• Published 14th Sep 2012
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Tartarus Infernum - Sunderbraze



When the Gates of Tartarus are destroyed, Celestia must assemble an elite team to protect Equestria.

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Chapter 13 - Foreboding Night

**********

Having nearly passed out from producing a second harmonic wave so soon, Twilight rubbed her eyes and rolled onto her side, sitting up.

The landscape around her was torn up—craters dotted the grass for many in every direction, and cracks and fissures from Terra's attacks littered the spots in between. Rays of sunlight were poking through the weakening storm clouds in the sky, leaving sun shafts all across the Dream Valley.

“Is everypony all right…?” Rainbow Dash asked weakly, sitting up next to Twilight.

“I haven’t partied that hard since the wedding,” Pinkie giggled tiredly, rubbing the back of her head as she sat up as well. Fluttershy sat up quietly, worriedly looking to the south as Dusky landed next to her.

“Sometimes I worry about you, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity commented, leaning back-to-back against Twilight and taking a deep breath. She suddenly fell backwards as Twilight yelped and scrambled to her hooves.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed, cantering towards her brother. He lay on his side breathing heavily; Cadance was pouring a steady stream of cyan energy into him.

“He should be okay soon,” Cadance sighed in relief, completing her diagnostic spell. “He’s just drained, like the rest of us…”

“That’s good, at least he wasn’t… Oh no! The poison!” Twilight left Armor’s side and worriedly checked Applejack’s pulse. She was still alive, but her breathing was shallow, and she had fallen unconscious after.

“Already…” Starswirl replied weakly, attempting to float past the group. “…Already on it… Nothing to worry about…” He fell to the ground a few meters away, muttering a strange word under his breath.

“Um…” Fluttershy said quietly, pointing in the direction she was looking. “…G-guys?”

“Yeah, what’s up Flutters?” Dash asked, rotating her head towards the south—she yelped.

Lagos laid there, unconscious, only a dozen yards away. His size had decreased dramatically; he was now only slightly larger than a normal pony. Though his body shape remained the same, his massive armor had not scaled down with him—it lay strewn across the battlefield.

His shoulder guards and artificial arm sockets lay to his left and right. The serrated blade, along with its entire metal socket, had stabbed into the ground and was now pointing up into the sky. The straight blade had been abandoned far behind him, and its empty socket now lay by his side.

Celestia took flight and landed in front of Lagos, approaching him cautiously. From behind the others, Aeon flew over and joined her. Soarin’ took off, looking as though he were about to follow the professor, but he paused in midair and turned around, returning to the unconscious Spitfire’s side.

“I’ve never seen anything like him before,” Aeon said curiously to Celestia. They looked down at the unconscious Lagos; his arms had grown back, and they ended with clawed hands. Though he still looked dangerous and intimidating, he no longer looked as though he could crush them with a single step.

“…A magnataur,” Starswirl muttered from behind, trying to float past them and stumbling again. “…Native to the Scorched Lands, east of Boardor… Very far south from here… South Equador, to be precise...”

“Wait, you knew all along?” Celestia asked curiously, turning to face him. Aeon flew over to help the struggling wizard.

“…Told you he looked like an oversized magnataur when we saw him from orbit,” Starswirl chuckled weakly. Aeon helped him stay afloat by coiling a hoof around his chest and lifting him up. “Thanks, friend… Get us to the blade there, would ya?”

“The poison,” Celestia realized, walking alongside them. “You can sample it from his blade?”

“Sure can,” Starswirl replied. "Gotta snag some before it dries up."

The trio reached Lagos’s abandoned projectile blade, and Starswirl used his magic to scrape a small bit of mossy green material from its tip. “This’ll do… two whole grams!” he exclaimed. “Enough to kill a grown alicorn in a matter of hours, I imagine...”

“S-say what?!” Aeon shuddered, craning his head away from the floating substance.

“Oh, it’s only dangerous if it gets in your bloodstream,” Starswirl chuckled, moving the poison away from them so Aeon would feel safer. “I can say one thing for sure—Lagos didn’t brew any of this stuff. Magnataurs have always been a primal lot... There’s no way they know this kind of alchemy.”

“…Who, then?” Celestia asked; she followed along as Starswirl led Aeon back to the others.

“First things first, let me get it out of them before it kills them,” Starswirl said weakly. “It seems to attack the mind, disrupting homeostasis at a rate slow enough to prevent the body from realizing what is happening..."

Aeon gently released him next to Luna, whose breathing was very slow and shallow. She lay next to the other unconscious poison victims; Spitfire, Terra, and Applejack.

“Attacks the mind?” Twilight asked, catching the tail end of Starswirl’s statement. She cantered over to him as he manipulated the green glob of poison in front of his face, analyzing it curiously.

“One moment, Twilight dear,” Starswirl replied, trying to concentrate. Twilight scrunched her mouth shut and watched carefully whilehis hat started to glow bright blue.

“Oh my gosh, that reminds me!” Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, bouncing to a standing position. “I totally forgot something! Be right back, you guys!”

“What’s she on about?” Dash asked, watching Pinkie bounce away—he disappeared behind one of Lagos’s massive shoulder guards. “Is everypony going nuts, or is it just me?”

“I’m well on my way, that’s for sure!” Rarity commented in exasperation, running a hoof through her mane to check for any remaining dirt. Perched in the grass between Fluttershy and Dash, Dusky cawed lowly.

“What’s that?” Dash asked, looking over at Fluttershy.

“She said she doesn’t like fighting,” Fluttershy translated quietly.

Dash raised a questioning eyebrow at Dusky, but before she could reply, Rarity spoke up and interjected. “I don’t like fighting either,” she moaned, giving up on her mane and lying flat on her back. “When will this day end?!”

Rarity wasn’t expecting anyone to respond, but a voice called out from behind her.

“It will end now,” Celestia answered, smiling at her and addressing the rest of the team. “Our next foe is twelve hours away from us, so we will use that time to rest and recuperate.”

“Could you kindly conduct your speeches a little farther from my ears?” Starswirl complained, losing his concentration yet again. Celestia rolled her eyes at him and walked towards Ironmane and Ashton, who had just joined the rest of the group.

