Chapter 19: "Morning Comes Before Dawn."
As I approached the door at the top of the stairs, I began to hear chanting from the other side. The Circle, no...Debelle's Followers, were up here with her, praising her as she was about to bring their gods to them.
I hurried up the last of the stairs and burst through the door.
The Roof, 1:53 pm
The roof of the tower was crowded with several ponies wearing black robes and hoods that concealed their faces. But Debelle stood above them next to a makeshift altar, no longer wearing any disguise. She looked over at me and smiled. "Morning Meir! So glad you could make it! You're just in time to watch your world fall to ruin." She mocked.
I charged at her, but I was caught and restrained quickly by the crowd. I hadn't actually expected them not to catch me, as needed to make it seem like I was helpless, in order to allow Debelle to think shed won. But she hadn't. Not yet.
Debelle laughed as she looked down at me, clearly happy that I'd been dealt with for now. "Now, that that's out of the way...
She turned back to the crowd. "Brothers and Sisters! We are gathered here, to witness the return of our gracious masters! The ones who ushered in a new age for us and our predecessors! The ones who bestowed greatness onto our Circle. The true creators of Mareposa."
The crowd cheered as she continued. "With the Dark Ones leading us, we shall lead the people to a new order, under which, all borders will dissolve. All will be united under The Circle!"
The crowd cheered once more, as the black skies suddenly lit up as lightning ripped across the heavens, and clouds began to encircle the sky above the tower. As the storm began to rage, the crowd cheered louder then ever.
Debelle raised her hooves to the heavens, a manic smile on her face. "A NEW AGE, BEGINS NOW!!" She screamed, as a moment of silence cut through the air.
Suddenly I heard myself scream as a bolt of lightning struck Debelle from the skies. I watched in horror as her body contorted and flailed in a sick rhythm with the crackling electricity. Then as quickly as it had struck, it was done, and Debelle stood there lifeless in her place.
I heart was beating out of my chest, as I looked around for a reaction from somepony. I mean their leader was just killed in front of them! That should've raised some emotions at least! But the crowd was deadly silent and simply watched. And waited.
Then she moved. Twitched really. But then she moved more. Her body moved unnaturally as she stood on her hind legs, her head bowed.
Then as Debelle raised her head, I saw them. No longer green. Not even red like when she was The Grandmaster. No. Now they were...nothing.
Black. Darker then black. Two bottomless holes where her eyes once were. They didn't shine. And in them revealed absolutely nothing. I was too horrified to scream, as the crowd let go of me, and bowed.
Then she...no...IT spoke to me. And I felt my heart stop with every word.
Morning Meir. We have watched your efforts to stop us with respect.
The words seemed to drive a nail through my brain, as they came into my ears from all directions. Nothing I could do would block them out. I just had to bear through it. It was a horrible, wretched sound. Barely a voice at all. A guttural, stomach churning growl that could've only been the voice of one thing and one thing only: Evil.
Despite my obvious pain at hearing it, the evil thing continued to speak to me. But surely you realize that you have been misled by our enemies.
Both of us want a better world. Fortunately, no harm has been done.
We need determined and Brilliant minds like you. Join us Morning Meir.
Join us and become a god over this world.
I was in tears by this point, and nearly on the ground in pain. But I was done running. Done hiding. And I was done being scared of these things. It was time to fight back. And If I happened to die trying....so be it.
I stood up on my hooves and glared at it as I told it exactly what my answer was.
"Join you? I'll see you in Hell first." I spat.
Ah, Morning Meir. We had great hopes for you.But you see, you are The Catalyst. You will obey us, no matter what you feel.
Suddenly my legs started moving of their own accord. I struggled and squirmed to get control but my body refused to listen to my mind. As I got closer to "Debelle" I found it harder and harder to resist. And to breathe.
This thing was going to kill me just like Debelle. And take possession of my body. That was my role as The Catalyst. With me as their vessel, they will finally be allowed to walk the earth again.
I felt like I was trapped at the bottom of a well, and no matter how hard I screamed, I couldn't ever be heard again. I couldn't breathe anymore, as I just stood there, being strangled by invisible arms. No one to save me. No hope left. I had lost....this time for good.
Remember
I blinked. Had I just....heard somepony? Or was I already losing my grip on my sanity. I looked around, but there was nopony else on this rooftop. And the robed ponies in the crowd hadn't said a word.
The statues. In the hall. Remember the statues
The statues in the hall?......!
