//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: The Talk 
// Story: How A Realist Saved The Show 
// by Mare Of Mystery 
//------------------------------//

"What the fuck just happened a few days ago?! I just sleep with a princess and a filly on the same bed at the same time?! I hope Equestria doesn't enforce the death penalty. Cozy Glow was staying over at our place after her father didn't come and get her last night, so it was her that Radial Shine is foal sitting! Why didn't she tell me?! So, after that whole scene in bed, Checkmate came knocking at the door and left with Cozy with no knowledge of the event whatsoever."

"In the following days, Cozy Glow started to act way nicer than me than usual, and so was Twilight. It didn't feel off since we were dating, but she seemed to be more attached to me after. Onto some important manners, Radial mentioned that she may have a plan that's all about Lord Tirek. I don't know much but I'll be able to sit down with her once I'm done with some magic lessons with Twilight. The ability to levitate objects depends on the distance that object is and its weight. Levitating oneself was different, it requires the most potent amount of magic and mental strength to even achieve such a feat."

Over at the Friendship Castle library, Mobius had himself elevating himself with his aura as he reached over 10 feet off the ground with his mind concentrated. He even had a chance to go over Starlight's notes on this type of advanced magic. As he slowly descended to the ground, the slow claps of Starlight and Twilight's hooves were to congratulate him on his amazing performance as they jot down notes from their side. The sweat on his face was absorbed by a white towel vigorously dragging across his entire face.

"Wooo! That one was a doozy..." he took another heavy breath before slowly walking over to the mares, "So, how did I do?"

"You did flawlessly as ever!" Twilight took him by surprise with a little peck on the cheek as a small reward, "At this rate, you'll be surpassing Starlight's level of skill!"

"Hehe, I'm a bit jealous of you, kid!" Starlight playfully laughed, "That trick there took me a few years to achieve, and you just did it in a few days. Maybe you could cast restricted magic that Starswirl the Bearded wrote himself."

"Well..." a small grin formed around Mobius' lips, "I don't see myself using time magic at any point in my life."

They exchanged a small laugh for a few seconds before Twilight moved on to another topic on their mind. "So Mobius, I'll be joining my friends to stop Pinkie Pie from playing that horrid instrument she got from Yakyakistan. Maybe after we're done with that, would you care to join me for a day in town together?"

"This episode? That was kind of a snoozer for me, and I'm already wiped out for the rest of the day after that magic lesson. I just need a day to relax for myself."

His smile slowly turned into a frown when Mobius answered, "I'm sorry Twi, but I'll be busy later researching a few things. "  

But, Starlight raised one brow as she turned her stare directly at the colt, "Oh? You wouldn't happen to be seeing 'another pony' behind her back, aren't you?"

Mobius was caught off guard by the question, he didn't know how to handle it at first. Believing she's still hung up by the be "N—No, it's nothing like that! I just have something to do with my sister, that's all." 

"Enough Starlight, it's completely fine if he doesn't join us." Twilight rests assured Starlight's suspicion, "Mobius would never cheat on me behind my back, won't you?"

"Yes, I would never in my whole life!" Mobius gave her a reassuring smile, "Let's just forget what happened that night with you and that other pony with me in bed."

Starlight's mouth almost dropped to its limits with her eyes bulging out of complete horror, "Y-Y-You did WHAT!?"

"GOD! WHY THE FUCK AM I SAYING THAT!?"

Twilight tried to derive away from Starlight's mindset as she moved Mobius to the side with her magic lifting him off, "N-N-Nevermind what he said, Starlight! I want to know your progress in Jo Amon, so what do you got for us!?"  

"Oh...alright...I do have something about him," she turned her head away to look into her notes, giving Mobius a little fright on his face.

"Oh really?" Twilight acted pretty much invested as to get Starlight away from Mobius' outburst, "What have you figured out?"

Starlight pulled out one piece of paper as she began to explain. "Well, recently I've been doing some tests around, and I may have a lead on their whereabouts of him."

"Oh shit..."

