Synthesis of the Atheist

by BlackRoseRaven

Lucky Star

Chapter Forty Two: Lucky Star
~BlackRoseRaven

They reached the fortress after about an hour of travel, and only a few minor squabbles: Antares only hoped that everyone had worked their frustrations out of their systems and they were now ready to listen and do what he asked. But just the sight of this fallen island seemed to help everyone here understand the seriousness of what they were faced with.

Royal Guard were positioned all around the wreckage, and they had set up guard posts and several encampments to keep a close eye on things. Pegasi were constantly flying on patrols around the fortress, going to and from cloud structures floating only short distances above the highest peaks of the toppled island. The atmosphere here was tense, and understandably so... it was like the corpse of some fallen leviathan that no one could be entirely sure was dead, and every rattle of rubble spilling down, every rumble of settling stone or clank of metal on metal sounded like terrible new life was stirring within its broken shell.

Antares studied the ruins quietly as he stood at the edge of one of the encampments, where they had been greeted by Silvergrim. The General had calmly and concisely explained what they had discovered so far in the area, and that there had been little movement detected... but all the same, there was a little movement somewhere inside that hulking, broken ruin. But there was simply too much wreckage and structure for even their best unicorn to figure out whether there were any signs of life or powerful magic inside... that, and he had no idea if these monsters from Clockwork World even resonated with life, or the kind of energies they were hunting for.

But they had located one safe entrance, and even quickly assembled a ramp leading up to it, so unicorn scientists and earth pony knights could take a look around inside. They had only dared to venture into the first few open rooms, and only for a few moments: the creeping sense of malignancy that combined with fears about the stability of the structure all came together to make not even the hardiest soldier want to take any risks.

For a few minutes, Antares simply sat back and thought to himself quietly, and then he finally nodded once before saying calmly over his shoulder: “I'll go first. Tender Trust, Sleipnir, I'd like you both up here beside me. Avalon and Rainbow Dash, follow and wait for my order, you'll both be acting as scouts. Pinkamena, Meadowlark next, then Little Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and I'm trusting you to bring up the rear, Shining Armor. Keep your eyes open behind us and a barrier spell at the ready.”

Shining Armor winced a bit, nodding and shifting uneasily: at least he clearly understood that being placed at the back of the group wasn't an insult, especially in this situation. Antares nodded back, looking over the group before he turned his eyes towards the ramp, adding quietly: “Discord, I have a special job for you. Can you hide yourself?”

“Easy as pie.” Discord covered his eyes, and Antares sighed tiredly before the Draconequus huffed. “Well, you gotta be a little more specific, kid. You and Princess Party Pooper, no one understands me or gets my jokes, you hear? It hurts me, right here.”

He tapped his own chest lightly, then uncovered his eyes and simply vanished from existence, but his voice floated around them as he added mildly: “But I could step just a little outside of reality if I wanted, like this... and keep you ponies entertained on the trip while no one can lay a hoof on me. Now isn't that a handy little trick, huh?”

Antares nodded after a moment, saying quietly: “Stay close, then. Hopefully you'll be able to at least put up a distraction if Psukhikos ambushes us. I appreciate it.”

“Oh, well, I've got nothing better to do than help you little ponies today anyway. And besides... the sooner these things are out of here, the better. They're...” Discord's voice broke off, and then Antares glanced up as he thought he caught a shivering of light in the air. “Unpleasant.”

Antares simply nodded again, and he took a slow breath before glancing over at Silvergrim. “Thank you. If... if we don't come out in a few hours, don't send ponies in looking for us. Just send a warning to Princess Celestia.”

“That's not your call, kid. But I'll do what I have to do.” Silvergrim replied calmly, and then he bowed his head to them. “Good luck.”

Antares smiled a little, but he became serious once more as he turned his gaze forwards, looking silently out towards the ramp leading into the gaping maw of the fallen island. For a few moments, there was quiet, and then the stallion readied himself before he shook his head out quickly and said clearly over his shoulder: “Alright everyone, it's time to move in. Stay calm, listen to orders, and keep each other alive. We're all in this together.”

The others nodded to him, and Antares turned to lead them towards the base of the long ramp, breathing a little harder as he tried to steel himself; but ten minutes later, as they strode through a hole shattered in the wall and into the long, open tunnel beyond, he felt all that bravery turn to brittle ice.

Slowly, he surveyed these evil-feeling ruins: one section of the tunnel had collapsed, while the other led to a pair of doors that had been torn off their hinges and piled off to the side, likely by the research team. He and the others had to move carefully, thanks to how tilted the floor was. It made him grimace as they started forwards, his eyes flicking nervously back and forth as Tender Trust whispered beside him: “The air is poisoned with evil... with the unnatural...”

“Let's keep moving.” Antares murmured quietly, and he led the group forwards, trying to push through that feeling of... insidious, poisonous malice that was dominating the air. Tender Trust was right, after all... it really did feel like something evil had spread through the atmosphere here. Even before, when the fortress was working, things hadn't been this bad... and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe with the floating island's death, something locked away in its guts had torn itself awake and out of dormancy...

Antares led them into a large foyer: a staircase had half-collapsed to one side, but Antares thought the wreckage might be climbable if they were careful, while there were two more sets of pried-off doors in the walls. Broken cables and girders like ribs that had pierced out from stony flesh dangled from the curved ceiling, and the stallion gazed up at this silently for a few moments before he shook his head quickly and glanced over his shoulder. “Avalon, Rainbow Dash. I want you to check upstairs... see that terrace there? It looks like there's a doorway. If the walkway is stable enough to land on, see if you can pry those doors open and get a look at what's down that hall.”

