//------------------------------// // C̝ͅh͖ͅạ̞̭p̨t̳̤͍͘e͔r̙͜ ͕̙̺͈͍̞̙͢?̘͉??̜̥̺͕̖ ͍̰̭̫̣̠ͅ-̛̫̦̦͇̼ ͏̠̟̲̱̟̮H̠̻̪͠e̢͔̜̱̺̭ͅ ͓̟̬̭̝̕s̹̥ée̱̹̳̦͞s͘ ͇͎y̸̻͙o͔u ͎̙̖͚̲̲w̥͈͕̱̹̭̥ḩ̥̟̗͓̜̟en͖̣̩͔̫̳͉ ̸͇̟̩͖̪y̥̣̘̰͙̻͔o̬͙̬u͎̲̣͝'͏̠̮̖r͝e̸̳̠̥̲̝ ̣̜ṣ̭̠̺̥i̢̩̹̬͍̮̘̤ṇn̩͕i̫ń͔͙͚̖g̟̝̯͢.̥̙̳̺̩́.̰͙.̺̭̤͖͠ͅ // Story: The Life and Times of an Alchemist Turned Pony // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// (Paradiso) “No Mortal has ever killed a God…” Alessa said as the barbed wire around her hospital bed supported her. “I fear this may be an uprising…” Hermaeus Mora said levitating a book into his slimy tentacles. “No! My fellow Gods and Goddesses, we will not be slaughtered by those who we consider our pawns! I will not, nay, NEVER allow it! I, Jubileus, the Creator, sayeth and what I say is LAW!” Jubileus, the mighty creator of Paradiso and the Laguna stood up in an outrage. “Never once has a mortal been even on par with a God, now we have one going around and killing one!” Her golden hair weaved around her orange orb, violently shaking it. Her halo suddenly burst into a fiery red orange. “It was bad enough to be slain by a witch! BUT THIS IS THE STRAW!” “Please keep it down, Eva is asleep right now and I wish you wouldn’t scream.” A man in a purple over coat said, wielding a broadsword and a katana in his grasp. “I can stomach Hermaeus being here, because he is not of our world, but you Sparda, I will not. I gave my guards very specific instructions to keep you out of here, let alone Paradiso.” “Please, Jully, is that anyway to treat an old friend?” Sparda said shrugging his shoulders. Jubileus’ eyebrow twitched with fury. “What’s wrong, still hate the nickname? Or maybe it’s because you got your heavenly ass handed to you by Queen Sheba?” Sparda said, waving around his hand in the motions of something flying. “Oh, and about the guards? Find something bigger next time.” Sparda said walking away and opened the door showing the outside. Courage’s and Temperance's laid skewed across the heavenly ground. As he was walking out of the room, a Courage stood up and attempted to crush him. Yamato flew out of its scabbard and just as quickly flew back in. The Courage seized up before falling into four separate pieces along the ground. Sparda looked back at the closing door before winking and blinking out of existence. Jubileus had to swallow a lump that found its way in her throat. Alessa suddenly spoke up, “Anyway, getting back on topic with the God Slayer. I’ll have Pyramid Head go after this Mortal.” “And what makes you think your monster of a Protector can do? I’m sure Grace and Glory can handle him.” “If that is your wish, however I am giving him permission to kill everything that hinders his progress in finding him.” Jubileus stopped cold. She knew of the demon of Silent Hill and her pawn. While they might not of been of Inferno, they made the place seem like paradise. “Fine. Do as you please.” Jubileus faded in and out before disappearing completely leaving the Daedric Prince and the Mad Goddess to themselves. “Tis a shame… I was hoping to acquire the “Hierarchy of Laguna” from her…” He said before fading out as well. ----- (POV - Auric) I’ve slept before, certainly. I’ve had dreams while in Equestria, probably. I can never seem to recall them, though. Whether that’s the failing of the human mind or Luna messing with me, I don’t know or care about. This one, though. I knew it was a dream right off the bat. For starters, I was human again, clad in the clothes Typhon had made me, with Eureka in my hands. This was, quite clearly, a dream, since last I checked, I was still a quadruped. Yet if it were a lucid dream, I would have some measure of control, wouldn’t I? And the world refused to bend to my whims. On a second look, the dream-world around me seemed...I think dreary is a good word for it. Gray fog everywhere, the feel of blacktop under my shoes. Sidewalks, buildings, houses, cars...yet no people. The sense of unease, like there should be something or someone here, sent the hair on the back of my neck on edge. Scrape…scrape… That sounds like...a huge metal thing scraping against stone. I should know, I only was a huge metal thing for so long. Scrape...scrape… Why does this all seem so...familiar? It’s like there’s something, just on the tip of my tongue… Scrape...scrape… A half-remembered name, like dew in the sun, it vanishes before you can properly see it. I could have sworn I’ve heard that sound before...but not in my… Scrape...scrape… My eyes widened, my breath caught, and I whirled around desperately, knowing that he was already there, that defense was going to be difficult if not impossible. I finally put a name to the place, to the one hunting me. I was in Silent Hill, and I was facing off against the final member of the Triad I had yet to