The Tome of Exalted Ponies

The brash bowman stylist uses a bow, not a spoon, to consume soup - this somehow works, despite how much it annoys the waiters.

…

It was an uneasy Thorns that saw the hours tick towards its first proper sunset in five years, one that didn’t involve the rising of a blood moon. Many a citizen was worried sick, fearing the worst – for they were not fools: They knew that while the Mask had been driven from their midst, then nothing had been done to prevent the dread lord of death from returning and exacting his vengeance.

It was late afternoon by the time Sullen Hoof arrived back in Thorns, him quickly summoning the rest of the circle to a meeting in an abandoned tea house deep in the slums of the parts of Thorns that wasn’t Aspir Haven or Shroudvant – the parts of Thorns that the Mask had basically left to rot, where everyone in the city who wasn’t useful to Mask had been herded and kept like slowly starving livestock for the zombie factories, the part of the city now known as Legacy.

Shimmer, Sunrise and Speaker showed up – along with a couple of messengers who humbly excused that Fire Orchid and Cash had left the city to tangle with the thornguard massing east of the city wall. Nobody questioned this – though everyone were curious for what Sully had to tell. Having followed Sunrise along to the meeting, Roseblack, Wind Dancer and what looked like a couple of other unicorn officers from Roseblack’s vermillion legion had also showed up, curious for information on the plan to keep Thorns from falling again.

Still breathing heavily, and shaking off the last wisps of the illusions that his disguise charms that had made him look like a semi-transparent ghost, Sullen Hoof wasted no time informing everyone of the most relevant information: “We picked a shit time to do this… the Mask was in the middle of hosting three other deathlords in his palace on Juggernaut. The Walker in Darkness, The Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible and The Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils – and they brought a number of their own deathknights with them!”

“Bloody hell… going up against four deathlords at once? That’s beyond nuts…” Cash said, reeling from the revelation.

Roseblack just stood, shaking her head: “There’s four of them?”

“There used to be thirteen – but they’re down to at least twelve at this point, we destroyed one at Deep Rot two years ago” Shimmer quickly pointed out quite proudly.

Wind Dancer picked up on the implications of that boastful statement instantly: “So a deathlord can be destroyed? How?”

“They’re ghosts. Empowered by the Neverborn and drawing essence from the void, sure, but they’re still ghosts – you can fight them like any other ghost: Drain their essence, lock them in with salt, destroy their corpus with spirit-slaying charms – it’ll destroy them eventually” Speaker noted.

Sullen Hoof took a deep breath: “And they’re very afraid of that now that we’ve proven their mortality. They know we’re a threat, and I believe that the other deathlords have fled to their sanctums already – or will, come nightfall when they can move out in the open. None of them are interested in staying to fight the Mask’s losing battle!”

“Interesting. Will they take their retinues with them, or leave them here to fight?” Wind Dancer inquired, asking the very topical and salient question.

Sully couldn’t quite answer that, but that’s when another voice spoke up: “The acolytes of the walker will likely stay – and you’ve already tangled with some of them. The Bishop’s minions are talkers, not warriors, so if they haven’t already left they will soon. The Dowager only has one deathknight, and none of you have met her yet, so I’m not even sure she’s here”

It was the Doctor, with his cross-eyed and blond-mane’d companion in tow. Wearing his spiffy red fez and bright blue bowtie, he looked thoroughly messed up – covered in bruises and cuts, and even his bright smile had several missing teeth.

Speaker quickly stepped up to render aid, but the Doctor gestured for him to stand down. Instead, the doctor’s blond companion used some kind of strange sidereal charm that had her pointing at a corner in the abandoned tea house. Pulling up a few floorboards revealed a couple of zombies stuck underneath that looked as if they had simply been left there and forgotten. It was a testament to the ambient stink of Legacy that nobody had noticed the zombies earlier.

