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Purification

Regenerator 228

Chapter 19

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The Drowned Seapony was like every other dive bar in Canterlot’s bad part: its windows were grimy, the paint that covered the wooden front was chipped and faded, its outside smelled faintly of piss and vomit, and its inside smelled like sour alcohol, smoke and unwashed fur.

And, like every other dive bar in Canterlot’s bad side, it was a place that accepted any and all unsavory characters.

So, when the Leader, wearing Flam like a suit, entered the bar just as dusk was beginning to swallow the day, most of the patrons didn’t give the dirty, bedraggled unicorn much notice except to eye the tattered saddlebag in the hopes of spotting something valuable sticking out from it, but they quickly lost interest when it became obvious that there wasn’t anything worth stealing.

“Flam” sat down and looked over the crowd: a few pegasi with arrogant sneers on their faces were playing Liar’s Dice in one corner, while a few diamond dog pups took a few bits from their unchecked purses. A large, muscular griffon sat near a dusty fireplace and stared into the dying embers like they might contain the secrets of life itself, an undisguised changeling drone sat with a morose-looking pegasus with a lightning cutie mark who was weeping silently into her cup.

“Flam” curled zirs lip in disgust: they were all so dirty and low and absolutely worthless; the picture of Impurity.

But they could be changed, they could come to know true Purity, they could be evolved beyond the normal capabilities of their breeds; a race of….what had the Germans of Earth called them? Ah, yes: Ubermensch.

That’s a very good word: Ubermensch, thought “Flam” with a smirk, the Nazis had such good names for such good things, but Ubermensch is the absolute best, though I’m sure Saddler would have called them Sombrehumano…. had he not gone with the title of “Ganados”.

“Flam” scoffed at that word, “Ganados”, what an unbelievably crass word. “Sheep”, that’s apparently all he thought of them as, just cattle to further his goals, mere cannon fodder, how could someplagas be so old and powerful be so utterly foolish?

It was at that moment when The Leader realized that she had, in fact, never actually liked Saddler, even though he was their leader. He was just so… prideful, he never considered his fellow Plagas as his peers, as fellow parasites who would offer help and use their own intelligence to work on their own to further his goals, he just saw them as cannon fodder that came in different forms of varying strengths.

I won’t make that mistake. I will treat my spawn as equals, as subjects, maybe even as a family, as utterly human as that sounds.

The Leader turned Flam’s eyes--zhe hoped that no-one would notice their red coloration-- to the pegasi , The muscles, the wings and the speed that they display. They’ll be perfect vessels for my spawn.

The Leader got up and trotted to the group, when “he” was close enough he loudly cleared his throat, getting their attention.

“What the hay do you want?” asked a pegasus with a pierced ear and a buzzsaw cutie mark, his compatriots looked at “Flam” with looks that were both appraising and highly suspicious.

The Leader smiled disarmingly and said, “I, my dear friends, am Flam, I’m looking for some persons to help me in an endeavor and I was wondering if you’d like to help me?”

“What’s in it for us?” asked Buzzsaw.

“How does riches beyond your wildest dreams sound?” asked Flam, smiling kindly.

Buzzsaw’s eyes widened and he held up a hoof, “Hold on.” , then he turned to his group and began conversing with them in a low tone. Being Purified, The Leader was able to hear what they were saying: it was mostly them discussing their obvious distrust towards the newcomer.

“I’m tellin’ ya, this is the chance of a lifetime.” said Buzzsaw.

A burly female pegasus with a Tack cutie mark scoffed, “Yeah, that’s what you said about the last guy, you remember how long we were in the slammer?”

“C’mon! That Ahuizotl guy would totally have gotten away with it if that Daring Do mule hadn’t stopped him.” growled Buzzsaw.

Tack snorted and rolled her eyes.

“What’s his plan?” asked another female, this one bearing a long scar across her left eye and a spear cutie mark.

Buzzsaw opened his mouth, then closed it, he held up a slightly shaky hoof to his friends and turned back to Flam, “Uhh, my associates and I would like to know what your plans are.”

The Leader smiled, “I intend to steal a valuable artifact from the Canterlot castle.”

