Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 2: A Fright On Nightmare Night

by XombieSlayr

Chapter 19: "Are Ya Ready?"

Chapter 19: "Are Ya Ready?"

"One usually meets their destiny, when they try their hardest to avoid it."

- The Goddess

Time stood still for a moment. Nopony moved. Not me, not Carlsen, not anyone.

Finally after a long moment, Carlsen got up off the floor, and shuffled out of the room, looking even worse then before. The door closed behind him as we heard his hoof steps grow softer as he went down the hallway. When we could no longer hear him, we slowly came out from the bathroom.

I looked at Pensipony. "Why would Carlsen be scared of me?" I asked. "And how did that...thing, know who I am!?"

Gold Digger gave me a surprised look. "You already saved the world from evil once, Meir. I guess evil itself knows about you now."

I didn't think I liked that possibility. But we had no time to think about it now.

"We have to find where Carlsen was going!" I exclaimed softly.

Pensipony agreed. "He had to be heading to the main ritual room, to announce the beginning of their plan to his followers. We just have to blend in."

"I hope this works, guys." Gold Digger said hopefully.

"It will. I'm not giving up here. Not now." I said firmly.

Back in our disguises (It was surprisingly hot in that bathroom) we followed the soft sound of Carlsen's hoof steps, through the elaborate series of halls that would lead to the main ritual room.

Main Ritual Room (Midnight)

The sound of drums echoed throughout the hall, as we entered the main ritual room via a large stone archway. Inside the darkened domed room, a gathering of some hundred or more various ponies, all wearing voodoo makeup and tribal masks, gathered in front of a massive stage. Carlsen, now dressed in a strange voodoo shaman's outfit addressed the crowd. "Pitta muri pase m'kuri!" he chanted loudly. He pulled out a large ceremonial dagger, and held it blade first to his arm. "Pei lame nu deja, met agwe-woyo kote u ye nu!" He stabbed the blade into the tattoo which glowed red as the ground around us began to shake and rumble. The roof of the room, seemed to melt away, as the whole area moved upwards into the stadium grounds, like an ascending elevator lift.

The voodoo cultisits cheered as we reached the stadium, thousands of ponies scattering and running away as the ground opned up and we ascended into view. I looked around at the hundreds of frightened ponies. Many tried to escape through the stadium gates, but a huge metal gate came down trapping everypony inside the stadium. Including us.

Carlsen laughed as ponies grouped around one another, the cultists laughing along with Carlsen. "Mares and Gentlecolts!" Carlsen announced, his voice booming throughout the stadium. "Do not be afraid. We are The Cartel. And we are you're salvation from the lives you lead."

Pensipony looked over at me, pulling her mask up to speak to me. "Now, Meir! We have to take him now!" she whispered to me, taking out the bottle of sacred potion. "On the count of three...."

"One" I prepared to run, my heart starting beating too fast to mention.

"Two." We can do this. I know we can.

"THREE!!"

We tore off our disguises and pushed through the crowd of cultists, until we reached Carlsen. Pensipony opened the bottle, and prepared to splash Carlsen when all of a sudden....

I couldn't move. I had stopped, mid sprint, just as I reached the stage. Pensipony as well, the bottle hovering in front of her, just out of reach.

"Heh. I thought you would try something, Ms. Meir."

Carlsen laughed as his tattoo glowed brighter then it ever had, and yet he wasn't even touching it. He removed his shaman mask and looked at me, his eyes wild and his skin nearly grey. "It was a good try though. Well, nothing I would expect from the supposed smartest pony in the world, but- "He raised his arm, and we were raised off the ground with it. I struggled to move, but all I could do was watch as Carlsen took the bottle in his hooves, and broke it on the stage, the potion dissolving into nothing as it hit the floor.

I wanted to scream. To fight. But as hard as me and Pensipony struggle, we were completely helpless. Carlsen's manic laughter only served to enrage me more. He brought Pensipony down with a wave of his hoof, and grabbed her face, staring hate into her eyes. "I think I'll start with you...it's been awhile since Lord Legba has had a sacrifice. He must be hungry after such a long wait." Carlsen said insanely, his eyes flaring. Then he turned away from her to look at me. To gloat. "You've lost Meir. The smartest pony in the world, and you were beaten by me. Now whose the smartest?"

I wanted to swear at him. To show him I was still willing to fight. I concentrated all my energy on getting my mouth to move.

Then I felt it. My cutie mark starting to warm up, I could feel the magic begin to surge out of me, a wild mess of anger and determination. "I-I...."

"Hmm?" Carlsen put a hoof up to his ear. "Oh I'm sorry, are you trying to beg for mercy?" Carlsen mocked.

I focused more, the magic radiating from me like wildfire. I felt the hold Carlsen had over me start to break. "h-ha"

"One more time now, with feeling!" He laughed.

Oh. I gave him feeling alright. With one final push I channeled my magic into breaking Carlsen's grip on me. I glared down at him, my pupils nearly pinpricks as I gave into my rage. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!!" I screamed angrily, and I dropped onto the stage, free of Carlsen's voodoo for good.

