//------------------------------//
// Act IV - Ch. 38 Lord of Betrayal 
// Story: Justice Itself 
// by Autocharth 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 38 Lord of Betrayal


***


Twilight sighed in relief, closing the door behind her and slumping. Through it she could hear one of the guards - she flushed in silent embarrassment, unable to remember which guard it was in charge out there - reassuring the mayor. 

‘I hope they can give us some peace.’ One look at the library, stuffed full with her friends, the ponies currently possessed by Ardleon’s essence and a loud DJ wanting to know what was going on, she found herself doubting she was going to get it. Even Shining wasn’t doing anything to calm the chatter breaking out, just slumping next to a window. The urge to run over to him and ask if he was alright, again and again, nearly won over, but Twilight forced it down. He would say if he wasn’t fine. She was sure of it. She had to be, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to think of anything else.

“Alright, I need everypony to-” she began, stepping forward. Somepony had to take charge.

Poof!

“Gah!”

Thump!

Silence filled the library, save for the groaning of one mare and the whimpers of another. Twilight sat up, forcing the mare atop her off. She blinked watering eyes, rubbing at them.

“What was that? Are we under attack?” she asked, blinking woozily for a moment. Her eyes still stung from the flash, and Twilight wondered if Rainbow Dash had teleported. She dismissed it, since Dash wouldn’t have teleported right on top of her.

She wasn’t prepared to be shoved aside, but that’s just what Fluttershy did. Tumbling down, Twilight got a glance at the shivering ball of fur that was, unmistakably, Trixie. Strong hooves helped her up, and Twilight spared a moment to thank Applejack before turning her attention their new, apparently sobbing, arrival.

Trixie was already clutching Fluttershy when Twilight turned her attention to her, the kind mare humming and stroking her back just as she had done for the occasional crying filly. Fluttershy looked around, concern radiating from her in such intensity that it overwhelmed her control. She reined it back in before too long, but it didn’t take long for everypony to see it was founded.

Trixie’s coat was filthy, dirt smeared across her coat and even in her mane, with rings around her hooves where she had clearly been tightly bound. The sight of her, wretched and broken, made it rather confused when her sobbings slowly resolved into cries of….joy?

“She’s gone!” Trixie sobbed, a note of hysteric happiness behind the tears. “She’s gone! Trixie can think on her own and not be mad and T-Trixie isn’t crazy anymore!”

“Er...T-Trixie?” Fluttershy was faced with something far more complicated. Her fur tingled at the sheer force of Trixie’s feelings, an undammed flood of emotion that threatened to take her breath away. Relief and joy mixed with lingering fear. “Are you alright?”

Landing with a fwoosh next to them, Rainbow Dash eyed Trixie suspiciously. “How did she get here?” She narrowed her eyes, fixing them... “Wow, look at her horn.”

“Wha- oh, goodness! I thought that would be healed by now.” Rarity recoiled from the sight, an embarrassed flush coming to her cheeks. “Uh, I mean…um…”

“Trixie is free!” Giggling, Trixie shook Fluttershy. “I can think and think and think and think and she can’t make it all jumbled and thank you Princesses thank you!”

Dash snorted. “...she still sounds craz-ah!” She yelped in surprise, spilling onto her side without warning as she was rammed unexpectedly.

Bowling Rainbow Dash over, Vinyl skidded to a stop without joining the pegasus on the floor. She pointed at Trixie, grinning. “It’s the crazy mare!”

“Vinyl!” snapped Octavia. She hurried over, scowling at her friend. “Don’t be so rude! She’s wasn’t...well, she seems less cra- that is, more stable now. I think. Miss Trixie? Do you remember meeting us?”

Trixie looked, past her tear stained muzzle, and stared at the pair for a moment. “A...a bit. Oh! Trixie can remember things again without thinking they’re happening!” She pulled away from Fluttershy, giggling and clapping her hooves in the manner of a filly finally getting her birthday presents after a whole year since the last one. “Take that, evil monkey monster thing! The Princesses saved Trixie! Ah ha ha!”

“They must have sent her here,” Shining guessed, his voice thick with weariness. He frowned, looking out the window suspiciously. “If they found Scorpan, they wouldn’t want to leave her on the battlefield, especially if they sensed what was inside her.”

“Indeed. The essence.” The deep,  commanding voice drew Trixie’s somewhat fragmented attention to...him. She shrunk back from his imposing, stony expression and the mysterious look in his eyes. “She holds the last fragment.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Last? How do you know it’s the last?”

That brought him up short. Paladin paused, frowning. “I…” Blowing out a slow, heavy breath he shrugged. “I don’t know. It just...it feels right.”

“So, like my Pinkie sense? You got a shiver in your booty, and that means that’s all the essences? Heh, ‘essences’,” Pinkie giggled to herself. She looped a hoof around Paladin neck, grinning at him.

Paladin leaned his head  slightly away from Pinkie. “No. I suppose there was a bit of a shiver, yes, but its not the same.”

“Snrrk.” Snickering, Dash clapped a hoof over her muzzle.

“What?” He demanded, scowling.

“N-nothing..ehehe...just...Pally Sense.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened in excitement. “Oooh! Pal Sense! Paladin has Pal Sense! We can be Sense buddies!” 

It was a measure of how sane Trixie was turning out to be that she stared at Pinkie in surprise for a few seconds. “Uh...Trixie isn’t sure what’s going on, but, uh, she thinks she remembers nearly being stabbed, and the Princesses, so, is now the time for laughter?”

“Thank you!” Twilight groaned. “Yes, Trixie is right, we need to focus and get to work on what’s important here; getting that angelic essence out of all of you.”

Trixie pouted. “Trixie never said that,” she whined.

“Yeah, I’m still not one hundred percent on that.” Reaching over, Vinyl pulled Octavia closer, tapping her friend on the head with her hoof. “Like, Octy has some alien’s soul inside her?”

“Yes! Yes, I, Photo Finish, am unsure of all of zis!” added the photographer, shaking her head. “It made things happen, yes, but it has stopped, has it not? Vhat more do we need?”

 “To not be a danger to everypony around you,” answered Shining Armour firmly. He forced his tired body upright. “That stuff is dangerous, and it has to be contained. Twiley- ahem, Twilight has a container to hold it, and she’s going to work out how to get it out of you all safely.”

Twilight nodded gratefully at her brother, and just barely kept from blurting ‘are you sure you’re okay?’ at him. “Yes, and…” She trailed off, focusing somepony else. “Pinkie? Is something wrong?”

The strain on Paladin’s neck grew, and he looked down at his pink limpet worriedly. Her gaze shot past him, seeing into the distance with only a hazy focus. Her mouth hung open, and all four her hooves seemed to be….vibrating?

“Bad,” Pinkie whispered, shuddering in sudden fear. “Something bad.”

Nopony could help the dread that ran through their veins, ice-water lacing them for a moment.

Paladin took control of his emotions, scowling down at her. “Pinkie! I’ve been trying to talk to you about this, you’re losing control of your power. You need to adjust to how you’re hearing now, and how your voice sounds to you, or you’ll never...”

He stopped. Paladin’s breath rushed from him, an upheaval that struck him right to the heart lancing through his body. The world shifted in an instant, a change sweeping over it felt by all. To some, it was a mere tingle in the back of their mind. To others, it was a thunderous rumble.  It had no physical presence. Not a single leaf was disturbed. No quakes gripped the earth, yet it pervaded all things, a great wrenching in the fabric of their world.

“Paladin!” He couldn’t tell who the voices belonged to. He only barely heard them as he collapsed, taking Pinkie with him. The shock jarred her from her state, her squeal of dismay filling his ear so loudly it verged on painful.

Twilight caught herself against a bookshelf, Spike’s hands desperately trying to keep her up. “Celestia!” Her teacher’s name left her lips, though she knew not why. Distress overwhelmed her, born of a nameless source that screamed as though burning alive.

Her brother’s magic had only begun to wrap around her when Twilight began to move again. She nearly fell to the ground, but with stumbling steps on weak legs, she made it to her door. With a surge of will, she forced it open. Everything else vanished from her mind for a moment, a single thought dominant.

‘No...Princess, no!’

There they hung. It was a cruel mockery, to see the celestial bodies hanging above them, bathing the world in twilight. A vicious irony that cut through the fog of shock and fear. Her eyes ached from staring into the sun and it’s profile shadow of a horned mare’s head. Cries of dismay were spreading, filling the streets, and even her friends were joining in. 

“Impossible...” Shining Armour felt his chest constrict. It was impossible. There was no way he was seeing what he was seeing. He knew it. He wanted to know it, because he could feel the truth as though it were etched to his soul. “It’s not possible!”

Paladin, his weight supported by Applejack on one-side and Rainbow Dash on the other, stared past Twilight. “..we need to-”

He never finished; Twilight turned, glaring at him with eyes that shone with threatened tears. Paladin hesitated, unsure, and lost any chance to beat her to it.

“This is your fault! We should have gone to Canterlot!” The accusation in her voice nearly outweighed the dismay. “We should have gone to help them! If we had been there, we could have done something about...about whatever happened! That’s Princess Celestia! She’s been….locked away! Can’t you feel it? And it’s your fault!”

Shining’s attempt to turn her from her glare at Paladin proved futile, and instead he shut the door before anypony outside could hear what was going on. Not that most had any attention to spare right now, given the display above.

“Twilight, calm down, it’s not his fault,” he began.

“Perhaps it is.”

Shining, along with everyone else, looked at Paladin in utter shock. He kept his eyes on Twilight, not turning his attention away in the slightest. He took a step closer.

