(Present Chapter 19): The Black Book Club
"Drop ink on the finest snow-white paper, and it will inevitably absorb into black. Its purity demands it.
"Tainted men have immunities. Black does not absorb black," The holographic video says as a figure shrouded in darkness watches the show intently.
"You sure do enjoy that cartoon, Black Angel," A mare in a maid outfit says as she tightens the bandages around her head.
"Of course I do, Game Master. It's the basis of our revolution, after all. A relic of the real Shadow Realm, it depicts wonderful barehoof brawling, and is an ancient depiction of what darkness can really be."
The bandages flash with hidden runes, illusions transforming them into the smooth green coat of an Earth Pony who rolls her eyes at what is a speech she's heard several times from her master.
"Yes, sir," she says simply, turning to return to her job of cleaning up after her buffoonish charge.
Before she leaves, Black Angel stops her.
"Wait," He says raising a dark hoof.
"I'd like a report from Seaman. The pressure from his little 'family' is worrying.
"That will be all," he finishes, pressing the play button on his holographic screen and resuming the video.
To be frank, Game Master couldn't care less about Black Angel's little "Revolution". But the illusory bandages he's been providing her are too valuable to pass up.
She exits the doorway, which ceases to exist when she closes the door on its sole occupant and his weird cartoon.
A hobbled together instance of the Janus Network serves their goals more than well enough to hide all access to their bases and resources.
To be frank, as much as Blank Angel had hyped up Weiss Noir, she isn't sure why they haven't simply asked him for help with their goals.
Surely the Dark Lord of the Shadow Realm would be interested in restoring it to its former glory?
Well, it's none of her concern about how Black Angel wants to handle his operations.
She hears Blueblood crying out down the hall. "Bugsly! Bugsly! Where are you!" He shouts, trampling down the halls as he searches for his pet Wannabeetle.
She sighs, walking up to the wailing buffoon. "Sir, I believe Bugsly has gone to their secret spot again, you know how the poor creature needs their rest from time to time."
Blueblood ponders this for a moment, before nodding sadly. "I suppose you're right, Mrs. Shelly. Are you here to do the cleaning? One of the other maids simply ruined my organizational system, and it's the most awful thing to plague my perfect day!"
Shelly nods. "Yes, sir, I'll be sure to return things to your preferred system," she claims, knowing full well that his "Organization" amounts to him scattering maps all over the room at complete random, all over the floors and walls, and piling the fictional maps on his desk next to their creators names and addresses so Blueblood can indulge in his hobby of sending them scathing critiques.
"Thank you, Mrs. Shelly, that will be all," he claps his hooves, before wandering off to cause someone else problems.
With a sigh of barely-amused annoyance, Game Master trots off to Blueblood's room, intent on messing it up to his liking before moving on to plant her fraudulent evidence for the day.
The Chancellor is not having a good day, today. He might very well fail to make his dues to Chapter Black this month if things continue as they are.
The Princess denying his proposal to increase tariffs was only the beginning of a terrible series of months as she began to take a closer look at the medical industry's finances, dismantling loophole after loophole.
Things only became worse after what many had been calling "The Solar Flare", and Princess Celestia had lost all pretense of tact or subtlety.
If it hadn't been for the fact that Princess Luna took the time to amass a titanic mass of evidence and lawyers to back up her sister's violent slaughter of almost every tax break and loophole that the nobility had been relying on for centuries, there are many who would call her behavior downright tyrannical, as of late.
Equestria has become a far harsher place, between Celestia's brutal dismantling of what made up centuries of hard-fought lobbying, and her sister covering what few mistakes the Princess of the Day had made in doing so. At least, in Doctor's opinion, that is.
The Chancellor groans to himself, sipping at his expensive wine. For all he knows, he might even have to switch to a cheaper wine. He shudders at the thought.
It really doesn't help when Royal Guards are even now snooping around his compound, trying to tie him to the recent assassination attempt.
'Poor Sniper.' Doctor thinks to himself, shaking his head as he rifles through old treaties, agreements, and documentation, trying to squeeze as much money out of the Equestrian population as possible.
