//------------------------------//
// For others 
// Story: Sworn to Moonlight 
// by Corwin Freiss 
//------------------------------//

Few years later

Regrowing the organs of our golem pony lost in the Vial Glass incident went as expected - it was a monotonous, uninteresting, and time consuming activity.  Meticulously kept documentation regarding them along with the step-by-step instructions of the production process stole any excitement of novelty from the task. Thus boredom became defining sign of these years for scientists and casters alike.
That doesn’t mean the organs didn’t get proper care and attention. Those assigned to supervise the regrowth remained as vigilant as when we did this first time around. Only the required number decreased. Although the rest of the team busied themselves with planned durability tests of the remaining golem pony parts, the scientists still had to deal with more free time than they were used to. Which also brought me into my current predicament.
“Please tell me you are only joking in really inappropriate way. Please, Frost, do this for me,” I say in tired and slightly desperate tone. Had it been anypony else than Frost Blossom who requested this, they would have flown out of my office with my magic as propulsion by now. Who knows, maybe some speed record would have been broken. But that white unicorn has her privileges.
“You know I wouldn’t joke about this. We need more time to utilize the brain modifications I added as my free time project. I need you to delay the assembling ritual,” Frost crashes my hopes while keeping her voice calm but filled with urgency.
“But the last report the team delivered stated that all tests were finished! What does that brain need time for now?” I exclaim in the last attempt to avert inevitable.
“Oh, the tests are finished, as is the brain. It is you who we need the time for.” She points her hoof at me and smiles victoriously.
Confusion suddenly drowns all my other feeling. 
“Me? What does this have to do with me?”
“The improvements I made will show, only if our artificial pony gets an actual mind. They have a strong connection to magic abilities, so I need a unicorn mind, and you are the only pony who wouldn’t reject me, so I already tuned the brain to host you.”
I open my mouth few times in an attempt to force some words out. She notices my state, walk to the cabinet to my left and pulls a bottle of whiskey out of it. Apart from me, she is the only pony who knows about that bottle, and at the moment I am very happy she does. The drink snaps me from my shock and opens the way for a rant.
“And you tell me this just like that?! You expect me to switch bodies, and you don’t even tell me about it beforehand! Not to mention, actually asking if I’m even willing to do so?!” I shout now standing, with my front hooves pushing into the wood of my desk so hard it causes indentations.
She shrinks into herself a bit, and with a sheepish smile says: “It… might have slipped my mind? Sorry about that…”
It is extremely hard to stay angry seeing her like this. I sit back down and lay my head on my hooves.
“I don’t suppose you could reverse the tuning?” She only shakes her head looking apologetically, allowing me to continue. “How much time do I have and what is the preparation procedure?”
“Three months. Then the neurons collapse due to the absence of activity. So you will go through with it?” she asks, sounding slightly incredulously.
“I don’t have a choice. We would be losing time again,” I let my resignation creep into my voice. “Once more, what do you want me to do now?”
She visibly perks up at my acquiescence.
“The first phase consists of meditations and learning to separate the mind from the physical part of your being. In the second phase we will withdraw your presence from every limb of yours, and then in the third one we relocate your mind into a crystal.” Her enthusiasm annoys me to no end.
“Charming. So you want me to stop moving, then you slowly cut my body to pieces and turn me into an intelligent stone? I can’t wait to start...” I recapitulate while glaring at her.
“Basically, yes,” she beams, completely oblivious of my sarcasm. “I will prepare everything, and we will begin right after lunch. Oh, and I need to alter the skull to grow a horn. And set the coloration! Got to go, see you soon!” And with that she runs out of the door.
I lean back closing my eyes and massage my temples. Why did it have to be Frost who brought this mess? She has a point, I can’t say no to her. Frost and I, as well as Fire Caller, joined the organisation almost at the same time and have been close friends ever since. If somepony has the right to claim they know me, it is her, and vice versa.
We helped each other climb the hierarchy. Ever since I became the leader, she has had completely free hand with her research, and I must say there were some very crazy projects she came up with. But roping me into mind transfer without asking me first tops them all. 
Our original intention was to create an actual golem. It would perform actions based on magical commands and lack any initiative or creativity. We didn’t even consider giving it a free will, even though it is a well known praxis. The timberwolves are shining, although messy, amateurish and out-of-control example of that. Mind transfer, on the other hand, is still sparsely visited territory, and the success rate of these attempts is about fifty percent. 
But I trust Frost. I have to. My hasty consent to participating in her project leaves me with no other chance. I refuse to lose face and disappoint her by revoking my decision.




