The Catacombs of Zalgo

Chapter 21: He Rises Once More

Jared slowly began ascending into the air, while his body started to transform into unnatural shapes and sizes. Loud cracks and popping noises echoed across the room. Something unnatural was about to happen, and Jack had to stand his ground. Jared levitated backwards and descended into the blackness. Once his body faded into the pitch darkness, the transformation sound effects became louder. Jack could hear Jared’s skin being riven savagely, while he could see Jared’s blood and organs being splattered on the ground. Soon, the blood and organs on the ground faded from existence. At that moment, Jack heard a terrifying roar coming from above.

As it roared, the whole room bursted with absolute fear and despair, sending the feeling of corrupted sanity across the room. The level of intensity was not the same as before. In fact, it’s presence was a lot darker, more intense than ever before. How this feeling existed, none could explain. Just as the transformation went underway, Jack witnessed multiple dark tendrils protruding from the pitch blackness along with an unspeakable unknown figure emerging from bowls of darkness itself. However, he couldn’t vividly see the figure floating in midair, since it was blended in the shadows. The unknown figure was as big as the pillar surface, and the tendrils appeared to be more dangerous than ever.

After a few seconds of staring into this maddening abyssal monstrosity, the figure let out a frightening roar. The roar was so loud and so terrifying; it froze the ponies in their places. Especially Jack, as he felt something inside of him clinging to his will and sanity. For the first time, the ponies saw Jack in a certain state that neither one of them would’ve expected to see. Fear.

Jack’s eyes widen, and his pupils and irises shrunk from the horrifying image he was witnessing. His legs trembled while his arms violently shook. But the terror didn’t stop there, as the unknown entity opened its humongous hallowed eye. Its iris and pupil was red as they took the appearance of the ‘Eye of Eternal Darkness’ circular symbol, just like Jared’s eyes. Then around the hallowed eye spawned seven closed maws surrounding it. Dark cosmic vortexes emerged behind the floating figure, as numerous red glowing symbols circulated around the figure. Then, after a few moments of silence, the maw on the top left opened, and managed to echo a single word into everyone’s mind. Fear. After that, the evil entity spoke.

“At long last, I… am free. Upon this night, the laws of free will shall descend the deceivers into a never-ending cycle of utter torment and despair! The mortal shadows shall burn the weak and the nonbelievers with the passion of hatred and fear! The heavens will crumble and the damned be revised, for reality shall tremble upon my wrath! Hear thy name, and praise the one who will alter your every existence! ZALGO!!”

Upon shouting his name, his mere presence fractured everyone’s sanity. Twilight knew of what he said about mortal shadows burning the weak and nonbelievers, since she had already felt it when she was walking into the Everfree Forest. She knew right away that it wasn’t the forest’s doing, it was the night of his return. But she also knew that it wasn’t important now, as this new feeling she was adopting paralyzed her with immense fear. But she was not the only one paralyzed with fear, for the rest of the ponies were in the same state as she was. A mortal within the presence of a fearful god, it was hard to say that the vibes Zalgo was emitting out was natural.

Back down, Jack had to free himself from the fear that bound his will. But strangely enough, it was an easy task for him as he was free. Taking a good look at Zalgo, he spotted the seven maws.

As I thought… Jack spoke in his consciousness. The seven maws of the apocalypse. Six of which that speaks in six different tongues, and the seventh to sing that accursed song. Good. According to the research I picked up about Zalgo, he sequentially opens one maw after another. They go as Fear, Wrath, Pain, Chaos, Depravity, Despair, and Death. If he activates his seventh maw, the maw of death, then I’ll be able to use ‘that’ weapon. However, I better do it just as soon as his seventh maw opens, otherwise, the song will instantly kill every living creature on this world. I just hope it works… After he conjured up his plan, he stood in defiance against a god. Zalgo spotted Jack, and started to chuckle darkly that echoed his voice loudly.

“Ah… so you are the one that bears my other half. I must say, a mortal being standing in defiance before my presence… I’m amused. Usually, every mortal’s heart stops instantly by just looking at me. However; my powers aren’t fully awakened yet. For when my seventh maw speaks, all shall serve under me for all eternity.”

The way he spoke was just horrifying and disgusting. Each word sent chills down every ponies’ spine. The group tried to get a good look at the horrifying creature, but he was blended within the pitch-blackness. But they managed to see his visible red pupil and iris, and his seven grinning maws.