“Perhaps we could have done something. Maybe whatever happened could have been averted.” He shook his head. “But that means nothing. I advised we do as I thought best! I don’t know everything that happens, Twilight, and neither do you. If we find out that we could have helped had we followed along, please, blame me all you want, but until then, we need to do what we can now!”

Twilight didn’t back down, not one step, advancing to meet him. “I wanted to go, but you stopped me! The Princess, she’s...she’s trapped! Luna too!”

“I know,” he hissed, his expression falling. “I can look into the sky and see with my own eyes! If it is my fault, please, bellow and scream at me! Banish me to the edge of the world and lock me away! But do it after we’ve saved them! Because that’s what we need to do; we need to save them.”

Their glares met, eyes burning with equal intensity. Dragonfire couldn’t have matched it, until a white hoof was laid over Twilight’s shoulder. Shining Armour slowly pulled his sister back, wrapping both his forelegs around her in an encompassing hug.

“Breathe, Twiley,” he murmured softly. “Just breathe. We need you - all of you, your mind and your heart. You can’t do much good if you’re angry at Paladin, right?”

She nodded, weakly, her breathing slowing gradually. “You’re right,” Twilight agreed. He control returned, slowly. She turned slightly to look at her friends. “I’m sorry, everypony. I didn’t mean to...explode, like that. It just...overwhelmed me. Seeing that, on the sun...”

“Nopony blames ya, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed, looking out the window as she pulled Apple Bloom closer. “Seein’ that...both of the princesses, up there...how could he do that? Scorpan didn’t seemed that tough.”

“Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was…” Shining Armour trailed off uncertainly. He pressed a hoof to his head. “I’m not sure. All my mental defense training worked pretty well, but I still can’t remember a few key details. Scorpan isn’t operating alone, but he shouldn’t have had help where he was.”

Paladin turned his gaze out the window. Fluttershy was doing her best to keep everypony calm, conveying soothing warmth to all, but he wasn’t quite ready to accept it. Not so much the source, he assured himself guiltily, just right now, he didn’t need reassurance.

‘Scorpan has an ally, one he has kept hidden,’ he mused, turning the thought over in his head. ‘One with the power to allow him to fight...no. Not fight. They wouldn’t be sealed if it had been a simple fight. Something else has happened.’

“We need more information.” He didn’t realise he had said the words aloud until Rarity voiced the obvious question.

“Well, yes, but how? If the Princesses really have been…” Her voice died away, a faint tremble in it. She cleared her throat, shaking herself back to her senses. “Spike can’t really send a letter to Princess Celestia now, can he?”

“I say we go back to the last plan, and head to Canterlot! Pop out the Elements, find Scorpan and whoever is helping, and BAM! Stoned.” Rainbow Dash smirked. “Rainbow canon solves all our problems.”

“Oooh, rainbow cannon…” Vinyl’s eyes gleamed as she looked Rainbow Dash’s way.

Octavia didn’t even blink. “No.”

“I didn’t say anything yet-”

“And I’m saving us all time by saying ‘no, you cannot ask to use sacred magical relics for a light show at your next gig’.” A faint glare from Octavia had Vinyl pouting and shutting up. The classical mare looked attentively around the room. “If you can go, shouldn’t you? I admit, I don’t understand much of what is going on, but as much as I would appreciate having this ‘essence’ removed, I think saving the Princesses comes first.”

“See? Miss fancy bow tie agrees with my idea. Let’s get ‘porting over there and we can turn some evil to stone,” Rainbow Dash snickered. “I bet they’ll gloat. We won’t even have to aim.”

 “I...” Words escaped Twilight. The pressure was suddenly heavier, the weight of expectation upon her. This wasn’t like Discord or  Nightmare Moon. She had been caught up in the adrenaline, in the closeness of it all. ‘And this isn’t? No. We’ve stopped Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, and Ardleon. Scorpan and his ally are no different.’ Twilight nodded. “Yes. I agree. Paladin, your reasons before were good, but now I don’t think we’ve got the time to wait.”

He sighed, but offered no argument, though the need to continue their work to remove the essence still tugged at him. It was important, more than he knew, and delaying could only lead to danger. Even Fluttershy’s presence, soothing from across the room where she was keeping Trixie in state somewhere near ‘sane and calm’, did little to settle the sensation of urgency.

“You will need to breach the wards, will you not?” he asked instead.

Twilight already had an abacus and a book out, hovering next to her as she pulled from her brother’s embrace. “I just need to make a few calculations…”

A white hoof laid over the abacus. “Cadance should still be in the city, and she’s fine.”

“She’s fine? How do you know?” Paladin cocked his head to the side curiously.

“Er...because she is?” The question was returned with a look just as confused as Paladin was curious. Shining Armour shrugged. “I’d know if she wasn’t, trust me. If we send her a letter, she can bring down or open the wards for a short time. Long enough for us to teleport there, if we push it.”

The scritch-scratch of quill on parchment was already working on the letter, Spike pausing to give them a thumbs up. Sheer habit had the first line as ‘Dear Princess Celestia’, before it was underscored with ‘Princess Cadance’, as he began to write.

“Ask her to bring the wards down, but only towards Ponyville. Girls, Paladin, get closer. Everypony else, I’m sorry, we’ll be back as soon as we can, and hopefully with this mess dealt with.” Twilight’s expression changed wildly as her head swung between different ponies, her magic pulling her friends towards her. “You can stay here, just please put any books you take back where they came from Uh...Octavia is in charge!”

Octavia looked uneasy under the stares her fellow angelic-possessed were sending her way, almost breaking into a sweat when she saw the fillies being gently pushed in her direction. “Um..”

“Now, ya’ll better listen to her, okay?” Despite her stern tone, Applejack nuzzled her sister lovingly. “Ah’m sure we won’t be gone long.”

“Aww, but Ah wanna help! We got super-powers, what’s the point if we don’t use ‘em?” Apple Bloom whined. Instead of Applejack, she looked at her erstwhile-foalsitter as though Octavia was personally responsible for this.

“Yeah! We can help! I can sing! Like, with a magic voice! And Apple Bloom can...uh…” Sweetie Belle scratched her head. Her confused look turned to Apple Bloom. “Make stuff?”

The other filly huffed, her mood falling further. “Ah can make stuff perfect! An’, ya know, make fancy planks that make ponies better, like with Big Macintosh!”

Sweetie’s head bounced with her eager nods. “Yeah, that! She can do that!” Her eyes widened, a hint of moisture in them with the full force of the pout she launched Rarity’s way. “Can we pleeeeeease come with you?”

“No, you can’t.” Rarity twitched, her facade of sisterly responsibility almost cracking. “You need to stay here, where it’s safe. I dread to think what I would do if you were in danger. Now, I expect to hear you didn’t make any trouble while we were gone, alright?”

Her pout turning into a scowl, Sweetie gave a sour nod. “Fiiiiiiine.”

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash glanced at Pinkie. “Why do I feel like I should say something to Scootaloo? Where is she, anyway? I couldn’t find her before.”

Pinkie’s smile was only slightly forced as she shrugged. “She’s fine, I’m almost sure of it! Don’t worry, I’m sure if she turns up Octavia can look after her too.”

“Wait, uh, now, I’m very flattered, but are you sure you want to leave them to me? I mean, you don’t know me.” Octavia gave the pair of unimpressed fillies a nervous smile. She had never wondered what it was like to go deep sea diving, but it seemed she was about to get a harsh lesson in being out of her depth.

“Aww, don’t worry, ‘Tavi, I’ll keep the kids entertained if you bore them,” Vinyl promised. The unicorn grinned widely, only widening further at the sharp glare sent her way.

Applejack ignored the flare of Spike’s breath, just looking to Octavia. She looked over the mare for a moment. “Nah, Ah reckon y’all’ll do fine. Respectable mare like you? Ain’t gonna be a problem, Ah’m sure. Heck, if Twilight can trust ya with the library twice, Ah can trust ya to keep an eye on Apple Bloom. Can’t Ah, ‘Bloom?”

“Yeah, whatever,” grumbled the disinterested filly.

Applejack’s voice sharpened. “Lil’ missy, if Ah get back an’ find out ya gave Octavia here a hard time…” No threat, Applejack had discovered, was a good as the hint of a threat. It gave so much more room for a potentially naughty filly’s imagination to fill.

“Ah said ‘yeah’, Ah won’t make no trouble. Promise.” The grouchy tone didn’t do much to convince anypony, but Applejack accepted the promise. She ruffled Apple Bloom’s mane.

“Good. Now, take care-”

Foosh!

Twilight caught the parchment materialising. It didn’t even need unrolling. Her eyes ran over the simple scrawl, growing wide as she read the brief message.

“Cadance is going to lower the wards towards Ponyville in two minutes! Everypony get close, I need to get ready to teleport us.” The colour in her eyes lightened, a soft glow spreading from pupils to whites. “At least I can get us to Canterlot Castle well enough. Cadance said to go to the Hall of Harmony.”

Pinkie leaned over her shoulder, an inappropriate giggle cutting through the tension. “Oh, and she says ‘her Shiny’ better be alright, or she’s going to- mmphmmph!”

Pulling his now spitty hoof from Pinkie’s mouth, Shining Armour coughed. “Uh, let’s not share how overprotective Cadance can get, please.” He shook his hoof off, shuddering. “I’m already worried about her. Are you sure you can get us that far?”

“Prince Shining, please, Twilight is more than capable. Look how far she could get us when we went north.” Confidence filled Rarity’s voice, and were she not so focused on her spell, Twilight would have blushed in embarrassment. “There’s nothing our dear friend can’t do when it comes to magic.”

