//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 - Waver // Story: Death's Bargain // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 19 Waver Soul Tearer was gone, but the other ponies remained for a short moment in stasis, trying to comprehend what had happened in front of their eyes. The stallion that has once saved the world seemed to have lost his senses and is now running wild through Equestria. Applejack bit her lip, she couldn't believe that he went away. “How can he do this to us? Just leavin' us without any help or hints. How are we supposed to find Twilight without him?” Princess Luna tried to calm the tempered farmer with her soft voice. She lit up her horn and concentrated upon her magic. “That is not true, my dear Applejack. He told us exactly what to do. He said that the end is where we begin and that we all shall return to the point where this journey has began. So where does it takes us? Where did everything begin?” Fluttershy rubbed her chin. She searched through her own memory and through the memories that Soul had shared with her. There was absolutely nothing about Twilight. He must have recently got the hunch about her whereabouts. “Umm, the last time Discord had told us something like this. Back then we had to begin back in Ponyville. Maybe we have to go there again.” Applejack shook her head. There was something wrong about Fluttershy's thesis. “Soul isn't a bit like Discord. There won't be any tricks. Luna is right, he really meant Twilight. We have to go where Twilight became like this. And my guess would be that we have to go where Phalanx died. We may have to go to Demon's Run.” Princess Luna flinched by the mentioning of this once wicked place. For thousands of years, no living being could enter that place. Wildlife returned since Soul Tearer had purified the cursed soil. During the last two years, it has become a wonderful forest. The remaining magic amplified the growth of the plants and trees. The fateful place where the fight about Equestria's fate was decided still existed. The four boulders surrounded the spot where the silvery spear of the Princess's parents once stood. Even the clearing of this place didn't make her feel better. “I have a still a bad feeling about this place, but I guess you might be right.” Fluttershy followed the conversation eagerly. She had never seen the gruesome face of the original Demon's Run. But the description that her friends had provided her already frightened the timid pegasus. “I don't know if this is important, but don't we still need Soul to help us? I mean, when we had to fight Twilight in Ponyville, she sent these things after us. Only Soul could get rid of them.” Applejack and Princess Luna looked at each other for a brief moment before the Princess broke eye-contact. Applejack looked down at the floor and thought about Soul. “But where could he be right know? I hate it when he leaves me... I guess, the place where everythin' began for him would be in the past?” Princess Luna shook gently her head. Her mane contradicted the movements and hid her eyes behind their eternal shine. “I doubt that he would left this time entirely. He isn't the kind of stallion that would do that. I believe... he is standing on some mountain top and glaring down on us, watching our next moves and judging our decision. No matter what he says, he has certainly changed. He doesn’t want to fight anymore. The spirit of a warrior inside of him seems to be gone. Maybe the time has come for him to settle down. The only enemy he has to fight now is himself.” Fluttershy and Applejack stared bashfully at the ground. They have always seen the saviour in him, but never looked behind the mask of strength and will that the stallion had worn, they never questioned the pony behind this. Neither did they pay attention to his feelings or his needs. The timid pegasus drew a circle on the ground with the tip of her hoof and sighed in defeat. “I feel awful for not asking about his feelings. I always thought of him as indestructible like the Princesses. Maybe he was far much weaker than we thought.” Princess Luna put gently her hoof upon Fluttershy's shoulder and smiled weakly at her. “It is not your fault. We all just relied on his power. And this very power is devouring his mind and weakens him every day. If anypony is responsible for this, it’s me. This is too much for a mere mortal. All these years of misery and pain. Our later students had usually short lifespans. The usage of such vast amount of magic shortened their lives. Someday they just wilted like flowers. Alicorns like my sister and me are born with the understanding of death and decay. We witness many deaths of ponies that are close to us during our millennia long lives. But a mortal like Soul will experience the same pain everytime somepony dear to him dies. Maybe the time has come to save him instead of the other way around.” The words of Princess Luna hurt Applejack and made her heart ache. She couldn't bear the thought of Soul as a wilted flower. “Ya are right. We have to help Soul. But he ain't a wilted flower. For meh, he is different. In mah eyes he is like a shinin' star. Always shinin' bright in the sky, he never really darkens. For the moment are only dark thick clouds hangin' in front of him. We just have to push these clouds away and clear his sight.” The Princess nodded gently at