Three mares stood in somber silence as they watched the last cart being wheeled away from the house. Several ponies had gathered around to see the commotion, but none were able to get many details. Each cart carried on top of it a large black bag, each with varying degrees of fullness. To those passing by, they would count a total of six carts, and thus six bags being taken away.
Intentionally so as to keep the details secret, Twilight had arranged the investigation during the busiest part of the day. As promised by Crimson, in the basement of the home of Clear Skies had been a large crate. Underneath that crate, the floor’s finishing had been stripped away, revealing the dirt underneath. That dirt had been moved to cover a grave. The length of time it had taken to excavate what remained of the bodies had given the general populace time to notice the Princess was outside of a house in the neighborhood, meaning even with her planning, the procession of body bags had not gone unnoticed. Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity stood by the front door, attempting to shield the crowd from what was occurring, but the volume of ponies making their efforts rather inept.
“...He did this…” Rainbow Dash broke away from the two others for a moment, turning her back towards them and taking hard breaths through her nose, “He… he killed them.”
Rarity leaned over and put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. Twilight didn’t say anything. The alicorn had her eyes closed and her hands were clasped tightly together in front of her. Her breathing was calm and shallow, being brought up through her nose and out through her lips. The fingers trembled from the sheer intensity of the grip that she had on them.
Six. There had been a total of six ponies that were found inside of the basement of Clear Skies’ house. Right now, Clear was at the Police Station for questioning. To ensure the mare wasn’t prosecuted, Twilight had sent with the investigators a copy of Crimson’s confession to Aloe. It was edited for anything involving Stands, but for right now she prayed this would be enough to keep Clear from being jailed.
True to Crimson’s word, the ponies had little to no connection with one another. Four of them were female. All of them had been reported missing sometime within the past month, yet no leads had been found. Most of their bodies were gone, leaving only just enough to identify them based on the samples alone. Just as Crimson had foretold, among them had been the remains of a light blue body with a cutie mark of a white lotus blossom.
“Come along now,” Rarity reached out and slid her hand along Dash’s shoulder, “I think we’ve seen all we need to here. We should head back to the Castle.”
Dash snapped her head to look at Rarity. The fire in her eyes was enough to make Rarity shudder inside. Dash shot her eyes to the back of the ambulance closing with the body bags, her body stiffening at the sound of each door closing. She watched the car start up and slowly drive down the road. It was not until it had disappeared after a right turn that Dash turned her body away and gave Rarity a hard nod.
Two manicured hands gently wrapped around Twilight and Rainbow’s wrists, giving a small tug in the opposite direction. Both took a few steps forward before Rarity released them. Soon all three were walking slowly away from the home and back towards the crystalline palace in the distance.
“This is just dreadful,” Rarity sighed, “To think that he actually killed those ponies and then… then hid them away, it’s just unthinkable. I recognized a few of them from my shop...”
“Once the police finish investigating Clear, Crimson will have a trial arranged for his crimes,” Twilight looked over to Rarity, “Right now, we just have to figure out how to keep Clear from getting tried as well. I did all I could with the confession he gave to Aloe, but the fact they were in Clear’s home is going to make this… complicated.”
A growl came from beside the two. Dash’s eyes hadn’t lost their flames, and her fist was now curled so tightly her knuckles had started to turn white. When she spoke, her voice was dripping with anger and barely concealed rage.
“He doesn’t deserve a trial,” Dash spat, “He should be exiled or banished or whatever right now! He came into our town and killed our citizens. He hurt our friends.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight shook her head, “You don’t get to pass judgement on him. We have courts for a reason. If we banish him, then we’d be just as bad as he is. You can’t decide what happens to him because you feel like you were involved. Remember what Aloe said?”
For a moment, Dash stared down Twilight. The two both stopped as they gazed at one another, seeing whom would bend first. Dash’s fists slowly uncurled. She let out a small sigh and looked down and away from Twilight.
“You’re… you’re right,” Rainbow sighed, “I just… I didn’t know he’d actually killed ponies. I know he tried to kill Spike, but that was right in front of us. I saved him. Seeing all those… those bodies it, it makes me want to punch him until he can’t get back up again. It’s one thing when we can stop it!” She started to shake again, but gently came down and sighed again, “It’s different when we don’t even get the chance.”
“I know, Dash. I’m angry too,” Twilight pursed her lips together, “But we’re not judges. Crimson will get punished for what he did. For now, we have to keep a level head and figure out what the Cult is planning. This is just proof that they’re willing to do anything to achieve their goals. I need you to put that anger towards preventing anymore deaths instead of causing them.”
“Fine, but don’t expect me to go easy on them when I get my fists on them,” Dash hissed. Twilight just gave an approving nod.
