<So, you still wish to go home?>
This question drew gasps from the normally silent creatures around. Timeless imprisonment had left them without any more conversation, and their demonic captor wasn't helping, always watching with those burning, pupilless eyes.
<Well? I am quite sure you still have lungs and throats, although it can be arranged that you don't... anyway, speak up!>
The Griffon present swallowed, as if being trapped here made it impossible to breathe. Nothing seriously considered just ignoring them again, but the female had flown into the air and landed on his beak before he noticed she moved.
"What I think, you dirty old fleabag, is that you should let us go and then hang yourself by your own tail!"
<Ugh. So brunt.> Nothing attempted to roll his eyes, but the true effect was lost. <You knew using the teeniest bit of force used to get you whatever you wanted, when you wanted it. Of course, you hid all of that from your friends...>
She was still glaring at him, so he tipped his head down, letting her slide to the ground.
<I really wish you were truly open with your friends... none of you know everything, do you? Zercora, why did you come to the Everfree in the first place? Rarity, who is Sweetie Belle? Rainbow Dark, who's your father? Gilda, why did you come back? Applejack... okay, I admit, there's nothing I can say about Applejack... I would ask Celestia something, but she's sorta... unable to speak at the moment...> He trailed off for a moment before focusing again. <And Twilight, why did you always try so hard for Celestia? And I think somepony would speak up, or Applejack's going to bite her bottom lip off.>
"We don't have to tell you, you stupid egghead! Why can't -"
Gilda was silenced as Twilight Sparkle set a hoof on her talon. "No. He's right."
Five other sets of jaws dropped. Nothing merely smiled.
"We've never told each other everything. I'll admit to that. But if anypony wanted to know, we would tell them. Do any of you really care?"
Nothing's eerie smile grew wider as heads shook. Oh, this would be fun.
"And I don't want to hurt you, whatever you are, but I think we have to." Twilight looked up at the bird, who was still grinning.
Old magic... nothing knew what was coming. Of course, against him it would have next to no effect, but he knew when to play along and when to end the game. Momentarily, the magic barrier was lifted. Gilda and Rainbow Dark seemed to feel it, lifting into the air. Twilight and Raritys' horns sparked.
"Positions, everypony!" A calm look settled over Twilight's face. Cold, aged, but steely and calculating. A minor magic flare, and a set of six gold decorations fizzled into existence. They settled on the old Bearers and their replacements, shining despite the lack of light. Mere moments later, they began pulsing the shapes set in the gold, lighting the closest blackness.
Nothing was bracing himself. The magic would be painful, but it would be quick, like getting a needle, or getting your leg ripped off seconds before the anesthetic kicked in. His feathers were standing on end, his tails curling close. There were a few curious grinding noises, and the dark raven had kneeled in front of the Bearers. His eyes darted between them, metallic flecks glittering in their depths.
The fire in his core leaped higher, threatening to rise from his jaws. He hoped it would stay hidden for the time being.
There was a brilliant flash of light. All was hidden, before slowing disappaiting back into darkness, lit only by the two Unicorn's magic and the residual glow of the Elements.
The assembled were staring in horror at the sight unfolding before them.
"I... I didn't think it would... would actually kill him..." Twilight whispered, eyes wide.
"Ah hate to crush that, Twi,..." Applejack was looking up at the hulking mass in front of the,, wishing she had better light. "But ah don't think it's dead..."
Indeed, the creature was still letting out rasps of breath, although they seemed too precise, almost as if there was some metronome ticking them on and off. Adding to the effect, the skin seemed to be falling off their captor, in huge hunks that would have been far too rotted to look at in normal light. But oblivious to the discoloured, bubbling flesh all that was attention-grabbing was the metallic sheen under the skin. Soon, there looked to be a massive mound of icy shards, other than the eyes. Slowly, like a cloud over the Everfree, the surface of them peeled off, dropping lifelessly to the ground.
Startling all the Bearers, Gilda and Rainbow plunged to the ground as Rarity and Twilight's light went out. The Elements dulled and rusted, crumbling around their necks - and forehead. And in the darkness, two pinpricks of red suddenly lit, enlarging and shrinking as if focusing.
