//------------------------------//
// He Who Tolls The Bell 
// Story: Synthesis of the Atheist 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
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Chapter Sixteen: He Who Tolls The Bell
~BlackRoseRaven

The storm began before they reached the mountain, and the rumbles that echoed through the sky were so loud it made the sand vibrate beneath their hooves. And Scrivener could feel the malice building all around them, like with the storm had come an onslaught of poison and corruption... but the worst part wasn't the tremendous sound, or the scalding air. It was the feeling of venomous familiarity, like he was once more walking through the nightmare of Clockwork World.
The others clearly felt it too: even Twilight, who had never seen Decretum, seemed to understand that this is what it had been like. But she only truly understood after they had reached the mountain and ascended a twisting stone pass; she only truly began to know what it was like when her eyes locked on what had to be the stronghold of the enemy, a structure that looked like it had been torn rudely out of another world and shoved violently into place in these awful stone mountains.
A fortress of ash-blasted concrete and steel was cradled on a high plateau between the stone cliffs, the structure looking almost like it had been melted into the mountains. Enormous drainage pipes had been hammered through the stone on either side, vomiting black mire out of sludge-caked grates over the rock, which had melted away into black mud that had spread through the entire yard in front of the fortress. There were only a few patches of stone left: all the rest was nothing but dark, poisonous corruption that felt... horribly, terribly alive.
A massive gate gaped open over a pair of rotten, splintered wooden doors, and there was no other visible entrance into the structure. The few windows in the tall, flat face of the building were barred and barricaded, and the walls stretched upwards almost endlessly towards the top of the cliffs. It was impossible to tell just how large this fortress was, with how it was merged into the mountains: for all the ponies knew, the whole cliff structure could be hollowed out.
If not for the cacophonous storm above and the ever-flowing mire from the drainage tubes, Luna would have guessed this desolate place was long abandoned. The mare shivered a bit as she looked at Scrivener Blooms, who was simply staring silently at the structure, before Luna finally reached up and squeezed his shoulder gently, saying quietly: “Scrivy. We need thee here.”
“I... sorry, I...” Scrivener shook his head out, and then he stepped slowly forwards, swallowing a little and whispering: “What the hell is this place...”
“It looks like a processing facility. How strange... I don't remember building one in this world.” remarked Valthrudnir's voice, and Scrivener glared over his shoulder at the Jötnar, who stood thoughtfully behind the others. No, just an illusion... remember, he's just an illusion... “Do you really have to echo that sentiment every time? Are you truly that idiotic?”
Scrivener glared, and Antares winced, looking back and forth before Luna said quietly, closing her eyes even as her spear seemed to tense in the air beside her: “It is alright, my child. Scrivener simply... has a visitor.”
“What a cute way to put it.” Valthrudnir said distastefully, and then he returned his amber eyes to the building, his gaze suddenly intense and moody. It made Scrivener frown, before the Jötnar's lip curled in contempt. “Yes, these are my designs but this structure is... inelegant, in a word. Some lower life form has dared to steal from me and used my designs... come, there is no time to waste, Nihete. Tell your whore-horses and the loathsome little boy to get moving, we must find whatever has dared to tamper with my flawless designs and punish them. Both for stealing from me, and for ruining the aesthetic perfection present in all my plans with such unwashed crudeness.”
“I hate you.” Scrivener enunciated slowly, but Valthrudnir only snorted before vanishing, and the stallion groaned before looking miserably over at Luna. “I don't know if we should do this or not. Valthrudnir wants us to, so I don't.”
Luna growled in frustration: not at Scrivener, but actually in agreement with him before Twilight looked suddenly up and said quietly: “The thunder. You can't hear it here.”
Scrivener blinked in surprise, and then all four ponies looked up at the skies above: and while the storm was still rumbling away, and flashes of light were sparking through the sky, it was true... or close enough, anyway. When Scrivener strained his ears, he thought he could hear the faintest crackling... but even then, that was mostly overshadowed by the sound of the sludge pouring down out of the drainage pipes.
Luna made a face, looking apprehensively back and forth before she sighed a little as she glanced over at Scrivener Blooms, who nodded moodily in return. Twilight Sparkle glanced at them, then she nodded as well, looking at Antares and saying quietly: “Stay close.”
“I'll... I'll go first.” Scrivener said after a moment, and Luna nodded hesitantly as the earth pony glanced out through the mire-filled yard before he stepped forwards. The moment he touched it, the black mire seemed to tremble in excitement, making him wince in surprise before it suddenly went from squishy to solid under his hoof, like it had turned to black stone.
Scrivener looked dumbly up... and with the barest thought, the mire reacted to him, a ripple spreading through the yard before the black murk hardened. The stallion grimaced, then strode onto the hardened substance, feeling it pulsing with heat and sending chills up his spine... but was that excitement he felt? Was that... did it make him feel... “It's safe, I think. It's... listening to me.”
Antares winced a bit, but Luna and Twilight both only nodded slowly and stepped out onto the mire. The Lich flinched slightly, but Luna only gritted her teeth, hiding whatever effect it was having on her as she muttered: “Then let us make haste into this labyrinth and see what monster lurks within.”
Antares hesitated for a moment longer, then he followed as well, making a face as he stepped onto the warm, solid mire. It felt almost like... like rigid flesh beneath his hooves, and he had to fight back the urge to gag as he hurried after his parents.
Scrivener nervously passed beneath the gate and through the shattered doors, followed by Luna, then Twilight. Antares came last, and he sighed in relief as he stepped onto a solid stone floor... but it lasted only for a moment as he glanced up and saw the place they had entered into, giving a shiver of disgust. Blue, ever-burning torches lit the path forwards, while steel piping thrummed here and there over the walls and ceiling, some of these caked with rust and ugly black sludge.
The four ponies made their way slowly forwards, naturally falling into two pairs: Luna and Scrivener leading, Twilight and Antares following, the young stallion wincing a little as he felt the Lich standing protectively almost over him. But now wasn't the time to complain about discomfort, as they reached a large, round hallway with several locked doors and what looked like an elevator gate.
Scrivener approached this nervously, as the others looked slowly around: the doors were all closed and one was covered with a thick coat of dust, while another had been smashed to splinters, a gaping hole in the center of it. Luna began to step towards this one before there was a ding as Scrivener pressed a button, and all eyes were drawn to the elevator as the lift itself rumbled slowly down from above, then clicked quietly into position as the gate sprung unlocked.
Luna flicked her horn, tossing the gate open with telekinesis before she leaned apprehensively into the elevator shaft, peering upwards, and then she muttered: “Well, as we have not seen any other signs or omens thus far, we may as well attempt to push upwards. Do thee agree, Scrivy, Twilight?”
The two nodded, and Antares awkwardly cleared his throat, but Luna only smiled at him reassuringly before saying quietly: “Fear not, my child. We shall forge the way forwards and swiftly take care of whatever evil lurks here. Onto the lift.”
