Chapter Sixty Six: Maugrim
~BlackRoseRaven
The night passed without any serious event: they were left alone, resting on their sleeping bags while Abaddon and Ratatoskr curled up together and slept peacefully. They kept a natural fire going the whole night, and although Celestia thought something had slipped by to spy on them for a little while, it hadn't attacked and hadn't felt hostile. Just curious.
Morning came like clockwork, and Celestia smiled a little as she watched the sun slowly rising in the hilly distance. There was no sign of civilization anywhere around here, but she was relieved by that, if anything: it meant that when they did confront this monster, there wouldn't be any danger of collateral damage. They wouldn't have to worry about whatever they were hunting hurting anyone... any more than they'd have to worry about holding back.
Celestia took a slow, deep inhale, and held it for a moment before letting it out, tasting the air. She could hear the birds singing, and nature trying to whisper to her, but she had never been quite as good as Sleipnir at figuring out what the world was trying to say to her. She had spent too long thinking only about herself, and treating nature as something to be commanded, not an equal to work alongside.
Still, though, the world tried to speak to her: Mother Nature could be as forgiving as she was cruel. Celestia smiled a little as she drew a metal-clad hoof through the grasses, then she shook her head slowly before looking up, studying the rising sun as she asked softly: “Are you worried about today at all, Scrivener Blooms?”
“Always.” Scrivener said mildly as he approached, smiling slightly despite himself as he looked up at her through the glasses Luna had gently insisted he wear. “Scares me how well you know us, that you're always able to tell when we're coming.”
“Well, I've had a lot of practice.” Celestia continued to gaze out towards the sky, and then her eyes glinted with entertainment before she suddenly dropped her head forwards, and Luna cursed as she whizzed through the air just above her raised mask. “Good morning, little sister.”
Luna rolled her body sharply in midair and dropped to the ground, skidding backwards through the grasses and glowering up at Celestia. “Damn thee! Mimir's head, how can thou hear the very air itself parting? There is no way thou should have sensed me!”
“I apologize for being perceptive, sister. Next time I'll let you hurt yourself by running into the back of my head.” Celestia said kindly, and Scrivener coughed and looked to the side as Luna's face puckered sourly. “How are you feeling about today?”
“Oh, do not change the damned subject.” Luna grumbled moodily, and then she shook her head slowly before adding with a grumble: “But if thou must know... aye, I share Scrivener's worry. I also wonder who shall find who first... did thou see the birds this morning?”
“I did.” Celestia glanced eastward, nodding slowly: not long after she had first left their little camp to explore the plains a little, there had been an eruption of birds in the distance, and they had circled for quite a while before the flock had dispersed. Something had agitated them, likely the very thing they were looking for. “It at least gives us a bearing. And perhaps it's just an Ursa Major.”
“Only you and Luna would say 'oh it's fine, it's just an Ursa Major,' like it's nothing to worry about.” Scrivener said mildly, and Luna and Celestia both looked at him with amusement before the stallion said dryly: “No, Luna. I don't want to hear about the time you saved the village fair by flinging an Ursa Minor into the air and blowing it up, creating 'the most spectacular display of fireworks.' Or the followup story, how the fair was ruined by the rain of stardust and blood a few seconds later.”
“Nay, the fair was saved by the fireworks. 'Twas a magical way to end a magical night. 'Twas the leaving of the fair that was ruined.” Luna retorted, then she complained: “And furthermore, 'twas neither my idea nor entirely mine own doing. Sleipnir flung the star-beast into the air, I merely destroyed it. And Celestia did not help at all.”
Celestia nodded at this, saying mildly: “I believe that was one of the many, many traumatic events over the week where I swore I wasn't going to help you or Sleipnir out of any of the messes you got yourselves into, out of the vain hope that it would teach you both something about behaving properly.” She paused, then smiled a little at her sibling, softening. “But I'm very glad that it didn't.”
Luna smiled warmly in return at this, and Scrivener looked meditatively over at the sapphire mare, saying finally: “It's too bad it didn't work a little bit.”
The sapphire mare huffed and turned towards him with a glower, but Celestia laughed and shook her head, asking quickly: “So is everyone ready to go?”
“Just finished cleaning up the campsite.” came Twilight Sparkle's voice, and the ivory mare turned and nodded, looking tenderly down at the Lich as she approached, Abaddon happily sitting on top of her head and gazing curiously around at everything as Ratatoskr ran along beside her.
Discombobulation was grumbling as he followed the Lich with the backpack slung over his metal shoulder, arguing with Morning Glory as she kept her gaze forwards and her head raised alertly. Her eyes kept flicking back and forth, and Celestia frowned a little at the two as she recognized what was off: the Draconequus only got argumentative when he sensed something nasty on the horizon, and the demon looked like something was setting off her demonic instincts.
Helheim and Ginnungagap loathed each other enough to sometimes trigger that kind of reaction, but whatever was making the two so hostile, it wasn't the fact that one was a demon and the other was a chaos entity. They were targeting each other out of instinctive spite, but it was something else that was putting both of them on edge. And if she couldn't sense it... “Is it a destruction entity?”
Discombobulation and Morning Glory both stopped, turning their eyes to Celestia as Luna frowned immediately. Slowly, Draconequus and Destroyer regarded each other, at first warily, then hesitantly... and then they both shook their heads at almost the same time before Morning Glory said quietly: “No. Similar, maybe, but not a destruction entity. It's too...”
“Synthetic.” Discombobulation finished, and Morning Glory looked surprised, but then she nodded slowly in agreement, and Celestia nodded musingly before the Draconequus sighed and slumped moodily. “And oh great. I recognize where this is going. And I also recognize where we're about to be going. Right straight in the direction of all that anathema. That miasma. That malice. That... stinky poo-poo pants stuff.”
“I don't care what this thing is. None of you are convincing me to show it mercy.” Morning Glory growled, as metal plates slid up over her features and locked tightly into a steel mask. “I'm the only Destroyer allowed to exist.”
Luna snorted in wry amusement at this, then glanced quickly over her equipment before turning her eyes to Scrivener Blooms as he reached up and awkwardly adjusted his glasses. But the sapphire mare had no other response, turning her eyes instead to Celestia, who nodded calmly before saying quietly: “Morning Glory, take point. Discombobulation, stay near the back with Twilight Sparkle. We'll keep to the middle.”
Luna and Scrivener both nodded in agreement, and Morning Glory grinned coldly as Celestia's own mask dropped into place over her features, before the demon turned and rumbled: “Good.”
As the sun slowly rose into a beautiful late summer sky, they walked through lush fields and pretty meadows and tall, carefree trees. The entire world was gorgeous... and somehow, that made them all the more worried as a sense of malice started to seep into the air around them. It was like reality around them was bending, like there were hints of distortions just beneath the surface, as the world around them became something... evil, and twisted, and unhealthy, despite the fact it looked like any other clear summer's day.
