Oh, my aching head...
A pained groan escapes from me as my awareness returns. Unfortunately, awareness is a cruel bitch and has brought her good friends misery and pain. My head is throbbing and I swear I can feel the blood pulsating through my temples. Keeping my eyes squeezed tight, I bring my hand up to the side of my head and start massaging my temples with my fingers in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
...
...
...
Hang on...
I open my eyelids a single crack and almost immediately slam them close again with a miserable whimper. Curiosity can wait. I feel like I've got the worst hangover in the world, combined with someone shining a strobe light into my face, all while Dragonforce is performing Through the Fire and Flames inside of my ears.
In short, I don't feel very good.
Is that coming across?
I don't feel very good!
"I'm sorry," I hear a gentle, soothing voice quietly say. "Let me ease some of that pain for you."
I feel something touching the side of my head and a soothing warmness spreads out from the point of impact. I feel like someone's dipped my body in a warm, refreshing hot spring and I am finally able to open my eyes more than a crack.
I am greeted with the surprising sight of absolutely nothing at all. There is absolutely nothing for as far as I can see. I am floating in the middle of a empty void. The void is filled with a gentle white light, giving it a subtle warm feeling. Well, as subtle as absolute nothingness can be, I guess.
I sigh, slumping my shoulders. "Was I sealed away again?" I ask, craning my head from side to side. "At least when I was the sun, I had something to watch."
There's a quiet cough coming from behind me and I freeze in the process of cracking my neck. "I'm afraid I can't answer that," the voice from before speaks out from a point directly above and behind my head. "What is going to happen here is completely dependent on you."
Trained instincts come back to me in a second, and I reflexively find myself rolling away from the voice and springing to my feet before I even realize what I'm doing. I whirl around, holding my hands up defensively in front of me, and get my first good look at just who was standing behind me.
It's another one of those ponies and she blinks in surprise at my sudden action, giving me time to get a good look at her. Her coat is off eggshell-white and she has a somewhat unkempt rusted red mane and tail. Her horn is long and sharp and two large wings are held up tightly against her sides. I'm able to see the mark on her flank, and I see that it is the image of a quill dipped into an inkpot.
The pony raises a hoof to her mouth and giggles. "Oh. I suppose you haven't noticed yet, have you?"
A displeased frown spreads across my face as I crack my knuckles. "Notice what?" I growl out. In response, she waves her hoof towards my body and I glance down.
An undignified squeak escapes me as I realize that I don't have any clothes on and my arms snap to cover my breasts and crotch as the pony loses her fight to contain her laughter. I glare at her in impotent anger at the pony's mirth rings out loud and clear in the void.
"Oh, oh, that's too funny," the pony's giggle taper off as she finally gets her laughter under control. "I can see why she loves humans so much."
"Glad to be of service," I snarl out, turning my body away from the quite frankly rude pony. "Now who are you? What do you want? Why am I here?"
The pony's final lingering laughter cuts off as if someone had thrown a switch and I can feel a chill running up my spine as she looks at me seriously. I'm pinned under the gaze of her large blue eyes and my entire body locks up. I can't move. I don't dare to move. I'm afraid of what might happen if I move.
The pony then turns her head so she is no longer looking at me and I go limp with relief as I am no longer under the pinning gaze of the suddenly intimidating mare. "My name," she says at a level barely above a whisper that I can nonetheless hear as clearly as if she was speaking it into my ear. "Is Faust. Billions of years ago, I created this world."
I tilt my head in confusion at the pony's confession. "Excuse me?"
But Faust doesn't react as if she's heard me and her story continues on unabated. "But even with the world created, no life would form on it. There was nothing. I needed something more. A spark, that would one day spread to cover the entire world. A source of hope and light that would serve as a beacon for any who needed succor. I needed a sun."
"Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait," I say, waving my hands in front of me. "Back up for a second. You're God?"
The pony turns her head so that she is looking directly at me. In her eyes, I can see an indescribable range of emotions. Love more pure than crystal. Rage so fierce it would tear the world down low. Joy greater than any child. Sadness more bitter than that of any bereaved lovers.
And in that seething storm of emotions, she opens her mouth and speaks out one single word: "Yes."
I drop to my knees, my legs no longer having the strength to hold me up. My neck bends and my head lowers in a sign of submission. "I am unworthy," I mutter out.
"No one is," She replies. "Raise your head, child." When I don't move, She reaches out with her hoof and presses it against my chin, gently pushing up until I am once again looking Her in the eye. "I am sorry," She says, Her mouth turned in a sorrowful frown. "But there is something I must ask of you."