The blind statues from before! We had to-
I didn't even need to think it through as I shut my eyes as tight as I could. I felt control of my body return to me, and the invisible arms let go from around my throat. So that was it. Sight.
The Dark Ones got into your head through sight. If you cant see them, they cant do anything to you. That's why the statues were blind. That's why the crowd wore their hoods over their faces. And that's why Debelle lost her eyes when she was possessed. "Seeing Is Hearing." I said aloud.
Now free from the Dark One's hold, I began to do what I do best: Think my way out of this. I calmed my nerves and took a deep breath. All of the detail aligned in front of me, and in them I could see the answer.
Special Situational Analysis
My Opponent: Possessed Debelle Divine. Supernatural threat. Controls people's actions and minds through sight, able to remove ones ability to breathe. Extremely Dangerous.
Situation: Need to stop The Dark Ones. Extremely powerful eldritch entities, but severely weakened in terms of abilities due to lack of sacrifices from The Circle over the centuries.
Weaknesses: Extreme Arrogance, Unable to control victims who cannot see them.
Source of Power: The Tower Of The Sun is magnifying the power of the sun and moon to rip a tear in the fabric of our world to let The Dark Ones through. If its destroyed, The Dark Ones have no hope of ever returning.
Conclusion: The Tower must be destroyed. Then The Dark Ones cannot ever return. And who better to do that then The Dark Ones themselves.
End Of Analysis
And that was my plan. With my eyes still shut I called out to Debelle. "O great and powerful Dark Ones. I see now the error of my ways. I shall join you...if you will still have me." I said, trying to sound as brainwashed as possible.
So now you see its pointless to resist. Very well. We will have yo-
"But first, I have a question!"
....Very well. Proceed
"If you're all so powerful and great....why do you need this dumb tower to enter our dimension? Surely, beings as indescribably mighty as you can enter this world without need of some pathetic pony-made structure to sustain you."
We have no need of your worthless architecture. This building served a purpose and it has fulfilled it
"Then...why keep it here? Why not destroy it, to show these miserable creatures your true power! This place was build for Celestia, why not prove how much mightier you are, by destroying it completely? Leave nothing in your wake!"
You humor us, Morning Meir. Then, this world shall bear witness to its true masters
I opened my eyes as I saw a ball of black lightning gather above the tower, and watched as it grew larger and larger.
Without thinking, I broke through the crowd, and began to run down the steps as fast as my hooves could go, if not faster. I didn't even have time to stop and see that Maregold's body had vanished without a trace.
I continued to practically fly down the steps as the hooded ponies from the roof were now fleeing the building in terror. I finally reached the bottom and burst through the ornate front doors, to see Ralah waving at me with Salah by her side. Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger looked relieved to see me alive and well. "Hey, there's the hero! whats-
I didn't slow down for even a second. "RUN!!" I shouted, as I sped past them. This was all they needed to hear as they joined me, as we all ran away from the courtyard, and down the street, not slowing down for several blocks.
We only looked back when we felt the earth beneath us practically buckle, as a massive black bolt of energy smashed clean through the Tower Of The Sun, sending the whole thing to the ground as it rained atom sized bits of glass and crystal all around us.
And then, like a gift from Celestia herself, the sun shined brightly through the dissolving black clouds, reflecting off the falling bits of crystal and illuminating a rainbow for all to see. Ponies from around the streets looked up in wonder.
I had done it. It was finally over. Not only had I caught Mr. Regal's killer, but I had stopped the return of an evil race of eldritch monsters and saved the world in the process.
Huh. Not too bad for just some doctor from Equestria.
As the most immense feeling of relief washed over us, I was surprised to see, of all ponies, Ralah, looking over at the destroyed remains of The Tower, looking quite unhappy.
"Ralah? Whats wrong? We did it! We saved the world! aren't you happy?" I asked concerned.
Ralah looked over at me and sighed. "Yeah. But I'm still sad that Celestia's Tower got destroyed. She didn't deserve that!" Ralah exclaimed.
Salah stifled a cough. "Ralah?"
"Yeah?"
"You do know that tower wasn't actually made for Celestia. It was literally built for the sole purpose of bringing about the end of the world. Celestia would never have had something like that made." Salah explained simply.
Ralah's eyes widened. "Ohhh. Well, in that case, Good Riddance!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
With that we all laughed as friends, happy to be alive. And happy that the world was safe from the Dark Ones. And this time...it was for good.