see. The one I had hoped never to see. The battle was already in his favor: I was in his domain. True, it was a dream, but any concession made to him was one more than I wanted to give him. The King of Fear, the ultimate expression of Terror, he who rules over Silent Hill. Pyramid Head. A low moan was heard in the distance, maybe two or three blocks away. The scraping kept getting closer, and as it did, my mind whirled. Okay, my knowledge of swordsmanship is useless, at least, comparatively. That leaves Psynergy and the properties of my sword as things I can count on. No pulling any punches here, then. Wait, if he wields a Weapon of Madness, same as I...oh dear. This could be worse than I thought... And then, as if said by a thousand voices, in harmony with none, echoing from nowhere and everywhere, came the words. “YoU hAvE sInNeD gReAtLy, NoW, fEeL mY wRaTh.” Like nails on a chalkboard, the words unnerved me. Moreso when I realized who had to have said them. I kept my blade level and my head on a swivel, looking for the owner. “According to which gods...that I do not believe in?” Hey, shut up. It was an excellent retort, thank you very much. The sound of metal scraping on stone came from nearby, and I tensed, ready to dodge... ----- (POV shift - Pyramid) Was he playing with me? I am no God, but yet he sees me as one. ...Does he really think that highly of me? I watched as he looked around, expecting to be attacked. I laughed silently to myself and circled once more before I decided to show myself. He tensed at my form, the skin of my victims hung from my waist, I still had a few errant unicorn horns lodged in my legs somewhere… I used the trick Z taught me years ago. “Why think me… as a God?” I asked, my voice hard and choked. Z had taught me this long ago. Long ago being 2 days free from my stony prison mind you. ----- (POV shift - Auric) Well...that’s unexpected. “Oh, please, Pyramid. I know you aren’t a god. But you’re still someone I’d rather not tangle with, even if you are a pawn.” I kept my blade level and observed his form. Apparently, he’d had a less than cordial relationship with his Equestria’s ponies. At least, if the horns...and skins...and...bleh, everything, were anything to go by. Just the thought that he’d killed so many, so carelessly, sent a twinge of fear up my spine. And the knife. It was far longer than my own sword, if a bit less...elegant. I swear I saw dried blood on it. “Still, the fact remains. You’re powerful. You’re here. You’re in my dreams for a reason. So tell me what it is, or I will defend myself.” “Then there must… be some kind of mistake… I was sent to kill a God Killer, one whose Pride and Wrath surpassed all. All I see is a lost boy with no hope at all…” He said loosening the grip on his blade. I almost opted to attack right there, get him while his guard was down, but who am I kidding? This was fucking Pyramid Head, ya’know? Bane of all Souls, Master of Fear, The Red fucking Pyramid! “Ah, yes, the Wise One. I remember him. Tore him apart on the subatomic level, granted him peace. Call it what you will, I fucking murdered him, for the good of my world. I never thought of him as a god, y’know, but if you’re here, then someone must have noticed and counted him among their number.” “Yes… The Elder Gods… The Enlightened Ones… Even my own little Alessa took interest… But what I do not understand, is why she sent me after a weakling like yourself...” Okay, let me clarify: Pyramid Head calling you weak? Pretty damn scary. Then again, I would be surprised if he didn’t call everyone that. “Hmm. Let’s think. I’m only Aluric Fulcrum, wielder of Alchemy and Eureka, Blade of Understanding. There are so many things I can do in the waking world...once I’m whole again, that is.” “And what will you do? Are you living only to cause misery? Hate? No… You are something more… What are you…?” I lowered my blade a fraction of an inch. “Well. This is interesting. The puppet doesn’t want to dance to the master’s tune. Tell me, if you had a chance...would you do as I did? Would you free yourself?” He hesitated for a minute or two before answering. “...I once thought the same way you did. Freeing myself of the Masters’ strings… But I couldn’t bring myself to do it… I was meant to kill sinners, so I said to myself, “Alessa’s a sinner, why not her first?” It was then I realized that I couldn’t kill her… because she was my own flesh and blood…” I nodded at him. “Nothing is harder on anyone than betrayal. Especially when it comes from family. I would say her controlling you cuts to the core, doesn’t it?” “No… She is but a child in need for a Father… A Protector… I was like you, I was a normal boy from the U.S. I made myself a Pyramid Head costume and everything. I wasn’t a father, I wasn’t a monster… But