Raven’s Breath has been so busy the last 201 years. Well, other than the two hundred he was dead, of corse. Having to save his friends from the cold clutches of the Master, having to save an entire universe twice in a row, and almost losing another friend.
Blueblood and his Enclave are still alive, and are a heavy threat to the newly formed Confederation of Harmony. Raven has seen enough war, and doesn’t want another one.
After two hundred years, he is finally about to follow up on a marriage proposal. Not for lack of trying, just because he was way to busy. But the universe hates him so...
Sheogorath made a deal with Blueblood, and goes to make a deal with Raven. He provided a way to solve the war without much death, and only minorly postponing the marriage. But, can Raven win?
I’m sitting by myself in an office, on Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship. We fly through the air, and I can hear Jack clones setting up decorations. Tomorrow, I get married.
To think I proposed over two hundred years ago is madness. After death by nuke, death by Master, the revolution against Dawnbreaker, and the war against the Combine, nothing shall stay in my way. Unless if some god were to appear from nowhere saying there was a solution to Blueblood, nothing will stay in my way.
I can hear bootsteps, “Oh fine, since you made such a good guess!”
I stand to my hooves and spin around to face the voice, “Who are you?!”
Standing there is a man with a mad smile, and equally mad fashion sense, “Me? Why, I’m charmed by you not instantly cursing my good name! I am Sheogorath, God of Madness, here to offer you a solution to Blueblood!”
I grab my head, “Great, now not even my thoughts are safe.”
Sheogorath creates a chair to sit down upon, “That’s not to say I don’t respect you, Death. In fact, you’re the only person I do respect, because you get us all. Oblivion, I thought that my previous incarnation was the bee’s knees, but then the Oblivion Crisis and Greymarch happend. Your all that I respect now, because I know you are the only thing more powerful than any Sheogorath that existed! But I know you don’t really enjoy the act of death that much, you just reap the souls because you must.”
I look at him, annoyed, “Do you have anything useful to say, Madness? Because if you don’t, I’d like you to get off my ship!”
He laughs into the air, “Oh, don’t call me Madness, too professional! Call me Sheo, please.”
I sit back down in my chair, “I will only call you by your title as long as you continue to call me mine, Madness.”
He draws out a long sigh, “Oh, fine, Raven. And, I do have something I’m here to do.”
I glare into him, “Then get to the point before I introduce you to the point of my scythe. I’m a busy man, Sheo, I’m getting married tomorrow, and I have an enemy to worry about. I do not enjoy the privilege of free time, unlike you who would gladly go on vacation from the Shivering Isles. I don’t wish to be snippy, but I need you to get to the point.”
He nods, and pulls out a sheet of paper, “Fine, fine, I get it. As I said earlier, I have a deal, a proposal to make.”
I lean forward, “And that would be?”
He smiles, “Sign and you will get to decide Blueblood’s punishment, with no death, unless you choose that.”
I look him in the eyes, “What’s the catch?”
He smiles more genuinely, “See, that’s what Blueblood forgot to ask, that’s why I respect you. You will go through a challenge, deatails I cannot say, except that you will forget everything and only receive tidbits as you go through. I think you will win, but I don’t know for sure. If you lose, Blueblood gets one shot on you with the Wabbajack, wich has a small chance of permanently killing you. If you win, you get to punish him.”
I think about it, “Can it wait until after tomorrow? I am getting married man.”
He shakes his head, “Let me tell you something. Blueblood signed this, and then learned what happens if you wins. He wants to kill you before you can sign. He has half of his army coming here, right now. Your people will be dead within three hours of now, you cannot wait until tomorrow. I’m sorry, but if you don’t sign this, people will die today. Think for a second Raven. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sombra, Louis, Sparrow’s all being slaughtered, and you would be too busy dieing over and over again to revive them.”
I look him in the eyes, and don’t see the smile I usually do. He’s serious, and that is scary, “I have no choice then.”
He shakes his head, “You always have a choice Raven. You can choose to possibly sacrifice yourself, or allow others to die because of your inaction. It’s not a pleasant choice, but it’s a choice.”
I look at the paper, and see all that he’s saying, “You know me, Sheo, you know I will sign this. And I have a feeling you have a personal stake in this.”
He smiles again, “Great job there. See, Dissy and me are good friends, and your friends with him. Discord wants me to help you, and I can see the fun and chaos in this. Also, after I left Blueblood, I felt a bad feeling. Khorn, the Blood God, popping in right after me. Khorn is dangerous, and with him on Bluebloods side, Madness would die under them! I hate that stupid Skull Throne and all it stand for! The death of Madness and meaningless war! Those two combined pose a serious threat to Madness in this realm, so I want to change things up.”
I think on his words, “This Khorn dude sounds dangerous. Yeah, sure, I’ll sign.”
He slides me the paper, “Sign here, put name, date, and period right next to it! Make sure you don’t forget to cross the ‘s’ and dot the ‘y’! Remember, Madness script is really specific.”
I sign as it says, and hoof the pen back to him, “I’m ready.”
He smiles, “Wunderbar, go ahead and prepare.”
I look around, and start to move, “Okay then.”
He snaps, “Well, time up! Better be prepared!”
“Why did you give me that time? I’m not even prepared!”
He leans down to look me in the eyes, “Not with that attitude you aren’t!”
I shake my head, “Look, when do I start?”
He looks around at his arm watch, and nods to himself, “No time like the present!”
And with that, the deal starts.
———
My name is Hopeful Sight. I have no eyes, and I still see. I am a foal of unknown age. I am a dark colored unicorn salespony. I am a citizen of Equestria.
The races of Tel’la De Equestria are constantly at war, and this eternal winter isn’t helping. Humans and Elves, Dwarves and Elfves, Ponies and Humans. Orc raiders don’t help matters of peace either. The roads aren’t safe, thus I became a weapons dealer from old battlefields.
Yes, that is my life. Let’s see if I can sell some more weapons today. Bills don’t pay for themselves.
“Sixty percent of travelers attacked on roads, study says!”
“Humans and Dwarfs on the edge of war!”
“Ponies and Elven ambassadors announce war!”
I smile, and point around at ponies passing by on the street, “Hopeful’s Weapons! For the long times ahead, you need a quality weapon!”
A pony takes attention and walks over towards me, “And why should I buy your weapons?”
I smile, and drag out an Elven spear, “The most quality weapons in town, for almost criminally low prices. This Elven spear is the same quality as they would equip their army, and I’m selling it for only one hundred gold.”
The pony tilts their head, “One hundred? Why not just get a sword for fifty?”
I tilt my head over to a armor stand, “Because this is real quality. As seen on this stand is standard issue Elven armor.” I stab the spear into it, “And this beauty goes through it like a hot knife through butter!”
They nod, then notice my other weapons, “What about that scythe?”
I look behind me to see him pointing at my scythe, “Sorry friend, that’s not for sale. I need a weapon myself, and I’ve had that scythe since birth.”
They shrug, “I’ll take the spear.”
