The usual chatter of recruits walking around or relaxing inbetween lessons was gone this day, black curtains hung above the main entrance of the Order mansion, and Heavy Hoof's lifelike statue was clearly visible, standing on the fork where the path coming from the gate split into those leading towards the mansion and the training grounds. A figure sharply contrasting with the statue's pristine coat and dark blue mane was standing in front of it, looking at the gravel road with head hung low. With the purple mane and dark grey coat of his batpony disguise, sargeant Tio Cross just stood there, remembering.
That was until he felt another changeling pass by, walking steadily without even noticing him. She was taller than him, changeling queens were always taller than even the biggest changeling warriors, but this one wasn't as tall as queen Chrysalis. It might have been a disguise, or it might have been her real look, but in addition to black chitin with slight blue hue she bore a long, light blonde mane and dark blue belly plate with barely visible thin orange lines decorating it.
Cross had seen her only once before, and she had been trying to kill princess Luna at the time, but he had no doubt the dreamling queen herself was here to mourn the passing of one of her daughters. He didn't bother her with needless questions, he didn't even look again in her direction. She had her business here, and he had his.
Sitting down in front of the statue and bowing his head, Cross closed his eyes, thinking about the happiest times somepony as scarred as him remembered.
Behind the mansion, even behind the slowly regrowing garden maze, stood a white griffon and a black and white unicorn, looking at the wall surrounding the Order proper. Unlike everywhere else, the white stones here were covered in tiny scribbles. Cromach and Contradiction stared silently at the three additions to the Wall of Names.
Three
Walter Grant
Heavy Hoof
Only Cromach knew some of the other names, but barely few out of the hundreds, possibly thousands, miniature carvings into the wall. After rebuilding the Order mansion, it had been Blaze's wish that princess Celestia gave him the names of everypony who had died during both mirror Sombra's invasions and the conquest coming from Zebrica. Connie thought this was a memorial to those who had laid their lives for Equestria and Equus, but Crom knew the truth - those were the names of all ponies, griffons, and minotaurs who had died because of Blaze, at least that what's what the alicorn believed.
Grass crunched in the cold air, and the duo turned to the approaching dreamling queen, bowing slightly.
She shook her head, and joined them in staring blankly at the new names. After a moment, she sighed.
"Twenty years of destruction, from an egg to a starving husk like all of us used to be, and unfinished two years of hope. So much pressure from being our envoy in Canterlot and yet, in her letters home she's never been unhappy or regretful, even when she had to track the Nightmare's host. My third daughter, my best warrior, and a link between mine and queen Chrysalis' hive. Do you know where her changeling mate is?"
"His year of training in the Canterlot guard finished some two months ago, I think," Cromach scratched his chin, "You'll have to ask queen Chrysalis about him."
"I will."
She sighed again, and turned to leave.
"Guiding," Cromach stopped her, "Have you talked to Blaze yet?"
She shook her head.
"No, I've just arrived."
"Please do, he's... completely empty whenever I'm not around now. I hope it passes like everything else, but this time it feels different. Heavy's been one of his first real friends."
Guiding Light nodded, and left.
"We should go too. It's good to remember, but moping doesn't change anything," Cromach patted Connie's back.
"Yes, sir," she answered flatly.
"Come on, don't be like that," the griffon reached into his saddlebag, "I had Starlight make this. It's not much, but... it should work only for you."
He pulled a single rust-colored feather out, and presented it to her. It was clean, didn't show any sign of decay or unnatural dryness, and it gave off a faint hint of sweat. To Connie, as she took it into her hooves, it smelled like a hug from a friend so close to being a lover it didn't make any difference. She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from tearing up.
"Levitate it," Crom smiled.
Her horn lit up, enveloping the feather in soft, white glow.
The glow turned into mist, seeping from the feather into the air nearby, forming more and more see-through, white feathers. After the head appeared fully, the rust from the feather bled into fur, forming the rest of the ethereal body. The image of Walter smiled at Connie and waved a talon. Tears streaming from her eyes, she tried to hug it, but her magic failed, the image disappeared, and the feather floated to the ground. She gasped, and caught it in her hooves before it could touch the grass.
