Chapter Seventy: The Ruthless Path Of Wisdom
~BlackRoseRaven
Antares laughed and shook his head, grinning brightly around at Avalon, Rustproof, Meadowlark and Aphrodisia as they played cards together. She couldn't keep the rules of the game straight, and Meadowlark kept trying to help her out, which only seemed to frustrate the demon more... but all the same, the cluster of foals was happy and positive.
It was a few weeks after the commitment ceremony, and Antares was spending the night at Sweet Apple Acres: as a matter of fact, all the kids were tonight, having a little camp-out in the big tent they currently occupied. Sleeping bags and pillows were all around them, and Rustproof was comfortably cocooned up in a sheet, looking particularly happy to be included, as Avalon asked: “Hey, Apple Pie, gimme an eight.”
“I don't... what the hell!” Aphrodisia complained, and then she sighed and threw an eight at Avalon, who smiled cheerfully as she paired it with another card and dropped them in front of her. “What the hell!”
“Apps, it you get caught swearing again, we're the ones who get in trouble for it.” Antares said pointedly, then he winced when the demon foal gave a bright grin before taking a long breath, but thankfully Meadowlark hurriedly reached over and seized the demon filly's mouth, holding it closed before she could yell anything.
Then Antares winced as something scratched against the side of the tent, before there was a loud rumble outside... but a moment later, Atrus poked his head through the flap, and Antares wheezed in relief before he smiled brightly. “Hey!”
“Your parents sent me to see you. I do not know why, you are within twenty feet of the house, but I do not question the ponies.” Atrus paused for a moment, and then he simply leaned back before grumbling as Kǫttr barked cheerfully at him outside. A moment later, the Hellhound once more tried to shove his way through the tent flap to join them, but the foals quickly yelled and Aphrodisia barked loudly at the Hellhound, and he whined before retreating before his large claws could rip up the cloth floor of the tent.
They went back to their card game for a few minutes, talking easily amongst themselves before Aphrodisia glanced up as Kǫttr began barking loudly. Then she groaned when the Hellhound loudly took off towards something, and the demon muttered: “Great. After this game, we gotta go find my dog.”
“He'll be fine, it's an apple field.” Avalon said with a grumble, then she leaned to the side and stuck her head out of the flap, peering back and forth... but there wasn't a lot to see. The sun was getting low in the reddening sky, and the house was all lit up, but there was a pleasant smell of something special cooking in the air, too: then again, Apple Bloom and Scarlet Sage were visiting, and there was the whole party of foals to take care of, too.
She ducked back into the tent, then huffed and shoved Aphrodisia away from her cards, saying flatly: “Cheater.”
Aphrodisia only barked at her once in response, and the other foals smiled and giggled as they continued to play. A few minutes later, another scratching came from outside the tent, and Antares looked up inquisitively before he heard another rumble. He cocked his head curiously, beginning to lean forwards-
An enormous metal hand tore through the roof of the tent, grabbing at the foals inside, and Meadowlark screamed as Avalon leapt backwards and Rustproof fell over. Antares stared in horror as the fingers began clawing towards him, turning hurriedly away before Aphrodisia leapt up, snarling and biting savagely into the metal hand with her sharp teeth, the hand flexing in surprise before it flicked hard to the side as the monster it belonged to snarled in frustration.
Aphrodisia was thrown easily away, ripping through one wall of the tent as Antares charged forwards to slice through another with his horn, fleeing outside before he winced and spun around, meaning to help the others... but he froze in horror when the monster seemed to look up... except the enormous behemoth had no head.
It straightened, abandoning the tent with a rumbling chuckle, and Antares staggered backwards in terror as it set its focus on him, seeming to glare down at him despite the fact that its wide, thick collar was filled only with gaping emptiness. Its upper body was massive and powerful, made out of heavy silver plates chiseled into the shape of musculature, with broad shoulders and long, thick arms ending in gauntlet-covered hands. But as it strode forwards, Antares saw with horror that its upper body fed into a horse's form: four strong legs that all ended in cloven metallic hooves, its equine lower body made of silver metal that looked almost soft... except where it was overlaid with heavy-duty layers of plate armor.
It was made all the more terrifying by the fact it had a broadsword strapped over its back, and a kite shield locked into place over one arm; and worse, Antares thought he could see other weapons hanging from its sides by loops of metal, as if it was a one-centaur army. And it was already reaching him again, Antares shaking his head in terror, in denial, not knowing what this horrible, goliath thing could want from him-
Avalon smashed across the creature's collar, and it snarled and clawed at her with its free arm, distracted, as the foal shouted as she shot up into the air, fearless despite the fact the centaur was almost ten times the size of her: “Antares, get the hell out of here!”
Antares began to nod, began to turn, but he caught sight of Avalon twisting around in midair in the corner of his eye before she shot down... and crashed only into the monster's shield when it quickly rose it in front of itself, before the centaur roared and swung the kite shield outwards, smashing Avalon limply across the field like a toy.
“Avalon!” Antares sprinted forwards, charging faster than he'd ever moved in his life before he leapt and half-spun as Avalon fell from the air, catching her bludgeoned body and crashing down on his back. He skidded backwards, clutching her against his chest, looking down with horror at her unconscious, broken form before he stared up as the centaur approached-
A much-larger Pegasus smashed into its back in a rainbow blur, and the centaur staggered with a roar before it spun around with surprising speed, rearing back and kicking its front legs out as Rainbow Dash winced and shot backwards, yelling over his shoulder: “Somepony go and get Celestia!”
Soarin' nodded sharply as he began to take to the air, and to the horror of Antares, the Centaur laughed as it snatched a coil of chain hanging at its side, roaring in response: “Herrófriðr does not think so, maggots!”
The monster snapped the chain out like a whip, and it crashed across Soarin's back and knocked him from the air with a gargle of pain before the centaur brought the improvised weapon lashing around, heedless of the foals as it struck out at the charging adults. Meadowlark shrieked as she tackled Rustproof to the ground, just before the chain snapped past and over thankfully-small Aphrodisia and then it crashed against Big Mac... but the crimson stallion only staggered and then jumped forwards, pouncing on top of the chain to drag it to the ground.
Herrófriðr dropped the chain as Rainbow Dash shot forwards again, now with Scarlet Sage following after him, but the centaur was uncannily fast, bringing the shield up to block Rainbow's attack before it used it to bash him backwards. The Pegasus only snarled, however, lurching and knocked off balance, but forcing himself to stay in the air to try and renew the attack... and then the giant's free fist crashed into him and knocked him flying limply into Scarlet Sage, the two falling from the air even as Applejack and Apple Bloom both lunged at the monster's legs.
Herrófriðr stomped his hooves violently up and down as Applejack smashed against one limb, then he roared in frustration when Apple Bloom leapt upwards, kicking off his equine body and slamming her hooves against his metal stomach, sending up a hollow rumble before the centaur reared back, then dropped both hooves forwards. The siblings both avoided the attack, however, before Apple Bloom jumped to the side, landing on Applejack before the goldenrod mare bucked hard on instinct, wincing at her sister's weight but putting all the strength she had into the movement as Apple Bloom threw herself upwards.
And Herrófriðr tomahawked her viciously out of the air, knocking her crashing to the ground as Applejack cried out before a large hoof rose up, then stomped savagely down on the goldenrod mare. It rose and slammed down again, then again, crushing Applejack back into the ground before Big Mac leapt over her, the red stallion snarling in pain as the hoof crashed down on him before he reached up to seize it as Scarlet Sage took back to the air and shot at the centaur's chest.
