> Dark Iron Kingdom
>  by Shadowscythe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Discovering the Perfect Gift for an Unexpected Event
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A chill wind blew through the trees around me as I breathed in the brisk air.  And though it was indeed refreshing a small part of me had still lamented that I could no longer feel its coolness.  A result of what had happened to me fifty years ago.  I shook my head in response as I began to recall those frightful days.  For you see for well over a millennia Equestria had been in the very grip of war.  Three factions, the rogue vampires, the rogue lycans, and the rogue solar channelers all vied for domination of the land.  But one by one in what seemed the most dire of times, each was wiped off the face of the world.  Though...such a feat was achieved at great cost.

Cities were destroyed, towns were wiped out, and many had lost their lives in what was a near never ending conflict. But through great effort and determination we rebuilt what was once destroyed.   We fixed what was once broken.  And we mended wounds that had once been deep and unhealing.  But even though I had enjoyed the last five decades of peace as most would have, the events of the last month had made me...uneasy to put such things mildly.  

However, I in turn could not think of much more of this at the moment so I pushed such thoughts away for the time being and concentrated on something more...desirable.  And by that I mean locating a nice meal for this moonlit night.  Such was the true reason for my presence in this forest for if I wished to brood I would have done so far more easily elsewhere.  This in turn caused a small grin to crawl up my face as I heard a familiar grumbling noise.

"Easy...do not worry we shall fill you with something delightful before the night is out," I stated as I put a hoof to my protesting stomach.  And so then I swiveled my ears around searching for any prey large enough to sate me.  But at first there was no such luck.  A few rabbits, the odd raccoon, and even two squirrels engaged in some sort of quarrel over something important to them apparently.  

However, after a few minutes my ears located a heartbeat about one hundred paces from me. It was strong and steady.  Truly indicative of one of my favorites.  I licked my pointed tongue over fangs in anticipation as I skulked closer to the ground.  Then with practiced skill I crept through the forest while not making even the slightest sound.  And this continued all the while the inviting heartbeat became greater in my hearing as if some sort of drum leading me on until I saw it.  A medium size buck standing alone in the darkness grazing on the forest vegetation.

My grin grew as I realized it seemed to have not noticed me for it remained blissfully unaware of my presence.  But as such things usually begin I blurred forward moving at a rate in which it could hardly react to before I leaped onto its back.  This of course went over as one would expect as the buck began to flail and thrash attempting to pry its aggressor from itself.  And while its attempts were impressive I must admit, they were ultimately futile.

In the blink of a eye I lifted my left hoof and slammed the poor creature in the back of its skull.  This resulted in a forced gagging choke out of the deer but it still remained surprising strong.  However, its luck did not last long when I made my second follow up blow to the side of its head.  And soon that was that.  The buck collapsed into a heap below me.

"My my you did indeed put up quite the fight it seems," I said attempting to catch my breath before I added, "Though I regret to inform you that to the victor goes the spoils."  I then lower myself to the ground, opened my mouth, and sunk my fangs into the buck's neck.

Blood gushed in pulses into my mouth and I began to lose myself in its taste.  For each new mouthful was greedily swallowed with ravenous hunger just as the next arrived.  But just as my eyes were about to close in pleasure I heard something.  Or should I say I heard nothing.  Nothing at all.  No animal of any type was making even the slightest sound.  Now as one could imagine this was worrisome indeed.

However, even though I felt the fur on the back of my neck stand on end it would have been unwise to let my nervousness known.   So I feigned ignorance as I acted like I had not noticed anything at all.  Then after a few seconds I began to swivel my ears around whilst searching for any possible danger.

And needless to say it did not take long to discover two strong heartbeats about twenty paces to my right and left respectively.  Now normally this would not be cause for alarm, but what was, was how the heartbeats sounded.  Instead of the chaotic and quick nature of most animals after my evening meal, they were slow and calm perhaps even calculating.  In turn it was quite possible these two were not animals at all.

So with slight amusement I had to admit that this was somewhat of a folly on my end.  I had been so caught up with current events and my search for a meal that I had neglected the possibility of an assassination attempt.  It would not have been the first time somepony had attempted to "snuff me out" as it were.  

But luckily whoever they were, were not masters at their craft as they erroneously made their presence known.  So with a devilish grin I picked up two small rocks with my magic and flung each of them into in the direction of the strong heartbeats. This of course resulted in two echoing yelps followed by a hard thump as one of them fell out of a nearby tree.  The other however made due with rolling around on the ground like a wounded animal.

I choked back a small laugh in response as I pulled myself away from my meal.  I then summoned my scythe before bellowing out, "I KNOW YOU TWO ARE OUT THERE.  SHOW YOURSELVES AND FACE ME!"

Some rustling of leaves soon followed before one of the figures stepped out from behind a tree.  "Really? Really... you told us to meet you out here all quiet like and this is what we get? I was hiding in that tree for the better part of an...damnit...by Luna I think you broke a tooth!" they groaned.

"Ha at least you didn't get pegged in the flank!  I'm gonna be walking funny for weeks!" the other figure griped while limping towards me.

Then when they got closer I discovered it was none other than "Silver Mane" a lycan stallion and "Sharp Fang" the now limping lycan mare.  Long story short these two have been metaphorically glued to my side ever since I rescued them fifty years ago from their now ex-living mother, "Gore Gash the Thrasher".  Or as she was better known as the decreased leader of the rogue lycans.  And also by rescue I mean not only did she abuse them regularly, but she did not even give them names.  But regardless of all that one of the main reasons I enjoyed their company was that they had a talent for gathering information. 

"Ooooh...yes...I apologize my mind has been anything but at ease as of late. I seemed to have thought you two were assassins," I stated with a hint of embarrassment before I added, "However, since we have found each other I suppose I should inquire about whom I had you follow as of late.  Soooo anything a bit off? Anything interesting of note?  Did she state anything unusual?"

Silver Mane half narrowed his eyes and glanced over at his sister.  "Alright what in Tartartus is going on here?  What's with all the hush hush and turning us into blasted stalkers?  Shouldn't we...you know be tracking down threats to the kingdom?"  he asked clearly annoyed.  Sharp Fang seemed to match his displeasure as well.

I unsummoned my scythe and shook my head.  "Please just answer the questions," I said in a firm tone.

Silver Mane rolled his eyes  before Sharp Fang stated in mild annoyance, "Well lately she has been regularly sneaking out to gulp down mouthfuls of swamp water all while devouring enough flowers to put a botanical garden out of business.  If I didn't know any better I'd say she was knocked up.  But I know I know vampires cannot be knock up and all. And...oh yes...she also has been bawling her eyes out about her parents being dead and not seeing her on some 'happiest day of her life'."

I bit my lip trying to think of something, anything that would quell their curiosity, but in the end I had to admit defeat.  These two were sharp as blades.  Simple excuses would never work and additionally I was depressingly horrid at deception. So ultimately, I had figured telling them the truth would be far less unpleasant.  Besides...truth be told I needed somepony to talk to about this right now anyway.  

"Twilight is 'knocked up' as you put it Sharp Fang," I groaned.

It took a few seconds for it to register.  Their face faces went from an amusing state of confusion to absolute bewilderment.  Then as their mouths hung open for a few seconds Silver Mane stutter out, "What...what was that? How? How does that even work? I mean I know how it works normally.  But isn't that...like...you know...impossible?"

I began to pace back and forth in response before I started laughing nervously to myself.  I then slammed my face on the nearest tree a few times before stating "Oh yes...it normally is 'impossible'.  Never in well over a thousand years have there been any documented cases and I truly searched for one.  My kind have a type of 'fail safe' in our biology that prevents us from breeding.  We accept Princess Luna's blood gift and we become sterile.  That is part of the price we pay for our powers," I then took a deep breath and added, "However, when such a thing was being developed they apparently did not anticipate what me and Twilight would become. Or should I say what me and Twilight would be exposed to. Namely that we could be used like damn marionettes without our permission!"

Both of them looked far more bewildered than before so I sat down and rubbed my temples.  "Alright you may not know this as you probably have never seen us do such a thing but I shall explain.  Fifty years ago I took on the role of an advocate for Death. To act as his indirect influence in this world. Twilght on the other hoof was chosen as my counter-balance or Life's advocate.  Now in regards to this in times of need, where more of their influence is required, they can take control of our bodies with our permission," I said as I felt my body begin to heat up in anger before adding, "Well it seems after decades their curiosity finally got the better of them and they located a blasted loophole.  For apparently when we are sleeping they can enter us freely for a short period of time.  And can you guess what they have been doing during that period of time?! Why nothing else but using our damned bodies to rut each other like jackrabbits because apparently no such opportunity ever existed like this before!  And to make matters even more fucking amusing their combined influences disrupted our biology juuuuust long enough for Twilight to become pregnant!"

Red and black lightning arced over my body as my blood magic and death energy went temporarily haywire.  But before I lost my nerve I took a deep and long breath and forced myself to calm down.  My anger soon abated at least partially as a result and I managed to regain most of my composure.  Afterwards I stated, "Now in regards to this the Princesses thought that an unmarried royal having a foal would look...scandalous.  So to remedy this they all got together and figured it best if me and Twilight were married to prevent any 'issues'.  And while I am not fully against such things I was mainly reluctant due to what position I would be forced into..."

After a few seconds of silence Sharp Fang and Silver Mane soon began to wear equally mischievous grins.  Then without warning they both acted out some sort of overly dramatic bow before they stated in unison, "All hail our new Prince! Your maaaaajesty!"

A frigid surge raced right down my spine as a horrible shutter overtook my body.  To elaborate I dislike fanciful titles and I loathe to be called by them.  They do little more than paint a proverbial target on one's back and chain you down with ever greater responsibility.  It was horrid enough that I once held the title of Captain and then Lieutenant General in the Lunar forces.  But now it seems I would not only be given a far more vilely grandiose title, but I would also receive an even bigger target and yet even moooore crippling stress along with.  Needless to say these two jesters knew full well how I felt and capitalized on it.  Much to my thorough irritation.

However it was I who had the upper hoof here.  For you see I had something in my possession that they probably valued greatly...their dinner...  A cruel smile grew on my face as a thought crossed my mind.  I then condensed some of the death energy in my body around my right hoof and hovered it over the buck next to me.  Needless to say in the span of less than a second they both silenced themselves.

"Ummm...Blood Moon. About that little prince joke you know...it was just a joke right? No need to do anything rash now," Silver Mane croaked out as his eyes darted from the deer to my hoof to me and back again.

"Hmmm I do not knoooow.  That was a preeeetty sour jest. And I have seemed to been soooo tense from attempting to figure out a wedding gift for Twilight.  Soooo maybe releasing this excess stored energy maaay eeeeaaase my nerves a bit, " I said truly laying it on as I watched both of them twist in the wind.

A small whimper came from Sharp Fang before she shuttered out  "Wait wait waiiiit a minute.  N-n-now lets be reasonable here.  You-u said you needed an idea for a gift well...well...damnit think think think ah HA! Princess Twilight said she was well...missing her parents yeah...yeah that sounds good.  Maybe...maybe you could...you know...talk to that Death guy you know...about...erm...that".

I tapped my left fang with my other forehoof thinking for a moment.  Truth be told I honestly just wanted to watch them squirm a bit and had no actual intention of turning their midnight meal into stale jerky.  For one, I am actually quite the kind-hearted fellow...well most of the time anyway.  And two they get rather twitchy when they have not sated their lycan urges in a while.  

But regardless of this, Sharp Fang was admittedly on to something.  Death did indeed owe me what some would call "big time" for the disaster I found myself in.  And perhaps I could lean on that angle to perform some sort of probably bizarre and heavily deranged feat regarding her comments.  So in the end I pulled my hoof away from the deer as I heard both Sharp Fang and Silver Mane let out sighs of relief.

"You see...most ponies are far more polite and straight forward when given the proper motivation heh heh heh.  Anyway for the record I was just doing that in jest, but thank you for idea.  Also do enjoy the deer for I must take my leave.  As it seems I have a date with Death if you will," I said as I stuck out my tongue at them.

They both rolled their eyes in response before they shifted and began devouring what remained of that poor buck. And while at first I possessed a small smile listening to them gleefully "go to town" it soon faded as I left them to their devices.  What I was going to attempt to request broke just about every rule Death generally upheld being well...Death...as in one way road...  In turn my final words as I left the moonlit forest was simply "How do I always get caught up in these messes?"
> Chapter 2: Mending old ties and creating new ones
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moonlight shown all around me as I sat on one of the tallest balconies of Twilight's castle.  Steam continued to lift from my cup of mint tea as I stared at the heavens.  For the last three days I had spent all my free time here watching the stars flicker in the night sky and of course thinking.  Always thinking, for my mind continued to be far from easy in times such as these.  But with a small measure of luck and a great deal of effort I managed to push the more unpleasant thoughts from my mind as I focused on the task at hoof.  Namely the gift that I had planned on giving to Twilight on our "Special Day".

"Special Day" I smirked at the thought, "Special Nightmare" would probably be more apt I suppose.  For it was not that I did not share my heart with Twilight, but more that it was the beginning to a great deal of stress, but I digress.  I was up here for a purpose and that purpose was trying overcome the "slight" snag in the gift idea that Silver Mane and Sharp Fang had given me.  To elaborate they suggested I find a way to bring back Twilight's parents from the grave for the grand wedding.  A task that is not as gruesome as one would expect, but there was indeed a glaring problem, it was completely against the "rules".

These "rules" imply that death is a one way street if you will.  Namely once somepony has passed on to the next world it is not allowed for them to return.  My long passed father bent this rule once to collect my mother on her time of death, but Death himself was not pleased in the least and thoroughly frowned upon it.  To ask Death to allow such a thing would be out of the question...or would it?

A mischievous smile grew on my face as a thought appeared in my mind.  "If Life and Death got us into this disaster then surely they owe us such a favor hmm?" I whispered to myself before I took another sip of mint tea.  I then took a deep breath and stated into the cool night, "Life and Death I require your presence". 

This however proved to be my first mistake. Because for those that do not know Life and Death do not materialize in the physical world due to horrible repercussions from doing so.  As such they appear in indirect ways like Death's shade form or Life's method of taking over plants...like the small mint plant that was right next to me...without warning...

"Please don't still be mad at us!" the small plant blurted out in a sing-song voice as it formed a vague sort of face.

Needless to say this caused me to shriek like a little filly as I flung my teacup into the air.  This however lasted only until gravity had a word with it and said teacup shattered over my head thus splattering me with boiling hot tea.  The result of such somehow caused me to shriek in an even higher pitch as the newfound flaring pain amplified the illogical panic I still seemed to possess.  And while horrible in its own right it eventually got worse when I blindly stumbled around and fell head first right off the balcony.

Wind soon sailed right past me for a second before I realized I was plummeting towards the ground at speed.  And the good news of this was that my shrieking had ceased but only because the bad news...it transmuted into an echoing howl of terror.  But luckily in my continued blind panic I managed to summon my scythe and formed a death gate, my usual method of portals, right below me before I became one with the earth as it were.  And with another great deal of my ongoing luck I managed to form the portal's exit back to my room with the balcony.  But this was when my uncanny luck promptly ran out as I realized I had forgotten to account for one thing...my current velocity.

And thus to my great displeasure I had discovered what it feels like using one's face as a brake on hard stone floors before crashing into a wall.  The impact of such made an audible thump before in added mockery the hanging tapestry I slammed into flopped on top of me.  The guards just outside my room began banging the room door in response to all this while shouting if everything was alright.

To which after a lovely and quite painful coughing fit I managed to croaked out, "Yes...I am...fine...delicate negotiations...with forces beyond...the material plane...do not disturb...or else..." Which was not necessarily a lie if one overlooks the fact that it mostly my own doing.  But regardless due to me having a...notorious...reputation for dangerous experiments in the past the guards probably found it far safer to leave me alone.  And considering what had just happened I truly did not need the added humiliation of a few guards having a laugh at my expense.

However regardless of my delightful blunder I eventually pulled the fallen tapestry off of myself only to see Death's shade scolding a rather embarrassed looking mint plant.  "Well if he was not cross with us before, he certainly is now," Death grumbled out.

The small mint plant ruffled its leaves before I could hear Life's voice state, "Oh dear perhaps I came on too strong.  I figured the mint plant would've been non-threatening.  He really needs to get over being so jumpy." 

"No please...do not mind me...I shall be fine," I snarked as I popped a few of my ribs back into place.  Then after the near blinding pain of me forcefully regenerating them I limped over to two sightly concerned looking primal entities.

"Are you...Alright? Death's shade stated as I flopped into a sitting position in front of them.

"Nothing I cannot fully fix later," I replied still rubbing my chest and grumbling to myself.

And silence soon reigned until Life shifted her mint plant around nerviously before stating, "Sooooo you summon-" But before she could finish her sentence I interrupted her.

"Why did you two do it?" I firmly inquired.

"I am not certain what you are-" Death began to say before I interrupted him as well. 

"Before I begin conversing on any other matters with you two I need to why you two did it.  Why did you both use me and Twilight, without our permission, like a pair of cheap marionettes?  Pleasure? Amusement?" I said as my tone grew darker all while attempting to remain calm.

The mint plant Life possessed wilted slightly and even Death's shade let out a deep sigh.  Then Death recovered somewhat before stating, "You...need to understand something first Blood Moon.  Me and Life...we...we..." However he could not seem to finish what he was attempting to convey.

But upon seeing Death struggle for words Life's leafy eyes looked down at the ground before they mimicked closing.  "Long ago, probably longer than you can imagine, a divine spark of life was gifted to this world.  Through this spark both me and Death were formed into existence to serve as counterbalances to each other.  I create the conditions to allow life to grow.  And he generates the decay to allow life to change and renew.  Now given our complete opposite responsibilities, you'd think we'd be eternally at odds, but that's not the case at all," Life said in almost a whisper.

When Life remained silent for a minute Death continued the explanation. "Everything in this world eventually changes.  From the mightiest mountain to the smallest stream...it all has a beginning...and an end. Now given such turbulence the only thing that stayed consistent was each other's company.  But it was through this connection that lead to a grand folly on our part.  One that we lament to this very day," Death said in a sorrowful tone.

Then just when Death ended his statements Life took up the mantle once more.  "We...we became envious of the very creatures we were suppose to serve.  You all are able to embrace each other.  To feel each other's touch.  In the end we became so envious that we forced ourselves into the material plane, but this...this was like dropping a boulder into a still pond.  The massive disruption of our physical presences distorted the balance of life and death so horribly that we caused a mass extinction in the distant past," Life stated as she began to weep.  However when Life again could not continue Death did so instead again.

"So other than that singular time fifty years ago in the battle of Canterlot neither one of us had dared take physical form for you saw the results of such.  However, many years ago we discovered this was not needed as we could temporary control our selected advocates with their permission. But, this too proved fruitless as our advocates would either show animosity towards their counterpart or not live long enough to even ask them for such a favor. Well until you and Twilight that is. You two remained together even though you both became each other's polar opposite," Death spoke before he turned his shade's skeletal face until it was obscured by his wispy cloak before he added, "But how does one ask for such a favor?  Please assist two near timeless beings experience something as mundane as physical contact?  We in turn erred and broke your trust of us.  For we exploited a 'Loop-hole' while you two slept and thus again our foolish desires had rippling consequences.  So we ask of you to forgive us as you have our word that such actions will never be repeated again."

Death then pulled his scythe closer to himself as some odd form of comfort.  Even Life wrapped her mint plant leaves around herself as some other display of self-comfort.  And I must state that I thought that I would remain angry at the two of them for who knows how long.  I had sooo much rage from being used, but upon hearing why they did such an act, it all fizzled out to ash and embers.  And as a result a heavy frown crawled down my face as I came to realize this was no trickery.  Some small part of me knew they were telling the truth which made it all the worse.

Then after a few seconds of silence I rubbed my face with a hoof as I whispered to myself, "By the stars when did I become such a sap?"  And in some odd turn of events I said something I thought I never would.  "Perhaps...perhaps we can work something out...about your little...'problem'," I grumbled out while the words left a bitter taste in my mouth.  As the thought of being used in such a manner again was unnerving to say the least.  However the result of such left both Life and Death in a mixture of bafflement and disbelief.

But before either of them could state anything a sly grin soon replaced my frown as I said "Hoooowever, there is something I would like in return for such a favor..."

It was then I more or less described my plan in a near one sided conversation before the room went completely quiet.  Life responded only by looking further bewildered or at least at the limits of what a small mint plant could display.  Death's reaction, on the other hoof, could best be described as...sour.  He looked as if he had just consumed an entire field of unripe lemons without even the distant memory of the concept of sugar.  To which I had to admit was impressive given the fact that he appears as a walking robed skeleton.

