//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: The Stone Chisel Way // by King Genesis //------------------------------// Arc III - Chapter I - Aftermath In the morning, Black Magic LaCrowley opened his eyes. He felt a roar. A shout coming from somewhere. His bony loin starts trembling while feeling it. So much chaos. So much. He gets out of his room, showing his dark and thin appearance, only being seen by his assistant, Cheesecake. Poofy Lantern and Iron Pick, still with their hooves tied to each other with a rope. are also there but sleeping. Trustlight... well, he has to be somewhere outside. "What happened?" whispers Cheesecake. "It's 5 in the morning, I think... you always wake up at..." "I've heard something," replies LaCrowley, while going outside the hut where he was staying. Poofy Lantern opens her eyes while the wizard comes out, along with his assistant, and looks at the sky. "I didn't hear anything," replies Cheesecake, confused. "What are you talking about?" "I've got to..." Poofy Lantern comes out of the hut, rubbing her eyes. "Something happened? What's the matter?" "I've got to know..." "What, sir?" asks Poofy Lantern, but Black Magic LaCrowley passes by her, desperate. He felt something changed. Something in chaos has changed for eternity. Lonely. Lonely landscape in the middle of blood, crystals and dice. Tenebris has finally reached what he wanted. Well, the first part of it. His lands are now part of his community. Rushkwa, his soulmate, has now her body. The body she had when he met her thousands of years ago. Light blue fur, white horns and red eyes. He remembers her in that way. "We did it," exclaims Tenebris. "And I also did what I never believed I could do." "You killed Discord." "I consumed Discord." Silence, until Rushkwa dares to speak while walking around, looking at Tirek's dead body. "If you consumed Discord, that means..." Silence, and the ram laughs. "I'm Tenebris, God of Chaos." The female ram turns around and smiles at him. "So you can do..." "Everything, Rushkwa... everything, but firstly, let me take a breath... I need to... think." Rushkwa takes a look at something dyed black, but something can be still seen on it. Its hair, curly blue hair lying on the ground. Cold... that filly is dead. "Think what?" Tenebris takes a look around, and the first thing he does is literally lie on the floor, burying the shards of crystal under him, in the ground. "Everything... has changed so much, Rushkwa." "Lots of trees have been cut off." "And lots of souls of our community lost in the darkness." "But you can bring them back to life, don't you?" Tenebris gets silent and looks at her soulmate, who is lying next to Cozy Glow. "Maybe I could." "All of them?" He shakes his head. "No." "No? Why?" "Not all of the night rams were in favour of me, and you know that, Rushkwa." Rushkwa gets surprised at listening to that. "And you are going to bring back to life those who were only in favour of you?" "Yes." "Why?" Tenebris turns around, looking at the trees and then at the sky. "Because I can." Now everybody knows the mystery. Poofy Lantern, Iron Pick and also Trustlight disappeared out of nowhere last night, after hours and hours of protest, the police arrived at the building to rescue them... and found out there weren't any signs of them anymore. Could this be related to Tenebris? Nobody knows. Nobody knows how to deal with this. Celestia and Luna look at each other, confused and sad. They strongly regret not telling other communities that the ram was there, stomping their hooves when they arrived at the Dark Forest. They strongly regret not telling everyone what really happened there. It was too late at the moment they realized. They tried not to bring everyone together and decided to send cards to their friends and leaders, using the few, remaining pegasi that are still alive. However, some creatures wanted to be there anyway. Ember, Thunderhooves and Thorax decided to enter and crash into the castle, no matter what. Royal Guards asked for respect and tried to get them off, but gently, the Princesses let them stay... to discuss what they have to do in the next days. "So... how did he get free?" asks Ember looking at the Princesses. "It's impossible," replies Thunderhooves, the yak. "It's just... I don't understand. Wasn't he trapped in some kind of stone prison... under Tartarus... under Cerberus' eyes and breath?" "Don't forget the fact that Tirek, Cozy Glow, Stone Chisel and even Queen Chrysalis escaped with him," interrupts Luna, sitting on her throne next to her sister. "They must have helped him to escape." "But do they really know who was him, didn't they?" asks Thorax. "And also... how did they get there... down under Tartarus?" "We don't know yet," replies Luna. "But we'll find the answer... together." Suddenly, six ponies and a dragon crash into the castle too. Rainbow Dash, still with her broken wings, is looking at the ground. Twilight Sparkle is the first one who enters, with her sight completely lost somewhere. "Sorry for arriving late," says Spike. "Yes, Princess," says Twilight. "I just... I just felt... you know, overwhelmed by this whole situation." "Everyone here is overwhelmed by this, Twilight," replies Ember, crossing her arms. "We still... can't believe everything that has just happened in only one day." "If only you