Twilight has died! Now the other elements have to go get her soul back!
Twilight, has unfortunately died. Thankfully, because she recently became an alicorn, she is easily revived. There is only one problem, for some reason, her soul won't come back to the land of the living. Fearing the worst, her friends embark on a journey into the Domain of the Dead to find out what happened.
Princess Celestia sighed, she had not expected this to happen so soon. This was ridiculous! Twilight had just become an alicorn! Right when they were just having tea in the castle too, discussing the very topic itself!
Oh well, these things happen, she might as well start cleaning up.
Looking down, Princess Celestia could see Twilight lying on the floor at the bottom of the staircase, wings splayed and legs limp. Her neck was bent in an unnatural angle, and her face was frozen in shock as her eyes took on a glossy sheen.
Sighing once more, Princess Celestia picked her up in her magic and reset her neck, a sickening crack echoed throughout the staircase. Princess Celestia winced a bit, but continued going about 'fixing' Twilight's body, smoothing down her feathers and straightening her mane.
Once that was done, she walked back up the staircase with Twilight in tow, and began heading towards a spare room to keep her in. Upon arriving, Princess Celestia casually dropped the body on the bed and sat down.
"Now all we do is wait,"
Rarity was the last to arrive at the train station, having packed an enormous amount of dresses to take on their trip to Canterlot. If only she had more time to prepare, getting the invitation from Spike on such short notice made her have to choose only ten dresses!
The rest of her friends were already there, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were just standing, Pinkie Pie was bouncing, and Fluttershy looked worried.
"Do you really need to bring that much Rarity? We're just going to see the Princesses." Rainbow Dash quipped,
"It never hurts to be prepared darling, besides, I have to look my best whenever I'm in Canterlot." Rarity retorted.
"Hah! I don't need any dresses to look my best, I'm completely awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed,
"I beg to differ, darling," Rarity stated,
"Then beg!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, popping in between the two.
"What?" They both asked.
"You said 'I beg to differ', but you didn't actually beg. Why are you saying you're going to beg if you don't beg?" Pinkie Pie explained.
"It's an expression dear, I'm not actually going to beg, darling," Rarity said after a moment.
"Hmph, I'd like to see that" Rainbow Dash muttered,
"ALL ABOARD! PONYVILLE TO CANTERLOT!" The conductor shouted,
"Looks like our train is here, did we all bring our elements?" Applejack asked,
A plethora of nods and affirmatives came from the other four ponies gathered.
"Good, let’s get going," Applejack finished, trotting towards the train.
Following her, the rest boarded the train as well, and upon finding their respective seats, the train departed.
"Do you know why the Princess invited us all to Canterlot? And why do we need the Elements? I hope we're not going to have to do something dreadful, I just styled my mane this morning." Rarity wondered.
"Ah have no idea, Spike just came by with the letter and train tickets. Ah'm a little confused about needing the Elements though." Applejack said.
"Ooh Ooh! I bet we have to reform another villain like Discord! Who is it going to be this time? Chrysalis? Sombra? Or even Nightmare Moon again!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"I hope not," Fluttershy said quietly.
"Pinkie, Princess Luna is already reformed, why would we have to do it again?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"I dunno!" Pinkie Pie replied, flagging down a snack cart.
"We'll just have to see when we get there darling." Rarity piped up.
The train ride passed without incident, and without further conversations. The five ponies soon arrived in Canterlot, the dazzling city rising around them once again, oblivious to the new arrivals.
"We should head straight to the castle ah reckon," Applejack took the lead.
Nopony disagreed, though Rarity sighed a bit in disappointment.
"Wait a minute. Do we have Twilight's element?" Rainbow Dash asked,
Everypony froze, and began searching through their bags and luggage. No Element of Magic came up.
"Oh I do hope Twilight has it with her, or else we might have to make this whole trip again." Rarity said,
"It's not so bad! Those snack carts had a lot of good stuff!" Pinkie Pie said with her mouth full, managing to spit crumbs all over the ground in front of her.
"Pinkie, that's gross, finish eating before you speak. Besides, I could make that trip in about ten minutes anyway. It won't be a problem." Rainbow Dash boasted.
"You just might have too, though I hope it doesn't come to that," Rarity said,
"C'mon now, let’s not keep the Princesses waiting." Applejack stepped up, beginning to walk towards the castle.
The rest soon followed, and the Elements began their journey to the castle. The city seemed relatively calm that day, so there weren't any interruptions as the five made their way through the streets.
"Do you think this has something to do with Twilight? The Princess didn't mention her in the invitation, isn't she supposed to be here right now?" Rainbow Dash began.
"I hope she’s okay," Fluttershy mumbled,
"She's probably fine, though it is a little strange there was no mention of her in the invitation." Rarity added.
"Ooh! Maybe it's a surprise! And when we get there Twilight is going to show us her wicked awesome new alicorn powers!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed,
"That doesn't sound right, why would we have to make a trip all the way to Canterlot just to see Twilight? Although, I'm not complaining about being here." Rarity said, gazing at all the wonders passing by.
"We'll just have to ask the Princess when we see her, Ah've noticed she can be a little vague sometimes." Applejack said,
"It doesn't exactly put her in a good light does it." Rarity noted,
The rest of the trip was quiet, with only the sparse conversation piping up every once in a while.
They soon arrived at the castle doors, the guards immediately letting them in without question. Standing in the throne room were both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia looked a little worried, while Princess Luna was smiling a bit.
"My little ponies, thank you for coming on such short notice, but this is an important matter, we need your help." Princess Celestia began.
"What do you need us to help with, and where is Twilight? Isn’t she supposed to be here?" Applejack asked,
"That is why it is so important, dear Applejack. This matter is about Twilight."
"What do you mean? Is that why she isn't here right now?" Rarity asked.
"Before I reveal what has happened, I should educate you a bit about ourselves, and alicorn biology. There is a reason we live for so long, it is because we are immune to death." Princess Celestia explained,
There was a round of gasps, but no further interruption.
She continued, "Alicorns are removed from the mortal coil, and while our bodies can still technically die, our souls cannot, meaning we are free to come back again and again."
Silence remained over the group, before eventually somepony spoke up.
"Does that mean…?"
"Yes my little ponies, Twilight has unfortunately died." Princess Celestia answered.
Fluttershy and Rarity both fainted, while Pinkie Pie's hair went flat. Rainbow's wings drooped, and Applejack took off her hat.
"But do not fret, for Twilight will not stay dead. As I have said before, alicorns can come back from beyond." Princess Celestia reassured the group.
"Then why isn't she back yet?" Rainbow demanded,
"That is why we need your help, for some unknown reason, Twilight's soul has not yet returned to her body. While it is not unheard of for the process to take a while, problems begin to arise if it takes too long." Princess Celestia explained.
"How do you expect us to help? What can we do to bring Twilight back?" Applejack asked.
"Since you are her closest friends, you are the best suited to go and recover her soul. To do this, we need to send you beyond the mortal plane, and into the Domain of the Dead."
"B-But we aren't alicorns! How will we come back?" Rarity exclaimed,
"That is why you have brought the Elements of Harmony, they shall act as your anchor to the material world, allowing you to be brought back similarly to an alicorn."
"How will we know where to go? Will we have a guide?" Rainbow asked.
"Unfortunately not. We cannot go with you, our duties prevent us from leaving this plane for an extended time. You will have to do this alone. That does not mean we cannot provide any assistance, Luna holds some power in the Domain of the Dead, and carrying her mark will allow you places that others cannot normally go."
"How does Princess Luna have power in the dead world?" Pinkie Pie piped up.
"It is quite simple really,” Princess Luna joined in, “I was offered a job as the Reaper of Souls over a thousand years ago."
"That, and you 'visit' the Domain of the Dead far more often than I do." Princess Celestia said, nudging her slightly.
Princess Luna glared at her, but didn't press the issue. Then she turned to the Elements bearers, her horn began to glow, and they were quickly enveloped in a blue light. After some time, it faded, and each pony looked themselves over, revealing a crescent moon branded onto the bottom of their front hooves.
"Simply show that to any who stand in your way, and they should stand down, but do not go flaunting it around, as it may attract unwanted attention." Princess Luna explained.
"Allow me to explain where you will be going as well. There are three layers to the Domain of the Dead. The first is the neutral area, where all new souls end up, including yourselves. There you will be judged on your actions and either be sent to the good area, the bad area, or stay in the neutral area. I have faith that none of you will end up in the bad area, but be warned, there are many ways to enter it, but only one exit." Princess Celestia explained.
The other ponies shivered a bit,
“But what about Tartarus?”
“Tartarus is reserved for the living.” Princess Luna began, “It holds those whose punishment extends past their lifetime, or those that defy death…”
“Oh.”
Princess Celestia nodded, then continued, "The good area is where you will most likely end up, but be warned again, as while you can leave at any time, most who go there find that they do not want to come back."
"So we just have to go in there, help Twilight come back, and then come back ourselves? Sounds pretty easy to me," Rainbow Dash spoke,
"It may be very easy, or it may be very challenging. There are many unknowns in this situation, I advise you to be both cautious and quick." Princess Celestia finished,
"When…” Fluttershy trailed off, “When do we go to the 'Domain of the Dead'?"
"We will begin the process now, stay safe my little ponies." Princess Celestia answered, her horn glowing.
Princess Luna joined in, and both sisters' horns began to glow brighter and brighter. A white circle appeared around the five ponies, complex designs folding inwards from the border. Tendrils of white light swirled around them as they began to float upwards.
"One last thing,” Princess Luna tacked on quickly, “Try not to take longer than two days to come back. Your corpses will begin to decay after that, and we do not want to have to deal with the smell," Luna called out quickly.
"CORPSES?!" All five of the element bearers shouted as the light enveloped them completely.
With a bright flash, their souls were sent flying out of their bodies and upwards into the sky.
...
"That was remarkably easy sister," Princess Luna eventually spoke up,
"What was?"
"Convincing them to leave the material plane, we did not even have to show them Twilight's body!"
"Hmmm. That is worrying, perhaps we should have a talk with them about it when they come back. For now however, we have to deal with these," Princess Celestia said, gesturing to the five now lifeless bodies laying limply on the floor.
"Can we not just put them all in the same bed?" Princess Luna asked, exasperated,
"I suppose we could, but you still have to help me move them,"
"Ughh, fine." Princess Luna said, lifting up both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who managed to remain smiling, even in death.
Rarity was not having a good time. Today had started out as any normal day, but then she got invited to Canterlot by none other than Princess Celestia herself! Truly an honor that only a select few would get the privilege of. Now though, Rarity wasn't so sure if that was a good thing.
Everything felt off, which meant Rarity couldn't actually feel anything. Attempting to swivel her ears around yielded nothing, trying to lick her lips yielded nothing either, and having a go at smelling the air yielded nothing yet again. Something strange was going on.
In a last ditch effort to experience something, Rarity opened her eyes. It was weird, but vision slowly returned to her. The world around her was a bit blurry, but she could make out her white coat and purple mane, as well as some other white thing in front of her.
Her vision cleared a bit, and she inspected her muzzle, her white coat looked very dry, and almost solid. Her mane wasn't holding out much better either, as it was obviously frayed and unkempt. Trying to purse her lips in frustration yielded nothing once more.
Finally, she got a good look at the white object in front of her, and she froze.
There, a skeleton lay in a pile. It was a mess, with every bone in a jumble. The worst part about it however, was the signature rainbow colored mane of one of her friends, Rainbow Dash.
Rarity screamed, loudly, and attempted to stand up. Rising much quicker than she normally could, she looked around frantically hoping this was some sort of prank. Around her lay three more skeletons, each with dry manes that matched her other friends as well.
Rarity started hyperventilating, or at least she thought she did, as she still couldn't really feel if she was breathing or not. Sitting down in an attempt to calm herself, she raised a white hoof to try and nudge one of the skulls.
Stopping herself, she looked at her foreleg, and noticed it was way too thin, almost like she was malnourished. Trailing up her leg, she looked straight down at her torso, and saw only the hollow ribcage of a skeleton, her skeleton.
Rarity screamed even louder.
One of the bone piles rustled, and she stopped screaming, mortified by the movement. Staring intensely at the pink-maned skeleton, it continued to shift.
Then, as if moved by magic, it seemed to reassemble itself into the right shape. Bones swirled around as the ribcage was put back together, vertebrae came together to form a spine. Legs were formed and the joints popped into place, finally, the skull lifted and settled on top.
The skeleton froze, almost as if staring right at Rarity, then it began frantically looking around, seeing the other skeletons laying on the ground nearby. Finally, it looked at itself, just like Rarity had, and then it simply fell back apart into a pile.
Rarity winced, she could tell it was Fluttershy, the long pink mane was easily identifiable. Her feelings for her friend seemed to be stronger than her fear at this moment, and she trotted over towards her skeleton.
"Fluttershy," Rarity started, surprised how smooth her voice was, "Fluttershy, it's okay darling, I'm here."
The skeleton shifted a bit, and its skull floated up again. This time, the rest didn't reassemble, and the skull just floated a small distance off the ground, almost like she was looking up from the ground.
"Yes darling, it's me. I don't know why we are like this, but I think we are fine for now... probably. I do believe we are in the Domain of the Dead." Rarity reassured, looking her skeletal hoof over.
"Y-y-o-u l-look s-c-c-ary." Fluttershy said, her bones rattling a bit.
"As do you, darling, but as far as I can tell, we are all here. The others are just around, though none have woken up just yet," Rarity explained,
"I hope they don't get too scared." Fluttershy paused for a moment "Is Twilight here?"
"I haven't seen her, which means we have to go find her. Do you think you can help me wake the others?" Rarity asked.
"S-Sure," Fluttershy answered meekly, looking over at Rainbow Dash's skeleton.
Trotting over to Applejack's skeleton herself, Rarity thought on how to actually wake her. Tapping her hoof lightly on the skull didn't have any reaction, and neither did speaking to her. With a defeated sigh, Rarity instead walked over to Pinkie Pie's skeleton.
Leaning down close to the skull, where the ears would normally be, Rarity tried the one thing that she was sure would work.
"Parties," she whispered into Pinkie Pie's 'ear'.
In an instant, the skeleton jumped up, so fast it actually knocked Rarity's head off, it landed a few meters away. Pinkie Pie quickly assembled herself, and once she was 'whole', she looked around, a bit confused.
"Pinkie!" Rarity shouted from her spot on the ground, the rest of her skeleton stumbling around blindly.
"What? Oh. EEEEEEK!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, having looked at Rarity's predicament.
"Calm down Pinkie! I'm fine... I think, just give me a moment." Rarity said,
Concentrating hard, she was eventually able to walk her body towards her head, where an invisible force allowed her skull to raise up and reconnect with the neck. The whole process made her shudder a bit, everything felt unnatural.
"Woah! Why do you look like that? Why do I look like this?! What is even going on?!" Pinkie Pie started rambling.
"Pinkie! Please let me explain darling. We are in the Domain of the Dead, we haven't seen Twilight just yet, so we have to keep searching and... Are you even listening?" Rarity asked,
"Huh? Oh yeah, we have to find Twilight. This is just so cool." Pinkie said, somehow turning her head a full 360°.
Rarity would've gagged if she could.
"Please stop that darling, it's terrifying." She pleaded.
It was at this point that Fluttershy somehow managed to wake up Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus quickly made herself known. Mainly by screaming.
"AAAH! What the hay?!" She yelled, looking at Fluttershy.
"Rainbow Dash. You're awake. Please don't be scared," Fluttershy said,
"Fluttershy? Why do you look like that, it's kinda awesome," Then Rainbow Dash looked around, and spotted her other friends standing nearby. "Woah, wait, does that mean I look cool too?"
Closely inspecting herself, Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words.
"Awesome..." Then something else made itself apparent. "Wait! My wings! Tell me I can still fly."
Looking at both Fluttershy's and Rainbow's backs, both of their wings were bare. Much like their legs, only the bones remained. Giving them experimental flaps, no lift was achieved.
"Aww man..." Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Hey! It's not so bad, you could probably do some other cool things with those! Like this!" Pinkie Pie said, and in an attempt to cheer Rainbow Dash up, she grabbed her wing and then proceeded to bend the joint the complete wrong way.
"HEY… Whoa, now that is pretty cool." Rainbow Dash said, bending her wings in every direction, almost like tentacles.
