• Published 13th Feb 2012
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Escape from Castle Midnight - Gojira007



Twilight and her friends must embark on a dangerous quest to a dark new world to save Equestria.

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Chapter 6: Not A Gleam, Not A Glimmer, Not A Glow

Escape from Castle Midnight

The fields were rich, and green, and they seemed to stretch on forever. That was always the part she remembered first.
Applejack looked out into that beautiful world...the warm wind against her face, the scent of trees washing through her nose, the calm silence all around...and smiled. She was home.
Until she heard a screeching little noise at her side. That was always the part she remembered next.
Gritting her teeth, the Earth Pony slowly turned her eyes away from the fields...and saw it: a little filly with a yellow coat and an unruly mop of red mane covering her beady golden eyes. Barely able to sit up right, let alone talk, the infant whined at her in its grating little voice.
It made Applejack so angry.
"Sister"...that was what Ma and Pa wanted her to call it. Like Big Macintosh called her. It wasn't like Bic Macintosh, though. He was nice and quiet, and he always played with Applejack when she wanted to, and he left her alone when she wanted to be alone. It, though...it never stopped. Whining and crying and screeching all the time. Always making Ma and Pa have to stay up late instead of tell Applejack the stories she wanted to hear, or keeping their hooves full so they couldn't give her a hug. Making them work harder and harder, all the time.


The Earth Pony's ears went flat, her whole body trembling as she saw that the infant she had been staring down at was gone. Just as her eyes began to scour the fields for even a hint of yellow or red, the air filled with voices. Two voices, deep and powerful, booming all around like thunder.
"...SOMETHING'S WRONG...HAVE T'MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S OK...KEEP AN EYE ON HER, WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK...."
"No...wait...come back!" Applejack tried to scream, but only a whisper came out. She lowered herself to the ground and closed her eyes. The next part...the next part was the worst part.

The ground began to tremble. A low rumble began to echo in the distance. And then a familiar, lilting coo caught the Earth Pony's ears. Eyes shooting open, she looked out ahead and saw it...yellow and red, crawling along the grass...and a cloud of smoke and dust, growing larger and larger behind it. Coming closer.
The rumble grew louder.
The tremble became stronger.
Applejack could only cling tighter to the grass, shaking her head. Her vision remained fixed on the crawling filly...on the dark shapes emerging from the dust. The shapes ran on four legs and hooves, like Ponies, but they were not Ponies. They were too large, too loud, too fast to be Ponies...and they were not stopping. "Go away!" Applejack croaked, "Please...please go away!!"
The shapes did not listen. The filly did not listen. The rumble was deafening now. Cracks had begun to appear in the shaking ground.
A moving mass of muscles now loomed right over the helpless little filly, still crawling about. Hooves like rocks and legs like trees were ready to come down on top of her.
"APPLE BLOOM!!!"
The voices from before cried out again, and this time they bellowed out strong enough to shatter the sky. Applejack could only watch, eyes wide and watering, as the blue and white above cracked apart like glass, scattering away until only pure black remained. Time seemed to stand still: the filly, the shapes, the smoke...all of it stopped moving. Then, from inside the darkness above, two dots of light appeared.
They fell, faster than Applejack's heart could beat.
They flew, faster than the shapes storming through the smoke.
They streaked like fireballs, and wrapped around the filly in an embrace that shined like a star.
For as bright as it was, however, the stars could not last. Soon, the shapes had covered them, and Applejack tried one last time to scream, only to find her feet could no longer feel the grass or dirt. The cracks beneath her had opened up wide, and even as the dust began to cut into her eyes and fill her throat, she fell through, down, down, down into the same blackness that filled the sky...
...and stood behind a wall, looking out at a bed that seemed to glow for how white it was. Whispers creaked out all around her...
"The stampede was out of control...we’ve done everything we can, but…I’m afraid their injuries were too severe….”
Applejack saw another figure then, standing in the soft glow of the white bed. Her Granny, with her soft gray hair and faded green fur. The old mare was looking into the center of the glow with set brows and lowered ears. That was when the shining bed spoke, and even as its voice was thin, each word it spoke sent shivers through Applejack's whole body.
"Promise me...promise me you'll look after them...."
Applejack took a step back, mouth opening and closing soundlessly, shaking her head. It did not matter that Granny gave a slow, unsteady nod at those words. The young pony could feel it, down to her bones. Those words were meant for her.
Then the light faded away, and the entire room grew cold.
Applejack's heart began to hammer, her teeth gritting down as her vision became wet and blurry. Look after them...? Look after it? How? How could she do that after...after....
She screamed, then. She screamed so loud that all the walls broke into pieces and blew away, revealing a small crib that sat there waiting for her. Leaning over its railings, every inch of her trembling, Applejack's eyes bore down on the little yellow filly that slept inside. “It ain’t fair!" she screamed. "It's your fault they're gone!"
The sleeping infant's closed eyes shuddered, its lips wobbled, but Applejack kept going. It felt like everything was spinning, her hooves slipping against the rails of the crib. "You took ‘em away from me! I don’t want t’be your sister!”
With each word, Applejack's voice grew louder, and the child she shouted at squirmed more and more in her bed. Then, just as it looked ready to wake in a fit of tears...
"Promise me...promise me you'll look after them...."
The words cut through the air, and Applejack froze, her eyes now fixed on the frail little form below her. Slowly, she stepped back, biting down the sobs that kept trying to slip out. Sher shivered, and cried, and slammed down on the boards of the floor with each step. "I won't," she cried, and then she screamed. "I CAN'T!"
So she ran. She ran past the crib, past the walls, past Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. She could still hear them, their voices seeming to come from miles and miles behind.
“Ma ‘n’ Pa…I miss ‘em too. But...runnin' away...it won't change nothin'....”
"Y'can only do what your heart tells ya, sugar cube...we'll be waitin' for ya if it ever tells ya t'come back...."
She kept running. Away from the farm, away from Ponyville, away from the starless sky. "Manehattan..." she panted. "If I can make it to Manehattan...I'll be OK."
Sure enough, there it was, just over the hills. The bright lights, hung on towering buildings, made the sky seem...not so empty anymore. Yes...this was the place. Here, she could be safe. Applejack put on one last burst of speed, breaching the city's limits...
...then the fields were rich, and green, and they seemed to stretch on forever. That was always the part she remembered first.

Chapter 6: Not A Gleam, Not A Glimmer, Not A Glow

"Run. Get the others out of here, I'll hold these things off."

Fluttershy could barely hear Gilda's whispered growl over the buzz in her head...over the strange, piercing song that still floated through the air like a distant mournful wind. The pegasus' legs, however, remained stiff on the ground, her wings tight against her body. Her gaze was fixed on the group of creatures...ponies, she reminded herself. Scaled, finned ponies that floated in front of her on swirling spouts of water, twenty or more, easily. They all stared right back at her with those endlessly dark eyes, menacing fangs jutting out of either side of their long, thin snouts. "Step aside..." they said, all of them, together; their voices were at once silken and sharp...like the hiss of a cresting wave. "This one is ours now. Do not interfere." The water beneath them was slowly but surely inching along the ground, closer and closer toward....

"Applejack...!" Fluttershy squeaked, finally tearing her eyes away from the creatures to look at her friend.

The Earth Pony was still on the ground at Fluttershy's hooves, eyes closed and body trembling every so often. She seemed to be trying to speak...to scream...but the sounds would not come out. Or else, Fluttershy realized, they were being drowned out by the depths and swells of the song. "Wait...the song...!" the pegasus thought, ears raising sharply.

"Did you hear me?" Gilda's low voice came through more clearly this time, "I said go!"

Fluttershy turned to the griffon, saw the raised feathers and curled talons as she slowly moved toward the edge of the water...toward the creatures. Then she turned back to the creatures themselves, still staring back at her with those eyes. Those sharp, shadowed eyes. For a moment, the memory of Pinkie's voice flashed through her head. "Those creatures might not SEEM to have all that stuff you said, but I bet if you look deep enough, you’ll find out they really do!”

Thus, even as she trembled, and gulped, Fluttershy closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then she let it go, and opened her eyes, and stepped ahead of Gilda. "Um...excuse me..." she said, voice trembling but strong enough, "but...well, um...your song is...it's very pretty."

"What are you...?" Gilda muttered, beak twisted into a frown, but the finned ponies drew back. The water receded for a moment, and the song faltered as the creatures' focus finally left Fluttershy, instead turning to each other, and the pegasus could see their eyes widen...soften...just a little . "You...you can hear our song...?" they asked, a unified murmur that rippled out as they looked back to Fluttershy.

"Y-yes, yes I can," Fluttershy replied, even managing the slightest hint of a smile, "And...it really is quite lovely. But, um, even so...I need you to stop, if you could."

"Still wish I knew what 'song' you were talkin' about...." Gilda muttered tersely, her eyes flickering between Fluttershy and the creatures, but the pegasus continued, laying a gentle hoof on the trembling Applejack.

"It's hurting my friends...and, um, I realize you probably knew that already, but...well...I don't think you like that, do you?"

"How would you know?" the creatures said.

"Because...I can hear your song..." Fluttershy said, "How beautiful it is...but also how hurt. And...I don't think a Pony who knows what it means to hurt ever wants to hurt others...."

There was a bubbling in the water then, the creatures' fins spreading as the song began to waver. "What we want does not matter," they said, "the song...the song is all we are. We cannot stop."
"Maybe," Fluttershy cooed, stepping towards them with one hoof but keeping another gently on Applejack, "you could try singing a different song?"

Again their eyes turned away from her, staring down now into the darkness beneath the waves. "Perhaps...once...we could have," they said. "Once...we knew many songs...songs of joy, and hope, and courage...songs that moved all who heard them."

