//------------------------------// // Impossible - Part II: The Reaper // Story: Dawn Of The Silver Sun // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// Straw found himself once again inside princess Twilight's laboratory. The combination of order and utter mess never ceased to amaze him, but this time he couldn't dawdle too much on his surroundings, as the princess immediately strode to him. "Good evening, princess Twilight," Straw bowed, "Your note sounded urgent." "It was. Certain developments involving our wisp friend here," her horn flickered with light, and the blue spark hovering above the main workbench flew over to Twilight, circling around her and never stopping moving, "are forcing me to take things faster than I originally wanted to. Have you noticed something different about it?" Straw leaned closer. Ever since the anomaly had taken the shape of a small ball of lightning instead of a pony, or if Twilight's suspicion was correct - griffon, blur, it had shined much brighter and was visible without the need of magic. Straw had visited the princess several times in past few days, and now the glow seemed weaker. "It looks like it's fading away," Straw guessed. Twilight nodded, scowling to herself. "I couldn't find out much more other than it, or him, responding to necromancy, and neither me nor princess Luna want to force our control onto it out of fear of damaging the soul trapped inside... if that is a soul. So, as things stand, we are running out of time, we have no real clue if our guess about the wisp's origin is correct, and we have no safe way of finding out." Straw sighed to himself. "I guess just hoping really doesn't do anything. Princess Luna was right." "Hm? Nevermind. You are right, though. Wishing upon a star is not the way to go. How do you feel about a less 'safe' way of doing things, though?" "I thought you didn't want to risk damaging the soul?" "Yeeeeees... however I didn't say anything about not damaging you." "What do you mean?" "There is one pony who knows everything about death, and that is the keeper of the Underworld himself - Void." "I've met him, he seemed nice." "WHAT?! WHEN?" "He visited the Order to ask Blaze something. I've already told princess Luna." Twilight switched from talking to grumbling angrily to herself. "It seems that everypony knows everything already but they refuse to share with poor old Twilight!" she coughed and recollected herself, "And does Void know about you being Nightmare's host?" "Yes." "FINE! I take everything back. It's not going to be a dangerous quest including the need to lie to the master of souls himself. So, you up for going?" Straw gulped. "Are you coming as well?" "No, the time passes differently between dimensions, which means I'm willing to risk you getting stuck there for a year, not myself. The good news is that you don't have to go on your own." After thinking for a moment, Straw shook his head. "I rather would. I haven't told anypony about your findings because I didn't want to give them false hope. Not to mention that Fortune might return to her pining for sir Cromach and hurting her and Leo's relationship. I could ask Connie, but she's nowhere to be found. Plus, last time we met she seemed mad at me for some reason." "Still, going alone is needlessly dangerous. If you get stuck or if I fail at the teleportation spell you might need to get yourself and the wisp out of a sticky situation." "I suppose I could ask Leo for help. He admired sir Cromach more than any of us, aside from Fortune's unhealthy obsession." "Then go for it. I'll need some time to get the relocation spell ready. You see, this isn't just a teleportation between two place on the same plane of existence, but rather a-" Straw's mind wandered to his happy place, a place where there were no overly long words, equations, or explanations of absurdly complex spells. He woke up from his daydream in front of Leo's room, thanking his legs for taking the steering wheel and carrying him there. "Hey, Strawberry! What's up?" Leo smiled at Straw upon opening the door. "Umm..." "Oh come on, you should know that there is nothing like a 'difficult question' between us. I'm happy, really happy, and most of it is thanks to you." "Well, are you willing to risk all of it?" "What do you mean?" "Princess Twilight and I found something which might, we hope, lead to..." Straw paused, "I don't know the right long words, right? It's possible sir Cromach's soul is still in this world and we want to find out if, or in a better case how, we can bring him back." "Whoa! That's quite something. Sure I'm up for it, what did you think I would say?" "Well, it could be dangerous and... you know... Fortune..." "Strawberry, what I'm going to say now I'm saying with the utmost respect and a certain kind of love for you. You are an idiot." "Umm..." "I'm not done!" Leo raised a hoof and waved it in front of Straw's face, "As much as I... like Fortune, there are more important things at stake than her unresolved love issues. If she returns to crying herself to sleep while hugging a pillow and thinking of somepony who will never reciprocate her feelings, then so be it. It would mean I have failed in being a good friend, a good company, and a good possible... you know what. I have got to look at the bigger picture, though." "The bigger picture..." "Bros before hoes." "What does farming have to do with anything?" Leo didn't find anything other than honest surprise in Straw's face. "Nevermind. We are in this together. Where are we going, and do I need to bring anything?" "I'm just grabbing some food and my sword. It's not like any special equipment would be useful in the realm of Death. We shouldn't be there for long anyway." Shaking his head, Leo slapped Straw's back "You really have a talent of ending where you shouldn't. Give me few minutes to write a note to Fortune and pack some things." "Just meet me at princess Twilight's lab when you're ready." "Sure thing." Ten minutes of princess Twilight comforting increasingly nervous