The pegasi raised their eyebrows and, seeing that they wished for zir to continue, the Leader elaborated. “I know for a fact that there is a powerful artifact from long ago hidden in the darkest vaults of the castle, it is called the Alicorn Amulet and it is said that it grants the user increased magic potential… even if they aren’t unicorns.”

This got the pegasi’s attention.

The Leader smirked internally and continued, “I found a map that shows the best route to the vaults.”, zhe produced an age-worn map from the saddlebags and placed it on the table, “My plan is to have you three enter from the air while I provide a distraction big enough to get the guard’s attention.”

“I’m not even going to begin to describe what’s wrong with that plan.” said a sibilant, hissing voice. The Leader turned and saw that the griffon and the changeling watching the little group intently, due to the tone and range of the voice it was obvious that the changeling was the one who had spoken.

The Leader raised a brow and motioned for the shape-shifter to continue.

“I know a way under the castle.” said the drone, a smug smirk playing on bis nonexistent lips, “There’s a series of crystal tunnels that run underneath the castle, they’ve been there since before the castle was even built, so even the princesses don’t know about its existence.”

The trio of pegasi looked at the changeling with sudden awe and respect.

“How do you know this?” asked the Leader, narrowing Flam’s eyes.

“My queen told me” he said, his smirk widening, “I’m her most trusted advisor.”, he placed a hole-covered hoof to his puffed chest, positively oozing pride.

“So why are you telling us this in the first place, couldn’t you just be leading all of us into a trap?” asked the Leader. The changeling shook his head, “Nah, Queen Chrysalis may be my queen, but she’s been far too concerned with her own goals to really care about us. So I figured, ‘why not get out and get some payment while I can’?”

The pegasus trio nodded their understanding and began to ask more questions, as they did, the Leader watched the changeling’s facial expressions, looking for a lie and finding none, much to zir surprise.

I can certainly empathize with this changeling’s plight. thought the Leader, But he seems like type who doesn’t really care about loyalties one way of the other, but I must admit, the cave system sounds like the perfect place for a breeding ground, but there’s just one thing I have to know..

“If I may ask, how large is this tunnel system?”

The changeling shrugged, “I don’t remember all the details.”, he then paused and held a hoof to his chin, “But I think that Chrysalis said something about it being the size of the castle itself.”

The Leader gave a small smile.

“Where is the entrance to the tunnels?” asked Buzzsaw.

“There are many entrances and exits” said the changeling, “but the only one that I can say for sure is easily accessible: the one in the graveyard, just under the old Church of Harmony.”

In a graveyard under a church, eh? thought the Leader, That sounds very…. familiar.

“So” said the changeling, looking over each member of the group, “Who’s in?”

Four hooves (and a talon) shot up in unison.

The Leader began to follow the group as they exited the pub, paying no mind to the complaints of the barkeep-- who hadn’t been paid. She had just crossed the threshold when she stopped: there was something in the air, it was like a small portion of the world’s gravity had been stealthily siphoned out, making everything seem just a bit lighter.

I recognize that feeling, realized The Leader though I didn’t know what it was when I first arrived, I know it now: something else from another world has appeared here.

She gazed behind her as they continued their trek and briefly considered investigating, but the promise of new set of fellow Plagas was far too tempting, so, with a shake of the head, the Leader turned and continued tailing the little group.

The sun was setting by the time the band of miscreants arrived at the old graveyard.

The Leader felt a surge of nostalgia happiness, which was a very new emotion to her given her previous form’s mental and emotional capacity, as she surveyed the graveyard with its weather-worn tombstones, overgrown grass and weed-choked mausoleums.

The ruins of the Church of Harmony stood tall and foreboding at the back of the perimeter, it ancient stone foundations wrapped in sickly green ivy and shot through with deep cracks, the moon cast an eerie light through the broken windows and crumbling battlements.

It was very much like the church in the village; the one that the Ganados all flocked too every day when the bell chimed.

The Leader let out a small sigh as she stepped through the the threshold and felt the dusty breeze fill her vessel’s lungs; This is all so….nice. the Leader thought, having found a use for the word that only now was making its true meaning known.

