//------------------------------// // Over the edge // Story: Mordane Stronghoof // by Mr Stargazer //------------------------------// Mordane flew on aching wings. The pain and strain that had been growing over the last few weeks was becoming unignorable. The growing sense that he had pushed himself too far sat like a bloated toad on the back of his mind. Its slime oozed into his fur, raising a fiery itch, distracting him with its putrid breath and casting his mind into a haze that clawed at every moment. Still, he had enough sense to give commands to One Eye before leaving. He had little doubt the foolish pony would execute the stallion prisoners and have the mares violated if he said nothing. Then again, One eye had some kind of honor. He might consider letting that happen to be against some code of honor Mordane had not yet seen in him. At the moment he could not bring himself to care. They would take the ones who were captured. They would be put through their paces and bent to serve. He imagined he would have to get rid of most, but perhaps a few would be useful enough to keep. It all depended on One Eye and his skill. Mordane nodded to himself. He would judge One Eyes' performance upon his return. This would be his last chance to see if he picked up anything from following Mordane the last two weeks. For now though, he was focused on the rage inside of him. It came with a sense of unease and irritation he couldn’t place, pulling him to the Mountain. Thinking back he could think of a half dozen times he had felt this pull, driving him forward, not letting him rest. Taking those instincts within and feeding on his worst impulses. He checked his thinking, reminding himself that even before Equestria he had felt this drive. It was just that before he killed it. Now though, it had grown with the challenges of this life. He had locked himself away before, running from his problems. From this need inside of him driving him vaguely forward. Now though, it was directional and sharp. He had gone for too long running from his destiny. Following the words of his Grandfather. The price would be high. Higher than any he had ever been willing to pay but now he had no choice and no other desire. He would bring this to resolution, both the feelings inside and the Mountain, before the coming storm came crashing down. Better to strike and reap the consequence or reward than to be bashed against the rocks of his birth. “Time to settle old debts” he thought, setting himself to the task. As he flew closer to the world's horn he could see a ring of mountains surrounding the base with a great valley full of lush forest in between. Everything he knew about geography said this was impossible. It screamed ‘unnatural’ to him. Even so, his eyes traced several paths trailing through the mountains. All curved away from the Valley and its mountain. They snaked along merging as they went before leading to a small town. The town though served him no purpose. So he turned toward the World’s Horn. Flying on automatic as he chewed on what had brought him here. It took some time before he realized there was a problem. A few more minutes of flying before he suddenly noticed: as he approached the Mountain would grow larger until a certain point before shrinking away again at the same speed. It was only when he looked down he noticed that he was passing the same rock. He changed tactics. He tried to focus on the ground, but when he would look up he was no longer flying toward the Mountain. He then flew trying to keep both the ground and mountain in view once again. Slowly the mountain's distance stopped changing, seeming to become fixed. He flew and flew but even the ground below no longer seemed to be moving. “So it will not be so easy,” he thought through his haze. “This is some kind of spatial distortion, perhaps even an illusion of some kind.” Looking down he instead aimed to the town outside of the ring of mountains. His gut was jumping his throat like it stole its girlfriend on their wedding night. A few minutes later though he breathed a sigh of relief as it began to get closer and pass under him. As he circled over the buildings he took note of the small number of facilities pressed up near the Mountain. All seeming to focus around a single building. He snorted, impatient to proceed. Neither his schedule nor mental state would allow subtlety. With a tilt of his wings he rocketed down to the small village, not caring who he disturbed. Moments before impact, he reached out for the earth magic, calling it to take the energy of his impact. But as was happening more and more frequently it seemed to spill wildly from his grasp. He slammed into the ground sending waves of pain up his spine. The ground broke. Sending shock cracks through the cobblestone street. A few of the surface stones even popped into the air. The dozen ponies gasped and shoved their foals behind themselves, hackles raised. Mordane’s eyes slid over the well dressed ponies. He took no note of the small crater as he stepped out of it, nor the gleaming products for sale among the storefronts. Now that he was among it, however, the small town's excellent architecture was impossible to miss. Stone and thick wood. Shingled roof and a line of water ducts. Proper drainage and clean cobbled streets. Ponies who had been watching in shock slipped into disgust at the sight of him. Mordane was bloody. Most of his face was wrapped in a bandage, leaving just enough room to breathe. It was applied by Ivy who stuffed a replacement batch in his satchel shortly before he had rocketed off. In their eyes though was fear. The two emotions seemed to fight fierce battles in many who saw him. Trying to drive them to run or to stand and curse this ruffian who had intruded on their quiet opulence. In the end though, all seemed to come to unanimous truce: ignore him. At first, he paid little mind to the stalls. They were full of odds and ends, jewelry, fancy suits and all attachments of finery were on display. Various kinds and styles of cloth purchasable only by the very wealthy were laid out. As he slowly walked and raised no more commotion the crowd focused on their compromise. While not exactly forgetting his presence they seemed content to just let the crazy pony be. The mares drew down veils and hid their small colts and fillies. Many of which he noted were marked. Even the obviously peasant children moving boxes behind stalls all possessed one. Such marks were not exactly uncommon down south but not nearly as universally seen. But he pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on the goal. His vision hazy and his head throbbing he slid against a building’s corner. A few moments later the swimming settled. His focus came to a small shop near the temple entrance. It sported climbing supplies of the more practical sort than what he had so far seen. However, while most stalls had been well built, this one seemed to be thrown together, he might have not even noticed it if the stallion had not called out. “Going up the Horn of the World?” grunted the bored looking stallion behind the counter. “Yes,” Mordane replied quietly. His eyes trailing around the shop. “Is that…common?” “No. Most don’t make it past the outer ring of trees. Few these days even try,” he grumbled. “It used to be the fad to try and climb as high as you could. The mountain was thought to give more powerful marks.” He sighed and reached back behind him. “You're gonna need a pack. Warm clothes, some food. I can fit you out for