//------------------------------// // CH 21: Breakdown // Story: Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds // by BlueDWarrior //------------------------------// === BABW: A New Movement === === Chapter 21: Breakdown === [ July 9, 2081 @ 8:45 PM PST -- San Francisco, U.S.A ] ====================================================== "Yeah man, I'll be right over…" a young man, probably no older than 25, said over a comlink, after which he took his black helmet off, letting his rather impressive head of sandy brown hair ‘breathe’ again in the air near the bay. The visage of the cream-skinned man with sand-colored hair caught the eye of a certain woman standing off to the side; one quietly observing the comings and goings the human population of this large city. Hrm, he looks like a good specimen. It’s too difficult to properly mimic a new species without a… genetic sample of base things on. And then there is the matter of assimilation too. I guess I will just have to personally test his vxigor and genetic health. "So, you must be with the Society For the Preservation of Humanity, yes?" the woman said, twirling her greenish-teal hair in one of her fingers. Strange hair colors were really not uncommon these days - one of the many ways that those both inside and out of the Domes tried to express their uniqueness and individuality. However, something was seemingly off about this woman's hair. It was as if she was born with that teal hair; the richness of the color being far beyond what any dye could produce at a reasonable cost. "Well, hello there pretty mamma. Going with the retro hippie look? I like it…  I like it a lot," the S.P.H. soldier asked, obviously drawn to the woman by more than her odd hair color. Ample bust, round hips, legs to die for, fresh and expressive face, and a voice that just called out to any able bodied male like a Siren of myth. She was everything any male could want in a woman. Which made for the perfect honey-pot as far as the teal-haired woman was concerned. "Well, seeing as you've already got the government to fold to your organization, I wonder why you'd still be in uniform. I think you would look so much better out of it~♥." He was instantly drawn to her: the tie dye shirt showing off her ample cleavage; the jet black, tight fitting pants showing anyone who'd turn and look exactly what she was working with. But what pulled him in the most, were her eyes. They just seemed to… glow a luminescent emerald green in the twilight of post-sunset. "To be honest miss, I was going to going to get back to base. We are starting our second phase of sweeping operations tomorrow. The colluding governments were first, those damn Ponies are next. Either they leave the Earth… or they'll be buried in it." The woman just tsked as she draped her arms over the ostensibly big and strong soldier. "Now why would you go and do a silly thing like that? I know a far better use for your time♥." A quick kiss on the lips was all she needed to seal the deal. "Yes… yes, that would be a far better use of my time…" the young man said with a sudden pall over his voice, eyes locking in on the woman; he was now completely in her thrall, a faint green ring surrounding his irises. "I'm so glad we could come to an agreement… now, just follow me so we can have some… privacy♥," the woman said, beckoning the young man to come inside the hotel that was nearby. [ July 10, 2081 @ 7:30 AM PST -- Safe Haven ] =============================================         In small, visually exposed ‘sunroom’ there sat a simple headstone, unadorned and unassuming, surrounded by an assortment of flowers -- the final resting place for Capt. Tyler Johnson. A somber mood still hung over Safe Haven, as the humans began to settle into their new homes in the dormitory section. The Bearers of Harmony and the Conduits of Terra also began to settle into their rooms, which were far larger than their old ones at the Isegawa Complex. None could really appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the basic construction, nor were they in any frame of mind to gauge how they were going to decorate each room to their personal liking. So it stood, each room was left rather simply adorned for the time being. Blue Vague hardly left his room, even more withdrawn than he was the last couple of weeks at the Isegawa Complex. What disturbed his friends, especially Midori Hana, the most was the fact that he hardly spoke since that night he watched Tyler pass on in front of him. Whenever he did, he spoke in a dreary monotone, as if is his soul had been ripped out. So there he lay in his bed, covers the same electric blue as his fur. The false waterfall droning on, intended to bring some comfort to his tortured, broken soul. It's not fair… why did he have to die… why did anyone have to die… no one was supposed to die… The death and destruction wrought in the last month had thrown him in a pit of despair so deep he felt he'd never re-emerge from it. How much enough? How much until you finally do something about it? Will a whole city have to be wiped out? Or maybe things have to be more personal? Maybe one of your friends will have to be slain before you will do what you must? The clock is ticking, little wave-maker… He rolled out of the bed, and began to trot out of the room. I should at least get something to eat… food is good… [ July 10, 2081 @ 9:15 AM PST -- San Francisco, U.S.A] ====================================================== "Now wasn't that a far better use of your time ♥." "Yes…" "And don't you want so much more~" "Yes…" "Oh that's a very good answer~ because I want so much more… I want it ALL! I want every… last… drop!" [ July 10, 2081 @ 12:30 AM PST -- Safe Haven ] ==============================================         The Bearers of Harmony and Conduits of Terra (Vague included) were in a media room watching more news reports stream in from across the globe. They all were showing the same thing, black armored vans with the SPH insignia were massing near the Bureaus, which were now only being defended by whatever was left of the militaries and Royal Guard Unicorn units. Said Elements of both worlds were mostly left to themselves: none of the Humans wanted to watch their former co-workers effectively under siege, and none of the other Ponies had enough free time to even bother at the moment. Blue Vague was the only one not in the larger cluster watching the screens; instead content to just stare at the video wall, monotonously munching away at plain hay he had in a small plastic bowl - occasionally (and absentmindedly) chewing on the bowl itself from time to time as well. "You know, I don't like to talk bad about Ponies while I'm sitting in front of them. But Vague is starting to scare me, seriously…" Rainbow Dash said. Midori Hana agreed, looking on with grave concern at her coltfriend. "To be honest… he's scaring me too. He's never been this silent before, especially while watching the news." ----- ----- “The clock is ticking, little wave-maker~” the off-gender clone of Vague sung in an eerily-cheerful tone. Vague did not respond to her, staring up into the sky in his soul-scape, which crackled with blue lightning. The storm in his own soul was obvious to everyone there. “Are you trying to ignore me, after all this time? And I thought we had something special little Vaguey~” she chirped, as she laid her front legs across Vague’s shoulders, which was met with a swift rebuke. “Stop… I… everything… make it stop!” Vague shouted, as he stumbled away from the pool. “Oh yes, I can make everything stop… or more to the point, I can make everyone stop. But you have to give me the word first! All you have to do is just give me control, and I’ll make sure that no one ever does anything to hurt you again!” the clone said, the venom in her voice dripping like the navy liquid that dripped from her dreadlocks. “GET OUT!” they both heard a booming voice shout. “Out? Before I even begun? You must be joking, surely,” the clone replied, noticing the coalescing figure of Water Magic forming in the plunge-pool of the poisoned waterfall. “You heard me you demon, vacate my master’s soul, before I force it upon you!” Torra-borous barked, the fury in his eyes burning bright. “Oh but I can’t leave now, not after I’ve done so much to tenderize and grind his psyche into a mushy little pulp. He can’t even offer token resistance to my influence now. Isn’t that right my little wave-maker~” the clone said, as she cooed in the ear of, and stroked the chin of Vauge; the ‘original’ barely moving during the whole confrontation. “You will STOP this charade right now! You will cease and desist in forcibly polluting his soul with your lies and this darkness!” Torra-borous shouted, hoping he could get Vague out of the way so he truly could force the creature out of his soul-scape. “You mean his darkness? I only merely set the stage for him to pollute his own self with his own darkness. Don’t tell me you are so silly as to believe I could do anything other. Even if I wanted to, the depths of his despair run just oh so deep,” the clone responded, positively hanging off Vague’s body, taunting Torra with her mannerisms all the while. A giant whip of water emerged from the plunge-pool, ready to come crashing down on the clone. The clone huffed, dismayed some at the quick-resorting-to-violence from the Astral Beast. “Oh of course you’d do that, you type of creatures are always so quick to resort to battle, aren’t you?” She vanished in a puff of navy smoke, forcing Torra to stop the whip in mid-air, as it was going to crash right on the head of the still vacant-eyed Vague. “Damnit, where did you go?!” Torra shouted, before watching was the ‘black’, navy, and blue figure of the clone speeding down from the storm-cloud filled sky, like a multi-colored bolt of lightning. “Oh you were looking for little ol’ me~?!” she chirped, as she bounced off of Torra’s water-shield. She bounded off into the forest filled with poisonous and carnivorous plants, hanging off a tree branch by her hind legs as she craned her neck to stare at the eyes of Torra-Borous. She stuck her tongue out to mock the giant turtle-like creature, as she flipped herself up and into the forest canopy. “Stop disappearing and fight like a mare!” Torra-Borous shouted, as he fired stream after stream of water into the trees. “But whyyy? You just want to hurt me!” the clone shouted, as she mocked Torra-Borous some more. “Besides, your very presence annoys me. How can a creature born of Destruction have such a strong mark of Creation in him? How can you simultaneously exist as the light and the darkness? I don’t get it! I don’t get you or any of your partners!” “Because we were created by Ponies that wanted to marry the destructive and forceful Power with the creative spark of Will. We are the children of this marriage of two philosophies!” Torra-Borous shouted back, as he continued to fire upon the forest canopy, trying to ‘fish’ out where the clone was hiding amongst the trees. Little Vague is almost at his peak of hatred and anger - all it will take is the one right word to send him entirely over the edge, and then neither he nor his little turtle pet will be able to stop me from taking control of his mind, his body, or his soul… ----- ----- "I've heard of being 'blue', but Vague just seems… blank…" Pinkie Pie said, as she waved a hoof in order to try and break his stare, to no avail. Golden Storm sat next to him and took a bit of Vague's hay, to see if he could get him to react. The lack of any response just further confused and disturbed everyone. "I would like to say that his being with us is a good sign… but it's really hard given his behavior, or lack of it." Everyone went back to the cluster and continued on with their watching, making sure that Vague didn't get up to wander off anywhere unattended in his state.         After some time, an interview of particular interest seemed to be starting from St. Louis, so Twilight swiped on a hoof-safe control pad to focus the main screen on said interview. "And here we are, with some SPH soldiers, who agreed to speak to us. Ma'am, you said you were a middle-aged couple living in Atlanta when you heard the initial messages of the SPH. Care to elaborate what drove you to join." The mention of 'Atlanta' perked Blue Vague's attention in particular, now showing the first visible signs of emotion in a few days. A fact that was not lost on Twilight, whose attention was now divided between the speaker on the projector and Vague's disturbing reaction to woman talking on screen. She began to shudder as she could feel massive reservoir of hatred beginning to well up in his aura, threatening to explode like an oil gusher. At the same time, it also felt like some kind of caged monster was but moments from breaking out. "Yes. I joined the SPH because I believed the threat of the Ponies was so great, that my husband and I just had to take up arms against them." A female voice started speaking; her face shielded by the standard mask and tinted goggles of all the SPH front-liners. Vague's face began to quiver at hearing the voice… the voice that was so familiar… the voice that struck mortal fear in his soul. "This world was designed by God for humans, and no alien or demon or whatever will take it away from us. We as humans have worked far too long, and far too hard to build up what we have, only for it to be frittered away like this!" the woman continued to rant, reporter still with the mic at her face. Vague’s breathing became shallow and hoarse, the pressure on his mind was reaching an unbearable climax. "Vague, baby… you're starting to scare the rest of us…" Hana said as she approached Vague, who was so deep in his own thoughts he didn't recognize anyone else's presence. "We will rebuild this world. We will be the new humanity. We will be the ones to shape the New Age!" she concluded, as the report threw it back to the main station. Do it! He began to glow in an off-blue, as if his very soul was darkening. Twilight could feel it, an unfathomable depth of hate and anger had been uncorked, and there was no telling what would claw its way out of the same abyss. “Vague, stop it. That thing you’re about to let out is one of the most dangerous things that can ever exist. That monster can’t be let out, you have to fight it!” Twilight shouted, trying to her best to shake some sense in the vacant-eyed Unicorn. ----- “What… what in all of Creation is that monstrosity…” Torra-borous said as he watched the black energy escaping from Vague’s body. He watched as his master helplessly stumble, unable to shut off the spigot that had broken in his soul. The shrieking laughter began to erupt from seemingly everywhere at once, as the plunge pool that represented the source of Vague’s power was now coagulated like toxic, industrial waste water. “That’s it! That’s what I’ve been waiting for, that utter despair, that delicious, wonderful, intoxicating darkness. It’s so good, I just cant help myself. I want more, I WANT ALL OF IT!” Torra-borous and Vague both watched as a great scaly monstrosity began to emerge from the canopy of the forest. The scales were alternating thick bands of false black, navy blue, and electric blue. The ridges along its back dripped with a poison that was melting away the leaves on the trees. The creature was not only thick, but long, its body seemingly creating a ring all around the forest, as it’s scaly body ran through the trees. “I… stop… make it stop… make it stop… MAKE IT STOP… MAKE IT STOP!” Vague shouted, finally succumbing to absolute hysteria, the voice of his mother and the sight of the titanic snake that now filled his soul-scape causing him to lose all reason, and stumble around in a blind panic. “MMM, little Vague~ There’s no stopping now~” the creature