Cinematic Adventures: Carrie

In the back room of a dress shop, Margaret White sits at the sewing machine deep in her work. A customer’s voice was heard yet Margaret chose to ignore the voice. Unfortunately for her, that approach would not last for long.

“Is anybody working?”

Looking up from the sewing machine, Margaret spotted a woman at the front desk. A rather anxious customer ringing the service bell.

“Excuse me!” The customer called out. “Is anybody working?”

Margaret focused on the sewing machine. In the woman’s ears, the machine was as loud as a revving engine. She fed the dress into the machine, almost catching her finger in it. Finally, she stopped the machine, and cut the loose thread with her scissors. Clearly, she wanted no interaction with anyone but because it was part of the job Margaret had little choice.

She approached the front counter towards he customer. It was none other than Mrs. Snell, Sue’s mother. She’s dressed in a blue sleeveless top, which made Margaret uncomfortable. Especially since it showed off the woman’s skin and therefore it is ‘sinful’ in her eyes.

“Oh, Margaret,” Mrs. Snell gasped. “I’m sorry to disturb you. I don’t know where Hugo and Gloria…”

“Can I help you, Mrs. Snell?” Margaret asked.

Judging by the tone in her voice, Margaret wanted nothing more than to have this conversation over with as soon as possible.

“Uh, yes, I’m picking up,” Mrs. Snell spoke nervously.

Margaret looked toward Mrs. Snell’s ticket then went to seek out Mrs. Snell’s clothes. The awkwardness and tension hanging in the air was nothing short of palpable. But eventually, Margaret returned with the dress for Mrs. Snell.

“Margaret, I want to say how sorry I am about what happened at the school,” Mrs. Snell apologized. “There’s no excuse for what Sue did, but she’s a good girl.”

“Are any of those girls good?” Margaret asked rhetorically.

Mrs. Snell handed her the money, creeped out by Margaret’s words. Margaret put the money inside the register, and Mrs. Snell looked over the dress, very pleased.

“Oh, that is beautiful work, Margaret. Thank you.”

Margaret listened to Mrs. Snell’s praise, in barely-contained anxiety and disgust. She pulled out a pen blade, which she used for work, and held it down by her side.

“I love what you’ve done with the neckline, and the stiches,” Mrs. Snell continued, oblivious. “You can barely see them. So few people can sew like this anymore. I could do never do anything like this myself~”

Margaret’s anxiety grew worse with each word spilled out from Mrs. Snell. She pulled up part of her skirt and started scratching at her leg. Mrs. Snell’s words grew louder, ringing in her head, so badly she started cutting herself with the pen blade. In Margaret’s eyes, this mother encouraged her daughter’s sexual sins instead of protecting her the way she does with Carrie. The woman looked as if she could burst into tears or scream at the worst possible moment.

“Sue’s going to look beautiful,” Mrs. Snell spoke, admirably. “I am so excited for her. I remember my prom. Anyway, she’s going to love it.”

“These are Godless times, Mrs. Snell,” Margaret muttered.

Mrs. Snell frowned with confusion, uncertain of how to take that response. Margaret merely allowed her skirt to fall and walked away, shaking her head in pity over Mrs. Snell’s ‘sinfulness’.

<>

At Principal Morton’s office, Chris along with her lawyer father, Mr. Hargensen, sat at Morton’s desk. Miss Desjardin stood behind them, frowning with disappointment over Chris’s attempt at playing the ‘wounded party’.

“This gym teacher was running Chrissie into the ground and used profanity,” Mr. Hargensen argued. “I believe the term ‘shitty’ was used. She can’t do that; it’s abuse of power.”

“You’re right, Daddy,” Chris agreed. “That’s what she said. ‘Shitty’. She’s really abusive.”

“Ms. Desjardin was reprimanded for what happened in class today,” Principal Morton reassured. “But you know we’ve had a lot of problems with your daughter in the past. And now, with what she did to her classmate, Carrie White. The girl was having her… what your daughter and her posse…”

“I’m not going to sit here and listen to half-truths!” Mr. Hargensen interjected. “I know my daughter. She said she didn’t do it. I want her prom privileges restored.”

