-TERRARIA, YHARIM’S KINGDOM, THE TEMPLE-
Upon hearing Oblivion’s words, Pinkamena's mind was overflowing with everstacking questions and mounds of confusion. All the while, Cosmos simply stares at the dark pink pony with a questionable gaze before she then growls and turns her attention back to the kitsune who was still positioned beneath her.
The kitsune in turn is a white furred individual, while also sporting crystal red eyes. In addition, she differentiated from any other kitsune; possibly any other werebeast, due to the fact that she possessed a rather unique trait: Three tails. Each tail was as white as her fur, but the tip of each appendage had a red coloration like that of her eyes.
Bringing her left arm back and preparing to strike at the white kitsune once more, Cosmos roars out:
“Don’t think that Oblivion’s brat saved you from your punishment, Crystal Moonbeam!”
-Stop her now, Mena! You must defend your sister!- The inner voice of Oblivion roars out with concern.
“I was going to do that!” Pinkamena replies outwardly as she runs towards Cosmos with all due haste.
Before her left arm could come crashing down upon the white furred kitsune, Cosmos smirks as she could sense the ever approaching form of Pinkamena. The Kitsune Tyrant glances her left eye towards the dark pink pony, and says:
“Ohoho? You’re approaching me? Instead of leaving us to it, you’re coming right to me?”
“I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer! Get away from my sister!”
Cosmos snickers with a finger covering her mouth; before she roars out:
“Oh, how cute! Come and make me get away from her, welp!” The Kitsune Tyrant then floats into the air and gleefully awaits Pinkamena's approach.
The dark pink pony jumps into the air and conjures forth her Vampire Knives before swiping away at Cosmos. Amazingly, Pinkamena manages to cut through The Kitsune Tyrant’s chest region as a spray of blood is let loose from the strike, all while the dark pink pony lands on the other side of the room. Cosmos falls onto the floor and wails in pain while screaming:
“Ouchie! Oh dear, I’ve been defeated! Please, show mercy to this poor and defenceless creature!”
-She’s so full of it. Be very aware, Mena. Cosmos is a powerful opponent, and I’ll be honest with you: As you are now, and despite your inner rage… you’ll need a miracle to stop her- Oblivion comments from within Pinkamena’s mind. The dark pink pony nods in response and shouts:
“Your acting is even worse than Discord’s. Try again, you ‘senpai please notice me’ reject!”
Cosmos instantly stops her actions as she then lies down on the ground with a hand to her cheek, which lifts and supports her head, as she responds:
“Yuup, you’re definitely Oblivion’s brat… that mouth of yours can get you into a lot of trouble, squirt,” Cosmos then conjures forth a wine glass and places it against her chest. The blood that was leaking from Pinkamena’s attack fills the glass completely as Cosmos then takes a satisfying sip and comments:
“Ah, fine wine,” The Kitsune Tyrant then takes notice of Pinkamena’s annoyed expression, “What? You didn’t really think you could actually hurt me, did you?”
“Of course not. As I said, your shitty acting made that all too obvious,” Pinkamena responds as she prepares to strike at Cosmos once more. “But a mare can dream!”
“Oh please, this battle that you think you can actually win? That’s the dream.” In one swift motion, and before Pinkamena could even take a step to strike at Cosmos, The Kitsune Tyrant disappears and reappears before the dark pink pony before grabbing her by the throat, and lifting her aloft.
“Hello there, Oblivi-wizzy. It must annoy you to know that all you can do is watch as I beat your little brats, before your very eyes.”
-Cosmos! When I return, I will butcher you myself!- Oblivion roars out in absolute rage from within Pinkamena’s psyche.
As this goes on, and while Pinkamena struggles within Cosmos’s grasp, Crystal Moonbeam is simply staring at Pinkamena with a slightly worried expression. However, Moonbeam’s expression suddenly becomes much merrier upon seeing, him.
“What do you think you’re doing, Cosmos?” A familiar, but all too terrifying voice calls out which causes both Cosmos and Pinkamena to turn their heads towards the source. There, standing in the mechanical doorframe of the containment was the form of The Jungle Tyrant, Yharim.
Cosmos lets out an annoyed growl before replying:
“What does it look like? I’m punishing these little abominations!”
Yharim simply stares at The Kitsune Tyrant for a moment as he then clasps his hands together and comments:
“Cosmos, I specifically told you to ‘fetch’ your daughter, yes?” Yharim takes a few more steps, “NOT, punish your daughter. I’m very particular with my words,” Yharim now stands before Crystal Moonbeam as he places a hand onto her form and heals her from Cosmos’s attacks.
