Cutiemark Crusaders 10k: The fourth deity

by The Psychopath

What is this?!

"Yes. Who are you to these four hiding behind you?"

"I am their master and their lord: Abstract the Dark. To whom do I speak?" Abstract asked.

"I am Empress Scootaloo, protector of the people of Equestria."

"Equestria? What is this?"

Scootaloo's eyebrow rose a tad, but she did not show much of her intrigue in front of her subjects. "So you do not know where you are?"

"I am aware of my geographical location upon this world. I was unaware that this tiny city was now considered a country."

"No. Um...if I may?" Amber asked Abstract who did not say anything. She took this as an 'okay'. "All of this land was once known as Equestria. Now, it's just Vanhoover."

"And it is a refuge for ponies, if I have understood correctly," Abstract replied.

"Not just ponies. Changelings as well as the minotaurs, griffins, and diamond dogs who were here when the veil coated the world."

Abstract's composure twitched ever so slightly. It was a movement that no normal being could notice no matter how hard they would have tried, but Scootaloo's eyes were far more refined then anypony else's.

"Is there a problem?"

"What is a changeling?"

"Hey, Scoots. Why don't ya just off 'im so we can get back ta takin' care of everypony? Ah've already tested the new birds 'n they're doin' great."

Scootaloo turned towards her friend atop the walls and yelled: "Apple Bloom, this creature cannot be killed as easily as you might think. The grand inquisitor can attest to my claim." Sweetie Belle nodded when she was looked at by the empress. "In any case, we must welcome this individual with open forelegs and welcome them and his refugees to our home."

Several of the guards rabbled in protest and a few came up to Scootaloo to openly share their displeasure:

"Empress, if I may be so bold as to say that you're crazy? Look at what he did to those three," the guard pointed.

Scootaloo was quite displeased with what she was seeing. Three guards who were simply foaming at the mouth and not even reacting to the healing magic of the sisters.

"Return them to normal," Scootaloo ordered.

"I will not," Abstract answered blandly.

There was a long moment of silence and tension in the air as the army looked at the two rulers staring eachother down.

"Uhhh, maybe we should listen? I'm kinda hungry, and you did say that you wanted to learn a more subtle way of domination, did you not?" Blue said.

"Hunger...I had forgotten that lowly creatures required sustenance and areas to expel the waste created in their bodies. Fine. I shall return them to their original state, but on one condition."

"What is that?" Scootaloo wondered.

"You will step down as leader and allow me rightful ruling over these creatures. I must remake the empire my kind had created so long ago."

Almost everypony exploded in a brouhaha of anger and objections. Scootaloo pondered over the matter deeply and gave a counter offer:

"I will not step down. However, as I have just learned from one of your subjects, I can make an exception and consider you as my successor so that you may learn the best way to rule over ponies. This will take time, unless you plan on assassination."

"Assassination is for cowards, as many of my brethren learned the hard way."

"Oh? Well, you can either accept my counter offer or we can start battling." Scootaloo placed herself in a standing stance indicating she was ready for combat. "However, nopony will accept you willingly if you overthrow me and force yourself into power. As much as I hate it, you will be forced to kill many, many subjects, and that will hurt your plans, will it not?"

Abstract did not move and preferred watching the pony standing right in front of him. He was considering every word she said carefully and was passing several scenarios through his mind. No matter what tactic he tried, this irritating creature was right. How annoying it was to have such creatures stay to their own minds, but he hadn't the power to control all of them. There was no 'atmosphere' for it.

"Fine. I will abide, but not by choice."

The stallion's two horns glowed in unison, creating a sort of black tear between them which shot out and hit all three ponies at once, creating a small shockwave, tremor, and causing them to bounce and gasp as if they were just resuscitated from a heart failure.

"There. Now lead us within these walls."

Scootaloo nodded and smiled in her sort of endearing, motherly way, and signaled to the guards on the walls to lower the gates. Apple Bloom rolled her eye in irritation and disappeared from view. A few seconds passed by before the doors slowly screamed opened as loudly as they could, sirens blaring all the while. Scootaloo put a hoof forward, inviting the five to enter the city. Several guards had already taken up position in front of the gate. The first line thrust their spears at the crystallion while the second raised their rifles at them. Abstract did not react. Instead, a strange humming growing progressively louder started emanating.