“Your highness,” said Ironmane, standing at attention and saluting her. Ashton bowed his head as well.

“At ease, friends,” Celestia replied warmly. "We have time to rest, finally."

“Is everypony alright, princess?” Ashton asked worriedly, looking over towards Starswirl, Aeon, Twilight and Soarin’. He noticed the group of unconscious victims below them. “…Oh no!”

Celestia started to say something to Ashton, but he had already galloped past her and over towards his four motionless teammates.

“Ma’am, you were injured,” said Ironmane. “Are you well now?”

Celestia turned and smiled at him. “I am, thank you,” she replied courteously. “I noticed it was your special-issue explosive compound that revealed Lagos’s vulnerability. It should be me saluting you, sergeant.”

“With all due respect, your highness, I only provided it,” Ironmane explained. “Ragehoof stayed behind to ignite it.”

“He was there when the compound detonated?” Celestia asked, her eyes widening. She turned around and scanned the battlefield concernedly. “...What happened to him?”

Ironmane sighed heavily. “…I didn’t see him escape, your highness.”


**********

“Hah…” Ragehoof coughed. From the wet grass he lay in, he laughed weakly, looking into the partly clouded sky. “…Guess she needed me after all…”

He coughed again, leaving his mouth open as blood welled up from his throat. The battered pony tried to move his legs, but they wouldn’t budge. Not even his neck would move, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to mumble with triumphant laughter.

“How did I know this’d happen?” he thought, watching the sun shafts in the sky continue to widen as the clouds slowly dispersed. “She probably just wanted me as a meat shield… A pawn for her little chess game…”

Though Ragehoof had thrown himself out of the way after igniting the explosives, his body had been riddled with shredded metal from the chain reel, and he had landed on his back after falling from Lagos's shoulders.

He coughed up yet another mouthful of blood, and images started flashing before his darkening eyes. A young foal was running across a grassy field, similar to the Dream Valley, jumping high into the air to catch a red Frisbee that had been thrown at him.

“Nice jump, kiddo!” a voice called out. “Let’s see if you can throw it back!”

The little red foal giggled with the Frisbee in his mouth, jerking his neck backwards and tossing it high into the air. It missed its target by a mile, clanking into a small metal pole.

“Throw it to me, silly! Not the flag!”

Realizing that he was losing consciousness, Ragehoof inhaled sharply and tried to stay awake, but the harder he fought, the faster his energy seemed to run out.

"...I learned how to aim, dad," Ragehoof said aloud, feeling something warm running down his cheek. "...I learned how to aim..."

The clouds moving across the sky started to move faster, turning into a blur of gold and grey. He started to lose all perception of time, and multicolored stars started to overtake his darkening eyesight.

Ragehoof coughed one last time, and was unable to draw breath any longer. He exhaled what little he had left, and started hearing voices again.

“Don’t wait for me! GO!” It was the same voice, but in a desperate tone. The stars overtaking his vision slowly turned into a dark haze, and the dark haze turned into billowing smoke.

All Ragehoof could see around him was blurry fire. He couldn’t see what was burning, but deep down, he knew. The fields had been torched, the house had been set ablaze, and the only thing he could see clearly—the flagpole—had been bent. Though the wind had extinguished the fire from the flag, it had been charred black, and was unrecognizable.

Suddenly, a tall silhouette pushed Ragehoof away from the burning fields.

“RUN!”

The silhouette started growing smaller and smaller, fading into the black smoke. He galloped as fast as he could.

“Hey, silly! There you are!”

The smoke suddenly started fading, and the fire behind it brightened into a white blur. Another silhouette emerged from the whiteness—it had a wide, poufy mane.

“Wow! You’ve sprung quite the leak, mister! Good thing I’m Ponyville’s premiere pony-plumber!”

Ragehoof suddenly felt his heart burst back into rhythm—adrenaline vigorously pumped through his system—he took a yelping breath, and his darkening eyes regained their green color.

“Speaking of plumbing," Pinkie giggled. "This totally reminds me of the time me and Berry Punch had a cider drinking contest!”

Pinkie's eyes were glowing white, and azure magic was pouring from her necklace into Ragehoof’s body. The battered stallion began to see her more clearly, confused of what was happening.

“C… cider…?” Ragehoof mumbled weakly. He suppressed the urge to scream out in pain as several of his fractured bones snapped back into place.

“Yep-a-yep!” laughed Pinkie, her widely-grinning face slowly coming into focus. She paused, pensively placing a hoof to her chin. “Well, she was covered in cider, not ketchup... and she didn’t have so many holes in her!”

Ragehoof suddenly screamed in agony—he was being levitated off of the ground, and his spine was starting to crack back into place. It was more painful than anything he had ever felt. It came in little bursts, like someone was hitting each bump on his spine with a hammer.

Once the pain subsided, Ragehoof breathed heavily for a few minutes, remaining suspended in midair while Pinkie started healing some of his smaller injuries. He rotated his neck, cricking it lightly and testing each of his extremities.

“You don’t look like Berry, though,” Pinkie said, looking at him sideways. “You look more like Applejack’s brother… Except you’re a little skinnier, and you’re probably lighter too…” She trailed off for a moment, and her face suddenly exploded into an excited expression. “OOHHH! I should challenge Big Macintosh to a cider drinking contest! Whaddya think? Think I can beat him?! I bet he’s like, the world champ!”

“I… don’t…” Ragehoof breathed confusedly. “…What?” Pinkie giggled at his confusion—she completed healing him and slowly lowered him to the ground.

Ragehoof landed dizzily and spread his legs wide to keep his balance. Breathing heavily and staring at the ground, he tested each of his joints—they felt stiff, like he hadn’t used them for a while, but the stiffness was fading rapidly.

Pinkie’s wide eyes suddenly appeared in his field of view, and she grinned at him.

“…Thank you,” Ragehoof said quietly, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “You saved my life.”

“Mmhmm!” Pinkie grinned, still looking at him expectantly. “Annnd…?”

“And uh, thanks,” Ragehoof replied, blinking at her. “…What?”

“That makes you happy, riiiight?” Pinkie asked in a singsong voice, following his head with hers as he lifted it and looked around.

