//------------------------------// // Chapter V: Truth and Consequences // Story: Three Years Gone // by DeletePlease //------------------------------// Canterlot Castle, Present Day “This is not good,” Vinyl said, pacing back and forth nervously. “This is not good at all.” Twilight walked up and shook her. “Calm down, Vinyl! Tell us what just happened.” “Allow me,” Raincloud said. “Vinyl has been through enough. Celestia just got put under spell. I think the same happened to Luna, which is why she ended up in Manehattan. I think they were practicing on Luna or something like that.” “You’re talking about mind control?” Twilight interjected. “How could they possibly do that? Celestia is far too powerful for something like that to work.” “The question isn’t how, its why,” Erik said “No,” Twilight said. “The question I am asking you is very much ‘How did anypony place Celestia under a mind control spell’. Erik sighed and looked over at Vinyl. “There are nine of them.” He said. “Don’t do this, Erik,” Vinyl said, glaring at him. “Nine exceptionally powerful ponies,” He continued. “Erik!” Vinyl shouted. “You’re opening Pandora’s Box here. If you do this, there is no going back, no end in sight.” “Don’t you think I understand that?” He shouted back. “I was there too, Vinyl. I was with you all when it happened and hope every day that I can forget, but I can’t. It’s always there, in the back of my mind, like an itch that can’t be scratched. We don’t know what’s going to happen Vinyl, but I think it’s time we try something.” Vinyl stared at him for a moment, fire in her eyes as she contemplated the years of events that had happened over four months. “I’ll be with Octavia. Explain everything to them and then we leave in an hour.” She said and then walked off into the castle. The rest of them sat in deathly silence as their imaginations stretched to their limits, wondering as to what could have happened. Finally, Erik took a deep breath. “It all started to end four months ago…” * * * Vinyl, Erik, Raincloud, Octavia Erik’s House, Manehattan, Four Months Ago “Erik, Raincloud, come here, quickly!” Vinyl shouted as she came in the front door. “How often do you have to yell at us, Vinyl?” Erik said as he came out of his study. “It seems you do it far too often.” “This is kind of important,” Vinyl said. “Hopefully more important than that watch from the cereal box,” Raincloud jived as she descended from the second floor. “How many times do I have to say this? I was seven!” Vinyl responded. “Anyway, I got a letter back from Princess Luna and she’s coming today, in a couple of hours.” Erik and Raincloud’s jaws dropped. “She’s coming today? But we haven’t even perfected the procedure yet!” Erik said. “Well get to work then,” Vinyl said. “What can I do to help?” A knock came from the front door and they all jumped. “Who could that possibly be?” Raincloud asked. Vinyl walked over and opened the door. “Princess Luna?” She said awkwardly. “Um, I uh, didn’t expect you this early.” The princess walked into the foyer. “I’m just not used to making the trip without being knocked out of the sky, I suppose,” She said jokingly. “I’m sorry if you aren’t quite ready yet, I have plenty of time and can wait all I need to.” “Waiting won’t be necessary, your majesty,” Erik was still in shock, barely keeping calm. “We aren’t one hundred percent ready but we could take a crack at it if you want.” “Sounds good,” Luna smiled. “I’m happy to repay the favor. That isn’t to imply that we won’t still keep in touch after today, I’m just happy helping out.” Erik led them upstairs to a medium sized, square, metal room with Octavia inside, sleeping. “She’ll be in a medically induced coma while we perform the procedure. You’re going to need to focus on her brain and try to find the blockage, then, once you’ve found it, you need to pour as much of your energy into it as you can. Hopefully it will break the block and she’ll return to normal,” Erik explained. “Is it safe?” Luna asked. “Honestly it isn’t,” Erik said. “There is a risk of death for both of you; hers much higher than yours, but there’s no other way.” Luna paused for a moment, thoughts racing through her mind. “Let’s do it.” Erik flipped a leaver on the wall and chemicals started flowing into Octavia’s IV. After a moment the door opened and they all walked inside, Erik checked to be sure that Octavia was asleep. “Alright, focus; focus as much as you can. You need to get into her mind which is no easy feat but you can do it.” Luna closed her eyes and her horn glowed. She suddenly tilted her head and took a step back. “It’s horrible, this feeling. It’s closing in, the loneliness.” “Luna that is not you, it’s trying to defend