what you don’t have,” the stallion continued, his eyes glancing over Mordane. “You can’t fly up you know.” “So I found,” Mordane replied with a sneer. “Either way, I must go. My armor won’t protect much from the chill.” “Yeah. I’d leave that if I were you,” the stallion said, starting to pile up supplies on his table from the boxes. Mordane selected a cloak and some supplies. It was only after he had paid him the stallion spoke again as he stepped away. “It's gonna be tough for you. Being a pegacorn and all. The mountain had trouble giving marks to those stuck in between two worlds.” “I am not a pegacorn,” Mordane replied, turning and leaving the store. The stallion snorted, rolled his eyes, and looked forward again. Watching for the few ponies that might be interested in his wares. The temple stretched up the side of the mountain a hundred feet. Carved directly from the stone surface. “The sisters.” He drew his eyes to the symbols on the side. “Or perhaps Harmony itself.” The front doors were open, a mare exiting the temple with her colt. Mordane stomped past them. The mare jumped back with a yelp. Gripping the little one to her chest. Mordane crossed the entryway ignoring her. He walked down the long hallway covered in reliefs and tapestry. The barely scarred gash made his face feel stiff. It would drag on his eyelid making it close a moment after his other. He felt like going back and giving Riverside a piece of his mind, making her heal him properly. That strange thought almost felt as if it was clanging around his cerebellum. He took a moment to rest against a nearby wall. “W-What are you doing!?” hissed a white unicorn storming out of a side hallway with his horn already glowing. Mordane reacted instantly, smacking the pony’s horn, sending him tumbling to the floor gasping in pain. Mordane did not give him time to recover. Reaching down he grabbed the stallion and hefted him against the wall. “What?” Mordane grunted through bloodshot eyes. “The tapestry!” moaned the stallion. “It’s from the Moon Mother herself!” Mordane glanced along the hallway. The tapestry was huge, covering a large section of the wall. In its center was Luna's mark and from there it wove throughout the tapestry into a depiction of the starry sky. And just to the left of that was a print of his hoof. Caked dirt clinging like glue to the ancient tapestry. Then down the hall, he saw the same prints following it. After a few moments his brow hardened and he glared into the stallion's eyes. “P-Please…this is a peaceful place,” the stallion whimpered, wilting in Mordane’s grasp. “We have no gold. But if you want to take anythin-” “Keep your coin. I’m here for the Mountain. Tell me how to get to the Mountain,” Mordane practically spat. The stallion's ears perked up, his eyes going owlish. “You’re here for the Mountain?” “Yes! Show me through!” Mordane shouted. “I cannot wait any longer!” The stallion gaped like a fish for a few seconds before shaking his head, coughing, and then answering. “Only the Pathfinder can show you that! I’m just-” “Take me to him then,” Mordane cut him off, shoving the stallion. He practically drove him with whips down the hallway. Hate boiling off him in waves as he passed statues and pictures again and again of Luna and Celestia. All beautiful. All dignified. And the smile. The demur sister. The warm sun. The burning tyrant. The brave night. It made him sick. He pushed through the haze, ignoring the pain. Gasping temple keepers gawked as Mordane stomped down the hallway. He ignored the few well-to-do ponies as they were pulled into side rooms by their attendants. The room felt like a shrine. Its floor bare, around was a small fire pit set in the center. Its walls were lined with more murals and across from the entrance were two large statues flanking an ornate metal door. In the center there were four ponies: a monk, a colt and his parents. The little one was grinning, his wings fully bristled. A bright mark still slightly shining on his flank: a sword wreathed in flame. His parents' eyes only shone brighter. The colt's elation turned to shock as the father yanked him behind while the mare jerkingly pulled into a defensive stance leveling her horn. “Pathfinder!” Mordane gave the unicorn an enforced kick that sent him sprawling to the floor. The Pathfinder turned to Mordane. Mouth falling open in shock. Mordane could feel the Mountain now. Like a great pumping waterfall. It rushed through him. He'd do anything to get through. He glared at the ponies in the room as he stepped in. “Where is the path to the Mountain?” he whispered. The Pathfinder stallion who was clearly about to shout paused for a moment. The unexpected question allowed for the reassertion of a lifetime of practice. “Do you seek Harmony, traveler?” the stallion intoned. The white unicorn stallion scrambled to his hooves. Sweat dripped off him and he was panting heavily. His eyes flicked between Mordane and the open door. His hooves were planted like trees. “What I seek is something you can’t understand, priest!” Mordane snapped. Punctuating his statement with a stomp. “Many come seeking, but few find the journey worth the prize. After all, we only lead you to what was already inside.” Mordane paused, his eyes moving away from the doors to lock onto the old stallion. “You give therapy to assist in recognizing those qualities, within an individual, that both bring internal fulfillment as well as integration with the communities they come from. Otherwise represented and manifested as a ‘cutie mark’.” The Pathfinder blinked. His experienced mind shifted once again to reassess this new pony. Meanwhile, the father relaxed a bit. Motioning for his family to step into a corner with him as he kept his eyes locked on Mordane. “That…is perhaps, one way of saying it.” His ears droop. Eyes glancing over Mordane. “Sir, are you alright?” “Within a certain level of alright,” Mordane replied, his eyes flicking over to the stallion and his family then back to the door before turning to the head Pathfinder again. “Does that door lead to the Mountain?” The head of the temple's mouth slowly drew into a line. His eyes hardened as mordane began to sway slightly. His fur paleing slightly as his eyes dulled a moment. “Sir. I can’t let you enter the Mountain unprepared. A clouded mind could leave you wondering for far too long.” “It's calling me,” Mordane whispered before giving himself a little shake. Eyes returning to a hard sheen. “I must climb the Mountain.” Mordane stepped past the pegusi stallion. He approached the door. Examining it. The surface was much unlike the rest of the place he had seen. A gray, hard door with a thick ring handle to open. The surface was layered with thick bolts and the stains of oil wash. The only color was the large Equestrian seal in its center. By Order of Celestia, princess regent. Ruler of the World. Guardian of the Sun. Forger of Ages. Bringer of Peace. Herald of Harmony. This door is sealed, none may pass. “Sir. This door cannot be used. It belongs solely to the Equestrian Regent….Celestia. It is sealed by a powerful spell. None can enter. Everypony else must take the servants' path…” Mordane turned and glared at the Celestia statue. His face twisting like a gnarled root. With firm steps he stepped up to the statue before spitting on its face. “I am no pony’s servant.” The room fell to silence and shock as everypony stared at the small wet spot he had made. A few fainted straight away, slipping to the floor while others seemed ready to