The three began walking again. They passed in front of Sugarcube Corner, the smell of freshly baked sweets filling the air. Dash looked over to the building for a moment, thinking about Pinkie. She’d watched Data Stream get killed. It made her wonder what Pinkie was feeling about that. Especially about Crimson.
“We should warn the others about this,” Rarity piped up, “We need to let Golden Harvest and Fluttershy know about Facade and about… this. And… well, we need to tell Aloe that he Sister is indeed passed on.”
Twilight turned, “Rarity’s right. I’ll take care of telling Aloe. Night Wish can restrain her if she tries to break out. Rarity, you should tell Golden Harvest. And Dash,” She turned to the cyan mare, “You go tell Fluttershy. I think for the time being, we should all stay at the Castle.”
“That sounds like it’s for the best right now,” Rarity nodded, “Sweetie Belle said she was having an overnight at their little clubhouse. I think I might have her stay at our parent’s home for a bit. Hopefully we can figure out this Cult business quickly. We can’t let this situation spiral any further out of control.”
“Kay,” Dash nodded, “I’ll get Fluts to come with me. Shouldn’t take her too long to pack up.”
Dash nodded and spread her wings. Twilight and Rarity both shared a look before parting, Rarity heading off towards the Market and Twilight back towards the Castle. Dash, meanwhile, flapped her wings and took off into the air, hovering in the air for a moment before taking off towards the Everfree forest.
It would take Dash perhaps ten minutes to fly her way from the center of town to Fluttershy’s cottage at a leisurely pace. If she were to push herself, she could get there in four if at top speed. If she were on 2M2M, she could make it there perhaps in under a minute. Normally she would consider that, but with the possibility of more cult members in town, Twilight had warned them against using their Stands in public. She considered perhaps flying faster, but her normal speed would give her some time to think.
Despite having mostly calmed down from her initial burst of anger, Dash still felt like punching Crimson. Seeing each body bag had been like getting thrown into the dirt. But unlike a real fight, there was nopony there to hit back. Knowing she’d told Aloe that it would be okay, that they had a chance to stop him the right way, was perhaps why she was so upset. When it had just been Lotus, just been a possibility that Crimson had been lying to her, the anger had been manageable. Seeing those ponies being carted out one by one was something else. The fact she even knew one of them from the old Weather Team had made it too personal for her to stay calm.
Now more than ever, she was determined to stop the cult. They’d crossed the line when they targeted her and her friends, but now they’d dug their grave by killing innocent ponies. Crimson had dug his grave. They were going to pay for everything they’d done. Once Twilight figured out where they were, she’d beat the crap out of all of them. Such were her thoughts when she landed at Fluttershy’s front door.
“Hey, Fluttershy!” Dash called out, “Yo, Fluts! Listen, we need to talk!” She reached out and twisted the doorknob, “Pack some clothes too, we’re going to be staying at the Castle for…”
When the door opened, light spilled over broken furniture. As the room was illuminated, Dash’s eyes widened. Broken glass and wood chips were strewn about the floor. There were dents and holes in the wall. Picture frames lay on the ground, their contents spilled out. There were no animals in sight, not even Angel Bunny. The main table had tea spilled over it, running along the ground and mingling with drops of blood.
What made Dash gasp was on the opposite wall. A message was scrawled upon it in large maroon letters. The words were written in blood.
COME FIND ME ELEMENTS
---
“...This is Fluttershy’s blood…” Twilight whispered as her magic pulled away from the large crudely drawn letters.
While Twilight was analyzing the message, Rainbow hefted up the remains of Fluttershy’s sofa. Just as she thought, there were droplets of blood on the floor. Blood being under the remains of it meant somepony had gotten slammed right down through it. She’d found the same with the table and several of the picture frames along the wall. The entire apartment was riddled with signs of somepony getting beaten down.
Whether Twilight had suggested using Stands out in the open was a bad idea or not, Rainbow Dash had shot towards the Castle as fast as she could on 2M2M the second she saw the message. Rarity hadn’t even made it to Applejack’s house, but seeing 2M2M in the sky had made her turn back towards the Castle. By the time Rainbow had finished explaining to Twilight what had happened, Rarity had arrived. A quick series of teleports by Twilight had brought the three back to the broken home in a matter of seconds.
“How can you tell it’s Fluttershy’s..?” Rarity paused whilst her Diamond Dogs began to run their needles through the piece of table Rainbow Dash was holding in an attempt to repair it, “Aren’t there, detective ponies who do that?”
“It’s, I can’t really explain it,” Twilight exhaled and pressed her fingers into the blood, “But, I can just say that I know for certain this is Fluttershy’s blood. This came from her.”
The piece of the table that Rainbow had been lifting landed hard on the ground. The result caused Rarity to jump backwards as Lennon was nearly vaulted up from trying to run his needle through the broken half. The sound made the other two mares snap their heads towards her. Twilight frowned.