“Something like that,” Ragehoof said calmly, patting her on the shoulder and walking towards Lagos’s fallen armor to the north. “Thanks again.”

“Aww…” Pinkie thought, watching disappointedly. “I WILL get him to smile! Just you wait!” Grinning determinedly, she bounced along behind him as he rejoined the group.

**********

“...Aha!” Starswirl exclaimed, tossing the glob of green poison aside. It splattered into the grass next to Ironmane, who nervously backed away from it. “There we are!”

“You’ve done it?!” Dash asked, looking hopefully at the unconscious ponies before her.

“Is she gonna live?!” Soarin’ added. He had been sitting silently by Spitfire’s side since the battle had concluded, waiting nervously for Starswirl to be ready.

“I’ve mapped out its particle makeup and most of its variants,” Starswirl triumphantly replied. Dash looked over at Soarin’, who was staring blankly at the wizard. The explanation had flown over their heads.

“Now,” Starswirl continued, “you may want to stand back. This can be a little… Unstable.”

The concerned Elite surrounding Luna, Spitfire, Applejack, and Terra each stepped back several feet, and Starswirl started concentrating. His yellow eyes darkened, he lowered his head, and his hat started to glow bright blue. Everyone started feeling a tingling sensation in their hooves and their horns.

“The magical energies are moving so fast!” Twilight gushed. “So much flux over one spell!”

“Quite overwhelming,” Rarity sighed in agreement, feeling her horn pulse.

Forks of purple lightning started jumping from Starswirl to the unconscious ponies in front of him. One of the bolts struck the grass, instantly incinerating it and leaving a hunk of glass where it hit. The area around the wizard seemed to darken, yet there were no shadows.

With an extremely loud series of CRACKS, dozens of violet bolts streaked from his hat in every direction, causing the Elite to dive for cover. Moments later, a thin haze of dark green material appeared above the unconscious ponies.

“There it is,” Starswirl said triumphantly, opening his eyes and staring at the thin green material, which was now being suspended by a thin haze of blue magic.

“He just teleported every single particle of the poison out of their bloodstreams!” an awe-stricken Twilight explained to the confused team.

Starswirl chuckled, condensing the poison into a little glob. “Every single particle may be an overstatement,” he told Twilight, turning to the rest of the team. “I can say with relative certainty that I’ve removed enough to make it non-lethal.”

“So… They’ll be okay, right?” Dash asked uncertainly, nudging Spitfire—she didn’t move. “…Right?”

“Give them a few hours to recover, for pony's sake,” Starswirl chuckled. “Their brains were just flooded with a foreign neuro-paralytic, and it’s been removed at the speed of light. It’ll take some time for them to readjust!”

“Right, readjust,” Dash laughed awkwardly. “…I wasn’t worried, I knew you had it under control!”

Starswirl and Twilight laughed along with her, until they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something slamming into the ground nearby.

**********

“I think it’s time you TALKED,” Ragehoof spat, kicking Lagos in the chest. The magnataur had stood up momentarily, only to be tackled to the ground by the vengeful earth pony.

“Go on,” Ragehoof muttered, looking into Lagos’s barely conscious face. “Talk... SQUEAL!”

“Ragehoof, stand down at once!” Celestia ordered, taking flight and swooping towards him—he was pushing Lagos’s face into the grass.

“He almost killed me,” Ragehoof reminded the princess furiously. “He almost killed all of us!”

“But he didn’t,” Celestia replied firmly. “Stand. Down.”

Ragehoof kicked the magnataur’s chest once more before stomping away.

Celestia walked up to Lagos and used an aura of golden magic to lift him and hold him in midair, restraining him from any sort of movement. “Lagos, you are charged with attempted murder,” she said coolly. “How do you plea?”

The bruised magnataur bared his teeth and roared something unintelligible at the princess.

“Katra zil shukil… Sheet-sah!”

“Magnataurs don’t speak Equish,” Starswirl told her, floating past the group and hovering next to Lagos. “Most of them have probably never even seen an equine... We may not be able to commune, unfortunately...”

“...Starswirl, what of the communication method you use with Trajectorus?” Celestia asked him, as the rest of the team looked questioningly at her. “Can you use that on him?”

“That’s…” Starswirl started quietly, shaking his head. “…No. I don’t feel comfortable doing so.”

“Why not?” Celestia asked; the confused stares shifted from her to Starswirl.

“Directly interfacing with a weakened sentient grants me unrestricted access to their consciousness,” Starswirl said flatly. “I refuse to do it with one who does not consent. It is unethical on every level.”

“So you can read his mind…?” Ragehoof cut in, almost scoffing. “But you’re not going to, because it’s unethical? Mind if I ask why?!”

“Yes, you may,” Starswirl replied bluntly. “And that’s exactly why it’s so wrong. When he’s weak like this, I can not only read, I can also write... It’s a direct abrasion to free will...”

“So you’re just not gonna do it?”

“I would sooner die than violate the sanctity of free will. It’d make a mockery of all that we stand for.”

“We won’t be able to stand for much when Equestria is burning to the ground,” Ragehoof seethed, walking away. “Your ethics could let somepony that isn’t so ready to die get killed.”

Starswirl’s yellow eyes followed Ragehoof in contempt as he walked away.

**********

“…Do you not have some semblance of control over this… Ability?” Aeon pondered after several seconds of awkward silence.

“Certainly,” replied Starswirl, turning to the professor. “I have much control over it. That’s part of the problem, don’t you see?”

“I do, but you mentioned consent earlier... What if he were to consent?” Aeon asked, looking at Lagos—the magnataur bared his teeth angrily.

“Well, that’d be different, yes, but how can he consent if he cannot understand us?”

“How do we know he cannot understand us?” Celestia asked, having remained silent for a while. Aeon and Starswirl looked at her curiously.

“Well, I had assumed, I suppose,” the wizard admitted, scratching the back of his head. “…It’s obvious he can’t speak Equish, else he would likely be hurling insults at us, judging from his demeanor…”

“There’s an easy way to find out,” Aeon told them, flying over to where Lagos was suspended in a haze of golden magic. The professor’s purple eyes intensely gazed into the magnataur’s sunken green eyes for a moment.