Morning Glory led them to a crescent-shaped ravine, and they paused here for a moment to gaze down into it: the vale was deep enough they were able to gaze across at the tops of trees that filled it, but the forest was so thick they couldn't see a thing even from their vantage point above. At one side the ravine sloped downwards to an inlet, though, a beach sprinkled with detritus facing out on a beautiful, shallow lagoon, and the ocean beyond.
Scrivener frowned as he caught something in the corner of his eye, and he looked curiously down before reaching out and gently plucking a flower out of the grasses. Not just any flower, either, but a black rose. “Hey...”
Luna looked over at this with surprise, and Celestia glanced over her shoulder and opened her mouth. But before she could speak, there was a rumble of sound, the trees of the forest swaying and twisting is if they were alive before a storm of crows ripped suddenly up from the branches, a cawing black mass that spun like a vortex of feathered smoke into the sky.
All eyes could only stare before the vast murder burst apart, hundreds of crows flying in every direction as feathers and flower petals whirled and danced through the air all around them. They gazed back and forth, confused and uncertain, even Morning Glory thrown off guard for a moment as all eyes were drawn to the living storm above.
And yet before anyone could question the event or what it meant, there was another snarl from below as something crashed through the forest, before roaring furiously: it drew all eyes sharply down into the woods, and Morning Glory snarled as she immediately put the phenomenon out of mind, all four chains snapping upwards around her as she shouted: “Come out and fight me!”
Morning Glory threw herself into a sprint, and Luna cursed as Celestia shouted an order, but the Destroyer ignored the ivory mare as she grinned coldly, charging straight down the slope towards whatever was racing eagerly to meet them. The trees along the border of the wood all-but-exploded, but she only laughed and leapt forwards, ignoring the branches and wooden shrapnel that bounced off her body and dodging a tree trunk that smashed into the ground where she had stood but a moment before.
She landed easily and launched herself back into a run as an awful black shape ripped out of the forest, and Luna opened her mouth... before going pale at the sight of it, as Celestia's own eyes widened and she stuttered to a halt in shock. Even Twilight could only stare in horror, her head rearing back as she cried out in reflex as memories ripped through her mind of suffering and pain and- “No! Run!”
The Destroyer drove forwards with a snarl... as the Black Wolf of Hell eagerly pounced towards her, nothing but rage and hate and burning black, unnatural fire in place of fur. No, there were the teeth, too: curved, massive fangs that filled the jaws stretching eagerly towards Morning Glory-
The demon roared as she slammed a punch directly into the behemoth wolf's face, sending it crashing onto its back with a yelp before the metal-plated Destroyer landed with a ruthless grin, shouting: “Come on, pathetic little puppy! I'll put you out of your misery quickly!”
The Black Wolf snarled as it rolled awkwardly up to its paws, and Luna's eyes widened as she saw what made this creature different from the ones they had seen in the past: it wore radiant silver shackles around its lower legs, brilliantly-glowing blue runes shimmering on all of these as well as the iron-looking collar and harness strapped over its neck and upper body. It barked loudly several times, soulless eyes locking on Morning Glory before it leapt forwards and stomped a paw savagely down towards her, but the demon leapt swiftly backwards with a grin, unintimidated by its size or the fact that the ground immediately began to rot away to ash and char where its claws had torn.
A sapphire fireball smashed directly into the Black Wolf's face, followed a moment later by a burst of golden flames that knocked it staggering backwards, yelping as it shook its head wildly back and forth. Morning Glory only snarled over her shoulder at this, however, shouting angrily: “I can deal with a stupid hunting animal without your help!”
“Thou hast no idea what this thing is, Morning Glory!” Luna snapped as she flicked her horn to the side, flinging Prúðbikkja out of her mane before the polymorphed weapon burst up to full size in a flash of light. The mare leapt into the air, beginning to quickly fly down the slope as Scrivener followed with Celestia, and Twilight hesitated only for a moment before running after them as Discombobulation only continued to stare with horror down at what was unfolding below. “We take it together!”
Morning Glory turned back towards the Black Wolf, just in time to see the creature's paw lashing towards her before it smashed into her features, knocking her staggering before the monster leapt in and bit savagely at her throat. But the Destroyer's chains snapped up and caught it around the muzzle and neck before its teeth could even get close, and her eyes glowed with fury as plates of torn and already-rotting metal fell away from her features and neck, leaving half her face torn open and bare to the world as she snarled contemptibly: “I'll kill it now.”
Her horn glowed brightly as she leaned forwards, and white flames erupted over the Black Wolf's face, making it scream and howl as it wildly pushed and shoved and tried to tear itself away from the demon. Its paws tore up the ground, rot and ash spreading rapidly around it as Morning Glory only poured more power into her ravaging white fire, until the Black Wolf suddenly stiffened before slumping weakly to the ground.
The monster hung limply in the mare's chains as the Destroyer glared balefully at its smoldering head, and then the white fire whiffed out, revealing the demon's metal appendages now holding only a charred, stone skull. The demon snorted in disgust, then spat on this before she finally flung it bad-temperedly to the ground, the material cracking loudly as the shocked ponies came to a stumbling halt behind the enormous, metal-covered mare, who only looked moodily over her shoulder at them. “What? It was nothing but a stupid beast after all... nothing to be afraid of.”
None of the ponies knew what to say, and Morning Glory muttered to herself, rolling her eyes and apparently neither noticing nor caring about the blood spilling from the gaping wounds in her face and the side of her neck, or the black ash spreading silently beneath her hooves, as she continued in a sour voice: “Furthermore, I do not require the aid of my oh-so-benevolent mistresses in order to-”
The Black Wolf's jaws snapped shut around one of her rear legs, then twisted viciously, and Morning Glory didn't even have the time to cry out in shock before she was slammed down to the ground. A claw lashed up, ripping and tearing into one of her armored sides and sending plates of metal flying in all direction as the monster twisted and jerked its head back and forth, and Morning Glory finally screamed in agony as her hind leg was almost torn completely from her body and its claws ripped a coil of her guts out of her stomach.
Luna and Celestia both leapt forwards, swinging their horns down in almost perfect time to blast the monster with telekinesis, and the Black Wolf was sent crashing onto its back and skidding into the forest. It left a trench through the ground behind it that turned rapidly to ashes before it rolled quickly over and turned around... and its features were already once more veiled in burning black flames, solid white eyes glaring soullessly out at them as it snarled in hatred of their existence.
The Black Wolf reared back and howled loudly, making the air reverberate with its malice before blades of rock and ice began to rip and tear out of the earth around them, and Celestia shouted over her shoulder before she, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle all leapt to the air. Morning Glory could only gurgle weakly as Scrivener Blooms staggered backwards, the ground warping away into not mire, but decay and death that filled his mind with violent thoughts before he looked up in relief as Discombobulation appeared in a kneel over Morning Glory, grabbing her before vanishing with the demon in a crackle of emerald electricity.
