//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 - Bringing them back together // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 14 Bringing them back together Applejack gasped at Soul. No words wanted to leave her mouth. She simply couldn't believe what the dark stallion had suggested. “What do ya mean when ya say we have to reunite the Elements'? Ah thought Harmony was gone!” Soul shot her a cocky and devilish grin. He winked at her and erected once more a map of their destination. The black stallion pointed at a giant blank spot in middle of a familiar little village. “This is the place where Twilight's library was located before. We know that Discord has taken Shadow, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash in the basement. They are somewhere hidden inside his chaotic swamp. Which doesn't mean that they are still there, but there is a possibly that their banishing place is accessible from the spot where they were originally locked up.” Princess Luna raised her eyebrow. She gave him a smug smile and nudged his shoulder. “I would have expected a much… less foolish plan from you, Soul. What are you planning to do? Just stick your hoof inside the chaos and fish for them, like diving for apples?” “Exactly!” The Princess couldn't believe her ears. Her mouth stood fully agape after Soul seriously confirmed such a ridiculous plan. “You can't be serious! How do you plan to take hold of chaos magic? Even if you can channel enough magic, you still need something equally chaotic like Discord to open this realm!” There it was again, Soul's victorious dark laughter. Once more the room temperature seemed to fall. Even their breath became visible in front of their eyes. After the laughter had finally ceased, the dark stallion slowly opened his eyes. The white orb had turned pitch black and the the sapphire blue eyes had became blood-red and the pupil had turned into a merciless slit. A cold shiver ran down the Princess' and Applejack's spine. Even the teeth of the dark stallion had changed. From the usual teeth of a vegetarian to the teeth of a bloodthirsty predator. “Haven't you listened to me before? When I defeated Lunacy, he and I became one again. I've got the majority of the power Discord once wielded, and I'm going to take the rest of him as well.” Princess Luna gasped; the cold around her paralysed her muscles and clouded her thoughts. She had prayed that she would never have to see her beloved former student and Captain like this ever again. Even for the strong alicorn Princess, the sight froze the blood inside her veins. With all of her will, she forced her speech forward. “Since we met you always managed it to surprise me with your skills, but this is truly insane! You somehow managed to consume such a big part of his power, but it will be suicide if you try to consume and suppress the whole power of a divine creature! You are already holding Star Swirl's power. Your mind will burn! You will lose yourself between these unchallenged powers!” The cold around them ceased and the room heated up to the pleasant temperature from before. His sharp teeth and red eyes faded and returned back to normal. It felt like a heavy burden fell off from Princess Luna's and Applejack's backs. Soul exhaled carefully before he rose back to his attitude. “No offence, Luna. You know my past self very well; no pony could judge me better. But you know nothing about me after our ways had parted. There is not only the power of Lunacy and my best friend Star Swirl, but the remains of Harmony's spirit and this cursed spirit of Pestilence! There is absolutely nothing that could stop me!” Applejack's eyes got watery. A single thought raced through her mind, she could only barely manage to hold back a whimper. “That was what War meant. She… she told us that she couldn't see Soul's name anymore. She said there were so many more... so many names that he had consumed durin' his life. So his real self got lost.” The struggling farmer looked Soul directly in his eyes. Tears forced their way outside and rolled down her orange cheeks. “Is this what ya were doin' your entire life? Consumin' every strong foe you had to oppose? Ah can't imagine how it feels to have more than one soul inside ya, but it has to be truly awful if ya are thinkin' that way. There is always somepony that is better than ya. Don't give up upon yourself. Ah like ya the way ya are. Please don't let your anger blind ya.” The dark stallion struggled within his mind. The only thought he had for years was to protect the ones he cared for. But had the seek for power really blinded him and hidden the true importance of his duty? Instead of making his friends happy, he merely made them cry. “I'm sorry, Applejack. Maybe I have lost sight of what is important, but I just can't stop now. What if I'm too weak to protect any of you? I can't let that happen! My life is an endless fight that will certainly never cease. Not even death could contain me. In the end, I might be the reason why Equestria will fall.” Applejack made a tiny step for every word he spoke. By his last words the mare stood right in front of the slipping stallion. She swung her hooves around his neck, reared up and pulled him close to her chest. “Stop talkin' horseapples like this... Ya won't be the one who brings Equestria down. Nopony will bring Equestria down… because ya will protect us from anythin' that will try to hurt us. The only thin' Ah'm askin' for is that ya won't lose yourself. Always remember who ya are and what we love about ya. Ya could defeat Pestilence without any struggle, ya are already strong enough to protect us from everythin'! Don't make yourself crazy. We are safe because of ya.” Princess Luna was touched to tears by the scene that occurred in front of her eyes, but a single thought irritated her the entire time. Coldly, she raised