the emotional farmer. Many ponies had changed since Soul returned to Equestria. Not even the honest Applejack was spared. But the Princess had a slightly different plan. “I have to agree with you. The impression of a star suits him far better. But there is somepony else we have to save as well. We can't lose more time to seek for Twilight and I can't imagine a better team of ponies then her best friends. You go search for them while I will go after Soul.” Applejack gasped at her words. She couldn't believe that the Princess wanted to go after him on her own. “There is no way Ah will let ya chase Soul all alone! He needs the help of both of us!” Princess Luna shook slowly her head. It was sadness that shimmered in her eyes. “I really appreciate your will to help. But Soul's issues are originating far in the past. From a time when there was only him and me. I want to talk to him frankly. Without any listeners peeked at us. In the meantime, you and your friends will go after Twilight. You have to convince her to come with you. Together we might be able to defeat that mistress without risking Soul's sanity.” The orange farmer's eyes grew wide. Her throat got sore and itched. “Riskin' his sanity? What are ya talkin' about! He is just not himself now!” The depth in Princess Luna's eyes couldn't mean something good. A sinister thought was drilling from the bottom of her mind to the surface. “I thought we already got past this point. Judging by everything both of you told me... I think Soul is losing his sanity. The other souls that he has consumed might be fighting for the upper hoof inside his mind. They are forcing his own soul to budge. This version of Soul before seemed much more like Lunacy than like himself. I don't even want to imagine what happens if Soul loses control entirely. So I will try to mend his damaged mind.” Applejack bit her lips. She wanted to help Soul so desperately. But maybe it was time to keep her focus to her friends instead of the wavering stallion. “And how are we supposed to get there? Usually it’s Soul takin' us to our destination.” Through her sadness and sternness, Princess Luna still offered the naïve farmer a little chuckle. “Shadow will tag along with you. He is capable of transportation spells similar to Soul's. He should be able to defend you for a while. If something goes awfully wrong he will alert me and I will come to your aid.” Applejack nodded in agreement and turned her gaze to Fluttershy. “It seems that it's up to us to save Twilight. We should go upstairs and go see if they are awake.” Fluttershy simply nodded. It seemed like she was overwhelmed by this flood of information. She followed Applejack, who had already turned around and walked to the door of the chamber. Fluttershy only managed to turn around and sweetly wink at the Princess to bid her farewell in her haste. The door closed shut and Princess Luna took another deep breath. She pointed her eyes through the window to the sky and observed for a short moment the passing birds. But the idle moment didn't last for long. Her horn already ignited in her midnight blue magic and carried her out of the castle. The tendrils of her magic pulled her through the empty room between the world of the living and the infinite realm of death. It placed her hooves gently on the broken marble floor of the old castle in the Everfree Forest, the very castle where this sheer unbelievable story has began a thousand years ago. The Princess walked down the empty halls. Every weathered frame of the countless pictures brought old memories back. From a time where light still flooded the halls. Today the dust was keeping the light from entering the castle, but they produced this ancient shine in the old building. There was doubt for a short moment, doubt about her own capabilities. This castle may be ancient but Princess Luna was older by far, maybe too old to rule such a wonderful land all on her own. But her thoughts got distracted from some dark and powerful feeling. It drained her attention from the ancient building and pulled her over to the old coronation hall. Her sight was blurred from the flying dust but something mixed with the levitating particles of dirt. Small black dots mingled in the light, flying away from the balcony above. Where once were blinding light, was now absolute darkness. It looked like a dark cloud that consumed every little bit of the light around it. There was something inside, something powerful but something lost at the same time. Princess Luna approached the stairs that led upwards to the cloud of dark magic. Carefully, she ignited her horn. She brought a little light into the fog like darkness and stepped into the light devouring cloud. It was coldness that greeted her. There was nothing of the usual so peaceful world around them left. In the centre of the cloud was something waiting for her. It wasn’t really liquid or firm. His eyes were glowing the dark. The slit-formed pupil took the Princess into focus. Waiting for her to advance, they were only following her careful steps. “So this is what happens, if you are alone for too long. What kind of dreadful creature have you become? What happened since your glorious days? I remember the day I found you and the day you left me. So much had happened but I never lost faith in you. But now I don’t know what to say. The darkness inside of you has