CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence, Book 2

by GanonFLCL

Prologue: Taste

It was never a dark night in New Pandemonium City. The sickening orange light of the Beacon and the aura it dispersed throughout the sky were dark enough that the streetlights remained lit twenty-four hours a day, and yet bright enough that such things weren't absolutely necessary. Even tonight, the same as every other night, the lights all ran as smoothly and brightly as ever, shining down on the crowds big and small that trotted along sidewalks throughout the city at all hours.

As far as Power Flux was concerned, tonight was a dark one indeed, and wonderfully so. He couldn't see the sky from where he was anyway, so he could think whatever he wanted.

An abandoned building sat in the middle of 18th Street between 57th and 58th, far along the north end of the Mid-East District, and was practically falling apart around him. Yet, the roof was stable enough to not let exterior lights through and the windows all boarded up to do the same. Within the building it was pitch black, and without the flashlight Flux carried he would be unable to see anything whatsoever.

He'd been extra cautious making his way here, more so than usual, and even out of the public eye as he now was he tugged the hood of his coat a little further over his face. He could not be recognized under any circumstances, lest word get around to the authorities. He was supposed to be a ghost, vanished from the city's documentation system; those who were looking for him would assume he had fled the city months ago.

These thoughts plagued him every minute of every day, from the moment he woke up in the morning to the moment he went to sleep at night in whatever bed or surrogate thereof he could make due with. Even now, as he flicked his flashlight about the dilapidated building's filthy, wreckage-strewn floor, he was worried that somepony might have glimpsed him coming here and would come to investigate.

He needed to hurry.

Flux found what he was looking for after a moment of searching: a nondescript section of tiled floor that had been cracked enough to reveal the dingy concrete underneath, marred by grit and grime that to even a well-trained eye would appear natural. But Flux knew it was placed here specifically, marked by an empty, rusted tin can atop a particular arrangement of dirt, placed upright without its lid or label.

It took several minutes of running his hooves along the tiles near the can to find one that lifted, filth and all, from the floor, revealing not concrete underneath but a hole that led down below the building. It was a tight fit to get inside that hole, worse than squeezing into an old jacket. Once he did, he slid the tile back into place with a satisfying, quiet click, then moved on.

He was in a tunnel now, one that went on for hundreds of feet with no discernable features or markings, far past where the light of his flashlight could reach. The concrete walls alongside him smelled of sewage, for the tunnel ran parallel to the sewer line beneath the street above, and it had never been properly filtered of the stench.

After exactly two hundred eighty-one feet—meticulously measured in Flux's head without a ruler—he stopped and set his hoof firmly on the wall beside him. It slid open to reveal another tight hole and a ladder, which he immediately descended. The wall slid closed behind him without a sound, and as he climbed down the ladder, his light flickered and died; it would work again when he left. Down here, mundane technology and magic were dulled. A match would do for now, and he lit one as soon as he reached the bottom of the ladder.

The match even helped alleviate the pungent stench.

It was only here that the surrounding architecture changed. Gone was the machine-made concrete of the city up above, replaced by discolored, old, hoof-laid bricks, stones, and rotten wood. This was all that remained of a building and road that had once been here long, long ago. Whether it was decades or centuries old, or maybe more, Flux didn't know or care, but he did know that it was old.

He also knew that down here in the bowels of the city, he was safe at last from prying eyes and danger. He took a breath of moldy, mildewed air and delighted in it.

He wandered the halls of the old, forgotten structure beneath the city, briefly wondering what it had once been before its upper floors had been demolished and replaced by the buildings and streets above, or what had even done so to leave it intact enough to be built on top of safely. It was of no real importance, just a fleeting curiosity about how the city might have once been before all the streetlights and concrete-and-steel skyscrapers took over.

All that actually mattered was that at the heart of this foundation, there was a chamber that had been claimed for a greater purpose. There was no need for doors down here, where none could find him or anypony else if they didn't want to be found, and so no need for protection or security. Even now he could hear the shuffling of the hooves of his fellows that had arrived here before him, and he was not worried that they were anypony but his fellows.

The chamber itself was spacious enough to hold a large table that comfortably seated ten chairs, round and covered with a black tablecloth. Upon it were numerous lit candles and sticks of incense which washed away the smell of mold and replaced it with sandalwood and cinnamon.

The room was otherwise empty of furniture; it's only purpose, glorious though it was, was to host these round table congregations, and so there was no need for the frivolous accoutrements one would expect at a mundane business meeting. No tables with snacks and coffee; no plants or decorations to "elevate" the room; no projectors to showcase graphs and slides.

It was wonderful.

The other nine ponies present all turned and nodded at his entrance as he took his seat at the table; he could tell they hadn't been waiting long, though he hoped they'd forgive his slight delay. Like him, they all wore hooded coats of varying colors to protect their identities when they entered from their own points, some of which he knew were much farther away than his own had been. He was certain one of his comrades had taken an entryway into the undercity via a tunnel in Mid-West, miles away; she'd likely set out this afternoon to make it here in time.

