Chapter Thirteen: The Cost Of Revenge
~BlackRoseRaven
A cold wind whispered past them, but the ground beneath their hooves felt terribly warm, terribly alive, and vile heat pulsed steadily up around them. They did their best to ignore the strange and awful climate as they pushed forwards, finally stepping past a pair of shattered double doors and entering the crumbling ruins of a once-magnificent hall that now looked more like an underground burrow; heavy stone tile and brick had collapsed here and there from the ceiling and walls, and broken pillars laid in desolate despair… and these were the most pleasant sights of the room.
The floor had been warped into half-ice, half-flesh, both pulsing with terrible, unholy vigor even as Scrivener and Luna forced themselves to walk slowly forwards, shivering as blasts of cold wind shot from the other end of the hall over their bodies and frost sparkled with unnatural maliciousness around them. The winged unicorn drew her eyes upwards, over the bone fragments that lay here and there, past the ruins of a shattered pedestal and a battle horn that had been cracked in half… and then she and Scrivener gazed upon the far end of the hall, and they halted as shivers ran through their bodies, and this time, not from the cold.
Broken chains and shattered pieces of stone were all that was left of the Gates of Helheim… and beyond, a wall of awful, living flesh pulsated and rumbled slowly, tumor-like growths and staring, malevolent eyes glaring out towards them warningly as cold, reeking wind burst out of the tunnel like the breath of a frozen corpse. For a few moments, Luna and Scrivener could only stare in disgust and horror… and then Luna stepped forwards before her hoof touched something, and she looked sharply down in surprise to see her hoof gingerly resting on top of a cracked skull, a tall, still-beautiful horn standing out of this…
“Celestia…” Luna whispered quietly… and Scrivener looked down in shock before the winged unicorn closed her eyes, sitting back and carefully scooping the broken skull up, lifting it so their horns crossed, forehead touched cracked crown as she murmured: “I shall not fail thee, sister. I shan’t. We shall gather the souls here, bring them across to the Looking Glass World, and… everything shall work out. Worry not, sister, all shall be well…”
She shook her head slowly… then sighed before looking moodily at the skull, and Scrivener winced before Luna’s horn glowed brightly and she flicked it upwards, the same aura surrounding the horn on Celestia’s skull before it was torn free from the crumbling bone. The rest of the skull fell apart in her hooves, and Scrivener looked at her pointedly as Luna carefully guided her sister’s horn over to the saddlebag the male was wearing, gently slipping it inside as she said quietly: “’Twould be ruder still to leave it behind, Scrivy. Our horns were like our weapons, and our weapons were like our souls. Celestia had not fought with her swords for more than a millennia and half… and thou saw the way she handled the blades when they were summoned. ‘Twas like they had never left her side. I would not leave this, even more sacred than those weapons, to rot here on Helheim’s borders. We shall either make use of it and the powerful magic contained within, or enshrine it… whatever sister would have wanted more.”
Scrivener smiled a bit at this and nodded slowly, glancing over at her quietly before he frowned a bit as his eyes caught on something else, walking slowly towards the edge of the hall. He grimaced a bit as he carefully stepped around broken pieces of ancient, rusting metal, then he leaned down and carefully picked up a cylindrical object, frowning curiously… before smiling a bit as he suddenly half-turned and lobbed it towards Luna.
The winged unicorn glanced up from her reverie as it spun through the air, her horn glowing and her eyes giving a short flash, and the object immediately glowed. In a split second, it lengthened rapidly from a collapsed baton into a full, nine-foot long pole tipped with a simple, diamond-shaped spearhead, the weapon spinning violently around Luna before it dropped over one shoulder, still glowing faintly even as the aura almost completely faded from Luna’s horn, seeming more like it was part of her body than something she had to exert any will, any thought over.
The spear glinted, dust and grime fading from it in a burst of steam as Luna looked up at this with a slight grin despite herself, the simple but dangerous tip all-but-glowing as she murmured: “Aye, Scrivener Blooms. It feels as natural as the first day I lifted this weapon… it feels as natural as wielding my own horn.”
She smiled a bit as the earth pony strode towards her quietly, smiling faintly in return even as his eyes roved towards the pedestal… and then both he and Luna halted, their eyes locking on the remains of another skeleton. A small skeleton, that had been shattered into pieces… but when Scrivener looked at it, for a moment he saw Scarlet Sage’s silent body laying there, the foal still as ice, her red eyes empty, her mane swirling backwards in the cold wind… but then once more it was only a broken skeleton, and Luna swallowed thickly before she whispered: “I am only so thankful… that her Pale came straight to us, Scrivener Blooms. It is the only thing that keeps me from feeling that I would fail as a mother… the fact that my beautiful little girl had gone past even Ponyville, even Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, and come to us…”
She closed her eyes, then shook her head slowly before glancing at the earth pony as he forced himself to look up towards the ceiling, breathing a little hard despite himself as his emotions mixed with Luna’s, memories twisting through both their minds. She opened her mouth, but fell silent as she followed his gaze upwards, to where roots of fleshy tendril and frost had twined themselves around the complex network of metal bars and celestial symbols that formed an alien spiderweb over the roof.
