"What are you reading?" Anon asked, looking over Sunset's shoulder
Sunset didn't lift her head from the pages, keeping an intense expression of focus as she scanned
"Historical documents. Mainly that of my family's progenitor: Celestia Shimmer."
"Can't you just go back through your crest memories to see that?"
"I would but it's the strangest thing: Everything prior to Celestia's death has been cut off. It's been that way since Celestia's first daughter."
Anon remembered what the King had said, that this world was nothing more than a lie. But what did that mean? Just what did Clover do when she assimilated with the Greater Magic? Was she even human anymore? How much of this world did she influence and in what ways? It was never straight forward.
"What have you found out so far?" he asked, taking a seat by her "Anything interesting?"
"Precious little I didn't already know. It doesn't make any sense. Both Celestia and Clover made an immeasurable impact on the mage world. Yet nobody seems to know anything about them, what they did in life, or even how they met their end. How could two famous figures have such little known about them? It makes no sense."
Sunset shut the book and took a good look at Anon
"How's the hex doing? Are you feeling alright?"
"I only feel it really when I use magic. Then it becomes intensely painful. So long as I don't use magic it seems unable to really effect me."
"How're you feeling about what comes next? We're almost out of this, but the hardest part is yet to come."
"Scared of course. Nothing gets the blood pumping like facing a dragon without the ability to use magic."
"Let's hope that charm works then."
"Let's."
Sunset looked at him closely, as though she were studying a painting. Her eyes scanned him form up and down, side to side, taking in his every feature and flaw.
"Sunset?" Anon asked in a worried tone
"You seem troubled by something. Something that isn't going face to face with a dragon."
"I'm alright."
"Are you sure?" she asked "You know you can tell me anything. We're partners in this."
"I learned something in my face of with the the mage killer. Chiefly that magic stems from evil roots. The Greater Magic isn't pure, it's malicious."
"Malicious?"
"I wasn't told many details. But even Clover herself admitted it: black magic didn't stem from pure magic, but the reverse. The reason magic began to fade during Clover's time was because King Arthur sealed away the devil, whatever that means."
"Why does that trouble you? It clearly can be used for good."
"I don't know. But that's not the only thing that troubled me: I saw Clover."
"You did?"
"It was only briefly. But I saw her, spoke to her spiritual form for a moment. She saved me from being killed by the mage killer, likely also brought me back to the physical world when I was trapped in that other plane of existence."
"What did she say?"
"Next to nothing. All she really told me was to find her diary. From there I only learned a bit about what our next steps are."
"What did she look like?"
"She was... beautiful." he said "she was in beautiful pink robe that glowed and she had long blonde hair down to her ankles. Her eyes... they were this magnificent emerald. One thing that struck me was when she killed the mage killed she said 'may you travel the Great Sea in peace' almost like it were a prayer."
"It would make sense. The Great Sea is believed to be one of the final levels of reality, the one right before the Greater Magic."
"Levels or reality?"
"Yes. There are seven in total: the physical world, which we inhabit, the World Unseen or sometimes called the Shadow World, the Mana Corridor, the Abyssal Trench, Eden, the Great Ethereal Sea and finally the Greater Magic."
"What is the Great Ethereal Sea?"
"It's said in legend to be the place where souls go to be judged by the Lady in White. But nobody really knows for sure. All we know is it exists. It's impossible for a living body to go higher than the Mana Corridor."
"Why's that?"
"The Mana Corridor is the primary place we draw mana from, though, suspiciously, the leylines don't seem to do the same."
"It's not from the Greater Magic?"
"It is. But the Greater Magic isn't really mana as we understand it. It's more like information."
"Information?"
"Yes. That's why most people who try to access the Greater Magic directly tend to go insane. Again, as it's so difficult to access, details are simply limited. We don't really understand it."
"And the Lady in White?"
"That'd be a better question for Rarity. The Way of White worships her as a deity. It's not really known if she truly exists, most think it a myth of the old world."
Sunset closed the book and once again looked at him with a strange fascination
"I've got an idea for us. When you're healed anyway. There is one interesting bit of information I learned from these books. Celestia and Clover had a secret technique of immense power they could only use together: The Starlit Connection."
