//------------------------------//
// Intermission II: And The Mares And Stallions Are Only Players 
// Story: The Super Awesome Story About Stuff 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Intermission: And The Mares And Stallions Are Only Players
~BlackRoseRaven

River Styx picked himself up, feeling... hungover, he thought. He looked back and forth, his thoughts fuzzy, his mind having difficulty focusing on anything as he muttered: “Where the hell...”
He blinked a few times, then straightened in surprise as he realized he was in a bunk. A bunk among more than a dozen others, he realized, as he looked back and forth before he noted several other sleeping stallions...
River Styx grabbed at himself as he realized his armor was missing, before he glanced up as a familiar voice said easily: “Welcome back, Lieutenant! How's your head? Seems you hit the bottle pretty hard last night... not that I can blame you.”
The unicorn blinked once before he looked up at the pony who had addressed him: for some reason, he couldn't quite place the stallion's face, but that polished purple armor marked him clearly as a Captain of the Guard, which meant... “What am I doing in Canterlot... sir?”
“Wow, you really hit it hard, huh?” the Captain remarked, and River Styx only continued to frown before the officer explained patiently: “You've been promoted, remember? You finished your service in Appleloosa, and now you'll be serving as one of Princess Celestia's bodyguards until a new position opens up somewhere better for you. Your talents were obviously wasted out there in that no-pony's land, after all.”
River Styx tilted his head slightly in surprise, and the Captain of the Guard gave a wry grin before he shrugged and said mildly: “Well, when you're ready to get up, report to the quartermaster for your new armor. You've still got a few hours, though, before you have to be on duty. Maybe you should use 'em to take care of that hangover, huh?”
“I'm... fine. Thank you, sir.” River Styx said after a moment, rubbing slowly at his aching head as he frowned uncertainly, and the officer smiled at him before shrugging and walking away to yell at some of the recruits for sleeping in.
The unicorn slowly pulled himself out of the bunk, shaking his head quickly before he rubbed uncomfortably at his bare chest. Something was wrong here: he knew he wasn't supposed to be here. The last thing he remembered...
River Styx looked quickly around, and then he shook himself out before striding quickly out into the corridor of what was clearly Canterlot. Down to every last detail, it was precisely what he remembered, and the unicorn frowned ever so slightly as he looked down the whitewashed hall.
Maybe that was the problem now: it was all too perfect, all too close to what he remembered Canterlot had been like. And even with his head feeling all fuzzy, it wasn't like he was about to magically forget Luna Brynhild and her two sidekicks, or that pony made of chocolate...
There were other ponies, too. River Styx thought as he walked out and headed down the hall, in the direction he knew would eventually take him to the quartermaster's. Maybe not the quickest route, but he wanted to take a look around this place he had ended up in: the Draconequus, as he remembered, had never been very good at keeping their settings accurate...
Except down to the last brick, Canterlot felt like a perfect replica. River Styx didn't know what to make of it, but as he entered the quartermaster's, he did understand this wasn't the work of any Draconequus. It was too calculated, too perfect, too... cunning.
“Lieutenant Styx, right? Just finished up your gear.” said a gruff-looking earth pony who was sitting behind a counter, and Styx simply nodded as he looked around the cluttered room: this felt off, at least. Weird, how it reassured him that something wasn't real... “Here.”
A set of heavy golden armor was almost slung onto the table, and Styx grimaced before he stepped forward to study it: this wasn't his standard armor or even dress armor, but elite gear...
Still, he only shrugged before beginning to put it on, as the quartermaster flipped through some inventory log beside him and said: “You haven't been assigned anything else for now. Guess they want to see how you do before they give you the regalia. Keep that gear in good shape, you'll be back in your old armor before long, I reckon.”
Styx only nodded before he asked impulsively, as he finished strapping on his breastplate: “Do you know where my genet is?”
“Who?” The quartermaster blinked, looking up with a scowl before he snorted. “Oh, the weasel? I don't look after pets, son, I just take care of the equipment.”
Styx only grunted in response, and then he turned around and headed towards the door, before frowning over his shoulder when the quartermaster added almost cryptically: “Remember to take that armor off if things get messy, won't you?”
River Styx only turned his attention back forward, even as he felt a strange sense of unease roll down his spine. He shook himself out quickly, trying to throw off the growing sense of dread as he made his way through Canterlot and towards the throne room.
He didn't recognize any of the soldiers here, and he had no idea where his companion was, and he understood that he was either in the grips of some kind of very powerful dream magic, or something much crueler than the Draconequus they had encountered so far had taken over this 'play...' but what was their goal?
Somehow, the stallion didn't expect it was anything good, even as the other Royal Guard saluted and turned to open the golden doors leading into the throne room-
They were flung open, and a violet alicorn he recognized all too well strutted out, grinning widely as she looked at River Styx. The unicorn halted, looking evenly back at the mare as she said brightly: “Heya, Styxie! How the hell are ya, huh?”
River Styx remained silent: this clearly wasn't Twilight Sparkle, or at least not the Twilight Sparkle he had met in this strange play-world. She seemed to know that he knew, but that didn't make her grin fade any as they simply glared at each other, until the mare finally sniffed and said mildly: “Now, Styxie, you play nice with Princess, huh? Don't you worry, she's real anxious to see ya, I've put in all kinds of good words for ya with her! So don't screw it up.”
Not-Twilight leaned forwards, glaring at him, and River Styx continued to look unflinchingly, fearlessly back. And then Not-Twilight suddenly leaned back with a bright smile, winking at him as she said cheerfully: “See ya later, Styxie!”
Not-Twilight bounced past him, hip-checking him as she passed and making him stumble and glower over his shoulder at her. But she simply hopped away, although somehow that made him feel even more suspicious.
River Styx turned around and strode into the throne room, then looked up uncertainly as a voice greeted him warmly: “Lieutenant Styx, welcome. I'm glad to have you as part of my personal guard. I've heard many good things about you.”
