A Lost Soul Returns: The King of Monsters

by Dark Star the Crazed


Manehatten Marauders.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~ Anatole France.


"Soul I don't understand why we couldn't just wait for Fang and Twilight to get back before we did this... They could have helped!" Soul sighed and looked at Trixie.

"We have to do this... Because I want to protect you... The notes both said that you might get hurt so I am doing what the notes have told me to do so I can prevent anything from hurting you... What they told me to do was take the sword of an archdemon... Shǔ, the Deceitful Rat. I will do anything to protect you... I will sacrifice myself to protect you!" Trixie smiled at Soul and hugged him.

"I know, and I'm grateful for that... But going up against the entirety of The Manehatten Marauders? The gang that has caused Manehatten to become the city with the highest count of gang related disappearances? You're insane if you think that the two of us can find a gang that has yet to have any member, except the fillies and colts who steal things for them, caught!" She heard a chuckle and looked at her coltfriend.

"Don't worry about that Trixie I have a plan." Trixie raised an eyebrow.

"And your plan is...?" She was curious as to what her coltfriends plan was. She knew that he was smart but he hadn't always had the best ideas... Like getting Fang drunk the night before the wedding, he had been very stupid and gotten his best friend drunk, when he knew what would happen.

"Not my best idea but... Walk around Manehatten until we find a member of The Marauders, beat them up, and have them take us to their headquarters!" Trixie just gave Soul a deadpan stare. "I said it wasn't my best idea!" Trixie giggled at Soul and walked out the door. As soon as she stepped out she fell down.

"Hey get off of me!" Trixie's eyes went wide and she hopped up to see a little burnt orange filly with a mane that was red and light pink. She had freckles and green eyes. She also noticed that she had a large bruise on her flank and a bandage wrapped around two of her legs. The bandages were caked with blood. Lastly she was wearing saddlebags.

"Oh my... What happened to you?" The filly looked confused before she looked down and noticed that her bandages were showing.

"That's none of your business! Now get out of my way! I don't want Shǔ to get mad... He might hit me like mom and dad used too..." She saw the little filly smirk as she walked in between her legs. "They got what was coming to them... Nopony even suspects that it was foul play." Soul suddenly ran out of the room and lifted the filly off the ground by grabbing her tail with his magic. "Hey what gives!? You a pedophile or something!?" Soul blinked and dropped the filly as his face was covered with a blush. "Didn't have to drop me..." The filly stood up and tried to walk off again when she realized that she wasn't wearing her bags anymore. "My bags!" The filly turned around and saw Soul floating her bags in the air.

"Lock picks, a hammer, gloves, a mask, colored contacts..." He opened the other flap and whistled at what he saw. "Wow... Rings, necklaces, and tons of gemstones. You're a really good thief aren't you?" Soul looked up from the bag just in time to receive a punch to the face. "It's not nice to hit others..." He felt something get yanked from his magical grip and saw that the filly had stolen her bags back. "Hey wait a second! I want to ask you about Shǔ!" Soul darted after the little filly with Trixie following close behind. They followed her outside and down an alley only to find that she had disappeared. "Where did she go?" He began to scan he ally with his amber eyes. It was a dead end. There was nowhere to run. Trixie put a hoof to her chin and crouched down. "Trix... What are you doing?"

"To catch a filly one must think like a filly... They wouldn't look up towards the eyelevel of adults to find somewhere to hide... They would look for somewhere low to hide... This cobblestone has a pattern on it..." Trixie pushed her hoof onto the cobblestone and yelped when she fell through the trap door it opened. Soul heard a splash and went over to where Trixie had been. He heard what sounded like a struggle and stomped his hoof down causing the trap door to open. He fell down and landed in a pool of water. He looked up and saw Trixie sitting on the filly's back. The former showmare smirked at her coltfriend. "Funny... You kill demons but you can't catch a filly."

Soul smirked back. "I didn't have a little brother to practice on."

Trixie just sat there for a second before clicking her tongue. "Touché... Now... Are you going to tell us why you were stealing all of that stuff?" She stood up and looked down at the filly before lifting her saddlebags off of her. "What's your name anyway?"