Herrófriðr suddenly allowed his hoof to slip backwards, then he punted Big Mac up into the air, the stallion grunting in surprise and flailing his hooves almost comically as he was knocked into Scarlet Sage's flight path, the Pegasus just halting herself from crashing into him before the centaur's shield lashed out and smashed them both flying. The centaur snarled at them then glared down furiously at Aphrodisia as she tackled one of his hooves before he simply kicked the demon away, turning quickly around in a circle before its focus locked on Antares.
It rumbled as it strode towards where the unicorn foal was trembling violently and standing over Avalon, his horn glowing feebly. He lashed it upwards, sending a weak jolt of electricity into the monster, and the centaur didn't even flinch as it reached down and snatched the colt up by the scruff, the foal howling in fear and misery, tears of denial falling from his eyes as he was lifted closer to the creature before he screamed when he found himself hovering over the black hole of its neck.
It dropped him easily into the opening, and Antares fell into a hollow cell inside the monstrosity, screaming as the centaur's voice echoed mockingly all around him: “Herrófriðr will be rewarded for this. How nice, Herrófriðr rewarded for playing fun little game with pathetic little ponies!”
The monster turned and laughed before it began to canter quickly away, and Scarlet Sage snarled as she shoved herself to her hooves before looking back and forth, breathing hard. Then her eyes locked on the sight of Soarin' slowly picking himself up, one of his wings broken from the chain colliding with it before she shouted: “Go to Celestia, go, go!”
Soarin' hesitated only a moment before he nodded and turned to run off, and Scarlet Sage trembled as she looked down at Apple Bloom's unconscious body: she could feel her pain, her torment, but also her instinctive acknowledgment, the whisper that it was okay... telling her to go after her brother. And Scarlet Sage breathed hard before she leapt to the air, flying quickly in the direction that the centaur monster had fled.
It was moving fast, whatever else, heading quickly in the direction of the wild plains, and Scarlet Sage cursed under her breath as she dropped lower to follow the trail its metallic, massive hooves had left. How no one had sensed it, how no one had seen it... all she could hope was that she could slow it down long enough for Soarin' to tell Celestia, who could get Sleipnir, Pinkamena, and Luna. Even Dad might be so enraged that he gets a second wind... and Horses of Heaven I don't want to think this way but we'll need every hoof we can find...
She gritted her teeth, then looked forwards as dusk deepened, stars beginning to sparkle in the deep reds, purples, and blacks of the sky above as she passed through a wide gap smashed in the fencing that had bordered Sweet Apple Acres, if only to mark the edge of the property. Apple trees grew wild here and there, and ahead, one had been smashed to pieces by the passage of the goliath, a clear marker... but it was heading out to nowhere, out into nothing but untamed fields, and Scarlet Sage couldn't see a sign of it ahead as she shot over the plains before glancing down.
She gritted her teeth and dropped to a landing in surprise as she realized there was no longer a trail of hoof-prints to follow, and she looked back and forth wildly before a cunning voice said gently: “You aren't going to find him. Herrófriðr has already returned to Decretum with his precious cargo...”
Scarlet Sage looked up, breathing hard, as a shape strode slowly forwards through the growing darkness, smiling calmly. It was a winged unicorn, tall, sleek, strong... and Scarlet Sage paled in horror as she realized it was a perfect copy of Twilight Sparkle, except that her flank was clear and clean, without a cutie mark or emblem of any kind.
Her streaked tail flicked before she laughed, and then she gazed almost affectionately over Scarlet Sage as she stepped slowly forwards, and the Pegasus shivered as she set herself, realizing that this creature was also larger than the Twilight she knew... as large as perhaps Celestia, as she loomed forwards and flapped her wings once: enormous, violet wings with beautiful white pinions. “Shush now. Go to sleep.”
Her violet eyes flashed, and Scarlet Sage felt a hammer smash into her mind, stumbling drunkenly backwards before she cursed weakly, then dug her hooves into the ground... and her own eyes glowed faint crimson, her blood boiling in her own veins as she whispered: “No.”
She shook herself out, adrenaline sparking through her veins as her blood flowed faster, her heart rate speeding up and her breaths coming sharper as the Clockwork Pony frowned, then smiled slowly. “Oh. You're the girl with demon blood. Fascinating... yes, I've been hoping to have a word with you, and what a delight that we'll get to do it alone...”
“Who are you? What are you? Where is Antares and that monster?” Scarlet Sage shouted, even though she had a terrible feeling she already knew the answer.
“I am Wisdom, the Hallowed Sanctifier. I am the chosen one. And unlike my foolish brethren, I have never been defeated, never been bested. I came here on the orders of the Clockwork King himself, to capture the child of Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms... we shall convert him to our ways.” Wisdom grinned callously. “We shall make him see. He will be the perfect addition to our forces. And once Brynhild, Freya, and Thor are exterminated, we shall force open the Bifrost Bridge and annihilate Valhalla and reclaim Kvasir. He has much to answer for to our beloved savior-lord.”
Scarlet Sage snarled at this, setting herself, and Wisdom shook her head and laughed, saying almost pityingly: “You believe yourself a match for me, little girl? I am not simply the master of the Hexad... I am the Hexad. I am the Clockwork King's chosen one. I am the hero who will bring this universe to order. I am Law. And the only reason your world still exists is because I have permitted it to do so... but now, the Clockwork King has told me to end this charade. To either destroy this world... or unite it with ours, to bring our vision, our glory, here. And I tell you all this, little girl, because you will serve as the message I send to your parents, the warning I will give them to surrender, and give in peacefully... to atone for their mistakes, and join us.”
The Pegasus snorted in disgust at this, closing her eyes and bowing her head forwards before she whispered: “I won't let you.”
“Then come, little girl. Let's play a game.” replied Wisdom softly, and Scarlet Sage's eyes flashed as she looked sharply up before the Pegasus lunged forwards, and Wisdom smiled, elegantly stepping backwards and easily dodging back and forth, avoiding swipes of Scarlet Sage's hooves before the Clockwork Pony suddenly slashed her horn out and downwards, ripping through Scarlet Sage's features to knock her backwards with a cry of agony.
Her blood splattered out over Wisdom's face, and Scarlet Sage snarled as her eyes glowed red, looking sharply up. For a moment, Wisdom frowned, and then the Clockwork Pony's eyes widened as the blood on her face began to steam violently, eating into her features like acid as she staggered backwards, before a cry of shock and horror came from her jaws as Scarlet Sage's eyes flashed brightly and the boiling blood exploded into red flames.
Wisdom fell forwards, pawing wildly at her face as Scarlet Sage ran quickly in towards the Clockwork Pony... and then leapt backwards with a curse, staggering hurriedly away as Wisdom leapt up to her hooves, horn glowing with black fire as she lashed it back and forth angrily as her features visibly healed. “Arrogant little filly!”
Scarlet Sage dodged the dangerous swings of the Clockwork Pony's horn, evading back and forth before Wisdom reared back, her horn glowing brighter as she prepared some spell... and Scarlet Sage leapt in low, tackling her stomach and knocking Wisdom onto her back before she began to slam her hooves down viciously and violently into the pony's chest, snarling in effort as Wisdom snarled in pain before kicking her off.
Scarlet Sage crashed down, and Wisdom rolled to her hooves before leaping forwards, swinging her horn down to try and stab through the Pegasus' breast, but Scarlet Sage managed to twist her body out of the way. Agony still ripped through her as instead Wisdom pierced into her wing, the Pegasus crying out before she felt Wisdom begin to step back... and instead, Scarlet snarled, her eyes glowing red as blood burst up from her wing, then solidified, becoming like cement.
