//------------------------------// // Act One ~ Sonata // Story: Fate's Symphony // by Noir de Plume //------------------------------// Noir was bored. In a city that never slept, with a plethora of distraction, drink, and damsels at her disposal, she was bored. Of course, it was hard to be anything but, trapped in the opera box at this concert which she was obligated to attend. The hell was this, anyway? She glanced at the program: "Young Musicians of Equestria." Ye gods... Still, being the ornamental figurehead of Manehattan had its perks. She wanted not for bits - the Crown took care of room and board and whatever else her dark little heart desired. As long as Noir kept her... proclivities... in the shadows. The young mare snuggling at her side nuzzled her neck, murmuring something inaudible. The shimmering emerald aura of Noir's magic lifted the wine glass to her lips, and the alicorn took a slow sip, flicking an ear as the violinist on stage below hit the sourest of sour notes imaginable. "How much longer am I required to endure this?" Noir asked with a sigh. The mare snuggled against her further, though to Noir it felt as if she were a parasite burrowing into her chest. She'd seemed fine at their private dinner, and an amiable concert companion, but once they'd reached the box, the mare had indulged in more than her fair share of cider, and become increasingly less charming. "Four more performances, my lady." "Thank you, Grecio." The diamond dog nodded, remaining at his post near the door. He was short in stature and almost comical in his finely tailored waistcoat and starched white shirt, but something about his stance warned against testing his mettle. That and the sword he carried at his belt. Noir stifled a yawn with her good wing. "Bored?" the mare asked with a half-lidded smile. Noir looked down at her, arching an eyebrow. The mare's eye shadow had smeared across her face in a most unflattering way, and Noir fought the urge to stand from the cushions and let the inebriated pony fall to the floor. "Such is this life, my dear," the Poet Laureate responded with a forced smile. She flicked an ear again as another sour note reached the balcony, followed by a thunderous clapping of hooves. "Thank the Sisters that's over," she sighed. "I know how to make this exciting," the mare—what was her name?—purred, rising on wobbly legs. Noir eyed her as one would an interesting spot on the floor. "I think it's best if we listen sitting down, my dear." "How can I be out on the town with the Noir de Plume and not have any stories to tell the next day?" the mare continued, her tone seductive. Or, it would have been had her syllables not slurred together in a comical mockery of language. "Come now, show me how odd that tail really is..." The next performer was announced on stage. Soft music rose from a piano. A piano? Noir thought. No pony in Equestria can possibly- "Let me help you focus..." The mare leaned forward, open mouthed, hungrily going for Noir's horn. Something tickled Noir's brain, a level of magic she'd not felt since her time at the Royal Court all those centuries ago... She leapt up. The mare crashed to the cushions, face first, with an indignant squawk, haunches in the air, most unladylike. "Grecio!" Noir snapped. The diamond dog was instantly at his mistress' side, eyes on her as she stared intently at the young unicorn seated on stage. "Who is that?" "Er... it says her name is Armistice, my lady," he replied, pointing to the program with a claw-tipped finger. Noir's eyes narrowed. The flow of magic from the stage was so strong, it was nearly intoxicating. The alicorn's head swam as though she'd imbibed a bottle of the finest vintage. The keys depressed as if touched individually, yet this cream colored filly named Armistice simply moved her hooves and summoned forth beautiful sounds. How was it possible? Such bliss on her young face as she played, framed by a brunette mane that was both simple and meticulously straight. It fell to her shoulders, and swayed ever so slightly with the subtle motions she made with her torso to send her forehooves across the ivory keys. Noir was both entranced and baffled. Mesmerized, she sent a faint tendril of magic at the stage, reaching out, to test, to touch, to see... and the eyes of the young pianist snapped up. Their sapphire hue rivaled the icey blue of Noir's own, and the artfully applied eyeliner the young filly wore would have looked silly on anypony else, but only accentuated her jes ne sais quoi. Her head did not move, and the steady gaze that locked with Noir's sent a chill rolling from the base of her skull to the very tuft of her strange, lion-like tail. "Fetch her. And bring her to me," she commanded, shaking her head to clear the sensation. Noir reached back and adjusted the half cape she wore with her teeth, ensuring her left wing was covered. Grecio extended a hand up. "No. I'll be fine. I can manage it home on my own." She offered the diamond dog a kind smile. So loyal. Noir reminded herself every day how much she truly owed him. On the floor, the mare had gathered herself into a bundle and made another indignant noise. "So, you're, like, just going to leave me here?" she asked, eyes wide, a look of sheer disbelief on her face. Noir paused in the doorway, looking back at the mare. She titled her head and leveled her with a cold stare. "I'm trying to decide what I find more unattractive," Noir began. "How easily you were being led to stable, or how awful that braying sound coming from your mouth is." The mare's jaw snapped shut. Noir nodded curtly at Grecio. "Make sure this one gets home." Noir flicked her good wing in an annoyed gesture and exhaled through her nostrils, her brain churning a thousand thoughts at once. The filly's cutie mark was burned into her cornea; sapphire rose facing outward, petals parted, but still closed enough to be innocent and coy. The mark had seemed to be alive, reflecting the lights of the stage, interacting with the environment. "Armistice," she murmured. Something so different about the magic's flavor... Something ancient... "A filly?! You're ditching me for a filly?!" the mare squealed. "She's barely of age! I heard you were into some twisted shit, but you can't be into something that—" "Sleep." Grecio waved a gray paw before the mare's snout, and her eyes drooped once, twice, and the drunken pony crumpled to the floor in a snoring tangle of legs. Noir drew herself up and smiled. The diamond dog offered her one of his rare, toothy grins. "Thought it best before my lady did something that would take me hours to clean up." "You are my hero, Grecio," Noir purred, dropping her front half in a mock curtsy. "Every day, I am more and more thankful I schooled you in basic spells." The diamond dog bowed, then waved her away with both paws. "Go. I will handle... her." He kicked at the snoring pile of pony. Noir nodded. "She is to forget this evening?" Noir's eyes became sad, for just a moment. "Yes... Like the others before her." He paused in