//------------------------------// // Of scrambles and Golems // Story: The Elder God // by Another Army Brony //------------------------------// “Surely, you're joking,” Shade deadpanned. An inquisitive glance was his only reply. Of course you're not, he thought to himself. Shade allowed himself a moment to take in what was to become his home for the near future, marveling at the irony of it. A tree, perhaps twenty meters tall, sporting thick branches and what appeared to be windows at irregular intervals, loomed before him. It seemed almost cruel that the tree was apparently a library, filled with the byproducts of its harvested and rendered kin. In the upper branches there appeared to be a platform of sorts, though its purpose could not be divined from below. As Shade regarded the structure with dubious curiosity, his thoughts were derailed when a dark suggestion spoke from the back of his mind. When it spoke, it wasn’t speaking to Shade’s conscious mind in words but in impressions, thoughts, and urges, spoken directly to the primal part of him. It came as sweetly and gently as the whisper of a lover, though carrying a malice both utterly beyond fathom and eerily familiar. It spoke but two words, nearly compelling Shade to action before he’d realized what he was doing.         Burn it, the feeling intoned, over and over in his mind. The voice called forth visions in the deepest parts of his mind, images of lands burning with a foul green flame that consumed all that it touched.         “Are you alright, Shade? Is something wrong?”         Twilight's voice severed the voice’s tenuous hold over him, drawing him fully back to the present moment. “I - I’m fine,” he said, shaking off the daze he’d fallen into momentarily. “Thank you.”         The lavender mare seemed less than convinced of this, and appeared to be reconsidering the wisdom of allowing this strange pony into her home. She regarded him warily for a moment, trying to decide if he was safe to be around or not.  Apparently pushing aside her reservations, she motioned for the dark unicorn to follow her as she rounded the tree. After all, if things got dicey, she was more than powerful enough to take care of herself.         As Shade walked, he couldn’t help but feel troubled, though the reason for it eluded him. It was as if he was trying to remember something of grave importance, only to have it flutter maddeningly away. Any time he tried to focus on it, the idea vanished as smoke in the wind. If not for their arrival at the front of the tree, he might have driven himself to madness trying to grasp the ethereal notion. A simple door greeted them on the other side, yet another example of decorating a tree with the body parts of its fallen kin. Shade’s musings were interrupted by the jingle of a small bell as the door was pushed open. Twilight made her way inside, and he deemed to follow. A rather plain interior greeted him. Rows of shelving adorned the walls of the first floor, carved into the flesh of the tree in regular intervals and filled with books of all sorts. The floor of the abode was made of polished wood, which by all appearances seemed to be nothing more than the hollowed-out base of the tree, buffed to a satin finish. To the left there were stairs leading up to a second level, and to the right there was a door to an adjacent room. It was to this room that Twilight ventured first, pushing the door open with a gentle pulse of lavender magic.         Shade followed suit, brushing past the open door as he trailed Twilight into what he now saw was a kitchen and dining area. An icebox stood immediately to the left of the door, low counters hewn out of the living tree circled the room, and a small table with a quartet of chairs to the right completed the minimal furnishings of the room. Natural light spilled in through the bay window above the sink, providing a warm glow to the space that made it seem quite cozy. Beneath the window was a small sink, in which Twilight filled a glass jug she’d produced from one of the cabinets. Shade simply watched as the well-rehearsed routine unfolded. Twilight took the decanter of water and set it on the counter atop a small circular base, situated beneath an inverted glass funnel. The apparatus sported a series of concentric glass tubes stemming from the smaller end. The end of the tube opposite the funnel opened facing down, directly above a second funnel, though this one was packed with a dark substance. Beneath this funnel there stood another decanter, though this one was significantly squatter and sported a slender handle on one side.         Before Shade could venture a guess as to the nature of this contraption, Twilight lit a small flame beneath the first decanter and made her way to the table, sitting heavily and pulling out a chair for him to join her. He complied, sitting across from her as requested. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she spoke up.         “So, Shade, tell me everything you remember about who you are or where you’re from.”         ‘This is going to be a short conversation’, Shade mused to himself. “Well,” he said, “there’s really not much to tell. I can’t remember anything before this morning. I’m not even sure that Shade is my real name. I’m sorry I’m not more help,” he said as he shrugged.         Twilight nodded knowingly. On the counter, the mysterious glass contraption began to bubble and gurgle. “I thought as much, but I was hoping you’d be able to remember something by now. It’s not a problem, though. You’re welcome to stay here until you get your memory back.”         Shade found himself smiling at the hospitality. “I appreciate that. Do you have any idea what to do now? Aside from just standing around, waiting and hoping that my memory comes back, that is. No offense, but I’d like to be out of here as soon as possible; also, I hate not knowing anything about myself.”         Twilight nodded knowingly. “I can only imagine. I actually do have a few ideas of how we might be able to help,  while also serving a practical purpose. First, we’re going to familiarize you with the town; If something jogs your memory while we’re out, then we’ll have a starting point for your recovery, an indication of what your past contains. And if not, well, I’ve got a few books of sheet music for Lyra anyways. Fresh from the Canterlot archives! I’m not sure what she wants with three-hundred-odd year old sheet music, but she’s got great taste, at least. Bucktohven, Steedivarious, Maretzart…”         Shade drifted out of the conversation, the details of the various composers and their Magnum Opus’ (according to Twilight, at least) all blending together. Supplying an obligatory ‘uh-huh’ or head nod as appropriate, they made their way back to the library proper. At this point, Twilight seemed to realize that her guest was completely out of touch with the conversation. The fact that she’d asked him what he wanted for lunch and he responded ‘uh-huh’ indicated as much.         Waving a hoof in front of his face, she snapped him out of his daze. “Hey, Shade! Yoo-hoo, are you in there?”         He blinked, looking at her for a moment as if he had forgotten who she was. Twilight was struck by a brief moment of panic before recognition flashed in Shade’s eyes. “Oh, sorry about that Twilight. I, uh, got a bit lost for a minute there. What were you saying?”         The lavender mare rolled her eyes, though she was used to such. After all, there weren’t many ponies that could keep up with her passion for learning and knowledge. Sometimes, late at night, she fantasized about a world where other ponies had the same passion and drive that she did; these fantasies invariably devolved into nightmarish dystopias ruled by ultra-focused and determined leaders competing for the largest share of books. At this point, she would sigh, reminding herself it was definitely for the better that not everypony was able to devote themselves to something as intently or for as long as she could. Smiling gently, she reiterated herself. “Shade, what would you like to eat for lunch?”         The charred flash of a thousand corpses, the still beating hearts of my vanquished foes, and the marrow of all those foolish enough to oppose me. The voice whispered to his subconscious, like an itch that was impossible to scratch in a place that he didn’t know he could feel. A vague memory of all of these images caressed his mind; he tasted the burnt charcoal on the back of his tongue but couldn’t consciously discern why. Swallowing hard to rid himself of the unusual taste, he replied “Whatever you suggest. You know this place better than I do.”         She nodded in agreement, turning towards the door and calling out over her shoulder, “You’ve got a point. I know just the place!”         And with that, they set off in the direction of town, and a certain diner that Twilight had been meaning to return to for far too long. -=-=-=-=-         Warm rays of sunlight fell down gently from atop a sapphire blue sky, while a pleasant breeze did its part to ensure the day was neither too hot nor cold. The library tree seemed to sing a song of many leaves, dancing to the rhythm of the breeze as it waltzed through the branches. Far above the ground, a trio of pegasi drifted lazily across the sky, from one thermal to another as the warm air carried them higher and higher. In the middle distance, there was a sound of hooves on cobblestones and of voices, of laughter; the sounds of ponies living their lives seemingly without a care in the world.         They have forgotten their fear, a voice whispered in the corners of Shade’s mind. It’s nearly time to remind them, it said. Fear and trepidation crept into the shadows of the day, hiding in the unseen crevices of what would be an otherwise lovely summer’s day, tainting it subtly. Shade found himself looking to the sky, haunted by a vague sense of unease that he couldn’t quite place or attribute to anything in particular. He did his best to shake it as he tried to lose himself in the details of his surroundings, hoping that something he saw would call to him and offer clues about his past.         