Undone by the Blood
Chapter 6: The Church of Harmony
"You're back," Red Heart says softly. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that voice. There's a small broken part on the glass pane of her door, and she's peeking through it. A light blue eye stares at me for a moment, then flits down and to the side where my current companion's standing. "And you've brought somepony."
I'm too ashamed to answer right away, not that Red Heart can tell. I don't have what it takes to tell Ghast Coin's daughter that her parents were dead. All I can do is the next best thing, which really just means the pathetic way out. It's not safe for Whisper Wind, as she introduced herself, to keep waiting by herself in that house. That's what I told her. She has to be with somepony who could watch out for danger. That's true, but I'm under no illusion that what I'm doing is merely passing the responsibility of watching this poor filly come to realize that her parents aren't coming back to Red Heart. Whisper Wind had readily agreed. She's so lucky to have met me first if she's this trusting. Anypony else with the slightest hint of bad intentions, and things might have gone so very wrong.
Not that I'm that much different. I'm trusting this nurse who won't even open her door for me. But she has been helpful, and there is just something in the sweetness of her voice that makes it clear that she's here to help. It's for the best, I suppose. Red Heart's a trained nurse, far more capable of dealing with those who lost loved ones. I'm just a hunter who can only kill beasts.
"This is Whisper Wind," I say. "I found her by herself in her family home waiting for her parents."
"That was a dangerous situation," Red Heart replies. "Before, it was enough to shut yourself indoors, but the beasts tonight are especially ravenous. It's good that you brought her here."
I have to fight from smiling. Instead, I look down to Whisper Wind. "This is Red Heart," I tell her. "She'll keep you safe while you wait for your parents"
"Are you sure they'll find me here?" she asks, eyes wide and doubtful. She's in her evening wear, a white dress fit for sleeping with a white ribbon on her yellow mane to match. She has a heavy red coat to protect herself from the elements and me to deal with the beasts, I suppose.
"We left a note remember?" I said. "Anypony looking for you can find you here."
The door to the clinic opens ever so slightly, just enough to allow Whisper Wind through if she squeezed in. A white-furred foreleg beckons her over. Whisper Wind looks to me for assurance. I put on my best smile in response, hopefully it looks better than the grimace it feels like. I nod her in, and she reluctantly goes. The door quickly shuts behind her.
"You'll be much safer here," I say. "I'll keep looking." What a liar I've turned out to be. Anything just to avoid making this filly cry.
"Thank you, mister!" Whisper Wind chirps. The sound of her light hoofsteps fade quickly.
"You are not a very good liar, Sir Hunter," Red Heart says once the hoofsteps are gone.
"Good enough for fillies," I mumble.
"Did you find only corpses, or were you forced to do your duty?"
"It got...messy. I did everything I could."
"I believe you," Red Heart replies. Just hearing that feels like a soothing balm over my aching chest. "You've been true to your duty as a hunter, and you went beyond that by saving her. Thank you for bringing her here. I'll take good care of her."
I pull up the collar of my hunter coat out of reflex. Not like she'd see or care if I'm blushing. "I'll see if I find others," I say.
"Please do so," Red Heart says. The crack allows another glimpse of her eyes, clearly liquid with concern. "You're making a difference. I hope you know that."
Something rolls from under the door. A couple more blood vials, including one with golden liquid instead of crimson.
"The least I can do," Red Heart says. "Stay safe."
I nod and move on, caught between relief that I can walk away from my cowardice, and annoyance over heading out again. I have to admit, I'm almost eager to find some survivors to send to her just to see her gladden a bit. At least, my hunting is having a positive effect on somepony.
The graveyard is just as Gilbert said. Past the broken gravestones, there's a small stone path leading to a staircase going up and into a building. The iron-barred gate is ajar, the lock still stuck in the keyhole. There's a blood trail leading to this spot to where Ghast Coin and Viola were. I see. So they made it this far before things became so wrong. The heavy gate whines on its hinges when I push it open. This looks like a sewer area for the Church of Harmony District. Makes sense. Foul water's pouring out of several stone pipes above me, only to flow through some deep runnels and into the sides of the graveyard. There's a lone ladder going into a narrow hatchway leading inside, probably an access point for maintenance ponies. I push on, expecting some kind of kitchen or a storage area, even a bathroom. The metal rungs are partly slick with some sort of liquid. I push open the trapdoor into...a study?