thought. "But what of the event for tomorrow's papers?" Music rose from the stage and reached the alicorn's ears. She twitched them. "Manehattan will manage without a gossipy tidbit for one day." The crescendo was starting. "Here?" Armistice asked as they came to a stop before the tallest high rise in Manehattan's skyline. Grecio nodded. "Yes. My Lady Noir's penthouse is the top floor." Armistice titled her head back to stare up the side of the smooth glass structure. It shimmered in the city lights, the reflective surface throwing thousands of twinkling stars back at the onlooker. "I am honored that your city's patron wishes a private audience with me," she smiled. "Though I must admit some confusion as to why." The diamond dog stepped forward and pressed a paw flat against a smooth black panel on the door. Armistice noted the strange scar on the inside of his forearm - deep, gnarled, as if someone had taken a molten hot object and drawn the sign for infinity into his fur and flesh. He caught her staring. The young pianist flushed. "This way," he said simply as the doors silently opened. Armistice followed him in. The lobby was ornately decorated with exotic plants and an elegant water fountain. The soft lighting and trickling of the fountain gave it a peaceful atmosphere. Her hooves made clicking sounds on the obsidian floor tiles. Armistice felt somewhat humbled. There was money here. "She lives at the top?" the unicorn asked with wonder. Grecio smiled toothily, something Armistice did not find threatening, surprisingly. For all his gruff appearance and the reputation of his kind, the diamond dog had been nothing but the perfect gentleman. Still, this had not stopped her from surreptitiously casting a spell of protection when he appeared in the green room after her performance. Her mother had not raised a fool. "Noir de Plume's official title is Manehattan's Poet Laureate," he explained, motioning for her to enter the elevator. She obliged, delighting in the plush carpeting. "More a patron than a true leadership position," he continued, depressing the button for the top floor. "I've never heard of such a thing," Armistice replied, flicking an ear as she adjusted her brunette tail - long and straight, but the ends were wild and untamed. "Nor will you," Grecio said, paws folded behind his back. "Hers is a unique situation." They rode the rest of the way in silence, the car coming to a smooth stop. "We are here," he announced as the doors opened. Armistice's jaw dropped. The space was vast, far larger than it had any mathematical right to be. The ceiling vaulted up, and up, and up, vanishing into a spiraling darkness that she swore she could see stars in. To her left was a wall made entirely of glass, and Manehattan's cityscape lay shimmering before her—so small from so high up. The moon stared impassively down at them through a clear sky. To the right was a massive fireplace, the blaze contained within so hot the heat licked at Armistice's face from across the large room. The decor—silver, red, white, and black—was sparse, large cushions organized meticulously across from each other that appeared to be made from the softest crushed velvet. The floor was the same ornate obsidian tile as the lobby, with fine silver filigree woven between the natural cracks in the stone. "Welcome," a voice said warmly, tinged with amusement. Armistice snapped her head up, alert, and blinked. Once, twice. Noir was... tall. Taller than she, but not quite a mare - her development seemed to be somewhere between fully mature alicorn and filly. Her mane was blonde, kept short and close along her neck, with a ruffled, wild crop that sat about her ears and horn. The same color graced the tuft at the end of her strange, lion-like tail. The white of her coat was not that of a snowfall, or fresh milk, but of bleached bone, and her horn and hooves shimmered with an opalescent hue. Her wings were folded at her sides, and Armistice could not help but wonder why the left was kept tightly bandaged. It seemed smaller than the right, and there was the faintest tinge of blood soaking through the cloth. The alicorn kept her fetlocks unshorn in the manner of stallion. As she entered the main room and walked past Armistice to take a seat on one of the cushions, the young unicorn saw the marks on her flanks. Sunken in, like a brand, they were almost like the scar on Grecio's arm. They may once have held color; black, writhing vines in the shape of an ornate compass bespoke of her talent, though Armistice could not determine what it might be. What happened to you? she wondered, hoping to the Ancients her face betrayed none of her shock. "Please," Noir continued, gesturing with her horn to the other cushion, "sit." When she smiled Armistice swore she saw a hint of fangs. Hesitantly, she crossed the floor to take a cushion facing the creature she supposed passed for an alicorn. "May I get you anything?" "Ah, I'm-" "Water? Wine? Cider? You must be parched after such a wonderful display of talent," the alicorn interrupted as though Armistice had not spoken. "I choose wine, myself. A vice most ponies do not indulge. You look as you might enjoy something.... sweeter." Noir's horn glowed. At the alicorn's side, on a table, a quill hovered to life, an aura of shimmering green controlling the feather, dipping it into a nearby inkwell, and moving it soundlessly across a sheet of paper. Armistice made a surprised sound as a glass of cider popped into existence before her muzzle. She caught it just in time with her magic, a faint blue aura that threw a soft glow on her creamy face. "That..." "Is my talent," Noir finished, curling her tail about her body. "Whatever I write, comes to be." With a hidden expression, she watched the unicorn in silence for several moments. "You are powerful." Armistice looked at her over the rim of her glass, mid-sip. "To master such an instrument without the obvious use of magic... and to notice me noticing you..." The alicorn purred. "Who are you, little one?" Armistice did not feel so at ease anymore. "You shouldn't have interrupted me while I was playing," she answered after a while, gently setting the glass down. Noir tilted her head, looking amused. "No?" The alicorn rose suddenly. Armistice tensed, but Noir stepped towards the glass wall, using her magic to bring her glass of wine to her lips. "No," the pianist said, frowning, still tense. "It was distracting." "Was it..." Noir's words trailed off as she stared out over the cityscape. Armistice frowned again. "Why am I here?" she asked. "Your dog said you wanted to talk to me, but all we've done so far is play social back and forth." "His name is Grecio," Noir said tersely, lashing her tail. "And you would do well to speak his name with respect." A heavy silence fell over the room. "He has served me for over a hundred years." "And bound to her until she leaves this world," the diamond dog said solemnly, appearing at her side, resting a paw on her bandaged wing. Noir dipped her head to rest her cheek against