Crushing sadness. Hopelessness. Deep depression. All of these sensations and more were experienced by Twilight as she stared down at her hooves shackled to the scale's pan she stood upon. The dark purple flame flickered silently above her, giving off none of the crackling sounds that a typical fire would. All around the gigantic scale was endless blackness, not unlike when she'd first woken up in Aza's clutches. The only difference was that, here, the agony of countless tortured souls emanated from all directions. It couldn't be heard or seen, only felt through one's spirit. Any other person in the same situation would likely have collapsed under the insufferable strain of so much pain and suffering.
None of it affected Twilight, however, for her mind had already experienced more of both than anypony her age should be made to endure. Everything from Aza's sadistic musings, to Celestia's request of the Alicorn Amulet and refusal to explain the true reasoning of, and now the Shadow Game that the pharaoh had forced them both to play had all put Twilight on a steady decline down a hill of despair, to which she'd now reached the bottom of. The only consolation to be had was that, unless Celestia allowed her prized pupil and pseudo-daughter to die, she would finally come clean with her secrets. Even so, Twilight had doubts that their relationship would ever completely heal afterwards.
Once the pharaoh finished explaining the game's rules, Twilight looked up at her mentor with misty, puffy red eyes and furrowed brows. To Celestia, she imagined her face looked like one of fury. In truth, had she been allowed more time to get over her sorrow, Twilight was sure she would have been furious at her mentor right now. The look on Celestia's face was one of heavy concern mixed with regret. Twilight couldn't help but snort before asking her first question.
"Celestia, it's time you came clean," she said in a resolute tone. "My first question is the one you've neglected to truthfully answer ever since we first got here: why did you request the Alicorn Amulet from Aza?"
A brief silence followed, during which time the implications of the situation seemed to finally dawn on everyone. All realized that there was no way out for Celestia. Either she let loose her secrets, or Twilight's life would be that much closer to its end. Celestia looked downcast for a moment as she carefully considered her words, and how they'd affect her and Twilight's relationship. Finally, she looked back up with a neutral expression.
"I needed courage," she answered, in a completely even tone.
Twilight barely had time to raise a confused brow before she was momentarily startled as the scale shifted, raising Celestia up a bit and lowering herself down by the same amount. Once it stopped and Twilight had regained her balance she looked back to Celestia with a wry frown.
"Courage?" she said.
"I was scared, Twilight," Celestia admitted, and Twilight recoiled a bit upon seeing a few tears drop from the alicorn's muzzle, "scared that I would die here from Aza's sadistic games. Once we learned exactly what the situation was and that there was no way back home . . . the fear I felt then surpassed anything I'd ever experienced before." She glanced up to Twilight with tear-ridden eyes. "I know how much you look up to me, Twilight, and how you'd react to seeing me so afraid. I needed all the courage I could get so that you never lost yours." She glanced down again and resumed bawling her eyes out.
Twilight stared wide-eyed at her mentor, completely at a loss for words as her brain attempted to process all of what she'd been told. The pharaoh glanced down at them indifferently, but all the while hoping things would turn out alright in the end. Eventually, Twilight replied to Celestia's admission.
"I don't blame you, princess," she muttered.
Celestia took a moment to wipe away her tears and stand up straight. "What was that?" she asked.
Twilight gave a small smile. "I said 'I don't blame you'," she repeated. "In all honesty, princess, you should've been afraid."
Celestia sniffed before replying. "What do you mean, Twilight?"
"Princess, one would have to either be insane or have iced blood to not be scared of the situation we were put in." She chuckled while shaking her head. "I mean, Aza can pull anything it wants from the multiverse and set it upon us. We could die in the most horrific of ways here, ways we could never even imagine." She cast a small glare at the pharaoh. "And not necessarily by Aza's doing, either."
The pharaoh softened his gaze a bit. "I have no doubt that Celestia will continue being truthful during this Shadow Game, Twilight," he replied. "If there's one thing that's guaranteed, it's that your life and well-being are more precious than that of her secrets."
"He's right, Twilight," Celestia said, drawing Twilight's gaze back to her. "Regardless of anything that I've done here, nothing matters more to me than making sure you remain safe and sound." She grimaced as she continued. "I'll answer every single question you ask truthfully, but be warned that the answers I give could open up a window of understanding the likes of which you may not be able to comprehend."