“Rainbow, don’t break anything!” Twilight snapped, “There might be something in here that’s important!”
“Nothing in here, is important. What’s important,” Rainbow growled, “Is we find whatever pony did this to Fluttershy, drag them in here and then we pound their face into the ground until they’ll have to be sipping their meals through a straw...”
Neither mare responded to Rainbow. Instead, Twilight took a step back from the wall. She rubbed the droplets of blood between her fingers, exhaling again. Then her horn lit up. The lavender aura surrounded the entire wall, as though running a scan over it. After a few moments, her horn stopped glowing. She let out a hard sigh.
“Rarity,” Twilight turned, “Have your Diamond Dogs found anything?”
“Nothing I think is helpful yet, dear,” Rarity grimaced, “It seems that the destruction is only limited to the interior of the house. Starr didn’t report anything when he checked the exterior. Cartney found most of her animals outside hiding under the house. Angel had some dreadful cuts on him. Lennon and Harrison are working to try to fix some of the damage to see if we can find anymore clues.”
“We shouldn’t be trying to fix this place up! All this means is somepony came in here and beat up Fluttershy!” Rainbow threw her arms out, “I know what a fight looks like when I see it. This looks up the Rec Room after I got done beating the snot out of the bullies that insulted Fluttershy. Somepony came in here, grabbed her, hurt her, and then they wrote that up on the wall!”
Twilight paused. Looking at the room, at first it was hard to tell if Rainbow was correct. The room looked as though it had a tornado come through it. Yet the more thought she put into it, the more it made sense. The table and sofa were broken inward. The windows were intact. There was blood in all places where somepony could have pushed Fluttershy into. There wasn’t any logical reason to doubt that a fight had taken place, and given Fluttershy’s natural fighting prowess, it was even safer to assume she had lost.
Rainbow walked over to the message scrawled on the wall. For a moment, she squinted her eyes at it. Her fists curled up tighter in her hands. ‘Come Find Me Elements.’ She lowered her gaze and then spoke up.
“Elements, that’s us, right?” Rainbow’s raspy voice growled, “The Elements of Harmony?”
“I think so… but, why would somepony do this?” Twilight shook her head. She made her way up to Rainbow and put her hand on the wall, “It’s one thing to go and assault somepony, but why leave a message like this? And why address it to us specifically?”
“It must be that Cult!” Rarity stepped forward, “If this were work of some, regular homicidal freak, it would make sense to leave a message. Most killers want to be found. This is addressed to us, though. They wanted Fluttershy for some reason… but why? That’s the question we need to answer right now.”
“Not everything is like a Shadow Spade novel, Rarity…” Twilight turned her head, “For one, we don’t even know if they took Fluttershy. Crimson specifically disposed of all the bodies. We have to make sure that Fluttershy is actually gone first before we assume this was the Cult.”
“Why are you acting like this isn’t the work of that Cult?!” Rainbow hissed, “Vinyl just got rid of Facade a few days ago! There’s no way this wasn’t them!”
“We just have to consider all the options first before we decide what to do,” Twilight shook her head, “If this is a kidnapping, then we have to go after her.”
“Didn’t you say we had to contact the Princess?” Rainbow raised her eyebrow, “Now you want to go after them?”
“If this really is targeted at us,” Twilight lifted her head, “We have to handle this. This is not only a matter of safety, but they’ve stopped just targeting us. If they hurt my friends, then we have to go after them. But first,” Twilight stepped towards the door, “I need to alert a certain somepony.”
Twilight made her way out of the house, standing on the doorstep. Slowly, she put her hands together and her horn lit up. A strange green aura formed around it as she spoke.
“Discord,” Twilight shouted, “I need you!”
Twilight’s eyes glowed white for a moment, her magic reaching out across the land. If she had the full elements with her, this would be a far easier process. Yet without it, she was sending out a pure magical call for aide. She reached out as far as her senses could, pushing towards every known spot she could in an attempt to summon-
“You called for me?” A condescending voice called out. Twilight opened her eyes to see a massive umbrella being shut in her face, revealing Discord standing in a large black fedora, matching black suit, and holding what looked like a cane in the other hand, “It’s oh so bothersome when I receive such an old-fashioned call. Really hurts the ears.”
“Discord!” Twilight straightened her back, “Listen, we need your help.”
“I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to be bothered at our last meeting,” The outfit disappeared from Discord as he tipped his hand and a pen appeared, scribbling down on some invisible calendar, “I’m very busy. I’m supposed to be in Canterlot right now. Oh you should see it! There’s a parade going on and I wanted to see what ponies would say if I-”
“Fluttershy,” Twilight declared, “Fluttershy’s been hurt.”
