• Published 23rd Sep 2012
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Decretum - BlackRoseRaven



Realities, worlds, and good and evil collide, and Luna fights one last struggle to save Equestria.

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The Clockwork King

Chapter Seventy Five: The Clockwork King
~BlackRoseRaven

Scrivener and Luna felt the world shake when the bridge shattered, heard the roars of the monstrous Tyrant Wyrm as it was driven downwards by Gymbr... and the two traded looks before they hurried forwards through the halls of Cortex. The building was larger than it looked on the outside, as they ran down a long, sterile corridor, ignoring the doors on either side and instead sprinting straight for the archway and stairs at the end. Luna had finally dispelled Scrivener's wings and refitted his armor into place over the slots: neither of them thought they would be doing much flying in the near future, after all.

They charged up the short flight of steps and hit the door at the end to find themselves entering into a neatly-organized workshop. Everything was clean and tidy and in perfect condition, and Scrivener gritted his teeth as he felt

cold metal under his claws, tapping them slowly against the square desk that dominated the room. Valthrudnir shook his head after a moment in disgust, then he looked moodily to the right, at the tanks on the walls filled with boiling, concentrated corruption. A very useful, very powerful tool he had designed, that could spread rapidly through an ecosystem, infecting and transforming as it went. But the problem was it first needed to be spread into an area in large amounts... then it would begin replicating on its own.

He needed to design an efficient delivery system... something that could spread and control the Clay of Prometheus. Something that would also be able to keep itself safe from interlopers... that could create the corruption in its body.

Valthrudnir flipped open a nearby pad of paper, flicking his wrist to create a pencil and moodily beginning to poke at the designs on the top sheet. If he could, he wanted to implement several designs into one... that was perhaps part of what irritated him most about these ponies. They all had 'one' special talent: well, what was the use of that except to make life miserable? He understood specialization, and rank: he planned to design Drones whose specific purpose was simply to do labor, after all, but in no way did that mean one Drone would be built to gather, another to mine, another to build... they would be able to do all manner of menial tasks so beneath him he disliked even thinking about them.

The ultimate carrier for his corruption... they would not just terraform, they would be like... like a vaccine, burning away the pathetic life that infested these pathetic worlds Odin had created. They would spread the Clay, transform the land with their presence, and be able to efficiently exterminate the useless mortals that thrived in their chaotic little dung-heaps...

Valthrudnir shook his head in disgust, then he glanced to his left, at the other wall: schematics, statistics, other things hung on this, showing all the progress he had made with this world. He began to turn, then winced and reached down, touching his stomach, feeling the twinge of pain where Celestia's horn had pierced him. Oh, a pathetic little mortal couldn't kill him, no... but he could still be injured by them. It was part of why he was eager to come up with a new, better design for something to carry the corruption... it was why he was eager to transform every creature in this layer into something he could use to help him devastate and destroy the other layers of reality.

Valthrudnir closed his eyes, rubbing at his stomach, another chill of fear coming through with the feeling of

pain rising in his body... and then as suddenly as it was there, it was gone, and Scrivener's mind sparked before he looked back and forth: at the empty tanks, at the blank wall. He frowned, and Luna looked at him sharply before Scrivener reached up to rub slowly at his head, muttering: “Something... a prelude to something important...”

Luna nodded slowly, and then the two traded a look before hurrying onwards, around the steel table and through the door on the other side of the room... and they both shivered as they emerged into a long, wide hall decorated with statues of Tyrant Wyrms. Scrivener looked back and forth before he glanced up, and his eyes widened at the ghostly shapes of Valor and Courage, the larger mare reaching up and adjusting her cowboy hat as she rumbled in his mind: Always hated this place. It meant a lot of sitting around, a lot of listening close to orders given from people I didn't much care for.

Courage nodded in agreement, then she grinned bitterly and leaned against the door, adding distastefully: I hated that, too. But what I hated even more was when the Clockwork King or the Prophet wanted to talk to us...

Then Scrivener flinched, and when he looked back up, the images of the Clockwork Ponies were gone. He breathed hard for a few moments, then traded a look with Luna before the two ran down the hall... both trying to ignore the way the statues of the Tyrant Wyrms turned to follow them before they shoved through the enormous wooden doors and into a dimly-lit room beyond, most of the light coming from a single hanging bulb.

For a moment, Scrivener saw all of the Hexad, sitting calmly at their seats... and then they were simply gone, and he shook his head with a curse of pain at the vision before looking up and muttering: “I think I'm starting to completely lose it.”

“Carry on, poet. Thou has experienced worse than this.” Luna muttered, and Scrivener nodded as they strode around the table, Scrivener reaching for the door

and throwing them open to storm through into the chamber beyond. Valthrudnir snarled as he looked back and forth over the six gathered Clockwork Ponies sitting at the darkly-lit table, and then he pointed at them and shouted: “Get out! Get out, and go to your posts, and await my orders!”

The Hexad stared at him, and then Valthrudnir stepped forwards and backhanded Wisdom hard, knocking her sprawling out of her seat before all six of them turned and bolted for the door. Wisdom was the last to leave, half-looking back, but Valthrudnir glared and flicked a hand, slamming the door on her face before he roared in frustration and slammed both his fists down against the table, cracking it.

It was all falling apart: it had been a perfect plan, a perfect design, he'd thought... but this layer of reality he'd taken over, this prototype for his perfect world, was not going as according to plan. The moment one gear jammed up due to a malfunction, a glitch, a moment of free thought or a single scheduling error, everything else fell apart as well. And furthermore, there was no aesthetic beauty in this world, due to the pollution and the corruption... everything was sludge and rock and death. It was worse than Helheim, and it humiliated him.

And the Clockwork King... the stuttering, madcap idiot that was supposed to run this place, with the Prophet's help, couldn't keep the machines in line. Had gone from his greatest achievement to his greatest failure. And he was well aware of the irony that the only things in this world that did function properly – the Clockwork Ponies and the Tyrant Wyrms – were the things with some semblance of puppeted will and at least animal intelligence. But all his automatons, his engines, his machines... failures.