"What happened?" Fluttershy said, lowering her head to try and find their gaze again.

The bubbling grew stronger. Gilda, wings spreading, tried to brush past Fluttershy, but the pegasus put a hoof out in her way. "No," she whispered, "wait, please...."

. "Many came to fear our powers...came to curse us, and hate us," they said. "We were forced to hide in the deepest, darkest depths, frightened and alone."
Fluttershy's ears flattened; the water had started slowly inching forward again. "That sounds terrible," she said, still fighting the tremble in her voice, "but...but you're not alone anymore."

The creatures all craned their heads a bit at that, finally letting their eyes meet hers again. "What...do you mean...?"
"I mean...well, I'm here. I can hear your song, and it doesn't hurt me," she continued, "so...maybe...I can do something to help?"

There was a strange tremble, first in the creatures, then in the water. "...you are not the first to tell us they could help," they said, an edge to their voices that caused Fluttershy's ears to sink. "He told us that too...taught us a new song. He promised...."

"He...?" Fluttershy whispered.

She felt Gilda's feathers biting into her hoof then. "Tirek," the griffon growled through gritted teeth.

The creatures immediately turned their attention to Gilda, and the song's strength had returned. "You know him?" they hissed, fins widening up swiftly.

"We know of him!" Fluttershy yelped, but the creatures showed no sign of hearing her; all their focus was now fixed on Gilda.

"He is the reason we are trapped here!" they roared, waves beginning to form behind them. "He taught us this...Song of Suffering! He promised it would give us the strength to defeat all our enemies!"
"Please...!" Fluttershy cried, finally letting her hoof down from Gilda and moving towards Applejack, even as the waves began to curl around the Earth Pony. "Please calm down!"

Still the creatures continued, the spouts below seeming to boil for all their bubbling. "Instead, we became prisoners here!" they said, their tails slamming downwards, sending sharp sprays of foam out towards the ground. "Trapped in a new darkness. Forced to linger in anguish, until all other songs had been washed away!"
Their eyes had darkened again, and Fluttershy could not help but pull Applejack a little closer to her. Gilda, meanwhile, had lowered herself into a pouncing position. "Thinkin' we're out of time here, wimpy-wings," she said, talons digging into the ground. "This time? When I say run, I mean 'run', for real."

Suddenly, a new sound filled the air. A whistling noise, so high and so fierce it finally covered the creature's song, and while Fluttershy and Gilda both took to the ground, shaking and covering their ears, the creatures hissed out in pain. They began to thrash about wildly, the spouts that had held them up dissipating and dropping them back onto the surface of the water. The whistling drew up higher, and higher, and higher into the air, until it suddenly crescendoed into a thunderous "BOOM!", and the sky was filled with a brilliant burst of pure white light.

The creatures' eyes went wide as they were filled with that pulsing, vibrant flash. Their hisses became panicked shrieks, and even as they began to scrape and bump into each other, they turned away at last from Fluttershy, Applejack, and Gilda, the waves they had summoned before pulling back past the shore line. Fins pounding, they took one last leap upwards, moving as one even in their panic, before swiftly diving down below the water. Their tail fins lashed fiercely from side to side, until they too disappeared beneath the final, splashing waves.

Then the light faded, and the air was completely still. No whistling. No song.

It took a moment for Fluttershy to get back onto her hooves, her eyes still fixed on the slowly-stilling water, her hooves finding their way back to Applejack. Gilda, however, was far faster. "Dunno what that was all about," she said, "but it got rid of those...things, so we'd better grab the others 'n' get going before they decide to come back."

With a strong, wing-aided bound, the griffon had made her way back over to Rainbow Dash, who lay, still unconscious, in front of her tent. Just as Gilda placed her beak on the scruff of Rainbow's neck, however, the pegasus gave a grumbling little moan. "D-Dash...?" Gilda squawked, taking a tentative step back.

"N-no...please...please don't go, I...!" Rainbow's voice came out at first as a hoarse whisper, but grew into a panicked yelp as her eyes shot open.

They locked onto Gilda immediately, and the griffon suddenly found herself wrapped in two tight hooves. "Gilda!" Rainbow gasped, "Gilda, you're still here...!"

"Y...yeah, Dash, of course I am," the griffon said, unable to keep a tremble out of her words, "Where else would I be?"

Slowly, her own talons slipped around the pegasus, whose grip had not loosened. "I just had, like, the worst nightmare," Rainbow said, shivering a little. "I kept watching you at Pinkie's party...screaming at all of us and walking away, over, and over, and over, and no matter what I did or said you wouldn't come back, and I just...I couldn't...!"

Rainbow suddenly felt a sharp little peck at her forehead. Pulling back from the griffon at last, she looked up to see her friend with a crooked little grin on her beak. "Hey there, dweeb, calm down," Gilda chuckled, though that shakiness was still there. "No need t'go all sappy on me, I ain't goin' anywhere."

Hooves slowly slipping off Gilda, Rainbow blinked a few times over, ears wiggling as she took a small little breath in, then out. "It just...it felt so real..." she whispered, staring down at the ground for a moment. "Like I was there all over again."

Eventually, however, she smiled, bumping her head to Gilda's. The griffon gave another weak little laugh, but was otherwise silent, closing her eyes and simply letting her head rest against Rainbow's. That was when they heard another familiar voice wailing from nearby.

"Rarity?" Rainbow gasped.

She and Gilda both galloped toward the fashionista's tent. Poking their heads inside, they saw the unicorn, eyes wide, whipping her head from side to side, breaths coming out short and fast. When she spotted Rainbow, however, she began to still. "Rarity, are you OK?" Rainbow said, stepping toward her.

"I think so, darling..." she muttered, putting a hoof gently against her horn. "I thought I was under the spell of that dreadful Inspiration Manifestation again, but...it must've simply been a nightmare." Her snout crinkled up a bit as she added, "A far too vivid nightmare," under her breath.

"I know the feeling, believe me," the pegasus said, ears lowering a bit as she offered her friend a hoof.

Rarity took it with a gentle "thank you", and the three exited her tent, only to find Pinkie Pie there, tackling all of them with such force it almost knocked them back inside. "ThankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!!!" the earth pony squealed, wrapping her hooves around them all and pulling them close.

"Lemme guess," Gilda groaned, "Bad dream?"

"The worst dream!" Pinkie yelped, burying her head in Gilda's chest, then Rainbow's, then Rarity's. "I was stuck at that terrible Dinner Party with Madame le Flour and Rocky and Sir Lintsalot and Mr. Turnip-"

"Who?" Gilda whispered.

"Don't ask," Rainbow muttered back.

"-and I couldn't leave and I just kept hearing 'your friends don't like your parties and they don't wanna be your friends anymore' over and over and over-"

"Pinkie, darling, it's OK!" Rarity piped up, giving her friend a gentle push but also patting her softly on the back. ""It's all OK, you're with us now. You're safe."

The Earth Pony went quiet then, releasing her grip and sliding back from the three. Then her face split into the biggest smile, eyes seeming to glow. "You're right!" she giggled, lifting her hooves back up. "Oh wow that is just the best news ever!"

"Oh no..." Gilda muttered, only to find herself, along with Rarity and Rainbow, scooped into a new, even tighter hug.

"That's enough, Pinkie."

All four turned quickly at the new speaker, and saw Twilight Sparkle, a faint but unmistakable smile on her face. "Twi...?" Rainbow started, taking a step towards the alicorn.

She raised a hoof up to her friend, however. "I'm OK, Rainbow," she said, though her voice was a touch thin, "Or at least...I am now." Her ears folded back, brows furrowing.

A sudden shiver ran through Twilight then-her spell falling apart, Spike in the ape-beast's tail and rising farther and farther away, her friends all falling down around her-but, with a shake of her head, it passed. "So...does anyone have some idea of what exactly happened here?" she asked. "It almost felt like I was back at Sombra's door again...."

Just as Gilda took a step forward, however, Fluttershy's voice echoed over to them from the shore. "Help! Gilda, are you there? Please help!"

All seven were quick to respond, each moving quickly to where the pegasus still stood, and where Applejack still lay, shaking harder and harder by the second. "Oh my...!" Fluttershy gasped as they gathered around her, "You're...you're all OK!"

"We are," Rarity said, "but it doesn't look like poor Applejack is."

The pegasus shook her head vigorously. "She's getting worse, I think," she whispered. "I've tried everything I can, but she won't wake up."

Rainbow layed her hooves gently on Fluttershy, looking up to Twilight. "It's OK, 'Shy. Twilight's here now, she can help." She looked up to Twilight with flat ears, but a smile too. "Right, Twi?"

The alicorn frowned, lowering herself down to Applejack's level. "I...still don't really understand what's happening here," she said, "but...I'll at least see what I can do. Maybe the memory spell I used to reverse Discord's brainwashing...."

Her horn took on a gentle glow as she pressed it to the Earth Pony's forehead, and Rainbow gently nudged Fluttershy aside. "Give Twi space t'work, 'Shy'," she said, "It'll be OK."

Fluttershy nodded slowly, following her fellow pegasus back a few steps. Rarity soon sidled up to them both, flashing one of her signature smiles. "Rainbow is right, dear," she said, "everything will be fine. Now why don't you take a moment to calm down, mm? Pinkie, perhaps you could give her some sweets to soothe her nerves?"

Whatever answer Rarity was expecting, none came. "Pinkie?" she squeaked, twirling around quickly before catching sight of the bouncing Earth Pony hopping away from them, her snout pointing straight up into the air.

"Now what's she up to?" Gilda asked lowly.

"I'll go check on her, no worries," Rarity said, waving a hoof lightly at the others. "You two just make sure Fluttershy is taken care of."