The buildings were constructed of rough hewn timbers, the bite of the axes that had shaped them still visible in many places. The walls appeared to be coated in plaster, concealing the underlying structure from casual observation. In some places, the plaster was cracked and chipped, revealing the stonework beneath. Windows were set in thick mortar, clearly patched many times throughout the years as winter took its toll. The roofs were a mixture of thatching and tile in most places, with the odd wooden and stone one here or there. The cobblestones were likewise roughly hewn,  though from a grey and white granite rather than from wood. They were rather uneven in most places, having been displaced and jarred by years of traffic and repeated freezes. ‘One could roll an ankle if not careful,’ Shade thought to himself.         As the duo drew nearer to the town square, the building slowly became more uniform, taller, and more advanced. Timber gave way to brick, thatched roofs to slate tiled ones, and rough hewn cobbles to tightly fitted paving stones. As the buildings changed, so too did the quantity and quality of pedestrian traffic. The odd passerby in the outskirts had given way to groups of two or three, which in turn gave way to throngs of in excess of five in some places; it seemed that everypony had somewhere to be, and they were all in a hurry to get there, jostling and pushing in some places to get by.         Seeing all of these ponies in one place made Shade feel… anxious? No, that wasn’t the right term. Some combination of eager, angry, and hungry. On second thought, that last one might just have been because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.         As if on cue, the gentle summer breeze was suddenly laden with the most delectable smell that had ever graced Shade’s nostrils. It was like a shovel to the face, but instead of pain there was only the maddening anticipation of food, of sated hunger. Just as he was turning to suggest they follow their nose to the source of the lovely scent, Twilight turned into a small diner, adorned in chrome and glass panels. The anachronism when held against the rest of the town was striking, but the thought of anything other than food could wait. Fate it seems was on his side, for the smell that he’d been so enticed by was emanating from the very diner Shade now found himself in.         They took a seat near the window, and Shade had to use all of his willpower not to grab the next tray of food the waitress carried past them. She returned a moment later, sans food, and stopped at their table to deliver menus and take drink orders. Twilight waved off the menus, stating “We already know what we’re having, thank you.” She proceeded to order two each of coffee and something called a ‘Daffodil Scramble,’ whatever that was, all the while ignoring Shade’s questioning look. Once the waitress left, she finally acknowledged him.         “What?” She questioned. “You said ‘whatever you suggest,’ so I suggested this. Trust me, you’ll thank me when you’re done eating.”         Shade held up his hooves in a defensive gesture. “Whoa there, I didn’t  mean it like that, I was just wondering what a daffodil scramble was.”         At this, Twilight’s eyes positively gleamed as a smile spread across her features and she pointed a hoof at shade in a playful manner. “Just you wait. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s what this place is famous for.         This managed to rouse both Shade’s curiosity, as well as his hunger. Moments later, the waitress returned with a pot of coffee and a pair of mugs, which she set down on the table and walked away. Twilight was “mother”, pouring the coffee for both of them.  Doing this apparently jogged her memory a bit, as she quietly exclaimed “Oh, horseapples. I forgot about the coffee on the counter.”         ‘So that’s what that was,’ Shade thought. Furthermore, though he knew what coffee was, he couldn’t remember if he like it or not.  There was only one way to find out, he decided, and took a cautious sip of the piping hot beverage. A few things became clear at this point; first, that he really enjoyed the taste of coffee; second, that this coffee was extremely hot; and third, that caffeine was his new best friend. As soon as it hit his bloodstream, it was as if the world slowed down a little bit, slowly coming into focus bit by bit. He could see every miniscule detail, hear every ‘tink’ of silverware on a plate, and smell the food cooking in the kitchen. There was a gentle thrumming that he became aware of, seemingly originating from his horn and reverberating both within himself and within everything around him.         