Scarlet Thorn was trotting through the Everfree forest, which most ponies would have thought her an imbecile for. However unlike the insane ponies who did traverse the forest, the pegasus was doing so at night. Even those insane ponies had to be less mad than she was. Not that she wanted to be in town at the moment anyways. It was the night of the Summer Sun Celebration; of course everypony had been absolutely frantic about making sure every last little thing was perfect for not just the arrival of their beloved Princess Celestia but a supervisor that also happened to be the Princess's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony.
"Try saying that five times fast." Scarlet muttered aloud. "Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal prote-"
The pegasus was interrupted by a very loud roar, and she quickly dove into an unfortunately prickly bush. Despite her rapidly growing discomfort, this was the reason the pony had marched straight into the depths of the Everfree for. Once only every thousand years the legendary and gruesome Tartarus Chiroptera made its migration from the bowels of Tartarus to an unknown destination, presumably for mating reasons. Of course, that was all just speculation. Nopony but Celestia herself was old enough to be sure, and not even Celestia herself had ever gotten close enough- nor was brave enough- to have ever learned about one. That was why Scarlet Thorn was approximately ten miles deep into the Everfree. With Ponyville being so close to the entrance to Tartarus, she figured that she might as well see if the rumors are true. And to her great delight, and slight horror, they were.
High above the pegasus could make out a colony of dragon-like silhouettes. If she hadn't known better, she might've actually thought they were dragons. But the mare knew better. Not only was it not the correct time of the year for the Great Dragon Migration, but the cries coming from above were not dragon roars. These roars were too screechy, like gryphon nails sliding down a blackboard combined with the pounding of a jackhammer.
One of the silhouettes suddenly dived downward with alarming speed. It swooped right past Scarlet, its wing tip literally less than an inch away from her muzzle as her bush was nearly ripped from the soil. The unlucky trees in its path were thrown to the ground as the monster snatched up a manticore that had been hiding in another bush. The smaller beast roared in agony at the fangs sunk into its hide but before it even had a chance to fight back the Tartarus Chiroptera bit deeper into the manticore's flesh, effectively either paralyzing it or killing it. The still hidden pony couldn't tell which, not that she really wanted to find out. Secretly, a small part of her was actually grateful to the Tartarus Chiroptera. She wasn't sure what that manticore could've and would've done had she been careless enough. Better it than her anyways.
Finally, little over three excruciating hours later, Scarlet Thorn slowly crept out of the bush. Half an hour of the wait alone had been her waiting to make sure that there were no more Tartarus Chiroptera to be seen. Every joint she possibly had was incredibly and unbelievably stiff, making it almost impossible to stand. Her neck hurt from looking up at the sky for so long. And to make things all the worse she had brambles in her coat, tail, and mane. She was going to need a long shower after this, and tomorrow was going to be one heck of a laundry day unless she decided to buy a new cloak. The pegasus attempted to shake as many as the brambles as possible off, but the thorns stubbornly persisted. She then straightened out each of her legs individually, and stretched out in a cat-like movement to crack her back. The pony started her trek out of the Everfree when her ears picked up the smallest and strangest of noises.
It sounded almost like the cry of a baby animal, but the sound was so slight that Scarlet wasn't sure if she had heard it in the first place. That is, until she heard it again. It seemed to be coming from the direction where the manticore had been snatched up. At first she thought that it could have been a manticore cub, but the chances of that were highly unlikely as the cubs were raised primarily by their mothers. Still, it couldn't hurt to check. Pony, manticore, or otherwise, if there was a creature in trouble Scarlet felt obligated to help. She cautiously approached the sound with little regard to her own safety. It took her a moment to pinpoint the exact location that the cries were coming from, as they had become few and far in between, but eventually she found the source of the noise almost pinned underneath the branches of a fallen tree. And it was not a manticore.
The little bat was no bigger than the average foal, and it looked quite frightened. It was pure white in color, save the blood coating its wing where a branch had pierced through. The peculiar thing about this bat's wings, was that they were feather-coated which was unlike any bat that the pony had seen before. Not that looks mattered right now. There was an injured and scared creature in front of her, a baby one at that, and Scarlet Thorn was determined to do something about it. She knew that she was no Fluttershy when it came to animals but while the butter-yellow mare's talent lay in the treatment and care of animals, Scarlet's was in helping sort out the emotions of others which included being able to help them calm down and think clearly.
