Chapter 11: Fateful Encounter
"You sure that this is a good idea?"
That was the question Spike made to Twilight before she closed the Library's door and started to move into the Everfree Forest to find and see what was this Everfree Beast.
As she moved from her Library to the Everfree Forest, Twlight started to remember how she decided to go alone in there instead of asking her friends to go along with her. It all started with Applejack going to her library short days after the earthshaking took place.
"Twilight, are you sure that this is a good idea?" - Asked Applejack in a worried tone. - "Ah' know that Celestia ordered you to stay away from the Everfree Forest and that beast isn't something to joke about. But, ever since the Nightmare Moon incident, more and more creatures have been leaving that dreaded forest and crossing through ma'h family's farm. How do you know that staying away from the forest is a good idea?"
Twilight looked at her friend, her irritation quite visible, and tried to come up with something that could calm her.
"Applejack, I understand your concern, I can create a barrier surrounding your farm so the creatures from the Everfree doesn't try to-"
"No, Twilight, that's not enough" -. Interrupted an agitated Applejack. - "Just think about it, it's just a matter of time before the thing scaring the creatures decide to go out the Everfree and Ah' don't want to deal with something Ah' know nothing about."
Twilight was starting to get an idea of where this was going to.
"Applejack, this isn't so simple! If we don't think this straight ahead, we may be causing problems" -. Said a Twilight very worried at the idea of disobeying Princess Celestia and confronting a creature to strong for them to handle, at which the determined farmer responded.
"Look, Twilight, Ah' understand your concern, but m'ah family lives close to the Everfree and Ah' would like to sleep knowing that all we have to worry about are some Timberwolves and not a dangerous..."
Twilight wondered why she stopped talking, at which she turned around and saw a very curious Sweetie Belle listening to them. Having to cut the conversation here and there, Twilight managed to avoid again with Applejack, worrying to get into a fight with her for something she wasn't sure how to handle.
Twilight then crossed the streets and looked at the clouds, with Rainbow Dash having the most worrisome opinion of all.
"Don't worry Twilight" -, said a very overconfident Rainbow Dash as she was looking at a group of clouds to see if they could be used as a course of obstacles, - "if you're so scared, then I can go in there and beat whatever beast lurks into the Everfree, it will not even see me coming."
The more Twilight thought about Rainbow fighting a beast that defeated a dragon and an Ursa Minor, the more Twilight feared for her friend's life but she could barely come up with an idea that could make her stay away from it.
"I don't know Rainbow, I mean, we don't even know what it is and, considering that it defeated a dragon, I don't think we should be rushing into this."
There was also the possibility that this beast was actually Raziel, who Twilight really wanted to meet again, if only because she wanted to thank him for his help and to confirm Fluttershy's accusations, but Twilight feared that Rainbow would try to go even more against him if she knew that the Everfree Beast could be as powerful as an Alicorn. Her answer to Twilight's concern certainly supported her fears.
"That's dumb egghead, you know how awesome I am. I would have defeated that dragon with no problem had I got the chance and that thing will be seeing the ground before it even realizes who hit him."
Twilight was doubting even more if asking Rainbow for advice was a good idea, but she was a friend and friends should always be there for you, especially because Twilight wanted to avoid the same situation Applejack got herself in for not accepting help.
"I see" -. Said a very doubtful Twilight. - "Well, thank you for your support Rainbow Dash. I'll call for you when I need your help."
And, as she was leaving Rainbow Dash alone, and she was about to start practicing some acrobatics, she left her with an answer that really made Twilight unsure about whether or not Rainbow Dash would be helpful for her.
"Call me whenever you need my help egghead, that beast is no match against the most awesome pegasus in all of Equestria and I have all the speed to prove it."
And, as she was taking off the ground, Twilight started to consider if it was a bad idea for a reconnaissance mission into the Everfree.
Twilight started to get in the outer parts of Ponyville, passing by Pinkie's bakery and remembering her warnings regarding the Everfree Beast.
"What do you mean with another doozy?" - Asked a very nervous Twilight who had already passed the scare of her life after making a jump to save herself from a Hydra. - "Pinkie, I thought me believing you was the doozy."
Pinkie just couldn't stop moving around as she tried to explain herself, her words hard to understand with a lot of stuttering that Twilight had a hard time in understanding.
"I don't know Twilight, I also thought that too but this one feels like a bigger doozy, like if a super duper big moment will happen soon but I cannot tell what it is because the author doesn't allow me to see what it's about except that it's related to the Everfree Forest."
As Twilight tried to dissect Pinkie's babbling, she did understood, as far she was concerned, in one particular part.
"The Everfree Forest? But what could it be there?"
Once again, Twilight had to dissect Pinkie Pie's words.