It was agonizing, especially with Wisdom trying fruitlessly to draw her head back as she cursed in surprise, before Scarlet Sage slammed a blow once, twice, thrice, into Wisdom's mouth and nose. She felt a tooth dislodge and heard the crack of bone, and Wisdom's shriek told her she had achieved what she was going for before she shoved her hoof against Wisdom's face, forcibly pushing on her before Wisdom roared as her horn burst into black flame again, searing apart the cemented blood and letting her leap backwards as Scarlet Sage howled in pain.
Then the Blood Seer quickly brought her hoof to her muzzle, licking the blood off it quickly, snarling as she rolled up to her hooves and her eyes glowed brilliantly as she channeled all the rage and pain in her body towards Wisdom as she felt the alien blood coursing through her system. She began to open her mouth... and then trembled as Wisdom only smiled coldly, the glow dying from around the Clockwork Pony's horn as she relaxed and stepped backwards, a bit of silver-colored blood dripping from her jaws... wait... silver? I... I...
Scarlet Sage frowned... then gagged loudly, staggering backwards as her vision went blurry for a moment. Everything began to slide towards darkness, before her stomach suddenly twisted, and she screamed in agony as pain ripped through her body as Wisdom calmly rolled her head on her shoulders... and her teeth realigned themselves as the blood was absorbed back into her form.
She gazed calmly towards Scarlet Sage as the Blood Seer fell forwards, hugging herself and vomiting silver liquid, screaming in misery the entire time as she stared helplessly up at Wisdom, convulsing and gargling and choking on the stuff that the Clockwork Pony had in place of blood as Wisdom held up a hoof... then it turned silver before splitting apart into thick, ugly tendrils of liquid metal that solidified a moment later into dark claws, the Clockwork Pony saying mockingly: “Can't handle my blood, little girl? Is it because of my power? Because of my knowledge? Or is it because while useless red juice flows through the body of every worthless pony on this planet, I have mercury running through my veins instead?”
Scarlet Sage screamed again even as her vision began to fade, her eyes rolling wildly in her head as silver liquid spilled out of her jaws and she felt her own blood slowly turning to liquid metal in her veins, convulsing wildly before Wisdom smiled coldly as her horn began to glow and she backed slowly away, vanishing into the darkness as she whispered mockingly: “Goodbye, little girl. Don't worry. I'll send the rest of your family to you shortly.”
Luna and Scrivener had been devastated by what had happened, storming around, shouting and yelling, wanting to go to Ponyville, to the hospital, straight to Decretum, even as both Twilight and Celestia tried to calm them down. Celestia was furious as well, but maintaining her composure... if only because they'd just barely gotten Scarlet Sage to the hospital in time, after Celestia had willingly transfused much of her own blood to Scarlet Sage, sharing her essence and vitality with the Blood Seer to keep her alive and drive the toxic blood out of her system. As it was, it was a wonder she had survived at all... thanks likely only to the training she had done over the years, learning to pick up the Blood Seer's treasured immunity to toxins and poisons.
Apple Bloom was with Scarlet Sage now, who was comatose and in intensive care in the Ponyville Hospital. They had no idea what had done this to her, but there had been signs of a battle, and Apple Bloom had whispered she'd heard something about Clockwork World through the link she shared with Scarlet Sage. That, combined with the monster that had attacked and kidnapped Antares, meant that the last member of the Hexad, Wisdom, was likely now on the offensive.
Only one thing stopped Luna and Scrivener from charging furiously out to hunt Wisdom down and force her to take them to Clockwork World, and that was Scrivener Blooms' condition. Over the last week, he had begun to worsen and his health to weaken, and emotional stress only made things worse for him... which meant that after a few minutes of utter rage, Scrivener simply collapsed in a dead faint, and Luna cried out in pain before she slumped weakly to the ground as well.
Celestia – pale from giving up so much blood, but still in far better condition than the rest of her family, even terrified-out-of-her-mind Twilight – had pulled Scrivener to his hooves and carried him quietly to bed. She had carefully slipped him onto his mattress, laid him down, and gazed at him with sympathy and agony in her eyes as he lay on the sheets, breathing shallowly, corruption dripping out of his open jaws and mouth, his eyes closed. His body was gaunt and emaciated, and his coat was patchy and bruised in places from the corruption rotting its way through his system. He was dying... and Celestia looked silently towards a grinning puzzle box head that laid on a shelf nearby, trembling before Twilight's voice said weakly in the doorway: “Don't. Don't.”
“I know. I know I cannot make the decision for them or force them but... this would be a worthy use for the last miracle. I do not understand why even now, sister and Scrivener...” Celestia breathed hard, shaking her head sharply before she looked over her shoulder at Twilight, whispering: “I'm afraid, Twilight. Especially now: there's no point in destroying the Hexad if we are left without a passage into Clockwork World, now that... now that they have taken Antares.”
“And...” Twilight trembled, a tear rolling down her cheek even as she tried to make her voice steady, replying quietly: “And we need to remember to rescue... A-Antares. That means we may need to... use the card to gain access to... C-Clockwork World.”
Celestia could only stare disbelievingly at Twilight, and the violet mare clenched her eyes shut, dropping her head forwards and whispering: “It's what Scrivener and Luna would want. No, Celestia, it's not what I want at all. I love Antares, I do, I would die for him, but... I don't want Scrivener and Luna to die. But if I let Antares die and save them... then I lose them anyway, don't I?” Twilight looked up with a weak laugh, shaking her head slowly. “I'm sorry, Celestia.”
“No, you're... you're right.” Celestia trembled, looking over her shoulder at Scrivener Blooms as he rasped weakly in and out before she closed her eyes, whispering: “I need to return to Ponyville, Twilight. We need to be careful, Clockwork World could attack at any time. I'll send you letters as I find out how Scarlet Sage is doing and... any other information I come across. I need you to talk to Luna about moving to Ponyville, at least for now... if... if Scrivener Blooms can handle that journey.”
Twilight nodded slowly, swallowing thickly as Celestia strode forwards, and the two hesitated before they shared a tight, firm embrace with one another. It lingered for a few long moments, and then Celestia slipped past, shaking her head slowly as she headed for the door.
Twilight Sparkle watched the rainbow-maned mare leave, watched the door swing closed and was left in silence so loud it threatened to deafen her. She gritted her teeth, and the sound of them grinding together was both painful and welcome, like the thunder of her hooves as she turned to stride slowly down the hallway and look miserably in on Luna.
The sapphire mare was awake, but simply laying on the floor, trembling, a tear leaking slowly down her face. Twilight took a hesitant step towards her, and Luna closed her eyes and hid her face, whispering: “ Do not look upon me, Twilight. I have failed to protect my children... I have failed as a mother and a wife. Scrivener Blooms is dying, and there may be nothing we can do...”
“You don't get to just give up, Luna... you don't get to decide that.” Twilight whispered, and Luna slowly uncovered her face, looking up at Twilight as the violet mare leaned forwards and said harshly, even as tears flowed down her cheeks: “You're not a quitter or a coward so stop it! Antares is gone but I believe we can still save him, I believe we can still find a way to fix all of this, and if you can't believe that can you at least believe that we can stop Wisdom? Can you at least find the strength, during this... this little window of time we have, to help us figure out a way to save your son and the world you helped rebuild, that Odin died for, even... even if you and Scrivener are so goddamn determined to die?”