“S-So… t-this… is Zalgo?” Rainbow Dash sputtered, as she gulped hard. All of her anger towards Zalgo turned into fear by looking at him. She wanted to go down there and give him a piece of her mind, but she was too scared to even move. Pinkie Pie was on the verge of hyperventilating when she was witnessing her greatest fear so far. But Fluttershy placed her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder pad, letting her know that everything was going to be all right. Back down, Zalgo had his devilish hallowed eye set onto Jack. He observed Jack’s status, his condition, and his equipment. Then he gave out a grunt.

“Jared was correct about you… your capacity is indeed intriguing. However… you are just as stubborn as you’d ever be. I still have some spare time left, so I’ll show you the true meaning of pain first hand. A god verses a mortal being. Heh… this will be interesting. Let’s see how long you are able to withstand against my unquestionable wrath.”

At that moment, the top right maw slowly opened. Once it fully opened, it echoed another single word into everyone’s mind. Wrath. Jack had no choice but to consume time until that moment arrives. He pulled out and twirled his collapsible bo staff, extending both ends out. Ready for combat, Jack glared at the one who was responsible for ruining his life.

“I’ve lived my whole life for this day… this moment!” Jack spoke, while his boiling tone rose. “All this time, I’ve fostered my hatred against you… for one purpose only!” At that moment, Jack started to twirl the staff furiously. Then, he caught the twirling bo staff with his other hand, held the bo staff perpendicularly in front of him.

“TO ERASE YOU FROM MY LIFE!!” Jack roared. Blinded by rage, and clouded by his inevitable vengeance, Jack dashed towards Zalgo with the instinct to kill. Even though killing wasn’t the option, Jack attended to inflict all the pain he had to suffer upon Zalgo. As he ran towards the unspeakable evil, Zalgo sent his tendrils into battle. Jack swung his bo staff to deflect the incoming tendrils’ attacks. However, just as he got close to Zalgo’s unknown shapeable body, a tendril managed to sneak behind Jack and immediately snared his left ankle. Jack tripped and the tendril reeled him up into the air.

Hanging upside down, Jack tried to break loose, but the tendril kept its grip. Then Jack spotted several more tendrils heading straight towards him, ready to impale his body. But that didn’t stop Jack, as he reached towards his right boot and pulled out his army knife. With a few seconds left, Jack crunched upward with the knife in his hand, and slice the tendril that ensnared his ankle. Just in the nick of time, Jack fell to the ground while avoiding the incoming tendril attack with his aerodynamics. Jack landed on his feet, and leaped away Zalgo.

But Zalgo didn’t hesitated to make his next move, as he sent one of his larger tendrils plummeting towards the floor. The tendril slammed itself on the ground, making the whole pillar shake. At that sudden moment, countless pointy tendrils indiscriminately protruded from underground and started pursuing Jack. Jack turned around and raced away from the impending doom. The protruding pointy tendrils were hot on his trails, as they were gaining speed. They were following Jack like a sticky magnet.

Zalgo knew that with Jack’s attempt to escape were growing slim. The protruding pointy tendrils were nearly right behind him. Jack had to think of something, or he would be impaled countless of times. The ponies braced themselves, as they were about to cover their eyes to not witness the inevitable. But luck came in, as Jack finally made a daring move. While he ran away from the tendrils, Jack reached into his left pouch and pulled out his last grenade. Then Jack pulled the pin, and threw it at Zalgo’s humongous eye. After that, he immediately pulled out his gun from his left holster and aimed the gun at the tossed grenade.

He pulled the trigger and fired two bullets at the grenade. But with all this running and difficult aim, the two bullets missed its target. With one bullet left, he prayed that this shot would count and fired the last bullet. Miraculously, the bullet made a direct hit and the grenade exploded. The blast managed to flinch Zalgo in surprise, but not in pain. That caused the protruding pointy tendrils to cease trailing him. The ponies heard the explosion, and decided to take a peek at the battle so far. They all sighed in relief that the tendrils stopped pursuing Jack. Jack knew that if he could hold this up until the final maw opens, he would surely see through to this.

