Emerald Gleaner: Spirit of Dissent

by Legionary

Chapter 7: Pyrrhic Victory

Zecora sipped her tea calmly as she watched Twilight and Emerald.

Currently the three of them were in the living room of Twilight's home. Emerald and Twilight were just freshly back from their honeymoon, the two of them clearly still in newlywed mode with the way they nuzzled each other every other minute. Zecora sat in a recliner and opposite her on the love seat of all things were Emerald and Twilight.

“Though I find myself curious as to how, none the less I congratulate you both,” Zecora stated evenly.

“Thank you Zecora, though I do realize this does get in the way of our plans...” Twilight began.

“This is happy news, Twilight Sparkle. There is no need to apologize for it,” Zecora retorted. “And besides, adapting our plans to your pregnancy is what we will be discussing.”

“Among others.” Emerald nodded before her ear twitched. “Ah, the others are arriving.”

“I can't wait to see their reactions to the news!” Twilight laughed a little.

“Would be about the only real good news we'd have,” Emerald said softly and Twilight's smile died down a little.

Soon the sound of the front door opening drifted towards the three along with Spike's voice greeting the girls at the door. Hooves clopping on the floor followed and soon the door to living room.

“We got your message, sugarcube!” Applejack announced as she threw the door open.

“You said it was an emergency meeting, dear,” Rarity said with a concerned frown as she trotted into the room towards Emerald and Twilight. “Considering what we've all been preparing for, we were very worried.”

“Well everyone gather round,” Emerald waved with a hoof and shuffled out from being snuggled against Twilight to properly sit on the love seat. “We've got some great news and some bad news to tell you.”

“Oh my... whatever shall we listen to first?” Fluttershy asked.

“Let's get the good news outta the way.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “That way we can focus.”

“Mmhmm...” Twilight shared a look with Emerald and Zecora before smiling at the girls. “I'm pregnant.”

“...WHAT?!” all five mares burst out at once after a shocked moment.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, I can't believe it!” Rarity squealed as she wrapped Twilight up in a hug.

“There's gonna be an Emmy Junior!” Pinkie gasped with wide, sparkling eyes. “Oh, I get to plan another baby shower!”

“You're going to be a mommy, Twilight,” Fluttershy gushed. “It's going to be such a little cutie, I just can't wait to see it.”

“Wow, thats...” Rainbow Dash began with her mouth hanging open. “I mean... it's great and all, but... how does that even... work?”

“I'm as plum confused as Rainbow, too!” Applejack said with a frown. “How'n the hay is Twi pregnant with a foal when the both of you are mares?”

“I can transform any of my limbs into any kind of fully functional limb,” Emerald said simply and let their imagination fill in the rest.

“Oh...” Applejack stated with cheeks rapidly turning crimson.

“Ohhhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash added unhelpfully. “Uhhh... did ya... did ya just add the part to your um...”

“DASH!!!” four members of the Mane Six shouted at once.

“There is no need to demand details!” Rarity scolded with a distinctly affronted tone. “It's enough to know that a beautiful foal will be brought into this world in only a few months.”

“Geez, I was just... curious is all,” Dash muttered with blushing cheeks, averting her gaze.

“It's okay, Dash,” Emerald said with a wave of a hoof. “It you're really interested in the details we can talk a bit later.”

Suddenly Dash got a carefully blank expression on her face with eyes glinting in interest.

“Hold on, I jus' realized somethin’!” Applejack exclaimed with a hoof raised in the air. “Twilight, I know you're a tough mare and all but ain't it a little dangerous to be adventurin pregnant?”

“I agree completely!” Rarity said with a gasp and looked beseechingly at Twilight. “Darling you have to sit this out! The well-being of your unborn child is at stake!”

“It's okay, girls. I realize it would be irresponsible beyond reasoning to go out while pregnant,” Twilight replied, looking down at her belly and rubbing it with a hoof.

“Twilight will be watching the operation in the Silhouette,” Emerald stated. “However you girls still need a sixth member to even your team out and help execute the plans you've made for the capital.”

“Who can replace Twilight at this point and is trustworthy?” Rarity questioned.

“I guess that's my cue,” said a voice from behind them.

The girls looked at the door to the living room to see Sunset Shimmer standing there wearing saddlebags practically overstuffed with scrolls.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Emerald greeted with a nod as the unicorn walked over. “Thanks for coming. Girls, I'm sure you all remember Sunset.”

“Didn't you steal the Element of Magic?” Dash stated.

“Bad first impression, I know,” Sunset acknowledged with a nod as she joined the group. “But all I want is to make up for mistakes... and help a friend.”

“I like her!” Pinkie exclaimed and darted over to Sunset to give her a friendly hug. “I hope we can be friends too, Sunny!”

“Oof, I'd like that too, Pinkie Pie,” Sunset said with a grunt and a smile.

“As it turns out Sunset Shimmer is very good at magic,” Emerald said. “She picks it up with incredible ease and speed. She'll be a great replacement for Twilight.”

“We'll be sure to get you up to speed on all the plans we made for Zebrica,” Rarity said and waved to a pile of scrolls. “There is quite a bit...”

“I'll manage.” Sunset nodded confidently.

“Maybe we should start on the bad news now?” Fluttershy offered and everyone seemed to latch onto that and looked at Emerald pointedly.

“The situation in Zebrica is evolving unnervingly fast,” Emerald began and placed a slate on the coffee table. Magical runes lit up on the surface of the slate and a highly detailed hologram of Zebrica appeared above it. “The Prime Minister suspects someone is messing with him and now has pulled a ton of magical abilities pretty much out of nowhere. Construction at the Ritual Site has picked up speed immensely and now the laborers there are being held as hostages.”

“Like all peoples, the Zebra have a magic all their own,” Zecora added. “Our shamanism may not have the finesse of unicorn magic, but it is capable of rituals of incredible complexity. However, along with Zebrican Shamanism, the dark spirit possessing the Prime Minister appears to have imbued the Shamans with a wide range of magical skills. Golems and direct magical combat, magical artifices that we were never capable of before, but under his direction...”

“Point is, the years long window of opportunity is closing, fast,” Emerald continued with motion at the hologram. The image zoomed in until it was displaying the capital. “I hope your plans to cause havoc in the capital are close to being ironed out, because at this rate we'll need to move soon.”

“They're mostly finished,” Rarity replied and used her magic to pull up a bag full of scrolls. “Sunset Shimmer, if you would take a look at these.”

“Hmmm...” Sunset Shimmer took the bag and took out a scroll. “What's this? This is a... oh I recognize this!”

“Twilight went and made us a bunch of fancy magic spells even an earth pony can use!” Rainbow Dash announced and then added with grumble. “Which we're gonna need cause apparently there aren't any winged zebra.”

“And these plans...” Sunset began as she looked over more scrolls. “Not very detailed...”

“The idea was that we make a bunch of ideas of how to cause chaos without making them too dependent on location or situation,” Twilight explained. “That way we can use them on the fly without thinking about it too much.”

“Which would be useful for staying on the move.” Sunset Shimmer nodded as she looked over another scroll. “I think I can memorize these pretty quickly.”

“Good.” Twilight nodded and magically held up a gem covered with finely etched runes. “There aren't any horned zebra in Zebrica either, so you'll need to use this crystal to activate scrolls while in disguise.”

“No, that's okay,” Sunset waved off. “I've been practicing hornless magic and I've gotten pretty great at it. I've even managed to cast complex spells reliably without issue now.”

“Oh, then you're actually bit ahead of me in that regard.” Twilight blinked in surprise.

“Ahem, stay on track please,” Emerald said and continued. “Security has increased across Zebrica, making it nigh impossible to spy and steal information without getting spotted. However, it isn't all bad. The increase in security has lessened pressure a ton for the people of Zebrica.”

“It is my hope that this opening will allow my people to properly form a resistance and possibly even get the news out to our neighbors,” Zecora added.

“I'm hoping for the same,” Emerald nodded. “I've already given the go ahead to the operatives in the fields to give any such formations a helping hand if the opportunity arises.”

“So how exactly are you going to deal with the spirit possessing the Prime Minister?” Sunset asked Emerald. “Can't be an easy thing to fix.”

“It actually kinda is,” Emerald replied. “According to the Channelers of the Republic, a spirit strike should be able to dislodge the spirit possessing the Prime Minister.”

“I say again, it can't be that easy.” Sunset shook her head.

“Well... I do have to be careful to measure how much force I use in the spirit strike as well as some other stuff,” Emerald acknowledged. “I could very easily badly harm the Prime Minister himself or even punch his soul out if I don't do it right.”

“Are... are you sure that's safe?” Fluttershy asked in concern.

“I know it's not safe, but it's also the only method I know will work.” Emerald sighed.

“Well... I'm not going to get any more familiar with these scrolls by ignoring them,” Sunset said and started unpacking all of them. “Hey, uhhh...”

“Zecora.”

“Zecora, could you show me a few maps of the capital, maybe tell me a few things about it as well?” Sunset requested. “I would like to be as prepared as possible.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Emerald stood in her formal wear, staring through a window over the scene below.

The virus was in the Hub currently, overlooking a workshop buzzing with activity. Below her the workshop flow was covered in machine parts and many engineer dogs going about their business with a energetic spring in their step. In the center of this workshop was the project being worked on by these dogs. Its main form looked like a very tall can, not unlike the sort that food are stored in. It had a large slot near the top that was clearly an eye hole. The back of the machine was covered in exhaust pipes and attached to the bottom and sides were somewhat crude limbs. The body sat on a pair of hydraulic hips connected to a pair of steel, birdlike mechanical legs, its pair of arms were different from one another. The left arm was a full arm that ended not in a proper hand with fingers, but a mechanical, clamp-like claw, while the right arm was much shorter than the left and seemed to end at the elbow.

