The reunion was over, and the two demon princesses left in fury while Cadence called for Rarity and Spike, with the golem following behind. Applejack didn't get to talk more with Rarity and the little dragon when Broken Heart called the duo. The golem, surprisingly, managed to enter the gigantic building being used for the make-shift meetings. It was a building have burrowed into the ground. It was the stock building. All the resources were placed within, and the entrance was still pretty huge. The three non-golems sat around a large wooden table while the golem stayed behind Rarity.
"Okay. Now that that's out of the way-"
"Wait! Why didn't you help Cocoon when she was in trouble?" Rarity cried.
"Yeah. Those two could have killed her!"
"Your golem had the situation well in hoof," Cadance said as her eyes seemed to faintly radiate with a demonic beauty.
"But what if it couldn't?!" Rarity gestured towards the golem who bent backwards and grunted, as if insulted.
"You saw that it could."
"That's not--"
"You want to hear about that golem or not?"
"Fine," Rarity pouted.
"Well, we did meet some rat things where we found this golem," Spike scratched the back of his head.
"The rat beasts. They were created by the Destroyer to keep it from coming back up."
"The what?"
"Don't you know about the Creator and the Destroyer? The Everlight and the Abyss? The beginning of everything?"
"No."
"Hmm," Cadance hummed as she scraped the bottom of her chin. "I'll make it simple. There exists the Creator, who has made everything as it is and will be, and who has created the Everlight for the good souls in the afterlife. Then there is the Destroyer. The one who damages and annihilates existence, and who controls the Abyss, the place where demons and evil souls go in the afterlife. While both hate each other tremendously, and their armies reflect this, both fear one thing: The Nothing."
"The what?" both Rarity and Spike asked.
"The Nothing. I don't know much about it, but it is apparently what existed before the Creator and the Destroyer. Or, rather, didn't exist. I don't know. Your golem, somehow, comes from it. It's too much to understand. All I know is that the Nothing is a place 'Where mortals and immortals cannot access, and dare not tread upon'."
"So what does that have to do with me?"
"You had an uncle, Shining Delusion, I believe?"
"Yes, but he's a farmer," Rarity was semi-disgusted.
"Well, here, he was a magical researcher that existed long before the two tyrants came, so that would make him a several-times-uncle for you."
"I see."
"He was a researcher that discovered how to harness the Nothing. He managed to forge this golem from it. He named it 'The golem of Carnifex', in honor of a long-lost emperor of the Empire of Blood."
"Eww."
"And what about that thing the golem took from the ground? It's immune to magic now!" Spike yelled.
"Yes. Well, it is an artifact scattered across the lands around here. We had found this one, and stocked it here, hoping that the demons would never take it. We thought that these artifacts would join together to form the golem, but it seems that golem already exists, and these strengthen it."
"But why was it so huge before? How come it shrunk?"
"As you can tell, it is very weak against the demons as it is now. That form must be how it was before the Tyrants came. Luckily for you, I've got a list of where the other artifacts are. We found this map with the metal. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will accompany you."
"Fluttershy...didn't you say that she was vicious?" Spike wondered with a talon on his chin looking upwards in a pensive manner.
"Oh no. I don't think I'll be able to deal with our dear Fluttershy in the form of some brute."
"Well, then. Get used to it." Cadence leaned forward with an angry grin."You're stuck in this dimension, and for a long time. That, and Fluttershy never leaves without her Chitterglitch."
"Her what?"
"A gigantic beast that looks like a centipede. It can modify its body to look like a gigantic, four armed monster. Every strike it does fills the enemy with corroding poison, so I suggest you don't annoy it, and less so, Fluttershy."
"Duly noted," Spike stuttered.
"Good. Now then, let us go get those two--"
"HEY! What are you doing in here?! Get out before I rip out your spinal cords and dance in the blood." a familiar voice yelled at the entrance.
It was Pinkie Pie. A large portion of her left mouth segment was torn off, and the right side of her face was green, along with a bit of her still poofy mane. She looked like bloodlust flowed in her veins and eyes, and she was holding a type of double headed scythe made from sharpened bones.
"Easy, Pinkie Pie. We're here because the tent was destroyed."
"Hm. Yeah. Whatever. Just get out. I have to check something."
Rarity and Spike walked nervously next to the angry Pinkie Pie. Said mare, yelled at them, causing the duo to jump back. When the golem saw this, it stopped and lowered itself to be able to face the pony head on. It showed no emotion.
"And what does this oversized clay pot want?"