taken over. You finally crumbled under the weight of your burden. Maybe we are both too old for this ever-changing realm.” The dark being leaned away from the Princess and turned his eyes towards the sky. There was no light but there were little stars at the inner surface of the dark cloud. “Alone? I was never truly alone. They were always others. These countless dreaded souls inside of me were always speaking. But until today I never really heard them. They are telling me that our time hasn’t come yet. I will never be too old. My time has just began ... and the next one to complete my power...Will be Discord!” Princess Luna was taken aback. There was always hatred towards Discord but he never got actually the chance to battle him a second time. This could take disastrous forms. She gulped but tried to cover her worries. “Revenge is not the answer! That were your own words! Why did you turn from the light? What kind of trouble caused you to leave?” The burning stallion shot the Princess of the Night a cocky, almost disrespectful grin. “You aren't listening, Luna. You are right... I have fallen. I turned once to the light and it betrayed me in the end. I'm sick of it. I won't suffer in the light again... I won't stay down for others anymore. I will fight along with my darkness until everything around me is gone. And after I've torn everything apart, I will leave this realm and merge with the darkness to become something new, something stronger. I will become a new god...” Princess Luna's entire body was shaking. Hearing such cruel words from her own dear former student was terrifying. Every single hair of her coat tensed up. “Please believe me when I tell you that I know exactly how you are feeling right now. You are experiencing what no mortal should be able to. This is the curse of immortality. When your life is long and seemingly endless you begin to seek for new ways to live your life, and now your time has come to stroll through the darkness. But soon, you will be pure again. You will discard all of the darkness inside of you. I just hope that you will see clear again before you lose everypony who cares for you.” Slowly, the Princess withdrew from the thoughtful stallion. Just a moment before she would have left the cloud of dark magic, the stallion silently began to weep. It was a terrifying mix of crying and laughter. “So sweet you are caring for me. But you really should look after yourself. Not that your so lovely sister will betray you another time. I'm the only pony who could defeat an immortal. I consumed the power of time and harmony. But that wasn't enough, the power of three apocalyptic ponies are flowing through my veins. I'm everything light and dark!” Princess Luna felt the cold climbing up her back. It was the number of ponies that let fear creep into her mind. “Three apocalyptic ponies? You only defeated two so far...” There it was again, his prideful and glorious laughter that brought fear upon so many past enemies. But this was the first time Princess Luna felt herself threatened. His eyes shone in this bloody red and focused the Alicorns horn. “Are you really that naïve? I've told you before, I made a deal with the devil. A deal with the pony of death to regain my life. She lent me her power and I promised to be hers in return. There is no return now. There was never hope to live on after this. So I will take what I desire and leave. And so will you. Farewell, Luna.” The Princess gasped but before she could comprehend, the dark cloud dragged her out, rejecting her of the shell of darkness, throwing her back into the castle. Princess Luna crumbled to the ground, she was heavily breathing and shaking. The touch of pure darkness was so cold, so terrifying. Never before she felt something that sinister and evil. Quickly, she got back to her hooves and tried to enter the dark fog again. But the shell didn't let her pass through. The Princess was thrown back on her behind. In sheer disbelief, she had to watch the pure darkness around Soul Tearer. Tears ran down her cheeks, when she ignited her horn and let her magic carry her gently away. “I'm sorry, Soul. I'm sorry that I can't help you anymore. You are the only one who can stop yourself now.” Bitter and alone; that was how Soul felt deep inside his aching heart. The darkness drove everypony away, now he was all alone again. His tears were silently dripping on the floor. Despite the sick grin in his face, he felt like weeping. Soul's mind was torn between light and dark. But the speck of his that thought clear followed Luna's magic and whispered into her ear. “Twilight Sparkle won't be alone. If you want assistance then take my legion with you...” For this short moment, he spoke in his usual deep voice. The faint echo was gone. But soon the darkness returned, together with a faint female laughter. Grey fog swirled around him and stroked through his mane. A faint voice whispered into his ear. “Were these the famous last words of your sanity, my dear?” The magic around Soul pushed the fog away and forced it into a corner inside the cloud. The fog took the form of a pegasus mare that wore a white tip-hat. She hissed at the devouring magic and pushed it somehow away. Soul’s eyes turned to the intruder, he shot her a deadly glare. “What do you want from me? Our deal isn’t fulfilled yet! So stay away from me, Death!” Death slowly