He hands me a bag of gold, more than enough, and I hand him the spear, “Here you are.”
He smiles as he admires it, “Keep those extra fifty gold, this beauty is worth more than that.”
I smile at him, and throw the bag into my saddlebag, “Be safe on the roads, friend, we all know how dangerous they are.”
He tosses the spear up, and catches it, “With this quality, I won’t need luck.”
I nod, “It is a good weapon, keep it good quality.”
They walk off, and I reach into the bag they left me.
I take out the extra fifty, and go over to one of the news shouters, “Here, make the headlines sound worse.”
They take the gold gladly, and hoof it to some of the others, “Don’t worry, Sight, we can make it worse.”
I nod, “Good, Ink, remember that the more people who buy weapons, the more money for you.”
He smiles happily, “Thank you, Sight, we might be able to feast tonight if you sell more.”
I pat Ink on the shoulder, “As long as you keep the door open for me.”
“Of course.”
I nod at him one more time, and return to my wagon, “Hopeful’s Weapons, top quality, bottom dollar!”
Ink starts to shout out some exaggerated news, “Caravans completely destroyed on the roads! Humans rumored to be hiring Orc’s to raid ponies, truth or fiction? Don’t take chances, make sure your safe on the roads!”
I see a pony approaching again. A white mare, barely older than me, with a weird almost rainbow type hair color, but on,y four colors. A cutie mark of the sun, and purpleish colored eyes. As she approaches, I smile at her, “Haven’t seen you around before. Wanna buy some weapons?”
She smiles as soon as she reaches me, “Paying the newspony to make more buy? That’s clever, and very smart.”
I shrug, “What can I say? They’re my friends, I need customers, and they need more money to support themselves. Almost every child in town is a newspony, I imagine you are different if you aren’t thanking me.”
She nods, “I happen to be considered a noble. Only one in town and I’m not even out of foalhood.”
I grimace, “A noble, eh? Great, now this town is ruined as well. Guess i should start packing up.”
She loses her smile, “Whats wrong with nobles in the towns? I mean, I don’t like the other nobility, but moving away? What did they do to you?”
I look at her in confusion, “You mean you aren’t about to chase me out of town because I have an actual job? I mean, every other noble has chased me out because I have the audacity to be a foal weapons dealer.”
She recoils a little bit, “Really? I only admire you for doing this. This entire town’s foal population are either newponies, or me. And then there is you, still maintaining a business whenever your younger than me. Perish the thought that I would chase yourself you out! I only wish to be like a regular foal, but nofoal else has spoken kindly to me.”
I start to smile a bit, “Well then, allow me to introduce myself! I am Hopeful Sight, weapon dealer.”
She smiles back, “And I am Open Skies, owner of this town now. I guess your name choice is... well, ironic now.”
I shake my head, “Nah, it’s perfect. Even though my eyes are gone, I still can see.”
She looks me over, “And what about your cloak, anything special about that?”
I smile, “Ah, the cloak, you like? It’s enchanted specially so it will never tear, rip, or grow to small or big. It’s perfect for me. Covers the majority of me, but leaves my head out so I don’t seem shady.”
She nods, “I do have to say, it does fit you. What about your mark, I’m afraid I cannot see it?”
I brush my cloak out of the way, “I don’t know exactly what it means. A playing card with skulls on it, I take it to mean I’m a dealer of death.”
She looks at it closer, “It seems it’s specially a raven skull on it.”
Raven, Lord Raven’s Breath, True
I shake my head, “Huh, seems like you mentioning that triggered something. Maybe I had an old friend named Raven?”
She shrugs, “It does seem like something’s missing from the look. Some weapon.”
I pick up my scythe, and the green fire followed it, “That would be this beauty right here. The Reaper, had it long as I can remember.”
She looks at m even closer, “Hmm, no, not that. Maybe a necklace of sorts?”
I look down at my bare neck, “Well, I did have a necklace. It was golden, with a scythe on it. I think it fell off when I was attacked by an Orcish raiding party on the road.”
She looks off into the distance, “Hmm... how much for that halberd back there?”
I look back to find my bright, gold coated halberd. No one can afford it, so I just kind forgot about it. Wait, “You aren’t going to try and find my necklace, right?”
She smiles nervously, “No, no, of course not. How much?”
Eh... I’ll trust her, “Five hundred for the one next to it. For the golden one, one thousand gold.”
She pops in at least ten bags full of gold, “One thousand one hundred in there. Don’t worry about the extra, consider it a gift.”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at the fortune I was just given, and hand her the halberd, “Here, thanks for business.”
She smiles, “Thank you for the weapon.” And then she starts to walk away.
My friends all surround me, their eyes wide. I look around at them, “Friends, we’re eating well tonight. Maybe we can actually get a real house to fit all of us!”
They all start to cheer, and Ink approaches me, “Well, looks like that extra fifty has done a lot.”
I wake up out of my bed. Oh, a bed! A house! Sure, all we foals have to share beds, but we still have beds and a roof! If sales go good, we could keep this up permanently. Hell, even if sales flopped for a month, we could still pay for this!
And it’s now I notice I woke up late. All of the others have already left to start shouting the news. Guess I should roll out the wagon.
———
I set up my wagon, ready to start a new day. Then, I see Ink walking over to me, “I heard from a source that the noble mare yesterday set off on the road, and was taken by an Orc Raid. Said she was kidnapped, not killed.”
I nod, and smile, “Get the others. We have a business opportunity.”
He nods, “Mind telling me the plan?”
I smile, “Normaly, I wouldn’t care about the ponies that bought from me. But she is a rich customer, and saving here might get her to buy more. Of course, we can also scavenge the Orc weapons and armor, as usual.”
Ink tilts his head, “Are you sure this is a wise decision? We’ve never actually fought before, just picked over the remains.”
I nod, “I have a plan, don’t worry. And if it turns out she dies, I can get my weapon back. Now, we don’t want that happening, but I still need to plan for it. Now, gather the rest of the Knights.”
Ink smiles, and runs off.
I look around, before entering into an alleyway, “Deceivers, I need some help.”
I can hear a light landing behind me, and an adult male voice speaks out, “You call for help, Knight?”
I nod, not turning around to face him, “I need some potions, if you don’t mind. I will pay fifty for twenty.”
I can hear the voice nod, “What type?”
I smile, “One to slow down reaction time.”
Right after I say that, a box of bottles lands at my feet, “Gold, now.”
I drop a bag of fifty, and the Deceiver picks it up, “Thank you.”
They vanish right behind me, “Enjoy, Knight Hopeful.”
I levitate the box out to my wagon, and can see other Knights approach. Basically, all foals are either Knights or Deceivers. Knights are the paperponies and me that share housing and money. The Deceivers are thieves and gang members here for far longer than the Knights. We luckily have a sort of understanding, and can help each other out if they pay.
I nod at the Knights as they approach, and smile, “Hop on in the wagon. Grab any armor you can, and put it on. Find any crossbows, bows, or guns and be prepared to fire when I knock three times on the side.”