“I can teleport too, but Twilight’s pretty awesome at it,” conceded Rainbow Dash with a grin. “Let’s go show Scorpan what she can do.”

“What we can do,” Fluttershy corrected her. Trixie was left to latch onto the nearest pony to share her relief, and did so with Photo Finish. The tussle going unnoticed, Fluttershy glanced Paladin’s way. “All of us.”

His brief nod of agreement barely acknowledged her, and Fluttershy wilted. A lance of guilt shot between the pair, and his expression turned apologetic. It was nothing if not an experience to watch the pair communicating entirely without words, though one that quickly came to an end.

“Stay safe, everypony, we’ll be back before ya know it!” The glow rippled across Applejack as she raised a hoof in farewell, similar calls joining hers until they cut off with an abrupt flash. The library was cast into silence.

Octavia felt the walls press in on her, the sudden weight of responsibility almost as heavy as the penetrating, judging stares of the fillies. Vinyl only shrugged, unable to offer any help, or just unwilling to forgo the entertainment value, and patted her close, close friend on the shoulder.

“Good luck! I’m gonna go pick Trixie’s brain and see if I can work out what the buck is going on.”

“Vinyl, wait, uh….” Octavia’s plea fell on deaf ears. She looked uncertainly back at her charges, and wondered if sharks wore the same expression when they scented blood in the water. Or maybe they could smell fear. The uneasy smile she adopted only deepened the mischievous gleam in Apple Bloom’s eyes. The fancy, unprepared mare gulped, a brush of cold wind spiking her worry. “...save me…”


***


At first, Shining Armour thought something had gone wrong. Impossibly, Twilight had screwed up the spell, and he was about to be flayed by uncontrolled energies. It was something that should not, could not, have happened. Twilight didn’t screw up spells.

His back hit the wall, and he realised with a pleased sigh it was just his wife tackling him the instant he materialized. The next thirty seconds vanished in a haze of lips and tongues and-

“C-Cadance!” he gasped, fresh air rushing in desperately as he surfaced. “Not in public!”

She pulled back, giving him a look that suggested she was considering changing every public indecency law if she had to, or just violating them if that took too long. Only a cough from behind made her look back. Cadance’s cheeks lit up in embarrassment.

“Oh, Shining, I was so worried! When you vanished, I was up all night trying to find you, until Luna knocked me out because I wasn’t sleeping, and then- oh!” She swooped in, and they were nearly lost again until a pained groan from Twilight broke the pair up.

“Wow.” Fluttershy looked away. She wasn’t used to being only the third most embarrassed pony in a room, but Twilight had everypony else beaten. The unicorn had her eyes covered with one hoof, and the other over Spike’s - despite his protests. “Um…”

Applejack coughed again. “Er, Princess? Not to be, uh, rude or nothin’, but Ah thought we came here to stop Scorpan.”

Blinking at her, Cadance’s burning cheeks slowly cooled. She let her husband down from the wall she had pinned him against, and ignored the hoof prints she had left in the stone. “Yes, of course. I, uh, let’s move on. So, uh, just a short time ago, Auntie Celestia and Luna, they…”

Shining Armour nuzzled Cadance, and she accepted the gesture, sighing.

“...they were sealed in their respective charges,” Cadance continued. “I don’t know how. I just know they got the letter from you about where Scorpan was, and that you were fine-” Shining yelped, one of his wife’s wings wrapping around him. “-and I can’t thank any of you enough. Whatever you did, thank you, so, so much.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, face reddening. “Cadance, you’re embarrassing me.”

“I know. The thought of losing you, though...I know, we need to focus on the Princesses,” she cut him off, and the Captain closed his mouth. “I don’t know what happened. I wish I did. There wasn’t any fight, though. If either of them had used their full power so close, I would have sensed it. What I did sense, I don’t understand.”

“Psst, Twi’, you can drop the hoof now,” Pinkie stage-whispered.

Muffled though her voice was, Twilight’s replied, “I know Cadance, Pinkie, and I don’t need my eyes to analyse whatever Cadance sensed.”

“Dark magic.” 

Twilight’s hoof dropped in surprise, and she wasn’t the only one looking at Paladin. He scuffed at the floor, looking down as though he could peer through the stone.

“It feels almost familiar. Even with mortal senses, I can...feel it, in the air. Something was done below. Damnable mortal senses! I can’t tell anything about it,” seethed the pegasus, scowling fiercely. “It must have been a mighty work to seal them away. Planning. Someone planned this.”

“They must have. Scorpan did, and this ally of his I can’t remember.” Shining Armour tapped his hoof on the floor thoughtfully. Guilt flickered in his eyes before he shut the emotion away. “Perhaps the fact I warned them was factored into their plans. Normally, an enemy would do what the Changelings did; confront Princess Celestia only when there’s too many civilians around for her to use her most destructive magic. Luring her, and Luna, away from where they would be most vulnerable is ridiculous unless you plan for it.”

“Then they did. This was all planned, which begs the question; what is the next stage of the plan? What do we-” Paladin’s stern speech was cut off before he could even begin to brainstorm his plan. Hellish light, a devil’s flame, shone through the windows, the stained glass murals warping it and spreading it in a dozen lesser shades. “What the hells was that?”

“We’re under attack! Guards!” Shining’s horn lit, his voice transmitting across the palace. “This is Captain-urk!” Sparks burst from his horn, blinding Shining Armour. He would have fallen, had he not been at his wife’s side. “The spell, someone just hijacked the guard’s communication sp-”

“Canterlot!” The voice shook the city, its deep malevolence thick in the thundering call. It bypassed all barriers, spreading to each and every ear in the city with the hijacked spell network “Hear me! Your rulers are bound! Your greatest defence is gone!”

“That doesn’t sound like Scorpan.” Rarity was among the first at the nearest window, peering out. “Not at all. Where is he? Let me just…” Her Vision cut through the air, zeroing in as she searched, a task made easier when Twilight removed the middle of the stainglass window.

Only Fluttershy didn’t rush over, trying to peer out. She watched Paladin, worry creasing her face as she watched him. The threads of their bond were warping at the force of his unfocused, confusing emotions. Her touch failed to break his stock-still stance, and her voice went unheard. 

“Paladin?”

“That voice.” She had to strain to hear him. She leaned in, ears cocked towards him.

Rarity’s voice rose in triumph. “There it is, right on the outskirts of the city, it’s….O-oh, Celestia…” 

The voice rolled over them, not quite enough to drown out the sound of Rarity dryheaving. She slumped against the wall, hooves over her eyes.

“Do not despair! Their fate need not be your own,” proclaimed the dark figure that strode towards Canterlot, his huge red arms raised, too far to see unaided, barely more than a speck until a lens of air formed before the window. “Those who bring me the last Princess, Cadenza, will be rewarded!”

“Is that thing serious?! Who the hay would do that?” Disbelief coloured Dash’s expression and voice. Her brow furrowed. “I should port down there and kick him right in the-”

“No need.” The cold, hard note in Twilight’s voice sent shivers down every spine around her. The glow around her horn built, and the cold fury in her eyes began to burn hot. The eternal dusk cast over the land simply fueled her anger. The ice of serenity she had adopted melted to steam, boiling over.

“Twilight, darling, calm down, let’s not do anything rash.” Rarity staggered back to her hooves, and promptly began to fall over. “That thing is not like Scorpan! It’s much, much more! I saw...oh, goodness, I don’t want to think about it.”

“Then don’t. Whoever that is, whatever, I don’t care. They...they did that to the Princesses! All across Equestria, ponies will be panicking. Because of this monster.” She breathed out, her energies twisting and flowing into the spell. The angelic magic, more sheet music than spell, layered over a slightly modified attack spell. “We’re going to save them!”

Rainbow Dash grinned, chuckling. “Awesome. Let’s see them take a big magic beam from Twilight Sparkle, super-unicorn.”

“Twilight, wait a moment-” Cadance’s voice was lost, drowned in a single moment’s cacophony of exploding magic.

Light flashed from the city’s heart, crossing the distance from castle to outskirts in an instant. The beam existed for only a few seconds of pulsing life before vanishing and leaving Twilight’s legs wobbling.

“I’m fine, wow, that spell took more than I expected.” She smiled sheepishly at Applejack, staying steady with her friend’s help. “More importantly, did it work? Is that monster-”

“Found you.”

From the scar left on the edge of the city, dirt torn up and melted into a bizarre crater, shadows exploded. They writhed like a nest of serpents, different only in the minor shade to each dark tendril that coiled hungrily. Together they flowed through the city, and proved there was nothing quite like a highway straight to the castle to help with nefarious invasions.

“Well, dang. That didn’t work.”

Twilight watched in despair. “Gee, Applejack, thanks.”

The farmer gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sugarcube. We didn’t really try to stop ya. What’s the plan when that beastie gets here? Elements all ready to go?”

The suggestion was met with hurried agreement, though it only took a moment for them to realise Fluttershy had failed to chime in. She wasn’t even looking their way, her attention fixed, as so often seemed to be the case lately, on Paladin. 

“So long…” Images filled his mind, the relentless memories of eons.  It hurt to scour them all, his meat brain not up to the task of reviewing them all. “It has been so long.”

“Darling, whatever is the matter with him?” Rarity spared her watch on streets. She raised a hoof to the outside. “Fix him, or whatever you can do, because it’s going to get here soon.”

“What the hay is wrong with ‘im? If he don’t wake up, we’re gonna have to leave him here, ‘less you wanna try blastin’ this monster with only five of us.” Applejack shifted stance, armour sheathing with her an ringing echo. The Element of Honesty settled, embraced by the grooves of the armour as though it had always been there. “Come on, if we don’t get movin’, that thing’ll be here before we’re ready!”