Straw later, the door opened and let inside Leo carrying only a sword and a saddlebag just like Straw. "Alright, you two," Twilight put a pair of safety goggles on, "I've never done a translocation like this on my own, so it might be a bit shaky." "We could ask princess Luna to help-" "NO! I can totally do this." "You're just mad she's keeping information from you." "Preposterous!" "Oh real-" "BRACE YOURSELVES!" Straw felt as if he was being tugged at from all sides at once, and then his senses failed him. "AAAAH- oof!" He fell onto something soft. Strangely enough, the short fall was barely even uncomfortable. "Leo?" "I'm here," came from nearby, and Straw saw the unicorn getting up and spitting strange grey sand out of his mouth, "Bleh!" "Are you okay?" "Feeling fine, a little short of breath, but fine," Leo looked around, "You know, I was expecting bones, skulls, and other Nightmare Night props, but this is creepy... too real, too dead." Straw had to agree. They were standing in a desert of grey sand of grains so small it resembled dust. Their legs could barely feel they were standing on something, no wind made the dunes around them shift, and the air they breathed had no temperature their bodies could make sense of, as if they weren't breathing at all. "At least we know we're at the correct place, right?" he forced a chuckle. "Noooo," Leo's mouth dropped open as he pointed into the distance, "I think THAT might be the place." What he was pointing at was a midnight black building, a temple looking like a drawing from one of ancient history books Straw enjoyed reading. As they came closer through the still sands, slightly weirded out by their horseshoes not making any hoofprints, they could make out most of the details. The black temple was simply a large triangular roof supported by numerous pillars on the sides set on a raised platform with short and wide stairs leading up to the 'entrance'. The place had no outer walls, so anypony could just go inbetween the pillars to get 'inside', but the barely see-through veil around discouraged both visitors from doing so. The only place with clear access was on the end of the stairs. The movements they kept seeing out of the corners of their eyes weren't making them any more comfortable. "My fur is standing on edge," Leo said disapprovingly. Marching inside, their perception of things changed drastically. Strangely enough, it was for the better. The inside of the temple was black, but everything was clearly visible and distinguishable even without any real light. The 'outside' behind the pillars contrasted clearly with the - 'dark light' was the only thing that came to Straw's mind - inside. From here, the desert looked more colourful and the starry night above much brighter. The only features down here were a wide staircase leading somewhere into the depths sealed away by an ornate double door, and a simple obsidian throne on the other side of the temple. The throne faded into the background in comparison to its occupant. Void, the alicorn of Death, the lord of souls, the one not caring the slightest about titles mortals bestowed upon him, calmly walked over to the shaking duo. "Straw Basket, the Nightmare's host, and... I believe I have seen you around during my recent visit to Manehattan, but I do not think we have been introduced," the black alicorn commented warmly. "Leo..." the unicorn gulped, overwhelmed by the alicorn's presence, "Goldhorn... sir." "Welcome, both of you, to the Final Sanctuary. What brings you here?" "Twilight Sparkle's botched spell, mostly," Leo muttered to himself. The corners of Void's mouth moved imperceptibly upwards, but his golden eyes which had seen this world change from molten rock to a paradise of life betrayed his amusement. "And what could the alicorn of Magic want from me that she needs to send others to get?" "Information, sir," Straw took a step backwards. He wasn't too worried himself, but the deity inside him felt like it was trembling in terror, much like in Manehattan. Nightmare apparently didn't like Void, it didn't like anything, but it definitely respected him. Or his ability to end both the god and Straw in an instant. To focus on anything other than that distant possibility, Straw opened his saddlebag and let the wisp out. A wrong move. It screeched, distorted, and seemed to try to run away into all directions at once. "Hmmm?" Void leaned back, clearly surprised, "What are you, little thing?" The spiral of his horn lit up with clear, white light, and the wisp's movement slowed down. Eventually it stopped altogether, remaining hovering above Void's raised hoof. He examined it carefully. "Oh dear," said Void somberly, "What did I miss?" "Blinding Light attacked Canterlot castle. We're not exactly sure why, but it seems his goal was to kill Nightguard commander Choking Darkness and ambassador Cromach," Leo stomped his legs to stop the unnatural chill seeping from the floor to his legs, "Unfortunately, he succeeded. Blaze tried to stop it by, well, stopping time, but princess Twilight broke the stasis spell and allowed it to happen. Blinding teleported away after the attack, and Blaze went crazy, crippling princess Twilight." Void just frowned and shook his head. With nothing filling the silence, Straw tried to. "Few days later, I saw this blue thing run around the castle, but I had no idea what it could be. When princess Twilight recovered a bit, she lent me a device which allowed me to capture the anomaly and bring it to her. She thinks it might be connected to sir Cromach's soul, but she has no way to be sure and doesn't want to use magic in case it hurts it." "Then she is intelligent as well as observant," Void took a deep breath and blew at the wisp softly. It started circling slowly around him, not erratic and jumpy anymore, "When a departed soul possesses anough willpower and a strong unfulfilled desire from life, it can manifest itself as a phenomenon you call a poltergeist. This indeed is Cromach's soul... or some part of it." "Part of