“One of us could go alone, the other could check these halls...” Avalon began, but when Antares shook his head firmly, she only shrugged and saluted sharply. “You're the boss, boss.”

Rainbow Dash seemed a little surprised by this, but then she shrugged as well and followed Avalon quickly upwards, as Antares looked hesitantly back and forth. The others gathered behind him, and the stallion looked over his shoulder, but relaxed a little when he saw they were maintaining formation. A little clustered, maybe, but they were still all in the right places.

He glanced up as there was a thump above, and a bit of dust hailed down from the walkway... before the stallion cursed and winced backwards when the entire terrace above collapsed, and the stone steps ripped free from the wall a moment later, becoming an avalanche that smashed down to the floor. The structure groaned and cracks ripped through the floor as dust burst out in all directions, and Avalon's voice called awkwardly over the settling debris: “Uh... don't think it's safe, you guys.”

Antares sighed tiredly, looking moodily up as Avalon and Rainbow Dash both moved in short circles, clearing the air as Discord's voice remarked in entertainment: “Now, I want to be clear about something. I'm not gonna laugh if any of you die, but I reserve the right to giggle like a little filly if one of you gets hurt because of something dumb like that, o-”

The Draconequus was cut off by a loud rumble, and Antares stepped backwards, the ponies behind him all stumbling as there was another loud groan and the floor damaged by the collapsed terrace dipped visibly... then something gave way, and there was another burst of dust as the ground crumbled. Antares groaned as Avalon looked down with a wince, but Rainbow Dash frowned after a moment before she shot down, cutting through the dust cloud and vanishing for a moment, and a second later her voice called: “Hey guys, there's something below here! Looks like a staircase!”

Antares looked uncertainly towards the newly-opened hole at this, and Avalon looked down before dropping and corkscrewing, flapping her wings out firmly to blast away the dust before it could even settle. She landed smoothly on the floor at the edge of the hole, the tiny Pegasus leaning forwards, and Antares was thankful to see Rainbow Dash hadn't gone very far: she was just beneath the lip of the gap, standing on the slope formed by the rubble as she muttered: “Looks kind of like a staircase leading down. What do you think is down there?”

“Let's find out. Scout either five hundred meters ahead or to the end of the stairs, then come back up and tell us if it's solid or not. We might hit a dead end, but if I remember right, then whatever we blew up was on the opposite side. The lower quarters might all still be intact here.” Antares replied calmly, and Avalon and Rainbow Dash both nodded and saluted: it made their similarities stand out all the more and the stallion smiled despite himself as they both turned and flew down into the hole.

Ten minutes later, they returned: by now, some of the ponies were looking a little impatient, although Antares thought that the malice and negativity in the air had something to do with that, too. They reported that the stairs seemed solid enough, and there was definitely something down there... that they could even faintly hear machinery.

“Then everyone stay close and be on guard.” Antares said quietly, and the stallion looked silently at the hole before rolling his shoulders and trying to ready himself for whatever was waiting for them in the bowels of this facility. “Alright everyone. Follow me.”

The descent was smooth, and the bottom led them only into more stone halls, but these were layered with thick iron supports and looked much-more stable than the corridors above. These rooms were clearly meant to survive anything that was done to the facility. Pipes and cables stuck out of the walls here and there, and only a few had snapped or come loose.

They eventually reached a massive, fortified shutter, but Sleipnir had only grinned and rolled his shoulders before he had stepped forwards and slowly hauled it up, grunting in effort until he managed to get it high enough for the rest of the group to hurry under. Then the enormous stallion simply slammed one hoof firmly into one side of the shutter, warping the metal violently and leaving it shuddering as it lodged against the stone, and the stallion quickly dropped and flung himself beneath the damaged door.

It creaked, and then the lodged metal snapped and bent further under its own weight, and the shutter squealed down the rails it was set into, blocking their way back as Sleipnir wheezed in relief. He picked himself up and brushed his breastplate off with a smile, but his expression faded into one of disbelief, joining the other ponies in staring out at what was waiting for them beyond. “Mimir's head...”

They were on a massive metal walkway leading to some kind of enormous underground tower structure. Other walkways led into this at multiple points, above and below; at the very bottom of the pit they were suspended over, ruptured machinery spilled across the floor, some of it still visibly smoking and smoldering, and other massive gears and pistons and engines still attempting to continue running, clanking and grinding brokenly away. Antares shivered a little in horror, looking at the pipes that lined the central tower, seeing how many of them fed down to that machinery below as he realized... “This must be what was powering whatever was keeping this place in the air... we're... we're close. We might actually come across answers here...”

The thought excited him... even if everything else about this godawful place terrified him. It was so unnatural, so alien from Equestria, so... so simply horrific. He didn't know what to do or say, as he breathed slowly in and out before shaking his head firmly, forcing his senses back. He was the leader right now, and he hated that responsibility, but he was also well-aware of what it meant. It meant that he had to be strong, and keep everyone moving forwards, and do his damnedest to find what they came here for, even if it meant leading his team to hell and back.

“Let's keep moving forwards. Keep your eyes open, though, don't assume this place is abandoned just yet.” Antares said calmly, and then he added quietly: “Avalon, Rainbow Dash, stay at either side of the bridge. Wide flank positions, the last thing I want is to be attacked by Thunderbirds inside this kind of enclosed space.”

Both Pegasi nodded, then flew quickly into place as Antares turned his eyes ahead, but the travel down the long catwalk to the immense central spire was thankfully uneventful. And inside, they found only the remains of an enormous glass tube that had been shattered in several sections, now bleeding sludgy, hardening mire over the floor. On either side of the open steel floor were staircases leading up and down between levels, and Antares grimaced in distaste as he looked around: it was definitely some kind of massive power source, but unless they had an idea of where to go, they could spend hours running up and down the stairs, going back and forth across bridges to try and find anything useful.

