//------------------------------//
// Bedlam And Mayhem 
// Story: Absolution 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Seven: Bedlam And Mayhem
~BlackRoseRaven

The mottled white monster grumbled under its breath as it slithered through the sewers, feeling disgusted. Oh, it had all been going so smoothly at first! And better yet, as it had followed the Nightmare, it had come across delicious, nutritious snacks and enticing little tasties here and there: motor oil, toxic solvents, poisonous bleaches and cleaning fluids that had all seeped down from above. And the smells had become all the more delicious and delightful as it had continued eagerly along the path: it hadn't just been chasing the Nightmare by that point, it had been following the cloying scent of what smelled like paradise.
But its progress had been blocked at the end of the road by some kind of hatch that it couldn't move, couldn't budge, couldn't slip past... and Cancer spat to the side in disgust, whispering: “Oh, but I'm gonna get in there, one way or another, yes, yes I am. That place tastes of chemicals and war and machines... after I cut up these ponies and put 'em in a stew, I'm gonna love me helping myself to that... whatever-that-is. Once I make my way into the village up above, won't be hard to find... everything in there is gonna be mine-mine-mine!”
He half-sang the last lines, then twitched before adding in a grumble: “Assuming I ever get out of this stupid place... what a... what... what a...”
Cancer's head rose suddenly as something caught his nostrils... and then his eyes widened as he heard something up ahead before quickly splashing down the tunnel. He'd been wandering for hours and hours through the sewers, trying to memorize the twists and turns, leaving large smears of slime and mold here and there, unconsciously spreading his disease as he got familiar with the place... and found with disgust that many of the entrances and exits had already been blocked off. But now, now he could smell it, he could hear it, and oh, he could feel the cold air brushing against his body and sending chills through his amorphous form.
“Freedom!” Cancer whispered eagerly, and then he grinned widely as he licked his teeth and suddenly twisted to the side, his lower legs half-dissolving into sticky goo as he trotted up the wall and up to the stone ceiling, his red eyes glowing brightly in the darkness as he half-crawled, half-snaked bizarrely along the ceiling, grinning viciously as he rounded a corner and his eyes widened at the sight of a large, ugly pile of rotting fish that had filled the sewer tunnel ahead.
The putrid, reeking pile glimmered like treasure in the eyes of the destruction entity, bathed in moonlight spilling down from a wide, round hole in the roof of the tunnel. Cancer giggled again as he carefully crawled forwards, and then he froze as he heard footsteps before a bucket's worth of more rotten fish were poured into the passage, as a voice asked nervously: “Are you sure about this?”
“Oh, shut up pony.” retorted another voice crankily: likely a Nibelung from the accent. “Pony ponies worry too much. We told get rid of bad food, we getting rid of bad food. Now go get bucket.”
“I... fine.” muttered the other voice, and Cancer grinned widely before he crawled rapidly forwards over the ceiling to the edge of the hole, his head craning outwards, neck stretching ridiculously as his unnatural white flesh rippled until he was able to peer into the deep night air. A pony was walking off, and there was a Nibelung standing right in front of him, back to the monster...
Cancer snapped a forelimb up and out of the hole, and it split apart into sinuous tentacles that rapidly wrapped around the Nibelung, one long appendage snapping around his muzzle and face to stop him from crying out. His arms whipped up into the air, tossing the steel bucket he was holding high into the sky before Cancer dragged him backwards, yanking him down into the hole. The dwarf just brushed against the pile of fish, and then he was whiplashed back upwards, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of Cancer's entire back splitting open like gaping jaws...
The bucket came down and hit a rock with a loud clank, and the pony spun around with surprise, looking back and forth before frowning worriedly. He carefully made his way back over towards the hole, calling nervously: “Brand? Brand, I... come on, this isn't the time for jokes...”
The pony looked back and forth, frowning worriedly before he winced as he approached the hole, leaning down slowly... and then he screeched and stumbled backwards when the Nibelung's head shoved up out of the hole, grinning widely. “Boo!”
“I... you scared the hell out of me, I thought.... I t-t-thought...” The pony's voice died out into a whimper as he stared in horror at the sight of the Nibelung's head as he realized it was now attached to some ugly, misshapen monster that was crawling slowly up from the hole, the pony beginning to hyperventilate as the beast hauled itself slowly, impossibly upwards. Then the grinning, decapitated head twisted before there was an ugly slurping sound as it was yanked backwards into a now-headless body, and a moment later Cancer's own head popped back out and into place with a slurp of flesh.
He winked at the pale, shaking pony, then made a horrible retching sound before spitting out a bare, cracked skull of a Nibelung and several bones, saying conversationally: “Ain't eaten me a dwarf for a long, long time, tastes even better than I remember! Ooh, they grown tougher over the years, but there's still some tender morsels if you poke 'em just right...”
The pony stared... then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he collapsed in a dead faint, and Cancer huffed at this, rearing back and looking offended. “Well then, screw you too, mister nappy! How dare you, I'm sharing my culinary prowess about this most delectable of delights and you go and die right in front of me? Shame, sir, shame on you! Shame on your family! Shame on your family's family! Shame on your... oh, wait. Oh. You're asleep. Hey, I totally knew that, really. Itty-bitty-baby just fell asleep 'cause he missed his bedtime, yeah, of course that's what happened.”
Cancer giggled as he looked back and forth, then frowned before he reared back again, snapping angrily: “Wait, you sayin' without sayin' that I bored you not to tears but right to sleep? Well, I think you need an attitude adjustment!'
With that, Cancer stepped forwards and shoved his hoof firmly against the pony's forehead, sending up a sick squelch as part of his leg dissolved and spread in white, gooey streamers over the pony's face. The earth pony gargled weakly, shivering and drooling a little as tiny tendrils burrowed through his skin, spreading numbing toxins and parasites through his flesh and blood and into his brain.. and then the pony's eyes snapped open as Cancer drew his leg back and grinned widely, his red eyes glowing as he marveled: “I didn't know I could do that!”