drag him out and burn him alive in the town square. “Who are you?” The tone and sense of command it carried threw Mordane out of his mental fog. His eyes slid over to the father of the colt. He glanced the pony over, noting the well pressed clothes. Bits of jewels and medals. Then two large wings, and a sword now visible through its folds. His well groomed fur spoke of wealth, but the eyes said a lot more. He held his head high, with all the authority and acuity of blood a noble could carry. Mordane tsked. He turned, letting himself fall into a Heridon court bow. “I have many names. They call me the Bloody Necromancer, Dragonslayer, Fallen Alicorn. But I go by the name Mordane Stronghoof. Lord of Herridon.” The stallion hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture in kind, stiffly. “Blackwing. Lord of Aton.” The noble stallion spread his wings flat and bowed, tipping them down as he did so. His head tucked deliberately to the left side. Mordane tilted his head examining the pegusi. It was different from the bow he had been taught. In a flash of insight, he realized that the style he had been taught was a unicorn method. “Then how would the earth ponies…” Mordane stopped mid bow and shifted. He bowed, horn aimed low like he had been taught. But instead of placing both hooves forward, he put only one, balancing on that leg he completed the unicorn bow as his wings stretched out to meet the pegasus. His right hoof crossed to cover his chest. “The pleasure is mine, Lord of Aton. But I do not have time to dally.” “Why is this?” the stallion asked, eyes tracing over Mordane and his unique bow with a slight look of surprise. “As I said,” Mordane replied, rising and turning to the Pathfinder, “the Mountain calls me. I must go to meet my destiny.” Concern rolled off the pony who seemed unsure of what to do. “Sir- Not many ponies come here, and those that do…we can usually help them in our Temple. The Mountain can’t give you something you don’t have. It only-” “It only can show you what is inside. I’m not surprised. I know more about that rock than you ever will and it's done enough to mess with my life,” he snarled. “Sir-” “Let me make myself clear,” Mordane cut him off again before stomping up to the pony, wings fully out. “If Luna herself came down and bowed low begging me to not climb that mountain, I would do it anyway. I’m not here to find my destiny! I’m here to get answers and those answers will be given by that mountain no matter what gets in my way!” The white stallion, who had been listening, practically stood on his hoof tips, rage flooding into his face. “I’ve heard of you! Upstart! Pretender! You're that stallion that claims to be Luna's son. You-” Mordane turned and slapped the stallion to the floor again, eyes boring into him. “There is no way I would be the son of a mare so weak. So pathetic as to fall from a lack of love! Don’t you dare insult me with that again.” The room fell silent as the words seemed to echo in the room. Ponies in the hallway faces contorting into horror. “So…what are you claiming then?” whispered the Pathfinder, mouth turning into a sneer. “Are you Celestia’s son instead? Were you sent here to claim her sister's domain?” Mordane neighed and spat on the ground. His rage boiling to a froth. “Why would I spit on my own mother's face? I’m not that bitch's either. I would no more follow that domineering bent than skin off my hooves,” he spat. Eyes burning with rage. “If she was here I’d burn this building to the ground before submitting!” “How can you say these things, do these things!” the Pathfinder shouted. “How could you hate them so? What-” “I’ve met them!” Mordane spat. “I know them. I’ve bowed before them and I have defied them. I have no master. I’m not their spawn. I came as they did! No less! There is only myself.” “Knew them?” the Pathfinder croaked. His eyes widened and his breath quickened into shallow sips. “Grew up under them. North of the wall. Trained by their precious students.” He trotted up close, boring his eyes into the Pathfinder. “I looked into Celestia's and Luna's eyes just as I am doing to you now.” His ears folded back, searching as if he could pierce Mordanes soul. Trying to see something behind the eyes of the crazed stallion in front of him. “Here,” Mordane said with a wicked grin as he grabbed the pony's head. “Let me show you.” Mordane reached for his power and thrust into the pony's mind. And the Pathfinder saw. Luna, Celestia. The sun gleaming through her horn. A smaller alicorn, Twilight, standing beside him. A feeling of regret. Fear. The power of Celestia standing over him as he kneeled. Pressing him into the soil. Luna’s threat and the knowledge she would carry it out. Mordane’s desperation as he climbed against the wind. Wings burning. Horn coursing with power, pushing to turn the storm itself. Celstia’s look of determination as she rushed to meet him. Then he showed himself. His horn coursing with power. The wind folding in his wings and the soil answering his call. And under that a deep burning. A need that couldn’t be spoken. A- The stallion jerked back. Stumbling. Eyes wide, gasping. He gripped his head as he sat hard. Blood poured from his nose just before he clamped a hoof over it. “Ponies! The headmaster is under attack! The headmaster-!” shouted one of the ponies. The crowd's faces twisting into rage at the sight of his blood as they began to surge into the room. “Stop!” roared the headmaster. “Stop at once! Don’t touch him!” The ponies faltered. Many trying to shove through the main entrance door stopped midway. The few ponies who came in slowed to a confused trot. Coming to a halt a few steps into the room. Mordane stood, breathing harshly. His cut was burning as fresh blood seeped from the wound. He swayed on his hooves for a few moments before coming to look the headmaster back in the eyes. The two stared at each other in silence. Unsaid words playing across their eyes. “Sir…Mordane. Stronghoof,” the Pathfinder said softly. His voice cracking a little. “Alicorn…I will open the way for you,” He started to trot toward the door, several ponies raising alarm at the declaration. “Quite! It’s as I say…just…look at him. Really look at him. Those hooves are too large for a half breed. Those wings are too full. And I-, I have seen it. What he says is true.” Disbelieving whispers filled the hallway as the stallion stepped up to the smooth wall before waving his hoof over a particular spot where the doors met. A slot appeared into which he quickly inserted his horn. White lines of light traced the door edge and after a moment it started to slide to the side. “The way is cold, and dark. Most do not make it even halfway before finding themselves.” “I’m going to the top,” Mordane replied, stepping forward. “This stone has much to answer for.” But then he stopped. His eyes turning to the statue of Celestia, his ears folding back, with a snarl he turned and bucked. No pony moved as the stone head tumbled across the room. Mordane turned and bucked again. Sending the second sister flying. He did not even look back as he stepped through the slowly opening crack, into pitch blackness. Blackwing, Lord of Aton, watched as the pony named Mordane trotted through the open gate. His eyes slightly wider than normal and breathing just a touch deeper. His wife stepped up slowly, running her hoof along his fetlock. With a slight shake of his head the stallion pulled their colt closer as the guardians ran around in chaos. “What do you think of him, my