The Hour of Demise

by Tioko

Beyond the portal

Luna trotted around nervously in circles on the ground, her horn glowing while she was studying the magic that lingered in the air. She was aware of the Elements of Harmony watching her, but for the moment paid them no heed, focussed entirely on her task of finding the remnants of the portal. It had to be somewhere past midnight now, but it was hard to tell with the night being in such an unnatural state. Following the magical trail that had led them to the place where Celestia had vanished was an easy task, and the journey had been completely uneventful.

“Uh, found anything yet, Princess?” Applejack asked. Luna was too concentrated to respond, her head moving in every direction.

“She will tell us if she does.” Rarity shrugged.

“Can’t you help her look around?” Rainbow Dash asked the unicorn.

“I’m afraid not, darling.” The fashion designer frowned. “Being a unicorn does not equal being good with magic. I’m just good at finding gems...” She sighed. “Twilight could have helped.” She then added: “Besides, I did cast a glance at the spell the Princess will have to perform in order to open this magical doorway, and to be frank, it went completely beyond me.”

“Wait, wait, wait... I thought she didn’t know the spell for making portals?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head.

“Making portals, no. Replicating someone else’s spell with exact same functions, precision and properties based on magic traces alone? Yes, we did find such a spell.” Rarity clarified.

“Just like my Pinkie Sense predicted!” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“Yeah, that thing o’ yours is mighty weird...” Applejack said quietly.

At that moment, Luna’s horn flashed brightly, and everybody turned to her.

“My little ponies, it appears that we have completed our studies.” The Moon Princess said. “We are ready to replicate the spell.” She motioned them to step back a bit. “We do not know what shall happen once we cast this spell, so we shan’t take any chances. It might be wise for ye all to stand back.”

“Um, oh, of course... if you don’t mind...” Fluttershy said, and the ponies stepped back to what they thought was a safe distance. Pleased with that, Luna set to work, closing her eyes as she concentrated her great magical prowess through her horn, casting this tricky replication spell that she had seen in the book. A small shining star appeared on the tip of her horn, and after filling it with as much condensed raw magical power as possible, Luna set it free.

The star immediately dashed into the air, as if pulled by a strong magnet. It stopped at a certain point, and then exploded into magical dust. As the dust vanished, one could see a faint outline in the sky. Then, on its own accord, the portal opened. It was as if someone cut a piece out of the air and made it swing open, revealing a large, circular and pitch black hole. Luna shivered as she brushed against it with her magic. This doorway to another land was corrupted with dark power, it unsettled her. She found it quite reminiscent of Discord’s spells and powers.

“Yay! We have a portal!” Pinkie cheered, and then declared: “All aboard the Pinkieplane!”

“Pardon me, Princess, and no offence meant, but just to make sure, you are certain that this will take us to where we want it to take us, are you not?” Rarity asked, addressing the Princess of the Night.

“The spell we used had been cast perfectly. We are positively sure that this portal indeed leads to Celestia.” Luna said. The white unicorn nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“Uh, Princess, you might wanna stop callin’ yourself ‘we’...” Applejack said a bit awkwardly, being nothing but honest. “I mean... We’re not in Canterlot where all that fancy-shmancy stuff is required, right?”

“But it is tradition to use the royal ‘we’ when addressing our subjects!” Luna replied, looking uncertain. She knew Celestia didn’t speak as such any more, and Twilight Sparkle had brought it up during the Night Mare Night as well. But it was a habit, something she was used to using for many centuries, and it was hard to let go of such things.

“Yeah, well... When you do that, it always makes me wanna ask, who’s we? Where’s the other person?” Rainbow Dash admitted. “It’s... kinda annoying.”

“The ‘we’ refers to the fact that we speak for all of Equestria and ponykind,” Luna explained, looking at her hooves nervously.

“Ehm... even when you... um... talk about something you did all on your own?” Fluttershy asked innocently.

“Only when in presence of our subjects,” came the answer.

Pinkie giggled. “Then pretend we aren’t here, silly! Hey, besides, we’re not your subjects! We’re your friends! Right, everypony?” Luna was rather taken aback by that.

“Uh, Pinkie, I’m not too sure you’re allowed say that...” Applejack said awkwardly.

“Why not?” The pink pony asked, completely clueless.

“We…” Luna paused, sighed and shook her head. “I mean… I… would be delighted and honoured to address ye as such.”