replied, as her giant body descended from the trees near where Vague was stumbling around. He tried to back away, tried to find some kind of escape, but was grabbed by the dreadlocked ‘mane’ of the pony head and torso of the giant snake-tailed creature that now occupied much of the forest canopy. “LET HIM GO!” Torra-borous shouted, as he fired an intense stream of water at the creature. The Unicorn-Naga that emerged from the forest canopy laughed as she didn’t even bother to dodge the jet-stream of water, letting it wash over her body and scales mostly harmlessly. She smiled a wide smile, her Pony mouth showing a pair of vicious looking viper fangs, as she began to laugh uproariously. “Oh it’s far too late for that now. Maybe if you could have broken through my fog a few weeks ago, but now there is much darkness in my soul… you’re powerless! POWERLESS! POWERLESS!” the snake-monster shouted, as she responded with equally pressurized blast of acidic poison - one that had a much more marked effect on its intended target. Torra-borous screamed as he felt his flesh burn from the poison sprayed like a jet on him. The large gash created from the acidic burn and the sheer pressure it was fired at him attesting to that fact. “No… stop it… I…” Vague said, as he struggled to get at least his head free from the snake-like tendrils that the now Naga-like monster had turned her hair into. “YOU WHAT, VAGUE?! What are going to do, now? You’ve already lost! Your body is as good as mine. And soon enough, I’ll drive your friends so far into the pits of despair, they’ll become feeding grounds for my friends. Oh I wonder how lovely Hana will look when she’s turned into a Nightmare as well?!” the Naga-Unicorn shouted, as she laughed in triumph. “No… I will not let you bring harm to him… or his friends…” Torra-borous said, as the acid continued to burn at the edges of his gash running diagonally across his long neck. “Oh, so the turtle wants to keep fighting? Come on then, show me you have some Power left. I mean surely you must be able to do something to me, right?” The Naga-Unicorn spat back, as she continued to choke and strangle the ability for Vague to resist her right out of him. “No… warn others… I can’t… please…” Vague said, as his horn lit, and he began to forcibly eject Torra-borous from his soul-scape. “Master! Don’t dispel me! You don’t have enough strength left to defeat that abomination of magic!” Torra-borous shouted, as he watched his master slowly being strangled to near-death. “Come now, run along, and warn your little cadre of pets. Soon enough you’ll all be returned to the disaggregate magic you were born from, and we will reduce this world to nothing more than a smorgasbord for our TRUE master to feast upon!” The Naga-Unicorn spat, as she watched the turtle-like creature dissipate and disappear from the soul-scape. “Now what to do about you… you’re still trying to ruin my careful plans even though you don’t have control over your own Power anymore. That deserves… punishment!” the Naga-Unicorn mused, as she watched the Unicorn in her grip futilely try to struggle and escape. She raised her hair-tendrils in the air, and then violently slammed into the ground, causing Vague to scream in abject pain. “We’re not done yet!” She then slammed him into one of the trees, equally violently, causing the tree to snap as if a wrecking ball had been smashed into its side. “No, more! I want you to suffer!” She wrapped all of the hair tendrils around the neck of Vague, who began to flail in mortal fear. “I hate you! I hate weakness! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!” The Naga-Unicorn shouted, as she genuinely attempted to break the neck of Vague with the sheer pressure from the vice-grip of her mane. She brought Vague in close to her face, as it dripped with some deranged combination of glee, malice, and depression. “I hate you most of all. No matter what all the humans do, my hatred of them will always pale in comparison to my hatred of you. And yet… no matter what… I cannot destroy you. Because if you die, so do I. I hate you so much, and yet I cannot exist without you. And I hate that most of all.” She licked the face of Vague with a thin, snake-like tongue, causing him to flinch in pain as even her saliva was acidic. “Just like dear old daddy, right? Just like he couldn’t say one word to stop your family from being broken up, right? Just like he couldn’t stop any of the arguments between you two! And your mother, your mother who tried to mold you into her perfect son; and yet you rejected her. And then when you rejected her trying to chart your life for you, she rejected you in kind. How can a world exist where parents and children both mutually reject each other? Mutually hate each other? IT SHOULDN’T!” the Naga-Unicorn shouted, before she slammed Vague into the ground again, this time causing a not insignificant impact crater to form. “You’re going to be just like the Elementals!” the Naga-Unicorn spat, her tone going from sheer vitriol to dissonant delight. “They’ll suffer for eternity. Their failure to stop my Master… their being devoured by him… their eternal torment as they hear the wailing and lamentations of all the beings my master have consumed before him! It’s like music, the sweet music of souls being tormented for their weakness. “Power NEVER respects Weakness. To be weak before it is to insult it. And weakness must be eradicated! Humanity is weak. Even with all of their power, they scrap and struggle like a bunch of stupid monkeys beating each other to death with sticks. Nothing so IGNORANT, SO STUPID, SO UTTERLY BASE should EVER be allowed to wield ANY form of Power. So I will take it upon myself to not only turn you, but the rest of your little cadre into the perfect avatars of Destruction. The perfect harbingers of The Final End! And the perfect chefs to prepare the world for the Great Devourer to… what else… devour!” She shook the quiet form of Blue Vague, who had not one word of response as she ranted and raved. “What, no witty comeback. No statement declaring your undying fighting spirit? *Pft* Way to make this boring, little wave-maker. Not that you have any more use to the world… except as my personal battery!” the Naga-Unicorn said, as she began to coalesce the poisoned Water Magic around Vague’s soul, encasing him in a navy-blue, translucent crystal; and then casually tossing the crystal into the roiling plunge-pool that was the font of Vague’s Power. “Oh that feels so good. So much POWER! It feels… limitless…” the Naga-Unicorn moaned, as her voice slowly transitioned from female to very distinctly masculine. ----- All six Elements of Harmony manifested immediately on the 'persons’ of the Bearers, flashing in clear warning. Something highly dangerous was approaching. “I hate her… I HATE HER… I HATE HER… I HATE HER!” they heard Vague bark, as he suddenly snapped to full attention, looking all around him, and seeing the Elements of Harmony manifest, much to the shock of everyone, on the person of the Bearers. “HATE! HATE! HATE! I HATE THEM, GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!” Vague hissed, as if he was a vampire in the face of rosaries and Christian crosses. “Vague! What the hell is up with you, man?” Storm shouted, as he +made to try and physically restrain the Pegasus. As soon as he touched him, he felt violently ill. Storm writhed on the ground in intestinal discomfort, the sudden feeling of wanting to throw up reminding him of too many drunken benders while he was on leave. “Vague, what did you do to him?!” Hana shouted as she tried to approach the Pony, who was starting to ‘glow’ in a very distinct and disturbing ‘black’ color. “Don’t worry, Hana, you’ll see. All three of you will see soon enough. He is coming, and we will usher in the Final End!” Vague snarled, as he looked back at the screen, the visage of that woman still on the screen. “HER! I’LL KILL HER! SHE’LL BE THE FIRST ONE SLAIN BY MY HOOF!” the deranged Unicorn shouted, as he vanished in a puff of corrupted Water Magic, burning the carpet he was sitting on right down to the upholstery. ----- The beast is out of its cage, and if I’m thinking correctly, I know what triggered it and where he is going! Please, you have to bring him back to us safely… I will, ‘Tia. Trust me. I will do everything in my power to see him delivered from the clutches of that cosmic horror. [ July 10, 2081 @ 2:40 PM CST -- St. Louis, U.S.A. ] ====================================================         The SPH were camped out all around the St. Louis Conversion Bureau, roughly 50 meters all around. They were high-fiving each other, as they had cleared out what was left of the military. The scene was similar all around the world, with most Bureaus only having Explicit Magic Shields as a line of final defense against the outside world that was quickly caving in on them. This fact was not lost on a couple of SPH soldiers, and one female soldier in particular. "Finally. Today is the day we start striking back against those damn Ponies!" Linda said excitedly as she looked all around for her commander to tell her where to go next. "Since Capt. Young has been declared MIA and the Isegawa Laboratories are kaput, I guess this is the last Pony-related facility in the region," Andrew thought, figuring that Capt. Young got himself killed doing something reckless. "Exactly, soon they'll be gone, all gone. And we'll start rebuilding the world the way that WE want it! It'll be so wonderful, Andrew!" Linda shouted as she hung lightly off Andrew's shoulders. "I suppose so…" Andrew responded despondently, still wondering if he was making the right decision. There has to be a better way than this, doesn't there? Andrew thought Soon they heard beeping in their headset, as they looked at their forearm mounted display, the thaumic sensors began going off. Strangely enough, the signal was roughly 200 meters behind them. "Oh I think one of the dear Unicorns is trying to teleport out to get help or some such. Well we can't have that now, can we? I don't think the new Captain will mind if we go off on a little excursion of our own…" Linda said, as motioned for her husband to follow her. Being the kind of man he was, he quickly complied. ----- Blue Vague wandered the back alleys around St Louis, eyes darting all around, mane disheveled as his dreadlocks frayed, shouting into the alleys not caring who heard him. "Momma?! Momma?! Where are you, momma?!" He giggled lightly as he did, relishing the thought of finally ending the source of all of his anger and frustration at life, once and for all. He continued to wander aimlessly for another few minutes, until he heard a shout from behind him. "HALT! In the name of the Society for the Preservation of Humanity, I order you to halt, Equestrian!" he heard from the eerily familiar female voice. There stood two SPH soldiers, one male and female, completely masked. Blue Vague, doing his best to magically disguise his voice, responded as he came to a stop. "I do not know your quarrel with me. I have done nothing wrong.” That’s right, come a little closer… I want to see the look on your faces when you see who will send you to your precious Maker! The two soldiers continued to advance on the cobalt-dreadlocked, blue Unicorn, his turned back hiding a face with an insane and devious grin. “We order that you come into our custody immediately. If you do not resist, we may see fit to spare your life.” A cruel irony if I ever heard one… Vague thought to himself, as his mind went through all the myriad things he could do to these two once he had them in his grip. “But I have done nothing wrong. I only mean to help these poor humans in their plight,” Vague said, the falsity in his voice beginning to grate on the female who kept her gun trained on the back of Vague’s head. “Don’t you sit there and lie to me. I know when someone, or something is lying. Your honey-tongued words have no effect on me.” “You were always like that weren’t you?” Vague said, as he dropped the disguise on his voice, letting his dreadlocks obscure his face still as he was now half-turned to the couple. “What? Who are you? Why do you sound like him?” the woman asked, taken aback by the sound coming from the blue creature that sat on the ground before them, and the dissonantly cheerful giggle he began to laugh intermittently. “Haven’t you wondered why I haven’t called, why I haven’t written, why I haven’t given not one bit of information about my life for the last, oh how long has it been, nine months, give or take? It’s all so hard to remember,” Vague started as he slowly approached the couple, his head low as to obscure his face behind his styled mane; which became more frazzled the longer he talked. “Stop it… I won’t… I won’t… I WON’T listen to your lies. These devilish lies…” the woman started, as she began to back away, the male with her pointing his muzzle of his gun to the ground as he looked over in utter disbelief. What the hell is going on… That can’t be Andre… Then again, it makes all the sense in the world… Andrew Bowman thought, as his own mind began to race in a different direction from his wife’s. “Lies? Now why would I lie to my own mother about something as important as her dearest and only son wanting to reunite with her?” Vague said, as he lifted his face to show the two of them his, at least to them, new form - along with an attendant grin of absolute and maniacal psychopathy. “Ohhh, you look sooo shocked!” Vague said, as he slowly continued his approach toward the two of them, as the ground starting to become soaked in the water he was passively conjuring. “But why would you be so shocked. I mean you only shoved me away as fast as you could when that position opened up in the Atlanta Domes, right? RIGHT?!” Linda’s hand began to tremble, as she could barely keep her finger on the trigger of her thaumatic-action rifle. “RIGHT! COME ON TELL ME, MOM, did it hurt you to leave me behind. To LEAVE me in a world that was falling apart? Did YOU think the DOMES were going to be some kind of LIFEboat to save you from the coming flood?!” Vague said as his look became more and more deranged by the second. “Stop… stop right there or I will fire!” Linda said, as she felt her mind coming under assault from the clearly mad Pony before her, the Pony that more resembled the demons she spoke of on camera earlier. “Did you THINK the DOMES were some kind of ARK? That they would save you from the flood that was coming?! The FLOOD that is ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!” Vague said, as he stomped up and down, like a completely deranged child, laughing madly all the while. “And my dear FRIENDS. They’ll soon be here… and they are gonna think that THEY can still save me.” He quickly disappeared in a puff of navy blue smoke, reappearing on the wall, adhering himself to the vertical surface and standing completely perpendicular to it, as if his local gravity had become perpendicular the rest of the Earth’s. “Oh that’s what they are gonna think. They are GONNA think there is still something left of my mind left to save. But there is nothing… nothing nothingnothingnothingnothing except the sheer ANGER and HATE I feel for EVERY… LIVING… DAMNED… THING… ON THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLANET!!” The deranged Unicorn then poofed back to exactly where he stood, as if he had never moved to begin with; his father looking even more confused, and his mother’s psyche starting to crumble as fast as her son’s had. “No… liar… LIAR… LIAR! YOU ARE A LIAR! YOU ARE A LYING DEMON! I’LL END YOU! I’LL SEND YOU RIGHT BACK TO THE FIREPIT FROM WHENCE SATAN SPAWNED YOU!” Linda shouted as she raised her firearm back at the head of the giggling mad Unicorn. “STOP!” Andrew said as he began to dive toward the same