Using a very strange sidereal charm, the doctor somehow ‘took off’ his wounds and injures and passed them on to the zombies – both of which quickly perished from the damage heaped upon them. The unicorns and other mere mortal ponies present looked on as if their eyes were about to roll out of their heads. Roseblack in particular just looked absolutely dumbstruck: “How in the seven shaven dragon testicles…”

The doctor gave the unicorn mare a smile – but it was the kind of smile a teacher would give a student who was too inept to understand the lesson being given, one veiling a layer of pain and sadness – and Speaker noted a cold air around the Doctor’s hoof as he touched Roseblack: “Never mind that, we have much more important things to focus on here – don’t we?”

Roseblack blinked for a few moments, then adopted a very serious expression: “Right. If we don’t have to fight all of these deathlords, we can focus our attention on the Mask. Do you have any other information we can use?”

“Ditzy, if you would?” The Doctor said, stepping back.

What followed was a brief and rough outline of the Mask’s disposition of forces from the blond sidereal mare. It fit quite well with what they had learned from interrogating the ghostly messenger earlier, but with added details on where the mask was spreading out his remaining deathknights, which was the most interesting bits of information.

During this briefing, the Doctor pulled Speaker aside: “I would have words with you – there are things you have to know”

Raising an eyebrow at the idea of needing information separate from the others, Speaker followed along, but wasn’t really sure that he liked the idea of it: “What is it?”

“Your trickery with Rakshi, it left you stranded within her dream – I know you’re planning on doing something similar with the Mask, but that is untenable. His dreams are not something ever want to go near – though he might not even give you a choice” The Doctor said, sounding very much as if he knew something… something very bad… and that he was trying to parse it to Speaker in a way that wouldn’t terrify him.

It struck Speaker that the circle hadn’t actually officially planned anything on how to deal with the Mask, but it made sense that the implied strategy was just a rinse and repeat of Rakshi. To be told outright that doing so would be a very bad idea…

The Doctor suddenly booped Speaker’s nose, snapping Speaker out of his thoughts: “Exactly like that – because the Mask is a lot of things, but there’s one thing he’s never short on: Information. You knew from Deep Rot that the Mask unloaded the sorting of his thousands of knowledge reports to that horrid place, to generate useful intelligence reports. He can’t do that anymore, but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn anything new; it just takes him longer to sort through it. He knows of your martial arts, and he aims to exploit it, so you have to learn how to wake up and fall asleep”

“I’m sorry, I have to learn what?”

With a trick of the hoof and a whiff of essence, the Doctor looked Speaker in the eyes: “You’ll want essence sight on for this”

“Wait, wha-“ Speaker said, but he found himself already asleep, aware that he was now in a dreamscape, though his essence sight was still up, and there was… yes… he could see the fading pattern of essence marked onto his dream, the essence pattern of how he had fallen asleep.

The next instant Speaker found himself awoken forcefully, though the really strange part of that experience came from the awakening coming from within the dream somehow – yet Speaker maintained his essence sight, seeing the essence of awakening as his visioned went from dreaming to awakening.

Fascinating.

“Perfect, now you should be able to do it yourself” the Doctor said, smiling cheerfully.

It was a strange revelation. He had put plenty of ponies to sleep already using his dream-based martial arts, the art of waking up himself? This was new… though the strangest part of it was that to form the correct essence pattern required a mudra, like a martial kata: “Oh this is neat…”

“Exactly – the dreamwalker kata – now remember to annoy the Mask about who he was when he was alive – that will distract him quite well” the Doctor said, before vanishing like a dream that hadn’t really been there, leaving Speaker standing there blinking for a moment.

That was when the others called him out: “Hey, what would you like for the feast?”

Turning, Speaker found himself actually still standing with everyone else, as if he had never left – the others looking as if the Doctor had never been there: “I… what feast?”

“Lord Bright, come on… Sully is going to cook a big feast to raise the spirits of everyone before the battle. Do you have any requests? With what’s stocked in the autocrat’s palace larders, there’s little he can’t make” Shimmer said, giving Speaker a somewhat disapproving look.