Luna closed her eyes... then she slowly sat up and bowed her head forwards, whispering: “Yes... yes, thou art... thou art right.” Luna trembled and looked down, then she looked up and across at Twilight, saying quietly: “Then I will not leave this cottage. We will not go to Ponyville. Wisdom will surely come to attack us next, that is why she hurt Scarlet Sage... 'twas a message. And Scrivener Blooms and I will kill her. Her death will give Scrivener knowledge... her death must give Scrivener the knowledge we need. And we will... will survive at least long enough to open the way to Clockwork World and whatever awaits us there.”
She closed her eyes as Twilight trembled, then began to open her mouth, but Luna shook her head violently and whispered: “No. No more lectures now, Twilight, I may deserve it, but I cannot bear it. But I do not ask for pity: only comfort... even I need comfort at times...”
Luna trembled a little as she turned towards the fireplace, and Twilight looked at her silently before she stepped forwards and laid quietly beside her, and the sapphire mare buried her face against Twilight's neck, trembling weakly and crying silently. And Twilight did what she could to comfort Luna, holding her close, head bowed and eyes closed.
Scrivener was unconscious all night, and he was only awake briefly the next morning. The stress had worsened his condition, the news of Scarlet in coma and Antares simply gone had stolen much of what remained of his life, as he laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. Luna was little better off: still physically strong, powerful and dangerous as ever, but emotionally a wreck, feeling as weak and easily bested as a scared kitten.
Celestia had recovered and begun working with Sleipnir and Pinkamena to prepare for the worst; the two were furious about Antares missing, trebled by the fact Aphrodisia had been injured, quadrupled by the fact the remains of poor Kǫttr had been found in Sweet Apple Acres with the life crushed out of the Hellhound by the centaur monster. The Starlit Knights, both local and nationwide, were also being prepared, and demons were regularly patrolling through Ponyville. After what had happened, however, even the most frightening demon was a welcome sight around the village, as supernatural patrols and pony and Nibelung soldiers worked side-by-side to keep people safe and secure.
Twilight Sparkle kept busy to keep herself sane, torn between her loyalties to Luna and Scrivener and what had happened to Antares. All she knew was that she was incredibly glad when Celestia had regained her senses and begun attending to all the details: and despite the emotion in her voice and eyes when she spoke of Antares or her family, her mind still processed things sharply and concisely. For once, Twilight was glad for it: it meant that she didn't have to, after all. She could just focus on running back and forth, acting as messenger and filing reports and doing research.
Every hour that passed felt like a day: every day, felt like a year, and nights were even longer, with all who knew what had happened tortured by the fact that with every moment that passed, Antares could be suffering some torture, some torment, some hell in Decretum: that if they were lucky, they would only find him scared and in a cell when they finally broke into Clockwork World... but if they weren't, he might already be part of some terrible machination of Valthrudnir's.
But no one could force themselves to think about this for very long, and there were too many other concerns to take care of: the wounded in the hospital, which included little Avalon; Rainbow Dash kept whispering about how brave she was, even as he cried now and then, saying his daughter was more loyal than he'd ever been. The only positive side was that the foal was recovering well, thanks to how tough her little body was... and Scarlet Sage wasn't getting any better, but she wasn't getting any worse, either.
One day became two... and as Twilight left the library with her head bowed silently, she wondered how long it would be before everyone... simply lost hope. Even if they opened the Bifrost, after all, they had no way of knowing exactly where Clockwork World was. It was either well-hidden amidst the many layers, or somewhere just outside of where they could search with ease, or... who knew what the Jötnar had been capable of?
Twilight walked along, head bowed, eyes downcast, trembling a bit. The season's first snow had blown quietly in earlier, but the cold was welcome. The cold helped her feel numb, although it also made her think of Scrivener... how much he liked the cold. How maybe winter would make him feel better...
She looked up silently, and the wind bit her watery eyes, made her wince a little before she frowned at a foggy storefront, then hesitantly approached, cocking her head curiously. And for a moment, she forgot about everything else – Clockwork World, Scrivener's illness, Wisdom, everything – as she looked through the foggy window, and her eyes settled on a beautiful music box, illustrated with images of the sun and moon and gilt with gold, But on top of it was what caught her attention: the gorgeous statuette of Luna herself, in polished silver.
Twilight hurried into the store, the smell of old wood and dust greeting her, and she called a quick greeting to the surprised owner as he looked dumbly up from the magazine he had been reading, apparently amazed he had a customer. Twilight all but rushed him... and five minutes later, she had the beautiful music box tucked into her satchel as a gift for Luna and Scrivener... although she wasn't sure who would appreciate the archaic thing more. Apparently, some Nibelung had sold it off to the antique collector at some point, a treasure from the old world... probably ancient, and yet when opened, music still played: out of tune, perhaps, but it somehow added to the charm.
Twilight let herself out as evening began to roll in, heading through the field and onto the widened path leading to Luna's cottage: it had been walked so often now, by so many, that it had naturally grown into a dusty path instead of a half-hidden trail through the Everfree Forest. The violet mare closed her eyes as she strode onwards, not focusing on anything, trying to calm herself down for the umpteenth time over the last two days... before a voice said softly: “Silly, and predictable.”
Twilight looked sharply up, stumbling to a halt... and standing only ten feet away was a violet mare that looked like a larger version of herself, her eyes widening before she realized who it was... what it was. She shivered, staring in disbelief before she gritted her teeth, straightening up as Wisdom said tenderly: “Look at me. Once, I was like you... soft, weak. Believed in the things I was told... didn't understand I was always simply being used. Simply a disposable figurehead, not a real leader... a puppet and a toy, not something honestly loved...”
“Give Antares back... you... you coward. You monster...” Twilight whispered, and Wisdom only laughed coldly before the violet mare looked back and forth, then clenched her teeth and flicked her horn upwards, sending up a neon flare of light.
Wisdom's eyes sharpened as she followed this quickly, then the Clockwork Pony snarled and leaned forwards in understanding, saying coldly: “I suppose that I should have expected pathetic little Twilight Sparkle to cry for help from her friends. Now I'll have to make this quick.”
Wisdom lunged forwards, and Twilight flicked her horn, a wall of sapphire energy appearing in the air in front of her... but Wisdom only grinned, flicking her own horn forwards to shatter it into motes of light that she easily leapt through before Twilight gritted her teeth, horn glowing and unleashing a blast of telekinetic force.
But it was useless, Wisdom ignoring the attack completely as she swung a hoof forwards... and in front of Twilight's horrified eyes, it became an enormous, cleaving silver blade that ripped down across her chest, driving her backwards with a shriek before Wisdom's other hoof swung up as it became a deadly and terrible spike, driving this savagely into Twilight's breast and knocking her back another step before Wisdom hammered a headbutt home into Twilight's face. The winged unicorn was knocked sprawling, crying out and wincing away from the expected deathblow... but Wisdom only laughed coldly as she stepped backwards, her hooves returning to normal as she asked mockingly: “What's wrong, Twilight Sparkle? Where's the magic of friendship to save you now?”
Twilight trembled, then she leapt to her hooves and swung her horn outwards, cleaving through Wisdom's face and knocking the Clockwork Pony staggering backwards in a burst of silver blood, the violet mare breathing hard... and staring in horror as Wisdom slowly rose her dripping features with a grin as the wound quickly healed, before her eyes glowed bright violet as her gaze locked with Twilight's, the Clockwork Pony saying coldly: “Suffer.”