River Styx strode to the foot of the stairs that led up to the platform upon which Celestia's throne sat, and then he knelt and lowered his head. But he remained silent, and his eyes were suspicious as he looked up at the Princess of the Sun: he knew this wasn't the real Princess Celestia, after all, any more than any of these other ponies were real.
Yet as she smiled down at him, it was so tempting to just... pretend, even if only for a moment, that this was real. Everything felt like it was in place, everything felt like it was going right for him, those crazy ponies were gone, and-
“Lieutenant Styx, please. Come up here for a moment.” Princess Celestia encouraged, and Styx hesitantly stood up, looking almost uncertainly at her. She beckoned to him, and Styx shifted a bit before duty, curiosity, and obedience to the Princess – even if he knew this was just a simulacra of her – compelled him to stride up the steps and join the Princess of the Sun at her throne.
Princess Celestia smiled at him again, then she reached up and lightly adjusted his helm, the unicorn shifting slightly as he felt the eyes of the other guards glaring holes in him. “You'll be happy to know, Lieutenant Styx... actually, do you mind if I call you River? And you should just call me Celestia, too.”
River Styx nodded impassively, although inwardly he fidgeted at the attention: both the positive, from Celestia, and the negative, from the jealous guards. He had to remind himself that this wasn't real, but instead all part of some kind of ruse designed to get into his head, to confuse him, to try and make him- “By the way, River, did you hear about your brother, yet?”
The unicorn looked up in surprise, and Princess Celestia smiled before she said kindly: “Princess Twilight told me about him, and how close you are to him. There's a few positions here open in Canterlot, though, so I went ahead and had him made a member of the staff. We'll find a place that's good for him.”
“I... uh, thank you, ma'am.” River Styx said after a moment, leaning back a little in surprise before he quickly reminded himself that this wasn't real, and there was no way... “Is my brother here?”
“Oh, not right now, no. But he'll arrive tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to see him then.” Celestia smiled, and then she glanced around before saying easily: “You know, there's really no point in me sitting in this stuffy throne all day... guards, let's head up to my office. I might as well use this time to get some of my paperwork done.”
Her bodyguards saluted, and River Styx began to step away before he winced when Celestia caught him and winked, stroking gently down the back of his neck. “Now, don't get ahead of yourself, River. I want you to stay close beside me: I want to make sure you live up to the high expectations that Twilight Sparkle has given me.”
River Styx shifted awkwardly, but he didn't know what to say: the safest thing to do seemed to be to play along for now, so he quickly nodded when Princess Celestia stood, before falling in at her side as she started forwards.
Her remaining three bodyguards automatically assumed escort positions around them, and Styx couldn't help but note the nasty looks he got from the other soldiers. He only did his best to keep his attention ahead for now, ignoring the other soldiers as he shifted a bit under the unwanted attention from this mare who wasn't the real Princess of the Sun, who wasn't...
But it was so attractive, no matter what he kept telling himself: a comfortable position, the knowledge that his brother was being given a job, a safe place to live, even being able to look around and see these perfect boy-scout bodyguards all glaring at him because they all knew he came from the streets, the slums, and they came from the good houses and the honor schools, with daddies to get them high-ranking positions in the Royal Guard where they'd never face either the danger or the dirt...
And now here he was. Striding alongside Princess Celestia, who had taken a personal interest in him, and he could be proud of that. He had worked hard to get here, and... no. None of this is real.
Styx frowned ever so slightly, but he barely missed a beat even as he snuck a look towards Princess Celestia. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized just how insidious this ploy was: it played to all the desires he'd never admit to having.
Princess Celestia looked at him and smiled, and River Styx forced himself to look ahead, to not respond, to simply walk, even as he felt her wing gently brush against him as she said: “If you need anything, I don't want you to hesitate to ask, River. I need more ponies like you around: stallions I can trust to do the job, and who understand that there's a difference between theory... and practical application.”
Her eyes half-lidded as she smiled again, but Styx kept his gaze forwards and impassive, doing his best not to look at her or acknowledge her. Yet at the same time he couldn't push himself to step away from all this, to defy the obedience trained into him or the fact that part of him wanted to believe this might all be happening. That everything else had just been an alcohol-induced nightmare...
“You need to relax, River. I want my personal guard to have some level of... comfort around me, you know.” Celestia said kindly, and the stallion shifted a bit before the Princess of the Sun winked at him, nudging him lightly as they walked along. “I have to say, though. I am impressed by how... professional you are. So in control!”
She paused, then winked. “I like a stallion who can stay in control.”
River Styx remained impassive even as a faint blush crept up at the edge of his collar, but he kept his eyes forwards and his head high, refusing to play along. Except he wasn't entirely in control, was he? He was letting himself be led along, more than he wanted to admit. He was following, not leading.
He argued with himself silently... and then blinked in surprise when Celestia said easily: “And here we are!”
River Styx looked up at the door in front of him, then he glanced back and forth quickly: how had they gotten up to this tower so quickly? He opened his mouth, but was cut off as Celestia said calmly: “Now, guards, wait out here. River Styx, why don't you step inside with me for just a moment? There are some things I want to talk to you about.”
River didn't really know what to say, but he didn't get a chance to try and make any excuses, either. Instead, he felt himself grabbed by telekinesis and almost flung through the door into a large, plush room that seemed a lot more like a cozy den than it did an office, the stallion blinking stupidly back and forth at the huge, plush seats, the fireplace, the scented candles already wafting their sweet smoke into the air and the-
The door slammed behind Celestia as she stepped inside, grinning widely at Styx, and Styx stared at her before he grimaced, reminding himself for the umpteenth time that this was not real, that he did not have to respect this aberration any more than he respected the fake Luna he was stuck traveling with, and- “I want out of this trap.”
“Trap? But I haven't wrapped you around my hoof yet, have I, River? You're not going to refuse to bow to your princess, are you?” Celestia asked teasingly, and River Styx looked at her moodily before she winked and strode forwards, circling him slowly as she suggested: “But maybe you should take off that armor, it's making you all... stuffy.”
