Cinematic Adventures: Carrie

For the most part, the drive home in the car was quiet for both Margaret White and her daughter Carrie. They say in tense silence, the like of which that normally occurred with any kid who’s had their parent called for any form of trouble at school. The car rattled and sputtered as they drove through a more rundown section of town.

“I’m sorry you had to come to school today, Mom,” Carrie apologized.

Margaret turned toward her for a second, placing a hand upon Carrie’s. The car’s breaks squeal as it pulled up to their home, the blue house which its neighbors dread passing every day. Margaret sighed in resignation, while Carrie looked down with dread.

“Let’s go inside, little girl,” Margaret said plainly. “You need to come inside with me.”

“Mama, why didn’t you tell me?” Carrie asked. “I was so scared, Mama. I thought I was going to die. Mama, they laughed at me… and they threw things at me.”

But Margaret gave no form of response to satisfy ‘any’ of her questions. She merely stepped out of the car while Carrie looked on.

“We’ll talk about this inside, Carrie,” She responded.

Carrie got out of the car, but she was still upset and confused.

“No!” Carrie spoke loudly.

Margaret turned and faced Carrie, surprised over the sudden outburst. Yet there her daughter stood, trying to sound braver than she ever felt in her entire life.

“I want to talk about it right here!” She continued. “I don’t… I don’t want to go inside with you.”

Margaret merely turned and walked into the house. Realizing her own mother would not give her the satisfaction, Carrie sat back in the passenger seat of the car. She tried to think, to make sense out of ‘everything’ that happened in one day, but no answer she could think of would satisfy the strange happenings in this town.

All of a sudden, a bratty neighbor kid on a bike slapped the driver’s side window, startling poor Carrie.

“Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie!”

The kid pressed his face to the glass with a snort. Carrie merely sighed in annoyance, for this wasn’t the only time a neighbor referred to her as ‘crazy’… especially to her face. But kids such as this one… they were far worse. The kid rode his bike around the front of the car shouting:

“Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie!”

One glare from Carrie and all of a sudden the kid’s bike flew over, sending the kid rolling on the grass. Carrie’s eyes went wide, as she wondered, ‘Did I do that?’. The kid, a slight scared by her expression and the ‘coincidental’ fall, picked himself up, grabbed his bike, and rode away. Carrie looked up toward the sun peeking through trees, then back toward the house. Eventually, Carrie decided to go into the house knowing her mother would be waiting for her.

Suddenly, as she set the book bag on a chair, heavy thud drew her attention upstairs. She climbed up the steps, growing more upset. She went into her mother’s bedroom only to find Margaret sitting in a corner, muttering to herself, and striking her head against the wall.

“Please Father, help my child,” Margaret prayed. “She’s lost~”

“Mama, stop it,” Carrie spoke softly.

But Margaret, ignoring her, kept slamming her head against the wall, harder and faster.

“MAMA!”

Margaret finally stopped and looked toward Carrie, as if just noticing she’s there for the first time.

“I don’t want to upset you,” Carrie said.

Carrie sat beside her mother and Margaret just turned her head to look at her daughter.

“So, you’re a woman now,” She spoke disappointed.

To which Carrie nodded tentatively in response.

“And God made Eve from the rib of Adam,” Margaret preached.

Carrie shook her head, growing upset by the minute.

“And what, Carrie? Say it.”

“No, Mama~”

“Say it.”

“Talk to me! Please just talk to me!”

“And Eve was weak…”

“I just want you to talk to me!”

“And the first sin…”

“Just talk to me~”

“And the first sin…”

“I just want you to talk to me!”

“Was the sin of intercourse!”

“And the first sin was the sin of intercourse,” Carrie repeated. “Mama…”

“Say it!” Margaret insisted.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Mama?”

“And God visited Eve with a curse, and the curse was a curse of blood~”

Carrie stoop up, upset that her mother won’t interact with her beyond reciting her own imaginary take on Scripture.

“I’m not going to say that!” Carrie objected. “That’s not even in the Bible! It doesn’t say that anywhere.”