his. "How...?" Armistice asked, her tone tinged with skepticism and a growing sense of alarm. "You're an alicorn, he can't possibly—" "I'm five hundred years old," Noir cut her off, still resting her face against Grecio's. She closed her eyes, as though suddenly weary. "And I was not always an alicorn." He felt the pain her words caused her, the great weariness that weighed her down. Grecio raised his paw to rest it on his mistress' bandaged wing. It radiated heat. "How were you—" Armistice began, her tone puzzled. Noir sighed, lifting her head, turning back to face the young unicorn. Grecio took a step to remain at her side, paw still on her wing. He felt the bandage moisten. His lady Noir was bleeding again. "Twilight was not the first to bask under the tutelage of our great leader" the alicorn said with a sardonic smile. Her bitter grin confirmed Armistice's earlier suspicions - Noir did indeed have fangs. Two sharp incisors glistened in the light of the roaring fire. Grecio watched as the unicorn's expression remained impassive, but she could not hide the surprise in her large, kohl-rimmed eyes. "That honor," Noir continued, "goes to me." "You were Celestia's student?" Armistice murmured the question as Noir took several silent steps towards her. The young filly craned her neck up to look at the taller mare, thin, lithe and tired. "Yes. Her first. The very first," Noir said, slowly settling down on the cushion next to Armistice. Grecio remained at his position near the window, eyeing the weeping bandage with growing concern. "In the years after Princess Luna lost her mind to the Nightmare and was exiled to the Moon, Celestia sent scouts to all corners of Equestria, seeking talent. They came to my small village. I was just a filly..." Noir looked towards the fire, the flames catching her icy blue eyes. The effect was haunting. "They brought me back to the Royal Palace, with my mother's permission, of course... and the rest is history." Another smile, this time sad, crossed her lips. Grecio watched his mistress speak with impassive eyes. He knew this story; she'd told him in those fever days after he'd found her, during the weeks he'd nursed her back to health, and in the years they'd spent building her life in Manehattan. He wondered when she would finally be able to admit the unfortunate truth about her past, and not this fantastic tale she'd spun. "The capital was still in the Everfree Forest," Noir sighed, tucking her forelegs tightly beneath her. Armistice remained still. "I spent years studying magic under Celestia's tutelage. As I showed you, my talent is to bring things into existence. The Princess wished for me to become like her." "She wanted to make you an alicorn?" Armistice asked with an eyebrow arched. Noir nodded. "In the beginning, the Creator made One. Celestia was alone. When the Sun and Moon were too much for One, Celestia beseeched the Creator for another. Thus came Luna. When the Sisters were old enough, the Creator departed, leaving them under the guidance of Starswirl the Bearded." "I know the propaganda of Equestria's Origin," Armistice interrupted. Noir arched an eyebrow in return. Armistice noted the subtle mockery. "With Luna gone," she continued, as though Armistice had not spoken, "Celestia had become lonely. Faced with millenia alone... why not create Princesses of her own?" The alicorn flinched and Grecio made a move forward, but Noir shook her head. He frowned, but remained put. "I was to be the Princess of Histories. I was to write into existence adventures and tales for ponies to undertake. I was to make Equestria's heroes." "What happened...?" Armistice asked after a long silence. Grecio saw her reach out a hoof hesitantly. He tensed, hand on the hilt of his sword, and relaxed when Noir allowed the younger pony to set her hoof gently on her foreleg. "I noted my teacher's loneliness," Noir said sadly, meeting Armistice's eyes for the first time that evening. They were pools of raw emotion. Betrayal. Anger. Defeat. It made the unicorn uncomfortable. "She missed her sister. Deeply. So I worked on a spell in my spare time to save her." Here, she smiled sadly. "I found a magic no pony had touched for centuries... A magic forbidden and hidden but still usable to those who could open their minds and read the runes. I only needed the power and open plane of my Ascension to access the Aether between Equestria and the Moon, and I could bring Princess Luna home. I did not know the last pony to use it without permission had been driven mad." "You didn't," Armistice said softly, her eyes crinkling at the corner. "You couldn't possibly have been that foolish..." Noir nodded solemnly. "So convinced was Celestia of my success that my coronation was scheduled. My Royal accoutrements were constructed out of the finest onyx and silver. She showed me, proudly, and I smiled, all the while imagining how wonderful of a surprise it would be when I returned from the Ascension with not only my wings, but her sister as well." Grecio watched a single tear roll down his mistress' muzzle. "I did not anticipate the Nightmare to be hovering above the Aether. When I unleashed my spell... it corrupted my transformation, and I was cursed with the form you see now." She motioned with her head to her bandaged wing, the cloth now bright red with blood. Armistice gasped, her mild annoyance vanishing the face of the injury. "You're hurt!" "It never stops," the alicorn replied. "It tries to heal. It can't." She shifted her weight, and raised her head. "Grecio..." The diamond dog stood at attention. "Show her." "My lady?" he asked. Noir nodded. "Show her," she repeated. He came to her side, and knelt, tenderly undoing the bandages with his paws. As he worked, Noir continued to speak. "I spent an untold amount of time—centuries, it must have been—trapped in the violent energies of the Aether. The backlash of dark magic and the power of the Ascension threw me thousands of miles away into a wasteland... which is where I met Grecio." She winced as he tugged at a piece of cloth. "Apologies, my lady." "He saved my life," she murmured, bowing her head as he stepped away, exposing her shame. Armistice made a noise. The wing was ghastly—grossly deformed, with exposed bone and gnarled flesh, the primary feathers coated in dried blood. Noir moved it pitifully. "For one hundred and seventy three years I have borne this monstrosity," she whispered. Armistice shook her head in horror. "Why not use your magic?! Why not write your wing into being whole?" she exclaimed. "My talent cannot be used to alter matter," the alicorn replied sadly. "It has only ever affected events, actions, like a scene in a play, and those have to be in my immediate vicinity. With some effort I have been able to combine it with my basic manifestation abilities, but the time spent in the Aether corrupted my magic..." She made a pained face as she refolded the deformity back against her side. "When I returned with Grecio, Celestia had no choice but to deny me my Princesshood. I