//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Seeking Secrets 
// by Shumiry 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 8

"Honestly? No. I can't bring myself to hate any of them. Even the worst among them would be worthy of glory and praise in hell.”	-Secret Seeker


Canterlot was... peaceful. The surprise on Luna's face was obvious. Slowly though, a creeping realization dawned on her. It wasn't peaceful, it was dead. There were no ponies moving through the streets. All the doors and windows were shut, and the whole city was utterly silent. Since her return from the moon, Luna had come to enjoy how active the city had been, even at night. To see it like this reminded her of the old days, and the reason the Nightmare had been able to take over.
The clopping of their hooves on the cobblestone roads echoed off the buildings, so loud in the silence that it seemed as if an entire army were marching to war. Good, she thought bitterly, maybe he'll think we brought one to fight him. Though she knew the foalishness of that hope.
As they entered the palace, memories of the scream she had heard before her link to Celestia had been cut returned to her. She shuddered to think what torture had been able to elicit such a cry from the goddess. She had seen her sister take mortal blows, spears that had pierced through her, with nary more than a grunt, then snap the shaft, pull the object out, and return to the fight. One such event had actually ended a battle in the great pony wars, with the entire enemy contingent falling to their knees to surrender after witnessing the impossible feat.
The memory made her heart ache for her sister. All the horrible things she'd had to deal with... Sealing Discord away, banishing her, she deserved so much better than this. Luna remembered some of the sessions she and Celestia had shared, reading Twilight's, and the other mares' letters on the magic of friendship. They had been so happy in those moments, recapturing that lost sisterly bond. With cold resolve, Luna returned to the task at hoof.
She knew the creature was a golem, recognizing the telltale signs in the eyes and movements, meaning it would heal quickly from any physical wound, and enjoyed increased resistance to magical assaults. Furthermore it seemed to have inscribed its flesh with seven circles of runes, three of which had been designed specifically to counter and trap Celestia. One she had recognized as a circle for control, which puzzled her.
Wresting control of a golem away from the creator would require implanting part of your soul inside. Not the kind of thing even remotely likely to be encountered in battle. But then why protect against someone else taking control?
“Princess,” Twilight whispered, “I think I might know.” Luna stopped, startled, and turned to the pony. When Twilight hesitated, she smiled,
“Please, I'd like to hear your thoughts.” She hadn't realized she'd been muttering hers aloud, but was now glad for the slip. Twilight's eyes lit up at the chance to explain her reasoning.
“I'm not very familiar with golems, but they're kind of like puppets you control with a piece of your soul, right?” Luna nodded. The description was basically correct, and she didn't want to interrupt the explanation with pointless nitpicking.
“Well, you said the Necroequicon was manipulating this... thing. It sounds like it may have tricked the creature into making the golem, and then took over. The runes could be to ensure that, if the actual creator were to try to take over...”
“Then the Necroequicon could remain in control.” Luna finished.
“Which would imply that the original creator might be held captive, or might not even know what the golem is doing.” The idea certainly had merit, and she'd be foalish indeed to disregard the thoughts of her big sister's protege. If he doesn't know, then maybe he would be opposed to this. If I can reach him somehow... Luna grinned, causing the other ponies to take a reflexive step back. She had a trick under her saddle that she very much doubted the Necroequicon expected. Something she learned a long, long time ago, back in the great pony wars. Without another word, she turned, and the group resumed their progress, albeit slightly unsettled by the malevolence in their princess' smile.
The Necrogolem stood from the floor of the royal bedroom. Its runecraft was finally complete, just in time for it to deal with these pesky intruders. How nice of them to all gather in one place for me. It would be paramount that it kill at least one of the six bearers first. They were much weaker, much easier targets than the moon princess, and if even one of them fell, they all became meaningless. Without being able to bring the Elements of Harmony to bear, it would just be a battle between it and the princess, and in that fight, it would be impossible to lose.
It knew the moon princess would be expecting traps. It also knew that not setting any would shake her confidence. If she thought it felt so secure in its victory that it didn't even bother to try to gain the upper hand, she would begin to despair, and her imagination would go into overdrive, trying to puzzle out the source of its confidence.
Secret Seeker was elated! His plan was working! He had struggled for a while around the equator, but now that he was past, each rune he added strengthened the hold of the others, making his power even more secure. At this rate, he'd be able to finish before Celestia raised the sun, and then he'd be able to anchor himself in Equestria forever!
In Ponyville, the citizens were gathering in concern. This was the second time in a week the sun had been late in rising. Many felt a cold dread settling in their stomachs. Something, it seemed to say, was terribly, terribly wrong.
The doors to the royal bedroom glowed with a midnight blue before slowly opening. Luna and the others entered cautiously, peering around the dark room for any traps or creatures laying in ambush. The princess' nerves were on edge as she probed the darkness. They had made it all the way here without any interruption or trouble. Why? Wasn't the golem concerned at all that she had brought the Elements to bear against it? The thought made her terrified for her sister.
