Or so one would think.

In a mysterious place, a mare stood her ground. She was dressed in black, and her eyes were gone. She was a purple creature, and her age spanned a millennia…though one could not tell based on her appearance.

And she spoke with a gravity that none could match.

“May our hero rise. May our friends find rest, and may our people find hope. I summon thee, and our suffering will reach a finality.

“May strength be granted so the world may be mended…

“So the world may be mended.”

Instantly, as she raised her hoof, a tingling of magic fell to the ground, revealing a summoned creature. Indeed, the Mare who faced the great Earthen Goddess and lost with just one blow.

The mysterious maiden noted that, to be fair, it was a pretty strong punch.

“Welcome, my dear child. Welcome to our Nexus.”

[One Day]

Equestrian Souls

Chapter 1: Nexus

[Will This Be Over?]

The Mare blinked in surprise, before immediately falling into a panic. “What the hell?!” She scrambled backwards, blinking around as she started to hyperventilate. Of course, it was then that she realized that she never actually took a single breath.

“You’re dead.” The maiden dropped her fancy voice, in favor of something different. Something more…colloquial. “Quite dead. That archdemon killed you with just one punch.”

The Mare turned to the Maiden, with a  loud gasp. “You…you’re-!”

“The bearer of the Element of Magic? Yes.” Indeed, Twilight Sparkle lowered her hood, revealing those two signature eyes, and that powerful, powerful horn. “And yes, I was the one who summoned you here.”

“What the…I was-!”

“Killed? Brutally. In fact, if I got to your body now, you’d find a smashed, bloodied abomination rather than a corpse.” The purple unicorn actually sighed. “Trust me, I got a good look at it when I summoned your soul here.”

The Mare was confused by Twilight Sparkle’s oddly colloquial speech. “Why…why is your diction-?”

“-So casual?” Twilight Sparkle smirked. “Did you really expect me to speak archaically just because I’m a thousand years older than you could ever hope to be in your life?”

The Mare blinked in confusion. “Yeah.”

“Then prepare to be disappointed.” Sparkle descended. “I am the Element of Magic, the Demon who wields the power of Friendship…” She sighed, sadness entering her voice. “Well…wielded the power of Friendship.”

“Where am I?”

“We are in a place where the dead have been confined. This is our personal Nexus, at the heart of the only remaining civilized center in Equestria.” She moved to the massive gate at the end of a hallway. “What was once known as ‘Ponyville.’

We replaced the name with something more elegant. Latin, in fact.” She moved the doors. “Welcome to Amicitia.”

The doors swung open to reveal a sprawling city, with their location lifted miles above the ground. Indeed, she could see ponies moving through it, all of them with a faint aura around them.

“What…”

“There are only Three hundred thousand residents in this city. It’s a mere fraction of the amount that used to live here.” Twilight sighed, nostalgia reaching her.

“Why are you telling me this?” The Mare asked. “I only wanted a few free gimees for killing an ugly-ass demon. Not to mention that shiny, shiny soul it had.”

“Well, you got some extra dead souls and some sharpstone.” Twilight didn’t skip a beat. “I’d say you got out fine, if a little…well…eviscerated.”

“How badly?”

“Well…” Twilight took a deep breath. “Your destroyed ribs impaled your lungs and heart. Your skull was fractured, and I saw several shards enter your brain. Your innards were split apart, and your bones were cracked. Your spine was severed in fifteen different places, somehow, and your limbs were bent at odd angles, with your left foreleg actually bent at fifteen different places. You were bleeding everywhere, both inside and out, and it’s a miracle that your body was recognizable, let alone that your soul was recoverable.”

The Mare was dumbfounded. Her jaw was blatantly unhinged, and her mane seemed to reflect her current state of mind. Indeed, it was now frayed, and her pupils had shrunken to a tiny pair of rather pathetic dots.

She shook her head. “Dear Luna, I was that dead?!”

“And possibly a little more. Those were the injuries that I saw. Imagine if a coroner got a hold of it.” Twilight coughed. “But enough of that. I brought you to the center of Amicitia for a reason.”

She motioned toward the rest of the epic chamber, the full size suddenly making itself known to the Mare. There was an enormous statue hanging above them, the figure of Celestia and Luna circling around six gems in a display of might, balance, and power. Two staircases, stretching hundreds of feet upwards, spiraled around the statue, leading up to an open sky.

Although it was impressive, and the detail on the statue was quite intricate, that was not the most interesting part.

The most interesting part was the fact that it was floating without any support whatsoever.

“The fuck?”

“Don’t ask why it floats. Pinkie Pie set it up.” Twilight sighed.

“The reality bending Element of-”

“Yes, Laughter.” The Maiden was getting annoyed now. “Let’s move on for the love of Celestia.”

At the mentioning of the Dead Goddess, the Mare promptly shut up.

“I called you here for a reason…but first thing’s first, let’s get your body back.” She pointed to a glowing archstone. “That stone right there? That leads directly to Canterlot…what’s left of it anyway. The city hasn’t changed too much since its previous times, but you will find quite a single demon.”