She gingerly crouched down, making herself as small and nonthreatening as possible. When she spoke, she was sure to do so in a quiet and soothing tone. "Hello."
The little bat turned to her, absolutely terrified. It tried to get away, but only succeeded in digging the branch deeper into its wing.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The mare quietly ordered. "Please don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. Look, I have wings just like you!"
She flexed out her wings, showing them to the little bat in hopes of gaining its trust. Her action proved to be the right choice, as the strange bat stopped struggling and cautiously stepped toward her.
"My name is Scarlet Thorn, and I want to help you." She pointed at the punctured wing. "I know you must be scared right now, but I promise that I won't hurt you. And I'll tell you a secret. I'm scared too. I'm scared because I'm all alone in the Everfree. But, maybe we can be scared together and neither of us have to be alone?"
The odd creature looked up at her and stopped moving all together, it seemed to Scarlet that it agreed with her.
"Okay, don't worry. I promise that everything is going to be okay. I have a unicorn friend who has the best healing magic in all of Ponyville, and he'll have your wings fixed up in a jiffy." Scarlet assured, firmly yet gently scooping the little bat into her foreleg.
With her other hoof she grasped a hold of the damaged wing and attempted to dislodge the sharp branch that had penetrated through it. To her surprise it easily slid out from the wound, but she was quick to realize that this was only because of the branch being slick with blood. To her great alarm more of the little bat's life was now openly flowing through the wound. Scarlet mentally cursed herself. She had forgotten that by removing the offending object that there would be nothing left to stop the blood flow. The pegasus made a quick but smart decision, and ripped off a good section of her purple shawl as her cloak was covered in nasty brambles that would no doubt do more harm than good. The fabric definitely was not the thickest, but wrapped around the bat's wing and around itself enough times would make it as good as gauze. Once she had finished the mare moved the little bat to her chest where she figured it was warmest. It stopped trembling and cuddled its face into her soft neck fur so she figured that she must be doing something right.
Making sure to keep pressure on the makeshift bandage, Scarlet Thorn began on the path back to Ponyville. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."
(***)
"And that's how I met Slasher." Scarlet recounted to Sound-Off.
The dragoness stared at her slack-jawed, and then rapidly shook her head. "You are one crazy pony, you know that? Taking a creature from the Everfree forest! Remember the parasprite incident, hmm?"
"Well that was almost two weeks after I found Slasher. Besides, they weren't that bad." The pegasus argued.
"Not that bad? Maybe for those like you who are lucky enough to live in cloud homes!" Sound-Off snapped. "For those of us who live on the ground it was awful! They ate everything! And when I say everything, I mean everything! Do you even know why Cold Front's cottage went up for sale right after Pinkie Pie led the parasprites away, and why nopony has seen nor hide nor tail of her since?"
"Has listening to all that loud music made you daft? Parasprites eating ponies," Scarlet scoffed. "that's just ridiculous!"
Sound-Off shrugged her shoulders. "You can choose to believe whatever you want, but if you ask me it's all a little bit too coincidental."
"What's coincidental is the timing of it all." Scarlet stated, "According to what we know, ever since Twilight Sparkle and her friends brought back Princess Luna it seems the foundations of Equestria have begun to crumble. The entire Discord fiasco and the reemergence of the changeling race for starters, even minor inconveniences like the parasite pandemic."
"I'm still telling you, that was a lot worse than you make it out to be." Sound-Off grumbled. "But I do agree with you. In fact, that's not at all dissimilar to what Luna told me when I first became a member of Z.O.D.I.A.C."
(***)
Sound-Off rode atop Princess Luna's regal back as she trot along the bloodied halls of Canterlot Castle. The sight of the dragoness atop the alicorn's back was not abnormal behavior for the lunar princess, the young dragoness was practically her granddaughter after all. More so, Luna's concern fell upon protecting the reptile.
For as of today, the changelings had returned to Equestria. At least, the oldest and most powerful hive had. Queen Chrysalis had somehow managed to infiltrate the defenses set-up for the wedding of Princess Cadenza Mi Amore and Shining Armor. And what's more, taken the place of the bride-to-be and locked her underneath the castle in the crystal catacombs for Faust only knows how long.