The machine was currently sitting upright with its legs splayed out and its one long arm lying limply on the floor. Engineering dogs clambered about its body, examining parts and making adjustments. Far off to the side, sitting atop a large table was a massive bolt action rifle that looked more like a detached tank barrel with a bayonet than a rifle.

'This is so cool,' Emerald thought with a smile as she leaned closer. 'Granted, it's very clearly so much cruder and primitive compared to what I've got being made right now, but all the same, very cool.'

The machine the dogs were working on was the result of an effort to create a mechanical, independent weapons system. The BWS-01 ,or as it was quickly being called, the “Tin Man”, was meant to be mass produced and assigned orders which they would attempt to follow and complete to the best of their ability. However, while the physical aspects of the machine were quickly being figured out, it was the programming that would allow for independence that was slow going.

'Programming an AI that can operate a weapons platform independently is going to take years of work no matter what,' Emerald thought. 'It helps that magic means they won't have to worry about actual computer hardware but the software still needs to coded. Friend or foe identification, battlefield awareness, tactical planning, threat assessment; just these things alone will demand the runic equivalent of an actual brain. In all likelihood, early versions of these machines will be led by a Warhound Squad Leader with a controller, making sure they do as they are supposed to.'

Emerald watched for a few minutes more before turning away from the window. She walked through several halls before reaching the exit. Stepping out of the building, the virus walked out onto the street when a voice called out to her.

“Emerald!” Diane called out as she walked through the dogs crowding the streets, Moon Dancer only a few steps behind the pink mare.

“Hello Diane,” Emerald greeted with a nod and a smile. “You look nice today.”

Diane was currently wearing a scarlet coat with gold lining, a red vest with silver buttons and a white undershirt with a light blue scarf. Her mane was also styled differently with the back end tied up at the back of her head with a hair clip, her bangs styled to frame both sides of her face as they stretched down in a wavy shape. Finally, sitting on her snout were a dainty pair of rectangular spectacles.

“Thank you, Emerald!” Diane smiled and laughed a little as she twirled in place. “Flan made all of it for me! Well... except for the glasses. Those were made by Moon Dancer.”

“There's nothing wrong with your eyes, is there?” Emerald asked in some concern

“No, they are a tool for her detail work in painting,” Moon Dancer answered. “Diane has been painting some incredibly high detail art recently and I thought to make her hobby a little easier.”

“That's nice,” Emerald smiled, especially pleased that Diane had definitely proved to be more then just a copy. “So where are you off to today?”

“We're off to see the mural Diane painted in a local playground,” Moon Dancer answered and Diane flushed in happy embarrassment. “Diane wanted to see how it looks with children playing in the foreground.”

“Hope you don't mind if I accompany you two?” Emerald asked as she walked over to them.

“Not at all!” Diane waved off with a bright smile. “In fact, I don't think I've ever personally shown you one of my works of art, have I?”

“I've seen them around but no, you haven't shown me them yourself,” Emerald replied.

“Oh! I'll give the walk through of my thought process while I was making the art piece!” Diane said happily, clopping her forehooves together. “Hehehe, this will be so much fun~”

“Lead the way, then.” Emerald smiled.

Emerald always appreciated little walks through the streets of the Hub. It's one thing to read about improvements being done in the city, but it’s a whole other thing to actually see them. Emerald's own memory played a part in this, as by now most dogs probably held a somewhat nostalgic remembrance of the early days of the Enclave; basic stone huts and holes carved into walls within a natural cavern beneath the Everfree. They probably recalled it as an almost rustic adventure by now, especially when compared to the way things were under Nidhogg. But Emerald's memory was perfect and unfading. She recalled things with absolute clarity, especially how horrible they were or how bad they made her feel. There was no nostalgia filter or rose tinted glasses to make her feel better about horrible memories, though on the other side of the coin legitimately wonderful memories never faded and could serve as a form of retreat and comfort in trying times. Thus when Emerald looked around the streets of the hub and saw how far things had come from a literal hole in the ground, she couldn't help but feel like she really did do a lot of good for her dogs.

Eventually Diane, Moon Dancer and Emerald reached the playground where Diane's mural was and the Evolved was given yet another reason to smile. Absolutely filling the playground with rambunctious energy were dozens of diamond puppies barking and yipping and rushing to and fro across the playground and on its play sets. Before Emerald came around, all the carnivorous species of the world had to heavily ration all meat and enforce population controls upon their people. But with the advent of the meat fruit, everyone could now eat their fill and everyone could have as many children as they could bear. All these young pups happily living their young lives before her owed their very existence to her efforts.

“-had to talk with Fenrir a lot about beliefs and myths of the Old Kingdom.” Suddenly Emerald realized Diane had been talking about her art and refocused. “I wanted to make absolutely sure it was accurate to the murals he recalled himself while putting my own artistic spin on it, so I had him come to look it over as often as he was able. So... what do you think?”

Emerald took in the mural overlooking the whole playground and recognized what it was about immediately. It was a cheerful, lighthearted scene, depicting a grassy field and rolling hills with a crystal clear sky. All over the grass were diamond dogs rushing about and playing with many seeming to learn how to dig for the first time. Utterly dominating the center was a great muddy brown wolf with silver eyes. The wolf was shaking its fur clear of clods of dirt where they gathered in piles at its feet, whereupon these dirt clods would then break open and a new diamond dog would crawl forth.

“The Legend of the Great Wolf, origin of the diamond dogs,” Emerald stated as she took in the mural. “I've heard Fenrir tell it a few times. I imagine that after the destruction of all the physical history of the Old Kingdom he was rather happy to see this being made.”

“I'd say it was the closest to being ecstatic I've ever seen him,” Moon Dancer commented.

“Made that serious old wolf grin a little bit, did you?” Emerald asked Diane who giggled at the poke at Fenrir.

“Y-your H-Holiness?” an imploring voice said suddenly.

Emerald blinked and looked over her shoulder. Standing behind her were a diamond dog couple, the female of the two carrying a swaddled pup that looked so young he probably didn't have any senses beyond touch yet. Emerald suddenly realized just what she had been called and had the mental image of her in place of Jesus on the picture of the Last Supper. At that mental picture the Evolved felt a shiver go down her spine at the overwhelming sense of finding herself wanting.

“My-my Lady, please hear our request,” the male dog begged, clasping his hands before him.

“I... I am listening...” Emerald said with barely hidden discomfort as she turned to face them fully.

“Please Princeps Gleaner...” the female began as she and her mate averted their eyes down away from Emerald, misreading her discomfort. “Bless our child...”

Diane and Moon Dancer watched, staring at Emerald and waiting to see what she would do. Emerald was kind of wondering what she would do as well, and for a long, uncomfortable moment she remained still until the pup itself chose to act.

The young puppy stirred in his mother's arms before his eyelids slowly cracked open a fraction. Emerald noticed this tiny movement and stared the young pup in his tiny black eyes. After another moment the pup gave a plaintive little whimper and Emerald then noticed that the insides of his ears were abnormally red. The virus approached the mother of the young pup and gently ran her fingers around the puppy's ears before quite abruptly removing the pup from his mother's arms.

Taking a step back with the swaddled pup in the crook of her arm, Emerald very gently laid her fingers atop the puppy and examined his biology. A quick examination found that the puppy had been double whammied with both allergic skin disease and hip dysplasia. An instant later those were cured and the virus took the opportunity to optimize his genome a little. Once that was done, she stroked his little head comfortingly and he gave a squeaky yawn before going back to sleep. Her job done, Emerald returned the puppy to his grateful mother's arms.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you for-ACK!” the couple began at the same time when Emerald's hands suddenly lashed forward and grabbed the scruffs of their necks.

“Now you listen to me,” Emerald said calmly, looking the both of them in the eye and not raising her voice or looking angry in anyway. “I am not some all knowing being. If you start praying to me in the street, the only way I'd hear you is if I was just down the road from you. I will not just get a message out of the blue that you need help just because you started muttering in some corner of the Enclave. Do you understand me?”

Wide eyed, the two dogs nodded silently.

“Good,” Emerald slowly released them and stepped back. “Get yourselves checked out at the local hospital the next time you feel you need a blessing.”

With that Emerald turned on her heel and stalked away.

“Ummm... don't cha think you were a little harsh?” Diane said as she quickly trotted into position next to Emerald.

“I have to agree,” Moon Dancer nodded with an adjustment of her glasses, trotting along the opposite side of Emerald. “Princess Celestia wouldn't hav-”

Suddenly Emerald stopped and whirled about to face Moon Dancer. She leaned in slightly with a look on her face that seemed much more troubled than angry.

“I. AM. NOT. CELESTIA,” Emerald ground out.

“I...” Moon Dancer drew back with a surprised look before collecting herself with a breath. “I am aware. She has had over a thousand years to get used to ponies worshiping the ground she walks on, you have had only a few years. I am merely suggesting that perhaps there are some lessons you can take from her example.”

Breathing deeply and noisily, Emerald stared at Moon Dancer for a moment before huffing and turning away. She crossed her arms and stared up towards the ceiling and began to anxiously tap her foot. Just as Moon Dancer was about to say more, a new voice cut in.

“Hold on! Hold, hold, hold!” cried out Wheatley's voice as a drone rapidly dropped down from above carrying an eyeball-like metal object beneath it.

