Soon the darkness around me and my dreams began to fade as my breathing caught up and my heart rate increased. I quickly became aware and felt a strange pressure on-top of me. I slowly opened my eyes and they first caught sight of the burning fire across the room. I panicked slightly at the sight of fire but remembered that it was just the fireplace. I felt silly for freaking out like that. I was in that strange gap between my dreams and reality when you wake up and you're confused and tired.
I could still feel the strange pressure on top of me. I was too tired to look over right away but I just figured it might have been shadow tail. It did feel warm and soft and furry like shadow tails coat, but when I looked over to my surprise it was twilight. I stopped for a second and looked at her and she slept with her head and arms resting on my stomach and the rest of her body curled up in a ball. I wanted to say something but she seemed so peaceful like this, she was even smiling in her sleep. Whatever she was thinking was making her happy and I didn't want to ruin that. I just let out a sigh and laid my head down waiting for her to wake up.
It was a bit awkward but we were very close friends so I didn't mind. I guess she might think its OK ever since that time in the cave when we shared a bed together. I know that we are very close but I am starting to become a bit concerned with how close she is starting to get to me, even after my time spent as scar. I don't want to push her away because I would hate to hurt her dealings, but if I do nothing I only pull her in closer and closer. I'm at my own demise with this problem. I hope that maybe she will stop at one point and we can be close friends, if not... Then I'll have to talk with her, and that won't be good. I always knew that twilight wasn't always the most... " mentally sound" pony in Equestria... But she is smart and I would hope that would help her. I mostly blame it on her OCD.
I let out a large sigh as my stomach deflated and twilight head gently sunk down only to rise back up as I inhaled. Her head bobbed up and down as I sat there breathing. I couldn't help notice that I had started to stare at her as she slept, which was kinda creepy. The fire crackled and popped beside us. Soon the fire let out a large crack as a flurry of embers burst around the room. One ember floated over and landed on my nose. I stared at it as it glowed bright red. It didn't burn or anything, hell I swam through a lake of lava... This was nothing. I just watched it with crossed eyes as it glowed and shined on the tip of my snout. Just looking at the ember filled me with some kind of understanding. Just looking at elements seems to make me understand them better.
Soon the little spark died and turned into grey ash that blew away back into the room. Out of boredom I waved one of my hooves over to the fire and it whirled around and whisked into the air. I pulled my hoof closer and did one of the most interesting things I've ever seen somepony do with fire. Out of the large fireplace walked out a small little pony made of fire. It was just a fire manipulation technique, but it was very interesting. I let go of my control and the fire pony took on its own life and started walking around.
I looked back to twilight and used my magic to slowly pick her up and place her in the bed. She didn't move or wake up but nuzzled gently into the bed. I rolled over and sat up. I looked back at the little fire pony who was just prancing around and setting the floor on fire. I used my magic to quell the flames it left behind and I reached my hoof out. I looked over confusingly and smiled. It couldn't make any noise but it was adorable. I was having fun with this and I managed to smile at the small little pony. It climbed up onto my hoof and it sat on the top of my hoof and smiled. It was just big enough to fit through a mouse hole. I used a bit more magic and soon two fiery wings burst from its sides painlessly. It looked at its wings with confusion and smiled.
The first sound that seemed to escape the little fire pony was a cute and subtle coo. It let out a little giggle as it flapped it wings and took off into the air. To the little fire pony this room must be the world and I'm its god... In context and reality. It flew around and landed down on the wooden frame of the bed, it didn't seemed to light things on fire any longer and I just watched it fly around. I stared at it emotionless and started thinking about some really deep stuff. If I'm a god is this just what I do. Create life, give it advantages, then watch it interact with the world. I watched the little fire pony fly around and laugh and thought that I should get rid of it... But I can't do that.
It's alive. I can feel the energy and the life inside of it, and I can sense it's soul... I gave it a soul. I didn't even know what I was doing and I just created life, is that the kind of power I have now. I can just create life in any way shape or form whenever I want? And to top things off, I've actually grown rather fond of it. The little thing was cute, fun to watch and made me smile for the first time on my own power. Sure those jokes last night were funny, but that's not really the kind of happiness I need. This thing made me happy. And when I looked over to twilight I saw her smiling in her sleep and that made me happy too. And suddenly I had a huge breakthrough, rot then and there. It was like everything was clear to me now.
Being who I am, a god, a savior, and a hero... That means nothing. Those are just titles to describe me, they don't control me and I'm not going to let them. What does describe me is what I do with my own life by my own power. Sure I might be a hero, and I definitely am a god for sure and probably a savior... But I'm also crimson. I used to be a man with nothing on his mind but war and killing. But now I have this second chance and its going pretty well if I do say so. And all I have to do is be happy... In any way I can. As long as I'm happy others are happy... And I want others to be as happy as I am. With the afterglow of my epiphany I started smiling again and I had lost my attention for a minute until I saw the small fire pony floating in front of my face looking at me with curiosity. I blinked and looked at it. It smiled and nuzzled my giant snout with its own and started floating around again.
" I think I'll call you... Sprite." I said smiling watching the little pony fly around. It stopped and paid attention to my voice. It smiled and made a cute cooing once again as it did a little whirl in the air out of happiness. I smiled and laughed silently as the little pony did too. She was rather adorable and I'm sure she will be fun to have. " c'mon sprite..." I said getting up. " let's get some food." She smiled and flew around me as I walked over to the door to the other room and opened it slowly. She flew into the new room and smiled at this whole new world she now has to explore. I closed the door quietly and looked over to see Nightflame and Derek sleeping in the corner with shadow tail curled up at the end of their bedding.
I walked over to the table silently and saw a few of last nights cinnamon buns laying out at the table still somewhat fresh since they've been close to the fire so they're still warm. I grabbed the plate and slid it over. I placed tore off a bit of the cinnamon bun for sprite to have. I took the piece off and held it up to her. It was big enough for her to bite into and quite a meal for her on her own. Given the size difference, a crumb for me could be like breakfast for her. She started munching down on the cinnamon bun and she seemed to really like it. I ate my own food and she ate hers. But soon the moment was broken when there was a yawn and a grunt behind us. I looked back and saw Derek stretching his hooves, lying on his back.
" morning thunder rush." I said with my mouth partially full. Sprite let out a little coo and waved her hoof happily at Derek but he probably didn't hear it. He had his eyes closed tightly as he sat up and stretched out a bit more. He got up and shook out his hooves and stuff.
" oh... Hey crimson." He said getting on all fours, rubbing his eyes and looking over. His eyes caught mine but then they jumped right to sprite floating next to me. " uh crimson..." He said curiously.
" yes?" I said knowing he was curious about sprite.
" why is the air on fire?" He asked. I couldn't help but chuckle a little and smile.