Antares slumped a little, then nodded lamely as he strode quickly onto the elevator. Scrivener and Luna followed as Twilight gave Antares, then Luna a silent look, but the sapphire mare only shook her head as her spear floated carefully in next to her, makeshift blade pointing upwards as Scrivener glanced at the control panel, then shrugged and simply hit the top button on the device, which was labeled with an upwards-pointing arrow.
There was a click, and then the lift rumbled before slowly starting to rise. The only sound was the spinning of gears and clicking of machinery, as the four ponies shifted apprehensively, none of them knowing what to say but three of them trading emotions back and forth, while Antares simply sat back and tried his best to keep himself steady and take comfort in the fact he was far from alone in this fight... even if that seemed to come with its own challenges.
The lift platform came to a halt with a clank in front of an open archway, the safety gate here long torn out of place. The four stepped out into an open hall, and this time Luna took the lead, her spear lowered at the ready as Scrivener and Twilight followed, and Antares apprehensively brought up the rear. There was piping all along these walls too... more, in fact, than had been downstairs. But sections of the wall had also cracked, and what looked like a connecting passage had collapsed almost completely, several broken pipes still dripping dark ichors down over the broken jumble of stone and shale that filled the corridor.
They reached the end of the hall without incident: here, the pipes twisted upwards into open vents in the ceiling, in front of a set of faded red doors. They had once had some beautiful design over them, but had long been marred by clawmarks and slashes, making Luna grimace before her horn glowed and the same aura surrounded both chipped golden handles.
She flung the doors open with telekinesis, dropping her spear at the ready... and stared in surprise as she saw only an empty library beyond. No, it wasn't quite a library, as Twilight's eyes widened and Scrivener frowned in curiosity: it had to be some kind of archive, from the fact many of the shelves looked like they were filled with papers and reports that had been sloppily bound by string.
The four slowly strode into the room, and Twilight couldn't help but marvel over it as she realized just how big it was: an almost perfect circle, maybe forty feet in diameter, with four narrow support pillars spaced evenly around the edges of the area. The walls were nothing but shelves upon shelves that stretched to the ceiling maybe forty, fifty feet above. Some of them had rotted away, but most looked like they were in good condition, and all of them held countless reams of parchment and paper and reports.
Almost straight across from them was a heavy, armored door, and Luna looked at this for a moment before she shook her head and glowered back and forth at Scrivener and Twilight, who were still staring with awe around the archive. “We should not dally. Thou can both indulge thy sick reading-fetish after we have smashed apart whatever foul monsters have made this awful place their lair.”
“It is not prudent to walk into the enemy's home without knowing what you are up against, or even what their motives are.” spoke a soft voice, and Luna immediately dropped into a ready position, snarling, as Twilight and Scrivener both stepped up to the sapphire mare's sides, tensing. It left Antares behind a wall of three ponies, but at the chill that ran through him, he felt his muscles go weak and lost the ability to do anything but stare in terror and disbelief.
Black smog wreathed through the air and formed into a thickly-robed body, an immense being striding quietly through the archive with a book held open in one silver-gauntleted hand. It held itself with confidence and calmness, its robes concealing the being's entire body from view apart from its glinting, metallic claws, and a purple stole was wrapped around its throat, both golden-edged ends hanging down across its broad breast.
Its features were concealed by a mask that was shaped like a deer's skull, with enormous antlers of gold that stretched high up towards the sky. They matched the orange-yellow light that shone out of the hollow sockets of the creature's silver mask, as it studied them with what seemed like interest, half-turned away before it slowly returned its attention to the book in front of it, quietly turning a page with one complex claw as it spoke in its sonorous but dulcet tones again: “I will ask you politely to leave this place, my children. Your company is as yet undesired at this juncture by my master.”
“I think not, creature. I think I would much rather stay, and perhaps thou should step aside or take me to thy master... or, if thou insists, I can simply pummel thou and find my own way afterwards.” Luna snapped, fearless even in the face of this entity that exuded such... not malevolence, but a sense of... inevitability.
The entity turned to face them, closing its book as it replied cordially: “Please pardon me, Valkyrie Brynhild, but I'm afraid I find this thought... difficult to comprehend. Your son, Antares Mīrus, clearly understands what I am... do you not?”
Luna snarled at this, then she shot a glance over her shoulder at Antares, who was continuing to tremble, breathing hard and staring with terror past the three ponies in front of him, before Luna slowly drew her eyes back to this creature. And Scrivener felt a shiver run down his own spine, as Twilight looked coldly up... perhaps the least affected of them all by this being that inspired such awe: fear and wonder, dread and glory mixed together.
“Death.” Twilight said quietly, and the creature bowed its head politely to them, gently taking its book in both silver claws.
“Yes, my dear, but I do not deserve proper noun status. I am only one of many, and I prefer my own name. You may call me Kismet.” The creature bowed his head to them, then continued softly: “Some call me a 'Great Reaper,' some call me a 'God of Death,' some simply call me by that one word so many mortals needlessly fear... but I prefer to think of myself as only... the bringer of what must come, when time is right for it.
“I do not have any desire to harm any of you, but I am unfortunately obligated to serve my master. And therefore I shall ask you one last time, to please turn around. Or we shall have to take whatever measures are necessary to halt you.” Kismet said gently, and his book vanished in a burst of black mist before he calmly gestured with one hand to the side.
And out of the walls, similar but smaller creatures floated, Antares staggering backwards in horror but Luna only gritting her teeth: reapers, all of them clothed in tattered, black cloaks, moving through solid objects as if they weren't there at all. They were almost all identical: silver, clawed gauntlets held and cradled deadly scythes, and terrible skull-masks with hollow-socket eyes hid their features from view.
There were at least six of them, soundlessly hovering around Kismet as the death entity stood silently in front of the armored door, urging gently: “Please turn back. I do not want to see anyone here harmed, or any life come to an end before its winter. But we will do what is necessary to stop you.”
“I do not fear death!” Luna shouted, stepping forwards and snarling, her eyes flashing as Scrivener gritted his teeth and Twilight narrowed her eyes, the Lich almost trembling... but it wasn't with fright. “If thou knows who I am, then thou should know I am not to be trifled with, Kismet! I shall crush thee and thy vile masters, who have preyed so viciously upon the innocent and the weak already!”
“That is none of my doing, nor my choice. You have no idea who waits high above, on the top of this mountain. You do not understand... not yet, at least. But when the time is right, you will: for your destiny is linked to Scrivener Blooms, is it not, Valkyrie Brynhild? And his destiny is what waits high above, when the master calls.” Kismet answered softly, spreading his arms and bowing his head before, in a terribly honest voice, he added: “I'm sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry! How dare thee! I shall make thee sorry!” Luna snarled furiously, and then she charged suddenly forwards, drawing her spear back... but Kismet was faster, swinging a clawed gauntlet up and knocking the mare skidding backwards with a blast of thunderous force.