"Babs Seed! Now give me my stuff back before I get cousin Aj to rough you up!" Trixie and Soul blinked.

"Aj? As in Applejack? As in Applejack bearer of the element of honesty?" Babs nodded. "Kid you're going to have to rethink that plan... We're your cousin’s friends..." Babs blanched and began to shake. "Calm down we won't hurt you... Now tell us why you are stealing this stuff... Is it because you're homeless?"

"I'm not homeless! I live down here with Shǔ and the others... Uh oh... I wasn't supposed to tell anypony that..." Soul looked at Babs.

"Did Shǔ kill your parents?" Babs nodded. "Aren't you angry with him?" Babs broke out laughing.

"Are you kidding? Shǔ saved me! He saved all of us! He takes abused, or orphaned, fillies and colts from their homes, or off the streets, feeds them, keeps them warm, and safe... At least he does until he finds a good family who wants to adopt us... And I stole all of that stuff because somepony paid me to... He told me that the pony I was stealing from was a prince who needed to be taken down a notch... I really hate royalty... Stupid Celestia and Luna locked Shǔ away in Tartarus just because he was a demon." Babs looked at the stallion then down the tunnel. "Oh crud is it noon!? I need to get back before he gets worried!"

"Babs... We need you to take us to Shǔ." The filly didn't bother answering and ran down the tunnel with the two unicorns following close behind. Soon they came to a large room where there were about twenty other fillies and colts. They were all sleeping. Despite the fact that they were in a sewer it was extremely clean. They saw what looked like a chair and saw Babs run over to it, say something, and nod. They then saw a white albino rat jump from the chair and walk over to the two unicorns with Babs by his side.

The rat looked up at Soul. "Hello Soul... I am Shǔ... Babs has told me that you were looking for me... I have already reformed myself of my evil ways as you can see..." He motioned toward the sleeping filly's and colts. "Sure, I lie and steal things, but is to keep them safe and find them good families... Now why are you here? Wait... Do you want the Kagenohikari?" Soul blinked at the rat who just sighed in response. "My sword... I would have killed you as soon as you came to Manehatten but... Well it wouldn't be very good for these ponies if I died... So I want to make a deal with you... Take Babs back to Ponyville with you and clear my heart of all evil with my blade. It will not seal my powers simply destroy my wants to do evil with them. In return you can have my sword. I have no use or it anymore." He reached his head to the side and pulled out what looked like a needle. Soon a white aura surrounded the needle and he threw it at Soul. The needle began to float in front of the shade.

"What's going on?" The needle grew into a sword that resembled Soul's original, except this one had a white glow around it. The black dragon shaped hilt turned white and a second set of wings formed on it. Etched on the blade was the Neighponese kanji 影の光 light in the shadows. "Cool... Now... Do I just touch you with it to get rid of the evil in your soul?" The rat nodded. Soul tapped the rat on the head and saw that his soul turned from a dirty white to a pure one. "That's it?" The rat nodded and turned to Babs.

"Go with them little one... They live in Ponyville. Go and stay with your cousins... They can take care of you better than I can..." The rat then turned and scurried off.

Babs looked at the two unicorns. "Um... Do you mind taking me back to Ponyville with you? I can probably sell the prince's jewelry to get the bits to repay you..."

"No need... I have more than enough bits to get all three of us a ticket to Ponyville... Plus between you and me... I'm pretty sure that is Blueblood's jewelry..." Trixie smiled at Soul who nodded and the three ponies walked away. After they had a portal opened and a serpentine dragon slithered out.

"Shǔ... You let them go... Why?" The rat looked at the dragon.

"Ginryō... I let them go because I did not need to fight them... I have found my calling in this world... The young ones need me..." The dragon just looked at the rat.

"As your brother... I will respect your choices..." The dragon smiled at the rat.

"Thank you..." The dragon slithered back into the portal before it closed. He then looked and followed the trial of Soul's aura with his eyes. "Be safe young shade..."


What though the radiance that was once so bright, be now forever taken from my sight. Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind. ~ William Wordsworth