Introduction (Chapter 1 to 3)
Original Link:
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Maledictum Insania
By Nero Darkard (aka. NeroTheDarklord)
Warning: This my little pony fan fiction is very grimdark and contains influences from a few other very grimdark fan fictions. Read at your own risk.
Note: The story was written with the knowledge of season 1 and 2. Later seasons may conflict with some aspects of this story.
Chapter 1: Signature
A thousand years. It has now been more than a thousand years since Nightmare Moon tried to conquer the land. Nopony remembers, nopony knows what happened back then anymore.
Except for one... Princess Celestia.
She is the only one who knows about the terrible curse her younger sister had cast upon Equestria. And these... reapers. They are part of it.
So there she was, sitting on her throne in the middle of the night while Princess Luna was out. She was holding a quill and scroll aloft in front of her by magic and making the quill write a royal order of highest priority. She hates those murderers. She hates that they are necessary. Even though the situation changed and they follow her loyally, she just cannot stop hating them. But she hates herself even more for being the one ordering them.
For her plan, she would have to send one of the most professional, most powerful, and most cold-hearted of them to those she loved. Each time Celestia wrote one of these orders, the memories of the past came back. Memories of blood. Memories of violence. Screams of agony echoing through the land, mixed with the twisted laughter of dark creatures. Dead ponies laying everywhere, painting the land in a sickening shade of red. The disgusting smell of cooked flesh and the rot following soon after.
The letter was complete. Celestia only needed to add her signature, but she hesitated. The tip of the quill stood in place, touching the surface of the paper lightly and leaving a small round spot of ink soaking in the scroll. Then she took a deep breath, shut her eyes tightly and quickly wrote down her name on the paper. Instantly, she sent the letter, avoiding giving herself the time to change her mind. Slowly, the Princess of the Day opened her eyes again, glaring into the emptiness of the hall.
In her head, she spoke to herself,
"Twilight... and your friends... I'm sorry..."
Anger and sadness overcame her. She knew this letter signed the death of multiple ponies. A tear of anger ran down her face and fell on the stainless white tile floor, causing a small noise that echoed all across the silent castle.
Like most of the days in Equestria, it was bright and sunny the next morning. The mares and stallions of Ponyville gathered in front of a large stage in the middle of the town. None of them were informed of what was going on, but they knew that it was a special event. There were rumors that the order was given by Princess Celestia herself. The curious crowd mumbled, waiting in excitement.
"C'mon Twilight, try to get closer! I can't see anything!" Spike shouted at her back, stretching out to see the stage.
"There is nothing to be seen yet, Spike..." she said, annoyed.
Twilight Sparkle and her group of friends were in the middle of the commotion, looking around to find a sign of when the event would begin.
Rarity turned to Twilight. "Do you have any idea what could be so important that Princess Celestia would want the entire village to know?"
"I have no clue," Twilight replied, "the Princess and I are close, but there are things she wouldn't even share with me. Matters of national security I suppose..."
Suddenly, the mayor of Ponyville stepped on the stage. The villagers became quiet.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, I am happy to announce that today, our lovely village will gain a new member! He is said to be among Celestia's elite and was personally asked to stay with us!" she explained.
The crowd mumbled in fascination.
"Celestia's elite? Why would she send one of her own guards to live in here?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.
"Shhh. The speech ain't over yet," Applejack whispered. The mares turned back to the stage where the mayor continued her speech.
"So without further ado, let us welcome our special guest of honor, Mister Obsid—"
The mayor suddenly stopped speaking as she turned toward the new pony, heading up the stairs. The stallion was wearing a long, black cloak, covering his body entirely. A sensation of danger seemed to come from him. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was struck the most by the sight of this new pony. She realized she had seen him before: in her dreams. Slowly, the stallion stepped towards the ponyvillians, taking his time to scan through the lake of colorful fur. A few ponies lightly whimpered in fear. Then, he started to speak.
"Obsidian Shards is my name. Princess Celestia stationed me in this fine village for an undecided amount of time. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
As soon as he was done speaking, he turned around again and left the stage, leaving behind dozens of speechless ponies.
"Mistress Celestia, what were you thinking to announce me like this, and even force me to introduce myself?" he thought to himself.
This would make his job unnecessarily difficult. Was it a punishment for causing this situation in the first place, roughly fifteen years ago?
After walking a while, Obsidian hid himself in a dead end. He had no place to retreat to yet, so a dark corner would have to suffice. He pulled a scroll, ink, and a quill out of his cloak, which then started to magically float in front of him.
"Her current position is still in Ponyville. I require further instructions."
Meanwhile, near the edges of Equestria, a loner pony wandered around an enormous volcano landscape. She was weak. Her eyes were half closed to prevent the storming ash from flying into them, and filled with tears of sorrow. Breathing heavily to catch the shallow bits of oxygen in the heat filled air. She desperately looked around in search.
Suddenly, her right front hoof hit a stone. The mare, delirious from her blurry sight and the lack of breathable air, fell over. She was about to break into tears as loneliness overwhelmed her, but when she turned around, she noticed the stone she fell over was a glowing, bright red crystal.
Her tears stopped flowing instantly and instead of a frown, a grin started growing on her face. Laughter filled the air and echoed back from the rock walls. She had finally found what she needed.
After the introduction with the mysterious stallion this morning, her friends convinced Twilight to do some research on Obsidian Shards in her library.
"I tell ya, that guy ain't normal, Twi," Applejack stated.
"Oh he sure is not! Having such an awful sense of style can only hint at an awful personality! And have you seen his hooves? What a mess!" Rarity added.
Twilight sighed as she looked through her books. "Girls, have you learned nothing from our meeting with Zecora? Or when Luna came to visit us on Nightmare Night? I mean, he might be creepy, and yes, he might not be well manicured, but that doesn't make him a bad pony."
"Now wait just a minute!" Rainbow Dash interrupted Twilight. "That with Zecora was a completely different thing. We were just not used to seeing someone exotic like a zebra. And about Luna, well, we still remembered her as Nightmare Moon. But that Obsidian guy is a pony we have never seen before! And it is not his... I mean honestly, couldn't you feel it as well, Twilight?"
Pinkie Pie bounced next to Rainbow and gave her a light nudge with her elbow. "Oh Dash, don't be silly. Giggle at the ghostly, remember?"
Rainbow turned to the pink earth pony and spoke angrily, "But he won't disappear when we laugh at him! Heck, he might even hurt you for doing so! What do you say, Fluttershy? He must be scaring you to death!"
The yellow Pegasus pony looked down to the ground nervously. "Well, um... actually... he didn't..."
"Did not?" Dash wondered.
"By all means, Rainbow Dash. There is no proof anything is wrong with Obsidian Shards. I couldn't find anything in the books, and you all are just assuming things. I mean, I felt it myself and his polite words did not really help much to improve this... impression. But maybe that's just how he is! Maybe he was born this way! Could you imagine how life must be for him if everypony just runs away from him all the time?"
Twilight's friends dropped their gaze to the ground with guilt.
"Awww..." Pinkie Pie started. "He must be soooo lonely. That makes me soooo sad... Hey, you know what? We should throw him a party and introduce him to everypony in Ponyville! I'm sure he will find lots of friends if the ponies just get to know him better!"
"That's a brilliant idea, Pinkie!" Twilight commented happily, "I will personally show him around Ponyville!"
"Well, okay, I'll give it a try," Applejack agreed, "haven't met a pony yet that I can't befriend! I could show him Sweet Apple Acres and arrange him an apple pie."
The others licked their lips upon hearing her suggestion. The workhorse's grandmother, Granny Smith, was known for making the best apple pie in town.
"And he surely needs a new outfit," Rarity added, "I will be making him a tuxedo to really bring out the best of him! Nopony will be able to withstand him when he has so much style!"
"And I'll throw the party at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie yelled out, half singing, and jumping around in excitement.
"Um, Pinkie? Can I help you with the preparations, if that's okay?" Fluttershy asked, smiling lightly.
"Why of course!" she announced cheerfully.
Twilight clapped her front hooves together. "Great! This is turning into a really amazing plan! What will you do for your part, Rainbow?"
The Pegasus hovered in the air above them with her front legs crossed and a grim expression in her face. She could not trust him. Not after the dreams she had about him days beforehand.
"Well, I don't know if this is such a good idea," she said.
Twilight was puzzled. She tried to convince her friend with a motivating voice. "Oh come on, now."
"No!" Rainbow Dash hovered over to the door and opened it. "I'm not going to help out on this!"
