Hereafter

by Quaver Ava

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Comedy, Adventure, Alternate Universe
Length: 5602

A changeling killed Blue, sucked her soul right of her. Now she is a ghost and must survive the Hereafter, protect her killer, and look for a princess in the Equestria Wastes.

Death was only the beginning. Now I am in the Hereafter, the realm between the Afterlife and the Wastes.

My name is Blue Jay, I am a half-dead mare. My body is brain dead and I am a ghost. To save myself I must travel with my killer through the wastes, as his guardian, and keep him safe. We're to find the dead queen's daughter, and bring her home. On our long journey, the restless souls of the past are as varied as the living. Many have lost themselves in the Hereafter, hungry to live again, and others simply want to sleep. I'm not sure I'll survive this place. I'm not sure I'll survive being partners with my killer. But I'll be damned if I don't help.

In the Wastes, the dead are closer than we think.

—

Big thank you's to the following people

Bobulator for pre-reading.
Fauxsquared on DevientART for the cover art.
My writer's group.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-09 04:30:10 UTC

Game Over...

Game Over…

“Move your cutie-marks ladies! Those changelings might tear each other apart, but they won’t hesitate to suck you dry. Move!” Saddle Cape’s voice boomed from my left, amplified by his magic. My ears rang with his commands. Stupid unicorns...

I struggled to fix my broken crossbow, looking up to the two swarms above as they neared one another. A battle was about to begin on a scale larger than anything I had ever witnessed before. And my caravan was going to be right under its nose. Hell, it would be in the middle of it all if those damn bugs brought the fight to the ground. Knowing changelings, I didn’t have much time to fix the piece of crap that I called a crossbow.

Saddle Cape turned to me, and frowned at me struggling with the useless weapon. “Alright little miss, If you can’t fight, get into the shelter. We’ll lock the bunker once everypony is in. Hopefully the changelings won’t be interested in eating after their battle.”

“Pony-feathers, that’s manure talk there.” I ruffled my wings in agitation, slamming my crossbow onto the ground. It fell apart. I seethed in rage at the broken weapon. “I appreciate the concern, but this little miss ain’t going down.” I slammed the broken crossbow against the ground again, adrenaline rushing into my system. I was angry and ready to tear a pony a new one. Let the changelings come.

“Everypony is ready, if you can’t fight, get into the bunker, Blue.” Saddle Cape glared at me.

“I ain’t going underground!” I yelled back, my wings flaring.

He said nothing, only looking away to continue his head count of the ponies rushing past us into our salvation.

The shelter was a hillside bunker in the middle of the wastes, no civilization for miles. We barely had enough ammo left to fight off bandits, let alone two changeling armies. It was by Celestia’s grace we were able to gallop to this location. My colleagues had liberated the bunker from its inhabitants to save their flanks.

A field of wheat spread out around the bunker. They belonged to a farming family, who turned the bomb shelter into their home. I would not follow my colleagues into the depths of the underground where a family had been slaughtered minutes before. Even without the caravan’s brutal attempt at salvation, I couldn’t go underground. I would lose my mind. No, it was the outside in the open air where I belonged, protecting these desperate ponies.

“The changelings are attacking,” Saddle Cape yelled, “Fire away, boys!” His command punctuated by the report of his revolver.

I clenched my teeth. The remaining ponies gallop to our location. Never had I thought such a large caravan could look so vulnerable. Changelings from both swarms plunged from the sky, divebombing the poor souls on the far end of our train of wagons. Curses left my mouth with each pony that couldn’t make it to us in time. Our boys near the mouth of the bunker galloped out, clearing the way for a few lucky souls. Even then, they dared not to venture further than they could manage.

