Chapter Eleven: Holes
~BlackRoseRaven
Luna grinned widely even as she was thrown backwards, twisting her body sharply and spreading her wings wide to slow herself as much as possible before she crashed back into the stone wall of the tower. She caught herself in midair with a hard flap of her smoldering wings, looking up and roaring: “Can thou give me no better, beast? I want to fight a dragon, not a newt!”
The dragon roared back at her furiously from where it was clinging to another tower of the castle, the monster snarling before it shoved itself into the air, flapping its ugly, misshapen wings to give itself an extra boost as it launched itself towards her.
Luna's eyes gleamed as she flung herself forwards to meet the massive beast; its claws swept down to try and grab her and crush her out existence, but Luna dodged back and forth around the wild grabs before she slammed a savage double-kick into the beast's throat, making it gargle as its head snapped back and its heavy rump swung forwards.
Luna dropped, her horn flashing as she channeled magic through her body to increase the power of the solid punch she slammed into the dragon's solar plexus,the beast howling as it was knocked crashing down into the ramparts of the castle below. Soldiers scattered, yelling and adding to the din of the ringing bells and alarms, but as the dragon picked itself up out of the ruins of the wall it had crashed into, no one dared to try and take to the air.
That was too bad, Luna thought, as she cracked her neck with a grin before punching her hooves together. She was just getting warmed up: even with the limitations she could feel the strange world imposing on her, even in spite of the blood running down her face and the aches running through her body beneath her cracked armor, she was eager for more.
The dragon leapt back into the air with a roar, breathing out a blast of hellfire, but Luna flapped her wings hard to launch herself above the blaze as she readied herself to drop-
Something streaked past her, nearly knocking her out of the air before it slammed savagely into the dragon's skull, knocking the beast's head back. Then Luna's eyes widened as a Pegasus streaked down one side of the dragon's face, and the massive reptile howled in misery as one of its eyes all-but-exploded.
The Pegasus shot back up into the air, and Luna glared at the Pegasus: she was both shocked and infuriated to see none other than- “Sol Seraph.”
Sol Seraph looked at her coldly for a few moments, and then she turned her eyes back towards the dragon, which was now clinging to one of the damaged towers of the castle, uselessly grasping at its bloody face. “This lizard is not even worthy to serve as the trophy of a fifth rank. You disappoint me.”
“The only disappointment here is that thou art not mine enemy, so I cannot simply smash thee as I would dearly, dearly like to.” Luna growled in response, glaring balefully at the Pegasus, before her eyes sharply flicked downward as she felt a mental nudge. “But if Twilight Sparkle speaks for thee-”
“Yes, I am nothing but a dream. What do you have to fear from the vapors of sleep, Princess of the Night?” asked Sol Seraph derisively, and Luna smiled thinly.
“Those who underestimate the power of dreams deserve the follies they shall reap as reward.” muttered Luna, the sapphire mare shaking her head shortly before she looked back down at the dragon as it roared in fury, dropping its claw away from the bloody socket that had once been an eye, its remaining iris gazing with raw hate and fury up at the two. “Cut the head from the snake.”
“Go high.” Sol Seraph said coldly, and Luna bared her teeth at the order, but there was no time to argue: the dragon was already lunging up into the air, and the Pegasus was already furling her wings to fall.
So instead, Luna twisted around and shot down in a sharp arc, throwing herself into the dragon's line of sight before she suddenly twisted back upwards, shooting above the dragon's head as the beast snapped at her.
The dragon began to roar again as it flapped its wings hard, turning to shoot after the mare, but Sol Seraph shot across the dragon's exposed throat, and there was a burst of crimson as hidden blades sprung from her bracers and tore ruthlessly through the neck of the beast.
The dragon's head snapped back and forth as it went out of control, falling off to the side and crashing with a tremendous bang into another wall of the castle. And this time, Luna didn't think the beast would be getting back up, as Sol Seraph calmly flew up to meet her before the Pegasus said contemptibly: “A disappointment, as I expected. And the fact that you spent so long playing with it says that you are stupider and weaker than I thought.”
Luna glowered over at Sol Seraph, then she gestured shortly over her shoulder at the jilted tower behind them.”Shall we?”
“Aye. Let us hope Hild has secured Princess Novella.” Luna muttered, and Sol Seraph smiled thinly.
“It fails to surprise me that you are so eager to partake in this foal's game, Luna. But you never did care about consequences, did you?” Sol Seraph asked coldly, and Luna merely snorted in contempt, glowering at the Pegasus as she turned to shoot towards the hole in the tower.
Luna followed quickly, and she was glad to find Twilight Sparkle and River Styx were waiting for her with Marina in front of the door leading into the Princess' tower, the Dervishes laying in beaten ruin on either side of the room.
The sapphire mare could also feel the same strange energy they undoubtedly did: it was like a whisper in her mind, a voice that was between instinct and compulsion, telling her that she had to be the one to open the door, that what was waiting for her on the other side was for her to experience, and her alone.
All the same, Luna smiled around at the other ponies, even though Styx seemed... strange, she thought. Almost haunted, even as the character he was playing shone through brightly when he said cheerfully: “Well, good of you to join us, finally! We may have picked up a stray, but at least you two seem to be getting along quite well already. Like a pair of bloodrats.”
“Aye, Loki, although I must say I am rather surprised to see that thou hast managed to enlist the aid of... this.” Luna gestured derisively towards Sol Seraph, scowling horribly at her, but Sol Seraph was completely unfazed, only calmly producing a cigarette and putting it in her muzzle.
“This play is the same as any other contest. You only give your enemies more strength by playing to the rules they have set.” Sol Seraph said coldly, and Luna grumbled under her breath before the Pegasus turned her eyes towards the door. “He is waiting for you. What will you do?”
Luna was silent, knowing that it wasn't Scrivener Blooms that Sol Seraph was referring to... but after a moment, she gave a wide grin as she looked around at them all, winking as she said cheerfully: “Well, never fear, my friends! I know that very soon, all the answers will be before us!”
