Sanguine Souls

The end will only come when you may truly accept it as it may

'I will bring death to those who oppose Equestria. I am not justice; I am vengeance, and I am punishment. ' The thoughts echoed throughout the black abyss in which Soul lay floating. His unconsciousness left him stuck in his own mind, nothing but his thoughts and memories to keep him company.

Suddenly something struck Soul, and he opened his eyes to a familiar scene, yet at a different perspective. Soul could see himself and his own triple bladed scythe lying on the ground beside him. He recalled what was happening. Him and Sentinel recently had a heated argument by the River Styx. The argument had gotten out of hand and sparked what was seemingly an inevitable duel between the two brothers. Soul was seeing it through the eyes of his brother, Soulless Sentinel, wielding his signature fan blade scythe.

“That isn’t all you have, is it?” spoke Soul’s brother, slowly approaching him. (Brothers Duke it Out! Battle Music!)

In retaliation, Soul quickly returned to his feet in a spinning motion, grabbing his scythe on the way and slashing its three blades towards his opponent. Sentinel quickly stopped all three blades with the handle of his scythe, barely flinching at the force Soul had put behind it.

Soul pushed his scythe harder against his brother’s in an attempt to break his sturdy guard. When it came to no avail, Soul spun in the opposite direction and swiped at Sentinel from his left, only to be stopped in the same manner by Sentinel’s blade.

Soul took this opportunity to attack again, scraping off his blade against his brother’s and bringing his scythe down onto Sentinel’s head. Sentinel had just barely stopped the three pronged blades from hitting his skull with the staff of his scythe. It was in this position that Soul finally had the advantage. He pushed against his brother’s guard, feigning an attempt to pass through it. When Sentinel tried to push Soul away from him, Soul quickly broke off and swiped at Sentinel’s feet with the staff end of his scythe, tripping him onto his side and causing him to drop his weapon a few feet beside him.

As Sentinel fell, Soul spun around, re-adjusting his standing and pointing the end of his scythe at his brother’s face. Soul was breathing a little heavier by the end of the entanglement.

“That isn’t all you have, is it?” Soul mocked, holding the scythe’s three blades just above Sentinel’s head “Not very good defense for a ‘Sentinel’, brother”

Soul slowly lifted his scythe away from his brother’s face “I guess we know who won this one” he said, beginning his walk away.

“Not so fast! We're not done yet!” Sentinel yelled, getting up with his scythe and slashing towards Soul. Soul quickly turned to deflect the attack with his own scythe, meeting Sentinel’s gut with his hoof and pushing him back with the blow. Sentinel shook the attack off quickly, charging again at Soul, and slashing horizontally at him. Soul quickly dashed backwards, dodging the attack and dashing forward to retaliate against the attack.

Sentinel quickly pulled his scythe to meet Soul’s, resulting in another match of their weapons. This time, Sentinel decided to pull a fast one on Soul. He pushed as close as he could to Soul, then quickly spun around him when Soul returned the push, knocking him in the back with the staff end of his scythe and following up the attack by swinging the fan blade of his scythe towards Soul.

Soul had just barely rolled out of the way from the swing, now at Sentinel’s left side. Behind Soul was the River Styx, and suddenly an idea hit him. As Sentinel moved into attack again, Soul intentionally matched weapons with him once more.

“Enough” Soul said, pushing harder against Sentinel’s guard “Sorry brother, but I’m going to end this!”

At that moment, Soul shifted his blades up, allowing the match of weapons to be higher. When Sentinel kept his guard against Soul’s weapon, Soul lifted his blades off of his brother, tossing his weapon aside and slipping under Sentinel’s hind hooves from the staff of his brother’s weapon, placing Sentinel on the edge of the river.

“See ya, Sentinel!” Soul mocked, bucking his brother in the back hard enough for him to lose his ground, and slip down into the River Styx. Sentinel’s cries were barely heard as the souls in the river pulled him under the surface of the river. This time, however, Soul could see what happened to his brother in detail. The pain the river caused him, the souls tearing at his body and mind. Soul could see it all happening before his brother’s perception, which he now shared.