Valencia stared at her captor with terror. For the firs time in a long time she began to shake. She was in deep trouble. Of all the things she could run into, she ran into an incredibly dangerous adversary: a dream demon. Incredibly rare, these beings were legendary tricksters. Instead of just eating their pray as most demons would do, they pleasured in toying with their victims. When she hit her had back then, she had never woken up. She was stuck in a dream state. The longer she remained, the more of her dreams the demon would consume until she became what is commonly known as a blank: a person devoid of memory and personality. However, the demon was not invincible. It had one critical weakness: You had to beat it at its own game and be stronger than whatever weakness of your personality it was preying on. To survive she had to cast off what made her most afraid. Vignette stopped her shaking. She was going to be queen of the mages. It would take more than a dream demon to stop her. She was better than this, better than any mage who had come before and would come after. The demon's smile faded and it shut the door.
Suddenly she felt multiple cold hands gripping her body, threatening to pull her down into the floor. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. She could win. The hands pulled her through the floor and the next she knew she was standing on long road beside a cliff. Just ahead of her she could see a large boulder with the body of a young girl beneath it. She began to shake again. Vignette gripped her wrist tightly, doing whatever she could to stop the trembles.
"It's not real," she said through a shaky voice "It's just an illusion. None of this is real."
The sound of pebbles hitting the ground came from just above her. She looked up to see a large boulder being pushed by a corpse. The instant she saw it she let out a terrible blood curdling scream and began to take off in the other direction.
"I can't do this!" she yelled "I can't!"
She turned around only to find the boulder on the path and the corpse pushing it down after her. She screamed again, even louder. She was running so fast her legs physically hurt. Her father's words echoed in her mind: 'your birth was a curse not just unto you, but onto us all.' Vignette suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face forward, her eyes filled with rage.
"No. I'm not a curse."
The boulder came faster and faster until it came right into her, crushing her flat. When she opened her eyes again she was starring into a black sun. The sky above was red as blood and the ground like black tar. She lifted herself to her feet. She knew this memory. Whenever she was in distress she'd come to this world to talk to Nightmare Moon. The only woman in the world who'd shone her any kindness. Yet, now, the world was empty. Usually Nightmare would be sitting in a chair, looking like nothing more than a shadow. Vignette felt a sharp paint in her side.
"Coward." a voice said "Killing your own father with this sacred blade while his back was turned."
She fell to the floor, spitting out blood. She turned to see her father holding the pitch black knife she'd used to take his life.
"The crown was always my right." she said, clutching her side "You were nothing but a tyrant and a bastard. I'll be better."
"You're no better. You never will be."
"I will! Without magic humanity can finally know peace."
Tirek grabbed her by the hair
"You may have stopped my heart but not me. I live within you now more than ever. We're cut from the same cloth. We're as ruthless as the other."
"I'll be better." she said "I'm not afraid."
"You lie."
The world around her changed. It was dark all except for a single shining light. She could barely see through the gleam but if she squinted hard enough, she saw it's figure, that of a crown. She began to run towards it but not no matter how fast she ran, it was always just out of reach. Just as her finger tips were about to touch it's beautiful steel shell, she tripped and fell into the darkness below. She woke with a start to see she was by a crackling campfire. Flim sat by it's edge, tending too it. His spear, Glorias, sat on his shoulder with the dream demon skewered on its blade. It was a small thing, no bigger than a mouse. It looked much like a ghost with a dull yellow hue outlining it and many eyes. It was round and delicate, like it would break open at the slightest touch. Looking at it, she almost felt pity for the poor thing. It reminded her of herself in a way. A small, weak being causing misery to those around her out of the need for survival.
"Finally up?" he asked "It's about time."
"I..." she started "I don't understand. I thought you went to help Nightmare Moon."
"I was. But then I remembered I had to give you something. Luckily I came when I did. You were possessed by a demon. Seems you have a severe concussion as well."
"What happened to loyalty to Nightmare Moon over everything else?"
"This is exactly that." he explained "Nightmare Moon instructed me to protect you at any cost as well as give you this."
He reached into his satchel and pulled out a rather worn looking book. Vignette's eyes lit up with surprise. This was the first magic tome she'd ever studied, given to her by Nightmare Moon. Vignette studied Flim's face carefully. It looked melancholic and grieving, almost dead-eyed. His usually clean shaven face was now covered in hair, an unkempt beard that displayed his total lack of care.
