//------------------------------// // LXVII - The Father And The Grandmaster // Story: Mortal Coil // by Reeve //------------------------------// The land beyond the mountain was a vast, open expanse. Slightly hilly, but for the most part it was a relatively flat plain. The temple sat some distance away, a surprisingly small structure, wide and circular with a shallow domed roof. There were other smaller buildings dotted around it, with little cobbled paths connecting them; everything seemed to be constructed from neatly carved stone… but now the walls were crumbling, the roofs caved in, some buildings had been demolished almost entirely. I could see evidence that there were once great gardens surrounding the temple, but they too were torn up, the little life remaining now overgrown and unkempt. Between us and the temple, was a sea of ponies, all of them wearing armour, all of them long dead. As I scanned my eyes over the plains, I could see bodies impaled by spears, some that had their heads separated from their torsos, and others who had their limbs twisted and broken. There were broken barricades and trampled tents, half dug trenches and stacks of charred corpses, which had long since been extinguished. There was no doubt in my mind that what we were looking out over, was the site of some horrific battle, the bodies simply left behind for the crows to peck through in the aftermath. So many questions rung in my head, as we all stared in solemn silence at the scene before us. Was this for real or was it another trial? If it was real, then what happened here? Who was fighting who? How long ago was it? And who came out of this mass slaughter the victor? I gulped and turned my gaze to my friends, who all look as appalled as I felt. Nopony spoke, none of them could bring themselves too, I know I felt the same. Pinkie was the first to step forward, heading down the slope as if caught in a trance. Rainbow followed, then Applejack, and finally Twilight, all staring around themselves with miserable looks. I was about to put one hoof in front of the other, when I heard a quiet sniffing behind me. Glancing back, I saw Fluttershy staring out, her eyes welling up with tears. I backtracked over to where she stood and reached out, taking her hoof in my own before she met my gaze and I offered her a sympathetic expression. She gulped before allowing herself to walk with me, together we followed after the others who had silently spread out and were now navigating the battlefield, occasionally stopping to look closer at something. As we got close enough that we were walking in between the bodies, I was able to tell who the soldiers had been. The steel armour of the Rebellion I recognised easily, and the gold of the Equestrian soldiers I remembered from my time in Canterlot. This battle must have taken place during the war, perhaps quite early on, as the armour they wore and the weapons discarded were all weathered and rusted. Other things I picked up on, that suggested a long passage of time, was the how despite the trampling and tearing up of the ground beneath so many hooves, there were shoots of grass sprouting up once more, in some areas there were full tufts. I finally stopped at a random pony, my morbid curiosity taking over as I let go of Fluttershy’s hoof and knelt down beside him. He was pretty much nothing but bone now, strips of dried, rotten flesh that had been missed by the flies and crows plastered over them. His skeleton was curled up slightly, his forelegs looked to be clutching his side, perhaps where he had been mortally wounded. I could almost imagine him falling to the ground, being left to die a slow and painful death, while all around him the battle raged on, everypony else too busy slaughtering or being slaughtered to spare him a glance. Looking back up, I swept my gaze across the plains once more, taking in the sheer number of bodies. There had to have been hundreds scattered about, both sides seemed to have a fairly equal number of casualties. Once again I found myself wondering who had actually walked away from this fight. Whoever they were, they didn’t seem to have much care for respecting the dead. True, some had been burned, but it was only a tiny minority, and really they had simply been lobbed onto the pile, no real respect appeared to be involved. Looking back up, I could see Fluttershy was openly crying now. I wondered if it was for all the dead around her, or the fact that they had set hoof on such sacred land and desecrated it with battle, probably both knowing her. Looking to my other friends, I saw that they were keeping it together, but like myself, they looked empty, wearing lost looks as they drifted about almost aimlessly. Standing back up, I took Fluttershy’s hoof once more and led her in the direction of the temple, although it felt miles away, and the number of bodies we were forced