“Lagos,” Aeon said clearly, pointing over his shoulder. “That gentlecolt over there can translate your insults into our language. Would you like him to do so?”

Lagos bared his teen furiously, and resumed roaring incomprehensible syllables.

“Manach sheek-thrish! Reesh, hokta!”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Aeon asked, placing a hoof against his ear. “Didn’t catch that. Mind if Starswirl translates? You can just nod your head if you want him to.” The professor demonstrated nodding his head.

The raging magnataur paused for a moment, glaring angrily at Starswirl. Slowly, he lifted his head upwards, dropping it down seconds later.

“Consent,” Aeon said, hovering away from Lagos and looking over at Starswirl—his eyes were mildly wide with surprise.

“Well then,” Starswirl chuckled, clearing his throat and floating over to Lagos. “What do we have to say? Something other than insults, I hope?”

Lagos glared angrily at Starswirl as his hat began to light up. A light blue aura started to surround the magnataur’s head as he stared into Starswirl’s yellow eyes.

“Interesting,” the wizard piped up, after a few moments of silence. “...Whoever made him like this sent him to Equestria to slay Discord…”

“He’s an assassin?” Celestia asked in shock—many of the team gasped in surprise as well.

“Sent to slay Discord,” Starswirl repeated, as though he barely believed his own words. “Remember Discord told us he led this poor fool to Tartarus, and trapped him there? He didn’t even know he’d been trapped! Forty six hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and he has no idea... He thinks we’re guardians of Discord!”

“Tell ‘em he’s wrong!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “We don’t like Discord at all!”

“Aw, Dashie!” said Discord. “That hurts!”

**********

The team immediately whirled around to face the translucent draconequus, who had just silently materialized next to Dash. She swung at him, hitting nothing but air as her hoof passed through his face.

“Chaos hurts too,” Starswirl replied before anyone else could say anything. “It drives ponies to do crazy things, Discord. Crazy things, like sending hexed magnataurs to assassinate somepony, and anything that gets in the way…”

“Chaos is an unappreciated art, Swirly,” Discord laughed, twirling in place. “But can your scientific mind truly appreciate art?”

“There’s only so much artistic value in soap roads and chocolate rain,” Twilight replied in annoyance, walking up to Discord’s projection. “It gets old after a few minutes...”

“Ah, but I was just getting started!” Discord cheered. Lagos turned his head and saw the projection, starting to wildly flail his arms and legs. Discord grinned at the magically restrained magnataur. “Aw, look! He’s missed me!”

“Nopony misses you, Discord,” Celestia told him coldly. “Be gone. Lagos is our problem now.”

“One of these days, you’re going to realize how ironic this is,” Discord told her dully. He produced a nail file, and started using it on his clawed eagle’s hand.

“How ironic what is?” Twilight asked, looking up at him angrily.

“You’re a smart girl, Twilie, you’ll figure it out,” Discord grinned at her. He tossed his nail file aside and teleported over to Lagos. “I wonder what you’d do to me if you could catch me,” he laughed; the raging creature bellowed more incoherent syllables at him.

“A-RUL SHACH KIGON! KATRA ZIL SHACH T’ATUN!” Lagos roared. “GOR’OM KYREE!”

“He’d feed you your appendages,” Starswirl pleasantly told Discord. “Or at least I hope he meant appendagesEugh. Brainwaves got a little fuzzy there. Not sure I want to know what he meant...”

“This is what makes me gag about all of you,” Discord said, sticking his tongue out. “Nothing but good over here,” he indicated the Elite, “nothing but evil over here,” he indicated Lagos, “and neither of you are any fun! Such drudgery!”

“Nuh-uh!” Pinkie suddenly argued, hopping over to Discord. “We’re more fun than you! I can prove it!”

“Oho, a challenge!” Discord replied excitedly. “Such a shame I can’t take you up on that! If I do, I’ll be taking Rainbow Road straight to Bedrock! Good try, though. Gold sticker, dear friend.”

“Well, I almost got ‘em!” Pinkie shrugged, grinning and hopping away.

“Perhaps there’s hope for you yet,” the draconequus laughed, placing his ear next to his wristwatch. “Time shall tell! Until then, a visit with an old friend is quite overdue!”

“Goodbye, Discord,” Starswirl told him, waving a hoof dismissively at the projection.

“Toodle-oo,” Discord replied cheerfully. He turned into a haze of smoke, and evaporated into thin air.

**********

“Well that was random,” said Twilight, turning back to Celestia. “What should we do with Lagos, princess?”

“Where did you say magnataurs are from, Starswirl?” Celestia asked the wizard.

“The Scorched Lands, east of Boardor,” he explained, looking at the furious creature. “Should be a few hours’ blink-port from here. Think he needs a trip home?”

“He does,” the princess replied, walking over to Lagos and facing the group. “Everypony, listen up! I am going to take Lagos far from here, and he shall not return to Equestria. Darkstar the Crazed will arrive in eleven hours… Make camp nearby and rest—we are all going to need it.”

Celestia nodded at the group once more before dematerializing herself and Lagos in a CRACK of golden energy.

The Elite began to disperse, with the exception of Twilight. “Where are the Scorched Lands?” she asked Starswirl. “I’ve never heard of it, or Boardor…”

Starswirl floated in her direction. “Equestrian literature never says much about the lands beyond the Eastern Kingdoms,” he laughed, hovering across from her. "It's a big world out there."

Aeon hovered over to join them, his curiosity having been peaked as well. “I know of Prance and Germaneigh; they border us to the north,” he added. “The Griffon Kingdoms to the east, the Badlands and Mulecico to the south… But other than that, little tells of the rest of the world...”

“And that’s all just a portion of the North Equador continent,” Starswirl chuckled, stroking his beard. “You’d be surprised just how small Equestria is from space!”

“…You’ve been to space?” Twilight asked, her jaw dropping open.

“…Bah, utterly tactless!” Starswirl told Aeon; he grinned knowingly. “I never imagined Celestia’d be so right about me. Come, Twilight, let’s set up camp—I promise you a fair amount of story time once everypony’s settled in!”

