• Published 21st Mar 2013
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Synthesis of the Atheist - BlackRoseRaven



Luna and Scrivener become the targets of a malicious, narcissistic psychopath. 8th story in the 99 Worlds Saga/Blooming Moon Chronicles.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter Seventeen: Sibling Rivalry
~BlackRoseRaven

“What do you mean?” Scrivener asked finally, looking up in disbelief at the Clockwork Ponies, and then he snarled and shook his head, snapping: “And what the hell makes you think I would help you in the first place? That I'd be stupid enough to trust you?”

“Very simple.” Thesis smiled as he straightened and calmly strode down the rest of the steps to the lower section of the rooftop before answering: “We are siblings in a way, are we not? And we mean you no harm... in fact, we don't mean harm to anyone. The kidnappings we've been forced to commit are only an unfortunate requirement of the situation we're in... it's merely been a matter of survival and furthering our research. You are one of us: you should understand the law of self-preservation.”

Luna snarled at this, spitting to the side and saying disgustedly: “Thou art nothing but cowards and toys of Decretum... I hear no truth in thy words. But I saw the dead bodies, mangled and fed to the freakish plants downstairs-”

“Watch your mouth, Valkyrie, or I'll shut it for you.” Protelea snarled, and Luna glared at the Clockwork Pony before Thesis calmly rose a hoof, and the strange, weed-maned pony hissed in disgust before nodding grudgingly.

There was silence for a moment, and then Thesis said softly: “We aren't out to hurt anyone. And once we get what we want, there will be no more necessary sacrifices. But Scrivener Blooms, each of us... we are incomplete to varying degrees. We have significant vulnerabilities. We are not as powerful as we should be, because we are an incomplete project of Valthrudnir's, each of us designed for a different purpose... and you are the only fully-complete prototype-”

“I am not a pet project of Valthrudnir!” Scrivener shouted, clenching his eyes shut before he shook his head violently as he felt his stresses rising, and he could sense Valthrudnir in his mind... except the Jötnar was silent, apparently listening intently. And somehow, that was even worse than if the Frost Giant had been trying to forcibly take over his mind. “Clockwork Pony or not, I... I live my own life, I make my own decisions!”

“And we don't have that!” Thesis suddenly shouted furiously, and a snarl spread over the enormous pony's features as he leaned forwards, his white eyes blazing as the four ponies winced back. “What makes you special, better than us? Why do you get to procreate, and don't have the same needs and programmed responses as we do? Why does the Clay of Prometheus respond to you, and why is your blood so different from ours? Why are you stable?”

Then Thesis clenched his eyes shut before he stepped backwards, breathing harder as he visibly fought to reign in his emotions. He cursed as he ground his teeth together, then looked up and said quietly: “Help us. Please, we're so close... with your blood, and your energies... we can be complete. We can be what we were meant to be... real ponies, not just... synthetic puppets, having to fight so hard every day against our chemically-influenced, psychological conditioning. Our project here is almost finished and in return... help us, and we'll go our separate ways, you'll never see us again, and we'll give you everything you desire. Power. Our facility. Anything you set your eyes on.”

Scrivener shuddered and shook his head weakly, stumbling backwards before Twilight looked up at the storm above, then turned her eyes back to Thesis, asking despite how terrified she was of the answer: “What is this place? Why have you... created this storm?”

“The storm is only a side effect of the corruption being vented into the air and the energy being emitted from the Heart. One of our masterworks... something that helps power this entire facility.” Thesis answered quietly, calming further even as behind him, both mares looked almost frustrated, and Cheshire only stared off into the distance, drooling slackly. “This is one of our most important facilities... it is where we have been refining the Clay of Prometheus into something... something that will help. Please, let me show you. Let me share everything with you. Let me convince you to help us.”

He looked pleadingly at them, and Scrivener Blooms shivered before Luna asked quietly: “And precisely why hast thou been killing ponies?”

“Oh, who cares about a few worthless mortal scum?” spat Protelea, and then she snorted and glared down at Thesis when he looked coldly over his shoulder at her. “He's not going to listen to us! Let's just harvest the samples you need from him and the Valkyrie bitch, they're no match for us!”

“Oh, really? I would love to see thee try!” Luna snarled, setting herself as her eyes flashed, and then she added icily: “And know this: the only help I plan to offer any of thee, who reek of spite and poison, is help into the grave.”

“Please. I would prefer to do this peacefully.” Thesis straightened, shaking his head slowly before he closed his eyes and added quietly: “But if you force my hoof... I won't hesitate to use other methods. I'm reaching out to you, Scrivener and Luna, because I thought you'd understand. Because I thought you'd see the greater good... that we could even help one-another out. Yes, we've killed here and there, but it's been necessary to fuel the machinery here. It is not my fault.

“None of us are interested in... taking over, or destroying the layers, or continuing Valthrudnir's work. Yes, we were all 'activated' by Valthrudnir at some point, we have even worked alongside the forces of Decretum to one degree or another to further his plans, but... we have more freedom than the puppets do. But we can't take complete control of our lives until we ourselves are... finished.” Thesis sat back and looked down at his hooves, whispering: “You don't know what it's like to be unfinished. To always hear the lingering orders of my... the Jötnar in the back of your mind. To feel like your emotions are limited in their scope and depth. To be unable to do something as simple as pursue a hobby because it's outside your programming. And look at us... none of us have a symbol, like you do. And I suppose none of us ever blended as well into society as you must have... we were simply pony puppets wandering around blindly until the day Valthrudnir turned us on.”

Thesis fell silent, and then he looked up coldly. “And that is why I am determined to become complete. Why I will not allow you to turn your back on us... and if you do not desire to help us, my siblings and I force you to help us, little brother. You might be the only finished prototype, but don't think that makes you the strongest, by any stretch of the imagination. Your design is to support and defend other units by terraforming the world around you. You're nothing but a worker drone, enhanced by the Valkyrie. I am a military unit, my design is to command and destroy.”

“Yeah, I'm starting to get what you mean by being incomplete.” Scrivener said quietly, grimacing as he shook his head slowly, and Thesis narrowed his eyes slowly. “I've never thought of myself as some 'unit' or 'model.' Do you know what I am? I'm a pony. You? You're a talking gun.”

Thesis snarled, baring sharp steel teeth before he clenched his eyes shut, then said quietly: “I'll give you one last chance to reconsider. Work with us. Help us, little brother... please. We... we just want help. We just want to be complete.”