to pass seemed endless. As I gazed over body after body, left exactly as they were in their final moments, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Of course a part of me felt angry that they could defy centuries of tradition and bring the war to this most precious of lands, but I found it hard to keep up that anger as I thought about how they had been simply left here to rot under the sun. Perhaps they had family, friends or loved ones, other ponies in their lives who had cared for them and were left lying awake at night, wondering where they had gone and why they never came back. My first thought was of Applejack, what if she had been among these soldiers? What if she had defiled this place and died here along with all the others? How would her family feel back at Sweet Apple Acres? Always looking out the window in the hopes that they would one day see their beloved sister walking up the lane, always waiting, never knowing that it was an impossible dream. No, I couldn’t hate these soldiers; I didn’t know who they were or why they had come here. Perhaps the blame lay not in them at all, but in the ones who had sent them here, after all, hundreds of soldiers didn’t just travel to a forbidden island without somepony giving the order… We eventually drew close to the temple, my friends all converging in our position until we were once again walking together in silence. Only when we reached the outskirts of the temple grounds, did we stop and I let go of Fluttershy’s hoof, who immediately let out a shuddering breath as she looked over the deserted place. “Why did this happen?” she asked in a hopeless tone, breaking the silence. “Is this even real?” Twilight questioned, a slight hint of desperation in her tone. “Is it not possible… that this is just another trial?” Nopony answered, we all wanted to believe it but… something felt different this time. I couldn’t begin to explain it, but a part of me just knew without being told that this was no trial, and Twilight knew it too despite asking. “If this is real,” Pinkie began after a moment of uncomfortable quiet. “Then what are these soldiers even doing here? The Isle of Serenity is supposed to be forbidden, coming here without permission is one thing, but coming here to fight…” “Ah never once heard about a battle here,” Applejack announced. “Me neither,” Rainbow concurred. “I heard about them all, battles in Arclight to skirmishes in Daybreak Landing, but not this, never this…” “Maverick wouldn’t order his troops here,” Twilight stated, although it sounded like she was seeking confirmation on it. “Even he wouldn’t sink so low. I know for a fact that the Princess and I had nothing to do with this, we may have allowed a lot of bad things to happen during the war before we could put a stop to it, but we would never have allowed this.” “I don’t think Maverick is nearly foolish enough to be behind this,” I replied without much confidence. “He was pretty determined for you not to come here,” Rainbow reminded me. “Could he have been trying to hide something?” “I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “Hundreds of soldiers don’t just end up on the Isle of Serenity by accident; somepony had to plan it, who besides Maverick could have done that? Typhoon maybe, or…” Pinkie gasped, as realisation dawned on her. “Or Arcana!” she finished urgently, looking me in the eye with an intense stare. “The troops he moved…” I breathed, the same realisation hitting me. “The ones Maverick tasked me to find out about…” “The same ones that Iron Sights helped with?” Rainbow asked tensely. “When Arcana gave him the Terrorstone to keep quiet about it?” “Yeah,” I confirmed with a small nod. “Arcana moved them with Iron Sights’ help, without Maverick or Typhoon knowing. He moved them here, at the request of…” I felt my heart stop dead in my chest as the last piece fell into place. “The Covenant,” Pinkie finished in a dark tone. “They’re behind this?!” Applejack exclaimed. “They broke into the tomb of a Princess,” Fluttershy began in a voice which was equal parts horrified and furious. “And they now they’re responsible for this!” “I think Pinkie might be right,” Twilight muttered. “The more we learn about the Covenant, the things they do, the things they’re capable of…” “The more we have to stop them,” I stated firmly. “Ah get that they used Arcana to shift the Rebels here,” Applejack started in a thoughtful tone. “But who did they use to get the Equestrians here?” “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “Knowing this all happened right beneath my nose, and most likely by somepony I know and trust…” “We’ll find out who’s responsible for this,” Pinkie assured her. “We’ll make sure everyone who had a hoof in this faces justice.” We all nodded stoically, turning to face the temple once more, preparing ourselves for what we might find within. Twilight took the lead this