With these words, she left the house. The others sighed. Such a behavior from the most loyal pony in Equestria? That was not like Rainbow Dash at all.
"Well, we can still do this, right y'all?" Applejack asked, wandering her eyes around to her friends. They nodded in agreement.
"Then let's get goin'!" Cheering filled the room and everypony got on their way to prepare their part.
It was evening already. Everypony was waiting at Sugarcube Corner for the special guest to arrive, but he was late. Twilight sighed as she memorized the day, trying to find out what she did wrong. All the good intentions of the five friends turned out in complete failures.
Twilight had an awful lot of effort to even find Obsidian Shards. He said he was busy and he would not have much time, but Twilight insisted on showing him the village. As they toured around, Obsidian seemed distracted all the time.
At Sweet Apple Acres, he barely spoke a word with Applejack at all and even denied her delicious apple pie she made together with Granny Smith. Nopony had ever said no to her baked goods before. Even after the incident with the muffins three years ago.
At Rarity's boutique, he resisted having his cloak taken off and didn't allow Rarity to touch him, so she was unable to measure him for the tuxedo. Instead, she offered him a manicure so at least his hooves would look proper again. She started to get really curious why he was hiding his body so much. But by the time Rarity put together a beauty care set, Obsidian was gone.
And now, it seemed like he wouldn't even come to Pinkie Pie's party at all. Even though she invited the entire village. Everypony was bored, thirsty and hungry. Twilight just sat there, staring at the ticking clock. Now it was approaching 11:00 pm.
"Can't we go home now, Twi? I'm getting tired..." Spike asked, exhausted, before gently pulling on Twilight's tail. She just dropped her head on the table in frustration.
"I don't believe this! We had it all organized and nothing worked!" she spoke out, half yelling. All the other party ponies nodded quietly and sighed.
Suddenly, the door opened. The pony folk looked up in hope to finally see Obsidian Shards entering, but instead Rainbow Dash came flying in.
"Hey Dashie!" Pinkie Pie greeted, "I'm so glad you changed your mind and joined the party!"
"Thanks, Pink. Uh, what is wrong with everypony?" Dash puzzled, seeing all the bored guests in the room.
"We wanted to wait for Obsidian before we started the party, but he's not here yet," Pinkie said.
"What?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Well..." Fluttershy started, getting up from her seat and walking over to her. "I'm pretty sure he has a good reason to—"
"Good reason?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "What kind of reason would that be? I have been trying to follow him secretly all day! He just blew every last one of you off!"
Twilight lifted her head and turned to Dash as she heard what Rainbow was doing. "It's not very nice of you to stalk another pony like that, Rainbow."
The cyan Pegasus just rolled her eyes and continued, "yeah, but he's not nice either! I mean, I tried to keep track of him to find out what was so important that he had no time for any of you. But he even managed to disappear from my sight! Not only is he creepy and mysterious, he is also very rude!"
"You are right!" a guest pony said in the back of the room.
"I think we should go right up to that guy and tell him what we think!" another one added.
Everypony got up and decided to search for him. Only Fluttershy hesitated. She didn't like this idea. But then again, she was too afraid to be alone in the dark. So she tried to catch up with the rest. It took some time until one of them finally spotted the cloaked pony standing in the meadows close to the village. Rainbow Dash speeded ahead.
"So that is what she had planned..." Obsidian thought while reading a letter.
He noticed the ponyvillians were approaching him and quickly burned the letter. Rainbow Dash arrived slightly before the rest of the mob.
"Hey, you! Who do you think you are? Do you think you're something better than the rest of us because you work for Celestia? I can't have you treat my friends like that!" she yelled at the motionless stallion.
It was pretty clear to him what she was referring to. He sure hadn't been the most social one today. But honestly, he could not care less about the feelings of these ponies. He just kept standing there completely still, listening silently to what Rainbow had to say. She grunted.
"You don't even care to answer?"
"No" Obsidian replied, startling Rainbow Dash. But before she could say anything, he turned away from her and towards the crowd of angry ponies.
"I do not have to explain myself and I am not allowed to tell you why I behave like I do. I only feel sorry that this makes you feel offended and inconveniences you."
He turned away and prepared to leave. Then Rarity stepped in his way.
"Just what is your problem? Don't care to explain yourself, huh? Not allowed to say the reason for your unacceptable behavior? Hmph!"
She made a pose expressing her disgust for Obsidian's actions and turned away from him. The stallion grunted on the provocation and replied to Rarity.
"Look, I am sorry. But that is how it is."
He tried to turn in another direction, when Applejack blocked his way out this time.
"Keep those bad excuses at bay, Mister! We were just trying to get along! And y'all keep wavin' us off like you're too fancy for us! You can't treat us like that!"
The angry mob started to surround Obsidian and bombarded him with questions and statements of anger and disappointment. He didn't say anything anymore. Instead, he just turned around one last time and started to walk off. Suddenly, Rarity grabbed his cloak.
"And what about this? What are you hiding?"
Obsidian quickly turned around.
"You better keep your hooves off me," he growled aggressively.
Rarity became scared and backed away. But Obsidian's cloak caught on a root, and, with an accidental push from another pony, it became loose and was pulled off his body. His black coat was covered with countless scars and stitched wounds. He had large black bat wings full of holes of various sizes and shapes, as well as an unnaturally long, curved, and very pointy black horn, covered in dents and scratches. The long black hair on his head and tail were dirty and very irregularly cut. Between the strains of his mane, two entirely black eyes were on his scarred face, glaring at them angrily. But the feature that scared the ponies the most were his cutie marks, which had the looks of pony skulls.
Twilight backed away in horror. Now she realized what he was. She once read a book about old pony tales where his kind was mentioned. The description just fit to him perfectly. Her mind was paralyzed, and unable to control herself anymore, she screamed out the words. The words which would change everything from that moment on.
"He's a reaper!"
Chapter 2: Unexpected Reunion
"What's a reaper?"
The question ended the silence that filled the scene after Twilight's scream. She was lying on her back, holding her upper half upright by leaning on her elbows. She continuously stared unbelieving at Obsidian Shards as he slowly pulled back the cloak over his body. It took Twilight a moment to realize the question she got asked. Then, without taking her eyes off the stallion, she replied hasty,
"An evil pony, that feasts on demons and enjoys using dark magic to kill other ponies!"
Again, silence filled the emptiness of the night. No one knew what to say anymore. A killer pony? Right in front of their eyes?
"Lies" Obsidian finished fixing up his cloak and spoke up calmly. "I do not kill ponies for my amusement. I do it because I must."
Rainbow Dash confronted him again. She knew something was wrong with Obsidian. Twilight's reaction just confirmed it to her.
"And you think we would believe a single word of you now?"
Obsidian moaned. He turned to Rarity.
"Do you understand now why I avoided letting anyone see my body?"
Rarity shrunk to the ground. Half in guilt because she put him into trouble now and half in fear he would take revenge on her. After saying that, he turned to Dash again and continued his attempt to explain.
"Most of the knowledge about us is nothing but rumors and-"
"Hold it right there, Mister!" AJ broke into his speech. "Twilight here's a mighty smart one! And if she says there's something fishy about y'all, I think that's more reliable than this chit-chat of yours!"
Pinkie Pie jumped angrily towards the reaper. "Yeah, I mean look at her! If she's this scared and convinced, it HAS to be true!"
The crowd turned towards the magic pony again. Lyra and Bonbon grabbed her by the shoulders and helped her back on her feet. She could barely stand and was shaking all over. She still kept on staring at the black stallion with wide open eyes. Obsidian grunted.
"I am what I am. There is nothing I could do about that. But I was not sent here to kill you people. Princess Celestia wants me here. She wants me to protect you!"
The ponies started to get angry again, considering this statement a lie.
"I doubt that letter was even real! You somehow managed to imitate her signature!" Rainbow Dash said.
Obsidian growled. Disobeying Mistress Celestia? In his opinion, this was one of the biggest insults she could have made.
"I did not -" he started, but Dash interrupted him again.
"We don't believe you! We don't need your 'protection'!" she yelled at him.
Agreement ran through the crowd. Rarity threw her concerns overboard and decided to speak up.
"I simply cannot believe that the Princess would send such a dangerous monster like you in our village, risking all our lives!"
Obsidian twitched.
"Monster?!" he asked, enraged.
"Yes! Monster!" Rarity replied. The ponies began to yell at him.
"Yeah!", "We don't want you here!", "Get away from here!", "Monster!".