I turned my head to the toolshed nearby. With a growl I jumped and flew to it. Dealing a flying kick to the doors, I burst into shed. The doors swung fast, banging loudly against the inner walls. Frantically, I searched for a suitable weapon. My gaze landed on an impressive scythe. Snatching it in my teeth, I flew out to join the other ponies in battle. Every soul saved counted. Flight gave me the speed I needed to catch changelings by surprise, slashing into each with my newly acquired love. I was a reaper of death that joined the locusts in the air, killing anything covered in chitin. Together the boys and I held off the changelings long enough for the remaining survivors to get to the bunker. I landed next to Saddle Cape. He stared up into the sky, shooting any changeling that dared approach.

Grimacing, I watched the battle rage on. The queens of the opposing hives clashed into each other. Their warriors ripped their enemy kin to pieces, tearing limb and wing apart. Dead changelings rained from the sky. Many in segments. Slowly, the wheat fields turned as blue as my mane with their blood. There was a fascination about the horrific scene. Somehow, I managed to tear my focus away from it.

And I witnessed something different.

I narrowed my eyes to see a changeling burst into one of our wagons on the far end of the train. It came out the other end with a pony. I cursed. The fool had tried to hide instead of running to our shelter. I gripped the scythe in my teeth, my wings flapping against my side in anger. If I was fast enough I could get to the poor idiot.

“Blue, don’t, we’ve got everypony we can, let him go.” I ignored Saddle Cape, and I galloped to the pony’s aid. Cape called after me, but didn’t follow.

After gaining enough speed, I jumped into the air and flew. Keeping as low to the ground as I could, I prepared to rip into the changeling. Coming up on it fast, I brought my head back a little to deal an extra blow to the monster’s side. It continued to feed off the pony pinned to the ground underneath it. I quickly approached. My wings pushed to their limits. Crunch! The blade dug deep into the changeling’s side, my velocity propelling the scythe to tear across its body.

I landed hard on my hooves, sliding on the slick ground. I steadied myself and turned to the slain monster. Innards and blood drained from its husk, which stood for just a moment before crumpling in the slick earth.

The injured pony was unconscious, but still breathing. He was a young looking fellow who seemed like he would pull through. I stepped over to his side, dealing an encouraging kick. The luxury of being gentle was thrown out the window during battle. The earth pony groaned, slowly looking up. “B-blue?” he croaked, trying hard to get back to his hooves. I hadn’t recognized him at first, but he was an acquaintance, Berry Fizz.

“Hold on there, Fizz.” I grunted, quickly strapping the scythe to my back before helping him stand. “We need to get you to the others. These changelings will feed on a pony, even in battle.” It was said a changeling’s hunger was strongest in war. Fizz nodded, trudging along beside me. I looked to the sky. Changelings flew into one another, ripping each other apart. It was a gruesome battle that rained death and despair.

I didn’t realize just how far away Fizz had been from the shelter. I could see the boys defending against plenty of the black demons. They were too busy to help, which gave me no hope of reinforcements.

Fizz was in a terrible state. Every step he took was a struggle. I pushed him along, past the dead, changeling and pony alike. We progressed through the field of wheat streaks of blue blood rubbed off on our matching grey coats.

For a minute it seemed we had a chance. The battle above was getting furious. Everytime something black fell near either of us, we jumped, only to find it was a dead changeling, or pieces of one. I could barely comprehend the number of changelings fighting each other. Perhaps it was my adrenaline filled mind that fooled me into thinking there were greater numbers; an exaggeration that fueled my fear. I pushed my charge forward, bit by bit.

“I’m not going to leave you, Fizz. We’ll make it!” I encouraged.

As if in reply, he slipped in the bloody field dragging me down on top of him.

“Uhg!” he moaned, too weak to shove me off.

I scrambled back to my hooves, trying to help him up. “Come on,” I yelled, “Don’t quit on me now. I’m risking my life for your stupidity!” I shoved him back up to a standing position.

He turned to me and gave me a weak smile. I felt my heart flutter. Not the kind one felt for loved ones, but the kind that told a pony they were doing the right thing. I was saving this stupid fool. I returned the smile.

We were halfway there. Perhaps if we survived I could get to know him a little more. Make sure to beat him up for his brilliant idea of hiding instead of running. He was also kind of cute too, with all that changeling goo sticking to him.