itself, which means your close, keep going,” Erik said. “Come on,” Vinyl said under her breath. “You can do it.” Luna’s horn grew brighter and she took a couple of steps forward. “I can see it, the torment. This poor thing, why her?” “Come on, Luna. Focus!” Erik circled around to the other side of the bed. Suddenly, the glow around Luna’s horn became blindingly bright and pure energy flowed out of it, into Octavia. Suddenly, Octavia rose, floating in the air over the bed. Everypony in the room collapsed except Luna and Octavia. “You win, Princess,” A raspy voice left Octavia’s throat. “I’ve had my fun with her, now I’ll leave. Know this, The Nine, they come for you. The world will burn in their wake and the flesh of their victims shall rot on mountains bone. You, Princess, shall be their last hope, but you, you will perish with them.” Octavia collapsed onto the bed and they all fell into unconsciousness. * * * “Vinyl, I think she’s coming to!” A voice shouted. The name, it seemed so familiar. It was a nice name. “How is she doing?” Another voice asked. “She’s stable, brain activity is up. I think it worked.” The first voice replied. The light was blinding. Everything had been so dark for so long but now, the darkness had been lifted and it was dawn for the first time. The first sight Octavia had when her eyes opened was the face of Vinyl watching over her. It took a month to catch Octavia up on all that had happened in the world. * * * Erik’s House, Manehattan, Three Months Ago It was supposed to be a peaceful night, but the universe enjoys its cruel jokes. Vinyl’s eyes shot open as a blood-curdling scream came from Octavia’s room. She leapt out of her bed and rushed into the hallway where she met up with Erik and Raincloud. When they burst through the door into Octavia’s room they found her sitting, staring into space. “Octavia, are you alright?” Erik asked, gently. “I saw them,” was her only response. “Who did you see, Octavia?” Vinyl asked. Octavia’s head shot up, her eyes pure white as though her soul had gone. “They live in the tower.” She said, and collapsed back into sleep. The others exchanged looks, unsure of what had happened. “I’ll head over to Ponyville and see what Twilight can tell me,” Raincloud said, turning to leave. “That isn’t exactly a good idea,” Vinyl told her. “She doesn’t exactly like you. Go to Canterlot and get Luna, she’ll be able to help.” “Is a nightmare really worth disturbing one of the rulers of the entire land?” Raincloud asked. “She said if anything weird happened to tell her immediately,” Erik said. “White eyes and the words she spoke aren’t exactly normal.” Raincloud nodded and ran off. Vinyl turned to Octavia and touched her mane gently. “Why can’t we just have some peace for once?” She asked. “Cheer up, Vinyl,” Erik returned. “At least we’ve gotten over the hard part; Octavia is back now.” “I hope so,” Vinyl said, quietly. * * * Raincloud didn’t exactly hate the open air, she just preferred being in cover. She liked being able to weave in and out of the smallest spaces. That took longer though, and she needed to get to Canterlot as quickly as possible. Suddenly, it was as though there was a brick wall in front of her. She couldn’t see anything in front of her but she had crashed into something. She put her hoof out to feel it; it appeared to be round. All of the air left her lungs when she looked down. Among all of the trees and lakes was a stone tower with a distinct glow coming from inside. There’s no way that I’m that lucky, Raincloud thought. I’d better get Princess Luna anyway. She took a wide arc around the tower and flew on to Canterlot faster than she had ever flown before * * * Vinyl awoke with Luna next to her, watching over her with a sad look in her eyes. She shook her head and looked away when she saw Vinyl open her eyes. “Good morning, Vinyl.” “Good morning, Princess,” Vinyl said in response. “Is everything alright?” “I was just thinking about somepony you remind me of,” Luna replied. “It’s nothing, really.” “Okay,” Vinyl was didn’t quite believe her but she didn’t want to pry. “If you ever want to talk then just know I’m ready to listen.” Luna laughed. “Wouldn’t it make a bit more sense for me to talk to the psychologist?” She asked looking over toward Erik who was engrossed in various books and maps. “You’d think so,” Vinyl laughed too. “But you know how uptight and psychologist-like he gets when you talk to him.” “Maybe we will talk sometime,” Luna said, a faint smile growing on her face. “I’d like that.” “So has anything new happened since I went to sleep?” Vinyl asked, breaking a moment of silence. “A lot has happened, actually,” Raincloud said, stepping into the room. “We