Twilight's eyes widened as she felt some tremendous mental force rush into her mind, pervade her thoughts, horrific images and screaming voices tearing through her brain as she shrieked and staggered backwards, shaking her head wildly back and forth. Her body jittered helplessly as light flashed around her horn, eyes beginning to glow as arcs of energy sparked through the air around her... and Wisdom's cruel laughter cut through it all as Twilight forced herself to try and focus through the madness assaulting her senses, through the violence ripping apart her mind, before-
Pain tore through her body in one single, terrible typhoon that knocked away everything else... and then it slowly faded into numbness as Twilight Sparkle breathed weakly, her limbs trembling beneath her as she stared forwards, jaw falling open slackly. A bead of drool fell from her lips, spilling onto Wisdom's bloodstained face... sliding down her cheek like a tear as the monster grinned darkly, horn buried into Twilight's breast and through her heart as the Clockwork Pony said softly: “You see? No one came to save you. No one can save you... and you can't save anyone, not even yourself.”
Wisdom yanked her horn free as she stepped backwards, and Twilight fell on her side, staring weakly outwards as blood spilled from the hole in her chest, spilled from her tattered, feebly convulsing heart. She struggled to breathe, tasting copper and the earth as Wisdom turned and walked away... but over the sound of her hooves, Twilight heard something strange, heard a faint singing, she thought...
Slowly, her eyes roved to the side, and she saw the music box laying in the grasses beside her, open and playing its gentle, soothing melody. Melancholy replaced pain and panic as Twilight listened to it, seconds feeling like separate eternities as she felt her life force steadily leaving her body. Felt everything getting darker, as the music box sang to her...
And as Twilight's eyes began to close, she thought of Scrivener and Luna. Thought of Antares. Thought of Celestia and Scarlet Sage. Thought of all her friends... Fluttershy's smile, Rainbow's eyes, Applejack's laughter, Pinkie Pie's energy, Rarity's warmth... and Pinkamena, and Sleipnir, and Cowlick and Ross and... so many others...
And above it all, Luna and Scrivener. She forced her eyes open, hearing their cries in her mind, hearing their sorrow for her... and even though Wisdom had stolen everything else away, planned to kill them both, they were crying for her. They didn't care about themselves... they cared about her, even though she... she...
Her eyes locked on the music box... and as her last breaths faded, Twilight stared at it, her horn beginning to glow as she whispered words she didn't know how she knew...
Celestia arrived only a few minutes later, in full battle armor and with Tyrfing on her back, but it was too late. She stared with horror and disbelief at Twilight's body, and a tremble of fear and fury rolled through her, before she snarled as her eyes flashed, her mane sparking as it turned to despair and hatred. But she swallowed these emotions back after a moment, clenching her eyes shut, whispering: “Twilight... I can't... I can't bear to lose you, and Scrivener, and Luna all at once like this. But may Odin's ghost help me, for what they have done... if I have to, I'll rip down Clockwork World, brick-by-brick, with my own bare hooves. I'll kill every single monster on that planet... I'll... T-Twilight...”
“Now Celestia... not all is lost...” said a soft voice, and Celestia looked up in sharp surprise as a shape she couldn't believe strode out of the darkness of the forest... and Gymbr smiled at her calmly even as Celestia dropped to a ready position, standing protectively over Twilight's body as tears shone in her eyes. “Cease now. We loved her as deeply as you did... perhaps even more. But sweet, beloved Celestia... look again at Twilight's body. Look again... and see the hope that remains...”
Celestia frowned at this, but she couldn't resist from looking down, over her still-warm corpse, her glazed, half-open eyes, her horn, still faintly... glowing. Her horn is glowing, she... that's not possible, unless...
Slowly, Celestia's eyes roved to the source of the sound she hadn't even registered, with all her focus on Twilight. To the music box, which was faintly glowing as well, every note that came from it beautiful, sharp, powerful... and as Celestia leaned slowly down, Gymbr calmly approached, and the ivory winged unicorn looked weakly up as she whispered: “I can't. You can't expect me to do this. There... there must be another way... and Wisdom, if I... do this... but Wisdom kills Luna and Scrivener, then... I... I don't... she'll...”
Gymbr, however, only smiled soothingly, reaching a hoof forwards and touching Celestia's face as its emerald eyes locked with the mare's amethyst, and it said tenderly: “Have faith, beloved Celestia. We shall give you our aid and show you the way. Let the monster try and claim its prey... it does not understand what it is walking into. What a trap we have set for it.”
Celestia trembled, but knew she had no choice but to trust in the strange, alien Tulpa as it gazed down at her with terrible love and affection... and yet still, she looked ahead, as if trying to see the cottage in the distance. As if trying to watch, as beneath the stars, walking calmly along the frozen path and through the frost, Wisdom approached the cottage of Luna Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms.
It smiled as the door was flung open... then frowned as Luna met its eyes fearlessly with her own, visibly boiling with fury even as she said in a coldly-cordial voice: “Please, guest. Do come inside and make thyself at home.”
“So generous, Brynhild... have you come to your senses? Do you plan to surrender?” Wisdom asked calmly, and Luna didn't answer, only turning around and heading down the hall. The Clockwork Pony's eyes glowed, looking intrigued as it strode inside and kicked the door closed behind itself, before smiling and glancing over its shoulder as its horn glowed, runes etching themselves quickly over the door before violet energy began to spark and dance along the wood.
It strode slowly down the hall to the den room, calmly drawing its gaze over the paintings on the walls, at the sight of Luna sitting with her back to the crackling blue flames... and at Scrivener Blooms, resting back in a chair, breathing heavily. An oxygen tank was beside him, and he was holding the mask up to his mouth, coughing quietly as he breathed slowly into this before Luna said quietly: “Cure Scrivener Blooms, monster, and we shall do whatever thou desires.”
“An interesting proposal. Do you know that I killed Twilight Sparkle?” Wisdom asked conversationally, and Luna snarled, gritting her teeth as Scrivener slowly looked up. “It was simple. Just as it was with your daughter...”
“You poisoned them both. One with blood... the... t-the other, with your mind. You like to play games, don't you?” Scrivener rasped, and then he grinned weakly, Wisdom looking at him with interest. “We have... plenty of eyes and ears in the forest.”
“Interesting.” Wisdom murmured, leaning towards him as her horn glowed, and then she licked her lips slowly. “I should have waited... a week, perhaps eight days. You would have been dead. Rotted, from the inside out... how pathetic.”
Wisdom reached a hoof suddenly upwards as it transformed into a blade, shoving the tip to Scrivener's throat... but he didn't flinch, only grimacing, then coughing once before whispering: “Go ahead. Kill us, or heal me and we join you. We don't care anymore.”
“No. That is not how this works. You do not make the demands and you do not set the rules.” Wisdom said coldly, drawing her limb back as the blade transformed back into a silvery limb, and she snarled as Luna laughed at her, shaking her head in disgust. “What?”
“Thou should take this offer. See, there... there is nothing left for us, with Twilight Sparkle dead. So we are willing to join Decretum, freely, to be with Antares. To be with our son, and to be together... oh, aye, others will have to be convinced but... in time, I am sure they shall.” Luna said softly, shaking her head slowly. “And if thou cannot heal him... well, better we die together. We are... tired of these games. Of these fights. Tired of fighting, and suffering... and of cowardly, unworthy opponents.”