“YAAAAY!” Pinkie cheered, followed by a quiet ‘yay’ from Fluttershy.

“Wow...” Rainbow Dash blinked. “I’m actually friends with royalty!”

“We would be honoured and delighted to be your friends, too, Your Highness.” Rarity smiled.

“Please... Call us... me... Luna.” The alicorn responded. She remembered having told the citizens of Ponyville to address her as such as well, on Night Mare Night, but due to various circumstances and events, it hadn’t come to pass. Now, there was a new chance. It was both exciting and a bit frightening to the ages old winged unicorn. Friendship was a luxury rarely granted to both her and her sister. And especially for her it was unknown territory.

“Okie dokey lokey!” Pinkie cheered. “Oh, oh! I’ll definitely throw you a great party when we get back! ‘Cause making new friends is a great thing to throw a party for!”

Luna smiled awkwardly at the pink earth pony. “That sounds… fun?” she tried.

“YES!” Pinkie bounced excitedly. “My parties are the best parties in town! Not at all like that boring Grand Galloping Gala!” The Moon Princess remembered the last Gala and everything Celestia had told her about it. It hadn’t sounded that boring at all, she thought. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, got so excited that she hugged the alicorn and began bouncing around together with her. “We’ll have cupcakes, and music, and games, and a piñata, and cake, and fun, and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, and hot sauce, and my special punch, and...”

“Whoa, slow down, sugarcube!” Applejack raised her eyebrow. “Ya’ll do realize we’ll throw that party after we save Twi and Princess Celestia, right?”

Luna quickly untangled herself from Pinkie’s smothering embrace and scooted over to Applejack, trying to look innocent. “Yes, yes, indeed, which is something we should quite quickly get back to, if nopony objects…”

“Hey, that’s right! Silly me.” Pinkie giggled. “To the Pinkieplane!” She declared, waving in the said direction, and then dashed to it, jumping right inside. “Hop aboard, everypony!” Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy quickly did as requested, while Luna and Rainbow Dash spread their wings. Starting up the propeller, Pinkie quickly prepared to take flight, and then took off perfectly. With great expertise, she steered her plane straight at the passageway in the sky. Luna and Rainbow Dash followed close behind her.

It was just as the Pinkieplane began to enter through the black hole that Luna realized something was amiss. Her warning cry came too late, however. There was a flash of red light, and the next thing the Princess knew, the airplane was reduced to a million pieces that were blown all over the place, while its former passengers and pilot began falling towards the ground below. The falling ponies screamed, but thankfully, Fluttershy didn’t lose her ability to fly because of fear this time, and managed to grab Pinkie Pie while still in the air, while Luna and Rainbow Dash sped down to get Rarity and Applejack. Gently, the three of them lowered the former passengers of the plane to the ground.

“WHEE!!! This was...!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, but then looked around. “... Not... fun...” She concluded with a frown, then sniffed. “They broke my Pinkieplane!”

“Hate to break it to ya, sugarcube, but I think the plane be the least of our trouble,” Applejack said. “We could’ve been dead.”

“I...” Pinkie sniffed. “I know... But it was my very first Pinkieplane!”

“It’ll be your last.”

“Wha?! Who said that?!” Rainbow Dash demanded, spreading her wings threateningly and looking around, ready to take off any moment.

“None may pass through the gate.”

“Too bad, we’re already here.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Intruders shall perish,” the strange voice replied. Something was happening with the gate. Sparks or red electricity were flying off it, and Luna could feel that something was wrong. There was something coming their way, through the gate. There was no going back until it was there, even if they found a means to fly. Not only that, but the approaching presence felt... powerful... and disgustingly dark.

Suddenly, tendrils of darkness shot forth from the black hole in the sky, shadows rising off them like the blackest of smoke. They lunged towards the startled ponies and wrapped themselves around the six adventurers. Before they could react, the snake-like appendages had already pulled them off their feet, drawing them towards the hole. Before long, the ponies were absorbed.

Luna cursed inwardly as she paid attention to their surroundings. Or, to be precise, the lack of thereof. The ponies were surrounded by endless, empty, pitch black darkness. “We are in the emptiness between portals… And we are not alone. Be on your guard, my little ponies, there is no telling what lurks here!”

Fluttershy and Rarity shrieked and huddled closely to Pinkie Pie, who giggled, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked prepared to fight back whatever was there, and stood protectively next to their friends.

