"Have you not understood a single word of what I have said?" a cold voice snarled behind her with anger.
Twilight was ripped out of her concentration and whirled around with ears laid back. There before her stood the purveyor, the shadows around him were whirling with his anger, making her shudder with each word he formed.
"Are you so intent on defying me that you are willing to risk the lives of your friends as well as your own? Do you really wish to die so badly?" his mere voice made the library shudder and the ponies cringe.
Twilight took a step backwards, "I was just..."
"You were trying to break through my barriers." he interrupted her, "And by doing so, you endangered everything! Everything I have worked for, everything Celestia has worked for... your lives... your very existence!"
Twilight's eyes filled with tears, "I was just..." she stammered.
"Had you succeeded, had you broken through..." he paused, "Your mind would have been trapped, held so you could not move... and then, the hunters would have come for you... and ended all of you, leaving no trace of your existence behind."
The hunters were an undesired side effect of the fusion with the void. Not all that survived the fusion gained enough power to perform the tasks of the purveyors. They guarded the boundaries of the void instead, able to leave it for a short moment to hunt those that would breach their barriers without permission.
That short moment was enough though, they were capable killers, and they were corrupt. It was a known fact that the clans bought their services now and then, but the hunters were also known to betray them at a whim if they deemed it more profitable. He utterly despised them. Their utter lack of principles made him sick.
"I was trying to help my world!" Twilight shouted in desperation.
"And by doing so you nearly doomed it!" he thundered, "Do you think it would have stopped with your deaths? Any contact not sanctioned by our councils is considered a threat... and they would have me end your world before risking another contact."
Tears started to roll down Twilight's face, "We can't just do nothing! We have to try and..."
"Try and do what? Send a plea across the void? Ask us to starve so your world exists a few decades longer? Have you not listened to a single thing I have told you? We wait for worlds to die! It is only when actions like yours risk to corrupt our work that we end it ourselves. Why do you even care? Your world could exist for thousands of years before the cycle finally reaches it! Your civilization, your entire race could be nothing but dust by then... so why do you even try?"
"Because its our world! We are responsible to keep it safe, no matter what the future brings!"
He stared at her for a moment longer as she hung her head, the shadows around him started to slow down gradually, "What the future brings... is death. There is no alternative, it is the way of all things. You are young, but with time... you will learn this lesson as well. Friends, family, those you hold dear... you yourself... all will pass away, until even the memories of your existence fades into nothing, like our own existence did so long ago..."
The shadows started to collect around him again, "But life will continue, maybe somewhere else or in a different form... but it will always continue, until the cycle finally comes to an end. Savor your life, take part in it. What will eventually happen is out of your reach of time and influence. Celestia may live long enough to see the cycle when it comes, but even she knows that everything must come to an end someday... She knows this much better than any of you could ever understand..."
By this point only his mask remained to be seen, "Celestia will have a chance to make a bargain for the existence of your race... but it will cost her more than you can imagine. If you truly wish to help your world... never try and interfere with my work again, or I will end it myself."
With those words said, he disappeared again, leaving behind a crying Twilight Sparkle and her downtrodden friends.
---
The void carried him to towards Canterlot Central next. He needed to gather his thoughts, it had been a dangerously close call. Had she actually succeeded... It would have meant the end of her friends' lives and her own, and that was the least dramatic possible outcome.
He hoped that his daily routine of watching the foals would ease his troubled mind. Even now, his thoughts constantly went to the council. If they decided that he should carry out protocol five-four... Celestia would never see the end coming until it roared into her face.
When he found his way to the hallway of the hospital though, he was slightly irritated to see that Celestia was once again waiting for him. He hesitated to make his presence known. Whatever could she want from him now? He was slowly starting to tire of their conversations, what had been said was sufficient already. He had no interest in small talk or philosophical debates.
He continued to observe her in silence, wondering what she wanted from him. As he watched her though, she suddenly spoke up, "Please, I need to talk to you."
There was no way she could have sensed his presence, it was impossible. He checked the time and gave a groan, it was the same time he always came to watch them. It was almost like an inner clock of his, no wonder that after all these years it had become an instinct.
Still, he continued to watch her, unwilling to talk to her. Whatever she had to say could wait until he knew if she would get her chance to talk before the councils. He could see her expression start to become desperate.
"Please, it is important."
He gave a sigh and slightly adjusted the phase so she could see his presence, whatever this was about, he hoped it would really be as important as she thought it was.
A small sign of relief passed over her features as he stepped forth from the void, "Thank you."
"What do you want?" he asked without emotion.
"I need to learn you language." she stated carefully.
This request surprised him, "What?"
"If I am truly to talk before your leaders, I want to do it in your language. As a sign of respect, and so that none can doubt how serious I am and so no translator may give my words a wrong meaning."
He thought for a moment, she would have trouble pronouncing his language but it was possible. However, the sheer size of their vocabulary, their complicated grammar... "Your request is understandable and acceptable, but I fear that two days are too little even for you to..." he paused, realizing what she was asking of him.