Chris could barely suppress a smug smile.

“You can’t prove she did anything, can you?” Mr. Hargensen concluded.

“Well, I believe that there is a video of the incident,” Miss Desjardin pointed out. “Your daughter is the one who took it.”

Chris frowned, realizing the video was still on her phone. Mr. Hargensen looked toward Chris; he didn’t know about the video. Miss Desjardin and Principal Morton had the upper hand.

“I think a video like that would probably be pretty damning to anyone in it and to the person who made it,” Miss Desjardin continued. “Don’t you, Mr. Hargensen? I don’t know. I’m just a gym teacher, but it seems like a video like that would probably affect college admissions, possibly a lawsuit, tons of bad publicity. I wonder what ‘The Today Show’ would do with a video like that.”

It was in that moment that Chris realized… she really screwed up.

“I think we should just look at her phone and if it’s not there, I owe you a huge apology and she should be allowed to go to prom,” Miss Desjardin smirked.

Mr. Hargensen slowly turned toward his daughter.

“Chris…”

Principal Morton held out his hand for her phone.

“Chris!” Mr. Hargensen urged.

“Daddy, I’m not going to give them my phone,” Chris laughed. “I have personal things on here. Isn’t that invasion of privacy or something?”

A sigh escaped Mr. Hargensen’s lips, as he levels with Chris. He realized she was probably lying to him.

“Chrissie, if you want to go to prom, just give them the damn phone and we can be done with this,” Mr. Hargensen spoke impatiently. “I have to get back to work.”

“Dad…” Chris whined.

“God damn it, just give them your phone, Chris!” Mr. Hargensen snapped, taking her arm.

“No!”

*RING!!!*

Chris pulled her arm away from her father and stormed out of the office as soon as the school bell rang. But it was all for naught, the reality sunk in like an anchor out at sea. There was no denying it now… Chris was not going to the prom.

<>

Meanwhile, Sue was with her friends while they talked about the dance. Mostly about how the party was going to be disorganized. Next to them were Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who helped with the design and organization, respectively. The girls, especially Sue, found them very nice. So much show they rather enjoyed their company and their opinions.

Rainbow Dash was there too, mostly to help carry some of the heavy things around. While she was not the typical girl interested in girly activities (Like a school dance), she was most concerned about Chris. According to these girls, she tried to rile them against the gym teacher even at the risk of missing their prom, but they turned their backs on her. Who knows what she would do to them for not supporting her confrontation with Desjardin? If there’s one thing Rainbow knew about bullies, especially this one girl, she and her friends would have to be extra careful.

Of course, Rainbow was not wrong. All of a sudden, Sue and the girls heard something falling. They turned around and saw an angry Chris, who just entered the gym.

“So, I’m officially out of the prom,” She spoke, approaching the group. “I thought cock-sucker Morton would lose his job through my dad suing him.”

Pinkie and Rarity didn’t say anything, but they frowned as they sensed they couldn’t expect anything good from Chris. Rainbow, for her part, put the box she carrying on the floor and approached the group, standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Jesus Sue, why didn’t you stand up for me?” Chris argued. “We could have them by the balls.”

“Could you moderate your language, Chris?” Rainbow remarked. “There are kids here?”

Before Chris could answer back, Sue spoke up.

“We deserved it, for what we did to Carrie White. I thought I deserved it.”

Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie looked proudly toward Sue, upon hearing those words. Chris, however, sighed in frustration.

“Desjardin was right,” Sue continued. “We did a shitty thing for no reason…”

“BULLSHIT!” Chris interrupted furious.

That comment came as a nasty surprise to Sue and the other girls. But not only to them; the students seated at the table behind them turned over the swear word.

“That Carrie goes around saying that everyone but her and her mother are going to Hell, and you stand up to her.”

“Hey, you lying, meanie-pants! Carrie never said ‘any’ of those things!” Pinkie called out.

“What’s the problem with defending a friend?” Rarity asked.

