My Little Hell Correspondence: Vengeance is Magicby Dragonborne FoxChaptersI- A Boring--Wait, Who's This Guy?II- New BodiesIII- Small Towns are Small Business(es)IV- Strings of EmpathyI- A Boring--Wait, Who's This Guy?The Purgatory World was a place where people would go ask for their grievance to be heard, provided that they followed certain requirements. Or, rather, it had been that way three years ago. Now, its inhabitants, who were usually sent out for espionage and fetching-the-client reasons, were so damn bored they began resorting to things such as tic-tac-toe and playing checkers and pegs and fighting each other with chopsticks. Yes, fighting with chopsticks. They were THAT bored. Aside from all of this, they'd grumble and complain about how, with the lack of clients nowadays, they not only had nothing to do, but they were also losing their edge because of it. In the midst of all this sat a young girl in a black kimono with a scarlet obi. Her nicely trimmed, long black hair was tied into a braid today, then in pigtails, and then a ponytail. Her eyes of bloodstained ruby watched all forms of vengeance unfold. This girl was none other than Ai Enma, otherwise called Hell Girl. She was called this because she ferried people to Hell (literally....using a boat) for the past four-hundred something years. This started when she was buried alive alongside her parents to appease a "curse" that had befallen her village. When she emerged at an unspecified time later, the village was burned to the ground. Since the God of Hell (who often took the form of a spider with three eyes on his abdomen, who also liked to bitch a lot) saw it all unfold, he punished her--and ferrying people was that punishment, which she still carries out to this day. A tall woman with her black hair done in a hybrid of a bun and ponytail sat down beating a pack of saltine crackers into a rock. Her earthen eyes seemed tired and hung with bags. This woman was called Hone Onna because she could expose the bones in her body without exposing the flesh first. One of the other recruits (who will be discussed a bit later) simply called her Tsuyu because she couldn't pronounce "Hone Onna" correctly. Her body actually housed many souls of betrayed women, including that of the true Tsuyu. The reason being was because she was killed and dumped into a river by a Yakuza after aiding her friend in escaping from a brothel her boyfriend sold her off to so he could pay his debts. When she was dumped in the river, the merging happened and she literally rose from the dead, so to speak. As for her friend, she suffered the same fate (minus the river.) A man in a green-trimmed beige hoodie yawned. His black hair covered the left side of his face as the exposed green eye stared blankly at everything else. This man was called Ichimokuren, or simply Ren for short. He was in fact a katana once, used mostly for greed (stealing money and women, to name a few) before being impaled in a rock and left there for who knows how long. He had a sort of third eye going about him that he could morph into whenever he pleased. A tan-brown man with a man's version of a red kimono and simple white hat with black band leaned against a tree with his legs crossed and his head hanging low. He was asleep as evidenced by the fact that he kept murmuring about this and that. If one took off the hat, they'd see a wrinkled forehead and a head so bald it could reflect like a mirror if washed often enough. His name was Wanyudo. He worked as a chariot puller before the bridge he was on burned. Not only was he killed, but so were the people whom he was transporting. As a result, he became a blazing wheel with a bald man's wide-eyed, angry face on it that would drag people screaming to Hell every time he ran into them--until he met up with Ai. Since then, he could turn into a literal chariot of fire that would take the entire group to the desired destination. A young man, no taller than Ai, busily combed his short black hair. His name was Yamawaro, and he was simply used for a contorted immortality experiment after he went into a mansion with a caring woman and her crazy as fuck husband who lost their infant son. They took him in and all was fine and dandy for the first few weeks before the aforementioned experiments began happening. He then ran away, but not before witnessing the house get sucked into a tornado and catching a glimpse of the woman holding a boy in her arms who looked eerily like him. Before he was recruited, he looked like a pile of mushrooms. That walked. A girl about as tall as a toddler approached Ai whilst on a tricycle. Her small kimono fit her nicely, and matched her brown hair and odd pupil-less, purple eyes. This girl was named Kikuri. She didn't count as a recruit, given her height. In fact, she simply followed the group around for no reason. Very little was known about her, other than the fact that she apparently wasn't human and the fact that she was very prone to possession. Given her size, she often acted like a child and got away with it. Legitimately. Another girl as tall as Ai herself paced rather frantically in circles whilst incomprehensibly bitching about something. On her person there was a sword strapped onto her. The strap went over her shoulders and the sword itself was on her back. This young woman (she is called a young woman due to having endowments since