But Jack was unaware of Zalgo’s impatient temper, as he became enraged. This caused the third maw below the first one to be opened, and upon it’s awakening echoed another single word into everyone’s mind. Pain. Knowing that word, Jack knew that things were going to get tougher. But with his expert survival skills, Jack managed to stay calm and alerted. Willing to go on the offensive, Jack rushed over towards Zalgo’s eye. But suddenly, the third maw lashed out it’s tongue at Jack. The speed was too great, that it caught him off guard. The dark tongue wrapped itself around Jack, ensnaring his legs, arms, and body. The tongue raised Jack to Zalgo’s height. Jack tried to struggle free from the powerful grip, but to no avail.

“Guh! Damn it! Let me go!” Jack shouted, while he continued to struggle. Seeing as the battle was settled, Zalgo chortled peculiarly.

“I’m impressed by your substantial abilities of survival. However, you are but a plaything, unfit even to amuse. This has gone on long enough; I shall enjoy your final moments. I shall make your ears bleed from the shrill sounds of your own screams, causing you to deafen yourself! Once you are dead, I shall drag your soul into a realm of eternal torment and fear, where you will be locked inside a maddening maelstrom of pain that shall never cease! Your torture shall continue throughout and beyond the end of time! Farewell mortal cretin!”

At that moment, the dark tongue begun to tighten its grip on Jack. As it got tighter, Jack struggled with all his might to escape this trap. Trying to add fury into his strength proved to be useless as well. But the more he struggled, the tighter it became. Jack could feel his muscles starting to tense from the pressure he was receiving. And the bones slowly started to burn. Blood rushed up towards his head, pressuring his brain with immense force. At this point, Jack began to grunt painfully after each struggle attempt. The tongue slowly squeezed Jack’s body, applying greater pain and pressure. At this certain point, Jack could feel his muscles starting to burn, and most of his bones cracking slightly.

Jack knew that it wouldn’t be long now; he felt like he was ready to be snapped in half. As the grip got even tighter, it became very difficult for him to breath now, since there was barely any more space for him to gasp for air.

Finally, after a minute of slowly squeezing Jack’s body, his left arm snapped, causing Jack to produce a bloodcurdling scream. The ponies gasped in horror as they heard his bone cracked from this far away. But the horror didn’t stop there, as they began hearing popping noises. Jack’s rib cages slowly moved towards each other, making them crack more relentlessly. Jack wailed in utter pain, while his head jerked back and forth.

Within scant seconds, his right arm and left leg snapped. This made Jack scream even louder than before. The immense pain flooded his entire body; he could barely make out what was going on anymore. While he screamed, Zalgo laughed at his suffering.

“Yes! YES! Hymn the advent anthem of my liberation! Let me listen to the cries of elation!” Zalgo exclaimed, as he laughed in a dark tone.

Willing to get more out of Jack, Zalgo decided to speed things up. The dark tongue started to squeeze even harder, in an attempt to cause Jack to scream louder. By doing so, Jack’s ribs started to snap one by one, causing blood to rush out of his mouth. His skin was so tight that it started to rip apart, causing large amounts of blood to escape him. At this time, Jack couldn’t breathe anymore, since it was now impossible to gasp for air. He began to gurgle disgusting sounds, followed by waves of bile and blood vomit as the unearthly pain drowned him. His visions were blacking out from the pressure and the blood loss. Then, the unthinkable happened. Tears were rushing down his eyes, as he was revisited from all the pain he suffered in his life. Unable to speak and beg for mercy, he just kept crying silently, gagged with his vomit of blood.

The ponies watched in disgust, horror, and fear as their new friend was slowly being squeezed to death. Tears streamed down their eyes from listening to Jack’s wailing pain. But not only that, they were crying because fear took over them. They really wanted to help Jack, but they were afraid of going down there and confronting against unspeakable fear. They were breaking down from the inside, as they felt defeated. But the one who was breaking down the most was Fluttershy.

Her cries stabbed the hearts of her other friends, making them cry harder. Fluttershy felt like all of her strength was gone, and she was back to her weak and pitiful self. She desperately wanted to save Jack, but the wall of fear blocked her from doing anything. She grimaced while her head was turned. Tears ran out of her eyes like an angry waterfall.

Jack… I-I’m… s-so… so sorry! Fluttershy cried inside her consciousness. I’m just too scared! Why am I so weak?! Why can’t I help him!? Why can’t I move?! Oh Fluttershy, you’re such a useless pony! I- Just then, her memories came in and assaulted her mind.

She was reminded of what Jared spoke about Equestrians.

