Caramel felt the strength return to his hooves. He began to extend all four of his cannons. Thank Celestia, he thought, nothing broken. The taste of blood in his mouth left a coppery taste, and as he tried to stand, he felt his body shake back and forth from the sudden change in the position of his head. Caramel could have sworn that he saw light in the room just a few moments ago, but everything was black once again. Images of the past few hours began to run through his mind.
“I’m not Forge!” Caramel had yelled.
“I wanna know how you changed your cutie mark!” Ag had replied.
The ensuing fight had lasted a while, considering it was the four enforcers against only him. If only they hadn’t taken away his machine, he could have dispensed of them rather quickly. With the turn of events, however, they had taken it, along with Script’s gathered documents, and they had even taken Pinkie Pie’s remaining pies. Caramel knew that if were to have any chance at saving his friends, he would need to find his machine. A cursory glance over what Script had collected let him know that there were ten anterooms that surrounded the main atrium of the barn, and a hallway wrapped around the perimeter in between the anterooms and the atrium. Caramel stumbled as he made his way to the door, which he could just make out from the dim light that shone underneath it. As he reached the door, the familiar chanting rang in his ears.
Helioselene
Enas alithinos theos
mas katharisei apo ti̱n amarti
na mas kanei katharo gia sas
The sound of additional yells from his friends interrupted the sound of the chanting. He reached his hoof to the door. Locked, Caramel thought. He wanted nothing more than to kick through the door, but from what he knew of the construction and given his current physical state, he knew that would be pointless. Caramel shook his head and moved to the middle of the room.
Caramel heard the door unlock. He turned around just in time to see the door creak open. A sliver of light entered the room and came to rest on a black hoof. Caramel looked up and saw a pair of black eyes staring back at him. The black pony didn’t move, but continued to stare at Caramel with a black expression. It can’t be, Caramel thought.
“How long have you been in here?” Caramel asked quietly.
The black pony didn’t speak.
“I thought we destroyed you.”
The black pony tilted its head as though confused. Caramel took a hesitant step forward. Something on the pony’s neck caught the light, and Caramel turned his attention to a small necklace that matched his fur. No wonder I didn’t notice it before, Caramel thought.
“Why are you helping me?”
The black pony took a step towards the door and pulled it open further. The fur remained black as it entered the dim light of the hallway. It only changed grey when it came into contact with Script’s light, Caramel thought as he followed the specter of Edger’s father to a nearby room. He winced as his flank brushed against the doorframe, but then continued on his way. The black pony stopped at the next door and ushered Caramel inside. As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut behind him. Before Caramel could beat on the door, the sound of another set of hooves made him go silent.
“What are you doing here?” A deep voice asked.
Caramel backed into the far corner of the room and felt his hoof hit a saddlebag. This is where they hid our things,
Caramel thought. He made his way back to the door just in time to hear the sound of the latch being undone. He pressed his body against the wall as hard as he could and covered his muzzle to stop himself from crying out loud as the pain shot up his body. A moment later, the door opened, and Caramel heard the sound of the stallion as he made his way through the room. From the edge of the doorway, Caramel could see the black pony follow who Caramel learned was Ag. The stallion left the small rectangle of light to go to the corner of the room where the machine and the saddlebags were. Caramel tried to control his breathing as Ag’s hoof steps continued through the room until they finally came back to the entrance. The only sound Caramel heard was the continued yelling from his friends in the atrium. As Caramel tried to adjust his hooves, the door slammed hard into his body and then closed.
“I knew it! You let him out!”
Caramel felt hooves wrap around his neck as he fell to the ground. All feelings of pain left Caramel as he realized that Ag was trying to kill him. He swiped a hoof blindly in the air. By luck, it happened to connect with Ag’s muzzle. Caramel heard the sound of Ag’s body fall to the ground. Caramel had only a moment to collect himself as Ag’s body charged back towards him and pushed him against the wall. Caramel could feel that the walls had been doubly reinforced. Caramel couldn’t feel the wall give in any from the force of Ag’s thrust. Just as Ag’s hooves wrapped around Caramel’s neck again, he felt Ag’s body pushed away again. Though he couldn’t see anything, Caramel knew that it was Edger’s father who helped him once again. He listened for the sound of Ag’s body as it fell to the ground once more, followed by a shatter. He made his way to the source of the thud and charged full speed ahead. His body connected with Ag’s and together they tumbled to the corner of the room. Without thinking, Caramel reared up his forelegs and pressed down as hard as he could. As his hooves met with Ag’s body, he heard a series of snaps, followed by the trembles of Ag’s body. A moment later, there was only silence. The only pony that breathed in the room was himself. Caramel limped back to the door and swung it open to reveal the lifeless form of Ag in the corner of the room. He made his way back to Ag and realized what he had done. Ag’s eyes poked out of his skull and his neck bent in a peculiar angle.
The adrenaline left Caramel’s body. It is okay, Caramel thought, he was trying to kill you. It was you or him. Yeah, that’s it. Caramel’s body trembled as he held his hooves up to his face. The sound of his friends yelling turned his attention away from Ag. He took a step forward, but his hoof landed on something hard. Caramel looked down as saw the remains of a necklace on top of a small pile of ashes.