eleven) was known by two names: Florarena Bloodlust, or if you were Ai Enma and her small clique of followers, Blood Raven. She was actually a kitsune who, sadly, was afflicted with full-blown autism and a really bad case of insanity. Not like that stopped her from carrying out orders unless she didn't understand said orders. She had a hybrid anomaly on her back--feathered wings becoming more bat-like, to be accurate. It remains unknown why she has wings, but that helped her in the long run. Dark red hair, which was rarely taken care of, sat on her head. She was a red fox. And by red, I mean blood red. She also had eyes of ice. Her sword, which was also a tsukunogami, was named Muramasa Onikiri. Like Ren, she was used at some point to kill. Blood Raven did have a past, yes, but she and the other recruits won't speak of it because it is gut-wrenchingly horrid. She's the one who has trouble pronouncing certain things, such as "Hone Onna." A young man whose dark brown-black hair and deep blue eyes mirrored that of the Raven's simply stared at the sky. His name was Broken Love, so named for his power (he thinks it's more of a curse) of tampering with people's inner lusts and making them grow horns and fall in love with him in the same seating. He was in fact the Raven's twin brother, but he was miscarried and had to see what his sister saw. This, sadly, also drove him insane. Unlike the others, he and his sister were American (which gave the others so many ways to say "An American Kistune in Tokyo" every time they went to Japan for a specific client.) The clouds passed by, the sun literally never set....same old same old. A man's voice laughed. The Raven stopped pacing and turned to Ren. She raised a brow. Upon hearing this laugh, Ren broke out of his trance. He noticed Flora looking at him. "It was not me. Find someone else to blame." He said with a shake of his head. "What the hell is that thing?!" Broken Love cried out, pointing to the sky. At once, everyone present looked up and simultaneously gasped. Even Wanyudo, who'd been asleep, woke up in shock. There in the sky was a being with a goat's head and a zebra-like monotone grey mane on his head. Alongside the back of his head, this mane turned black and furry. A yellow antler and blue sea-shell like horn sat on either side of his head in front of his ears. A fang stuck out of the upper right corner of his mouth. Red irises sitting on a canvas of yellow sclera eyed the group. His body was covered in brown feathers from collarbone to tail start. He had a lion's arm and orange horse leg with a brown hoof on one side and a gryphon's talon and dragon's green leg on the other. A blue, feathered wing and purple leathery bat wing held his contorted form airborne. A long, sleek, red-scaled dragon's tail was as long as his seemingly-serpentine body or perhaps even longer and it had red-pink spines. The tail ended in a tuft of red-pink fur. "Holy fotch." Blood Raven said, wide-eyed with shock. "More like 'holy shit.'" Tsuyu corrected, blinking in morbid awe. Onikiri was rattling and vibrating like mad. She was cursing to high heaven. "Well, isn't this quite the rude awakening?" Said the being with a toothy smile. He put talon and paw together and tapped their digits in rhythm. "I've been watching from my own world. I have a little deal for you." "You can't!" Shouted the God of Hell angrily as he shook his own web. "I thought you wanted souls to go to Hell. There's been a most peculiar lack, no?" Retorted the being, still smiling. The God fell silent. Then, he said, "Go ahead." "You see, through Hell itself, our worlds are connected. In effect, the same can be said for the Purgatory World we are currently in. So, I propose to you a deal: You lot go to my world of Equestria and simply do what you do best--ferrying souls, that is. However...there are two kinks you need to take into account before considering." Spoke the being. "Those kinks being...?" Ai asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "I do believe you all recall not one, but two trips to a certain ghost town?" Asked the being. Everyone glanced at one another, and then they looked up nodding. "And I do suppose you recall what you were turned into?" He continued. Again, he was answered with more nods. "Well, you all are to be turned into ponies. Yes, that's what they're called in my realm. That's the first kink." He said. "What about me?!" Onikiri shouted with telepathy. "You will be turned as well, don't worry. The second kink is that Equestria is ruled by Celestia and Luna--two goddess-like ponies who literally raise sun and moon every day. You have to remain undetected, for they tolerate no harm on their little ponies. And my name is Discord, by the way." Answered the being. Ai looked at the others, and they nodded. She then looked at Discord. "If it gets the God of Hell to shut up, I gladly take the offer, as do the others." She said. II- New Bodies"Excellent. Now, come with me. Don't worry, you can shift between forms at will, as you've always done." Discord said, smiling. With a flick of his lion paw, he magically lifted the group of nine into the air. A portal opened up and everyone braced themselves for the possible worst. Onikiri was lifted from Flora's body. The portal emitted a bright light that nearly blinded all nine. Next thing everyone knew was that they were laying stomach-side down on