Chapters Author Notes: This is my first submission so feel free to be as brutal as you like, this will mostly be used to help get some experience in writing so don't bother saying anything is perfect, it most likely isn't and I can't improve from that.
Chapter 1: A Simple "Request"
An older overseer was busily napping through yet another cycle under his watch. "watch" was a slightly liberal way to describe the matter in which the demon determinedly ignored the cries around him so he could continue his sleep. He had become desensitized to the pleas of mercy since his first cycle and yet they never bothered to stop after realizing that nobody was going to help them.
"It must be one of those mortal quirks." Quipped a slimmer demon sitting nearby the overseer, disrupting the slumber that he had worked so hard to maintain. "They are so used to the better of their kind being there to help them with problems that they only brought on themselves." Pausing only slightly to grin as one soul almost escaped the pitch-black pit only to be pulled back in by a similar looking husk. "And now they can't function without someone being there to hold their hand... or in their case give them a piggyback ride."
He had dealt with this pest before. He knew that if he tried to go back to sleep that he would only be awoken on purpose mere moments after he lost consciousness. After weighing his options, he decided on trying to placate him with as little interaction as possible. "What do you want with me, Focalor?" Opening his eyes only long enough to catch the slight twitch of annoyance which brought him greater pleasure than most of his work ever did.
"Is it hard to believe that I came to you during some downtime for conversation?" He said absentmindedly, not particularly interested in this portion of the conversation, having gone through it all before.
"If you had come to make small talk, you wouldn't have simply woken me up. You would have kicked me off my cliff or blown me away and sat right where you are until I came back up to my spot. That is unless you did the other option anyway once I sat down again." The watcher replied with more boredom than actual sadness over his past experiences with this particular sea demon.
"And it is with that revelation that I make my point." Announced the slim demon, standing up and removing the hood of his silver robe, immediately having its shine matched by his own bald head. "Things have become too predictable around here. This is supposed to be the underworld! This is where people must pay their dues before they can move on, if they even deserve to move on at all!" The regularly quiet demon was getting a bit worked up at this point. Something that went suspiciously unnoticed by mortals was his temper, not a very difficult thing to miss when the only mortals that actually saw him angry tended to either die in a shipwreck horribly or drown when they suddenly find the water pulling them down like weights.
The overseer was suddenly much more attentive, he knew he wouldn't be much of a guardian if he found himself in the middle of an endless lake in a perpetual apocalyptic storm. Focalor tended to be much more hands-on whenever he was in charge of punishments and those punishments didn't always just apply to the souls he was placed in charge of. He found his apathetic demeanor very much broken and tried to stammer out reassurances to the irate low-level deity. "We-well why d-d-don't you try telling me whats... uh... wrong." He sputtered, secretly disgusted at himself for actually acting like he cared about a being he rarely saw and even more rarely enjoyed.
Focalor snapped out of his muttering over some "enraging sloth" by suddenly becoming very confused over where he was and what he was doing. "Oh! Right!" The slightly unhinged being of hell suddenly smiled to extents that would tear-apart most normal faces, demons tended to be able to break most bodily limits provided it looked weird or creepy enough. "I was thinking... why don't we try getting another trip out of this place for a little while?" His companion seemed like he was ready to dismiss his plans but he quickly cut him off. "I already know what you are going to say and don't worry about it. We aren't allowed to use the human's realm, too far covered and they would probably just think we were invading or something. No, what I looked for, and found, I assure you! Was a world similar. I even found good sources of magic there so we don't have to waste time trying to get too much assistance!" The god was practically foaming at the mouth at this point, trying to convince the poor overseer who would have gladly already accepted if only to escape this terrifying situation.
At last, the man's captive audience calmed himself down and settled back on his rock and tried to ask the only question he dared to ask. "Who else has agreed to help you with this?"
"Some minor lords and demons, a few spirits..." He suddenly grimaced violently. "and Andras." His new partner sputtered right before getting back to his position on a comfy patch of ground. "It wasn't ideal, but we will need a god's power for this to work."
Celestia was sitting in her dining hall with her sister, both idly conversing with Twilight and the other elements when a message appeared in the middle of the table. The elements were all staring at the message, obviously confused. Twilight looked behind her seat at Spike, the most likely person to send a message in such a manner, and found him idly sleeping on a cushion he was provided after he got tired of conversation and then quickly at her teacher, who only softly shrugged in return.
Twilight hesitantly opened the message and read it aloud. "Dear beings of world 'Equestria'" Twilight saw that the oddly beautiful flowing script was slightly scrunched up around 'Equestria', almost as if they only bothered to look up the name after they finished the letter. She dismissed the thought and continued reading. "This message is to inform you of the real message which will be appearing shortly so that it does not cause any undo confusion."
Everyone present was tempted to face-hoof, a temptation that a few indulged. Over a hoof covering her face, Applejack spoke up to break the awkward silence. "Ah' don't... reckon they thought this through all that well." Most of the room nodded in response.
"I just don't understand..." Everyone turned to face Twilight. "Why would they send a message about a message? I mean, it isn't THAT odd to magically send letters, especially to the princ..."
The statement on the messenger's sensibility was cut off as the room suddenly lost almost all of the color in it. Everything went monochrome, a fact that Rainbow Dash wouldn't have hesitated to complain about if a sudden noise hadn't stopped her. As soon as the sound was over, a small black portal opened in the middle of the room, sustaining itself briefly before starting to shrink again, but not before another, smaller message, contained in a small black envelope, left the collapsing tunnel with a small *put* was technically warned against." Everyone else in the room face-hoofed yet again at their ability to receive a warning and forget it again within two minutes.
"Well what in Equestria could have caused the princess of all ponies to stop in the middle of such a nice get-together?" Rarity asked, still slightly surprised from the reaction and trying her hardest to diffuse any awkwardness and failing.
Celestia simply tossed the letter to the middle of the table, still processing what was contained inside. Everyone immediately crowded around the letter, trying to read it as quickly as possible. The letter was rather short and, one at a time, each fell back into their seats more confused than they were before reading it.
Dear rulers of Equestria,
This is a formal greeting from the denizens of Tartarus stating that your land has been selected for a once-in-a-lifetime event unlike any other, The Festival of the Dead! We request that you provide an area large enough to hold the festival (A few square miles should suffice) In the event that an area is not provided, we shall simply choose an area ourselves to use as we see fit. The festival shall last a few days to a week at most and any and all citizens are welcomed to come and experience more amazing things than they could ever expect in their lives. This festival allows us to all let our hair down a bit and unwind from our usual routine, something that I am sure you can understand. I hope that you will try to enjoy the festival as much as we will. You will have one hour to choose an appropriate location and prepare for our arrival.
I hope for the best festival possible, Andras, god of quarrels
Chapter 2: The M.U.B.
The dining hall was quickly reaching the epitome of silence. Everyone present was dealing with their minds going at mile-a-minute over various matters. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were all confused over the sudden correspondence from a land that, until now apparently, had never had interaction with their world. A decent number of ponies knew of the entrance to Tartarus, but the gate had never opened throughout the entirety of the immortal sister's reign. Rainbow Dash was thinking of all the stories they would write about her if she was the one who beat the god of quills or whatever, in all honesty she had not paid too much attention to the letter. Rarity was considering the possibility of charming her way to safety, along with her friends, of course. Fluttershy was gripping the table hard enough to cause cracks to slowly stem outward.
Pinkie decided to break the silence by announcing her findings in a much quieter tone than usual. "So they're coming here to... host... a giant..." Nobody was quite sure where Pinkie went after her eyes inflated to the size of beach balls. One second she was there and then... nothing. No noise, no poof, not even some trail to show where she went... just... no Pinkie.
"She'll be fine." stated Rainbow, though not directly to anybody in the room.
"So let's keep this as simple as possible!" Shouted a demon over the small room full of other minor deities and other underworld beings. "The ponies are peaceful, colorful, lack any suitable response to conflict, and are basically sentient marshmallows. That being said, try not to intimidate any of them, even if they ask for it! We can't go starting riots and suddenly flooding this place with souls that might squeal, we all now where that leads." The shouting underling was met with murmured agreement, nobody was planning on wasting this trip and they knew that there would be no chance of them going on another one if they were the one who slipped up. "Now then, we need a good way to make an impression on the rulers, any suggestions?"
"Why not establish diplomatic ties?"
"Diplomatic mission...from the dominion of hell... yeah next!"
"Let's just sneak in and start setting up and let them come to us."
"Nah, would look way to much like we were setting up army tents or something, they would just think we wrote a bad lie in the letter."
One giggling demon in the back of the room ceased his continuous fit of laughter to voice his suggestion. "I suggest we send our greetings out with a musical accompaniment!" He immediately bent over yet again, once more enraptured in the hilarity that only he could perceive.
The room was silent for the first time since the meeting. Hesitantly, the underling spoke up. "Does anyone else have a suggestion... anyone... not even the actual diplomats have anything to add?" The room remained silent, all present silently grinning from becoming actually interested in the diplomatic aspects of a trip for once.
Celestia had finally restored the status quo to her castle, a job that was in no way assisted by her little sister running around yelling for people to prepare themselves but not stopping long enough to tell them from what . She sat herself back down onto her throne right next to a now sheepish Luna. The princess realized that getting the castle in order had used up most of their hour and she hadn't even thought about the possibility of actually indulging the strange message's request. She sighed inwardly as she tried to think of a location off the top of her head. Here in Canterlot? No there isn't enough room for how much they are asking. Appleloosa? Too far away from the meeting place for them to rationally consider. The Everfree? She stopped herself right there, if she were to suggest that they go to the middle of a dangerous forest it could send the entirely wrong message. She wished that she could order the elements to wait outside but she knew it was futile. More than likely they would counter her with some speech on friendship. It was charming, but still much too bothersome to try to stop them so instead they all sat, in silence.
Right as the silence was starting to become uncomfortable again, It started. The walls seemed to have their color recede, almost like the color wished to be anywhere other than this room. Unlike last time, all ponies present retained their own individual pigment. Even the apple Twilight had taken a bite out of moments ago turned a dull gray, the taste seemed to leave the apple to the point that the only indication of any food being present at all was the now-tasteless mass of gray in Twilight's mouth which she proceeded to spit out, it was like munching on pure fiber.
Once more, a portal opened in the castle, this one much larger than the last. It opened silently this time and... just stayed open. It wasn't shrinking, it wasn't making strange noises, it wasn't even trying to behead their princess via mail it just sat there... almost waiting.
Rainbow Dash was getting fed up with these portals, they seemed almost designed to specifically annoy her . They made the room boring, they ruined food, and, so far, have managed to interrupt her before she could vocalize her complaints. She was going to lay into the inanimate... thing and was just about to finish her first word when a much louder noise than last time cut her off.
The noise was eerie and reverberated across the room... drawing silence once again... at least until Rainbow spoke up, "UGHHHH I HATE THESE THINGS! THEY ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY! ARE THEY MADE TO HATE ME?!"
Twilight didn't know what to say, she had quite clearly just heard a whale of all things interrupt her friend. She didn't know what to say so she did the only thing that seemed right. She laughed. The room was full of laughter over their friend's plight. They were laughing for almost a full minute, their eyes wet with tears when they noticed something, someone else was laughing and it was most definitely male.
In the middle of the room stood the same laughing demon from before, he had donned his favorite hat and bow-tie combo and had a small scar near his right eye. He had very pale skin, nearly the same color as his shirt and slacks. His most notable feature, however, were his teeth. They were all abnormally long, big enough for his entire smile to show only his upper set of teeth, a feature that the ponies all had adequate time to take in since he was the only one left laughing in the room, seemingly undisturbed by the spectacle he was creating. After giggling in a strange voice that seemed to shift octaves the more he laughed, he calmed himself down enough to now only be silently snickering and bowed to the Princesses, addressing them in a much deeper voice than they expected with a simple, "Greetings and salutation, your majesties."
Celestia looked him over, taking in any features that could make him a threat. He was slim, almost unnaturally so, and 'white' was the only way to describe him at a glance. White face, white hair, white clothes excluding his hat and vest, the only thing that broke the pattern was the unsettling color of his eyes, the parts that should have been white were yellow while the pupils were like red pinpricks, staring right at her with attention that his demeanor wouldn't have hinted at, she knew that look from the less peaceful races, he was looking at her like she was at him, but not for dangers, for weaknesses.
"I believe you received our letter?"
"Yes, are you the one called Andras?"
The demon once more erupted with laughter, calming himself quicker. "No, no, oh no I could never be Andras, we're much too different for me to be he." The slim man straightened his vest, making it even more crooked than it was before as he continued, "No my name is Avnas, lord of pain, discomfort, and uneasiness. I am also a decorated general, and overall great company." He finished his introduction with a grin, not difficult when he had also started his introduction with a grin.
"Tell me, lord of pain ..." She stated his title with no small sense of distaste, "do you intend to harm my ponies?"
He replied almost instantly, "Do you intend to set all your land on fire today?"
Celestia was shocked, to say the least. "I would NEVER do something as horrible as-"
"Exactly, just because you are goddess of the Sun doesn't mean you go around setting things ablaze willy-nilly just as my job doesn't entail me going around kicking people in the knees." He finished with an expression that could at worst be considered slightly miffed but to most seemed like he was trying to avoid laughing at his own joke yet again.
"I suppose that is reasonable enough," Stated Twilight, wanting to get her own stake in the conversation with the... being. "but I still want to know... where are you from?" The man suddenly broke into a patented, true creepy demon smile, rotating to face the still-open portal behind him. Beckoning to the doorway as if it were a friend, shocked gasps came from the ponies as more figures came from the portal. These figures were different, they had no skin, no flesh, not even eyes. Probably the worst part was that they all knew the forms before them... they were the skeletons of ponies.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Luna was completely enraged by the spectacle before her, the bodies of ponies being used by this monster angered her to no end. They were ponies with families at one point. They must have had loved ones, family, friends. She was about to charge the creature when her sister stopped her.
"Explain." Stated Celestia flatly.
"Oh it's actually quite simple," He gestured towards the five unicorn skeletons now completely out of the portal, waiting patiently for their next order. "These five volunteered to accompany me on this greeting so that they could continue doing what they loved in life. I think that's a fair request to make, in my opinion."
"And just what did they do in their lives, kidnap fillies and steal from ponies?" Asked an indignant Rainbow Dash.
"Nah, we were much worse." Stated one of the skeletons, much to the surprise of the cyan pegasus.
"Yeah, we were musicians." Quipped another unicorn, two-down from the first speaker. The musicians all started laughing at the expressions they had successfully plastered on the faces of the poor mares who fell for their joke.