That was enough. Obsidian's rage exploded. With his rage, he himself busted into a black cloud, putting the ponies back into silence one final time. A second later, the reaper rose out of the black fog he created and flapped his demonic wings open. Hovering in front of the moon, he shouted back at the ponyvillians.
"Fine! If you do not appreciate my presence, so be it! Mistress Celestia may have stationed me in the region of Ponyville, but that does not mean I am forced to stay in the village itself! I shall go to the Everfree Forest and do my duty loyally from there, whether you are comfortable with this or not!"
With that ominous statement, Obsidian flew into the black, heading towards the forest.
The next morning, Spike had to send tons of complaint letters to Princess Celestia. Almost every pony in Ponyville was upset and unbelieving their beloved leader sent a reaper to them. Fluttershy alone didn't bother to write one. She was over at Twilight's library trying to reason with her.
"But, um... don't you think this is a little bit too much?"
Twilight scanned through all of her magic books, trying to find out more about reapers. Unfortunately, barely anything was known about them. She paused and turned to Fluttershy, replying to her with a nervous tone.
"Not at all! He is evil, he is dangerous, and now he is even angry at us! Hiding and stalking us in the shadows!"
The shy Pegasus sunk her head.
"I know, but... um... he didn't really do anything yet, did he?"
"How can you know?" Twilight replied again. "He could kill anypony without leaving even the smallest evidence! Maybe he already took one of us!"
Twilight turned back to her books, quickly turning pages and mumbling random words she caught.
Fluttershy became even smaller. Somehow, this hate aimed to Obsidian Shards just felt wrong to her. He really didn't seem to enjoy his fate. But the yellow Pegasus didn't have the strength or words to discuss with her friends anymore. So she just flew back to her home.
Weeks passed since the night of confrontation. Everything seemed to have turned back to normal. Even though nopony received an answer from the Princess. The villages had pushed the events out of their memory and moved on. Twilight, Fluttershy and the others were spending the day together at the market. Talking, eating and having fun. Suddenly, Rarity spotted a familiar silhouette running towards them. The friends turned around to identify the pony. Blue coat, white mane, magician hat and cape.
It was Trixie.
She stopped in front of the group with some distance. She looked terrible. Her eyes still had tear trails and were sore. She was covered in a thin layer of ash and had several bruises. Her hair was tangled and her magician outfit looked like it caught on fire at least once. For a moment, nothing happened. She just stood there, breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash already wanted to charge her and show her a lesson for coming back to Ponyville. But Applejack held her back. Judging from how she looked and how worked up she was, something terrible must have happened.
"Maybe she came to ask for help" was one of the thoughts Twilight considered and slowly spoke up.
"Trixie? Are you okay? What are you doing here?"
The blue unicorn was still too exhausted to talk. She just raised her head and threw a hate filled look at Twilight. As she slowly regained breath, a grin grew on her face, getting wider and wider.
"Twilight Sparkle, I've finally found you again."
The smile on her face widened to a surreal size, starting to creep out the friends. Twilight's attention got drawn to a mysterious red glow, coming from a pocket inside Trixie's cape. The costumed mare noticed Twilight's wandering eyes and spoke up again, starting a full-hearted speech.
"The great and powerful Trixie never forgets. She remembers how much you humiliated her three years ago, when she was last here in this... village," she spoke, putting a touch of disgust on the last word.
"Nopony took her seriously anymore. Wherever she went, Trixie was just laughed at! And so..."
She opened her cape.
"I, the great and powerful Trixie, set out to a lonely journey. Trixie also never forgives. All the time, the only thing she could think about, was revenge! Revenge on the pony that ruined her life!"
Her hoof slowly approached the glowing pocket. Applejack had to tie down Rainbow Dash to prevent her from attacking Trixie. The friends were concerned the situation may get out of control if somepony pushed the wrong button on her now.
"Trixie left to the borders of Equestria, looking for an ancient artifact with the power to destroy everypony she wanted!"
Her eyes went wide open, and together with her unnatural smile, it became obvious she had lost her mind.
Trixie refocused Twilight with a very serious expression.
"Twilight. You! You are the reason for Trixie's misery! So I only want to ask you one question."
Twilight gulped as Trixie's hoof slid in the pocket.
"Do you know... what this is?"
Her hoof returned to the group's line of sight, presenting a large, red crystal. It was magically aflame and with many magic spells and warnings engraved in it. Twilight jumped backwards in fear, hitting a table with her back and scattering pies and tea all over the place.
"No! No way! Trixie! Are you serious?"
Trixie started to laugh.
"Trixie! Stop it! You have no idea what you are doing!"
"Trixie is very well aware of what she is doing!" the mad mare replied, still laughing.
She noticed the confused and uneasy eyes of Twilight's friends and started explaining.
"This is a flaming crystal. Hundreds of years ago, powerful fire demons escaped from a volcano landscape at the edges of Equestria, known as Heat Lake. They tried to burn down the land and kill every pony in sight. An army of Equestria's most powerful unicorns fought them back. Many died, but ultimately, the demons were sealed in magical gemstones and buried back in Heat Lake. Like all ancient magic tales, this story turned into a legend and was believed untrue. But I found them! The forbidden gems of fire! The legend was true, the proof is right here!"
Insane laughter filled the air again. Everypony was afraid of acting. They could not possibly analyze what might happen.
"There are rumors that when a powerful unicorn breaks the seal of one of these crystals, the demon will follow the unicorns every command. With this beast, I will finish you and all of the ponies who laughed at me! ME! The great and powerful Trixie!"
She lifted the crystal right above her horn and started to cast a spell that slowly removed the seals from the gem. Applejack quickly untied Rainbow Dash. Twilight jumped up and all three ran towards the mad for power witch.
"Trixie! Stop! This is just a rumor! You can't possibly control such a powerful demon!" Twilight shouted.
Trixie finished removing the spells and the magic flames intensified.
"It is too late now, Twilight Sparkle! I will prove to you that this rumor is true as well! Witness the might of the great and powerful Trixie!"
The friends hit the brakes hard as Trixie threw the crystal to the ground right in front of them as hard as she could. It shattered into countless pieces. Large flames and intense heat escaped and piled up to an enormous tower while Trixie laughed in madness. The flames soon shaped into legs, a tail, a head with a long mouth. Teeth, claws and a burning mane. Scales of lava and fire grew on the surface of the creature, which rapidly became even far larger than the Ursa Minor Twilight vanquished.
"A Salamander..." Twilight spoke quietly in horror. She turned tail and ran towards her friends.
"Run! Run as fast as you can! This is one of the strongest demons in the world!"
The entire village broke up in panic as the burning beast roared loudly. The still laughing Trixie stepped next to the Salamander.
"Now go, my slave! Go and kill Twilight Sparkle!"
The demon turned his head to her and stared at Trixie with his red, demonic eyes. Trixie pouted.
"I said, go and kill her!"
With ground shaking steps, the beast turned around to the now no longer so convinced mare. Trixie's expression changed from highest levels of amusement to a touch of inconvenience and fear. Doubt started to fill her mind and she slowly backed away.
"D-don't you dare to turn against your mistress! I am the one who freed you!"
The Salamander followed Trixie slowly while growling loudly. Twilight and her friends were busy seeking shelter. But hiding from a monster big enough to oversee the entire village proved to be a very difficult task. Twilight turned around to see what was going on. She saw how the Salamander showed clear interest into its savior.
"T-T-Trixie will show you to be disobeying!"
Her unicorn horn started to glow and a raincloud formed above the flaming reptile. It looked up and rain started to pour down on the Salamander. But due to the intense heat of the demon, the raindrops evaporated before they could even touch the surface. The now provoked Salamander turned back to the enchantress and roared loudly at her. Trixie panicked. She tried to run, but the Salamander summoned flame walls to corner her.
The blue unicorn hyperventilated as the demon came closer and closer to her. Now, she realized what she had done.
The Salamander opened its enormous mouth and swallowed Trixie whole. The sound of burning skin and steaming blood, mixed with soul-tearing screams of agony echoed throughout entire Ponyville. She could watch as her legs turned into ash and her skin disappeared in the flames, revealing her flesh. Soon, it first got cooked and then burned to ashes. The last thing Trixie saw were bubbles from the burnings popping up over what was still left of her body. Then, the heat caused the liquid in her eyes to turn into steam. Unbearable pressure grew inside them, ultimately leading them to explode.