Twilight stared blankly for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said. "Here's my next question: how was the Alicorn Amulet supposed to give you courage?" She frowned. "It's nothing but a cold, wretched monstrosity that corrupts all who tap into its power."
Celestia sighed. "That is true, Twilight, at least for non-alicorns." She then fixed her student with a somber gaze. "As for how it was supposed to give me courage . . . well, let's just say it belonged to somepony very close to me before it found its way into the hooves of your rival."
The scale once again shifted in Celestia's favor, bringing her a little bit closer to the keys. A heavy frown spread across Celestia's muzzle when it became clear to her that several more questions would need to be answered before she could reach the keys. While she had every intention of being truthful with her answers, she still wanted to end the Shadow Game as quickly as possible without divulging too much information to Twilight.
The lavender unicorn tilted her head in confusion. "And, who is this pony?" she asked. "What's their name?"
Celestia's eye twitched in irritation. For once, I wish Twilight wasn't so inquisitive, she mused internally before answering, "His name is Solis."
The scale shifted again only this time, to everyone's shock, in Twilight's favor, bringing the startled unicorn closer to the flame.
"What the hay, Celestia!?" she shouted, a scowl now adorning her face. "You just said you'd keep being truthful."
"Wait-no, Twilight! I didn't-" Celestia stuttered before shaking her head and turning to glare up at the pharaoh. "Yugi, what's the meaning of this!? I know I was truthful with my answer!"
The pharaoh shook his head. "Half-truths aren't acceptable in this Shadow Game, Celestia." He fixed her with a gaze that clearly showcased his concern underneath his stern expression. "I have no doubts that it was intended as truthful, but you must choose your words carefully if Twilight is to remain unharmed."
Celestia continued scowling at him for a moment before visibly deflating and turning her sullen head toward Twilight, who had her eyes narrowed at the solar alicorn. "What is your next question, Twilight?"
Twilight never let up on her accusatory glare as she asked her next question. "What's Solis' real name?" Her words had a slight venom to them that Celestia cringed at. Seeing her once faithful student treat her in such a way pained the white princess heavily.
Not wanting to risk the scale raising Twilight any higher up, Celestia decided to not hold back any details with her answer. "His birth name was Solis," she explained, trying her best to maintain a degree of stern forthrightness in her tone. "However, he now goes by the name Malefic."
The scale tilted, this time in Celestia's favor, putting her back at about where she was before the previous answer she gave. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned to smile at Twilight only to find herself confused at the unicorn's own look of confusion.
"You said 'he now goes by'," Twilight said, "as if he's still alive."
Celestia's eyes widened in panic as sweat began forming on her brow. "Did I say that?" she said, trying her absolute hardest to keep an even tone of voice, only just barely succeeding. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything other than he changed his name from Solis to Malefic."
". . . Okay then," Twilight replied, a hint of suspicion in her tone.
Celestia let out another sigh of relief at having successfully maneuvered her way out of at least one, potentially damning question.
"Here's my next question," Twilight continued. She fixed Celestia with a gaze that, while softer than the icy glare she'd been casting before, was still lacking in any real compassion. "What was your relationship with Solis, or Malefic, or whatever his name was?"
Celestia smiled wistfully as she closed her eyes in remembrance. "He was my adopted son," she answered. The scale lifted in Celestia's favor once again, putting her about halfway to the keys.
Twilight's eyes widened in surprise and her jaw went slack. "You had a son?" she gasped out.
Celestia nodded sagely. "Adopted, but I loved him as if he were my own flesh and blood." Her eyes turned a little misty as she talked, her sentimentality shining through despite the heartache she was feeling earlier. She wiped away a tear with a wing and looked to Twilight with a pensive frown. "Can we please change the subject of this discussion, Twilight? This is a memory lane I have not traversed in so long, and I'd prefer not to start now."
Twilight retained her shocked expression for a moment before shaking out of her stupor and returning her mentor's gaze. She regarded her for another moment before looking over to the pharaoh with a questioning stare.
"It's entirely your decision, Twilight," he said, emotionless as to show nothing in regards to his personal opinion on the matter.