“But…” Fluttershy took in Paladin’s slack expression and faraway gaze. Nothing she felt from him was ordered or controlled, simply a constant shifting mix. “I don’t know what’s happened to him. He’s just gone like this, and….”

Cadance stepped up, her hoof resting on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “And you want to help him. I may not know Paladin well, but I think that right now, he would want you to stop this monster before anypony is hurt. We’re all concerned, but we have to trust him, and we all have a duty. Paladin understands that.”

“Uh, it’s getting kinda close, and I don’t think the guards are gonna be able to hold it off long,” called Rainbow Dash. She winced, letting out a sympathetic ‘oooh’. “Wow, those guys just got knocked flying. Hope they’re okay.”

It was that, if nothing else, that reluctantly pulled Fluttershy from Paladin. She took a step away, watching him stare off at nothing, beset by visions of the ancient past that nopony could see, and not even the guards who came at Shining’s call made her feel any better.

“Fluttershy, I promise, we’ll snap him out of it as soon as we get back. We’re running out of time, it’ll be here soon! If we don’t get ready, we might miss our chance.” Twilight bowed her head, her will working at the barrier between them. The bond that existed might respond to Fluttershy’s will, but she was Twilight Sparkle, and there was no magic she couldn’t do something with, even if that something was simply trying to make Fluttershy sense her emotions.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Resolve hardened Fluttershy’s expression. Whatever Paladin endured now, she would trust him, and if he needed it, she would help him. But first, she would do what she knew he would tell her to do; she would go with her friends and save the day.

“Cadance and I will keep him distracted in the courtyard. You six, go to the entrance hall and get ready to use the Elements.” Shining Armour flexed his shoulders, wishing for his armour. It might not do much against powerful magic, but it was reassuring nonetheless. Shaking the feeling off, he locked horns, and lips, with his wife. They were gone a moment later, a flash of teal the only hint of their swift teleportation.

“Do they have to do that all the time?” Twilight muttered sourly.  Her legs buckled, more from shock than strain, a sudden weight forcing her down. “Spike! What are you doing?”

He looked, confused. “Uh, getting on your back?” He offered, scratching his cheek. “I don’t wanna slow you down.”

“You won’t, because you’re not coming with us.” She shook her head, ears closed to the protests he began to fire off as her magic picked him up. “I need you to stay with Paladin. Somepony who knows him has to keep an eye on him, and in this case I think somedragon would be perfect for the job.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed, a suspicious glint forming in them. “You just don’t want me getting in the way, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t want you to get hurt, and when Paladin comes out of his trance, I think he’ll need a friendly face. Please, Spike, I don’t have time to argue with you.”

He slid off, the glow of her magic fading as she set him on the ground. With a sigh, he nodded, though his reluctance was clear to all as he went to stand by Paladin’s side.

“Don’t get hurt.” His plea went unheard, his best friend and closest family vanishing. Air rushed in to fill the void, and it sounded to him like the world itself heaving a sigh. “Please don’t get hurt.”


***


Guards flew, flung back by the gate bursting open. This was mostly a problem because none of them were pegasi, and as such they found the sky wasn’t really their kind of place. That was probably why they were so eager to come back to the ground, albeit faster and less controlled than is generally considered safe.

Light pulsed out, teal and magenta waves that washed over the courtyard. Falling guards found their momentum draining, leaving them to land with soft thuds. The clatter of armour as they got up joined the cacophony of splinters and shrapnel crashing against the castle’s walls. Some plinked off Shining’s shield, the hardened energy dissipating a few seconds later.

“I have come for my kingdom.” The demon’s hooves cracked the cobblestones. The smirk he wore grew at the sight of the couple before him, a booming laugh exploding from him. “I take it you stand against me?”

Cadance matched his laugh without a flinch, eyes hard. “We do. Please, surrender. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He just stared, his expression slack. All at once his face twisted, a great breath preceding his boom. The laughter that followed put the last to shame, his chest heaving, spittle flying from his maw. Shining brought his shield up against the shards of stone that flew as the demon’s hooves stamped and cracked the cobblestones.

“Hurt me? You think you can hurt me? Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you understand the terror of my presence?” His grand gesture took in the shattered gate. “The destruction I bring? Does the hate I inspire not stir a name to the fore of your thoughts?”

Cadance stepped forward, her horn swathed in subtle energies. “I don’t know who you are. I do know that you’ve done terrible things. You’ve sealed the Princesses, frightening everypony in Equestria, and look at this. What can you hope to gain from this devastation?”

He lowered his hand, thick red fingers curling around the roughly woven sack hanging from his belt. “Why, Princess, I’m going to get what I’ve always wanted.” From the sack he drew a mass of writhing shadows that clung hungrily to him. 

“And what,” she asked, eyes narrowing. “Is that?”

Tirek smiled, with teeth. “Everything.”

He had barely begun to bring his hand up when they reacted, By the time he flung the shadows at them, Shining Armour’s shield had already taken form to catch the attack. Darkness swam around them, beating at his shield. They railed and hammered, digging into the ground, yet even there the shield was sealed, a perfect sphere of arcane protection that weathered the storm.

“We gave you the chance to surrender. Remember that.” Cadance’s voice rang out, and she raised it as the shadows fell. A brilliant glow began to radiate from the balcony above, bathing the three below in pure, majestic light. 

Tirek jerked back, uncertainty marring his features. From his limp fist, the shadows recoiled back into the sack. “What?!”

“Girls, now!” Twin bursts of magic fired out, teal and magenta blending and twisting mid-air to strike their foe’s chest. They sizzled against him, scouring red hide and burning black hairs, yet doing no real harm. “Do it!”

They said nothing as they floated, six mares bound by magic as old as the world. One by one the jewels ignited and burned with an inner light that became a single colour of perfect intensity and shade. From one to another, they linked, from Loyalty to Honesty to Kindness to Laughter to Generosity to Magic. Beams of power chained them together, and began to whirl, spinning into a whirlpool of colour that grew until it burst free.

The endless twilight above was alight, the Rainbow arching up, reaching for the heavens. It fell at its height, the lack of weight no obstacle to the terrible velocity of its descent. The demon below raised his arms, a bellow of despair and defiance erupting from his chest as it struck. His shade became defined, a shadow against the light that held for a moment against the onslaught of magic, quaking.

“Nooooo!”

Cadance and Shining Armour watched, standing together with pride and relief on display in their eyes. Together, they watched the demon face the wrath of Harmony. They listened, too, to his scream of despair. They listened until his despair became...joy?

“Nooooohohohohahahaha!”

Shining Armour blinked. “Uh...that sounds like laughter.”

On and on the Rainbow fell, and on and on the demon laughed. His raised arms spread to welcome the torrent like an old friend. Seconds that felt like an eternity dragged on. Cadance and Shining Armour watched the demon stand against the full force of the Elements of Harmony as though it simply wasn’t there. When at last the full force of Friendship weaponised faded, he still stood. In place of his mock-terror was one of simply mockery, a deep satisfaction filling the gaze he directed at the stunned royal couple.

“Speechless?” he asked, his voice holding a note of laughter. “Was I a touch too dramatic? Oh, how I’ve waited so long for this. It’s only a shame the Sisters were not the ones to use their precious elements. Ah, I would have savoured their shock for a million years.” He brushed off his chest, running a finger along his belt to remove imaginary dust.

“T-that’s not…” Cadance floundered, years of royal training vanishing in the face of sheer impossibility. “You can’t do that. Not even Discord could do that!”

A snort of amusement answered her. “That fool is bound by rules I am not, little alicorn. Ah.” Tirek shook his head. “Ah, but no, that would be telling. I’m afraid I’ll have to keep the how of my little feat a mys-”

“Aww yeah, laying on the hu- what the buck?! We missed!” They looked up, spying the rainbow-maned head peeking over the edge of the balcony. Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open, gaping at the conspicuous lack of statue where the monster had been standing.

The jovial, almost affable warmth in the demon’s expression vanished. His eyes went flat and hard, his glare at the pegasus enough to kill, were glares so able. Her recoiling from him was enough to bring a spark of pleasure to his eyes, but the utter loathing dominated them.

“Loyalty,” he hissed the hate-filled word.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends, the ring of ponies recovering behind her. “It didn’t work! And he’s glaring at me, I think we pissed him off.”

Twilight’s head snapped up, eyes wide, and rushed over. Soon six sets of eyes were fixed on the still entirely mobile demon below and his angry stare. Mirroring Rainbow Dash, Twilight’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“We can’t miss! The Elements are ancient magical artifacts that turn ideals into magic to purify the tainted and seal evil. They can’t miss!” She stepped back, grasping her crown in her magic. “Not even Discord-”

Molten light cast the courtyard into hellish relief. Tirek’s baleful expression turned sinister under the burning magmatic sphere between his horns. The fire exploded with a dreadful cackle, spewing towards the balcony.

“Do not,” he bellowed, voice raising over the roar of his magic. “Compare me to that filth again!”

Fire met magic. It became a light show as dark flame flickered and flared across the hastily erected shield. The six mares covered their ears against the sound of clashing energies. The flames were so close, blazing against the shield hungrily, yet they felt not a touch of its doubtless infernal heat.

“We need to try again! Everypony, get into position! Maybe this time it will work,” Twilight ordered, fighting down panic at yet another impossible upheaval of what she knew to be possible and what wasn’t.

Tirek snorted jets of fire. The twisting shadows that draped his hand writhed with frightful life. “I tire of this. I am your end, if you should challenge me. This world shall be mine, and no shattered remnants will stop me!”