clouds. Clouds that were the color of Discord's bat wing. Ren was the first to attempt to get up, only to find that his arms and legs became pony-like. As a result, he nearly tangled them thrice in a row. He tried again and got it right this time. Now, he saw that everyone else was a unicorn. Wanyudo had a brown pelt with charred hooves and horn. Given the fact that he was bald, he naturally had no tail either. On his flank was a black straw doll with a scarlet thread fused with a chariot's wheel. Hone Onna was sickly white, and her horn was cracked. Her cutie mark was a blue straw doll and red thread as well as two bones crossed together. Yamawaro was a light tan-green color with a short mane and tail, and there were bits of fungus growing out of his horn. His cutie mark was a yellow-green straw doll with a mushroom for the little head. Broken Love was a snow-white unicorn, and his tail was long. His cutie mark was a rose-pink straw doll with two hearts formed from the red thread. Flora's wings were exposed, and her tail hung in tangles. Her cutie mark was a white straw doll outlined in a pool of blood that was shaped like hellfire. There were also three black feathers in this pool, and they looked like they were made of black blood as evidenced by the drips they looked like they were created. Kikuri had a third eye on her flank, which would indicate she was possessed when that same eye appeared on her forehead right where her little hornbud was. She had an off-white coat. Ai had a dark grey pelt and her cutie mark was a black straw doll with a portion of it cut out. And that portion looked like the mark of the covenant. There was also a boat paddle being held in one 'hand' of the straw person. Ren then looked at his flank. A red straw doll with a green third eye on its little torso was there, and one arm was like a katana. He then had to look upwards cross-eyed. His horn was also a katana...or rather, the front of it was. It sat on a pale canvas. Onikiri had a silver body, and her horn was a dual-edged sword. She lacked a cutie mark, and her mane and tail were black with blood red highlights. Her eyes were grey. "My, you all are certainly unique." Discord said, smiling. Blood Raven was the next to get up. She had nowhere near as much difficulty as Ren had when he got up. "Ren, you fail." She taunted, flapping her wings once to ensure that they worked. Tsuyu got up next. She eyed her surroundings. Wanyudo followed. At last, everyone stood up and tried walking around, save for the twins (both of whom smiled deviously.) "Take your time to get used to it. No rush." Discord said, floating in the air. The Raven looked under the cloud and saw many towns dotting the landscape. There were straw-roofed houses, there was a castle, there was even a ponified Statue of Liberty somewhere. "Pretty." She gasped. "Indeed, it is pretty." Discord agreed. "It just needs more Chaos is all. But Celestia put moderation on me, which is a bummer. But it's not that big a deal." "Uh....how do we get down?" Ren asked, staring down the landscape. "Well, this is the cloud that you need to jump realms if a request in your world pops up. It's a precaution, actually. You do the same old same old." Discord answered. "Ah." Ren replied with a grin. "How about this: I scout the landscape just so we know what the hell we're getting ourselves into. Once I get a good idea of this place, then we start. How's that?" Flora asked, raising a hoof. "Why not? I have no objections to that." Ai answered, raising her hoof as well. "My, we sure are smart about this. Do you have an invisibility spell?" Discord asked. "Closest I have are illusions and phasing through things." Answered the Raven. "You're not aware that the illusions can be broken?" Discord asked again. "I had them broken before. I only use them when necessary, since I usually keep to the shadows like everyone else." Answered the Raven again, this time with a sigh. Tsuyu looked at the sky to tell what time it was, since she didn't bring a watch. In fact, nopony brought one to begin with. The sun was slowly setting to the vast south. Kikuri had curled up on the cloud and fell fast asleep. "Do you wait until night?" Discord asked. "Yes. Since even before the Raven was recruited, we've basically been on a night shift but often carry out the vengeance during the day. And the reason behind that is because it's not only makes it easier to hide, but calling us to aid in vengeance can only be done at the very stroke of midnight." Ai answered. "Though, we have made some rare exceptions to that rule for the sake of the clients involved." She then pointed a hoof at the Raven. "She's a prime example of that." Discord picked Flora up and looked all over her body. In front of her tail was the mark of the covenant aligned perfectly with her spine. "Can I get back on the cloud now? This is getting kinda awkward." Flora sighed. Discord put the mare down, making sure she sat on her haunches. "Horns. Can't live without em." Broken Love chimed, pointing a hoof to the protrusion on his head. At once, everyone looked at him save for Kikuri. Flora stifled a giggle with her hoof. The sun had fully set. The moon was slowly rising from the north. Flora saw this, spread her wings and jumped off the cloud. She rapidly shot towards the land...or, more accurately, a small town just south--or was it north?