“Friend?!” Chris yelled. “I hallucinate with you. There are tons of students to interact with, and you decide to hang out with an outcast?!”

“Better than hanging out with a spoiled brat!” Rainbow remarked.

Chris looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and rage.

“What did you call me?!”

“You heard me.”

“She’s right,” Sue spoke, standing up. “You’re such a pig sometimes, Chris. What did Carrie White ever do to you?”

“Yeah! What do you win by treating Carrie so badly?” Pinkie scolded her.

“She’s been begging it for it since the sixth grade!” Chris justified herself.

“That’s not a reason, that’s an excuse!” Rainbow shouted, angrily.

“Oh, why do we even try with you?” Rarity asked. “It’s quite clear ladies there’s just no reasoning with her; I don’t know about you, but I can’t take being here anymore.”

“I’m with you Rarity,” Sue replied. “We gotta go.”

The four girls grabbed their things and made for the exit. Chris, however, was not about to let it end this way. Not without her having the last word.

“Hey, I seem to remember you were in the throwing with the rest of us. What is it that she was calling her? Freak?”

Sue stopped right in her tracks. She had patience, but she also had limits. Pinkie, Dash, and Rainbow also stood still and turned toward Chris angrily.

“I stopped,” Sue told Chris.

“Oh, you stopped?” The bully scoffed.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you keep running, hmm?” She asked, approaching the group.

“Just ignore her darling,” Rarity advised, taking Sue’s arm gently. “She’s not worth it…”

Sue walked away again, but Chris grabbed her by the other arm. The force nearly made her drop all her things.

“Why did you keep running, Sue?” She repeated.

“Stop it, Chris!” Sue begged.

“Leave her alone!” Dash ordered.

But Chris blocked their way, relentlessly teasing Sue.

“You can’t keep running, Sue! Little Sue, and you can’t hide behind your new group of useless friends.”

Now Rainbow was more than willing to strike Chris in the face, but Pinkie and Rarity held her back. Chris either didn’t seem to notice or merely ignored it. Either way, she made it her mission to make Sue as miserable as possible.

“Because you’ve been dreaming about senior year and the perfect boyfriend and the perfect pro your whole god-damnit life. You’ve already booked the hotel, already practiced zones you’re gonna make when you and Tommy make love. That’s why you had this bullshit change of heart. You don’t give a shit about Carrie White, and everybody knows it!”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Rarity yelled. “Chris, Sue may have made a mistake; we all make mistakes! But Sue’s a better person, friend and a lady than a brat like you will ever be!”

“Yeah! I’m sorry to say this, and I mean I’m really sorry, but you know what?” Pinkie asked. “I’m glad that a party-pooper like you won’t be going to the party! Because I know girls like you, and you’d surely ruin it for everybody!”

The two girls left with Sue. While Chris was shocked those girls dared to say those things to her face, the moment she saw them leave she assumed she won the fight.

“Okay, I’ll see you around, Sue…” Chris smirked.

However, turning forward again, Chris was surprised to see Rainbow Dash in front of her. The cyan teenager was not going to leave without a thing or two to say to that bully.

“You may be the dumbest teenager in all of Ewen High School but understand this: Never go near Carrie White again. That’s the last warning I’ll give you.”

Rainbow made for the exit when Chris stepped in front of her and blocked her path. Chris may have lost the match against Desjardin, but she refused to let some ‘rookie’ talk down to her like that. She was the superior, and she was going to make that perfectly clear to her.

“Nice warning, stupid. Now I’ll tell you mine…”

Chris grabbed Rainbow by the collar of her shirt. Dash was shocked, maybe slightly intimidated, by the sudden action. But before she could react, Chris spoke to her with a threatening voice.

“Newbies like you must know their place. I’m the alpha wolf here, and all the students will do whatever I say. If I want to annoy Carrie, the yellow one or anyone I feel like, you and your friends better turn the other way. Do—”

But Chris couldn’t finish. For suddenly she felt a searing pain. She looked up and, to her surprise, Rainbow grabbed the arm holding her and squeezed with all her might. As much as Dash promised not to, she wouldn’t tolerate Chris threatening any of her friends… especially Fluttershy. Chris thought she was intimidating, but she soon realized she only angered this girl further.