“Equestria and its inhabitants have covered themselves in harmony for millenniums. Those childish creatures are incapable of understanding what true pain is, just like your pain for example. It’s because their emotions and perspectives are small and weak. The only pain they’ve experienced so far is losing a loved one from a disease or old age. While outside, that is the most common pain we had to suffer. Bloody wars, murders, holocausts, revenge, and sacrifices… these connect to the pain you and others like you outside of Equestria have to endure. There are rarely any shreds of harmony that appear anywhere across the globe. That is why Equestrians fears the outside, for they cannot comprehend our level of pain. And our level of violence is way too much for them to handle. They’re even afraid of dying, no matter how much they want to risk sacrificing their lives against their greatest fears.”

Then she remembered what Jack said to Jared.

“My friends are not weak! If they were able to confront what they’ve been through so far, and are able to contemplate pain like mine, then they will undoubtedly become strong!”

And then she remembered what her friends said to her after the fight against the lindworm. That she needed to stand up, while facing her fears head on and helping her friends. No matter what situation or how dire things may be, they’ll always have each other.

Finally, she remembered what she said to her friends.

“J-Jack deserves… more t-than friendship. H-He deserves… a second chance in life. S-So that… he can e-experience more things… he hasn’t… c-crossed yet. T-This… this is why… I want… t-to go back! S-So… so it… will be our turn… t-to save him! S-So… that… I can show him… h-how strong he made me! I-I want to save him… l-like a good friend would do! I WANT TO BE STRONG TOO!!”

After that, those messages managed to summarize each other into the main topic. The topic was that Friendship was indeed worth fighting for, even if it means putting herself in the front lines of death.

Thanks to the messages she’s learned, everything became clear to her now. The fear that held her down lifted, and her confidence and determination rose dramatically. But something else was changing as well inside of her. All of Fluttershy’s depression, fear, her doubts slowly begun to fuse together into one category… rage. She couldn’t contain her fury, as it flowed through her like a defenseless river. The more rage she subsume, the more she was eager to help Jack. It didn’t take too long for her to finally snap. Unable to stand by any longer, Fluttershy immediately stood up, giving Zalgo a deathly glare.

Her teary friends saw Fluttershy rising up, attempting to rescue Jack. But just as she was about to dive inside, Twilight grabbed her wing with her hoof.

“Fluttershy! Wait! You can’t go down there! You’ll get killed!” Twilight protested. Fluttershy knew if she were to go down there, she will undoubtedly be killed. But she had no intention of standing here doing nothing while listening to her friend dying horribly.

Zalgo laughed as he was enjoying himself from listening to Jack’s torture. The way he laughed made Fluttershy boil even hotter. The more Jack gurgled and whined, the angrier she became. Twilight saw her friend’s boiling rage, as she pulled her hoof away fearfully. At last, Fluttershy was at the peak of her anger. Her wings extended all the way out, as she prepared herself to dive right in.

“RAAAAAAAUGH! STOP IIIIT!!” She screamed out in pure fury at Zalgo. Fluttershy launched herself down the hole and charged right towards Jack. Rainbow Dash reached after Fluttershy with her forearm.

“FLUTTERSHY NOOOOO!!!” Dash called out. But it was too late, Fluttershy already made her move. Jack was just a few seconds away from blacking out. His mouth was flooded with blood, as air bubbles ascended to the surface. Zalgo looked at his state, and laughed sinisterly.

“I guess it’s time to send you into-“ Just then, he heard Fluttershy’s battle cry.

“What the-?” He pondered, as he looked up to see the source of the screaming.

While Fluttershy dived towards Jack as her frontal hooves were extended to cut the air resistance. In moments, a rounded wave front formed in front of her due to the sheer speed that started to build. With one mighty battle cry, Fluttershy wisped through the dark tongue, cutting the constriction. The dark tongue that binded Jack’s body loosened, as he was free. However, he was now plummeting towards the ground. At that moment, Rainbow Dash sighed and leaped into the hole.

“Well… that’s our cue! C’mon guys!” She called out. Fluttershy spotted Jack plummeting towards the ground and adopted a panicked grimace. She dove after Jack, got under his body, and heaved upwards. But Jack’s weight was too heavy for Fluttershy to lift alone. The both of them were now heading straight down, while Fluttershy tried her best to apply more strength. She felt like she couldn’t make it, that she was about to crash land on the surface. But luck came in just in time, as Jack’s weight suddenly lifted. Fluttershy was hopelessly bewildered, and decided to look up. It was Rainbow Dash, who was giving support to the weight.