The shadows rose unbidden, six lancing out with lethal intent. They met and melted away against the shield, spreading across it like liquid that sought any entrance.

“I’ve got them. Cadance-” Shining Armour broke off, grunting in effort. His shield flared, pinpoint damage threatening the integrity. “Stop him from attacking.”

Teal magic gathered, bathing the courtyard in soothing light that belied the deadly beam of energy that she unleashed. The demon caught it on a raised arm, chuckling. Smoke rose from his flesh, for a moment cloaking his face save for his burning gaze. His glowing eyes gleamed 

“Futile. You lack the power to harm me, mortal.”

He jumped, going from standing still to descending towards the pair in an instant. His forehooves lashed out, one for each that struck only empty air before crashing down onto the ground. A cone of fire issued from between his horns, carrying with it physical force that almost blew Shining Armour and his pony sized shield bubble into the air. The air popped, the scent of burned ozone washing over Shining Armour as his shield shattered with a swing of Tirek’s arm.

Cadance swept in from above, wings spread and horn ablaze, to buy her husband the precious seconds he needed to recover. Her horn became a spear of magic that slashed down at the demon, halting against his hand. Fingers curling around it, he sneered up as his other hand rose, balled in a meaty fist that slammed against her- or at least the shield that sprung into being around her at the last instant. It absorbed the force of his blow, flashing away as fast as it came, just in time for Cadance to lash out. She dropped in, hoof wrapped in teal magic, and gave Tirek a slap in the face. His hooves rose a few inches from the ground at the force of the blow, enough of a stunning blow to delay his counterattack. When it came, his hellfire burned nothing more than the air and a few bushes.


***


On the balcony, shadows hit the floor. For a moment the six mares stared down at the puddles of darkness. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a hoof, but nopony had any chance to ask her why. The shadows surged to life, shaping into ponies. There were no faces or distinguishing marks on the shadow-ponies. Some bore horns with a wicked point and sinister forward curve, while others were armed with bat-wings that thinned into razor blades, and each step of the last among them sent cracks and trembles through the floor.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash leaped into action instantly. Armoured and aggressive, Applejack sprang nimbly and fired her hooves in a classic farming technique turned deadly weapon that smashed through the chest of the nearest shadow-pony. No sound left the shadowy mouth that opened in a silent scream of pain. It shuddered as it fell back, its chest lit by a pair of glowing white hoof marks.

“Don’t just stand there!” Rainbow Dash followed her own advice, teleporting right behind a shadow-pony and sweeping it off its hooves with a single swipe of her hoof. She followed it with a kick that sent it flying off the edge of the balcony. “These are just the expendable magic mooks!”

“Bang!” Pinkie screamed in the monster’s face. She yelped, ducking under a swing of its dangerous horn. “Why didn't it go bang? My voice isn’t magic!”

Rarity Saw the angle of attack as a shadow-pegasus charged her, and it was simple enough to evade. She frowned, glancing Pinkie’s way. “Darling, try again, you look fine- oh!” Nearly taking a blade-wing to the face, Rarity fired a beam of magic point blank into its face. Her Sight let her see the shadows of its ruined head reform in frightening detail, and she gulped as it began to advance on her.

“Hey, Fluttershy, is my voice- hey! Get away from her!” Pinkie’s voice fired out with a physical presence, a tunnel of air that blew the shadow-pony away from the frightened pegasus. It tumbled from her in the grip of otherworldly force.

“No!” Shuddering, Fluttershy clutched her head. “N-no! How could anypony do this?! They’re...oh, Sisters, I can’t…”

Rainbow Dash flashed into place just in time to land a kick straight to the chest of another shadow-pony going for the one target that wasn’t fighting. She gave her friend an irritated but not surprised look.

“You have to defend yourself, ‘shy!” she snapped impatiently. “We all do!”

No answer came, Fluttershy instead opting to lower her head, her breath shallow. She didn’t even notice the shield that manifested around her, or the unicorn taking refuge behind it to blast at the shadow-ponies.

“We need to beat these things and help Shining Armour and Cadance!” Twilight shouted. Her eyes shone with a faint white glow to match the magenta around her horn.

“Wa-cha!” Dash hammered her hoof into the face of another disposable minion, grinning fiercely. “Hey, we got this, Twi’, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not us I’m worried about,” shot back Twilight, scowling and blasting apart one of the shadow-ponies. Her magic caught each fragment of the broken summon before it could reform, freezing them in lumps of ice that she dropped to the ground. “It’s them!”


***


They stood together at the top of the stairs, facing him down, and no fear or hesitance showing in their expression as the demon glared up at them.

“My victory is inevitable,” snarled Tirek. He threw his arms up, grinning savagely as his dark power radiated from him in waves of foul sensation that disturbed the air. “You can frustrate me. Vex me. Drive me to fury. All you will achieve is making your deaths that much more painful. Give in, mortals. The Sisters are bound, and even if the Brothers were freed along with them, they will never work together.”

The living shadows that seeped from his sack began to slither out with increasing speed, snaking around him. Faint voices whispered, their words unintelligible, lost in the tormented chorus.

“My power is endless! At their height, they could not defeat me. I am beyond you and beyond this filthy little world, older than you could imagine and my mind encompasses a thousand mysteries your kind could never comprehend.” The dark waves grew by the second, rolling up the stairs to beat back the couple. Old, malicious voices whispered in their ears, telling them they were betrayed, their allies had already sworn themselves to Tirek to survive, and their only hope was to do the same. The torment of the defiant was as endless as his power.

“Get the girls out of here,” Cadance whispered out of the corner of her mouth, letting Tirek’s rant hide her words. “We can’t risk the Elements of Harmony. They must be able to stop him, but they need more time.”

“I hope you have a plan,” he murmured back.

She smiled, leaning in. “Trust me.” There was no real reason to say it. Not to him. She knew he would.

Tirek’s eyes narrowed. His temper burned hot, almost as hot as the magic that built between his horns. 

“Do not ignore me. I am not some little troublemaker to be sent off with a few stern words.” His power focused into a shadowed lense, tainting what hellfire he gathered with a dark core. “I am Tirek! I am the Lord of Betrayal, and I will be the Prime Evil!”


***


“Twilight left me here to look after you, and you’re just staring into the distance mumbling! I should be with her, not standing around while you drool!” Spike crossed his arms, his frown growing as Paladin singularly failed to snap out of it. He hunched his shoulders, shuddering at the sounds coming from outside.

The light of the Elements hadn’t even gotten the slightest reaction, and despite his annoyance and frustration, Spike was getting worried. This was big, strong, reliable Paladin. Okay, so he kind of ran off on his own a time or two, but he was still there when you needed him. He was always ready to help, except right now.

“I should be helping her,” he muttered. With an abrupt twist he turned back to Paladin and grasped the pegasus. Standing on his tiptoes, Spike shook him fiercely.

“What’s wrong with you?! We’ve got a big scary monster out there that is still fighting despite the Elements of Harmony going off like a Pinkie Party Bomb, there’s explosions and magic being slung all over the place, and you’re just standing here being all weird! Come on! Do something!”

The noise outside muted, the calm proceeding the storm, and that strange, terrible voice rose to assault their ears.

“I am Tirek! I am the Lord of Betrayal, and I will be the Prime Evil!”

A thousand images vanished from before Paladin’s eyes. A hundred appeared.

Tirek triumphant, hellfire searing through the flesh of his erstwhile allies, while ahead his rival was surrounded and trapped within the angelic ambush, screaming for support that would never arrive.

Tirek, his arms thrown up as he pleaded for mercy, cowering until the greater demon had turned its back, before sinking a stolen dagger into its skull, sitting back to watch the army rip itself apart as accusations were thrown and demons battled, leaving a precious few to be absorbed into Tirek’s own warband.

Betrayal, treachery, a thousand times over he saw all he had known of the Lord of Betrayal.

Ardleon, his armour pocked with wounds that bled sound and groans of pain that released shimmering light. The centaur-like demon towered above him, axe raised and a roar of victory on his lips as he dropped the blow to end his defeated foe.

Tyrael’s sword slashed through his side, turning the bellow of triumph to a scream of pain that became a roar of  denied fury as the wounded angel dissolved into mist. Then Eld’ruin pulled away, summoned back to its master’s hand too late to deliver the finishing blow to Azmodan, but never too slow to save a life.

 Energy surged through Paladin. Slack muscles jumped into action. He ducked his head down, under Spike’s legs, and came up with the little dragon on his back and his hooves pounding the tiles. Spike scrambled to hold onto something as Paladin’s wings spread.


***


The air boiled with Tirek’s fury, and he unleashed it. Hellfire burned through the air, a constant stream that shifted from blood red to black as it poured ceaselessly against the shield of entwined teal and magenta. Their horns locked, sweat matted Cadance and Shining Armour’s fur.

“Hold it,” he whispered, voice thick with effort. His weary eyes opened to stare into hers. “We can hold it…”

“Surrender! Let the fires of the Hells consume you!” Tirek howled. His faux-affable, sinister nature fell away, his blood pumping with rage. Spittal dripped from his maw, turned red in the fiery light, looking for all the world as though he drooled blood. “Give in-”

He didn’t see it coming. All Tirek heard was a faint scream that grew in volume, from a dim whine to a shriek in his ears.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Paladin slammed into Tirek, hooves crashing against horns. The besieging flames faltered, spewing away from the shield to blacken and scorch the walls of the castle as Tirek’s aim faltered, his head forced away by the horns. Spike continued to scream, his claws digging into Paladin’s back.