I slowly wake from the state of deep meditation. The mind separation procedure consists mostly of convincing myself on the most subconscious level that I have no body. Which sounds much easier than it turns out to be. 
Unlike during the first few sessions, I need neither medication numbing my limbs, nor Frost’s guidance to perform the separation. At first I thought that putting me into an artificial body was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but from the vast amount of knowledge Frost has on meditation techniques and everything even slightly related to mind transfer I suspect she has planned this from the first stages of our project.
Even though she doesn’t actively participate in my mental exercises anymore, Frost insists on being present to every meditation I undergo. Vast number of things can go wrong; the body can fall into a shock or a sudden disturbance in magical laylines disrupts the balance of my mind, and my life would be gravely endangered. So I’m not surprised in the slightest that upon opening my eyes I see her in the same spot where she was when I started. 
“Hello again. Still enraptured by my unconscious form, I see. I wonder if there is a scientific name for that fascination,” I tease her while sitting up on the plain bed I was meditating on.
“Yes, concern for a friend,” she shoots back, annoyance clear in her voice. 
She gets up from her chair, the only other piece of furniture in this underground plain white room, and walks to me. I immediately wipe the smirk from my face. Sitting there and watching my unmoving body for any sign of trouble must be one of the most boring chores imaginable, and she still doesn’t allow anypony else to take it over for a single session.
“Sorry, I just wanted to lighten up the mood. I know you care, and I appreciate it.” I turn my eyes to the ground.
She puts a hoof under her chin and seems lost in her thoughts. 
“Now that I think about it, I do prefer your unconscious self. You at least keep your mouth shut when you are out,” she states after few seconds, smiling slyly.
“I get that alot. So was there anything interesting today?” I decide to turn our conversation to important things rather than defend my qualities of a charming conversationalist. 
“The results of my measuring show that when you were in the strongest part of meditation, the connection between your mind and body shrank to five percent of a normal volume. Congratulations, you passed the first phase of your preparation one whole week sooner than I thought possible.” She claps her hooves, smiles proudly at me, and makes her way to the door. “We can start the second phase right away, I will get the supplies we need!” 
“Frost, wait!” I get up and follow her out of the room. “I wanted to finish the phase early so I would have some time for myself. I need to do something before the ritual in case the transfer…” 
She stops in the middle of the hallway and places a hoof on my shoulder. “You know that I will make sure to minimize the risks. You will be fine.” She smiles but I have to wonder who she tries to reassure more - me or herself.
“I trust you,” If I didn’t, I would find a quicker way to commit suicide I think, a smile on my lips, “but when we succeed, it will take weeks, maybe even months before I gain full control of the body and its perks.”
I lead Frost into one of the labs. “And I would hate to let Vial wait any longer anyway.”
At the first glance the lab looks deserted; all the equipment lays inactive on the tables. But the first impressions often are deceiving. We manage to make only few steps inside before a light green ball of nervous energy flies into our faces.
“Good afternoon, Chant Circle, sir! I was just thinking about going to find you,” the green blur says. Then it takes a step back, and we see it is a unicorn with a gold mane. As he waits for us to speak, he is constantly shifting weight from one hoof to the other.
Before I can say a word, Frost quips from behind me: “So much for manners, I see.” 
All of the sudden the unicorn calms down and shrinks into himself. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t see you.”
A genuine smile appears on my face, a rare sight as of lately. Forest Twist is one of the trainees who joined us after Vial’s betrayal. Since his first day he has been known among our group for his boundless enthusiastic approach to our research and generally to anything scientific. That’s why I gave him a special assignment few weeks ago. Sadly, his other important trait is a catastrophic deficit of attention toward the everyday world surrounding him. He exhibits both proclivities every minute of his waking time in equal measure.
“You won’t make that mistake again, I’m sure. And I take it you finished the project I asked you to prepare.” He nods fervently. “Good. Be so kind and follow me now, I would like to explain the rules of outside actions to you. You just earned the right to partake in our next ritual, so you need to know the routines.” 
“You mean it, sir?” He asks incredulously, with great amount of hope in his voice.
“Of course. After all, who else should lead the incantation than its architect?” Till the end of my days I will never see happier face than Forest wears at this moment.




“So once we finish this, Frost will start cutting your limbs off?” Fire asks while we are waiting crouched behind some old boxes in a dark alleyway.
“Not literally at first, but yes. I will enter second phase of the preparation and slowly withdraw my presence from my body.” and thanks for reminding me. I add in my head.