Slowly, the pony crawled his way up to his hooves in front of him, drooling slackly, his irises turned a putrid white and sclera bloody red. The pony inhaled deeply, then he whispered: “What do you want me to do?”
“Ooh, hello, hello, hello...” Cancer licked his lips hungrily, grinning widely as he paced rapidly around the pony in front of him, then he nodded rapidly as he murmured delightedly: “I put a bug in his brain! I put a bug in this damn fool's brain and now, now you gonna listen to me, right? You gotta listen to your mommy! I'm your mommy! And your daddy too, but mostly your mommy, I think, that just seems right... I'm King Mommy Cancer!”
The monster cackled, then he grinned as he danced in front of the pony, looking back and forth over the zombie-like pony before he asked curiously: “You gonna walk for me? You gonna talk for me? Hey, can I make you sing and dance?”
Cancer's eyes brightened, and then he grinned wider as the pony began to force itself to perform a jagged shuffle that smoothed out only slightly when the monster supplied a beat:


“Sha-ba-de-do-de-wop-bop-dop,
A deedle-doddle-beedle-boddle, ta, ta,
Sha-do, da-do, pa-do-do-wop,
Deeble-dobble deeble-dobble do-do-wa!”


He laughed, watching this puppeted pony continue to dance and writhe weakly in front of him, drool falling from its ajar jaws as it mumbled along with Cancer's nonsense. Then the monster crowed loudly, sitting back and clapping his front hooves violently together before the goblinoid creature exclaimed: “Oh, baby, I could just eat you up! I love it when the sparks fly! Honey, you're on fire! You're the bomb!”
“Bomb.” the pony said soullessly... and then it nodded once, and Cancer cocked his head before the pony in front of him gurgled, then simply exploded in a red typhoon of blood, splattering the monster and knocking him sprawling on his back with a squeak and a stupefied expression. For a few moments, Cancer only stared at the twinkling stars in the night sky above, blinking slowly, and then his long tongue snaked out and slowly licked over his muzzle as much of the blood was absorbed back into his body, pointing at the constellations.
“Hey, look at that. I think that's a planet, right?” Cancer paused, then he sat up, glancing back and forth before frowning when he saw the only thing left of the pony was its smoldering hooves. Then his eyes filled with understanding, nodding slowly as he reminded himself: “Right. Blowin' up kills other folks. Huh. That's cool.”
Cancer bounced back to his hooves, looking back and forth as he licked his lips absently, then he grinned widely as he noted a wagon in the distance still half-full of rotting fish. He began to prance towards this, attracted by the smell of rot... before his head slowly craned to the side as he caught a whiff of something else. Something alive, something that could fill his hungers a whole lot better than a tub of rotting fish gone putrid with plague...
The monster let his hooves guide him away from the wagon, bouncing along the faintly-visible tracks in the grasses that had been left by the wheels of the carriage. He hummed to himself as he looked back and forth, licking his teeth as he realized he was outside of the village... before he grinned slowly, eyes widening in delight as he realized there was some kind of large, barn-shaped structure up ahead, along with what looked like several large corrals and external kennels. There were a few other outbuildings as well, but it was the main structure and the corral closest to it that caught the monster's attention: he could smell the reek of Helheim, and he could see rumbling, large creatures pacing nervously... “And oh, oh, oh... what a delicious idea comes to mind...”
The monster grinned widely as he continued forwards, and one of the massive, scaled creatures in the kennel hissed at him... but even with as aggressive as they were reputed to be, the Marsh Drake shivered and backed away a few steps when Cancer bounded up to the fence, leaning over it and whispering: “Hey, there, aren't you a pretty lady? Now, don't you worry 'bout a thing, you and me and all your friends, we're gonna get along nice and fine...”
Cancer grinned widely, then he simply pushed forwards against the wooden fencing, his body melting and seeping between the slats to reform inside the corral as casually as if he'd stepped through a doorway, not a wall, and the other drakes rose their heads, hissing balefully but backing quickly away, eying the monster warily. Cancer only grinned as he walked forwards, eyes gleaming as he approached the closest Marsh Drake fearlessly, licking his teeth: a wall of gleaming black scales, enormous and powerful and dangerous, he thought it was wonderful that these silly little ponies had left him such a cute little present, all out in the open...
He stepped close to the reptile... and it roared before its jaws snapped down, biting savagely into Cancer, and the monster squawked before he was torn almost in half by the beast's jaws and sharp teeth. His upper body splattered into goo that filled the drake's jaws as his lower body simply fell over and twitched, and the Marsh Drake snarled, then rumbled.... then clawed at its own jaws as it chewed rapidly at the gunk still in its maw, giving a pitiful whimper as foam and saliva fell from its mouth.
Then it shivered violently, before gargling and leaning forwards as white goo spread out of Cancer's lower body and transformed back into the creature, as whole and grinning as if nothing had happened to it as it looked eagerly up at the beast in front of it. And within moments, the Marsh Drake ceased to struggle or fight, making one weak, final retch before its jaws fell slack as its eyes glowed.
White goo dropped out of its jaws, forming a puddle in front of it... and a moment later, a second Cancer rose up from this pile, giggling insanely, red eyes glowing before he exclaimed in delight: “Nice and easy! And picked me up some nice bacteria on the way in... ooh, we'll have to devour ourselves one or two of these big bad boys later!”
“High-five!” the first Cancer crowed, and the two stepped towards each other before they both swung a hoof up... and missed completely, both instead stumbling forwards and plowing into one-another with a loud squelch, before their gooey bodies twisted back together and formed into one single, monstrous entity, Cancer grinning widely over at the other Marsh Drakes even as they hissed and snarled. “Come on, sweeties. Mommy's got a lot plans for you, oh yes he does.”
It didn't take the monster long to infect the other Drakes... it took shorter still for him to slip his way easily into the main structure of the barn-shaped building, giggling in delight when he found cages containing all variety of wild animals and even demonic entities like Hellhounds. Their barking and snarling and panic were like music to his ears as he darted back and forth, infecting and devouring animals, ripping open cages to let out stumbling, zombified beasts to send outside, needing to stop only once when a single attendant came to see what all the noise was about. But the pony didn't even have a chance to react before Cancer was on top of her, devouring the unicorn greedily and leaving only a bleached skeleton behind.
