Part II, Chapter 10: Of Life and Death
Part II
Climbing
Chapter 10
Of Life and Death
Sometimes you wish everything is just a dream from which you’ll wake up any moment. But sometimes, life isn’t that kind to you.
Even now, I can recall the excitement in my heart during that mesmerizing twilight. My future seemed bright and, for the first in a long time, I felt genuine happiness.
But then something, no- someone chose to bring me down from the Stairway, back into the cold world I left behind. Life and Death didn’t mean anything for me anymore. I was just an empty shell again. But everything that has a beginning has an end, and this was mine.
The battle had been lost and so, I admitted defeat. The Ever’s light in front of me called forth my name. It was time to move on . . .
*** *** ***
Earlier
Celestia retreated from her royal bedroom’s balcony. The last traces of the mighty sun were slipping inside her chamber, basking everything in its twilight colors. Soon the moon would rise, accompanied by the shining night stars.
It seemed to be another normal day since Discord’s mysterious disappearance not even two weeks before. Tomorrow she would meet Twilight and Blink to talk about what had happened that day. There were so many questions, even for the Princess of the Sun.
Celestia suddenly stopped, her heart jolting just a little. Her inner calm and composure were immediately replaced with dark feelings and fears. She rushed out of her room and headed to the throne room. There, a very agitated Luna stood, seemingly waiting for her.
“Tia!” she called with a worried tone. “Tell me it was only I who felt it.”
“No, dear Luna, it happened to me as well. I- I saw the black bird flying into the sunset.”
“Does that mean that Blink is dead? But why? Why now?” the Princess of the Moon asked in search of an answer which she tried to deny all along.
“I don’t really know. We are not supposed to judge His decisions.”
“What about Twilight?”
“We have to go to Ponyville. I feel that she’s been using a lot of magic, and knowing her she will not stop until she’s passed out from the exhaustion. Or worse . . .”
Luna gave her sister an approving nod and in a mutual silence they both headed out towards Ponyville, taking flight from one of the balconies.
*** *** ***
My initial screams alerted the hospital nurses. I was infuriated. I tried to walk out of my bed but my legs were too weak to carry my weight. The nurses eventually had to force me back to bed and sedate me.
After several hours of fighting against the drugs, I started to relax, exhausted from all the struggling. I was just standing there, staring at the white ceiling; after a while they removed my bindings. Occasionally I would bring my arm in front of my face and study it, losing myself in the memories of recent past. Every time I brought it up to my eye level I winced at the sight, hoping to see a hoof instead.
Had it been all just a dream? But it was so real. I was there. They were there.
They? All the ponies from a TV show? Don’t be silly.
Yes, all the ponies from the TV show.
I shut my eyes, trying to get the doubt out of my head. Doctors started coming in, telling me what happened to me the night I almost died. Apparently, my wounds were quite severe and when an ambulance arrived, there wasn’t much they could do. Resuscitation took forty minutes and in the end they almost gave up. That’s when I got a heartbeat again and that’s exactly when the light in front of me dimmed and Death decided my soul deserved a different fate. A fate that would change the way I saw the world, the way I lived and the beliefs I had.
There was absolutely no use in trying to tell them what happened to me over the course of the last months. They simply shook their heads and repeated the same thing over and over again: post-traumatic, coma induced illusions; essentially powerful dreams.
Hours later, the door burst open and I immediately recognized my parents. Mom was crying and dad was tearing up as well, holding my hand from the side of the bed. Seeing them again after all that time reminded of how much I actually missed them.
Yet I was in shock, still having memories from a different world heavily imbedded into my mind. Seconds turned to minutes, which turned to hours. My folks were happy to see me awake again but something kept those tear flowing from their eyes, made them hold my hand tighter. Something was wrong . . .
They had to leave after the doctor insisted I needed some rest from that whole emotional event. And so I found myself alone again, staring absently at the TV screen inside the room. Suddenly, a string of text from the news segment caught my attention. I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on it but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what it read: “Hundreds of deaths registered in the last three days of protests in Germany and thousands more throughout Europe, marking the bloodiest week of 2014 so far. Situation in Ukraine is also still critical, following the fall of Kiev into Russian control. Political leaders have met yet again in an attempt to bring a solution that would minimize the huge impact Euro’s fall had on the global economy.“
“2014 . . .” I mumbled to myself, “I was in a coma for two years. This . . . this can’t be.”
I turned my head and looked around the hospital room, my eyes falling on a calendar by the door. The year was indeed 2014.
*** *** ***
Celestia and her sister landed in front of Ponyville’s main hospital and were immediately greeted by one of the doctors. The Princess of the Sun was sure she felt Twilight’s powerful magic surging from somewhere in the building. She knew exactly why as well.
“Your royal highness!” the doctor said, kneeling in front of the two monarchs.
“There is no time for such protocols! Quickly, lead us to where the unicorn Twilight Sparkle is,” Luna ordered hastily.
“Ughh, of course, right this way!”