“So this is kind of your bachelor’s party, right?” I look at him thoroughly confused. “I mean, after today, you will lose all your freedom, and you will be at the mercy of a mare.” He hardly contains laughter at this point. I facehoof at his thought processes, but I decide play along.
“If you see it that way, you are doing a poor job at being my best stallion. I haven’t seen a dance or a single bottle of cider here yet,” I retort with a grin, although its effect is diminished by the mask I’m wearing.
“How would I pay for that with the salary I get?” he asks pointing his hoof at me accusingly. “But don’t worry, I heard there will be fireworks later toni…” He trails of, and his ears perk up. He gestures for me to stay silent, and peaks over the top of the box. When he turns back to me, I can sense his evil smile as he says “Our guest of honor has arrived.”
I move slightly to the side to get Fire out of my line of sight, and watch a pony shape move down the road. As the light from one of the lampposts meets the shape, a light orange mane and a magenta coat became recognisable. It is Vial Glass, there is no doubt in my mind. Underneath the mask I bare my teeth in a predatory grin. 
After burning down our old hideout, the Royal Guard prepared a trial with Vial in which he was found guilty of crimes against nature, harmony and ponykind, but they pardoned him from punishment for his help in the supposed destruction of our group. To prevent any possible attempts of our families to get revenge, he was given new identity and moved to secret location. Yet very few things remain secret when there is an informant among the Royal Guard. We’ve kept an eye on Vial during all the years since his betrayal.
He created a new life for himself. In a sense I felt proud of him when I learned he had graduated Celestia’s Academy of Medicine with flying colors. At least he stayed true to helping ponies, even though he rejected our ways. However, his past affected his new life too. He could have gained a place in any major hospital across Equestria, but the Royal Guard stepped in and forced him to hide in a clinic of a backwater town. He soon fell into a routine, his time schedule never changing, just like his route from home to work and back. Up until today. There is a nice walk ready for him.
I give Fire a sign to wait. Vial walks past our alleyway and seems to be deep in thought; that will make our first step much easier. We give him ten seconds start and then leave our hiding spot. He hasn’t gone too far yet, there is obviously nothing he desires to get home to quickly. 
The streets of every small town like this one are completely abandoned at this late hour. Ponies working during the day are already home, most of them probably asleep, and those doing the night shift got to their workplaces hours ago. Vial is an exception; from the reports about his life we learned he tends to work overtime.
Of course, there is a chance of a lone wanderer or a pair of lovebirds, but I believe anypony in their right mind will stay at home tonight. The weather pegasi obviously forgot it is the end of April, not November. A cold wind carries a few stray papers past us as it tries to freeze anything in its way, and the clouds above mask the moon behind their black shapes.
We are keeping a steady distance while following him on the dark side of the street. It is not the time to reveal our presence. Vial is trudging along the houses on the other side, glancing at the shop windows and occasionally stopping to get a better look at something. From what I recall about my own stroll down this street during the afternoon - I was bored out of my mind from the waiting - there is nothing that could catch his interest in those windows. He must know that as well, he walks this route every day after all. If I didn’t know better, I would say he is prolonging his journey just to spite us.
Finally, he arrives at the point where the street divides; the way on the left leads to his house, the right one is the shortest way out of town. He turns to his usual path, but freezes on the spot. Two hooded figures emerge from shadows and are walking toward him. He shudders and turns around. Fire and I have stopped under a lamppost so he can’t miss our presence or our attire. We haven’t changed the design of our robes since the days of Vial’s membership, so he has no trouble recognising them right away.
Vial looks shocked, and even though he doesn’t panic yet, he chooses to go down the road not leading directly to his house rather than to meet the ponies reminding him of his past. In reaction to his decision we start moving again as well, now reinforced by those two. After about fifteen seconds he turns around to see if anypony is following him. Our quartet is there for him to behold, of course. We are walking spread across the entire width of the street. He picks up his speed. Every few seconds he looks over his shoulder and his pace is quickening with every reprise of that exercise. 
At last, he reaches a left turn that would take him in the direction of his house. Even from this distance the relieve in his stance is apparent. He makes his way to the corner, and stops in his tracks once again.  I can’t see them from here, but according to our plan another two hooded figures are currently facing towards now hyperventilating Vial.
He turns his head back to where he came from and once again sees the four of us standing fifty feet from him. He swallows and shakily says: “Ok, that was enough.” A single muscle doesn’t move in our bodies.
“Look, I don’t know how you learned about the coven thing, and you seriously scared me, but this joke is running old!” he continues and chuckles nervously. We don’t react to him now either.