Shrugging, Speaker said that he trusted Sully’s judgement to surprise him, which seemed to cheese off Wind Dancer to no end: “Now hold on a Canterlot-minute! First you make my granddaughter ignore this stranger who comes out nowhere, and now you want to stop preparing for a siege to host a banquet? What is this madness!?”

“Wind Dancer, do remember what Cash told you about Sully’s cooking-based martial arts. This isn’t a banquet – it’s a recruitment drive. Every soul who eats there will be able to march out to face the mask without fear and with the will and endurance to fight all night” Sunrise pointed out, adding that a meal from Sully could convey infinitely more than any word she could ever say.

The old unicorn stallion looked quite incredulous: “Surely, you must be joking”

“I’m not – and don’t call me Shirley” Sunrise stated firmly, with the greatest of conviction and a sly smirk.

Roseblack motioned for Wind Dancer to ease off: “We have better things to do than quibble about food” after which she turned to Speaker and Sunrise: “What can we do to help?”

Sunrise exchanged some quick looks with Speaker, Sully and Shimmer: “How you can help depends entirely on what part you wish to take here after we win. I would like to introduce the two of you at the feast as guests of honor, to assuage the city’s remaining immaculate hardliners. We would offer you Thorns. Whether you make it a satrapy for the realm, or leave it a free city to join the confederation of rivers, that's your choice. We never came here for conquest, but we need to show the ponies of the city that we won’t be in charge after the Mask has been turned away”

It wasn’t the first time the two got that offer. The two realm unicorns might have found it silly first time around, but after having witnessed the miracle that had happened earlier… that offer suddenly carried a LOT more weight.

Wind Dancer whispered something to Roseblack, a flurry of magical wind around the two making it impossible to eavesdrop on them – a classic little unicorn trick. They seemed to speak for a while, nodding back and forth before the wall of rushing air around the two ceased.

Roseblack took a deep breath and a step forward: “We accept. Wind Dancer will assume the role as Satrap, and rule pending the reestablishment of a proper local government and the ascension of a new autocrat – provided that we can fend off the mask of course”

An air of calm settled around the gathering in the musty tea house. Everyone returned to what they had been working on, with the two unicorns joining Sully to conquer the autocrat’s palace – or at least its kitchens. Before leaving, Shimmer poked Speaker: “So those were the two sidereals who spoke to you in Lookshy? I’m certain I saw that ‘Ditzy’ mare back at the Lookshy games… before Deep Rot, I don’t remember what she was doing though”

With the meeting adjourned, Speaker flew back to Aspir Haven, to oversee the projects he had set up earlier. Looking back at the autocrat’s palace, he saw lighting and huge plumes of green smoke or vapor puff out here and there – it seemed as if Roseblack and Wind Dancer had plenty of things to dig into.

Hours passed, and Speaker worked his magic in Aspir haven and beyond the northern walls, preparing traps and tricks for the evening’s battles.

When the bells atop the autocrat’s palace rang, their central location in the city meaning that everyone could hear it, Speaker knew quite well what it meant: Dinner time!

In the past, the bells atop the palace had only tolled to announce grand public addresses – so everyone knew to come to the square in front of the palace. And oh, what a parade of misery it was, as the ragged and hungry marched through the streets – but at the same time, to Speaker’s delight as he followed a throng of metal workers from Aspir Haven, he saw hope and color in their eyes.

Silverclaws would later note that the crowd that had gathered in the palace square was but a fragment of how many ponies had once lived in the city – a testament to how few souls that were really left, though she also noted that many still hid in their homes, fearful of the Mask.

Tables and seating arrangements had been brought forth from the banquet halls and offices of the palace, which up close was quite impressive: At every level of the palace massive wooden columns supported large balconies, with each level being slightly smaller than the one under it, which was how the palace got its pyramid-like appearance from a distance.

There were a lot of empty seats, eerie reminders of how few ponies were left in the city – or how many were still too frightened to partake in such an anti-Mask event – though perhaps more would join, as word spread.