They all hop in, and I can hear them shuffling around. I attach myself to the front, and start off towards wherever Ink says the camp is.
———
I finally start to pull my wagon into a clearing. This clearing is full of thirty Orcs at least, and one noble filly. I can see the Orcs grabbing their weapons, and starting to get ready to attack me, “Woah, woah, easy there! I’ve got some good stuff I can sell you, and killing me won’t help with that.”
The Orcs all stand down, and one approach’s me, “What does pony have?”
I detach myself from my wagon, the back pointing towards their camp. I take out a box full of twenty one bottles, “Very good tonics! A cure-all for everything!”
The Orcs look at me with distrust, “Why should we care?”
I reach into the box, and grab a bottle differnt than the rest, “Maybe you need a show of why it’s worth.”
They growl, “Do quickly before pierceing time.”
I nod, and down the bottle of water. I then take out a fake sword, and make a show of ‘stabbing’ myself. The ‘sword’ bounces off, “As can be seen, this tonic makes your skin harder than even Dwarven steel! Not to mention the fact that it will cure all diseases you might have!”
The lead Orc nods, “We’ll buy it all.”
I hand them the box, and they hand me two hundred gold. I smile, “Go ahead, drink it down and watch your entire life change!”
Twenty of the Orcs drink down the poison. Perfect, they won’t even be able to realize their dead. Reaction times slowed down so much, they won’t know what hit them.
I go back to my wagon, and tap the side three times, “And that’s not all that’s within this cart!”
The three taps give the signal for the wagon to deploy. There, the Knights stand armed with all sorts of ranged weapons. 3... 2... 1.
One of the Orcs not affected reaches for their weapon, “A trick!”
I smile, “Fire!”
The salvo cuts down the twenty Orcs that are slowed down. I quickly summon my scythe to take out the rest. I also see Open Skies get through her bonds and grab her halberd. Unicorn like her, specialized in destruction, should be able to take five as I get the other five.
I quickly jump the one nearest me, nearly catching them off guard. They manage to push me off them, and use the moment I’m on the ground to try and impale me with their spear. I roll to the side, and use the moment of the spear being stuck in the ground to cut off their head.
Another rushes up to take advantage of my position, and swing down to try and hit me. I pull myself out of the way with a bit of magic, and manage to cut off their hand. With their main arm a stump, I chop off their head and get up easily.
I hear one rushing up behind me, and duck underneath their thrust. I find a gap in their armor, right where the head is. I thrust myself upward, and impale their brain on my horn. An advanced headbut, if you will.
I quickly rotate my head to throw the body at another, knocking them down. I use this time to calmly off them, and take out the final Orc with a simple thought
With all that done, I look back towards the Knights, “Alright, let’s do some cleanup!”
They all disembark from the wagon, and pick up any equipment or loot they can find. Open approaches me, “I guess I should thank you for saving me.”
I shake my head, “Nah, it’s alright. If not for your unintentional bait, we wouldn’t have found these Orcs. And this here will allow more weapons and armor to be sold. Either way, I couldn’t just let some filly die.”
I look to my right, and see something in her golden magical aura, “Here, I found your necklace.”
I reach out to grab it, “You came out here just for my necklace?”
She shrugs, “I have nowhere to stay, and helping out a pony sounded like a good nighttime activity.”
I put on the necklace, and smile at the familiar weight.
Unity, Element, Harmony, Raven
I smile over at her, “No foal should stay out in the cold snow. Our house is warm, and you’ve done us Knights a service. I’d be glad to invite you to the house.”
She smiles, “I would love that.”
I nod, “The rent is to help. So, let’s get to searching.”
All of us had fun last night, saving the extra money from our new Knight and from the raid for a rainy day. Open has blended in with us seamlessly, and we had a wonderful night of celebration with our new friend. But, we still had to get to sleep, no matter the fun, we still had businesses to run.
And so I wake up in my bed again. I look around to see everyone moving around, preparing for the day. Open seems to have taken place as a head chef, and breakfast is being served to everyone. Then, I see Ink with a bad expression on his face yet again, I sigh, “Let me guess. War?”
He nods, “Ponies on Dwarves.”
I shake my head, “What is our King doing?!” My head shoots up, “Wait, we don’t have a King. We don’t have a Queen either...”
Ink looks at me in interest, “What are you getting at, Hopeful?”
My eyes widen as realization floods in, “Open, who is our current leader?”
She finishes up her cooking, and walks over to me, “Why, it’s... it’s...” Her eyes are filled with the same realization as mine, and her face grows concerned, “What... wait...”
Ink looks between us two, “What am I not getting?”
I look over at him, “We have no leader.”
He tilts his head, “Yes we do, it’s... oh shit.”
I nod as he gets the same expression as us, “Yeah, exactly.”
Open recovers from the shock first, “But then who’s...”
Ink says the rest, “Declaring these wars?”
I nod, “Exactly.” I glance out the window to see a guard patrolling, “Who do these guards serve, if we have no leader?”
The guard looks directly at me, and teleports right in front of me, “Clever, Raven, very clever.”
The guard stares unblinking into the void of my eyes. I stare back, “What are you?”
They laugh madly, “Oh, we should have seen this coming! Even with all the powers of Madness, you are still clever!”
Sheogorath, Madness, Dadra, Deal, Blueblood.
Those thoughts mean nothing to me, even if they look more like memories, “What are you, guard? Who do you fight for if we have no leader?”
They shake their head, “That’s for Madness to know, and Raven to find out. You want my advice. Trust what you’ll find, and the path shall be opened. Madness might not have invisioned this twist in the challenge, but it is welcome none the less.”
I still stare back, “What will I find?”
They laugh, “Oh, now that would be cheating, wouldn’t it. Cheating is welcomed, but I’d rather not help you and find myself on the Hill of Suicides. I think it’s time I move along. Have fun, Death.”
Death, Scythe, Element, Crusaders.
I shake my head as they teleport away. Open walks up to me, “His voice carried no lie or deceit, we can trust him. Let’s see what we’re supposed to find, Hopeful, and maybe crack what’s going on here.”
One of my Knights rush up, carrying a piece of paper, “I found something interesting on an Orc corpse!”
I float it over to myself, “Thank you.”
Ink walks over, “What does it say?”
I read it out, “A mystery rolls through your head. To find out what has been read. Whisper into the ear of Kings like us. Say out loud ‘I am from Tel’la de Rus’. When they hear this, they whisper on their Breath. A story of Raven, he who is Death. Of his current fate. Of your friend that made him full of hate. When the tale is heard. Your vision of the past will no longer be blurred. You will receive your final awnser. Know that you are a- and it cuts off there.”
Ink shrugs, “Well, I have no ideas.”
Open thinks for a bit, “Maybe this is telling us how to solve the wars?”
I look back at it, “It says kings like us, and I’m definitely the one who was supposed to read it. Am I a King?”