There was a hole in the very center of this strange network, directly over the pedestal, and ice had formed a crystalline window here that glittered and gleamed from the radiance of the strange sun that shone through the wisps of poisonous cloud outside. There was so much here, and it had all been dedicated to what had ended up being a sick joke by a self-obsessed monster… and Luna gritted her teeth before she flicked her horn firmly, and the icy window shattered, letting a greater pall of light shine in as chunks of frost pattered down around the pedestal and she muttered: “Come, Scrivener Blooms. ‘Tis time to activate the Khlōros, and begin to draw these Pales back towards the Bifrost. The journey shall be longer with us being forced to route around the Barrens, but-”
Then Luna halted as a rumble passed through the ground and the chilling wind of Helheim died down completely, as if the throat of Hell were holding its breath. Scrivener and Luna both looked sharply up as the earth pony hurried to the winged unicorn’s side, his hooves making the only sound as a shiver ran through Luna’s body at the terrible feeling that spilled through her heart and along her spine, her eyes widening as the two looked towards the fleshy tunnel.
Ice spread over the awful layers of the gaping jaws of Hell, the hideous eyes clenching shut as they were layered by frost and the living walls shivering before they froze as solid as stone. Then snow burst upwards from the throat in a great, blinding mist, obscuring their vision for a few long moments as Scrivener and Luna stared down the long, shattered hall… and then watched with horror as a massive, monstrous creature emerged from the snow, drooling and hungry, its grotesque, enormous body covered not with fur but instead burning black flames and smoke. It rumbled as it strode through the haze of snow, its slavering jaws falling open to reveal a mouth full of ivory fangs, and its eyes glowed with hellish, animal light as it looked back and forth before throwing its head back and howling fiercely to the sky.
Ice shattered beneath their hooves and the snow was blown away as the terrible sound echoed around them, Scrivener and Luna both wincing backwards as reality flickered violently, before the Black Wolf of Hell leaned forwards with a snarl… and from the awful scars that glowed eerily over its body, from the way black-fire-fur had been torn in wide patches from its frame to reveal blue and red, bulging and flexing flesh and sinew, it was clear what they were dealing with. It was Fenrir, Alpha of the Black Wolves of Hell.
Luna’s eyes blazed as she stepped forwards, her spear spinning once before it locked into a ready position hovering at her side, snapping to Scrivener Blooms: “Stay at the edge of the battlefield, Scrivy, do not draw its attention and survey its movements! Fenrir, I am thy opponent, and in the names of my brother and sister, in the name of Twilight Sparkle, in the name of this entire world, I shall destroy thee!”
Fenrir roared in response as it stalked forwards: a terrible, wolf-shaped mass of muscle and burning shadow, its presence dominated the corridor as it strode forwards, seeming to fill the entire hall as its eyes locked on Luna. It growled at her hungrily, the incarnation of destruction seem to recognize her with the little mind that it had, and its huge claws scraped eagerly against the ground as it stalked slowly towards her.
Luna glared up in response, refusing to move, refusing to show fear as Scrivener Blooms carefully slid sideways, breathing hard as he looked over the monstrosity, a quake of terror passing through his body as well as awe at Luna’s bravery: and while it was partly fueled by rage, he knew all the same that Luna also wanted nothing more than to turn and flee herself, than to escape this abomination… but she wouldn’t. Her warrior’s instincts, her Valkyrie soul would not permit it… and moreover, her need to strike back at this monster that had destroyed the world and taken her family away drove her onwards, as she leaned forwards, the spear quivering in the air beside her, her cyan irises locking with the glowing, soulless, hateful eyes of Fenrir.
It leaned down, and they pressed almost nose-to-nose, the monster’s rot-reeking breath washing over her as they glared at each other, warrior and predator, fiend-slayer and abomination… and then Fenrir roared furiously before his jaws opened, gaping and terrible and enough to swallow Luna in a single bite-
The winged unicorn’s wings flapped as she leapt upwards with a snarl, and the beast’s jaws smashed into the ground, tearing up snow and transmogrified flesh before Luna slammed all four hooves down and crashed onto its muzzle as she dug her heels in against it, leaning forwards with a snarl as her spear lashed out and viciously stabbed into its features. Fenrir howled in shock and agony, lurching backwards and shaking its head, but Luna dug her hooves in even the burning darkness that covered its body lashed against her legs like fiery whips, snarling as her spear thrusted again and again, ripping gouges through its features before she leapt forwards when it clawed one forepaw at her madly, diving over its slash to slam her rear hooves into its forehead as her spear plunged downwards and tore through one of the monster’s eyes.
Fenrir shrieked, yanking its head back as it lunged away, ducking itself low to the ground as Luna’s spear tore free from its now-empty socket and she hovered in the air, wings flapping powerfully as she glared down at it furiously, her eyes glowing ivory as she shouted in rage: “I am no tender morsel, cur! I am Luna Brynhild! I am Nightmare Moon! I am the one who will crush thee like the whelp thou art!”
Fenrir snarled as it rose its head, and Luna’s eyes widened in surprise as the monster clawed into the ground, anchoring itself with a fearsome growl: the wounds over its features had already healed to ugly scars, and although corruption and blood leaked down its cheek from its socket, the socket itself had already filled with some awful, gelatinous black mass… and then Luna cursed when the monster pounced towards her, realizing she didn’t have the room to fly up and evade, or the speed to drop down and get beneath it… leaving her with one option.