Twilight nodded excitedly and galloped away from them, using her magic to hurriedly conjure a super-sized purple canvas tent over the team. Moments later, she started conjuring pillows to place beneath the heads of the recovering poison patients.

“I shall look forward to it myself,” Aeon said curiously, parting ways with Starswirl to adjust the center pole of the unstable tent Twilight had hurriedly conjured. The wizard chuckled and floated towards the recovering poison victims.

Cadance lay next to them, and a pillow with Shining Armor’s head on it rested upon her forearms. She was channeling a steady stream of pain-suppressing cyan magic onto Armor while he recovered.

“Will it heal all the way?” Cadance asked Starswirl nervously. She indicated Luna’s scar, which was now a large blot of lighter-colored blue skin.

“In time, it will,” he replied somberly. “Her traditional black necklace will hide it nicely. I doubt you’ll even see it once she conjures herself another one.”

“Mmm,” Cadance nodded, looking over at her unconscious mother for a few moments. She paused for a moment, lost in thought. “My mother… There’s still so much about her I don’t know.”

“She’s not good at telling stories,” Starswirl laughed, his voice becoming more upbeat. “Get her started and she’ll wander down memory lane for hours before she even speaks the second word.”

“I can’t help but think… Something horrible must’ve happened…” Cadance sighed quietly.

“Your insight serves you well,” replied the wizard, floating to the opposite side of Terra and looking directly at Cadance. “Your mother made Celestia promise that she’d never speak of your origin.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Cadance replied. Sensing that Armor was no longer in pain, she stopped casting her spell and paused for a moment, realizing what Starswirl was hinting at. “…Wait, do you know what happened?”

“I do.”

“Can you…?”

“Are you sure you wish to hear it?” Starswirl interrupted. “I’m all in favor of knowing the truth, but she chooses not to speak of it for good reason...”

“Whatever it is, I really do want to know,” Cadance replied in earnest. “I can handle it, I just… I can’t bear pushing her to talk about it. I can tell it’d break her heart… She couldn’t even begin to tell me why she left when we were reunited in Canterlot.”

“Very well, come with me, dear,” Starswirl sighed, floating out of the tent. Cadance carefully removed her forearms from beneath Armor’s resting head and stood up, following the wizard away from the ears of the others.


**********

Thousands of miles to the southwest, with a powerful CRACK of golden light, Celestia and Lagos materialized in a strange foreign land. The terrain was flat and barren, dotted by several dead trees reaching into the dark, smoky sky above them.

Three volcanoes towered in three different directions. To the north, there stood one that was large and very far away. To the east stood a wide-topped volcano with a ring of black smoke around its top, and to the south was a smaller one that had visible streams of molten rock running down its side.

The Scorched Lands were on a completely separate continent from Equestria.

“This is where you come from, is it not?” Celestia asked Lagos, as he angrily recovered from the teleport. He did not reply—he only glared at her.

Celestia took a deep breath. The air was acrid and thick, and it made her nauseous just breathing it. “Your mission to assassinate Discord is over,” she told him, looking away from his green eyes and towards the glowing volcano to the south. “He is no longer a threat to you, or anything of this world.”

Lagos narrowed his sunken eyes at the princess, saying nothing. It was clear that he didn’t believe her.

“Whoever or whatever sent you on your mission has probably been dead for thousands of years now,” Celestia continued, looking at him from the corner of her eye. “When Discord trapped you, you were sealed away for longer than I have even been in Equestria. It has been over forty-four hundred years…”

The magnataur sighed heavily, turning his head to look towards the same volcano as Celestia. For the first time, his expression did not show rage; it showed a distant disconnection.

“We have punished Discord for his crimes, and he continues to exist as but a prisoner to us,” said Celestia, turning around to face him.

Lagos narrowed his eyes and muttered, “Shukil.”

Though Celestia didn’t understand the word, his expression translated it for her.

“In Equestria, death is never used as punishment,” the princess explained firmly. “Never. We are above such actions. Criminals are imprisoned; murderers are banished. Those who are too dangerous to banish from the kingdom are banished to the moon. Tartarus used to be a last resort, but it is no longer.”

Lagos winced at the name, but blinked slowly and looked away from the princess.

“Discord was many things, but never a murderer. He is a criminal—he was imprisoned as such, and he shall be again,” Celestia told him. “Your mission to end him is no longer required. You are free.”

He looked from the volcano to Celestia for a few moments, and then back to the volcano. His expression had changed to something that seemed almost neutral. He spoke two words.

“Thal’kituun… Inicros…”

Slowly at first, but building in speed, he started to walk south towards the volcano.

“Farewell, Lagos,” said the princess, bowing her head at him as she started to glow with a golden aura of magic. “Go in peace.”

Lagos did not look back as she dematerialized in a crackling burst.


**********

The sun had just begun to set. Its fiery orange light was reflecting on a lone teardrop, which slowly traveled down Princess Cadance’s trembling cheek.

“Starswirl?” Twilight called out, poking her head out of the large purple tent. “Hey guys!” She ambled over towards the pair, gasping when she realized that her sister-in-law was in tears. “…Cadance? Are you okay?!”

“Y-yes… I’m just…” she exhaled heavily, wiping her eyes with her forearm.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, approaching the tearful Cadance and hugging her.

“My father…” she said quietly, sniffling and returning the embrace. “…He was the… the mayor of Bridlemore, Sir Dartmoor Hoofington…”

“Oh my gosh…” Twilight sighed, her heart sinking—she held Cadance tighter. “I had no idea…”

“Quite the respectable stallion from what I’ve read,” Starswirl said quietly, materializing a white cloth and passing it to Twilight. “Never had the pleasure of meeting him, but it’s easy to tell he was well-loved in the community. Re-elected eight times in a row by overwhelming majority!”

“I’ve read about him too, Cadance,” Twilight added, dabbing the cloth against Cadance’s eyes. “But I don’t need a book to know he was a good guy. You’re his daughter, that says a lot more than a book ever could!”

“Twilight Sparkle just said she doesn’t need a book?” Cadance laughed weakly through her tears. “Who are you, and what’ve you done with my sister?”