No sooner did Rainbow give her a nod then she made a swift trot over to Pinkie, who she could now hear was sniffing quite loudly. "Pinkie, dear," the unicorn said, "I know how much you value spontaneity, but this isn't exactly the best time or place to go wandering off without telling one of us."

"Uh-huh..." the Earth Pony replied flatly before taking another long, loud sniff of the air.

Rarity quirked her brow at that. "What is it that has so captured your attention?"

Immediately, Pinkie was snout-to-snout with the unicorn. "Don't ya smell it, Rarity?" she said. "That smelly smell that smells sooooooooo...smelly?"

Her eyes narrowed instantly at that last word, and Rarity began to chuckle nervously...until she too took a quick whiff of the air. "You know..." she said, "Now that you mention it, I do. What is that strange odor? It wasn't around a minute ago...."

The two ponies let themselves stand there, absorbing the strange scent. It was like...a mixture of rotting trees and sea salt, with just a touch of pepper on its edges. "It's coming from this way," Pinkie said, resuming her bouncing trot.

"Pinkie, wait!" Rarity hissed, "It could be...."

She did not finish that sentence, because after following her friend for a few more steps, she saw something ahead, on the edge of the shore. By all appearances, it was a large, pale-green mushroom...except this mushroom was moving. Indeed, after another moment, Rarity realized the mushroom had hands...hands that seemed to be tossing strange, dark-yellow grains near where the land and ocean met. "Ohhhhhhhhh, so that's what that smell was!" Pinkie giggled.

Rarity was not the only one to fix Pinkie with a strong look then. The "mushroom" slowly swiveled around to face the two Ponies, revealing itself to rest on top of a short, stout creature garbed in a dark-green coat, a pair of earthy-brown boots, and a matching belt. He stood on two legs, most of his hunched body covered by a thick, mossy beard that hung from a face lined with the cracks of age. He was no Pony, either; instead of a snout, he had a long, bulbous nose, and hands that were gnarled and thin. One of them held a long, branch-like staff that was much the same, while the other rested on a small pouch attached to the belt, its top open just enough to reveal it was filled with more of those odious grains. "So...you did manage to survive the Seaponies' song, eh?" he said with a wrinkled grin, his words thin and raspy, "Good...good. Not an easy thing to do, that."

"Seapony song...?" Rarity asked, taking a step forward even as he turned away from them, tossing a few more grains on the ground. "Is that what was affecting us?"

The stranger nodded, taking one last clump of his grains before closing the pouch. "And you...you're the one who made it stop, aren't you?" the unicorn continued, again taking another step towards him, Pinkie following her.

"That I am, my dear, that I am," he replied, keeping his back to the ponies. "A few Flashbang Seeds did the trick...Seaponies are very sensitive to bright lights and loud noises, so a bit of both tends to scare them off pretty good."

"Wow that sounds really cool!" Pinkie said. "Thanks a lot for the help, mister...uh....misterrrrrrrrrr...."

"Moochick," he chuckled with a shake of his head. "You can call me Mr. Moochick."

He began to walk away from the ponies then, lifting his staff up and slowly waving it from side to side. "But now, I must take my leave," he said, "and I suggest you and your friends do the same. The scent of my Seabreaker Salt will keep them from coming back for now, but it can only last so long."

Pinkie and Rarity looked at each other quickly before the unicorn trotted after him. "Wait!" she said. "Please, don't go! One of our friends still needs your help."

Moochick's steps did not slow. "Then take her back to where you came from," he said, "and hope they can help her there."

"What? But...we can't go back!" Rarity cried.

"You can, and you should," he replied without turning back. "This is all I can do. This is all any of us can do. "

"What does that mean?"

"I am sorry, my dear, but I must go. I fear I've already risked too much as it is."

"Risk?" Rarity scoffed. Her ears pricked up, and her tail slapped the ground sharply. Her trot became a gallop, and Moochick soon found his path blocked by the white unicorn. "You want to talk about risk?" she said. "My friends and I have had our homes attacked and destroyed, our lives threatened, and our loved ones taken prisoner! And we still came to this monster-ridden, light-starved wasteland searching for a castle that is controlled by some ancient evil with almost no knowledge of what to expect or what to do and armed only with our wits, a hot-air balloon, and some tents!"

She leaned in, eyes narrowed, until her snout nearly touched the creature's nose. "If we can risk that, you can take the time to help my friend."

Rarity stared Moochick down for a moment. He simply looked back at her, that crooked little grin unchanging. "...please," she finally added, ears lowering and eyes opening.

A rough little chuckle came from inside the mossy beard as he turned his gaze from Rarity to Pinkie. Pinkie simply shrugged and smiled. "What she said," the Earth Pony giggled.

Brows furrowing a little, Moochick turned back to Rarity, shaking his head. "You still do not understand..." he muttered. "But very well. Take me to your friend. Show me the way...and perhaps then, you will let me do the same."

Pinkie and Rarity both quirked their brows, but neither said anything. Instead, they galloped back along the shoreline, Moochick in tow, until they found their way back to the others. Twilight's horn had lost its glow, but the scene was otherwise unchanged: Applejack was still on the ground, still trembling. "I...I'm sorry..." Twilight panted, eyes looking slightly wet as Fluttershy and Rainbow approached her. "I could feel what was happening to her, but...I couldn't stop it...."

"It's OK, Twi!" Pinkie said. "Rarity 'n' me found someone who can!"

All eyes turned to Moochick as he approached. "Who are you?" Gilda asked, unfurling her wings.

"He can introduce himself later," Rarity replied, "right now he needs to help Applejack." She gave a quick look to Moochick. "You can help her, right?"

He kneeled down next to the trembling Earth Pony, placing his hand to her forehead and humming lowly. After a few more moments, he rose back up to his feet. "Yes," he said, and Fluttershy let out the breath she'd been holding in, "but not here. The Seabreaker Salt will not last long enough for me to treat her properly. We will need to take her to my home."

Gilda and Rainbow both shared a look at each other, while Twilight frowned. After quickly wiping at her eyes with a wing, she looked to Rarity and Pinkie. "I realize it's asking a lot to put our trust in a stranger, Twilight," the unicorn said, "but he is the reason we're not all in Applejack's condition right now."

The alicorn sighed, kneeling her head for a moment before raising it up again, and nodding. Rarity returned the nod, and as she dashed over to the tents, horn alight and enveloping each, one after the other, Twilight motioned Rainbow and Gilda toward Applejack. "I'll need you two to carry her," she said. "I...I don't think it's a good idea for my magic to touch her right now."

Though they both tilted their heads a bit, the griffon and pegasus nonetheless knelt down, each carefully taking one end of the prone Earth Pony and slowly sliding it over their backs, balancing her on top of them. Twilight, meanwhile, turned her attention to Moochick. "You have a lot of questions, I know," he said, though his eyes were pointedly still fixed on Applejack. "And I can give you answers."

He then stood up, beginning to walk ahead of Rainbow and Gilda. "I just can't promise you'll like them," he called back.

Twilight scrunched up her snout a bit, ears folding as she watched him. "I already don't like your answers...." she muttered.

A quick look around showed Rarity, her work finished, joining up with Rainbow and Gilda, keeping her head softly on Applejack's side, and Pinkie not far behind her. Fluttershy, however, was still close to her, a distant look in her eyes. "Fluttershy?" Twilight whispered, approaching her friend on slow hooves. "Come on. We need to follow this...whoever-he-is, so we can help Applejack."

The pegasus nodded silently, and followed after Twilight as she began to walk after Moochick. Even as she did, however, her head slowly turned back to look at the ocean, and its hissing waves.



Spike stared down at the ocean and its hissing waves. Every so often he would look over at Scorpan, who sat in silence looking at those same waves, knees pulled up to his chest and wings folded along his shoulders, but it would only be for a moment, and then he would turn back. It was all that either had done since the ape-beast had landed them on top of the castle's tallest tower. It was all Spike could think to do with Scorpan's words still rattling around in the back of his thoughts. "You can feel the power of this world...It is a power which overwhelms…consumes. That is its nature. And that nature is our nature.”
"Not my nature," he told himself again, claws idly fiddling together.

Still...looking down into those black waves, feeling the bite of the wind on his scales, smelling that heavy, bitter air...Spike had to admit, that "power" Scorpan spoke of sure seemed real. "And if it is, maybe that means..."
A flash of memory went through his thoughts then...a towering purple dragon stomping through Ponyville, Rarity coiled in its tail...but he shook the image away with a brief snort of flame. That seemed to grab Scorpan's attention, his eyes turning to Spike even as the rest of him remained perfectly still. "Your thoughts trouble you, I see," he finally spoke.

Spike looked to Scorpan again, but he did not turn away this time, finding the ape-beast's eyes looking at him with that same gentle glow he'd seen before when they'd first arrived at the castle. "And you're surprised about that?" he asked, "I mean, I dunno if you've noticed, but this hasn't exactly been the best day of my life."

Scorpan gave a gentle grunt, closing his eyes and relaxing his wings. "A fair point," he said.

Slowly, the ape-beast's hand moved toward Spike, and though he frowned, the dragon did not move. He soon found that hand resting gently on his shoulder. "I am...sorry...you have had to experience all of this the way you have," Scorpan whispered. "I know it does not make sense to you now. But in time, you will see. This...this is what needs to happen."

Spike scrunched up his snout a bit, mouth opening sharply. Slowly, however, his gaze fell on the ape-beast's hand, still resting softly on his shoulder. With a sigh, Spike lowered his head. "...why?" he asked. "Why is this 'what needs to happen'? Why are you doing this?"

"You already know why," Scorpan replied.

"No, I don't!" Spike snapped, hopping to his feet. "You keep talking about how important this is, and how it's 'right', and all of that stuff, but you keep sounding really sad about it, and you keep worrying about me, and you even tried t'give that Pony some comfort before he...before it...."