The two alicorns followed the stallion to the last floor of the hospital, still concerned about what was going to happen next.
“She brought in a unicorn male about two hours ago,” the doctor started explaining between breaths while climbing the stairs. “He had no life signs but she insisted that we try and help him. He had absolutely no traces of violence, physical or magical for that matter. From what we could figure, his body simply shut down. After resuscitating for forty minutes, we stopped the procedures but she remained with him and kept the life-support spell on during all this time.”
“You mean the spell in its entirety?” Celestia asked, surprised.
“Yes, the whole spell: blood flow, cardiac massage, brain stimuli, artificial breathing. It’s amazing, only professional doctors can keep that for so long. She had a nurse with her supervising the whole thing. Unfortunately, he isn’t responding to it and I’m extremely concerned for her, she’s just been out of hospital herself mere days ago, and shouldn’t be straining herself like that.”
The three of them reached the room where Blink was taken. Celestia opened the door and went in, finding Twilight at the bed side, eyes closed in focus while pale purple wisps moved around the colt’s body in front of her. His chest was moving in a steady rhythm, but the air he expired wasn’t his own. All across his body, small tendrils of magic were moving in and out through his skin. The unicorn mare was practically living for him, keeping his vital signs and organs operational.
“My dear Twilight,” Celestia exclaimed, rushing towards her student’s side. The unicorn looked up to her mentor, her eyes filled with tears. She tried to say something but the pale glow around the body in front of her started fading.
“I’ll take it from here, Twilight Sparkle. Rest for now, you need it,” Luna stated, casting the same spell Twilight was using, replacing the purple auras and tendrils with her deep blue ones.
The unicorn mare then started wobbling and if Celestia wasn’t near to catch her, she would have crashed to the floor.
“Princess, please help him . . .”
“Shh, it’s alright dear. Luna’s taking care of it for now. You need to rest; you’ve exhausted yourself.”
The white alicorn then levitated the purple mare onto one of the neighboring beds, tucking her in. She started squirming but suddenly closed her eyes, falling into a deep, magic-induced sleep. Celestia’s horn stopped glowing and turned to her sister, which was now keeping the stallion’s vitals in check.
“Do you want me to do it for you?” the white alicorn asked her sister.
“I’m fine, Celly. It’s been a while since I’ve performed this spell but I still remember it. How’s Twilight Sparkle?”
“Exhausted, but all right. How about Blink? Is he really . . .”
Luna raised her head to meet Celestia’s concern gaze and gently shook her head.
“He’s gone. We can’t do anything from here anymore. Not unless-”
“Absolutely not. You know very well that is way above our authority.”
“Then what’s the point in doing this?” Luna asked, pointing towards the bed in front of her, where the half dead stallion rested, his organs kept alive by the princess’s magic.
Celestia turned her gaze towards her faithful student, who was sound asleep.
“For her. She’ll be up soon; she’s too strong for my spell to keep her asleep too long. We keep the life-support spell on Blink so that she won’t strain herself. We do this until Twilight realizes he’s really gone and can let go.”
“Will we tell her about them?” The Night princess asked.
“Indeed, princess Celestia, are you going to tell her about this?”
The two monarchs turned at the voice and noticed Spike standing in the door, a piece of old paper in his claws. His expression was one of anger and his eyes were red and puffy. He’s been crying, something quite uncommon for the young dragon.
“Spike . . .” Celestia started but was cut off by the dragon.
“What exactly does this mean?” He asked again, throwing the piece of paper on the bed besides the lifeless colt. “And why was it kept with the Elements of Harmony? I remember a book Twilight got from Canterlot’s library. I remember all of her books. That one had a missing page, something that should have contained information about Blink’s cutie mark. Why were you hiding it?”
Both princesses were taken aback by his attitude. They’ve kept a secret and Celestia knew she was going to regret her mistake of sending the chest with the Elements and that page. But her greatest fear was that she would have to explain why she did what she did. She only meant to protect them, yet it all backfired on her and there was no way out of it except to come out with everything.
A moan got everyone’s attention and they all turned to see Twilight waking up.
“Wha- What happened?” the unicorn asked groggily.
“Twilight, you need rest,” Luna said while effortlessly maintaining the life support spell on Blink.
“What about Blink, is he-”
“Please Twilight, it pains me to tell you this but he’s not going to wake up. I am so sorry.” Celestia then gave Spike a stern look, as if telling him that they would settle the issue about the missing page later.
The dragon puffed a small cloud of smoke in protest but got the message and nodded in agreement. He grabbed the page from the bed and put it in a drawer near the Blink’s bed.
Twilight’s gaze never left Celestia, her face grimaced in pain and denial.
“But . . . it can’t be. He can’t be dead. He was fine the other day, I just-”
“Trust me, my faithful student, not even I can go against things like death. It was just his time. I can’t tell you any more than that for now. Please understand.”
