//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20: The Occultist 
// Story: Glowing in Everglow 
// by Darkmoon9 
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Darkmoon’s Journal

For a long time now, I have dedicated my life to understanding the secrets of the universe. I guess this obsession of mine had been a part of me since colthood. Growing up among the Tribe of Bones, the concept of death has been ever present in my existence for as long as I can remember. I was taught the rituals to bring the dead to rest, and if the situation calls for it, bring them back to the world of the living. But my culture always stressed this should only ever be done with the consent of the departed.

I was also taught the ability to read the aura of people and objects. Just by looking at them I could get a good grasp of their general nature. And by investigating the aura of an object belonging to people with a great destiny, I could get a good read of their entire history, their thoughts and their feelings. As well as unlocking powerful magic of a nature depending on the nature of the owner of the object. The greater the destiny of the person, the more powerful the magical aura. My very first object of significance was a talisman belonging to my long-dead mentor, a shaman of the Tribe of Bones. It radiated with power allowing me to exercise greater control over the spirits of the dead. 

Sometime after my mentor's passing. I moved to Vil to get better access to powerful objects to study. My abilities were recognized as quite valuable for the purpose of recording history. And my abilities also proved useful in my work as a spy for Princess Scarlet Lance herself. As I had the ability to read the aura of a person with but a glance, granted, it was rare to me to find creatures of true significance to history, outside of the Royal family itself. This was until the two strangers appeared in the city of Vil, both radiating with importance. The first was Sunset Shimmer, a unicorn mare, surrounded by an aura of light from the upper planes, and Cozy Glow, a young pegasus mare with an aura of the majesty of a true ruler, stronger than that of King Greybeard himself or either of his three children. I knew just by looking at her that this mare was born to lead. When I told King Greybeard about what I saw in the two strangers, he wanted them involved in the case of his son’s missing horn. From that point onward, I kept a close eye on both Sunset and Cozy, observing their accomplishments from a distance, watching how Cozy quickly gained the position of Knight Commander and saving Taralos time and time again. And they were eventually joined by another figure of destiny, a unicorn mage named Twilight Sparkle. 

During that time, I knew I had to get a significant object of theirs in my possession, as that would greatly increase my ability to understand these great figures of destiny. I eventually had some luck in that Sunset published a religious text that was quite successful within Taralos, a book called The Way of the Redeemer, where she talked about her philosophy of redemption and rehabilitation, as well as her experience traveling the planes. The book itself radiated conjuration magic; more powerful than any implement of that nature I had ever encountered, it seemed this book held great emotional significance to Sunset, for otherwise it wouldn’t be linked to her aura. Using the book as a focus I found myself able to channel healing spells of positive energy as well as the ability to call outsiders from beyond with greater ease than ever before. Combined with the ancient rings of summoning I previously acquired I was able to call upon being from other worlds to do my bidding. I had long possessed the ability to use a hoof band I received from my mentor to call upon Psychopomps, beings that guided the souls of the dead into the afterlife, as they were venerated in my culture. But with the magic I received from this implement connected to Sunset Shimmer, I was able to call upon lesser angels of the upper planes using another special hoof band in my possession.  I was also in possession of a third hoof band, made of iron with several sharp barbs that dug into the flesh when equipped, a curiosity I didn’t know the purpose of until recently. Turns out it carried the ability to contact Velstracs, horrific creatures of the lower planes that couldn’t tell the difference between pleasure and pain. I knew I had to be careful when dealing with them, but they could offer me significant knowledge of matters I didn’t previously know. 

The book also allowed me access information about Sunset’s past by reading its aura. Like she claimed, Sunset was a creature from another world. I was able to read that she was born in a world called Equestria, the daughter of a powerful noble, who was lucky enough to earn a position as the apprentice of her nation’s ruler, a demigod called Princess Celestia. Yet she took her position for granted and started researching dark magic against the wishes of her mentor. When she was discovered, she was stripped of her position and Sunset retreated into another world in shame in order to avoid facing her family using a magical mirror that enabled the plane shift spell. Even from this other world Sunset schemed to one day return and in order to do so she stole a powerful artifact called the Element of Magic from Celestia’s next protégé, Twilight Sparkle. While Sunset was ultimately defeated, Twilight spared her life and taught her the ways of friendship. 

From that day onward, Sunset was a changed mare, she managed to prove herself to Twilight by helping her fight against a group of Sirens, and later fought against a corrupted form of Twilight called Midnight as well as a rampaging forest spirit. Sunset would eventually use the power of the mirror to travel to different universes as a champion of good, fighting evil and redeeming any villain she could, for she believed that everyone should be given a second chance like she was. This was the reason she decided to free a known criminal from her original homeworld, Cozy Glow, at the time a young filly who somehow managed to commit a crime severe enough to be punished by being turned to stone for all eternity. Having met a version of Cozy from another universe who was a champion of light who fought against the archvillain Midnight, Sunset believed wholeheartedly that this other Cozy could also rise to the occasion and become a pony others could rally behind. Ever since they both entered my world Cozy did do nothing but impress her.

