Watson was in his room at the Shetland palace, fiddling around with a small device he brought with him when Celestia requested him. It was still weird to be a guest in the same palace from which he fled for his life a few years ago, so he was working on this small device to keep him calm, especially after the previous night's events. He was intending it to be an engraving tool usable by Earth Ponies, but with how his luck ran, it would probably be an automatic mane-brusher.
There was a knock at the door before Ditzy called, "You decent?"
"I'm fine," Watson said as he put away his latest invention. Ditzy stepped inside, wearing her usual smile.
"Just wanted to let you know that-" she saw the bruise on Watson's jaw. "Sweet Celestia, Watson, what happened to your face? You okay?"
In no mood for a long talk, Watson replied, "I fell off my bed."
"Onto what, a horseshoe?" the cross-eyed Pegasus asked sarcastically, clearly not believing Watson's story. "Never mind, I can tell you don't wanna talk about it. Anyway, Her Highness, the Red one I mean, wanted to see you. Ready to do some scrying?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," the small unicorn said as he put the engraver away. "Let's go." The two Equestrian ponies left the Guest Wing of the massive palace and made their way towards the throne room, passing other Shetland Ponies along the way. Most ignored the two Equestrians, but three or four recognized Watson from four years ago (one of whom actually smiled at the small unicorn). As they approached the throne room, the two guards in front of the door stopped them.
"Are either of you Watson?" one of them asked.
"I am," Watson affirmed. The guard asking this looked down at the tan unicorn with a look of surprise.
"The way Her Highness spoke about you," he stated, "I expected you to be taller."
"She plainly stated he'd be small," the other guard groaned from his companion's shortsightedness. "Go on in. Her Ladyship's expecting you." The two guards stepped aside and the two ponies entered the throne room. Watson had never been in the throne room, so the view took his breath away.
It was long and wide like Celestia's throne room, and it was lined with stained glass windows, but the similarities ended there. Whereas Celestia's room was white and gold, this room was mostly red with black, silver and the occasional blue. There were tables, too, and each was lined with ponies of varying sizes, colors, races and ages. The windows depicted major events in the Shetlands history, like Celestia's, only each window had Malice in a prominent place. The throne was black and red, as well. Sitting on the throne was Malice, next to her was Celestia and between the two was a very indignant-looking Racer. At the base of the steps leading to the throne were Redstamp and Thom. All eyes were on Watson and Ditzy as they trotted across the room to the throne.
"Everypony," the Princess of War addressed the crowd, "You have no doubt heard of the mysterious murders being done throughout the Shetland territories. Something you might not know, however, is that similar murders are taking place in Celestia's domain as well." There was a murmur among the crowd as Malice continued, "As such, Celestia and I have decided to work together to figure out the source and reason for these crimes. The ponies you see here today are Paladins of Equestria, one of whom some of you no doubt recognize." Watson made an attempt to hide behind Ditzy. "For the next few hours, Celestia, myself and one of her Paladins will be investigating the latest scene. The other Paladins will remain here, seeing if they can learn anything. If any approach you and ask questions, I implore you to cooperate and answer as honestly as possible. They are working under my authority and have authorization to access all but the highest-class information. That is all."
As the crowd dispersed, Racer leaned towards Malice and said, "Are you sure that runt will be of any help, Milady?"
"Undoubtedly," the scarlet alicorn nodded. Stepping down from the throne, Malice asked the small unicorn, "I will teleport us to the latest scene. You'll know what to do from there. Are you ready, child?"
A bit annoyed at being called a child despite being twenty-two, Watson nodded. "I am ready, Milady." With a brief grin, Malice's horn shone red, the familiar roar of magic filled the room and the two princesses disappeared with Watson.
Watson was seeing spots after that last teleport. When they faded, he saw he was in a small, well-lit cave. Along with the two princesses, there were two Shetland knights standing beside a large design on the ground. Upon closer inspection, Watson was both surprised and disturbed. It was a plain circle, but it was drawn with blood. In the middle was a large pool of blood and next to that was a small piece of torn cloth. Watson gasped and stepped back when he realized what that cloth was. It was stained from the blood, but the white-and-gold crest of the rising sun could still be easily seen.
"This is why Red didn't reply," Celestia said with a mournful tone. "My messenger was captured and murdered."
"Whether he was taken from the palace, or was caught en route," Malice continued, "I couldn't tell. That's why the Conclave only thinks I'm investigating murders. I can't risk telling them what I know in the event one of them is behind all this." Turning to Watson, she asked, "Can you feel anything?"
Watson nodded in reply. Even with the body of the unfortunate Equestrian removed, even with the passage of time, the circle was still emanating magic. "What's the plan?"