husband?” the mare whispered to him. The stallion stood silent. Brow furrowed. “He is only an unlanded lord with delusions of grandeur,” he said shakily. “But if he is ever more…we will have to act.” Seeing that they were unattended, they quietly slipped out. With few noticing their passing. They were too busy sharing harsh whispers with their master. “Pathfinder. How could you do this? Ever since Celestia herself the magical key has been passed down for generations. You have broken our sacred trust. The door is open.” The old stallion continued to stare after Mordane until the last shades of color faded into the darkness before turning. “I was blind. Now though it seems so obvious. Of course he was able to manipulate Luna’s spell at the Lunar Fortress,” he said, shaking his head. “After all, he is like them. “Master. What are you saying…” Turning from the door he seemed to consider for a moment before speaking. “Reach out to the stonesmiths and open the treasury. We will have four new statues to replace the ones broken.” “Four?” asked another, still confused. “I will need to chronicle this. You, Swift Script, fetch a pen and parchment. I will need to record my revelation.” The pony addressed quickly bowed and scampered off. “Master, why four?” insisted the stallion again. “Why four? What else? Mordane has seen fit to give me a vision. He has revealed the truth to my blind eyes. Yes, two for the sisters. Another for this, Twilight….and one for Mordane. It seems we were wrong. There are four alicorns.” As Mordane walked his hoof steps echoed and rolled off the walls turning into a cacophony that seemed to reverberate even into his mind. The aching ebbed and flowed away. Like a great weight being lifted off his shoulders. He stepped out of the tunnel into the secluded valley. The sun barely peaked through the mountain crest but Mordane did not care. He trotted only a few paces to the side of the entrance and slipped down. His head bobbed and legs were heavy as darkness creeped in. Fear was the only thing that kept him from immediately slipping away to sleep. Fear and fury. He pushed through the fog feeling as a bit of adrenaline entered his system. Standing, he began to walk one shaking hoof at a time toward the Mountain. “I’m not going to sleep. I’m coming.” he raged wordlessly, glaring up the incline. Much to his surprise, the powerful pressure subsided. Leaving him swaying in the breeze. Mordane focused his will. He fought and struggled as his perception sloshed in waves until he finally settled. He shook his head before glaring with hate. Even so he noted the sudden change didn’t just affect his desire to sleep. The fog of his mind faded away. He gripped onto clarity like a drowning man with a raft. For a moment he stilled again. He prepared to cast away the confusion. To force it down so he could focus and move forward. Slowly, like pushing through a deep snow Mordane sat one trembling firmly on the ground as he came to a stop. He tightened his straps, checked his hoof shoes and water again. Without looking up he began to walk. One hoof forward at a time. Before him the trees were nearly woven together blocking most of the light, leaving the ground drowned in a sea of shadow. Every step felt heavier than the last. For an hour he stumbled forward. His mind slipped down into a slurry. Old wounds began to ache, and leak. His face burned like a hot iron. He walked feeling woozy and disoriented. His eyes were only partially looking around him. The years of practice let him notice holes in his own thoughts. Places that it was sliding past and ignoring catches where things don’t make sense. Holes in his perception. He stopped and focused on the root of a tree. Forcing his eyes on something that for an unknown reason he couldn’t make sense of. It took time, piecing together the image in his mind and forcing the thought was like grasping at flys on a windy day. Eventually however, he was able to understand what he was seeing. A colt, some fillies in the distance. Leaning on trees, next to bushes. Their ears twitched in blissful slumber. “How can this be? That pony seemed set against letting anyone in?” he thought, furrowing his brow. Trying to force his mind to work. He blinked. Uncertain what to do. He could see the twitch of the colt's ear and the wrinkling of his nose before suddenly he stood up, eyes still unopened. “No, I have to go. My father- my father demands-” he stumbled off, barely able to stay on his hooves. Mordane watched as the colt shuffled slowly toward the Mountain. As the colt disappeared beyond the foliage Mordane looked back down at the other two children before turning and walking. An hour passed. Soon he found himself coming upon a great chasm. He looked down. Squinting into the inky black. He vaguely tried to remember what the inside of the ridge had looked like from above but drew nothing. For all he knew the chasm was real. Across could be seen a path up the Mountain. Winding behind a large rock. Across the casim, a giant tree had fallen. And formed a makeshift bridge. He looked at his wings, extending them he tried to take to the air just to confirm it wouldn’t work as he didn’t take off. Sighing, he hopped up on the log, crushing the heckels rising on his neck as he walked across. Hoping off the end he frowned, taking a moment to glance at the strangely placed tree before shaking his head and moving on. He was close to the Mountain now. The trees were growing thicker. Despite the high noon sun the ground was thickely shaded, and barren. He walked for hours through the forest. The ground is becoming dry. The air is musky. He passed a crack in the trees. The sun, still at high noon. He looked back, suddenly unsure. Surely he had made it to the Mountain by now? Realization settled, his eyes widening as he saw a broken tree limb, much like the one he had cracked perhaps an hour before. With nothing to do he could only press forward. Hoping he would make it soon. Around that time though he heard something in the distance. A whisper. By now the forest was completely changed. The craggy trees stretched clawing at the sky. The musk had given way to a foul stench of rot and ammonia. The quiet broke more as the trunks moaned, shaking in a sudden wind. Mordane was breathing hard through his mouth, so as to not smell the stench. The whipping trees seemed to grab at him. “Why are you here?” He felt a presence slip into his mind. Barriers needed to be raised, gritting his teeth, Mordane twisted his will like wrought iron gripping his soul. He was breathing deep ragged gasps. The pain throughout his body was intense enough he feared his teeth would crack. Slowly, his soul detached, limiting the connection between his spirit, body, and mind. However, the whispering only grew more intense, gripping into his mind. He stomped forward, keeping his eyes locked in place. Shacky images played across his vision. Dark visions he dared not see. “-ou scare me, Mort,” a half formed shadow of his brother seemed to say. “What kind of pony are you?” “Don’t bother asking. I died and he wouldn’t tell me.” Mordane stomped past Stalker, past his brother. His heartbeat thundering in his ears. “What thing crawled into my womb? What has doomed the world with his hubris? His unwillingness to suffer and die for his own mistake.” His eyes watered and a small whimper escaped at the words of his pony mother. His father stepped into form beside her. “I taught you to be strong. To care for other ponies. How could you do this? Were we