The monster’s claws stretched towards her as its jaws opened wide… and Luna darted directly forwards as she thrusted her spear out in front of her, diving into its open jaws and kicking off its fleshy tongue even as its teeth snapped down around her like a bear trap, before her spear ripped into the back of its throat. The monster gagged immediately, eyes bulging before Luna slammed a hoof into the spear and sent it rocketing all the way through the back of its neck in a splatter of black fire and corruption, and Fenrir staggered forwards with another gag before Luna’s horn glowed like a beacon as she shoved herself upwards, tearing into the back of its neck as electricity sparked along her body before she ripped straight through, the narrow hole becoming a wide, terrible tunnel as the winged unicorn cursed in disgust, body stained with blood, bile, and darkness as she flapped her wings and propelled herself away.
Fenrir arched its back with a breathy howl of misery… but in front of Luna’s eyes, black, red, and blue tendrils slid smoothly into place over the wound, knotting themselves together in an ugly, fleshy barrier, and Luna snarled in disgust before she flicked her horn and sent a blue fireball rocketing into the back of the creature’s head, knocking it staggering forwards before it growled over its shoulder at her, pain quickly fading away to fury. “Foul monster!”
The enormous, awful wolf spun around and bit at her savagely, but Luna elegantly flew backwards before her eyes flicked to the side, catching sight of her spear imbedded in the ceiling, and she shot immediately towards this before seizing the bottom of the weapon in her hooves. As Fenrir leapt upwards, Luna shoved hard up on the bottom of the spear, bending the body until it became almost a U-shape before the head of the weapon finally tore free from the ceiling and lashed viciously downwards to smack into Fenrir’s muzzle, the huge beast flinching backwards in pained surprise before the winged unicorn released the weapon to let it float easily beside her as her horn began to glow. “Then if not by blade alone…”
Luna’s eyes blazed with white light as she arched her back with a snarl, and Scrivener winced as several powerful blasts of lightning hammered across the monstrous wolf’s features, making it snarl and back up several paces before the earth pony cursed and lowered his head, pushing his own energy and emotions towards Luna, fueling her further as she lashed her horn downwards and released a sapphire blast of flames from her horn that smashed into the black wolf like a battering ram, knocking it back another pace to stumble into the wall with a shriek as azure flames greedily spread along its body. They charred its features and flesh, mixing with and suffocating the black fire that made up its outer layers… but then Fenrir shook his head rapidly out before he stepped forwards and roared furiously, the hall vibrating violently enough to send rocks and chunks of ice pattering down from the ceiling as the last of the blue flames whiffed out over its body.
She had burnt away much of its outer layer… yet all it had done was make the creature more hideous, its lipless jaws peeled back from a sharkish grin of savage teeth, its white eye glowing, its naked flesh steaming faintly over more than a quarter of its enormous form. It lurched towards Luna, then leapt upwards in a sudden burst of speed and viciousness, and the winged unicorn’s eyes widened before a paw batted her backwards and sent her rocketing to the ground, bouncing once with a curse of pain as Scrivener’s eyes clenched shut and he arched his back with his own gasp, feeling his ribs creaking and knowing that at least one of Luna’s had likely snapped.
The winged unicorn rolled quickly to her hooves as the wolf lunged towards her, her spear lashing out almost on its own and catching Fenrir across the face, barely distracting it for a moment as it bit angrily at the weapon. Both Luna and the floating spear quickly distanced themselves, however, the winged unicorn breathing hard and growing desperate, not knowing what to do before Nightmare Moon whispered in her mind: Eclipse the sun. At the very least, it will disorient the beast… you have no choice.
“Damnation…” Luna muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth… and then she winced when Fenrir lunged at her, diving forwards between its legs as she flicked her horn upwards and sent her spear rocketing into its vulnerable throat, and the wolf gagged and spasmed as it clawed madly at the ground and tried to skitter backwards. The result was that Luna was forced to sprint forwards beneath it, leaping back and forth with curses of frustration as rocks flew up around her from huge paws smashing the frost-speckled ground , the winged unicorn wincing before she lunged to the side and free from beneath the monster, rolling heavily once and gritting her teeth as she gazed up towards the opening in the ceiling.
Fenrir hissed, clawing at its own throat, still distracted by the spear buried in its neck, and Luna took the chance to leap into the air and fly directly beneath the window, gazing up at the sky above and only hoping this would still work as her horn began to glow, Scrivener Blooms clenching his eyes shut at the side of the room and dropping his head low, pouring his concentration, his energy, his strength Luna as she lowered her own head, the power building through her body before she arched her back and snapped her horn upwards as it gave a flash of bright blue light.
The black wolf looked up at this with a snarl, finally managing to knock the spear loose from its throat as a rumble rolled through reality around them, and the monster prepared to lunge as Luna floated, staring upwards desperately as the dark clouds above roiled and rumbled and blocked out the sky. Fenrir roared as Scrivener looked up in shock, watching as the creature began to pounce, throwing its front legs upwards… but even as it began to sail towards Luna, a strange darkness filled the air and the quality of light changed.