Luna turned and shoved the door open, stepping boldly into the room where Princess Novella had been sequestered, before she stumbled to a halt and glared as she found not the princess she had been searching for, but instead Ignominious, calmly waiting for her.
“You escaped, and you came, just like they said you would.” Ignominious said softly, and the two looked at each other silently for a few moments before the stallion gave a thin smile. “I suppose I'm not entirely surprised. After all, you've always been... stubborn.”
“Stubborn, aye. And I must confess, nor am I all that surprised to find thee here, Ignominious.” Luna said quietly, bowing her head politely to the stallion before she straightened and squared her shoulders, asking mildly: “Although I must ask. What if I had allowed the dragon to bring down the tower, what would thou have done then?”
“I had faith you wouldn't. That's the difference between us, Brynhild, it always has been: I put faith in things.” Ignominious responded, and Luna chuckled softly.
“Nay. I too, have my faith, my friend. I always have, and I always shall.” Luna smiled faintly across at him, before she murmured: “But unlike thou, I also do not mistake hope for faith, either, and nor do I blindly trust in those who hold my leash.”
“You never were much one for being under anyone's authority.” Ignominious halted, looking down for a moment before his eyes flicked up, and he said quietly: “I am to take you into custody. To bring you and your friends to the sanctuary in the heart of the castle, where...”
He broke off, then smiled slightly as he shrugged a bit, calmly unsheathing a sword that thrummed with holy energies as he said easily: “Perhaps I shouldn't get too ahead of myself just yet. You do have a habit of worming your way out of difficult situations.”
“Aye, it has always been a talent of mine.” Luna smiled slightly, winking over at the stallion before she straightened and rose her head high, fearlessly meeting Ignominious' gaze, not so much as giving a glance to the sword he held in his psychic grip. “Tell me, Ignominious. How is it that just one of thou shall be strong enough to capture all of us?”
“Oh, I certainly know that I'm not, Brynhild. But I'm not alone, you see. I have angels with me. You know how pious the Red Messengers are.” Ignominious replied with a slow tilt of his head towards the mare, and Brynhild began to grin before her eyes widened slightly as she realized what it was that the stallion meant.
“Damnation!” Luna growled, and then she leapt backwards and spun around, leaping back out into the lobby as she snapped: “Through the hole!”
Sol Seraph simply smiled thinly before she flung herself out into the air, and Twilight winced as Marina and Styx both stared at the sapphire pony, before the chocolate mare started: “I can't-”
Twilight Sparkle grabbed the chocolate mare before she flung herself out through the hole, Marina unable to repress a scream of shock as they fell through the night sky. She stared in horror at the ground below as it came closer and closer, before there was a sudden crack, followed by a powerful thrum of magic, and they were suddenly shooting up towards the sky.
Marina dared a look up, and her eyes widened as she saw that Twilight had somehow sprouted enormous, shadowy wings, the purple unicorn saying calmly over the roar of the wind around them as she held Marina tightly against her body: “Just keep still, and I'll get you to safety, okay?”
Marina could only nod dumbly as Twilight carried her onward, Luna joining them a moment later with a scowling Styx in her own forelegs, the mare shouting cheerfully: “Aye, fear not, Hild! Morgan may not admit it, but she has quite the soft spot for pretty mares!”
“What are we dealing with, Brynhild?” Twilight asked crankily as she glared over at the sapphire mare, and Luna became more serious as she looked quickly back ahead.
“Another brush of the past. And just as the past, I think they are-” Brynhild was cut off by an arrow that streaked past her head, the mare swearing and sharply flicking her horn to blindly launch a fireball over her shoulder. “Hild, Loki! Do what thou can to ward them off!”
“How do you expect us to do that?” Styx shouted in Loki's voice, although it was clear some of the frustration was being channeled directly from the unicorn as he glared back over his shoulder at the glowing white Pegasi chasing them- no, not Pegasi... alicorns? What the-
“Stop the heretics!” shouted one of the 'angels,' snapping his horn forwards to send an arrow of white light streaking towards them. Twilight and Luna dodged to either side, avoiding the blast easily before Sol Seraph seemed to appear out of nowhere, spinning around and flinging a volley of small knives at their pursuers.
One of the angels was knocked from the air with a howl of misery, but Sol Seraph didn't watch her prey fall as she spun around and quickly rejoined Twilight and Luna, saying coldly: “Your hesitation only benefits the enemy.”
Luna only growled as they shot through the sky between two narrow towers, and Twilight sharply flicked her horn, launching a mortar of electricity back over her shoulder: it exploded between the towers they had just passed into a massive web of electricity, and their pursuers howled in agony as they were caught in the net of lightning.
Sol Seraph smiled thinly, Marina wincing as she clung to Twilight and Styx looking back over his shoulder as he ground his teeth together: he saw that even as many of the so-called 'angels' fell, plenty more were giving chase, seeming to come from everywhere. “Those rejects sure don't give up easy, do they? Mages, you can't just let the birds fly, you have to paste wings on everything else!”
“These are more the doings of the Order than the workings of the mage guild!” Twilight retorted, and Luna couldn't help but note that apparently the mare was far better at getting into character when her attention was being consumed by something else... such as the flock of 'angels' that was leaping down from the towers, moving to cut them off. “Brynhild!”
“If they desire us to leave the skies, let us grant their wish!” Luna shouted, before she dropped into a sudden, steep dive, and Twilight winced but followed, Sol Seraph bringing up the rear with a snort of contempt.
They dropped between the towers and arches of the mighty castle before Brynhild twisted suddenly, sleekly shooting through a thin alley between two stone towers, and then she dropped lower, zipping under a bridge. Twilight Sparkle and Sol Seraph followed smoothly, while the graceless angels attempting to chase them crashed against the walls and each other, many of them falling from the air with shouts of pain.
