A Lost Soul Returns: The King of Monsters

by Dark Star the Crazed

Home Sweet Home Pt 1.

We all die. The goal isn't to live forever. The goal is to create something that will. ~ Chuck Palahniuk.

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Two months, one week, thirteen hours, twenty seven minutes, and five seconds. It had been that long since Twilight had seen Equestrian land. She smiled as the Alba pulled into dock and smiled even harder when she felt Fang's hoof touch her shoulder. While she had loved being in Prance, she felt a little homesick. She looked to the side and saw that Fang was carrying their bags. "It's good to be home. Isn't it Twilight?"

The purple mare smiled and looked down. She saw them lower the ship's ramp and watched as ponies started to return to solid ground. "Well my queen, I suppose we should hurry. We don't want to be stuck on the ship now do we?" Twilight smiled at her husband and nodded. After the two alicorns departed from the ship they had one destination in Canterlot that they needed to visit before returning to Ponyville. The castle. Twilight wanted to visit her brother, sister in law, and mentor before going home.

The two arrived at the castle and smiled as they entered. "I can't wait to tell them..." Twilight smiled and held a hoof to her stomach. Three days ago she and Fang had found out that she was eight weeks pregnant. She let out a happy sigh, looked at her husband, and kissed him before a sudden sadness drifted over her. "Fang... Do you think I'll be a good mother?" Fang stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his wife.

"No. I don't..." Twilight's eyes began to water. If Fang thought she wouldn't be a good mother then maybe she should have an abortion. She closed her eyes and began to cry at the thought of was basically murdering their unborn foal when she felt a hoof under her chin. Looking up she saw the calm face of her husband. The stallion's blank face slowly turned upwards into a joyful smile. "Twilight... I hadn't finished yet... I don't think that you will be a good mother. I know that you will be a good mother." Twilight blinked and felt Fang wipe her tears away. "I didn't mean to upset you... I'm sorry..." The stallion kissed his wife and wrapped his wings around her.

"A-are you sure? I mean I know that we both want one but... What if we aren't ready?" They heard a small chuckle and looked up. They saw the little colt, and former archdemon, known as Vul Deif. "W-what's so funny?"

"Oh... Mister Shining Armor is going to be pis-" The colt looked up and around for a second before looking down and giving Fang an evil grin. "He is going to be pissed off about this!" A sudden of light blue light blinded the ponies and when they opened their eyes they saw a furious looking Sunset Shimmer. The yellow alicorn glared down at the little earth pony colt.

"What have I said about cursing? I'm warning you. One more time and I wash your mouth out with soap. Now go to your room!" The colt stuck his tongue out at her.

"You can't make me do anything! You're not my mom!" Sunset smirked.

"I knew you would pull that, and that is why I adopted you last night. So now you have to do what I say because I am, by law, your mother." The colt's eyes widened.

"Wait... That wasn't a dream?" Sunset smiled at her 'son' and shook her head. The colt sighed and two vines ran down his legs, stretching down the hall and around a corner. "I'm sorry for my foul language... Mom..." The colt stood up and jumped onto the vines before sliding away.

Sunset smiled then looked down at Fang and Twilight. "So... What is Armor going to be so angry about?"

"Twilight is pregnant... After about one, maybe two days of being married to me..." Sunset raised an eyebrow at the two darker colored alicorns.

"Twilight... Is he serious?" The purple alicorn looked down, smiled, placed a hoof on her stomach, and nodded. Sunset floated down and hugged the purple mare. "I'm so happy for you! Is that why you're here? You wanted to tell the others?" Twilight and Fang both smiled and nodded.

"You wanted to tell us about what?" Twilight jumped in surprise only to be caught by Fang when gravity came into play. The yellow alicorn giggled earning a glare from the two darker alicorns. Twilight turned around to see Celestia, Cadence, and her brother. Cadence looked between the two and grinned. "Oh... I think I know..."

"Know what?" Armor was looking in between his wife and Twilight. "Please tell me that they are getting a divorce!"

"I believe Twilight wants to tell us something more important than that Shining Armor." Celestia smiled and looked at her student. "So... Twilight what has you so excited. I suspect me and Cadence both know but... I think you want to tell us yourself."

Twilight smiled and placed a hoof on her stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Shining Armor's eyes widened. "Fang... If you try to leave my sister because she is pregnant... I will hunt you down and tear you into pieces so small that it will take ten millennia for ponies to find each piece! Understand!?"

"You have nothing to worry about big brother!" Shining looked at his sister with curiosity. "Both me and Fang wanted a foal... He already said that he would not leave me if I got pregnant... In fact... We were both looking forward to it..." It took barely a second for Cadence to hug Twilight.

