The Hour of Demise

by Tioko

Land of all things scaled

Celestia groaned as light reached her still closed eyes, causing a splitting headache in addition to horrible pains in her chest. Her mind was an utter mess of memories, feelings and thoughts littered all over the place, none of it coherent, and her body felt even worse. The alicorn couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so terrible, if she ever even had before. She couldn’t understand where she was or what has happened.

At that moment, she felt something cold touch her forehead. A wet cloth. At the same time she felt something touching the wound on her chest – it was cold and stung a little, hurting her, making Celestia groan again, but after that the pain lessened somewhat.

“It seems to soothe her, like you said it would,” she heard one voice say.

“Of course it does, was there ever any doubt of that?” a second voice snapped back.

Celestia tried to open her eyes, but found herself unable to do that just yet.

“Looks like she’s regaining consciousness,” the first voice noted again. With her mind a bit more clear now that the pain was mostly gone, the alicorn was able to identify it as female.

“Much too soon,” the second voice mumbled, this one male. There was something peculiar about his speech, as if he stretched out every ‘s’ with a hiss. “From such wounds one should be dead, and if not, out for a few weeks at the very least. You just brought her in last night, T.”

“Must be because of her being whatever she is,” the female replied. Celestia was intrigued by all of this, but had to pay attention to more mundane needs of her body. She heard the faint sound of gently flowing water in the background, and it made her body feel thirsty.

“W... water...” she managed to croak out.

“You heard the lady, T, go get some,” the male said.

“Don’t order me around, N,” the female snapped brusquely. “Why me?”

“You have hands. And limbs, for that matter,” came the deadpanned reply.

“You have magic.” The female argued back. “But fine.” Celestia could hear the sound of splashing as something stepped or moved in some body of water. Oh, if only she could open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they were made of lead. She could feel wet cloths touching her again, this time delicately wiping her face. Then there was the sound of something wading through water again.

“The water,” the woman said, still brusque and snappish sounding.

“Thank you.” The male said, and Celestia felt a bowl touch her lips. The alicorn eagerly drank the contents of the bowl, as if her life depended on it. Which might as well have been true. While she drank, she heard the man speak again. “You need to learn to not be so snappish, Bluefin.”

“T!” she heard the female growl.

“Including that.” The man continued calmly.

“I don’t need you berating me on how I behave, Poisonfang, so keep that forked tongue of yours behind your teeth and do your job or I swear to the Church I’ll find another healer,” the female, ‘Bluefin’ or ‘T’, as it seemed, spat.

“And you will make sure that the ‘other healer’ doesn’t report you to the lackeys of the Hound... how?”

“Please, that miserable fur heap may have done a lot of things, but infiltrating this village has yet to be one of them. I dare him to try,” the female said mockingly. The man clacked his tongue in disapproval.

“Oh, yes, because daring the one who wounded the sun herself is such a smart thing to do. Aren’t the wielders of Anthrophy supposed to be smart?” he retorted.

“Look, it’s not like I asked for it...”

“Yet you have it. Act accordingly,” the man said, sounding irritated.

Celestia groaned again, these two were worsening her headache. It didn’t help that most of their conversation went over her head, and that they seemed to talk as if she wasn’t there. The alicorn stirred, but her body refused service. She tried to pry her eyes open once more. This time it worked, and Celestia could finally see the bickering couple. And the sight shocked her greatly. She had expected ponies, maybe griffins, or, well, anything but what she saw before her.

A sleek, serpentine dragon female, with scales of the most beautiful shades of blue, with elegant fins and four legs talking to a great snake male. Now while she could get over the dragon talking – after all, most Equestrian dragons could talk – the snake caught her completely off guard. There was nothing draconic in him – in fact, he was a cobra, and almost as big as Celestia herself in size. The serpentine wasn’t much smaller, either. And unlike any dragon she had ever seen before in her life. It looked more like a serpent with four legs and fins than a dragon, to be honest.

“Oh look, she opened her eyes!” The serpentine said, pointing at her.

“Thank you, I have eyes in my skull myself,” the snake hissed. He slithered his sleek form towards the alicorn, his flat, scaled head slowly rising from the ground until it was at eye level with the Princess of the Sun. His dark blue, nearly purple, forked tongue flew out of his mouth every so often. A true snake in mind and body, Celestia thought. And yet… he could speak. “Well, her eyes are focused, that’s a relief...” He muttered to himself. She saw the grand cobra rear up higher and bend over her body, now looking at her back. “The wound caused by the eruption seems fine. You were in time, Bluefin.”