Twilight started to realize her mentor was right but she still couldn’t accept the fact that she had just lost a very good friend. The mare started sobbing as she got up and approached the bed where the midnight blue stallion was resting. She kneeled down and grabbed his hoof into hers, tears flowing down her tired face.
Celestia put a wing around her shoulders and held her close. Spike approached the bed and sat down on the cold white floor, looking at the colt on the bed. He knew very well that Blink was not going to come back, but he wasn’t prepared yet to lose a good friend. Tears formed around his eyes yet again as the four of them stood by the colt’s bed, Luna’s magic working around and inside his body, mimicking life. The dragon heard the princesses talk and knew she would keep the spell just until Twilight was ready to let go. But for that time they just stood there, silently bidding their farewells.
*** *** ***
I was gazing upon the seemingly endless city of London from the saloon’s balcony. I couldn’t sleep at all; not after everything that happened to me. The air outside was cold but my mind didn’t register any of that. The only thing I could think about was the world I left behind. Slowly I was starting to doubt everything. What if it was all a dream, like the doctors said? How could that have been even possible? They were just characters from a show, figments of my imagination that kept me company in my two year coma.
I clenched harder on the protective hand rail from the balcony. Why did something so cruel happen to me? Why did I have to imagine a wonderful place like that, only to have it taken from me?
I took a long look into my palm. Somehow it felt different. I then thought I’ve gotten used to having a hoof and the whole hand sensation felt alien to me.
But then I felt it: that mysterious, warm feeling pulsing from within my being. I stared harder at my hand and it took me several seconds for me to make sure I was not dreaming because all of a sudden, blue waves of light started rising from my palm. I closed my hand and knelt down on the balcony, holding tears away.
“So it was all real . . .”
I picked myself up and went inside, crashing on top of the bed. Hours passed and a doctor’s visit woke me up from my agitated sleep. My parents were standing by his side, their faces betraying dismay.
The doctor then started talking, but I wasn’t even listening to what he was saying. My mind and heart were still in a far, far away place. Somewhere between my parents sobs and the doctor’s long monologue, I could make out words like brain, trauma, inoperable, life expectancy, soon.
I somehow managed to put everything together and realized I was just told that I was soon going to die. My parents were crying while I just stood there looking back at them with absolutely no feelings inside my heart. There was nothing left there, I soon realized.
After a while, my folks found it in them to leave the room so I can get the rest my medic said I needed. I was alone and felt tired, which was weird since I had just slept. I shrugged it off and looked at my nightstand where there was a small notepad and an attached pen to it.
“Well, this may be a good time as any . . .”
I leaned over, grabbed the pad and started writing on it. Having fingers again made the whole process a lot more difficult after months of using only the simple shaped hooves of my equine form. When I was done I hastily signed the bottom of the page and threw the notepad back on the nightstand. I rested my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. I was so tired . . .
*** *** ***
A high pitched beeping noise woke me up from another restless sleep. My vision was blurred and my eyelids felt awfully heavy. One of my fingers was clutched by a plastic clamp and I realized the beeping noises were the readings of my heart rate.
My whole body felt numb and a throbbing pain filled my head, replacing all thoughts and sensations. I turned on the soft pillow and gazed at two blurry shapes near my bed. Everything became a bit clearer after a few moments. Before my eyes stood the beautiful image of my mother’s face, her eyes red and filled with tears but her smile as kind as ever. Next to her was my dad; strong, brave and reassuring until the last moment. They were both holding my hand. I felt so tired and I just wanted to fall asleep again. Somehow though I felt that it may be the last time I would see my parents.
I looked into their eyes and managed a weak smile. My eyelids were heavy. With my last strength, I gently squeezed their hands and managed to whisper one last thing. Not in my entire lifetime did I imagine that those would be my actual last words. But it did not matter. What mattered was that they represented the utmost sincere truth:
“I love you . . .”
The rhythm of the beeping slowed down as my entire world plunged into darkness.
I don’t know how much time had passed before a horrifying scream woke me up. All I knew was that I was alone and surrounded by pitch blackness.
“Welcome back, young one.” A dark, familiar voice.
“Fuck you,” I simply retorted, standing still on the soft ground of the afterlife, looking straight up.
“Hmm, I do get that a lot. Also, I sense that you are angered. I hope you remember our first conversation, do you not? I was pretty clear on the fact that you are still mine. That meant that whatever decision was supposed to be made concerning your soul, it was not yet made.”
“Can we get this over with? I’m pretty much bored by this whole dark bullshit scenery.” I was lying. It terrified me.
“As you wish. Oh, one last thing: would you be interested in watching your ceremonial departure?”
My funeral . . .
I simply nodded in the darkness and the very next second I had to shut my eyes from the sudden light. I opened them moments later and noticed I was outside. I quickly turned around and found myself standing near the edge of a cliff. Beyond it, a vast stretch of water filled the horizon. The ground under my feet was damp and the grass was swaying in the cold sea breeze. Several sun shafts pierced the clouds, creating a beautiful and serene atmosphere.