Cancer danced out of the ravaged animal care center on his back legs, singing nonsense words to the night as a small army of infected animals stumbled behind him, drooling and slavering. The Marsh Drakes were already showing signs of fever and disease, their scales peeling and bruising, their immune systems and bodies going haywire from the poisons and parasites rampaging through them. Most of the other animals were quickly beginning to weaken from the disease as well... even the Hellhounds looked ill, as their visible, icy organs dripped water and their black, rubbery hide became paler and tauter over frosty bones. Even the blue flames of their eyes burned weaker, their naked skull features not fierce, but pitiable from what Cancer had done to them.
And the monster at the head of the pack giggled gleefully as he marched directly towards the closed gates of Ponyville, looking back and forth eagerly before he broke into a sudden sprint, yelling delightedly: “Hey, friends and neighbors! I just moved in and I thought I'd bring you a housewarming basket! I know it's usually the other way around but I'm just a really friendly guy!”
Cancer cackled as a Nibelung in a guard tower yelled an alarm, the sound carrying through Ponyville before a klaxon began to blare... but before the dwarves had time to do anything else, Cacner simply plowed into the wooden gates, then burst into slime that easily slipped through the narrow gap between doors, reforming immediately on the other side and pouncing into the village as he grinned viciously. “Hey boys! I brought you all something!”
With that, Cancer shoved a foreleg out to either side of himself as he reared back, front limbs transforming into bunches of tentacles that snapped outwards in a blur, each group tightly seizing a dwarf. They howled in agony as their bodies were crushed and constricted, before a third Nibelung ran forwards with a snarl, raising an axe and slamming it home between Cancer's pointy ears.
The monster twitched as goo splattered in all directions... then simply grinned, the axe buried halfway through its head but the creature showing no sign of pain, the dwarf only able to stand and stare in horror for a few moments before Cancer leaned forwards and vomited a stream of acid over the Nibelung. The wolf-pig was sent stumbling backwards with a scream of agony, clawing wildly at himself as his body smoldered and bubbled before he simply collapsed with a gargle, and Cancer grinned widely, then his eyes glowed red and his head twitched to the side, tentacles constricting and silencing the howls of the other two dwarves as he rasped: “Kill them all. Kill them all. Kill them all.”
Then Cancer twitched again before his tentacles tore free from the dead dwarves, dropping the bodies as they reformed into limbs, and he giggled as he reached up and slowly yanked the axe out of his head, saying delightedly: “But I'm gonna do it with style, too! I'm gonna ba-dop-do-wop, have me some fun... right now!”
The monster spun around, then slammed the axe down, easily smashing apart the heavy bar holding the gates shut, and Cancer cackled before he leaned forwards and shoved both heavy gates wide open with a manic grin, calling easily: “Come on, my cuties! We gonna paint the town red!”
The infected animals wheezed and rasped in response, and Cancer cackled as he spun around and hurried down the road, letting himself be drawn onwards as he looked back and forth at the houses and small businesses and homes that he smelled living and sick and dying and crying ponies in, feeding off the growing fear in the air as klaxons blazed and terrified eyes stared out of windows at him. “Come on, come on, come on, come on! Come and join the party! Hey, hey, hey, yeah!”
Cancer's path was wild and erratic, veering down side alleys and streets, leaving his infected animals to stumble drunkenly after him: some of them fell behind or got lost or were drawn towards smells and sounds, one Marsh Drake plowing sightlessly into a building and beginning to paw and tear at it as the family of ponies inside screamed, another hacking and coughing acid and drool by accident more than design on a few soldiers that were running towards it, making them howl in pain and disgust.
Hellhounds were already seeking out any source of food they could find: they were still strong, but they loped slowly and their icy agility was lost. Still, one managed to smash its way through a low window into a household, sending the ponies inside screaming up the stairs as it barked and gargled and tried to chase after them.
The monster giggled as he leapt into what looked like a small park, prancing forwards before his eyes alit on two large statues of ponies lit up by a ring of crystalline lamps: they were of a proud winged unicorn, standing tall and ornamented with glittering blue gemstones worked into the statue's mane and tail, and a single large, onyx sphere in her breast, and an earth pony made of darker stone that sat at her side. They rested atop a large base inset with some kind of plaque, but Cancer didn't care about that, as he grinned and pranced forwards: the straight, stone path in front of the statues was also lit by glowing crystal lanterns, and the area was relatively open, houses to one side and what looked like some kind of school a short distance away, as Cancer whispered: “De-de-de-de-light-ful! Yeah, now we're gonna get a rockin' and a rollin', ain't we... perfect stage to make my entrance.”
He grinned, looking up in delight as two Marsh Drakes stumbled through the park, one of them bleeding an ugly substance from a wound cut in its side, but not seeming to notice nor care. They were followed by a small squadron of infected animals, and Cancer shouted loudly: “Make me a ring! Ring me in boys, come on, come on!”
Cancer giggled as the animals did as he instructed, acknowledging him with rumbles and groans, and then the monster glanced sharply over his shoulder as he heard a tired sigh before his eyes lit up with delight as a pony slowly rose his head, dressed only in rags and staring blearily over at the monster as he mumbled: “Ossifer... ain't... no crime... this is my bed, see, them nice ponies said I could sleep aside 'em any time I wanted...”
Cancer pranced over towards the homeless pony, and his red eyes locked on not the bottle of alcohol beside him, but the trumpet he was hugging against his chest. Cancer grinned, leaning down, and the pony swallowed thickly as he looked up at him before mumbling: “Oh, I... I think I had too much to drink...”