All at once, Discord’s ramblings ceased. All of the silly antics that he normally employed vanished, and instead he took a long stride forward, his body turning into butterflies that reformed after he passed through Twilight. The second his gaze lay upon what lay inside the home, he turned back towards Twilight.
“I see,” Discord drew in a long breath, his chest expanding and then contracting hard, “Leave this to me, Twilight. I’ll be taking over whatever little investigation you have going here.”
“We think this might be the Cult, Discord,” Twilight continued, “We need to know if she’s… here. Can you sense her?”
Discord gazed into the home for a long while, watching Rainbow and Rarity gazing back. He gently turned himself around, taking in a deep breath. To Twilight, it seemed as though his fang had grown larger, his pupils had darkened, and his horns had gained new edges. When he took another step forward and looked up into the sky, his form had seemingly gotten taller.
“Not here, but everywhere. And that’s not good, not good at all,” Discord turned his head away, “I can certainly tell you she’s not here. If she were, I would be able to tell you exactly where she is. No, she’s been taken somewhere… but I can’t tell where exactly. Somepony has hidden her so she feels as though she’s everywhere… and nowhere.”
Twilight blinked in confusion. Everywhere and nowhere? Discord had the ability to sense when ponies were nearby better than a unicorn could. She’d been hoping perhaps he’d be able to locate her. Yet if he couldn’t tell where she was, that meant somepony was hiding her.
“You don’t need to worry your Pretty Princess head over this anymore,” Discord’s voice snapped Twilight back to focus, “I’ll find them and get her back. I won’t fail her.”
“Wait!” Twilight shot her head up, “Discord, there might be more to this! You shouldn’t leave unt-”
Twilight suddenly felt an icy chill over her body. Discord’s fingers came down from snapping, leaving Twilight’s muscles feel as though they had been flash-frozen. Discord took a few steps forward before he sucked in a long breath.
“You would just get in my way, Princess…” Discord growled, a long and hollow noise that rung with malice, “I have a lot of places to check now. I’ll find each and every one of them and make them feel whatever it is they did to her tenfold for the rest of their days.”
“Discord!” Twilight gasped out as she watched him snap his finger sand disappear, “Discord, no!” A moment later, her muscles unfroze, leaving her to stumbled forward.
This left Twilight staring off into the distance as she watched him leave. In truth, she didn’t know what she’d hoped for. Perhaps she hoped Discord’s uncanny ability to know what each pony was doing at a time would lead them to Fluttershy. He’d confirmed that Fluttershy wasn’t here, something which she had wanted. Yet now she worried what he would do if he did find the kidnappers. And that made her gulp.
“Twilight…” Rarity placed her hand on Twilight’s shoulder, having walked up from behind, “I think, right now we should get Applejack and Pinkie to the Castle. If that Discord won’t help us, we need to go find Fluttershy ourselves.”
“...Yes,” Twilight turned around, studying the scene of the crime. Slowly, her horn began to seep out an aura that spread across the home, covering every inch of it. After a few moments, the aura turned a soft pink, at which point Twilight recalled the spel.
“There,” Twilight nodded her head, “This way we can study it later. Rainbow!” She called out, “Come on, we need to get back to the Castle!”
Rainbow stood in the middle of the house. She took in everything, just like Twilight had. Yet it was not with the trained eye of a professional commiting a scene to memory. It was going into her memory, but not for analysis. Her fists turned white from exertion, then they slacked.
“Go get Applejack and Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow raised her head, “I’ll head back on 2M2M.”
“Okay,” Twilight nodded, “We’ll meet you in the throne room, okay?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow turned around to show a small smile on her face, “I’ll be waiting for you when you get there.”
Twilight gave a nod of affirmation and took Rarity’s hand. The two vanished in a massive flash of white sparkles. Rainbow stepped outside of the house, reaching back to slowly shut the door behind her. Once she had, 2M2M appeared in front of her. She reached out and gripped the handles on her Stand, kicked back, and took off into the sky.
---
“What, do you think they did to Fluttershy?” Applejack muttered as the doors to the Castle opened.
Proceeding now along with Rarity and Twilight were one farmer in disbelief and one baker without her usual pep. Neither had said much as Twilight had explained what they’d found. Pinkie’s normal bounce had been reduced to a mundane walk, and Applejack’s hat was pulled down slightly over her eyes. Rarity had her hands clasped in front of her, her fingers drumming on top of her knuckles.
“I don’t know,” Twilight stated with as little emotion as she could, “It looked like somepony was torturing her for some reason, but why they would do that doesn’t make any sense. If they wanted to kidnap her, they could have done that without hurting her.”
“Why would anypony want to hurt Fluttershy?” Pinkie cocked her head, “She’s the nicest pony I’ve ever met! There’s no reason to hurt her…”
Twilight and the others spread out into the throne room. Each of them took their seat around the table, the throne’s emblems glowing as their respective mare sat in them. Rainbow Dash was not in her throne. Twilight clasped her hands together, leaning forward on her elbows on the table and bringing her hands up to her chin.