"Is everything alright? You look troubled."
He stood up and stared into the distance, his expression unchanging
"I'm fine. It's just that my duty is nearly coming to a close."
"To a close? You mean that sacrifice you spoke of?"
"Yes."
"That's why you didn't go back for her, isn't it?"
He looked down at his feet and said nothing
"So what was it like?" he asked "Being possessed by a dream demon?"
"Terrible. Though, strangely, I'm feeling an odd sense of calm."
"A good one I hope."
"Yes." she said, standing up
"Would you like for me to accompany you?"
"Of course. We're getting close to our destination anyhow. The Tomb of Kings."
Nightmare Moon stared out at the destruction she'd caused, holding the forever rose delicately in her hand. She reveled in it. The mortals that had caused her and her sister so much pain were now paying for it a million fold. It was indeed required for the plan that she bathe the earth in blood, but she couldn't deny the sick satisfaction she took in it all. A bloodlust unlike anything she'd ever felt before overtook her.
"Nightmare Moon!" a voice called out "We've come to stop you!"
She smiled and turned around to see her challenger. Not one, but almost all of the noble families: Twilight Sparkle, Mi Amore' Cadenza, her mother Amore', and Juniper Montage along with the head of the school, Rom.
"Come to stop me have you? Isn't that a job for the Clover's successor?"
"We'll have to see won't we?" Twilight asked "Taurus!"
A large blast of flames flew out of Twilight's wand all for Nightmare Moon to brush it away effortlessly. Nightmare tapped her staff to the ground twice.
"Tuiteam."
A massive amount of pressure suddenly emitted from all directions, causing Twilight and the others to fall to the knees. The force was so great that the ground beneath them cracked. Nightmare lifted her staff high and her form became black as tar. The moon sat just above where her staff was raised, as though it was resting on the head of her staff. The moon began to shine brightly.
"Tonn Na Gealaich."
The earth began to shake and a massive beam of light exploded from her staff, causing an unparalleled explosion miles wide. Everything within the blast radius was reduced to ash, leaving nothing but a large crater in it's wake. Nightmare Moon barely worked up a sweat.
"This is what true magic is. It's a thing you could never compare too."
She took her staff down and began to turn, when her chest suddenly glowed a bright pink. An outline of a heart made itself visible on her chest.
"What? Impossible."
She looked around to see where the spell came from. Nothing. All was quiet. She was then struck in the back with a ball of fire that came from nowhere. She studied the area closely. It had to be an illusion. It made perfect sense considering the Montage style of magic. She equipped her staff again and began to pour raw mana into the air. Slowly but surely the illusion began to fall apart and break.
"That was clever. But you'll need to do better." Nightmare Moon whispered
"Mom!" Cadence yelled
"Right!"
Cadence and Amore' stood chest to chest with each of their wands pointing forward, their hands clasped together.
"Dannsa an Leannain!" they said in unison
The same heart outline that was on Nightmare Moon's chest now appeared on theirs. The two were doing their most famous technique: The Lover's Dance Sigil. It was as risky as it was deadly. By connecting the magic circuits of the hearts of all those involved, they were now connected as though by blood. All those effected by the spell now had to preform a dance. If mother and daughter could complete it uninterrupted, Nightmare Moon would die from heart failure. However, should they be stopped, even for a moment, both Cadence and Amore' would die instantly.
Rom stood in front of the pair as they began their dance while Juniper and and Twilight began to throw everything they had at Nightmare Moon. Twilight threw up her hands and began to to collect an unparalleled amount of mana into her core. She was about to cast some of her most powerful spells: that from the twelve major constellations. Juniper dove in to give her more time.
"Neo-fhìor." Juniper said
Nightmare Moon's vision began to buzz like static from a TV set. Colors changed, things moved into different areas as though they were teleported there and body parts changed positions at random. Nightmare Moon simply sighed. She lifted up her staff and began cast the spell that left the miles long crater again.
"Gemini!" Twilight called out
Two massive fish made of light began to circle the ground below Nightmare's feet. They spun faster and faster until they abruptly stopped, firing a massive green beam of light into the sky. No sooner did she do this that Cadence and her Mother both finished their dance. Nightmare Moon clutched her chest and fell to her knees. It was over.