“I don’t think you get it,” Dash spoke, her anger growing. “If you get close to Carrie, Fluttershy or ‘any’ of my friends… being kicked out of prom will be a sweet relief compared to what I’ll do to you.”

Rainbow released her and again made for the exit. But before she left, she turned toward the now sore Chris.

“Oh, all that talk of you being the alpha… and everyone following you. You made it clear that no one ‘supports’ you. I’ve met my share of bullies like you… you don’t deserve any friends.”

Rainbow soon departed from the gym as Chris watched her. The bully glared with intense rage. Because of Carrie, not only was she not going to prom, but even her own friend Sue had abandoned her. And now some new girls, who weren’t even locals in this town, suddenly challenge her own authority? She was going to get her revenge; whatever it took, Carrie White and her friends were going to pay.

<>

Later…

School had ended, as Carrie White and her friends made their way out the front doors. Twilight and the others were in the midst of explaining to Carrie everything Eden’s Gate had done to them thus far. Being dragged from their motel room in the middle of the night, taken out into the middle of nowhere, and nearly drowned in a creek all for some sick, twisted ‘cleansing’. Carrie listened intently, as they explained in great detail all the horrid things they were describing. With the condition she now had in her head though, the automatic response was to disbelieve.

“Are you all ‘certain’ you weren’t just dreaming?” She asked them.

“Darling, I know what a ‘dream’ is like, and this most certainly was no dream,” Rarity responded. “I remember very vividly fighting for my very life, as all of us did. I can never forget being held under the water, how they nearly tore the roots off my head, and how drenched my night clothes were that night~”

“But if what you’re saying is true, why didn’t they just kill you as you said they wanted to?”

“Joseph Seed said he was ‘ordered’ to kills us, but believed we were worthy of being saved,” Twilight explained. “For some reason he just let us go, and I believe its because they have something else in mind. We just don’t know what that is.”

“What we do know is waking up back at the motel,” Fluttershy continued. “We raced right over her to warn you of all this. That there’s a chance you’re being targeted too.”

But Carrie just shook her head in response, not really believing what she was being told.

“I just can’t believe that’s true,” She said. “I’ve been attending Eden’s Gate for years and I’ve never seen anything so sinful or even heard about it.”

“You seriously believe those religious nutcases over your friends?” Rainbow asked, in disbelief.

“With all due respect, I’ve known them longer than I have known all of you,” Carrie responded. “I thank you all for being my new friends, but I believe I know what I’m doing!”

The familiar sounds of her mother’s car drove up to the school and made Carrie look back. She saw her mother sitting in the car, waiting for her. She looked back toward the others with a seldom look.

“I have to go; I’m expected at the compound,” Carrie told them. “I’ll see you all in school tomorrow.”

“Carrie, wait!” Twilight called after her.

Carrie just continued walking and got in the car with her mother. The moment she stepped inside, Margaret glared toward the other girls, then Spike (Who waved feebly), and then toward Carrie.

“I thought I told you specifically to stay away from those girls Carrie,” Margaret scolded. “They are wicked and vile just as all sinners.”

“They were just saying goodbye Momma,” Carrie assured.

Margaret squinted her beady eyes toward her daughter before turning back around and placed her hands upon the steering wheel.

“We’re going home then,” She said flatly.

“Actually momma, do you think it might be alright if I go to the compound for a while”

Margaret turned back toward her daughter again, with a quirked eyebrow.

“Why?” She asked.

“I was hoping to connect further with the other members of the group,” Carrie responded. “What better way to worship God and spread his good will than working side-by-side with others that too share his grace?”

Margaret squinted her eyes again toward her daughter, as if trying to determine if there was any sense of falseness hiding behind her eyes. After a moment, she let up and even offered a tiny smile in the corner of her mouth.

“I suppose that’ll be alright,” She said.

With that being said, Margaret drove the two down the road and onward toward the Eden’s Gate compound. The Mane Six and Spike watched them drive off, knowing right then and there that they couldn’t just let her go alone.

