Tyrant Era: The golem of Carnifex

by The Psychopath

Ashes and cinders

Author's Note:

There you go Samaru.

After that incident with the crystal beast, it appeared that it had tried to lodge something within Fluttershy's abdomen. However, the golem's intervention prevented the finalization of this plan. The shard was pulled out and was healed using nearby plans and Rarity's magic. Of course, as she wasn't too proficient with using it except for fashion designing, the medical treatment was minimal. The best thing to do was to reach the closest refuge and seek medical aid there while the once shy pegasus would ride on the golem's shoulder. Rainbow also needed treatment as it was pretty obvious that she had some fractured ribs. Immediately after the golem finished properly assimilating the new part, the group headed out, looking for the closest town. The route was dusty and dry, and the sky was always red with demon blood and death. The only sounds, besides the golem's footsteps, was the wind blowing the sharpened dust at the group. Rainbow had trouble just trying to stand up with her side pains.

After what seemed like hours of travelling, the group found themselves in the presence of what looked like a death town. From afar, the appearance of the town was surrounded by a simplistic, rounded barricade, and all the buildings were stretched and leaning in various directions. The appearance of leaning, hollow buildings of a black soot did not bode well with Rarity and Spike. However, Rainbow and Fluttershy didn't seem to care despite the pain they were in.

"These versions of Rainbow and Fluttershy are really starting to scare me," Spike whispered to Rarity.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Fluttershy roared.

Spike immediately tensed up and stood straight, saluting the pony as if she were a drill sergeant. "Nothing, m'am! I apologize for my noise, m'am!"

"That's what I thought."

Fluttershy turned her head and faced Rainbow with pride. The colorful mare was less than amused, and smacked the pegasi upside the head.

"Spike, that was..." Rarity trailed.

"I stressed. I got scared! She really gives off the vibes of being a sergeant of the Royal Guard. And plus, that village down there doesn't look right."

"I know, Spike, but we don't have a choice. The two of them are wounded and the golem seems anxious."

Spike looked up to see that the golem was staring blankly into the horizon with the two ponies on its right shoulder. It looked like it had fallen asleep.

"I don't--"

"So we must hurry to that village. There might be medical supplies left there, and then we'll patch them both up. We have the golem, so we shouldn't worry."

Spike tapped his claws together, and gulped nervously. His eyes were jolting from side to side.

"If you say so."

The thundering footsteps of Rarity's giant were muffled the second they stepped forward. The unicorn hadn't noticed it first, but they were on a sloping hill when they spotted the village. Ash, cinders, and soot painted the floors like an unwashed carpet, much to Rarity's displeasure.

"Ewwewewewew! Golem! Please carry me! This gunk is ruining my hooficure and coat!"

The giant complied and picked up the mare with its left arm, placing Rarity on its shoulder.

"Thank you, golem. I do wish they have untarnished cleaning apparel in that town," the mare wished while staring at her hooves.

Spike was struggling to walk through this plain of ash as it climbed to his hips, but he pushed on. He needed to show Rarity he wasn't just a baby anymore and that he could help her, even in this world. Finally at the gate, Rarity and Spike both gasped in horror. What they saw chilled their bones. Ponies were still living in this village, but they were...altered. Their bodies were now just clouds of black smoke with a barely visible outline for what was once their bones, although the bones would have been as thick as straws in this case. Immense amounts of soot and smoke perpetually detached itself from their bodies as though a fire were being challenged by the most powerful winds imaginable. This was a case similar to 'smoke without fire'. They were completely oblivious to those entering the town, some even literally passing through the group. Rainbow chuckled when she saw the horrified and confused looks of the 'pure' visitors.

"I see you're confused at what you are looking at."

The two nodded absent-mindedly.

"This is what happened when the two first invaded Equestria and plowed through it. Nopony knows if the same has happened to the lands around our country, but this is the result. They're called 'Ashen Sprites'. They're those killed by demons and had their souls tainted and tarnished by the dark and deathly energies around them. The lands have been corrupted by their predicament, and that's what we went through."

"You could have told us that earlier!" Spike scolded.

"Are they...dangerous?" Rarity asked with a nervous smile.

Rainbow laughed. "Hardly. They're stuck in a perpetual loop in the days before they were slaughtered and massacred, and they're none-the-wiser. It's sad, really. Although I have heard that there are at least one or two that are fully aware of their predicament, although they tend to 'come and go'."

