Deal With the Devil
Despite still being trapped within the spheres and at the mercy of Maestro, not one of the people that were trapped had any thought of concern for themselves. For all of them were either too stunned or filled with sorrow at what they had just witnessed. Every eye in the entire area was fixed upon the motionless body of Wonder Woman and the sobbing Sunset Shimmer, who had yet to leave her teacher's side.
"Truly remarkable. I did not think for a moment that the annoyance would take her own life to spare yours," the Maestro remarked with pleasure in his voice. "There is nothing I love more than an unpredictable outcome. Seeing as Wonder Woman is dead...I supposed I should hold up my end of the deal." The Maestro then flashed the spheres a look, and one by one they lowered to the ground, popping on impact as if they were as fragile as actually bubbles.
"But with that annoyance out of the way," the Maestro continued as he walked up behind Sunset and aimed his hand at the back of her head, his shattered power forming in his grasp, "it is time that I dealt with the other one. You have been alive far longer than I should have allowed. Time to remedy that."
"NO!" Sunset's friends screamed as they all raced to their friend, but at the speed they were going they would be too late. The power formed into a sphere in the Maestro's hand as he prepared to fire, but then stopped as he looked off to the side. A snarl escaped from him while he brought his hand back, ceasing his power and confusing those who were watching.
"Thank the Lord of the Dead, Sunset. He has bought you a little more time to live," the Maestro informed Sunset, who made no indication that she had heard him. The Maestro then glanced down at the dead body of Wonder Woman and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he found a reason to be happy. "But today has not been a complete loss. Failure. Disaster. We shall meet again, Sunset, and far sooner than you would believe."
As the Maestro faded out of their reality, Sunset's friends slowly approached Sunset. She had stopped sobbing, but she hadn't moved from where she knelt next to her teacher. The six came to a stop close to the girl, none of them knowing what to say or even where to begin.
"Sunset," Twilight began weakly. "Are you...no, of course you're not. Sunset...oh God, Sunset, I'm so sorry." Sunset said nothing to her friends. She continued to kneel next to Wonder Woman with her hair obstructing her face. Twilight reached out to place her hand on Sunset's shoulder, but then she stopped and pulled it back with sorrow-filled eyes.
"I...I can't believe she's gone," Pinkie said with her own tears streaming down her face.
"I can't believe what she did to save Sunset," Rainbow Dash said with respect and sorrow in every word.
"She gave her life fer Sunset and us. Ah expected nothing less from her," Applejack agreed.
"I think...she has more than earned our respect," Twilight said softly, every student and teacher nodding in agreement. For twenty minutes, no one dared to speak. Students and teachers gathered around Diana, none of them with dry eyes. Then, to the group's horror, Diana started to fade away. Her body crumbled as if she were made of sand or dirt, and after a few seconds there was nothing more than a pile of dust. That was all that remained of their teacher.
None of the students knew how to respond to what they had just seen. Most didn't even try. Instead, they hung their heads and cried over the loss, not just Diana's, but the others that had been killed by Maestro. All focused on the pain. All except for Celestia.
"What do we do now?" she eventually asked, turning every head towards her. "Diana was the only one that could fight back against Hades' forces. She was the only one that could stop him. The barrier isn't ready. So what's stopping Hades from simply sending another of his forces here and taking the seven of you."
"We're here! We'd fight!" Rainbow Dash said with as much strength as she could muster. The other girls agreed with her, but when they looked down at Sunset for her support, she responded with silence.
"And you would lose," Luna said in a far more emotional tone than her sister. "You saw what Zod was capable of. How many of those kinds of souls does Hades have? We could not hope to stop one. What if he sent all of them? The only reason that Hades doesn't have your magic...is because he has chosen not to claim it yet."
"Magic." Every head snapped towards Sunset, the person that had spoken the word. She slowly lifted her head to show that tears were still pouring from her eyes, but those eyes now held a fire within them...and it was a fire that made her friends back away from her slightly. "Magic...that's the key."