Trixie kept on screaming for a few moments more until the flames eventually reached into her mouth. Like burning claws, they crawled down her throat, turning her voice producing organs into ash and bursting her lungs. Now she was unable to express her torture anymore. She tried to turn and wiggle, until she grew too weak to keep on the struggle.
Finally, Trixie was nothing more than just a tiny pile of ash. All this happened in just a matter of seconds, but for Trixie, it felt like hours.
Twilight Sparkle was paralyzed from seeing Trixie's violent death. The Salamander, not yet satisfied, looked around for more ponies to painfully incinerate. It spotted the purple mare. At that moment, Twilight snapped out of her trauma and tried to cast a teleportation spell. The Salamander though dispelled her, forcing Twilight to run for her life.
The burning monster clearly enjoyed the chase as it kept tracking her. The giant legs made it easy for the demon to stay closely behind her. Desperately, Twilight tried to cast an ice spell on the beast. But that only enraged it more. In the rush of panic, Twilight didn't see a plank that was accidentally knocked loose by another fleeing pony. Her front hooves hit it and Twilight collapsed.
The demon charged towards her while opening its mouth, ready to swallow her. Time seemed to flow in slow motion as the beast came closer and closer. She couldn't get up anymore. Twilight just sat there on the ground, awaiting her horrible, painful end. She noticed her friends were peeking out of their covers behind the Salamander and stared at her in terror. They tried to call for her, screamed her name. She could hear it faintly in the distance. But it was too late.
Twilight memorized the faces of her friends, bordering at the edges to break open uncontrollably in tears. Then, the Salamander's mouth was just above her. She could feel the heat and the first flames circling down and around her. Twilight locked her eyes shut and tensioned every last muscle in her body. She waited. Waited for it. But nothing happened.
The sound of swinging blades and enraged roaring was to be heard. Twilight slowly opened her eyes again and saw a black cloak. It was Obsidian Shards, holding a scythe in his mouth and covering her with his bat wings. The Salamander paused its attack. It stood there, staring at Obsidian with its evil, red eyes as if it knew that it was facing an a lot stronger enemy now.
"So far, everything goes according to your plan, Mistress Celestia. I only hope I can take up with this beast," he thought to himself, knowing how strong his opponent was.
The Salamander opened its mouth and exhaled an entire ocean of fire at both of them. Obsidian used his cloak to protect Twilight and himself from the flames. As soon as the beast ran out of breath, he grabbed Twilight and threw her with a mighty swing, over the demon and into a stack of hay. The burning reptile made an attempt to turn around. But Obsidian slashed his scythe through the right front leg of the demon. Even though the created gap between the foot and the rest of the demon instantly refilled with flames, the creature roared in pain.
The enormous, house-sized feet came trampling down to the reaper. He tried to dodge them, causing the demon's rage to increase. It wildly tried to snatch the reaper with its immense mouth and caught him by his cloak. The reaper got thrown high into the sky. The Salamander opened its mouth, waiting for him to fall right into it. Obsidian, though, had wings. He flew to the back of the giant reptile, summoned three large glacier pieces and salved them at the Salamander. The magical ice chunks pierced through its body and maintained stuck there for a moment. The Salamander screamed in pain and steam filled the air as the ice melted.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle came back to her senses after that powerful throw she just experienced. Still kind of dizzy, she watched unbelieving as the battle between the reaper and the demon continued, getting more furious as time passed.
The Salamander exhaled a magic flame that kept on chasing Obsidian in the air. The reaper flew a few large circles in the air, getting them smaller and smaller. Finally, he took over control of the flame. The color changed from bright red into light blue as it circled around the reaper. Then, he launched the altered flame back at the Salamander with such great force, that it lost its balance for a moment.
Obsidian took advantage of that and charged towards the Salamander. He exploded into a massive black cloud and surrounded the demon. Large black teeth grew out of the cloud, ramming hard into the Salamander's body. Roaring filled the air. The demon struggled with the painful grip of the black cloud, particularly broke free and got recaptured. It gave a very frightening and surreal sight. As if an undefinable, amoeboid black monster with randomly scattered teeth over its surface tried to eat a reptile of just a little smaller size.
Suddenly, the burning monster screamed in rage. The fires grew enormously in size and heat. The cloud loosened its grip and gathered back on the ground, forming into Obsidian Shards again. His cloak was still on fire, but quickly extinguished by itself. His face showed a very serious and troubled expression. Whatever Obsidian just failed to do, it caused him big problems.
The Salamander started rampaging, breathing fire randomly in the air and stomping around. Obsidian ran towards the monster and sliced his scythe multiple times through it. Then, he flew out of the village, making sure the demon followed him in its rage. The Salamander chased Obsidian furiously, casting multiple fire spells at him at once.
As the earthquakes caused by the burning beast got weaker and weaker, the villagers carefully peeked out of their covers. They watched as the battle continued in the meadows. It seemed like Obsidian was about to lose. He started getting weaker and slower. His enemy was simply too strong to keep up with it for long.
Obsidian changed his tactic. He landed on the ground and started running a circle around the aflame reptile while dragging the tip of his scythe through the ground like a hoe. He tried his best to keep the Salamander staying in place. For that, he had to endure getting hit by several fireballs. Slowly, the circle started looking more and more like some kind of magic symbol.
Just as he finished, the reaper jumped high in the air at the same level as the Salamander's head. The beast saw its chance and opened up its hellish mouth. To the surprise of everypony, Obsidian charged right into it. As the Salamander closed its mouth, the circle it was standing in reacted. The demon got turned into an immense tower of fire that reached high into the sky once again. One last time, the demon's roaring echoed through the land. Then the flames vanished into thin air and silence returned to Ponyville.
It was quiet again. Suspiciously quiet. The ponies were afraid of leaving their cover since they were unable to tell if the battle was finally over and who of both had won. Twilight was the first one to run out of Ponyville and towards the circle of burned grass. Soon, the rest of her friends followed her.
"Twilight! Wait!" they shouted. But she was too concerned about the well-being of her savior.
The friends approached the circle and indeed were able to find the reaper standing in the dead center. He was still maintaining his battle stance but without his weapon. His entire body moved lightly as he gasped for breath.
"Obsidian!" Twilight shouted, relieved to see he was okay. The black stallion instantly turned to her and regained control over his breathing frequency. He could not allow them to see how exhausted he was and how close he was about to fail. With his eyes closed, he bowed down to her. Twilight was puzzled for a moment when her friends finally caught up on her. They jumped her all at the same time in a big, teary group hug.
"How dare y'all to just run away like that, Twi!" Applejack spoke, still sobbing. "We thought we'd never see you again!"
"Sorry girls. I just had to make sure he was alright," Twilight replied. She turned back to the reaper who just started walking back towards Ponyville.
"Obsidian. I just want to-" Twilight started, but the stallion kept on walking, ignoring her words. Twilight and her friends still were unsure what to think of the reaper now. They got off her and all together followed him back to the marketplace.
Upon arrival, he was greeted with loud cheering.
"Equulōs stultōs. Do not congratulate me... that was far too close," the reaper thought and tried to ignored them.
He kept on walking towards the pile of ash that used to be Trixie the magician. The cheering died off and the ponies gathered around the ashes. After his victory over the Salamander, they almost forgot that not all ponies were so lucky as to survive the demon's attack. Even though she was the one who released this dangerous beast, she was a pony after all. She deserved the same respect as everypony else.
The villagers dropped their heads to mourn silently. Suddenly, Obsidian cast a spell that made a big, black book with a pony skull on the front cover appear. Using his magic, he hovered it in front of his face and opened it. The pony folk looked up curiously. Then, after turning a few pages, Obsidian started to read out loudly,
"Trixie Starlight. Unicorn. Scheduled to die on the 23rd June 1626 at 15:43. Cause of death: Being consumed by a Salamander."
The book closed and disappeared again. Once more, Obsidian succeeded in impressing and frightening the ponyvillians. All the statements he just read out were correct, even the time.
"Was that the book of death?" Carrot Top asked in the background.
"Not the book of death... just mine...it only contains the name of ponies I am supposed to reap," he replied.
"But she is already dead, isn't she?" Rarity wondered.
"Not yet... foals and weak-hearted ponies should look away and hold their ears now..." he suggested.
A few ponies turned away and deafened themselves. A moment later, the ash started to move. It appeared like it would gather back together. Like a phoenix would when it is getting reborn. But it did not have the strength. Instead, it just formed a rough silhouette of Trixie's head, screaming in agony. A light, ghostly moan of torture escaped from the ash and the ponies backed away with wide opened eyes. Trixie was not dead. But she was suffering enormously.