"How can you not love 'em?" Stated Avnas with his arm draped over one of the musicians.
"What do you need musicians for?" Questioned Twilight.
"Why, to answer your question of course! Information is always absorbed better if it's entertaining, isn't it?"
"Well I guess so but you probably could have just said what I wanted to know by now."
"True, but then I would have had to lie to my cute friends here about their chance to play and as a lord of pain, I can get enough of that just by working. So basically what I'm saying is that it would have been against the very idea of a vacation to answer you like you wanted."
Twilight was at a loss for words towards the being who had basically only been talking to her to waste her time. "Just do whatever you are going to do." She waved a hoof at the infuriating toothpick before her.
"Gladly ."
The second the word left his lips, the band started playing full-blast.
A Minotaur's my butler, a Cyclops my valet
A Centaur draws my chariot that takes me down the way
Through a river made of fire to a street that's paved with bones
I got a dozen zombie skeletons to walk me to my throne
In the Land of the Dead
Heck boy, ain't it grand?
I'm the Overlord of the Underworld
Cause I hold Horror's Hand
In the Land of the Dead
I'm dark-side royalty
I'm foreign out in the underground
And you can't take that from me
He surprised the girls once again by having the skeleton band members sing backup. An eerie effect considering the fact that they couldn't see which band member's mouths were moving.
Whoa! (whoa) Whoa! (whoa) Whoa! (whoa)
Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
Cerberus my lap dog is loyal as can be
My bed is made of skulls; I'm in the lap of luxury
I've got a Dragon's Blood jacuzzi; the Gorgons think it's cool
And a seven-headed Hydra livin' in my swimmin' pool
In the Land of the Dead
Heck boy, ain't it grand?
I'm the Overlord of the Underworld
Cause I hold Horror's Hand
In the Land of the Dead
I'm dark-side royalty
I'm foreign out in the underground
And you can't take that away from me
No you can't take that from me
The mares all gave a polite applause to the band. Smiling at the surprisingly enjoyable, if not a little dark, experience.
"Thank you, you've all been wonderful. This has been the M.U.B. the mostly-unicorn-band-with-that-one-lanky-guy!" The band all gave a mock-salute, exiting through the portal again.
Avnas rebalanced himself, having been jumping all over the room doing tricks for the entirety of the song while still singing clearly. "So basically, the land you call Tartarus is the land of the dead. Who knew, right?"
"I had suspected something similar for quite some time." Celestia stated simply, having her sister nod in agreement. "I must say that I was quite a bit more surprised that you were able to stay on task long enough to both acquire and practice a fitting song." This statement was met with giggles around the table.
"Did I just hear the princess tell a joke of all things?" Avnas wailed in mock distress, quickly switching to tears of joy, "I was starting to think you were never going to like me!" More giggles from around the table. "Well at least I got you all to warm up to me before I have to head back." The girls seemed slightly crestfallen at this.
"Why are you leaving now of all times, darling? You just barely got here." Asked Rarity, pouting lip at full exposure.
"I was sent first so that I could butter you guys up before we had to send in the big stick-in-the-" *WHACK!*
"The lord of discomfort should know when his time is up." Stated the being standing over the halfway-lucid demon.
The girls looked with horror at the man who had basically brained their entertaining new friend, particularly Fluttershy who had taken a liking to the energetic entertainer. She was turning red, absolutely furious at the demon who had attacked Avnas with his back turned. He was slightly shorter than Avnas but much broader. Unlike Avnas, he seemed to strive to make his figure as imposing as possible. His skin was a much deeper, tan color and his hair was a very strange shade of either brown or black, it seemed to be constantly trying to make up it's own mind on what it wanted to be that day. He had spoken in a very low growl towards the now-snoozing trickster, clearly showing his distaste towards the joker. This only served to stoke the fire building within Fluttershy. Celestia saw the situation looming over the horizon and wanted to be the first to speak before any of the elements could escalate the situation. "Please explain why you saw it fitting to incapacitate Avnas, he hadn't done anything wrong besides perhaps trying to scare us a few times."
The man continued looking at the body at his feet before speaking up, his voice easily on par with the royal Canterlot, "AVNAS, COME OUT OF HIDING, YOUR TIME IS UP! YOU WILL HEAD. BACK. NOW." As if on cue, the body disappeared from his feet with a light *puff*.
"You are simply unable to have enjoyment along with me aren't you?" Quipped Avnas from behind Celestia's seat, nearly giving the ruler a heart-attack in the process.
"How... did..."
"I did it during the song." He said simply, as if that was even close to explaining what he had done.
"Avnas..." Growled a voice low enough that it could have been mistaken for an unbelievably angry rock-slide, "You will leave right now or I will drag you back and personally make go through all the circles of hell."
Needing no further encouragement, the grown man skipped across the hall towards the portal, stopping only briefly as if remembering something. He slowly turned towards Rainbow Dash and said, "I almost forgot! You said that you hated the portals because they always seemed to interrupt you before you had anything to say, right?"
The pegasus was confused for a moment before remembering her annoyance earlier. "Yeah, what abo-"
Avnas crept towards the portal right before yelling, "Yeahthatwasactuallymehahahahahabye!"
Everything was quiet as Rainbow Dash slowly worked out what he had said, right before shouting, "Oh that jerk is going to pay the next time I get near him. He is going to die !" Once again laughter rang through the hall at the antics of their new acquaintance, as it turned out, he actually was pretty good company for someone with his title. The new guest did not share in their laughter and instead waited for them to finish before making his requests.
Author Notes: Yeah, yeah I know, I used a reference or two, it was just too good to pass up. More serious chapter coming up, if anyone can think of an interesting song to work into the story, I would be interested in the challenge. I also didn't notice that I had accidentally doubled the length of this chapter from it's plan. What can I say, it is simply too much fun to write about tricksters.
Pleasant Company Excluded
Chapter 3: Pleasant Company Excluded
Avnas leaped through the portal, pausing to point his ear toward the gateway just in time to catch, "He is going to die !" Chuckling softly to himself, he turned to the other spirits in the room.
"So, do you think they loved it, or were they just too distracted from loving me ?" He was smacked by one of the band members who was still in the process of packing up his trumpet. "Ow! You aren't supposed to hit me. Andras is the one who tries to hit me!"
"You already know that you did fine, now we just have to see if Andras will be able to ruin the mood you set." Remarked the same band member that had smacked him in the knee.
"You still didn't have to hit the knee." Groaned the lord of pain, fully aware that he could remove the pain in an instant but didn't. That would rob his band-mate of the gratification from incapacitating him and, given his position, he could not imagine a more disappointing result.
The ponies all calmed themselves after Rainbow's outburst and looked at their new guest, his hair was done in a feathery style with two distinct tips sticking out of the carefully-groomed mess. Celestia took a distinct interest in the odd protrusions. Horns, perhaps? No, they are much too far back and look to be nearly the same design as the rest of his hair.
"May we perhaps proceed in this meeting?" Questioned the newcomer, seemingly much more concerned with the urgency of the impromptu meeting than his predecessor.
"Of course, though, if we may ask, you still did not answer our sister's question. Why did thou try to put Avnas in a coma when thou arrived?" Asked Luna who, while she was not particularly fond of their last guest, had seemed to get along with the ponies he brought with him as well as with the elements.
"Avnas was given five minutes to establish greetings and nothing more. He was warned of the punishments for wasting time." He stated in a flat voice as if reading from a memo.
"Doesn't that seem a bit... I dunno'... harsh?" Asserted Dash. She loved speed more than anyone else present but the time limit still seemed extremely narrow for someone to go to a new world, meet the leaders, and get on friendly terms with as many ponies as possible. She was also slightly taken aback when she realized that Avnas had managed to actually do all of the above even with the limit.
Celestia seemed to be of the same mindset as Rainbow Dash. "If that was his only mission than Avnas succeeded in his goal quite well within his given parameters."
"We are on a schedule, completing his job means nothing if he doesn't move on after his job is completed." The broad man stated in a low voice, obviously trying to move on in the conversation.
The room was drawing into an awkward silence, nobody else wanted to speak up towards the man for fear of getting shot down in another sentence. He seemed able to settle their arguments without budging an inch in his own opinion.
"Who are you?" Question Celestia, though from what had transpired in the conversation, she had a fairly good guess.
"I am Andras, God of quarrels, argument, debate, and diplomacy."
The last part of his title spurred several strange looks. "Wait, so ya'll are in charge of both ponies arguin' and agreein'?"
"In cases that involve personal opinion, yes but that is not important at the moment. I will admit that I am impatient to begin what my kind have come here for in the first place, the festival."
Celestia found Andras speaking not in anger, but more with a tone of exhausted patience, as if they had been talking for days instead of minutes. "What do you require from us?"
"Just a location, we can handle the labor and materials ourselves."
"Well there may be an issue regarding the location..." Celestia added hesitantly.
His eyes shot up, switching between staring at each of the princesses. "Is there a problem?"
"Nope, nope, nopppeeeeeee!" Yelled a voice so distinct and shrill that it could only be Pinkie. Everybody present, impatient god included, looked around desperately for their missing friend, only to see her bounce out of the portal of all things.
Even Andras was dumbstruck, there was no way to operate those portals without at least advanced knowledge of dark magics. He decided that this girl was just one of those types that seemed to exude controlled chaos and decided to take control of the situation. "You have a solution to the location problem?"
"Yep!" Pinkie chirped, feeling no distinct urgency to continue.
"... And the solution you came up with was?" He was trying to avoid throttling the mare for reminding him of Avnas right after getting rid of him.
"You can use Ponyville!" She announced, surprising everyone with the confidence of her plan. "It's a small town but it's really open around it! The streets are wide and it's near Cloudsdale and Canterlot so we can be sure that lots of ponies will show up!"
It was difficult to guess which act was more surprising, the fact that Pinkie had just basically rented out all of Ponyville to beings of hell for a week, or that the godly figure they had been having a tense discussion with moments ago seemed completely agreeable to the terms. "That seems acceptable, we will be ready to head out in the morning." He was quickly turning towards the portal when he did a complete 180 degree turn and was once again facing the royal alicorns. "That reminds me." He seemed to wave his hand towards one of the walls, "It is customary for my kind to make deals with the denizens of mortal worlds. As such, I would like to make an offer before I go." The wall he had waved towards moments ago started to ripple as if made of water and the statue of Discord seemingly melded through the wall, drawing universal attention. "I would be willing to take him off of your hands, only if you wish, of course." He finished his statement with a smile, an action that had the exact opposite effect from when Avnas used it.
Celestia was immediately suspicious, "What would you want in return for such a deed?" she knew of the weight that she could lift from her world by removing the god of chaos but would not hesitate to refuse if she felt that there was something underhoof.
"All I ask is that you let us do as we want during the festival. Before you refuse, I swear that none of your citizens or property will be damaged during our stay. I also swear that we will not damage any property without providing compensation with both money and labor, were we to accidentally break a window or wall, we would not hesitate to both fix the damage and provide funds for the owner to pay for temporary board." He seemed quite confident in his kin, the number of which was still unknown and, frankly, most present were just fine not knowing.
Celestia was silent. The room had an air of tension right on the precipice of collapsing in any direction and it all balanced on the answer to one question. Celestia could almost feel the man's question hanging in her mind, wanting to observe her decision just as much as the other enraptured ponies in the room. Yes or no princess, you know the festival is not possible to stop by now. All that's left is deciding the fate of the mad-god.
But do I have the right to send Discord to eternal torment? If I send him then I highly doubt there being much chance of them letting him off easy for his crimes.
He has endangered ponies lives and the lives of all races since he was first recorded, leaving him here will only be tempting fate with this option available!
He has never tried to take a pony's life directly, though. There was never a recorded instance of his acts actually resulting in casualties.
"Oh, one more thing, princess." Andras interrupted with suspiciously good timing in her monologue, "Star Swirl the Bearded said that he wanted to work out some grievances against the mad-god. I believe he was killed by... what was it... it was definitely interesting... ah yes," His expression turned to a mask of dark humor, "Transformed into cotton-candy followed by death-by-consumption."
"You may do as you like with him."
Andras bowed respectfully, once more back to his calm and ordered demeanor. "Of course, princess."
Chapter 4: Horror at the Horizon
Author Note: I am using this map of Equestria for the sake of the story
True to their rather flimsy word, the demons were ready to leave for Ponyville the moment the sun's rays began to peek over the horizon. The number of festival-goers was more than anyone could have possibly imagined, a seemingly endless horde of creatures of every kind spewed from the portal, quickly filling up the entirety of the throne room and continuing to spread to the courtyard and even up against the gates. The elements were all gathered on one of the castle's many balconies, watching the writhing mass of excited creatures. They didn't know what to say at the spectacle before them, they saw just as many ponies as there were whatever those things Avnas and Andras were. Most seemed completely normal while others were skeletons just like the musicians from yesterday. There were centaurs and griffons, cyclopes and minotaurs, there were even a couple of hydras that seemed to be idly conversing with the other guests. The sight was humbling, most of the creatures in the crowd weren't even more than idle myths in Equestria.
A man in a flowing silver robe rose above the crowd, perching on one of the castle walls. His voice lifted above the sea of whispering dead, shouting, "Quiet my friends! You all know where the festival is! I want to get there as soon as possible! The pink pony has already alerted the town of our coming so just get to work as soon as you arrive." He seemed to be resisting the urge to bolt any second, most likely due to all the excitement in the air.
"I had no idea there would be so many.." Mouthed Twilight, completely at a loss for words from all of the species before her. These creatures seemed intelligent and many have never been recorded before, even in myth. Even the species that were little more than animals such as the hydras seemed much more intelligent than the Equestria variety. She was practically drooling at the volumes she could publish with these findings if she could convince a few to sit-down and talk with her. "But with such a huge group, the trip to town will take much longer than we thought, I wouldn't be surprised if it took a few days at the very least."
The man announcing to the crowd continued his speech with the joy of a child, "And so, without any other matters needing be addressed..." He motioned to several members of the royal guard nearby to unlock the gates, "On your marks..."
"Wait... did... oh hay."
Twilight was wide-eyed, "There is no way! They'll cause a panic if they start charging through town!"
"Get set..." The crowd seemed to adjust themselves to all be facing the gate.
"Nonononononononononono!" Twilight saw the princesses trying to fly down to the guards to stop them from opening the gates but were drowned-out by the crowd.
The sun crested the horizon completely and with it, the man dropped his cloak, he was now left in only a loose pair of very nice blue trousers. Good trousers aside, he was also sporting a pair of large wings in the same color scheme as his cloak. "Go." He said simply before turning around and was off at tremendous speed with a few flaps.