It would seem that caffeine seemed to have stirred the magic within him, something he hadn’t even realized he’d been missing until it came surging back. The magic overlaid his other senses like a second sight, as if he had only been hearing the world and had suddenly opened his eyes. This power… it was intoxicating. He’d never felt anything like it before, never felt such raw potency, never felt such--         “Shade! What are you doing?” Twilight’s voice snapped out at him, derailing his train of thought. Something was… off. Looking around and finding dozens of eyes focused on him, Shade slowly realized the entire diner had quite suddenly gone silent.         “Uh… hi?” He offered, abashed. ‘Why are they all staring at me?’ He wondered. “Twilight? What’s going on?”         She looked at him incredulously. “Why don’t you tell me? I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but anypony would get nervous when somepony channels that kind of power near them.”         A small part of him enjoyed the terror in their eyes, but the rest of him was thoroughly embarrassed to be the center of attention like this. Thinking quickly, he attempted to suppress the thrumming within him, to moderate effect. Struck by a brilliant idea, he sneezed with great fanfare. As he did so, he redoubled his efforts to suppress the power within, and by twisting it against itself and turning it inward, he succeeded in driving it down almost completely.         Seeing this, most ponies chuckled to themselves and turned back to their food, one even turning to his friend and saying “-had the same thing happen to me last week.” To which his friend replied, “Frank, you’re an earth pony.”         Things quickly returned to normal after that, with the exception of Twilight. She was looking at him through squinted eyes, as if trying to discern more about his true nature. After a moment, she seemed to give up. “Shade, that was a nice move with the sneeze, but I don’t buy it. There’s more to you than you realize, and I think we need to address this as soon as possible. There’s something…off about your magic. I can’t quite put my hoof on it. When we’re done eating, do you want to go for a bit of a walk with me?”         Shade shrugged, nodding. “I guess so. I would like to know more about myself as well, so if you think this will help, I’m all for it.”         Any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of the most delectable smelling food Shade had ever had the pleasure of being in the vicinity of. Hash browns, chopped and fried daffodils, scrambled eggs, and wheat pancakes all greeted him. With the gusto of a starving creature, Shade set to work.         Not long after this, they’d both finished their meals, and were each patting their stuffed bellies contentedly. At Twilight’s behest, they set off towards a clearing beyond the edge of town, following a different path than they had on the way from the library. Less than two blocks from the diner, Twilight entered a small music store nestled between a hardware store and a place that only seemed to sell couches and writing utensils. As she walked in, a small stack of books sheathed in a purple glow floated out of her bag in the direction of the counter.         As if on cue, a turquoise unicorn with a golden lyre on her flank trotted out from the back room, her face erupting in a smile as soon as she spotted Twilight and the stack of books. “Twilight! So good to see you. Is that the sheet music I asked for?”         Twilight beamed in kind. “You know it, Lyra. Getting back to the classics?”         Lyra shook her head. “Not quite. I’ve got a new piece I’m working on, and I want to incorporate some of my favorite elements from these composers…”         For the next few minutes the mares were lost in conversation about musical theory, while Shade wandered around the rest of the store. Investigating the various musical instruments and accessories, he was amused by his distorted reflections in the curved brass and polished nickel. The conversation ended about the same time Shade had completed his circuit of the store, with Lyra promising to play her new piece for Twilight, and Twilight vowing to hold her to that. With a friendly wave, the duo was off into the light of the sun, leaving Lyra to work on her newest creation.                  The rest of their trip was uneventful, as they weaved their way through the streets into the wider open areas that surrounded the town. Perhaps a half hour after they started walking, the duo came to a clearing in a valley, with a small hill standing between them and the town. “Here,” Twilight assured Shade, “Nopony will bother us.”         Shade was inclined to agree, as they’d seen nopony for the last ten minutes. Before he had the opportunity to ask any questions, Twilight launched into her explanation. “Okay, so I want to know more about your capabilities. You caught me off guard in the diner, and I don’t want that to happen again. So, first things first: stop suppressing your aura.”         Shade looked at her, reluctance written across his features, but complied nonetheless. Slowly, he stopped suppressing the aura that welled within him, relishing the feeling of the power coursing through his veins, stronger than before. It felt as if he was standing in a slight breeze, rustling his mane though the grass was unmoved. Twilight’s shock was palpable.         “There… there is no way this is real. You cannot be this powerful, it must be a trick.”         Shade’s mane flowed in the current of magic pouring out of him, carried by the force of an otherworldly breeze. When he spoke, his voice reverberated with a power that sent chills down her spine. “It’s not a trick, Twilight. I’m not doing anything.”         If that was true -- and Twilight felt that it was -- Then it would mean that this unknown pony who couldn’t remember his past was nearly as powerful as the Princesses themselves. The mere thought of such a thing seemed wholly implausible at best, and mind-numbingly horrifying at worst. Should anything go awry with this strange pony, it would take a direct intervention from the Princesses, and perhaps even all of them, to stop it.         Still, if something seems implausible, there’s most likely a good reason for it; namely, that such a thing is not in fact possible, but rather is a product of other, explainable, circumstances. Twilight resolved to find out the truth.         “Okay, Shade. If you don’t mind, I’d like to have you do a few tasks, please.”         Shade merely nodded in agreement; the reverberation of his voice was less than pleasant for him. Twilight nodded in kind, summoning a swarm of a half-dozen stone golems from the hills surrounding them. Such a task was a technique that she’d learned from Celestia Herself, and it drained her power significantly. There were not many ponies, alive or dead, who could call forth such creatures. To summon them, Twilight focused her magic on the rocks, shearing fragments of her soul and binding them to the stone. It was an arduous spell, one which carried a terrible price; for, if the shards of soul were damaged, they were lost forever. The chances for this were miniscule; a soul is a resilient thing,  Over the deep rumbling of rocks sliding against each other as the golems formed, Twilight shouted her instructions to Shade. “Okay, Shade. All you have to do is defeat the Golems. If you find yourself in trouble, the safety word is--”         Before she could finish her sentence, the Golems were engulfed in an unnatural purple flame. Their screams… Dear Celestia, their screams… the sound would haunt her dreams for the rest of her days. One by one the screams stopped, until nothing but smoke and molten slag remained. She was speechless. Any one of those Golems would have easily taken a squad of Canterlot Guards down...to take down a half-dozen at once, without even an apparent effort… Nearly unbelievable. No, it couldn’t be so. Perhaps he used all of his energy in that attack, but was just really good at hiding the exertion. Such a thing was unlikely, but not nearly as unlikely as this pony possessing almost Princess-level strength. Twilight shook her head, resolving once more to putting this pony to the test. This time, she wouldn’t hold back.         “Okay, one last test Shade. Remember, just call out ‘Banana’ and I’ll stop it, okay? Don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you.”         With that, Twilight pulled out all the stops, sapping the last of her power as she carefully crafted a series of spells that would give even the Princesses pause. Twice as many Golems were called forth, a pack of timberwolves were summoned, and a magical dampening field was employed. The most advanced magic she had gained in her studies was brought to bear. The dampening field alone was something she’d been researching and perfecting for the better part of a decade, achieving nearly an eighty-percent reduction in magical potency within its field. By casting it last, she ensured that her summoned creatures would be raised at full strength, rather than at the reduced efficiency within the sphere of influence. She smiled to herself, feeling a bit cocky. By her calculations, this spell would be enough to take even the Princesses down to a near-dragon equivalent, instead of their God-like selves. Still a mighty force to be reckoned with, but not impossible to handle. Next time a Discord or a Sombra was on the loose, she would be ready.         Shade felt the barrier wrap around him, squeezing his aura until it was but a sliver of what it once was. He felt as if his very essence had been put into a vice, and he did not like that at all. He focused once more on the Golems closing in around him, willing them to combust as they had before. He felt his aura surge in response, as the power flowed through him, only to have it rebound against the barrier and strike him instead. He stumbled under the blow as the golems closed in. They were slower than he was, but they had numbers on their side. Instead of willing the fire to strike at all of them, Shade decided to focus on one at a time, to limit the rebound effect. He focused the fire into a tightly packed beam, the purple flames penetrating the barrier to strike a single Golem. With a shriek it was immolated, consumed with unnatural swiftness by the strange purple flames. In a moment, it was