"Rainbow please, that's making me sick." Rarity said, turning to look away.
"Hey, it's not like this hurts or anything, I don't see anything wrong with doing it. Besides, can you even get sick?" Rainbow Dash shot back,
"I don't know Rainbow, but please try not to do that too often." Rarity pleaded.
"I can’t guarantee you anything. By the way, where exactly are we?" Rainbow asked.
"The Domain of the Dead, I think," Rarity answered,
"I get that, but where are in the 'Domain of the Dead'?" Rainbow Dash reiterated.
It was at this point that everypony awake looked around, trying to find out exactly where they were.
There was no sun in the sky, yet everything remained well lit, it was impossible to tell what time it was, or if it even turned night. The group appeared to be in a desert, with grey-yellow sand dunes rising up all around them. It didn't feel hot, and there wasn't any type of wind or breeze. Everything was dead silent.
"Rainbow Dash, could you please try to wake up Applejack? I'm going to go up and see what's around." Rarity said, taking charge of the group for now,
Rainbow Dash nodded, and walked over to Applejack's skeleton. Meanwhile, Rarity made her way up one of the dunes surrounding them. The sand shifted a bit beneath her hooves, but it otherwise wasn't too difficult to make it up. Rarity was just thankful that she didn't have a coat to get a bunch of sand stuck in.
At the top of the dune, Rarity could see for quite a bit, and turning around in circles yielded her desert, desert, desert, and more des- Oh wait, there's a town over there. It was just barely peeking up above another large dune.
"I believe there’s a town in that direction. How are things going with Applejack?" Rarity shouted down to the rest of the group,
"No dice!" Rainbow Dash shouted back up, by the looks of it, she had resorted to scattering Applejack's skeleton all around the sand.
Rarity walked back down the dune, and thought for a moment.
"Well we can't just leave her here, help me gather her up." Rarity commanded, and began moving bones into a pile.
Thankfully her magic still worked, and she could tell Rainbow Dash was a bit envious. It didn't take long to gather all of Applejack, but now was the problem of carrying her. Without her being conscious, none of her bones stuck together, which made it impossible to assemble anything out of her either.
Rarity was just glad she didn't have to defile her friend.
"I suppose I could carry her for a bit, but I won't be able to do it for too long. We should head to that town I spotted earlier, maybe we can get some information or help there." Rarity said,
"Is that really a good idea?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"Do we have any other options, darling?" Rarity retorted.
"Fair enough," Rainbow Dash replied.
The experience from working on multiple dresses at once definitely helped Rarity move Applejack, and while she wasn't 'In the moment', she could easily carry her a fair distance.
"Let’s get going shall we? We still have to find Twilight." Rarity said,
The group began making their way up the large dune and towards the distant town Rarity saw. Looking ahead, it would be a few hours before they made it to the town. They had to cross a large portion of desert to get there.
"This would be so much easier if I could just fly!" Rainbow Dash cried out.
"Then how will the rest of us get there darling?" Rarity asked inquisitively.
"Well... Look, I don't know, but I do know that I really want to fly." Rainbow Dash complained,
"Haven't you gone longer without flying?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Well yeah, but this is different, all we are doing right now is walking. I had other things to do back then. This is so boring," Rainbow Dash said,
"There are many things to do darling. We're all here, are you calling us boring? Are you calling this place boring? Though I'll admit this desert is rather drab." Rarity retorted,
Rainbow Dash sighed, "No Rarity, but we have to walk for a long time, and that is going to be boring,"
"That may be, but remember who we're doing this for, just deal with it," Rarity said.
"Ok fine" Rainbow Dash said, then fell silent.
"Did you just see that!?" Pinkie Pie shouted out of nowhere, completely surprising the rest of the group.
"What Pinkie? Where?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"LOOK!" Pinkie Pie shouted, gesturing towards the distant town, which was now a bit closer.
All the ponies awake looked over to the town, a majority of it was still blocked by a large dune, but they could still see the tops of the buildings.
A brilliant flash of color lit up the sky, then another, and another. An array of fireworks were being set off one after another.
"Oooh, those look dazzling," Rarity spoke,
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!?" Pinkie Pie shouted to the group, it was a wonder Applejack still hadn't woken up,
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"They're having a party! Without ME! We have to get there now!"
Though she couldn't show much facial expression, everypony could tell Pinkie Pie was determined to go to whatever party they were celebrating over there.
"How are we supposed to get over there so fast darling?" Rarity asked, she was beginning to feel the drag from carrying Applejack so long,
"Simple, we run!" Pinkie Pie shouted, before taking off at full speed towards the town.
"Pinkie! Wait!" Rainbow Dash shouted after her,
The group looked at each other, they all knew what it was like when Pinkie Pie got this way. With some quick nods, the rest began galloping after her.
It was strange, despite running non stop for about thirty or so minutes, none of the ponies felt any fatigue, it was like they could just keep going and going.
Rainbow Dash was obviously the fastest of the group, but even she couldn't keep up with the determined Pink Party Pony, who had begun to leave a small trail of pink colored fire behind her. It almost looked like her mane was set ablaze.
While Rarity could run a bit faster than Fluttershy, having to carry Applejack made it so they were running at about the same speed.
By now, Pinkie Pie had made it to the large dune that blocked the view of the town, and upon cresting the top, she stopped deader in her tracks. Her smoking figure appeared to cool down, the fires along her back fizzling out.
A minute later, Rainbow also made it to the top, and also stopped. Then both Fluttershy and Rarity made it up with Applejack still unconscious. Everypony stopped and gawked at what lay before them.
What was once thought to be a town obscured by a large dune, turned out to be a massive city with only the tops of the tallest buildings rising above the dune. Fireworks were still being set off, and the faint sound of festival music permeated the air. The ponies couldn't see much movement down below, but they could hear the faint echoes of a crowd.
Pinkie Pie was so excited, her bones were closely mimicking a xylophone with all her shaking.
"HEEEELLLLLOOOOOO, NEWLYDEADS!" A voice came from the bottom of the dune.
Looking down, the group spotted another pony skeleton, obviously waving towards them with one hoof, beckoning them to come closer. Climbing down the dune, the group arrived face to face with the newcomer.
"Hello... I'm sorry, but what did you call us?" Rarity asked, a bit confused.
"Why Newlydeads of course, judging by the fact that I've never seen you before, I'd say it's safe to assume you all recently died." The skeleton said.
"That's... true... I guess, could you tell us where we are?" Rarity asked,
"Now that my dear, is a question I can answer. WELCOME! To Mortemopolis! The best place to rest in peace!" The pony exclaimed,
"OOH OOH! That sounds fun! What's happening? Why are there fireworks? Can I help? I love parties?" Pinkie Pie asked in quick succession,
"Whoa Whoa! Slow down, I don't think that last one was even a question. I can tell you what's happening however. Right now, the whole of Mortemopolis is celebrating..." The pony paused for dramatic effect, "The death of an alicorn!" He finished,
"What!?" All the other ponies asked in unison.
"You all sure picked a great time to die, the festivities are starting right now!" The mysterious pony said.
"You all sure picked a great time to die, the festivities are starting right now!" The mysterious pony exclaimed.
The element bearers remained silent, especially Applejack.
"What's wrong? You all looked like you've seen a ghost..." The pony trailed off, before laughing at their own joke.
Silence.
"Wow, tough crowd. Anyway, I'm supposed to greet newlydeads, so if you have any questions, please ask away." The pony said,
"Ahem…” Rarity began after another moment of silence. “I suppose introductions are in order, I'm Rarity."
"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash!"
"I'm Fluttershy..."
"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie! I love parties!"
"And this here is Applejack, though for some reason she has yet to wake up." Rarity concluded,
"Wow, you all know each other? That's interesting... I wonder how you all died, I hope it wasn't some sort of freak accident or something."
"Don't worry darling, it wasn't. We were actually sent here to find our friend, she ahem died earlier today, so we were hoping to find her here." Rarity explained,
"Died earlier today huh? Well there was only one new arrival today, so that means... Wow! You guys are friends with the alicorn! How awesome is that? Also, what do you mean by 'sent here'? It almost sounds like you died on purpose." The pony wondered.
"Well... sort of... we really didn't know we were going to die, we were just told we were going to be sent here." Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Ah, makes sense, well you're dead now, might as well enjoy it! That's what I say." The pony exclaimed.
"I don't believe you have given us your name. Care to introduce yourself?" Rarity asked.
"Oh right, yes! My name is Wheat Germ, I used to be a farmer, but now I guide Newlydeads, funny how dying will change your life." Wheat Germ answered.
"Well, Mr. Germ, would you be able to direct us towards our friend? We would like to see her as soon as possible." Rarity said,
"See the problem with that is I don't know where your friend went, it wasn't my shift when she arrived. I'd have to go back to the office to see who is guiding her, and even then we wouldn't know exactly where she is. Mortemopolis is a big city after all." Wheat Germ explained.
"Well then, I guess we have to start looking right away." Rainbow Dash cut in, and began to walk towards the city.
Wheat Germ stepped in front of her, "Wait! Hold it, I still have to guide you guys, it's my job to do so. I can't just let you roam the city without supervision. There are rules here y'know.” He thought for a moment. “Tell you what, since I have to stay with you for the next few hours, I'll help you get situated, and maybe even help search for you friend." Wheat Germ suggested.
"Why, how kind of you, darling. We would really appreciate the help." Rarity said,
If skeletons could blush.
"I have a question," Fluttershy murmured,
"Go on... Fluttershy was it?" Wheat Germ asked.
"Um, would you happen to know why our friend Applejack hasn't woken up yet? I'm getting really worried about her." Fluttershy said.
"Hmmm, let’s see." Wheat Germ took a moment to inspect the pile of bones, "Something's probably preventing her from fully entering this world."
"What kind of something?"
"I don't know, it could be a memory, a connection, or simply pure stubbornness."
"Is there any way to help her?" Rarity asked,
Wheat Germ shrugged, "Well, this isn't exactly common, but from what I know, there are two ways to help. Either we coax her into this world with something familiar, or we solve the issue back in the land of the living." Wheat Germ explained.
"What could we possibly use to wake her up here?" Rainbow Dash paused, then loudly shouted right into Applejack's skull "APPLES!"
No reaction.
"I have no idea, it really depends on what's blocking her from waking up. You'll just have to go around and try to find something." Wheat Germ said.
"Speaking of going around, is there any other way we can carry her? I'm starting to feel a bit of magic fatigue here." Rarity said, her voice straining slightly.
"Hmmmm, hold on, give me a moment." Wheat Germ said, before trotting back towards the city.
Rarity carefully set down Applejack, and sat down as well, she was no Twilight, any longer and she wasn't sure if she could carry all those bones.
"Am I the only one not tired here? Despite the magic use, that was quite a long run, I haven't done something like that in ages." Rarity realized,
"Yeah, you’re right. I'm not even winded. This is so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, doing a small jog around the group.
Fireworks continued to flash overhead, and Pinkie Pie looked about ready to fall apart. She had long since passed mimicking a xylophone and was now reaching towards a full on orchestra of percussion.
"Just wait a bit longer Pinkie, I'm sure Wheat Germ will show us around town," Fluttershy reassured,
"I know! It's just that there's a huge festival in honor of Twilight, and I'm here! Not there! I really want to go party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, her bones rattling.
"Just a bit longer Pinkie Pie, once Mr. Germ comes back, we can go party all you want," Rarity said,
Pinkie Pie started humming loudly, trying to distract herself from the obvious festival taking place right next to her.
After about five or so minutes, Wheat Germ returned, this time towing a small wooden cart. There was no way a normal pony could fit inside, but Applejack wasn't a normal pony right now.
"This is all I could find, wood isn't exactly common around here y'know." Wheat Germ said, unhitching from the cart. its special design made it so that it could fit a skeleton easily.
"This will work wonderfully, thank you for all your help. I don't suppose we can enter the city now, Pinkie Pie here really wants to attend the festival." Rarity said.
"Yes, we can enter the city right now, but unfortunately, before you can attend the festival, I have to teach you the rules here. It should really only take about ten minutes, and we will be on a tour the entire time. I'll try to make it quick, I want to go to the festival too, so let’s get started right away." Wheat Germ explained,
Pinkie Pie groaned, but stood up with the rest of the group and began heading in the opposite direction of the festival, towards a more empty part of town.
"I'd say living here is very similar to your normal pony life, don't steal, don't attack anypony, all that jazz. Also, this place is where most of the ponies here live, check in with the main building over there to find a place to stay." Wheat Germ began,
"We don't have any money though, how can we pay for a room?" Rarity asked,
Wheat Germ laughed, then spoke, "We don't use money around here, everything is mostly free since there really isn't a point for money. It's the vendor's right to give it to you or not, so just be a good judge of character and you should be fine,"
"That's... interesting to say the least, I suppose it does make it easier to live around here." Rarity commented,
"Wait a minute, what's to gain for giving something away for free? Why would anypony do that?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"It's simple really, in this 'afterlife', you no longer 'live', so there isn't any point to making money. The ponies that stay here simply live out the rest of their existence just like how they lived before they died." Wheat Germ explained,
"Ponies that stay here?" Fluttershy asked,
"Yes, all ponies that die arrive here, but not all stay. If you were a really good pony, then you 'ascend' up into paradise, but if you were a bad pony, then you fall into a deep pit of despair. If you were mostly neutral however, you simply stay here, living the exact same way you did before," Wheat Germ said,
"That sounds a bit boring really. What did you mean by 'rest of their existence'? Can you 'die' here too?" Rarity asked,
"Not really, but there comes a point when a pony's soul just doesn't have enough power to keep existing. Some speculate it has something to do with their memories in other ponies, once no more memories of them remain, their soul simply fades away into nothing," Wheat Germ said,
"My, that sounds absolutely dreadful!" Rarity exclaimed
"That's not going to be a problem for me! When I get famous, I'll go down in history! Then everypony will remember me!" Rainbow Dash shouted,
"I'm not sure that's how it works, and you're already dead, so I'm not sure how you’re going to get famous like that." Wheat Germ said,
"We'll see about that," Rainbow Dash huffed,
Wheat Germ paused to look at her, but didn't bring anything up. "Anyway, this here is sort of our business location, where you can use any of these buildings as a sort of 'business' where you can practice your talent."
"Huh, so ponies really just continue living here huh." Rainbow Dash commented,
"Yeah pretty much, most are happy with just that, they are free to do their special talent without consequence." Wheat Germ explained,
"Except farming?" Rainbow Dash guessed,
"Except farming," Wheat Germ repeated, his tone dropping a bit, "Hey, it's not all bad, I get to bake all sorts of breads and such."
"Where do you even get the supplies? I'm not seeing much a an economy around here," Rarity asked,
"Y'know, I never really thought about it, I have no idea where all this stuff comes from, maybe it just appears." Wheat Germ said,
"If only Twilight were here, she would press this issue for sure," Rarity said,
"Moving on, this is the last and final place of the tour. You could call it a court I guess, it's where souls go to get judged. Everypony has to come here sometime." Wheat Germ explained,
"Why do they need to get judged?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"That should be obvious, they get judged to determine where they get sent. I was only judged a few months ago, it was pretty interesting. They had like a giant scale or something." Wheat Germ described,
"Sounds interesting to say the least, are we able to get judged right now?" Rarity asked,
"Probably not, souls from all over get judged everyday, since you only died today, I'd say you’re on the end of the list at the moment. Based on recent events, I'd say it'd take a few days for you all to get judged." Wheat Germ said,
"I heard that a war started somewhere, lots of new souls coming in," Wheat Germ answered,
"Oh my," Fluttershy said,
"You said this was the final place on the tour right?” Pinkie Pie rattled incessantly. “Can we please go party now?"
"Yes, we can go,” Wheat Germ said with a sigh, “but I still have to keep an eye on you for a bit, make sure you learned everything, besides, you guys look like an interesting bunch."
"YES!" Pinkie Pie shouted, then galloped off towards the festival,
"Wait!" The rest of the group called out after her,
"This day just keeps getting more and more interesting," Wheat Germ shook his head.
The rest of the group took off as well.
It didn’t take long to get to the festival, and it was going on at full force. Decorations hung everywhere, there were plenty of vendors on the sides of the road, and it looked like they were even setting up a parade as large floats were being constructed off to the side. Music and conversations permeated the air.