Fenrir half-fell to the ground, just missing Luna, landing shakily on its paws as the huge, dark wolf whimpered like a terrified puppy. It staggered backwards as Luna stared down at it with amazement, shooting a look towards the sky, red light spilling through the corridor as the throat of Helheim seemed to sigh and whisper, a soft breeze licking through the air around them as the winged unicorn slowly lowered herself towards the shivering beast.
The mighty Alpha of the Black Wolves of Hell had been reduced to nothing more than a trembling mess that now lay on its stomach, whimpering and helpless, and Luna descended slowly towards it as Scrivener hesitantly stepped forwards, then stopped when the winged unicorn gave him a wince and a quick shake of her head. She wanted to make sure first… and she quietly touched down in front of the monstrous wolf’s head, standing less than a foot away from its huge, world-eating jaws… but the creature only whimpered, its ivory eye rolling in its head, body quaking horribly as its claws rattled against the ground. Even more, its recently-healed wounds had reopened, as if its fear of the eclipse had literally stolen its powers… and Luna gritted her teeth before she brought a hoof up and slammed it into the end of its muzzle, but the monstrosity only whimpered and cowered, flexing weakly against the ground but unable to even pull itself away as a faint stream of blood dripped down from one nostril.
“Crying, whimpering mess… can’t even defend thyself… this is not the battle I wanted, nor the way I wished to destroy such a blight upon the land as thee.” Luna muttered disgustedly, and then she slammed her hoof against its nostril again before she snarled, leaning forwards and pressing her hoof firmly into its muzzle, but it only whimpered, unmoving, unable to even focus its remaining eye on her as it trembled weakly. “But fear not, monster, I shall at least make thy death quick… wretched and terrible thing, thou can serve no purpose but death…”
Are you sure about that? whispered a voice, and Luna frowned a bit as she looked up at Nightmare Moon’s scintillating tones, hearing them echoing through her mind, almost feeling the equine’s hoof stroking gently beneath her muzzle. Perhaps it can… give me but a moment of your time, Luna, listen to me…
Luna hesitated, glancing towards Scrivener Blooms as the male frowned at her, stepping forwards another pace… but then the winged unicorn shook her head briskly, muttering: “’Tis fine, Scrivy, ‘tis just a mind game of Nightmare Moon, and this beast is rendered harmless for the moment. I shall… be quick. But thou must stay here and be my eyes, understood? If the light begins to change or the beast to move, awaken me from Nightmare Moon’s treachery.”
“Of course.” Scrivener said quietly, walking slowly forwards as Luna stepped away from Fenrir, and the winged unicorn sighed as she lowered her head forwards and let her eyes closed, hesitant and yet compelled all the same to hear what her shadowy other-self had to say.
A moment later, she was standing in a spotlight of white amidst darkness, Nightmare Moon smiling benevolently across at her on the other side of the ivory circle as Luna snapped: “Thy timing is awful, Nightmare Moon, now what folly does thou have for me to refuse before I can return and crush in this monster’s skull?”
“Why would you waste such power, Luna?” Nightmare Moon chastened kindly, and Luna rolled her eyes in disgust before the dark equine slid forwards, whispering gently in the winged unicorn’s ear: “No, I do not speak of binding the monster to our will, we are not like Ekleíp… we prefer to do the work ourselves. Fenrir is a magical entity, pure power focused into an unstable shell… but we could take his power. The monster is prone and vulnerable and its will broken by our glorious eclipsing of the blinding sun-”
“I am not a vampire! Whether it has a soul or not, whether it is truly alive or an organic machine of unstoppable destruction, I will not steal its powers for strength… down that road lays nothing but failure and destruction.” Luna shouted, stepping forwards with a snarl as her eyes blazed and her starry mane swirled backwards, but Nightmare Moon only continued to smile kindly, patronizingly down at her, even as the smaller winged unicorn snarled: “If I knew not better, I would think thou wants us to once more become nothing but a mindless, self-indulgent, childish beast once more, to lose our treasured lucidity and all those precious to us!”
“Luna, I never said we should put Fenrir’s powers into you. We can defend ourselves fine, we are strong enough that in open territory, where Fenrir’s sheer size does not give it the advantage and we can better put our own talents to use, I am sure that together we could annihilate the dog-beast.” Nightmare Moon responded kindly, and Luna looked up at her with surprise before her eyes widened and she staggered backwards as the equine whispered: “But there’s another pony we love very dearly… who cannot defend himself nearly as well as we can…”
“Scrivener Blooms… oh sick and diseased traitor… thou wishes… thou wishes to turn him into a monster? Thou… thou wishes to perhaps accelerate the Tyrant Wyrm’s corruption, and force more, more destruction into his already-wounded mind?” Luna whispered, staring in horror at Nightmare Moon… and feeling revulsion and self-loathing at the way part of her actually considered the proposition, shuddering and gritting her teeth before she snarled: “I shall not betray-”
“Such strong words you use!” Nightmare Moon laughed, however, looking down at Luna compassionately as she stepped forwards… and Luna trembled, stepping backwards despite herself, beginning to breathe harder as the ebony equine reasoned in a voice that was terribly alluring, terribly compassionate: “After Valthrudnir… after what we have experienced in our broken world, too… we cannot always be there to save Scrivener Blooms. We have an opportunity now to give him more power… to fill him with strength. And perhaps, Fenrir’s raw strength will be enough to cancel out the compelling allure of the Tyrant Wyrm’s corruption. You and I both know that part of the reason our beloved treasure is drawn by the very thing that poisons him so is because he feel so powerless, so helpless, next to our magnificence. He undervalues himself… what better way to give him confidence than to give him this gift? And do you not trust him to do what is right with this? Do you not love him? Will you not be there to guide him and aid him, Luna?