Margaret soon turned toward the sky, clasping her hands in prayer.

“Oh, Lord! Help this little girl see the sin of her days and ways. Show her if she had remained innocent, the curse of blood would not have come upon her as it did on Eve.”

“I’m not Eve, Mama!” Carrie argued. “I didn’t sin!”

“You showered with those other girls!” Margaret retorted. “You had lust-filled thoughts.”

“Everyone has to shower, Mama! Everyone! That’s just the rules.”

“No, no, you are different! You must be different because He can see you!”

“I don’t want to be different, Mama. I want to be like them!”

“He can smell the sin on you!”

“I want to be like them…”

“And He will punish you!”

*WHAM!*

On the word ‘Punish’, Margaret struck Carrie in the face with her bible. Carrie fell toward the ground in a daze. Margaret knelt down beside her, trying to hold onto her as she prayed.

“I will not let that come down upon you,” Margaret declared. “I will not. Lord have mercy…”

“No!” Carrie shouted, picking up the book. “’The Lord is good. His unfailing love endures forever, and his faithfulness continues through all generations’. Psalms 100, verse 5!”

But Margaret just drowned out Carrie’s words with her own prayers as she stroked her daughter’s face.

“I’m going to keep you away from that school,” Margaret spoke determined. “We’ll pray.”

“You can’t!”

Carrie jumped up, running out of the room and down the stairs. But Margaret was hot on her tail.

“We’ll pray together,” Margaret rambled. “To save our women-weak, wicked, sinning souls!”

“You didn’t tell me, and they laughed. I didn’t sin, you sinned!”

Margaret stopped on the staircase, and her expression coldly furious.

“I did not…” Margaret spoke slowly. “I did not sin!”

Margaret calmly walked down the stairs. Poor Carrie looked very scared, realizing she just made a big mistake. Margaret opened the door under the stairs revealing a small cupboard with a crucifix hanging inside…

“Go to your closet,” Margaret ordered.

Carrie was understandably terrified. She shook her head like a frightened child.

“No, Mama…” Carrie squeaked.

“Go to your closet and pray!”

Carrie’s view of the closet may as well be a prison cell. Dark, claustrophobic, and overall… frightening. Carrie backed away as Margaret moved toward her.

“You pray…” Margaret demanded.

“No!” Carrie cried.

Margaret roughly grabbed Carrie by the arms and pulled her toward the closet.

“NO! No! Get off me! Mama! Stop it!”

Margaret took a grip around Carrie’s body and dragged her into the closet.

“Go to your closet and pray for forgiveness.”

“NO!”

“YOU PRAY!”

“Mama! Help!”

Carrie’s perception of the closet may as well have been the open mouth of a giant beast about to eat her, the stuff of nightmares.

“NO MOMMY!” Carrie cried.

“Come on!” Margaret grunted.

“PLEASE! HELP!”

Margaret finally got to the closet and threw Carrie inside. There’s a loud thump of Carrie striking the wall inside. Margaret proceeded to shut the door, but Carrie tried to push her way out. With a hard shove, Margaret shut the door on Carrie and locked it with a single deadbolt. Carrie banged upon the door and cried out, begging to be let out.

“You pray, little girl!” Margaret demanded. “Pray for forgiveness!”

“Mommy, let me go!” Carrie cried. “Let me out!”

The door and the lock rattled, as Carrie banged on it demanding to be released. Margaret held her hand to the door, struggling to keep it short. While doing so, she scratched her own arm, drawing blood and leaving scars. By now, Carrie was practically in tears trying to get out.

“MOM! HELP!” Carrie cried out. “GOD, YOU SUCK!”

An invisible force suddenly struck the closet door, leaving a crack down the center. Margaret gasped and leapt back in fear. Carrie fell back to the closet floor, also in shock. She gazed toward the crack on the door, the wood started to creak, and the small closet light flickered. Margaret looked at the crack on the door in horror, she could hear the sound of wood creaking all over the house.