“T!”

“T,” he sighed, annoyed.

“W... where am I... and what... are you?” Celestia managed to whisper. The cobra raised what would normally be an eyebrow.

“You don’t know a snake when you see one?” he asked in disbelief.

“Not a sentient talking one...” Celestia admitted. She closed her eyes and frowned. Everything hurt, and talking to a snake didn’t help much. Everything was a blur, her thoughts were spinning and nothing coherent came out of them. The cobra patted her on the head with the tip of his tail.

“Easy there, it’s clear you do not understand the state you are in, my dear,” he said calmly and patiently. “I suggest you rest, you will need it.” And with that, he withdrew from her and slithered back towards the serpentine dragon. The cobra gave her a pointed look. “Make sure she sleeps, T. I have done all that I can for her flesh, but the impurities inflicted upon her are beyond my capabilities, you know that.”

“Yeah, well, thanks anyway, N.” The serpentine replied. Celestia found herself losing consciousness again then.

“Alrighty, it seems we have everything packed here.” Applejack said, putting on her saddlebags. “Rarity, did y’all finish redrawing the map from the wall?”

“Yes, yes, just give me a few moments. Detail is what we need, darling, and detail is what I’m trying to capture.” The white unicorn said, looking carefully at her drawing. It turned out that there wasn’t any copy of the map in the royal library that didn’t look like it could crumble to dust the moment one touched it, so they needed to make a new one. And nopony could do it better than Rarity, for whom, as a fashion designer, good drawing skills and attention to detail were a must.

“So, uh, what’s the land we’re going to again?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Princess Luna was about to answer this question, but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie. “Sauria!” The hyperactive pink pony declared. “It’s a land full of lizards! And they’re big! And all can talk! And have magic! Hey, can you imagine? If Gummy was from Sauria, he would have talked, too!”

“I still don’t really get that,” Fluttershy said timidly. “I mean… we have such darling little lizards too… but they don’t talk…”

“That, dear Fluttershy, is caused by a different magical layout in the land.” Princess Luna explained. “Our world is rich with magic and harmony, which course through land, air and sea like blood through our veins. Harmony, and the magic that is a result of it, are the lifeblood of the world in which we live. It forms and shapes the land, and those who thread upon it. So it was that in these lands, ponykind could grow into what we are today, whilst in the lands beyond Equestria, the same happened for other beings. Just think of our gryphon neighbours. They are unrelated to us, and yet share the same capabilities to learn and build as we do.”

“Makes... sense...” Rainbow Dash said, raising her eyebrow. “Come to think of it, I’ve never thought why gryphons could talk and all, while they don’t even have hooves.” After all, encountering talking sheep and cows was a simple, everyday occurrence in Equestria.

“Why, yes, in other lands having hooves or not having them has nothing to do with intelligence.” Princess Luna nodded. “Likewise, we may come across equines who are nothing more than animals in our travels.”

Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. “But how do they party then?!”

“They... don’t?” The alicorn looked at Pinkie a bit awkwardly. “Other creatures do instead.”

“No… Parties?!” the pink earth pony repeated, her eyes the size of dinner plates, her jaw somewhere on the floor. Luna could see all colour drain from the pony as the Princess’ words settled in.

“Oh, Pinkie, I’m sure there are parties.” Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder comfortingly. “But instead of pony parties, they have lizard parties! Isn’t that... fun?” Her bubbly friend looked at her for a minute, then perked up.

“Yes, of course! I wonder how lizards party? Do you think they have cupcakes? Oh they must have cupcakes! You can’t have a party without cupcakes! Should I take cupcakes with me as a gift? Then I could teach them how to have a real party with cupcakes!”

“Eh, sugarcube, it’s best if we take as little stuff as possible with us...” Applejack said. “But don’t y’all worry none. You can bake cupcakes on the spot, you know all the recipes.”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie confirmed with an eager nod.

Luna had followed the entire conversation with growing worry and she eyed the pink pony uncertainly. There was no doubt that this was the current holder of the Element of Laughter, but Luna couldn’t help but wonder if the party pony realized what she had agreed to join. This would be anything but a picnic or a fun adventure. It would be dangerous, and possibly lethally so.

Speaking of Elements, she had brought the case that held them from the tower, but had yet to hand them out to their rightful owners. She opened it reverently and called her fellow ponies around herself. “It is time we bestow upon ye thy Elements once again.”

