//------------------------------//
// 17 - The Return: Part 3 
// Story: The Crescent Pact 
// by Chromentazol 
//------------------------------//

"G-Glaze?! What are you doing here?" Aphelion asked, shocked to see the maid sitting in front of him.

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you!" Glaze replied, a wide grin on her face. "You didn't think you could slip away without me noticing, did you?"

"Well, actually, I did! Listen, this is too dangerous. I don't want you to be caught up in my mess," he sighed. The last thing Aphelion wanted was to put more ponies in danger.

Glaze scoffed, then crossed her forelegs. "If it's so dangerous, why are you going on your own? You're still recovering from your last adventure with Steady, aren't you?"

"Yes, but..."

"Besides, I'm supposed to not let you leave my sight. I could go back to Canterlot and report you missing, which would cause the castle to be in an uproar searching for you... And I have a general idea of where you're going. Or, you can let me tag along," Glaze stared into Aphelion's eyes, her green eyes feeling as if they pierced his soul.

Maintaining eye contact defiantly for a few silent moments, Aphelion eventually groaned in annoyance. "Fine. But please, just... Follow my lead and don't do anything stupid."

Standing up from her seat, Glaze raised a hoof high, feeling victorious. "Yes! Finally, my time to shine!"

Aphelion couldn't help but snort at the overly excited Glaze, before turning his gaze toward the window. "Just so you know, I... Don't really have a plan once I reach my father's manor. Oh, by the way, that's where we're going."

"Yep, figured as much. Why exactly are we going, though?" Glaze sat back in her seat and began rummaging through her bags.

"I... Wanted to talk with my father. Ask a few questions, then see if there's anything I can do to get Steady safe. Oh, and I'd like to swing by my lab to pick up some... Recent projects."

"Ooh, your 'artificer' stuff?" she asked excitedly, pulling out a sandwich from her bag.

Glancing back at Glaze and her sandwich, Aphelion nodded. "Yes. There's a few... Trinkets I'd rather not lose, nor leave in the Pact's hooves. Hey, can I have..."

"Sure!" Glaze gave half of her lunch to Aphelion.

"Thanks. Anyhow, some of the things I've created are fairly dangerous. And while my father didn't really care about that stuff and doesn't know how to use these items, it's only a matter of time before somepony like Lord Purple Comet notices it," he explained as he began eating.

"These items... Are they, like, weapons? Also, why do you call Purple Comet a lord?"

"Some of them are weapons, yes. While they all do different things, they were all born from the same concept: magical items that could be used by anypony... Or any creature, I guess. Not just unicorns. Mostly for my personal use, though, since I'm somewhat limited with my magic. And I don't really know for Purple Comet... That's how he always presented himself. Since he's one of the leaders of the Crescent Pact, I never really dared to drop the honorifics."

Listening carefully, Glaze's face betrayed a conflicting emotion. Aphelion picked up on it. "...Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"There's a question I wanna ask, but I don't want to sound insensitive."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, uh, sure. Go ahead, don't worry."

"Well... It's about your condition. The, uh, Thaumic Atrophy, right? The thing that causes you to not have a lot of magic?"

"That's... more or less it. What about it?"

"I... Hm... I don't really know how to put it into words without sounding like an asshole. Sorry," she looked to the side, ashamed.

"...Huh. Well, I promise I won't get mad."

Taking a deep breath, Glaze looked back at Aphelion. "...Doesn't it suck? I mean, being a unicorn and not being able to do magic well?"

Taken aback, he took a moment to answer. "That's... A very difficult question to answer," Aphelion chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, sorry. It was out of line, forget I said anything."

"No, it's fine. To be honest, it does kind of suck... But it also motivates me to push harder, I suppose. I have to try harder than any other unicorn, since I'm limited in the number of spells I can use. I have to be a lot more efficient with my magic and any mistake is amplified. If I spend too much energy, I can become unable to cast spells for days, or even weeks. But then, when I do manage to be perfectly efficient with my mana flow, it makes me feel... Like I'm enough. Or, rather, that I'm more than enough. That I'm actually great. So, yeah. I'd say it sucks most of the time, but when it does, it feels extremely gratifying," Aphelion finished his explanation with a wide smile on his face. A somewhat pained, but happy nonetheless smile. Glaze was silent, staring at him as she was grappling with his explanation. Looking at her, Aphelion saw a similar pain on her face. "...Do you suffer from something similar, Glaze?"

Suddenly perking up, surprised, she stammered. "W-What? Me? N... No, I mean, I'm not even a unicorn!" She replied, forcing a chuckle and looking away.

"Well... I hope my answer satisfied your curiosity, then," he replied as he finished eating his half of the sandwich. While he wished to know what was troubling Glaze, he didn't want to push her too much and to let her talk when she would feel ready to open up.