“This is a special case,” Twilight laughed back, feeling a lump in her throat; tears were forming in her eyes as well.

“Do you feel better now that you know the truth?” Starswirl asked, after giving them a few moments of silence.

“I do,” Cadance replied, opening her glistening eyes and smiling at him. “…I understand why it’s so hard for mother to talk about it… I can’t imagine what she’s been through...”

“None of us can,” said Starswirl. “...Now that you know that, there’s something I must ask of you…”

“What’s that?” Cadance asked, letting go of Twilight and turning to face him.

“When Darkstar arrives tomorrow, stay by her side,” he said quietly. “I fear he will again try to break her spirit. It was you that kept her going before—even though you didn’t know it—and it must be you who keeps her going again.”

“I’ll stick to her like glue,” the young princess declared. “That menace won’t lay a hoof on her.”

“I admire your bravery, but there’s another thing you must know,” Starswirl said grimly. “I’m not sure what kind of effect necromancy will have on you…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, remember, when Terra fought Darkstar, she was carrying you the whole time… You were exposed to a highly concentrated form of death magic before you were even born. It should have killed you…”

“Death magic?” Twilight shuddered.

“It’s a simplified term for using necromantic energy to kill somepony,” Starswirl sighed. “It attacks the metaphysical link between your body and soul, and disconnects them…”

“It didn’t kill me,” Cadance gulped. “...But you think it did do something to me?”

“Precisely,” Starswirl confirmed. “And I have no idea what, but it cannot possibly be good... Death magic can kill non-immortals instantaneously…”

“That’s all of us except for you and the alicorns,” Twilight nervously added. “How can we fight him if he can beat the rest of us so easily?”

“Preparation,” the wizard replied, regaining his cheerfulness. With a flash of blue magic, he materialized two pieces of golden jewelry; a golden ring with several green gems embedded in it, and a golden necklace with similar adornments.

“What do these do?” Cadance asked, looking at the floating accessories—she felt a faint tingling sensation in her horn. “They’re giving off an odd magical presence…”

“They’re anti-necrotic focusing lenses,” Starswirl explained enthusiastically. “The ring is for Armor’s horn—his barrier spell will be specially powered to keep Darkstar and his necromantic energy out.”

“That’s amazing,” Twilight said, stepping forward to get a closer look at the ring. She turned to look at the other piece of floating jewelry. “What’s the necklace do?”

“That’s for Miss Rarity,” he continued. “I do hope she enjoys the look. I’ll have to run a few tests, but if it works properly, it’ll allow the Element of Generosity to nullify death magic on anyone it shields.”

“Can’t Rarity just shield all of us with it?” Twilight asked, looking at her reflection in the green gem. "I thought her power could encompass all of us at once?"

“Hypothetically, yes, but I’d rather not risk testing it with the entire team,” Starswirl replied cautiously. “Besides, eighteen ponies attacking Darkstar could get a little messy. I’d say a quick blast from the Elements ought to take him down! If not, Celestia, Luna, and I can safely assist you.”

“You’d have my mother and I stay back with the others?” Cadance asked, though she phrased it more like a statement. “…I guess that’s for the best…”

“Terra has so much raw power,” Starswirl musingly replied. “But she’s vulnerable, and I fear you may be as well. It’ll probably be best if you did. That’s what Shining Armor’s new bling is for, after all—you and the others can safely remain inside during the battle.”

“Don’t worry, Cadance,” Twilight told her, smiling. “My friends and I will stop him.”

“I definitely believe that,” replied the young princess, no longer showing signs of sadness. “I’ll explain things to my mother when she wakes up… when will that be, by the way? Do you know?”

“I’m guessing it’ll be another hour or so,” said Starswirl, beginning to float back towards the tent. “Come; let’s take a break from the seriousness! Did you forget my promise of story time?”

“Story…?” Twilight started to ask, remembering in mid-sentence what he meant. “Oh! Space!”

“That’s right,” Starswirl laughed, watching her excitedly break into a gallop. They entered the tent, and Starswirl floated to the center, his hat beginning to glow.

“Gather round, everypony!” he said cheerfully, creating a brilliant purple campfire in the middle of the tent. It illuminated everything with a very vivid purple, causing several of the team to sigh in awe. “Gather round! It’s story time!”

“Story time?” Fluttershy asked curiously—Dash pulled her to her side next to the campfire, across from Starswirl and Twilight. Dusky fluttered along with them.

Cadance entered the tent shortly afterwards, joining the growing audience as soon as she found Armor. Aeon sat to Starswirl’s left, and even Ironmane scooted over and sat on the outskirts of the circle.

“Oh! Are we gonna tell ghost stories?!” Pinkie asked excitedly, popping up next to Dash and Rarity. “I’ve got some good ones!”

“No, no!” Twilight hissed at her. “Starswirl’s gonna tell us about space!”

“Space? Space?!” Pinkie gushed, gasping excitedly. “Space is big! Space goes on for like, ever!”

Soarin’ and Ashton remained next to the recovering poison victims, but still perked their ears curiously when Starswirl began speaking.

“Perhaps we’ll talk about ghosts later,” the wizard laughed. “But first, I’m sure you’ve all been wondering just how Celestia and I always seem to know how far away our next foe is!”

The entire audience began nodding their heads eagerly, and Pinkie leaned so far forwards in anticipation that her mane almost caught fire.

**********

“You see, I normally live in a cozy little cottage in low orbit over Equestria,” Starswirl explained, hushing his voice dramatically. While Twilight and Aeon gasped in awe, the rest of the audience was scratching their heads.

“For those of us who aren’t scientists,” said Rarity, “what do you mean by low orbit?

“An excellent question!” replied the wizard. “Using a number of spells, my home remains stationary in the sky, twenty-two thousand miles over Canterlot!”

“How’d you get it up there?” Dash asked disbelievingly. “How d’you even breathe?! You’ll start to freeze up if you try to fly higher than thirty miles!”

“Teleporting,” Starswirl grinned. Dash rolled her eyes at the mention of it. “Blink-porting, to be precise. And a lot of it! I had to make nearly twenty trips back and forth to build it. It’s made of enchanted marble and ebony; it’s as a telescope for space and a lookout tower for Equestria, all in one!”