“I don't think you had near enough.” Cancer replied kindly, then he opened his mouth and belched out a blast of toxic gases, the homeless pony gargling and twitching before he collapsed backwards with a rasp, foaming at the jaws and beginning to convulse as Cancer's foreleg transformed into a slimy claw, and he wiggled the fleshy talons before snatching up the instrument and looking admiringly over it. “Now this, this ain't bad! A little dirty, but way too pretty for a filthy hobo to be using and abusing.”
The monster grinned, then looked over his shoulder brightly as there was a loud crack, a flare bursting to the air above as a voice shouted: “Whoever you are, stop what you're doing and surrender at once! I don't want to hurt you!”
Cancer pranced forwards on his rear hooves  at this, eyes glowing malevolently as he hopped out between the two Marsh Drakes as his second foreleg turned to a claw as well, holding the trumpet easily as he peered out at a battle line of ponies and Nibelung. He looked back and forth and saw they had surrounded him on all sides before he giggled insanely, returning his eyes to the forefront of the line... and then his scarlet gaze narrowed thoughtfully. Not at the violet mare, or the enormous equine beside her... but instead at the young black stallion glaring at him. “Hey, I know you! We already met! Hey, how's the demon? I got me the munchies and I'm looking to take revenge on her and Miss Mommy.”
The young stallion didn't reply... but inside him, Antares felt a knot twist in his chest, gritting his teeth as he breathed hard in and out and tried to keep himself calm. He could feel both Twilight Sparkle and Celestia trembling with the same anger: not just that this creature had dared to attack Ponyville so brazenly, but that this creature, this Cancer, had torn his way through the village, leaving soldiers all over Ponyville struggling to clean up the infected beasts and the chaos he'd left behind, and somehow been drawn all the way to here, this memorial site for his mother and father.
Avalon and Aphrodisia were both in town, Prestige was helping Scarlet Sage, Fluttershy was out at the animal care center with Pinkamena, dealing with the plague and the lingering infected... all his friends and family were scattered throughout Ponyville, and so many of the Starlit Knights were still sick, or drained, and no one had fully recovered. And now, Cancer was here... but Antares didn't feel afraid. He felt angry, and upset, and disgusted, but he wasn't afraid. He refused to be afraid.
Twilight leaned forwards, and she shouted: “This is your last warning! Call off your attack, right now, or we'll be forced to take extreme measures! And we're prepared to kill you, if you push us... surrender peacefully and we might still be able to work this out!”
“I haven't even introduced myself properly yet!” Cancer shouted in an outraged voice, and he huffed before grinning widely as he leaned backwards, putting his mouth to the horn and blowing a quick progression of notes before he drew his head back and whistled. “Tastes like wine and plays in time! Hobos ain't so bad after all. Now, all of you flesh-bags, you listen up, you listen up real good: my name is Cancer, and I'm here to stay, 'cause I happen to like this delicious place!”
Celestia stepped up beside Twilight, her horn glowing and hefting her enormous sword free from where it was resting over her back: the six foot, fanged blade glinted dangerously, the red etchings of the nine worlds over the flat of the golden weapon seeming to glimmer with warning: Tyrfing, a gift from Odin. The massive blade hovered easily in front of her, and Cancer whistled as Celestia said quietly: “We won't show a destruction entity any mercy. I hope you're aware of this.”
“Well, I'll take that as a signal I should start the show, then. Boys... get 'em!” Cancer shouted, pointing with one claw before he grinned violently as he danced backwards, as the ring of infected animals howled and roared. “Let's all get to know each other and have one hell of a party before I kill you dead!”
Cancer rose the trumpet to his lips and started to blow a brassy, cheery tune that rose powerfully over the wails of the infected beasts as they charged forwards, and Twilight and Celestia both snarled before lunging into the fray, each heading for one of the massive Marsh Drakes. Celestia collided with her target and buried Tyrfing through its breast in a moment, likely obliterating its heart... and then her eyes widened as all the same, she was slammed backwards by one of the reptile's claws and knocked crashing onto her back, the massive beast growling and rasping as it lumbered towards the pony heedless of the sword in its chest.
Twilight's horn glowed as she slipped to the side, avoiding a bite from the second drake before she cursed when it coughed loudly, splattering acid and drool over her feature. Steam rose up as her flesh burned, yet she only snarled, showing no sign of pain as her horn flicked forwards and she retaliated with a ball of sapphire flame that smashed into its skull and knocked its head snapping backwards, the Marsh Drake groaning in pain.
Antares ran forwards, even though he had no idea what to do as other soldiers and warriors ran to engage the infected... and behind it all, in front of the memorial, Cancer danced and played the trumpet with finesse before he threw his head back and sang gleefully:


“Oh! Hey-ho, away we go, stainin' all the sidewalks red with your blood!
Oh! Hey-ho, dosey-do! Let's dance together while we bleed all night!
Oh ba-by, baby, I just wanna let you know that I long for your heart,
Sweet baby, baby... all of me just wants to tear all of you apart! Hey-hey!”


Cancer cackled, then he rose the horn to his mouth again, blowing a short, sharp melody as he played easily with one claw while dancing forwards and raising the other high in the air above his head, waving it back and forth wildly. Then he pulled the trumpet away from his mouth, swinging both front limbs out wide as he tap-danced rapidly forwards while the Drakes advanced on Celestia and Twilight, ripping at them with their claws as they snarled and bit before Antares collided with the throat of one in a tackle just as it was about to lunge at Twilight, stunning it with a gargle.


“Out in the moonlight, by the flickerin' firelight, all these peasant homes our firewood!
Yeah, havin' a great time, singing all our best rhymes... ain't this a wonderful fight?
Honey, sweetie, baby, you know I love you dear, and I have from the start!
Oh ba-by, baby, all bloodied up, you look like the sweetest work of art! Yeah!


Now pay attention, 'cause this is tricky!” Cancer called cheerfully, ignoring the fact that Celestia had just launched the Marsh Drake in front of her into the air and that Twilight and Antares had forced the other onto its back. Instead, the monster dropped his head forwards, swinging his clawed forelimbs back and forth as he started a rapid quickstep, rear hooves clicking loudly as he tap-danced forwards in smooth rhythm. His hooves clicked back and forth around each other as he spun in a circle while still moving forwards, windmilling his forelimbs before springing backwards and throwing all four limbs out, grinning brightly.