This is an odd place to find a study. Why connect to a graveyard of all places? I doubt I'd get any answers from the owner. The place is a mess. There's a thick layer of dust on the floor, along with dozens of books just scattered haphazardly. From the way some of them are leaning against the walls and the bookcases, these books were flung violently, perhaps by a frustrated scholar. These are well-used books as well, with badly wrinkled spines, obvious dog-ears, and torn covers. There are old bloodstains on the wooden floor; several droplets, a couple of hoofprints, and the skid marks of something heavy being dragged from the trapdoor.
The faint whiff of formaldehyde takes me to a shelf by the far wall from the trap door. There's a few books here as well, but it's the jars that hold my attention. One of them is half-full with eyeballs, fresh at the time of taking with the nerves still attached. Another one holds a well-preserved brain. I ponder for a moment, then stare at the trap door. I suppose it does make sense to connect to the graveyard.
The writing on the scattered notes all blur together like so much frantic scribbling. It would take a mad researcher to stay in this claustrophobic room next to a graveyard. One piece of paper does catch my attention, though. A page torn wildly from a book, with large, jagged letters savagely written on the page.
THEACADEMYDRAGONISGUARDINGTHEPRINCESSSECRETSJUSTTHINKINGABOUTITMAKESMYHEADSHUDDER
Academy dragon? Images of massive, scaly beasts surrounded by fire fill my mind. This beastly plague affects more than just ponies as I've seen. What if it affects dragons as well? I try to imagine myself dodging gigantic claws, a spiky tail, and a maw-ful of fangs, then vainly trying to saw through thick scales. I won't stand a chance. A dozen hunters probably won't. Whatever this "academy dragon" is, I hope it has nothing to do with me.
Another odor catches my attention as I move away from the preserved body parts: incense. I'm not quite sure of the smoky odor; it's burning pine mixed with spices I don't recognize. There's something calming about the smell. It's certainly not harsh on the sinuses nor mind numbing. The smell's wafting from a slightly ajar double doors by the far end of this small, cramped room. There's even telltale wisps of vapors seeping past the opening.
The doors turn out to be thick, oaken slabs, reinforced with iron and ornamented with curving brass vines. I'm lucky it's ajar, it would have taken me hours with a battering ram or several barrels of gunpowder to get these things open. Looks like the Church of Harmony has a thing for securing even minor back entrances. The thick, warm incense billows past me as I open the door further...
My jaw drops on reflex at the sheer size of this place. The ceiling is barely discernible thanks to the dim flickering lights of the dozens of candles and small lamps lighting the place and the smoky atmosphere, but it had to be, a least, a couple dozen feet above me. A few rays of moonlight stream through the circular, stained glass window that dominates the far wall. The massive chamber is littered with plain gray vases of various sizes as well as censers, all lit to maintain that pervasive odor of smoking pine and spices. There's also the statues...more of these weird statues of cloaked mares holding out their forelegs so candles can be placed on their hooves.
There's three exits leading out of this place, not including the one I came from. To my left looks like a staircase going down a passageway. Ahead is an open set of double doors leading to a stone-paved outside. Even from where I am, the difference between the Ponyvillian streets I've been walking and this outside is quite stark. The pavement here lacks the breaks and holes frequent in Ponyville's streets. From what I can tell, there are no huge bonfires, crucified beasts or overturned wagons either. The Church of Harmony's district has clearly been spared the worst of this beastly plague. I hope that means they can easily provide this Magical Mystery Cure. The third exit is another pair of double doors, only these are shut.
The sound of porcelain dragging on stone brings my saw cleaver to my mouth in a heartbeat. I whirl to my side, where the noise had come from. This isn't a good place to fight a beast. It's spacious as a whole, but cluttered with brittle objects and hazy with incense. As soon as I determine the threat, I'm probably better off luring it outside.