The crowd all charged forward immediately, effectively shoving the gates the rest of the way open with their bodies. A fair number of guests took to the skies, giving chase to the long-gone announcer who could only still be seen via the violent glare coming off of his head from the sun. Every member of the impromptu race was giving their all to reach the destination as soon as possible, instead of charging through the town, the entire horde decided to instead run, slither, and otherwise launch themselves full-pelt down the side of the mountain. "Well at least they won't ruin the town." Remarked Rarity, rather surprised at the racer's apparent lack of concern for their own safety.
"You won't be able to say the same for that forest they're all running towards when they're done with it." Giggled a familiar voice from behind them. The girls turned around to find Avnas watching the race with glee. "Hello girls, so how was-" He was cut off by Rainbow flying into him with hooves around his neck.
The girls were surprised at Rainbow's sudden affection toward the man until they realized she was simply trying to crush his windpipe. "Going. To. Die." She growled at the trickster who had made a fool out of her three times in the last twenty-four hours.
After she was successfully restrained by Twilight's magic, Fluttershy spoke up, "Umm what are you... doing here it seems like you would want to be in the race with everyone..." No one was able to hear her anymore, her voice dropping to levels that the wind was capable of drowning her out.
"Oh, I'm definitely going to try for the race, I just wanted to say hi before I left but now I will definitely need to hurry if I want to have a chance." He ran over to Rainbow Dash, adopting an apologetic face, "And I really am sorry for messing with you, Miss Dash, it's simply too much fun for one prankster to get another when they don't expect it. I promise that I will find you the next time I go out to have some fun, until then." He then leaned over to Dash and, with a small flourish of his hand, flicked her in the snout. He ran towards the balcony, away from the once-again red-with-rage Rainbow Dash and yelled, "Peter! Papa needs you to save his life!" And jumped off of the balcony, clearing the railing like a hurdle.
The girls looked at the balcony for a moment before a small cyan wyvern, only about ten or eleven feet long, sped towards the horizon, towards Ponyville, giggling owner standing haphazardly on it's back, trying to take in the spectacle the race was creating, almost falling off of his loyal pet when he saw a manticore try to ambush a lagging racer, only to in turn be surrounded by other racers working in-tandem, as it turned out, some of the racers had held-off on eating before the gathering, believing that they would have more time to prepare before they decided to race. He was distracted enough to not notice an angry cyan and rainbow blur giving chase and rapidly catching up. Just a little further, a couple more seconds and he'll get a surprise courtesy of the sonic-rainboom!
Avnas turned around on his pet, looking directly at Dash and spoke in a slow, steady voice, "Okay, your friends shouldn't be able to see us talking from this far away, I have a deal that I'd like you to think about."
Dash could hardly hear him over the wind screeching in her ears and couldn't find the spare breath needed to formulate a response so she tried to give him her best "confused" face possible.
Both of them stopped, Peter apparently in on his owners own intentions. He turned to Dash, giving her his best reassuring smile, and spoke in a voice that, in her own opinion, was much to level for someone who couldn't even laugh without switching octaves, "Which of your friends do you find it the funniest to play tricks on?"
Rainbow Dash decided to just go with it, she didn't want to face any possible consequences from the nearby wyvern if she decided to sock it's owner, "Probably Twilight, she usually sees the prank coming from a mile away but that just makes her reaction when it works priceless." She imitated what seemed like an elderly mare having a heart attack and spoke once more, "Why is it important? Were you serious about that promise?"
"Do any of your friends ever help you with your pranking?"
"Usually just Pinkie Pie, is that important or something?"
He looked at her with sheer bemusement. "I was hoping it would be Pinkie."
"Look, you're kinda creepin' me out right now. Why do you need to know all of this?"
"Because, Miss Dash, I want to invite you to pull a prank on Twilight and those princesses of yours, do you think you would be interested in something like that?"
"Of course I would! Nopony ever tries to prank Celestia, they're all way too chicken!" Her response came so quickly that Avnas figured she was the type you could get to do anything if you worded it as a challenge, he stored that little informative nugget away for later. "Do you have a plan?" The only time he's ever acted business-like and it's over a prank.
"Oh many more than you could possibly believe but for now, I'll just tell you my personal favorite of the bunch. Let's fly and talk, can't have either of our groups of friends getting suspicious too early, after all."
And so they flew at a leisurely pace over the now-ruined path through the forest, the runners had really done a number on the place. There was a big strip of dead-man's-land about 100 feet wide that continued all the way through the forest, straight towards Ponyville. They discussed Avnas' plan, Dash questioning parts that she didn't fully understand and how to approach Pinkie's role in the trick. Even with flying, the trip took about a day from following the haphazard path, they had discussed every possible aspect of the plan and knew each phase to the letter. The sun set, but little did the other elements know, very interesting were looming over the horizon.
The Two-Faces on the Hill
Chapter 5: The Two-Faces on the Hill
Say what you will about beings that live and serve under a ruler of ultimate evil, they knew how to get things done if it means they get what they want. The craftsmanship on each of the stalls, booths, and even entire buildings was immaculate to say the least, Ponyville looked more like it was building an entire extra town instead of setting up a festival. The creatures all seemed to know which projects they were supposed to work on, with the most dexterous, strong species handling the large-scale projects, leaving the more awkward, slow species to handle simple jobs like stands. The balance of labor between species meant that almost all of the structures being set up would be completed at the same time, creating an impressive spectacle if only by the harmony in which the builders collaborated. Several ponies actually offered their assistance to the work but were turned away very politely by one of the many foremen, saying that they 'Couldn't possibly intrude on their day any more than they already were in good conscience'.
The work was complete in about eight hours, the workers continuing with their jobs after the sun set, still energized from the race and refusing to bed down for the night before they were finished. By the time the residents of Ponyville woke up the next morning, everything had changed.
Buildings of every color, shape, and origin were set up wherever there was free space. Everywhere the citizens looked, they saw no fewer than a dozen different styles, none of the buildings seemed to actually clash against each of their neighbors, regardless of how different they seemed. Celestia was watching the spectacle of the celebrating creatures from a hill near the town, resting in the shade of a single tree. "It really shows how long they had been planning for this event." Celestia said to her unlikely guest.
"Yes, they have been waiting for a very long time for this, I can't imagine being the one to tell them that they wouldn't get to leave after all." Remarked Andras, actually caught by Celestia in one of his rare 'good' moods.
"So tell me, what do you actually look like, Lord owl-ears?" Joked Celestia, having finally realized that the small tufts on his head were, in fact, a second pair of ears with the exact same coloration as a barn owl.
"I believed that if anyone noticed it would have to be you or that student you have." He actually didn't appear to be offended by his extremely degrading nick-name, a good sign in Celestia's eyes. He pulled out a very small piece of paper and unrolled it, handing it to the princess. "From the day I was made a god."
Celestia looked at the photo for several moments before handing it back. "Why didn't you just come like this? You would hardly stand out in most of the crowds."
"If I came in that form, your people would start rioting in every town I came to pass. It is my job to sow discord into the world and it didn't seem like the best gift to bring to the party, I'm sure you understand."
"That sounds quite a bit like Discord's job was, until you took him away, that is."
"There is a difference between breaking the status quo and making it rain chocolate, princess. He was as much a master of chaos as I am a master of patience."
That bad then? "I'm beginning to doubt that you even think of Discord as another god."
"He wasn't a god. There is a difference between being an immortal and earning the rank of a god. Almost a quarter of the festival-goers have earned the gift of immortality. They could technically return to their worlds whenever they wanted, that includes a fair number of the ponies from this realm."
Celestia was extremely shocked to learn of this secret, she also couldn't help but notice the obvious flaws in his statement. "If they could return, why wouldn't they? They could share knowledge that could help us understand the world better, or worlds, rather."
"Imagine a perfect world, princess. There were no bad ponies, trying to take advantage of the weaker or simpler. There were no loved ones to lose, only more to gain as time went on. Things never stayed the same, things were always exciting, unless you didn't feel like doing anything that day, of course."
Celestia had to admit, it did sound nice but she couldn't imagine being able to resist the urge to return to her world with the secrets of the universe. "I'm not sure I would-"
"I am not finished explaining princess, now imagine that you were just a normal person, not a royal, maybe not even middle-class, those that had to work for their entire lives just for their family members to be more comfortable than they are. They reach the afterlife after their days of repetitive, unappreciated labors and are allowed to live anyway that they want, anytime. Do you think that they would want to return to a world that worked them to their death?"
"Well, no but the-"
"Those with easier lives face the same problem as any other, the fate of any immortal in a mortal plain. As an immortal yourself, you have undoubtedly faced losses. How many people you cared about have you outlived? Does it ever get easier to have someone you trust entirely age and eventually leave you? You have had experience in these matters because you didn't have a choice, but they do. They don't have to watch the members of their family disappear forever, why would they? They can just wait in paradise for them to arrive themselves." He took a quiet breath, he had been talking silently, but with a speed that left him out of breath. "Do you see why they wouldn't want to come back just to spoil the surprise?"
Celestia was silent, deep in thought. She didn't want to imagine the afterlife, the uncountable number of friends waiting there that she would never see. She wasn't sure if she wanted the answer, but she couldn't help but ask. "What is it like, right after they die?"
He was quiet for a long time before he spoke up again. "The instant the life ends, it's like having all of your pain taken away by a breeze, all the fear or sadness from before can't help but leave with it. It makes you feel safe, secure. It is hard to explain but, depending on your life, you can be deposited at any of the number of afterlives. Those that were kind and fair to others, those that spend their lives trying to help others, go to paradise. Those that never went out of their way to help others, content to keep themselves protected, wait until they earn the right to join the others." He was silent, not from emotion, just to avoid overloading the princess, and continued a few seconds later. "Those that tried to use others as tools to raise themselves above others are left in the underworld, either left to wander or, if they were particularly bad, put under the 'care' of a demon to pay for their selfish lives. Those that experience the last are commonly either murderers or have committed equal acts."
He sat next to Celestia, staying silent with the solemn princess near him. He turned to the princess, still lost in thought and spoke up. "I have never seen a race have as many of their people accepted into paradise immediately as your ponies. It is rare for them to even have to wait in purgatory." He stood up and turned toward the town again, staying long enough to make sure his words had the correct impact.
"Thank you, owl-ears."
Satisfied, he walked towards the town, stopping next to the tree, whispering silently. "Do not do anything foolish while she is still accepting this. She will likely be thinking this over for a few days at least, I don't need you screwing it up."
Avnas stepped out from behind the tree, grin gone and instead adopting a serious expression. "Don't act like you know the emotions of others just because of your status, you are a complete fool if you think that she will be satisfied with what you told her. You are supposed to be the responsible one during the festival and you've already managed to both tell beings of this world about the afterlife and show one of them your actual form!" It was good that the princess had been put to sleep by Avnas before, else she would not believe the venom with which he was speaking.
"She is responsible, Avnas, she will not want to burden her people with this information, I very much doubt that she will even tell her sister what we have discussed today."
"Just don't break any more of the rules. If we have to take you back for punishment, things will be unbelievably difficult for the lot of us here. I want nothing more than to let the people here enjoy themselves but I will not hesitate if I find out you have continued giving them information that could put all of them in danger."
"It will not come to that."
"It had better not!" Avnas was practically hissing in the face of the god. "I said that I would not bring work here and you had better not be the one to make me ." He stalked into the Everfree, shooting out moments later on his wyvern heading back to the festival.
He knew that Avnas was justified in his anger, he obviously cared about the denizens of this world in his own way and was not about to endanger them from something as foolish as getting lost in conversation. He had a short fuse when it actually came to things he cared about. The worst part was that Avnas' opinion was usually right. And that's why I can't stand him thought the god as he trudged back to the town with the princess.
Chapter 6: Life of a Pirate
The girls were heading down one of the many streets that was effectively transformed due to the festival. "Where are these special events that they keep talking about?" Moaned Rainbow Dash, not in the least placated by the hours of games and shows that they had seen that day.
"I'm sure that they'll let us know when something special is going to be taking place." Reasoned Twilight, already burdened with various prizes from some of the stands. The games were incredibly hard but the payoff was always huge for even a partial win.
Without warning, the girls all found themselves on the ground, unable to move or get up. "What's happening!" Yelled Rarity.
The girls found themselves in darkness and realized that they had been put into a single large sack. Twilight tried to open a hole in the side, only to have her magic fizzle upon contact with the fabric. Rainbow would have tried to fight her way out but found that the bag wasn't large enough for her to thrash-about without possibly smacking one of her friends almost immediately, not to say she didn't try a few times before Applejack had to make her settle down. "Where do you think we're going?" Asked Twilight, trying her hardest to stay calm.
"You're already here." Said a gruff voice from outside.
The sack loosened and dropped around the girls revealing Avnas wearing a fake beard and pirate hat. The rest of his outfit was exactly the same except for that his usual brown-and-white ensemble had been replaced with black-and-brown, giving him the distinct look of a normal homeless man wearing a pirate hat. "You look like a homeless guy that stole a hat." Remarked Rainbow Dash, tact remaining at an eternal zero.
"Good, then I really do look like a pirate." He smiled at them with a grin that was missing a fair number of teeth.
"Why are you dressed like that ?" Asked Rarity, looking at him with mostly disgust.
"Because, my pretties, you have just been recruited onto my crew. Welcome! To the life of a pirate in a day !
"The special event entails you kidnapping us?" Asked an incredulous Twilight.
"Of course! You're living the life of a pirate in a day, after all! That's how we got everyone here!"
She looked around and noticed two things. First, the rest of the ponies that she could see looked just as confused as they were. Second, they were on an extremely large boat.
Boat
"HOW IN EQUESTRIA ARE WE ON A BOAT!"
"Arr we ain't in Equestria at all now! We be in international waters we be!" Yelled Avnas from the steering wheel which she seriously doubted he knew how to operate. At the very least, he seemed to be having fun with the captive crew, switching between barking threats and singing pirate songs to the passengers.
Twilight wasn't sure if she could explain this to the princess without her banishing Avnas to the moon. Kidnapping citizens for the purpose of an impromptu boat crew, we'll see how she takes that.
"Yarr, cabin-mare Twilight! What ye be doin! If you ain't workin' ya won't be eatin!."
That voice. "PRINCESS?"
Sure enough, princess Luna was sitting in the crows nest, eye patch on her left eye and bandana tying her hair up. "I see ya met me first-mate!" Yelled captain Avnas from his position at the wheel. "She wasn't too interested when I offered but she perked right up when I said she could be me first-mate!"