“Wings do not a bird make, as they say.” Luna muttered as she twisted around another structure, before her eyes locked on a window ahead, some part of her simply knowing that- “There! If they so want us to see their 'sanctuary-'”
Luna barreled forwards, and River Styx winced and covered his face defensively before the mare cannonballed herself through the glass, flipping several times before she dropped to the ground. Her rear hooves tore up the carpet as she skidded to a halt in an awkward standing position on her hind legs, the mare grinning widely as she finally came to a stop in front of a set of large double doors, angels and soldiers all staring in shock at the mare standing with the stallion half-cradled in her forelegs.
Styx grunted as he was dropped on his rump, before Luna slammed her front hooves together and cracked her neck with a grin, asking easily: “Is this party invite only?”
The soldiers all stared at her, and Luna rose her hooves, saying lamely: “Because... I have brought invitations for my... own... hoof party at thy face's... uh...”
She and her awkward audience were both spared any further fumbling as Twilight shot in through the window, followed by Sol Seraph, and the Pegasus wasted no time with banter as she flung two explosive balls to either side of the hall, both of them exploding in terrible conflagrations that quickly caught on the wooden walls.
“Damnation, Sol Seraph!” Luna roared in frustration, as the Pegasus dropped on top of an angel with a crunch before she leapt forwards and slammed one of her hidden blades through the eye of a soldier. “We are-”
“Block the exits. We have enough insects swarming in as it is.” Sol Seraph said coldly, and Luna growled at the Pegasus even as she leapt to the side, slamming a savage punch into an angel pony to drive it bonelessly to the ground.
But she didn't argue, and Twilight was already creating a barrier over the broken window to bar any enemies from following them in. Instead, Luna swept into the crowd, drawing soldiers and angels towards her as she roared: “The true enemy is beyond this threshold! Drive back these chaff and bring down the doors!”
“On it.” River Styx said shortly as he blasted an enemy away with a powerful thrum of wind, spinning towards the massive double doors that barred their way forwards. His eyes flicked sharply over them, assessing it in a moment: fortified ironwood, some kind of massive locking mechanism... and enormous, visible hinges.
Styx reached back into his cloak, letting Loki guide him even as his own instincts quickly assessed what had to be done: the Loki part was hesitant, but Styx refused to slow or stop, refused to let himself think twice about what had to be done in order to move forwards.
An angel leapt between him and his target, and Styx swung his horn down, mercilessly slashing into him before following up with a blast of wind magic that both knocked the stallion out of his way and tore the wound wide open. As the pony bounced away, Styx yanked out what felt like a packet of soft clay free from his cloak, shredding the paper packet around it with magic before he slammed the doughy substance over the hinge, shouting: “I need fire here!”
Without so much as a glance in his direction, Sol Seraph produced an explosive ball in one hoof before she flung it sharply to the side. It arced perfectly through the air, flying just past Styx and exploding in a small boom that turned into a tremendous blast when the fire licked the clay, knocking Styx flying backwards as he narrowly shielded himself with his forelegs and a burst of magic on instinct, the winds that sliced into the explosion the only thing that saved him from being immediately torn apart.
Instead, he was hurled backwards with his body seared by the flames, crashing painfully to the ground and rolling to a tattered, smoldering stop halfway across the room. But he only grinned as the door audibly groaned as broken bits of metal pattered down around the room.
“Damnation, has thou no decency, no respect!” shouted Luna furiously, glaring over her shoulder at Sol Seraph; as if in answer, the Pegasus drove a hoof up under the muzzle of her opponent, and her hidden blade shoved out the back of their head a moment later, Luna grimacing in disgust even as she seized an angel that leapt at her and slammed it face-first into another soldier, crunching them both to the ground... but leaving them unconscious and broken, not dead.
River Styx slowly picked himself up as Marina ran towards him, the mare grimacing and knocking a soldier out of her way before she skidded to a halt beside him, starting: “Are you-”
“We need to get back to the door.” Styx rasped, as he rolled onto his side and then shivered, picking himself slowly up. Marina dropped beside him, grasping him and helping him back to his unsteady hooves, the unicorn shaking his head briefly before he groaned when a strong hoof seized his shoulder from the other side.
“Give me the explosive.” Sol Seraph ordered, and River Styx looked at the Pegasus for a moment as Marina shifted uneasily away from the strange, cold mare, biting her lip nervously: even with all the rage of combat, the flames spreading over the walls, the sense of growing urgency... Sol Seraph made her feel... cold.
Then Styx shifted, pulling out another bundle from his cloak as he muttered: “I swear this stuff wasn't even in here before. Loki must be putting it there.”
“I will not warn you vermin again. If you let this world rule you, you will not escape it.” Sol Seraph said coldly, and then she yanked the bundle away from Styx before she kicked one hind hoof backwards, and there was a terribly wet noise as her kick connected with an angel's throat, before she tore to the sound, the hidden blade extending from the bracer around her leg nearly decapitating the pony.
Marina shivered and looked away, feeling nauseated, while River Styx only stared blankly for a moment, feeling strange and numb and uncomprehending. But when Sol Seraph looked into his eyes, he nodded all the same, before he stiffened slightly as the Pegasus said icily: “If you so desire to save your 'brother,' the enemy you seek is behind that door. Or has your resolve weakened that much?”
River Styx bared his teeth at the Pegasus, and Sol Seraph gave a thin smile before she turned around and said coldly: “Cover me. You have the tools.”
River Styx flexed his hooves, before he looked down in surprise to see that a crossbow had simply... appeared in them. Or had it been hidden in his cloak, like everything else, and his itchy hooves had simply...
His horn glowed, as he loaded a bolt with magic into the crossbow. He didn't know where the bolt had come from: he only knew that when he needed more, they would be there. He rose the crossbow to his shoulder-
Marina grasped him, and Styx flinched as the chocolate mare asked disbelievingly: “What are you doing? The others need help, and she's just-”
Marina winced when Sol Seraph, instead of leaping towards the door, leapt on top of another angel and drove both her hidden blades down into the back of its neck, nearly severing its head from its shoulders. She threw herself off the angel a moment later, leaping towards another soldier who looked like he was trying to escape the fray, not fight...
Styx looked over his shoulder: Twilight was trying to concentrate on creating barriers to block the invading forces, but enemies were harrying her, throwing themselves at her: they were a nuisance, not a real threat to the powerful unicorn, but every time they distracted her, the barrier she was working on visibly weakened.