"I'm so happy for you!" Celestia however was staring at Fang.

"If you leave Twilight... I will put you in a cage, with ravenous wolverines and send you to the sun. I won't give you a second warning." Fang just blinked at Celestia.

"I love Twilight with all my heart and soul... I will stay by her side until the day I die Celestia..." Fang looked over at his wife and smiled. "After all, I did promise I would remain faithful to her as long as we both shall live."

"Do you love her enough to stop using black magic?" All the ponies gathered started looking around for the source of the voice. A small vortex of smoke began to swirl in the corridor. When the smoke dissipated the royals saw a rabbit that was twice the size of a normal one. "Well do you monster king?"

Fang glared at the small rabbit. "Lepus... The Cruel Rabbit."

"Fang? What's he talking about? D-do you use black magic?" Fang turned to Twilight and gave a slow, sad, nod. Twilight stood there for a second in shock before she smiled. "Fang... I trust you... You're my husband and I'm sure that you have a good reason."

"Hmm... Much more loyal to you then I thought..." The rabbit let out a chuckle as his hind legs turned into smoke and he floated over to Twilight. "Such a pretty mare, nice and young." The rabbit touched Twilight's chin only to be slapped away. "Oh and feisty too!" The rabbit gave Fang an evil grin. "Bet you like that in bed don't you?" The rabbit disappeared in a puff of smoke and reformed in front of Fang. "While this has been oh so fun I am afraid I must depart from this place. As much as I would love to claim all of your lives at the moment... It would not feel right to hurt an unborn foal... So I will return to you... In one years’ time... Oh and Fang?" The black alicorn looked at the rabbit demon. "Ten minutes... That is how long I give you in our battle before you perish." With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Fang just stood there looking at where the rabbit had been. Somehow his claim struck fear into the dark alicorn's heart.

"Don't let him get to you Fang. You are the strongest of all the alicorns that are alive at this moment in time. I know that you, along with help from Soul, can defeat him. Besides... You have somepony you need to protect... Or should I say some ponies?" Fang looked at Celestia and gave her a calm look.

"I know... And I will make sure that he is not right in his accusation... If necessary... I will gather the eleven other signs of The black Zodiac... Starting with The First Born Son... I will probably not need to but... If I do... I will not hesitate... I will keep Twilight and my foal safe." Celestia raised a hoof to her mouth.

"You plan to open the eye?" Fang nodded.

Twilight looked between the two elder alicorns. She then looked to her sister in law, who was shaking. "The eye? What are they talking about Cadence?"

"The Eye of Tartarus." Twilight jumped when Luna appeared beside her. "A ritual designed by demons, and fueled by the dead..." Twilight turned to the midnight princess and raised an eyebrow. "Follow me and I will explain." Luna trotted off towards the library with Twilight, Cadence, and Armor close behind her. Twilight followed her as she walked through the shelves to the restricted section. An area that only the princesses were allowed to enter. Shining Armor had to stay behind and stand guard. Twilight and Cadence kept following until they reached a small black desk with a book on it. On the cover was a golden circle that was split into thirteen parts, each one depicting a different symbol.

"Princess Luna... What is that book?" She watched as Luna pulled out a knife from one of the desk drawers. "Princess what are you doing?" Luna stayed silent as she drug the blade across her wrist and drew blood. She let some fall on each of the thirteen symbols and as soon as they had she wrapped her cut in the bandages that were kept next to the book. The circle on the cover began to rotate before the book suddenly flew open. "What kind of book is that?"

"This Twilight, is The Black Zodiac. It depicts the thirteen spirits that represent the signs needed to open The Eye of Tartarus and gives the requirements of who can be accepted as the sign. It also depicts all the ponies and spirits who have ever opened the eye." Luna turned the page and Twilight saw the image of a familiar unicorn. Sombra. "His mind was too weak to handle the secrets and powers that the eye bestows upon the pony who opens it." She turned the page again and Twilight saw an image of a young unicorn colt with a hole through his head. "The first sign. The First Born Son. This sign is represented by the spirit of a young colt, who was the first born of both of his parents. This one's name was Buckshot. He died when Sombra drove a spear through his head."

"That is just sick! Even for an evil tyrant who enslaved his whole empire!" Luna and cadence both nodded, she turned the page for a second time. The new page depicted a stallion who had his hind legs, and waist, cut off.

"The second sign. The Torso. This sign is represented by the spirit of a pony that has had his hind legs removed, be it by choice of by force. Fang already has a pony to represent this sign. Gamble. He lost a bet with a mobster and had his hind legs and waist cut off. To eliminate any chance that he would go to the guard they slit his throat and dumped his body in the ocean. Strangely even though he was killed in Manehatten, his spirit was haunting a casino in Las Pegasus." Twilight and Cadence both nodded and tried to keep their lunch down as Luna turned the page once more. As she opened her mouth to speak she was cut off by Cadence.