"Captain! The bilge-rat be yappin' 'stead a workin'!" Apparently while modern speech completely eluded her, Luna was well-versed in all aspects of pirate-lingo.
"We gonna need 'ta fix that rat up right then, won't we first-mate?"
"Aye captain!"
Luna glided down to the deck, evil smile on her face, slowly advancing on Twilight. She looked around desperately for her friends, only to see them cleaning, adjusting cargo, and otherwise working while humming along to one of the captain's many songs. Feeling completely thrown under the bus, she closed her eyes and prepared to meet her fate.
Chapter 7: The Day of a Pirate
(Pirate's life: Part 2)
Twilight had just finished what Luna eagerly referred to as 'bilge-rat work' which was basically like doing the absolutely worst parts of every other job. She went to her quarters and found a surprisingly modern and comfy-looking bed waiting for her. Sleep she thought with unnatural levels of enthusiasm. The very thought was enticing enough to almost be considered erotic. What is wrong with me? How do you even feel like that towards sleep? I'm gonna have a word with Avnas over this work. She laid down and immediately fell asleep.
"Well Captain? What be the next part of the plan?"
"Well me beautiful blue buccaneer," Luna still blushed at the name he had started to address her with regularly, usually regardless of who was present, "I be thinkin' it's about time that we got the other team involved."
"When'll they be ready, Captain?"
Avnas broke character for a second. "Oh they're just outside, been ready for the game for hours. I just wanted to see if we could make Twilight have a meltdown or somethin'."
Twilight had been asleep for exactly fifteen minutes before she was woken up and one thing was for sure, Whatever did that will die tonight .
As it turned out, the intruder was a cannon ball that had ripped through the upper-half of her room, causing splinters to rain down all over her fluffy sheets, effectively ruining them. Out of the newly-furnished window peeked the Captain. He took a look at her and said in a soft voice, so as to not worsen the headache caused by a cannon-ball landing ten feet away from her pillow, "Would you like to get back at whoever did that?"
She never thought she could forgive Avnas as quickly as when he said that.
"What's happening out here?!" Yelled Twilight. Another ship, much larger and quickly circling closer to them, was firing dozens of cannons at them every few seconds.
"Pirate battle !" Announced Avnas, drawing a saber that she wasn't sure he should have. "Them yellow cowards found us first and got the drop on us!" Never let it be said that Avnas wasn't a terrific liar.
"What do we do?"
"Pretty much whatever me first mate thinks. She got a mighty fine eye for the cannons!"
Luna was preparing the cannons, prepping several at once with magic while simultaneously grabbing crew-members to man the others. With a strong burst of magic, she gave each of their cannons an extra barrel, effectively doubling their firepower.
"Hey! First-mate Luna!"
"Aye Captain?!"
"The gun has been doubled !"
Luna started laughing, something that almost made all of her cannons fire early and focused once more. "Captain! If we lose this, that'll be just the second worst thing I heard tonight!"
With a grin, Avnas climbed up to the crows nest, over the mast, and dropped down onto the enemy ship, immediately running down into the lower levels to break as many 'important looking things' that he could find.
Back on the ship, Twilight saw her friends doing what they could to help during the battle. All of the enemy crewmen were skeletons, making them much easier to tell apart from the friendlies. Applejack was bucking enemy crewmen before they could get onto the ship, Pinkie was running about, using her pet Gummy as a sort of improvised bludgeon, whether he cared or not, no one knew, Fluttershy was helping the crew load cannons, Rarity was levitating more ammo from lower parts of the ship onto the deck, and Rainbow Dash was flying over the enemies ship, puncturing their sail like a cyan rocket.
"Hey Twi!" Yelled Applejack, slowly growing fatigued. "If'n y'all start feelin' like helpin' I think we'd 'preciate it!"
Twilight jumped into action, if only to help her friends. As more and more of the crew from the enemy ship flooded onto theirs, the crew switched to more defensive tactics, effectively leaving Luna on cannon duty. Unicorns were blasting away the enemy crew almost as fast as they were boarding but no matter how much pressure they put on, the attackers seemed to gain more and more ground.
Everyone seemed to be getting desperate, Twilight was pretty sure that she saw the members of the skeletal band in a small gap during the brawl, swinging at the enemy crew wildly with boards, trying to protect their instruments from harm.
Avnas was quickly growing tired of seeing the same hallway every time he got lost in the enemy ship.
Wait a minute, why do I care about the ship at all? Ain't mine.
New tactic formed, Avnas decided to just start smashing through the walls of all the rooms in his way.
This would still be much, much easier if I knew what was important on a boat.
"That fool probably doesn't even know what he is looking for." Yelled Rarity before backing away from a heavy swing from an enemy crewman's scimitar, imbedding it in the ground long enough for Rarity to blast the owner with a shot of her low-reserve magic. Looking at the curved blade, Rarity decided that it would save more magic to consistently use a sword than firing at the massive horde.
Fluttershy was trying to hide from all of the fighting, choosing to quickly fly-out any of the crew that got injured or collapsed from exhaustion. The most that she could do for those that had collapsed was giving them a room to rest in but even that had it's own problems. Use a room too high and the patient could get hurt from any stray cannon-fire, too low and they could be in danger if they started taking on water. These issues left Fluttershy with an extremely low number of reserve rooms to use, usually needing to put two or three ponies in each room.
Applejack knew that she couldn't keep up her position for very long, all it took was one baddie seeing her kick coming before she could land it and she would be a sitting duck. She knew that if she fell back, the whole line would start to fall back since she was giving the crew valuable time to prep themselves for each charge. She didn't know the most about combat, but she would be bucked before she let herself get beaten by some bad-guys that don't even have muscles anymore.
What is important on a ship?
Avnas was running out of things to break on one of the lower levels of the ship.
The mast? No they're already boarding us! The rudder? Great, maybe they'll have trouble leaving after they wipe the floor with us. THIS IS TOO HARD!
Like a destructive fairy was whispering in his ear, Avnas came up with a plan that, at least to him, was an ingenious piece of ingenuity.
Luna had found herself surrounded after finding that the cannons were having little effect on the ship anymore, with only her manning the guns, she could only focus fire on very small areas which didn't help much when she was trying to take down what seemed to be the size of two galleons on top of each other.
"The day me blueberry-bunned first-mate gives up due to facing overwhelming defeat is the day I find a new right-hand!"
Luna turned around, halfway out of hope, halfway out of annoyance at the rather barefacedly perverse statement directed at her.
Avnas was smashing through the edge of the ship, basically keeping one half of his body inside the ship while he dragged his other half through the thick edge in a matter that would leave a normal body mangled beyond belief, cutting a large swathe through the back of the boat and slowly tracing forward. With a heavily vibrating voice, engorged with joy he announced, "I AM THE GREATEST PIRATE IN THE HISTORY OF EQUESTRIA!"
Even the enemy couldn't help but stare at the odd tactic displayed by the man. He continued forward, pausing in his charge slightly whenever he hit a wall or a flight of stares that he couldn't see inside the ship. At last, he reached the bow and receded back into the ship. The fight had gone silent from watching the spectacle, both sides wanting to see what the odd man would do next. They didn't wait long, as the Captain emerged from below the deck, hat firmly back on his head although now with another hat on top of it, most likely the enemy captain's. "Luna! I'm about to do something really, really stupid so just go with it."
Luna didn't react since his statement at his own stupidity was about as obvious as him announcing that he was, in fact, a mammal.
He ran to the enemy mast and gave it a mighty kick before running back towards his own ship, jumping off of the side before being gently carried back by Luna's magic. The mast cracked and slowly fell into the water near the ship. As he landed, he pointed to his new hat and addressed the pirates in a mocking voice. "I got ye Captain and ye mast. I win."
Chapter 8: The End of the Pirates
(Pirate's life: Final part)
Cheers echoed from the ship over the victory. Oddly enough, even the other crew was cheering despite their boat quickly beginning to sink from all the water flowing in from the gash left by their Captain.
"Why are they cheering? They lost." Asked Rainbow Dash, looking at the enemy boat that was covered in partying skeletons of both pony and human origin, sinking into the black water, not even phased as they continued to dance with glee.
"Because now they get their participation prize." Avnas was sitting on the floor of his ship, hardly bruised but very exhausted from breaking through a boat with his body for the last twenty minutes.
"We get a participation prize?" Asked Pinkie, hoping there would be a party involved in the gift-giving.
"Oh no, you guys get the first-place prize, that comes with a party."
Pinkie leaped into the air and started to announce the news of parties and prizes to the battered crew, lifting their spirits after the hard fight.
After Rainbow left as well, Avnas motioned for one of the few humans on his crew to come to him. Once he was nearby, Avnas spoke quickly and quietly. "Is it still all set?"
"For the last time, yes."
"I won't do it if this is going to leave a bunch of dead ponies on the bottom of the sea."
"Don't forget who you are talking to. That would make me look just as bad."
"Did the test with the other team go well?"
"Of course! They all went through, no problem. Can we get on with this already? I'm getting antsy and I can't promise anything if I have to go another minute without spoiling anything."
Avnas always hated doing other people's jokes. They never really seemed to satisfy him like his own and this was no different. "Fine, just wait until my signal. I'm guessing you want it as dramatic as possible?"
"Of course! Well, good luck then, Captain!"
"Aye, cabin-boy Focalor."
Fluttershy was running around the ship in a frenzy, readjusting the rooms of all of her patients when the captain walked into the same room she was using to treat a tired unicorn. Without a word, he walked over to the unicorn, pulled on it's tongue, and twisted it's left ear counter-clockwise. By some bizarre magic, the unicorn immediately jumped out of the bed, filled with energy unseen since before the fight. As he left the room, Avnas spoke while heading to another patient. "Do that with the rest of 'em, should work for the next hour or so, after that, don't bother trying to use it again." Fluttershy had no idea what he precisely did but figured that results were results and started 'treating' the other patients, drawing odd looks before her wards all made similar miraculous recoveries.
All of the crew was gathered in the dining hall of the ship, enjoying their meals and their now immaculate health which still nobody understood but decided to not question a good thing. The elements, along with the princess, were all enjoying a meal at the Captain's table and discussing the events of the last day. Everyone was trying to ignore the princess who was, by Avnas' estimate, smashed . After her sister had switched to using tea during meetings, her tolerance had suffered dearly, she now swayed with the ship, loudly laughing at every little comment.
Avnas wasn't excited about his next trick at all, most likely, he would be blamed for the resulting panic, nevertheless, he owed Focalor more than he could have ever hoped to repay in his many years as a lord. He stood up, spilling his drink over the princess. Focalor, attention drawn by her yell, turned and saw the signal and with a parting word, left to do what he did best.
Luna was clenching onto Avnas' collar, partly to try and intimidate him, partly to avoid falling over from her blurred vision. She was about to continue her angry slurring when a large *BOOM* , followed by a violent shake of the boat, threw her back in her seat.
"I'll go check outside!" Announced Avnas, clearly trying to be heard over the room. As he turned to the door, he lowered his voice so as to only be heard by the girls sitting next to him. "When I come back, stay in your seat, I don't care if the room is on fire , stay in your seats." Avnas knew about Focalor's track record as being both a water demon and the god of shipwrecks, and wasn't going to let any of the girls at that table out of his sight. Trusted that horde of pirates more than I trust him... still.
The girls were shocked by the warning but could hear in his tone that he was not going to accept outside opinion at the moment. As soon as he took his second step from the table, he went back to the goofy face that he wore moments before. He is certainly experienced in hiding his intentions. Thought Luna before collapsing onto Applejack.
After a few minutes, Avnas returned to the dining hall and, after motioning to his band that were conversing with other guests, rose to the podium at the front of the room. "My friends, I have some bad news but I assure you that there is a silver lining!" His band knew where this was going and began setting up with speed that only came from decades of practice.
"I would like to ask you to all remain in your seats until the end of the announcement ".
A gargantuan hole in the bow, will the ocean to enter allow.
Oh but more a sin than letting it in it's letting our good fortune out.
The nest to the storm did succumb, while the crow hid his fear in the rum.
And the mast, it broke and threw out the bloke and well now he's surely my chum.
Many of the crewmen (and women) were getting worried as to the meaning of this 'sudden announcement'.
Love letters from under his bed, holds the cabin boy over his head
A futile try to keep it dry what tears have already wet.
They were penned by a girl in Merak, and the Javanese value their tact.
She'll conclude he's horribly rude 'cause he's sure as hell not writing back.
'Cause the ship's going down
All on account of the weather
Though we'll drown
There's no need to frown
'Cause we're all going together
And I won't say "Woe is me"
As I disappear into the sea
'Cause I'm in good company
As we're all going together
The crew was now panicking, trying to get to safety as quickly as possible. "Where do they think they'll run to?" Asked Twilight, trying to fight the urge to join them in their frenzy. Rarity almost rose out of her seat but was quickly frozen by a quick glare from Avnas before he continued.
I've had women of every kind, but the only one truly was mine
Is the one at home who'll be alone when I am full-up with brine.
For my son I had always a plan, for to raise him as best as I can.
Oh well you can bet, my only regret is to not see him grow to a man.
Water was now slowly flowing into the room, causing the elements hooves to become soaked. "I'm not gonna let us drown here!" Yelled Rainbow Dash as she flew outside to find a raft of some kind. As soon as she made contact with the rain, she fell to the floor with a loud thud. The rain was like lead falling onto you, effectively making any flying useless.
'Cause the ship's going down
All on account of the weather
Though we'll drown
There's no need to frown
'Cause we're all going together
And I won't say "Woe is me"
As I disappear into the sea
'Cause I'm in good company
As we're all going together
I was sinking down into the brine, when a curious sight caught my eye.
Seaman Shaft had found him a raft and was makin' a speedy goodbye.
At the risk of sounding absurd, I have always been good as my word.
So a fish gig I lanced into his eye and I knocked his ass overboard.
Luna looked around, trying to think of what to do. Could we teleport? No, we don't know where we are right now, we could be much farther from land than we think. She glanced at Avnas and saw him looking at her pleadingly, silently urging her to do as he asked before turning back to the crowd with a smile, trying to get them to calm down. "Sit down girls, trust the Captain."
'Cause the ship's going down
All on account of the weather
Though we'll drown
There's no need to frown
'Cause we're all going together
And I won't say "Woe is me"
As I disappear into the sea
Oh hell!
'Cause you've all been so good to me
So we're all going together.
As the last word left his lips, a ferocious wave broke through the room, submerging the girls, the crew, and the Captain in the inky-black water.