The last sight Soul saw through Sentinel’s eyes was his hoof reaching out towards Soul himself, who was standing at the edge of the river, watching his brother suffer. He seemed pleased with himself.

'No! That...that wasn't what happened!...' Rung a sharp worry through Soul's mind

Suddenly Soul’s vision cut to black, and a sore pain plagued his entire body. He could feel the cold of pavement under his left side, and opened his eyes to see a brick wall. When he managed to stand up, Soul could see that he was sitting in some sort of T-shaped back alley. It was only as his soreness struck again did he then remember what had transpired when he was last conscious.

The tall figures, the blood and chants, the unbearable strikes of pain he had fought against. The other ponies that had gone through the same thing he did, albeit with much less resistance.

I’ve never had a memory of that fight like that. What did they do to me? Soul questioned himself, staring at one of his hooves. The usual dark aura he could form was now a dark crimson.

Soul then inspected himself to notice that none of the blood he had fell in was on him, and that his weapon was still with him. Whatever the tall figures had done to Soul and the others, they apparently tried to make sure it seemed like nothing had happened at all by cleaning him and dumping him somewhere random in the city.

Suddenly, Soul heard his heart throb, and his vision flashed red for a second. The strike had almost made Sou lose balance on his hooves, making him weak and leaving him with a drowsy feeling.

Soul took a second to collect what was happening. The tall figures had used some sort of ritual that knocked him unconscious, and he now felt weak and drowsy.

'Zecora' Soul thought to himself, sure the tribal zebra would know, and could help with, what was wrong with him 'This is her area of expertise, no doubt.'

To his dismay, however, Soul exited the alleyway to notice that he was still deep in Manehattan. A trip from Manehattan to the Everfree forest wasn’t the kind of trip he was hoping to make in his current condition. Regretfully, Soul realized that he was in no shape to be traveling by himself along the land. He would have to take a train ride to Ponyville in hopes of getting to the Everfree anytime soon.

Soul didn’t exactly enjoy train rides, but he could at least have privacy while riding the train. He would have to visit somepony to ask a favor, though. After all, Soul didn’t have any money for the train ticket. He walked towards a bell tower, hoping he would remember the route to the house of a friend.

Most ponies eyed Soul curiously as he walked. A good portion of Equestria knew of or had heard of Soulless Reaper, but his appearance and triple bladed scythe didn’t exactly help him blend in. It at least kept ponies from bothering him as he traveled.

Soon Soul passed by a bakery that jogged his memory, and turned to Wing Glade Avenue, stopping at house number 96. Soul took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door was answered by a tan colored pegasus with a grey mane that shaded to black at the edges.

“Hi Daring” Soul quickly managed before the pegasus could even realize who was at the door “I need a favor...”

“Oh! Hey, Soul! It's been a while” Daring answered, half confused “What is it?”

“Something's come up, and...” Soul replied, hesitant to tell Daring the full story. He didn’t want to worry her. “In short, I need to take a train to Ponyville”

“To Ponyville?” Daring asked, tilting her head “You’re headed to see Zecora, right?”

“Yeah” Soul said, a tint of confusion now in his own voice “How did you guess?”

“She’s the only one near Ponyville you know, isn’t she?” Daring remarked “I figured you’re going to see her in the Everfree, which is near Ponyville”

Soul stayed silent, embarrassed that Daring knew he was withholding information. She seemed to notice as she continued “How about I walk you to the station? I’ll have to pay anyways” she proposed. Soul could tell she wanted to know the full story.

“That’s fine, I suppose” Soul said nervously. Daring had really backed him into a corner.

Soon after she receded inside, Daring came back out with a small saddlebag. She looked the door behind her and turned to face Soul

“Alright, let’s go” She said happily “The station’s this way”

Soul followed reluctantly, guessing that Daring would inevitably ask about the situation. Not only did he not want to worry her, but he figured she might not even believe him.

'Here it comes...' Soul thought, expecting Daring to ask.

As if on cue, Daring opened the conversation “So...” she asked in a plodding tone “What are you going to see Zecora for, anyways?”

Soul took a second to answer “I’m just paying her a friendly visit. I haven’t seen her in a long time” Soul lied hopefully “Isn’t that what friends usually do?”

