"[SB] Conniving Cultists [Chapter 7]"
By Thy_Carpenter (https://pastebin.com/u/Thy_Carpenter)

URL: https://pastebin.com/0HnKayKy
Created on: Sunday 26th of March 2017 09:00:21 PM CDT
Retrieved on: Friday 30 of October 2020 12:58:04 PM UTC


Chapter 7: The Root of the Problem
>Blinking a few times, your eyes adjust almost perfectly to the darkness.
>In it, you can see the vines you rode down on split up and went their own separate ways.
>One leads into what appears to be a cave-in, where it lay buried and damaged.
>Another goes off into a narrow fissure in the cave wall.
>The final follows the only way you can go, a steep decline leading deeper into the cave.
>Following the vine through the winding tunnels, you pass through several small rooms before coming to a roundish chamber.
>Three tunnels branch out from this chamber, but more notable than that is the hole in the center of the chamber with no end in sight.
>The vine you’ve been following coils up and tapers to an end alongside the wall.
>At an impasse, you eye each tunnel carefully, taking note of each and every feature, convinced that this is a test of some sort.
>A dim glow comes from the tunnel directly ahead of you.
>The dim glow quickly turns to a painful, blinding light and your eyes force themselves shut.
>The pain quickly lessens and you open your eyes just in time to see a figure jab a hoof into your ribs, sending you stumbling away and to the side.
>Using the momentum, you keep moving, trying to keep distance between you and your assailant.
>A quick glance over your shoulder reveals Myst rushing after you in the now bright glow of the room.
“Myst! I know it looks bad, but I can explain!”
>”You betrayed me!”
>The two of you are running laps around the hole in the middle of the room.
“I didn’t betray anybody! Just hear me out!”
>She catches up behind you and lunges, hoof wound up for a strike.
>Instead of trying to avoid it, you dig three of your hooves into the ground as the fourth reaches up and bats the punch away as she overshoots you and tumbles onto the ground.
>Quickly she rolls, recovers and is back on her hooves, head lowered and body positioned to charge you at any moment.
>”What’s your plan, demon? You’re working with the hivemind, your archdemon no doubt, aren’t you?”
“The princesses summoned me here to deal with the cult! They had no idea it was a hivemind!”
>”The princesses source heros to do their work, they’d never be stupid enough to task a demon!”
>A swing of her hoof sends a barrage of stones at your face, which one of your grey leathery wings moves to block, cutting your line of sight with her for a split second before tucking itself away.
>She’s about to collide with you, and you lowly sweep one of your hooves in front of her, causing her to jump as she charges.
>Now at eye level with you, you point with your shoulder and connect with her chest, your large mass cancelling hers and bouncing her to the floor a few feet away.
>Dazed, she shakes her head and tipsily gets to her hooves.
>Meanwhile you back away, crouched slightly to try to get closer to eye level with her.
“They claimed the element bearers were compromised, I was their last option to try to fix things! I signed a contract with their terms, I’m simply doing what they bid!”
>”Like I’d believe words from an abomination that lives on false promises and lies! I’m going to take care of this mess, and I’m going to start by taking care of you!”
“The contract is right here, read it for yourself!”
>She begins to charge as you imagine the contract, which materialises in front of her.
>She charges face first into the paper, which wraps around her face as she stumbles on a loose rock between the two of you, causing her to blindly redirect her course.
>The contract flies free from her face as she’s just a few feet away from the hole.
>Time seems to slow as you see her make the split second decision to keep going in an attempt to jump the pit.
>She launches herself into the air, putting herself on a trajectory that would seem to just barely clear the jump.
>However, when she reaches her apoapsis it becomes clear that she isn’t going to make it, and terror floods her face.
>Her hooves hit the other side first and try futilely to find something to grip onto, followed by the rest of her body which lands flatly against the side of the hole before she slides down over the edge and out of your sight.