" the air isn't on fire... This is sprite." i said in a friendly tone as i held out my hoof. the little fire pony flew over and landed down on my hoof and derek slowly walked over. he began to see its true shape as he came closer and soon he saw the little pony in full view. he looked at it and the little fire pony smiled and looked at him. he made the mistake of getting to close and the little pony harmlessly rubbed her nose against his own snout like she did before with me, but this in turn burnt derek and he let out a little gasp and pulled his head back as sprite giggled. he held his nose with his hoof but it couldn't have been that bad. "see... cute isn't she."
"gha... that hurt." he said.
"well of course it did, dumbass. she's made of fire and you just stuck you're face right in front of her... what did you think would happen?" i said mocking him... he kinda deserved it. "so what do you think?"
"it's cool... i guess?" he said unsure but still kinda tired and shocked from the burn. "where did you even find it?"
"her..." i said correcting him.
"her... where did you find her?" he asked becoming less shy and walking back over.
"i didn't find her..." i said. "i created her... from the fire pit...and she's sorry for burning you earlier... aren't you sprite." i said looking back down at the little fire pony in my hoof who had her head low and kicked her hoof a bit.
"uhh..." said derek confused even more than he was previously. "it's no problem... i... i forgive you... uh...sprite?" he said. at his words sprite perked up and flew over to him. he backed away a bit in fear of being burned but she flew over and nuzzled up against him. he freaked a bit at first but calmed down. "what the!" he said. "it... she's not burning me." he said curiously as the little fire pony nuzzled his cheek.
"i know... interesting isn't it." i said. "i've noticed that she only gets got when she gets really excited... as far as i can tell." i replied walking over. "i have yet to see how she reacts to other emotions... but we can let those happen on their own. i can imagine this happening when she gets angry too... but we'll have to see." i said holding out my hoof as sprite flew back over to my hoof and then quickly flew over to my back and stood on there like her perch.
"so... anyway." said derek sitting down on the bench. i walked over and sat down too. sprite flew off my back and onto the table and laid down smiling. Derek sat down and ate some of the leftover cinnamon buns like I had previously and I sat next to him. Sprite flew back down to the table and walked over to one of the cinnamon buns. She grabbed a bit of it and tried to pull off a chunk of it. She ripped the chunk off, but fell back and landed on her flank. She paused for a moment in shock from the fall but then diverted her attention to the chunk of food in her hooves and started to dig into it. I watched and chuckled a little bit.
" so... She can eat?" Said Derek.
" yeah, a lot too I guess." I said. " that's her second piece, look at how big it is compared to her... I'm surprised she even ate all of the first one." I replied smiling and looking at sprite.
"So... Does she need to drink water or something?" Asked Derek... That was a good question.
" well I would figure probably not... Since it would most likely kill her." I said. " she seems to do fine without it... Maybe she doesn't need to drink, just eat." Just then there was another moaning behind us and soon a very tired Nightflame emerged from his bed. He let out a fierce yawn and stretched his hooves. He rubbed the back of his head and got up. He let out a smaller yawn and walked over to the table with his eyes still partially closed. Sprite watched from the table in awe.
" hey guys..." He said walking over. " what's up?" He asked walking to the table and sitting down with us. He grabbed one of the cinnamon buns right next to sprite and started to munch down on it. Sprite got excited and flapped her wings as she took into the air. She flew up to Nightflame and landed on the tip of his snout and coo'd. She smiled and looked at him and I could sense he knew she was rubbed his eyes and looked again at sprite and stayed silent for a moment. " uhm... Crimson."
" yes Nightflame?" I said in a joking tone, thunder rush was cracking up behind me.
" what is this?" He said looking right at sprite who flapped her wings again and took into the air. She flew back and rubbed her little snout up against nightflames. " seriously what is it?" He said.
" don't you mean ' who is she?'." I said correcting him. " and her name is sprite, I created her not too long ago." I said smiling. Sprite was now flying around nightflame's head giggling as he tried to follow her.
" why did you make it... I mean, her?" He said.
" to be honest I didn't mean to... But I like her, she's adorable..." I said. " plus she's completely animate, she has a soul and everything, emotions, free will, and total control of her body." I said. " I got bored this morning and tried doing a little fire manipulation and ended up creating her."
" so you woke up this morning, got bored, and created a new form of symbiotic life..." He said.
" pretty much." I said smiling like it wasn't a big deal.
" I always thought fire was my thing." Said Nightflame. I didn't reply, instead we three watched sprite fly around and laugh, she seemed very happy and I was glad of it. Before I could say something else that was on my mind there was another noise, to the left this time. I looked over to see the guest room door slowly open up and a sleepy twilight walk out yawning. She walked over and smiled but stopped when she noticed the little fire pony flying around.
" uhh..." She said. " crimson what did you do?" She asked. I just smiled and rolled my eyes. Sprite had noticed twilight and got excited again she flew over and greeted her like she usually does. She rubbed her little snout against twilights and then flew up and landed on the top of her snout. She wasn't burning twilight so I think she has her excitement controlled to a certain point. Sprite smiled at twilight and twilight looked at sprite curiously with crossed eyes.
" twilight I would like you to meet sprite, sprite this is my friend twilight." I said. Sprite let out a cute little squeak as twilight stood there stammering a bit trying to find some pitching appropriate to say. There wasn't much to say in a situation like this, only to ask questions.
" who is sprite?" She asked.
" the... The little fire pony standing on your snout... Was I too in specific?" I asked like she didn't see the point of what I said earlier.
" I know that... I was addressing her. Who is she?" Asked twilight walking over with sprite still standing strong on her snout even when twilight was talking.
"Sprite is..." I said thinking of a good definition for her. " well she's one of a kind, I promise you that. I created her this morning, from the fire. It started off as an innocent fire manipulation, then I might have accidentally given her a soul." I said in a shy attitude.
" a soul..." Said twilight in a disgruntled attitude. " so you mean..."
" yep... She is a living breathing being." I said finishing twilights sentence for her. "Free will, emotions, independence, and total control over her own body."
" this is, uhh... Well it's, uhm... She's... She's definitely interesting." Said twilight.
" I know... I've grown fond of her, and I think I'll take her with us, " I said. " I think she'll make a great friend and good company."
" well I can't argue with you on this matter... You did create her, it's not my place to decide her fate." Said twilight. I smiled and she did too. We all sat down at the table and started eating. Soon enough shadow tail joined us and hrothar and miska not long after. I introduced them to sprite and when all the greeting were over with we sat down at the table and discussed what we would be doing today. We went over briefly what would be going on today and I went over the plan for tomorrow.
" so basically, me and the king are going to push back the scarlet empire and turn the tides of the war In our favor." I said. " after the armies have either all been destroyed or have fallen back far enough, we will traverse through the ruins and then we'll be on our way to oasis." I explained the plan to them and they followed along.
" so what do we do?" Asked Derek.
" stay out of it..." I said. " just stay back until the armies are gone and ..." I stopped when I was interrupted by a knocking at the door. " uhm..." I muttered as there was another knock on the door.