"You will try to scry the magic," Malice replied. "In the event that you cannot discern the purpose of the circle, I would like you to try and anchor the magic in place so I can try to figure it out. Ready?" Watson stepped forward and lowered his head. Time to do his thing. Taking a breath, Watson began focusing his magic into a divination spell. His first attempt, his horn sparked and a nearby rock scooted a few inches over. His second attempt, his horn flared and the circle's magic receded. Until Watson's horn died down, the circle was indeed without magic.
The two Princesses anxiously watched as Watson's third attempt also ended in failure. Waiting until his horn died down, Watson recalled how he felt four years ago, as he charged up that last spell. Watson could feel his head warm up, and that familiar headache sprung up, but his horn remained dull. Slowly, carefully he extended his will into the circle. Rather than focus on a divination, Watson just let his magic seep into the circle, like pouring a glass of water into a sponge. He could still feel the circle's magic, but his own was mingling with it. He was in.
"Is everything alright?" the Princess of War asked. She couldn't feel it. That was proof that Watson's magic was working. With a grin, Watson's horn flared as his magic made the red circle turn green. He had it. The magic of the circle was fighting back, trying to retreat, but Watson wasn't letting go. A few more moments passed, and he felt a snap in his head. Then another. His grip was slipping.
"Do it!" the tan unicorn groaned from the pressure. He could hear Malice's horn roar and he felt another magic seep into the circle. Maintaining his focus, Watson struggled to keep the circle's magic in place. There was another snap in his mind, harder than the last one. The next snap actually knocked his head back, but the former Paladin didn't relent. Instead, he pushed back. The circle's magic receded a minute amount, but enough was still there for Watson to maintain his grip. He could feel Malice's magic cover his own as she examined every piece of magic this circle had. They were almost done.
Without warning, a wave of magic surged into Watson's mind. His head was thrown back and his vision was filled with orange light. He could feel his mouth open, but no noise came out. Watson could no longer feel the circle's magic nor Malice's. He heard muffled noises from the direction of the Princesses, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He could feel pressure on his shoulder, like somepony was shaking him, but he couldn't move by his own volition. After a few more moments of blindness, the small unicorn could hear himself say a short, incomplete sentence.
"…you seek to command…you must…be claimed…"
Then his world turned black.
Watson snapped awake and gasped for air. After a few more moments spent just breathing, Watson took in his surroundings. He was back in the Shetland palace, he guessed. It wasn't his room, though. It was too big and spacious. The ceiling was a dome, too. He tried to turn his head, but his neck was stiff and sore. He gave a groan of pain at the ache. What the Chasm happened?
"You're awake," an unfamiliar male voice to his side stated. "How do you feel?" Watson tried speaking, but only a dry rasp came out. "Hold on, hold on. I bet you're just thirsty." As whoever was there said this, Watson realized just how thirsty he was. His mouth was completely dry. He could hear the sound of a bottle opening and felt his mouth open. A cool liquid filled his mouth, and he coughed as he tried to swallow it all.
"Whoops, my bad," the voice apologized. "Didn't mean to pour so much." The flow of liquid slowed down and Watson was able to swallow without having any of it go down the wrong pipe. A few moments later, the bottle was removed. "Okay, try again, Paladin." Watson tried talking again, and it was significantly less painful than the previous attempt.
"Where am I?" he asked with a weary voice.
"The Saint Crescentstar Hospital," the voice responded. The owner of the voice leaned into Watson's field of sight, revealing himself to be a unicorn in a doctor's coat. "You were brought here a few days ago in a completely catatonic state. The Princesses were quite worried."
"Princesses?" The memories came back to Watson. The circle and its magic had done something to him. And that message, what did it mean?
"Speaking of princesses," the doctor stated, "the Red Lady requested to be contacted if you woke up. Just wait here, I'll be back in a minute." Watson could hear the doctor heading off to his right and the sound of an opening-and-closing door immediately preceded silence. Watson tried to sit up, or even move a leg, but his limbs were totally unresponsive. With no ability to move and nopony else to speak to, the small unicorn just lay there, going over what happened in complete silence. Minutes passed, but the doctor had yet to return. Watson knew that it would take a bit to contact a Princess, but this uncomfortable silence seemed to slow down time.
"Psst!" A new voice hissed, startling the tan unicorn.
"Who's there?" Watson asked.
"Don't say anything," this new voice ordered, "just listen. First, let me say that you were rather brave, and kinda stupid, to do what you did. The backlash from that circle tore a few holes in your metaphysical synapses, which is why you're paralyzed. Normally, it would take a few weeks to recover from the sort of blow you took, but I know none of us have that kind of time."
"What?" Watson asked. This guy, whoever he was, was just confusing.
"Now," the voice continued, "What I'm gonna do will definitely hurt, but it'll speed up your recovery. You'll be up and about in another day or two."
"What's the catch?"