Damnit, who was I kidding? It was always when we think of hope, that precious light at the end of the tunnel, that it’s ripped out from under our hooves. Fizz’s smile fell into an expression of horror. This time, it wasn’t the dead coming to meet us.

I heard the buzzing from behind, sending dread to my very core. I slowly turned, reaching to my back to grab my scythe in my teeth.

Three changelings had decided to come down and get a little snack. We paused for an instant, the changelings and I, looking into each other’s eyes.

I blinked. One of the changelings tackled Fizz faster than I could react. “Get the others!” Fizz cried out. Damnit, he was right. If we had a chance to survive I needed to kill the other two first. He would have to fend for himself for just a moment. I let him weakly wrestle with the changeling bent on feeding off him.

I charged the other two. The one on the right chittered to the other before flying up high and out of sight. Gripping the scythe in my teeth, I swung at the remaining changeling. It dodged, buzzing away. Spotting the opening after my swing, it returned with a furious war-cry. I turned the scythe over in my mouth, swinging back, catching the changeling square in its neck. Shock took it by surprise. It crumpled to the ground, blue blood spraying into the air. For a moment I kept it pinned to the dirt, the monster weakly struggling before I was confident it had bled out.

Bracing myself, I yanked the scythe out of the dying bug, turning to rescue Fizz again. No. The changeling ontop of him finished Fizz off. My breath caught in my throat. The last of a white cloud was sucked into the fanged mouth of the monster. Fizz was no more, a soulless body that might breathe for a day before death took even that away. I galloped forward, ready to avenge the pony.

It had just been a moment ago that I felt some kind of connection with Fizz, and now he was gone. Blind in my rage I forgot about the changeling above me. The crack of a spell broke overhead. I heard it a moment to slow. Instinct tried to take control. My wings spread to fly in another direction, away from where I had been standing.

But I was too slow.

“Blue please, I know you can fly. Just spread your wings and flap. It’s easy.”

“No!” I cried back, firmly planting my little hooves onto the ground. My big sister could go buck herself, I wasn’t moving from my spot and nothing could make me.

“You’ll love it though! Flying is wonderful. It’s the best part about being a pegasus!” She approached me. I looked away from her, determined to keep my wings plastered to my sides. “Come on Blue, I’ve seen you flutter up into the air in excitement. You can do it, I know you can.”

“But you’re an earth pony, Shard. You won’t be able to fly with me and hold my hoof…” All of the other pegasus foals had somepony to hold their hoof while they flew the first time. I didn’t want to fall and get hurt. Getting hurt sucked.

Shard sat down, staring to the ground as she mumbled something. A moment awkward silence passed. It gave me the willies. I ruffled my little wings nervously. My sister decided she was going to take matters into her own hooves.

“Blue.” Shard’s voice came to me, picking up a strange echo, like she was on the other end of a tunnel. I stopped, frozen in place. No way... “I could fly with you. You love me, and I love you.”

“W-what?” I asked in fright, stepping back from her. Shard looked up at me, her eyes a solid pink. Flames licked away at her ruby red coat. It was impossible, she was my sister!I couldn’t breathe, my breath caught in my throat. In her fur’s place a black chitin formed. “Wh-wh.” I stumbled over myself, too scared to look away as she transformed. Transparent silken hair replaced her green mane. Fangs long as knives grew from her teeth. The flames ended around her hooves, burning holes into her blackened legs.

A smirk formed onto her buggified face. “I’m going to eat you, rawr.”

I flew away fast as I could.

But I was too slow.

The changeling dive-bombed me,  breaking my back. My world flashed before my eyes. The agony was too great. I couldn’t even cry out. I hit the ground hard, a crater formed around me from the impact. The scythe flew from my mouth, with trailing blood behind it. I weakly tried to lift myself up again, to push off the ground and fight back. But everything below my chest hurt too much; everything above hurt too much. Giving a weak moan I felt the changeling on my back begin to syphon energy off me. I coughed, blood painting the dirt near my face. My red mixing in with the blue of the fallen changelings this was my death. Given to me by creatures I might have called family once.

