My Little Strife: The Sigil Is Magic

by Ichtudirweh

Ultimatum

"I've recieved intel that the spectral energy found from the Bishop is present near the Oracle. Let's be careful."

The same spectral energy that ascended after the Bishop's defeat? Was she implying that Zecora is under the influence of the same cloud abomination? She presented no hostilities towards you, and has meticulously guided you to the second Sigil piece. Is it possible that Dash was under the same influence as well? It might have explained her new tyrannical rule inside the base, but you couldn't jump into conclusions. You appear from the portal and step into Zecora's temple, where she patiently awaits you at the peak of the staircase.....

The peak? "Look towards the peak, there you will find the answers." You recall from your dream.

You peer upward from her figure, to witness a similar apparition with your own eyes. A floating translucent monstrocity appeared over Zecora from the skylight. You were now positive that she was now under the control from an otherworldly being. You cautiously pace up to Zecora, where she blares aloud another series of riddles.

"The next challenge I present to you will test your spirit, as you may find it coherent. The third piece that you will find is held by your leader; Rainbow Dash is under control from another reader. She is the same as that she sends you to kill. By slaying her would be an act of goodwill...."

"Wait a minute, how can Rainbow Dash be a traitor for her own movement? This doesn't make sense at all! What you preach to me contradicts the very reason why the Front is fighting from opression!" You shout furiously inside the temple.

"Your stubborn and blind faith has allowed her to advance her own goals. If she were to gain control, there will be no mere difference from the Order's rule over every man and foal. Confront her and resolve your fate..."

You step away from the Oracle to think for a minute. Perhaps she was right. What was the difference of the Order's tyrannical rule, compared to Dash's newfound rule over her troops? You recall the comments from Fluttershy and Applejack on Dash's new behavior. Yet again, the Oracle could be possibly deceiving you for the sole preservation of the Order. It would explain the presence of her very own personal Templar bodyguards inside the temple. From this very moment you have stepped foot onto this journey, this next decision will influence your fate from within this conflict.

A) Trust Dash. Fight for the Front and Freedom! Put an end to Zecora's lies and deceit. She was clearly under the influence of the Order.

B) Trust Zecora. For her words speak the truth. Put an end to Dash's tyrannical rule in order to avoid history repeating itself.

A) You appear in front of Zecora's hovering cloaked figure, with a intimidating return message of your own.

"NO! I WILL NOT TRUST YOU ZECORA! YOUR LIES AND DECEIT SHALL NOT SPREAD ANY FURTHER!" You scream at the top of your lungs.

You withdrawl your sigil piece and point it directly towards Zecora. Her vibrant, golden eyes widen with shock from your actions. She bellows aloud with a slight hint of anger inside the temple. You could cleary hear the influence of the Spectre speaking as well.

"YOU FOOL! HAVE YOU NOT REALIZED THE ORDER'S ULTIMATE GOAL? IT SHALL NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE HERE, YOUR KIND SHALL PERISH UNDER THE WILL OF THE ONE GOD IN FEAR!"

You channel the energy from your body into the sigil piece. Zecora casts a circular shield barrier in front of her. A shower of lighting casts directly from your sigil piece to strike the mystical circular barrier. The surge of energy was far too great for Zecora's magic to handle. She recoils backwards from the dispersed energy of the sigil piece. She falls unconscious in the pit below, still alive but impared from the conflict. The Acolytes from inside the temple invigorate into life, due to your course of actions. The rounds fly by your head, as the Spectre from the skylights transcends downward. You tumble to take cover at a neaby pillar, and you cast more surges of lighting towards the Acolytes inside the temple.

Each Acolyte that make contact from your lighting surges, erupt into a bloody mass of gore. The Spectre hovers inside the temple in an attempt to kill you. You aim your sigil piece at the Spectre, while it focused it's efforts to locate you. You cast small bursts of energy towards the Spectre. Every sucessful contact that you made with your sigil, the Spectre would return with an intensive shockwave of electrostatic ball energy. After the 10th sucessful lighting strike casted by you, the Spectre erupts in a violent flash of gaseous explosions. The third Sigil piece skids across the floor. You jog over to the piece, and latch it onto the Sigil. A message from Blackmare interrupts the moment, with a comment of the small skirmish between you and Zecora.

