//------------------------------// // Screams From Beyond // Story: Marks Of Babylon // by Phoxjes Rome //------------------------------// Marks of Babylon Chapter 4 Screams From Beyond. "So, how was your little day out, 'me old chap'?" The British pony in the mask with the purple markings asked the Prep stallion, as he could hear him walk into the chamber. "Fairly entertaining, 'mate'." Illiux replied, stopping a few feet away from the tough-sounding pony. "At least, more entertaining than whatever you would get up to in that trailer you call home. And for your information, there was a miniature fight happening during my time." "You were fighting? And you didn't invite us? Mate, you're lucky to get out alive, knowing you." He replied, seemingly mocking him. "Oh, I'm flattered to know you've got my back(!)" Meanwhile the giant dragon was still in the center of the room, observing this conversation. "It's true! Friendship DOES conquer all!" He joked. "Wie auch immer if you must know, I was facing the girl who the key to you-know-what." "You what?!" He snapped, now sounding serious. "You gave it away?!" "Yes, I bestowed it, and unless you get it back, your friends are going to stay in their little crisis, because of what happened to my colleagues." "You think this is funny, do ya?" "It slightly amuses me, yes." "Go on then, who's got it?!" "Pinkamena Diane Pie." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had already been almost twelve hours since their last encounter with Illiux, yet it felt like two minutes. Twilight looked concerned at her Assistant's well being as he was laying there on a hospital bed because of the information that he held and refused to give away to him. "First Rainbow, then Applejack, then Discord, now this." "The poor darling couldn't even walk after what he had done... Because of me." Rarity said with a depressed tone. Twilight turned to her. "Rarity." She began. "It wasn't your fault that Spike tried to defend you. Who knows? Maybe Illiux was planning to do a lot worse if it were you instead if him. I know he's hurt, but Spike may have been happy to go through that for you." "Yes I would." A masculine voice sounded behind them and they all turned to him. Twilight and Rarity walked close, but Rarity went closer. "Rarity." Spike began. "I- I didn't mean- it wasn't- he was- I only-" Spike continued to stutter at her expecting her to lash out at him, but it was quite the opposite; she wrapped her front legs around him tightly and began to cry softly. He was taken back by this at first, until he hugged her back and looked sad, then mouthed something that looked like 'Thank Celestia.' Twilight and her friends merely chuckled at the gesture. "Your love for a young lady is as touching as ever, dear boy. However, to miss Rarity, you are destined to be a friend and nothing more, I'm afraid." Said a voice that was as familiar as it was unwanted. The ponies all turned to the doorway to see Illiux standing there. However this time he had some good news. "Rainbow Dash!!" They all shouted in unison. "Hey girls. Wassup?" She simply said, looking as though she was struggling to stand up properly. "What's up? What's up!?! Didn't they do anything to you there?" Applejack seemed confused. "Oh you wouldn't believe it! They stuck me inside this tube thing and-" Rainbow Dash tried to explain, right as Illiux pulled some kind of small capsule out of his pocket, and opening it in her direction. Just then, a bright light hit her in the face, the capsule vanished, and Rainbow covered her eyes for a second. "Uh... What? What was I just talking about?" Rainbow then turned to see Illiux. "Hey! you're that stallion from Twilight's place." "Okay, now I'm really confused." Pinkie shared. "That was a combination of magic that even Princess Twilight is not aware of. The first is called Gift Of The Diviner, and the second is Memory Mangle." "I've never even heard of those spells before. What do they do?!" Twilight demanded from him. "In good time." Illiux said. "Now then." He turned his head from them and walked towards the bed. "Hey!" Pinkie shouted as she got up on two legs and stood in front of Rarity. "You stay away from our Rarity." "Ah, I see." He walked up to her smiling. "So YOU'RE Rarity." "PINKIE!!" Spike and Twilight shouted at the same time. "Oops..." She smiled nervously. "Anyway, I came here for two reasons and fraulein Rarity is not one of them. Yet. First off: Guten tag Spikey-boy, how are you feeling?" "Well, I'm doing terrible now." "...Understandable. However I could not truly be a gentlecolt if I cannot even be a GENTLE-colt. So I brought you some gems to dine on for fighting