"R-Really? What exactly did you test out?" Mobius acted clueless as ever, keeping the tension in his head.

"A simple spell to track changes in the ether field, specifically warp gates, and I've spotted a few traces of said warp gates around the forest area. This creature may have access to some powerful magic." she added, "I may be able to track him down if he tries to open another warp gate, but I don't know when he'll open another one."

He asked her once more, keeping a straight poker face, "W-What do you plan to do to him once you spotted him?"

"I was thinking to capture him and take him into questioning; There's still so much we don't know about. We don't even know his full agenda," answered Starlight, before packing up her papers in a bag she carried on her back, "One doesn't just stumble upon Chrysalis in the forest and proceed to reform her, I believe something bigger is in play here."

"I...see..."

"Don't think of it too much, Mobius." Assured Twilight, giving Mobius a comforting shoulder rub with her right foreleg, "As long as he doesn't unleash some creature like Tirek or King Sombra out in the wild, we should just leave him be. I'll get back to Sunset Shimmer after I stop Pinkie from the blasted instrument!"

Twilight and Starlight scurried out of the library and left Mobius alone to sink in all of the breaking developments going down. He was panting hard, seemingly containing his stressfulness in check and taking a bit longer to exit the library and out of the castle. 





"Shit, this second half of the season is kicking into a hard mode for me! First, Twilight and Cozy met unexpectedly in my bed, then Starlight is catching up on me. I may have to refrain from using the fast travel, for now, this is killing me already and we haven't even reached the ninth season yet! I just, need to collect myself and take a nice peaceful walk along the park. The trail along the park wasn't too crowded at all, just a couple of ponies either on the turf enjoying a picnic or some walking alongside the trail."

Whenever things get pretty stressful, the best course of action would be to take a long walk outside and recollect one's self. As for Mobius, he did just that, taking a fine stroll with his satchel on his back as he passed by a few ponies to the sides. He had to get away from everything just to take it all in. He spotted an empty bench in a secluded area where no pony was around, that was the perfect spot for him to sit back and relax outside. Plopping himself onto the right edge of the bench, Mobius took a deep breath inhaling the fresh air and exhaling. 

"Finally, I've been needing a place to relax..." he sank his back onto the hardwood bench as he soaked in the fresh air of the outdoors, "It's like...I'm getting sleepy..."

He yawned before his eyes became drowsy from a sudden flash of exhaustion, followed by his head bobbing up as he tried his best to stay awake. Mobius at first thought of this as extreme fatigue over his excessive magic casting a little while ago, but he gave it some more thought before he quickly knew exactly what was going on.

"...Ah crap...what does he want from me...now?" were his last words before he quickly shut his eyes and enter a deep sleep on the bench.





Not too long after he appeared on the bench of the park, James was back in his original state with his pajamas on and sitting on his apartment couch. This wasn't all too new to him anymore, so he graciously got used to this now. But, to his surprise, a familiar face sat right beside him, a woman looking very much in shock sitting in an apartment; she wore a white blouse and skinny jeans. Not too long before James recognized the voice and face of the woman.

"Zoey, you're with me this time?" 

"What the hell!? James!?" she went into a panic frenzy as she took a closer look at her hands and legs, "I was just in the kitchen as a unicorn, then I grew tired, and now I'm here! Was our whole experience just some large acid trip?"

"No-No, we've just been summoned back to our world in our conscious states," he roughly explained, "I've experienced this when I first stopped Cozy Glow a while ago. Perhaps Discord is giving us a congratulatory gesture?"

"Well, yes and no to be precise!" The third voice echoing was Princess Celestia's, who magical appeared in the empty seat adjacent to theirs as she gave them a warm, welcoming smile. James and Zoey placed their attention on her as they stood silent as ever, "First of all, I just want to congratulate James for managing to stop Chrysalis in her evil ploy and get her to embrace the knowledge of friendship."

"Oh, well It's just what I had to do you know. No biggie!" he giggled while scratching the back of his head. "I thought Discord summoned us here, where is he anyway?"