There was silence for a few long moments, and then Scrivener Blooms shook his head slowly before he said quietly: “Thesis... you don't get it, do you? Even if you were right, and I could... give you four whatever you wanted... your friend Chess there looks like he's going to still be a drooling moron, and both your 'sisters' look like they think murder and mayhem is a great way to pass the afternoon. And you? I think even if you were 'perfect' like you want to be... you'd still just be a miserable puppet on broken string.”

Luna nodded firmly as Thesis trembled with fury, and then the sapphire mare added quietly, her eyes flashing: “Do thy worst, Thesis. But whether thou offers peace or war, we shall not aid thee and thine. Thou art cowards and murderers, trying to threaten and bully when thou does not get thy way... but we shall not be threatened, and we shall not be bullied, and we do not aid those who spill innocent blood for their own gain.”

There was silence, and Thesis turned slowly away, striding up the steps before he lowered his head and said quietly: “Very well. You've made your point, Valkyrie... and little brother, I am disappointed. Hurt, and disappointed. If you'll excuse us, Psukhikos and I will now have to modify my designs and plans.”

The unicorn Clockwork Pony smiled coldly as she turned around, as Protelea looked eagerly over at Thesis as the four ponies readied themselves, feeling the growing aggression in the air before the apparent leader of the so-called Replicants looked over his shoulder, his white eyes burning with anger and frustration. “Let me demonstrate why you shouldn't bite the hand trying to feed you, ponies. Protelea, go ahead and take something they cherish away from them. And Cheshire? Those ponies are bad. They hurt us. They hurt you. Make the bad ponies hurt back.”

Cheshire's eyes snapped to the side, widening before he snarled and shivered, hauling himself up to his feet as his back arched, before Luna Brynhild stepped forwards with a snarl, shouting: “Do not run away, coward!”

But Thesis only continued to walk calmly away as Protelea grinned and licked her lips slowly with a long, barbed tongue, her eyes lashing back and forth as her whole body shivered in excitement. “Yes, finally! And it's not even a hard choice to decide which of you is the juiciest little morsel...”

Her eyes gleamed, wings spreading and shivering as they locked on Antares, and Luna snarled as she immediately leapt in front of her son, shouting furiously: “Do not even look at my child, monster! If thou wants a fight then 'tis with me! Scrivener, Twilight, deal with-”

“You aren't calling the shots here, sweetie.” Protelea replied almost kindly, and then she whistled loudly and yelled: “Cheshire, kill 'em!”

Cheshire roared and charged straight towards Luna, who snarled and ducked low under a sweep of the monster's ugly claws before stabbing her horn savagely upwards, burying it deep into the immense pony's breast. Cheshire howled, but then seized viciously into Luna's mane, spittle flying from his maw as he yanked her backwards and then pinned her down by the shoulders as the mare grunted in shock.

Scrivener Blooms ran quickly forwards, smashing a hoof into Cheshire's face as the monster began to lean down, and the beast barely seemed fazed. It did distract the monster, however, Cheshire looking up with a snarl as he swiped a claw out at Scrivener, but the stallion winced and leaned out of the way before Luna snapped her horn upwards, unleashing a blast of force and blue flame...

That did next to nothing, as Cheshire roared in what sounded like surprise more than pain, flexing and shaking himself wildly as he crushed down against Luna's shoulder with one hoof, even as she cried out in agony and shoved hard back against his body with her three free legs. Then Cheshire's jaws bit down savagely... but Scrivener managed to leap forwards and catch the monstrous pony's head in his forelegs, cursing as he fought as hard as he could to keep him back as Cheshire's teeth snapped through the air just above Luna's face.

The Clockwork Pony snapped his head back and forth, growling like an animal as Twilight snarled and ran forwards, Antares beside her... before the Lich looked over her shoulder in shock as Protelea rammed viciously into the black unicorn, knocking him flying backwards before the weed-maned mare laughed as she seized him under the forelegs, carrying him over the edge of the structure and flinging him downwards. Twilight cursed as she began to turn to chase after the two as Protelea dove after her prey, but then the Lich flinched in pain and turned back towards Cheshire with a snarl as the monster's strength began to overwhelm both Luna and Scrivener.

The Lich snarled in desperation as she ran towards the three grappling ponies; Antares, meanwhile, cursed in pain, trying to cover his face as Protelea rammed blow after blow into his head and upper body, driving him down towards the rocks below before he suddenly rolled and spread his wings, halting himself in midair as he slammed an elbow backwards into the mare's face even as he winced at the impact of her body against his.

All the same, the wind was driven out of the Clockwork Pony as her stomach struck his arched back, her legs kicking stupidly out on either side of Antares as her head was knocked to the side with a yelp of surprise, and then the young stallion managed to wrap a foreleg quickly around her neck before furling his wings tightly again to drop, while twisting savagely to the side. As he began to fall again, Protelea was dragged through the air with him, pulled forcefully along in a violent sideways roll before the stallion flung her viciously straight down as he spread his wings again and launched himself out of the spiraling fall.

Protelea shrieked as she flipped wildly out of control before crashing face-first down into the rocks below, the Clockwork Pony bouncing several times across the plateau she had smashed into before Antares dropped in a ready position a few feet away, a determined snarl on his face even as his nostrils dripped blood from the blows he had taken.

The mare lay stunned for a moment on the natural platform of stone next to the fortress, and then a slow snarl spread over her face as she straightened, hissing loudly at him as she climbed to her hooves. Her body shivered violently as her tail snapped back and forth, the vines around it twisting writhing before it lengthened as the weeds and ivy flexed and peeled slowly back like a blossoming flower... except what was revealed were no delicate petals, but a deadly, dangerous stinger at the end of a hidden, segmented tail, this trembling in the air as it rose up over her back and her wings spread. “Forget what Thesis said, I'm going to devour your insides, little boy!”

Antares only anchored himself, his own leathery wings unfurling as he faced her coldly, his eyes locked on her as he said coldly: “I'm not afraid of you.”

Protelea snarled furiously... but then suddenly she straightened, and her eyes glowed as her expression turned to a cold, almost-coy smile, whispering: “Oh, but you should be, little boy. You think you're so tough, you're the handsome knight who's gonna win the day? No, you're not. You're just carrion. Delicious carrion... and we're starving.”

Antares frowned a bit as Protelea giggled, her smile stretching into a grin before a horrible, ugly rasping sound began to rise in her throat, and the stallion took a step backwards as he readied himself. But a moment later, all he could do was stare in horror as the mare's jaw stretched and dislocated, becoming a hideous, horrible gape as her lips peeled back and he saw she had only a few long, curving fangs in her maw and a hideous, barbed tongue, and past that her throat gaped like a cave...