it?" "Mortals, with enough help or willpower, can harness divine power, but in the same way they use it it leaves a mark on them. Cromach's power was bestowed on him by Blaze siphoning Nightmare's power directly, who had no real idea what he was doing. Fortunately, the bond between the two was strong enough, and Cromach's desire to save Blaze from Nightmare allowed him to shelter just enough divine power for Blaze not to be destroyed completely. Still, it was a lot for a mortal. It would not have been enough had the Nightmare's host not died before Nightmare could disintegrate both of them. From what they told me, Blaze has recently been helping Cromach use the power inside him. Much like during the incident when Cromach's desire to protect his lover allowed him to safeguard so much power without dying or... becoming something else, I believe the desire still burns within this soul, allowing it to remain in the world of the living. Sadly, right now there remains only a weakening wish and fading will drowning in the boiling sea of Nightmare's divinity." "Is there anything we can do to help?" blurted Leo out without thinking. "No." The definitive answer sat Leo down on the floor, eyes watering. "We were hoping..." Straw couldn't even finish the thought. Princess Luna had been right, just hoping was pointless. "Yes," Void rubbed his muzzle, "Hope is a strange thing. Sometimes it exists only to be shattered along with the one hoping. And yet, sometimes it brings power beyond all understanding, spurring a weakling to great deeds out of nowhere. The thing is that hope cannot exist on its own, otherwise it is just a fool's wish. It needs to be side by side with desire and sacrifice. Desire without hope for the future is just instinct, and sacrifice without hope is just a death wish," Void smiled to himself, raised his hoof, and the blue wisp landed on it, "I wonder if your will is strong enough, young griffon." "What?" Leo stood up, understanding little to nothing from Void's monologue. "I wonder what the alicorn of Magic would be willing to sacrifice in order to make up for the dreams she shattered..." "Princess Twilight said that what happened was her fault," Straw said, not knowing whether he was answering a question or what. "Yes, words are just words, though. Only deeds matter, not intentions, but we shall see. Nowhere can it be said I do not understand hope. Now, young ones, let us see if there really is no way you can help." His horn lit up, and everything else went pitch black. Not even Straw's enhanced senses could see a thing. No, he saw changes in the alicorn's body. Hair-thin lines burning with purple flames appeared all over Void, lighting up. They were all ending in the same place - his horn. One by one, they started fading, making the horn glow brighter and brighter. Cromach's wisp burst into dark flames, but it didn't seem hurt, nor did it scream like before. Everything returned to normal, aside from heavily breathing Void, and Cromach's wisp now being dark blue and boiling like a thunderstorm. "What's going on?" Leo came closer to the wisp and recieved a small bolt of lightning singing his mane as a reward, "HEY!" Void chuckled. "I poured a bit of my divine power into him. Normally, doing so would be deadly to a mortal, but since he has managed to survive the raw power of Nightmare itself it should be fine. What it does is give him more strength, if he can handle it that is, and as such more time. My power is very similar to the god of destruction's, but tame and stable. As they say - fight fire with fire." "What does it mean for him?" Leo tried again, this time not getting shocked. "Unlike magic, divine power responds to willpower rather than complex processes and research. If Cromach's soul wishes to return strongly enough, then the wish might shape the power inside it to do so." "Is that it? Do we wait now or...?" the unicorn asked skeptically. "Oh no, this is far from over. I cannot overload him with my power, and the amount I have given him is nowhere close enough. If you stop your efforts now then he will fade away again. All I have given you is time. How you use it is up to you." Straw thought for a moment while Leo poked the wisp over and over. Eventually it started circling around him, dodging his hooves. "Are there other alicorns who would help?" Void smiled victoriously. "That is up to you to find out. Whether or not there is enough power to get Cromach back without overwhelming him, I do not know. However, I suggest you make haste. The clock is ticking." Turning away from them, Void started walking back to his throne. He stopped very soon. "How do we get back?" Leo looked at Straw. "I supposed that was why you were here, Leo Goldhorn," Void raised his eyebrows. "Ummm, no? Princess Twilight just sent us here. Can't you send us back?" "Ah, I see. No, I cannot. My divine power drastically limits my use of magic, and it cannot take you back where you came from. Pocket dimensions are linked to the real world through an access point there. If I sent you out then you would end up in the ruins of a lost temple city in one of many Griffon Empire's deserts." "Crap," Leo facehoofed, "Got any water bottles... and water around... a compass... and a map?" "I am afraid not," Void sighed, "Do not be so unprepared next time, young ones." Thinking to himself for a second, Void grinned. "On the other hoof, your time is very limited. I can transport you to a different pocket dimension belonging to somepony who can get you back and even possibly help with Cromach's problem... if you are persuasive enough. You might even enjoy the visit." "Who is it?" Straw asked, somewhat unnerved by Void's sudden change from serene to mischievous. The blackfire alicorn focused his power again. "The alicorn of Lust and Desire, the patron of changelings, the mistress of the succubi, and my fair mate. I wonder what she will do with you." When the duo were gone, Void sat back down on his throne, sending his mind to help the recently dead find their peace.