Limestone found Absol sitting beneath one of the many trees in the forest, his eyes turned towards the heavens and he seemed to be millions of miles away from where they were. Limestone said nothing to announce her presence. All she did was walk beside Absol and sit down next to him, following his gaze and looking towards the heavens.
"You're right. I am scared of Spiral," Absol admitted after a long time of silence.
"I could tell. I've gotten a pretty good read on how you act," Limestone admitted. "But why does he scare you to the point that you don't want to fight him? I mean, you were scared of the giant insect and that Hariyama guy, and yet you fought them. What is it about Spiral that scares you so much?"
"...even on my darkest days, when I was being hunted for bringing disasters that I tried to prevent, I still knew that I was not responsible for those disasters. That I had not brought pain and suffering into the lives of others, but had done everything in my power to prevent it. That I was in control of my actions. Eventually the pain became too much for me to bear, but I never lashed out in anger at those who persecuted me. It was...the one thing I was proud of actually," Absol admitted with a smirk.
"But now I am not in control of my own actions. Now there is another that can force me to act in ways I would never dream of. He can force me to strike down those I care about. He can force me to attack innocent ponies or others. I am his servant of darkness. And he can truly make me into the one thing I never wanted to be. A bringer of disaster."
"Absol, you're not a bringer of disaster. You've prevented numerous disasters in the time that you've been here," Limestone said with a smirk. "So don't start getting down on yourself now because there's a lunatic that can control your mind. You are strong enough to break his control. You just didn't get the chance before."
"But is that a risk we can take? Even if I can fight against his mind control, he has your sister and all of her friends on his side. Can we best him without having to hurt any of them...or worse?" Absol asked. "And even then, he has magic as powerful and ancient as he is. Is this a fight that we can win?"
"Absol, it's not about if we can win this fight. We HAVE to win this fight. Because if we don't, then the whole world loses. All of our families fall under his control, the world is overrun with spirits and Spiral will use the living beings of this world as lab rats to experiment on. We have to win. That's all there is to it."
"Heh, I wish I had your optimism. That and your downright refusal to accept when you're horribly outclassed," Absol said with a smirk, before he returned his gaze towards the heavens once more. "You know, the darker part of my mind actually wondered if Spiral might have been able to bring my mother back to life. Or at least, bring her spirit back to the land of the living so that I might have the chance to talk with her one last time. I almost asked him, actually."
"Why didn't you? I know if I had the chance to talk with a family member that was long gone I would take the chance."
"Two reasons. The first is that Spiral would probably use my mothers spirit against me, either holding her hostage or turning her against me with his power. The second is that there's no need to talk to her. She'd probably tell me the same thing that you're telling me right now. To stop whining and do something about the oncoming disaster, even if it's one of the worst that I've ever sensed."
"...is that why you're so hesitant to fight? Because you can sense the oncoming disaster?" Limestone asked, not liking how Absol went silent at her words. "Your powers are no longer being held back, so I take it you can sense what's going to happen? Absol, tell it to me straight. What do you sense for us if we go up against Spiral here and now?"
"It ends in ruin. In the ruin of us and the whole world," Absol finally admitted. "We don't stand a chance against him. Within a matter of days Spiral will launch his army upon the land unopposed. I sense terrible disaster for me, for your sister...but the disaster that is awaiting you is far beyond that of any I have sensed before. If you go into battle with Spiral...you will not make it back out. That is what I sense."
"I see...welp, sucks to be me," Limestone said a moment later. Absol turned to look at her like she was crazy, but when she stared back at him he found there was only her usual, stone cold determination in her eyes. "At least now I know what's coming. That way I can give it my all and make sure that if I'm going down, I bring that monster Spiral down with me."
"What? No! I will not allow you to do this!" Absol roared as he shot up to all fours. "I will not allow you to throw your life away in a battle that we cannot win! We will wait and find others that can aid us! Surely your sister and her friends aren't the only ones that can fight against evil! There has to be others that can-!"
"Absol, how soon do you predict this disaster happening?" Limestone asked point blank. Absol went quiet for a long time before he lowered his head to speak.
"Soon. Very soon."
"I see. And how accurate are your predictions?"
"So far...none of them have ever been wrong, be it time or place."