"Key to what?" Fluttershy barely managed to squeak out. Sunset then rose to her feet and turned around to look at her friends. But the look in her eyes immediately put her friends on guard, because they had never seen the look that Sunset now wore upon her face.
"Do any of you remember the reason that Diana came to our world in the first place? The reason she decided to become a teacher?" Sunset asked her friends, who only shook their heads numbly, far too shocked to think straight. "It was because Hades had killed one of Diana's friends, someone that she cared about. And then he made her a deal."
"Sunset..." Applejack whispered with horror spreading across her face, catching onto what Sunset was thinking. "Ya can't be-"
"He offered her a trade. The life of her friend...for six magical powers," Sunset finished, getting a gasp out of everyone around her. She then glanced around with eyes that seemed mad. "Diana is dead. She never got to complete the trade. She didn't want to. But now...HADES! If you can hear me, then answer!...I have a deal for you."
As if on command, a vortex of blackness opened ten feet in front of Sunset, getting the students to jump back with shock. But the only change to Sunset when she saw the portal was a smile crossed her face, a smile that her friends had not seen since her evil days. And then Sunset began to walk towards the portal.
"What the hell are ya thinking?!" Applejack screamed as she reached out and grabbed hold of Sunset's arm, stopping the girl in her tracks. Sunset slowly turned her head around to glare over her shoulder at Applejack, her stare making Applejack's heart go cold.
"You know exactly what I'm thinking," Sunset replied in a whisper as she yanked her arm out of Applejack's grasp. She then took another step towards the portal, but this time Applejack ran around in front of Sunset and held her arms out to the side to obstruct her path.
"Well, there's no way ah'm gonna let ya go! And if ya want to, ya have to go through me!" Applejack challenged with fire in her eyes. "Diana just gave her life fer ya, to keep ya safe from Hades! And now ya want to go marching right up to the monster that's been after ya this entire time?! Don't be stupid! This is what he wants! Don't let Diana's death be fer-"
In a flash of movement Sunset was upon Applejack, slamming her hand into Applejack's throat before clenching her fingers and hoisting the girl up with one arm. Applejack gagged as she struggled against Sunset, but her attempts were useless against Sunset's greater strength.
"Sunset! What are you doing?!" her friends screamed at her, but Sunset ignored them as she tightened her grip.
"Do not think for a moment I have forgotten why Diana gave her life...killed herself...to save me," Sunset whispered with such menace that Applejack's eyes shrunk with fear. "It was because I was weak. Because I needed saving. If I had the strength to kill the nightmare myself...then she would have never needed to die. But as long as I have the smallest chance to save her, like she did me, then I'll take it."
Sunset then hurled Applejack behind her, where Applejack slammed into the ground with a cry of pain. AJ's friends rushed to her side and slowly helped her up, while Applejack gazed at Sunset with disbelief and sorrow in her eyes. Sunset glared over her shoulder at the group, rage and pain flooding her eyes. But then the gaze softened to that of regret and she looked away from them.
"I'm sorry. But I have to do this. She saved me so many times. I have to save her...I have to try...no matter the cost." Sunset then raced ahead into the portal, ignoring the screams from her friends in the process. The moment she entered it her entire body felt like she was being pulled apart and put back together. But despite the unyielding pain, she remained focused.
'This time I will save you.'
=wWw=
A groan escaped Sunset's lips as she opened her eyes, finding herself laying face down on a cold floor. She slowly pushed herself up and looked down to find that the floor was not only cold, but it held within it the faces of people writhing in pain. A yelp escaped her lips as she sprang to her feet and backed up, but everywhere she glanced faces of torment gazed out at her from beneath the sickly, green flooring.