Wisdom shook her head in derision at this, then she said icily: “And I will not accept either, Brynhild. I am the chosen one. I am the Hallowed Sanctifier. I am the one who cleanses the world and chooses the worthy... you do not get to decide that you are worthy to join our cause yourself.”
Luna only rolled her eyes in response, however, and when Wisdom glared at her, she said contemptibly: “I told thee, we do not desire battle... but even in his current condition, I judge thee unworthy for me to dirty my hooves with. Scrivener Blooms himself would be more than a match for thee.”
“Scrivener Blooms? He writhes in agony, choking on corruption and mire!” Wisdom laughed sharply, then she grinned and turned her eyes to him, locking gazes with him as she began coldly: “Watch, I'll-”
Then she cut off, her eyes widening even as they began to glow violet, as Scrivener's own turned solid sapphire as corruption spilled down his face like tears... and a moment later, Wisdom was standing in a world of night, looking sharply back and forth before she slowly closed her eyes and smiled coldly, whispering: “What arrogance...”
When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking across at Scrivener Blooms, and she leaned back, revolted by the sight of him: he was as large as her, in a state twisted jarringly halfway between Tyrant Wyrm and earth pony, one strong claw resting against the solid black earth as he said coldly: “Arrogance? I don't think so. You're the one who likes to play mind games... as I recall from the memories of the Hexad, your favorite way to punish them was to link your mind to theirs. Just like you did to Twilight Sparkle... and after what you did to her I'm going to enjoy this.”
“Tough talk, Scrivener Blooms...” Wisdom snorted in contempt, and the two paced in a slow circle as she smiled coldly before her eyes and horn glowed, and Scrivener grimaced as ripples passed through the mental world around them before the floor became solid cement, and massive pillars and walls of gray stone tore up around them, forming an enormous, spiraled coliseum that they were in the dead center of. “Very well. If this is what you desire... I shall solidify the mental link between us, I shall lock our minds together, and we shall rip into each other until I put you through so much agony that your mind simply overloads, and you die, screaming my name, begging me for a mercy I will not grant you. How does that sound, Scrivener Blooms?”
“Delightful.” Scrivener muttered, and then he ran forwards... only for Wisdom to vanish from sight, laughing mockingly before he cursed under his breath and looked over his shoulder to see her high in the air, grinning viciously down at him as her strong wings flapped and kept her easily aloft high above.
“I have had eons of experience with this! Of ripping minds apart, battling and turning the warped imaginations and memories of mortals, demons, even gods against themselves, of reducing the mightiest heroes to quaking children and crying, screaming dogs begging for death! And I shall do the same to you, Scrivener Blooms... how dare you and pathetic Brynhild think that you can stand up to me! How dare you be so arrogant as to challenge me alone!” Wisdom shouted, and then she flew higher into the air, vanishing into the darkness above as her voice echoed around him: “Good luck, Scrivener Blooms, in finding a quick death!”
Scrivener snarled up after her... and then he cursed in shock as the earth beneath his hooves rumbled before cracking violently apart, grabbing at the ground with his claw as he struggled to stay standing before there was a massive explosion of dust and gravel from behind him, and the half-wyrm, half-pony winced over his shoulder, then stared in horror as an enormous statue of Delight rose up, standing on her hind hooves and made of heavy, solid marble, frozen in the midst of a fit of screaming laughter.
More cracks and rumbles tore through the world, and four more statues rose up around the arena: statues at least twenty feet tall, that made Scrivener seem puny in proportion, all standing on their hind hooves. Valor, with chains of marble hanging from her limbs, slack and solid as the rest of her; Courage, wings spread, manic grin on her face, armor rendered perfectly in stone; Beauty, curled mane and lab coat and pressed together hands as clearly sculpted as her gorgeous features; Prudence, calm and smiling and terrible.
Scrivener cursed under his breath, staring around at these in horror: he was feeling strong, after all, feeling in the best shape of his life in this mental world... but he didn't think he had enough strength to fight all these at once. Thankfully, for the moment, they only stood... before he snarled as Wisdom flew down and landed on Beauty, who stood the furthest distance away, as the Clockwork Pony called mockingly: “Are you prepared to see the true power of Clockwork World and the Hexad, Scrivener Blooms?”
Scrivener began to snarl a response, and then his eyes widened as Beauty's statue rose its head, and energy crackled around it before forming into a massive shield that surrounded both it and Wisdom, the Clockwork Pony grinning as she leaned forwards and shouted: “Tear him apart!”
Scrivener heard the rumble behind him, running forwards on instinct even as he looked back with a wince before Delight's statue vomited a steaming blast of blood and black mire after him in a thick, terrible river, Scrivener shouting in disgust as he drew near the statue of Valor... and massive, marble chains with links almost the size of his body lashed out, the statue guiding the chains as easily as the real Valor had. Scrivener winced as he ducked beneath one lash, then leapt over the second before staggering to the side... only for the statue of Courage to scream silently at him as it arched its back, and blasts of blue lightning hailed down from the sky, driving Scrivener backwards as he howled in pain, several of the blasts smashing into his large body and sending very real pain sizzling through him before agony blasted his system when one of the massive, marble chains of Valor swept into him from behind.
He was knocked flying forwards, half-carried across the arena on the chain before he was thrown free and hurled to the ground, skidding in front of Prudence. Immediately, the statue leaned down, smashing its front hooves into the ground as the spring blades snapped out from her stone bracers like biting cobras, but Scrivener was able to lunge backwards in time and the statue of Prudence didn't seem to be able to move its rear hooves off the thick base it was standing on.
Scrivener winced as he turned towards the statue of Beauty... just in time to watch Valor's chain pass seamlessly through the force-field surrounding the statue and Wisdom before the marble links swung in towards him, and Scrivener winced and ducked low beneath this lash before he charged forwards... and smashed uselessly against the force shield, which immediately gave a repelling shockwave that knocked him crashing backwards. He cursed in pain, his mind going wild as he wished for time to think...
And somehow, that reminded him, that single crazed thought, that this was all in his own head. No... not entirely right, in his head, and in Wisdom's. And as Scrivener rolled to his hooves, he winced at the sight of another of Valor's chains snapping in towards him before it smashed him backwards, and he was thrown towards the statue of Courage, which roared silently and unleashed a shockwave of electricity that sent him crashing bonelessly into the ground.
He hit the concrete and skidded forwards over his face before a chain smashed down into his back, making him howl in agony even as a thousand mad trains of thoughts ran through his mind all at once and he remembered the warning and the whisper that Gymbr had given them, in the brief few minutes before Wisdom had appeared: Do what we have always done best. Absorb the darkness, and reflect it back.
Scrivener howled in agony as the chains descended down again, smashing into him, sending bolts of agony through his system as Delight leaned forwards and vomited acidic blood and mire into the mix, as lightning hailed from the sky and Prudence and Beauty calmly watched. Wisdom laughed, feeling Scrivener's pain, his agony, watching as he was crushed again and again... and while they couldn't die here, the pain was all too real, and the humiliation, and the emotions would eventually build up so high that Scrivener's mind would break down or he would suffer a heart attack in reality...
And then Wisdom smiled coldly as the statues leaned suddenly back, halting in their attack as a weak, broken gasp came up from Scrivener's body, and the Clockwork Pony leapt forwards as Beauty's barrier vanished. She glided easily down to the arena floor, landing in the steaming, boiling muck and blood surrounding Scrivener's beaten, maimed form, and she leaned down as she murmured softly: “Pathetic. Are you going to simply lay here and take the pain, and hope that I will give you an opening, a chance for retaliation? It's already too late for that, Scrivener Blooms, look at you. Beaten, broken... you didn't even try to run away.”