Luna cursed in pain before she shoved herself off the ground in mid-slide, flapping her wings hard to catch herself in midair before her horn glowed, snatching her spear from the sky and bringing it back beside her. As she hovered at the ready with a snarl, Kismet calmly put his hands together as if to pray, bowing his head respectfully.
“I see that we have no other choice. Requiem Aeternam dona eis, et lux perpetuae luceat eis. Requiescant in pace.” As Kismet spoke, dark smoke billowed up from the ground behind him, wafting back and forth before it burst suddenly apart, leaving behind an immense, onyx bell that was almost the same size as the robed creature. This levitated ominously in the air behind the death entity, covered in symbols that looked ancient and alien even to Luna before Kismet calmly unlaced his hands and flicked one to the side, a simple wand of polished ash appearing in his fingers as he asked gently: “Shall we begin?”
Luna bared her fangs, then she lunged forwards, spear rising to aim straight for Kismet again, but this time her attack was interrupted by a pair of reapers that shot in front of her with startling speed and grace: they moved like lightning, both lashing their scythes viciously towards the winged unicorn at the same time, but Luna swung the pole of her spear up to block one as she twisted her body in midair to dodge the second slash, gracefully rolling on her side and slamming a rear hoof out to kick the second reaper savagely in the face.
It fumbled its scythe and grabbed at its face as the first reaper yanked its polearm downwards, trying to hook the body of Luna's spear with the weapon, but the winged unicorn snapped her horn outwards and released a flash of bright light that made both creatures howl and withdraw.
Another reaper moved quickly in, but Luna blasted it backwards with a telekinetic hammer as Twilight and Scrivener both ran forwards: immediately, the remaining reapers' attention was drawn to towards them, one shooting straight for Scrivener and two lunging towards Twilight Sparkle as Kismet ordered calmly: “Damage their bodies, but not their souls.”
Scythes whickered out, but Scrivener dodged to the side and Twilight completely ignored a slash that managed to gouge through her armor, passing like smoke through her vest but ripping a very-real cut into her side. Luna, meanwhile, dropped to the earth to avoid two vicious slashes, then swung her horn up to meet a third attack, and the reaper was knocked backwards as its scythe rebounded, visibly stunned.
Luna immediately took the chance, leaping upwards and lashing her horn viciously out, aiming not at the reaper, but at its weapon: her horn ripped through the pole of the scythe in half, and there was a flare of white light and a terrible scream before the reaper's cloak burst apart into dark smoke and its gauntlets and mask collapsed to the ground in a hail of already-rusting metal.
“Destroy the weapons, the weapons are their-” Luna was cut off as Kismet simply flicked his wand, and she was blasted backwards by a searing blast of blue flame. Scrivener and Twilight both twitched painfully in surprise as the sapphire mare hurtled on a high arc into the air, and two reapers immediately shot upwards, drawing their scythes far back.
Luna's eyes flashed, and she snapped her horn to the side, her spear shooting through the air just as both reapers lashed their scythes upwards; instead of catching her on the blades and possibly cutting her into pieces, the polearm was caught between the weapons, blocking the attack as Luna's wings flapped and she launched herself higher, shooting up towards the ceiling just as the two reapers both yanked on their scythes as the same time and tore the spear apart, before pursuing quickly after the winged unicorn with incredible speed and ruthless determination.
Scrivener ducked back and forth, dodging around the reaper harrying him with vicious, wide slashes before he stumbled as the scythe blade nipped across one of his forelegs, sending out a burst of dark mire and giving the reaper the moment it needed to hook its scythe quickly forwards, positioning the blade at the back of Scrivener's neck. The earth pony barely reacted in time, ducking and then hissing in agony as he felt part of one ear lopped off all the same as the reaper shot quickly backwards, then spun its weapon smoothly at its side before launching just as sharply forwards.
And the earth pony leapt to meet the attack with a snarl just as the reaper began to swing outwards, putting as much of his strength as he dared into a vicious punch that smashed directly into the pole of the scythe and cracked it. The reaper howled as it halted in mid-rush, clutching its scythe as the weapon shivered unnaturally before Scrivener swung his other hoof in a hard, savage blow against the already-damaged body of the polearm, smashing the weapon into two pieces.
The reaper shrieked as its scythe disintegrated in a blast of white light, Scrivener wincing and staggering from the force of the boom before he looked sharply to the side as a scythe ripped deep through Twilight's body, one of the reapers shoving her cruelly down to pin her against the ground by the weapon as the other drew its blade back to behead her.
But with a grunt, Twilight lunged forwards and twisted when it swung down, cursing in pain but dragging the other reaper with her as it fought to maintain a grip on its scythe before the pole of its weapon was sliced in half by its own ally. The Lich cried out in pain, but it was drowned out by the howl and boom of the reaper's death above her, knocking the second reaper loose from its scythe, which was buried deep into Twilight's form.
It crashed backwards, sending up sparks as it skidded along the floor and its ethereal cloak wafted through he air above it, and then Twilight snarled as she stood up despite the scythe buried through her back. Her horn glowed, and the weapon trembled as the same aura surrounded it before she ripped it free with telekinesis, then spun it around and slashed the polearm down into the ground in front of her, seizing it by the pole in both front hooves as she clenched her eyes shut even as the reaper scrambled up to its claws and hurried towards her.
But less than halfway to the Lich, the creature burst out of existence in a gasp of smoke as black lightning shocked over the weapon, and then Twilight reared back, her eyes glowing white as she inhaled loudly as sapphire and ivory energy twisted upwards from the pole and into her maw, drinking down the vital energies that had powered the reaper. The scythe trembled for a moment, then slowly crumbled away to dust as Twilight's glowing eyes locked on Kismet, as the death entity said quietly: “What ferocity. Savage lioness, were you not once a gentle lamb?”
“I was.” Twilight's voice echoed as she spoke, and then she clenched her eyes shut, swallowing down the fury, the power, the... the hunger. And when they opened, they were her sharp and determined violet irises, losing their glow. “But I don't expect you to understand why I'd be willing to give up everything to protect the people I love.”
“Then will you give me a demonstration, my child?” Kismet asked softly, and Twilight gritted her teeth before running forwards, and the death entity snapped his wand quickly out, sending a blast of blue flames shooting towards her. But without slowing, Twilight leapt up and snapped her horn out, and the blue fireball was reflected back at the death entity.
Kismet only caught it calmly in his free hand with all the ease of catching a baseball as he flicked his wand again, and Twilight was blasted backwards by a wave of force, the Lich snarling before her wings spread and she caught herself in midair. And then her eyes widened in shock when Kismet flung the fireball at her again: except this time, instead of blue, the flames burned dead black.
Twilight barely managed to half-spin out of the way, but Kismet calmly made a beckoning gesture with his wand, and a moment later the dark fireball reversed into Twilight's back. She screamed in agony as she was knocked out of the air by the resulting blast, feeling the hellish night-colored fire spread over her body for a moment, sapping her strength as she fell to the ground with a thud near the center of the room.