" I'll get it..." Said miska getting up and hurrying to the door. She walked over and opened the door. " hello." She asked but the door was forced open even more putting me on alert, soon a robed unicorn busted through and walked into the house. " court Mage...!" Said miska in shock.
" crimson... Crimson!" He said looking around and finally spotting me.
" what... What is it?" I asked.
" come quickly." Said the wizard.
" what's wrong?" I asked.
" the king needs to see you now..." He said frantically. " quickly I can teleport us to the castle come..." He said with his horn glowing brightly. Before I could argue or pull away from the spell he teleported us to the castle. In a flash of light we were gone and soon I found myself outside of the throne room. The doors were closed and the Mage looked frightened. I was confused as to why I needed to be here.
" crimson... I'm sorry for pulling you away like that but its the king..." He said.
" what about the king?" I asked.
" I don't know... He isn't himself, he doesn't even look himself either, I can sense great hatred in his heart that never existed in him before... Something is wrong." He said.
" when did this happen?" I asked not in too big of a hurry to fix the problem that didn't seem to big to me.
" last night..." He said. " I went to see if he was well rested and I couldn't find him in his room, I found him on the throne scolding a fleet of guards with that staff in his hoof. Two of the guards talked out of turn and he had them killed... He has never had anypony killed before... He's different and I think it's that spear... Ere must be a curse on it, I couldn't sense it before but now I can even feel the hatred on it from here."
" and you need my help... It's good that you found me." I said.
" you were the closest friend he had and he trusted you... Maybe he still does, try and talk to him... Get him to drop the spear... Don't kill him, but if you must force it from him... The longer he holds onto it, the angrier he becomes... Quickly." He said opening the doors with his magic. His nervousness went away and he put on a charade for the king as he walked into the room bowing his head in respect, as well as I.
" Who isss it?" Said the king in a deeper more serpent like voice.
" crimson blast your highness." Said the Mage as we grew closer to the throne, soon enough we were at the steps of the throne and I looked up to see the horrible figure that had befallen the king.
" ahh... Yesss, crimssson blassst." He said. He had a thin forked tongue that flicked every time he pronounced an 's'. He had yellow snake eyes with slits instead of pupils, and he had grown fangs as well. His armor was no longer blue and noble colored but instead it was green and black all over, like poison. He had a malicious smile on his face, and the thinner parts of his coat were just scales now, this wasn't good. " have you come to dissscusss the battle plansss?" He asked.
" yes your majesty." I said seeing he still trusted me even through his changed form. I took a moment and analyzed the area. As I did so, time seemed to slow down so I could get a good cover over everything. So far I can tell that when the wizard has told me was right. The spear is full of hatred and spite, and is constantly pumping this hatred into him. The king is still inside though. A small blue light surrounded by an aura of hatred, I need to act quickly and get the spear from his grasp before his true self is completely taken over by hatred. I stopped looking around and time resumed its normal course suddenly.
" MAGE!" He said shouting at the court wizard who cowardly fell into a bowing position.
" yes your highness." He said almost shaking.
" leave usss." He said pointing away with the spear. The Mage bowed one last time and teleported away in a flash of light. The king settled down into a rest and soon stood up from the throne. His armor was torn and covered in chains and broken pieces of armor, it looked rugged and makeshift. " ssso... What ssshould we dissscusss?" Asked the king walking down from his throne with loose chains scraping against the floor and loose pieces of metal clanging together with every move.
" If its alright with your majesty, I would like to go over our strategy and battle plans for when we crush the scarlet empire." I said trying to act on his level and not seem so different, almost like I had changed with him.
" yesss, good idea." He said with the spear in his grasp. I need to get his trust and when he's distracted I'll force it from him, I know that he won't let go of it easily. " come with me... To the war chamber." He said walking off to a side door. I followed him as we trotted off to the new room. He opened it up and we walked inside. With some kind of magic all the torches in the room lit up bright green. The room was an open gathering room with a large round table with a magical three dimensional map engraved into it. On the map there were magical holograms of all the pieces of this strategy game, forts, cities, armies, and captains.
" what does your majesty propose our strategy should be?" I asked respectively.
" a sssimple act of masss ssslaughter ssshould ssscare thossse Red Devilss back home... If not, I'll be sure to try over and over again. His horn glowed and the map started to zoom into a mountain range close to the city. Once it was zoomed it I saw the outside of the ruins. They were huge and there was a blue army encampment outside the doors. The map zoomed in some more and opened up into the ruins themselves, we had a Birdseye view of the arena. There were red and blue camps everywhere. And blue red bases on the opposite side of the ruins. His horn glowed and soon on the blue side of the map two ponies appeared, it was me and the king.
" so we go in and kill all scarlet warriors." I said.
" every lassst one." He said smiling. Soon the two holograms of us glowed and the whole map filled with light as every one of the red soldiers depicted on the map had now been destroyed. I looked back at the king who was taken into the battle raging on his little map. I saw my chance and I had to take it, if I didn't then the king might be lost forever. Without hesitation I let out a cry and used all my might to blast the kings right wing which he was using to grasp the spear. In the explosion of energy the king was forced back and was flung through the air and the spear was torn from his grasp " what isss thisss incolenssss?" He said getting angry now with one scorched wing. I rushed over to the spear and guarded it, I didn't dare touch the spear.
" this isn't you king sapphire, this spear has corrupted you, made you angry and violent, it has filled you with nothing but hatred and spite... This isn't you." I said guarding the spear.
" it hasss given me nothing but courage and power." He said. " I'm going to fix thisss land."
" no... You're going to destroy it... The people don't need a king of violence and war, they need a king of peace and understanding... The spear has changed you... Just look at yourself, you're a snake... Literally and at heart too." I said pointing out his figure now.
" fool." He shouted in a wave of power. " return my ssspear, or I'll have your head."
" I won't kill you... But if you want my head then you'll have to get it yourself." I said standing up to him.
" ssso be it." He said growling at me now. His horn glowed and he pointed it right at me. He fired a large green blast of energy. As he fired off his beam he let out a shout and it fired right at me. It hit me and I let out a grunt from the force... But it couldn't hurt me. I was confused. I seemed to have some kind of natural defense against it. It just bent around me and flew back tearing through the rest of the castle. As the beam kept firing I. It iced pit was made purely of hatred, and that it was also draining the hatred around the kings heart, so long as he doesn't touch the spear again I just need to make him tire himself out of his hatred.
" remember what I am..." I said as soon as his blast died down and he started breathing heavily. I stood there I phased by his attack. " remember what you're up against. You cannot hope to destroy me, I will live forever... And if you do destroy me now, I will find you later."
" you call yourssself a god... You are nothing." He said. " a sssimple pony with to much power than he knowsss what to do with. You are weak, worthlesss." He let out another shout and fired his blast at me again. It hit me and fractured off of me. The blast bounce off of me in all directions. It tore through the castle and broke through the ground and the walls. The castle was rumbling and shaking. The hatred inside of the king was leaving him and the Brit blue aura inside of him was growing back to strength.