Twilight regarded him also for a moment before looking down in contemplation. When she finally looked back up to Celestia, Twilight's face was one of stern resolution. "Celestia, I'm sure my questions have opened up a lot of old wounds, and I can see now what you meant earlier in regards to your answers being mind-blowing, but you need to trust that I'll be okay knowing these things." She smiled solemnly. "After all, knowing that we're still at the mercy of a sadistic, omnipotent universe dwarfs any revelation either of us could share with each other, wouldn't you say?"
Celestia stared blankly in thought as she mulled over Twilight's words before finally nodding in acceptance. "Very well, Twilight, but please be careful all the same. There are indeed old wounds regarding the topic of my adopted son, some of which have never truly healed."
"I understand, Celestia," Twilight replied, "and I promise to be mindful of your feelings from here on out." She turned to look up at the pharaoh. "How many more questions do I have?'
The pharaoh looked down at the scale for a moment in silent judgment. "It will take three more truthful answers to tip the scale far enough for Celestia to reach the keys," he replied stoically.
Twilight nodded and turned back to Celestia. While she pondered her next question the pharaoh spoke to Yugi.
As soon as the game is over, Yugi, I'm switching control back to you.
Why?
After forcing them into this Shadow Game, I sincerely doubt they'll be comfortable around me for a while.
I understand, pharaoh.
Thank you, Yugi.
"Alright, here's my next question," Twilight finally said, drawing the pharaoh's attention back to the game. "Why did you give the Alicorn Amulet to Solis?" A sheepish smile adorned her muzzle and her cheeks turned a light shade of crimson. "Like I said, I'm mindful of your feelings, but a parent giving their child something that corrupts other ponies sounds, well . . ."
"Negligent?" Celestia supplied.
Twilight's blush only deepened as she nodded.
Celestia giggled softly. "I can't say I blame you for thinking that," she said. "Without knowing the whole story, it certainly would seem like the work of a rotten mother." Her mouth set into a grim line as she continued. "As for why I gave the accursed thing to him, it's because I had absolute faith that he'd keep it safe from power-hungry ponies such as Miss Trixie Lulamoon." She shook her head. "As for how it ended up in her possession, I cannot say, but all that matters is that it's no longer being used for nefarious purposes."
The scale shifted in Celestia's favor. Two more questions and she'd be able to reach the keys. Twilight had her next question already decided, and waited for the scale to stop before asking it.
"That's a lot of trust to have in a pony to give them something so evil," she said with a small frown. "What was Solis like as a pony?"
"A lot like you, actually," Celestia replied, smiling. "He was inquisitive and loved learning new things, and prior to meeting me he was rather anti-social, preferring instead to busy himself with books." The corners of her smile fell. "If it's any consolation, I'd be willing to trust you with the amulet as well, my faithful student."
Twilight's reply was cut off by the scale once again as it lifted Celestia closer to the keys. The amount of distance between them enclosed until there was naught but a few hoof-lengths separating them. Just one more question and the Shadow Game would be over.
"Well, this is it, Twilight," Celestia replied once the scale stopped moving. "Let this last question satisfy the last of your curiosity."
Twilight contemplated for what seemed like hours as she poured through all the unanswered questions she still had. To hear that Princess Celestia had a son, adopted or not, was a huge shock to her, and her natural curiosity had demanded she learn everything about this pony so as to expand her knowledge. Only the sight of Celestia's sorrow-stricken face from long-buried memories resurfacing because of that curiosity kept it partially at bay.
She returned Celestia's gaze once again. Her longtime mentor, second mother, princess, and above all friend had a look in her eyes that spoke of many things; regret at having been so distrustful, apologetic for the same reason, and pleading for her student's forgiveness. Twilight's heart melted at the sight; in an instant, she felt all her natural curiosity evaporate and be replaced with humbleness. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself and refocusing her brain from curiosity to compassion. After taking a bit longer to come up with her final question, she gave Celestia a small smile and spoke in a tone to match.
"Here's my final question, princess," she said, barely loud enough for Celestia and the pharaoh to hear. "Can you promise from now on to have complete trust in me?" She shied away for a moment before continuing. "It hurts to think that you'd keep secrets from me at a time like this, and knowing that you have is even worse. The only way we're going to be able to work together to survive Aza's experiment is if we both have total, unwavering trust in each other." Her smile grew a bit bigger. "So, what do you say, princess; do we have an agreement?"
Celestia's composure almost broke again as her lip quivered with excitement and small tears began streaming down her cheeks. Eventually, she calmed down enough to hang her head with a smile of her own. "I guess I just needed a little reminder that my authority means nothing here," she whispered. She then returned Twilight's gaze. "Yes, Twilight; we do indeed have an agreement."