"Well, so much for prognostication....Hold it! Dash is calling for you back inside base. Let's get out of here in one piece."

You located the teleporter inside the temple, which led you back into the outskirts of town. Another teleporter casted by Twilight Sparkle, appears inside ancient ruin of the Everfree forest. You step inside the teleporter, and materialize back into the command center of base.

Dash, along with with Twilight, patiently anticipate your arrival inside the briefing room. As you step off from the portal, Dash proceeds to speak to you with unwelcoming information.

"There seems to be no end to the horrors that we face. Twilight, why don't you inform our mission operative on the latest intel that we've recently received."

"Right, Rainbow Dash. According to the reconnaissance from our recon scouts, the Order is not only killing our citizens, but transforming them into ruthless bio-mechanical soldiers. You might have been previously aware of this information, due from the visual screening that I've already presented for you. However, we've located and pinpointed the factory from where these bio-mechanical soldiers are being mass produced..."

"So where exactly is this factory? How do I infiltrate the complex?" You question in front of the girls. Dash steps forward with more information.

"Rarity will meet you by the waterfall besides the Commons. She was the one who sucessfully infiltrated the complex, and will brief you on how to get in. Twilight has casted a portal inside a remote location near Rarity. We need to locate our next Sigil piece! Good luck to you. Now move out, soldier!" Dash salutes.

You salute her in return before departing from base. You make your way into a portal near the computer montiors, casted by Twilight Sparkle herself. You materialize inside a small bar, presumably near the location of Rarity. The Commons of Ponyville was rather large by geographical standards. It contained an abnormal quantity of Order troops as well. Rarity must be well hidden somewhere inside the bar. You walk up towards the bartender, and asked if any white pony checked out for a room. The Bartender informs you that a cloaked white stallion has recently rented a room. He informed you room 20 to be precise. You thank the Bartender and make your way down into the lower floor, to find the location of room 20.

You knock on the door of the room, and whisper aloud Rarity's name inside the view port. She opens the door in a quick session, and drags you inside within a hurry. She slams the door from behind you, and hastily locks the wooden door. Sweetie Belle peers from outside the viewport, still believing that she will recieve her cutie mark if she stood on patrol.

"Darling, I'm delighted that you've found me in such short notice all by yourself. Now, I've located the factory inside the Order's stronghold. I was in a party of five humans and five stallions. There's a web of catacombs under the stronghold. Unfortunately, you will need a key to gain access to the stronghold. One of my scouts has stolen the key inside the catacombs. However, I lost contact with my scouts, to encounter one of THE WORST....POSSIBLE....THINGS!" Rarity eyes widen and whines in a drastic tone.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Sweetie Belle whispers to Rarity.

"What was it?" You ask her with genuine concern.

"Oh, right. Sorry Darling for being sidetracked. My squad was dismembered by something absolutely awful. I'm not quite sure what it was that they encountered, but I could hear their screams fade away before I lost their transmission. Oh, it was horrible! I believe they informed me that it was the silhouette of a floating man. I recall the descriptions of a bio-mechanical arm and a infrared monocle. After that I've received dead silence. Please be extra cautious on this mission, Darling. Sweetie Belle, could you please scan if the coast is clear?"

After Sweetie Belle scans the outside sectors of the motel room, she cracks the door open for just enough room for you to sneak out. She closes the door behind you, wishing you the best of luck before doing so. You recieve a transmission from Blackmare.

"The factory is right next to the mines. Rarity must mean the mines of the Appaloosan Mountains! The Appaloosan ore is magnetic and explosive. Just the thing for shutting down a force field! Let's get that key from the catacombs, and then we're off to the mines for some ore."

With some cooperation and guidance from the town's folk, you receive a map for the location of the Appaloosan Mountains. You travel out of the Commons in a taxi to find the Appaloosan Mountains. You pay off the taxi, after visually locating the complex underground mining system. The underground mining system is where Fido, Rover, and Spot used to reside. You wonder why would Rarity would use this system to escort her scouts from the stronghold. Perhaps it was for her sole intentions to collect a few gems along the way. Diamonds were her best friend after all.

The mines below contained heavy resistance of many Stalkers. They were not much of a threat with your assault rifle. You activate a series of switches and values inside the undeground complex, to lead you towards a path of ancient forgotten ruins. Your Sigil piece began to vibrate erratically, once you traveled towards the top of the structure. A decaying sacrifical corpse lied at the head of the ruins, similar to a barbaric Mayan ritual. You recieve a transmisson of Blackmare.