Styx looked the other way, and saw Luna, smashing her way through her opponents: but now, Dervishes had joined the battle, and their strength and sheer size were starting to turn the tide against the mare. There were simply too many enemies, and more were flooding in from all sides, smashing through unblocked windows, charging in through the flames that were still too small and too weak to keep the overzealous, brainwashed angel-ponies at bay.
And Sol Seraph was by herself. Killing, culling the weak, the outsiders, moving around the edges of the room and ruthlessly attacking pony after pony... only certain ones, though, Styx thought, as Marina shouted at him to try and get his attention, as a Dervish ran towards them-
Styx's eyes flicked towards the huge, armored stallion, and his horn thrummed before he rose the crossbow and fired, accelerating the bolt with wind magic. The Dervish's head snapped back as he almost-comically half-flipped crashing down on his back with a tremendous bang.
He quickly reloaded the crossbow, then took aim with it: the shot he fired went straight and true, ramming through the skull of an angel-pony that had been turning towards Sol Seraph. Marina flinched slightly at this, before she swore as a sword sliced at her, bringing her focus away from Styx and back to the battle.
A soldier lunged at her with a yell that sounded more frightened than furious, and Marina caught the hilt of his sword with a hoof before she drove the pommel of the weapon down into his head, knocking him senseless. She simply flung the sword away, then grimaced as another soldier flew at her with a spear in his forelegs, her horn thrumming with strange magic before the pole of the weapon in the soldier's grip suddenly burst into thorny life.
The soldier yelped, zigzagging out of control before he flung the spear away. He stared at Marina for a moment, then turned and bolted away as the chocolate mare looked back at Styx, who was only calmly watching as Sol Seraph continued to reap her way through her victims, killing one after the other. “Help us!”
“I am.” River Styx muttered, as his sharp eyes watched the way Sol worked, how she chose her victims carefully, how she wasn't just picking off the weak, the frightened, at random: there was a method to her madness, but he only fully understood what she was doing when she drove an angel to the ground and cut not only his throat, but also the bag of equipment loose from his side.
She was swift, elegant, and professional: she was without mercy, and without emotion. She was the key to ensuring that his brother ended up safe, he knew: the others were strong, but Luna was so... overpassionate, Marina was so kind, Twilight had tried to sway him from doing what he knew had to be done...
Sol Seraph brought judgment and discipline. Sol Seraph never acted without reason, and never hesitated when that reason was given.
Sol Seraph moved like lightning as she shot suddenly from the angel she had just killed towards the second hinge in the wall, the explosive in one hoof and the bag in the other. River Styx watched, and the eyes of many of the ponies in the hall turned towards the Pegasus as well, soldiers shouting and angels howling as if they knew what was coming.
The Pegasus shoved the packet of clay into the satchel, then flung the bag hard at the hinge. She followed this up with another glass ball she seemed to make appear out of thin air, the ball striking not the satchel, but the solid wall just above the hinge, and there was a spark-
The explosion that ripped through the air was massive, making ponies flinch and stumble out of their fights as they looked up in shock at the devastated door. The hinge had been all but disintegrated by the blast, as had a large chunk of the wall, and the side of the door looked almost as if it had melted as it slowly began to keel forwards, the lock mechanism holding the huge gates together grinding loudly before something tore loose, and the massive, unbalanced half of the double doors came slowly falling forwards, soldiers scrambling out of the way before the door slammed down with a floor-shaking boom.
It was madness, Luna thought, as she looked at the smoldering debris of the door. And it made her wonder: how much of what was happening was, in some strange way, occuring only to propel the story forwards? How much was the fault of this play needing rules and logic, however impossible or insane it seemed?
“Enough!” roared a voice from inside the sacred halls beyond, and the soldiers and angels that remained flinched and drew back.
Luna glared through the broken gates as she launched herself across the room, landing on top of the fallen door. Twilight joined her, and Sol Seraph landed on her other side a moment later; Marina and Styx both approached from behind as the enemies withdrew from around them, leaving them in a strange, calm bubble as they gazed into the sanctuary beyond, waiting, until Luna took the first step forwards.
The group strode as one through the breached doors, out of the fiery ruin of the hall and into the cold serenity of the sanctuary. Here, they found the Red Messengers, and Ignominious, all standing on the stage at the front of the grand hall, the black stallion with Scrivener Blooms beneath one hoof.
Luna led the way down the nave, looking back and forth at the hobbled and imprisoned ponies chained, shackled, and tied to the benches that lined the mighty hall. She felt a strange shifting in her mind, and a whisper, a warning, not to look up: yet she, like the others, couldn't help but give the quickest of glances towards the roof all the same, where malevolent slime twisted over the rafters, sentient and awful and watching them with a thousand unseen hungry eyes.
Luna looked back forwards, focused on the play, focused on what had to be done, as they approached the stage. She smiled up at Scrivener Blooms, doing her best to ignore everything else as she asked easily: “Princess, I am beginning to suspect thou must like being taken hostage. And... Ignominious. I am sad to see thee here. Not surprised, though, but my. Thou must be fleet of hoof to have reached this place before us.”
“Well, you know how life is. You can only bend chaos into order for so long, without the right tools.” Ignominious replied with a shrug and a slight smile, tipping a look towards Luna. Then he sighed a little as the Red Messengers glared at him, before he said quietly: “I'm afraid that history repeats.”