The monster roared at being deprived of its prize, head snapping back down as its restraints visibly trembled before shattering apart, harness and shackles tumbling in useless pieces around it. The Black Wolf shook itself, the obsidian fire that made up its body flaring up as its claws flexed against the ground, the sense of malice emanating from the monster growing far more vile.
Its eyes locked on Scrivener Blooms, the only target left amidst the jumble of jutting rock and claws of ice, but then the Black Wolf was distracted as several blasts of blue flame hammered into its features, knocking it staggering backwards with another yelp as Celestia flew higher into the air, horn glowing as she prepared a more devastating spell while Twilight and Luna distracted the monster. “Here! Up here, wretched whelp!”
Luna bared her fangs as the Black Wolf roared at them, waves of sound blasting by with enough force to make Twilight wince and twitch in midair, wings flapping hard to try and keep herself steady before Luna roared back and launched herself straight towards the beast, Prúðbikkja readied at her side as the horn speartip began to glow with energy.
The Black Wolf leapt up to meet her, swinging at Luna with a paw and snatching at the spear with its jaws, but in a flash Luna twisted to one side of the beast and her spear shot to the other, before she slammed both rear hooves hard into its temple as her spear thrusted viciously down through one of its ears. The Black Wolf howled in misery, shaking its head wildly before she tore the weapon back, then snapped her horn savagely upwards to make the ground erupt beneath the monster.
But the beast was even larger and heavier than Morning Glory, and the explosion barely knocked it stumbling, much less into the air. It shook itself out as Luna quickly drew back with a curse and her spear fell quickly in beside her, her eyes locked on the creature as it glared furiously after her, but then was distracted a sudden bright, golden light.
It turned towards the source of this, and an aureate meteor smashed full-on into its features, knocking its head snapping back as it gave what was almost a scream of pain and shock. Golden flames rapidly spread over its features and its body, turning black fire to stone that crumbled away from its form as it slammed into a tree and knocked it over, then stumbled into another and sent it crashing down, even as the black fire rapidly began to push back against the golden blaze trying to eat away at the corrupt fire that made up its form.
“It must draw its strength from the earth, just as its brothers did!” Luna shouted over to Celestia, even as Twilight gritted her teeth and snapped her horn out,the ground beneath the Black Wolf cracking and shifting violently, trees ripping out of the earth and toppling onto the creature that had been forced back into the forest, but the Black Wolf barely acknowledged the conifers collapsing over its body, shrugging them off and batting them aside as it stomped through rock and ice and twisted earth without noticing or caring. “We must force it away from the source of its power!”
“You killed Fenrir by impaling him. Twilight, work with Luna, I'll distract the monster.” Celestia said coldly, eyes flashing behind her mask before her golden swords burst into existence around her, and then she shot forwards, heading straight towards the beast.
Scrivener Blooms winced as Celestia all-but-tackled the Black Wolf even as it barked and leapt at her; but she was far, far swifter than the beast, all three of her short swords twisting elegantly around to bury into the monster's throat and make it choke before Tyrfing slammed cruelly down into the crown of its skull, knocking it staggering backwards
The ivory mare kept herself airborne as she began to fight viciously forwards, harrying its features with long, sawing cuts with her smaller weapons that pushed its muzzle back whenever it tried to bite or lunge, while Tyrfing hammered cruelly down again and again in less-graceful slashes. But in spite of her power, her experience, her peerless skill, the Black Wolf kept lunging viciously forwards, its paws every so often smacking her painfully enough to knock her backwards, its teeth narrowly failing to sink into her flesh when it bit.
And the stallion knew there wasn't a thing he could do right now to help: if he lunged in, chances were he'd just get himself hurt, and that would result in Luna and Twilight both getting injured. Instead, all he could do was stay back, watching things sharply from his vantage point by a large spike of rock while analyzing the beast as much as he could, sending his energy towards Luna as she drew on all the strength she could from Scrivener and Twilight Sparkle.
Her crystalline horn glowed brighter and brighter, building up higher and higher as her eyes locked on the Black Wolf, remembering the four that had destroyed their world, killed Twilight Sparkle, stolen away Sleipnir so long before his time... as she remembered monstrous Fenrir, the terrible Alpha of the pack, and killing him with all of Nightmare Moon's rage and power...
Her eyes began to glow white, and then Luna snapped her horn back with a roar, Scrivener and Twilight both gasping and moving with her as all that power, all that energy, was poured into one violent spell that sent a massive spear of ice ripping up out of the ground and tearing through the monster's chest. The Black Wolf shrieked in misery, front paws flailing helplessly at the air, more than a quarter of the tower of frost torn through its back as it dangled helplessly with one of its hindpaws limply kicking at the ground.
It was raised almost as if to pounce, or howl at the blue skies above, on this pleasant summer day beneath careless blue sky and a warming, almost tender sun. It howled in misery as dark blood flooded in rivers down the spear of ice, sending up clouds of thick steam as the hot liquid ate away at the frost like acid.
Celestia lunged backwards, breathing hard as she dropped to the ground, and Twilight landed beside the mare a moment later. Luna flew down with her teeth grit and her eyes narrowed, watching as the Black Wolf squirmed helplessly and whimpered weakly, pathetically trying to lift itself off the jutting tower of ice before the sapphire mare spat: “And good riddance to-”
Its hindpaw tore into the ground, and the Black Wolf shoved itself forwards, the tower of ice shattering as it collapsed to the rotten earth. It lay prone for a moment, drooling as its black-fire fur flickered and danced, before a slow snarl spread over its muzzle and it hefted itself back to all fours and leaned forwards, roaring-
Celestia moved like lightning, ramming Tyrfing up through the underside of its jaw, and the point of the sword tore out the back of the creature's head in a fine spray of blood and vile essence. The Black Wolf staggered backwards, choking and working its jaw helplessly as its head dropped forwards, and Celestia slipped smoothly closer for the kill, bringing all three of her short swords back.
She stabbed fiercely outwards... and the monster rose its head in the same moment, her swords sinking into its broad chest like toothpicks before it smashed her onto her back with a single swipe of a paw, then clawed savagely through her breast and armor before snapping its head down to deliver a lethal bite, ignoring the sword buried through its head.
Except instead, its nose struck a metallic hand, Discombobulation skidding backwards next to Celestia as he clenched his flesh and blood hand into a fist and the other dug into the end of the monster's muzzle, keeping it back as light glowed out of the Draconequus' closed fingers. “Get away from her, you bitch!”
He swung his hand up, blasting the Black Wolf's face with a shockwave of light and thunder, and the monster roared as it yanked itself hurriedly backwards, blinded for the moment as Tyrfing was jarred loose. And immediately, Discombobulation dropped to a kneel and grabbed Celestia before snapping his fingers, vanishing from the spot with a crackle.
Scrivener gritted his teeth as Luna rose her spear and Twilight lowered her head forwards, and the stallion clenched his eyes shut for a moment before looking up, beginning to charge... except nothing happened. There was no movement, no sound, only silence... until he heard Luna whisper: “What... what is going on...”