She rasped for breath, trembling and then coughing dark ichors as her body smoldered: there had been no physical damage, but the flames had burnt her very spirit, hurting her in a way that was... indescribable. Her whole body was trembling with pain, as she looked slowly up and Kismet calmly rose his wand... then reached back and hammered his bell firmly with his free hand when Scrivener Blooms tried to charge in from the side.
The waves of sound made Twilight flinch, but Scrivener was sent staggering backwards from the shockwave of noise and force, feeling vibrations tearing through his mind and body. It made static surge through his mental link and hammered his stomach with an awful, thunderous bass before the stallion's eyes bulged, and then he dropped his head forwards and vomited helplessly.
Above, Luna gargled, disoriented by the pain coming from Scrivener as she zigzagged weakly, then looked up in shock as the two reapers still chasing after her both shot in. She managed to just lunge away, but howled in agony as a wide swing tore a deep rip through her stomach even while it left no mark on her armor, her eyes bulging before the second reaper swung its scythe at her throat.
Luna dropped backwards, arching her back and kicking both legs up to scissor them around the neck of the polearm before she spun her body in a sideways roll, and the scythe was ripped free from the reaper's claws, flung through the air as the creature flailed wildly in surprise and began to fall. The second reaper immediately attempted to lunge forwards, but Luna was faster, dodging out of the way of a wide, wild attack as she shot forwards in the same moment and snatching the falling scythe in midair, slashing it viciously outwards in a turning cut that sliced the first reaper's weapon in half.
It exploded with a shriek, the remaining reaper knocked flying backwards by the blast before Luna roared as she continued the wide slash and slammed the scythe's blade through the metallic mask of the weapon's owner. The reaper immediately howled in misery, grabbing wildly at the weapon left sticking out of its steel face as its cloaked body began to char and smoke and the mask began to slowly melt, claws grabbing wildly at the polearm.
Luna kicked the tormented, helpless reaper into a wall, then snarled as she dropped into a straight dive down towards Kismet as Twilight hauled herself to her hooves and charged directly for the death entity, but again Kismet simply slammed his hand into the bell when the ponies drew close to knock them both away. Luna howled as the reverberations struck her forcefully enough to launch her backwards in a curve, slamming painfully into the archive shelves before she barely managed to shove off the wall and regain the air, coughing and gurgling.
Her hooves knocked several books and wooden boards loose, and they tumbled downwards, hammering against the death entity's bell and over his shoulders. Kismet visibly twitched at the clanging that went up from objects bouncing off the hollow, enormous instrument, distracted more by this than the objects banging against his body and head
All the same, it gave him a moment of lowered guard, and Twilight was immediately up on her hooves, charging forwards with a snarl as she spread her wings and threw herself at the death entity like a living spear. Kismet turned almost too late to react, his eyes widening before he lashed his wand quickly up, but Twilight slashed her glowing horn down at the same time.
Rod and spire met, then smashed together again and again, the death entity fencing artfully with his wand as the Lich tried to push forwards, snarling as she tried to remember everything she could that Luna had taught her about horn foiling. Sparks flew between the two as death incarnate fought living dead, Kismet flinching with every strike and Twilight snarling even as she felt stitches all across her body popping one after the other.
And then a bang tore through the air as the energy built up between them was released when horn and one smashed together one last time, a shockwave of blue fire and lightning knocking Kismet staggering backwards with a grunt of pain and Twilight yelled in shock as she lurched away. Blue fire greedily spread over both creatures, but Twilight ignored the agony even as she felt her very spirit beginning to char, lunging towards the death entity as he stumbled away-
Kismet's hand seized the handle at the top of his gigantic bell, and he swung it fiercely out to slap Twilight away with it: it released a tremendous clang upon striking her, a wave of force and sound blasting the ponies in the library backwards and sending Kismet himself staggering painfully into a wall as he dropped the enormous instrument. The bang of it hitting the floor was almost as tremendous as the sound of it ringing again, but this time they were at least spared any blast of force.
Twilight crashed to the ground, laying in a stunned heap and panting hard as Scrivener fell on his back and Luna found herself in a far corner, shaking her head slowly as her head rang with noise. And Kismet had fallen to a sitting position with his back against the wall, his head bowed as he breathed slowly in and out.
Then, finally, the masked creature rose his head, looking past his fallen bell before he slowly rose his cracked wand in his other hand. He pointed it at Twilight Sparkle, and the Lich could only look up silently before the death entity said quietly: “You've spent too long out of your grave, young miss.”
The wand glowed before a blast of black fire raced towards Twilight, the Lich wincing, unable to call up the strength to react... but a moment later, Antares was in front of her, the stallion leaning forwards with his teeth grit as a sapphire barrier appeared in front of him. The wave of black flames washed uselessly over this, even as the blue energy sizzled before seeming almost to melt, vanishing out of the air before Antares snapped his horn sharply upwards.
White flames rocketed back at Kismet, striking into his wand and racing down the artifact before it exploded in his claw, and the death entity flinched as his metallic talons were torn apart in the flash of light. He looked down with what seemed like shock in his glowing sockets at the sight of his fingers... now revealed to be nothing but twisting, black shadows beneath the metal, swirling slowly and visibly as pieces of broken metal silently revolved through the air around his shattered hand.
Then the splinters and shrapnel unhurriedly began to lock themselves into place, melding together like puzzle pieces as Kismet said in a soft, interested voice: “Mother... but that is strange. You do not seem to be her child. No, no... your mother is the Valkyrie. I feel her blood in your veins.”
“Twilight has always take care of me, watched over me, protected me... she's a mother to me. I don't care what you think. And I won't let you harm her, either.” Antares said quietly but firmly, even as trembles of fear raced through his body.
Kismet chuckled quietly at this, then the death entity slowly, calmly climbed up to his feet as Luna and Scrivener both hurried to their son's side, and Twilight forced herself up to her hooves, feeling her strength beginning to return. “That is an interesting notion, young child. I do not judge, do not worry... and you do not need to be afraid of me. Or rather, not for the reasons I see in your eyes and your mind... I am not careless destruction. I am inevitable death. The difference between death and destruction, young one... it is an ocean.”
“Do not lecture my child!” Luna shouted furiously, striding forwards and snarling, and Kismet looked at her calmly as he held a hand out, his bell rumbling as it righted itself and slowly floated into the air to hover beside him, the death entity leaning against this as the sapphire mare snarled: “Now listen to me, we have made short work of all your little pet reapers, and as thou has seen, underestimating us is-”
Kismet simply stretched his hand towards Luna as it finished repairing itself, and the mare's eyes bulged before she gargled, blue smoke steaming up out of her body as Scrivener staggered away... then cried out in agony as he felt his own strength beginning to drain. Twilight stared in horror, yelling a denial and shaking her head wildly as Antares shouted desperately, then snarled and turned towards Kismet... but the death entity made a twisting gesture, and the life force that was being drained out of Luna twisted violently and smashed cruelly down into Antares, hitting him with all the force of a train and knocking him flat.
