12

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The streets of St. Louis west side of the city is in a panic as an army is marching through the streets. Statues of women are marching down the street by the hundreds, all coming from the Benson Ceramic Factory where they were made. Thanks to it being nighttime the people on the streets weren't as crowded as they would had been during the daytime.

From the buildings and side streets people watched as the statues of women march down the street heading for the river. Watching Asa from his office window saw the parade of golems, which Mordecai informed him to what they are from the old stories. From the Lackadaisy, the owner Mitzi May and her workers and the customers all gathered around the radio listening in on what's happening up above them.

The sights attracted many reporters who are taking pictures or filming the event with cameras but only one radio station is broadcasting live from the scene. That being the portable radio station Kats Eye News driving in front of the army of statues leading them. Built on a one-ton truck chassis that has a self-contained and battery operated, with 100 watt transmitter, generator, portable 53 foot telescoping antenna masts. Glass sides and lighted, including spotlights on the antenna masts. The audio control panel provided for the use of three microphones with 300 foot extension cables, allowing the truck to be parked outside of auditoriums to broadcast live concerts and events. (1)

Behind the wheel is Jonny K. the driver and the repair man for the radio equipment. The reporter Ann Gora broadcasting to the radios of the city that's being picked up by other radio stations, who has listeners glued to their radios as she described the scene happening in front of her. The broadcast is being picked up by other radio stations and spreading across the country as the news spread.

They had come back to the city after driving around in the parts of the state where there weren't any radio stations when they saw the fire. Gora had Jonny drive over so that she could report on the fire, where they saw the statues moving and killing people at the burning warehouses. Gora began broadcasting the news of killer statues when Minnie May Hopkins and Becky Farrah members of the Shimmer pride came out and stop the rampage. Where they spotted the radio station on wheels and got the two radio workers to drive them to the museum with the statues following them.

"The statues are golems just like the one from that old story. Yes magic is real and yes it can be learned, but it's not like being able to just open a book and reading a spell and it happens. You have to actually know how it works and be able to understand what's written for you to be able to use magic. Like how anyone can put a radio or a car together if they have the parts and instructions in how to do it, if they can read that is. But looking at the blueprints for a radio or a car and having to make them yourself, knowing the right king of copper wire to use and how much, unless you been educated in engineering or have first hand learning, there is no way anyone can just make a radio or a car by the blueprints alone. Magic works like that where you have to know how a body works before you can even learn healing magic," Becky explains to Gora.

Becky is riding with Gora and Minnie is riding shotgun. Becky seeing that there's no hiding what's happening is explaining things to help calm things down.

"Healing magic? Like Jesus?" Gora ask.

"Yes but unlike in the stories which are thousands of years old and exaggerated, healing magic has limits. Namely you can't bring someone back to life who has been dead for a long time. Magic that brings people back to life is more like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, where if someone stops breathing you put your mouth on theirs and blow air in and use your hands to pump down on their chest to get them to breath again. Healing magic can't bring the dead back to life, especially when the body is already gone cold, like relighting a dying fire, you can do it but once the fire is out, it's out," Becky said.

"Why make these golems?" Gora ask.

"For the invasion of Equestria," Becky said.

"What?" Gora ask.

"Sunset Shimmer is really a magical princess from another world who ended up here thanks to a magic mirror that open a doorway to this world. And she's been planning and preparing for this for years. But thanks to those men deciding to smash the golems for some reason and setting fire to the warehouse, we can't do this quietly and out of sight now," Becky said.

"A magical princess?" Gora ask.

"Yes a magical princess who was abandon to die by her mother the ruler of the kingdom of Equestria. So she spent years, gathering people to her side, money, and resources to stage a coup on her mother and take her birthright," Becky said.

"That's unbelievable," Gora said completely shocked.

"So are an army of golems that are right behind us," Becky said.

"Point taken," Gora said.

"One thing I learned since joining Sunset's pride, forget everything you think you know and learned. Something's just don't make sense," Becky said.

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The museum-

Stepping out of the police car Feral walk up to the gate of the museum turned into a manor. With that mobile radio station broadcasting what's happening several police are already present around the manor. He looks down the street to see said mobile radio station coming up the street with the army of golems right behind.

"So what do we do? What are our riders?" one of the officers ask unsure what to do.

"No word from up top, so I'm in charge," Feral said staring at the incoming army.

"They won't attack unless attack," Sunset said as walks out of the front gate of her manor.