time, walking slowly down the cobbled path towards the temple itself. We followed behind her, as we walked, I glanced around at the other buildings, peering through the busted doors and windows at the interiors. There was very modest furniture inside, usually toppled or broken, as if someone had ransacked the rooms. Everything about them suggested they were once homes to the ponies who lived on the Isle, however it was obvious that nopony had inhabited them for some time. It was easier to see just how badly the area was devastated now that we were walking through it. There were statues, it was hard to tell since they were mostly blasted to pieces, but they didn’t appear to depict anypony important, they seemed to be more artistic and decorative. There were nice little features dotted around the gardens, little marble birdbaths, sundials sitting on pedestals and even the broken remains of a gazebo. I could see beyond the destruction and knew that once upon a time this would have been a beautiful place to live, incredibly serene, perfect for the monk like lifestyle the ponies living here undoubtedly led. Twilight reached the front of the temple, a tall, but narrow set of double doors made from fairly simple, plain wood, led inside. They appeared to be slightly ajar, but that was mostly likely due to the way the lock was smashed, as if they had been forced open with a battering ram. When we reached Twilight’s side, she was busy scanning over the door with her horn, she also had her sceptre drawn. “Are you looking for something in particular?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “Not really,” Twilight admitted. “Just making sure it’s all safe before we go walking in.” “That sounds smart,” Applejack commented as she crouched down. We waited for a moment for Twilight to finish, however as she worked, she started to frown, moving away from the door around the left side of the temple before stepping further out. “Something up?” Rainbow questioned. “There is a huge amount of magic surrounding this place,” Twilight explained as her horn dimmed. “It’s as if thousands of spells have been woven into this area, spells even I don’t recognise.” “I suppose that’s not so weird,” I replied casually. “Something had to create those trials, and if this place is empty, then perhaps it wasn’t a pony, but rather the temple itself.” “That sounds like a good explanation,” Twilight said, giving me a nod. “But I think it might go even deeper than that.” “Should we head in now?” Applejack asked, indicating the doors with her head. Twilight nodded in response and Applejack stood up, heading towards the doors and gently pushing one open, sticking her head in and checking around before opening the door fully. We all entered in single file, I entered fourth, finding the single room of the temple to be rather dim in lighting. There was a hole in the centre of the domed roof, as well as about a dozen windows lining the wall, but they were so narrow, they were more like slits and they barely let any natural light in at all. Fluttershy entered last, opening both doors wide to let the light of the evening sun pour in, making things a bit better. The inside of the temple was just as plain as everything else, a simple tile floor with a basic geometric pattern, what looked like stone bookshelves lining the walls between each of the windows, stretching from the floor to the ceiling. All the bookshelves' contents were stripped from them, most of which looked to be strewn across the floor. There were torn pages plastered all over the ground, even whole books thrown careless down, their spines split and their paper spilling out. I picked a sheet up at random and tried to read it, but it was written in gibberish, bizarre symbols and letters cobbled together with no distinct formatting. As I stared at the page however, the ink began to flash and change, the letters never staying the same for very long. It looked to be the same with all the pages and books I picked up, not a single one of them contained anything useful or even legible. Twilight had noticed this too, I saw her pick one book us, look momentarily disappointed before setting it gently back down without giving them another thought. “Uh, guys…” Rainbow began, flying a quick circle of the room. “I hate to break it to you, but unless there’s some kind of secret chamber hidden here, I think there’s nothing to find.” Taking that as a suggestion, I pulled out my lantern and lit it up, walking around the temple and holding it close to the ground in the hopes it would reveal something. The others watched me with anticipation, until I had covered pretty much every inch and dug up nothing of use. I put my lantern away and gave them a miserable look, they all sighed in response. “What’s up with these books?” Applejack asked, nudging one with her hoof. “It’s all gobble de