"Forgive me, I did not expect to have a guest today and did not have time to cover them up. Come, Sunset." Sunset glanced up to see that there was only one place the voice could have come from, and that was from the massive door before her. Sunset stole her courage as she began to walk forward, walking past statues of bones that would have terrified the hell out of her at any other time. But she knew why she was down there. And she pressed on.
The door opened before her to reveal a massive chamber, with a black throne made of bones that rested upon the center. Around the room constructed of souls were windows that allowed her to gaze out upon a burning landscape, where the souls of those trapped within screamed and cried out for help. And as much as it pained her to do so, Sunset ignored them and instead focused on the figure in the center of the room.
He wore black armor, armor that made Sunset's stomach turn just to look at. But as terrifying as his armor was, the expression upon his pale face was far more menacing. Because when Sunset looked into the face that smiled like the sun, she knew that she stood no chance against the being before her. She could feel the power, the unstoppable might, that radiated off of him. Just like she had felt from Diana when she had fought Zod. Sunset she was in the presence of a god.
"Sunset Shimmer. You have been causing me quite a bit of trouble lately. Please, sit." As Hades said this, a second chair of bones erupted out of the floor, right behind Sunset. For a moment she considered saying no, but with Diana's life on the line she didn't dare do anything to upset the god. So with as much courage as she could muster once more, she sat upon the chair.
"I must admit, it is nice to finally meet you in person. How are you doing by the way? You look like you've been through a lot?" Hades asked as he sat down across from her on his throne, but all Sunset responded with was a stone faced silence. "Right to business, eh? I can respect that. Now then, I believe that you are here because you have a deal for me?"
"T-that's right," Sunset stammered out, doing everything in her power to keep her fear from overtaking her. "A trade. The soul of Wonder Woman...Diana...for my magic." A thin smile creased Hades' face as he held out his hand. A bright light illuminated around it and a moment later a sphere of radiant light appeared within his grasp. Even though it was nothing more than a ball of light, Sunset knew what, or rather at whom, she was looking.
"Diana..." she whispered.
"Indeed. And I am interested in your offer. Because, as you said, I made another offer to Wonder Woman so many months ago," Hades said in a calm tone. He then smiled at Sunset and in that moment, Sunset considered running for her life. "The magic that I have sought for quite a while...but I am sorry Sunset, I cannot accept your offer."
"What?! WHY?!" Sunset bellowed as she shot out of her chair, forgetting for a second to whom she was talking. Hades raised an eyebrow in response, but Sunset did not back down.
"Quite the fire within you. I can see why Diana was so impressed. The reason why, is because the deal is not complete," Hades explained as he entwined his fingers and leaned back in his seat. "For Diana, even though she is family, is one of my most hated foes. If you wished for me to return her to life, well...that would cost more than your magic. I would need the complete set."
Sunset's heart sank in her chest as she heard this, knowing now that Diana's soul would be lost to her forever. "I...I can't," she whispered as the sorrow tore apart her heart. "I can't trade you my friends. Myself...that's not an issue. But I won't give them or their magic up. I would never betray them like that."
"That's fine by me. Because it seems that they are more than willing." Sunset spun around to see all six of her friends standing at the entrance to the chamber. Most of them smiled at her, except for Rarity who gazed in horror at the décor, and Fluttershy, who simply gazed in horror. But within all of their eyes was the very same fire that Sunset held within hers, except a bit more noble.
"Guys...what are you all doing here?" she asked them as they walked over to her, with RD having to drag Fluttershy. "This...no, you can't be thinking what I think you're-"
"Of course we are. We want to save her just as badly as you," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk before she elbowed Sunset in the arm. "How am I supposed to show Diana up if she's dead?"
"We thought about what you said. We spent days doing it," Twilight informed Sunset, who looked over at Hades with confusion.
"Time moves here as fast or as slow as I wish," he informed her with a smile.
"And eventually we agreed that...you were right," Applejack said as she walked forward with a remorseful look upon her face. "Diana would have given everything to save us. She did give everything to save us. It's only fair...it's only right that we be willing to risk everything to save her."