--of the castle in the mountains. III- Small Towns are Small Business(es)Flora was still shooting towards that town. Her wings were closed on her sides and her hooves weren't in front of her--they were at her sides as well. Her mane billowed wildly, and much of the front portions were pushed out of the way with a bandana she'd always put on after taking flight. She never blinked at all when skydiving like this. It was a natural thing for her (though it usually bit her in the ass later.) With sharp night eyes and split-second calculation she unfurled her wings and flapped only once. Now, she was barely hovering above a dirt-and-cobblestone street by just inches. She landed on her hooves and closed her wings. She saw that the houses were also wooden in structure and some also had stone, though the straw-roof theme was present on all the houses in her immediate vicinity. She wondered if they provided good rain protection. Seeing a silhouette in the moonlit distance snapped her out of her thoughts. The Raven dove in a nearby alleyway and hugged a shadowy wall. Clip clop....clip clop...clip clop... Her ears zeroed in on the distant sound. The sound of hooves beating the cobblestone as their owner walked--perhaps trotted, even--towards some unknown destination. Perhaps their owner saw the Raven skydiving? Clip clop clip clop......clip clop clip clop..... She retreated deeper into the alleyway. Now, she was fully concealed in the darkness. Clip clop clip clop clip clop.... The silhouette stopped right before the alleyway with its side turned. The Raven could make out a lovely white pelt and a deep, purple mane. "Anypony there?" Shouted the figure. The voice was feminine and lovely like that of a noble lady, so this creature must've been a girl. "I said, is anypony there??" Called the creature again. A sort of sapphire glow seemed to emanate from her forehead. Swiveling her head in the right direction, the Raven was able to see that this being had eyes of most delicate sapphire and a protrusion from her forehead that was rounded at its end. The mane was curled at the ends like a spiral crafted by an expert. Such a pretty face indeed. The unicorn started to enter the alley, the glow of her horn rivaling the light of the moon itself. The Raven frantically looked towards the other end of the alley and saw a few more houses she'd have to pass. The unicorn drew closer. "Show yourself! Please, I'd like to see you, Rainbow Dash!" She shouted. Who the hell is this Rainbow Dash you speak of? Thought the Raven as the shadows she hid in were fleeting and dimming. Another silhouette appeared and this one, due to the sapphire glow, was revealed to have a cyan body and irises of rose. Her mane was in six of the seven colors of the rainbow. "I'm here, Rarity. Why are you freaking out?" Asked the mare. "Well, darling, I thought you hid in this alley. I must've been seeing things." Answered the unicorn. "On that note, let's leave." Sighed the rainbow-maned mare. With that, both left the alley and trotted away. I should be less cocky next time. Thought the Raven as she breathed a deep sigh of pure relief. I hate almost blowing my cover like that. Tiptoeing out of the alley, she reached its mouth to peek her head out and look at both sides of the street. Nopony in sight. She looked up and saw more figures....winged figures in the sky, at that. Instinctively, she crouched very low and flattened her body as best as she could, careful to not expose herself to the moonlight. "Did you see that strange pegasus mare? White pelt, dark red mane?" Shouted a masculine voice from above. "Yeah, I saw her alright. Her cutie mark is really strange!" Called another voice in response to the first. "What was it?!" Shouted the first voice again. "I saw a strange five-pointed shape, a pool of blood, and three black splotches!" Answered the second. The Raven looked at her flank. Straw doll; flame-shaped pool of blood; three black, bleeding feathers. This couldn't have gotten any worse than a big giveaway right there on her thigh, let alone both of them. She needed to hide it and her wings, and she needed to do so now. "Search the entire town for the mare! We can't let her get away!" Shouted the first voice. The winged figures flying in the air dispersed and took up different locations on what was probably the town's outskirts. This is not a warm welcome, let alone a way to start a day on the job. Thought the Raven, shaking her head and mentally kicking herself in the balls for nearly fucking up. Moving with caution, she tiptoed back out into the open. Moonlight spilled on her pale form and her mane darkened to nigh-black, save for a slender vein of silver on its mass. She looked around. Nothing but the dimly lit houses and walkway was there. She thought deeply. A black, silken cloth suddenly fluttered to her and stopped short of her hooves. She looked up and saw Discord looking back at her with another toothy smile. "You almost gave yourself away, dear." He said disapprovingly. "I know. This was something I didn't expect." Replied the Raven, picking the cloth up and wrapping it around her neck. She then lifted another piece of it over her head like a cloak, this concealing her horn somewhat. "I have enchanted that cloth so that you can look like a normal pony around these parts. I already did the others the same favor." Discord said, smiling. "Thank you." Said the Raven with a smile of her own. IV- Strings of EmpathySomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