"The catch?" the voice asked. "Don't fail," he replied with a serious tone. "I know what's going on, and I know you can help stop this. If you fail and die, I swear to Solarion that I will wake you up and kill you again. Clear?" A moment passed before the voice went, "Oh yeah, paralyzed. Um, sorry." Watson suddenly felt an immense pain in the side of his neck. He would have screamed, but something, or rather several somethings, covered his mouth and muffled the sound. The pain died as quickly as it came.
"No need to scare anypony," the voice stated. "Okay, I've gotta go now. Stuff to do. Also, when the Red Lady comes, tell her hi for me."
"Who are you?" Watson whispered.
"My full name might scare you," he replied, "but you can call me Neph." Watson heard a buzzing sound, like a large insect, depart from his bed and leave him in silence once more. There was still a slight pain in the side of his neck, but the overall ache of his body had lessened. Whatever this "Neph" had injected him with, it seemed to be working. Even time seemed to move faster, since it seemed like only a few more minutes passed before Watson heard the door to his right open and the sound of hooves reached his ears.
"Greetings, Paladin!" Malice exclaimed as she entered his field of vision. "How do you feel, child?"
"Like a house landed on me," Watson replied. "I feel better than earlier, but I still can't move."
"Your metaphysical synapses took a hard hit," Malice replied, "If they were hit any harder, you might have lost the ability to use magic for the rest of your life."
"Good thing it wasn't that bad," Watson grinned. "Did the circle do this?"
"I think," the scarlet Princess replied, "that it was a backlash from all the magic in that confined spot. Your trying to anchor the magic in place combined with my scrying was too much for the circle to handle. The magic just tore apart and chose the path of least resistance. I admit, Watson, I was quite scared when your eyes started shining the way they did. The chant you gave was also rather…unsettling."
"Chant?"
"While your eyes were glowing, your mouth stayed open. Words just came out, even though your jaw wasn't moving. You spoke about the Last Days, and how the shroud of Death would cover the land."
"Last Days?" the unicorn asked in confusion. "Nothing about something being claimed?"
"Claimed? That word never came up. Why?" Malice leaned closer. "Did you hear something else?"
Watson nodded. "I didn't catch all of it, but it was something about commanding and being claimed. I don't know what was being spoken about, but that's what I heard."
"I see," Malice acknowledged. "Well, I'll inform your companions about this. For your information, Celestia returned to Equestria yesterday, and you've been out nearly a week." The Princess lowered her head, and her expression turned sad. "I'm sorry to have done this. I did not think that you would be hit in such a manner. By my guess, you'll be down for another half of a month. We'll continue investigating, so just relax for now."
"Actually," Watson announced, "I'd say I'll be up in a few days."
"What makes you say that?" Malice asked quizzically.
"Somepony else was here," Watson explained. "He told me about what got hurt, and he injected me with something that he said would speed up my recovery."
"My doctors have no medicine that could heal a damaged metaphysical synapse," Malice stated. "Who did this?"
"He wanted me to tell you hi," the tan unicorn replied. "He said his full name would scare me, but I could call him Neph. Does that mean anything?" Malice had a look of contemplation.
"Yes, it does," she answered. "If he's getting involved…" Turning back to Watson, she said, "Just relax for a while. I'll see what else can be done."
"Wait," the wounded unicorn said, "one more thing. Did you learn anything? Did it work?" Malice gave a smile.
"It did. Now rest, Paladin." As she left the room, Watson was tempted to point out he was no longer a Paladin, but he didn't want to ruin the moment. The divination had worked. They could figure out the kinks later, but for now they were making progress. Watson closed his eyes and smiled. Things were looking up.
He gave a stretch and a long yawn as stone fell all around him. No cheering this time. It was night, and he didn't want to wake anypony up. He had rested far too long. It was time to get back to work. Something was off, though. Flexing his claws, he could feel he was weaker than before. Much of his powers were still there, but enough was gone for him to be quite annoyed. It appeared his newfound freedom came with a price tag. Oh well. With a smile, he flew away under Luna's latest nighttime. As he flew, he saw a sickening sight.
To most creatures, the landscape below looked normal. Not to him. He could see the inner truth, the inner order, of all things. The ground beneath him was dying. It wasn't blighted land. The dying parts were too…arranged. Flying higher up, he could see the dying parts curving, like a…oh boy. Sensing the edges, he flew fast as he could to the northwest.
Somepony in the Shetlands had some explaining to do.
Watson was walking through the palace with a slight limp. It had been a few days since he woke up in the Crescentstar Hospital, and he still ached from the circle's backlash. He was on his way to meet Malice, who had figured out at least a portion of the circle's purpose. With him were Ditzy Doo and Redstamp, who were chatting nonstop. They had appeared to hit it off since their current assignment of working with Watson. The tan unicorn had rarely found one of them without the other. Thom, meanwhile, was off doing something in the libraries, nopony knew what. So long as he came back, Watson didn't care. Thom had proven himself capable of getting things done.