“Antares, there are hoofprints here. Fresh, leading towards the northern bridge. And hast thou noticed...” Sleipnir hesitated, then gestured at the ground, and Antares shifted uneasily before he nodded a little: the metal beneath their hooves was perfectly horizontal, not leaving them on an awkward slope at all. It really was like they had entered into an entirely separate area.

The stallions looked at each other as Avalon and Rainbow Dash flitted uneasily around the broken glass tube, and then Antares turned his eyes up to them, saying quietly: “Scout over the walkway through there, then come back here and tell me what you see.”

Neither Pegasus argued: they both flew ahead as behind him, Antares felt the group shifting uneasily. Little Luna kept rubbing at her face slowly, trembling a bit, and Twilight Sparkle was breathing hard, her eyes lowered, as Shining Armor tried to stay close to his little sister. Pinkamena was grinning, but Meadowlark was looking worried and Tender Trust was shaking a little, the half-Phooka whispering prayers to herself every now and then.

When the Pegasi reported back, it was with news that Antares wasn't sure was either good or bad: the shutter at the end of that walkway was open, and it looked like it led into some kind of open area. There were more machine sounds coming out of the shutter, though, louder and more stable than the squeals and shrieks of the damaged machinery at the bottom of the pit. It was clearly where they had to go, even if Antares felt like every fiber of his being was warning him to stay away from it.

All the same, he led the group onwards: they went the long way around the circular floor to avoid stepping on any of the mire, Antares keeping mostly silent. He knew he should say something, but... what? That it would be okay? That he'd make sure nothing would happen to them? He couldn't promise any of that... all he could do was tell them: “We're going to keep pushing forwards.”

Halfway across the walkway, and Antares could begin to hear the sounds coming out of the room beyond: the subtler growls of what sounded like something rumbling over the screeches and smashes of the broken mechanical sounds that dominated this room. The stallion breathed slowly, uneasily in and out as they approached the open shutter, looking into the room beyond but only slowing a little, checking only once over his shoulder to make sure everyone was still with him before he turned his eyes quickly forwards again.

They stepped out onto a massive, concrete platform: a few steel crates rested around the area, and with a glance up, Antares caught sight of a massive crane claw, hanging listlessly on some kind of bent rail. A steel staircase went up one side of the room to a walkway some forty feet above along the back wall, where there were several shutters and broken windows. This was some kind of freight area, he guessed... it was just much, much larger than the one in the engineering facility, and more organized from the rolling conveyor belts encircling the area, carrying smaller boxes and packages and other things along their length that occasionally bumped together and added to the surprisingly-loud noises.

They strode inside... and then the ponies winced and set themselves as klaxons blared, almost drowning out the sound of the shutter behind them grinding closed and the conveyors rumbling to a halt. But Antares heard something else amidst the alarms, as his eyes flicked back and forth... before gritting his teeth as some kind of hideous, broken thing dragged itself slowly around one of the crates, the stallion shouting immediately over his shoulder: “Defensive positions!”

Twilight Sparkle only panicked, looking back and forth wildly, but thankfully Shining Armor firmly pulled her backwards as Little Luna leapt to the air, hovering with a snarl above the group. Meadowlark dropped back and Pinkamena smoothly stepped forwards, and Sleipnir dropped into place by Tender Trust. With Avalon and Rainbow Dash both hovering above in front of Luna, they formed into a tight, safe cordon.

Antares gritted his teeth as he felt something rip through his mind, twitching only slightly from the pain as he looked sharply up on instinct: and standing above them, glaring down at them with cold, furious eyes, was Psukhikos. She was visibly burning with rage, her eyes glowing as she leaned forwards over the railing as the alarms fell silent... but what truly scared Antares was the fact that she looked unharmed and unhindered, as she whispered: “You wretched little piles of garbage. Do you really think that...”

Psukhikos paused, then snapped her horn suddenly to the side, and Discord was blown into reality with a yelp to land on his back and skid painfully into the shutter behind the ponies, looking up with a lame grin before he spread his arms awkwardly. “Now, hey, can't we all just get along? You've got such... such nice eyes, after all, and... your... pets are...”

Discord paled a little as one of these creatures staggered a little closer to them: there were two of the monsters, flanking them, and Antares shivered as he drew his eyes back down to one of the awful, hideous things, as Psukhikos said disdainfully: “Protelea built a hive inside this island, under Thesis' orders. Most of that was destroyed, but these two Necrotrophs survived. I think I'm going to feed you to them.”

One of the creatures wailed piteously: it looked like an earth pony, only hideous pustules and thick, slimy growths had spread over much of its body, and an enormous, pulsating tumor had torn through its coat, the reddish flesh fortified with bricks of white and yellow wax. Poisonous insects crawled all over it, hurrying in and out of large, wax-lined holes here and there all over its body and its toothless maw. It had no eyes... but stared at them all the same with its sockets, ears pricked up high and large hooves pressed tightly to the ground.

Antares shivered violently, then he looked back up at Psukhikos as she smiled coldly, before his eyes widened in surprise as a gleaming, silver and gold sword rose slowly into the air beside her. It was elegant, beautiful, and thin: something for a noble to fence with, and show off to friends and family... “Before I awoke, I was of very high standing in the Royal Court. Not Canterlot, no... I wasn't born in Equestria. I was born in one of the nations you and your filthy 'princess' whores forgot all about. That was where I learned that if you want to be in control of your own life, you must be powerful: I learned that the weak must bow to the strong, because the weak can't do anything against them. So I became strong. And the only pony stronger than me is Thesis.