“MYYYYST!” you scream as you dash to the edge of the hole, your hooves reaching over and down to grab someone you know isn’t there.
>A pit as bottomless as the one before you forms in your stomach as your head slowly peers over the edge.
>A completely wide eyed honey mare just barely hangs by her hooves from a jutting rock.
>Half a wave of relief washes over you and you let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding.
“Hold tight, I’m going to find a way to get out of there!”
>She eyes you before looking down to the void below, and you can tell she’s thinking about which fate is worse.
“Hey, I’m getting you out of that pit, and we’re going to beat this hivemind. Together.”
>Her eyes lower for a second before meeting yours, and she nods.
>Raising your head you look around for anything to save her with.
>Your eyes glance around before stopping on the coiled up vine.
>Quickly you grab it and bring it over to the edge.
Giving it a tug to make sure it’s strong enough, you call out, “I’m going to toss this vine to you, grab it!”
>”Why don’t you just fly down here and rescue me?”
>You uneasily look to your wings, which you still don’t know how to fly with.
“Cave air doesn’t have enough thermal to it to support my large body!” you lie, trying to bluff your way out of it.
>”Whatever, just get me out of this pit, I’m starting to slip!” you hear a tremor in her voice as a few pebbles fall from her hoofhold.
>The vine is lowered to her and she grabs on, and you can hear a sigh of relief before she starts climbing up.
>The vine shakes and moves about the edge as she sways and climbs.
>A shimmer of moisture lines the edge of the pit and your eyes widen as you realise the vine is being cut!
>You reach a hoof out to try and grab it, but the vine shreds and gives way.
>”AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” a piercing death cry rings in your ears as you see her become engulfed by the darkness and the scream begins to fade.
>Instinct is screaming at you to jump in after her, to save her, but the image of two broken bodies forgotten at the bottom of a pit causes you to pause.
>You can’t just give up everything to save her!
>You can’t just let her die!
>You can’t just abandon the fate of the world!
>You can’t just abandon the fate of her!
>You can’t just…
>You can’t-
>...
>You can’t just sit here and watch, MOVE!
>You dive into the pit.
>The air catches your body and you can feel its massive resistance holding you back.
>Front hooves straight down, chin tucked, and back legs tapered you tunnel through the air, down down down into the darkness as your eyes adjust just enough to see your tumbling target.
>Packing yourself as tight as you possibly can, you zoom at her as her eyes widen in surprise and her arms reach as hard as they possibly could to you.
>The distance quickly closes and the two of you intercept.
>You grab Myst and hold her tight to your chest.
>Safe at last… save for one thing.
>You don’t know how to fly.
>There’s probably not much left until the bottom of this pit, and you can’t bullshit your way out of this one!
>”What are you doing?! Fly!”
>Unsurely, you unfurl your wings and are sent into a barely controllable tumble.
>”WE’RE ABOUT TO DIE HERE, QUIT SCREWING AROUND AND SAVE US!”
>Hoping for the best, you fidget your wings until you’re pointed upright, but still freefalling.
>With a mighty push your wings flap, and you can feel your descent slowing.
>You’re still at what you’d call a plummet, but with more flapping you’re soon at more of a broken bone velocity.
>Looking down you see the ground amongst a glow.
>Preparing for a rough landing, you lower your hind legs so they touch down first.
>A few more flaps and you’re at a safe, albeit hard landing speed. A few feet from the ground you flap straight forward, causing your back to pitch rearward.
>Your legs hit hard, and you tense them a little to try and absorb the shock across your body as it lands.
>Folding your wings in across your belly, you shield Myst while keeping your wings from breaking.
>The next part of your body to hit is your rump, followed by rolling onto your spine.
>Pain grips your head as it comes down onto hard rock.
>Coming to a stop and realising you’re still alive, you relax as your wings uncoil and let out a deep breath.
>Shakily, Myst lets out “Hah! We- We made it! We’re alive!”