"Hi there," says a rather timid voice close to the floor. "Sorry if I startled you. I didn't expect anypony to show up here." I lower my gaze and find a pony...or at least it looks like something close to one. This pony's nearly bald, with grayish wrinkled skin peeking through a hooded, frayed cloak of red cloth. The cloak is so huge that it hides his lower body completely. From the way he's leaning on his forelegs, and his closeness to the ground, I suspect that he has no hind legs at all. Still, he doesn't look like an immediate danger. His long, spindly forelegs look too weak to strike any blows, and his ability to speak means he isn't a crazed beast yet.
"Who are you?" I ask warily nonetheless.
The pony throws his forelegs up, as if I was already about to strike a blow. "Oh, I'm nopony special, sir," he says. "Just a beggar trying to survive the night."
A beggar by himself in this huge chapel-like place. That's already suspicious on its own. "Is this the Church of Harmony's district?" I ask.
"Yes, sir," the beggar replies. "Don't you worry, the beasts won't come in here with all the incense and--" He tilts his head as he stares at my outfit. "Oh my, pardon me, sir, but are you a hunter?"
I nod while replacing my saw cleaver. "New to the job," I add.
"But already in the thick of things, eh?" he says with a single-toothed grin while staring at the blood on me. The grin vanishes quickly, though. "I-I'm sorry if I didn't recognize you right away, Sir Hunter. The incense must be hiding your scent. "This here's the old chapel to Princess Cadance. These days, the Church just uses it to store incense, but some of her presence still blesses this spot."
How odd. Red Heart also mentioned incense, but if it masks my odor, shouldn't that mean I can enter her office? I shake my head. Probably won't if she only has one censer lit at a time. As for the name...it doesn't really ring a bell for me. Then again, Princess Twilight Sparkle only carries a tiny sliver of familiarity with me, so I suppose I won't be familiar with Ponyville's princesses. "I don't suppose you know anything about the Magical Mystery Cure?" I ask.
To my surprise, the beggar nods eagerly. "Oh, you're looking for the purest and most powerful of the Church of Harmony's communions," he says. "Can't stop by any cleric for that, you need the Vicar. Vicar Sweetie Belle's her name. Been leading the Church since her sister disappeared."
"Do you know how to get to her?" I ask.
The beggar points a long, shaky foreleg at the central door "Well, if you talk to one of the clerics or Church hunters roaming the district, they might take you to her." His voice drops to a whisper. "I'd be careful, though. Lots of militant Church folk out there, but some beasts are still slipping into the Church of Harmony's district."
"Looks like I have a destination," I say with a sigh. "Thank you."
"S-sir Hunter!" the beggar calls after me as I near the door he pointed out. I turn around at this. "Since you came from that way," he points to the study I just walked out of, "you must have come from Central Ponyville. If...if you end up back there, maybe you can get some of those poor folk to come here? I have plenty of incense to keep the beasts away. We won't be getting int the Church's way too. This is much safer than cooping up in your house."
My eyes narrow at this. "Why would you offer that?" I ask.
The beggar puts his front hooves together. "Well...I just want to help." He gestures to his lower body. "Can't really do much. I-I just thought I'd share this hidey-hole I've found."
He puts up a lopsided smile that I suppose is meant to be reassuring. On his hairless, aging face, matching his red, almost glowing eyes, it only serves to look sinister. He's been helpful so far, but that might be because I'm an armed and wary hunter. What is he planning for any unarmed Ponyvillian survivor looking to this place for shelter? I imagine Whisper Wind in this place alone with this beggar...no. I'm definitely sticking to my original plan. "I'll see what I can do," I say. He breathes a sigh of relief behind me as I open the door.