"Ugh, how awful! I wonder why Rarity hasn't bothered to inform us about this. I'm sure the overwhelming sence of panic caused her to flee from the mines. Could it be.....Watch out a Crusader!" Blackmare ends the tranmission abruptly.

A trio of rockets soar just above your head. You take cover behind the altar of the decaying body. You assemble your rocket launcher in cover, and return fire to the Crusader at the base of the ruins. You discard your rocket launcher after you've defeated the Crusader, due to the fact that your rocket launcher ran dry with no more micro missiles. The sigil vibrates even more furiously after the firefight. You withdraw it from your bag, and grasp the object as it pulls you towards an unknown location behind the ruins. A Mayan like temple is visible just in front of you. A million questions raced throughout your mind.

Why wasn't this location documented in the Pony archives? Did human civilization really influence Ponykind? Why has Princess Celestia remained confidential about this? These questions shot throughout your mind like a speeding bullet. As the Sigil finally ceased to vibrate, a gasous like cloud emerges from the peak of the temple, only for you to find out in horror that it was another Spectre....

B) "Your words speak the truth, Zecora. I shall return to you once Dash is defeated. I cannot allow history to repeat itself once again." You speak aloud to her.

"Good! You seem to be wiser from what I have perceived. My knowledge is only of power in which you believe. Return to the Front base, and redeem yourself from the duality of your race. Go now, I have casted a portal for you in the ruins of the Everfree forest, to lead you the path of your false leader. She is forever the great deceiver..."

You are escorted by a lone templar from the temple of the Oracle, back into the Everfree forest. You located the ancient ruins, and intentionally step into the portal. Dash eagerly awaits for your return inside the base. She trots up to you, to examine your newly aqquired second Sigil piece.

"So tough guy, I've witness you single handedly take down the Bishop all by yourself. You've exceeded all of my expectations that I've had for you. You may now retire from your missions. However, I'm gonna need that Sigil before you go. I think you need some rest after that intensive conflict. Your name will be recorded as 'the Great bold adventurere of the Front'. Feel free to crash here and make this base your home for now on." Dash convincingly speaks, offering her hoof over to the Sigil piece in which you grasped.

You reject her offer, with a following statement that only enrages her.

"I'm sorry Dash, but I cannot allow for you to repeat history all over again. Zecora was right all along. I'm doing this in the interest of preservation of both species. I've seen the horror inside Fluttershy's innocence, and I firmly believe in Applejacks honest remarks about you. You cannot be trusted with such a powerful tool..."

"You...YOU WHAT? I'LL ASK YOU NICELY AGAIN. HAND OVER THE SIGIL, AND BE ON YOUR WAY. I AM IN CONTROL OF THIS BASE! YOU SHALL FOLLOW MY ORDERS!" Dash yells aloud inside the base. The evidence of her selfish tyrannical rule, was now visibly clear towards everyone and everypony inside the base.

The rebel scouts move from their position with their rifles ready. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack emerge from their stations to confront Dash. Twilight defends your statement with a speech of her own.

"He's right, Rainbow Dash. You cannot be trusted with such a powerful tool. I've seen how you've treated my friends. This is not how you run sucessful military opererations, especially with self motivated authoritarian rule! History dictates that one indiviual who becomes corrupted by power, becomes consumed by evil. I think its time for you to step down from your position."

Dash's voice morphs into a rasphy, gutteral growl that was reminiscent to the Bishop's Spectre. Her body suddenly hovers into the air, and her eyes cast out a golden glow. Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack and you step backwards from the sudden event. Dash's jaw lifelessly drops, with a voice that was not from this world. It was the voice of a Spectre speaking out telepathically for everyone and everypony to hear.

"YOU INSECTS SHALL NEVER STIFLE THE PLANS OF THE ONE GOD! BY ATTACKING ME WILL RESULT WILL THE LOSS OF YOUR FRIEND'S LIFE. SUBMIT TO THE ORDER AND WORK AS SLAVES FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES!"