The white kitsune then hugs Yharim lovingly, much to the confusion of Pinkamena, and not to mention the enraged Oblivion within who roars out:
-Yharim! How dare you! What did you do to my daughter?! I will personally ensure that not even Anubis can claim your soul!-
………...
“Father!” Crystal Moonbeam exclaims with glee, “Thank you so much…”
“It’s all right, my little fox,” Yharim responds as he helps the kitsune get up onto her feet, “Why don’t you go play with your uncle Yharon? I’ve got… business that needs my personal attention.”
“I will, father,” Crystal Moonbeam responds, but was stopped immediately as Pinkamena roars out:
“Wait, sis, you gotta listen to me!”
“Thank you… but... ” Moonbeam responds as she glances back towards Pinkamena, who in turn was still held within Cosmos’s grasp.
“All I have… Is my father: Yharim… and hatred,” The kitsune says, glancing towards the ground, before murmuring to herself. “But maybe… I should give it a chance…”
The white kitsune then glances towards Cosmos, eyes dripping slightly with a black, goo-like substance.
“Oh, and by the way, ‘mom’… you can never truly hurt me. It just makes me stronger.” Moonbeam then leaves the containment as Cosmos turns her glare on Pinkamena.
“You insufferable- I should kill you right now,” she growls, attempting to strangle the pink mare.
“Cosmos…” Yharim interjects, “What exactly did I tell you to do?”
Suddenly, a lavender colored aura pulls a gasping and retching Pinkamena away as Yharim tosses her aside.
“As I said before, I specifically told you to ‘fetch’ your daughter, not ‘punish’ her,” Yharim walks closer, “Punish, fetch, punish, fetch… do those words sound remotely the same?”
“You think you can treat me like a child?!” Cosmos shouts as she then floats right into Yharim’s face, hidden behind his helmet, “I only joined you in order to achieve my own ends! I do not serve you, mortal!”
“Is that so?” Yharim questions, and in one swift moment, he grabs the Kitsune Tyrant by her neck with his right arm and forces her to the ground. She lets out a series of struggling grunts as Yharim says: “Look at that... now you’re kneeling to this mortal.”
“How dare you!” Cosmos roars out and attempts to use her powers. However, her eyes widen in absolute fear and says: “W-what’s going on? My… my powers are-”
“Performance issues? Tell me, Cosmos. Aside from now, has a goddess like you ever experienced true fear before?”
Cosmos continues to try and free herself of Yharim’s grasp, but to no avail.
……….
All the while, Pinkamena could only stare on in absolute dumbfoundedness, at this very strange turn of events. However, the dark pink pony couldn’t stop thinking of her half-sibling as she says internally:
-What did Yharim do to her? She’s so obedient to him, but it doesn’t look like he’s forcefully controlling her-
-There’s no mind control taking place here, Mena. For Yharim has earned her allegiance by giving her something that I wasn’t able to: A father’s love-
-What the buck do you mean? Oblivion, or… dad? We’re having a serious talk after all this-
Pinkamena could both hear and feel Oblivion’s growls of anger, as The Ancient spats:
-Yharim… I despise him even more than I ever did before… he planned this. It wasn’t about just getting me out of the way, when he banished me from Terraria with Xeroc’s powers. He was also targeting your sister all along; to earn her loyalty in my absence-
-But, what the buck for?!-
-The same reason he keeps that witch, Calamitas, around… powerful pawns for him to use- Oblivion pauses for a moment, and soon continues: -Little does that imbecile realize, he’s also a pawn piece... to Xeroc-
……….
Suddenly, both Pinkamena and Oblivion’s conversation were halted immediately as Yharim conjured forth a very particular portal. One that was lavender colored in appearance. In addition, Cosmos’s features became even more terrified when she sensed a horrible presence from within the anomaly, as she comments:
“Wha… what is this… presence?”
“Your end...” Yharim replies as a serpentine, or worm-like entity starts to move chaotically within the portal. Then, four lavender colored eyes gazed out of the anomaly which sent cold chills down the spines of both Pinkamena, and Cosmos.
Whatever dwelled within that anomaly was something that absolutely terrified Pinkamena as she falls onto her flank with quivering hooves, a horrified expression, and questions internally:
-Oblivion, wh… what the b-buck… is that thing?-
-Ooooooh fuuck meee… Twilight Sparkle… The Devourer Of Gods-
……….
Cosmos was simply at a loss for words as fear began to consume her entire form. For the first time in her life, and keeping true to his words, Yharim had caused the Goddess Of Malice to fear for her very existence.
The entity in the portal spoke no words, and all that could be heard was the ever moving form of the undoubtedly large being. The Devourer simply stared at Cosmos, like a pet who waited patiently for their owner to drop today’s lunch within their enclosure.