But after a few a few minutes of this Life's mint plant seemed to shift uncomfortably in its pot before she said, "Erm...Blood Moon...not to umm...criticize your plans...but that's really against the rules." And I was just about to make a retort until Death cut me off.

"Do not waste your breath, Life.  We have known the stubbornness of this one for over fifty years.  And nothing short of a cataclysmic world shattering event will prevent him from using this opportunity as leverage for his goal," Death snarled out while the normal glow of his eye sockets fizzled down to mere dots.

My face scrunched up at the half-insult.  "Half" only because I unfortunately can become a tad "bull headed" as it were at certain times.  But regardless of that it still "ruffled my feathers" if you will to be treated in such a manner.  "I beg your pardon?!" I shouted out and then added, "I am merely attempting to salvage this disaster we currently find ourselv-" before getting interrupted by Death again.

"We know full well why you ask this of us...my advocate..." Death growled out before he walked over to stare down at me with those tiny glowing dots in his eye sockets.  "There are two others that I must converse with if you wish for your little crazed plan to succeed.  And IF they agree to give you audience and ONLY IF they grant you permission may we even dream of striking a deal...  Now excuse me as I have work to do," he further growled out as he moved his skull uncomfortably close to my face before he turned around and walked through his own newly formed deathgate.

Silence returned in the room for a few seconds more before I heard Life let out one of the deepest sighs I have ever witnessed.  "Ooooooh dear...You've really done it now," she said as she placed her mint plant's leafy face in its front most branches.

I could feel a small bead of sweat drip down the side of my face in response to her statement.  "Ummm what pray tell have I done? If you would not mind filling me in that is," I said unable to fully stabilize my shaky voice.

Again Life let out another sigh before she lifted her face up.  And just as she was about to explain Death's deathgate opened up again.  Then without a single word his shade walked through the portal before he walked over the nearest wall.  He then turned around and sat down before proceeding to repeatedly smash his skull into the pole of his scythe over and over again.

"Is...is something wrong?" I nervously inquired.

Death stopped what he was doing only to state, "They accepted," before he continued where he left off.

More beads of sweat soon started to drip down the sides of my face as I began to feel something.  Not something physical like hot or cold.  Or even the pressure of somepony touching you.  No, it felt as if my spirit itself was attempting to force my mind and body into finding the nearest place to hide.  It ultimately took every bit of my will to stay put as this horrible feeling reached its peak.

Then without further warning an all white misty portal opened up before a swirling and fiery one opened right next to it.  I however did not even have any time to process this before a figure stepped forth from the all white portal whom was far too bright to even gaze upon at first.  But what made this far more strange was that my vampiric nature normally would shriek away from such light, but it instead felt comforting for some reason.

But that sensation did not last long before something far worse stepped forth from the fiery portal in a near torrent of flame.  And while I could not make out much, what I notice was the searing eyes that gazed upon me.  Fear soon welled up in my very soul as I stuffed a hoof in front my mouth to silence a yelp of terror.

However luckily for me the other figure was able pull my panic fueled mind away from those burning eyes as they called out my name.  "Fine greetings...to you...Blood Moon..." the bright figure said in a eerily soothing voice before adding, "We apologize...for the effect...of our presence...let us...lessen our influence...my counterpart."

The smoky and burning figure merely let out a booming and cruel laugh before bellowing out, "LESSEN INDEEEED! HE SHOULD BE PLEASED HE HAS NOT SOILED HIMSELF YET!"

Then after a few seconds the influence of the two deeply different in nature figures lessened until I could make out their form better.  And while I was not certain if it was just my perception of them, but they both appeared as alicorns.  The bright one seemed to be made of mostly condensed ethereal mist and her seemingly female body seemed to slowly shift back and forth as she stood there.   In fact the only thing that remained consistent for the most part was her kind natured light blue eyes.  Eyes that when I gazed into I felt an overwhelming sense of calm and tranquility.  The feeling of a peaceful end.  The end of all pain, suffering, and hardship.  I could feel tears well in my eyes as it took everything in me to pry myself away from such an experience.

But this in turn only lead me to gaze upon the other figure that was here.  And in complete contrast this alicorn had a broad masculine frame that was both solid and unwavering even while still somewhat ethereal.  He was a rippling mass of muscles that were constructed seemingly of molten rock and ash.  And if that was not imposing enough the scorching and piercing red eyes that stared back at me certainly were.  For the act of looking into them brought out every last ounce of mortal and immortal dread I could hardly even fathom.  It was if every single one of my misdeeds throughout my entire life was brought to bear.  Like a cruel gavel of judgement crushing me into the earth.  And again it took everything I had to pry myself away but only this time it was due to paralyzing terror.

In turn I was not certain which one of these two experiences was more painful but I made a firm note to never stare either of them directly in the eyes again.  But regardless of that I took a heavy swallow before croaking out, "Thank you for...taking the time out of your busy erm...schedules to see me. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.  And...and as I see you know who I am may I respectfully ask whom I am addressing this erm...fine evening? "

The bright white alicorn gave a small bow before stating, "I...am Paradise."

The other one however just snorted before booming out, "AND I AM TARTARUS AND I WILL CUT TO THE CHASE!  I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE SUMMONED US HERE!  AND WHILE WE ARE PLEASED WITH YOUR EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN THE BALANCE OF LIFE AND DEATH, THUS STABILIZING THE FLOW OF SOULS TO THE AFTERLIFE, I STILL DENY YOU ACCESS TO MY DOMAIN! FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN DESERVE THEIR FATE FOR A REASON!  I CANNOT ALLOW A SINGLE ONE TO ROAM FREE!  BUT FROM WHAT DEATH HAS TOLD US I DOUBT IT IS MY PERMISSION YOU SEEK!"

My knees shook throughout his statements in some sort of mixture of panic and fear.  Even my ears rang from the sheer volume Tartarus spoke at.  And if I was a lesser stallion I would have run screaming by this point, but fortunately for me I often lack far too much in the survival instincts category that any sensible pony would possess.  So with that in mind I somehow managed to regain enough nerve to sputter out, "I-i-indeed...I-I-I b-bel-l-lieve t-they-ey went-t thro-o-ough a w-whit-te po-ortal year-rs a-a-ago."

Paradise nodded in response before she closed her eyes.  She then remained so for a few seconds before opening them again.  "Your lover's...parents are indeed...in my domain.  As such I will allow...for them to return...should they chose.  I believe I have done so...for your father as well...if I remember correctly. And I would have...done so for others...but...I cannot grant them passage...to your world...without permission...from another," she said with a kind smile as her gaze drifted over to a certain robed skeleton.

And I was puzzled by this for a second before I realized why Death was so miffed at my request. For if Twilight's parents had been sent to Tartarus this would have been the end of the tale.  Death could have used the excuse that Tartarus would not allow them to leave thus absolving him of the responsibly of any denial.  However, they were in Paradise instead and Paradise seemed more than willing to allow them to return if they wished.  An example of this was that my father must have asked her politely some fifty years ago so he could temporarily return to collect my departed mother.  This of course resulted in angering Death as it was against the "rules".  But regardless I could see now it was not Paradise's rules that were being broken...but his.  Though, in his defense I doubt he would uphold them if there was not some sort of valid reason.  But again regardless, it is he who was ultimately the gatekeeper that I had to lean on.

So with a nice new spring in my step and sly grin my face I walked over to a quite defeated looking Death.  And in a bit of amusement Life seemed to try to console him but it did not appear to be aiding all that much.  Though, it probably did not help that her little mint plant was beaming from ear to leafy ear I assumed from the news as she padded his back.

"Soooooo it seems that I have achieved both of your stated conditions," I said in a slick tone while trying to not oversell it as it were and failing.

But my mood did not last long before Death looked at me with a sly look of his own.  "That you have...my Advocate.  However, you have forgotten we have not discussed the terms of our 'Agreement'.  And it is I who still hold the 'cards' in that aspect," he said in a similar slick version in his usual multi-toned voice.

A small curse left my lips as I realized this grand oversight.  "Alright...what are your terms O' Death," I stated with a newly forming frown.

He then rose to his full high before stating, "Firstly I cannot allow for Life to return Twilight's parents to their physical forms.  They can only come in their spirit forms instead. Two, this will only be a temporary affair say but a single day.  Three, as for that day I will only allow it on the day you ponies call 'Nightmare Night'.  For it is when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.  Now if you accept these conditions I will allow...a small...a tiiiiiiiny list of others to come through as well" Death said, but shuttered at the last sentence.  Then after thinking a few seconds he let out a deep sigh before adding, "And...if you forgive Life and me for our transgressions and aid with our little 'issue'...then I will...I will...I...will allow...you...to do...this...more...than once.  But only once a year!  And only on that Nightmare Night day I mentioned earlier!  Remember only once a year...ONCE!"

I pursed my lips in response as I thought over what had he said. But, it did not take a scholar to determine this was the best deal I was going to receive.  For if I tried to push it too much further Death would probably just scrap the whole plan without a second thought.  So with little other option I simply said, "I accept."

"Ahh grand.  Also one more thing.  Being as you are sending more than one spirit into this world, all while still maintaining a connection to Paradise in order for them to return, you will need a construct something.  A spiritual anchor if you will," Death said to me as he turned around to leave.

"What?! What do you mean 'a spiritual anchor'?! What would one of those even look like?!" I blurted out in growing worry.

"Oh you know. Just something to maintain the binding of the spirits to Paradise.  I am sure an intelligent stallion like you shall figure it all out by Nightmare Night," Death snarked while facing away from me right before he walked through a newly formed deathgate.

And so right as he left I did little else but sink my fangs into my left foreleg in extreme fury.  I then proceeded to snarl out in a muffled voice every single colorful word I had knowledge of and perhaps even several I just invented for the occasion.  For everything was going more or less according to my little train wreck of a plan right up until the end.
> Chapter 3: A Royal Wedding, an Unusual Gift, and a Dark Omen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness surrounded me as I floated in a sea of nothingness.  All seemed calm and quiet until a small voice called out from the void,  "Blood Moon", it stated.  The voice's sound rippled the darkness around me as if it was somehow effected by the words themselves. Then again the voice called out my name but only this time it grew louder than before.

In response the ripples grew more rapid and chaotic .  Then without much delay the voice called out a third time only louder still. But in instead this time the darkness swirled in front of me until a bright white portal appeared.

Its soft glow was peaceful and inviting and I found myself unconsciously reaching for it. But just as my hoof was about to touch it, the voice in the darkness bellowed out my name one final time.  And without the slightest delay the white portal warped into a swirl of fire and shadow.  Burning chains immediately shot forth from it before they wrapped around me. And the only thing I had time enough to do was scream before the portal pulled me in.

My eyes snapped wide open and I shrieked while fumbling around in confusion.  This however did not last long before the chair I was apparently sitting on broke under the onslaught of my frenzied panic.  An echoing thump soon followed as I flopped onto the floor without even the slightest bit of grace.

"Easy there, Blood Moon," A voice spoke next to me before adding, "You truly need to stop being so on edge."

Though his words were calm it did little to assuage my panicked state before I blurted out, "Status report! Are we under attack?! Who is leading the counter offensive?!" and continued to fumble around on the ground.

The speaker merely laughed before stating in an amused tone, "Ahh quite. Time for the bucket again. I apologize in advance."

And for some reason my mind could not fathom what in Equestria they were alluding to until I felt a moderate glob of water slam into me.  I In turn yelped in surprise, but the "bucket" had its apparent desired effect. I snapped back to reality and realized it was just my old friend "Oculus" standing next me.  

His strange silver lit slitted eyes stared down at me in a slightly amused look before he placed the bucket he had in his forehooves on the ground.   And to elaborate who he is, he is a unicorn that was unwittingly instrumental with the rise of the Rogue Solar Channelers that plagued the kingdom many moons ago.  He is a masterful scholar on the field of optics as his name would suggest.  However the grand irony is that he became a vampire sometime in the past and also regularly worked with sunlight specifically.  A true surprise that he is not a pile of ash by now.  The only other point of note of him was the hoof sized silver gemstone embedded in his chest.  A relic from a darker time.  It can store moonlight like a battery and he can in turn project it at will.  But I digress from the matter at hoof.

"Was that truly necessary?" I groaned while I futility attempted to locate a towel.

"It was your idea in the first place," he retorted before adding, "Besides I was tasked with collecting the groom."

"By Tartarus, that is today? Is...is everything set for tonight?" I groaned further still attempting to find a way to dry myself off.

He just fixed his suit jacket and smirked before stating, "We have been ready for two week now.  It has merely been you that has been plaguing the construction of this device the whole way through.  You bring paranoia and obsession to a new level.  Even for me as that is truly saying something.  Now let us get this blasted pomp over with," After which he turned around shaking his head as he began to walk away from me.

Water dripped from my chin as I located a rag to dry my face off with.  "So it is finally 'THE' day it seems," I whispered to the stale air around me before adding, "I certainly hope everything was worth it" as I glanced at the large device to my left.  But this was all that I said before I let out a deep sigh and followed where Oculus had walked off to.

Eventually after a quick shower and a change into my...delightful...suit...I just stood at the altar waiting for the wedding festivities to go underway.  Now as an aside I normally loathe such formalities and fancifulness but reluctantly I had to admit that everything around me did indeed look quite nice.  The princesses had pulled all the stops as it were when they were setting up.  Also, because this was Nightmare Night, Luna may have gone a tad overboard with some of the holiday themed decorations given how attuned she was with such things.  At least Twilight and the others made her keep such things tasteful.  No bleeding skulls or the such though it probably would have been amusing.

However, thinking upon such things did not ease my nerves in the slightest.  For you see it was not so much the wedding itself that put a strain on my mind.  After fifty years as a couple with Twilight such a thing had been put to bed as it were.  Even the prospect of being a father did not seem to bother me at the moment.  Or should I say if it did it was grandly overshadowed by two things.

Firstly, I maaaay have skipped out on once, twice…or nearly all of the meetings involving the setup of this wedding.  As a direct result over the last half a dozen months Twilight had been growing increasingly cross with me.  Obviously, I could not tell her what I was doing, and my skills at deceptions were abysmal at best, so she probably thinks I was not being serious with the sheer gravity of the situation we found ourselves in.

And of course, secondly, nearly all that I had done over the last half of a year rode on an untested massive device that currently rested underground waiting not but four hundred paces from me.  A device whom dozens of ponies including the other princesses along with the spirit of Death and Paradise themselves had aided with.  A device that would either get me off the hook from Twilight’s ire and become one of my greatest achievements…or become one of the most expensive and horrid blunders in the history of the world.

So there I stood...sweating in a fanciful suit that I had little desire to wear while scores upon scores of attendees located their seats.  Not so out of ordinary I admit and I even had recognized a few familiar faces.  There was Spike who had grown to be quite the impressive adolescent dragon by this point.  Next to him was his beloved Rarity who normally would have been quite old by now if not that both her and Spike begged Twilight to turn her so that she may be with Spike a bit longer.

The next one that caught my eye was Applejack.  Whom it appeared that Twilight managed to get her to creep out of whatever part of her family's apple orchard she skulked around.  She had never quite got over the fact that lycanthropy was a permanent affliction.  And also the fact that her dietary habits had been...altered...away from the desire for apples.

Eventually my old friend Oculus and his wife Night Fang began shuffling their way in the back.  And as an aside Night Fang was still very much her Ex-Assassin self though she eventually began a career in teaching grade school children of all things.  I...cannot say that I...envy...those unfortunate students. Though I hear she has little in the way of disciplinary issues at least...go figure hmm?   

Soon then afterward Rainbow Dash and her wife Cloud Streak had made their appearances known with a few tricks from their Shadowbolts days.  And again an aside Cloud Streak still remained under my command from my old days as Lieutenant General and Captain as usual though it still just remained "on paper".  More or less they now mainly just remained with me and Twilight as our dual Captains of the Guard and train new Shadowbolts recruits on the side.

Lastly my two little partners in "crime" as it were, Sharp Fang and Silver Mane, had shown up nearly at the end of the seating and remained in the back.  They never truly enjoyed being anywhere near the spotlight so it as normal for them.   Though this time it was probably more likely that they desired to make the off color crude comment over the back of the crowd as a way of embarrassing me.  The little fiends...

But minus the Princesses, Shining Armor, their Generals, and a few others that was all I could discern out of the crowd.  Fluttershy had pasted a few years ago peacefully in her sleep though Discord truly never recovered and remained secluded in her old cottage.  And finally Pinkie Pie had made one final tour of the world with her old flame Cheese Sandwich before old age caught up with the both of them.  As for my Mother, my Father, my old Lieutenants, and Twilight's parents...well...they had perished many moons ago now.  

The thought of so much loss put a frown on my face.  Ironic I suppose as such events like ones own wedding were supposed to be a joyful time and here I was the groom brooding.  Quite fitting one could guess for one such as me, but at the very least this time I had a small glimmer of hope.  And it all hovered on a single object in my coat pocket.  A small and yet extremely important item the spirit of Paradise had given me.  The proverbial linchpin in my gift for Twilight.

I held it closer to me as I saw Twilight setting up at the back of the crowd.  To say that she had looked beautiful would have been an understatement, though I admit I am a tad biased on such matters.  But her wedding dress looked stunning  and it even hid the fact that she become quite a bit larger due to her pregnancy.  And while I could have also commented on how her purple again fur glistened with a greenish hue as Life's Advocate, what truly was a sight was the delightful glow...of random morning sickness...or random every time sickness actually.

I chuckled for a moment on that image until she shot me a sour look.  "Indeed she is stiiiilll miffed with me," I uttered under my breath with a grin before adding, "and I sure hope what I am about to do shall also be excused as well."

For when just as everypony was all setup.  The band was right about to play the traditional royal wedding song I assume.  And right when Twilight was even holding on to Shining Armor's foreleg as he was about to lead her down the aisle I had cleared my throat and spoke loudly over the deafening silence.

"I would like to please announce a small modification to this ceremony that needs to be corrected before this event can continue.  And as such I would like to respectfully break orthodoxy to present the bride with my wedding gift before our vows," I bellowed out as I began walking down the aisle towards Twilight.

To say that her face had gone pale would have been an understatement.  Again I had been admittedly been absent from much of the planning of this day and she probably had everything down to the toothpicks arranged in a certain manner.  And here I was throwing a massive "monkey wrench" as it were into her entire plan.  

What little emotion that seeped through as I made my way to her was mixture of bewilderment and seething anger.  In fact most of the crowd had some sort of shocked looks on their faces.  The only contrast to this however was the group of ponies in the crowd who had helped me and the royals minus Shining Armor.

Shining was the only one who could not seem to keep some of his emotions out of his crystalline eyes.  Such a look not only gave away how he had lived this long, but also that he was hoping just as much as I was that my little plan would work out.  In fact after I had collected the still quite miffed and bewildered Twilight I had heard him mutter under his breath, "Please let this work.  Both of us had missed you two so much."

And so I began to lead Twilight to a clearing in the center of town that had guards protecting a reasonable area of what looked to be empty space.  Twilight in turn could not keep silent on the matter anymore and had growled out in nearly a whisper, "What in Tartarus are you doing?! Everything was going right to..." before I interrupted her by putting a hoof to her lips.

Her greenish purple glowing slitted eyes leered at me with a renewed fury and it looked liked she was going to rip my foreleg out of its socket before I did my best at cooling the situation.  "Twilight, I know this is an understatement in that you are quite irritated with me.  Truth be told I can understand how you could be so cross...however...I did not fail to attend those wedding planning meetings for nothing," I said quietly.

Twilight dropped all attempts at whispering as she snarled out, "What could possibly be more important than our wedding?!"

I took a deep breath before stating, "I am not here to overshadow our wedding darling...I am here to correct something missing from it...with this," and I put my hoof on the ground and glided it across a few stone slabs before I located a small hidden seal.  I then turned it a few times left and right before a soft click emanated from it.

The ground rumbled as the very clearing itself had opened up like a giant iris.  In turn gears shifted and ground as they lifted the platform inside to reveal the quite heavy and complex device I had kept a secret from most.  Well secret until now.

Nothing but silence emanated from the gathered crowd around us and such quiet ruled until Twilight spoke up again.  "What...what is it?  An archway of some kind? I'm not sure what I'm looking at," she said in genuine confusion, her fury only partially kept at bay.

I grinned and said "Not just an archway.  A quite...special archway...one of a kind even," before adding, "And with this I can give you something on this equally special day", as I pulled a small item out of my pocket.

It would have looked unremarkable at a glance, but if one could look closer, it was not normal in the least. For the small white crystal partially phased in and out of the material plane at regular intervals.  A gift one could say from the spirit of Paradise.  Again the proverbial linchpin of this whole blasted project.

In turn I took a deep breath and held Twilight's forehoof.  I then used my magic to place the small white crystal in the specialized indentation at the top of the archway.  Afterwards I made everypony step back before I said but a single word..."Activate."

