Aequitas levitated gently, feeling the calm flow of the aether currents around her. Some slight turbulence had arisen in the magic field over the Eastern Sea, but it was drifting away from the coastline. It was unlikely to cause anypony lasting trouble; at worst, it might throw a triangulation spell cast aboard some ship off by a few degrees.
The golden unicorn opened her eyes to gaze across the Sanctum Arcanum. Their unnatural silver glow lit up the dim space before her. Floating beneath the center of the Sanctum’s great dome, the Orb of Aether was calm. Aequitas smiled softly to see that its surface was quite smooth. However, her ears reminded her that sight was a poor guide to the state of the orb. It appeared to be at rest, but the Orb was vibrating imperceptibly; it produced a quiet tone, but as clear as a bell.
The only other sound within the stillness of the Sanctum was the quiet scratching of quill across parchment. Aequitas knew without turning around just what it would be; her dear apprentice, Euphony, was no doubt taking notes as she perused some fresh tome on magical weather or aether dynamics. A fond smile touched the old mare’s lips. She could not have asked for a more thoughtful and assiduous protégé. Although she can be rather over-serious, Aequitas thought. Still, she knew time would ease that condition. A lifetime of balancing the fluctuations of Equestria’s magic field resulted in too many amusing and embarrassing incidents for any mare who bore the task to remain overly concerned with personal dignity.
She was recalling with some amusement the time her attempt to damp an aether vortex had caused a shower of donuts over Fillydelphia when a twinge at the back of her mind brought her concentration back to the aether around her. She could feel a point of stress, manifesting itself as the beginnings of a headache at the base of her skull. Frowning, she reached out with her mind to rotate the Orb. Slowly, its far side rolled into view. Aequitas quickly found the source of stress: a dark point of negative energy was beginning to form there. She was just about to reach out to examine it when, quite suddenly, her mind caught aflame.
* * *
Euphony was carefully working through an analytical solution for the aether flow between two counter-rotating obsidian cylinders when she was shocked by a terrible and lingering shriek that burst from the lips of Lady Aequitas. She jerked to her feet and spun to see her mistress collapse to the ground in a heap, still wailing in an awful, inpony voice. “My Lady, what is it?” cried the nut brown unicorn, but her voice was quickly drowned out; the Orb of Aether had begun to keen in an unbelievably loud and painful tone, matching the screams of its curator. Euphony fell to the ground and clapped her forehooves over her ears, trying to block out the awful din that filled the Sanctum.
Before her eyes, the orb rippled violently around a single dark point, which began to smoke and bubble. At last a dark viscous dome emerged from the aether, beading to form a droplet upon the roiling surface of the orb. Euphony gazed in horror at the crimson drop of blood; it hung for a moment on the surface of their visual representation of Equestria’s magic before beginning to roll down the side of the orb. Or, rather, burn down its side; the droplet left a smoking groove behind it as it rolled along. The keening only grew louder as it did so, as if the orb were some wounded animal. Euphony knew they would be permanently deafened if this went on. She quickly cast a silence spell to block out all sound within the Sanctum. Bolting to her feet, she dragged Lady Aequitas away from the orb to the edge of the wide room. That done, Euphony faced the orb once more, her eyes wide with terror.
The blood drop continued its grim progress along the surface of the orb until it reached the base of the sphere. It hung there for a long moment before dropping to splash on the polished marble of the plinth below. There, it evaporated into a small puff of black smoke. The roiling of the aether now began to calm itself, but an ugly scar remained to mark the path of the forbidding omen. The raw red groove stared at her across the unnatural silence of the marble vault. Euphony had never seen or even read of anything like this before.
At her feet, her mistress rolled feebly into an upright position, wincing as she did so. Her eyes blinked open, restored to their natural forest green now that she was no longer embedded in the room’s magic field. Euphony carefully dropped her silence spell, noting with relief that the terrible keening had ceased. But she didn’t fail to notice that the normally pure tone thrown off by the Orb was now much sharper than before and was wavering noticeably. “My Lady, are you alright?”
Lady Aequitas groaned gently. “I’m afraid this old mare has broken her hip in a fall, my dear. That sort of thing can happen at my age.” She gave a bark of laughter that quickly became a cry of pain. “Oh, Euphony, there’s no time to lose. I will stay here and monitor the Orb. You must run to the Princess as quickly as you can. Tell her that somepony in Equestria has just broken the Unnamed Ordinance.”