Tirek snarled, and his fire sputtered to a stop as it poured over the innocent landscape. He struck out for the pegasus, fist brushing past as Paladin evaded. He rose above the demon, eyes bright with righteous fury. Tirek returned the glare, anger boiling within that burned from his eyes.

“Your bones will be laid in the foundations of my throne for that, mortal,” Tirek spat, a glop of reddened saliva sizzling against the cobblestones. His eyes narrowed, but his inspection of the pegasus was distracted by a painful teal beam battering against his chest. 

“Paladin, get to the girls! We have a plan!” Cadance pumped more power into her attack, but already the beam was thinning, her weakness becoming more obvious. 

He glanced her way for a moment, hovering in place. He might have never obeyed, were it not for the dragon screaming in his ear. With a final glare and a grunt of annoyance, Paladin retreated. He landed on the balcony, crushing the last of the shadow-ponies underhoof.

“Take him!” Spike’s scream became a yelp as he found himself abruptly bouncing off Paladin’s back. The pegasus flared his wings, already turning back to take off. “I must return to battle- erk!”

It was a small, undignified sound, one Paladin could hardly believe he just made. He jerked his head back to find his tail caught in the magenta of Twilight or Shining’s magic. It was hard to tell; she was standing there, horn alight, and just behind her Shining Armour stood panting at the door. The guardspony shook his head at Paladin’s furious glare.

“You need...to get back...to Ponyville,” Shining groaned. His head spun, but he fought the exhaustion and drain to keep his thoughts clear. It taxed him just to stand straight and plot out what he needed to do.

Paladin snarled, “What? With Tirek right there?” His hoof slammed into the stone. “Never! I will not stand by and allow the Lord of Betrayal to dig his claws into this world.” His gaze swept over his friends. “Summon forth the Elements. Let him know their fury.”

“Er...we tried that. Doesn’t work. “ Rainbow Dash shrugged as she zoomed past him to look down to the battle. “You want us to bug out now? When she needs our help? Come on everypony, let’s get down there and-”

“And what?” A shield bubbled the balcony. Shining Armour leaned against the door, shaking his head. “He’s too strong. Cadance is trying to buy you time to get back to Ponyville and come up with a plan. He’s taken us entirely by surprise. He defeated the Princesses. You need to go back to Ponyville.”

Twilight winced at the sound of an explosion from below. “We can’t go! Cadance needs our help, and with our gifts, we can stop him!”

“We only have raw magic here, and not as much as this guy. If you want to save the day, you need to find more. You defeated Nightmare Moon with friendship, and used that to thwart Discord. Whatever he is, Tirek won’t be beaten by us blowing him up.” Shining Armour’s hard expression dissolved, and he pulled Twilight close. “Twilight, I promise. Cadance has a plan. We need you to go back to Ponyville, all of you, and do what you do best. Find the key to defeating not just the monster, but the evil he brings. Cadance and I will make sure you have the time you need.”

“Now hold on just a sec’! We ain’t goin’ nowhere!” Applejack argued.

Rarity nodded, voicing her own discontent, with Pinkie Pie chiming in. Invisible waves bounced between them all, Fluttershy’s power working to keep them all calm, keeping passions from becoming overwhelming.

“Yes, you are. All of you.” There was a note of finality to his voice, though Shining’s eyes were fixed on his barrier and the battle going on below. “I’ll teleport you out myself.”

Paladin snorted. “You’re exhausted. Between your possession, and all these shields, you don’t have the magic to pull such a casting off.”

A pained smirk spread across Shining’s muzzle. “You’re right,” he agreed, horn burning ever brighter. “But I’ll still try.”

“....that…” Twilight, pulling away, stopped trying to see Cadance, instead turning her horrified gaze on him. “That would, at best, drain you. Trying it will probably burn you out completely, and could even….” Understanding came to her gaze. She couldn’t decide if she was more horrified, or impressed.

“Yer holdin’ yerself hostage,” Applejack growled, her tone laced with accusation. She shook an armoured hoof at him. “That’s right darn dirty of ya.”

Shining scoffed. “My wife is fighting a demon who defeated both the Princesses. She’s fighting him alone, and every second we waste trying to convince you, she’ll be without my help a little bit longer. So, yes, I’m playing dirty.”

Twilight sought for any sign of lying in her brother’s expression. She knew his tells, she always knew when Shining Armour was lying, and there was nothing but blunt honesty in his expression. She turned to Fluttershy, who gave an apologetic nod, knowing already what Twilight wanted to ask.

“He’s serious,” she whispered regretfully. Fluttershy winced. Her eyes were drawn to Paladin, the clearly impatient warrior searching for a weakness in the shield. “Paladin, please, if you go down, he’ll…”

“I need to fight Tirek. You don’t understand.” Paladin’s voice dropped dangerously low. “I cannot stand idly by while he walks this world! No! Twilight, you will not take me from this place!”

The cause of his anger wasn’t hard to find. Light began to wrap around them, magenta cored with holy white,  and though Paladin fought to break free it swathed him along with all the others. Twilight didn’t turn her eyes from Shining, and he returned the gesture.

“I’m going to be extremely angry with you when this is over,” Twilight murmured. She wrapped a hoof around Spike. “You better be alright, Shining, or…or….”

“Or I’m telling!” came Spike’s childish if sincere threat. “Your mum will be so angry! So you better be all fine and good and everything!”

Shining chuckled, and he lied with a smile. “I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Go. We’re all counting on you.” 

He let the last thing she see be his smile. The last thing he heard from the group was Paladin’s furious command that Twilight was not going to teleport him as well! Given Shining Armour was alone now, he turned out to be wrong.

“Hope this doesn’t bite us in the flank,” was his sole lament before charging towards the edge of the balcony. His shield twisted, becoming a ramp he slid down, just in time to duck a wayward ball of fire. “Cadance!”

She hit the ground next to him, bouncing off her side before coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. A shadow fell over the pair as he helped her up, leaving both to look up at the demon towering over them.

“Now, I will be done with you.” Tirek’s lips curled into a sinister smile. Power built between his horns. His gaze flicked up, and the demon’s expression twitched. “I see. Sent them off to hide? It won’t help. I know whe-” A bolt of magic blew across him, dismissed with a casual backhand and a sneer at the pair. “Futile.”

“I never really believed Auntie Celestia, when she told me stories about the monsters of the old times, and how they just loved to hear the sound of their own voices.” Cadance spat some blood from her mouth, and regretted it when she saw the look on her husband’s face. She hated worrying him so much.

His nostrils flared, cobblestones crunching as he took a step closer. “How amusing. Perhaps I won’t kill you. My new kingdom shall require jesters to amuse me, though I shall enjoy screams more than laughter.”

“Wow.” Shining forced his voice to sound nonchalant and casual. It wasn’t hard to see the reaction it earned. “You’re right, dear, he is a bit of a windbag.”

Tirek’s attack fell upon them with deadly suddenness and a roar of anger. This time Shining’s shield could only fare so well with his exhaustion draining him so much. He didn’t need to hold it for long, disappearing along with his wife in a flash of her magic. Shadows and fire consumed the stairs, reducing them to blackened slag.

Fury gripped Tirek’s heart, and only a look at the skies calmed him. The sight of the shadows on the celestial orbs soothed his rage, as much as it could be. Teeth grinding, a pulse of energy exploded from him, racing through the city. Not even the wards on the castle could stop his spell, and it brought a smile to his face to feel the wards fading away. One after another, they fell at the meager force of his hunting spell, until all that remained were the teleportation wards, and even they were faltering. He focused on the two souls his spell found at the heart of the palace.

His form shrunk, reduced from more than twice the height of Celestia to enough to fit through doors sized for the elder Princess, as he strode up the slag ramp. The sack trembled without provocation at his waist, and Tirek had to clamp a hand on it, and on the hunger that rose.

So many souls, fleeing even now from the palace. He shuddered in delight as he imagined hunting them down, the fear on their faces when they realised there was nowhere to run. He could already see them screaming as their souls were dragged into his shadows, he could already imagine their tormented wails.

It kept him entertained and amused enough to simply go straight for the heart of the castle. He even allowed a servant unwise enough to have stayed long enough to get her things to leave. Her shadow-bound form wriggled against the wall, trying to escape, and he made a note to come back for this one. Or maybe leave her there indefinitely, forgotten.

The final obstacle between him and his prey shattered with a single, simple gesture, and perhaps a small application of molten magic. Tirek stepped over the melted door, smiling, once again magnanimous in victory, and greeted the exhausted pair with a mocking salute. The nondescript chamber was hardly impressive. It didn’t seem fitting that they had chosen a library to die in, when the throne room wasn’t far.

“I hope you got all the time you needed cowering here, mortals. Wasting more time together, lamenting your end.” He held out his hands, each open, fingers curled to cup the growing energy over each. He held out his right, and heat washed over them. “I shall even allow you to choose your death. Fire or shadow.”

Their horns locked, heads bowed before the power of the demon lord. Cadance opened one of her eyes, peering up at him. Despite the circumstances, an impish grin spread across her mouth.

“You really do talk too much.” Her eyes glowed with a mix of powers, and Tirek’s good cheer evaporated. It wasn’t the garish rainbow of Harmony’s signature. There was magenta like Shining Armour’s, and gold that mixed with dark blue. Familiar colours, but he didn’t have the time to think about them. The thought lingered, a moment’s distraction that cost him the initiative.

He felt it when the last of the wards fell away. The world was open to him once again. His teeth came out in a vicious snarl. Hands coming together, fire and shadow mixing into a swirling orb of blackened flame, even as another spell took shape.

“Die, mortals. Die knowing I go to take the last hope from this world!” he roared. His teleportation spell began to tug at him as his attack filled the room with the stench of dark magic.