"Sorry Twilight, but this doozy barely allows me to see what it's about, I try to understand but this things just are like it."
This just left Twilight more confused.
"But, Pinkie, I already got word from Celestia telling me to not go into the Everfree, how am I going to know what this could be if I cannot be in there?"
Before Twilight could keep on investigating, the doozy stopped, leaving Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy very confused.
"Maybe it's just a warning to not go in there?"
Whether it was Fluttershy's guess or Pinkie's doozy, Twilight only got more curious regarding the forest.
Twilight moved her hooves to the Forest, passing by Fluttershy's cottage and remembering their latest conversation the day Twilight came back with both her and Pinkie Pie from that Hydra chase sequence.
"I don't know Twilight, I really think that you shouldn't get close to the Everfree Forest."
Said a very scared pegasus with her shyest voice possible as she tried to stop her friend from getting close to the Everfree Forest, and deservedly so, Twilight was getting frustrated with all of this. Whether it was Applejack's desire to stop the animal migration from the Everfree, Rainbow Dash saying that there was nothing to fear, Pinkie's cryptic message or Fluttershy's warning, all it did was making her want to go into the forest and defy Celestia's warning. She really wanted to see what was happening in there, why the animals are migrating? What kind of beast can defeat an ursa? What did Trixie see? What did Applebloom find?
Twilight wasn't sure but she really wanted to do something about it so her friends had nothing to fear again, well, as much as the Everfree Forest could be regarding danger.
"I understand your concern Fluttershy and I won't get close to the Everfree Forest" -. This made the shy pegasus to give a relieved sigh. - "At least not until I have all the right equipment to investigate this creature" -. Just to get nervous right away.
"But, Twilight, what if the Everfree Beast decides to kill you?" - Fluttershy could never forget how coldly Raziel said that he didn't feel bad for killing the dragon, what if it decided that Twilight was a danger and killed her? She didn't want her friend in danger. - "I mean, in case you go, of course."
Twilight looked at her friend, smiled, and simply said.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I doubt I'll go anytime soon. Especially not without my friends supporting me, in case you wanna go, of course."
That was too much for the poor Fluttershy as her mind, already stressed out with a Hydra chasing her, gave up and knocked her down.
"Fluttershy? Are you ok?"
Twilight spoke with Fluttershy one more time, asking her if it was ok to guard the Cutie Mark Crusaders on her own, and reminding her that she was going to ask Zecora for advice first before doing anything related to the Everfree Beast and moved on into the forest, although not before looking at Sweetie Bell and remembering the conversation that made her change her mind regarding the Everfree Beast.
Twilight moved from her night study into the Library's door, hearing somepony knocking it, and opened the door just to see a very... nervous...? A very nervous Rarity entering into the Library without asking for permission.
"Rarity" -. Said a very weird out Twilight. - "What are you doing here? It's very late and the Library is closed right now."
"My apologies darling, but this is a situation of top priority that must be addressed right away."
Twilight looked at Rarity's hair and noticed how her hair was starting to look like a mess.
"Rarity, you can find books related to your hair tomorrow and I'm sure you know more about hair spells than I'll ever need."
Before Twilight could say more, the troubled fashionista interrupted her and continued on her discomfort.
"As much as I would like it to be, this isn't about my hair, Twilight dear, but it's about a situation I've just discovered and I needed to tell you about, for I feel that you would find this information of the most disruptive kind."
She then turned away and started to talk, making it really hard for Twilight to look at her eyes.
"You see, while I was working on our beautiful and delightful dresses for the Grand Galloping Galla, I was also being a great big sister and decided to help in my, very small, spare time my dear Sweetie Bell for, you see, she decided to make a piece of cloth to a friend she recently met."
Rarity paused a bit to let Twilight digest the information.
"I know, I'm such a great sister, I was thinking on talking about Sweetie Bell after figuring out who was this colt but, alas, I wanted to have a sisterly moment with my dear Sweetie Bell, for I don't have the time to indulge myself in those kinds of experiences once more. Once that piece of cloth, made with most refined and exquisite silk I could find, was done, I managed to figure out who was this 'friend' that Sweetie Bell made."
Twilight couldn't avoid noticing how Rarity put so much toxicity on the word 'friend' as if she hated the sole idea of Sweetie Bell being a friend with this colt.
"Do you know what was his name, Twilight dear?"
As Rarity started to turn her head sideways, to let Twilight hear her better, the librarian couldn't stop shaking the feeling that she wouldn't like the direction this was taking.
"Raziel."
As the word started to resonate on Twilight's head, Rarity started to turn her face towards her, showing how her face was starting to tear at the same time her voice was breaking up.