Suddenly, Luna vanished in a puff of midnight smoke, and Twilight and Rarity combined their magic to form a shield. Just as she'd said it would, the golem moved against the young ponies first. It struck the shield, its fist crackling with black and green lightning. The force of the blow put a small web of cracks in the ward, but it held, long enough for Luna to strike at the creature with a blast of violet light.
It dodged, leaping backwards off the shield, flipping to its feet, and charging the barrier again. But just before it reached them, it changed direction, causing Luna's attack to go wide. Or so it seemed. The beam of violet energy ricocheted off the shield, blasting the creature in the back. At least, it should have. Instead the beam phased right through the golem, cutting Luna's glee short as she dove to the side to dodge her own attack.
With a flash of green and black lightning, the creature appeared behind the mares, and struck another vicious blow against the shell. This time the web of cracks was larger, and Rarity winced under the pressure, her legs wobbling with the strain. Twilight pushed harder, a third layer of over-glow appearing on her horn as she poured her strength into the shield. My friends, my mentor, and Princess Luna are counting on me to keep this shield up...
Her thoughts were cut short, however, when the beast, with a flurry of motion, landed a hail of punches and kicks on the webbed section, causing the barrier to waver, then crumble apart. Before she could think to react, the thing came through, charging her. Its hand was held flat, and a cone of energy had formed around it, crackling with black and green lightning, forming an electric blade.
Too scared to move, too scared to think, Twilight could only watch as the creature came closer, coming to murder her. Her life flashed before her eyes as the creature reached her, thrusting its arm towards her face. She was surprised to see it suddenly move to the side, as the room tilted and the floor rushed up to meet her. With a sickening squelch, the weapon made contact, punching through the sky blue pegasus.
Without missing a beat, the thing leapt through the air, dodging another blast from Luna, and their battle resumed, while the other five ponies could only stare at their dying friend. Blood soaked the plush carpet beneath Rainbow Dash, as she struggled to breath past the fluid gurgling in her throat and lungs.
“Rainbow...” Twilight whispered, pulling herself along the floor to her friend, too weak from shock to stand. Despite the severity of the situation, Rainbow Dash smiled, before trying to suppress a cough that sent blood speckle onto Twilight's face.
“Couldn't let him get you...” she managed, each word painful to speak, tears streaming from her eyes, “you have to stop him. Help Luna. Don't make me haunt you...” she shook with a small chuckle, the effort causing a new wave of blood to pour from her wound. With another shudder, Rainbow Dash went still.
The others looked on in horror, tears running freely down their faces. A bitter, inpony snarl burst forth from Applejack, and she charged towards the two combatants, screaming in fury. Inflamed by her courage and rage, the others joined the charge, wrath in their eyes as they pounded across the room. All except Twilight, who still lay before her friend.
Her friend who would never smile again. Her friend who would never join the Wonderbolts. Her friend, who had given everything, everything to protect her. Loyalty.
Twilight rose to her hooves.
“Loyalty.” she said, a calm, cold fury in her voice, as a deep violet glow, much thicker than her usual nimbus, formed around her horn.
“Loyalty.” she said again, louder this time, her eyes finally rising from the lifeless form before her. A second layer of the dark glow formed, and her pupils and irises began fading to white.
“LOYALTY!” she bellowed, her voice magnified by the power coursing through her, bringing the fray to a temporary halt as all present turned to look at the terrifying spectacle.
Fluttershy hovered above the creature, just preparing to dive bomb it. Rarity stood beside Luna, having been adding her power to the princess' strikes. Applejack had a nasty gash on her side, her hat had been knocked off, and blood flowed past her left eye from a cut on her forehead. She didn't seem to notice, or care about her wounds. Pinkie's hair was flat, and she wore the cold, mirthless smile of a mad pony. Of somepony who had seen too much, lost too much too quickly.
With a brilliant flash, Twilight stood before the golem, its hand, fingers wreathed in arcing magic, turning them into wicked claws, already beginning its descent to swipe at her. But when it reached her, she simply wasn't there. No flash, no puff of smoke, no indication whatsoever. She stood beside the thing now. On both sides. The two Twilights' horns glowed with a deep purple as perfect lines shot out, creating a cube around the beast.
“Perfect Method's cuboidal inflection,” the two Twilights' said in unison. The golem seemed to be struggling, the ring of runes Luna recognized as an energy receiver was trying to activate, but only some of the runes were lighting up, then going dark. Like a series of randomly blinking lights. A pyramid formed inside the cube, and Luna noticed that fewer runes on the ring were lighting now, and they went dark faster.
“Raging Bolt's dampening pyramid,” the Twilights said, “mirrored within each other,” the shapes began replicating. Each forming just inside the confines of the other. The golem, always trapped in the center, kept getting smaller and smaller, and with each iteration, there was a puff of black and green smoke, as energy was annihilated from the creature.
“Creates Twilight Sparkle's Compressing Infinigon.”
One of the Twilights faded, and the power receded into the remaining one. She stood for a moment, then slid to the ground, and cried. The other ponies, except Luna, who couldn't tear her eyes from the Infinigon, slowly regained their wits, and gathered around her in a group hug, weeping bitter tears for their friend.