That rasping grew louder, and three black dots emerged, buzzing into the air out of the cavern of her stretched-open maw. They shot immediately towards Antares, zigzagging through the air as the stallion leaned back in surprise, then cursed in pain as one of them landed on him and he felt a pinching pain on the side of his neck, swatting it before staring down in surprise at his hoof. He had just squished a large, nasty fly... and then his eyes turned with horror back to Protelea as more flies spilled out of her jaws, not one or five or a dozen but a terrible swarm of hundreds, if not thousands.

And with them came crawling centipedes, scurrying beetles, earwigs, countless hideous bugs that swarmed out of her maw, over Protelea's features, and towards Antares as the stallion stumbled backwards and shook his head, before howling in terror as the bugs flooded towards him. Immediately, he spun around, leaping upwards and scrabbling wildly at the smooth stone wall with his hooves, as if he could run straight up it before his wings flapped as hard as they could and launched him into the air, but the flies and beetles shot after him in a buzzing wave of pestilence.

Protelea's jaws snapped shut, and she smacked her lips loudly even as a few last bugs swarmed out over her face. She grinned viciously as she looked up at the panicking Antares, ignoring the bugs eagerly running over her body while she called mockingly: “What's wrong, poor foal? I thought you weren't afraid of me!”

The Clockwork Pony laughed loudly, and then she reared her head back, a gurgling rising out of her stomach as Antares zigzagged wildly back and forth through the air, trying to lose the attention of the swarm. Then Protelea snapped her head forwards, spitting a stream of toxic, yellow-green slime at the stallion just as he began to turn, and the viscous goo slammed into his chest, knocking him backwards with a cry of shock that quickly turned to a scream of pain as it rapidly began to eat through his armor.

Protelea grinned as she reared back again, gurgling and preparing a second attack as her flying bugs swarmed around Antares, pestering him, nipping his flesh, blinding him and knocking him off balance as he struggled to remain in the air.

He couldn't think, he couldn't react, he couldn't do anything as he felt pieces of his armor falling away and burns spreading rapidly over his flesh, as the bugs attacked all his senses and filled his mind with panic, jammed up his wings and simply tried to cause him as much agony as they possibly could. It felt worse than hopeless; it felt like hell, as he flung himself backwards... then snarled, clenching his eyes shut and simply letting himself fall in a moment of complete desperation.

Protelea growled in irritation, acidic slime bubbling out of her jaws when the stallion simply dropped out of the sky and fell towards the ground below. For a moment, she hoped that one of her bugs had crawled into his brain and killed him... but then the stallion half-flipped his body and landed on one of the rocks below near the bottom of the fortress, and Protelea snarled before swallowing back the acid still in her mouth and spreading her insectile wings.

Bugs swarmed rapidly over the ground and up over her body, crawling into her mane and tail and tightly clinging to her skin, and she whispered: “Come, babies. Don't worry, Mommy will leave you more than enough to have a decent meal.”

She leapt into the air, buzzing slowly down towards the stallion as Antares looked up with a curse, seeing the Clockwork Pony heading towards him as he reached up and clawed wildly at his armor. He could hear the flying swarm above descending as well, and the young stallion looked back and forth desperately before he half-spun and leapt quickly down the rocks towards the mire-covered yard at the front of the fortress.

Protelea smiled coldly at this, suddenly curving her flight and shaking herself briskly as she put on a burst of speed, dislodging a hail of bugs from her body and raining them down over Antares in a terrible hail. The charcoal stallion stumbled with a curse of shock and pain, leaping backwards and shaking himself wildly to try and toss the insects off his body while the Clockwork Pony circled above, her eyes blazing and a grin twisting over her face before she buzzed down just above the distracted stallion as her jaws stretched wide, then vomited out a flood of insects over the glossy black unicorn.

Antares fell backwards in the mire, screaming in pain and horror as he was covered in stinging, biting, clawing parasites, splashing helplessly back and forth in the black poison before Protelea hissed in delight. Her eyes glowed in ecstasy, loving every moment of agony she saw in Antares as she buzzed eagerly back and forth above the muck.

The stallion rolled back and forth, tears rolling down his cheeks... and worse yet was the mire spreading over his body, sticking to him, coating him. It burned against his flesh and put awful thoughts in his mind and he could feel the bugs wiggling, wriggling, suffocating in it, as... as...

His eyes widened as he fell still, and Protelea laughed as she dropped down on top of his back, sending a blast of pain through his body as he groaned and she leaned down, mocking coyly: “What's wrong, little boy? Are you done already? Oh, poor little colt, was I too rough on you? I'm oh so sorry, baby-doll... I know, why don't I let you choose how you die, would that make it a little better?”

She stepped off him, rolling him over as Antares breathed weakly in and out, covered in a thick layer of mire as she looked down into his eyes and savored his fear, his pain, baring her tubular fangs as she murmured in a mockingly-soothing voice: “How about I bite you? It'll only be a pinch, sweetie... and then the poisons go in, and your blood and insides come out. Or just a sting or two... you'll be paralyzed, and it'll be slow, but oh, oh, honey, it won't hurt in the slightest, and you'll get to be a hive, a whole city, for my sweet little babies. That's the generous way to die.

“Actually...” She clicked her tongue, then slowly let the long, barbed appendage slide out and out and out, half-lidding her eyes as she licked slowly up the side of his face, and Antares shivered weakly. “You're cute. You're very cute... oh, I could keep you alive, honey. You could be one of my Necrotrophs, wouldn't you like that?”

Antares trembled a little, and Protelea grinned slowly, whispering: “No, baby, don't cry. You're going to like it. Or well, you will once my little babies get into your brain and help me help you think a little... clearer.”

She opened her mouth, taking her time, making it slow, savoring Antares' fear as she bared her fangs and that gaping hole of her throat... and the young stallion clenched his eyes shut as he drew on all the energy he could, firing a blast of white fire directly down Protelea's jaws.

The Clockwork Pony was knocked backwards, gagging and screaming as she belched smoke and vomited charred bug-corpses in every direction. She shrieked incoherently, greenish blood spilling out of her jaws before she leaned suddenly forwards and spat a volley of insects at him, and while Antares cried out in disgust, he barely flinched even when they collided with a splatter against his side.

The beetles attempted to bite him... but instead, the bugs only shifted uselessly in the mire thickly coating, almost-intentionally armoring Antares' body: and even though every fiber of his being hated it, he still felt a poisonous warmth and strength coming up from the muck, feeding into him as Protelea reared back in shock.