Unicorn. There was a pull, and a click. A red flash… And then *bang*, a red explosion… -----         If there were any of the Conduits or the Bearers that could not see the utter depth that Blue Vague had sunk himself to; they were quickly disabused of the notion that situation had reached anything other than the metaphorical DEFCON-1. “Please tell me I am not the only one that feels a veritable black hole of hate and malice opening up somewhere in the general vicinity of St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.?” Red Blaze asked, her Terran Element of Fire glowing as hotly as any magically-empowered jewel could glow without being blinding. “No, you are not the only one, that’s…” Midori Hana started before a candy-cotton pink Pony interrupted her. “A-a-a-a R-R-RREAL Do-dodo-DOOZY!” Pinkie said as she jittered along the ground, her Pinkie Sense finally going off as Vague, or rather, the thing that Vague was becoming, had dropped any pretense of obfuscation. “Oh good, then we all didn’t just collectively hallucinate that. WHAT IN THE BLUE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!” Blaze shouted as her mane momentarily caught alight with flame. Her question was soon to be answered by a twin of magic-light flashes, one gold and one azure. “We fight it! We fight that monstrosity that is about to emerge, and we get your friend and my student back from its clutches,” Luna responded, her tone flat and even – quite befitting a mare that was ready to go to war. “Seeing as we have not only Vague’s descent to worry about, but there is still the little matter of our Bureaus being under virtual, if not literal, siege. I will handle that issue while my Sister helps you take care of our mutual blue friend,” Celestia remarked, her tone equal to her sister, if not quite as cold as Luna’s. “Ok so we have a general plan, so… I… I honestly don’t know what to do. When we fought you as Nightmare Moon, we were flying, as the humans would say, by the seat of our pants,” Twilight remarked, feeling determined, yet still nervous about the whole thing. “And I had an entire millennia stuck in the Moon to completely lose my mooring to reality. And yet you still found a way to bring back from the pit I had fallen into. I have the fullest and utmost confidence that you will be able to drag Blue Vague out of the same pit,” Luna stated with a little more warmth in her voice, seeing as the other nine Elements were showing understandable trepidation with having to fight their friend, and in one case, her lover. I’m sorry Hana, this has to be the most difficult for you, as you wish to eventually make Vague your husband. That is why we all have to do our level best to drag him out of that pit, even if he has to be drug kicking and screaming back to sanity… Luan resolved silently. “I… I want him back… I’m willing to drag myself through Hell and back if that means that we can get him back safe and sound,” Hana stated; the fear in her eyes not abating, but she nonetheless began to find the steel in her voice and her heart. “We might not have a romantic impetus, but we’re gonna do everything we have to do to make sure those two have a long and happy life together, isn’t that right babe?” Storm asked, looking over at the fire-engine red Unicorn that was his beau. “Definitely. I am not watching some monster try to eat my friend inside-out. If we have to drag the real Vague out of it, then that is what is going to happen,” Blaze replied, nuzzling her stallion. The six Elements of Harmony looked slightly nervous before, but the declaration of determination evaporated the fear in their hearts. “They’re right. Ah’m not lettin’ Vague fall any further than he has already. So what the hay are we all waitin’ for?” Applejack said, as she readjusted her hat. “Certainly not an engraved invitation. No, this is the time where we go right to action, isn’t it Princess Luna?” Rarity added. “Whatever that thing that thinks they have control over Blue, they got another thing comin’, right ‘Shy?” Rainbow Dash quipped, ribbing Fluttershy in side. “I am not letting that monster take him away from us. I absolutely refuse!” Fluttershy shouted, shocking the others in the media room, and even surprising herself. “Then it’s settled, but let me go ahead of you nine, I need to ascertain just how great of a threat Vague is in his current state,” Princess Luna remarked, as she blinked out of media room, and the whole of Safe Haven just as fast as she blinked in. Do not go doing anything rash, Sister… You have to have the confidence in those nine that they have in themselves… Celestia thought as she began to head to the main strategy room in Safe Haven to take care of her own business. ---------- “We always hurt the ones we love, don’t we? Mom?” Vague remarked, as he looked on with some awkward sense of mixed glee and forlorn, seeing the body of his unconscious father lying face down on the ground, a massive hole blasted in the back of his armor. “No… Andrew… don’t… don’t leave me…” Linda said, as she began to fall apart mentally. “That’s the look I love so much… the look of utter despair. Of utter distress. The realization that you will soon be nothing more than just another tally mark for IT!” Vague said, as his form began to warp before Linda’s eyes. She watched in utter panic as the Pony that was Blue Vague began to grow in size, and his coat began to change in color. The sneering looking in his face became even more deranged as his head elongated to match his newfound mass. In a few short moments, he was as tall as that indigo colored Winged Pegasus that Linda remembered seeing on the news. Except where she had a stern look, not unlike a particularly harsh headmistress; her ‘son’ had the looked of a deranged serial killer in a full blown frenzy. She watched as his horn grew from a rounded tipped instrument of conjury to a sharp, head-borne spear, one that looked ready to gore her at a moment’s notice. She stared as every step he took caused the ground under him to turn into some kind of paste, as where his hooves touched, the concrete melted into some kind of coagulated mess. What disturbed her most, though, was what color he turned. His body was jet black… no… it was darker than jet black. It looked like she was staring into an endless abyss, an abyss of nothing but soul-crushing darkness; the only break was the fact his body was glowing a navy-blue, and his legs still had swirls of the electric blue of his original coat color. He opened his eyes as his growth was done, and he stared daggers into the woman who had given him birth, and whom he was dead set on making the first notch in his long task of clearing the world of everything living. “So how do I look, mom? Do you like the new me? Maybe you like the old me? Or maybe you want to see the old old me, again? Too bad though, all of them are gone. Gone bye bye, bye bye forever~” the tall Unicorn stated, the frenetic tone of the ‘Vague’ she saw before replaced by a cold viciousness; every single world dripping with the poisonous malice that now coursed through his veins. “Sweeper 700 and 701. We received a di… mother of God what in the hell is that thing,” one of the S.P.H. grunts from Linda’s unit asked, as he caught sight of the 5 foot tall horse-shaped demon that was stalking his squad-mate. “Oh… what have we here. An interloper, and in a family affair too? Oh now we simply cannot have that, now can we?” the black-and-blue Unicorn stated, the cold anger in his face being replaced by an equally chilling psychopathic glee. Before the grunt could even react, he was grabbed by all of his limbs and his throat by navy colored tentacles made of super-condensed water. “Now what should I do with you? Perhaps snap that neck of yours? Hrm… that would satisfying, yes… but… then I would have to look at your pathetic body littering the street. And it is my job to clean them, after all,” not-Vague said, as he walked in closer to the grunt that was flailing against his gel-like tendrils. “And the other problem with a neck snap is that it is too… clean. A few moments of pain and, it’s over. No enjoyment on my part. I want to see you suffer!” not-Vague said, as his psychopathic smile was now bearing razor sharp teeth. “I want to hear you scream. I want to know your last moments alive were filled with nothing but agony, pain, and regret.” “You… you will get nothing from me monster!” the grunt tried to say, trying to steel his nerve against the demon that held him fast in the air. “Oh, I don’t think you have anything I’d want anyway. Perhaps if you were… someone else… or rather… somepony else… maybe it’d be different. But alas, wrong gender and wrong species. But, I guess it’s time to dispose of you… trash!” Not-Vague then wrapped the soldier entirely in the gel that made his tentacles. There were a few more moments of fight out of the grunt, but soon they were wiped away by a gurgling scream, as the liquid inside of the impromptu chamber turned into an incredibly powerful solvent, completely dissolving the flesh, bone, every bit of living tissue the soldier was made of. When not-Vague let go, all that was left were the inorganic clothes, armor, and weaponry the soldier had on their person. “Hrm, that impressive aura must mean my former patroness is here to… check… on me. I do believe we will have to cut all of this short. Oh but we will meet again, perhaps… sooner than you think?” not-Vague said, giving a bit of wink to his now devastated mother, who was curled on the ground rocking-back and forth as her mind simply refused to process anything it had seen over the last short while. The demonic Unicorn dissolved itself into the ground, as if he were made of living water. Not but a couple of moments after, the Princess of the Night ran into the alley where the two parents of Andre Bowman were, one unconscious and near-death, as his injuries still went untreated, and the other having basically had her mind shattered into pieces, rocking back and forth, repeating the same lines over and over again. “My son’s a monster. My husband is dead. I am alone. My son’s a monster. My husband is dead. I am alone…” Luna made to try and do something with the woman, despite the fact she wore the uniform of the organization that had recently decapitated the world’s governments, but suddenly was stricken by an idea. “His father?! His mana signature is weak, but it is too similar to Vague to dismiss. His mother’s, I’d assume anyway, mind is thoroughly broken, there is naught I can do for her without losing too much time. But what can I do for this man…?” Luna thought aloud, not caring if Linda hear her since Linda was far too gone to care one way or the other. Celestia, are there open rooms in Sick Bay? Luna asked of her sister telepathically. Yes, but why do you ask… Celestia responded. I am sending you one of the S.P.H.’s soldiers for immediate treatment, Luna responded in kind You know what I am about to ask you, right? Celestia re-replied incredulously. He is, in all likelihood, Vague’s father, and he still lives, but barely. We need to keep him alive because he may be the only entity besides the Conduit of Earth that can tether his mind back to reality… Luna replied back. A sound plan, but I will have to keep a human guard on him, just in case he turns belligerent, Celestia responded. I would expect nothing less of you; now get the first-aid medics ready… Luna concluded. And after a few moments, the prone body of Andrew Bowman was teleported to a secure sick-bay bed in Safe Haven. Luna then turned to the woman who was still lost in her own collapsing reality. “I am sorry, Madam. I can only pray to the Cosmos that the organization you have affiliated yourself with will find some means to help you through this troubled time. Perhaps, one day in the not too distant future, you and your son can truly reconcile.” Luna’s eyes then flared wide, as she felt the corrupted Water Mana re-manifesting far to her south. If he is where I think he is… then it would make all the sense in the world… Luna thought as she ducked down the alley away from the approaching S.P.H. squadron. Twilight, prepare yourself and the others for teleportation, I have a fix on where Vague has relocated himself, Luna told the Element of Magic telepathically. We’re ready whenever you are, Princess, Twilight Sparkle responded, the resolve in her voice unmistakable. I most certainly hope that you are… Luna replied as she teleported herself and the nine other Ponies to where she found the wandering tenth. ---- Moments later, Northwest of the former site of New Orleans, USA ----         The one Princess and the Nine Elements re-manifested near the edge of the shifting shoreline that marked the constant ebb, tug, and flow of the Gulf of Mexico and the coastline of Louisiana. Despite the efforts of those in the day, eventually the decision was made to let New Orleans lay fallow, and rebuild the infrastructure further up the Mississippi; which lead to the eventual rechristening of Baton Rouge as Nouvelle Baton Rouge, roughly five years afterward. That is the site where the wandering Tenth Element found himself. “It’s so strange, isn’t it Princess?” The black-and-blue Unicorn mused aloud, as he could sense the ten pulses of magic behind him, as he stared out at the sunken ruins of a once great metro area. “How is it strange, Conduit of Water?” Luna responded, as the other nine stood dumbfounded at how much Vague had been warped in such a short amount of time. He… he looks just like her… back then. The only difference is the lack of wings… Twilight thought, as she stared at the horse that seemed to be a walking abyss of malice and hate. “It’s strange how humans make this grand show about justice. This grand and great mythology about how, eventually, those who do wrong are punished in accordance with their transgressions. And yet…” not-Vague started as he stood to full length, causing the others, aside from Luna, to step back a pace or two. “And yet, the greater the sin, the easier it is for the perpetrator to escape their true punishment. We have a way to punish someone for stealing property, for stealing someone’s sexual agency, even stealing someone’s life. But what happens when it is ten lives? When it is a hundred lives? What happens when, instead of cutting down a single tree at the wrong time, you cut down an entire forest? What happens when, instead of dumping chemical waste into a river one time, you poison an entire ocean? What happens when, instead of a person poaching a single animal that is endangered, people kill an entire species? What happens then, WHERE IS THE JUSTICE THEN?” The other nine Elements felt queasy as they could feel the utter hate that was emanating from the creature before them as he stood and turned, the sickening navy water surrounding him, and forming into translucent armor around his chest and limbs. “I will tell you… IT DOESN’T EXIST! No… no I won’t say that. Not enough of it exists. Sure you might punish one, or two, but what of all the others that are culpable. Everyone who brought the tainted product? Everyone who turned a blind eye? Everyone who profited from all the money laundered? It’s ALL tainted. Their entire society is tainted! This… taint… this… this… UNCLEAN! This uncleanliness is part of them. It is endemic to them. They can never wash away the taint… that taint. They will never be clean. But there is so much… SO MUCH! And the worse and more pervasive the stain… the more abrasive the… cleaner… you have to use, isn’t that right?” They then saw the sickening smile creep across his face, as he looked at the three of his friends that stood in the center of their formation. “And then… there are multiple cleaners that have to be used… right? One for each kind of stain, each kind of grime, each kind of taint, yes?” Luna eyes flared open, as she realized what the creature who possessed Vague’s body ultimately wanted. “Them! You need the other three Elements of Terra, don’t you?!” The devious smirk on the deranged Unicorn grew by a few more fractions of an inch. “Of course, Princess. I mean, can’t very well start the Apocalypse with only one Horseman, can you?” Storm, Hana, and Blaze all stepped backward by a few paces, knowing full well what their possessed friend was scheming. “So with this said…” not-Vague said, as imperceptibly thin filaments appeared in the air. Bits that just escaped the senses of Luna, until their purpose was fulfilled. “Vague yo… ugh… can’t see…” Storm started before he started to stumble around. “What did…” Blaze tried to say, before she was struck the same. “Please… stop…” Hana pleaded while she still had anything left for a voice. “Stop? STOP?! Why would I STOP now? I’m just getting started,” not-Vague said, his grin growing a few fractions of inches wider still. “What did you do to them, Blue Vague?” Twilight Sparkle barked, horrified by how he had apparently struck the three of them down so swiftly. “First off, before I answer your question, I would much prefer that you not refer to me by the name of that weakling,” not-Vague started, before he paused for a moment’s repose. “Yes, ‘Blue Vague, Conduit of Water’ is simply… not befitting an entity such as myself. I would much prefer you call me… Nightmare Ooze, the Conquering Ocean.” The now named Nightmare bellowed with laughter, as he watched his friends struggle for breath, as the ‘black’ poison raced through the capillaries under their coats, and deeper into their system. “YOU DIDN’T ANSWER MY QUESTION! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!” Twilight Sparkle shouted, her body coursing with rage. “Ahhh, the little Pony seems… angry. You know that is not becoming an Element of Harmony to feel such pure, delicious fury, right?” Ooze replied, as he stepped forward a few more paces. “But to answer your question, I merely seeded their bodies and minds with the same darkness that made me into the stallion you see before you. I’m going to enjoy watching their psyches crumble into pieces, as they turn into deranged monsters of Ponies… just like myself.” The maddened chuckle he laughed made the now seven just as sick as they were hearing his intents. Twilight shook her head, and narrowed her eyes. “No, we’re not just going to let you take them from us like you did Vague. And they are not going to go quietly along with your plans. Luna, make sure they can’t do anything. They’ll be with us soon enough and I don’t want them getting physically injured.” “I see. May fortune smile upon you, Element of Magic,” Luna replied, as she bound the three poisoned Ponies to the ground with her Aura. “I’m not gonna need luck for this!” Twilight said as she dashed toward the self-declared Nightmare. “COME ON! I’ll ENJOY destroying the abominable light you all possess!” Nightmare Ooze shouted as he dashed to meet the shorter, purple Unicorn. “Isn’t this…” Fluttershy started. “It’s just like Nightmare Moon, everyone MOVE!” Rarity shouted as they all broke out into a circle around the charging Ponies. ----- “S-s-stop it… Vague…” Hana moaned, as the poison continued to course through her and her partner Counduits’ bodies. Of course… the psychic link… He’s trying to to brainwash through it, and making sure they can’t resist with that poison he injected them with. I can at least prevent his words from penetrating into their mind, so long as I have their mental frequencies figured correctly… Luna said as her horn glowed softly azure. Soon the four of them were encased in a dome of faint-but-noticeable blue light. Something that did not escape the attention of the un-black Unicorn engaged with the other six Ponies. Damnit. Of course she’d try to interfere… but I have to take care of these six before I can deal with Luna… Ooze thought as continued to chase the purple Unicorn all along the shoreline, the other five Elements of Harmony not far behind. Twilight! Isn’t it time we show this crazy facsimile of Vague what we’ve been up to when we hadn’t been watching the news with his friends? Rainbow Dash asked through her Element of Loyalty. Now or never, Dash! Twilight responded, as she transferred some of her magic to her hooves, so she could skid around like a car about to make a tight U-turn. “So we’re gonna do this for real now, the whole charging thing? Well I’m only double your height and triple your mass… I’m sure it’ll work out for you!” Ooze noted, chuckling as he tried to figure out what exactly the six of them were up to. The black Unicorn charged the purple, and smirked as she slid under him like a human of her relative size sliding into home plate. “Don’t think you’re safe yet, Sparkle!” Twilight turned around as she watched giant gel-spikes shoot out of the ground, ready to impale the sliding purple Unicorn. And they would have too… had said purple Unicorn not pole-vaulted herself over the spike-trap by snagging her magic on one of the spikes and catapulting herself over. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about escape hatches, Ooze!” Twilight shouted as she flew through the air, blasting the Nightmare in the back with her magic as she flipped head over hooves toward safer ground. Damnit… no matter… she got lucky… Ooze groaned internally, as he turned himself around to look for the rest of Twilight’s friends. “Where are the rest of them, I know you aren’t the only one who is going to face me stallion to mare!” Ooze shouted as he tried to find the other five. “Having some trouble? I thought a creature of darkness could be able to see through the shadows…” Twilight giggled, as she seemed to disappear and reappear at will. She had used the shadows of the mid-afternoon sun to cloak her friends as they took some time to prepare. These crystals better be tuned right… I’m not as powerful as Twilight, so I have to make sure that… thing using Vague’s body can’t see where I’m attacking from… I’m gonna make sure that big meanie can’t do anything else to Vague or his friends… That duplicate thinks he has surprises… he hasn’t faced the master of pranks yet! Between these fruit and mah strength… that thing that think it’s Vague won’t know what hit ‘im “WHERE ARE THEY?!” Ooze shouted, as he began to use the liquid that made up his armor just pound the entire area with spikes until he found them. ”HERE’S ONE!” Dash shouted as she streaked out of the sky, her coat covered in periwinkle blue streaks. “Where!” Ooze shouted again, as he tried to figure out where the streak was going, until he was blasted by bolts of lightning magic. The Nightmare howled as he felt the first true pain since the entire scene began. “I’ll turn you into slag!” Ooze shouted as he tried to snatch Dash out of the air with his tentacles, but his transferred reflexes couldn’t keep up with the enhanced speed of the Pegasus. “Come on, you’re too slow! Maybe you should have practiced that form before you decided to go Omnicide on everyone!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she dashed into Ooze, punching with electrified front-hooves all the while. After a 1-2-3-4 combination, she finished it with a mini-air burst, which she used to fly backwards fast enough to get back out of the apparent reach of the deranged Unicorn. “*Argh* You don’t know when to quit do you?” Ooze groaned, as he used some of his magic to dull the pain from the rapid-succession punches, not figuring Rainbow’s hooves to be as hard as they were. “Not when there is another friend on the line! We’re not letting you use Vague for some kind of sick plan to turn this world dead!” Twilight replied. Ooze turned around to fire a blast of un-blue magic at Twilight, before he was struck in the face by a very bright cornflower blue by Rarity, who was prepared to join the fight as she emerged from the shade Twilight ‘enhanced’ for her. “No, none of us will quit so long as you hold Vague in your clutches, monster!” “What about it don’t you understand. I AM HIM! At least enough of him to count to you peons anyway!” Ooze responded, as he turned his full attention to Twilight. He has total tunnel vision; can’t focus on but one target at a time. But no matter, I have to find a way to rid the Conduits of this poison. But if I drop the shield, then he can re-establish a link to them… Luna contemplated as she kept her shield up to prevent the other Conduits from going berserk like Vague did. “No you are not. All you are is just some angry monster who can’t understand the world or humanity. Which is a shame since you were born of a human’s frustration. I would think YOU of all creatures would understand it…” Rarity responded, as the crystals she fine-tuned danced in the air, out of sight of the mad Unicorn. “ENOUGH! I’m going to SHUT that mouth of yours FIRST!” Ooze shouted as he loosed a blast of un-blue magic at Rarity. “RARITY!” Twilight shouted before a second blast came her way. In the time she took to dodge and deflect it, she saw Rarity engulfed in a plume of un-blue energy. “Don’t worry Twilight. I’ve had worse in our little practices,” Rarity winked, as four of the crystals formed a tetrahedron around her, glowing with a mixture of her blue magical aura and the near-white of Light Magic. As the tetrahedron negated the last of the un-blue magical blast, the other three of Rarity’s crystal drones appeared, ready for counter-attack. “You MOCK the power I now possess?!” Ooze shouted, as he readied another blast, that was interrupted by blasts of white and blue from the other other Unicorn on the field. “I don’t care how deep you think that Power of yours run dear. If you can’t use it, then you just can’t use it…” Rarity said, as she continued to pelt the un-black Unicorn with her own magic from her horn and the crystals that floated around the entire shoreline battlefield. “Ngggh” Ooze snorted in frustration as he tried to blast the white Unicorn, completely ignoring the other two revealed opponents, and not even thinking of the other three still hidden. “Is it just me, or does that thing only seem to be able to focus on one of us at a time…” Dash said as she hovered near Twilight, who was stockpiling magic in her being every second she had to spare. The purple Unicorn swallowed the tension the stored magic was creating, so she could speak with her usual tone of voice. “You’re right… the faster we can end this and find some way to purify that darkness, the better. I can only imagine he’d settle down the longer this drags out.” “Right!” Rainbow Dash shouted, as she re-engaged her Lightning Magic and rejoined the fight. That’s good, he’s having to split his magic between offense and defense. The less he can dedicate to trying to blast us to the Summerlands, the better… Rarity thought, as she continued to blast the mad Unicorn with her floating drones. Almos’ got it… there! Applejack thought, as she looked proudly at the hidden ‘fruit’ tree, that bore every manner of plant based tool. Ah think Ah’ll start with… this… since he’s already having trouble focusing on all of us… Rarity squealed as she stumbled backwards from being hit with the debris from one of Ooze’s blasts. “Should have figured he’d go for misdirection,” she groaned as she tried to get her hooves back under her. “You are going to… what is that smell?” Ooze thought, as something else caught his eye, or rather, his nose. “Don’t worry, you’re about to get a snout full of it in about two seconds!” Applejack shouted, as she used the leaf-and-vine sling to throw the gas-filled pod toward the mad Unicorn; a pod that exploded promptly on impact. “GOD! I… can’t heetbar[breathe]?!” Ooze said, surprised as his word came out jumbled. He tried to step forward, but a hind leg moved before his front, and caused him to stumble. “Call that the Scramble-Pod, feels like ya been drinkin’ cider all night and ya can’t even see or speak straight,” Applejack said. The disoriented Unicorn tried to focus on the orange Earth Pony to blast her to Kingdom Come, but found he was staring at least four images of her, and couldn’t even focus his horn to try and blast all of them. “That seems a bit, unlike you, AJ,” Dash remarked. “Don’t care right now. Ah’m here to do a job, and that’s beat his body down enough so we can beat the darkness out his head with the Elements,” Applejack said, as she dashed in a zig-zag pattern confusing the inebriated Unicorn even more. “Dman you, Cakppjlae!” Ooze shouted, before he felt the impact of a pair of rock-hard hooves in his chest, in spite of the armor that was supposedly protecting said area. To a lot of the other’s surprise (except for Rainbow Dash), Applejack repeatedly bucked Ooze from the same position, using her front hooves to balance and hop backwards few inches by few inches, keeping her hooves at the same distance from the reeling un-black Unicorn every time she recoiled for another buck. For a finale she swept the ground with her back-legs, causing the taller Unicorn to fall to the ground in a heap, while she returned to all-fours; the grace she did it with reminding Rainbow Dash of the Pegasus break-dancers the last time she was in Cloudsdale. “Where did you learn moves like that? I knew you were strong, but not that… that…” Rarity asked, not being able to find the word to end her sentence. “Graceful? Have to be, how else do Ah win style competitions in rodeos?” Applejack answered, with a smirk on her face, as she took a ready stance again as Ooze tried to regain his bearings. Ooze bellowed as he let loose a wave of energy that stunned the four revealed Ponies, taking some measure of glee in watching Rainbow Dash fall (the two feet she was hovering) to the ground in a stunned heap. Good, now let’s find the other two before they embarrass me even further! Ooze looked around while he had had the reprieve, until he heard giggling behind an ‘invisible’ barrier. “So let’s see what is behind Door #1,” Ooze said as he pulled away the shadow-barrier, to reveal Pinkie Pie painting some hoof-boots. “Not ready yet~” she sung as she pulled the shadow-barrier back. “Wait how… never mind…” Ooze said as he magicked the barrier away again. “I SAID I’M NOT READY YET!” Pinkie shouted as he threw a rather oversized ball bearing at the Nightmare’s face, clocking him square between the eyes, and somehow pulling the shadow-barrier back over her head. “Oh that… I… THAT’S IT!” Ooze shouted as he pulled the barrier away one last time… to reveal absolutely nothing. “Ok, where in the hell did she go, just that fast?!” Ooze shouted as he looked around for any other barriers that escaped his notice. He turned his head up to look, to see a cotton-candy pink Earth Pony with a rather large sling-shot sitting on a tree branch near the shore, and another rather large ball bearing heading straight for his face. Should’ve figured… he thought in the moment before he was hit in the face again. “Needless to say, I’m up here,” Pinkie giggled, as she threw another ‘shadow’ cloak over herself, using every bit of the lingering magic Twilight cast over the area. “I’m going to really enjoy making that little poofy-maned mare SCREAM in agony… oh I’m going to enjoy it sooo much,” Ooze grumbled, as he tried to focus on where Pinkie could have hid herself this time. --- The other four Ponies were barely getting their bearings again when they saw the un-black Unicorn running around several tens of yards away from them, searching for somepony like they had stolen something from him. “I SWEAR I WILL MAKE HER SCREAM!” they heard him shout as they tried to figure out what was going on in the minutes they were out of commission. “So it sounds like Pinkie got to him, he’ll be so enraged he won’t be able to see straight, even if Applejack didn’t have another of those Scramble-Pods