“Help me…” Margaret begged, facing the sky. “Help me…”

Inside the closet, Carrie looked around in fear. Finally, she looked upon the ‘altar’ her mother set just for her. There’s a Bible, a crucifix, pictures of art depicting the crucifixion and Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. Carrie looked at them with fear and shame. Blood appeared, running down the crucifix like Jesus’ wounds are freshly bleeding. The house continued to creak leaving Carrie terrified. She just realized she’s causing the strange things to happen. She curled into a fetal position; her hands clasped in prayer.

<>

Back at their motel room, tensions were certainly high amongst the Mane Six and Spike following the terrible events of the day. They couldn’t believe what those girls had done to Carrie. The entire event was simply horrible; they couldn’t even imagine how that poor girl was feeling right now. Rainbow was so beyond pissed off, that she was ready to bring the whole place down in rage.

“Those stupid, no good, rotten, slimy, pieces of manticore dung!” She ranted. “I have half a mind to find out where each of them live, find those punks, and rip their heads right off their bodies!!!”

Fluttershy gasped upon hearing Rainbow spew such venomous talk. She knew Rainbow could certainly be defensive of her friends and get pretty angry, but she’d never seen her so murderous before. The sight truly frightened her. Slowly she got up to her feet, approached Rainbow, and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. Rainbow whipped her head in Fluttershy’s direction, and she squeaked in fear.

“P-P-Please calm down Rainbow,” She stuttered. “I know you’re upset, but that sounds really hateful coming from you. I’m worried about you.”

Rainbow seethed for a few moments more before finally taking a few deep breaths. Finally, she allowed herself to calm down. When she was finally alright again, she turned back to Fluttershy and gave her a comforting hug.

“Sorry Flutters,” She apologized. “I just can’t believe anyone could do something like what those girls did to Carrie. All because of well… you know~”

“That makes two of us there, sugar cube,” Applejack spoke, from across the room. “Ah’ve seen mah fair share of mean things folks have done, but ah ain’t never seen nothin’ like we done saw today.”

“Mean?” Rarity asked quizzically. “It was downright despicable and hateful. Why is it that they even feel the need to torture the poor girl like that? What has she ever done to them?”

“Who knows why bullies do anything?” Spike responded. “Sometimes I feel like they do it to get a kick out of making someone else look weak. Like how Garble and his gang used to be. Thankfully we’re pretty cool now, and it’s all water under the bridge… but some things are still hard to forget.”

Twilight massaged her temples with her hands, trying so hard to think about ‘how’ they were going to stop this situation from growing worse. They left Carrie alone for only a few minutes to speak to Ms. Desjardin, and it only took ‘that’ long for all Hell to break loose. And when they finally got to Carrie, when they ‘tried’ to calm her down, she could feel her powers spiraling out of control the more panicked and freaked out she got.

“This is probably going to be tougher than I thought,” She finally said. “We could always try talking to these other girls and persuade them to stop being so mean to Carrie. But after what we’ve seen today, that could very well be a long shot. Then there’s her mother, I don’t even know where to begin with her.”

“Why don’t we just use that invisibility spell of yours again, and talk to Carrie at her place?” Pinkie suggested.

“We could at some point later,” Twilight responded. “But right now, we have another thing to worry about. Now we know about this Eden’s Gate group and who’s in charge. Except we must figure out ‘how’ to stop them.”

“That ain’t exactly gonna be easy,” Applejack responded. “From what Ms. Desjardin said, seems them there folks control everythin’ in this here town. If what she said bout that Hope County place is true, messin’ with these folk could mean big trouble for not just us, but everybody.”

Before their discussion could go further, a strange mysterious mist pooled throughout the entire room much to everyone’s confusion.

“What’s going on here?” Rainbow asked, looking around.

Taking a breath, Twilight instantly coughed as the strange mist traveled up her nose and into her body. No sooner did that happen that she instantly started seeing stars twinkling in her vision as she started feeling disoriented.

“Hold your breath, every pony!” She instructed. “I think this is some kind of poisonous gas.”