A low, long and loud moan echoed through the void, sounding like the gleeful cry of something that finally got food again after eons of starvation. All six of the ponies could feel that they were being watched or observed by… something.

“Food…”

Fluttershy shrieked again, dropping to the ground and covering her head with her hooves, shaking with fear.

“We’re not food, silly!” Pinkie giggled. “Cake is food!”

“Ponies… Pegasi…Unicorn…” the strange voice, which sounded hoarse and genderless, seemingly coming from all around them, said. “Haven’t tasted your flesh in ages… And oh… oh… Alicorn… It has been millennia since last I feasted upon you… The previous one, I had to let pass… But not you… All of you… I am allowed to feast upon… Fooood…”

Applejack gulped. “I... I don’t wanna be eaten...”

“We have to get out of here!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Eh, yeah, we will as soon as you tell me where the exit is,” Rainbow Dash replied, kindly reminding them all that they were stuck.

“You will not go…anywhere… except inside me…” the being said. There was a soft rumbling, and then the ponies could finally see something else besides each other and the emptiness. A mouth, an enormous maw, slowly opened wide. Once fully open, it was circular, set all around with row after row of enormous sharp teeth. The mouth was large enough to swallow a whole herd of ponies at once. “Food…”

Shrieks filled the air as they saw the monstrous maw and imagined themselves being ripped apart by it.

“Pull yerself together, everypony!” Applejack shouted, looking at Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie. “We ain’t gonna go down without a fight!”

“Please do tell how on earth you plan of fighting that thing, darling,” Rarity replied nervously, glancing at the gigantic maw with undisguised fear.

“AJ’s right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Aren’t we the Elements of Harmony? We have magic! We can do something!”

Luna shook her head. “There is little we can do against this… creature, my friends,” she said insistently. “Engaging this monster would only wear us down, it is best we escape. I shall attempt to teleport us all away from here…”

“Oooh, oooh... please, please do so, Luna... that is... if you don’t mind...” Fluttershy whined as she trembled from fear.

“No… You will not leave… You shall feed me, Charibdis!”

And as the words were spoken, the six ponies felt a strong sucking motion pull them towards the gaping maw, the abyss of teeth. The monstrous entity that lurked in the emptiness, known in ages past simply as Charibdis, sucked them towards itself, so that it could feed upon them, a pleasure it had not known for far too long.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. There was no way she was gonna let this thing eat her friends! Grabbing the one closest to her, Rarity, she began flying against the wind, pushing her wings to the limit to escape the maw. She felt like a fish trying to swim up against a waterfall, but did not give up. She could not let her friends down!

Driven by her determination, her necklace, the Element of Loyalty, began to glow. The lightning-shaped gem gave off a bright light that illuminated the emptiness, and a horrifying shriek came from the mouth of Charibdis. It was a howl of agony, for never before had such a bright light come within the darkness of its void, and it burned.

“Star… the accursed stars…!”

“It’s afraid of light! We can beat him!” Applejack exclaimed. Inspired by the newfound truth, her Element of Honesty began to glow as well. A second star had begun to burn brightly within the emptiness, and the ponies could feel the anger and agony of the devouring entity.

“No… No! I shan’t be denied!” it screeched, and the winds that pulled the six adventurers towards the abyss of death increased in strength.

Luna tried her best to perform the spell of teleportation, but her attention was constantly divided between preventing herself from being drawn into the maw of Charibdis, making sure none of her new friends were pulled in by the entity and marvelling at what was happening around her. Her concentration was constantly interrupted.

Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. It was Fluttershy, who somehow managed to float steadily next to her.

“You can do it, Princess... I mean, Luna.” The shy pegasus smiled warmly, assuring her. Her gemstone, the Element of Kindness, glowed brightly as well. The rays of light emerging from her necklace drove back the entity, which bellowed in frustration and powerless anger. As a final attempt to have its meal, tendrils of shadow sprang forth from within the maw of Charibdis, trying to grab the ponies once more and pull them inside its mouth to devour them.

“WHEEE!!!” Came a cry from Pinkie as she began teasing the tendrils. “Hey! Hey, catch me! Nope, you missed! Come on! Nope, missed again! Tee hee hee!” The party pony giggled, genuinely having fun playing tag. Her Element of Laughter shined like a little star. Any tendril caught within its light withered away.

Luna watched all that, and still couldn’t concentrate, despite Fluttershy’s assurance. The lights, the noise, they were so distracting... Then, all of a sudden, the Princess couldn’t hear anything, as if someone had blocked all noises. She looked around only to find Rarity, who surrounded her with a ball of magic.