The difference between the Church of Harmony's district and Central Ponyville, as the beggar called it, leaves me stunned for a moment. The sheer...cleanliness for starters. The stone pavement and high walls show age and a few cracks, but there isn't the slightest sign of loose rubble. The place looks recently swept for that matter. Instead of huge bonfires, the place relied on actual working street lamps to help dispel this night's darkness with steady purple glows. There's something else though, something that sapped the pleasantry of seeing such orderliness. The buildings of Central Ponyville were eclectic and sprawling, with varying layers of newer and newer construction evident in them. The Church of Harmony's buildings loomed from all sides, monolithic in their structure, and uniformly gray. I suppose that's one way to show harmony. I focus on the side of the chapel I just walked out of. Something's not right here. It's more smooth stone wall, but I'm getting this uneasy feeling of being lazily observed from that particular side. As if something can just reach out..I shake my head. The whole atmosphere is just making me paranoid.
Still, the Church of Harmony's district shares Central Ponyville's love for pointed iron fencing and cloaked mare statues. It does add, as far as I can see, a love for long stairs.
A long flight of said stone stairs rises to my right while, to my left is a balcony overlooking the sprawling mess that's Ponyville: a forest of pointed rooves sporadically lit by hundreds of fires, and enshrouded by smoke. I focus on the available path, though. The Church of Harmony's district appears to be designed like a single fortress likely to contain some main place of worship surrounded by the living areas of ponies meant to care for that place. Since this chapel connects to the outside, it must be in the outermost areas of the district.
In that case, I should be ascending and moving inwards. This staircase should be a good--
A pair of equine shapes walk past an iron gate, and start descending the stairs.
I'm inclined to assume they're sane ponies. They don't have the telltale twigs and leaves sprouting out of them. They're wearing enormous, high-collared, light gray cloaks and wide-brimmed hats that show little damage, and hide their faces. Both of them have long, pointed rods strapped to their right side, and small lamps of that same purple light attached to their left. This must be some kind of patrol to keep the district beast-free. One of them spots me and wordlessly points a foreleg in my direction. Their paces quicken, not enough to suggest a charge, but enough to make clear that they have business with me. As they get closer, it becomes clearer that these are very tall ponies, nearly a head taller than me.
And here I am, still covered in blood, sweat, and sewage. I hold my ground, but I keep my saw cleaver to my side. If I don't make any sudden moves, and show an interest in talking, they shouldn't see me as a threat, even though I obviously came from Central Ponyville. Hopefully.
They're on me in seconds. Fortunately, they haven't reached for their weapons. One of them does shine a lamp rather uncomfortably close to my face. I squint, and take the chance to look at them as well.
It's at that moment that I take a quick hop back and pull out my saw cleaver. These ponies...these things...they have no eyes! Not just that, but their entire faces are horribly malformed. They have no fur. Instead, the rubbery white skin around their faces folds onto itself then forms what passed for eye holes and a mouth. There are no eyes in those sockets, nor teeth in those mouths. It's as if their heads had been replaced by white masks that covered nothing at all.
Despite my hostile gesture, the two stand still. One of them lets out a low moan at me, then points at the stairs they had just come from.
"What are you?" I ask. Not the most polite of introductions, but I don't trust these things for a second. They stare blankly at me with their hollowed out eyes, moan again, then seem to be content to just move along. Looks like I've been judged non-threatening. "Hold on," I say. "Are you with the Church of Harmony? I need to speak with Vicar Sweetie Belle."
They stop again. I'm waiting for a reply when the snapping and crackling noises from behind me tell a different reason for their renewed attention. They start pulling out their pointed rods by the time I spin around just in time to see the first badly-deformed beast climb up the overlook.
These are no ravening Ponyvillians climbing up the wall here. The claw grasping the side of the wall is monstrous, with crooked, woody nails finding purchase even in stone. That first one's already made it up and haunches over on all four limbs. It's hard to determine if this started out a pony, but it's nearly all giant wolf at this point with a long muzzle of thorny teeth and bristling leaves for fur.
There's no time to hesitate further. I dash towards the first one then duck under its clawed swing. It snarls and swivels to get a bite, but I'm already moving past. My target's the second beast, still teetering on the ledge, trying to hoist its massive body over to join the fray. My saw cleaver rips through its muzzle, slicing its snout vertically in half. As it howls its pain out, my back hooves find its chin. The beast's howl, quickly fades into the distance as it drops back down to Central Ponyville, hopefully breaking every bone, or branch, in its body.