"Not only I just found out that my little sister, my little sister!" - While Rarity raised her voice in that moment, she somehow managed to remain calm enough to avoid getting Spike awoke. - "Dear Twilight, she has been meeting a dangerous beast, already known for murdering the other creatures in the Everfree, but I also helped her to make some cloth to it."
Rarity couldn't keep the mask anymore and had to release her pain, as her heart broke to pieces for the idea that her sister was in such close encounter with a dangerous creature.
"Twilight, I understand that you don't want to enter into the Everfree but, please" -, she said in the most broken down tone Twilight had ever heard on her life. - "Please, do something about this. I don't think I'll be able to rest as long as I know that there's a dangerous creature out there capable of talking to little innocent fillies and doing Celestia knows what with them."
In that moment, Rarity got closer to Twilight and cried a little bit.
"Please, I beg you."
Twilight looked at Rarity's tears and understood how far has this gotten into, both Applejack and Fluttershy lived near the Everfree, Rainbow Dash would probably go into a death march should she see that beast and now even the fillies were in danger. There was no way that she was going to keep on seeing how her friends were getting on such situations while she was living safe in the middle of Ponyville, no. Whether it was with or without Celestia's permission, Twilight Sparkle was going to solve this, one way or another.
For her friends.
As Twilight moved closer to the Everfree Forest, she saw its entrance, how it opened up to its newest victim and how it welcomed her in. She breathed in, focused on going into Zecora's house to get as much information on the Beast and the Everfree itself so she could face that thing on the most efficient way. She looked at her checklist, noted how well she was advancing on completing it, and entered into the Everfree Forest, ready to solve this problem once and for all.
Canterlot Castle, Hearing Chamber/Physical Realm
This was being a boring day for Celestia, after all, it was just another day of her hearing her beloved little ponies's problems, in the hearing chamber, and then deciding how to solve them for the better of her subjects. Sadly, as much as she loved to be there for her ponies, Celestia couldn't deny how tiring and stressing it could be for her to listen to everypony's problems for a whole day and sometimes getting some backslash from them when the solution wasn't what they expected it to be.
Still, as troublesome as it could be, she still loved the ponies inhabiting her kingdom and she always enjoyed the idea of getting as close to them as possible, but that didn't change or made easier to hold the stress coming from this kind of situations. She was really expecting the days where she would share this with Luna very soon for she could, hopefully, have more time for herself.
And, it was on one of this dull days, as she was hearing a subject asking her about some permissions to get foreign food into the Grand Galloping Gala, that she heard a voice which she didn't miss neither hoped to listen back anytime soon.
"Celestia!"
The Princess of the Sun tried to not jump from the scare the ancient voice gave her, hoping that her subjects didn't noticed her very brief jump, and tried to keep her face straight as she was trying to find a way to interact with the Elder God without her ponies noticing it.
"Do not fret, Celestia, for you know they cannot hear me
and I wouldn't be talking to you here
if it were required for us to interact with one another"
Celestia kept on hearing, keeping a facade of normalcy, hoping that it would help her to keep paying attention to her subjects while hearing this foreboding entity.
"I've come here to inform you that your student
Twilight Sparkle
has decided to enter into the Everfree Forest
despite that you told her not to
in an attempt to discover what has been causing so much trouble in there"
Celestia's heart nearly skipped a bit, her smile and eyes nearly cracking when she heard how her beloved student disobeyed her and went to such a dangerous place. The Elder's God tone of voice, low and ominous, didn't help her to stay calm.
"You know what that means, right?
She has just entered into the land ruled by Raziel
and its just a matter of time before those two meet"
Celestia was trying with all of her strength to not crack down and go immediately to Ponyville to rescue her student, and scold her, but the voice continued.
"Do not worry
Celestia
For I've decided to help both you and your student
By making sure that Twilight Sparkle doesn't meet Raziel"
As nice as it could sound, Celestia still didn't trust this thing, capable of shaking the land, telling her that it was going to try stopping a potential encounter between Raziel and Twilight, what if it was a trap?
"I'll talk to you as soon as Twilight Sparkle is safe
Celestia"
And, just like that, the creature known as The Elder God left her presence, leaving her with a troubled heart and worrying to death about the idea of her beloved student being potentially at the hooves of two creatures she knew nothing about and could be very dangerous to both her and Equestria as a whole.
Everfree Forest/Physical Realm
Not much time has passed since Twilight Sparkle entered into the Evefree Forest, but it was still surprising how oppressive it felt at that moment. She could feel how the air was suffocating her as she tried to move into Zecora's house, never eliminating the feeling that something, or someone, could be looking at her in that moment and she wasn't sure if it was friend or foe.