Ink holds up his hooves, “Wonder on that matter later, I wanna point out what Open just said. What if she was right? I mean, if we manage to end the wars, we might be able to become Kings ourselves. Maybe that’s what this is all about, a way to determine the next king by seeing if someone could stop the wars.”
I nod, “That’s good and all, but I don’t think traveling to other kingdoms is a good idea. The winter is only getting worse and worse, and pulling a wagon through that is hard.”
Open looks around, “Well, we have plenty of ponies that would follow us anywhere. I think just pulling a cart through the snow is right up their alley. Beside, if we do this, we could help all of them. We have to trust it like the guard said.”
The other Knights all gather to listen as she speaks. One steps forward, “I would gladly travel with you, Hopeful. If we are to save the world from war, then we will save the world from war!”
Another steps forwards as well, “You’ve brought us all a life, Hopeful, I am ready to start repaying that.”
I hold out my hooves, “Really, you don’t have to come!”
One of the brawn of the group step up. The strong, but not very eloquent part, “We show we stornk. But stronkth come from peace, not war. Others violent, kill, no mercy, they the normalcy, them weak. We make peace, no death violence, show mercy and friendship. We stronker cuz we no want war, only peace.”
I hear a new voice from above us, “Said with the same grammar of an Orc in kindergarten, like all said by you Knights, but true nonetheless. You’ve been good business to the Deceivers, and we would be happy to watch you. Don’t count on the guards when you travel the road, we all know they are useless. But we can watch you, protect you. We need your business anyway.”
The Deceiver disappears as soon as he says that, leaving me with a crowd of eager Knights. I look at all of them as they all gaze upon me with hope and readiness. I give in, “Get the wagon ready, then. If you’re all serious about doing this, then we start as soon as possible.”
They all rush off, preparing to go. And I’m left with my thoughts.
Who is Raven? It seems like his name follows me, and that I should know him. I’ve never met anyone named Raven before. I mean, my mark has Raven skulls on it. Could it be that... no, I’m Hopeful Sight, not Raven. That’s too ridiculous.
I think.
If Water isn’t Condescending Enough, Talk to an Elf.
A group of eight pull the wagon as I take my break. I do have to instruct them on how to move in sync though, “Remember; 1-2-3-4, I love... umm, I can’t seem to remember what comes after.”
One of them looks back towards me, “I love midget porn?”
My eyes narrow as I look at him, “What the buck?”
The Knight next to him looks back as well, “Permission to smack my friend before he says something else?”
The original sayer looks around, “What can I say. Go to ‘Nam, come back with a-“
I nod, “Hit him, now. I don’t want to hear the rest of that.”
*Clang!*
He rubs his muzzle, “Hey, I was just trying to help.”
I look down towards him, “Whats your name?”
He looks back to me, “Gallow’s Wit.”
I tilt my head, “Should I ask why your named that?”
He shrugs, “Parents we’re hanged for hearsay, this is years ago when that was a thing. I managed to get myself out of it by telling a joke that the executioner found so funny, he let me go. That’s when I gained my mark, the noose formed to look like a smile.”
I nod, “Well, that’s interesting. But still, there are some things that we don’t need to know. I ‘preciate the attempt, but we didn’t need to know that.”
Wit shakes his head, “Something that can’t be turned into a joke? We don’t have time for mythical things like that. What’s next, Australia, Finland, Wisconsin, or Hitler’s death?”
I smile a bit, “I might not understand what that means, but I can still sense the humor. You know what, continue on with the jokes. We need to lighten the mood.”
I shiver a bit as a cool wind passes by. The Elves were to the south, so we shouldn’t get to cold in the near future. In fact, the Ponies live in the northern most place, so we should get warmer no matter what kingdom we go to. I think the plan is to tell the Elves, then Humans, than Dwarves. After all, any other order would be absurd. From north to south.
I do not like the Elves. Condescending, arrogant, conservatives in all the wrong ways, very anti-technology and overall bas in my opinion. They think because they are ageless that they are better. I don’t think they remember the multiple others of different races who were also ageless.
But the Elves are capable warriors, and craft the best swords, spears, and bows. Their armor isn’t half bad, but is easily outclassed by the others. They have little to no magic as well, and magic is versatile. They know every forest that ever existed, and can slaughter entire armies that step foot in their forests. Dangerous, stupid, arrogant, but loyal. If they say they won’t attack, they don’t attack. So, if this works, we should be able to stop any wars their in.
And it’s now I notice we are in Elven forests. We have been for a while now. And now that I focus, I can feel eyes on us. More than just Elves though.
The Elves finnaly come out to confront us, “Why are you pony children in our forests? Did you not read that we are at war, or do they not have newspapers where you’re from?”
I look around at them, “We come to seek audience with your leader, Queen I think it was?”
They shake their heads, “Then I’m afraid you quads will have to return back to your lands, now.”
I hold out my hooves, “Gentleelves, surely you could allow us a few words? We walk peacefully.”
They all draw their weapons simultaneously, “As I said, dirtlicker, you will go back, now. You quads simply could not behold our Queen if you were to lay eyes on her.”
As soon as that statement finishes, I see figures fall out of the sky. All the Elves have daggers at their neck, or a crossbow against their head. Ponies, all in black cloaks obscuring everything but their wings. The Deceivers, here to help. I hear a familiar voice ring out from a Deceiver on the main Elf, “Now, I don’t much like hearing people insult us that way. How about an apology from you, and you take the Knights to your Queen.”
The Elf smiles, “Caught us suprise, I’m impressed. But, you would be fools to assume we didn’t plan for this. And that’s what you are, fools. We have Rangers with their sights set on every one of you.”
The Deceiver laughs, “Oh, you mean those Rangers who we drugged? You guys really should check your food, never know when someone will slip some Acid in there. I believe they are still trying to fight off the gingerbread men in the clearing back there.”
The Elf looks a bit concerned, “Well, that’s why we have the Air Support ready to drop on you!”
“If we managed to land here, what do you think happened to them?”
The Elf starts to stammer, “W-what about the- the Dryads, yes!”
The Deceiver laughs some more, “You are at war, the Dryads are off fighting!”
The Elf starts to shake, “What about... fuck. Shit, you bested us. Alright, Queen damnit, I’m sorry! You managed to outsmart us, I respect that, I’m sorry.”
The Deceiver moves his dagger closer to the Elves neck, “Now, what say I don’t believe you? Anybody can make their vocal cords say their sorry. But do you mean it, do these words have weight? Every word we say should carry meaning, else we’ve just wasted precious time in our lives, and the valuable air that will eventually disappear. So, I suggest making me sure of the weight of what you say.”
The Elf tries to move his head back, “I’m sorry, I respect you! I will take you to the Queen myself! You bested me, I’ll help! Please, allow me to take you!”
I can hear Wit behind me, “Wow, you want him to take you? What are you, fukin gay?”
The Deceiver laughs, and all tension leaves as he sheaths his dagger, “Alright, I’ll trust you. Just know we will be watching.”