"Yeah! Friends don't give up on each other! No matter what!" Pinkie said with a stern nod.
"Are...are you all sure that you're all okay with this? Giving up your magic?" she asked them. But as she glanced over each of her friends, they all smiled and nodded at her. Even Fluttershy, who went back to looking terrified the moment Sunset moved on down the row.
"We're by your side, Sunset. No matter what happens," Rarity said as she stepped forward, with the other girls doing the same, except for Twilight.
"I may not have magic, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit by and watch as my best friend takes on the Lord of the Dead. We'll always be by your side, even if we have to go to hell and back again...which is what we're doing right now," Twilight said with a beaming smile. "And we may not have Equestrian magic, but we'll have the greatest magic of all. Friendship."
"And that's all the magic that we need," Applejack continued, nodding at each of the five who stood with her. Sunset felt tears running down her face before she tackled the group, pulling them all into a hug. Despite there being six of them, she still managed to crush most of them with her strength.
"You guys are the best friends anyone could ask for," she said with tears as she held them tight. The group then broke the hug and all turned to face Hades, who watched on with a smile upon his face. "Hades, I want you to promise me this. If we give you the magic, do you swear to return Diana to life?"
"I swear it on the greatest of oaths that can bind a god," he promised. Figuring that was the best they were going to get, Sunset nodded to the other girls. They all grabbed hands and felt the magic channel within them. A rainbow aura surrounded them as they started to float into the air, bathing the land of the dead in a kindness and peace that it had not felt since its creation.
"Yes...finally, the power I have sought for so long," Hades said as he rose from his throne, extending his hand towards the magic. The girls then all screamed at once as they unleashed the rainbow upon Hades, who closed his eyes as he let its power consume him. A blinding light went off within the throne room and radiated across all of the underworld, filling its denizens with hope and power. But then the light faded and the darkness returned.
"Ugh...did, did it work?" Sunset asked as she picked herself off of the floor. But when she lifted her head, her eyes went wide as she gazed at Hades. His body shone with the power of the Elements, with each of their cutie marks engraved into his armor. The other girls slowly rose up along with Sunset, who gazed upon the god with fear.
"This...power. It is far greater...than I could have ever imagined," he whispered as he stared down at his hands, which had pulses of rainbow energy running through them.
"There. We've given you the power of the Elements," Sunset spat, gaining her Hades' attention as every girl glared at him. "Now fulfill your promise. Restore Diana to life!"
"Indeed I shall...but first, there is another promise that I must keep," Hades informed the girls, who were shocked by his words.
"Another promise? But to whom?" Sunset asked.
"Mine." The girls let out gasps as the Maestro appeared behind Hades. Hades then lifted his arm and fired a blast of magic that punched a hole clean though Sunset's chest. Her friends screamed in horror at the killing blow, but all Sunset did was slowly look down at the new hole in her chest with wide eyes. She then slowly lifted her head to Hades, who wore a smile upon his face.
"Di...an...a." Sunset then coughed up a bit of blood before collapsing to her knees, reaching out towards Hades before she fell over and lay motionless on the ground.
The deal is complete, Maestro. Sunset Shimmer is dead."
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WHOA! Things got even more serious
Why do I just get the feeling that this act of betrayal (translation: extreme stupidity) is gonna come back to bite both these idiots in the ass?
'Cause to paraphrase a line from the Immortal Bard himself: "Lord, what fools these villains be".
Maestro, Hades, I wouldn't be so smug if I were you.
'Cause I just get the distinct feeling that a certain Spirit of Truth is about to hand both your sorry, pathetic asses.
Ouch, that's why you never bargain with an immortal. They've been around long enough to know WAY to many loopholes in their deals. Though since I don't think you're going for a dark story something tells me that Hades just goofed. I don't know the exact way you're gonna swing the story, but I am soooo looking forward to the imminent beat down.
