Chapter 6: Deceit
Jeff, Fang, Trixie, and the Elements of Harmony stood before a massive stage erected near the Everfree Forest. Towering above the ponies on the stage were large speakers and a tangled mess of wires ran from various instruments to amps and equalizers before being routed to the speaker system. The group had arrived early, just before sunset, and they stood patiently waiting as various sound technicians wired together the speakers positioned near the back of where the crowd was to gather.
Rainbow dash had taken to the skies, already bored with waiting for the party to start. Rarity and Twilight were talking to Trixie about ideas for her act as Applejack nibbled some hay while laying back, covering her face with her hat. Fluttershy was practicing her cheering, barely audible as it was while Spike stared off into space. Fang was watching Jeff wander around in a lazy circle.
"Well, I'm bored." Jeff stated as he waved his arms through the air. "Hey you there, speaker pony."
"Well, you're a strange one." He remarked, noting the strange creature speaking to him.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm Jeff by the way, this is Fang, he's tame. Well, tame enough." The technician slowly nodded his head before turning back to his task.
"I'm Spectral Frequency, what do you need?" He asked as he tweaked a few wires.
"Not much really, just wondering if you guys needed a hand, er, hoof, with anything." Jeff gestured to the setup.
"Actually we still need to do the mic test, Scratch usually does it for her usual fanfare but she wandered off to do something. Just speak into the mic on the stage and play a few notes from the instruments so we can get the configuration set up." Said Spectral as he finished wiring together the last speaker.
"So long as I get to play a little something for fun you got a deal." Jeff bargained.
"You can play?" Jeff nodded. "Well so long as you don't break anything it should be fine."
"Nice, let's go Fang." Jeff and Fang jumped onto the stage and switched on the mic. "Test, test, can you hear me out there?" A pony at the main console twisted a few knobs and motioned for Jeff to continue. "A manticore walks into a bar. Manticores do not belong in bars and it became confused by its surroundings and then ran out the door, knocking over a table."
"Ha! Wasn't expecting that." The pony at the main console said. "Thanks, we're all set up now."
"Awesome. I would like to start off the night by singing a little something that has been stuck in my head for quite a while. Unfortunately you lack the technology to play it. So instead I will provide the electric signals to the speakers." Jeff held up a hand, a blue orb of energy appeared to hover over the palm. He touched it to the microphone, and soon the sphere was absorbed into the audio system. Every speaker played a mystical note, elevating in bass and treble until it was heard reverberating off of the houses in Ponyville.
The note died off, leaving the few gathered ponies to stare in shock. Jeff ignored them as a new sound began to play though the possessed speaker system. The sound of an orchestra set the ponies at ease, classical music was always soothing. None of the ponies recognized this song, so they listened intently. The music quickly changed tempo to a more electronic beat, a few smiles were seen in the growing crowd, they paid for a rave, not a classical show. Fang walked up to a mic, adjusted it to his height with a tendril of power, and took a deep breath as he began to sing.
Steel a soul for a second chance
But you will never become a mare
My chosen torture makes me stronger
In a life that craves the hunger
A Freedom and a quest for life
Until the end the judgment night
Bless me with your gift of light
Righteous cause on judgment night
Feel the sorrow the light has swallowed
Feel the freedom like no tomorrow
Stepping forth a cure for soul's demise
Reap the tears of the victim’s cries
Yearning more to hear the suffer (of a)
Of a demon as I put it under
Killed before, a time to kill them all
Passed down the righteous law
Serve a justice that dwells in me
Lifeless corpse as far as the eye can see
The eye can see
The eye can see
The eye can see
The eye can see
The eye can see
As fang finished his verse, the entire stage darkened as a dense fog smothered the lights. Jeff's tall shadow was seen slowly walking around the back of the stage. As he approached the crowd, he raised the mic to his mouth.
Bless me with the
Leaf off of the tree
On it I see
The freedom reign
We are falling
The light is calling
Tears inside me
Calm me down
Midnight calling
Mist of resolving
Crown me, with the
Pure green leaf
Both Fang and Jeff began singing their verses at the same time, adding a new level of chaos to the overall performance.