The changeling led the group past an old crystal altar to the furthest wall, reaching up he pressed his hoof to a chunk of rock that was a lighter color than the rest of the wall, then he stepped back as a large portion of the wall slid away to reveal the entrance to a passageway; a faint glow emanated from within the inky black that lay beyond.

The trio of pegasi all exchanged worried looks, but the large griffon--whose name had gone unannounced-- strode forwards and began to walk down into the black, the changeling smiled, “It’s good to see someone has a pair.”

This insult caused Buzzsaw to scowl darkly and he flew past the changeling with an annoyed growl, Tack and Spear followed a second later. The changeling turned to the Leader and cocked his hoof at the doorway, “You wanna join us or what?”, the Leader smiled and said, “But of course, lead the way, my good changeling.”.

Said changeling smirked and began his descent as well, the Leader followed behind, making sure that zhe blocked the exit with a magical shield to prevent any issues from arising should one of her targets escape.

The Leader kept a steady pace as the group descended deeper underground. Within a few minutes the darkness gave way to glowing blue light as the crystals that composed the remainder of the tunnel came into view, another few steps and the last vestiges of natural stone were replaced by more glowing crystals.

Soon the stairs stopped and merged into a long, winding path, the changeling paused to look at his reflections in the clear crystal surface, My, my, what arrogance. thought the Leader, raising a brow at the display of vanity. Buzzsaw seemed to mirror zir thoughts, as he reached out and nudged the shape-shifter with an annoyed scowl on his face, the changeling huffed and continued on his way.

The path abruptly branched off in three different directions, the changeling led them down the middle path, then the middle path branched off again and the changeling turned right. This continued for what seemed like a small eternity, until they finally came to a massive cavern with a vaulted ceiling and pillars that had been carved out of the crystal.

The group stopped at the center of the room and gathered around the changeling, who was beginning to go over his plan, but the Leader wasn’t listening, instead zhe was making sure to block off every exit and begin the physical preparations for the upcoming Purification.

The group of would-be thieves were far too engrossed the changeling’s plans to notice the slits in Flam’s sides and back open up to reveal a pair of slimy wings and six long, spidery legs tipped with needle-like talons, they didn’t hear the soft cracking sound as Flam’s jaw distended to reveal the flower-like mouth of the Leader. They didn’t even realize that something was wrong until the griffon was dragged away into the shadows behind the set of pillars to their left with a strangled cry of terror.

Tack and Buzzsaw leaped back with frightened screams, “The changeling’s led us into a trap!” yelled Spear, turning around and pouncing upon the terrified changeling with a battle cry.

Buzzsaw turned to shout at Spear, but something swooped down from above and plucked the pegasus off the ground as easily as a bat catching an insect; Spear looked up just in time to see Buzzsaw’s screaming face disappear into the darkness.

The changeling saw that his attacker was distracted and rammed his front hooves into her stomach before vaulting over her with flexibility that belied his insectoid appearance, he galloped to the doorway that they had entered from, but an invisible force stopped him from moving beyond the threshold. He only had a split-second to rue his bad luck before he too was dragged into the darkness, this time by a long tentacle.

Tack rushed to Spear’s side just as the mare fell onto her stomach and began to weep with fear, she laid a wing across her shoulders and tried to help her up, feeling tears of her own begin to well up in her eyes.

“Awww…. don’t cry, my dears.” said a voice from the shadows, a voice that echoed throughout the whole cavern.

“Please let us go!” begged Tack, “We promise we won’t tell anypony about what happened down here, I swear to Celestia!”

There was silence, then the voice said, “I can’t let you escape, but I will not kill you.”

Tack felt a single ray of hope shine upon her mind.

Then she felt the breath on the back of her neck. “I’m going to Purify you, my sweet.”

Both mares screamed as they felt the cold and soft, yet terribly strong wings of the creature wrap tightly around both of them, pinning them to the creature’s barrel.

The last thing that either of them saw were a pair of glowing, red eyes set above a flower of flesh and teeth.

Author's Note:

I used the terms "Zir" and "Zhe" to show the tow genders that the Leader has: the male host and the female Plagas, because it would get super confusing if I didn't.

Anywho, please comment and like and all that awesome stuff and I will see you.... in the next part.

Buh-Bye!!

(Like the Markiplier reference? He's awesome, go watch his videos.)

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