Antares snarled, snapping his horn out and sending a blade of white light hammering into the Clockwork Pony's face, and she was knocked stumbling with another shriek. Antares followed up with blast after blast of white fire, leaving gray-tinged burns over her body and turning the pieces of her mane the flames burst up over into brittle stone, which shattered as she spun around with a squeal and leapt to the air.

She shot towards the skies in a rough zigzag, fleeing with a scream of humiliation and pain as smoke and blood continued to pour out of her jaws. Antares shivered weakly as he stared up after her, and then he trembled once before falling face-first into the both awful and soothing black mire, gasping weakly for breath and only hoping his parents were holding up better than he had.

But above, Scrivener and Luna were both bleeding heavily from several deep wounds, slumped and shivering. Twilight was nearby, her armor vest torn completely from her body, a hoof resting against a massive gouge that left one foreleg almost hanging free from her body.

Cheshire was gargling, looking wildly back and forth as he foamed at the jaws, and Scrivener cursed under his breath as he watched dark strings of mire first rapidly fill up a wound that had been ripped in the monster's breast, then turn back to solid black flesh.

Cheshire seemed to have a boundless supply of energy, and he regenerated in the same way that Scrivener did... except unlike the earth pony, the stitched-and-stapled monstrosity never seemed to slow, never seemed to tire, never seemed to lose his ability to heal no matter how much damage they inflicted on him. Then the monster twitched to the side, halting in mid-step as he screamed: “Oh, infinite glory above, shine down your luck and light upon me! I am but a poor traveler, alone on the path through this world!”

“Oh shut up!” Luna shouted furiously, and then she snapped her horn forwards, sending a blast of lightning into Cheshire, but all it did was draw Cheshire's eyes to her, the monster snarling before it charged towards her. Luna cursed, waiting for a moment before she leapt suddenly upwards and kicked both rear legs viciously into Cheshire's face, and the beast was knocked staggering with a whimper that turned to a snarl as it lashed a claw up in a blow that was sloppy but too fast for Luna to dodge.

The sapphire mare's breastplate was all but shattered as she was knocked flying through the air, crashing down on her back and rolling weakly several times over the thankfully-solid wooden covering over the expansive skylight. Scrivener winced as he ran to her, and Cheshire's attention immediately snapped to the earth pony, drool dripping from his jaws before he broke into another run.

Scrivener winced over his shoulder, then he turned, drawing a hoof back... and Cheshire grabbed him by the throat, shoving him backwards and slamming him viciously down into the cement walk around the skylight, pinning him on his back as the stallion gargled and clutched uselessly at the monster's wrist. Cheshire glared down at him, before howling and staggering backwards when Luna drove both lower hooves up into his groin in a blow that would have reduced any other stallion to a whimpering, broken heap.

Cheshire was at least whimpering, but a moment later it turned to a snarl as he reached out and seized Luna by the horn, slamming her face-first down against the wooden boards as he turned his attention away from Scrivener. Twilight cursed as she forced herself to run as best she could with her damaged front leg, gathering all the energy she could muster, trying not to panic even as the monster switched his grip to Luna's throat and pinned her down as his jaws opened...

And in mid-bite, the monster suddenly halted, instead chanting in Luna's face as she struggled to break free from his grip: “Ring around the rosey, pocket full of posey... ashes, ashes-”

“We all fall down!” Scrivener shouted as he leapt onto Cheshire's back, slamming both of his front hooves down into the back of Cheshire's neck, and the monster howled and arched his spine in surprise before Scrivener snarled as he began to smash blow after blow down into Cheshire's skull. The monster lost his grip on Luna, reaching wildly back to try and grab Scrivener, before he screamed when the mare leapt immediately upwards and began to viciously slash and tear at the monster's underbelly and lower body with her horn.

Cheshire writhed in agony as Twilight skidded to a halt, dropping to a ready position before the Lich winced as the creature managed to seize Scrivener Blooms in a wild grab, then yanked the earth pony off his back, slamming him into Luna in a hard swing and sending both ponies crashing across the wooden boards. Then the monster grabbed at its face, covering its eyes as it screamed: “Foals sing and foals p-play, and yet I buried my father today! Mother laughs and mother c-c-cries, like she can't believe that everypony dies!”

Then Cheshire's head snapped up as he roared and charged towards Luna and Scrivener as if he didn't even see Twilight Sparkle in the way, and the Lich bared her fangs in a snarl before taking advantage of the monster's tunnel vision, leaping forwards and snapping her horn down to unleash a tremendous blast of golden light and fire.

Cheshire howled in shock and agony, rearing back as Twilight flapped her wings hard, tackling the monster's face as he burned and staggered back and forth helplessly, the Lich grasping into the giant as flames wreathed and struggled to spread over his body. Her hoof smashed down again and again and again into his face, trying to stop the unstoppable as her horn began to glow, preparing another spell...

Cheshire's claws grabbed into her, and beast slammed her down into the wooden panel, glass cracking loudly below this before Twilight's eyes bulged as she felt his claws rip deep into her stomach. And Scrivener and Luna both stared in horror before the monster rose the Lich above his head, then ripped viciously in either direction.

A rain of blood burst down over the monster, extinguishing the golden flames that hadn't already gone out as Twilight was torn into two halves; the lower half, Cheshire threw with such violence that it smashed the head off one of the snarling Tyrant Wyrm statues... and the other, he leaned over and and slammed face-first down into the cement around the skylight, Twilight gargling as her already-damaged foreleg was torn completely free by the force of impact.

Her eyes bulged with horror and disbelief as Luna and Scrivener both shouted denials, throwing themselves to their hooves and charging down the skylight at Cheshire, but the monster only snarled as he half-spun, dragging Twilight's ripped-apart body over the cement before he flung the Lich's remains at them. Luna dodged with a snarl as her eyes glowed with rage, but Twilight's limp body slammed into Scrivener and knocked him rolling backwards even as the sapphire mare dove at Cheshire, shouting furiously in Nightmare Moon's voice: “We will tear you limb-from-limb for this blasphemy!”

Luna struck in at Cheshire's face, lashing a deep wound with her horn before she kicked viciously off the monster, dodging wild swipes of its claws before she lunged smoothly backwards through the air when it attempted to pounce, howling as if in response: “As I lay my head down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; and if I should die before I wake, I pray-”

Then Cheshire's head snapped to the side, Luna cutting him off in mid-recitation in a fine spray of blood and drool with a vicious punch, before she followed up with a jaw-shattering uppercut that knocked the monster crashing onto its back. “Pray to me, monster!”