The combination of Princess Celestia's Voodoo Recoil charm and a large railgun shell impacting the Princess directly in the eye did not serve Sniper's head well on that day. Black Angel has still failed to find a suitable replacement to take the name of "Sniper", with how good it's former holder had been at their job.
Really, it hit that fat lard of a princess in the eye, she should have been street pizza, not casually using an eyewash station to get the dust out.
'He really didn't deserve what he got. Not like those darn princesses.'
Shaking his head, the Chancellor returns to his papers, hoping desperately that he can figure something out in time to enjoy his daily session of Lacrosse.
Doctor performs some difficult mathematics in his head, before coming to one simple conclusion. He's going to need to discuss a potential legal workaround with Seaman's shipping corporation. There's still some money to be had in some of the less-fortunate countries, where Bits could easily be obtained using some simple negotiation with the locals.
Reaching under his desk, he pulls out the black smokey quartz crystal that serves as Chapter Black's means of contacting one another.
Pulling the gem to his ear, he begins to speak.
"Seaman, this is Doctor. The Queen is still causing some problems. We need to discuss business. I'll meet you at the Historic Appreciation Society building. I believe we can recoup some of our recent losses if my accounting is right."
Seaman is not having a good day. That dirtbag at Sweet Apple Acres can attest to that.
But none of that matters right now, as he relaxes on his chair, catching some rays on his villa and tanning his coat to perfection.
One of his servants, some lowborn pegasus trash, whatever her name is, brings him his drink. The finest, sugariest orange juice that money can buy.
A buzz from his modified pager jerks him from his pleasant relaxation, and with a tense sigh, he pulls out the little coin, which begins emitting its message.
Ahh. Doctor. That worthless dirtbag.
"I swear, if it could be done, I would have absorbed his company ages ago," the suffering buisness-stallion says, slicking back his hair and tilting up his sunglasses.
Well, there's no avoiding it. Despite his dislike for the conniving pill peddler, he remains a larger source of raw income for their little cabal than Seaman's own shipping company.
"Martha, hold my appointments for today. I've got some pressing matters to address," the Chancellor says to a pony whose name isn't Martha as he walks inside and begins the arduous process of dressing appropriately for his station.
Vest in place, apple-shaped pocket watch where it belongs, and his shoes polished to perfection, Seaman is prepared to take on the day with the same gusto he plans on crushing those that stand in the way of his ambitions.
A fine, apple-themed carriage takes him to the HAS Building in short order. The center for their aboveboard operations as clean as ever with groundskeepers paid handsomely to take care of the place, despite its scant usage in the grand scheme of things.
Walking inside, Golden fails to appreciate the opulence of the rooms he passes through on his way to the sitting room where the nervous rat, Doctor, is already waiting with a briefcase full of papers.
Their expression brightens, even as Seaman's own internal expression dims further. Drunk and disheveled, it's any wonder how this piece of garbage ascended to the status he did.
Taking a deep breath to restrain himself, Seaman takes his seat, waiting to hear Doctor's proposal.
Weiss Noir is having a very good day today.
Ever since he unveiled Mt. Krakatroda to Zecora, she hasn't left it, save to search for ingredients or forage for food.
"Oh Weiss, I feel like I could sing! ~ With a vessel like this, I can do anything!" she says, gazing into the caldera of the volcano, which is already filled with quietly burbling magma.
"Glad that you like it. ~ We'll be making it shortly. ~ The Final Weapon," Weiss explains, walking to stand next to the Zebra, wondering just what it is her far more attuned magic senses in the volcano.
"Star Rod of Wishes. ~ Then The Great Sacred Treasure. ~ The Great Krak Pot too.
"The Vampire Killer, ~ And the Master Sword as well. ~ This completes the set.
"Six Weapons of Light. ~ For six Element Bearers. ~ Now comes the last one."
A bright flash of light heralds the arrival of five distinct objects.
Another branch, one of the ones dropped from the Tree of Harmony.
A Moon Crystal, the only one Weiss found in the Vault of Dark Artifacts.
One of Weiss's shadow clones, unconscious in a meditative pose without anyone controlling it.
A bottle of Liquid Rainbows, taken from the Cloudsdale Weather Factory.
And a glittering yellow sphere, filled with a few ivory teeth. Auroral Dente from the Princess herself.
Zecora studies the materials intently, searching them for any possible flaw.