“Am I a changeling too?” I asked Shard late in the night. Though the moon and stars were still too far away to touch, there was something about stargazing on a cloud that just made them dazzle.

“Hoho, that’s cute.” Shard replied, “No, you’re one hundred percent authentic pony, little sis’.” She draped a ruby wing over my shoulder. I had gazed up into her pearl pink eyes. After catching me, she turned herself into a pegasus for a day. She had the same red coat, the same green mane and tail as before, but now she had wings. It was the best day I had since ever in forever and ever…

Coughing on my blood, I heard another crack from above. The weight on my back was removed. I could only think that the changeling that had killed me was attacked by a changeling from the other hive. I coughed again, the world blurring. I struggled to stay alive. A scuffle took place yards from me. Turning my head, I caught glimpses of two changelings rolling with each other through the wheat. I hoped they both killed themselves and rotted in hell. My body heaved, blood filling my sinuses and mouth.  I couldn’t pay attention to the fight anymore. I couldn’t breathe. Blood ran down into my lungs faster than I could cough it up. I began to convulse, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. Blood replaced air with each breath I took. The pain was too great. I prayed to let go and meet Death.

The sharp edges of a changeling hoof pressed against my failing body. One monster had won out over the other. The hoof cut into my flesh, holding me to the ground.  In my last throes the pain was drained from me. I coughed again, weakly now. In a matter of seconds the convulsions stopped.

I took a precious breath of air, blood gurgling in my lungs. After what felt like forever I was able to sluggishly turn my head and look up to the changeling above me. The hundreds of times I had let my sister feed off me, it had always been painful. But now, it was relieving the agony, draining it away. I stared into the green eyes of the changeling, wishing I could thank it for relieving me of my pain. The green cloud of my emotions turned white. Death was upon me now.

I spat up blood one last time.

Game Over

Do you wish to continue?

Yes/No

Yes

Loading new story: Hereafter

Binding Pact

Binding Pact

A changeling dug the sharp edges of its hoof into my side. I gasped, jumping into the air.

“Hey, Rocket!” Shard, my sister, greeted with a wave.

“What? How? You’re alive!” I hovered in the air, too astonished to take in the details around me.

Shard stood below me, a smile had plastered across her buggified face. The last time I remembered her smile was when she died. She died in my arms, how was she alive?

“Oh, it’s quite simple.” Shard trotted away from me.

I followed her.

“Over here we have a nice crater-” she approached a deep crater with changeling fire licking at its rim “-And inside is you.”

How was that possible? I was behind her! The only conclusion was…

I stepped towards  the crater edge, little wisps of dread tried pulling me back, begging me not to take another step. Breathing slowly, I approached. Indeed, I was lying inside the crater. Yet, here I stood at the edge, looking down at myself. The me inside the crater was bloodied and motionless. The sight of a broken back sent shivers down my spine.

I turned to my sister. “I’m dead.” I felt hollow saying those two words.

“Yes indeedy you are!” Shard cheered, clapping her porous hooves together. Other ponies would think her cheerfulness strange in such a serious moment, but I knew my sister well. Her smile didn’t reach her pink eyes. She hid her feelings.

I sat down, my rump discovering the ground. “I’m dead.” Numbness crawled down into my bones. Wait, no, I didn’t have bones. My lip started to tremble. Did I have a lip? I was dead. I failed. “I’m dead.” I said again, squeezing my eyes shut. What happened? “I’m dead.” Maybe if I said it enough times I’d wake up and it’d be a bad dream.

“Hey, hey!” Shard called, grabbing my shoulders and giving a shake.

I could feel her hooves cut painfully into my fur. Did I have fur still? I took a quick glance down at my chest. Sure enough, there was my boring grey fur, glowing. Wait, glowing?

Shard shook my shoulders again. “Blue, you’re not completely dead!”

