A Thousand Son in Equestria Part 20 (Null and Void)

>"Bleeeeuuuuuuuuuuurgh!!"
>Trixie was still vomiting in what you hoped was your bathroom as Derpy brought in more muffins.
>You couldn't contain your laughter, not after the blue showmare had left you to the machinations of Luna in the night.
>Derpy is eyeing you strangely, and she glances up in concern every time Trixie rushes to the bathroom to vomit.
>Which is often.
>You have to give Trixie credit, ever since you had described enduring Derpy's presence as a lesson, she had been doing her best to endure.
>She'd sit down, bend down to bite a muffin, grimace, and run back to the bathroom.
>You're busy eating muffins and laughing at Trixie's discomfort, so you nearly choke when Derpy speaks up.
>"Ummm, Anon? Do I smell bad or something? Is that why you look pained when I get close? And why Trixie's getting sick?"
>You open your mouth, a lie ready on your lips, before you shut it again.
>You've lied to her about this enough.


>You set down your muffin, thinking of how best to approach this while Trixie retches.
>Derpy's giving you the determined glare she gets when she's serious about something, and her eyes are not rolling badly at all.
"Derpy. Have you ever felt....disconnected, from your fellow ponies?"
>She's still staring at you, but she gives a slight nod, wincing as Trixie vomits again.
"Have you felt as if they avoid you, or treat you rudely, and you can't figure out why? They'll be angry at you, and you just won't be able to figure out what went wrong?"
>She jumps a bit in her seat on the couch, and you think you've struck a nerve.
>"Well....yeah, Anon, but I thought maybe it's my eyes. They scare some people, ya know?"
>You wince internally. You don't want to have to be the one to tell her this.
>But you're the only one who knows, and she deserves the truth.
>Ahriman once said that the only sin is ignorance, and you will not leave a friend of yours in sin.
"Derpy, it's not because of your eyes. You are...something special. A pony like no other."
>She seems to take this as a compliment, and it crushes you to know that opinion will soon change.
"Derpy, among my people, beings like you are called Pariahs. Or Nulls. Basically, Derpy, you do not have a soul."


>Derpy stares at you for a long moment, and her eyes narrow in anger.
>"What the....Anon what are you talking about? What do you mean I don't have a soul? That doesn't....I'm talking to you, aren't I? I think and feel just like you do!"
>She's getting frantic, her mismatched eyes looking anywhere but at you. You know she'll believe you, in the end.
>All Nulls can feel it.
"Derpy. Derpy I'm your friend. But you know, don't you? You feel...just a bit different from the others. Like something's missing. You don't know what, but you know it is."
>She looks up at you, lifting off your couch.
>"Is this some kind of sick joke? Did Trixie put you up to this? Yeah, I get pranked on a lot, and ponies avoid me, and I don't have a lot of friends......but I'm....I'm Derpy Hooves! I have a name...I'm a pony, just like the others!"
>She's pressing her hoof into your chest, punching you for emphasis.
>There are tears in her eyes.
>The punches are nothing to you.
>But the tears tear at your heart.
"Derpy. Derpy I am your friend, aren't I? I wouldn't lie to you. It's why I wince when you enter a room. It's why Trixie's vomiting in the bathroom. We're psykers. Our abilities come from the soul, and we can sense your soulles-"
>"Don't say it."
"Derpy, I'm not trying to hurt you, bu-"
>"Don't BUCKING say it."
>That's the first time you've heard Derpy curse, even if it's a weak pony expletive.
>She doesn't look at you as she flies towards your door.
>"Anon, I'm...I'm going to go home. I think it's best if we just....don't speak to each other for a while. Enjoy your muffins."
>She slams your door shut, and you hear wings beating as she makes her way home.


>You're not gonna cry
>You're not gonna cry
>Celestia damnit, Dinky and Carrot Top can't see you cry!
>But...it hurt. It hurt badly.
>Anonymous was one of the best friends you'd ever had. Tartarus, if he'd been a pony you'd both be more than friends by now.
>To play a joke like that.....
>But what if it wasn't-
>No, he had to be just pranking you, like the other ponies did. He was just another jerk.
>You open your front door carefully, unable to stop yourself from stomping in.
>Carrot Top immediately notices your bad mood and runs in from the kitchen.
>"Derpy, what hap-?"
"I don't want to talk about it Carrot. I just..."
>You can't help it, the tears come.
>Carrot Top moves over to you, putting a hoof over your back.
>"Shhh, it'll be okay, Derpy."
>You feel....sleepy all of a sudden.