The world around them was frozen perfectly: none of the ponies were able to move, yet Luna and Scrivener saw perfectly clearly, heard each other breathing now, felt each other's confused thoughts. But neither could move their heads, or anything else. And Scrivener realized what was happening to them a moment before Valthrudnir calmly strolled up beside the Black Wolf, flickering only just enough for them to understand he wasn't really there at all, any more than time was really frozen. He was playing with their minds, twisting their perceptions, and the Jötnar smiled pleasantly as he pretended to pet the giant wolf mockingly. “Well, very good, Scrivener Blooms! But I suppose the sense of deja vu must help at least a little with that.”
Scrivener snarled, and Luna glared furiously before she shouted angrily: “And what sick game art thou playing now? Nay, I care not, get thee gone for this is no time for thy stupid games and-”
“No, this is the perfect time for a game. A lethal game we are going to play together, with you three as my playing pieces and this golem as our synthetic opponent.” Valthrudnir replied calmly, his smile stretching wider and becoming colder. “We'll play it just like hneftafl. You enjoy that game still, do you not, Valkyrie? Then you should recognize that we are in the perfect position to kill the enemy king even with only three of our players on the board, forced against a wall as he is.”
Valthrudnir paused as Luna trembled with rage... emotionally, at least. She could no more shiver than she could actually speak, in spite of how clearly he could hear her voice and anger. And Scrivener was simply staring in disbelief, not able to process that this was apparently the Jötnar's idea of working with them before the dragon turned a distasteful look towards Twilight Sparkle. “It seems that I was unable to bring the Lich's perceptions to match our own, but I am sure she will receive and act in accordance with your wishes all the same... she's pathetically devoted to you both on top of all the subconscious puppeting you loathsome little animals do.”
The charcoal stallion snarled, and Valthrudnir rolled his eyes, holding up a hand moodily to silence them before they could speak. “We do not have time. Already your weak little plebeian minds are beginning to overload from this little gift of time I've given you. So be silent and pay attention, because I will give you the simple cause and effect instructions, and you will carry them out. And you will do this not because I have ordered you to, but because you will recognize that it is the only possible way to destroy this synthetic destruction entity with how much energy you've all fruitlessly expended in your childish and brash attempt to defeat it already.”
“I would rather die!” Luna shouted angrily, but Valthrudnir smiled patronizingly again and gestured slowly to Twilight Sparkle, and Luna trembled as Scrivener cursed quietly, wishing he could look away. Wishing he didn't have to look at the contemptible expression on the dragon's face, or listen to his words... but knowing that he had to. Yes, he and Luna were more than willing to put their own lives at risk, to try and find any way apart from whatever the Jötnar had planned... but not with Celestia and Morning Glory badly injured, and not with Twilight Sparkle's life on the line as well.
There was silence for a moment, and Valthrudnir smiled derisively once more, but spoke in a calmer, almost charming voice as he put one hand behind his back and pointed with the other at the ground: “The Black Wolf absorbs the life force and essence from the ground. These materials are reduced to energy and used to rebuild its shell and power it, inadvertently taking on the characteristics of that which it absorbs. Do not waste my time with questions, I do not have the time or energy to explain it at the moment. We will discuss it later if it's so pressing, Nihete.
“The answer is simple. Nihete, transform the entire area to mire. Valkyrie, you and the Lich will continue to chip away at it with your magic and your little toys. Frustrate it. Its absorption naturally speeds up when it senses itself under attack as a defensive mechanism. When it begins to react to the Clay of Prometheus, you will know. Then kill it as you would kill any other rabid dog.”
The Jötnar calmly placed a finger against his temple, miming a gun as his eyes flashed with dark entertainment... and before Luna or Scrivener could react, say anything, do anything, the world began to move as the Jötnar vanished, sounds slurring together as sensation returned to their bodies, and then reality suddenly snapped back to full speed.
Luna and Scrivener both lurched, and Twilight Sparkle gasped and grabbed at her face before the Black Wolf leapt upwards and slapped her savagely out of the air. The Lich hit the ground and bounced backwards through the ashes with a cry of shock, disoriented and dazed from the sensory overload as much as the hard strike, and the Black Wolf lunged towards her with a snarl, jaws opening wide as if to swallow her whole...
Luna shot down and slammed bodily into its features, sending the Black Wolf's head snapping to the side as it staggered with a yelp, before it turned a furious snarl towards her, eyes blazing as it leapt at the sapphire mare. Luna was unprepared, flailing wildly and throwing herself backwards, and she only narrowly avoided the monster's teeth before Prúðbikkja stabbed savagely downwards in a quick flurry, harrying its face and making it yelp and stagger backwards.
Scrivener Blooms ran forwards: he didn't have time to question, or think, or do anything at all apart from react, gritting his teeth as his front hooves snapped apart into claws before he plunged both downwards into the ashes and concentrated, feeling the corruption boiling in his veins before black sludge began to rapidly bubble up through the decay, consuming death to bring forth terrible new life.
Luna lunged backwards when the Black Wolf leapt at her again, slapping it across the face with her spear before her horn glowed brightly as she snapped it firmly forwards, and several javelins yanked themselves free from the quiver at her side before slamming one after the other into its face. The Black Wolf screamed in agony at this, shaking its head wildly back and forth and pawing violently at its features, not seeming to notice as the mire spread beneath its paws before it arched its back and howled loudly, a shockwave ripping through the world and blades of ice tearing up out of the ground all around it in a widening, awful spiral.
Twilight cursed as one of these icy claws tore upwards and sliced through her wing, knocking her stumbling to the side, but it helped to bring her back to her senses before a snarl spread over her face when the Black Wolf lunged up at Luna again. And without even thinking, Twilight snapped her horn forwards, and the spikes of ice around the Black Wolf exploded into glassy shrapnel that peppered and hammered the creature from every side, making it squeal and blinding it in a cloud of frozen mist.
Luna flung herself backwards and dropped to the ground... ground that felt warm now, and hot, and she felt almost eagerly crawling up over her hooves, causing her to shiver and her eyes to widen slightly. Even in the middle of battle, she felt it in her mind: a need, a desire, a want, a hunger, lighting up like a fire, and she couldn't stop her eyes from being drawn away from the blinding cloud and down to the dark, fertile earth.
The Black Wolf ripped out of the cloud with a roar in that moment, seeming to sense Luna's defenselessness as it flung itself at her in a pounce... and Scrivener's eyes widened before he snarled and shoved his claws down into the mire on instinct, Luna's horn glowing brightly as he drew on her magic through their link before thick spikes of mire shot upwards, tearing into the monster's features and paws and making it shriek as it tried to yank itself away in midair. Instead, it half-turned, smashing bodily down on the wall of resilient black spears in front of Luna and flailing helplessly for a moment before it managed to rip itself free, staggering drunkenly to the side before barking... and this time, a blast of mire burst from its jaws.