“One moment please, I’m not finished with the drawing.” Rarity said as she checked the map over again. Squinting, she put one tiny dot in place next to a river. “There, I finished.” She smiled, folding the map carefully, and trotted over to the Princess.

“Thy work is of greatest accuracy, fair Rarity,” Luna complimented.

“Why, thank you, Princess Luna, I’ve been trying my best to convey all the details, both major and minor.” Rarity smiled at the compliment.

“We are certain it shall aid us greatly in the journey to come,” Luna nodded. Her horn glowed and she lifted out one of the Elements of Harmony. “Please accept thy Element of Generosity.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness.” Rarity bowed lightly as Luna secured the necklace around her neck. It was still the same perfect fit as it had always been. The next Element was the one of loyalty, so the Moon Princess called Rainbow Dash forward. The rainbow-maned mare made a fancy bow as well, just for the show. Luna seemed pleased by the display of proper protocol, however, and bestowed the pegasus with her element.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash grinned and once again admired how cool the lightning-bolt gem looked.

“Take good care of it,” Luna instructed. “Its power might very likely be needed.”

“I sure will, Princess!” Rainbow Dash assured her. Luna nodded, and revealed the Element of Honesty, signalling Applejack’s turn. The farm pony trotted over and tipped her hat at the Princess. If Dash and Rarity displayed fancy etiquette, so would she. It must have been a modern gesture, for the Princess looked somewhat surprised, but she understood its meaning and gave the farm pony her Element.

“Once more thou shall wield the Element of Honesty, fair Applejack.”

“It’s mah honour, Princess.” Applejack replied.

The Element that followed was none other than the element of Laughter. “Oooh! Ooh! I get my pretty necklace!” Pinkie Pie bounced up to the Princess and looked at her with shining eyes. Luna bestowed it upon her, but gave her a warning look as well.

“We hope thou understands the severity of the situation, and the danger we shall undoubtedly face?” the Princess asked.

“Sure thing! But I’m not a scaredy-cat worry-wart cowardly-pants, I’m the bravest pony in Equestria! I laugh at my fears.” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“It shall be dangerous,” Luna warned. “The chances are high we will get hurt.”

“Well, that’s okay! I’m not afraid of being hurt. I have my Pinkie sense! Oh, Twilight once got hurt real baaaad because she didn’t listen to me.” The party pony said quietly. “But we’ll be fine, promise!” She smiled so widely and sincerely Luna almost found herself believing her.

“Alright then, Pinkie Pie. Please accept thy Element of Laughter.” The Princess said.

“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie chimed.

With that said, Luna brought forth the last Element she could hand out now, the Element of Kindness, and she beckoned Fluttershy to step forward to receive it. Fluttershy did so, and smiled shyly at the Princess. She didn’t really know what she was supposed to do here, so she pretty much just stood there being shy. Luna smiled back kindly, trying to not be intimidating. Though she had been with her only briefly at Nightmare Night, the shy pegasus had still managed to give the princess a good impression.

“Kind Fluttershy, we grant thee your Element, as Equestria needs thee once more,” the Princess said.

“Umm... well... thanks?” Fluttershy said awkwardly.

Luna looked at her pensively. She did not know the Elements as well as her sister did, and thus was not aware of the other pony’s hidden inner strength. What she saw was a kind, sweet and timid pegasus, and she wondered if the girl was up for the journey ahead, and asked her so.

“Oh... um... I know it can be dangerous... but... Poor Twilight is out there all alone. She must be so scared! And Princess Celestia is hurt... I... I don’t think I can leave them alone like that...”

“Then thou shall go with us so that thou might see the both of them safe with your own eyes,” Luna decided with a smile.

“Um... Thank you, Your Highness.” Fluttershy smiled back.

With this small ceremony having been completed, the Princess of the Moon took the last of the Elements, Magic, from its resting place and put it safely in one of her saddlebags, to keep it safely with her until the time came when she could hand it to its proper wielder. She looked at the remaining Elements, now her travelling companions, trying to determine if they were ready for departure and what lay ahead. They seemed ready enough – Applejack has just finished handing them their respective saddlebags, and now the ponies were just waiting for her command.

“Just one more question, princess,” Rainbow Dash said, perking up. “If you’re not here, and Princess Celestia isn’t either, then who will do all the ruling and stuff?”

“The Prime Minister and the Council.” Luna answered simply.

“Oh, well, if that keeps things okay while we’re gone, it’s cool,” the rainbow pegasus shrugged.

“We are sure they are quite capable ponies.” Luna nodded. She fastened the straps of her own saddle bag and then looked at the rest of the company. “Very well then, are ye all ready?”