“Yeah” Daring said, sounding unimpressed “But why would you be in Manehattan if you wanted to visit Zecora? Can’t you just teleport right to the Everfree Forest from where you come from?”

“Well, yeah, but...” Soul replied, searching for an excuse.

‘But what?” Daring quickly added before Soul could think something up.

In embarrassment, Soul silently concluded to his defeat. Daring caught him in his deceit and was now practically forcing him to relay the real story to her. He took a deep breath as they walked.

“Alright, fine’ Soul divulged in a slightly annoyed tone “I’ll tell you what’s really happening, but you can’t laugh”

“I promise I won’t” Daring declared “Unless it’s meant to be a joke”

“Well, this is no joke” Soul uttered seriously “I think something weird has happened to me”

“Weirder than usual?” Daring joked

“Definitely.” Soul stated, trying to remember what happened as best as he could “There were other ponies involved too”

Daring listened with concern as Soul continued “Hades gave me an apparently urgent task to find out what had happened to a couple ponies that were killed. I was transported to an abandoned carriage repair shop, and when I explored the back, something or someone had caught me off guard and knocked me unconscious. From what I could tell, it didn’t look like a pony”

“Really? What do you think it was?” Daring asked. The sincerity in her concern relieved Soul to know she believed him.

“I’m not sure. I saw them slightly better when I woke up in a room with 3 other ponies. They were very tall, garbed in what looked like some sort of robes, and they were watching us from a big window in their room” Soul explained “They said that they were going to grace us with something special. I don’t think it was very ‘special’ at all”

“What happened? Did they cast something on you, or poison you?” Daring inquired worryingly.

“I don’t know. That’s what I’m going to see Zecora about” Soul relayed, ending his story.

“Wow. That definitely is weirder than usual. Tall figures in robes..." Daring pondered as if she had heard the description before “Do you think they were humans?”

Daring’s theory hit Soul like a rock. He had never considered the possibility, but upon thinking it over, it seemed like the most obvious explanation. He wondered how it had slipped by him so easily, and how Daring had guessed it so quickly.

“Now that I think of it, yes, that's very likely” Soul admitted “Hades probably had the same theory. That must have been why it was so urgent...”

“We should get you to Zecora, and fast. Who knows what they did to you and those other ponies...” Daring said, disclosing her concern “Here, the station is just around this corner”

As they rounded the corner, Daring reached inside her saddle bag for what looked like a brown pouch. As they reached the station, Daring dropped the pouch on the ticket desk.

“Two tickets for Ponyville please” Daring requested to the ticket master.

Two tickets? Now look what I’ve done...Soul thought, cursing his weakness of confession. What he was dealing with could be dangerous, and the last thing he wanted was for Daring to get wrapped up in it.

The ticket master dropped the train tickets through the receiving hole “Your room is number 11. The train to Ponyville should be here in the next few minutes. Enjoy your ride!” he expressed as Daring thanked him and took the tickets, placing them in her bag.

It took Soul about a minute of silence to think of how to talk Daring out of it without showing his sudden concern “Daring, I don’t think you should be following me on this one” Soul admitted, only realizing how convoluted he sounded after he spoke.

“What do you mean? I already bought the tickets” Daring remarked

“I know, but this could be much more than we think. I wouldn’t want to trouble you” Soul replied, now thinking his words up on the spot.

Daring eyed him curiously before she spoke “But, you know I’ve been in danger before. What’s the difference now?” she challenged.

“I’d just like to work alone on this, if you don’t mind” Soul said half heartedly, expecting Daring to shoot him down.

Sure enough, Daring replied “Well, we’re going on the same train anyways. I’d like to see Zecora as well.” she concluded with a victorious smile ‘Come on, the train is here”

Soul accepted her victory, falling silent as the train arrived at the station. Daring flashed the train employees both her and Soul’s tickets as they allowed them entry.There was an odd smell as Soul and Daring entered the train.

“Wow, it smells nice in here!’ Daring exclaimed, her nose in the air ‘They must have just cleaned the train”

“I’ll be in the room” Soul said, turning to walk towards the apartment cars as the train began to leave the station.

“Alright. I’ll be in buffet cars if you need me. I’m hungry” Daring stated, knowing that Soul prefered his privacy on train rides and trotting off in the opposite direction.