Everyone quickly held their breath as the mist continued to blanket the entire room till all were in a complete haze. One by one, everyone’s face started turning red from the lack of oxygen until finally they couldn’t hold their breath anymore. They all collectively took in a big lung full of air and the mist started entering into their systems.

“Oh great, now what?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know but I’m starting to—oh boy—starting to feel—” Rainbow staggered.

“I don’t think—whatever—oh my dear—I don’t believe this is poison,” Rarity slurred.

Slowly but surely, everyone in the room staggered and stumbled as they quickly found it difficult to stand as stars clouded their vision. They all started to fall tot heir knees as their visions went milky and foggy till finally… they passed out completely.

<>

Carrie sat with her knees pulled up under her chin, silently weeping to herself. She’d now been locked in her prayer closet for hours. The usual occurrence for her whenever her mother believed she had sinned. Sometimes she’d be locked in the closet during the day and would never be let out till the following morning. All Carrie could do was sit back and cry till she’d finally be released at some point.

As she cried, she thought back to the terrible events transpiring that very day. Remembering being in the shower at school, only to suddenly bleed from below. She remembered screaming for help, under the thought she was dying. But most of all, she remembered all the girls telling her, ‘Plug it up!’ while pelting her with tampons and pads. And all that memory did was upset her more…

The only good thought coursing through her head of that day was meeting these strange, colorful girls. She remembered how nice they were to her, despite having only just met. She was admittedly apprehensive toward them at first, yet still they showed such kindness she never received from ‘anyone’. They were strange indeed, but they were the ‘only’ ones who genuinely liked her.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a single hand on her shoulder. Believing her mother finally decided to release her from the closet, she looked up toward her. But her eyes went wide with panic, nearly sending her screaming as she scampered back as far as she could toward the end of the closet.

Standing before her, or rather floating before her, was a girl no more than perhaps three or four years older than her. Like her, the girl also had strawberry blonde, almost ‘dirty’ blonde hair, gracefully falling down her back. She wore a beautiful white dress adorned with flowers, no shoes on her feet. She seemed to float off the very ground itself, over what appeared to be a strange green mist.

“Don’t be afraid,” She spoke calmly. “I’m not here to hurt you; actually, I’m here to help you.”

Carrie was so tempted to scream for help, but honestly who would hear it? Her mother would think she’s making it up, claiming she was seeing the devil for her sins. She tried so hard to speak, which was difficult due to her shock.

“W-W-W-Who are y-y-you?” She trembled.

The young lady just smiled sweetly, as she extended one hand towards Carrie. The poor girl recoiled further, while the woman merely giggled cutely over the display.

“I don’t bite,” She smiled. “My name is Faith, and I’ve come to help show you that this does not have to be the path for you.”

This drew Carrie’s attention, as her feelings of fear and trepidation started to become replaced with curiosity.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“You have the ability to walk a new path,” Faith continued. “A path so many others followed in search for a better future. If you allow me to, I can show you the way.”

Once again she extended her hand in offering, and Carrie just sat there for what felt like the longest time looking at it. So many things coursed through her head. On one hand, she ‘really’ wanted to reach out and take it to learn of this aforementioned path. On the other, she didn’t even know this woman or if she could trust her. Taking a moment to think, she decided to go with what her heart was telling her.

Tentatively, she reached out and grasped Faith’s hand in her own. This caused Faith to smile as she leaned closely, and blew some strange substance in her face of which she ended up breathing it in. Carrie gasped and started to cough, but soon found herself frozen in place. She looked around, seeing many sparkling stars while the room proceeded to spin. Staring back toward Faith, she noticed the woman smiling warmly.

“Welcome to the Bliss,” She said.

Just then, Carrie noticed a mysterious smoke proceeding to envelope her till her entire form was covered by it. And then… all went black…

<>

A pair of brilliant lavender eyes slowly opened as Twilight Sparkle regained consciousness. Her head ached and for a moment she felt dizzy after she and her friends inhaled the weird green smoke. Slowly sitting up, she looked toward the girls and Spike finding them still passed out over the ground. When she turned around, her eyes went wide over the sight.