“We sure are, Princess!” Applejack confirmed with a smile. She glanced at her friends. “Isn’t that so, everypony?”

“Ready as ever!” Rainbow Dash saluted. The other ponies just nodded.

“Then we shall be on our way!” Luna declared.

When Celestia woke up for the second time, it was quiet, except for the gentle flowing of water that was permanently present in the background. Her eyes opened, and her vision was more focused this time around, allowing her to truly take in her surroundings. Which were quite peculiar, and unlike anything she had seen before. The place she currently resided in resembled a cave somewhat, but at the same time looked a house as well.

It was, in fact, a mixture of both. Long ago the place Celestia now found herself in had been flooded and submerged on the bottom of a great lake. The bottom of the lake was marked with the strange stone spires that jutted up all around, like giant stalagmites, some nearing ten metres in width. But as years passed, the water level lowered as the lake was emptied, and the stone spires now stood tall and dry in open air. When the first villagers settled here, they attentively, patiently and carefully carved out homes for themselves within the stones. A process aided by the fact that some stalagmites had already been tunnelled through or hollowed out by erosion and currents. It was such a structure Celestia now found herself in. Celestia didn’t know of it, of course, she was told that much later, and for now, she was more focused on the interior of the cave house.

She was royalty, used to the grandness of her castle in Canterlot, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the simple, natural elegance the interior possessed. The walls, though carved out of solid rock, were very smooth and carefully polished, almost shiny even. The rock was just plain old grey rock, but it had the beauty of the different natural shades and colours caught within its embrace, breaking up the monotony of the colour grey. There were even fossils of ancient sea creatures, mostly just shells, caught within the stone. It was quite peculiar. She looked up to see a wooden floor above her, indicating multiple levels to the house, reaching up to where the stalagmite became too small to hollow out further. Higher levels could only be reached by a vertical ladder that led through a round hole in the floor. It was nice wood, too. Much lighter in colour, it contrasted the grey stone perfectly and brought lighter colours into a mostly grey area.

Looking around a bit more, the alicorn saw that daylight could fall into the room through small round windows all around the wall. They had no glass in them, making the princess wonder if it didn’t rain inside. She glanced at the bed she laid in now: perfectly normal, made of wood with four legs, a soft mattress and pillow, and warm, hand-woven blankets. Letting her eyes drift further, that’s when the Sun Princess saw things become a bit more odd. The bed stood on a crescent shaped floor, which was held up by short, sturdy stone supports. Below it flowed water, for the base of the house was flooded, a foot or two deep. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the house wasn’t exactly flooded. It was that its base laid below the water level, for through the entrance of the house – a simple round hole in the wall with no door – Celestia could see a world outside that was submerged. Whoever had built this house had done so in the middle of an undeep body of water. Why anybody would want to do that was beyond her, and it looked like exiting the house could be difficult for the alicorn. Not that she was in any condition to do so just yet.

Still, it had its own appeal. The submerged floor was covered in fine, white sand, making the water look crystal clear. And all light that fell on it was reflected in that unique pattern of light only water could make on the ceiling. Speaking of which, the Princess noticed a couple of nets hanging from the ceiling, holding materials that were meant to stay dry. Why anyone would want to keep… bones was beyond her, though. There was some more furniture scattered around the room, mostly cupboards, and some niches in the walls where pots, vases and some tools were stored. No chairs or tables in sight, however.

Celestia didn’t have much more time to ponder, though, as she saw a dark shape coming – or, rather, swimming – towards the entrance. A few moments later the figure entered the house, and Celestia could see that it was in fact the serpentine female she had seen earlier. She was carrying a big sack made of fine net with her, which filled with something green. The serpentine hung the sack on a hook so that the water would flow out of it, and then looked straight at Celestia.

“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good.” The serpentine said, nodding at her. She rose up from the water, letting most of it glide off her blue scales, before climbing on the crescent floor, wiping her four feet dry with a towel.

“I... suppose that’s good indeed.” Celestia nodded back at her. “Am I correct to assume that this is your house?”

“You are,” the aquatic dragon confirmed while she busied herself with rummaging through a collection of pots in a niche, not looking at the alicorn. Her finned tail waved from left to right behind her.