reduced to slag. Shade shifted his focus to the next one, the rope of flames swinging to its newest target. Shade simply couldn’t keep up this way. He backed away from the encroaching Golem Horde, only to find himself surrounded. There were too many of them, they were too strong. He needed a new strategy, and quick. Somewhere deep in his subconscious, ancient knowledge began to unfurl. Spells that had not seen the light of day in aeons began to manifest, black magic that had long been forgotten making a resurgence once more. Shade felt a cold ball of hatred and rage forming in his gut, sending dark tendrils seeping into the ground all around him, searching for he knew not what. A dozen tentacles found what they sought, forming unseen fists far below the surface. These fists and the evil they contained suddenly shot to the surface, disgorging their hateful contents. From her spot atop the hill, Twilight shivered in the warm summer sun. There was the stench of dark magic roiling in the meadow, a malodorous stench that spoke of death and despair. She’d never felt magic like this before, and it chilled her to her bones. The ground around Shade suddenly erupted, and the source of the stench became clear. Reanimated skeletal remains clawed their way out of the soil, carrying with them a heinous odor. Foetid flesh hung to bones in some places, while yet others had been stripped clean. The abominations’ eyes glowed with a sick red flame, casting a ghostly afterimage as they shambled from their graves. ‘This… This is necromancy,’ she thought. She had only ever read about it in the oldest books in the forbidden archive, and even then it was barely hinted at. There was one book, though… one book which contained more than vague allusions to such forbidden magic. Bound in equine flesh and penned in blood, it was the most disturbing book in the entire archive, sealed by Celestia herself within the catacombs deep inside the mountain. Months of begging and pleading by Twilight had eventually succeeded in gaining her access to the tome, though only for a short time and only under the close supervision of Celestia. The book was said to be the fevered ramblings of a madman, one who had stared into the darkness for so long that it had consumed his mind. Within its pages there were things best left unspoken; hexes and curses so vile their very concept was abhorrent to everything Twilight stood for. By far, the most horrendous thing in the book was the act of tearing a soul from beyond the veil of death and binding it to the cadaver of a deceased being. Necromancy, as it was called, prevented the soul from finding its eternal peace and forced the abomination to walk the earth, forever sowing destruction and disease in its wake until it was destroyed. The method by which this was done had thankfully been lost ages prior to the penning of the accursed tome. It was said, however, that only the most powerful of mages could perform necromancy at all, and that it required a living sacrifice. There were legends passed down from the times before of the Elder Gods, who could tear open the veil of death and summon forth undead hordes, but they were just that -- legends. Until now, it would seem. In the meadow before her, the most horrific scene imaginable was playing out. Dark magic that was never meant to exist was manifested before her very eyes, the vile perversion of the natural order of things taking place in the light of day. So shocked was she, she could do nothing but stand and watch the scene unfold. Reanimated animal corpses endowed with unnatural strength proved a match for stone Golems three times their size, clashing furiously against one another. Manticores, wolves, and other shambling abominations fought tooth and nail against living stone. From the woodline, there arose the howl of a pack of timber wolves, eager to join the fight. Despite their numbers, the wolves were dispatched easily by the unnatural purple flames. Shade spewed a thick rope of flames from his mouth in a manner very similar to a dragon, playing it across the wolves until their pitiful shrieks and whimpers of pain ceased entirely. As the last Golem and Infernus succumbed to each other's blows, Shade stood alone in the middle of the killing field. He turned to Twilight and smiled, pleased with himself, thin tongues of purple flames still licking out from between his teeth. Shade’s smile faltered as he saw Twilight’s expression. Utter revulsion, fear, and curiosity played across her features, each battling for dominance. Why should she be revolted? He only did what she asked him to do. Besides, that was pretty amazing, the whole pulling-bones-from-the-earth-and-spawning-minions thing. About this time, Shade remembered her reaction to his unbridled power. Quickly, he tamped it down once more, turning it inwards against itself rather than outwards. As he did so, He saw Twilight visibly relax. As the power emanating from Shade died down to what might be considered ‘normal’ levels, Twilight found that the pressure she’d felt in