All of the Deceivers take off into the air at once, leaving us two groups alone. I smile at the lead Elf, “Don’t mind them, after all, you drawed first. Now, I believe we have somewhere to be?”
I look around in slight wonder as we pass through the Elven capital, Ravendell. There’s that name again, Raven, why is his name everywhere on my path? He must be something important, but who is he exactly? Whatever, I’ll learn later. The letter thingy said I would learn from the royals.
This city, if you could even call it that, is quite beautiful. Trees hollowed out and housing Elf families, wich look upon us with slight dread. Well, the adults do, the kids run around us having fun. I make sure to whisper into Wits ear, “Try not to ruin any of their innocence, please.”
Wit, nods, but says, “Innocence is just the illusion that is broken by all of us. Then we choose to either be serious, or be like me. If I wanted to break their innocence, I would show them Reddit.”
I tap him on the shoulder, “I don’t know what a Reddit is, but I’d rather that not happen.”
He does a long, overdramatic sigh, “Fine, Hopeful, just for you.”
I retake my position on top of the wagon, Ink and Open right next to me. Ink starts up conversation, “So, your plan?”
I look forward, “Trust the note. If all else fails, at least we can open counsel with the Queen.”
Ink looks right at me, “And what authority will we claim if things go wrong?”
Open smiles, “Well, as a Noble, I can legally preform dimplomatic actions of the King in his absence. We have my authority. To be honest, I’m just glad I can finally do something to help.”
I look back at her, “Nonsense, you’re our friend, and a fellow Knight, you’ve done plenty. If not for you, we would be back in town still selling weapons and newspapers. Liven up, Open, frowns don’t look good on you.”
She smiles again, “Are you saying I look good?”
I smile, “Sorry Open, I’m taken. I’m not going to say no to your question, but I’m not gonna say more for fear of what might occur to me.”
Ink holds up a hoof between us two, “Hold it, hold it! Hopeful, you’re dating? When were you going to tell me?”
Open smiles, “And who is the filly? Or, maybe colt, though I don’t think you swing that way.”
I think, “Well, yes, I’m dating. I... completely forgot to tell you, Ink. And yes, she is a she. Her name is... it’s... huh, I cannot remember. All memories around her seem really blurry for some reason. All I know is that she is my Sweetie, and she is wonderful.”
Ink shakes his head, “Are you saying you don’t remember the filly you’re dating? Hopeful, you’re hopeless.”
I smile, “Oxymoron.”
He slams his hoof into his face, “You remember the word oxymoron, and how to use it, but not who you’re dating?”
I shrug, “Some of my memories are blurry for no reason. I can barely remember my parents, or my early life. Maybe this quest will solve it, or it could just be a memory I have to deal with.”
Ink shakes his head, “Well, alright. Get ready to speak, we’re here.”
I look up, and find we are ascending a path on a huge tree. Like, the absolute size of this lad has me in awe.
Wit apparently thinks the same, “In awe at the size of this lad, absolute unit.”
I nod blankly as we ascend, “This is one thick tree. Enough wood here to build this wagon hundreds of times over.”
The lead Elf looks back at me, “This is the Tree of Life, and I would like if you wouldn’t insinuate that you want to cut it down. You touch this thing with an axe, you will be killed on the spot.”
I nod, “Well, I’ll be sure not to take out any axes.”
And with that, we crest over the path, onto the top. The Elf immediately bows to a female Elf on the throne, “My Queen, these ponies request audience.”
The Queen calmly looks at him, “We are at war with the Ponies, are we not? This begs me to ask the question, Captain. Why have you lead a group of armed ponies into our capital?”
The Captain shudders a bit, “They, uh- they... outsmarted me. They are here to discuss peace.”
The Queen looks back at us, “And you led them here so that we could ambush them, correct?”
The Captain shakes his head, “No, I led them here to discuss peace. Forgive me for useing my freedom of speech, Queen, but these wars are stupid. People are being killed for no good reason, and the winter only gets worse. We need to lay down our arms and focus on having enough food and warmth to survive. These ponies are brave, walking into our territory to disscuss peace, and they met our threats head on. I promised my rank to make sure these ponies got the chance to talk to you. If you turn them down, you can expect my squads resignation forms.”
The Queen then smiles, “Good, very good, Lion Guard.”
The Captain looks up, “Lion Guard?!”
The Queen nods, “Only the best may become them. I presume you thought that meant the best physically. But your morals, reasoning, and want for peace makes you perfect to become one. Congrats, Lion Guard.”
The newly made Lion Guard bows deeper, “Thank you, my Queen!”
“Oh, get up already.” The Queen then looks back to us, more specifically me as I approach her, “How did a group of foals manage to beat a squad of Elves, especially when they had Rangers?”
I approach closer, “I believe I have one sentence to explain it all.”
She leans down to my level, “Than let’s hear it.”
I reach up to her ear, and take the gamble, “I am from Tel’la De Rus.”
I lean back, and see her eyes lock onto mine, “Show the scythe.”
I summon my scythe into existence, “Here.”
She looks at it, and her face turns to one of understanding, “Oh, yeah that explains a lot.”
I step back as she straightens back up, “So, I was told you’d tell me the story of Raven?”
She shakes her head, “I’m a Queen, not a King. Only the Dwarves and Humans Kings know the tale. I can tell you he was quite important, that’s why our city is named after him.”
I sigh, “So we have to talk to the Dwarf or Human king to know?”
She nods, “I’m sorry I can’t do more. But, I will call off all wars we are in.” She locks onto the new Lion Guard, “In fact, I will send the new Lion Guard to help you along.”
He walks over to us, “I believe I have yet to introduce myself. Call me Frey, and I guess I will be helping you.”
I look back to the Queen, “You sure you want to send him?”
Our mission seems to have happened at an optimal time. The Dwarf and Human Kings are meeting together, and that makes this mission one kingdom shorter. Frey carries his Queens authority, we carry Equestrian authority, and we can make world peace in one meeting. That code phrase, or whatever it is, seems to work. We can all forgive each other, and work together towards a brighter future.
Optimistic, to be sure, but I am called Hopeful for a reason. I look over to Frey as he runs along with us, “You ready?”
He nods, maintaing a good, steady pace, “The Queen trusted me with this, I indever not to fail. I’d question you lot about that more, you are only children. Children, I might add, that have no experience with politics.”
I shrug, “We’re exceptional at things we shouldn’t be.” You may be asking how I shrug when I am running. Magic.
Frey shrugs back, “Can’t deny that, can I.”
I look over at Wit, “Wit, If this goes badly, we need you to be ready to diffuse the situation.”
Wit laughs back, “I’ll bring the dank ones then.”
I look over at Ink and Open, “I want you two to come with me in there. I might need support, emotional or physical if all goes wrong.”
Open nods, “Of course, it’s the least I could do.”
Ink smiles, “Oh, now this will make for a good scoop!”
I look back at the ones not pulling the wagon, “Fellow Knights, put on any armor you can, carry the most fancy weapons. We want to look official when we actually make it into the capital.”