After passing the first few cars, Soul came to room 11 and entered. He rested his scythe against the wall near the door and sat down on his bed, looking out the window aimlessly. Suddenly he felt a nagging feeling, as if he was meant to be doing something. Soul shrugged it off as he layed down on the bed, hoping to rest.

Eventually the feeling become stronger, causing Soul to become restless. He tossed and turned for comfort to no avail, and eventually sat upright.

What is wrong with me? Soul thought, trying to determine the source of the feeling Maybe I’m just bothered by what’s happened...

With that thought, Soul soon began pondering the events so far. What exactly had those figures done to him and the other ponies? If it was a gift, why not tell them what it was? If Hades had actually known or expected there to be humans, why did he not tell Soul? Soon Soul gave in to his inability to answer his own questions and dissipated the thoughts, hoping he would find out more upon visiting Zecora.

By this time, the feeling had gotten to Soul, and the restlessness had replaced itself with a stronger feeling of weakness. At this point, Soul barely wanted to move, but still couldn’t find rest on his bed. He figured that his body would eventually give in once he felt settled enough. All he wanted to do now was sleep this train ride off.

Suddenly the door opened to Daring snacking on a small steamed bun as she entered. She was definitely more content on the train than Soul was.

“Hey Soul. You look kinda tired” Daring said through her food. She swallowed down the rest of her snack as she continued, inspecting Soul closely “You should probably sleep most of this ride off. That reminds me, I wonder how long this train ride will take. I’ve never rode to Ponyville before...” she backed up a few steps and sat down on the opposing bed.

The thought of how long the train would take to get to Ponyville hit Soul like a brick. Manehattan and Ponyville were almost on opposite sides of Equestria, and just train rides from Canterlot to Ponyville could take almost half a day. Soul was in for about a day or so of sitting on the train.

Soul sighed in exhaustion. He couldn’t be sure if he even had another day or two. Sure, he was going to visit Zecora to find out what was wrong with him, but what if whatever it was got to him first? What if it actually was a poison of some sort? Or a curse? The way he currently felt didn’t help his worry.

Daring must have noticed Soul’s discontent, as she spoke up “Don’t worry, it won’t be that long” she affirmed, trying to raise Soul’s spirits “I’m sure the time will fly by if you just get some rest”

She’s right. This train ride would slip by easily IF I could rest... Soul thought, annoyed even more now by his inability to rest. At this point, he was sure it wasn’t because he was troubled. Soul had dealt with much more worse situations and still kept his cool. Surely whatever had transpired at that abandoned facility had governed the negative effects Soul was now experiencing.

By now, Daring had grown worried for Soul’s health as well. He usually didn’t act so detached, and Daring was sure he would’ve been asleep by now if he intended to rest. She got up and walked over to him.

“Hey Soul, is something wrong?” She asked, the concern in her voice easily noticeable “You seem a bit troubled”. When Soul didn't answer, she pressed for a response “Come on Soul ,talk to me. I know you’re not sleeping”

“I’m just a bit restless” Soul replied, lacking the will for conversation. He just wanted the world around him to seep away so he could be alone. He felt as if every pony on this train were listening to him, as if every being within 100 miles could hear him. It was then that Soul noticed something very unusual. It wasn’t everyone else who could sense Soul, it was Soul who could sense everyone else.

Soul got up in a huff, surprising Daring with his sudden movements. As he stared at her, he had to rub his eyes before believed the sight before him.

Daring was shining a bright crimson, a small light in her chest the source of the brilliant spectacle. As he looked away, towards the other ends of the train, he could see similar lights moving about. Thin, red silhouettes of other ponies dotted the opposite ends of the train. Soul guessed he could sense about 5 cars past his own.

Daring had seem concerned, but before she asked, Soul’s gaze returned to her. Suddenly, his eye color changed as he blinked, and his eyes had begun to shine a brilliant shade of dark green. Something about them made her unable to look away. The trance had caused her to lose track of her thoughts, mentally drowning in his emerald irises.

Daring felt as if she could stare into Soul’s new set of eyes for days on end. She barely noticed her slow, but steady advance. Daring had been drawing herself closer to Soul inch by inch.