“An unnamed ordinance?” Euphony asked in confusion. “Is that what-“
“Young one, there will be time for questions later. Run to Celestia, now!”
Euphony did not require any further encouragement. Though she was concerned for the well-being of her mistress and mentor, she could hardly doubt that this matter was as urgent as Lady Aequitas said. Whatever the message meant, it needed to get to Princess Celestia, and it needed to get to her immediately – if not sooner. The filly spun around and began to magick open the portal of the Sanctum. Although the process of opening the door was always tedious, today the slow clanking of counterweights and fizzling of the arcane wards and magic dampers that surrounded the Sanctum was positively painful. Come on, come on! she thought, trotting in place in her agitation. Finally the hole had opened wide enough for the slim unicorn to squeeze through, and she took off at a full gallop up a tunnel hewn from the living rock of the mountain.
Euphony’s long golden mane swirled behind her as she ran, but she was gradually forced to slow as the tunnel climbed. Although the passage was well-lit by the magic torches embedded in its rough-cut walls every few yards, it was a challenge for her not to turn an ankle. The floor had been worn smooth over the centuries, and she knew from experience there were uneven points and divots that could be treacherous for a running pony.
After a few minutes, she saw the wrought-iron gates of the tunnel’s entrance rushing toward her. Reaching out with her magic, she flipped open the creaking latch and shoved open the heavy gate with a burst of telekinetic force. She ran through the gate at full speed, stopping short and skidding to a halt on the granite floor of Canterlot Castle’s undercroft. Wheeling around, she cast her gaze over the guard detail stationed at the tunnel; they stared back at her, startled by her sudden appearance. Her eyes came to rest on a white pegasus whose slightly more elaborate armor marked him for their serjeant. “Serjeant! Do you know the Princess’ schedule for today?”
“Erm, her schedule, Lady Euphony?”
“Yes, yes! Where is Celestia right now?”
“Ahm, what is this, the eighth hour? Um, if I remember the guard table, she should be meeting with the Privy Council in the Council Chamber.”
“You have my thanks!” Euphony called over her shoulder, already galloping full speed up the passage.
* * *
Serjeant Falcon stared after Euphony with a slightly goggle-eyed expression. She’d finally spoken to him… although she didn’t seem to be in a very good mood. Well, it was a start.
His face hardened when he heard the chortling of some of his squad members. Rounding on them, he fixed an orange pegasus with a piercing gaze. “Something funny, chucklehead?”
“Ah, no sir!” The younger pegasus replied, struggling to keep his face expressionless. “But, ah, are you okay, Sarge? You’re looking awfully red.”
“Shut your face, corporal, or you’ll find yourself reassigned to potato-peeling duty!”
* * *
Euphony raced through the labyrinthine passages of Canterlot’s undercroft until she reached the spiral staircase she was seeking. Climbing it, she found herself at last in the central keep of the castle. She sprinted along a vaulted hallway lined with elaborate stained glass windows. Almost there, almost there! Euphony rounded a corner, bowling over a paper-laden bureaucrat, and arrived in the vestibule of the Council Chamber. “Can… I… go… in?” she wheezed to the guard captain stationed outside the imposing mahogany doors.
“Council’s in session, Lady Euphony. Best come back, unless it’s an emergency.”
“It is,” she gasped and brushed past the pegasi ponying the doors.
Euphony burst into the Council Chamber, puffing and out of breath. Princess Celestia looked up from the pile of papers she was examining with a warm smile. “Oh, Euphony!” Her perceptive gaze quickly noted the unicorn’s distress, and her eyes filled with concern. Celestia rose from her seat at the center of the long table where she was surrounded by her ministers and quickly moved to reach the brown filly. “What’s happened, dear?”
Euphony took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “Your Highness, Lady Aequitas has been hurt by some sort of magical shock, and she said to tell you that somepony has broken an unnamed ordinance. Princess, I’m not sure—“
She cut herself off as Celestia reared back with a look of rage on her normally placid face. “When?” the alicorn hissed.
