//------------------------------// // Shadow Of Death: Home // Story: Imbalanced // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// [Choking's Entry] Void seems like a pretty nice guy but somepony who made princess Celestia tremble might be too difficult to assess for now. At least he helped get my mind offa Blaze, the bad things I mean. I liked the way things were with Blaze but I should have opened up to him more while I still had the chance. I had two damn years to tell him he was more than just a casual friend. Damn my imagination running away again. [End Entry] The hoof wrestling is over almost as soon as it starts. The burly earthpony manages to hold off Void for staggering three seconds before his hoof slams into the table and leaves a visible dent. Staying true to his word, the earthpony points at the costume currently being worn by Void. A physical victory is not enough for the alicorn though. "Oh let me just show the costume to my friend there or if you really want to wear it that much then I will take it off immediately of course," Void grins victoriously. I watch in amazement as the earthpony blushes and the entire group around him keeps watching Void as he walks back to me with his rump swaying from side to side and tail flicking around. "You... wait... what?" "I thought it would be a great idea to get into the spirit of things and show those gentlecolts not to underestimate somepony they do not know." "You won?" "Do not sound so surprised. Your friend's body was well trained and I am no weakling as well." "Alright but why the sexy walk? I mean you do look really good in a strange way but aren't you getting a little bit too much into it?" "You mean the fact that most of those so veeeery big guys involuntarily thought 'I'd tap that' about a stallion who has just beaten them in their test?" "You are soooooo nasty," I begin smiling and watch Void take the outfit off and bring it back to the earthpony while still swaying from side to side albeit much less noticeably. "I cannot pay for our drinks but it seems I will not have to so feel free to enjoy yourself." "I think I'm fine for tonight. Do you have anywhere to go?" "I was thinking about Blazing's apartment but then I realized I did not have the keys." "You can stay at my place. I don't feel like being alone." "A half-smashed mare on the hardest rebound possible is inviting me to her home, how could I resist?" "Don't get the wrong idea, I just feel like having some company around. If you don't keep your hooves to yourself I'll smack you so hard you'll long for the days of being locked in Tartarus." "Sounds fair. Let us go then." Flying at night over Canterlot is always an amazing sight. The glow from torches, firefly lamps and even electric ones makes the city feel like a campfire which just burst out with the sparks represented by pegasi carrying their own light sources around. The lively bustling of the city is all thanks to princess Celestia and I'm thinking about doing something to her. I don't know what but I doubt it can end well. Perhaps revenge isn't the way to go. I could ask Void what he thinks about it but somehow I just don't feel right doing so. He isn't very chatty but tends to turn into a flying encyclopedia when asked something. I yawn but my apartment building is close and we finally open the door of what looks like a bomb-testing facility. My usual companions don't care much about the mess at my place but Void makes me self-conscious. "I-eh didn't have time to clean up much," I blush a bit. "Be calm, earthquake relief should have this place done in no time." Well at least he didn't sneer. I take off my armor and throw it on a heap at the door. "Pfff. You can put the cloak there as well. Hungry?" "A bit," he says nervously but his rumbling stomach betrays him. I guess one doesn't get fed well in Tartarus and running around the city entire day trying to avoid the attention of royal sisters must have drained him. I've never bothered learning to cook but sandwiches are no problem and I'm done quickly with the kitchen. "Dig in, mister Evil!" I say, coming out with a plate full of wannabe dinner and interrupting Void looking exploringly at one of my raunchier Vinyl Scratch posters. Maybe being locked away for thousand years in Tartarus left him unsatisfied in more aspects than just empty stomach. He really doesn't have to keep staring at the plate. Do my sandwiches look that bad? "I'm not much of a cook but you don't have to be scared of eating my food or I might take it personally." "Phowry," he crams almost an entire piece of bread in his mouth. "No big deal. Say, how powerful you alicorns are anyway? I mean we ponies think you are almost godlike but seeing you here is no different from any other visitor I had." Void swallows. "We are much stronger than even most earthponies but the difference is not so great however every single one of us is bound to some natural or mental force which we can use to an extent impossible with just using magic. Then there is magic itself, knowledge of which comes with our unaging nature but still varies depending on our inherent affinity for it." "So what's your superpower? I mean what are you alicorn of?" "Our names mirror our nature just like it is for other ponies. Celestia embodies the sun, Luna the moon, Zephyr is pretty obvious and Cadence is the only one that doesn't fit because she embodies an innate force rather than a natural one. There is also the alicorn of lust called Scream, I hope I do not have to explain further about