The Contract
Reluctantly I stepped forward, following behind Celestia as she left the barn. Though I had to stop as something tugged on the back of my robes and I looked back to see Applejack had her hoof down on the back of them. "You best be lettin' me come as well, I won't have you goin' and gettin' yourself on Celestia's bad side."
She had a smug grin on her face as she walked past me, along with her friends close behind her. Dash had even added in "And we aren't letting you take this on alone either AJ." Their comradery was apparently lost on the princess as Celestia had stopped in her tracks while Luna momentarily hid her disgust for me as she held a hoof out in front of AJ and co.
"We are sorry Applejack Apple, this meeting between us and the mo- Malthael, must remain private." Luna was determined , I could tell that much. She was determined every time I had seen her at least. Yet the ponies who'd apparently become my guardians didn't falter. Even Fluttershy had a brave face on. I could tell though that they were just standing up for a friend, they most likely held no such care for me.
"She speaks the truth Applejack," I walked past the group, giving Applejack a quick pat on the head while I moved forward. "Don't worry, they couldn't harm me if they wanted to." That reassured her slightly and she fixed her stetson before looking between Luna and myself, tense few moments passing as she came to her own conclusion.
"Fine, we'll stay out of it, but at tha first sign o' trouble you princesses best watch out." Rarity had gasped loudly and began silently pleading to her friend while AJ continued on, oblivious to her. "An' you better tell me everythin' when ya' get back, alright?" She really was terribly straight-forward, maybe a peaceful life here is just what I needed to move on.
I gave her a nod and soon myself and the princesses were moving calmly down the road, Luna keeping a close eye on me from behind as the ponies looked on from the barn. I took the time to look over the farm as we passed by it, and to the sun still hanging low in the sky. "Isn't it almost time for you to put that down?"
Ha, I swear I almost heard a growl coming from behind me as I muttered that, Celestia still moving forward only slightly more tense. "Just here will be fine." She sounded calm at least, I'll give her that much. Quietly, I stood where I was as Luna circled me before standing next to her sister, both staring at me with enough hate to set the sky alight.
"We will only ask you this once, Monster, what do you hope to accomplish by coming here? Did you think we would just forgive you for your crimes against Equestria? Neigh, against the entirety of Equis?" Luna obviously wasn't one for small talk, so I decided to just ignore her for now while I focused on her sister.
"Do you really want to know? As far as I can tell, neither of you care. So who is holding you back I wonder?" They knew I was mocking them, yet Celestia still had to hold out a hoof to calm her sister. It hadn't taken me long to figure it out really, if given even the slightest chance these two would come at me with their lives on the line.
Tia ground her teeth a few moments before sighing and lowering her head. She was thinking, I could tell that much, and her sister could as well. Luna went so far as to forget her hate for me momentarily and cast a caring glance at her sister. We all just stood in silence before Celestia made her decision. "You have our permission to work here Malthael."
"But sister he-!"
"Enough Luna! Allow me to finish." Luna folded her ears back and took a step back. Even she was no match for Celestia's own Royal Canterlot Voice. "Malthael," she practically spat the name, "while we will allow you to work here, we will never forgive you for what you did. As such I hereby decree, as Princess of Equestria, that whoever puts you down will be granted any wish my sister and I are capable of granting."
Hmm, I wasn't expecting that at all. Still, "Celestia. I understand your decision, but know this," I raised a hand toward the sun as it dangled on the horizon, feeling as it's very power connected to Celestia herself. "Should any harm come to the Apple family, then I will not hesitate to exterminate every single life force on this planet."
A few of the trees around us began to wither as the grass shriveled up. The sun dimmed significantly while Celestia barely stopped herself from falling onto her face, Luna supporting her carefully while trying to glare at me. "Mark my words both of you, if you take any steps against them or their friends then I will kill you both and force you to watch helplessly from the afterlife as I slaughter your subjects. One. By. One." I closed my open palm and the sun seemed to blink out of existence as the world was temporarily overcome with darkness.