nothing to you?” Mordane turned and galloped. Running through the now thick brush. The limbs snagging and tugging at him. “We loved you,” a woman whispered. Her hands running along his snout. “But you never loved us back, right?” He turned, seeing the mare and women of his life. Star Charmer stood to his right, her hoof tracing his eyes. Maria, his first love, laced her fingers with his mane. “He let me die,” Star Charmer said. “He crawled away into his little man cave,” Maria whispered. “Did you ever really love me? You promised me you would change. That you would leave and we would make the world a better place…” Star Charmer’s hooves began to wrap around his neck. Maria grabbed his tail and mane. “He thinks he knew me. Like he was the most important pony to me…that was always Sunburst! You killed my dream Mordane…John. You killed my dream. To free ponies from cruel fate. To make them the equal! Free from their talents! You left it buried in a cave!” Mordane turned away, refusing to look Maria in the eye. Only to see a second mare trot up form the shadows. “And what of me, Mordane?...am I just a mistake? Is the loyal and supplicant Trixe not enough for you? Are you going to kill me too?” Mordane ran. A beam of burning lighting carving across his face, leaving a large wound. He jolted away again, this time through a briar patch. The cuts in his skin swallowed by his now thick and rapid fur. After a dozen feet he jumped into a clearing. Spinning, looking for a way out. “…my son.” Mordane froze. Slowly turning to face the three murky shadows. There he could see the outline of his old home's basement. “…Fine. I’m done. I’m just…Done.” The tall man stepped away, his suit wrinkled. “Come Martha. He's gone.” “John…” the woman weakly whispered, eyes looking back, red and watery. “If you want to rot here! Then fine!” his father shouted. The loud slamming of the door. Echoing through the room. The only thing he could think of was how large the bags under her eyes were. “Drugs, she's on drugs.” He turns back to his trains. Blocking out the visions. The growing dread. “Boy.” He freezes. The old man grabbing him by the shoulder. “I’m…sorry. I couldn’t save you.” His hand shakes. “I wasn’t there enough. The things you have done…So many lives. Please stop. I don’t want to see this, not again.” Mordane gripped his head. He screwed his eyes shut. “Stop it! STOP IT!” His voice cracked, small burning beads pooling in his eyes. And then it was gone. He laid curled on the edge of a clearing. Pressed up against a cliffside shaking as he finally let the emotions crash over him. Slowly the great storm began to settle, and soon he was able to open his eyes. To the front of him was a cabin. Made from old stone. The roof was caved in and cracks raked up the wall. Beside it stood a tree, its roots spilling into a glowing smear in the ground. Mordane trotted forward slowly. His eyes squinted at the smear. Once close, and his eyes adjusted, he saw it was a small pond. The pond glowed with ethereal light. Its water seemed to ripple and move. The only sound coming from the small stream pouring out of the cliff face. “What the hell?” he thought. He lifted his wings, letting the moist air flow through them. Feeling the magic like warm streams. Coming to stand over the edge he kicked in a rock, watching it slip beneath the water. “…I think this is actual. Literal. Raw mana…in a pool.” He shook. His lips snapping into a grin as he burst into laughter. Gripping his stomach, his eyes teared up. “This is impossible. Actually impossible. Magic doesn’t work like this! This is like…like finding a frozen pool of water in the desert.” He looked around, eyes wide. “Is the magic just that dense here? That it can take on a physical form naturally? That's insane. That-” His eyes caught something sticking out of the tree's root. Drawing him closer he leaned down. “Gem?” From the tree limb a tiny vein of crystal could be seen. Transitioning from an outer shell of burnt wood. “Mana burn? The limb is sticking out of the mana pool. Makes sense, the high energy must resolve into something. But why isn’t the whole pond going up? Why?…” He stopped, and followed the limb up the tree. Then to the forest, before finally to the Mountain cliff. Then to the sky, eyes widening as he remembered the great dreams of energy flowing toward the Mountain. Shaking, he looked down. The ripples in the pond had grown still and for a moment he thought some truth was about to reach him. And just before that moment, when he was most absorbed in his thoughts. He was suddenly shoved in. A smell that could barely be contained in the word putrid permeated the air. It saturated his skin and slipped like an unwanted tongue into his mouth. Laying its waste upon his taste buds. He would have gagged, he should have gagged, but this was something he had become used to. Something that had come to mean safety, solace, and freedom. He ground his will on the gem. Pushing as best he could to not let any of the energy escape. For a moment he considered his time under his new master. Biding his time as he pretended to be controlled. The sudden turn after he had learned enough. The blood pooling as he cut the decrepit fool's throat. A deep bloodlust welling up in his soul, mixed with glee and a deep manic will. Mordane flicked his eyes to the soul jar, he reached out with this feeling. He pulled from the screaming mass of whirling energy. A hundred souls churned like butter, frothing in their agony. Bring it close before breathing it into himself. The mass felt as a dull roar under the will to dominate. The will to control and master. Holding it in his vacant heart to savor the feeling as the mass submitted. Bound forever to himself. Before turning to blow it upon the gem's remains. Soon the crystal powder began to glow, it's the small stone cracking, nearly melting as he blasted it with his soul's breath. Infused with raw energy of the souls. Then went in the bone shards, the popping grew louder followed by the snapping of twigs as the bone cracked again and again, reducing them into powder. “Good, it’s working perfectly,” he said in a gravelly voice. Behind him a mare broke out into sobs that were muffled by a dirty rag and tinted by the dinging of chains binding her to the stone. The iron bands dug into her flesh leaving red welts. On her flank were three butterflies. Her pink hair stood out against the dark gloom. Mordane turned, reached above her and grabbed a jar of his blood, already prepared. A small burst of concentrated fear magic pulled from the mare herself was poured into it. A fear he controlled and forged into ethereal chains which dug into her flesh and soul. Taking the blood he slowly poured it into the gem and bone mixture, stirring it with a small wooden ladle until it formed a black bile. He pulled down his hood. His horn stood tall and black with a green glowing tip. Tugging the mouth binding off of Fluttershy he levitated the bowl before her. “Drink.” “M-Mordane,” she whispered through cracked lips. Her eyes locked with his. “Please don’t.” “Drink,” he said more forcefully. She trembled. Seeming to try and retreat into herself before realizing again she couldn’t. His will suffused her mind. Forcing her to stay present and awake. “Please Mordane. You were such a sweet colt,” she said, lip trembling. “Tell that to your Sun. To the Solar Princess,” he spat. “Did she not cast me out? Did she not send her oh so precious student to find me? Not at first of course. Only after the dozens of