“I want to remain professional, your Highness.” River Styx said, telling himself he was only being so polite, only playing along, because he still had to figure out how to escape from this trap.
Princess Celestia smiled at him as she stepped back in front of him, and then the mare leaned down and asked: “It's important for me to know where my soldiers see themselves heading. Do you plan to spend the rest of your life as an officer, River?”
“Yes.” River Styx said, even if...
“You aren't really sure about that, though, are you? I don't think you joined the Royal Guard out of patriotism, now did you?” Celestia replied candidly, and River Styx shifted a little. “You know, River, you put on this tough, callous act, but I can see past that. You're intelligent, well-read, more than just your average grunt, even if you'd like to play that all off... and of course, you have people you care about in your life.”
She smiled, striding slowly around him again, and the stallion narrowed his eyes as he watched her almost warily, shifting uncertainly at the way she seemed to stalk him, almost like a predator. “Loyalty is an important quality for any soldier... for any pony, really, who wants to work with other people. But what is your loyalty to, River?”
“Equestria.” River Styx replied immediately, although...
Celestia clicked her tongue disapprovingly, then she replied kindly: “You don't have to lie, River. Be honest with me. What is your loyalty to?”
“Equestria.” River Styx refused to give a different answer, keeping his eyes forward, not leting his gaze chase after the Princess of the Sun as she- No. That is not Princess Celestia. Keep your head in the game.
Celestia laughed softly at this as she walked in front of him, looking down at him intently as he looked back at her, before the Princess of the Sun gave a kind smile... but her eyes had grown colder, crueler, her amethyst gaze piercing through him like arrows. “Now, now. You don't have to be like that, River. I'm not your enemy. And you're smart enough to figure that out on your own, aren't you? Furthermore, if you'll allow me to breach the veil for a moment...”
Princess Celestia leaned forwards, saying in a soft, reasonable, terribly-dangerous voice: “You're in my castle, surrounded by my soldiers, and are only serving in the capacity you are because of my good graces. Perhaps before you do anything too silly... you place that thought firmly in your mind, River. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to anyone, now would you?”
River Styx only scowled, before his eyes widened ever so slightly as the Princess added almost offhoofedly: “We did, after all, catch a pest recently that we think you dragged in by accident. Don't worry, though... he's off in a safe place for now. I haven't had my wardens do anything with him... yet.”
River Styx narrowed his eyes dangerously, but Celestia either overlooked this or ignored it as she smiled at him, asking condescendingly: “So River. Where do your loyalties lie?”
For a few moments, River Styx only sat, glaring at Celestia... but finally, he was forced to lower his gaze and mutter, as she smiled condescendingly down at him: “With my... family.”
“A good answer. Good enough, anyway, even if... not quite what I was looking for.” Celestia said gently, and she clicked her tongue before asking kindly: “Tell me, River: if you could have anything at this moment, absolutely anything... what would it be? And don't lie to me. We're all selfish creatures at heart, after all, and you've spent so long taking care of others, pretending you were doing it all for yourself... you deserve a little treat, don't you?”
River Styx grimaced a bit, and then he said shortly: “I'd take some time alone.”
Celestia laughed loudly at this, then she shook her head slowly before replying easily: “Hiding isn't the solution to everything, you know. No, no. I know just what you want, what you've always wanted. To be loved, to be safe and sound, snug as a bug in a rug. That's what we all want, isn't it?”
For some reason, the unicorn didn't like where this was going, as he opened his mouth to reply... then winced in surprise, looking down at himself with shock as a voice too squeaky to be his blurted: “Yes, Princess Celestia, I want to be snug as a bug in a rug!”
“See, you agree.” Celestia said pleasantly, and River Styx glared before he opened his mouth before his eyes widened as no sound came out, the stallion only able to mouth wordlessly as he shook his head back and forth.
Celestia winked at the stallion, leaning down and cooing mockingly: “Oh, now don't strain yourself, my dear! I know just what's best for you. I'm sure you understand that, though, being my cute little servant and all, right?”
River Styx grimaced, then he leaned forwards, but it was a struggle to even do that, now. He felt like his body was turning traitor on him, as unfamiliar and toxic magic spilled through him, made it impossible to resist the mighty Princess of the Sun, the indomitable, the... gigantic...
River's eyes widened as his head snapped up, as Princess Celestia loomed over him, grinning coldly, cruelly down at him as her eyes glowed like stars. She towered above him... no, nothing in this room had changed size, he realized, as he looked wildly around. No, nothing was larger. Instead, that magic hadn't just paralyzed him, it had shrunk him down.
He helplessly stared up at Celestia as she grinned down at him, before she reached down and stomped one huge hoof into the ground beside Styx, making him flinch before she asked teasingly: “Look at you. Is this how little your weasel is? And I've seen how you work so hard to keep him safe... well, now you'll be my little weasel, River, and I'll keep you safe. Snug as a bug in a rug.”
Celestia licked her lips as she stood up and paced slowly around the tiny River Styx, who glared back and forth as he shifted uneasily on his hooves: well, at least he could move again. But he wasn't quite as fast or agile as his pet was, and while there were plenty of hiding spots around the room, he had no idea how he was going to reach any of them or what he was going to do from there-
No. One problem at a time. The first problem was that he was out in the open, without either cover or any place to hide. He needed to get somewhere safer, and quickly.
The stallion looked around and gritted his teeth as he saw the table was probably closest: he could make a dash for it, and-
Celestia coiled in front of him and flopped down with such force that it nearly knocked the stallion flying, her body an impassable wall as she stretched a hoof out towards him playfully, her eyes half-lidded as she teased: “Oh, River, you aren't trying to run away already, are you? I have such high expectations for my little stallion...”
River Styx glared at her, then he quickly turned around to try and run in the other direction, but it was useless: a forehoof dropped on top of him, squashing him into the ground as the Princess of the Sun almost purred: “Now, now. If you want to play cat and mouse, you'll have to do better than that. You need to zig, and you need to zag... but you don't really want to run away, do you?”