“Yes, Brynhild. It's too bad: this could have been you.” said one of the Red Messengers, the stallion stepping forwards and glaring coldly down at the sapphire mare. “Instead, this loyal paladin shall serve as the holy vessel for-”
“Why don't you cut the crap? I mean. This is such a B-movie cliché it's almost sad.” Scrivener said loudly, looking up grumpily as he shook the shackles around his forelegs uselessly, and Luna grinned despite herself. “I mean, honestly. Let's see. You have a secret cult inside a religious organization, you have the tragic antagonist – that's you, Iggy – who is going to serve as the vessel for the 'new god,' you have the sacrifices to pave the way for the coming of... Ch'ton or Yog Soggoth or... just please tell me you didn't go with Cthulhu, I mean. Seriously, that guy gets called every other day by some bizarre crazy cult, he must be so sick and tired of-”
“Be silent, wench!” roared the Red Messenger, and he stepped forwards and slapped Scrivener hard, snarling: “You're lucky we need you alive to serve as the vessel's first offering, because your parents gladly would have allowed up to behead you with that ever-flapping tongue of yours! But your virgin body-”
Scrivener scowled horribly as Luna burst immediately into cackling laughter, and Twilight awkwardly cleared her throat and reached up to cover her muzzle as Marina and Styx both stared at them, and Sol Seraph slowly closed her eyes, looking pained, as Luna chortled: “Virgin! Virgin, yet! As if there is even an inch of my lovely princess I have not...”
And then Luna suddenly sat up straight, a wide grin on her face as the Red Messenger stared at her with horror and Ignominious simply stared when Luna declared: “Yes, that is right! Thy plan is foiled, fools, for I, Brynhild, Champion of Equestria, have ravaged Princess Morebucks in ways thou cannot even imagine! Her luscious and supple body has felt every inch of my mighty stallion's virility, her gorgeous and beautiful frame has been wracked and ravaged and-”
“Luna okay we get it thank you!” Scrivener shouted in a strangled voice, and River Styx rubbed slowly at his face as Marina blushed and lamely looked down at her front hooves, unable to believe that of all the stupid things-
“No, this cannot be possible! The Princess, the royal bloodline cannot have been sullied by the likes of you!” shouted the Red Messenger, as Ignominious simply sighed and glowered at Luna, clearly far less surprised as the other Red Messengers shouted and swore and almost visibly panicked. “The coming is nigh, and you... you have abused, molested our own hope, taken her virginity and-”
“And especially her buttocks.” Luna said with clear relish, waggling her eyebrows pointedly at the Red Messenger, who violently, visibly twitched.
“The time is now! We cannot stop what has already been begun!” shouted one of the other Messengers, and Luna frowned and looked sharply up as Ignominious shifted silently. “She is still of royal blood and heritage, and we can offer him Brynhild, too! Bring him to this world, the vessel is ready!”
“Yes. I am ready.” Ignominious said quietly, and Luna glared up at the stallion before she frowned silently when he leaned down towards her, his eyes locking with hers, speaking with her in a way he hadn't for a thousand years.
“We will fight thee. We will fight all of thee and whatever thou sends against us. I fear no monster, I fear no demon, not even one that masquerades beneath the face of a god.” Brynhild said coldly, even as the Red Messengers hurriedly began to withdraw towards the back of the stage, the unicorns all channeling their magic together, into some unknown, alien spell that made the others shiver, that made Twilight grimace and Marina and Styx both twitch-
“Stay.” Sol Seraph ordered, and River Styx gritted his teeth, but lowered his crossbow all the same as Marina only grimaced.
The Red Messengers wove their magic as Scrivener shifted beneath Ignominious' hoof, the stallion biting his lip before he shouted, falling into character for a moment: “Help me, Brynhild!”
“Now, stay calm, Princess Novella. Thou knows I shan't put thee in any danger I can't save thee from.” Luna smiled reassuringly, winking at the Princess before her eyes flicked to Ignominious, as she said in a quieter voice: “I shall save her from whatever I must.”
“I know. It makes me jealous.” Ignominious replied with the smallest of smiles, before he bowed his head silently to the mare, closing his eyes. “We all have our roles to play, Brynhild, but I hope you know that no matter what I did, no matter what the past is... we both wished many a time I could live up to being the stallion you wanted me to be.”
Luna smiled faintly, and oh, how it hurt. How it hurt, in spite of all the years that had passed, before she only calmly looked up as lightning thundered through the world, as the sanctuary shook with the force of the magic ripping through it. One of the Red Messengers laughed loudly, and then he pulled loose from the spell with some difficulty and stumbled away from the group to the edge of the stage, glaring down in fury as he roared: “Now! Now he comes, the Lord of All! Vessel, step forward, accept his holy presence into your body and... and...”
The Red Messenger faltered as Ignominious calmly removed a broken amulet and flung it to the ground in front of the Red Messenger, and the stallion mouthed wordlessly before he looked up and almost screamed: “What is this? What have you done?”
“I made my choice.” Ignominious said quietly, and then he grasped Scrivener by the back of the dress and flung him off the stage, Luna catching the stallion with a grunt as Ignominious said sharply: “Get the Princess to safety, and-”
“Oh shut up, Ignominious, as if I am going to let thou sacrifice thyself nobly to suck up all the credit.” Luna grumbled as she almost flung Scrivener aside, sending him to the ground with a thump on his face. “Hild, Loki, Morgan, free the hostages!”
Luna leapt upwards, flapping her wings once to launch herself onto the stage, and she scowled despite herself as Sol Seraph landed beside her a moment later like a ghost, the Pegasus saying coldly: “I am glad you were not stupid enough to try and give me an order, Brynhild.”
“I was doing my best to pretend thou had ceased to exist, volk.” Luna replied acidly, before she turned her eyes back forwards, towards the group of Red Messengers all gathered inside a magic circle, their horns glowing brightly as they uselessly tried to jerk themselves away from the energy that was building further and faster around their horns, dragging them slowly towards the center of the runic circle they had carved into the stage.
The Red Messenger who had pulled himself free from the circle before the draw of the magic had become too powerful glared hatefully at Brynhild, pointing at her and shouting: “This is your fault! You... you have corrupted the sacrifice and the vessel, and-”
Sol Seraph calmly stepped to the side and slammed a hoof up into the stallion's throat, the Red Messenger's eyes bulging before she tore hard to the side, her hidden blade ripping through the neck of the stallion and sending him flipping violently off the stage. Luna and Ignominious both stared at the Pegasus for a moment before the sapphire mare shouted in frustration: “Will thou at least let me respond to my enemies before thou goes and murders them?”