lowly guards fell to become my servants,” he sneered. “Pointless. How little she valued their lives.” “Mordane,” she said, animating a bit more, “it’s the necromancer! He has corrupted you!” Mordane laughed, a deep bellowing laugh. “Corrupted me? Girl, when he came into my mind do you even have an inkling of what I did to him?” She sat silent, only slightly shaking her head. “I ATE him. I tore apart his soul and drained his mind. MY first taste of true power. In this world my powers were unlike on Earth. They have FORCE.” He reached out mentally, trying to connect to the mare. “My mind can practically LEAP out of…out of…” Mordane stopped. He swayed in place. A sudden dizziness flooded over him. “What am I doing?” He looked down at the black bubbling bile. He knew what it would do. Somehow he knew how it would go into this mare. How it would hollow out her soul, making her body and mind something he could pour his will into. An Element, bent as a conduit for his power. Twisted and broken as an extension of his will. A corrupted kindness. “Mordane?” she whimpered, hope sparking again. “I know there is good in you.” Mordane looked into the mare's eyes. He could feel her subconscious push. His mind was spinning. Reeling. Trying to find some center. “I was in the forest. In…the southern lands.” His head felt like cracking rocks. He looked down again at the bile. He needed it for some reason. “Mordane…they, they will be here soon,” she whimpered. “Please, I don’t want you to get hurt. Let us help you.” “Yes…that, that's right. I…need to do this. To fight them off.” Twilight and the rest were coming. Even now he could feel them. Following behind a group of knights lead by Rainbow Dash. “Mordane…It's okay to give in,” Fluttershy said through tears. “We are your friends. We love you.” Mordane stared into her eyes, despite all that his memory was telling him. All that his rage boiled for her suffering. This just was not him. Slowly, he tilted the concoction and let it spill from the cup and onto the floor. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly regained their warmth. She reached out to him. Her hooves catching on the chains. Mordane, though, slipped into them. Shaking with a sob. He felt a numb aching. “There there, it's okay.” Mordane slowly smiled. Tears running down this face. “I-I thought I’d do it. I thought I’d choose myself.” His eyes screwed shut. “I’m not a monster am I?” “No, no, you are not. You’re just confused. We need you Mordane. We can help you,” she said, before turning to new sounds coming from the corridor. Mordane stilled at Fluttershy's words. His eyes widened as he realized something. “Mordane, let me up, hurry, I need to tell them-hmm” Mordane stuffed Fluttershy’s mouth with the rag, tying it shut. His eyes, dull. Her confused cries echoed as he turned to face the intruders. No elemental channel in hoof. His magic was drained. The spellwork had taken all his energy. “No…I won’t. This is not me. This is not something I would do. This disgusting perversion of the soul. I won’t be a monster…I’m not.” He looked down the hallway again. “But I won’t be a servant either. I’m my own master.” He could hear the shouting of guards now in the room beyond, the two skeletons in the room with him started to animate, moving to the entrance as they prepared to meet the charging foes. “No way out,” he thought. Certain of what he must do. “But they will not take me alive.” One of the guards came charging in swinging, but his blade was caught by the first skeletons while the next shoved its spear into his chest. Gurgling, the guard let go of his blade, which was caught and tossed to Mordane’s waiting hooves. Soon though, several more rushed in. Quickly dispatching his animations they formed a half circle. “It’s over, necromancer. You're out of power. We command all the energy here,” spoke the purple clad captain coming in afterward. “Lower your weapon, brother.” Mordane barely recognized him. He was an older full grown stallion now. His purple armor glinted with an unnatural light. Scanning the room, his eyes looking over at Fluttershy’s. Who slowly shook her head. “What can I do…I’m just…just.” His eyes locked on the sword. A weapon he had never carried. “No. I know how to use it…I’ve trained with it.” Struggling to hold onto the truth, Mordane slowly lifted up the sword, leveling it at the three guards in front of him. “Give it up! Please!” shouted his brother. “I can’t call them off until you do.” Mordane breathed in, his eyes hardening as he slid into the first form. “Dear brother, you should have guessed that I had so much more in me. Feel my mark upon you!” And he charged, his blade flashing, first with a tremble then stronger as he blocked blades. His memory of fighting with it overpowering the illusion as he parried, dove, and struck with the three. Reaching, he pulled at his earth pony magic and pushed with the unicorn. A blast of wind throwing three off as he skewered one. “W-what?” his brother said, stumbling to his hooves. “How are you? How can you-” Mordane blinked, breathing heavily as he jolted awake. He sat up, adjusting his glasses. A mana spark flashing through the runes upon it. “Are you alright, Mordane? Sleep well?” Mordane could only focus on the loose strand hanging out of her pulled back mane. She certainly looked cute that way. “Looks like another one is trying to escape,” he chuckled, his horn glowing as he tucked a purple strand back in. “Ugh, they always do that,” she said with a disgusted look. “Truly unbecoming of a princess, Twilight.” She laughed. Lightly, smiling behind a raised hoof. “Stop it. I’m not a princess here and you are not a prince. This is the royal library after all.” Mordane raised a single eyebrow. “Please explain how that makes the least amount of sense.” Twilight shook her head. Floating over a book from a nearby stack. “We are not in the public eye. That's the point of a royal library. Here there are only us equals.” She grinned. “And all this forbidden knowledge, woo~.” Mordane smiled, leaning back in his chair and he adjusted his robe. Beneath one could see a mark. A quill, wrapped out and around a book held in a human hand. “Now that. That is why there is a picture of a dear Celestia on the cover of another newspaper. Pecan this time?” he asked, pushing back to balance on one chair leg with a hoof. “Perhaps strawberries. Hmm, makes me wonder. Wasn’t there a surplus in that market this year? I’m sure the canterlot elite will gobble that up now.” “Mordane,” she said furrowing her brow and using a waring tone. “I know. I know. She is doing her best,” he replied with a waving hoof. “Still, she could try to be a little more subtle.” “She is being subtle…If what you're seeing is true at all with your ape brain.” She teleported across from him to look into his eyes. “Look, I know that your human history was…strict on rulers, but Celestia has been in power for over a thousand years. It's not right to overlook that just because of a bit of cake,” she pleaded. “You promised you’d let up.” Mordane snorted, rolling his eyes and getting up to look away, but the mare pursued him. “You have been making a lot of progress. Pinkie has forgiven you and I hear Sweetie Belle and you have been getting to know each other very well.” Mordane made gagging noises causing Twilight to giggle. “Even Celestia has forgiven you for lying and having to talk you down from that ill timed teleportation spell. The technology you have brought to Equestria will save countless lives. With