“No, we will be there, beside him, to love and nurture him every step of the way…” Nightmare Moon closed her eyes with a smile, tilting her head to the side as her ephemeral mane blew gently upwards as if in a breeze, as she stepped forwards… and Luna trembled as she bowed her head and took another fleeting step back, shivering a bit as she tried to pull her gaze away… but no matter how she turned her head, her eyes stayed locked on Nightmare Moon as the creature continued softly: “And he will become strong. Perhaps as strong as Sleipnir was, and no longer will he need to rely upon the Black Verses if he is forced to defend himself. For mighty as they are, they hurt our beloved when he uses them. Yet he is becoming less-and-less hesitant in their use as well, do you not see that?
“It would be different, my beloved Luna, if Scrivener Blooms wanted to give in. I will not lie about that… did he want to truly become whatever the corruption has a chance of making him into, I would gladly encourage and indulge this.” Nightmare Moon smiled lovingly, opening her eyes, locking gazes with Luna. “And do not lie and say you would not. It is not weakness, Luna, to stand alongside our beloved no matter what choices he makes, even if those choices delve into darker realms. It is strength and loyalty. It is love.”
Luna shivered and shook her head, whispering: “Cease this, Nightmare Moon, you… you do not understand… that is not all love is about…”
Nightmare Moon only laughed quietly, however, responding gently: “But don’t I? Please, Luna. There is no need to complicate things, there is no need for… ‘moral boundaries’ for creatures such as us. We are the darkness… we shall always be the darkness. We love, and embrace, and care for others… but we are not without our appetites and desires. And what we desire most of all is to be able to keep our beloved Scrivener Blooms safe… and by making him strong, we shall ensure that he will always be safe, even if we are led away from him, even if our enemies seek to separate us. He is cunning and adept at analysis, but these things will only take him so far. We must supplement him with power.”
“Stop it. Get out of my head… leave me alone…” Luna whispered in denial, shaking her head fiercely… and when she looked up with a tremble, Nightmare Moon gazed at her with tenderness and compassion, leaning down with what seemed almost like concern as the smaller winged unicorn weakly said to her darker alter ego: “I am afraid. I am afraid because you make sense, and I cannot deny that you… that I am you, and you are me, and together we love Scrivener Blooms more than… than…”
“He is more important to us than the night, than anything else in this world and beyond, yes. We depend on his guidance and affection… he bows to us, but really, we are his to command, are we not?” Nightmare Moon accented this with a low bow towards Luna, and then she looked up from her position almost laying against the ground, smiling tenderly as she murmured quietly: “We are a willing servant to him. Let us bring him the greatest gift of all, my little Luna… because unlike you… I have faith that he will not abandon us.”
The accusation stung, and Luna reared back, gritting her teeth with a snarl as Nightmare Moon only looked up at her half-consolingly, half-pitying, and the winged unicorn shook her head fiercely, forcing herself away from Nightmare Moon and back into reality as she looked sharply over at Scrivener Blooms, who frowned in response… and then paled slightly as he staggered away from her, Luna’s eyes glowing a faint ivory as she leaned towards him and whispered: “I love thee, Scrivener Blooms, and I do not fear what thou will do… it is not as Nightmare Moon says, I am not afraid of losing thee, I do not keep thee weak for my own gain as she implies…”
“L-Luna…” Scrivener staggered another step backwards as the winged unicorn gritted her teeth, taking another step towards him as their eyes met… and wild memories flashed back and forth between them, thoughts, passions, instincts, feelings, before opposed emotions clashed, and Luna hissed as electricity sparked through her mane and Scrivener dropped his head forwards with a gasp, trying to take in too many emotions and memories and sights at once as he grabbed at his head, then shook it in denial. “Wait, stop!”
“Scrivener Blooms, listen to me!” Luna shouted, her eyes glowing brighter as behind her, Fenrir whimpered and shivered on the ground… and Scrivy looked up, meeting her glowing eyes with shock as she stepped forwards, gritting her teeth. “Do not be afraid. Look at me. Do not fear, this will hurt only a moment, and then thou will be-”
“Luna, you can’t put… put that thing’s essence inside me, I’ll die or it’ll do worse to me… I don’t think you’re weak, and I know you love me, and I don’t hold against you that you’re stronger than me, I… I only wish I could do more for you but not like this, Luna, this power will… will poison me, I can’t… it’s not being physically weaker than you I fear, it’s because I’m so much… my will…” Scrivener clenched his eyes shut, dropping his head forwards as Luna hesitated, the earth pony shivering a bit before he whispered: “I’m not afraid of turning into a monster, Luna. I’m scared that I’m already a monster, and more power will just make it worse.”