>Derpy slowly slides to the floor as you hold the sleeping herbs under her nose.
>You let her down gently, careful not to let her hit the floor.
>Dinky, thank Ce-thank the Hand, was still at school.
>You grap her back hoof with your mouth and carefully drag her into the next room.
>According to Seer Lyra, the herb would keep Derpy out for the next few days, just long enough for the Cult's goals to come to fruition.
>This way, your friend could stay safe when the Hand unleashed it's reckoning onto the Red Monster.
>You smile to yourself as you envision it.
>All the wisdom and secrets denied to ponies by Celestia and her pet Monster, granted to you all at last.
>You had done your part. Now the rest of the Cult had to ready to release the Hand.
>You place Derpy into bed and nuzzle her cheek, before you get ready to leave.
>You had to inform the Cult.
>They would be pleased.
>The Seer would be pleased.
>The Hand would be pleased.


>Trixie stumbles out of your bathroom, weakly wiping vomit off her lip with a hoof.
>"Smooth *urp* move there, Con Mane. I bet you must be a huge hit among the nine-foot tall metal-clad ape-ladies back home."
>You are not in the mood.
"Shut it, Trixie."
>She snorts, and opens her mouth again, before you round on her.
"I said shut it. I am in no mood. I would not lie to her any longer. Not about something like that."
>Trixie perks up one eyebrow, and you sigh.
>She takes this as a signal to continue speaking.
>"A little white lie never hurt anyone. And if were me, I'd rather go on believing a lie than having one of my best friends call me soulless."
>You turn away from Trixie.
"We're not talking about this. Come with me. We're going to start your training in earnest."
>You hoped this would misdirect any of Trixie's comments, and you were right.
>But the cold silence she gave you instead was not in any way better.


>You lead Trixie out into Ponyville general, ignoring the few waves you receive as you stomp through the town.
>How had you been so stupid?
>Had you gone so long without human interaction that had forgotten how to broach sensitive subjects?
>No, that wasn't it.
>In the past 10,000 years, most of your human interaction was killing, listening to the groveling of heretics, agents, and servants, or engaging other sorcerers in intrigues and deception.
>None of those prepared you to tell your best friend that she didn't have a soul.
>Trixie is more outgoing, engaging ponies in waves and brief chats, trying to boost her image after the "incident" with the rubric marines.
>Fortunately, most ponies accepted her explanations that it was just a botched performance, and not her going crazy while hopped up on daemon-juice.
>Ponies, so gullible.
>You lead Trixie to the central park in Ponyville, mostly empty with the exception of that weird mint-green unicorn, sitting on a park bench in her peculiar way.
>She waves to you as animatedly as always, and she stares at you when you don't wave back.
"Alright, Trixie. Here. Here is where we're going to practice sorcery. For my first real lesson, forget everything you know about....'magic.'"


>She's looking up at you with that irritated expression, a hay shake in one hoof.
>Where did she get that?
>How is she even holding it?
>You decide that you do not give a fuck.
>She takes a long slurp before replying.
>"I think you should apologize to your wall-eyed soulless friend."
"Not. Talking. About it."
>"Fine, fine. Alright, on with the lesson! How does your nutty "pskyery" work?"
"Think of it as sorcery, if that makes it easier for you."
>She waves a hoof for you to procede, than takes another slurp.
"A psyker's power comes from his emotions, from his thoughts, and from his willpower. Your emotion determines your strength, your thought shapes what you wish to do, and your willpower determines the power you can handle."
>You cross your legs under you and float, the way Magnus once sat as he tutored you and your brothers in the ways of the Warp.
>"Emotions are each varying in strength. Anger, fear, despair, love, hope, they all fuel your power."
>Trixie raises a hoof like a filly in class.
>"What is the strongest, then?"
"Hope, and the desire to change."
>"Change what?"
"Anything. Everything. The desire to impose your will on reality. That is the essence of Tzeentch, my God. The lord of Magic."
>She ponders this for a moment.
>She then puts her hoof back down, and motions for you to continue.