“There’s no way we are going to let her wander into that viper’s nest all by herself,” Rainbow spoke determined.

“But how would we possibly follow her?” Rarity asked. “Without our magic, we can’t make ourselves invisible or anything else for that matter.”

“There’s still my original idea,” Pinkie suggested. “I even have Fluttershy’s costume…”

Pinkie smiled as she reached through her hair and pulled out a long thick dress that looked like one of Native American origin. Even had the headdress to go with it. Everyone just turned toward the party girl and slowly shook their heads. They all quickly turned to walk away when Sue Snell raced toward them.

“Guys, wait up!” She yelled. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the way to my house.”

“We’d love to Sue, but we kind of have something to do really quick,” Twilight responded.

“Could you maybe write your address down and we’ll meet you there?” Rarity asked.

“Uh—okay?” Sue nodded.

Sue quickly pulled out a piece of paper from her backpack and wrote down her address, handing it to Twilight.

“Thanks Sue, we’ll meet up with you later,” She said quickly.

Twilight and the girls soon raced into Twilight’s car in the parking lot, hopping in as fast as they could. The tires screeched as they soared down the street like a rocket much to the young blonde girl’s confusion.

<>

Margaret and Carrie pulled up toward Eden’s Gate compound deep in the woods. Carrie slowly stepped her way out of the car staring toward the entrance.

“I will be back again in an hour to pick you up,” Margaret told her.

Carrie merely nodded and shut the door behind her, as her mother drove back down the road. She turned back toward the compound entrance, slowly making her way to the front gates. Rather than being met at the gate by the armed guards on patrol, she was surprised when the Father himself pushed open the gates and extended his arms in welcome.

“Welcome back, my child,” He greeted warmly. “God has graced us all with your presence once more.”

Carrie gave a small smile as she walked forward. Joseph placed his hands on her shoulders and they both leaned in to place their foreheads together in greeting. When they both parted, Joseph walked alongside Carrie as they walked through the compound. As they walked, Carrie looked around and noticed the members of the group who actually lived in the compound. Many of them walked about playing with their children, others doing various tasks around the compound, and some others sitting in silence reading the bible.

“Quite peaceful, isn’t it?” Joseph asked her.

“Yes, it is,” Carrie nodded.

“When they all came to me, they were no different than yourself my dear. Broken, senseless, devoid of hope and faith. I gave them something to believe in, something that could make life worth living. This is why I started the project, so everyone may feel beloved and valued.”

Joseph turned toward Carrie again, once more placing his hands upon her shoulders.

“Would you like to aid me in giving my sermon today?”

Carrie couldn’t believe what Joseph was asking of her. Normally he never allowed anyone to assist him in giving sermons, except for his family. The fact he asked ‘her’ made Carrie feel both extremely honored and terrified. Taking a deep breath, she nodded slowly. Joseph smiled at her response and led her right into the middle of his little community, who all gathered around to hear the words of their great leader.

“Brothers, sisters, the world is reaching its tipping point!” He preached. “We are hooked, we are blind to our obsession, and our obsession is consumption. Relentless consumption. You see we need to have the next best phone, and then to go with that phone we need a new watch, or we need new glasses. And then we need a new bag to put all our stuff in. And then of course, we need streaming music, and we need streaming T.V., and we need streaming movies, and streaming news, and streaming truth, and steaming lies, and lies, and lies, swimming in our heads.”

Everyone in the gathered crowd either nodded their heads in agreement or voiced their agreements with cheers.

“And we consume without purpose, and we consume without reason, and we consume without regard for one another… we consume all, and that is our sin… Greed. And we drift down the corridors of consumerism. We’ve got our phones and our pads pressed against our faces. Not stopping, never taking notice to the pain and the suffering of those around us. Because we need to race to upload pictures of our pets or our meals or our bodies.”

Joseph then placed an arm around Carrie and brought her forward.