“What do you mean not completely?! I’m glowing like radioactive zombie! You’re in front of me! You’re dead, I’m dead.” Turning, I pointed at my body. “See, there I am, dead, lifeless, lying there an-gulk!”

Shard shoved a hoof into my mouth. “OK kiddo, I don’t have much time, so I’ll explain things real quick. Sit down, cross your hooves, and listen.”

I froze, staring into the solid-pink eyes of my sister. She gave me a reassuring smile. It was the smile she used when I was a filly, to tell me everything was going to be all right. I mumbled around her changeling hoof. Drool dripped out from the cavities in her chitin. Her eye twitched a little, and she pulled her hoof out.

“I’m listening.” I said.

“Remember when you were a filly and scared of ghosts?” she started, shaking her hoof clean. “I told you they didn’t exist. Well, it just so happens they do. You’re a ghost, Blue, you’re connected to this world, unable to move on to the Afterlife. Why? Well, your body is still alive.” Shard paused, letting her last words sink into me.

“My body is alive?” I was thoroughly confused.

“Yes. Brain dead. Simply put, you are not in your body. You are outside of your body, unrestrained. You’re free from the limitations of your physical form.” Shard leaned back, genuinely grinning. “It’s pretty awesome.”

“Pretty awesome?! Shard, I’m dead, I’m a ghost. This is a bad thing.”

“Is it?” she replied, cocking her head. But I could see in her eyes she agreed with me.

“I mean, yeah. I died. I have to go to hell or something. The grim reaper ponies are going to get me, I just know it. Should I run?” I wasn’t sure if running was the best option, but I didn’t want to go to hell.

Shard giggled, putting a black hoof to her fangs. What was her deal? I was dead!

I waited for her to control herself. I reminded myself she always had an issue keeping herself serious. She calmed down, shaking her head.

“Blue,” she said, “You’ve already been caught. I’m a grim reaper.”

“Pony feathers!” I cussed. This wasn’t fair. My own sister, come here to drag me to hell! She was going to damn me, in the very literal sense.

Shard giggled again.

I glared at her.

“Kiddo, I have a lot of souls to round up. But you are not one of them. Again, your body is still alive. That means you’re stuck in the Hereafter.” The, ‘everything is going to be all right,’ smile returned to her.

“The Hereafter?”

“Yes, the Hereafter, the realm between the living and the Afterlife. You’re stuck in it until your body dies or you return to it.” Shard’s expression melted into a stern look, her eyes narrowing into a glare. I froze, unable to move from her stare. Where had all the giggling gone?

“Be warned Blue, there are dangers in the Hereafter that will destroy you. Die in the Hereafter, and there is no Afterlife. You’re gone, forever. I need you to understand. You’re in danger. Your existence is at risk the longer you stay a ghost. I can’t save you, but you can save yourself.”

“Oh, that sounds-.”

“Terrifying? Yes.”

“Can’t I just, get back into my body and finish dying for you? Or, we wait for it to die? I’m pretty sure it’ll die soon. Look, see?” I turned, going to point at my dying body. I felt my jaw drop. “Woah, hold on there!”

Changelings surrounded my body and the idiot I had tried to save, covering both forms with green gunk.

“Yeah, about that, Blue. You’ve got a big issue. And her name is Aquisha.”

“Who?” I snapped, glaring at my sister. Changelings were getting ready to throw my body into one of their chrysalises. How was somepony, or someone, more of an issue than that? I needed to get back into my body to finish dying. How was I supposed to manage that if I was in a chrysalis? I’d seen Shard keep bodies in chrysalises before. It preserved the bodies even at the brink of death. I’d be stuck a ghost so long as my body remained alive.

Shard looked up.

I followed her gaze.

A changeling queen descended down to us like an angel of death.

Oh, that is an issue.

I turned back to my sister. “Hey, are ghosts invisible?”

“Yeah, to most living beings. But she’s my boss and she’s dead. We’re in charge of collecting changelings. Don’t worry, she’s totally cool!”

The queen landed a few paces away.