her. My name is Void so you can guess." "Hmmmm. Emptiness? Nothingness? Darkness? Are you the alicorn of my wallet?" "Do not tell me you have money problems, even Blazing Light was well off considering his drinking habit and lower rank compared to you." "Pfff it's easy to save money by not doing anything fun ever. What are you then? Nothing other than my head after a night of partying fits your desription." Void hesitates. "I am the alicorn of death." "Whoa, so if you died we would all be immortal?" "No, the natural order would continue as if nothing happened and I would eventually reappear. You see, killing an alicorn is impossible so you can only temporarily limit one's ability to affect the world and if one decides to... leave then another one will eventually be born." "How old are you guys?" I ask, realizing the gravity of Void's statement. "I cannot tell you that as it is too far away to remember. I do not even remember being too young. We may all have been created by Discord or any other ancient god along with this world just as a way to pass time. Or something completely different." "Aren't you angry to be just something's pawn?" "Not really, things just are what they are and I have the freedom to change them if I so please... usually." "Then is your quarrel with Celestia just a way to pass some time?" "Mostly, but I would also like to make her pay for throwing me to Tartarus and give her a valuable lesson she had given to the rest of us long time ago without understanding it herself." "Cryptic bullshit mode engaged. Can you dumb it down to my level?" "Me. Celestia. Big no-no. Spanking imminent." "Ha ha ha," I pout a bit. "It was impossible to resist. The truth is... hmmm. Have you ever read the legend of Nightmare Moon?" "As a daughter to the leaders of Cult of Luna I can say I had it beaten into my head." "Well then. Luna got to the stage when she wanted somepony to share her beautiful night with and the only real audience were Celestia's ponies so sooner or later she used force to make them appreciate it. That happened to all of us but Celestia helped us get through it... one way or the other. She, however, had nopony to help her in that stage but she did not consider it necessary because all ponies loved her for the gift of sun." "That doesn't seem so bad." "Have you ever thought about what would happen if you decided to disobey her, if you did not agree with the direction her utopia is going? The worst thing an alicorn of the night did was to bring the darkness. The alicorn of the sun would be able to fry everypony alive if she got mad." "Oh... then what did the others do when they went crazy?" "Not everything was such a disaster as it may seem. Zephyr started growing beans and became a fantastic chilli chef. Scream's influence was a bit more visible and mostly resulted in a massive babyboom and I suppose Cadence's will be similar." It takes me a second but I grin went the meaning of Void's words dawns on me. He mirrors the grin. "Magnus gave everypony the ability to use magic which proved to be devastating in the age when unicorns considered earthponies and pegasi just vermin. Those wars were terrible and it once again was Celestia who forced him to take their powers away to maintain 'peace'." The hoof-quotes took their place like the clicking of a lock. "And you started aimlessly killing ponies?" "It is not difficult to guess, I did not think of it that way at the time though. When I took in the amount of toil and suffering ponies needed to carve even the slightest bit of joy from their existence I decided to 'help ease their suffering' in the only way I knew how. Unlike with the others, Celestia did not bother with talking to me first and just sprung a trap that got me imprisoned forever. " "But you're here now, right? And I hope your plan to trouble Celestia doesn't involve mass murder." "I have had more than enough time to think about things and while at first I was furious, the time spent locked away able to only watch the world was enough to beat that out of me. As for your question - I am not here completely yet." "What do you mean?" I ask. The food and alcohol are pushing me to bed but knowing whether to continue cooperating with Void or not is more important. "I do not have my powers because the spell that brought me here only bound part of me to Blazing Light. My power still lies hidden within the depths of Tartarus and I need you to help me get it." "How?" "I do not know yet. Dimensional travel is completely out of our reach right now and getting past Cerberus is downright impossible." "I wouldn't think that some oversized puppy would scare you." "The dog itself is not a problem but whoever his master is has final say in who enters and who does not. And his master is-" "Princess Celestia, am I right?" "Exactly, so I am stuck right now but every problem correctly posed contains its own solution which I just have to find. In the meantime-" "In the meantime we should get some rest. Let's hit the hay for tonight." "Alright, do you have any pillows for this couch?" "I think I could use a bedwarmer tonight, you got a problem with that?" "Not really, just remember that if you feel something poking you it is my Rod of Destruction +3." Apparently the death ponyfied is just a huge nerd. I slip under the blanket and the feeling of warm body behind me makes waves of fatigue wash over me. I want more though. Turning around, I hug Void and bury my face in his chest. "Good night," he says. "G'nite," I mumble. Finally, this terrible day is over.