"So Will, whatcha been up to?" Pinkie inquired. Will sighed in defeat, knowing all too well that attempting to avoid the pink menace would only end in a headache.
"Just....stuff. Nothing too fun." Will lied. Pinkie Pie stared blankly at him for a moment, and Will could feel her eyes boring into his soul.
"Okie dokie lokie then!" She said cheerfully, blinking twice. Will could only struggle to keep up his fake smile. Pinkie gasped abruptly, and darted away to Celestia knows where...
At least it gave Will a moment to think.
What now? The world was supposedly coming to an end and he had no idea where to go, where to even start looking for more awnsers. When all hope is lost, where do you go?
The local tavern came to mind.
....
Nah.
........Ok fine.
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Will stumbled out of the pub. Alcohol had its limits due to his immortality. If it wasn't for his endless bag of bits, the owner would have thrown him out a few hours before.
His friends were waiting for him outside the whole time.
"Isn't getting extremely wasted more or less your style?" Arigos asked Berry.
"Shut up." She replied. Will could only grunt in response, and fell on the ground face down in the dirt before being lifted gingerly by a certain changeling's magic.
"You both should really cut back on your alcohol intake." Arigos remarked. Berry Punch struggled to suppress the urge to step on the insect. That didn't stop her from hitting him upside the head.
"Suppose I deserved that." Arigos admitted. Will could only shake his head, either in disbelief or shame. Possibly both.
"So what exactly are we going to do about the end of the world?" Berry asked. "No clue. Any ideas?" Will answered.
"We could just head towards the massive cloud of ash and fire heading for us." Arigos muttered.
"That's convenient." Berry whispered, her body frozen, eyes watching the plume of fire and death coming to greet them. Will did not wait for a plan, instead changing into phoenix form and charging into the blaze. Arigos could only mutter darkly before following him in. Meanwhile Berry Punch could only stand there, resembling a very terrified statue.
"Guys?" She called out. "I'm not immortal. I can't follow you in there! Guys?"
There was no reply, only the rumble coming from the cloud. Berry Punch could only sigh before attempting to out run it to evacuate the town. This was going to be a long day indeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the ash, two birds of fire struggled to see through all the dust. Large rocks falling from above didn't help their flight path either. Multiple times they were almost crushed. Unfortunately they were getting lost, and for all they knew they could be flying in circles. The larger one looked to the smaller one and nodded. They both shot upwards, above the ash. From their the could see the source of the destruction. A stone spire, the only thing they could see above the dust and the rock below.
They flew towards it as fast as they could. They knew the truth, only they could stop this madness. The only other option was the end of the world. Which wasn't much of an option at all.
The spire was almost like a beacon, standing against everything around it. Resisting the darkness. Yet it brought the darkness with it, like a storm brings lightning.
It looks like the Empire State Building. Will thought. Though perhaps quite a bit bigger.
Arigos shook his head. Staying in this form for an extended time was mentally exhausting, the only reason Will did it so easily was he had a thousand years to practice. Arigos had minutes. His wings ached, and his head was spinning. He began to descend rapidly as he struggled to stay airborne. Will spotted this and flew beneath him and pushed upwards with his back in order to help the new immortal keep aloft. It was tiring for both of them. When they had finally reached the spire, they collapsed on a balcony. Turning back into their native forms, both lay on their back gasping for breath.
"I-I think we flew too far." Arigos gasped. "Yea." Will replied.
"Well, what has appeared on our doorstep? Hmm?" Regrets voice echoed. Will stood up quickly, but Arigos simply lay there.
"Show yourself coward." Will spoke through clenched teeth.
"You dare call me the coward? I didn't hide myself away for a thousand years." Regret remarked.
"I did it to protect the innocent." Will shot back.
"Well why don't you hide away like you always have, and leave current events to those who actually care." Regret said with a not so sincere smile. Will gestured around him, "You call this caring? The world is dying in fire. There will be nothing left for you. Your plan makes less sense then the Dark Knight plot!" Will shouted.
"I don't really have a choice." Regret admitted. "They keep me obedient, like a toy for their games."
"Then break free, resist them and fight back." Will pleaded.
"If only I could....." Regret whispered. Then the whole place shook. Arigos looked to will with a worried face.
"We have to get out of here soon, this place is going to tear itself, and I prefer we aren't here when that happens."
"Agreed." said Will. They both ran off farther into the building. Regret just stood there, watching them go.
"I do hope they stop this before it gets out of hoof." He whispered, neither immortals hearing him. "If it hasn't already."
"So what do you think?" Will asked.
"What do I think about what?" Arigos wondered.
"What do you think of the soul binding?" Will finished.
"I didn't wanna tell you because you would worry." Arigos admitted. "It burns...behind my eyes, in my mind."
"Yea, it does that." Will sighed.
"How do you get rid of it?" Arigos pondered.
"You can't." Will said, his face faltering from its usual calm. It showed a bit of guilt.
"Then how do you ignore it?" Arigos asked. "How have you put up with it for so long?"
"You don't." Will muttered.
"Oh." was all Arigos said. Will could hear the hurt in his voice.
If only things could be like they were before..... He thought.
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"Come on! Get the civilians to safety!" Berry Punch shouted.
A little while before, a rather smug guard had asked why the town drunk was taking charge in a disaster. She gave him a glare that could make a dragon back off from its hoard. The unfortunate guard would have nightmares for years to come.
If we survive that long. Berry thought.
She was never for very optimistic thinking. It just didn't mix with her job. Assassin work, not drinking. Though that does give a pony a rather bleak outlook on life as well.
At least we're safe for now.....