Bringing Balance

by Shumiry


Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“It was a lot safer in there than it used to be, after the Necrogolem's preparatory harvest. Plus, it gave me the privacy to conduct my experiments.” -Secret Seeker

The party had lasted for almost three days before finally petering out, and the cleanup took about two more, since several ponies from out of town continued to linger, starting up impromptu dance sessions, largely assisted by DJ-PON3's portable turn-tables. Eventually, however, things returned to normal in Ponyville, and the six friends returned to their daily lives.
Rarity and Fluttershy were at the spa, getting cleansed of all the sweat, dust and drink from the exorbitant soiree, when Shy voiced her concern.
“Um, I think something might be, uh, bothering Rainbow Dash.” Rarity, who had been humming quietly to herself, only barely registered the soft spoken pegasus had said anything.
“Say what now dear? I was miles away,” she said as she turned to look at Fluttershy, creepily accurate despite the cucumbers covering her eyes.
“That party sure was a blast,” Fluttershy said, unable to speak her mind a second time.
“Oh absolutely! Everypony had such a wonderful time! Pinkie's really outdone herself with this one. Why, her next party will...” Rarity continued for some time, but Fluttershy had trouble paying attention. Everypony... she thought, worried about the pegasus.
Despite her gentle nature and easygoing ways, Fluttershy was probably better acquainted with death than any of her friends. Caring for as many animals as she did meant she outlasted generations of some of the shorter lived species. Plus, nursing wounded animals back to health meant that, sometimes, she couldn't save them.
One might think that it would get easier with time and experience. That the passing of creatures she lacked the power to save would either become less painful, or so painful it chased her away from her calling. For Fluttershy, it was always the same. The pain. The sorrow. The coping. The remembrance. Then, finally, moving on.
Still, despite it all, she couldn't begin to imagine what the experience of dying and being resurrected had done to Dash. She thought back to the party, remembering her sky blue friend performing for a crowd of cheering onlookers. Signing autographs for some of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club. Laughing and joking with some friends from weather control. Sitting in the rafters of Sugarcube Corner, nursing a mug of cider... Telling other ponies her eyes were red from the drink, though she hadn't touched a drop of the hard stuff...
She shivered despite how warm it was in the spa. She'd just have to talk to Rainbow herself. They'd skipped their weekly pet play date yesterday due to the ongoing party, but next week might be the perfect time to try to help her friend. She'd always been closer to Dash than the other mares, being the only other pegasus in the group, and having known her much longer.
So when the blue pegasus had vanished for the second time at the party, not offering any explanation, it hadn't taken Fluttershy long to find her. She knew, she thought, almost all of Dash's hiding places, though she'd never ousted her to her friends when they'd been hoping to get her to do some work. Nothing could have prepared her, however, for what she found.
There had been such a profound sorrow in the sobs that Fluttershy was torn between her desire to help her friend, and crippling fear over what dark secret could possibly cause her indomitable companion to suffer so. Then, with no warning at all, she stopped. Without any more sobs, or even an ending sniffle, the blue mare returned to the party as if nothing had happened, not noticing the petrified pegasus. It happened twice more that she was aware of, and, by the time Dash left the party, she'd resolved to get her some help.
In the gloom of the underground castle, eerie green fire illuminated the dark halls and chambers. Many of the rooms were shut, some magically sealed to keep anypony out. Others were sealed to keep something in... In a large, cavernous opening, a white coated unicorn with a light brown mane and tail stood examining an intricate drawing. It seemed to be a picture of some kind of mechanical spider, built of both rune and metal.
Finally, after long moments of silence, the pony nodded, pressing a switch on the console with his hoof. A small syringe emerged, filled with a clear saline solution. Invisible to the naked eye, the liquid contained millions of the tiny spiders in the drawing. In his weakened state, it had been extremely hard for the stallion to make the little things, but, with the completed injection before him, he felt again the familiar thrill of excitement.
The syringe floated off the console, engulfed in the same eerie green glow the torches put off. For reasons he had yet to discern, his magical nimbus had adopted the unearthly green of the Necroequicon, making him wonder what other effects his temporary storage in the black book had had on him.
