Equestria: The Afterlife

by Timzocker201

CH62.5: The times they are Crystalling

Prince Mortis walked through the great hallways of the Royal Palace, heading for the Throne Room. Only minutes ago had he been summoned by the princesses to be met there, as, apparently, there were some major developments to be discussed.

He could have, of course, used faster means of transportation to get there, like vanishing into the death-realm and re-appearing in front of the princesses or simply just by shadowing there. However, recent experiences have shown that, when the princesses send a message, they usually expect the recipient of said message to actually require time to reach them. As such, Mortis had found himself in some quite peculiar situations recently, one of them being finding princess Celestia in her chambers, without any mane or tail whatsoever, which resulted in him having to vow to never tell anyone else.

The prince let a small smile grace his face at the memory, albeit one that was removed as quickly as it came, for he had reached the doors to the Throne Room and did not intend on leaving the princesses waiting.

The doors swung open and the prince silently carried his weightless body through the doors.

“We greeteth thee, prince Mortis.”

Luna’s voice carried over the room, although she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on a scroll that covered half the room in length, which she seemed to be currently reading through with her sister.

“You say that and yet you seem quite affixed by that scroll of yours. May I assume that it is a letter from either princess Cadence or princess Twilight?” Mortis asked, making his way across the large hall.

“Thou art correct in assuming both, dear prince. Pray tell, didst thou know that princess Cadence has an heir?”

Mortis stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the princesses in stunned silence. “No, I cannot say that I was aware of one.”

“And neither were we. We did not even know that she was pregnant and yet, there seems to be a third alicorn foal now.” Celestia told him.

“And I presume, this letter contains all the details that princess Twilight could find on the matter? It would certainly explain its length.” Mortis said, gesturing along the rolled-out parchment.

“’Tis in fact even more than that. It would appear that she used their visit to the empire to have her student, Starlight Glimmer, prepare the ‘Crystalling’ for the newborn princess Flurry Heart, through which she reconciled with her old childhood friend, who now has become young Flurry Heart’s crystaller.”

“Good. Seeing as you didn’t hear about the whole affair until this letter came, I presume it went by without any complications.” Mortis noted.

“Indeed, although it seems there has been another development that may require our attention.” Luna cautioned. “It appears that the love surge of the successful crystalling caused a changeling’s cover to fail and reveal himself. Apparently, he looked like a normal changeling to the outside, apart from his eyes, which seemed to carry a colour different from the normal blue.”

“So Thorax is already there, huh? This might actually become a problem later on…” Markus thought to himself.

“A changeling you say? May I ask what happened to him?” Mortis inquired.

“Originally, he was to be thrown into the dungeons. However, it appears that Spike managed to convince everypony that the Changeling was not dangerous. Whether he himself knew that for certain at the time is unknown. What is known, however, is that his notion proved to be correct, as they appear to have befriended the changeling. As a side-note, it appears that his wings have taken on some kind of a ‘shimmer’. The changeling has been made an official resident of the Crystal Empire, going by the name of ‘Thorax’.” Celestia explained.

Mortis remained silent for a moment. This new information has brought with it a plethora of new problems to be solved. Furthermore, with Thorax turning up earlier than expected, it was reasonable to assume that everything else might progress faster as well.

“I thank you for sharing this information with me, dear princesses.” He said, as he turned around to leave. “If you would excuse me: I shall now take a walk through the streets of Canterlot.”

“Certainly. You may take a small guard detail with you, for protection.” Celestia offered.

“With all due respect, dear princess, but I would rather be on my lonesome for this.” Mortis said absentmindedly, before leaving the room and heading down into Canterlot.

---

It was a calm night in the streets of Canterlot. Bright neon lights illuminated the city and advertised all the places where ponies could dance the stress of the day away or indulge in more… delightful activities.

However, these places were of no interest to the red alicorn that was roaming the side alleys of the city. Truth be told, he even found them to be quite annoying, especially when one tried to form a coherent thought or two.

Mortis had been walking through Canterlot for a few hours now, thinking of the recent developments. They had very little to do with his plans, true, but he couldn’t help but wonder about the effects this will have on Twilight and Rainbow. After all, Thorax will be the centre of a few very interesting developments in the near future, which will undoubtedly now be even closer.