gook.” “What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, sounding genuinely confused as she sat cross legged, reading a book upside down like it was no problem. “It’s a spell I learned when I was a teenager,” Twilight explained. “Basically it’s a security spell if you don’t want somepony reading your stuff. A deceptively simple spell for something actually quite powerful, it can only be undone by the caster.” “So the ponies who lived here, made it so the invaders couldn’t read their books?” Fluttershy queried. “They must have had lots of secrets inside.” “And even you can’t break it?” I asked. “No,” Twilight admitted before something occurred to her. “Although…” She held up her sceptre, filling it with magic. “This thing has surprised me a few time recently,” she went on to say, levitating the nearest book over to her which she pointed her sceptre at. We waited a moment to see if it would yield any results, but Twilight’s look of dismay told us everything we needed to know. Twilight lowered the book before casting a woeful look at her sceptre. “It would be nice if Princess Celestia was straight with me about what this really was,” she muttered, giving it a weary wave like it was a magic wand. The pink orb was still glowing as she swept the sceptre through the air, and as she did, the orb flashed brightly, seeming to sense something. We all blinked in confusion, while Twilight held the sceptre before her, looking equally nonplussed at what it had just done. She looked to us as if seeking an explanation, and received only shrugs in return. Narrowing her eyes, she seemed to be contemplating something, then she held the sceptre straight out before lowering the end with the orb towards the ground. She began walking around; scanning the room with her sceptre in the same way I had with my lantern. We watched as she worked, although we weren’t overly eager that this was going to be the thing that achieved something, so imagine our surprise when she reached a point near the centre of the room and the orb flashed once more. This time the orb stayed shining brightly, and directly in front of it, hovering several inches off the ground, a second orb of ethereal, icy blue light began to materialise. We all moved in, crowding around it and staring at it curiously, intrigued by what Twilight had stumbled upon. “What is it?” Fluttershy asked, the pale blue light reflected in her eyes. “It’s very pretty.” “I think…” Twilight began, quirking an eyebrow as if she was trying to wrack her memory. “I think it’s a memory sphere, I’m not sure as I’ve only read about them before.” “Oh, so that’s what it’s called,” Pinkie muttered. “I saw this kind of thing once before, didn’t have a clue what to do with it.” “How does it work?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as I was sure I saw something darting about inside. “Well, theoretically it allows you to make a recording of your memories,” Twilight explained. “Which can then be projected if the environmental conditions are right.” “Environment what now?” Rainbow whispered to Pinkie, who just shrugged. “Basically it won’t work unless it’s in the same place the memory depicts,” Twilight elaborated. “So can you make this memory sphere show us what’s recorded?” Fluttershy asked. “They’re supposed to be unlocked by specific magical frequencies,” Twilight went on to say. “My sceptre was able to detect it, so I might be able to fiddle about and get it to play.” Twilight stood up and we all followed suit, only we all stepped well clear as Twilight pointed her sceptre at the orb once more, a look of concentration on her face as she began working with forces none of us could see. After a few minutes of various increases and decreases of light, and a great deal of mumbling and muttering from Twilight that we couldn’t make out, she finally came out with ‘aha’ and twisted her sceptre like a key in a lock. The blue orb split apart, turning from a solid shape to a liquid that spread out from the centre and washed over the entire room. The wave of magic passed right over me and my friends, leaving us completely unchanged, but as it swept over the floor and walls, they had their colour sapped from them, the world instead appearing as a monotone hue of pale blue. As the room changed colour, I noticed several other small change as the wave spread, the door rippled from wide open to shut tight, all the paper and books vanished from the floor and reappeared on the shelves, which became packed full of neatly arranged tomes, and finally a pony had appeared in the very centre of the room. Rainbow Dash jumped in surprise when she appeared directly next to her, instinctively she swung out a hoof to incapacitate the would-be attacker, but she passed right through the pony, like she wasn’t even there. Like everything else in the room, the only colours she was comprised of was a very light shade of blue, it was