"Name it," I whisper out, barely even daring to breathe lest I should somehow displease Her.
She shakes Her head as She takes a step back and away from me. "No. Not like this. Stand up. This is too important."
Moving slowly and keeping my eyes locked on Her for any signs of possible displeasure, I force my still-shaking knees straight and somehow manage to stand up. "Why me?" I ask through dry lips. "Why did you choose me?"
She lowers Her head and closes Her eyes. "I didn't," She quietly admits before waving Her hoof at a spot directly behind me. "She did."
I turn around to look at the empty scenery behind me and my breath catches in my throat at what I behold. There, where there was nothing before, is a figure I recognize well. There, sitting down and staring directly at me, is a pure, white, wolf.
"Amaterasu." I have no idea if I said it, or if I merely thought it. I must have said it, because the instant the thought escapes me, the wolf stands up. While I'm frozen, She walks towards me, every pawpad seeing to have the weight of the world behind it.
After what feels like far, far too long, She stops in front of me. Her eyes lock with mine for the merest instant before she leans forward, her muzzle reaching towards my hand. I nearly flinch but barely manage to lock my reflexes in place. If she intends to punish me, running away would only make it worse. I squeeze my eyes shut, awaiting what is about to happen. Is she mad at me? At the me who stole her form? Why wouldn't she be?
As my eyes are squeezed shut and my entire body is tensed so much that I'm trembling in terrified anticipation for my divine punishment, I nearly shriek in surprise as a warm, wet tongue runs up my hand. My eyes snap open in shock, and I look down to see Amaterasu looking back up at me. A worried whine escapes her before she licks my fingers again and nuzzles her head against my hand.
With my brain currently shut down, my body begins to react in accordance with long-ingrained reflexes. That is to say, my fingers begin to act of their own accord and start doing the natural thing when something warm and furry presses up against them: they start-a'scratchin.
I'm horrified by the actions of my treacherous fingers and my brain finally manages to break free of its paralysis, but a wagging tail stops me from stopping what my fingers are doing.
A deep, throaty chuckle reminds me of the third individual present and prevents me from staring in stunned disbelief at the white wolf for eternity. "It looks like you get along well," Faust says as I turn around to look at her, Amaterasu moving with me so my fingers never detach from her skull. "That's good. It will make this request of mine all the easier."
Facing the godly pony, I can't help but swallow nervously. "What do you mean? Why am I here?"
She sighs, and her eyes take on a far-off look. "You stand at a crossroads. Depending on what you choose here, your fate will go in drastically different ways. We are currently able to speak with you because you took a hit from the Elements of Harmony. Do you remember that?"
"I- Yes!" I exclaim, memories rushing back through the still present pain in my head. "Yes I do!"
Faust's wings rustles and it takes her a moment to bring them under control. "The Elements of Harmony stand as the world's main defence against dark forces and foreign threats. They hold an aspect of my nature within them and serve to protect the world from anything that doesn't belong here, in this world. Unfortunately..." She closes her eyes, as if she can no longer bear to look at me. "You don't belong here."
"I... what?" Amaterasu whines as my scratching fingers stop and I resume scratching. "What does that mean?"
"It means you have a choice." Through Faust's closed eyes, I can see a single tear beginning to poke through. "You can choose to let the power of the Elements seal you away. You will be sealed away for several hundred years. When you finally manage to escape, you will challenge the darkness and defeat it, bringing light and hope to the world. You will be praised as a God."
"Or..." The tear that I had spotted before finally breaks free, rolling down Faust's face before falling into the never-ending void. "You can allow Amaterasu to take over your body and allow her to break you both free of the power of the Elements. However, a mortal mind was never meant to contain an immortal one. Amaterasu will be free, but you, Samantha, will not be able to hold onto yourself. Aspects of your personality will remain, but you, your soul... You will die."
"I see..." I muse. I feel Amaterasu leaning her head against my bare thigh and I look down at her. Look down at the individual offering to kill me. "There's more to it, isn't there?" I ask Amaterasu, but my words are really aimed at Faust. "What aren't you telling me? You mentioned darkness before. Does it have anything to do with that?"
"...Yes," Faust manages to squeeze out in a voice filled with pain. "A powerful darkness is now threatening the entire world. The Elements of Harmony will try their best, but they too will fall. The darkness will overwhelm the world for the next several hundred years until you are brought back to combat it."