The first thing he felt of their attack was a curious sensation of a gate slamming shut before him. It was nothing so physically crude. It was the idea of a gate sealing his path that assaulted Tirek, and the runes only came a moment after. They were carved onto the air around him, and only as they began to dig into his skin did Tirek realise where he had seen the colours that blazed around him; 

‘Her eyes!’

Tirek’s scream filled the castle. He staggered back from the burning room, beating his hands at the repurposed wards engraved onto him. A second instinctive blast followed the first, and with his skin alight with agony, Tirek turned from the ruined library. After a few steps the runes began to fade from sight, but he couldn’t shake the magic itself. He sent his own magic coursing through his body, seeking the source of their anchor.

Slowly, his gaze rose. The once calming sight of the sealed Sisters gave him no respite. Not with his spell following the energy up, and up, and up, all the way to the makeshift prisons. Walls crumbled and pillars shattered as the Lord of Betrayal let his anger loose. Around him gathered his magic, and with a roar he poured power into it. The spell that should have taken him to the heart of Ponyville struck the repurposed wards and burned away, dragging on the power that fuelled them.

“No!” His roar rang out. His awareness of the seals burned in his senses as they began to light up. The sealing held, but nothing was infallible. He tested the ward, and it drew on the power of the Princesses that had forged them to protect the castle. It drew on them, and with a lurch of horror in his gut Tirek realised how horribly single-direction the seals were. Nothing could push against them, but the spell laid over him pulled from them.

They strained. Life came to the seals as the Sisters became active. Tirek nearly stumbled at the suddenness of the attack, catching himself on the wall. A flash of anger shot through him. He forced it down, and with a hiss of fury let his teleportation spell fade away. The flow of magic from above began to fade with it, and the Sisters grew still.

Or nearly so.

Tirek could feel the rage. It pulsed through the seal, for a moment creating palpable heat.

‘How long have you gone, playing nice?’ he wondered, massaging one of his knuckles. ‘Rage away, Sister of Passion. Let loose a thousand years of suppressed fury. It will achieve nothing.’ 

The urge to kill the nearest pony held sway over Tirek. Were it not for the sudden urgency of killing the Elements of Harmony, he would have gone back and vaporised whatever remained of the pair of vexing mortals who had done this.

Amid the ash and molten stone, as the stomps of the demon faded into the distance, the remains of books and scrolls collapsed. Shining Armour lay against his wife, too tired to move, to weak to even speak. The light faded from his horn as he joined his wife in unconsciousness, his last thought a simple hope that they had done their part.


***


“No!” Paladin’s bellow boomed out, sending ponies jumping in surprise. Eyes and ears turned to the library, and the group of ponies in front of it. Voice laden with anger, the mighty pegasus spun to face Twilight. “What have you done?”

“Geez, what’s your problem?” Rainbow Dash was in his face before Twilight could even think of answering, her glare meeting his head on. “I wanted to fight the big monster too, but I’m not getting pissy about it.”

Paladin straightened, his glare down at her vicious. “That wasn’t some feeble monster to be willed away. That was Tirek, Lord of Betrayal! Never has such a treacherous being lived, turning on all above and below him. A liar and deceiver, a destroyer I should have slain long ago.” He could feel the tension that gripped his body, his blood pounding. Adrenaline flooded through him and drove his righteous fury at entirely the wrong target. “One of the Evils is here, and I was taken from the field of battle!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You know him. You know what that monster is.” She shook her head, calling on the gift of clarity. “Alright. Okay. You know him. That makes it even more important that we got away. The Elements didn’t work. We need another way of stopping Tirek.”

“Punch ‘im through a mountain.” Applejack shrugged at the blank stares she got. “What? We usually try stuff with magic, maybe just smackin’ him really hard’ll do it. Worth a shot. Maybe we can even try it, if Paladin calms down.”

“I am calm,” he growled. A verbal lashing was ready to unfold when he felt the warmth of Fluttershy’s empathic touch. Paladin grew still, his anger seeping out of him at the flow of feelings. Not just hers; all of them, gathered by the delicate pegasus and channelled through their bond. “I….oh. Damnation. Damn it.”

Rarity coughed. Behind her, the door to the library cracked open to allow distinctive purple shades to peer at them. “Perhaps we should move this inside,” she suggested. Her magic was also working on her mane, combing it obsessively. “Magical shadow-ponies are murder on my mane, and I think we all have a lot of planning to do. What with the world ending!”

“The world ain’t endin’. We’re still here, an’ Ah ain’t goin’ nowhere. Neither are any of y’all....’cept inside. Everypony, get inside, we’re gettin’ looks,” ordered Applejack. She smiled sheepishly at the ponies around them as her armour faded away. More than a few were looking Rarity’s way, her last comment eliciting quite the reaction.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeee! The world is ending! Everypony panic!”

“Ignore them.” Distracted, Twilight barely acknowledged the usual culprits getting up to their unofficial duty to cause as much panic at the slightest thing. She trotted easily into her library, carrying Spike in her magic. The look of terror from charging straight at a towering demon was still plastered on his face. “Somepony  get Spike a ruby to calm his nerves. Octavia, thank you for looking after..the…

Octavia was huddled in the corner of the room, trying to wedge herself in the space between bookshelves. As Twilight trailed off, the Canterlot mare looked up. The relief on her face nearly bowled Twilight over, and as Fluttershy herded the deeply frowning Paladin inside, the pegasus mare was startled by how intense it was.

“Thank Celestia!” Octavia was in Twilight’s face instantly, but her attention shifted the moment Applejack and Rarity came in. She pinned the pair with a paint-peeling glare. “You monsters.”

“Uh...okay?” There was little Applejack had to say in the face of that, and she spent a moment adjusting her hat to think of the appropriate reaction. “Huh?”

“Octy had trouble with the kids,” Vinyl supplied. Her post at the door abandoned, the DJ lay sprawled on the floor, snickering.

“You could have helped!” snapped Octavia. “I said I’m not good with kids!”

Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, I gave you my idea.”

“Somehow, I doubt locking them in a closet is the responsible course of action!”

“....we were gone for, like, fifteen minutes at most. Come on, you’re pumped full of a psycho angel’s magic, you can deal with those two.” Rainbow Dash sat astride one of the windows, half in half out. She raised an eyebrow as she looked down at Octavia. “They don’t even have Scootaloo.”

“There’s a third one?!”

At the same time, Paladin’s flat, displeased voice joined in, “Ardleon is- was not a psycho.” He shook his head at the looks sent his way. “He was mistaken, not a psychopath.”

“Sure, let’s focus on that, not the evil demon. If you know all about him, tell us so we can use that to kick his flank!” demanded Rainbow Dash.

“Demon? There’s a demon in Canterlot and you guys didn’t blast it with phasers set to Harmony?” asked Vinyl.

“Canterlot vas attacked by a demon?! Vat about my studio? Rarity, you must tell me-”

“Trixie didn’t do it!”

“Of course ya didn’t do it. Nopony was sayin’ ya did.”

“But somepony might!”

Twilight sighed. All around her, voices were being raised and confusion swiftly followed. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom emerged from upstairs, yammering for their sisters to tell them what they did in Canterlot, and Twilight didn’t even want to imagine the mess they had made before coming down. Photo Finish had apparently decided Rarity must have checked her studio, personally, and wanted a full report on its status, She wasn’t sure, but Twilight suspected Vinyl was just asking random questions because she thrived on loud noises and chaos.

A pulse of magic ran through the room. Ponies froze, not so much as a hair moving in the aura that clung to them like rime. Slipping between the suddenly silent ponies, Twilight retrieved a ruby from her Emergency Spike-Is-Upset box atop one of the shelves. The eyes that swivelled in her direction went ignored as she coaxed him into latching onto the gem, and finally snap out of it.

Spike put a claw to his head as he chewed the ruby. “Geez...what happened?” He paused, looking around the spell-frozen library. “...cool.”

“Everypony needed to calm down,” Twilight answered calmly. She smiled, relief for her angelic gift high. She could think clearly and cleanly. Normally, she would be panicking, desperate to do something to save Princess Celestia- that is, save the Princesses, she reminded herself sternly.

“Maybe you should turn off the spell. I think they’re getting annoyed at it.” Spike hopped off Twilight’s back. Despite the situation, he couldn’t help himself as he reached out to Rainbow Dash, grin on his face. “I wonder if she’s ticklish…”

“Extremely so, but now isn’t the time.” Across the room, ponies thumped to the floor, the magic suspending them fading and none prepared to catch themselves. Twilight winced. “Sorry.”

“How dare you! I, Photo-”

“Shut the hay up!” Wings flared, expression twisted in anger, Rainbow Dash glared at the photographer. “Nopony cares! There’s a bucking demon out there, a real monster, like Discord but fifty times uglier and twice as nasty. You, Photo Finish, are just annoying!”

Rarity gasped, perfectly mirroring Photo Finish. “Rainbow Dash!”

Octavia groaned. She had more than enough experience reading emotions past obscuring sunglasses to pick up cues. “This is going to end so well.”

“I can cast that spell again, you know.” Twilight’s voice, quiet as it was, cut through the room. She gave them all a flat stare. “Good. I need everypony to stay calm. We need to be calm, and work together. That’s the only way we can do this. There’s nopony else left now. It’s just us, and the Elements didn’t work. If we fall apart now, arguing and fighting, then we might as well give up.” She glanced towards the window, at the frozen dawn sky beyond. “We can’t do that. Princess Celestia protected Equestria for a thousand years on her own. Princess Luna waited so long to come back. I don’t know if we can stop Tirek, but we have to try. Cadance and Shining Armour have a plan to buy us the time we need, and I’m not about to waste it.”