"He's busy with another client at the moment, but I've already said too much..." her vague answer gave Zoey and James a flustered look, "Secondly, I just want to remind you that you are halfway done with your mission. In the event of things, I would like to give you both one last thing to accomplish your goal. Take a look at your phones if you may?"

The two got out their phones from the back pocket when they stared at another app installed on the home screen, it was a dark square with nothing but the red log of a pony-shaped head inside it. As James tapped on the app, he was immediately stopped by Celestia as she held his right hand with her magic freezing it in place.

"Don't touch it yet! Let me explain!" she ordered before James' hand was freed from her grasp, "This app will bring back King Sombra from his imprisonment. Not only that, but It will summon a portal near his location that will go right to your location. Just in case, I've stopped James from pushing it, but realize that there is no backing out once you've summoned him."

"Woah, you just basically gave us a one-click summon a tyrannical king button?" Zoey curiously asked as she stared deeply at the app icon, "Why this early? We haven't even gotten to Tirek?"

"About that..." Celestia scratched her chin with a foreleg, "...there's been a recent revision in your contracts that may or may not benefit you for the future of the show."

"Hmm? Revision? Did something happen?!" Zoey bit her lower lip as anxiety boiled up.

"What exactly are you going on about?" asked James, not to be too stressed about what was about to come. "Is their anyone that needs saving? We don't recall anycreature else in the story that needs reforming."

"It's not about that, it's regarding Lord Tirek." Celestia corrected him, "Discord and I talked it out, and we determined that Tirek isn't fit to learn the power of friendship. Although we may not know how you may go about it, we're giving you the chance to skip him and move onto King Sombra."

James and Zoey stared at each other in utter silence, trying to process what shocking news Celestia had to share with them. The news that they no longer had to reform Tirek sent an eerie dread down their spine.

"What do you mean? You're just going to let him rot in Tarturus then?" putting out her hands, Zoey had to confirm what she said was true. "We were just planning a way for him to change for the better."

Celestia turned her head down to show empathy, "I'm sorry Zoey, there's just no way he could ever change; he's a creature of pure destruction. Yes, King Sombra is no different, but even he would want to rule Equestria with an iron hoof. But Tirek, no, all he wants is to drain Equestrian magic and use it for himself. I've rewatched the season 4 finale, and it was brutal!"

"That may be true, but just realized that I've managed to stop Chrysalis from her little revenge plan all by myself, and all I did was showed her a few clips and made Thorax berate her in front of her people." the argument against this notion came from James, arms folded, "Even if we wanted to save Sombra, we would have to throw everything we have for Tirek and start all over. "

"Really? What do you plan on doing for his sake?"

Zoey went in and handled the explanation in the form of a question, "Answer me this princess, what's the only thing Lord Tirek has an affinity for?" 

"I'm at a lost myself..." Celestia couldn't come up with the appropriate answer as she cringed, "I have seen countless possibilities, read multiple texts, and even browsed google on stuff. I just couldn't find any possible way Tirek likes..."

"For crying out loud, it's Scorpan! His brother!" Zoey screeched out from her lungs, "We'll find his brother to get him to see his mistakes and help him teach him the power of friendship! How dense are these cartoon characters are!?"

"Oh...Scorpan? I never really thought of him, I thought that medallion Tirek gave Discord was just for show?" She blankly spoke out as Celestia rebounded from her confusion, "But, Scorpan hasn't been seen anywhere in Equestria or in other lands. If you want his help, you would need to locate him first."

"He's probably somewhere outside the Equestrian soil, but isn't there some magic spell to track his location?"

"There are plenty that requires an extensive amount of time to locate him, that is if he's even alive." she stated, "I will speak to Discord about this manner, as for you Zoey..."

"What about me?" Zoey responded with a curious look on her face.

"There's one important thing I must discuss with you, meaning  James will be returning to Equestria shortly."

James made a flustered-looking face at Celestia's warning, "What do you mean something important?"