While both of the pegasus lowered Jack’s body steadily, Twilight had no other choice but to go and meet up with them. She conjured up a spherical pink force field that enclosed the rest of the gang. Twilight focused on her magic, and descended into the pit with the other ponies. They floated gently down to the pillar where they met Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sitting next to Jack’s unconscious body. Once Twilight’s spell gently landed the gang to the ground, the force field flattened out and they were free.

The group gathered around Jack’s body and observed the damage. Both of his arms were bent and his shirt was stained with his own blood. Fluttershy lifted Jack’s head, while filled with anxiety.

“J-Jack… Jack…” Fluttershy called out quietly. It looked obvious that all the pain Jack went through, he wouldn’t wake up. But miraculously, Jack coughed slightly and painfully. The sign that Jack was still alive warmed the ponies’ heart. Jack’s visions slowly came back to life, as he moaned pitifully. He could hear someone calling his name, but the sound was muffled. He could see seven fuzzy colored blobs looming down on him. His eyes slowly trailed towards the yellow colored blob. He tried to pick up the details of this mysterious blob. But as mysterious as it is, the voice slowly became a bit clearer and familiar. A few seconds later, his visions started to sharpen up. He could see a familiar face smiling down at him with teary eyes. Given a second to clarify who that was, Jack immediately realized who it was.

“Uuuh… uhg… F-F… Fluh… Flutter… shy…?” Jack responded in a weak voice. Suddenly hearing Jack respond made her feel very happy. Fluttershy flung her head onto his chest, bawling into his shirt. The other ponies, except for Aero, were tearing up. They felt relieved that he was able to talk and even be alive right now. While Fluttershy cried into Jack’s shirt, Jack tried to cough up a few words.

“B…But… what… are… y-you… doing… here? Y-You’ll… be… killed… and-“ Jack continued, but was interrupted by Fluttershy.

“I know… but me and my friends came down here willingly. Because…” Fluttershy removed her face from his shirt, and stared down at Jack.

“Because… we’re here… to rescue you… to help you.” Those words bewildered Jack. But moreover, he felt glad and happy. He couldn’t help but smile slowly.

“R…Real…. Really?” Jack spoke quietly, and Fluttershy nodded back.

“You’ve made me strong remember? When we heard your cries, we came in to help you in your time of need. Jack… we don’t want you to die for nothing. There is still life out there you haven’t seen yet. And I believe you deserve a second chance in life, so you can experience the joys of life. You made us all stronger… and it’s all thanks to you.” A tear rushed out of Jack’s left eye, as he felt the warmth and comfort of his friends. He no longer felt alone in this world, since his beliefs came true after all. He now felt… complete and happy.

But his visions were starting to blur out again, due to the damaged he suffered. He coughed up few amounts of blood, while smiling at his friends.

“Thank… you… Fluttershy… and every… pony… else… b-but... but I... I can’t go on. My body... is broken... b-beyond repaired.” Jack uttered weakly, as he coughed roughly. Instantly, the ponies’ hearts sank from hearing his dreary announcement. Fluttershy gasped, as she brought his head closer to her.

“W-What?! N-No! Don’t say such thing... y-you’re going to get better! D-Don’t”

“F...Flutter...shy...”

“D-Don’t die like this! J-Just hang in there!” At this point, Fluttershy’s tears were coming out rapidly. “You’re going to be alright! L-Let’s just leave this place... a-and”

“Flutter...shy... please... lis-”

“And get you to a nearby hospital! We’re going to fix you Jack, we’re here to save you!” Hearing Fluttershy’s desperate plea made her friend’s hearts sank even lower, as they too were shedding maddening tears of their own. Unable to speak anymore due to the heavy amounts of tears, Fluttershy closed her eyes and wept. As her heart sank, she felt despair and lost. She knew that her words wouldn’t make things better. She felt like a child wanting impossible requests, only to be left disappointed.

I-It’s not fair... Fluttershy started to argue with herself inside her consciousness. People like him shouldn’t die like this, it’s so unfair! F-Fluttershy you idiotic featherbrain! I-If only you would had come to his aid, then none of this would've- Suddenly, Fluttershy felt a warm hand being placed on her cheek. She opened her eyes and stared at Jack’s faint smile.