I'm too late to stop the third one from getting through, and the first just rounded on me. The snarls from beneath the stone railing indicates at least a couple more still climbing. These things aren't going to drop like still equine Ponyvillians. I jam my saw cleaver between the first's fingers when it reaches for me, and twist, snapping several off. While it withdraws in pain, I whirl to face the third.
Behind me, the two bizarre-looking things let out vaguely angry moans. A couple of thunks soon follow, then the splinter of wood being broken apart. The pained whimpers from the first worsen after that. At least, I can count on some help.
The third charges me only to get a blast of fire and smoke to the face and a bullet lodged between its eyes. I have to dispatch these quickly. A claw appears on the stone railing. I have to wonder how many of these things got this brilliant idea of just scaling the walls. Urgency proves my undoing this time. I rush in to capitalize on my target's moment of helplesness, but it throws up a wild claw to defend itself which rips through my coat's shoulder. No time to even pay attention to the sudden burst of pain. I punch my hoof into the beast's neck.
It's getting easier with each success, but the rush also isn't as thrilling. It's...to methodical. I have it down to technique, unlike that first primal time when it was all instinct. As disappointing as the feeling is, it does serve me well. I lift the weakened beast onto its hind legs, then shove it towards the fall. Now, it's two broken bodies at the base of this wall. Hopefully that will discourage any more attempts.
I look to the fight behind me. To my dismay, one of the bizzare pony-things is face-first on the ground with a puddle if white sludge spreading from it. The other one's sporting a gash across the chest, which is leakingthe same white substance, as it relentlessly pounds the first beast to a bloody heap.
Two more beasts make it up the wall while I'm reloading. My lone "ally" tries to move in gamely, but is clearly too injured to keep going. I'm halfway to yelling at it to go away when one of the beasts plows through its weakened swing and bites deep into its neck.
That just leaves me then. Here's to hoping that the Church of Harmony overlaps its patrols, and that the sounds of fighting have attracted others. I fire my pistol at yet another claw grasping the stone railing. The bullet smashes through wooden digits. The owner of that unfortunate claw must have been surprised by the pain as another fading howl briefly fills the air.
I'm still up against two of these things, and my legs are starting to shake. Damn, maybe I overestimated how much I got back from fighting Ghast Coin. My heart's pounding in my ears far too quickly. The cuts to my shoulder are starting to throb, and I'm contemplating taking a blood vial. First, I have to find an opening, though. The beasts eye me hungrily and circle. There's that animal cunning again. One of them's trying to get at my back. If I try something like use a blood vial now, they'll both pounce. Putting a wall behind me might help with the flanking, or just force me into a corner.
Defending's not much an option then. Killing one of them swiftly to even the odds is still on the table. A feint towards one followed by a charge towards the other should buy me a few seconds...
The all too familiar clop of hooves running swiftly down the stone flight of stairs lets me breathe a sigh of relief. Reinforcements!
Hold on, the two that were with me never made hoofsteps. They were eerily silent for creatures so big. This must be something different. I spare a quick glance sideways to see what's coming.
I swear, things in the Church of Harmony just keep getting stranger.
A pony in thick gray robes comes charging at the beasts. A pair of orange-feathered wings poking out of its elaborate outfit marks it as a pegasus. It's hard to tell, though, because, instead of a pony's head, a bright, golden cone sits on top of its shoulders. Just as I've resigned myself into thinking that the Church of Harmony only employs bizzare creatures for security, a very equine voice comes out of that golden cone.
"For the Church!"
That's when I notice the next strange thing about this new arrival. Over its shoulder is a massive, iron-reinforced, wooden wheel. It swings the thing like a weapon, using a handle attached to the wheel's side to allow a grip on the outer ring for a hoof. The strength to swing such a weapon though...
The wheel's outer edge smashes into the beast I had feinted towards. The force shatters half its head completely, sending splinters flying everywhere in a shower of thick blood. The beast falls over in a heap. The pony-like creature uses the momentum of its first swing to both carry it towards the second beast, and to complete a circular motion into a second swing.
"For the Executioners!"