me." The seven looked puzzled at this. "Wait so..." Twilight began. "First you attack my house, then your friend Xoa beats up Applejack, then you kidnap Rainbow dash, then you fossilise Discord, then you kidnap Spike, then you abuse him for information, then you hospitalise him, and now you're bringing him a gift?" "Are you loco in that coco?!" Asked a confused Pinkie. "Nein, I'm Germane." Said Illiux passing Spike the box of gems. "And the second reason I'm here is that I'm looking for miss Pinkie Pie. Now I can estimate it's one of you two, and I have a way of guessing who." The unicorn looked over to Pinkie and Fluttershy standing next to each other. As he walked up to them more a light shone from inside of him, and within seconds he created an illusion in the shape, size and form of a giant dragon. The dragon was pale white, shiny and had razor sharp yellow spines. He roared loudly at them and Fluttershy whimpered off behind a chair, whilst Pinkie did nothing. He reverted back to a unicorn, smiled and went up to her and greeted her with the same way that he greeted Twilight. "Is it you? Oh, foolish question, I know it's you seeing as how your friends shouted your name when you tried to defend miss Rarity. Anyway, my dear, I come with a warning: you will be fighting your opposing Mark next. As you hold the resemblance of fear, Caxpe (pronounced Cape) shall be your opponent." "Hey, I never said I was gonna fight anypony." She said with a bit of seriousness. "Would you be calm if I said he has the ability to make chocolate rain from cotton candy clouds?" He asked being cocky. Suddenly, Pinkie's face turned from determination to excitement. "Really?!" "Jawohl. In fact, it was him who taught Vanc- I mean, "Discord" how to do that." "Ooo... That does sound nice!" "Pinkie." Twilight said. She looked at her and then looked back at him. "Sorry, but I already have a friend who can do that. So I'm still not gonna fight." Illiux heard this and had a serious expression behind his mask. "Either way miss Pie, miss Applejack and master Spike didn't have a choice so what makes you so certain that you have one?" She and her friends had no ready reply for this. "Farewell for now mein ravishing darlings." He said as he prepared his escape, but then decided to use the door instead. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So let me get this straight." Rainbow dash said, after her friends brought her up to speed. "These guys are mad at us because we wrecked their home, and now they want to wreck ours?" "Correct. And princess Celestia said that each of us would be assigned an opponent, and from we've gathered, AJ, Rarity and Pinkie already have." Twilight continued to explain. "Well Spike." Began nurse Redheart. "From looking at your results it would appear you're ready to leave." She started to walk out of the door when, at that same time... "Hey you!" A voice shouted from in the hallway as the doors opened. He entered the same time that nurse Redheart left. A stallion with a light brown coat and a matching light brown pompadour hair do walked in. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and blue tight jeans with a brown thin leather jacket over him. "Oh... This looks bad." said Spike as he got out of his hospital bed. "Hey you're Pinkamena, right? My boss Caxpe wants to see you outside." Despite how this pony looked, he sounded surprisingly angelic. "Then tell your boss Caxpe to come in here." Replied Twilight. The stallion pointed at her in a tough manner. "No-one tells Caxpe Fear what to do; Caxpe Fear does the telling." "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna let him to us what to do. Now leave before you make a mess." She was trying to push him out the room. "I said he needs to see this rat!" The pony said, trying to stand still. "Do we look like a wrestling group?!" He then got off her and walked out combing his hair with his hoof. "You're gonna pay for this!" He called out to Twilight as he left. As he was leaving, he heard something trying to speak in his head, and he was quite reluctant to answer it. "Well?" A cockney voice asked him, sounding serious. "I tried, boss, really I did. But she's being difficult, just like you said. You might have to get to her yourself." "Did you get it, though?" "Nah. I didn't even get to bring it up. I'm heading back to you, man." He said, walking away. Back in the hospital room, the protagonists were discussing briefly. "So what're you gonna do Pinkie? If you go out you could end up like how me and Applejack did." Said Spike. "Still, better go see what he wants. Maybe it's a surprise party!" She gleefully said. "I doubt it." Rainbow Dash