“I'm going to teach you all precisely why that is now.” Psukhikos said coldly, and then she cracked her neck before her horn began to glow, and both Necrotrophs staggered before groaning loudly, swarms of beetles and flies and other disgusting insects beginning to spill out of their bodies, filling the air and spreading in a wave of pestilence across the floor.

Antares gritted his teeth, swinging his horn outwards, and a short wall of white flames burst into being in front of the ponies, incinerating the insects scurrying over the floor with squeals as the glossy-black unicorn shouted: “Use magic on those things, fire and light! Hit them as hard as you can!”

“All of you are going to die.” Psukhikos said softly, as her horn grew brighter, then she snapped it forwards and unleashed a powerful pulse of energy that washed over the group in a wave, Little Luna, Shining Armor, and Twilight Sparkle all crying out in shock and pain as their magic was interrupted, and Antares cursing in shock as the wall of fire he had created was whiffed out and his own horn sparked painfully. “All of you are going to suffer.”

It felt like mental hooks tore into their minds, sinking deep and sending pulses of pain through all present before Antares looked up in horror at the sight of four faintly-glowing copies of the Replicant now standing in a calm line with their own swords raised across the room, Psukhikos grinning coldly on the walkway above as she said quietly: “I can block your magic. I can make you see whatever I desire. And I can make you feel anything I want.”

The four illusions ran forwards, and Antares cursed, simply ignoring the one that charged at him as he snapped his horn down... but he barely created the weakest, least-concentrated blast of purification, and all it managed to do was sear the features of the Necrotroph it hit and make it stumble weakly once with a gurgle.

Then one of the illusions stabbed its sword into his chest, and Antares cried out in shock at the very-real agony that ripped through his system, felt his heart tighten for a moment as his eyes widened... but there was no force behind it, no blood, no nothing but incredible pain. He threw himself backwards, and the illusion smiled at him calmly before Tender Trust said in a trembling voice: “The maci-manitow makes your own minds betray you...”

She looked back and forth, and Sleipnir cursed as another illusion drew his attention, slashing at him and making the earth pony wince before he leapt forwards and slammed a hoof into it, and the image simply shattered like glass. For a moment, he grinned... but Psukhikos only chuckled and smiled coldly down at them from above, whispering: “Yes. I want you to struggle.”

Two more illusions appeared and charged into the fray, and Pinkamena snarled even as she shattered another, shouting: “Come on kid, what the hell do we do here?”

“I... I...” Antares looked back and forth in disbelief, before he staggered with a snarl of pain as he felt a painful ripping start all along his foreleg, looking down to see beetles beginning to swarm eagerly up his body. He leapt up to the air, flapping his wings hard and shaking them off even as flies swarmed in towards him, but even he couldn't concentrate on any particular spell thanks to the mental hooks gouging his mind, the blast of raw telekinesis and purification he unleashed was more than enough to blow down most of the swarm. “Destroy the Necrotrophs! Even if the pain from the illusions feels real, it's not!”

Then he winced as another swarm of bugs buzzed up towards him... but a moment later, a streak of gold and red spiraled violently through this with a blast of wind, and the bugs were knocked in all directions as Avalon dove violently straight into one of the Necrotrophs.

There was a blast of pus and goo and bugs, and Avalon shouted in disgust more than anything else as it splashed over her, but the Necrotroph howled miserably as it was knocked skidding violently to the side, barely managing to keep on its hooves. Then the tiny Pegasus snarled as she shot forwards again and slammed both rear hooves directly into its face, and it gurgled before bringing its head out as it vomited out acidic sludge and a hail of insects in retaliation.

Avalon launched herself upwards... then stared in horror as golden, floating swords appeared all around her before stabbing savagely through her wings. The pain made her cry out and half-furl them, beginning to fall straight towards the Necrotroph and the swarm of eager bugs waiting below... but a moment later, strong forelegs caught her as a rainbow blur shot by, then Rainbow Dash arched her back with a curse and swung her body upwards, kicking hard off the wall to launch herself back in the other direction and towards safety. “Got you, kid!”

Swarms of bugs followed after the Pegasi, but out of nowhere an enormous roll of flypaper swung down, catching most of them before slamming to the ground and rapidly unrolling itself, sticky side down, to coat and catch many of the beetles and other nastier bugs. Then Discord snapped both his hands down, sending anvils and oversized weights crashing down over the paper and throughout the area, crushing insects, shattering illusions, and hammering into the Necrotrophs with enough force to stun them as he shouted: “This is so not in my contract!”

Pinkamena slashed her axe viciously outwards, smashing apart another illusion before she looked sharply to the side and whistled loudly. Sleipnir immediately turned his eyes to her, then grinned as she flung her axe at him: he caught it with ease, then spun around with it once before throwing it briskly in an underhoof motion with both hooves, sending it spinning through another illusion, then slicing one of the Necrotrophs into two halves.

The tormented monster gave a keening wail as hindquarters toppled one way, and front half fell in the other direction in a burst of blood and bugs and pus, body smacking wetly to the ground before insects of all shape and size hurriedly began to evacuate the remains. Many of them headed toward the ponies, but many others simply fled in all directions, like they were smart enough to know that their home and master had been destroyed.

Little Luna was trying to concentrate on the little magic she could, sending short bursts of blue flame out against the other Necrotroph, but she was doing little more than keeping it at bay: Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, was shivering and breathing hard, looking terrified even as she gathered her magic, while Shining Armor was drawing the attention of the illusions, wincing every time a sword tore into him but fighting gamely through the pain all the same, ignoring the smaller bugs biting and tearing at him as he tried to concentrate his magic over his own body, adding an extra layer of protection. His hooves slammed down into another illusion and shattered it to pieces before he looked over his shoulder, shouting: “Twili, come on! You can do it!”