Luna collapsed forwards, rasping weakly as her mane and tail sparked, then slowly faded into natural, light blue hair as she gasped in and out, staring in incredulous terror as the misty energy drained out of her body twisted and danced, then reshaped itself into a coldly-grinning copy of the winged unicorn, with malevolent, empty eyes that glared down coldly at the mare's son. Antares looked disbelievingly up, and the energy form smashed a hoof down into him, knocking him onto his back before it pounced on top of him.
“Death begets life. Life begets death. This is not entirely fair, I know, but you leave me no choice.” Kismet said softly, and the worst part was how honestly apologetic he sounded, even as Scrivener slowly forced himself to his hooves as Luna only lay weakly on the ground, gasping quietly. “It is foolish, Valkyrie Brynhild, to seek to be the center of the universe... for when you are the gear all others need to turn, then how can you depend upon them to defend you in your time of need if you already lay wounded?”
Scrivener staggered towards the energy form that was smashing hoof-after-hoof down into Antares, but before he could even lunge at it, the living energy spun around and tackled him backwards, crushing him down onto his back. Then a hoof came down, and again, again, and again, smashing in his face, making Luna twitch with every blow, gargling weakly as her eyes rolled in her head...
Antares snapped his horn outwards, but the blast of white flame that smashed into the energy form was only absorbed by the surreal entity, electricity sparking over it before it turned around and seemed to grin wider. Antares cursed weakly, snarling as he shoved himself up to his hooves... but in a moment, the monster was on top of him again, shoving him down, and when he struck it he only seemed to hurt himself as energy flared violently back at him, before he howled in misery when it shoved a hoof down over his horn and he felt his strength being sapped...
Twilight Sparkle seized the energy shape around the neck, and Kismet's eyes flashed with surprise as the Lich managed to drag the life-force-made-real backwards, then she opened her mouth as the glowing copy of Luna tried to wriggle around before the Lich's jaws bit savagely down into it. Electricity sparked over the entity, and then Twilight's horn began to glow as her eyes took on a white, terrible shine, before Kismet cursed and clenched his hand into a fist, ordering sharply: “Detonate!”
The energy form arched its back and screamed silently even as it began to lose shape, before there was a blast of light and a powerful bang... but then Kismet winced in surprise, stepping forwards in disbelief as Twilight Sparkle turned slowly around, her body smoldering faintly but her eyes still glowing and jaw twisted into a grin, as both Luna and Scrivener writhed... but their own expressions mirrored the Lich's, as energy flooded through her body and part of it was shared with both of them. “A little late.”
Kismet began to raise his hand, but Twilight grinned as she snapped her horn forwards, feeling rage, and delicious power, and Luna's concentrated emotions and essence flooding through her. She had all the passion and strength of her Valkyrie lover in her veins, and how good it felt! How powerful she felt! And oh, with all this strength, she knew just what to do to this force of evil who dared to hurt her, and dared to hurt innocent ponies, and most of all dared to hurt the people she cared about!
A rumble tore through the air, and then Kismet looked over his shoulder in surprise as a black portal ripped open in reality, rimmed in red like a bloody socket. For a few moments, he studied this, watching as it slowly gaped wider, and then he turned his eyes back towards Twilight Sparkle as he said softly: “A recall to Hell? You understand that I am not a force of Helheim, don't you young girl?”
“Then maybe you should be all the more afraid of being sent there.” Twilight replied in a quiet, almost-cruel voice as her eyes glowed brighter, that menacing gaze alone almost enough to push him backwards. Icy smoke belched outwards from the dark hole, the death entity grimacing as the cold winds seemed to wrap around him like physical things, dragging him back towards the portal as eager claws on long, gangly limbs stretched out of the wound in reality, and his feet skidded against the ground as he tried to walk forwards, but only managed to slow his travel towards the portal.
Twilight growled, pouring more power into the spell, the dark rip tearing wider as toxic energy crackled through the air. Kismet's bell trembled where it was still hanging in midair before it fell with a crash to the ground, the pull of the portal dragging it a few inches backwards as the death entity flinched. Claws seized and snared into Kismet's robes, yanked on him and jerked him backwards even as the death entity tried to force himself to take a step forwards, before he visibly winced as part of his robes were pulled into the awful, gaping wound in reality itself.
One of his arms was seized and yanked backwards, only for more claws to eagerly stretch out of the portal, grabbing his shoulder, his back, anywhere and everywhere they could find purchase. But at the same time, the death entity managed to anchor himself, half-leaning forwards as he stretched one arm uselessly outwards, leaning out almost as if to try and grab his bell, as if he thought he could use it to pull himself out of the vortex.
Then Twilight cursed under her breath, shivering as she gritted her teeth, and Kismet looked up before he began to pull harder against the portal's grip, and screams of pain and fury began to sound through the other side of the portal as the death entity began to inch forwards. Twilight snarled, but the portal wavered, and even as her horn glowed brighter, Kismet said quietly: “You don't have the power to force me all the way through this rift, admirable and impressive as what you've managed is.”
Twilight trembled, clenching her eyes shut... and then she twitched once, before her expression once more turned into a cold, cruel grin as her eyes slowly opened, replying almost gently: “You're right, but that's okay. Halfway should be more than enough.”
Kismet stared at her... and then, as Twilight leaned forwards, the death entity suddenly flung himself backwards as he realized what she was about to do. His free arm swung upwards as he vanished back through the dark rip in reality, as voices howled from the other side of the portal, but they were cut off by a thunderous crackle of energy as the portal to Helheim was forcibly sealed shut. And along with the cries, so was Kismet's lower arm, which clattered loudly to the ground a moment later, metallic fingers twitching slowly.
Twilight gasped as recoil blasted over her horn, and then her eyes rolled up in her head before she stumbled backwards, shivering before she collapsed onto her side. Slowly, the glow faded from her eyes as she moaned quietly in pain... and then a tremble ran through her as her eyes looked with a mix of fear and disbelief at the sight of the death entity's lower arm, where it lay twitching weakly on the ground, half-covered in cloth as dark, steaming blood oozed slowly out in a puddle around it.
The Lich opened her mouth, then retched weakly as she looked to the side, her eyes darting back and forth wildly as she reached up and grabbed at her features. She shivered violently, feeling cuts that had torn open across her face, before almost jumping when Antares touched her nervously, looking up at him for a moment... then quickly looking away, whispering: “D-Don't... I... I didn't... I didn't mean...”
“It's okay, Twilight. It's okay.” Antares said gently, and then he looked worriedly back and forth, before laughing weakly and whispering, as she hid her face and gave a quiet, hitching breath. “Look at... you saved us. I... I didn't even do anything. I couldn't even do anything...”