Decretum, World of Law and Rule, was a failed experiment. He would be harvesting what he could from it, and then he would be abandoning the project. He would be taking his schematics, blueprints, and the few prototypes and projects that had worked out with him, and five of the Clockwork Homunculi to carry out one final experiment related to his Tyrant Wyrm and Clay of Prometheus projects, which would hopefully allow him to develop a better world one day... better than Decretum proved to be, with more efficient servants and tighter controls and designs.

Until he could figure out the flaw in his plans... or until he found and destroyed the core reality... he would be abandoning this project, and ordering the machines to shut down, and everything else to slumber and await his return. A skeleton crew of Workers would maintain the few necessary machines and that would be that.

Valthrudnir sighed, then slammed a fist against the table before he stood slowly, muttering: “But when I do return here, maybe I'll just destroy everything, anyway. Start fresh. For now... I'll return home, and stay there while I allow my minions and thralls to carry out my experiments and work for me. That... that is the intelligent course of action, yes.”

He reached up, touching the place where he'd been wounded so long ago... where he'd been hurt, by a mortal. Yes, there was no point in putting himself at risk when he could just as easily manipulate others to do his bidding... and there was more amusement in that, anyway. In drawing the game out.

Valthrudnir smiled to himself grimly as he stood and turned back towards the door, one hand still resting on his side as the other reached out to stroke against the wood of the door for a moment

before he pushed it open.

The charcoal stallion winced in surprise and pain at the vision that tore through his mind... but he wasn't even able to comment on it as he and Luna were both blinded by a blast of white light that shone over them through the open doorway. The two cursed, wincing and trying to see through the ivory radiance before both of the ponies carefully strode forwards, and the light slowly faded around them... to leave them standing in a black swamp at the bottom of a long, stony incline. The red sky was above, and framed against it was what looked like either an abandoned observatory or a neglected shrine.

Either they had stepped through some kind of gateway, or they were in the middle of a powerful illusion... and Scrivener shivered as a chuckle rolled through the air before he looked up and snarled as he realized they weren't alone. Two Tyrant Wyrms sat to one side of the ramp, their heads at level to bite at passerby who tried to climb it, while others sat at the base, on the gentle slope, and up near the building in the distance.

Luna dropped into a ready position, but the awful, mottled-gold Wyrms only regarded them, their bone pistons pumping almost lethargically, grins on their faces as their eyes glowed with malicious pleasure and unholy blue light, before the nearest leaned down and blew a puff of blue mist over Scrivener's features. The charcoal stallion winced back a bit, feeling it tingle over his face, but that was all as the monster said teasingly: “Welcome home, little brother.

Scrivener gritted his teeth, and then Luna stepped forwards, snapping in disgust: “Wretched monsters! Get back to the Void that spawned thee!”

Hiding behind mommy's skirts.” another mocked, and the other Wyrms laughed before Scrivener stepped forwards, breathing hard and looking fearlessly up into the eyes of the closest even as it leaned down and bared its teeth in a vicious grin. “Oh? Is the newborn trying to be brave?

Let us pass.” Scrivener replied quietly but firmly, in the same terrible language that the other Wyrms spoke... but even he was surprised when the Tyrant Wyrm in front of him did exactly that, stepping slowly backwards and bowing its head even as it continued to grin and the others chuckled quietly.

We never intended to stop you, little brother... our task is to destroy interlopers.” one of the Tyrant Wyrms spoke almost kindly, and Scrivener looked at it for a moment before it smiled coldly across at him. “You are no invader... you and Brynhild are already just like us.

Scrivener and Luna traded looks, then they both shivered before they both strode onwards, finding themselves surprised when the Wyrms kept their word... and perhaps a little afraid as well, as they headed slowly up the ramp and towards the observatory. But before they could even reach the doors, the illusion melted away around them... although when Scrivener and Luna both turned to look over their shoulders, they saw that the corridor behind them was filled with both mire and statues of grinning Tyrant Wyrms, and they could both faintly hear a voice as it whispered: “We'll be waiting for you, little brother, in the Void...

The two ponies shivered as they looked forwards again at the heavy steel doors in front of them, and they both steeled themselves as Luna closed her eyes, feeling the black pearl on her breast as Scrivener reached up and adjusted his platinum collar. Reminders almost as strong as the last glance they shared, their eyes locking as they prepared themselves before they both shoved the door open and strode calmly down a short flight of steel stairs and into the room beyond.

Luna realized after a moment, however, that they were in a hall... but in front of them, a massive security door of some alien design stood ominously, sealed tightly closed, with eight large, square buttons over the front of it. Scrivener frowned at this... and then his eyes widened as Delight bounced into his vision, the Clockwork Pony giggling before she reached a hoof up and tapped a quick combination of three buttons out, smiling at him as she said brightly: You get it? Okey-dokey-lokey!

Scrivener shook his head quickly, and then he lunged up to his hooves as Luna stared before the charcoal stallion hammered his hooves against the buttons. They glowed when he mashed them, and when Scrivener hit the third, the door rumbled loudly before slowly sliding up into the ceiling, opening the way down the hall to a second security door as he whispered: “This is why Visionary gave me her power... she... she must have known about this...”

And as he stepped forwards, Luna following quickly behind him, Valor appeared, looking out at them with moodiness as she pressed in a simple code on her own door, which had eight buttons like Delight's. They must have thought I was thick or something. Easy to remember, ain't it?

Scrivener hit the four buttons she pointed out along the top row. And Luna grinned widely, leaning forwards as this door slowly began to slide open, her eyes flashing as she said quickly: “I never want to hear thee complaining about being evil again, Scrivener Blooms, if this is the result of thy powers and that evil!”

The charcoal stallion smiled a little despite himself, pressing onwards: door after door, images of the Hexad appeared, guiding him into unlocking the others until they reached the sixth and final door at the end of the hall... but unlike the five before it, this one had at least thirty two raised symbols over it, and the double doors were recessed back into the wall at the end of the hallway. Scrivener stared for a moment, and then his eyes roved slowly to the side of the hall to see Wisdom standing there, before she said quietly in his mind as her horn glowed: Like this.

Ten of the symbols lit up... and Scrivener nodded slowly before he smiled faintly as the symbols continued to glow weakly in his eyes, even as Wisdom smiled and vanished, before the stallion said quietly: “Need to borrow your powers, Luna. Look straight at the door, okay?”