“Daring, why are you looking at me like that?” Soul asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He rubbed and blinked his eyes as the light in her chest grew close enough to bother him. Suddenly, Daring’s eyes widened and she snapped out of her trance, blinking several times before she realized how close she was to Soul. When she met eyes with him again, she noticed his eyes had returned to their original shade of red.

Daring quickly backed before she spoke “Soul, your eyes just then...” she said as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof in confusion.

“I know” Soul replied “I could...sense you. I could sense everypony...”

The word Soul spoke caught Daring off guard as she asked “Sense? What do you mean ‘Sense’?”

“I’m...not sure. Everypony within a few cars from us had some sort of red light outlining them, through the walls. Including yourself” Soul explained as best as he could, still unsure how it had happened in the first place.

‘Interesting” Daring remarked, pondering the description “You could see them moving and all?”

“Yes” Soul replied, hoping Daring could find a possible explanation.

Daring tapped her chin a few times with her hoof, looking aimlessly into the air “It seems you’ve got some sort of life sensing power..” Daring concluded, pointing at Soul’s eyes “Also, your eyes had turned a bright emerald green just then, and they put me in some sort of trance. Perhaps these new perks are what those humans meant by ‘gifts’?”

‘Maybe” Soul said, assuming Daring’s conclusion was most logical “That does seem most likely, but it apparently comes with a price”

“A price?” Daring replied curiously “What do you mean?”

“I can’t seem to find comfort” Soul said, trying to think of a way to explain the way his body felt “I’m restless, yet I feel weak”

‘I see...” Daring said as she continued pondering “I guess seeing Zecora may be the only way we can find out the details”

Daring’s words made Soul feel uneasy. He trusted Zecora’s expertise, but he couldn’t help feeling bothered that she was the only real hope he had to find out what was wrong with him. The thought that bugged him most was that from now, until the time he gets to Ponyville, anything could happen. Considering how things were going in Equestria, Soul didn’t exactly shrug off the idea of danger striking at a very inopportune time.