Shard’s confidence didn’t assure me. I took a nervous gulp, and approached the queen. She was a tall changeling, almost regal in her stride. Her body glowed a light green. We met halfway. “Blue Jay,” she spoke onto me, her voice proud,  “Capable pony, died with honor saving her kin.”

Died with honor? I took a gulp, struggling to breath. This was a changeling queen, royalty, to whom I was about to speak with. I opened my mouth, only to find an odd noise escape it.

Shard closed my jaw when it couldn’t manage the task on its own. My teeth made a sharp clacking sound.

The queen looked about her impatiently.

Unable to speak, I settled with a vigorous nod of my head.

She gave a satisfied smile, relieving my stress.

“You are familiar, I recall you from the shared  memories of Shadarah. You are her adopted sister and bonded. I watched your endeavor personally. Tragic that you failed, but your predicament proves worthy of my needs. Follow— we go!” and the queen was off, flying away without even a beat her wings.

I gaped, her retreating tail shrank away the further she flew, before I turned to my sister. “What?”

“Come on, you. What the queen says, we have to do!” Shard flew behind me, her wings buzzing. She grabbed me by my midsection, picking me up into the air.

I fought free of her hold.

She smiled sheepishly at me.

Shaking my head, I followed the queen.

The aftermath of the changeling’s battle was all around. I took notice of the remaining carnage. Small craters like the one that I died in pock-marked the field. A wild balefire ran rampant across the dry wheatfields. In the distance, the losing changelings retreated. Finally, around the largest of the craters, the winning swarm gathered.

In the end though, both armies had lost the battle.

We approached, flying through the dense crowd of warriors. The queen and Shard passed through any changeling that was in their way.

Still trying to grasp that I was dead, I flew around the changelings. Landing in the center of the crater, we approached two more queens, their bodies broken. One was dead.

The surviving queen groaned in pain. Her changelings surrounded her, applying goo to her wounds.

I turned to my sister. “Why did this happen? The battle I mean. What was the point of all of this?”

Shard shook her head. “Power and control. There was a reason I left my swarm. Ever since, ‘The End,’ changeling queens have fought each other for land. Changelings need love to survive. The better land means the better ponies to feed on. Kill the opposing swarm, and you have more land and ponies.”

Queen Aquisha stepped forward and stared down to the dying queen of the winning swarm.“And in the chaos, both queens have perished.”

I followed her gaze. My sister was a rare individual who left her swarm. But she had told me a long time ago that most changelings could not survive without a queen. Without their monarch’s voice in their minds, the silence drove many changelings to suicide. Shard explained it was like losing the most loved pony in the world.  Their queen was everything, without her, all of these changelings would simply have no reason to live. I bit my lower lip in despair. “All of them are going to be heartbroken and die without her.”

“Blue Jay, as Agents of Death, we do not wish for such tragedy.” Queen Aquisha said. “There are many souls here, every one of them a beautiful glow. Without a queen, these souls will turn to pain, and tarnish the land. Even now, the surviving changelings of the opposing swarm will spread darkness. You may have reservations against these changelings around us, but there is an opportunity for you to live again if you help them.”

My ears perked at that. “Live again? Are you saying I could still live my life?” I didn’t tell her that I was unbiased in whom I helped, that I already sympathized with these changelings. There was too much emotional energy in the air for her to pick up on my sympathy. I lived with my sister, I knew how changelings worked.

If I could live again and help, that sounded like a win, win situation to me. “How?” I added, focusing on the ghostified queen.

She slowly blinked, tears rolling down her chitin cheeks. It must have pained her to be surrounded by so much sorrow. Shard told me that changelings were sensitive to even their own emotional energies. “Approach the dying queen and make an offer. Her changelings will heal your body in return for finding a new queen.”

I curiously cocked my head to the side. “I can do that?”

“Demons will often offer their service to the dying, a Binding Pact. The dead’s wishes are complete, but at cost of their soul. In this case, you’ll want your body back. Her changelings can and will heal it with a chrysalis.”

“Ok, sounds like a plan, I’ll just-Shard, is something wrong?”