To be honest, Twilight was always hopeful that this "Everfree Beast" was actually Raziel, all the evidence pointed at that. Twilight knew of no other creature with the kind of powers Raziel showed in that encounter with Nightmare Moon neither knew of any type of creature capable of facing an Alicorn without being a dragon or another alicorn, Twilight was fixated with a desire to know about Raziel, to know who he was, why did he come to Equestria and what was his story.
This, and many more questions, were the ones that made her hope that Raziel was still, alive even though she saw his body dissolving in thin air as Nightmare Moon laughed at his demise. She wanted to believe that Raziel was still alive and all she had to do was to find him on this Everfree Forest, she wanted to believe that she could find him here and prove Fluttershy that he wasn't the murderous beast she thought of him to be, she really wanted to believe that Raziel was still alive.
Sadly, the evidence was clear. Raziel died in front of her eyes, there was a creature on the Everfree Forest, capable of rational thought, that was probably using his name to disguise himself and blaming another one for its actions, and she was very aware of how vulnerable she was right now by going into the Everfree Forest alone, but she didn't want to risk her friends' lives, not without knowing what kind of creature this was, that was for sure.
As Twilight's hooves passed through the dark and shadowy Everfree Forest, she started to feel how the air went cold and what little sound she could hear in the forest went off, leaving her with the most deafening silence she'd ever heard.
Twilight's senses started to move up, trying to avoid getting trapped by any of the dangerous creatures inhabiting the Everfree Forest, and she focused her hearings and sight to identify anything that could be trying to sneak up on her from any side possible.
As her hearing increased, she started to notice how there was something looking at her from the shadows. Twilight looked around and could detect something looking at her, but it moved away before she could get a good look at it, which frustrated her to big degrees. Then, without a warning, she heard something right behind her, prompting Twilight to quickly turn and look into the eyes of the one creature Twilight Sparkle should never look into its eyes: A Cockatrice.
Before Twilight could even create a spell, scream or run, the petrifying eyes of the chicken with snake tail went through her soul and turned Twilight into a statue, stoned in an eternal fear, never capable of leaving her position and never capable of getting help of any kind, for there was nopony that was expecting her to come back soon.
Everfree Forest/Spirit Realm
This was another common day for Raziel, cleaning the Everfree Forest from anything dangerous that could harm the ponies while searching for the Elder God, well, as "day" could be applied in the Spirit Realm as possible, since time was nonexistent on this realm.
As Raziel passed through the twisted trees of the Everfree, he found an archon moving into a deeper side of the forest and ignoring him completely. The Soul Reaver found this behavior very strange, prompting him to follow the soul sucking beast but, before Raziel could even move, he heard a voice that he never expected to hear again or, at least, not on this moments.
"Raziel, it's a pleasure to find you here"
Raziel's senses got on edge, he knew that it wasn't common of it to contact him and there must have been a plan in action.
"I cannot say the same thing, for I find the most despicable feelings being harbored towards you."
"Ah! I see that you're still bent on defying the Wheel of Fate
Perhaps, you got too close to Kain's defiant ideas
Especially, if you think you can bring them here as well"
Raziel felt the rage growing inside of him, aware of how that parasite was still acting like something it wasn't.
"Do not toy with me, parasite. I know too well what do you mean when you talk about 'The Wheel of Fate' and how you're planning to bring here the same destruction you brought to Nosgoth, which is why I came here to vanquish you once and for all."
"Don't be foolish, Raziel
You know there's no running from fate
This ponies have been living unaware of
how dangerous their lives are.
I'm just providing them the order needed
so their lives will never go astray anymore"
"You call 'order' the disintegration of Free Will and you use innocent souls to satisfy your gluttonous desires. You harvested a war between two species because one of them refused to bend to your will and cast away the other one once you couldn't feed on them. You're the root of Nosgoth's evil and I won't let you solidify your self on this land."
The following words, didn't scared Raziel, but did told him a few things. It told him that this conversation was a trap in itself, it told him how the stakes were rising as time went on and it told him that the Elder God was very aware of him, and it was willing to do anything to stop him, which put Raziel on edge.
"We'll see"
In that moment, a scream pierced the realm of the spirits, coming from the same direction the archon took, reaching Raziel's ears and making him wonder what kind of game the Elder God was playing now. Raziel knew that very few creatures could inhabit the Spirit Realm, which only made him curious as to who that could be.
It didn't matter in the end though, Raziel understood the meaning of this. Whoever made those screams, it was someone the Elder God wanted to prevent Raziel from meeting and now all he had to do was reaching the scream before it were too late.
A few minutes earlier, Everfree Forest/Physical Realm
It was late in the night, the Everfree Forest was now the home of a new decorative figure, a lone statue of an unicorn that fell victim to a cockatrice. Unable to do anything regarding its current situation, the statue was standing in the middle of the Everfree Forest, waiting for something to happen.