“It’s okay, darling, you can concentrate now.” The unicorn smiled. She often used this spell when Sweetie Belle was just a baby to block out her crying while she was working, and still used it occasionally when she was ‘in the zone’ creating new dresses. And now she used her magic to aid Luna, despite being pulled into the abyss of death. Her Element of Generosity shed soft, warm light.

“We’ll hold the critter back for ya’ll, you just get the lot of us outta here,” Applejack added. The five floated towards each other, making some sort of battle formation, and their Elements glowed thrice as bright, reacting to each other. The lights of their elements seemed to combine, and then suddenly there was an explosion of light, the brightness flooding through the emptiness like a tidal wave, turning the blackness around them into shining, bright white.

“NOO!!!” Charibdis howled in agony, the monstrous mouth of the entity sticking out like a stain on a white tablecloth. Despite all the light, its body was still not to be seen, cloaked forever in shadows that not even the Elements of Harmony could penetrate. “The light… The light… It burns…IT BURNS!!!”

Luna finally got her concentration perfected, and teleported them all out. The emptiness between portals and its ancient, gruesome inhabitant vanished from sight, and the cries of agony from Charibdis echoing away. The only problem was that Luna had no idea where they were going. Teleporting herself, let alone five other ponies, out of a place that, in theory, didn’t truly exist was a taxing enough task on itself, not to mention the possibility that none of the laws and rules of magic she knew applied to the emptiness. But, for a moment, she could feel a glimpse of something, shining like a beacon of light, and the teleporting spell pulling them in that direction. A flash of light, and the ponies were safe.

Well, as safe as one could be about fifty feet in the air. Luna gasped and quickly teleported them again, much closer to the ground this time. They landed safely on their hooves, and the Moon Princess let out a deep sigh of relief, glad that that ordeal was over and had ended well.

“See? We actually beat this guy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly.

“Oooh, so it was a guy? I had no idea! It sounded pretty unguy-ish and ungirl-ish to me!” Pinkie Pie grinned brightly.

“I’m sure she used that as an expression, darling.” Rarity assured her, then looked around. “Hmm... I hope we’re in the right place this time...”

“We… I mean, I, doubt that Charibdis has perished,” Luna said to Rainbow Dash, before joining Rarity in looking around. Wherever they were, there was a lot of vegetation and trees, like a forest. The Princess shook her head. No, it was too dense, the temperature too warm and the air too humid to be a forest. A jungle, then? “Let us try to find out where we are. Fair Rarity, do you still have the map?”

“Of course,” Rarity replied with a smile, and she lifted the map out of her saddlebag with her telekinesis. Luna took the map with her own telekinesis, unfolded it, and began casting map-marking spells. One to show their current location, one for Celestia, and one for Twilight Sparkle. Almost instantly three dots appeared on the map: one gold, one purple and one red.

“Well, it appears we indeed landed in the right lands.” Luna smiled. Her smile faltered a bit. “Though it would also appear that my dearest sister and Twilight Sparkle are quite far removed from us.”

“So, um... where should we go?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“That depends on who we wish to reunite with first,” Luna answered.

“But they’re both really important!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“We… I know,” the Princess said. “But choices have to be made. In this unknown territory, we cannot afford to split up. There is but one map, as it is.”

“Well, which way would be faster?” The cyan pegasus asked. “They both can be in danger, we can’t waste any time!”

“I hate to say it, but I think we should go fer the Princess first. She’s kinda more important than Twilight at the moment. I mean, not to be bleak but…” Applejack spoke up, but she couldn’t finish her sentence, not liking what she had planned to say.

“But if anything happens to Twilight Sparkle, it would be a loss to us personally only. Were something to happen to ‘Tia, it would be a disaster for the entire world,” Luna finished for the farmer, who nodded.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I... I see the reason...”

Rarity, meanwhile, took a close look at the golden dot on the map. “Strange... According to the map, the Princess seems to be in the middle of a lake.” This surprised her friends, and they hurried over to see for themselves.

“It does look like a lake!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Oh, oh! Maybe the Princess went for a swim!” Pinkie suggested. “Beach parties are fun!”

Luna looked at the pink pony sharply. “Might we remind thee that our sister is very likely injured, given the state of the Sun, and thus a… beach party? ...would be the last thing on her mind.”