Staring at her half-eaten sandwich, Glaze put it in a paper bag before sliding it into her saddle bags. "Damn, I ruined my own appetite," she chuckled. "Sorry for souring the mood."

"Given the fact we're about to step into a very dangerous place and we might not get out unscathed, I actually don't mind tough discussion topics. Might as well get it all out, right?" he shrugged.

Glaze sighed, then looked at the window. "...Yeah. At least, it won't be boring."

Following her gaze and seeing the train slowly approaching Stallionsfield, Aphelion tensed up a little. "Whatever happens, I can't let her get hurt because of me," he thought as the two of them remained silent until their train reached the station.





A few kilometers to the east, two figures sped through the forest, galloping as fast as they could. While one of the forms had no issue running through the difficult terrain, jumping over roots and bushes, the second one struggled a lot more to just stay up. The form further ahead stopped and looked back, clear worry on her face.

"Misty, are you sure you're fine? We can take a break if you want..."

Panting, Misty kept going forward without answering. She was hellbent on her mission, refusing to let anything - or anypony - to get in her way. Tripping on a root, Misty fell face first in the ground, causing Sandstorm to run to her side. "Misty! Are you alright? C'mon, this is getting ridiculous..." she argued while offering a hoof. Misty glared at Sandstorm, then grabbed her hoof, letting her help get back up.

"I told you," Misty started while catching her breath, "that we can't afford any other delay. It's only a matter of time before guards catch up to us, and we only have a day left before the next sunrise."

"Yeah, but... We're not that far away. Even if we take our time, we can reach the manor before nightfall. And once we're in, the... City told you that we just need to reach the observatory."

Misty sighed. She knew Sandstorm was right about the distance separating them from the manor, but she still felt like they should hurry. However, the growing ache in her hooves from the running and her horn from the constant short-range teleportations began to take their toll.

Noticing her marefriend's inner turmoil, Sandstorm thought of a compromise. "Listen. I'll make you a deal. Let me carry you until you've recovered. In exchange, I'll go as fast as I can... As long as you can hold on, that is."

"...As tempting as resting for some time sounds, won't that tire you out?"

Sandstorm smirked and winked at Misty. "You know I got the stamina to go all night long, baby."

Feeling a light blush coming on her cheeks, Misty groaned and facehoofed. "Ugh, fine. Just... Let's hurry."

And so, the two mares continued their trip through the woods, heading for the large manor they knew they would eventually reach. Letting herself be carried, Misty held Sandstorm tight while the yellow mare began galloping at a slightly slower pace than previously, accounting for the added weight on her back. Sandstorm smirked once again.

"Hey, Misty, you know you gotta lay off the ca-"

"If you finish that sentence, I swear to Celestia I will teleport you into a ditch."

Rolling her eyes as she heard Sandstorm giggle, Misty took a moment to remember her last dream. For the first time in her life, her talent allowed her to communicate with the city while she slept. Even though her vision was cryptic at best, some elements were imprinted onto her memory: a manor, its location and what would happen should Misty not reach the observatory before the upcoming dawn. The spirit of Manehattan had foreseen a great catastrophe that required Misty and Sandstorm's presence in what she understood to be Aphelion's manor thanks to context clues, such as its location and the fact that she kept hearing 'The Crescent Pact' repeat over and over again in her dream. What she would have to do once she reached her destination, however, was unknown. Her visions only told her that she would understand what must be done.

Trying to remember more details about her dream, a growing fear wormed its way into Misty's mind. As she spoke to the clone of herself, which she had assumed to be the city of Manehattan, something felt off. While most of the sensations were the same as the ones she felt when interacting with the city regularly, there was also a hint of unfamiliarity, of uneasiness. There was a decent chance that something else spoke to Misty that night, but the implications of such an event terrified her. Firstly, it would force her to question everything she thought she knew about her talent. Secondly, if it was indeed something other than the city speaking to her, she had no idea if this entity had good intentions. For all she knew, it could be leading her into a trap... Then again, the last time she spoke to the city, she was led into a trap too. Her thoughts then drifted on the most cryptic part of her vision. If the uncertainty behind the entity's identity was scary, that part of the dream was utterly terrifying. It kept depicting the moon, though it looked eerily different: the large face across its surface had disappeared, with the entity whispering 'she will return' in her ears. Seeing the mare-in-the-moon disappear, or rather escape, was bone chilling.

Misty shook her head and focused on what mattered at that moment: letting her muscles rest as much as possible before they reached the manor, or before Sandstorm became too tired to carry her, though Misty knew her marefriend was indeed the tireless kind. Suddenly, Misty's grip faltered as she felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her body which hadn't fully metabolized the tranquilizer in her blood. Feeling Misty slip a little, Sandstorm slowed down.

W-Woah, there! Are you still with me?"