She is flanked by 4 of the golems that were delivered earlier. Each of them is armed with a Browning 1917 .30 caliber machine gun, and carrying the belt fed ammo box on their backs. The police officers who had used the machine guns during the war knew how heavy and unwieldy they are to use if not mounted on something. No one could fire one of those guns by carrying them for long anyways, let alone carry the weight of the ammo on their backs. (2)

"Ms. Shimmer," Feral said eyeing her and her heavily armed golems. He knows from first hand experience that those heavy machine guns will tear him and his me apart even if they hide behind their cars.

"This is way above your pay grade, as long as your men don't do anything to harm me or my pride or try to stop them. The golems won't attack. And if any of your men are foolish enough to try, the golems will just tear you all to pieces like the men who tried to smash them," Shimmer said.

"Now listen here," Feral said but stop when Dominic came out of the car he came with Blacksad, with his hand on his shoulder.

"Enough Feral, this is a federal matter now," Dominic said.

"No matter, I'll be out of this city and retaking my throne," Sunset said.

The radio truck pulled up and the golems stared at their mistress standing ready for orders. A bright light came from behind the museum lighting up the sky, as a large glowing mirror like thing appeared.

"Ms. Gora seeing how you are already reporting and there be lots of questions later. Why don't you and your driver come along and report on my takeover, as long as the portal is open radios work," Sunset said.

"You heard her Jonny," Gora said.

"I hope you know what you're doing Ann," Jonny said as Minnie told him where to go.

"Follow the truck to the back gate at the docks the portal is open there," Sunset said to the golems who followed her orders.

"All this time was for opening a door to your world?" Blacksad ask as all the things he's been seeing since he accepted this job was starting to finally make sense.

"Yes, all of my operations have been to smuggle in the surplus weapons and equipment leftover from the war and to help some people I have made alliances with. After all I would think the American government would want to have good relations with a nation who have the knowledge of the lost art of magic and resources that could be traded with for things on this side. Or some people here could make things harder and have the blame place on them for any bad relations," Sunset said looking at both Feral and Dominic.

"She's right," Feral said as this, all of this is just too much for him and he better just let others higher in power handle it.

"Backroom deal," Dominic said knowing that the higher ups will be handling it and he doesn't need to make a mess of things.

"So what's with all the eggs and turnips you been smuggling?" Blacksad ask as that's been bugging him.

"Oh that, the eggs are from Phanes the Greek god of eggs by a magic barrel that never runs out of eggs and the turnips are from Akras the Finnish god of turnips by a never ending sack of turnips. Found them and used them to open a chain of fast food restaurants like the ones back in my world," Sunset explains.

"Wait gods are real?" Blacksad ask.

"Of course they are, it's just that thanks to the Abrahamic Religions views on anything magic being the work of the devil. No one has been able to contact them for years. As praying doesn't work, it be you talking to someone who is on the other side of the world without a telephone or a telegraph. The church leaders made sure of that, the churches and temples are the places where you're suppose to pray to have them heard but without the priests being able to use magic to make a connection, it's the same as using a telephone that isn't connected to anything," Sunset said shocking everyone.

"If the leaders of the different religions know that only by using magic you can talk with god, why would they stop people from using magic?" Jonny ask who hasn't move the truck yet.

"So that people have no choice but listen to them on how to live their lives and be under their control. The Bible is just a bunch of exaggerations of what happen, taking credit from other gods and lies. And before anyone says anything the Bible being lies also means that every single act of evil that god ever did, is all made up and that god isn't cruel and all the evil acts in the Bible are just made up. Or you just double down on your beliefs and think that the god of your faith is that cruel and evil," Sunset said.

Everyone who heard were left shock and others opened mouthed at what she just said.

"To open the portal I summon some gods to provide the power to do it. And there are a few who personal knows and unlike anyone else on this moral world has actually talk with said god of the Bible and all the other faiths that worships to the same god but fights to the death over how to worship said god, said by the leaders of said faiths who have never once talked with said god. Telling their faithful what to think and how to behave by their standards and only their own as they don't talk for anyone but themselves and not the god their faith is base on. Who happens to be there after the other gods I summoned invaded said god to the party," Sunset said walking away.

Everyone not apart of her pride all stare at her and each other before following her.