On a raised platform, almost like a stage, the circle, the unicorns, and what other few WIPs they had been able to find were seated. To Speaker’s somewhat mixed feelings, then there were also three ponies bound, gagged and chained up at the front of the stage, but he was quickly informed that they had been the three primary advisors to the new quite late undead puppet king that the Mask had installed after raising the slain autocrat from the dead.

“We’re not doing public executions as part of this!” Speaker protested, the indignation on his face quite clear.

Shimmer quickly explained the situation to Speaker: “We’re not – Sunrise will do a public condemnation, and then they’ll get to rot”

“Acceptable… but advisors? So, they colluded with the Mask?” Speaker inquired, trying to understand the scope of the crimes of these ponies.

A somewhat gaunt, but quite beautiful unicorn mare, clad in rich purple silks and nice jewellery – all of which contrasted rather harshly with the obvious bruises and marks around her throat and horn from what had clearly been a slave collar and a horn suppressor, and the dozens upon dozens of half-faded bruises and scars all over her body and face, along with the severe bags of exhaustion under her eyes – came up to Speaker: “Oh they did so much more. These traitors, Whispered Wisdom there chief among them, sold us out to the Mask… sabotaged our defences – he is the foulest of scum”

“I don’t believe we’ve met?” Speaker said, wondering if the unicorn mare was someone rescued from Shackle Maw earlier. She certainly looked the part – he didn’t know yet that she had been rescued from the palace.

Silverclaws bounded up next to Speaker and the unicorn mare in her peacock feather dress: “Oh this is so cool – No you haven’t Speaker! May I introduce you to Lily of Thorns, the erstwhile Queen of Thorns!”

The barely contained glee in Silverclaws’ voice was easy enough to spot, and it made sense: If she was from a lesser noble house, finally meeting the queen of Thorns was probably a big deal to her. As far as Speaker was concerned, the appearance of the queen wasn’t all that interesting, but it solved a different problem for him: “Right, so will she work out as new autocrat?”

Lily looked a bit surprised: “I… me, autocrat? My husband isn’t even buried yet!?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Speaker had to ask, not seeing the connection.

With hurried but polite words, Silverclaws explained that Lily’s husband was the late autocrat – and that the Mask had animated his corpse, puppeteering him on the throne as his proxy.

“Your people need leadership – and not from the lords of Sunhill. It doesn’t have to be you, but you’ve already got the support of at least one citizen here. I don’t think it would be a hard sell to have the rest follow you” Speaker said, shrugging as he turned to inspect the prisoners.

Within earshot, over by the dinner table, Shimmer whispered to Sunrise: “See, Lord Bright’s getting better at talking to nobles!”

Sunrise shot Speaker and the queen a scrutinizing gaze: “Perhaps – but he’s talking to her like a recovering patient who needs convincing to resume her old life, not talking like a statespony engaging in politics”

“True – but give it time. It might not be something he’s keen on, but he can’t avoid it and he knows that” Shimmer mused.

The two other prisoners were the mask’s chief military and religious advisors – one, a thoroughly beaten up mare who wouldn’t sit still for Speaker’s medical diagnosis charm, not that she needed it, and the other a young stallion who sat slumped over sulking. Speaker could barely pity them: Lily described how both of them had sold their souls to the undead for limitless power, the mare as a cruel military advisor who had overseen the brutal policing of thorns – including torturous public executions where the victims were eaten alive by zombies and their subsequent ghosts enslaved for eternity, and the stallion a lunatic believer in the Mask’s lies that the living and dead both could and should live together…

Speaker saw no little reason why they hadn’t already been executed – but Silverclaws was quick to explain that: “We don’t need any more ghosts right now, and considering how deep in bed they all were with the Mask, then they’re probably bound to rise after execution. Sunrise and Sully have a much more fun idea”

“Launch them from a catapult out of the city?” Speaker half-joked, already doing the math in his head on how hard a catapult would have to be wound up before it could launch a pony.

