Cinematic Adventures: Carrie

Stepping through the portal, shortly after officially crossing through the void between time and space, the Mane Six and Spike emerged through the other side as the interdimensional portal closed behind them. Looking around at their newest surroundings, they noticed they were in what seemed like a wooded area. Lying before them in a tiny clearing, they could see what looked like a town through the distance.

“So this is what Princess Luna saw in her nightmare?” Rainbow questioned. “Sure doesn’t look like the entire place is burning with tons of blood everywhere.”

“I’m sure Luna’s nightmare was showcasing future events Rainbow,” Twilight reminded her. “It’s what could happen if we don’t succeed.”

“Now the question darling becomes exactly what it is we’ve come here to stop,” Rarity pointed out.

“Well ah know one thing fer sure,” Applejack informed them. “Looks like we ain’t gonna stick out like sore thumbs in our state.”

Soon every pony looked down at themselves, seeing that indeed the magic of the portal had reverted them to their human forms. The very same as their previous adventures.

“Does this just happen now without us even casting a spell or anything?” Rainbow questioned, studying herself. “Don’t get me wrong, I look 20% cooler totally. It’s just weird how it happened.”

“I must agree with you darling,” Rarity replied, admiring her clothes. “But I must admit, I adore my otufit.”

“Me too!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“Hey guys, check this out!” Spike spoke up.

Everyone turned toward Spike and were much surprised by what they saw. In many previous adventures, while every pony else had their human forms, Spike mainly assumed the form of a small little dog. Only now, however, he’d taken his very own human form, one being just as tall as they were. His green spikes were replaced with hair, and he wore a mint green t-shirt with matching blue jeans and his own black sneakers that were mint white in the front.

“Spike… you’re… you’re human!” Twilight gaped amazed.

“I know, isn’t it great?!” Spike yelled excitedly. “Finally, a form where I can do more than just bark and chase my tail around. I can actually start pulling my own weight a lot more.”

“Well before you do that, we should probably figure out exactly ‘where’ it is we are,” Fluttershy advised.

“Fluttershy’s right,” Twilight nodded. “The only way we’re going to would be to head straight for that town over there.”

“Well, what’re we waitin’ fer?” Applejack asked. “Let’s get a move on.”

With that in mind, the Mane Six and Spike turned their direction towards town and started heading in its direction. Of course, had they only taken a closer look at their surroundings, they would have noticed the dark menacing creature. One with glowing red eyes, spying on the group while perched high in the dark trees… watching them.

<>

Chamberlain, Maine…

This small town wasn’t really anything too special for the majority of the people living there. Pretty much anyone who lived there either moved away at some point in their lives or just never had the resources to leave. It was certainly a nice town to say the least, which makes it off for so many people wanting to leave. For now, another day of school had ended at Ewan High School…

*RING!!!*

As the school bell rang, a number of students made their way from the building. The Mane Six and Spike walked down the street after having worked their way out the woods and noticed a bunch of students walking out of the school. One student in particular was a strawberry blonde girl wearing really long, old fashioned looking clothing. She clutched her school bag tightly to her chest as she walked out the front door of the school.

This girl was Carrie White, the school outcast. Born and raised in this small town, she grew up under the abusive hand of her mother, Margaret White, a well-known religious zealot. Margaret lived, breathed, and slept anything to do with the Bible or the name of God. Growing up, Carrie was forced to abide by the exact same principles and religious beliefs her mothed believed in. Failure to do so would mean being ‘punished for her sins’. Her mother forced her to wear old clothing that covered every single inch of her form, and she was never able to socialize with anyone. Not that anyone even wanted to socialize with her to begin with because ‘everyone’ always picked on Carrie and bullied her in such an aggressive form. And ‘why’ they would be so cruel to her was anyone’s guess.

As Carrie walked, her head bowed to the ground and uttering no words, she failed to see where she was going and accidentally bumped into someone. The moment she looked up; she was horrified to be staring into the face of her biggest bully ever: Chris Hargensen.