The dragon shivered at that thought, ears drooping as he gulped a little. He felt Scorpan's hand, however, still holding on with a light grip, before finishing softly, "...a Bad Guy wouldn't do all that. So why are you doing all of this?"

Wings tensing up against his back again, the ape-beast gave a sigh of his own before saying, "Scorpan is Scorpan."

"You've said that before," Spike said, "but I don't get it...what do you mean?"

His legs slid away from his chest as he slowly turned his body to face Spike. The dragon stayed on his feet, but he could not help but shrink back a bit as he found himself face to face with the ape beast. "I mean that we do not choose what we are," he said. "We are born one way, and that is the only way we can ever be. There is no changing it."

His free hand rose to his chest as he continued, "And we...we monstrous creatures...are born to destroy. That is our purpose."

"I'm no monster...." Spike whispered, stepping out from under Scorpan's grip.

"Aren't you?" Scorpan asked lowly. "Do you not have a dragon's fire? A dragon's claws and fangs?"

The young dragon prepared to answer, but the ape beast beat him to it. "You feel a dragon's desires. I know you do. Even now, you can feel their power...."

Again, Spike could see his towering shadow cast over Ponyville...could hear Rarity screaming at him to let her go. "But...I don't want t'be like that...." he mumbled.

"It does not matter what we want," Scorpan answered, and if Spike did not know better he would have sworn there was a crack in his voice then. "It does not matter that you were raised by Ponies. That power...that hunger...is what you are. It is all you can ever be."

He then rose to his full height, spreading his wings slowly. "Just as this is all I can ever be," he said. "A monster."

Spike took a step away from him, but Scorpan followed it with a step forward. "That is why I do this," he said. "Because it is what I am meant to do. It is my nature." He then pointed one clawed finger right at the young dragon. "And it is yours."

Again Spike stepped away, ears drooping down as he shook his head. Scorpan looked down at him, his wings giving a brief flutter, his brows furrowing. "I know...how hard it is to come to terms with this...with what we really are, in the end," he said, his head slowly tilting toward the sky. "I too struggled to accept it when I first learned about it...but in the end, Lord Tirek helped me see. He helped me to understand."

Looking back down, he fixed his gaze back on Spike. "That is what I want for you, little one," he said. "For you to understand. So that you can live again as you were meant to. So that you can draw strength from the power of this world, rather than be destroyed by it."


He was shocked to see the slightest hint of a smile on Scorpan's face then. He was even more shocked when he felt a little smile of his own coming on. With a soft little hum, the ape beast laid his hand gently over Spike's. "This...is good," Scorpan said. He snorted a little, ears folding as he continued, "Thank you...little one."

"You're welcome, I guess...?" the dragon replied, scratching his spines with his free hand. Then, tail swishing slightly, he added, "Oh, and you can stop with that 'little one' stuff. Call me Spike, OK?"

"Very well...Spike," Scorpan chuckled.

Spike chuckled too, even as he slowly slid his hand out from under Scorpan's. The ape beast then slid from kneeling into sitting, slowly swiveling himself around to again look out at the sea. This time, however, his wings laid out relaxed along his back, and his legs were now tucked under each other. Then, that ghost of a smile still hanging on his face, he patted the tiles right next to him, giving another gentle grunt. It took a moment, but Spike gave a little nod, and sat down at that very spot, facing the ocean with Scorpan. Together they sat, listening to the rolling waves and smelling the heavy air. Then, tail shuffling a bit, Spike whispered, "...hey, Scorpan?"

With a low "hm?" the ape beast turned his head towards his companion.

Then, looking up at him, Spike finished, "If you...could choose to be different...would you?"

Scorpan's hands gripped against the roof, his brows furrowing and his wings tensing. For a moment, he simply looked at Spike, his mouth occasionally opening, soundlessly, for a moment. A low little growl eventually rumbled out of him, but still he could only stare at the young dragon. With another low chuckle, he turned away from Spike then, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. Yet just as he released it, his eyes shot open, his ears perking straight up as he shot to his feet. "Scorpan?" Spike yelped, also rising quickly. "Are you OK?"

"It is almost time..." the ape beast whispered. "I can feel it."

"Feel what...?" Spike squeaked, even as his ears folded down.

"The Heart..." Scorpan growled. "The Heart is almost ready to feed again."



Power. Burning, thriving, living power. Trixie rose up to her hind legs as she felt it surge through her, a wide, open smile coming to her face even as bolts of crimson energy wrapped around her, lashing out all around like wild lightning. The unicorn’s eyes looked down to her neckline, focusing on the source of it all: the Alicorn Amulet, now fastened tightly to her cloak. Even as her body was battered by the continued bursts of light and force surging out of the dark item, she laughed. “YES!” she shouted, forcing her voice out to match the roar of the crackling magic all around her. “GIVE ME THIS POWER! AT LONG LAST, GIVE ME THE POWER TO CRUSH….”
The light grew brighter and brighter, until red simmered into piercing white…
…and then, with a snort, Trixie sat up.

Immediately, her hoof shot out for her collar, but it found nothing there, and the unicorn’s whole body began to relax as she felt the memory of burning heat replaced by the cold settling in all around her. As her breathing slowed, she looked around the room; the dark and her own bleary vision made it hard to make out everything, but she could tell most of the ponies in the dungeon with her were asleep…which included one right at her side. “Ah…good…” Trixie thought, “That gray pegasus who cheered for me is still here.”

Slowly, she turned her gaze up and ahead. The sleep cleared from her eyes, and brought into sharp focus those jagged bars staring back at her from the other side of the cell. As she looked out at them, however, she felt a familiar sensation tingle across her body…and suddenly her ears pricked up, and her eyes widened. “Of course!” she thought, “How did I not realize it before?”

Immediately, she rose to her hooves, surging forward…until she felt a weight she had not noticed before leaning on her other side. “Oh. Right,” Trixie muttered, looking at the little yellow filly resting against her leg. “She’s still here. Little…Apple Bright.”

Gently, the unicorn sidled away from the filly, letting her down gently onto the ground. Again she readied herself to head to the doorway, and again she was stopped short, this time by the shivering little moan she heard behind her. There was the farm-filly, still asleep but trembling a little on the floor. Trixie looked down at her, rolling her eyes at the sight. “How pathetic…” she muttered.

Quickly, she craned her neck and bit down on the collar of her cloak. Just as quickly, she snapped it off, and laid the purple cape out over the child before her. “Don’t want her whining to distract me, after all,” Trixie told herself.

The unicorn watched carefully, and she could not help but smirk as the young pony let out a gentle, happy sigh, her shivers growing still. “Another problem solved by the Great and Powerful Trixie!” the show-mare thought. “Which means it’s time to go to work.”
She turned again toward the doorway, gently tipping her hat down and furrowing her brow. Quickly, the unicorn made her way over to her target, steps quick but light. As she drew closer, the Stratadons resting just outside the cell into view. “Sleep well, you odious beasts,” she thought, “for while you slumber, your so-called Prisoner is about to unlock the secret to her freedom.”

Then, at last, Trixie brought her head close to the bars. “I hope.”
She closed her eyes, letting her horn drift close to the crackling black metal…taking a deep breath, and soaking in the scent of ash that filled her nose. The unicorn could feel those wisps of energy surging through the bars, just shy of touching her, like the edge of a licking flame. “Yes,” she whispered. “That’s right…it was just like that.”

For a moment, her eyes still closed, standing still in the shadow of that sensation, Trixie would have sworn she was standing in Ponyville again...could feel the sheer power flowing out of her. Those idiot colts with their ages changed, that stupid seamstress with her humiliating new dress…and her. The Challenger. The one Trixie needed to defeat.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Trixie nearly yelped, but bit it back just in time. Whirling around immediately with a hissed “Who said that?” she found the voice’s source: a familiar grey pegasus, sitting there behind her. “Derpy Hooves said that,” the wall-eyed pony giggled, puffing her chest out a little, “and that’s me!”

“So you’ve mentioned,” Trixie groaned lowly.

“Yay, I win!” Derpy cooed, fluttering her wings. “Now it’s your turn, answer my question!”

She then leaned towards Trixie, who in turn slid back with a slight scowl. “So! Whatcha doin’?” the pegasus asked again.

Gently pushing her back, Trixie gave a light “hmph!” before whispering sharply back, “I don’t know that a mere commoner can be trusted with that information.”

That got a little hum from the mail-mare, who gave the floor a couple gentle taps with her hoof. She looked to her left, then to her right, and then right back at Trixie, ears wobbling a bit. “Well, we’re both here, and we’re both awake ‘cuz neither one of us feels like sleeping anymore,” she said. “Near as I can see, we’re kind of the same right now…so if it’s OK for you t’know, can’t it be OK for me t’know?”

Trixie narrowed her eyes at Derpy, who simply sat there looking back at her with that same smile. The unicorn’s tail swished side to side, her snout scrunched, and her ears flattened. Finally, however, she said, slowly, “…very well.”

Derpy’s smile widened as she again gave the ground a few quick taps. Pushing the brim of her hat up a bit, Trixie cleared her throat, then pointed a hoof at the crackling black metal behind her. “You see these bars?” she said and, once Derpy nodded, continued, “I am attempting to find some way to manipulate the spell that has been placed on them to suppress unicorn magic.”

The pegasus gasped a little, wings opening slightly as she again leaned forward, eyes wide, towards Trixie. Again clearing her throat, the unicorn could not resist the smile that came on her face as she resumed. “For you see, over the years the Great and Powerful Trixie has built up a vast amount of arcane knowledge, and that knowledge has allowed her to realize these bars draw from the same kind of Dark Magic as the legendary Alicorn Amulet.”