her voice and showed no signs of any emotion. “This isn't about being strong or not. I think this is all about revenge. He hopes that he can get to face Discord with Twilight's help. He expects Twilight to come to his aide.” It felt like thousand needles were piercing through Soul's back. The inglorious feeling of being busted. Applejack withdrew slowly from the dark stallion. In anticipation of an answer she stared into his eyes. Soul hid his eyes behind the shadow that was falling from his mane and forehead. Coldly, his left scarred eye emerged from the shadow and took Princess Luna into focus. “Maybe you are right, but what does it change? My life was idle and careless before I met Discord for the first time. The day he came to Canterville... my whole life changed. He has killed my parents and forced me into this dreadful and cruel destiny. I had to witness so much loss and suffering. Discord will certainly pay for the misery he brought upon me.” Applejack felt slight pain by the words of the black stallion. A sad frown engraved itself on her face. “Ah can understand your pain, but your change in destiny brought many good things to your life as well. Without him ya wouldn't have met Princess Luna, Midnight Veil, Harmony or even Blaze. Just think about it. Ya wouldn't be able to stand here today without him. Ah ain't sayin' that Discord doesn't deserve it, but violence is not the right solution here.” Princess Luna bit her lip while her former student gazed from the corner of his eye at the insecure farmer. It was the same dark gaze Soul had worn in his face a thousand years before, when he was still cruelly leading the Nightmare Legion. Heartless and without care he turned countless enemies into ash with this exact same expression. It was never changing, never twisting. The only thing it always was... is sick... The Princess narrowed her eyes and carefully watched Soul's movements. “She is right, Soul. You have fought so hard to become the stallion you are today. Do you really want to throw everything away? The stallion I'm looking at right now is not Soul Tearer but Black Terror.” Her midnight blue magic formed around her horn and constructed a mirror made of the finest moonlight. Soul stared directly into the eyes of his own reflection and winced silently. He had lost the lively shine in his eyes. Just plain old darkness had returned to him. Hesitantly, the black stallion turned around fully to Applejack. “I think you forgot somepony, Applejack.” The orange mare's ears perked up while she faced Soul Tearer. Ruefully, he lowered his gaze, even his voice had become soft and soothing. “If I never met Discord... I wouldn't have met you either, Applejack. I suppose not everything went bad, but he still murdered the ponies who had raised me. I don't want to became like I was in the past, but I can't promise you that I can control myself when I get to face Discord.” Applejack laid her hoof upon his chest and gave him a heart-warming smile. “Ya just have to promise meh that ya won't hurt another pony, including yourself.” He returned the smile with pleasure and held tight upon her orange hoof. “I promise that nopony will be hurt.” Princess Luna nodded approvingly and shot both of them the most cheerful smile ever seen from a Princess. “Both of you quite matured during the last few years. I'm proud to fight on the same side as you. I think the time has come to go to Ponyville and retrieve your friends.” Applejack and Soul looked concernedly at each other for a brief moment, but their frown quickly turned to a gleeful smile when they looked into each others eyes. In unison their sight returned to the Princess and their voices merged in perfect harmony. “We’re ready to save our friends!” The Princess clapped her hooves together and ignited her horn. “If you insist!” Applejack puzzled the Princess while Soul simply nodded cheerfully. Before Applejack could comprehend the happenings, they already disappeared inside a flash of Princess Luna's powerful midnight-blue magic. It was a whole different feeling than being transported by Soul's magic. Maybe teleportation looks the same from the outside, but Applejack got a hunch that every unicorn might have his or her own way to use that kind of transportation. For the so non-magical farmer this was the third way of being transported in this manner, but Princess Luna's way was by far the gentlest. It felt like gentle streams of silk were stroking over her coat. The bright light had forced her to close her eyes, but now she felt the light decreasing and was confident enough to open her eyes while she was still inside this weird magical realm. The sight in front of her eyes was simply beautiful. The silken feeling she got before originated from streams of lunar magic that connected both ends of the white and blue-shaded tunnel they were falling through. Somepony, whose shades weren't matching this marvellous world caught her attention. Soul was peacefully floating next to her. His eyes were firmly shut and a careless smile throned upon his lips. He never looked so relaxed since they met. Every sign of sorrow and strain was erased from his face. Applejack could have watched him for an eternity like this. She felt sorry at the thought that they will have to leave this beautiful realm in the next few seconds. Tossing him back into this fierce reality where only fights and blood were waiting for him. The gentle blue light around her began to brighten, until she was another time forced to close her eyes. The silken feeling on her coat had vanished and was replaced by the so rough gust of Equestria. She carefully opened her eyes again and looked at the place where Twilight's library was located before. It was just a plain meadow in the middle of Ponyville. It felt odd to the orange farmer. The library had been here her entire lifetime and now it