Wit sharks from beside me, “Oh yes, maybe they’ll think children are the actual army! You know, because we have the exact same conscription laws as the Soviets!”
I ignore the comment, and make sure they all put on fancy enough stuff. I then look forward, “Alright everyone, let’s slow down. We’re about to run into the capital of the Humans, get ready to march.”
We slow down our speed heavily to a normal marching pace. Knights pour out of the wagon, wearing armor and carrying weapons of all kinds. Some release us from pulling, and take the place instead.
With us free, and the wagon moving steadily, we all spread out. The other Knights make a square around the wagon, and the rest of us walk in front of the ponies in front of the wagon. We, being the unofficial leaders, should maintain a position at the front, gain respect from those that see us.
A respectable pace, and a intimidating approach, perfect. We make our way onto the main streets, and see civilians hide away in their homes when they see us. That, or they look at us in awe.
Human cities are constructed in a grid like pattern, so we can find our way without a guide, unlike the Elves.
The main streets always leads to the town hall, or in this case the King’s castle. In fact, we’re coming up on it right now.
A Human rides out on a horse, unintelligent but big ponies, and a Dwarf points their musket at us. The Human speaks first, “What are you Ponies doing here! Bringing a squad of armed ponies as well?!”
I hold up a hoof, and all behind me stop, “We are a joint delegation sent to discuss peace of the races. As per tradition, we come with an escort. We speak with the authority of Equestria, and the Elven Queen. And we wish to open up peace talks as the two other races King’s are here.” How did I know to say all of that? I don’t know politics!
He looks at me once more, “And why should we allow you in? For what reason?”
I speak before even thinking, “Intelligent Rights Act 13. Any and all official ambassadors of peace are to be accepted in to discuss peace. Read up on you law before you become a guard, it comes in handy.” The buck is the Intelligent Rights Act?
He looks at me for a second longer, before holding up his hand, “Balder, put down your gun.”
The Dwarf, presumably named Balder, holsters his weapon.
The Human hops off his horse, and holds out a hand to me, “I am Knight Burion, that Dwarf behind me is Engineer Balder. Welcome to Castle Draydon.”
I take his hand in a hearty shake, “Hopeful Sight, the four behind me are Open Skies, Ink, and Frey respectively. I am glad to be here.”
Burion pulls a lever, and opens the gates, “Come on in, we shall lead you to our Kings.”
I trot behind Burion and Balder with my four other friends. The castle is nicely decorated, murals and tapestry’s of differnt kings and emperors. A King charging with some men towards a dark castle, all four races fighting in tandem against dark abominations, even one of Burion, Frey, and Balder charging against hordes of Orcs and undead.
Burion takes a moment to look at the mural, “I remember those days. When the dark forces marched through our lands, and this very castle was our only defense. Me, Frey, and Balder worked together to push back the forces. Many good lives were lost to the era of Heroes. One hundred years later, and I still awaken sometimes to nightmares about the enemy.”
I look over at him, “You’re immortal?”
He shakes his head, “Only ageless, not immortal. Frey, and Balder are in the same boat. There would be more of us, but our fellow friends fell in battle. Ranger Elric, brothers Runesmith Graknar and Berserker Kragnar, Grandmaster Raevon. All brothers in arms, and it is only because of their sacrifice that we could win. Pictured here is the Siege of Scarwood Keep, the final battle of the era.”
Frey takes out a staff with a huge green orb at the end, “My magic managed to easily cut them down, and they couldn’t do a thing against it. I used to be the highest position possible, but I was deranked back to Captain when I spoke out against the last kings corruption.”
Balder even looks back to the mural, “This beauty in my hand here cut down those walls, and any in their way. My turrets, combined with Burion’s skill with a sword and Frey’s magical shields and blasts evicerated everything. Then, Kragnar charged at them in a fit of rage... he was a good Dwarf. He took hundreds down in that final charge. He looks at the war today with shame from the afterlife. He fought for peace, and here we are killing those we fought with back then.”
Burion follows that up, “These two and all those that fell were brothers, closer than blood as we were coated in it. I fought alongside Raevon, carving a path through unprepared enemies. I saw that catapult fire at him, I shouted out to warn him. He couldn’t hear me over the sound of his sword cutting through enemies, and the million other shouts that happend. By the time he looked up, he only had time to say one thing. He looked at me, right in my eyes, he said ‘peace’ right before he died. These wars we declare now are stupid, but we still commit to them. We fight when the only good option is peace.”
Frey leans against a wall, “I stood next to Elric, following up any arrows of his with blasts of my magic. I was so caught up with watching his attacks, I never saw the arrow headed towards him. Only when he fell, I realized I had made a mistake. His last words were that he forgave me, and he died. Forgiveness is the one thing beings lack today. We can’t forgive others, much less ourselves for so many things. We need to learn how. This is the one opportunity for forgiveness, and I am glad it is finnaly happening. Let’s us go, we have disscusions to make.”
And so, we walk on through the throne rooms doors. Sitting together are the Kings of Dwarves and Men. The man looks up at us, “Who are you, why are you here?”
I enter in all the way, “I am here to discuss peace.”
The Human narrows his eyes, “On what authority?”
I smile, “On one very simple authority. I am from Tel’la De Rus.”
The mans eyes widen, “Show your scythe, now.”
The Dwarf King laughs, “Oh, calm down already, Henry! Look, it’s a foal with no eyes, a black cloak, and a raven skull playing card as a mark. Are you really going to ask for a scythe when it’s so obviously him?”
Henry looks at me more intensely, “You can’t be too careful with this, Thogar, you know what this could possibly mean.”
Thogar shakes his head, “If my life is about to end again, then let’s get it over with so I don’t have to live in this fantasy anymore. My death was very peaceful, and I find no reason delaying my return.”
Henry locks with my eyes, “Show me that scythe, please.”
I grab my scythe with some magic, and give it to him, “Here.”
He takes a swing with it, and sees the green fire burst out and trace it, “Hot damn it really is you.”
I look at both of them, and take back my scythe, “My name is Hopeful Sight, and I am here to learn the legend of Ravens Breath and discuss peace.”
Thogar laughs, “Ah, I’d love to have peace, laddy I really would. But it would be useless after this illusion falls apart.”
I lean in, “What illusion?”
Thogar looks me right in the eye, “This entire world, laddy. Ravens Breath, Lord of Magic, Bearer of Unity, Lord of Life, Death himself, last Necromancer ever. If you wanted to see him, all you needed to do was look in a mirror.”
Is he implying, “No, no, that can’t be true. You lie!”
He doesn’t laugh, just look more seriously, “You can not deny what the truth is, Death. Think, remember who you really are, Raven!”
I... I can’t be... it’s not possible! I am... I am... Ravens Breath.
Hopeful Sight never existed, it was just me with differnt memories. Was this the challenge? To figure this out?
I look over to my right to see Op- no, not Open Skies, Open Skies never existed. All of it was an illusion, Open never existed. All the time it was her, Celestia, “Betrayer. Murderer. Monster!”