"Po-nies? New? Not from the me-mries?" a voice whispered.

The golem gave out a growl as it righted itself. What spoke was the sprite of a young foal. Its body was too altered and covered by the blowing smoke that it was impossible to determine its gender. Worse still, its voice sounded like a loudened whisper echoing in a cave and carried by the winds/

"Y-yes. Put me down, golem. Please."

"Careful, Rarity," Rainbow cautioned.

"So ha-py to see new po-nies. Mind is clutt-red but here."

"Even a foal?! Um, could you tell me where your medical supplies are, if there are any? My friends have been wounded and need treatment."

The foal pointed towards a leaning black building twisted so much that its roof was curved forward and the tip was pointing towards the floor.

"Place of old doc-tor. Go...there...Coming, mom! Yes. I had much fun with the others at school!"

"But..."

Rarity felt herself tearing up, but repressed the emotion. If she could get the grip of the tyrants loosened, then these ponies would be able to reach the after-life peacefully. Until then, this was their existence. It was a short walk to the strange building, but before the mare could open the door, it was opened by a demon of the Pumpkin Lord. Its body was blackened and similar to that of the tainted souls here. It appeared more pony than demon, although its hollow, white eye sockets and mouth giving an open smile were more than enough to dissuade Rarity of its 'camoflauge'.

"Ooo. Dese p-pernies be stending where dey shouldn't be. This is my food. Go away...or, I could make you more food! Hahahaha-"

The demon was stopped by a sudden drop of the golem's fist upon it. Its body dissolved into dust that laid quietly upon the ground.

"Idiot. Ash demons aren't true demons. They can't even fight normal ponies, let alone a golem," Fluttershy said harshly.

"That was rather anti-climactic," Spike complained.

"Spikey-wikey. You will need to go inside this house on your own to retrieve the supplies."

"O-o-o-n my own?!" Spike stuttered.

The little dragon's knees were starting to shake. There was something ominous about this particularly building, and that wasn't just because it was the most twisted of them all.

"Come now, Spike. You don't want something bad to happen to our friends, do you?"

"Who said we were friends?" Fluttershy muttered.

"Shut up," Rainbow complained with an eye roll.

"I would really love it if you helped me with this. Not only that, but the entrance is too small for me, and you wouldn't want me to hurt myself by trying to help you, would you?"

"N-no."

"Thank you, Spike!" the mare shouted.

She embraced the dragon between her forelegs, making him lose tension and relax. Drunk on love, Spike forced the bent door and entered the building. His sobriety came in full rush as a cold chill ran down his spine. This place was horrible. Everything followed the building's shape, even the old portraits on the walls. Spike swore that the black and white frames were screaming in agony and were staring at him with beady white eyes and worn out mouths. He became so stressed that every movement was caught by his ear holes. Directly in front of him stood a gray desk that was nearly on the wall seeing how the floor was rising. The carpet beneath it was suffering the same predicament. Some door frames were supposed to lead to other rooms, but they were so deformed that Spike couldn't see through the four presented to him. There was even a chandelier on the ceiling, but it looked like spaghetti so much it had been pulled.

"Wh-wh-where are the--ah!"

A large assortment of boxes and bags fell from one of the two doorways on the wall directly in front and above Spike. Many of the boxes and bags were in the same state as the rest of the town, but one box and three bags were still intact. Better yet, they were small enough to push through the door.

"Okay, I'll push the box out first then take the bags, and I'll be gone from here!"

The little dragon stretched his arms and claws and grabbed a hold of the wooden container. He wanted to be out of this place as fast as possible. His heart was beating three times faster than it should, and his body was sweating like crazy. He felt so cold. Try as he might, he just couldn't move the crate. His feet just scraped against the ground as if skating on ice.

"Come on! Why won't it move? It can't be that heavy!"

Outside, the golem reacted to something and began shaking, garnering the attention of Rainbow and Rarity.

"Where do you think you're going?" a commanding and violent voice asked.

"Wh-what? Wh-who is that? Who are you?"

"Ahhh. The little dragon. I thought I had turned you into my pet."

Comments

[The Psychopath]

5380209 Just restarted it. Can't exaggerate it. It was a good way to continue it. You didn't tell me if you were glad I resumed it.