Focalor, feeling the presence of all the crew member's firmly within his grasp, concentrated for a moment on their presence and then released a sigh. "I'll join them later, this has to last me the entire trip after all."
He went back to smashing apart the ship with the rain and thunder he had been using prior.
Chapter 9: Do you see what I see?
Luna felt the dark water crash over her, engulfing her along with everybody else. Instead of being blinded by the black water, she found that she could see perfectly fine, if a little filtered. She saw everyone else, Avnas included, floating around for a few seconds before she felt a small pressure around her.
A split second later, she found herself approximately one hundred feet below the boat, floating freely in the water. The water shouldn't be this warm so far below, or even this far from shore for that matter. She looked to Avnas for an explanation, instead receiving a crude acting-out of him tapping a watch, telling her to just wait.
After a few seconds, they all started moving at once. Every member of the crew, about one-hundred-fifty in all, began to slowly gain momentum, eventually reaching blinding speeds. Aquatic cones began to form around each crew member as they raced through the water. It was both exhilarating and beautiful at the same time but the princess soon found a matter in dire need of being addressed. I can't breath!
The princess looked towards Avnas again, seeing him soaring through the water with his arms spread like an airplane, enjoying the feeling of the water. Eventually, he looked in her direction and noticed her puffed out cheeks. He gave her a slow, friendly nod, telling her it was ok. Hesitantly, she opened her mouth and started to angle upwards towards the surface without any input on her part. Right as she felt she was going to black-out, she crested over the water, shooting into the air like a rocket. Thankful for the air, she inhaled deeply, growing into a full gasp as she observed the view from the air.
The water was entirely different from before, shining golden in the light of the setting sun as she flew over the waves. The spectacle only grew more amazing as she saw the other passengers shoot out of the water, evidently in need of breaths of their own. She saw Avnas gliding slightly above her, face once-more full of glee at the experience. She started to angle downward toward the water again. No longer fearful of the odd experience, she enjoyed the crystal-clear view to it's fullest as she saw the sea-floor shoot by, occasionally shooting out of the water when whatever spell was pulling them felt her need for air only to be once more greeted by the equally amazing view above the water.
After about fifteen minutes of travel, they were able to make out a faint glow ahead, slowly growing brighter and brighter until they could clearly see a silvery portal, almost as large as the boat they were recently on. The sheer parameters for its size would have to be unbelievable. It was evident that this was the intended target of the spell. "This'll make you sort of feel like you have to pee! Don't. " Yelled Avnas, apparently having... extensive experience with this kind of portal in the past.
Although the trip through the portal was short, lasting only a few seconds for each person, it did have a certainly unique way of making you feel the need to do several things at once. Heeding Avnas' words, everyone resisted the urge to give in to the portal's embarrassing requests.
Approximately one-hundred-fifty passengers sat in one of the plains surrounding Ponyville, landing about a half-mile from the town. Still dazed from the trip, nobody spoke up for several minutes while they got their bearings.
"That was... AMAZING!" Yelled Twilight from her spot on the ground. "I didn't even know magic could do something like that!"
"It was 'right beautiful, wasn't it?" Said Applejack, laying on her back while she just took a minute to relax,
Luna walked to Avnas, smiling warmly, "I'm guessing you know who was responsible for our sudden trip, don't you?"
"Which one? The 'hey I just kidnapped you, now you're pirates' trip, the 'getting out of a sinking boat randomly' trip, or the 'greatest free tour ever' trip?"
"The last one."
He smiled, "They should be around here somewhere, he always likes to watch the reactions from his trips. We should get the girls together first, I think they'll want to meet whoever gave them such a nice gift."
After managing to gather all of the elements once more, Avnas led them to a small grove of trees. In the middle of the clearing sat a thin man in a long blue coat. Even to another species, it was evident that he was quite majestic.
His hair was worn long, cascading over his long ears and into two small braids, its deep blue identical to the large coat he wore. He had a kind face, staring at the ground ahead of him, apparently content as he was. He seemed to hear them coming, turning his head slightly to face them. The girls were surprised to see that his eyes were a pale white, lacking almost any pigment whatsoever.
Avnas spoke in a soft, kind voice to the man, looking hardly concerned at the rather large group approaching him. "Hello, Shabriri. It's me. I brought some friends over to meet you. They wanted to thank you for the trip."
"Hello." He said it simply, choosing to stare at them for a while.
"Umm... Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, who are you?"
"I'm Shabriri. Did you enjoy the trip?"
"Yeah we did! It was really neat! Do you do that all the time?" Pinkie had charged right up to the man resting on the ground, smiling widely at him inches away from his face.
"You didn't tell them, Avnas?" He didn't even turn his head away from Pinkie's.
"Sorry, thought you would want to tell them yourself." He walked over to the man and sat next to him, draping an arm over his shoulder. "This is Shabriri, god of blindness and granter of spectacle."
The girls were silent yet again. He certainly didn't seem like much of a god at a glance. He didn't radiate the aura of authority like Andras did and yet had certainly showed his own impressive strength by transporting them such a long distance. They couldn't help but feel a little bad, blindness was extremely, extremely rare in Equestria. They had just been shown one of the most beautiful things in their lives and the one responsible wasn't even able to see it for himself.
"Avnas, they're doing it." He talked in his same gentle voice but the girls couldn't miss the hint of sadness laced in it.
"Girls, while he can't see, Shabriri is able to tell what people feel, that's why he stayed by the portal, to feel everyone's reaction and from what I'm hearing, you all are busy feeling sad about something as stupid as him not being able to see."
The girls felt a sharp surge of guilt over their quick assumptions toward the man. Luna felt foolish for letting herself get caught up in pity. Of course he doesn't mind. He has to be thousands of years old at the very least, he would have obviously either accepted it or never minded in the first place. "I'm sorry for our hasty thinking. We did not think the situation through very well."
He stared at Luna, managing to make eye-contact without actually being able to see her face. After a few seconds, he spoke up. "She means it." he stated simply, like checking an answer on a sheet.
"Well of course she does! She is our princess, what did you expect?" Rainbow dash was getting in his face, oblivious that the usually pointless tactic of intimidation was even more useless on her current opponent.
"That's just him thinking out-loud Rainbow, settle down."
Shabriri spoke again, "You all seemed the happiest when you came out, everyone else started thinking about getting home but you kept talking about the trip. It was nice. I especially liked how you were slightly annoyed at the fact that you aren't able to fly that long yourself, not that you would ever admit that." He exposed one of his hands from the depths of his coat and pointed to Rainbow Dash. "It was like a child losing a footrace." He added while adopting a smile.
Chapter 10: Old Ties, Old Ways
The trip back to town was relatively uneventful. Dash tried to tackle Shabriri for making fun of her when he stood up, as she did, a blinding flash appeared from behind Shabriri, blinding her and making her fall to the ground, clutching her eyes. "She'll be able to see in ten minutes." Stated Shabriri before walking toward the town with Avnas draping an arm over his shoulder.
Avnas looked at his friend with a disappointed face. "Now you know that wasn't necessary, she would have been stopped by someone before she reached you and you know it. Go apologize."
With a sigh, Shabriri removed Avnas' arm from his shoulder and walked over to Rainbow Dash, placing his right hand, which had a thick wrapping over it, onto her eyes before almost instantly drawing it back. "Does everything look normal? Nothing brighter than it should be or the wrong color?"
"No it's... it's just fine." Rainbow couldn't believe it, she always had pretty good vision, even among pegasi that have to rely on their improved eyesight while flying through the clouds but now, everything was so clear. She could swear she could see the individual marks on each piece of grass in front of her if she focused hard enough.
"Ok then." He stood up and walked back to Avnas, returning to being guided back towards town.
Rainbow Dash continued to lay on the ground, taking in the many new features around her. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath but opened them with surprise when she saw a bright silver. Slowly, she closed her eyes again and found letters, silver like the portal, dancing across the surface of her eyelids. We are even, don't tell anyone about this or I'll have to take it back. Before fading away.
Once back in Ponyville, the girls all decided to head home quickly, absolutely exhausted from the events of the day. Luna decided to stay up a little longer, hoping to learn a little bit more about their new acquaintance and perhaps Avnas as well.
The two friends seemed to get along very well. After entering the streets of Ponyville, Avnas once more removed his arm from his friend's shoulder, confident that he could handle himself on the streets. They talked about this and that, what the other had been up to since coming to the other world, who they had run into so far, and anyone they had met that they found interesting.
"So what have you been doing around here? I can hardly imagine you of all people sitting around all day, waiting for something to do."
"Since I came down, I built an entertainment parlor, old-style. The locals seemed to enjoy it."
"I assume you've been performing for your customers?"
He chuckled softly, apparently it was something of an inside-joke between them. "Only on request."
"Excuse our interruption, what is so funny about your performing?" Luna had been following their conversation closely and had seen Shabriri smile at most of the things Avnas shared but hadn't laughed at even some of the stories she found to be hilarious.
"It is nothing princess, given my... seemingly contradictory gifts, most people assume I only know how to find the talented. Nobody expects a surprise from the blind-man sitting in the corner. It is... something of a joke between us as fellow musicians."
"I see." Luna had been trying her hardest to keep her speech informal, hoping that it would make conversing with the leisurely beings more simple. "Would there be a chance of us... me seeing it?"
"We'll see when we get there. It depends on the atmosphere."
They came upon a medium-sized, single-story building. It was made of what appeared to be reeds and had a sheet of cloth covering the entrance, exuding a soft glow out onto the dark street outside. As they walked in, Luna faintly detected the smell of flowers and alcohol, she already liked the place.
The interior consisted of many cushions spread among the room with small tables between every few cushions. They were very small, evidently meant to only hold the occupant's drink while they conversed with those around them. A decent number of the cushions were occupied with a combination of ponies, humans, and lesser numbers of griffins and zebras. The atmosphere seemed to be one of relaxed joviality. Luna could understand why the parlor had been popular, after the constant excitement of the festival, it was nice to know that there was somewhere to go that you knew you could just relax. Even the griffins seemed to be getting along with the other occupants, despite their race usually showing little respect towards the zebras and ponies.
"You even got the griffins to relax, I'm impressed."
"Some of their friends tried to start some trouble. Their friends were taken off the premises while they decided that they wanted to stay for a while with the other guests." He looked around the room, or something similar, considering, and decided that things were satisfactory. "Avnas, could you please lead me to the stage? I would hate to spoil the mood by spilling everyone's drinks."
Avnas laughed, knowing that his friend was giving himself much less credit than he deserved, and led his friend to a small wooden platform against one of the walls. "Will you be needing any more help, sir ?"
"I would certainly appreciate it." He added with a soft smile to his sarcastic friend.
Luna had taken a seat near the back of the room, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She saw some attendants in some sort of silken dresses, bring instruments to the two on stage. Avnas set up a large pair of drums while Shabriri took a seat on a cushion he was provided. He held what seemed to be a elongated, thin banjo. She seriously doubted that was what it was but had nothing else to compare it to. To her surprise, the attendants returned, all holding instruments of their own, ready to assist the two already on stage.
The tune started and drew silence from the room.
Avnas beat on the drums with quick, controlled rhythm. The deep noise reverberated across the room, ensuring the silence of the crowd while Shabriri started playing his instrument with a chisel-shaped tool in his other hand. The sound was soft and calming, making the entire room feel more comfortable. Luna found herself with her head laying against the wall behind her, simply listening to the music as it danced around the room. The audience was enraptured, those that had seen the blind man play before were able to compose themselves more easily but still found themselves swaying to the rhythm. Luna looked back to the stage and saw both Avnas and Shabriri with their eyes closed, focused on the music they were creating for those around them.
Luna saw more attendants, filling in for those on stage, undoubtedly, gliding quickly and quietly through the room, replacing drinks and clearing the used tables. They were so silent you had to actively search in order to hope to catch more than a glimpse of them before they disappeared back into the kitchen. They don't want to bother the customers, wish we could get workers that good in Canterlot that weren't complete snobs. She decided that investigating the venue further would cause her to miss-out on the performance before her and decided to sit on her cushion with her back resting against the wall, enjoying the atmosphere, music, and, when the attendants found her glass empty, the soft alcohol, clearly meant to only cause a buzz without clouding the mind, it was cool to drink and allowed her to shed her last layer of self-consciousness at being in a public space with her subjects. No longer caring, the princess started to hum-along to the music, her sister could handle the moon tonight.
Under the Guise of Comfort
Chapter 12: Under the Guise of Comfort
"And it was just so... fun , Tia! They were so polite and the entire place was just perfect."
Luna had been gushing to her sister about her night all the way through breakfast. Celestia couldn't help but feel more than a little grateful to the demon-duo, she knew how hard it could be sometimes to get her rather introverted sister to simply enjoy herself with the citizens. "I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself, Lulu. Do you plan on going back today?"
"I didn't tell you? They want you to come with me today. They said that they had worked out something special for the parlor today." Luna seemed honestly surprised that she had been talking for the last hour without bringing it up.
Celestia was more than a little suspicious of being specifically invited by the two but couldn't refuse her sister right after the two let her enjoy herself all day. "I suppose that would be fine. Do you have any idea what the event is?"
"They said it involved the weather pegasi."
Celestia walked over to the window, eyes widening when she saw the silvery sheet of snow on the ground. It's the middle of spring! She sighed, realizing this was still fairly par-for-the-course where the demons were involved. "Let's head over, I guess."
Despite the snow, outside it felt hardly below forty-degrees, slightly chilly, but nothing unmanageable with a coat. Probably a fair bit of magic involved in this. Thought Celestia as she looked over the streets, still filled with festival-goers like yesterday.
After a bit of walking, the sisters came upon the parlor. There was a steady stream of smoke coming from the middle of the roof, neither sister particularly cared about how they had installed a smoke stack in a single night. The inside was set up differently from last time. Now, the pillows were all gathered in a very large circle around a roaring fire, ringed by stones that glowed with the heat. Like before, leisurely customers were gathered around the room, conversing with each other like they hadn't met mere minutes ago, but were old friends.
Near one of the corners sat Avnas and Shabriri, talking to pass the time as they waited for their arrivals. Avnas waved them over to their booth, the only one in the establishment, and motioned for them to sit opposite them. After they were all seated properly, Shabriri spoke first. "I understand that you have been told some things about the afterlife?" His voice was still soft but felt like it was probing for something.
Celestia saw that they were interested in getting right to business and decided to answer honestly. "Yes, Andras told me a few things. About immortality, the afterlife, and what he looked like."