know where the tower that Octavia mentioned is.” “I’ve got it!” Erik shouted suddenly. “I know who they are!” Vinyl tilted her head. “What are you talking about?” “That tower that raincloud ran into is occupied by nine individuals,” Erik said. “I believe they are the same nine that Octavia mentioned after her mental block was broken. ‘The Nine’ are mentioned throughout history, although they aren’t always called that and the members have changed. They were a force for good for a long time but they went bad a few hundred years back.” “How far back can you trace their existence?” Luna asked. “The oldest writing discovered by scientists mentions them. They’re nine extraordinarily powerful unicorns and rarely alicorns. They go by title which is passed down. The leader is called ‘Fyrsta’, the second is called ‘Doi’, the third is called ‘Tre’, the fourth is called ‘Patru’, the fifth is called ‘Fem’, the sixth is called ‘Sase’ the Seventh is called ‘Syv’, the eighth is called ‘Opt’, and the ninth is called ‘Nio’. In addition they elect a sort of soldier to do their bidding whom they call ‘Soturi’.” “What connection do they have to Octavia?” Raincloud wondered aloud. “I don’t know but we do know where they live; we could just ask them,” Luna stated matter-of-factly. “Somehow I doubt we’ll get in, given Rainclouds description of the tower’s defences.” Erik said “I have an idea,” Vinyl looked up suddenly. “The night I found Luna I was supposed to do a show at a club called ‘Nio’. It isn’t a common name so we might want to check it out.” Erik thought for a moment. “I don’t know what a thousands-of-years-old cult would be interested in a night club for but it might be worth a look. Vinyl, you go there with Raincloud. Luna and I will go to the tower and see if there’s a way in. We’ll meet back here at dinner time.” They all nodded and set off for their destinations. * * * Vinyl Scratch and Raincloud Club Nio, Manehattan, Three Months Ago “Why do I always end up going to the seedy parts of town?” Raincloud asked ash she walked through the city with Vinyl. “I’ve never been sent to a fancy restaurant or gone on a cruise or anything like that.” Vinyl laughed. “Maybe you should book a trip after this is all done.” They paused at the door to Club Nio. “What are we looking for in here, anyway?” Vinyl thought for a moment. “Let’s try talking to the owner.” The first thing they noticed when they entered was that the club was empty. The second thing they noticed was an almost unbearable scent of decay. Raincloud staggered and vomited on the ground. “Something isn’t right here,” Vinyl started. “Other than the obvious, I mean. I’m getting this sudden feeling of, well, I’m not quite sure.” “I know what you mean,” Raincloud concurred, steadying herself against a wall. Vinyl walked forward tentatively, making sure to take in everything in the room. Every sight, sound, and taste was being processed for the sole process of detecting any traps. Suddenly, the doors behind them shut and locked, seemingly of their own accord, and an ominous laugh echoes throughout the room. “Who’s there?” Vinyl asked with as much false confidence as she could muster. “Don’t act like an idiot,” A voice came. “You should be able to put it together.” “She was just being polite,” Raincloud said. “I’m assuming you’re Nio.” “Assumptions are a dangerous thing, my dear,” The voice was a medium pitch and spoke at a fast pace with more air than necessary. “But yes, that is my name.” “Well would we be correct in assuming that you won’t be showing your face,” Vinyl asked. “Not today,” The voice replied. “Although one day I intend on revealing myself to you.” Vinyl leaned back against a wall and breathed deeply, trying to calm down and take a hold of the situation. “There isn’t much hope of us getting out of here, is there?” A moment passed. “One of you will die.” Raincloud looked scared and Vinyl was afraid that she’d do something that would escalate things. “I’m just a bit curious,” Vinyl chose her words carefully. “Which one of us would you rather have die?” “Vinyl,” The voice said, sounding a bit shaky. “One day I intend on having Raincloud as my queen.” I small grin spread across Vinyl’s lips and she took a few steps forward until she was in the center of the room. “Raincloud, why don’t you come on over here?” She said, motioning to her. Raincloud started walking toward Vinyl, who continued speaking. “You see, I don’t think it would work out between you and her, Nio.” “No!” The voice had entirely lost its calm. “We are destined to be together. They told me I could have her if I joined them!” When Raincloud reached Vinyl, the white mare suddenly began dancing slowly, as though to song