“No.” Sol Seraph said simply, and Luna ground her teeth together in frustration before the Pegasus pointed at the circle of unicorns, as a terrible, toxic energy began to waft up from the summoning circle, reality distorting around the ponies as they wailed and cried out as the magic and energy was drained from their bodies. “He is coming.”
“Aye, so I sense. The demon will be displeased.” Luna glanced over her shoulder, then frowned slightly: Marina and Twilight were hurriedly freeing as many of the prisoners as they could – although plenty of them were so drugged and addled they were barely able to shift on the bench, let alone flee – but River Styx was simply standing in front of the stage, his body tense, his eyes watching coldly and his crossbow squeezed tightly in his grip. “Styx, did I not say-”
“Leave him.” Sol Seraph said calmly, and Luna turned a cold look towards the Pegasus, who had a thin, callous smile on her muzzle. “His path is clear.”
“All paths can be changed.” Ignominious said quietly, before he turned her eyes forwards and added in a harder voice: “Brynhild, get ready! The demon is-”
Ignominious was cut off as the howls of the Red Messengers intensified for a moment, before there was a terrible flash, a sizzling, a reek like burnt hair, and Luna winced away and covered her face at a burst of awful, toxic heat-
And then, nothing. For a moment, everything was pitch-black, and Luna frowned uneasily before a voice whispered: “Clever. Senseless, without merit or logic... but clever, all the same, to make me a part of your insipid play. I suppose our collaboration is at an end then, Narrator.”
There was silence, and then reality filtered slowly back in, as thick, noxious smoke slowly cleared from the stage. And standing there, in the center of the ruined runic circle, with burnt corpses laying all around him, was Plutocrat.
Shadows swirled and twisted over the demon, keeping his alien body hidden from sight as Scrivener, Twilight, Marina, and Styx all joined the trio already on stage. The seven stood against the one, but Pluto's voice was sneering and fearless as he asked: “Why have you decided to turn against me now, Draconequus? Have you forgotten our deal? Do you think these trivial equines can stand against me?”
“Demon, we do not fear thee! Look upon us and know that the time of thy reckoning has come; ponies we may be, but what we fight for is freedom, and those whom we love!” Luna declared boldly as she stepped forwards, glaring at the shadowy entity.
“I shall not let the honor of my order be tarnished any further by the manipulations of devils posing as zealots and gods.” Ignominious added coldly, drawing his sword as it lit up with holy energies, his smile grim and confident. “Nor will I be used as a puppet in your plays, demon.”
“These manipulations will be ended. I do not care about the Draconequus or the ponies, but you must be eliminated if I am to be free.” Sol Seraph said calmly, her eyes locked on the devil.
River Styx rose his crossbow, his eyes locked on the devil, the demon, the target; Marina readied herself, gritting her teeth as she felt a mix of both her own natural powers and the strange magic of her character rolling through her, pushing back against the awful miasma this thing exuded. Twilight Sparkle rose her head high, horn glowing with energy, and Scrivener Blooms smiled wryly as he smoothed out his dress, but looked up gamely all the same.
Pluto surveyed them all slowly, and then he chuckled. His chuckle rose higher, becoming shriller giggles, then loud, cackling laughter as his head fell back, the smoky blackness that wafted around him becoming a swirling whirlwind as he screamed with mocking amusement.
The ponies held their ground, staying ready, refusing to be intimidated or provoked, until Pluto suddenly stopped, his unnaturally-long body leaning forwards, his arms hanging loosely as he growled: “And what makes you think you have not played right into my hands? I am not bound by the play, I am beyond its laws and rules. No matter what you think, I am still in charge here, and all of you are merely disobedient employees... who I am about to terminate.”
The devil simply pointed at Ignominious, and the stallion was blasted off his hooves, knocked sprawling in a broken, smoldering heap as his sword flew high into the air. Luna turned, her eyes widening in shock, staring with disbelief at the stallion as his sword glimmered high above their heads... then fell, spearing into the ground beside the disbelieving eyes of the Paladin, as his body shook and shivered weakly as the life faded rapidly from his form.
Luna slowly knelt beside the stallion, reaching down and silently touching his side, but Ignominious barely acknowledged her, shivering, shocked and broken by the cruel power and how wretched and casual the attack had been.
But then Luna leaned down, gently kissing the temple of the unicorn as the others stepped up around her protectively. She smiled at him faintly, then whispered into his ear: “Thou art the stallion I always knew thou could be.”
Ignominious smiled faintly, his body shivering weakly before his eyes slowly closed, and Luna took a slow breath before she straightened and calmly turned towards the devil. As she did so, she tore the Paladin's sword loose from the stage, floating at the ready alongside her own as she faced Pluto fearlessly, even as the devil said contemptibly: “Pathetic. He was just simulacrum. A toy. Spilt milk, that you cry uselessly over. But I will break you just as easily, pony, unless you submit.”
“He was memory. He was curse, and he was blessing. He was a vision, a passing dream, of the stallion I once loved and who that stallion could have been.” Luna replied calmly, and then she spun both her blades up to ready positions, her eyes locked on Plutocrat as she said in a colder voice: “And now, devil, prepare to face the reckoning thou hast brought upon thyself!”
“Pathetic.” Pluto said contemptibly, and then he simply gestured at Luna, a blast of energy ripping across the mare, making her flinch backwards as her armor was shredded, her features seared, her helmet torn from her skull...
But slowly, Luna smiled coldly as she straightened: her body gleamed where the blast had struck, and her features were bruised, but her eyes glowed with rage more than pain as Plutocrat's eyes widened and he whispered: “Treachery.”
“Nay, stupid fool.” Luna growled, as she bared her fangs in a grin. “Unlike Ignominious, I am not born of this world.”
Luna leapt suddenly forwards, slashing down with both swords, but Plutocrat flung himself backwards, landing near the rear wall. He began to turn, but Scrivener Blooms and Marina flanked him immediately, and the devil snarled as he spun the other way-
He found his way blocked by Styx and Twilight Sparkle, the devil hissing in frustration as the unicorn stallion rose his crossbow and said coldly: “You aren't getting away.”