Again Derpy gasped, putting both forehooves to her cheeks. “No way!” she said breathlessly.

“It’s true!” Trixie immediately replied with a flourished step forward, smile growing wider. A wave of sleepy murmurs and grunts around her, however, forced the unicorn to stop, and when she spoke up again, her voice was an excited whisper. “To a common pony, it would seem unbelievable. One item designed to enhance magical power, the other to suppress it…but the Great and Powerful Trixie knows better!”

She gave a quick spin toward the doorway, lifting one forehoof to the air. “Her mastery of magic makes this mystery clear: this Dark Magic can flow in both directions! And that means there may be a way to reverse this spell!”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhh I get it!” Derpy piped up. “’Return to Sender’!”

“Exactly! Another incredible insight from the Great and Powerful…” Trixie’s ears popped up a bit, her whole body going stiff. Slowly, she turned to the pegasus, looking at her with a quirked brow. “…wait, what?”

“Yeah, ‘Return to Sender’!” Derpy repeated, tapping her forehooves together eagerly. “See, I work a lot of jobs besides just being a weather-pony, ‘n’ one of ‘em is being a mail-mare, ‘n’ when I’m delivering the mail sometimes it goes one way,” and she swept a hoof in front of her face as she said it, “and I drop ‘em off in a mailbox. But other times, I get special letters with ‘Return to Sender’ on ‘em and those go the other way.” Again the pegasus gave a sweep in front of her face, mirroring the first. “It’s still the mail, it’s just a matter of where I’m taking it.”

At first, Trixie took a step towards Derpy, mouth open as if she were ready to say something. After a moment and a blink, however, the unicorn stepped back, ears flattening against her head as her mouth closed. Then, looking at the floor, she mumbled, “…that’s…actually pretty apt.”

“Uh-huh! And I never woulda thought of it if it weren’t for you!”

The pegasus was rocking side-to-side, clapping her hooves together lightly, while Trixie could only give a quick bow. “Yes, well…” she said, “the Great and Powerful Trixie is a very inspiring figure.”

Derpy nodded, and then turned her gaze to the bars. “So…you really think you can make that Bad Magic into Good Magic?” she whispered.

“Think?” Trixie chuckled. “I know.”

“No ya don’t,” Derpy answered immediately, still looking at the bars.

Trixie rounded on the pegasus immediately, nearly poking her snout into Derpy’s cheek. “Excuse me?” the unicorn hissed. “What happened to ‘I never woulda thought of it if it weren’t for you’?!?”

Derpy simply turned her head away from the bars, booping Trixie’s snout with her own. Still simply smiling, she said, “Yep again, Derpy Hooves said that! And it’s true!”

Even as Trixie pulled back from her with a snort and a muttered “don’t touch me….” the wall-eyed pony continued, “But you don’t know how t’make the Bad Magic Good. And that’s also true.”

“Oh?” Trixie spat back. “Well maybe I do know and I just don’t feel like sharing.”

Derpy hummed a little, her smile finally turning into a frown as she replied, “…how come you wanna know so bad?”

That got a scoff out of the unicorn. “I think that should be obvious even to you,” she said, adjusting her hat. “I want to be free of this place. We all do.” She blinked a moment, ears wobbling a bit before she hastily added, “Not that I don’t know already, mind you.”

Derpy, however, shook her head. “Nuh-uh, that’s not what I mean anymore,” she said. “I mean…” The pegasus paused, brows furrowing and wings tensing as she hummed some more. Then, locking eyes with Trixie, she said softly, “I mean…how come you wanna make me think you know even though you don’t?”

Eyes narrowing, Trixie glared right back at her. Soon enough, however, she turned brusquely away, muttering “Just let me get back to my work…” under her breath.

As the unicorn re-fixed her gaze on the bars, the pegasus sat, still save for the occasional flutter of her wings, looking over at her. The whole dungeon grew quiet then, only the sounds of sleeping breaths to be heard. Trixie stood there, watching the bars, tail swishing against the ground, tilting her head every so often. Derpy could only watch, rubbing her hooves together. She opened her mouth once, blinked, and looked away from the unicorn. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and took a slight step towards the show-mare. “…you know that’s OK, right?” she said. “You know not knowing is OK?”

Trixie gave no answer. She simply continued staring at the doorway, tail occasionally swishing against the ground. Derpy took another step towards her. “’Cuz, y’know, there’s plenty of things I don’t know, and I’m still me. And being me is pretty special, I like t’think.”

Still no answer, just another tilt of the head. “And…and maybe you don’t know this thing, but you’re still you,” Derpy continued after a little gulp, her ears folding. “And…and I like t’think you’re pretty special too.”

That last word caused Trixie to go still. Slowly, tentatively, Derpy began to take another step towards the unicorn, but stopped when the show-mare gave a gruff sigh, lowering her head. “Yes…well…” she mumbled, slowly turning around to face the pegasus, “…thank you. I suppose.”

Derpy’s smile returned immediately. “You’re welcome,” she squeaked.

The two simply looked at each other for a moment, Derpy’s smile unwavering while Trixie rubbed her hoof on the back of her head. “Y’know,” the wall-eyed mare finally said, “I know you don’t know now…but that doesn’t mean I don’t know that you can know.”

Trixie simply grunted, though there was the slightest hint of a smile of her own now.

The pegasus opened her mouth to speak, but found her words tumbling out as a yawn instead. Shaking her head a little, Trixie gave her a light pat on the shoulder. “It seems to me you feel like sleeping again,” she said softly.

“I guess I do…” Derpy muttered, frowning again as her ears lowered, “but I kinna don’t at the same time.”

“If’n you want, we can share my blanket.”

Trixie and Derpy both turned suddenly at the new voice, and saw Apple Bloom, still wrapped in a familiar purple “blanket” decorated with little stars. “That is the Great and Powerful Trixie’s cape, you little urchin,” the unicorn grumbled. “Not some meager sleeping cloth.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom giggled, cuddling up against the cloth. “Feels an awful lot like a blanket t’me.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, but Derpy shared in Apple Bloom’s laughter. “That does look nice ‘n’ snuggly-comfy,” she said. “But I dunno if it’s quite enough for one Big-Size Pony like me and one Little-Size Pony like you.”

“Maybe if we added a hat to the mix?” Apple Bloom said, flashing a sly grin at Trixie.

The show-mare smacked a hoof to her face. Derpy, however, was already looking at her with wide eyes and wiggling ears, her wings gradually beginning to lift her off her hooves. Apple Bloom too still had that grin on, fixed right at Trixie. The unicorn looked from one to the other, before finally groaning out, “Oh…fine.” She quickly popped her hat off, slapping it atop Derpy’s head. “Take the stupid thing for all I care.”

Immediately, Derpy gave a full loop through the air, holding on to the brim of the hat with both hooves and swishing from side to side all the while. “Lookit lookit!” she sang softly. “Stars ‘n’ crests ‘n’ brim ‘n’ point! It’s perfect!”

Apple Bloom quickly tossed a fold of the cape over Derpy’s back as the pegasus drew lower to the ground, joining in the little dance herself. “I really hope you two wear yourselves out quickly…” Trixie said.

“I am feelin’ a bit more like Sleep’ll be OK now, actually…” Derpy replied before yawning again.

“Then why don’t we go get some?” Apple Bloom said, the circular dance continuing between the two of them.

After a few more spins around, Derpy slipped away a little, back towards the place the three of them had been resting before. With another yawn, she nodded towards Apple Bloom, and leaned in towards Trixie. “Wanna make it three ponies sleepin’ again?” she asked. “Or are you gonna get to your ‘Knowing’?”

Trixie ran a hoof through her mane before replying, “Knowing.”

Derpy’s ears drooped a bit, but she nodded. “Well...then I hope your ‘knowing’ goes well…” she said. With a yawn and a stretch, she began to drift off. “…g’night.”

With that, she hovered off towards the back of the dungeon. Just as Apple Bloom took a step to follow, however, Trixie’s voice stopped her. “So…how much of all that did you catch?”

The filly glanced back and answered, with a wink, “…enough.”

With that, she followed after Derpy. Trixie watched her go until she could only make out the bright colors of the cape. For a moment, she simply stared out at the farm-pony, her bright cape nestling down next to that bright hat. Then she lifted a hoof to her neckline, closing her eyes. “It has to be me,” she whispered.

Then she turned herself again to face the bars. She let her breath go, and opened her eyes. “It has to be me,” she said again, leaning down once more, and feeling that sharp heat reaching out to her once more.



Weary bushes and drooping trees gave way to gnarled vines and strange, thorny flowers. There were still no real signs of life, but for the first time since they had arrived in this place, Twilight Sparkle found herself imagining there could have been life once, long ago, in this new area. Despite the occasional glance around, however, the alicorn made sure to keep her eyes fixed on the enigmatic Moochick. He was still a few steps ahead, pushing the layered knots of forestry out of the way with his branch-staff. “Are we almost there?” Twilight asked, glancing back at Applejack, still unconscious and shivering on Rainbow and Gilda’s backs.

“No,” Moochick grunted back.

Before Twilight could give an annoyed groan, he pushed aside one last thick branch and finished, “We are there.”

All eyes turned to the grove that now lay in front of them. The vines and flowers were no longer obstructions, but instead snaked around the small little area like decorations, gracefully making room for strange mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. “I think I know where this guy got his hat from now,” Pinkie whispered to no one in particular, adding “I want one!” with a giggle.

Small little spores hung in the air all around them, a faint cloud of shimmering silver that provided the first real light to contrast the otherwise-omnipresent thin-green everywhere else. “My goodness…” Rarity whispered, eyes wide as she stepped ahead of Twilight. “I daresay, I never expected any part of this place to be quite so…so beautiful.”

