Seclusion. That's all the Zealot had longed for since arriving in this world. His mission demanded that he communicate with the locals, which he understood and respected, but that didn't stop his mind from wandering. He wanted so badly to be in a place of isolation because with that sequestration came something even more valuable to him, silence. It was the one thing that eluded him, even in his own world. The city was a terrible place to reside for someone who wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his thoughts. Not permanently of course, Daniel was no hermit, but every now and then, a solitary place was worth more than anything.
Often the Crow would attempt to find this silence in the Order's headquarters, but even there he would find himself wanting. This was mostly due to the newer members of the Order of the Raven. It was like clockwork; you give a boy some robes and a few pats on the back and suddenly he thinks he's the bee's knees. He couldn't even pray in the church without hearing some greenhorn going off about "racial purity" or chanting John Wilkes Booth's name like the lord and savior. Did the fools not realize they were preaching to the converted? None would set foot in the Order's haven unless they believed in these same ideals as well. Of course there was the occasional Vox prisoner, but they wouldn't step through the door anymore than they would be dragged in. Indeed, many preferred death to being sent to the Order of the Raven, once the stories of torture started circulating.
None of his other high ranking brothers ever voiced their annoyance publicly to the rest of the fraternity, not being very sociable in the first place, but Daniel knew they too found the initiates annoying if not downright insulting. The Zealot himself was the only one known for publicly ridiculing the newer members.
"Audemus Patria Nostra Defendere! Audemus Patria Nostra Defendere! Audemus Patria......"
"We know!" Daniel said at the top of his lungs, silencing the pews of chanting brothers. "See that?" he yelled as he pointed to the banner hanging next to a portrait of Booth. "The words are written right there! So do us all a favor, and read them in your own Goddamn head!"
The young men all looked to their superior, utterly flabbergasted by his outburst, but all did as instructed and the chanting ended. Daniel turned and walked back to his private quarters, leaving the blue robed members red faced and embarrassed.
That was back when authority was not bestowed, but earned. It was when a man could silence a room, not by the decorations on his outfit, but by the strength in his voice, the conviction in his tone, and the confidence in his stance.
Where did that kind of respect go? He wondered. Comstock still had it, but other men often fell short of his superb leadership, instead landing in the sub-par station of poster boy for an Order that was in desperate need of new management.
Now, as Daniel stood in the ancient castle from a time long forgotten in a world just as forgettable, he realized that the silence he so desperately sought after was entirely overrated. The Zealot now wished for the mundane babbling of his subordinates and the often dark conversations of his brothers. For now though, he would endure the peace and quiet, if only to accomplish his mission.
"Are they almost ready?" he asked Jenkins. The Handyman was helping to position the Boys in a way that would bring out the most in their abilities, Jacob being the centerpiece of this display. Jenkins rolled his eyes at the question.
"Not......sure." he said, adjusting his monocle. "Missing........one."
Daniel sighed in annoyance. "Listen Jenkins. I'm not going to say that I was right in my actions. I wont even say I was smart, but I was correct in my previous outburst. I specifically requested three Boys to be brought here should a situation arise where one became incapacitated. That way we would still have what we needed. I regret that we lost one...." he looked over to the Boys of Silence. They shivered and mumbled to themselves, looking in various directions, but not really seeing anything. They simply allowed the Handyman to put them where they needed to be. Daniel looked away. "Although for them, death seems to be a mercy."
Jenkins finished getting the Boys ready and moved to where Daniel was standing. "Ready." he declared.
"Excellent." the Zealot said with a bit of excitement. "Go ahead Jacob, you may begin."
Jacob nodded obediently. His dirty, blood stained mask made it difficult for him to see, but he wouldn't need his vision for what came next. He waited for the other two Boys to kneel behind him, and they started focusing their energy. Once he sensed this, he pooled his power as well. This is what he'd been bred for, what he had come all this way to do. The Boy would finally be able to fulfill his duty to Comstock, and stop his "mother" from destroying the very thing that brought both of them into existence. He shifted his feet slightly as his focused power caused physical changes around him. The air felt thick and heavy, while he could feel his own weight shifting. Slowly, a tear began to form in front of him. However, unlike the others he had made, this was not a doorway to another world, but merely the key to one. Daniel's excitement steadily grew as he saw his plan come to fruition. Jenkins saw the tear and took a step forward.