had betrayed her." "My lady writes the gossip and drama of Manehattan," Grecio offered, seeing how weary his mistress was becoming. "She keeps the masses of Equestria entertained. In exchange, the Crown keeps her room and board." "A mockery of my ability," the alicorn added bitterly. "'The pony everypony should know'," she snorted. "Really." She made another pained face. "Celestia stuck me here like some dirty secret so no one has to know my shame. She has Twilight Sparkle to parade as a grand success now." "My lady," Grecio tried. "That is not entirely—" "No!" Noir hissed. "I'm tired of being the failure!" "You are exhausted and in pain," the diamond dog said evenly, placing both his paws on either side of her muzzle as Armistice stirred nervously on her cushion. "We have a guest. An honored guest. Please..." He gently stroked along the ridges of her orbital bones with his thumbs. "Rest now." Armistice watched with wonder as the alicorn's head drooped slowly to her chest, and the diamond dog set her tenderly down on the cushion. Noir's chest rose and fell with the meter of slumber. "You'll have to excuse her," Grecio said apologetically to Armistice. "She is excitable and emotional and often forgets manners when in such a state." He smiled kindly. Armistice returned the smile. "The hour is late, and I'm certain my lady does have an actual matter to discuss with you. While I am happy to escort you back to your hotel, there is a guest room prepared. Would you care to stay?" Grecio watched the unicorn weigh the options in her mind. Noir was clearly unbalanced—a powerful creature, surely, but unbalanced. When he saw those sapphire eyes soften, though, he knew she saw how damaged and fragile his mistress was, and how badly she needed a friend. Armistice nodded. "I'll stay." The diamond dog bowed deeply. "This way." Her sleep was fitful, full of aches and memories. Reminiscing so much before slumber brought up the past, and Noir's dreams were vivid. She was back in the cave, could feel the cold, hard rock beneath her body, the screaming pain in the growth protruding from her left side, smell the wet moist mass being shoved between her lips. "Please, horse lady... must eat." The voice was gravelly, but imploring. Noir cracked a swollen eyelid to stare at the gray fuzzy blur kneeling at her face. The substance was pressed against her teeth once more. Her teeth... felt... odd. She ran her tongue along them, and winced. Sharp. "Please." The blur slowly came into focus, and Noir forced her other eye open. It screamed its protest in silent rage, sending rivulets of pain deep within her socket. It was a diamond dog, no more than a pup just weaned, eagerly offering her a hunk of bloody meat Clad in the tattered rags of its kind, a collar spoke of its status amongst its clan—slave. Its green eyes were large and bright and flecked with gold, and when it noticed her looking at it, it grinned toothily, tail wagging spastically. "Awake! Awake!" it said excitedly. "Not awake for days! So worried!" It gushed. Noir moved to sit up, and the diamond pup waved a paw frantically. "No no no pretty horse lady not move!" Again the meat was thrust into her face. "Eat!" It smelled acrid. It looked raw. But Noir's stomach chose that moment to voice its opinion... loudly, and the pup giggled. Reluctantly, she raised her head and took a bite, finding her new fangs tore the flesh quite easily. The meat felt slimy and tough in her mouth. Her throat closed and she felt her bile rise. The eager, proud look on the pup's face was the only thing that made her swallow. It offered it again, and she accepted, repeating the motions until the hunk was gone. It sat back on its haunches, watching her intently. "I find topside. Pretty horse lady there... all red on white furs." Its face turned sad. "Not moving, here." It tapped its chest. "I drag to cave, out of sun. Bring water. Every day, when bright and dark come." "How long...?" Noir asked. The diamond dog tilted its head. She winced as her head began to pound. "How many brights and darks?" Its face lit up with understanding. It splayed its front paws, all eight digits, then, sat on its rump to use its back feet, then flashed one front paw again. Noir's heart sank. Twenty two days... She felt hot tears gather in her eyes. She had failed. She was gods knew where, barely alive, injured, and half-changed. The spell was corrupted, she could feel it, and there was no telling how long she has been lost between worlds. The tears rolled down her cheeks. The pup made a distressed sound. "No... no no. Too pretty. Please..." it beseeched, scooting forward on its rump to gently touch her muzzle with its cold little nose. Noir flinched at the contact, but the pup did not react. "Horn so shiny, feet so shiny, like gems," it continued. "Not cry." How could she possibly explain to this simple beast what she had stood to gain and lost? Yet, here it tried to comfort her. Its small paw reached up to touch her horn. "I go. I come back at bright. Yes?" She nodded. It grinned again, wagging its tail. "I bring special meat!" *** It returned many hours later. Noir had a poor sense of the passage of time, so far back was she in the cave that the light from the outside did not reach her. She heard it before she saw it, the scuffling and shuffling of paws. It carried a torch this time, and she sat up slowly, finding that her body did not ache as much as it did before. It waved. "Awake! So happy to see awake!" it announced, dropping a sack on the ground. Noir shifted her forelegs around to sit more comfortably on the stone ground, folding her right wing close against her body, keeping the left... thing... as limp as possible to prevent it from causing her pain. "What did you bring?" she asked. It beamed at her as it dug in the sack. "Meats!" it grinned, brandishing a big, fat rat. Noir masked her horror. Oh gods, is that what I ate? "I catch myself," it announced, clearly proud. "Oh... good," Noir said, forcing a smile. She owed this creature her life. Manners, girl, manners. Royal castle conduct came back in full force. "I hide from leader. For pretty horse lady, I say to self," it told her, thumping chest. "Leader beat, know I have, but I still hide." Noir's heart tinged. This creature had lied and taken punishment for her. "What is your name, little one?" she asked gently as the pup gutted the rat. It blinked. "Name?" it echoed. She nodded, smiling, hoping her new fangs were not frightening. It tilted its head again. "Scrap," it mumbled after a while. "Because is all I get when meal is over..." "I'm Noir," she replied. Scrap smiled so widely she thought his face would split in two. "Is Noir... friend?" "Yes, Scrap. We are friends." The joy on his face made her feel a little less dead inside. *** Day by day, Noir grew stronger, and she was eventually able to walk. Scrap brought her rats and water, and sometimes the odd handful of grass when he could find it. She longed for a bath, but that would have to wait until she returned to the castle. If she