"Thank you, sir," she sniffed.
"We all need mementos, big or small," he pointed at the wall, "just don't let a memory blind you so much that you stop seeing reality."
"Thank you," she just repeated.
"I hope Guiding can stop Blaze from doing the same," Crom muttered, and they left the wall behind them.
The invisible barrier protecting the Order headquarters as much as the thick walls, the creation of a centuries old changeling archmage, and the amalgamation of divine power, changeling love-fueled force, and complex unicorn spell parted as if it was nothing before the coming of more visitors.
The forceful teleportation created an explosion of golden light, and the grass around rippled from a nova of air accompanying it.
Four figures taller than anypony else around stood on the main road when the lights died down. Immediately, four smaller figures surrounded them - Shadowstep's changeling squad protecting the mansion.
"At ease, Shadowstep," commanded one of the visitors, a green-eyed changeling queen. She frowned when Shadowstep refused to salute, and just waved Starlight, Cross, and Antares off.
"Chrysalis, are even you coming to pay respect to the fallen?" the amethyst queen raised an eyebrow, "And who are the others?"
By 'others' she meant the three alicorns accompanying queen Chrysalis.
A black alicorn, vastly bigger than the others, with purple flames dancing on the tips of his feathers started walking towards the mansion entrance, and promptly stopped when Cross got in the way, staring sternly at the alicorn's chest.
"I am not an enemy, young hybrid." the black alicorn smiled at Cross, "I need to see Blazing Light. It is of utmost importance."
"Stand down, Cross," Shadowstep ordered. To Chrysalis' annoyance, Cross performed a perfect salute, and let the alicorn pass.
Chrysalis knew Shadowstep's squad held barely any loyalty towards her, but she would be a pretty bad queen if she let it show in front of a possible, no matter how unlikely, future enemy.
"What did you mean by 'fallen'?" Chrysalis asked.
"Are you in a hurry?" Shadowstep nodded towards the small camp in the corner of the gardens where her unit lived.
"Quite so," said a white alicorn with blonde mane who had been silent until now, curiously observing everything going on.
"Not THAT much," contradicted him another one of the visitors, a golden alicorn mare with white mane, "After all, Voidie went ahead anyway, so he and Blazing will be busy for a while."
"Alright then," Chrysalis shrugged, "Let's hear it."
Two alicorns, two changeling queens, one hybrid superweapon, and two actual changelings sat down at a table in the middle of the campsite, and Shadowstep started talking.
Inside the mansion, the sound of polite knocking resonated within Blaze's office. The bronze alicorn looked up from the bottle of wine on his desk, and sighed dejectedly.
"Come in," answered his tired voice. He raised an eyebrow as the alicorn of Death entered his office, and pushed the unopened bottle aside, "Void? What went wrong this time?"
"Why so gloomy, young one?" the black alicorn asked with concern.
"Heavy is dead," Blaze said flatly.
"My sincerest condolences," Void closed his eyes and bowed his head in a moment of silence, "What happened?"
"I happened... again."
"Care to share the entire story? You have a tendency to assume the worst and take blame for things out of your reach. A very warped view of reality, if I may say so."
"A cult spreading divine power to ponies appeared in Manehattan, they killed some members of the police, then they killed several of our members. When we found their headquarters, we made a plan which involved Three, Heavy, and Crom going there as bait while a second group came from behind to gather information. Three and Heavy didn't get out."
"Something does not sound right. For as long as I have known you, you have been one to face things on your own. Why not this time?"
"The cult members can... adapt to threats. The first time some of them faced Crom, they got cut down, but the next time his blows couldn't even penetrate their skin. I was worried the same thing would happen with my power, and didn't want to reveal myself until we found out who their leader was, so I could take them all out in one go. As a result, I sent my oldest friend and one of my... daughters, granddaughters, clutch, whatever the dreamling hive-like thing is, to their death. This IS my fault, nopony can say otherwise."