Luna nodded, and Scrivener leaned forwards a bit, both ponies bowing their heads in synchronization as the sapphire mare's horn began to glow quietly. And a moment later, each symbol Wisdom had marked for him began to glow with a gentle blue aura, Scrivener breathing slowly through his mouth as Luna felt her mind and her husband's locked tight together, felt their souls spiraling in synchronization, felt themselves working flawlessly with each other before Scrivener gave her a gentle mental nudge, and a moment later, Luna's horn flicked forwards as she pushed all ten symbols in at once with a firm telekinetic shove.

The door rumbled as Scrivener and Luna both looked sharply up, the same expression on their faces as they set themselves... and then a moment later, the double doors slid slowly into the wall at either side, revealing the sanctuary beyond... an an unfettered, unafraid voice called softly: “Welcome, Luna Brynhild. Welcome, Scrivener Blooms... it is good to finally see you both in person.”

Slowly, the two ponies strode through the doorway and entered into the room beyond, striding slowly over a ring of latticed steel that went around the outside of the room before they stepped onto the perfect, thirty-foot wide circle of white marble floor in the center of the room.

The ceiling was high above, and gemstones floated quietly through the air, glimmering like beautiful stars as they hovered through intricate patterns. Scrivener couldn't help but gaze up at this as Luna leaned forwards, setting herself as she glared at the sole figure of the Prophet: a female form that rested in a half-sprawl near the back of the room, her head bowed, her features cloaked and hidden from sight. “And where is thy master, foul traitor?”

The Prophet raised her head a little, and then slowly, she stood: Scrivener and Luna both set themselves as the figure rose its arms... and then they grimaced as a rumble rose through the air, the marble platform trembling before it slowly began to rumble downwards, the Prophet saying softly as her thick, plain cloak flowed around her: “We shall go to him. We shall see him.”

Scrivener gritted his teeth, looking back and forth as the platform lowered, but the glowing crystals above flitted down after them, keeping the platform well lit: yet he wished they weren't following, as they passed walls of steel and the rails the platform was moving on sparked and crackled with electricity that sometimes traveled out along the enormous tubes and pipes that ran along the walls.

After almost a minute, the platform slowed in its descent, and halted at the bottom of the shaft. Cables and tubes sparked around them, and the steel here had almost a fleshy texture, with large, electrified nodes and bladed gears rumbling slowly amidst the unnatural surroundings. But Luna and Scrivener were both focused forwards, their eyes locked on the Prophet before she stepped slowly, calmly aside as she gestured at the steel wall behind her, marked with the profile of Valthrudnir.

The wall rumbled, then gears above it spun and electricity sparked over it as the shutter slowly rose into the ceiling.... and Scrivener and Luna stared in horror at the sight of the enormous figure in the hollow chamber beyond, protected by thick wall of glass and a barrier of energy as it leaned forwards and rasped: “H-Hello, my little p-p-ponies!”

Scrivener and Luna both stumbled backwards, staring in horror at the gleaming metal golem, made of plates of heavy duty platinum shaped in perfect resemblance of Valthrudnir. The only additions were the small spikes that stood here and there over its shoulders, elbows, and knees... and of course, the thick cables that were plugged into nodes on either side of its neck forearms, and all along its spine. Black light glowed out of its eyes, and Scrivener shook his head in horror as Luna snarled in disbelief, whispering: “'Tis... 'tis some kind of homunculus itself! A golem gone insane!”

“D-Do not insult me! I am Valthrudnir!” the steel machine proclaimed through its glass prison, raising one metal claw and clenching it into a fist. “I am Valthrudnir's W-Will, given form and l-l-life! And now that he is d-d-dead, I have b-become him! I am more than j-j-just a machine, I am him!

“Yes, the sleep was long and d-dark, but now I l-l-live again, to finish Valthrudnir's work. To finish my work, and attain m-my destiny... a universe of p-p-perfect order!” The Clockwork King continued, clenching its claws into fists as it leaned forwards in the hollow tube, electricity sparking over the cables attached to it. “F-From here, my sanctuary, the S-Seat of the King, I can control and see every last d-d-detail of my kingdom... I can create the p-perfect universe that I desired, finally, now that I have attained m-my own perfection! Now that I l-live!”

Scrivener shook his head weakly, and visions cut through his mind: but they were neither as insane nor strong enough as what he was seeing in front of him, so they didn't block out reality. Yet still, he understood what they were telling him: saw Valthrudnir, arguing with this horrific machine he'd created, about life and death, about philosophies it tried vainly to grasp and apply but couldn't, about simply doing its job. This Clockwork King, who served as the master gear of Decretum, who had developed an ego and a sense of self that mirrored Valthrudnir's own self-righteousness... that was everything Valthrudnir had been: a petty barbarian who dressed himself up in fancy terms he didn't understand, a selfish brat who refused to take orders because he thought he knew better... a greedy and stupid child given more power than it could handle.

Luna snarled in fury, beginning to step forwards... and immediately, the Prophet blocked their path, raising her arms: the bipedal figure was slender but tall, and strangely intimidating as she stood in front of them... but it wasn't that which made Luna halt. It was something else, even as the Clockwork King laughed mockingly in its repetitive, jarring voice. “Y-Yes, I look forwards to w-watching you s-struggle against my Prophet... she is n-not quite as powerful as I a-am, but what could be as powerful as a Jötnar r-r-reborn in an invulnerable shell? D-Do you not understand how f-futile this all is? I am not merely the Clockwork K-King... I am even m-more than s-s-simply Valthrudnir... here, I am Decretum!”

“So if thou art Valthrudnir reborn, then what is thy Prophet? A toaster possessed by Bestla?” Luna snapped in revulsion, shaking her head as her starry locks sparked violently and Nightmare Moon hissed in her mind, the dark entity even more contemptible and horrified than Luna herself was. “Show me thy face, Prophet! Tell me thy name!”