Not even half of a second passed before it blossomed into view once more, the trees regaining their life as the sun lit up the world. I just stood there calmly, hiding as my knees tried to buckle. I may have put too much effort into that little show, but I needed them to take me seriously. I even went so far as to using some of Celestia's own life force. Speaking of which...
"That is fine with me." Celestia now stood proudly next to her sister, but I could see her legs shaking. She didn't even bother to wipe away the blood seeping out of her mouth and dripping down her muzzle. "Should the Apple family or friends of come into harm upon trying to fulfill the bounty, the reward will be rendered null and void."
She was good, even after all that she kept up a diplomatic tone. She was practically sentencing me as the fox for the hunt and treating it like implementing a new policy on littering. Before we could continue with our decidedly hostile negotiations though, we were interrupted by the woman from the glass painting.
Her very being seemed to emanate power, and it seemed that she couldn't be touched. A slight, jingling laugh came from her. “It seems Celestia followed my advice. You’re lucky this is the universe where the Prime ended up. Should’ve seen what I did in an Alt world.”
I had used a bit of my remaining power just teleporting a few feet away from her. I remembered what she’d done last time, and I would not give her another chance. “Alternate worlds? So that’s what this is.” I’d spoken calmly but it’d taken a bit of adjusting, after all I had my suspicions...
Celestia seemed delighted on the other hand, it almost felt like she hated me less the more she liked her. “Nightingale! So you came after all?” Even Luna was a bit happier, though if memory serves she was mostly unconscious when I was… locked away.
“First off. Maltheal? Backing up won’t help. Second, yes, its a parallel world. Thirdly, Celestia and Luna, you look awful. Just let me,” she let out a quick, three note hum and the Princesses notably improved. “There. Now, didn't I say I’d come no matter what?”
“I wasn’t aware I was that important.” Sarcastic and a bit simplistic? Yes, but Luna’s quick outburst of anger was worth it for the most part. For the rest of it, I’ll just settle for Celestia’s quiet glare.
“Thou shalt remain silent!” And with a stomp of her hoof a few apples had fallen from the trees around us. Maybe Applejack could get some penance from the throne?
“Now, as I said, I must inform Maltheal of a few things. Here,” she let out yet another musical tune, and a portal opened up. “Follow me, it’ll be more comfortable in here.”
Well, that wasn't very promising. I don’t really have much of a choice in this situation do I? Either stay here and most likely be turned to stone, or follow her into what is most likely a trap. Joy. “As you wish.” I subconsciously felt for the pressure of my sickles against me while I walked through the odd portal, a peaceful life was a bit much to ask for wasn't it?
“Take a seat. Want something to drink? Anything. Literally, anything,” she said, sitting down in a rather comfortable looking chair.
Calmly, I took a seat across from her, pointing directly into my hood as I spoke. “I have no mouth, what could I possibly drink?”
Her face went flat, “I’m a being over a thousand times more powerful and older than all but one thing in the Multiverse, and you didn’t think I had thought of that? Right now, you have a human body again. Only in here though.”
Slowly, cautiously, my hand moved further into my hood until it came into contact with my face. It wasn’t very mature of me, but I immediately began feeling it all over, trying to memorize every minute detail I could. I went so far as to pull off my gloves and turn my hands over as I looked on them. “...To be fair, you never told me your history. You only asked me nicely to stop then imprisoned me when I said ‘no’.”
“Fair enough, but I had to ask didn't I? As for your human body, I can give you something that will allow you to switch between the two,” she said, her hands were standing palm up in front of her.
I took a few moments to think over it before pulling my hands away from my face and pulling the gloves back on. “No thank you, that part of me is long gone at this point. I’d… much rather forget.”
“Alright. Just trying to be nice. So, as you know, some creepy old dude sold you some part of a costume,” I nodded, “This old dude is my rival, The Merchant. As you know me, I am the Nightingale but, I have three names I use more often,” she changed, her wings disappeared and suddenly she had a cat tail and ears, as well as her hair color and eye color changing, “My proper name is Essence but I am often called The Musician or Madness, as these are the two things no one can contest me on,” her form switched back to the one from before, “But I’ll keep this form for now. Merchant, by sending you here, has turned you into a Displaced, a human with new amazing powers placed in Equestria.”