“Punch Pear, stop it! This isn’t funny!” he is almost pleading, looking straight at Fire Caller. I have no idea who this Punch Pear is, probably just some prankster friend of Vial who has a similar build like Fire.
Small look of hope runs across Vial’s face as we are approaching him once again. It disappears the moment Fire answers him in an amused tone, “You got the name wrong. Otherwise, I agree, this is rather boring. But don’t worry, the funny part will come soon.”
Vial’s eyes widen in terror. He rears on his hindlegs and gallops away from us. We are pursuing him, matching his speed. Every now and then we pass alleyways and streets crossing the one we are running down. A hooded figure emerges from every single one. They position themselves all around and even above Vial. He is now heightening the tempo constantly. We are leaving the town limits. The intensity of the wind grows because no houses or other buildings are impeding its blasts anymore.
The forest, our destination, towers just behind a grassy field. At this point Vial probably doesn’t even realize where he is heading. The panic stricken pony is just madly dashing forward. He isn’t slowing down, even though the undergrowth is thickening with every step. Then we break free from the trees and enter a well-hidden clearing. Vial brakes to the halt immediately, his eyes getting even wider at the sight before him. He is visibly trembling from exertion and deadly fear and soon collapses to the ground, sobbing.
“No, no, please no. This is just a dream. No, you aren’t here, you are dead!” he is muttering between sobs. His body is convulsing so badly that it seems he is close to vomiting. 
One of the hooded figures who has been waiting for my group in the clearing levitates a glass of water to every participant of the chase, except, of course, Vial Glass. It was truly a tiring run, and we underestimated Vial’s physical capabilities. Or more exactly the power of his dread. While I recover from the chase, I take a closer look at the scene that brought Vial to a break down.
The setting was prepared under Forest’s direct lead without my assistance or advice. The magic diagram drawn on the ground is one of the most complicated I have ever seen. Four concentric circles filled with runes are connected by twelve lines running from the center to points on the outermost ring. The resulting sections are equal in size. Eleven casters are already standing at their positions, the place opposite to Forest, the leader of the ritual, who is standing on the apex of the diagram is reserved for me. 
Between the casters are stands with blue crystals on top. These will block any energy escaping the circle and return it into the sway and soundproof the place. In the middle of the whole setting is a neatly stacked truncated-pyramid-shaped pile of wood about six feet high and with enough space on top of it to fit a pony. Four shackles lay on it, the chains firmly rooted in the ground.
All but two of my fellow chasers are already forming an outer ring of ponies, joining the others who have been in the clearing from the beginning. The two remaining are flanking the shaking body lying on the ground in the fetal position.
Only our guards were supposed to chase Vial to this place at first, but I couldn’t pass the opportunity to see his face in the moment of his epiphany. I wanted to witness our revenge from the beginning to the end.
I walk to Vial, kneel down to him and say only: “Today you pay,” and stand back again. Some of our members with more theatrical tastes petitioned to me to lead a trial with Vial, and condemn him in the manner that the Princess would. I had to remind them that the punishment for treason and assistance in murder - which are basically the crimes Vial committed from our perspective - is a lifetime imprisonment which differs from our plan drastically and that we aren’t seeking justice, but revenge.
The pegasi lift him into the air, and I walk to my designated place. As they carry him to the platform, he turns his face to me and in pleading tone says: “Please, don’t hurt my friends.”
I nod. So he has some character after all. Or at least understands that begging us to stop would be futile. 
“They didn’t do anything to us, we have no reason to harm them. You have my word that we will leave them alone.”
The pegasi shackle Vial in place. He doesn’t even resist, mentally preparing to burn. Soon he will find out how wrong he is in his assumption. Forest raises his head and adjusts his stance. This is his show, and he wants it to be grand.
“My honored brethren, today our dead friends finally achieve peace, as we avenge them.” He turns directly to Vial and points a hoof at him “Glass always has to go through fire for its true character to be revealed. After today, everypony will see what you truly are. Traitor, Coward. Tartarus spawn.” 
I wonder just how many books about ancient mages Forest read that he pulls off such speech. But after how complicated ritual he orchestrated for today, I am willing to let him act all high and mighty here.
Vial is hyperventilating again. One of the things we teach our trainees is that there are much worse fates than death. He remembers this lesson well now and realizes that one of these fates is awaiting him.
Forest brings his raised hoof to the ground with a great force. At the impact, flames burst out at the base of the wooden pile. Twelve horns simultaneously light up. In place of the various colors of our standard magic auras only one appears, the ruby red of the black magic. The light is crawling along the lines on the ground. It reaches the crystals, and they start to emanate. Then all the symbols on the ground shine with our magical energy, and the fire in the centre turns red as well.