now… I need to do this.” His blade whipped out in front of him just short of me. I could see the ring on his finger burn brightly with a red hue. “YOU ARE A SINNER AND WILL BE PUNISHED AS ONE!” I jumped back a few feet at the blade being brought to bear on me. Two minds? Or is the character overwriting the original? Doesn’t matter, I can’t seem to get through to him anymore! “All of us are sinners! What of you? Is not murder in and of itself a sin? The taking of life, however sin-filled, is a sin as well!” Keep him distracted, think! “HER SINS ARE MINE TO BEAR! I will not have you muddle me any longer!” Ladies and gentlemen, the original has checked out, all that is left is Pyramid. Fine, I can deal with this. Arguing will get me nowhere, it seems...but it gives me a moment to think while I try to come up with something. The way my stuff works, I need his ‘affinity,’ if he has one, before I can try its counter. “I do not seek to muddle, but understand! Where do you get off? Murdering a so-called ‘god’ is a sin, but the mortals that attack you are not? Where is the line drawn, Pyramid? Where is your justification?!” “Attack the Executioner, and he shall attack back…” “Surely there were ways that didn’t involve killing them! Dissuading them, persuading them!” Drat, nothing yet! “Faded Glory! A mare whose Pride and Arrogance left ten fillies dead, all because she didn’t want her hooves dirty! Sunrise! A hateful stallion with an equal hate towards all! He beat his son and his wife to death bare hoofed! Nightwish! Whose Sloth left his squad dead in the forest we now fight in… Do you still believe I could dissuade them? Persuade them?” I shook my head at that. “Those sorts of ponies, those that I am loathe to call living beings, I cursed. I cursed them with the knowledge of their victim’s pain. I acted out against the living rarely, if ever. Sombra, he was first. Then Lady Skycleaver, though it was under my worse half’s influence, I must claim her death as my fault. I will also admit to a half-dozen acts of violence, but none near as many as you! You seem to revel in it!” “I am their Judge, Jury, and Executioner. I find those who sin guilty and make sure they pay their dues. Those I find never guilty are the children, whose concept to sin is that of getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar.” “So, twisted as you are from your base human form, you still maintain your morals. Or is it that you don’t wish to harm any that remind you of the one pulling your strings?” “SILENCE! YOUR INSOLENCE WILL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED!” He swung his blade in a wide arc, just barely missing. I yelped in surprise at the sudden attack and raised my blade in defense. “Insolence? Insolence? There was a time when either of us would be called before a jury of our peers, when freedom, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness was as much of a given as the air we breathed! When did questioning what the hell is going on become insolence?” “You speak lowly of her… I will not allow it, for she has been SHAMED enough!” Another swing, but I got nicked on the side of my face. The cut stung, but I could not concentrate enough to heal it, that would mean not focusing on him. “How can I speak lowly of her when I do not know her? How can I shame her when I do not understand who or what she really is? Ignorance would be my defense, and what I seek to dispel! Call her forth, O Pawn, and let me speak with her!” Pyramid Head froze suddenly, as if he was struck. A low grumble came from his chest before an ear piercing roar escaped his throat. I crouched and covered my ears before realizing that I was dropping my guard. Damnation! Think think think...okay, manipulate the air, make it reactive to loud sounds… A sudden burst of light came from where he was standing. It burned, but not in bad way. It felt almost… soothing… Then the soothing feeling quickly vanished as I saw who stood next to him. A hospital bed floated around him, barbed wire coming every which way to balance it perfectly straight up. Expecting a monster, I quickly rose my blade but my shock made me drop it a fraction again. A young, human girl, no more than about seven or eight laid in the bed. She had curly brown hair, a blue gown dress on, and her eyes were almost a… vermillion color. “So, it was you who called for me?” She asked, in an aether like voice. A name filled my mind from my time with Alice. She who rules the Silent Hill. Of course, the fact that Pyramid had been saying it a few times didn’t hurt either. “Alessa, mistress of fear and terror, I presume? I am uncertain if it is an honor to meet you, seeing as how your pawn was attempting to give my head and my shoulders some time apart from one another.” “Hmm, is that so? Are you not the fabled God Killer? The one who single handedly killed a God? If that is the case I am right here.” Pyramid made a move to confront her, but a shot of the wire flew through his chest. “Silence! If he is who we really think he is, he should not be a problem.