-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM-
Having just told Pinkamena the full extent of their plan, both Braelor and Statis are currently waiting patiently for her response in their seats as the dark pink pony ponders on it with a hoof to her chin. Before she could say anything, a certain voice speaks up and says within her mind:
-Take the offer-
-Ok, seriously, what exactly is your goal, Oblivion?-
-Our goal, Mena. It’s our goal, but we’ll cross that bridge very soon. If you wish to aid our sister then you must take this offer-
Pinkamena ponders on those words for a moment as she tries to make sense of all this. The entity from within hasn’t exactly told her everything and the only thing she can recall was the few moments before this Oblivion consciousness took over her body and performed the task of planting the runes on Pinkamena’s behalf, along with adding some of its own personal touches to the runes.
It was certainly an unusual scenario for the dark pink pony. Unlike with what happened with Nightmare Moon and Luna, or even Rarity and her own version of the nightmare, Oblivion wasn’t trying to deceive Pinkamena, or even trying to overtake her. No, according to the entity’s words from before, that wasn’t at all necessary since Oblivion IS Mena.
Many revelations would be needed for the dark pink pony to truly understand what was essentially her very own existence, along with that of Pinkie Pie’s. Heeding to the inner voices words, Pinkamena looks towards Braelor and Statis before saying:
“So to recap on everything you told me: This plan revolves around us turning the slave-bitch against Yharim by exposing what he’s done with her DNA, cloning the she-bitch without her knowledge.”
“Yes, that is the first phase of the plan.” Statis responds which prompts Pinkamena to continue:
“Then, you want to use The Temple’s Golem to attack Yharim’s forces as they prepare for the coming event that’ll happen in Camelot.”
“Indeed,” Braelor responds as he then conjures forth a piece of paper which seems to be rather ancient, judging by its current condition. “The lihzhards created every Temple in every Underground Jungle Biome, in all of existence. Within said Temples lies a guardian of their very own design, as you mentioned before: The Golem.” Etched onto the ancient piece of paper was the very image of the aforementioned entity as Braelor displays it for Pinkamena by rising the sheet of paper into the air.
After observing the image before her, Pinkamena still needed to be absolutely sure of this plan. After all, were Yharim to gain wind of her involvement… she already knew the results. It was her sister’s life on the line, after all. However, Oblivion’s voice once again injects itself into the conversation as it comments within her mind:
-I assure you, the plan will work and Pinkie Pie will be safe. Oblivion has spoken. We, have spoken-
Giving into the voice once again, and accepting its words, Pinkamena inquires about the very thing that still bothers her as there was one part of their plan that she needed to check on:
“How do you know that Yharim hasn’t just up and destroyed that Golem already? I sure as Tartarus never saw some Golem in my time here.”
“Ah, but there is,” Statis responds confidently as the terrarian conjures forth a very particular device: Dr Draedon’s Log. The terrarian tosses the log over to the pony, who in turn catches it with her right forehoof. Pinkamena activates the log and a hologram follows soon after, which was being projected from the device:
Dr Daedon’s Log:
Designation: Ravager.
Yharim continues to surprise me with his curiosity and creativity. Hell, it damn near rivals my own. In essence, he wants to use The Golem that’s stored within the deepest depths of this temple and incorporate flesh from The Crimson into its design. In addition, he wants to bestow upon this creation the necromantic powers he "received" from Skeletron.
According to what Yharim had informed me, he not only shoved Skeletron into that Pink Pony in an effort to subdue it, and get some use out of her in the process, but to also harvest the powers of necromancy from Skeletron himself. Incidentally, he also added this power to another project of ours: The Plaguebringer. Nasty beast right there but I’m proud of that accomplishment.
There are things that currently racks my mind: What is Yharim’s true intent for the pony? Why is he so invested into her? Of all the ponies that were brought here, wouldn’t he want to target Twilight instead of allowing The Underworld to take her? Especially given The Devourer Of Gods former alias. I doubt the two are connected and only share the same name. In addition, he also wants to capture the other one, Pinkie Pie, and is only holding her life force to make Pinkamena bend to his will. But why? What is so special about those two?
One final thought before I end this log: Why did it have to be Skeletron’s powers of necromancy? Couldn’t we have just used Calamitas’s prowess? She’s quite skilled in the practice. Yharim’s intentions elude me in that regard, but I shall get answers. One way, or another.
-End Log-
Having watched the log to its very end, Pinkamena was absolutely seething with rage as she roars out:
“Are you bucking kidding me?! He plans to capture my sister even after he already has me?! He’s just waiting a bit longer?! What the buck for?!” The enraged pony starts to breath heavily and growls like a Timberwolf, all while Braelor leans into Statis and comments in a lowered tone:
“It’s a good thing you thought to soundproof this room before hand,” Braelor then stands up and gets out of his seat before speaking to the enraged mare: “I understand your anger-”
“Do you?!” Pinkamena interjects and roars out in response. “Do you have any idea what this revelation has told me?! It’s basically saying that I’m doing that bucker’s work for nothing!”
Upon saying those words, the dark pink pony's eyes starts to dilate as they then become consumed by a black abyss. In addition, her pupils become crimson red; all while her teeth starts to sharpen in tandem. In an attempt to cease any further progression, Oblivion intervenes and comments:
-Temper, Mena. You must mind your temper and have patience in this scenario. Now is not the time for us to rage just yet. Our sister is counting on this plan’s success and we are not at full power as of yet. Control. Control. Control. Con… tr… ol-
The inner voice of Oblivion manages to calm down the once enraged pony as Pinkamena slowly starts to regress into her normal self, although features of her inner nature still remained. The dark pink pony then takes a breath, in an effort to regain her composure.