said lowly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Within minutes the seven of them were outside looking for Caxpe. They searched for a bit but to no avail, until... "So you came." A deep voice came from behind. They turned around. They saw a dark Purple Stallion with a dark brown pompadour mane wearing a mask like the others with a Purple lining on it for a symbol. He was also wearing tight black jeans, a torn white polo shirt, covered by a blue sweater, underneath a baggy black leather jacket. He also had biker gloves on his fore hooves and his left ear pierced. "Yeeaahh..." Said Pinkie a bit worried. "Good, 's about time. You think you can whatever you want, do ya? Think you spread peace and all that stuff on the world, and no pony's gonna care!?" "Not really. Not exactly, anyway. Well, sorta. Alright, yeah, we do." "Yeah? My whole world's come crumbling down, cause of you. Me home, my mates, my bikes, all my work, everythin' we've done, all of it's in vain, 'cause of you!" "Listen mister Caxpe." Began Twilight. "I know you must be upset about your home, but believe me, it had..." Her words were slowed by what she had just saw. It was him opening his jacket and two arms made of darkness came crawling out and were holding something. One had a box of cigarettes, and the other a lighter. He began to smoke right in front of them. "...Nothing..." "...To..." "...Do..." "...With..." "...Us..." He turned to face Twilight. "Oh really?" He turned back to Pinkie, and released some smoke straight into her face. "Did cha bring the key?" "Key? What key? Ooo is it a key to a party?" He then laughed at her stupidity, not her idea. "Think your funny, don't cha?" She smiled until what he did next: he used the darkness arms to grab her by the throat and lift her up. "WHERE ARE MY KEYS, YOU WORTHLESS PINK RAT!?!?!?! The whole life of my first ever friends depends on that, now give me that key!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The others rushed to help, but were then cut off by something familiar. "Babylon Tiamat-goddess of chaos!" He shouted as a force field that matched his coat emerged and knocked them all back. "Where is the key?!" He said through his gritting teeth. "I don't have any keys." Pinkie managed to choke out. He then threw her down and slammed her info the ground. Once she had gotten back up, he lifted her up and threw her into one of the forcefield walls. He then ready to pounce on her with a body slam, until she rolled over to the side and stood up straight. "Augh!!!" He grunted, and slammed his hoof into the ground and got up. "Hey Caxpe!" She called. As he turned around he was hit in the face directly by a well aimed shot of confetti and balloons, knocking him onto the floor again. This was followed by Pinkie using her party cannon to launch another shot, and another, and another. This went on until he used the confetti to his advantage. He lifted his cape over him, and he somehow vanished from it. "Huh?" Pinkie wondered as he disappeared. "Heh heh." His voice chucked from literally right behind her. "Aah!!" She jumped. "You almost made me drop me cig. Idiot." He scoffed as he inhaled, the exhaled in her face. She prepared to fire her weapon again, but this time he lifted his cape above his head, then quickly brought it straight to the bottom left. It touched corner of her cannon, and chipped a bit off. "Woah! Well that's not fair!" She complained. He ignored her and whipped his cape to the right, cutting off the top half, then he used his left hoof to go straight for her, breaking the centre, connected by the same hoof making a full circle destroying the whole plastic party cannon. Pinkie tried to back up, but realized she was now up against a wall. This was his perfect time to strike, as his back was turned to her, and he swung his came again, going directly for her neck. "Eep!" She squeaked. Luckily she dodged by ducking, and he sliced the forcefield wall. However, he wasn't done yet. He tried to punch the ground where she was with his left hoof, but again she dodges by jumping to the side. But then he saw this and used his right hind hoof to kick her away. "You not had enough yet!?" He called as he walked up to her. She was panting on the ground, until she turned around with an angry outburst. "AAAUUGH!!!" She roared as she attacked him and pinned to the ground. As soon as she touched him, her mane literally exploded, and flattened. Her mane as well as her coat went noticeably darker. He wolfed whistled at this style. "Alright Pinkameina?" He asked, as he also inhaled his cigarette and blew it in her face again. She pressed him harder. Just then, his cape grew