"What is a creature of Sombra doing here? Who let it through the gates?"

The ponies started to rise slowly in the air without noticing until it was too late. Several fired their weapons in random directions, but the few bullets that hit Abstract simply bounced off, and the whole group was engulfed within a rapidly spinning tornado of dark energies. THey were all randomly tossed in all directions so that Abstract could pass without hindrance.

"Get the paramedics here to help with the wounded," one of the sisters shouted.

Sweetie Belle calmly strode forward next to Scootaloo and whispered in her ear:

"Is this wise? He is clearly an unknown creature surrounded by powerful and unknown magic closely resembling that of Sombra's."

"Hmhm. I have a feeling that his ego is too big to let us out of important information like that. Perhaps, with a bit of taunting, you could get him to speak?"

The grand inquisitor walked next to the crystallion, ignoring the four behind him taking in the surroundings. She was about to speak to the tall crystallion, but noticing something rather peculiar in the glowing lights representing his eyes. Their glow was erratic; Flickering from bright to dark. He was confused by this enormous world in front of him. Technology he had never seen, architectural advances that he knew not were possible. He was standing in front of the entrance to Vahoover which was a widened area devoid of anything but brown bricks tiled into the ground in an arc facing away from the door. To his left and right were barracks built into the walls. They were tall, made from darkened bricks with a cement block base, and the second floor was reachable via an exterior stairway.

Further along sat a mass of buildings suffering from a lack of uniform design. Many of them were tall, others were short and wide, and all of these buildings had a wide variety of colors added to them. Street lights were placed on the sidewalks, both which Abstract had never seen in his life. The Crystal Kingdom should have been his first conquest. All of this was so...strange and confusing. Buildings stretching as high as possible without collapsing or swaying on the winds. Granted, the artificial sun above the whole city was somewhat familiar, but he did not recognize anything else. There were even carriages being drawn without the aid of slaves, yet there was no magic involved.

"Is something wrong?"

"What is this...madness? What magic is utilized in the support of these inconceivable structures? By what method have you created an artificial sun? What weaponry is this that you can expel metal balls from?"

Sweetie Belle was internally baffled. The minions of the tyrants knew very well what this technology was, but this creature did not? What exactly was he, anyways? Concrete Cavel stepped forward to explain everything to Sweetie.

"Oh, Grand Inquisitor, might I humbly beseech your beauty to listen?"

Rosy laughed behind his back. "He's in love."

"Pfffff," Blue answered.

The white pony looked at the chuckling ponies, then back at Concrete. She so wanted to laugh along. "Go ahead," Sweetie replied.

"Thank you," Concrete replied with a tone of half-annoyance. "Our master, Abstract the Dark, rescued us from our subjugation to the dread King Sombra. Once he freed us, we--"

"Wait. He FREED you?!" Sweetie interrupted.

"Yes. Why?"

The grand inquisitor looked at the stallion in front of her with wide eyes, then she looked towards Abstract who was still nervously observing the heavily urbanized landscape in front of him.

"Please continue."

"Right. Well, when he freed us, we felt a sense of duty to follow him in thanks and help him around. He awoke from a ten thousand year period of meditation and energy absorption, so I would assume that he still hasn't freed up all his powers."

"I see. Anything else of interest about him?"

"He fought on equal hoofing with Princess Celestia," Amber interjected.

"He what?"

"He wasn't unscathed, but he did block that sun spell we were all afraid of."

"Really? Interesting."

The three were interrupted by a mare shouting for somepony going near Abstract.

"Essence, no!" yelled a changeling queen.

A tiny pupa with a red mane, red eyes, and a tannish chitin had hurried over to Abstract in curiosity and was poking and prodding his right foreleg. It broke him out of his trance, and he looked down to his hoof to see the tiny thing look back at him with an innocent grin and intrigue about him. For a long moment, there were no sounds or sudden movements from the immediate vicinity. The mother was too afraid to get close to it despite all her instincts telling her to run towards her daughter, and everypony behind Abstract were just observing him and waiting to see what he was going to do.

"What is this tiny thing? It looks defective. It must be disposed of," he said coldly as he lift his foreleg to crush the pupa.