Princess Luna had returned from her quest for the perfect wedding gift, only to find her beloved home under siege by love-devouring, soul-sucking, bad-tempered, black-chitined, and rather foul-mouthed insect-like equines known as the changelings. A horrifying swarm of countless anonymous faces, capable of shifting forms into any creature or any object. She had fought her way through a good-sized chunk of the swarm, leaving piles of corpses in her wake. But before she could reach the room hosting the wedding ceremony, a pulse of powerful magic had blown hopefully each and every changeling clear out of Equestria. And while her personal protegee and adopted son scoped out the damage done unto the city, its civilians, and the guards-ponies under his control, she had taken to guarding over Sound-Off in the meantime.
Atop her back, the little dragoness shivered as they passed the corpse of one of Celestia's Solar Guard. The alicorn heard Sound-Off cry out in fear and alarm. The majestic pony soon picked up the pace to a strong canter, still maintaining her royal grace and poise as she did so. They soon reached the Lunar Wing of the castle, which was less damaged than the Solar Wing which was often more frequented by guests and where all of the parties and other events were hosted. As they turned the corner and she threw open the heavy wooden double-doors, she was relieved to find that her personal library was miraculously, and thankfully, untouched. Luna quickly trot over to the fireplace, and ignited a magical flame within using a spark of indigo-blue magic. She then floated over a large woolen blanket with her magic, and unfolded it so that it lay atop the dragoness's shoulders and partially over the alicorn's own back of which Sound-Off was no longer atop of.
"Are you alright?" Luna finally asked, worried not for the dragoness's physical state- which was free from any damage- but rather for the state of her mental health.
Sound-Off pressed herself deeply into the alicorn's soft side. The princess's warmth flowed into her body, soothing her almost into the lull of sleep. In that honest state, she admitted, "I'm scared."
Luna frowned. Sound-Off was young- of age two years in pony time but twelve in dragon- but her heightened awareness and incredible intelligence easily put her at the age only experienced scholars averaged to be. Still, she was young and the horrors and consequences of war had put her into a state of shock.
"It is perfectly okay to be scared." Luna simply stated. "Especially in a situation such as this. Fear is good, because fear kept you alive during the changeling's assault. Trust your fear Sound-Off."
At the mention of the changelings Sound-Off shrunk into the blanket. "I don't understand! They came from nowhere, but everywhere at the same time! Then they started killing ponies!"
"That is war little one. There are no winning sides, no benefits, no rewards. Only bloodshed met by slaughter." The alicorn harshly said.
"But then, why? What was the point?" Sound-Off squeaked, almost fully burying herself into the somewhat scratchy fabric.
"There is no point." Luna claimed. "You could argue that it was over natural resources, such as land or food, but such needs could have been met by a simple treaty. The only point of war, is to thin out the population. Sound-Off, tell me, what do you know about the Law of Equivalent Exchange?"
The little dragoness nervously gulped. "Um, uh, the Law of Equivalent Exchange is essentially the explain- explanation for all magic, innate and learned. Something cannot be taken without first giving something of equal or greater value. And that rule applies when in reverse too. Before something can be given, something else has to be lost. It's the basic principle of magic."
"That is correct." The lunar princess nodded her head. "But, can you tell me young dragon, how this law affects Equestria as a whole?"
"I know that in exchange for flight magic, the pegasi have to maintain the weather. Earth ponies are more in tune with nature because after the disappearance of the lost civilization of Ponyland they declined the rights to horns or wings, in order to keep harmony within their lands. And unicorns get their magic from drawing in their surrounding's energies, which if used incorrectly or too frequently can drain the life of the land around them." Sound-Off answered.
"While that is true, that is not the answer I am looking for." Came Princess Luna's response, as she levitated over a large tome in her magical aura. "Indeed, Equestria's natural magic does rely on its inhabitants, including my sister's and my own, but as a whole there is something else that our nation must incorporate. And that is the magic of both harmony, and chaos."
"Chaos magic? Like Discord?" Sound-Off asked, clearly confused. "But Equestria is the land of harmony, why would it need chaos magic?"
The alicorn's ears folded back, and her eyes filled with shame. "Because, Equestria is trying to restore balance to itself. And it's all my fault."
"What?! That's not true Luna!" The reptile exclaimed. "If anything, harmony has been greater than ever since your return!"
"You fail to understand. When I- I mean, Nightmare Moon, failed to conquer Equestria, the balance shifted." Luna choked back her guilt. "And since harmony won in the end, that means that chaos would have to appear again on an even grander scale. And it all has to do with the Elements of Harmony being released upon my return."