"Wait!" the Crow shouted immediately. "This is far from over." The Handyman quickly withdrew his foot, but continued to stare in aw at the sight before him.
At last the salvation of the Prophet, of the entire city, perhaps of even America itself was finally here. Daniel was no expert on tears, but his time spent with them allowed him to get a good idea of how they worked. The Zealot knew all about the siphon that Comstock constructed for the sole purpose of preventing his daughter from being able to open tears on a whim, but what truly intrigued the Crow was learning that tears existed in various parts of every world. The tears were unseen by most, except for those like Elizabeth, who could open existing tears even with the active siphon. What Daniel discovered was that there were tears so large, they actually influenced the world around them without the intervention of someone like Elizabeth.
Even in this world, there were tears all over the place, but the Everfree Forest was the location of the largest tear Daniel had ever seen. It was such a massive opening between worlds, that some of the other world actually seeped into Equestria, and while the tear itself was not visible, the effects of it most definitely were. Where the ponies saw unnatural phenomenon, Daniel saw remnants of his own world. The tear, he concluded, was the cause of the forest's strange qualities, not some mystic force, but the simple result of a portal that was too big for its own good, and the Zealot was ready to take full advantage. The door to his world was there all along, but now he had brought the proper key to open it.
"Tabula Rasa." Daniel whispered to himself as he and the Handyman continued to watch Jacob gather power. It was becoming visible now, wisps of energy floating by, entering the tear that was growing larger with each passing second. Tabula Rasa was a cruel joke that the scientists from a darker world had come up with to describe the Boys of Silence. It was a Latin word meaning "Blank Slate", which perfectly described the Boys after they were brainwashed into servitude. Now the term was more fitting than ever, not to describe the Boys' lack of free will, but to declare the new beginning that the city of Columbia was about to receive.
The walls of the old castle began to shake and crack, threatening to collapse, but Daniel knew the structure would hold, it had to. Clouds began to form around the ruins and the wind picked up to hurricane like speeds. The other two Boys began to shake as their own bodies were used as conduits for the immense power that was being summoned, but Jacob remained completely still as his muscles began to contract. His physical body did its best to deal with the trauma that was being exerted upon it. Jacob was unique in that he displayed a much higher affinity for tears than what was usually seen in a Boy. He was always meant to usher in this new era, that much was clear to them now. Bits of the stone ceiling began to fall as the shaking of the ruins escalated. Jenkins held his hand up in time to stop a piece from colliding with his head. He looked at the Crow with uncertainty.
"Don't worry." Daniel reassured. He held his own hands up to block the wind from whipping his face, speaking with a softer tone that the Handyman couldn't catch. "This is all part of the plan."
Parts of the castle crumbled and collapsed after centuries of neglect, unable to withstand the power that was now being summoned within its walls. The tear that was growing in front of Jacob released a string of energy that snaked out of the castle and up into the sky, reaching a height that no pegasus had ever dreamed of flying. Then, the energy expanded, ripping a hole in the sky that could be seen from every corner of Equestria.
* * *
Twilight exited the hospital with her head held low. As soon as they had arrived back in Ponyville, the alicorn immediately brought Rainbow Dash to get medical care. She was now lying comfortably in a bed under suicide watch, in case she were to wake and the worst should happen. The doctors had to reassure Twilight at least a dozen times that her friend would be perfectly fine, before they were able to get her to leave. Now that she was outside, the princess had a clear plan of action. While they were away, the Royal guard had arrived with no shortage of armored stallions with them. After past events in the small town, no Captain of the Guard would take a threat to Ponyville lightly. The guards themselves now patrolled the streets of Ponyville. Their standing orders were to create a perimeter around the town, but Twilight would soon bring them along with her when she returned to the Everfree.
However, before any such siege could be executed, the alicorn would have to learn why Daniel had wanted entry into the castle so badly in the first place. That's where Spike came in. As Twilight flew back to the library, she hoped that her number one assistant had made some headway into his research of the castle. She realized she hadn't given him a lot of time, but Spike was resourceful, and had surprised her in the past with his initiative.
After they had gotten back into town, Applejack went to bring Apple Bloom back home, while Fluttershy left to go lie down in her cottage, mentally strained from the events in the forest. Rarity went to check on Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie tagged along, leaving Trixie to collect her thoughts. Twilight felt slight reservation about letting her friends split up like that, but with Rainbow Dash out of commission, she figured the Elements of Harmony wouldn't be very effective anyway, and she knew her friends needed a break.
