The Puppet, The Fool, The Princess, and The Warlocks Revenge

Preview of Chapter VIII of "The Symphony of Canterlot"

We all looked a the door and it suddenly opened, Luna charged her horn and Valor aimed me rifle, and Merry aimed the Parabellum-Pistole she had taken from the Thule Soldiers. What came out of the door was a white unicorn mare with a mane that was two different shades of electric-blue, with magenta eyes and rather modern looking sunglasses resting atop her horn. She had an Eighth note mark, and overall looked like an electronic music Disk Jockey, if that same Disk Jockey went ahead and had passed through great emotional turmoil. This is noting the tears in her eyes and overall disheveled appearance.  That then sat and raised her forehooves in the air.

“Fuck, If I am going to the slammer I’ll tell you all right now that those fuckers deserved it. Just don’t shoot, I’ll come quietly.”

She said, almost rehearsed, she must of considered that their deaths would be pinned on her.

“Stop, everypony calm down.” Luna ceased to charge ether to her horn and pulled back her hood. Causing the mare to take a couple of steps back.

“Princess Luna?” She said, as she was being stared down to by one if not the scariest mare in the world.

I decide to talk as me other two companions figured best to pullback their weapons.

“All right, before we all do something rash. I’ll deal with introductions. Yer Majesty, this is Vinyl Scratch, miss Octavia Philharmonic’s first and current lover.” Vinyl’s eyes shrank to pimprics, and in her panic she yelled. “How in tartarus do you know that!?”

I simply answered. “Magick miss Scratch, Magick.” Which I followed by telekinetically taking out one of me Jade Dragons placing it in me mouth and pyrokinetically lighting to just emphasize me point.

I took as small drag of it, and continued.

“Miss Scratch this is Agent Bloody Merry, Corporal Thrusting Valor, and The Mistress of the Night, The Messenger of Raijin, Princess Luna Selene. ”

I said as I pointed with my hoof not even bothering to look at the three of them.

“I am Arcanum Folklore, and I know ya aren't really responsible for what is behind us. Trust me, I can tell.”

I then heard the scribbling of pen on paper. I then noticed that the direction of the sound is the trail of sickly King in Yellow Ether. I trotted following it, ignoring everyone as I got closer and I saw her.

Octavia Philharmonic, I saw dozens upon dozens of papers on top and around a mahogany desk, with what I could tell where a composition.

She looked worse then when I first saw her, her bowtie missing altogether and her mane disheveled to a degree that it looked as that of a hag. Her fur was wet from sweat, and as I drew closer and took a look at here eyes I saw that they were red, and unmoving. Signs that she was in a hypnotic trance.

“How long has she been like this?” I asked, I’ll admit that I was genuinely worried, and I was also probing for data.

“I don’t know, All I know is that I found the mess out there. And she doesn’t care for anything else. I was-”

“You figured that ya might as well leave when ya could.” I said with rather high irritation especially considering that the pain on the Yellow Sign on the back of me neck was being particularly difficult.

This hit a nerve.

“Excuse me!? She has been ignoring me, and doesn’t seem like she wants to stop. Who am I to force her to come with me if she doesn’t want to!?”

I then proceeded to backhoof her hard enough to send her across the room. She even rolled twice on the floor from the force. I could hear the muffled sound of  “Motherfucker.” As she covered her mouth.

“Are ya daft, or just selfish? What part of her behavior seems natural to ya? She is under the influence of ethereal forces. As in, ‘Magick’. She isn’t laboring there out of her own will.”

Her eyes opened at that. And quickly got on all four and galloped to Octavia. I decided not to get in her way, since I figure that she could snap her out of her hypnotic state once she stopped thinking for herself for a single moment.

“Tavi snap ou-” Was the last words that Vinyl Scratch said, ever as in less time that it takes to blink an eye a golden string with a golden hook materialized and ripped apart Vinyl’s throat. Some of her blood hit me face as I witnessed it in slight shock. But then the pain in the back of me neck became unbearable and I fell on me knees and I screamed.

“GHAA!”

With that Luna simply had enough and intervened.

“We cannot even-. This beith ludicrous!” She said that as she manifested luminous elder signs around Octavia and electrocuted her. Octavia scream briefly. “AAHH!” She then lost consciousness and her head slumped on the desk. Stopping what I guessed to be an ectoplasmic manifestation of the King in Yellow.

Vinyl was holding onto her throat for dear life, ash did her best to stop the still present bleeding. As such Luna telekinetically grabbed on to her and the now unconscious Octavia she then charged her horn and teleported out of there with both of them. At me best guess back to the Hospital.

The pain stopped. I got back up and everypony just stood there wondering.