"As I said, Tzeentch is my patron, though I do not expect him to be yours as well. In fact, you may wind up striking your own path, and seeking no favor from the Gods."
>Trixie's chest swells with pride at the idea.
"That, however, is a stupid idea. Especially after you've already trafficked with daemons. You're a psyker, Trixie, and you're not some restricted studious psyker like Twilight Sparkle. In you is the potential for sorcery."
>Trixie's nose scrunches.
>"Well how am I supposed to know what patron I choose?"
"You won't, really. They will choose you, when your interests align with theirs. Tzeentch is hope, and the desire to change. Nurgle is the fear of death and desire for love. Slaanesh is the pleasure-seeker, the desire of sensation. Khorne holds no love for psykers."
>Trixie is thinking hard, and you feel a swell of pride. You have not given a true lesson in a long time.
>Then you remember what happened the last time you taught ponies about the Gods.
"But that is not crucial to your study of sorcery, right now. I want to teach you something basic. Something that is always useful."
>Trixie's eyes brighten at the idea of learning actual magic.
>"The Great and Powerful Trixie is already master of much unicorn magic, but I have been waiting to learn what techniques YOU employ."
"Very good. The desire for learning is a mark in your favor. Let's start with something simple. I'm going to teach you how to hurl Doombolts."


>This is not going the way you planned at all.
>You watch as Trixie draws up another sizzling ball of warp matter with her horn and hooves, struggling to keep it stable.
>Only to pant and drop it, the tiny doom-ball exploding at her hooves.
>The will is there.
>The desire is there.
>But the emotion is wrong.
>And the focus...
"Why do you keep doing that?"
>Trixie looks up at you, still frustrated.
>"Doing WHAT!?"
"You are focusing so hard on the Warp-energy. You struggle contain it, to focus it in one direction."
>"That's how Trixie's always cast magic!"
"What was my first lesson, Trixie?"
>She sighs, and her horn stops glowing.
"And another thing. There is no emotion behind your sorcery. Nothing but frustration and a desire to learn. You do not absorb warp power and focus it, like a laser. The Warp is fire, Trixie. You grasp it, and you let it flow through you, and you release it in the form you desire. Trying to hold it and focus it will only burn you."
>"Well what emotion SHOULD Trixie be using, Anonymous!?"
"Try, humiliation over repeated failure."


>Trixie gapes at you, outraged and astonished.
>"Wha-"
"When first I met you, you were coming to Ponyville to settle some score with Twilight Sparkle, who you admit has humiliated you in the past. Derpy and I humiliated you again, on stage. And then I humiliated you in the forest, when you could not stop me, even with my brothers under your command."
>Her cheeks are bright red in her blue face.
>Her eyes are wide, shocked, and hurt, and it pains you to see that look on another pony's face so soon.
>But you will do what you have to do, and what you promised to do.
"And now, Trixie, you fail in this. Doombolts, a spell that our weakest sorcerers could cast before the Rubric. I expected better from the Great and Pow-"
>Trixie's eyes start glowing and crackling, and she rears back on her rear hooves, both front hooves pointed at you.
>Her horn glows
>You watch passively as the warp power gathers again, a dense ball of compressed energy, and you sigh.
>Her horn stops glowing.
>The energy explodes, running along her hooves and setting them dancing with purple fire.
>Doombolts, bright and shrieking and screaming, roar from her outstretched hooves.
>The first few slam into your telekine shield as you blunt her magic, while the next arc into the air as she brings herself under control and blasts the energy outward.
>The spell begins to die down, and you favor Trixie with a wide grin as the blue mare drops back to four legs, panting.
"That's better. Now we're getting somewhere."
>"Trixie...would like...to say....that you....are a hayseed, Anonymous. A class A hayseed."
>Unbeknownst to either of you, the mint-green unicorn has disappeared.