"WOWEE!" Pinkie Pie gasped,
Skeletons were everywhere, ponies, griffins, even a changeling exoskeleton was visible in the crowd. Pinkie Pie zipped between each stall, looking at all the merchandise. There was food, vanity, even a face painting booth, or rather skull painting now. Pinkie Pie wanted to try everything.
"Pinkie darling, there you are! You sure ran off fast.” Rarity said as she neared her. “So tell me, what dazzling things are here at this festival?"
"Don't forget, we still have to search for Twilight, don't spend all your time partying."
"But I still have time to party right?" Pinkie Pie asked, trying her hardest to make puppy dog eyes as a skeleton, it didn't work out too well.
"Twilight take’s priority, darling, though the princesses did say to come back within two days, so I suppose we do have a bit of time," Rarity recounted,
"Right! Twilight! I won’t forget!" Pinkie Pie saluted, "OOH! Look Rarity! Let's go get our skulls painted!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Rarity and attempted to drag her along, her joints separated and extended, effectively stretching her whole leg.
"Wait a moment Pinkie, we can't just leave Mr. Germ!" Rarity said.
Wheat Germ, along with the rest of the group, then caught up with Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash was hauling Applejack in the cart.
"Oh Mr. Germ, can we please, please, PLEASE go and party?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing towards several stalls.
"Yeah, I saw some things over there I wanted to try out!" Rainbow Dash said, gesturing in the opposite direction Pinkie Pie wanted to go in.
"Ugh, this is why I hate taking on large groups," Wheat Germ said, putting his hoof to his skull. "Fine, I trust you enough to go off on your own, but take your friend Applejack with you. I'm going to be watching over you guys," He gestured to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who began to unhitch herself from the cart.
"Thank you very much Mr. Germ.” Rarity bowed slightly, “And remember guys, we are trying to find Twilight first, let’s meet back here in an hour or so."
"Gotcha," Rainbow Dash said, turning to leave.
"Do we really have to split up?" Fluttershy asked, a shiver echoing through her skeleton,
"We'll cover more ground this way, darling, just stick with Rainbow, you'll be fine." Rarity assured,
"Ok..." Fluttershy trailed off,
"C'mon Rarity! Let’s go have some fun!" Pinkie Pie shouted, continuing to drag her away,
"Remember, an hour!" Rarity yelled to the other group, making sure to grab Applejack's cart in her magic.
"Are you sure splitting up is really a good idea?" Fluttershy asked,
"I'd say we’re fine, we get to search more ground, and we’re in a nice city, what could go wrong?" Rainbow Dash explained,
A crack of thunder was heard overhead, or maybe it was just a firework. Either way Fluttershy ducked down and covered her face.
"Relax, Fluttershy, it was just a firework. Now come on, let’s go see some of the things I saw earlier, you coming with, Wheat?" Rainbow Dash said,
"Yeah, I kinda have to y'know." Wheat Germ deadpanned.
"Nice, let’s have some fun,"
There were many attractions down the main road, which meant it was packed with skeletons. That didn't stop Rainbow Dash however, as she beelined straight to the one booth she had seen before.
"Come one! Come all! And witness the mystical, magical, and extraordinary tricks of the Great Hoofdini!" A loud voice overtook the crowd,
Rainbow Dash smiled, and went over to sit down in front of the small stage. "Remind you of anypony?" she snickered, "This should be good."
"Pinkie, darling, would you please stop squirming?" Rarity pleaded, a little annoyed,
"But it tickles!" Pinkie Pie laughed,
"We can't even feel anything darling, how does it tickle?"
"It just does!"
"Well, just hold still for a little longer please."
It wasn't too hard to finish painting the design on Pinkie Pie's skull, the original painter had long since given up due to her non-stop squirming, so Rarity had to finish the job. Despite having to incorporate the mistakes into the design, it certainly looked nice, despite the constant twitching and jittering.
"Wow, that looks very good, ma'am," The painter commented,
"Why thank you, I do try my best." Rarity beamed.
"I need a mirror!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and was quickly offered one. "OOH! It's perfect Rarity, Thank you so much! Yours looks good too,"
"Thank you darling," Rarity said, inspecting her own paint in the mirror as well, it was a lot cleaner than Pinkie Pie's.
"By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where we could go see the alicorn would you? I would like to talk to her," Rarity asked the painter,
"I wouldn't know myself, though a lot of ponies are asking about that. I've heard she's going to be appearing during the parade," The painter answered,
"Oh! Well thank you very much, for both the information and the paint, it looks absolutely splendid." Rarity complimented.
"No thank you! Most folks around here don't want to get paint on their bones, it's a real pleasure to be able to do what I love!" The painter replied, "Come back if you need a touch up!"
With a smile and a wave, they left the booth and entered the festival proper again.
"Alright Pinkie, we know Twilight is probably going to be at the parade, let’s see what else we can find out." Rarity stated,
"OOH! The food over there looks great!" Pinkie Pie suggested,
"Hold on, we need to…” Rarity trailed off, thinking, “Can we even eat? Much less taste food like this?"
"Who cares!? I wanna eat something good!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed,
Rarity sighed, "Very well, let’s go see what's over there."
There were all sorts of carts set up, with all manners of food laying about. Rarity wondered if she could even gain weight like this, hopefully not. Despite being a skeleton, her sense of smell was only slightly hampered, and a copious amount of fried foods hit her senses. It wasn't bad per say, but Rarity certainly didn't like the aspect of it. Pinkie Pie however, was zipping to and from every cart, sampling everything. There weren't any large portions, considering nopony actually needed to eat, it was mainly to taste everything, then simply let it fall out. It was a little disgusting, but nopony else was complaining.
"Hot Cakes!" Came one cart
"Funnel Cakes!" From another
"Fried Ice Cream!" Another cart.
Rarity looked around, nothing looked appetizing to her. While Pinkie Pie was still making her way down the line, Rarity just skipped through in search for something good.
"Apple Tarts! Come get yer Apple Tarts!" A new cart yelled out.
With an imaginary ear twitch, Rarity turned to face the voice, "Oh, those sound delightful, I'll have to try one," she said to herself.
Walking over to the cart, she could see a whole tray of apple tarts cut into bite sized pieces.
"You said these were apple tarts, correct?" Rarity asked,
"Sure are! Care to try one? They're mighty fine!" The vendor said,
"I do believe I will. Say, you seem familiar, have we met before?" Rarity inquired, picking up a piece of apple tart in her magic.
"I don't recognize ya, not even from the land of the living! Ah'd know ya if ah did." The vendor stated.
The cart Rarity was hauling shook, something inside was shaking it hard. Eventually, a blonde maned skull peaked up from out of the cart.
"Momma?" Applejack asked, a little drowsy.
"Did you hear? A new alicorn died, how crazy is that?"
"Quiet, you dolt! You can't just go around saying stuff like that! You don't know who's listening! Especially here of all places! You’re coming with me, rookie."
"But-"
"NOW!"
"Yes sir..."
As soon as the pair left, a deep rumbling laugh echoed throughout the chamber, black smoke filled with red embers started billowing out of a crack in the wall. Then, a faint sound of scraping and chains rattling could be heard.
Something big impacted the wall behind the crack, and it grew larger. Another impact, the crack worsened; several red tinted stones fell out of place. A third impact, and a large chunk broke away. The smoke now filled the room, but a final impact could be heard, and the sound of the wall crumbling was heard throughout the chamber.
Laughter again, an evil, deep laugh. Large steps could be heard making their way out of the chamber along with the sound of dragging chains.
"Watch as I perform these now non-death defying tricks before your very eye sockets!" The Great Hoofdini shouted, eliciting several laughs from the crowd.
"Um... Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy started, but was quickly drowned out by the noise of the crowd.
"For my first trick, I shall escape from this straight jacket with ease! If my lovely assistant will come and help me…” The Great Hoofdini carefully put on the jacket with the help of an assistant. The sleeves were bound, the straps pulled tight, and the belts buckled. “There we go. Now, you can all see that I am well restrained, now watch as I release myself!"
With a grunt of effort, the Great Hoofdini shifted around in the jacket for a bit, and something came loose.
"Now, the best part about this trick..." He paused, "Is that I could still do this..." Another pause, "While alive. No skeletal tricks here folks!" The Great Hoofdini shouted as he pulled the jacket off himself and held it up beside him.
Oohs and ahs came from the crowd as The Great Hoofdini took a bow.
"Rainbo-" Fluttershy tried again, only to be interrupted once more,
"Now! This next trick is a skeletal trick! I will be assembling myself through a large maze! Will my assistants please help?"
A large wooden box was carried onto the stage, lifting it up on its side revealed a glass panel to view inside. There was a complicated maze inside, but it was still large enough for the bones of a pony to fit through. The Great Hoofdini promptly fell apart, and his assistants began to gather up his bones at random. They then began placing his bones in different corners of the maze, before finally opening a hatch in the back to place his skull in the middle.
"Now watch! I will guide my bones through the entire maze without sight!" Came the muffled voice of The Great Hoofdini.
The crowd was silent as the first few bones began to slowly lift and be guided through the maze. The Great Hoofdini had probably memorized the route, but he certainly made an act of going the wrong direction or bumping into the walls. By the time most of the bones were navigating the maze, The Great Hoofdini appeared to be really struggling. The bone's movements got more and more shaky as they converged. It eventually got so bad, that the whole box began to shake from all the bumping and jostling inside of it.
The whole thing began to teeter back and forth, and the assistants were quick to rush up and attempt to stabilize it. They weren't fast enough however, and the maze rocked back, then forth once more before it fell face down on the stage, a loud slam echoing out into the crowd. The audience winced, and the assistants scrambled to get the maze back upright.
The hatch in the middle rattled, then opened.
"Tada!" The Great Hoofdini called out as he rose from the middle, fully together.
The crowd cheered, and with a few small bows, the assistants quickly moved the large box out of the way.
"Now! For my final trick this evening, I shall do the impossible!" Shouted The Great Hoofdini,
The curtains behind the stage opened, revealing a large glass box, big enough for The Great Hoofdini and then some. Above it, there was a large bucket, though whatever it was holding was not yet visible.
"Look here folks, this glass box only has one entrance and exit! Other than that, it is completely sealed!" The Great Hoofdini explained, showing that the glass box was on a turntable, and that there was indeed only one door. He even lifted it up to show that there wasn't anything on the bottom.
"I will be locked up in this box! Then comes the best part! I will be completely buried in the desert's sand!" The Great Hoofdini announced.
The crowd gasped, the large bucket above tilted a bit, a small amount of sand trickling into the glass box.
"And here's the challenge! I have to escape... In only a minute!" The Great Hoofdini exclaimed.
The crowd was rapt at attention, and The Great Hoofdini entered the box. One of his assistants closed the door and locked it, while another rolled out a large hourglass and stood it next to the box.
"Both the timer and I will start as soon as the bucket is empty!" The Great Hoofdini said, nodding to one of his assistants.
The assistant nodded back, and began pulling a rope connected to the bucket, sand began to pour down into the box. The crowd remained silent as it filled, the turntable it was on giving everyone a good view of The Great Hoofdini slowly getting buried in sand. Fluttershy saw her chance.
"Rainbow Dash," She whispered,
"Hang on a minute, this is getting good," Rainbow Dash whispered back,
"It's important though," Fluttershy pleaded,
"It'll only take a minute, the Hoofdini guy said so," Rainbow Dash said, looking at the stage the whole time, without actual eyes though, it was impossible to tell if she actually was.
Fluttershy sighed, but decided it could wait a minute or two, she looked up at the stage as well. The glass box was nearly full, and The Great Hoofdini was completely buried in sand now. The last few grains fell out of the bucket, and the assistants nodded to each other, one knocked on the box twice, while the other flipped the hourglass.
The box continued to rotate on the turntable, and no movement was visible in the sand. Fluttershy painstakingly watched the grains of sand trickle their way down the hourglass, she kept silent however. Some time passed, and the hourglass was nearly empty, but there was still no movement in the box, and the crowd was beginning to get anxious.
The last few grains of sand in the hourglass dropped down, and the assistants nodded to each other once again. Tapping on the box three times yielded no response, all was quiet once again.
"Rainbow Da-" Fluttershy was interrupted once again,
"What a rip-off!" A familiar voice called from the crowd.
All eye sockets looked over to the voice's origin. There, a skeleton with a very familiar mane stood, a small pile of sand was gathering at his hooves.
There was silence for a moment, then the crowd erupted in cheers. The Great Hoofdini took another bow, and jumped back up onto the stage.
"Thank you! Thank you all! It's always fun to perform in front of a crowd! It reminds me of when I was still alive! But unfortunately that is all for tonight folks! We have to clear the road for the parade, and as you all know, a very special guest will be attending this one!" The Great Hoofdini yelled out,
"Did you hear that, Fluttershy? A special guest at the parade! Do you think that could be Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"It seems likely, we should probably tell that to the rest of your friends," Wheat Germ said,
"Good idea." Rainbow Dash replied, before looking at Fluttershy, "What did you want to say to me earlier?"
"Oh,” Fluttershy mumbled, “I just wanted to say we should try and find Twilight is all."
"And we did! How convenient is that?" Rainbow Dash said, "How much time do we have left?" she asked Wheat Germ
"Uh..." He trailed off, looking towards the clock tower, "I'd say about fifteen to twenty minutes,"
"Cool, that means we can go see more stuff. Let's get going."
"Applejack! You're awake! We were starting to get worried." Rarity said, looking towards the swaying skeleton in the cart.
"Huh, what? Rarity? Is that you? Y'all look real thin," Applejack murmured,
Rarity chose to ignore that comment.
"Applejack?" The vendor asked, stepping closer,
"That's me," Applejack answered, shaking her skull a bit.
"Wait, did you just call her 'mom'?" Rarity asked,
"What-" Applejack didn't get to finish, as she was wrapped in a tight hug by the vendor.
"Oh my sweet little Applejack, what are you doing here? How did you get here? Are the others alright? Ah've missed you so much." The mystery mare asked,
"Ma? Ma! Is this a dream? What's going on? What are you doing here Rarity?" Applejack asked, having woken up a bit more,
"Applejack, don't freak out, but we're dead. Right now we're trying to find Twilight, darling." Rarity explained,
"Dead? You expect me to believe that?" Applejack asked, until her sight fully cleared, and she got a good look at Rarity, and then her mother, "Whoa nelly, ah believe ya now."
"Are you going to be okay?" Rarity asked,
"Ah'm fine... Wait no! What about Big Mac, or Applebloom? What are they going to do now that ah'm dead?!" Applejack worried,
"Darling, relax. We're connected to the Elements, we should have a way back. I'm not sure how it works, but the princesses were confident with us, remember?" Rarity said.
"...Ah remember. How long have we been here? Have we found Twilight yet?" Applejack wondered,
"Wait a minute, yall can go back?” The vendor asked, “Applejack, I need to talk to you, it's important.”
"Uh... ah don't know if ah can, what's the situation like Rarity?" Applejack asked,
Rarity thought for a bit, they had spent a couple of minutes searching around, and they now knew where and when Twilight was going to appear.
"You should be fine, darling. We've already figured out where Twilight is." Rarity answered.
"Really? Then ah reckon ah can speak with ya ma," Applejack said,
"Good, this might take a while though," The vendor said,
Rarity cringed, "Actually, we do have a time limit. We have to meet with the others in about twenty or so minutes. Try to shorten it if you can."
The vendor sighed, but nodded, "Ah'll try to make it quick," she assured,
"Thank you," was all Rarity said,
Both Applejack and her mother walked off to the side of the road, the entire time, Applejack was checking herself out, looking over her legs and ribs.
Rarity chose not to pry on their private conversation, and simply sat down and waited. Looking down the road, she could see Pinkie Pie still making her way down the line, trying absolutely everything there was to offer. After several minutes, she finally made it to the area Rarity was in.
"My goodness Pinkie, just how much have you tasted?" Rarity asked,
"EVERYTHING!" Pinkie Pie answered, her skull absolutely covered in food, thankfully, most of the paint had dried, so it wasn't very smudged.