I could sense him growing weaker and so was his attack. But he was relentless and kept up the attack with no real sense of danger. He wasn't able to catch onto my plan, he was falling for it. The hatred was leaving him now and the blue aura of the king was now returning. He finally stopped his attack and stood there tired and leaking energy. There were light green cracks all over his body that seeped out hatred and dark green energy that floated into the air and disappeared. His shabby armor soon turned to ash and he was now without his gear. His features had begun to return to normal, his eyes, the fangs and his coat was growing back.
His original kindness was now strong enough to repel the hatred and spite on its own power and the hatred inside of him was now slowly decaying. As more hatred last cracks and marks started forming over his body and the green glow they gave off before was slowly fading to a deep blue. And soon the hatred was nearly gone now and a deep blue aura soon started to form over the king as he glowed bright blue and filled the room with light. The torches on the wall changed color from green to blue. And soon the light faded to show the original king sapphire. He was tired and broken, but his energy was slowly returning to him.
" crimson?" He said almost asleep with exhaust now. As energy returned to him he slowly got up onto his four hooves.
" king sapphire... Are you alright?" I asked.
" thank you... Crimson." He said smiling. " that's the second time you have saved my kingdom and the fourth time you have saved myself. This could have been prevented, if only I knew it would corrupt me."
" it's not your fault." I said.
" it is though, I was meant to hold the spear." He said.
" no... The spear was simply not meant to be held." I replied. " it's hatred would have corrupted even me... It was an evil trap that no pony, including myself, had seen coming."
" maybe you're right..." He said. " but what will we do now, without the weapon."
" remember what I said." I replied. " this kingdom needs a king of love and understanding, not war and hatred. Why can't there just be peace?"
" we have tried that, believe me... They won't listen." He said.
" to the enemy... Of course not." I replied continuing his statement. " but maybe they'll listen to me... And if not, then so be it. I know yours is a noble cause and I will defend that cause if I must be the one to turn the tides of the war myself... But I cannot fight this war for you."
" I would never expect you to, and I am truly outraged by this unfortunate setback." He said with a tinge of anger and regret welling up inside of him.
" do not worry..." I said. " as a god of balance this is my responsibility, to keep the peace and balance of the universe... And with the scarlet armies in the ruins me and my group would not be able to travel to our destination... And it's very crucial that we do." I took a few steps back and turned around to walk out of the war room and into the throne room. The whole castle was destroyed. As we both walked out there was a flash of light and the Mage soon stood to the side of me and the king. He could instantly see that the king was back to normal.
" crimson, you've done it... I knew I could rely on you, thank you." He said smiling and bowing at me.
" you were very wise to seek crimsons help arkos." I never learned the mages name, I guess its arkos. " thank you."
" of course king sapphire." He said. " I knew something was wrong, and I knew crimson would be the only one to help."
" now crimson, I believe we have some news to spread to your group members." Said king sapphire.
" we?"
" yes... We." He said. " I feel like this is my fault and I should be there to help you explain the situation, I'll walk with you to your group and I'll explain what has happened. This affects them as well as you." He said smiling and walking a few inches in front of me.
" I suppose you're right." I said. " but are you sure you want to just walk down to the lower city?" I asked bringing up a good point. Around here I'm rather famous and I get a friendly smile from all the ponies, but he's the freaking king.
" I'm sure celestia has talked to you about how dreadfully boring it can be, sitting In a palace all day with almost no pony to talk to." He said. " a little walk never hurt, plus I'm sure all my subjects would like to see their king." He said. I just smiled and jokingly rolled my eyes. " now lets get going, you can lead the way."
" alright... Don't get lost." I said smiling and making a joke. The king chuckled and we walked out of the castle with me in the lead. Arkos waved goodbye as we waved away and returned to the mages quarters. We entered the hall of kings and soon got to the front gate. We walked out and past the courtyard to the bridge. As soon as we got to the bridge all the guards stationed there froze in the surprise and shock of seeing their king cross the bridge. The only thing they could think to do was bow out of respect and possibly fear.
We passed the bridge and soon walked into the inner city. It wasn't long until we started coming across ponies, and we all know how that went. Every pony bowed to their king in respect as he walked by. He smiled and waved at a few of them and we kept walking. For a stroll through the city it was a Gerry casual one too, he wasn't in any armor or even wearing his crown, but then again it is hard to mistake your alicorn king for somepony else. We kept walking and soon we passed through the market.
Word had already spread fairly quickly and ponies were already gathered outside their homes and in the market to see the king as he walked by. They all bowed just like everypony before them and the king just smiled and waved at the crowd of ponies. We continued to keep walking through. Soon enough we came to the gate to the lower city and the guards protecting it bowed as we both passed through. It was a while until we came into the depth on the outer city. As we started to pass by the other ponies, they acted differently in the presence of their king, and by differently I mean they didn't act whatsoever.
" uhm... King sapphire." I said to the king. He wasn't waving and smiling now but looked around at the ponies with curiosity. Some of the ponies looked at him strangely, but didn't react like they were his king.
" yes crimson?" He said replying to me.
" how come these ponies aren't recognizing you as their king, they aren't bowing." I said. He smiled and let out a sigh.
" well unfortunately the outer city is greatly cut off from the inner city. Most ponies here are too busy trying to live and survive to be bothered with most things. I'm sure some of these ponies didn't even know we had a king. Some may recognize me, but since I'm so terribly out of uniform it's like I'm just one of them." He said still smiling.
" why are you smiling?" I asked.
" because I don't mind it." He said. " it takes pressure off of me. I'd rather fit in now a days than stick out... Plus I'm not too crazy about gathering attention." We kept walking through the streets of the city and some of the ponies looked over and smiled and waved. For a second I though they were recognizing their king, but they're attention was directed towards me. I can't blame him, I know what it's like. I often dream about just being normal again, it's strange really. Normal ponies all want to be something big and special, but sometimes the ones who are special just want to get away from the attention and blend in normally. I looked over to the king and smiled.
" what?" He asked looking at me and noticing my smile.
" you know, when this war is over and you've repaired your kingdom, you should take a break... You would deserve it." I said smiling. " fly out to Equestria, you me and my friends can celebrate... Give you a chance to feel normal."
" that's a very generous offer." He said smiling. " and I may have to take you up on that one day. But for now we should deal with our current problems. The party can come after."
" alright..." I said smiling and turning onto hrothar's street. The king followed me and we started walking down the street. " I'm staying at a friends house, my group is there. It's just down the road."
" good..." Said the king smiling as we walked down the street and still got almost no reactions form the passing ponies. It wasn't long until we drew closer and closer to hrothars house and soon enough we were at the doorstep. We walked up and I stepped forward. " is this the place?" Asked sapphire.
" yeah..." I replied. " here let me go first, they're probably worried about where I am, after all arkos did snatch me up in half a second. He barged through the door yelling for help then teleported away with me before explaining everything... So I'll go in first." I said.