>The two of you spend the next four hours in intense magical training.
>Trixie teaches you about the natural abilities of unicorns to channel "Magic," which you suspect is just their interaction with the clean warp that still surrounded this world.
>It required intense study and dedication, and Trixie was decent at it.
>But she was a prodigy when it came to manipulation of the true Warp.
>Had she been human and male, she would have made a fine Sorcerer.
>As it was, in the four hours you teach, she learns how to cast Doombolts, how to teleport, the basics of warpfire manipulation, and she even makes headway on telepathy.
>Bolts of change are completely beyond her abilities, although she did manage to turn a tree bright orange.
>By the end of it, the both of you are tired mentally and physically, but you had a hell of a time.
>The incident with Derpy is forgotten by Trixie, and she laughs with you as the pair of you make your way back into Ponyville proper.
>".....And so then, the two unicorn colts come back into town, dragging an URSA MINOR, of all things, with them! And you know who got blamed for that? Trixie, of course! Not my fault I'm not dense enough to try and fight it!"
>She snorts, and you suppress a chuckle at the story, amused at Trixie's misfortune.
>Trixie seems to remember something suddenly.
>"Oh, Anonymous! I said I'd go grab some groceries for ou-the house. Your food selection could use some work, and Trixie is starving."
>She holds out a hoof imperiously, and you sigh before dumping a few of the bits Celestia gave you into it.
>Then she trots off, on her way to the market.
>You decide to head into town and visit your friends.


>Twilight is the natural first stop.
>You owed her a more detailed explanation for what had happened when she had barged in yesterday.
>And Trixie had suggested you tell her the same thing you told Luna.
>That you weren't into ponies, at all.
>Speaking of ponies....
>You spot Fluttershy and Rarity out the corner of your eye, and sigh.
>Those two had been nothing but trouble since the celebration, and you had had to fill in at least three pit traps in the last two days.
>There were also the useless nets.
>The drugged food...
>You were pretty sure that these were not usual pony welcoming customs.
>And in light of.....Luna.....you had a better idea of what it actually was.
>You ignore the pair of mares as you make your way towards Twilight's house and give the door a knock.
>The moment you do, that same mint-green unicorn you saw earlier trots out, a stack of books on her back.
>She looks up at you, amber eyes shining.
>"Oh hi! My name's Lyra!"


"Afternoon, miss Lyra, is Twilight in?"
>"She sure is, mon'keiiiiiiimean human guy!"
>You take a closer look at this pony, and notice she's sweating bullets.
>Why does she have a black bag tied around her neck?
>And that phrase....
>It sounded like she almost said....
>It could have been something she'd heard.
>You narrow your eyes at Lyra.
"You can just call me Anonymous, Lyra."
>She seems to break down a bit.
>"Oh I'm so sorry don't be scared it's just you're human and you have hands and I love hands oh I wish I had hands you're so lucky can I have your hands!"
>It's like Pinkie, but horrifyingly creepy.
>Lyra must have noticed the expression on your face, because she lets out a sudden eep and darts past you.
>You glance at her back, shrug, and walk in the library.
>Which means you miss the grin she's wearing as she trots away successfully.


>As you walk in, you notice the library is in it's usual state of organized chaos.
>Well, usual when Spike isn't around to curb Twilight's....eccentrity, which seems to be the case.
>You spot Twilight, her back turned to you, as she pores over an old book.
>You clear your throat, and she jumps, her legs kicking reflexively.
"You alright there, Twilight?"
>She catches her breath, glaring at you.
>"Just fine, Anonymous! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
>You cock an eyebrow, look down at your power armor, and look up at her.
>She's blushing, how adorable.
>You smile, and the blush deepens.
"Well I do apologize for the startle, Twilight. I was just stopping by to talk to you and explain what happened yesterday in more detail. You see-"
>"Oh don't worry about it, Anon. The Princess explained everything!"
>You feel the fingers of fear trace their way down your spine.
"Did she now?"
>Twilight's blush is still there, but she's smiling.
>"Yep! And she asked me to help! In fact, I've got just the spell to solve your...err...problem!"
>Her horn starts to glow.
>The fingers of fear are now punching your spine.
"Twilight....TWILIGHT, DON'T!"
>The horn discharges, and everything goes white.