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I never thought of the Wise One as a god, per se. But if you claim him amongst your number, then yes. Apparently I can kill gods. I don’t intend to make it a habit, unless you threaten me or mine. And seeing as how you sicced Pyramid on me…” I leveled the blade at her and gave her a grin. “I always did want to test my limits. I’ll give you a chance to call this little blood feud off, though. Afterwards, I’ll not be held responsible for what I do.” “Hehehe… Look Daddy! I’m gonna play with a new TOY!” Her voice shifted from the aetherical tone to a more demonic one. Her skin charred black and her clothes burst into flames. The bed rusted and rotted away leaving only the springs in her back and the frame of the bed. The barbed wires began lashing wildly and cut down some of the thickest trees around her. Dear lord, what have I gotten myself into? The mistress herself was after me, I had a shot. Let’s hope all gods all vulnerable to the same damn technique. “Seal!” I bellowed, hoping it would take. If it did, perhaps, just perhaps, I would have a shot at coming out of this alive. Alessa reeled back and screamed loudly, filling my hopes… which were soon crushed after she began to laugh. “Did you honestly think that would work?! I am from SILENT HILL, not your world…” I grinned at her, despite my situation. “Y’know, for a second there, I kinda did. It worked on...would brother be the correct term? It worked on him, after all, and it tends to work on magic as well. Ah well. Things just got interesting.” Alessa’s wires came shooting out at me like bullet trains and I held up my sword to block them. “Let’s see how your metal likes my Inferno!” The essence of fire filled my sword, causing it to burst into flames. “Humph, like old Gwyn himself… Fancy you a showoffer too!” The wire wrapped around the base of the sword and then quickly around the rest of it. She was trying to cut off the oxygen from the fire. I smiled again, that’s one thing I learned from Nocturne: Smile, even in the worst situations, because it unnerves them like nothing else. “You shoulda kept your eyes on me, dear! Ragnarok!” A ghostly blade about as long as I was tall materialized over my head and rushed at her. The blade was just about to hit her when she reached out with her bare hands and stopped it dead in its tracks. “He’s right y’know. You are insolent.” She said before tightening her grip on the blade and shattered the ghostly sword. I winced at the fact that it didn’t detonate, it was always supposed to. “Well, when you don’t believe in the gods or their supposed ‘right’ over certain mortals, or have been imprisoned in a damn basement as nothing more than a spirit for fifteen hundred years, you tend to develop a temper. By the way, Diamond Dust!” Winds whipped up, carrying hail the size of golf balls, before they grew to head sized chunks that blew most strongly around the girl. She winced at the bitter cold and retracted her wires to create a sphere around her, keeping in her warmth. My smile only grew at her reaction to the cold. “Oho, don’t like that, do you? Aligned to fire, I presume, meaning water and ice hurt the most? Well, while Mercury has more healing than hurting, there are plenty of things in that school I can use! Last chance, dear!” Her face poked out of the wired mess, fresh skin adorned it. “You shouldn’t worry about me, but rather yourself…” Before I could ask what she meant, I felt pain in my back… my chest… I coughed red. My eyes widened as I realized what, or rather who was behind me. “You’re a fucker Pyramid Head…” He only groaned in response. I had a few things I could try, but if this was all in my mind- I blinked at the realization. This was in my mind. She and he were the avatars/gods of Fear and Terror. They were in my mind. I began to laugh then as the pieces lined up. “Oh. Oh man. You are both fucked now.” “Finally catching on, eh? Daddy, let him go.” I slumped forward as Pyramid retracted his blade, and I didn’t stop laughing. “What better thing to fight misunderstanding with than facts? What better weapon to fight fear than truth? What better weapon to fight Terror than Understanding?” I drew myself up and smiled at them both. “What better weapon to fight you than ME?!” I glowed a godly white as my body changed. I felt the familiar weight on my shoulders, arms, legs, everywhere. I 'looked' down at my hand and saw my shield staring back at me. Now this is where the fun starts, huh? I asked them. I ‘glared’ at