It gargled, and then twitched suddenly, before baring teeth that grew larger as part of its body humped up monstrously, black fire-fur bursting out of existence as it was replaced by raw, hideous black and red flesh. It staggered to the side, and roared with both power and pain as one of its paws raked violently at the ground before exploding into a talon-like claw, black corruption dribbling out of its jaws before one of its glassy eyes burst apart in a geyser of mire that became a dark river of tears down one cheek.
The ponies stared in horror as the Black Wolf dragged itself around in a circle, feeling its malice growing, the thing mutating horribly in front of their eyes as vines ripped out of its body and something cracked and strained and groaned from inside the beast's frame. Its eyes locked on Luna as it snarled, and then it began to drag itself forwards as the sapphire mare stared up at it with horror: this was what she wanted? This was what Scrivener's powers did?
No, Valkyrie, this is only the beginning, and believe me when I say you do not want to see this golem adjusting to the Clay! Valthrudnir snapped in her mind, and Luna's eyes widened in shock before she remembered where she was and what she was doing almost too late, her instincts flaring and Valthrudnir shouting with them: Do what your kind was programmed to do!
Luna flung herself backwards as the monstrous Black Wolf pounced, seeing the mire beginning to fill up every bit of this monster's being as her horn glowed brightly. Her wings spread, pushing her hard, giving her just enough of a boost to keep her only inches away from its stretching paws, its greedy jaws, as her rifle yanked itself out of the holster on her back and half flipped over her shoulder.
She caught the handle in one hoof and pulled the trigger, and one, two, three, four bullets slammed home through the monster's face, ripping massive wounds through its features that sent dust and black ooze in all directions, but glowed bright white with light. And a moment later, Luna crashed down on her back and skidded through ash and mire as the Black Wolf fell with a crunch a moment later, landing with its paws on either side of her and jaws inches away from her rear hooves.
There was silence for a few long moments, before Luna looked almost disbelievingly down as the black-fire fur of the monster flickered... and then it simply whiffed out, a bit of smoke floating up from the broken stone frame left behind. What flesh had one covered the creature crumbled away into dust and slime, and a strange, pus-like substance bled slowly from the almost lightbulb-shaped stone body of the creature left behind.
Its skull was nothing more than a hollow and broken stone mask now, although a strange light was shining out from beneath the cracks, and Luna frowned at this before the gray skeleton that had been hidden beneath the monster's black-fire-wreathed body suddenly trembled violently. She winced backwards, pointing the empty gun at the creature with a curse as her spear rose up with telekinesis as well, while Scrivener and Twilight only stared.
Both body and skull cracked further, then shattered and collapsed in a burst of dust as almost-blinding light shone up out of the remains. The light flickered violently, pulsing in and out as the ponies flinched backwards, before a shape slowly pushed itself up and free from the wolf's remains. It was featureless and strange, and Scrivener Blooms let himself stare for too long before he saw what the shape really was as Twilight swallowed thickly, able to see it as well with her own special nature.
It wasn't one thing, but a thousand things: sacrificed souls, trees and plants and animals, almost countless things that had all been shoved together and now formed this beautiful and impossible collage of spiritual energy that had one mighty supernatural presence. This thing that had been mashed and crushed and forced to endure agony as all its not-fitting parts ground together and powered the parasitic shell of the less-than-intelligent Black Wolf. A shell that had become infused with mire... and then destroyed by the White Matter bullets that had neutralized the monster with a few quick shots.
The entity looked back and forth as motes began to bleed out of its body, the sparkling embers of energy fading quickly into the air, and it seemed to nod to Luna before dissolving quietly, breaking apart into the different energies of all the countless things it had once been. Scrivener and Twilight stared in disbelief, while Luna nervously poked at the stone shell... then shivered in disgust as she moved away a chunk of the stone wolf skull to reveal an ugly, charred webbing that apparently ran under the thing's rocky skin, and was now... “What a mess.”
Twilight and Scrivener both hesitantly strode forwards... then the stallion flinched and groaned, waving a hoof at the reek coming up from the stone corpse before he muttered: “Dammit. I don't remember any of the wolves smelling like this when we killed them...”
“Aye, but half of them were petrified, their spirits destroyed. Skoll was crushed beneath countless tons of stone, and Fenrir I devastated and tore apart, and do not... entirely remember what happened then.” Luna muttered, shivering as she poked at the webbing with her spear. “Besides, look. 'Tis... 'tis some kind of mutation from the mire. Perhaps that is why that spirit was freed, when this vessel was destroyed... the mire was absorbed by whatever terrible abomination was inside this wretched stone shell...”
“So that webbing is probably... I...” Scrivener looked slowly over at Luna as she continued to poke moodily at the webbing: webbing that was partly-mire here, turned to ugly stone there, nothing but char and mess over there... “Luna, stop. Stop poking it. Do you want this thing to get back up?”
“'Tis not going to get back up.” Luna grumbled, and she swung her spear lightly at Scrivener, who recoiled less because it was a weapon and more because of the gooey stuff that was flung off it with the swing. “I am only glad that it worked. Valthrudnir knew, though, Scrivy. He knew. Yet when thou fought Skoll, he claimed to know nothing about them!”
“No he... he said they were inferior.” Scrivener said suddenly, looking over at Luna, and Twilight frowned uneasily from one to the other. “No, I... Thesis can't have... Black Wolves too, can he? These can't be some other failed project, how the hell would they end up in our Equestria?”
“I... I do not know, I do not care. I have decided not to care.” Luna muttered after a moment, shaking her head firmly out before she looked silently down at the rubble left behind by the fallen Black Wolf, and Twilight shivered once before the sapphire mare looked over at the Lich and softened at the sight of her missing wing. “Art thou alright? And... both Scrivener and I wish to apologize-”
“For what? You... you did it. You killed it.” Twilight smiled faintly, shivering once as she looked silently down at the monster. “A Black Wolf... a Black Wolf at full power...”
Luna frowned at this, then half-smiled and murmured: “Aye, right. Fenrir and his kin were weakened from traveling across the Bifrost. Yet this was not. Well, perhaps we are entitled to a little pride after all, Scrivener Blooms... damnation.”
Luna shuddered and shook her head slowly, closing her eyes and not wanting to think about all this anymore. Yet she had to... and her mind kept returning again and again, to the wolf mutating. That face, snarling at her, bleeding mire, that soulless eye glaring and the other a black window into the mind of the monster powering the... golem, Valthrudnir had called it. But it was like no golem Luna had ever seen in all her years of adventuring. The Black Wolves were nothing like anything except... Black Wolves. Fenrir, Garm, Hati, Skoll... she wondered what this monster must have been named. And she wondered more what the hell a Black Wolf was doing here.
That thought actually helped get her moving, looking up and shaking herself out as she breathed quietly in and out, then smiled faintly over at Scrivener Blooms, who gazed quietly back to her before he simply nodded a little and silently wrapped a foreleg around Twilight Sparkle, and the Lich smiled a little as she dropped her head against his shoulder, curling a little against the stallion and shivering in the mire, but clearly not from physical discomfort. Luna understood that all too well, though, as she looked up and asked quietly: “Discombobulation?”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Luna shook her head out slowly, murmuring: “Well, if thou can hear me... do not worry about making haste to rejoin us. Take care of Morning Glory and Celestia wherever thou art, we shall press onwards and see what there is to be seen in this layer.”