With a quaking tone, and matching facial features, Cosmos literally begs for her life as she screams out:
“I, I submit! I swear undying loyalty to you! Please, don’t throw me in there with that thing!”
“But, Cosmos… you have me confused here,” Yharim replies sarcastically while scratching his helmet, “I thought you said that you refused to serve a mortal? You only joined me to achieve your own goals, no?”
“I… I… I lied! I was just having some fun! P-please! I won’t disobey you ever again!”
“Hmmmm, I don’t know... I’m not convinced,” Suddenly, Yharim chuckles darkly as he looks over to Pinkamena, and says: “Say, Mena… what would you like to do with her?”
This catches Pinkamena completely by surprise as she recovers a small fraction of her composure and responds:
“You w-want me to decide her fate? Like I give a buck about her. Throw her in or use her as your pawn... I don’t care which,” The dark pink pony then rises to her hooves, “What I do care about is my sister, Crystal Moonbeam. Who apparently worships you and calls you her father!”
Yharim simply chuckles in response, all while Cosmos’s terrified eyes never leave the portal, and the entity within continues to stare at the Kitsune Tyrant.
“That she does, puppet. Your sister sees me as the father that yours never was. Isn’t that right, Oblivion? I know you can hear me in there.”
-Son of a bitch! This wasn’t part of the plan at all, medamnit!- Oblivion roars out from within Pinkamena’s psyche.
“My father, who I just now learned about, never got the chance to be that! Because you banished him!” Pinkamena exclaims with accusative forehoof pointed at The Jungle Tyrant.
“Details, details,” Yharim replies as he then conjures forth a certain pink energy within his free left hand. “Remember this?”
“My sister’s life force…” Pinkamena comments in a horrified tone. Yharim slightly tightens his grip onto the pink energy, which causes the dark pink pony to cry out: “No! I did everything you asked! Please don’t do that to her!”
……….
Incidentally, at that very moment when Yharim tightened his hold on Pinkie Pie’s life force, the party loving pony had collapsed onto the floor of Anubis’s Pyramind as she held onto her chest in pain.
“Pinkie Pie!” The denizens of Home Town roars out in unison as they all run to her aid.
……….
“No! Please! No!” Pinkamena exclaims and pleads for mercy, all while Oblivion was absolutely seething with rage from within. “I won’t talk back to you anymore!” Tears were beginning to form in the dark pink mare’s eyes.
Yharim simply ignores her pleading and continues to slowly tighten his grip while saying:
“Too late, puppet.”
“Yharim! You’ve made your point, so stop!” A new but all too familiar voice echoes from outside the cell, which catches the attention of both Yharim and Pinkamena. Before the entrance to the cell were the fiery red and orange eyes of a large red dragon. The outside of the cell was big enough to support the dragon’s size, but the cell itself was too small for the dragon to enter.
Incidentally, Yharon was accompanied by two guardsmen; along with a small fox who was rather curious about the dark pink pony as she remained hidden behind the mechanical foundation.
………..
“Yharon…” Yharim comments as he then sends away Pinkie Pie’s life force, and even drops Cosmos, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Stopping you from performing this action. Especially when there’s no need to do it.” The dragon responds with a small growl, “I care not for The Kitsune Tyrant, kill her if you must, but Pinkamena hasn’t earned your ire, nor has her sister. You are being unfair, brother.”
“Fair?” Yharim questions as he then closes the lavender portal with a snap of his fingers, “You want to talk about fairness?! Have you forgotten about what this world did to us?!”
“I will never forget, brother. And I will always beckon to your call, I will always be at your side. But, this, I can not just stand by and watch you torture Pinkamena, and her sister.”
“And why do you care If I do this to them?!” Yharim roars out with a swipe of his left arm.
“That expression on Pinkamena’s face… it’s what we had that day when he betrayed us… and killed mom,” The dragon’s words causes Yharim to stop any and all actions as The Jungle Tyrant’s arms fall to his sides.
Pinkamena could only stare at Yharon with tears going down her cheeks. The same tears that were forming from her begging for Pinkie Pie’s life, were now flowing freely. The dark pink pony could care less about the terrified form of Cosmos, or even Yharim’s momentarily stunned position. She wipes her face with a forehoof, and says to Yharon:
“Thank you.”
-I like this dragon. He seems pretty damn cool.-
Oblivion comments from within.
Having regained his composure thanks to the interference of Yharon, Yharim looks back towards The Kitsune Tyrant and says:
“You have one more chance, you useless ‘Goddess’.”
Cosmos continues to quiver in place as Pinkamena trots over to her and spits next to her head.
“Dad wants to know how you like getting one-shotted, bitch.”
The Kitsune Tyrant whimpers in response; using a tone that would even put Fluttershy to shame.