was gone. Before Applejack could comprehend it, she noticed Soul walked past her, he headed straight for the centre where the main room of the library was before. The black stallion stopped and closed his eyes. Applejack carefully followed him and waited for anything to happen. When some time passed and nothing seemed to happen, the curious farmer took the initiative. “And what exactly are ya doin' now?” Soul didn't open his eyes nor did he turn his head in Applejack's direction. He let a few seconds pass before he answered. “I'm doing what Luna had suggested. I'm 'fishing' for our friends.” Applejack cocked her eyebrow and focused on Soul's horn. She had to get closer and closer to get finally a glimpse of a weak magical aura around it. Tired of waiting, the usually so work-active mare decided to sit down firmly next to the concentrated stallion. “And how is this supposed to work?” Soul let out a groan, more out of annoyance than anything else. If his eyes weren't closed, they certainly would have rolled. “I will try to explain it to you. Every time a living being tries to built a connection into another realm or location, this being is ripping holes in the fabric of reality. And these very holes can be traced back at least for quite some time. You can picture them like bleeding wounds. Shortly after they are opened, these wounds are bleeding the most. As time passes, this bleeding slowly closes until nothing remains.” Applejack gasped at Soul's precise explanation. Magic wasn't that difficult after all. She let her body slide down into a comfortable lying position and rested her head upon her hooves. Her eyes were pointed at Soul the whole time. She was just waiting for him to advance. His shadow wandered from west to east as the sun made its turn. Applejack was already in belief that Soul would never open his eyes again, but just as she wanted to close her eyes as well. The eyes of the highly concentrated stallion cracked open. “There it is... I've found Twilight's library.” Applejack was tired, but she still managed to elevate her head. “Huh?” Thin streaks of sapphire blue magic began to emerge from Soul's horn. Alerted from the bright light, Applejack jumped to her hooves and walked a few feet away. Soul concentrated upon his magic and inhaled calmly. “Applejack, please stand back until I say it is alright.” She simply nodded and waited for his magic to take effect. The ground around the black stallion began to radiate in a gentle blue light. Applejack could literally take a bit of the air now. So thick felt the magic that surrounded them. Soul began to hover a few inches above the ground. The tension in the air was almost unbearable. Applejack covered her eyes behind her hoof, but she still managed to look at the happenings through a gap. The leaves of the tree top that belonged to the library emerged from the ground. Slowly, it rose to its original height and projected more and more of its old glory. The ground underneath Applejack was violently shaking, but Soul was now levitating high in the air above the tree top. The library was coated inside Soul's magic, but the bubble of magic burst and returned the library into its original condition. Soul vanished together with the aura but reappeared immediately right next to Applejack. “What do you think, Applejack? Seems brand new to me.” Applejack gasped at the sight of the library. Just mere minutes before there was nothing but dirt and grass. “Where are our friends? Are they inside?” Soul stepped another time forward and headed for the front door. Applejack felt ignored and angrily followed the silent pony. Soul pushed the door open and took a careful peek inside. The library was still empty and dark. Absolutely nothing had changed since the last time ponies had entered the building. The basement door was still leaning against the wall since it was smashed out of its frame. A creepy green light radiated from the depth. “I couldn't find our friends anywhere, so I believe that the connection to the realm they are hidden in is somewhere in the basement. Fluttershy was afraid when she witnessed the happenings down there. Her sight was blurred and narrowed. So we have to get a look for ourselves.” He stepped down the creaking stairs. Applejack merely nodded weakly and followed Soul downstairs. The black stallion merged with the pure darkness inside the basement and so she lost sight of him for a few moments. Hesitantly, she walked passed the green-radiating walls. The sight in front of her eyes sent a cold shiver down her spine. Step for step she got closer to the centre of the room, while her eyes were still locked upon these frightful creatures. “Soul? Why are these creatures here? Ah thought only the dark Princesses could bring them to life.” Soul's voice emerged from the darkness. His body was still well hidden inside this poorly illuminated room. “These creatures were originally products of a mad scientist that planned a revolution against the Princesses. After the war, the knowledge about them got sealed up. Only the Princesses themselves knew about this magic. I can't really explain why Twilight is able to create these, but I guess it has something to do with her reviving attempts.” Applejack slowly raised her hoof and tried to touch one of these creatures, but her instincts told her to halt. She withdrew and headed for the spot where Soul's voice seemed to come from. “What drives a pony to create such sick magic?” Applejack ditched against Soul and stumbled back on her behind. She shook her head and took the shadowy stallion into focus. He stared down at the spot in front of his hooves. Again his horn was faintly shining. “It was a different time, when ponies were seeking for endless power. I've written magic that is banished into the endless depths of time by myself. You wouldn't believe what magic is still out