Celestia smiled teasingly as she sat back, but River felt powerful telekinetic magic wrapping around him, the stallion grimacing before he was lifted into the air. He let his body go limp... not that it made much difference, since Celestia moved him about like a toy all the same, the mare grinning widely as she turned him around to look down at the tiny pony patronizingly: “Just like a foal, aren't you? Running away from what makes you happy, making mischief for the sake of attention. But now, now, I have you, right here, safe and sound...”
Celestia lowered the stallion against her breast, and River shifted uncomfortably as her forelegs wrapped around him, curling him against her body. He grimaced a bit, shifting uneasily at the smell: dust, and bleach, and something... uncomfortable and familiar, as Celestia cooed: “Every stallion needs a mother. You miss her terribly, don't you?”
River Styx refused to reply, refused to play this mind game. Instead, he tried to look around and figure out his next plan of escape, doing his best to ignore the suffocating embrace and the haziness in his head and the memories...
“River, River. What am I going to do with you?” Celestia asked suddenly, and now her voice was filled with contempt, drawing the unicorn's attention to her as he sensed something more malign in her words. “You just squirm and shiver and shake yourself all over the place, but I know just how to deal with naughty little unicorns who refuse to either accept my gifts or worse, take everything I've done for them for granted.”
The unicorn winced as Celestia suddenly flung him down to the ground, the stallion staring up at the gigantic mare as she leaned down and glared at him furiously before she suddenly smiled, and River winced a bit as the Princess of the Sun reared back and said kindly: “You have to make sure they know they're safe and secure. Snug, as a bug, in a rug.”
Celestia spun around suddenly, and River Styx stared for a few moments before his eyes widened in horror as he realized what he was looking at. He spun around, scrabbling wildly for purchase at the soft rug, but as Celestia's rump dropped towards him, he realized it was far too late for him to escape-
River Styx felt an immense, crushing weight land on him, squashing him into the ground as he wheezed brokenly, his eyes bulging as his hooves scrabbled uselessly at the carpet. His armor was all that saved him from being squished completely, as he spasmed weakly against the carpet, trapped beneath the heavy, voluminous rump of the mare.
Stars danced in front of his eyes as he groaned weakly, and Celestia flicked her flowing tail to the side so she could look down at the stallion as he uselessly attempted to extract himself, smiling coyly as she said teasingly: “Now, River. Thank me, and I'll get up. This is an experience that most ponies would beg for, after all.”
The stallion was only able to wheeze for breath as his mind raced for a way out of this nightmare. He felt helpless, and now he was being crushed by what felt like ten tons of mare sitting on his back who was acting like this was an experience he should be grateful for, and how the hell was he supposed to deal with a gigantic Celestia acting like a spoiled brat-
His ears twitched, as over the booming of Celestia's laughter, he heard a sharp, shrill chirp. River Styx blinked in surprise before he gasped loudly as the enormous mare shifted to drop her weight harder on him, feeling his armor groaning, barely able to hold up under the pressure. But he ignored the pain and feeling of suffocation as best he could as he looked back and forth, before his eyes locked on a familiar figure that was racing across the rug towards him.
He didn't even have a chance to speak his genet's name before Lamp leapt onto his face, making the unicorn wince slightly before he muttered: “Good to see you're safe. But not helping.”
Lamp chirped, then scampered over his head, and River Styx frowned as he wondered what the hell his companion was doing-
Celestia howled: it was a sound of surprise more than pain, but Styx thought there was definitely some pain there as the mare leapt off him. For a moment, he could only lay there, stunned and amazed before he felt his fuzzy little friend land on his back with a squall that got him scrambling to his hooves.
His body moved on autopilot, training and instincts taking over as his mind tried to catch up to what had just happened. He sprinted with all his might for the safety of beneath the nearby table... except he underestimated the giant mare's rage as she spun around and smashed the table flying with telekinesis, River Styx's eyes widening as the Princess of the Sun roared: “How dare you! You and that little furball are going to pay for this, River, I am your Princess and your goddess and I am here, granting your every dream, and your stupid little pet can't keep his teeth to himself any more than you can show an ounce of respect!”
Her massive hooves stomped up and down as she tantrumed, and it made the carpet almost ripple beneath River, the world seeming to shake around him as he stumbled back and forth with a curse. He looked desperately back and forth before his eyes locked on a vent, but even if it was only ten or so feet for a normal pony, it seemed like an impossible distance to the stallion. All the same, though, he had to try: he had to escape before-
Celestia spun towards him, snarling furiously before she pounced, and River Styx gritted his teeth as his horn glowed with magic a moment before she crashed down with a bang that shook the entire room. “Got you, little stallion!”
Celestia grinned widely... then frowned as she slowly climbed to her hooves, blinking in surprise as she looked back and forth. She stood up, then looked dumbly under herself, raising one rear hoof and then the other as she asked dubiously: “River?”
But River Styx was nowhere to be seen, and Celestia gnashed her teeth together in frustration... while the stallion himself sighed in relief from behind the vent cover, his body aching with the exertion of magic as his genet chirped worriedly on top of his head. But River Styx only gave the smallest of smiles, the unicorn shaking his head before he murmured: “I'm fine. Just... relieved.”
He shook himself briefly out: he thought it was the fact that he had teleported blind that had strained him more than anything else. Really, he had only jumped a few feet, after all, and he was technically moving much less with magic than he was used to...
He was reminded that there was no time to dawdle by Celestia roaring for her bodyguards to hunt him down. He ached, and he felt tired, and his head was still fuzzy, but all the same, the unicorn forced himself to face down the tunnel and begin forwards, not wanting to risk being caught.
The first few steps into the duct were difficult, his pace soon evened out as he lit the way with his glowing horn, and soon enough the shouting and raging faded out behind him. His head became clearer, the fuzz lifting from his mind as the aches gradually left his joints, his breathing evening out before he finally glanced up and asked quietly: “And where were you?”