"Within these objects, no impurities lurk. ~ I believe I'm confident that these will work," Zecora nods, as Weiss lifts up each ingredient and begins placing it inside of the Krakpot, starting with his own Shadow Clone, and the Liquid Rainbows.
Rather than the solidified mass of shadows dimming the rainbow liquid, it instead intensifies it, making the liquid in the pot bubble and boil with potent unicorn magic.
Stirring it with his magic until Zecora motions for him to stop, he takes calm, even breaths as he manages his telekinesis as best as he can.
"Alright, that's the stuff. ~ What you've done should be enough."
With that, the Zebra carefully tips the pot over, and the liquid inside pours into the volcano, staining the veritable lake of magma in a palate of bright rainbow colors.
As she moves over to roll the large bowling ball of Againte and Auroral Dente into the magma, she turns to Weiss.
"You may not wish to crowd ~ What comes next will be loud."
Her warning given, she lightly kicks the crystal ball, sending it plummeting into the rainbow lava.
Luna jumps as if someone had stabbed her, jolting awake as an earthquake rips through Canterlot.
Rushing to her window, she can see exactly why that is, as a pillar of pure white light is erupting from Mt. Krakatroda, tearing through the heavens as whatever ungodly power was in it is released in a perfect, unchanging line from earth to sky.
After a few minutes, the beam begins to change, changing from it's pure blinding white to a medley of colors, all of them gently fading as the event ends.
What in the name of Equestria itself has Weiss done this time?
Flaring her wings, she takes flight to the mountain, her sister slowly pulling up next to her.
"I have a bad feeling about this, sister!" Celestia shouts over the whipping winds as they make their way to the site of whatever chaotic event it was that could be felt all the way from Canterlot.
"You and everypony else who doesn't enjoy shaking, Celestia!" Luna retorts, flapping that much harder as they activate their respective suites, shifting and growing into their combat forms, just in case.
The gigantic red star-shaped crystal flashes in a rainbow of colors, before finally settling on a bright, shining gold, as it slowly floats from the middle of the volcano's crater, over to Weiss Noir and Zecora.
Weiss holds up the Moonstone, which is yanked out of his grip into the starry crystal's center, being absorbed into its mass and changing it to a bright yellow color.
Zecora, meanwhile, lifts up the branch.
"The flaw of gifts and tact alike ~ The gentle failure of finesse
By lack of oomph or hint of bite ~ The spice of life has been aggressed," Zecora claims, as the star jerks and shudders, being drawn to the harmonic stick.
With a firm and steady voice, Weiss begins his part in the ritual.
"But you, new gem, will never rage. ~ Atop this staff, instead you'll play,
"And dream and sigh, and snore and cry ~ As you rest the nights away."
The star shudders, finally attaching to the branch, which morphs into a perfectly straight rod, light twisting around it from the glittering Unicorn Crystal to its base.
"You draw from dreams, and draw from smarts ~ Take grace and style, unleash their might.
"Emit bright stars and unlock arts ~ To aid your dear friends in their plight," Zecora finishes, as her words are engraved on the staff as if by magic.
The Star Rod of Dreams is complete, just in time for Celestia and Luna to swoop gracefully down, visibly prepared for anything.
Weiss smiles joyously. "Your Highnesses! You're just in time to witness history!
"Behold, the final Weapon of Light! I hope you don't mind, Celestia, if it was at the cost of your dental work."
Celestia steps forward, suspiciously. "All of that chaos, just to create one weapon? You're normally far more subtle in your designs, Weiss."
Weiss's smile widens. "But of course, princess, but this is far from normal, I had a new toy, and, as boys are wont to do, I simply had to put it to the test.
"Don't worry, your regularly scheduled schemes will continue as planned. This, however, wasn't one of them."
Weiss trots over, grabbing the nervous Zecora's shoulders as he looks over to the princesses with malice in his eyes.
"I decided to... convince... this young Zebra to help me in my scheme, the poor girl was shaking the entire time. Of course, since she's the only other person who knows how to operate Mt. Krakatroda, I suppose now is the time to..."
He turns, pointing a glowing finger at Zecora, who tries to back away in faux-shock.
Luna scoffs. "You wouldn't."