Twilight Sparkle shivered, and then her eyes snapped open as she pushed through the pain, pushed past the static baring her mind, and snapped her horn outwards as she shoved all her energy into one focused spell: the fireball rocketed through the air, slamming home into the Necrotroph and exploding with enough force to knock it crashing onto its side, the beast screaming as fire greedily spread over its body and pustules began to explode with loud pops one after the other.

Twilight almost collapsed, gasping for breath, and Shining Armor grinned as he turned forwards and slammed a hoof home into an illusion's face, while Little Luna gave a grin of victory and turned her eyes forwards. Now, there were many more than four illusions attacking them, but Sleipnir and Pinkamena were wading through the sea of copies with ease, and even Tender Trust was pushing back against them, seeming to feel the bite of the swords least of them all.

Antares, meanwhile, shot straight for the real Psukhikos... and then gargled as he was easily caught in a psychic grip before she half-turned and flung him viciously through one of the windows in the back wall, shattering the little glass left in the frame and snapping the thin metal grid. The stallion hit the ground and rolled a few times with a wince, but he barely managed to get a glimpse of the room before a telekinetic hammer smashed into him and flung him across it, sending him crashing through another window and bouncing painfully off a steel railing to flip helplessly to the floor below.

He crashed on hard cement with a curse of pain, his body trembling and the world nothing but blurs and weak sounds. He rasped for breath, trying to force himself back to consciousness before he felt agony burn through his mind as Psukhikos' voice echoed through his skull: Your so-called leader has tried my patience for the last time. My soldiers can deal with you.

Antares grasped at his head, gasping and groaning in pain; in the massive freight area, other ponies were doing the same even as the illusions around them vanished. Sleipnir cursed under his breath as he looked back and forth, then forced himself to stagger over to a nearby metal crate, grasping it and half-turning to hurl it with a grunt at Psukhikos as the mare began to turn towards an opening shutter, but the Replicant easily caught it with telekinesis before she smiled coldly and threw it savagely back with a flick of her sword.

The metal box slammed into Sleipnir, knocking him crashing backwards with a curse of pain as Pinkamena snarled, eyes blazing, but Psukhikos only strode calmly through the shutter as gates on either side of the freight room opened, and Dullahan and drones began to swarm in. The attention of all ponies drew to the coming horde, Little Luna trembling in the air and Shining Armor gritting his teeth as Twilight looked lethargically up, but Pinkamena only leaned forwards and roared in challenge, her axe back in hoof, her eyes glowing with fury. “Come and get me, you bastards! I'm right here!”

Avalon and Rainbow Dash added their own shouts of fury, and Discord groaned but readied himself as well, his hands sparking with energy as the group was surrounded by the silvery, metallic creatures. Then he glanced up with surprise as Little Luna flew up beside him, and the two traded looks before both set themselves a little more firmly, as Little Luna leaned forwards and shouted: “I am not afraid! Surrender or we will not hesitate to tear down every single one of you!”

Antares blinked at the faint, distant sounds in the daze following the burst of pain, before his mind snapped back to consciousness and he staggered quickly to his hooves. But just as he began to step forwards, Psukhikos landed smoothly in front of him, her sword at the ready as she smiled coldly, her eyes glowing as she asked quietly: “So you are the child of Brynhild and our strange brother, is that correct?”

Antares only snarled, setting himself, and Psukhikos smiled coldly before she licked her lips slowly as her sword glimmered in the air. “Then he won't mind if I kill your mind, as long as I leave your body alive. Maybe I can even learn something from you, from your blood and your spirit... maybe I can be complete first... then I'll make Thesis bow to me.”

“I'm not going to just lay down and die!” Antares shouted, and then he leapt forwards and swung his horn outwards, but Psukhikos easily parried the attack with her sword, laughing at him before her eyes flashed, and Antares collapsed backwards, screaming in agony as his mind felt like it burst into flames.

He clawed wildly at his head, and Psukhikos stepped forwards and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him before she hammered the pommel of her sword into his face when he began to get up. He was knocked sprawling again, clenching his eyes shut as the pain in his mind faded slowly away. “Please. You're nothing to me. Nothing at all.”

Antares gritted his teeth, then he rolled backwards and up to his hooves, and Psukhikos rose her horn calmly, hefting the stallion into the air with telekinesis before he could do anything. He cried out in agony, clenching his eyes shut as the telekinetic bands of force became inexorably tighter, feeling his bones creaking, the cast on his wing cracking, his insides being crushed...

And then she simply slung him down into the ground, and the Clockwork Pony laughed at him again, smiling coldly as he gasped weakly for breath. “You're like a toy to me. You have no mental defenses. You have no possible way to hurt me.”

Antares flung himself forwards, and Psukhikos leaned sharply forwards with a wide grin, her eyes flashing as a psychokinetic explosion flung Antares backwards into a steel crate with enough force to crunch in the hard metal box like a tin can. It left him gasping and shivering, his armor broken, his entire body pulsing with pain, his eyes staring with disbelief at Psukhikos as she gazed at him with pleasure... and mounting... not courage, no. Boldness, but not courage: part of her, for some reason, was still very much terrified of him.