Silverclaws chuckled: “I suggested that, but no what they have in mind is much better, trust me”

Not that long after servants from the palace began to file out into the square, carrying a near endless tide of trays with them, as well as rolling out barrels of wine.

For the circle it was but another of Sully’s fine creations, him having appeared sitting at the table just as the food was served.

The reactions to the food from everyone else were as one might expect: A lot of crying, with tears of joy. The realm unicorns were mostly perplexed, confused at how a meal so fine to such a large number of ponies could have been made in such a short amount of time… well, Roseblack wondered that, with Wind Dancer mainly just stuffing his face and Denoted Flame crying out “Delicious!” after each bite.

“Oh, my dear Roseblack, I’ve trained Sullen Hoof well – he could have cooked this even faster. He is a peerless paragon of cooking, a true heavenly master of the culinary arts” Speaker regaled, feeling quite proud knowing that many of the crafting charms that Sully knew had been taught to him by himself.

The unicorn mare’s reaction to the food was quite physical, each morsel sending a ripple through her that saw small black flowers blossom in her mane with each bite: “I see… I also get what your friend meant by this feast being a recruitment drive now. This food is so good, it could give hope to even the most crushed soul! Just look at the queen!”

Indeed, the former queen of Thorns appeared quite revitalized – both in body and soul – from the magically made feast. The bags under her eyes were gone, and her smile returned in force between each bite.

“It also works the other way around – look at the prisoners in front of the stage” Speaker noted, gesturing towards the three ponies in chains up in front.

The three prisoners, especially the short and fat one that Lily had said had kept her as a personal slave and concubine for five long years, did not seem happy to see the luxuries of the palace kitchen being distributed to the ponies of Thorns whom they had actively taken part in oppressing under the Mask’s cruel rule.

Lily was not slow to rub this in, flinging morsels in the direction of her former slave master, him struggling impotently against his chains and salivating through his gag: “How does it feel now that the shoe is on the other hoof you fat pig? How do you think I will have Thorns remember you once I become the autocrat? You will not be revered as a royal advisor, your memory will be scorned as a degenerate traitor. Your very name will become a new word of curse!”

Sitting next to Roseblack, Speaker had to wonder if whatever charm the Doctor had used on her was still in effect, because while she did compliment the food to no end, then it was very ‘mission focused’ compliments: “This food is amazing. If I could host a feast with this before the realm deliberative, I could end the civil war with a single meal! You must ask Sullen Hoof I he would be willing to come with me for that”

“You’ll have to ask him that yourself once this over – but I wouldn’t put it past him to take you up on the offer” Speaker noted in between enjoying his food and wine.

Roseblack found that reply rather odd as she still seemed to think that Sully took orders from the rest of the circle, so while Sunrise got up and walked to the front of the stage, calling for everyone’s attention, Speaker quickly explained: “The pony sitting here with us… I’m pretty sure that’s not him. Sully spent a long time in the underworld, assassinating several deathknights. The abyssal host knows him as a golden bogeyman – and the instant they catch on that there’s a feast like this going on, they’ll know that he’s somewhere here… so he’s probably lying in wait somewhere, trying to catch any vengeful abyssal who’ll try to attack us during the feast – with this one a decoy”

“Interesting strategy – I like how he operates. But please, pass on my offer to him when you see the real one again” Roseblack replied, appearing oddly unphased by the idea that some unseen foe might attack them during the feast.

Sunrise cleared her voice, calling out to the crowd at the front of the stage – and Speaker felt his mind drawn to her as she used a particularly potent charm to make in earshot pay attention to her, other charms ensuring that everyone in the grand square could hear her: “Ponies of Thorns! This is a day of celebration!”

Loud cheers from the tens of thousands of ponies spread out on the vast square, around the myriad of tables – thousands having flocked to the event once the food came out. Almost every single table from the palace had been brought out, from office desks to dinner tables, to make enough room for everyone to sit at – especially now as other curious souls were being lured out of hiding, word evidently spreading of the event being quite legit.