I turned to the sound of a familiar voice and noticed a small group of people standing near the edge, all dressed up in black outfits.
“. . . and you were and will always be the light and meaning of our lives. Your mom and I will forever love you and keep you in our hearts. Farewell, dear son . . .”
The man then stirred a small black urn in front of him, spilling the ashes it contained. My cremated remains scattered in the wind, slowly making their way towards the vast ocean.
“I dare say this is one of my favorite ways to commemorate the passing of one your own.”
I turned to the unexpected voice and noticed a bearded old man dressed in black standing right next to me.
“Are you-?”
“Yes, but in a rather more familiar . . . shape,” Death replied.
He kept looking at the two grieving parents standing near the cliff’s edge, holding themselves close to each other and staring at the last specs of dark ash as they faded into the fast wind.
“Everything that has a beginning-”
“-has an end,” I said, as it was my time to cut off Death. “It’s just too bad mine came so early. At least they followed my little testament I wrote in the hospital.”
“The love they bear for you is indeed immense, but we have to go now. Consider yourself lucky, as only few creatures witnessed their funeral.”
The surrounding scenery faded to darkness yet again and the sound of clashing waves against was replaced by low whispering noises. Or so that’s what I thought that darn sound was.
Somehow, I managed to distinguish the dark silhouette in all that emptiness. He pointed to a location in front of me and soon enough, a dim light started pulsing several feet in front of me, growing larger by the second.
“Ohh, it’s this again,” I said, halfhearted. I clenched my fist and closed my eyes. Miraculously, that strong feeling from deep within started to resurface. When I opened my eyes again, I was shocked to see myself as being a pony again.
“This is just a representation of what you would like the process of moving on to be. Some people enter a forest, other return to the home they lived as a child, but most imagine the light,” Death explained. “Thus, you will go on through a bright light as a pony, the creature you enjoyed being as the most.”
That was it. I was a pony again, a unicorn to be more precise. I was yet again in contact with my powers. But then I then felt His eyes on me: a cold, dark feeling that pierced inside of my soul, even though I was facing the bright light several feet away, focusing on drawing all the magic I had in me.
“Do you actually think that would work against me?”
I stood still, thinking about the whole thing. What was I trying to do anyway? Somehow kill Death and then return to Equestria? I always had a backup plan but that one had been forged out of sheer desperation, as a last resort to give me an ultimate goal to follow: survival. But I had failed.
The battle had been lost and so, I admitted defeat. The Ever’s light in front of me called forth my name. It was time to move on . . .
I let out a sigh, then turned towards Death, smiling. I let the built up energy inside my horn dissipate in a blue wave of magic.
“Well, it was worth a shot.”
I turned my head back at the light and started to slowly walk towards it.
*** *** ***
“I shall stop the spell, Twilight. Are you all right with that?” Luna asked with sadness in her eyes, breaking the silence inside the hospital room.
The purple mare looked up, her eyes red and swollen. The last trace of hope had left her and she was finally ready to accept the truth.
“Y- Yes,” she whimpered.
Luna’s magic slowly faded away from around and within Blink’s body. She then looked at her sister and Spike, telling them with her looks that it would be best if they left Twilight alone for a while. The agreement was mutual and the three of them started making their way out of the room, throwing one last glance at the deceased stallion.
Before leaving, Celestia pulled her prized pupil close to her and leaned her head onto hers.
“I will be at the library with my sister and Spike, waiting for you. We have something to discuss; rest assured, he will be given an honorable burial, I will personally see to it,” she whispered to the unicorn mare.
Twilight responded with a small nod and soon found herself alone in the room with probably the first colt she had ever had feelings for. And yet he was dead, taken down by something that nopony could explain.
She looked at him for one last time before turning towards the door to leave. And then she felt it: his magical presence, faintly radiating from within him. She was unable to explain why she felt that but the mare quickly turned back and got close to the colt, trying to pick up any sign of life.
Twilight immediately started looking after that faint trail of life she had felt, and found out that it was still some of it inside him, specifically in his chest. Twilight agonized about it being only leftovers of his magic, and that they were about to dissipate soon enough. But then again, why didn’t she feel it before, when performing the life-support spell on him?
Her thoughts suddenly exploded when she noticed the trails of inner energy slipping away from his body, not dissipating around but rather simply disappearing inside an area right above him. Without any hesitation, Twilight casted the life-support spell on Blink and started focusing on that area in which his last remains of magic were going into.
*** *** ***
The light in front of me was getting brighter and brighter and just as I was about to distinguish something inside of it, my hooves stopped moving. I started feeling that nice, warm feeling, but this time it was different. I couldn’t put my finger- well, hoof on it, but it was definitely familiar.
*** *** ***
Twilight was at a crossing of roads. It didn’t take her long enough to realize that Blink’s last traces of life were somehow disappearing to another place. It took her even less to realize that place was the afterlife, or a place where ponies go after death. But that didn’t change the fact that she was stepping into forbidden territory. What would Celestia think of her little plan she had cropped up inside her mind? Probably banish her to the moon, although she couldn’t explain why she felt that plan was perfect.