A flurry of sound erupted as the mound moved, pushing up onto ancient talons, lighting its' own metallic glory with the electric shine around the eyes. Metal ground, a few distinct cracks could be heard as what sounded like gears began moving again. Whatever had been living about the creature had vanished. Fire flickered from aluminum jaws as the beast breathed, or at least fueled the inner fire.
<Not the best move you've ever made.>
The town crowded around the last torch, lowered to the ground to act as a bonfire. Night had fallen, and a few icy winds still manged to swerve through the houses and bite into the fur of the ponies sitting around.
This had been hard to arrange, but Discord had pulled it off, using the 'beliefs of his species' as his trump card. So he got to use the last torch out, and was rather enjoying himself. He knew he could of thought of a better name than 'the Spring Party', but he was short on time, and... well, it was all trivial. He got to party all night, and that was good enough.
"So, I need five volunteers!" He yelled, shocking everypony in the crowd. Slowly, timidly, hooves were raised. He selected five at random, letting them find their way through the crowds on their own.
As they got closer, they looked away from him more and more, trying to keep walking forward. Discord could smell ther fear. He was mildly surprised that none of the ponies nearby couldn't. It reeked a little, but it was a break from the candy and happiness, so he enjoyed it slightly.
"Ah, thank you!" He pointed to the only filly, with a cream coat and bright orange mane. "You, go stand over there."
She did as she was told, seemingly relieved to be further away from the draconequus.
"Further!" He yelled, swinging his paw rapidly until she was out of sight between the tents. Putting his voice back to a normal volume, he pushed the stallions back into the crowd, ignoring their whimpers of mild fear. "Now let's party!"
As the filly returned, Discord moved aside to let her pass, laughing as she blushed before merging back into the crowd.
Obsidian was scanning Sunrise's library, looking for any interesting books she might have. The subjects were quite limited, being whatever was salvaged from the burned wreckage, or sitting in Zercora's hut. Not trying to be intrusive, he had avoided the stack on the table beside her bed. He had only come for some light reading while his father created reasons to drink hard cider.
One book kept catching his eye. It wasn't anything special, after all, it was a refrence guide to fauna of Equestria, and much too informative to be interesting, but he kept pulling it out and putting it back without realizing. After being drawn to it again, he pulled it out and lay down, leafing through the pages for something interesting.
Just medical diagrams of deer and ponies. Mostly guts. Being male, he was vaguely interested, although the lack of blood was disappointing. The next page showed a full-page shot of a male and female dragon...
Obsidian's wings opened, pushing out from behind his shoulders. Shutting the book quickly, he shoved it back in its' place and looked around to make sure nopony had seen. Blushing profusely, he glanced back at the book, trying to figure out if anyone would notice if he tore it into pieces and burned it. Knowing his wings were still opened and there was no way he would be able to shut them for the next few minutes, he rolled onto his belly and sighed.
~After a good four hours and quite a bit of hard cider in tow- ... one second, I have to go get Discord out of a tree again...~
Sunrise had, after a few failed attempts, managed to climb the tree up to her house. There was a strange fuzz blocking out her hearing, and her vision seemed a little fuzzy, but the cider was still sweet on her tongue. Stumbling into the wall three times before noticing the door was beside her, she zigzagged into the house, heading subconciously towards her bed.
Obsidian jerked awake, scrambling backwards against the wall. Trying to fit behind the bookcase and failing miserabley, Obsidian picked up the stench of alcohol and stopped trying to fit behind the shelf. Looking through a gap between some older books, he was easily visible, but Sunrise didn't seem to notice, walking into her room, swaying in a way that declared she was extremely drunk.
He managed to get free of the shelf before his wings opened this time. Shaking them a few times to try and get them to move, he kept looking at the room where Sunrise had vanished into. It was dark, and snoring could be heard. Try to keep his eyes averted from the darkened room, Obsidian snuck out onto the deck, leaping off before flying away to his own tent.
Unknown to him, a pair of green eyes pierced the darkness, and a set of talons curled into a fist.