“Wheatley, what is it?” Emerald said, immediately shaking off her anxiety and giving the drone her full focus.

“Oh, we've got a massive issues, just simply MASSIVE!” Wheatley stated. “You might want to see this in the C&C Center!”

“Moon Dancer, come here,” Emerald commanded.

“Oh, right. Well, see you later Diane!” Moon Dancer shouted as she quickly darted over to Emerald's side.

Without another wasted moment, Emerald teleported the both of them to the C&C center.

With a flash Emerald and Moon Dancer arrived and took in their surroundings. Wheatley had been working around the clock constructing new biological structures around the Enclave and upgrading old ones. The C&C Center was one such place that received his attentions. Holographic projections covered every wall and numerous screens showed viewpoints from thousands of places within the Enclave and switching to a new viewpoint to show yet more. The room was a buzz of alarmed activity as dogs manned every station and the central command table projected Zebrica.

Emerald and Moon Dancer approached the table and the view immediately zoomed down to the location of the ritual site. It displayed the ritual building, once a mere foundation a short time ago yet now a completed and fully operational building. The overall shape of the building was very dome-like and reminded Emerald a little of observatories. Looking closer, there was a seam cutting through the structure, like a large x, implying that the dome could possibly separate into four. The hologram of the structure was flashing red and a readout was displaying scanned information.

“What is this?” Moon Dancer wondered as she narrowed her eyes at the readout before looking shocked. “Fifty six thousand MUs?! And it's still climbing!”

“The amount of energy flowing into the structure from Zebrica's ley lines is disrupting my attempts to get more detailed scans,” Wheatley informed them. “But from what I can tell the structure can potentially hold a hundred thousand MUs of energy.”

“What could anyone ever possibly use so much energy for?!” Moon Dancer exclaimed.

“My first thought, a spell of truly MEGALITHIC potential,” Wheatley suggested.

“A spell with this much power behind it can have global consequences,” Emerald stated as she narrowed her eyes at the hologram. “Whatever spell they plan to use, it can't possibly be harmless. Time’s up, we can't spend another moment preparing for the Op. We have to take out the Prime Minister and the ritual site ASAP. Wheatley, sound the call to arms to the operatives in the field. I'll gather supplies, some dogs and the girls.”

“On it!”

With a flash of light, Emerald arrived onto the command deck of ENV Silhouette along with the Mane Six plus Sunset Shimmer and Zecora.

“I really should have been more prepared to leave at a moment's notice,” Rarity commented as she wrung out her still wet mane with her magic.

“Least you had a shower,” Rainbow Dash said, waving her hoof in front of her snout as she stepped away from Applejack.

“Can't help it. I've got dirty farm work!” Applejack replied without an ounce of shame, her body covered in sweat and foul smelling muck.

“Here, hold still,” Emerald said and pointed a hand at Applejack, a small bolt of pink lightning leaping from Emerald's hand to Applejack.

“GAAAH!” the cowpony shouted as the muck and sweat were annihilated but her coat and mane in turn fluffed out to a ludicrous degree.

“Sorry,” Emerald said with a barely hidden grin. “It's not a spell I've had much need to perfect. Don't worry, it'll settle down after a few minutes.”

“Ohhhh~ Applejack is a big fluffle puff!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed at the big ball of fur and hair wearing a stetson hat.

“Reminds me of the time after Angel gets a bath.” Fluttershy smiled and then shuddered. “Angel doesn't like baths...”

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, sugarcube...” Applejack muttered as Rainbow Dash rolled on the floor pointing and laughing at Applejack.

“Okay focus everyone!” Sunset said loudly. “We've got to get ready for the operation.”

“Gather round,” Emerald stated as she walked over to the digital tabletop sitting in the center of the Silhouette's command center displaying Zebrica upon its surface.

“Before we get started I'd like to introduce everyone to Ace, Captain of the Silhouette,” Emerald continued with a wave to the dog in question, sitting in his chair at the head of the table. “He'll be commanding the neochangeling operatives along with a detachment of Direwolves. As for what we'll be doing, let's get started...”

Emerald leaned over the table and manipulated the surface with her fingers, zooming in on Zebrica's capital.

“Okay, so to reiterate the plan is for the six of you, Sunset taking Twilight's place, to don disguises and insert into the city where you'll cause chaos,” Emerald stated, motioning to the whole of the city before pointing at the large structure dominating the heart of the capital. “You've been making plans to do this so I'll leave you to it. I'll be waiting for security around the parliament building to be lightened before going in to handle the Prime Minister. Now, clearly they aren't going to start to draw guards from the Parliament Building itself until you cause a lot of chaos, but I just need a small opening to hopefully get in and out without being spotted. And finally, while this is going on, Captain Ace here will be taking the Silhouette over to the ritual site to oversee the sabotage of the ritual structure itself. And if all goes well, we'll be heading out with no one the wiser.”

“That is only if everything goes perfectly,” Zecora stated. “I fear that while our intentions may have been good, we may be forced to go to terrible lengths if anything should go awry.”

“We haven't failed an adventure yet, Zecora,” Twilight comforted the zebra. “I'd like to think we'll keep up our winning streak.”

“Only time will tell,” Zecora replied softly.

“Alright, is everyone ready? Got your earbuds in?” Emerald asked and looked everyone in the eyes. Besides some clear nervousness, she received nods all around. “Right, let's begin.”

With that Emerald gathered everyone together in the hangar, then she proceeded to teleport down into the city to scout it out while the girls were quickly enchanted with their zebra disguises. A few moments later, Emerald returned and once she a got full look of the zebra-fied ponies, she had an odd thought.

'Wait... isn't this the pony equivalent of blackface?” Emerald thought as she took in the six. Besides covering them in stripes and turning their coat white along with replacing the cutie mark with tribal-esque design, the disguise left the mane and tail untouched. They were magically dyed black and white but the way the girls wore them remained the same. The virus quickly shook her head clear of that thought. 'Focus, we've got work to do.'

Without another wasted moment, Emerald teleported herself and the girls down into the capital. In an instant their surroundings changed from the austere interior of the Silhouette to the adobe styled buildings of the capital. From a glance it appeared they were in an alleyway and that Zebrica was far enough away from Equestria that the sun was close to setting.

“Alright, good luck and don't stay in one place too long,” Emerald said quietly before teleporting away with barely any light at all.

“Okay, I think we should open up with something big,” Sunset Shimmer suggested to the others. “I think the false flames would kick up some decent initial chaos.”

“What about the screamers?” Dash asked. “Figure tossing those where all the houses are will be great.”

“Maybe the firework bouquets would be a good opener?” Applejack wondered.

“Ummm, maybe we should do this on the mov-” Fluttershy began when a voice cut in.

“HALT!” All the girls jumped and looked to see three masked zebras standing at the alley entrance. “The curfew is now in effect, all citizens must return to their homes IMMEDIATELY.”

The six mares stared wide eyed at the patrol that stumbled across them in silence. A moment later, Pinkie Pie broke the silence.

“AH! WE GOT CAUGHT ALREADY!” the formerly pink mare shouted before quickly digging a scroll out of her saddlebags.

“No Pinkie, wait!” Sunset shouted but was already too late.

Not hesitating in the slightest, Pinkie Pie activated the scroll and chucked it at the patrol. The instant it landed at their feet the now glowing scroll exploded. A deafening rapid fire of crackling fireworks  filled the air along with light and smoke.

“RUN AWAY!” Pinkie shouted and was gone in an instant, leaving a dust trail in her wake.

“Consarn it anyway!” Applejack exclaimed when the patrol stumbled through the exploding firework and smoke. “GAH!”

“Darn it, darn it, darn it!” Sunset shouted as she took off running in the direction Pinkie went and quickly noticed she was the only one who did. “THIS IS NOT PART OF THE PLANS!”

Off in the distance Sunset heard a cry of “HALT!” followed by a frightened squeak which was further followed by deafening ghostly wails. Sunset skidded to a stop and ran through the maze of alleyways towards the squeak. She must have taken a wrong turn, however, as she found herself rushing out into main streets.

Looking around, she saw a few zebras that were trying to rush home... and a much larger patrol of guards.

“HALT CITIZEN!” one of the masked guards in the patrol barked out in a monotone. “Suspicious activity is-”

Using her hornless magic, Sunset Shimmer whipped out a scroll and tossed it onto the ground while activating it at the same time. It glowed red hot before spitting sparks and suddenly exploding in an inferno of flames that appeared to consume the street.

Sunset immediately turned around, screams of fear from the zebricans on the street and monotone shouts for the fire brigade resounding behind her.

“Girls! Girls!” Sunset Shimmer shouted as she activated her radio. “Come on, we have to group back up!”

“Bit busy here!” Rainbow Dash replied with a loud grunt. “Hey, back off buddy! I'll buck you twice as hard next time!”

“Oh dear, oh no...” Fluttershy muttered over and over. “I've forgotten how to read zebrican, I don't know where I am...”

“JUST A MOMENT~” Pinkie shouted in a sing song.

Sunset Shimmer's head shot up as dozens of fireworks screamed into the air and lit up the darkening skies. From all around the voices of zebras shouting in rising panic filled the air even through the walls of their homes.

“I'M COMIN’ OVER, SUNNY~” Pinkie shouted with excited glee.

“Think I can see Fluttershy,” Applejack stated. “Gonna see if I can go get her and find ya.”

“UGH, UNHAND ME YOU RUFFIANS!” Rarity shouted.