“Hey freak, why don’t you watch where the fuck you’re going?!” Chris spoke harshly.

Chris shoved Carrie so hard the poor girl fell backwards and landed hard on her back against the concrete ground. Chris then grabbed Carries bag and dumped all its contents onto the ground before proceeding to step on everything.

“You and your crazy mom like to say everyone’s going to Hell, so am I going to Hell for doing this?” Chris mocked. “Am I going to Hell because you’re a stupid religious freak? The only one going to Hell around here is you!”

From the sidelines, the Equestria Girls and Spike saw all this take place. Frankly, they didn’t like what they were seeing one bit. Rarity especially couldn’t help but feel sorry to see the girl picked on this way.

“I can’t believe this!” Rarity said. “The never of that girl picking on a poor sweet thing.”

“I hear ya, Rarity,” Applejack nodded in agreement. “What gives her the right to pick on someone else? We should help her.”

“Oh good idea!” Rainbow said, cracking her knuckles. “It’s go time!”

She prepared to rush toward Carrie’s abuser, when Twilight grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Hold on a minute!” Twilight spoke. “We can just rush headfirst without thinking what to do.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Rainbow asked. “Just stand here and let jerks like her pick on that girl?”

“Noo…” Twilight sighed in annoyance. “We need to think of a plan on settling this without starting a fight.”

Fluttershy watched as her friends were discussing what to do before facing the girl being picked on without a means of defending herself, while a group of other girls joined Chris in tormenting Carrie. Seeing this reminded Fluttershy of being picked on when she was a filly at Junior Flight Camp, least until Rainbow Dash defended her. She felt the need to help this girl, but also worried what those girls would do to her if she did. Finally, Fluttershy took a deep breath, found her courage, and proceeded towards Carrie’s direction.

Spike was the only one who saw his friend walked towards the group, catching a glimpse of the determination on her face. He quickly approached his friends, who were still trying to determine what to do of this situation. He quickly tapped Twilight’s shoulder.

“Uh, guys?” He spoke worriedly. “I don’t think we need to discuss this.”

“How come?” Pinkie asked.

“Because Fluttershy’s already heading over there.”

The girls looked toward Spike’s direction, his finger facing where Fluttershy’s going. The girls watched in shock as their friend actually approached the group tormenting the girl. Soon as she finally reached her destination, Fluttershy uttered three simple words:

“Leave her alone!”

The moment Fluttershy spoke, the girls turned away from the girl they were picking on and drew their attention toward the owner of the voice. Chris glared fiercely toward the pink-haired girl.

“Excuse me?” She asked rudely. “What did you justsay?”

As Chris glared at her, Fluttershy felt rather nervous. She had a feeling this would happen, but something inside her insisted she’d stay strong. Finding her courage again, she stared down the aggressive girl.

“I said, ‘Leave her alone!’” She repeated. “Please…?”

Before Chris could retort, she stopped the moment she realized Fluttershy wasn’t alone. For standing closely behind her, Twilight and the rest soon arrived putting the numbers on her side. Seeing they were at a slight disadvantage, Chris’s group turned to leave to which Christ was not happy. After seeing her friends leave, she once more faced the group… her eyes specifically toward Fluttershy.

“You’re going to regret this…” She threatened, walking away.

Soon as the bullies were gone, Fluttershy turned her attention to the girl she defended. Slowly and cautiously, Fluttershy approached the timid girl, who shook with fear toward the girl walking toward her.

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “I won’t hurt you.”

“Why… did you do that?” Carrie asked, looking up.

“I saw how those girls were rudely picking on you, treating you so badly,” Fluttershy explained. “I couldn’t just stand around and do nothing could I?”

Eventually, when the young girl was calm enough, Fluttershy thought it was a good time to introduce herself.

“My name is Fluttershy. Could you please tell me your name?”

The girl looked shy, uncertain if she should tell this stranger her name. But she acknowledged that this same girl defended her from those bullies when no one else would. So perhaps there was no harm in saying her name.