She lunged down out of the air with a flap of her wings... and one of Cheshire's rear hooves kicked up on instinct more than anything else, sending her flying backwards to crash down in front of the broken Tyrant Wyrm statue. Then she looked up with shock as Cheshire scrabbled to his claws and hooves and ran at her, roaring, and the mare cursed before leaping forwards and skidding just beneath him when he tried to pounce on top of her, instead ramming himself face-first into the ground.

But he was fast, spinning around and tackling Luna onto her back just as she began to turn, and the mare snarled as she was pinned down. Cheshire's jaws bit at her, and Scrivener cursed under his breath from where he was helpless to do anything: he had been knocked senseless for the few short moments the whole exchange between monster and mare had taken.

He began to step forwards, even knowing that at most, he could only hope to pry Cheshire away from her, but then Twilight coughed, getting his attention. The stallion looked at the torn-apart Lich with a wince as she shivered on the ground, then gazed up at him as her horn glowed and her collar and ear studs tore free from her body before she whispered: “Scrivy... I... I want you to... throw me.”

Scrivener stared at her, and then Twilight reached up and shoved at her already torn-neck, and the stallion grimaced, then looked weakly over his shoulder. There was no time to argue... and he cursed under his breath as he reached forwards and grabbed the Lich's head, Twilight smiling before wincing only slightly when the stallion yanked as hard as he could and tore her head free from her shoulders. “Luna's going to give us so much crap for this.”

Twilight only smiled faintly as her horn began to glow, and Scrivener looked at the violet mare's head for a moment, breathing heavily before he suddenly leaned forwards and kissed her quickly, and Twilight flushed even as the magic around her horn sparked, emotion adding to the strength of her magic before Scrivener gritted his teeth and half-spun, cocking her back and shouting: “Chew on this!”

The stallion put all his strength into the throw, flinging Twilight's head straight at Cheshire as the monster looked up with a grunt of surprise, and the Lich snarled as her horn glowed brighter before her skull burst into blue flames, becoming a sapphire fireball.

Twilight collided with Cheshire and exploded in a tremendous burst of energy and sound, Luna gargling as she was crushed into the ground by the wave of force, but Cheshire screaming miserably as he was flung backwards. Then there was a sound of flesh tearing, and the beast's wails rose even higher in pitch as Luna looked slowly up in shock, staring at the sight of the enormous monster standing on his hind hooves, unable to move with the now black-blood-soaked neck of the broken Tyrant Wyrm statue impaled through his chest.

Cheshire's hooves flailed limply at the air as he squealed and shivered, mire burbling out of his jaws as his violet eyes rolled miserably in his head, giving barking, short cries of misery as black tears flooded down his cheeks. And in that moment, as Luna sat up, she couldn't help but feel pity for this... this mutilated stallion. This miserable, pathetic thing that was gurgling and screaming and trying uselessly to free itself, terribly, horribly, still alive in spite of the long stone spear jutting from his chest.

Luna slowly forced herself up to her hooves... and then she felt a presence brush silently against her, and she smiled faintly as a translucent spirit flickered quietly into existence beside her. She studied the specter, the Pale... and then she leaned forwards and silently nuzzled into Twilight Sparkle's spirit, feeling almost like she was touching something solid before she whispered: “Thou hast my thanks, and my love. Now go, find Antares... help him the little thou can, if thou still has some strength left. Scrivy and I are going to finish this.”

Twilight nodded silently, and her spirit vanished from sight before Luna sighed softly, turning a glower towards Scrivener Blooms as the stallion approached. Past him, she could see that the Lich's abandoned body had already rotted away to nothing, and she shook her head slowly before Scrivener turned his own eyes to Cheshire's howling, writhing body, asking hesitantly: “What the hell do we do with him?”

“I do not know. All I know is that we must find that bastard Thesis and-” Luna was cut off as Cheshire suddenly lurched forwards, swinging both his claws out at the same time, and there was a horrible crack as the stone neck of the Tyrant Wyrm shattered into pieces, letting the beast tear himself free. Chunks of stone and a river of dark mire pulled out of the gaping hole in his chest, and then Cheshire looked upwards with a twisted grin through his black tears before he lunged forwards.

His claws seized both Luna and Scrivener around the throat, tackling them both backwards and slamming them into the wooden panels covering the skylight... but this time, they tore through the thin layer, and Cheshire lost his grip on them as he howled in surprise, the three falling into the atrium below and smashing straight through the rotten floor. And to their horror, there was nothing but a gaping pit below, the three ponies hurtling downwards as Luna and Scrivener both snarled and Cheshire screamed, flailing his claws and kicking his hooves in all directions.

Cheshire smashed through a support girder, giving a shriek as he was knocked in another direction, and Scrivener yelled in pain as he bounced off a thick pipe that stretched across the tunnel, knocking it out of place with a scream of metal and a burst of superheated black ooze. For a moment, Scrivener flipped wildly, and then Luna dodged quickly around several thin pipes as she flapped her wings to boost herself, seizing into the stallion and shouting: “We have one chance!”

She half-spun and flung the earth pony hard, and Scrivener crashed into Cheshire, snagging into the behemoth pony's back: thankfully, the beast didn't seem to notice, even as Luna flung herself downwards and crashed down beside Scrivener. The two ponies winced as the Clockwork Pony smashed through another girder on his way down, his body beginning to twist, but they both forcibly pushed him back into a straight fall, wincing as the walls of the tunnel shot by faster and faster as the beast plummeted like a meteor.

Without even realizing it, Luna and Scrivener both slid a hoof along the beast's back to link together, squeezing their hooves together fiercely as Cheshire continued to howl in misery and terror on their plunge downwards into darkness, and both ponies gritted their teeth as they braced themselves as best they could for what had to come sooner rather than later, as Scrivener and Luna both clenched their eyes shut...

Cheshire crashed through something far more solid and far larger than just a girder or a pipe, sending pain through both Luna and Scrivener: pain they barely had time to feel before the second crash, when Cheshire halted completely and they were both flung off the Clockwork Pony's back. Scrivener hit something solid back-first, crying out in pain before his misery was doubled when he realized it was a wall, not the floor, as he fell out of the air and landed on his face on the ground.

Luna, meanwhile, was lucky enough to be flung into a corridor, crashing and skidding over the concrete floor painfully before she came to a halt with a gasp. Her body shivered weakly, and then she slowly forced her eyes open, gasping quietly and struggling not to fall unconscious as pain wracked her entire body, and her blood bubbled in her veins.

She shivered for a moment, then felt Scrivener stirring... and the mare grimaced a little, muttering to herself: “No, no... I... I do not think so, Scrivy... thou cannot be the first to... rise...”