“It is... it was not cowardice, Antares Mīrus. I do not blame thee.” whispered Luna's voice, and Antares looked up to see his mother was slowly standing, breathing quietly before she shook her head quickly, making her light-blue mane fan out... then suddenly spark before both it and her tail wafted upwards, once more becoming starry and ephemeral, spreading slowly outwards before settling as she smiled faintly and added: “Twilight Sparkle... thou saved us all. And if any should apologize, 'tis I... I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be blasted by not just mine energies, but to... to absorb my bloodlust and my battlerage. Thou did well.”
Twilight only swallowed thickly, continuing to shiver weakly before Scrivener slowly approached, shaking himself out as he muttered: “Besides, I have a feeling Kismet will be back before we know it.”
“Aye, but... I am going to steal his arm.” Luna muttered, and then she shook herself out before glancing over at Scrivener as Twilight laughed faintly. “Attend to the wounds and... see what we have in our packs to help with our condition. We must shake off this exhaustion, although the spirit will heal fast.”
Scrivener nodded slowly, then he gave a small smile as Antares looked up and said almost desperately: “Let me help, I... I can at least energize you and Mom.”
“And I'm okay... I... I am. I just need to get my emotions under control and... I think all my stitching has ripped open.” Twilight murmured, shifting uncomfortably before closing her eyes and shaking her head out quickly. “I... stupid of me to waste all that energy and get so... so worked up...”
“It's stupid of you to get worked up right now, Twilight...” Scrivener said softly, and when the Lich glared at him, he continued gently: “But your stupidity before saved all our lives, and got rid of a very nasty problem... for now, at least. And your stupidity now, is... well, that's why I love you.”
Scrivener smiled, a little lamely, but the Lich trembled and looked up at him for a moment before she staggered up to her hooves and hugged him fiercely, and the charcoal stallion winced a bit even as he hugged her back, wheezing a little as she clung to him and buried her face against his neck.
Antares smiled faintly... and then he stared slowly past his parents as Twilight looked up disbelievingly and Scrivener groaned and looked over his shoulder with horror as Luna came back, calmly carrying the death entity's severed forearm in her mouth.
She spat it out in front of them, and all three ponies almost fell over themselves to get away from the still-twitching half of limb, before Scrivener said in a strangled voice: “Luna, I am not putting that thing in our pack!”
“Well we cannot take the damnable bell, can we?” Luna asked crankily, and then she huffed and poked the limb a few times, which twitched and wriggled around in response, Twilight shuddering and leaning away as Antares mouthed wordlessly and Scrivener only glared at the sapphire mare. “Did I not tell the others I would bring back a souvenir? Besides, 'tis part of death incarnate. 'Twill make a fantastic weapon. Or a most wondrous backside-scratcher. I am not yet sure which task I will employ it to yet.”
Luna paused, poking at it a few times, and the fingers twitched a little, then made a weak grabbing gesture, and the winged unicorn grinned a little before she looked slowly up at Scrivener and ordered: “Lick it.”
Scrivener looked back at her blankly for a few moments, and then he slowly closed his eyes for a second before looking grumpily over at Twilight, who grimaced but nodded with a shiver. Her horn glowed, opening the satchel bag before she picked up the severed limb with telekinesis, rearing away from it awkwardly as she carried it through the air, then tucked it into the equipment bag with a shiver.
Luna huffed a little, but before she could say anything, Scrivener reached up and put a hoof against her lips, giving her a moody look. And finally the sapphire mare nodded and grumbled a bit, before her eyes roved slowly back and forth over the ponies in front of herself as she visibly softened.
Twilight, whose physical injures meant next to nothing, but who seemed hurt in the heart, if not her very soul... and not by what Kismet had done, but by her own actions. Antares, who was both opposite and parallel: it was his lack of action that left him fidgety and anxious and almost visibly hating himself, despite the fact there was no shame that a young pony like he was had frozen up seeing his family trying to combat a force as terrible as reapers and death incarnate.
And Scrivener, of course, who reflected her own self-loathing, who was as scared as she was about what they had done to innocent, beautiful Twilight Sparkle. She looked at him silently, and they traded emotions back and forth before there was a sudden sound in their heads like nails against a chalkboard, making them both flinch before Twilight said quietly, even as she looked down with a tremble: “No. No, don't think like that, because it's not your fault. There's always been... that darkness there. And it scares me, but... maybe it's not all bad, either. Or at least, it doesn't have to be, if... if I can learn to control it better.”
Antares looked up worriedly, and then Twilight looked at him and added in a steadier voice: “And Antares, just because you faced down Cancer... it doesn't mean you're never going to be afraid of anything ever again, any more than the fact you are scared of something makes you a coward. You're not a coward. Fear is a rational response... and if I were you, I would have been terrified, too. But I... I don't have to be afraid of death. Don't compare you being scared to me not being afraid, because... those are two completely different things.” She stopped, then smiled faintly over at Luna and Scrivener. “And don't compare yourself to your parents, either, because both of them are too stupid to let themselves be afraid even when they should.”
The stallion nodded with a small smile as his parents traded a look, then a shrug, before the young stallion said quietly: “Well... let me heal you guys, okay? And... I promise, that whatever comes next, I'm going to be more useful.”
Luna smiled back and nodded, and as Antares stepped forwards and his horn started to glow, the sapphire mare said quietly even as she felt magic starting to tickle over her: “Antares Mīrus, my child... I want thee to know that... thou art useful. Thou art always there when thou art most needed, and... my son, I do not treat thee as I do because I think thou needs to be coddled and protected. Rather, I coddle and protect thee because... I am thy mother, and I love thee. And even when thou art a hundred years old and a powerful warrior, much as I am sure it will frustrate thee by then, I will still call thou my little colt, still refuse to let thou grow up too much, and still take whatever stones are thrown at thee if the battle is not thine alone.”
Antares blushed a bit, his magic stuttering out, but Luna shook herself briskly as her body tingled and she felt herself soothed; more by her son's presence than his magic, she thought, but she smiled as she glanced down over herself and shifted back and forth a bit. “Excellent, my wounds feel as if they have faded. Although...”
Luna reached up and carefully poked at one ear, which looked flayed near the top, and she winced a little as she looked across at Scrivener. The charcoal stallion awkwardly reached up and poked at his missing eartip, and he winced at the throb of pain that went through his body as he muttered: “It'll probably grow back. Probably.”
“Probably.” Luna glanced meditatively upwards, trying to see her own ear as she poked at it a few times, and then she grumbled: “Idiot Scrivener Blooms. How many times must I tell thee not to lose body parts in battle? Dismemberment should not be shared with thy wife unless we are trading limbs.”
Scrivener stared at her for a moment as Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat awkwardly, and Antares decided it was best to simply stay quiet until Luna finally turned towards the armored door and said over her shoulder: “Well, come along then. 'Tis time for us to go and see who Kismet serves. Whether his master is powerful or weak, this time we shan't be ambushed and we can recover on the way... the death entity said at the top of the mountain, did he not?”