“Damn it, Rarity...” Sunset Shimmer muttered and took off. She was pretty sure she could actually hear Rarity's voice just a ways away with her other ear.

As Sunset Shimmer rushed down the increasingly populated streets, a number of ghostly wails filled the air along with fireworks snaking through the air before exploding in a burst of color. Sunset skidded around the corner to witness the sight of Rarity struggling in the grip of several guards, managing to send one sprawling after kicking a leg free.

Quickly grabbing a scroll, Sunset activated it and sent it flying at the group of guards. It bounced against the road once before glowing red brightly. With a crack and a blinding flash a massive flame burst to life beneath the hooves of the guards. Even with their dampened emotions the guards started at the flames. Rarity knew what was up, however, and took the opportunity to twist out of the grip of the guards and gallop towards Sunset.

With Rarity at her side, Sunset Shimmer burst into a gallop away from the confused guards.

“Girls, where are all of you?” Sunset shouted as she and Rarity ran through a crowd of confused zebrican citizens starting to fill the streets.

“I'm here~” Pinkie suddenly plonked into view before falling into gallop beside Sunset.

“Got Fluttershy and found Dash,” Applejack replied. “Kinda had to go a ways to find her, though. Might need to stay separated for a bit.”

“Two groups of three sounds much safer than all of us scattered on our own,” Sunset Shimmer agreed. “Let's wreak some havoc and see if we can slowly make our way towards one another.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Rainbow Dash shouted with glee. “Hey, baby face! Catch!”

Off in the distance the sound of another round of ear splitting fireworks went off.

Emerald watched hidden upon one of the many towers scattered through the parliament building. She watched the chaos in the city rapidly grow with impressed approval.

'Trust the girls to be able to cause chaos like no one else,' Emerald thought with some amusement as “fires” ignited throughout several city blocks and fireworks filled the air. 'Right. And how are the guards reacting?'

Emerald gazed over the city and took note of several units of guards mobilizing from barracks dotting the city. She watched as guards were pulled from the city walls themselves and signal fires were lit to call back several patrols on the march. Looking down, Emerald looked to see what the parliament guards were doing and to her surprise saw that quite a few were mobilizing.

'Huh... didn't expect them to start drawing from the parliament guards so soon,' Emerald thought with narrowed eyes. 'Just what are-'

Suddenly Emerald's earbud started ringing an urgent message. She reached up to press on the bud and receive the message.

“Boss, we've got a serious problem,” Ace said calmly.

“Alright, let's hear it,” Emerald said, brows furrowed and lips pursed in a frown.

“The neochangelings can't secure the objectives,” Ace began. “The guards have the critical structural points heavily guarded. Not only that, but they've got the former builders being held prisoner right next to them. Even if the operatives could sneak the explosives on, the prisoners would be killed by the blast.”

'Fuck...' Emerald thought with a sigh as she rubbed the palm of her hand against her forehead. 'There is no way we can do this sneakily.'

“Emerald,” Zecora spoke, voice grave and deeply saddened.

“Zecora...” Emerald said, genuinely disappointed with herself.

“It w-was my deepest wish to achieve the l-liberation of my people without death,” Zecora said, struggling to maintain her composure. “But if it comes at the price of who knows how many thousands of people suffering from the spell the ritual shall unleash... then for the greater good we must act.”

“Zecora, just let me try one thing,” Emerald replied. “Ace, standby for deployment. I'm going to try to end this at the source before we go in guns blazing.”

“Aye aye, Boss!” Ace barked with an almost audible salute.

“This feels wrong... something about this seems off,” Twilight said in discomfort.

“I know, but... I have an opening, I'm going for the Prime Minister,” Emerald stated as she narrowed her eyes at the Parliament building, her viral pulse pointing her towards a specific location. “With any luck, getting rid of him will stop all of this.”

“Please be careful,” Twilight said as she closed the channel.

Emerald silently dropped down and latched onto a wall. Using her sonar to make sure there was no one nearby, she made a short teleport through the wall into the hall on the other side. With that she silently and rapidly dashed through the halls. She was still maintaining stealth but only to a certain point, resorting to tossing needles full of fast acting tranquilizer to get past a few guards.

'This is my fault, I'm such an idiot,' Emerald scowled as she whipped her arm and sent a needle flying at a guard. 'All these damn super lethal weapons and it never occurred to me to make non-lethal weaponry like tear gas, tranq guns and tasers. Now a ton of zebras are going to die because I prepared improperly.'

Scowl deepening, Emerald rounded a corner and a large pair of double doors met her sight. Tossing a pair of needles at the guards standing at the sides of the door, Emerald came to a stop before the door as they slumped to the floor. Collapsing into a slithering mass of black and red tendrils, Emerald slipped under the door.

On the opposite side Emerald silently reformed into her human body and took in her surroundings with narrowed eyes. It was like a repurposed grand sitting room with one wall being one massive window overlooking the city. Much of the old sitting furniture and tables were carefully piled up high in one corner, royal purple silk curtains hung from the ceiling lining a red carpet path leading to a large, extravagant poster bed.

Emerald silently walked up to the poster bed, the Prime Minister laying on it beneath the covers. Using her senses, she gauged his biological functions. His breathing was slow and steady, not controlled, his heartbeat was relaxed and slow as well. Based upon these observations she determined he actually was asleep.

She closed in until she was right at his bedside and standing over his slumbering form. Taking a moment to gather her magic and concentrate, Emerald cocked back a fist. But before she could strike, a plume of black smoke suddenly burst out of the Prime Minister's back like a lance.

Emerald gasped and her eyes went wide as both her hands clutched at the spot the lance of smoke had rapidly sunk in. She stumbled back as her vision began to blur. She lost her balance and fell back on her rear. Black stripes started to fade into view in Emerald's hair and she started to clutch at her head and grit her teeth. There was a groan and creak of wood as Emerald fully lost control of her magic and her true weight returned.

An instant later Emerald burst through the wooden floor and into the room below. She crashed into the stone floor with a loud crack and lay still for a moment before her eyes snapped open. The pupils of her eyes were slits before they slowly shifted back to their round state.

Emerald groaned and clutched at her head and rolled in place on the floor. Magic filled the air as the stone floor started to ripple like it was water. Tendrils burst from Emerald's flesh as she shakily rose to her feet and began to bury themselves into the floor.

As her eyes shifted from slitted to rounded, the crackle and brightening glow of magic filled the air in ever greater potency.

“Emerald, can you hear me?” Twilight asked over the radio. “Emerald, please respond. EMERALD!”

“Something has gone wrong,” Zecora stated before looking over the view of the ritual site, the amount of magic ever rising with every moment. It wouldn't be long now before it reached full capacity. “And we are running out of time... It's time. We must act on our own.”

“Zecora, wait. We don't ha-” Twilight began.

“Twilight Sparkle, I love my people and my country,” Zecora interrupted. “And when I was cast out of my country I found a love for a country and people that was not my own. The ponies of Ponyville accepted me as one of their own and I could not help but return the favor. My people, under the control of a terrible will are now about to unleash a great power upon this world. I know not what the effect could possibly be but the amount of power and secrecy involved speaks volumes. We must do what we must...”

“She is right. We can't be frozen by indecision now,” Ace stated and removed his cap from his head and placed on his helmet. “Whether or not it was the right decision will be decided afterwards.”

“Oh no...” Twilight sighed and knew with those words the fates of so many zebras had been sealed.

Ace marched through the halls of the Silhouette fully geared for battle. His power armor was not the factory default colors, having been painted in shades of black and white with a black and white version of the Enclave emblem upon his right shoulder and on the left were three letters “EAF” crossed by a pair of lightning bolts, flanked by crenelated stone towers which sat upon a cloud. The only other decoration upon Ace's armor was the stylized image of a dog's skull painted over the front of his helmet.

The Captain walked past an open door, within which was the crew quarters where currently only the accompanying Direwolves were occupying. Said Direwolves were fully geared up waiting for the command to fight but all hoping it wouldn't come to that. Ace stopped briefly and gave a shrill whistle that caught everyone's attention.

“It's time,” he simply stated and walked on, the sound of rushing movement resounding from the room behind him.

Within a moment the Direwolves had fallen into stride behind Ace and were following him. They soon arrived to the hold of the Silhouette where its armory was located. Ace and two squads worth of Direwolves scattered throughout the armory and quickly armed up. For Ace his armament consisted of a rifle, a pistol, his knife and a set of grenades. The armament of the rest of the Direwolves consisted of everything from a set like Ace's to what was essentially several small cannons of a shotgun, a heavy, rapid-fire grenade launcher, a compact, super heavy machine gun and finally something that looked like an over sized rocket launcher if it wasn't for the massive gem faceted where the backblast would normally erupt.

Once geared up, the Direwolves lined up before the bay doors of the Silhouette and waited.

“Captain Ace to ground team, we are ready for insertion,” Ace announced over the radio. “Are you prepared to support us?”

“We are all in position and awaiting the time to strike, Captain,” Vata reported.

“Good, dropping now,” Ace said and closed the channel, the moment he did the bay doors opened up and he along with the Direwolves took one step forward.

The Silhouette was fully cloaked from high altitude and giving the group of seventeen Direwolves roughly a minute of fall time. Ace and his Direwolves took the time to form up into groups of four with Ace joining a specific one. Each fireteam drifted away from one another and over a specific area of the ritual site. Ten seconds before impact, words flashed across Ace's HUD.

IMPACT IMMINENT. INITIALIZING KINETIC SHOCK ABSORPTION RUNES.

