A Lost Soul Returns: The King of Monsters

by Dark Star the Crazed

Train Trouble.

A black unicorn stallion with sunglasses, and bright white bandages wrapped around his head, was sitting on a train bound for Ponyville. He looked at his trench coat and smiled as the memories of how he had come to be on this train in the first place. "Who would think I owed this trip to a rat?" This was, after all, the first time he had been able to leave Canterlot in four years. He looked down at his notebook.

The equation 1 + √5 / 2 = 1.618033988749894848204586834... was written on it. The symbol of his purpose in life. The golden ratio. A symbol of perfection. As he looked out the window he remembered why he had never been out of Canterlot in four years. Because he was a resident of The Canterlot Mental Institution for the Criminally Insane. "Hey mister! Do you mind if I sit here?" The stallions head shot up and he turned to see a little blue unicorn colt with a messy silver mane and golden eyes. He looked at his flanks and saw no cutie mark.

"Only if you tell me your name little one." The little colt smiled and climbed up and sat down next to him. He then looked at him and stuck a hoof out. The stallion hesitantly stuck a hoof out and shook the colts hoof.

"My name is Hex Lulamoon. It is nice to meet you mister... Who are you?" The stallion froze. After a few seconds he decided it would be best if he told the colt his real name. Nopony should have been able remember him, and what he had done, after all he had been in the asylum for four years.

"Hello Hex. My name is Square Root. I am... Was... A math teacher at Canterlot University." Hex's eyes went wide.

"Really? Did you ever have a mare named Trixie in your class? She's my big sister she went to that school for a short amount of time about five years ago... But she dropped out because father found out where we were staying and we had to leave." Square Root blinked and nodded.

"Yes I remember young Trixie Lulamoon... Such a kind, young, filly. But sadly she was always so egotistical, trying to outdo both her classmates and teachers in every subject... She always had a B+ but I knew she could do better... Sadly she dropped out before I could teach her..." The stallion let out a sad sigh.

"Do you mind answering another question?" Square Root shook his head. "Why are you wearing those bandages?" The unicorn looked at the little colt and gave him a sad smile.

"I... I had an accident eight years ago... It was Hearths Warning Eve and the tree and carpet caught on fire after an ember drifted out of the fireplace and ignited the house... I-I was the only one who made it out... The only one who survived and I survived just barely... My seven year old daughter and my pregnant wife both died in the fire... I spent the next two years wishing that I had died with them... So that we could have been together again... The reason that I wear these bandages... Is not to hide my face, even though it has become horribly disfigured, but to ensure that I never forget... I never forget that they died... Because I couldn't save them..." They heard the sound of the door opening and turned to see both Trixie and Soul enter the train car. Along with The Crusaders, element bearers and their coltfriends. Trixie and Soul took the seats across from Root and Hex.

"Hey Hex!" Hex looked at his sister's coltfriend and body guard. He noticed that Soul was focusing his attention on Root's face. "Mind introducing us to your 'friend'?" Hex looked between the two and smiled.

"Sure. This is Square Root. Square Root this is-" He was abruptly cut off by Root.

"Trixie Lulamoon and Tamashii 'Soul' Souto... I know their names... They were mentioned in Canterlot Daily on its coverage of the Lulamoon incident... Happy to hear about your mother by the way..." Trixie went wide eyed and grabbed Hex away from Root with her magic.

"Stay away from my little brother you monster! I know what you do to little fillies and colts!" Soul blinked and put a hoof on Trixie's shoulder.

"Trixie... What's wrong?" Trixie growled at the black unicorn sitting across the way, who was now earning looks from everypony on the train, then to everypony's surprise. He began to laugh.

"I had hoped nopony would remember me... Now everypony in this train car has to die..." He opened his coat and pulled out a remote detonator. "I was only supposed to kill Soul..."

Trixie turned to Soul. "His name is Square Root... He is better known for the name that got him institutionalized... The Golden Ratio Killer... He is also known by the title Celestia herself gave him when he was captured. The Face of Pure Evil. He claimed sixty six victims in just three years... All of them were fillies and colts in the age range of eight to thirteen... Nopony could ever figure out why he killed fillies and colts that old... And Hex is only twelve..."

"I used The Fabriconi Sequence to determine the age of my victims. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. My wife and I had been married for eight years. If you add five to eight you get thirteen... That is how I chose my victims. Perfect little fillies and colts..." Root watched as Rainbow opened a window before flying out of it and back to the castle, the train trip was, luckily, not due to start until 12:00 P.M. And it was only 11:45 A.M. Root took off his coat to reveal several pipe bombs. "I know where she is going... She is going to get the guards... They won't make it in time... I'm sorry everypony... But you all have to die along with Soul..."

"Dude! Why are you doing this!?" Everypony turned and looked at Soul... "Why do you want to kill me? Is it because I'm a shade? If so you're totally racist!" The black unicorn blinked and looked at Soul.

"I don't care what you are... I just know that he said that I would be righting the wrongs that I have done by keeping the shades sealed away... By killing you... He also said that Fang and Twilight would not return from Prance... Whatever that means..." The unicorn went to push the button on the detonator when he felt two hooves grab him from behind. Looking behind him he saw that Soul had used his powers to summon shadow ponies to restrain the unicorn.

"What do you mean he said 'by keeping the shades sealed away?' Who is 'he'!? What are you talking about!?" They heard the door slam open and turned to see Shining Armor, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia themselves standing there.

"... Looks like I've been caught..." Root broke the window that was next to him and threw the detonator out. He then raised his hooves. "I surrender... Take me away... I don't care where, I don't care if you give me the death penalty... I don't care Celestia... I have given up on life and hope..." They watched as Shining Armor walked over and placed hoof cuffs on Root before removing the bombs on his body. As he was being led away he stopped and looked directly at Soul. "He said that if you were to continue to help Fang then the dark king would rise once more and shroud the world in eternal darkness... I wonder if that means anything to you..." He was then led away by Armor and was taken back to the asylum.

Celestia walked over to Soul and smiled at him. "I want to thank both you and Rainbow Dash for helping us apprehend the escaped criminal... We don't know how he escaped... All we know is that the back wall of his cell had been cut into pieces by what we think was a sword... Once again thank you..." With that she, Cadence, and Luna left...

The entire ride home Soul wondered to himself what the stallion had meant when he said that his planned actions were to kill Soul as a way to 'keep the shades sealed away.' When he went into his room that night he found another note. Like the one from a few months before.

Soul blinked at the paper and let it fall to the floor. "Ok? I'll play along... I'll go see Cheshire... Tomorrow." He then went over to his bed and flopped down on it before passing out. Outside his window, over on the roof of the hooves family house, stood a tall black figure with glowing yellow eyes. It looked like the wizard that had attacked Twilight and Fang on the air ship. Only instead of yellow lightning bolts, its cloak was decorated with red flames. It raised its hand and snapped its fingers before disappearing into the night.