Trauma Center: Equestrian Opinion

by Legion222

Chapter Nine: Of Cultists

Trauma Center: Equestrian Opinion
Chapter Nine: Of Cultists

Location: Everfree Forest

A brown-coated Unicorn mare weaved her way between the trees, following a convoluted course known only to her. Her seemingly random turns and backtracking would have drawn questioning glances were it not for where she was: deep within the Everfree Forest. The locals avoided the place like the plague, so she was completely alone. The thick canopy cast the forest floor into thick darkness despite it being around noontime, but the mare didn't need to see where she was going. She knew the way to the secluded cave by heart.

What felt like, and very well could have been, hours later, the mare reached her destination. Merely one cave out of hundreds in the area dominated by the Everfree Forest, most ponies wouldn't bat an eye at it. But she knew better. Drawing near the mouth of the cave, she peered resolutely into the darkness. "Progress is fickle, and abandons his children to the world," she whispered.

"But Nature protects her own, now and forever," came the near-silent response as an Earth Pony materialized just in front of her, stepping into the half-light of the forest. His body was covered in charcoal powder, allowing him to become practically invisible in the dark of the cave. "Oikos welcomes you, Sister."

She sighed in relief and nodded. "Thank you, Brother." The stallion stepped aside to let her pass into the cave, but put a hoof on her shoulder to stop her as she entered.

"Mother told me to send you to her when you arrived. She is waiting for you in the Chapel."

The mare gulped nervously. She'd known her blunder would not go unpunished, but a personal meeting with the Mother, and in the Chapel no less? It seemed she was in more trouble than she’d thought. She briefly considered turning back, fleeing the organization she found herself caught up in, but she knew she wouldn’t get far. Even if she escaped the gate guard just behind her, Mother had eyes and ears everywhere. Not to mention that the Equestrian authorities would soon be after her. There was nowhere in the country where she’d be safe, and little to no chance of leaving it, either.

Her ears pressed flat against her skull as she moved forward into the darkness. She made her way through the labyrinthian cavern with practiced ease, headed toward the large, central chamber known as the Chapel. She met nopony on her way, which while not unheard of for the secretive sect, was still unusual; there should at least be signs of activity throughout the caves as members went about their business, but the whole place was as silent as a tomb. When she finally approached the Chapel, she discovered why.

The stale cave air reverberated with the rumbling of a thousand ponies talking amongst themselves. The rows upon rows of bench seats carved from the cave floor were filled to capacity, ponies sitting around but ultimately facing the stage opposite where she now stood just inside the entrance. They seemed to be waiting for something.

For me, the mare realized. The Mother had not meant to chastise her one-on-one at all. No, she was going to be made an example for the others; an example of what happened to those who made mistakes, and those who disobeyed the Father’s will.

Losing all sense of nerve, she backed into the darkness of the cave. I’ve got to get out of here, she thought, casting her eyes about wildly to make sure nopony had spotted her. Maybe I can turn myself over to the Guard; being locked in a dungeon for the rest of my life will certainly be better than what Mother has in store.

It was at this moment that an age-old adage proved its relevance: speak of the devil, and he shall come. The mare, lost in her thoughts as she backed away, quickly came to when she bumped into something tall and furry. “Hello, Daughter,” the sickly sweet voice of the Mother whispered in her ear as she froze. “So good to see you again. You’ve been away from home for so long, I was getting worried.”

“M-mother.” Never before in the history of Equestria had that word been said with such utter dread. The mare’s pupils dilated and her breath caught, any plans she might have made dashed to pieces.

She could almost feel the look of confused worry that came over the Mother’s face, despite both the dark and facing the wrong way to see it. “Why Daughter,” the Mother gasped, “you don’t sound very pleased to see me. Is something wrong? Why don’t you come in here with me, and we can talk about it.” The Mother gestured toward the filled Chapel as though it were a private chamber, where she could speak her heart and mind to the pony she trusted most in the whole world.

The cooing voice in her ear slipped past her defenses, numbing her mind. She nodded dumbly as the Mother stepped around her, leading the way. A part of her screamed that something was wrong; that she wanted to leave, not follow this madmare to her doom. She swiftly shut out that part of her. She trusted the Mother with her life, and more.

She quietly followed the Mother through the Chapel, which fell quiet as all eyes rested on them. The Mother’s black cloak swayed behind her, the random patterns of its movements mesmerizing the voice-drugged mare. They walked past countless rows of benches, each one seating her Brothers and Sisters. The benches reached from one wall to the other with a wide aisle cutting through the middle. The room itself was mostly circular, the natural cave walls stretched up to a ceiling lost in the darkness high above them.