Pinkie frowned and lowered her head. “Yeah... I forgot...” She said quietly. Satisfied with the fact she understood that this was no light matter, Luna returned her attention to the map.

“I do not find my sister’s location strange.” She continued. “The world map is more than two thousand years old, and landscape could have changed in that time. There might be no lake there now.” It sounded logical, at the very least.

“Not only that,” Rarity added. “This small dot suggests that there is a settlement on the coast of the lake.” She then paused for a few seconds. “At least, there was.”

“Which is also logical,” Luna commented. “Living beings often settle themselves where there is water.”

“So we should head there. Okay.” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“Ehm, how long will it take us?” Fluttershy asked.

Luna took a close look at the map before answering: “We happen to be in dense jungle, thus, by my estimations... It shall take us about three days. Two if luck is on our side, but I tend to doubt it. Not only is the territory foreign to us, we have no way of knowing what awaits within the jungle, and we are not used to this climate either.”

“That’s no fun...” Applejack frowned. “I reckon we should find a good place for camp, and get some sleep.” She looked at the Princess. “How many hours till dawn? Uh, I mean, till the night’s over...”

Luna glanced up at the sky and had a thoughtful frown on her face. “A little less than five hours, by estimation.”

“Then we should definitely get some shut-eye.” Applejack nodded.

“I quite agree,” Rarity added. “I have had quite enough adventure and excitement for one night.”

“Hey, those rocks over there look kinda good.” Rainbow Dash noted, pointing to the right of them from her position in the air. “Maybe we should camp there.” The others followed the direction her hoof pointed at with their eyes. What Rainbow Dash noticed was a group of three big rocks standing right next to each other, sort of forming two sides of a triangle. They couldn’t really provide good shelter, but at least they’d be sure nothing will attack them from behind if they camped there.

“Seems as good a place as any!” Pinkie Pie said, and she hopped over. The other ponies followed. By the time they reached the stones, Pinkie was already cuddled up in her sleeping bag, snoring lightly.

“Should we make a fire?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Well, the night is warm, and fire kinda might attract animals... or enemies.” Applejack noted.

“Or keep them away,” Fluttershy argued quietly. “Most wild animals are afraid of fire…”

“Yeah, but the Hound’s cronies might find us!” The earth pony argued. “Ya think that big maw of darkness won’t come crying to its master?”

“Applejack makes a good point,” Rainbow Dash quipped. “We can fight off wild animals if needed. Besides, you can use the Stare on them, it’s no problem!”

“Oh… but… no… I couldn’t…”

“Huh? Why not?” The cyan pegasus raised her eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t want to scare them without a chance to become friends with them…” the other Pegasus answered, hiding her face behind her pink mane. Memories of the Grand Galloping Gala floated through her mind.

Applejack sighed. “Fluttershy, you won’t get a chance to become friends with them if they try to eat us.”

“Oh… ehm… I suppose that is true,” Fluttershy admitted.

“So let’s just go to sleep.” Applejack said, getting her own sleeping bag out.

“Would you mind passing me a bit to eat before that, though?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Sure thing.” Applejack said, taking an apple from her bag and tossing it to the pegasus. The winged pony handily caught it and gratefully started munching on the fruit.

“Aah, nothing beats a Sweet Apple Acre’s apple after a job well done,” the pegasus grinned.

“Yup. I’ve got dried apples too, for when the fresh ones go bad.” Applejack grinned, taking an apple herself. She looked around, trying to see if anybody else wanted one. Fluttershy had fallen asleep already, and Rarity said something about being on a diet.

“One for me, please,” Luna said hesitatingly. Applejack smiled and tossed her one as well. The alicorn caught it handily with her magic, and nibbled elegantly from it. The Princess had a questioning look on her face. “Pray tell, what is this… ‘stare’ thou mentioned?” she asked in a whisper, so as to not wake up the ponies already sleeping.

“Huh, well... Fluttershy has this ability to intimidate animals with the Stare. They tend to obey her after that...” Applejack explained. The Princess’ frown deepened.

“Dost thou mean… she stares at them… and they are intimidated?”

“Well, yeah, pretty much.” Applejack nodded. “It’s a special way of starin’.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought. “That is quite a remarkable talent,” she said, with a hint of amazement in her voice. “I do not remember hearing of this ability ever before.” The Moon Princess glanced at the sleeping Fluttershy, smiling warmly. “She is a very special pony then, indeed. One would not say by looking at her, though.”