“I am Sunrise Glow, and it was I who cast the spell that undid the shadowland this city has been mired in. I hail from the city of Sunhill of which I am a lord, and me and my peers came here to see an end to the Mask of Winter’s cruel reign, for it is an abomination! The food before you was cooked by my dear friend and fellow Lord of Sunhill Sullen Hoof, please give him a grand salute” Sunrise said, gesturing towards Sully at her table on the stage.

The crowd cheered once more, many a mug of ale and wine raised to Sully’s honor.

“Next to Sullen Hoof sits Bright Machine Speaker, chief artificer and master doctor of Sunhill. After this feast he will offer his healing powers to anyone that needs healing, of which I am sure there will be many. His magical healing abilities are only eclipsed by the very gods. It was he, a fellow lord of Sunhill, who brought low the twin dread deathknights known as Fives and Rip” Sunrise announced loudly and proudly, her words triumphant.

Hearing of the demise of their tormentors saw the crowd erupt into even more energetic cheers.

“Not present is Cash Charmer, our master of coin and Fire Orchid, our general and lord militant. These fellow lords of Sunhill are far afield, securing forces to aid us in the defence of Thorns. Additionally, we are graced by the recently freed Queen of Thorns – widow to the late Autocrat, Lily of Thorns” Sunrise continued, the crowd sending many knowing nods towards their queen.

“Lily of Thorns has agreed to assume the role of husband, to become the new autocrat of Thorns. Likewise, we have the illustrious company of Tepet Roseblack, General of the Vermillion legion, and her grandfather the famous Tepet Wind Dancer, who has agreed to assume the position of Satrap of Thorns” Sunrise announced, gesturing towards the two realm unicorns.

The crowd took a moment to react to this news. They didn’t quite seem sure how to react to the presence of the realm unicorns, so the cheers were far more scattered – but there wasn’t really any negative response – and Sunrise was careful to observe this reaction.

Finally, Sunrise turned her attention to the three prisoners up on the stage: “Finally, we have three ponies here of ill repute. You should all know them well as traitors of Thorns. First up is Stern Ash, the would-be general too weak to even join the Thornguard”

Quite a lot of boos and hissing came from the crowd, and the ponies who sat nearest the stage threw quite a few bit of food and mugs were tossed up at the three prisoners – but they quickly stopped as Sunrise gestured for calm: “Save your munitions. We also have Senoske Sandal, the fool who bought the lies of the Mask so wholeheartedly that it is a wonder he hasn’t killed himself to become a ghost”

More bits of half-eaten food and mugs were tossed.

“And finally, we have the most odious Whispered Wisdom, the traitor of Thorns who sold out your defences and opened the gates for the Mask” Sunrise declared, with the vilest of caustic of venom in her voice.

The crowd roared again and threw more stuff – now including knives and forks, someone even tried to chuck a table.

“Their punishment will not be death – for they desire to join their dark master as ghosts without a doubt. Instead, I will summon upon them a far harsher punishment” Sunrise declared, turning to the three chained ponies.

With a roaring voice that no words could deny or interrupt, Sunrise shouted: “By all the gods of heaven, by the all the scales of the dragons, you three traitors of Thorns: I cast you down! Let the very sky darken before you, let all berries sour, let all food spoil before your lips. Let no animal befriend you, and let no kind smile land upon you. You are unwanted in this world of the living, but we will not grant you the boon of death. You will be marked on both body and soul as the foul and unforgivable creatures you are, forever exiled from Thorns and its lands”

The very sky briefly darkened with all the stars winking out, the ground shaking with tremors that zeroed in on the three. Each of them seemed to freeze as part of their very soul broke from the dread spiritual marking now forced upon them. Where Sunrise had been hiding the actual branding iron she next whipped out was anyone’s guess, but it was cherry-red and spelled out traitor.

The sizzle as the brow of each of the three were marked made everyone’s hooves curl – except for Lily of Thorns. When Whispered Wisdom got his mark, she seemed positively elated.