As she spoke I moved my arms behind myself, reaching under my clothes and pulling out my twin sickles. I looked them both over before placing them onto a table that had appeared in between us. “It is as you say, though this… Merchant, did not give me one thing.” I knew it hadn’t taken her long to figure out, she probably already knew as I reached into my clothes once more.
“He gave you the sickles?” she asked.
“Yes. He gave me my weapons of murder, along with another.” I felt incredibly anxious as I pulled it out, my hand gripping it tightly as I treated it with utmost care before letting the black soul-stone rest on the table. “A one use, get out of trouble free card. One that would change me forever.” Even from this distance I could feel the evil emanating from it.
“I see. Back to the matter at hand, or matters. First off, the Princesses want you to pay for your actions so, I’m assigning you, as a sort of Displaced police, community service. You now have to help out the Displaced that need it. Which leads me to the final thing. I need to inform you of some Displaced.”
She went on to tell me of some of the other Displaced that had apparently graced the multiverse with their existence. One with great strength bearing the name of a warrior king, one with an almost unmatched talent for battle tactics and magical prowess, another with control over gravity who seeks to make penance for her actions, much like myself. She even told me of a monster that couldn't be killed without dissecting it into subatomic particles. Make that monsters.
“Finally, there are a few that I've created. These will be notable because they carry tomes about the Displaced or a seal of a trident backed by dual swords,” she said, handing what seemed to be both to me. “The tome will copy itself if you ask. I suggest you give one to each Displaced you meet. With that, we can return.”
“Return?..” The words hit me like a freight train with hyperspace engines attached to the sides. That was my entire goal in the beginning, and now the way home was just sitting in my palms. Only, it was a few thousand years too late. “...How do you propose I help out the… others?”
“However you can. Now, while waiting you can do whatever you wish. The Apples will be happy to see that you can stay. I also must inform the Princesses of my real name, and their lack of awesomeness when speaking of legends,” she grinned.
With a slow nod and quick hands, I drew my things back into my robes, including the new tome I had been given. I had never really figured out how these robes worked, only that they could hold as much as I could carry and I would always know what they held.
“If it isn't too much to ask,” I stood up calmly, for such a powerful deity she really wasn't that impressive height-wise. Probably because I was about ten feet tall, but that’s not my point. “Can I have a look at myself before I leave?”
“Sure. Bathroom’s down the hall, third door on the right.”
Easy enough. I made my way down the hall, but I couldn't help but notice the doors seemed to grow larger as I passed each one until I finally came to the bathroom. Opening it, I decided it really wasn't worth the effort of climbing up onto the sink to see my own reflection.
“Maybe in another thousand years…” With a sigh I walked back, maybe she was taller than she let on?
Suddenly, she poked her head in, “Over there,” she pointed to a smaller door inside, and she vanished.
“....Oh.” This was pretty quickly becoming too ridiculous for my tastes. Once I went inside and looked into the mirror I lost whatever contempt was bubbling inside me. I stared into my own, common brown eyes for the first time in a thousand years. I remembered everything I had done, all the lives I had ended for my own needs, as well as my failure in the end, how I couldn't help her.
I would have cried, if I could remember how to.
What felt like an hour or two must have passed before I returned back to the room I first came into. I had what I found was my usual calm expression back on as I saw The Nigh- no, Essence, once more. “That will be all, thank you.”
She stood up, and to my surprise, embraced me in a hug. “I know. I know what it feels like to mourn for something for a long time. If you ever need to cry, or need comfort, I’m available. After all, Merchant may have caused this but, all the Displaced, they call up my maternal instincts.”
I stood there and eventually lazily returned the hug with just one arm, looking beyond her and into the portal back while my thoughts settled. The past would stay just that, and no matter how I tried there wasn't much I could do about it besides try to atone. Still, I had important things to do, like get back to the party. Thus, rather awkwardly, I broke off the hug and gave her another silent thanks before turning to the portal, my faithful frown back in place before I realized it had changed. “Tell me, Essence. The others, how do they make contact without the tomes?”