His genet only chirped on his head, then nibbled at one of his ears, and Styx gave a rare, small smile before he shook his head and said softly: “I know, focus. Knowing our luck, though, we'll stumble over the rest of those idiots before-”
River Styx stepped into thin air, and he had a moment to blink before he fell into nothingness, flipping end over end before he crashed down with a tremendous bang into what felt like solid concrete. He grimaced and shook himself out quickly, then slowly picked himself up before he looked back and forth through the pitch black darkness.
Before he could concentrate enough to light his horn back up, he heard something: muffled laughter, it sounded like, coming from beneath him. He felt his body tense reflexively as he thought he recognized that sound somehow: it reminded him of the false Celestia he had encountered, and all the nightmares he couldn't remember in his muddled brain...
And then, before Styx could react, the floor beneath him suddenly gave way, and he fell into the blind chaos below.

Was this what they had experienced, Twilight Sparkle wondered, as she walked silently through a world of dreams and hallucinations: reality around her was fragmented, twisted, nothing but broken images and blurs of light and sound-made-visual.
She looked back and forth as she walked along the narrow, zigzagging path through the darkness, studying the magic curiously. She had been exiled here, she thought, because this magic was having less of an effect on her than she imagined it was the others. She could guess at why that was, but that was be a waste of time and energy when she had to focus on getting out of here.
Besides, she knew why.
She had always been different.
Twilight smiled faintly to herself as she followed the twisting and turning trail, as the fragments of memories and corrupt illusion whirled past. But it was all easy enough to ignore. She wondered how the others were doing: she imagined that Scrivener and Luna were probably waiting for her, but how would Marina and River Styx fare against this mental poison?
Marina seemed both... more tolerant and more vulnerable to the chaotic magic of the Draconequus. She was smart, though, and caught onto things quickly, and she reminded Twilight a little of herself: she just had to stand up for herself more, Twilight thought, and the chocolate mare would be on as stable a footing as any of them.
River Styx was certainly tough and focused, but he had his soft spots, she was starting to see. She worried about him a little, though: she knew this illusion wouldn't play fair, after all, and it would find all those cracks in the armor of the ponies, and exploit them.
She imagined that it had split them all up for a reason, and she thought that right now, whatever this was, it was observing them. She couldn't sense the Narrator, or any of the other Draconequus, but she felt like they were there, somewhere, in the background, struggling to contain this... thing.
And there was a sense of something, watching, and waiting.
Twilight paused, then looked curiously to the side, unafraid and undaunted at the shadowy figure she saw there, its cloak of blue mist twisting and turning around its uncertain form. The twisted and misshapen Plutocrat looked down at her with contempt, before he asked coldly: “And are you here to steal my bounty for your Mistress, is that it?”
“I don't know why we're here, or how we even got here.” Twilight answered honestly, and then she glanced around before asking: “Is this the power of the Redacted?”
“The Redacted is not awake.” Pluto replied, which wasn't really an answer at all, Twilight Sparkle reflected. “Do you think the Draconequus will let you leave?”
“I believe them. I believe everything they've told me.” Twilight replied evenly, looking up at Plutocrat. “Chaos doesn't always tell the truth, but I've also learned that chaos rarely tells lies.”
Plutocrat seemed both amused and disgusted by this response, but he didn't reply. He only looked at her, contemptibly, until Twilight said quietly: “Let me go back to my friends. Enough is enough: you don't have to-”
“Survival of the fittest.” Plutocrat interrupted brusquely. “Let's make a deal. Your freedom for a thousand souls.”
“I don't collect souls. And I don't barter with them, either.” Twilight replied, and Pluto laughed coldly before the violet mare said in a softer voice: “We can still work all this out. I don't know what you're trying to do, what you're trying to build, but everyone can still go free and all of this can be forgotten. There are better ways-”
“Empires are built on the backs of slaves. That is all.” Plutocrat interrupted with a sharp, dismissive gesture, and then he added coldly: “Perhaps I will let you wander for a while longer. Perhaps the continued suffering of your friends will convince you otherwise.”
Twilight only smiled briefly, refusing to be cowed by the creature's attitude as it glared down at her. Plutocrat only snorted, then vanished from sight after a few moments, leaving her alone in the fragmented world.
She looked back and forth through the chaos, then closed her eyes, taking a slow breath as she felt outwards with her magic. They were... close, she thought. Not just Scrivener and Luna, but all of them: wherever they had been trapped, they were very near to each other, even if it felt like they were moving vast differences...
But of course, any good magician knew how to employ sleight of hoof. Twilight smiled a bit, glancing back and forth: it was far easier to keep someone in a small room with a few moving images than it was to employ a massive area: the trick was just making the illusion feel coherent, to never give away the fact you weren't really going anywhere, but it just felt and looked like you were.
She closed her eyes and took a breath as she pressed her hoof down into the floor beneath her, then she nodded once to herself before murmuring: “Alright. I can feel the energy flow. It's inconsistent, and drawing from...”
She frowned slightly, but then her features cleared as she nodded slowly: of course. What better way to power all these machines and dangerous traps? The mare smiled a bit to herself, and then she shifted slightly before she took a slow breath and murmured: “Okay. I just have to be careful, then: not hurt the source of the power, but instead...”
Twilight Sparkle felt out the root of that dark magic, breathing slowly in and out before she smiled a little to herself as she locked on to it. She felt around it, felt the poison it emanated: not chaos, not destruction, but something... empty, and lost. Something that was converting emotion to power, and feeding off the energy it harvested, an abyss that gazed deep into the hearts and souls of all it caught in its black stare...
Twilight shook her head a bit, and then she murmured: “You're taking after Scrivy. Come on, Twilight. Get it together. Focus on the right thing.”
The mare took a slow breath, and then she grasped into the magic: she gripped it, then smiled slightly as she managed to twist it, feeling reality around her shivering before she muttered: “Here we go. Okay, guys. Stay still.”