quite clear she was part of the memory projection Twilight had spoken of, it might even have been her memory we were watching. She was an earth pony with a long braided mane and tail; she wore a simple gown of plain cloth which covered most of her body, including her cutie mark. We all spread out to the edges of the temple so we wouldn’t be standing in the way as the memory played out. The mare was pacing very slowly in a small circle around the very point where the memory sphere had been hovering. As well as the changes in what we saw, we could also hear the sound of distant fighting, the rumbling of hooves, the clashing of blades, the battle cries and the screams of pain. Presumably the mare could hear all this as well, but she did not react to any of it, she just kept pacing with a perfectly solemn expression on her face. We watched her do this for a short while, occasionally glancing to each other to silently convey our confusion as to what we were seeing. This memory had to have been recorded during the battle, and perhaps this mare was one of the ponies who lived on the Isle, but why was she just waiting here and looking so calm, while outside the sound of fighting drew steadily closer? Finally a loud cawing broke through the cacophony outside, the mare froze, a look of hope crossing over her neutral face as she looked up to the ceiling. We all followed her gaze and saw the great… blue crow swooping in through the hole in the domed roof. Even with the colours altered, King Crow was unmistakable as he circled down to the mare, before perching on her outstretched foreleg. She leant in and nuzzled him affectionately, and surprisingly he returned the gesture. When she pulled back, her face was now a mixture of joy and sorrow as she addressed him. “I’m glad to see you’re alright,” she told him, to which he cawed once in response. “No, I suppose I wouldn’t expect any less from you.” My eyes flickered over to Fluttershy as the mare communicated with the bird, I wondered if she was just talking to him like a pet, or if she too could understand and talk to him. King Crow began cawing again, sounding almost urgent as he did, whatever he was trying to say, the mare just shook her head sadly. “No, it’s too late,” she said in a calm voice, the crow simply cocking its head as if it didn’t understand. “There is no escaping this fate. My end, and the end of my brothers and sister, has come.” King Crow gave a weak croaking noise. “Do not lose hope my friend,” the mare said, placing her forehead against his. “They can destroy this temple, they can capture us, they can even kill us… we will be gone from this world, but our mission will go on, through this holy place… through you.” King Crow gave a little squawk, flapping its wings and ruffling its feathers slightly. “You have served the order faithfully for many, many years,” the mare went on. “You have been a dear friend and companion to me, when I am gone do not mourn me, but carry on our mission. This day has shown me many things, I have seen a terrible future, of a world consumed by this conflict… but I have also seen hope.” The mare began walking, King Crow flapping into the air and flying alongside her as she drifted towards the centre of the room. “A long time ago, long before you or me walked this earth,” the mare continued, staring almost lovingly around the temple. “Our order was formed on this very soil, entrusted with a monumental task. For years we have worked, seeking out virtuous individuals all across the world, testing them and bringing them enlightenment… but we had yet to reach the end of our road, to find the true bearers and complete that ultimate task.” The mare stopped in the centre of the room, glancing up briefly at the hole in the roof before looking back at King Crow who hovered in front of her. “But what I have seen brings me great joy,” she told him. “For I have seen the end of our order, not with the death of me, but with the completion of our mission. When we are gone, it will be down to you to carry on our work, to find those six individuals and bring them here so that they might be tested before the eyes of this place… and believe me when I tell you they are coming. It might take months, it might take years, but you must never lose hope… the bearers are coming, and it will be you who must guide them.” The bird gave one weak caw before it was cut off by the sound of an explosion outside, no doubt one of the buildings getting wrecked. “They are coming,” the mare said, her voice now a little more urgent. “You must go now, our fate rests on your wings.” The crow cawed with much more determination this time, as it beat its wings harder and rose higher towards the roof. “Thank you,” the mare spoke after it in her original calm tone. “And goodbye, Harbinger.” With that the King Crow, Harbinger, flew up through the space in the ceiling and vanished from