Despite the scenario playing out before them, both Statis and Braelor simply observes the dark pink pony's actions. Upon seeing Pinkamena becoming more 'clear of mind', Statis rises from his seat and comments:
“So it's true... you really are Oblivion," The terrarian's words causes Pinkamena's ears to perk up as he continues: "Shocked that we know about that? Trust me, there's a lot more to us than meets the eye. As I'm sure you are all too familiar with," Statis then stands confidently before saying: "The plan will work, Pinkamena. And once it does, we will have delayed Yharim’s plans long enough for other forces to gather enough strength to face him. But, all three of us must remain focused.”
-Listen to him, Mena. Focus. Focus. Focus. Focus-
The inner voice of Oblivion repeats which in turn results in the dark pink pony truly regaining her composure. Gone was the blackness that had consume her eyes and her pupils return to their normal state. Her teeth also regresses to normal before she finally replies:
“W… when do we enact this… plan?”
“Let us take care of that. All we wanted was you joining our operation. We will contact you again very soon, once we’re sure that everything is ready.” Braelor responds.
“We know that your sister’s life is on the line which is why we must execute this plan to the utmost perfection. We will take the appropriate steps to ensure that it’s ready to go but we’ll need a few more days.” Statis comments as the two allies grab their helmets from the table, which was in the form of Yharim’s forces attire, and place the helms onto their heads. The two terrarians nod to each other as they start to head towards the exit.
“Why are you two helping me? Who exactly are you?” Pinkamena inquires from behind which causes the two men to stop. Statis in particular turns his head to the left and looks over his shoulder, responding:
“Yharim has wronged us in a way similar to your own. We’ll tell you more about it in the future but for now, rest up. We’ve got a lot to do in the coming days.”
-TERRARIA, THE CRIMSON BIOME-
“That son of a bitch! He’s been deceiving us all along?!” Linn roars out in anger as the group truly takes in recent events, not to mention the note that was tossed aside by Samyueru.
“How could Tanner do this? He’s The Guide! The Pillar Of Knowledge! It’s their purpose in life to protect this world by guiding those who will fight to defend it!” Celebes roars out.
“Oh... sweet ancestors…” Linn comments with a horrifying realization.
“What is it?” Celebes inquires.
“Tanner, he’s with the others on their mission!”
“Worry not, for some among us have been scheming against the traitor,” Tori injects with Celebes’s voice as the kenku still has a certain hand gesture present before them. “Now, it’s time to swoop down on our prey.”
“What are you talking about?” Celebes inquires.
“I see no reason to hide the truth from you two…” Tori responds as the kenku goes on to reveal the plan that Tempest, Steven, Rarity, and the kenku themself were involved in.
Incidentally, another scenario in a far off biome plays out during this time.
-TERRARIA, THE GLOWING MUSHROOM BIOME-
Some time after the revelation at History Mushroom, both Applejack and Tanner The Guide were currently making their way towards their current objective; with Tanner in the lead. The objective was to scout a temple that was erected in Crabulon’s honor, via The Brotherhood Of The Crab, thanks to Shroom giving them its location. The plan was for the duo to report back to the others afterwards, as the group in turn prepares their forces for the coming battle.
As they continue on, the cowmare ponders on something that’s been bothering her as she says:
“Hey, uh, Tanner?”
“What’s up?”
“Ah’ was just thinkin’, and fer’give me If ah’ intrude, but why did ya’ lie to me before?”
This causes The Guide to stop instantly as he then looks over his right shoulder before he responds:
“What do you mean?”
“Well… it was in Anubis’s throne room, and even before that at the outskirts to The Desert Biome. Ah’ was just-” Suddenly, her words were cut off by The Guide as a drawn out laughter starts to be let loose by his lips. It started off in a low tone, before it then rises to the point that he laughs in exclamation, hysterically.
This of course results in a very confused cowmare, who tilts her head sideways momentarily. However, she suddenly gets a very foreboding feeling as her eyes widen in absolute caution. She slowly starts to back away from Tanner while she comments:
“Th… this don’ feel right.” Hearing this, The Guide recovers his composure and responds:
“Ah yes, and that is why I chose you, Applejack. Your ability as that Element Of Honesty is a pain in my ass. Thank you for telling me all about that, by the way.”
“By Celestia… ah’ knew ah’ sensed somethin’ funny about ya’! Ya no good snake in the dirt!”
“Guilty as charged,” Tanner replies in a dark tone as a fiery aura surrounds ‘The Guide’. His eyes are also consumed by this aura as his voice deepens in addition, practically demonic in nature. “I am a demon from The Underworld! And your flank…” Tanner suddenly rushes forth in full force, almost as if a fireball was heading towards the cowmare, and finishes with: “... Is mine!”
Suddenly, the cowmare’s shadow starts to twist and morph as a very familiar kenku emerges from it.
“I think not!” Tori exclaims in Applejack’s voice as the kenku conjures forth a Red Phaseblade and blocks Tanner’s assault. In addition, Applejack’s hat seemed to be ‘acting’ rather strange as the cowmare grabs it off of her head and questions:
“What in tarnation?”
She then drops the hat as it becomes engulfed in green flames. The very same flames of a certain humanoid changeling. Echo was now standing before the cowmare and conjures forth her real hat from his inventory. He then returns the apparel to her and comments:
“It’s a good thing that Tori filled me in on their plan. Forgive me for taking your hat, Applejack. You left it unattended for a moment back in Mushroom Village, so I took advantage of the situation.”