“What does Equestria look like from space?” Aeon breathed. “Can you see the entire country?”

“All of it and more,” replied the wizard, gazing upwards dreamily. “Two hundred years of living up there, and the view still takes one’s breath away. I can see the edges of the neighboring continent in the far south! That’s where Zebrica is, and the Cervidan Utopia!”

“Can you see the Scorched Lands?” another voice asked from the entrance of the tent.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cheered, as the group quickly looked over at her. “Is Lagos gone?”

“He’s been returned to his homeland,” the princess replied warmly, smiling at Twilight and sitting down at the edge of the group. “Sorry I’ve been so long, blink-porting can grow tiresome. Please continue, Starswirl, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Not at all, I’m sure,” Starswirl replied. Twilight scooted over and beckoned Celestia to join the circle.

“I can see the Scorched Lands, indeed. They’re to the south and the west, far beyond the borders of the Mulecico and the Great Salt Flats…”


“…and that’s when I met my companion, Trajo,” Starswirl continued.

Despite the interest the Elite once had, Starswirl’s stories had mostly become a three-way conversation between himself, Aeon, and Twilight. The rest of the audience had succumbed to an overwhelming tiredness—even Celestia’s eyes were starting to droop as she silently gazed into the purple campfire.

Cadance’s head rested on Armor’s back, and Dusky had comfortably buried her face in Fluttershy’s pink mane as she and Dash snoozed. Rarity was still partially awake, but hadn’t spoken in a while.

“Ah, you’ve mentioned that name before,” Aeon replied, struggling to remain awake as well. Less than an hour had elapsed, but the team was very exhausted. “He’s a friend of yours, then? And currently in your satellite, observing our enemies for us?”

“That he is,” Starswirl replied cheerfully. “Vigilant little fellow. I can communicate with him easily at any time. He’s currently watching Darkstar, and can inform me at a moment’s notice if anything happens.”

“I hope I can meet him some day,” Twilight sighed in awe. “And see your satellite, too…”

“I’d love to show you once our battles are over,” the wizard smiled. “I’ve got hundreds of books you’d probably love, and even a few scribbles I’ve written about arcane magic and such.”

“How does arcane magic work?” Twilight asked curiously, gazing into the purple fire. “What do you have to do that’s different from normal magic?”

“Remember some of your earliest lessons in magic kindergarten?” Starswirl asked musingly, looking at her sideways. “When your teachers were describing basic levitation... Remember how they’d tell you something like, feel the quill’s presence, know the quill’s weight, and tell you to lift it up?”

“Yeah,” Twilight replied, thinking way back. “But I haven’t thought of it that way in a long time, it’s all become second nature to me...”

“Just like flying,” Aeon agreed. “It starts out as flap your wings and try, but eventually you do it without even thinking.”

“Precisely,” Starswirl confirmed enthusiastically. “Now, take an advanced knowledge of physics—which I know you have, Twilight—and apply the same thing. Instead of perceiving an object, perceive the atoms that make up the object, and then dig deeper… Picture the elementary particles making up the atoms; the protons, the electrons, the neutrons… Just like the quill from kindergarten, know their presence, know their weight, know their charge and their orbit…”

“But they move so fast,” said Twilight, closing her eyes and trying to imagine keeping track of the billions of particles. “How could you possibly follow them all?”

“That's the key—recursion,” the wizard told her simply. “The same way you use your subconscious to perform pattern-based spells, use it to find patterns within the particles as you sense their presence. Your brain starts automatically doing the work for you, once you’ve gotten the pattern down.”

“Just like flying!” Aeon gushed. Starswirl chuckled and nodded at him.

“I… didn’t know you could do that,” Twilight breathed. “I’ll have to try it sometime…”

“I’m sure you’ll be quick to figure it out,” Starswirl laughed cheerfully. “Once you get the basic process down, you’ll find all kinds of interesting ways to apply it. Promise me you’ll be careful though, heh.”

“H-hey!” a voice suddenly called out from across the tent—Soarin’ was waving at the group from next to his unconscious teammate. “I think they’re wakin’ up!”

**********

Starswirl, Aeon, Twilight, and Celestia immediately rose and approached the patients.

“She’s been stirrin’ for almost a minute now,” Ashton said, indicating the shifting Applejack. Several of the others from the campfire circle had risen from their sleepy state and rushed over to join them.

“…wha?” Luna suddenly asked, sitting up dizzily. Her hair began flowing weakly as she opened her eyes and looked around. “What’s happened?”

“You were poisoned, sister,” Celestia explained, kneeling down in front of her. “Don’t worry, Lagos has been defeated…”

“Took a mighty hard hit, too,” Starswirl added, floating next to Celestia. “I had to cauterize you to stop the bleeding. It’s left a bit of a mark... I’m incredibly sorr-“

The wizard’s apology was cut off abruptly when Luna suddenly jumped up and threw her hooves around his neck, dragging him downwards in the process.

“I… um… the…” Starswirl stuttered in pure shock, his yellow eyes wider than ever. He weakly lifted his right hoof and placed it on her back while she pressed her chin against his neck.

“Thank you, Swirly,” Luna said quietly, releasing him and stepping away.

“The beast has been dealt with?” Terra asked, sitting up as well. Cadance nodded as she kneeled across from her.

“Glad you’re alright, boss,” Soarin’ said, excitedly embracing Spitfire as she sat up.

“Yep… just… eff…” the orange pegasus huffed, as Soarin’ nearly squeezed the life out of her. With a flash of rainbow trails, Dash dove into the hug, almost knocking them both over in the process.

“You had me worried for a minute!” Dash cheered. Spitfire started feeling dizzy from being crushed on both sides.

“Whew,” Spitfire breathed, as the two pegasi loosened their grip. “Good thing I didn’t pass right back out from bein’ a Spitfire sandwich…”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Spitfire,” Fluttershy added from behind Dash. “Um, I’m sorry I couldn’t heal the poison… You’re not upset at me, are you?”