Sound-Off's eyes widened in realization. "First you returned. Then Discord was released. And after he was imprisoned, the changelings rose to power. But then, that means since they were defeated by a powerful blast of pure love magic then something needs to happen to restore balance! And to counter something so powerful, an even stronger chaos must arise! It could very well be the end of days!"
Luna nodded her head. "That is indeed the case. But you are mistaken about one detail. I never said my return marked the first upset of balance. Only that it started the offset of balance in Equestria."
"In Equestria?" Sound-Off questioned. "Are you saying that the balance has been broken someplace else?"
"Not necessarily another place, you must keep in mind that both my sister and I are over five-thousand years old. And Equestria, is still in its youth." Luna blew the dust from the ancient tome, and ran a hoof down its musty cover.
Sound-Off glanced at the cover curiously. The book was bound by a leather cover- which was off-putting enough as it was- but the centerpiece of the book was a twelve-sided gem that shimmered with more colors than she thought could have possibly ever existed. Just staring into it made her feel as if she were going mad. Thankfully, Luna flipped open the book with a glow from her horn as she undid the many magical seals placed upon its pages. Somepony really hadn't wanted this book to be read.
"What is that?" Sound-Off gasped out.
"A forgotten piece of history." Luna whispered, before her voice rose. "You remember 'The Tale of the Carnes ad Vescendum Conferunt, Midsummer Dream and Morning Star', do you not?"
"Well, yeah!" Sound-Off answered. "You and Gallant used to read it to me every night!"
"I must be honest with you Sound-Off, thou are comparable to thy own kin. The beloved fairy-tale of yours, hath only been told in partial."
Luna took in a deep breath, and began to read.
...
Sound-Off stared at the lunar princess in shock. "But- but why?! Why would he do that?! He's the hero!"
Luna put a gentle hoof underneath the dragoness's chin. "It is time you come to learn Sound-Off, that in this world, there is no such thing as a hero. I, am proof of that. My sister, the beloved sun princess and bringer of light, is proof of that."
"But- but, he is the hero! He protected the unicorns! He protected his sisters!" The reptile argued. "He didn't have to- he didn't have to- to kill them! They were his family! And he didn't have to- he didn't have to-"
The alicorn pulled the dragoness into her warmth, her own cheeks growing wet. "I know my dear, I know. But now do you understand? This threat we're facing. One that could very well mean not just the complete destruction of Equestria, but the utter obliteration of Equis as we know it."
"But you and Celestia are alicorns, with enough strength to move the moon and sun! You can go into the very dreams of ponies and annihilate their very darkest fears! Couldn't you just use your powers to stop him?!"
"My sister and I are indeed that powerful. And once, we would have." Luna remorsefully said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "You are too young to understand the consequences of such power. A many a millennium ago, we did use our vast magical abilities and enhanced strength for such purposes. We- we committed mass genocide, the extinction of an entire species."
"Wh- what?" Sound-Off breathlessly asked.
"I watched my sister destroy an entire nation, an entire civilization and all of its inhabitants, setting aflame every last single one. And worse? I empowered her, encouraged her even. Our power, we could've used it upon just those who hurt our ponies. But so scared were we, so full of fear, that we slaughtered them all. The warmongers." Luna paused, her voice turning into a pained whisper. "The innocent. It made no difference. Celestia brought fire from the skies, a plague of flame such as Equis had never seen! I brought a coldness. A darkness so vast that it brought with it famine, chill, and hunger. I watched my sister murder a child! Nay, murder is too light of a term. I watched my sister butcher a child, no older than an infant. I'll never forget the child's wails when Celestia ripped her from her mother's dying arms, and the silence that followed. And why?"
Sound-Off's face fell. "Why?"
Luna's chest began to heave rapidly. Her voice rose to a pained cry. "Because we were afraid? No. We weren't afraid anymore! We did it because we could. Because we had the power to. We knew that we were in the wrong, but who was to stop us? We completely annihilated each and every predator, predat-ress, and pup! All, but one. Self-preservation is a powerful thing. He became the only thing he could, a monster. And as such, we hunted him down! Pursued him tirelessly, across plains, mountains, forests, and rivers! When we found him? Weak. Starving. Beaten. A mere shadow of his formal self. We turned him to stone. The innocent's name?"
"What- what was his name?" The dragoness asked; although, she already knew.
