Chapter 15: "Shadow Over Mareiposa."
The shock had yet to fade away. How could I have missed something like this? Was it true? Had it been De'belle Divine under that cloak the whole time? Or was this some sort of trick being employed by The Grand Master? Was all of this just some illusion, he had cooked up?
I was beginning to doubt even my own reasoning, although in fairness, It would seem reasoning had left quite awhile ago.
Debelle looked at me with soft, yet cruel eyes. "I'm sure you have many questions, Ms. Meir. By all means go ahead and try one of your little "questioning" sessions on me. See where it leads you."
I narrowed my eyes at her. She was mocking me. Daring me to do what she asked. I wasn't stupid: I knew there was something more here. I just had to find it. I had to get her talking, and keep her talking while I worked out what was really going on here.
I smiled at her. "Fine. Go ahead and tell me, how you became The Grand Master. Tell me all about your insane plans to take over the world. Tell me-
"What happened to my sister?" Debelle finished for me, with a curt smile. "I would love to!" she exclaimed happily. The more I got to know this mare, the more disturbing she became. What had happened to make her like this?
Debelle walked back to the statue and looked up at it, with soft, awestruck eyes, as if she was seeing it for the first time. "Years ago, back when I was stupid, cheery and had not a single inkling of what I was truly meant for, I came to this place with my sister. I was amazed by the splendor of its architecture, by the adventure, by the feeling of getting out of the miserable city, where those sheep fonded over me like obedient dogs."
"One day, a digger went missing down in the tunnels, and I wanted to help him. To save him. To show my sister I could be of use. I went further into the temple than any of them had, and found this room. I was lost, scared and alone. Powerless."
"It was then that I heard them." she said her voice dropping to a near whisper.
I looked over at her, actually curious. "Heard what?"
She turned to me her eyes glossed over, as if she was in a trance. But as she said the next words, they lit up again like fiery coals, just as menacing as The Grand Masters had been.
"The Dark Ones."
Gold Digger had told me in our conversation at her home about that. About how The Grand Master would talk about The Dark Ones. About how they used to rule the world or something. But was that true? And what exactly were they anyway?
I didn't have to ask to find out as Debelle continued her story.
"They seemed to talk to me from everywhere at once. A million soft voices from nowhere, all saying the same thing. They told me not to fear. Told me to listen. I was hesitant at first, but soon I gave in and heard what they had to say."
Debelle turned back to me, a strange smile on her face. "Let me ask you something Ms. Meir: How do you think Mareiposa was built? How do you think such a lustrous and vibrant city was created?"
I looked at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"
she chuckled to herself. "Everything." as she said it, her voice dropped to that of The Grand Master's once more, her eyes once again red hot coals, before fading back to soft green.
"You see, Meir, in the days before Mareiposa was built, a group of miners discovered this temple. And found entities they called The Dark Ones. They spoke to the townspeople, offering them prosperity and wealth to their city, in exchange for...payment."
My eyes widened. "Payment...
"Blood."
Debelle clapped her hooves in mock applause. "Very good, Ms. Meir! Yes. In order to keep favor with The Dark Ones, in order to keep the city rich and vibrant...a sacrifice had to be made to appease their hunger."
I kept listening, looking for anything that may give away what was really happening here. There was something off about Debelle (Besides the obvious I mean) It was like not all of her was really there. Like half of her was asleep or...dead.
The notion shot a chill up my spine as Debelle continued to explain.
"The townspeople did as they were told, and Mareiposa and its citizens prospered, the most elite of which formed a group dedicated to the worship and servitude of The Dark Ones, ensuring they always got their sacrifice. They called themselves-
"The Circle" I finished for her. So that was how it all started. The townspeople had found The Dark Ones and in order to keep favor with them. In order to keep the city rich and plentiful...they offered up some poor soul as a sacrifice to them.
To say I was disgusted would be a gross understatement. This beautiful city, this bustling rich metropolis....had literally been built on the blood of innocents. And had always been. But something had changed...The Dark Ones had lost their power.
"Correct Ms. Meir." Debelle said confirming my suspicions that she could somehow hear my thoughts.
"You see, after a time, some townspeople had a change of heart. Decided to go against the will of The Dark Ones. Decided to end their reign of evil once and for all. They set off bombs in the temple, burying most of The Circle and The Dark Ones beneath the rubble, and built the new Mareiposa Chapel over it." Debelle said spitefully. As if she was mad somepony would dare make a move against The Dark Ones.
She smiled at me again. "But then me and my sister came along! She dug up the temple, and reawakened The Dark Ones. They were starving, desperate for food. They began to take the diggers as sacrifices, and when I followed...they left me alone. Instead they shared their knowledge with me. Taught me their language and runes. Said if I did as they told me, they would give me power beyond anything in our weak universe. I just had to keep them fed."
It was then I realized to my utter and complete horror, what had happened to Dowelle Divine. "Y-you....you didn't....