The scale shifted for the final time in Celestia's favor, lifting the solar alicorn up high enough so that they floated directly in front of her face. She wasted no time in grabbing both in her mouth, to which the magic aura surrounding them vanished.
"This Shadow Game is over," the pharaoh said, drawing both ponies' attention. "Celestia, you're now free to use your magic on the keys."
Celestia nodded in understanding and enveloped both of the keys in a golden aura, bringing them out of her mouth and floating one down to Twilight who enveloped it in her own lavender aura. The two ponies were about to unlock their shackles when the pharaoh spoke up again.
"Celestia? Twilight?"
They both looked to him. "Is something wrong, pharaoh?" Twilight asked.
The pharaoh took a moment to regard them both before sighing heavily and looking downcast. "I apologize for resorting to such a tactic as forcing you two into a Shadow Game." He shook his head. "I'll be switching control back to Yugi once we're done; I know you two would rather not contend with my presence after such."
The ponies stared with placid expressions at him for a while before Twilight let out a soft chuckle which clashed with the dark, brooding atmosphere of the Shadow Game. "Apology accepted, pharaoh," she said cheerily.
"I accept your apology as well," Celestia stated, smiling gently. "Dangerous as it was, it's what healed the rift between my faithful student and me, so to that I thank you."
"Me too," Twilight continued, then added, "just don't ever do it again."
The pharaoh stared blankly before closing his eyes and smiling himself. "Thank you both," he said humbly, "and . . . well, you're both welcome." He chuckled. "I promise another Shadow Game won't occur, Twilight; you have my word."
The ponies nodded in unison. "Alright," Celestia said, "let's introduce Ryuk to the rest of the group."
The others nodded and both mares inserted their respective keys into the locks on their shackles. Not a second after they turned them did Celestia feel the same magical sensation from before sweep over her brain, once again blinding her for a few moments before the scene around them returned to the blue Equestrian sky, the sun shining brightly overhead. Celestia looked in front of her to see Twilight rubbing her eyes, only to let out a surprised gasp as the solar alicorn rushed forward and swept her into a giant hug.
"I'm so glad you're safe, Twilight," she whispered, squeezing Twilight with both her wings and fore legs.
Twilight felt disoriented for a second before all her senses returned in full and she returned the hug. "Thanks for agreeing to trust me from now on, Celestia," she answered.
"And I have every intention of keeping that promise," Celestia replied. She broke the hug and stared her student straight in the eyes with a pensive smile. "Just promise me you'll keep your curiosity to a minimum from now on."
Twilight chuckled. "It's a deal, princess," she replied sweetly, and nuzzled her mentor's wing. Celestia did the same, letting a tear flow down her cheek and drop to the ground.
The pharaoh watched their exchange a few feet to their side before switching control back to Yugi. He too watched their exchange for a moment before looking around for Samus and Ryuk. He eventually spotted them by Sweet Apple Acres' front gate, both looking rather bored as they leaned against the wooden fence.
"Hey, you two!" Yugi called to them while waving his hands. "We're done over here!"
The two of them looked up to Yugi and began walking toward him after a couple of seconds.
"We were worried about you two," Samus told him once she and Ryuk closed the distance between them. She looked past him to the two hugging ponies. "Is everything patched up between them?"
Yugi nodded. "It is, but the pharaoh won't be coming out for a while after this." He held a hand up to the Millenium Puzzle in thought for a moment before turning to Ryuk. "So, did anything interesting happen while we were 'busy'?"
Ryuk shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing really interesting, but Samus here sure had a lot of questions for me regarding my role as a Shinigami." He chuckled. "It's only natural, I guess."
"Right," Yugi replied with a nod, then turned to Samus. "So, are we set to head back to Ponyville?"
"In a minute." The three looked to see Celestia approaching from behind with Twilight in tow, the former with a pained expression on her face and the latter looking perfectly neutral. Once they closed the distance between them, Celestia turned to Samus and pursed her lips before continuing. "I'm sorry I subjected you to so much agony, Samus; would your forgiveness be asking too much out of you?"