Luna halted, then grimaced as she looked into the forest moodily, shaking her head a little as her starry locks sparked before she glanced awkwardly at Sting Mk. II. She checked over the gun, then flicked it lightly to snap the cylinder out, tilting it back and spilling the shell casings free as she muttered: “It frightens me how powerful these tools can be, in the right hooves and with the right ammunition against the right foe... 'tis like the difference between an arrow of blessed silver and an arrow of brass enchanted with a deadly flame.”
The sapphire mare paused, then she shook her head slowly before glancing over her shoulder, her horn glowing and pulling four bullets free from the loops on the holster, examining them as they spun quietly in front of her face before tilting them sideways, silently studying the engravings on the side of the bullets. Cowlick had taught her all kinds of things about these bullets, and made them easy to identify: plain, etched metal, ones marked by lines in white, ones marked by lines in black. Iron rounds, White Matter rounds, Corruption rounds.
And she wondered silently if the White Matter destroyed... did that mean the Corruption might have the opposite effect on creatures? She shivered a little, thinking of how the Black Wolf had begun to transform, the near-fear she had heard in Valthrudnir's voice when he'd pleaded with her not to waste its moment of total vulnerability during that half-mutated stage... what did that mean the so-called golem had been turning into, then?
Luna shook herself out again, then quickly dropped the plain iron bullets into place and snapped the cylinder closed before the rifle spun once at her side, then slipped backwards and into the holster on her back. She shook her head out, her mane sparking again before looking over her shoulder with a small smile as Scrivener and Twilight approached, her spear still floating in the air beside her before she tossed one last glance down at the desiccated stone corpse.
She poked at it one last time, then shook her head before striding past and into the ruins of the forest, feeling Scrivener and Twilight's presence behind her, reassuring her in the silence, and she smiled faintly, feeling more grateful for it than she could begin to say. How just the two being there beside her... gave her strength, helped her cope, helped her move on from the battle they had just fought and keep in mind everything she was fighting for, and all the reasons she had to keep pushing forward.
The trail left by the Black Wolf was easy enough to follow at least: the monster hadn't exactly moved quietly through the forest, and the trail of wreckage it had left didn't require any advanced tracking skills to pick up. They took their time moving through the forest all the same, Twilight and Scrivener drawing in a little closer as Luna pushed her way through the underbrush with her spear... and now, as the rage and trauma and wildness of battle faded from her mind, and as Scrivener and Twilight's own senses opened up, she began to feel like... there was a reason the Black Wolf had been here. That it had done... something for Thesis, or maybe just left here to guard something that Thesis didn't want anypony near, or even to know about.
Black roses and white lilies grew here and there over the forest floor, amidst the short grasses and twisting brambles that seemed to move on their own accord through the soil. Trees around them rumbled and swayed slowly, and branches creaked in the windless air as they seemed to point the way where the path left by the Black Wolf's passage became unclear.
Luna frowned curiously as, after only a short journey, they reached a ramshackle little cabin. The Black Wolf had clearly attacked it, from the stains of ash and decay that marred the wound ripped through the cabin wall and stained the ground around it, and the three ponies hesitated only for a moment before heading carefully into the torn-apart structure.
There wasn't much to see: there was a thick layer of dust where there wasn't debris, and much of the interior of the little cabin had been torn apart. Part of the roof had caved in over the remains of a desk, and books had spilled out in all directions. A futon sitting in the corner had been ripped apart, and there were several boxes of broken cans that had bled their contents into a sticky mess. Scrivener thought they were probably cola or something, although the stuff that had leaked out had congealed into a substance that looked more like syrup.
Luna shivered a little, then she frowned curiously at the wall, by an ajar door that seemed to invite them outwards. That wasn't what caught her attention, though: rather, it was the empty picture frames on the wall, one of them laying broken and shattered on the ground, and the mare approached these as Scrivener poked at the books and Twilight looked uneasily around the room, feeling a sense of... familiarity to everything. Like she had known whoever had lived here, and only forgotten about it until now...
Luna picked up one of the frames, and tilted it back and forth before she realized there was something beneath the broken glass. She frowned at this, then shook the frame firmly, several broken pieces of glass toppling out before she twisted it back and forth to crack the wood.
Just before she could snap it in half, Twilight hurried over and daintily took it out of her hooves, earning a glower from the sapphire mare before the Lich turned the frame around and simply slid the backing free. Luna muttered for a moment, and then she huffed as she snatched up the large, black piece of paper that had been inside, turning it back and forth and looking disgusted at the fact there was nothing on it. “What foolery is this?”
“Luna, wait.” Twilight said quietly, and her horn glowed before lifting the black sheet, studying it for a moment before her horn shone brighter and the paper lowered carefully in front of it. And Luna couldn't help but frown in surprise at the sight of faint lines forming through the paper, Twilight murmuring: “It's some kind of film. The image is blurred and distorted, though, I can't really... see what it was supposed to be... it must have melted or something.”
The mare began to nod, then she frowned in surprise over her shoulder as Scrivener stared down at the book he had picked up. She began to open her mouth as Twilight dropped the film and felt that whisper of disbelief from Scrivener Blooms as well, before the violet mare's eyes widened as the charcoal stallion read quietly: “'Aye. We could strip thee of thy will if we wanted to... but will thou not trust us, Twilight? We would never wish to harm thou that way, for we are free...'”
And Luna, before she even realized what she was saying, continued in a trembling voice as she slowly tuned her eyes towards Twilight Sparkle, who stared back, pale and beginning to shake her head mutely as the memories started to return: “Instead, the three of us shall... shall be bonded like one. All our strengths, amplifying each other's... but thou shall still be able to travel far and wide, not encumbered by distance like Scrivener Blooms and I are with our single soul. Thy soul shall be separate and yet fused to us. 'Twill be in our flesh and blood... we shall be thy living... breathing... phylactery...”
The sapphire mare slowly looked down at a hoof, another shiver running through her body and her mane sparking violently before Scrivener said weakly: “Oh Horses of Heaven, we... no... no, that... that can't be true, can it? And Celestia, what we did to her, and to Antares...”
“We... we... no, no, that... that was not us!” Luna looked almost desperately back and forth, grabbing at her features as Prúðbikkja fell from the air to clatter over the floor, and then the sapphire mare turned her eyes to Twilight Sparkle, trembling violently. “We... we... would never, n-never...”
“No...” Twilight stumbled backwards, shaking her head weakly, the Lich swallowing thickly. “No, I... remember now... being numb. Giving in, trusting you both, but not k-knowing Antares... the wish he made, it wasn't the wish we all remember, it was a wish for you to be free, and you came home, free: free of honor, and free to do whatever you wanted, and you... you used me...”