Praise to my father Life of vengeance, a passive test
Blessed by the water Until the grave I will rest
Black night, dark sky Engage the pressure until it crumbles
The devil’s cry The existence of the lifeless black souls
Bless me with the Onward to the sacred battlefield
Leaf off of the tree Where justification and limits are revealed
On it I see Tools of steel in rage they conquer
The freedom reign Weed out the killing of victim’s stalker
We are falling The powers proven to end the madness
The light is calling Upon I take it to end the savage
Tears inside me The rays of light a truth of meaning
Calm me down To my father the blood is pleading
Midnight calling A justice rage for all to feel
Mist of resolving With innocent cries and hatred squeals
Crown me, with the The gore of evil seems to satisfy
Pure green leaf When slain an maimed and pacified
Bless me with the My chosen torture makes me stronger
Leaf off of the tree In a life that craves the hunger
On it I see A Freedom and a quest for life
The freedom reign Until the end the judgment night
Praise to my father Watch the footsteps but never follow
Blessed by the water If you want to live tomorrow
Black night, dark sky Steel a soul for a second chance
The devil’s cry But you will never become a mare
As the music faded Jeff and Fang were able to make out the sounds of panicked screaming. They both jumped off the stage and ran through the now dense crowd. Near the center purple and blue bolts of magic lightning arced high into the air. Worried, Jeff leaped into the air and floated in for a closer look. Upon his arrival he witnessed Trixie and a white unicorn with red eyes and blue mane and tail using their magic to entrap Twilight and her friends. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had their wings bound, preventing their escape through the hole at the top, while Twilight fought back as much as she could. Unfortunatly she was unable to beat the might of the two unicorns, most likely due to the restraints in place by Celestia. Her horn sputtered out and she fell, panting heavily. The entrapment formed a dome over their heads, quickly cutting off all escape routes.
"Did you get them?" Trixie asked the white unicorn. The unicorn in question held out a bag, inside Jeff could make out the top part of the tiara Twilight was wearing when they first met. Jeff had seen enough to know that there was something big going down.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here?" Jeff demanded.
"This doesn't concern the likes of you! We have the Elements, nothing can stop us now!" The white one said as darkness enveloped them. The darkness lifted them into the air and flew towards the forest, leaving a trail of evil laughter in its wake.
"Oh no you don't!" Jeff said, he hunched forward and arched his back; His shirt was ripped off as his shoulder blades grew out of his back. With a cry of pain and the sound of tearing flesh a pair of white wings drenched in blood took form. He flapped them experimentally a few times, flinging most of the blood to the grass. Fang used his power to condense the energy into a physical form of wings, saving him the pain and the horrific sight of mutilated flesh.
"Why do you always do things the hard way?" Fang asked.
"Oh shut up, it works okay?" Jeff said. He crouched down while stretching his wings upwards. The ponies still in the area were blown off of their hooves as a massive explosion shook the town. The ground was stained in rainbows, Jeff and Fang had leaped into the air at instant rainboom speeds, the rainbow trail leading up over the tops of the trees of the forest.
"Trixie! Vinyl Scratch! Why are you doing this?" Demanded Twilight. The group of ponies found themselves deep within the Everfree Forest; the lurching forms of monsters could be seen on the outer edge of the clearing they were in.
"Is it not clear? Trixie has captured you and your friends, we have the Elements of Harmony, and you can sit there and watch this world burn beneath my power!" She exclaimed, bolts of lightning blasted across the sky silhouetting her form against the woods.
"A-hem." The white pony, Vinyl Scratch, cleared her throat.
"Um, Trixie means, us." She corrected quickly.
"Anyway, we have been planning this for that last seven months. We noted all of your movements, talents, abilities, even when you went to visit the princess, we were there." Scratch filled in as she paced in front of the barrier. "Soon, our master will arrive, and we will be rewarded beyond all measure."
"Oh yea? What kind of reward, actual musical talent?" Taunted Rainbow.
"For your information, we are to be imbued with ultimate power, immortality, and first rights to all the lands." Trixie bragged.
"Power? Life? Leadership? Are you really prepared for that?" A new voice rang through the clearing. "And for what cost? Why would you need to imprison these ponies and take the elements?" Trixie and Scratch stared, mouths agape, as Jeff and Fang emerged from the bushes, the remnants of wings and flesh shrinking back into Jeff's shoulders.
"Our master will take this world for himself, and with the elements out of the way there is nothing that can stop him!" Trixie yelled triumphantly. "We will use this planet as a gate of darkness, infesting other worlds and stars alike, spreading our new empire across the stars! All shall fall before our might!"
"If you wanted fame, immortality, you could have just asked me. But no, you would rather betray your friends, your country, your planet, in order to obtain such meager wants."
Trixie and Scratch paid him and the ponies no heed, instead they began bowing low to a throne of bone seeming to grow from the ground itself, upon which sat a figure shrouded in darkness.