Without the slightest hesitation the archway sprang to life as glowing runes flared all over it until they reached the very bottom.  This reaction caused four rings surrounding it to begin to spin counter-clockwise faster and faster.

Time slowed for me as they did this and I could have sworn my heart missed a beat a few times.  But eventually the outer most ring stopped abruptly before a disembodied voice soon followed as it stated, "X axis locked."

Soon the next ring closer to the archway spun up yet faster before it too stopped abruptly.  Again the disembodied voice spoke, "Y axis locked."

A perceived eternity passed right before the third inner ring ceased spinning.  And yet again the disembodied voice spoke, "Z axis locked."

And so this was it.  The last ring was the most important of the bunch.  The others had been used before by Star Swirl the Bearded's creations.  I merely copied their designs. But it was the last one that I had to create from scratch.  For Nopony had been simultaneously foolish, insane enough, or even allowed to do so...before now.

Sweat poured down my face as I squeezed Twilight's hoof harder.  The stress even caused me to sink my pointed fangs right into my lower lip.  But in this moment of mental anguish I heard what I had been hoping for.

The last innermost ring slammed to halt before the disembodied voice said its final statements, "Dimensional anchor locked.  Gateway activated."

Then without warning the gateway completed one last task before opening.  It cast an enchantment on everypony in its sphere of influence. The function of such was actually not created by me but by my friend Oculus.  He dubbed it the "The Black Veil" and fitting for its intended purpose. To not go too far into technicalities its purpose was simply to act as an extra pair of sight and sound perception on anypony whom it was cast on.  A important tool for what was going to happen next.

For after The Blank Veil had been cast a swirling white portal appeared in the center of the archway.  And by the gasps of surprise and awe it was obvious that Oculus's enchantment was doing its job.  But something soon became amiss.  The portal did appear yes, but nothing else was happening.  Namely it was not currently achieving its main purpose.

A few more drops of sweat dripped down the side of my face before I let out a nervous cough.  'Death can you please tell me what is happening on your end', I said in my mind trying to reach out to a certain robed skeleton.

'Your methods are both clumsy and brutish...however your link did indeed pierce the veil,' Death said in an amused tone.

I scrunched my face a bit as the seconds ticked by further.  'Delightful, I am glad to hear my painstakingly complex methods are horrid. However can you please inform me what is happening on the other end?' I said more urgently.

Death merely laughed to himself before chuckling out, 'They are unsure of which one should arrive first.  You know customs and the such.'  I could feel my face heat up with irritation but before I could growl out even a single syllable Death added, 'Oh wait...one decided to go ahead first.'

I was not certain what I could have expected on this night, but what happened next was surely not it.  A deafening "WEEEEEEEEEEEEE" blared forth from the portal before a certain familiar spirit blasted their way through.

"Pinkie...Pie?" Twilight mumbled out as she stared wide-eyed at the now jumping around spirit of Pinkie Pie.  Her youth renewed in her ghostly form.

I slapped my forehead with my left forehoof in response, before stating in my mind, 'Death please...please just tell the rest of them to just go through.  Formalities it appears have been shot.'

'As you wish...however I do remember stating you could only let a tiny list of beings through.  Your current group is larger than that,' Death replied back.

I in turn scrunched my face more until it probably resembled some sort of dried prune before growling out in my mind, 'Yes and you let me twist in the wind with this damnable anchor.  Please...for my sanity...just...just let this slide...just for tonight...'

'I suppose...' Death said with still mild amusement.

The rest of the ponies I had planned for eventually made it to us.  Twilight ended up heavily bawling when her parents finally came through.  I had attempt to tell her how I got the idea for this little get together, but it was drowned out by her cries of happiness and her attempts at hugging her immaterial parents.  I suppose it was fitting, I did wish her to be happy after all.

To note the others that came through were Life Mender and Silver Scythe my mother and biological father respectively along with my little brother and sister.  Darkhoof and Pureblood my adoptive father and my colthood friend/first love.  My lieutenants from the old days, Gray Mane, Shadow Dancer, and Tactics.  And of course Fluttershy whom almost had to be pushed through the portal on the other end according to Death.

Everything was going quite nice after that.  Twilight got to walk down the aisle with her father.  Me and Twilight said our vows and the celebration afterwards was splendid.  Even my friends and parents got into the spirit of things, pun intended, with a combination of when were the foals due and how in the world did we make it happen. 

The only thing amiss that happened was when I had separated myself from the party to get another drink.  It was only a brief moment but I saw some sort of strange figure look at me from several buildings away.  And for some reason I could hear them laughing in delight before they disappeared down an alleyway.  Now this was Nightmare Night after all and strange things do happen, but even then it still made me mildly uneasy for some reason.

'You felt that too I see,' Death spoke in my mind.

'Hmm yes, probably somepony just having too much Nightmare Night candy,' I replied sipping from my freshly filled goblet.

Death went silent for a few seconds before he said, 'I am not so sure...the future has become somewhat blurry to my foresight.  It as if something had been set in motion.  Be extra vigilant in the coming years Blood Moon.'

And that was all he stated before I could feel his presence fade from my mind.  The previous uneasiness I felt before was renewed but in the end I could do little else but continue to sip from my goblet and hope that such an omen was overblown.
> Chapter 4: The Price of Complacency.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fifteen years had past since my creation of the portal now called "The Gateway to Paradise".  It was a spectacle that seemed to spread far and wide across the land.  The impossible made possible as some would call it though I did not care for the fame it afforded.  Or the lamentable fact that this device more or less overshadowed the grand wedding that had taken place that day.

But I suppose it was for the best in all honesty.  For between the grand wedding and my little stunt a possible scandal had been successfully glossed over.  A scandal involving a certain princess who gave birth a little over two months later.  To twins even...just as Life had mentioned to me nearly a year prior.

And so thus began my truly extravagant slog through not only fatherhood but princehood as well.  A tale that includes such joyous moments like finding out both of my children were attuned to one side of the life and death cycle.   And the fact that while my little vampiric daughter that was attuned to life had little trouble consuming normal blood, my son however was different.  He needed a source of death energy to survive and I was, or well specifically my blood was, the only one close by for as far as we could tell.  To be blunt he regularly tried to drain me dry in his infant years before Death was better able to stabilize him.  I still have the scars of his little bear trap like mouth up both of my forelegs...the little fiend...

But at least helping raise my two children while difficult there was at least joy to be found. My other title however...was different.  For you see I became a...prince...as a result of my union with Twilight. A dreadfully fanciful title that made me cringe every time somepony called me by it.  But that was not the worse of it oh no.  What truuuuly made my life ooooh so complete was the crippling amount of extra responsibility as a public figurehead.

I regularly became bombarded with delegates, envoys, other royals, somepony's 2nd cousin who got stuck in a spare broom closest, and scores of others whom dropped by in greetings or to ask me for something.  Often times in it was the latter of the two.  And often times I had to hold back an ocean of sarcasm as I either accepted or told them the polite way of relocating themselves from my presence.  Preferably off the nearest clif-dock...into some body of water...yes...that.  But regardless of such unpleasantries this went on for the previously mentioned fifteen years until something I would have never expected to happen, did.  

The day started with the usual delegates et al. before I managed to pry myself away for an few hours of privacy.  Well more like an hour of privacy before my daughter "Growth" as we ended up calling her barged into my alchemy lab.  To which she was accompanied shortly afterwards by her best friend "Blaze Runner" the great grand daughter of an old friend "Break Runner".  He was an earth pony train engineer that helped me out a great deal in the past with the Rogue Faction Wars and became like family to me.  But I digress from the matter at hoof, namely the two little devils that not so silently slunk into my alchemy lab.

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock before you enter hmm?" I mildly growled out while trying to concentrate on some new experiment.

"Sorry dad we had to book it from some guards we got good with a few buckets of spiders," She said nonchalantly as she went to work raiding my blood cylinder storage unit or as she called it my "mini fridge"...

I in turn gently put down my tools before rubbing my left temple with a hoof.  "You tormented some of the castle guards with buckets...of...spiders..." I said as evenly as I could while attempting to not imagine the sheer horror those poor souls endured.

"Well they weren't reeaalll spiders. I mean who would want to carry a bucket of those? They were constructs Blaze here made.  They look and act like the real thing though," She replied while jokingly offering a sip of her pilfered blood cylinder to Blaze Runner only to get sour look in return.

I however just gave both of them a withering glare as I tried my hardest to keep my voice still even as I said, "Young Lady...It is not proper to torment the castle guards... Why can you two not do something less destructive with your time?  Like for example not putting life like...spiders...all over somepony...

"What? Only one of them wet themselves," Growth said before Blaze Runner interjected.

"No...I think the other one wet himself too...something about colthood nightmares made reality or something," she said looking only the slightest bit regretful.

"What? Really? I mean the first one freaked out waaay more.  I mean she started screaming and rolling around on the ground for a good fifteen seconds before chasing after us, " Growth replied after taking another sip from her blood cylinder.

Needless to say it did not take long of their banter back and forth before my muscles tightened with fury.  Red and black lightening crackled all over my body and I was just about to begin yelling at the both of them before I heard a familiar and somewhat muffled voice say, "X axis locked."

Wide eyed concern quickly overrode my fury before I galloped over to a special safe in my alchemy lab.  I then pricked my leg on its blood seal before the device opened effortlessly.  Inside the safe was the white paradise crystal in all its partially material phasing glory.  The sight of it however did not fill me with joy.  No, it only served to make my heart sink further.

Apparently sensing my concern Growth piped up and said, "Is something up, dad?"

I nodded several times while still wide eyed.  "Something may be wrong with the Gateway to Paradise.  I am releasing the restrictions on both of your armors.  You are to use them as you see fit until I deem otherwise.  Now quickly please follow me and I shall explain what I can in what little time we have," I said as I projected a mental command with my magic to disable the restrictions on both Growth and Blaze Runner's armors.

Afterward I took a deep breath and mentality activated my armor.  Then in less than a second later the black ring around my neck began to expand and project out the dark iron plates that made up the bulk of my armor.  It soon sealed off most of my body from the outside world as the plates snapped into place.

This was something I had not had to use in decades minus special ceremonial events.  It is a heavily modified version of what my original armor was.  It still utilized the Dark Iron material to lessen my vampiric powers so I did not cause unintentional harm unless I commanded it not to do so, but I made it more durable and better able to channel Death Energy.  I had indeed hoped to never require its full use, but existence rarely cares for such desires.

As for Growth and Blaze Runner's armors on the other hoof, their armors were either slightly different in the case of Growth's or drastically so in Blaze Runner's case.  For Growth's armor it was more or less a copy of mine with a few changes.  One it helped her channel Life Energy instead.  And two it also possessed several pockets for specially bred fast growing vine and plant seeds.  

Now for Blaze Runner...her's was a mad science/engineering project gone wrong or right depending on who you ask.  Being as she was mortal it enhanced her strength and endurance, but that was often standard for mortal users.  What was not standard was the literal cannon that was able to be summoned on her back.  And as an aside the cannon was amusingly dubbed "The Angry Filly", a small sister version of an old train artillery cannon called "The Angry Mare" that is still in use today.  And please do note, I had little say in the armor's construction...it was not my fault...this time...

But without a second thought I undid the suppression fields, again normally used to lessen our abilities for safety of others, that Growth's and my armor generated. For it was one of those times that being at full strength was perhaps needed.  But regardless of that as soon as the fields dropped all three of us galloped out the door of my alchemy lab.

Needless to say it did not take long before I heard again that now dreadful voice coming from the Gateway to Paradise, "Y Axis Locked".

Growth in response as we rushed said, "What in Tartarus...is going on?  Why are we...in such a rush...to get to...the Gateway...to Paradise? I thought it was...supposed to be...active...on Nightmare Night...when...the sun...went down."

I bit my lip in response thinking how much I desired to withhold as to not frighten them but ultimately spilled everything, "The Gateway has...been activated...and indeed this is...Nightmare Night...at nighttime.  However...what is being failed...to be realized...is that I am...the only one...that normally activates it.  And to make matters...worse...the only way...I know...to activate it...is by using...the paradise crystal.  And that crystal...is currently locked away...in my alchemy lab...in a safe...to which it...still resides...after I checked...not but five minutes ago," I huffed out as I increased my pace.

The only reply I got out of either of them was when Blaze Runner growled out, "Oh shit..."  And while I normally would have scolded her for using such obscenities I unfortunately was not one to judge this time as I was mentally stating all sorts of linguistic foulness...in rapid succession...

In turn we barreled down through the castle until we started making our way through the courtyard outside.  But soon our travels were hindered when the second bad omen of the night reared its ugly head as it were.  The castle guards were in conflict with some unknown hooded force that were actively attacking them.  And while normally I would have jumped into the fray if you will, but this time I could not allow us to be delayed given our current urgency.

So with a whispered apology to the unfortunate guards I grabbed both Growth and Blaze Runner and focused on the space directly in front of me.  Then not but a second later one of my Death Gates snapped open before I leapt forward into it.  We were then quickly transported on the opposite side of the engagement with only minor discombobulation from Growth. She rarely enjoyed me doing that to her as her affinity to Life did not agree with my magic.  But regardless, we bypassed that little skirmish only to hear a significantly larger one coming from Ponyville itself.

I could see several houses on fire and ponies were running away from the same looking unknown attackers from before.  Though luckily it seemed Twilight activated her pony controlled arcane golems from many moons ago to fight back much of the onslaught.  This however was a hard battle for some reason and what little hope I had burned away when I heard the Gateway to Paradise echo out "Z Axis locked".

With little time left we all bolted towards the gateway at full speed, but before we got into view of the mystic archway a familiar voice popped into my head. "Blood Moon...why are you opening a portal to Tartarus?", Death stated with much more than a just hint of worry.

"WHAT?!" I blurted out loud as well as in my mind.

But that was all I could state before we soon got a grand look of what these hooded attackers had done to my beautiful device. The usual white glowing runes on the archway were replaced with burning orangish red ones that seethed with fury.  The very ground around around us had become burnt and withered as if directly effected by it.  This however was not the worse of it, oh no.  For what was, was that we arrived too late to stop the disaster that unfolded before us.

"Dimensional anchor locked.  Gateway activated,"  the disembodied spoke over the chaos of the battle around us. Time slowed to a crawl before a terrifying thundering boom blasted out from the archway and yanked me back to reality. The sheer force of the portal that tore itself open into our world lifted us off our hooves and threw us backward. We then crashed through one of the nearest buildings before much of the building itself was blown away.

My vision swam as my ears had begun to ring. But luckily the massive amounts of adrenaline flowing through me allowed me to shake it off and locate my two equally dazed and armored young mares.

"What in Tartarus was that?!" Growth yelled over the horrible howl of newly opened portal not far from us.

"Tartarus is exactly what that is! We do not have time to waste! We need to close that portal and NOW!" I yelled back in reply.

Blistering heat and an aura of crushing despair soon surrounded us as we dig our way out of the rubble.  The portal to Tartarus while spiritual in nature was emanating such a strong force that it was heavily disrupting the material plane we resided in.  However even as my eyes watered and my armor began to scorch me I looked at the portal itself and discovered a single figure rushing directly towards it.

It was a fool's mission I mused as they would never be able to make it to the portal alive.  But then a horrid realization soon showed itself...they did not intend to.  In turn I scrambled my thoughts trying to find a way to stop that apparent madpony, but this proved mostly fruitless except but a single...reckless option...

"Blaze Runner activate your cannon!" I shouted.

"What?! Why?! My eyes are watering too much to aim at anything!" she yelled back.

"There is no time to discuss this! Just do it!" I yelled out before I saw her armor begin to form The Angry Filly.

The plates on her back shifted and contorted forming the barrel of a cannon.  And upon completion a small filly with gritted teeth and burning eyes, tail, and mane displayed on both sides of it.  It was usually amusing to say the least but I had little time to admire the artwork. So without an ounce of grace I grabbed one of the two shells Blaze Runner stored on her back and loaded the cannon.  Then afterwards with no small amount of protesting regarding as I quote "I can't see shit you fucking lunatic!" from her I pointed at the most reasonable target I could determine.

But before I could do anything I heard the madpony running towards the portal bellow out, "The world shall tremble at our wraith my love hahahahaaaaaa!"  And I could honestly say that I did not like the sound of that so without much delay I fired.

In turn the cannon belched out a barrel full of flame as it made an echoing thunder crack.  However, this was all that I could notice before I had realized I made a grand oversight...I forgot to have Blaze Runner activate her stabilizers.  As a result of this blunder she was violently thrown backwards into the poor fool behind her...namely me.

What happen next became a blur as not only did I get thrown through more rubble, but the cannon shell seemed to hit its mark.  To elaborate, I knew that I would never be able to damage the archway itself.  It was made to withstand forces of supernatural levels and a cannon shell would hardly scratch it.  As well I could not get a bead on the madpony running towards the portal either.  But what I could target was the probable Tartarus crystal that was keeping the portal itself open. 

In the end The Angry Filly's cannon shell did its job and caused the Tartarus portal to collapse in on itself.  This joy however was short lived when Death had told me that somepony had managed to cross the veil between worlds.  And the charred skeleton of some unknown mare near the archway only served to confirm this.
> Chapter 5: A Dark Omen Becomes Reality: Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat staring at the charred corpse of some mare that was foolish enough to run through a portal to Tartarus.  And while the results of such were obvious to behold, what was bothering me the most was not her corpse, but her final words. Words that had struck me hard for some reason as I kept uttering them out loud. "The world shall tremble at our wraith, my love," I said again as if attempting to find some hidden meaning in them. But in the end my search of everything proved to be fruitless other than discovering she was a vampire.  For anything else that could have given me even a modicum of insight into her plans had been mercilessly burned away.

But regardless of this fact my horrid stubbornness refused to quit until I felt a hoof on my shoulder.  "You've been staring at those bones for twenty minutes.  Whoever she was I'm afraid she's long gone," I heard Twilight's voice next to me.

I reached over and put a hoof on hers in response.  "I know I know.  I was just hoping there was something we were missing.  A clue of any sort.   Because all that I seemed to have discovered was that this poor fool was a vampire and that her Tartarus crystal she was using had most likely disappeared from existence," I replied before letting out a deep sigh and adding,  "However, regardless of my sub-par detective work, how is the clean up coming along? Little to no casualties I hope."

"Well Life told me her and Death are scrambling to figure out anything on their end.  As for ponyville and our castle luckily nopony was killed, but we've got numerous wounded.  Whoever attacked us only wanted to delay us I think," she said in a concerned tone.

"Hmm well that would appear to make sense.  They were probably trying to-" I began to say before being interrupted.

"HEY DAD!" I heard somepony yell not far off.  And upon turning my attention I realized it was my son "Decay" as we ended up calling him. And to my surprise he, along Blaze Runner, and Growth were dragging somepony towards me...or should I say somegriffin. 

"What do we have here?" I said with a mild curiosity and a raised eyebrow.

However before either my children or Blaze Runner could state anything the now apparently tied up male griffin shouted out, "I ain't tellin' you royal bastards nothin'! We were paid too much to squawk!"

I merely grinned as I walked over the tied up griffin. "Royal bastards hmm? Heh, I have heard far worse.  However, may I ask whom I am addressing?" I said after sitting down in front of them.

Their only reply however was, "Stick it up your ass!"

A small laugh left my lips before I said, "Well mister stick in ass, may I call you Mr. Ass for short? Well Mr. Ass I do hope you realize the gravity of the situation you helped commit here. As such perhaps I can request some leniency if you cooperate."

However his reply again was as useful as one could expect as he snarled out, "Read my beak! Stick! It! Up! Your! Ass!" and leered at me.

In turn it did not take a scholar to realize that we were getting no where with this quite belligerent griffin.  And to make matters worse I had to admit that I had a small shortfall in these type of situations.  For among my long list of ineptitudes, interrogation was not really my strong suit if you will.  Luna and her general Black Wing had attempted to train me in such things in the past, but I never seemed to have the spark for it as some would say.  And while yes, I sometimes could get information if I got angry, this tactic however did not always work in my favor.

In turn with little other options I decided to make an unusual request of somepony I knew quite well in hopes they could give me some aid. 'Hello Death. Do you have a moment?' I said in my mind as I reached out to him.

'I am sorry Blood Moon. I am quite indisposed of at the moment,' He replied in haste.

'Well if that pertains to this whole Tartarus portal business I may have a way to get some information on that,' I said back.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before he said, 'You do? How so?'

'Well that is where I may require your assistance. You see there is a certain tied up griffin next to me that I believe to have been involved in all of this.  However, he has been...less than cooperative with us.  I was wondering if there was something you could do to perhaps loosen his tongue if you will,' I said somewhat hopeful.