She looks back at me in confusion, “What are you talking about, Hopeful?”
I... I need to think, formulate a strategy.
I fling myself out of the window, and sprout my wings of bone. I don’t know where I’m flying, I’m just going.
The snow around me picks up to almost a blizzard, but the rage inside of me keeps me warm.
I land somewhere, some type of abandoned castle. I quickly collapse to the ground as I think over everything. Open could never have been Celestia. Open was good, Celestia isn’t! She... she must have taken her out and taken her place to try and get to me! Nothing else would make sense, it has to be that! Celestia would never have acted liked Open. Unless if it was to kill me.
Another case of murder towards her, I will take pleasure dispensing justice. She will pay for this, she will!
I hear a thud behind me, “Hopeful? Why are you all the way out here?”
I look around to stare into Celestia’s eyes, “Where is Open? What did you do to her?”
She tilts her head, “I’m right here, Hopeful. Why are you acting like this?”
I laugh, “Oh, you believe you can trick me, don’t you!? Think I will fall for your tricks!”
She starts to approach me, “You’re scaring me, Hopeful. Snap out of it!”
I stare into her, “Hopeful never existed. He was simply me with different memories. I’m more worried about Open, and what you did with her.”
She shakes her head, “Hopeful, I’m right here!”
I stand up quickly, “Hopeful never existed! I am Ravens Breath, Element of Unity, Death himself! Stop playing these dumb games, Celestia!”
As soon as I say her name, her confused look turns into one of anger, “Necromancer, what have you done to Hopeful!?”
I afix her with a glare of my own, “Hopeful never existed! What did you do to Open!?”
She takes out my halberd, “Open never existed!”
I... I can’t see deceit in her eyes, “Was it all a trick, an illusion to try and kill me!?”
She glares harder, “I was just about to ask the same! Hopeful obviously was a trick!”
I laugh darkly, “Oh, that makes me sound like a villain! Now, I’m no good guy, but I’m no villain. You wanna see a villain, look in the mirror!”
She takes an offensive stance, “You dare imply I am evil!? No matter, villains usually lie!”
I take out my scythe, “Celestia, you were found guilty by the court! You fled justice, and now you come back mocking its name once again! It is because of you the whole world ended! You will pay for that, and then Blueblood shall as well!”
She throws the halberd at me, the speed braking the light barrier. I transform into my Reaper form, and slap it away.
She follows it up with a burst of solar energy to my head. I simply transform back, and thus go under it.
I use a second to whip out a 9mm I had in a pocket dimension. I think back to the lessons Courier and Survivor thought me.
With nary a seconds notice, I fire off five shots. All of wich are aimed at different organs in her body.
And, they land, “Ahhhh!”
She collapses right there, and I float over to her.
I take a second to look up, and I see all of the Knights there. Frey, Burion, and Balder all watch along with their leaders. Ink watches in horror, “Hopeful, Raven, stop!”
I stop my advance, and look over at him, “Ink, I’ll explain it all later. Celestia is a very bad pony, and she needs to be put down.”
Ink shakes his head, “Don’t talk to me like I’m a foal, Raven. You know me better than that. Is there no way to do this better?”
I sigh, “Ink, I wish there was. I hoped when I arrived on Equestria that all would go well. She fucked it up, she fucked everything up. She already died once for her crimes, I plan to make it twice.”
Ink stamps down his hoof, “If she died once than her sentence is over!”
I look forward blankly, “I’m sorry Ink, but this has to happen. I promise I will tell you why later.”
He holds out a hoof, “Promise?”
I take it in my skeletal fingers, “Promise.”
He steps back, “I trust you. I know you will make the right decision.”
I nod, “Thank you.”
I continue floating towards her as Decivers join the crowd. I take out Raven’s Talons, my scythe is too good for her.
I stop in front of her, “It didn’t have to go like this, Celestia. Things could have gone differently, better. I never would have hoped for what happened, but you made it happen.”
She coughs a bit, and looks up at me, “Don’t make me laugh, that would hurt. Ever since you came into our world, it was set towards destruction. You are evil, pure unadulterated evil.”
I lean down toward her level, “Villians usually lie, don’t they? That’s the only explanation for what you just said.”
She punches my face, doing no damage to anyone but herself, “You Necromancers are all the same! All lies and deceit about being good! I won’t be tricked again by one of your kind!”
I wipe off the dust she got on my face, “Tricked again? I’ve caught on to that, and I feel there is a story.”
She collapses further down, “I won’t let this happen again. I will have payback for father, I will kill you, Necromancer! I never should have trusted those fillies, I should have killed you right then! Just like Sombra, drive a sword through your chest!”
I kick away her halberd, just in case, “Sombra had changed, he was good!”
She affixes me with the angriest eyes I’ve ever seen, “Lies! Evil can never become good! I won’t let myself get tricked by evil again! I can’t allow someone else to die becuase of stupid trust! Father should never have trusted Vogrim!”
I tilt my head, “Vogrim? The Last Necromancer before I came into the world?”
She starts to cry, “He was supposed to be good. He laughed, he cried, he smiled, he was an uncle to me. A show that even the most evil can become good. He was family to us. Then... father was found dead, with him holding the knife. Betrayal, from who was supposed to be redeemed. I knew since then, evil is evil, evil can never be trusted to become good. If you trust evil to be good, they will betray you.”
So that’s why. I sigh, “Celestia, I’m not Vogrim. I didn’t murder your father, I didn’t betray you, I barely even know you. People are people, Celestia. You cannot judge me off of someone else a thousand years ago. I am Ravens Breath, Element of Unity, not Volgrim the betrayer. Your rash judgment of me has eventually led to the world being destroyed.”
She starts to break down, “I’m so sorry, father, I’m so sorry. I- I’ve been blind. I’m so sorry.”
I stare at her breaking down in front of me. A mare, not evil, not good, just a flawed mare who did the wrong thing for the right reasons. She’s done so much wrong, but for the right reasons.
”He fought for peace, and here we are killing those we fought with back then.”
”He looked at me, right in my eyes, he said ‘peace’ right before he died. These wars we declare now are stupid, but we still commit to them. We fight when the only good option is peace.”
”His last words were that he forgave me, and he died. Forgiveness is the one thing beings lack today. We can’t forgive others, much less ourselves for so many things. We need to learn how. This is the one opportunity for forgiveness, and I am glad it is finnaly happening.”
“If she died once than her sentence is over!”
I look at her, and realize what the challenge was.
I drop my scythe, turning back to being a foal. I hug her, “I forgive you.”
As soon as I utter the words, the veritable blizzard around us stopped. I don’t stop my embrace, but I do look up to see what happened.
All of the snow in the area all gathers into one area, and starts to spin around very, very fast. The snow slowly starts to colorize and form together. Standing in the middle after it done is a man.
A man wearing a suit of multiple types, white hair, and a mad smile, “Well, Raven, good job! You pass!”