In swift silence, the pair reached the stage, a large slab of stone standing above the main floor of the Chapel, bare but for a stone altar in the center. It was to the altar that the Mother led her, helping her up and laying her on her back on the cold stone. The Mother cooed a few reassuring words in her ears, the last tiny vestiges of resistance fading from her mind as her eyes closed peacefully.

Turning from the altar, the Mother dropped her cloak, revealing her form to her entire audience. She was much taller than the average pony, her legs long and thin. Her dark grey coat and her sickly green mane and tail were covered in blurry, grey stripes. A short, slightly deformed horn sprouted from her forehead while her back sported a pair of tiny wings, brown feathers mixing seemingly randomly with dark grey ones. The torchlight that dimly lit the cavern reflected off the patches of shiny scales on her underbelly. The Mother smiled as she addressed her Children, revealing a pair of nubs where there might have been fangs.

“My dear Children!” the Mother called to her assembled followers, the cave’s acoustics making it sound like she was speaking from everywhere in the room at once. “Today one of our own has finally returned home from her mission in the town of Ponyville!” The room briefly filled with cheers as the brown mare stood from the altar, moving dreamily to stand by the Mother.

“Dearest Mother,” she spoke to the deformed mare beside her, “I have returned, but I am unworthy of this celebration.” Her mouth spoke words not her own, her head hanging of its own accord. “I have failed my Father-sent mission, Mother.”

The crowd gasped in shock. Failed? She had failed to carry out the Father’s will? How was that possible? What would happen now?

The Mother looked at her in sorrow. “Failed? My Daughter, whatever could you mean?” Leaning in closer, she whispered in the mare’s ear– “Tell us what happened.”

And so, she began to explain. Her tone was emotionless as she detailed her mission: to infiltrate Ponyville’s hospital in preparation for the Father’s wrath; she would leave them disorganized and unprepared at the very hour that they struck. But she had made a mistake. She had moved too quickly, and by the time she realized it it was already too late. “I couldn’t change the schedule so dramatically after it had already been sent out; it would have attracted too much attention. So I contacted one of the Father’s priests, but we could not move up his plan over my failure.”

She noticed feeling beginning to return to her words as the Mother’s whispers began to fade from her mind, but she still wasn’t in control. “I hoped against hope that something would change, or that nopony would notice, but just last night my plan came to light and I was forced to flee.” She concluded her tale heavily, wishing she could similarly flee the situation she now found herself in.

The cavern was silent, her Brothers and Sisters digesting her tale. Beside her, the Mother sighed in resignation. “My Daughter,” she spoke, her voice intimate yet at the same time loud enough for everypony to hear. “I do not wish to do this, but failure must be punished.” She fell quiet again as she considered, then opened her mouth to deliver her verdict.

A low, rumbling moan sounded wordlessly from behind the stage, stopping the Mother short. Turning around, she faced the great stone door half-concealed by the shadows along the cavern’s back wall. “Yes, dear?” she responded softly.

Another long, low groan sent shivers down the Unicorn’s spine.

The Mother nodded. “As you wish, my husband.” While everypony was still trying to make sense of the exchange, she moved around the Unicorn mare and began directing her towards the door. “The Father has spoken,” she said, again loudly enough for all to hear. “You are to face the Trial of Nature. If you succeed, you will serve the Father as a priestess. But should you fail…” she trailed off. Finishing that sentence was unnecessary; everypony present knew that the Trial would kill anypony who did not pass it. Together they reached the back wall, the brown Unicorn trying and failing to resist the Mother’s pull. “Come, it is time for you to meet your Father.”

Many of the ponies were still stunned at the voice – if it could even be called that – that had come from the wall behind the stage. It had been a long time since the Father had spoken to the general assembly and many now present had not been the last time it had occurred. Much grinding of stone was heard as the Mother and the potential priestess-to-be disappeared into the shadows of the back wall, and when the room was quiet again those gathered broke out into conversation as they dispersed.

Author's Note:

I’ve always thought that, of all the things that happen in the game, Hope Hospital not having a single emergency surgeon on call that night was one of the strangest. Thus, evil cultist plot.

And so we get the first look at the Equestrian version of Delphi, an organization known as Oikos (Greek for family, for those curious). They’ll be appearing much more frequently as we start getting into the real meat of this story. Hope y’all are ready!

Questions, comments, criticisms and suggestions are all appreciated, and I’m happy to respond to any feedback. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Read on,
Legion