The time for the actual casting comes. Forest’s magic streaming from his twelve o’clock position delivers orders to the rest of us, and we follow without question. Vial’s skin is separating from the flesh, and all the fur goes with it. As soon as it falls of, the skin turns to dust which is then consumed in flames. Blood is running from thousands of places all over Vials exposed muscles. 
The bestial scream coming from his mouth never ceases and he is fighting with all his strength to break the chains. Even the biggest enemy of euthanasia would release him from the cares of the world by now. Under normal circumstances Vial would be long since unconscious, but the ponies standing on two, six and ten o’clock positions - that includes myself too - make sure that this mercy never comes. Because of him our friends burned to death, so it is only fair that he will find out how it feels to have one’s body destroyed. 
Forest works on DNA changes while the others reduce the body mass and reform the bones. The ribs crack and force the air from Vial’s lungs. Useless flesh is rotting on the body and falling off in huge chunks. The teeth are pushed out of the gums by the new set. They clatter against the wood and fall into the fire.
The flames are licking the rims of the platform, and the color of our magic shifts to bright purple. New parts are forming on Vial’s body sporting about half of his original size by now. Hooves are broken to pieces and each shard is turning into a finger with a claw. The tail thickens and spikes form on the upper side of it as well as along his spine and head.
We are almost done. The final transformation is up to Forest. He hesitates for a moment, admiring the work done so far. Then he rears up and slams his hooves into the ground once more. A violent wave of magic rushes to the fire. The flames surge thirty feet into the sky and rob the view on Vial from us. Dark roar is flooding the air. It’s not just the fire. Behind its curtain the powers of Tartarus brought forth by Forest finish what we started, and let us know about their presence loudly.
Sudden silence fills the clearing, as if all sounds left the world at once. The fire is mostly quenched and the lines on the ground vanished, consumed by the spell. Amidst the searing cinders a bizarrely shaped body is lying, unmoving. Forest and I step forward at the same time and cast a light spell. The rays from our horns are falling on a small reptile form. Magenta scales and orange spikes reflect the light. I look into the yellow eyes of the creature. The stare of vertical, snake-like pupils speaks of fear and pain.
“You brought flames upon us. Through flames you were born. And flames are your fate forever more. Because from this day on, Vial Glass, you will live your live as a salamander,” I state calmly and turn away. I know there will be no response to my words. Salamanders don’t speak.
Although turning Vial into salamander was my idea, it took Forest’s genius to perfect it. Black magic would be sufficient for shapeshifting of Vial’s body and even granting him correct characteristics, but his mind wouldn’t change and a skillful unicorn would be able to communicate with Vial or reverse our work entirely. Bringing the taint of Tartarus into the spell ensured that the realm of the damned accepted this creature as its spawn. There isn’t a pony in Vial’s new body.
“You did a fine job, Forest Twist. You deserve the rank of caster. From now on I expect you to partake in all of our rituals,” I praise and extend my hoof. Forest takes it and bows his head. 
“Thank you, sir, it is an honor.”
Nopony else says another word. We collect our equipment, destroy all traces of our presence and leave Vial and the clearing to their fate.




Logistics of escaping the scene of the ritual turned out to be very simple. We still tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but when there is nopony looking for you, the chance you get caught is very thin. 
We formed pairs just like the night of Vial’s betrayal, and chose different paths and means of travel to get back to our headquarters. We even made sure to arrive at different times. Everything for safety.
Fire and I enter the mansion, and the memory of our first arrival returns to me. This time, however, it is Frost who welcomes us.
“Finally you are here. I hope you enjoyed your little outing. You know what I think about such irresponsible actions,” she castigates me.
Fire continues walking. He is humming Mendelpony’s ‘Wedding March’, reviving his ‘bachelor party’ analogy from last night. I see his point now and shake my head.
“It had to be done, If nothing else, Forest Twist got his chance to prove himself. And he did so extremely well,” I turn my eyes to the top of the staircase to make sure Fire is listening. He is, and I force myself into a sincere and serious tone. 
“But now my body and soul belong only to you, Frost, in good and bad, in health and in illness, until I get better body or the death claims me.” 
A loud thud and guffaws are heard from the stairs. Fire obviously lost it. His merriness is infectious because soon I join in the full blown laughter. Frost’s look of confusion turns into one of irritation. She throws her forelegs over her head with a huff and strides away mumbling something about immature archmages and silly guards.