No longer were they in their motel room, or any room at all for that matter. From what she could see, the landscape resembled some grassy meadow. The weird thing about this meadow was that it was covered with some weird mist, while the whole area was shrouded in pure light.

“Girls, Spike, you need to see this!” Twilight shouted urgently.

She started shaking each of them one by one till they came to.

“What’s wrong Twi?” Applejack asked confused.

“I was in the middle of a great dream!” Rainbow complained.

“Trust me, you’ll want to see this!” Twilight insisted.

She gestured forth with the girls and Spike turning toward their front. Their eyes too went wide as they slowly picked themselves to their feet. They gazed toward the lit meadow in shock and awe.

“What the hay is this place?” Rainbow asked confused.

“Ah ain’t too sure,” Applejack answered. “But I ain’t got a good feelin’ bout this place.”

“Are you kidding darling?” Rarity asked. “It’s so beautiful here. Seems like something out of an old pony-tale.”

“It is lovely here,” Fluttershy agreed.

While Twilight did agree about this place being lovely, something inside her didn’t feel this place was right at all. How’d they even get here? It had to have been something to do with that stuff in their room. Twilight squinted her eyes upon noticing someone standing off the beaten path. The image slowly became clearer amidst the blinding light, noticing a familiar head of strawberry blonde locks.

“Carrie?!” She called out.

Twilight started running forward with the other girls (And Spike) following closely behind.

“Carrie!” She called again.

Carrie White slowly turned around, spotting the familiar colorful girls she had met before running towards her.

“Twilight?” She spoke. “What are all of you doing here?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Twilight answered.

“Right!” Pinkie nodded. “One minute we’re walking and talking, then this funny looking smoke rose through the floor like those fog machines at concerts, and we were like *GASP!*.”

“Perhaps I can explain…”

The girls turned around toward another figure in the meadow. The other girls didn’t recognize her, seeing as they hadn’t met before. But Carrie remembered her… Faith…

“Welcome to the Bliss!” She greeted.

Twilight, Spike, and the girls looked toward her in confusion.

“And you are…?” Twilight asked.

Faith merely looked toward her with the warmest smile.

“I am simply known as Faith,” She responded sweetly. “I brought you all here to help you show a different path. A path to lead you to a better, prosperous future.”

Hearing the name, Twilight and the others instantly assumed their fighting stance. They knew now who this was: Faith Seed, adopted sister of the mad preacher they saw earlier. They heard things about her around town, how she manufactured this strange drug made to manipulate people to do the cult’s bidding.

“Stay the hay away from us!” Applejack warned.

“Yeah!” One more step and I’ll whip you so bad you’ll feel it in the great beyond!” Rainbow threatened.

Faith noticed their hostility, yet merely giggled in response.

“I know you must have heard stories of me,” She replied. “That I am a liar, a manipulator… that I poison people’s minds. But let me tell you a different story… a true story.”

Despite knowing this woman was indeed bad news, that they shouldn’t listen to her, the girls found their will stripped from them. They felt their hands falling down their sides; their minds turning blank. They stared toward Faith almost as though they were slowly turning into mindless zombies. Carrie seemed to be the only one with any cognitive functions at this point, grabbing Faith’s outstretched hand and allowing her to lead her down the path. Faith led her and the hypnotized Equestrians further down the path till they came upon a riverbend where they sat upon the surface.

“There once was a young woman, who had been ostracized by her community,” Faith told them. “Bullied by friends… abused by her family. She took to a needle for help. She was all alone; she wanted to die.”

As she told the story, Faith’s voice started to crack and her eyes glowed red with tears. It actually made the Mane Six and Spike feel bad for her, Carrie especially. She could truly relate seeing as how she was in a very similar boat as her. After a moment, Faith’s demeanor changed from sad to happy in seconds.