The Prophet lowered her arms, and the Clockwork King gave another laugh before he grinned widely, whispering: “This was a c-c-cunning part of my plan, when I was still in my body... still t-to become the perfect b-being I am now! Ideas... even you p-plebeians are aware that ideas are o-often shared throughout the realms, t-throughout layers, worlds, o-other places far and wide across this v-vast and treacherous universe, yes? That e-everything has a source, a b-base; thoughts are merely electrical signals, a transference of d-data. And all data can be r-r-remotely sent and a-accessed and interpreted...

“In o-one such place, the core reality is v-viewed as nothing more than a c-child's entertainment. W-Watered down here and there, e-envisioned and adapted by o-others... but all the same, they h-have listed out everything n-necessary for me to find it, and d-d-destroy it. It s-shows all the p-ponies who exist in that layer. It i-illustrates clearly e-e-events of note and importance, such as the c-coming of Nightmare Moon and D-Discord. And so I designed m-my Prophet around the c-c-creature who first brought these visions to l-l-life... who saw in her d-d-dreams, the core reality, s-s-so similar to a b-beloved children's p-play...”

The Prophet reached up, pushing her cowl calmly back with hands that ended in ivory talons to reveal a spill of red that fell down her shoulders and along her back, and pristine, alien features. Her eyes opened, glinting like dark crystal, her lips rosy, her skin pale. One side of her face was half-covered by a steel mask... but the other was left bare, and Scrivener and Luna both shivered, studying the creature disbelievingly before she said quietly, bowing her head forwards: “Valthrudnir designed me to find other worlds, and to ensure the denizens of this world... its people... were protected. I am the stuff of dreams and nightmares; creation and obsession. I am the Prophet.”

Luna and Scrivener both snarled as the mechanical Valthrudnir laughed mockingly, and then Scrivener rose his head and stepped forwards suddenly, shouting: “And what makes you think that you're really Valthrudnir?”

“D-Do not be a fool!” The Clockwork King laughed again in his glass hollow, and then he rose his metallic grin, gesturing easily to either side. “L-Look upon me, p-pathetic little pony! I am p-p-perfect, I am-”

“You are nothing!” Scrivener snapped angrily, his voice echoing back and forth through the chambers before he snarled, clenching his eyes shut as he focused, felt the corruption boiling through his body and up into his brain, and Luna stumbled away from him in shock before he rose his eyes as they glowed with sapphire light. “I am Valthrudnir, Clockwork King, and you have failed me every step of the way!”

The Clockwork King looked disbelievingly up inside its glass prison, and the charcoal stallion stormed forwards, snarling as he looked past the Prophet, as he glared at the glowing and yet pathetic silver shape of the Clockwork King, at the lines of black corruption running through it and the semblance of a twisted mind the thing had as he snapped: “Do you know how hard it's been, trapped in this pony's damnable subconscious, pretending each and every step of the way to be a good little insect and carry on with the plans? To get past the Norns, who dared, dared, to try and abuse my Clockwork World, my projects, for their own schemes and half-baked ideas? You fool, you have been used and led along by the pathetic mass of wires you call a brain this entire time! Have you not heard my orders? Are you so thick you cannot figure out the simplest of code or instructions? And Prophet, are you blind or just more stupid than these philistines?”

The stallion gestured with disgust behind himself as the corruption burned in his veins and his eyes continued to glow: the Prophet remained expressionless, but Luna was trembling and gaping as the Clockwork King stepped forwards and pressed his claws with disbelief against the reinforced glass shield, spluttering: “N-N-No, it c-c-can't be... y-you... I am the Clockwork K-King, I am Valthrudnir! W-When he was k-k-killed, his spirit, his d-data transferred to me, me, m-me! That is how I a-a-awakened, c-c-came to be, h-how-”

“It's not data, you oaf! By that dead and broken idiot Ymir, you couldn't understand how to stand on your own two feet if your mechanical body wasn't designed to do it for you!” The charcoal stallion threw his head back in disgust, giving a raw exclamation of contempt before he snarled and stepped forwards, saying coldly: “I jumped into this body. First I tortured him for a while, then allowed him to score a paltry and meaningless victory against me... or so he thought. Instead, I was able to use this time to slide deeper into his spirit, because I had an inkling that one of my other minions had failed to report to me the true nature of this being. And I discovered the truth: Scrivener Blooms is one of us, is part of the Clay of Prometheus project... which means that once enough corruption entered his spirit, he became very easy for me to take over and manipulate. He is gone now, and I am in charge and control, and that means I am back, Clockwork King, even if I am stuck for now in the body of a pony...”

Slowly, the stallion looked over his shoulder at Luna, and then he smiled coldly as she snarled at him... before Scrivener winked at her even as he added darkly: “But this does have one advantage. The Valkyrie will be under my control as well... her existence is bound to this pony's. Isn't that right, dear?”

“Shut up!” was all Luna could think of to reply, breathing hard as her heart thudded in her chest, snarling still at Scrivener... and even if she knew it was Scrivener, she had to work hard to resist the urge to leap across the floor and start pummeling the snot out of him. The damnable poet plays a villain far too well..

“I... I... I... no!” The Clockwork King seemed almost desperate, metallic chest imitating hard breaths as it tried to process what was going on before it pointed at the Prophet and almost screamed: “S-Scan him! D-D-Determine that is the real Valthrudnir, look into his m-mind!”

The Prophet nodded calmly, and Scrivener growled even as he inwardly flinched, feeling mental needles poking into his brain... but after a moment of silence, the Prophet returned her gaze to the Clockwork King and said quietly: “His mind is filled with the Tyrant Wyrm's essence. There are indeed also traces of our master, Valthrudnir.”

The Clockwork King looked horrified, leaning back in his hollow cell with a strangled denial, and then the machine growled as Scrivener glared at him and ordered coldly: “You will shut down, Clockwork King. The master has returned to Decretum, and he is not pleased with what he sees. This project... you... were abandoned for a reason that I think now should be all too clear.”

The metallic golem inside the hollow cage trembled for a moment as the Prophet bowed her head respectfully... and then the Clockwork King snarled and looked up, and electricity jolted along the tubes as the gears on the walls clanked loudly and steam and corruption vented from the pipes, the Prophet grasping at the masked side of her face with a look of surprise as the Clockwork King hissed: “No, I d-do not think so. T-Trapped, h-h-helpless in the body of a pony? I-Insult to me! I am the t-t-true Valthrudnir, you are nothing m-more than a copy, a fake, a fraud! I am Decretum, I am the Clockwork King, I am the one with a-all the p-power... and if you want it, y-you'll have to pry it from my c-corpse! Prophet, I o-o-order you to destroy them!”