in her own head. Raincloud wasn’t sure what was going on, but she saw the look in Vinyl’s eyes and followed her lead. The two of them, in the center of the room, dancing to a song that only they could seemingly hear. “There are two reasons why it wouldn’t work out, Nio,” Vinyl started, her voice challenging his with a new found confidence. “The most important is that you’re a psychopath who works with very bad people. I know what you and your friends do, and none of it is good. She doesn’t date bad ponies.” The voice was silent as they continued dancing. It seemed to Raincloud as though they were a world away. She’d never told Vinyl how she felt, it was just plain wrong, and she knew that. But in that moment she felt whole, the entire world felt right. Vinyl would never know, but what she did know is that there was a jealousy rising from the pit of the stomach of the stallion keeping them there. It was a jealousy that he wouldn’t be able to resist, it just need the right amount of time to ferment. “Stop!” The voice shouted. “Stop it right now, just don’t do that. Not with her! I should be there; I should be the one dancing with you!” “Then come to her, Nio!” Vinyl shouted back. This has to work! “Show her you don’t need them or she will never love you.” Nio screamed in apparent pain. “They need me though, without me the shield collapses and they will be vulnerable.” He screamed again, louder this time as though a war was being waged inside of him. “I love you, Raincloud!” “Then let us go,” Raincloud said coolly. “Let me go so that we can stop them.” The wait seemed like an eternity and then, with one last scream of pain, the doors opened. * * * Erik Equineson and Luna The Tower, Near Canterlot, Three Months Ago “We couldn’t have teleported closer to the tower?” Erik asked as they walked through the forest. It seemed like they had been walking for hours when it had only been a few minutes. “It would have been too dangerous,” Luna explained. “The way Raincloud described the shield made it sound like it could have been a Sacarett’s Shield. About twelve hundred years ago an alicorn with the last name of Sacarett created a shield that distorted and cancelled unicorn and alicorn magic. If I’d teleported us closer we could have ended up anywhere and I would be able to teleport for a few days at least.” “So is it safe to get close?” Erik asked, stepping around an unusually large tree. “Oh yeah,” Luna said. “Perfectly safe. I’m going to try and see the exact makeup of the shield which should let me disable it and teleport out. It should also allow me to teleport in and out without it having any effect on me.” The trees where growing larger as they got closer to the tower. “How far is it now?” Erik hadn’t done much exercising in his adult life and was already getting tired. “It should be just a few more feet until we can see it,” Luna wasn’t completely sure. For all she knew the shielding could have changed. In fact, the tower may not even look like a tower anymore. It might even be one of the trees near them and they’d never be able to tell. She didn’t have time to mention any of that though, as they walked into a clearing with a massive tower rising above them, into the sky. “Let’s see how close we can get,” Erik said, stepping forward with more bravery than he actually possessed. Luna expected him to run into the shield but he just kept walking. “Wait a minute!” She exclaimed. “Where’s the shield?” “I don’t know,” Erik said, still faking bravery. “But we still have a while before we’re supposed meet the others so we might as well go inside.” Luna ran to catch up to him. “Stop,” She put a hoof in front of him. “I’ll go first.” She took a few tentative steps inside. The room contained a flight of spiral stairs going up with no apparent way to a lower floor. The room was barren except for a torch mounted on the side of the stairs. “This doesn’t really look like the home base of a cult,” Erik commented. “Should we head up?” Luna peered up the stairs, revealing more sets of stairs. “I’d rather go to a magic show,” She replied. “But there’s no discovery without risk, right?” Erik took the lead this time, Luna following close behind. The second floor of the tower revealed nothing, the third continued the pattern. “How high does the tower go?” Erik asked. “Likely just another three or four floors,” Luna answered. “It looks taller on the outside but that’s likely just another spell.” They continued on to the fourth floor. It wasn’t until they reach the fifth floor that they encountered anything. When they reached the top of the stairs they found that the fifth floor was bigger. In fact, it was as though it was a building completely separate from