"Your torment will end now, Trixie" Obsidian spoke and moved his head to the side. A black cloud appeared in front of his head and shaped into a scythe.
"Rest in peace" he mumbled and rammed the sharp tip into the ash. The face collapsed and the moaning stopped. Seconds later, a tiny light blue orb escaped from it. All ponies turned back to him and watched as the orb lifted into the sky and disappeared. Twilight slowly walked over to Obsidian Shards.
"Thank you for saving me... and I think I speak in the name of Ponyville if I say thank you for saving us all."
Obsidian bowed down before her. "Please forgive my former harsh actions. It was not my intention to hurt you."
Twilight shook her head.
"It's quite alright. I think you proved enough we can trust you and I think it is actually us who need to apologize for not understanding you and the ways of a reaper."
Most of the villager ponies and Twilight's friends nodded and spoke out their apologies. Just Rainbow Dash was still hovering in the air eyeing him suspiciously. The black stallion got back upright and spoke up again.
"Most of the rumors about who we are and what we do are either lies, spread by the hate we cause with our work, or are myths, mostly told in scary stories."
He pointed to the now lifeless remains of Trixie, where his scythe was still stuck in.
"This is our real duty. Freeing the souls of those who are meant to die, but cannot leave this world on their own. We release those who are in agony and protect those who are not meant to die yet."
The village became silent again. Suddenly, Rarity noticed something strange about Obsidian.
"Um... excuse me, but, is something wrong with your eye?"
The ponies focused on his face. They just realized he kept his right eye shut all the time. Obsidian turned away, apparently ashamed.
"No... There is nothing to it. Do not be bothered about it," he replied. This answer only made the ponies more concerned. Fluttershy flew next to the reaper and gently spoke to him.
"I'm good at taking care of injuries. Maybe I can help you, if that's okay..."
"There is no need to do anything. I am fine." Obsidian ensured and turned his head away again. Now Rarity came closer.
"Oh darling, please. You can show us what is wrong. We owe you a favor anyway!"
Obsidian finally gave in and sighed.
"There is not much you can do about it..." he slowly opened his eyelids, only to reveal that his eye had changed. Instead of black, it was now thoroughly colored in a glowing bright red.
"Oh my goodness, how did that happen?" Fluttershy asked with concern.
He realized there is no way to avoid explaining what happened. The reaper closed his eyes and spoke up.
"Among all the rumors about us reapers, some things are true. Like that we consume demons. This is the only way to make sure a demon is destroyed once and for all. By consuming a demon, we also gain all the powers that demon had and become even better reapers. But that Salamander was too strong for me... I failed to consume it."
The ponyvillians started to get nervous, but Obsidian raised his hoof in the air to calm them down.
"There is no need to be worried. Although I failed, I managed to entirely disable the Salamander by sealing it away again. Its original prison, the flaming crystal, was destroyed and there was nothing similar of magic value in range that I could use. So I was forced to sacrifice my own eye to seal it in my body. As long as I live, the Salamander will be unable to escape and believe me, villagers. We reapers have a very, very long lifespan."
The villagers sighed in relief. Applejack slowly came towards Obsidian and placed her hoof on his shoulder.
"Will your eye stay like that forever?" she wondered. Obsidian nodded.
"You did that to yourself only to save us?" AJ asked, frowning.
"A small price I had to pay compared to the effect this action has," he answered.
The ponyvillians became silent again. Out of the crowd, Mayor Mare stepped forth and started to speak guiltily,
"Considering the latest events, I would like to welcome you back to our society, Mister Shards."
Obsidian nodded lightly.
"I am most grateful for this offer, but to be honest, I never really planned to stay in Ponyville."
"How so?" Mayor Mare asked, surprised.
"I require a dark place to rest. It also has to be a separate room of decent size. I have quite a few objects with me and the reaper code forbids me to let ponies see them," he replied.
The villagers looked around among each other, hoping somepony would be willing to take him in. Suddenly, a yellow hoof rose in the air. The crowd turned to Fluttershy.
"Well, um... I-I think I might have some space left. But... It's only a basement..." she offered.
Obsidian Shards turned to the yellow Pegasus pony.
"That is perfect. Would you guide me there?"
Fluttershy nodded barely noticeable.
"T-this way, if you don't mind," she spoke and started flying towards her tree house. The reaper picked up his scythe and made it dissolve into the air again.
"I will return to you later and help to mend the damage caused by the demon and me," he ensured just before he and Fluttershy left the scenery.
What the ponyvillians did not know is that all this, from Trixie's arrival in Heat Lake on, was planned by Celestia. The villagers were eating out of Obsidian's hooves. While Fluttershy and the reaper were flying towards her cottage, he secretly took a note under his cloak.
"Trixie is gone. I was unable to consume the demon, but sealed it inside myself without causing further damage. The infiltration has begun. I await your next orders."
The rest of the day, the villagers tasked themselves repairing Ponyville and talking about today's events. Trixie's ash was gathered and put into an urn. Her funeral got planned to take place in a week from then. It took until sun down before everypony went to their homes and to bed.
At midnight, Obsidian wandered around the silent town. He headed to Sugarcube Corner and eavesdropped at the back door. After a while, he decided to knock. Pinkie Pie was still awake. She came running to the door and opened it, greeting the reaper cheerfully.
"Hi Obsidian! What can I do for you-" she started but got interrupted by the stallion.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie. We need to talk..."
Chapter 3: Curse
Compared to the past few days, the situation had changed completely on the morning after the Salamander's defeat. Obsidian Shards was sitting in the town square, surrounded by his adoring fans. Most of them were young mares. He did not like all that attention, but decided to endure it to maintain the trust he gained. Fluttershy was with her other friends, sitting around a table not far from him.
"That was so nice of you to let him move in your house, my dear," Rarity stated with delight.
"Well... somepony just had to give him a home..." the yellow mare replied.
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "He really turned out to be a really nice guy! I'm so glad everything is okey dokey now! Well, not so much for Trixie. But she was a meanie anyway, right Rainbow Dash?"
The young, athletic mare just sat there, distrustfully staring at the reaper the whole time.
"Dashie?" the pink party pony repeated and gently poked her. Rainbow finally snapped out of her trance and replied.
"Wait, what? Oh, that guy..." she answered, derogative and regained a wary expression.
Applejack shook her head. "You still don't like him? What's wrong between you and him?"
Dash got angry from that question and lifted up in the air. There was no way she could tell them what was going on in her mind. What visions she had seen. It was just too... embarassing.
"None of your business!" she shouted and flew away. The others sighed blankly.
"Anyway, there is something I need to talk with Obsidian about. Fluttershy, want to come with me?" Twilight asked.
The delicate Pegasus looked away.
"I... I think he's a bit too busy to be troubled by me. M-maybe you should go and talk to him without me..." Fluttershy replied.
Twilight tilted her head. That statement didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to her. But she figured, now that Obsidian lives in her basement, she could talk to him later.
"Uh, alright, Fluttershy. See you later girls."
Twilight got up from the table and walked over to the black stallion, who sat alone now since his fans had moved on. It seemed like his eyes were closed, but he truly was reading a letter under his cloak.
"...gain the trust of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Keep her safe and teach her all you know. Primary objective still remains."
"Obsidian?" Twilight spoke quietly, considering he might be either sleeping or meditating. The reaper secretly destroyed the letter and opened his eyes.
"Yes, my lady?" he asked.
"I just wanted to mention that I am very impressed by your magic abilities. I've never seen anypony with so much power besides the royal sisters," the purple mare stated.
Obsidian forced himself to bow down lightly for the compliment.
"So I was thinking, maybe you would show me how you did those spells?" Twilight asked.
She just made it too easy for Obsidian. Things were going perfectly according to his mission. Mistress Celestia must know Twilight and her friends very well, he figured. The black stallion stood up.
"We need to move away from here for a demonstration. The spells are just too destructive to be cast in the middle of a village," he replied while walking.
Agreeing, Twilight followed him. They went to the meadows, back to the circle where Obsidian sealed the Salamander yesterday.
"Well, I have seen that cloak has quite some protective abilities. But why do you wear it all the time?" she asked half way there. Obsidian didn't look at her and just replied calmly.
"The reaper cloak is given to us right after we turn into reapers. Besides it being enchanted with powerful protective magic, it mostly serves us for two reasons. For one, it offers us disguise. This provides us the freedom to walk among normal ponies without them instantly detecting our unique physiology. For another reason, it protects us from the light of the day time and radiant magic. Creatures of darkness, like us, get their strength from the dark. Light on the other hoof, weakens us," he explained.