“F-Fluttershy... y-you already... saved me. Y-You... shown me... the light... and... d-dragged me out... of my dark... place. I-I should be... the one... t-to thank you. *Cough**Cough*... B-But now... you... you all must.... l-leave this place. L-Live out... as m-most... as you... c-can.” As his voice went weaker by the second, the ponies slightly gasped in horror as they saw Jack slowly closing his eyes. Fluttershy placed her other hoof on Jack’s hand, while she shook his head slightly to get him to stay conscious.

“J-Jack! P-Please! S-Stay awake!” Fluttershy’s cried out, as her voice was breaking apart.

“I’m... th-thankful... t-to... m-meet... y-you... guys.”

“Jack! JACK!”

“P...Please... s-stay... safe... e.... e-every... one......” At that single moment, Jack exhaled his final breath and his heart stopped beating. After his final breath, Jack’s hand fell off of Fluttershy’s cheek and landed on the floor. Every pony at this moment was left utterly shocked. Witnessing their friend die from an inescapable battle struck their hearts immensely. Their only objective was lost, and now all they had was despair. Fluttershy looked at Jack’s eyes, watching the light leave from his eyes.

“...No... no...” Fluttershy mumbled in a broken tone. She closed her eyes, she rested her forehead on Jack’s head. Her lips quivered, as she mourned quietly. The other ponies looked away, and gave him a moment of silence. Pinkie Pie and Twilight hugged each other to comfort one another. Rarity latched onto Applejack’s chest and started weeping silently, while Applejack stroke her back. Rainbow Dash fought her hardest to hold back as much tears as possible, while her head hung low. Aero closed his eyes and sighed in depression, while saying his departing words to Jack in his mind. For the second time in their lives, they felt true sorrow.

“Ah… so you meddling fools finally came down here.” Zalgo spoke.

Snapping back into reality, the group swerved their heads around and spotted Zalgo’s unidentifiable body levitating. They were now standing in the presence of a God. With great fear and hatred now brewing up in them, the ponies glared at him while Zalgo talked.

“I’d almost forgotten about you insects. I was too preoccupied crushing the life out of your ‘friend’. However, I knew you weakling mortals would show up. Hmhmhm... I guess it was a bit too late for you though, his fate was already sealed. And now, here you all are, standing next in line to face me. But really… do you honestly think that standing before me shows courage and bravery? All of you are now doing is rushing blindly to your demises. You fools could've cling to your remaining wretched lives, and admire the last moments of your world before submerging into mine.”

At that moment, every pony stood up, and kept glaring at Zalgo. But behind their fury was overwhelming fear. They were standing towards the creator of fear… the central pillar of horror… and the most sinister of all evils, moreover; the embodiment of evil itself. Fluttershy quietly hyperventilated from the fear she was experiencing right now. Her legs shook, and pearls of sweats trailed down her head. But other than that, she kept her ground against fear itself, while rage kept her strong.

“Y…You… you will pay for what… you did… t-to Jack! You monster!” Fluttershy yelled in rage, while stuttering in fear. Hearing Fluttershy talk back to Zalgo gave Rainbow Dash the strength to comment as well.

“Y-Yeah! What you did is… u-unforgivable! I’m going to end you!” Zalgo knew that their threats were nothing, making him laugh at their foolishness.

“Honoring Jack I see? HA! Jack is… and will be nothing more but trash! His purpose in life has ended! The thread of fate that bound us has soaked crimson with his blood! And all of you shall meet your ultimate demises! Your threats are nothing, for you all are just simple... weakling… lovable ponies! WHAT A JOKE!!”

Suddenly, the fourth maw on the right of the third maw slowly opened, and managed to echo another word into everyone’s mind. Chaos. And at that moment, the maw of chaos began conjuring a cosmic sphere. As it began to charge up, the cosmic sphere grew in size. Thus, the ground started to rumble violently. Air circulated around the sphere, while black static discharges circulated around it. While the attack was charging up, Zalgo continued.

“I shall send you all into oblivion! There, you shall join your friend in the darkest abyss of hell! I’ve waited for ten billion years for this moment, and I silence anyone who gets in my way! NOW DIE!!”

At that sudden moment, the maw of chaos fired a cosmic laser straight towards the ponies. The blast was so loud, the foundation of the ceiling started to crumble pebbles. Waves and ripples spread out of the beam, as it traveled without losing momentum. The ponies braced themselves for death to arrive. They all screamed, as they hit the ground while they covered their eyes. It was it; the end had arrived for them. Not to mention the last hope for Earth and the universe. Each and every pony had memories of their lives flashed right before their eyes. All the memories they shared, they experienced, and learned came clashing all at once. Just as they reached their final image, they prepared death. At last, the laser made contact, and the blast erupted in a loud eruption. Smoke erupted from it’s wake, leaving only the sound of silence.