returned to castle. Diamond dog territory was vast, and Scrap's powers of description were limited. She could be anywhere. The backlash of magic could have flung her to the other side of the sphere Equestria sat on. She was able to take a full assessment of her transformation: one good wing, one malformed, pearly white coat now bland and dull. Her tail was that of a griffon's, which, while unusual, she took delight in lashing furiously from side to side to see how much wind she could whip up. The fangs took getting used to, as she still bit her tongue now and then when speaking. Scrap giggled as she occasionally had a lisp. It was a temporary inconvenience, she was sure; Celestia would fix everything when she got back and explained. Certainly the Princess would not allow her to remain a monstrosity for the millennia her life would now be. She was a kind and forgiving leader. One dark, the pup did not come. Noir paced the entrance of the cave nervously. She depended on him still for water and food, the mountainous regions unfamiliar to her, the plants foreign. The sun sank beneath the horizon, and its milky twin slowly rose in the sky. He still did not come. Noir became frantic with worry. She lay at the mouth of the cave, ears flat, despondent. A rock fell. She lifted her head. It was followed by a high pitched yelp. She raised an ear. The yelping grew louder, and with it were voices, deeper angry voices. Noir scrambled to her hooves, ducking just inside the cave entrance. The yelping sounded like Scrap. She receded further into the shadows. "Here?" a gruff growl demanded. There a silence, then the sound of flesh on flesh, and another yelp. "Here?" the demand came again. "Smells like pony," another voice offered, this one more nasal. From over the ledge came three full grown diamond dogs. Two trailed behind what was clearly the Alpha, who had Scrap by the ear. Noir began to tremble. "You hide it here?" the Alpha roared. "Stupid whelp!" He twisted the pup's ear violently and Scrap whimpered, tears in his eyes. "Whole time, we can eat, take horn, take hooves." The Alpha raised his hand to deliver another blow. Do something do something do something! she screamed at herself. Panic. Her breath came in short rasps. She was no fighter. Her magic was powerless against foes. There wasn't a single thing her talent was good for in this— Like a key in a lock, the tumblers fell in sequence. Noir reached back with her teeth and ripped a primary feather from her good wing. Spitting it on the ground, she then bit savagely at her foreleg until blood ran freely and pooled on the rock. Using her magic, the shimmering emerald aura—her magic was green now?!—lifted the feather, dipped the tip in her still warm blood, and began to scrawl hastily on the cave wall. "Leave him alone," she said loudly, stepping out of the shadows. The diamond dogs stared, the Alpha male dropping his hand. Scrap's face fell. The Alpha snorted. "She has horn like jewels," he roared. Noir inclined her head. The Alpha male blinked, dropping Scrap to the ground, and clutched suddenly at his throat. "Come to me," Noir told Scrap. The pup scrambled to his feet and ran to her side. Noir enfolded him in her good wing protectively. The other two diamond dogs stared at their pack leader as he continued to claw at his throat, gasping, his eyes beginning to bulge. Noir took a step forward. "I've never seen someone die from asphyxiation before," she said conversationally. Her tone was cold. The Alpha locked eyes with her, and the look he found gave him no hope. "I've read about it in books... when the brain does not get enough of the vital element in the air it needs to survive, and just... shuts... off..." She flicked her tail in his face. Spittle had begun to run from his slack jaws. Noir's eyes gleamed wickedly. "I also read someponys find the sensation... erotic." Here, she cast a glance down at his nether regions, and laughed. "Hard to tell; you are a dog. Tell me, do you lust for a bitch of your pack?" She turned and offered herself teasingly as the Alpha made an enraged noise. Noir continued to walk, Scrap molded to her side. "I am leaving," she announced to the other two, paying them no mind as she strolled past. "And I am taking him with me." They looked at each other, then to their struggling Alpha, then back to Noir. She cast a glance back over her shoulder and lifted her chin. The Alpha made a gurgling sound and dropped to the ground. She narrowed her eyes. "Do not follow us." Sleep evaded her that night. It was not for lack of comfort—the bed, low to the ground and soft, was so comfortable Armistice almost forgot she was lying on anything at all. The room Grecio had shown her to was decorated in the most soothing of themes: a star scape that could only have been inspired by Equestria's own Princess Luna. The ceiling and walls were all the deepest blue, embedded in them twinkled tiny white gems, illuminated by a light source Armistice could not locate. The bed was a circular cushion, much like the ones in the front room, only upholstered in a smooth silk that remained cool to the touch no matter how long Armistice lay upon it. It was blue, like the walls and ceiling, but shimmered when she poked it with her hoof. Gauze drapery hung from a hook in the ceiling to enshroud the cushion, giving it a cozy feeling. Candles hovered in the air, bathing the room in the softest of light. A large window overlooked the Manehattan skyline. It was enchanting. Armistice turned to lay on her stomach, head on her forelegs, and sighed through her nose. At 19 summers, she had seen much of the world, more so than anyone else from her empire, and she could not help but get the sense that, for all of Noir's age... the alicorn was not as experienced in life as Armistice was. She had played for the king and queen of Saddle Arabia, entertained the elusive leaders of the Deerfolk, even performed for the normally combative minotaur who inhabited the lands surrounding Tartarus. Noir had spent nearly two hundred years in one city. Heaving another sigh, the young unicorn flopped onto her back, illuminating her horn and sending one of the floating candles dancing across the room. She kicked a hoof absently, watching the candle twirl. The necklace at her throat hummed softly. Millenia ago, when Celestia had assumed the throne, the leaders of her empire had declined the offer to join the newly formed kingdom calling itself Equestria. Fearing interference from the crown, they had established a barrier around the perimeters of their land, shielding the existence of their home and their people from the outside world. No one entered. Only those who obtained express permission and swore to a series of oaths were allowed to leave. It was customary for colts and fillies of her age to take a "knowledge quest" to observe the ways of the Outsiders, and to bring back new ideas in science and art. This kept the empire from stagnating, and allowed them to preserve the elements of the medieval society that made her home so