But before he could get an answer, he saw his arms and body getting transparent as he was about to return to his unicorn body on the park bench. Leaving Zoey and Celestia all alone as she was clueless about what was going on being alone with Celestia.

"So, what's up? What do you need from me that's so important?" Zoey asked her straight up from the couch.

Answering her question, Celestia formed a small smile as she continued, "I hope you cleared your schedule today because your aptitude training starts now."





He simply embraced it as his entire vision went completely blank, feeling groggy from exiting his original world. But rather than waking up right away, Mobius kept his eyes shut as an odd sensation kept him from opening his eyes. It felt comforting and warm, like a soft pillow that somehow got on the bench with him. The right part of his body from his cheek to his torso was well pressed onto something.

"Hmmmm, I don't know what this is, but I like it! It's like a warm, smooth, pillow that stumbled upon..."

He immediately got the shivers when something, like a hoof-like appendage, came and softly caressed his head. Mobius could be thinking of who was comforting on the bench when he smiled.

"Twi...you didn't have to do this in public, but I appreciate it," he drones out loud, "I could go for your kisses right now..."

"Maybe if I was Twilight, which I'm not." 

"Huh!?" Mobius had his eyelids pop open as he assessed the situation seeing a pony that was not Twilight by her slender black hooves and green eyes, "Chrysalis!? What are you doing here!? And why are you doing this to me!?"

"Well," Chrysalis used her horn to slide him a few inches to get some space between them, "I just have old habits tending to new hatchlings when they're asleep. I just came here to catch a breath from stuff."

"Stuff? What kinds of stuff?"

She answered with a hiss, but slowly went back to a soothing voice, "All of these lessons on friendship and whatnot! I understand what's written on paper, but never the practice it comes with it! Do I have to bake cookies to make friends!? How does tending injured critters help me make friends!? Design a dress!? For what!? None of it makes sense to me!? If all of those are what you need to do, then ill be gladly do it."

"I see...stuck on the deeper meaning behind friendship?" Mobius recuperated from his slumber, looking forward at the ponies passing by from the distance, "All of Twilight's friends are doing is showing you what makes them...them. Passing down the key components to friendship for you to use along the way. Tell me this, what is the kindest thing to do to an animal in trouble?"

"I would say to treat it with the appropriate procedure for the given situation." She answered, making Mobius nod in silence. "But what does that have to do with making friends?"

"It's not just making friends, it's about how to apply social skills to develop certain bonds with on another." Mobius gave her a bit more context on the lessons. "It's like love, but without the intimacy. Being honest makes you trustworthy, being generous makes others see you as a wholesome creature, making mistakes along the way may bring laughter with a group, treating others in tender car reveals the kindness in your heart, how you're committed to some creature makes you loyal, and all together brings in the magic of it. You understand what they mean in the textbooks, but you need to find your own definition of friendship. It's no one meaning behind it."

Chrysalis took a little while as she took time to process what he had to say, but she raised her forelegs seeing the holes through, "Maybe I'm not understanding it because of my appearance. I'm probably the only changeling that remains this way, and I'm too stubborn to change"

"Who cares what your appearance is, that doesn't mean you can't learn about friendship. You're fine the way you are!" Mobius took her by surprise by patting her on the back with his right foreleg.

"I...I thank you..." She gave a warm thanks in return, curiously looking at his face for a moment, "It's unusual, but I'm getting this feeling I've met you somewhere before."

"You have?" he retracted his foreleg off of her back as a nervous sweat started to form around his forehead.

Chrysalis nodded, "It's probably just the way you speak, or something more. But never mind that now, you've helped me with my issues and I'm reluctant to help you on your endeavors."

"Woo, that was close. At least I could worry about one less creature figuring out who I am. However, could Chrysalis even help me with the 'issue' I have?"

"Well...I do have something bothering me, but it's a bit embarrassing." he nervously grinned, looking away for a tad bit, "I don't think you'll be any help at all."

"Oh please, you're getting exclusive assistance from a changeling, you better accept it!" she assured him. "Now, what is bothering you?"