"Y... Yes, sorry. I'm still feeling the effects of Dart's bite."

"That bucker and his damned poison..." Sandstorm frowned.

"Venom."

"Sorry?"

"That bucked and his damned venom, not poison. There's a difference."

"Whatever. I'm still caving his skull the next time I see him."

"...Sandstorm... I know you want to get payback, but he's been injected with the Moon's Tears. If he's still breathing, then... You know what he became."

Remaining silent, Sandstorm knew too well the effects of the Crescent Pact's most notorious curse. While many ponies in the crime world believed that the Moon's Tears were simply a legend, both Misty and her had seen the potion's effects in the past. Despite the fire raging in her, Sandstorm knew there was no way for her to take down Poison Dart should they ever meet again. However, if he ever threatened Misty's life again, Sandstorm knew she wouldn't hesitate a second before attacking the cursed purple pegasus.

And so, the duo continued their trip through the forest in silence. Though they went at a slower pace, they became able to see the roof of what looked like an abandoned overgrown peeking above the canopy just as the sun began to set.





"I'm next," Steady thought to himself as he waited in his cell. Ever since waking up in this dungeon, the captured pegasus kept a close eye on his jailor's movements. Every hour or so, the black earth pony walked back down the spiraling staircase with two armored unicorns, both wearing purple armor covering their entire bodies. Every time, they would come down to the dungeon, go to one of the cells, force the prisoner out and bring them upstairs. Then, ten to fifteen minutes later, they would bring the bloodied and battered prisoner back to their cell. What Steady had noticed as well, however, was that his jailor was following a pattern. The mare would choose an earth pony, then a unicorn, then a pegasus, then another creature. Keeping track on who went upstairs and who remained, Steady eventually noticed that he was the last pegasus available. Given the fact that the same prisoner was never picked twice in a row, he knew he would be next.

While the prospects of being tortured and interrogated was certainly not very pleasant, Steady also knew it would be the perfect opportunity to gain more information about his current location and eventually form a plan to escape. Suddenly hearing sobs coming from the cell right next to him, Steady was pulled out of his train of thoughts as he heard a male unicorn crying.

"...Unfair... It's all... Unfair..." the stranger weakly said between sobs.

With that stallion being the only other prisoner that spoke at all since Steady woke up, he decided to chance a discussion with him.

"...Hey. You, next door. You alright?"

"...None of us are. We're all just... Gonna die..."

"Don't worry. I won't let'em hurt you," Steady said, immediately regretting making a promise he knew he couldn't keep.

"You're new... You still haven't gone up there. How did you... end up here?"

"Guess it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What about you?"

"...I served Lord Apogée tea instead of coffee. He... He directly sent me here..."

Steady's fears were confirmed. He had guessed that he had been captured by the Crescent Pact, though Steady still hoped this was some other criminal group with a less fanatical follower base. With the mention of Apogée, he also knew exactly where he was. The good thing was that he wasn't too far from Canterlot and that he could fly back to the capital on his own. The bad thing was that he was in the dungeon of one of the Pact's most powerful mages. Steady was about to reply to the captured butler next to his cell when he heard the familiar hoofsteps of his captors walking back down the staircase.

"Well, then, new guy. Looks like it's your turn!" the black mare giggled as she looked toward Steady. "Ready to have your cherry popped?"

He laughed. "Sorry, miss. Not only are you too late for that, you're also not my type."

Reaching the end of the staircase, she pretended to be sad. "Oh, no... I'm so heartbroken... What type of mare are you more into, then?" She asked while batting her eyes.

"I'm into anypony that isn't bat-shit insane, you bucking psycho."

Quickly dropping her playful facade, her face turned to anger. "That's not a way to talk to a nice, friendly mare. Somepony ought to make you learn some good manners... Bring him up," she barked her orders to the two guards next to her. Steady saw the chains on his hooves unlock and the door in front of him open, covered in a blue aura. The torture contraption on his barrel was left intact, one of the spikes still digging in his side. Then, his whole body being held above the floor by the guards, Steady was flung outside of his cell, falling heavily right in front of the mare. On impact, Steady felt another two spikes retract from the contraption, stabbing him in the back and on his other side. With a sadistic grin, the mare observed as Steady contorted in pain before stepping on his stomach.

"Now, are you ready to apologize, mister grumpy mouth?" she cooed.

"...Shit... B-Buck you..." he whispered. Getting angrier, she pushed harder on his stomach, causing another wave of pain to the pegasus.

"Repeat after me, you shit stain. 'I'm sorry, miss Eclipse'. Got it?"

Glaring at her, Steady opened his mouth. "...You shit stain," he said with a grin. Staring daggers into him, Eclipse eventually huffed and turned back toward the guards.

"Bring him up in the pegasus lab. We'll see how long he'll keep his dumb grin."