“Just now – moments ago, Your – “
“Gentleponies, please excuse me,” Celestia said, turning to her assembled councilors and forcing a blandly pleasant look onto her face. “An urgent matter has arisen.” And with a sudden golden flash, the princess and the unicorn teleported from the chamber.
* * *
“Even money says she set this up just to get out of reviewing the Reform Act,” groused Black Coal, the Tribune of the North.
Apple Bee, the chief council secretary, gave a wry smile. “Those are hardly fair odds,” he replied.
* * *
Celestia and Euphony appeared outside the portal of the Sanctum with a gentle ‘pop’. As Celestia wordlessly applied her magic to unlocking the heavy rolling door, Euphony dropped onto her haunches. She was still a bit worn from her hard gallop, and teleportation always made her feel queasy. She started violently when a well turned-out stallion popped into existence next to her with a golden flash. “— but I rather think that their alaria is inferior. Do you… oh.” The pony Euphony now recognized as High Hat, the palace’s majordomo, blew out his mustaches. “Honestly, Your Majesty, you need to stop doing this. I was in the middle of arranging next month’s seafood purchases with the Chief Procurator.”
As he spoke, the portal finished rolling aside. Euphony was surprised at how quickly the Princess could open it – but I suppose that’s nothing compared to moving the sun. Celestia strode briskly forward. “I am sorry for interrupting, Sir High, but there are several things that must happen immediately, and I need you here now.”
High Hat’s many years of service in the Royal Household had left him keenly attuned to the moods of his Princess, and he had already gleaned from her tone and carriage that this was no time for idle chit-chat. He quickly drew forth his pince-nez, a small leather-bound notebook, and a fountain pen from an inner pocket of his morning coat. He then wordlessly followed his sovereign into the Sanctum, Euphony hastening after him.
Entering into the white marble space, Euphony winced to hear the Orb of Aether still emitting a wavering, discordant tone. Ahead of them, the Princess trotted around the orb’s marble plinth to where Lady Aequitas still lay, her eyes closed and head resting on the floor. Celestia gently knelt beside the old mare. “Are you badly hurt, Aequy?”
“Oh, Celestia,” Aequitas stirred, and looked up at her monarch with a small smile. “I’ve had worse –“ at this she suddenly grimaced as pain shot through her. “Maybe.”
“Where are you injured?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure my hip is shattered, for a start.”
“Lie still, please,” the Princess said gently, lowering her long horn to rest on the old mare’s flank, just above the set of balanced scales that was her cutie mark. A soft golden glow rose from the horn to surround the hindquarters of the aged seer.
“Now, my old friend, you must tell me. What has happened, where, and when?”
“I wish I could tell you something better, but it’s as Euphony told you: the Ordinance has been broken. It was blood magic.”
“It had been so long, I dared to hope the knowledge of such things had been destroyed at last…” the princess sighed.
“When there comes an end to evil, on that day it will be so, my princess. And this was no fumbling experiment of some rouge warlock. This was a spell of great and evil power. It was completed nearly 15 minutes ago, and look there: the scar of it is still plain on the magic field. It hasn’t faded in the least. This damage will linger for some days, I think. The power to make such a mark must have been tremendous.”
“And where did this unspeakable crime occur?”
“That’s the trouble, Celestia. The spell was cast near the heart of the Everfree Forest, but the Forest's disorder makes determining the exact site impossible. Its aether field is just too turbulent for me to locate the spell site with any accuracy.”
“You mentioned damage to the aether field?”
“Yes, powerful magical gradients are still spinning off of that spellscar. Unicorn magic within 50 miles of the spell site will be erratic and unreliable, and pegasi may have some trouble staying on course. The affected area will shrink as the scar fades over the next day or two.”
“Sir High?”
“Yes, my Princess?” the smartly dressed unicorn replied, fountain pen hovering at the ready.
“You are to go to the Captain of the Day Guard. Instruct him to call the entirety of the guard to duty – all leave is canceled until further notice. All soldiers not immediately needed in Canterlot should form up at Ponyville as quickly as possible. Also, call back half the regiment stationed at the northern border forts. I want them close by if they’re needed.”
“It shall be done, Your Majesty.”