on hoof,” Dash thought, knowing Pinkie had a very deft touch when it came to aggravating a Pony to the point of incoherence. “Sounds like it,” Applejack figured as she heard Luna’s voice suddenly start speaking in her head. Element of Honesty, I need you to find some way to counteract this poison… it’s almost completely cycled through their system… and if he manages to re-establish the mental link, he can completely suck them into the same pit he’s currently stuck in! If Ah can get him to use that same stuff again, Ah might be able to let the Antivenom-Pod do somethin’ about it, Applejack responded through her Element. --- “Come back here, I promise not to hurt you… much. At least if I do you’ll blackout long before I’m done, maybe!” Ooze shouted as he chased the rose-pink maned mare all along the dilapidated forest near the shoreline. “Sor~ry! But I do have something I can do for you~” Pinkie said, as she revealed a pair of rose-pink ribbons that perfectly matched the shade of her mane. Before Vague could even think to speak, Pinkie slapped him across the muzzle with the ribbons, revealing that they were reinforced with a very strong metal fiber. Rainbow Dash watched, from the distance away, in awe as Pinkie literally danced around the Nightmare, slapping and whipping him with the ribbons until she managed to get them wrapped around his muzzle, and planted herself on his back. “If I didn’t see it… I wouldn’t have believed it…” Dash said to herself as she pointed the pair out to the rest. “Over there! Let’s get to Pinkie before she gets herself hurt, or worse, messing around with that crazy colt!” The four of them rushed over, only to find that Ooze was trying, and failing, to buck the baker off his back. “And I thought Braeburn was good at riding enraged bulls; Pinkie oughta try out for the rodeo with me when time come ‘round next,” Applejack said, as Pinkie had to have been on that un-black bronco for at least a full minute. Ooze finally managed to get Pinkie off his back, as he bucked her clear across the now 20 yard difference between his and the other four positions, only to watch her land on all fours right behind the said other four mares. “Wanna do it again~!” Pinkie shouted, which only riled the un-black Unicorn further. “I’LL MURDER ALL OF YOU! MURDER YOU UNTIL YOU DIE!” Ooze shouted as he tried to charge the five of them, before he found his hooves affixed where he now stood by very dense ice. “Damn, I figured I would have forgotten one of them,” Ooze grumbled as he tried to use his magic to melt away the ice, finding the going very slow. “To be honest, I forgot about ‘Shy too…” Dash added, looking nervously at the Pegasus who was joined by a pair of ice-constructs. “We’re going to get him back, even if we have to drag him kicking and screaming back to sanity,” Fluttershy said, her face determined, as a hawk made of ice was perched on her head and a hunting dog made of the same growled next to her. With a click of her mouth and a light stamp of her hoof, the hawk flew toward the Nightmare as fast as Rainbow Dash, and the dog charged as hard as Applejack. She took flight and followed in behind the two, long blades made of ice formed in her hooves as she did. “She wouldn’t have that look on her face if she hadn’t settled on her course, I figure that she had to do as much talking to herself as she did conjuring her familiars with Ice Magic,” Twilight figured, as they prepared themselves to intervene if they found they had to. Fluttershy didn’t say anything as she flew in, and swiped one of the blades across the face of Ooze. Ooze merely stood in place, as the dog and the bird retreated to where Fluttershy; the red blood from the cut in his un-black coat making quite the contrast. “You’re not even going to apologize for cutting me? This must be very serious, Miss ‘Shy,” Ooze remarked, as he suddenly came to some sort of realization. “No… I don’t have anything to apologize for to you. When we get Vague back, I can say ‘I’m sorry’ then,” Fluttershy responded as she met the glare of the Nightmare with one of her own. “So it’s like that, isn’t it? Fine, let me see just how deep that determination runs…” Ooze said, as he began to charge his magic, his horn glowing the sickening navy blue glow his whole body did. “HOW DEEP DOES IT RUN, LADIES?! HOW MUCH CAN YOU STAND UNTIL YOU BREAK, JUST LIKE THEY WILL?!” Ooze bellowed so loud the entire area shook, as a few remaining birds flew off. Ooze ceased his charging, as he vaporized his armor, turning it into navy blue fog. Applejack suddenly was stricken with a realization herself. That fog… its just like that poison that he used on the others at the start of all of this! “EVERYONE RUN!” Applejack shouted… much to the glee of Nightmare Ooze. She took out the Antivenom-Pod she had hidden in her mane, hoping this was the break she was looking for. “TOO LATE! ALL OF YOU ARE MINE NOW!” Ooze shouted as the fog billowed out from his person and quickly engulfed all six of the mares. They were all sent coughing and wheezing, their muzzles and capillaries in their nose starting to run the same navy-black color as the poison coursing through the three other Conduits of Terra. “Gotta… get this… to Princess Luna,” Applejack said, trying to use whatever amount of constitution she had left to get the now green-swirling pod to the Princess of the Night. Applejack struggled as she felt the poison rob her of any motor control, the rest of her friends barely able to budge. She used the last of her strength to sling the Antivenom-Pod as far as she could toward Luna, who did not budge one inch, completely frozen with indecision as she watched the same venom afflict the Elements of Harmony where they afflicted the Conduits of Terra. I… if he can find their psychic frequency… he can corrupt the Elements just like he tried to corrupt the Conduits. But if I drop this shield, even for a moment, to readjust it for the Elements, he could snatch the Conduits right out from under me… “What is it going to be Luna?! Your Elements, or my friends?!” Ooze shouted. “All I need is a micro-second, and I’ll have those three screaming mad, just like I am. But if you keep protecting those three, how will your sister react when she has to relive what she did with you, except times six? I wonder where her will to fight will be then, knowing this world is going to die, and she won’t even have the means to counteract it? Wouldn’t that drive her over the edge?!  Wouldn’t that make her fall into the same despair you did, all those years ago Luna?! What will she look like when her fury wants to burn this entire goddamned planet to nothing but a giant ball of ash?! ANSWER ME, LUNA! AN… SWER… ME!” He walked triumphantly toward Luna and the still-prone bodies of his three friends, wanting to soak in the anguish in the face of the Princess of the Night. I don’t have any time left, it won’t take him long to find their hearts… and every second that goes by is another bit of Power he becomes acclimated to… Luna said, as she began to walk toward the Nightmare. ----- "You know Rarity, you have a really good eye for clothes design. I wouldn't have thought a Pony would have picked up on the subtleties of the human figure so fast." "Well, darling, I would say I have a very good eye for detail. I must admit though, I was a bit afraid to incorporate so many neutral colors into my designs. Usually Ponies, especially the ones in Canterlot, like a lot of bright hues and whites. I believe they will appreciate the browns and blacks just as much though." "Canterlot sounds like a major hub for culture. No wonder the Princess had you running the Bureau here in New York." "Yes, I see what you mean now. Although, I wish those people who lived under those glass-like domes would come out more. I don't see why they are so insular." "To be perfectly honest… I don't either…" --- "Ok ok, so maybe when they swing the bat and actually hit something, they could press a little latch that let it drop to the ground…" "Hrm… I think that could work. You know Miss Dash, you see to really want to preserve as much as you can about each sport when translating it for the Converts’ new Pony bodies." "Yeah. I mean, I don't think it's fair we completely change everything if they don't have to be changed, ya know. Also, just call me R.D., we're friends now right?" "Never heard of making friends after two days. Then again, I haven't had to deal with the same people, or Ponies now, this long in a row anywhere but online." "Well, sometimes ya gotta meet face to face before you can form the bond. Or at least that is what Twilight tells me." --- "Oh come on, you really think that show was funny. The writing just seemed kinda, I guess, pedestrian." "For a species that wouldn't think twice of walking everywhere, that seems like a funny incidental joke." "I know, right. Sometimes my best stuff is just stuff that comes out of the clear blue." "When this is all done with, Pinkie, maybe you should write jokes for someone. I figure Equestrians would appreciate stand-up comics a lot more than us over here." "Oh come on now. There is nothing about being a human that means you can't be funny, you just need the right avenue for it!" "Suppose so…" --- "And ya ran off, just like that?" "I know Director Applejack… but my family wouldn't have understood. There's nothing left for me here on Earth… and…" "Alright, first of all, just call me Applejack -- Ah hate those formal titles. Secondly, Ah don't like Ponies or Humans that can't be honest…" "BUT!" "…but that doesn't mean Ah don't understand yer situation. Even though this city is more open-minded than the rest, there are still a lot of Humans that reject our very existence, let alone our presence here. That's why we got the 'no-tell' policy." "Really?" "I don't like it, personally. My deal is being as honest as you can with everyone yer can. But I also know that yer have to know when to say something, and to keep yer trap shut. Ya can call it hypocrisy; ya can call it realism; Ah call it trying my best to help a person or Pony out." "Oh thank you Di… Applejack." "Ah just want ya to promise me one thing. When this hullabaloo starts to die down, or the Humans start to accept us more: please, please come back, find yer parents, and tell them exactly why yer doing this." "I will, and thank you… thank you so much…" --- "Oh thank you, I know it's a bit of trouble for you to make coffee the way I like it. But I really do appreciate it…" "No problem, Fluttershy. I think this place suits you quite well, although I wish…" "You wish what?" "I just wish that my parents and my grandparents generations could have done a better job…" "What do you mean?" "I dunno if the job situation was inevitable with how computers and robots work, but the whole world… it's… it's just so messed up… and it makes me so mad…" "Mad?" "Yeah. I watched the old documentaries. I looked at old picture books and encyclopedias. This area used to be beautiful: crisp blue skies, clear water, thick green trees. Now you're lucky if you can find the color 'green' or 'blue' occurring naturally out there." "I see…" "Although, maybe I should refine my statement… maybe it doesn't make me mad, but more just…" "Just what?" "Extremely sad. We could have done so much, but so many people were selfish before…" "Do you really think it was that many people?" "Huh?" "I think it was just a few people. Although I'm just a Pony with second-hand knowledge, it seems like this world is so damaged because a few people wanted to make as much money as they could without any concern for others. They thought the world was unkind, so that gave them an excuse to be unkind themselves. Even if this world isn't fair… or this world isn't kind… that doesn't mean you can be unkind too." "Heh, you're right. I wish we had more people like you years ago, Fluttershy." "If I can be a little selfish, I wouldn't mind getting a few more Ponies like you…" --- "These networks, these designs, these… these… everything!" "Huh, what is it Twilight?" "Your science. It's amazing… so many theories, so many calculations… it's… it's a magic all on its own!" "Hrm, that's a funny way to look at it when you say it out loud. But now that I think about it a bit, I guess our science is a magic." "Andre, just think about it… once we get our magic and your science together. It… it could change both worlds forever!" "Always thinking big, huh Twilight." "I have to, it's what I do!" --- “Help… them…” Storm said, with total lack of strength in his voice. “Someone… coming…” Blaze added, as she rolled onto her back, her mental stress evident as her element was dull red and starting to crack. “We’ll… be fine…” Hana added as well, as she looked through the dome at her coltfriend that was laughing in apparent victorious triumph. Who? Who is… wait… two sources… two strong ones… both… Dragons… Oh my… Luna started to scramble before her mind settled down, locking onto the two pulses of life that were making a beeline straight for their location. “DYNAMITE KICK!” Luna heard a loud, full-throated masculine voice shout, as a purple blur came streaking out of the sky. It landed square on Ooze’s neck and chest, causing an explosion of fire-aligned mana as it did. The Nightmare was sent screaming and rolling backwards, quite a ways away from both the Elements and the Conduits. Luna looked on as she watched the figure that emerged from the smoke, that five foot tall, purple-scaled and lime-green-ridged masculine figure. The figure that was going to buy her enough time to get the other nine Ponies back into the proverbial fight. “SPIKE! Oh by the Cosmos, Spike I am SO glad you are with us!” Luna shouted as she found herself torn between maintaining the dome around the three Conduits and tackling Spike to the ground in a warm hug. “I wish you were that affectionate in your words toward me, Miss Lunar Princess,” Rosethorn added as she manifested in a far less… dynamic fashion, standing next to the dome. “Well, when you bail me out of a mental logjam like your student just did, then I will greet you with all the warmth my soul can muster,” Luna replied with a wry smile, one returned by the rose-scaled dragoness. “Hey um… Luna… what's up with this green glowing fruit… and why is everyone knocked out on their flanks, I thought you all were engaged with the crazy Vague knockoff?!” Spike shouted as he held up the undamaged, still-forest-green-glowing fruit. “THE ANTIVENOM-POD, QUICK SPIKE, THROW IT HERE!” Luna shouted, hoping Ooze was still out of commission long enough for her to drip the juice into all nine of their mouths. “NO YOU DON’T!” Ooze shouted as he rammed into Spike, causing the fruit to fly into the air. “I’ll SMASH THAT THING INTO PULP!” But before Ooze could focus on the fruit to pulverize it, he was punched clean in the face by the suddenly viciously angry purple dragon. “I AM NOT LETTING YOU HURT THEM ANYMORE!” Spike shouted as he quickly turned the Nightmare over and began wailing on him, before he did, he threw the pod in the general direction of Rosethorn and Luna. Rosethorn, realizing what Luna meant by ‘anti-venom’ in the few moments she was manifest on Earth, caught the fruit – taking care not to puncture it with her claws. “Alright, Luna, now why is this so important?” Rosethorn said, as Spike and Ooze were still struggling with each other. “You’ll see…” Luna said, as she took the fruit in her telekinetic grip, made a small incision, and dripped the antivenom into the mouths of the gasping three Conduits of Terra. Within moments, the black veins began to disappear, as the magically created anti-venom rushed through the systems of the three Ponies, restoring them to general health. “It will be a few moments still before they fully come to. If you would be so kind, Miss Rose?” Luna noted, as she drifted the fruit over to Rosethorn. “May as well, Spike seems to be… occupying that that thing well enough,” Rosethorn said, as the dragon and the Unicorn continued to tussle physically on the ground some distance away.                  