" that sounds like arkos. He's not that great under pressure, or much of a social pony, but his hearts in the right place and he knows what he's doing." Said the king. I smiled and turned to the door. I brought my hoof up and knocked on the door. I heard the shuffle of hooves on the other side and talking, it was muffled so I couldn't hear it. Soon a pair of hooves grew closer and closer to the door.
" who is it?" Asked a familiar voice on the other side. The door swung open to reveal hrothar. Behind him were the others just sitting around the table with a map spread out on the table. When hrothar saw me he smiled. I don't think he could see king sapphire. I am quite large and block the doorway, and the king was to the side out of view. " ah... Crimson, your back." Said hrothar.
" yes I'm back." I said.
" crimson?" Said twilight looking over.
" hey he's back, about time." Said Derek sitting at the table. They all looked so calm and relaxed.
" about time?" I questioned, repeating his statement. " did you guys not worry at all what might have happened to me? did you just sit here?" I asked quite frankly shocked at their sullen behavior to my sudden departure. Before I could go on a small little red light flew over to me and landed on the tip of my snout. It was sprite, who was hugging the tip of my snout. Her adorable behavior managed to make me calm down a bit.
" yeah, we pretty much stayed here." Said Nightflame.
" wow... Thanks guys..." I said sarcastically.
" sounds like you have some great friends." Said king sapphire next to me. The others seemed confused and hrothar kept looking back in confusion as he left the doorway to return to the table.
" they're not that bad, they're all the best friends a pony could have really." I said. " they're just joking really, they know I can handle myself better than any other pony."
" uhm crimson..." Said twilight.
" huh... " I said redirecting my attention into the house. They still couldn't see the king.
" who are you talking to?" She asked. I smiled and took one step into the house.
" just a friend." I said smiling. I turned my head to king sapphire and gave him a friendly wink. " here come on in, make yourself at home." I said walking all the way into the house now with sprite buzzing around me. She flew up and sat down on the tip of my ear.
" don't mind if I do..." Said king sapphire as I entered the house and walked over to the table. He entered the doorway and looked around as he slowly walked in smiling. " this is a nice home, very quaint and cozy, I think I'll redecorate my own room in this style... Staring at marble for hundreds of years gets bleak and boring, and those damn stain glass windows are so drafty." When he fully entered the house he used his magic to close the door. Just like me, he was close to scraping the top of his head against the ceiling. I almost laughed as I watched everypony's mouths drop to the ground.
" we'll I hope you enjoy your new renovations." I said smiling and adding to his joke. Hrothar and miska's mouths dropped mostly from noticing that they're king was now standing in the middle of their house. The others mouths dropped at the presence of another alicorn. Even though Nightflame was an alicorn, we've gotten used to him, plus he's young and not fully developed. King sapphire however, was a fully grown and powerful alicorn. " guys I would like you to meet my new friend, king sapphire." Those words caused the others mouths to drop a little more. " king sapphire, these are my friends twilight sparkle, thunder rush, and Nightflame." I said pointing to my individual friends.
" it's a pleasure to meet you..." He said bowing his head a little.
" and these two ponies are hrothar, and his wife miska. They're kind enough to share their home for us and have been my friends for a while actually. I stayed with them last time I was in indigo city."
" it's a pleasure to meet such kind souls." He said bowing to miska and hrothar. In excitement sprite flew from my ear and buzzed around king sapphire. He was a bit confused at first as he tried to follow her. When she stopped and hovered in front of him he smiled. She rubbed her snout against his and squeaked in joy, it was pretty damn cute. " and who is this little fire pony?" He said smiling and watching her.
" that is sprite..." I said. " she's one of a kind."
" she surely is..." Said king sapphire. " it's an honor to meet such good friends of crimson, I've heard only good things about all of you."
" I... I... I." Stuttered hrothar. The king let out a soft chuckle and smiled.
" there's no need to be so nervous, this is just a friendly visit." He said smiling. " no need for formalities."
" I...but... How?" Said hrothar stuttering a little bit more before he closed his mouth and swallowed his nerves. " I swear... Every time you walk through that door you've got some different surprise with you... Dammit boy, your going to give me a heart attack."
" king sapphire please..." Said miska walking forward. " have a seat, relax. Can I get you anything to drink? Some food maybe?" She said being very hospitable. I smiled and the king grinned as well.
" just some water, thank you." He said walking over to the table and sitting down near the side. I walked over and took a seat next to him and Nightflame. The others just stared at king sapphire. " well..." Said king sapphire. " you all like like a noble band of warriors and travelers, hmm." He said looking at Nightflame. " very different seeing another alicorn, such as myself. Where are you from?" He asked curiously.
" uhh... Who, me." Said Nightflame.
" are there any other alicorns in the room." Said sapphire raising an eyebrow and smiling.
" why are you guys so tense... You're never like this around celestia, or even around me... What's up?" I asked.
" I guess... It's just the surprise of it all." Said twilight. Soon they all began to relax a little as the question got out there. Miska walked over and placed a cup of water in front of king sapphire. He turned to miska and smiled saying thanks. She smiled back, bowed slightly, and returned to her seat.
" so, where are you from?" He asked.
" uhh... Equestria." Said Nightflame. " my father king grey forge is in charge of the upper north mountains. The mining settlements are up there. It's not technically part of Equestria, but it might as well be. Uhh, my name is Nightflame, I'm the heir to the throne."
" ah yes... The metal citadel," said sapphire. " iron forge... A very respectable place ruled by a great king, and full of strong and dependable ponies. Have you heard of my kingdom before, I do import all my iron and other metals from your fathers kingdom, the strongest and sturdiest steel and iron in the world. Surely your father must mention the kingdom?"
" well, not often really..." He said. " I don't often have such strong conversations with my father, and the countries he sells to aren't really on the list of things to discuss."
" alright, I see..." Said sapphire. He smiled and turned his attention to twilight. " and I'm guessing you must be twilight sparkle?" He said.
" uhm... Well yes." She said.
" oh yes... I've heard about you miss sparkle, your celestial favorite student... And I'm sure she must be right to believe that." He said.
" I didn't know you knew about me." She said blushing a bit.
" you might not have much of a reputation with the ponies of indigo city, but I know your name. Your a wielded of one of the elements of harmony, magic if I'm correct."
" uhm... Yes" she said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you miss sparkle..." Said king sapphire. He then turned his attention to thunder rush. " and that must mean you are thunder rush..."
" uhh, yessir." Derek said.
" no need for formality... So what do you do?" He asked.
" nothing really... My only claim to fame is that I'm crimsons best friend."
" we've been friends for as long as I can remember." I said butting in. " before all of this happened we used to be the greatest of friends. We used to be soldiers in a small country to the south of Equestria, we were at war and there was no hope."
" the enemies had destroyed our home while we were out o n the battlefield, it was a dirty trick." Said Derek continuing the story. " with no hope most of the soldiers fled the country to whatever place they could find, me and crimson got separated along the way... But I found him later in Equestria... And we both live peacefully in ponyville."