approached the burning stallion. The dark magic around him still created the impression of his coat burning. She licked over her lips and eyed Soul from the tip of his horn to his rear end. “Don’t worry. I won’t take you now. I’m just here to check your condition, and I have to admit that you’re surpassing my expectations by far. Even for my standards, you’re looking terrifying. If I weren’t some kind of god, I might be afraid. But I think more of a cute little colt when I look at you right now.” A dark bolt of magic aimed for her neck. But before the dart could pierce through her flesh, the pale mare managed to tilt her head to the side. She moved only barely enough to dodge the sharp projectile. Soul’s eyes glowed even brighter than before. The hatred tried to take the upper hand of the trembling stallion. “A little colt, you say? Don’t make me laugh! You know as good as I know that immortality is no hindrance for me! I’ve already consumed your brothers and your filthy sister will follow!” The pale mare didn’t flinch by the threat of the dark stallion. She closed the distance to him and even dared to swing her hooves around his neck. Death slowly kissed his neck until she playfully bit in his ear. “I simply love your sweet little threats. You should punish me for disobeying your commands, my strong stallion.” Before Death could react, she was thrown to the ground. Soul’s strong hooves pinned her shoulders to the ground. She could feel his hot almost burning breath in her face. A satisfied grin grew on her lips while she imagined the sensation of Soul’s lips on her own. “Are you already angry? I really love assertive stallions. It is so hard to find a stallion to have the guts to treat the mare of death like this. I wonder what got you to change your mind. So many times you have denied my offer, and always assured me that your heart belongs to Harmony and Applejack. But now you’re standing above me. I’m helpless and couldn’t do anything if you decide to force yourself on me.” Soul hissed and snarled while he flashed his teeth. He was more like an animal than a pony being. “Don’t be ridiculous. It doesn’t matter to which pony my heart belonged. There is only one thing that is important to me right now!” Death cocked an eye at Soul. Her grin grew only wider by every single word of him. “Belonged? You are already using the past tense? What happened to your eternal love towards Harmony?. Not that I’m surprised because you already cheated on her with this Applejack pony.” The pressure around them rose. The atmosphere inside the cloud became heavy and thick. It would be impossible for a normal pony to breath. “How can I cheat on somepony that is lost forever! I even shattered her soul in order to save this dreadful place called Equestria!” Death pressed her wings against the ground and lifted Soul up. She threw him off herself and turned the table around. Soul was now lying beneath her. “Oh? Now you are acting like a saint? In your madness you have already forgotten about them! I know what is important to you right now! What you want is power! Power you can only obtain if you devour more of us! So might grow even powerful enough to take the revenge you are seeking after. Don’t think that I don’t know what Discord did to you. And of course there is still Harmony’s murderer. I’d bet you would take the chance and kill Celestia if you have the chance to.” Soul’s horn was already overflowing with magic. Small sparks jumped from on layer of the clouds to another. The tension was unbearable. “Our deal included that I get rid of your siblings. So tell me, where is your sister? I want to end this odyssey and find my peace.” Death couldn’t do different than chuckle. She felt the pressure that radiated from Soul’s horn. Even for her senses it felt highly uncomfortable. “There is somepony impatient, I guess? My sister War is exactly going where you suspected her. She has risen an army and marches to capture Twilight Sparkle. Her mistress needs Twilight for some reason.” A small ball of energy formed between Death and Soul. It expanded and forced the mare away. Soul got to his hooves again and shook the faint remains of dust off his coat. “Why are your siblings siding with this mistress and you are not? Why did you drive me to stop them?” The pale mare began to lose her shape. She became only a mere shadow. “My siblings are weak. But I won’t let myself down to get under the hoof of such a puny Princess. But another question is more important. What are you going to do now?” There was still hot steam escaping through the gaps of his razor sharp teeth. His red slit-formed eyes were brightly glowing. They were fluted with dark magic. Drool was leaking out of his mouth. “I will do what I always did. I will take what is mine and become stronger! I won’t stop until everything that stays in my way is destroyed!” Lightning began to soar to the ground. They scorched the ancient ground and burned the plants that grew between the tiles. His head snapped back and he ripped his jaws widely apart. His mad laughter rang through the entire castle when the dark cloud dispersed into black rain that poisoned everything in reach. The grey fog withdrew and faded into thin air. “You are right. You will become a god-like being. But you won’t decree over this power. You will be just my slave... I think you are ready to complete the deal. ”