“The message addressed the Elements. The only ponies I can think of that correspond to that are the Elements of Harmony. Us. But,” Twilight looked up towards the center of the table, “If this is the Cult, they’re directly provoking us. Discord said he couldn’t sense Fluttershy clearly, like somepony was trying to tell him to go find her. If the Cult does have Fluttershy, then they want the rest of us. But why call us out like this?”
“It sounds like a trap,” Applejack put her hand on the table, “They want us to go find her so they can get the rest of us.”
“They most likely figured that kidnapping us one by one would either take too long or be too difficult,” Rarity nodded, “I concur with Applejack. This Cult is trying to get us to come to them.”
“But where would they be?” Pinkie pipped up, “Where would some meanie Cult be hiding Fluttershy? If Discord couldn’t find her, where could she be?”
“Crimson was sent here, to Ponyville, for a reason,” Twilight looked up, “He was sent here to keep us out of the way of something. To take care of us. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say they have to be somewhat nearby. Perhaps it’s closer than we think it is….”
A loud clang suddenly rung out from behind Twilight. The group all jumped in their seats from the sudden noise. Twilight’s wings splayed out in shock while Applejack barely caught her hat from falling from her head.
“Ugh, where is that dreadful racket coming from?” Rarity shook her head, “Is that Rainbow Dash? What could she possibly be doing to make that noise?”
Twilight turned around in her seat. Behind her was the entrance to the main study and then to the hallway. When she squinted, she saw one door in particular was opened.
“Oh no,” Twilight stood up, “I’ll be right back, girls!” Her horn lit up, wrapping her up in yet another teleporting aura before the others could protest.
When Twilight appeared again, she rubbed her horn. This was the fifth teleport today, but given that she’d been ferrying her friends too, it was more akin to her tenth or eleventh. She quickly rubbed her temples to try and relieve the slight fatigue, before racing down the hallway to the main dungeon.
When she rounded the corner, she saw exactly what she though. Dash was on the outside of Crimson’s cell, Two Minutes to Midnight’s fist holding onto Crimson’s shirt. The fact the stallion’s head was lulling slightly told Twilight exactly where that loud clang had come from. A feeling of deja vu washed over her as she quickly raced forward to the mare.
“Dash!!” Twilight shouted, “What are you doing?!”
Dash turned her head to face Twilight, but immediately turned back to Crimson. 2M2M’s other fist came to grip the other side of Crimson’s shirt, hefting him up off the ground. As he hung there, he let out a long cough, a bit of blood dribbling from his mouth. Gently, his hand came up to wipe it away, leaving a maroon mark on his sleeve.
“Good…. Princess!” Crimson turned to Twilight, “Guh… perhaps, you could talk some sense into this… mare! She keeps insisting that I know where your pegasus friend has been taken! I already told you that we don’t know what the Inner Circle is planning! Can you please relay that to Miss Dash here before I require facial surgery to talk again?!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight spoke without even acknowledging Crimson, “Stop it right now! He doesn’t know anything! I already got everything out of him!”
“Relax, Twilight,” Dash’s voice was oddly calm and clear, “I’m not going to kill him. I just think he’s not telling us everywhere, and maybe ruffing him up a little bit would help!”
Immediately, Dash saw her arms encased in a lavender aura. The mare was yanked backwards, the shock causing 2M2M to drop Crimson. As Crimson groaned from being dumped to the floor, Dash felt her arms being forced down to her sides as Twilight stepped forward.
“This is the exact thing you stopped Aloe from doing!” Twilight shouted, “Hurting somepony for answers doesn’t get you anything! I already got him to tell me everything he knows. You can’t just come down here and beat him up, then expect him to tell you something new!”
Dash slowly lowered her head, darkness shrouding her eyes. She turned her head to look at Crimson, who slowly got back up and made his way back over to his cot. When he sat down, he stared at Rainbow Dash. He slowly turned to Twilight, then scoffed and laid back on his bed. He closed his eyes, his chest starting to rise and fall.
“Why aren’t you angry?” Dash huffed, her voice trembling, “Fluttershy got beaten up and her entire house destroyed, and now she’s missing. You didn’t show any emotion at all at her house. Now you’re dragging me off the one stallion that might know something about where she is, and you tell me to calm down?”
“Yes!” Twilight shouted, but slowly regained her tone back in until it was neutral, “Rainbow, we’re all worried about her. Something horrible happened to her, but we can’t let out anger get the better of us. The Cult is getting out attention, and this is probably one giant trap. Rushing right in will get us hurt, or worse. You need to come upstairs right now so we can figure this out, together. Okay?”