sight, leaving the mare standing on her own, staring up at the place where he had disappeared. I turned to look at the others; they all seemed to be wearing looks that ranged from confused to shocked. The mare gave a little sigh, turning her gaze away from the roof before she spoke once more. “It is done…” she whispered, only just loud enough for us to hear her. “And I guess the only thing left for me is silence.” A loud banging noise echoed from the doors, which shook on their hinges. The mare looked around, taking a deep breath, but remaining calm in composure. “Give me strength for what is to come Princess,” she requested to the empty room, louder this time. “I am proud to have lived my life in your memory; I will continue to do so until I am granted death… my only regret is that I wasn’t there to see the end for myself.” The doors were smashed open, the force of whatever struck it too much for the lock, which broke clean off, leaving the doors to swing wide open. Smoke and dust from the battlefield curled in, momentarily obscuring the threshold, but then the invaders marched in. We all watched in anger and in shock as the ponies that entered were dressed in neither Rebel armour nor Equestrian armour, but in robes embroidered with patterned stitching. While it couldn’t be seen due to the blue hue of the memory, I knew instantly that under normal circumstances, the embroidering on those robes would shine with all the colours of the rainbow. There was a grand total of ten Covenant members who sauntered in, two at a time, splitting off as they passed through the door and each heading down a separate direction until all ten were spread out around the temple, standing with their backs to the wall and facing the mare in the centre. Six of the robed ponies had walked in with other ponies held in their grasps, the prisoners all wore the same plain tunic as the mare in the centre of the room, and they marched along with their captors without presenting a struggle. My friends and I shifted our positions so we weren’t standing inside anypony, as well as resisting the urge to punch the robed ponies, even though we knew it would do no good. None of them spoke however, and the mare paid them no heed, keeping her gaze focused on the open door as an eleventh and final pony walked in. It was an earth pony stallion; he had very narrow and sharp features, as well as an unusually long muzzle. He wore the same robes as the others, except with the addition of what I presumed was a black mantel around his shoulders. The mare appeared calm and controlled as she met his gaze, but I could see the cold look in her eyes. He gave her a malicious grin, glancing behind himself briefly at the battle that still raged just beyond the temple grounds. “Let’s not have any distractions,” he began in an incredibly nasally voice. He nodded at the two closest ponies, who walked across to him and closed the doors as best as they could, leaving them slightly ajar. Giving a satisfied smile, the stallion started walking slowly forward. “Greetings Grandmaster Fauna,” he addressed her in a voice brimming with excitement. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for a very long time, my name is…” “We know who you are,” the mare, Fauna, said in a flat voice. “And we know why you’re here; I will tell you right now that you’re wasting your time.” The stallion’s faced twitched with annoyance; clearly he didn’t like being interrupted when he felt so in control. “None the less,” he grumbled before clearing his voice. “I think a formal introduction is only polite. My name is Father Crane, and I come here representing the Covenant.” Fauna didn’t reply, her eyes flickered across the room at her fellows, who had all been forced to kneel in front of their individual captors and were now staring resolutely at the floor. “The others are dead,” she stated simply. “You killed them.” “An unfortunate incident,” Crane replied in a wounded voice. “One I had hoped to avoid, but some of your friends were a little less cooperative than these fine ponies.” “They served the Princess well,” Fauna said, closing her eyes for a moment. “Once again Crane, I will tell you that you are wasting your time here. We have been watching you and your Covenant, we know what it is you seek, and I tell you now that it cannot be forced like you believe, it is something that must be earned.” “Is that what your Princess told you?” Crane asked in a snide voice, before it suddenly rose in pitch. “Lies!” “There are no lies when it comes to the Princess of Honesty,” Fauna retorted coolly. “You have gone to great lengths to come here this day. Tell me, how did you manage to convince so many poor ponies to damn their own souls by coming here and waging battle, all so you could break through our defences?” “There are many who share our goals, who are loyal to the Covenant,” Crane answered. “And