Death gave me a cold chuckle in response before speaking again. 'You desire me to torment some poor mortal hmm? Yes, I believe I can do that.  However I shall just require your body for a few moments please for said task,' Death replied in an amused tone.

I ultimately agreed to his request in the end, but just before Death took control I said, 'What are you planning on doing? Use your voice and scare him?'

To which Death only replied with, 'Oh Blood Moon...you do not truly scare a mortal by talking to them...' before my vision went dark.  And while I could honestly say I did not like the implications of those words, again I had little other option but to let him do his thing if you will.

Needless to say not but a few seconds later I felt a moderate amount of pain coming from my back.  Confusion and uneasiness soon took hold afterwards when I realized that it felt like something was trying to force its way out of my shoulder blades.  However in no time at all that bizarre observation was immediately wiped from my thoughts when my jaw began to open up to a nearly painful level before the most bone chilling death rattle came out of my throat.  

And while I truly wish I could say that was the extent of all this, unfortunately the worst was yet to come.  Because to put this into perspective, all that happened previously could have easily been considered tame compared to what delightful sensations I began to experience.  For the only way I could describe it, was that I was somehow tasting everything around me even though I could feel my tongue was still my mouth.  

In turn these...sensations... soon evolved into tasting what I believe were feathers and metal.  Then not long after that I heard the poor griffin next to me squawk in primal horror right before I had begun tasting something far more revolting.  And to not delve too deeply into specifics let me just say that it became abundantly clear that this poor griffin had not only vomited, but had also heavily soiled themselves.

But to my fortune this horrid experience did not last long before Death said, 'Alright, that should loosen them quite a bit for you.  And please do notify me of anything of import after you are through,' and released his control on my body.

I only said 'Yes...umm certainly,' before my vision returned to me.

And there directly in front of me was the poor tied up and quite rank griffin staring at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates.  Additionally, this...unusual sight...was also complemented by the fact that while yes he had indeed vomited and soiled himself, he was also covered from head to talon in some sort of translucent unidentifiable slimy goo.

The sight of this was unnerving enough to say the least but I quickly noticed that Twilight, Decay, Growth, and Blaze Runner were also staring at me various levels of "dinner plate" sized eyes as well.  A knot soon formed my stomach as a result.  But after a minute or so of awkward silence I pushed through such...delightfulness...and said as I readjusted my jaw, "Sooo...more willing to talk now hmm?"

Then in nearly an instant response the tied up griffin began to violently shake before blurting out, "By the fur on my dead mama's ass I'll tell you anything you want! Just please...please don't...don't do that tentacle thing again...please..."

And just like magic the griffin whom went by the name "Icarii" began spilling everything like a good little stool pigeon if you will.  So much so that I never had to make any additional threats.  And while this was indeed strange it did make for an easier time prying what follows out of Icarii. 

First, Icarii belonged to a small mercenary group called the "Swift Feathers".  And their main goal in all of this was their desire put themselves back on the map as it were.  For you see they were running low on coin and new recruits did not join unless more coin was obtained and offered.  So in a desperate effort to expand they decided against better judgement and take on a job that was more unsavory than their usual missions.

Second, they did not have a great deal of information on the mare they were working with.  Due to their previously mentioned desperation they did not ask many questions, but they did at least do so some research on her.  But in the end all they discovered was that her name was "Gloom Orchid" and that she was some sort of flower shop owner many moons ago before she closed up shop for some unknown reason.

And Lastly, Icarii mentioned that strange things started happening when Gloom Orchid hired them.  At first, several of their young recruits began to get lethargic and appeared to have odd bite marks on their bodies.  Next undetermined moans and groans could regularly be heard coming from Gloom Orchid's tent as if the voices were far off somewhere. Finally Gloom Orchid would only conduct any business dealings at night, never the daytime. 

I mulled the information over for a few minutes before I had the royal guards take him away.  It all seemed so troubling to say the least, but much of it did match what little knowledge I had discovered myself.  However again, I failed to find the main motivation as to why said "Gloom Orchid" would have done what she did.

In turn I continued to sit pondering until my focus was broken by an awkward sounding cough.  "Umm Dad?" I heard Decay say.

I shook my head in response and looked at him.  "Yes?" I replied.

"Alright...as nopony else is brave enough to ask. Why...why'd you clean that griffin's pipes?" Decay said clearly perturbed.

I was taken back for a second before I stated, "Hmm what do you mean?"

Decay then took a deep breath through his nose before croaking out, "Tentacles...all the holes...scrub scrub...all that slime...why...how did you...what?"

My face scrunched up quite quickly from his jumbled sentence.  For it did not take a scholar to determine what he was truly describing.  And to be honest it would explain why Icarii the griffin was so free flowing with his information.  Death had used my body to horribly violate that poor soul...with tentacles...and slime...  A horrid shiver took hold of me, but just as I was about to explain myself a large hum of energy emanated from behind me.

"X-x-x A-ax-ax-axis-is L-l-l-ocked" a familiar disembodied voice called out as the outermost ring slammed to an ungraceful halt on the Gateway to Paradise.

Unfiltered terror quickly spread over me like a bucket full of molten metal as I blurted out, "WHAT?!" in response.

Twilight, Growth, Decay, and Blaze Runner all scrambled to my side as I spun around to gawk in terror at the now activated Gateway to Paradise. A hard swallow soon followed before I yelled out, "THIS IS BAD! VERY VERY BAD!"

Fearful and obviously dumbfounded everypony else just all looked around at each other readying their weapons until Twilight nervously piped up, "I...I thought that thing can't be opened without...without a crystal of some sort."

I in turn fumbled around summoning my scythe and let out a increasingly frightened laugh before I replied with, "You normally cannot! Hahaha! The ooooonly thing haha that can even dream of doing this is hehehe something or somebeing that is incredibly powerful!  It is like an Ursa Major tearing off the front of your house hahaha to get inside hehehehaaaaaa!"

Madness soon became not far off for me as my mind began cracking from the sheer stress of the situation. And for those that are still unsure why I reacted in this matter please let me put things into perspective. Anything that is powerful enough to rip open a closed gate FROM THE OTHER SIDE has the power to do unspeakable things to you and everything else once they arrive.  In other words we did not have a hope or a prayer of defeating what was coming to meet us. 

Nopony made even the slighted peep in response to my statement.  In fact everypony including myself were visibly sweating and shaking in our armors as we waited for whatever horror that was coming.

"Y-y-y-y A-a-axis-is Loc-c-c-cked-d-d!" the now terrifying disembodied voice soon called out from the Gate as the next ring locked into place.  And my heart skipped several beats at the sound of it.  I had little doubt in my mind that everypony around me probably had a similar reaction.  But before anypony could regain our senses the gate spoke again. 

"Z-z-z-z Ax-ax-x-axis-xis-is is Lo-o-o-c-c-ck-ed-ed" The voice said as it began to crackle and distort.  And shortly afterwards bolts of black, green, and white lightening flickered outwards from the gate as the extreme amount of energy began overloading its stabilizing enchantments as the second last ring locked into place.

Small whimper left my lips in response as I waited for the final doom bell to toll. And to my absolute terror it did not take long.

"D-d-d-d-dimen-n-n-n-nsi-i-i-ion-al-alal an-n-n-ch-or-or loc-c-c-cked.  G-g-gat-t-teway-a-yay ac-c-c-tiv-v-v-vat-ed-ed." The voice finally spoke before it sputtered and buzzed with static and then abruptly cut off.  Then whatever portal had opened afterwards it was clearly unstable.  For reality itself warped and twisted and forced all of us to take cover behind some rubble. 

But as the world around us turned to pure chaos I did seem to discern something in the reality distortion.  For three large glowing orbs of white, green, and black respectively,  and a little over half a dozen white specks bolted from the portal in various directions. Then as quick as it came the unstable portal slammed shut with a thunder crack before reality reasserted itself.  A uneasy silence soon took hold afterwards as we all waited with bated breath.

But when no doom and gloom came I got incredibly confused, greatly thankful mind you, but confused none the less.  So after drawing the short straw if you will in these situations I popped my head to view what was happening.  This however made my jaw drop and that feeling of dread I had before returned with a vengeance.  

"See anything Blood Moon?" Twilight piped up.

"The...there...wha...how...how are we not all dead...how is it possible?" I stuttered in reply how barely able to form a proper thought.

Twilight must have gotten confused by my answer because I soon saw a purple hoof wave in front of my face with the statement, "Equestria to Blood Moon." 

I in turn did not even face or utter a single word before I grabbed her head with my magic and forced her to face the same direction I was.  This resulted in her stuttering like I was while lacing it with many more "colorful" words.

A hard swallow soon followed that seem to have gotten stuck in my throat.  But with a quivering hoof I grabbed my scythe and said, "T-T-Twilight...c-come with m-m-me.  The r-rest of y-y-you s-s-s-stay here..."  Decay, Growth, and Blaze Runner tried to put up a protest as a result, but when I looked at them with my fear filled eyes the fight was ripped right out of them.

Then with a great deal of caution me and Twilight walked over to the three figures that lay motionless at the foot of the Gateway to Paradise.  And it did not take long before what I was gazing at before to be full explained.  For the three figures were none other than Death, Life, and Paradise in their material forms.

In turn the dread I felt before immediately amplified before I whispered out, "This...is not good."
> Chapter 6: A Dark Omen Becomes Reality: Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mind remained void of any explanation as I continued to gawk at the spirits of Life, Death, and Paradise in their material forms.  In fact the the only thing that could have even been remotely described as a thought was my slight intrigue at how the spirits of Life, Death, and Paradise represented themselves in our world.

First was Death in that he had shown himself in his usual cloaked alicorn skeleton form, scythe and all.  And as an aside I imagine he did not have a true "form" per say.  He was the spirit of Death and all and most likely appeared differently to different species but I have yet to fully prove this hypothesis.  Regardless though, he materialized in his current get up if you will probably due to the location he was in.  The other two next to him must have had a similar reaction given their current appearances, and this in turn bring us to Paradise.

And to put it bluntly she was always hard to put into a proper description from the few times that I have gazed on her ethereal form.  For in simple terms, she was always painful to look at directly so I did not do so often. To elaborate on what I mean is that Paradise is the spirit of well...Paradise.  The place that most worldly beings would like to go to after they leave this realm.  So when one gazes at her you do not really peer at her form per say you peer at your possible calm and peaceful end.  In turn the pain of such derives from the fact that need to keep moving because others depend upon you.  Needless to say it was interesting to see an actual representation of her form for once for she appeared as a nearly flawless pure white alicorn with her body emanating a strange yet calming translucent white fog.  But this however was the extent of my observation as I dared not stare for too long lest that pain I mentioned earlier return to me once more.  And thus this leads us to the last member in this little trio...Life.

Life, to be blunt again, was a true enigma to say the least.  For I had zero idea what to expect out of her "true" form.  This was because in all the years that I have spoken with her she nearly always possessed random plants and animated them to suit her needs.  In fact the only reason I knew it was her at all was that I could sense her giving off the same wellspring of life force that Twilight does, but obviously to a much greater degree.  But regardless of this her appearance was a curiosity as she looked like she was made almost entirely of living green wood. In fact the only things that did not seem to be made of wood were her mane and tail that appeared to be a mixture of moss and vines.  

However that final observation was the extent of my thoughts as it were for overwhelming dread soon took control shortly afterwards.  This in turn lead me to do the only thing I could think of at the time.  I very slowly stepped over to where Death was laying and poked him with the pole end of my scythe before stuttering out, "Ummm...D-Death...a-a-are you-u al-alright-t-t?

Death just lazily swatted with a skeletal forehoof in the general direction of my scythe's pole before the glowing dots in his skull's eye sockets lit up as a result.  The glowing dots then shrunk and expanded slightly like as if he was attempting to focus I imagine.  He then slowly looked at me before said dots rapidly grew until they took up the entirety of his eye sockets.  And this was then followed by him frantically tapping the ground under himself with a forehoof before his lower jaw opened up so far as if in shock that it fell off and clattered to the ground. 

He then promptly reattached his jaw only moments before shrieking out, "aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHH I AM MATERIAL!"  And this more or less chaotic howling only amplified when he looked over and found Paradise and Life right next to him.  Then as direct result of this he, in complete and utter lack of grace, scrambled over to Life before he started to borderline violently shake her.

In response Life pushed him away before she slowly got into a sitting position.  She then rubbed her glowing green eyes with the backs of her green wooden forehooves before murmuring out in an apparent haze, "Oh...Death...What are you doing in my domain?  I thought it hurt too much to come here."

"We are not in your domain, Life...this is the material realm..." Death replied still obviously quite shaken. 

"Hmm? Oh...well that makes more sense," she said before her glowing green eyes got bigger and bigger as it dawned on her. "WHHHAAAAT?!" she blurted out as she began frantically tapping the ground around her like Death did before adding, "Oak trees and compost where is Paradise?!"

Then not even a second later both of them bolted right next to Paradise before they began to intently examine her.  "She is in horrid condition.  We need to locate a way to stabilize her," Death spoke with heavy worry in his voice.

"Yes, but we can't do it in these forms.  Who knows how much damage we're doing?  We need to be contained somehow," Life replied in an equally worried voice.

And then at this point they both, in near unison, looked straight at me and Twilight.  And I could already tell that I did not like where this was going to lead.  For it was the same type of look that Luna and her General Black Wing had given me countless times.  The dreaded "we have something for you to do and you are not going to enjoy it in the least nor do you have any say in the matter" look.

Needless to say I just clicked my pointed tongue a few times in response before I stated, "Soooooo containment...do you require an arcane gem of some sort?"

Life and Death just seemed to half narrow their respective "eyes" at my comment. "Please do not play coy with us, Blood Moon.  We need to stay active and mobile but cannot remain in these forms.  Even in our current weakened state there is no telling what could happen if we delay any longer," Death stated in a cold and flat tone.

"I was afraid he was going to say something that," Twilight whimpered out before adding, "What do we need to do?"

In turn Life gave us an awkward smile before she said, "Please open your mouths."

Then in an instant they both turned into a black and green cloud respectively and bolted straight into our now opened mouths.  And the only way I could describe such an experience was imagine if somepony mashed up an entire awful holiday meal and force fed it to you with a plunger and a funnel.  All with the grace and gentleness of an enraged manticore.  And while I was not sure how Twilight felt at this moment, I however soon felt like an overfilled water balloon ready to pop.

After which flaring pain quickly overtook my whole being as I clutched my stomach and fell over.  But eventually I managed pull myself together just long enough to spit out the words, "Death...please...dial it...back a bit...or I am...going to be...torn to...pieces."  And luckily Death must have gotten the message as the horrid pressure building up in my system lessened to a manageable level before my right eye went dark.

"That...hurt...a great deal," Death spoke through my mouth.

I just continued to clutch my stomach for a little bit before I snarked back, "You do not say..."

"No...no, I do not believe you understand.  I felt...no....I can feel your body's pain.  I do not like this sensation," Death protested.

"I am truly not a fan of it myself.  But regardless can you please explain why my right eye has gone blind.  Wait better yet, please explain why three primal entities are currently taking up residence in the material world? If memory serves that is not a really grand thing to do," I grumbled while trying to drag myself into a sitting position.

"In regards to your sight I do require to see.  I shall however attempt to minimize the usage of your bodily senses," Death said before adding, "Now as for your second point...it is not just three primal spirits, but also over a dozen regular spirits forcefully pulled from Paradise.  Though as for our reason for being here...well...let us just locate a way to stabilize the spirit of Paradise herself first before we relay the truly grim news hmm?"

I could say again that I did not like the implications of his words.  It could be easy assumed that when your little portal in the center of town forcefully rips open that the proverbial "good times" type of horrid situation shall truly follow.  But regardless of any of that, and after a few seconds of feeling like I was going to throw up all my internal organs, I managed to locate Twilight.  To which she too looked quite awful to say the least.  And given that her left eye had begin glowing green it seemed that Life was pulling the same sight trick Death was.  Truly irritating to say the least but we had little choice.

But now for the tasks at hoof.  We managed to locate the other spirits that flew through the portal and I soon discovered why my initial count was off.  For while four of my ex lieutenants had gone through the portal separately, my mother Life Mender had brought my father and my two siblings with her.  Additionally my ex lieutenant Gray Mane had been protecting the spirits of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie that went with him as well.  But this in turn shifts into a bit of curiosity for my old adoptive father Dark Hoof and my former love Pure Blood were guiding a third spirit with them as well.  And while I would have liked to discover who this unknown stallion was we unfortunately had other important matters to worry about so such things would have to wait.

This eventually lead to all of us trying to carry the body of Paradise back to Twilight's and my castle without the lovely use of magic. For I could not seem to use my death gates.  As in I could not actually summon them for some reason.  And Twilight was far too nauseous to focus on much of anything. But again regardless of such we managed to get Paradise stabilized by using the crystal she had given me for the Gateway to Paradise's attunement and anchor process. And while it was probably a bandage on the gaping wound, it did at least help somewhat.  This however brings us to the part where me, Shining Armor, all the princesses, my two children, Blaze Runner, and several very very unhappy spirits began grinding Life and Death for information.

"Soooo wait wait wait explain that once again please from the top. Tartarus itself has been knocked for a loop and Paradise has been sealed off.  Now how again? And why?" Shining Armor stated as his question echoed what we all were trying to comprehend.   

Death immediately scrunched up my face with what I believe was extreme irritation in response before he snarled out, "Life please do explain it AGAIN to these...beings...as living creatures are more your forte.  I am done with such questioning," and threw my forelegs up in the air before plopping my body down and refusing to utter another word.

Then after a few seconds I could see Twilight's left glowing green eye close before Twilight's body took a deep breath. "I'm sorry dears but we don't fully know how.  The realm of Tartarus went unstable for some reason and Paradise sealed off her realm to prevent any bleed over into it.  Now this awful act was bad enough by itself but her spirit was also sealed off from her domain as well," Life groaned out through Twilight's mouth before adding, "And to make matters worse Death and me are also burning up most of our power just trying to prevent Tartarus from spilling over into this realm too.  But as you can probably guess we are forced to stay here until we fix this mess because our makeshift wards require a physical presence in the material plane.  So once again...this is all we know."

My head still continued to swim over the sheer size of the issues at hoof but I could not help but feel like there were several puzzle pieces missing.  So to try and rectify this I moved myself away from the roar of discussion going on in the war room we were in and into the hallway for a walk. Well a walk and small chat with a certain primal spirit that is.

And needless to say it did not take long before Death began to get wise to what I was doing. 'Any particular reason we are removing ourselves from that...delightful...discussion?' he said in my mind

I just poorly feigned ignorance before I replied in my mind with, 'What? Can I not go for a walk in my own home?'

In turn I could feel my right eye half narrow as Death stated, 'Again with this hmm?  I know what you are trying to-' before I interrupted him.

'What I am trying to do is get to the bottom of this.  And if I know you like you know me not only do we both loathe large crowds but we keep much of our own thoughts close to the vest if you will.  As such I do not believe we are being told the whole story here.  Now for the sake of everybeing involved I implore you to speak what you know or have deduced,' I firmly spoke in my mind.

Death let out a cold chuckle in my head before I could feel that awful internal pressure from before build up and release moments later.  'Fine, if you desire to know everything I shall tell you, but know that much of this is speculation or what you living creatures call a "hunch,"' he grumbled in a resigned tone before adding, 'Tartarus went unstable shortly after that lovely member of your species forced herself through the veil.  And that instability alludes to somehow the spirit of Tartarus was either captured or restrained because it is not one large spirit that is attempting to push their way into the material plane, but a horde of smaller spirits.  I in turn can sense this more than Life due to my nature in helping to regulate the veil between worlds, but I cannot understand how this could take place.'

Death then went quiet for a few seconds before he spoke in my mind again. 'Unfortunately the only lead I currently have is right before Paradise sealed her realm and went into a spiritual dormant state she said, "Take these spirits with you. They will aid you and your advocates to push back the tide.  One especially so."  Now being that I have little doubt that she required our protection while she was in her current state we dragged her into the material realm with us when our wards went up.  And in case you were wondering your little Gateway to Paradise was merely just the easiest method for us to materialize in this realm, and I would advise locking it down.  This is however the extent of my current knowledge on the matter,' he said in what appeared to be equal in both frustration and confusion.

And in turn more puzzle pieces fit into place. But still there were numerous pieces missing.  As such I sat down in a quiet place of the courtyard attempting to figure out a few things as I mulled over Death's statements. Firstly it explained why my Gateway to Paradise was torn open for short period of time and why Life, Death, and Paradise were here. Secondly it also explained why there are around a dozen pony spirits currently haunting this castle's war room. However what it did not explain was why all of them were chosen by Paradise.  For it was easy to determine why my old lieutenants and Twilight's deceased friends were picked.  Even my father had some fighting experience and both him and my mother must have dragged my little siblings along as to not leave them alone.  But why did she pick my adoptive father Dark Hoof and my old colthood flame Pure Blood while she did not select Twilight's parent's as well.  All four of them had little to no fighting experience and were on relatively equal hoofing in terms of importance.  However it was at this point when something had finally dawned on me.