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Backyard of the Museum -

Tables were set and dishes laid out with food and bottles of alcohol drinks all from Equestria, taken from the royal kitchen of Canterlot Castle has been laid out. At the tables are a bunch of people all dressed in outfits of different time periods and cultures. Which all the police and other watchers on saw as they walk into the backyard, as an army of golems all matched into the portal.

"Most of them are gods of alcohol that, I summon and they're providing power to the portal to keep it open and let in so many in at once," Sunset said.

"All of them are gods of alcohol?" Dominic asked.

"Prohibition has done nothing but got more people to drink and cause crime to spike because of it. But it did allow me to so easily smuggle in military equipment, thanks to how you government agents all are focus on the looking for alcohol instead of really important stuff. Just because a bunch of self-righteous, and holy than anyone else, think they know what's best for everyone else," Sunset explains.

"You tell them sister," a woman dress in a blue robe who is chugging down a mug of beer shouted.

"Now here are the gods," Sunset said as she pointed and named the different gods.

Acan, Mayan God of alcohol.

Acratopotes, one of Dionysus' companions and a drinker of unmixed wine.

Aegir, a Norse divinity associated with ale, beer and mead.

Aizen Myō-ō, Shinto god of tavern keepers.

Ampelus, Greek lover of Dionysus transformed into the grapevine.

Amphictyonis, Greek goddess of wine and friendship.

Ash, Egyptian God of Wine and Oases.

Bacchus, Roman god of wine.

Ba-Maguje, Hausa spirit of drunkenness.

Bes, the Egyptian dwarf god, protector of the home, children, and patron of beer brewers.

Biersal, Germanic kobold of the beer cellar.

Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of brewing, who use to be a goddess of Ireland before Christians took over.

Ceraon, who watched over the mixing of wine with water.

Dionysus, Greek god of wine, usually identified with the Roman Bacchus.

Du Kang, Chinese Sage of wine. Inventor of wine and patron to the alcohol industry.

Inari, Shinto goddess of sake.

Li Bai, Chinese god of wine and sage of poetry.

Liber, a Roman god of wine.

Liu Ling, Chinese god of wine. One of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

Mayahuel, Mexican goddess of pulque.

Methe, Greek personification of drinking and drunkenness.

Nephthys, Egyptian goddess of beer.

Ninkasi, Sumerian goddess of beer.

Nokhubulwane, Zulu goddess of the rainbow, agriculture, rain, and beer.

Oenotropae, Greek goddesses, "the women who change (anything into) wine".

Ogoun, Yoruba/West African/Voodoo god of rum.

Ometochtli, Aztec gods of excess.

Siduri, wise Mesopotamian female divinity of beer and wine in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Silenus, Greek god of wine, wine pressing, and drunkenness.

Siris, Mesopotamian goddess of beer.

Sucellus, Celtic god of agriculture, forests, and of the alcoholic drinks of the Gauls.

Tao Yuanming, Chinese spirit of wine.

Tenenet, Egyptian goddess of childbirth and beer.

Varuni, Hindu goddess of wine.

"And those two over there are Cloacina Roman goddess of the sewers and Sterquilinus Roman god of manure," Sunset said pointing to the woman and the man who are dress in working clothes of overalls and long sleeve shirts.

"Goddess of sewers and god of manure?" Gora ask.

"Gods need people to believe in them or people to maintain their powers. Worship are the food of the gods to keep them gods of any worth. A god who has lost worship and isn't remembered anymore has to feed off of what they're gods of. Like a god of death who is no longer worship can still feed off of deaths. In the case of Cloacina and Sterquilinus, people all over the world still use sewers and use manure to fertilize farmland. And as I was saying prohibition has gotten more people to drink, the whole forbidden fruit thing, and by offering the alcohol from my world and using the old rituals that the modern faiths have outlawed called out and summon them for a party," Sunset explains.

"Yup and it's been a long time since anyone called and got us to the mortal realm. I wouldn't had come if it wasn't for just a party and help power a portal to another world and not something dumb like more wealth or getting a job," the woman in blue said. "I hate how my followers always think that, I'm prefect and flawless, it just made me have a big ego where, I couldn't see when I was wrong till it was too late to do anything. Which is why I abandon my followers as they just grew too dependent on me and expected me to do everything for them. Its the reason why the other gods also stop showing up long before the purge of magic, as they too just grew tried of their followers hold them to a standard that no one could ever live up to and just left or asking them to do every little thing for them that they can do for themselves."

"Who is that?" Gora ask.

