The Sisters Grim

The woman which the Princesses had retrieved from under the asylum accompanied the two monarchs back to the castle. Her presence startled many of the guards and castle staff, and after numerous questions were only told two things, and were ordered to spread word to the rest of the castle’s occupance.

Firstly, the woman was called “ema”. Secondly, all guards, maids, servants, dignitaries- anyone that was currently within the castle grounds -were to regard “ema” as if she did not exist. They were to not speak with her or interact with her in any way, they were to ignore every word she says, whether she is addressing them or not, and they are to avoid any and all physical contact with her.

The Princesses and ema stopped outside of two large doors, which led to the throne room. Before stepping through however, Celestia turned and looked up at ema with a questioning look in her eye, accompanied by her now-natural unease around the woman.

“Before we introduce you to a few... rather important ponies who will become involved with the hunt for the sisters,” she sighed, “is there anything you will need?”

She only turned around, putting her back to the Princesses, “Only for you to undo these bindings; I will be of substantially less use if I cannot move about freely.”

“Of course,” Luna muttered, her horn beginning to glow, “of course....”

The glow subsequently covered the sleeves of the straight jacket. Several small ‘clinks’ issued from the locks, and the sleeves fell free. Luna immediately regretted the action, as the rotten remains of the bones of ema’s right arm fell from the fabric, followed by a foul odor akin to a fetid corpse.

“Apologies,” ema said emotionlessly, “but if you remember, my arm was particularly lacerated when I was locked down there, and with no way to treat it, it decomposed.”

Swallowing the bile rising in her throat, Celestia choked out, “Is there... anything else...?”

“No.” ema stepped towards the door, “My current state will suffice for now. I will require a few personal items later, which I am certain you have been keeping locked away for this situation. Return them to me simply within the next ten hours and I will not be tempted to remove your horn from your head.”

ema let her eyes fall on a small, almost invisible line at the base of Celestia’s horn, and upon noticing this and registering her last statement, Celestia felt a nervous sweat break out all over her body.

“Alright,” Luna suddenly stated, hoping to break the tension, “let us continue, shall we?”

Quickly nodding, Celestia stepped towards the doors and enveloped it in her magic, slowly pushing them open. Once removed from their path, the three stepped through, greeted by the sight of six ponies; the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

“Princess!” Twilight Sparkle, a purple unicorn, ran up to the small group. “We came as fast as we cou-” She skid to a halt as she processed ema next to them. “Um... Princess...?”

The Princess sighed, “While I wish I could give you the same order as the rest of the castle...” she glanced nervously back at ema, “the situation demands that I do not. You are aware of the recent events here in Canterlot, correct?”

“Y-yeah... The fire in the gardens, and the guards... Dying.” She nodded. “You told me in the letter.”

“This...” Luna gestured to ema, “is realistically our only chance of stopping these events from escalating. This is ema.”

Twilight nervously waved. “H-hello...”

ema stared at her silently, then turned to Celestia, “You are a fool. I told you to send notice to the remaining descendant of Starswirl’s clan, and you bring me her?”

“That will wait,” Celestia said through gritted teeth, “this is another matter that is of similar importance. These six ponies helped to quell several threats that would have ended in disaster, and while they may be unable to stop the Sisters on their own, they will be able to aid you, at the very least.”

ema looked between the ponies with a blank stare, simply saying, “I do not know how much information you all have been provided with, but know that if this results on your deaths, I will not be held responsible.”

‘Or maybe I shall’, she thought to herself, ‘but that remains open at the moment.’

“A-alright...” Twilight backed away a little. In the back Pinkie waved happily.

ema stared at the gathered ponies silently before turning back to Celestia and Luna, “I would rather you two leave while I converse with these six; I’m sure you have duties to attend to, after all.”

Celestia noticeably tensed at her words, but nevertheless sighed and nodded, “Fine... but we will return shortly to make sure nothing has happened.” She cast a worried glance at Twilight, which ema picked up on.

“Do not worry,” she said quietly, so that only Celestia could hear, “if I were to do something that would upset you, I would have it done in your presence.” She narrowed her eyes, showing a small hint of anger, “I have much to repay for nearly three thousand years of confinement.”

Celestia looked ready to respond, but held her tongue and simply turned around, walking stiffly out of the throne room. After mirroring the increasingly worried looks on the faces of the bearers, Luna followed, the doors slamming shut behind them as they left.

“Now...” ema said, sitting down before the ponies, “we have much to discuss. If you have questions ask them, and I will answer to what I please.”

“Um I don’t mean to offend...” Fluttershy looked at her. “But, what are you?”

She locked eyes with the pegasus and said simply, “I have no obligation to tell you that, and I am sure Celestia would be displeased if I did.... Simply put, I once was human, as the two sisters we will hunt, but after their twisted experiments failed to bend me to their will, I became the only thing that could stop them. Simply put... I am their death, and nothing else.”