I- A Boring--Wait, Who's This Guy?The Purgatory World was a place where people would go ask for their grievance to be heard, provided that they followed certain requirements. Or, rather, it had been that way three years ago. Now, its inhabitants, who were usually sent out for espionage and fetching-the-client reasons, were so damn bored they began resorting to things such as tic-tac-toe and playing checkers and pegs and fighting each other with chopsticks. Yes, fighting with chopsticks. They were THAT bored. Aside from all of this, they'd grumble and complain about how, with the lack of clients nowadays, they not only had nothing to do, but they were also losing their edge because of it. In the midst of all this sat a young girl in a black kimono with a scarlet obi. Her nicely trimmed, long black hair was tied into a braid today, then in pigtails, and then a ponytail. Her eyes of bloodstained ruby watched all forms of vengeance unfold. This girl was none other than Ai Enma, otherwise called Hell Girl. She was called this because she ferried people to Hell (literally....using a boat) for the past four-hundred something years. This started when she was buried alive alongside her parents to appease a "curse" that had befallen her village. When she emerged at an unspecified time later, the village was burned to the ground. Since the God of Hell (who often took the form of a spider with three eyes on his abdomen, who also liked to bitch a lot) saw it all unfold, he punished her--and ferrying people was that punishment, which she still carries out to this day. A tall woman with her black hair done in a hybrid of a bun and ponytail sat down beating a pack of saltine crackers into a rock. Her earthen eyes seemed tired and hung with bags. This woman was called Hone Onna because she could expose the bones in her body without exposing the flesh first. One of the other recruits (who will be discussed a bit later) simply called her Tsuyu because she couldn't pronounce "Hone Onna" correctly. Her body actually housed many souls of betrayed women, including that of the true Tsuyu. The reason being was because she was killed and dumped into a river by a Yakuza after aiding her friend in escaping from a brothel her boyfriend sold her off to so he could pay his debts. When she was dumped in the river, the merging happened and she literally rose from the dead, so to speak. As for her friend, she suffered the same fate (minus the river.) A man in a green-trimmed beige hoodie yawned. His black hair covered the left side of his face as the exposed green eye stared blankly at everything else. This man was called Ichimokuren, or simply Ren for short. He was in fact a katana once, used mostly for greed (stealing money and women, to name a few) before being impaled in a rock and left there for who knows how long. He had a sort of third eye going about him that he could morph into whenever he pleased. A tan-brown man with a man's version of a red kimono and simple white hat with black band leaned against a tree with his legs crossed and his head hanging low. He was asleep as evidenced by the fact that he kept murmuring about this and that. If one took off the hat, they'd see a wrinkled forehead and a head so bald it could reflect like a mirror if washed often enough. His name was Wanyudo. He worked as a chariot puller before the bridge he was on burned. Not only was he killed, but so were the people whom he was transporting. As a result, he became a blazing wheel with a bald man's wide-eyed, angry face on it that would drag people screaming to Hell every time he ran into them--until he met up with Ai. Since then, he could turn into a literal chariot of fire that would take the entire group to the desired destination. A young man, no taller than Ai, busily combed his short black hair. His name was Yamawaro, and he was simply used for a contorted immortality experiment after he went into a mansion with a caring woman and her crazy as fuck husband who lost their infant son. They took him in and all was fine and dandy for the first few weeks before the aforementioned experiments began happening. He then ran away, but not before witnessing the house get sucked into a tornado and catching a glimpse of the woman holding a boy in her arms who looked eerily like him. Before he was recruited, he looked like a pile of mushrooms. That walked. A girl about as tall as a toddler approached Ai whilst on a tricycle. Her small kimono fit her nicely, and matched her brown hair and odd pupil-less, purple eyes. This girl was named Kikuri. She didn't count as a recruit, given her height. In fact, she simply followed the group around for no reason. Very little was known about her, other than the fact that she apparently wasn't human and the fact that she was very prone to possession. Given her size, she often acted like a child and got away with it. Legitimately. Another girl as tall as Ai herself paced rather frantically in circles whilst incomprehensibly bitching about something. On her person there was a sword strapped onto her. The strap went over her shoulders and the sword itself was on her back. This young woman (she is called a young woman due to having endowments since eleven) was known by two names: Florarena Bloodlust, or if you were Ai Enma and her small clique