"Okay.... Was it any good?" Rarity asked, a bit disgusted,
"Oh! They were all so good! I got to try cookies, crackers, soups, salads, cakes, roasts, toasts, fondue, even something called Haggis! It was all so good!" Pinkie Pie rambled,
"Haggis? What might... You know what darling, I don't think I want to know. I do have some good news however, Applejack has woken up." Rarity said,
"She has!? This calls for a party!" Pinkie shouted,
"That's not all, apparently the vendor for this cart here was her mother! They're over there talking right now." Rarity gestured to the pair at the side of the road.
Pinkie Pie gasped, and tried to dash over to go do... whatever it is she does. She was stopped when Rarity grabbed her tail in her magic, her whole spine was yanked backward, causing her neck to shorten a bit.
"It'd probably be best to leave them alone for now, it seems they want a bit of privacy. You can talk to them later." Rarity said,
"But-" Pinkie Pie tried,
"Later, darling." Rarity repeated, firmer.
"Okay..." Pinkie Pie sagged a bit.
"Hmmm," Rarity thought for a moment, "Tell you what, there are still some food carts down the line, why don't we see what else there is to try."
"Okay!" Pinkie Pie immediately rose back up,
"Splendid. Let's start over there, I do believe I saw something good."
Pinkie Pie had once again taken to trying every single thing available, while Rarity looked for anything that didn't look too messy; she just wanted to keep her skull clean. She wondered how she could actually taste things as a skeleton, but didn't dwell on it.
She didn't find much, and by the time they had circled back around towards the apple tart cart, she had only tried a single piece of hard candy, though it was pretty good on its own. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was now even more covered with food, to the point where several passersby offered her something to clean herself with.
Both Applejack and her mother were waiting at the cart, having finished during Pinkie Pie and Rarity's rounds.
"APPLEJACK!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she dashed over again, Rarity following closely behind,
"Hey Pinkie," Applejack said, her voice wavering.
"Applejack dear, are you alright?" Rarity asked,
"Ah'm fine, just had a lot to take in is all," she said,
"Don't worry Applejack, we'll find Twilight soon, and then we can go back!" Pinkie Pie assured,
"Right..." Applejack trailed off.
"That reminds me, we don't have much time left. We still have to regroup with the others. Do you want to come with us Miss...?" Rarity asked Applejack's mother,
"Butter, Mrs. Butter. And sure, Ah guess ah can come with yall," Mrs. Butter replied,
"Oh yeah, uh ma? Where's pa?" Applejack asked,
Mrs. Butter froze, and looked straight at Applejack.
"A-Ah don't know, ah've been searching for him ever since ah got here, but haven't been able to find him. Ah miss him dearly," Mrs. Butter said,
"Oh... alright then," Applejack looked down,
"Let’s get going, shall we?" Rarity said, quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah! We still have to find Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shouted,
"Here we are, and it looks like we made it just in time. How wonderful," Rarity said, looking up at the clock tower.
"Where's Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and Wheat Germ?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Wheat Germ? Who's that?" Applejack asked,
"He's our guide, he called us 'newlydeads', he should be with the others." Rarity explained,
"Newlydeads?” Mrs. Butter chuckled, “So that's what they're calling you guys now? That's funny."
"I found it rather strange," Rarity admitted,
"I think it's pretty funny!" Pinkie Pie said,
"Hey thanks, I do try," Wheat Germ said, appearing out of the crowd.
"Hey! You found them, nice going." Rainbow Dash appeared behind,
"Hello," Fluttershy greeted,
"Howdy girls. Wheat Germ," Applejack nodded to each of them.
"You must be Applejack, hello," Wheat Germ said.
"Applejack!" Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gasped, they went to hug her.
"We were so worried," Fluttershy whispered,
"I totally beat you at waking up," Rainbow Dash quipped,
"Was I really out for that long?" Applejack wondered,
"No, not really, but this isn't exactly a normal situation." Rainbow Dash said,
"Ain't that the truth, Ah'm still trying to wrap my head around this. It's all so strange," Applejack admitted,
"You can say that again. Anyway, who's this you got with you?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"This here is my ma, ah think she's the reason I woke up, my memory is still a little hazy," Applejack explained,
"Your mom? I mean I've always assumed, but now that I know…” Rainbow Dash looked away, “I'm sorry I guess,"
"Ah'm standing right here ya know," Mrs. Butter said, "And don't be sorry, me and Applejack had a good and long talk before coming here,"
"Right... Okay..." Rainbow Dash nodded, "Anyway, we've found out where Twilight is going to be soon,"
"The parade right? We found that out as well, did any of you happen to figure out when it was supposed to happen?" Rarity inquired,
"They were packing up a stage in preparation for it, but that's all we know," Fluttershy piped up,
"The parade?" Mrs. Butter asked, "Ain’t that supposed to happen at-"
A cacophony of bells from the clock tower interrupted her, and the skeletons in the immediate area started cheering,
"Right now," Mrs. Butter finished, then she gasped, "My cart! Ah have to move it! Ah'll be right back, wait for me if yall can." She galloped off back towards the food court.
She didn't make it very far, as a small group of cloaked individuals cut in front of her path, stopping her. They soon passed, and she continued down the road.
"Who are those ponies? They don’t seem very nice," Pinkie Pie asked, gesturing towards the group,
"Oh those? They're called Sentinels, I guess you could say they are the police force around here. They don't enforce our laws though, they enforce the world's laws. They must be here because of your alicorn friend." Wheat Germ explained,
"Why would they be here for her? Has she done anything wrong?" Fluttershy asked,
"They're probably here to protect her, alicorn souls are very rare, and there are some who would want one,"
"Why would anypony want an alicorn's soul?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"I don't know,” Wheat Germ shrugged, “It might have something to do with their ‘undyingness’,”
"Ooh Ooh! Here comes the parade!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, pointing up the road,
The ground trembled a bit, but went unnoticed due to the noise of the gathering crowd.
"Ooh! Here comes the parade!" Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing up the road,
Looking up the street, a large parade float was cresting the slight incline. Its design was interesting to say the least, it appeared to be centered around griffins, with large fake feathers and several other birdlike features. There were several griffin skeletons riding along the side of it.
"What is this parade about exactly?" Rarity asked,
"Something about culture." Wheat Germ replied. “Or species, or something.”
The music from the parade now permeated the air, and the crowd was getting dense. Everypony made sure to make space for the parade floats as they came through.
"So we should be looking for a pony themed float, right?" Rainbow Dash said, raising her voice to be heard over the crowd,
"Probably." Wheat Germ answered back,
The next float crested the hill, and its design seemed to be centered around cows; multiple cow skeletons were riding on it.
"Would you happen to know the order of the parade floats?" Rarity asked,
"What?"
"What is the order of the floats?" Rarity repeated, a bit louder,
"Oh. I don't know the exacts, but I think the pony float is towards the end." Wheat Germ replied,
"Do you know how many floats there are?" Rarity inquired,
"There's probably one for every species here. And before you ask, I don't know how many species there are," Wheat Germ deadpanned,
"Okay then," Rarity said, looking towards the next float,
By now, the griffin float had passed the group, and the third float was now cresting the hill. This one looked to be themed around Diamond Dogs.
"That one looks dazzling," Rarity commented, looking at the gem encrusted float.
"This might take a while," Applejack muttered.
A fair distance away from the city, a skeleton was wondering about.
"Just where am I now? How did I get here?" They asked themself,
The ground trembled, and the skeleton nearly lost balance.
"Whoa! What's happening?" They wondered.
The ground shook again, and the sand in the surrounding area began to sink lower and lower, forming a large divot.
"Uh oh, I gotta get out of here." The skeleton realized, and attempted to climb the forming slope.
The sinkhole continued to grow, getting deeper and wider with each passing second. The skeleton was quickly caught in losing battle, and they began to slide lower and lower into the hole.
"Oh no! Help! I need some help!" They screamed.
Everything stopped, and the skeleton looked about frantically before letting out a sigh of relief.
"That was close."
Suddenly, a skeletal claw burst out of the center of the sinkhole. It looked to be charred black, with several flakes of ash and embers falling away. A broken shackle affixed to it rattled loudly as it moved.
The skeleton screamed, and once again tried to scramble back up the slope.
The massive burnt skeleton then lifted itself the rest of the way out of the hole, standing to its full height while black smoke billowed from all around it. It was definitely draconic in nature, with large, crooked horns poking out the back of the skull and countless sharp teeth hidden just below the smoke. Large bone wings opened up behind it, the outermost tips looking to have been sharpened into crude blades.
It was terrifying.
Redoubling their efforts, the pony skeleton was beginning to make progress up the slope.
The dragon skeleton looked around, and a deep chuckle came from it. The multitude of chains on its body rattled as it moved.
Then, at the top of the sinkhole, a cloaked figure appeared, then another, and another, until the entire sinkhole was surrounded by the figures.
The dragon let out a growl, but soon spied the pony skeleton trying desperately to make it out of the sinkhole. It laughed once more, and lunged at the skeleton.
The cloaked figures were fast to act, they quickly got into formation, and a large spell circle encompassed the dragon. They weren't fast enough however, as the dragon snatched the pony in its claws, then opened its mouth, and swallowed it.
The smoke made it hard to see, but screaming could be heard as the pony skeleton landed somewhere in the ribcage of the dragon. It laughed again.
The cloaked figures immediately backed down, the spell circle fading not long after. Still laughing, the dragon started to climb its way out of the sinkhole. The figures didn't just give up however, as a large amount of spellfire and projectiles were launched at the dragon in an attempt to either slow it down or make it release its hostage. It shrugged off most of the attacks, with anything impacting disappearing into the smoke.
Reaching the top of the sinkhole, the dragon looked straight towards Mortemopolis, and immediately began running towards it. Most of the cloaked figures dashed after it, while some stayed behind. One of them charged their horn, and fired a bright red flare spell through the rising smoke. A moment later they also took chase.
None of the parade floats that had passed were pony themed, and it was starting to get boring.
"How much longer do we have to wait?" Rainbow Dash deadpanned, drawing shapes in the sand with her wings.
"Oh hush, it may be taking a while, but it's still a parade, just enjoy it." Rarity chided,
"Yeah! These floats are super duper cool! Look at that one!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing at the next float, which appeared to be themed around dragons,
"Yeah, I guess that one looks pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said, looking up at it.
The parade float was stopped however, as a sentinel flagged it down and climbed aboard. Similar situations were taking place at all the other floats as well.
"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked,
"I have no idea," Wheat Germ said.
A moment passed, then the floats began to move over to the side of the road, stopping the parade.
"Oh no!" Pinkie Pie gasped,
The clocktower's bell started ringing, but it was off, it was a constant ringing, not the regular chime every hour. Everypony looked up at the clock tower.
"Alert! Return to your homes!" A voice echoed out around them, "It is a state of emergency! The parade has been cancelled!"
The crowd murmured uneasily, some starting to disperse.
"What could possibly cause a state of emergency around here?" Applejack asked,
The ground shook.
"How much do you wanna bet that's it?" Rainbow Dash replied,
"Is now really the time to be asking that?" Wheat Germ asked. "Shouldn't we get going?"
"We still have to find Twilight! If there's an emergency, we have to find her quickly!" Rarity exclaimed.
"The parade's stopped, right? Let's just go down the line quickly." Applejack suggested.
"Well hurry! I don't want to stick around and find out what the emergency is." Wheat Germ said.
"Trust me, neither do we, now let's go!" Applejack said, then she started running up the road.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash shouted, quickly following suit.
"Yippie!" Pinkie Pie squealed and bounced along.
"Um..." Fluttershy mumbled,
"Come on, darling. You should be used to this now. At least do this for Twilight." Rarity said, before trotting along as well.
"Ok..." Fluttershy whispered, and she also started walking up the road.
Now left alone, Wheat Germ paced back and forth. "Dammit," He eventually said, before following the rest of the group.
The ground trembled violently, whatever was happening, it was happening close.
"Consarn it! How long was this parade?" Applejack shouted,
"It shouldn't be much longer. We are almost at the end of the street." Wheat Germ answered.
"Look over there! It's the pony float." Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Quickly running over to the float, the group was disappointed to find it completely abandoned like all the rest.
"Now where do we go?" Applejack wondered,
"The sentinels probably moved you friend." Wheat Germ said, "But where?"
"Why don't we just go ask them?" Pinkie Pie spoke up, pointing across the road.
A large squad of sentinels was grouped up at the opposite side of the road, they appeared to be preparing a defense. Barricades and shooting platforms were being set up all along the road.
The ground shook again, and the sentinels redoubled their efforts to finish the defenses.
"Hey! Sentinels! Where's our friend?" Rainbow Dash shouted, trotting up to the group.
Several sentinels stopped what they were doing and looked at the approaching group, some taking defensive stances.
One stood above the rest. "What are you doing here? There was an order to evacuate." He stated in a gruff voice.
"We're looking for our friend. She's the alicorn that's here." Rainbow Dash said.
The sentinels stiffened.
"That information is confidential, now please leave." The first one stated.
"What?! Now you listen here! We didn't come all this way just to be told no! Now tell us where our friend is!" Rainbow Dash yelled,
"Rainbow Dash please, let me handle this." Rarity said, turning to the sentinels, "We are looking for our alicorn friend, but we're also here on official business, so please tell us where she is."
"And how do we know you aren't just looking to exploit her?" One of the sentinels demanded.
"Well... because... we're her friends?" Rarity tried.
"Oh for crying out loud, we were sent here by the princesses," Applejack deadpanned, and lifted up her hoof, which started glowing a soft blue.
It was hard to tell, but some of the sentinels looked shocked to see the crescent moon emblazoned on Applejack's hoof. They were quick to recover from the reveal however.
"Okay then, there is supposed to be a squad escorting her to the Hall of Judgement, they left as soon as the parade was stopped." The sentinel said,
"Why would they be taking her there?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's the safest place from the current threat, she will most likely be judged as well," the sentinel explained,
"Well then, let's g-" Wheat Germ was cut off.
The ground shook again, and small pieces of rubble fell from some of the buildings. Whatever was making the ground shake was getting closer.
"What's... um... causing that?" Fluttershy asked, looking around nervously.
"Something has escaped the lower levels, and is most likely trying to find and capture your friend." Another small earthquake passed through. "It would probably be best if you started moving." The sentinel finished,
"That's a bit worrying." Rarity said.
A small quake was felt, then again, and again. Something massive was moving around nearby. Smoke began to billow out from between the buildings at the end of the street.
"What is that?!" Rarity asked.
A deep roar could be heard, and what sounded like a building collapsing.
"Get going!" The sentinel shouted, as the rest took up positions at large ballistae and fortifications.
"Don't need to tell us twice!" Rainbow Dash said.
The group started running back down the road. The smoke was now almost completely covering the area, some of the parade floats were no longer visible.
"That is a lot of smoke." Rainbow Dash commented.
"We have to find Twilight, and fast." Applejack stated, then looked at Wheat Germ, "Where exactly is this 'Hall of Judgement'?"
"It's close to the center of town." He answered.
"Wait a minute!" Pinkie Pie shouted, causing everypony to slow down and look at her, "Can we even get hurt here?"
"Well yeah!" Wheat Germ said, "Bones still break, though they do mend themselves eventually. Besides, it's really hard to come back together if you're scattered."
"Oh..." Pinkie Pie said,
"Pinkie, we're not running for our lives, we're running to save Twilight." Rainbow Dash explained.
"I know that. It just seems like we might have to fight that big scary thing. I mean it's what we usually do right?" Pinkie explained.
"That's a bit morbid, though not entirely inaccurate..." Rarity paused to think.
"Does this stuff happen to you guys a lot?" Wheat Germ asked,
"Yeah pretty much," Rainbow Dash said casually,
"It has become a rather common occurrence. Maybe a bit too common." Rarity muttered,
By now the parade floats they had started at came into view, though this time the streets were completely empty. Except for a single skeleton, who was desperately trying to flag them down.
"Hey, I think that's your mom." Rainbow Dash said to Applejack. "Should we go talk to her?"
"Probably should," She responded.
The group turned, quickly coming to a stop in front of Mrs. Butter.
"There you guys are! A whole mess of ponies came by talking about evacuating, and when I came here yall were nowhere to be seen. Ah've been worried sick! Just what is going on?!" She demanded.
"Oh we're terribly sorry, darling, but the parade was canceled! From what we know, some big bad monster has come up to terrorize the area. How dreadful!" Rarity explained.
"Oh my! That does sound terrible. Ah take it you guys are leaving then?" Mrs. Butter asked.