"Discord." The lunar princess breathed out, walking over to the window overlooking the statue garden. "And then, Celestia and I vowed never to use our powers in that manner ever again. But I obviously broke my promise, and so did my sister."
"Celestia? What did Celestia do?" Sound-Off fearfully inquired.
Princess Luna turned away from the window, and walked back over to the dragoness. She glanced back down at the book, picking it back up in her magic as she sat down. "Yet another piece of history my sister has stowed away from the prying eyes of our ponies."
"What is it?" The reptile asked once Luna had plopped down next to her.
"The truth behind the abandoned and desolated region known as, Hollow Shades. It's in old-ponish, same as the last, so I'll read it to you." The blue alicorn answered, before clearing her throat and flipping to the correct chapter. "There once was a kingdom of ponies, apart from the solar crown, named Hollow Shades."
Sound-Off glanced at the illustration on the worn yellowed pages. It depicted a rather happy town, not at all dissimilar in looks in comparison to Ponyville, full of happy ponies. But the neighboring page was the one that caught her in surprise. It showed not just ponies, but gryphons, threstrals, and even the black-chitined changelings living amongst the ponies. She swore that she could even make out the silhouettes of a few dragons and diamond dogs in the painted crowd. Each face was happy; smiling and laughing together, the young and the old.
Luna continued on. "For you see after the imprisonment of their queen, Queen Luna-"
"Queen?" Sound-Off interrupted, face muddling with confusion.
"Indeed. Back then, before my banishment, my sister and I had separated ourselves completely from our ponies. Naturally, they worshiped us as no less than gods. With both love," Luna's eyes darkened. "and fear. And with good reason. Of which you shall now learn. For you see after the imprisonment of their queen, Queen Luna, the ponies took their gryphon and changeling slaves to the nation of the threstrals."
The dragoness interrupted again. "Wait, the ponies once kept the gryphons and changelings as slaves?!"
"Unfortunately so. Did you think the changelings attacked us today for no reason? They are the true and first Equestrians, it was the ponies who intruded on their lands. And it was the ponies who enslaved them, seeing them as no more than mindless animals to preform party tricks." Luna stated. "As for the gryphons? The gryphons have been enslaved by the ponies for almost three-thousand years, usually taken from their homeland of Gryphonia before their fledgling feathers hath even shed. And at one point, they were bred for slavery. Bigger, leaner, more robust gryphons for physical labor. Pure-colored, elegant-feathered, fluffier gryphons for the aristocratic to keep as pets. But no matter the breed, each held the same broken spirit and hopeless eyes. But the threstrals, oh the threstrals, the very ponies I swore to protect and those that loyally followed me even when I became Nightmare Moon, suffered the worst."
"What happened to them?" Sound-Off asked, getting a bad feeling in her belly.
"It would be best to continue the story." Luna said, swallowing her pain. "The threstrals welcomed their brethren that had split from the traitorous sun with open hooves. They threw a grand party on the night of their arrival, slave and pony alike were invited. Through autumn, winter, and spring the kingdom of Hollow Shades prospered. But then the summer came, and upon that first warm night came the fire raining down."
The princess turned the page to reveal a single picture split amongst the pages. Sound-Off gasped at the next illustration. It depicted the residents of Hollow Shades fleeing in panic-stricken terror, some body part or another caught aflame or mangled in a horrid way. They fled from their destroyed homes. Some carried in their arms their young, others held onto each other with tears in their eyes. A gryphon and pony held claw and hoof as a ball of white-hot fire roared towards them. Their eyes were closed. Waiting. And atop of it all, surrounded by a raging inferno, was a single white alicorn. But instead of the soft pastel mane and gentle eyes Sound-Off had come to know, there was only hair of flame and slit-eyes of cruelty. And her kind patient smile had been replaced with a harsh sneer, one that harbored no such motherly intent. Her golden armor illuminated by blues, oranges, yellows, and reds; Celestia burnt Hollow Shades to the ground.
"As punishment for the threstrals' crimes against the crown in allying with Queen Luna, and for the ponies' betrayal and disownage of their Equestrian heritage, the kingdom of Hollow Shades repaid the debt owed to Equestria with the lives of its citizens." Luna's voice fell again as she choked back her sobs. "It is unknown just how many made it out alive that night. Those that did went into hiding, and the threstrals themselves became tales of legends."
The alicorn closed the book, and set it between her hooves. Sound-Off put a claw against the princess's neck, a welcomed comfort in this moment of guilt and sadness.
