Luna, Twilight and Reaper stood before the ancient, stone-rimmed mirror as Celestia stepped forward and peered intently at its cracked, dust-streaked surface.
“It certainly bears a strong resemblance to Starswirl’s creation, doesn’t it?” she said, walking slowly around it as Luna helped Reaper adjust his straps. Twilight lifted the vial of Reaper’s blood from his left saddlebag.
“Yes it does,” Twilight concurred as she lifted off the vial’s stopper and pulled out a large bead of glistening red liquid. “Though I’m pretty sure he never activated it like this.”
Celestia shook her head and wrinkled her nose: “Hardly! It was controlled through a complex series of incantations, though some of these glyphs do seem familiar…”
Twilight nodded: “We believe Grey Thorn and Starswirl were working together during the construction of both mirrors. We don’t really know the order, but they’re clearly intertwined.”
“And given Grey Thorn’s penchant for dark magic, the use of blood was an inevitable shortcut,” Reaper added as he pulled a small blob of blood away from the quivering globe hovering in front of Twilight.
“I wonder if Starswirl ever considered dabbling in blood magic?” Celestia pondered as she watched the other three ponies coat the tips of their horns with Reaper’s blood.
Luna shifted nervously as Twilight stepped up to the mirror and cleared her throat: “Um, actually I probably need to sit down with you later, Princess, and fill in some historical gaps related to that topic.”
She stained a series of glyphs, which began to glow a pale violet, then stepped back to allow Luna access to the mirror’s frame. The symbols she traced with her bloodied horn tip flashed a deep red, then dimmed beyond violet to black.
Luna stepped beside Twilight, and all three alicorns turned to look at Reaper, who was taking one last look through a small notebook.
“Your turn, Reaper,” Twilight prompted.
He closed the book, dropped it in the saddlebag and took a deep breath: “Here goes nothing!”
He knelt at the base of the mirror and pressed the drop of blood at the tip of his horn into the final glyph. A flash of brilliant blue light burst forth from the symbol, then all the other glyphs. Twilight and Luna wobbled slightly, and shook their heads to clear the vertigo. The mirror’s surface shimmered and cleared, showing the nexus beyond.
“That’s it,” Reaper said. “Looks good so far.”
Twilight nodded: “But is it really connected to the portal on Kur?”
Reaper shrugged: “Only one way to be sure, and that’s to step in. And if there’s an issue, I have your excellent notes to help me, Twilight!”
Twilight frowned: “I just wish we had more information! I really don’t feel good about sending you through with such spotty data!”
Reaper smiled, stepped up and kissed Twilight lightly on the forehead: “If there’s anypony who can make this work with scraps and theories, it’s you! I’ll be fine.”
He backed away and bowed before all three alicorns: “I take my leave of you now, Princesses. Thank you all for your help and advice. I’ll be back as fast as I can!”
Celestia tipped her head back as her horn began to glow a brilliant gold: “Go now with our blessings, Reaper--we’ve done all we can, now it’s up to you!”
Reaper nodded: “What was it you said once, Princess? 'Then let us do the hard things now!' I just hope it’s not harder than I can handle!”
He turned away and took a half step through the surface of the mirror. He paused to look over his shoulder at Twilight with a grin: “Keep up the good work, Harbinger, and keep that blade clean. I expect it to be perfect when I get back!” He stepped fully through the portal with a flash.
The nexus spread out before Reaper suddenly, and he closed his eyes for a moment to fight off a wave of vertigo: “This whole 'being alive' thing is a serious pain-in-the-flank!”
He braced himself and slowly opened his eyes, searching the endless off-white expanse that stretched above and beyond the plain on which he stood.
“Great--none of these seem to be showing any kind of effect. I really hope I don’t have to walk forever in order to locate the right portal.”
Reaper furrowed his brow and opened his left saddlebag. He lifted out the small notebook and vial of blood, then set them down beside his right front hoof. He squinted up at the countless iridescent orbs overhead.
“No, that wouldn’t make any sense. Grey Thorn clearly had a good feel for where he was, so there must be a predictable pattern of some kind. OK, lets see if the kid was right.”
He unstopped the vial and pulled out a small bead of blood. He opened the notebook, and began tracing a series of glyphs and symbols in a circle on the ground. He finished by inscribing a boundary around the glyphs, then stepped into the center of the pattern.
He was overcome by a sudden rush of cold energy that took his breath away, and he became aware that the orbs appeared to be rapidly moving--dancing and weaving as though they were frenzied insects, or a shoal of fish.
After a few moments the orbs stopped moving, and realigned themselves in roughly the same pattern they had held before--with one marked exception.
“That’s the one!” Reaper exclaimed as he looked directly overhead at a now faintly-pulsing orb that looked more like a distorted window than a shining globe. He hurriedly dropped the vial and notebook back in his saddlebag, took a deep breath and readied himself for the jump he had seen Grey Thorn make.
“This better work!”