“Never! We love thee!” Luna almost shouted, and Scrivener looked pleadingly over at Twilight, book falling from his hoof before he quickly approached, he and Luna striding towards the Lich even as she backed hurriedly away from them. “Twilight, T-Twilight, cease, we-”
“No, leave me alone!” Twilight clenched her eyes shut, twisting away as her horn glowed, and she vanished with a loud pop as Scrivener and Luna both stumbled to a halt and stared into the empty space where she had been a few moments before.
They both trembled violently, then slowly turned to look at each other: they remembered now. The feeling of freedom, of being above all rules and laws, of having to answer to no one but themselves. They remembered coming home from Clockwork World, full of desire and feeling no reason to limit themselves, pressuring Twilight into joining them, and infecting her with that same sensation... except... no. They had made her into a perfect servant... then done the same with Celestia...
No, not entirely. Antares had stopped them, and that was why he bore those scars. It hadn't been from the final battle with that terrible beast, Cancer, but because he had stood up to them... and that was the first time, too, that Luna had tasted Scrivener's corruption in her body. They had been insane with their own power and deluded by their own sense of sick freedom. They had crowned themselves as 'gods' among ponies and Antares had been forced to correct his mistake in bringing them back.
And he had won. Through luck more than skill, he had won, but Luna had no idea how that dark history could possibly connect to the reality of now. But after a moment, Nightmare Moon laughed quietly inside Luna's head before she whispered: Antares knows, beloved Luna. And why are you so ashamed, so angry? Twilight Sparkle is upset, but will return to us: not because she has to, but because she already wants to, you can feel that as clearly as I can. She would have bound herself to us anyway, in time, and she knows this as well as we do. She admires us, after all. She admires us even now. And just like you both... what scares her most isn't what you did before. It's that she desires to return to that simple time of pleasure...
Luna trembled, and she and Scrivener Blooms looked at each other for a few moments, both breathing hard, their eyes locking together. They saw each other, and they saw themselves, and they saw that darkness, that desire, that hunger, that... sick... perverted... the things they would do... if...
Luna snarled furiously, then slammed a hoof into Scrivener's face, sending out a burst of black blood as his head snapped to the side. And Scrivener trembled violently before he looked up and swung his own hoof viciously back at her, Luna's head wrenching to the side as blood splattered out of her nose and Scrivener flinched only slightly at the bruising that spread over his face, even as tears filled the eyes of both ponies.
The sapphire mare punched him again, bloodying him further: Scrivener hit her so hard it almost fractured her muzzle. Luna slammed a hoof into his stomach, then cracked her skull against the stallion's: Scrivener returned the favor, and then tackled her backwards before the two rolled and Luna kicked him savagely into a wall, then charged at him and roared furiously through her bloody features as she smashed him straight through the decayed wood onto the back lawn, causing part of the structure to collapse behind them.
She slammed Scrivener down on his back, tears and blood running from her eyes as she smashed her hoof down into his face again, and again, and again, and then Scrivener managed to avoid the last blow before a claw swung up and seized her by the mane, yanking her head to the side before he rolled and grabbed the back of her skull, slamming her face down into the lawn. He dragged her head back, then slammed it down again and again into the earth, before rolling her over and beginning to choke her as he snarled, black tears spilling down his cheeks as they glared at each other: with love and hate, fury and sorrow, and absolute want to cause pain... but not to each other, to themselves. They both wanted the pain. They both wanted to suffer. They both wanted punishment, because they both knew they could never atone or redeem themselves for what they had done, and the physical pain and the roaring anger made everything else stop hurting for a little while.
Luna managed to get a hoof up and smash it under Scrivener's jaw, knocking his head back and loosening his grip, before her other hoof buried into his stomach, leaving a clear imprint. He gasped and trembled as he straddled her, hugging himself weakly for a moment as his vision went blurry, and then his eyes slid shut as he shivered before falling forwards and landing overtop her.
The sapphire mare stared at the sky, trembling and rasping for breath, feeling the stallion's heavy weight pressing down on her, smelling sweat and blood and poison... and she closed her eyes for a moment, shuddering, before twisting her head as her mouth opened. Sharp teeth grazed the junction of throat and shoulder as her tongue slid out against his skin, licking up a streak of black blood, and then Luna clenched her eyes shut as she slid her forelegs around the stallion, hugging him down against her body as she gave a single sob before whispering: “We are damned.”
Scrivener didn't reply, eyes open but staring listlessly out towards the door, unable to move, unable to even think, before he trembled violently as Luna's teeth bit into his flesh. The pain didn't matter, any more than the feeling of teeth ripping up his coat and flesh mattered, as his black blood flowed into Luna's jaws. All he felt was helplessness, self-loathing, fury and desire... and Luna's craving, so deep it was a need. And how could he say no, when he felt it himself, that keen pain, that want and longing and suffering? And when he... needed it as well...
He trembled, but even as Luna sobbed once she only buried her face deeper against him, biting, ripping firmer into his flesh, drawing out more corruption. And it tasted so good, so strong, started to blot out the pain, started to give her strength and energy and made her... made her forget. Not numb, no: there was the pleasure, after all. The wonderful pleasure. And the power. And feeling like... like...
Luna finally drew her head back with a gasp, and Scrivener shuddered as he pressed down against her, swallowing once before he slowly drew his eyes up, and their eyes locked for a moment, trading emotions that quickly went from that moment of sated hunger to... shame, and self-loathing, and even disgust and contempt. Not for each other, never for each other... for themselves. Luna, for her addiction to the corruption and the power... Scrivener, for enabling her, and that sick, shameful feeling of... of having power over her.
He admitted it only in his mind, but with their linked soul and locked gazes, the sapphire mare heard it clear as day. Luna trembled for a moment, then she cursed quietly and rolled suddenly, pinning him down on his back and shouting furiously: “So 'tis always about thee, aye, Scrivy? Always about thee! 'Tis thou who art the sick one, needing to have 'power' over me... stupid goddamn idiot, I use thee like nothing more than a pig for slaughter and that is all thou can think of?”
Luna swung a hoof down into his face, and Scrivener flinched as blood splattered out of his nose, coughing once and then looking up at her in disbelief as she swept some of his blood up and licked it off her hoof, snarling furiously down at him as tears glistened in her eyes. “I could easily tie thee up and drain thee dry. I could squeeze thee like a fruit. I have hurt thee and continue to hurt thee in order to get this sickening delight from thy body, but nay, nay, 'tis thou who has the problem! Idiot, stupid, contemptible... damnation.”
The mare slammed her hoof down against his chest, and Scrivener coughed and flinched before Luna's shoulders slumped, trembling a little as her mane sparked before she whispered: “Nay. This is not thy fault, Scrivy... what choice does thou have, but to give in? I shan't blame thee for that. Any more than thou blames me. We are one: thou knows that no matter what games we play, one of us may never hold power over the other, because we are true equals. Without care for the other, aye, we would both die. We are linked.