Weiss's eyes crinkle. "Wouldn't what? Cast a memory altering spell on this poor zebra? Ensure that this mountain can only serve the goals that I wish for it to serve?"
His finger crackles loudly as him and the princesses engage in a small standoff.
"Would you be a dear and-" Weiss says, before his horn ignites and he yanks the rod from Zecora's grip.
"There we are," he finishes, walking over to the Krak Pot.
He turns to Celestia and Luna, finger still poised to zap Zecora. "Well, I can't say it hasn't been fun, Princesses, but..."
Luna tries to say something to get Weiss to wait but is interrupted.
"Ta!" Weiss shouts, before bolts of purple lightning rip him and his pilfered goods away to elsewhere.
Luna groans, as she begins dismissing her magical buffs. "Never lucky. I actually needed to speak to him."
"We could question one of his minions. Pass along your message?" Celestia offers, making Luna nod.
Zecora awkwardly walks away from the situation, before the Princesses can question too deeply what exactly her role in all of this was.
Gatekeeper is feeling kind of sick today.
"Sorry Mr. Angel, I think I'm coming down with the flu or something. It's going to be a little while before I can get your mystery spheres made, I hope that's alright!"
"It's alright, Gatekeeper, we're not on a time-crunch right now. I can wait for you to return to health and get back on top of things," Black Angel responds simply, their video paused while they talk to Chapter Black's least aware member.
"Yes sir, but I'm still sorry for the inconvenience, helping you study and teach those old books, well, I'm really happy to help with it!" Gatekeeper says honestly.
And equally honestly, Gatekeeper had been incredibly lucky to meet Mr. Angel, who apparently wanted to hire an intelligent pony versed in magical theory to help with some sensitive spellbooks and scrolls from a real-life forgotten civilization! He didn't even need to be that good at casting spells himself!
Oh if Glimglam could see him now. She'd be so proud.
Black Angel chuckles to himself. "You're a good colt, Gatekeeper. Your work for the Chapter Black society is even more appreciated knowing just how enthusiastic you've been about working for us."
Getting up from his chair, the hulking pitch-black Earth Pony walks over, slowly and meticulously, so as to put a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder.
"I'd like you to take a little while off work. The Grimoire Noir will still be there for you when you get to feeling better, alright my boy?"
Gatekeeper is nervous about accepting the offer, but Black Angel shakes their head, his black eyes glittering.
"I'll pay you out of pocket while you're recovering. Don't disparage your own worth here, Gatekeeper. We couldn't wrangle these books without you."
Finally, the unicorn nods his head. "Thank you a whole bunch, Mr. Angel, I'll beat this cold and work on getting those mystery spheres up and running as soon as I'm well!"
As he trots out of the room, Black Angel shakes his head, releasing a few puffs of silent laughter. If only a certain other unicorn could be so compliant.
Well, no matter. So long as Gatekeeper can be kept in the dark about Chapter Black's true purpose, he'll keep on unlocking the last remaining unicorn spells in the Grimoire Noir, and refining the way the rest of the spells are taught to the Chapter Black Lieutenants.
At least now it won't be too much of a setback if Weiss Noir fails to comply, in the endgame of their operations.
What good are princesses and sages when with a few Materia, one can create gods?
Gourmet is... He believes this may have been a mistake, on all fronts.
He's never been one for this fancy glowing screen stuff, and having one follow him around in these pitch-black tunnels isn't convincing him otherwise.
"Oh come now, Randy. You can't keep sleeping in that horrid little shack of yours forever. Haven't you ever wondered what a true master of the dream world can do? I'll make it worth your while," the female voice claims, over the screen, half of her face shrouded in darkness, the other half blurred with hissing static and triangular sparkles from just how damaged the holographic projectors are down here.
Gourmet takes several deep breaths. Black Angel assured him he would be safe, so long as he adhered to the terms of their agreement, but sweet Elysium if this chick isn't freaking him out.
"Look, I don't want none, alright? I'm here as a liaison. Nothing more, nothing less," he attempts, making for the exit of this snow-kicking pit-in-the-ground.
The screen suddenly sweeps in front of him. Glowing teal eye piercing into his. "Come now, Randy! Don't be so coy. The most important part of any business transaction is keeping your partners satisfied."