Golden Storm was the first to regain full consciousness, followed by Midori Hana and Red Blaze. “Ok, so what happened while we were knocked out?” Storm asked as he looked over at the purple dragon who was suplexing the un-black Unicorn; and then the un-black Unicorn responding with a blast of acid spray, sending the purple dragon screaming back toward them. “Itburnsitburnsitburns!” Spike shouted as he was trying, and failing, to ignore the pain caused by his chemically scorched scales. “White salve in the travelling case, apply liberally to the affected area,” Rosethorn reported, as she snapped her claws. Suddenly a large travelling case manifested near where Luna and the Conduits were standing. “Better… lot better,” Spike said, a lot more calm as the salve neutralized the acid and healed the damaged scales. “Well, that for one; for another thing, the Bearers were poisoned much like you. It’d be best if you could occupy the Nightmare until the rose-red dragoness there can get them the anti-venom,” Luna replied, as her tone implied she was regaining control of the situation. “On it,” Hana said as she bolted straight for Ooze. “Lovely, enough of that distraction, now back to doing something about…” Ooze started before she was interrupted by a frantic grass-green Earth Pony. “Givehimbackgivehimbackgivehimback GIVE HIM BACK!” said Earth Pony shouted, as she launched herself up and into Ooze like a living wrecking ball. She landed on one rear-hoof, her other three free as she quickly transitioned into rapid hoof-strikes with her free front-hooves. She then whipped herself around, letting the other free rear-hoof swing through in a wide crescent kick, which caught Ooze square in his jaw. “Damn, girl… if I knew you wanted to play rough, I would have started sooner!” Ooze said as he whipped Hana away with a gel-tendril, which only served to rile up Hana even more. “NOT HARD ENOUGH!” Hana shouted in response, as she swung her hoof, along with a large and hardened clump of earth across his face. “YOU HIT LIKE A WOMAN!” Ooze shouted as slapped her away again. “YOU HIT LIKE A PARAPLEGIC CHILD!” Hana shouted as she ran up and slapped him again, this time with a hoof covered in stone. “Is this combat or is this some kind of lover’s quarrel?” Rosethorn asked, noting how Hana and the Nightmare appeared to be far too familiar with each other. “Good chance that it’s both…” Luna responded. “May as well be on my way then, since Ooze wouldn’t know any better at the moment,” Rosethorn said, as she cloaked herself with one of Silentclaw’s camouflage spells, and snuck over to the prone bodies of the Elements of Harmony. Ooze tried to take one more swing at the Earth Pony, but swung right over top of her, as she had dropped all the way to the ground. She then slammed the ground as best as she could, with her hooves glowing green with her Earth Magic. And not but a beat afterward, a giant fist rose from the ground, uppercutting the Nightmare and sending him flying away from everyone, straight into the encroaching Gulf. “Never get in the way of a mare trying to get back to her stallion…” Luna thought aloud, as she watched the Elements of Harmony slowly come to, thanks to Rosethorn. --- “So where is that Ooze thing now?” Spike asked, as he looked back over the Gulf, the slightly woozy Twilight walking toward him. “Feels like my lungs are still burning, even thought that poison isn’t in me…” Twilight said, as she was still coughing. “Could be the kerosene that is still along the surface of the water, or something like that,” Hana replied, as now all nine of the Ponies and the one Dragon stood by the water’s edge. “Yo, my question?” Spike asked again, before feeling a rumbling as the water began to roil. “There’s yer answer!” Applejack said, as she and the others staggered back from the shore. What they witnessed was a truly titanic snake emerging from water. Colored in the same un-black, navy, and blue of Nightmare Ooze, whose torso, front legs, and body were attached to the body – now resembling a Naga that had a half-Pony instead of a half-Human body. “I’m SOOOO MAD!” Ooze shouted in a warped voice. “I tried to give you all eternal life in service to my master, but you all rejected me! EVERYONE rejects me! I’m tired of being rejected! I AM NOT A REJECT! I AM NOT A FAILURE!” “Master? Reject? What is that thing yammering about now?” Spike asked, deeply confused by what was going on with the false Vague. “Long story, explain later, but right now we figure out what to do with that thing!” Storm replied. ----- “Not a reject! Not a reject! Not a reject! Not a reject!” the duplicate of Vague shouted in his soul-scape, as he felt his control on Vague becoming more tenuous, even as his overall strength continued to grow. “YOU’LL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN,” the duplicate said as it laughed insanely. “ALL YOU WILL EVER SEE IS ETERNAL DARKNESS, EXISTING BECAUSE ALL YOU ARE IS A SLAVE TO THE VOID!” The crystal that held Vague’s full soul was beginning to crack, unbeknownst to the creature on the surface. ----- Sister, I can feel Blue Vague’s soul… but it is still mostly sealed by the Parasite. If we can stress that thing more, it crack open wide enough for us to get through to him… Celestia told her sister, as she kept a part of her vast consciousness monitoring the fight near old New Orleans. Us? Does that mean? Luna started before she was interrupted by a masculine voice. Yes, your doctors have restored me back to good health. Please, help my son return to good health as well… Andrew implored the Princess of the Night. I will do all within my power to; you have my sworn word… ----- “Then I guess it is time?” Storm asked of his two compatriots. “Yes, it does look like its time,” Blaze replied. “I’m not stopping until Ao-chan is back with us,” Hana replied as well. The three began to concentrate all of their might in forging a pathway from the Astral Realm to the Physical. “Golden Dragon of the Swift Winds!” Storm shouted. “Crimson Phoenix of the Burning Flames!” Blaze added. “Verdant Tiger of the Grand Mountains!” Hana completed. The ground began to quake, a plume of mystic flames erupted ground the ground, and the skies darkened as storm clouds appeared out of nowhere. Over the dilapidated road leading to the site of the battle, a giant tiger, in all shades and tints of green, raced and roared as it approached. A crimson and gold phoenix coalesced from the flames erupting from the fissure in the ground, which disappeared as soon as they appeared. And finally, a long, snake like and winged dragon descended from the storm-clouds, body gold, silver, and bronze as if it were sculpted from metal instead of a pseudo-living being. “Woah! I hadn’t seen them this detailed before!” Spike said, as he looked at the grand creatures, each easily reaching 15’ tall, and in the Dragon’s case, at least 30’ long. “Good of you to join us Viento Dragón,” Storm said, as he waved at his Astral Beast. “It’s good to be back in a physical plane, though I wish all four of us could be here…” Viento said, as he looked at Plama and Taizan with a bit of concern; and then and Ooze with grave anger. “YOU! You! You kept them from falling to the Poison didn’t you! Ruining my plans. Ma… Maaaaa… Making me ALONE! HATE, HATE BEING ALONE!” Ooze shouted, as it was clear that he was starting to slip from psychopathy into outright mania. “We have to be careful, Ooze before was a bad colt, but at least he had some kind of logic. That giant Naga looks like it’s ready to completely lose it at any moment!” Pinkie said as she began to steel herself. “I’m never going to be alone; I’ll never be alone again. I’m going to keep him forever… FOREVER!” the Naga-Unicorn shouted, as he spat poisonous sludge all along the shoreline where the twelve were standing. “Ugh, that thing is very annoying… and what is it going on about ‘keeping him forever’?” Rosethorn wondered aloud as she and Luna used a barrier to block or neutralize the acid around them. “That thing is all of the Conduit of Water’s pent up rage, frustration, hate, fear, and probably lust as well, given how he was yelling at the Conduit of Earth earlier…” Luna surmised for Rosethorn. “And that is what happens when a Pony’s emotions go out of control?” Rosethorn asked. “When they are amplified by some kind of Parasite that feeds on a soul’s darkness, yes it does appear so,” Luna replied back. “I would, really, really love to interview the two of you when this is all said and done,” Rosethorn stated, not letting a scholastic opportunity go to waste. Yet another that’s like Twilight, I swear… Luna inwardly groaned as she re-focused on the monster past the shoreline.         Viento, Plama, and Taizan, moved out, Taizan running along the surface of the water (benefitting from not being a material creature) and the other two flying through the air. “Where is Torra? Where is that turtle bastard?!” Ooze asked, as he saw the red, gold, and green glowing creatures racing toward him. “He’ll be here soon enough, trust us!” Taizan shouted, as she roared and ripped through the side of Ooze’s snake body with her long, en-stoned claws. “NO! He’s GONE! GONE FOREVER! I MADE HIM DISAPPEAR! He tried to take Vague from me… so he went away! WENT AWAY FOREVER!” Ooze shouted, as he regenerated the lost flesh and grabbed Taizan with his hooves, then throwing her into Plama, causing them to crash below the surface of the water. “Plama! Taizan!” Blaze and Hana shouted as Viento continued on alone. “We’re fine! It’ll take more than that to make us dissipate…” Plama responded as she and Taizan righted themselves. “You are an IDIOT! Torra-Boros was with us on the Astral Plane, recovering from the injury you inflicted to it. The very fact that you are so possessive of Blue Vague’s soul is what is ensuring he will be at full strength soon enough!” Viento shouted back, as he blasted Ooze with hyper-compressed air cannonballs. “NO, GO AWAY! YOU LIE! TURTLE IS DEAD!” Ooze retorted, as he returned fire with compressed water, which caused Viento to ‘stumble’ in the air and drag along the water’s surface. “What’s going on, he’s not making any sense. If Vague’s soul is still in-tact, then unless there is some really big baddie on the other side, then Torra would still be kicking… or would it be flipping,” Pinkie wondered aloud. “That tells me that Nightmare Ooze is at the end of his rope. He is so incredibly frustrated at not being able to corrupt any of you all that he is now desperate to hold on to Vague’s soul as a tether. To what end I cannot imagine, however,” Luna concluded, looking at the formerly calm Nightmare become more and more frenetic the more it was pressured. He needs to draw off Conduit of Water’s power in order to sustain itself. And yet, the more it does, the more unstable the seal he placed on his consciousness becomes. That is why he tried to poison and brainwash the others during the start of your engagement… Gaea reported to Luna, as she finally saw a reason to offer her opinion. I do not mean to sound presumptuous… but where in the Blue Tatarus were you during this ENTIRE affair?! Luna responded, not at all pleased that Gaea was only now speaking to either herself or her sister. To be honest, I had no reason to speak before now. I had the confidence that Blue Vague, no matter how far he fell, would not give himself over to The Void. That is the only way that he would succumb permanently to the Nightmare Parasites, as you would call them… Gaea stated with the utmost confidence in her voice. While we do have much to discuss at a later date, I would surmise that since the Nightmare needs its host’s source of Power, that if we can break the seal it placed on his consciousness, that will give us the opportunity to purge the darkness from his body and soul… Luna responded, holding her frustration for Gaea’s standoff-ish-ness until later. Yes, once that seal is broken, his power will flow freely, causing the Nightmare to lose its grip. Once that happens, you can use the Elements of Harmony to neutralize the darkness, and restore Vague to his original state. But be forewarned, much like yourself, he will retain all the psychological scars that were inflicted to bring him low to begin with… Gaea replied. Yes, I figured as much… Luna concluded. “We have to find a way to break the grip he has on Vague’s soul. Once that happens, he’ll lose total integrity, and we can purify him with the Elements of Harmony!” Luna stated aloud, for the rest of the gathering. “HIS WATER MANA… it’s starting to leak out!” Spike said, his body sensing a deep source of untainted Water Magic emanating from the giant Naga-Unicorn. “Wait, are you serious… I can’t pick up anything…” Twilight responded, not being able to sense it either. “I can practically smell it. It doesn’t smell like that poison that Ooze is made out of… that might mean that Ooze’s grip is starting to loosen,” Spike replied, the scent of fresh spring water wafting to the air, at least to Rosethorn and himself. It’s amazing how much he has improved in this short amount of time… he will become an incredible magus if he truly sets his heart to it… Rosethorn thought, as she marveled at the promise Spike was already showing despite his lack of formal training. “Viento, everyone, keep hitting Ooze as hard as you can… we’re gonna break Vague out of there!” Storm shouted to his Astral dragon. “You heard the boss, ladies,” Viento said, as he and the other two Astral Beasts redoubled their assault on the giant Naga-Unicorn. “STOPIT! YOU ARE GONNA BREAK HIM! NO BREAK! NO BREAK! NO BREAK!” Ooze shouted, as he tried to evade the relentless assault, but the constant pounding of stone, wind, and flame was steadily causing just what he complained of to happen to Vague, or more precisely, Vague’s seal. “NO MORE, MAKE ALL GO AWAY! MAKE ALL GO AWAY!” the (even more) berserk Naga-Unicorn shouted, as a blue glow began to waft from its form. But it was not the navy of the tainted mana that formed him to start, no, it was the pure blue of true Water Mana. “If I ever doubt your nose again, please tell me not to…” Twilight said sheepishly as she apologized to Spike. “You know I will,” Spike chuckled as he accepted the apology. “But that must mean… whatever Ooze is doing to keep Vague with him, must be starting to backfire,” Fluttershy surmised, as she was now witnessing what Luna relayed to the rest of them from Gaea. “Like a clingy, jealous marefriend trying to hold on to her stallion. The tighter she tries to latch on, the more eager he is to get away,” Rarity concluded, in a way only she could. Applejack raised her hoof as if to argue, but decided not to, since, aside from flipping a gender, she was entirely correct. “STOP! NO LET GO! NO LET GO!” Ooze shouted, his voice sounding more and more frantic as he thrashed around, trying to keep the beasts from constantly belting him with attacks. ----- “I… I can hear them… but they sound so faint. But I have to reach them… I have to… I have to do whatever I can to reach them, and free myself from this prison of my own making…” Vague said, as he began to stir within his rapidly cracking crystalline confinement. ----- “NEVER LET HIM GO! NEVER! NEVER!” Ooze shouted, as more snake heads began to form from the loose mana that was gathering around all of them. “All of this energy. This power is amazing, frightening, wondrous… like every emotion at once…” Rosethorn said, as she could feel and smell the air being electrified by the combined mana swirling around the entire battlefield. “I thought the same when the Conduits first demonstrated