It was rather unfortunate that James was in this situation, seeing how these sorts of things are only found in harem animes and result in endless antics with multiple girls trying to date the main character. He hoped that he isn't like those main characters in this cartoon universe.

"Okay then," Mobius was opening up to his embarrassing little problem, "You're aware of me and Twilight's relationship status, no?"

"Yes I'm aware," she answered.

"You see...there's this other pony who--"

"--Ah! I see another pony has caught your eyes and you want me to do something about it." Chrysalis smiled with her fangs showing.

"Wait just a dang minute! Does she plan to feed on Cozy Glow's love of me?! Well, it would solve my problem...NO! I'm not putting her on anymore harm even it's emotional damage."

"No!" Mobius stopped her as his shout made her turn to him, "I don't mean to feed on her love!"

"What? I don't plan on doing that in the first place!" she defended herself, "I understand 'some' principles of love, even if most of it's just for a food source. Tell me more about this other pony who's into you."

"Her name is Cozy Glow, and her mother recently divorced her father. They moved from Manehatten all the way here and I've been hanging out with her ever since. I guess my caring nature and kind heart was enough for her to fall in love with me." Mobius explained it in a nutshell.

"Ahh...I understand it now!" Chrysalis' pupils looked up as she pondered out loud, "I've studied plenty on the subject. Typical teenage hormones are quite the difficult time for a filly, especially at your age. She got guts if she thinks she could win over Princess Twilight herself."

Mobius couldn't cringe so hard in his life, keeping his painful smile up, "Umm...about that...she isn't that young persay..."

"Oh? Somepony older? Well, you do have an interest over--"

"Hey, Mobius, who's this you're speaking to?"

The stray voice came from right in front of them, it was coming from Applebloom and was accompanied by Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Cozy Glow. In just some miracle, Mobius was relieved to see four familiar faces who stood in front of them as Chrysalis was curious to spot these four foals together. But, Applebloom cut the silence early as she immediately noticed who was sitting right next to him on the bench.

"Wait just a gawrsh darn moment! That's Queen Chrysalis!" she gasped, pointing her foreleg to the changeling, "What in tarnation is she doing sitting with Mobius at the park! Does she have you under some spell?"

"No Applebloom! Chrysalis is good now!" Sweetie Belle was eager to calm her down as she used her magic to lower the earth filly's hoof, "Rarity just told me last week that she's a student at the school of friendship."

Scootaloo, who seemed to have a hint of suspicion on her face, slowly asked, "But...it's a bit strange to see you two sitting together here. What's going on here!"

"M-Mobius...don't tell me..." Cozy kept staring at him and Chrysalis sitting uncomfortably close to eachother on the bench as she panic, "Is she in on this too!?"

Internally, Mobius was screaming out of his lungs trying to get away from this coincidental meet-up. It was convenient, but it was still rather awkward seeing Cozy Glow getting the wrong idea once again. He couldn't just get out of this situation, he had to embrace it as a chance.

"Cozy Glow! I'm sure you know who Chrysalis is, huh?" he gestured his hoof to reveal Chrysalis staring peculiarly at her, "Chrysalis this is Cozy Glow. She was the one I found all alone in an orphanage in Manehatten, and also..."

"Really?" Chrysalis turned to him, looking a bit confused and somewhat appalled by Cozy's presence, "Is this the one who has a crush on you? I mean, It was a bit bizarre seeing Twilight dating somepony almost half her age but still."

"Crush! What kind of silly accusation are you getting at?!" sheepishly trying to hide something, Cozy fiddled with her turf with her hoof dragging across it.

"Oh...this is a bit awkward...we'll leave you three alone!" Applebloom nervously blurted out as she zipped out of sight.

She was then followed by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle leaving trails of dust as soon as the two ran in a direction. Mobius was a bit confused by their unnatural speed. As for Cozy Glow, she was staring amidst the eyes of Chrysalis when they locked eyes on eachother.