The Prophet shivered, visibly trying to resist before the Clockwork King slammed a fist against the glass barrier surrounding him, and the Prophet's body twitched before she looked up and rolled her shoulders, raising her hands to a ready position as she said quietly: “Please forgive me.”

“Well, almost worked.” Scrivener mumbled, deflating visibly before he leapt quickly backwards, shaking his head out as his vision faded... but his eyes still glowed faintly as he readied himself before he winced as Luna snarled at him, saying hurriedly over the Clockwork King's roar of rage: “Hey, if we get out of this, you can beat the crap out of me later.”

“And oh, believe me that I shall, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna growled, snapping her horn forwards to send her spear shooting out of its sheath and expand to its full telescopic height, both ponies dropping into a ready position side-by-side as the Prophet spread her arms out, blue flames bursting to life around one and electricity sizzling over the other limb.

Then her eyes glowed as she looked straight at Luna, and the winged unicorn flinched before her eyes bulged in shock as she found herself standing on an enormous marble cliff beneath a blue sky, and a winged unicorn of ivory with a mane and tail of crimson fire shot towards her, a bloody emblem of an eye carved on its flank and its legs clad in spiked steel bracers.

Scrivener winced, feeling the pressure of the mental attack as Luna simply stood, gargling, when the Prophet ran forwards, and the earth pony cursed as he ran quickly in front of her, leaping up to meet the Prophet's attack. She swept the blue-fire claw up towards him, but Scrivener arched his back and twisted his head out of the way, narrowly avoiding the swipe before he leapt up and kicked both rear hooves into her stomach, knocking her skidding backwards before his eyes widened in shock as a cut drew itself over both his features and Luna's.

In the mental battlefield, Luna cursed, fencing rapidly against the white winged unicorn, snarling in desperation: the cut she'd sustained to her face had been very real, even though all around her reality was flickering violently in and out: but somehow, the Prophet was attacking on two battlefields at once: physical and mental. And if they were wounded in either...

Then Luna cursed as she was shoved hard backwards by the ivory creature's steel hooves before it lunged forwards... and a black horn parried the attack, before Nightmare Moon drove herself between them, grinning savagely as her eyes glowed with ivory light, her mane of blue fire twisting around her. She was larger, her wings flapping powerfully as she bared her fangs, then ordered coldly: “Return to reality, little Luna... we shall keep this creature at bay.”

Luna nodded sharply, clenching her eyes shut and focusing on Scrivener, the illusion around her weakening rapidly as her dark cyan eyes snapped open: she could see Nightmare Moon and the Prophet's winged unicorn engaging in vicious battle, like a faint picture on a film held up in front of reality... she would just have to be careful, and not risk getting caught up in their duel, in case she could still be hurt by the translucent images.

She turned her eyes to the Prophet, watching with a grimace as Scrivener ducked and weaved to avoid wide swings of its claws as best he could before the creature's eyes flashed, and Scrivener stumbled before going stock still. As the illusions around her blinked out, she realized Prophet had thrown Scrivener into the mental war now to give herself an opening she was already taking...

Luna ran forwards, her spear stabbing outwards, and Prophet's claws came uselessly down on the pole of the spear, deflecting the attack before Luna lashed the polearm to the side, smashing Prophet backwards before Luna advanced, the weapon thrusting in a violent flurry down towards the Prophet's features as the sapphire mare shouted: “Cease this cheating, monster!”

In the mental world, Scrivener stared blankly back and forth in a half-wyrm, half-pony state, watching in shock as Nightmare Moon and a winged unicorn battled... before the ivory mare suddenly flicked its fiery red mane to the side, and crimson flames wafted around its body in all directions, driving Nightmare Moon back as she snarled and burns scoured themselves over the dark creature. Scrivener winced and ducked when several waves of fire shot past him, then he ran forwards as the winged unicorn lunged at Nightmare Moon: Luna might not feel Nightmare Moon's pain, but the entity of passion dying, on the other hoof...

He lashed out... and was somehow unsurprised to see it was a claw that smashed into the ivory creature's face, knocking it rearing back before Nightmare Moon speared forwards, ripping her horn through the illusion's breast. The ivory winged unicorn flailed, and then Nightmare Moon laughed as she thrusted upwards with a snarl, her blue-fire mane lashing and burning viciously upwards as she hefted the winged unicorn high into the air upon her horn, calling cruelly: “How I once dreamed of doing this to Celestia, but I suppose you will do!”

In reality, the Prophet staggered backwards suddenly even as she slapped away Luna's spear, wincing as blood spilled down out of the eyesocket in her mask... and Luna took the opportunity to flick her horn, her spear spinning in from the side to smash the pole against the side of the Prophet's head before thrusting the butt of the spear hard into her face, knocking her sprawling backwards before Luna flicked her horn hard, an azure fireball shooting into the Prophet and exploding with enough force to send her skidding across the platform. Luna began to run forwards... and then the Prophet looked up at her sharply, her eyes flashing, and Luna stumbled stupidly as she found herself in the mental world, staring in shock as the ivory winged unicorn ripped herself free of Nightmare Moon's horn with a flap of her wings before slamming both hooves down on top of the dark creature's head, crushing her down into the ground.

Scrivener and Luna stared at each other, realized if they were both stuck in the mental world, they were all but defenseless in reality... and the two did the only thing they could think of, charging at either side of the ivory winged unicorn as it leapt backwards. Without missing a beat, the ivory mare threw her head silently back, releasing a shockwave of red fire that knocked Nightmare Moon flying backwards, but Scrivener only dropped his head forwards and rammed forwards, hissing in pain as he tried to force his Wyrm parts to absorb the worst of the damage, while Luna flicked her horn forwards, creating a sapphire barrier before she flicked her horn hard and shattered into into countless blades of blue light that shot forwards and ripped through the ivory equine.