“And then she met the Father…”

She giggled again as she grabbed Carrie’s hand and they both ran further along the path. The Mane Six and Spike quickly plowed forward, stopping along the river’s edge. Staring toward the side of a hill, they took notice of a giant statue of Jospeh Seed himself.

“The Father showed her how special she was,” Faith continued happily. “She was full of love and life. He gave her a new family, one that accepted her for who she was. The young woman no longer wished to die. She had been given… purpose…”

She extended her arms and in a flash of light, a pair of giant angel wings appeared on her back. These wings, however, seemed to be made of the same mist currently surrounding them. But still, they levitated Faith clear off the ground. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike were too entranced to notice their own wings had grown from their backs levitating them off the ground. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had wings similar to Faith’s, but smaller in contrast yet still they lifted them into the air. Faith held onto Carrie’s hand as she lifted the girl off the ground. With everything going on, Carrie failed to notice that she too started smiling with joy.

“One day, the Father brought her here,” Faith gestured toward the statue. “He asked if she had Faith in him. He asked if she would be willing to die for him. The young woman who very much wished to live… was scared.”

Faith and Carrie both soared across the river with the others following closely behind, as they soared toward the statue.

“The Father told her this was her test,” Faith continued. “He would have faith in her if she had faith in him. So she closed her eyes… and leapt.”

Gently lowering down, the girls and Spike landed on the giant stone book the statue held. Carrie and Faith both stood along the very edge of it, looking down toward the momentous drop to the valley below. Faith let go of Carrie’s hands, giggling as she slowly floated backwards.

“The Father kept his word,” She spoke joyfully. “The Path to Eden is clear to those who have faith.”

Just then, in another flash of light, Carrie saw the familiar figure of Derick Collins standing at the edge of the book as well. She smiled happily as he turned around and smiled at her while reaching a hand toward her.

“Walk the path,” He said simply.

He soon turned around and held his arms out as he leaned forward before falling clear off the statue. So entranced in the Bliss, Carrie walked towards the edge of the book as well. It was only then Twilight Sparkle shook her head and started to regain some of her sanity.

“What the—”

She turned back toward her friends, who were still under the same state of hypnosis.

“Guys! Snap out of it!” She yelled.

One by one she went around to all her friends, either shaking or slapping them awake if need be. Eventually, they too snapped from their trance.

“What happened?” Spike questioned.

“Where in Equestria are we?” Applejack asked.

A loud scream from Rarity made them quickly turn toward Carrie, her arms out wide at the very edge of the book.

“CARRIE, NO!!!” They all screamed.

They ran forward as fast as they could, but it was too late. Carrie already leaned forward and fell toward the canyon below. Thinking quickly, the girls and Spike leapt after her hoping to catch Carrie and stop the fall. The whole way down, they heard Faith’s voice speaking to them.

“I will give you purpose… I will set you free…”

They continued to plummet toward the ground below. Just when they thought they’d be splat upon the ground… darkness followed.

<>

Carrie White snapped awake and sat up with a start as she started breathing heavily. Looking around herself, she noticed she was still in her prayer close. Except she must have passed out on the floor at some point. Still, she couldn’t believe what she had seen in that place. She started wondering if any of it was even real or if it was all just a dream. It certainly wasn’t the first time her mother left her in the prayer close till night-time, she probably fell asleep. Taking a deep breath, she laid back on the floor and tried to relax. Whether or not that place was real or not, one thing was for certain. She felt more at peace than she ever did anywhere else. However, this did not last long as Faith once more appeared in an ethereal cloud of Bliss and sat alongside Carrie, who sat up upon seeing the woman once more

“Do you see what it is that ‘he’ can offer you?” Faith asked sweetly.

Carrie just sat there, frozen for a few moments, before she finally found the tongue in her head and could speak what’s on her mind.

“I-I-I don’t understand,” She stammered. “My momma has been bringing me to your church for years. But I’ve never understood what it is that you do.”

Carrie just leaned into Faith’s shoulder, and the woman put a gently comforting arm around the poor girl. She could see the small tears forming in Carrie’s eyes.