“Why would I run...” Scrivener whispered, his eyes closed as he forced his hooves and claw beneath him, and then the half-wyrm, half-pony carefully pushed his aching, scarred body up to a standing position. He was covered in bruises, dripping acid that was still smoking over his form, bleeding from countless injuries as he turned his head towards her... and then his eyes opened, one chestnut, the other a socket filled with blue, unholy light as Wisdom reared back in shock. “Tyrant Wyrms feed on pain.”
Wisdom snarled, then cursed when Scrivener lunged at her, leaping backwards and immediately shooting into the air: just as Scrivener had hoped, as he leaned backwards and roared to the sky in the horrible, vile language that made the corruption in his mind and veins boil: “Feel now the Void, crawling through your mind, ravaging your thoughts, feasting upon your sanity... feel reality rot around your worthless husk, and tears of blood run endlessly down your face...”
“Useless words! That's all they are, words!” Wisdom shouted furiously, even as she continued to hurriedly fly up to safety in the air, and then her eyes widened in shock as Scrivener grinned and the ground around him rotted rapidly away, dust and steam hissing up from the arena's floor as it decayed from concrete into black mire. The enormous statues groaned as they began to tip in the now-soft, pulsating earth, corruption greedily beginning to spread up over the bases before Wisdom shouted furiously: “Crush him, kill him, destroy-”
“There's something I always wanted to try, you don't mind, right?” Scrivener grinned up at her; then, even as the five statues began to unsteadily move, as energy charged through the air, Scrivener threw his head back and began to sing alien words in a voice he didn't know he had, reverberations blasting through the air as Scrivener channeled the corruption of the Black Verses into the song, amplifying it with the agony that was filling up his mind and body, and the rage and sorrows pervading his very soul.
As he sang, the walls of the arena began to shiver and crack, rot spreading through the stone as massive, enormous black vines that were half-plant, half-flesh tore up from the mire pulsating beneath Scrivener's hooves and claw in time with his terrible dark song, spreading viciously, violently upwards along the enormous marble statues, slapping against the stone and constricting as it crept upwards with enough force to crack the rock. Red blood burst from the wounds in the statues, and moss and ivy rapidly spread towards these, devouring the crimson fluid and working their way into the cracks and wounds.
Delight's statue screamed silently as the vines began to drag it downwards, monstrous plant life spilling up out of her jaws and spreading downwards before the head of the statue simply exploded, and a moment later, it was dragged down in a geyser of dark ooze and a rumble of crumbling stone into the mire. And still, Scrivener sang, his words only growing stronger, fiercer, as the other statues were torn slowly apart.
Prudence toppled next as enormous black roses began to sprout over her statue and the vines tightened around one forelimb, shattering it and sending it falling in pieces to the mire, which greedily swallowed it down... followed by the rest of her collapsing body. More black roses were sprouting over the other statues, clogging up Valor's chains and leaving her unable to swing in to attack Scrivener, as Beauty's force-field sparked out of existence and Courage screamed silently.
And then, overhead, there was a peal of thunder before rain began to fall, every droplet like a dagger against Wisdom as she cried out in pain and horror, her body rapidly losing color and becoming silvery liquid-metal, her wings melting like wax as she began to plummet towards the ground. As she fell, Courage, Beauty, and Valor exploded into fragments, the mire bursting up like a geyser in the places of the statues to greedily claim their remains, and Scrivener looked up with a savage grin before he ran suddenly forwards.
Even as he stopped singing, the melody rang through the air, and the mire swirled and rollicked like an ocean as rain pelted down, thunder rumbled, and black rose petals twisted and blew through the air. Wisdom looked down in horror to see Scrivener charging towards her, her eyes widening before the half-wyrm leapt up and seized her by the throat, dragging her downwards and slamming her into the mire... but instead of crashing on her back into muck, she felt herself shatter through something solid before both she and Scrivener were falling through a black tunnel, broken shards of a massive mirror falling all around them as Scrivener leaned forwards and snarled, his eyes glowing with hellish light: “Let's go through the looking glass, Alice, and see what Hell awaits us on the other side!”
“Get off me!” Wisdom snarled and shoved at him as they fell, trying to flap her wings before she stared in horror as she realized they had melted away, and she gritted her teeth in frustration... but before she could will them back, Scrivener slammed a hoof into her face, then he slashed his claw outwards, ripping through her chest and sending up a blast of silvery essence.
She howled in frustration and growing fear, then focused her magic and snapped her horn towards him, a blast of lightning hammering into the half-wyrm, half-pony and knocking him backwards before he threw himself forwards again, and Wisdom gargled as his claw sealed around her throat. She began to open her mouth to shout something, and then reality around them went dead and dark before flashes of images tore through her mind, of a horrible monster, invulnerable to the pains she could cause, striding slowly towards her, a smile on its face, and she was just a scared little filly-
“I am Wisdom! I am the chosen one!” The Clockwork Pony screamed, and the world came back into being around them before she stared in horror as she looked back and forth around them: a world of flesh and ice and fire, unreal, primordial elements all lodged together before she looked off to the distance, and there was the monster, grinning at her, massive, terrible, eyes glowing, and they were like bugs-
She snarled, one of her hooves transforming into a blade before she shoved it into Scrivener's chest, and the half-wyrm flinched... then snarled and seized it, his teeth twisting into a grin as he snapped her wrist, and she stared in horror as the blade of liquid metal melted away and spilled up through the air as they continued to free-fall, Scrivener leaning in and whispering in her ear: “You're just making this easier for me.”
And then a flash ran through her mind again, and the monster was closer, and she was in bed, crying beneath her covers... and then there were no covers, no bed, no nothing but the blood on the walls and dripping from the ceiling, and she was sitting powerless in the corner, rocking weakly, hugging herself and staring as this monster loomed in over her and looked down at her and pronounced her weak and worthless and pathetic...
They smashed into the ground, and Wisdom tried to throw Scrivener off, screamed as she staggered drunkenly to her hooves, forgetting this was all a mental world as she began to scramble over rock and flesh... and in front of her, Nightmare Moon, the monster, the horrible, masochistic thing appeared, laughing at her as she mocked: “Don't you want to join our games, Wisdom? Is this not fun?”
Wisdom spun around, shrieking... and staggered stupidly as she found herself in a concrete room. Scrivener was standing at the back of this, washing his face slowly off in a fountain... a fountain, decorated by a Tyrant Wyrm, an endless flow of blood and death coming from its jaws, and when he turned to smile at her, it was the calmness of that look, the near-tenderness in it, that shattered her spirit, as Scrivener said quietly: “Let's begin.”
Wisdom tried to turn, and ran straight into Nightmare Moon, and the Clockwork Pony shook her head wildly as she stumbled weakly backwards, whispering and moaning as Nightmare Moon advanced slowly on her, grinning down at her, shivering in excitement. Wisdom backed away, trembling... until she hit a wall of heat, and flesh, and malice, and when she looked slowly over her shoulder, Scrivener Blooms reached up and stroked under her chin gently, saying softly: “I have nothing left to lose. But don't worry: soon, you won't, either.”
The Clockwork Pony breathed hard, staring in horror... and in reality, Wisdom shivered for a moment as Luna looked sharply towards the two. It had been less than a minute, but she could feel Scrivener's excitement, Nightmare Moon's anticipation, the energy of the battle... and then suddenly, Wisdom began to scream.