“Then, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your hospitality.” Celestia smiled warmly at her. Now that Celestia could get a better look on her, she could tell she was quite a peculiar dragon. She did resemble a sea serpent, akin to the purple one that lived in the Everfree forest river, but only vaguely. She was only as big as Celestia, yet seemed fully grown. Her sky-blue scales resembled those of a snake more than those of a dragon, and she had smaller arms and legs. And finally, she had truly beautiful bright blue semi-transparent fins, one of which ran along her spine all the way from her head to the tip of her tail. On the tail itself was another fin, which was wide, elegant and semi-transparent as well. All in all, she was quite a beautiful water serpent.

“It’s nothing,” the serpentine shrugged. Her snakelike eyes looked at the ceiling, and when Celestia followed her gaze, she saw a black crystal embedded in a socket specifically designed for it. “Seems like I have to switch the Parch stone,” Celestia heard the other woman mutter to herself.

“The Parch stone?” Celestia inquired. The dragon glanced at her briefly, then returned her attention to the black crystal. She reared up on her hind legs to her full height of two metres, and plucked the stone out of its socket. The serpentine placed it on a cupboard and took another stone from inside a sealed pot. This crystal was a very light shade of blue, and was fitted into the socket on the ceiling, where it began to give off a gentle blue light.

“They absorb the water in the air, keeps it dry so the wood doesn’t rot,” the female reptile explained brusquely. “And they give some light. As they take in more water, they turn from blue to black, and once black, need to be replaced since they’re full.” She held up the black parch stone for Celestia to see. “This one I’ll toss in the fire next, to make the water it holds evaporate, and then I can use it again. Everyone has some of these.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded. “That is convenient.” There wasn’t much else she could say about it. She was curious as to how they work, if absorbing water was their natural function or if they were magically enchanted to do so, but she was no Twilight Sparkle, and didn’t want to be overly inquiring. The dragon didn’t seem very talkative either, as she said nothing more, simply took the stone and climbed up the ladder, vanishing upstairs. Celestia could hear her move on the wooden floor above her. Soon enough she came back downstairs, carrying something. What surprised the alicorn was that the dragon came down the ladder face first, and Celestia couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as she did so. The serpentine glanced at her sharply, an eyebrow raised.

“It’s nothing.” Celestia smiled peacefully.

“I would think so,” the female snapped. She set the thing she carried, which happened to be a dinner plate, down on a cupboard and walked over to the net she had hung up to dry out when she entered the house. She opened it slightly to fish out a few handfuls of green stuff. The dragon turned her head to Celestia. “You’re a horse, and horses eat clover, yes?!” It was meant to be a question, but came across more as a bark.

“Why, among other things, yes.” Celestia said, taken aback by her impoliteness. “I’m not exactly a horse, though. I’m an alicorn.”

“Alicorn, horse, all the same,” the dragon huffed. Then she paused, as if the words only now sank into her. “I thought alicorns had died out,” she then said slowly, putting some of the clover on the dinner plate she had brought.

“Not quite.” Celestia said. “I and my sister are still very much alive.”

“Then how did you escape the Hound up until now?” the female insisted, as she began to cut some mushrooms into pieces to add them to the clover for an extra taste. “I know him, he does things thoroughly. If there were alicorns here, he’d have known and killed you long before.”

“I’m not native to these lands... In fact, I was brought here only last night, by the Hound’s spell.” Celestia explained. “That was after he attacked my beautiful capital and kidnapped my favourite student.”

The dragon looked at her briefly again. “Where do you come from then?” She mixed some spices through the salad she was preparing. “The demon’s influence stretches from Sauria to the Dragonspires in the north. Almost everywhere, thus.”

“Dragonspires, you say?” Celestia pondered for a while. “If my memory serves me right, those are located to the southwest from the Gryphon Kingdoms... I come from Equestria, which is even further north.”

To her surprise, the serpentine laughed, almost like a scoff. “Please, every hatchling knows the lands beyond the Dragonspires belong to Discord, pretty much the only reason the Hound hasn’t gone further than them.”

“As a matter of fact, my sister and I have defeated Discord more than a thousand years ago.” Celestia said dryly. “Ponykind has lived peacefully and prosperously ever since under my... our rule. He managed to escape not that long ago, but was promptly defeated again.”

“Of course, of course, and the Church wasn’t destroyed,” the serpentine replied sarcastically.

Celestia glared at the serpent. “You may not believe me if you wish so...” The alicorn shrugged. “But what is this Church you speak of?”

“The Church of Light of course,” came the answer, and Celestia could see some form of sorrow in the serpent’s eyes as she spoke of it. “He destroyed it all eons ago. There’s nothing left of its great civilization.” She clenched her fist around something she wore around her neck. “Nothing at all.”