“My name is Carrie,” She responded. “Carrie White.”

“Carrie… that’s a beautiful name,” Fluttershy smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She held her hand out toward Carrie, who looked at it curiously before holding out her own hand. Their hands grasp each other as they shook up and down. Fluttershy could see a friendly smile form on Carrie’s face and she in turn smiled back. Once they were done, Fluttershy turned back to her friends seeing the surprised looks on their faces.

“These are some friends of mine I’d like you to meet Carrie,” Fluttershy spoke. “If that’s okay with you.”

“I’m okay with it,” Carrie responded.

Fluttershy smiled as she led Carrie to her friends.

“Everyone, this is Carrie,” Fluttershy introduced. “These are my friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Twilight Sparkle.”

Carrie said nothing but rather she waved her hand awkwardly.

“It’s very nice to meet you Carrie darling,” Rarity greeted kindly.

“Wassup dude!” Rainbow waved.

“Howdy!” Applejack tipped her hat.

As everyone introduced themselves, Twilight eyes the young girl curiously. Her alicorn senses detected something emanating within her, a powerful magic of sorts from this one girl. Certainly odd considering she looked like an ordinary teenage girl. But then, Twilight thought of herself as a regular old unicorn before her magical abilities really took off.

Finally, Fluttershy and Carrie turned toward Twilight, who quickly shook her head and regained her senses.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Carrie,” Twilight spoke, extending a hand.

Twilight reached out and gently shook her hand. And at the moment their hands connected, Twilight felt a magical surge like static electricity. All of which only confirmed her suspicion that much more.

“CAAARRIETTAAAAAA!!!”

A scream like a banshee sent the girls and Spike looking back, with Carrie’s eyes wide with fear. Stepping out of a vehicle, a hysteric older woman stormed toward the group with a hint of fury in her eyes. This was none other than Margaret White herself, Carrie’s mother, and she did not look happy.

“Whores… how dare you lay a hand on my daughter?!” The mother shouted.

“We were just talking—” Twilight spoke.

But Twilight never got to finish. Margaret just shoved her aside much to the shock of her friends. While they went to check on Twilight, Margaret grabbed Carrie’s arm and yanked her away toward the car. She eyed toward the colorful looking teens briefly with detest in her eyes.

“And you!” Margaret hissed at Carrie. “I told you, Carrie, didn’t I? I warned you of girls like them! That you are not to ‘speak’ to those sinners!”

“I’m sorry, Momma!” Carrie cried. “I just fell, and they were just—”

*SLAP!!!*

“You hush up when you’re mom’s talking!” Margaret snapped.

Carrie had to force herself not to cry as she clutched the side of her face. To say that Twilight and her friends were horrified by this display, in public especially, was vividly disturbing.

“They are Whores, Carrie, and that’s a sin! A sin to even consort with them!”

“Momma, please, I’m so sorry—”

“Get in the car! We’ll fix you straight up! By God’s good word, I’ll have you straightened out whether you like it or not!”

They watched as the mother practically shoved Carrie into the front seat of the car, slamming the door before the girl could object or say a word. She worked her way to the driver’s side and upon reaching the door took one more look back toward the newly arrived strangers. They have had their share of encounters with nasty parents prior but seeing this woman before them… all of them paled in comparison to Margaret. Such hatred within her eyes, never taking them off the girls even as she finally got into the car and started the engine. All the group could do was look on as the car made its way out away from the school to destinations unknown.

“Well! Such repulsive behavior!” Rarity cringed in disgust. “And that language of hers was worse for wear!”

“Y’all see the way she just… looked at us?” Applejack asked.

“You think she was like a Changeling who doesn’t even ‘try’ to hide their identity,” Rainbow remarked.

“I’ve got a bad feeling that I just can’t shake,” Twilight spoke up. “We need to follow them.”

“But how?” Spike asked. “We don’t know this area, and even if we did, we’d hardly keep up with them without attracting attention.”