The sapphire mare groaned weakly as she forced her hooves beneath her, and then she gasped quietly and slowly pushed herself up to her hooves as her eyes finally focused and she managed to look up, taking in her surroundings as Scrivener mumbled in the other room: “I think I'm happy to just die here, thank you.”

“Oh... shut up, Scrivy...” Luna's gaze shifted uneasily back and forth: steel walls, a low ceiling covered in pipes, a concrete floor... and the intersection they had fallen into that was covered in rubble. Cheshire had smashed through the ceiling above, and the creature itself now lay in a broken, mangled pile in a corona of faint light spilling down out of the long pit they had fallen through.

Scrivener groaned as he picked himself slowly up off the ground near the Clockwork Pony, and he looked silently at the fallen enemy for a moment before hesitantly stepping towards it. Luna glanced at him nervously, and then she gave a slow, hesitant nod when Scrivener looked at her. The stallion nodded back after a moment, then he carefully reached forwards, touching the side of Cheshire's neck.

The body was still warm, but he couldn't feel anything... and when Scrivener carefully pushed on the Clockwork Pony's head, the enormous creature moved limply. Scrivener nodded a little to himself, letting out a sigh of relief as he let his hoof draw away, and then he grimaced and stretched out a bit as he muttered: “I feel kind of sorry for him now.”

“I do not.” Luna muttered, and then she looked slowly back and forth, grimacing in disgust: there were five or so different passages around them leading off in different directions, each lit by flickering, orange lights at varying intervals, some darker than others. “I do not like this. I have no idea where we could be, or where to go... this looks like nothing but... but a labyrinth!”

Scrivener nodded, uneasily looking back and forth before he said finally: “Let's just pick one and walk straight, then. We have to come across a way out eventually.”

“Grand.” Luna grumbled, nodding and sighing tiredly, and then she looked sourly down the nearest tunnel before jerking her head towards it with a mutter. “Then we may as well just pick whatever is closest. This way, Scrivener Blooms. Perhaps fortune will favor us for once.”

“Now my bad feeling just got worse.” Scrivener muttered, and the two ponies fell in step beside each other even as the sapphire mare grumbled at him, the two striding slowly down the path before Scrivener took an uneasy look behind himself at the corpse of the Clockwork Pony. “The beating that thing took, though... and Antares...”

“Antares will be fine. Our son is strong.” Luna said forcefully, and Scrivener smiled faintly as Luna nodded firmly, muttering: “No Clockwork Pony is a match for our child. But... unfortunately, I... I am forced to agree. At least we can be confident that we have done some damage to the enemy's forces, and know now what we are faced against. But aye... let us return to accursed Celestia and Appleloosa. We will need the aid of the rest of our family to finish off this menace.”

Scrivener nodded slowly, and Luna sighed as she looked over her shoulder at the empty room behind them, studying the rubble moodily as she muttered: “I only wish that...”

Then she frowned and stumbled to a halt, and Scrivener swallowed thickly as he looked over his own shoulder as both ponies realized what was wrong. The room behind them was empty... Cheshire's body was gone.

Insane laughter echoed down the hallway, and the two ponies winced before they both turned and bolted, not wanting to be caught in such a narrow place. After a few moments, they reached a metallic room lit by dull-red light, the walls formed by thrumming pipes and steel girders. Shutters were tightly closed on the walls in front of them and to their left, and the open hall behind them echoed with shrieking giggles as Luna shouted: “We must force forwards!”

“I don't think we can afford to waste any energy, and these look pretty heavy... I... wait, wait, maybe...” Scrivener's eyes locked on some kind of control panel on the wall, the stallion running over and yanking down a lever... then yelping and stumbling backwards as a klaxon blared loudly, Luna flinching as well.

“Shutdown of transport facility commencing. Preparing to reroute power.” stated a calm mechanical voice, and shutters slammed down over the only open doorways before there was a loud clicking, and three shutters that had been sealed before slowly rolled open, as the voice announced: “Shutdown complete. Factory access has been granted. All systems now online.”

“That sounds great.” Scrivener muttered, wincing as a klaxon blared again before orange lights flared on through the dark maze of passageways. The stallion began to cross the room towards Luna... and then a vent cover above was smashed open, and a large, gnarled black claw stretched into the room, lashing wildly back and forth, and Scrivener howled in shock as Luna leaned away with a look of horror before snarling and snapping her horn upwards, sending a blast of lighting into the creature's forelimb.

The monster above howled, and then there was a rattling before a terrible, insane cackling began to sound from above. Scrivener and Luna both flinched at the cacophony, then bolted down the passage in the opposite direction of the sound of the rattling and the laughter... the horrible, insane laughter that wasn't mocking, or triumphant, but the sound of a deranged, lunatic mind finally pushed into an abyss that went beyond anything so simple as a psychotic breakdown.

But these tunnels were a maze, and many of them filled with awful sounds: not just the banging of their own hooves over the grated floor or the heavy concrete, but the loud thrumming of corruption pumping through pipes, or the hiss of steam venting from the metal tubes around them. And in the distance, there was some thunderous crashing that reminded Luna of the sound of hammers on anvils...

Then a claw smashed through a grate cover above their heads, and both Luna and Scrivener barely managed to keep running, the stallion wincing in pain as the broken grate bounced off his back. But it was better that than being clawed, as Cheshire screamed above their heads: “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly!”

There was a crashing behind them as the Clockwork Pony tried to force his way down into the passage, and Luna and Scrivener both cursed and sprinted hurriedly around a corner the moment they reached an intersection, then quickly down the next turn as howling joined the cacophony of noises in the air for a moment. The two ponies didn't slow until they were both out of breath, finally halting in a cramped corner with cement beneath their hooves and above their heads.

They sat almost back-to-back, Luna looking down one corridor, and Scrivener the other, both breathing hard and trying their best not to flinch at every little rumble, every time steam vented into the air. They shivered, adrenaline pulsing in their veins, their hearts thudding in their chests as one, before Scrivener looked up in horror as Cheshire's voice whispered: “Twinkle, twinkle little star...”

Luna cursed under her breath, and then Scrivener flinched as a banging filled the air and a vent cover was knocked off down the corridor, and both ponies turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Their hooves clattered over the grates, both looking with fear over their shoulders as the monstrous pony's voice echoed: “How I wonder what you are...”

“Where the hell is he?” Scrivener and Luna both skidded to a halt in a four-way intersection, as a broken laugh spilled through the air around them, the stallion staring over his shoulder... but the corridor was empty, nothing but pipes and venting steam and thin air. “Where is he?”

“Up above the world so high...” It was drawing closer. It was echoing louder, and even though it was just a whisper, oh, it sounded so much louder than everything else in this goddamn miserable maze! “Like a diamond in the sky...”