Shabriri wore a slightly disappointed frown. "I see. I had hoped that he would not be so irresponsible while he was here but I see I was wrong."
Luna was saddened by the gentle demon's tone, it carried remorse, like he had wanted the news he had received from Avnas to be false but knew that it would never be. "Is there something wrong with what Andras told my sister?"
Avnas spoke up, more serious than either sister had ever seen him except for the boat ride in Luna's case. "Without the proper precautions, yes. Normal people can never find out about the afterlife if they weren't meant to. What he did was grossly irresponsible without certain steps being taken."
Celestia was about to speak up but was interrupted by Shabriri. "We can not talk where patrons may hear, if they found out, they could be a danger."
"What do you propose?"
"An offer, princess. We can give you the knowledge that you so desperately want but understand this, after we tell you, you will be unable to ever share it with someone who does not deserve to know. That includes all of the mortal denizens of this world."
"I swear that I will not spread what we discuss."
Avnas sighed and spoke up. "No princess, what my friend is beating-around-the-bush about is that you never will tell anyone besides your sister here. After we tell you, it will literally be impossible for you to so much as mutter a word over it to someone before meeting the consequences. So, what do you say, personal inquiry and all that?"
Luna waited for her sister, this was obviously a decision for her, she would accept either decision if her sister felt it was the right choice.
"Very well, I accept."
Shabriri smiled toward Celestia, glad that she had made the right choice. "We will talk somewhere that nobody will hear us."
"Where?"
"Inside my mind, please princesses, a hoof if you please."
Both the sisters placed a hoof onto each of Shabriri's heavily-wrapped hands. They almost flinched when they felt something in the center of his palm move, but stayed quiet. They felt like they were flying away and slumped over on the table as Avnas drew back the privacy-curtain they had installed on the booth before joining them.
The princesses found themselves in a beautiful field, covered in a sheet of snow that shined like it contained silver. The entire field was dotted with trees, still defiantly green despite the fallen snow. They heard music from behind them and turned to follow it.
They came upon Avnas and Shabriri sitting in the center of a small ring where lush grass grew and beckoned the sisters to join them. The entire place was beautiful in the irregularities that dotted it but still held an ethereal, fantasy feel that made you know this place didn't exist.
"Coming here, you have both agreed, thank you for trusting the both of us enough to tell you the secrets of the world." The sisters couldn't help but notice that Shabriri had a cloth tied over his eyes, the kind one would wear if there was something seriously wrong that they didn't want others to see. Small dots of red and silver could be seen near the bottom of the cloth, as though it had been adjusted over a wound that hadn't quite finished bleeding. Avnas didn't have his scar and was sitting comfortably in the grass. His normally thin figure was escalated to the point that it looked like he had been starved, the princesses were sure that, under his clothes, the ribs would be almost completely visible. He sat on the grass, running his bony hands over the grass and humming to himself, smile firmly on his thin, sunken cheeks.
Luna was concerned for her friends in their current forms. "Excuse me but, why do you both look so different?"
"We are in the realm of the mind, we each see ourselves as we both remember and think of ourselves. Even this circle we are sitting in represents the unknown world more than a few feet around me and... well..." He gestured to the princesses to prove his point. Luna was much smaller than normal and couldn't hide her distaste at the suit of armor over her chest. It was undoubtedly Nightmare Moon's. Celestia was a normal pony, not an alicorn. She had a cutie-mark of other ponies bowing before a royal that was trying desperately to get them to rise. "It would seem that you each have things to sort out but you can handle that yourselves later, feel free to ask us anything, we will answer the best we can."
Celestia decided that she would start with something simple and hope that it was within acceptable interest. "What is the difference between a lord like Avnas and a god like you?"
"I'm glad that you are the type to take the cautious approach, it's much easier to ease into the questions with a good background knowledge. To answer as simply as possible, we will speak of each individually."
"A god is a being that created something that did not exist before them. It can be a wide array of things from agriculture to diplomacy as well as emotions themselves. It is hard to imagine the earliest of worlds, where things like compassion and hope, humor and sadness, did not exist. Eventually, someone experienced something that they had never felt before and spread that feeling or idea to everyone they met and as it spread over the years and that one, world-changing being moved on to the afterlife to the mantle they had earned so that they could spread it to the denizens of each other world. On the other hand, occasionally, a demon is the one who creates something. This is usually on accident, as was my case, since demons are usually very busy with their various jobs. Only the oldest of demons tended to be the ones who discover something."
Avnas took over the speaking. "Lords are different. We are sort of like the lesser nobility, our positions show something that was an integral part of our lives. A lord of joy may have been a wandering entertainer that played for the poor where as a lord of dreams may have simply spent most of their life in a coma, dreaming of the world they couldn't see."
The sisters were smart enough to realize what this meant for Avnas, they had completely misunderstood his position as a lord of pain. Seeing his condition right now, they could guess how he had earned it when he eventually moved on. Celestia wanted to address the issue without directly drawing attention to Avnas. "What if it was something that they didn't want? Do they still have to hold dominion over it?"
Avnas smiled, easily seeing through her ruse. "Most lords are meant to hold balance over the dominion of a god. I regulate the pain in worlds, making sure that nobody suffers more than they need to. I don't spread the pain, that is the god of pain's job, I simply limit it from becoming out of control. In simpler terms, I am all too happy to limit the pain in the world."
Celestia wanted to use this chance to her fullest and decided to ask a more difficult question. "Shabriri, you said you earned your power from an accident, how?"
"I was from one of the first generations of demons after the god of creation made us. I was never mortal, I was simply made to help keep the afterlife running. One day, I fell, tripped actually, onto some of the many small stalagmites that grow throughout parts of the underworld." He removed his bandage and showed them the gaping holes in his head. Everything from above the bridge of his nose to the bottom of his forehead was ripped apart, gently dripping blood and more of the odd silvery substance. "The demon who tripped me became the god of spite, he spreads jealousy and hatred to those who do not warrant it." He readjusted the bandage to his head, mindful of the discomfort it would cause the princesses. "After I lost my vision, I realized how much one could experience without it. I was gifted the ability to feel the emotions of others. Unfortunately, this gift came with a price, as does everything on the other side. After becoming the first of the blind, I was tasked to go to other worlds and spread my 'gift' to others. There are many different trials that mortals go through, but seeing those that go through the gates to paradise, to finally be able to see the most beautiful place they could ever imagine, to have their gift taken back, it is the truest feeling of relief that I have ever experienced."
The princesses felt a mixture of happiness and pity over his recollection. On one hand, he talked about each person he gave his gift to with care and compassion. On the other hand, he talked about his gift as if it was a terrible tumor that he hated and wished he could remove.
Celestia decided to move on. "What is so bad about gods being seen in their other forms, I saw a picture of Andras in his other... body let's say, and it didn't seem that bad."
Shabriri laughed slightly before holding a hand to his head. "You really do have an amazing ability at making these questions get harder. The more... divine form, let's call it, has unique characteristics that do not... merge well with mortal worlds. Their forms bend reality to suit the form rather than vice-versa, in a place like hell, where there exist an almost infinite number of different realms of all kinds of purposes, space is a more... flexible thing than it normally should ever be. It isn't that uncommon for lords and gods to have at least one realm of their own for some purpose or other. With such a twisted world, a limitless amount of strain can be put onto that world. I am not sure what Andras told you about our forms, but there are worse effects than causing a panic, effects like making that world become torn-apart and cease to be, for one."
While it was obvious that Shabriri didn't quite understand the more technical parts of his other form, he had managed to make his point clear. Avnas looked towards Luna, the first question directed toward her. "Is there anything you wanted to know, Luna?"
Luna was struggling with her question. She felt that she should know more about Avnas, who he was before he died, why he looks like he hasn't eaten decently in months, and... "How did you die, Avnas?"
"Lulu!" Celestia was taken aback at such a statement from her sister, clearly he hadn't died very well given his condition. She doubted it would be a very pleasant story.
"It is fine, Celestia. We promised you the secrets of the world and I guess I am part of it." He took a deep breath and began his story but not before taking one of Shabriri's hands into his. "I'm going to open one of Shabriri's portals into my mind. This will be easier to understand if you can see it yourselves."
The world started to bend and shift, the frozen meadow disappearing, being replaced with the walls of a small cottage made of mud and reeds. The two demons were gone, leaving the sisters alone... at least at first. They noticed a small movement from the corner of the room and went to investigate. Laying on a small stack of reeds, apparently the only source of bedding in the home, was a small child clutching it's stomach in pain. He was moaning softly to himself, trying to get to sleep. The princesses could see a small symbol next to the bed, apparently meant to show that the bed was his. Although the writing was infantile, clearly written with a finger through the dirt, the princesses could make out the symbol upon closer inspection.
It was the letter A .
What Are They Worth to You?
Chapter 12: What Are They Worth to You?
WARNING: This chapter contains some gore at the end, mostly just implied, nothing too graphic
The small Avnas was continuing to squirm on his bed, plagued by pains and unable to sleep. Eventually, he passed into unconsciousness. I had been sick for a very long time, nobody knew what was wrong with me. The sisters were surprised to hear Avnas in their minds, speaking directly to them. He appeared to be doing commentary for parts of the memory.
After the boy went to sleep, the world jumped to morning, Avnas being woken up by yet more pains before the sun had even reached him. A man came into the small cottage, thin as well though not quite as bad as the boy, and placed a small plate of food in front of him. He eagerly started eating, the man smiled at the boy's appetite and left. Shortly after he left, Avnas stopped eating the food on his plate. The portion was measly but still, over half remained. He went over to his bed of reeds, pushing the improvised bedding aside and revealed a small box that was placed in the dirt. He pulled it out and opened the top. Inside, the box was almost filled to the brim with fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetable roots. The boy smiled to himself and pushed the remaining untouched food into the box. Food was very scarce, there were only twenty people in the entire village, the man who came in earlier was one of the village's better-fed hunters.
Avnas left the building he had slept in and headed to one of the fields, he worked on the primitive farm, hardly pausing throughout the day in his work. Dinner was served, the hunters had caught a field-bird, and were serving the tribe, Avnas ate all of his serving very quickly. No point in trying to save meat, it would rot by the end of the week.
Luna had decided to refer to the child as Babnas, getting tired of trying to make distinction between the two versions of the man. Babnas walked back to his home, laying down on the reeds once more. Just in case either of you are wondering, a small child is living alone because no one in the village knew what I was sick with, not that it changes much, there were, like, two kinds of medicine, and one was leeches, and they already tried that. Once again, Babnas fell asleep clutching his stomach.
They watched Babnas go about his days quickly, each day finishing in about fifteen minutes, for convenience sake. Some days the boy worked, some days he helped the hunters, occasionally stopping when the pain came back. He never seemed to spend any extended time with any of the villagers. The princesses hadn't even seen any indication as to which of the adults were his parents. They didn't want the 'healthy' adults to be staying around the sick boy any longer than necessary. If they stopped and thought about it, they would have realized that they would have already been sick if I was contagious, I did work with the food all day, after all.
A few months passed, there was a drought and the crops were starting to die. Without even the small boost in food, the village would quickly starve. Avnas sat on his bed, knees up to his chin. The pains had been worse this night. They were always the worst when he came.
Who? Thought Celestia and Luna together.
The god of Drought.
A man walked through the doorway, blocking the moonlight behind him. "Greetings once again, young dealer ." He said the last part dripping with sarcastic honey, taunting the boy.
"Bring the water back." Even at a young age, Avnas had developed a stern voice for serious situations.
"What do you have that I would want?" He asked, twirling a piece of fabric from his cloak in his hand.
Avnas brought him the basket of food. "I know you don't care about the food, you can set it on fire for all I care, I just figured you would enjoy knowing that I didn't get to eat it."
The man laughed at the ingenuity of the boy's offering. "Oh ho! You are a clever one! Tell you what, this time, in return for bringing the water back to this god-forsaken land, I'll only take half as much." Like he had much left to take. added Avnas, venom dripping from his very thoughts.
"Fine." Babnas didn't seem to be able to say any more, clenching his eyes shut and looking away, tears pooling near his eyes.
The man placed a hand over the boy's stomach and, with a soft glow, his hand passed right through the tight skin and ribs, into his insides. He screamed in pain, the skin was fine but the man certainly wasn't being particularly careful in bothering anything else. The princesses wanted to look away, to not have to see the sight, but they knew that there wouldn't be any point in asking Avnas to be brought here if they turned away at the most important part. The man was digging his hand in, looking like he was trying to find something specific. Bullshit. He knew what was left, he was just wasting time.
The princesses hated everything about the situation before them. They hated the man, abusing his power, threatening a child, leaving him starved and even then refusing to show mercy. They hated the people, for not catching this phenomenon happening to one of their own and leaving him by himself. Most importantly, they hated the fact that things like this were happening in worlds that they couldn't stop it in. What if things like this happened in Equestria? How would we know?
There was a horrible, wet snapping noise. Babnas screamed louder than any of the others before and slumped onto the man, blacking-out in pain. He drew his hand out, completely clean, there wasn't a drop of blood to be seen from the entire ordeal.
Except from the small, reddish lump in the man's hand.
"He took pieces of you as payment!?" Luna was raving, completely in a blood-rage towards the mental-image of the man. Celestia wasn't yelling, but was wearing a stare that could make a granite-wall flee for the hills.
That he did, sometimes bits of liver, sometimes half-a-kidney, towards the end, he was running out of things to take so he basically just took whatever meat there was.
"That's monstrous!" Celestia had joined her sister in the rage. "He had the means to help you whenever he wanted but refused unless you let him take you apart ? Doesn't he have a soul ?"
The man set Babnas down on his bed, turning towards the doorway. "You can expect a decent harvest this year, nothing to get excited about." And with that, he walked out.
Babnas laid there, still unconscious. After a few minutes, another man walked into the room, wearing a robe that reached the floor.
"That's... impossible." Celestia found herself muttering along with her sister, her fortitude already broken from earlier.
Shabriri walked over to the boy, cradling him in his arms. He laid a wrapped hand over the boys stomach, hand eliciting a soft glow. Every few seconds, he sighed deeply, apparently finding more and more to dislike with the boy's condition. After casting some small spell, he produced a small flash in front of Avnas' face, waking him up.
Still in no condition to move, Avnas simply looked at the man. He had a kind face and was looking at him with concern. "Who are you?" He muttered, still distrustful of the man but not wanting to offend a possible second organ-harvester with an eye on him.
"I'm Shabriri, Sha-bri-ri." He sounded it out for the child in his arms. "Can you say it?"
"Shabriri."