Alessa. I still believe you should go screw yourself, because frankly, gods pulling strings offends me. I will give you to the count of ten, and then I’ll go back to the moment when I Understood everything. One. Alessa looked at Pyramid Head, who seemed to be talking to her. Two… Three… Four… “Enough. We have tormented you long enough and we have both come to the same conclusion.” I leaned forward, curious of what they meant. “Dullahan, you have NOT broken free from a God's control, but rather you are lining yourself up to it.” With that, she smiled and waved goodbye before vanishing from my mind. I ‘looked’ over to Pyramid as my form snapped back to my human one. “So. This was a test?” “In a sense. While the higher up wanted you dead… Alessa and I, came to a compromise. We made sure you were ready, and made sure that the ones upstairs don’t hear about this.” “Ready. I assume, for more. Because if there’s one thing I’ve heard about gods, it’s that they’re a wrathful bunch.” “So I’ve been told…” Said a new voice. I looked up at Pyramid Head only to not see him, but a man with a short beard, glasses, auburn hair, and a “Zombie Killer” T-Shirt. “Scott Visk, you?” He said holding out his hand. I shook it. “Frank DeFontaine. Also known as Dullahan, also known as Auric Fulcrum. Only those that I trust get to know me as Frank these days, though. Lemme guess, some part of your costume brought you to your particular Equestria?” “Rather the opposite… sort of. I bought this ring from a Merchant at Comic Con. Said it was a hundred bucks, but he shot the price down. Can’t remember how much though.” I shrugged. “So. Are you aware of what goes on when you’re, y’know, your other self? Or is it just him?” “...The voices tell me to, and I can’t ignore the voices. That choir you heard a while ago? That happens, is still happening, inside my head right now. I’m like a drug addict, I need more so they can stop…” I winced at that. “Okay, new question. This place looks like Silent Hill. Just...what is your connection to it? Is there one?” “...” He blinked a couple of times breathing in and out heavily. “If I told you, that Silent Hill existed in ALL realities, would it make you feel better? We have Silent Hill back on Earth too, it’s just ever so rare. You know those reports about people disappearing in the fog? Yeah…” I nodded. “Well...it could be that there is a Silent Hill in all worlds...or it could be there are merely a few Silent Hills, but connected to all worlds. I like that one a bit more, though...New question. Just how close is this place to an actual Silent Hill, and is it somewhere you can go?” “You want to go there? Why would you want to… Oh, I see. No, no… I’ll give it to him…” He said to himself? It was as if he was talking to someone who wasn’t there. He pulled out a book and flipped through it quickly before tearing out a page. “Just draw this symbol on a flat surface, it’s the Halo of the Sun. Just… draw it somewhere and stand on it, and woosh, you’re in Silent Hill…” I took the paper and it vanished, the symbol imprinting itself in my memories. “Well, that’s convenient. But not the gist of my question. Can you ever come here? I’d like to leave a gift for you...assuming what I leave here transfers to a Silent Hill you can access.” “There is only one Silent Hill… but yes, just draw out the symbol and place your ‘gift’ down on it.” I nodded at him. “I...I do earnestly hope that you find some way to break your curse. Whether that’s the voices or being her puppet, I care not. You should be free to do as you will. Wasn’t it said by Optimus that freedom is the right of all sentient beings?” “Yes… but, I try not to see it as a curse and more as a… Game, of sorts… While Alessa is not really my daughter, I treat her like one.” He purred slightly… Which kinda freaked me out. “Alessa was confused, not having her Father there…” I shook my head at the display. “I’d say our, or rather, your time is growing short if you’re focusing on her like that. While I admit that she is just a child, the way she attacked me proves she can defend herself. You should be her champion because you want to, not because you have to.” He looked at me with a sad smile and said to me, “When I was a child, I was treated like a monster because I beat someone that was taller than me by about three solid feet into submission. I knew I was a monster, and in my room there was a full body length mirror. I may have been a monster, but that didn’t mean I had to look like one.” He faded in and out and finally disappeared from my sight. The world started to grow more foggy around me, and I sighed. “Poor bastard. I’ll try to find some anti-psychotics and send them to him, if at all possible. Who knows? Might help.” The sound of an air-raid siren was the last thing I heard…