"I do not know if I can approve of this." Celestia commented as she and the purveyor waited in front of the doors of the council's chamber.
"Your consent is not of importance on this matter." the purveyor calmly replied, "This decision will be for Twilight to make, not you." he paused, "Or do you mistrust her?"
"What?!" Celestia seemed shocked, "I trust Twilight Sparkle with all of my heart..." she glared at him, "And you know this."
"Then why are you so worried about my choice?"
Celestia frowned, "I am worried because I fear that this burden may be too much for her to carry alone. She already has enough on her hooves trying to console Cadance over her loss."
"Twilight Sparkle has already realized for herself that her presence is anything but consoling for Cadence." Zaeres replied, "Her presence is nothing but a cruel reminder for Cadance of her lost loved ones... you should have realized this by now." Celestia gave him a disapproving look but did not reply, "I am sure she will welcome the opportunity to take a more active role in the future developments of this world."
"Still, why her? Surely there could have been someone else suited just as well?"
"Like your sister or you yourself?" the purveyor replied with a frown in his voice, "The other deities will already be skeptical enough of my choice as it is."
"That is not what I meant to say." Celestia shook her head, "But surely there must be a better way."
"She knows how to contact me... that alone makes her more than suited for this task. The less there are to disturb my work the better. Taking into account her talent for organization she really is the obvious choice for this."
"I still do not like it. I would rather not have her spend more time than necessary in your presence."
"Your concerns are noted."
The two stood quiet next to one another for a short moment, until Celestia picked up the conversation again.
"Your actions within the Barrier have shaken this world for these last two days. I take it your preparations are complete?"
The purveyor shifted slightly, "Everything is prepared. Once this council is over we will have a lot of work to do."
Celestia raised an eyebrow, "And after that?"
"I will start to prepare for the coming cycle." he stated with an impassive voice, "There are many variables to be taken into account if we are to actually succeed."
Celestia nodded, "And what of me?"
Zaeres turned his head slightly towards her, "What about you?"
"Will I be permitted to travel into the Barrier to see your race for myself?"
He remained quiet at first, contemplating her question. "I do not wish for them to meet any of the other races until they are ready to do so for themselves..." he turned his head away from her again, "If you wish to see them, do so in disguise and not in your current form. I will tolerate your presence as long as you do not reveal your true nature to them. The same applies for your sister and Twilight Sparkle, of course."
Celestia frowned, "Of course..." she turned her gaze away from his polished mask, "You do realize you have already made an enemy for yourself? Stormhorn is unlikely to forget the humiliation he suffered at your hands."
"Let him hold a grudge if he wishes to." the purveyor replied calmly, "Even he can not be foolish enough to challenge me."
"I hope you are right..." Celestia sighed and looked at the ground.
"What is it?" the purveyor asked.
Celestia seemed unsure of herself, "When you attacked Stormhorn..." she did not look at him as she spoke, "If Discord were to break free again... what would you do?"
Zaeres' shadows seemed to twitch at her question, but after a mere moment they had already realigned themselves again, "The question is not if he breaks free again but when, Celestia... and when he does break free his fate will rest in your hooves."
"What do you mean?"
The purveyor let out a long sigh, for some reason this conversation was more troubling for him than he had expected. "There are two scenarios I can imagine; One, the elements of harmony will be reborn in time to stop him again. Two, they are not."
"What would happen in the latter case?" Celestia asked with concern.
"Assuming that neither you or your sister would be capable of stopping him, even with Twilight Sparkle's assistance, his mere presence would pose a threat to my ambitions..." he turned slightly towards her, "And that is something I am not willing to tolerate. Does this answer your question?"
Celestia gave him a long stare, seemingly trying to weigh his words, "It does."
"Good."
The short silence that followed was interrupted by a bright flash, signaling Twilight Sparkle's arrival. The purveyor had wondered what had taken her so long, but the moment she appeared he knew the reason; Twilight wasn't traveling alone. She had brought Spike along with her.
"Princess!" Spike called out as he spotted her, and froze as he spotted the purveyor. Spike leaned closer to Twilight and whispered fiercely, "Who's that?"
"I'll explain it to you later." Twilight whispered back, "Just let me do the talking."
"Be careful Twilight. He has no face! I don't even see any ears!"
"And you are one to judge another being by its appearance, Spike?" the purveyor spoke up with a hollow voice.
Spike visibly cringed, "You heard that, huh?"
"I did."
"So..." Spike gave him a curious look, "Who are you?"
"I am Dorchadas, deity of the void." Zaeres replied.
Spike gave a nervous chuckle, suddenly feeling a lot smaller than he was, "That's... cool... I guess?" he turned to Twilight, "You know him?!"
"Long story, Spike. I'll tell you later." Twilight replied.
"Why have you brought him with you?" the purveyor asked with impatience.
"I thought it would be okay..." Twilight replied nervously before turning to princess Celestia, "What happened? Why was I called here for?"
Celestia let out a sigh, "There is something important that needs to be done... Twilight, could I talk to you in private for a moment?"
"Of course, princess." Twilight turned to Spike, "Wait here, I'll be right back."
With that both Twilight and Celestia detached themselves and walked down one of the corridors, leaving the purveyor and Spike standing in front of the great doors in silence.
For a short while, the two just stood there; the purveyor perfectly motionless save for the shadows dancing around his form slowly, and Spike constantly passing him nervous glances.
"So..." Spike finally managed to speak up, "You're the deity of the void?"
"I am."
"Been around long?"
"Longer than you can imagine." the purveyor replied, already feeling slightly annoyed. Whatever was it Celestia wanted to discuss with Twilight? Zaeres wondered if Celestia was making plans of her own... though he doubted she was aware of Twilight Sparkle's true feelings yet.
"Uhm... so what is it you do?" Spike tilted his head as he let his gaze travel over the purveyor's form.
"What I do?" even as he spoke, Zaeres sent part of his mind into the void. Following the shadows running through the corridors he quickly found Celestia and Twilight. With a silent word on his lips he performed the phase shift and established a connection, allowing the words passed between the two alicorns to reach him, "I am a keeper of knowledge and secrets."
Spike raised an eyebrow, "So you're a historian?"
"Something similar..." the purveyor continued to speak even as he heard the alicorns' words, "Tell me, Spike." the dragon shuddered as he heard Zaeres speak his name, "What do you know of your own history?"