Despite the velocity, when Ace landed his legs only bent a little at the impact and the only other result was a dull thud. Looking around, Ace saw that he was just outside the ritual building and also surrounded by dozens of zebrican guards. Ace only hesitated a moment before drawing his rifle and sighted along it.

Hyper velocity slugs tore through flesh and armor like it wasn't there, sending pieces of armor flying like fragmentation and misted flesh in an instant. Ace wasn't the only one firing, either. The fireteam he was accompanying were firing alongside him, their own deadly armaments tearing through the guards.

Seeing comrades turned into pink mist and meaty spray with their armor doing utterly nothing to stop it would have demoralized a normal foe. These zebras, however, were practically machines thanks to mind warping magic. As one they surged forward, uncaring of their own dying horrifically and focusing on eliminating the range advantage their enemy held.

Despite the sheer amount of firepower the fireteam was pouring out, they weren't able to get all of them. Zebras leapt as one at each of the Direwolves, intent to use their weight of numbers to pull them down; it wasn't enough. A Direwolf wielding a super heavy machine gun simply batted the zebras out of the air before pulling a few off his body and tossing them high into the air. Ace and the rest of the Direwolves drew their knives in an instant and slashed through the zebras, the weight upon their bodies fully ignored.

“Ace to all fireteams, report,” Ace commanded as he sheathed his knife and went back to scanning his surroundings with a raised rifle.

“Alpha reporting, all clear.”

“Gamma reporting, still clearing out the enemy. We should be clear in five.”

“Delta reporting, we are being swarmed by waves of guards,” Delta leader stated calmly and Ace could hear intense gunfire coming from the direction he knew they were in.

“This is Vata, we have you covered.”

Suddenly there was rumble and the roar of explosions in the distance. Quickly dozens of explosions followed suit all over the encampment surrounding the ritual structure. Ace and his fire team quickly gathered together and moved as one towards the seam in the structure where an entry was.

“We had placed many explosives around the encampment, Captain Ace,” Vata reported. “They should have disrupted oncoming reinforcements but it would probably be best if the Silhouette was used to maintain battlefield control.”

“Well suggested.” Ace nodded and switched channels. “Ace to Silhouette, are you in position?”

“Yes we are, captain. Ready to engage on command,” came the sharp reply.

“Do so immediately,” Ace commanded and turned towards the ritual building with a considering stare as the Silhouette decloaked and started using its machine guns to lay down suppressing fire. “Silhouette, I am aware you aren't an Ironclad but see what your cannons can do against this structure while we are securing the prisoners.”

“Aye Captain!”

Ace entered with his fire team as the report of the Silhouette's guns filled the air behind them. While the outside surface of the  building appeared to be simple carved stone, the interior was like a polished smooth stone of a darker shade, and running along the walls were intricate runic designs glowing and thrumming with magic. There was not a single shadow or darkened corner thanks to so much magical light, though that did nothing for the oppressing silence.

“Ace to all fire teams,” Ace said into the radio. “We have entered the ritual structure and are beginning sweep for the hostages. All fire teams are to enter the structure as well and begin their own sweep as soon as possible.”

“Alpha here. Entering structure now. Beginning our own sweep.”

“Gamma reporting. Tangos at our entry point,” Gamma fire team reported over the sound of gunfire. “Clearing them out and entering in ETA one minute.”

“Delta reporting. We are extracting from a defensive point we took cover in. Making our way to the ritual structure. ETA thirty seconds.”

“This is Vata. Captain Ace, be alert. There are many golems in the ritual building and the surrounding area,” Vata began. “We've disrupted and destroyed many golems outside but the survivors are forming up as we speak. You only have so long to deal with the defenders in the structure and secure the prisoners before you are attacked from behind.”

“Hearing you loud and clear,” Ace acknowledged and switched channels. “Silhouette, report.”

“Doing scratch damage, Captain!” came the immediate answer. “There is damage but Wheatley says we won't do near enough before the structure reaches max capacity.”

“Roger that, Silhouette,” Ace said and focused on making his way through the halls. However, a moment later a fairly large shape bounded out from around a corner.

For a brief instant there was a pause in motion from all sides and Ace got a good look at what popped out in front of them. Its overall body shape was much like that of a lion and only a little bigger than an actual lion. Its skin had a texture like polished stone and its form was covered with glowing green script. Its head was like a bare feline skull with teeth and claws like polished jet.

The pause was over an instant later and as one the fire team rained down a hail of withering gunfire upon the animated lion golem. It withstood the hail of gunfire for a few seconds, the bullet impacts practically exploding on its rune enhanced hide and spraying runic stone fragments at dangerous velocities. A moment later it collapsed in several pieces, but it wasn’t alone.

“Shotguns up front!” Ace barked out as several golem lions darted out and rushed at them, not only along the floor but clinging to the walls and ceiling.

Booms filled the air as the shotgun wielding dog took point and started blasting apart the closest lion. They kept moving forward, the flow of golems not letting up and they soon found themselves walking over piles of runic stone. Rounding the corner, they were met with not only yet more lions along a long hall but a new golem type. It had the body of a minotaur but the head of a bestial zebra. There was a pair of them and their height was such they stood head and shoulders over even the Direwolves. The lions distracted the fire team by charging forward while the zebrataur golems seemed to breath in deeply before their mouths snapped open with blinding green light.

“Heads down!” Ace commanded as he and the fire team quickly darted into cover back around their corner. An instant later green lightning scythed through the air and tore into the walls that were serving as the Direwolves' cover.

“Las cannon!” Ace barked.

The shotgun wielding Direwolf strapped on their shotgun and quickly placed the rocket launcher looking weapon with the crystal over the shoulder. Ace and the fire team darted out of cover to obliterate the lions that had closed in and the zebrataurs breathed in once more to fire. The las cannon fired more quickly, however. With an ear piercing shriek, the crystal on the back of the tube spun in place and an instant later there was a flash of light and a column of blinding death burst forth.

Waves of oppressing heat immediately filled the hall along with blinding light. Had they not been fully encased in their power armor, the heat would have set them fully aflame and instantly seared their lungs. A moment later the beam and the light faded, revealing a devastated scene. The lions were in half melted, sundered pieces on the floor and the walls of the hall were cracked and partly molten; it was to the credit of the magics fortifying the structure that the hall didn't collapse. The targets of the las cannon had fared no better than the lions. The one zebrataur that had taken the full brunt of the beam had been vaporized, leaving only a pair of shins and feet, its partner a half vapourized pile of slag. Off in the distance, the far wall had a crater emptying rapidly cooling magma onto the floor.

“We're clear, go!” Ace barked and the fire team moved.

They didn't encounter too much more resistance; only a handful of lions and one poorly supported zebrataur attempted to slow their advance before their found themselves in a massive chamber. The ceiling hung easily eight stories above them and the center of the chamber was an absolutely huge pillar in both thickness and height. Tied up in a huddle group of several hundred were the zebra prisoners, and they were not alone.

Hundreds of rune stone lions and dozens of zebrataurs stood and turned as one to face the fire team when they entered.

“COVER!” Ace barked out and dived forward, burying his two hands into the stonework.

Great big stone slabs made up the stone floor of the interior. Despite their weight easily being over a thousand pounds, Ace barely showed any great strain when he quickly hefted the stone onto its side. The rest of the fire team was just as quick to do the same, which was good because the zebrican golems were proving to be more efficient and faster reacting than even the guards. Many lions stayed low to the ground and charged forward while others started leaping and jumping in front of the zebrataurs to shield them with their own bodies.

“Uggh! Those bolts have a punch!” spoke the Direwolf with the super heavy machine gun as a green bolt of lightning leapt through the air and struck him squarely in the chest, leaving a black scorch mark. He remained standing though, baring the brunt of several lightning bolts because otherwise the hordes of rune stone lions would simply swarm them. Ace and the rest of the fire team did their best to snipe the heads of the zebrataurs from afar but with the rune stone lions leaping and jumping in front of their shots it was slow going. The bolts washed over the heavy weapons Direwolf and the upper half of him was becoming black with scorch marks and pitted. Then suddenly there was a fateful cracking sound and the dog fell to his knee with a howl, hand reaching up reflexively now at the massive crack on his helmet and the torn open hole where his left eye lens used to be.

“This is Captain Ace, we are being worn down by heavy fire!” Ace barked as he darted over and quickly took the fallen dog's place with the heavy weapon. “Need reinforcements!”

“THIS IS ALPHA! REINFORCEMENTS ETA: NOW!” came the immediate reply.

Direwolves burst forth from another passage on the opposite side of the chamber and quickly moved into flanking positions, firing as they went and downing golems. It wasn't the kill box it could have been; there were still the prisoners to worry about so las cannons and grenade launchers were out. There were already prisoners being injured enough as it was from stone fragmentation.

With their attentions now divided and attempting to shield the zebrataurs from two directions, the lions began rapidly dropping in earnest. The zebrataurs were attempting to wear down both fireteams with their lightning but with the arrival of the two other fire teams from another passage their fate was sealed.

“CLEAR!” Ace barked out as he scanned his surroundings before turning his attention to the fallen dog. “Are you severely injured? Can you get up?”

“I...” the dog began and slowly rose back onto his hind legs. His armor was still scorched but the large crack in his armor had filled in with a material that gave a scar like appearance. “I think my eye got burned out... my vision is coming back though, so it must be healing. It might actually take longer for my armor to fix itself before my eye does.”

“Good, here.” Ace quickly handed the super heavy machine gun back. “Keep watch. There will be more golems coming.”