Scrivener and Luna looked desperately around before Scrivener spun to the side, almost panicking, meaning to say they should just run for it... and then he came face-to-face with Cheshire, falling backwards on his ass and staring upwards in disbelief as he saw the monster's... no, not his face. Only his grinning teeth, and his insane violet eyes, upside down. But then, slowly, the air rippled and the rest of the monster's stitchwork body filled in, revealing the creature sitting upside down on the ceiling as he finished almost tenderly: “Twinkle, twinkle... little star... how I wonder... what you are...”

Cheshire giggled... and then Luna snapped her horn forwards and blasted the behemoth backwards, and the monster howled as he was jarred loose from the ceiling and half-rolled, half-flopped down the tunnel. Scrivy and Luna both immediately spun and ran down the passageway, and the stallion was unable to stop himself from tossing a terrified look over his shoulder as Cheshire clawed his way to his broken hooves before vanishing from sight, the stallion shouting: “Oh that's not fair! Oh that's not fair!”

“Just run!” Luna shouted, and the stallion nodded quickly as they sprinted through the maze of steel and piping side-by-side. The winged unicorn pulled a little ahead, her horn glowing as she cursed, looking desperately for any sign, any tell that-

Cheshire smashed through a thin wall of piping in a hail of shrapnel and corruption, roaring furiously as he tackled Scrivener and slammed him into the other side of the hallway, and then the behemoth's teeth bit savagely down into the earth pony's shoulder, almost ripping out his throat as Scrivener howled in agony. His black blood burst out over Cheshire's face, and the monster's teeth dug deeper as Luna screamed and staggered around with a snarl, eyes blazing as blood exploded from a wound that formed in her own shoulder before she snapped her horn out and sent a blast of blue flame and force into Cheshire's skull.

The Clockwork Pony was knocked loose from Scrivener, who flung himself forwards and into a broken gallop, and Luna cursed as she turned to run alongside her husband as Cheshire grabbed wildly at his features for a moment before grinning and vanishing from sight with an insane, almost-shrieking laugh.

Luna and Scrivener rounded a corner and shot down a narrow corridor to stumble to a halt inside a large, square room. It was filled with strange machines, including a massive, rectangular structure that had three large tubes feeding out of it into the ceiling. The two ponies both hurried towards this as they noted the metal, sliding gate that could be closed over it., before Scrivener caught sight of the sign on the front, and he winced and reached out to snag Luna by the shoulder before she could hurry into what would very clearly be a poor choice for a hiding place.

“It says 'incinerator' on there.” Scrivener pointed at the gate, then both he and Luna winced and looked over their shoulders at the entrance, before Luna flicked her horn firmly to slam the ajar door shut. It might buy them a few seconds, at least... and then, as another howling laugh sounded, both ponies traded another quick look as an idea hit them both at once.

Luna ran over to the gate, closing it most of the way before she stepped into the gap and flicked her horn firmly, creating a mote of glowing blue light that floated slowly around inside the darkness of the incinerator. Scrivener, meanwhile, took a quick look over the machinery, hoping it would be simple... and thankfully, it seemed to be.

He twisted a knob labeled 'heat output' all the way up just to be sure, then motioned at Luna sharply, and she nodded quickly as she ran towards the other side of the incinerator and skidded around it. Scrivener, meanwhile, jumped quickly behind the control podium for the heavy machinery as Cheshire's voice howled, terribly close now, making his heart thud with terror: “And favor me with your kiss oh prince, she cried, and I will be yours, as you have promised to be mine!'

Scrivener ducked back as he heard a crashing fill the air, breathing hard as he pressed his back against the side of the incinerator. Luna, thankfully, had a good view from her side, her mane and tail both dimmed to translucency to help her hide as the door was smashed open... and a grinning set of fangs and maddened violet eyes floated slowly into the room, before the voice recited in a rasp: “Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do, and some... don't ever want to.”

Then Cheshire giggled insanely as he faded into reality, striding quickly forwards as his eyes caught the dancing light in the incinerator, and the Clockwork Pony stagger-ran forwards and through the opening, howling and pouncing on the mote of light. The blue sparkle blinked out of existence, and Cheshire cocked his head curiously in surprise as he lay on the grated floor of the incinerator... before letting out a miserable howl of surprise when Luna slammed the gate shut on the beast with telekinesis, the sliding plate of heavy alloy clacking as it locked securely closed.

Scrivener leapt up and slammed the lever into the 'on' position, and the machinery roared as a wave of intense heat immediately spread through the room, Scrivener cursing in surprise as he and Luna staggered towards the doorway. And then both ponies winced as screaming and shrieking filled the air from the incinerator, as Cheshire banged and crashed violently against the gate, struggling to free himself from his imprisonment as his miserable squeals filled the air.

The incinerator began to hitch as Scrivener and Luna both staggered backwards, unable to take their eyes off the furnace as the screaming rose in pitch and volume and dents began to form in the metal. Something started to blare loudly in alarm, and one of the pipes attached to the incinerator dislodged as the whole rectangular structure rattled, ash and fire vomiting up through the damaged pipe before another nearby pipe exploded, this one gushing black mire out over the wall and floor.

Screws popped loose from the large, rounded tanks nearby as steam vented out of them, and then a tremendous bang sounded as the screams and heat through the room both increased, Scrivener and Luna staggering backwards into the doorway, but both still staring in horror as the gate was smashed into again and again, shuddering and warping before it was finally slammed completely out of place, warping and distorting the frame of the incinerator as it did so.

Flames burst through the air, and machinery sparked violently before exploding into a crackle of sound and electricity as a screaming, howling Cheshire staggered out of the fiery maw of the furnace. His eyes were nothing but violet light shining out of his sockets, and he was little more than a charred skeleton covered in boiling black mire, shrieking and writhing in agony as he staggered drunkenly back and forth, the enormous staples glinting and only a few of them looking melted or damaged in the slightest, most buried deep into almost-naked bone.

Then Cheshire seemed to stare at them as he gargled, black, boiling ichors spilling out of his jaws before he shivered violently... then threw his head back, roaring his misery to the ceiling. Luna and Scrivener staggered slowly back into the hall, both of them staring in horror as long, fleshy black tendrils began to spread out of Cheshire's body, snapping back and forth violently before they rapidly began to wrap themselves around the Clockwork Pony, growing quickly into new flesh...

And then there was another explosion above, and the sight of the ceiling beginning to cave in finally got Luna and Scrivener moving, both ponies staggering around in a circle and running quickly down the narrow corridor. They were followed by a wave of heat and force as the incinerator room collapsed behind them, burying Cheshire in rubble and flame and mire as the power flickered and explosions rocked the bowels of the facility.