the tower. There were actual hallways and rooms. The second thing that happened on the fifth floor was that it stopped being the fifth floor, or at least appeared to. The stairs behind them disappeared and the room changed from stone to metal. “Don’t be concerned,” A voice came. “I brought you here. I’ll save you the trouble of guessing; my name is Fyrsta, your master of ceremonies.” “Well then, where are you Fyrsta?” Luna demanded. “I don’t see you anywhere!” “Of course not,” Fyrsta said. “You aren’t in the Tower anymore. You’re in the slaughterhouse.” “So you’re going to kill us, then?” Luna asked, already knowing the answer. Erik had nearly fainted at the word ‘slaughterhouse’ and was now frantically looking for a way out of the now enclosed room “Not me,” Fyrsta answered in an annoyed tone. “Soturi will take care of that, Syv will oversee. I must get going now; I have the matter of adopting a new member.” Something clicked in Luna’s mind. “Why do you need a new member?” “If you must get an answer,” The voice was even more annoyed. “It’s because your friends killed Nio and we need someone to fill his spot in the cycle. You’re lucky to have gotten in, not many have seen this place. Any more questions?” “Now, you can go and attend to your task,” Luna said. A hatch opened in the ceiling and a massive stallion fell into the room. The stallion was an earth pony, but resembled nopony that Luna or Erik had ever seen. His eyes were pure white and he seemed to be made up of only muscle. “What did you do?” Luna was shocked. A new voice came into the room. “We gave him the ability to take what he wanted.” “Are you Syv?” Erik asked, faking bravery once again. “You just be quiet you scared little foal, and let the princess talk. I am Syv, the one who gets to oversee this guy here.” “And this is Soturi?” Luna, once again, knew the answer. “Of course,” The voice replied. “Lucky us that your friends killed Nio; We were fresh out of candidates for Soturi for when this guy died. Nio had so much he wanted so badly, he’ll be perfect.” “We’re going to stop you,” Erik said. “The cliché is killing me,” The voice responded sarcastically. “And didn’t I tell you not to talk?” “What did you mean candidates?” Luna asked. “We pick a dead pony that had something they strived for and reanimate them,” The voice explained as though it were obvious. “We give them strength and sap all self-control from them and then trick them into doing whatever we want. For example: Soturi, kill them both and I’ll get you that toy you wanted.” “What stallion is motivated by a toy?” Luna asked, her voice sounding slightly less confident. “Stallion? Who said anything about him being a stallion?” The voice asked rhetorically. “I found this lost foal that was looking for a Daring Do toy and killed him. It was so much fun, and so easy draining every last bit of his soul out of that body of his. It took a bit more magic than usual to beef him up, though.” Luna fell backwards a step. “You monster,” Was all she could manage, her voice was shaking. She turned to the distorted colt. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry, but you can rest now.” Luna lowered her horn at the chest of Soturi and fired a burst, a tear dropping from her eye. When she raised her head her eyes shot fully open. Soturi was still standing there, unfazed by the attack that would have felled even the strongest of dragons. * * * Vinyl Scratch and Raincloud Erik’s House, Manehattan, Three Months Ago Raincloud still wasn’t sure how she felt. It was awkward thinking of Vinyl as her aunt when they were the same age, but wasn’t it bad to actually want to be with her? She thought she had given up feelings like that months ago but lately she had had such urges. It wasn’t just that she was interested in Vinyl, she had actually thought about forcing herself on Vinyl, but could she really do that? She knew she could, it was just a matter of if it would come to that. “Are you alright?” Vinyl asked, walking in with her mane still wet from her shower. “I’m not sure,” Raincloud responded, staring at the floor. She looked up at Vinyl and faked happiness. “Where did you learn to dance like that?” Vinyl laughed. “In schools down here they made us learn. Did I ever tell you that Octavia and I where the first two mares to dance together at our school?” “How did that go?” Raincloud asked with a large grin on her face. “Everypony got all ticked off about it,” Vinyl explained. Raincloud could almost see the memories in Vinyl’s crimson eyes. She had to resist another urge, and it was almost painful. “It’s nice to know they were forward thinkers,” Raincloud remarked sarcastically. “What did you do?” Vinyl burst out in