very unique. She divided the candle into two, stretching the flame into a bridge between the wicks. Armistice had left three winters ago. Her musical skills were unique among even her people, and she craved what any artist did: an audience to share her work with. There were only so many concerts she could hold before everypony in the empire had witnessed her skills, and she no longer stunned and surprised. Having completed the mandatory schooling her empire required earlier than her classmates, she petitioned the Council, obtained permission from her family, and set out into the world of the Outsiders. Noir was deeply disturbed. Noir also has the potential to be powerful. The foolish attempt at alicorn magic, however, had been her downfall, and something about the Poet's story was not adding up. Armistice allowed the candles to merge back into one, and float back to its original position. An interesting smell caught her attention. It was sharp, and sweet, with a hint of smokiness. Curious, the unicorn hopped off the cushion and pushed the door open with her hoof. Not as if she was getting any rest to begin with. It seemed to be coming from down the hall... She arched an eyebrow and a faint blue line shimmered in the air. That way, she thought with a smile, trotting softly down the carpeted corridor. The blue glimmer led her to a pair of large glass doors, sitting wide open, looking out onto a stone balcony. Leaning against the railing was the diamond dog, Grecio. He had his arms folded, facing the city, the light breeze blowing his ears and fur back. He no longer wore his waistcoat or starched white shirt; instead, he was clad in a loose, simple tunic that was open at the chest. Armistice stepped forward slowly and quietly. Grecio raised a rolled bit of paper that had a glowing ember at the end to his mouth, and inhaled. "Did I wake you?" he asked, not turning his head. Armistice shook hers in response. "No. I... I can't sleep." The diamond dog blew a slow lungful of smoke into the night. The smell was the same smokey sweet smell Armistice had detected before. "I should never have brought you back here," he sighed, rubbing his forehead. Armistice furrowed her brow. "Why?" She took a step closer, one hoof slightly raised. The breeze felt good on her skin, lifting her mane from her shoulders. Grecio turned to face her. His eyes were pained. "She thought you could help her," he said, his voice thick. Armistice titled her head. Grecio laughed sharply, more of a bark. "You're just a filly. And Noir's finally gone mad..." He took another drag on the clove and closed his eyes, trying to center himself. Armistice put both her hooves on the balcony railing to stand on her hind legs and be at his height. "May I?" she asked, indicating the clove. Grecio looked at her, startled, but offered her the clove. She illuminated her horn, delicately drawing it to her mouth and taking a slow, even hit. She exhaled, eyelids lowered, and with the wind blowing her mane back, the moonlight highlighting her sapphire eyes, made even brighter by the kohl that rimmed them... She was one of the most beautiful things Grecio had ever seen. He took the clove without a word as it hovered back within his reach. "My empire is ancient," Armistice began. "We do not bow to your Princesses. Nor to their parents before them." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, her horn glowing faintly. A faint hum filled his ears. In a sudden explosion of light, an aerial view of a land was born in the air before him. A grand castle sat at the top of a mountain, surrounded by verdant forests. The view swerved, diving closer, through the trees, faster, faster, and Armistice continued, her horn glowing so brightly it was almost white. Grecio could feel the heat from it. "When Equestria formed, we declined to join." The view slowed as it approached the town surrounding the castle, showing taverns, shops, earth ponies and pegasi and unicorn of various professions, all medieval, all cordial and prosperous and healthy. "We do not divide our people as Equestrians do, and live together as one race." The view soared again to show the town from the air, a neat arrangement of streets and houses, criss-crossing orderly. "Magic is valued. Hard work is valued. Everypony is valued." The mirage blinked out of existence as quickly as it had appeared. Grecio stared at the small cream unicorn, his jaw slack with wonder. Armistice returned the look with an even stare of her own. "I left on my knowledge quest five years before it is customary in my culture. Do you know why?" Grecio could only shake his head. "Unicorns are required to attend mage school. I completed my studies years before scheduled. I had the privilege of mastering several concepts at an early age, and was able to graduate before my peers." She smiled. "All magic was what you call 'alicorn magic' before the Sisters, Grecio." She met his eyes with an intensity that stopped his heart. "Equestria's ponies have divided it into Darkness and Light. My people... we have Time." He took a slow drag from his clove, looking away. She noted his paw was trembling ever so slightly. "Do you still think I am 'just a filly’?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. The diamond dog met her eyes again, and she almost gasped. They were haunted, and ancient, with none of the playful gleam she had seen earlier that evening. He knelt, taking her face in his hands. "Can you save her...?" Armistice stared in surprise at the submissive diamond dog. "Can you?" he implored. The pads on his paws were hot on her cheeks. He was aware of tears in his eyes, and was not ashamed of his weakness before this young creature. In the light of her beauty and her power, she had demonstrated the truth of her abilities - she was the ladder out of his lady's bottomless pit of madness. "I..." Armistice began, her tone uncertain. She shifted her forelegs, one hoof behind the other. The collar of Grecio's tunic was loose and open, and the unicorn's eyes were drawn to the puckered scar over his heart. "For years I have watched her, guarded her. In these last few decades, she has lost all hope. Please... Armistice..." His voice softened to a whisper. "I cannot stop her from destroying herself." Armistice gently removed her face from his grasp, lifting his lowered chin with her muzzle. The diamond dog was allowing his grief to flow freely down his cheeks. It tore at her heart. "Tell me," she began, lifting a hoof to his chest. "How did this come to be? How are you still alive?" Her expression was stern, but caring. "I want to understand you. I want to understand her. But to do that, I need to trust. And for that to happen, I need the truth." "I will tell you," he replied solemnly, rising to his feet, clasping her hoof tightly. The lovely young pianist nodded. "First I must move my lady to her quarters. I can't leave her sleeping with an unbandaged wing in the front room," he added. "If you would like to wait for me—" "I'll help," she interrupted. Grecio