“Take young Carrie here for instance. Someone had the gall and the audacity to upload a horrid video of her being publicly humiliated and shamed for an act of human nature. And what of the heathens who have committed this terrible sin? They laugh and poke fun at this poor child for greed and attention. They believe that themselves because they feel special for this. That is the travesty, because we are all special, we are all smart. But yet we seem to need the desperate approval of some digital friends that we hardly even know, when your family and loved ones are right beside you.”

Once more the cultists cheered louder in agreement.

“Our family knows the truth, and the truth is that you are all special!” Joseph continued. “You are all engaging, you are all fantastic and capable and wonderful. And all you have to do is believe it. You see we live in a world without confidence. All of us desperately looking for approval from a ‘like’ button and why? Where is our confidence? Where is our faith? I have confidence. I have faith. Let me be the well you drink from to fill yourself up. I am your Father, and you are my children, and together we will march to Eden’s Gate.”

After the sermon was over, the cultists stood, clapped, and cheered loudly for their great leader. Even Carrie herself, standing beside him, clapped and couldn’t help but feel herself floating on air thanks to his words. The more she heard the Father preach, the more special and uplifted she felt. She didn’t feel like that shy, pathetic girl she usually saw herself as. She suddenly felt like she could do anything. That feeling only grew even more when she noticed Derick Collins approaching her holding a guitar.

“Man, talk about powerful advice,” He remarked. “I can’t believe he let you up close for his sermons. He never lets anyone do that.”

Carrie blushed slightly as she smiled over the praise.

“I guess he thinks I’m special,” She replied.

“As he said, we are all special, especially you,” Derick smiled back. “Come with me, I want to introduce you to some friends.”

Carrie followed closely behind as Derick led her to one of the white painted buildings in the compound. Derick held the door open and allowed her to walk in first as he shut the door behind her. Carrie looked as she noticed a group of teenagers about her age sitting in a circle of chairs. They looked at her and smiled as they waved in greeting. She awkwardly smiled and waved back as Derick led her over to two empty seats and both sat down with the others.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you all to Carrie White,” Derick introduced. “Carrie, these are my friends: Randall, Keith, Alexa, Terry, Wanda, Talia, and Charlie.”

“Hello Carrie!” They greeted in unison.

Once again, Carrie just waved awkwardly as she looked over toward Derick, looking quite scared. He just placed a comforting hand on her back and smiled at her which helped calm her nerves.

“We are the Eden’s Gate choir,” Derick explained. “We were hoping you might be interested in singing some songs with us.”

“T-That’s really sweet, but um… I don’t really sing,” Carrie spoke nervously.

“Trust me, you’ll love it,” Derick smiled. “Here, we’ll get it started and when you feel comfortable, just jump on in.”

Derick quickly turned his guitar to the perfect tune and began to strum as he and the rest of his friends began to sing.

Carrie watched them all sing from her seat and couldn’t help but smile in actual joy. There was no anger or hatred or bullying going on in this group at all. Merely a bunch of teenagers like herself gathered to celebrate and enjoy being together. This is what she always hoped friendship was like and for so many years it was all she ever wanted. Her thoughts drifted back to the Mane Six and Spike, especially Fluttershy. She only wished they could see just what it is she saw here at Eden’s Gate. Her thoughts continued to run in her head as the others sang.

Derick stopped playing as he and the rest of the group faced Carrie with big smiles. Carrie stopped her thoughts and instantly went back to the fear of being judged. However, when she looked at them all, they weren’t glaring at her nor judging her by any means. They just wanted her to partake in the fun activities that they were enjoying. They wanted her to experience what it was like to have friends. With a small smile and much more confidence, Carrie too began to sing.

When the song was finally over, everyone broke out laughing and soon turned to conversation. All the while, Carrie was finally starting to enjoy herself for once in her life. Yet she nor the others had any idea that from outside the building’s window, some figures were watching them.

From behind a bush, the Mane Six and Spike kept a close eye on Carrie. All eyes peeked through the window, yet all they could see was how happy and cheerful Carrie looked for the first time since they met her.

“Look at her,” Fluttershy mused. “She looks so happy.”