"For the most part, we still have to actually find Twilight," Rainbow Dash said,
"Oh? You mean she wasn't where you thought she was?" Mrs. Butter asked.
"Well she was, but the sentinels moved her before we got there, we're now heading to where they took her." Rainbow Dash explained.
"We should probably keep moving." Rarity reminded, "We’re not exactly far from the conflict."
"Then let's go. Where are yall heading?" Mrs. Butter replied.
"The Hall of Judgement," Wheat Germ piped up.
"It must really be serious then," Mrs. Butter commented.
They started moving again, following both Mrs. Butter and Wheat Germ as they turned at seemingly random streets. It didn't take long before familiar sights came into view, having two natives of the city really helped with directions.
Their previous visit to the building only had them view it from a distance, now up close, it looked completely different.
The Hall of Judgement appeared to be separated into three different sections, each with a gold plated domed roof. It wasn't just solid gold either, as each roof had intricate carvings and designs inlaid in the gold. Below each roof was what appeared to be stone pillars, although a bit too dark to be marble, it was just as polished and as smooth as one would think marble would be. The walls behind the pillars were also made of the same stone, and were covered in strange vines that grew in even stranger patterns, they seemed to shift in the light, almost as if they were moving.
"My goodness, this looks magnificent!" Rarity gushed.
"Ah'll say." Applejack said.
"Eh, it just looks weird to me," Rainbow Dash commented, "Should we go inside?"
"There might be some issue with that... Look." Wheat Germ pointed.
The entrance to the building was absolutely swarming with sentinels, their cloaks making it seem like a flock of birds was converging at the doors.
"We could just go talk to them, it worked last time." Pinkie Pie piped up. "We just need to show them the hoof thingy right?"
"Hoof thingy?" Mrs. Butter repeated,
"Yeah! We got these cool emblems on our hoofs before coming here! Aren't they cool?" Pinkie Pie excitedly showed her hoof off.
"By the Primordials..." Mrs. Butter trailed off, then looked at Applejack, "Just what have you been doing since we left yall?" She demanded.
"Heh, a lot." Applejack rubbed the back of her spine.
"Shall we speak to the guards?" Rarity butted in, changing the subject.
"Seems like a good idea." Wheat Germ added.
They continued forward, climbing up the stairs to the Hall of Judgement. They were immediately stopped by several sentinels, all of which stood in formation.
"Halt! This area is restricted until further notice, please seek shelter in your own homes!" One of them commanded.
"Fat chance!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but was quickly shushed by Rarity.
"We're here on official business, we need to see our friend, the alicorn." Applejack clarified, showing the guards her glowing hoof.
"Understood," The sentinel said after a moment of consideration, they then moved out of the way along with the rest of the guards.
There was still quite a large distance between the stairs and the entrance, but it just gave time for some of the group to gawk at the impressive architecture. There were even more sentinels crowded around the entrance, nearly to the point where they had to walk single file to get past. Upon reaching the massive doors they were once again stopped, with one of them appearing to be a higher rank than the others, a silver sash was wrapped around his cloak.
"Halt! Only the marked shall enter! Show me your hooves!" He commanded, Mrs. Butter perked up at this.
"Alright." Applejack held up her hoof, then passed through.
"Here you are darling," Rarity did the same.
"Here," Rainbow Dash said flatly.
"Here you go!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Ummm… Here." Fluttershy held up her hoof then stumbled through.
"Guess we're staying behind." Wheat Germ said.
Mrs. Butter didn’t respond, instead she just stared at the sentinel guarding the door. Enough to the point where he was starting to look a bit uncomfortable.
"Uhh... Ma'am?" He started, coughing into his hoof.
"Bright Mac?" Mrs. Butter asked, looking him up and down.
"My goodness..." Rarity trailed off, gawking at the interior of the building, "It's even more dazzling than the outside!"
The rest were speechless, simply oohing and ahing as they took in the detailed architecture around them.
The floors were tiled with solid gold, which glittered slightly with every step they took. The walls were made of the same light grey stone as the outside, however it was polished and chiseled beautifully. Every few spaces in the wall there were pillars that were both decorative and supportive. In each gap between them there was a masterfully carved stone plant pot that held the very same vines that were seen on the outside. This time however, they appeared to be supporting their own weight and were clipped into varying shapes, ranging from simple, lively designs to ones that seemed oddly morbid. There was no obvious source of light, yet the whole interior was well lit.
The ponies continued down the central corridor, their skeletal hooves making unsettling clacking sounds as they walked. It stretched far ahead of them, much farther than they expected, and much farther than the outside building could even contain. Every so often a doorway would branch off into another hallway, but they quickly disappeared around a corner with no indication as to where it led.
"It's like a maze in here." Rainbow Dash commented. "Where are we supposed to go?"
They all stopped.
"Yeah! Where do we go?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Oh of all the times to not have a guide..." Rarity sighed.
"Can we not ask for directions again?" Applejack asked.
It was at this point that the group looked around more closely at their surroundings, only to notice one thing. There were no sentinels, no skeletons, no souls at all in the hallways. They were completely alone.
"Guess not." Applejack concluded.
"Where is everypony?" Fluttershy murmured.
"Yeah... wouldn't there be more sentinels inside?" Rainbow Dash wondered while checking out the potted vines.
"I'm not an expert on tactics, but it does seem odd that there isn't anypony here." Rarity said, she looked down one of the branching hallways. "Hold on a minute, I'm going to go check something..."
She walked through a doorway and into a separate hallway. Then she turned a corner and disappeared from view.
"Um..." Fluttershy whispered.
It was only a moment later that Rarity reemerged from another doorway further up the hallway. The only problem was that she came out on the opposite side of the corridor. She looked both ways before spotting the group again and quickly trotting back towards them.
"I didn't just imagine that, did I?" She asked worriedly as she arrived back at the group.
"WOAH! Rarity! How did you do that?! First you were over there..." Pinkie Pie gestured towards the original entrance, "Then you came out over there!" She shouted, "Did you learn to teleport and not tell us?"
"What? No Pinkie, I didn't do anything besides walk through the other hallway." Rarity said.
"Yet you ended up over there. Just what in tarnation is going on here?" Applejack demanded,
"Well did it look any different?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"I mean, the hallway was a bit smaller and there were less decorations, but there was nowhere else to go but forward, and it was the same marvelous design the whole way through." Rarity detailed.
“So do we just keep going then?” Rainbow Dash wondered, she leaned forward, staring down the ridiculously long hall. “That’s going to be a really long walk.”
“Well, we either start walking, or we figure this out,” Applejack grumbled, “I hate dealing with this mystical stuff.”
“Hmmm,” Rarity brought a hoof to her chin, “This is like a court right? Mr. Germ said something like that. Maybe we need to request a trial or something?”
The others shrugged,
“Uh… Hello?” Rarity tried, looking up at the ceiling, “We’re here to see our friend, Twilight Sparkle.”
A click echoed down the hallway, causing them all to flinch.
“Twilight Sparkle is being judged, please wait until your number is called.” A monotone voice answered back,
Rarity turned to look at the others for a moment before looking back up. “What is…?” She began, “What is my number?”
“Rarity Belle: Number two billion, three hundred sixty five million, seven hundred three thousand, one hundred eighteen.”
“Oh-”
“Fluttershy: Number two billion, three hundred sixty five million, seven hundred three thousand, one hundred nineteen.
Pinkamena Diane Pie: Number two billion, three hundred sixty five million, seven hundred three thousand, one hundred twenty.
Rainbow Dash: Number two billion, three hundred sixty five-”
“Alright enough! We get it.” Rainbow Dash called out, “What number is being judged next, after Twilight?”
“Manuel Calavera: Number two billion, three hundred sixty five million, six hundred ninety eight thousand, six hundred fifty two.”
“Oh dear. That’s a lot.” Rarity said,
“How long does it take for somepony to get judged?” Fluttershy asked,
After a moment of no response, they looked at each other again.
“Wheat Germ said it would only take a few days for us to get judged, so I imagine not too long.” Rarity recounted, “Still though.”
“A few days?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “We don’t have time for that!”
“I know, darling. Just…” Rarity thought for another moment. She then looked up at the ceiling again, “I would like to request priority judgement.”
“Priority what now?” Applejack asked,
“I don’t know!” Rarity whispered back, “I mean Twilight’s getting judged right now, I’m just looking for something to help speed this up.”
The click sounded out again,
“Reason for request?”
“Um… There’s a state of emergency outside, and we need to secure the alicorn soul?” Rarity tried,
Silence.
“We have permission from Princess Luna.” She added on, turning her hoof up to show the mark.
There were another few seconds of silence, and they all looked at each other worriedly.
“Priority granted. Processing.” The voice announced.
“Oh, good! Then what should we-”
Rarity was interrupted as the floor shifted beneath her. The golden tiles began to slide against each other, moving like a conveyor belt. She was jolted forward, carried down the corridor as the rest of her friends were also picked up.
“Ooh! Fun!” Pinkie Pie said,
“Eh, it’s kinda slow.” Rainbow Dash said,
“Oh hush.” Rarity chastised, beginning to walk with the movement, “We already have priority, let’s just go-woah!”
The tile’s abruptly increased in speed, knocking them all off balance as they continued to accelerate. Pretty soon the walls and decorations were a blur, and they struggled to stay together as the air rushed past.
“Weeee!” Pinkie Pie screamed,
“Now this is more like it!”
“I wish there was something to hold on to!” Rarity shouted,
The end of the hallway came into view, then began to rapidly approach as the golden tiles streaked forward. They weren’t slowing down in the slightest, and only seemed to keep picking up speed.
Just as they were about to cross the divide, they stopped, in an instant. They were all catapulted forward, skidding across the floor and coming to a stop in a jumbled mess on the opposite side of the room.
“Ow?” Rarity said, “I think that hurt.”
“I didn’t feel anything,” Rainbow Dash’s voice came from behind her.
She looked around, but found she couldn’t turn her head; it was separated from the rest of her body again. The beginning of a pile of bones lay at the edge of her vision, so she concentrated, feeling the tip of a hoof coming together. It then connected to her forearm, which slotted into her knee, and then attached to her shoulder. The beginnings of her spine and ribs came next, but she soon found something pulling against them.
“Uh oh.” Rarity pulled harder, only for the force to match it, “I think I’m caught on something.”
“Yeah, me.” Rainbow Dash replied,
She pulled much harder, undoing a lot of Rarity’s work.
“Oof! Hey!”
“That wasn’t me.”
“Sorry Rarity,” Applejack’s voice came from off to the side, “Just trying to pull myself together.”
“So am I, darling. I think we all are. That was unpleasant, let’s just… figure this out.”
What remained of her foreleg crawled into view, and by flailing it around a bit she was able to turn her skull slightly, allowing a better view of the pile. Several skeletons were assembling themselves from it, though without much success. Bones knocked against each other, joints tangled, and the lack of sight from most of them certainly didn’t help.
“Watch it!”
“Sorry.”
“I’m over here.”
“Oof.”
“Ah!”
“I need that one!”
“This one?”
“No, that one!”
“Who’s hitting me?”
“I’m not!”
“That tickles!”
“Stop pulling!”
“I’m missing a rib.”
“That’s my humerus, I think.”
“What’s humorous?”
“How do you know what bone is called what?”
Slowly but surely, the pile diminished as they assembled themselves again. The five ponies stood in a small circle, trading bones and sorting through each other as they completed themselves.
“There we go.” Rarity finished with a sigh of relief, “Good as new.”
“Wait, hold on.” Pinkie Pie interrupted, she plucked a vertebrae from her neck and switched it out with one from Applejack, “Now we’re good.”
“Thanks, partner.”
“Alright,” Rarity nodded, “Well now that that’s taken care of, where are we?”
A booming voice echoed from above. “Twilight Sparkle, your actions have been judged, are you ready for the final verdict?”
“Y-Yes,” A familiar voice whispered down.
They all gasped, and looked up. They were underneath the plate of a gigantic balance scale. It took up nearly the whole room, with the golden base akin to the size of a fountain in the center. It stretched up and up, the solid gold carved into the shapes of a spine, with the same shifting vines wrapping around it. A complex mechanism of gears rested at the top, with two thick arms branching outwards, shaped like bones. The ends held skeletal claws, each grasping three chains, which were taught to the plates below.
From their position, only the tip of a horned skull was visible on the plate, a familiar purple mane attached to it.
“Twili-!”
Rarity quickly clamped her hooves down on Pinkie Pie’s mouth, causing her teeth to clack loudly.
“It’s probably best not to interrupt. We can probably talk to her afterwards.”
“Are you sure?” Applejack asked,
“No.” Rarity answered, “But does this look like something that should be interrupted? It’s Twilight’s final verdict!”
“It shouldn’t be.” Rainbow Dash argued, “If she can come back, then why is she even getting judged in the first place?”
Rarity paused at that, and she looked back up at the platform. The whole scale jolted, the mechanism in the middle clicking as the gears turned. Twilight’s plate lowered slightly, then it began ratcheting upwards like the hand of a clock. On the opposite side, the other plate lowered to the point where it was almost touching the ground, and a large stone statue of a feather could be seen atop it.
“Due to your exemplary actions in the mortal world, you are granted passage to the fields of Elysium.” The voice announced,
“Elysium?” Fluttershy whispered, “Is that the good place?”
“Good to know we don’t have to worry about that.” Rarity said,
“Okay.” Was all Twilight responded with, her voice sounded a bit heavy
“That just leaves one more question.” The voice began, “Do you wish to remain in Limbo, and return to the souls outside?”
The others all tensed up, and they all looked upwards with baited breath, not that they even needed to breathe to begin with.
“No.”
And in a beacon of burning light, Twilight’s skeleton was gone, and the gigantic scale slowly started resetting itself.
Pinkie Pie shook violently, her mane going flat as her bones rattled. It didn’t take long for her to fall apart into a pile.
“I don’t get it.” Rainbow Dash said, confused, “She left, job done, let’s go back to living and breathing.”
“Darling, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said, trying to keep her voice clear, “She didn’t go back. She chose to stay.”
“But- but she said no to staying here! The thing asked her if she wished to remain, and she said no.” Rainbow Dash argued,
“To here!” Applejack explained, “L-Limbo was it? She chose to go up into that Elysian place instead of staying here!”
Rainbow Dash sat down and stayed silent for a moment, “Why would she do that?”
“Rarity Belle,” The voice echoed out, “The time has come for your judgement.”
“Wha- Already?” She asked, before she was promptly lifted off the ground. “Woahoah!”
The unseen force carried her up to the scale and placed her on the plate. The whole thing lurched from her weight, and it took a moment for it to even out as she struggled to find balance. The others quickly stepped out from underneath, standing at the edge of the room so they could see.
“Can it wait a second?” Rarity asked,
“You have requested priority. You are being judged now. Prepare for evaluation.”
The golden claw above her clenched the chains, and the individual links began to glow, travelling downwards until they reached the plate. Spiral runes filled in below her, and the three lines converged at her hooves. Rarity’s vision flashed, and a haze began to overtake her vision.
She couldn’t blink; she didn’t have eyelids, and shaking her head only gave her an intense feeling of vertigo. Two images overlaid her vision, one of the vast and decorated room she was in, the other a blurry form of a crib.
Tilting her head, Rarity was about to say something before everything moved. It was fast, much faster than she expected, and the crib disappeared, two figures taking its place. Her parents.
“Oh! We’re going through my whole…” She trailed off.
Memories of her childhood flashed into her mind. Going to school, taking an interest in fashion, her first friend, getting her cutie mark, stealing a hairpin from a classmate. The scale jolted, and Rarity felt a sense of weightlessness as it lowered slightly.
“Really? Everything counts?”
The images continued, moving forward throughout her life. Graduating, moving out, starting a business, adopting a cat, struggling financially, making dresses, and finally, meeting her friends for the first time. Rarity sat down, watching as some of the best moments of her life replayed before her eyes, the scale shifting up and down at the highlights and lowlights all the while steadily rising.
Eventually, the memories reached the present, going through receiving the letter, the train ride, their conversation in the castle, and finally being thrust into the next plane of existence. It cut off right before they woke up in the dead world, causing Rarity to shake her head and look around. The scale had risen to the point where she was nearly touching the side of the domed ceiling, with the other side getting close to touching the ground. There was no way to tell for sure, but it looked like it was a bit higher than when Twilight was judged.