Her horn pulsed, and then she lashed it out, and reality around her rippled as a boom passed through the world around her. The fragmented chaos filling the air quaked before simply whiffing out, leaving her in empty blackness before her horn lit up with a distinct, bright aura.
She looked back and forth, but now she was alone in an empty room, crumbling wood beneath her hooves and peeling paint on the half-collapsed walls. She smiled as she looked around, before her ears twitched at the sound of a distorted laugh in the distance.
Twilight spun around and ran towards the door she spotted without hesitation, slamming her way through it and lunging out into a narrow hallway. She looked back and forth, but then that manic laughter tore through the air again, guiding the unicorn to the right and around a corner.
She bashed though another set of doors and stumbled into a dark, empty banquet hall, her eyes immediately locking on the sight of the deformed unicorn that was dancing around Luna, dodging and evading her attacks.
The unicorn looked like her, but not: it was twisted, distorted, mutant, in a word: its body was covered in scar tissue and lumps of alien flesh, although ragged purple fur still clung across its frame. Its mane and tail were little more than loose clumps of greasy hair, the beast's teeth jutting from its jaws and eyes bulging out of its too-small head as it shrieked: “Don't you know I just want what's best for you?”
The monster lunged at Scrivener, but Luna intercepted the beast, slamming her down on her side before the sapphire mare was kicked off: hideous and deformed or not, the beast was incredibly graceful as it rolled backwards before landing on all four hooves, suddenly looking over its shoulder with a grin at Twilight Sparkle as it hissed: “You just had to try and ruin the fun for all of us, huh?”
Twilight snapped her horn out, blasting the monster with a hammer of magic energy, but it only grinned as the worst of the psychokinetic damage was deflected. “Well, at least you tried.”
Not-Twilight laughed loudly, then suddenly snapped her own horn forwards, but Twilight anticipated the attack and deflected it with a sharp upwards flick of her horn. It smashed into the ceiling above, sending cracks ripping through the plaster, but Not-Twilight only sneered and opened her mouth-
Part of the ceiling above suddenly gave way, an avalanche of debris topped by a stallion in battered armor falling in a pile on top of Not-Twilight, crushing the monster under its weight. Luna blinked in surprise at this, and then she grinned before asking cheerfully: “River of Sticks, so thou hast decided to finally come and save us?”
River Styx glared at Luna as he slowly picked himself up on top of the pile of debris, before he looked up in slight surprise as Marina asked worriedly: “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I'm fine.” Styx muttered after a moment, shaking his head briefly as he carefully picked himself up. He thought he felt the pile of debris shift beneath his hooves, the stallion immediately readying himself as he looked down, his horn pulsing faintly...
But no. There was nothing, just a few settling chunks of rotten wood, before he looked up sourly as Luna said mildly: “Now, thou hast had thy fleeting moment of chivalry, River of Sticks, saving all us mares from the wretched booger-pony. Come down from thy smiting mountain and receive thy just reward: a sloppy kiss from Scrivy, as he is the princess.”
Scrivener Blooms scowled horribly at the back of Luna's head, and River Styx simply looked at her dryly for a few moments before he turned his attention to Marina, carefully skidding his way down off the pile of debris as he asked: “And you?”
Marina blinked in surprise, but then smiled a little after a moment, nodding once as she said finally: “I'm alright. What about you, Twilight?”
Twilight smiled as she approached, before she was cut off as Luna shoved her head in between Marina and River Styx, almost shouting: “I am also perfectly fine!”
River Styx rolled his eyes as Marina winced back slightly, and Scrivener sighed tiredly as he approached, saying dryly: “We're all fine. All of us. We're good. We're happy. Now can we please get out of here?”
Luna glowered at the stallion as Twilight approached, the mare's horn pulsing faintly as she said finally: “I was able to dispel most of the magic in the air, but there's still something anchoring us here. It's in this room, though...”
“It's probably that weird thing.” Scrivener said, gesturing with his head in the direction of the strange object on the table, and Twilight tilted her head curiously as she strode past the stallion.
“I recognize this. It's modified demonic magic.” Twilight murmured, and Scrivener and Luna both frowned, the sapphire mare suddenly becoming serious as Marina tilted her head and River Styx only scowled. “These ribbons are essence chains... they're made using the essence of a victim, to tie them all into one singular illusion.”
“Is this the root of the Draconequus' power?” asked River Styx, but Twilight shook her head as she smiled briefly over her shoulder.
“No. Wherever we are right now... it's somewhere different from the Draconequus' world.” Twilight replied with a shake of her head. “This 'theater,' for lack of a better word, seems to be on its own wavelength. I'm guessing it's a pocket dimension of some sort, and that's why it took time after we were transported here for them to separate us. This was activated by someone... I'm guessing the entity that took the form of that thing.”
Twilight gestured towards the pile of debris, and Scrivener shifted a bit before he asked a silent question with his eyes. But Twilight smiled faintly, shaking her head as she murmured: “These illusions... we didn't create our own prisons, but we did shape them ourselves. I'm guessing what each of you went through appealed to you in some way, tried to make you engage them...”
“But turned into a nightmare when we resisted.” River Styx muttered, and Marina shivered before nodding in agreement. “What's to stop that from happening again, though?”
“Honestly, I'm not sure.” Twilight smiled again all the same after a moment, gesturing quickly with her head towards the ribbon-wrapped object on the table. “Unless we disable the anchor. If we work together, we should be able to shut it down. After that... well, I'm not sure what will happen.”
“Wonderful.” River Styx muttered, but after a moment he nodded hesitantly. Not like I have much of a choice, anyway.
Marina bit her lip nervously, but after a few moments, she nodded as well. “I trust you. And I guess it's the only way out, isn't it?”
“Maybe.” Twilight shrugged a bit before she looked at Scrivener and Luna, but it was more out of reflex than anything else: she already knew they would follow her to the ends of the earth. They had, after all, and far beyond...
