• Published 30th Mar 2013
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Souls Apart - GnollReader



Two enemies wind up in Equestria due to a major mishap. Will they come to terms with this world? Most importantly, will they be able to put their old feud aside to survive?

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Chapter 1: Enter trouble

The Everfree forest was a dark and silent place at night. Every now and then, a soft rustle could be heard as a hunter passed in the dark or the wind gently shook the leaves. Apart from that, nothing broke the silence. Almost nothing.

In a small clearing in the depths of the old forest, something new was about to enter this world.

A thin line of light had formed a few feet above the ground, hovering there for a few short seconds before starting to grow with increasing speed. As the line grew into a gap, the wind around the opening started to roar violently, flattening the grass beneath the tear as the air was pushed outwards. Small lightning bolts started to dance on the tear's surface, singeing the grass around it when it struck ground.

As the gap grew wider, two screaming voices could be heard becoming louder and louder. Two figures were flung out of the gap, landing in the clearing with loud thuds. Just as quickly as the tear had appeared it vanished again in a moment, leaving the two heavily panting and groaning figures lying in the grass.

“Please tell me your dead...” the first of them said as he got up. He was clad in a black tunic and a long black mantle. The dark hair on his head had a few streaks of gray in them. They betrayed his young age.

“Black caster...” the other snarled as she stood up. She was covered in chain mail and white plates. Blond hair could be seen showing at the edges of her helm. In her right hand she held a longsword, on her left she held a large shield. “What trickery is this? What have you done?” she pointed the sword at him.

“What have I done?! You were the one storming into my lab and disrupting me in the middle of my work!” he pointed an accusing finger at her, “And that was very important research, mind you! For fuck's sake! You never cross the conjuration circle when said conjuration is in process! Don't they teach you paladins anything these days?”

She took a defensive stance behind her shield, “Don't you dare mock our order, lying snake!”

“And here we go with the names again!” he shouted at her, "Did you even think for one second when you stormed into my lab; 'Oh... maybe I should stay out of the fricking mana flow...' because, you know... the necromancer fucking tells you to!" he brought his hands to his temples, "What were you thinking?!"

She seemed slightly perplexed by his outburst but tightened the grip on he sword, “The high lord has bestowed upon me the duty to destroy all those who dwell in the shadows. You will be punished for your crimes!”

He gave her a look of sheer disbelief, “My crimes? Well check this out as I bring your little world crashing down; I committed no crimes! All of my research was performed on legally purchased and traded bodies and within the boundaries of the regional law!”

She hesitated at this, “What? But... you're a necromancer!”

“So? That's the sky, those are trees, plants grow, birds sing and bodies rot! The fact that I am a necromancer in itself doesn't give you any right to crash my labs! I admit it was funny the first three times, I even took the time to add some challenges for you. You know, doing the 'Oh you have destroyed my hold on this place but we will meet again!' and adding some traps for fun.”

“Wait, you set that up?”

“Of course I did! Did you really think talking doors would be something a real necromancer would actually install in his towers?”

“But... why?”

He shrugged, “Because it was fun. What else was I supposed to do? Had I grilled you the moment you set foot into my first tower, I'd have your whole order on my ass.”

“They don't actually know I'm following you...” she started to mumble.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa... are you telling me you're not a full paladin yet? I don't believe it! I've been stalked by a bloody conscript!" he wailed.

“I will be a full paladin once I defeat you and bring you in!” she shouted in anger at his mockery.

“Sure, Mengus the Lightbearer will certainly reward you for bringing in the head of another innocent. I hear he has quite the collection already.” he imitated a deep voice, "'What's this? Another innocent? Splendid! Put him up between those possessed orphan heads, he'll look lovely under all those unjustly decapitated witches! HAHAHA! It feels good to do the right!'" he gave her a look of disgust, "Seriously, do you even believe any of the shit they shovel down your throat?"

She started to chant, “By the light that shines from within us. By the faith that leads me I will...”

He threw his hands up in the air, “And she starts to pray! We've just been hurled across only hell knows how many dimensions and she starts to chant psalms!”

She continued her prayer as she prepared to charge at him, “The holy light will guide my sword and my faith will make it strong. I will not fail...”

“I give up.”

She stopped, perplexed, “What?”

“I give up. Tie me up, drag me off, whip me and burn me at the stake, if you want... but please... SHUT UP! I swear I'm going to throw up if you don't stop chanting that rubbish!”

---

“You're lost, aren't you?” She gave a groan as she pulled him on by the rope around his wrists, “Don't you have any of those fancy anti-magic cuffs? I mean, rope... seriously?” he tugged on the rope.