“Scrivy…” Luna whispered, the glow fading from her eyes… and then she shivered a bit as she shook her head briskly, and a mist seemed to clear from her mind before she shuddered violently as she realized what she had almost done. What that dark part of her that didn’t understand empathy, that didn’t understand why limits had to exist or why blind hedonism couldn’t be chased, had almost made her do… and she cursed under her breath before stepping forwards.
Scrivener flinched back: it was small, and he caught himself, but the flinch was there… and Luna halted in front of him, tears filling her eyes before he looked silently up and she gazed back, whispering: “It is alright, I… I merely… it was so much emotion at once. It was the power that flooded me, too, when I was able to drive the creature into my control… it is alright, Scrivener Blooms, I… I will not ever, ever force anything upon thee, it…”
She fell silent, looking at him quietly as Scrivy looked back for a few moments in quiet… and then he nodded slowly as emotions traded back and forth between them, swirling with much less conflict now as inside her, Nightmare Moon shifted and writhed. But immediately, Luna clamped down on that part of herself, blocking it out of her mind as she ground her teeth together before swallowing thickly, and then she looked up in surprise as Scrivener whispered: “But if… you… truly believe… I don’t doubt in you, Luna. I was just… scared. I’m sorry.”
“Idiot poet, why does thou apologize to me?” Luna laughed weakly, looking over him with a faint, sad smile as the two studied each other… before she sighed softly and shivered a bit, hearing once more the charm and allure of Nightmare Moon, feeling the tremble that went down her spine at the thought of the strength she could drain from the monstrous wolf-beast, and now tasting Scrivener’s apprehension… and beneath it… “Oh Scrivy…”
“Forget I said anything, I… let’s just get the hell out of here.” Scrivener shook his head quickly, a shudder passing through his form, and Luna gave a quick nod to him as she looked worriedly over the earth pony. He only gave her a faint smile, however, then glanced nervously towards Fenrir, asking quietly: “Do we…”
“I know what to do, Scrivener Blooms. ‘Tis what we should have done from the start.” Luna replied quietly, her horn beginning to glow as she gritted her teeth, her mane sparking as it swirled backwards and her body flexing as she leaned forwards, beginning to open her mouth… but then she looked upwards in shocked surprise as three loud, mournful howls cut through the air, and Fenrir threw his own head back, giving a shrieking, echoing howl in response.
Cracks ripped through the ceiling as another pillar near the back of the hall toppled… and with it, a large portion of the roof shattered and collapsed inwards, shale and frost bursting in all directions as reality around them fluctuated before there was an awful, terrible, indescribable shriek as a wrenching feeling ripped through Luna’s chest… and her eyes turned with shock to look at Fenrir as the light in the room transformed and the lumbering wolf slowly began to pick itself up, still disoriented but rapidly regaining its strength as a growl began to rise in its throat.
Luna cursed, then flicked her horn towards Scrivener Blooms, and the male arched his back with a gasp of pain as several plates of armor over his back tore loose and crumpled outwards as a pair of leathery wings ripped free from his back, before the winged unicorn half-turned and threw herself into the air, shouting desperately as barks and snarls sounded from the corridor: “Scrivy, upwards, upwards!”
Scrivener cursed as he leapt into the air and his wings flapped sloppily, leaving him half-hovering off balance for a moment as Fenrir turned towards them and then snarled, his jaws opening wide… before Luna smashed bodily into his head, knocking the giant wolf staggering back a step with a grunt of surprise. A moment later, the winged unicorn leaned forwards as her horn flashed and released a blast of blue flame over the features of the behemoth, and it yelped and shook its head wildly as it half-fell backwards, pawing madly at its face as Luna began to spin around before her eyes alit on her fallen spear… and with only a flick of her horn, she sent this rocketing up from the ground to shoot into the hole in the ceiling before it spun violently, smashing apart decorative metal bars and lunar symbols and sending down a hail of metal that Scrivener weaved awkwardly back and forth around with a curse.
Luna shot back towards the sky just as Fenrir lunged and bit at her, managing only to rip his teeth through the end of her ethereal tail and making her wince in surprise more than pain as she flew upwards, her spear falling into place beside her automatically. Scrivener flew behind her into the tight tunnel as the mountain around them cracked, and Fenrir roared, leaping up after them and shoving one enormous paw into the tight passage, huge claws ripping against Scrivener’s armor and knocking him into the wall as he gargled in pain, but he managed to save himself from falling by scrabbling wildly at the jagged surface with all four hooves, propelling himself onwards as his wings flapped hard.
Below them, Fenrir fell backwards with a snarl, the scarred goliath landing heavily on its back and not noticing as massive rips spread through the ceiling and the walls, howling furiously and gnashing his teeth at the tunnel as he swept one claw viciously upwards against the entrance and ripped away a large, gnarled piece of metal. It tore free, bouncing loudly against the ground with a bang that drew the monster’s animal attention for a moment before it looked back up as a thunderous crack tore through the air, snarling and glaring upwards as it sensed movement… and then its ears flattened back, and the wolf almost screamed as it tried to skitter backwards too little, too late, as the entire ceiling finally gave away and the countless layers of stone, fortress and mountain collapsed on top of the awful, terrible beast.