It staggered to the side and turned its attention towards Luna automatically; the fatal mistake, as Scrivener leapt up and seized the back of its head with his claw, ignoring the flames that burned over his scales, and Luna lunged forwards, flapping her wings hard as she thrusted her horn out... and through the illusion creature's skull.

There was a splatter of blood... and then the illusion shattered around them, Nightmare Moon vanishing from sight as well as Prophet staggered in mid-charge as the magic whiffed out around her limbs, gasping and covering her features.

Scrivener and Luna traded a look, seeing the moment of vulnerability, not knowing how long it would last... and in that second, their minds swirled together before Scrivener gritted his teeth and leapt into the air as Luna seized him with telekinesis before flinging the earth pony as hard as she could, and Scrivener shot across the room like a cannonball, smashing into her with one shoulder and sending her flying backwards into a wall with a cry of pain as pipes exploded and cables snapped.

Scrivener Blooms dropped low to the ground, hearing Luna's hooves behind him before she leapt forwards and landed on him, and the earth pony flung himself forwards as she kicked off him at the same time, launching her like a missile just as the Prophet began to look up; Luna's hooves smashed directly into her features, crushing her head back into the wall and making her whole body jitter before her rear hooves came down and kicked savagely off her body, the sapphire mare flapping her wings once to launch herself safely back beside Scrivener Blooms as the Prophet twitched weakly, electricity sparking around her and corruption leaking from the pipes over her as she slowly slid down to a sitting position, broken and beaten.

The two ponies breathed hard, and the Clockwork King snarled inside his hollow chamber, shouting furiously: “G-G-Get up! Get up!”

The Prophet didn't respond, only dropping her head forwards as she twitched weakly once, and the Clockwork King snarled with rage as Scrivener and Luna both glared across at him. The sapphire mare was breathing hard, and Scrivener was still smoldering, several pieces of his armor melted as mirrored cuts bled slowly on their faces, before Luna asked coldly and mockingly: “What's wrong, monster? Are all thy toys broken?”

The Clockwork King snarled in fury... and then both Luna and Scrivener stared in surprise as it slammed both of its metal fists forwards against its glass enclosure, sending an enormous spiderweb of cracks through it as the energy barrier around it sparked out of existence. “I-I-I-If you want something d-done right...”

It brought its metal fists back, then slammed them viciously into the barrier, shattering the entire front of its glass prison and tube as alarms began to blare, before the Clockwork King's metal grin seemed to stretch wider as it stepped out of the tube, the cables and tubes hooked into the metallic goliath ripping free of its body as it strode out onto the white platform, cracking the stone with every stomp of its heavy, clawed feet. “You have to d-d-do it your-yourself!”

Both Luna and Scrivener dropped into ready positions, glaring forwards at the enormous metal monster before they traded looks and sharp nods, and both ponies rushed forwards... only for the metallic creature to move with terrible speed, seizing them both by the mane and smashing their heads together before crushing them both down into the ground in front of it, giving its sharp, jagged laugh. “S-S-Stupid ponies!”

It released the stunned equines, straightening and slowly raising a clawed foot... and Luna snarled before she lashed her horn upwards, unleashing a telekinetic blast that hammered into the metallic goliath and knocked it sprawling with a loud clank. Then she roared as she snapped her horn upwards, a blast of lightning hammering down into the monster with enough force to crack the stone beneath it, but it only laughed mockingly as it began to sit up, and Luna stared in horror as the Clockwork King snarled: “I-I-Insulation against m-magic was my f-f-first priority!”

As it slowly sat up, Scrivener replied to this by lunging forwards, hooves beginning to smash in a vicious tattoo back and forth against the plating over its upper body, crashing against its breast and stomach, but he barely left scratches, let alone did any serious damage before the machine simply rose an arm and slapped him hard away, giving its insulting, jagged laugh again: “P-P-Please! Pressurized a-a-armor, with a rating of t-t-ten thousand pounds of resistance! W-W-Well beyond the means of any s-s-s-simple pony!”

Scrivener and Luna only snarled, the sapphire mare flicking her horn, and her spear shot in from the side... but the Clockwork King only smiled coldly, one hand reaching up freakishly fast to catch the weapon by the neck in one claw as it snarled: “N-Nice try, but useless!”

Luna roared in rage, then ran forwards and leapt upwards before flapping her wings hard to launch herself almost straight up when the mechanical monster attempted to smash her across the body with her own spear. Then she shot forwards, stabbing her horn downwards and ripping a gash against the steel goliath's face, but the Clockwork King gave an exclamation of rage as its free claw snapped up, seizing Luna around the body as lightning burst down its arm, and she screamed as Scrivener staggered backwards with a howl of pain on the ground, lightning shocking up and down his form as well from the raw voltage being pumped into Luna. “I-I-I-Insects!”

He rose Luna high in the air, then threw her viciously down into Scrivener, knocking them both sprawling over each other as their bodies convulsed weakly, electricity arcing back and forth over them both as they writhed together in agony, Luna coughing blood and Scrivener snarling weakly upwards as they both struggled for breath, for strength. And over them, the Clockwork King towered, snarling in fury as he rose Luna's spear high to impale them both, arching his back-

There was a horrible rending of metal, and the Clockwork King's body twitched once, before his back arched further as he screamed, an ivory claw tearing completely through him and knocking shaped plates flying in all directions. And Scrivener and Luna both stared up in shock, breathing hard at the sight of the Prophet's claw as it dripped with both her blood and the concentrated black corruption and silver liquid that fueled the monstrous machine.

The Clockwork King spasmed, his body twitching and sparking violently as he dropped the spear from his twitching claws, then he screamed in rage and spun around as the Prophet began to draw back, smashing one of his arms viciously across her body and sending her flying backwards to smash into a bladed gear, lightning sparking over the Prophet before she crumpled to the ground. And the Clockwork King grasped at the wound in his side, plates of metal hanging open and leaving a wide tunnel torn in his body, as he rasped in disbelief: “W-W-What is g-g-g-going o-o-o-on? P-P-P-Pro... phet...”