Yep. When it comes to Hades, always expect him to double cross you in some way. That's just how he works. Oh sure he always upholds his end of the bargain, but there is always a catch to it.
Want your loved one safe? Done, but you have give up all of your godly powers and become completely mortal (Disney's Hercules). Want your wife brought back to life? Done, but you can't look back at her the entire trip out of hell or she stays in hell for eternity (Tale of Orpheus and Eurydice). Want your mentor brought back to life and ? Done, but not only do have give me your magic, but I also get to kill you to complete a bargain I made with someone else.
Hades will always be a sneaky, underhanded deal maker. His deals will always contain some sort of horrible catch that greatly benefits him. One of the few cases where he actually shows some sort of mercy and being fair is in the Tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Nice chapter, and I look forward to the next one!
~ Super-Brony12
Welp, time to find another fic. XP
Well then, anyone else think that Diana is going to do some, shall we say facial rearrangement?
Oh I think it's much worse than either of those two morons imagined...Wonder Woman & Tom Tresser are back in the fold if I'm right about what just happened and we all know how good Nemise is in the dark.
...OK then! *puts on Iron Man armour and grabs a Spartan Laser* I'm off to kick the shit out of those two assholes!
7176685 Just a sec. *opens a portal to my imagination* HEY GUYS WE GOT SOME ASSKICKING TO DO! *out comes a army of every strong character i have ever thought up* Okay let's go!
7176725 You can borrow my Warden and Champion, along with my level 81 Dragonborn, if you like!
*silent cat screames of unworldy rage infinitly more intense than the chorus of all lost souls in every variant of the underworld all across the Multiverse*
wheres nyx and nixi when you need them also i think hades just bucked up badly realy realy badly... first rule dont kill things not of your world hades the powers that be...watchers cough dont like it
7176725
7176750
Let's throw in the God-Emperor of mankind in his prime, all of the Avengers, and the entire Justice league, just to be sure!
...damn.
At first I was thinking, "This might not be too bad, Hades might get the magic, but I don't know if he'd be able to actually use it, since it's created from friendship." Then he double-crossed Sunset, letting Maestro kill her.
I'd say that's a net loss for the Humane 6 - no wait, now it's Humane 5, I guess - and Twilight. Yeah, Diana might be revived, but they've lost their power of the Elements of Harmony, as well as Sunset Shimmer's life. Only hope now is that Wonder Woman can beat Hades and Maestro to a pulp and force them to revive Sunset, with no tricks involved.
I think we are about to see Wonder Woman go back to God mode again.
WHY YOU DOUBLECROSSING LITTLE....!!!!! ASTARTES, TAKE HIM OUT!
KO awesome chapter, can't believe Sunset is dead too let's hope that the justices league will join in the fight.
7176650
Well to be fair most modern depictions of Hades are quite different from the original Greek one. Mainly because so many like to make out Hades as being just a Greek version of the Devil, which is waaayyyyyyy off the mark.
Frankly original Greek Hades is one of the least jerkish of the entire Greek Pantheon period, as sure he has his dickish moments such as the whole Persephone thing. But take the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice as you brought up, the guy was able to win back his love's departed soul only by playing a truly wonderful and sorrowful song. One that made even Hades himself shed a tear, and frankly all Hades was expecting of the guy was to trust him. To trust that the God had kept his word and that Orpheus would do as asked. But Orpheus didn't trust Hades enough and broke the deal, thus yep his wife was dragged back into the underworld.
Which in my mind makes Orpheus the smuck that screwed himself over, as Hades didn't do a thing wrong. The God did give up a soul for a song and trust exercise. That is a pretty damn good deal if you think about it.
As for the Hades we are dealing with...yeah I want to see the guy get the stuffing beaten out of him. Make the God regret the fact that the sweet relief of death is so damn hard for him to get.
...welp, they're in trouble.