"Did they agree with the plan?"
"Are you really assuming I would force any of them to go there?"
"Then let me get this straight. You created a plan which took into consideration the most devastating possible threat coming from your enemies, and worked your way around it. Your family and... extended family agreed to do it of their own free will because they believed it was the best course of action. Am I overlooking something?"
Blaze gritted his teeth.
"MY FATHER, who was supposed to be dead, fused together with the burned rocks of the past version of this mansion, was... still IS the one leading the cult. I don't know why or how he got to where he is, and I have no clue how he's connected to any deity, but he is insane because I killed Blazing Light from this reality, his REAL son... twice."
"I... see your point of view, young one, but I am positive it is wrong."
"Really..." Blaze's disbelief was palpable.
"Everypony who agreed with you did that because they believed you made the right choice, and they did not have a better idea. Not doing anything, or simply attempting to fight a divine foe without a plan would quite likely have resulted in a much worse end. Trust me on that one, I crossed paths with Discord himself many times in the past, and it rarely ended well. The death of your close ones was as much their doing as it was yours, if not much more."
"I asked them to go..."
"And they agreed. That is why I am saying it was partially your doing, but I cannot in any fairness say that it was your fault."
"Well," Blaze sighed, smiling bitterly to himself, "tell that to Cross, because I sure as hay can't look him in the eyes."
"I will," Void's golden eyes locked with Blaze's sapphires, "but tell me, would the cult you were talking about have something to do with Harmony?"
"It might, in some form. One of our members brought a sample of a 'potion' they use to infuse their ponies with power. I tried to absorb it and got a glimpse of the past, but I can't handle the memories of the gods, it's just far too much. The same thing happened at the end of the Zebrican invasion, when I got the power of all three gods for few moments. How did you know?"
"Scream recieved a vision about Nightmare's past deeds being more than just blind destruction. Our visiting Discord revealed something big is about to happen, but he had to remain silent otherwise he would get caught in it. The only power threatening both deities as well as the alicorns remains - Harmony, or something connected to it. Thus, now we come to the reason for us being here. We need to unlock the knowledge you stole."
"We?"
The door to the office unceremoniously opened again, this time without any warning. The cynical stare Blaze aimed at the entering alicorn said something non-flattering about fate and its machinations.
"We have important business to attend to. If what Shadowstep told us is true then we might have even less time than I thought."
"Scream," Blaze scowled, not too visibly, but still. His expression brightened when queen Chrysalis and a white, blonde-maned alicorn looking as royal as it was ponily possible entered, "my queen, and...?"
"Pfff," Scream grinned, "You let a changeling mare transformed into a hermaphrodite ride you few times, and suddenly she's 'your queen' forever."
Blushing Blaze facehoofed, hoping to knock himself unconscious.
"My name is Magnus, and I used to be the alicorn of Magic."
"Wait, Twilight Sparkle is Magic now. Don't alicorns die when they lose their divinity?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"Being the sole immortal master of the arcane gives you few perks, one of which is not having to rely on only one source of power," Magnus smirked confidently, "My secret is blueberry juice."
"So, the changeling master of mind-control, the alicorn of Lust capable of seeing into the future and reading the darkest depths of any mind, the first alicorn of Magic, and Void. Three of you to put my brain into a juicer, and one in case I resist?"
It didn't help that only Void looked horrified at the assumption.
"Young one, I am, and as long as I can I will be, on your side."
"Sorry," Blaze lowered his head, "I trust you and queen Chrysalis, but I'm not too sure about Scream and Magnus, sure you can understand why."
Scream frowned but said nothing.
"Your trust will be necessary for this to work, Blazing," Void said, "You are the only one possessing enough knowledge to shed some light on Scream's vision. All of them are here to work together to lessen the strain on you, and increase the chance of success."
"Then why are YOU here?"