Twilight chuckled quietly as Scrivener gave her a quietly-amused look and Luna grinned widely, but the violet mare banished her distractions after a moment before she approached the statue. She studied it for a few moments before she hesitantly reached out and touched one of the ribbons, and then she gave a brief nod before she explained: “Each ribbon is keyed to a different pony here. Grasp the end of your ribbon, and when I give the signal, we all have to pull at once. Okay?”
River Styx and Marina traded looks, but then they both nodded. Luna and Scrivener were already trying to find their ribbons, and River observed them silently, watching how quickly they seemed to locate their ribbons as Marina asked hesitantly: “So we just touch it, and it should... resonate?”
River Styx tested the theory by grasping the end of a ribbon, and he grimaced a bit at the feeling that went through his body, like electricity. “Seems like it.”
Marina nodded as she put her hoof on the last remaining ribbon, before she shivered a little at the staticky feeling that twisted through her. It wasn't pleasant, but at the same time, it was familiar, like the sting of using too much magic.
“Okay. On three, everyone pull.” Twilight instructed, and the others all looked at her, tensing up as the mare counted: “One... two... three!”
They pulled: at first, it hurt, making the ponies all flinch instinctively as it felt like the ribbon was pulling back against them, and a thousand times harder. But it only lasted a moment before the ribbon in each of their hooves suddenly tore, the ponies stumbling backwards as the cloth strips came loose from the shape on the table.
Marina caught sight of something fleshy and hideous before blurs invaded her vision and static echoed through her mind, making her wince away. But when she was able to steady herself and open her eyes, she saw that the table was gone.
Nothing else had changed, and yet the energy in the air felt completely different: maybe that was in part because the faint aching was gone from her head, but she thought it was more than that. It felt like the air was going stale, like reality itself was starting to peel apart here... or maybe a better way to describe it was that it was like this dream was coming to an end.
The chocolate mare shifted a little, before she looked nervously over her shoulder as the pile of rubble shifted, and River Styx grimaced as he followed her gaze. Twilight frowned uneasily, looking up, but Luna only grinned widely and pawed a hoof at the floor, growling: “Good. I would have been disappointed if this had ended without a fight.”
“Yes, Luna. It's all about what you want.” Scrivener Blooms said dryly, even as he lowered himself into a ready position, before his eyes narrowed as something began to hiss and slither its way out of the pile of debris.
Black, bubbling tar oozed its way out of the fallen mess, squirming tendrils of dark gunk stretching out of the fallen debris and rolling over it. River Styx grimaced at the sight before he looked towards Twilight, asking: “What is that?”
“It's not demonic...” Twilight muttered, watching uneasily as the pile of debris shivered: the black ooze spreading over it was yanking the broken rafters and dusty brick into a vaguely pony-like shape. “It's got that same energy signature as the rest of this place, though. It's generating this altered reality, that's all I can tell you for sure.”
“Then we should take it down.” River Styx said shortly, his horn glowing with magic as he readied himself.
The monstrosity in front of them leaned forwards, a golem of black ooze, dust, and broken fragments of wood. As it finished piecing itself together, the black gunk that made up its limbs and body rippled before hardening into a reflective chitin. It towered over them, thrice the size of any pony, but it was the soulless menace of the thing that made it intimidating: the fact that it seemed sentient, it seemed to understand them, and yet it seemed incapable of empathizing with them. They could all feel it, how it didn't hate them, but it looked down on them as if they were merely food, ripe for the picking.
It stared at them through the black, empty pits of its eyes, then laughed: its voice was hollow, yet sonorous, seeming to echo through their minds as it said: “I know you all. I see you all. I am you all. Food, for the Conclave.”
“The only food thou shall receive is my hoof!” Luna shouted, and then she leapt forwards, flapping her wings once to boost herself before she slammed a front hoof into the creature's face. She hit with enough force to make the golem stumble as the black chitin cracked, but even as the creature staggered, she was knocked backwards with a squawk, landing with a thump on her back and grasping at her hoof as if it had been burned.
The golem snarled, its attention immediately turning towards Luna before it attempted to stomp on her: Twilight was quick to react, however, blasting its hoof with telekinesis and knocking the strike wide enough Luna was able to fling herself out of the way of the attack. Its stony hoof crashed uselessly through the floor, and River Styx immediately snapped his horn out, aiming at the vulnerable neck of the creature.
The cutting blast of magic shattered part of its throat, making it snarl and wheel towards the stallion before it roared in frustration when Scrivener Blooms plowed into one of its hind legs. It kicked out, knocking the earth pony sprawling with a curse, and Luna and Twilight both flinched before the sapphire mare sprung back to her hooves and lunged forwards, slicing at its front ankle.
Her horn flashed with magic as it cut through the wood and crystal that composed its forelimb, making the beast stumble with a hiss. It struggled to catch itself, but Twilight followed up with a fireball that smashed into its face, shattering the black stone and knocking it staggering backwards.
It nearly collapsed, the golem slumping, its body quivering for a few moments before it chuckled quietly. Luna narrowed her eyes at this as the ponies readied themselves, before the entity murmured: “Such physical creatures, devout in the worship of frail flesh: but why do devils crave your bodies? Your minds are what we crave...”
Images and wild emotions twisted through the minds of all present, making them shiver and flinch. Toxic magic ripped through the air around them, filling the world with images culled from the minds of the ponies present, warping their perceptions and inflaming their emotions further as voices shouted disjointed, disconnected phrases-
Luna swore as a nightmarish shape lunged towards her, and she slashed wildly out at it on instinct, but her horn passed uselessly through the illusion, leaving her stumbling dumbly before the golem lashed out and smashed her with enough force to send her flying across the room. She crashed bonelessly into the wall, and both Scrivener and Twilight gasped, before the violet mare looked up in shock as the golem reared, then stomped both front hooves down, meaning to crush the life out of her in one strike-
Marina leapt in front of Twilight and hardened her body, but the chocolate mare still gasped in pain at the force the creature stomped on her with, cracks appearing through her chestnut form. Before the golem could stomp down again, though, Twilight lashed her horn out, blasting the creature with such a tremendous blast of telekinetic force that it was knocked sprawling on its back.