He slowly hauled himself out of the wreckage, trying to think of anything at all he could even try... but the only idea that came to mind made him grit his teeth, even as he decided he had no other choice. His horn began to glow, and Psukhikos laughed at him, asking mockingly: “Do you really think your childish magic-”

Antares snapped his horn upwards, and his body pulsed with light and pain as he cast the spell over himself, and Psukhikos stared at him with surprise for a moment before Antares charged straight at her. The Clockwork Pony snorted in disgust as she leaned forwards, eyes glowing-

Her head snapped violently to the side as if she had just been punched as her own telekinetic powers hammered into her, the Clockwork Pony gargling dumbly before yelping when Antares slammed into her like a train, knocking her onto her back before he tackled her and began to simply smash blow after blow down into her face. Psukhikos screamed in pain and denial as her sword clanged to the ground beside her, trying to hide behind her forelegs before her eyes glowed and she glared up at Antares, and the stallion felt his entire body go rigid before he screamed and arched his back as blood burst from his eyes and ears.

The pain was incredible, as visions flashed in front of his eyes and his emotions went haywire, wanting to laugh, to cry, to scream all at once. He lost control of his body, tumbling backwards off her before Psukhikos scrambled up to her hooves, leaning forwards and almost shoving face-to-face with him as their eyes locked and she tore into his mind, devouring down his emotional energies and spiritual essence.

Antares gargled, mind rapidly losing cohesion, simply falling into insanity... before a hoof smashed into his face, and he rolled onto his side with a gasp and a whimper. He breathed heavily in and out as he saw Psukhikos standing only a short distance away, the mare trembling in fury before she whispered: “I understand now what you want. You must want to suffer, Antares Mīrus... so I am going to grant you that, and I am going to allow you to suffer. And then I'm going to devour your mind, and make you into a living trophy, so I can show everyone what happens to those who defy me.”

Antares slowly climbed up to his hooves, seeing little more than blurs, not registering what was going on until Psukhikos stepped forwards and stabbed her sword viciously into the stallion's face once, twice, thrice. The agony woke him up, Antares staggering backwards before he snarled and blocked the next stab with his horn, gasping in pain from the aching wounds torn into his features: deep enough to hurt, apparently not deep enough to be lethal.

She was faster than he expected, fencing viciously with the sword as he hammered his horn back against her, gritting his teeth before he finally parried one of her blows hard enough to knock the sword flying away, the Replicant staggering backwards with shock before Antares leapt forwards and slammed his horn down through her features-

The illusion shattered like glass, and Antares' eyes widened as Psukhikos laughed loudly from behind him. He staggered around in a circle, and then could only tremble, staring back and forth at the five copies of Psukhikos waiting for him, all of them smiling coldly before speaking in one calm, singular voice: “We want you to have hope, until the very last moment. Even knowing we control your senses, fighting like this... perhaps you will find me among the illusions and the shadows. Only my sword has the power to wound you... only my sword has the power to kill you.”

The five illusions all stepped forwards, stabbing fiercely towards him with their swords, and Antares covered his face with one foreleg and screamed in agony as he felt the five weapons rip through his body. Pain filled his being, before the blades all tore back, and he gasped as he grabbed at his chest: the one point where the pain didn't immediately begin to fade, which didn't become a throb of confused nerves but instead a wet, aching pulse as he bled slowly through his cracked armor.

He trembled, then flung himself desperately forwards, and Psukhikos laughed as he tried to fight all five at once: swords whickered down, and Antares dodged some before smashing others out of the way with his horn, trying his hardest to ignore mocking blasts of telekinesis that hammered into his body now and then as his protective aura faded. But there was no time to restore it, no time to do anything but fight as hard as he could against the Clockwork Pony he knew was toying with him, he knew was drawing this out purely to watch him struggle, to torture him, so she could take even more pleasure out of his pain and feast on his fear...

His horn slammed through an illusion, shattering it, before he blasted another with telekinesis... but when he turned, he saw five copies again instead of only three remaining. Swords tore into his side, and pain ripped through his body as he staggered before another sword lashed across his face, knocking him backwards in a spray of blood before he leapt towards the Clockwork Pony that had struck him, knowing she had to be the real one...

He was blasted head-over-heels by telekinesis, and by the time he managed to catch himself and drop back into a ready position, the illusions and the real Psukhikos had already rearranged themselves, and their five swords were spinning in a violent circle around him. He looked back and forth, then howled as one after the other, the swords shot through his body, and pain left him pinned in place before his eyes widened in horror as a voice whispered from right beside him: “Your folly was in thinking I'd be stupid enough to let myself be seen by you at all.”

The real Psukhikos slowly glimmered into reality right beside him as her illusions faded, but the agony in Antares' body didn't, the Clockwork Pony smiling coldly before her sword rose, and Antares stared upwards, breathing hard, eyes filled with terror and pain and horror, before it lashed down.

Antares screamed in agony, but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the fleshy thud of one of his wings hitting the ground, before Psukhikos calmly spun her sword and then slashed down again, and the second was chopped off in a burst of blood. It hit the earth with a loud squelch, flopping weakly once as Antares gasped and shivered, his eyes bulging with pain before Psukhikos asked softly in his ear, as he remained paralyzed in agony: “Now who here is superior, little worm?”

The Clockwork Pony strode up in front of the stallion, as the stumps of his wings bled slowly and sluggishly, and then she turned calmly to face him as she rose her sword in front of her and smiled coldly. Antares trembled violently as he stared at her, tears spilling down his cheeks from the pain as their gazes met, and she said softly: “Now the little pieces. Your ears, your tail, and what you stallions are so proud of. I'll leave your tongue, though, so you can lick my hooves and beg for mercy after I'm done with you.”

Slowly, Psukhikos began to raise her sword, and Antares clenched his eyes shut: it felt like metal rods were buried through his body, the pain was so goddamn intense, and he felt so helpless and beaten and hurt...