many more whose loyalty can be… persuaded when offered the right incentive. I’ve had contacts within both sides for some time now, they’ve proven useful on multiple occasions, today most of all.” “Well, I must admit it is clever of you,” Fauna went on; although she didn’t sound like she thought so. “You tore through our protective spells with such force; we never anticipated anypony could carry such evil in their hearts to bring about this. However, it does not change a thing, there is nothing here for you.” “I disagree,” Crane argued, spreading his hooves and gesturing all around the room. Fauna quirked an eyebrow, before raising a foreleg of her own. As she did, I noticed a very faint glow around it, like the air was gently rippling. As she held out her hoof, one of the books on the shelves levitated across the room, encased in the same wavy aura. I glanced over at Applejack and saw that she looked dumbfounded, Twilight just looked impressed, earth ponies who could master magic like that were indeed rare. The book floated over to Crane and flipped open in front of him, he had done a poor job of hiding his envious look as Fauna had used magic, but he did an even worse job of hiding his annoyance upon seeing the jumbled up letters. “Surely you knew that would be the first action I took upon your arrival,” Fauna said, almost mockingly as she placed the book back. “It matters not,” Crane insisted, now smirking once more. “For I know the real secrets aren’t written down here… they’re traded through word, passed down from Grandmaster to Grandmaster, shared among your faithful brothers and sisters.” Fauna narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “You really think you can make us talk?” she questioned sceptically. “You would be a fool to try.” “Oh, I don’t believe you’re as tight lipped as they say,” Crane replied with a wicked grin. “We know many different ways of loosening a pony’s tongue. Tell me, have you heard of the Children of the Earth? Their methods could be seen as relaxation techniques compared to the things we can do.” “If you’re trying to intimidate me Crane,” Fauna responded in an intentionally bored voice. “Then you might want to give up, your voice isn’t suited for such tactics.” “Not intimidation,” Crane said quickly, another flash of annoyance. “But a warning of what to expect, of course you could make things easy for yourself. Truth be told, I don’t want to resort to violence, I actually see us as potential allies. There is so much we could do for each other, and with our combined efforts… we would achieve ascension that much quicker.” “You still don’t get it,” Fauna muttered, shaking her head in mild frustration. “You can’t achieve ascension through magic or science or any combination of the two.” “I can!” Crane insisted in a loud voice. “I have made leaps and bounds; I have made advancements that other ponies could only dream of! The things I’ve done, the things I’ve learnt… the things I’ve achieved!” There was a monumental roar outside the temple, causing some of the robed ponies to jump in fright, even I nearly jumped out of my skin. Fauna’s eyes drifted past Crane to the nearly closed door, narrowing as they returned to him. “All you’ve achieved is creating abominations,” she told him plainly. “And they will only get worse after what you’ve done here. You think you’ll achieve some secret knowledge through all this, but that information is saved for only the worthy… all you will leave here with is a curse.” A second roar echoed outside, closer this time, followed by terrified screams of soldiers. “Well don’t look at me like that,” Crane said to Fauna with another smirk. “I had to bring one of my new pets to make sure nopony walked away from that battle outside. I couldn’t very well have them blabbing about what we did here, now could I? You might call them abominations, but where others see failure, I see progress. My creations are each stepping stones in my path to achieving the ultimate transformation, and I cherish them all for that. I give them a purpose to be, so that they might one day witness my glorious new world, the world their sacrifices helped to create.” “You will fail,” Fauna told him flatly. “You’ll bring suffering and destruction… but you’ll be stopped, I’ve seen it.” Crane’s smile faded and he observed Fauna with a cold look, he was clearly growing bored of her defiance. Another roar broke the silence, this one sounded so close by, that it could have been right outside the door. “Well, not that I’m not enjoying our little talk,” Crane began in a slightly nervous tone. “But I think it’s time we were heading, lots of work to be done; a new world doesn’t build itself. Don’t worry Grandmaster; I think you’ll be quite pleased with your new accommodations.” “I’m sure they will serve as an adequate tomb,” Fauna replied calmly as she let her eyes shut with resignation.