Celestia… forgive me…
*****
“I promise that if you let me go now, I will ensure you that when I destroy you all, it will be quick and painless.”
Edger couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Script’s statement. Script lay flat on the metal table, the same table on which both he and Forge had lain. Rather than show any sign of fear, Script was instead negotiating, and terribly at that. Script laughed as a damp cloth was placed over his horn.
“This will serve as an added precaution.” Elder Pie said.
“Father,” Pinkie Pie asked, “What is the meaning behind all of this? Where’s mom? Where are my sisters?”
“Your mother and sisters were taken by the darkness, Pinkamina.”
Elder Pie trotted over to Edger and pointed a hoof at him.
“Ever since that day,” Elder Pie said to Edger, “The day that you threw away your birthright. It was the day that the ponies here began to fall into the darkness.”
“We have been dealt with too many setbacks,” Elder Smith added, “With an unbroken vessel to serve for Helioselene, we shall finally have the world restored.”
Script continued to laugh to himself as Edger and Pinkie Pie watched what occurred. Elders Smith and Pie stood at opposite ends of the atrium holding a small bag. As they walked around in a circle, they opened the bag and let chalk fall from their hooves. When they were finished, Script lay in the middle of a circle. Edger looked up to see the image that still haunted him; the glyph of Helioselene, the twenty hooves that extended from each leg; that eye, something always about that eye. The eye is glistening, Edger thought.
Opos pio pano
Etsi kai kato
As dyo kosmous
Syndyazo
Edger turned back to Script. Three elders and three enforcers formed a circle around Script, and they continued to chant. Script simply laughed.
“You idiots!” Script yelled, “You don’t even have the proper tools to conduct this ceremony!”
The six figures that surrounded Script looked back and forth at each other. Elder Pie shook his head, and they continued. A door burst open on the other side of the barn, and a moment later, the blue fur of Rainbow Dash bolted around the room. She hovered above every other pony, her gaze turned from one to the next. Finally, it came to rest on both Script and Edger.
“Which one of you two did it?” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Did what?” Edger shouted back.
“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Script, who leaned his head forward to point at the ceiling.
“Miss Dash,” Script said calmly, “Can you retrieve the gemstone that’s inside of the eye of that picture? I think this has gone far enough.”
“You did do it, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“Somepony get her!” Elder Pie shouted.
“Just wait until Princess Celestia finds out about this, Script!”
“What happened?” Pinkie Pie yelled.
“Just get the gemstone!”
Rainbow Dash shook her head and reached up to touch the eye of the glyph. As soon as she touched the gemstone, the chalk turned bright until beams of light connected with the circle on the glyph. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and her mouth broke open, letting a scream rip through the building. Pinkie Pie covered her good ear, but Edger turned to Script, whose eyes had also grown wide. He looked back up as Rainbow Dash just in time to see the color begin to drain out of her mane.
“Where did you get that stone?” Script yelled.
“Somepony stop her!” Elder Smith shouted, “She is interfering.”
A shot rang through the atrium. The light that surrounded Rainbow Dash dimmed and she fell to the floor. All of the ponies turned to the source of the shot and saw Caramel at the entrance to the atrium with his machine strapped to him.
“Caramel,” Script shouted, “Keep shooting at it.”
“No!” Elder Pie shouted back.
Edger struggled to release the ropes that tied his hooves, only to realize that another pair of hooves was already working on undoing them. He turned to see Pinkie Pie undoing the restraints. Before he could thank her, Pinkie Pie already ran out of the atrium and into one of the anterooms. Edger ran over to Caramel and stood between him and the other ponies.
“Are you okay?” Edger asked.
“Can’t… stay… up.” Caramel replied.
“Please,” Edger said, “I’m not strong enough to hold that thing up. We have to destroy the seal.”
A moan echoed through the room, and the ponies looked up and saw that the area in the glyph on the ceiling turned to black. A figure emerged from the darkness, joined by another figure, and another. Five serpent-like legs emerged from the darkness, connected together by a large, flat hoof. Edger shook in horror, there is no fur on it. He noticed that the five appendages that shot out from the main hoof had thin, pointed hooves on each of them.
“At last!” Elder Pie shouted, “Helioselene has found a suitable vessel.”
“It will be a cold day in Tartarus before I let that happen!” Script shouted, “Caramel, shoot at it.”
Another shot rang through the air, but the appendage simply absorbed the ball bearing. Pinkie Pie returned to the atrium carrying her saddlebag.
“They didn’t throw them away!” Pinkie Pie said before she looked up to see the thing that had emerged from the ceiling, “Whoa.”
“Pinkie Pie, what are you going to do with baked goods?” Script asked.
Pinkie Pie lifted a pie from her saddlebag and threw it at the appendage. As the pie was absorbed into the creature, another moan ripped through the room, and the appendage began to retreat.
“I don’t believe it, “Script said, “Caramel, shoot at the crystal. They have magic protection on it, but nothing for physical attack. Pinkie, somehow those stupid cakes of your are working.”