laughter. “It was great. They told us we couldn’t dance together at the big end of the year party. So we decided to not dance. Instead we started making out. No one noticed at first but they everypony looked up to me when the music stopped. I’d forgotten to queue up some music. Well, we almost got kicked out but then Celestia walks in. Of course the school board tried to spin things their way but Celestia has this way of always getting the truth. When she found out what had actually happened she had a big laugh with everypony except the school board members and we got to have a real dance.” “That’s nice,” Raincloud said softly. “Wait, why was Celestia there?” “I never asked,” Vinyl replied. “Sorry, I kind of trailed off there.” They sat in silence for a moment. Every cell in Raincloud’s body was crying out for her to do something with Vinyl, but none of the cells seemed to know what they wanted done. It was torture; Raincloud couldn’t resist any longer. “Vinyl,” She said. “What is it?” Vinyl looked over at Raincloud. Raincloud reached forward and kissed Vinyl. * * * Erik Equineson and Luna The Slaughterhouse, Three Months Ago “I missed?” Luna asked. Nothing could have withstood that attack; it was strong enough to make an entirely new crater on her moon. “Of course not,” Syv said. “You hit him square in the chest. He doesn’t feel pain, his blood isn’t his life-force, and your attacks will do nothing unless you can cut off his head.” “Then I guess I’ll have to do that,” Luna replied fiercely. Erik stepped in front of her. “No, you find a way out of here,” He said. “You aren’t a murderer and I won’t let you become one.” “Oh, shut up,” Luna spat. “Chivalry is dead. He isn’t alive anymore, it’s torture to let him live.” Erik turned to her. “How do you intend on killing him? You didn’t even make a scratch.” “I’ve got more than one trick, Erik.” Luna pushed him out of the way. Her eyes and horn glowed brightly. “I’ve been around a while so I’ve learned my fair share of spells. There was always one I never wanted to learn but ‘Tia made me.” Suddenly, everything around Luna stopped moving, sounds ceased to exist and everything lost its physical constraints. For that time, no objects existed, only particles, except for Luna. She wouldn’t have known though. “What just happened?” Luna walked to Erik and circled him. He seemed whole, but he wasn’t moving, nothing was. It was like the world had frozen. “Did I do this?” Luna asked, regardless of the lack of somepony to answer her. “No, princess,” the voice of a child came from behind her. “I did it.” Luna turned around and saw a transparent, blue shaded foal standing in front of Soturi. “Who are you?” “I don’t have a name anymore. They took it from me,” The foal said. “You have to stop them, princess! Before they do this to somepony else!” “You’re Soturi,” Luna realized. “How did you do this?” “They trapped me, princess. They took me in the middle of the day and they stole everything I was. Please, princess, let me go.” “I don’t know how,” Luna said, sadly. “I was thinking an old spell would work, but I know it won’t” The foal began to fade away. “I can’t hold it any longer, princess. You have to break their hold on my body!” “How am I supposed to do that?” Luna asked frantically. “You can do something your sister never could,” the foal said. “Form a connection.” And the colt was gone. “What the hay?” Erik shouted from behind her. “You just skipped suddenly, like a few frames were missing from a movie.” “Forget that, Erik,” Luna looked into Soturi’s eyes. “Syv, you can’t hold him captive anymore. I won’t allow it.” Luna lowered herself into an offensive stance. “I’ve seen him; I know his pain and I can feel it now. You don’t get to control him anymore.” Luna’s horn and eyes glowed again, brighter now than before and she spoke with a strength which surpassed anything even she could have imagined. “Herald, you are released.” And everything went black. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Notes So if you read my blog post titled "The Journey" then you'd know I said this would be a short chapter. It's the longest one yet. Whatever This is only really part one of this chapter but it's getting too long to post as one whole thing. I'll release the next part later today or tomorrow. That chapter will be chapter VI and will be about 2000-3000 words long. After that I'm going to write chapters VII through IX and release those around the same weekend. That will happen eventually. After that, Three Years Gone will be done. As usual, please comment with your negative and positive and neutral reviews, and get ready for chapter VI because it's going to be good... I hope. Until Next Time, <3 Shae