Exiting the containment, Yharim glances towards his brother and says:
“I want you in my throne room, we need to talk.”
“Very well, brother… but I must take care of matters here first.” Yharon responds, to which Yharim waves a hand dismissively and walks down the hallway. The dragon watches his brother depart before turning his gaze back towards Pinkamena and saying:
“I… apologize for my brother’s actions. However, there is something we must discuss,” The dragon sneaks a peak towards the direction of Yharim one last time, before he continues: “I can not allow this to go on any longer. With you and your sister, that is.”
“Don’t apologize for something you didn’t have a hand in… or claw, as it were,” Pinkamena responds, kicking the Kitsune Tyrant in the side and drawing blood before trotting towards Yharon. “Something on your mind, Drago?”
“As the terrarians say: Let me give it to you simply, I wish to train you. I mean no disrespect… but your performance was… laughable.”
“Sure, tell me more about how badly I got my ass kicked, why don’t you.”
Yharon chuckles, before responding:
“You didn’t let me finish. Your performance was bad… but I admire your courage. As such, I wish to hone your skills in both combat and, well… to take a hit better.”
The mare grumbles in annoyance as a small paw is placed on her shoulder.
“Um… Don’t feel bad. I may not know you, like… at all, but you still tried helping me… It’s just… She’s really strong…” says the three-tailed kitsune from before.
“Ugh… I never really was the strongest in the GrimDark… Silent Ponyville never bothered teaching me anything. So… sure, I guess. My self-confidence is nearly zero right now, may as well drop it down to the negatives, right?” mutters Pinkamena.
“Consider that the start to your training,” Yharon comments as he lowers himself to Pinkamena’s eye level, “My faithful student.”
“So you’re Celestia now, gotcha.”
Yharon turns his head sideways in confusion, and questions:
“Are you referring to Yharim’s former student?”
“...Y’know what, forget it. Let’s just do what dragons do to train,” she says.
“I… I want to train too, Uncle Yharon,” Crystal pipes up.
A small rumble emanates from the dragon as he responds:
“Of course, little one. You will always be welcomed.”
“So now that we got the touchy-feely stuff out of the way, you wanna tell me how exactly you’re going to train us without your lovely brother finding out? I get the feeling you’re not supposed to do this kind of thing.”
“I’m not… but I believe you have a sort of, heist, coming up… yes?” Yharon replies.
“Alright, who the buck told the dragon? That could’ve gone badly if he weren’t so nice,” says the mare, staring at the readers.
“That would be us, Mena,” One of the guardsmen says as he takes off his helmet, “I hope you still remember me? Also, who were you speaking to just now?”
“Oh. Ignore my staring up at something you can’t see. Braelor, right?”
“Yes, and my friend here,” Braelor gestures towards his companion, who in turn also takes off his helmet.
“And that would be uh… um… Ninja dude?”
“Hah! I like your humor,” Statis roars out with a small bit of laughter, “But you’re not exactly wrong, either.”
“Uh… No, seriously, I can’t remember your name. Kinda went through a bit of ‘Crisis a la Sister-nearly-dying’.”
“I’m Statis, and I believe we promised to tell you who we were before our little heist started? I’ll give you the T.L.D.R version: We once served Twilight Sparkle. The REAL Twilight, not that god killing abomination.”
“Reality is a bit of a mixed bag, you talking about Princess Sparks, EXE Sparks, or Worm Sparks?”
“The one who scares the shit out of your dad, Sparkle.” Braelor comments with a wink.
-THAT IS A BOLD-FACED LIE, BRAELOR, YOU SACK OF SHIT! I WAS THE ONE THAT STOOD UP TO THE FUCKER!- Yells Oblivion in Mena’s mind.
“Hah! I can’t hear him, but I know for a fact he’s somewhat pissed about what Braelor just said.” Statis comments before laughing.
“...Ow… My head… You mind, I dunno, NOT screaming, Dad?” says the mare to her father.
-Sorry, Braelor always made this joke to me. And I told him! Every time I told him I would be the one to stand against her, but NOOOOOOO, HE HAS TO TEASE ME STILL!-
“DAD. SHUT. THE. BUCK. UP.”
As this goes on, Yharon witnesses the scenario playing out before him with a dragon’s version of a deadpan stare.
“Maybe we should get back to the point…?” Asks the little kitsune.
“Thank you, Moonbeam,” Yharon replies as the dragon clears his throat, which in turn ceases the trio before the dragon, and continues: “Your ‘heist’ will give me the opportunity to take your sister’s life force from my brother, and stall our forces from attacking Camelot.”
“How do you plan on getting that when Yharim hides it somewhere?”
Yharon chuckles with anticipation and comments:
“Simple, my soon to be student: His inventory. I am connected to it.”