"Interesting..." Twilight commented.
They finally reached the circle and walked over the black layer of sot towards the center.
"Now, what do you want to know?" the reaper asked.
"First of all, how did you get your ice spell so powerful? I tried to cast one on the Salamander as well, but I could not do more than a few ice cubes," Twilight wondered.
Obsidian thought about this question for a moment, considering which would be the best answer to give. He then refocused the purple mare.
"Show me," he requested.
"Huh?" Twilight puzzled.
"Show me how you do it. Attack me with your ice spell," Obsidian repeated.
Twilight looked up at him with a troubled expression.
"Are you sure?" she asked in concern. Obsidian nodded.
"You have seen yourself I can handle a lot. Do not be worried," he ensured.
The purple mare hesitated, but then decided to follow his advice.
"Um, okay... if you think so..." she said and closed her eyes to concentrate. Obsidian got in battle stance.
"Here it goes!" Twilight announced and her horn started to glow.
A moment later, ice cubes came hailing down on Obsidian, who could easily block them off by unfolding his bat wings over his head. Twilight reopened her eyes and blushed in embarrassment. Then she sighed and dropped her head.
"I don't get it. I do everything as said in the book!" she spoke out in frustration.
"Book?" Obsidian asked. Twilight as well looked confused.
"Err, yes of course a book! Where else are you supposed to learn magic from?" she wondered.
"There we have the problem," the reaper commented while folding his wings again. "Miss Sparkle... you only learn spells from books, not magic."
Twilight was even more confused now. Obsidian noticed and started to explain.
"Magic is something you can only learn by exercise, by experiencing it. You need to feel it. You need to control it. Spells merely help you understand how something is done. Real masters of magic do not even need to cast a specific spell anymore. They just know what to do to make something happen," he spoke.
Twilight was surprised. That was unlike anything she ever heard. Obsidian got back in his battle stance.
"Now, try again. Do not focus on the spell itself. Focus on how it feels when you cast it. Feel as the magic takes shape into material ice. Give yourself into that feeling," he suggested.
Still a bit unsure, Twilight nodded and closed her eyes again. It started hailing ice again, but the pieces were slightly bigger this time.
"Yes, feel the magic," the reaper motivated.
The ice chunks grew bigger and bigger. Obsidian was forced to start dodging them.
"Much better. Try more!" he spoke while avoiding the ice pieces.
It didn't take long until the chunks grew to similar size as the glaciers the black stallion had cast at the Salamander. Obsidian had no choice but to take out his scythe and slash through the ice as it came falling down on him.
After a while, Twilight's concentration got broken as she felt a chill. She opened her eyes and looked at the huge pile of ice chunks. Obsidian stood on top of them. The purple mare's mouth fell open in astonishment.
"Did I do this?" she asked unbelieving.
The reaper nodded and came flying down while casting a fire spell to melt the ice.
"Wow! That's elusive! I really felt it!" she announced in excitement.
"Good," Obsidian Shards stated calmly and let his scythe disappear again, "anything else?"
"Yes! What was with that blue flame you fired at the demon? I thought fire only strengthens fire!" Twilight wondered.
"For that, I have to explain something beforehand," he started, "magic is a free force, as you know. Every magical creature has access to it and can manipulate it up to a limit. So others can use magic to create harmful attacks aimed to you. But if you are fast enough, you can use a spell someone casts at you to turn it against them."
"Really? That's past all belief!" Twilight commented, greatly impressed.
"This is possible because magic is free. It would not work if magic was limited to a certain group of magicians or chose a side. But that is not the case. If you wish to, you can give it a try. Attack me with a fire spell. Of course I will not deflect it back to you," Obsidian offered.
"Okay!" Twilight cheered and started casting.
A small fireball shot towards the reaper who caught it in his right front hoof. Twilight looked up again.
"Observe," the black stallion announced as he played with the fireball by joggling it between his front hooves.
"Unbelievable!" Twilight commented. She never thought magic could be used in such a way. "And how do you turn it blue?"
"The blue flame is still a flame, but it's element has been changed. It is a rather advanced trick to do, though," Obsidian explained and started changing the color of the fireball.
"I take out the heat of the flame and reverse it. Thus, the flames of fire become flames of ice," the reaper commented while turning the fire ball light blue.
"An ice flame?!" Twilight exclaimed. An entire new dimension of possibilities opened before her.
"Indeed. Here, have a look at it yourself" Obsidian added and slowly let the ball fly back to Twilight.
She took over control of it and researched the sphere between her front hooves. After a while, she allowed it to vanish.
"How do you know all this?" the purple mare wondered.
"As I said, reapers have a very long lifespan. I am currently 348 years old," he answered calmly.
Twilight's jaw dropped again as she heard his age.
"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief. Obsidian nodded.
"Does that mean you have been there when Coltholm fell?" Twilight asked curiously.
The reaper turned his head away from her.
"Yes... I was born there..." he replied.
Twilight felt a bit awkward for reminding him of a terrible chapter in his past. A few years ago, she read a brief comment on this mythical and long gone city. Nopony knew the true circumstances that lead to its destruction and although she was curious to find out more, she did not dare to ask him.
"Oh... I'm so sorry..." she apologized. The black stallion shook his head slowly.
"It is fine. Is there anything else you would like to know?" the reaper wondered.
"Well, only one more thing... what was the spell you used to banish the Salamander?" the purple mare asked.
"It was no spell," Obsidian corrected. Twilight again got confused.
"But that definitely was magic you used there to banish the demon!" she protested.
"Yes," answered Obsidian, nodding. "It was magic, but not a spell. I used a banisher circle to seal it. A magic rune."
"Runes? Neutral, artificial magic? I thought those were just in pony tales!" the purple mare stated in surprise.
"They do exist, but are very difficult to create. A rune must be perfect in proportion and shape. The smallest mistake can either make them nonfunctional or get them completely out of control," the reaper explained.
"Isn't that quite dangerous?" Twilight wondered. Obsidian nodded again.
"This is the reason why they barely ever get used. Even non – magical creatures can create and use runes, but they are very unstable when not done properly. Creating new runes is possible as well, but requires years of research," he stated.
"Intriguing... how do you use them?" Twilight asked curiously.
"That depends on the rune," the black stallion answered. "The banisher circle was originally created as an anti-magic field to imprison powerful, corrupted unicorns. But due to an accident when one of them tried to break free, it was discovered this rune can also be used to banish demons. I am not acknowledged of what precisely happened. But I do know that ever since then, this rune has been used to seal demons instead of unicorns. For their safety."
"Why so?" Twilight wondered.
"This rune has the unique habit to seal living creatures into objects by destroying both and forming them into a single thing. For that, a vessel must be chosen to contain the creature. It must be of enough magic potential to contain it. Once both, the vessel and the creature, are placed on the rune and it is activated, both get entirely destroyed and form into a new object. That is what the state magicians did with the fire demons of Heat Lake," Obsidian explained.
Twilight considered that answer for a moment. Then she noticed something and spoke up again.
"Wait... you used yourself as the vessel! How come you survived that?" she wondered.
Twilight was hitting a topic of which Obsidian knew would be difficult to explain. He looked around, making sure nopony was nearby and listening. Then he turned back to the purple mare.
"I did not," he answered.
That was too much. Twilight was unable to understand anything anymore. She just threw a disbelieving look at the reaper. Catching her confusion, Obsidian started to explain.
"Another kind of artificial magic are curses. The fact I am still able to talk to you is because of the reaper curse," he spoke. Twilight tilted her head.
"Curses? Okay, now I know you're just talking a lot of hooey," she commented.
The reaper again focused her with his expressionless face.
"You do not believe in curses I see," he analyzed.
"Of course not! There is no such thing as curses!" Twilight stated, convinced that she was right.
Obsidian thought about what to do.
"What if I presented you evidence they exist? Right here. Right before your eyes," he offered.
Twilight's expression became serious.
"Alright. Prove it," she challenged him.
Again, Obsidian looked around. This time in search for a best possible demonstration. He spotted a large bolder loosely standing on a cliff, stepped below it and took a few deep breaths for preparation.
"If curses do not exist..." he started, lifting his right hindleg "how do you explain... this!"
Just as he spoke the last word, Obsidian kicked the cliff hard. The bolder gained momentum and started rolling down towards the reaper.