"Your highness." she heard a voice say. A pegasus guard fell in beside the princess. "I've stationed the guard at every entry way leading into town, reserves are patrolling the streets and I've set up two of our finest in front of the library."
Twilight nodded. "Very good, Commander. Wait for me at the town hall and I will inform you of our next move when I have a better grasp of the situation."
The guard gave a formal salute and a "Yes Princess." before breaking off and flying back to the center of Ponyville. Twilight landed outside the Golden Oaks Library where Trixie was waiting.
"Twilight, I need to talk to you about Daniel." she said immediately.
"Not now Trixie. I don't have time to hear about one of your 'get rich quick schemes'. As you can see, we're dealing with a lot at the moment."
The show mare gasped. "You think Trixie is still trying to use the human as some sort of.....of...cash cow?"
Twilight thought for a moment. "Um, yes."
"Well you're wrong. Trixie is trying to help the situation. I want to help you." she said, desperately.
"Look Trixie, I appreciate that you want to help, but unless you know something I don't, the last thing I want is to endanger more civilians."
"Civilian!? I'm the one who made first contact with him, I've spent more time with him than anypony!" she defended.
"So did he tell you anything useful?" Twilight inquired.
"Well no, but...."
"Goodbye Trixie." the alicorn said, leaving the magician outside as she made her way into the library. The two guards that were standing on either side of the doorway quickly stood at attention upon her approach, relaxing slightly after she passed.
"Spike, please tell me you've found something." the princess pleaded as she entered the library. Her dragon assistant lifted his head from a book he'd been intently reading through.
"Well yeah, I've found some stuff. Actually I've found a bunch of stuff." he responded cheerfully. "How's Rainbow Doing?"
"The doctors say she'll be fine. She just needs more time to rest is all." The alicorn replied. "But what have you discovered?"
All around Spike were books regarding the Everfree Forest. Novels of creatures, locations, and ruins were scattered about the floor. "Well, I don't think Daniel chose the castle because of the ruins themselves. You see, over the years, researchers and explorers alike have agreed that the Everee's strange properties are concentrated at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, but that's where the agreement ends. What everypony seems to argue about, is why the strange energy seems to be concentrated there. Some say its because of ancient magic that the princesses used to harness, while others say that Celestia and Luna's presence there caused the strange phenomena, but I think they're both wrong." the dragon said, reading through a book.
"What do you mean?" the alicorn inquired.
"Since Princess Celestia hasn't really mentioned anything about the forest, this is only a guess, but I think the forest has always had these weird things happening, and its just coincidence that they built their castle there. Or maybe they built the castle there because of the weird stuff, I dunno, but that's not the point. I think that there's some kind of energy there that the weird sack headed guy can somehow tap into." Spike Concluded. "Remember what Daniel was saying about the forest doing weird stuff to him? Well, I think its because he has some kind of connection with the forest."
"But that doesn't make any sense." Twilight interrupted. "How could a human have a connection with a place located in a world he isn't even from?"
"I don't know, but remember how he opened that strange doorway into his world and brought more things through? I think it has something to do with that."
Twilight suddenly had a flashback to her dream. Her heart sank as she remembered the destruction that ensued after the city appeared. There's no way that could happen, right? How could an entire city be summoned through a small portal like the one she'd seen? It was a ridiculous idea.
"Your highness!" a guard yelled from outside. "I ask that you come out here at once, there's something you need to see!"
The alicorn wasted no time and ran outside to see what the trouble was, a decision she would come to regret as she looked up into the sky. Dark clouds surrounded the Everfree Forest and a column of light shot up into the sky. The clouds swirled around the column as it grew larger, creating a hole that encompassed most of the sky. Gradually, the hole moved so that it no longer floated above the forest, but now went over Froggy Bottom Bogg, then Ghastly Gorge.
"What's happening Twilight!?" Spike yelled as the winds picked up.
"I don't....." the princess was cut off as a wave of energy flew into the air and shook the very ground. The once empty hole in the Equestrian sky started to pulsate with power, and then a blast of white light caused everypony, from Canterlot to Appleloosa, to shield their eyes from its intensity. The bright light lasted only seconds, but accompanied with a large boom that caused a ringing in Twilight's ears. Once the flash died down, she quickly recovered and looked back up to where the hole had been. The alicorn gasped as right before her very eyes, her dreams and reality became one.