The world shook, even as the illusions and hallucinations continued to leap and cavort through the hall, calling out to the ponies, exposing their best and worst memories. Luna snarled as she yanked herself to her hooves before she was distracted again as a voice said quietly: “You can't fight everything, Brynhild.”
“I can and I will!” Luna snapped, even as she looked wildly back and forth for the source of the voice: her distraction was enough to confuse both Scrivener and Twilight through their strange link, who were both being assaulted by their own hallucinations on top of the wild, rollicking emotions passing between all their minds.
Marina flinched away as she heard voices yelling at her, clenching her eyes shut as she remembered boiling, burning, agony, her body losing its armory toughness even as the cracks pulsed in her chocolate frame, unable to heal with her attention divided. River Styx, meanwhile, was doing his best not to look in the direction of the voice that was saying quietly, almost pleadingly, that... “I can take care of myself... you don't have to be there for me every moment of every day...”
The golem climbed back to its hooves: even if its body was starting to visibly lose cohesion, it only seemed to be growing stronger, more excited: it was like the emotions in the air were helping it to wake up, to become more powerful, as it hissed: “We will consume you. We will consume all. That is what we were made to do...”
“Damnation!” Luna lunged into the air, then shot straight towards the golem, slamming into its features with a tremendous splash of black goop, before her eyes widened in horror as tendrils of black slime lashed out, seizing around her, burning into her, sapping the life from her body as she cried out in shock.
Twilight stumbled, looking up in horror, and Scrivener shouted a denial before he gritted his teeth and looked quickly towards the violet mare. Her eyes widened in disbelief at the wild idea he had, but then she nodded with a grimace before shouting: “Marina, River Styx! You need to knock it off balance!”
Marina shivered, but then she nodded before River Styx stepped forwards and slashed his horn out, sending blades of air magic slicing into one of the rear ankles of the golem. The creature staggered, hissing loudly as both black gunk and chunks of mortar and wood splattered through the air, the beast turning quickly towards River Styx.
The chocolate mare locked on to the ankle that Styx was concentrating on, waiting for her moment as the beast shifted its attention to the guardspony. Almost abruptly, the monster lunged, trying to crush Styx under its hooves, and Marina saw her chance as River Styx dodged backwards.
She sent a blast of telekinesis into its weakened ankle, shattering one of the bone-like rafters supporting its hind limb, and its leg gave out from beneath it with a crack, sending the beast spilling off to one side thanks to its extended forelegs. It was barely able to catch itself-
Scrivener Blooms leapt into the air as his body glowed with Twilight's magic, a moment before the stallion was flung like a cannonball at the side of the golem's neck. He smashed directly into Luna, tearing her loose from the grip of the golem before they both shot across the room and hammered painfully into a wall, falling to the ground with gasps as Twilight flinched in pain.
The golem shuddered with a snarl, black tentacles extending out of its ruined throat and grasping uselessly at the air around itself before it suddenly stiffened. The hallucinations and whispers vanished from the air as the beast looked back and forth, as if it could hear something... and then it snorted before simply beginning to collapse as the world around the ponies flickered, static rippling through the air around them as the creature whispered: “Very well. But I have their scent. I will find them again.”
Everything became too bright, light completely overtaking the sight of the ponies, and Marina gasped as she covered her eyes to try and block out the searing whiteness as River Styx lowered his head, his genet squeaking and burying himself into the stallion's mane. A buzzing filled their ears, before there was a sudden, violent sense of falling, the ponies spasming and grabbing wildly at the ground beneath them before all five looked sharply up to find themselves...
Safe and sound in a green field, in the comfort of a beautiful sunny meadow on a beautiful sunny day, where absolutely nothing was wrong beneath the gorgeous blue skies and those whitewashed fluffy clouds, sailing absently-
“Narrator!” Luna shouted, as she flung herself to her hooves before she groaned and hugged herself, shivering once as Scrivener Blooms wiped caked blood away from his muzzle. Twilight Sparkle looked confusedly back and forth, and River Styx grimaced as he slowly pushed himself to his hooves, while Marina shivered as she looked over her shoulder, watching the cracks in her back slowly healing. “Narrator, what is going on?”
Just a hiccup in the programming, that's all. A different plotline coinciding with our own, another play that happened to use the same theater but oops! They got their times all mixed up with ours and that's not slated to happen yet, not until it makes a bit more sense, because you see even with all the chaos we Draconequus like, we like it when our chaos makes sense, if that makes sense.
Luna ground her teeth together furiously, her eyes bulging, a vein throbbing in her neck. The visible threat of herniation, combined with the burns and bruises and splatters of ooze and blood over her body, made her look so terrifying that even River Styx winced away slightly.
Fortunately, Twilight Sparkle quickly stepped in, asking: “The intermission wasn't just about stabilizing this world, is it? It's about the... the struggle between you and Plutocrat.”
That was quite a strange way to put it, as if the humble Narrator has any control over what happens in the play. But if Twilight was referring to the plural 'you,' used most often in conjunction with 'you' groups of 'you' people, then perhaps she might be on to something... not that a humble theater company could ever admit to doing its best to intervene on behalf of its volunteer cast against the whims of the cruel producer; that would be a breach of contract.
“There's a plotline here. It's hidden under ten thousand layers of crap, but... I think I'm starting to understand what's really going on here.” Scrivener muttered, as he shook his head briefly.
River Styx frowned at this, but as he shifted a little, he thought it was true, too: wasn't there some hidden... logic beneath everything that was happening? It all seemed random and disconnected, like broken events, but... something was taking shape. Maybe something deeper than just the Draconequus, looking for entertainment...
Marina bit her lip, but before she could speak, there was a loud clapping, and all five ponies looked up in surprise to see the Director standing nearby, with the Critic and his assistant behind him. The dragon-tailed pony grinned widely, even though he seemed like he was pale and sweating, as he said quickly: “Everyone up? Good! Great, right! Well, if you're all on your hooves, let's get to it!
“The show must go on, after all.”