YoU hAVe dOnE WelL, MInioNZ
Twilight and the others covered their ears from the sounds of thousands of ponies screaming out in pain, somehow forming words as the creature spoke.
thE sISterZ wILl bE HeRe SoON
"Oh? So what's your big plan then?" Jeff said as he approached the figure. "You must be what they call master. Is all this darkness yours? How did you obtain such power?"
yOu Are BUt a PEttY gOD, nO MaTCh FOr mY powER, uSinG SUcH WEak ILluZIonZ. YoU ARe uNWorTHy oF YOur TiTLe AnD ARe oF nO UsE TO mE, bE GOne FRoM HeRE
"I'm not going anywhere until-" Jeff's world suddenly faded to black.
"...cle that he survived." Jeff heard a feminine voice.
"We will need to keep him under observation once he wakes up, nobody will be quite the same after surviving something like that." Survive? Did something happen? Jeff thought.
"Doctor, look! He's moving!" Jeff was trying to open his eyes, but something was keeping them shut.
"Sir, can you hear me? Follow the sound of my voice, come on, you can do it!"
"W...where...?" Jeff managed to mumble.
"Don't worry, you were in an accident but you're safe now." The doctor comforted.
"F...Fang...?" Jeff was confused, he shouldn't be in this state, and Fang was missing. He could no longer feel the presence of his familiar, nor any of his powers manifesting.
"I'm sorry, who was that?" Asked the doctor.
"Wolf..." Jeff felt constantly out of breath, one word was barely manageable in his condition.
"Oh, yes. I hope you don't mind but we did search your luggage for possessions while you were comatose." Luggage? Comatose? Jeff's mind was slowly registering these few words the one called doctor was saying, yet the entire picture was still beyond him. "We placed some pictures we found on your bedside table, and Fang is right here."
Jeff felt a small weight on his chest, the doctor helped him lift his arm up to the furry object. "Fang...?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, the label on the tag had Fang written on it, so we just assumed."
No, this isn't right. Jeff thought. "Whe...where am...?"
"You are in a hospital; you have been for about four months. Ever since the attack on the convoy."
Wait, what? Jeff thought, No, it can't be...
"Doctor Kocmich, here are the latest test results you requested."
That's a human name...
"Thanks, Sharon." The doctor flipped through several pages of what must have been the test results. "Well I've got great news, your eyes are healed. Let's get those bandages off then shall we?" Jeff felt a hand, most definitely a hand, begin to undo the bandages around his head. "Ok, I've shut the lights off, you will be irritated by bright lights for a few days yet, but at least you will be able to see." The doctor pressed a button on the bed, the mechanics moved the mattress into a relaxed sitting position, then the doctor offered Jeff a glass of water. Jeff drank it down in one gulp, it tasted odd, bitter. He was offered another glass which he graciously accepted, still the odd taste remained.
Jeff sat back and got a good look at the doctor, defiantly human. He looked at the thing in his arms, a medium size stuffed wolf with remarkable similarity to the Fang he knew and loved. He cleared his throat; the water seemed to wake his body up a bit more. "Doc, where am I? Really? I want the date and everything."
"Alright. It is June fifth, two thousand and seven. You are in the American military hospital in Iraq. Your convoy was ambushed and a mine blast threw you into a boulder, resulting in a number of severe injuries. You survived, but you were in a coma for several months."
"What about the nukes? The third world war, the war that killed everyone..."
"There is no war, it was all a dream."
"A dream?"
"Yes, now go and get some rest." The doctor left Jeff to his own musings.
Was it all just a dream? The isolation, the power, the ponies, it felt way too real. Jeff thought. No, it was real. I know it was. All I need is some form of proof. If this is an illusion made in order to trap me, it would have to be based off of my own memories in order for me to think it was real. Ok, think think think...
Jeff set his mind on the doctor. His name, Kocmich, I had a neighbor with that surname. Sharon was a girl I knew in school. Still not enough... Jeff looked around some more. I'm not seeing something, something in plain sight. He sat still and listened, That's it! There was no ambient sound. No cars on the streets, no noises in the hallway, no machines monitoring vitals anywhere.
One of the most effective ways to escape an illusion is death. No matter how great the illusion, it is always defeated by an absolute. The ceiling cracked, long trails of dust fell from the crevice. Not much time left, whoever is casting this knows I'm catching on.
Jeff refocused his mind, no longer at the complete mercy of the illusion, he regained much of his strength, nothing godly but average human strength should do just fine for now. He reached over the end of the bed and grabbed the clip board holding his eye test results. He took a second to examine the paperwork, as he thought he was in an illusion. He had no knowledge of eye exams, or what the tests would look like. But he knew for certain that squiggly lines across a blank piece of paper was not real in the slightest either.