"To visit you," Void's smile was quite forced, but the thought was there, "although I obviously picked the wrong time to do so."
"Well, then you are not here to see me, but him," Blaze focused, "Mistake?"
The blue-maned, black unicorn form appearing next to Blaze was familiar only to Void, but even he furrowed his brows.
"Uhh, hello?" Mistake looked at the alicorns and the queen nervously.
"Mistake?" Void stepped closer and leaned down to the unicorn, "I thought this was just your temporary appearance because Nightmare's dark flames charred your body and soul, Blazing."
"Yeeeeeah, but when I returned to my normal look, some part of Nightmare's power remained, and joined with this little voice inside my head. As my power grew, it sort of drained into him. Eventually my divinity grew so much I could allow him to form a semi-real body. Now he helps me work around the 'divine power douses magic' problem. He controls the magic in my body, while I work with the demigod abilities."
"A split personality with its own body? And one able to circumvent the greatest problem of naturally powerful alicorns?" Magnus' eyes grew wide, "I don't have a big enough jar in my lab."
"Touch him in a wrong way and you'll be leaving in several jars yourself," Blaze growled.
"Do you think I don't have ways of working around anti-mages?"
"GUYS!" Scream rolled her eyes, "Don't compete about which one of you has bigger you-know-what. Besides, I've slept with both of you and know that Maggie wins that contest."
"Thank you."
"Although I'm pretty sure that Blazing would probably tear you a new one if you threatened him too much."
"Screw you."
"Not again, Void's much better," she said dryly, "Now... Mistake, if I understand it correctly then we will need you to unlock the three gods' memories inside Blaze."
"That will drive him insane or completely unaware of himself. As he said, it's too much."
"With our help, it shouldn't."
"What if I say no?" Blaze asked.
"Do you think you can resist two alicorns and a changeling queen?"
"Void?"
"I... will refrain from helping them if that is the case, but I implore you to cooperate with them. None of us have any reason to hurt you," the alicorn of Death answered carefully.
"Fine," Blaze slumped into his chair, "I have a request though. If anything happens, and I'm... not there when you're done, make sure that Crom, Chokey, Mistake, and Guiding are safe and happy. No matter what they might want - money, power, company, anything, they will get it. They are my real family now."
"Good," Scream said without hesitating for a second, "Now, does this place have a dungeon or something?"
"An empty wine cellar at best," Blaze shrugged, "but it's underground, and the door is sturdy. Why?"
"Because in the same way Mistake here got his body from divine power, the memories are inside the power you drained from the gods, and as such they might recieve corporeal form as well. They would still be bound to your proximity, but it's safer."
"Let's go then."
"Wait!" Void remembered something, "How do I find this 'Cross'."
"A changeling in a batpony disguise at Shadowstep's camp," Blaze explained.
"Aaaaah, I remember now. I will talk to him while you are busy."
"You're not gonna help them?"
"No, we don't need another being which naturally disrupts magic," Scream explained, "Getting through your resistance will be enough of a challenge."
Void left the mansion right as the screaming from the cellar started. Strangely enough, none of it was Blazing's.
The alicorn overshadowing everypony he passed caused more than few heads to turn his way, but seeing as today there was no training going on, nopony tried to stop him from reaching Shadowstep's small encampment. The four dark green tents sharply contrasted with the white wall surrounding the Order headquarters, but Void knew that such colour was perfect for hiding in the wilderness. He 'saw' the invisible barrier marking a dome around the camp, and as he passed it, a purple-maned head of a changeling queen peeked out of one of the tents. Shadowstep looked at Void curiously.
"Can I help you, mister Void?" she said with unprecedented politeness.
"I am looking for mister Cross on behalf of Blazing Light."
Frowning, Shadowstep pointed somewhere across the training grounds.
"Tio built his personal training course behind the gardens. He's there right now. To be honest, I was hoping Blazing would come himself and talk to him. Cross doesn't let it show, but Heavy Hoof was his first real relationship since his... creation, not just a brief fling."