What can I say? I was dead wrong and I am stallion enough to admit that.

“What in fucking sheol’s honest bloody fuckery just happened!?” said Merry with what can only be described as confusion and inexplicable shock and slight horror.

I decided not to go into detail and say it in the most simple of terms.

“I fucked the situation into oblivion, sheol, and tartarus, and I also placed a civilian in harm's way.”

She huffed and trotted to me side.

“Yeah, no bloody shit!” She exclaimed with the sort of sardonicism that I thought that she wasn’t capable of.

“Look you go search in the manor study, any locations and names we may need should be there if you find them come look for me. I’ll take a look at what is left of Arpeggio and Greenteeth. I think that that I can anchor Arpeggio’s spirit to what is left of his body and interrogate him.”

She looked at me with slight realization and decide to back off.

“All right, I do not want to be there when you do that. Come on Valor, we should get to that study.”

He then retorted with a. “Really?” And then she blankly stared at him. “Really.” She said.

They both left post haste not even bothering to care if they disturbed the murder scene. Trailing some blood in their rappid hoofsteps.

Straitened myself out and then I went to the remaining body of Arpeggio Philharmonic. I telekinetically pulled out all five of me throwing knives. I then telekinetically dragged on the diagonally ripped half upper body and single left forehoof of Arpeggio Philharmonic on the ornate Skorpanian style carpet.

I then telekinetically at once stabbed all five knives around the body, I then pyrokinetically burned a pentagram and charged me horn, making the pentagram and the knives glow me orange aura.

Then a swirling vortex of ectoplasm manifeste from the wall and, static electricity. To be fair despite me knowing this is the usual effect of binding the ethereal luminous body of a magick practitioner I still was impressed with meself.

Then a smoking blood of ectoplasm formed, and from it formed the face of Arpeggio Philharmonic.

He looked at me with genuine fear and said the following. “How is this even possible!?”

I with horn still glowing said. “I know that ya might not remember me, but we did share a glance in Manehattan about a little under ten months ago.”

He then looked at me with anger contorting his face. “You! Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

I smirked, considering what I found out. “Oh? And here I thought you knew. So, can you give me the locations of any Thule Esotheric Order gathering places and a proper list of members?”

“Hehehehe… Really? That is what you want to ask me? I have to admit, I would have killed you were you stand for asking that question had I be in a different condition. But considering that I am dead, I guess I no longer owe them any loyalty. All information can be found in my desk and study under closed cabinets and an enchanted safe. You will need mine or my wife’s blood to open any of them, though I doubt you are going to have a problem finding that. Even for a half-breed like yourself.”

I smirked viciously at that. He knew enough about me to know that me mother was an earthen. I had what I needed, so them I proceeded to the real reason I boud his ethereal luminous body.

I pulled out my snubbed-.44 and shot his laying body in his left forehoof. The sound of pierced flesh was rather satisfying.

BLAM!

“AAAAAGH! What are you doing!? Stop it!”

BLAM!

I shot him again in the shoulder.

“AUUGH! STOP IT!!”

I then looked at him in the eye.

“Yes, ye are right. Me mother was an earthen. But, here is the thing.”

BLAM!

“AAUUUGH!”

I shot his right eye off.

“Even if I be tortured, or injured I will fight to survive. I crawled out of a puddle of me own blood with most of me bones broken and a lead gas pipe through me chest, to just continue chasing ya down.”

BLAM!

I shot him in the left side of his face.

“AAAAAAAAAAAGH! I beg of you!”

“Ye should suffer as I did, as Octavia ya own flesh and blood did. I am the messenger that will deliver ya to that pain and understanding.”

I then burn a triangle over his heart with me pyrokinesis.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

I then see it, the pit, and his spectral eyes open to feel a force pulling him. I see the souls of many holding on to what would be his fetlocks had he been alive.

“I see yer wife comrades, and several ponies that ya were indirectly responsible to their demise holding on to ya. I see them, I feel them Arpeggio. They don’t want ya to escape. Ye should not ignore them.”

I trot into the circle and place my snubbed-.44 at his corpses forehead, right under his horn. And with one last shot.

“NOOOOOOOO! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS WARLOOOOOCK! A THOUSAND INFERNOS AWAIT YOU!”

I hear from all around me as he his desperation reached a fever pitch, he knew what awaited him in the bowels of the inferno.

BLAM!

His head explodes like a warm and fleshy rotten watermelon with a cherry bomb inside. This covered the upper part of me coat and the bottom part of me face in blood turning off me Jade Dragon Cigarette.

The ether dispersed and the ectoplasm blew downward for a couple of seconds as it was being sucked into the debts of Sheol itself. The blood curling wail of agony being almost music to me ears.