The three Equestrians entered the throne room and Malice was waiting for them. Racer was nowhere to be seen, much to Watson's relief. If anything, Racer's mood towards Watson had worsened since the night of their "discussion." Watson was certain that, one of these days, they would have quite the disagreement. As the three ponies made their way to the throne, Malice descended and stopped in front of them.
"You are alone?" she asked. "Where is Thom?"
"Someplace else," Ditzy shrugged. "We haven't seen him all day."
"He needs to be here, too." Malice closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. In a flash of red light, a shouting Thom landed on the ground holding a butterfly net.
"Gotcha!" he shouted before realizing what had happened. "Hey, what the-?" He looked in his net and saw it to be empty. "Oh, come on!"
"What were you doing?" Redstamp and Ditzy asked simultaneously.
"Chasing a weird insect," Thom explained. "It was big and green, almost like a…scarab, that's the word. Anyway, I first saw it a few days ago, and it doesn't exist in any zoological books I've read. So I wanted to catch it and make a sketch so I could see if it was listed in any of Equestria's books. However, seeing as I'm here and not there, I'm guessing something important's popped up."
"Watson is mostly recovered from the backlash," Malice pointed out, "and I've deciphered as much of the circle as I can." Turning to the guards, the scarlet Princess ordered, "Leave us." Without a word, the Shetland guards left the room. "Now," she continued, "I was able to gleam quite a bit from our scrying the circle. It is indeed dark magic, but not like any Nightmare or Dark Magic you may be familiar with." She walked to a nearby table, followed by the Equestrians, and pulled out a rolled up scroll. "While I was divining the circle, I saw that the blood array was only a piece of the full design. This is what it really looked like." She unrolled the scroll, and everypony else gasped at what they saw.
Unlike the plain circle they saw in the cave, what was sketched onto the scroll was quite a detailed array. The circle that was outlined in the cave was still there, but had points coming out the sides like fire. Inside was a spiral, with multiple circles placed along its path. These circles were small and varied in design. Some were striped, others had small spots inside. Jutting out from the top and bottom were lines that ended in a circle, but each of these had a star inside. The left side of the main circle had a nine-pointed star at the end of a flame-like line. The right side two lines coming out, but these ended in nothing. Overall, it was an impressive array.
"What sort of magic would use such an array?" Watson asked. "I'm familiar with magic circles, but the spells that required such elaborate arrays were far beyond anything a lesser pony could do."
"I don't know the full purpose," Malice replied, "but I could sense it's a sort of summoning spell combined with a compulsion of some sort. I scryed everything there was in the circle, but there was very little there."
"Who could come up with a circle like this?" Ditzy asked. "Who would come up with it?"
"I've seen a circle like this only once," the Princess of War stated, "and that was two hundred years ago. I saw a partially-done array inside the Grand Palace of Evisica."
"Evisica?" Watson asked. "Didn't they disappear after the war?"
"Indeed they did," Malice nodded. "I'm also certain they haven't returned. The Evisicans were…not difficult to spot, even in a crowd." She lowered her head. "I remember my soldiers recorded the diagram, and took everything they could from the palace before I tore the place apart. Since this array has re-emerged now, it can only mean someone in the upper tiers of my government is behind this." She turned to the Paladins and Watson and said, "I will have to stay here, but I am preparing an escort for you to go to what's left of the Evisican palace. Perhaps you can find something there I missed."
"Or," Thom-with-an-H elaborated, "maybe we'll find the ponies responsible. They could be using the old palace as a base of operations."
"That could be, too," Watson agreed. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning," the Red Lady answered. "I'm sending you there with six of my best, most trustworthy guards. I don't want to risk losing any of you to this fanatic, or fanatics, in the event there's a group responsible."
"You have our gratitude for such protection," Ditzy bowed her head. Watson, meanwhile, was contemplating everything he had heard. Part of him had hoped he could've just scanned the circle and go home, but the rest of him was secretly enjoying this. He was doing something with his life. He hadn't felt like this since his early years as a Paladin.
Plus, for some reason or another, seeing Malice gave him a feeling altogether new to him. He liked it, whatever it was.
Celestia was walking down the stairs from her room after raising the sun. She wasn't surprised to see the usual assortment of guards awaiting her at the base of the steps. However…
"Luna?" she asked. "Why are you still up?"
"Something is amiss, Tia," the Princess of the Night said with a grim tone. "Come with me." As Celestia followed her younger sister, Luna continued, "We first noticed it last night, as we were coming back to the castle, but dismissed it as just a false observation from being overworked. However, we looked again early this morn and we are certain now." She and Celestia stopped next to a window that faced the gardens. "Tell me, Celestia, hast thou noticed we have a statue missing?"