"I enjoyed our game, your Celestial Highness. But I admit the most satisfying way to defeat a chessmaster is to not let her realise she's one of the pieces."
The Herald of the Outer Gods stepped forward, the barriers around him collapsing without a sound. Before him, where the alicorns had stood, were two rips in the fabric of reality. Glimpses from within of eyes, and white-hot fury, and ice-cold rage, and other things less easy to comprehend, flickered and twisted. "You should be more careful with your mythology, your majesty. An insane goddess banished for an age, and returns to the world during a significant astronomical event? It may have helped you rescue your sister, but that sort of pattern will be noticed."
The Spellguard moved to attack him, but even as they did the Dark Young croaked syllables impossible for pony throats, and a wall of force sprung up between the ponies and Nyarlathotep. Then they reached forward to feed. No longer holding back, it took them seconds to subdue the trapped unicorns, and the ponies screamed and convulsed as the creatures began to drain them of magic and life. With other mouths, the Dark Young bayed a paean to the blackened sky above, where a burning ring of fire marked the frozen eclipse.
He turned, the mask flowing like wax into an expression of benign interest as the five relatively sane Bearers, Shining Armor, and Spike ran back into the garden, skidding to a halt as they saw what he had done.
“Princess! Luna! Something’s going t- oh.. oh by the Herd.”
“What... oh sweet Celestia. What are they doing?!” Shining Armor swayed, coat lathered with sweat, eyes wide with utter gut-wrenching fear as he saw the Dark Young and the fate of the Spellguard and volunteers.
“They’re calling home to Mother, Mister Armor. And when She arrives, She will remake Equestria into something more suitable for the Outer Gods. But cheer up, little ponies – your goddesses will break free soon enough. Perhaps even soon enough to save a few hundred of you from apocalypse. And if you’re very lucky, your world might still be capable of supporting protoplasmic life when the Outer Gods are finished with it.”
He looked up at the sky. The corona of the sun was starting to change, dripping with indescribable colours as the Dark Young bade Shub-Niggurath enter the world. Screams rose from around the city. No doubt ponies and other species across the continent were staring up in supernatural fear already. He looked down, robes rustling, and gleaming blackly in what remained of the light.
"I feel the strangest compulsion for a big musical number." said Nyarlathotep. "Forgive me if I don't indulge. Now... what to do with you Bearers...”
Armor and Spike pushed in front of the mares “Keep away! Put one hoof nearer and I’ll-”
"Or you'll what, Mister Armor? I can see it on you - your willingness to lay down your life to protect the ponies in your care. But if you attack me, Mr. Armor, you will simply die. On the other hoof, if you hurry you might save the lives of some of the stallions under your command."
The unicorn's expression was torn, and his gaze kept flicking from the mares to the Herald of the Outer Gods, to the scene behind the barrier. Herald sighed. “Very well. I give my word as an utterly amoral deity of your worst nightmares that I will do your associates here no injury while you’re gone. Now, run along before I lose my patience.”
Armor moved, running up to the barrier between himself and the horrors on the far side. His head flicked left and right, his horn glowing as he tried to find some weakness in the wall. If he had other unicorns to assist.. but, of course, all the Spellguard not hurt in the earlier battle, or still surrounding the captured Dark Young in the railyard, were already on the other side, being sucked dry. He groaned in distress at his impossible dilemma, then galloped for the gates – if he could find enough trained unicorns in time....
Herald smiled indulgently at the others. "I enjoy a good hero - they're so predictable. One little nudge and off they run towards the screaming."
The five mares and the dragon backed away. "What have you done to the Princesses, you bucking son-of-a-bitch!?"
"I told them the truth, Applejack. You, of all ponies, should have no problem with that. It certainly surprised them, when they really needed to concentrate on the wards."
Pinkie's eyes were crazed, as they stared into the two ragged holes in the world. "They're Outside. The Princesses are Outside."
"Quite right, Miss Pie. You are the pony most aware of the walls around the world, after all, even if you ignore them. I've put them in a minor-enough dimensional oubliette, but as you can see it's keeping them contained for now. Appropriate, don't you think? They would have very much liked to do something analogous to me. Feel free to say hello, they're perfectly aware of everything happening out here." He gave them a little wave, and the holes rippled with eyes, and wheels within wheels, and helpless fury.