told us earlier," suddenly exclaims Thunderhooves. "Who knows what could have happened?" "Nothing would have changed," replies Luna. "We couldn't find Tenebris at that moment and we still haven't found him nor any one of his acolytes..." "But..." interrupts Rarity. "There's something that... it doesn't make sense to me. Firstly, Stone Chisel? As an acolyte of Tenebris? He's a pretty annoying thief... but is he villainous enough to be on Tenebris' side?" "Yes..." says Rainbow Dash, still with his head down, "and also... what about Discord? How did he get caught?" Celestia closes her eyes while thinking about that. Ember, Thunderhooves and Thorax look at the Princesses, shocked. "What..." says Thorax, with his eyes about to come out of their orbits. "What is she talking about?" "Did Discord really got caught by the ram?" shouts Thunderhooves, this time angrier. Celestia and Luna take a breath. "You should have started from there! That's a tragedy! That's... that's..." "We were about to tell you that. Sorry," says Luna. "It's just... our mind has got so stressed that..." "If they caught Discord," whispers Ember. "That means... we... we are all screwed. Everyone's in danger." And in that right moment, somepony else crashes into the castle, but this time is not alone. A completely different Sunburst, with no blue cape and sunglasses, enters the room with six ponies behind him. Six familiar ponies everyone knows. However, there is one of them which shines over the rest. The stallion with the long white beard and his blue tunic takes a step and passes by Sunburst. The Pillars of Equestria are here. "From now on, all of my promises will be granted," exclaims Sunburst. "I told Twilight and her friends I would bring the Pillars and beg them for help... and here we are. For Starlight." "But..." says Rainbow Dash. "How did..." "It doesn't matter now," interrupts Star Swirl the Bearded, looking around. "The only thing that matters now is that I've heard everyone was in danger." "We are in danger, Star Swirl," replies Twilight. "Tenebris has risen and the last thing we want now is him gaining much more control and power. We need to work now." "And I'm afraid we know which one will be his next objective," replies Somnambula. Everyone looks at each other now, confused. "Then..." says Thunderhooves. "Who will be?" Star Swirl looks around. "We are not sure whether he would attack now, tomorrow or maybe never, who knows, but we must stay alert..." "But who will be his next objective?" insists the yak. The Bearded only dares to answer: "Night Rams, such as Tenebris, tend to see the Moon as a way to live. We could say the Moon is like a Goddess for them, a path for them to follow. There is an old tradition of their culture which considers fighting under the moon something impolite, not something respectful. They consider the night as the time to reflect, to think. That's why they don't attack under the moon, unless something else attacks them and they have to defend their lives, such as the old battle between you and him, Celestia." Princess Celestia nods her head in silence. On the other side, Luna begins to understand where this will go. "So?" says Ember. "I remember this Tenebris event happened before the Pony of Shadows' tragedy, and I remembered that time the ram and his soulmate presented their kingdom idea to you, Princesses." "Yes," says Luna. "And that means... Tenebris may, or I could say, must know Luna is the one who is responsible for raising the Moon every single night." Silence. Star Swirl knows everyone's listening, but nobody dares to make a comment. "I see where this is going, Star Swirl," says Luna. Twilight now has the biggest lump she ever had on her throat. She doesn't want her to say that... but if Star Swirl is right, then... Luna takes a breath. "I'm his next target." "Maybe, we are not sure," replies Flash Magnus. "But I'm sure he does know you are the one who handles the Moon..." "And no," says Star Swirl, chuckling. "A pony controlling his Goddess, the Moon. Of course not. He wouldn't like that... that's what makes me sick of that crazy night ram." "But wait..." says Rarity. "He has that necklace which I think drains his powers. He can't be able to defeat Luna." "He caught Discord," says Mage Meadowbrook, one of the Pillars. "Who knows if he is actually capable of destroying that thing?" "Postcrystalline, isn't it?" says Rockhoof. "I think the Crystal Heart is the only thing that can destroy it." "We know," replies Celestia. "And that's why the Crystal Empire is completely secured from the inside and the outside right now." "And how weird," whispers Twilight, lost again in her own thoughts, on her inside, thinking. "I told Shine to answer me back... if he could... and he didn't send me anything..." Actually, the Crystal Empire is not so secure now but destroyed in several pieces. Tenebris has been laying on the ground for several minutes, with his eyes closed, trying to find something. A soul of his community. His beloved community. Rushkwa, on the other hand, is looking straight at both Tirek and Cozy Glow, lying cold on the ground, soul-less and dead. Then, she turns around, looking at her soulmate. "You found someone?" Tenebris only shakes his head, not saying anything, something that makes her shiver a bit. "Or you found someone that wasn't in favour with