Reaper leapt from the nexus’ surface and reached out with his magic in an effort to steer himself closer to the portal. He rushed forward silently and effortlessly, as the distorted sphere above him began to shimmer and brighten. He squeezed his eyes shut and plunged headfirst into its rippling surface.
The universe twisted around him in a burst of streaking colors, like a liquid kaleidoscope. He hardly had a moment to focus on the onrushing flood of lights before he stumbled through another portal, and fell to his knees on an uneven surface of worn, frost-covered paving stones. He sprawled forward onto the cold, dusty floor and lay motionless for nearly a minute.
Reaper stood unsteadily on two legs, and brushed the dirt from his naked skin: “I forgot how fucking cold it gets without a thick hide!”
He opened his second saddlebag and pulled out a set of breeches, a shirt, a hooded cloak and a pair of boots, and dressed as quickly as he could, given his trembling fingers.
“Shit! How in Tartarus do these things work?” he cursed, fumbling with laces and buckles, finally sitting down on a nearby piece of fallen masonry in order to pull on his boots. He finished lacing and tying them, then reached into a saddlebag for a scone and a flask of cider.
“One quick hit for the road, then I’d better get moving.”
He stood up and chewed while wandering around, inspecting his dimly-lit surroundings. He was in a small, ruined shrine, overgrown with vines, its roof half-gone. The portal, now faded to near-invisibility, was centered in the shrine’s back wall, embedded in a crumbling frieze of astrological symbols and fantastic beasts.
Reaper squinted at the carvings and chuckled: “That’s fitting--this must be an old shrine to...hmm. What was the name? ‘Larg’--that’s it. I must say, ‘Luna’ has a much nicer ring to it than ‘Larg!’”
He turned away as the portal’s last shimmer winked out, and hoisted the saddlebags over his shoulders, re-positioning the straps so the bags hung across his back.
He dropped the cider flask in a cloak pocket and picked his way unsteadily through the fallen branches and stones obstructing the shrine’s entrance.
“Let’s get this over with…”
The three alicorns looked at the mirror as the ripples on its surface died away, and the light began to fade from its glyphs. Celestia and Twilight exchanged glances, and Twilight tipped her head down and sent forth a blinding-white beam of magic, wrapping the mirror in a brilliant, gossamer cocoon.
Luna reared back in surprise and turned to Celestia: “What is going on?”
Celestia sighed: “Twilight has cast a time suspense spell. It will only last a minute or two at most, so I will explain quickly.”
She stepped toward the magic-shrouded mirror and beckoned her sister to join her: “I assumed that you might try something once Reaper had left, some scheme or plot to join him.”
Luna blushed and opened her mouth to protest but Celestia cut her off: “So I spoke with Twilight, who assumed the same thing, and we decided that not only could we probably not stop you, you might be right to do so.”
Twilight nodded: “You’ve played a key part in several of his visions--not just as an observer, but as a participant. I think you have a role to play beyond this world.”
Celestia stepped in front of Luna and began removing her sister’s gorget, tiara and greaves: “I doubt you’ll need these where you’re going!”
Luna lifted her hooves as Celestia slipped off their burnished silver coverings: “Thank you both! It would have driven me mad to wait here, not knowing our collective fates! I will do all I can to help Reaper complete his mission and return our world to its rightful condition!”
Celestia leaned forward and kissed Luna’s cheek: “We know you will! Please come back safe and sound, dear sister--I couldn’t bear to lose you again!”
Luna wiped away a tear, and hugged Celestia: “I know time may pass differently beyond the bounds of this world, but I promise you I shall not be gone a thousand years, this time!”
She stepped to the portal as Twilight dropped the field, looked over her shoulder and said: “Courage, Twilight! Seek help from all corners of Equestria and beyond when you have need of council. There are many ponies of goodwill who will help you to their utmost!”
“Good luck, Luna!” Twilight and Celestia shouted in unison as Luna’s indigo form passed effortlessly through the mirror. Her cutie mark gave of a faint gleam as it broke the surface and disappeared. The two alicorns, mentor and pupil, stood in silence for a moment as the mirror’s glyphs finally faded.
“Now it’s up to them…”
Reaper stepped through the shrine’s sagging entry archway, and stopped to get his bearings, looking at last to the horizon, where the setting sun was casting long shadows through the surrounding forest. He looked back over his shoulder in time to see a dying shaft of dappled sunlight illuminate the shrine’s back wall.
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply: “I hope a little of that magic of yours did stick to me, Celestia--I’m going to need it!”
He opened his eyes just in time to catch a bright white flash emanating from the rear of the shrine. He rubbed his eyes and ducked his head as he stepped back through the crumbling archway.
“What in Tartarus was that? Oh, no…”
He froze in his tracks and held his breath as a tall, mocha-skinned figure stepped forward from the glowing portal, shaking its long, black hair, and blinking uncertainly in the mingled, multi-hued glare of magical flash and sunlight.
Reaper slumped against a broken statue: “Luna.”