Such was the nature of these meetings; everypony using the same entrance would be suspicious and draw attention they couldn't afford.

He knew the other ponies's identities—stallions and mares both—but down here, their city identities were of no importance. They were all equals now in the eyes of their Mistress.

Well, relatively speaking, of course. Two amongst their number, a pair of identical twins, unicorn stallions with yellow coats, were a cut above the rest, for only they had been given the glorious privilege of communing with their Dark Lady. Flux envied the twins for their deeper connection with Her than his own. He coveted that power more than anything, even more than seeing his wife and daughter again.

It was one of the twins that spoke first. "Now that we are all present, we may begin," he said, his tone polite and presentable. "These have been interesting times, I daresay. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked, turning to his brother.

"Oh yes, of that we can all agree, dear brother mine," said the other twin with a nod. "Interesting indeed. In all our years in service, never before have we been given such curious purposes by our Dark Lady."

Flux and the others nodded in agreement.

He remembered well the oddity of the assignment he had been tasked with, not quite understanding what made the mare he was to capture so important. This "Fluttershy" had seemed so innocuous at first; surely her bodyguard, the gray-coated mare that had nearly castrated him with just her hoof, was the more interesting of the two.

More confusing had been why he'd been assured that failure was not just tolerable, but almost… encouraged? Was that accurate? He'd been rewarded well despite failing to foalnap Fluttershy and deliver her, or for cracking and revealing the other plans to take other mares who Fluttershy knew.

He was just glad he'd not been one of those three assigned to… what was her name again? Applejack? Those three acolytes had fled the scene instead of making an attempt on their target, and that was seen as an actual failure. They'd been duly punished for their inadequacy.

Then there were those who'd been tasked with the pink one, Pink Pie? They had all been ripped to shreds, from what he'd heard, too stupid to pick off the correct mare apparently and grabbing a near look-alike. To die in the Dark Lady's service was an honor and a privilege, but to go out due to such a blunder, well, there was no glory in that.

The first twin added: "And never before have we been treated with such… silence, in the aftermath."

There was a brief murmur among the crowd as they muttered more to themselves than anypony else.

"What do you mean, 'silence'?" asked one of his comrades, an earth pony stallion with a green coat.

"Our last congregation was three months ago," continued the first twin, shaking his head briefly. "It followed one of the clearest visions we have ever witnessed from our Dark Lady. Meticulously clear it was, was it not brother?"

"Meticulously indeed, meticulously indeed," repeated the second twin. "To feel Her presence in my soul was… an indescribable sensation. I wouldn't dare attempt to sully it with words. But it was almost as though I was speaking directly with Her."

"And yet, following the purpose She gave us… nothing," said the first with a grimace. "Two months of silence. No visions. No dreams. No whispers. Not so much as a subtle feeling of guidance in the back of our minds. Just… a deafening silence. We called to Her like foals for their mother, only to receive no reply."

Flux frowned. The twins often had visions from the Dark Lady over the years as far as he knew, and for longer if the elder officers were to be believed. Never quite so strong as that fateful day three months ago, but clear enough to guide them in their actions and deeds. For Her prophets to go so long without hearing Her voice was unheard of.

"Until a month ago," the first continued, a small smile creeping to his lips. "We heard our Dark Lady again, and though not as clear as it had always been, it was still Her voice. Her vision. And She has graced us all with a glorious new purpose."

One of his comrades, a cobalt-coated pegasus mare, placed her hooves on the table. "You communed with our Dark Lady a month ago? Why'd you wait so long to call the congregation?"

"The vision was clear, but the purpose was… let us say, enigmatic," said the first twin, looking to his brother for confirmation. "Would that be appropriate?"

"Enigmatic indeed it was, old chum," his brother replied with a nod. "Clear, yet muddled, for the purpose is explicit and yet the means are most complicated if taken at face value. We communed with Her as much as we were able in these past weeks, hoping for clearer visions, and now we come to you with your new purpose."

"What purpose are we tasked with?" asked another comrade, a pegasus stallion with an off-white coat. "What would She have us do?"

The twin smiled, and in unison said. "Reduce this city to ash. Burn them all."

Flux raised an eyebrow. "Burn the city?"

"And every last pony within it, yes," replied the second twin, his grin widening. "Nothing is to remain but ash and blood. Our Dark Lady demands vengeance against those who have wronged Her."

The hooded figures around the table looked to one another in confusion.

"'Wronged Her'? What does that mean?" asked the cobalt mare.

"She has been betrayed by another not among our number, one whom She said possessed a tongue of silver," said the first twin with a scowl. "The true Betrayer is beyond our reach… but his allies are not. We are to ensure that they suffer in his stead. This entire city is made to suffer in recompense for this treachery."

"And suffer they shall indeed, dear brother," agreed the other. He looked to the congregation one by one. "Our foes have many advantages that we do not yet possess: wealth, influence, power, resources, and information."

A murmur went through the others in the congregation.

With a grin, he added: "But we have one piece of information that they lack. We know who our enemies are, while they do not know they have enemies at all."