All of this just made me desire to know more about this Cozy Glow. And to do that I needed to get a personal item of hers in my possession. But it wasn’t until I was sent on a mission of espionage to Arcys I got an opportunity to get closer to her. Working together to free the king of Arcys from the tower where traitor barons who intended to usurp him had imprisoned him. I got to see the Defenders of Taralos in action personally. Other than the three significant figures of destiny, Sunset, Cozy and Twilight, I could also see lesser auras of destiny around Night’s Blessing and Silverwing. Night’s Blessing read as an unpredictable trickster, yet one whose bond with Cozy made her part of Cozy’s destiny, their bond appearing to me as a tether of light connecting the two mares. Silverwing read as a mighty warrior seeking a challenge, but his aura was surrounded by an umbra of necrotic energy. In my experience that meant his thread of destiny would be soon cut off and he would never again return to this world. That unless an agent of Soft Whisper, such as myself, intervened. I knew exactly how I would receive a personal item from Cozy Glow. 

I decided to invite her into my study after we both returned to Vil. If she thought this offer suspicious, she showed no sign of it. Other than placing guards inside the door and making sure to take Night’s Blessing with her to the meeting, so I guess she was rather suspicious after all. I could sense the two were truly inseparable, the tether of light connecting the two stronger than ever. I started by explaining to Cozy about my abilities to read the auras of ponies with great destinies and that hers were one of the most powerful I had ever seen. Cozy smiled at me when I told her she had a great destiny ahead of her, seemed like her ego was her weakness.

I explained that if I could come into possession of an item that meant a great deal to her, I would be able to channel the power of her aura to enhance my own magic. Cozy told me that she would consider it, if and only if I could make a major contribution to the war effort. It was now I explained to her about my past as a shaman of the Tribe of Bones, how my people shepherded the dead to their final resting place. Yet I also knew rituals to bring the dead back to life. While they would be undead, my people considered the more based arts of necromancy, the ones that revived only mindless slaves, to be an affront to our goddess, Soft Whisper. Instead, I offered her the ability to raise willing soldiers from the grave, the ones who wanted to continue fighting for their homeland, even from beyond the grave. For such undead were considered holy warriors by my culture. While it was obvious Cozy was at first unsettled by the prospect of an army of the living dead, she quickly came around to it once she realized how much of an advantage this would give our forces.  I could send for my brethren of the Tribe of Bones to be able to reanimate more soldiers than I could ever do alone. This much I pledged to her. 

In return for my promise to raise willing dead soldiers to serve Taralos once again, Cozy handed me her yellow hairband, the one I had never seen her without. She told me she had worn this one since she was a young filly and that her attachment to this piece of clothing was great, for it was given to her by someone very dear to her that had since passed away.  She was right, for this hairband radiated powerful enchantment magic, magic that could enhance the presence and charisma of those that channeled its power. It would allow me to add enchantment magic to my arsenal of spells, like I had now mastered necromancy and conjuration from my other implements. But most importantly of all, unbeknownst to her, I would now be able to access the memories of Cozy Glow, so I could better understand this figure of destiny that Sunset Shimmer put so much faith in.

This hairband’s aura told me that Cozy had grown up in an orphanage in Equestria, where she made a friend who meant everything to her,who had given Cozy this very hairband, a friend who she would later lose to suicide because of her own hunger for power and influence. With nothing left in life except the pursuit of power, in a desperate attempt to fill the hole in her heart that her friend left behind, she dedicated everything she had to conquer her homeland using every dirty trick she could device. I saw Cozy forming an unlikely bond with a centaur warlock named Tirek, who gave her the means for her ascension. A ritual that would drain the magic from the lands and therefore reduce the demigods that ruled it to the power level of regular ponies. Cozy would come to believe that friendship was power, yet she failed to establish many genuine friendships, the closest she ever came was Tirek, and their relationship was abusive to say the least, as there was a massive imbalance of power between the young filly and the powerful warlock. Cozy would eventually fail to take over the world twice and be imprisoned in stone for what she believed was forever, together with her co-conspirators, Tirek, and a changeling Queen called Chrysalis, who was the closest she ever had two friends since the childhood friend she lost. I could feel Cozy’s pain as she stirred in hatred against those who had imprisoned her, and the entity called Discord that had tricked her. 

This should have been the end, a figure of great destiny cut short before their time by those who thought the cruelty Cozy inflicted on others made the cruelty inflicted upon her justified. But she would encounter one individual who would rebel against that notion, one who thought no creature, no matter how evil, deserved to suffer, Sunset Shimmer. When Sunset took her to Everglow, Cozy, at first intended only to continue her crusade for power, a desperate attempt to drown out the sorrow that not only she still felt but had been amplified since her imprisonment in stone. But something happened Cozy didn’t expect, here, in a world where she had a chance to start anew, she formed her first genuine bond since her early childhood, the mare called Night’s Blessing. A friendship that would soon blossom into love. Not only that, but she found she enjoyed her role as the protector of Taralos as the people for first time regarding her not as a villain, but a hero. I could see that Cozy had started to genuinely care for not only Night’s Blessing, but Sunset Shimmer and King Shining Horn as well. Cozy was now torn between her desire to be the one who fulfilled the prophecy of the Great Uniter and her loyalty to Shining Horn. Her aura was interesting, while Cozy was a creature of self interest, there was a light within her that had yet to fully blossom.