'Death, who was that one fellow that my adoptive father and old lover were escorting?' I inquired in my mind.

'Hmm? I do not know actually.  I had assumed you did,' Death replied.

Needless to say with this newfound thought in mind I more than briskly trotted back to the castle war room.  The others were still in heated discussion and Twilight along with Life were nearly huddled in a corner while everypony else continued to badger them for information.  In fact even both Luna and Celestria's generals Black Wing and Dawn Bringer respectively had arrived to add their input into the fray.  But luckily they were all so engrossed in said conversion that they did not notice a certain black furred stallion sneak back into the room. 

I in turn weaved my way carefully behind all of them until I found the spirits of Dark Hoof and Pure Blood.  And while I would have loved to chat with them for much longer I soon had asked and discovered that they were told by Paradise herself to locate the fellow they were watching over.  The reason for this she had mentioned was that he was important to the matter at hoof but she did not tell them why.  But regardless of this, I thanked them for their efforts and continued to weave my way passed them to where they said the unknown spirit stallion in the room was. 

And to this fellow's credit he seemed to noticed me far sooner than I did him.  For his ethereal eyes just side glanced me the entire time I walked to him.  He then shifted in place and crossed his forelegs before he said, "I was wonderin' how long it'd take one of you to slink over to me.  Mind tellin' me why I got dragged out of Paradise and into this joint?"

I merely gave him a small sly grin before I replied with, "I was actually going to ask you the same question."
> Chapter 7: A Dark Omen Becomes Reality: Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My name is-" I started to say before getting interrupted.

"I know who ya are Prince Blood Moon," the spirit snorted out.  Then when he saw me slightly shiver at being called by my title he merely chuckled and added, "So it's true.  Ya really do hate those fancy titles.  Heh I like ya already."

Now at first I admit I was taken back by his statements but in a strange sort of way it soon became, dare I say...comforting.  He did not seem to care who I was and did not seem to wish to suck up to me if you will as many others had begun doing when I became a Prince.  No, it was just as if we were two normal stallions conversing with each other.  In turn I somewhat relaxed a bit due to this as I leaned against the wall near him.

"Well now that we do indeed know who I am, may I ask who are you?" I inquired.

He just closed his eyes for a second and shook his head before replying.  "Hmm? What? Oh my name. Yeah. Sorry I was just starin' at all the fine dishware wonderin' how easy it would be for somepony to swipe 'em.  Old habits die hard I guess.  Anyway the name's 'Dusk skulker'," he said still somewhat gazing at the previously mentioned dining set on the table in the middle of the room.

I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this before I leaned back further against the wall behind me.  "Thief by trade I assume," I questioned.

"Burglar actually. Well Ex-burglar anyway. Before I bit it I was just a flower shop attendant," he replied.  

My inquisitive eyebrow soon raised more from his comments and also when I noticed the fangs sticking out of his mouth as he talked.  "An odd change of career given you are one of my kind," I said attempting to get more answers.

"What do ya mean one of your-oh oooh yeah naw I wasn't always a fanger like you," he said with a confused side glance before it dawned on him as he continued with a small grin, "Naw, this was just the result of a bad sex romp with my old marefriend Gloomy. That clumsy broad was layin' on me kissin' my neck all nice like before she tripped over some sheets changin' positions.  I swear her teeth drove themselves all the way to the gums.  Next thing I know I'm wakin' up covered in my own blood with these teeth stickin' out of my mouth while Gloomy was bawlin' her eyes out."

A small grin soon crawled up my face in reply upon thinking about a certain somepony else with a similar experience.  A certain Rainbow Dash turned from old lieutenant Cloud Streak before they both became my duo captains of the guard.  A tryst gone wrong if you will.  But right before I began reminiscing further my ears quickly perked up when I remembered he said the name "Gloomy".

"Gloomy?  Her full name would not happen to be 'Gloom Orchid' would it?" I said somewhat hopeful.

He side glanced me again confused for a second before his eyebrows went up. "Hmm yeah I think that's what her full name was.  I just called her Gloomy though. Heh for one of the royals to know her she must have really gotten around after I died," he said back with an impressed look on his face.

I just pursed my lips in response before stating, "Well, in a manner speaking anyway.  However may I ask how did you two meet?" 

He just chuckled for a few moments in reply before saying, "Well it was a dark and spooooky night...heh naw it was dark and all but more like it was a damp and miserable night than spooky.  Ya see I was bein' my usual drifter self given me bein' a burglar and all until I got pissed off from all the rain that was comin' down.  So after a bit I found this little flower shop along the road and figured nopony would be there in a the dead of night so why not?  Needless to say I picked the lock all quick like and slipped in to get myself out of the down pour that was startin' ta get worse.  And that's when I found Gloomy all right," he then stopped for a few seconds only to recross his forelegs and shake his head before continuing, "She apparently got her klutzy self trapped under a bunch of flower racks that fell on her.  Now given I found out she was a fanger afterwards it must have been pretty bad for her ta get trapped like that.  Anyway against my better judgement I revealed myself and helped her get out. Because hey I may have been a burglar but I ain't heartless.  She ended up bein' thankful and all and even let me stay the night without askin' too many questions how I got in there."

"That seems reasonable enough-" I began to state when I thought he finished before getting cut off again.

"Naw naw it gets better. You see she was lonely.  Reeaallll lonely.  And reeaalll crazy but that's a different story.  Anyway so lonely she wanted me to share her bed for the night," he said as the grin on his face grew into a full blown toothy smile before continuing, "Now I wasn't crazy about sharin' a bed at first given the whole bitey bitey chomp chomp fanger thing, but on the other hoof it wasn't sleep she wanted.  And hey I hadn't had any action in the better part of a year so I said why the tartarus not?  Its not like mares throw themselves at professional burglars.  Anyway there weren't a whole lotta a sleepin' goin' on that night if ya get my drift.  I mean we did it everywhere...."

Needless to say I zoned out for a few seconds by this point as my face and body began to heat up.  For the thoughts of Twilight's unusually high sex drive, probably due to being Life's advocate, began flooding my mind.  As such I was greatly thankful I was still armored up because I kept uncomfortably crossing my hind legs back and forth in a futile attempt at calming a certain part of me.  Eventually though I mastered myself enough to continue paying attention.

"So yeah, if those plants could talk I tell ya.  And by Tartarus I ended up not wantin' ta leave.  I even became her flower shop assistant as an excuse to take a break every now and again.  Whatever though I prolly cooked your loins enough with my wild tales of steamy sex seein' that look on your face.  I imagine what you really wanna know is how I ended up all dead, right?" he said with the same toothy smile as before.

"Yes...that would be...great," I croaked out in reply while I continued to squeeze my hind legs together in even more grand futility.

He merely gave me a knowing wink before he said, "Well lets see...rocks...yeah rocks that's what it was.  Some crazy broad was barkin' all sorts of orders at Gloomy for some special flowers or whatever.  It had to be peeeeerfect for little miss wanna be princess's wedding. You know the type.  Anyway the order for the flowers got to us late and we had to rush them to the wedding the night before," His face then shifted to a mild sorrowful expression before he continued, "Now being we didn't wanna fry in the sun we had to get the order there before dawn.  And that's right when this here genius thought it would be a good idea to take a shortcut through this big ol' gorge.  Anyway not sure what happened but somethin' musta been ticklin' Gloomy's nose because she ended up sneezing pretty hard while we were in the thick of it.  She then stumbled around and crashed right into me before we both slammed into the gorge wall.  Afterwards a whoooole lotta heavy rocks came tumblin' down on us and while I managed to push Gloomy outta the way I...well I'm dead ain't I? Crush, splatter ya get the point."

And in an instant my abundant arousal fizzled out upon hearing the end of his tale, but right as I was about to say something he chuckled out, "Now now don't go feelin' bad for me. I lead a pretty interestin' life before the whole rock crush thing.  And by Tartarus I'm amazed I didn't end up in well Tartarus for all the shit I pulled down the years.  Just sad I had to leave Gloomy all by her lonesome."

Silence then reigned between us for a few seconds before I pursed my lips.  "Dusk Skulker, you truly believed you were going to end up in Tartarus correct?" I inquired.

He glanced at me again for a second in reply before stating, "Well yeah.  I was a burglar most of my life.  Not much in the way of good deeds there.  I even joked with Gloomy that when I ended up in Tartarus I should try and take over the joint heh heh.  She would always get so mad when I joked about myself dyin'.  Probably didn't wanna be lonely again."

My inquisitive nature soon clicked more puzzle pieces together in response to his words.  And in some strange sort of way I understood the motivation behind Gloom Orchid's actions.  She ultimately wanted her lover back I believe and probably thought he was in Tartarus.  Though to go to such ends to do so was nothing short of frightening as much as it was impressive. But regardless of such this explained the reason why Paradise collected Dusk Skulker from her realm.  For he truly may be the key to putting an end to this disaster we found ourselves.

As such I cleared my throat and said, "Dusk Skulker I have great reason to suspect that your old marefriend Gloom Orchid is the cause of all of this.  She has caused a great deal of damage in ways we may not even know yet for what I assume is an effort to locate you. In turn I request for your aid in resolving this matter."

In response Dusk Skulker straightened right up where he sat and looked at me with his mouth agape.  "Y-you think my Gloomy did all this?" he said in shock before he added, "I'm...I'm not sure if I should be proud or downright scared.  I didn't know I meant that much to her.  I mean I knew she loved me, but damn.  Yeah...yeah I'll help.  She may be one big crazy broad but she's my crazy broad." 

"Excellent.  Now if you please excuse me I need to inform the others what I have learned," I replied as I got up and began walking towards the main discussion in the room.

However in no time at all I soon discovered this "discussion" I had mentioned had really gone downhill if you will.  All of the Princesses, minus Twilight who was cowering in her chair, were going almost full bore shouting at each other.  The addition of their generals and Shining Armor adding their input now and again only seemed to fan the already roaring flames.  The only contrast to this was Rainbow Dash and Cloud Streak desperately trying to calm everypony down.  And as for everpony else, spirit or otherwise, seemed to be huddling along the walls wisely staying well out of it.

In turn I shouted, "May I speak please?" but that quickly fell on deaf ears if you will.  As such I attempted it again somewhat louder only to receive the same result.  And it was at this point I just spoke in my mind, 'Death, would you care to do the honors please?'

A grin soon crawled up my face that was not my own before my body took in a deep breath and bellowed out, "SILENCE!"

Death's multi-tonal voice quickly echoed off the walls like a thunder crack and even somewhat shook the room.  The result of such made everypony go dead quiet if you pardon the expression and look at me in a mixture confusion and bewilderment.

"Thank you," I said afterwards before clearing my throat and adding, "As I can see this conversation is going nowhere good perhaps I can interject with what I had discovered and ease some tensions". 

Luna was the first to speak after she shook her head and rubbed her ears with her forehooves.  "Was thy actions truly necessary Blood Moon?  However what is of such import that was worth the risk of blowing our collective ear drums out?" she grumbled.

"First and foremost my apologies for the mild distress.  However I may have the reason as to why we are in this mess to begin with," I said before I began to explain what I had learned from Dusk Skulker.  Death even interjected with a few pieces of note of his own in terms of issues with the veil between worlds and what Paradise had told him.  And while I thought our statements would spur more conversation it instead caused most of the listeners to remain silent.

"And that is what we know as of right now.  Are there any questions?" I said in conclusion of my explanations and the room remained quiet until Celestia spoke a minute later.

"This...this is troubling news.  However, what's more troubling is what me and my sister had been discussing," she said and looked back and forth at both me and Twilight before continuing, "As the stewards of the Sun and the Moon we're responsible for their proper movement and general guidance.  As such we're required to be constantly aware of their current states and make any corrections if necessary.  So I ask, with Life and Death currently bound to the material realm who's guiding the cycle of life and death?"

The quiet in the room soon reached new levels of silence after she spoke.  It was if her words had chilled the very air itself.  And I lament to admit I had never thought of such a glaring issue before Celestia had mentioned it.  In turn I could feel Death's spirit shift inside of me as if he were uncomfortable.  But after a few seconds he said, "Currently...no being is"

"WHAT?!" Twilight blurted out in response as she pulled herself up to her full height in her chair.  However before she could state anything further Life had confirmed Death's statements.

"Death...is right everybeing.  The cycle of life and death is currently drifting by itself without guidance.  And sadly the longer both of us remain trapped here the worse things are going to get.  Right now spirits cannot pass on to the afterlife and eventually new births will start to become more and more difficult until they cease," Life said in a horribly somber tone.

Silence then reigned again before the gears in my head began to spin once more.  For everything seemed to be pointing to the location of all the issues.  As such I just grinned and snarked out, "Well since we are already heading there figuratively, I say we go there literally.  Let us go to Tartarus!"
> Chapter 8: Tartarus Bound: Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I rocked back and forth as the train continued on this little ride to a place I had no desire going to. Eventually my mind drifted off for quite the unknown amount of time as I sat alone in one of the train cars.  But sooner or later I noticed something small yet odd.  My right eye, still blind from Death using it for his own vision, seemed to be staring intently at my right held up hoof.

"Is something the matter, Death?" I said as he continued to stare at my right hoof.  But after a few seconds my right eye blinked a few times as if somepony was snapping back to reality.

"Hmm? Oh yes...I...hmm...how does one put into words such things? Is this what it truly feels like to be alive?" he replied in a distant sort of voice.

An odd question to say the least and at first I was a bit taken aback by his statement.  We had admittedly been under quite the amount of stress as of late but questioning the mental state of somepony or somebeing such as him normally would be unthinkable.  However, after a second or so my intrigue eventually won out over my sense of worry when I replied with, "What do you mean alive?"

My body took a deep breath and then it took another one in response before Death said in that same distant voice, "That...that right there.  I...you...are breathing. I...I can also feel your heartbeat.  Even your limited vision compared to mine is strange and yet...so very interesting."

I raised my left eyebrow in reply before I stated, "Death, you have controlled my body many times in the past.  Most of them even involved a certain...interesting activity.  I figured such things would be old hat for you by now if you will." 

Death scrunched my face at this before my head shook.  "No...it is not the same.  It would be as if you were holding your hooves over your ears and then pulled them away.  Like a dullness of sensation that has been lifted.  I can feel everything and I...am actually...a little envious," Death said and then sighed before adding, "But before you start yes yes I know my duties and I know my responsibilities and I will not abandon them.  But I suppose...I suppose it is just nice for once to feel so...alive."

I did not know what to say to such statements.  I mean what do you tell a near eternal being to help ease their apparent existential crisis.  In turn with little other options at hoof I just wrapped my forelegs around myself as at least some small measure of comfort.

But after a few minutes of this my body moved my forelegs back to their original state before my right forehoof wiped a tear from my right eye.  "I apologize for my behavior, Blood Moon.  I am the spirit of Death.  I should be reaping the souls of the worthy and unworthy not pouting like some pathetic creature," Death said in a sorrowful tone.

I frowned at this for I too have experienced such hardship.  For when you wear the burden of responsibility and duty sometimes you begin to dream about ways to ease such weight even if such methods are absurd or paradoxical in Death's case.  As such I wanted to try to discover at least some way to cheer him up.  And it was at this point a mischievous grin soon crawled up my face.

"Death, you stated you can feel everything I feel right now, but to a greater degree than before, correct?" I inquired still wearing my little mischievous grin.

"Yes, that is indeed correct.  What do you have in mind?" Death replied clearly puzzled.

"Well being as we have around three more hours until we reach the gate of Tartarus I say we put that extra 'feeling' to good use hmm?" I said.

Needless to say it did not take long for Death to reply with, "What are you...oh Oh ooooooh..." before I felt the other side of my mouth crawled up and turn my mischievous grin into a mischievous smile.

And so began our task at attempting to find a certain purple alicorn princess and her own tag-along spirit. But to my great surprise it actually took the better part of fifteen minutes to locate them.  To clarify, this train only had six train cars and the engine itself.  Now one would assume the ease of finding somepony in here would be trivial especially Twilight who I thought would be buried in a book somewhere or planning our next moves. But no we only managed to discover where they were after hearing a strange muffled giggling.

"Ooooo that was delicious!" I heard Life's voice behind a particular closed door. 

This was then followed by Twilight stating, "Yeah that was gooooood. I wonder how this one tastes," before a dual "Mmmmm" emanated from the same door.

But after i rolled my left eye I pushed open the door to the train kitchen and walked in.  It was then Death and I discovered the source of their pleasing experiences.  For Twilight and Life had been raiding the dessert cart it seemed.  Needless to say it looked quite amusing watching Twilight spin around to stare at us fork still in her mouth.  Though given the looks from both of her eyes I was not certain whether Twilight or Life appeared more guilty.  

A few seconds of silence then followed before Twilight held up the plate of the most recently pilfered dessert I assumed and said "Cake?"

I just half narrowed my left eye in reply and I could feel Death do the same for my right. "I see you too Twilight had discovered that your little tag-along spirit can feel your body's sensations to a greater degree.  Though I find it amusing you went straight for the desserts heh heh heh," I said before chuckling.

Twilight in return just gave me one of the grandest winning smiles she probably could summon before stabbing another bite of cake into her mouth.  Now normally if I had enough time I may have been a tad more subtle with my plans, to gauge the water if you will. But given the fact that the window of opportunity we possessed was rapidly closing I in turn decided to just cut to the chase.

"Anyway in reference to the previously mentioned 'increased sensations' I was wondering if the two of you would like to engage in a different sort of...activity," I said giving a winning smile of my own.

This in turn was when things got a tad interesting if you will.  For while I knew that Twilight had quite the...healthy...sex drive given she was Life's advocate.  What I did not know however was what state said "drive" was in until what happened next.

Needless to say Twilight did not even hesitate in placing her plate down before I felt a surge of energy surround me.  Then upon getting my bearings again I realized she had teleported us into one of the adjacent train car rooms.  A room that seemed to not only be pitch black from the windows being covered, but also because all the lights had been extinguished.  This darkness however was soon contrasted by a pair of glowing slitted eyes, one purple, and the other green.  Both of which were staring at Death and myself in somewhat of a predatory gaze.

"Umm Twilight...what is going on?" I gulped.

"It took this long for you boys to come to the 'extra sensation' discovery, really?" Twilight cooed in reply.

Then not a second later Life in a similar tone stated, "We've been booooiling waiting for you two ever since I entered Twilight's body.  And here I was thinking this would've been the one of the first things you two would've thought of.  But no matter...you're all ours now..."

A cold shiver raced down my spine and I could even feel Death's spirit shutter inside me before he croaked out in my mind, 'Ummm...Blood Moon I thought we were the pursuer in this pursuer/pursued dynamic.  At least this time anyway.'

I gulped heavily in a bizarre mixture of fear and excitement as I said back, 'Well dear friend it appears the proverbial tables have been turned upon us.  I wholly suggest we roll with it if you will.'

However this was all I could process before the previously mentioned purple and green slitted eyes were on us.  And by that I mean I was soon pinned on my back before I felt Twilight gently nibble at the base of my neck.  But right before Twilight was about to sink her fangs in a pool of fear welled up in my stomach.

"Twilight wait!" I almost shouted out before my left eye darted around the room looking for any source of danger.  Then not a second later my head and chest flared with pain.  Even Death seemed to be heavily affected by this for I heard his voice howl in my mind in some sort of shared agony.  

Then not even a second later Twilight who had been on top of me rolled off and writhed around on the ground like I did before I choked out, "Death...what...in...Tartarus...is...happening," in a desperate attempt to keep on breathing.

My response from Death however was nothing but three words, "Something...breaking...through," before I heard one of the loudest distant roars I have ever experienced in my entire life.

The pain in turn stopped almost instantly after said roaring but it still took a few moments to gather myself.  Then in a horribly uncoordinated attempt I more or less crawled over the train car room window and slammed it open.  It was then I was greeted to the sight of something truly humongous swimming in and out of the earth as if the ground itself was made out of water.

Needless to say that pool of fear from before turned into a variable ocean as my left eye threaten to pop out of my head from opening so wide. "BY THE STARS AND FUCKING MOON WHAT IN TARTARUS IS THAT?!" I shouted still half outside the window. 

However again I only received a minimal amount of words from Death as he stated, "A leviathan..broke...through..."

Now I did not possess an extensive knowledge about such a creature.  Leviathans are more or less creatures of legend and for what little I could remember I believe they were some sort of sea monster.  However given the fact this creature  was also able to bore through the ground as if it were water only added to my abundant ignorance on such a beast.  But regardless of that one thing I truly did know was that if we did not do something and soon we would likely end up as that leviathan's next meal.