“I also want you to tell the commander of the Unicorn Corps and Chancellor Pots to meet me in the Hall of Glass in ten minutes. Tell the Chancellor to be prepared for the possibility of violence. Next, rouse Luna and tell her to come here to the Sanctum at once. Then you are to go to the Magician’s Guild and have them send an advisory to their members in the region of the Everfree that all high-energy spells are banned for the next three days. Please go now.”
“Yes, Princess.” The majordomo spun on his hooves and took off at a dignified yet speedy canter.
“What do you intend to do, Princess?” asked Aequitas, wincing slightly as her hipbone knitted back together under the influence of Celestia’s powerful healing spell.
The Princess lifted her horn from the old mare’s flank and gave her a faint smile. “How does your hip feel, Aequy?”
“Oh, much better, dear heart,” she said, returning the smile. She rose unsteadily to her hooves and took a few steps to test the truth of that statement. Her smile widened as it proved to be so. “Ha, you haven’t had to patch me up like this since I was a little filly.”
The princess tinkled with laughter at the memory. “Well, I suppose a certain student learned conclusively that she wasn’t a pegasus that day.”
Lady Aequitas turned to face her friend and ruler, and her expression grew serious. “What will you do, Celestia?”
“I intend to take the Royal Guard under my personal command,” she said, her face clouding with anger. “We will sweep the entirety of the Everfree, if need be. We will find the creatures responsible for this crime against nature. I am going to precede the Guard column to Ponyville with Commander Coldsteel and Chancellor Pots to arrange matters for the ponyhunt.”
“You’ll need an aetherically-attuned unicorn if you hope to track the spell site quickly, Princess,” Lady Aequitas pointed out. “Though I must remain here within the Sanctum, Euphony possesses great sensitivity to magical fields. Let her accompany you.”
Euphony shied slightly at this, but quickly stood upright and stuck out her chest. “If Equestria needs me, I will not fail you, Princess.”
“I thank you both for your selflessness, but you are needed here, Euphony. Although Lady Aequitas is a fine actor, don’t be fooled; she is still badly hurt. Aequy, you will need to keep stress off your hip for a few weeks to allow it to finish healing. Euphony must remain here to assist you.” Celestia extended a hoof to point at the ugly red gash which marred the ivory surface of the Orb of Aether. “You two must devote all your energy to knitting over the spellscar and balancing the fluctuations propagating from it. When Luna arrives here, she will assist you in this task.” She paused for a moment. “Do you have any coffee or tea here?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Hm, I’ll send some down before I depart. Luna isn’t much help until she’s had her caffeine, I fear,” Celestia said with a smile.
“But how will you track the spell site?” Aequitas persisted.
“Don’t worry, my friend. I know a pony in Ponyville whose magical sensitivity is unmatched. We will seek out my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
With that, Celestia trotted out of the portal, beyond the wards and dampers of the Sanctum, and disappeared in a golden flash.
* * *
In a clearing near the dark heart of the Everfree, a red mist was slowly dissipating. Many of the great old trees lining the clearing had been scorched or were hung heavy with ice in defiance of the May warmth. And, despite the fine spring weather, all the plant life within the clearing itself was quite dead. As dead as the seven unicorn corpses arrayed on the foul hexagram that had been carved into the newly-parched earth of the field.
A single cloaked figure stood in the shadows at the edge of the clearing. The pony peered into the mist until he discerned a dull metallic glow from the mouth of a pony in a grey habit, whose body lay at the center of the hexagram. “Excellent.”
The figure called out, “Houndstooth, fetch the artifact here – but take care you don’t touch the blood channels!”
Another creature emerged from the bushes behind him, giggling madly. “Yes, we will fetches it for you!” The canine figure approached the hexagram with a loping gait, but tripped over a stone as he neared the hexagram. Flailing, the unfortunate minion fell across one of the arcane channels hewn into the earth. He was dead before the “zap” reached the edge of the clearing.
The shadowy figure placed a hoof to his face in irritation. “Idiot. Ailith, would you be so kind as to retrieve that?”
A jet black griffin burst from a tree several yards back into the forest and swooped down over the ritual circle. Hovering, she pried a metallic object from the mouth of Br. Dunstable’s corpse, circled about, and dropped it at the feet of the cloaked pony. He examined the artifact with interest: it was a red brass amulet, set with a large ruby. In the shade, it pulsed very faintly with a crimson glow. “At last. At last! The Heart of Gaia is restored!”