Luna and Scrivener cursed as the passage around them shattered and began to draw even narrower, the winged unicorn snarling before her horn glowed, electricity sparking along her frame and a blue aura glowing around her before she rammed out of the top of the tunnel like a bullet, sending chunks of stone flying in all directions as Scrivener managed to scramble out after her a moment later, the two shooting up into the air above as Luna grinned for a moment… then stared in horror at the sight of the moon in the sky above, coming to a halt some fifty feet above the collapsing Black Baroque as she threw her head back with a cry of disbelief.
The howls of the Black Wolves had cracked the moon into pieces like an egg, and massive chunks of stone were now slowly floating through the sky, some of them vanishing beyond the horizon, others seeming to fall steadily and slowly towards the earth as Luna snarled and leaned forwards… but then she only hissed in pain, magical recoil ripping over her body as she lurched backwards and fell slightly before Scrivener’s hooves caught her shoulders before she could tip over, the male flying silently behind her as he stared up weakly and whispered: “It’s going to be okay, Luna… this isn’t…”
“This is proof that this world is dead and damned and doomed, Scrivener Blooms…” Luna whispered, and when Scrivener began to draw back, she reached a front hoof up and fiercely held one of Scrivy’s down against her shoulder, trembles rolling through her body as the terrible, blinding, poisoned sun shone arrogantly down through the shattered pieces of the moon, and then she gritted her teeth and muttered: “And to think… I wanted to drain the creature’s strength and put it to thee without thinking of the consequences… damn me, Scrivener Blooms, for what is worse? A lust for power, or a lust to make another powerful, for all the right reasons that led us in the first place right to Helheim’s gates!”
Luna slammed her free hoof down against her own armored body, and Scrivener closed his eyes as he slipped forwards, wrapping his forelegs around her neck and embracing her fiercely, and Luna shivered a bit as they hovered in midair, bodies aching, wings flapping slowly. Then, finally, they parted and slowly began to sail downwards… and as the two gazed silently at one another, Luna couldn’t help but smile and whisper: “And idiot poet… that knickknack around thy neck, thou protected it with thine supple hindquarters.”
Scrivener laughed despite himself, reaching up and touching the still-intact bone collar before he glanced awkwardly over his shoulder: the chain mesh and plates that had protected his rear were shredded ,and he felt a faint, flaring pain from the large, ugly gashes that had been torn from only the glancing blow of Fenrir’s claws… but he knew he was lucky. He paused, then returned his eyes to Luna… and smiled faintly at the fact that the spear was still floating on her other side, saying quietly: “Well, Valkyrie, it looks to me like you’re just as guilty as I am of putting material objects over one’s own life.”
The winged unicorn glanced towards her spear with surprise… and then she smiled faintly despite herself, replying quietly: “Only if thou already forgot my lecture, foolish poet.”
Scrivener looked at her for a few moments, and then he nodded slowly and smiled a little in return as the two slowly descended through the haze of snow and dust that was settling silently through the Gray Mountains around the fallen Black Baroque, and Luna grimaced a bit as they finally touched down to the frozen, rotten ground. Slowly, she and Scrivener Blooms turned around as her telescopic spear collapsed and floated quietly to the side to slip into the satchel bag, and the earth pony shook his head slowly as they gazed upon the wreckage of the once-mighty fortress.
It had completely collapsed in on itself, leaving only half of the front walls of the Black Baroque standing, while the mountain was nothing more than a slumped heap of debris barely as high as their heads. Chunks of broken rock, blades of ice, and ugly, mottled roots stuck out of the ruin here and there like feebly-grasping claws, steam and icy mist hissing softly up from the pile of shattered stony wreckage.
“May this accursed place rot.” Luna muttered, shaking her head slowly, and then she glanced towards Scrivener Blooms as the earth pony nodded with a quiet grunt, and Luna hesitated only for a few moments before she asked quietly: “Art thou ready to activate the collar and leave, then?”
“Yeah, more than ready, Luna.” Scrivener looked back at her with a faint smile, hesitating only a moment before he bowed his head towards her with a swirl of thoughts and images, and Luna blushed a bit as she heard whispered apologies and gentle promises kiss through her mind before she shook her head firmly, then stepped forwards and hugged him tightly.
The male lowered his head, leaning against her as she squeezed him slowly around the neck, and then her horn began to glow, summoning up the reserves of energy she had left as Scrivy winced a bit and his leathery, aching wings flapped once as electricity sizzled slowly over his body and Luna’s ephemeral mane stroked along his armored frame and features, the winged unicorn murmuring: “Then may we walk with the favor of the Norns, my beloved.”
Slowly, Luna drew back as her horn gave a faint pulse… and then the collar around Scrivener’s neck slowly began to glow, taking on an eerie, sickly emerald glow as the male leaned back and clenched his eyes shut, wincing as it burned for a moment against his coat before rapidly cooling as steam hissed up from it as he muttered: “Always manage… to forget that part…”
“Aye, but magic is about more than pretty incantations and concentration when it comes to this. The Khlōros tests the wearer… and ‘tis only my relief that neither of us have ever failed it so far.” Luna replied softly, gazing over him with a faint smile, and Scrivener laughed a little despite himself. “Stand proud, Scrivener Blooms. Today, we save souls from the claws of shadow, and perhaps lives that were unfairly stolen away.”