“I’ve... never heard of it...” Celestia admitted.

“Feh, few have these days,” the dragon shrugged, and she came over to the alicorn and set the plate of salad before her nose. Celestia shifted herself into a more comfortable position and began eating. It was fine clover indeed, and the mushrooms were a nice touch. Could use a few daisies, but overall, it was quite a pleasant meal.

The serpentine watched in silence. To her, this horse was certainly strange. She did have wings and a horn, which would make this equine an alicorn... that is, if T hadn’t known for a fact that they had died out. It was all very strange. First she felt the familiar presence of the Hound in the distance, together with another great power she couldn’t identify, then the sun turned red and black and when she arrived on the scene she found a winged horse that the Hound had seemed quite intent on killing. It didn’t make much sense, any of it. Especially that she claimed to have defeated Discord and to be ruling his land. The last trip to the north had only been two millennia ago or so, could so much have changed in such a little time? The serpent sighed. All this thinking wasn’t good for her brain...

She glanced outside to the red sun, still burning far too strongly above the world. She didn’t know what the Hound planned with it, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Seeing him cast the spell that did it had been truly terrifying. She wondered where exactly the alicorn fitted into it, however. The Hound had blasted shadow from her body into the sun. Why?

Suddenly, the alicorn interrupted her meal. “Looks like it’s time to set the sun...” She said quietly. The serpentine looked at her, puzzled.

“The sun hasn’t moved from where it stood since it turned red,” she said.

Celestia’s eyes widened. “Is that so?” She asked. While it took effort to raise the sun and put it down to sleep, during the day it was perfectly capable of moving on its own.

“It’s in the sky, and it’s red, but it looks like it had just risen, and it rose more to the south than normal,” the dragon explained. “I don’t know what the Hound did to cause this, but I don’t like it.”

Celestia looked at her wound sadly. She knew what caused it. The Hound’s shadow blast must have made the sun lose its momentum as well, making it stand still. Meaning it would take extra effort to move it... The divine alicorn sighed. She had to do it.

“Keep an eye on the Sun.” She told the serpent and concentrated on her magic. Soon enough, the room was filled with soothing light coming from her glowing horn. The serpentine advanced on the alicorn, her face bearing a serious expression.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” she began.

Celestia ignored her. The serpent had no right to interfere with the natural order. The alicorn had to lower the Sun, and had to do it now. Concentrating, she reached out to the now-red star. As she did so, she felt another magical presence, one that she knew all too well. Her sister was there to move the Sun as well. This was good, she would need her help. Together, the two deities reached out to the Sun and gave it a push.

“Fine, be that way and kill yourself,” the dragon snapped, turning her back to the alicorn and looking through the window outside. She didn’t know what magic this stubborn horse was trying to cook up, but N clearly told her one shouldn’t practice magic while being in such a bad condition. The serpentine sighed and looked at the Sun, but then couldn’t stifle a gasp. Had the Sun just... moved? Her eyes narrowed. It had! She turned her head to the alicorn, then to the Sun again. She gasped again when she saw the black areas of the sun expanding. The alicorn’s face twisted into a pained expression, too, but her horn glowed only stronger.

The serpentine woman could only wonder what in the blazes was going on. Was it a coincidence that the Sun moved just when this alicorn used some weird magic? It must have been, else it would imply that this equine had just moved the sun. But why did the black areas expand? She looked at the alicorn again and saw the bandages over her wounds turning red. The reptile acted immediately, but it was too late. The alicorn’s face had twisted into a shocked expression as she opened her eyes, which had gone completely white with magic. She then screamed, and a powerful force seemingly knocked her back. The rest was lost in a blinding flash of light.

The aquatic found herself sailing through the air as well, landing with a crash against the opposite wall of the bed before falling into the water below. Shaking, she got up again, to find her house a mess and the alicorn a pile of misery, her bandages now soaked red. The wounds had reopened and the female cursed. All that work for nothing! She debated whether to try to bandage her again herself or to get N right away, when suddenly it became dark outside. Putting her head outside through one of the windows, the dragon was just in time to see the moon move before the red sun. She was no expert in astronomy, but this eclipse was definitely out of place! It made absolutely no sense. It seemed as if heavens and earth had fallen into complete, total and utter chaos!

Bluefin T growled and decided to do the only sensible thing she could think of. Get Poisonfang N here as soon as possible. He was the bookworm, he could make sense of it!

“What in the blazes is going on?!” she grumbled, cursing and swearing all the while as she let her body glide into the water and swam away.