Needless to say I dragged Twilight to her hooves and we begin to hobble to front of the train.  This of course proved to be a difficult task as everypony in said train seem to be in various states of panic.  Now at any other time I probably would have done something to ease that but we unfortunately did not have time for such things as we continued on our urgent task.

Eventually with no small amount of luck we managed to somewhat literally bump into my two children Growth and Decay and Growth's bestfriend Blaze Runner along the way.  And being they were the only ones free at the moment we had them aid us by almost dragging our barely functioning bodies to the train engine.  This however ended in a rather unpleasant set of circumstances.

"What do you mean you are already going at full steam?!" I shouted over the roar of the train engine.

"I told ya!  I'm givin' her all she's got!" shouted back the train engineer.  Truth be told his name is "Flash Runner" and he is the father of my daughter's bestfriend Blaze Runner.  He is also the grandson of an old friend named Break Runner whose family turned out be our royal "go to"s for much of our transportation needs.  This was mainly in part in that every single one of them in their family line are a bunch of "need for speed" lunatics.  A valuable asset given we somehow managed to find ourselves running for our lives on a regular basis.  And today it appeared was certainly no exception.

"Well that is not good enough!  For if I am correct in what is currently chasing us we are all going to consumed alive!" I shouted again with ever increasing desperation.

"I'm sorry but we are really outta options at the moment...unless...oh Celestia I hope I don't gotta use that thing," he yelled back over his shoulder while holding whatever lever I imagined controlled the train's speed.

However before I was able to make a reply something truly big rammed itself into the side of the train.  And while most of us were able to keep our hoofing Flash Runner had not.  For nearly without warning he was launched right out of his train engineer's chair.  He then slammed hard into the left wall of the train engine and collapsed to the floor motionless.

"DAD!" I heard Blaze Runner shout next to me before she ran over to her father's side.  And while I could tell by the relieved look on her face that he was still living, the mask of deep worry that soon overtook her only served to prove my assumptions.  He was out cold if you will.

In turn this made our situation all the worse.  For not only were we getting actively attacked by a creature of legend, but our train was currently not being controlled by anypony.  Panic quickly spread over me when I realized this as I began to scramble to think of any possible solutions.  But in the end there seemed to only be one at the current moment.

"Blaze Runner...can you drive this train?" I yelled over the roar of the train engine.

In quick response she looked at me like I had two additional heads growing out of my neck before she blurted out, "What?! No! I'm just a junior engineer!  My dad only just started teaching me how to really run this thing last year!  It usually takes a few years at least to even get the feeling of how to work this thing!"

"Well if you had not noticed we do not have much of a choice.  Right now no one but you and your father have any knowledge of trains and he is currently unconscious," I said trying to hide my fear before adding a simple, "please."

Needless to say it did not take a detective to see the overwhelming doubt in her eyes, but she quickly jumped into the engineer's seat regardless.  She then seemed to cycle through the different various levers and the such before settling on what I believed to be the throttle and the brake levers.  Then with with an extremely shaky voice she yelled out, "Somepony start shoveling wood into the boiler's firebox! The fire door pedal is right in front of it!",  then in odd change of tone she snarled out mostly to herself, "You're not getting us that easy you fucking monster! Eat my smoke clouds!"

Now any other time I probably would have scolded her on her language but this was surely not it.  Regardless though me and Twilight were still too weakened to do anything so my two children took up the mantle.   They each grabbed a shovel by the wood pile behind us and started shoveling wood into what I assumed was the firebox of the boiler.  Blaze Runner on the other hoof franticly shifted through various knobs and levers all while glancing back and forth at different gauges.

Another hard hit soon shook the train again nearly tossing a few of us out of the train engine.  What followed however was a long stream of obscenities before Blaze Runner yelled out, "Celestia damnit! My dad was right! We're going nearly as fast as this scrap heap will take us!"

I narrowed my eyes as I thought about exactly what she had stated.  And in my quick thinking I picked out an important word in all that..."Nearly".  I in turn bit my lip and shouted, "What do you mean 'Nearly'?"  Though I probably knew I was not going to like the answer.

A few seconds later Blaze Runner shouted back "There's only one way to get this rig to go faster and still keep all the train cars connected.  But...but my dad said it was only to be used in extreme emergencies! And I mean an absolute last ditch effort!

Not missing a beat I blurted back, "I think getting devoured by a giant monster of legend fits that requirement!"

In response Blaze runner sat unmoving for a few seconds before darting out of her seat nearly toppling over my two children shoveling wood. She then violently smashed the small box on the wall right above her unconscious father.  Afterwards she grabbed the small cylinder inside it and began to savagely smash the cylinder on the floor.

An angry red glow began emanating from the cylinder itself as a result before Blaze Runner shook it a few times and tossed it right into firebox of the train's boiler.  And for lack of a better description the very mood of the train engine itself rapidly changed.  It was as if it went from frantic mechanical clockwork to boiling chaotic rage.  This was then soon followed by a red glow flaring from  the firedoor of the boiler before the train lurched forward even faster.

So fast that all of us were violently thrown into the wood pile behind us.  But thankfully with no small amount of luck I managed to catch Flash Runner along the way before we all collided into the chopped wood.  Then in nearly blind panic after I got my bearings I shouted, "Blaze Runner! What in the damned pits of Tartarus did you throw into the Train's firebox?!"

The only words she managed to croak out in reply was, "An unstable fire crystal," before my heart sunk right into the bottom of my hooves.  To elaborate on the gravity of the situation fire crystals in their stable form are quite useful.  You can use  them for heating, cooking, and various other fire related applications.  However in their unstable form they, well to put it simply, expel most of their energy rapidly in the most violent ways possible.  In other words this can all be summed up when I screeched out, "By the stars and fucking moon! We just turned this train engine INTO A TICKING TIMEBOMB!"

This was honestly a prime example of out of the pan and into the fire if you will.  On one hoof we had a giant ravenous monster desiring to make a meal out of us.  And on the other hoof we are about to be turned into a raging fireball.  Needless to say my sheer panic and terror truly crescendoed at this point, well, at least until a wicked idea had crept into my head.  A wicked idea that was actually quite insane to be honest, but I rarely let little things like sanity and survival instincts get in the way of such.  So with little delay I said in my mind, 'Death, I am going to require your aid and you are going to have to trust me on this'.

Death almost made my body gulp in response before he replied with,'I am not certain I enjoy that tone in your voice.  For I have heard it before.  However, as we currently have limited options, what do you have in mind?' 

I scrambled through my thoughts afterwards before blurting out my frenzied plan in my mind.  Death did not seem to enjoy it all that much and to be fair neither did I.  But yet again we had truly limited options so horrible plan it was.  In turn I first started by tracking the leviathan's movement through the ground.  This resulted in finding a certain pattern where it would leap out and burrow deep into the ground before it would lunge and snap at us.  

As such I waited for the right time as I had only a small window of opportunity.  Then just as the creature leapt up and burrowed into the ground I had Death pull out his thin black tendrils from my back.  Next I had him wait like a coiled spring for the very correct moment.  Then the creature, as if on cue, jumped out of the ground and lunged at us opening its mouth to snap at us yet again.

In response Death and I reacted to this in near unison.  I stomped on the firebox floor pedal right before Death lunged his black tendrils forward and yanked the unstable fire crystal out.  Then while both of us endured some of the most unfathomable pain in existence we threw that blasted little crystal right into the snapping maw of the leviathan.

Now, to be honest, I was not sure what was going through that monster's mind at the time as it snapped down.  But what I could assume shortly afterwards was that it must have experienced some heavy regret.  Because the act of closing its mouth seemed to have crushed the unstable fire crystal thus causing it to detonate.  A gruesome shower of flesh and bone quickly followed what sounded like a world shattering boom as the crystal exploded. 

Afterwards what was left of said leviathan had ground to screeching halt as we left it in the proverbial dust.  But just when I thought the worst was behind us a gigantic glob of leviathan meat blasted straight from the sky.  It then proceeded to fire right through the train engine taking yours truly for quite the unwanted ride.  This of course resulted in me getting flung from the train engine and plowing through a great deal of trees before I cracked my head on something along the way.  The only thing I remembered after that was vaguely watching the train speed away before darkness took me.
> Chapter 9: Tartarus Bound: Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Uhh Blood Moon...sir?" I heard a distant voice echo in the pure black of my mind.

Nothing but silence reigned for a little while after that before I could faintly feel my right eye open. Then a deep and heavy groan echoed all around me before a familiar multi-tone voice spoke out, "This...is a profound pain."

"Sweet Celestia you're waking up! I thought you were dead!" I heard that first voice shout in reply before another groan emanated from my body.

"No...I am not...him.  He is currently...as you mortals say...out cold. A state that...I never thought I...would be envious of.  No...I am his...so called 'tag-along' spirit...Death," the multi-toned voice stated with ragged breaths.

"Oh...well...erm Death sir is he going to make it? I feel bad he took most the impact after we fell off the train," I heard that first voice state.

"Perhaps...if I can...get his vam...piric healing...working.  However...I require...aid.  I am not...an expert...at your species...anatomy. But I know...his legs sh...ould not be...at these...unnatural...angles," Death stated. 

Darkness took me again and the only thing I heard was the occasional muffled howl of pain and some sort of crunching sound.  But eventually the darkness ebbed away to the extent that I heard the voices once more.

"By the...Void I thought...the first pain...was horrid...enough.  That was...much...worse," Death spoke out.

"I'm sorry mister Death sir.  I was failing anatomy until Growth started getting on my case.  Stiiiiiill not great," the first voice replied.

"It...is fine...little one. Now please...stand back...this is my...first time...doing this.  I hope this...works," Death nervously groaned.

In short order my mind had pieced together what was going happen, but like a raging train barreling towards your place of residence there was not much to stop it. Needless to say I had quickly regained the feeling in my body right when the screaming started.  For I had begun to experience one of the most horrendous pains I had ever felt in my long life.

What little senses I had at that moment, that was not allocated to blinding agony, was that my body was thrashing around like an ill tempered fish that had been pulled out of its watery home. And additionally what little noise that accompanied said thrashing, minus the ear splitting screaming, was Death attempting to tell whoever was next to me to move away at speed.

Then after what felt like an eternity, the paralyzing pain had somewhat ceased and I had felt my body stand up.  A terrible snarl soon followed as my body seemingly crouched down and began to snap at the air.

"MOVE AWAY...HE IS...NOT HIMSELF...PLEASE FLEE!" I heard Death's panicked voice through my mouth mere moments before my body had lunged at something. A delicious liquid then began flowing down my throat as my body greedily started to extract it from whatever source it had seemingly located.  

However this was when the true fear of the situation had snapped my mind back to reality.  My left eye snapped wide open and darted around the area.  Trees, trees, and more trees appeared before me before I spotted an armored and heavily frightened figure about twenty paces from me in the dark cowering in front of one of the previously mentioned trees.  My eye then darted to what I was still currently draining and thankfully it was just some unfortunate deer that must had gotten spooked from my previous screaming and had gone in the wrong direction.

In turn while rude to eat in front of others I had fed quite heartily before I forced myself from my now thoroughly expired prey and said, "Where in Tartarus...am I?" 

"Oh good, he regained his senses.  You can come over here now, little one. I do believe he is back to his somewhat normal self.  Well about as normal as he shall ever be," Death had stated.

Confusion then hovered in my mind on who Death was speaking to, but that could also have been the fact that I had felt as if a boulder had recently rolled over me.  Regardless though the armored figure from before had begun to walk towards me.  And it was then I had realized that it was none other than Blaze Runner.

She had her armor fully up and as she was walking she pulled an unfired shell out of the "Angry Filly" cannon on her back and returned it to the ammo mount on her side.  A thought that had actually unnerved me for a second, but in her defense I was not myself a moment ago.  However the more interesting part I had noticed was that she was seemly unscathed in terms of movement.

"Oh by the Moon it is you Blaze Runner.  My apologizes on my earlier behavior, I was not...myself," I said a bit uneasily before adding, "Are you hurt?"

I could see her scrunch her face behind her helmet in response before she grumbled out, "No, no I'm fine.  I just really reeaaallly need a bath. A laaaarge bath.  Like all the baths.  And a toothbrush.  And enough mouthwash to drowned an elephant." 

My left eyebrow raised quite high from her comments in sheer confusion until she walked forward under the moon light.  For you see poor Blaze Runner was covered from head to hoof in gore.

Then without prompting she described the delightful trip she had just gone on before finding me. Apparently when that huge glob of leviathan flesh had flown through the train engine it had not just taken me. No, it in fact wrapped itself around Blaze Runner like a grizzly cocoon shortly before slamming into yours truly. In turn that flesh helped shield her from the worst of the physical impacts that I had ultimately endured.  But the price of that was nearly suffocating under said glob of flesh after it finally splatted in the forest.  Well that and also being coated in the most delightful mixture of blood, flesh, offal, and generally foul smelling fluids.  A fate that I was luckily only limited in experiencing upon quick inspection.

However, other than her current situation of putrid odors she was not much too worse for the wear if you will.  Me on the other hoof still felt just miserably horrid after being pieced back together from the monumentally clumsy efforts of Death.   But regardless of my body protesting, and Blaze Runner smelling like the core of an outhouse, we eventually made our way back to the train tracks in short order.

Now after that we soon realized that while finding the train tracks was trivial, just follow the hole in the treeline we left, figuring out far the train had traveled without us was a larger problem.

"Soooo how far do you believe they went without us?" I grumbled.

"What? Oh the train! Well that depends. They made some improvements to the engine efficiencies over the last few years.  Buuuut we torched a lot of the wood in the firebox with that awful fire crystal..." she said as she seemed to think for a moment before adding, "I'm guessing about a one to two hour gallop."

My mouth hung open in response before I blurted out, "one to two...hours?!"

Blaze Runner just gave me this almost matter of fact look in reply before stating, "Well yeah. My dad was out cold.  And unless somepony figured out how to use the brakes, but at that speed the brakes would just melt anyway. And add in the steam pressure and momentum and..."

"Alright alright I get it," I interrupted before slamming my hoof into my forehead eliciting a protest from Death from the pain.

So once again I found myself in this situation.  Merely hoofing it to some destination I needed to go to all while feeling utterly exhausted.  And as much as I loathed my title as prince, the ease of transportation was one of the few perks it afforded.  But just like it was some sort of cosmic joke it always seemed to be one of the first perks I would always lose.  I swear some being somewhere enjoys a chuckle at my expense. Regardless though the world as usual was quite apathetic to any griping of one's state of tiredness, so there was not much else to do but begin our dreadful slog. 

And by the Moon a slog it surely was.  Though luckily somewhere down the line we met up with a small band of guards that were sent out to search for us.  So at least if nothing else we not only knew where we were going, but had some extra protection along the way.

Finally after a bit of a trek we arrived at our destination.  Though, in the end, it was not difficult to locate.  All you had to do  was not only follow the tracks but also follow your nose.  For you see the same horrid stench that was emanating from Blaze Runner had also seem to coat the outside of the train.   So much so that some of the guards were actively trying to scrub it off said train with little apparent success.

Thankfully though through all this I was quite certain my olfactory system had fried out by this point being so close to Blaze Runner that my sense of smell had been severely blunted. So the smell, while unpleasant, did not seem to bother me as bad as it first had.  Which was good because right without warning I got a grand family hug from Twilight and my two children.  Three other individuals who also were...coated...nearly as badly as Blaze Runner...  

"We were so worried!" Twilight said while smearing her slimy cheek into my face.  And while normally I would have grandly enjoyed the family hug this time however I felt as if I was in the middle of a rotten offal sandwich with an extra heaping of the world's smelliest cheese topped with whatever was recently dug out of the castle grease trap. 

"I never thought I would state this, but please stop hugging me before I lose my dinner," I coughed out trying to breathe as little as possible. 

"Oh yeah...sorry we were just so worried.  You and Blaze Runner got launched out of the train back there.  And with the smell being so bad everypony was losing their lunch so it took us a while to stop the train after it started slowing down," Twilight said after she literally peeled herself and my children off of me.  And I truly mean peeled as the goop all over us acted like a mild glue.

Twilight had then went on to explain that while everypony was accounted for and safe, minus their last meal, we still had a ten hour train ride to get to the Gate of Tartarus.  A journey that was delayed further by the train needing some field repairs and a heavy scrub down.  But eventually after several baths and all the delays, we had arrived at our dreadful destination.

And it did not take a scholar to know where we were. As one did not even need to gaze out one of the train windows to notice either.  A general gloom, dread, and sorrow seemed to blanket the air like a heavy fog.  A fog that felt as if it were seeping right into one's soul.  For this area was the entryway to the resting place for many a wicked being.  A place I had truly wished I had never had to set hoof in, neither in life nor death.  

But regardless of my unwillingness I reluctantly steeled myself as I walked out of the train with the others.  And I was soon met with the full view of the ominous gate that stood about thirty meters from us and was surrounded by a strange greenish black ward.  The very ward I had surmised that Life and Death had setup.

"Soooo who wishes to go in first?" I joked in desperation to try and break the eerie quiet that had taken hold among everypony present.  However while the mood did not seem to change, I had at least had gotten a few half-hearted chuckles.  In the end I just shook my head before taking stock to who we had with us.

There was me, Death, Twilight, Life, Rainbow Dash, Cloud Streak, the spirit of my mother Life Mender, the spirits of my old lieutenants Tactics and Shadow Dancer, my children Growth and Decay, Blaze Runner and her father, my two practically adopted children Sharp Fang and Silver Mane, numerous guards, and of course the spirit of the hour Dusk Skulker.  All others were waiting back at the castle either trying to keep the spirit of Paradise stabilized, doing some form of information gathering, or stomping out the numerous issues around Equestria caused by the nightmare situation we were currently living in. And so that left us with our little legion of misfits to say the least.  

However after a few minutes I pushed most of any other thoughts regarding nightmares elsewhere out of my mind before focusing on the task at hoof, namely getting into Tartarus.  And while nopony else was brave enough to ask I figured I would take the plunge if you will and state the all important question.  "Soooo how do we all get past your wards Life and Death?" I said in a genuinely curious tone.

Death clicked my tongue on the top of my mouth before shaking his head. "Well getting you all through will be somewhat difficult, but Life and myself will have to remain here," he stated in a slightly amused tone. 

I had gotten confused for a second before I remembered what he had stated a while ago, that both he and Life needed to remain on the material plane to maintain the ward.  However they could not exist outside the bodies of me and Twilight without causing problems.  So it seemed we had quite the issue until Death proposed a solution.  And by proposed I mean enacted it without input from anypony.  In fact I did not know he was going to do anything until he stated, "I would tell you to hold your breath but that will be unimportant in a minute."

Then without any warning Death lifted up my right hoof and plunged it into my chest.  And by plunged I mean it seemed to have phased right through my flesh somehow.  Then not even a moment later Death forcefully yanked outwards in a forceful jerk and I seemed to have tumbled forward in a sort of weightless feeling.

To say the sensation was unpleasant would have been a grand understatement for it felt like somepony had bucked me in the chest right after they had a full galloping start.  However I did not even have enough time to analyze this before I felt something slam right into me.  

Existence soon faded in and out a few times further scrambling what few senses I possessed at that moment.  What little I did notice was that Life had stated in a strange distant sounding voice, "Death! Why in the green did you do that?! You could have asked them first!"

To which Death replied in an equally distant sounding voice, "Do you truly believe they would have agreed to this? Especially Blood Moon?"

And they were probably going to state more until I forcefully stood up to protest only to stare eye to eye with my own body.  And whatever anger fueled statement I was going to make had been extinguished with the sudden horror of that awful realization.

"What...what did you do?" I said in an odd echoing voice while an eerie white haze shifted in and out of my vision.

My body smirked back at me before I could hear Death's voice come out of it, "Well being that Me and Life need to be contained and we cannot go with you this seemed like the most logical solution.  As such I pulled you and Twilight temporarily out of your bodies."

I had sputtered on my words and nothing really coherent came out, but just when I was about to speak I felt somepony wrap their forelegs around me. A female voice next to me then said, "I am finally able to hug my son again after all these years. Do not worry I will not let anything happen to you again."

Time stood still for a few moments while I had attempted to process what was happening.  And upon quick inspection I noticed my mother was hugging me. To elaborate on the situation she had perished protecting me over sixty some years ago.  She had given her life in order to, in a way, save mine.  The last time I had felt her touch, she was dying in my hooves while I was powerless to save her.  Even with the Gateway to Paradise spirits normally cannot touch material creatures. But they can touch other spirits.