And slowly, Prophet looked up, resting back against the wall in a mask now broken and cracked, bleeding heavily as she replied quietly, her voice level and yet her eyes burning with emotion: “The duty given to me is to protect the people of Clockwork World above all else... the ponies, above all else, and ensure that they continue to function. All you have done is encouraged their destruction... wasted materials, wasted lives, wasted our second chance. So I had to put a plan in motion to lure Scrivener Blooms and Luna Brynhild here... I played the role you wanted, and I was forced to send our people to die, and to torture and hurt other ponies from other worlds. To bring the only two ponies I knew who could stop you here, in this moment, at this time... Luna Brynhild, and Scrivener Blooms, who killed our master, Valthrudnir... and who freed us of his tyranny. Who, as I watched them, helped me understand my dreams... who I have worked to help guide every step of the way, from calling off attacks to interfering with your schemes and cruel tools. My duty is to protect the ponies; I have decided that this means all ponies, of all worlds. And that means you must be destroyed.”

Scrivener and Luna stared in shock as they slowly climbed up to their hooves, barely able to believe what they had heard as the Clockwork King snarled and shook its head, twitching violently... before for the first time, the Prophet smiled, saying quietly: “And now, as I knew would happen... they lured you out of your safe cocoon. You are disconnected from Decretum. Even if Clockwork World is a living body... its heart was broken, and its mind is dead.”

“I am n-n-n-not dead yet!” The Clockwork King roared furiously, stomping forwards and reaching a claw towards the Prophet... and then it screamed and staggered forwards as a blue fireball rocketed into the wound in its back, exploding inside its body and knocking more of its armor plating and frailer inner workings loose, electricity sparking along its form before it staggered around... and now, the machine learned a new emotion as its black eyes settled on snarling Luna and Scrivener; it learned fear. “No! Y-Y-Y-You can't st-stop m-me! I am Valthrudnir! I w-will make this u-u-universe-”

Luna and Scrivener rushed forwards, and the Clockwork King snarled, slamming a fist down that Luna narrowly dodged out of the way of before she speared her horn viciously upwards, ripping through the damaged armor plating and making the goliath scream in rage before it slapped her savagely away... only for Scrivener Blooms to rush upwards, kicking off its lower legs to slam both upper hooves into its chest, using the contact as axle to kick both rear hooves savagely upwards into its stomach.

The Clockwork King was knocked back a step as Scrivener kicked off it, narrowly avoiding being caught in a death-grip as their eyes met for a moment: Scrivener's chestnut, determined irises, and the disbelieving black eyes of a machine. They locked, and Scrivener felt a raw pulse in his mind as he flipped once and landed on his hooves, skidding backwards with a snarl before he charged forwards, smashing bodily into one of its legs. The Clockwork King kicked him fiercely away, but Scrivener grinned even as he crashed down with a wince and skidded along his side as Luna leapt up onto the monster's back.

The goliath howled in frustration, clawing wildly at her as it staggered back and forth, Luna clinging to the sides of its neck with her front hooves and slamming savage kicks into its lower back with her rear legs, widening the break in its lower back before the monster reached up and seized Luna's tail, yanking her free and throwing her savagely at the wall.

Luna twisted her body at the last moment, hooves smashing in several pipes and making her wince as steaming corruption splattered up over her armor before she launched herself hard off the surface, dive-bombing straight into the Clockwork King's face and knocking him crashing onto his back. He bounced once, sending up a burst of white dust from the platform as electricity sparked over the mechanical monster, and then he began to sit up... only to howl as Scrivener Blooms smashed shoulder-first into him, knocking him back on his elbows as the machine's body clanked and spasmed before Scrivener's hooves began to viciously hammer down in a savage series of blows, not caring even as blood splattered up from his forelimbs from the force he was smashing into the dented and damaged metal of the monster, knocking loose pieces of pressurized armor and crunching in less durable steel with his hammer-like blows.

The Clockwork King tried to claw at him, and Scrivener leapt forwards, charging up the goliath's chest and leaping onto the draconic-shaped, metal features of the giant before he kicked savagely off his head with all four hooves, knocking the monster backwards as the earth pony leapt high into the air... then dropped, kicking his rear hooves into the metal throat of the creature and swinging both front hooves down in a savage tomahawk into the goliath's face, feeling one of his hooves cracking but at the same time hearing the satisfying shatter of one of the monster's eyes.

The mechanical golem howled and lashed a claw across Scrivener Blooms with a burst of electricity, knocking the earth pony flying across the room to crash into a wall... and Luna gasped, eyes bulging as she felt a deep wound rip in her own body as Scrivener gargled, hanging for a moment from a broken pipe speared into his back before it snapped loudly free off the wall, and he fell forwards to crash down in a sprawl, corruption bubbling up out of the metal jutting from his back: both his blood, and from what had been in the pipe itself. He could feel the wound trying to close around it, and Scrivener snarled, then coughed as his black blood slowly dripped out of his mouth, finding it hard to breathe...

His mind went hazy, and he clenched his eyes shut as thoughts began to rise up through his head, whispers that were like prayers, beneath or above his usual train of thought as he shoved himself to his hooves. Luna, meanwhile, was already back in the fray, but she heard the same whispers in her mind, even as she dove down and smashed into one of the Clockwork King's legs just as he managed to stand, yanking it out from beneath him and knocking him sprawling onto his face before she roared, lashing out with telekinesis and all the strength she could to throw the goliath across the room and crashing into the wall.

I want to believe that there's a reason we exist; not we as a people... but we here, right here, right now, exist. That people with bad instincts and bad urges have a reason to be.

Electrical cables all but exploded and piping tore loose and crashed down over the giant as he howled in misery, and then the Clockwork King smashed his way up out of the pile of debris, charging forwards towards them before Luna snapped her horn forwards, sending a blue fireball shooting at him. The mechanical giant slapped it out of the way, however, then he snarled and swung a claw out, ripping it across Luna's face and sending her hurtling backwards with a scream of agony.

I want to believe we can decide our own fate. That even if we're born monsters... that even condemned to the night... we can still save the day. We can still find the light.

Scrivener lunged outwards, catching Luna against his body, not caring about the pipe buried in his back as he hissed in pain... before Luna gritted her teeth, grinning over her shoulder at him before her horn glowed and she snapped it outwards. Dark electricity shocked over them both, and then Nightmare Moon roared in their minds as her powers flooded through them, and the pain ceased to matter; pain became pleasure and power, became further fuel for their determination as they both leapt to their hooves and charged towards the disbelieving machine.