The Mare walked over to the stone, a little cautious of the Maiden’s  instruction. “Why would I want to fight a thing that killed me?”

“What killed you was an archdemon. One of the most powerful archdemons in the land, in fact.” Twilight put a hoof to her face. “You fought it and died. If you weren’t punched into the afterlife you might have had a chance.” Twilight sighed.

“Keyword is might. Bad news is that you’re just a soul now. You can still interact with physical objects, but you can die a lot easier. The good news is that if you kill another demon, you can regain your body.”

“A new one, not the destroyed corpse?”

“Correct.” Twilight then motioned to the archstone. “Now…let’s go.”

The Mare walked forward, sighing deeply, and touched the stone.

[Archstone the First]

[The Ruined Village]

The Mare materialized in front of the archstone, her hooves crashing into the ground. She looked up, gasping as she realized just where she was.

It was the outskirts of the grand town once known as "Canterlot." The land was desecrated, and there was little remaining of the village surrounding the city's gates. The roads were worn, the railroad tracks rusted and broken. There were a few decaying pony bodies lying about, and the stench of death, famine, and disease filled the air.

The Mare was really glad that being dead dulled her sense of smell.

It was then that a fledgling, this time from above, crashed out of a decaying house, falling from the second floor onto the ground. He landed with a thud, his legs unbroken despite the landing. He growled, looking at the Mare with his broken sword drawn.

It was killed without a second thought.

The Mare rolled her eyes. "At least my sword's not weakened."

[]

It took a little bit of time, but she eventually got to a central plaza just a kilometer away from the entrance to Canterlot.

She walked forward, unsuspecting of what would happen next.

She heard roaring from around her. Thousands of sounds around her as she drew her blade.

Suddenly, there they were. Dredglings. Thousands of them. And all of them looked furious.

She smirked, raising the sword. How hard were they going to beat? She could one of them in an insta-

[]

Her body materialized at the archstone, with her sword still raised. She threw it at the ground.

"What the hell was that?!"

She went back to the center of town, and prepared to try fighting them again.

[]

Her body materialized at the archstone, this time with her lying on the ground in a fetal position.

"Oh, come on!"

She ran back to the center of town. She was pissed this time. She was going to do this!

[]

Her body materialized at the archstone, as she put a hoof to her face. A loud groan escaped her muzzle before she said "Well...obviously...that's not going to work.

She walked back to the plaza.

[]

The Dredglings were still there, all of them ready to tear her apart.he Dredglings were still there, all of them ready to tear her apart.

Indeed, as soon as she saw them, she raised the sword...and promptly ran in the opposite direction.Indeed, as soon as she saw them, she raised the sword...and promptly ran in the opposite direction.

Undeterred by the apparent cowardliness of their opponent, the infuriated Dredglings ran after her. They poured through the streets, galloping at high speed behind her...only for a select few of them to stop before hitting a certain obstacle.ndeterred by the apparent cowardliness of their opponent, the infuriated Dredglings ran after her. They poured through the streets, galloping at high speed behind her...only for a select few of them to stop before hitting a certain obstacle.

Now, anyone familiar with Equestria would know that Canterlot was on the side of the mountain, and its village was on the very edge of the cliff leading to the great city. If the Fledglings were intelligent, they, perhaps, would have known that the Mare was leading them to a trap.ow, anyone familiar with Equestria would know that Canterlot was on the side of the mountain, and its village was on the very edge of the cliff leading to the great city. If the Fledglings were intelligent, they, perhaps, would have known that the Mare was leading them to a trap.

It's a good thing that they're stupid.It's a good thing that they're stupid.

The Mare watched from her niche under the cliff as she saw the Fledglings pour over the edge of the cliff, all of them screaming bizarre obscenities as they fell thousands of feet down to the ground, possibly shattering their bones and tearing their flesh.The Mare watched from her niche under the cliff as she saw the Fledglings pour over the edge of the cliff, all of them screaming bizarre obscenities as they fell thousands of feet down to the ground, possibly shattering their bones and tearing their flesh.

She smirked widely as she climbed back over the edge of the cliff, the task of killing every one of those skin-and-bone ponies making her feel quite proud of herself. Indeed, she was so proud, that she failed to notice the one Dredgling that had survived the herd, and promptly took off her head.

[]

Her body materialized at the-

"FUCK YOU."

-Archstone.

[]

Twilight Sparkle watched the Mare struggle. It was almost embarrassing, to watch, if she was to be completely honest.

And to think she was a lot more measured and careful when she was alive.

"She thinks that dying doesn't have consequences." She sighed. "I think I'll have to let her know how important those souls are..."

"Maybe you should have told her before, my dear student.

Twilight turned around to face...nothing. Absolutely nothing. "Get out."

"But I was never here, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight growled deeply. It was a guttural affair, her voice scratching as she did so. "Get out of my head!"

The voice laughed. "I can't leave now. Not just yet..."

Twilight was on the ground now, writhing in a mix of emotional and physical pain. "GET OUT!"

The voice was confused now. "Why don't you want me here?"

"GET OUT!"

"Do you not feel remorse for what you did?"

"GET OUT!"

"How you murdered both myself and my sister?"