Now, one of the biggest mysteries regarding being petrified by a cockatrice is that it's hard to tell whether or not the victims are aware of their current situation, there hasn't been a study that tells whether or not if those turned into a statue were conscious of their situation as a petrified being.
For Twilight, though, she would always remember how she suddenly started to feel a pull from her stoned body. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but it was like if her body was being ripped apart from itself, as some interior part of herself started to be pulled out from her own body without any explanation.
As Twilight was being pulled out from herself, she started to see how a beast started to appear in front of her eyes, its sight causing her to feel terror on levels only felt once in her life as this new creature was as horrifying as the one she saw in the Castle of two Sisters, even though this new one didn't look as sophisticated as the previous one.
Its crab-like claws, holding her tightly, were taking Twilight ever so slowly towards the creature's predatory mouth, already open and ready to eat her, making her shout the biggest scream of horror she has ever done in her life. As she realized how close death was to the magical unicorn, Twilight started to shake her forelegs and hit the beast with all her strength on its face. For some struck of dumb luck, Twilight's kicks were strong enough to make the thing release her and fall to the ground.
As Twilight quickly reincorporated herself to the ground, she looked up and saw how this living terror had no legs but it was still capable of moving through the air with a greater finesse than a pegasus, as it started to move towards Twilight with a speed that made her very nervous.
Twilight, in a spark of panic, decided to run while screaming for help with all the strength her lungs could provide. As she ran away from the creature, Twilight decided to look back and saw how its blue eyes were looking at her, not as prey but more like a target, something that had to be removed, which made her feel even more fear on her body.
As she ran, Twilight tried to use her magic to teleport somewhere safe but she soon realized that, for some reason, she couldn't use magic. There was something cutting Twilight's magic and that made her situation even more dire as she soon started to scream even louder for help.
Twilight ran with all her strength, pushing her body to the limits as she tried to quickly asses her situation.
"Alright, Twilight, think. You must think or else you'll be food for that thing" -. She passed through a few branches and jumped above a small stub. - "Now, I cannot use magic but I can still hit. I'll remember that if it manages to catch me again, now, where am I?"
Twilight tried to see a familiar path, but all the trees were too distorted and bluish to recognize a familiar path. She then tried to see at the sky and hope to find either the sun or the moon but what she saw made her stop death on her tracks as she found none. All she could see was a dark blue sky that had nothing indicating a celestial body that she could use to her advantage, it was as if the sky was cut down and, just like anything else, it looked as if Twilight was taken into a distorted version of all she ever knew, making her display all her storming emotions in one phrase:
"Where am I?"
It was then that Twilight felt the creature's claws catching her and it made her realize that she just wasted her time and was now going to be eaten by that thing. She saw its eyes and how hollow they were, no emotion, no rational thought, nothing that could feel Twilight that she could get herself out of this through talking. She tried to fight back, but the creature then increased its hold on her to make sure she couldn't run away again.
Twilight decided then to make one final call for help, even though she doubted that anypony would even find her, and closed her eyes for the inevitable.
It was in that moment that Twilight heard something on the distance, akin to a laser spell being shot, followed soon by the beast shaking itself as if it was being hit and forcing it to drop Twilight.
Twilight wondered what happened or, rather, who could have found her and saved her life, at which, she decided to open her eyes and saw the one creature she never expected to find again in her life, even less under such circumstances though that didn't make Twilight any less grateful.
As she saw that unique, bipedal creature with a blue flesh, damaged wings, claws in all of his extremities, a scarf covering his mouth with only a small amount of dark hair covering his head and the one thing she could remember best, an ethereal blade coming out of his right arm. This was the same creature that helped Twilight to face Nightmare Moon, this was the same creature that was willing to help others out of altruism, this was the same creature whose goodness gave Twilight hope before seeing her friends and solving the mystery behind the elements of Harmony and was right now repeating that by saving Twilight from her impending doom. This was Raziel, the Soul Reaver.
"Raziel!" - Shouted an excited Twilight, glad of seeing a friend once thought lost.
Raziel didn't turn back though, it kept its head looking at the creature while aiming his sword at it. The creature responded on an equal measure by staying far away from Raziel but never stopping from looking at him with a clear intent on its eyes that told how serious this fight was going to be.
The creature moved to the side, at which Raziel quickly responded by getting close to it on that same direction, before the creature could do anything, Raziel jumped high and started to hit the creature with a quick series of sword spins that made Twilight wonder how could Raziel come out of that and not feel any dizziness, the creature quickly moved back just to quickly move sideways and tried to bite Raziel, which was just responded by Raziel by just shooting at it followed by another series of quick sword spins.