you?" At that moment, the ram laughs a bit. "We could say yeah. I found some souls I didn't like... but what really calls my attention is that..." Silence. Tenebris stops talking. "W.... what?" "Wait... I... I..." "What happened?" Suddenly, Tenebris opens his eyes, revealing a change in them. His dark blue irises are suddenly changing their tone to a bright yellow. A roar is heard on his inside while a cloud starts surrounding them both. Only seconds later, a small night ram with dark blue fur and short white horns comes out of it. He has red eyes. Rushkwa opens her mouth, completely shocked. "Oh my... oh my... oh... my... MAIOR! It's Maior! You did it!" Maior the Night Ram suddenly looks around, completely shocked and frightened. "What... what?" he says. "What in the... WHAT? T... Rushkwa!" "MAIOR!" Rushkwa and Maior hug each other after thousands of years without seeing their cold faces, but then, the strange cloud keeps working... suddenly, two smaller night rams with blue fur come out at the same time, along with a female one, bigger than these two, with white fur and short black horns... At that right moment, Tenebris' eyes go back to their normal blue again and the fantasy cloud suddenly disappears. Rushkwa and Maior also look at the three other rams, who are completely in silence. At that right moment, Tenebris gets up and looks at the three of them. "Children... welcome back." "Sir Tenebris?" says the small female night ram, while being hugged by Rushkwa. "What... but we were..." "We were, Risu, we were... but now we are back... to claim what's ours... and to claim justice... isn't it, my acolytes Mors, Sanguis?" The two small ram twins nod their heads. "Justice! Justice!" shout both of them. "But..." says Maior, looking around. "What happened here? What are all those crystals on the ground?" Risu, the small ram, also starts trotting around, ignoring the shards of crystal, and in that time, she passes by the bodies of both Tirek and Cozy Glow. "Woah... what happened here?" she asks. "Woah!" shout Mors and Sanguis, looking at Tirek. "You actually killed him, Mr Tenebris?" "I did." "Woooahhh..." "And... who's this?" says Risu, looking at Cozy Glow. "Oh... I hated that filly. She was so annoying... I can't believe just one blast finished her so quickly..." Now Mors, Sanguis and Maior gather to see what is happening right there, with Rushkwa in the background. However, once the adult female ram walks near them, he hears a strange sound coming from something made of wood. Something like a baby. "Did you hear that?" "I did," replies Risu, getting next to Rushkwa. "I did, Miss Rushkwa." "I think it came out of that," also exclaims Mors, looking at his partner Sanguis, pointing at a broken carriage that Tenebris saw before but passed by. The Night Ram, without making any comments, decides to take a look at the broken carriage. "Uh-huh." The ram slowly gets out a big piece of wood from the carriage, revealing what's inside. A petrified, hurt Cadence, protecting her child, her baby Flurry Heart. The daughter of Shining Armor and Cadence, despite small moistures and very tiny cuts, is completely safe and sound.. However, Cadence didn't have the same destiny. Her whole loin is hurt and covered by wooden splinters. She tries to fake it at first, but the ram quickly finds that out. "Don't play dead." Cadence, who had her eyes closed, slowly open them. They are dyed red. "You... you will... pay hard..." "Yes, you too." And in a way to show his cruelty powered by chaos, suddenly the Princess stops breathing. She can't breathe. She feels something crushing her throat, despite there being no hoof stomping on it. She tries to speak but her skin tone suddenly fades out while Flurry Heart's sobs quickly get louder and louder. Seconds later, she can't breathe. She doesn't even try to and slowly closes her big bloodshot eyes and her soul fades away... for eternity. Tenebris grabs her, using his magic and only looks at her for a second. "See you." And seconds later, Cadence's dead body is thrown away to the skies, fading away in the distance and covered by tiny clouds. Silence is the place. The only thing that makes sounds now is Flurry Heart. Tenebris closes his eyes, trying to cover his ears, but firstly, he takes a breath while looking at Rushkwa. "Tenebris," says her soulmate. "It's a baby..." "Are you kidding?" says Tenebris. "That Cozy Glow was a bit older than this baby and you wanted her dead." "But this is different, Tenebris... that filly was evil and wanted us dead... this is just a baby..." "You think there is another way?" asks Maior. "Just... don't make her suffer... we should let her go to the afterworld..." And in that right moment, Risu hits Maior in the face. "Are you crazy, you stupid?" shouts Risu. "It's a baby..." "Are you sure it's a baby?" suddenly says Sanguis. Mors nods his head. "Shut your mouths up," he says. "Let me think." The ram looks at the baby, who's still crying, and this, surprisingly, makes Rushkwa mad. "Tenebris... are you kidding me? Are you really thinking about doing this?" Tenebris doesn't answer. "Tenebris... for the Moon's light, please... what are you thinking?" The ram sighs. "Yes," he whispers and then he grabs a piece of wood. "Rushkwa, grab the baby." The female ram, without saying anything, grabs the baby, who's still crying and