“So what?” Rainbow shot back. “This is all some sick trick to lure her into joining this crazy club. I bet you none of these kids even care about her in the least.”

“Ah don’t know bout that hon,” Applejack argued. “What bout that there Collins boy? Seems he really fancies Carrie, and she really seems tah fancy him.”

“Even if that were true, we need to protect her from these psychos!” Rainbow reciprocated.

“I just hope we can do this before whatever they’ve got planned comes to fruition,” Twilight added.

“You and me both,” Spike agreed.

It was then that a low, guttural growl caught everyone’s attention and they froze in their spot.

“Spike, please tell me that was you!” Rarity practically begged.

“Nope…” Spike shook his head.

“Sounded like a hungry timberwolf ready to pounce on its prey,” Pinkie pointed out.

“PINKIE!!!” Everyone shouted.

Slowly they turned around only to come face-to-muzzle with a pack of snarling white wolves. They noticed they all had what looked like a red cross painted on their heads. The wolves snarled and snapped at them, as they surrounded the group. Normally, the girls and Spike could handle these beasts no problem but seeing as they didn’t have their abilities right now, they were in trouble.

“Fluttershy, can’t you talk to them?” Rainbow asked.

“I could try,” Fluttershy said nervously.

The timid yellow girl slowly approached the snarling wolves and gently knelt to one knee. The wolves kept growling and snarling, but Fluttershy tried to maintain her composure.

“Shh… its okay little wolves,” She said soothingly. “We aren’t going to hut you. We’re just here to help a friend and then we’ll go.”

The one wolf, seemingly the pack leader, stopped snarling for a moment and the others followed suit. The wolf slowly approached Fluttershy, who held out her hand to pet him. Taking a sniff of the girl’s hand, the wolf pulled back to stare into Fluttershy’s caring eyes… before he snapped at her hand. Thankfully, Fluttershy was able to draw her hand away before the wolf chomped it off and she scurried back toward the rest of the group in fright.

Suddenly, as the wolves moved in on them again, a whistle drew the attention of the wolves who whimpered and made to retreat. Everyone sighed in relief, assuming the terror was over, until they saw the wolves walk up and sit alongside Jacob Seed, who looked toward the group with a smile.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” He spoke. “Looks like a couple of lost little pups who wandered too far from home.”

Jacob stood on his feet as he pulled a revolver from his side holster, aiming toward the group. He gestured with said gun towards the church and his wolves walked up again, snarling at the group. With the combined threat of the wolves and Jacob willing to kill them, they put their hands up and walked towards the church. When they got to the doors, Jacob opened them revealing John, Faith, and worst of all Joseph waiting inside the church with the mindless zombie cultists known as ‘angels’ under Faith’s control. Joseph stood before the gathered group and smiled upon seeing them.

“We were not able to properly greet the last time you snuck into my home,” He remarked. “But I welcome you all the same.”

Jacob cocked his gun and his wolves snapped at their heels which made the Equestrian group jump forward right toward the middle of the gathering. Joseph stepped down from his podium and walked toward the group with his arms extended in welcome.

“Welcome to Eden’s Gate,” He greeted. “Though I assume you’re not pleased to be here.”

“You’d assume right crazy flakes!” Rainbow snarked.

This earned her a slam in the back of the head from Jacob and his gun, which caused her to drop to the ground groaning in pain. Though the others desperately wanted to help, the snarling of Jacob’s wolves kept them in place. Joseph walked right up to the ground and looked intently at them.

“Something is coming, you can feel it can’t you?” He asked them. “We are creeping towards the edge and there will be a reckoning. This is why we started the project because we ‘know’ what happens next. They will come for us. They will try to take from us, take our guns, try to take our freedom, take our faith. But we will not let them. We will not let their greed or their immorality or their depravity hurt us anymore. There will be no more suffering.”

He gestured toward the Mane Six and Spike as he continued to address the gathering.

“Here they are, the locusts in our garden. They’ve come to destroy all that we have built. I knew this moment would come, and we’ve prepared for it. But God will not let them take me. I saw when the lamb opened the first seal and I heard as if it were the noise of thunder one of the four beasts say, ‘Come and see’. And I saw, and behold it was a white horse and Hell followed with it.”