A sigh escaped Twilight’s lips as she slipped her hands into the pocket of her pants. Suddenly, her eyes went up with confusion as she felt her fingers brush something in the right pocket. Curious, she lifted her hand out and from her grasp she discovered what appeared to be a rectangular device with a few squares for buttons. The rest of the group looked at the device in Twilight’s hand.

“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

Without giving an answer, Twilight Sparkle pushed a button on the device and a *BEEP! BEEP!* was heard. Suddenly, a rumble like that of an engine caused the group to turn heads and their faces dropped. Reving up to the group on its own accord, a bright purple car matching Twilight’s skin tone slowly pulled up toward them before coming to a complete stop. Twilight herself couldn’t believe her eyes.

“It’s… my car?” Twilight asked.

“Huh?!” The group gasped.

“What the what--?” Rainbow spoke.

While they all stared wide eyed, with their mouths agape at the sight, Twilight walked around the car examining it with her own eyes. Not another word was spoken until Rainbow slowly turned her head towards Twilight.

“Where in the world did you get this?” She asked bewildered.

“Well, I often needed some transportation when I was at Canterlot High,” Twilight responded, eyeing the device. “It’s funny… I forgot I still had this since my last visit. But how’d all this get here—”

Twilight was at a loss for words, trying to piece all of this together. Rainbow slowly turned her head back to the car staring at it.

“So… you have a car… Storm has a speeder and a starship,” She whispered. “I need to get an awesome ride before I lose my coolness!”

<>

Once all was settled, and amazed they were all able to fit, Twilight drove herself and her friends in her car following as closely behind Margaret and Carrie. Of course, she had to drive a safe distance to avoid arousing any suspicion. This way they could follow the pair to wherever they were going without them knowing they were followed. Eventually they noticed Margaret turned the car down a desolate road heading deep into the woods. Twilight turned her car in the same direction, following them.

“Is it just me or are things starting to get rather eerie?” Rarity asked nervously.

“Nope, I’m with you on that one Rarity,” Spike agreed.

“Where the hay are they even going anyway?” Applejack asked.

“No idea,” Rainbow responded. “But I guarantee this is not going to be good.”

Fluttershy looked out the window of the car, toward the darkness of the trees they passed by. As they drove along, she thought she could make out a dark figure in the trees. She noticed a familiar pair of red glowing eyes staring directly at them and she released a terrified yelp.

“Fluttershy, are you alright darling?” Rarity asked concerned.

“I-I-I s-saw it!” Fluttershy shook fearfully.

“Saw what?”

“That monster we saw back in Coolsville. It’s back!”

Everyone looked out the window Fluttershy had been staring out of, only they saw absolutely nothing.

“You sure you aren’t just seeing things again Flutters?” Rainbow asked skeptically.

“Now don’t go teasin’ Fluttershy now hon,” Applejack lightly scolded.

“But I didn’t imagine it!” Fluttershy squeaked. “It was there! I know it!”

As they discussed the matter, Twilight continued to follow Margaret and Carrie. Eventually, she noticed a clearing in the trees and Margaret eventually pulled her car to a stop. Twilight pulled her own over the side of the road, setting it to park.

“Okay guys, looks like we follow on foot the rest of the way,” Twilight informed the others. “Remember: Stay low and stealthy. We don’t want to be seen.”

All heads nodded as they proceeded to step out of the car and snuck their way down towards the clearing. Once they finally reached the edge of the tree-lines, their eyes went wide by what they saw. There, in the midst of the clearing, was a large white church surrounded by a series of other small cottages and structures. A large wooden arch stretched between two cottages in front of the church, with ornate words printed upon it.

The Church of Eden’s Gate

“What in the name of Celestia’s good grace is this place?” Twilight whispered to herself.

“Looks like Margaret is taking Carrie inside,” Fluttershy pointed out.