trying to escape from the goat's hoof, but suddenly she puts her on her loin and calms down a bit. The fur is chill but feels warm. Nobody's saying anything. Maior and the others follow Rushkwa while Tenebris grabs the piece of wood and creates a rope with his powers, something that calls the small creatures' attention. Rushkwa knows what he's trying to do, so she slowly grabs the baby again with the help of Risu. However, once Risu gives her back... she stands straight. "What?" he says. "What are you waiting for?" "What are you trying to do?" Tenebris breathes heavily. "You told me she was a baby... and I'm letting her go. That's what I am doing. I am not lying, Rushkwa, and you know because you can feel it." And yes, she can feel it, their souls are connected... although those seconds where she didn't feel so sure about what was he doing felt really bad. Tenebris grabs Flurry with his own magic and ties her to the piece of wood with a rope while walking to the river. The river that started it all. Every ram follows Tenebris and looks at how he leaves her floating on the water, completely adrift and being carried by the currents somewhere. At the same time, the ram thinks about something. "How weird... I still haven't found that stupid stallion's body." Rushkwa raises an eyebrow. "Stone Chisel was his name?" Tenebris nods his head and looks at the baby, still crying, being taken away by the water. "Maybe his body got underwater..." replies Mors. Tenebris chuckles while nodding his head. "Maybe..." "And wait... wait..." says Risu, looking at Maior. "Could you explain to us what happened here? The crystals? The bodies? We need..." "Yes, we need to know," interrupts Maior. Mors and Sanguis also agree, nodding their heads. Tenebris only takes a look at the sky, taking a long, long breath. "Well... I can tell you... but I've been thinking about something we can do together..." Rushkwa raises an eyebrow one more time. "What are you talking about?" "Well... I've been trying to get the Bewitching Bell, and now, with my powers, I can do whatever I want. We all go to Mt. Everhoof, grab the bell and use it for our own benefit, not letting any creature else use it... and we take advantage of that moment to tell funny stories and everything that happened," says Tenebris, smiling. "Isn't that funny, children?" The rams nod their heads, and Rushkwa speaks: "And what about this place, Tenebris? Shall we clean it or not?" The ram smiles. "Of course not, Rushkwa. I threw away the Princess... which now turned into a dead, rotten eagle. Ponies will be here soon once they find her... if they find her... and they will cry forever... Gosh, just thinking about it..." He smiles, this time a bigger one, closing his eyes. "Joy. Oh, almighty happiness." However, there is someone who is not under the effects of happiness. A lost stallion floating in the water, alone. He doesn't even want or try, to swim and get to the edge, trying to take a breath. No. He doesn't care about that anymore. He just wants everything to end. Stone Chisel suddenly gets stuck by something. He finds out there is something blocking the water's flow, so he slowly decides to get his head out of the water. Bloodshot eyes. Not being able to even speak or whisper. He just feels so decayed, so low, so... The river suddenly ended its course and stopped on some kind of savanna with small hills. He gets out of the water, with his ear still bleeding, and looks around. No one is watching him. NO ONE. He has one chance to get it all out. To get rid of all of those undescribable mixes of feelings... let them out. He opens his mouth, raises his hooves and takes a look at the sky. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!" So long trotting. Lonely. Lost. On the absolute nowhere land. No cities, no world around. Just him. Him and his mental death. He's thinking about how can he end all of this. Shall he drown underwater? No, he's too afraid for that, but... ... wait... ... there's a... At first, he thought it was just an illusion, but the more he approached it the more real it became. There was a house. A small wooden hut, right there. In the middle of nowhere. Why? He doesn't know, but it is there. Right there. Waiting for him. He slowly trots trying to figure out why a wooden hut in the middle of nowhere is something actually real... or just an illusion in all of this absolute confusion... How funny, it makes him remember that stupid card Stolen Bag wrote to him... but... but wait... He remembers something. Of course... ... that freaking card... Hey Stonie! What you doin', filly? It's me, Stolen Bag, writing to you from Las Pegasus... ...if everything comes out good, we will stay at Manehattan's apartment. If someone sees something of us, even one hoof... we will hide in the little house at the end of the river.... ...things will change, Stonie. ;) - Stolen Bag. Oh yeah, Stolen. Things changed... but there's something that made some noise right there. That's why his mind remembered that card so soon... ... The little house at the end of the river.... Could it be? Is it real...? Fucking Stolen Bag is right there? Inside the house... Suddenly, a strange shadow can be seen from inside the house. He can see it from far away, like an eagle... a shadow coming out of the window. There's only just one way to find out who's there...