"We strike from the shadows, as our Dark Lady wills," continued the first twin. "If it takes weeks, months, years, or more, our Dark Lady's vengeance will rear its head upon Her enemies and rend them all asunder." He turned to Flux. "Brother Flux, you have already encountered some among their number, so you will be tasked with planning out their demise."

Flux blinked and pointed at himself, stunned. He knew of which enemies the brothers referred to now: that gray mare and those with her. "I am to be tasked with this glorious purpose, Leaders? To deliver Her vengeance?"

"Indeed you are, Brother Flux, indeed you are," replied the second twin with a grin. He turned to the others. "And any among you who wish to join Brother Flux in this task may do so, but take heed, for this is not the only grand design our Dark Lady has for us, Her most loyal servants."

The first twin nodded. "As said, we are to burn this city to ash, and all who dwell within, and that will require all of the resources we can muster, for it is not within our means to do so now. Some of you will assist me and my dear brother in this glorious purpose, which will be guided by our Dark Lady's hoof directly."

"And yet still, there is more," continued the second, his mouth forming a deep grimace. "Our Dark Lady's visions have been less clear than ever, less frequent, oh yes. She has been weakened somehow, and this prevents Her from touching our souls and guiding us as She has in the past."

A few at the table gasped. "Say it isn't so, Leader," said another comrade, this one a brown-coated unicorn stallion. "Our Dark Lady cannot be weakened. It isn't possible."

"It is why She desires vengeance, Brother," replied the first twin. "The traitors have done something to our Dark Lady, and they will be punished, yes, but it remains that She has been weakened. Some amongst you will have another purpose entirely: to aid our Dark Lady in Her recovery, that She may speak with my dear brother and I more clearly."

"How?" asked the green-coated earth pony.

The second twin grinned. "Souls, Brother. Souls of the ponies within this very city."

The stallion grinned back. "I shall reap a thousand souls to feed Her if I must."

"Ah, but our Dark Lady has specific… tastes, shall we say?" said the first twin. "You already know what is required."

His brother nodded. "Yes, specific tastes indeed, dear brother, specific tastes indeed. A pony's soul alone is nothing more than a paltry morsel to our Dark Lady. It requires… hmm, yes, 'seasoning'. A tortured soul is a delicacy, oh yes, a scrumptious meal rather than mere crumbs. A broken soul, deprived of its will to live, stripped of hope for a better tomorrow. A soul that willingly embraces death and succumbs to our Dark Lady's hunger."

"The Outer Districts are rife with such souls as it is," the green stallion said. "Few will even notice their deaths or care. Worthless ponies in life who will serve a higher purpose in death."

"A good start, yes, a good start indeed," agreed the second twin. "But you will then move inward, to strike at those who feel they are safe from such things, those who will be more affected by loss and anguish, for to fall into despair from such great heights will better flavor the souls to our Dark Lady's liking."

"Like home cooking compared to fast food, wouldn't you agree?" suggested the first twin.

"Oh yes, an apt comparison. Well spoken, old chum."

"It will be done, Leaders," the stallion said with a nod. He turned to Flux. "Will you aid me in my purpose, Brother?"

"I will, of course," Flux said with a nod in turn. "Anything to aid our Dark Lady."

"Wonderful, Brothers, your enthusiasm will please our Dark Lady greatly," said the first twin. He turned to the congregation as a whole as he rose from the table; his brother and the others followed suit. "Brothers and Sisters, we have been given a glorious purpose. Bring ruination in the Dark Lady's name! Reap vengeance upon Her foes! Burn them all!"

"Burn them all!" chanted the congregation.

Comments

[hamster wizard]

Hey, it's back! I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store.

[RoboRed]

Oh boy, nothing like a bunch of crazies left to run amok murderating everything.
These ones are far from not being resourceful, though. I wonder what they're going to cook up if left alone long enough.

The first twin added: "And never before have we been treated with such… silence, in the aftermath

I think you forgot some punctuation at the end here.

[GanonFLCL]

10719923
Good catch, thanks!

[My name is R]

Hmm. Don't know exactly why, but I feel like this is tha guy Gray captured trying ta kidnap Fluttershy.

He coveted that power more than anything, even more than seeing his wife and daughter again.

Now, this could be simply referring to tha fact that he's currently out and about, but I suspect something more. Did the cult take his family to originally get him to join? Did something else happen to his family, and he hopes the cult can help him get them back? Either way, interesting.
Oh, right, he's on tha lam. That's probably what that's about.
Also, the idea of Flim and Flam leading a cult, and it being the real deal, with an actual demonic patron, highly amuses me.

He remembered well the oddity of the assignment he had been tasked with, not quite understanding what made the mare he was to capture so important. This "Fluttershy" had seemed so innocuous at first; surely her bodyguard, the gray-coated mare that had nearly castrated him with just her hoof, was the more interesting of the two.

Ha. He was.

Well, nothing here was good news, but it's ta be expected from a goddess of despair seeking revenge. Here's ta seeing what comes next.