darker underneath him, and he was absorbed into the ground in a puddle of darkness. The puddle then transformed into a rectangle, and then a black fist rose under Pinkie, launching her into the air. She then fell onto the ground, the fist disappeared, and Caxpe was standing where the fist was, wafting his cape over him as he appeared. This time Pinkie didn't get up, until Caxpe lifted her by the neck again with his darkness arms, and brought him closer to him. As he finished off his cigarette, he burned what was left of the butt into her body. "Augh!!!" She screamed in pain. "Where is the key Pinkie?!" "Hey!!" Shouted the young dragon. He turned to him with an uninterested look. "Lay off her, Grease ball!" That got his attention. He released his grip on Pinkie and went over to the edge of the forcefield where Spike was. "You what, mate?" He said surprisingly less angered than before. He reached behind him and pulled something out. "This what you're looking for?" He asked waving a key in front of Caxpe. He looked surprised now. "You can have it if you leave now." "You're a cheeky little muppet, aren't you lad?" He then deactivated the forcefield and took Spike's key. Also, he swooped his jacket over him and a shroud of darkness appeared and took him away. "Pinkie!!" The six of them shouted in unison. They ran over to check on their choking friend on the floor. "Hey, are you alright?" Asked Rainbow. "No. *cough* everything hurts." "Come on now. We should try to stay focused on one task at a time. Right now Discord is still turned to stone because of the Babylonians. If we break him out we can use him to-" "Yes? Use him to what?" They turned around to see and hear Discord. Fluttershy (of course) rushed over to hug him and he hugged her back until... The others stared in fear when he pulled out his claw in front of him, and one of Illiux's illusion panels showed up. Even more frightening was that it started to glow in Fluttershy's direction. "FLUTTERSHY NO!!" Twilight screamed when she pulled her away and he almost attacked himself. "Whoa!" He yelled when some familiar yellow glass panels appeared on their own surrounding him, defending himself from himself and showing that it was really Illiux with the same illusion powers as before. "Not you again." said Rarity as she looked down. He got up. "Nice to see you too." "Why are you here now?" "Why, to see you miss Rarity." He pulled out a another smaller panel and shouted something they really didn't want to hear right now. "Babylon Abzu-god of primeval!" And he and Rarity were trapped inside of a dark yellow forcefield. No-one could get in or out of it and they knew this by now. "We never did get round to our fight, my dear. And if you lose then your freedom becomes mine." Now they became even more worried. "If that should happen..." Twilight began. "What would you do with her?" "I would train her to join my faction of the Preppy and convince her to oppose the rest of you for us." "...You say that with a tone in your voice that you've done this before. Have you?" "Your highness, like you and your lovely friends, we will do whatever we have to in order to save this planet.." "Taking over ponies minds and forcing them to do your bidding is an act of kindness to you!?" "Miss Twilight, kindly stay out of this!!" Their fight began. He rushed at her and slammed her into the ground, then threw her into the forcefield wall. "Are you truly so Petit and weak that you cannot fight? Or are you simply afraid of me?" He said waving his hair. That did it. "Okay, you asked for it! Take this." She charged up her horn and fired a nearby rock at him. It hit, but did nothing and faded. He smiled as if he expected that. She looked puzzled and dropped a tree branch on top of him with her magic, but that just bounced right off him. "So sorry, but our Babylon magic has existed long before Equestria was even founded! Your little stage tricks have no effect on us what so ever; we're immune to your powers. Now then, shall we continue?" He formed another Glass panel just a little taller than him was to fire a laser at her. She was knocked back. Then he kicked right behind him, but hit her for some reason. "Rarity, are you okay?!" Twilight asked her friend inside of the force field. "Nah, she'll be 'right." A male British voice told her from right behind her. The girls looked around to see Caxpe. "Him again?!" Rainbow Dash asked, not getting a reply. "Illiux in't that hard, your mate's gonna be fine." He told the girls, getting another cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lighting it up. "Ah, Caxpe. I see that you've managed to get out of you're fight alive. Maybe