Caramel leaned up and took another shot. The ball bearing broke through the ceiling just around the crystal. Another moan escaped from the creature, and another appendage shot out from the ceiling just over the heads of Elder Smith. The sharp hoof sliced through Elder Smith’s neck like a knife, sending it tumbling to the ground. Apiaris and Verdant began yelling as they moved to pick up their fallen elder, only to have the other appendage sweep down and slice through the two enforcers. Pinkie Pie took aim at the appendages again and threw another pie just as Iron ran out of the barn.
“He’s going to warn everypony!” Edger yelled.
Caramel took aim once against at the ceiling, blasting another hole near the crystal.
“Father,” Pinkie Pie said, “Don’t you see what this thing is?”
“He is the one who will purify us all!”
“How can you still believe that after what it has done to you? After what it has done to Flatts?”
“It is necessary.” Elder Pie said flatly.
“I get it now,” Pinkie Pie said, “But you’ll be okay soon, father.”
Pinkie Pie reached into her saddlebag but realized that she had only one cupcake left. In the distance, the school bell rang, and the sound of the other ponies drew closer.
“Pinkie!” Edger said, “Throw it! We have to get Caramel one more shot.”
Pinkie Pie looked and saw that Edger was holding Caramel up to help him take aim. But the strain in Edger’s eyes told her that he wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. She looked into her father’s eyes and saw that he had the same glow in his eyes as the crystal in the ceiling. In the corner of her eye, Pinkie Pie saw the last elder shaking in the corner of the room.
“Father,” Pinkie Pie said, “A friend once taught me that there is no need for forgiveness. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to forgive. It is the feeling that you need forgiveness that makes forgiveness unnecessary. Goodbye, father.”
Pinkie Pie aimed high and watched as the figure once again appeared through the darkness. The creature’s head had no fur nor mane, its muzzle was shrunken to the point of being a mere dot in the middle of the face, and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth. Whatever this thing is, Pinkie Pie thought, it’s not a pony. She released the cupcake from her hoof and sent it into the creature’s mouth. The creature gagged and put its hoof-like appendages around its neck. As it retreated to the ceiling once more, one final shot rang through the atrium, sending a chunk of ceiling to the floor. Pinkie Pie ran towards Script and began to undo the restraints as more pieces of the ceiling began to fall.
“Pinkamina.”
Pinkie Pie turned once more to face her father. The color in his eyes was gone.
“I-”
Another chunk of ceiling fell down, landing on Clyde Pie. Script pushed himself off of the table and ran out of the atrium.
“Father!” Pinkie Pie screamed.
“Pinkie,” Edger said, “Get Rainbow Dash. I’ll take Caramel. Stay close to me. As soon as we get outside, I’m teleporting us to the railroad.”
“Where’s Script?”
“Script did it!” Rainbow Dash yelled, “Script did it!”
“I think Script is too busy taking care of himself.” Edger said.
Edger removed the machine from Caramel’s body and bent down to put Caramel on his back. He joined Pinkie Pie, who had Rainbow Dash on her back. Edger started for the entrance, but stopped to turn and see Pinkie Pie staring at the chunk of ceiling where her father once stood.
“Pinkie,” Edger said, “We have to go.”
Pinkie Pie nodded. Together, they made their way to the entrance of the barn, where they could hear the sound of the ponies as they continued through the street.
“Here we go, Pinkie,” Edger said, “You ready?”
“Yes.” Pinkie Pie said, “Let’s go home.”
Edger smiled at Pinkie and reached out his hoof. As their hooves touched, Edger let a dark blue aura consume the four of them, and a moment later, they were once again standing by the tracks. A moment later there was a scream, and then a large crash ripped through the air, followed by a blinding white light. Edger and Pinkie Pie felt both of the ponies on their backs tremble.
“He… killed her.” Rainbow Dash whispered.
Caramel broke into sobs.
“How long does it take to get back to Ponyville using the hoof-powered cart?”
*****
Script emerged from the anteroom with his saddlebags in tow and reentered the atrium. A pool of blood had formed from beneath the chunk of ceiling. He galloped to it and placed his hoof in the blood. As he began tracing a circle on the floor, another door broke open. The circle has been destroyed, Script thought, perfect. A small white aura surrounded the crystal, and Script levitated it over to him. Must be careful not to touch you yet.
“What have you all done?” Iron asked as he entered the room.
Script smiled as he finished the circle.
“You all said you wanted to be purified?” Script asked, “I’m just granting your wish. I promised that I would make your destruction quick.”
Script completed the glyph on the ground and began to laugh. A white light began to emanate from the ground. As it reached Iron, his hooves began to turn to stone. Iron began to scream and kick his hind legs, but he couldn’t move.
“As far as painless, however. I’m not sure about that.”
Script’s horn created a white aura that enveloped him. A moment later, he was gone. The white light continued through the barn, and the rest of Iron’s body turned to stone. The white light continued through the town at a faster rate. The rest of the townsponies didn’t even have time to scream before they realized what had happened. Luna’s moon began to rise into the heavens, casting a gray light onto the town of Flatts. A series of statues faced the barn as it continued to crumble to the ground.