Both Carlsen and Pensipony looked at me in complete shock, but I didn't give him the time to process it as I charged into Carlsen and tackled him off the stage. We both hit the ground hard, as the air left my lungs, only to instantly come back.

Carlsen recovered from the fall and screamed as he dove at me, but I easily rolled out of the way, as Carlsen connected with a hard kick in the stomach from Karosta. He was sent tumbling across the ground, as both cultists and ponies ran to get out of the way of the two on one fight between us and Carlsen.

Carlsen may have been a powerful voodoo shaman but he also couldn't even try to defend himself. Every time we attacked him, he tried to use his tattoo. We ended up beating him nearly to a pulp, before he actually managed to use his voodoo again.

"ENOUGH!!" With another stab at his arm, both me and Karosta were sent flying by a massive blast of green energy, that burned the ground, charring the grass of the field to cinders.

Before he could cast another spell, Carlsen was hit by another one, that was cast by Miss Fortune. As the two voodoo masters fought, it looked like she would actually beat him.

"Legba, bogun badagris pito na!"

Before we could comprehend what Carlsen had just screamed out, we looked around in horror as every single cultist in the stadium suddenly dropped dead to the floor. Hundreds of dead bodies now littered the grass.

Carlsen's tattoo suddenly glowed, as black and green energy swirled around him. He looked up and sent Miss Fortune flying with a single glance. The more his tattoo glowed, the less equestrian and more monstrous in appearance Carlsen became, till he towered over us, a hulking abomination, no longer a pony, but a disgusting nightmarish flesh creature with bones protruding through his skin.

He laughed with a guttural demonic growl, as he looked over at me, his rows of razor sharp teeth meshing together in a sick smile. "I may not be able to kill you Meir-

Suddenly Karosta fell to the ground clutching her chest. Then Miss Fortune, then Gold Bloom, and even Pensipony had fallen to her knees in agony as she clutched her chest, her face contorted in pain. "But I can kill your precious friends!" Carlsen laughed insanely.

"NO!!" I screamed.

I had to do something. NOW! The tattoo, I had to destroy it....but the potion! He destroyed the.....wait.

I looked up. A massive stadium monitor hung from the rafters, supported by several steel cables. I looked back down, and If I was right, then Carlsen was....!

I closed my eyes and thought of every unicorn I had ever seen use this spell. Every step they took, every word they spoke. I brought everything to my mind and raced through it, focusing all my energy into one thing. If I could use my magic to change my appearance, then maybe....I could

My cutie mark burned like fire, but I kept concentrating. I heard Carlsen laugh at me. Sense him point his tattooed arm at me. "Giving up? eh? At least try to make this hard for me! Otherwise the game's not any fun!" he laughed.

I felt a sharp pain on my forehead, but I kept going, forced my thoughts to manifest, felt it spring from my skull, to my head. Then...

I opened my eyes, and felt my forehead. But my hoof bumped into something. Something horn shaped. Without even stopping to take it in, I cast a massive magical blast from the horn. It sailed like a missile up to the rafters were it exploded on impact with the steel cables, purple magic scattering like fireworks from the impact.

The ear piercing sound of screeching metal resounded through the stadium. I fell to my knees as sweat dripped down my face, and I looked over at Carlsen, as I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Hey Carlsen!" I yelled out.

He looked over at me, a smug grin on his monstrous face. He held his tattoo arm behind him, pointed like a weapon over at Pensipony, a good 15 feet away. "Oh, you're still here?" He said with a smile. This time, I smiled back. "Heads up."

With a final snap of the last cable, the massive stadium monitor fell like a rock, 20 feet above us, before it smashed into the ground, right on top of Carlsen's tattoo arm.

Carlsen's agonized screams mixed with the stomach churning sound of crushed bone and flesh, as Carlsen returned to normal, screaming himself into hysterics as he tried to pull his destroyed arm from underneath the stadium monitor. But to no avail.

It was a miserable thing seeing a pony scream and struggle like that. Even if it was Carlsen.

A loud crash of thunder was heard above us, as strange eerily green clouds began to swirl around the stadium. The feeling of dread was felt by all, as drums from nowhere began to play an orchestra of deep, rapid beats. The blood drained from Carlsen's face in an instant, as he stopped struggling and stared in total horror at the series of colorful smoke that descended from the sky, along with a massive black shape that whipped through the air like a snake, curling and twisting till it stood next to Carlsen.

The familiar face of Legba appeared on the shadowy black figure. It towered over everypony in the stadium, eyes glowing red, as a massive gnarled limb reached down and grabbed Carlsen, by his waist. The drums were now louder then ever, all beating and pulsing in unison, getting faster and faster, as Legba dragged Carlsen from the wreckage, his arm now completely gone as blood followed the stump.

Legba laughed hysterically as he descended into the ground, pulling a kicking and screaming Carlsen into the ground after him, both vanishing into a pool of shadows. Another flash of thunder and the drums stopped. All was quiet.

And then I passed out.