"But Luna," Sound-Off began. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with- with him? The corrupted unicorn from 'The Tale of the Carnes ad Vescendum Conferunt, Midsummer Dream and Morning Star', Grim Noise?"
"Those unfortunate souls of Hollow Shades caught amongst the blaze?" Luna looked away from Sound-Off. "They became the first Eidolon. With their death, came the birth of Grim Noise's army. Eidolon are the polluted and tortured souls from that tragic day, that inspirit a pony and corrupt the innocent into unwilling living marionettes known as Obscures."
The reptile shuddered, from both her fear and the sudden cold wracking her body. "But what do the Obscure do?"
"It's not so much of a matter of what they can do, but rather what they can become. Individuals that have been completely consumed by being Obscures for long enough ultimately become nothing more than but skin to be worn, all aspects of personality destroyed. And in ways I've yet to understand, the physical form of those possessed change into something so horrendous that I cannot even begin to describe it. These beings are aptly referred to as, the Vanished. And once a pony has become a Vanished, there is no salvation for their souls."
"But what about the Elements of Harmony? They imprisoned Discord, and they were able to free you from the miasma's control!" Sound-Off exclaimed. "Couldn't they just, you know, rainbow-magic Grim Noise and his minions into oblivion?"
"No!" Luna suddenly yelled, wings flaring out. When Sound-Off flinched, the alicorn reigned in her voice and emotions with a deep breath. "It is imperative that the Element Bearers know not of our foe, the Elements of Harmony are far too important to Equestria. It is crucial that Twilight Sparkle and her friends are not involved by any cost. The Element Bearers are more than just Equestria's greatest defense, they are Equestria's figureheads just as much as I, Cadence, or Celestia. Not even my sister herself knows of Grim Noise, and I have every intent to keep it that way."
"But why?" Sound-Off demanded. "If they're our greatest defense, then why exclude them?"
"Because, if something were to happen to just one of them, say Applejack got into a farming accident that resulted in her death, then the Elements of Harmony will fail. Even if just one of the Elements were to spontaneously disappear, there will be war without a doubt as soon as word gets out to the other countries." Luna explained. "Equestria already has its enemies Sound-Off. The kingdom of Gryphonia to the east, which we have already been in one war with, and since hath been on the brink of war from there after. And I am sorry to say that, the Dragon Kingdom hath always been unpredictable. We may be at peace with our enemies for now, but peace does not mean without conflict and liabilities."
"Those are both wars we can't afford to wage." Sound-Off pointed out.
Luna nodded her head. "Our nemeses are indeed vast, and neither my sister nor I are indestructible and nay are we immortal. Proven when Queen Chrysalis managed to subdue Celestia, the most powerful pony I know."
"Then how do you plan on stopping Grim Noise without Princess Celestia or the Elements of Harmony, surely not by yourself!" Sound-Off cried out in alarm at the thought of Luna taking on all of this alone.
"No. I could never even hope to end Grim Noise's reign of terror on my own. And that is why I formed a special operations team consisting of no more than at this moment six individuals hoof-picked by my own hooves, meant for the sole purpose of killing Grim Noise and his ever-growing army." Luna stated, pushing herself up and gesturing for the dragoness to follow as she lit up her horn and teleported them out of the library.
When the spots of light faded from Sound-Off's eyes, she found herself and the lunar princess in a crumbling stone corridor. "Wh- where are we?!"
Luna smiled. "Welcome, to the Castle of the Heavens. Better known today as, the Castle of the Two Sisters."
Sound-Off gasped. "You mean, we're in the castle of the Everfree?! The first capital of Equestria?!"
"Indeed. It is safest place to be for what I am about to reveal to you." Luna said as she trotted on. "Because of the rapid rise and concerning amount of Obscures and Vanished, to help combat Grim Noise I hath created a witching hour organization known as Z.O.D.I.A.C. Or, Zeniths of Order Directed by the Institution Against Chaos."
"Quite the fancy acronym." The reptile commended.
"Thank you!" Luna exclaimed. "It took me hours to come up with it! Now as I was saying, the individuals of this group aren't chosen for their physical characteristics such as strength or endurance, nor for their mental capacities. Rather, they are chosen for and because at some point in time, in one way or another, their very souls have been bound by fate. In such a way that, they cannot be possessed and become Obscures."
"The perfect team essentially." Sound-Off noted.