Plutocrat looked slowly back and forth, hemmed in on all sides, with a solid wall behind him... before he slowly looked down at the burnt ring of runes that covered almost the entire stage, that he was still stuck in the edge of; that served more of a purpose than simply stage-ornament, but was a very real snare. And after a moment, he shook his head slowly in disgust as he said softly: “Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.”
“Pathetic!” agreed another, higher-pitched voice, and Luna frowned, rearing back slightly: it seemed to come from Plutocrat, but at the same time-
“Absolutely pathetic!” screeched a third voice, and Marina's jaw dropped and Styx swore under his breath, his eyes widening slightly, as two more sets of crimson eyes opened beneath the cloak of darkness covering Plutocrat: one was at stomach level, and the other just above where they had imagined his knees were...
Plutocrat shifted, then split apart into three darkly-smoldering shapes. Darkness and shadow bled off of them, slowly clearing, revealing not one single entity, but instead three goblinoid imps: they had large, bat-like ears, hunched backs and warped, long-limbed bodies, and rotund, pudgy bellies. The one standing in front of Luna had the longest arms, disproportionately-long and terribly thin, his gaunt claws flexing slowly as he said calmly: “Very well. If you insist on making this difficult... we will resort to cruder methods to terminate your contract.”
“Cut the chaff and make the grain, hungry for the profit!” hissed the second of the goblinoid devils: it was probably the best proportioned of the three, but all that meant was that instead of one set of limbs being too long, legs and arms were all equally too short.
“Liquidate!” screamed the last goblin, before it sprung forwards on its too-long, powerful legs, pouncing like a wildcat towards River Styx-
The stallion reacted on instinct, flinging himself backwards and firing a bolt at the smoldering goblin, but the creature vanished in a burst of smoke that the shot uselessly passed through. The other devils vanished as well, before Luna swore in frustration as the long-armed devil appeared on top of her, thin but steely limbs wrapping around her throat and claws seizing into her face and shoulders as it began to throttle the life out of her, hissing in her ear: “There will always be more cast members.”
The long-legged Pluto imp appeared above Scrivener Blooms, slamming both its large, clawed feet into his face and knocking him flat with a cackle, as the squat goblin dropped out of thin air into River Styx's stomach: crude, comical, and horribly effective, as Styx coughed blood as the wind was knocked out of him.
Marina slashed her horn towards the goblin close to her, but it vanished in a burst of smoke before reappearing on top of her, seizing into her mane and making her scream and buck back and forth as it yanked her head savagely back and forth, fangs bared in a cruel grin. Twilight blasted the other imp off of Styx, but the squat creature rolled to its feet and skidded to a stop before barreling straight at her, the mare's eyes widening before the goblin lunged and opened its fanged jaws wide to deal a lethal bite to her throat-
Styx felt Loki take over, the stallion kicking both rear legs hard upwards as he shoved himself off the ground with front hooves: his kick speared into the boulder-shaped goblin in midair, knocking it whizzing off course with a squeal to slam into the back wall of the stage.
But it vanished before it could even peel free from the wall, along with the other goblins: the tall, gangly form of Pluto reappeared a moment later in the center of the room, and standing on top of each other, smoldering with shadows, the trio once more resembled one terrible devil as the long-armed master imp hissed: “I rule this dimension, and you are all nothing but pawns, caught in the web of a miserable lie!”
Dark energy crackled over the goblins, black magic channeling through all three devils as one before dark holes ripped open in reality, vomiting out ponies who were steaming with dark energies. They turned their dead, hollow eyes towards the group, moaning and stretching out towards them, and Luna grimaced as instinct nipped at her brain, as knowledge that came from both within and without made her shout: “Strike the archer, not the arrows!”
Twilight grimaced and snapped her horn sharply out, blasting several of the possessed ponies flying with a telekinetic hammer, but then she gasped in shock as her body burst into black flames, as Pluto ordered coldly: “Write her character out of existence, Narrator. You have no choice but to obey.”
Twilight writhed back and forth, crying out in agony as her body burned with hellish black fire that steadily consumed the trappings of her cloak, that ate ruthlessly away at the trappings of her costume, mercilessly erasing the character known as Morgan from the play. The pain of it sent Twilight spilling forwards, gasping as tears ran from her eyes, but even as her body steamed and ached, even as Styx ran up to her side, driving back the possessed ponies shambling eagerly towards the easy prey, she gritted her teeth, and focused.
Morgan was gone, but Twilight Sparkle remained, shoving herself to her hooves as her mane exploded into black flames and her eyes glowed with the ferocity of hellfire, as-
“Stop playing games, Narrator, or I will rip your feeble-” Distracted as he was, Pluto failed to notice until too late the specter of Sol Seraph appearing like a ghost in front of him, the Pegasus slamming both rear hooves in a savage double-kick into the ugly, hideous, stupid goblin in the center of the amalgamated devil, and knocking it flying loose from the tower of demonic imps, the other goblins spilling to the ground with howls of shock as a shockwave of unfocused black magic ripped through the air.
Sol Seraph was sent flying, but the puppeted, possessed ponies and the rifts in reality they had emerged from vanished in whiffs of smoke, and Luna snarled as she immediately charged forwards towards the long-armed goblin. She punted it into the air before it could react, then she slammed a savage volley of blows from her front hooves into Pluto's goblinoid face, driving him steadily upwards with the force of her strikes before she spun around and viciously drove a double kick into his stomach as they reached the ceiling, pinning him to the roof with an audible crunch as the goblin gargled in shock.
He vanished in a burst of smoke and black blood as the other goblin-imps wailed and grabbed at their heads, clearly feeling the agony of their lord and master. And without hesitation, River Styx rose his crossbow and fired a bolt at the short goblin, accelerating it with wind magic-
The bolt tore through the short goblin's head in a burst of black ooze, and the imp stumbled backwards with a moment of stunned surprise before it simply dissolved into smog and dark-colored slop that splattered over the ground. And all of reality shook with the wail of despair and anguish and rage that ripped through the air, River Styx staggering backwards with a snarl before he clenched his eyes shut and grasped at his head as Loki's voice whispered: “Don't leave me, brother.”