Then Cancer cackled as he made reeling motions with both forelegs while his hind hooves tapped in a violent tattoo against the ground, kicking back and forth as he swayed his body with his movements before he spun sideways and rose the trumpet back to his mouth, beginning a bright easy melody as he first danced backwards, then slowly began to strut forwards.
Celestia snarled, armor gouged and bloody as she used both her strength and a powerful telekinetic boost to spin the Marsh Drake she had hefted into the air around in a circle, then she snapped her horn downwards, flinging it as hard as she could straight down into the ground. It crashed onto its back with enough force to make the earth tremble, and then Celestia dropped like a stone, hammering her front hooves into the base of its neck and kicking her rear legs into its breast hard enough to knock Tyrfing loose before she simply flicked her head forwards, and the sword tore free from the beast completely and snapped past her in a single vicious cut that beheaded the drake.
Dark blood bubbled out of the wound as the head spasmed on the end of the serpentine neck, biting at the air for a moment before falling still. A moment later, Celestia looked sharply up as the other Marsh Drake howled as Twilight's horn glowed brightly and blue fire consumed the infected beast's skull, the reptile flopping listlessly as Antares cursed and held down its neck as best he could.
It fell still, and both Antares and Twilight looked up, breathing hard: the Lich's sweater had been torn apart and she had several acidic burns over her body, and Antares had a long, ugly cut over one cheek, looking a little shell-shocked. But there was no time to heal him: around them, the others were still fighting Cancer's minions, and the monster itself was grinning widely as he dropped the trumpet away from its muzzle and held one claw out invitingly, the other waving the instrument back and forth by his head.


“Yeah, hey, sweetie, if you think you got what it takes,
Come and find me honey... 'cause I'll still be awake,
Waiting all night, for you to come, hopin' you don't disappoint,
I'm waiting for you, love my love, to drive home my point!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Gimme, gimme, gimme all the blood you got to give... to-night!

Oh whoa, whoa, whoa, now... sing it!
Ba-da-ba-da-de-da-de-da-ba-ba-da-da!
Ba-ba-da-sha-la-la, ha-ha-ha-ha!
Ba-do, ta-do, da-do... hey! Hey! Hey, little missy, don't you cry!
Cancer's gonna sing you his lullaby!”


The mottled thing laughed, and Twilight gritted her teeth before she lunged suddenly forwards, spreading her black-edged wings and flapping them once to give herself an extra boost as her horn began to glow. She swung it down, sending a blast of blue fire bursting towards the monster, but Cancer nimbly leapt to the side before he half-turned and swung the instrument hard, smashing it across her face and knocking Twilight to the ground with a cry of pain before he grinned and stabbed a claw downwards, ripping it deep into her back as he rasped: “Now, you, sweet-pea, you look like you're gonna make a tasty little tidbit, ain't you?”
Twilight gasped in pain, snarling as she felt poison and disease spreading into her, felt tendrils of the beast's alien flesh trying to snake their way through her as the monster grinned down at her greedily... and then she gritted her teeth and glared up at it. “You should keep your... claws to yourself...”
Antares stared in shock, beginning to run forwards, but Celestia was past him a moment later: in that moment she passed, Antares' surprise only grew as he saw not only the coldness on her features, but the grim smile on her face... and then the young stallion looked up as his attention was drawn by a scream of shock from Cancer.
The monster was trying to yank his limb away, but it was like it had become fused to Twilight's body even as the Lich snarled in pain, her horn glowing brightly as the stitching over her form writhed and popped before one of her wings fell uselessly off, decaying rapidly... but the same rot was spreading violently up Cancer's limb, and the monster shrieked in torment before he yanked hard backwards and his front leg tore completely away at the shoulder. He staggered... then howled in pain when Celestia smashed into him like a freight train, knocking him rolling away.
Antares hurried to Twilight's side, but the Lich only shook her head violently, rasping hard as the glow around her horn died out. “Go help Celestia, I'll... be fine in a minute... need to reverse the cellular degeneration...”
The young stallion nodded hurriedly, then turned: Celestia was harrying Cancer with savage attacks, Tyrfing snapping back and forth and ripping through the mottled flesh of the monster as he howled miserably and tried wildly to scramble away. Then the destruction entity suddenly snarled when Tyrfing tore through his chest, raising his head and howling: “Fine! If that's how you really want to play the game, we'll play it like that!”
Cancer seized the sword, then grinned savagely as his body twisted and bloated, and Celestia's eyes widened before she leapt backwards: it was too little, too late, however, and a moment later the monster exploded in a blast of goo and toxic gases, hammering the ivory winged unicorn onto her back with a cry of pain as her own blade was flung into her from the explosion and poisonous gases seared her eyes and nostrils and mouth.
She collapsed, coughing and wheezing, as Antares stumbled to a halt in shock: the explosion had been powerful enough to shatter some of the nearby lanterns around the base of the monument, and oil and other fluids had spilled over the stone and grasses, flames spreading greedily as smoke poured up into the sky. For a wild moment, the young stallion thought it was over... and then his eyes stared as the whitish goo splattered through the area slowly began to pull itself together into one distinct puddle.
The slime humped upwards, transformed, and two red eyes opened in the mottled, goblinoid face that shoved out of the puddle, the monster grinning widely as it rasped: “Hey, did you miss me?”
Cancer laughed as he reformed, then he growled down at Celestia as she wheezed and slowly began to sit up despite the fact ugly boils and bruising were spreading over her features, and one of her eyes had already swollen shut. She coughed loudly, then spat blood and some unnameable substance out before whispering: “Antares... get out of here. I'll... handle...”