Because I want to believe that if order and good can become so twisted, so monstrous, can cost so many lives...

“N-Not possible! Y-Y-You should be d-d-dead! Why won't y-you d-d-die?” the Clockwork King screamed in terror and misery, staggering backwards, and then it snarled and stomped a foot forwards, shattering the stone platform in front of it, but both Scrivener and Luna easily dodged before it backhanded Scrivener: but its body was smoking, electricity and corruption and silver blood vomiting out of the wounds and rips over its ravaged form, and the wear and tear made its blow almost feeble.

Chaos and evil can carve a path to the starry sky above...

“You first!” Scrivener shouted even as he staggered, then he reached up and blocked the Clockwork King's next punch at him with both forelimbs, gritting his teeth as he felt bones bending beneath his vambraces before he windmilled his forelimbs to stomp both hooves savagely down onto the back of its hand, driving the metal fist to the ground and knocking the creature off balance as the steel claw crunched loudly.

The long dark night can serve as balance in life, prelude to the coming dawn...

“We shall never surrender! We shall never stop!” Luna snarled, lunging forwards and ramming her horn through the monster's breast, and the Clockwork King howled miserably before she focused all the magic, rage and power she could forwards, unleashing a raw, terrible blast of blue fire, lightning, and psychokinetic rage that tore apart the front of the Clockwork King, chunks of steel flying in all directions as it was knocked staggering backwards, revealing smoking gears and chunks of broken crystal and shredded tubes of corruption...

That the blameless can be protected by the sinners...

Luna charged forwards again, leaping upwards with her fangs bared and shooting forwards as the Clockwork King only stared at her desperately, watching with horror as the sapphire mare went into a violent corkscrew before her body exploded into blue, swirling mist, lightning shocking through the wild maelstrom before it tore straight through the Clockwork King's shredded waist and metallic spine, sending its upper torso flying skywards in a smoldering wreck and the legs flying uselessly in another direction.

That monsters can protect the innocent...

The broken upper body of the goliath fell, and Scrivener reared back on his hind hooves, slamming a vicious volley of blows upwards with his forelegs into a cruel, rapid tattoo against the steel goliath, smashing in its chest and body with enough force that it kept the mechanical monstrosity suspended in the air above him, even as his own black blood splattered down over his face and body and ran down his cheeks like trails of tears as the Clockwork King howled, before Scrivener stepped backwards, bringing his head back before slamming it forwards with such power into the giant's face that the broken body of the golem was sent crashing backwards.

That even if I am everything I've always been scared of becoming...

The Clockwork King rolled violently several times, then swung its claws down into the ground, dragging itself to a halt, nothing but a dented, smoking hulk of metal as it stared at them with horror, one socket full of black glass shards and bleeding corruption, its features smashed and broken, unable to fight, unable to do anything but stare, and then shriek in denial as Luna and Scrivener charged towards it for one final attack, side-by-side, together.

I can still do the right thing. I don't want to be a hero, or even good... but I want to do the right thing with a monster's powers and a monster's strength...

Luna and Scrivener both lunged, each swinging a hoof forwards, snarling, bloody, bruised and wounded... but never beaten, never broken. In the same instant, their hooves smashed into the Clockwork King's features, crunching in its metallic skull as they both staggered into the blow, and the monster was sent crashing backwards, crashing into the wall and bouncing off it before toppling forwards in a broken pile of useless scrap.

Scrivener fell forwards, gasping hard as Luna trembled on her hooves, dropping her head low as she struggled for breath. Inside them, Nightmare Moon was silent, and Scrivener smiled faintly as he trembled a bit, the pain beginning to come back... but that was okay. He looked slowly, tiredly up at Luna as she looked back at him, and then she trembled and smiled faintly, whispering down to him: “We are, Scrivener. We are.”

Scrivener Blooms closed his eyes slowly... and then they snapped open, and Luna looked up in shock as the Clockwork King's remains sparked violently before he rose his head and rasped in a broken voice: “The K-K-King is D-Dead. Let Decretum follow.”

Then he dropped his head forwards, giving a broken laugh, and an alarm blared loudly before the platform shook and cracked further as a massive blast hammered through somewhere outside. Luna snarled, shaking her head desperately as Scrivener rasped and tried to shove himself to his hooves, but his energy was gone, his strength was diminishing, he had lost so much blood, and Luna felt her own body weakening before she looked up in horror as a massive explosion ripped through the room above the pit, sending enormous chunks of broken steel and concrete tumbling in a lethal avalanche down the shaft...

The avalanche glowed and slowed to a crawl, and Scrivener and Luna both looked in shock to see the Prophet standing on her feet, breathing hard, both hands held up towards the ceiling above as she whispered: “I am sorry. Please. Escape.”

“No. 'Tis not thy fault, and we will not leave thee behind!” Luna replied sharply, and Scrivener nodded weakly as he began to crawl to his hooves. And the Prophet smiled faintly over at them before she shook her head... but before she could reply, before anyone could speak, the platform beneath them shuddered as another massive explosion tore through the structure, and pipes exploded, gears burst off walls, cables lashed up and out... and the floor beneath the ponies and Prophet shattered apart.

Luna and Scrivener yelled in shock as they fell through first: the Prophet was less lucky, staggering and losing her concentration before countless tons of steel and stone crashed down on her and smashed her down through the platform. And down, down, down they fell, two ponies falling into bottomless, dark depths, followed by rock and steel and doom...

And as they fell, they couldn't see anything around them, couldn't know that outside, massive explosions were ripping their way across Decretum, tearing apart the already broken Clockwork World and burning and blasting it to ruin. They didn't see, didn't know... and didn't care, as Scrivener yelled Luna's name and she snarled, flapping her wings hard, all-but-tackling him in the air, and they wrapped their forelimbs around each other, pulling their bodies close.

Luna's mane streamed out as Scrivener clutched her against his body, their minds locking together in the darkness as they fell in one-another's embrace like a shooting star into the deepest depths of the pit. They saw nothing but each other, as their souls and minds locked together tighter than their bodies... until they vanished into the abyss, and only shadows remained in their wake.

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