" yeah peacefully." I said rolling my eyes and smiling. " sometimes we get to do that." I said making the others laugh.
" well you must be something special..." Said sapphire. " I can see the good in you, the raw love and passion... That's something you can't find in a lot of ponies... That's what makes you special." Derek smiled and so did sapphire. Before anything happened there was a barking and then shadow tail ran out from the other room. He ran over to sapphire and barked happily at him, wagging his tail, sapphire smiled.
" I'm sure you remember shadow tail." I said smiling.
" oh yeah... I remember this furry guy here." He said. He reached down and patted shadow tail on the head and shadow panted happily with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. The king smiled and looked back up to the table.
" uhh... Your highness." Said hrothar timidly.
" yes hrothar?" Sapphire said looking over with a smile.
" what crimson said about the scarlet empire, about them being right in our doorstep. That can't be true... Can it?" He asked timidly. The smiled n the kings face slowly faded into a frown of resentment.
" unfortunately it is..." Replied the king. " the center of the dwarven ruins to the west of the city are currently home to the battleground, and we're losing ground every day."
" but... Your highness, why would you not tell the ponies about this... Your subjects need to know the truth." He said. This for some reason put a smile back n the kings face.
" yes... You are right, the ponies do have the right to know the truth... And the thrush is that most ponies cannot handle the truth." He said. " I have a good reason for withholding this news, simply because ponies don't want to hear it. I mean to keep the ponies here happy and peaceful. If they knew they would panic, then everything would fall apart. I took the stress off of all they're hooves... And put them on mine."
" and now they're on mine..." I said indirectly leading to the reason for the kings visit.
" yes..." Said the king. Everypony in the room looked over with confusion. " I think it's time to let them know why I'm really here." He said as the smile slowly faded off of his face again.
"Crimson... What is this about?" Asked twilight confused.
" I'll tell them." Said the king stopping me from answering my friend. He closed his eyes, let out a deep sigh, and began his story. " I'm sure crimson has all told you of the weapon he and I searched for... And you know that it was going to be our one hope to turn the tides of the war... But the weapon wasn't what we thought."
" what do you mean... What happened?" Asked Derek eagerly.
" we'll... Uh... It's." the king was stammering no I took over.
" it's hard to explain..." I said. " the wean was powerful, but it wasn't the power we needed." I said clearing up any doubt. " it was full of hatred and anger... Which had corrupted the king, that's why I had to leave this morning, I was at the castle in corrupting him... But the weapon cannot be used now... Or it will darken him again... So now it's up to me to turn the tides of the war." I said.
" YOU..." Exclaimed twilight. " all by yourself, you're going to fight this war?"
" we talked about making peace with the enemy first." Said king sapphire. " they might not listen to me, but you friend has a highly respectable title, so they might listen to him."
" but if not, then i will do my best to push back the scarlet empire..." I said. "It is what I'm entitled to do, as a guardian of peace..."...shit!
" guardian of peace?" Asked twilight... Shit! Shit shit shit! How could I have just said that, I fucked up. I accidentally let that go. Quickly, I have to think of something to cover this up. Everypony is looking at me with confusion. Even king sapphire. He's wondering why they are looking at me like that. The something clicked in his head and he knew that they didn't know, he now shared the same sentiment with me.
" crimson, what do you mean guardian of peace?" Asked Nightflame. Well... Uh... It could be worse. I could have revealed that I'm a god. At least I said guardian, not god. I could feel myself starting to sweat a little.
" uhh... It's nothing, don't worry about it."... Dammit crimson, don't say that, it only makes you seem more suspicious.
" no... Tell us, c'mon, you can trust us... We're your friends." Said thunder rush. I know they're my friends and I do trust them, but I have no intention of letting them know the truth... Yet.
" I shouldn't have said that." I shouldn't have said that either! I'm just burying myself more and more into this hole now. " just trust me, it's nothing." I said trying my best to climb out of this hole I'm digging for myself, but it clearly isn't working.
" crimson... I know you're hiding something." Said twilight. " in fact I've known, that you've been hiding something." I gulped and started sweating some more. " the new attitude, immortality, and all these new abilities and powers. You've changed in a major way and you're not telling us what it is... What is it crimson?"
" yeah... Now that twilight says it, it does make sense... There's something majorly different about you." Said Derek. " c'mon dude you can tell us."
" you can trust us... We're your friends." Said Nightflame. How could twilight have always known... For a god I'm pretty fucking stupid. I need to do something fast, but I can't think straight with all my friends putting me on the spot like this.
" crimson tell us." Said twilight
" you can trust us." Blurted out Derek
" crimson, what's going on, what are you hiding." Asked hrothar.
" crimson..?" Asked king sapphire. All the constant questioning and the lack of trust was growing stronger and getting to my head. It was driving me crazy... And an all too familiar darkness, one that haunted me a long time ago began to creep its way into the room. All too suddenly everything was black, only the white static outlines on everything. All of a sudden as the blackness crossed over my friends they're voices faded and only high pitched, head splitting sound echoed all around me, killing my ears.
I felt trapped, In a way that I had never been trapped before. Felt like I was trapped in not just a web of lies, but caught between the sides of me. Like the king said, I have a good reason for not letting my friends know. It's because I'm afraid that they won't be able to handle the truth... But I see that at some point or another we have to face the harsh truth... And it always hurts in some way or another. All of a sudden I felt the need to escape boil inside of me, and with it came a flare of familiar emotions, ones of distress and fear, and anger... But only for a moment did I feel anger... But it was enough to make me do something I may regret later.
" STOOOP!" I shouted releasing a great force that pushed everything back against the walls and blew out the fire in the fire pit. Only I was left in the center of the room, and the darkness had faded away now too. I stood there breathing heavily with a glare on my face and bright glowing eyes. " my secrets are my own... Not for you to know!" I said yelling out with multiple voices as one, like I had done other times before. Only now had I realized how terrifying I could be when I'm angry... It's even making me scared. " Stop... Pestering me... Leave me be." I said glowing bristly, and in one flash and another surge of suppressing energy I was gone.
I was covered in light once again. This teleportation wasn't instant but I was coming through to my destination. I didn't know where I was trying to go, or where I would end up. All I knew was that I needed to get away. I was still angry, still upset... Still hiding my secrets. I've never been one to just open up about these things without being very desperate first or without good intention or reason. When the light started to fade it was replaced by... More light? No not light... Snow. Pure white snow... And a chilling breeze. The snow fell rapidly from the sky, and it whirled all around me. The ground was rock hard and cold and the air was thin.
Once It became clear to me where I was I almost found peace in where I was. I was on top of the mountain... The large mountain me and the others passed to get to indigo city. The path is miles from where I am standing now, which would be the peak. I was on the top of the mountain standing there in the harsh and frill cold. The heat of the moment, the burning anger. The cold sting of the snow seemed almost peaceful, it began to quell my anger and my rage... Until soon it was gone.