“Sometimes, friendship is worth fighting and breaking the rules for,” the mare whispered to herself.
She took the plunge.
Twilight released a huge amount of magic she herself had no idea was harnessing. After a few moments her front hooves were off the ground, as she slowly started to rise in the air, in front of Blink’s bed. Unaware to her was also the fact that four out of the five small stars on her cutie mark had turned to pure red.
The unicorn quickly tapped into the small ‘portal’ above Blink’s body, tuning into its quantic frequency. Everything suddenly felt more familiar as she started recognizing the science behind it: it was no longer a vile, profane or blasphemous thing; it was a physical, scientifically provable phenomena that took the last of her friend’s life. And she had to stop it.
Her energy was constantly changing but she recognized it to be the sort of pure energy that emerged whenever she used a lot of her normal powers. It also frightened her that it was the exact opposite of Blink’s magic that came out when he started learning or when he teleported without proper shielding.
Everything Twilight knew about her special abilities was what Celestia had told her not long ago. The Princess only told her that she had a gift, a very special gift that one day she would learn to use. Up until now, Twilight thought that the special magic was just a fairly large reserve of power and using that backup energy would make the stars on her cutie mark turn red one by one as she continued casting spells. In her experiments she had only managed to use up four of the total six stars and did not dare to use any more before she knew exactly what they actually represented.
One day, Twilight planned on going and discussing in person with her mentor, princess Celestia, about her newfound ‘gift’. That night though, she was woken up by Kazooie’s filly that told her about a sick colt found in the fields near his farm. That was the day she met Blink and since then, her life changed. So, it was easy for her to make her following decision.
Another outburst and the fifth and last of her small stars turned bright red. Wherever that portal was leading, she needed a lot of magic to project even her mere thought across its other end. Right when the symptoms of exhaustion started to manifest, she felt two presences somewhere in the place the portal was leading to. One of it felt cold and dark, in contrast with the other, calm and warm. She immediately recognized Blink’s magic signature and wasted no more time. Conjuring white tendrils, she hurled them at her fading friend’s image.
*** *** ***
I turned around and looked at Death, which in turn looked at a faded white shape somewhere behind us. Something about that shape seemed very familiar. Was it someone I knew? Or something I longed for? My memories were intertwined and I couldn’t remember anything at all. The presence of the blinding light in front attracted me like a magnet. What was I even doing there? All I knew at that point was that I had to reach the light for some reason. Suddenly, bright coils shot at me from that ghostly figure I noticed previously. They went right through me, not even touching me.
“That’s so weird,” I simply said. I turned my head away and back at the light. That strange thing could wait; I just had to go inside the light first. My hooves were still locked though. What was happening to me?
*** *** ***
Twilight’s frame was floating in midair. Powerful winds of energy were circling her, devastating the hospital room’s interior. She twitched her head. Twilight realized she wouldn’t hold on for much longer and to her despair, her spell was not affecting Blink. She saw him in a dark place, in front of a bright light. Her tendrils went right through him, after which he turned away from her as if nothing had happened. The connection between the realms was slowly fading away. She focused harder. That was the last chance she would have to get her friend back.
And then it happened: the last star on her cutie mark, the big, central one lit up, infusing her body with fresh powers, as her eyes turned a pure white. The link was strong again and she started feeling Blink’s presence clearer than ever. Twilight cast the spell one more time. The coils went at their target and that time managed to wrap around the unaware stallion. Her horn felt like it was about to break into thousands of pieces and a throbbing pain inside her head made focusing a lot more difficult.
The walls inside the room were starting to crack from the energy field emissions around Twilight. She was still floating in the middle of the room, inside a storm of magic, her mind connected to an unknown realm through the invisible portal floating above the colt’s body.
With an audible grunt, she commanded the tendrils to pull the lost spirit back. Doing so, the stars on her cutie mark changed again, turning a bright white. They shined across the room, brighter than Celestia’s sun.
*** *** ***
All the way across Ponyville, Celestia and Luna felt the powerful manifestation. They were inside the library, having just told the sad news to the rest of the Element Bearers.
“Luna, that’s her!” Celestia spoke, quickly becoming very nervous. Wasting no time, the Princesses teleported to the hospital in a bright show of sparks, just to reappear seconds later in the same place, in the library’s living room.
“Wha- this can’t be . . .”
Her sister, Luna, was just re-appearing in a blue cloud of smoke right by her side, where she stood just moments before.
“You too?” she asked, eyes widen at her sister.
“The magic she is using is so strong that we can’t even teleport there right now. Quickly my little ponies, we must get to her before she hurts herself!” The Princess told the rest of the ponies before galloping out of the library and taking flight alongside her sister and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was dragging behind and after her followed AJ, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Rarity.
*** *** ***
“BLINK!”
