up and walked around the foal, inspecting the cloak from all sides. "Very nice indeed..." he turned to Rarity. "I take it the fabric is easily washable?" "Of course it is." Rarity smiled. "It is also highly durable, warm and light." Aergad nodded and returned his attention to Pipsqueak. "And you are happy with your new cloak?" "It's perfect!" Pipsqueak exclaimed happily. "It even has pockets on the inside!" one of which was now occupied by Xhergis. "Good... good." the necromancer nodded and scratched his chin. "But it still needs a little finishing touch..." he reached inside his robes and started to search his countless pockets. "Let's see now..." He started to pull out little gems glowing with varying colors, checking each of them before returning them to his pockets again. "Soul of fire imp... probably a bad idea. Don't want you to set the tower on fire." he chuckled. "Soul of rock gnome..." he raised an eyebrow. "Why do I even have this?" he continued his search. "Soul of abyss stalker... probably a bad idea. Soul of a snail... not even going to try." he pulled a brightly red glowing gem. "Nope. Definitely a bad idea." He paused as he pulled out a gem glowing in a soft blue hue. "Mmmh... spring pixie. Yes, this will do perfectly." Aergad turned to Pipsqueak. "Hand me that brooch for a second, kid." "May I ask what you intend to do?" Rarity asked with wonder as she watched the soft glow of the gem. "I can't have my apprentice running around without something special now, can I?" he chuckled and took the cloak from Pipsqueak's grasp. "Buttercup, would you mind?" "Yes, yes..." Xhergis groaned and flew out of one of the pockets, coming to rest on top of Pipsqueak's head. "So... what are you going to do?" "Just watch." Aergad chuckled and magically removed the original gem from the brooch and replaced it with the one from his pockets. He held the tunic in one hand and spread his other above it. As the others watched in wonder, Aergad started to chant softly and as he spoke words in a language they had never heard before, the gem started to shine brighter and brighter... until the glow started to engulf the whole cloak. Aergad stopped his chanting and the glow died again. "The spring fairies are a very interesting species." he smiled and handed the cloak back to Pipsqueak. "They tirelessly tend to the flowers of their gardens, protecting them against storms and rain, tending to their hurts and needs." "What did you do, mister necromancer?" Pipsqueak asked as he watched the soft glow of the gem in wonder. "The soul of the pixie now rests inside your cloak." Aergad explained. "It will protect you against any weather and give you warmth even in the coldest of nights. Quite handy in a thunderstorm." he chuckled. "And with time, you may learn to make use of its essence to help you even more." Watching the sincere moment from one of the corners with unfocused and dead eyes, a little white cat sat perfectly still... every now and then a monotone "Meow" escaping its mouth as it stared straight ahead without blinking.