it we can bridge the great divide. Bring peace. Luna is still singing your praises for how you handled the Diamond Dog War.” Mordane said nothing, staring at the book on Necromancy. “So you can let up.” She snorted, “Horseland can take care of itself without the big bad monkey man's help.” The two broke out into a full guffaw. Floating over two glasses she poured from a bottle of wine. “Yes, I suppose you're right,” he replied. “These books are amazing and…well she has been kind to me. Giving enough space to live.” Then a shadow seemed to fall over him. “It's just that- that…” Mordane stopped. His hoof hovering as he reached for another book. “What is it?” Twilight asked, stopping what she was working on. “No…no, I can’t allow this. I can’t accept this. I could have never accepted this!” He turned suddenly, eyes darting around the room. Twilight's eyes widened slightly, before she suddenly trotted up to him. “Are you okay? Are you panicking again! Please calm down. I’m here for you.” Mordane swayed as Twilight embraced him. Her hooves wrapped around his barrel tight enough he could feel her heartbeat blaring away. For a moment he wanted to fold into those hooves. Forget his concern. Go back to the table. To the books. His thoughts snapped. His heart beat firmly. “No. I’m…Alright. I’m fine!” He smiled. “Just a little shock. A little flashback from my time as a human.” The lies rolled off his tongue easily. The symbol on his flank flashing imperceptibly as he did so. He felt a strong unnatural desire to stay, to tell Twilight what he was feeling…to just let go and follow his destiny. He shakingly pushed her away. “I’ll be heading out.” “Okay…” she replied, loosening her hug. “You sure?” “Y-Yeah.” He smiled, slowly turning and purposefully walking away. He could feel the need to head back. To keep up his studies. It was who he was. “Be safe!” Twilight shouted. “I will!” Mordane opened the door. White fur, wings outstretched. Her eyes bored down on him. Looking right through. He knew what she was here for. She must have known. Harmony must have warned her what he was about to do. Mordane didn’t even hesitate. His horn charged. “Now where am I?” Mordane visually swept where he was as he took a mental check. He knew who he was. The forest. The illusions. “Mordane?” a scared voice called out. Desperation evident in it. Mordane started. Recognizing it. “No…it can’t be real. Ignore it.” He focused, trying to pull together his sense of self, blasted as it was by the spell he was under. “Please! I’m slipping! Mordane!” He calmly scanned the featureless landscape. Ignoring the voice. “You’ve been dead for years,” Mordane replied coldly. “W-What!? Mordane! I’m not- I don’t know how but I’m-” he heard the sound of rocks tumbling down a cliff face. “I’m here! I’m alive!” Seeing nothing he trotted toward the voice in the mists. Looking for some way out and mentally pulling himself together. Soon the featureless landscape gave way to uneven stone. The scattering of moss quickly gave way to a stream, then a cliff. “Mordane!” Slowly he walked to the edge. The hair on his neck stiffening to bristles. “…Star Charmer.” The mare was hanging on by a hoof. Her lower legs scraping uselessly against the cliff edge. “Mordane! Help me!” His eyes trailed her. The purple fur. The clashing cyan blue in purple. The slight off shade in between the two stripes. Her deep dark purple blue eyes. Slowly the nagging memory jumped up. The image of her not long but oh so very long ago. “…Starlight Glimmer?” he murmured. The mare froze for a moment, her eyes widening. “How…Yes, please Mordane. I would have told you if... If...” “If we had time,” Mordane’s voice cracked. Suddenly the stone she was holding onto started to slip. Before he knew what he was doing he had dived to catch her. Wrapping his front hooves around hers and scooping into the dirt with his wings. Pulling war magic through them. There was essentially no power in this realm. He barely had the magical strength to bulge the earth before taping out. Grunting, he tried to pull her back. “Hold on!” She struggled, her horn sparking uselessly for a few moments. Before suddenly stopping. “What are you doing! Come up!” “I…Mordane, you’re slipping. Don’t fall with me!” “Keep fighting!” he shouted. His eyes wide. “Mordane…you have to let me go.” “I can’t do that! I don’t care if you're an illusion. I can’t,” he sobbed, his eyes now bloodshot and teary. “Not like this.” “Please,” she whimpered as Mordane was slowly pulled forward, his right wing nearing the edge. “Is this a cruel joke? Your face, your hair. Your eyes. Am I supposed to just let you fall!?” “You have to let me go,” she whispered again. Looking him in the eyes. “Please.” Mordane sobbed. Her as well. She tried to pull away, but Mordane only held on tighter. “Please…before we fall. Please just call me by my real name.” “I loved you, Starlight Glimmer, and I always will.” His wing slipped. Mordane scribbled on his paper. Ruffling his wings. He hoofed it over to the attendant, not looking up to see as he trotted out. Mordane blinked, shrugging off the mental suggestion again, but grabbed onto the information implanted for this illusion. He covered his face with his hoof. Trembling he shook with a sob before drawing a shaking breath. “Starlight, I’m sorry. It seems I’m an idiot after all.” He shook his head pushing away the irrational feelings. He tried to push them down. Ignore them. But like before he was unable. Instead, he was forced to draw his attention completely to the moment. “I am the servant of…Ice Wing. That pony? He frowned remembering something that just didn’t fit. “In The Lunar fortress I surrendered after Stalker died…” The thought replied to him but he pressed on. “In chains I was taken in by the Rina government. Where I was tried…but ultimately declared his lor- Ice Wing’s servant. From there I recovered…made friends…enemies. Gained enemies…and now…” He looked down at his note. The number forty two in the ledger book followed by a slash. “…shit. His brother.” The throbbing headache he remembered being normal suddenly came back in force. He had already given the order. It was a hail mary. A last ditch effort to not have himself dragged off to some magicians lab. Ice Wing’s brother had ambitions. He heard a sitting behind him, and from the tone he knew immediately who had violated his private quarters. “It’s hard to keep that balance.” Mordane grit his teeth, turning to look at Sugar. “You have done well. To hide your power, to pay the right ponies, to kill the right ponies…To pay me, in fact.” Mordane nodded. “Of course, Sugar, it has been good to work with you.” She smiled. Mordane returned it while floating over a coffee cup. In that moment she dashed at him, knife drawn. Mordane’s spell of teleportation flashed to life, ripping the mare back to where she had been standing. He pulled on the latent magic and pulled the water from a plant nearby into daggers. Only to stumble as he tried to dodge the now bleeding mare who had kicked off the wall to scream right back at him. Her knife bit in and it hurt, cutting just below the eye. But this time, the blade stuck deeper, gouging a chunk out of his face. However, he roared and as his horn came into alignment he cast a spell of rot point blank on her heart. Sugar stumbled. Shock played across her face, before settling on a smile. On Mordane’s desk, an alarm went off. The detection of necromancy sending a signal to its owner. The one that had expressly forbidden him from using