Dash looked up towards Twilight. There was no change in her eyes. Twilight pursed her lips together as she took that in. The look was far too much like she’d seen when she’d restrained Aloe from her awakening in her cell. She opened her lips to speak, but when words came, it was not from her.
“That yellow pegasus sure is important, isn’t she?”
“What?” Twilight blinked. The two mares turned their gazes to the still resting stallion inside the cell.
“I said,” Crimson sighed, “That mare is important, isn’t she? I think you two should consider what it is that somepony would want with her.”
“So you do know something!!!” Dash shouted, trying to yank her body towards him. Twilight immediately flung several globs of ink towards Dash, forming binds on her on top of her magic. This time, it was enough to keep the mare restrained.
“Thank you, thought I don’t know how much good that will do with that… Two Minutes,” He slowly sat up, “Did either of you ever stop to consider what her Stand could do?”
“She said that it projects her emotions onto somepony,” Twilight started, “It acts without her even knowing she’s doing it, it’s why-”
“You ponies are so literal!” Crimson groaned, “No, no, I want you to consider that her Stand might be more powerful than either of you are giving it credit for.”
Dash slowly turned towards Twilight. Her eyes had lost some of their edge, and her arms slackened enough that Twilight recalled Night Wish’s ink. However, she kept her magical aura around Dash, something with the Pegasus only gave a scoff at.
“It broke your stupid Stand!” Dash spat, “Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, actually. That’s exactly what I was getting at,” Crimson slowly turned perpendicular to the two of them and leaned on the wall, “I don’t know anything for certain. But I think you two should consider something. The only thing that broke almost all of those ponies out of my Stand was either nearly being killed, or that mare. And I don’t just mean with that Stare of hers.”
Twilight pondered that last bit. Comfortably Numb could do more than just break Know You Too Well? What did that mean? Fluttershy had been with Rarity at the Spa. Pinkie Pie had been at Vinyl’s Club. Rarity said Aloe had taken Fluttershy downstairs to get answers out of her. But the only way that Aloe and Vinyl had gotten defeated was by Rarity and Pinkie unlocking their Stands. Was Crimson implying…
“Whether or not that’s correct,” The stallion continued, “I still say I know nothing about what the Inner Circle is planning. But I know one thing: whenever I get sent someplace, more of us follow after. If they’re not here in Ponyville, where are they?”
Something suddenly clicked in both the mare’s heads. Dash’s eyes widened as she turned towards Twilight, the two sharing words across their mind without saying them. Twilight just gave a little nod of her head.
“Now, so that I don’t suffer anymore unexpected trauma,” Crimson rolled his eyes, “I’m sick of getting beaten up by ponies that are too slow to figure things out on their own. There is one thing I want you to know, though, Princess….”
Slowly, Crimson lifted up his arm. The friendship band that was left started to glow, “I’m an exception to this, but every single pony that entered our group has sworn allegiance to Him. And that comes with certain… consequences,” He nodded towards Dash, “You should be prepared to fight to the death. They won’t give you the chance for a last minute save, or defeating some manipulator. These ponies… I’ve only heard stories, but they aren’t sane. There is no reasoning with them. When I laid eyes on Him, it was like my very soul froze. No matter what you think He is like, you give Him too much credit. If you hesitate for one moment, he will kill you. Even your magic won’t do anything to him.”
“Why would you tell us about Him?” Dash raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t we gonna go kick their butts and make them regret taking Fluttershy?”
“Because when you deal the finishing blow,” Crimson leaned forward, “I want you to tell him thanks, from me,” Crimson slowly leaned back against the wall, “I want them to suffer before they die. If I’m no longer important to them, I want them to know that they are the ones who will die.”
Neither of the mares said anything. Instead, Dash turned her head towards the stairs. Wordlessly, Twilight made her way after her. Neither of the two turned back to look at Crimson, whom simply sighed. He looked out towards the crystalline patterns on the walls, his gaze narrowing. Then he laid back down, letting silence fill the floor once more.
---
“Everfree,” Twilight slammed her hand down on the Crystal Map, “The Cult is planning something at the Castle of the Two Sisters!”
“Exactly,” Dash moved forward and slammed her hand down next to Twilight’s own, “Those cowards are hiding in the forest and just waiting for us to come and get them.”
“But… how can y’all know about that?” Applejack cocked her head, “What makes you so sure?”
“It’s simple, why would they sent an operative all the way to Ponyville, just to go and check in on a single room inside a ruined Castle?” Twilight sighed, “I wish I had seen it earlier, to be honest. Crimson said the group follows after him. There’s only one place that has any significance outside of this town that the Cult would be after.”
“The painting!” Rarity gasped, “Yes, that gaudy thing you two found! It didn’t make any sense why they would even want something like that at first, now it all seems clear.”