“I just don’t want to be hurt anymore,” She sobbed. “No one loves me… no one cares about me.”

Eventually, Faith pulled away and placed both hands on Carrie’s shoulders as she looked straight into the red watery eyes of the girl and just smiled.

“It’s natural to try and find meaning in our lives,” She spoke calmly. “Try to make sense, try to find order… but we can’t. Life doesn’t come from order; life comes from chaos.”

All while Faith spoke, Carrie listened intently as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Life is pain… loss… and tragedy. We are born into a world that feeds on our suffering, and after it has had its fill we are discarded. No one cares about us… no one sees us. Except the Father. When no one else loves you, he does. When no one else believes in you, he does. When no one else can understand you or see the worth in you, he does. Because he has faith… faith in our cause… faith in himself… and faith in you.”

Faith placed a single hand on Carrie’s cheek, as they both looked into each other’s eyes. When Carrie stared into the calm blue eyes of Faith Seed, she no longer felt pain or misery. Instead, all she felt was hope, warmth, and love. She felt more love and kindness from this woman more than she ever did from her own mother.

“Faith is what carries us through crisis, uncertainty, and relentless, punishing chaos of life.”

Faith then rose back up in her ethereal cloud as she stared down at Carrie once more with that same assuring smile.

“And when the gates open, the garden will blossom because of our faith. Trust in the Father, believe in him. Never… lose… faith…”

And with that, the cloud began to engulf Faith entirely before it all disappeared, and Faith was gone. All that was left was Carrie, sitting in the corner of her closet, sound asleep with a smile upon her face.

Next thing she knew, she heard Fatih’s voice ringing in her head.

“Do you feel different? Do you feel alive? The first step is always the scariest, but we all have faith in you. Follow the Pilgrimage… walk the path… I’ll see you soon.”

Her voice sounded so soothing and reassuring that Carrie released a content sigh, allowing her eyes to slowly flutter shut once more and drift back into a peaceful slumber.

<>

Outside the motel, high upon the cliff overlooking the building, a powerful sniper rifle aimed directly at the window to the room Spike and the Mane Six resided in. A high-powered scope looked directly inside, observing everything they were doing. The one holding the sniper rifle was none other than the oldest of the Seed family, Jacob Seed. The former soldier turned cult lieutenant was such an expert marksman that if he truly wanted to, he could have easily fired off seven shots and the seven bodies in that room would’ve dropped before they even knew what hit them.

However, killing these girls and their dragon boyfriend was not on his mind at the moment. The sound of footsteps on the ground and crunching leaves behind him caused the military man turned his head and saw none other than his two brothers, John and Joseph walking up alongside him.

“What news have you for us Jacob?” Joseph asked.

“The sinners have learned of the Bliss and have now been given faith,” Jacob responded lowly. “This may only strengthen their resolve rather than diminish it.”

Joseph looked toward the old motel from behind his aviators and merely kept a stone face as he looked on.

“The devil is testing the strength and will of our project my brothers,” He said. “He has sent forth these ‘sinners’ straight from Hell to sabotage our plans and corrupt our precious hope. But God will not let them succeed. Soon enough, these sinners and all others dwelling in this den of evil shall soon see the light.”

Joseph then looked back toward his two brothers as a small smile crept its way to the corner of his mouth.

“Perhaps it is time we meet these demons face to face,” He said wickedly. “Show them exactly what Eden’s Gate is capable of.”

He turned his attention solely toward John and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“John, my dear brother,” He said. “Gather some men and bring these poor souls to me. I will show them that they are not beyond forgiveness.”

“Yes Joseph,” John nodded.

Joseph turned his attention toward Jacob.

“As for you Jacob, we must ensure that our hope cannot be tarnished by the temptation of sins. I am entrusting you to help young Carrie weed out the weak and to help her cull the herd. You know what to do.

Jacob gave no response, but merely nodded his head slowly which caused the Father to smile. He then turned back around to look back toward the motel and the occupants inside.

“We love you… we accept you… and we will take you… willingly or not.”