"That's Yahweh the goddess of the Abrahamic Religions in all of their forms, as in Christians, Jews, Muslims and all that are created from those old stories," Sunset said causing everyone to stare at the goddess.

"Are you really the god of the Bible?" Gora ask.

The woman glowed and suddenly grew into a giantess, and kept growing till she filled the entire sky as she became as big as the planet itself. Around her winged figures appeared flying around her and the sky all over the planet glowed in a golden light. And a bear riding a bike appeared with a banner flying behind the bike, reading 'It's really her!' on it. Then she began shrinking down to human size and once again stood in front of Blacksad, with what's happening playing out in the sky around the world for all to see. (3)

"Well, I'm convince," Jonny said.

"I love this!" Cloacina said watching. "I just love it when people finally meet their god who they worship and put their blind faith into the belief that is completely false and made of nothing but lies. Seeing how you all been praying to a guy that the leaders of the belief all tell them that she's a guy and not a woman."

"It's the reason why the leaders are all men. So that they can claim that as men, they're closer to a male god than a female goddess, and are the ones who are the only ones who can talk to me. Which none of the church leaders have ever once talk to me and just use the blind belief for power, and wealth. Not to mention to allow them to get away with raping children as much as they want and the parents are too blind with their faith to ever believe that the priest of their faith could ever do that to their children," Yahweh said.

"What!" Feral shouted out.

"Father Bealy of the church your family goes to, has been for years sexually abusing the children under his care, the boys. Which the church leaders use their power to hide. If you actually want to have a good afterlife you better arrest him. As I would like him to suffer for using a faith based around me to hide behind. You Bealy will never see heaven and be working in the nightmare factories of hell till you finally earn enough to be killed for good," Yahweh said.

"Killed for good?" Gora ask.

"Hell is a slum right next to the dump for all the other afterlives, where there is scarcity like food which people don't need to live but still feel the effects of starving, disease and death. Which is just dying and coming back to life later. And death is painful, but for the ones that are quick. Hell factories are where people in hell work to earn their way to another life, think of the worst jobs and work environments and that's what people in hell have to deal with to earn a new life, which with the slave wages takes centuries, depending on what they're there for. Reincarnation is real where people can get another chance of life or they can just choose to end it for good and just be dead. For those in hell however, once they earned a new life, everything about them is erased so that it's a new person who is reborn or just be dead," Yahweh explains.

"Didn't you give everything an immortal soul?" Blacksad ask.

"Being immortal doesn't mean unkillable or it can't be destroyed. It just means something can't die from old age and that's it. And I wasn't the one who gave everything a soul and I'm not the creator," Yahweh said.

"But the Bible," Gora said but was cut off by Yahweh with a flash of light causing her to stop.

"This is what happens when people who let others think for them and what some old book that, I have been using as toilet paper to wipe my butt with, keeps on giving me credit for everything. A good harvest, it's because of me. A storm that cause a flood, that's me. People who are sick or need treatment and because the people only pray for me to heal them, doing nothing else and they died because of lack of treatment, that's me as well. I hate you idiots keep on thinking that anything that happens good or bad is because of me," Yahweh explains before giving off a laugh. "If you idiots think that everything in the Bible is real and all the evil things that it says I did that makes me more like the devil then the devil. I'll spell it out to you idiots who are so blind in following a faith that allows people who sexually abuse your children. That's the reason why I don't show myself to anyone anymore. As some guy always use anything I say to gain power and wealth for themselves. I so love dangling false hope to those people that everything is going to be ok, right before I kick them to hell. And seeing how much you my followers are idiots and will even after this will double down on your belief that you believe in more than me the goddess that your faith is centered around. I can keep on doing nothing and you all will still worship me and give me credit for nothing at all. What's the point when my followers will always assign whatever happens good or bad on me."

Everyone who heard their goddess was left speechless as their goddess just told them she will never help them or answer their prays. She isn't anything like they were told to believe that she is or that instead of being a man she's a woman.

"You have no idea how much I resented you my followers as you all just keep on putting your ideals onto me and expecting me to be what you think I should be. Taking liberties with what happen and making it into something else, saying that I can grant life back to the dead. Which while, I can do that, I have never done. And those who die and came back. That's near death experience, where you almost died till someone healed you enough to bring you back. Like a dying fire, being given more fuel to burn. Completely different from bringing back someone who has been dead for a long time. But the leaders of the faiths that has nothing of my will backing them, viewing themselves as me and hiding behind me when things don't go their way as the dirty cowards as they are, say otherwise that you idiots believe in without any proof at all. Believing in values that, I don't believe in," Yahweh said.