"The Bound Mare is the third sign of the zodiac. It is represented by the spirit of a mare who died while being tied up in one way or another. These are the only requirements for this sign to be activated." Twilight looked at Cadence and raised an eyebrow. "I like ghost stories... At the time I didn't know that this book was about a ritual... Luna shouldn't have left it open... Or brought it out of the restricted section."

Luna sighed and turned the page. "The fourth sign is-"

"The Withered Lover..." The three alicorns looked around. None of them had said that. Slowly a mare emerged from the wall. She was wearing a hospital gown and she seemed to be burned and withered. "Is somepony going to open the eye? I desperately want to cross over... My daughter and I died in a fire eight years ago... Sadly my husband went mad because of our deaths and began killing young fillies and colts..." Luna looked at the mare and gave her a smile.

"I'm sure you would make an excellent choice for the Withered Lover... Fang will probably help you cross over." The mare nodded and disappeared. "Did I just help Fang get another sign for the zodiac?" Luna looked at Cadence who nodded. "I wasn't thinking properly..." Luna sighed and turned the page once more. This one depicted an angry looking stallion with most of the skin and muscle ripped from the right side of his body. "the Torn Prince. It is represented by a stallion who had most of the skin on the right side of his body torn off. Fang chose a teenaged stallion named Clay to represent this sign. He died when ponies from a rival school tied him to a carriage and pulled him around until he died." Twilight's horn glowed and she took the book away from Luna before she could continue.

"The sixth sign is the Angry Princess. This sign is represented by the spirit of a beautiful young mare who died after she committed suicide." The flipped the page. "The seventh sign is the Pilgrimess. It is represented by the spirit of a mare who died after they embarked on a long journey. Wow these are some very specific terms for who will work and who won't." Twilight floated the book back over to Luna, who turned to the next page.

"This sign is actually a pair of spirits. The eighth and ninth signs are The Great Child and The Dire Mother respectively. The Great Child is the spirit of a very large and overweight child and The Dire Mother, is the spirit of a mare who is very small in stature, and the mother of The Great Child."

Cadence looked at the book and turned the page. "The next is the Hammer. It is the spirit of a muscular, heavy-set blacksmith that wields a large hammer." She turned it again. "After that is the Jackal. Probably the strangest of all of the signs. It is the spirit of a disheveled looking stallion who wears a cage on his head." The page turned again. "The Juggernaut. The spirit of a tall, ugly, and incredibly strong stallion. The last one, and my personal favorite, is..." She turned it to the final page. "The Broken Heart. The spirit of a pony who dies because of an act of pure love."

Twilight just stood there for a second remembering how insane Sombra had been when he was still alive. She knew that if Fang opened the eye there was a chance that he would end up just like the former crystal king. "Ok! This ritual is way too dangerous! I won't lose my husband because of some stupid ritual!" Twilight stood up and ran outside of the library, back towards the main doors of the castle where Fang was waiting for her. The mare ran up to him and hugged him

"Twilight... What's wrong?" The mare pressed her face into the stallion's shoulder and began to cry.

"Promise me you won't open the eye! Promise me! I don't want you to go insane like Sombra did! I don't want to lose you!" Fang looked at his wife and hugged her before wrapping his wings around her.

"I promise that I won't open the eye Twilight... If doing so would upset you this much then I shall never open it." The two just stayed there for a moment while Twilight calmed down. "Now... I think we have been away from home for long enough... Don't you?" Twilight let out a small yes and Fang smiled. "I will send for a chariot." Fang's horn glowed for a second and Twilight smiled.

"Fang... Promise you'll never do anything that will make you leave me... I don't want our foal to grow up without a father..." Fang gave his wife a slight nuzzle on the cheek and smiled.

"Twilight as they say... Till death do us part..." Twilight felt Fang wipe her tears away and kiss her. A single thought was on her mind at the moment, besides not wanting Fang to open the eye and worrying that something would cause him to leave her, they were going home.

The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it. ~ Wendell Berry.

Author's Note:

Ok I know it isn't that good of a chapter but I had to write something about the black zodiac.

Comments

[Bushdweller99]

I like the quotes at the beginning and the end of each chapter.

[Kamen rider yokai]

Dang dark this is something. By the way I'm writing a prequel to this story called the dark chaos war. It starts from soul's birth to the time he appears in this story. I mighthave till the end of summer to write it all down than post it if you would honer me with being my editor before i post it here on the site. It is your universe after all I might need all the help I can get for this project.