her horn dissipated with it. She hadn’t realized how restricted her breathing had become until the pressure had vanished, as different as night from day. It had been a long time since she’d been this frightened by anything; not even Nightmare Moon had evoked such terror. The last time she’d faced such nameless fear was as a filly, lost and alone in the dark of night near the edge of the forest. All throughout the night she’d been tormented by the sounds emanating from within, unknown sources leaving room for her imagination to run wild. It was partly this fear of the unknown that drove her to learn all she could about everything there is. And now, she was facing the fear of the unknown once more, in the form of an amnesiac pony, with unfathomable powers, and knowledge of dark magic that should not exist, that stood at odds with everything that was natural and right. At the same time, she was nearly giddy with the prospect of learning more about the arcane arts that he alone could teach. In the end, it was her curiosity that won out, as it nearly always did. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Twilight called out to him. “Shade, could you come here, please? I need to ask you a few questions.” He was happy to oblige, pleased that she no longer had the terrified look on her face. Trotting over, he greeted Twilight with a smile, this time sans flames. “How’d I do?” “Uh… well, I guess.” She seemed uncertain of her words, as if she was picking her way around a sensitive subject. “Shade, would you mind describing exactly what you did?” “I just did what you told me to do… I defeated the Golems.” Twilight tried to fight her exasperation. “Yes, you did. Quite well, in fact. What I want to know is how you did it. What exactly did you do to defeat them, specifically the second time?” Shade tapped his chin as he contemplated his answer. Twilight wanted to shout at him, ‘it has been less than two minutes you dolt, what is there to think about?!’ After a moment, he answered. “Well, at first I tried to reuse the ‘set-everything-on-fire’ technique from the first time, but it felt like I was being squeezed through the eye of a needle. The harder I tried, the more it pushed back. So, I figured, if there's only the eye of a needle to pass through, I’ll focus the flame to fit through the eye. This worked pretty well, but it meant that I could only engage one Golem at a time. This wasn’t fast enough, and I was about to be surrounded by the Golems. I’m not sure, but I think I reached into the ground and pulled up the bones, maybe? Anyways, after that--” Twilight interrupted Shade, burning to know more. “Wait, what? You aren’t sure? How can you do something like that without knowing what you’re doing? How did you find the bones? How did you reanimate them? How did you make them fight for you?” Shade, to Twilight’s eternal consternation, merely shrugged. She wanted to slap him so badly, but she refrained. She had other ways to get that information, but for the time being, there were more important things to attend to. After all, there were observations and hypothesis’ to write. Princess Celestia had retired for the evening, taking her customary place beside the grand fireplace in her chambers. As she had done for so many years, she carefully perused the various bills and legislatures that had come to her for revision or signature. ‘Isn’t this the reason the legislative branch was created?’ She mused to herself. It was, in fact, the reason the branch had been created in the first place; but, it should stand to reason that one thing bureaucracy loves is even more of the same. And so it had come to pass that the minor issues that had once consumed much of her time had now been replaced by other minor issues, although with a few extra layers of bureaucracy thrown in for good measure. She had just settled into her large, plush chaise lounge for the evening, a warm cup of chamomile tea on a nearby table. She levitated over the first item of the evening, a request to establish a sub-comittee to review the possible need for a revision of the number of chairs in the tax office during the month of April. Why such a thing ever needed to exist was beyond her. Reading through the proposal inexplicably confused her more, with everything swaddled in layer upon layer of legal terms and bureaucracy. She sighed heavily; it was going to be a long night. A green flame from the fireplace caught her attention. A letter from Twilight was exactly the distraction she needed to brighten her spirits. With a motherly smile, she opened the letter to see what her student had been up to in the intervening time since they last spoke. As she read, her smile slowly spread. It would seem that Twilight had made a friend of sorts, as she seemed to gush about this “very interesting” stallion for the greater portion of the letter. She appeared very eager to “get to know him better”, which drew a smile and a motherly sigh from Celestia. Her latest protege was growing up… With a slight smirk, she set about penning a response.