Ace turned and saw some of the Direwolves working at freeing all the prisoners while the rest gathered near the massive column dominating the center of the room. With a considering frown, Ace took the high explosive strapped to the small of his back. It was a somewhat prototype explosive in a collaborative effort between Wheatley and Emerald. He wasn't entirely aware of all the details but this bomb was supposed to be a compact version of one from Emerald's world, a very focused version of a “Father Bomb” or whatever the name had been. As far as he knew, every one of the bombs the fireteams had were equal to this bomb and refined to focus most of their power in a small area, perfect for precision destruction.

“Vata, we've got the prisoners secured,” Ace reported on the radio. “What's the situation outside?”

“The southern and western entrances are fairly secure with the Silhouette hovering overhead,” Vata replied. “The golems are on the march for the north and eastern entrances. We are trying to disrupt their advance with explosives but they're coming.”

“How soon?” Ace asked.

“ETA two to three minutes, Captain Ace,” Vata answered.

“Roger that, Vata.” Ace nodded and looked around. Bombs were being strategically planted around the large column and the prisoners were nearly finished being untied. “ALRIGHT, MOVE IT YOU LOT! Get these prisoners out of here, through the southern and western entrances ASAP! We've got golems inbound!”

Several Direwolves quickly herded the zebras towards the southern and western passages. Ace also ordered a few Direwolves to escort them and make sure they got away from the golems and guards. He knew that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do right now but there was already too much evil being committed today without adding to it.

They were just planting the last pieces of high explosives when the whole structure started to shake immensely. Direwolves toppled over as the shaking grew far beyond their balance to withstand and the deafening sound of stone grinding against one another filled the air.

Looking up from his place on the floor, Ace saw the night sky being slowly revealed. The ritual structure was spreading apart along its seams and revealing a great, seemingly bottomless pit in the very center.

“... -eadings-... inety percent-...” came Wheatley's static filled voice over the radio as bright green glow fully filled the interior of the ritual structure. “Activa-... ce you have to imme-...”

“ACTIVATE THOSE BOMBS!” Ace barked as he quickly got back onto his feet.

“Sir, the bombs are all active!” came the immediate reply from a dog waving a remote control. “The bombs need time to charge up before they can blow!”

“Fine, form a defensive perimeter!” Ace commaded and Direwolves started tearing up massive stone slabs to form an impromptu fort.

“ACE, THE GOLEMS NEVER WERE HEADING FOR THE PASSAGES!”Vata shouted in alarm over the radio. “THEY WERE WAITING FOR THE BUILDING TO OPEN UP!”

Ace turned and saw the truth for himself. Whole waves of rune stone lions and zebrataurs were charging down the pathways formed by the structure's separation.

“SILHOUETTE SUPPORT US AS BEST YOU CAN!” Ace commanded over the radio before turning to his Direwolves. “OPEN FIRE!”

“Lunar activity detected,” Wheatley reported with a concerned tone to his voice. “I'm detecting the same magical signature shrouding the moon as the magic coming off the ritual site.”

“This is horrible. Whatever this ritual will do will happen very soon,” Zecora stated with a distressed frown.

“Hold it! The moon is slowing down!” Wheatley suddenly shouted. “Detecting Princess Luna and Celestia's magical signature.”

“Will it be enough?” Zecora asked despite herself.

“...No, not even close,” Wheatley announced with a frustrated groan. “Even accounting for their connection with the celestial objects they don't have enough power to take back the moon. The moon's movement has slowed greatly but it's still moving into position over the ritual site.”

Suddenly a klaxon sounded and new position on the map was flashing red.

“What's going on?” Twilight asked and her eyes widened as she recognized the location on the map.

“The capital...” Zecora murmured.

“I'm detecting a massive surge of magic coming from the capital,” Wheatley stated with enforced calm. “It's Emerald's magical signature, but... there is something wrong with it, like there is something else mixed in.”

“Something has definitely gone wrong with the Prime Minister. Twilight Sparkle, we have...” Zecora began and trailed off when she looked to see Twilight gone.

Several miles away on the ground, Twilight Sparkle arrived with a purple flash of light and looked off in the distance. A great column of magic was lancing off into the night sky, serving as an impromptu sun in itself for the countryside. Beneath her the ground rumbled audibly. With another flash of light, she teleported again.

Twilight arrived upon the walls of the capital, the ground was shaking and a low, incessant drone filled the air. Panicked and terrified screams filled the air as zebras crowded the streets and made to leave the city. Suddenly there was a sound like a volcanic eruption, the sound flowed over everything like a physical force as wild magic began to spit angrily from the column. The earth shook like waves in the sea and it was a miracle the city seemed to be withstanding it.

Through sheer luck, Twilight looked down upon the streets and managed to spy her friends below. They seemed to have cast off their disguises and were now doing everything they could to help the people escape. Confident they would be fine, Twilight teleported one last time.

The youngest alicorn arrived before the great doors of the Parliament building. Said doors were torn off their hinges and lied unceremoniously on the ground. Feeling like she was before the ruined palace before facing down Nightmare Moon, Twilight frowned in determination before running at a full gallop. She ran through the empty lobby of Parliament before running through the first pair of doors she saw. Immediately she was met with the sight of a crowd of guards charging towards her. Twilight kept her pace and her eyes narrowed as magic cracked around her horn.

Before either side could act, however, a crackle of pink static pulsed through the air. At the passage of magic the stonework of the walls warped and the carpet started growing like living, aggressive plant life. The guards were affected as well; it was as if they were all puppets and someone had cut their strings from the way they collapsed to the floor as one. Twilight spared only a glance and kept up her pace, taking flight the moment the “carpet” started growing long enough to reach for her.

As she began flying through the air, there was another pulse of magic; this time it was green colored. The warped stonework warped even further and now they had snarling faces. The eyes of the faces suddenly opened as one and they all released high pitched squealing as they tore themselves free of the walls and leapt at Twilight in midair.

Twilight spun in midair as she avoided the animated bricks. She began flying upside down and closed her wings. With a quick spell Twilight landed on the ceiling with a clop of her hooves and she continued her gallop. She came to a stop at a three way fork as the “bricks” jumped ineffectually at her from below.

The alicorn tried to pick a route to take as the building seemed closer and closer to shaking itself apart with every moment. Suddenly, she took in a breather through her nose and her ear twitched and she suddenly bolted decisively down one hall. It wasn't long before she rounded a corner and saw a pair of doors blasted off their hinges and a blinding bright light shining through the doorway. She came skidding to a stop before the doorway and was met with a wall of pure white energy.

Breathing lightly, Twilight approached the white wall and tentatively touched it with her hoof. The instant it did there was a snap and Twilight gave a startled yelp as she drew back. Shaking her head, Twilight approached again and this time kept pressing her hoof forward. There was an angry crackle of electricity and Twilight gave a pained shout before pulling back.

“Okay... okay... this isn't going to kill me...” Twilight muttered softly as she steeled herself and charged forward at a gallop. She impacted the wall of energy with a deafening angry snap of electricity and for a brief moment there was agony.

A moment later, the young alicorn disappeared fully through the energy.

Emerald stumbled through the dark.

She was lost and confused. Utterly delirious, she hobbled along trying to find a solid surface to balance herself on. Every time she did find something to support herself on, it always seemed to collapse under her.

“Have you ever wondered what the world would have been like if you were never here?”

Emerald didn't start at the voice, didn't even consider it odd that there was a voice speaking to her from some location she couldn't discern. The virus slowed in her stumbling and came to a stop. Swaying as she stood in place, Emerald considered the words of the voice.

'If I weren't here... Gilda would still be alive and her father and his griffins would still be alive,' Emerald thought reluctantly but pondered all the same. 'Equestria wouldn't have been driven into a recession. Thousands of ponies wouldn't have lost their jobs. Sovereign wouldn't have awoken and tried to attack Equestria... if I wasn't here, there wouldn't have been an alternate timeline where I killed Twilight and half destroyed the whole world.'

Had Emerald been in the right state of mind, she would have also have realized that while she had done terrible things after arriving in Equestria she had also done good. Who knows when Nidhogg's reign would have ended, how long the diamond dogs would have languished in their scattered state as a  people without a nation. Then there was the advent of the meat fruit. For countless generations the carnivores of Equus had to live with rationed meat and strict population controls. But now that there was an actual crop to be reaped for the carnivores' nourishment, they could finally enjoy daily full stomachs. It was only thanks to Emerald that countless couples the known world over could finally have children at their leisure. Today hundreds of thousands of new young lives owed their very existence to Emerald Gleaner. Finally, while her intentions weren't all pure, the end result of a free international hospital that could revive the dead could not be denied.

Emerald had committed great evil but she had also created great good. Black and white morality did not- could not- be applied. Sadly the virus herself didn't realize it just right now...

“So many horrible selfish actions... do you wonder if your friends are such out of fear?”

In the corners of her mind, Emerald couldn't help but wonder at times if this was the case, that people were more willing to forgive her for things and remain her friend purely out of fear what she would do in reaction. Normally she would cast such thoughts aside easily because the girls weren't like that. If they felt she was too far gone to be their friend, they wouldn't hide it. Not even Fluttershy. The same could be said of the people she now ruled, the diamond dogs. Sometimes she had to put her foot down but for the most part they lived freely. Now she found herself wondering just how much of that was due to the fact she was simply far too powerful to resist. Were the people she ruled simply terrified of her great power? Did they simply give up all possible chances of any other kind of life? She did offer to let any go and that she would not attempt to harm them for it… but in a world where meat fruit wasn't even an idea yet and there was no other home, was that any choice at all?