“Look at me!” Psukhikos snarled, and he felt her sword slam into his face, slapping him with the flat, but he refused to open his eyes even as she battered him again, then shoved the blade of her sword up against the base of his horn, hissing: “If you don't open your eyes right now, splinter-horn, then I'm going to scoop this up out of your skull and-”

Antares pushed all that pain and anger and desperation he felt into one desperate attempt to break free, and his horn glowed bright white before he flung himself forwards and slashed viciously outwards: his horn shattered through Psukhikos' sword, knocking it from her psychic grip as she staggered backwards before screaming and leaning sideways as his horn ripped a savage slash through her throat and down into her breast. Antares fell forwards on his face with a gasp, but the worst of the psychic pain vanished from his body as the Clockwork Pony stumbled backwards, howling in pain and disbelief as she shook herself wildly from side to side.

He looked up, saw her staggering, saw the way her pain and fear were both already beginning to turn to rage that he knew she would turn on him, and the stallion looked wildly to the side before his eyes locked on the end of her shattered sword. He seized it with telekinesis, and before Psukhikos could react, he flung it at her with all his remaining strength.

The sword blade hammered home into her breast, driving the Clockwork Pony backwards as she gargled, then grabbed uselessly at the protruding blade with a whimper, shivering violently as her eyes bulged. She rasped for breath, looking at Antares as her mouth worked slowly before she dragged herself backwards when the stallion forced his eyes open, then shoved his front hooves under him, beginning to slowly push himself up as he fought to breathe, whispering: “I'm going... to stop you...”

“N-No... no, no, no...” Psukhikos staggered backwards, whimpering, shaking her head in terror as her mouth worked wildly, her eyes wide with horror as Antares forced himself to stand. Blood rolled down his armor as his eyes clenched shut, then he looked up with a snarl, and the Replicant screamed and staggered hurriedly away, turning and fleeing in fear towards an open archway and stumbling down the hallway beyond with terror and agony overwhelming all her senses.

Antares' eyes rolled up in his head a moment later, and he flopped back to the ground with a broken moan, trembling once. And beside him, the remains of his wings twitched weakly before turning to nothing but dark smoke and ash, floating silently away and leaving stains of dark blood behind as the unnatural wings faded forever from reality.

When Antares came to, he was laying in a bed he didn't recognize, and his back hurt. But in a different way than it had before, he thought, as he blearily looked back and forth... but there wasn't a whole lot to see. Just white cloth curtains, and sky blue sheets; all that combined made him pretty sure he was laying in a clinic or hospital somewhere.

He shifted a little, and brushed the covers down to look silently at his body: bandages, and he could feel the distinct scratch of sutures. His mouth was dry, and when he glanced lethargically to the side, he could see an IV line being fed into one of his forelegs. That probably wasn't a good sign either, as he flexed his body slowly... and gasped quietly at the pain, before trembling and looking over his shoulder to see the absence of what he hadn't felt.

His wings were gone. And as he flexed his body again despite knowing it was probably irritating his stitches, he could feel that even the stumps had been... removed. He breathed slowly in and out, and he didn't know what to feel: he always thought of himself as a unicorn first, yes, but his wings... had been a part of him he'd long gotten used to. Pain or not, he loved to fly... and now...

Antares Mīrus closed his eyes and reached up to silently brush his hair back, the faintest of tremors running through his body. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to break down and not even know what happened next. But he knew he couldn't, as he instead slumped back against the bed and stared silently up at the ceiling, whispering: “You made it out alive. Be thankful for that.”

But there was no rush this time, like there usually was. Just pain, and... absence. He breathed quietly in and out through his mouth, trying to reassure himself, but soon enough bitterness took over, taking thoughts like: 'now you'll no longer be mistaken for a winged unicorn' and making them 'now you're no longer special.'

He shivered a little, then rubbed at his face again before glancing up as he heard hoofsteps approaching, before the curtains were drawn back. The nurse looked surprised to see him awake, and she quickly turned, calling: “Doctor! The patient is awake!”

A moment later, Antares had at least three ponies checking him over, and he listened hollowly as they explained to him what had happened to him. His bones had been broken, he'd suffered extensive organ and nerve damage... he'd gone though the amputation of both wings. Yesterday, they had gotten permission from his family to remove the stumps, on the basis there was no magic that could restore a pony's wings and leaving the stumps there would just cause much, much more pain. So they had surgically removed them: dangerous, but the operation had been a complete success. He was lucky, all things considered.

He was lucky.

He'd heard that before.

Antares breathed slowly in and out, and when he cared enough to pay attention to the world next, he looked up to find himself seated in a wheelchair, out on a balcony overlooking Canterlot. The view was spectacular, but... he couldn't really see any beauty in anything right about now.

He glanced to the side, and saw he wasn't alone. Pinkamena was seated nearby, calmly whittling away at a block of wood with a knife. She glanced towards him and simply nodded, and he silently nodded back to her, watching as the demon finished carving part of a pony's head. Then she put the wood and the knife aside on a small table, before slipping out of her chair and walking over to him, and she silently hugged him and pulled his head against her chest.

Antares clung to her, this pony who was like his big sister, and he trembled before beginning to cry quietly. His tears spilled down his cheeks and over her tattooed breast, and she simply looked silently down at him and held him close, rubbing a hoof soothingly along his back as she kept him safe and close against her body, demon comforting and protecting wingless unicorn.

After almost ten minutes, Antares finally settled, shivering as he dropped back in the wheelchair, and Pinkamena sat back as she reached up and gently touched under his chin, guiding his eyes up to meet hers. “Listen to me, kid. You can be upset, and angry, and all those other things, but don't give up. You've got too much of your parents in you to end up breaking like I did a long time ago. And you remember we're family. I'm here for you, and your parents are going to be there for you, every step down the trail. But you lost your wings; you didn't lose your soul.”