“Oh. The tomes are just telling you who’s who and what’s whose. You call up what you feel you stand for and pick a symbol for yourself. Speak your mind and the Multiverse does the rest. Anyways. I’ll follow you and speak to Celestia and Luna before I leave. As well as Discord. Despite me being his mother he has big tendencies to ignore me.”
Well… that was a shock. How would she even…? Never mind, I didn't need that kind of mental image. “One last thing then, and I promise this time. About that drink…”
To my surprise Applejack's friends had stayed behind after the party which I had missed for the most part. They just waited patiently, talking among themselves until I had come into view, at which point Applejack had run up to me and questioned me on everything. I told her as much as I felt like giving up, leaving out what happened with Essence as well as the tome I now had.
Almost as one her friends left for home, waving their goodbyes as the first of the moons rays hit the far end of the orchard. Applejack, after repeatedly lecturing me to call her AJ, eventually went back inside the house with myself close behind. I'd remembered to duck a bit under the front entrance as last time I accidentally knocked myself on the ground to Applebloom's amusement.
The filly herself and Big Mac had apparently gone to bed early that night, both having to get up early for their daily routines. Apparently they hadn't expected a guest, yet they still had more than a few guest rooms prepared. AJ had told me that they would often have family and friends over unexpectedly to the point it became expected.
I told her more than once that I didn't actually need sleep so a room would be a waste, yet she insisted. She then went on to tell me to be prepared to get up early so I could get to learning what I was supposed to do. And now here I sat on the edge of a comfortable bed, looking out at the orchard I was now a caretaker of... I hoped. Applejack hadn't really clarified on what work I would be doing, did she?
Just what I needed, the worries of tomorrow kindled with the worries of anothers tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot about that. Essence had told me that I needed to focus on 'what I stood for and the Multiverse would do the rest', but I could hardly put my faith into a non-sentient entity. It was non-sentient right?
With that new train of thought, I took out the drink I had gotten from essence. Even though I now only borrowed the power of the dead from this universe out of respect, it didn't mean I had respect for the souls of a dead universe. So I held the bottle up, watching as the millions of evil souls rested within and even shaking it a little before using my thumb to pop off the cork and pour it into my hood.
Unconsciously, my wings flared out as I sunk my fingers into the beds frame. It didn't take me long to 'drink' the whole thing and soon I had an idea of what I wanted, albeit a rather silly one. With a snap of my fingers a dull sound rang out through the room and a black cube of smoke appeared in my open palm. I concentrated on it and slowly the smoke chipped away, piece by piece.
Before long I found myself holding a small badge, an extremely simplistic skull on the front with two sickles behind it and two small wings. With a bit more focus the first three letters of my name engraved themselves onto the front of the badge, just above the skull. When I pushed the skull in I found it slightly amusing as an 8-bit version of 'Spooky Scary Skeletons' began to play and the empty eyes filled with smoke.
"This will have to do I suppose." Once the music had stopped playing I held another hand open in front of me, much of the drinks power coursing through me as I felt at the fabric of the universe and forcefully tore open a small hole. I quickly uttered the words, "I am Malthael, Angel of Death and Reaper of Souls. If you wish for my aid, simply press the skull." Then I threw in the badge and made sure to close the hole just in time as I could've sworn there was something out there in that void.
I sighed heavily and sunk into my new bed, deciding to just lose myself in my thoughts since I couldn't sleep. I'd barely even gotten started when a black book had fallen onto my head before landing beside me. It had taken me a few moments to register the slight pain, but eventually I reached down and picked up the book, glancing over the purple eye as words seemed to echo in my mind.
“I am the Tactician Robin, wielder of the Levin blade and master of the Arcane! I am the greatest strategist the world has ever known, able to lead those to victory despite all odds! Should you have need of my knowledge, write within this book your plight and I shall know of it! Should your cause be worthy, you will have my help!”