He discarded the "results" then broke the board in half at an angle, making a single sharp tip on both halves. Then he snapped off the steel clip that held the paper. He walked up to the wall and sharpened the metal on the exposed brick. Exposed brick in a hospital? Really?
He opened his door to the hallway, the steel clip held between his teeth and the sharp boards in each hand. The hall was rather long, every door except for his looked like it was painted onto the wall. He looked to the left, nothing any stranger than what he had already witnessed. To his right was another story. The wallpaper was peeling before his eyes; cracks appeared in the walls and began to bleed like a wound. Without a second thought he tread down the hall to his right.
The hall ended in a short staircase, at the bottom was the doctor seemingly oblivious to the warping reality around him. Jeff snuck up from behind him, and then tapped his shoulder to get his attention. When the doctor turned around Jeff thrust one of the pieces of the clip board into his neck, severing the jugular and effectively killing him. The board broke during impact and was now useless as a weapon. Instead Jeff looted the doctor's coat, noting that the chest pocket had a fresh supply of pens.
Jeff moved forward through the pair of double doors into another empty hall. The world was much more degraded, the cracks have widened, some pouring blood, others opening to a vast, empty darkness. The lights on the ceiling flickering and sparking as the power began to fail. About half way down the hall Jeff passed a staircase, on a whim he climbed to the top. At the top he burst out through a door onto the roof of the building. Standing there waiting for him were a number of identical doctors and nurses.
"Let me pass!" Jeff demanded.
"If you want to die so badly, why don't you stab yourself?" They all said as one.
"And leave myself in a weakened state? No, if I jump the shock from the impact will break the illusion far easier. Now, let me pass." The mass of doctors and nurses surged forward. Jeff was at a distinct advantage, they charged with their arms straight out like a horde of zombies, allowing him with his longer reach to stab them in the vitals, namely their neck.
Pen in one hand and steel clip in the other, Jeff stabbed and slashed his way towards the edge. As soon as Jeff placed a foot on the edge the world fixed itself. Gone was the darkness, the blood, the copies of the doctors. When he looked down what he saw was the view from his friend’s apartment from so many years ago.
"Jeff, calm down, you're sick, we're just trying to help you." A new voice said from behind him. Jeff turned to see who it was, his father. He was drenched in his own blood, pouring out of a pen size hole in his neck.
"Wow. You would stoop so low as to try and make me think I just killed my own father? I know who killed my father, and they along with the rest of the human race, are long since dead." Without turning away, Jeff spread his arms out to his sides and let himself fall into the void.
A/N: Alright, another chapter completed! I did have a bit of trouble, the original was a tad shorter and was missing some things that took me a while to figure out, special thanks to Caloo for assisting me with a bit of pre-reading. This is not the end, expect a chapter or two more in the future whenever I can make time to write them.
The THX sound effect and the song 'Devils Never Cry' from Devil May Cry 3 are not owned by me and were inserted mainly as a shout out to a fan who wishes to remain anonymous. Also, I changed the word "man" to "mare" because, who doesn't like pony puns?
Edited by Bodaciousbabe22
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Darkness...I only have one thing to say to you.....
videobeta.net/gifs/25636.gif
I do agree this was longer then the last time I read it
One word...DAAAAMMMNN
A mental illusion? Pff! Amateur!
This is good
Good chapter, but it was a little jarring going from an epic song in a style unheard of in equestria (based on them not having the tech to make it) to a confrontation with an evil Trixie and corrupted Vinyl Scratch. It would have been better to show the reactions to the song first, then ease into it. But thats just my opinion
375996 I thought about doing that, but then again i did fail to explain that they were using the song as a distraction in order to pull off their scheme. the fact that all the ponies were mesmerized by Jeff's song worked well for their plan instead of waiting for the designated song to begin. Tad late to go back and fix it now but i really did think it was explained in a very subtle way.
*Pulls out top*
It spins for a minute, then falls over.
*Phew!*
(9,001 internets if you get the reference)
377321 lol thx, unfortunately this was not inspired by Inception, rather the game Darkness 2.
377379 I was just checking myself after I read that. I have been slightly on edge since seeing Inception. I mean who really knows if we are in a dream or not?
Never played Darkness II. I think I need to put that on my list of games I need to play...
A DMC reference? Ponified? One seems to be amused so kudos.
What's next, Marauder Shields?