“I think she’s plenty special.” Applejack shrugged. “All of mah friends are a plenty special bunch of ponies.”

“Every pony can be special in some shape or form,” Luna commented.

“Agreed.” The farm pony grinned. “Well, I’mma gonna get some shut-eye. Or you want me to keep watch?”

The Moon Princess shook her head. “I shall stand guard,” she offered seriously. “Ye all need your rest more than I do. As Princess of the Night, we find it hard to sleep during our time as it is.”

“Alrighty then.” Applejack nodded, getting into her sleeping bag. “Good night, Luna.”

“Pleasant dreams, fair Applejack,” the Princess replied, turning her back to the sleeping ponies and looking up at the sky. It was hard to see with the tops of so many trees hanging overhead, which would, during day, prevent almost any sunlight from reaching the forest floor. But even then, Luna could still see traces of the unnatural eclipse, and the sight worried her and wounded her heart. Where was her sister now, she wondered, and what condition was she in? What had happened to the valiant Twilight Sparkle, to whom she owed a great deal? Even she, Princess of the Night, equalled only by her own sister, had no way of knowing.

She turned her gaze away from the darkness above, and looked at the sleeping ponies behind her. She felt a small smile tug at her lips, and unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest. Elements of Harmony indeed, she thought. They barely knew her, and already counted her as one of their friends, and not just because she was their Princess, but because they wanted to. It was a touching gesture, and Luna was deeply moved. She had had so little friends, even before her banishment, and now she had so many lost years to make up for. But thanks to her sister’s love and care, and these bighearted ponies sleeping behind her, she had made a very good start. There was little more that she could wish for, aside for the safety of her sister and Twilight Sparkle, of course.

“We’ll find them…” she whispered quietly to herself, lifting her gaze up towards the heavens once more.

Celestia looked around. There was nothing but darkness surrounding her...

She heard something... A cry for help. Someone was trying to break out...

For a moment, she was confused. Who was it? What happened? And then she felt it. Her sister, she was trying to escape an empty void of darkness, but the place she tried to escape to... She must not!

“LUNA!!!”

In a surge of magical power, Celestia pulled her sister towards herself, altering the course of her teleportation. She must not land in that accursed place! Just one pull...

It worked. Celestia sighed in relief...

And woke up.

“Her horn glowed again...” A familiar voice muttered, and Celestia recognized the voice of her host.

“That’s strange.” Another voice sounded. The hiss in his speech made Celestia guess it was the cobra that tended to her earlier. “She’s clearly using magic in her sleep...” The Alicorn felt something move next to her on the bed. “And of course, it did her no good. Again.”

“Clearly suicidal, this one,” the voice of Bluefin T snorted. “I say we let her kill herself if she so desperately wants to die.”

“I wouldn’t think so...” Poisonfang N replied calmly. “You don’t have to be so blunt, I told you that already.”

“Hmph. I do what I want.” Bluefin grumbled.

“So I see,” the cobra said dryly. He rubbed his forehead with the tip of his tail and sighed. “But enough of that, did you find out anything more? I heard there was report of commotion near the edge of the jungle.”

“Yeah, well, Tweet said it was a bunch of multicoloured equines.” Bluefin shrugged. “But you know those birds and their brains, he couldn’t remember anything else.” She flipped it off as nothing, that much was clear, and the snake rolled his eyes.

“Your ignorance and lack of logic never cease to amuse me.” He shook his head. With a sigh, he pointed at Celestia. “Here we have a multicoloured horse. And you get a report of multicoloured horses. Do I have to go on, or have I humiliated you enough already?”

“What, you think they’re looking for her or something?” Bluefin raised her eyebrow.

“I doubt it’s a coincidence, at the very least, that we are suddenly flooded by equines,” the cobra answered.

The serpentine sighed. “If they want her, fine, let them take her.”

The snake copied her gesture, letting out a deep sigh of his own. “You really depress me sometimes, Bluefin. I wonder why I have so much patience with you,” he grumbled. “What is it with you lately that makes any conversation with you wind up containing more venom than I have in my fangs? Granted you never were the cheeriest Serpentine around, but ever since you made that journey to the Seal two years ago, you’ve given a whole new meaning to ‘unfriendly’. You should be glad I still want to talk to you, else you’d be all alone, given that most others have given up on you.”