I just hope I can peacefully get there Soul thought, dreading any sort of action in his current state If Zecora can help me regain my strength, I’ll be happy to take on any possible dangers

~~~~~~~~~~

The train ride to Ponyville had, as Daring predicted, been much shorter than it seemed. Soul’s restless feeling had eventually faded, and he slept for what felt like centuries. He had only realized how much sleep he had lost over the past few days after he finally caught up with it.

Soul sat on his bed, anticipating that the conductor’s announcement of the train nearing Ponyville was sure to come any minute now. After all ,it was something he had been waiting for the entire ride.

As Soul expected, the train conductor began to speak over his intercom “Attention passengers, we will soon arrive at Ponyville. Those who will be leaving here should prepare for departure now. Our estimated time of arrival is 5 minutes”

Almost on cue with the conductor’s announcement, Daring entered the room “Well, that’s our signal” she said while still standing in the doorway “You ready to finally get off this train?”

“Never been more so” Soul stated, grateful that the ride was almost over. He picked up his scythe and left the room, following Daring to the nearest exit door. They stood and waited for the train to stop at the station.

Soon the train came to a complete stop and its doors swung open. Soul and Daring quickly stepped off the train and headed into town. Soul took a moment to remember the path, and soon began moving south the through the town. Daring promptly followed Soul as they passed the outskirts, towards the Everfree Forest.

They kept along a small path that lead through a good amount of the forest. Eventually, a small hut with various decorations could be seen from afaf. “That’s Zecora’s house’ Soul affirmed, slightly picking up his pace. Walking for so long had drawn out most of his stamina, and he hoped to find ailment at Zecora’s.

Before they reached the hut, the door opened and a Zebra with hoop earrings exited the hut to see who it was visiting her.

“Ah, Soulless Reaper visits me!” she exclaimed, walking to meet him halfway “and has a brought a friend, I see!”

“Hello, Zecora. It’s been a while” Soul said while shaking hooves with her “This is my friend, Daring Do”

Zecora shook hooves with Daring as she spoke “It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you” she said “As I have heard the many adventures of the famous Daring Do”

Zecora turned to Soul as she continued “To what pleasure do I owe your presence here?” She rhymed happily “For your place of home is not very near”

“It’s a long story” Soul stated “But I need your help. I think I may have contracted something very unusual. I wanted to know if you could help me with it.”

“Ah, if it is medicinal help you need” Zecora piped up, turning to motion towards her hut “Then I would be happy to help indeed!”

At the request, Soul and Daring followed Zecora into her hut. The inside was adorned in many places with different tribal masks and tikis of sorts. She had already been boiling water when they got inside. Daring and Soul took seats near the door on a small bench.

“So what is it that ails you my friend?” Zecora asked as she stood behind her cauldron “There are not many sicknesses I cannot mend”

“That’s my problem” Soul replied, unsure how to word his current state “I don’t know what's wrong with me. Let me explain”

Soul proceeded to explain, in detail, the events that had happened so far, including the possible humans and the incident on the train. When he finished, Zecora pondered his descriptions for a minute, and seemed almost worried when she came to a possible conclusion. She trotted between various shelves and cupboards, searching for something.

Zecora kept searching as she spoke “I think I know what disease you may be conflicted with” she said as she pulled a dark blue flower from one of her cupboards “But I had believed such a disease to be a myth!”

From what seemed to be her last cupboard, Zecora grabbed two pieces of red grass and six cloves of what Soul could tell was garlic. She then threw all the ingredients into the pot and began to mix them slowly.

Zecora beckoned Soul to come closer to the pot, and pointed at his weapon “It may be uncanny to ask you to bleed” she said in a more serious tone “But a few droplets of your blood is the last ingredient this pot needs”

Soul barely noticed Daring staring at him cautiously, wondering how he would react.

Soul took no hesitation as he handled his weapon carefully. He slit his hoof a bit and hovered it above the cauldron. After 3 drops had made it in, Zecora motioned for him to stop, staring at the boiling ingredients for a few seconds before returning her attention to Soul.

“I believed it to be just a fable of the media” Zecora spoke softly, sounding concerned “But the disease you contracted is called ‘Porphyric Hemophilia’”

“Wow” Daring piped up, trotting over to the cauldron “You are very good at rhyming your sentences!”

“Thank you” Zecora replied with a smile

“So, what does this disease do?” Daring asked before Soul could “I assume it has something to do with Soul’s blood?”

“Yes it does, very much so” Zecora replied “As of now, Soul’s blood does not properly flow”

Zecora’s claim surprised the two, causing them to look at each other quickly before returning their gaze to Zecora. Daring was the first to speak again “So, there’s something wrong with the way Soul’s blood is flowing?”

“Indeed, his energy would slowly drain” she said, stern look on her face “if somepony else’s blood he does not gain”

Soul froze. Everything that had transpired suddenly came together under Zecora’s sentence. The blood related ritual, the feeling of weakness and restlessness, even the soul court of the pony who had been accused of vampirism. It all made sense. The humans had infected Soul and various other ponies with a plague of vampirism.

I’m...some sort of vampire, and so was that pony in the soul court. I’m lucky I got here before I cracked, and fed on somepony. Soul thought.

Daring began to speak as she was interrupted by an immensely loud roar. The beastly roar had caught the three of them off guard.

Daring’s words suddenly changed topic “What was that?” she asked, concerned ‘It sounded like it came from the town!”

At Daring’s words Soul quickly grabbed his weapon and exited the hut. He turned back to Zecora and Daring “I’m going to check it out” Soul said, taking initiative as fast as he could “Daring, stay here with Zecora. This could be dangerous”

Daring eyed Soul curiously before nodding in agreement “Just make sure you don’t forget about me here” she joked.

Before he took off, Zecora quickly galloped out of the hut, a small vial of red liquid hanging from a string in her teeth. She passed it to Soul and spoke “Quickly drink this potion to feel at ease. It will help your body, but will only delay the disease ”

Soul complied with her request and drank the concoction. To his surprise, it had no taste to it and felt even thinner than water. However, it had definitely worked it’s magic, Soul could almost feel the stamina and energy returning to his weakened body.

His strength relieved, Soul quickly thanked Zecora, and galloped off at a high speed towards the town.