//------------------------------// // Chapter XXI: The Illumarenati // Story: Four Ponies & A Time Machine // by SkelePone //------------------------------// “Every Single Number on the Clock knows all my Secrets.” ― Mian Adeel Mushtaq * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fillydelphia was Porter's kind of place. Happy ponies everywhere! Beer flowing freely from taps! Brewers and traders sharing alcoholic tales even he, the Master Time-Brewer (a snappy title he bestowed upon himself), had never heard of. Already, within minutes of entering the fray that called itself Fillydelphia, Carnegie Porter had mentally amassed well over 50 recipes for new beverages and cocktails, and he now had years' worth of pub-jokes to tell. Carnegie Porter felt that if there was a heaven, he was there. Meanwhile, his friends floundered in the community he instantly loved. Roseluck had stepped into a loo, only to discover that an elderly stallion was living in the pisshole of one of the many outhouses. Derpy and the Doctor stayed close, but three times within nine minutes, Time Turner had been challenged to a fight to the death. Each time something tragic and outrageously gorey would happen to the perpetrator. Eventually Derpy learned to just keep her eyes buried in her coltfriend's mane. She whimpered, waiting for the moment where Time Turner would swoop to the rescue. She'd even settle for Porter swooping in. Or Roseluck. Or anypony at this point. The town was utter chaos. Well, not to Carnegie Porter, who could handle chaos with grace and ease. But it wasn't chaotic in a bad way. In the chaos, one could see order. Hordes of half-dead drunks slouching their ways home, hordes of working out of work on the way to the pubs and bars, lines forming for seats at said establishments. Suddenly, Time Turner realized something. The mad cackling of Carnegie Porter had gone silent. "Doctor! Where did Porter go?!" Rose asked with wide eyes. Derpy clung to Time Turner, equally fearful. Time Turner got up on his hind legs, peering over the crowds. The shaggy black mane was nowhere to be seen. Carnegie Porter as gone. Time Turner got back on all hooves and beckoned to the girls. He was probably shacked up in a pub somewhere, despite the Doctor's insistence that he stay away from them. "So what can I help ya gents with?" "Do not concern yourself with our desires. Simply follow." The hooded pony in thick brown robes commanded Carnegie. Carnegie was being led on both sides by robed ponies, their faces covered. Two led him down the dark alleyway. And four more were directly to his sides and behind him. Any sensible pony would know that they were surrounding him. But Carnegie was not a sensible pony. "So what's wit' yer outfits, eh? What's tha' symbol mean? The triangle wit' tha eye in it. I swear I've seen tha' before..." "No more questions, Traveler. Silence." "Well blimey. Don' havta be so rude about it." Carnegie mumbled at the hooded ponies. They continued to march silently, the chaotic chatter and hollering from the Fillydelphia square echoing through the dark. When they reached the end of the alley, Carnegie scoffed. "Alrigh'. I guess we're gonna walk through tha' wall?" They did not reply. Carnegie didn't expect them to. He watched with mild amusement as the leader started knocking on the brick wall. "Yeah, mate. Tha's called a wall. Now why dontcha jus' tell me why ya-" He was cut off as a hole in the ground before the brick wall suddenly opened with a hushed rumble. Carnegie blinked in surprise at the gaping entrance. The ponies behind him started to push him into the hole. "Oye! Bloody 'ell do ya think yer doin'?! Lemme go! Geroffome!" He landed with a thud into the spacious torchlit tunnels. Before Carnegie could try and escape, all six of the robed ponies leapt in after him, surrounding him once more. He looked up helplessly as the hole sealed once again. "Porter! Porter, where are you?!" "Carnegie! Quit messing around!" "Carns!? Carns, please stop being so silly!" The three couldn't find him. Time Turner had looked through every pub in the village, Derpy had flown back to the TROTIS to check and see if he was there. Roseluck was in tears. Time Turner didn't fear for his friend's safety. Carnegie could put up a fight and had proven countless times that he was capable of surviving far worse than a town full of rebellious drunks. In fact, Porter himself was a rebellious drunk. They were just about to give up when Time Turner noticed something peculiar about the town's sign. It read 'Welcome to Fillydelpha - Population 4378'. Directly below it was a carving. A large triangle, with a half closed eye within it. The eye looked up to the sky. Time Turner felt a sudden chill as he looked at it. He had never before seen that carving, but he felt like he should know what the symbol meant. Or what it belonged to. The giant dome-shaped room was filled with benches. Behind Carnegie was the large doorway he had entered through moments before. Before him, over the rows of high benches was the triangle-eye symbol that he had seen on the mystery ponies' robes. There were about a hundred ponies in said robes. Most wore brown, a few wore black. And one pony wore red robes. The red robed pony had it's robes cut back, revealing slender hind legs and a long elegant tail. Carnegie could tell that this was a mare. Her hips and legs were built like a female. Her cutie mark shone against her light blue coat, a golden triangle, with the same upturned eye in the center. "Where am I?" Carnegie mumbled aloud. "You are safe, Time Traveler." The red robed leader boomed, after everypony had sat down. "Wai'... how did ya know Ima time traveler?" At that moment, everypony besides the red-robed mare and Carnegie laughed. It was a thunderous, booming sound. For a moment, Carnegie was struck by the sheer size of the mass surrounding him. "You have left quite the trail, Time Traveler. There are records of you all across time. We have compiled them all, and the stories of your three allies. You are the riders of the blue carriage. You are the lords of Equestrian history. The lords of time itself." "Huh. An' who are you then?" "We are the Order of Illumarenati. We have existed since before Celestia, but only with the death of Starswirl could we finally come to full power." "Full power? Whaddaya mean by tha'?" "We at the Illumarenati have influence in the Royal Guard, the Engineer's Guild, the Zebrica monarchy, and in towns all across Equestria. We are everywhere. We control nearly everything." "An' 'ow come tha Princesses don' know 'bout... all this? 'Ow come I've never 'eard of it?" "We have our ways." "Okay. Fair 'nough. So why do ya need me?" "Oh we don't need you, Traveler. "We need your time machine."