of followers, Blood Raven. She was actually a kitsune who, sadly, was afflicted with full-blown autism and a really bad case of insanity. Not like that stopped her from carrying out orders unless she didn't understand said orders. She had a hybrid anomaly on her back--feathered wings becoming more bat-like, to be accurate. It remains unknown why she has wings, but that helped her in the long run. Dark red hair, which was rarely taken care of, sat on her head. She was a red fox. And by red, I mean blood red. She also had eyes of ice. Her sword, which was also a tsukunogami, was named Muramasa Onikiri. Like Ren, she was used at some point to kill. Blood Raven did have a past, yes, but she and the other recruits won't speak of it because it is gut-wrenchingly horrid. She's the one who has trouble pronouncing certain things, such as "Hone Onna." A young man whose dark brown-black hair and deep blue eyes mirrored that of the Raven's simply stared at the sky. His name was Broken Love, so named for his power (he thinks it's more of a curse) of tampering with people's inner lusts and making them grow horns and fall in love with him in the same seating. He was in fact the Raven's twin brother, but he was miscarried and had to see what his sister saw. This, sadly, also drove him insane. Unlike the others, he and his sister were American (which gave the others so many ways to say "An American Kistune in Tokyo" every time they went to Japan for a specific client.) The clouds passed by, the sun literally never set....same old same old. A man's voice laughed. The Raven stopped pacing and turned to Ren. She raised a brow. Upon hearing this laugh, Ren broke out of his trance. He noticed Flora looking at him. "It was not me. Find someone else to blame." He said with a shake of his head. "What the hell is that thing?!" Broken Love cried out, pointing to the sky. At once, everyone present looked up and simultaneously gasped. Even Wanyudo, who'd been asleep, woke up in shock. There in the sky was a being with a goat's head and a zebra-like monotone grey mane on his head. Alongside the back of his head, this mane turned black and furry. A yellow antler and blue sea-shell like horn sat on either side of his head in front of his ears. A fang stuck out of the upper right corner of his mouth. Red irises sitting on a canvas of yellow sclera eyed the group. His body was covered in brown feathers from collarbone to tail start. He had a lion's arm and orange horse leg with a brown hoof on one side and a gryphon's talon and dragon's green leg on the other. A blue, feathered wing and purple leathery bat wing held his contorted form airborne. A long, sleek, red-scaled dragon's tail was as long as his seemingly-serpentine body or perhaps even longer and it had red-pink spines. The tail ended in a tuft of red-pink fur. "Holy fotch." Blood Raven said, wide-eyed with shock. "More like 'holy shit.'" Tsuyu corrected, blinking in morbid awe. Onikiri was rattling and vibrating like mad. She was cursing to high heaven. "Well, isn't this quite the rude awakening?" Said the being with a toothy smile. He put talon and paw together and tapped their digits in rhythm. "I've been watching from my own world. I have a little deal for you." "You can't!" Shouted the God of Hell angrily as he shook his own web. "I thought you wanted souls to go to Hell. There's been a most peculiar lack, no?" Retorted the being, still smiling. The God fell silent. Then, he said, "Go ahead." "You see, through Hell itself, our worlds are connected. In effect, the same can be said for the Purgatory World we are currently in. So, I propose to you a deal: You lot go to my world of Equestria and simply do what you do best--ferrying souls, that is. However...there are two kinks you need to take into account before considering." Spoke the being. "Those kinks being...?" Ai asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "I do believe you all recall not one, but two trips to a certain ghost town?" Asked the being. Everyone glanced at one another, and then they looked up nodding. "And I do suppose you recall what you were turned into?" He continued. Again, he was answered with more nods. "Well, you all are to be turned into ponies. Yes, that's what they're called in my realm. That's the first kink." He said. "What about me?!" Onikiri shouted with telepathy. "You will be turned as well, don't worry. The second kink is that Equestria is ruled by Celestia and Luna--two goddess-like ponies who literally raise sun and moon every day. You have to remain undetected, for they tolerate no harm on their little ponies. And my name is Discord, by the way." Answered the being. Ai looked at the others, and they nodded. She then looked at Discord. "If it gets the God of Hell to shut up, I gladly take the offer, as do the others." She said.