it. “Looks like you are gonna die here…looks like I win,” she wheezed. “…I still don’t get it,” Mordane replied. “Why do you hate me Sugar…I’m not the one that killed Stalker.” Her eyes widened again. Before setting down as the light began to fade from them. “Of course you...did. He followed you. Just like your army. Just like Star Charmer…just. Like…me.” She shuddered and fell silent, sliding to the floor. Mordane opened his mouth. Tried to give an answer, a witty retort. Something to cover up a growing sense of realization. “…Yes. It was me. It's all been me.” Then, his collar blew. “John.” Mordane ignored the women. His thoughts dwelling on the last few illusions. He didn’t care what this lesson would be. He didn’t want to think as he tried to settle on something. To understand the deep shift he couldn’t put into words. “John!” Mordane looked up, slowly. At first he didn’t recognize what he was seeing, but then his cerebrum nearly jumped out of his skull. A human woman. Fiery red hair, highlights of yellow. The lady wore a dress suit that screamed professionalism. The kind of malignant bureaucratic skill. The woman leaned forward, her eyes widening slightly. “John. Can you hear me?” “…yes,” his voice cracked, feebly coming from his lips. He reached up covering his mouth, surprised at the sound. Then feeling his fingers. Slowly. His eyes hardened. “This is not real,” he practically growled. “Please, John…I’m not here to argue with you what is real and what is not,” she said in an even tone. “Of course not. To argue such a thing would be the height of semantics.” He rolled his eyes, looking around the stale room. The walls were covered on all sides in marker boards. The surfaces of which were absolutely covered with drawings. Unicorns stood on mountain tops, pegusi among the clouds, and earth ponies below. A large map of Equestria, both North and South, filled one corner while on the other had a series of symbols he recognized as spatial and reconstitution runes. Looking back he practically skewered the woman with his eyes. “So. I suppose you're going to tell me none of it was real. That Equestria, Star Charmer, Stalker, Trixie, even Mordane. are all just figments of my mind.” “No. No, I would never say that,” the woman quickly replied, leaning forward to lay a hand on his knee. “In a sense, they are very real.” “Don’t patronize me. Either you believe them to be real or not.” She sat silent. Seemingly unsure of how to continue. Mordane sighed, rubbing the back of his hand against his eye. “In that case…what would you say that they are then. Independent of my perception of them.” “I believe…that they are constructs of different parts of your past and psyche.” Mordane sat quietly for a moment. Chewing on what the woman was saying before spitting it back into her face. “This is a magnificent illusion. Truly like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard of before. Unfortunately you won’t be able to maintain it for long. I’m already consolidating my mind. Soon I’ll have the mental strength to break through and seize total control of my perception.” The woman shifted back, seeming to take careful consideration of her response. “Tell me about your Grandfather.” Mordane stilled. “My Grandfather?” “Yes…how he died.” She pulled up her clipboard. “Your fiance as well.” “She wasn’t my fiance.” “Oh I disagree,” she replied curtly. “You seem to care about her a lot. So much so you’ve duplicated her thrice in your story-” “Don’t,” Mordane growled. The woman straightened her back, raising her chin. “This world you’ve created…by my perception. Seems very well tailored for you. The battle, the excuses. In it you are perhaps one of the most important of these ponies that exist. Whole nations move to deal with your passing. Great battles are turned on your decisions.” She gave a bitter smile, “And not only that, this greatness comes naturally. You simply know what others don’t. You can see what others can’t. Your right to rule is not only the best option, it’s divine! A born right to rule.” Mordane glared at her. His face flushing as he suddenly felt vulnerable. Like someone had come and pulled away all his clothing suddenly, then stretched him out to bake in the sun. “What I’m saying, John, is that this is an unhealthy selfish fantasy. You are given this power. The world breaks and bends over to help you, and you don’t have to take responsibility for it. For your actions. For these ponies that you have killed. When the consequences finally catch up to you what do you do? You run.” She touches his shoulder, looking sadly into his eyes. “You blame Celestia, you blame Twilight, you blame the Stalker family, and now you blame the world. But you can’t run from your problems, Mordane. Because you are the one causing them.” Mordane sat trembling. His control shattered again. He shook as he tried to respond. His mind blanked as it was filled with a deep unsettling horror. “You caused the death of your fiance and your Grandfather. You have to accept that.” Mordane shook. “I-I,” he croaked. “Fine. Let's say that this is no fantasy. Let's say that Horseland-” “Equestria,” he whimpered “If Equestria is real…” She lowered her voice, “What do you think would have happened when your parents found your rotting body?” His body shook as he covered his ears. Eyes screwed shut. “Who else would come to check up on you once a week? You know she begged you not to leave. And warned you what would happen to her if you took your own life.” Mordane couldn’t breathe. His own hand gripped his throat. The nails biting into his skin. “You never had a good relationship with your parents. Save in this story. But those aren't the people that created you.” She shook her head. “You ran from your dead lover, then your dead Grandfather, then your parents.” She gestured to the wall. “Even then. Never taking responsibility. You run and run until you can run no more. Now you’ve stumbled into here.” She gestured to the cell. “Everyone wants to be special Mordane…Everyone wants to live a worthy life. To be the master of their own destiny. But there is a price to everything. Living hurts others and dying as well. You cannot escape the tyranny of choice.” She grabbed him by the shoulders. The shaking man looked through his parted fingers. “Doing nothing is a choice. You cannot run from yourself or its consequences. You must embrace it. Destiny is not a chain around the neck. It is many moments made manifest through time. It is a thousand uncertain interactions made certain by who you are now, by who you choose to be.” She pulled down his hands, exposing his face. “It's time to stop this fantasy. It's time to take responsibility. It's time to make your true destiny.” She smiled. “It's time to accept that no one is better without you.” Trembling, Mordane slowly loosened the grip on his throat and in the faintest whimper he asked. “But…how?” The woman rubbed his ear, folding it between her fingers. He reached up with his now hoof to touch her hand. She smiled and booped him on his snout. A powerful shock rushing through his body and settling at the base of his horn. Letting him go, his hooves clop to the chair as she stands and walks to the door. He watches with moist eyes. Her hand grips the door handle before she looks back. “Climb my crumbling sides. Scale against wind and cold. Reach for where earth meets sky. There we will unify Earth and Hoof. There we will find out together.” She stood up and walked to the door before turning. “Find me on the top of my horn.”