"Indeed. And what's more, through this team I have managed to create a spell that allows an agent to free a pony from Eidolon control." A prideful twinkle glimmered in the alicorn's eyes. "Because the Eidolon inhabit the Obscure it would be normally impossible to kill the Eidolon without killing the host along with it, but thanks to a few special enchanted weapons we can now take down the Eidolon without harming the host."
"That's incredible!" The dragoness exclaimed. "What is the spell called?"
Luna's smile grew. "I call it, the Dream-Catcher Spell. Using my very own dream-based magic, I devised a spell that would cause any weapon to pass harmlessly through the possessed pony but hit and maim the Eidolon within."
"And it's called the Dream-Catcher Spell because it works like a dream catcher, the good dream passes harmlessly through but nightmares get caught in the web and then destroyed by the sunlight!" Sound-Off concluded.
"Trade the sunlight for the edge of the weapon itself, and you are correct. Still, I am impressed Sound-Off. The capacities of your mind never cease to amaze me." Luna stated. "You are young, and while it pains me to expose you to such horrors because of that, and do believe me when I say it does, I have no doubt that you would make a fine agent. Of course, until you've had the proper training and grown by quite a few years, all of your missions won't be on the field. It is for that reason, and because of the strength of your soul, that I would like to invite you to join Z.O.D.I.A.C."
"M- me?" Sound-Off gasped, pointing a claw at herself. "You think I could defeat Grim Noise?"
"Not alone, no. But with the help of the other members? Yes." The alicorn said a-matter-of-factly. "You are wise beyond your years Sound-Off. To put it simply, you are the Twilight Sparkle of dragons."
The dragoness couldn't help but to blush at the princess's comment. "Tha- thank you. But- but what if I decided not to join. I mean, I'm going to join! But just, what if?"
"Well," Luna began. "nopony outside of the organization is allowed to know anything. And the slightest slip of the tongue by any of the agents is punishable by execution."
Sound-Off gulped. "Oh my."
"But of course I'm not going to kill you. I rather like you too much." Princess Luna reassured. "I would simply erase your memory with a watered-down version of the Blank-Slate spell."
"Oh." The reptile simply said.
"However, since that is not the case," Luna stopped at the end of the corridor. It appeared to be nothing more than a decaying wall, but a quick ignite from her horn and the illusion spell was lifted. "welcome to Z.O.D.I.A.C."
***
Scarlet Thorn nodded her head. "That does make the most sense. And Princess Luna was right, you're amazing when it comes to handling the organization's security and files. But this isn't going to be like organizing papers, this is an actual on the field mission."
"I know." Sound-Off nervously gulped, before Luna's words flooded her eyes with confidence. "But I can do this! I'm ready to finally start working on the field like you and Gallant!"
Scarlet couldn't help but to smile. Sound-Off had the determination, the courage, the optimism, and most importantly the will of a full-fledged founding agent such as herself. Still, it was hard for her to see the young dragoness as a fully competent being; especially since the little one was a lot more intelligent then she let on. And unlike that lazy purple and green dragon Princess Twilight called her assistant, Sound-Off was straight to the point and very down to earth on her views. A dragon of pure business and delegation. If she had set a goal for herself, she would achieve it no matter what.
"Hey, I'm proud of you Agent Capricorn." Scarlet stated, sensing that the tiny ego-stroke would do the reptile wonders.
Sound-Off beamed, her sharp fangs curved into a smile. "Thanks Agent Scorpio, but I'm only as good as my team."
"Good thing you have the best then." The pegasus winked. "No creature can withstand my blade for very long."
"Say Scarlet, where is your scythe?" Sound-Off asked, realizing that the mare had not had it with her when they had entered the wormhole.
"In the pocket-dimension we're on route for." The mare answered. "I can't risk Black Dawn seeing it. It would lead to too many questions."
"Oh." The dragoness's blush turned sheepish. "That makes sense."
"So," The silver-maned mare's smile turned devilish. "are you ready for this mission, newbie?"
Sound-Off accepted the pegasus's challenge. "Watch me!"
A sound not unlike fabric slowly ripping suddenly interrupted their conversation, and the pressure around the two increased rapidly.
"Ooooh." Sound-Off moaned, clutching her stomach. "I hate this part."
"We're about to transect the dimensional line!" The pony behind her called out over the turbulence. "Hang on!"
Slasher gave his wings one final powerful stroke, and the swirling vortex around them collapsed.