“Uh… wait, I’m lost,” Vinyl piped up from the other side of the table, the reverb carrying her voice, “What’s going on here again?”
“I’m getting to that,” Twilight shook her head, “Fluttershy was kidnapped to get us to go after them. And I think I now know who ‘them’ is.”
Twilight’s magic carried a small box up from under the table. It was the kiddie box that Discord had given her. Wordlessly, Twilight opened it and levitated out a small list of names, one that she laid down in the center of the Map. The map magically transitioned to project it for them all to see.
“Crimson kept referring to the cult as having an ‘Inner Circle,’” Twilight frowned, “I believe we might be going up against the original Cult. The one that Discord formed a thousand years ago.”
The room went silent for a moment. The others began to look amongst themselves, particularly Vinyl and Golden Harvest. The two had simply been asked to come back to the Castle, without knowledge of what was going on. Their looks of confusion mirrored those of disbelief.
“But… darling,” Rarity shook her head, “They would be long dead by now. How could they still be alive?”
“I don’t know yet, but!” Twilight raised her finger, “I think this all ties back to Discord.”
“Well, duh!” Dash sighed, “It’s his freakin’ Cult!”
“No, Discord said something interesting to me when he described them,” Twilight leaned forward, “He said that he had one follower that became so devoted he went out and formed an entire cult. But he never said that they were defeated. There were ten of them back then, and Crimson said that the Inner Circle has nine members. He clearly said the leader was a stallion, referred to as Him. I think whatever is going on, it’s all coming back to Discord. I don’t know what they’re planning yet, but I think it involves us. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.”
“That’s, all well and good, but…” Golden coughed, “Why did you call the two of us here?”
“Because we’re going after them,” Twilight declared, “And if we fail, it’s going to be up to you three to defend the town.”
Vinyl and Golden turned to each other, their looks completely different. Vinyl’s lips started as a grin, but slowly fell. Golden began to frown, but what looked like nervous excitement spread into her, causing her expression to turn neutral.
“Uh… who’s the third?” Vinyl raised her hand, “I only see me and Goldie here.”
“I am,” A voice came from behind Twilight.
The entire room turned to see Aloe walking up to the table. Her hairband was gone, and instead her hair was simply left dangling behind her. She made her way up to the table slowly, almost limping her way there. When she arrived, she moved over to Twilight.
“Aloe,” Twilight cleared her throat, “I will absolve you of the act you committed against Crimson Spirit if you will stand guard over the town while we are gone!” She turned towards Vinyl and Golden, “We have no idea what is waiting for us in those woods. With Fluttershy already taken, we cannot risk leaving this town undefended. If we should fail and whatever plan the Cult has should come to fruition, it’ll be up to you three to keep Ponyville safe. Do I make myself clear?”
Aloe’s fingers slowly rubbed at her palms. When she spoke, it was hollow, “Yes, Princess Twilight.”
“Do you promise not to lay a hand upon Crimson Spirit, as much as it may tempt you?”
Aloe’s fingers rubbed harder, “Yes, Princess Twilight.”
“Will you honor Lotus’ memory by keeping the lives of other innocent ponies safe?”
Aloe’s fingers curled into fists that trembled. Slowly, the released, and Aloe just nodded her head.
“Then you three will be the defenders of Ponyville while we rescue Fluttershy,” Twilight spread her wings wide, “This is my order to you as the Princess of Friendship.”
“Yes, Princess!” Golden and Vinyl shouted together. Aloe just nodded again.
“Good,” Twilight slowly sucked in a long breath, “Currently, Spike is writing Princess Celestia about the situation. With Fluttershy’s life in danger, however, we can’t wait for her to send help. We venture into Everfree tonight to rescue Fluttershy and stop whatever plans this Cult may have!”
“...Tonight?” Applejack leaned forward on the table, “Uh… Twi, I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud but… some of us, ain’t exactly ready for this sort of thing.”
“I concur, darling!” Rarity stood up, “I agree we must rescue Fluttershy as soon as possible, but is there nothing more we can learn before we go?”
“No,” Twilight turned to Applejack, “They specifically asked for the Elements, and we must answer that call. Any time we spend learning, Fluttershy’s life is in danger. We leave tonight.”
“Say,” Rainbow turned, “Where’s Pinkie Pie?”
Before any of them could answer, Pinkie appeared in her throne. Dumped in front of her were five large backpacks. They were all moderately full, with several bits and pieces sticking out of them. She stood up and slid a bag over to Twilight.
“One for you, for you and you!” She slid them over to Rarity and Applejack, “And you too, Dashie!” Pinkie slid that bag over and then lifted her own up, “I already packed everything we might need! Rope, climbing gear, flashlights, some compasses, snacks and first aid supplies,” She frowned, “For… when we get to Fluttershy.”
“Wow, Pinkie…” Dash opened the bag up, “These… are actually, really helpful. Thanks.”