My ears picked up the faint scream as I felt myself being dragged against my will by white members wrapped around me. They were bright but semitransparent. Their warmth engulfed my whole body and my muscles soon relaxed, loosening up. Slowly, I started to remember distant thoughts and memories came back: my life, the first time I ‘died’, how I ended up in Equestria and then how I met . . . her. I felt my heart beating strong in my chest. I felt alive and warm. It felt exactly like when she gave me that hug at the hospital when she recovered.
And then I remembered where I was and what happened before I looked inside the light. I was supposed to be dead but somehow I could feel Twilight’s presence through those tendrils. She was trying to save me!
Death cocked his head at the whole event taking place right in front of Him and then suddenly disappeared into thin air.
“Blink, come back . . . I don’t want you do die,” one voice, a mare.
Twilight?
All of a sudden, the coils pulled harder and I was flying across in complete darkness, leaving the Ever’s light behind.
I felt my body crashing down against a surface. It was like all my body broke into thousands of pieces that were immediately put back together. Pain surged through my body and my brain quick fired, activating every nerve inside my body. My eyes shot opened and my respiratory reflex made me take large, quick breaths, as if I was drowning. The initial light was blinding but my eyes soon adapted and I started to distinguish the basic shapes of the room I was in.
I was lying on a rather soft bed in fact. My vision returned completely and I immediately noticed that the room was a total and complete mess. The walls were cracked, the windows had been blown to bits, and pretty much everything that wasn’t me or the bed was shattered or broken.
“Twilight?” was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
I looked down and noticed a purple pony lying down, slowly beginning to move.
“TWILIGHT!” I screamed, jumping out of the bed in spite of the pain in every joint and muscle.
She perked her head up and rushed to me. We met half on the front side of the bed and I grabbed her in a tight hug. The source of the familiar feeling I had was her, the mare I had such strong feelings for. We kept that embrace for a while and I even wished it would never end.
“Twilight, what the hell?” I broke the awkward silence, pulling her head from my neck. “You saved me from Death? How?”
“I- I don’t know,” she said, her eyes tearing up. “I only know that I couldn’t let you leave us like that. I- I couldn’t let you leave me.” She gently brushed off a flock of my mane out of my eye before burying her face in my neck again. Her hooves were wrapped tight around my back, to the point that it almost hurt. But that didn’t matter to me at all. I was happy again, yet most of all, I was alive.
The door started to open but immediately crashed to the floor due to the damage it had sustained. Celestia rushed in alongside Luna, five other ponies and a dragon right behind them. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the room’s state but the shock was even bigger when they saw me and Twilight, still holding on to each other.
We quickly got up, trying to act like nothing was going on.
“So, missed me?” I asked the group with a grin on my face.
I will forever remember the look on their faces that day . . .
*** *** ***
Outside the building, under the thick shadow of a maple tree stood a very dark earth pony. He was looking at the hospital, more precisely at the blasted window from the last floor of the building, and the smoke and magic residue coming out through it. The stallion had no cutie mark or other distinct marks and perched on his shoulders was a black raven, preening her feathers.
“Hello there, brother,” a warm voice made the dark pony slightly turn His head.
A white earth stallion slowly approached him, stopping at his side and looking in the same place his brother was before turning back to him.
“I must say, this shape truly brings out your uhm… eyes?” he added with a chuckle.
That drew him a stern look from his companion.
“What are we to do with them? It’s not like you didn’t feel the one you Touched manifesting this time, did you?”
“Well, truth be told, she did what she was supposed to do. And I sense that yours will start doing what he is supposed to do soon enough as well. What will be interesting is how both of them will go along, given the circumstances and their individual . . . talents.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a strange call coming from an approaching bird. The owl made her way to the two stallions and carefully landed on the white one’s extended hoof.
“Ahh, there you are! It’s been a while since I last saw you, dear.”
The white stallion gently nuzzled Owlowiscious before letting him rest on top of his head. The owl who-ed at the raven from the dark stallion’s back, receiving a loud caw in return.
“So, where was I? Ahh, yes. We were trying to figure out how those two ended up together. Hmm, I think it has something to do with you sending your Touched one on the planet where mine lives. Well, I guess the future will sure be interesting around here.”
“Are you saying that we let them live?” The other stallion retorted.
“And have us do what? If you wanted to kill him, you would have done it by now, I reckon. You’ve been here for a while but you haven’t done anything since he was pulled away from the Antechamber,” the white stallion said, looking at his brother with a smirk.
“You talk about their future, when you know very well how dark it is!” he hissed in return.
“But that’s the amazing thing about life, my dear, cold, old brother. We can never predict it, not even us. The future we see now can change based on their actions. I trust Blink, probably as much as I trust Twilight. Have a little faith.”
The dark stallion huffed, turning towards the white pony.
“All right then, we let them both live. Together. On the same planet.”
The white stallion simply smiled. He then raised one of his front hoofs, the owl on his back quickly jumping on it.