"So...what do you plan on doing with her?" curiously asked Mobius, trying to get an answer from the silent changeling.

Chrysalis responded, "I would like to speak to her in private, so will you kindly make your leave Mobius. I'll be done with her in no time."

"I don't know what she's going to say to Cozy, I just hope that whatever it is would get her to ease off."

He left the bench and took a stroll back to town to leave Cozy Glow all alone with the changeling that made headlines all over the newspaper. Cozy didn't know what to do or say to her, she stood on the ground in a straight posture as her teeth started chattering.

"W-What do you want from m-me?"

Chrysalis, however, was giving out a carefree smile as she offered her to sit right next to her, "You are the only few ponies around here who are willing to engage in conversation with me. Here, let's chat for a bit."

The filly wasn't eager to sit right next to who appeared to be a former villainous that bent on taking over Equestrian. But, something compelling happened when she proceeded to float up to gain enough height to sit right next to her. Cozy carefully spoke softly like she was in the presence of Celestial herself, "If Mobius is fine sitting next to you, then I should be too. Now, what is it that you want from me?"

"This Mobius, are you really in love with him?" The changeling started with a bold question to the filly, making her fidget around with her two hooves looking away from her, "Don't try to hide it, I can sense it from a mile away."

"Oh, you have?"

Chrysalis nodded, "You know he's with somepony he deems is the one for him, even if that pony is Princess Twilight herself."

"Twilight..." Cozy scrunched up her voice in frustration over the mere mention of that name, "No fair she gets to be with somepony I like! I make a better match for him!"

"Surely, you must understand how much he loves Twilight," the changeling slowly comforted her with a small head par, "They generate much more love than ever, I can sense it. However, while you're determined to be with him now, you need to think about this long-term."

"Long-term?" Cozy repeated her unusual evaluation, "What do you mean by that?"

It was until Chrysalis began explaining in detail, "While Twilight may be a perfectionist when it comes to saying, planning out lessons or performing princess-related tasks, she's a mess when it comes to balancing her responsibilities as a Princess and her personal life. I remember her friends mentioned that she went crazy for trying to find a friendship problem to write to Celestia, but failed to realize that it caused her mental instability." 

"I guess so..." Cozy began to open up to her as she nodded. "But what does that have to do with my situation?"

"While you may be too young for a serious relationship at the moment, there's still the future to look up to..." after Chrysalis finished her evaluation, she slowly lowered her head to Cody's ear and whispered, "Maybe Twilight's responsibilities could overweight her relationship with him that results in their breakup. I give them a few years tops..."

"Huh?!" She was a bit freaked out by her sudden whispers from her ear, but Cozy slowly began to understand where Chrysalis was going, "You're saying I should hang on until Twilight breaks up with him and I can take him for myself!"

"That's right! This is the secret every mare has been dying to find out to obtain their ideal stallion. I just happened to pass on this knowledge to you, well, I read it in a book written by Princess Cadance..." Chrysalis gave her a sneaking little giggly, "You're a stunning filly who could've easily won the hearts of many colts your age, but you derive from that path and went with who you feel is suitable for your heart. Just hang on for a while as their relationship unravels. Antagonizing her already would only make things worse, so let her be happy until that day comes."

"Yes... Yes, I see!" A growing smile formed on Cody's lips as she was opening up more of herself, "Thanks Chryssi!"

"Chryssi?" She turned a blind eye over that unusual nickname Cozy just called her, "What gives shortening my name?"

"Well, I just think it's appropriate to call you a nickname now that we're friends!" She answered back.

"Friends? I guess you could say that...but how does talking to you about your problems and giving you advice make us..." before she could finish that last strain of thought, Chrysalis's eyes widen as her expression grew to an exponential level, "I understand now, this is how you make friends!"

"Geez, you sure you're not the Princess of Love?" Cozy joked around with her face all chuckling, "Because I feel like you do more than what she could ever do."