“How much good have you really done? What do those around you really feel?”

Emerald collapsed onto her hands and knees as figures in the darkness appeared, circling all around her. Suddenly it was as if a great many spotlights started to shine down on the beings around her, revealing their appearances and the fact they were without color. Emerald looked up and saw what surrounded her. First her eyes landed on a group of Thracians of all four types, lined up perfectly like dolls with utterly blank eyes and collars with attaching chains dropped to the floor and leading towards her. Next she saw ponies with scruffy looking coats and unwashed manes, the ones with them had thread bare and patch ridden clothing. They all had bags under their eyes and they looked unhealthily thin. Next were diamond dogs looking utterly beaten and holding gem encrusted collars that had been long cast away, the expressions on their face clearly stating “What changed?”. And finally there was everyone she ever knew, everyone who mattered to Emerald; they bore heartbroken expressions and betrayed looks of disgust.

With a shuddering breath and tearing eyes, Emerald slowly stood up onto her feet, her hair darkening into a darker shade of pink with black streaks appearing. Her eyes flickered, switching between her normal green and whites to slits with the whites of her eyes turning light green.

“Think of your loved ones. Twilight Sparkle, young Navi, your daughter to be. Could they truly be happy in the world you forged for them?”

Twilight Sparkle slowly started forming, followed by a human shape.

“Do you think your own mother would- what? What's going on?”

Suddenly it was as if the world had ground to a halt. When Twilight formed she started looking at Emerald in disappointed heartbreak before her expression started to twitch and her form started flashing, changing between fully colored to grayscale. Next to Twilight was Emerald's Mother Adela. The instant her body was fully formed she became colored in and her expression became one of a stern taskmaster. She strode over to Emerald, the sound of her footsteps the only noise in the darkness.

Emerald stared uncomprehendingly as Adela walked right up to her and took out a piece of tissue paper to wipe the tears from Emerald's eyes.

“Emerald Osäker Gleaner, you get a hold of yourself this instant!” Adela said firmly, grabbing hold of Emerald's shoulders and giving her a shake.

"Oh. I see. This much power... overwhelming."

Suddenly nearly every other person faded away like mud statues in the rain and even the darkness itself seemed to go, slowly replaced with a gray mist and a soft light. Along with that, the instant Emerald heard not only her mother's voice again but in an angry tone she stood up straight. The virus' hair returned to its original pink shade and her eyes returned to normal as she stood at attention.

“Y-yes mom!” Emerald said immediately.

“Now you listen to me. No child I raised prioritizes feeling sorry for themselves over their own family.” Adela backed up a step and crossed her arms, suddenly Twilight from before burst into view fully colored as well and reared up and started pawing at Emerald, a look of intense concern on her face. “You've gone and made the mother of your child and my grandchild worried sick. Who knows what effect that's having on the poor baby?”

“I... I'm sorry, mom,” Emerald said in regret as she stared down into Twilight's worried eyes.

"Such love... I wish for... finally..." spoke the voice from before, now distant and distinctly desperate sounding.

“Don't be sorry... be DETERMINED!” Adela said fiercely. “Never stop trying to protect your family and their happiness, never hesitate in the face of any who threaten that! I was a single, newly immigrated mom who had a bakery on Manhattan by the time you were six years old. You have far more resources then I ever did and -god willing- if you have even a fraction of my determination, you'll move Heaven, Hell and Earth if it means everyone you love are safe and sound.”

Emerald clenched her fists as she looked up from Twilight to her mother. She felt something like blazing fire ignite within her and suddenly the world around her felt oh so fragile. Emerald Gleaner, with all her heart, desired to make Adela proud and prove she was her mother's daughter in all the ways that mattered.

“Good, good...” Adela smiled happily as she began to fade into the mist that had begun thickening. “Now listen...”

So Emerald listened. She strained her ears to their full extent but heard nothing, not even the voice from before. It was only when she noticed that Twilight's mouth had started forming silent words that she started to hear noise. And before long that noise took shape of a voice from one so near and dear to her now.

“... Emerald...”

“...EMERALD...”

“EMERALD!”

After the initial burst of intense pain it was surprisingly less intense on the other side of the wall of light. Though in Twilight's opinion, less intense still meant rather painful.

Despite the fact the light was blinding, somehow the young alicorn's eyes adjusted fairly rapidly. Bursts of white lightning filled the air and Twilight could feel energy surging against her skin along with a burning sensation all over her entire body. She wasn't sure exactly how much energy she was moving through and frankly it was probably far too upsetting to fully consider. Gritting her teeth and releasing a grunt of pain with every step and twitching every time a bolt of lightning surged too close, Twilight made her way through the energy.

The surge of energy only seemed to grow more and more intense as she approached its core where magic flowed like a tsunami trying to squeeze through a door. With every step the pain grew and she knew parts of her coat and mane were being scorched and on the verge of being set alight. But eventually she reached the very core.

Emerald Gleaner stood unsteadily on her feet, swaying back and forth. Her hair was a dark shade of pink with black stripes and her wide open eyes were switching colors. Panting in pain, Twilight reached Emerald and reared up to place her hooves on her.

“E-Emerald... wake up!” Twilight shouted, though to her ears her voice was drowned out in a wail of surging energy.

It seemed like the shout had no effect until Emerald's eyes suddenly darted to hers.

“Emerald, you have to snap out of it!” Twilight shouted as loud as she could pawing at Emerald with her hooves. “Please snap out of it! I-I-I don't think I can take much more of this if it gets any stronger... Emerald, whatever it is I know you are stronger than it! EMERALD!”

Suddenly Emerald scowled and clutched at her head and pulled.

There was a scream of pain and Twilight had no idea who, she just felt her head pounding and her skin going numb as a burning smell filled her nose. And suddenly it was so silent. The pounding went away and she felt like a pressing weight had been removed from about her. Twilight found that she had at some point closed her eyes and opened them to see herself standing in a rather large hole in the floor. It was as if a smooth bowl had been burned into the ground and scorched black. Looking back up at Emerald, her eyes widened and she gasped.

Hands glowing with purple ethereal light, Emerald held a squirming black mass in her hands. To Twilight's eyes it appeared to be pony shaped being completely cloaked in black. The light around Emerald's hands intensified and there was another scream and the shape went limp in Emerald's hands. With that Emerald tossed it away, an act that seemed to throw her completely off balance and she fell to her hands and knees.

“Emerald!” Twilight shouted and quickly darted to Emerald's side. “Are you alright?!”

“I-I... should be a-asking you that...” Emerald said quietly as she took in Twilight's form. Bare patches in her coat with scorched black flesh, singed hair and blood shot eyes. Twilight wasn't in a pleasant looking condition.

Twilight wrapped Emerald in a hug and she, shockingly, weakly returned it. After a moment they both turned their heads to see the being lying on the floor. It really did look like a pony made up completely of pure black shadows wrapped in a cloak that was a lighter shade of black. The only other color in its entire form were its white glowing eyes.

Suddenly Emerald noticed another being. Hanging from a broken piece of floor from the second floor by his sleeping robe was the Prime Minister. Based purely on looks alone, Emerald would have considered him dead from the way he seemed to be completely scorched black and was letting off smoke. With her other senses, however, Emerald could hear somewhat shaky breathing and a steady heartbeat.

“Emerald! Twilight! Are either of you there!?” Wheatley's voice crackled to life on Twilight and Emerald's radios. “Please someone answer me!”

“We're here, Wheatley...” Emerald said with as sigh. “We had some... issues...”

“Oh thank goodness!” Rarity's voice burst in.

“Knew you would pull through, sugarcube.”

“I was sooo worried!”

“Emmy!”

“Figured you would have been fine.”

“Yeah, ain't no one tougher than you, Emerald!”

Suddenly the staccato of gunfire interrupted the flow of happy and relieved calls.

“THIS IS CAPTAIN ACE! THE EXPLOSIVES ARE READY TO BLOW! WE ARE FIGHTING OUR WAY OUT OF THE SITE NOW!”

Knowing that the main objective of the operation was going to be achieved should have made Emerald feel relieved, but she still felt tense. It didn't help that the still cloaked figure she tore out of herself began to weakly giggle.

“If only it were so simple...”

Thousands of miles away, Wheatley watched from the HUD cameras of Ace and the various Direwolves. If he had a body he would certainly be on the edge of his seat right now.

The biological AI watched eagerly as Ace and the Direwolves made their final withdrawal from the inside of the structure. Already the golems invading the ritual structure were trying to destroy the explosives and remove them. Once everyone was out of range, Ace stopped and reached out with a hand, remote detonator firmly clutched and button about to be pressed.

“YES!” Wheatley cheered as the explosives went off in a cyclone-like explosion and sundering the whole structure. “Yeah! Eat that, ya wanker!”

The structure collapsed in on itself towards the cyclone and the moon that was nearly fully in position over the structure flicked and lost the green shine it had gained. However, suddenly the cyclone went out and the rubble began to shake. Almost like time itself being rewound, the largest pieces of the great structure lifted off the ground and started floating midair. Now in the vague shape of the old structure, the floating pieces glowed brighter then before.

“Oh no...” Wheatley said softly as he witnessed the moon turn green once more and wrenched into final position over the structure.

The lights faded from the floating rubble of the ritual structure and there was an all consuming silence, like everyone and the world itself gasped in a breath. Then it was as if a green sun had been birthed into being on the surface of the world. The blinding light soared into the sky towards the moon like a massive meteor.