The remaining beast has enough sense to fall back, but not enough reflexes to do so quickly enough. It avoids a killing headstrike, but the wheel catches it square on a foreleg, snapping the limb off like a twig. It lets out a yelp and falls on its chin. The pony-like creature completes half a revolution, then stops with the massive wheel raised above its head. It grips the opposite side of the wheel with its other foreleg, and yells.
"And for Rainbow Dash!"
Its forelegs do something with the grips of its weapon which causes the wheel to vertically split in two. Deep red wisps of...something pour out of the gap like noxious gas followed by faint, anguished cries. I swear a pony's face seems to form in the wisps, and screams at me. The roiling wisps suddenly pick up speed and start running up and down the wheel, spinning violently while the pony-thing held the weapon steady in the air. In one swift motion, the wheel crashes onto the head of the fallen beast. Its woody body twitches and convulses against the ground as the spinning wisps grind against its head mercilessly. Sparks fly when the wheel touched the stone pavement, even though the actual wheel itself isn't spinning.
I have to step back as the pony-thing presses on its attack, no, its execution. Splinters so fine that they teeter between splinter and sawdust fly out of the vicious killing, the blood that sprays out is so fine that it forms a mist in the air. The pony-thing keeps going until it mulches the top half of the beast, which had been dead since its head got crushed.
I keep my saw cleaver up as the pony-thing focuses on me. It rests the wheel against the ground, using it to maintain a two-legged stance. Its golden cone is dripping with red, and the colors seem to blur to a sunset-like orange. With its other foreleg, it grabs a hold of the cone's bottom edge, and lifts the whole thing up until it hangs behind like a hood. The orange-furred face of an actual pegasus mare greets me. At last, something equine in this insanity.
"Greetings," the pegasus says. Her strange headgear clearly mussed up her short, purple mane, causing a few strands to fall over her grayish purple eyes. She flashes a grin and extends a free hoof. "You must be from the Hunter's Workshop. This is the first time I'm meeting somepony from there. I'm Scootaloo, hunter of the Church of Harmony, member of the Executioners, and protege of the awesome Rainbow Dash!"
She says the last two with an upward tilt of her muzzle. The names don't ring a bell to me, though. "I'm...uh..." That's it, I can't just keep not giving anything because I can't recall my name. "Good Hunter," I say. That sounded a lot better in my head.
Scootaloo doesn't even blink at the name. "Very fitting," she said. "What brings you to the Church of Harmony, Good Hunter?"
"I'd like to speak to Vicar Sweetie Belle," I reply. "I heard she's the one to talk to for the Magical Mystery Cure."
"That's true," Scootaloo said. "If you like, I'd be happy to take you to her."
The straightforwardness leaves me dumbfounded for a few seconds. "Really?" I ask. "No catches?"
Scootaloo shrugs, then gestures for me to follow. "You helped protect the Church. You hunt beasts for Ponyville. I think that's enough to let you talk to her." Her smile lessens slightly. "As for whether she can give you the Magical Mystery Cure is a different story." She lifts her enormous wheel to her shoulder, and attaches it to what I assume is a harness tucked away in her outfit. How it stays on is a mystery. She must attach it with a chain, and the harness itself must be incredibly strong. As for her outfit, I recognize the writings on Ghast Coin's scarf written all over the cape-like cloth draped across her back. She's clad from the neck down in gray cloth, ornate with gold thread. I don't see how cloth can stand up to the claws and fangs of beasts, but there must be more to the outfit than what I'm seeing. Her legs are wrapped in bands of leather with large brass studs scattered across them. It's only now that I notice the enormous rifle she's also carrying by her side. The thing is so long that it appears to be folded. That's not a gun meant for close quarters. I wonder what exactly Scootaloo hunts.
So this is a hunter of the Church of Harmony. From Eileen's story, Applejack hated the idea, but Scootaloo doesn't seem so bad despite the oddities of her outfit and weaponry. We walk up two flight of stairs, which turn out to be a side entrance that accesses an even longer, more massive flight of stairs. I have to tilt my head up just to look at the enormous gray building we're walking towards.