"Good, if you can get my name right, you can't be in that bad of shape."
They shared a laugh at that, Avnas warming-up to the man. "Why are your eyes all white? Did they get hurt from something?"
"Yes they did, a long time ago. They hurt really, really bad for a while but then after a while they stopped hurting so much."
"I wish my pain went away but every time I start getting used to the pain all the time, that bad-guy comes back and tells me that I gotta hurt some more!"
"Would you like to come with me? I could make it so that he won't hurt you anymore, I'll even make sure that he doesn't do anything with the water while you're gone."
Babnas' face was lit-up with glee. "You'd do that!? You're the nicest adult I've ever met! So the pain will never get worse?"
"Even better. I can make all the pain go-away forever. You won't have to ever deal with those pains again."
The princesses knew what was happening, they couldn't help but shed some tears for the little-boy before them, filled with joy at his suffering ending after the torture that he went through every day.
"NO WAY! You can do that?"
"Indeed I can. So, what do you say? Want to come along?"
"Sure! Let's go!"
Babnas walked away, holding Shabriri's hand, swinging it as he walked. Back in the house, the princesses saw a brief shimmer of Shabriri's magic, revealing the body of Avnas, eyes glazed-over. With another small shimmer, his eyes closed and the body was adjusted onto the bed so that it looked for all-the-world like a normal little boy, dreaming of the world he was going to at that very moment.
Chapter 13: Many Faces of a Friend
They were all back in the fields of Shabriri's mind, the same gentle music coming from nowhere, as if they had left seconds ago. Avnas let go of his friends hand and smiled at the princesses. "That should answer a good chunk of any questions you may have about my past. If you have any more, I promise that there isn't anything worse I could show yo- OOF!"
The princesses had pulled Avnas into a hug, holding him tight. After a good minute or so, they released their captive of affection.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I moved on from being bothered by that a long time ago, comes with a long existence."
"What happened after you left with Shabriri?" Luna wasn't sure why the demon had been in the village, but was grateful for it now.
"He escorted me to the gates of paradise, only thing is, right before he got me in, we were stopped by one of the demons, said he could give me a real important job, making sure people didn't get hurt too much by any of the more evil of the gods and demons. Being a little kid, I agreed in a second, still don't regret it."
"What about your paradise?"
"I live in paradise every-single-day! I just didn't want to hurt anymore for someone that was torturing me, that and I wanted to get back at that jerk."
The princesses were surprised to hear Avnas' wish, not because it wasn't warranted, they thought he should be able to do whatever he wanted to that monster, but because he didn't seem strong enough to exact revenge on a god himself. "What did you do?" Asked Celestia.
"I knew I couldn't do anything, it hadn't been more than a few years, I was still little. So one day Shabriri comes up to me and tells me that he has an idea for how to get back at him."
Shabriri laughed to himself. "Looking back on it, considering that we're both gods, it seems childish."
"What did you do?"
"I went to his personal realm, an endless desert covered in decay. I sneaked over to his bed and cast a spell to ensure he didn't wake up too soon." He took a break to laugh again. "I dragged him at least ten-miles from his home, right in the middle of the god-forsaken desert and I... gave him my usual parting gift." Both of the men burst-out laughing at the memory.
"You left him in the middle of a desert... blind ?" Luna was amazed at the turn in karmic-retribution.
"Blind 'till the day he ceases to exist."
"Shabriri, I could... I could hug you right now." Luna said between unlady-like guffaws, not that she was the only royal present that was laughing like a sailor.
He chuckled good-naturedly "I'm afraid I have to decline, it wouldn't be proper for me to go around, embracing the royalty that I hardly know."
Avnas spoke again. "Well, I think we've covered most of the big subjects, if either of you come up with anything else, feel free to find one of us... or die. Those are usually the two most common tactics, though, I may suggest the former as being funner, not that I should talk..." He saw the look from the princesses. "Only kidding! Jeez, you let some ponies see your life as a lifetime movie, suddenly you can't be morbid anymore."
They had talked for a little while after waking-up in the booth, Luna's pool of drool only bested by Avnas'. The sisters decided that they should be going and headed out. They were surprised it was dark again. They must have been under longer than they thought. They didn't mind, it had been a good day, all in all.
"Did you see that pool of drool? I bet a filly could have drowned if they weren't careful!"
"Lulu, if I remember correctly, your drooling was only a very small bit less than his." Celestia couldn't help but poke fun at her sister when she could.
"Not the point sister, his was still worse."
The sisters both felt a few things at the same time. First they felt very warm, more-so than they should with both the snow and it being night. Second, they were aware that they were being watched. They looked around for whatever was giving them the feeling. After searching everywhere, they finally noticed a small figure looking at them from down the street they were on.
It was a small fox-like creature with antlers growing out of it's face... sort of. It had an eerie mask on that was facing directly towards them. The antlers had small candles balanced on them, lit with fire that didn't seem quite natural. It illuminated the snow around it, forming a small beacon in the dark.
The sisters were worried, they didn't know what this creature was, while it was clearly evident that it was looking for them specifically. Since they were still close, they decided to go back to the parlor to get some answers. They slowly backed towards the entrance, not breaking eye-contact with the small masked creature. It watched them go, staying in it's spot in the road.
After they went inside, they lost the warm feeling, they realized it must have something to do with the small creature. They found both the friends getting into the alcohol back at their booth. "Oh, hello again, ladies. Is something wrong or are we just making you become that drawn to us?"
Celestia decided to dismiss the comment. "Do you know about a small, mask wearing creature with antlers? Sort of looks like a fox?"
Avnas sobered up. "That, Cele, is a Kitsune, and trust me, if it let you see it, you got nuthin' to worry about."
"Why does it matter if we saw it, it was just looking at us sort of creepily."
"I'd like to see you look anything but creepy when your face is a mask. Anyway, there kind is sort of... weird, if they don't like you, good luck with the rest of your life. If they do like you, as is probably your case since it showed itself, that means you have some bad-mojo coming your way that it is gonna stop."
At least reassured that their stalker wasn't going to try to murder them, the sisters thanked the rapidly-approaching drunks and left again. As they left, they heard Avnas yell, "Oh! And don't think it's just an animal, darn things are smarter than you would ever believe!" They didn't see the spirit waiting for them. Not wanting to take chances at their usual hotel, they decided to stay at the library since Twilight was sleeping at Fluttershy's that night and Spike was with the CMC at their clubhouse, most likely getting in trouble.
As they approached the library, the sister's knew that their plan had failed miserably. They got the warm feeling again, telling them that they had been caught. They decided to just continue as normal, if the fox was planning on helping them, why worry about it? The guys hadn't seemed too concerned. Sure enough, waiting in the branches of the tree was their new friend.
It's mask is different. How does it even do that? Quickly realizing that she should have asked more, but too lazy to walk all the way back to the parlor again, Celestia decided to leave it at a sigh and head into the library.
The Kitsune wasn't sure what was wrong with the sisters. Was the first mask too scary? I always use that mask for the greetings! Ponies are weird, friendly, but weird. Maybe I should just disguise myself when I watch them. Whatever, the trouble will be here soon, then I can go back to that place they were in, it smelled nice, like flowers.
Chapter 14: Like a... Just No
Avnas turned to Shabriri. "I didn't know the foxes were coming to the festival."
"It didn't seem important, at the very least, I figured they could stop some trouble."
"You are a terrible judge of character."
"Trust me, I know. Last time I just guessed on someone, I got stuck with this one kid for thousands of years."
Avnas punched him in the arm. "You suck a lot more when other people aren't around."
"Once again, trust me, I know. Do you think we should follow them?"
"Well if something bad-enough to make the foxes care is coming, I guess we should... right after we finish the bottle, this stuff sucks when it goes flat."
"It's just rye, it doesn't go flat."
"Shut up and help me get a buzz going before we have to leave."
Boredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredbored. The Kitsune did not enjoy this part, he was terrible at waiting and even worse at staying on task. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew this was important, he wouldn't have even bothered to follow those horse-sized ponies. Or horses, as normal people would call them.
He really wished that whatever trouble was going to rear it's head would just show up so that he could... do whatever to it, sort of depended on what it was.
"What's it doing, Tia?"
"It's still just... sitting on one of the branches. It seems to be looking in a certain direction a lot but I'm not sure what it's doing."
"So, my inebriated friend, what do you think the fox is looking for?"
"Shut up, Shabriri, I need my ears to watch."
"No, you don't..."
Boredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredbored FOUNDIT. **
Like a lightning bolt, the fox-spirit bolted from his boring perch, heading towards the Everfree. Followed closely by two figures wearing a top-hat and robe, respectively.
"He... needs to... go slower." Shabriri didn't go out often and this wasn't the best time for him to start.
"Man, he must have been really bored up there! I guess they really are perfect tricksters, with energy like that."
"Don't they murder people?"
"Only some!"
Leftorrightleftorrightleftorrightleftorright RIGHT! **
He quickly bounded to his right and adjusted his sprint, reaching his max speed in a few seconds. Oh thank god finally! He reached his target, stopping before reaching the clearing ahead. Taking advantage of his natural abilities, he adjusted his appearance, removing his antlers and putting on his third mask, this one with a large row of sharp ivory teeth. My 'business' mask. Slowly, he advanced through the tree cover, taking advantage of the silent steps caused by his padded feet. He found what he was looking for.
It was clearly man-made. It didn't seem all that bad in comparison to some of the things that modern necromancers could make when they put their mind to it. It's like they just took random natural advantages and put them together into one animal without thinking about how they worked together. Oh sure, it's definitely dangerous, nothing that wildlife could handle, but it definitely isn't built for anything tougher than a small demon. I mean, they didn't even finish the skin! Must have been drunk and passed out before they finished.
It stuck it's tongue out into the air, moving it a bit before drawing it back and quickly adjusted it's gaze toward the fox-spirit. Damn-it! Must have given it a snake's tongue! He jumped into the clearing, he knew he had a better chance if he could take advantage of his speed.
They slowly circled each other. They gave it at least basic knowledge of how to fight like an animal, otherwise it would have charged. They both stopped, the Kitsune transformed itself again, slightly increasing it's muscle-mass without losing too much speed. I don't know crap about fighting with brute-force so I'll have to make sure it doesn't get me on the ground.
They had fully circled each-other. The creature just stared at it's opponent... right before turning around and bolting into the woods towards town. Ok... They made it more intelligent than I thought... suddenly this whole situation makes more sense. He bolted into the forest after it.
"Should we step in?" Avnas still wasn't very concerned, that fox was fast , there probably wouldn't be any problems.
"Nah, remember that the fox was sent to stalk-out Celestia and Luna. Basically, that means that they going to have to get involved at some point, otherwise they could have just sent him out alone... not that it changed much in retrospect."
"I will never understand the ins-and-outs of being a creature that just... knows things randomly."
"It isn't random, I think they have a goddess that tells them what to do."
"We're too drunk to think about this thoroughly."
"That's why I don't normally keep strong alcohol in the building, you always manage to get me to drink it."
"An excuse for giving in to peer-pressure if I ever heard one."
The forest was completely silent.
"Damn, they got away from us." Shabriri had a distinct tone of apathy that usually only came around when he was drunk.
"That they did."
"Well, let's go, I don't want to sleep in a forest, not seeing the dirt doesn't help much when it smells twice as bad."
The Kitsune was running for all his worth. The creature was much faster than it looked, it wasn't going to be getting away anytime soon but he still had to push himself every time he wanted to get close enough to swipe at it's exposed legs. The creature was tearing through the spindly trees in it's path. Darn, I forgot we're near the edge of the forest, of course the trees are younger here!
The creature had six limbs and was only running using four. It used the other two to swing at the annoying fox chasing it. Not... what I'm... after. It's mind wasn't very sharp, most of it's decisions came to it suddenly from somewhere else. It swung violently at the small creature chasing it every time it caught a glimpse of it's dark fur. It wasn't sure what it was running towards, it only knew that it wasn't running away. Not from... something so small. It had only been alive for a few minutes and it's mind was beginning to piece-together properly.
The sisters weren't sure where the small fox went but they couldn't help but feel a little worried for it. If what they said is true, then it's out there right now trying to stop something that wants to get to my sister and I. They thought they saw it run towards the forest and flew after it.
It's swinging is becoming less clumsy, it must still be adjusting to the body. The Kitsune didn't know that much about necromancy but it knew that you couldn't just put pieces of spirits together in a new body, under your control much less, and expect it to work perfectly, it needed time. Time it is getting with all of this useless running.
The creature used it's advanced eyesight to look ahead and saw moonlight marking the exit of the forest. It didn't remember having eyesight this good before, or ever. Was it blind before? It couldn't remember. What was it? All it knew for certain was that whatever it was, this small creature chasing it was obviously it's enemy. Got to get rid of it... before I get there... it'll ruin... whatever I have to do.
The sisters were flying over the forest when they saw the small fox leap out of the forest chasing after... something. Whatever it was it was absolutely monstrous, they doubted that even a entire pride of manticores could bring it down.
As they cleared the forest wall, the creature swung it's massive girth around, twisting itself upward before unleashing a colossal roar. It quickly moved itself into a more defensive position, waiting for it's opponent to make the first move. It's almost finished learning, so much for hoping I could fight an idiot. It twitched it's thick tail in front of itself, taunting the fox before it. As if I would fall for that. So then, smart enough to know defensive tactics, still dumb enough to be unable to judge it's enemy. He charged at the monster, leaping over it's tail when it swung at him. He jumped away again before he could be hit by the obvious counter it thought it had taunted him into, jumping forward again to quickly claw at it's neck. It broke the skin, but caused barely a trickle from the thick hide. The creature's remaining limbs had all grown-in, removing the easy weakness.
The creature roared again at the sight of it's own blood, angered at the cockiness of the weak creature before it. He should know not to... attack things bigger than him! It shot itself forward, swinging four of it's claw-like appendages forward while pushing itself on it's stomach with the back two. It grinned in satisfaction when it managed to land a blunt hit with the back of one of it's claws, causing a heavy smack against the much smaller opponent.
Great, first I try strength and he bolts. Now I try speed and the behemoth cracks me in the leg. After healing his wounded leg with a bit of transformation, he was planning on trying a flanking attack when the princesses landed in front of him. No! You are supposed to stay in the town to bring him down when we're both beat-up you idiots! No use crying about it, maybe I can use them for a distraction, so long as neither one dies or something.
"Sister! The fox's wound is gone!" Luna had watched the limb morph slightly before returning to normal. "He still doesn't look great, my guess is that the flesh itself is still damaged, he can just close it."