blinked. Armistice smiled warmly. "I can move her without her even knowing." The pair headed inside the flat, Grecio closing the balcony doors quietly behind them. Noir slumbered still upon the cushion, her deformed wing having bled slowly and stained the material. Gently, the diamond dog lifted the tattered mass of flesh and feathers in his paw, motioning for Armistice to open the small drawer in the table nearby. With a soft blue glow, the drawer slid free, and a fresh cloth wrap of bandages floated toward him. "Why won't it heal?" she asked quietly, watching with her brow knit as Grecio tenderly wrapped the damaged tissue. He shook his head. "She never explained it fully to me. I don't think she knows herself. Something went wrong during her transformation... something her body can't fix." He rested a paw on her flank, and her good wing twitched. "What does she dream of?" the unicorn continued. Grecio smiled sadly. "Flying, I think." "Oh," Armistice replied softly, lowering her eyes. Grecio moved to stand and scoop Noir into his arms. Armistice tapped him on the shoulder, and he looked back at her. She lifted her eyebrows, and he nodded. That same faint sapphire aura encircled the sleeping alicorn, lifting her soundlessly from the cushion. "Lead the way," Armistice murmured. Grecio motioned her down the hall. She followed. He took her to a simple room, large, but sparse, the only furniture an immense cushion bed, like the one in room Armistice slept in, and a bookshelf. The far wall held a fireplace. There were no windows. She lowered Noir onto the cushion while Grecio busied himself with the fire. Armistice pulled one of the numerous blankets over the slumbering alicorn, taking care to not disturb her bandaged wing. "She's still asleep," Armistice told him, joining him at the hearth. He nodded, watching the small flames lick at the logs. "The spell will keep her so until morning." "Magic is unusual for your kind to wield..." "So is my lifespan," he chuckled, sitting on the rug. She followed suit. "Tell me how that happened." Grecio rubbed at the scar on his arm, watching as the flames found fuel in the wood and became a blaze. Shadows danced on the walls behind them. "Noir freed me from my pack. Gave me my new name. I stayed with her, on her journey back. It had to have taken years... I had no sense of time. Only sunrises and sunsets. We walked for hundreds of those." He folded his legs and rested his paws on his knees. When he stared into the fire, his green eyes took on a look that gave Armistice a chill. Guardian and warrior, so much older than he should have been, this creature had seen more in his lifetime than he wanted to. "Things... did not go the way she hoped with the Sun Princess." A log popped and cracked. Noir stirred on her cushion. Grecio looked over to ensure she was still asleep. "When we arrived at this place, it was still a place of small houses and shops. Noir was... beside herself. I was older, not the pup that had saved her in the mountains many years ago." "Do you understand, Grecio, what I am asking of you?" "One night, while lying awake in our lodgings—this penthouse had not yet been built—she turned to me in the dark." "Life in my service will not be easy. The path you walk shall be over shards of crystal and bone." "She offered me the opportunity of a lifetime," he continued, eyes still on the flames. "Do you swear yourself to me, as long as I am of this world?" "This, to bind my body." He extended his forearm, showing Armistice the scar. "With a molten hot horn, she drew the symbol that extended my life." "This next part, Grecio... hurts me as much you..." "And this..." He pulled the collar of his tunic open to reveal the scar over his heart. It was puckered, like something spiraled had been plunged into his chest. "Beat for beat, twined in time, when mine heart stops, so does thine..." "Bound our souls." He rubbed it absently. "A sliver of her horn lies deep within my heart." Armistice stared with wide eyes. He nodded. "When she passes from Equestria... so shall I." "That magic is ancient," she said softly. "I suppose she figured she had nothing to lose," Grecio shrugged. "It was her last great spell. At first, Noir threw herself into research, convinced there was some way to undo what had been done. But she despaired as time went on... Fell into drink. And other habits..." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Not two nights ago I dragged her from a stallion's home before the papers got word of it. It was a bloody mess cleaning up her trail to make sure no one remembered." He noted the startled look on the unicorn's face. "Nothing violent or drastic," he added quickly with a chuckle. "Just some greasing of hooves." "Grecio," Armistice said gently, "to reinstate an Ascension phase... no non alicorn has ever done so." The diamond dog looked up, meeting her eyes with a sudden look of despair. Armistice smiled. "But I might be able to reverse it." He threw his arms around her in a tight embrace, burying his face against her neck. Her mane smelled like the sun and the fields and hope. "Thank you," he whispered fiercely. "You must tell me one thing, first," Armistice whispered in return, pulling back to meet the diamond dog's eyes. He nodded. "Noir... was never meant to be an alicorn." "No," he replied softly. "No one this unstable can ever have that power," she continued, brow knit. "I know you care for her, but—" "Reversing what has been done is the best thing, Armistice," Grecio interrupted. The unicorn bit her lip. "But," she said, her eyes dancing in the firelight, "I think she is lying." "Lying?" Grecio asked. His tone was surprised, but there was a forced way he feigned the expression, and it told Armistice everything she needed to know. "She was never Celestia's student... was she?" Grecio shook his head. "She does not know that I know." Armistice looked over at the slumbering alicorn with a mixture of compassion and pity. "She must have her reasons for spinning such a story..." With a sigh, she climbed to her hooves. "I will not hear it from you, though. It is hers to tell." The unicorn stared into the fire for several silent moments. "May I stay with her?" she asked. He nodded. Armistice smiled again. "She is not alone. And neither are you." She tapped her necklace. The silver heart glinted in the firelight. " 'Quis Aeternum'," she said. "Forever Supporting." Grecio rested a paw on her cheek. "I will wake you both in the morning for breakfast." The unicorn nodded and watched the diamond dog get to his feet, stopping to check on his mistress before exiting the room. From the doorway, Grecio watched as Armistice crawled onto the cushion next to Noir, snuggling under her good wing and nestling next to her flank. Noir stirred, and to his delight, did not pull away, instead turning to cradle the young mare in her embrace in a display of intimacy he had never thought her capable of. Noir had lovers, yes. Strings of them, who could not remember the night before, their only hints at the time spent