"That is the healthy thing Blazing should do, but he is a coward in a certain sense. He believes the entire incident is his fault."
"Isn't it?"
"Let me correct myself, he believes it is ONLY his fault."
"Ah, I see. Well, I can only hope that you can help my sargeant deal with HIS guilt, at least a little."
"I can only try to lend a helping hoof whenever I see the need."
"Nopony can ask for more," the amethyst queen nodded.
Void just smiled back, leaving Shadowstep to return to her tent. He paid no mind to the two statues, one depicting Shadowstep, and one bearing the likeness of the female unicorn who had tried to stop him at the start of his visit, and headed across the lawns glistening with rime.
Behind the mansion, even behind the garden faded with the coming of winter, lay a cleaned square filled with tall, concrete shapes with metal bars sticking from various places of each. A purple-maned batpony was swinging between them without the help of his wings. As soon as Void came to view, Cross spun around a metal bar, and jumped down on the ground, steam rising from his coat.
"Sargeant Tio Cross, I assume," Void bowed slightly. When Cross nodded, he continued, "My condolences, young hybrid. The passing of a loved one is always a harrowing ordeal."
"Hmmmm," Cross raised an eyebrow, "We haven't met before today, and I've never met somepony who would come to simply say what you did. Why are you really here, Void?"
"Several reasons, one of which was to say I was sorry for your loss," Void smiled sincerely, "My second reason for coming here is a request."
"Yes?"
"I wish you would forgive Blazing Light for his role in your lover's demise."
"Done," Cross chuckled, "Anything else?"
The alicorn of Death looked taken aback.
"Just like that?"
Taking a deep breath, Cross started stretching to combat the cold.
"All of us knew what we were getting into. The plan was simple, but we didn't have the time or knowledge to come up with anything better. Heavy was the light of my life, which is a lot to say for somepony with whom I've been together for just over a year, and because I'm more than four centuries old. The thing is... look, I've spent most of my life in the Griffon Empire, seen the city states send thousands of soldiers to their deaths to gain power, money, or influence. I know how fleeting life can be, and I'm sure so do you. Scream explained who you are. In all honesty, at first I was furious at Blazing for not letting me go as well, but if the enemy struck here, then the recruits could have died, and they have families and loved ones as well. Who knows? In case Shadowstep, Antares, and Starlight weren't enough if this place got attacked, they might have been gone now. Blazing had the situation covered to prevent the most damage possible. All I can say is that I'm happy my coltfriend died for something worth it. I fought an avatar of Nightmare only once in my life, and I never want that to happen again. Who is to say those serving another deity are not the same?"
"I wish you would tell what you told me to Blazing. He blames himself more than he should, that is just how he is. One thing cannot be denied though, he has certainly surrounded himself with very level-headed individuals."
"Huh, is that the case? I can tell him when I'm done here."
"He will be busy for some time, and he might feel unwell after that. Scream and the others need a favor from him. Just, please, do not forget about it."
"Sargeant Cross!" came from a figure steadily walking towards them.
It was a hippogriff, brown-maned and grey-coated, who stumbled a little when he noticed Cross' company. However, to Void he looked as if chains of black mist swirled around his body, and he could feel power unpleasantly similar to his own inside the crossbreed.
"What do you need, Straw?" Cross asked.
"Am I interrupting something, sir?" Straw Basket's eyes darted from Void to Cross, "I can come later."
"Go on," said Void, seemingly deep in thought.
"Ehm, right. Is your statue around here?" Straw blushed when Cross just blinked in disbelief, "The thing about only needing to beat yourself. You're the only one who trains here. Did I get it right?"
"You're still on THAT?" Cross' eyes bulged, "Well, yeah, you should be able to see it now that you've worked that out."
Straw looked around, realizing after few moments that one of the concrete 'training blocks' is a grey statue holding a metal staff.
"Nightmare?" asked Void slowly.
Straw twitched.