there... May it can never be retrieved.” Soul sighed faintly. But before Applejack could raise her voice for another time, the stallion interrupted her. “I've found them. Brace yourself.” The green radiation was pushed back by Soul's superior blue magic. The manes of four different ponies arose from the ground, but even in this darkness something was odd about them. Their gazes were hard and heartless. Fear crept up Applejack's spine when she saw her friends rising from the ground. Rainbow lashed out and aimed for their liberator. Shadow struggled his mouth free from his prison and shouted desperately, “Captain! Dodge!” With a blink of Soul's magic, Applejack, Soul and Shadow found themselves back outside of the library. Shadow stretched his legs. He was visibly relieved by his freshly regained freedom. “I'm sorry, Captain. Discord turned them when I was distracted! They are willed to fight. We have to calm them somehow!” Soul shot Shadow a satisfied and relaxed smile. He put his heavy black hoof upon his shoulder and got rid of the remains of Shadow's black suit. “Welcome back, my fellow friend. I think it is much more comfortable to walk around without this awful suit.” Shadow simply returned the smile and nodded weakly. Applejack tossed the black stallion firmly aside and faced Shadow directly. “What do ya mean when ya say 'they are turned'? Why didn’t ya protect them?” The mix of anger and worry in Applejack's face made the heart of the ash-grey stallion ache. He wanted to apologize, but his mind refused him the ability to speak. Before he could comprehend the mare's feelings, he was distracted by the upcoming tripping noises from inside the library. The three mares walked slowly into the sunlight. Their coats were still greyed and hostile to any positive emotions. Their gazes told the same story. They only wanted to rampage. Applejack turned to them and a tiny tear ran down her cheek. “Ah know that we weren't the best friends in the recent time, but Ah never thought that any of ya would end up like this... Without the Elements we can't turn ya back... Ah'm so sorry girls...” Just as Applejack wanted to turn her head back to Soul to ask for advice. The black stallion rushed in mid-turn, passing Applejack and racing towards the three discorded mares. Rarity leaped forward and let her horn brightly shine. “You moron won't discover our mistress!” Spikes made of marvellous shining gems pierced out of the ground and aimed for the speeding stallion. They gently cut into his flesh, but no blood was spilled, nor did the stallion wince in pain. It was like streaks of shadow and fog were pulled away from his body and followed him shortly after to the place they belonged. Without losing speed, he stormed at the immobile, white mare. His massive velocity made the ground shake slightly. With a powerful leap, he overturned Rarity and landed forcefully beneath her. Before she could fully turn around, Soul's horn began to shine brighter than ever before in every colour of the rainbow. Softly, he laid his horn against Rarity's and forced his magic through her entire body. A rainbow coloured vortex appeared around them. Through the gap inside it could Applejack get a glimpse at her friend. Rarity's coat returned its usual so whitely-shining self. Taking the darkness away from her heart. “Rarity! Ya are back to normal… but how?” The vortex dispersed into thousand tiny sparks and vanished. Soul was still not standing firmly on the ground when the sound of two furiously flapping wings crossed his hearing. A insanely fast rainbow blur was heading directly for his direction. Only seconds parted him from the impact. Instead of dodging, Soul just remained calm at his position and let her come. Rainbow Dash almost reached him, but before her hooves touched his body, the stallion was gone. Rainbow blinked rapidly and zoomed through the area but couldn't find a glimpse of the so-distinctive stallion. “It is like I said: one day I will fly with you again.” Rainbow looked above herself and spotted the stallion with his brightly shining horn. The vortex formed around her and devoured the darkness within. Soul's gaze strived through the area below and caught sight of the terrified pink mare below. Still hovering in the air, he concentrated upon his magic and hurled it at Pinkie Pie. The pink mare turned around and ran as fast as she could. “You will never ever catch me!” When Pinkie turned her head back in the direction she was heading to, her heart almost stopped. Soul was vigilantly standing right in front of her. She tried to stop as hard as she could, but the rainbow-coloured magic finally caught her and returned the pinkie-ness to her. Every single of the three mares was returned to their former hue and personality. Applejack raced to Soul's side and caught the stallion in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank ya, Soul! How did ya do this? This was just applebuckin' great!” The stunned mares slowly regained their consciousness while they rubbed their pained heads. Their gazes wandered somewhere behind Applejack and Soul. Applejack tried to follow their gazes and got stuck in mid-turn. An usually familiar sound made her blood freeze. The clock tower of Ponyville began to ring. Never ending... She couldn't say anything nor was she able to move. The sight of the snake-like Draconequus immobilized her. Discord licked his lips and looked through the different ponies in front of them. With a smug and provoking smile, he flashed his teeth towards Soul who still had his back turned to him. “It has been quite some time, Black Colt. Like a thousand years? I believe we have a few things to talk about.” Applejack was paralysed. The pure adrenalin in her body didn't let a single muscle move. But what scared her wasn't Discord in any way. She was scared because it was getting cold again...