7177224
Yeah, you do bring up some valid points. I guess we should be be saying that modern day depictions of Hades are the ones where he's a dick. Also, I agree with you. I REALLY want Hades to get his ass handed to him right now. As well as that sadistic freak Maestro!
As a mythology buff, Hades-as-villain has always galled me. As previously mentioned, he was perhaps the least dickish of the Dodekatheon. I don't mean to marginalize what happened to Persephone, but, let's be honest, to Zeus, rape was basically a way of saying 'hello'. On top of that, Hera never blamed -him-. She always blamed the victim. Then there was Aprhodite, the goddess of love who was always cheating on her husband. Ares the god of war who was a bloody coward and a bully, Demeter, goddess of grains and fertility who didn't punish Hades for getting his bone on, she punished the entirety of Earth. Athena, goddess of wisdeom and handcrafts punished the weaver who dared be better than her by turning her into a spider.
And that's not even getting into Hymen, god of the wedding feast....
TL;DR, Hades was, at his worst, a bureaucrat. Modern western society however has demonized the figure.
Now, all that said. I think it's time for Diana to channel an entirely -different- God of War....
7176785 Toss in my Avatar of the Eight Virtues, well, Three Virtues in New Britannia, but that's a different story.
7176785 I'd throw in the Homestuck Beta Kid God Tiers, JUST to be absolutely sure...
Interesting. I was honestly expecting it to be that the Elements kicked Maestro's ass, but this will be interesting to see.
holy Fing A$$balls did not see the ending of this chapter coming daaammmnnnnn
Well the ever popular theory of Sunset becoming the next Wonder Woman is right out.
(Along with most things inside Sunset's chest)
((too soon?))
Hades just tried to kill someone who has turned into a human Alicorn right? Aren't Alicorns suppose to be Immortals too?
Second thought. He's just going to revive the goddess of War and Truth, in his throne room, after having just killed her favored disciple, threatened everlasting torment to her friend, and just effectively admitted to betraying her.
This Hades is dumber than a sack of . . . well trying to compare his stupidity to something now just insults whatever he is being compared to.
7182157 and this still fails as a cross over as the EG girls have become nothing but wonder womans cheer leaders doing nothing in this story are written OOC jut so wonder woman can be the big hero for sunset to look up to and solve all of sunsets problems]
in this story wonder woman is a major mary sue
7182653 You're an idiot if you think the Humane 6 would have lasted a full minute against Zod.
Plus Wonder Woman isn't showing Mary Sue characteristics. She's not winning everything with minimum effort, she didn't have the Humane 6's praise after defeating Zod (Hell most of them were AFRAID of her), and she lost. She's dead. She done goofed.
7182899 cross over rule 1 ina cross over dont make 1 character look better than the other
this entire story is just makign wodner woman out to be so much better than the cast of EG
also there is no need to be rude and insulting
7180011
That start time is common in America. School start times are starting to become a debated issue in local schools.
7182899
Humane 6. I like that.
I hate to be succh a downer on this, but I feel like none of this was really earned from either side. For Diana, I felt like we already knew this was going to happen because of who she is and what she does. For Sunset, it's because I feel like she has not really grown at all through this story. She came into this scared and shaking and has been that way throughout the fic. Nothing has really told me that she has gone on a character arc.
What also gets me is the idea that the six spent days trying to figure out an answer to the question that really needed no thought whatsoever. That, and this seems to be a plot point that you have reused at least twice now.
Why do I have a feeling that Hades is going to immediately betray Maestro by bringing Wonder Woman AND Sunset back at the same time. He has already fulfilled his promise to Maestro so there is nothing holding him back. He probably still hates Maestro for being such a condescending prick so he'd probably get a laugh seeing Maestro's reaction if he brought Sunset back to life. Lastly there is that one scene from a while ago where he chose to send Diana first to do this in order to prevent loss of life. Heck he might join in on the butt kicking himself but won't as an 'I'm sorry' present to Wonder Woman so she can have all the fun.
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