"I KNEW we got the right place on the train!" Void exclaimed, "It was just too weak to spot outright, but now I can see you clearly. What are you doing here?"
"Calm down, Void," Cross interjected, "Blaze knows about him, and has allowed him to stay here for both his protection and ours."
"Hmmmm. You, Nightmare's host, don't move! I have one last thing to finish here."
"Erm, can I at least read what's on the statue?" Straw asked carefully.
Void just waved him off.
"Mister Cross, the last thing... I wasn't sure about it until I talked to you, but I am willing to 'bend' the rules a little, and offer you a chance to say goodbye."
"What?" Cross froze.
"Before meeting their true fate, all souls pass through my domain, and some need a little time to come to terms with their end. Necromancers use this to bind and enslave souls when my protection fails. I can use my power to give you several minutes, perhaps an evening, to say what would be otherwise left unsaid."
"You... can... return him to me?"
"No."
Cross shook his head, but even his firm voice couldn't hide the fact that he had no control over the smile growing on his muzzle.
"Sorry, I got carried away. I'll take what I can get... sir."
Void focused, and sticky, purple mist swirled around his horn. The surroundings darkened, and from the darkness a simple blue outline of a pony stepped out. It gained on complexity until it formed an ethereal earthpony who said:
"Tio?"
Cross immediately jumped for a hug, and ended with his face in the dirt. Heavy Hoof examined his state, and smiled sadly.
"Yeah... having heart ripped out by eldrich tentacles would do this to a pony."
"I will leave you two alone. How long you can stay depends your willpower, but it will not be more than several hours," Void explained, "But only you, mister Cross, will be able to see him. The rules governing this reality cannot be broken, not even by me."
"Thank you," Cross said quietly, still having eyes only for Heavy.
"As for you, baron Hoof," Void said in the most serious voice he could muster, "I thank you for being by Blazing Light's side whenever possible. You were a good friend and an example without whom things would have worked out in a much worse fashion. Possibly, not even I would be here anymore to do anything. You are responsible for the survival of this world as much as Blazing is. Speaking of survival, I have somepony to talk to."
Straw Basket hiccuped.
"Don't be too harsh with him," Heavy said warmly, "He is a good pony who just got dragged into things far beyond his experience."
"That is usually the case," Void grinned, "but I will take your words to heart."
Leaving Cross and Heavy's spirit alone, Void gestured Straw to follow him. Worried for his life, but excited about the opportunity to meet somepony who might know something more about his predicament, Straw walked side by side with the alicorn of Death.
"Now, who are you, little one?" Void asked curiously, "And how did you end up with Nightmare inside you."
Straw was trembling, his mind was overrun with thoughts not his, and it took him a while to regain his senses. Thankfully, the eternal alicorn was nothing if patient. Eventually, the boiling mess inside him subsided, and Straw understood. Nightmare was terrified of what Void could do, and resigned itself to whatever would come. Chased into a corner, with no power to change hosts, no escape plan, the god was out of options. It released any and all hold it had over Straw.
"My name is Straw Basket, and I'm here just to finish my Royal Guard training... if I ignore all the things I seem to have the misfortune of attracting, sir. As for the voice in my head, it offered me a chance to survive after I got hit by a train, in a way. It didn't want anything, and I woke up in one piece, so I didn't think too much about it, at least until some strange creatures in Canterlot tried to eat me."
"Strange creatures?" Void furrowed his brows for a second, and then shook his head, "I cannot sense anything unusual or unnatural in Canterlot."
"I was told they were called the Observers. When I, with Nightmare's help, killed one who attacked me, it just melted into nothingness."
"I have no idea what you could be talking about."
"Grey, tentacles coming out of their necks, four clawed limbs-GLK!"
Straw spasmed. Void's horn burst out with black flames, casting unreal dark shadows, and more importantly - aimed at the hippogriff.
"You will have to see with your own eyes, alicorn," said a completely different, and far more aggressive, voice coming from Straw's mouth, "After all, you hold no power over those outside of the circle of life."