I chuckle, my laughter rich and throaty and holding nothing back. "So it's one life held against countless billions. That's not even a question."
“I was afraid you'd chose that,” Faust quietly whispers. Her head comes up and She looks directly into my eyes, never looking away as she approaches me. “Are you certain you understand what you are agreeing to? You might call it an easy decision, but someone’s life should never be so easily thrown away. And even if you do let Amaterasu walk the world, that doesn’t mean she will win. The darkness will be stronger now than it would be if you waited.”
Impossibly, imperceptibly, an almost insignificant downwards twitch occurs at the corner of my mouth. The twitch spreads and solidifies, until I am frowning at Faust. My fingers that are entwined in Amaterasu’s fur clench in a manner that must be painful for the white wolf, but Amaterasu make no noise of complaint. “Understand?” I ask, my voice remaining nothing but level. “I only need to understand one thing. These people that live on this planet, that are being threatened by the darkness you are telling me about? I love them. I love them with all my heart. If I can give my life to shield them from something that would force them to suffer, then I only regret that I can only do it once.”
When Faust doesn’t say anything more, I turn away from the large white pony. Instead, I get down on my knees before Amaterasu and, grabbing both of her shoulders, I look the white wolf dead in the eyes.
"I don't have the strength to save them," I tell the wolf-goddess I had once foolishly thought myself. "I couldn't even do anything to help one dog that had offered me kindness. But you do. You can save them. I am begging you to save them. I offer whatever you need, and I offer it freely, just please. Please save them."
Amaterasu stares deeply into my eyes, neither of us moving. I don't know how long the tableau lasts for, but eventually, at long last, Amaterasu is the one to make the first move. Her lips begin to draw back, revealing a large row of sharp, dagger-like teeth.
Amaterasu moves and, in the end, the teeth are the last thing I see.
...
...
...
Dying to ignite the hope of the world...
Not a bad... way... to go...
...
...
I'm coming...
Amanda...
...
..
.
===============
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the light from the Elements faded away. "Whew," she breathed out, wiping her hoof across her forehead. "That was close." Thinking about how the wolf had so easily overcome everything she had done, that could have been a lot worse, all things considered. "Is everypony okay?"
Applejack was the first to reply as the farmpony stood up on unsteady legs. "Yeah, Ah'm alright, and- LOOK OUT!"
Twilight's head snapped around just in time to see something white speed past her. She has only a moment to recognize it as the wolf before it is already speeding away.
"Wha-bu-huh?" Twilight sputters out before her brain manages to catch up with her mouth. "WAIT!" She tries to chase after the escaping wolf but a thick fog comes out of nowhere and instantly covers the town. Despite the loss of vision, Twilight nonetheless tries to determinedly power her way through but the bizarre fog clings to her, slowing her every step to a crawl.
"What the hay is the stuff?" Rainbow Dash yells out, letting Twilight know that she was not the only one so afflicted. "It's like trying to swim through soup!"
Twilight ignited her horn in order to blow away the strange fog, but before she can even properly decide what spell to use, the fog begins to dissipate all on its own. Within seconds, the fog had faded away completely, revealing to them all that the wolf was long gone.
"What just happened?" Twilight asks nopony in particular.
-----------------
Amaterasu climbs to the top of the tallest cliff she can find and gradually slows down to a stop. Deep inside her, she could feel it. The warmth of the human soul who allowed her to enter this world still continued to flicker. However, its flame burned like a candle, and all too soon it would be consumed by the magnificent blinding sun that was Amaterasu's own soul.
As she surveys the wide-spread land before her, her thoughts remain elsewhere. Reasons like this were why she loved humans so much. That girl hadn't even hesitated. There had been fear in her eyes, naturally. Fear, doubt, and uncertainty. The girl was scared. No, she was terrified. Terrified of death. But she hadn't hesitated. As soon as she had realized what was at stake, she had willingly sacrificed her life. Just as Queen Himiko once had, so long ago.
Humans were amazing.
A breeze brought the scent of fresh grass to Amaterasu's nose, and the wolf's thoughts turned to focus on the present. Nippon might have been saved from the evil that had threatened it, but the darkness still continued to exist and threaten other lands.
Throwing her head back, Amaterasu released a long and lonely howl. It was a mournful cry, grieving the passing of a friend. And yet, it was simultaneously a triumphant cry, celebrating a hero's difficult choice.
The sun flared brightly, more brightly than it ever had before in Equus, as Amaterasu's howl spread far and wide.
The darkness was officially warned.