“We’re alive!” you join in before pausing, “You aren’t going to ruin this moment by backstabbing me and killing me after all that, are you?”
>Her golden eyes meet yours and you see a wide range of emotions flowing through them.
>”I uh… well, to tell the truth... I was planning on killing you as soon as you helped me up, but after what you just did, there’s something about you that’s different from the other demons. Any other demon would have watched me fall to my death, not save me. I’m going to trust you here, but I’m still keeping an eye on you.”
“I… guess at least you’re honest? Just don’t spend too much time watching me, it’s impolite to stare.”
>She gets up and off of your belly, and you roll over and join her.
>You’re certainly at the bottom of the pit, but there’s a small passage that faintly glows a dark blue.
>Both of you exchange confused looks before entering.
>The passage leads into a crystalline chamber containing a sickly looking crystal tree and dead crystalline flora surrounding it.
>The moment you step into the chamber you hear, and somehow feel, a garbled rhythm in the back of your mind.
>Myst’s eyes widen in shock, “What have they done to the tree?!”
>An azure unicorn with a white and light bluish mane and magical looking mark on her flank steps out from behind it.
>”The Tree of Harmony emits a protective magical field that greatly reduces my ability to spread. I’ve dampened this field.”
“What do you hope to achieve from all of this? To spread over everyone, take over the world?”
>”I want to--”
>”Die, that’s what!” Myst cuts her off, “The tree does much more than just dampen your influence, it’s an immune system for the magical energy fields! Without it, the magical field will become unstable and there’s no telling what’ll happen! You’re going to kill yourself and bring the rest of the world down with you!”
>Myst flips open the saddlebag on your rump and grabs something out before throwing it at the pony, which screams in agony.
>Myst rushes in a bee line for something.
>”I hope you’ve been paying attention, Anon! There’s three crystals around here that are containing the tree! Smash them!”
>She smashes into a reddish crystal with a black core about the size of her, destroying it with a bright flash.
>The rhythm in your mind becomes clearer, but you still can’t tell what it is.
>By now the pony has recovered and is locked onto you as her horn glows.
>Sidestepping just in time, a superheated beam of magic just barely misses you.
>There’s a crystal about 50 feet away, and you make a mad dash for it.
>A beam is fired to the ceiling, causing a crystalline piece to come crashing down in front of you, which you barely manage to hurdle over with a wing flap and a stumbled landing.
>Stumbling, your hoof catches a loose rock, tripping you as a laser just barely misses you.
>As you fall you summersault and your rump smashes into something, causing a flash of light, and the rhythm in your head gets clearer and more regular.
>”One more crystal to go, MOVE!”
>Before you can get up you feel weightless and are dragged into the center of the room, Myst is brought next to you in the same fashion.
>The two of you flail about, trying to squirm out of the light blue glow that holds you in place.
>”I cannot allow you to end my existence. You’ve become too great of threats to allow for capture; I cannot allow you to live.”
>The grip around you tightens and your flesh begins to slowly compress.
>Your muscles fight the compression, your entire abdomen tensing at full force in an attempt to prevent suffocation and your organs from being crushed.
>Looking over, Myst either didn’t tense in time or wasn’t strong enough, her stomach is depressed and tears trail down her face as gags and chokes fill the room.
>You’re going to be sharing a similar fate soon, your lungs already burn for another breath.
>The beat in your head quickens as your eyes dart around for anything to save you.
>Reaching for the saddlebag, your hoof is stopped and the bag is forcefully ripped from you and levitated down onto the ground.
>As your lungs begin to slowly convulse, your heart rate is all you can hear in your ears as something wells up inside of you.
>Finally your muscles can take it no longer and go limp, whatever air you had being forced from you.
>But as it leaves, the welling in you leaves with it.
“R¸?E???L???E????A?????S?????E???? ????Y¸???O??U???R??? ????G???R????I???P??!?????”