Twilight nodded, and the rest of the group became serious as Luna approached the armored door as the Lich said quietly: “But we don't know what we're getting ourselves into... the way Kismet talked, it seemed... it seemed almost like we're being expected. And he didn't just know about all of us... the way he said something about Scrivener's destiny...”
The charcoal stallion shifted uneasily as Antares hesitated, then spoke up as Luna grumbled and inspected the door: “But he was... he was able to read our minds, wasn't he? At least to some extent... and it seemed like he could see... well, I don't know how to phrase it...”
“He could see our spirits, so to speak. In a way, 'tis like mind reading, but... not.” Luna answered calmly as she booted the armored door firmly, then added after a moment: “'Tis a trick the Valkyries used to use as well. It is... it gives one a quick view as to the nature and minds of others, 'tis why I was not surprised at everything the creature knew. But at the same time... aye, Twilight is right. He implied... much.”
Luna paused, then she glowered at the door: it hadn't budged in the slightest. A moment later, she snapped her horn suddenly forwards, and the armored door was simply blown off its hinges by a crushing telekinetic blow, Luna grinning even as she wheezed a little with the exertion. Scrivener groaned loudly as Twilight glared at the mare, but Antares only shook his head slowly before he said finally: “Mom, I hate to point this out, but... maybe you should be trying to conserve your strength for now.”
“Maybe thou should be quiet and let thy olders and maturerers battle the way they have always battled.” Luna retorted imperiously, and Antares slowly closed his eyes as Scrivener and Twilight shared a pained look, before the sapphire mare strode onwards and grimaced, becoming serious again. “And what in damnation is this?”
The hall beyond was long, ramped and curving, moss growing over the walls and several pipes running along the ceiling, but amidst the dust and speckles of mire were claw marks and what looked like splatters of blood. Luna slowly began to stride through the unsettling corridor, her eyes narrowed as she looked apprehensively back and forth, before murmuring quietly: “There are signs of not just struggle and combat, but these are drag marks... perhaps victims were brought through here. But the blood is not fresh, and I... I do not think we will find any of these ponies alive.”
“We have to try.” Twilight said quietly, and Luna glanced up... then smiled faintly and nodded slowly, turning her eyes upwards as Scrivener and the Lich fell in step on either side of the sapphire mare, and Antares followed slowly behind his parents, shivering a little as he couldn't stop his eyes from slowly surveying the decay around them.
They fell silent as Luna led them onwards, up the long corridor and through a torn-apart set of doors, Luna stopping to inspect these and wondering silently about all the damage they had seen. Some of it simply made no sense... and if this was some enemy fortress, why was it so decrepit? Why was there so much... simple ruin, even though she could hear mire thrumming through the veins ahead, and it seemed like much of the machinery and other workings of this awful place were being maintained? Why was it that the armored door of the archive had been in such good condition and securely locked down, but there were many more doors that were torn apart, warped shut, or left carelessly open?
They passed into a large, square room with doors on every wall: choosing which way to go wasn't difficult, however, thanks to the fact that an iron gate had been left invitingly open, revealing a set of stairs beyond. The other doors were all armor-plated and sealed shut, and while Luna was tempted to investigate, she also didn't want to waste her energy blowing down more doors for what could possibly be nothing at all, with the lack of any... anything.
She thought that was what disturbed her the most: she had taken this place for some kind of fortress, but so far the only signs of life – so to speak – had been Kismet and his reapers. Even the sensation of being watched would have been better in some ways than this feeling of emptiness... and Luna shivered a little as they climbed the flights of stairs leading upwards.
The room they emerged into surprised her: it was an enormous atrium of some kind, with a wide, open floor and large, concrete and wood boxes covered with moss. Many of these tub-like structures were filled with soil and had all manner of alien flora growing inside them... but what made both Luna and Scrivener shiver was the fact that many of them also had steel pipes hooked into the planters, and thrumming, strange machinery with pumping pistons apparently keeping a steady flow of corruption flowing into the soil.
There were other things in the atrium, too: miniature greenhouses that bright heat lamps were focused on, sunning strange plants inside that writhed and danced, and flowers kept in glass boxes, some of these filled with corruption. And then, to another side, dead, rotting bodies of ponies overgrown with monstrous-looking vines and plants lay in some kind of glass cell floored in mire, the sight of this making Antares almost vomit as Luna and Scrivener closed their eyes, and Twilight shivered violently.
They stepped off cement floor and onto a slightly-raised wooden deck that made up the other half of the atrium, and Scrivener looked down nervously at how rotten it felt under his hooves. Luna, meanwhile, was looking apprehensively upwards: the ceiling here was made of cracked but thick glass,  but was covered by some kind of thin wooden shutter above. But Luna could also hear thunder rumbling ominously in the skies beyond, and between the wooden panels, see flashes of unnatural light.
They halted for a moment as she and Scrivener traded a look, while Twilight nervously gazed back and forth: standing up through holes in the wooden floor surrounded by decayed – and often missing – railings, were enormous support beams feeding up to the ceiling, and all along these were pipes that were thrumming quietly away with corruption. She didn't know if the corruption was coming from above or being pumped up from below... but either way, Twilight felt for some reason the fact all these things fed into the roof pointed to something very bad above.
Antares, meanwhile, had noted the staircase leading up to a large sliding trapdoor in the ceiling, and he nervously strode towards this, at the same time looking uneasily at the rear of the atrium: there was a massive glass cell there, filled with alien-looking trees and bushes...  and something that was moving through the grasses carpeting the bottom of the cell, unseen.
It made him shiver a little before he turned his eyes back to the stairs, reaching the bottom of them... and then glancing over his shoulder as Luna called quickly: “Antares, wait!”
“I... believe me, I'm not gonna wander ahead. I just wanted to see if the door up there was closed or not.” Antares grimaced a little, nervously looking back out through the massive atrium as his parents approached, Twilight shivering a little as she followed.
Luna looked down at her son as she reached him, and then she bit her lip, looking down at him for a few moments before she closed her eyes and nodded slowly, then said quietly: “Scrivener, go ahead and open the door above. Antares, stay at my side. Twilight, stay back if thou can, allow us to do the heavy physical work. Thy body is already stressed.”
Twilight Sparkle smiled faintly and nodded as Antares saluted his mother sharply, giving a small, faint smile as Scrivener grimaced and grumbled a little, slowly walking up the stairs. But his muttering was mostly to settle his own nerves, feeling the stairs bending beneath his hooves as he stopped to push the trapdoor slowly up.
Thunder rumbled, loud but not overbearing despite the fact that when Scrivener could see the dark clouds swirling not only above, but perhaps some twenty feet past the lip of the structure's roof. He shivered a little, then shoved the trapdoor back and climbed up out onto the top of this alien fortress, turning slowly around and unable to stop himself from staring in disbelief at what he saw.