Fluttershy eeped and nodded.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “How do you know the princesses?”

ema turned to her, “After the Sister’s attempts at subduing me failed and I became what I am, the Princesses begged for my aid. After they used me to lure the Sisters out, Celestia and Luna trapped the two in stone using the Elements. My purpose fulfilled, I only wished to be left alone to die. The Princesses, doubtful that the Sisters were truly stopped, locked me several miles underneath Canterlot, where I was left to my own realm with no hope for food, sleep, nor death. They recently decided to dig me up and put me to work again, and are likely going to deny me my only wish once this is sorted.”

“W-why would you want to die?”

She frowned, “When I said I became the Sisters’ death, I meant it. When they die, so should I. It is simply how the universe has decided to play out, and I am not one to argue with forces beyond my comprehension.”

Twilight simply stayed silent as she looked around awkwardly. Pinkie looked over with a smile. “What’s your favorite color?”

“That is a pointless question,” ema said flatly, “I am blind.”

“Oh...” Pinkie blinked. “What’s your favorite food?”

“I do not eat, and have not eaten for almost three thousand years. If you remember, I was locked away with no hope for any sort of food.”

“Oh....” Pinkie sat down and looked at the floor before looking at ema. “Have you been to a party before?”

“Perhaps once before, back before the Sisters entered my life. I do not remember, and frankly I have no desire to attend a party. There is no cause for celebration in what lies ahead, so there will be no celebration, simply put.”

Pinkie frowned. “Oh... Okay....” She slowly trotted back to her friends.

“Um darling...” Rarity stepped forward. “Would you mind if I made you something to wear?”

ema stared at her, “The Princesses, if they are inclined to follow through with my request, will be returning my possessions from where they are currently being held. Among these possessions is my clothes.”

“Would you mind if I fixed them up a little?”

“The material from which they are made would be unaffected by any attempts to “fix them up” unless done by my own power. Simply put, no.”

The group stayed silent for a little before Rainbow threw up her hooves. “Oh for the- Why are you so creepy!?”

ema blinked and frowned in her direction, “Various reasons could be attributed to me being “creepy” as you put it. First and foremost, I suppose, would be the nature of my existence as solely being the death of two other beings. I suppose it could also be that you are currently speaking with what is, in all senses, a walking corpse.”

“What!?”

“I died over two thousand years ago, when the Sisters failed and killed me for my lack of use. The only reason I still walk in this world is to kill them. That is why I must die when my job is done, as I will have no more reason to exist.”

Rainbow stared at her for a few seconds before speaking again. “So... Let me get this straight... You’re dead, blind, haven’t had a party, and you haven’t eaten in over three thousand years?”

“Yes.” ema said simply. She cut off any other words that might have been said, “Now, I believe it would be wise to make sure we are all on equal ground; how much do all of you know about the Sisters Grim?”

Twilight perked up. “Well... They were imprisoned, they recently broke out, and burned the gardens down.”

“Hm... minimal knowledge at best....” ema muttered, then asked, “Do you know of the Demon Sombra?”

“King Sombra?” Twilight nodded. “Y-yeah. He was destroyed when Princess Cadence recovered the crystal heart.”

ema tensed, staring at Twilight and asking in a low tone, “Who is this “Princess Cadence”?”

“Um....” Twilight backed away at her tone. “The princess of love... She’s an alicorn.”

The pressure in the room seemed to increase, and the temperature felt as if it dropped several degrees, while ema simply stared past Twilight with no emotion on her face. Slight whispers seemed to echo from the shadows in the corners of the room, which appeared to be creeping out further and further every second.

“Whoever this Cadence is...” she said  passively, “she will require a very strong reason for me not to end her life the moment I see her....”

“Hey! She’s my sister in law.” Twilight scowled at her.

Everything in the room seemed to stop, and suddenly Twilight felt thousands of invisible eyes glaring at her, as ema’s gaze landed on her.

“If she has destroyed Sombra, she has also destroyed the only conceivable way of stopping the Sisters. They hold in their hands the Eyes of that Demon, and returning them to his body is the only action which can stop them.”

ema rose from the ground and stepped forward, standing over Twilight and looking down at her with malice in her eyes.

“The only way reverse this is to find Starswirl’s descendant, whoever that may be, and forcibly gouge out their eyes and let the Sisters implant them in their skull. Even then, the descendant would only be under the Sisters’ control.”

She leaned down, her face only centimeters from Twilight’s, “Unless you wish eternal suffering on an innocent life, there is nothing we can do thanks to the actions of this “Cadence” you speak of.” She tilted her head to the side and asked, “Would you like to volunteer?”

Twilight backed away quickly. “N-no thanks!”

ema stared at her for a few seconds, and suddenly the pressure let up, and the temperature returned to normal. She turned slowly and walked to the doors, pausing just before them to say, “Then there is little hope now, for what may come in the future.”

Silently she stepped forward, passing through the doors as if they weren’t even there, leaving the bearers alone in the throne room.