"You know what that tells me, Absol? It tells me that we don't have the time to go out and find others to help us. That no matter what we want to do, it's going to end with us going up there and facing him once and for all, right?" Limestone asked, waiting until Absol nodded before she continued on. "Well then, I'll go talk to Marble and then we can create a plan of attack. As long as we can keep Spiral from mind controlling you, we have a chance."
Limestone had gotten up and started to walk back towards where Marble was, but she stopped and turned around when she found that Absol wasn't following her.
"How are you so strong?" Absol asked Limestone. Limestone raised an eyebrow in response. "How can you hear about your impending doom and still charge into battle without a second thought? How can you handle everything that you've been through without fear or pause? You have no resistance to his power or even magical powers of your own, yet you still press on. I don't understand."
"It's simple, really. He's got my family. He's got my friends. And they're relying on me to save them. And so long as that's the case, not only will I fight against him, but I'll find away to win," Limestone said with no emotion. "And when those you love are in danger, even the fear of death means nothing so long as they're counting on you. Am I afraid of dying? Of course. Am I afraid of losing my family and loved ones even more? Yes. That's why I can press on like this. Because I have to. For them."
Limestone then walked back to where her sister was, leaving Absol alone with his thoughts. He turned his eyes towards the heavens once more, silently wishing that he truly could talk to his mother once again. He was scared and wished to hear her words once more, words that always comforted him and let him know what to do. But then, after a few minutes, he too turned and walked after Limestone, knowing that he hadn't been entirely honest with her. Being mind controlled and turned into a being that brought about destruction upon others was definitely one of his greatest fears. But it was not his greatest fear. Not anymore.
"So I take it you have some sort of grand plan to bring down Spiral?" Absol asked, trying to mask his fear with sarcasm as he reached the two sisters, who had been talking amongst themselves. "Because whatever it is, you should make a backup plan for it and then a backup for the backup."
"Glad to see that you have such confidence in me and my plans," Limestone snarked back, before Marble stepped between them.
"We've only just started making our plan, but we've got a good idea," Marble began. "The current idea is for you and Limestone will be the distraction, taking Spiral's attention off of the others and allow me to reach my sister. She may be mind controlled, but Limestone was telling me how you managed to fight the mind control when he told you to harm her. If her words could get through to you, then I'm certain that I can get through to my sister. And as a last resort I can try to share whatever part of her Element is protecting me. It's worth a try at the very least."
"I see. That's not a bad plan. Too bad that it will not work."
Absol snapped to attention just a moment too late and in a heartbeat two spheres of dark power encased both Limestone and Marble, who both let out yelps of surprise before their spheres levitated into the air, coming to a stop next to a ghostly king who stared down at Absol with a sinister grin spreading across his face.
"SPIRAL! Release the both of them this instance!" Absol roared up at the king, who chuckled down at Absol.
"Now now, Absol. Why would I give up my greatest advantage against you? Or give up a potential threat against me?" the king asked in a disappointed tone. "I honestly thought you were smarter than this. I mean, just because you broke free of my control doesn't mean that you're free of me. I'm still in your mind, able to hear what you say and hear. You honestly have nopony but yourself to blame for me capturing them."
"Let them go, they are of no threat to you! I am the only threat left to face you!"
"Ah, see, that is once again where you are wrong. These two, thanks to the Element still protecting them, are a greater threat than you are. Because I can't control them, making them wild cards. But as for, I can control you any time that I wish," Spiral threatened, before a smile crossed his face. "But I've heard what you've been saying. How scared you are of me and the disaster that I will bring upon this land. So I'm going to give you a choice."
"What kind of choice?"
"Flee to the farthest reaches of this land, far beyond where anypony has dared to tread before and I will spare your life. Everypony else that you care about will either die or be my slave, but this is the best option for you. Or you can try to face me, alone, and will be brought under my control so that I can turn you into what you fear the most. A being that brings disaster. Those are your two options. I have my own predictions, but I can't wait to see how things go. The choice is up to you, Absol. Chose wisely."
"Absol!" both Limestone and Marble cried out before they vanished along with Spiral, who teleported them away in the blink of an eye. Absol roared with rage once they were gone, before he lowered his head and thought about Spiral's words.
'I can't go. If I do, he will surely mind control me once more and use me to unleash terrible disasters upon the land. But if I do not go...Limestone. Marble,' Absol battled with himself. He then snarled before racing off towards the road that climbed the mountain all the way to Canterlot, knowing that as badly as he feared being turned into a bringer of disasters, he feared losing them even more. And that made the decision for him.