“Those are only for full pledged paladins.” she mumbled. They had been walking for hours now, her pulling him along by a long piece of rope while he constantly tried to make some kind of small talk. Much to her annoyance. One moment he'd spot a bug he found pretty, the next moment he was thirsty or needed to remove a pebble from his shoe.

“Ahh... that explains that.” he continued to follow her as she led the way through the undergrowth, “So...”

“What?” she whirled around to face him, her hairs clinging to her sweaty face, “You're not going to tell me you're hungry, are you?”

He looked at her in surprise for a moment before putting on a playful expression, “You know... I could use my 'MAGIC'...” he wiggled his fingers, “To find a way out of this forest.”

One of her hands went to her sheathed sword, “You, are a prisoner of the order of light. If you truly are as innocent as you state, you will follow me quietly and refrain from using your dark arts until a court of the order finds you innocent!” she snapped at him.

“What order?!” he shook his bound hands around frantically as he faced her, “We are in a different dimension! How long does it take you to get that in that thick skull of yours?! For all we know this world could be ruled by giant carrots!”

“You are my prisoner and I forbid you to use your black magic unless you want me to remove your head.” she stated another time before continuing to drag him along.

"This is ridiculous! How do you even know where you are going?" he protested behind her.

"It's simple, I just follow the northern constell..." she stopped in mid sentence, suddenly realizing something.

He guffawed at her, "You... you're kidding, right? Are you actually telling me that you're trying to follow the stars? In a different dimension? I'm starting to get the impression you're doing things like this on purpose..."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up..." she grumbled through grinding teeth.

"At least let me use my magic to..."

"I SAID NO MAGIC!" she screamed at him in anger.

---

“Burn them!” she shouted in frustration as she tried to free her sword from another wooden wolf while using her shield to fend off another.

“Oh, now you want me to use my forbidden magic? Has the paladin fallen so low she needs the black magic of a necromancer? My word, the dishonor!” he replied as he hung from a low branch, several wooden wolfs snapping at his feet.

“JUST USE YOUR DAMN MAGIC DAMN IT!”

There was a bright flash of light accompanied by the sound of searing flames and cracking wood as the air around her became so hot it almost burnt her skin. She could hear him chant a few words as the wooden wolfs around her were turned to ashes.

The heat quickly left as he stopped chanting and dropped to the ground again. The trees and grass surrounding him were charred and black, the bodies of the wooden wolfs had fared no better. “Well...” he huffed as black smoke started to rise from the charred vegetation, “That was interesting...” he saw her pick up the rope, “Oh, come on. Seriously? You know, you are, by far, the most condescending, self-righteous bi...”

---

On one of the highest balconies of the Canterlot castle, looking out far across the land and over the Everfree forest, two alicorns stood in silence. They had been in a conversation when flash of light from the woods had caught their attention. In their faces were mixed expressions of worry, anticipation and wonder.

"Do you also see smoke rising over the Everfree forest?" Luna asked with a perplexed voice. In the distance, a thin pillar of black smoke was slowly growing into the clear night sky.

"I do. As unsettling as that may be already, did you feel the surge of magic that preceded it?" Celestia replied.

"I did, it was tremendous... Do you think these two events are connected?"

"I would assume so... though I am unsure what could have caused something like this... Let us go see what is happening, I do not wish that something dangerous stalks so close to our subjects without us knowing."

The two alicorns set off into the air with a quick flap of their wings, heading towards the still growing pillar of smoke.

---

“MmmgmHmm.” he protested from behind.

“Can't understand you.” she replied with a smirk. She should have gagged him much earlier. The forest actually seemed much more peaceful now that he couldn't talk anymore.

“MmmmgGmmmGM.” his protesting became louder.

She stopped and turned around with a small sigh, “What is it this time? You don't have to pee again, do you?”

He shook his head, “MmmgmMMgHmm.”

She gave a groan, “This should better be damn important.” she removed the gag, “What is it?”

“Manticore.”

“Huh? What in the world are you...” a roar cut her off.

---

Five minutes later they were still being chased. “Can't you just burn it?!” she shouted in full run, her armor clanking like a can filled with pebbles.

“Is that your solution to everything?” he replied next to her as he tried to keep pace, “Fun aside, I'm all out of mana.”

“We need a plan!” she grit her teeth as another roar sounded behind them.

“Hit it with a stick, then run faster!” he replied with a laugh as they continued to dash through the night. For a moment, she felt like tripping him.

In their wild run for safety they failed to hear the two pairs of wings above them.

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