My sister held the look of worry on her ghostly features.

I took a step towards her, but she shook her head. “Shard?”

“Blue, the longer you stay in the Hereafter, the more at risk you are. You need to die and come with me. I’ve waited a long time to talk to you aga-.”

Queen Aquisha walked between Shard and me. “Agent Shadarah, you have stepped out of line. Blue Jay is not your soul to retrieve. Your purpose here is done. You are dismissed.”

Shard’s eye’s dimmed, her body relaxed. “Yes my queen, as you wish.” Without so much as a goodbye to me, she flew away.

I made to protest, but Queen Aquisha stopped me. “Blue, I will allow you to be with her again after you make the pact with the dying queen. If you do not, even in the Afterlife, you will never see Agent Shadarah again. Consider this our pact.”

Bitch! My jaw tightened in indignation. “Yes my queen.”  I snapped. It had been seven years since I had last saw my sister. There was an afterlife to behold. I could be with Shard again. But this queen just pulled a fast one on me. I was ready to do it anyway, but still, Shard was concerned…

“Shake on it.” I demanded, thrusting my ghostly hoof out to the regal bug-ass-queen to take.

“The pact has been done. You are sincere. There is no need for formalities. Now make the pact with the queen while she still breathes. Only as she dies will the Binding Pact be strong enough.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned on her with a snap of my tail. Fluttering my wings in agitation I approached the dying queen. She was talking with her changeling, giving them reassurances. My stride quickly lost its anger. The queen gently touched every changeling that managed to get near her. They cried like children around their mother. I shivered when two changelings walked through me, trying to get closer. Fast as my anger had come, I felt it drift away on the wind. War was horrible. War never changed.

Stepping through several changelings I sat next to the queen. I didn’t think she could see me, but she turned her head in my direction and stared. Sorrow filled her eyes. My presence confirmed her greatest fears. She was going to die, no matter how hard her changelings managed with their goo.

“Hi.” I said, trying to crack a smile for her. It didn’t work.

“You are of the merchants. Sajackie killed you and your friend. You still breathe, yet you are here. What is it you want, phantom.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I could only assume that she managed to telepathically gain the information of my death from my killer. Who apparently was named Sajackie. A shiver ran down my spine. There was something about knowing the name of that changeling now.

“Well, I was told your changelings can heal me up in a jip… that I could actually live again. I was also told you’re going to die and your changelings will need a queen.” I didn’t want to sound so blunt, but it came out that way. Giving a sigh, I craned my head over my shoulder to Queen Aquisha. She watched with an emotionless gaze.

I turned back to the queen at hoof, wishing I could let her feed on me and take a little of my love. But sadly, I was currently dead, so she couldn’t.

The dying queen sighed. “The Stars told of this moment, they spoke unto me in a dream. I did not heed their warning. Battle called.” A cough ripped through her, blue blood spraying up from her mouth.

I patiently waited for her to stop and address me again. To the surrounding changelings it could have only look like delirium in their queen’s last moment.

“Will you command your changelings to heal my body? I will find a new queen for them.”

The queen slowly wheezed, and she struggled to breathe. Looking into the sky, she worked her jaw before answering me, “Yes. You were to be made a common disguise, your body shown to my little changelings. We will preserve and heal your body, yes, I have said it.” Turning her head, she stared into my eyes. “In the land of Equestria, there roams a daughter with no hive. Cast out by her kin, she has run far away. Find her and she will be queen. If she is queen, her kin will accept her again.” The queen coughed, throwing blood through my ghostly self.

I struggled not to squirm.

She smiled her last smile. “Tell my Rose… that I love her.” and light faded from the queen’s eyes.

I turned away, ethereal tears cascading down my cheeks.

Tutorial Complete: New level set.

New Perk: Binding Pact – The skill, Binding Pact, has been unlocked. You can now approach the dying and offer your services, for a price. Level (1)

Lore: Ghosts – Energy anomalies left behind from the dead. Vulnerabilities includ- [Data Corrupted.]