The space hunter stared back blankly for a few seconds as she mulled over what Celestia said. Finally, she walked up to the solar princess and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Princess Celestia, I've suffered greater agonies throughout my life than I think you're capable of topping. I've experienced the loss of my parents, my foster parents, and the one person who ever truly understood my anguish of having lost them." She smiled coyly and shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, princess; I would've done the same thing if I were in your position."
Celestia returned Samus' gaze with her own shocked expression. Eventually, however, it settled into a thankful expression and Celestia gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Samus." She then let her gaze fall onto the Element of Honesty which still hung around the human woman's neck, to which she perked back up as she remembered something. With a flash of her horn, she summoned the box containing the remaining Elements next to her and opened it.
"Twilight," she said, drawing the lavender unicorn's attention, "now that we're 'starting over' more or less, I suppose it's only fair that I make this offer to you again." She opened the box and levitated the familiar Element of Magic out and presented it to Twilight, who stared at it with a stoic expression that betrayed no emotion. "Would you like to join my alliance, my faithful student?"
Twilight said nothing for several long moments, during which time everyone present knew her young mind was working overtime to work out the best possible course of action and all foreseeable consequences that could arise from either accepting Celestia's offer or refusing it once again. Celestia herself watched her student contemplate with a neutral expression, but internally she silently pleaded with her to accept the Element of Magic so as to confirm that the rift in their relationship was, in fact, truly healed.
"Well, Celestia," Twilight finally said, "maybe I-"
She didn't finish her sentence as her ear suddenly flicked and her eyes went wide. "Wait, do you hear that?" she asked everyone, turning to them.
"Hear what?" Yugi asked confusedly.
"I don't hear anything," Ryuk stated.
"Me neither," Samus added with a shrug.
Celestia was about to ask Twilight for her decision when her ear flicked as well. "Wait," she said, looking out across the landscape, "I hear it too."
"You probably can't hear it because of your rather limited hearing," Twilight reasoned with the non-ponies, quickly adding "no offense" before they could frown.
"Well, what is it then?" Samus asked, priming her arm cannon. "And, more importantly, should we be worried?"
Twilight pursed her lips. "I don't know," she replied. "It's coming from the direction of Ponyville, but other than that I can't discern too much about it."
"What can you discern about it?" Yugi asked.
Twilight followed her mentor's gaze to the land beyond Sweet Apple Acres. "Only that it's slowly moving our way," she stated, then looked to Celestia in concern. "Should we be worried, princess?"
Celestia stared for a few more moments before sighing and slumping her shoulders. "Let's just head back to Ponyville," she said to the group. "Keep your eyes peeled the whole way."
Everyone nodded and began making way toward the front gate. They didn't get very far before Celestia suddenly stopped, kicking up a cloud of dust that sprayed across the backs of Yugi and Samus. "Wait, everyone," she said. Everyone stopped and turned to her, looks of concern adorning all their faces. "It's moving faster now, whatever it is."
Before anything more could be said, another sound began emanating from the front gate, one which the non-ponies did hear. It was the sound of wood banging against wood in rapid succession. A look at the front gate confirmed this was indeed true, as the wooden planks that made up the fence were rattling within their sockets of the vertical support posts. With every second that went by, the rattling grew louder and louder, until it eventually could be heard all the way from inside the Apple family homestead.
"What's going on!?" Twilight cried out.
Celestia was about to reassure her that everything would be alright when she was stopped by the sight of something from beyond the gate. Only with her incredible height could she see the small wall of rising dirt moving toward the fence that would go unnoticed had it not been moving so incredibly fast. Celestia briefed a glance up to Ryuk who was floating in the air, only to see him looking at the thing as well. His fixed blank expression remained and yet Celestia could tell that behind it the Shinigami was afraid of what was happening.
"Look!" Celestia heard Samus shout from her right.
The solar princess made to turn her head, managing to barely catch one of the wooden support posts as it sank into the ground, causing the horizontal wooden planks to crack in half and uselessly fall to the ground.
Instinctively, the group began backpedaling away from the fence, only to collectively shout in surprise and fall backwards as a giant plume of dirt shot out of the ground around them.
"Twilight!? Twilight!?" Celestia shouted as she desperately scrambled to her hooves. "Are you alright!?"
"I'm fine, princess!" Twilight called from somewhere nearby. "What happened!?"
"I don't know!" Celestia replied. She frantically swiveled her head around to locate everyone else. "Is everyone else alright?"