II- New Bodies"Excellent. Now, come with me. Don't worry, you can shift between forms at will, as you've always done." Discord said, smiling. With a flick of his lion paw, he magically lifted the group of nine into the air. A portal opened up and everyone braced themselves for the possible worst. Onikiri was lifted from Flora's body. The portal emitted a bright light that nearly blinded all nine. Next thing everyone knew was that they were laying stomach-side down on clouds. Clouds that were the color of Discord's bat wing. Ren was the first to attempt to get up, only to find that his arms and legs became pony-like. As a result, he nearly tangled them thrice in a row. He tried again and got it right this time. Now, he saw that everyone else was a unicorn. Wanyudo had a brown pelt with charred hooves and horn. Given the fact that he was bald, he naturally had no tail either. On his flank was a black straw doll with a scarlet thread fused with a chariot's wheel. Hone Onna was sickly white, and her horn was cracked. Her cutie mark was a blue straw doll and red thread as well as two bones crossed together. Yamawaro was a light tan-green color with a short mane and tail, and there were bits of fungus growing out of his horn. His cutie mark was a yellow-green straw doll with a mushroom for the little head. Broken Love was a snow-white unicorn, and his tail was long. His cutie mark was a rose-pink straw doll with two hearts formed from the red thread. Flora's wings were exposed, and her tail hung in tangles. Her cutie mark was a white straw doll outlined in a pool of blood that was shaped like hellfire. There were also three black feathers in this pool, and they looked like they were made of black blood as evidenced by the drips they looked like they were created. Kikuri had a third eye on her flank, which would indicate she was possessed when that same eye appeared on her forehead right where her little hornbud was. She had an off-white coat. Ai had a dark grey pelt and her cutie mark was a black straw doll with a portion of it cut out. And that portion looked like the mark of the covenant. There was also a boat paddle being held in one 'hand' of the straw person. Ren then looked at his flank. A red straw doll with a green third eye on its little torso was there, and one arm was like a katana. He then had to look upwards cross-eyed. His horn was also a katana...or rather, the front of it was. It sat on a pale canvas. Onikiri had a silver body, and her horn was a dual-edged sword. She lacked a cutie mark, and her mane and tail were black with blood red highlights. Her eyes were grey. "My, you all are certainly unique." Discord said, smiling. Blood Raven was the next to get up. She had nowhere near as much difficulty as Ren had when he got up. "Ren, you fail." She taunted, flapping her wings once to ensure that they worked. Tsuyu got up next. She eyed her surroundings. Wanyudo followed. At last, everyone stood up and tried walking around, save for the twins (both of whom smiled deviously.) "Take your time to get used to it. No rush." Discord said, floating in the air. The Raven looked under the cloud and saw many towns dotting the landscape. There were straw-roofed houses, there was a castle, there was even a ponified Statue of Liberty somewhere. "Pretty." She gasped. "Indeed, it is pretty." Discord agreed. "It just needs more Chaos is all. But Celestia put moderation on me, which is a bummer. But it's not that big a deal." "Uh....how do we get down?" Ren asked, staring down the landscape. "Well, this is the cloud that you need to jump realms if a request in your world pops up. It's a precaution, actually. You do the same old same old." Discord answered. "Ah." Ren replied with a grin. "How about this: I scout the landscape just so we know what the hell we're getting ourselves into. Once I get a good idea of this place, then we start. How's that?" Flora asked, raising a hoof. "Why not? I have no objections to that." Ai answered, raising her hoof as well. "My, we sure are smart about this. Do you have an invisibility spell?" Discord asked. "Closest I have are illusions and phasing through things." Answered the Raven. "You're not aware that the illusions can be broken?" Discord asked again. "I had them broken before. I only use them when necessary, since I usually keep to the shadows like everyone else." Answered the Raven again, this time with a sigh. Tsuyu looked at the sky to tell what time it was, since she didn't bring a watch. In fact, nopony brought one to begin with. The sun was slowly setting to the vast south. Kikuri had curled up on the cloud and fell fast asleep. "Do you wait until night?" Discord asked. "Yes. Since even before the Raven was recruited, we've basically been on a night shift but often carry out the vengeance during the day. And the reason behind that is because it's not only makes it easier to hide, but calling us to aid in vengeance can only be done at the very stroke of midnight." Ai answered. "Though, we have made some rare exceptions to that rule for the sake of the clients involved." She then pointed a hoof at the Raven. "She's a prime example of that." Discord picked Flora up and looked all over her body. In front of her tail was the mark of the covenant aligned perfectly with her spine. "Can I get back on the cloud now? This is getting kinda awkward." Flora sighed. Discord put the mare down, making sure she sat on her haunches. "Horns. Can't live without em." Broken Love chimed, pointing a hoof to the protrusion on his head. At once, everyone looked at him save for Kikuri. Flora stifled a giggle with her hoof. The sun had fully set. The moon was slowly rising from the north. Flora saw this, spread her wings and jumped off the cloud. She rapidly shot towards the land...or, more accurately, a small town just south--or was it north?--of the castle in the mountains.