in her company the headache of too much cider and the ache of a passionate bite or two. She had never allowed herself to have friends. The smell of coffee reached her nostrils before the sounds of laughter reached her ears. Noir sat up, blinking, the warm spot at her side a source of confusion. She flexed her good wing. Her head throbbed with the combination of Grecio's sleep spell and the wine she'd imbibed. Unsteadily, she got to her hooves, her limbs aching. The urge to stretch the gnarled growth on her left side was intense, and Noir sobbed under her breath. Only here, alone in her chambers, did she allow herself to be weak. Each day, the pain was worse, and the weakness more prominent. She could feel her magic decaying inside her; manifesting the glass of cider for Armistice had nearly exhausted her to the point of unconsciousness last night. What good was this elongated life if she spent its eternity in agony? A single tear found its way down her muzzle and dripped to the floor. Noir closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. I have made my bed, she told herself. I chose this path the day I stole the scroll from the library... So eager, so young... Warmth was all she had known in those days, basking in the books in the castle library, heart skipping a beat every time Princess Celestia looked her way and nodded her acknowledgement and appreciation... Noir slammed a hoof into the wall and bit her lip, hard, stifling a roar. Even her pleasant memories ended in darkness. "My lady!" Grecio's voice came from the kitchen. "I have prepared your favorite!" Noir drew herself up and sighed, ruffling her feathers. She could not even recall why she had wanted the young pianist to visit. Something about her magic being unique and un-Equestrian... Her half-formed plans now seemed so hopeless in the rays of Celestia's light. Her life was as it always had been, and could be nothing but. Forcing a smile, the alicorn made her way to the kitchen. Grecio was leaning on the marble counter top, sipping a mug of black coffee. Armistice sat prettily on a stool, her magic keeping a mug to her muzzle, her eyes closed in delight, tail swishing excitedly side to side. Grecio lifted his eyebrows in greeting at his mistress. "You remain," Noir said to Armistice. The unicorn set down her mug of heavily creamed coffee and beamed. "Yes! Grecio is quite the cook! He had me try this..." Her voice trailed off as she turned to look down at her plate, upon which sat two strips of cooked meat. "What was this?" she asked him, blue eyes shining. "You like bacon?" Noir interjected, eyebrow arched. She lifted a piece from the pan, green aura bringing it to her muzzle, fangs ripping the meat. Armistice giggled. "I have never tried meat before. But I've also never been to Manehattan or seen much of Equestria. Why limit my experiences?" Noir chewed, eyeing the cream-colored mare thoughtfully. Grecio coughed politely into his paw. Armistice nodded. "Ah, Grecio and I were talking while you slept, and I..." Armistice tossed her mane and took a breath, lifting her head to meet Noir full in the eyes. She felt a chill at the icy, unwavering stare the alicorn fixed her with. "I know how to help you." Noir's heart skipped several beats. Something tiny, bright, and insidious bloomed deep within her chest, and it was all she could do to not extinguish the spark of hope before it could birth itself. Masking the emotion with another bite of bacon, the alicorn nodded for Armistice to continue. Grecio spoke, instead. "Armistice was explaining to me how her empire uses magic," the diamond dog began, setting a mug of lightly creamed coffee on the counter before his mistress. "Two sugars, as always," he said in reply to her parting lips. Noir nodded. "Apparently, when Celestia and Luna ascended to power with Equestria's creation, magic became divided by sunrise and sunset." "To a degree," Noir said. "Dark, and light." "Time," Armistice answered softly, her blue eyes twinkling. "Magic has always been time. It is neither good or evil. The energy itself is arbitrary and the intent lies solely on the caster." She sipped daintily at her coffee. "Your alicorn princesses claimed the sunrise and sunset, making magic in Equestria something mythical and exclusive to those with an external appendage to access the Aether." She tapped her horn. "In truth, magic, like time, is all around us. In the air. In the earth. This is why your earth ponies and your pegasi still have special talents." Noir watched as Grecio came to stand beside Armistice, noting the closeness. She arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. "In my empire, we never accepted that division, so our mages never lost their abilities. We have practitioners of magic from all three pony races." "My, don't you live in a paradise," Noir quipped into her coffee. Grecio shot her a look. Armistice raised a hoof. "It is understandable for an Outsider to not understand. It is a way of magic lost to Equestria that perhaps even the Princesses themselves may not remember." Noir snorted. At this, Armistice did frown. "Noir, did you not yourself notice my piano playing?" "I did," the alicorn agreed. "You had no perceptible use of magic outwardly emanating from your horn." Armistice smiled. "Not outwardly. But I do not need to, for that. You see... I simply borrow from my other selves." "Pardon?" Noir asked, blinking. Armistice illuminated her horn, rubbed her forehooves along it, and smeared the soft blue magic on the counter top, making a line. She tapped the center. "We're here," she said. Noir leaned over to watch. Grecio did the same. "I'm playing my piano. Everything before my hoof is the past, and everything after is the future. I exist back to my birth and up to my death on this timeline." "This is basic time mechanics," Noir interrupted, her tone annoyed. Grecio shushed her. Noir closed her mouth, shocked at the insubordination. "What you aren't seeing is all of these"—Armistice drew lines below and above her current "timeline"—"in Others where I also exist." " 'Others?' " Noir asked. "Places like this, but a little different, or maybe very very strange, but where we still have a presence," Armistice explained. "To do what I do with my piano, I borrow from myself in these Other places, tiny portions of a skill I have trained in and learned, to put together a complete mastery of an art." The cream-colored mare grinned. Noir felt her jaw drop slightly. "The capabilities of this magic are astounding, my lady," Grecio began. "How this has been lost to Equestria is a mystery." Because it's too powerful for anyone but the Sisters to know about. Noir thought to herself. It sounds like the magic of Chaos... Armistice's sweet voice broke into her internal reverie. "Using this knowledge, I think I can help you, Lady Noir." The unicorn hopped down from her stool, using her magic to lift a piece of bacon to her muzzle. "Tell me," she said, tapping her silver heart necklace and chewing, "have you ever heard of chronospheres?"