I would have endured a thousand times what Death had done if I knew this was what awaited me. But just as quickly as it started she pulled away to help a thoroughly confused Twilight who had apparently crashed right into me not but a bit ago.  A sad frown soon crawled down my face at the absence of that touch.  But ultimately I had to shake off that feeling.  For now was not the time to weep.  No, now was the time to prepare oneself to enter the proverbial breach.  Into Tartarus we go.
> Chapter 10: Into The Belly of The Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ancient doors of Tartarus slammed shut thus sealing us into this dreadful place.  Though I admit, I only knew this fact from the unearthly sounds the doors themselves made and the cacaophony of the spirits attempting to escape had dissipated.  Death had indeed warned of the horrid tide of souls that had hammered away at the veil from Tartarus but I had never expected them to be so numerous.  So numerous in fact that in their chaotic attempts to claw, bite, and stomp at each other they all had paid no attention to the group of spirits that slipped past them.

Normally by this point I would have been winded in my attempts at panicked running, but in a truly eerie sense I was not.  No, it was worse in that my spirit seemed to flicker and weaken for a few moments before I recovered. 

"What in Tartarus was that?" I stated somewhat perturbed.

In response Shadow Dancer piped up and said, "Uh which one? The sea-o-tormented souls or the soul flickerin'?"

"The second..." I replied still uneasy.

"Oh yeah that. Yeah ah never got used to that.  Spirits don't get tired...they weaken.  Oh yeah don't git yerself too weakened otherwise yer gonna shift into some strange will-o-wisp form for a bit.  No body really, just a floatin' orb for a few minutes not doing much of anythin'," he said with an odd knowing tone.

I probably would have pushed him further for more information but we did not have the time.  For the faster we could get out of this damnable place the better.  So with little delay I reiterated the two main tasks we needed to complete.  First we needed to find out what happened to the spirit of Tartarus.  Secondly we needed to find a way to sort this mess out.  A pair of tasks that obviously were far easier said than done.

But with our objectives in mind we continued to trudge through this veritable burning pit of despair.  However, we soon discovered a serious problem. And that problem was summed up when Dusk Skulker grumbled out, "Do you guys know where the fuck we're goin'?"

And I was just about to respond until I heard a large group of spirits coming our way.  So with great haste and a small amount of panic we all jumped to the side of the strange curving pathway we were on and hid behind some odd looking stone pillars.  But just when I was about to slip my head out to view what was coming I felt a strange thin object against my neck. Then not but a second later a cold voice whispered to me, "Stay where you are and let them pass or I will permanently separate your connection to your living body you fucking bastard.

If I could have sweat at that moment in my spiritual form I would have, but other than that I complied with their demands. Then after a few moments the mass of spirits we saw coming passed by without one of them paying the slightest attention to us.  Afterwards, to my great luck, whoever was holding the thin object to my neck got pulled away from me quite rapidly.

A yelp of surprise from the individual soon followed before I turned my head to see a cloaked figured get tackled to the ground by Twilight, Shadow Dancer, Tactics, and my mother. And to his surprising credit Dusk Skulker was holding some sort of ethereal dagger to the cloaked figure's throat.  But while this was strange in its own right, what was truly bizarre was that instead of being surprised or scared the pinned cloaked figure just started to let out a deep chuckle.

Then after a few seconds the figure said in an amused tone, "So it is true. I thought it was you so we trailed you all when you got in here.  Still heavily protected I see Captain Blood Moon." 

"Captain?" I said confused before I remembered he said there were others.  But even this proved to be not much in the way of alarming as two unarmed figures merely walked out from somewhere in a lazy like manner.

Then after a minute or so the one figure who was a stallion dressed in solar channeler armor stated in an almost bored tone, "I told you before, Deep Cut, he is a Lieutenant General now or at least he was years ago.  Your memory is really awful." 

The other figure that looked to be a mare lycan just snorted in an equally bored manner before adding, "Will ya let the dumbass up? It's not like ya can kill him a second time. Trust us, we tried. Besides he saved your ass from that group of souls that wander around the area."

Memories soon flashed through my mind as all three of them looked oddly familiar in a sort of way. Then like an unpleasant relative showing up at your home the faces of these three forced themselves to the forefront of my thoughts.  And while I had not known their names from before, I certainly knew them.

The cloaked one named "Deep Cut" had been a rogue vampire assassin sent to kill me over sixty years ago.  It was literally within a day or two of me unfortunately turning Twilight into one of my kind.  In fact he was partnered with Night Fang the assassin turned grade school teacher.  In turn I ended up killing him after I discovered he and his fellow assassins killed and eaten an innocent family.

The lycan however was less involved as such.  I recognized her as one of the few goons as it were that were sent to check to see where my little fiends Silver Mane and Sharp Fang were when we first captured them back during the Rogue Faction Wars.  Her and her cohorts did not seem displeased in the least at their disappearance minus potentially being forced to carry all the heavy things as Silver Mane and Sharp Fang were forced to do.  However, aside from that, I was unsure what had happened to her until now though not surprising given rogue lycans had rarely lived long back in those days.

The last one however had turned my newly soured expression into an absolute scowl as I recognized them as an old rogue solar channeler lieutenant general who had ordered the collapse of a townhall on top of me over two hundred and forty years ago. He was also partially responsible for the slaying of my old home village from which that townhall belonged.  In all fairness though I had gotten my vengeance on him. For I gave him quite the screaming death when I had lost control of my mind for a bit when reclaiming Canterlot from the Rogue Factions War a bit over sixty years ago.  But vengeance or no vengeance I was hoping to never lay eyes on him again and yet here we were.

In turn I waved my hoof a few times and those pinning that dreadful individual named "Deep Cut" had let go.  After which the other two in his group had walked over and helped him get up, which I found quite odd to be honest.  Truth be told these three would have been hated enemies to each other in life and here they were helping each other out in death.  It had truly become stranger and stranger in this place.

But regardless of all that, the scowl I had continued to wear from before did not go unnoticed.  For that miserable solar channeler decided to speak.

"Ah I see by that look lieutenant general you don't find your current company pleasant," he said in a joking tone before adding , "I truly don't blame you to be honest. The feeling is mutual."

"Yes, pleasant is not what I would use to describe seeing you three again.  However it is unfortunately noted I am a prince now, but please call me just Blood Moon," I replied trying desperately to remain civil.

He just took a deep sigh in response before stating, "Prince? By the sun above we've been gone longer than I thought. But I suppose titles do mean little in here considering the circumstances. As such my name if you ever wanted to know is 'Bright Sun'. This one over here, " he motioned to the lycan in their group before adding, "is 'Brown Paw'.  And I see you've already met 'Deep Cut'."

In turn after they finished introducing themselves I did the same for my group though I had quickly cut to the chase if you will soon afterwards.  For I truly wanted to know why they were following us.  And to be honest they were surprisingly well...honest from what it appeared, but not in the way one would have imagined. No, it was significantly more somber.

"By the blue thread on your back we saw that you and Princess Twilight were still living.  And that maybe...you all had something to do with what is currently going on. As such we...we need your help Blood Moon," Bright Sun said as he clenched his teeth, but he did not continue until Brown Paw put a seemingly calming hoof on his shoulder. "I don't remember how long any one of us has been down here. It's true torment in here day in day out.  We had...we had even nearly forgotten our own names if not for each other reminding us of it."

When Bright Sun could not continue further Deep Cut took up the mantle. "Regardless of what those above believe Tartarus is not a permanent destination for most.  Yes if you were truly wicked then your spirit would be sealed away in the Burning Vault in a sort of suspended animation state to serve as a warning to others until they remove you from existence," Deep Cut shuttered at his last sentence before adding, "However for the majority you only have two paths, the 'Path to Rebirth' or the 'Path to Redemption'.  The first involves your spirit getting stripped of all memory and crimes to be born again on the material plane to try again.  The second is the one we took and that we try and keep our memories but get tormented daily until our crimes have been absolved."

I had remained skeptical to his words until he lowered his ethereal hood.  For it was then I saw a true visage of despair on him. A mask the other two wore themselves. But just when I was about to speak Shadow Dancer added his input into the mix.

"Ah know ya don't trust 'em Blood Moon, and to be honest neither to ah. But he's tellin' the truth. We technically ain't suppose to tell the livin' what he just said but he ain't lyin'," Shadow Dancer said a bit uneasily.

In turn I mulled over what Shadow Dancer said for a second or two and had attempted to get some input from the others. My mother, Tactics, and Dawn Skulker just shrugged with knowing looks.  Twilight on the other hoof was looking around desperately for something to write on.  Probably some new field of research and it was eating away at her that she was unable to record it. I merely chuckled in response at this before I looked back at Bright Sun, Deep Cut, and Brown Paw.

"Alright so you three desire our aid.  However what could we possibly aid you with?  It is not like we are able to let you pass on," I said still somewhat bitter at them.

Eventually Brown Paw took a deep sigh in response and I could see her "tough" act many a lycan commit to had withered significantly. "Well for starters..." she stated but swallowed hard before she added, "Ya can get the torment of this place up and running again."

And I admit I was severely taken back for a moment at what she had said before Deep Cut stated, "You must understand. We all have committed grave crimes and accepted to be punished in exchange for eventual redemption.  With Tartarus stalled in its current state our sentences have halted for the time being.  And as none of us want to be here any longer than we have to, we want it restarted so we can finally have peace in paradise."

My mood soon soured to even a greater degree upon thinking about their desire for resumed punishment.  It was one thing to send them on their way to Tartarus, but it was quite different being the one that helped torment them in the afterlife.  Even their somewhat rational desire for it did little to ease my nerves as who would truly desire such a thing?  However in the end, bizarre or not, we needed their help as much as they apparently required ours.

So with little delay I told them what we wanted.  First and foremost we required guidance through this damnable place.  Secondly I had gotten details on what Deep Cut at mentioned earlier in his threat to me.  For it seems that being me and Twilight are still connected to our bodies it is quite a bit more dangerous to be here.  As it happened a few times where still living beings tried to visit Tartarus only to have their body and spirit link destroyed before becoming a resident here as opposed to just a visitor.  And lastly some details on what happened to the spirit of Tartarus. Which they seemed to be more tight lipped about as all that they had given us was the statement, "You need to see for yourself".

Eventually we made our way to the core of Tartarus itself where the spirit of Tartarus usually was we were told.  It was ultimately a far more perilous journey than I could have ever imagined but at least we had finally arrived.

"By the Stars and Moon how many damned traps, pits, spikes, and angry demons or otherwise are in this place?!" I griped in frustration as I pulled myself onto the last step of some strange looking spire like tower.

"Oh yes those, you never really get used to all that. And the worst are those really big worm like things that chew you up for a few years before well...you get out one way or the other," Bright Sun said in a monotone matter of fact type of way. 

Everypony in my group just gave each other an uneasy look in response from our apparent collective remembrance of one of those delightful horrors attacking us on the train ride here.

However silence soon reigned further when we looked at what was on the top floor of our destination.  There were glowing vines. Hundreds of them.   And they were not some usual run of the mill vines, no, this strange plant or plants seemed to regularly pulse with an angry reddish orange light through its otherwise somewhat uniform black color.  It was amazing that in my frustration that I had not noticed them until we got up here. 

"Welcome to the source of all this.  Do have fun in there. Tootles, " Bright Sun stated before him, Deep Cut, and Brown Paw started going back down the tower stairs.

"Wait. Where are you going?" I said somewhat confused.

The three of them stopped before Bright Sun slowly turned around and acted like he was blowing a long breath out his nose.  "I'm going to be blunt.  All three of us hate you to an extreme degree.  You crushed Deep Cut's throat.  Your little sunbeam trick to kill Gore Gash burned Brown Paw to a crisp and me...well you broke every one of my legs before you twisted my head backwards in your little blood rage all those years ago," he growled out then started grinding his spiritual teeth before adding, "We figured you were somehow in the thick of all this and wanted you out of here as fast as possible.  It's bad enough down here without seeing your damn face everyday. It was probably the only reason Deep Cut didn't cut your life string.  So if you don't mind we're going back to our regular torment and away from you!"

I was truly taken back for a second at his reaction. It was as if a tea kettle had become over pressurized and exploded.  However it was not wrong in that I slew all three of them.  Again Deep Cut was nothing short of a monster in life being an assassin and eating innocent families.  Brown Paw was probably responsible for beating my friends Sharp Fang and Silver Mane senseless for years and was a member of the brutal lycan rogue faction. And Bright Sun was the lieutenant general of the rogue solar channeler faction that regularly sucked the life out of ponies for power.  They all deserved what came to them.  But as much as I hated to admit we were still flying blind in here if you will and needed their help. So I decided to do the one thing that could override one's hatred for another...appeal to their own self interest.

"Well so long I suppose.  I was going to put in a good word with the Spirit of Tartarus on your behalf for aiding us. And I figure it could have potentially lessened your sentences if you helped him too," I said laying it on thick while not even looking at them.

Then in quick response I heard their hoofsteps stop abruptly before the three of them stated in perfect unison, "What?"
> Chapter 11: Old Enemies turned Unwilling Allies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep Cut, Bright Sun, and Brown Paw were all huddled together whispering something among themselves. Occasionally one of them would look in my direction to give me a quick sour look before going back to their whispering.  It was somewhat amusing to say the least thinking about what their conversation details were.  Probably all sorts of insults flung my way only to be squelched by the promise of personal gain.

In the end Bright Sun seemed to have had been chosen as their representative before the three of them walked up to the rest of us.  "How do we know you are telling us the truth?  And how do you expect to get Tartarus to ease our sentences? I doubt he even knows you," Bright Sun said with what I assumed was his best bargaining pose.

I just mulled over his statements for a moment before I gave him a sly grin and stated, "You have been away a long time and much has changed," before I turned to idly examine the glowing vines and adding, "In addition to acquiring the dreadful title of prince I have also become Death's advocate and as such I have talked to both Tartarus and even the Spirit of Paradise.  Tartarus looks like a bulk of muscles made of ash and molten rock with cruel red eyes that make you fully aware of every one of your life's misdeeds. Do you truly believe I would be in here of all places if I was not tasked with doing so?"

I then glanced at Bright Sun to see him having a skeptical look on his face until Brown Paw stuttered out, "So that's what that was..."

In turn I was slightly taken aback to what Brown Paw had stated before I had turned to face the three of them in response only to find her wide eyed and the other two looking curiously at her.  She then blinked a few times before her spirit looked like she was taking a few deep breaths.  Then upon questioning from her "friends" did she state, "You two weren't there. When...when he roasted me and a good section of the wolf pack, I got up from my own body and I saw some robed skeleton thing.  It was touching his back somehow. Then it reaped all of us with a scythe of some sort before sending us to Tartarus through the same horrible burning portal after Goregash got pulled by chains through it."

Bright Sun's and Deep Cut's expressions soured pretty heavily to her statements before they both recounted getting reaped by the same cloaked spirit with their own burning portals.  But after such additions they all remained silent for a few seconds before they all let out a near unison and trailing, "Fuuuuuck..." 

And that was that. The three of them finally believed me enough to guide us for the time being.  However they did make it abundantly clear that whatever "shit", as they called it, that me and my group had gotten ourselves into, they wanted no part of it.  They just wanted their sentences hopefully shortened before potentially running away from us at speed.  And admittedly I was fine with such a bargain because to be blunt I also did not want essentially three ex-war criminals following us around everywhere.

So into the breach as one would call it or more accurately into the vines.  But luckily the vines while quite threatening looking did not seem to react to us much.  In fact they, in a bizarre way, were more interested in firmly keeping their vine tips into the ground. For we had discovered this from time to time when we shifted too quickly through them and accidentally pluck one out.  And this would result in the vine flailing in every which way and almost impale whichever spirit that did so to dig itself into Tartarian earth once more.  If I did not know any better I would have guessed they were trying to anchor something or at least ground it.  However this was all conjecture as I honestly had no clue.

But regardless of all that weirdness, it was truly a slog to get through these blasted things at any reasonable speed.  Whether the threat of impalement or just the sheer mass of the vines, it all really hindered our pace until we got to a clearing of sorts. And it was then we had all discovered why the vines were setup and why they were also driven into the ground.  For they were indeed anchoring something or should I say, some spirit.

"Tartarus?!" I blurted out staring at the withered being suspended a little bit off the ground.  The vines had dug themselves into his form and were seemingly draining him while holding him in place. It was horrifying to witness and even our three little ex-war criminal guides had pretty sour looks on their faces as well.  Though probably for different reasons then for me and my group.

"What in the world happened here?" Twilight stated echoing what I had no doubt all of us were thinking, but we did not get a chance to say much else before something attacked us.

Red glowing vines from everywhere shot at us with blinding speed before an enraged voice bellowed out around us, "WHERE'S MY DUSKY?!"

I wish I could say that I had attempted to analyze the statement but unfortunately my mind was quite occupied with something else at that moment...naked fear.  Me and the others had soon let out various howls of surprise as we all jumped, dodged, and galloped at speed away from the veritable swarm of vines that tried to impale us.  But that was all we could do until I tripped over one of the vines and flopped on my back mere moments before one of the vines fired right at my face.  And at that point I had figured I was done for until somepony yelled something out.

"WILL YOU CUT IT OUT YOU CRAZY BROAD!" a second voice yelled out and just as if magic all the vines stopped including the point of one merely a few hoof lengths away from my face.

"WHO DARES...who...d...dusky? Is that you?" the first voice had bellowed out in reply before it became almost too quiet to hear at the end. And to add to my further puzzlement I saw Dusk Stalker walk effortlessly right through all the stopped vines and to another spirit with a strange orangish red aura coming off of them.

I had then looked around and found the others with me all in various states of shock and bewilderment that mirrored my own.  And so with slow movements I got to my hooves and quietly collected Twilight. "By the stars and moon what is going on?" I whispered.

"I have no idea...w-wait a minute. Do they know each other?" Twilight whispered back looking more puzzled than ever.

I was honestly dumbfounded for a few moments before I realized Twilight had indeed been correct in her observations.  Dusk Stalker was seemingly embracing the unknown orangish glowing figure and also appeared to give them a nice peck on the lips. In turn I pursed my own lips as I slowly but intently began walking up to the couple to sort whatever was happening.

"I assume you are the infamous 'Gloom Orchid", correct?" I said making a wild guess as I stopped right next to them.

And in response to my statements the orangish glowing spirit lowered their hood before said glow began to dissipate.  It was then I noticed two very striking things. Firstly the glow was mainly coming from what looked to be a crystal fragment on a necklace of some type to which I also assumed said crystal was taken from the spirit of Tartarus himself given its power.  And secondly the mare who wore said necklace looked to be of what my old train yard associates used to call "Three Shades of Crazy". For they should know, given they all are or were crazy themselves being need for speed lunatics though I know pot calling the kettle and all that.  But I digress, the mare in front of me had eyes that were all the way wide open, and her face twitched in quite unusual ways. Even her spirit's mane and tail were various lengths at random intervals.  In conclusion it was like staring down at a barrel of nitroglycerin that kept slowly rocking back and forth ready to explode at any second.

A hard swallow followed my previous realization as I attempted to make myself seem as non-threatening as possible.  It ultimately seemed to do little, but given she had not attempted to destroy me yet was a good sign at least.  

Then her voice came out in an almost shrill tone when she said, "Are you the one who found my Dusky?"

"Well in a manner of speaking yes I suppose I-" I begin to say before she interrupted me with a completely unexpected overly tight hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I missed him soooo much!"  the mare blurted out in the same shrill voice shortly before I had to nearly peel her off of myself.

"You are very welcome," I said still trying to remove myself from her grasp before I added, "However, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Just to clear a few things up please."

She just squeezed Dusk Stalker heavily in response before stating, "Anything for finding my Dusky!"

What followed was just a series of questions regarding firstly that confirmed she was indeed Gloom Orchid.  And then on how she got here to which also confirmed that she was indeed the mare who hijacked the Gateway to Paradise to get to Tartarus. For you see after Dusk Stalker died, she went on a mad quest to get him back and thought he was in here given he always joked about it, so she delved into some pretty dark sources to try and pull him out. In fact, she even had help from some unknown entities inside of Tartarus itself who somehow managed to get the Tartarus crystal out that she used on said previously mentioned Gateway to Paradise.  But this is where the story got sour.

"But Toots, I wasn't even down here. I was in Paradise," Dusk Stalker stated still hugging Gloom Orchid after she finished.

And her reaction was interesting.  Her face already wide eyed seemed to somehow slip into an even more wide eyed visage.  She then stared off into space for a few moments before she turned her head to look at the hanging body of Tartarus before whimpering out, "Sweet Celestia...what have I done?"

Gloom Orchid then released Dusk Stalker and sat down while still wide eyed right before she held herself and began rocking back and forth.

"Easy girl it'll be alright. We just need to fix this is all. Now get that poor guy down and give him back whatever you took," Dusk Stalker said while rubbing Gloom Orchid's back with a hoof.