I look right at him, “This was the challenge, to see if I could forgive?”
He nods, “Yep, spot on! Although you did take quite the detour with all this peace talking. Not like those talks will matter, anyway! Let’s claim your prize!”
He’s about to clap his hands together, but I teleport in front of him, and lock my scythe in between his hands, “Not quite yet, Sheo.”
He looks at the scythe between his hands, and drops them, “What’s left, you get your prize!?”
I look him right in his eyes, “You will not allow these people to never exist. Bring these kingdoms into reality, bring these people to life.”
He laughs, “Sorry, Raven, but I’m afraid that wasn’t part of the deal!”
I walk right up to him, meeting him eye to eye, “I’m afraid I wasn’t asking if it was in the deal. These are people, each unique and with history. You will make them real.”
He looks me right back, “You can’t command me.”
I hold him up by his neck, “Oh, I’m not commanding you. I’m giving two options. Make these people in reality, the entire kingdoms, or learn what happens if you die before Grey March. Besides, more people means more madness.”
He reaches up to my hand, “Fine, I can’t dissagre with that logic. Now let me down, I don’t like being manhandled!”
I let him down, and he claps, turning our current position into a black void as everything moves to reality. I help him up off the ground, “Thank you, Sheo. Sorry about threatening you, but I wasn’t about to allow my friends to be basically murdered.”
Sheogorath rubs a bruise out of his neck, “Yeah, yeah, let’s just get to the fun part. I’m sure you’ve been looking forward to this a long time.”
I crack my neck, “Oh, definitely.”
He smiles, “Then off we go!” And, claps his hands.
———
I land on the deck of my ship. People, ponies, and other some such surround me. Well, Sheo actually made them real. Of course, there is the fact that all of the Jacks are threatening everyone, shouting questions on how they got on the ship. The air is so tense that even the North Korean DMZ pales in comparison.
Then, they look back and see me there. I look at all of them, “At ease, sailors. They’re friends.”
Captain Sparrow looks back at me, and nods. He puts away his sword, and the others follow along. The Captain swaggers over to me, “Raven, any explanation on why there is a pony on board that looks like Sun-Bitch?”
I look over at Celestia, “Well, Captain Jack, that’s because she is. Don’t worry about her, I got it.”
He raises a hoof to say something, before putting it down, “I imagine there’s story behind that. I can wait to ask later.”
I nod at him, and trot over to Celestia as she looks down at the Wasteland. I put a hoof on her shoulder, “Do you see what happened? Our civilizations, gone. The sky blocked, the earth grey, ponies killing, raping, and eating others, and not always in that order.”
She looks over, tears running down her face, “I caused all of this? All because I was blind to the truth?!”
I shake my head, “Celestia, don’t blame yourself for this. You didn’t destroy the world! Yes, your actions led up to it, but you couldn’t hav guessed Blueblood would have done this!”
She looks over at me, “Blueblood, my nephew? He caused all of this?”
I nod, “He was the one leading the opposition that eventually launched the first nuclear megaspells. All of that just so he could claim he is a king in the Wasteland, only allowing those who follow him to survive.”
Her eyes burn with a fire of rage so hot the tears on her face evaporate, “Where is he?”
I her in the eye, calming her down, “He will be punished, Celestia, you will do nothing. It’s my punishment to give, not yours.”
She calms down, “I understand. What will you do to explain to your friends?”
I think, “Well, I’ll tell them the story, convince them to forgive you. That’s the most I can do.”
She looks back out over the Wasteland, “Thank you, Raven. If I were in your position, I don’t think I would’ve spared myself. Death, seen as uncaring in all mythology, just a specter in the background. But, you disprove all of those myths, being the most caring pony I think I’ve met in my long lifetime.”
I pat her on the shoulder, “I’m glad your on my side. Someone as powerful as you was at waste fighting the wrong fight. Now, we have a world to clean up.”
I turn around, and see Sheo standing there, “Presenting, Blueblood!”
With a clap of his hands, Blueblood appears in the middle of the deck, “Ah, I assume Raven lost?”
He tries to move but finds himself paralyzed. Sheo shakes his head, “Nope, your punishment is to be chosen by Raven. Take it away!”
I step forward, enjoying the look on Bluebloods face, “That name always intrigued me. Blueblood, made me wonder if it actually was. But, I don’t plan on testing that.”
He looks at me in indignation, “Go ahead and kill me! My army will come soon and annihilate all of you! Officer Loo and the army will wipe you off the map!”
I look up at said army. Around fifty power armor wearing Enclave soldiers with a familiar officer leading them. I can hear shouts from here, “Sir Loo, they have the King! Orders?”
Deceivers come down from above them, showing that the soldiers are surrounded from all sides. I can see Officer Loo meet my eyes, ”Stand down soldiers, holster weapons and fly down to join them.”
The soldiers all surrender, and fly down to join us. I look at Loo as he flies down, “Good choice.”
Blueblood looks around frantically, “No! No, that can’t happen!” He looks down at the ground to avoid my eyes, “Please, forgive me! Don’t kill me!”
I tilt his head up with my scythe, looking into his eyes, “I would never kill you. Death is too good for you.” I lean in closer, “No, you’re a vain person, someone who relies on others to compliment him to feel accomplished. I have the perfect punishment for you.”
Sheo speaks up from behind, “What would that be?”
I look back at him, “Open a gate to the Void between universes.”
He does so, and Blueblood stares into his fate, “No! No, kill me instead!”
I turn the fire on for my scythe, and press the blade against his forehead. The mark of a scythe now permanently branded on him, “This is the Mark of Death. You cannot sleep, you don’t need to eat, you don’t need to drink, you will not die unless it is intentional. Your eyes shall remain ever open as you float for endless years.”
He strains to try and move, “No, please, no! You can’t do that!”
I reach down, and pick him up by the neck. I turn toward the void, and stare him in the eyes, “Blueblood, you have been found guilty of destroying the world. Take this breath, savor it, it’s the last you’ll ever have. Blink now, it’s the last chance you will have. Look now, listen now, smell now, this is the last thing that will grace your senses in the rest of eternity.”
He looks around frantically, “Help, somepony help!”
I smile humorously, “I’d say goodbye, but that would imply there’s something about you that’s good. Bye, Blueblood, enjoy your new immortal existence.”
I toss him screaming into the portal, and watch him float into the Void. Then, the portal closes after him, never to be seen again.
I look around me, seeing all my friends from both worlds, “Well, I have some explanations to give, don’t I?”
They all rush at me with questions.
Help me.
—(1 second universal time, fifty years void time. Blueblood)—
45-46-47-48-49-50
51-52-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60
Sixty. The minute passes. This marks the fifty year anniversary of me being out here.
I can’t breathe, I can’t blink, I can’t sleep, I can do anything but float and count the time. There’s nothing to see but the pure lack of color. No noise, nopony to compliment my beautiful smile.
3-4-5-6-7
What has my existence come to? I swear, when I get back, I will kill Raven myself.