The creature suddenly started to become transparent, something that looked very suspicious to Twilight, which made her think that it was a new tactic, but those suspicions became curiosity when the creature decided to run away, giving Twilight some great joy as the threat was now over.
Raziel, interestingly, didn't look like he was done, in fact, Raziel then decided to open his scarf, which made Twilight wonder what he was about to do with that, and that, in turn, made the creature starting to move in Raziel's direction. This made Twilight shiver at what she was seeing, for it didn't look like the creature was actually trying to get closer to Raziel, it looked like if the creature was trying to run away but a huge force was sucking it into Raziel's mouth at which Twilight started to get scared.
"Raziel, what are you doing?!"
Before Twilight could even think of doing something to stop Raziel, the creature was sucked into Raziel's mouth, although not before releasing a shriek that crossed through Twilight's spine and made her shiver, followed by what sounded like if something was fed. Once that spectacle was over, Raziel put back his scarf and finally decided to talk to Twilight.
"My apologies for showing you that part of me, it was never my intention to encounter you again under this circumstances" -. He then started to turn into Twilight's direction, his eyes looking directly into hers and showing the humbleness of his words. - "Sadly, as tragic as your current situation may be, I suppose this could be the right moment to introduce ourselves properly" -. He then hid his ethereal sword and extended his right claw towards her. - "My name is Raziel, the Soul Reaver".
Twilight looked at Raziel's eyes, filled with a compassion devoid in the other creature, and then at his right claw, which was wielding just a few minutes ago a blade capable of killing her, trying to see if there was some kind of catch. Thankfully, it was quite clear to Twilight that Raziel wasn't intending anything dangerous on her, which made her respond in an equal level of friendship as she shook his claw.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Twilight Sparkle, carrier of the Element of Magic and faithful student of Princess Celestia."
It was in this moment that reality started to set in into Twilight's world, making the dam brake and forcing her to start what was a very typical thing among Twilight's friends but not very common to the hermit reaver.
"Now, where am I? I remember that I was on the Everfree Forest not too long ago. Why my magic doesn't work? Why are you here? I thought you were dead, does that mean I'm dead?" - In that moment Twilight started to get caught on her own panic, which made her questions even more bent towards fear rather than rationality. - "If I'm dead, is this where we all go when we die? Was that thing some kind of death guardian? Why the sky look so dark? What did-"
Raziel's response was to simply take Twilight's shoulder, making her shiver at the feeling of getting those claws on her body and not her hooves, and respond her in a very calm manner.
"I suppose I could start with the easiest one so your mind can have a better understanding of your current situation" -. He then started to move his claws around the mysterious forest. - "This, is the Everfree Forest."
Twilight looked around and filled her mind with doubts.
"But, I've been in the Everfree Forest before and it has never looked like this."
Raziel's answer sent a pulse of ice on Twilight's body.
"That's because we're not on the Everfree Forest you know off. This is a version of it on a plane known as the Spectral Realm, where the souls and the immaterial resides."
Twilight's eyes shrunk into pinpricks and she almost fall into panic mode again.
"Souls? Then I'm actually dead?"
Raziel's quick response quell her nerves.
"Not necessarily, even though you may be on the Spectral Realm, you still can have access to the Physical Realm if you know the ways to leave, after all, this is a realm for the souls and the only thing stopping us from being on the physical realm is the lack of a vessel capable of holding them."
There was a way back to her normal life, that was the first thing Twilight needed to know, now she had to know what kind of methods there were for her to go back.
"Then, do you know of a way to go back?"
Raziel started to move back and forth, thinking on something. He then turned back at Twilight and responded.
"Before talking about our ways to return, I need to know, how did you get here?"
Twilight was baffled at his question but a quick analysis made her understand, knowing how Twilight came here would give Raziel an idea of what was the best way to bring her back, so she started to remember her last moments before seeing that hideous monster.
"I was entering into the Everfree Forest to ask Zecora about the Everfree Beast, I was going around, being very careful of what kind of creature could engage me when I suddenly met a cockatrice and turned me into stone."
Raziel's eyes then started open as what she said gave him the idea of what to do.
"In that case, you're body is still around and functional. All we need to do is find it and put you back into it."
The simplicity on Raziel's response was baffling to Twilight, to say the least, since she expected a more complicated spell or method but knowing that she could go back to her own body was something that filled her with happiness. Now it was just a matter of finding her body.
"Well, I don't remember where my body is, but I'm sure we'll be able to find it if we look carefully" -. Then Twilight remembered something that it was sacred for her, time. She wasn't sure how much time has passed since she was in this Spectral Realm. - "Oh, no! How much time has passed since I came here?"
"Time in the Spectral Realm flows differently than in the Physical Realm, a moment in the Spectral Realm can be a millennium in the Physical Realm and a millennium on the Spectral Realm can be a moment in the Spectral Realm, if we find your body, its very likely that no time at all must have passed by."