The golem suddenly unleashed an incredibly loud roar that deafened everybody nearby and caused the building to shake, only to finally slap Pinkie Pie into the nearby crates, tossing them around into an unrecognizable pile. The golem chuckled and stood back up as if nothing happened.
"That was fun. Let's leave before she gets into her blood-drinking mood." Cadence laughed with a smile. Rarity and Spike looked at each other and bolted out of the building as fast as they could.
The castle of the Crimson Pioneer stood proudly in the tainted lands. I resembled the ancient eastern civilization castles, but below this castle seemed to flow a river of boiling blood. The river stretched everywhere and disappeared on the horizon. This marvel of architecture may have floated slightly above the river, but it stretched to incredible heights, far above the corrupted clouds, and where the flying demons fought each other to death, causing the losers of these fights to plummet from the incredible heights onto the welcoming ground below.
Many thousands of demons of various appearances and size strutted upon the burnt, dead lands around the castle, while others fell into the river and were devoured by it. However, upon the distance, Eclipse flew, devoid of her armor. One would think that demons would jump at their general for such an occasion to get an easy kill and still her spot, but not only was she immensely powerful and fused with pure powers from the Abyss, but the Crimson Pioneer watched over her, as she was his mistress. Any harm coming to her meant a fate worse than death, and for a demon, that is a very bad omen.
Eclipse landed on the wooden bridge of the castle, hearing the wailing screams of punished demons sealed within it with every step she made. The interior of the castle was just as grand as the exterior. Ancient paintings, statues, and other artifacts no longer found in the known world were placed beautifully everywhere. As per the tyrant's tastes, the windows and other glass objects were tinted in red, while the rest of the castle was made of a black marble. The castle was red and black, save for the decorations that gave a wide variety of colors. It was, despite the aura it emitted, very welcoming to any mortals who entered. The demon mistress growled as she saw a petty servant demon cleaning the floors. It whimpered and ran out of her way. The entrance was small, but high enough for any to enter. There was a simple red carpet with gold linings on the floor, along with some things that could be plants, standing within pots around the room. A painting that had been torn by claws showed two figures that seemed faintly familiar to Eclipse, but she couldn't put her claws on it. The two doors leading to the throne room had beautiful carvings of a battle won by demons on it, but the mistress didn't care. She kicked them open and waltzed right in.
This was the throne room. A beautiful red carpet with little decorations within it spanned widely across the floor and stretched all across the room. The golden extensions ebbed like tentacles when they reached a pillar. The black ceiling was covered with the golden threads. Lining the carpet even more were several massive demonic guards holding equally large claymores and a strange new weapon that the mistress had never seen before. They looked like small portable wooden frames with openings at their endings. The face of a demon was placed on the end. What were they for? They were too small to club anyone, and they had no blades. Eclipse threw her head back and put a strange look on her face as she stared at the questionable devices. The windows, placed high up on the walls, were tainted with the appearance of Eclipse, while the one behind the throne itself was showing a fellow in red armor standing up while holding a frightening sword in both hands.
Upon the throne itself sat a bipedal creature that surpassed Eclipse by quite a few heads. He was slouched and was reading a book made from skin and bone. The throne itself was accessed by passing three simple steps, and then you were there. The seat of the tyrant was made of black marble of the purest quality, while the red color seemed to be made of a red marble as well. The red color followed the Crimson Pioneer whenever he moved, making one question if the color is magical, or if it comes from the tyrant himself.
"Crimson," Eclipse asked calmly.
The tyrant dropped his book, then stood up with open arms. His red armor covered his body, although the pieces at the joints stretched unnecessarily. The Pioneer wore black mail armor underneath his red plate armor. The plate armor itself only had a few golden linings around the parts bending out to give a sense of "decorativeness". The helmet was the real problem. It seemed to be...his face. The helmet stretched slightly back from the top, but the face itself was questionable. It was obviously metal, but the tyrant's black eyes came out as if they were in their sockets, and the mouth, although jagged in appearance to imitate teeth, it really seemed to be his teeth. He walked down the three steps to his mistress and kissed her on the mouth, only to notice something amiss.
"Your armor. What happened to it? I thought you loved your gift forged from the souls of the cursed."
"I did, but...something destroyed it."
"What something?" he continued to ask with a caring tone.
"The golem of Carnifex."
There was silence, and the guards backed away slowly to hide behind the pillars. Seen from the outside, a loud roar of anger caused the lands to tremble, the skies to shake, and the river of blood to erupt from its bed and devour the demons that the splash marks touched. Things weren't going well for the Crimson Pioneer, but what about the Pumpkin Lord?