" what have I done..." I said sitting down in the snow. I Let my head down and started sulking and reflecting on what had just happened. If I could go back and fix everything I would... But unfortunately time travel isn't in my arsenal of magic... That's completely separate.
" what have you done indeed?" Said another voice that has now startled me. It was female and sounded familiar. For I second... I thought. Could it be her? I turned and looked behind me to see a white figure start making its way out of the snow. I think it is her? As the white figure revealed herself, I saw it wasn't who I thought it was... The figure was mirella. " this is quite the situation you're in... And so casual as it started... Secrets aren't easily kept, one little slip up, and everything falls apart. Lies only beget more lies crimson."
" why are you here?" I asked her standing up to face her.
" I know you are troubled... And being a god isn't instant... You aren't fully realized yet, and you still have much to learn... And only time can be your teacher." She said.
" I thought I knew what I was doing." I said. " but I clearly don't, I'm not ready for this."
" but you are ready for this crimson." She said. " you just don't know what you're ready for." She said. " like I told you, only time can be your teacher... And I know that you have learned from it before."
" mirella... What do I do?" I asked.
" follow the signs..." She said smiling.
" what signs?" I asked getting more anxious and annoyed.
" they have all been shown to you... You just need to see them." She said. " celestia has shown you one, so have your friends, and king sapphire, there are four signs... And only the last one can be told by yourself." She said scowling backing away and smiling.
" no... Wait... WAIT!" I said making her stop but it was too late. She disappeared with the snow and was gone now.
" crimson..." Said a voice behind me, it sounded female." I quickly turned around.
" mirella?" I asked quickly turning around. I was disappointed slightly when instead of mirella I saw a different goddess. She was wearing blue robes with a large blue crystal staff by her side. She had hair that flowed like water and deep crystal blue eyes.
" no... I'm Aqiana... Goddess of water, and the oceans." She said. " you should know me well, you have my heart... I was one with you before your ascension."
" why are you here?" I asked. " what role do you play in helping me?"
" we are the same..." She said. " I am part of you now, so I know how you are feeling." She said. " like me, like water, you are feeling angry or mad, you get hot, and boil. But when you feel desolate and distant, you get cold and freeze, your very much like me... "
" how does this help me." I asked.
" because, whether you are mad and boil into steam, or feel lonely and freeze into Ice, water is still water... And you will always still be crimson. Mirella forgot to mention, but the other gods can show you a sign or two listen to what we say..." She said before evaporating and floating away.
" I guess that makes it my turn." Said a familiar voice behind me. I turned to see mordecai sitting on a rock with his arms crossed and black smoke floating around him, he was smiling as he stood up and waved. " hey there crimson, how's it going."
" and what do you have to tell me?" I asked.
" just this..." He said taking a deep breath. " now.. I know you may not think much of me... Being the element of darkness and all, you think I'm some evil entity... But I'm not. I'm just darkness... Because evil hides in the dark, doesn't make the darkness itself evil... You know, you have good experience with it."
" so what is the difference between evil and darkness." I asked.
" only one... Evil wished to exterminate the light, all that is good." He said. " but darkness cannot live without it... They both need each other... There are no barriers between them, they are one thing crimson... You're not a bad person, or a bad pony.. And you're going to make one hell of a god..." He said as he started to smoke and fade away. " oh.. And when you find shall-grahkan... Kick his ass." He said smiling before leaving and then I was alone, but not for long.
The sky thundered and shook, then from the blinding white sky a bolt of pure lightning fell from the sky and struck the ground. From the flash emerged a large muscular man in iron chain mail armor with a mighty hammer. I'm going to give one guess he's the god of lightning and that his name is Thor.
" and you must be Thor... God of thunder?" I asked.
" yes... I know, my name is one of the more common among the elemental gods, due to my ties with the gods of lore... But yes, I am Thor, god of thunder.
" and what have you to say?" I asked, now more interested in this now than pestered, part of me knew what they were saying was all true, and I figure if at any time, now would be the best for self reflection, and what better way than with my different selves.
" only this..." He said, he has a great booming voice. " you must become the elements that make you whole. Thunder... Is strong and reliable, but not as fast as lightning which is quick and cunning... And thunder is powerful and slow... But the two must be one with each other. You cannot think power, or speed, or strength... But you must make these things work with you... You must be power, must be speed..."
" what has this to do with?"
" think crimson... " he said. " to understand, you must become two of the opposite forces... You must combine what cannot be made to fit..." He said before lightning flashed from the sky and struck him, when it was gone so was he. I let out a deep sigh and waited for the next god to appear. And soon there was a flash behind me. I looked back to feel only heat. And soon I saw the fire god standing there smiling.
" hey fire..." I said with a sullen attitude. " what have you to say to me?" I asked sullenly. He smiled and walked forward. All the snow melted around his feet and it just flew away from him as it fell from the sky.
" crimson, you must know much about fire... The heat anger and violence of it..." He said. " most people and ponies see it and think of pain, destruction, and violence... They don't view it as a positive thing... But that is not true... Can you see what fire is... Unlike them?"
" I... I can't say that I do." I said looking down. He just kept smiling.
" crimson what this is, is not easy... You must find the clues, the signs. You have to put them together, and only then will you realize what it means to be a true god... Let me tell you what fire is."
" alright... Tell me." I said.
" fire... Is not pain or destruction... It is the opposite of that. Fire is life, it is warmth. It gives us hear, and protection. It feeds, it grows and it feels. It burns forests and towns, and as well does it burn in the hearts of those who have passion... Crimson... Can you feel the fire in your heart... The warmth of passion and determination. Can you see the fire in your own eyes... The will to never give up. To understand you must feel the fires of life within yourself... You must understand... This is all I can teach you... Good luck my friend." He said before whisking away in a tornado of light.
I took a sigh and tried to concentrate but I couldn't. I felt a force behind me. I turned to see a thin sliver of green poke out of the snow. It was a plant. Soon the plant rapidly began to grow and become larger, despite of the climate and location. Soon it sprouted up to be a large flower pod, big enough to fit a person in there. As the flower pod soon cracked reviewing a gorgeous pink flower as big as a bed, and in the middle was a woman wearing a leaf like bra and underwear. She had a bow on her back made of oak and a quiver of arrows, this must be nature.
" hello crimson..." She said. Her voice was soft and sweet. " I am vitaana... Goddess of the nature and forest. I have come with my sign to you."
" what is your sign?" I asked patiently.
" crimson... In nature, there is only beauty and peace... It is a place of calm thoughts and reflection... But there is more too it, so much more. Things you cannot see with a visible eye are happening all around you. Plants are growing, animals are thriving. The trees that have been growing in the forest before you were even born are standing there... Watching you in all their wisdom... They are alive... The forest is life. The trees grow, they eat, they drink, and feel.
" is there any more?" I asked.
" in the winter... A time of depression and cold, trees and plants wither and die." She said. " I know you've seen this before, you have felt it along with me. But... In the spring, they grow back to their former glory so the world can see them for their beauty. You must be lime the trees crimson... You must be wise. And only time can make you so... But when winter comes and you wither, always remember to grow back in the spring." She said. Hers was more confusing than the rest, but before I could question her, the plant pod she was in closed back up and she receded back into the ground.