“Oh please, how pathetic! Maybe my poisons ain't strong enough to be lethal to a whatever-you-are like you yet, honey-bunch, but I sure as hell can finish the job myself with ease.” Cancer grinned widely as it rose a front leg, which twisted and split apart into several fleshy tentacles, each appendage barbed with hooks and blades of bone. “And you, little birdie, I'm not about to let fly away. You just look so sweet and savory, you punk little kid... oh yeah, ooh, I think I'm gonna gobble you right on up, yeah, yeah...”
Cancer licked his lips slowly as the tentacles squirmed slowly beside him, and Antares shook his head before he stepped forwards, breathing hard. The monster was terrifying, made all the more so by the way the light from the flames burning over the monument and slowly spreading through the grasses lit up its disgusting, mottled body, played over the dancing tentacles and grinning, lunatic features... but all the same, Antares forced himself to meet those scarlet eyes, to whisper defiantly: “I won't let you.”
“What? What? I can't hear you, little colt.” Cancer mocked, leaning forwards and cocking his head, raising an ear as his limb merged back together and he grinned widely. “Can you say it with a little more oomph, sing it with a bit of zest? Gimme a bar or two, kiddo! I wanna hear your hopes and dreams before I slash 'em up to make you scream!”
The destruction entity paused, then dropped his head thoughtfully forwards and mumbled: “Wait, wait, I can get a song outta that one, uh... gimme a minute, gimme a minute...”
As the monster became distracted, Antares grimaced and looked quickly over at Celestia, watching her struggling to sit up, and he hurried to her side. She reached up and seized his shoulder, her bloodshot amethyst eyes glaring into his own scared irises as she rasped: “Get Twilight. Escape. Now. That's an order.”
Antares trembled... and then he stepped slowly back and pushed her hoof away, shaking his head once and then pushing a hoof against Celestia's battered, armored chest. She gritted her teeth, but then groaned in pain as the glossy black young stallion gently forced her back down, saying quietly: “No, Aunt Tia. Just... stay still. I'll handle this.”
“What? You'll handle this? Like I'm... some kind of garbage to just be picked up and thrown out, is that it?” Cancer snapped, glaring furiously across at Antares, and the young stallion gritted his teeth as he looked up and forced himself to focus on the monster, despite how much it disgusted, it repulsed, it... it's going to attack!
Without warning, Cancer leaned forwards and vomited a thick gout of acid... but Antares was already reacting, his horn flashing as he winced and a barrier of blue energy appeared in front of him, shielding both himself and Celestia as the acid splashed uselessly against it. Then the young stallion flicked his horn to the side, dropping the barrier as Cancer stared, before slowly snarling, red eyes flashing. “So you got lucky, twitchy kid!”
Antares forced himself to focus, forced himself to lock on to the monster... and then he suddenly sidestepped, a moment before the creature lashed a limb out and sent a large, ugly chunk of white goo flying through the space where the stallion had been a moment before. Cancer let out a shout of incoherent rage, then the monster madly charged forwards, screaming furiously: “You stupid little brat, why don't you try staying still and fighting like a-”
Antares lunged, slashing his horn savagely forwards as it glowed blue, and Cancer squawked as a large slash was torn through his features, stumbling wildly before Antares forced forwards. His horn lashed back and forth gracefully, twisting and tearing its way through Cancer's mottled flesh, and the monster squealed in frustration and pain before Antares suddenly leapt upwards and slammed both hooves into Cancer's face, gritting his teeth and shoving the monster head-first into the ground.
Cancer flailed his forelimbs comically as his hindquarters wiggled wildly, and the young stallion leapt backwards, breathing hard. He winced when Cancer tore his head free of the ground, and Antares realized he'd accomplished nothing but make the monster even angrier a moment before it reared back as one of its forelegs split apart into a mess of tentacles. “I'm going to rip your face off and make you eat it!”
Antares leapt into the air as the mess of tentacles snapped cruelly towards him, just managing to throw himself overtop one before a second spiked appendage slammed against his side, knocking him out of the air. He cursed and hit the ground in a roll, but he was too slow to shove himself to his hooves and instead he half-stumbled, half-fell... and the four tentacles tore down, seizing him and constricting him, making him howl in agony as they crushed in his armor like a tin can before lifting him high into the air, and then slamming him savagely down  in front of the burning monument of his parents, charred grass and ashes flying in all directions as the tentacles tore away from the young stallion and transformed back into a mottled limb.
Cancer strode forwards, spitting to the side and snarling as Antares shivered on the ground, breathing hard, staring at the sky: he had never felt pain like this before. He had never experienced this kind of agony, or numbing fear, or anything else, as he stared up at the seemingly-indestructible monster as it stepped overtop him and then slammed its hooves down against his shoulders, pinning him back as it rasped: “Cancer's a little upset now. You won't like me when I'm upset, boy. I get mean.”
Antares gritted his teeth, but that was all he could do as he stared fearfully up into those godawful ruby eyes: he couldn't fight, he couldn't bring himself to move, he couldn't do anything. Everything felt distant and impossible: the pain in his body, the feeling of the fire behind him singeing his mane, even the feeling of Cancer's hooves reaching up to lock around his throat, beginning to choke him as the monster leaned slowly down and whispered: “Yeah. I think I'm gonna hurt you a little. Get the blood and the juices flowing before I eat you up...”
“N-No...” Antares whispered, almost whimpering as he shook his head back and forth, front limbs sprawling wide as he stared up in terror at the evil, vicious thing over him, feeling the destruction entity's hooves squeezing tighter into his throat. Its eyes were like endless pools of blood, like deep crimson hells, like the skies of Armageddon... its mottled white flesh like... like...