'And hooking them on your product,' Randy Rope thinks to himself.
"M'am, just get this bucking place up and running, and we'll be happy, alright? Satisfied, pleased, whatever freaky euphemism you want to use for it," Gourmet says, walking through the screen, while the pony on the other end just chuckles darkly.
"Oh very well. You modern ponies are tough nuts to crack, I'll say," she says, as the holoscreen blinks out in a flash of blue triangles.
Taking a deep breath, Gourmet walks out into the snow, confronted with his yipping sled dogs.
"Yeah yeah, mush!" Gourmet shouts, his sled rushing off to his encampment in short order.
The gigantic leather and hide tents that form his little home-away-from-home serve perfectly well enough for his needs, he is aware, although it just isn't home without his ivory sculptures and trophies.
Leashing his dogs such that they can go inside if it gets too cold for them, the pony trudges inside himself, stalking over to his fire where a potent stew has been cooking.
Those snobs back in Canterlot might need fine dining, fancy wine, and premium hay, but give Gourmet some old fashioned Foie Gras and Filet Mignon, and he's the happiest pony alive.
Or, in this case, endangered Petravite stew, with just the right amount of peppercorn and Haymalayan salt.
Scooping a healthy serving into his ivory china, Gourmet digs in, his eyes scanning the room before it lands on his spear.
He sighs lightly through a mouthful of stew. He's been getting on in years, to the point where the only ponies doing his hunting are the thugs he's got enlisted in his service with the promise of legal protection and pay. What would his father think now, knowing that his spear has turned into more of a decoration with every year that weighs down on Gourmet's bones?
It's not like it used to be, back when any pony could pick up a weapon and go stalking off for monsters to fight. Now it's all "Endangered Hostile Creature Preservation" and "Anti-Provocation Dispersal."
He gulps, scowling. 'What garbage!' Randy thinks to himself. Cowards simply make up too much of Equestria's ruling class, to whine and whinge about the "Risks of monsters growing aggressive towards population centers in the face of overhunting".
Now, what Black Angel promised? Once Gourmet got past the nonsensical ranting about darkness and 'true evil', the nugget at its core appealed to the stallion without a doubt.
An entire country of fighting and violence? Of endless combat against any nightmarish beast that dares to live on pony land?
How could he say no to that?
A thought emerging in Gourmet's mind makes him feel slightly ill, as he places the lid back over his simmering meal and wipes his beard clean, throwing the small fur aside.
'Speaking of nightmarish...' Gourmet thinks to himself.
'I swear that chick's trying to kill me.'
"Alright, Tempest, I'm almost ready to leave. I'll be relying on you to manage The Tower and my Dungeons while I'm gone," Weiss says, putting the finishing touches on his tiny metal pod, a metallic sphere containing his lamp, and soon, himself.
"If I don't return in a week, use the Black Materia to resummon me."
Puncher, Chunker, and Grubber all look miserable. "Why can't we come and help? You said yourself that it could be anything up there messing with your stuff!" Puncher says, scratching their arm.
Weiss shakes his head. "That's not an option. If I can't handle the problem, then I don't want you there anyway. You'd be at risk. I need you here. Do you understand what I'm saying? I need you here, protecting my holdings until I return, in case someone decides to take my absence as their cue to attack."
He takes a deep breath, crossing my arms. "You've all got this. You are the finest soldiers I could assemble on short notice and a shoestring budget. Which makes you better than every military on Earth."
He turns to Tempest. "I should be back in a day or so. If by some ironic miracle, the Storm King attacks during that time, don't bother fighting. Get to the Black Materia, resummon me immediately."
Tempest nods firmly.
"Alright boys, load me up," Weiss says, closing the hatch on the metal shell holding his lamp, and transubstantiating himself into smoke that floods the inside of the bullet.
Chunker loads the shell into the Halberd's spinal gun, while Grubber and Puncher tearfully salute their brave boss's noble mission.
The railgun fires, launching Weiss and his lamp at several hundred times the speed of sound. All the way to the Frozen North's borders.
A few hours later, Luna arrives, questioning Weiss's whereabouts, and demanding his assistance in her mission to quell the nightmares plaguing Equestria at their source.