If I thought before that the Church of Harmony loved stairs, it's clear now that they're obssessed with them. We pass by several patrols of those white-faced creatures I encounter earlier. A few have hats with brims so wide that they must function as umbrellas as well. These ones carry pistols and what looks like a paint sprayer. There are also the shadowy silhouettes of what have to be gaunt, giant ponies below us where this main set of stairs met a round plaza. The dull clanks of great bells attached to their throats accompany each step they make. What is the Church if Harmony up to?
Finally, we get to what has to be their main cathedral, if only because they can't possibly build a bigger building than this. Circular pillars rise to towering heights before us supporting dozens of smaller, pointed towers. The stairs lead on to a pair of solid oak doors, each big and thick enough to have taken several trees to build. Surprisingly enough, they're open. I suspected that an organization unwilling to let Ponyvillians in would keep this place closed tight. There is a pair of those white-faced creatures guarding the doors. Instead of pointed rods, they have enormous tri-pointed poles strapped to their backs that strongly resemble the trident part of the Hunter's Mark. To the sides of these doors proves a more interesting sight.
Six statues line the stairs to the cathedral's entrance; three on each side. The surviving ones rise over twelve feet. The doors are flanked by a grim-looking, freckled, earth pony stallion in, curiously enough, the same garb as I am, and a unicorn mare with a long, coiffured mane, wearing elaborate robes marked by the same writings on Scootaloo's cape. She has her head held up high in solemn pride. On the lower tier is a pegasus mare with a short mane, wearing the same outfit as Scootaloo without the golden cone, and carrying a long pick over her shoulder. A flame-like sword sticks out by her right side. Oddly enough, this statue looks like it's been recently cleaned and polished, the only one in the set. The statue opposite is nothing more than a pile of rubble. There are feather-shaped pieces on the remains to indicate a pegasus as well. On the lowest tier is an earth pony with a poofy mane and an enormous grin. Out of the grim statues, this one is the only one smiling. I don't recognize the outfit she's wearing. It looks like some kind of scholarly ensemble. Opposing this one is also a destroyed statue. This one, however, has no wreckage. It looks like it was cut cleanly in half, leaving only the legs and a small part of the belly.
"Scootaloo, may I ask you some questions?" I ask.
"Of course," Scootaloo chirped. "We must have oodles to share! What would you like to know?"
"Who are these ponies?" I ask.
"These are the six saints of the Church of Harmony," Scootaloo replies. She points her hoof at the stallion first. "That's Big Macintosh, the First Church Hunter. Without him, the Church of Harmony would have no workshop. Next is Rarity, the founder of the Church of Harmony."
"Hold on," I say. "Wouldn't the Church's cornerstone be Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
"Oh no," Scootaloo replies. "Princess Twilight Sparkle bestowed the Magical Mystery Cure to us all and ascended to princesshood, but it was Rarity who built the organization around her to ease the burden of ministering this blessing to the masses."
So why does the Princess have no statue?" I ask.
"Depicting a Princess in a statue is outright blasphemy!" Scootaloo says with a gasp. "Surely, even Hunter's Workshop hunters know this."
I shrug, and Scootaloo continues.
"That one is the awesome Rainbow Dash!" she says excitedly. "Founder of the Executioners, who police the Church of Harmony's members and deal with non-beast enemies. And below is Pinkie Pie, known for her various contributions in making lesser versions of the Magical Mystery Cure."
"What of the broken statues?" I ask. The mood visibly darkens around Scootaloo when I ask that.
"The one that's cut neatly is Applejack, the First Hunter," Scootaloo says. "When she left the Church of Harmony, she cut the statue down with her Burial Blade. We keep it as it is out of respect for her wishes."
"You mean she cut this solid stone statue with a blade?" I ask.
"They say the blade didn't even touch the stone," Scootaloo adds.
Now, that's just mythologizing. I imagine that peg-legged old mare striking so hard as to neatly slash stone. Even in her prime, I doubt it. "And the broken one?"
"That one has no more name," Scootaloo whispers harshly. "During its time, it couldn't control its vampiric nature, and stole forbidden fruit from the Tree of Harmony, becoming the first of the inequine Vilebloods. We Executioners are dedicated to hunting it and its disgusting progeny down."