Sure enough, Margaret and Carrie approached the two white oak doors serving as the church entrance. Standing in front of it were two men wearing dirty trench coats and holding machine guns. Poor Carrie looked very uneasy and scared at the sight of the two men alone. Margaret, meanwhile, seemed completely calm and collected. The guards merely took one look at Margaret and held the doors open for them. Soon the two women were already entering the church.

“Great! Those guys look intense,” Rainbow observed. “How’re we getting in?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I got a plan!” Pinkie raised her hand excitedly.

“Here we go again,” Spike groaned to himself.

“Hold on guys,” Twilight spoke up. “Pinkie had a great idea of getting us here in the first place. Let’s at least hear her out. What’s the plan Pinkie?”

“Okay, okay, this is a good one!” Pinkie smiled. “I’ll sneak over into those bushes over there and imitate the call of a wild Kookaburra. In the meantime, Fluttershy will disguise herself as an Aboriginal medicine woman and…”

“You still think this will be a good idea?” Rainbow interrupted.

“Okay, I’ll just cast a spell to make us all invisible so we can sneak in,” Twilight sighed.

Twilight closed her eyes and raised her hands, allowing the magic aura to blanket the entire group. Once it cleared, they all looked down at themselves and noticed they were completely invisible.

“Ah sure… let’s do it the easy way…” Pinkie murmured.

<>

The two guards remained under tight guard over the doors, their eyes never turning away from the forward direction. Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound and turned to the left noticing the bushes swaying about. Setting the safety off their guns, they slowly stalked their way toward the bush to investigate. Little did they know, the heavy doors to the church seemed to open all by themselves. It held open for a few more seconds until the doors slowly sealed back shut before the guards returned.

Inside the church, the now invisible group of travelers cautiously made their way through. They had to tread lightly in case their footsteps might risk giving them away. Eventually, they were at the spot where a few people would gather for the sermons and hymns. But in their eyes they saw only a handful of people, among them Margaret and Carrie sitting closely together. The group found themselves an empty bench and took their seats just as four individuals made their presence felt before the gathering.

One of them was a tall man with red hair shaved off on the sides (And swept to one side) with a beard to match. He wore a dark pair of cargo pants, a white t-shirt, and a military fatigue over it. The second was slightly smaller than the other with a swept back head of dark hair and matching beard. He wore dark pants, a blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a dark vest over it. A young woman walked in behind them with dirty blonde hair and wore a white lace dress adorned with flowers.

The three of them stepped up to the front waiting in anticipation. Carrie wondered exactly what it is they were waiting for. But her inner questioned was soon answered when another man made his way. The man himself was dressed in black pants, a white button down shirt, and topped with a dark vest. He also wore a pair of yellow aviators over his hypnotizing blue eyes. His black hair was slicked back and tied into a small man bun with a matching beard to boot. The minute he stepped inside, everyone besides Carrie stood in awe of his presence. Clearly the man had something about him that made everyone stand in respect.

Carrie sat in silence with her mother, watching the mysterious man walk toward the podium set up. The other three stood alongside him as he looked out amongst the gathered crowd from behind his aviators. Closing his eyes a moment, he stretched out his arms to the side and looked up high before slowly looking back down to the gathering. He spoke in a voice that was so soft yet could carry for a great distance.

“The end is coming,” He spoke. “You can feel it, can’t you? You can feel that we are creeping towards the edge. The Great Collapse is upon us. I know there are some of you out there that may not believe what I say, but when you wake up in the morning you see the same news I do. Do your eyes not fill with horror? We live in a world of fear, anger, and confusion. Communities torn apart, walls being built, your leaders far too impotent to act. They are bullies too weak to lead. That is the world that you have built. Are you proud of it? Or do you feel powerless, lost, alone? You can feel it. I know that you can feel it.”

As the man spoke, Carrie couldn’t help but find herself drawn to his words. Everything the man was saying made so much sense to her. The world hurtling toward its own destruction, yet no one in charge seemed to be doing anything about it.

“The thing is, that world’s hurtling towards its own destruction,” The man continued. “No one is will to do anything about it! But I am. I started this project for you.”