it to myself and Princess Celestia, it is very much a terrifying and awe-inspiring power – a double-edged sword if I ever saw one,” Luna responded. By the time Ooze was done, his main snake body was surrounded by seven other navy-blue and un-black snake heads, now resembling another beast of myth. “Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight-headed snake of legend. A being a utter chaos, a monster that devoured maidens until it was finally slain by Susano-O,” Hana said, as Taizan and the others continued to assault the body. Thought now they found such a feat difficult due to the frenetic nature of the extra heads and trunks Ooze had spawned. “DEVOUR, EAT, SMASH, DESTROY!” Ooze shouted, his eyes wild with frenzy. His grip on his original mission now completely lost, as he was practically drunk on the incredible power he was summoning to form his Orochi-like body. ----- Poor Number 320394. It tried so hard. But in the end, became so desperate to stay in reality, it began to consume the light, thus disrupting its darkness. We can never have the light. We only consume and destroy. Such is our fate… isn’t it… Master? ----- “DESTROY! KILL! DEVOUR! CONSUME!” the (further) berserked hybrid creature bellowed, as it tried to fill everything with its darkness, but only could stretch it out so far. “It must be on its last legs… LADIES!” Twilight shouted, as she suddenly had an idea. “Use the Elements and this ambient Power, we can confuse those heads so badly we might be able to shatter… whatever the thing is Ooze is using to hold the rest of Vague!” The other Elements of Harmony fanned out from where they were all standing, until they all formed a rather wide, 100 degree arc around the shore, all pointing in at Ooze. “DEVOUR! EAT ALL ENEMIES! KILL! CRUSH! DESTROY!” Ooze shouted, as it flailed around wildly, trying to destroy the Astral Beasts, but now barely connecting with any of its attacks. “Alright fillies! LET HIM HAVE IT!” Twilight shouted, as she channeled as much Water Magic as she could through her Element, turning into Shadow Magic. The purple blast raced out and pummeled one of the snake heads, causing it to gesticulate wildly as the Shadow Magic smoke wafted around it. Another blast of bluish-off-white hit from Rarity, the periwinkle from Rainbow Dash, the forest green from Applejack, the silver-gray from Pinkie Pie, and the aquamarine from Fluttershy all hit soon after. Only one other head was left unaccounted for. “Seeing as I haven’t done anything awesome in the last little while,” Spike said, his confidence brimming as he felt energized by all the mana around him. He huffed, and puffed for a few moments, letting his internal flame build, and build, and build until… “Dragonfire Burst!” the drake-in-a-dragon’s body shouted, as a long stream of pure, emerald green dragonfire raced out to hit the seventh of the snake heads. “STOP IT! NO BE ALONE! NO BE ALONE AGAIN!” Ooze shouted, as a huge cracking sound resounded over the whole battlefield area. “I think whatever we were supposed to break just broke,” Spike figured, as he felt a rush of pure Water Mana surging out from the body of degenerating Orochi-like Ooze. “NO! NOO! NOOOOOO!” the monster shouted, as blue light began to emerge from its body, along with a very familiar face. “Torra? Torra-Borous is that you?!” Storm shouted at the turtle-like creature that was almost literally clawing its way out of the body of the multi-headed snake creature. “Yes, my master is currently extricating himself from this monster’s control; you will see what I mean before long,” the well-spoken, giant, turtle-like creature replied, as it fully emerged into real-space. ----- “I… where…” Blue Vague said, as he looked around his soul-scape. Or at least what he thought was his soul-scape. “You were buried, or you could say ‘drowned’, within the depths of your own Power, Conduit of Water,” Princess Celestia said, her voice as warm as the first rays of the sun after a long and cold night. “So that is what they call you now, Andre?” Andrew added, feeling well as he was talking to his son for the first time, at least earnestly, in years. “D-Dad? You’re still alive! Dad?!” Andre responded, not sure what to think of what was going on. “Yes, still alive and still human thanks to the work of all the doctors, both Human and Pony, here at this place you call Safe Haven. A very pertinent name I might add, given what is going on in the world,” Andrew responded. “I’m so sorry, Dad! I didn’t know what to do, what to think… and if it weren’t for my friends, for the Princesses… I… I could have ended it all… I could have…” Andre began to fret, his voice showing the wounds that were still fresh in his heart. “But you aren’t, Vague, and that is what matters. However, Twilight and the others still have not quenched the darkness that the creature that invaded your heart had filled it with. Until that happens, you can easily relapse,” Princess Celestia said, her warm tone becoming very serious. “I… I don’t know what… no wait… I know exactly what to do,” Blue Vague said, his trepidation beginning to morph into determination again. “What are you going to do, son?” Andrew asked of Vague, not sure what all of this talk of darkness meant. “If my soul had been polluted by darkness, then what I need is light to purify it. And if my thinking is correct, it will apply to her as well…” Vague said, as he began to swim back to the top of the plunge-pool. “I believe I know who this female is you speak of, but are you sure you want to keep her around?” Celestia asked, figuring what Vague was driving at. “Yes, Princess. She is a piece of me. A piece I formed subconsciously when that… whatever it is… wormed its way into my heart to start with,” Vague said, as he could see the multi-colored light that was his guide to the top of the pool. “You will make time to explain this whole incident in fuller detail, right son?” Andrew asked, still confused as to what the two Ponies were talking about. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll go through the whole thing, start to finish, but first, let me deal with a little hanger-on of mine,” Vague said as he reached the top of the pool.         The blue Unicorn pulled himself out of the water of the plunge-pool to the waterfall, only to be greeted by a very strange sight. His entire soul-scape looked like some kind of abstract painting now… the trees were melting into each other, the waterfall appeared to be flowing upward, and there were lights in every color except blue shining, including the one light in the apparent center of the sky which swirled in every color of Terran Magic that he and his nine friends had found so far. “Seems like there was one hell of a battle outside, and probably one inside,” Vague said, as he searched all around. “I don’t want to be alone again. Don’t let them take me away. I don’t wanna be alone again. I don’t wanna be alone again,” he heard from his female duplicate, her entire being lashed to the ground by what looked like some kind of slime; the slime the same shade of blue as his untainted Water Magic. Thanks, Torra… this will make things a lot easier… Had to leave a little parting gift for you before I left for the Physical Plane… “So, little missy, what do you have to say for yourself now,” Vague started, as he looked at his ‘female self’ that was stuck in the slime on the ground. “I don’t wanna be alone again. I don’t wanna go away. I’ll just be floating in the aether, forever alone…” the duplicate cried, the feeling of defeat and impending isolation too much for her. “While I don’t want you to go away, I have to destroy the darkness that you filled my soul with; otherwise I’ll never be free of that monster’s influence,” Vague said as he sat on the ground in front of her. “You destroy the darkness, you destroy me,” the duplicate said, as she made the most whining puppy-like eyes she could manage. “You represent my darkness now, but really… I think you’re just my Id. You’re my uncontrolled, unrefined, unfiltered Id. Every scrap of anger, hurt, fear, lust, greed… all of it. And that makes you a part of me ultimately… a part that I need to confront… a part I need to understand,” Vague said, as he looked into the eyes of the duplicate, that had returned to being like his own, instead of being like a snake’s. “The light… it scares me. The light destroys the darkness. It eradicates it. Where there is no light… there is darkness; where there is light… there is no darkness,” the duplicate said, her fear palpable to Vague. Vague inched closer, and every inch he crept, the duplicate would writhe trying to get away from him, not caring that her bindings prevented any such significant movement. “So… do you see me as light or dark?” Vague asked. “I… I don’t know… you had so much darkness… but now you are filled with so much light…” the duplicate responded. Vague looked around, as blue points of light began to form in the sky, showing his power was returning to its original state. She’s right… all I could feel before was this oppressive darkness, this evil… and now… I feel what I felt before while I was here… a power that was neither light nor dark… just simply was… “What if I told you it was neither… we’re neither the light nor the dark, we just simply were,” Vague said, as he stared up at the points of blue light starting to grow brighter and brighter. “But… everything is light or dark…” the duplicate replied, confused by the concept of something that wasn’t Creation or Void. “If you stay with me… I’ll show you that light and dark is not all that the world is, there are many bits of twilight in between,” Vague said… before chuckling at the unintentional pun. Oh she’d kill me if I ever let that line slip in her earshot…  “I… I…” the duplicate said… still confused by what was happening. ----- “Need… I can’t… I can’t…” Ooze said, as he drug himself from the water… trying to escape the eyes of those accursed beings of light that surrounded him. “Where do you think you’re going, hotshot?” Spike said, as he stared at the off-blue Unicorn, now looking more like Blue Vague originally did post-conversion, except with some type of darkening filter over his being. “Stop… I… don’t…” Ooze said, before he felt four ropes bind his hooves to the ground, each one a different, bold color. “Sorry, Ooze, you’re not getting away until my Master has his body back in full,” Torra-Borous said, as the four Beasts surrounded the dramatically weakened Nightmare. “I… can’t… lose… not like this…” Nightmare Ooze said; his voice now raspy, his body weak, and his corrupted magic nonexistent. “It’s over, Ooze. You lose…” Pinkie said, as the rest of the Elements of Harmony caught up with the purple dragon and the Astral Beasts. “That light, that accursed light! My Master… he’ll come back… he’ll come back and devour everything… magic, light, matter… it’s all nothing but food to feed his insatiable hunger!” Ooze shouted, coughing all the while. “Then let him come. Regardless to what threat this world faces, we will stand ready to turn back and defeat it!” Princess Luna stated resolutely. This world is going to need more than your Ponies though… and the dynamic status of these Converts… I have oh so much to discuss with Princess Celestia when the time comes… Rosethorn thought, as the wheels began turning in her head. “Ready to put an end to this farce of a Pony, everyone?!” Twilight shouted as she asked. “Ready!” the other five Elements of Harmony replied. “NO! NOT THE LIGHT! NOT THE LIGHT!” Ooze shouted, as he stared non-existence right in the face. Twilight loosed the core of the blast first, which was followed by each of the other Element of Harmony. The streams of Magic swirled and mixed until they became a veritable rainbow, a rainbow set to finally purge Vague of the darkness that infested him. “NOOOOOOOOO!” Ooze shouted as he was engulfed in the Rainbow of Light. ----- “IT HURTS, VAGUE IT HURTS SO MUCH!” Vague’s duplicate screamed, as the un-black that made up much of her coat burned away. “Don’t worry… it’ll be over and done with soon… then we can figure out what to do from there!” Vague responded, not feeling any burn, but still feeling out of breath from the sheer force of the Rainbow’s power. ----- Twilight looked up as she saw what appeared to be black smoke burning away from Vague’s purifying body. As she did, she and the others could swear they heard a faint, high-pitched scream of anguish. “IT BURNS! THE LIGHT! IT BURNS US! YOU WILL PAY! ALL OF YOU WILL PAAAAAYYYyyyy~!” ----- “I… I’m still here?” Vague’s duplicate asked… her coat now the exact same shade of blue, her cutie mark now exactly the same as Vague’s. In short, she now looked like an exact clone of Blue Vague, save for being the opposite sex. “Like I said… you are a part of me… my Id, or at least one manifestation of it… we’ll talk later… but…” Blue Vague said… before he grabbed the duplicate by the head. “Wait, Vague! What are you dooooiiiingggg~” the duplicate shouted, before she felt her entire body shift in shape. “My head, my rules…” Blue Vague started, as his entire soul-scape reverted all the way back to the way it was when he first found her, right down to the exact placements of each and every stone in the path leading up to the plunge-pool of the waterfall. “Since you wanted to be snake-in-the-grass, or rather a snake-in-the-trees, that’s exactly what you are going to look like for the time being.” The duplicates body elongated and turned scaly, as she was stretched and thinned until she was completely limbless and tubular. A few more moments later, she resembled a cross between a king cobra and a pit viper, the only difference between the actual snakes was the shock of cobalt and blue hair that ran down the crown of her head and the hood along her neck. “THIS ISN’T FUNNY, VAGUE!” the duplicate shouted as she tried to reorient herself, much of her body on the ground while she tried to rare back to match Vague in height. “What’s wrong Venome, thought you’d feel a little nostalgic for that form,” Vague chuckled, as he whistled toward the plunge-pool. “Venome? You’ve named her already? You work fast, Master,” Torra-Borous said, as he looked on at the scene of the struggling hybrid-snake and the still chuckling Pony that was his creator. “Make him stoooop! I thought we were supposed to be twins!” Venome pleaded, as Vague grabbed her in his telekinetic aura. “For the most part, yes. But I have some serious things I have to discuss with the Princesses and my friends, and I really don’t need you riding shotgun. So… you can sit in the Astral Plane with Torra-Borous until I’m done,” Vague said, as he disintegrated Venome’s form, and added it to the form of Torra-Borous. When Venome opened her now snake’s eyes again, she found herself bound to the body of the Astral Beast that called Vague his master. Her body was fully fused to the core of Torra-Borous, and her scales alternated in a navy, cerulean, and true blue pattern, much like her new host’s did. “But… I… why… I thought…” Venome stammered, as she raised her hooded head up, looking back and forth between the smirking Pony, and the smirking turtle-like creature she was now bound to. “Consider it a small measure of payback for the utter hell you put me through these last few months. I could do a lot worse to you, but if I am going to be serious about reconciling the root of all those negative feelings I’ve had over my lifetime, I can’t start by torturing the thing that tried to feed off of them. Well I could, but I won’t. And besides, you’ll love conversing with Torra-Borous, he’s just as long-winded as me! Now bye-bye you two,” Vague said as Torra-Borous sunk back into the plunge-pool to return to his place on the Astral Plane. “Wait… VAGUE! I’LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS! I SWEAR TO EVERYTHING I’LL FIND SOME WAY TO GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!” Venome shouted as she sunk into the pool with her new ‘partner’. ----- Soon after, there was naught but silence, aside from the heavy breathing of all involved, including a young colt sized, cobalt-blue-and-white maned, ‘electric’ blue coated Unicorn. “Wha… what happened? And why is my voice a whole octave off?” “Oh dear… it’s just like three years ago…” Rarity mused, forgetting what generally happened to Ponies who were turned into Nightmares, but then fully purified – at least form the two cases she could recall. Everyone crowded around the colt-sized Conduit of Water, trying to figure out if this was going to happen every time they had to purify somepony. Though one mare in particular just seemed to… quiver. “Um… Hana… are you alright…” Blaze asked of the grass-green mare, who seemed to be mumbling something to herself. “He’s… he’s… he’s…” “He’s what, Hana?” Applejack asked, confused by the mannerisms of the other Earth Pony. “HE’S SO ADORABLE!” Hana squealed as she wrapped her hooves around the reduced form of her coltfriend. “OW OW OW! I’m not a plush doll!” Vague squealed in agony as Hana had forgotten the relative difference in strength and constitution between an adult Earth Pony and a juvenile Unicorn. “MMMM BUT YOU’RE EVEN CUTER THAN ONE!” Hana cooed as she held Vague and a veritable vice-grip. “Someone get this crazy mare to let go of me before she breaks my ribcage,” Vague whined as he struggled to get out and away from his ga-ga marefriend. “Now that this whole fiasco is finally done with, let’s get out while the getting is good. I cannot expect the S.P.H. to stay away from this place for too much longer,” Princess Luna said, the rest of the world’s problems starting to creep back into the forefront of her mind. Rosethorn nodded. “Yes, I have some things I’d like to discuss with you and your Sister when you two have less… frenetic moments.”  == An hour or so later, at Safe Haven == All twelve that were in or overseeing the pitch battle outside of the former New Orleans were now back safe and sound at Safe Haven. Luna sighed as she took a drink from a water bottle gripped in her aura, as she walked along a hallway with Rosethorn; a pairing that got many a stare as neither Human nor Pony were used to seeing a Dragon aside from Spike. "I wish to continue this discussion at a later time. I really need to draw myself a long bath to soak in for about 72 hours consecutively." She would not get the chance for her bath though, as warning klaxons began to sound all through the lobby. "OH MY GOD! THEY DIDN'T FIND THE FACILITY THIS FAST DID THEY?!" Red Blaze shouted, startled as anyone else. "No, but this is a severe problem," Celestia said, hoping that nothing else would happen this day. A man still wearing his military uniform ran up with a report from the communication room. "Princess Celestia, Ma'am. A report has come in from the Moscow Bureau. They are beginning to breach the building itself. The Royal Guard and civilian Ponies have withdrawn into the secure laboratories underneath." "Ugh, that is the tenth one today…" Celestia said, cursing her ill luck so far. "Celestia, this news is horrible! At this rate, we could lose nearly 700 civilian Ponies and 100 Royal Guard Unicorns!" Luna responded with utter shock, almost slinging her water bottle at a Pony volunteer that was walking the other direction behind her in the hall. "There are no clients, volunteers, nor allied military personnel in any of the Bureaus themselves though… which leaves us with one option," Celestia said, her ethereal mane covering her eyes. Capt. Rodriguez, who was walking up while he heard the conversation from another hall, could figure where Celestia was going with this. "Complete Withdrawal. Everyone goes to ground. Salt the Earth. They get nothing of our tech." Twilight began to figure what the implication were though. "Princess Celestia. Although it is probably the only option we have left, it would look like nothing less than us completely caving in. For obvious reasons, the rest of the public doesn't know of Safe Haven, so it'll just look like we're running back to Equestria with our tails between our legs." Celestia turned around for a few moments to collect her thoughts, she did not want leave the humans who'd want to leave the rule of the SPH high and dry. At the same time, there was no presence, no way to fight back against the SPH on a wide enough scale, at least not now. "I've come to a decision," Princess Celestia, Avatar of the Sun, Co-Ruler of Equestria stated. "Tell every Royal Guard and technician Pony to open the Gates to Equestria. Everypony in the Bureaus in the Americas, Asia, and Oceania are to head for Manehatten. Every other Bureau is to head for Canterlot. Any humans not allied with the SPH found in the Bureaus is to be given an ultimatum: be relocated here and processed, leave with the SPH, or Convert and relocate to Equestria immediately. All Stocks of Conversion Serum are also to be moved, and all gates are to be left open for ten minutes after the last Pony leaves. This is an order, and I will not have slacking, every moment is precious." "Understood Princess Celestia." Capt. Rodriguez and a couple of communications Ponies and HEA volunteers replied as they ran back to the Communications Bay. "I would have never guessed the situation on Earth to be so dire, Princess Celestia," Rosethorn said, showing genuine concern for the Equestrian Princesses. Celestia continued to curse her ill luck and failures of foresight. "I'm afraid I've completely underestimated the depths to which those who profess to be the Elites of this world would go to retain their position." Rosethorn placed a clawed hand on Celestia's shoulder, and offered a few words. "Princess, I would not profess to have some grand knowledge that could immediately fix things. Instead, you need time. We all will need time. And I believe you will need to consult the other Kingdoms and Nations for advice. These Humans appear to be an amalgamation of all of our ideologies and tendencies. Of course, there may be some concessions that have to be made in order to gain everyone's support." Celestia looked at Rosethorn with some disdain, before finally acceding to her ideas. "I see. Perhaps I might have gotten somewhat greedy or naive in thinking that I could swoop in, and just 'fix' things with a few nice words and a cure-all potion. This world is deeply scarred, both physically and spiritually." Luna trotted over to her sister, and looked her in her eyes. She was looking for a sign of weakness, a sign that she was conceding. She was thankful when she didn't find that sign. "I'm afraid we are left without a choice. If we are to truly accomplish our goals, we're going to have to stomp on some toes to get it, though I do not imply instigating some kind of wider conflict. At the same time, if we have to meet force with force to hold onto our position, we will have to consider long and hard doing so." Celestia sighed, as she looked up and out at the mountain vista. She thought of how beautiful it would have looked even a few decades ago. If only we had gotten here sooner… it would not have come to this… but I'm afraid if we are truly to fix this world… we will have to take a far more forward stance ourselves… "Luna -- your, the Conduits of Terra, and the Bearers of Harmony begin informing everyone that I will be making a formal address to all residents of Safe Haven two hours after the evacuations of every Bureau is complete. I want everyone on the ready for any breaking news until then." "Yes, Sister. We all understand," Luna replied, as she and the other Unicorns teleported out of the lobby; the Pegasi and Earth Ponies also taking off to notify anyone they came across. [ July 10, 2081 @ 9:00 PM EST -- Location Unknown ] ===================================================         All across the world, people living outside of the Domes were milling about outside far more than usual. They found the now all-too familiar black vans constructing various screens and projectors. In the fighting, many of the power transmission vectors were damaged, so power was even more spotty than usual. Nevertheless, the SPH felt that this message was so important, they would spend money(!) in order for everyone to hear it, by whatever means they could manage. "Today is a glorious day for humanity. The alien threat known as the Kingdom of Equestria has turned tail and run back for their own world. While our forces are currently doing final sweeps of their facilities, we can find no trace of the creatures. Our scientists will now proceed to work on a means to seal the Aurora Barrier, so that we may never have to face this threat from Equestria, or any other faction, from their world again! We shall also direct the leadership of the world to begin the rebuilding efforts. We will remain true to our stated goal, to create a new, better world for humanity," the masked speaker stood up to conclude his message. "To a New Age. To a New Order. To a New Mankind!" While the rest of the SPH celebrated the full retreat of the Ponies back into Equestria, one female soldier in particular was still distraught, rocking back and forth as her mind raced with the thoughts from a few hours previous. My husband is dead… My son is a monster… My husband is dead… My son is a monster… It's all their fault… it's all their fault… Those damn Ponies… I'll kill them… If they ever come back… I'll kill them… I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!! [ July 10, 2081 @ 6:10 PM PST -- Somewhere in the Mojave Desert,     California, U.S.A.] ====================================================         Deep under the floor of the Mojave Desert, there lay a cave. Normally this cave would be empty, but now it was filled with activity. The buzzing and flitting of a small horde of hybrid insect and Pony creatures. Sitting on a regal, emerald-colored 'throne' was Chrysalis, their Queen and entire focus of their existence. She used well placed drones all over the major human 'hives' in order to keep track of the goings-on above ground. "Humans can be such a silly lot, can't they, my dear?" Chrysalis remarked, rubbing a perforated foreleg underneath the chin of her latest mindless object of affection. "Yes… my Queen," the young man said, mind completely under the thrall of his new, loving, all-consuming Queen. "What are you going to do with the strange creature, Queen Chrysalis?" a high ranking soldier-Changeling asked of his Queen, unsure what to think of her new pet. Chrysalis continued stroking her mindless pet's chin. "Oh that's simple. First, I drain him for all he's worth. Then we see if his body is compatible with the pod. I suspect that these… humans… can be quite useful to us, should we remain unable to establish a presence near Equestria. You would like that, wouldn't you dear?" "Anything to serve my Queen. I will lay down my life, if you so will it…" the young man replied in a dry monotone. "Oh, I just love hearing my pets talk like that~," Chrysalis said, flitting her wings in joy, and a devious grin across her face. “But Queen Chrysalis. If it turns out the humans are indeed compatable with our genetic matrix, surely the other Hive will ask for a copy of the information,” one of her advisor Valets asked, as he knelt to continue to show deference for his Queen’s judgement. Chrysalis first fixed her gaze into a snarl of utter contempt, but then it softened somewhat into a snide, knowing look of one who was intentionally hiding something from another. “And who is to say I would have to share this information with my dear Sisters?” “No, certainly not me, your majesty. Please, consider this entire conversation just a passing figment of your imagination!” the Valet groveled, as he backed away and left the sight of his Queen. “The less they know about any of this the better. Not until it is clear and obvious that MY HIVE is the strongest of all, and they are all on bended knees TO ME!” Chrysalis said and shouted aloud, determined to raise a populace, and more importantly, an army, that none of the other Hives could stand against. [ July 10, 2081 @ 6:30 PM PST - Safe Haven ] ============================================         About 5,000 humans and Ponies were in the main auditorium of Safe Haven, while the rest of the population and the infirmed watched over various monitor setups. Princess Celestia, with her sister Luna and fellow traveler Richard Edwards to each side of her, strode to the lectern to deliver her remarks. The Doctors Isegawa, Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the Conduits of Terra sans Blue Vague were in the front row of the audience; Blue Vague himself watching the remarks on the closed-circuit monitor in his infirmary room. "As you all have likely heard by now, I have recently ordered, and completed overseeing, the total withdrawal of our public presence on Earth." Celestia waited a few moments while the murmuring died down. "Also, you all have most likely heard by now the remarks, or a synopsis thereof, by who we can only assume is the leadership of the Society for the Preservation of Humanity. He proclaims this is a full-blown retreat, and from their perspective, I can see why they would believe that. However, I felt it necessary to address you all personally, as to prevent any rumors from cropping up before we can develop any solid plans going forward. Myself, my sister, and the leadership of the Human-Equestrian Alliance met briefly before I prepared these remarks, and we have come to an agreement. This is merely a setback, and not a permanent end to our quest. "Although I am an ages old creature, I am not omniscient. It is partially my fault that we find ourselves in the position we do now, having to scramble around in the shadows. I severely underestimated the depths to which the self-professed Elite would go in order to preserve their position in this world; going so far as to execute a worldwide coup-d'etat in order to maintain their 'spot', as it were. Although I wish it did not have to come to this, I am afraid we will have start over from scratch. "We will spend the foreseeable future attempting to find remaining allies outside of these walls, as well as consulting with the other Nations Equestria shares a world with. Together, I believe we can truly forge a new Age; not only for Humanity, for Ponydom, but for all sapient races of both worlds!" Everyone got up and applauded as best they could; while Vague, his body and mind still exhausted, just smiled at the words of his Princess. Princess Celestia… Twilight and the other Bearers of Harmony… Storm and the other Conduits of Terra… I am so sorry… I don't think I could ever apologize enough for my behavior from today and the last few weeks… but I will make it up to you… I will do everything in my power to make this world live and thrive! In the Human Sick Bay, Andrew sat up in his bed, seemingly clear of thought for the first time in ages. Linda… she is no demon… she is no agent of the Devil… Celestia is just another leader trying to do the best she can for her people… Isn't that what everyone wants? The best for their people? Why should we just dismiss her out of hand because they walk on four legs, and we walk on two? Andrew called for a human volunteer to see if he could get a change of clothes… and whatever documentation he needed to join the H.E.A. formally. It appears I have a lot to consider going forward… But I know one thing, that future doesn't involve the SPH or anything like it, and I don't want to become a Pony like Andre… But there is so much I need to do for him, even if only goes as far as being there for him in this new phase of his life… and hopefully the new phase of our world.