She didn’t notice the guilty looks exchanged by those who nearly exploded once more into conflict, but she felt the presence at her side, and then the next, as her friends gathered around the unicorn. Behind them, Octavia’s sour expression dropped in favour of a determined nod, and a soft smile exchanged with the DJ that came to her side. Photo Finish’s harsh scowl faded. She gave no apology, but the upward tilt of her haughty sniff was depressed slightly. 

A ghost of a smile appeared on Paladin’s face as he watched. He could feel it in the air, the presence Twilight brought when her will firmed and she became determined. His loss of control sent more shame flushing through him. He had never truly hated as an angel, yet the sight of a demon such as Tirek, so base and treacherous, vile beyond words, had inspired it in him more than anything he had encountered. More than the Nightmare, or Ardleon’s madness, it had brought such rage, beyond even the hate he had experienced in battle with Mephisto.

“Ardleon…” he whispered. It struck him, a mad idea he couldn’t help but contemplate. Paladin looked over the five ponies here, and he let his imagination run. Four awakened angelic essences, one dormant, and the last already sealed. How perfect a number. How complete. It was meant to be. He didn’t realise he had said it outloud until a loud snicker brought his attention back to ponies in front of him.

“Somepony needs to get his mind off Fluttershy an’ back on the job.” Applejack’s mouth twitched up, her smile suppressed. There was little point in her self-control, considering Rainbow Dash was doing nothing to hide her snickers.

He sighed. “I was thinking about something else. Something that must be the work of fate. Six. Six is the key.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched out for a few seconds. Vinyl broke it, covering her mouth as she tried to hold back giggles.

“Dude, you say it ‘se-”

“Not that!” Paladin cut in sharply. His face burned beneath his coat, the dark colour nearly concealing it. “I mean the number. We have six Elements of Harmony, and now, six fragments of an angel’s power. This is no coincidence.”

“Darling, whatever do you mean? As important as the essence is, surely we should look to thwarting Tirek first?” Rarity pointed out.

From her side, Twilight said nothing. Gears turned, and ideas zipped through the studious unicorn’s head at lightspeed. Slowly, a smile began to appear on her face as Paladin spoke. It blossomed in seconds.

“We can do both. Tirek may be immune to the power of the Elements of Harmony, but I can assure you, he has good reason to fear the Heavens. We need simply give the Elements such an advantage.” Paladin grinned, an open look of confidence. “Ardleon already provided us the tools to bridge the gap between Harmony and the Heavens.”

Growing excitement filled Twilight’s voice as she began to summon her notebook. “The swords! He made them from an Equestrian metal, fused with the broken blades. That’s how he was able to bond so closely to the windigoes. With the same principle, we could use them as a conductor to transmute the angelic power from his essence through the swords into the Elements without their base natures rejecting each other!”

“It may even connect the energy already within you to the Elements. The Elements of Harmony will be stronger than ever before, and will finally strike a fatal blow. We must do this.” He swept past Twilight, heading for the basement. She was all too eager to join him, her notepad already covered in notes and ideas.

“...well, that’s exciting! Oh, darn it, I did it again!” Pinke crossed her forelegs, pouting. “Everypony, don’t feel excited! I didn’t mean to do it!”

Rainbow Dash snapped her wings to her side with a growl. “Geez, get a better handle on that voice of yours, and let’s get down there.” Her scowl became a grin. “I like this plan!”

“Ah don’t,” chimed in one unhappy filly. “Sounded like they wanna take our magic powers, an’ give ‘em to y’all! That ain’t fair!” 

Applejack shared the look on Rarity’s face, a expression of frustration mixed with relief that this was the only complaint their siblings had. Sweetie Belle’s complaints joined Apple Bloom’s, and the pair soon found themselves led off to the side for a small talk. 

A strange pang struck Rainbow Dash as she watched them.  Where, she wondered, was Scootaloo? Busy as she was with saving the day right now, Rainbow’s thoughts nevertheless turned to her favourite fan’s whereabouts. She couldn’t help but feel like Scootaloo was avoiding her, and for a moment she worried Gilda had shared some misdemeanour from her younger years that broke the filly’s image of her.

‘Nah, it’s fine. Come on, buck up, I’m about to get super-charged with both the Elements of Harmony and more awesome angel powers. I can’t just stand here worrying about Scootaloo...’

As she just stood there worrying about Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash was in no position  to notice Fluttershy coming to her side. The first she knew of it was the tentative mumble asking if she was okay.

“Yeah, awesome! Why wouldn’t I be?” The question fell flat as it left her muzzle; there was really no point lying when somepony so close could innately feel your emotions. Dash sighed. “Okay, this is cool and all, but I’m worried about Scootaloo. Twilight will probably freak if I leave though, so, not much I can do.”

“Now Rainbow Dash, that’s just not true. There’s plenty you can do. You could...Spike!” Fluttershy matched word to actions, calling over the dragon as he came up from below. “Spike, could you do us a teensy favour, and send a message to Scootaloo? Please?”

“Oh, su-”

“It’s alright if you can’t. Sorry.”

Spike waited a second to be sure Fluttershy had no more apologies to issue. He nodded. “Sure. Twilight doesn’t need me right now, and she wants me to let the Mayor know to get everypony out of town before Tirek arrives.”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up. “I know! Think you could swing by the hospital on the way? She might be there again, visiting Gilda.”

Spike’s expression suggested he didn’t understand why anypony would do that, but he nodded again nonetheless. “Instead of a letter? I can do that. Twilight wants me to let the Mayor know personally, for some reason, and it’s not much of a detour.”

“Awesome! You’re the coolest little dude, Spike, and don’t let anypony tell you different.” Once more a grin appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face. “Go to the Mayor first, but once you’ve seen Scoots, be as safe as you can and get back. I don’t want to beat this ugly monster only for Twilight to explode my face off right after.”

A shudder ran down Fluttershy’s back. “I-I’m sure she wouldn’t do that.”

“She wouldn’t. Probably,” Spike assured them with a tad less certainty than was comforting. “See you later, I’ll be back soon as I can.”

Spike put words into actions, coming as close to galloping as he could with two legs and a waddle. As they watched him leave, a thoughtful Fluttershy frowned.

“Something wrong, Flutters?” Dash winced. “Aside from what’s going on, I mean. Ugh, stupid question.”

“Why didn’t Twilight just get him to send a letter?” she wondered.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “She probably has a reason. You know how she can be, and right now, she’s going to really be down there. I hope the pressure doesn’t get to her. I mean, I can handle the pressure of the entire world sitting on our shoulders to stop a big freaky demon that beat all of the Princesses and just tanked the Elements like...like…”
        
Letting her friend flounder only for a moment, Fluttershy shook her head. “Twilight won’t let anypony down. Neither will you.”

“Pfft,” Dash scoffed, though even as she looked away, a flash of embarrassment ran through her. Her ears laid flat, and she glanced at Fluttershy out of the corner of her eye. “I’m not worried. We’ve done it before, even if they were all kinda different, I know we’ll be fine.”

“We will,” Fluttershy agreed easily. She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t have to. Together they descended into Twilight’s lair, the rattle and clang of magic and machine reorganising, rearranging and assembling, pages turning and quills scratching.


***


In the skies above, the sun burned. Endless flames, reborn moment to moment, blazed for instants before the next swallowed them. Where there was no mortal form to this great life-giver, energy reigned supreme. The sun seethed, and it burned,

She burned.

A wordless screech rang across the heavens. The taunting tug had grown still, and still she raged. Desires ran unchecked, and passion ruled the creature in the heart of the sun. She was the vital heat at the core of life. She seethed and bellowed and screamed. She was Passion, and she would-

Control.

Though the thrashing didn’t stop, it slowed. The word carried through her, bearing with it concepts that the instinctual mind struggled to comprehend. Again came the mocking pull of her power, blowing the fury to life once more. There would be no reason, no moderation of her Passions anymore. A thousand years of promises were of no concern to her.  She was-

-in control.

Within the heart of the sun, Princess Celestia’s eyes opened. She was bound to no physical shell, yet she saw for herself a body. What would have been a sigh had she been embodied left imagined lips. She had no air to fill her lungs. She didn’t even have lungs.

‘I am in control.’

A thousand years of contained passion and wild emotion surged within her. Her base nature screamed at her to let loose. In the heart of her power, she was complete, even trapped, and the restraints urged her on.

‘I am Princess Celestia. I cannot afford indulgence. I will not give in to it.’

A chant that had haunted her for so long, each night staring up at her sister’s darkened visage, and yet still she was not rid of it. The part of her that trembled within contained wild emotion whispered to the disembodied alicorn. Control and planning had seen her outsmarted and tricked, sealed where she could do no good.

Embrace your passion. Embrace the wildest of emotions, the heat of fury, the power of letting go.

It was so tempting.

Held back, so long, for their sake.

She had done it all for them, because they needed her to be stable and reliable.

They need your Passion. Your Fury.

Sister…

Where the light of the day met the shadows of night, came a whisper. There was no malice in the shadow, no sinister undertone concealed by the darkness.

Let a thousand years of control turn to ash!

Sister!

Awareness returned to Celestia. The seething energies that permeated her being withdrew from their futile assault on the seal. The cold orderliness of her sister’s call washed over her. The limited contact strained them both, but Celestia reached back. The connection trembled and shuddered, but neither allowed it to fade.

Patience, they thought together. Distant as they were, the Sisters were united. Their attention fixed on the seals, they watched and waited. They built their power, they readied their might.

The moment will come…

We will be ready....

And Tirek will burn!


***