The Great Uniter, this figure had long been prophesied by the Seekers of the One Herd. But I had always thought it was nonsense, could it be that this Cozy Glow was the one destined to unite the pony tribes? Or was it someone else altogether? Whatever the case it would be interesting to see where Cozy’s destiny took her, and I intend to be there and record all of it for the history books.        



Silverwing’s Journal

I had long served as a knight under King Greybeard of Taralos. But it wasn’t until I met Sunset Shimmer and Cozy Glow during the incident with the prince’s missing horn that I found my true calling. I had long been a wanderer only seeking to challenge the powerful in combat in order to win glory in the eyes of my deity, White Talon, she who judges the souls of the dead. What I managed to accomplish since joining the Defenders of Taralos eclipsed everything I accomplished beforehand. White Talon always favored those who rose to their full potential and punished those who wasted their talents. But given my role in winning the gem gnoll war, stopping Valentine in the Temple of Chaos and defending Taralos against the usurper Prince Swift Blade. I am sure that White Talon would look favorably upon my actions when I eventually kicked the bucket, which I always knew could happen any day, because that was the life of a soldier. Yet, I didn’t mind, as I lived for combat, it was my true calling. While I was always loyal to the royal family of Taralos, it was under the command of Dame Cozy Glow I had been truly able to shine, and for that I would always be undyingly loyal to her, my true lord. 

That is why I never questioned her orders, for Cozy Glow was a strategic genius and seldom made mistakes. Shortly after our return from Arcys the forces of Prince Swift Blade attacked Taralos, the king gathered a war council to decide what to do about the invading army. King Shining Horn, advised by Princess Scarlet Lance, decided to send an army to fight the intruders head on, Knight Commander Cozy Glow was skeptical of such a direct approach, but relented under the condition that I was to be put in charge of that army. I had a bad feeling about it, Cozy obviously believed it was a bad idea, and I trusted her judgement. Yet she didn’t have more authority than the king as his word was final. 

I marched out from Vil the following night spearheading over a thousand warriors. We would soon meet the one of the hosts of Swift Blade upon the field of battle, a host numbering an even number of ponies compared to our own, consisting of both clockwork ponies and the soldiers of the rogue baronies of Arcys. Leading from the front, I would slay pony after pony with my greatsword until I came into contact with the leader of the enemy army, Prince Swift Blade himself. I remembered him from the time before his banishment as a unicorn as well as a gempony with a shining white coat that sparkled like a diamond, the clockwork curse had transformed the prince into a creature of clockwork that appeared to be made out of solid gold, wielding six rapiers with his telekinetic ability. I decided to duel the Prince to the death, only the most powerful warrior would emerge alive. The test that would truly prove my worth in the eyes of White Talon. 

The Prince immediately charged, striking me in the chest with the rapier he held hovering close to him while the others surrounded me. I managed to strike only a single blow against the Prince, denting his metal carapace, before I was torn apart from every side by the swarm of blades he was controlling. At that moment life left me, I found myself in a void, guided by a strange skeletal pony. When I regained consciousness again, I was at the perch leading to the domain of White Talon, who according to the folklore of my people would judge me when I reached the top of the cliff. I hoped that my goddess wouldn’t judge me too harshly for being defeated by the Prince so resoundingly. A part of me wished I would get another chance to strike down Swift Blade, and as if the universe itself heard my wish, I could hear a voice from beyond, that of a mature male pony I recognized as that of Darkmoon:

“Do you wish to return to serve Taralos once more?”

I jumped at this opportunity and told the voice that I didn’t know if I could truly rest until I had bested Swift Blade. The perch faded around me and when I would next awakened it would be on some kind of ritual table, surrounded by canopic jars containing various organs and jars with other ingredients. Cozy Glow was standing by this table, looking worried, and then finally relieved when she realized I had woken up. Darkmoon was busy doing some kind of mystical chant. It took me a while to realize what had happened. I was dead, but Darkmoon offered me an opportunity to come back to the world of the living. I remember now that he was of the Tribe of Bones, a tribe that was said to have the power to bring back the dead. 

Looking down at my own form I realized I was now a skeleton, held together by only dark magic. At first, I was horrified, and Cozy Glow didn’t seem to know if she wanted to be happy because I managed to return or horrified over what I had become either. Darkmoon informed me that that while my new undead form was physically weaker than I used to be, I would be able to continue fighting on the front lines as long as I was careful. Cozy informed me that while the army I was leading was defeated, it had been a close call and Swift Blade’s forces took significant losses as well. Which should buy us time to fortify the city against their assault as well as conscript a larger army. The more I thought about the smug face of Prince Swift Blade and the grin he gave me as he finished me off, the more I appreciated this new opportunity to take him down. Then and only then did I felt I could die in peace and face White Talon’s Judgment with pride.