Scrivener nodded a bit as he rolled his shoulders, before twitching slightly as the collar began to emit a low, haunting hum… and all around them, Pales flickered into existence, their eyes staring towards the collar and the earth pony. Scrivener Blooms licked his lips nervously as he looked slowly back and forth, but Luna gave him a supportive smile as she said quietly: “Remember, thou art only the figurehead… or more aptly, the beast of burden that draws the plow.”
“Well thanks, Luna. I’m glad I’m now allowed to pull a plow.” Scrivener replied softly, and he felt himself relaxing a bit despite himself as they looked at one another amidst the congregation of ghosts, meeting each other’s eyes for a moment before the male added quietly: “It’s okay.”
“Good.” Luna said softly, smiling awkwardly at him with a faint blush tingeing her cheeks, and then she shook her head briskly before turning around and trying not to focus on the Pales even as she walked forwards and strode through the staring mass of spirits, saying quietly: “Let us now only focus on the hard march ahead of us. It will be a long and tiresome one, to be sure, Scrivener Blooms… but it will be most worthwhile too.”
Scrivy glanced back and forth, at the mass of Pales that had already appeared… and more were clustering in now as well, standing in a rough circle around him, drawn by the phantasmal, almost-inaudible melody that echoed up from the glowing collar around his neck. There were already so many he couldn’t count, pressing so close that they were mixing with one another’s translucent, ethereal spirits… and Scrivener nodded slowly as he began to follow Luna, the Pales parting the way for him and naturally falling into large, uneven lines as they slowly followed, drawn onwards from perhaps miles around by the strange melody.
Luna and Scrivener approached the other end of the valley… and then something crashed loudly in the distance, the two ponies whirling around and the Pales flickering as they froze in place: and even through the misty ghosts, the two ponies were able to watch as rock and ice exploded into the air in bursts of snow and dust before a terrible, hulking form ripped itself free of the wreckage, barking and snarling as reality around it trembled and distorted, dark flames rippling over its awful frame.
The winged unicorn snarled as her entire body tensed… before her eyes widened in horror as a second Black Wolf of Hell pulled itself out of the tunnel the first had ripped. They were smaller than Fenrir, even from this distance… and Luna cursed under her breath in surprise, wondering how the monsters had managed to cross such distances so quickly, and yet all the same knowing that however they acted, whatever they were… the Black Wolves defied reality, defied logic, and would allow themselves to be enslaved by nothing: be it a law of physics, or a leash of steel, or a scepter of magic, they would refute it, fight against it… and more and more, Luna questioned if they could even be killed.
The Black Wolves snarled at them, and Luna cursed under her breath, torn between fleeing and engaging the monsters. But a moment later, instead of trying to pursue or attack, the two wolves only half-turned and began to claw at the wreckage of the Black Baroque and the mountain, ripping up thick chunks of stone and ice. It was clear what they wanted to do: dig out their Alpha, Fenrir, whom the Black Wolves seemed to hold some alien loyalty to in spite of living in their own territories… and Luna cursed under her breath, but then frowned a bit as her gaze sharpened, leaping upwards and taking to the air to get a better vantage for a moment.
She hovered and watched as they dug… and while one was using both forepaws and shoveling its way rapidly into the debris, the other was favoring a front leg, holding it up against its body and scraping almost gingerly at the surface as it shivered. It seemed pained… and Luna gave a sour grin despite herself, muttering: “So perhaps the vicious mongrels are not invulnerable… aye, they bleed, they wound… and their bones break. And whether or not Fenrir showed such freakish powers of regeneration, his weaker brothers may not possess the same vitality… this is good.”
Luna hesitated, watching as the wolves continued their digging for a few more moments… and then she turned and sailed back down to the ground, landing neatly on her hooves and casting a grim glance over her shoulder towards Scrivener Blooms. “Let us make haste, and only hope that the last of the Black Wolves is still buried in the wreckage alongside Fenrir. We shall push hard, and distance ourselves from the beasts before they can hunt us in revenge… I do not wish to attempt to embattle the entire pack at once; even I am not foolhardy enough to think it ending in victory.”
Scrivener nodded with a grunt, and the winged unicorn gazed at him for a moment, at the trust, the love, the compassion in his eyes, that radiated from him… and she smiled faintly before turning and breaking into a quick run, the earth pony chasing after her as she closed her eyes and whispered to the recesses of her own mind: And we almost damaged that, Nightmare Moon… does thou understand now why thou cannot meddle in such things, that even thy honestly-good intentions can have evil repercussions?
But Nightmare Moon was silent, wherever she was… and so instead, Luna only led onwards, Scrivener following as the Khlōros sang its spectral melody. And behind them, the Pales followed, their hooves making no noise over the frozen and blackened wastes, their bodies shimmering with frost and ethereal light. The last living ponies across the broken world of Equestria guided the souls of the dead ever onwards, as the Gray Mountains echoed with the voiceless melody of the reaper’s collar.