“So she called you . . . Owlowiscious, didn’t she?” The bird let out a simple whoo.
“You know very well who- ah hehe; silly me, you got me again. Anyway, I have to go now. You stay here and guard her, okay?” The bird let out a final whoo before spreading her wings and taking off, heading towards the hospital.
“Follow the Lifebringer in her path and guide her in her darkest times!” the white stallion called after His bird.
His brother did the same with the raven, holding her on his front hoof.
“You must return to him once again and stand by his side as if you would do with me. Be with him in his loneliest of times and assist him in the toughest battles he will wage. He will surely need the help. Go now, my friend, the Deathbearer needs you!”
Raven flew off, following in the trail of her ancient friend, both landing on the rim of the hospital window which was shattered just minutes before.
Life and Death took one last look at them before their bodies dispersed in the wind, returning to the realm beyond the living.
End of Chapter 10
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Again, huge thanks to my editors CosmicAfro and GreenMii (still waiting for you MII
).
Just thought I would have published this on my Bday as a . . . present to myself ? But I kinda missed the deadline by one day. Still, I hope you guys/gals enjoy !
Off we are into the second part of Stairway to Equestria !
Wants to favorite and read but with 121 other chapters i need to read i'm a bit weary of adding another story to the pile.
Curses
I wanna read this
The embodiment of Death is coming.
cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/952334/So-it-begins-the-great-shitstorm-of-our-time.jpg
THAT BIRD IS A SPY!!!
Oh, and uh... happy late birthday.
815092 Well I can only say that it will be worth it. But that's just me
Cue Crowning moment of epicness!
Deathifier... yep twilight definitely wins the cool name contest...dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_Sparkle.png
This is getting better and better. You know this was the first story I have read and brought me into the fics. I can't wait to see what happens next.
815386 That... was mean
815428 Hey I wasn't trying to be mean, but I still find it to be an... odd choice for a name. Oh well it's not like you can go back in time and change itdl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_future.png
815455 It's a good thing then that it's not a name. Both Lifebringer and Deathifier are titles.
Plus, Deathbringer would have been ... predictable. And by now I hope that you guys have realized I'm anything but predictable.
I hope you've enjoyed the chapter !
Happy birthday then.
Well, you just predicted the future for 2014 if Greece don't sort their shit out.
I just read this chapter and it's horrible
...Deathifier?
seriously. Find a better title.
Deathbearer?
Deathwalker?
Death-anything but 'ifier', frankly.
Lifebringer is a good and understandable title for the Avatar/chosen/touched of Life (God?), but Deathifier? What does that even mean? Somepony needs to school me in the English here, because I am completely lost on this one
deathifier--->muertificador
it sounds funny spanish too
816529
+1
I know your trying to be different, and this is going to sound cruel, but Deathifier sounds like the name a ten year old would give to his ray gun. No offence
How about Harbinger?
815386>>816244>>816529>>816642>>816667>>816710
Concerning everyone's concerns about the name Deathifier, need I remind you that it is not the name that makes the man, but the man that makes the name. Even though it's a silly sounding, you all forget half of you praise ponies with names like 'Fluttershy' and 'Twilight Sparkle' and you say it like there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, you enjoy it, don't you? Why? Because they made the name. Something ludicrous as names little girls would enjoy has now made it into masculine culture. If you say "Rainbow Dash should die" in a crowd of bronies, there will be hell to pay.
So yes, it's silly and cheesy and probably unnecessary, but how about you all take a step back for just two seconds and re-evaluate your situation.
817124 Touche.
817124
Except that this is a title and not a name, therefore your argument is invalid.
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Pinkie_Pie_lolface.png
817124
You make a good point, but I must disagree with you. When I write ponyfiction(in a more serious/mature setting) I find myself consciously ignoring the fact that most names are ridiculous by human standards, along with their dialect, eg anypony, foalnapped. The only reason I stay with these terms because they are cannon, but whenever I add something of my own design, I try to make it fit as well into the theme as I can without having it sound completely ridiculous. It is true that some things have grown on me enough that I can say it in a sentence without feeling silly, but some things are so outlandish that I'll never grow used to them.
I suppose you could compare it to songs in children's shows. I've been exposed to them many times, yet my opinion still remains the same: I can't stand them. Every time a character breaks into song, my hand is on its way to the mute button.
815455>>816244>>816529>>816667>>816710>>817124
Well it seems like the general opinion is that 'Deathifier' is indeed a less than inspired name.
For me, it represents a unique name and I 'took' it from the name of one of my friend's avatar in an MMO. There, he is a very respected and skilled player (google Deathifier and you will notice the numerous news articles of the guy making a living off an MMO with real cash economy). So I do realize now that, as Cosmic said, that man made the name for me and I didn't even realize it because I'm not "English" enough to notice it's cheesiness.
I don't usually go back on my decisions but this time I will have to. Knowing how that title impacts the readers and also, as a writer, knowing the future context in which it will be used, I made the decision that I will change it into something more appropriate.