"Sorry for asking," I say.
Scootaloo suddenly looks to the distance wistfully. "Rainbow Dash led most of the Executioners in a final attack to crush these Vilebloods, but something horrible happened, and she became a blessed anchor. It's wrong to keep this evil mare alive, and it's wrong to leave Rainbow Dash as she is. That's why I have to search for that place as the last Executioner."
"What place?"
"Kindhurst Castle."
The smile springs back to Scootaloo's face. "But I'm just a humble Church hunter," she says. "I don't know all the details about the Church of Harmony. Maybe the Vicar can tell you more."
She leads the way past the double doors and into a single, massive, rectangular chamber. The arched ceiling's at least a hundred feet above me with balconies by the sides to show a second level. The sides have stained glass windows featuring trees and flowers, though red curtains drape by their sides, obscuring them slightly. Dominating the center of the far end is the altar...I think. A huge, rectangular slab of marble holds the statue of a white, crystalline tree. A second, smaller slab functions as some kind of backdrop for the tree while smaller ones flank it. There's something odd with the way these slabs arranged. The backdrop is clearly crooked, and its diagonal leaning makes the whole thing look like a fainting couch.
Before this image is a much smaller altar covered in red cloth. On it looks like a large, glowing skull that vaguely resembles a unicorns, only this has to belong to a giant, deformed unicorn if that is the case. A few strands of purple hair remain attached to the skull. And before this thing is the kneeling, hooded, white-robed figure of the pony I've been searching for.
"Please, dear sister, I need your strength more than ever," the pony intones. She's clutching something tightly to her chest. It looks like a gold brooch from where I'm standing, with a diamond-shaped socket at the center. Scootaloo clears her throat, which prompts this mare to stop.
"Sweetie Belle, this is Good Hunter. He's from the Hunter's Workshop, and he defended the district from beasts. He says he's looking for the Magical Mystery Cure."
Sweetie Belle tucks away the brooch, then pulls down her hood, revealing a two-tone pink and purple mane, a white coat, and green eyes. She looks pretty young to be the head of a massive organization, but the lines around her eyes speak of well-weathered stress. "Greetings, Good Hunter," she says. "I am Sweetie Belle, Vicar of the Church of Harmony. Thank you for helping us. I thought hunters from the original workshop despise working with the Church hunters."
"Beasts are beasts," I say with a shrug. "But I'm new to the job. I don't know all the details between our workshops."
"We're lucky then," Sweetie Belle replies. "As for the Magical Mystery Cure...I'm sorry, but we can't minister it to you."
It figures that things have been too easy. "Why not?" I ask. I try to keep my tone as reasonable as possible.
Sweetie Belle looks away in contemplation for a while before answering. "The Magical Mystery Cure refers to both the substance and the rite of ministering it. We can't do the rite because three of the four special chalices we need for it have been taken away. The Church Hunter's Workshop is doing everything it can to get them back."
I try to suppress a sigh. There's the catch. "I'll do what I can to help," I say. "What leads does the Church have?"
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo smile.
"One was taken away by a strangely intelligent beasts to Old Ponyville," Sweetie Belle says. "Our hunters report that it's in the old town hall being worshipped by dozens upon dozens of them."
"Another was stolen by the Vilebloods," Scootaloo adds. "Getting it back was, and still is, an Executioner mission."
"As for the third..." Sweetie Belle continues. "It was with Pinkie Pie, but she and her entire school of followers have disappeared. Our only consolation is that the fourth is still with Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Wait," I say, my eyes wide. "Princess Twilight Sparkle is here?"
"Yes," Sweetie Belle replies sternly. "But an audience is out of the question."
"What if I bring back these chalices?" I ask.
The harsh expression softens. "Maybe," Sweetie Belle says. "First, I think you should rest. You're wounded and shaky. We have a room you can use, and blood vials if you need them."
I'm happy to accept the offer. I'm barely standing at this point, and there's so much to process. Scootaloo shows me a small room I can use, and it doesn't take long until my hunter gear is off and I'm on the bed.