Joseph then turned his attention specifically on Twilight.

“I told you before that you are not beyond salvation. What I said still holds true, however, in order for this to happen you must first do the hardest thing you have perhaps ever done. The key to your salvation is simple… walk away. Go back to where it is that you dwell, leave me and my family in peace. Do this and God will spare you from the reckoning that is eminent for this world.”

Twilight looked away from the deranged mad man for a moment before slowly turning back with a face that showcased both her determination and resolve.

“We survived the worst Equestria could ever possibly throw at us and we still came out on top,” She spoke. “Time and time again we faced insurmountable odds and still we were victorious. No matter what you say or do to us, we will always resist.”

For a moment, the smile on Joseph’s face faltered into one of the frown before he smiled again, though this was more ‘forced’.

“And this is your final choice?” He asked.

“Yes!” The girls and Spike answered in unison.

Rather than getting extremely angry like he really wanted to, Joseph instead looked amongst the group again.

“I know that you are in pain,” He addressed them. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. But you are not the only ones to be tested.”

Joseph released a deep chuckle before reaching for the sleeve of his white shirt and pulled it up so they could all see the tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo was of a beautiful young woman.

“Did you know that I had a wife?” He smiled. “So beautiful, isn’t she? We were pregnant with our first child, and we were just babies ourselves really. And I was terrified. Becoming a father, mostly about money, but she wasn’t worried. She had faith that things were going to work out. She always had faith. Then one day she was going to go visit a friend, and there was an accident… and the Lord taketh.”

Joseph held back a sob which tried to escape his tortured soul, but he kept it in.

“They rushed me to a hospital and put me in a room with this little pink bundle stuffed with tubes and they said I had to be strong, because my little girl was going to live. God was looking out for our daughter. And they left me alone in a room with her, and I just… stared… at my daughter. So helpless, so innocent, and all she had in the world was me. A nobody from nowhere with nothing. And in that moment, I knew that God was testing me. He was laying out a path before me and all I had to do was choose.”

The more he told this heartbreaking story, the more terrified the girls and Spike grew.

“So I put my hand on my little girl’s head and I leaned in… and I could smell. And we prayed together. Prayed for wisdom, prayed for strength… then I knew. I heard God’s plan for me. And I took my fingers and I put them on that little plastic tube that was taped to her angelic face… and I pinched it shut. And after a little while, her little legs started to kick and kick… then nothing. Stillness. Release. The Lord giveth and the Lord… taketh. Pain. Sacrifice. There are all part of his test, and we have to prove that we can serve God… no matter what he asks.”

When his story was finally over, Twilight and all her friends stared wide eyed toward the mad preacher, unable to even comprehend what he just told them. He’d actually… killed… his own child. If there was ever any sort of hope maybe Eden’s Gate were just, it was all completely shattered. Joseph closed his eyes as the pain and torture recalling his past life flooded back to him. He opened his eyes again and this time there was deep anger inside.

“So I tell you once more, take my offer and leave now… or God will bring his wrath upon all of you.”

With that in mind, Joseph walked off with Faith and John. Jacob called off his wolves as he joined after them. This provided the perfect opportunity for the Mane Six and Spike to race out of the church back to Twilight’s car so they could get the Hell out of there as fast as possible. Little did anyone know that hiding behind the corner of the church was none other than Derick Collins.

Derick had secretly heard the entire conversation through a cracked wall in the church, and even he couldn’t believe what he heard. Growing up his entire life in the compound, he always believed the Father to be this great savior and leader of their group. Now after hearing what Joseph had done to his own child, even supposedly in the name of God, it sickened him deeply. It became perfectly clear to Derick: Joseph Seed was ‘no’ savior. Just a mad man preaching lies and deception to his cult.

And when Carrie White discovers the truth about Joseph, and the one caring person in her life didn’t tell her… Collins knew it was going to break her heart. The problem was: How was he going to tell a young girl who finally felt so happy?