Twilight was scandalized. She ran towards Obsidian, trying to save him. But he just pushed her to distance with a wind spell. Then, the black stallion closed his eyes and allowed the rock to come crushing down on him.
The sound of bones snapping and piercing through his squished body replaced the peace of this forenoon. Twilight just stood there with wide open eyes. She failed to analyze this situation. Why? Why would he do that? What was he trying to show with this?
The flattened remains of the stallion were invisibly hidden under the humongous stone, but his blood started flowing out under it. The magical mare looked around helplessly and slowly backed away as the red liquid approached in her direction. Her breathing fastened and she was about to break out in panic. Then, she heard a sound coming from under the bolder.
Twilight's entire understanding of the world she was living in crumbled as Obsidian forced himself upright again, lifting the boulder above his head and dropped it on the side. He was bleeding all over. Broken bones were piercing through his skin and his skull was crushed. But already, his wounds began healing up. Self-contained, the reaper simply pushed his bones back in his body and brought them in place with a loud snap each time.
"H-H-HOW?!" was the only thing Twilight was able to say.
The black stallion calmly pushed his head back in shape and spat out the blood in his mouth. Twilight's legs were shaking. She kept staring at Obsidian while he used his own cloak to clean himself from the blood he spilled.
"How?" she repeated.
The reaper used a spell to dissolve his spilled blood in the ground, making the scenery look like nothing ever happened. Then he sat down on the ground and began to fix his dislocated cloak.
"It is something only Mistress Celestia and the reapers are meant to know. But I have been told to inform you as well. I think she would agree if I took orders from you, as long as they do not cross a certain limit," he spoke.
The stallion got up again and focused her.
"So if you really want to know, you have to order me to reveal the secret to you. This goes for a price, though," he explained.
"What price would that be?" Twilight asked.
Obsidian's face suddenly became serious.
"I have to curse you," he stated.
Twilight was shocked. She didn't like this idea at all. The black stallion, though, raised his hoof to calm her down.
"Please, let me explain first before you make your decision," he offered and cast another spell.
Moments later, a macabre looking object appeared. It was a set of mummified pony lips, sewed shut and bound to two long cords. One golden, the other silvery. Each was sewed at a different corner of the mouth. Twilight gasped in disgust.
"This is the curse of secrets," the reaper started explaining. "To use it, a secret master and at least one secret bearer are needed. The secret master, who knows the secret and wishes to share it with somepony, has to wrap the golden cord around one of his hooves. The secret bearer, who wants to learn the secret, has to bind the silver cord around a hoof. Once that is done, only those connected to the curse of secrets can hear the secret master speak. Everything the secret master reveals to the bearer or bearers can not be told to anypony else from that moment on, unless they already know the secret. If they try, they simply will be unable to find the words or put them into actions to reveal the secret. This curse is not liftable. It is rather harmless for a curse, but very efficient."
Twilight was wavering. This all sounded really bad, but her mind was craving for answers.
"So... this curse is only to ensure I can't tell anypony else?" she asked. Obsidian nodded.
"The answers you are looking for are classified as top secret. Revealing this secret without the curse would be high treason. I am sorry to be the one who even made you curious for these things, but now you still have a chance to say no," he explained.
Twilight spent a good minute thinking about if she wanted to accept the curse or not, balancing out pros and cons. Then finally, she made up her mind.
"Obsidian Shards, I order you to reveal the secret to me, even at the costs of getting cursed!" she ordered.
The reaper nodded and wrapped the golden cord around his left front hoof. Twilight gulped lightly, then picked up the silver cord and hesitatingly wrapped it around her own hoof. Instantly, the curse reacted and the mummified lips tore open the strings which kept them shut. A high-pitched scream escaped from them, creating a kind of sound bubble around them.
Just a second later, it was entirely silent around them. The lips still were open and appeared to scream, but nothing could be heard anymore. Twilight was shaking. This was very frightening to her. The reaper looked her right in the eyes and started telling a story. An old, forbidden story of Equestria's fate.
One thousand years ago, Princess Luna fell into madness due to her solitude. She was isolated in the castle of the royal sisters. Her subjects lacked any respect and love for her work and Princess Celestia was not paying attention to her sister's situation. She grew weak and desperate for company and closeness in a time span of hundreds of years. It was that time when a voice began to grow in her mind. A voice offering friendship, care and companionship.
Princess Luna gladly accepted this voice and allowed it to grow stronger and louder. But soon, the voice started to demand things from her. Afraid of being alone again, she had no choice but to give in to the voice. From then on, it grew stronger and stronger, pushing Luna more and more in the background. Eventually, the voice took over control of her body and powers.
Created out of her own dark powers, the Princess of the Night was possessed with the first and most powerful demon this world has ever seen.
Nightmare Moon.
This greatest of all demons forced permanent night time over the land. But that was only the beginning. By letting darkness reach throughout the land, monsters and dark creatures were attracted to walk among the ponies.
It didn't take long before more demons sprouted out of Nightmare Moon's corruptive magic. They haunted the land. Tortured, killed and abused thousands of ponies.
The demon queen herself enjoyed forcing ponies to go on private audiences with her. Each time, they ended up in the subject getting gutted, torn into pieces and eaten.
The corrupted Princess's laughter was a common sound echoing through the land back then. Each time the ponies heard it, they knew that unimaginable horrors were on their way to them.
As it was to expect, Princess Celestia soon caught on her sister's actions. The first thing the Princess of the Day did after realizing what she was seeing in her sisters throne room was to collapse on the floor and weep over the corpses. Nightmare Moon was amused by Celestia's weakness and feasted on her victims right before her eyes.
The demi-goddess of the sun tried to reason with her sister, but Luna was gone. She was sleeping deep inside her own mind, unaware of the actions happening around her. Thus, Celestia's words caused nothing but more amusement for the wicked demoness.
The demi-goddess of the sun realized she had no other choice anymore but to start a war against her own sister. She recruited all the still alive, voluntary ponies she could find and set up an army.
But Nightmare Moon reacted to this, setting up an army herself. She created a powerful curse that turned those who had surrendered to her into immortal messengers of death... reapers.
Unable to die themselves, the reapers only had two paths to choose from. Either disobeying their Mistress of Terror, who then would torture them for all eternity. Or following her every command, which mostly was slaying ponies and making no difference between old ones, foals or pregnant mares. Celestia's army had no chance against such a legion of invincible killing machines.
Rapidly, Equestria drowned into chaos, agony and desperation. It was an age dominated by the color red, which dyed the ground as well as the sky. It seemed hopeless, but while her warriors were outside, sacrificing their lives for her, Celestia used the blood-payed time she gained to do research.
She discovered that demons are weak against an immense amount of positive energy, such as the elements of harmony. They would become her last resort.
Celestia challenged Nightmare Moon to a duel for all or nothing. Of course, the demon queen accepted. Using the dark powers of Luna and feasting on the madness that filled the land, Nightmare Moon was such a powerful enemy that even Celestia stood no chance against her.
Just when the wicked mare of darkness was about to give her the final blow, Celestia activated the elements of harmony. Intense light like it hadn't been seen for weeks filled the entire castle. Nightmare Moon was surrounded by the light and got captured by it. She struggled and due to the horrors Celestia was forced to see, the bright demi-goddess was unable to maintain harmony in her own heart.
She was unable to free Luna from the demon that possessed her. But Celestia had to use the advantage of the moment and think of something. So she changed her plan, doing the one thing which was the hardest for her to do. She could only banish her own sister to the moon now, knowing that it will keep her strong and safe, while she as well will be unable to harm anypony anymore.
Though Nightmare Moon would not accept defeat like that. She cast one final curse, powerful enough to break through the magic of the elements. She tore a part of herself away and scattered in countless pieces all over Equestria. Then, the wicked mare of darkness was gone.
Even though the most of this powerful demon was now sealed to the moon, a part of her stood in Equestria. The fragments crept into the souls of the few ponies that survived these days. And so, the most terrible curse of all got spoken upon this land.
The curse of madness.
Before that moment, ponies were perfectly peaceful and harmless creatures. But now, with the fragments of Nightmare Moon's insanity resting in the souls of all ponies, they gained the ability to fall to insanity and corruption themselves.
The demon queen in person may have been sealed, but her powers keep influencing Equestria, even until today. Whenever a pony dies, the fragments of Nightmare Moon prevent the souls from leaving their bodies. They are forced to maintain stuck in their broken shells and keep enduring the pain. As the undead shells start to rot, the suffering increases.