"WHAT!? NO! We can't do that! He almost ripped us all to pieces when we attacked him! If we free him, he'll do horrible things to us!" Gloom Orchid blurted out still truly frantic.

I swallowed hard in response trying to think of anything until I came to the conclusion that I would have to put myself in the preverbal firing range on this one.  So, with a truly heavy sigh I stated, "Gloom Orchid please put the spirit of Tartarus down and give me that crystal fragment.  I will return it myself and you and Dusk Stalker can hide until it is safe."

In turn, after some heavy coaxing from Dusk Stalker, Gloom Orchid slowly lowered the body of Tartarus before gently taking off the necklace that held the Tartarian crystal fragment and then passed it to me.  After which Gloom Orchid bolted behind the nearest protruding land structure, a modest size stalagmite, with Dusk Stalker trotting after her.

Then yet more heavy swallows from me followed their rushed escape which was come to think of it was actually bizarre considering my spirit probably did not need to eat so why was I swallowing? But that was a thought for a different day.  No, today I had to return some crystal fragment that was somehow part of the spirit of Tartarus.  However, I did not know what I was going to do to complete this task. I did not remember Tartarus ever wearing a crystal or anything if memory served from years ago. Maybe I just had to touch him with it? Did he need to eat it or something? But how was it extracted in the first place?  My mind had swum with strange ideas until I brushed those thoughts away because it was quite obvious I was unconsciously stalling.  In turn, with a truly wilted will, I slowly walked towards the body of Tartarus holding said previously mentioned crystal fragment.

And so, while quite nervous I walked all the way to where Tartarus was laying.  He was seemingly sprawled out in a weird position but still appeared to be living if one could call it that.  It also was a bit sorrowful seeing him in this state.  I imagine the spirit of Tartarus was little more than a cosmic force of some sort just like Life, Death and Paradise. Thus, having him in such a state was altering the balance of the world which was certainly not a grand thing to do. But again, I found myself to be stalling yet again as I continued to stare down at him.

Eventually, I had looked back to the rest of those who were with me for their input only to find them all hiding behind various land structures. Well, all except Twilight who was only half hidden and given the look on her face she was having a mixture of curiosity and probably worry for my safety.  I in turn had chuckled at this before I went back to the grim sight in front of me.

So, with a little more hesitation I bent down and just touched the crystal fragment to Tartarus.  The effects of such were completely unexpected. The crystal fragment got absorbed into the body of Tartarus right before my vision had quickly blanked out.  And then before me I saw the battle that had taken place here.

Spirits of all types were fighting a seemingly losing battle against the quite obviously powerful Tartarus.  It was like Tartarus was completely unfazed by such an event if not seemingly almost amused. Perhaps it happened often? Regardless burning chains flew around the area in an attempt at capturing the unruly souls only to have a surprise portal open high in the air.  

Through said portal came out a very familiar looking mare, namely Gloom Orchid, that had some kind of spectral vines wrapped all around her. These vines also looked like the quite familiar pulsing black and red vines that bound Tartartus.  In turn the last part of this strange vision I saw Gloom Orchid screaming, "GIVE ME BACK MY DUSKY!" before speeding down towards Tartarus and lashing out with the previously mentioned vines.

I did not know what truly happened after that, as my vision had returned to normal, but it did not take a scholar to figure out how it ended.  Tartarus had seemingly lost and was bound here.  However, I did not have much time to contemplate on such things because a low growl soon emanated directly in front of me. And after fully snapping back to reality I realized the spirit of Tartarus had his eyes narrowed on me with what looked to be absolute rage filling them. 

Burning chains quickly appeared from everywhere and wrapped themselves around me before Tartarus himself bellowed out,  "YOU ALL HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! WHAT MORE DOES YOUR GREED AND FOOLISHNESS DESIRE?!

I was then lifted off the ground still thoroughly bound up in those very same burning chains. And almost instantly my mind had gone blank with agonizing pain so I was not able to respond to anything he said.  In fact the only thing I remember was Twilight and the rest frantically attempting to persuade Tartarus to put me down.

Then after what felt like an eternity Tartarus did indeed put me down which was quickly followed by a great deal of awkward and truly apprehensive conversations. Apparently it was not all that uncommon for fools to try and take the power of Tartarus for themselves.  However never in all of time has anycreature actually succeeded in doing so, well until Gloom Orchid that is.  For it is used like some strange sort of filtration method to eliminate the truly dangerous souls that are a threat to the afterlife and/or rebirth process.

Normally these souls fail like they always do and are subsequently...removed...from existence though Tartarus was truly sparse on the details. But all this in turn brought us to a situation I truly wish I had not been in.

"Alright, we had given you back your one crystal shard and Gloom Orchid is really truly sorry for what she had done," I said with several hard swallows or at least as much as my spirit form would allow. "Sooo all that remains to fix this whole mess is to get the other fragments...from three unknown spirits...that escaped to the material plane...with nothing to go on. Greeeeaaat."  And then I promptly rubbed my spiritual hooves down my face in frustration. 

However before I could say anything further Tartarus decided to add his own input. "THE SPIRITS YOU SEEK ARE FOUL INDEED AND SLIPPED FROM THE BURNING VAULT WITH THE AID OF OTHERS.  THOUGH MY MEMORY IS FRAGMENTED AND SHATTERED AS IS MY SPIRIT. I FEAR I DO NOT KNOW WHO HAD TAKEN THE OTHER FRAGMENTS, BUT THEY MUST BE RETURNED ALONG WITH THOSE THREE DAMNED SOULS.

Tartarus probably would have continued speaking more until he was interrupted by Bright Sun and his little group as they walked up next to me. "Great great all is great. Now mister Tartarus sir. We got your little helpers to you," Bright Sun stated and shot me a sour glance before continuing, "Can we at least get something for our efforts please? Maybe a shorter sentence or something?"

But upon hearing this though Tartarus did something I did not expect. His eyes went wide open for a few seconds before his face contorted to one of the most cruel looking smiles I had ever seen any being conjure.

"I REMEMBER...IT IS NOT THREE SPIRITS, BUT FOUR...YESSSS...ONE IS AN ORACLE OF SORTS AND THE OTHER THREE...LOOK LIKE YOU THREE..." Tartarus said as the booming words all but dripped off his tongue before he stared down at the three unfortunate spirits in front of him.  Then before anypony could react four burning chains shot out of Tartarus's own body.  Three of them each wrapped around the necks of Bright Sun, Brown Paw, and Deep Cut and lifted them off the ground. The fourth sailed through the air to behind the stalagmite that Gloom Orchid was cowering behind and yanked her over so that she was next to the others.

Then the cruel grin on Tartarus's face grew larger still before he said,
"THREE WICKED SOULS ESCAPED MY GRASP AND ONE WHO DESIRES AN END
BRING ME THESE YOU GROUP OF FOUR, FOR CRIMES YOU WISH TO MEND
BUT HEED MY WORDS AND DO NOT STRAY FROM THIS TASK YOU MOURN
OR YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE AS IF YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"

He then pointed at me and added, "YOU SHALL BE THEIR JAILER O' ADVOCATE OF DEATH AND ENSURE THEY DO NOT STRAY FROM THEIR TASK!"

And like so many other things in my life I had zero opportunity to protest any of this. For right after his words echoed through the area a burning bracelet made of dark red runes wrapped itself around my left foreleg. Then the ends of the chains that held Bright Sun, Brown Paw, Deep Cut, and Gloom Orchid snapped off from Tartarus's body and affixed themselves to the previously mentioned bracelet before the chains forcefully pulled the four of them inside it.  Well actually it would have only been four if Dusk Stalker had not grabbed hold of his crazed marefriend and got pulled in along with her.

Then before any of us had even the foggiest chance to process any of this a giant burning portal opened up under all of us before it mercilessly ejected everypony from that horrible realm.
> Chapter 12: Tracking down a Death Wished Oracle: Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My vision swam as we impacted the ground.  Reality faded in and out for a few second before my spirit seemed to regather itself. It was the second time I had experienced this horrid sensation. The first was when I was forcefully ripped out of my body by Death. To put it mildly it was extremely unpleasant and jarring and I had hoped to never experience that ever again.  But that was right before the others fell right on top of me.

Reality soon quickly faded in and out even worse the third time. And I imagine if I was still in my body I was quite certain I would have lost a week's worth of meals in the span of a few seconds. But being I was not currently in my body, instead everything merely went dark and all I could do is listen to what was going on around me.  

"Everypony alright? Ah shit Blood Moon is in wisp form," I heard a voice state.

"What?! What happened to Blood Moon?!" another voice blurted out.

The first voice chuckled before saying, "Relax Princess he's fine. We just smooshed him is all. He'll be back to his paranoid self in a couple-a minutes. Right Blood Moon? Yer fine. Heh he sorta looks like a heartswarmin' eve ornament with his life string dangling there."

I could then feel a slight shaking feeling before a distant third voice spoke up. "Stop shaking us you idiot! We're bound to him remember?!" the third voice protested.

The comment only made the first voice laugh harder, "Ah yeah ah remember. The terrible threesome and those other two poor souls stuck with ya. Ya'll comfy in there?"

Then not but a second later I felt another slight shaking right before a fourth voice snarled out, "Shadow Dancer! Give me my son!" before they added in a quiet soft voice, "It is okay. Mommy has you now."

And so, I suppose I more or less "existed" in that odd state for a short while and just like Shadow Dancer had stated I eventually reformed into my normal spirit. Though normal would not describe any of what had been happening to me.  In turn I just fumbled around before I felt my mother and Twilight hold me still.

"Its okay Blood Moon. We got you. Just focus on keeping yourself together," my mother softly said to me.

"Thank you both, but I do have to state that this is horrible. How in the world do you spirits exist like this? This is extremely jarring," I grumbled out.

Then I heard a voice from the burning bracelet on my foreleg snarl out, "You did not give us a choice remember..."

"You got what you deserved," I snapped back before I added, "Anyway we wasted enough time as it is. We need to get back to the train and then get back to the castle to sort this disaster out."

In turn we located the train waiting for us outside the Tartarus gate and climbed onboard. Then after discussing a few things, my mother, Tactics, and Shadow Dancer opted to just relax in one of the empty train cars while me and Twilight recollected our bodies.  However, when me and Twilight started walking further into the train to search, we came across an unusual situation.  For in one of the larger passenger train cars, Rainbow Dash and Cloud Streak were sitting with each bracing their backs against two separate opposite room doors.

They had not noticed us luckily as we were still just spirits and they could not see or hear us, but we could certainly view them.  But that is when it all started to take an...interesting turn.  For they both appeared to be in a high state of arousal and breathing heavily.

"Dear sweet Luna, when are they getting back?! I'm burning up inside!" Cloud Streak nearly howled while running her armored hooves down her face.

"I told you the last twenty times! I don't know! How in the world did we end up getting stuck babysitting these two?! They sound like a couple of cats in heat! This whole train car smells like sex!" Rainbow Dash growled in reply.

It was then it dawned on me what was going on.  And the problem did not lie with my body, it was Twilight's that was the main issue.  It had been widely known that when we became advocates for the spirits of Life and Death respectively our bodies got altered.  What was not widely known to most was everything that those alterations entailed.  In Twilight's case her body gave off an unbelievable amount of pheromones. So much so she had to find a spell to dampen it because she kept causing whole towns worth of creatures to runt themselves exhausted anytime we visited anywhere.  In fact, it explained why we, and especially her, kept getting reinvited and given all paid trips to certain kingdoms but I digress.  For at the moment, it was quite obvious that Twilight's spell had worn out.

Twilight just glanced at me with a knowing look and an awkward smile. "What? It's not like I asked for that ability mister 'Don't put that spell on it makes everything feel amazing'," she snarked.

I just shook my head, smiled, and chuckled in response. "Well, it does. But anyway we better rescue our tag-a-long spirits and our captains of the guard before they burn themselves out from the inside," I replied rolling my eyes.

And so after listening in a bit further to the griping of both Rainbow Dash and Cloud Streak we discovered that Life and Death had purposefully separated themselves and needed help to stay in their respective rooms. Which to be honest was comforting that they did not use our bodies for their own desires without our permissions, but I had no illusions what we were going to find behind our respective doors.

In turn without much more delay I slipped through the door behind Rainbow Dash while Twilight did the same to the door behind Cloud Streak after the two of them talked about who was behind which door.  And once inside I quickly discovered it to be a bewildering sight. For the room could have easily been described as a "warzone".  Most of the furniture was heavily damaged and even the walls had deep hoof scrapes all over them.  And finally in the center of the floor laid Death in my body, completely wide eyed and continuously grinding my body's teeth together. 

Then after only mere seconds my body's black and red eyes glared right at me before my body nearly lunged at me. "You need to help me, Blood Moon! Everything feels like it is on fire! Something happened to your wife's body and we had to seal ourselves up in these damned rooms! We did not want to break your trust in us again, but it burns soooo badly! Death blurted out while he used my body to grab hold of my spirit and practically shake me violently.

My perception of the world quickly faded in and out a few times from him shaking me like a proverbial ragdoll before I got him to calm down.  "Easy Death. I know what is going on. Twilight will dampen her pheromone production in a few seconds. Now let me get back into my body before you two rip this train car apart further," I franticly stated trying to get him to unhoof me.

Death however did not ultimately give me the option of gracefully slipping back into my body. No, he just grabbed me and stuffed me back in like a teenager cramming a piece of dirty laundry into a washing machine. In turn the world immediately became much more coherent and for lack of a better word "real" which also caused every single bodily sensation to flare back into my perception...with painful clarity.

"Ahh oh by the stars and moon that was unpleasant!" I croaked out before I sniffed and added, "Dear sweet Luna it reeks in here! It smells like the inside of a new recruit's gym bag, gah!" 

Death however just merely commented that he normally had no point of reference to such things as he is usually a walking robed skeleton spirit.  I just shook my head at that thought before I started banging on the room door.

"Rainbow Dash open up please! I am back!" I yelled.

"What the?!" she blurted out and I heard her fumble forwards on the other side of the door before she stated, "Sure you are! How do I know that isn't you Death just trying to get frisky with Life?!"

I banged my head against the door a few times in response before growling out, "You got turned by your marefriend after she sunk her fangs all the way to the gums into your neck from a tryst gone wrong!"

"Yeah, that's Blood Moon alright. I know that scolding tone anywhere," I heard Cloud Streak chuckle on the other side of the door.

Then after a few seconds of the sounds of a lock being undone, did the door open up followed by a heavy scent of pheromones that poured into the room I was in. It was like huffing pleasant smelling chemicals. The ones that make you dizzy and yet you feel just great for a few seconds or well longer in this case.  Normally such an experience was accidental due to my past lab experiments but this time it was because a certain wife of mine did not have the chance to renew the pheromone dampening spell.

My body had reacted immediately as it got uncomfortably hot and bothered if you will. And upon gazing at Rainbow Dash and Cloud Streak they both looked ready to pop as well.  I could not imagine the amount of fortitude they were burning through just trying to remain in the hallway with this nearly mind-altering cloud hanging in the air.

In turn I chuckled a bit at the sight of them. "You two look nearly as bad as I feel," I said before I pointed at one of the adjacent empty rooms and added, "You two better burn it off before you melt inside your armor. I will talk to twilight to get her body under control."

They did not even fight me in the least before their tongues practically lulled out of their mouths before they zipped off to one of the further rooms in near unison.  In fact their room door just barely slammed shut before I started hearing interesting things on the other side of it.

A small grin crawled across my face as I shook my head in response.  I then undid the lock on the train room door that Twilight and Life were being kept.  But that was when I made the mistake of opening it.  For a veritable cloud of pheromones spilled out of the room and slammed into me like a brick wall.  But luckily through teeth grinding will and Death whimpering miserably in my mind did I finally walk in.

"Dear Sweet Celestia my body is burning up!" I heard Twilight groan out before she added, "I can't concentrate on the spell!"

To put it mildly Twilight's body was a mess. Her mane was a complete disaster and she looked like she had run multiple marathons with no breaks in-between.  Their room was also somehow even worse than the one I collected Death and my body from. For while the previously mentioned room was heavily damaged, this one had hoof scrape marks on nearly every flat surface. Even the ceiling somehow. And what did not have scrape marks was either littered with what was left of the room's furniture or had rows of bite marks in various orientations all over it.

"By the stars it looks like a bomb went off in here!" I commented before shaking my head and adding, "However that is not important right now.  With the spirit of Tartarus sealing Tartarus for us it seems now, we need to get Death and Life back to their respective realms.  But we cannot do that with this pheromone cloud spilling out into every nook and cranny of this train.  You need to get ahold of yourself Twilight."

"SHE SAID SHE CAN'T! I CAN FEEL EVERY SINGLE CELL IN HER BODY AND THEY ARE ALL PRACTICALLY SCREAMING FOR RELEASE!" Life's normal sing-song voice instead boomed before she snarled out, "WHY DID I INVENT CREATURES GOING INTO HEAT?!"

I recoiled for a second in response and I could feel Death in my mind do something similar but then something happened.  The ringing in my ears seemed to block out all sound momentarily and while I was quite tired the temporary disruption jarred something in my memory. Something that Death had stated to me on the train ride to Tartarus.  For he had said that being inside my body in the current situation was like somepony previously covering their ears and then uncovering them compared to when they indirectly take control of our bodies from time to time.  In turn they can feel everything we feel with no filter. All pain, uncomfortableness, and potentially even...other things.  Now being as they were going to have to go back to their realms soon for the balance of the world this perhaps was the only time we would be able to give them a parting gift for which they would truly remember for years to come.

So without a moment's hesitation my horned glowed shortly before I cast a very...interesting...spell upon myself.  It was one of the few I could successfully do in my current mental and physical state due to sheer years of practice.  And just when I finished casting I saw that Twilight was gazing directly at me before I nodded to her and she seemed to understand. For I knew she would not be able to cast the complex pheromone damping spell in her current state, but I had little doubt she would be able to cast the simple birth control spell that mirrored my own.

As such the two spells snapped into place within seconds of each other before I stated, "Life and Death. We had just cast the protection spells and are going to release control. We all know you two can feel everything currently and as such I believe we should give you two a nice memorable parting gift before you both go home if you will."

Life and Death were dumbfounded for a few seconds before I closed my left eye and gave my full sight to Death. After which I could feel streams of tears drip down my face for a few seconds before Death croaked out, "They...they are giving us control Life. After all these countless eons. We...we can finally touch each other without dulled senses. We..."

Death however was not able to finish his sentence as I felt a hoof to the side of my face before I heard the sounds of gentle sobbing directly in front of me. I then felt my body slowly lie back shortly before I felt twilight's body climb on top of me and begin kissing me.

It was truly a tender moment. And while I could feel every movement, every thrust, every sense of need and passion, both Twilight and myself kept true to our word and remain passive enjoyers of such things. And so after the better part of an hour when both Life and Death tired themselves out did I reclaim the usage of my left eye.

However while I was able to see again it took several more minutes to catch my breath before I stated in a ragged voice, "I hope you two enjoyed yourselves."

"You have no idea how long we have been waiting for that, Blood Moon," Life stated through gasping breaths before she added, "Thank you both for that.  Your kindness will certainly be remembered by these two old spirits."

"Indeed thank you two for that. It was truly a deli-" Death started to say before he got interrupted by some muffled shouting coming from my right foreleg.

As such I looked at the strange burning bracelet Tartarus had given me before I heard the voices more clearly and made out who they were.

"Unhand me you damn idiots! They're finally done!" I heard Bright Sun shout.

"Ya did that to yourself pal. Me and Gloomy weren't gonna let you spoil a moment like that," Dusk Skulker snapped back.

"Fine yes whatever," Bright Sun growled before adding, "and why in Tartarus did you help them Brown Paw? And where were you, Deep Cut, when they pinned me down?"

"Because it was freaking hot," Brown Paw blurted out.

Deep Cut however just chuckled before he stated, "It was entertaining watching you get roughed up. Besides interrupting a business partner, no matter how unliked, during intercourse rarely does anypony any favors".

Needless to say after that exchange it was thoroughly determined that we would need to put some sort of shield upon that "delightful" bracelet. Especially, if me or Twilight were ever in the mood if you will and we still had to deal with our other tag-a-long spirits hearing us. Or well actually hearing us in general at times to be honest. One can never be too careful.

But regardless we got ourselves cleaned up and with Twilight's pheromone blocking spell up and running we were able to air out the train long enough to get moving back home. For we truly needed to get Life and Death home as well and we also needed to start planning our first moves and determine where to go next. But one step at a time I suppose. However, that was the last thing I remembered before fatigue finally caught up with me.  Planning and the such would need to wait while both me and Twilight finally got some well deserved rest for once. And we in turn fell asleep to the sounds of the train moving along the tracks.