For a moment he was silent, and the shadows around him started to pick up their pace once more, "You cannot seriously expect me to agree to something like this..."
"I know it goes against your principles..." she started, her voice desperate and pleading.
"Against every single one..." he commented sourly.
"And I am sorry for putting you in this situation." she tried to sooth him, "I understand that you have been bending your rules much further than you have wished to..."
"Breaking them would be a more appropriate term." he sneered.
"And I thank you for doing this for us... no matter what fate awaits our world. I want you to know that I am grateful for your help, no matter how this will end." she said with the smallest sign of sadness. He realized that she was fully aware of how slim her chances were.
She continued, "But to learn your language, I must ask this of you..." she paused for a moment before bowing down her head in front of him, "Please... Please allow me to see into your mind."
This...this won't end well.
MOAR!
And once again, a cliffhanger to keep us in suspense till the next chapter. The way your write a chapter and then end it reminds me of an older sibling who has the favorite toy of their younger sibling and is offering to give it back then at the last second, pulls it out of their grip with a taunting laugh. Either way, I'm continuing to love and enjoy this story, keep it up!
Another chapter that gives just a hint of insight into the universe you've created. It's maddening and addicting!........................please continue.
2426776 What he said!
Can't wait to see how he responds to that request. Definitely unique
i'm pretty sure that if celestia looked into the purveyors mind she would go insane... maybe bat-shit crazy would be a better word
In this scenario, my response would be somewhere along the lines of...
Pffft. Celestia want be mind fucked? Ok, let her do this. There is not enough crazy ponies around.
Honestly, this feels like a crossover on a story I don't know. Why? Because the universe is so expansive, so much can be inferred and so little is directly stated that it baffles the mind how you came up with such intricacies. This is a VERY good story.
Mind Controll
2426752 Ah have no ideah whot yer talkin' 'bout.
I thing the answer will be a big NO!
GG Equestria, nice knowing you.
YES! Finaly I was waiting for the Purveyor to actualy rant like that to somepony, too bad it was Twilight but at least he confirmed what I suspected. DON'T PROVOKE THE VOID! Also Celestia REEEEALY has no fucking clue what se is asking does she? It's good to see that the Godlike Alicorns are as much as mortals are when faced with even more GODLIKE beings. Keep up the good work.
This can only backfire.
I expect a big fat NO! or Watcher will accept and Celestia will super crazy
Celestia wants to look into his mind? GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER!
2427380
Or he accepts and she succeeds, but the process is insanely painful and she regrets it deeply.
Shit, meet Fan.
Yeah this isn't going to end well!
To gaze upon the soul of another, darker being is to bring that darkness into oneself. The sheer size and corruption found within his mind will reduce you to not much more than a whimpering babe, still ensconced within the embrace of it's dead mother. The path you follow now will lead to insanity, and only you can pull yourself from such a brink. Take my words of wisdom, and use them how you will. I can do nothing more to save you.
AW HAEL NAU.
Pffft. Suuurrrreee...of course she plans to enter his mind, only to learn the language in an attempt to respectfully plea with his leaders. The purveyor should pimp slap her for asking that.
......................Celestia you are about to see something that makes HELL look like paradise!
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2427433 ha that's funny, something going right for once. why would our dear author do that?
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Celestia wants to look into the horrid dreamscape of a being older than your entire existence.... Very smart.
Why Celestia ALWAYS gotta try to learn everything about everything in every fanfic. Bitch just can't take no for an answer can she? And why the hell is the Purveyor, a being of godlike porprtions, bending over backwards for these ponies?
2428523
2428523 I'm actually begining to feel irritated on the Purveyor's behalf. "Let me see into your mind". Err... No. Fuck off and die bitch.
A person's mind is the only place they can say what they really feel with the knowledge that no-one would ever no what was said there. It's the most sacred of places, where we can all feel safe. Asking to see into his mind is pretty much on par with saying: "Let me rape you."
Stupid Celestia is stupid.
Hmm. Interesting that right after we have a little discussion in the comments about how it could be a very long time yet before their world ends, the purveyor makes that very point to Twilight (with rather more accuracy than tact, but I don't blame him, she nearly screwed the pouch monumentally there). I wonder if Gnoll is watching... us?
*swirly shadows appear*
Uh-oh.
The Purveyor will just mind fuck Celestia if she tries to do anything stupid, poor chrysalis
2429156
Agreed
I really wish he would say no but i doubt he will.
Say no the mind rape.
I can't see why she would need to watch his mind when could probably just force his language into her mind.
2429411 Because then there is no drama :p
man if i were him i would growl of announce "with spite"
Dun dun duuuuun!!
A purveyor's mind is like the Twilight Zone-- It's pretty far out there.
2429156
Can I see into your mind?
All joking aside, that's pretty accurate.
I got some music for this story.
oh HEEEEEEELLLLLLL NO!
Knowing the purveyor, he'll answer like this.
"No."
2429156 I think the same thing in every fanfic when celestia looks into someones mind.
Be wary where you wander Celestia, dragons and demons hold not a candle to what lay within a void touched mind
2439794 when you gaze into the void, the void gazes back.