"My friends, please forgive me for my next course of actions...." You silently speak to the trio of Mane Six behind you. You cast out a shower of lighting at Dash's hovering body. The lighting makes contact with the empty shell of what was left of Rainbow Dash. Her body recoils lifelessly into a large computer monitor. Her friends scream from behind you, to rush over to her body in shock. The gasous Spectre emerges from her empty shell.

The rebels inside the base discharge their assault rifle towards the Spectre. You cast a series of lighting showers towards the floating monstrocity. The lighting emitted from the Spectre homes after you. You take cover behind a computer terminal that absorbs most of the impact. You feel a slight jolt of electricity, that slightly interrupts the rythmetic beating of your heart. However, you still pursue to discharge more surges of electricity to defeat the Spectre. With the constant surpression provided by the rebels, and the sucessful lighting strikes casted by you, the Spectre finally implodes in a gasous cloud. The third Sigil piece skids across the floor. It fuses onto your Sigil after the short conflict. Blackmare sends you another transmisson.

"Twilight has already agreed with me to take over command of our forces; That's if anything were to happen to Dash. It appears that she was deceiving us all along. The Spectre caused her to join alliances with the Order. Meet with Twilight Sparkle for further missions for now on...."

You jog over to Twilight, where Fluttershy devoutly performed CPR on Dash's body. Her friends covered their mouths with their hooves; With a look of distraught over Dash's condition. Fluttershy uses a defibulator after several unsuccessful attempts. Dash suddenly invigorates back into life with a few coughs. Her friends express a sigh of relief. Fluttershy orders Applejack for a stretcher, to transport Dash back into the medical facilites for recovery.

Fluttershy looks over to her friends, with a bright outlook on Dash's condition.

"She'll be alright, thank goodness. Um, but I'll have to conduct strict observation for any abnormal mental changes. Thank you for saving my friend..." Fluttershy appears up to you.

"Hopefully she will revert to her old self again. I hope you ladies understand that it was the only choice that I had to make for the time being."

"We do, Sugarcube. Sometimes I'd hate to be in yer shoes. Now let's haul 'er back to safe havens...." Applejack lifts the stretcher along with Fluttershy. They scurry down into the lower base. Twilight turns over to you.

"I suggest that you may return to the Oracle. She will brief you with further instruction on what to do. I'll have to stay here with my friends under command."

"I understand, Twi. I'll be back with further word from the Oracle."

You locate the portal inside the rebel base, in which Zecora kept open for you. You step into the portal, to be automatically transported back to the Oracle's chambers. With the third piece now attached to your Sigil, the Oracle sences your internal strength increasing with every piece that you wield.

"You have cured the ailment. However, your heart beats with the intentions to kill another prevalent. Next, you shall find the surgeon who slaughters and controls your people. The one they called the Loremaster, who is by no means feeble. Stop his reigh of terror, and the next piece shall be yours..."

"How should I get back to you?" You ask the Oracle.

"I shall cast yet another portal to the location of the Loremaster. Enter it, and he shall await you on another level inside his lair. Be quick to end him, for he shall never harm another mare."

Zecora chants a spell from inside the temple. You turn behind you from where the Oracle floats, and witness the embodiment of another vibrant portal. You step into the portal, and materialize inside the Loremaster's lair....

Comments

[Ichtudirweh]

Alright folks, here's the turning point of the fic. The next chapter will be divided according to which path you have
chosen. Go toe to toe with the Loremaster, or uncover more dark secrets after fighting the Spectre. The next chapter will be titled "Spectre of the Sigil", which is a play on words for all your Trekkies out there who understand the reference.
Progress will resume as usual next week. Can't wait to see the season finale and the dramatic twilicorn shitstorm to follow.

[Ichtudirweh]

Quick update: Spectre of the Sigil is near completion. I will attemp to get it out there by at least sunday. After I publish this chapter, the final showdown will unravel between you and the One God. Stay frosty for this upcomming battle.

Like I've stated previously, your decisions will foretell the three possible endings of the fanfic. The best conclusion (with 6 sub endings consisting of whatever relationship you've developed with the mane 6), the normal conclusion, and the worst possible conclusion that you may recieve. Thanks for all of the watches and followings folks. I'm eager to continue on with the Castlevania fic.

Spoiler for Castlevania fic: Twilight will lose her wings and her authority as a princess. Anyone remember in SOTN, how Alucard was OP as hell until Death took his gear away? Expect something similar along those lines.