Wooden panels covered most of the lower roof section, but past this was a set of steps leading up to a wide, circular area guarded by two half-destroyed statues of Tyrant Wyrms, both slowly bleeding mire. Dead center in this area was what had caught his attention: an enormous, round pool of bubbling and boiling corruption, large, twisted girders of metal standing up out of this and supporting a massive, violet orb that was crackling with electricity, sending the occasional arc of lightning shooting up into the swirling, dark clouds above.
The orb was the size of a boulder, enormous and terrifying. It looked like solid crystal, flawless and perfect, and even when mire vomited upwards from the fountain, it left no mark on the jewel. And as Scrivener stared at it, he felt his eyes suddenly sharpen and adjust, and a moment later he was looking not at purple stone, but an orb of glass filled with silently-screaming, skinned ponies writhing in an aquarium of boiling blood, above a furnace of black flames in which a thousand-thousand howling souls stretched out of...
Scrivener gasped and snapped his head quickly away, shivering violently as he was joined by the others... and then he looked up sharply as a voice said quietly: “We didn't expect you to get here so early, brother.”
An earth pony strode calmly around the other side of the fountain, a soft smile on his face... and the first thing Scrivener noticed was that the pony looked similar to him. He had a coat of such a dark metallic blue it was almost black, a large build, and a short, brush-cut silver mane. His features were handsome, and his eyes were a sharp ivory, but his body seemed too flawless, too shiny, too strong. He seemed both like a perfect specimen of a stallion, but somehow... synthetic, plastic.
And then he bowed his head politely... and Scrivener shivered at the fact this pony had some kind of silvery machinery standing out of his broad back, larger around the shoulderblades and forming steel, shrinking vertebrae down the rest of his spine, flanked by rounded pistons. “I am Thesis. Tell me, why have you come, Scrivener Blooms?”
“Allow me to answer, Thesis. I am Luna Brynhild, and we have already dispatched thy lackey, Kismet.” the sapphire mare stated sharply, stepping forwards, and Thesis turned his ivory eyes to her with curiosity, as the winged unicorn continued coldly: “We have come to pummel whoever has been preying upon the ponies of Appleloosa. I take it that is thou?”
“An unfortunate necessity.” Thesis replied gently, and then he added softly: “And I know who you are, Valkyrie. I know all of you... Twilight Sparkle, and Antares Mīrus. You are a family, aren't you? Well, let me introduce you to my family.”
Thesis bowed his head again, and two more ponies strode around either side of the fountain: these were both mares, the one on the left looking down at the ponies with contempt, and the female to the right smiling coldly, her expression haughty and arrogant. Luna snarled, setting herself, and Antares dropped to his own ready position as Scrivener stared at them, feeling something... horribly familiar...
“Protelea.” Thesis gestured to the right mare, who had a body that was a murky green and sinister red eyes. Her mane and tail writhed slowly, composed of thorny ivy and weeds of dark, ugly colors, and she had a set of large, insectile wings twitching almost eagerly on her back as her tail swayed slowly back and forth.
“Psukhikos.” The mare on the left made a mocking little bow, this one a pale white. One of her eyes was gold, and the other was dead black, her tall horn a swirl of both these colors and flanked on either side by a tiara of thorns that stood out of her forehead. Her mane was was raven black and spilled almost to her knees, and she was gorgeous... and yet so distant, looking down on them like a cruel queen that had no compassion for her people's misery.
“And Cheshire. Cheshire now, don't be shy.” Thesis said gently, and there was a broken giggle before an immense pony simply appeared out of thin air in a strange ripple of light, seated calmly on the other side of Protolea like a dog. He had a black, almost-scaly coat and a filthy, shaggy violet mane and tail, with purple eyes that shone with madness. His features were twisted into a wide grin of warped teeth too big for his jaws, and his front hooves had split apart into unnatural, gnarled claws.
And yet that was far from the worst thing about this pony: the most striking, terrible thing about Cheshire was the fact he was covered in scars, that parts of his body looked like porcelain that had been badly glued together... or in this case, sewn and stapled. Enormous black cables formed thick stitching over old scars and the 'cracks' in his body, and what looked horribly like gigantic fencing staples had been hammered into his body, as if to bind pieces of him together.
Cheshire laughed and twitched back and forth, a bit of drool falling from his jaws before he gurgled and rasped: “Once upon a time, in a country most like ours... lived... t-two little foals, with their loving f-f-father and wicked... stepmother!”
He almost screamed the last word, and Thesis shook his head slowly before returning his eyes to Scrivener Blooms and his family, saying softly: “I apologize. You see, Cheshire was apparently the first of us... and Valthrudnir did terrible things to him in pursuit of knowledge, to try and perfect his design for the Replicants. When I found him, he was... very far gone. Oh, he understands orders from a superior force, at least... but all he had throughout his years of suffering were a few books of poetry and fairy tales. And it seems that's all his broken mind lets him to remember anymore.”
“Hansel and Gretel... were left in the forest! Alone! Oh, they were wise, but not wise enough... poor foals, who wandered and left a trail of breadcrumbs, but they were gobbled, gobbled down by the crows, the wicked crows!” raved Cheshire, and then he whimpered when Thesis shushed him quietly.
Scrivener, however, was shivering violently as he stared back and forth in disbelief, his mouth working slowly before he stumbled backwards as Antares stared with horror. Twilight was trembling, and Luna snarled even as disbelief filled her eyes, before Scrivener whispered: “No. No... you're like me? Not just Clockwork Ponies but... but cuckoos?”
“I prefer the proper term: 'Replicant.'” Thesis smiled and then bowed his head politely again, before looking slowly up and saying softly: “You didn't think you were the only one, did you, Scrivener Blooms? I am so glad to see you here, though... in fact, for a long time, I've been wondering whether or not I should make contact with you, even though we aren't... quite ready yet for the process. But now that you're here...”
The charcoal stallion only looked weakly at Thesis as the Clockwork Pony stepped forwards, that same calm smile on his face even as his white eyes glowed with excitement. And then Scrivener snarled, shaking his head and shouting: “I'm not about to help Decretum! We put a stop to Valthrudnir, we'll stop you, too! I'm not helping you carry on that bastard's work!”
“Why would we want to have anything to do with Decretum?” Thesis looked honestly surprised, and Scrivener was struck dumb before Thesis smiled and licked his lips, drawing his eyes over them with a strange, twisted admiration. “No, I have no interests in Valthrudnir's aims. But my friends and I... we direly need something from you, and your beautiful wife. We need your genes, and your strength, so that we can be complete. Won't you help me? Won't you help us? Because after all... we're family, aren't we?”
Scrivener could only stare in disbelief, shivering weakly as Luna Brynhild snarled and Twilight and Antares both only stared, shivering, as Thesis looked down at them all too eagerly. And behind these strange and alien and twisted ponies, the purple orb glowed as corruption bubbled and boiled around it, poisonous lightning arcing and sparking though the air, fueling the unnatural storm that whirled around them that seemed as eager as the Clockwork Ponies for the soulmates' answer.