“Rarity Belle, your actions have been judged, are you ready for the final verdict?” The monotone voice came again,
She stood, “Yes, I am.”
The mechanism at the center clicked, locking into place.
“Due to your embodiment of the element of Generosity, you are granted passage to the fields of Elysium.”
Rarity let out the tiniest of sighs of relief.
“That just leaves one more question. Do you wish to remain in Limbo, and return to the souls outside?”
Moving over to the side of her plate, Rarity peered down from the edge. The rest of her friends were looking up at her, and though there were no facial expressions, she could tell they were anxious. At least Pinkie Pie had reassembled herself, though her bones sagged and drooped with her mane.
“I’m going after her.” She called down, “and if we can’t find each other after an hour, then we all come back down, okay?”
They all nodded, and with that, Rarity turned and inhaled deeply, her ribs expanding outwards from the arbitrary action.
“Send me up.”
A bright flash of light assaulted her vision, and the world around her disappeared.
Again, Rarity awoke on the ground, only this time it was much more graceful. She simply snapped awake, looking upwards at the clear blue sky. She could feel blades of grass poking into her fur, a radiant heat from the sun above, and smell the slight sweetness that hung in the air. Smacking her lips, she gasped, and moved to touch her face. She had skin again! Living, breathing, wonderful flesh that could touch and feel the world around her.
Rarity stood, breathing in the slightly humid air; it smelt of sweet grass, with a hint of morning dew. Looking around, a vast field of grass stretched out around her, a quaint little forest off to the side, and a trickling stream that led to a small lake. Several ponies could be seen frolicking around, playing with each other, swimming, flying, or simply lazing about under the shade of the trees.
It was paradise for them, but not quite for Rarity.
The ground shifted, the hill in front of her splitting open as a vast dining hall rose in its place. A ridiculously long table stretched into the distance, full of savoury meals, rare delicacies, and decadent sweets. There were more ponies in the seats, and some other creatures as well, all partaking in the infinite feast. Rarity could dine like royalty, she could dine with royalty.
It was getting closer.
The table fell away, its occupants uncaring towards the movement. Ornate pillars and walls sprouted from the ground, the grass shifting to a beautiful, tiled floor. Fancy music filled the air as a grand throne rose in front of her. A brilliant tiara sat in the center of the seat, with several other accessories off to the side just waiting for her to put them on, an expansive wardrobe slinking out the back.
Rarity smiled, walking over and slipping the tiara into her mane, which had become exquisitely styled and managed. Turning around, a whole ballroom was filled with others like her, expensively dressed and interacting with each other, whether it be slow dancing or simply talking.
She took a single step forward, but stopped herself, shaking her head. She had a mission to complete.
Looking around again, none of the ponies in the ballroom looked familiar, and none of them were Twilight either. Going over the edge of the dance floor, there was no obvious exit to the room, but things seemed to change on a whim, so Rarity got to thinking.
“I would like to drink please.” She spoke aloud, envisioning the stream from earlier.
A wine glass atop a marble pedestal manifested itself in front of her. Rarity huffed, but grabbed it anyway and took a sip.
“I would like to go back to the field please.”
Like a closing pop-up book, the walls and pillars folded away, the dancers in the middle sinking into the ground as the bright field appeared once again. Right as Fluttershy faded in amongst the grass.
“Fluttershy, darling. Good to see you made it.”
Her ears perked, and she slowly stood. As soon as she saw Rarity she froze, and immediately looked down upon herself, letting out a huge sigh of relief as her yellow fur met her gaze.
“Didn’t like being a skeleton?” Rarity chuckled softly,
Fluttershy gave a weak nod, “It was… uncomfortable, and scary.” She looked around a bit, “Is this… Elysium?”
“I don’t know what else it could be. You can have anything you want, go anywhere you’d like, and do anything and everything.” Rarity said, presenting her half empty wine glass.
“Oh.” Fluttershy responded, and a fluffy white bunny wriggled out of the depths of her mane, snuggling up against her neck.
“That’s cute.”
“But if you can go anywhere…” Fluttershy began, “Then how do we find Twilight?”
Rarity froze, looking out across the field once more. Again, none of the ponies looked even remotely familiar to her.
“We uh…” She trailed off, “We go where she would go?”
“But where would Twilight go?”
They both thought for a moment, the answer quickly making itself obvious.
“The library!” They said at the same time.
Then Fluttershy frowned, “But um… how do we get there?”
Rarity just held up a hoof, “Just follow my lead, darling.” She turned to the side, “I would fancy reading a book right now.”
The ground shifted below her, planks of wood growing between the blades of grass as they slipped beneath the cracks. Great shelves of countless books rose at regular intervals, tall ladders and high ceilings forming not long after. A warm firelight replaced the bright sun, and a slight dusty scent lingered in the air. It was cozy and confusing at the same time.
A moment later Fluttershy appeared beside her, looking around in awe as the environment changed for her as well.
“It’s a bit jarring at first, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yeah.” Fluttershy stuttered, “Oh wow.” She gazed upwards at the towering bookshelves.
There were a few other ponies dotted around, perusing the vast library of knowledge around them. They stepped out of the row they appeared in, watching as the shelves expanded far past what they could even see.
“How are we supposed to find Twilight in all of this?” Rarity asked,
Fluttershy stared down the other corridor, speechless.
“There has to be… millions of books here!”
“I know right!” A voice came from above.
They both looked up, where a pegasus with thick glasses hovered midair with an armful of books.
“This place has everything! And they’re all original copies!”
“That’s great…” Rarity began, “But how do you navigate this place? We’re trying to find a friend.”
“Well what do they like to read?” The pegasus lowered ever so slightly.
“Everything I think, but…” Rarity shared a look with Fluttershy, “Math, science, and magic tend to be her favorite topics.”
“Then just go to those sections.”
“Where um… Where are they?” Fluttershy asked,
Rarity nodded, “And where are we? How is this place organized?”
“It doesn’t matter! That’s the best part!” The pegasus exclaimed, “Wherever you want to go will be where you go next! Though if you must know, you’re in weather studies at the moment.” They flashed the cover of a book in front of them, revealing a diagram of a cloud.
They fluttered off a moment later, plucking a few more books from the shelves higher up.
“Okay then…” Rarity turned back towards Fluttershy, “Do you want to check math while I check science? And then we can check magic.”
“Sure.” She nodded,
“So we just…” Rarity stepped into the next row and looked at the spines of the books, most were titled around astronomy, anatomy, or aerodynamics. “Alright good, what do you see, Flutter-” She turned around, realizing Fluttershy was gone, so was the pegasus from earlier. “Guess we’ll meet back up in magic.”
Looking down the aisle, there were a few other ponies dotted around the shelves, none of which were Twilight. Rarity walked all the way down to the end, searching high and low, and making sure the last few books were labeled with ‘Z’.
She placed the zoology book back onto the shelf and looked ahead, “Onto magic then.”
Stepping into the next row, a different sight met her vision. Fluttershy was visible at the other end, but a large pile of books lay between them. It wasn’t just a haphazard mess however, there was an obvious method to its design, with larger, thicker books layering the bottom like bricks, and wider, thinner books propped up like walls.
“A book fort?” Rarity asked out loud,
She looked at Fluttershy worriedly, and they both rushed over to the pile. There was no roof, and as they neared they could see the familiar, purple form of Twilight Sparkle, face buried underneath a large tome as she laid there limply. Rarity couldn’t see her face, but every once in a while a sniffle would arise from beneath the pages.
What suspicions she once had against her friend quickly disappeared as she watched for a second.
“Twilight, darling. Are you okay?”
Twilight twitched, and slowly pulled back, her eyes peeking over the top of the spellbook. As soon as she laid eyes on Rarity she jumped out of the bookfort, tackling her to the ground in a tight hug.
“Rarity?! What are you doing here?! How did you get here?! Why?! I missed you so much!” She blubbered,
“Darling!” Rarity gasped, “It’s okay! I came here for you!” She returned the hug.
Twilight paused, “For me?”
“We all did,” Rarity gestured behind her,
Twilight turned, staring at Fluttershy as she gave a small wave, “I’m glad you're okay, Twilight.”
“You're all here? But…” Twilight trailed off, thinking, “I thought we never agreed on the suicide pact.”
“What?!” Rarity exclaimed, “We didn’t! We were sent here to find you! To help you come back!”
Twilight stared with wide eyes, switching between the two of them, “I can come back…?” She whispered,
“We all can.” Rarity pressed the hug further, “We love you Twilight.”
Fluttershy stepped over the pile of books and joined in on the hug, tears brimming at her eyes. Fresh tears were already pouring down Twilight’s face, and Rarity struggled to keep hers from ruining her make-up, which she assumed she had on now.
“W-When I first got here.” Twilight choked out, “I th-thought I would never see you guys again! I was devastated, and then all the other skeletons came to celebrate… I couldn’t handle it.” She swallowed hard, “I-I thought that maybe… maybe going to Elysium would make me feel better, but all I could think about was you guys!”
“Imagine how we felt when we saw you leave voluntarily.” Rarity said,
Twilight finally got a solid breath, “You were there?”
“Got to see the tail end of your trial.” Rarity answered, “Then it was my turn.”
Twilight gasped, “The others! Where are the others?!”
“They got judged after us,” Fluttershy said, “I met up with Rarity when I got here, and we left soon after.”
“We don’t know where they ended up, or if they even made it up here to begin with.” Rarity said, “They must still be looking for you.”
“They should’ve made it.” Twilight said, “Who was supposed to be judged next?”
“Pinkie, I believe.”
“Oh.” Twilight sniffed, rubbing her eyes with a hoof “Then I think I know where we can find her.”
“Where?”
Twilight pulled away from the hug and looked up towards the ceiling, “I’m hungry.”
“Ah,” Rarity said as she faded from view, “That checks out. I’m hungry too.”
In an instant, the bookshelves fell away, a familiar table forming from the wooden floor. There were plates upon plates of breads, cheeses, cakes, and meats. Bowls of soups, stews, salads, and fruits. Trays of cookies, vegetables, candies, and biscuits. Countless diners were taking from the impressive array of food, with one particular one piling so much on her plate it almost equaled her in height.
“Pinkie.” Rarity called out, “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten why we’re here.”
Pinkie Pie slowly turned to look at her, mouth already covered with several different sauces. “Of course not! I’m just-” Then she spotted Twilight standing next to her. “TWILIGHT!”
She leapt out of her seat, tackling Twilight to the ground and coating her with food.
“I was so sad when you died! Then I was worried when you disappeared! Then I was mad when you left! But now I’m just happy you're here!”
“That’s good to hear,” Twilight gasped out, struggling to breathe as Pinkie Pie constricted her, “I’m happy to see you too.”
“This calls for a party!” Pinkie Pie announced, then promptly disappeared.
“Uh…”
A moment later she reappeared, a party hat affixed to her head, “Sorry! Went to the party room accidentally. Want to go?”
Twilight quickly got up, wiping herself clean with a newly apparated cloth, “We should find the others first.”
“Okie Dokie! Let’s go!”
And she disappeared again, leaving the others to glance at each other.
“Go where?” Twilight asked,
Rarity shrugged, “I just went back to the field when I remembered why we were here.”
“You forgot as well?”
“Heh,” Rarity averted her gaze, rubbing the back of her neck, “It is easy to get distracted here, darling.”
“I won’t deny that,” Twilight said, “I didn’t choose to go to the library, but I still found myself there.”
“Let’s just go,” Rarity cleared her throat, “The sooner we find our friends the better. Field please.”
Once more, grass sprouted from the floor, tiles breaking apart as hills bulged beneath them. The walls dissolved to trees, the table melting into the stream as the sun shined from above. Applejack was immediately obvious among the grass, she was looking around in amazement before finally noticing the others as they appeared around her.
“Whoa nelly! Yall found her already?”
“In the library no less.” Rarity said, “It wasn’t as easy as you might think.”
Twilight stepped forward, looking Applejack in the eye, “Sorry for leaving you like that.”
Applejack just shook her head, “Ah was worried ah was gonna have to hug you with just bones.”
She embraced Twilight, holding her tightly for a few seconds.
“I didn’t know I could come back.” Twilight admitted,
“Don’t worry about it none, yer here now.” Applejack pulled away, looking across the rest of the group. “We just looking for Rainbow and Pinkie then?”
It was then that they noticed that Pinkie Pie was not in the field with them, and neither was Rainbow Dash, even in the skies above. Almost immediately after that observation however, a cyan blue form faded into view above them, and a pink one not long after, also in the air, also with wings.
“Pinkie!” Twilight gawked, “You have wings!”
“Well duh!” Pinkie Pie replied, lowering to the ground, “I had to catch up with Dashie somehow.” She folded them, and they promptly evaporated,
“Hey guys.” Rainbow Dash said, “Isn’t this place great? You can do whatever you want.”
“We know, darling.” Rarity began, “Where did you get off to?”
“Well… I had just gotten my wings back, and I wanted to fly, so I flew. Stuff just happened from there I think. Did you guys find Twilight yet?”
“I’m right here, Rainbow.”
“Oh snap!” She dropped down and wrapped a leg around Twilight, “Why’d you leave us like that? Though now that I’m here, I can kinda see why.”
Twilight looked down, “I thought I was dead for good, and that I would never get to see you guys again, but apparently I can come back.” She frowned, “Why can we even do that?”
“All alicorns can come back, darling, it’s why they’re immortal.”
“And we have the Elements of Harmony!” Pinkie Pie added, “We can die as many times as we want!”
“I don’t think it quite works like that, Pinkie.” Rarity said, “But yes, we should be able to return as well.”
“Alright.” Twilight sniffed, a small smile on her face, “How do we go back then?”
They all froze, staring at each other with wide eyes.
“So…” Twilight began, “We can return to the land of the living, we just don’t know how.”
“Yes,” Rarity nodded, “That about sums it up.”
“Don’t you know how to do it, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash wondered,
“I mean I knew it was possible, but I didn’t know that I could do it until just now! Much less how!”
“How do you think it works?” Fluttershy asked,
“Well…” Twilight began, “In order to go back, our souls will first have to cross the divide between planes. It’s been theorized to be a one way gate, but with some exceptions…” She gestured to the lot of them, “It might be possible to go back through, but I don’t know where, how, or even when we could do that!”
“So we just have to cross the border, right?” Rainbow Dash began, “Why can’t we just go to it and just cross?”
“Because it doesn’t work like that.” Twilight explained, “The divide isn’t a physical barrier, the planes are separated by…” She trailed off, “Well it's not actually known, but they run parallel to each other, so we just have to find the place where the divide is the smallest and try to cross there.”
“Ah am so glad we have somepony that knows her stuff again.” Applejack said, “So where do we start?”
“Can’t we just ask? Or better yet, just wish to go back in the first place?” Rarity asked, “I want to go home please.”
Like an inflating bouncy castle, Carousel Boutique folded outwards from the grass, standing tall in the field.
“Did it work?”
“No darling, it didn’t.” Rarity sighed, “Where do we find this ‘smallest divide’?”
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. “It would have be someplace with a lot of traffic, somewhere where a lot of souls come through.”
“You mean… Where we first arrived?” Rarity asked,
“It’s a lead,” Twilight shrugged,
“But that would mean…” Fluttershy trailed off, “Going back down.”
“Where the smoky monster is!” Pinkie Pie added,
“The what?” Twilight asked, confused,
“Why do ya think the parade was cut short, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, “Some big mean mother hubbard is gunning for your soul out there.”
“And we aren’t going to let him have it!” Rainbow Dash finished,
Twilight tilted her head, “Why my soul?”
“You’re an alicorn, darling, why wouldn’t he want your soul?”
“I... Fair enough. How are we going to do this?”
“Let’s form a plan.” Applejack began, “The Princess said we can leave this place whenever we wanted, but she didn’t say where we would end up. I can only assume we would go back to the judgement hall.”
“Or somewhere else in Mortemopolis.” Fluttershy murmured,
Rarity nodded and stepped forward, “We don’t know what it’s going to be like out there, so if we get split up we should meet back at the Hall of Judgement. From there we navigate the city and head out into the desert where we first arrived.”
“And then we go back to living?” Rainbow Dash asked,
“That’s the plan.”
“That’s the plan?” Twilight asked,
“That’s the plan.” Applejack answered, “We ready?”