Just then a large spike of earth shot from the ground and arose from it a new god. He had dark brown stone armor with a mighty axe in his hands. He had a grand beard and long white hair. The ground reset and I picked myself off the gerund as it had almost thrown me off the mountain side.
" hail crimson..." Said the large man walking over. " I am eos... God of earth and all that holds up the earths beauty."
" and you must have your sign for me." I asked.
" I am not a cryptic person crimson... But you must understand that there aren't many mysteries to the earth. Rocks and the dirt have always been there, they don't grow, and they don't go away... They are stubborn and arrogant. They are Strong and stubborn.
" is that what I should be?" I asked.
" no crimson..." He said. " there is more to it than that... Earth isn't just strong and stubborn, but they are dependable. They are everything we have, everything we forge, or create, comes from the ground. They are the building blocks of the world. All the tools and weapons and armor we have is made from the metal in the ground. Do you see crimson, you must be willing to go through change, you must become something that you were not in the first place." He said. He stomped his foot and a hole opened up in the dirt. He jumped in laughing and smiling and it closed back up, he was a bit of a strange one.
I stood there on the mountain. I listened to the gods signs and tales. The next two that came to me were the god of air and the god of life. They told me all about what those things where, they were pretty straight forward. The god of air talked about the wind and the air, how the wind always points to the direction of change and moves forward towards that change with strength and ambition. Then the next one to appear was the god of life. His story was a little more interesting.
" crimson... You must understand... Life isn't everything. Just as light and darkness are opposites that must live together, so is life and death. Life always ends in death, and what point is life if you cannot die... That is an immortal gods volley, life without death. If we don't die... Things become meaningless, relationships are pointless if everyone we meet must die before us."
" this isn't going very happily." I said interrupting him.
" it may now, life isn't full of happiness... But what it does is that it leads up to death... And one way or another everything must die... But if you can understand that then you will know not to be afraid of death."
" for the god of life, you sure do speak about death a lot."
" listen crimson... Life." He said. " it's everything... It's what keeps us going, what makes us... Everything, possible. Without any life, this would just be a rock hurling through a void... Life is the meaning of life..,"
" life is the meaning of life?" I said.
" the answer is within itself. The meaning of life is to live... It's too simple. If you don't live... Then you're dead and life is no longer with you... Therefore meaningless." He said... Holy shit. That's some pretty deep shit.
" I hope you will understand, and I'm sure you know who is coming for you next." He said as he began glowing and in a flash was gone. But soon that light was replaced by darkness and from the spiral of darkness rose death himself. His dark black robe that turned into smoke as it reached the bottom. His shadowless being and his bony skeletal hands. In his hand he held his large scythe that gleamed in the light. The very presence of him seemed to make all the light go away... It was an unfortunately familiar feeling.
" crimson..." He said beckoning to me as he pointed at me with his bony hand. " I have come to show you the sign... The final sign. As death is the ultimate end, so should my warning to you be the last you hear... All that is thought of death is wrong."
" what do you mean wrong?" I asked.
" i am not evil... Nor am I good. Death is not evil or good either... It is necessary. Whether or not a soul is damned or saved is not within my control... Purgatory is my kingdom, it lies between heaven and hell, good and evil, such as it always has. Of all other gods... I solemnly swear to you they do not compare to me."
" how so." I asked. Hue swung his scythe over nearly inches from my neck. It gulped and started sweating.
" this..." He said. " is not a tool of killing." He said pulling it away from my neck and holding it again. " it is a tool of harvesting, it is what I do, I harvest souls... Ones that do not have their bodies. I have gone by many names crimson. Reaper, the devils farmer, harvester of souls, king of maggots, judge of the dead... All are fitting titles... But one that I've been fond of using, is simply the title of death... That is what I am, what I represent, and what I believe in.
" all that you are, represent, and believe in?" I said.
" I am the omega, the ultimate... Everything ends with me, and in some circumstances, which you are familiar with, not even gods are safe from the steel of my tool. When it comes to the material world, some may be more important to others. But in death, everyone is equal, villagers, kings, rulers, politicians, heroes, thieves, murderers. Titles cannot save nor can they damn... In the end it all depends on the soul presented before me.
" I think I understand." I said.
" I hope you do crimson... Your fate, the fate of your friends and the fate of ones you do not yet know are all intertwined with you now... Do not betray their trust... Because it might come back and find you later." He said as a cloud of black smoke swirled around him and he was gone. I sat back down in the snow and rested my head. I had to start thinking.
All of the signs were in front of me, I know what they are... I can see how they might be of help to me... But I don't understand what I need to do. I felt confused, alone, sad, and... And... And afraid. I was scared I might never get this. That I might end up hurting others more than helping them. I need to get through this. I need to be as strong as stone,as powerful as thunder, as fierce as fire, lucid like water, wise as the forest, adept as air, bright as light, cunning as darkness, as meaningful as light... But what about death... What does death have to do with me. I kept thinking but I cannot understand. There must be more that I'm missing... There must be something I didn't see.
Why can't I just figure this out...
-Authors Note: hello ladies, gentlemen and brony lovers of all kind. if your going to choose any of my authors notes to read, it should be this one... gotta explain a WHOLE LOTTA SHIT. so first off, i'm going to post this chapter today and then i'm going to post a chapter every Friday now. i may post chapters on Wednesdays if i have too many or i may post two on Fridays if they really fit well together. so i will be posting weekly now... not just whenever. so i'm posting this today to clear up all the new things i have planned. so tommorow i'm going to post a series of chapters that need to be posted all together. the next few chapters are very important and i will explain that in due time.
also a while back i said i was going to kill off an important character, and i still am. i have decided who it is going to be and ive decided when they are going to die... but i will not disclose any information about it. i'm sure that you'll all know it when it happens. what i can tell you is that i WONT happen soon... so you can sit tight for a little bit... but i wont tell you exactly when or who. i did get a lot of really good ideas from you guys though about who i should kill and a few scenarios too. but the decision is made, and it has been written in stone.
last thing... the idea discerning the different dimension is set and i have the lay out of the adventure. if you wish to know what the dimensions are then PM me asking for them and i will happily tell you. i will not, however, disclose them publicly in the authors note. s few of the ideas aren't set in stone yet and are liable to be replaced by new ideas, so if you have any let me know and i'll see what i can do. i am no longer requesting OC's at the time since this is a crucial stand point in the story line where additional characters cannot be put into the story unless i create them specific to the occasion. i ask that you guys please be patient in waiting for your OC's to be introduced to the story... i'm trying my best people... sheesh. just kidding... maybe, anyway that's pretty much it... uh, dont forget to read the rest of the story... it gets better i promise you (foreshadowing) anyway... stay safe, stay sober, and stay shady bro's. Bai.-End of Note-