“And yet... stupid, foul idiot...” Luna's jaw clenched, glaring down at him again as she pinned him by the shoulders and leaned down, both covered in bruising and blood of various hues, but Luna's strength returning to her from the corruption even as Scrivener's body continued to ache from the beatings and being drained. “Yet look at me! Horn and wings, cut them from me and I shall still be happy, still be strong, as long as we are together! I need thee, and thou need me, and yet... yet... why are we so damned weak... why did we...”
She fell silent, trembling, and Scrivener closed his eyes, bowing his head as he murmured: “I don't know, Luna. Maybe that's the downside of never growing up. Look at us, we just... we beat the hell out of each other just to hurt ourselves. Sure, I feel a little better but I also feel... tremendously stupid. And yet part of me wants to laugh because here I am, thinking how I'd never hurt you after putting my hoof through your face.”
“Oh, thou wishes thou could put thy hoof through my face. I know thou felt mine own desire for pain as much as I felt thine. 'Twas simply... an overload of emotions. 'Twas simply... instinct, making us act like the animals, the monsters, we both are at heart.” Luna fell silent, lowering her head. “For we are monsters, Scrivener Blooms. Both of us.”
“You're not.” murmured Twilight's voice, and both ponies looked up in surprise to see the Lich sitting quietly only a few feet away, staring at them as bloody tears ran down her cheeks. “You're stupid and reckless. You're impulsive and emotional. You would rather... suffer, and hurt yourselves, and sacrifice yourselves to the darkness and give up all your friends and family than just ask for help one little time in your lives, but... you're not monsters. And neither of you are worthless. We wouldn't have such wonderful children if you were worthless. So drop the masks, drop the fake pride, stop lying that everything's okay, because... we all love you, and you're worth helping.”
There was silence for a few moments, and Scrivener and Luna looked quietly at the mare before simply nodding a little. The two ponies climbed to their hooves, and Twilight approached silently to hug them fiercely, trembling a little. They both returned the embrace, holding her bruised body close against their own as thoughts and emotions twisted through all three of them.
Finally, they parted, and Luna cleared her throat a few times as Scrivener looked awkwardly down and rubbed the back of his head, saying finally: “Sorry about... beating each other up. You... probably felt that too, huh? That was really stupid of us.”
“It was better to feel that than what was going on in my mind right then.” Twilight murmured, hugging herself and shaking her head out slowly before she looked up with a faint smile. “And besides, I... I can't stay mad at you two. Not right now, with everything else going on, when we have to work together, and... I... I wouldn't change this anyway. It just... need time to think about things and... we... we're going to have to talk to the others about this.”
Luna and Scrivener both nodded uneasily, shifting a little, and then the three ponies drew apart before studying each other quietly. And after a moment, Twilight shook herself out and murmured: “I just... teleported randomly. But I ended up by... well... let me show you. I know Celestia's going to want to go through that cabin, but... I think I know who lived here. And I think... I...”
She fell silent, and Luna and Scrivener both frowned before the Lich turned away and gestured quietly for them to follow. They followed after her in silence, feeling a mix of curiosity, embarrassment, shame, and a thousand other emotions that were all twisting uncomfortably together as they followed after the violet mare.
But then they saw what Twilight had found, sitting and overlooking the lagoon below, likely with a perfect view of the gorgeous sunset. Black roses grew all around the base of the slate, polished tombstone, which had the faintest cracks twisted along the top of it, like something had been torn off. And there was a scattering of ashen dust to one side, and chips of much grayer stone than the marker was made of...
Luna frowned curiously when a twinkle caught her eye, leaning down, and for a moment the three forgot everything else as the mare's horn glowed and brushed some of the fragments aside. And a moment later, she levitated the object that had been buried in the dust and gravel free: a silver ring with a square face, and a single rune embossed over this.
The mare studied it silently, then smiled faintly and murmured: “'Tis the symbol of Frey, my sister's lost twin.” She halted, then shook her head out, and the ring floated quietly forwards before tucking itself safely in her mane as Scrivener and Twilight both gazed to her silently. “I do not know what to make of this, my friends. No, nay, do not mistake me, I understand... where we must be. I may have after hearing the words we had once spoken, coming from some book... 'tis Allonym's home.”
“That's what I think, too.” Twilight said softly, and she smiled faintly and murmured: “I forgot you two dealt with him too. But in... weirder ways.”
Luna nodded a few times meditatively, murmuring: “He called himself 'Avatar,' which I took to mean another word for some creature that decides Fate. But clearly, he was not, was he? This is not the home any god, self-proclaimed or justly-anoited, would claim for itself. This is the home of someone trying to cling to hope, and escape reality.”
“I think he went against whatever he was supposed to do. At the end of everything...” Twilight bit her lip, trying to think of how to phrase it. “In the end, he was there beside us, as desperate to try and change things as we were. He always used story metaphors, and I think he liked to be as vague as possible, to try and keep us guessing at what he was really doing here. But I think I kind of understand now: he was just... just like the rest of us.”
“Another character in the story, trying to fight against the role he'd been given.” Scrivener murmured, and then he shook his head slowly before glancing over at Luna, who shivered once at these words. “Sorry. Still... thinking about those books. Allonym was recording our adventures... why?”
“Perhaps he desired to be a published writer like thou art.” Luna said dryly, and Scrivener gave her a flat look before the sapphire mare shook her head and mumbled: “Nay. I do not rightly know, but what I do know is this: we are not merely characters in some idiot's badly-recorded story. We are not just bits and pieces of text, or pictures or... fairy-tales. We are who we are, living and breathing and alive, and we are not constrained to the laws and rules of others. We shall decide our own destiny. It cannot be written for us.”
Scrivener nodded with a small smile as Twilight gazed quietly over at the sapphire mare, then she asked hesitantly: “Do you really think that... Luna, you and Scrivener are the ones who keep worrying that no matter what, we're all going to end up...”
“I know. I know, I speak like a hypocrite, but I believe that even if we do become what the Norns declared we will become, even if we cannot change the fate of what we shall be... we can still choose who we shall be.” Luna said quietly, looking over at Twilight Sparkle with a faint smile on her features, nodding slowly once. “I only fear that... when that time comes, I will falter. Look at me, at what Scrivener and I do when our emotions get the better of us. But I have faith that... if... if thou will stay beside us... we will do better in the future.”
“We both love you, Twilight. More than... more than words can express.” Scrivener murmured quietly, bowing his head before he gave a small smile over to her. “You... fill in all the gaps. You're kind of like the mushy cement that holds Luna and me together. And I don't just mean relationship-wise, I mean us ourselves. We're kinda like those cheap little porcelain dolls that have been dropped too many times and are all cracked and... yeah.”
Twilight only laughed a little at this metaphor, but her smile was an honest one as she looked up and rubbed silently at the red tears in her eyes. Scrivener and Luna gazed back, then both bowed their heads and made her a silent promise, and the Lich closed her own eyes as she nodded to them. She would hold them to their word, and keep her faith in them... she just hoped she could live up to being the pony they saw her as.