They all looked at each other, weak nods quickly turning to full ones.
“Okay, let’s do this.” Rarity concluded, she then looked up at the sky, “I would like to go back to Limbo please.”
The ground shuddered below her, sinking slightly as the grass dried out and died, the dirt beneath turning to sand. All at once it gave out beneath her, sending her tumbling down a dark shaft. Soon after she could feel her body changing, fur peeling off as her flesh was stripped away. It was not a pleasant sensation.
Rarity’s skeleton smacked down on the hard floor, her bones scattering across the golden tiles. A moment later another skeleton shattered nearby, followed by a second, then a third, until all six of them were spread out in the room with the scale.
“Oh great.” Rarity muttered, “We get to do this again. At least we’re all together.”
Before she could even begin to assemble herself, the whole building shook, causing their bones to dance across the floor.
“What was that?” Twilight asked,
“I hope it’s not that monster.” Fluttershy said,
“I don’t think we’ll be given that liberty.” Rarity said,
“Let’s get up and moving,” Applejack called out, “Quickly now.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll go first.”
Rarity felt some of her bones turn and shift as something moved through them. On the edge of her vision she saw Rainbow Dash pull herself together in only a few seconds.
“Who’s next?” She asked,
“Ooh ooh! Me next! Me next!” Pinkie Pie said,
There was movement in the other direction.
“My turn.” Applejack announced,
“I suppose I’ll go next.” Rarity said,
Her bones assembled much quicker and easier without the constant nudging and bumping with the others.
“I’ll go.” Fluttershy whispered, her skeleton slowly rising from the floor.
“Did you guys practice this?” Twilight asked, her bones coming together one at a time. “How do you do it so fast?”
“Don’t focus on anatomy, darling, focus on being whole.” Rarity suggested.
“Oh,” and with that, Twilight converged into a single form, standing a moment later. “That’s better.”
The building shook again, small cracks appearing in the ceiling above them, a small amount of dust following after.
“That’s not good, we should get going.” Applejack said,
“Which way to the exit?” Twilight asked,
“There!” Rarity pointed,
They all rushed over to the corridor, only to stop as the seemingly endless hallway extended past it.
“Not this again!” Rainbow Dash complained, “Is there no other exit?”
Rarity quickly looked around the room again, but the walls were bare of everything except their carvings. “Just start running!”
Taking off into the obscenely long hallway, the group ran across the golden tiles despite there being no end in sight. The building took another impact, causing them to stumble a bit, the pillars around them cracked and buckled.
“Is the building really this long?” Rainbow Dash demanded,
“Not even close.” Twilight answered,
“So it’s an illusion then?” Rarity asked,
“I think so, I didn’t get a good look at it when I came through, but I think it’s a combination of an illusion with compressed space.”
“Why is it even like that?” Applejack asked, exasperated, “What point is there to having all this space?”
Rarity gasped, “It’s a waiting room!”
“That’s right!” Twilight agreed, “The Hall of Judgement needs to have the capacity for all the souls on the waiting list.”
“I don’t think anypony is going to wait here for two whole days.” Rainbow Dash said,
“Exactly, and because they aren’t waiting in here, it’s just empty space.” Twilight deduced,
“So how do we cross it?” Applejack asked,
“We could ask again.” Pinkie Pie suggested,
The building rumbled, several of the surrounding pillars crumbling and collapsing, causing the ceiling to sag. Immediately, the hallway flickered, the distant end shooting forwards as the space they already traveled moved to intercept. In under a second, the length was reduced from farther than the eye could see to just a simple hallway, easily able to fit inside the building. They all skidded to a stop just in front of the entrance
“...Or we could just break the spell.” Twilight said,
“Come on!” Rainbow Dash said, “I don’t think this building’s going to last much longer!”
She thrust the grandiose doors open, and was immediately pushed into a battlefield.
Smoke flooded the streets as if half the city was on fire, but there were no visible flames. The cloaked figures of the sentinels rushed between the streets, jumping between buildings and attacking whenever possible. Spellfire filled the air, all of it concentrated on something behind the six of them.
A deep roar shook the very foundations of the Hall of Judgement, and with another crash, the domed ceiling collapsed in on itself. A charred figure rose behind it, sharpened wings spreading outwards, smoke billowing from its very bones, broken chains dangling from its limbs.
“Big Smoke!” Pinkie Pie screamed,
“Run!” Twilight shouted,
The draconic skull snapped to them as they hurriedly descended the steps, and with another roar it lumbered across the destroyed hall. The Sentinels around them converged, forming a wall of bone to try and slow it down. A hail of magic followed in their wake, all to little effect as the dragon simply plowed through them.
Bones rained down around the group, and they pushed forward, running down the street and ducking into a nearby alleyway. They didn’t get a single moment to rest as the dragon slammed into the building next to them, causing the tall skyscraper to buckle and tilt, showering them with debris.
“That went sour real fast!” Applejack shouted, “Keep going!”
They rounded the corner right as a skeletal claw reached into the alley, carving through the pavement as it grasped blindly.
“That’s who’s after my soul?!” Twilight exclaimed,
“Apparently!” Rainbow Dash said, “How do we lose this guy?!”
“It’ll follow us all the way to the desert!” Fluttershy realized,
“We should split up!” Rarity suggested,
“What?!” Twilight demanded, “That’s a terrible idea!”
“But it’s after you, darling!” Rarity said, “We have to prevent it from getting your soul so it can’t revive!”
“What’s to stop it from doing the same with you guys?!” Twilight argued,
Rarity paused at that, only to jump forward as the building collapsed behind them. “It doesn’t know we can go back, only you! If we can lead it away somehow, then that could give you enough time to get to a safe distance, and we can meet up later.”
“But how will you escape it?”
Applejack ran up alongside them, “Once it realizes that you’re not with us, it might go back to searching for you, and if it doesn't know you left the city…”
“Might?!” Twilight repeated,
“The sentinel guys will be helping the entire time.” Rainbow Dash added, “I don’t know what they’ve been doing this entire time, but I don’t think they’re just going to let that dragon get his way.”
“But…” Twilight slowed a bit, “I just got you guys back! What if you get hurt? Or worse!”
Rarity stopped, the others slowing down around them, “We’re already dead, darling. What more can happen?”
Twilight rolled her jaw back and forth, grinding her teeth as she looked at each of them. “Okay fine. Let’s do it.”
“We’ll be fine, darling.” Rarity assured, “Fluttershy, Rainbow, you’re with me. Applejack, Pinkie, stay with Twilight, make sure she makes it out of the city. We’ll try to delay as much as possible.”
“Aw yeah! Skeleton fight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, punching the air a few times,
“Oh dear…” Fluttershy murmured,
“Stay safe,” Applejack tipped her head,
“We’re gonna have the best party when we get back!” Pinkie Pie said,
“Thanks, you guys.” Twilight began, “I couldn’t ask for better friends.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Rarity said, “Now go!”
Smoke started to pour in from the streets, filling the air around them. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie continued running between the buildings while Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy peered outside the alley.
“Alright, how are we going to stop this thing?” Rainbow Dash was the first to speak,
“We need to lead it away somehow, distract it with something.” Rarity deduced,
“With what exactly?”
“Um… an alicorn?” Fluttershy suggested,
“Isn’t the entire point of this to protect the alicorn?” Rainbow Dash asked,
“No, she’s right, darling.” Rarity said, “This thing is chasing an alicorn, so let’s give it something to chase.”
“Ohhh…” Rainbow Dash realized, “How are we going to do that?”
“Somepony needs to look the part…” Rarity thought for a moment, her gaze eventually landing on Fluttershy, “Wings!”
“What?”
“Your wings, darling, give them to me.”
“H-How?”
“Here,” Rarity said, moving over to her, she put her hoof under her wing joint and pulled, separating the bone from the rest of the body.
Fluttershy shuddered, then watched as Rarity took her wing and placed it on her back. It wasn’t an exact fit, but it looked convincing enough. Rainbow Dash quickly did the same on the other side, passing the limb over so Rarity could complete the look.
“Can you still move them?” She asked,
The wings opened and closed, though their movements were shaky and weak.
“It’ll have to do, just keep them open.”
“So what’s the plan?” Rainbow Dash asked,
“Well…” Rarity trailed off, “We get its attention-”
A growl came from the street, and they all looked to see a smoking skull staring at them through the alley.
“And run!” Rarity finished,
She took off in the other direction, exiting out on the other street as the dragon forced its way through the gap in the buildings. Its shoulders couldn’t physically fit, but its bones compressed and moved unnaturally, allowing it to slither further in. The others quickly followed, Fluttershy just barely ducking under a swiping claw. Once they were together again they started running in the opposite direction that Twilight went. The dragon wrenched itself out a moment later, causing the two buildings to crumble around it.
“Hey Mr. Well Done!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “I heard you were looking for some immortality! Well here she is!” She gestured to Rarity.
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t we?” She whispered back,
The dragon roared, breaking into a full sprint towards them. The ground trembled with every step, and they all screamed, scrambling to get away from the raging beast. A flurry of magic bolts came from the road ahead, and hundreds of sentinels descended from the buildings around them. The cloaks rushed to get between them and the dragon as several ran alongside them as an escort.
“This way! This way!” One of them shouted,
A roar punctuated his orders, but they didn’t look back even as a small earthquake rang out. Countless bones were scattered around them, and the tatters of several cloaks were blown forward in a wave of smoke. They ducked into another alley, weaving between buildings as the dragon plowed through them.
“How do we stop this thing?!” Rainbow Dash asked,
“We have a banishing spell prepared.” Another sentinel answered, “But we can’t complete it while that thing still has hostages!”
“It has hostages?!” Rarity exclaimed, “How dreadful!”
Several of the sentinels stared at her.
“You’re not the alicorn.”
“No, I’m not. The real alicorn is currently making her way out of the city. We’re acting as a distraction.”
“What?! Why is she back in Limbo?”
“She’s looking for a good place to return to the land of the living.” Rainbow Dash answered,
“She’s looking to revivify?! Good, once she’s gone we can focus our efforts on banishing the dragon.”
Another building collapsed behind them, and they looked at each other for a moment.
“Isn’t that what you’re doing already?”
“Not with the alicorn still here, our orders are to delay or divert it.”
“And how well is that working?” Rainbow Dash demanded,
“With you here? Splendidly, we should be able to keep this up until the alicorn is safe in the mortal realm.”
“Um…” Fluttershy mumbled, “We can’t stay.”
“What? Why not?”
“It’s true,” Rarity said, “We have to meet up with our friend before she leaves the plane.”
“Yeah, we’re going with her.” Rainbow Dash finished,
A rain of debris fell down around them, yet another skyscraper falling to the ground.
“That’s impossible! An alicorn cannot bring another soul across the divide,”
“We have a way, we just need her help to figure it out.”
The sentinel grumbled, leading them out into the street again as more cloaked figures joined the squad.
“Well what do you want us to do about it? That thing has its eyes on you now, it’s not going to stop until it either has you or figures out you're not what it’s looking for.”
“That’s exactly our plan, darling. We lead it far enough away, then break off to rejoin our friends.”
“While letting it destroy half the city?!”
“Seems like that was going to happen regardless.” Rainbow Dash muttered,
With a resounding boom, the dragon crashed through the building behind them. It shook the dust off itself, then spotted the group as they ran. It immediately gave chase, quickly gaining on them even as more and more sentinels simply threw themselves in its way. The thunderous footsteps rattled the bones of anybody near, and once it was close enough, its large wings bent forwards, the sharpened tips stabbing into the ground around them.
Fluttershy stumbled and tripped, scattering across the ground. Her wings quivered and twitched, sliding off Rarity’s shoulders as they too fell apart. The dragon immediately stopped, digging its claws into the ground as it skidded to a halt. It let out a low snarl, its smoke filling the area around it as its wings arced backwards, ready to strike.
“Uh oh…”
It reared up, slamming all four of its appendages into the ground. Cracks burst forth, chunks of road shooting up as they all struggled to find their balance. Fluttershy’s skull rolled away from her reforming body, falling into one of the many cracks now filling the street. A moment later the dragon stepped down upon it, collapsing the ground around it and causing Fluttershy’s body to mime a gasp. She dropped to the ground, covering the empty space where her head once was.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, turning around, “That’s it Smokey! No more messing around!”
She leapt up onto the wall of a nearby building, her wings digging into the grooves as she crawled up it like a spider.
“Careful Rainbow!” Rarity called out,
She quickly reached the roof, disappearing over the lip before jumping back off. Her skeleton sailed through the air, landing squarely on the dragon’s skull. It roared, rearing back as she punched its charred bone repeatedly. The sentinels did not hesitate, they peppered the beast with constant spellfire and attacks, managing to knock it off balance as it clawed wildly at its head.
Rarity took this moment to slip between the broken road where the dragon had stomped. Among the packed rubble and sand, a few wisps of pink hair stuck out of the ground. Quickly running over, she started digging, tracing the strands back to their source, in only a few seconds she reached bone, but the way the sand flowed back into her hole made it nearly impossible to make any more progress.
There was a roar from above, and Rarity flinched as the ground quaked around her.
“Sorry Fluttershy! I’m going to have to pull your mane!” She called down,
Wrapping her hoof around several times in Fluttershy’s mane, she braced and pulled, managing to yank her skull a few inches upward. A muffled reply came from the ground, and Rarity adjusted her stance, grunting as the rubble held strong.
“This- is why- I never- got- into- gardening!” She exclaimed, and with one final pull, Fluttershy’s skull flew out of the ground.
Rarity stumbled back from the sudden release, nearly falling over backwards as she regained her balance. After a moment she held her hoof up, Fluttershy’s skull dangling in her grip.
“Are you alright, darling?”
Taking a moment to calm her chattering teeth, Fluttershy jerked from side to side, slowly spinning in a circle as she looked around.
“I-I think so…” She stuttered out, “Where’s the rest of m-me?”
“Nearby, I hope.” Rarity said, “Unless you decided to run away blindly.”
“N-No.” Fluttershy did her best to shake her head,
“Then let’s go look for your body, then we will get Rainbow Dash and hightail it out of here.”
“O-Okay, that sounds g-good.”
With a nod, Rarity looked up, watching as wisps of smoke and dust drifted from the road above. Standing on her hind legs, she peered above the crack they were in, only to immediately duck back down as one of the massive bladed wings swept across the ground, cleaving through several sentinels. She waited for a moment, then peeked back up, quickly spotting a headless skeleton cowering off to the side.
Turning around, she waited until the dragon had its back to them before climbing out of the hole. She quickly scurried over to Fluttershy’s body, then took her skull and placed it atop her neck, giving it a few twists to make sure it was secure. Eventually her hoof came up to grab Rarity’s and she used it to pull her up.
“Up there,” Rarity pointed to the dragon, where Rainbow Dash was still clinging to its skull.
She looked to be trying to enter its eye socket, but the dragon was whipping its head back and forth, preventing her from getting a good grip.
“Oh my.” Fluttershy murmured.
The dragon snarled, pulled its head back, and slammed it into a nearby building. The entire wall crumbled, a cascade of debris and bone falling downwards. When it pulled away, Rainbow Dash was no longer on it, rather she was strewn across the growing pile of rubble on the ground.
“Come on.” Rarity whispered, cringing, “Let’s go get her.”
She led Fluttershy back down into the cracked ground, navigating their way towards their friend just under the battlefield. They paused at every thunderous footstep and flinched at every roar, but with the severe damage to the street it was easy to cross it without entering the dragon’s view, especially with the heavy amount of smoke lingering in the air.
Rarity pushed out of the final crevice, then motioned for Fluttershy to follow. Once out, they hurried over to the damaged building, where Rainbow Dash was already assembling herself.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy whispered loudly, “Are you okay?!”
Only her upper body was formed at the moment, and she cracked her neck with her hooves.
“I think so. Wow… That actually hurt this time. Ow… ”
A lot of her bones were cracked, fractures running up her legs and down her ribs, but nothing was outright broken, at least nothing that was visible.
“Help put me together please.” She grunted.
“Sure,” Rarity nodded, and began rummaging through the rubble, pulling out the odd bone in the pile.
Fluttershy began looking in the immediate area, gathering up a few more bits and pieces scattered around. They both dropped what they found in a pile nearby, most of which quickly getting picked up by Rainbow Dash, though a few slinked off elsewhere.