That was a piece of information that both calmed Twilight and made her very curious about this 'Spectral Realm', if she knew how to travel here, she would be able to read hundreds of books in less than a night. A dream come true.
"I remember seeing a statue not too long ago in that direction" -. Said Raziel as he aimed his claw into a certain direction. - "Let's move before we get attacked by any more dangerous creatures inhabiting this realm."
And, with that, the pair started to move into what would be Twilight's salvation. Granted, typical of an academic mind such as Twilight's, she wouldn't just content with knowing how to leave, she wanted to know more about everything, including her newest friend.
"So, you basically said that I wasn't dead yet but, what about you? Are you dead?" - Twilight's question didn't stopped Raziel from moving neither it looked as if it troubled him in some way.
"As far I'm aware, I died before taking this form but to answer your question would be depending on what terms of 'dead' you mean" -. Raziel's response caught Twilight's attention, what kind of story was behind Raziel's current situation? Granted, she preferred to listen to his response rather than thinking about pure speculations - "If we're going to talk about what you consider to be dead, then I am dead, since I have already experienced the loss of a body and the separation from it in multiple occasions. But if we're going into the idea of leaving the body to go into a superior realm, then no, I'm not dead and I cannot die."
"Cannot die!?" - Was Twilight's simple response. - "But I saw you losing your body against Nightmare Moon, you died."
"That's death if we go according to your own definition. What actually happened to me is that my vessel could no longer be sustained and I was forced back into the Spectral Realm. All I had to do was to search for a new body to inhabit, so I could return to the Physical Realm on a new vessel. For me to actually die, my soul would have to transcend into the next life and that will never happen to me, so I cannot die."
Twilight wanted to know more about this, why Raziel couldn't go beyond this? Was there any way to let him rest? But, before she could make this questions, she saw something in their proximity. It was a light coming out of the ground that moved on a spiral way as a smaller light pulsated from the ground.
Moved by curiosity, Twilight started to get closer to this pulse to see what it was about. As Twilight got close, she started to feel a pull getting her closer towards it and making Twilight get even more curious. She wanted to know what was this pull and why she felt so entranced to it but, before anything else could happen, she felt Raziel's claw stopping her from getting any closer.
"I do not recommend you to get any closer if you want to return to your body."
He said in a very cautious tone, at which Twilight asked.
"Why? What its this and why I feel a force pulling me in?"
Raziel's response was, just like him, very unsettling to the very innocent Twilight.
"When a body lose its soul, it starts to rot and deteriorate, creating a perfect vessel to shift from the Spectral Realm to the Physical Realm."
Twilight's mind started to race, she has not only figured out that corpses where a portal to travel back home, but also how close she was from possessing the body of a dead animal from the Everfree. As much as Twilight wanted to get back home, she didn't want to do it as a Chimera, especially because she didn't know what would be of her under such circumstances, so she started to move away from it but not before noticing how there was another corpse just a few meters away from this one.
"Wow, another one? What's been going on in the Everfree that has killed so many of... its... inhabitants..?"
Twilight looked back at Raziel, figuring out another puzzle in that moment. Raziel needed corpses to go back to the Physical Realm, the creatures living on the forest has been running away, there are multiple corpses on the Everfree.
"Raziel... was it really necessary to kill so many creatures on the Everfree? Isn't there another way to come back?"
Twilight also understood something else, if Raziel was capable of committing a massacre in a forest just to get a way to leave this place, which she didn't blame him for, then that meant that he was very likely to be the Everfree Beast Trixie talked about so much and that also meant that he killed the dragon... Twilight wanted to talk about it to him, but she also understood that this wasn't the best moment, especially if he was the only one capable of getting her back.
While Twilight was thinking about all of this, she ended up giving Raziel enough time to think of a proper answer.
"My current condition may put me into a state of immunity to death, but it doesn't mean that I have the ability shift at will between the planes. As much as I would like to, I require of a mean to get back and, unless you can create portals that allow me to shift without the necessity of using dead bodies, I fear this curse will continue to force me into this savage behavior."
"Wait, create portals? There is another way?"
"Indeed, there used to be portals located in specific areas that would allow me to shift from this realm to the other, but, much to my frustration, they're no longer avaiable to me."
Twilight gave this a thought and started to move once again to the corpse. She thought on the pulling sensation, how much she fell it taking her towards it, how she felt the need to move towards it, how much she wanted to leave. She then started to move away from the corpse, remembering that sensation with all of her strength, thinking on how she could use it on her behalf.