Luna and Scrivener ran: they didn't know where, they didn't know for how long. All they knew was that they ran until they rounded a corner and hit a flight of stairs, both ponies tripping and rolling down with yells of pain until they hit the cement platform below and landed in a broken sprawl.

For a few moments they both simply lay on the warm cement, panting for breath and stunned as Scrivener shivered a little and Luna tried to listen for any sounds of... anything. But apart from distant machinery, all she could hear was running liquid... and slowly, the sapphire mare opened her eyes before she frowned a little as she looked to the side seeing what looked like a drainage ditch filled with flowing black mire.

She shivered a bit, trembling for a moment as her eyes turned to Scrivener, who lay beneath her, the black wound on his neck still bleeding dark blood... and slowly, Luna leaned down before she could stop herself, silently licking up this, tasting it: tart, but far from unpleasant. Strong, but not coppery like a pony's blood. Nothing like a pony's blood.

Luna leaned down again, and Scrivener reached up silently, looking at her for a moment, but she only gazed almost pleadingly back before Scrivener shivered, then closed his eyes and whispered: “Just... just a minute.”

Luna nodded and flushed, and then she stood carefully as Scrivener rolled over. Silently, he looked around: this was some kind of maintenance tube, he guessed, but in front of them, there was this river of dark mire... mire they were just dumping, for some reason, even though when he reached forwards... it felt good. It felt potent... but Thesis had talked about producing... something special here. Not that he or Luna could do anything right now except escape, but this at least might be their way out... and much as he loathed it...

Scrivener slowly slipped forwards, stepping into the mire... and then he gritted his teeth as he felt it immediately, eagerly responding to him. It warmed his whole body, made his muscles bulge, then flex, and then the tiredness began to fade... but he knew if he wanted the full effect he could coax out of this...

The stallion swallowed thickly, then he leaned down, his muzzle floating for a moment above the black ooze before he pushed his jaws into it, and drank. Dark mire spilled down his throat, and immediately he felt his heart thud in his chest as Luna flinched, then her mane and tail both sparked and glowed brighter as she felt Scrivener's strength returning, helping heal her own wounds before the stallion straightened.

He closed his eyes, then bowed his head shamefully as Luna stepped down into the mire before she reached up and touched where only moments before, a wound had been: but already, it was healing in front of her very eyes as Scrivener rapidly processed the little mire he had ingested. Yet they both knew it was dangerous, but Luna felt... they didn't have a choice right now.

“I'm sorry.” Scrivener said quietly, and Luna gave a faint laugh as they stood together, before she opened her mouth to answer... then trembled and simply cursed before leaning forwards and biting savagely into Scrivener's neck. A wound formed on her own and blood bubbled out of the teeth marks that formed, but she didn't care as tears spilled down her cheeks and she quickly drank, one, then two, then five mouthfuls of the stallion's dark, concentrated blood.

Her muscles flexed beneath her coat as her mane and tail burned brighter, then became like blue fire, before she finally managed to tear herself away, rasping for breath as her wounds healed and strength filled her. Power, that for a moment washed away the shame... before it all came back a thousand times worse. But this time, Luna controlled her emotions as she shook her head out and Scrivener absently picked up some mire from the river without looking at her, packing it over his wound, where it rapidly merged with his body and left pristine flesh and charcoal coat behind.

Then Luna turned towards Scrivener and punched him firmly across the face, the stallion wincing in pain as his head snapped to the side and Luna's own twitched, before she said roughly: “Enough, Scrivener. Blame me, if thou must blame somepony, but do not ever blame thyself. 'Tis not thy fault and... for now, we must be... glad, however sickening it is, that this is such a source of strength to us. But no, I am not saying that even... renewed as we are, we should dare to make another attack. I... these monsters...”

“We have to find Antares and go.” Scrivener agreed, and Luna smiled at him faintly as they turned to look at each other, eyes meeting before the stallion said quietly: “I'm sorry.”

“I told thee not to say that.” Luna muttered, then she and Scrivener began to stride quickly forwards down the drainage passage, following the flow of the mire: after only a few paces, it sloped steeply downwards, and both ponies let themselves begin to skid carefully down the slide formed by the mire. Thanks to the viscous dark ooze that filled the drainage ditch, however, it was more like they were slowly begin dragged down a hill than they were on a rapid descent to anywhere. “This is... this... this is our problem, aye, but...”

Luna bit her lip, then she looked forwards and muttered: “Thou art a drunk and I am addicted to thee. 'Tis really just fitting as poetry, is it not?”

“I'm not a drunk. There's a difference between... no, no. I'm not letting you do derail the conversation by being a bitch.” Scrivener muttered, looking forwards and shaking his head, and Luna glowered over at him before the stallion sighed quietly and said finally: “Can we at least agree to talk about this later?”

“Fine.” Luna stopped, then looked over at him and said quietly: “Just know that I do not blame thee. And I do not understand why thou cannot wrap thy kind around the fact that... I love thee. If... in the future, I become... I become something like thou art... so be it. I know that thou would not hesitate to do the same for me. Why is it so hard to believe I would do it for thee?”

“Because you're a Valkyrie, Luna. You're honor, and passion. I'm...” Scrivener stopped, then looked down silently at the mire flowing around them before they skidded slowly to the bottom of the tunnel, where it leveled out before pouring out through a large, grated culvert. “After seeing Thesis and... Cheshire... I don't know... what I am.”

“Thou art mine.” Luna said quietly, and Scrivener smiled faintly before the mare glanced calmly at the rusted grate blocking the vent, then she snapped her horn forwards and blew it completely off with a blast of telekinesis, and then she shivered a little as she murmured: “I always forget how... powerful the corruption makes me. And the temptations that come with that...”

Scrivener remained silent, and then both ponies leaned out before grimacing as they realized they were in an underground cavern of some sort that looked like it was being used as a dumping ground. He thought he could see faint moonlight shining through cracks in the stony ceiling above, but but several sections of the roof were surprisingly high above.

Luna sighed quietly, and then she muttered: “Well, I suppose it could not be easy, aye? Come, Scrivy. We must be around the back of the mountains... let us find our way out of this new catacomb to Antares, and then return to Appleloosa with all haste.

“We have... much to think upon.”

Author's Note:

Vs. Protelea I: Disturbed - Down With The Sickness
Vs. Cheshire I: Dream Theater - The Test That Stumped Them All
Processing Facility Cat and Mouse: Resident Evil Outbreak OST - Split Seconds

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