Moochick chuckled lowly, lumbering towards a broken-down stump that sat in the grove’s center. “Yes…a little piece of home I managed to carve out for myself,” he said.

He tapped the flat of the stump with his staff, gesturing at Rainbow and Gilda. “Bring your friend here, lay her down,” he said before moving toward one of the larger flowers nearby, then added, “Carefully!” as the pegasus and griffon passed him.

“Yeah yeah, like I didn’t know that already….” Gilda grumbled, earning an amused chortle from Rainbow.

Even so, both made sure to ease the still-shuddering Earth Pony into her new spot very slowly.

The twinkling spores seemed to slowly twirl around each newcomer as they entered the grove; even as her wings remained tensed along her side, Fluttershy found herself following their every move with a little smile, while Pinkie giggled and hopped along with their motions. “I don’t get it…” Twilight said softly to Rarity. “Everywhere else we’ve seen of this place…it’s been so desolate. How was he able to make it so…different?”

The white unicorn watched as Moochick reached the flower, gently tapping its bud with its staff. She could not help but smile a bit as the bud’s leaves slowly unfolded, revealing a series of bottles, vials, and pouches all carefully balanced together. “He does seem to have the talent for it,” she said, trotting over to the flower herself.

With Twilight following a step behind, Rarity sidled up next to him, that small smile still on her face. “I must compliment you on your humble abode, Mr. Moochick,” she said. “It is a veritable work of art! And to be built in such a…bleak…location…however did you manage?”

Again he chuckled, reaching into the bloomed flower with his staff and hooking a few of its odds and ends onto it. “Thank you kindly for the compliment, my dear,” he said, then turned to face the seamstress. “To answer your question? It’s because I’m a Gnome,” he then touched a finger to his brow with a wry grin, “and we Gnomes have very strong vision. Vision that lets us see many things…including Potential.”

Twilight brushed past Rarity then, ears and wings both pointed up. “Gnome?” she gasped. “Did you say ‘Gnome’?” Even as Moochick nodded, she continued breathlessly, “But…but that’s impossible! Gnomes went extinct eons ago!”

There was a little grin on Moochick’s face as he moved past the two, heading towards Applejack, but he gave no further reply. Instead, he laid out the materials from the flower next to the prone Earth Pony, gently motioning for Rainbow and Gilda to step back. He hummed lowly, drumming his fingers along the bark. “Please…please…please….” Fluttershy gently whispered as she slowly moved behind Rainbow Dash, Pinkie at her side.

Rarity and Twilight quickly galloped over to their friends, and soon all eyes were on the gnome. He seemed not to notice, however, simply reaching out to each item at his disposal quickly but carefully. A strange, silvery-black powder, some odd thick green liquid, small crumbs of red and white…each one he picked and placed together in a small glass container. “Uck…what is that junk?” Rainbow whispered, “It smells like…like….”

“Like you when you forget t’bathe for one week too many?” Gilda snickered lowly.

Even as the blue pegasus gave her a nudge, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Twilight, however, was stone-faced. “Legends say Gnomes were incredibly gifted in the ways of potion-making…their magical sight let them know exactly what materials to use and how much….”

“It would seem the legends were on to something,” Rarity replied, watching intently as Moochick mixed his container’s contents together until they were a thick, dark-blue liquid.

A new scent began to waft from the container, and Pinkie found her entire body shivering for a moment. “Eeyuck…” she muttered. “What a sad smell…I really don’t like it….”

The gnome then lifted Applejack’s quivering head and brought the beaker to her lips. “I would recommend you all take a step back,” he said. “This next part will be rather…intense.”

Hesitantly, the others did just that. Moochick then gently squeezed Applejack’s cheeks, forcing her mouth open, and poured the mixture inside. He too quickly stepped back then as the Earth Pony coughed and sputtered, but ultimately swallowed most of it down. That was when the farmer went still. “Is…is she…?” Fluttershy squeaked.

Before she could finish, however, Applejack’s eyes snapped open, her entire body going rigid. Then she made a long, hoarse moan, legs beginning to flail around desperately as a strange, glowing mist began to crawl from her mouth, its color the same as the potion Moochick had made. Immediately, Fluttershy and Rarity took a step toward their friend, but Moochick raised his hand up at the both of them. The mist then began to curl up in the air, widening into a twisted cloud that seemed to pulsate and throb. Vague shapes…images…began to appear on its surface, like reflections in water: a young Applejack in a wide green field, a horde of stampeding shadow beasts, two lights falling to the ground and then fading to black, Manehattan in the distance…and then, like a storm cloud, the entire thing flashed brightly, a booming noise that shook the entire grove. One by one, the images began to fade, and then the mist itself slowly dissipated. Applejack’s entire body stiffened again, and then her eyes closed and her head slumped back down. There was a moment where everyone stood still, simply looking at the Earth Pony. Then, after a low “hm” and a stroke of his beard, Moochick approached the stump, putting his hand to Applejack’s forehead, carefully watching her chest rise and fall. Again he “hm”’d, then, with a toothy little grin, he looked to the others. “She will be alright,” he said.

A collective sigh of relief filled the air (save from Gilda, who simply nodded with a little grunt). “The rest of you are very fortunate,” the gnome continued, scooping up the remaining materials and placing them in his pouch. “You all only heard the Seaponies’ song through the filter of your dreams, but she heard it, unprotected, while fully awake.”

“Which is why we all snapped out of it when the song stopped, but she was still affected….” Twilight mumbled, running a hoof along her chin.

Fluttershy stepped forward then. “But…I was awake, and I wasn’t affected at all,” she said.

Moochick approached her with a little laugh. He reached his hand out towards her, but paused, smiling at the pegasus. When she smiled back, his hand found its way to her ear, gently scratching it. “That, my dear, is because yours is a heart in perfect tune with Nature,” he replied. “Just as you are able to understand the language of all animals, so too could you hear the Seaponies’ song for what it truly was, and that protected you from it.”

He then turned his gaze over to Gilda, his smile fading into a solemn frown. “What’re you lookin’ at?” she barked back, digging her talons into the dirt.

Even as Rainbow was quick to put a hoof to Gilda’s tensed shoulder, Twilight approached the gnome with a stern look of her own. “How did you know about Fluttershy’s ability to understand animals…?” she asked.

“Like I said,” he chuckled, “Gnome eyes see many things.”

He turned away from them, heading back towards the large flower. “Your friend will need to sleep for at least three hours before she fully recovers,” he said. His steps soon slowed, however, before eventually he stopped completely, head lowering a little. “Once she does…I will have to ask you all to leave. Leave, return to your home…and never look back.”

Rainbow Dash gave a long groan, floating to the head of the group with fire in her eyes. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, however, she felt Rarity’s gentle hoof on her flank. The unicorn gave her friend a shake of the head, instead stepping forward herself. “You already know we can’t do that,” she said softly.

Moochick’s body trembled slightly as he gave a good, growling laugh. “I already know you don’t want to,” he said. His hand tightened around his staff as he gave a shaking breath. “But…I have already allowed so much Good to be lost to the world. I could not bear to say nothing and let you too throw away your lives….”

For a moment, the grove seemed to stand still. Yet before it could linger, Pinkie hopped over to the gnome before anyone else could even react. “Aww, that’s awfully considerate of you, Mr. Moochick!” she said, “Me ‘n’ my friends sure do appreciate you lookin’ out for us like that.”

She then scooted in front of him, a beaming smile on her face. The gnome remained stony for a moment, but the longer he looked down at the bubbly Earth Pony, her wide blue eyes sparkling with glee, the more a little grin of his own began to tug at his face. Taking that as her cue, Pinkie let her snout slowly rise up and gently tap Moochick’s nose. “But we’re not just any group of Two of Each Kind Of Pony And Also A Griffon,” she said. “We’re-“

“The Elements of Harmony,” Moochick cut her off, patting her head. “Yes, I know.”

Pinkie sat down then, still smiling but tapping her forehooves together fitfully. “Weeellllll, more like former Elements of Harmony,” she giggled, “but still! Fighting off Ultimate Evil ‘n’ Saving The Day is kinda what we do, y’know? So don’t you worry about us! This ‘Tirek ‘ meanie ‘n’ all his meanie minions are nothing new as far as we’re concerned.”

“I don’t know that I’d put it quite like that,” Twilight said with a little laugh, “but Pinkie’s right. The six of us…we’ve been through so much together, faced so much together…and the strength of our Friendship has helped us through every time. I know it will do the same for us this time, too.”

Moochick’s small grin disappeared immediately at those words. He gave Pinkie another pat on the head, but turned back to face the others with heavy steps. “If that is what you think,” he said, “then you fail to understand what exactly you are up against.”

With a squeak, Pinkie scampered back over to join the rest of the group, even as Rarity moved towards Moochick with a sympathetic frown. “Well…” the unicorn said, “you did promise us answers before. And with two hours to spare….”

“Yes…” Moochick grunted, lumbering towards a nearby mushroom the cap of which seemed curved into a seat and lowering himself into it. “Yes, I suppose that is only fair….”

The others soon gathered around him, each taking a seat on the grass. “You believe your conviction strengthens you,” the gnome said, fixing his gaze to Twilight. “That it protects you.” He ran his hand slowly through the crinkled green strands of his bear. “But in truth…it only makes you more vulnerable. Conviction…Certainty…the Absolute…that is where Tirek thrives.”

“What sorta name is ‘Tirek’, anyway…?” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Moochick shook his head with a bitter grin. “It is not a name,” he said, “but a title, one he took for himself eons ago that was ancient even when he was new.”

The gnome turned his gaze to the sky then, looking out past the gentle light of the mushrooms and the grove to the pitch black of the clouds above. “It means ‘First Evil’.”