She didn't answer. Instead she turned and trotted over to me again. "Augustus and Argyle were quite troublesome. When I found the remnants of The Circle, it didn't take much to convince them The Dark Ones had chosen me to lead them. Most of them were overjoyed. But those two. They were against me from the start. They acted loyal, but The Dark Ones revealed their deception to me. I knew I had to dispose of them. So I did just that."
My breath caught in my throat. It had been her...she had been the one who killed Mr. Regal. Ordered Marquis to have him disposed of, then brought Ralah and Salah into the frey to get Argyle's attention, and draw him out. Two birds with one stone.
I couldn't contain my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. "You're a monster." I spat at her. "You toy with ponies lives and kill them when they go against your will. You did all this...and for what? Power? Respect? Or was it a chance to prove your not just some scared little starlet from Ponywood whose gotten herself into a situation her tiny brain can't think her way out of." I snapped.
Debelle chuckled, then inhaled a deep breath, and as she did so I felt all the air leave my lungs. I struggled to breathe, but it was like I had forgotten how to take a breath. My chest was on fire, as I tried desperately to taste air, but even with my mouth wide open, air did not enter my body. I began to panic.
Debelle smirked at me. "You're lucky that we need you for the final part of the plan, Meir." she said cruelly. Then exhaled, and my lungs screamed out as I finally took in air, coughing and sputtering as life returned to me. I didn't bother trying to reason how she had done that. As I already knew, reason had no place here.
I gasped as I struggled to speak. "What....What do you mean?"
She smiled. "Its obvious isn't it? You're the one who will open the gate to let The Dark Ones out to feast on the cattle above. The one to usher in the beginning of The Dark Age...The Catalyst."
"The Catalyst?" The word obviously meant that there were higher plans for me, besides just killing me. I had another purpose in this grand plan of hers.
Debelle clearly had no intention of elaborating any further. She just smiled that evil smile and turned her attention to Gold Digger, who had been frozen to the spot, watching intently, hoping not to be noticed by The Grand Master.
"And now....Gold Digger." Debelle said dropping her cheerful voice to a deadly tone.
Gold Digger looked absolutely terrified, as she stood up on her hooves shaking and quivering like a leaf. "Y-yes sir? I mean- ma'am?" she whimpered. It was unsettling seeing such a confident and extravagant pony as her reduced to resemble a quivering child lost in the woods, with a vicious wolf staring her down. I felt bad for her.
Debelle trotted slowly around her. A shark circling its prey. "You have been very loyal to me up until now..."
"No! I'm still loyal! I-I....I brought her here! I brought her to you." Gold Digger pleaded. Her ears tilted down
Debelle shook her head. "No. She found this place on her own. You were too terrified to even set foot near the cathedral. To do anything, but hide in that posh mansion of yours. You preferred to stay in your comfort zone and let your money do all your work for you. I was once no different." said Debelle in an almost sympathetic way.
Then her eyes lit up. "But then I found this place. I talked with The Dark Ones, and they...enlightened me."
She turned around and I saw the power growing in her eyes, clouding her green eyes like a fog. Her smile like that of a jackal. She was no longer that beautiful starlet I had seen in that picture. As she spoke It became clearer on just how much she was lost.
"I could feel the currents of magic all around me, the wonderful currents churning inside my own body. With a gesture I could create new life, give it breath....
And do to it what I wished."
The way she was talking was....off. As if it wasn't really her talking. A terrible pride had taken her over. It made Gold Digger's greed seemed positively tame in comparison.
"I was the most powerful thing that ever existed....and the most bored. I never had to work hard for anything anymore due to my power, just think it and it was done. I wanted more...That's when I decided to give The Dark Ones what they really deserved."
"I didn't age, get sick, or suffer injuries. Even my own form was malleable, and I had tweaked it to my own ideal of beauty, grace, and strength. I had lost track of what I originally was, but I felt that I had always looked like this, that it was....right."
"You're wrong." I said suddenly. "Nothing about what you've done is right." I spat at her.
She turned her head suddenly to glare at me, But I didn't care. Those eyes didn't scare me anymore. "You've toyed with and murdered innocent ponies to get your way. You've terrified them into doing what you wanted. And all for your precious Dark Ones?"
With newfound strength (and probably some luck) I wrenched myself from the henchponie's grasp and delivered a strong kick to his diaphragm, knocking him out cold.
As I turned back I now found myself face to face...with the Mad Mare.
"You talk as big as you want, Debelle.' I said. "In the end you're still nothing but a little lost starlet who decided she would rather be a puppet with power than a pony with freedom."
Debelle's anger was apparent. She clenched her teeth as she glared a maddening gaze towards me. A black aura emanated from her as her eyes burned hotter than fire, as if trying to burn into me. But I didn't back down.
She said it herself: She couldn't hurt me. She needed me. No....better.
The Dark Ones needed me.