Rarity eyes flashed as fear gave way to fury. "You did all that... to Sweetie and the fillies... to Twilight... to all of us... to ME... just so you could... you could..."
"Destroy everything you know? That's exactly what I told the fillies, right before I cored them like apples." Now Applejack's rage was stoked, and the two friends were moving forward, pulses thundering, as the abomination mocked their distress.
"You might not remember our conversation, Rarity, but I did tell you I place great value on appearances and timing. Using Miss Lulamoon as a stalking horse, having you all running around after her, having Canterlot split its military reserves between the hunt for Trixie, or containing the Dark Young they thought they’d caught, and lining what remains of the Spellguard up as snack food... it was all to have the Princesses together, and distracted, at the very moment they would be most vulnerable."
"Did you know you were the most unpredictable part of my plan, Miss Pie? It could all have gone so very awry, had you popped up at some inconvenient moment, or your Pinkie Sense given you some premonition. I had to move quite carefully, to ensure the Princesses still believed Trixie to be the one in charge." He chuckled happily, and strolled towards the edge of the lake. "Terribly amusing, isn't it?"
Fluttershy breath rasped in her throat, her lungs burned, she wanted to scream her outrage, her denial of Nyarlathotep's words, her abhorrence of the calculated sadism of his plan...but she still strived to find some handle for her talent, some spark of compassion in the Messenger of the Outer Gods. "But... you don't have to be so cruel. You could have... hurt me when you had me alone. You could have done anything. Isn't that... proof you don't really want to hurt us?"
Nyarlathotep fixed her with a withering glare, the vast black entity behind his eyes twitching in amused contempt. "Of course I didn’t want you dead, you stupid foal. I wanted Celestia scared, not berserk. The alicorns' colourful pets - so bright and cheerful. And completely ignorant of the utter bleakness of reality. But should some hint arise that your 'special talent' is meaningless, unappreciated, pointless in the wider universe... why, half of you just snap. You broke at the Gala, when the animals wouldn’t be friends with you. You, Pinkie, when you thought your parties were no longer appreciated. Twilight’s and her obsession with organisation... even alicorns aren’t immune. Luna, of course, when she dwelt too long on the fact that ponies aren’t nocturnal... and even the Sun Princess – try to imagine how she felt when she not only failed to nurture you, but killed her precious ponies in her attempt to kill me."
Herald’s mask grinned, showing serrated teeth behind the bone-white lips. “And it makes you so easy to manipulate. Discord may have amused himself by altering your personalities, but how much more satisfying to destroy you as you are? Attack Twilight with knowledge, you, Applejack, through your family, Pinkie and Rarity via your oh-so-helpful natures. Fluttershy, of course, was especially vulnerable. But you, Miss Dash... using your loyalty and sonic rainboom to break four of you at once? That was a masterpiece.”
The ponies and the dragon threw themselves at him, blind with hate. He watched them impassively, mask smiling, and slapped the six from the air with a twitch of his hoof.
He snorted. "Go ahead, try that again. I'm a god, you moronic little animals." The Herald stepped between the groaning bodies to look down at Rainbow Dash. "So, how did it feel knowing that it was your loyalty and recklessness that broke four of you? That thanks to you, three fillies were as good as dead, that your friends couldn't stand the sight of you, that it was your fault?" He turned and walked out along the parapet of the lake, where the Canterlot Falls tumbled past endlessly into the void, and looked out over Equestria. "And now your world is mine to play with. I really should be thanking you."
Nyarlathotep turned back to the six, as they pushed themselves to their feet and Rarity spat out a tooth. "Perhaps you'd like to try the Elements next? Fluttershy left your necklace over there near the bloodstains, and I'm sure Twilight Sparkle can't be far away. I'll be right here."
Dash lurched into the air, and dragged herself towards the Element of Loyalty. The Herald of the Outer Gods went on. "I've been controlling you like a dog on a leash, Miss Dash. Oh, and one more thing..." She slipped the jewel around her neck, spat blood from her muzzle, and turned. Herald held the souls of the Cutie Mark Crusaders out over the abyss, and let go.
"Fetch."