The castle’s halls were silent enough that each of Scorpan’s footsteps made a small echo. Spike followed alongside him, sparing the occasional nervous glance at the Guardgoyles, all lined up along the walls, standing still and keeping their eyes ahead. The deeper they ventured into the castle, however, the more both of them could hear a familiar pounding, booming rhythmically in the distance. “I…I don’t remember hearing it this far away last time…..” Spike mumbled nervously.

“With each new Pony it transforms, the Heart grows stronger,” Scorpan said. “Its need to rest grows shorter. Eventually…it will be strong enough…”

Scorpan snorted, pausing in his steps. Spike also stopped, looking up to the ape-beast with raised ears. To his surprise, the young dragon found Scorpan looking back at him, a gleam of worry clear in his eyes. “Strong enough for what?” he managed to ask even so.

After a moment, Scorpan turned his gaze back to the hall ahead, resuming his determined walk with a slightly faster step. “To create a Night that will never end,” he finally answered.

A shiver found its way down from the tip of Spike’s snout to the end of his tail. “Well that sounds way too familiar,” he said.

Shaking his head, the young dragon quickly caught up to Scorpan just as he made his way through the oval chamber at the castle’s center. Before long, they soon stood again in front of the jagged black bars of the dungeon, looking in on the mass of sleeping or exhausted Ponies trapped behind them. Eyes scanning along their ranks slowly, Scorpan said, “Now, we must choose the next Pony worthy of the Heart’s power.”

“’We’?” Spike squeaked. “You want me to help?”

“Think of it as…another lesson,” Scorpan responded, each word coming out carefully. “If you are to be part of our world, you must prove yourself of use to Master Tirek. This is as good a start as any.”

“But….”

It was Spike’s turn to overlook the Ponies locked behind the bars. Their familiar details all leapt out at him-two eighth-notes for a Cutie Mark, a ruffled mane of dignified gray, a red tie attached to a white collar-and he could not help but step back, shaking his head slowly. “…I can’t,” he said. “They’re…they’re my friends.”

Scorpan’s only answer was a growling grunt. The ape-beast knelt down next to Spike, letting their eyes meet. His gaze was steely, his brows sharply set, but there was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes even so. With a low “hrm”, he placed his strong hand at Spike’s back, pushing the young dragon forward until his snout was right at the bars. The dragon looked back with a pleading gaze, but Scorpan simply gave him a grave shake of the head. With a little gulp, Spike looked again at the imprisoned Ponies before him. “We will look together,” Scorpan said, rising to his feet again and lumbering to another part of the dungeon. “Speak when you think you have found the right one.”

The quick, nervous nod Spike gave in reply seemed enough for Scorpan, who turned his eyes towards another section of the caged area. Spike himself, however, could only drum his claws against each other. “What do I do now?” ran through his head over and over.

“Spike?”

It was only a whisper, but it was enough to make the dragon hop right off his feet. Right there in front of him behind the bars, a beaming smile on her face, was… “APP…!” Spike almost yelled, but caught himself just in time, instead whispering excitedly, “Apple Bloom!”

Immediately she reached through the gaps in the bars, and Spike’s claw grasped her hoof tightly, smiling faces and wide eyes looking right at each other. “Oh wow am I ever glad to see you!” Spike laughed, though he continued to keep his voice low.

“Likewise,” Apple Bloom giggled. “I thought for sure I was dreamin’ when I heard your voice, but…but here you are…” A tremble came into the filly’s voice then. “And if you’re here, Twilight can’t be far behind.” Spike felt her hoof begin to shake a bit in his claw. “Twilight…’n’ my sister….”

Spike’s smile slowly turned into a frown. “…actually…” he said, “I…I’m not here with Twilight. I was taken here by the Stratadons, same as you. They’re only going easy on me ‘cuz they think me being a dragon automatically puts me on their side….”

The second he saw her ears go up, her mouth pinning shut, Spike made sure to tighten his grip on Apple Bloom’s hoof, putting his other hand up in a calming gesture. “But it’s OK!” he whispered hurriedly, “It’s gonna be OK, I promise. I’m right here, and I’m gonna do everything I can to help.”

Taking a few short breaths, the filly nodded. It was at that point the young dragon realized the young pony was wearing a familiar purple hat. “Uh…doesn’t that hat belong to that troublemaker, Trixie?” he asked after a blink. “Don’t tell me she’s in here too.”

“’Fraid so,” Apple Bloom replied, a smile returning to her face, “but truth be told, she ain’t been half-bad. She’s…honestly been really helpful in getting’ me through all this….”

“…are we sure we’re talking about the same Trixie…?” Spike said, tilting his head a bit.

“Believe me,” Apple Bloom replied with another little laugh, “it took me by surprise, too. But…it’s true. Her ‘n’ Derpy, they’re ‘bout the only things helpin’ keep my head up ‘round here.”

“I’m still not sure we’re talking about the same pony,” Spike chuckled, then smiled, “but I’m glad to hear you’ve been…well, something like ‘OK’ here.”

Spike then leaned his gaze to one side of Apple Bloom, and then the other. “…where is that show-off, anyway?” he asked.

“Well, she was…” the filly began, but then, stealing a glance around, lowered her voice to a whisper, “workin’ on a way t’bust us outta here.”

She gave her hoof a light wave, chuckling. “But it tuckered her out, so me ‘n’ Derpy took her back t’rest up with us. Last I saw, she was sleepin’ soundly.”

“RELEASE HER AT ONCE, YOU...YOU FILTH-COVERED MONGREL!!!”

Spike and Apple Bloom both looked to the source of the sudden cry, then back to each other. “That sure sounded like a wide-awake Trixie,” Spike said, body now tensed.

The filly nodded. For a moment, she looked to her hoof in Spike’s claw, but, with a whimper, she pulled away, breaking into a quick gallop towards the source of the yell. Still stuck on the other side of the bars, Spike nonetheless gave chase, biting back the urge to call after his friend. Before long, however, both came to a halt. There, in the back of the dungeon, stood Scorpan, looking coolly at a familiar grey pegasus who he now held in the air by the scruff of her neck. All the other ponies around him were keeping their distance, making it all the easier for one to stand at his feet. Though the ape-beast did not seem to be paying her any attention, the fire in the glare Trixie had fixed on him with was unmistakable. “I SAID,” she yelled again, “PUT. HER. DOWN!”

Scorpan was silent at first, keeping his eyes fixed on Derpy. Slowly, however, a low growl crept out of his mouth, and he gradually turned his head until it was scowling down at Trixie. “If you want,” he said lowly, “I can take you in her place.”

As he spoke, the beast’s fangs became more and more bared, until he all but bit the last word out. As if those teeth had gone into her neck, Trixie immediately lowered her body to the ground, backing away from Scorpan with lowered ears and widened eyes. “That’s what I thought,” he growled, turning away from the unicorn and walking towards the bars just as Apple Bloom made her way to Trixie’s side.

“What happened…?” the filly whispered, but Trixie, eyes still fixed on Scorpan, simply shook her head.

Turning to look at the ape-beast herself, Apple Bloom watched him pass through the bars, Derpy still in his grasp. “DERP…!” she began to yell out, only for a familiar blue hoof to cover her mouth, pulling her back.

Despite this, the wall-eyed pegasus seemed to notice the cry, looking out into the dungeon’s depths. Wings fluttering slightly, she gave a little smile, and waved her hoof. “Bye…” she whispered.

Then the bars of the cell turned to mist, and Apple Bloom could only watch as Scorpan stepped through them. She began to pull against Trixie’s hoof, but found the unicorn’s grip tight. “Stay still, you stupid brat!” the showmare hissed. “There is nothing you can do here.”

No sooner did Trixie finish that sentence than Apple Bloom gave a swift, sudden surge forward, snapping her hoof away. The filly turned, briefly, to look at the unicorn, ears folded and eyes trembling, but brow set in anger. Even as Trixie wilted under that look, however, Apple Bloom turned away, running to the edge of the cell...to where she could still see Scorpan standing there, holding his prisoner. “I believe this one will do…” the ape-beast said. “What about you, Spike? Did you find any ponies of interest?”

The young dragon now stood next to Scorpan, eyes nervously shifting from him to the dungeon and back again. For a moment, he spotted Apple Bloom, but with a slap of his tail, he kept his glance brief. “N-no,” he said quickly, clenching his hands. “I couldn’t.”

There was a heavy sigh, but also a gentle nod, in reply. “I understand,” Scorpan said. “It was…much…to ask of you, for your first attempt. We will try again later.”

“’If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’,” Derpy said with a bit of sing-song in her voice. “That’s what my momma always taught me, anyway.”

Scorpan looked to her with a raised brow and a breathy snort. “Well it is,” she said, looking back at him, still smiling.

For a moment, the ape-beast held her wall-eyed gaze, but before long he simply turned his attention back to Spike. “Shall we, then?” he asked softly.

Spike’s ears began to twitch as he became aware again of that deep, thundering beat in the distance. “A-actually…” he said, one hand rubbing his other shoulder as his eyes drifted to the ground, “could you…give me a minute?”

Scorpan’s free hand opened and closed, his wings stretching out slightly as he looked, first to Spike, then back out towards the source of the echoing beat. “…please?” Spike said, placing a claw on the ape-beast’s knee. “That big one…Tirek…he’s kind of intimidating, y’know?”

Again Scorpan growled, but in the end, he nodded. “Collect yourself,” he said, “and I will wait for you outside.”

He then walked, slowly, to the exit, motioning for the Guardgoyles to follow him. The Stratadons, however, remained, though several were still asleep. Spike watched, his body perfectly still, as Scorpan left, and saw Derpy looking back at him, giving him a little wave as well before she disappeared into the castle’s dark depths. The moment the ape-beast and the other creatures were out of view, he rushed back to the bars, finding Apple Bloom there waiting for him. “…Spike…?” she whispered, again letting her hoof find his claw.