But strangely, the ponies felt nothing. They wondered if they were already dead. They could hear soothing noises coming right in front of them. With a bit of bravery left, the group peeked out, and was immediately left bewildered. They all dropped their jaw in disbelief, while looking hopelessly flabbergasted. Just as the smoke lifted, they saw a sunny yellow force field blocking the sight. It was strange, what just happened? But they immediately got their answer, as they saw something standing right in front of the group. There, standing in front of them was a tall white pony with a longhorn and huge wings. The long mane was coated in a light cerulean, light turquoise, very light cobalt blue, and a pale heliotrope. But what gave it away was the stylized sun for a cutie mark. Knowing who this was, every pony shouted in unison…

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!!” Upon shouting her name, the sunny yellow force field faded. The co-ruler of Equestria turned her head around and smiled at the gang.

“Looks like I just made it. Thank goodness…” Celestia sighed in relief. Already, questions begun swarming around in the ponies’ heads. And Twilight didn’t hesitate to ask those questions.

“B-But… H-how did you-“

“Fluttershy’s pet Angel was a very fast one.” Celestia interrupted. “That white rabbit hopped as fast as he could. He was so fast that he decided to not head towards the library, but towards the royal castle. I knew that the moment Angel arrived something must of gone wrong. And just before you were sent out of the hospital, I managed to put a tracking spell on you, Twilight, so I would know exactly where to teleport. Now why are you all in here and-“ Just before Celestia could finish her sentence, Zalgo interrupted by chortling.

“Ho? So we meet again… Princess Celestia… or should I say… Tia.”

At that moment, Celestia swerved her head around, and gasped in revelation. Then, she furrowed her eyes and shot a death stare at Zalgo.

“You! So it was you that was behind all of this!” She growled. The ponies were surprised to know that she knew Zalgo. They wondered how they first met. But as curiosity overtook them, Pinkie Pie was the first to ask.

“Wait! You know this meenie pants?” Celestia nodded slowly.

“I do. I’ve met him when I was at your girls’ age. My father and mother were fighting against the Avatar. His powers were so mighty, that it looked hopeless to stop him. That is, until my parents finally managed to destroy the Avatar. But in doing so, their powers weakened dramatically. That was one of the reasons why my sister Luna and I had no choice but to rule over Equestria. I’ve should've known that you would return to our world, Zalgo!” It was a bit interesting to know that Celestia and Zalgo had met before, but it was more intriguing to know how Celestia and her sister came to power. But just as Celestia mentioned her sister’s name, Zalgo chuckled once more.

“Ah yes… that Luna dear. How is she holding up so far? My influence must had corrupted her and transformed her into a monster. All she ever wanted was attention and power… but I guess she couldn’t maintain her psyche.”

At that sudden moment, the ponies gasped in revelation. They finally realized who was responsible for the making of Nightmare Moon. They couldn’t believe it, and yet, it sounded too obvious. Enraged at bringing up the topic of her sister, Celestia stomped her hoof down.

“You keep her out of this! You’ve done enough to her as it is! You made me banish my dear and lovable sister to the moon for a thousand years! I can never forgive you for that! And you will pay for this!” Celestia shouted in anger. Everypony stood back up and faced in defiance against Zalgo.

“Yeah! You better prepare yourself, Zalgo! Cause you are going down!” Twilight yelled.

“You will pay for what you have done to Jack!” Fluttershy added, as she looked back at Jack’s body, then back to Zalgo. Seeing the childish creatures confronting the god of fear and pain made Zalgo laugh. While he laughed in a dark tone, the fifth maw underneath the third maw slowly opened. And managed to echo yet another word into everyone’s mind. Depravity. At that sudden moment, Zalgo stopped his laughing and glared down at the ponies.

“You all think you can defeat… ME?! What a childish dream! Once the seventh maw opens, all of you shall bow down before me, and serve me for all of eternity! Come! Show me how strong Jack made you all! Let the unraveling of this world commence!”

The ponies and the Princess prepared themselves to wage battle against a god. With little time they had left to actually save the world, or rather the whole universe from extinction, will they prevail? Only time will tell, as the battle for life and death was about to begin.