"I'm a-ok Celestia!" Yugi replied.
"Me too!" Samus called as well.
"Woah, that's one giant worm!" Ryuk stated.
Celestia frowned. "What're you talking abo-" Celestia stopped herself upon seeing what lay in front of her where the dirt plume shot up. For all its outward appearances as a worm, it was simply too huge for her to consider it as anything other than a monster. It laid on the ground facing her, and despite its lack of visible eyes Celestia couldn't help but imagine it was boring into her soul with a vehement gaze all the same.
"What the heck is that thing!?" Celestia heard Twilight shout from nearby, followed soon after by the lavender unicorn rushing to her side and hugging the solar princess.
"I don't know, Twilight," she replied, wrapping a wing around her student. "But it doesn't appear to be sentient judging from its behavior."
Almost as if in response to her assertion, the creature opened its maw and out slithered three snake-like tongues with mouths of their own. The two ponies' eyes widened in alarm as the snake-tongues began moving toward them, to which they furiously retreated while still facing toward it so as to keep it in their sights. Celestia saw that, while Ryuk remained hovering in the air above the monster creature, Samus and Yugi were standing on either side of it, ready to bolt if it turned toward them.
Eventually, the snake-tongues seemed to reach their limit and stopped approaching Twilight and Celestia, to which they stopped moving and simply stared at the enigmatic creature before them. It retracted its tongues and began backing into its hole . . .
"Hello, my little lab rats! Uncle Aza's back to check up on you- what the heck is that thing?"
. . . Only to come back out and rear its head up with a screech in response to Aza's exclamation. The creature rocked its head back and forth in apparent agony for a few moments before slumping its head onto the ground with a gigantic thud, sending a wall of dirt spraying all over Twilight and Celestia. The two ponies took a moment a shake the dirt loose before looking up at the sky with hardened scowls etched onto their faces.
"Would you mind explaining what this is for, Aza?" Celestia asked, doing little to mask the venom in her tone.
"Hey, don't blame me for this!"
Once again, the creature reared its head in pain following Aza's exclamation. Everyone briefed a glance to it before returning their attention skywards.
"Are you saying you didn't bring this thing here?" Yugi asked.
"Yes," Aza replied with total conviction, eliciting another screech from the creature, "let me reassure all of you that I'll announce any and all additions to your group well beforehand. The fact that I didn't announce whatever that thing is before means I didn't bring it here."
While the creature screeched in pain yet again, Samus spoke up. "So, what you're saying is," she pointed to the creature with her arm cannon, "this thing was already here when you roped this planet into yourself?"
"Exactly." Another screech. "Omnipotent as I am, I can still fall to carelessness and, as a result, miss certain details such as Mister Loudmouth there." More screeches.
Twilight's eyes went wide in response as she glanced down at the creature. This thing is native to this Equestria!?
"That doesn't explain why you didn't tell us about it sooner," Celestia said with furrowed brows, drawing Twilight's attention back upwards. "There's no way you could've missed seeing it for this long."
"Well, I can't explain why I managed to miss it straight away, but I was busy with something else just now and, as such, couldn't know what was happening to all of you."
"What were you busy with?" Ryuk asked, still floating.
"Nothing that concerns any of you."
Everyone sans Ryuk glared icily at the sky in response. It was then that Twilight realized the creature hadn't been screeching for a little bit and lowered her gaze to it. The creature appeared to still be alive, but judging from the way it was lazily sprawled across the ground on its side Twilight figured it'd fallen unconsciousness.
Maybe it's extremely sensitive to sound? she mused internally just as Yugi spoke up.
"Aza, are there any more of these things burrowing underground around here?"
There was silence for a moment before Aza finally said, "There's only two more, and one of them is terrorizing Ponyville."
"Where's the other one?" Samus asked.
"In Appleloosa."
". . . And where is that?"
"Don't worry, it's a town far to the west from here," Celestia said to her. "The two here are a bigger concern."
"Speaking of which," Yugi said, lowering his gaze to the creature, "how should we deal with this one?"
"Let's worry about that later," Twilight said. She looked upwards. "Aza, are the others okay?"
"At the moment, yes, but I doubt they'll be okay for long with that thing, wait for it . . . worming around!"
". . . Can you bring us back to them, please?" Twilight asked with forced pleasantness.
A deep sigh sounded. "Fine."