“ALL PERSONNEL ON THE SURFACE BEGIN IMMEDIATE EVACUATIONS INTO THE HUB!” Wheatley announced over the Enclave intercom as a terrifying air siren began to sound.

Back with Emerald and Twilight, the virus and alicorn could only sit leaning against one another as they watched a newborn green sun rise into the night sky, the world around them far too silent. They watched as the green glow grew distant and seemingly disappear into the far off moon. Suddenly there was a flash of light from the moon and it was as if night had become a green tinged day.

As a wave of magic rushed forth from the sky like a tsunami, Emerald shielded Twilight with her body and cast the strongest shield spell she had.

Over in the Enclave, Wheatley lamented not having near enough time and slammed the blast doors closed over every entrance to the surface, trapping hundreds on the surface as the wave of magic crashed down.

In the lands of mountains and megafauna, a young griffin paused to take a rest after making the long trip home and stared up at the rush of magic flooding down.

In the far east, Channelers both young and old looked up as one, feeling the unstoppable approach of spiritual energies. They did nothing as it slammed down into them.

All around the world in parts both known and unknown, all living beings looked up to see a wave of magic rush down towards them. Unable to react, unknowing of what was going on, they just stared as the wave crashed down.

…

The world over, countless ages long slumbering eyes snapped open as one.

…

For the longest moment Emerald simply held onto Twilight with her eyes tightly closed, not knowing what to expect but waiting for it to come. Finally she opened her eyes and saw that nothing had changed. Twilight noticed the same thing and moved out from Emerald's embrace. She walked over to the windows of the chamber and gasped at what she saw outside.

Filling the air were dancing fairy lights, some of which danced through the air leaving long streamers of light.

“What is this?” Twilight muttered and Emerald scowled in response.

The virus rose shakily to her feet and stumbled over to the darkness she tore from herself. She reached over and grabbed it by where its lapels would have been.

“What did you DO?” Emerald growled, bringing her face closer to its own face.

“I did it, I did it!” the darkness said with a girlish giddiness, a feeling of intense, overwhelming happiness that utterly clashed with the current situation. “They're free, they're all free! My friends... my family... I'm so happy...”

“Talk sense, god damn you!” Emerald roared and brought a clawed hand to the darkness' face.

“It's okay. I did what I wanted...” the darkness said calmly, contently and closed its eyes. “I don't mind if it ends now.”

“YOU...!!!” Emerald growled and felt a surge of murderous rage, her claws glowed with ethereal light. She was about to rear it back for a slash when her claw slowed to a halt.

In her hands the being that possessed not only her but the Prime Minister of the Zebrican people simply calmly awaited its death. Emerald could feel no anger, no grief from it at all, just contentedness with life and the joy of a life goal complete. The virus knew this being wasn't going to even try to beg for its life and despite everything, Emerald found herself hesitating.

'Jus-just kill it already!' Emerald said to herself. 'It's caused nothing but pain in this country and it led to death and destruction...'

Suddenly the image of Equestria beset by weather delays weeks long and undergoing an economic recession flashed through her mind. Ponies by the tens of thousands suffering just because she wanted a quick boost to her own industry. Emerald took in a breath and looked towards Twilight. The alicorn was simply standing there quietly, this wasn't something she was going to step into.

'What do I do? What is right?' Emerald asked as she slowly lowered her claw. 'Is there even a point to killing it? Is there anything beyond personal gratification I can use to justify it? It... it shouldn't matter! An enemy is an enemy! I...'

Another memory, Twilight's smiling face utterly unsuspecting and welcoming as Emerald wrapped her up in a hug with the intent to snap her neck.

“Oof.” The darkness released a small grunt as it was suddenly dropped onto the floor. It looked up at Emerald with its bright. pure white. beacon-like eyes.

“GO. AWAY,” Emerald ground out, her fists clenched tightly and shaking. “JUST. GO.”

The being only paused a moment and then it was gone, faded away within a mere second. The instant it did, Emerald released a deep, shuddering sigh and collapsed onto her hands and knees. Twilight walked over and wrapped a wing around Emerald's back.

“That was a big thing you did,” Twilight said honestly.

“Was it?” Emerald said glumly as she pushed herself into a sitting position. “That thing is probably going to another country right now to start it all over again.”

“No, I can tell that whatever it was that the ritual was supposed to accomplish, it did so completely,” Twilight replied. “Its goals were completed, totally and utterly. It had nothing else.”

“That's not a very comforting thought,” Emerald replied, turning her head at the sound of a small stampede and saw the approach of their friends. Not only that, but they were being accompanied by zebra guards, once mind controlled but now stripped of their masks and helmets and free.

“No it isn't,” Twilight agreed. “But whatever is to come, we'll handle it together.”

Back in the forest of Everfree, Sovereign stood watch on the forest edge and witnessed the great doors blocking every entrance into the Enclave open. He observed relieved diamond dogs go out to meet with those that had been caught outside until something tingled on the edge of his senses.

The spirit of the Everfree switched bodies in an instant, transferring the majority of his focus to one single body instead of loosely scattered among them. He found himself before a great weeping willow with an unnatural amount of shade beneath its canopy.

“WHO LURKS IN MY DOMAIN?!” the spirit bellowed. For the past while Sovereign had been feeling things prickling at the edges of his senses, much like the feeling of someone constantly glancing out from around the corner at you and then fleeing the moment you turned to look. Needless to say, the Greater Spirit of Freedom had been rather irritated with this behavior by now.

“Dauntless, do you not know my presence anymore?” spoke a voice and the shadow beneath the tree's canopy consolidated into the form of a cloaked pony. “Physically you are free, but mentally the chains still tightly bind you.”

“That name...” Sovereign muttered. Hearing it, having someone call him that, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck through the very core of his being. So intense was this feeling it was as if he had become near petrified.

“I am the Nightmare, Dauntless...” spoke the being, its voice taking a feminine tinge.

“Nightmare...” That too struck something in his core. He felt like he was on the edge of something, of remembering something so important to himself and yet... “That name is barely familiar to me! Speak your intentions!”

“I wish to free you,” replied the Nightmare and suddenly her form shattered into a black mist that blew onto Sovereign's timber wolf body.

Sovereign gave a roar in outrage and reared up but it was too late. The dark mist surrounded his head and his eyes clouded over.

Within the Spiritual Realm a great gathering could be sensed from even on the furthest edge of this endlessly expansive plane.

In a place that could arguably be called the center of this realm were teeming hordes of beings of all shapes and sizes. Windigoes, hippocampi, jotuns and ifrits were all gathered together. Most were as small as normal mortal species, some were as big as buildings and a rare few were easily as big as mountains. Sitting in this crowd of flames, water, earth, air and everything in between was the Pony of Shadows, somehow managing to looking awkward and out of place in this scene of fantastical sights.

The swarms of smaller spirits were gathered together within a circle formed by the far larger Greater Spirits. The Greater Spirits took positions on the perimeter rather than the very center due to sheer size. Relatively speaking the distance between each of the Greater Spirits would have been the equivalent of a large, circular meeting table. It was this and in combination of the fact the lesser spirits were both literally and figuratively beneath their notice.

It was then that one final Greater Spirit appeared out of the ether of the Spiritual Realm. It was Endless, though he was changed in appearance.

“Fortune clearly favors us. Through events out of our control, we all have awakened as one!” spoke Endless, gamely ignoring the massive crater where his right eye used to be and now spewing spiritual energies. “But now, now is the time to reclaim our birthright.”

“Countless eons ago, The Father and The Mother found this world, a barren ball of rock and earth,” Endless continued. “Through their wisdom, through their power, they created the first born, those born with barely a fraction of their sires' greatness but inheritors of all they beheld. And so they began to multiply and spread. Some forsook the minds they were gifted and became mindless beasts and predators. Some embraced their greater gifts and become far more than their simple natures would have allowed. The ensuing generations grew in complexity and power and number. It seemed their place was eternally promised... until something rose up to steal what was rightfully theirs. Life was born.

“Whether it happened because of a mistake, the inevitability of reality, or even the foolhardy tinkering of fellow spirits, Life came to be. Under our notice it spread, for how could we have noticed something with such frail, insignificant beginnings. But it grew as well and at a far greater pace. Soon the world became covered in Life and they too grew in complexity... and power.

“We did not consider them a threat. They were small, fleeting things. Even those that caught our interest were gone in a moment. Even when they gathered together to garner some small strength in their teeming hives they barely warranted notice. And so we ignored them, content in our own ways, content to leave them to theirs. And what did we receive for this graciousness? The generosity of sharing this world? BETRAYAL!!!”

The teeming masses of lesser spirits let loose a loud roar of raucous anger. The Spiritual Realm itself briefly twisted and changed at this surge of violent emotion, becoming a plane of twisting, nebulous fire. Even the Greater Spirits in their maintained dignities let loose low rumbles of anger.

“They have certainly proven without a doubt they are not beneath our notice anymore...” Endless growled, his anger manifesting as a surge of magic pouring out of his wound. “No more shall we ignore them! No more shall we share our world with them! What will they do when the very waters they drink reaches up to strangle them? When the very air crashes down to smother them? When the earth they build their hives on opens them to swallow them? When the fires they gather round for comfort rages out to consume them?  We, the descendants of the First Born, shall reclaim our birthright!”

“IN THE NAME OF FATHER SUN AND MOTHER MOON WE SHALL RETURN THE WORLD TO PURITY!!!” Seemingly drunk on infectious, murderous fervor of the Greater Hippocampus, every spirit present released their collective howls of rage and agreement...

Save for one rather out of place shadowy being...