After that, they kept walking through the forest, this time dwelling on the trees and how twisted they looked. She wanted now to ask about it but then an object that looked very familiar to Twilight started to appear in the distance. The object looked like certain unicorn as it was being petrified by a cockatrice and it gave an aura similar to the ones held by the corpses. It was quite clear that her journey ended here and there, but that didn't stop Twilight from making one last small talk to Raziel.
"Well, this is it. Thank you so much for helping me, I'll talk to the girls so you can come to Ponyville and properly meet. There's much to talk about and I would like to hear more about you."
Raziel's response was warm, much to Twilight's happiness.
"You can have my gratitude as well, for you discovered my corrupted nature and did not run away. Just like you, I would like to know you more."
Twilight then started to move back to her body, excited and impatient to see the end of this but, suddenly, Raziel stopped her once more.
"Before you go, there's something I would like to share with you, if you trust me enough, that is."
Twilight then started to feel on edge, what could it be that he wanted to give her? For a brief moment, Twilight suspected that Raziel was planning something but she then remembered how he has helped her all the times they've met and decided to give him this chance, after all, he could've eaten her a while ago and haven't.
"Sure, what is it?"
Raziel then started to move his claw towards Twilight and put it on her head. In that moment, something white started to flow from Raziel to Twilight, making Twilight feel that same sensation she felt when she saw her friends going to help her against Nightmare Moon and when Raziel showed up to help her not too long ago. It felt warm and nice, but there wasn't much more Twilight could figure out to describe it and, just like that, the flow stopped, making Twilight wonder what was that about.
"Uhm, what was that?"
Raziel's response was just as cryptic as what he gave her.
"A gift, something I hope will aid you on your future quests."
Twilight thought about that, thanked Raziel, and went to her body, feeling that same pull from before and letting it take her.
From Raziel's perspective, he saw how the statue then started to disappear, showing how her body was being freed from the petrification imposed on her by a mischievous creature, making him feel very satisfied with himself.
"After weeks of hardship and patience, luck has finally graced me with her charms and gave me an opportunity to befriend the ponies. Not only have I managed to meet again Twilight Sparkle, but I've also managed to bless her with the powers of the Reaver, now I can be sure that I'm getting closer to my objective."
Raziel then started to move from where the statue used to be and sought for a new portal to shift back into the Physical Realm.
"I will not lose focus on what happened, the Elder God tried to distract me from rescuing Twilight Sparkle. He knows my intentions and he tried to sabotage them, I'm going forward with this plan but now I must remain as cautious as possible, if that squid was willing to go this far to stop me from befriending them, then who knows what else he can do."
As he got close to a corpse, Raziel's mind quickly started to think on how to approach the ponies. He was aware that going right now could be a bad idea, but he needed to know if Twilight was safe, after all, there was still that cursed creature petrifying anything it found. He knew what to target next.
Twilight was feeling very well with herself, she never expected to resolve the mystery of the Everfree so quickly, even more was the fact that she met Fluttershy helping her from the petrification done by the Cockatrice, releasing her from her prison, there wasn't enough ways for her to show her appreciation.
"Twilight, I thank you for your gratitude but, doesn't it worries you that the Everfree Beast may find us now?"
Twilight's newest discoveries made her just dismiss Fluttershy's worries.
"Do not worry about it Fluttershy, that beast its nothing to worry about."
This information made Applebloom wonder.
"Wait, how do you know we have nothing to worry about?"
"Because I discovered who this beast is and I can assure you all that he's a lot of things except for a beast."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders quickly understood who she meant and started to cheer at the encounter, although Fluttershy didn't took it so well.
"Wait, how do you know it's not a beast? What if its just a lie to trap us?"
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll explain it to you once we meet the girls as soon as possible."
Ironically, that meeting was going to be much sooner than expected for, once the two mares and three fillies left the the Everfree Forest, they were greeted by four worried mares and one panicking dragon that was fighting too much against sleep.
At this encounter, Twilight felt as if she had a lot to explain.
Stats
Page generated in 0.038 seconds
Total duration
1,042 users online
1,583,839 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
YAY! You've updated!
From what I've read, the most common mistake you've made is mixing some of the "dead" with "death." Down below is an example.
That was a nice read, apart from errors here and there. Glad that twilight didn't end up a snack for elder gods hunter.
Good old retarded, suicidal and absolutely disillusioned Rainbow Dash.
This makes absolutely no sense... Why isn't Celestia burning Fluttershy to a crisp? She defeated a Alicorn once after all!
Congratulations, that is about anyone for the right motivation
By revealing that the Elder God try murder and devour Twilight Soul, Raziel would have alerted Celestia to their common enemy.
1 down and 5 plus Spike to go. The Elements to see the enemy and maybe defeat it and Spike to keep a eye open towards beings like the Squid and alarm others of them running around.