"That would make sense, given what his kind are said to do. I don't think magic will have much of an effect on a hide like this but at the very least we can buy him some time." The sisters began shooting magic at the monster's eyes, trying to at least block it's vision of the fight.
Well, at least they aren't trying to do some kind of righteous last-stand or something. Thought the fox, catching the entirety of their conversation. He quickly leaped-onto the creature's back, snarling slightly before digging his teeth into the beasts neck, trying to take as much flesh as possible. The beast barely reacted to the assault, roaring more in annoyance than in pain. It started contorting it's body, trying to shake the small fox off, but to no avail, the furry assailant had his teeth all the way into the hide, snarling as if feral before digging his teeth in again.
The sisters couldn't help but be slightly awed by the sight. The fox was attacking the beast without care, if it couldn't reach an artery, it would try to cause as much bleeding as possible. The best reared onto it's hind legs before falling backward, trying to crush the attacker who had removed a good amount of the scaly skin around it's neck and back. The fox jumped off of the beast before it landed, quickly turning itself around to begin attacking one of the beast's many limbs.
The monster was getting tired of all of this, these creatures were weak and he was strong. They must learn the natural order.
The sisters blew the smoke away with their wings to see the fox's condition. It's skin was partially dissolved, being eaten away by the effects of the foul miasma of the beast. The fox, now free of the cloud, began the process of closing the wound. Even with the cloud gone, small particles of the smoke continued to eat-away at his hide, causing it to be constantly healing and dissolving at the same time. The fox let out a low growl before tearing the bubbling flesh off with it's claws. The sisters were aghast until they saw the wound closing. Must have done it to limit the damage.
The beast tried unleashing another burst of it's acrid breath, but found the fox once-more behind it, air-lifted with the sister's magic, steadying itself on the ground before letting out a shrill, loud howl and jumping back on the monster.
Celestia couldn't help but put a hoof to her aching ear. "What was that?"
Luna was going to answer with equal confusion before they heard similar howling coming from all-over Ponyville. Dozens of foxes, all wearing different masks, charged through the plains between the town and their comrade. As they got close, they leaped like a great wave onto the monster, hardly weighing it down but ripping it apart with their claws and teeth.
The beast was caught in a cloud of fur. It couldn't see anything past the various colors of hide in it's eyes. It felt a sharp pain in each of it's limbs as it collapsed. They cut the tendons!
Chapter 15: Seeds of Doubt
The foxes all fled back to town, all except one that stayed sitting on the beast, head pointed at the princesses. They stayed in their respective spots, continuing to watch each other. Without any apparent hesitation, the fox calmly walked off of the corpse, advancing on the princesses.
"Where do you think the exit is?" Avnas had been looking for a good way through the forest for a while. The trail had gone cold and they weren't sure which trees were broken from the fight and which were just old.
"Can't you just get that dragon-thing to come get us?"
"Peter is a wyvern and I honestly have no idea where he went."
"Any other plans?"
"Oh gee master magician, what do you think we could possibly use to ohh... I don't know... move from here to somewhere else really fast. Some kind of... port, definetly a port of some kind."
"I get it, but I still don't feel very good. If we go somewhere bad, you are not allowed to get pissy when it goes wrong." He readied his magic, thinking of the easiest spell to use in his condition. He decided to just focus on the magic-signature of the monster the fox had chased after. If he hasn't killed it yet then we can finish-up before heading back.
Ok, I understand. The Kitsune had received it's next objective. It continued advancing on the princesses, making sure to keep both alicorns in it's vision.
"Sister, what is it doing?" Luna could guess quite well what the fox was intending to do by it's demeanor alone, she just didn't understand why .
"I'm not sure Luna, but that look would suggest he is after us now, he still looks injured, so we can probably get away if we get a good start."
The Kitsune's ears perked-up at the last statement. Celestia remembered Avnas' parting statement before they left. Darn things are smarter than you would ever believe!
Of course, it speaks Equestrian.
Shabriri dusted himself off after his last attempt at opening a portal, the last one got them closer to town, but still dropped them off about fifteen feet in the air. I can never let Avnas bring his own alchohol again. he thought bitterly.
The sisters hadn't accounted for the small animal being able to hear their plans. After Celestia's comment, the fox had adjusted it's position, blocking their straight-shot back to town. They had tried flying, but lacked the needed take-off time, always being interrupted by the fox attacking one or the other. They tried magic but the fox quickly figured-out how to time their casting to the glow of their horns.
Each of it's attacks seemed just as vicious as the last but the sisters many years with various violent denizens of their world taught them better. It's definetly just trying to cripple. thought Luna as she avoided another swing of claws aimed at the base of her wings. All it wants is a single solid hit on a wing or leg.
"What do you want." Celestia maintained her commonly cool demeanor as well as she could while maneuvering away from attacks. To her surprise, she got an answer.
"Just one." The fox stated in a smooth, soft voice punctuated with clicks as it's teeth hit each other.
"One what !"
"Just one break, Avnas. I can't make these portals very efficent while my head is spinning and it's costing me a lot of energy."
"I'll make it up to you, whatever, just get up and keep going, I can't navigate if the guy teleporting me passes out."
"Sister, when it says just one ..."
"I believe it only wants one of us, Luna."
"That is correct." The fox's voice was very odd, it had distinct hints of various voices familiar to the sisters but they had yet to remember the ponies they belonged to. "You." It added while looking at Celestia.
"Why?" The scuffle had ceased, now just tense conversation.
"You have to be the judge of one of your own."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I can only tell you, not the moon-sister."
"Why did you attack both of us then?"
"I didn't, I kept you from fleeing." It was maintaining constant eye-contact with the sisters, switching who it was watching every few seconds.
"What about the others of your kind? They could have easily subdued us without a problem."
"They are going to get the other judges."
"Who are these other judges ?"
"The field-worker, the master-magician, the light-flyer, the designed-elite, the sky-dancer, and the laughing-fool. The six currently alive with the most involvement with the prisoner."
"What prisoner?"
The Kitsune shot another look towards Luna. She understood, and backed away, out of earshot.
The fox maintained a soft voice, just in case. "The one you sold, sun-raiser. The one you sold for nothing in return." It clicked it's teeth together, not used to having to talk regularly. "The one you gave-away to someone you didn't even know, someone who fed you lies that you accepted greedily, someone you trusted only because they to hated the prisoner. Now come, the journey is long but the trip will be short."
She felt a furry body slam into her from behind, apparently not all the foxes had left after all, and slumped forward on to the ground, followed by her sister.
Right before the world turned black, the fox on top of her clicked into her ear, this voice more feminine. "The mad-god awaits his eternity."
Yes, the chapter took a long time. I was only able to reach a computer just long enough to finish this. Might be able to get another chapter by the end of the weekend.
The Duties of the Red Room
Chapter 16: The Duties of the Red Room
Celestia awoke with a start. She looked around quickly, taking in her surroundings. She saw the elements seated in various chairs around the room, forming a circle which included her own seat. The walls of the room were a dark red, dark enough for there to almost seem to be no walls at all, the small hint of color being the only thing betraying the spectacle. The ceiling extended far, far upward, continuing into yet more darkness.
On one of the walls sat a small balcony, inside there were two beings... or maybe one. The creature looked similar to a giant snake but it's upper-half was split, ending in two separate entities. They each banged their gavels on the edge of the balcony, waking the remaining ponies who had yet to wake up. The left head spoke in a voice much louder than needed in the small room. "This case of immortal-to-mortal banishment shall now begin!" The left head continued, it's voice still just as loud. "Denizens of world Equestria, are you ready to proceed?"
"What?" Was all Twilight could muster before the demon continued.
"Bring in the first piece of un-living evidence!"
The space in the middle of the circle opened into a portal, humming slightly before having Andras step out, stoic as always.
The ponies stared, having lost track of the god after his first appearance. "Name and status! Only the most base honorifics, if you please!"
"Andras, god of quarrels."
"Mr. Quirrel, you were the one who made a deal with citizens of world 'Equestria', correct?"
"Yes." Growled the man.
"And the deal was?"
"Taking the one known as Discord in return for allowing the festival."
"The festival that was going to occur, regardless?"
"Yes."
"Good work!" Chirped the right head.
"And during the trade, the citizens agreed to all demands made on your part?"
"Yes."
"Very well, that is all, you may leave and bring the next piece of evidence."
"Avnas is not here."
The judge seemed furious, at least the left head was. "What do you mean, not here ?!"
"He is lost in a forest at the moment."
"Ughh fine, Baliff! "
The room morphed again and Avnas came flying from the ceiling, landing on his back with a nasty crack. "Ughhhh." He got up and looked at where he was. "Who is getting in trouble?"
"The court will proceed as planned!" Announced the left head as Andras stepped through the portal again, leaving Avnas in the center. "Name and status!"
"Avnas, set-B lord of pain."
"Mr. Amass, were you present while Mr.Quills made his deal with the citizens of Equestria?"
"I was hiding behind one of the elements seats."
"You were behind my seat." Corrected Celestia.
"Another double, dear Cele. I couldn't let Andras out-smart me that easily."
"Order!" The princess and demon hadn't even gone over soft speaking. "Lord of plain, you will remember that time is of the essence!"
"I apologize." Stated Avnas with a bow.
"What did you observe?"
"Andras entered, exchanged his name, offered his deal, prodded the princess, completed his deal, and left." He said quickly, apparently used to the court etiquette.
"I like that last guys style!" Yelled the right head.
"Was there any action performed during the transaction that would be considered rule-breaking in any way?"
"No, Andras keeps a clean record with his deals."
"Thank you, if there is nothing else, you may go."
"No wait! I'm stuck in a forest! I've been in there for almost a full day! Just put be back-"
Avnas disappeared with a small *pop* .
"Jury!" The serpent pointed a gavel at the ponies. "Are you ready to hear the pleas of the guilty?"
"The guilty?" Questioned Twilight. "Why are we in a court if they've already been found guilty?"
"Court?!" The demon didn't approve of that word in his court. "This is the red-room! This cou- room! This room is reserved for instances where mortals are to decide the fate of any immortal that wronged them in their lives! Now, jury, are you ready to hear the pleas of the guilty?"
"I suppose so." Celestia had a hard time believing that any beings would use a court such as this.
"Bring the damned chicken-dragon in already!" Shouted the right head, bored by the court.
A portal opened once more and out stepped Discord, drawing gasps, not because of his presence, but his condition. His beard was spindly, the remaining strands sticking out erratically. His skin was sunken, sticking to his cheeks and stomach. His entire being was darkened, giving him a look similar to a ghost made of ash. Even his demeanor was changed, his head hung low, not looking the judge in the face. When he cast his eyes over the ponies around him, he winced, as if expecting violent retribution from his stare. This was not the god of Discord, this wasn't even a god, this was just a broken being.
"Discord, self-proclaimed god of chaos." The judge drolled. "You are on record for spending both your mortal and immortal lives tormenting the inhabitants of Equestria. You attempted, on multiple occasions, to bring the world into complete chaos. Is this representation accurate?"
Discord kept his voice at a whisper, quiet-enough to be an accurate impersonation of Fluttershy. Although he was moving his lips, and breath could be heard, he couldn't produce words.
"IS. IT. ACCURATE? " The judge seemed to find no pity for the shell of Discord before him.
"Y-yes." He breathed.
"Have you ever endangered the citizens of Equestria?"
"Yes." His voice had found a way to become even quieter since his last comment.
"On any occassion, have you killed a citizen of Equestia?"
"NO!" Discord was frantic, trying to sputter-out words that his raspy throat wouldn't allow. "I-I never..."
"You are on record for answering 'no', Discord, calm yourself."
"But didn't you kill Star Swirl?" Asked Celestia.
"No! I-I didn't do anything to Star Swirl! I don't even know what he's known for!"
"He is telling the truth." Stated the judge.
"But Andras said-"
"Did you specifically ask for proof-of-ingenuity towards all claims made by that man?"
"Well, no but-"
"Eternal-law considers such an action to be under the juristicion of the dealer's target, that would be you. The dealer may provide as much false information as they desire, so long as they are not specifically asked to show proof. Such an action is intended to test the wisdom of the target, as the law states."
Celestia felt betrayed, she had been played, and played easily at that. "Then why is Discord here?"
"He is here to face judgement for his crimes! Now then, the reason you were all brought to the red-room is to decide the fate of the one known as Discord." He pointed a gavel at Discord to prove his point. "The options are either eternal banishment to the plains of hell, or direct-punishment from a demon that we will determine appropriate at a later date. Please decide amongst yourselves."
"Has the jury decided on a verdict?" Yelled the judge from his balcony.
Discord turned towards the ponies around him, eyes wet, filled with a tortured pleading. He hadn't talked since his earlier statements, he appeared to know the punishments for prisoners talking. He mouthed something unintelligible toward Celestia, coming-out as gibberish from his quivering.
The elements looked away from Discord, not meeting his gaze. Celestia looked over him, towards the judge. "Yes, we have."
"Please, your decision."
Celestia looked down, pondering something. "I was told... that punishment was something reserved for murderers... or similar."
Discord had broken-down by this point, wishing that she would just hurry-up so that he wouldn't have to be seen like this ever again.
"Discord... has done many things during his time in Equestria. He has caused more trouble than anyone else in our history..."
The judge continued to stare at the princess, also ignoring Discord who was basically laying on the floor now. His gaze was both serious and neutral, the only time seen as such throughout the entire proceedings.
"But... he is not a murderer, and never will be."
Discord lifted his gaze towards Celestia, still not meeting her eyes but staring at her, silent.
"He is bad... but he would never try to kill someone, it isn't his way. We have decided on banishment."
"Very well, if there is nothing else to add, the guilty may leave and never stray near either purgatory or paradise, the guilty will roam the many lands of hell 'till the end of days and beyond!" The judge slithered from his balcony, out of view.
Shadowy figures descended from the ceiling and landed in front of Discord. The closest one gripped his hand in it's own, and a shadowy vapor spread from it's palm onto his, slowly covering him.
Discord turned to Celestia, his gaze serious. "I'll..." Discord found his voice trail-off before he could finish. Once the smoke enveloped him, the figures were gone, along with the god.
A portal apperared in the middle of the room, a clear image of Ponyville shining through it.
The girls sat quietly for a few minutes, wondering what Discord was trying to say before he was taken, was it a threat? A secret?
Before they could leave, seven small, deep scarlet ribbons fell from the void above, and tied themselves around each of the ponies hooves, forming a bracelet. Small, gold letters were written on the inside of each, meant to only be read by the owners.
I'll be thanking you 'till the end of days and beyond