Ponies, taken their freedom to die. Aimlessly wandering around, moaning in torture. Until the only thing they can think of anymore is spreading the pain they have to suffer on others.
It is due to the reapers that these undead ponies are rare and never get seen by the living. A reaper scythe is the only tool that can force a soul out of a body. Celestia had to realize this when she tried to give rest to all the zombie ponies in the land.
The war was over and the reapers had to surrender to Celestia. She originally planned to execute them all for their crimes and lift the reaper curse. But she had to admit that she, and all of Equestria, needed them.
So they continue their evil duty in the name of the good under her command. Instead of torturing innocent ponies, they now gently take the lives of those who are scheduled to leave this world. It was hard for the first generation, since corruption and madness had grown strong in their souls already. But as time passed, they learned to appreciate their new destiny and their new, kind mistress.
Still. In the shadows. In the dark spots where nopony is looking. Thousands of demons and insane ponies are still hiding, just waiting for the right moment to come out and spread havoc over the land again.
And that is the greatest secret of Equestria... Maledictum Insania, the curse of madness.
Obsidian finished telling her the forbidden story. The mouth of the curse started to close again. Then suddenly, before it closed entirely, Obsidian changed his mind and added one last line.
"Reapers can not die."
The mummified lips closed and the strings repaired themselves, sealing the lips again. The cords on Obsidian's and Twilight's hooves loosened and the curse dropped to the ground.
Twilight as well collapsed. All this terrible knowledge was too much. She was shaking in trauma as gruesome images ran through her mind. Disgust, stress and shock overwhelmed her.
The purple mare lost control over herself. She threw up in a paper bag she somehow managed to summon in the last second. Obsidian just stood there motionlessly and with his face showing no kind of expression. He waited for Twilight to regain control of her breath and stomach. Then he helped her back on her legs.
This experience drained her a lot. She was weak and pale. She needed time to swallow what she just had learned and time itself seemed to have frozen for Twilight as she stared at Obsidian Shards, standing there perfectly still like a statue. The silence and lack of any breeze intensified this impression. It seemed like an eternity until Twilight finally started to come back to her senses, allowing time to seem flowing normally again.
"Thi... this was way more than I asked for..." Twilight spoke weakly.
"I wanted to ensure all your questions which require the curse would be answered. If I kept explaining you every single bit, we would just have ended up at this point anyway. So I wanted to save us the time and you the burden to endure this curse's grip any longer. As you may have found out by now, it is extremely exhausting and terrifying for a normal pony," he replied coldly.
Twilight took a few deep breaths. She still needed time to recover. Looking at the ground, the mare started to wonder if she was even able to endure the weight of this curse. She knew she would not be able to tell her friends to make it easier for her.
"I am allowed to share this knowledge to all the keepers of harmony, as long as they accept the curse bound to it. Though I need your command to do so," Obsidian stated, apparently knowing what she was thinking.
Twilight looked up in shock.
"There is no way I can let my friends go through the same thing I just did!" she replied.
Obsidian did not care about her, or her friends feelings. He just aimed to follow Celestia's orders.
"Bearing a secret of this magnitude is heavy for a single pony. Your friends will wonder what is wrong with you. They will demand you to tell them what is happening to you and you will be unable to do so. They will get worried and in the end, they would be willing to do whatever it takes to make you feel better again. Splitting a heavy burden on many shoulders and talking about it makes it easier for the individual pony," the black stallion assured.
This made sense to Twilight. She could imagine how exactly this chain of events would happen once she returned and they would see her weary like this.
"I guess you're right... but lets first see how they react, okay?" Twilight requested.
Obsidian picked up the curse of secrets and made it disappear.
"As you command. Do not be afraid of asking me any more questions. I have told you everything that requires the curse now. There is no need to wield it again," the reaper explained.
Twilight sat on her back haunches and processed the story the reaper told her. So much terrible knowledge. Such a huge secret. She did not expect a peaceful land like Equestria would have such a dark arcanum.
"How come nopony remembers these events?" she questioned hesitatingly.
"Nightmare Moon and the demons had slain the biggest part of pony population in this land in just a matter of weeks. Mistress Celestia actually was very lucky that there were still enough ponies left to repopulate Equestria. This land was very close about to become deserted. Most of the ponies back then were under trauma. They just wanted to forget what happened. To support this, Mistress Celestia cast a memory eraser spell over the land to make sure everypony would slowly forget the terrors of Nightmare Moon. The legend of the corrupted stars and the Nightmare Night celebration are the only things remaining from that time," Obsidian replied calmly.
Suddenly, he lifted up his head, looking around.
"I think it is time for us to return to the village," the reaper suggested and slowly started walking back towards Ponyville.
"Why? What's going on?" Twilight asked, confused and a bit scared.
"Just follow me. Do not be worried. You are safe. Keep asking me questions. I can sense you still have some," the black stallion ensured.
"Well... yes. Why did you tell me reapers can not die under the curse?"
He hesitated with the answer.
"I wanted to make sure..."
"Sure? Sure of what?"
Obsidian stopped. Then he turned to Twilight.
"One day, you will understand... Ask me something else."
The purple mare was disappointed. After all the terrible things he told her, Obsidian Shards could not answer her this simple question? But as soon as she thought it, another idea came in her mind. Maybe he can't answer that question. Maybe he got cursed to not reveal it. So Twilight decided to drop the topic and thought about something else.
"Tell me more about reapers then."
Obsidian looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, then continued walking and started whispering.
"There are 87 of us in total. Although we can not become more, we can actually become less for a short period of time."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"We exist for centuries, but even reapers die under certain circumstances. Mistress Celestia lets us fade away when we completed our duty and reaped the last pony in our books of death. At this point, the reaper becomes vulnerable and his life is meant to find an end soon."
Twilight was puzzled.
"And why is it that there are still 87 reapers after that happens?"
"Anypony can become a reaper, and there are two ways to become one. Either by tradition or by fate. By tradition means a pony kills a retiring reaper with his own scythe. Then the curse renegades to the murderer. If that does not happen, the elder reaper will still die. Then the curse leaves the body and returns inside the reaper cloak. Which then flies off looking for a foal suitable to absorb this curse."
Again, Twilight was scandalized how gruesome the dark ways are. She silently examined Obsidian, trying to figure out which way he became a reaper. She didn't dare to ask, but the black stallion noticed her eyes moving all over him.
"I know what you are thinking. No, I never killed a reaper before. I was still a foal myself when I got chosen by fate. The death of a reaper is nothing that can be taken easily. We do not appear in the book of death. Each time one of us goes, massive changes can occur."
Twilight sighed lightly in alleviation. She slowly began to regenerate.
"I can't believe all this. So many terrible things..." she mumbled.
"It could all be far worse," Obsidian replied, making Twilight look up to him again.
"Not too long ago, Nightmare Moon broke free from her imprisonment in the moon. She tried to continue her work and shrouded the land in extended night time. She came searching for us and tried to enslave us again. Mistress Celestia was awaiting her. She only had the time to cast a single spell on her, which temporarily stripped her of some of her powers. Then she got trapped in her castle. It is because of six legendary heroines that the light of the Day returned to this land once again. They managed to defeat this great demon, something Mistress Celestia herself was unable to do. One of these six was a unicorn of incredible magic abilities. A unicorn with so much love and harmony in her heart that she could purify Princess Luna and free her from the demon's grip with the help of her friends."
A spark ran through Twilight. She knew what he was talking about. They came close to Ponyville and saw the first ponies walking by.
Obsidian slowed down and walked next to Twilight, whispering in her ear.
"Thanks to you and your friends, we can still serve Mistress Celestia in the name of good. We owe you our freedom. Thank you."
Twilight now realized that her victory over Nightmare Moon had a lot greater gravity than she could have imagined. If it wasn't to her, Equestria would have become a realm of terror and suffering. Now she understood why Obsidian took orders from her. Out of gratefulness and respect.
At least that is what Obsidian wanted her to think. He actually did not care about Twilight or her friends at all. He just aimed to keep building up an alibi so they started trusting him.
Twilight and Obsidian came back to the marketplace, where all their friends were waiting. Even Rainbow Dash returned. It didn't take long before they realized something is wrong with Twilight. Now that she saw her friends' worried faces, she had to admit there was no way she could endure this secret alone and turned to Obsidian.
No words were necessary. The reaper just nodded to the magical mare and summoned the curse of secrets under his cloak. He held it in one of his folded wings, ready to use it.
Twilight turned back to her friends. "Guys, please come with me, to the library."