It went on for several seconds, impossible to know how long that was in the nightmare world... and then Wisdom lurched backwards, shrieking, silver blood leaking from her eyes and mouth as her irises and horn glowed wildly, shaking her head savagely back and forth as if trying to free herself from the grips of some steel-jawed monster before Luna's eyes widened in surprise as the glow around Wisdom's horn built, built, built until it was like a miniature sun...
A humming filled the air, and then Luna flinched away and Scrivener Blooms gasped and started in shock as Wisdom's horn cracked, then exploded in a tremendously-powerful but compressed flare of light and magic that rattled the entire house and stunned both ponies. Wisdom herself staggered backwards, her body losing all color as it became silvery and began to melt, howling and shrieking in agony and horror as sparks shocked up and down her body before she lurched around in a circle, crying out: “No, no, no, no, no!”
Luna cursed in pain, shaking her head out... and then she looked up as Scrivener Blooms shoved himself to his hooves, then gritted his teeth and flexed as his eyes glowed, corruption leaking down his features and from his jaws even as he roared: “We're not done, Wisdom!”
Wisdom screamed, clawing and hammering at the door she had foolishly sealed herself, and then Scrivener charged her and Luna grinned savagely, not questioning where this burst of power was coming from as she shot out into the hallway. Scrivener smashed into Wisdom first, knocking her crashing against the barrier-protected door, making her gargle in agony and leave a large, silver smear behind before Scrivener dropped low as Luna shot forwards, tackling Wisdom and spearing her horn into her back before the sapphire mare roared and released all the pent up rage, telekinetic force, and raw energy she could into one massive blast.
Scrivener and Luna were both knocked rolling down the corridor with curses of pain, electricity sizzling over their bodies from the recoil, but Wisdom was launched through the door as it was reduced to splinters, the Clockwork Pony screaming in terror and agony. Splatters of silver ooze flew in every direction as she crashed to the ground and rolled several times, then hit the grass face-first... but then she transformed, becoming nothing but a silver slime for a moment before reforming in mid-run... except now, Wisdom was lacking a horn.
She bolted forwards, leaving clear hoof-prints behind herself and a trail of silver droplets, staring in horror over her shoulder as she lurched onto the path leading away from the cabin. She ran down it, then swerved suddenly off, cutting through the swathe of woodland and leaving splatters of goo against the bark here and there where she scraped against or bounced off a tree.
After only ten minutes or so, Wisdom staggered out onto a dirt road running alongside a tall set of rocky cliffs, heading desperately towards a mountain pass, looking over her shoulder with terror for pursuers... and thus failing to see ahead, looking up too late when a figure shot out of the treeline at the side of the road before the violet winged unicorn smashed into her with a snarl, eyes glowing faintly as stitching stretched over her chest and body.
Wisdom staggered, and then screamed at the sight of Twilight Sparkle, leaping backwards as she howled: “No, no, no! I killed you! This is still a nightmare, this has to be a nightmare!”
“I won't let you hurt anyone else! No matter what I have to do, I'm going to stop you!” Twilight shouted, leaping forwards and slashing her horn viciously back and forth through Wisdom's face, and the Clockwork Pony staggered backwards, howling as each rip sent up a thick blast of silver liquid, even as the wounds sluggishly tried to regenerate.
Then Wisdom gritted her teeth, bringing both front hooves up as they transformed into blades, slamming them cruelly down into Twilight's body, and the violet mare cursed as she flinched backwards... then snarled, horn glowing before she snapped it forwards and sent a fireball blasting point-blank into Wisdom's face, blowing the monster's features into putty and knocking the Clockwork Pony sprawling backwards. She melted down into a puddle of ooze as Twilight rolled her head slowly and almost-calmly, ignoring the gaping, bloodless wounds in her shoulders as Wisdom reformed, crawling weakly out of her own puddle before a soft voice said behind her: “You speak of us atoning? We do not atone. We punish.”
Wisdom looked slowly over her shoulder, staring with a tremble of horror at Gymbr before the Clockwork Pony kicked both rear hooves viciously backwards; but in a flash, one of Gymbr's claws snapped up, seizing the Clockwork Pony by the ankle and jerking it into the air before slamming it face-first down into the ground like a wet towel.
Wisdom exploded into silver goo, splattering down into a thick puddle before it launched itself upwards out of the silver mass, reforming rapidly and clawing viciously with talons that sprouted from its front hooves at Gymbr's features, but the Tulpa only calmly snapped its horn forwards, a blast of telekinetic force hammering the Clockwork Pony backwards before both the Tulpa and Twilight Sparkle charged, Gymbr's hooves snapping apart into claws and Twilight snarling as they both viciously began to lay into Wisdom, horn and magic ripping holes through the silvery monstrosity as Gymbr's claws tore massive gouges and slashes across its frame.
Wisdom was battered helplessly backwards, more and more of the silver goo that made it up splattering uselessly in all directions before it suddenly leapt backwards: at the same time, it twisted on itself like water to begin sprinting in the other direction, and Twilight and Gymbr both shot after it as it ran down the dirt road: “Help me, Prophet! Help me, help me, save me, p-please!”
In the distance, there was a fierce crackle, and a massive, dark portal slowly began to rumble open, Wisdom's eyes brightening at this... before a massive sword slashed cruelly downwards and sliced Wisdom's hindquarters off as Celestia crashed down beside the Clockwork Pony, and Wisdom screamed as its upper body continued to stagger for a few feet before it dropped forwards, bursting apart into a puddle of silver liquid as the hindquarters of the creature fell over and simply melted away. The metallic slime raced forwards in a stream towards the portal, then sluggishly reformed into a staggering Wisdom who was gaunt and struggling to drag itself onwards... but Twilight, Celestia, and Gymbr were too fast, closing in behind it before it shrieked as Luna and Scrivener charged out of the forest and straight towards the ravaged Clockwork Pony.
Scrivener ran into it first, smashing his shoulder into it before he leapt upwards, slamming a hoof under Wisdom's chin and knocking her rearing back before Luna's horn pierced into its chest, then a telekinetic blast knocked it flying skywards: Celestia leapt up immediately, Tyrfing snapping around her before slashing Wisdom in half again, and as the lower half of the monster dissolved, Gymbr's claws raked across its upper body, ripping its wings off and destroying most of its ravaged frame before Twilight flew up last, swinging her horn forwards and unleashing a blue fireball that slammed into the little that remained of the monstrosity and sent silvery goo bursting in all directions.
All that was left of Wisdom flew forwards, hitting the ground with a splatter and rolling a few times, leaving a stream of metallic ooze behind itself as its melted head gasped and gargled, eyes rolling wildly as it stared at the dark, crackling portal only a few feet away. Drool dripped from its jaws, and it moaned weakly in disbelief and denial, as it gritted its melting teeth together as tiny tendrils weakly attempted to stretch out from the puddle it was slowly melting into, before it whispered weakly: “I-Impossible... I was... c-chosen...”
And then Wisdom sighed weakly before it slumped as the rumbling, dark portal crackled before slowly beginning to spin closed, even as Scrivener Blooms lurched forwards... before his eyes widened in horror as he felt a terrible force rushing towards him. Then pain and darkness washed over him, and he vomited corruption before sprawling backwards...
It was Twilight who caught him, looking down at him as he rested against her dead-and-yet-not body, tears of black poison spilling from his eyes as bloody tears dripped from her own, Luna looking towards them helplessly before Scrivener's eyes rolled up in his head, and he collapsed into darkness and the dream of answers that awaited him within.