"Nightmare..." Void growled, but then hummed thoughtfully, "Strange, Discord said the same thing."
"Discord is a coward! He pretends to care about this world, but when push comes to shove he would rather save his dirty hide than do what is necessary to keep his pawns alive."
"Pawns?"
"Friends... like that little pegasus of his. He would much rather start everything over than to risk himself. What he doesn't understand is that there won't be any new chance."
"I do not understand. Start over?"
"I will tell you, but I want one thing from you. A promise."
"To you? What makes you think I will keep it?"
"Because if a stallion doesn't keep his word, then he doesn't have anything," Straw/Nightmare chuckled at Void gritting his teeth, "Oh don't look at me like that, I know all about you and your little new alicorn friend. You thought you were learning about your enemy, but so was I. Now, I want your word to not harm my host until we deal with more pressing matters."
"I think I can manage that, as long as you do not divide your attention onto 'less pressing matters'. Let me say it simply, as long as you do not threaten me or those under my protection, I will not destroy you or your host. I can sense how weak you are now, Blazing's attempts must have cost you a lot."
"Do you think HE would be a problem on his own? Do you think YOU would pose a threat to me outside of your Underworld if it weren't for HIM?"
"For whom?"
"HARMONY, OF COURSE! Do you think neither me nor Discord would easily deal with you without being so greatly reduced by the pawns using his Elements, foolishly thinking they are saving themselves?"
"The Elements of Harmony exist to protect Equus from otherwise unstoppable threats, do they not?"
"Really? When have they ever worked against something other than us or beings capable of posing even a minor threat to us?"
"Ummmm..." Void drifted off, realizing he didn't have an answer. Discord, various Nightmare's avatars, Tirek, Blazing Light. Then something clicked, "The Elements are here specifically to stop you, Discord, and those able to use your power? Wait, all other threats were stopped without the need for them, no matter the sacrifices. Plus, the 'evil' Elements in the mirror world are commonly used to strenghten the position of the Empire."
"Of course, anyone able to harness a fragment of their power could use them. The solar alicorn did so in the past despite not being what is now called 'a compatible bearer'. However, their true power is in making US vulnerable."
"The point stands. The Elements have protected ponies from threats far out of their league, which means Harmony's legacy did. You have not yet given me a reason to not consider you a primary threat."
"WHY DO YOU THINK HE DID IT? Do you think it's because he CARES about the vermin crawling all over this floating rock? We all do what is our nature, we all do what is necessary. Forced eternal life is a curse, that's why I exist, and by extension you. The complete lack of life denies the universal chaos, and as such can't exist for long. The change leading from Discord to me, the existence and evolution must keep going as well. However, our power must be balanced, otherwise the system will go into extremes, and that's exactly what the liar's Elements are for. Your small and pitiful creatures - ponies, griffons, minotaurs, you name it - couldn't handle the importance of the cycle, and needed a way to break it to make their existence easier. Harmony heard their pleas and answered, giving them a way to fight their incoming death and the chaotic nature of universe responsible for the creation of things beyond their understanding. They saw it as a blessing, while he saw it as a way to gain advantage on us."
"Why? What could he gain as a god?"
"A victory. From his point of view, the perfect beings capable of knowing everything, immortal, omnipotent, and understanding are the pinnacle of existence, his goal. It's his nature."
"Why is that bad, or at least worse than YOUR goal of eradicating everything?"
"Me and Discord... we have learned over the eons, Harmony didn't, because we banished him for trying to break the balance by creating the Elements. I can't speak too much for Discord, but I only tried to prevent Harmony's goal from coming to fruition. I am not... heartless, metaphorically. We have learned the limits of you, small creatures, Harmony didn't. The traitorous alicorn is an example of what would happen to all those unable to hide well enough. All knowledge flowing into their heads... insanity, instant death, eternal life in agony? The perfect harmony, no conflict, no individuality, one hivemind... one completely insane hivemind. Forever without a chance of release. Bodies able to live under all circumstances just cannot exist, only amalgamations of survival traits, lungs, gills, each body an unaging, bloated, immovable, eternally self-sustaining system. Isn't swift death a better option?"