....Well alright then I suppose. I just stood up, walked over and placed the book on a large shelf. What possible use could I have for a tactician? And even then, I was by no means a researcher of magic. As far as I could tell, this book was pointless to me.
"Yes sir, we've found him. A small town called Ponyville, on the border of Equestria. You were right, again." The mysterious figure rolled it's eyes as its horn slowly lost its glow.
"So what does he suggest we do?" A much larger figure looked down at the unicorn, both figures having their heads hidden from the moons light by their hoods except for the larger ones beak and the smaller's horn.
"We'll leave him be for now, but once the order is given, he better be ready." The larger figure nodded and licked its beak before spreading its wings.
"I'll just go get a quick snack, then I'll race you back home."
"You're on, bird brain." At once the two figures seemed to dissipate, leaving a the hill barren once more as the grass swayed in a slight breeze.
Right, so if you couldn't guess, The Nightingale is actually Midnight Hood's character Essence from The Songs Of True Madness and its apparent sequel.
For those of you who didn't read the blog post (I'm going to assume most of you), I'm going to be changing how I approach this story slightly. The chapters will take longer to come out but will not be split up no matter how large they end up. (Unless they somehow end up super big)
Other than that, what do you guys think of the token picture? Put a whole twenty minutes of photoshop into that so y'all better appreciate it. If you don't mind, that is... 
Oh right, so yea, token is now up and Mally is free for crossovers. Though, please note I will try and make sure they don't take up too much of the story as people tend to get annoyed if they have to read about ten stories to make sense of one.
That's about it for now, peace.
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...Malthael...
Can you feel the bloodlust, the need to rip off everybod... everypony's skins slowly, before making them slowly bleed out? Can you feel the hate, the destruction, the need to kill?
...Uh, Malthael...
That was actually not what I was thinking, surely it would be just a mess to do that. It would be much more efficient if you let everybo... everypony live and go out to start your own, I dunno, fashionshow or something like that!
...Malthael, excuse me for the interruptions, but...
Now to what I really wanted to say: Can you feel the need to go out there and get some more tokens within the next 1000000000000(add in infinite Zero's) years? No? Well, I would steal more tokens, but if you don't want to.
Anyways, nice try Celestia. You have proven you are diplomatic to a certain degree...
Now onto the next challenge, which is:
Make a witty remark about your own clopfics and compare them to this Displaced-fiction!
But I don't have any clopfics...
You don't have any interesting fictions...
Na, I like our fiction. Especially our plans...
Guys, we finished this challenge! Now onto the next challenge!
Hey Imperial, could you have your Malthael crossover with the other displaced Malthael story?
Sweet~!
Damn. That's gotta be the most badass thing I've ever heard.
5690346 that sounds like it would be a fun one to read. two gods of death and of name.
well this story went full retarded
5692749
Are you gonna say why you think that or nah?
This story is alright in concept and all, but it lacks a lot detail. It needs to under go some refining before it can shine as a great fan fic.
But other than that, great start!
5700574
Thanks! I tend to have a lot of issues when it comes to writing out details but I'll certainly work on it.
5711691 I find it helpful to write out what's going to happen before you write the scenes. Like a sketch before the final drawing sort of thing. Also, it helps having another person preread to help spot mistakes or plot holes. Best of luck with writing the next chapter!
5719671
Aye, that sounds 'bout right. Thanks for the tips.
5719683 No problem! Happy to help.
Seen it. Well this character being used that is?
5775782
I know, someone told me after I made the story.
One would think that a few dozen life sentences trapped in stone would be enough to pay for his crimes.
Oh well, short-sighted vengeful Princesses are fine too.
5797442
Look mate, if ya want killin' then I'll direct you to my new story when it comes out. Otherwise you probably won't find it in this one for a good long while.
You wouldn't happen to be talking about my Jack, now would you?
Aaaaand I already HATE Nightgale more than the Merchant...... she just OOZES that Holier than thou bullshit I hate the most..... good thing I have a character capable of killing beings like that who even at one point beat the ever loving shit out of the void itself.