III- Small Towns are Small Business(es)Flora was still shooting towards that town. Her wings were closed on her sides and her hooves weren't in front of her--they were at her sides as well. Her mane billowed wildly, and much of the front portions were pushed out of the way with a bandana she'd always put on after taking flight. She never blinked at all when skydiving like this. It was a natural thing for her (though it usually bit her in the ass later.) With sharp night eyes and split-second calculation she unfurled her wings and flapped only once. Now, she was barely hovering above a dirt-and-cobblestone street by just inches. She landed on her hooves and closed her wings. She saw that the houses were also wooden in structure and some also had stone, though the straw-roof theme was present on all the houses in her immediate vicinity. She wondered if they provided good rain protection. Seeing a silhouette in the moonlit distance snapped her out of her thoughts. The Raven dove in a nearby alleyway and hugged a shadowy wall. Clip clop....clip clop...clip clop... Her ears zeroed in on the distant sound. The sound of hooves beating the cobblestone as their owner walked--perhaps trotted, even--towards some unknown destination. Perhaps their owner saw the Raven skydiving? Clip clop clip clop......clip clop clip clop..... She retreated deeper into the alleyway. Now, she was fully concealed in the darkness. Clip clop clip clop clip clop.... The silhouette stopped right before the alleyway with its side turned. The Raven could make out a lovely white pelt and a deep, purple mane. "Anypony there?" Shouted the figure. The voice was feminine and lovely like that of a noble lady, so this creature must've been a girl. "I said, is anypony there??" Called the creature again. A sort of sapphire glow seemed to emanate from her forehead. Swiveling her head in the right direction, the Raven was able to see that this being had eyes of most delicate sapphire and a protrusion from her forehead that was rounded at its end. The mane was curled at the ends like a spiral crafted by an expert. Such a pretty face indeed. The unicorn started to enter the alley, the glow of her horn rivaling the light of the moon itself. The Raven frantically looked towards the other end of the alley and saw a few more houses she'd have to pass. The unicorn drew closer. "Show yourself! Please, I'd like to see you, Rainbow Dash!" She shouted. Who the hell is this Rainbow Dash you speak of? Thought the Raven as the shadows she hid in were fleeting and dimming. Another silhouette appeared and this one, due to the sapphire glow, was revealed to have a cyan body and irises of rose. Her mane was in six of the seven colors of the rainbow. "I'm here, Rarity. Why are you freaking out?" Asked the mare. "Well, darling, I thought you hid in this alley. I must've been seeing things." Answered the unicorn. "On that note, let's leave." Sighed the rainbow-maned mare. With that, both left the alley and trotted away. I should be less cocky next time. Thought the Raven as she breathed a deep sigh of pure relief. I hate almost blowing my cover like that. Tiptoeing out of the alley, she reached its mouth to peek her head out and look at both sides of the street. Nopony in sight. She looked up and saw more figures....winged figures in the sky, at that. Instinctively, she crouched very low and flattened her body as best as she could, careful to not expose herself to the moonlight. "Did you see that strange pegasus mare? White pelt, dark red mane?" Shouted a masculine voice from above. "Yeah, I saw her alright. Her cutie mark is really strange!" Called another voice in response to the first. "What was it?!" Shouted the first voice again. "I saw a strange five-pointed shape, a pool of blood, and three black splotches!" Answered the second. The Raven looked at her flank. Straw doll; flame-shaped pool of blood; three black, bleeding feathers. This couldn't have gotten any worse than a big giveaway right there on her thigh, let alone both of them. She needed to hide it and her wings, and she needed to do so now. "Search the entire town for the mare! We can't let her get away!" Shouted the first voice. The winged figures flying in the air dispersed and took up different locations on what was probably the town's outskirts. This is not a warm welcome, let alone a way to start a day on the job. Thought the Raven, shaking her head and mentally kicking herself in the balls for nearly fucking up. Moving with caution, she tiptoed back out into the open. Moonlight spilled on her pale form and her mane darkened to nigh-black, save for a slender vein of silver on its mass. She looked around. Nothing but the dimly lit houses and walkway was there. She thought deeply. A black, silken cloth suddenly fluttered to her and stopped short of her hooves. She looked up and saw Discord looking back at her with another toothy smile. "You almost gave yourself away, dear." He said disapprovingly. "I know. This was something I didn't expect." Replied the Raven, picking the cloth up and wrapping it around her neck. She then lifted another piece of it over her head like a cloak, this concealing her horn somewhat. "I have enchanted that cloth so that you can look like a normal pony around these parts. I already did the others the same favor." Discord said, smiling. "Thank you." Said the Raven with a smile of her own.
IV- Strings of EmpathySomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