Thank you everyone for your feedback and I am sorry if that choice of name affected the reading experience for this chapter. I will change the title later today.
817124
Dude... my comment is NOT about the name being silly. I just don't understand it.
Names like fluttershy and Rainbow dash makes sense because they are made up off words I understand, but Deathifier dosen't ring a bell.
I understand the "Death" part, but i am lost on "ifier".
My question was about, wether ifier meant somthing i didn't know. (Thanks to the authors new comments i can deduce it is a new word/name)
I know names dosen't have to be made up from words we know, like Adam or Chester, they are just names. But given the Context of the situation:
"The Lifebringer and The Deathifier"
Meh, sorry i still think it dosen't quite fit.
And before you "lecture" me again, may i remind you I am just giving some constructive criticism, I am not hating on the author at all...And i definitely don't need to; "take a step back for just two seconds and re-evaluate my situation"...
819228
My comment was not directly adressed at you, it was a generalized comment to everyone who was talking about the Deathifier name. My apologies if it sounds like I was lecturing you, I was merely pointing out to everyone we've fallen in love with much siller content material. In hindsite, I should not have replied to yours specifically, I was going down the list and replying to any comment even remotely concerning it. There are two words in the dictionary for this... I think they are: "My" and "bad".
Lecture you again? Has there been another time where I have done something like this to you, or are you inferring I would have done it again?
818120 I tough it was done on purpose to add a humoristic touch to the tittle, but if you intended it to be serious... welll, sorry but it reminds me of discworld too much(dunno why) to take it seriously
817124 For me deathifier sounds funny, I don't know how will it sound for an english native speaker and I don't think it matters that we are bronies at all.
Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy... and any other pony name sounds just natural in the ponyverse, I don't even find them funny(even if they are) because they fit too well, deathifier on the other hand... it's just funny
PS: sorry if my english isn't very good, I usually don't write long comments
819330
No you have never lectured me, nor do I presume you will do it again. I was speaking figuratively.
We all make mistakes, and I accept your apology.
I must admit, I did take it rather personally; more than I had the right too. For that I as well apology.
I was expecting something like this when Twi started her little spell there, but I'm really surprised how you managed to wrap up his human arc.
The only complaint I have about it is that he didn't use his magic in front of the othersdl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Twilight_Sparkle.png (he still had it, if the whisps of blue were any indication), but that's just silly ol' me liking situations that leave everyone in the fic flabbergasteddl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Twilight_Sparkle_lolface.png
Throughout the entire chapter you played with my emotions, which made it that much more enjoyable.
i.imgur.com/HGfbe.gif
815096
i.imgur.com/9jtSq.jpg
I think I get the name, though it doesn't really fit if I'm right about it.
Deathifier
We all get the "Death" part but the "ifier" part is weird.
The only word I can think of that sounds similar is "defy".
So Death-defier or defier of death.
Which would fit Twilight a lot more than Blink.
But regardless great chapter, one word at the end shouldn't ruin it for anyone.
I'd actually have liked Deathifier to stay. My reasoning is thus:
Target: "Deathfier?"
Deathifier: "Deathfier."
Target: *laughs* "How am I supposed to to take you seriously with a name like that?"
Deathifier: "You aren't. That's how I get you."
Target: "Wait, wha--awwwww, you stole my lungs."
Amazing story. Can't wait for more!
Also, yeah, deathifier was kinda a silly name. It sounds like something you'd see on Xbox Live surrounded by "xxx420" or some other nonsense.
Me - Found chat box
Me - Typed something random
Me - Wasted... 8th beer
Me - Why am I so into ponies?
Me - Perverted Thougts
You - WTF is this guy writing here?!
Me - Dunno, being drunk explains it!
Me - Good story!
Me - If I like murdering innocents and ponies, am I a brony? or anti-brony?
Me - Personality Crisis
Me- HELP ME!
Huh, so Blink, Death's Touched, is on the same planet as Life's Touched?
...wait...Owloysius?
....Wait, WHAT?!?!?!?!?!
Damn...Wow...Just Wow...
Listening to "O, Death" as I read this
The feels at the part when he was dying at his house. What made it worse was this song was playing during it:
And when he died with his parents, this song was next in the playlist:
And when Twilight saved his life, this played:
so...that was fucking epic!
815128 NO!!!! it isnt just you its everyone thats favorited and liked >:O
I believe this song is appropriate.
they, glimpses
That ending man... wow i'm stunned....
*thunk*
and now i'm asleep NOOOOOOOOOOO
3132936 Ah yeah, the song that made me like that band.
I was listening to "Cleaning out my closet" during the part where he was human, and "When I'm gone" after that. Damn my phone shuffles it's songs properly!!
816529 Deathwanker?
Gawd, this chapter was as cheesy as it can get! Here's hoping this was an isolated case of corn.
This chapter made me cry IT MADE ME CRY i dont see the cheesiness though