"I did trap her in the deepest parts of Canterlot and ruined her wedding." Chuckled Chrysalis, "But I'm not an expert on love at all, I understand the textbook definition and from other ponies. "

"Well, do you love anyone?"

"I love my changelings that I raised since hatchlings..." she answered bluntly, "Does that count?"

Cozy shook her head, "Not exactly, I mean someone you fell in love with."

"I did...a long time ago..." Chrysalis' lively expression turned bleak at the second Cozy asked, "You could say they are to blame for me becoming a ruthless queen. But now, I may have found another that may be suitable to be my lover. It just never occurred to me the moment we first met."

"Oooo! Do tell! What's he like?" Cozy jumped from her seat to beg for the changeling's answer.

"I never thought I'm spilling my deepest secrets to some filly," she chuckled, "He tried to stop me from doing something that would be the end of friendship and Equestria. I was eager of stealing the elements of harmony, and I was almost close as well. But, he captured me, chained me up in front of my hive, and showed me that I was missing out on learning about friendship."

Cozy stared longingly as she found herself dumbfounded by Chrysalis' story, "Wow...I guess love comes in many forms? Do you know where he is, maybe we can look for him?"

"Look for him?" A smile brought Chrysalis to a sheepish blush around her cheeks, trying to contain herself, "No, we shouldn't bother to find him. I think I'll surprise myself if we see each other again..."





After strolling across town and enjoying some snacks at the Sugar Cube along the way, Mobius reached the front door of his house and opened the door using the key to unlock it. Noticing the sheer emptiness that was left, he didn't think much as he went inside his to lay flat on the bed.

"I'll just have to trust whatever Chrysalis is doing to keep Cozy Glow clinging onto me. Now, where on this Equestrian Earth is my sister at?! She said she was in the kitchen before she sat next to me on the couch back home. I guess I'll just wait until she makes dinner. But first, I just want to relax for the rest of the day."

While looking deeply at the shelf of his room, he could notice something off lately as he kept on staring at it. Something very important was missing, and he could've sworn it was placed at the location he was staring at. It clicked to him as he got up from his bed and walked over to the shelf.

"Hey! Where's that letter Lord Tirek wrote?"






Tarturus: Middle level


A lone centaur patiently sat on one corner of his cage, seemingly waiting for something to happen. He looked frail from his appearance, but he was pretty much as powerful as any creature could ever be. He was Lord Tirek, and his patience grew tired from the lack of talking. Only the screams and roars from the other monsters who dwell within this prison were the only ambiance he could listen to,

"Hrrgh!" he groaned in utter despair, "When is that reply letter ever showing up?! It's been almost...well...I couldn't tell because I have no concept of time here! But it feels like forever! Perhaps some smart pony figured out it was from me and forward it to Twilight. I shouldn't have signed with my name, to begin with!"

"There you are, you don't look like the one that ravaged through Ponyville..." 

"What?"

The strange voice came from behind him, and he turned around to see a mysterious-looking figure from outside his cage. It appeared to be a feminine-sounding voice, based on Tirek's assumption of course.

"What creature are you?!" Tirek questioned the strange refigure that wore all black, "How did you get past Cerberus?!"

"Well, I didn't enter from the gate silly!" She giggled, pulling out a strange rectangular slate from her pockets and shook it in front of Tirek's face far enough out of his reach, "I use this! Pretty near to get around this fantastic world!"

"Impressive as you may sound, but I have yet to know your name." He mumbled, "I am..."

"Lord Tirek! I know!" The figure then pulled out another object from he either pocket, revealing to be an opened up envelope that he recognized with his shocked expression, "I saw in your letter, and you want some assistance in draining Equestrian magic."

"Oh, you're the one who got my letter?"

"Yes, and I want to help out as much as I can." She formally bowed down to show her utmost loyalty. "I have magic that could assist you, all I'm asking is your 100% cooperation."

It took a while for Tirek to think this through, still sitting in his cage looking frustrated as ever, "Fine, we can work something out. But, I just need to know your name at least?"

"You can address me as Noa Amon, and here's what I have planned for your conquest..."