“Alright, okay. I think that’s everything.” She said, standing up shakily.
“Good, then let’s leave, darling.”
“But what about the dragon?”
“The sentinels can handle it,” Rarity said, “we should get to Twilight.”
Rainbow Dash looked out into the street, where the dragon was spewing smoke onto the gathered sentinels.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They quickly dipped into the alley, giving the battle an especially wide berth as several more buildings were hit. Once they were clear, they began retracing their steps, going back through the path of destruction left behind. It turned oddly quiet, with the distant roars of the dragon being the only major disturbance, and the settling of rubble permeating the air. Most of the smoke had dissipated, and it didn’t take long for them to return to where they split up.
“We just keep going then?” Rainbow Dash asked, “They just kept going this way?”
“It’s a good place to start, darling.” Rarity replied, “Once we get out of the city we should be able to find them easier.”
Fluttershy kept looking back, watching the rising smoke coming from the distant battle.
They continued forward, keeping in line with the alleyway. As they gained more distance, there was more activity in and around the buildings. Skeletons of all types were emerging from their shelters, most just staring silently, while others kept their attention on the action behind them. The edge of Mortemopolis came into sight, the greyish sand forming tall dunes that rose to meet the buildings. There were even more souls wandering about nervously, but they paid them no mind as they passed by.
“I think we’re close to where we first arrived,” Rarity announced, “That street looks familiar.”
“So.” Rainbow Dash said once they were out in the open, “Where do we go now?”
“Well…” Rarity paused, scanning the horizon, “It might be easier to see them in the desert.”
“Um… guys…” Fluttershy began,
Rainbow Dash slumped, “I don’t want to have to find Twilight again!”
“Do you see any tracks?” Rarity asked, “They might have left something for us to follow.”
“Guys…” Fluttershy tried again,
“No, all I see is sand, sand, and more sand.”
“At the very least she’s safe,” Rarity said, “It may take a while, but we do have time to look.”
“Guys!” Fluttershy finally piped up, pointing to the side. “Over there.”
They all looked, where several figures were waving at them from the tallest dune.
“Well that certainly makes it easier.”
“Let’s go already!”
Rainbow Dash rushed forward, quickly scaling the steep slope. Rarity and Fluttershy followed, but quickly lagged behind.
“Oh, I hate climbing in sand.” Rarity said, she stepped up, only to slide back down
Fluttershy was struggling just as much as she was, but together they slowly made progress, ascending the dune as sand flowed all around them. When they eventually neared the top, they readily accepted help from the others.
“Glad yall made it,” Applejack said, “I see the dragon ain’t following ya.”
“Yes,” Rarity dusted herself off, “Despite a few bumps and nicks, everything went fine.”
“I’ll say!” Pinkie Pie cut in, looking over Rainbow Dash’s injuries, “Do you think that’s going to carry over?”
“Oh jeez, I hope not. That would suck so much.” Rainbow Dash said, turning to Twilight, “Will I be okay?”
“They’re not your actual bones.” She explained, “I think they’re just a manifestation of our spirits. Damage to them would result in damage to your spirit.”
“So…?” Rainbow Dash began worriedly,
“I don’t know.” Twilight admitted, “I don’t think it would transfer to physical damage, but spirits are a fickle thing, you might have some… phantom pain?”
Rainbow Dash grunted, “Worth it.”
“At least nothing’s broken,” Rarity said, “Are we ready to go back?”
“Wait!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed,
“What?”
She turned in a circle for a moment, “Guys, I’m missing a rib.”
They all looked to her side, where there was a larger gap between some of her ribs.
“That’s not good, is it?” Fluttershy asked,
Twilight just shook her head and shrugged, “This isn’t really a well studied topic, but I can’t imagine leaving any part of yourself in the land of the dead to be a good thing. Do you know where it is?”
“Maybe?” Rainbow Dash said, “I think I can feel it. It’s back in the city.”
Looking back at the dead city, great plumes of smoke rose from several places around the center. Another skyscraper imploded in on itself, a giant cloud of dust left in its wake.
“Can you bring it here?” Pinkie Pie wondered,
“Like that Hoofdini guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Maybe.”
“Whodini?” Pinkie Pie asked,
Rainbow Dash ignored her, instead concentrating for a few moments, “Okay, it’s moving.”
“Closer?” Applejack asked,
“Yeah, it’s coming this way,” Rainbow Dash nodded, “It’ll be here soon.”
“Well good,” Rarity said, “In the meantime, have we figured out how to ‘revivify’ yet?”
They all looked towards Twilight.
“I think so.” She nodded, “For me, as an alicorn, I should just be able to traverse the barrier without much issue, so I just have to will myself across.”
“That’s good, I think.”
“But for you guys,” she continued, rubbing her chin. “You’re wearing the Elements, right?”
“We were.” Rarity answered, “Princess Celestia said they would be used as anchors.”
“Does that mean we’re tied to the land of the living or something?” Applejack asked,
“In a sense.” Twilight answered,
“So how do we reel ourselves in?”
“That… is where I’m still not sure.”
“Can’t we just cross like you? By willing ourselves.” Rarity said,
“Maybe, we won’t know until we try it, but I’m not willing to leave anypony behind.”
“Then let one of us go first.” Applejack said, “That way we’ll know for sure.”
“I’ll try! I’ll try!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, she gasped audibly, then looked to be trying to hold her breath, however that might work.
She held that state for a few moments, not moving in the slightest until she finally exhaled, her ribs deflating back down.
“Nope, I got nothing.”
“Well how else might the Elements bring us back?” Rarity asked,
“Hmmm…” Twilight thought for another moment, “If you can’t go to the Elements, then you’ll have to get the Elements to bring you to them.”
Applejack tilted her head, “And how do we do that?”
“They should just need to be activated, it’s the only explanation I can come up with.”
“But-” Rarity looked to the others, who matched her worried look, “We don’t have the Element of Magic.”
“What do you mean? I’m right here.”
Applejack shook her head, “We didn’t bring it with us when we went to Canterlot. Not unless you had it on you when you died.”
“It’s not something I really go toting around with.” Twilight said, “No, I didn’t have it.”
“Then how are we supposed to create the Rainbow Friendship Beam of Magicness?!” Pinkie Pie realized, putting her hooves up to her face in an attempt to drag her cheeks down, only to dislocate her jaw instead.
“Can we activate them on their own?” Fluttershy tried,
“Is that even possible?”
“Uh… In theory,” Twilight began, “They work much better together, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be used separately.”
“How are we supposed to use them separately?” Rarity asked, “I don’t believe we’ve ever tried that.”
“Try to embody your Elements more than you usually do?” Twilight shrugged, “Sorry, that’s the best method I can think of.”
Rarity looked around slowly, “I don’t exactly have much to give right now, but you know I’d give you anything if you needed it.”
“I’ll stick by your side through thick and thin, no matter what!”
“Ah would never lie to you.”
“I’m always ready for a laugh!”
“I can’t imagine not helping in any way I can.”
Twilight looked at them all for a moment, “Well? Anything?”
“I don’t think so, darling. Perhaps we should try something else.”
“I have an idea!” Pinkie Pie began, “What if you went back, got your Element, then killed yourself again!”
They all cringed.
“Word choice, Pinkie!” Twilight began, “But... That might actually work… But then I’d have to leave you guys again.”
“But Twilight, if it’ll work…” Applejack said,
“I don’t want to leave anypony behind again.” Twilight shook her head, “We’ll figure this out someway or another. How’s that rib coming along Rain…?” She trailed off abruptly,
“It’s getting close, it should be just over…” Rainbow Dash turned around, and also trailed off. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding.”
They all looked back towards the city, where a once distant pillar of smoke had moved away from the center, and was now approaching them, rapidly. The ground started to shake as a familiar roar sounded out, and the dragon tore through the edge of the city a moment later. It looked around rapidly, quickly spotting them at the top of the dune, a single white bone snagged between its teeth. Behind it, hundreds of sentinels were trailing behind, but they were still a fair distance away.
“You’ve got to go, Twilight!” Applejack said,
“But-”
“Now!” Rarity commanded, “Go back, grab the Element of Magic, then come back so we can all leave!”
“No!” Twilight stomped her hoof, right as the dragon started clawing at the base of the dune.
They all stumbled as the sand shifted below them, and they scrambled to stay on top of the rapidly shrinking hill.
“I’m not leaving you guys again! We should all be leaving together!”
“We will!” Rainbow Dash argued, “But you have to go first! Otherwise we would have done all this for nothing!”
Twilight shook her head. “Either we’re all going, or none of us are.”
“Do you hear yourself right now?!” Pinkie Pie demanded, “You’re putting yourself in danger for us, when you know we won’t be going anywhere!”
“Of course I am! You guys are my friends! I just got you back, and I don’t want to lose you all again!”
“You’re not going to lose us,” Fluttershy assured, “We’ll be waiting right here for when you get back.”
“Not with the dragon here!” Twilight exclaimed, “It wants me, but it knows you’re my friends. I’m not taking that risk.”
“Then we’ll deal with it, darling.” Rarity said, “But you have to get to safety first.”
“Oh, we’re going to deal with it alright.” Twilight said, adjusting her stance, “And we’ll do it together.”
Applejack huffed, “You’re not gonna have it any other way, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Fine by me!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “Let’s teach this guy not to mess with us!”
“Girls, form up!” Twilight said,
They each got into their respective positions behind her, standing strong against the falling sand. The dragon laid in wait at the bottom with an open maw, ready to swallow them whole once they got close enough. The rib in its teeth wiggled loose, shooting up towards them, Rainbow Dash caught it, then quickly affixed it to her side.
“But Twilight,” Rarity began, “How are we even supposed to beat this thing?”
“We’ll take it apart if we have to! All I know is that we’ll do it together!”
There it was. The connection they had so desperately been searching for. Rarity could feel it in her chest, a warm feeling that rang out through the hollow space and into her ribs. A soft glow began to emanate from her bones, and a few quick looks to the side revealed a similar reaction from the others.
They were in their Element.
A blurry world filled Rarity’s vision, and her eyes protested as she tried to blink. It was as if she was in the longest staring contest of her life, and by the looks of it, she would’ve been winning. Her mouth felt incredibly dry, her ragged tongue scraping against her cheeks and teeth. She groaned, her voice coming out coarse and scratchy.
All at once, she jumped awake, inhaling deeply as fresh air entered her lungs in who knows how long. She coughed into her hoof, shutting her eyes tightly and rubbing them as all her normal bodily functions started back up again. She felt her heart start beating after being still for so long.
“Did we do it?” She rasped,
Looking around, her vision had cleared only slightly, but as she shifted under the covers she could feel something cold and stiff on each of her sides. There was a purple blur on the left, and a yellow one on the right, with pink, blue, and orange blurs further on each end.
Rarity sat up fully, rubbing her eyes again as they finally started to rehydrate. Twilight then gasped awake, flailing under the sheets for a moment before she too sat up.
“I’m alive? I’m alive!”
“Mmm, five more minutes.” Rainbow Dash complained, only to start coughing uncontrollably,
The noise seemed to stir the others, with Pinkie Pie literally springing out of bed and Applejack slipping off the side and onto the floor.
“Oof, what gives?”
“Yay…” Fluttershy murmured, “No more bones.”
“Bleh,” Rainbow Dash coughed up a chunk of phlegm, “Are we back? Are we still skeletons?”
“No darling, we’re not.” Rarity cleared her throat,
“Not back or not skeletons?”
“Not skeletons.” She clarified, “We’re definitely back.”
“Awesome.” Rainbow Dash slumped back into the covers.
“Just like that?” Twilight asked, she pulled herself out of the covers and stepped over to the foot of the bed, “No difficulties?”
“I think there were plenty of difficulties, darling.” Rarity said, desperately trying to clear her eyes. She stifled a cough, “Which begs the question, why do you sound so normal?”
“I do?” Twilight asked, confused, “Maybe it’s an alicorn thing?”
“Well duh!” Pinkie Pie jumped up beside her, “I mean look at you!”
Though still blurry, Rarity could see an obvious height difference between the two.
“Whoa!” Twilight exclaimed, “Pinkie, why are you so big?”
“Why are you so small?” She responded, levelling a hoof with Twilight’s head, “You look like a teenager!”
“That is because technically she is one.” A voice came from the end of the room.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight gasped, “O-Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I-I tripped and couldn’t stop myself! I didn't know!”
“It happens,” a white figure stepped further into the room, a darker blue one following after. “I am just glad you all made it back safely. Welcome back to the land of the living, my little ponies.”
“Back, sure.” Applejack groaned from off to the side, “Safely? Ah don’t know about that.”
“Returning to one’s body like that is never an easy process.” Princess Luna said, “But it is not likely for there to be permanent effects.”
“That’s a relief.” Rarity said, squinting at the figures around the room, “So why is Twilight the odd one out?”
Princess Luna gave a small laugh, “It is an adaptation that we alicorns have. Due to our ability to cross the planes with relative ease, it becomes necessary to maintain bodily functions during the process. Normally there are hardly any side effects, but if our bodies were to sustain extensive damage, or remain inactive for extended periods of time, they are forced to reallocate resources to retain function. That is why you have regressed in stature.”
“Oh…” Twilight said, then she gasped again, “Wait! Does that mean when we defeated Nightmare Moon we…”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Princess Luna nodded, “My body did not survive a direct assault from the Elements of Harmony, and I did die in the process, but the effects are not permanent, as you can see.”
Twilight remained silent for a moment, “So how long will I stay like this?”
“A month or two at least,” Princess Celestia answered,
“A month?! I can’t go around looking like a teen for a month!”
Rainbow Dash snorted, “I like the sound of that.”
“Unfortunately, it is one of the many drawbacks of coming back from death.” Princess Celestia said, “You will simply have to deal with it.”
“So we’re all good then?” Applejack asked, “We can go back home?”
“For the most part.” Princess Celestia answered, “Though I would love to hear about your adventures through the Domain of the Dead.”
“What about Big Smoke!” Pinkie Pie nearly screamed,
“Big Smoke?”
Rarity gasped, “That’s right!" She paused to cough to the side, "We didn’t exactly leave on good terms. There was this dragon that chased us through the whole city!”
“Oh. Oh my.” Princess Celestia said, “Is he really still trying after all these years?”
Twilight nodded, “It didn’t look good when we left, is there anything we can do to help?”
Princess Luna huffed, “I will handle it. Be right back.”
Rarity blinked once more, finally able to see the finer details of the room, just in time to see Princess Luna jerk her head to the side. A sickening crack echoed out from the room, and she fell limp on the floor, her frowning face returning to a more neutral state.
“Oh my goodness!” Rarity screamed while the others looked on in shock.
Princess Celestia just winced and turned away, pursing her lips. “I hate it when she does that. There are so many less distasteful ways of killing oneself.”
They all just stared slack jawed at the broken body, only for it to snap back into position a moment later. Princess Luna then stood back, twisting her head back and forth as if popping her neck.
“There, it is finished.”
Complete and utter silence.
“Um…” Fluttershy eventually began, “Who was that mean dragon?”
Princess Celestia exhaled, “He is the ancient dragonlord Asmodeus, who in his life pursued immortality relentlessly. He was not a problem until he learned of us, and sought to break the natural order using our souls.”
“We stopped him soon after that, and now Asmodeus is spending the rest of our lives in eternal punishment.”
“Why your lives?” Twilight asked,
“Unfortunately, due to his actions in the past, his soul remains present even today, and it will continue to do so as long as we do.” Princess Celestia explained,
“A decision he surely regrets,” Princess Luna finished, “I cannot tell you how many times he has pulled this same stunt before.”
“He is one of the reasons why we do not visit the Domain of the Dead often, and I should extend that same advice to you, Twilight. Try not to die a lot.”
“Wasn’t planning on it…” Twilight said, staring blankly forward.
“What about us?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Can we still die whenever we want?”
Princess Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but stayed silent for a moment. “I would not recommend attempting this ever again," she sighed, "but as long as you have your Elements, they will continue to act as anchors for you souls.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Applejack said, “Ah’ve died enough in my life already.”
“Oh yes, Applejack,” Princess Luna began, “Your father says ‘hello’.”
“That’s… good to hear…” She trailed off,
“Can I get a glass of water please?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “I am dying of thirst over here.”
Princess Celestia smiled, “Of course, how would you all like a celebratory feast for your success.”