Bluefin fell silent for a long time. She instinctively reached to the pendant on her neck, as if it could protect her. Then she glared at her only remaining friend. “You visit the Seal and see how cheerful you’ll be after standing in its presence.” The Serpentine gestured at the door of her house with her head. “Just listen to them all going on their daily business. As if the Hound is just a faraway nuisance, and the Church and its Adepts are a mere hatchlings’ tale.”

“T, I know you’re a descendant of a strong clan of Adepts, I know you are eager to follow their teachings, I know! But that doesn’t explain your behaviour.” Poisonfang glared at her.

Bluefin turned away, still clutching her pendant. “The Hour of Demise is coming...” She heard the cobra snort.

“Good luck trying to convince anyone of that. You can count the ones who have heard of Demise, let alone know its meaning, on one tail,” he said.

“And that’s exactly why I don’t want anything to do with them!” Bluefin cried out, hitting a wall with her fist. “Nobody believes me! For them I’m just a Serpentine with a strange power that saves their sorry tails every time one of the Hound’s cronies comes too close!”

“Can you blame them, though?” Poisonfang asked sharply, looking at her with a dark and serious gleam in his eyes. “Can you blame them for choosing denial? Can you blame them for not wanting to believe that the things you say can really happen? Our lives have been wrapped in shadow for generations by now, T. The Hound singlehandedly took cheer away from these lands. Then you come, and say it will only get worse, when life is hard enough as it is. Can you blame them?”

For a while, the room was silent. “...I guess not...” Bluefin finally whispered. She growled softly. “But it’s no excuse. Yes, things are bad already. So everybody should listen to me to prevent it from getting worse, not put their claws, feathers, tails, fins or whatever in their ears and pretend it won’t happen.”

“Easier said then done. We don’t all have your kind of power,” Poisonfang replied.

“I didn’t ask for it...” The serpentine replied, almost automatically.

“That’s not the point,” the cobra said. “The point is that you’re one of the few qualified to collide with the Hound. Only you and the ones like you can survive such an encounter, you know that, Bluefin. They cannot even take on the Hound, how do you expect them to help you prevent this Hour of Demise you dream about?”

“...I hate it when you’re right...” Bluefin growled quietly.

“Tell me something I didn’t know already,” Poisonfang laughed. Bluefin just sighed and shook her head.

“The eclipse still hasn’t passed...” She noted, looking from the window. “Aren’t they supposed to be really, really short?”

“Supposedly, yes,” the snake nodded. “But due to everything that has happened lately, I’m not even surprised anymore.” He shook his head slowly, and his eyes looked sombre. “The Hound is on the move, Bluefin. We both know it, and we both don’t like it. Something has happened, has changed… He’s been happy with tormenting these lands for the past few centuries, bringing it all under his claw at a leisurely pace. But now… You find him with this alicorn, at the same time that the Sun turns red… You dream of things I do not want to imagine… Now this unnatural eclipse. It’s too much to be coincidence, and I don’t doubt that the Hound’s had a claw in it. He’s stepped up his game. But why? And why now?”

“... You know...” Bluefin said thoughtfully. “This horse claimed she’s from Discord’s lands. That he’s been defeated. She kinda said it happened twice. And when she tried to use her magic, just before I called you, she said I had to watch the Sun. I swear I saw it move a bit, and then the Eclipse happened. I wonder if…” She trailed off and shrugged. “No way, I’m being stupid. Forget I said anything.”

The cobra just kept staring at his friend, barely believing what she said.

Bluefin saw that and shrugged again. “Like I said, forget it. Just a dumb rumour that I allowed to go to my head.”

“...Did you ask her name?” The cobra whispered.

“What?” Bluefin raised her eyebrow. “No way, even I’m not that rude.”

Her snake friend facetailed. “Saurian customs do not apply to horses...” He groaned.

“Well excuuuuuse me for being polite for once!” The serpentine sneered. “Why are you getting so worked up over her name, anyway?”

“The rumours, Bluefin, the rumours!” Poisonfang snapped back. “If we knew her name we could now at least verify if that ‘dumb rumour’ is just that, a hatchlings tale. And if not, we’d at least know why the Sun is acting up.”

“If you really want to know...” Came a hoarse, quiet voice from the bed. “I am Princess Celestia.”

The two friends turned around to face the wounded alicorn, shock etched clearly on their reptilian faces. Silence reigned for a while, and then the whole spire house shook with Bluefin’s cry.

“WHAT?!”