He felt a slight pinch as the needle pierced his neck, and the plunger depressed. When it was empty, he withdrew it and placed it into the device he had constructed. The Reshaper, as he called it, utilized power from a soul gem to sterilize pieces of equipment via a simple rune sphere. It could also, by consuming more power, take raw materials or other equipment, and turn them into new tools based on a template.
With the syringe cleaned and put back in its place, Secret Seeker closed his eyes and set to work attuning the spiders to his mind, and instilling in them the basic programs they'd use to assist him. Being a golem would reduce his regenerative needs, since his body already sported some powerful healing capabilities of its own, not to mention some mild magical resistance. Thus, he was able to set the machines' primary directive to assisting his chakra control.
“Yet another thing I learned from the Necroequicon that helped me defeat it.” he muttered to himself, chuckling at the irony. This step had been crucial to his return to power. Since Celestia's return, he found himself unable to even attempt to reconstruct his sun-harvesting rune sphere. It was, presumably, protected somehow by its link to the Princess.
With his new nanobots coursing through his veins, his magical abilities were enhanced, but only slightly. Since it only affected his control, and not the amount of power available, the increase was some percentage of his base strength, which, at this point, was minimal at best. Still, having the nanobots, especially once they were back to their proper numbers in a week or so, would bring a welcome return of some functions he was sorely missing.
He'd really enjoyed being able to see his vital statistics whenever he wanted, having it display on his HUD (Heads Up Display). The notifications he could receive about the statuses of others was also something he would dearly desire if he found himself in a combat situation, or even just a hostile argument. Once they were up to full capacity, he'd be ready to reveal himself. A nervous flutter in his gut disagreed with him. Hopefully... he thought.
Rainbow Dash was reclined on a cloud over Ponyville. The Daring-Do book she'd brought with her lay forgotten to the side, while the rubbed a forehoof on her chest. “You died, hon.” Applejack said. “Been gone for ten minutes.” The human turned back to them, seemingly looking right at her, “We're not all evil.” then the black orb appeared. Celestia had explained later what had happened. Something called a singularity, and some kind of horizon. She had truly wanted to listen. Wanted to pay attention, to learn everything she could about the being she owed two life debts.
But she couldn't.
Whenever she thought back to that time, or dreamed of it, she'd snap out of her reverie with tears in her eyes, heart racing. When she'd asked the Princesses what was wrong with her, she'd been told it was being caused by a dissonance with her Element. That her sense of loyalty was causing her to need to repay those debts, even though it was impossible. They had said that the feeling should fade in a few days.
It hadn't.
It had been especially problematic during the party. For seemingly no reason at all, she'd suddenly need to get away. To be alone so she could sob uncontrollably for a few minutes. Then, as quickly as it had come, the feeling would disappear, leaving her bewildered. Fortunately, her laziness had once again paid off, in that she knew all sorts of places to hide away where other ponies tended not to look.
She'd been pretty careful, and was fairly sure nopony had seen her or suspected anything. She'd also come up with some pretty rad excuses to explain her unusual behavior. That her new training regimen was affecting her stomach. That she'd added random workout sessions to her schedule to keep her body in a state of constant alertness. That she'd had too much hard cider too fast. Not too proud of that one... she winced, thinking of the foals that looked up to her.
Eventually she'd decided to abandon the party altogether. It was getting too hard to explain her sudden need to be alone, and, besides, she really had been getting quite tired. Which made it such a shame that, when she got home and went to bed, she couldn't fall asleep. Each time she'd closed her eyes, she'd seen flashes of the battle between Secret Seeker and the Necrogolem. Of the black orb vanishing with a pop. Of the sorrow in his eyes...
Finally, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she'd drifted off into fitful slumber. She woke once in the night, screaming through tears, forehooves clutching her chest where the hole had been. Despite her racing heart, and her fear of another nightmare, she'd fallen back asleep quite quickly, the rest of the night passing peacefully.