They give her the generic excuse that he's busy, leaving her to, with some annoyance, deal with the matter herself. Informing Celestia to prepare for her absence, the Lunar Diarch begins the long, supersonic flight to the Frozen North, towards the nexus of Nightmare Energy coalescing there.
When she feels it, her heart leaps in her chest. A supreme eruption of alchemical energy, like none the world has ever seen before, or will ever see from here on.
She groans. "I'm marbling at his choice of location to erect that mountain. Has he Krak'd? Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill...
"Well, if he's laid down groundwork in Equestria, then my destoneation is clear."
She trudges through the snow, drinking a warming draught to keep her through the long journey there.
"Let's rock."
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So, one of the cult member is that Apple relative, and one's Sunburst, and I kind of suspect the one speaking through the hologram is Chrysalis. Can anyone figure out who the others are?
Wonder if zecoras mother faked her death
Mmm, the Star Rod of Wishes is a reference to Paper Mario, while the Star Rod of Dreams is the kirby one, correct?
Also I'm going to go ahead and guess the mysterious mare keeping tabs on the former Shadow Realm and now Weiss is Glitter Miss Priss who somehow survived this long?
Also If I'm to guess, the Krak Pot is for Pinkie, the Great Sacred Treasure for RD, and the Rod of Dreams for Rarity.
Edit: Wonder how unamused will Weiss be once he finds out what Chapter Black is up to.
9752862
Yeah, you're right about the Star Rods.
9752903
You are such a tease.
9752851
For all we know there could be hundreds of members in that cult.
Makes it kinda hard to figure out who's who.
9752853
She was never actually stated to be dead. She survived long enough to raise Zecora, brewed a potion and disappeared. I somehow doubt that a thousand year old master alchemist would make a mistake bad enough to blow herself up. And even then, remember Wormtail. Explosions usually don't vaporize people. I'd bet teleportation potion. And if she was sad about Weiss, we know Zecora can make a time travel potion. Food for thought.
I wonder who the punster is
9752903
Question do you sleep?
Cause writing this many chapters in quick succession is beyond what I thought possible while still maintaining good quality of a story.
I am grateful for your hard work, but this makes me wonder wither your a work aholic or just a very productive person that gets the job done very well or both... .
9753592
I'm going to be real with you, I'm ten chapters ahead of what's been published so far.
Every once in a while when I have a few minutes and feel up to it, I'll just shit out a thousand words or so. It comes easily to me.
I've been considering starting a second fic on like, spacebattles or something, if I get too much further ahead of this fic. Maybe something to do with Steven Universe.
9753594
Well that's certainly amazing even when you are ten chapters ahead before you do a publication. Because in just 10 days you did about 14k to 24k average amount of words within a ten day time frame with each chapter going with an average of 1k to 3k.
And to keep up an almost everyday pace while doing all the editing and good quality even with 10 chapters ahead of time is still faster than most I have seen in this site.
And somehow havinh a natural way of doing this.
that's still better than anything I have seen so far!
9753616
Well, my point was that I'm actually writing more than one chapter a day.
It makes it very interesting when I read comments that I'm desperately resisting the urge to reply to, as a future chapter will answer their questions exactly.
9753624
what happened here? is it a typo?
9753881
missing space between the two words, but I did imeadiately think snake pony when I first read the line...
9754209
9753881
Thought it would parse better as a pun on "businessman". Edited accordingly for better readability.
9753590
9753232
All zebra have specific ways of speaking to help keep their minds sharp.
Ohhhh i think i know who he is, the guy that responded to AJ's letter
Dangit Sunburst, I realize that you lack self esteem and that complementing you're efforts is an easy way to trick you into doing what they say, but you really need to look into the organization you work for
Ohhhh the mare who speaks in puns is most likely Weiss's favorite thiefwitch
Sunburst, what in God's name possessed you to side with the most shadiest group imaginable?
This isn't Dragonball Z, as a bullet to the eye would definitely have killed Celestia...unless she already had her durability spell on, which would imply that she now has it on at all times.
10316202
Look we all know that while the boy has a great Int stat, his Wis is garbage.
Wait… Is that the one Zebra lady? Malusi, I think her name is? Is her cleverness the puns she makes?