“Yeah, I know... I know. It just...” Antares swallowed thickly, looking at her and trembling. “Now I'm going to have to go back home... almost as big a failure as when I lost Rustproof, or Prestige. I knew we should have turned back, and if we'd just turned back I wouldn't've put everyone in danger and cost myself my own wings... what was I thinking? What the hell was I doing?”

“You were doing what you had to do.” Pinkamena stopped, then she stood up and added quietly: “You didn't fail, kid. Look at you, you're the one who suffered. And you're the one who took on that Clockwork Pony all by your goddamn self and drove her off. Now listen, I got something for you, and I'm kind of tired of playing nice so I'm gonna give it to you, say one last thing, then leave you alone.”

Pinkamena turned around, and Antares frowned a little, watching as the demon strode over to the saddlebag laying at the foot of the chair she had been in. She dug something out of this, then turned around and tossed it towards him, and Antares reared back in surprise as a piece of gleaming silver sword landed in his lap. It had shattered in the shape of lightning bolt, but it had been dulled slightly, and Antares picked this up with a frown before Pinkamena said quietly: “That's a piece of that sword you must have shattered your way through to get to Psukhikos. Now listen, kid: you're better than me. You don't need revenge and violence like I do. So I want you to hold onto that piece of sword, that little piece of your enemy, and remember what we're trying to do here. We break weapons and we protect others. Ponies like you should leave getting revenge to ponies like me.”

The demon turned, heading calmly back to her satchel as Antares looked down at the piece of sword resting on his hoof, staring at it before he looked silently over at Pinkamena as she put her things back into the bag, and then he asked quietly: “What makes you think I want to be better than you, though? Why shouldn't I enjoy revenge when we have to stop these monsters from Clockwork World anyway?”

“Because that stuff is better left to me, Scrivener, and Nightmare Moon. Well, both your moms, I guess, Twilight's starting to get there too, isn't she?” Pinkamena remarked almost casually, and Antares gritted his teeth.

“Don't say that about her, Pinkamena! Not right now, I'm not in the mood and... she's not.” Antares said forcefully, leaning angrily forwards, before he frowned when Pinkamena chuckled quietly and looked over at him with quiet entertainment as she slipped on her satchel. “What?”

“See, kid? You don't like revenge, or all that darkness. You wouldn't be so pissed off about the thought of Twilight giving in too if you did.” Pinkamena replied calmly, striding over to the stallion and reaching up to ruffle his mane lightly, and he shifted a bit before the demon said softly: “That feeling, that anger... that hate... it doesn't set in until a while after you're hurt. But I'd rather prevent you thinking like I think at all, Antares, it's not a fun place to be. And you're a good kid. You're gonna get through this, because if you can't do it on your own, I'm going to drag you through this, got it?”

Antares hesitated, then he simply nodded a little and gave a faint smile up to her, and Pinkamena briefly smiled in return before turning and heading for the door, adding over her shoulder: “Slap and the rest of your family are coming to see you, kid. You don't gotta smile or anything, just try and listen, got that?”

The stallion only nodded a little, and he opened his mouth to thank her... but the demon was already gone, and so instead he only sighed quietly before looking up into the evening sky. He wasn't even entirely sure of how long he'd been gone, as he played silently with the piece of sword between his hooves, looking quietly down as he breathed slowly in and out.

It was only ten or so minutes before he heard the sound of hooves behind him, and he smiled faintly over his shoulder as Sleipnir reached up and squeezed his shoulder firmly with a compassionate look to his nephew. Then Aphrodisia ducked under her father's forelimb to hug him tightly with a tremble, as Avalon hovered in with a weak smile and concern in her eyes, and Meadowlark stepped up to his other side, gazing at him silently, with love and worry and... so much else.

He breathed quietly, and for that moment, everything was okay, as he looked back and forth before simply nodding and giving his own faint smile in response, closing his eyes and bowing his head forwards as he promised quietly: “Everything's going to be okay.”

In spite of everything, and how much part of him hurt, he still felt like he'd spoken the truth. And even if he no longer had wings to take him into the freedom of the sky... he still had his friends and family to keep him safe and warm, and to carry him when he could no longer walk. He squeezed the piece of sword silently, and repeated his promise to himself, in his mind: that no matter what, everything was going to be okay... because he wasn't alone.

Author's Note:

Vs. Psukhikos II: UneXpect - Summoning Scenes

Comments

[Lelouch Vi Britania]

Now that was just mean

[BlackRoseRaven]

2404797

The falling island thing is mostly physics. The back sections exploding cause it to rock forwards, propelling it towards Canterlot, but weight and gravity are so great they're going to catch it almost immediately. Nor is the island going to fall straight down, but half-flip with the unpowered end falling first, meaning it's already in the process of tipping backwards, and the burning-out-burning-up thrusters are almost immediately doing a lot less pushing forwards, and a lot more just pushing, although they're failing, too, so that means that backside is tilting away.
So the island would start falling and moving backwards on its own before gravity and weight override the dying thrusters. That massive, unfocused telekinetic blast takes advantage of the physics there and adds momentum in that crucial moment where, had it fallen, it likely would have clipped the edge of the city and torn off that square, possibly much more, but. I've sounded like a douchebag enough without getting into the physics of that, too. And Thesis, well... let's just say that. It wouldn't work so well on him.
But I'm glad it's continuing to be enjoyable all the same, and I hope it continues to be. enjoyable. There's lots more to come and lots more to see with the different Replicants.

[AXl711]

Poor Antares. That was... beyond cruel, that was just downright sadistic!