Guards from Roseblack’s legion hauled the three prisoners away for later booting out of a city gate.

“Now, ponies of Thorns. Eat, be merry and rejoice in your freedom. Bright Machine Speaker will be setting up at the far end of the square soon. Come nightfall the Mask will no doubt try to return, but we will fight for you, to which end I ask that those of you with the strength come fight with me. I am not asking for you to raise blades to our foe, but to raise your voice. I command arcane first age sorcery and martial arts that relies on song, and so together we shall sing the Mask a requiem that will break his undead armies!” Sunrise proclaimed, fortifying her words with essence that gave all listeners feelings of hope, courage and a desire for a brighter future.

Roseblack looked on in utter disbelief as almost two thirds of the ponies in the enormous square – more than a legion’s worth of ponies – nearly thousands of them – stood up in unison to declare their intent to help. The unicorn despaired: “How in the twinkly dragon shits did she just talk most of the city to march out unarmed against the Mask!?”

Speaker chuckled: “Didn’t you hear her? She’ll have them sing. With her, that means they’re plenty armed”

“I have seen a lot of difference magical martial arts… but one based on song? You have got to be kidding me” Roseblack wondered, her incredulity written as clearly on her face as the orgiastic joy on her grandfather’s face next to her as he just kept eating.

Speaker had wanted to answer her, but a monstrous roar interrupted everything, a hail of razor bone-shards raining down on the big table up on the stage – but Sullen Hoof was up among the dishes in a flash, the very food itself whirling around him, intercepting up all the bone shuriken.

“No… not the food!” Wind Dancer cried out, like a foal after one took its candy away.

Speaker quickly got up, noticing that the fake Sully sitting next to Sunrise’s seat was still eating: “Sully, friend of yours?”

“Likely – I made a lot of enemies in the underworld, and if the combined abyssal host of four deathlords is visiting, then it’s bound to include one of them. Let’s see who we have here” Sullen Hoof declared, gesturing in the direction of where the shuriken had come from.

Along Sully’s hoof swirled carrots, his essence separating and shaping them into carrot spikes that launched themselves at great speed in the gestured direction. The barrage of sharpened vegetables blasted a stately residential building at the edge of the plaza, Sully calling out: “Speaker, would you pick up our guest”

Speaker leapt high into the air, his ruby pinions erupting with golden fire that carried him across the plaza. In the rubble, he found several well-armed and armored ponies struggling to dig themselves out, but his medical charms told him that they were already dead… meaning that he was looking at corpses possessed by powerful ghosts, nemissaries.

Taking a step back, Speaker drew Homage from elsewhere and powered up its essence edge: “Tell me where your master is!”

The possessed corpses free enough to gesture with a hoof made rude gestures at Speaker, all of them screaming abuse at him – but he quickly silenced all of them. After cutting down the last of them with his spirit-cutting charm, making Homage slice both corpse flesh and ghost essence, Speaker heard a slow clap behind him. A creepy and gravelly voice spoke: “Ah, the healer of Sunhill – You will make a fine addition to my collection”

Activating a host of charms, including his shield charms and the one that rendered him fearless in case the abyssal tried to use a spooking charm, Speaker turned to face his foe with a renewed sense of calm: “I have slain three abyssals slain this week. Are you volunteering to be the fourth one I personally do in this week, or will you surrender and accept our help to cleanse your black exaltation and redeem your soul?”

The deahtknight that stood before Speaker look freshly bathed – in blood, appearing completely soaked, with a mane hanging slick and wetly down around his neck, a grin featuring sharpened white teeth that stood a sharp contrast to the red blood dripping from the abyssal. With hooves wrapped in heavy soulsteel fighting shoes, and a morbid collection of shrunken heads adorning his saddlebags, he looked quite ghoulish: “You must take me for a fool… I like what I am”

“In that case I can only take pity on you, and hope that your next incarnation is more sensible” Speaker said, launching himself at the abyssal in a lightning move, informed by the celestial snake style martial arts he knew a little of.