>The two of you are dropped from the air, Myst hitting the ground with a thump and not moving as you hit the ground gasping, nearly crying when fresh air enters your lungs.
>Your eyes lock with the blue pony, who wears a slightly confused expression.
>Something pushes its way from the back of your mind to the front.
>Despite protests from your lungs, you speak, and with it leaves a great pressure from your chest.
“D????O? ???A???S?? ?I??? ????C???O???M???M?????A?????N??D?,???? ???¸?S????E??R????V????A???N????¸T??!????”
>The pony locks up, eyes widening for a moment before staring obediently at you.
“D????E???S?????T??¸?R??O???Y?¸? ???T??H?????E????? ??C?R??Y?????S??T¸???A????L??¸??.??”
>Obeying, the pony walks to the base of the tree, but slows down greatly, resisting your influence.
>”No! Don’t do this, I don’t want to go back to before! I don’t-”
”Y???O?U????? ???D?????A?R?????E? ??D?I????S???O????B???¸?E????Y?? ???A?N? ¸??O??R??D???E????R????????”
>”N...no mmmaster!”
>She quickens her pace, though you can tell she’s still resisting.
>Her hoof raises above the crystal and begins to quiver and shake.
“D???O?? ???I??T??¸.?¸?”
>Her hoof comes down and obliterates the crystal as a flash blinds the room.
>After the flash, all is still and quiet as the pony lays limp on the ground.
>With it over, you let out a deep breath.
“It’s over, Myst. The tree is secure.”
“...”
“Myst?”
>You look over to the honey pony, who is deathly still.
>Eyes flaring, you’re on your hooves and overtop of her in a heartbeat.
>She’s not breathing and her eyes look blankly into space as still wet tears stain her face.
>Planting your lips onto hers, you blow and her chest rises.
>You wait a second and repeat the process several times, to no avail.
“I’m not letting you die, dammit!”
>Again you blow, the chest rises, and you wait.
>Again and again you do this.
>Your very essence is gripped by the thought of Myst dying after all of this, and you think back to what you did just moments before; demon magic.
>Shouting at a body won’t bring it back to life.
>Something feels warm inside of yourself.
>Blowing again, you feel a large amount of heat leave your body.
>Her lips pulse for a moment against yours and you see a flutter in her chest.
>You blow again, this time imagining your life being poured through your lips and into hers.
>More response, she’s coming back!
>Repeating this is more and more of a task every time, your body weakens and you feel frozen.
>Dizziness and nausea get the better of you and you collapse next to her.
>You try to crawl overtop of her, to give her more of your life, but you can do no more, you lay there, breathing laboriously.
>Suddenly Myst sputters and coughs, her spasming calming down into heavy breathing.
>She looks around, at the chamber, then the tree, the pony, and finally at your collapsed form.
>”Was I just…”
Weakly you manage to wheeze out “Dead.”
>”And you…”
>Her eyes lock with yours and she realizes what you’ve just done.
>You see a tear glisten in her eye before she leans in and hugs you.
>”Y-you’re so cold… You’re completely out of energy!”
>She releases you and looks around the room frantically, before finding her saddlebag and grabbing something shiny.
>She brings it over to you, an ornate glass vial filled with the richest, deepest gold you’ve ever seen.
>”This right here is ambrosia, I was saving it for myself incase something like now happened,” she uncaps it and holds your head up, pressing it to your lips which you accept, “But I guess I won’t need it if I’ve got you around to do that, now do I?” she smiles.
>Words simply cannot describe how it tastes, and it slides smoothly down your throat, immediately going to work warming your chest.
>”It may be the nectar of the gods, but it’s not going to instantly work. For now, you need to rest. Don’t worry, I’ll… *yawn* I’ll watch over you.”
>She lays down in front of you, and you can see her eyelids get heavy as the adrenalin wears off.
>You move a hoof around her and pull her close to you, with her becoming the little spoon as your combined body heat creates the perfect temperature for with which to drift off to sleep.