“No problem, Dashie,” Pinkie straightened her back, “Fluttershy is in danger, so we need to be prepared for this! We all already know what those meanie Stands can do, so we need to be prepared!” She slowly beamed, “Plus, everytime we go on these missions we never seem to pack anything! This time we should be prepared!”
“Yes, Pinkie, these are great,” Twilight wanted to be annoyed Pinkie hadn’t listened to her grand speech, but the bags were incredibly helpful the more she looked into them, “Alright, everypony, grab your bags and let’s get moving. We have to save our friend.”
Rarity and Applejack turned to each other, then solemnly nodded. Rainbow’s gaze slowly sharpened, and she stalked her way to the front door of the Castle. There she stood, awaiting for Twilight to follow. Pinkie hefted her bag onto her shoulders and walked over to Dash, standing next to her with a smile.
“Twilight,” Aloe spoke up as Twilight walked by, “What are you going to do when you meet this Cult?”
“I’m going to subdue and then arrest them,” Twilight frowned, “Just like I would with any other pony.”
“...I see,” Aloe turned away, “I hope that works out well for you.”
Twilight gave Aloe a long look, but Aloe wasn’t interested in trying to meet it. Instead, Twlight just kept walking. She made her way up to her friends, then slowly enveloped them in her magic.
“Alright, everypony!” Twilight sucked in a breath, “Let’s go save Fluttershy!” With that, the group disappeared in a large shower of sparks.
----
Slowly, the five mares materialized at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. The large forest they had crossed so many times before was shrouded in the last rays of Sunset, causing the shadows to deepen throughout them.
“Why didn’t we just go straight there?” Dash snapped to the path, “You can easily do that!”
“No, I can’t!” Twilight frowned, “The Everfree Forest’s magical nature means I can’t locate where exactly to teleport us. If I tried, I could end up teleporting us all into trees!”
Dash slowly made her way in front of the group, looking back towards them. She turned back to the forest, then dropped the bag that Pinkie had given her. In an instant, 2M2M materialized in front of her.
“I’ll see you guys at the Castle,” Dash slowly growled, “I’m going after those guys.”
“Wait, Rainbow!” Pinkie shouted, “You forgot your bag!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, “We don’t know what’s in there! We should stick together!”
Dash stepped up onto the handles for her Stand, wrapping her fingers around the slots and kicking her foot back. Immediately, the almost deafening sound of its engines firing up filled the air. Dust kicked up around her as she turned back towards Twilight. Her cyan eyes seemingly turned red.
“Don’t worry,” Dash’s words came out a a dark mutter, “By the time you get there, I’ll have taken care of them.” The look she gave reminded Twilight far too much of Discord’s own.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight shouted again, but it was too late. 2M2M took off into the sky, shooting forward over the tops of the trees. The forest seemed to shudder as the mare flew forward, heading directly towards their goal.
“..C’mon y’all,” Applejack stepped forward, “We need to go save Fluttershy.”
Slowly, Rarity and Pinkie stepped forward to join her. Twilight stared at the trees as they settled from being blown so hard, then stepped forward with them. The four took several steps forward, the path in front of them leading right into the darkness.
“Alright,” Twilight sighed, “Let’s go get her back.”
With that, Twilight stepped forward into the treeline. A moment later, her friends followed after her. The maw of the forest swallowed them up, consuming them as they made their way into its depths. Slowly, the sun set over the horizon, casting a warm navy night sky over the group as they made their way forward into the known and yet unknown to save their friend.
---
“They’re here…”
Looking over towards Him, the second stallion laid the warm yellow body to rest on top of the large coffin. Fluttershy did not move, and instead her body simply slumped against it. The second stallion tied her wrists to either side of it, leaving her body to be displayed on top of the coffin.
“Are you sure?” The stallion asked to Him, “Have you finished all the preparations?”
“Yes… Yes I-I… I’m sur...sure of that,” He huffed, “This… this night, will be the last these ponies live without seeing what it is that… that he is truly capable of…”
“We must make preparations for his return,” The second stallion nodded, “I will alert the others.”
“Do… that, go!” He snapped, “Do it now!”
Bowing slightly, the stallion scampered off into the darkness. This left Him with the body of Fluttershy. Slowly, he put a hand on her cheek, gently rubbing it between his fingers.
“...You… you ruined him…” He whispered, “But… no, no worries, none none none…” He looked up towards the ceiling, “Soon, soon the seal, you’ll break it, and it… it will Rise again. And we… we will be blessed!” He suddenly broke into a long series of laughs, ones that wracked his chest and made him clutch onto Fluttershy’s wrists for balance. When he regained control, he slowly let go of her and stepped back.
“Soon…” He gasped, “Soon… Come to me, Elements… come… and see the truth… of your world…”