Antares felt his eyes widen, his rasping breath catching, his heart thudding, screaming, as he saw that its forelegs were steaming strangely, and he realized its hooves felt hot... but in rage, the monster hadn't noticed. Cancer snarled at him as Antares looked back and forth desperately before his eyes locked on a broken, burning lamp nearby, and then he cursed when Cancer seized him by the horn and forcefully yanked his head back to look once more into those awful red eyes, the monster hissing: “Don't you turn away from me, honey, I want to watch that pretty face get all pale and sicky-wick after I give you a little taste of-”
Antares made a wild, desperate grab to the side, cursing in pain as he felt his hoof shove into the fire and seize on something hot and sharp and agonizing, but he forced himself to yank it upwards all the same as hard as he could, swinging it savagely into the side of Cancer's face. The broken, burning lantern crashed into the monster's head, and Cancer yelped in surprise,staggering sideways and grabbing at the lamp embedded in its squishy flesh... before it staggered backwards and screamed, desperately beginning to claw at its face as its volatile body burst into red flames, black, sick-smelling smoke pouring up from the monstrosity as its mottled flesh blackened, peeled, and crumbled away.
Cancer staggered away from the fire as he screamed loudly, flaming body a burning-red flare in the night, his tail snapping back and forth so strongly it eventually tore itself off as the monster melted like wax as he wailed: “Oh it hurts, it hurts it hurts hurts hurts so goddamn bad! Why, why, why, oh come on, gimme a break, dude, why? Get off, get off! Oh it hurts!”
He screamed again, shaking himself wildly, bucking and kicking in all directions before he fell over and began to roll back and forth over the sidewalk as smoke continued to pour up from his burning form and the crimson, toxic fire burned faster and hotter, sending out sparks and embers as Celestia stared in horror. Antares had rolled over, cradling his burned foreleg beneath his body and breathing hard, tears flowing down his cheeks: of shock, of pain, and of anger as he watched Cancer burn hotter and hotter...
Then the monster yelped... and simply exploded in an awful blast of white goo and red fire, black smoke clouding the area like fog as yells of surprise and shock filled the air. Pieces of blackened, hardened flesh hailed down in all directions as embers sailed through the night sky, and Antares breathed hard before he forced himself to his hooves, gritting his teeth as he stumbled into the smoke cloud even as Celestia called weakly to him from where she was trying to pick herself up.
Antares stumbled on three limbs, clutching his burnt foreleg tight to his body, gasping hard as he tasted death in his jaws and bittersweet smoke filled his nostrils... and then he gritted his teeth as he saw some awful thing slithering rapidly away, the young stallion shouting raggedly: “Stop that thing! Stop it!”
But it was already gone, the twisted, mutant form vanishing out of the cloud of smoke that had filled the world and into the night before Antares cursed weakly, legs shivering beneath him before he collapsed and whispered: “I couldn't... stop it...”
He cursed, then gritted his teeth before slamming his burnt hoof against the ground: the agony it sent through him was immeasurable, his eyes filling with tears as blood trickled down from raw, singed flesh, and then he slowly looked over his shoulder. Slowly, the fog of smoke was lifting, and the last of the infected beasts were being put down, many of them seeming to lose their fight with Cancer fleeing... but the statue of his parents was still burning, the fire beginning to crumble and melt the stone, dancing flames and warps in the rock making him feel like his parents were staring down at him with disappointment.
Antares swallowed weakly... and then he looked up, trembling, as Twilight slowly approached. The Lich was breathing quietly in and out, her eyes closed, her body heavily damaged and most of the stitching popped. Both wings were missing now, but all the same, she managed to smile at him faintly as she approached, then she reached up and hugged him fiercely around the neck, and Antares buried his face against her, hugging her tightly back as he shivered once.
“Come on. Let's get you cleaned up.” Twilight said quietly, drawing slowly back, and Antares nodded weakly before he cradled his foreleg against his chest with a quiet curse. The Lich looked at him softly as she sat down in front of him, reaching out to gingerly take his injured hoof, and then her horn glowed softly: the same aura spread over his hoof, and Antares swallowed thickly, feeling like his blood was boiling for a moment before a numbing coolness filled the entire limb. “Antares... you did well. Whatever else you're thinking, I want you to know you did well...”
“I should have done more... done better... we could have stopped him.” Antares whispered, and then he dropped his head forwards, clenching his eyes shut: but it wasn't because of the pain that filled body as burnt flesh was replaced with healing tissue.
Twilight only studied him silently, not speaking, not even knowing what to say as she finished healing the wound. There was no sense of victory as they tended to the wounded and help them to clinics, while a few soldiers stayed back to begin cleaning up: others went to help scan the town for any infected, working alongside demons, Phooka, and Nightmares.
Meanwhile, Twilight, Celestia, and Antares made their way slowly back to the library, and they were surprised to find it empty: when they had left, both Discord and Allonym had been here, arguing about what they should be doing. But it was probably for the best: all three of them were feeling low and weary and beaten, after all.
Then Twilight looked up and across at Celestia: she still looked ill, veins visibly pulsing through her bruised face, although the worst signs of disease had faded. “You need to go rest, Celestia. Sleep, get some of your strength back... maybe I should call a healer.”
“No, sleep will be enough. I just... don't want to go quite yet.” Celestia shook her head slowly, closing her eyes before she sighed softly and reached up to rub silently at her damaged, stained armor. “I feel foolish. We underestimated the foe. We should have handled it better... and Antares... you didn't listen to me. I need you to listen to me.”
“I needed to stop Cancer, and I almost did. I... I almost did.” Antares fell quiet, then he shivered before looking up and saying weakly: “I couldn't abandon you, and I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but I'm not losing you, too, Aunt Tia. Especially not if there's something I can do about it.”
“It does anger me, Antares, but it most of all makes me angry with myself.” Celestia said quietly, looking down and shaking her head slowly, and then she closed her eyes and murmured: “Twilight, you need a new body.”
“It can wait. I'll do a few grafts and staples tonight to make sure I hold together and... after we flush Cancer out of the sewers tomorrow, I'll find a new... donor.” Twilight shivered a little, not liking to think of the process she had to undergo now and then to replace her undead shell. Her body had a tendency to wear out, after all... something that happened more often when she was exerting herself or she took too much damage over too short a period of time.
Celestia nodded slowly, closing her eyes as she murmured: “If Cowlick's plan succeeds, we at least know that Cancer will not be able to survive her trap. It won't have anywhere to run to if we drop it in a pit of fire.”