As he spoke, he held up a white book with gold trimmings all around it. In the center of the book resembled some form of cross but definitely a strange one.

“Now I do not claim to be a perfect man, but I saw what was coming and I chose to act. I chose to lead, and all I ask of you is to trust me. I will keep you safe, I will keep you fed, I will keep you clothed, and I will give you purpose. But you must have faith. Something is coming and I will protect you. I am your father and you… are my children. Together we will march to Eden’s Gate.”

The moment he finished speaking, everyone in the room stood upon their feet for a standing ovation. They clapped and cheered as they felt his words coursing through them. Even Carrie found herself clapping as she looked upon the man who called himself ‘The Father’. This provided an ample opportunity for Twilight and the others to sneak their way out of the church to leave. And yet out of the entire congregation, one face looked back in curiosity as if suspecting he heard a disturbance in the church. Yet it wasn’t so much a suspicious gaze about him… but rather curious.

<>

Later that evening, at the local motel in Chamberlain, the Mane Six and Spike sat around their room discussing what exactly they’ve seen today.

“Can any pony explain to me what the pony feathers just happened?” Rainbow asked amazed.

“Darling, your guess is just about as good as the rest of ours,” Rarity responded.

“I’m mostly disappointed the church didn’t have a choir,” Pinkie sighed disappointed. “I love getting up and singing. Not to mention when they throw their hands in the air and…”

“Okay Pinkie, can we get to the really important matter at hand here?” Spike asked her.

Twilight found herself pacing around in a circle thinking about everything they had all seen. Then she suddenly froze in her spot as her eyes went wide.

“Oh my gosh guys, this is exactly why we were brought here!” She realized. “Think about what Princess Luna said. She mentioned a girl covered in blood and I’d bet anything this girl was Carrie. Which means that man that was speaking today, he must be the one who shot Luna in the head.”

“I admit this whole thing was pretty weird today Twilight, but how can you truly guarantee that’s true?” Rarity asked.

“Honestly I’m putting my bits on the guy with the camo,” Rainbow spoke up. “He looks more like the ‘Shoot first, ask later’ kind of human.”

“It’s pretty clear these people are some sort of religious cult,” Twilight answered. “If I know anything about cults, they’ll enforce their beliefs by any means necessary even if it means causing destruction.”

“So it’s like that ‘Our Town’ joint if they decided to go to war with Equestria?” Spike added, then cleared his throat. “Or at least… how I imagined it could’ve been…”

“But something doesn’t make any sense,” Fluttershy spoke. “Why would they be interested in Carrie?”

“When we first met her today, I felt a powerful force emanating from her. A powerful magic of sorts deep within her. I suspect her mother knows about it, which is why she took her to that church today.”

“That woman is all loco-moco in the coconuts I’ll tell you what,” Pinkie remarked. “Seriously, she looks like every other Karen or Spoiled Rich who ruins every party at their neighbor’s house.”

“What’re we to do about all this Twi?” Applejack asked.

“We’ll need to protect Carrie by any means,” Twilight responded. “I’m thinking we head back to that high school tomorrow so we can register as transfer students. That way we’ll keep our eyes out for her the best we can, and hopefully keep her safe.”

“Right! But we better avoid drawing too much attention,” Spike suggested. “We’ve already made ‘two’ enemies in one day, that Chris girl and Carrie’s crazy mother. If those church people were to know we were here… ooh boy. Celestia help us…”

Everyone else turned toward one another, contemplating the idea in their heads. But seeing as there was no other choice, they turned back toward Twilight and nodded their heads in agreement.

“We should probably get some sleep,” Twilight spoke. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Unbeknownst to them, right outside their motel room door, a cultist (A seemingly normal tenant) had been listening in on their entire conversation. The man in question pulled out a walkie-talkie from his trench coat pocket, flipped it on, and proceeded to speak through it.

“The Collapse has arrived,” He warned. “Alert the Father. Soon enough, he shall set the sinners free.”