"I do not understand. Why could he not simply make them able to bear that?"
"Because it's not in our power to create more gods! Our most powerful creations are you alicorns, and even you have a choice between life and death, and the fear you can feel when you don't think you DO have the choice. You, of all ponies, should understand the most why it is important to let an exhausted body and mind finally rest."
"I think I do see your point now, but something is off. If Harmony's plan is coming to fruition in the near future, then why did you try to completely wipe life out many times before?"
"We... cannot resist our nature, not completely, and with Discord turned to stone and Harmony banished, I held far more... not power, but influence, which in turn influenced me too strongly. You see, the balance is important both for us and for all of you."
"Nothing like the creation of the Elements would have been necessary if you did not overstep your boundaries and make life completely unbearable!"
"OF COURSE! I, especially I, was foolish, and didn't understand that me trying to stop the living creatures' suffering by ending it was only making it worse. I hope you can at least appreciate the irony of YOU asking me this."
Void finally understood... but trusting Nightmare was something he had to reconsider. It, of course, would know about him killing thousands of beings during plagues, famines, taking away the lives of those unable to bear the suffering, but eventually coming to the conclusion that life was not worth living, and killing everything indiscriminately. He had been foolish when much younger, but time had changed that considerably. Still, he couldn't leave Nightmare's explanation without answer.
"Leave," he said simply, "I promise not to harm your host until I deem you too much of a threat, not just as a precaution."
"Is that the best I'm going to get?"
"Yes. One last thing, am I correct in assuming that Harmony's current goal is to return from his 'banishment'?"
"You are."
"How?"
"I don't know, but the Elements must be the key. You would need a way to tap into HIS knowledge to find out more."
"Well then, something seems to finally be going my way," Void grinned, "And then we will know how much of what you said is true."
"The traitor..." Nightmare gasped.
"Leave," Void repeated.
The black, ethereal mist around Straw dissipated, and the dark streaks in his coat disappeared. The hippogriff shook his head.
"That's quite something," he whispered in disbelief.
"Hmm? Were you aware all this time? I thought possession pushed the host's consciousness deep, unable to affect or sense anything."
"What? No, I could have stopped it at any point, Blaze gave me something which allows me to 'chain' the Nightmare, I was just curious."
"Alright then, take care of yourself, Straw Basket, and of the one inside you. If we come to the conclusion that Nightmare was telling the truth, your life might be the most precious one to protect."
"Well, at least for me," Straw smirked, "But what if it was lying?"
"Then our next meeting will be under much less pleasant circumstances, but I promise I will do my best to give you a chance of seeing the next day as a free hippogriff."
It was clear Straw wanted to say something else, but instead he decided on a simple:
"Thank you, sir. So, what now?"
"You will go about your business, while I will wait for my companions' return with information."
"I meant about the horrible mutilation of everypony alive."
"Find a way to prevent it, of course."
"I guess it was dumb of me to ask, was it?"
"A little. I cannot have all the answers the instant such question is asked. Once we know more, then we can come up with a plan."
"Sorry."
"It is no problem. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a plan to weave. I apologize for scaring you at first."
"Nice to have met you, mister Void."
"The pleasure was mine."
Much like Cross had done earlier, Void sat down in front of Heavy Hoof's statue. It didn't take too long before his three companions stumbled out of the mansion, drenched with sweat and covered in drying blood. Void thought very hard about his first words, and greeted the roughed up expedition with:
"So, how are we stopping Harmony from turning everypony into one big hive?"
Scream's eye twitched.
"How...?"
"I just asked."
The trio looked about to cry.
"Let me take you home," Void offered, seeing the two depressed alicorns and one queen, "Then we will piece together what we know."
They disappeared in a burst of black flames.