The long-legged goblin vanished, and reality continued to shiver for a few moments before Pluto's voice snarled: “I will not allow this indignity to pass!”
Reality twisted around them, the walls of the sanctuary cracking with the force of the dark power that ripped through it as black ooze began to spill down from above, trapping the stage within curtains of sludge. The ponies stumbled as the stage began to shake beneath them, before Luna rose her head and her swords as she shouted: “To me, all of thee! Stand together, stand firm!”
The others stumbled their way towards Luna, forming a tight cordon even as the world shook around them, and Marina gritted her teeth, fighting to maintain her magical cohesion over her body as she blurted out: “He has to be close by! I can still feel him, he's-”
“Shut up, little girl!” hissed Pluto, and the two remaining goblins appeared on either side of her, seizing into the mare and making her scream as chocolate began to run in thick streams from her body, rapidly losing solidity as Pluto sneered: “Yes, bound together by chaos, what a pity that-
Luna lunged, but to her shock, one of the streams of chocolate slashed upwards like a living tentacle, slapping her backwards and knocking the weapons out of her grip as Pluto hissed: “Unconventional, perhaps, but this stage-mare will do for the moment, until I can harvest the Narrator's kin.”
Twilight Sparkle leapt forwards, her body seeming to ripple strangely, and Marina cried out, tried to shout some warning even as she felt the chocolate bleeding off her body morphing and transforming, a leg jerkily raising as it sprouted wicked claws that slashed through Twilight's face as Marina clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see what this monster had made her do-
And then she felt the pull on her release, the chocolate mare staggering to the side with a squelch before she toppled, gasping and landing in a half-melted pile. Yet all the same, she was still coherent enough to look up, to hear Plutocrat screaming before there was a terrible explosion of brack and gore.
Only the long-armed goblin was left, and the dark energies were fading from its body as it stumbled backwards, shaking its head mutely as Twilight Sparkle looked at him. For a moment, he saw something else, something that sent him toppling back on his rear as he whispered: “That is not possible. Why would they bring her into this?”
“I'm only me.” Twilight said quietly, as the black gunk around them hardened, as the stage settled... but as she slowly straightened, powerful, black-edged wings furled tightly at her side, and crimson runes flared to life around her cutie mark. “This play is over.”
“Aye, it is.” Luna said calmly as she joined the mare, grinning widely. And Marina felt a strange, comforting chill pass through her body, before a gentle hoof grasped her and helped her roll onto her side, now free of the costume, her chocolate body rapidly pulling itself back together. “And now, Plutocrat, we shall know the truth of what has happened here.”
She smiled up at Scrivener Blooms, then looked over at River Styx, who was standing quietly by himself, only looking slowly down at one of his own hooves. His battered Royal Guard armor was back in place over his body, and the unicorn stallion shifted uneasily before he closed his eyes and muttered: “Stupid. All of this was stupid.”
“Not all of it.” Marina said softly, as she pushed herself carefully up to her hooves. She smiled at him, and he hesitantly smiled back before she beckoned to him. “Come on. Let's finish this together. We still have to figure out-”
She didn't get a chance to finish, as Sol Seraph dropped on top of Plutocrat from behind and slammed her hidden blade through the back of his neck. The devil imp had a moment to gape in horror and disbelief before he trembled once, then slowly began to dissolve, and Luna stared in horror before Twilight shouted: “What have you done?”
“You would hesitate to do what needs to be done. But I will not.” Sol Seraph said softly, looking coldly up as she shoved the corpse away as it collapsed into dark ashes. “There are still more to kill. The Draconequus were tools of the devil, but they must also die. They are also the enemy. They betrayed him: they will betray us, too, because they fear, above all else... being alone.”
“What are you talking about? The damned imp was left feeble, powerless! Now we can get no information, now we have no answers! I desired knowledge!”
“You desired trivia.” Sol Seraph responded icily, and then she straightened calmly before she frowned as a strange chuckling started to fill the air.
The soft laughter came from all directions, from a thousand-thousand voices, before whispers came to them: whispers that made the ponies flinch and quake, whispers that filled their minds like grating metal, as the voices said: “The parasite, the parasite, kept the sickness at bay. The parasite is now shed from the body, but the sickness returns. The sickness is coming. Haven't you figured it out yet, haven't you figured it out?”
“You morons!” shouted another voice, and a moment later, the Director appeared out of thin air, skidding to a halt in front of them before he gestured desperately at the narrowest of gaps that had appeared in the curtain of sludge, which was... were those eyes, countless eyes, all opening in the slime? “We have to go! There's no time to explain, but have I ever led you wrong?”
“Don't trust him! Come with us!” shouted another voice, and Twilight's eyes widened and Styx's breath caught in his throat as the group saw, over their shoulders, ponies: the foal Shining Armor, and Styx's brother, his little brother...
“We're running out of time! We have to go, come with me and I'll give you all the answers that-” The Director was cut off with a squeak as a claw suddenly stretched out and made a wild grab at him from the sludge, the dragon-tailed pony looking desperately over his shoulder at the now slowly-closing wound in the slime.
“I can't leave him behind.” River Styx said weakly, and he turned towards his brother, knowing that even if it was a trick, even if it was a trap... he had no choice.
He ran towards him, and Marina shouted at Styx before she winced when Luna grabbed her, even as the sapphire mare shot a look at Twilight. And without hesitation, Twilight turned to run after Styx, as Scrivener and Sol Seraph joined Luna and Marina, as they ran towards the Director, who was scrambling for the hole in the slime.
Yet all the same, even as they began to pass through the curtain of sludge, Marina couldn't stop herself from looking back... but all she saw was an empty stage being consumed by living darkness filled with a thousand eyes.
And as she turned back ahead, as she felt invisible claws grabbing at her, she heard the whispers again, the countless voices that all spoke as one, slipping into her mind, both thrilling and terrifying her with their promise:
We shall never let you go.