"You don't?" one of the cops who followed asked.

"What did you really expect? That, I'm anything like what those leaders of those religions that only use me as its figurehead, tell you what I'm like? This is me. I like having sex now and than, with men and women, I like chugging down a cold one, I say FUCK YOU!" she said causing everyone to be shocked and many children to learn a new word. "This is like meeting your hero for the first time where you only had stories. And instead of the person you have built up in your head, that only exist in your head, they're nothing like what you thought they would be like. Same thing and I don't care for any of you who pray to me, as too many use me to say killing or being assholes to others is because of my will. FUCK YOU ALL. You are all a disappointment. Would be ok if only if, you people actually follow what you say you are who believe in me. I wouldn't have a problem if that was the case, yes some people are good because of those made up faiths, but so many others just use it to make themselves feel better about themselves and to shield them from responsibility for their own actions. And that means you, murdering that man because he's not your race."

Yahweh stared at one of the cops.

"Is this true Freddy?" Feral ask glaring at the man.

"Of course its not," officer Freddy said.

"He has the man's pocket watch on him, in his left pocket on his uniform, that is silver and has a rose on the cover and a dent on the left side and on the inside is engraved G.H. Standing for Gray Hare who was found beaten to death on the 13th of last month," Yahweh said causing Freddy to freeze.

Feral reach into Freddy's pocket and pulled out the very watch that Yahweh had described.

"You're under arrest," Feral growled, humiliated by having this displayed in the sky for all to see. He personally cuffed Freddy and had two of the other cops to escort him to a car.

"As entertaining as all of this is. I have a kingdom to takeover," Sunset said having been watching the scene before her and her golems marching into the portal.

"You really think that army be able to takeover your kingdom?" Gora ask.

"Too late for that," Sunset said as she talked to Bes who nodded and made the portal clear showing the other side.

On the other side is a castle city built on the side of the mountain where the castle sits, and on the bottom is the lower city. Smoke is rising from the city as the golems marched into the city, after grabbing a weapon and equipment from the many open weapon crates. A war airship is is connected to the castle by steel cables where golems are sliding down from the airship. Rows of war machines leftover from the great war have encircled the city, with golems holding the surrendering guards as prisoners of war.

"It's not an invasion, it's a victory," Sunset said as she steps through the portal and before everyone watching, gain the large body of a manticore and tail, the wings of a sphinx and the glowing eyes of a nekomata from the legends.

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Author's Notes -

1 - 1922 was the year that radio broadcasting exploded across the American landscape like a thunderclap. Americans discovered radio almost overnight, and were instantly enthralled at the possibility of hearing voices and music out of thin air. Prior to radio, the only mass media that existed were newspapers, silent films and phonograph records – and none of these were instantaneous. Now, you could hear a live orchestra from Pittsburgh, or children's bedtime stories as they were being read in a studio in San Francisco.

Americans spent $60 million on radio sets and parts in 1922, and businessmen and hobbyists fed the radio craze by building hundreds of new broadcasting stations. Almost overnight, the radio spectrum was packed with signals from all around the country - the number of licensed stations went from 28 in January to 670 by the end of the year.

At first, all radio broadcasting stations were licensed by the Department of Commerce, who authorized stations in hundreds of cities around the country. But there were still many smaller cities and towns that did not yet have their own broadcast stations, and so to serve these cities a special class of "portable" station license was created. These portable stations were essentially complete radio stations on wheels. They would bring their equipment into cities that had no local radio service and set up temporary broadcast facilities to transmit special events and introduce people to the marvels of radio. Many companies used these stations as promotional vehicles – the radio manufacturers Grebe and Zenith both had portable traveling radio stations that went town to town promoting the sale of their radio sets.

2 - Carrying around a heavy machine gun that needs to be mounted on something to be able to fire with any real accuracy is one thing. But carrying the 1250 to 1500 bullets in the ammo box that weighted at the most 113 lbs, is impossible in an active firefight.

3 - Taking things on blind faith is for the dumb, but when someone who turns into a giant bigger than the planet and can be seen by everyone. That's completely different, and when they have a bear riding a bike with a banner that says they're the real deal in the sky, that's all the proof, I would need.

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