Antares shivered a bit, looking quickly away, and Celestia glanced up to study the young stallion for a few moments before she sighed softly and said quietly: “You did well, Antares Mīrus. Your mother and father would be-”
“Don't say it, because I don't think they would be. I... I was so scared... I couldn't do anything. And I couldn't stop it.” Antares closed his eyes... then he slumped a bit when Twilight reached up and silently touched his shoulder. He gazed towards her, and then he trembled a little at how pleading her gaze was, shaking his head a bit and hurriedly averting his own eyes.
There was silence, and then Celestia quietly stood up from the table, saying softly: “I'll see you both in the morning. You should try and sleep as well, Twilight. Your body may not need it but I'm sure your mind would appreciate the rest.”
Twilight Sparkle hesitated, but then nodded a little after a moment in silent agreement, and Celestia gave a small smile before she turned and headed slowly off towards her room. Both Twilight and Antares watched her go, and then the Lich sighed softly before saying finally: “I'm going to head to my... my old bedroom, I guess. Take care of the wounds I can, then try to sleep. Make sure you get some rest in yourself, okay?”
Antares only nodded a little, and Twilight looked at him for a moment before she stood up and strode towards the stairs at the back of the room. Then she halted, hesitated for a moment... and finally looked over her shoulder, adding quietly: “Luna and Scrivener would have been proud of you. And I'm proud of you. But I don't like seeing you being so hard on yourself any more than they would, too. Get some sleep... you'll feel better in the morning.”
Antares glanced up, looking a little ashamed of himself as Twilight turned to head up the steps, and he hesitated for only a moment before calling quietly: “Goodnight, Mom. I... I will. I love you.”
“I love you too, Antares... son.” Twilight smiled a little, lingering for a moment at the top of the stairs before she turned and vanished through the archway, and Antares gazed after her before he looked quietly down at the hoof that had been burnt and injured. Now, the only real sign that he had ever been burnt was singed hair and the blank splotches of bare flesh... and Antares shook his head slowly, closing his eyes and resting his face in his hoof as he thought for a moment about how fortunate he was to have Twilight in his life. As a mother, and a guardian, and a friend.
He sighed a little... then glanced up in surprise as Allonym sat down in the empty seat across from him as if the Draconequus had always been there. He smiled across at him, putting his cane aside and resting his hands on the table before he said softly: “You know, I know it's not entirely fair, but I usually think badly of people who have a good relationship with their parents. Projecting, I know. And silly. Unless you end up being the kind of pony who brings Mommy to a job interview... not that, you know, I'd entirely blame you if you ended up being stalked to one by Luna. But she both likes to get her way and of course, she also falls under the category of Mom I'd Like to... Flaunt. I bet you thought I was going to say something different, didn't you?”
Antares smiled a little despite himself, studying the Draconequus quietly, and Allonym looked back at the young unicorn in silence. Finally, the quiet was broken when Allonym asked softly: “Why didn't you use Celestia's spell?”
“For the same reason I didn't grab the lamp with telekinesis, like I should have. I was scared.” Antares said simply, shaking his head slowly. “I didn't even think of using it. Then again, I... I don't think I would have had time to, even if I'd managed to summon up the concentration. Even if I'd tried just a wild telekinetic grab or attack... Cancer's as insane as he acts but he's not stupid. He would have... have hurt me.”
“You were scared that he was going to hurt you.” Allonym said softly, and Antares only nodded, knowing by now how the odd Draconequus worked, curious as to what the creature was getting at. “Are you scared of the pain in the future? Are you scared of what you now understand better the future holds?”
“I...” Antares hesitated, looking down at the table... and then he nodded slowly, closing his eyes. “Yeah, I am. But I have a newfound respect for my parents, too, and for Celestia and Twilight and... I mean, I... I thought I understood. When I was a kid...”
“Herrófriðr. He kidnapped you, and you were brought to Clockwork World. Terrified, out of your mind. Hurt.” Allonym said quietly, and Antares nodded a few times again, then glanced up as the Draconequus continued: “But what you didn't know... is how gently they handled you, compared to what they could have done. And the fear was mixed with confusion and uncertainty and eventually... numbness, and unconsciousness. Where you dreamed of your parents and your dreams were rewarded... almost.”
“Almost.” Antares echoed, and he shook his head slowly, sitting back and murmuring: “But fighting Cancer was an entirely different world. Because... it wasn't just me, scared and alone, waiting for rescue. It was me, and the only way I was getting out was to fight this thing... knowing that even if I did, I would likely die. Knowing that it was going to be all my fault that Aunt Tia was killed. Seeing her go down like that... it shook me worse than... than any injury that thing did to me, I think. It was awful. And then, looking into its eyes... seeing... that...”
He shivered violently, looking down, and Allonym smiled faintly as he said quietly: “No strength, no talent, comes without a price. Without a second edge, no matter how hidden it might be. Oh, your ability is wonderful Antares. You can see into people, you can understand them, you have a mental acuity and natural analytical skill that stage psychics and detectives would both kill for. You can see into the heart, the mind, and the very soul of a person and pick up on all the little details of what makes us, us, and apply that in any given situation.
“But you don't just see... you feel. And tonight, you looked into the eyes of a monster whose sole purpose is to destroy. To kill, to infect, to annihilate everything around it. It's no wonder you were so scared, Antares... having death breathing down your neck is one thing, but that was neither death nor Death with a capital D. You stared into the eyes of unadulterated... emptiness. Nothingness. A harbinger of the Void.” Allonym fell quiet, crossing his arms as he sat back and said softly: “Me? I wouldn't've been scared but still standing. I would have been terrified, curled up in a little ball, crying and trying to pretend it was all a bad dream. I have faith in you for a reason, Antares. Just don't end up being even more self-loathing than Scrivener was, huh?”
Antares Mīrus smiled faintly, nodding slowly as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. And for a little while, there was quiet as the strange Draconequus smiled and Antares only sat, unable to bring himself to ask all the questions he wanted to... and yet all the same somehow soothed despite everything that had happened.