No matter which way he looked at it, he needed to speed up his own work, if not for the sake of revealing himself earlier then for the sake of keeping his loved ones safe.

Suddenly, a scream ripped Mortis out of his thoughts. It sounded like a mare crying for help in one of the neighbouring alleys. He shadowed through the building next to him and found himself standing in the shadows right in front of a robbery scene.

A mare lay knocked-out on the ground, while a masked stallion was rummaging through her belongings. Mortis was about to step in, when he saw a white blur shoot down from the rooftop, slamming down on the assailant. The white-coated saviour seemed to be a mare with a two-tone blue mane and large, purple sunglasses.

“Wait, that mare seems familiar… Vinyl Scratch? I think that was her name.” Mortis thought, while the unicorn walked over to the now knocked-out robber.

Suddenly, as soon as she reached him, she opened her mouth slightly, revealing two fangs, which she then rammed into the assailant’s throat.

At first, Mortis was stunned, however his astonishment quickly vanished as he watched the vampire suck blood.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. In a world where there are all kinds of mythological creatures, vampires aren’t unlikely at all.” Mortis thought to himself. His lips curled up lightly as he smiled and chuckled to himself.

“Who is there?!” Vinyl shouted as she unlatched herself from her prey and whipped around. She hadn’t felt any more presences in the immediate area, so how could it be that there was another one?! Maybe she had just misheard?

That question answered itself, when she saw a tall, red alicorn step out from the shadows, who she immediately recognized.

“P-Prince Mortis!” She blurted, her ears flattening down as she bowed before him. “I-I swear, this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Oh, I think it very much is. You have come to help this poor mare in need, for which you have my thanks as a prince.” Mortis calmly told her.

“So… you’re not going to… kill me?”

“No, why should I do such a thing? You may be a vampire, yes, but that makes you no less of a citizen than anypony else.”

Vinyl let out a breath of relief, before steadying herself a little. “Well… a few hundred years or so ago, princess Celestia ordered us vampires to be wiped out and… I thought that was still in effect?”

“And you are very right in that assumption.” Mortis answered, causing Vinyl to take a few cautious steps back. “However, I am not princess Celestia. In fact, I might have use for your powers. What would you say if I offered to hire you?”

Vinyl was a bit sceptical. This whole development seemed just too convenient to her. “And why exactly would you want to hire me? And what for? And why should I accept?”

“Now now, one question at a time, my dear. Firstly, your abilities make you a very good ally. Even if you’re still untrained, I can see a raw diamond in you that just needs to be ground into shape. My motivation, however, I will keep to myself for now. As for your own reasons: I can guarantee to you that, as long as you serve me, nopony will even dare harm you. Also, I can provide you with a steady supply of blood.”

Vinyl mulled the offer over. It seemed that this was entirely in her favour, even though the secrecy around his motivations was concerning. However, there was also another thing in the back of her mind. Something that had already made the decision for her before she had even started to think about it.

“I accept your offer.” Vinyl said. “But… may I ask something in return?”

The prince lowered himself down to the mare and looked her into her eyes. “You may ask, yes, but I cannot guarantee that I can provide.”

Vinyl gulped and took a short breath.

“I want to ask you to help my friend.”

Author's Note:

Welp, that was a short one. Next up: Sidestory, where I will introduce two new characters, whom I will use once or twice, before you will likely never hear from them again. Yay. They are connected to the main plot, though, so don't worry about that.

Comments

[Szalhi]

Not quite sure why I wasn't expecting this given the track record.

[Fireeaters]

Nice chapter. I think it'd have been funny if someone vibrantly coloured would've been the vampire.

[Draconequuz]

“I want to ask you to help my friend.”

ima guess her friend is dying but Vinyl doesn't want to turn them (or her friend doesn't want to) because of the consequences.

[DoctorWhoooves]

“... I can see a raw diamond in you that just needs to be ground into shape....”

Careful there Morty you've already got 2 wives, despite my opinion on what's going on in Mystics head, You don't need another one...But then again......