you should have asked me for assistance, to watch me finish what you started." Illiux said to the polar opposite pony. "Would've done it sooner, if you hadn't nicked this off me." Caxpe responded, showing him the key he had retrieved a few moments ago. "I felt as though you had to have the favor returned after that little stunt you pulled in my refectory." "What did Caxpe do, Illuix?" Twilight asked him, suddenly interested in their relationship status. "The most vile and uncouth thing you can imagine: He and his friends thought it wold be funny to pour glue into my Hoof Sanitizer." Illiux answered, looking at his hooves. "Ha ha! Nice." Rainbow Dash said, laughing at the thought of that. "Yeah, and you got us back for it after you nicked the key to me quarry. Me and the lads were stood there freezing outside trying to get in for an hour, coz of yous." "You would know all about being left outside in the cold, wouldn't you Caxpe? After your youth, and everything you've been through, correct?" Caxpe looked at Illiux, with a face of extreme anger. "I'm not going back there, you posh muppet. And you ain't doin' this to us again, you hear me?" "Justifiable, honestly. It's not my fault that the spell can inly be undone by the key crafted from it." Illiux said, before turning around. 'I might need to take note of all this new magic.' Twilight thought. "Now then, back to the battle..." He followed his previous attack by hitting nothing, but still Rarity felt it. He continually hit nothing beside him and Rarity felt it. This went on until she dodged one and hit something invisible right next to her. Illiux, on the other side of the field moved his leg upwards to block the hit, and now they understood why. The place where they thought he was faded, and he turned visible where Rarity just hit. "Clever, for figuring out my special talent of illusions. However, it shall not help you for this!" He ran at her and tried to jump kicked when she guarded her front. Then, before he did attack her, he vanished and reappeared doing the same jump kick right behind her and knocked her down. She tried to get up, but he put his hoof on her head and kept it down. "It appears, that I have reigned victorious." "First time for everything..." Caxpe whispered to Applejack. He got off of her and the forcefield shrank, allowing Illiux to pass through and stayed over Rarity. "Perhaps in your new life, our paths will not cross in this manor." A light shone up from the ground and she could feel her soul being stripped from her body. She tried to escape but couldn't get out of the field. She eventually gave up, until... The forcefield let her go, but for a certain reason: she was being pushed out, and she saw by who. "Spike no!!!!" Screamed Twilight. "What are you doing?!?!" He turned to her smiling with tears in his eyes. "You're an element of harmony, Rarity. Equestria needs you... Twilight needs YOU more than ME, so I'm letting the Marks of Babylon take ME instead." "SPIKE!!! NO!!!!" Rarity screamed, but it was too late. He fell to the ground unconscious when the forcefield disappeared. "NOO!! MY LITTLE SPIKEY WIKEY!!" Rarity sobbed with her friend in her hooves. She and her friends ran over to help him and wake him up, but his eyes remained closed. "Spike! Can ya hear me?!" Applejack yelled, trying to shake him awake. "Come on Spike, get up!!" Rainbow ordered, hoping to get him to hear her. "Spike! Please be ok." Fluttershy whimpered. "Spike... No..." Twilight quietly muttered, feeling the tears well up. Before anymore grieve-driven words could be spoken by the girls, they saw a bright light appear around Spike's body, and more illusion panels appeared. The panels then spread out so that the girls were thrown away from his body. "What? The boy sacrificed himself? For you? Preposterous!" Illiux was holding a small glass panel in his hoof, with Spike's emotionless face on it. He seem puzzled at his actions and did something they really wanted to see: He magically made the panel vanish, and moved his hooves to hold his mask, and then took it off. He had dreamy light blue eyes with excessively large pupils, and the front of his mane was fully washed, dried, and combed, blonde and with a parting down the center. "Nevertheless, his will is mine. Although I must admit if I was going to plan on kidnapping some pony close to you, it most likely wouldn't have been him. Come, my dear boy, we have much practicing to get on with." He rose without question and stood there with no pupils in his eyes. Illiux went up to him and took him with him to his light escape. They all just stood there after beholding the sight of losing their friend. AGAIN.