At first, he could not meet her eyes, instead looking at her trembling hoof…his own trembling hand.
“He’s…he’s gonna do something bad to her, Apple Bloom…” he said, “and I don’t…I don’t think I can stop him….”

He felt her whole body begin to shake, and felt it spreading to his whole body. That shocked the dragon enough to finally look up at her, and he found a face whose eyes were rimmed with tears, but whose snout and brow were firmly set in determination. “But I’ll be back, OK? I promise you, as soon as I can, I’ll be back, and you ‘n’ me, we’ll…we’ll figure something out.”

With a sniffle, the filly nodded, a crackle of energy running through the bars between them. Then, as her eyes tracked the current’s movement, her eyes slowly widened. For a moment, she glanced back…saw Trixie, still crouched low to the ground…and swiveled her head back to Spike. “Go,” she said then, suddenly pulling her hoof away. “Go, ‘n’ do what ya can.”

She quickly reached up to the bow in her hair and, with a swift tug, pulled it loose, handing the pink cloth over to Spike. The tears still crept at the edge of her eyes, her brows still held tight, but there was the slightest hint of a grin on her mouth now. “You understand?” she asked softy.

Tentatively, Spike took the unfurled bow, holding it tight, looking it over carefully. Then his own eyes widened a bit, a thought running through his brain like a bolt of lightning. “It’s…it’s like an open scroll.”
“I think so…” he answered aloud.

The filly nodded gently, backing away from the bars. Spike returned the gesture, a single fang poking out of his mouth as his own smile slowly found its way out. He took a tentative step away from the cell, then another, and another, until he finally whipped around and scampered off out of the room, keeping the pink cloth close to his chest. Before long, he could hear a bubbly voice in the distance. “…and that was when I started working with the town weather service! We fly around a lot, and we work as hard as hard can work, and even though it makes my wings all droopy ‘n’ tired, it feels good on the inside so I keep doing it, and….”

Sure enough, there was Derpy, still hanging from Scorpan’s clenched hand, wings occasionally fluttering whenever her apparently-long-running ramble reached a high point. Scorpan, for his part, was pointedly looking anywhere else but at the little gray mare, focusing immediately on Spike when he came into view. “Have you prepared yourself?” he asked, even as Derpy’s voice continued talking behind him.

At first, Spike simply stood there, a little smile on his face as he listened to “…but Ponyville is just so nice, which makes working there nice all the time no matter what the working actually is…”, but with a shake of his head he finally answered, “Y-yeah…I’m ready.”

He pulled Apple Bloom’s ribbon, wrapped around his claws like a bandage, close to his chest as Scorpan led the way with a simple grunt. Though neither reacted to it, Derpy’s streaming words-“…and it’s where I feel most at home, because it’s where I feel most welcome, and being welcomed is what matters most for a home t’me…”-continued. Yet all the while, the noise that lurked in the background grew louder, and louder, and louder.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Down into that dark, looming hallway they traveled, and the thundering rhythm was strong enough that Spike could feel it shaking his whole body now. Even Derpy noticed. “…but that’s why I…hrm…” she said, her once-bright voice swiftly lowering to a murmur. “That sound…that shaking sound makes me shaky….”

The great gate was in view now. As its massive doors again creaked open, Scorpan looked at last to Derpy. “That sound,” he said softly, “signals a great power. A power that will soon become part of your…” he paused, his own wings stiffening a bit as he looked the Pegasus over, “...unique…story.”

To the ape-beast’s surprise, Derpy, ears perked and smile back in full, immediately chirped back, “Aww, you really thought my story was unique?”

Suddenly, however, a voice…his voice…boomed out from within the now-opened gates. “Enter, Scorpan…” it spoke.

The ape-beast obeyed, and Spike, gripping Apple Bloom’s ribbon even tighter now, followed. Immediately, Scorpan knelt down to the massive, shadowed throne that now stood before him. A growl and a flash of teeth were enough to let Spike know to do the same, and though his motions were hesitant, the dragon ultimately did so. “Hail, Master Tirek,” Scorpan said, extending his arm out so that Derpy now stood in full view of the looming shadow before them. “I have brought to you a new pony for the Heart.”

“H’lo,” the Pegasus barely managed to squeak out.

Her voice was almost completely covered, however, by the strong beat of that squirming large pouch, still sitting on the thin pedestal next to the throne…still being stroked by that gargantuan crimson hand. “Hmm…” Tirek growled, beads of red lighting up from behind the throne’s veil. “Rather…scrawny….” The red dots shifted a little, and Spike felt his entire body grow a bit colder as he realized their focus was now on him. “But then again…’scrawny’ can often hide great potential.”
A low, throaty chuckle rumbled across the chamber then. “Tell me, dragon whelp,” Tirek said, “How have you found your stay in our glorious abode?”
Spike gulped. His tail twitched, and his knees trembled. Yet, with a glance to Scorpan, his claws tightening again around that small, strong little ribbon, he answered, “It’s been...a lot to take in. Intimidating, at times. But…it’s also been…impressive. And I’ve learned a great deal.”

A low, throaty chuckle echoed across the chamber. “Excellent,” Tirek said. “Scorpan!”

Immediately, the ape-beast’s shoulder stiffened. “Yes, Master…?”

“Prepare our newest…hm hm…steed…to take her proper place in my new order.”
“As you wish, Master.”

Scorpan gently lowered Derpy to the ground, finally letting go of her scruff. Snout scrunching up a bit, she turned to face the ape-beast, ears lowered. “So…this is what you meant…about my story?” she whispered.

“Yes…” Scorpan answered in kind.

For a moment, he reached out to her, but immediately he retracted his hand. “Do not fear,” he said. “Your story does not end here…it simply begins again, newer…stronger…than before.”

Spike held his claws tighter still, looking from Scorpan to Derpy and back again. “Tell me,” the ape-beast said, “before that happens…do you have any last words?”

The pounding of the heart grew stronger still, the bag beginning to tremble as Tirek’s claws lifted above it. “Last words…?” Derpy mumbled, scratching her chin with a hoof. “Hm…well, I s’pose I’d want my last words to be something that makes me happy.”

Tirek’s claws clenched, pointing down at the shaking satchel. “Heart of Darkness, thy Master calls….”
The gray Pegasus continued scratching her chin, brow furrowed and eyes focused. Scorpan watched her stiffly, and Spike could not help but notice how tightly the ape-beast’s fists were held now. Biting down on his lip, the dragon looked to Derpy as she finally turned around, facing the shadowed throne with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. “Muffins,” she finally said, as loud as she could so that it could be heard even above the now-tremor-like pounding.

“Bring this creature into my thrall!”
As the heartbeat transformed into a howling wind, the thrashing stands of pure blackness beginning to lash out from inside the pouch, Spike found he could no longer keep his eyes open, shutting them tight and ducking his head down. He tried to cover his ears, but it was no use; the lashing shrieks still came through. He could still hear Derpy’s faint voice become swallowed up in that noise…replaced instead by a sharp, snarling roar. The cold winds of beating wings still cut into his body. Only when the wind subsided…only when that awful roaring sank away…did Spike find himself able to open his eyes up again, and found them lined with tears. As the heartbeat all around them began to die down, the dragon could feel his own heart hammering against his chest, and, unable to stop himself, blurted out, “WHAT ARE YOU?!?”
The entire chamber went still then. Scorpan swiftly put his claw over Spike’s mouth, arms wrapping around him and pulling him away from the throne. “P-please, Master, forgive him!” Scorpan said, backing away a step himself and carrying Spike with him. “As he said before, he is simply…overwhelmed by all that he has experienced, he meant no harm in his outburst!”

Again, the chamber became silent, save the dull thudding of the heart. Another moment, however, and a new, rumbling sound began to shake the entire room. A deep, terrifying laughter. “What am I?” Tirek asked, his hand pulling behind the veil. “You know what I am.”
The twin beads of red began to glow brighter. “You may not recognize my face or my name, but you know me.”
Behind the gray veil, there was a hint of movement in the darkness around the throne. “I am the shadow that lurks within every heart…waiting for its chance to rise to the surface.”
Then, in a sharp burst of motion, the veil was torn away, and Spike grasped Scorpan, and the ribbon, tail curling up, eyes widening. There, crowned in the darkness, stood a massive, mountainous monster, glaring down at him with a grinning mouth out of which two razor fangs pointed. It stood on a horse’s legs, furred in pitch-black and ending in sharp, cloven hooves. Yet its torso was like Scorpan’s, fully erect, a massive mountain of muscle bathed in blood-red. “I AM TIREK!the half-horse roared. “THE FIRST EVIL! THE ETERNAL DARKNESS!”
He stretched his massive arms out, opening his clawed fingers and sweeping them through the air, as if cutting another creature apart. The curving horns that rested upon his head seemed to crackle with the same eerie energy that had animated the dungeon’s bars as he brought his hand to rest on his chest, where a deep, jagged scar, like an “x”, rested upon where his heart would have been. “HE WHO IS DESTINED TO RULE THE WORLD OF THE SUN…AND EXTINGUISH ITS LIGHT!”
Scorpan, still holding tight to Spike, took another step back as his master’s eyes seemed to focus down on them both. “And soon…” Tirek spoke, his voice calming but his clawed finger pointing out ominously at the two who stood before him, VERY soon…”
The satchel that stood next to Tirek began to shudder again, even more violently than before. “I will realize that destiny.”
He turned then, looking at the satchel as it began to throb, and again gave that same awful laughter. “THAT is what I am, whelp,” he said, slowly returning to his throne.

“I am the end of the world you knew.”

To Be Continued…