“Not at all, kiddo,” Spitfire smiled back; Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wh… what happened?” Applejack asked, being the last to recover. “Where’d ‘e go? Did we get’em?”

“We sure did,” Twilight told her happily. She and Rarity embraced their friend; Fluttershy and Dash joined moments later, but Pinkie was still fast asleep next to the campfire, not having been awoken by the commotion.

“So he wasn’t really after us in the first place, huh?” Appejack asked, after Rarity explained to her what had transpired. “Mighty big misunderstandin’…”

“Supposedly he’d been sent after Discord,” Rarity replied, sounding as though she didn’t quite believe it. “But enough of that, dear.”

“Say, somepony found mah hat for me,” Applejack happily observed, noticing it lying above the pillow she had been resting on several minutes ago. She scooped it up and placed it onto her head.

“That’s twice in a row,” Rarity giggled quietly. “What happens when it’s rescued the third time?”

“What?” Applejack questioned, looking at her friend suspiciously. “What’re ya on about now?”

“Oh, nothing,” replied the inconspicuous Rarity. “I’m just saying, if for some reason you suddenly need a new dress, I’d be happy to make it for you.”

“Uh… What?” Applejack blinked at her questioningly as she cantered off to sit with Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy.

Several yards away, Cadance poked Ashton in the ribs. “Y-yes’m, princess?” he asked, turning to look at her.

“Go on,” Cadance said quietly, narrowing her eyes at him and smiling.

"Go where now?"

Cadance nodded her head at Applejack.

“Ah’m not, uhm,” Ashton replied, clearing his throat. Without warning, Cadance pushed him away, causing him to plow unexpectedly into Applejack’s side.

“Woop, sorry ‘bout th—heya, Ashton!” Applejack exclaimed, throwing her hooves around his neck when she saw that it was him. “Looks like Ah owe ya another one!”

“All in a day’s work, Ah guess,” Ashton laughed nervously, frantically glancing over her shoulder at Cadance. The princess smiled at him triumphantly for a moment before returning to her mother’s side.

“C’mon, come join me ‘n mah friends,” said Applejack, ending their embrace and pulling him along towards the campfire where the others sat.


**********

“So all I gotta do is wear this ring, and my shield works against necromancy?” Shining Armor asked. Cadance had awoken the grumpy captain, who quickly shelved his attitude after Starswirl began explaining the anti-necromancy ring’s usage to him.

“Certainly,” the wizard replied, watching Armor place the ring onto his horn. “It acts as a sort of buffer for magical energy passing through it. In your case, it’ll charge your shield with anti-necrotic energy.”

“That’s a relief,” Armor said, testing the spell by producing a small bubble shield in front of him. Instead of its traditional magenta, it was now a very deep shade of purple, almost appearing blue in the intense purple light of the tent.

“Ironmane,” a voice said from behind the sergeant, who stood nearby Armor.

“Ragehoof,” he replied bluntly, not looking at him.

“Here,” said Ragehoof, handing him his crossbow. “I held on to it when I fell, but I lost track of it when I blacked out. Just found it—doesn’t look like it was damaged.”

“That’s good,” Ironmane told him, taking the crossbow and flipping it shut.

“Pretty good piece of machinery,” Ragehoof continued, watching Armor practice his shield spell while Starswirl floated away from him. “Hardly any recoil, the sights are dead-on.”

“That wasn’t a bad shot, either,” admitted Ironmane. “Good thinkin’ with the chains. I don’t think the rest of 'em know, but you won that one for us.”

“They don’t need to know,” Ragehoof replied quietly. “I’m no hero.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” the sergeant told him, watching Starswirl pass the golden necklace to Rarity, who almost passed out in surprise. “They might say otherwise.”

“They don’t know me,” Ragehoof told him. “If they did, they would know I’m not.”

“Maybe you don’t know yourself,” Ironmane suggested while Starswirl explained the necklace’s powers to the gracious Rarity. “I don’t know what your deal is, but anypony willing to put their life on the line for Equestria is fine by me.”

Ragehoof blinked, unsure how to respond to that. Ironmane patted him on the back before turning to check his crossbow over. For a few moments, he stared quietly into the purple campfire, replaying the sergeant's words over and over in his head.

“Hey everypony!” Twilight called out, after speaking with Starswirl and Celestia. “We’ve got eight hours until the next battle! Let’s all get to sleep soon!”

“Get some sleep, kid,” Ironmane told him quietly, walking over to Twilight, who was conjuring pillows and blankets for everyone.

Ragehoof flopped down and stared at the ceiling, watching the shadows dance across the tent’s canvas.

“Ah’m just gonna-“

“Here you go!” Twilight interrupted Ashton, conjuring a pillow for him and laying it on the ground in front of where he sat.

“Erm,” Ashton mumbled nervously—Applejack had already curled up next to him. He tried to subtly scoot away, but Rarity was blocking him on the other side.

“Twilight and I will keep first watch,” Starswirl called out. “Rest easy friends, somepony will be awake at all times to ensure our safety.”

A few minutes later, the voices in the tent had mostly died out, and everyone except for Starswirl and Twilight were lying down.

“Got any of that tea left?” Twilight asked him quietly.

“I’ll brew some when we switch shifts with Luna later on,” Starswirl replied cheerfully, keeping his voice down. “Gotta stay awake in the meantime. Come; let’s go outside, so we can speak without bothering the others.”

“Good plan,” she told him, exiting the tent and walking out into the cool night air. The clouds had dispersed completely, leaving only a full moon sailing across the sky. “So, how are we going to beat Darkstar?”

“His command over normal magic isn’t very strong,” the wizard explained, his bright eyes glowing vividly in the dark. “But his knowledge rivals my own. When last we fought, it was at the Battle of Stalliongrad.”

“How did you beat him then?”

“I didn’t,” he laughed. “Terra did. She blasted him senseless and encased him in molten rock. That’s all we dumped into Tartarus; a black hunk of rock.”

“…How did he survive that?” Twilight stared worriedly towards the south.

“Necromancy is a very strange magic…” Starswirl trailed off, becoming lost in thought for a moment.

“Strange?”

“...It plays with things that science has a difficult time explaining,” he continued. “But then again, so do the Elements of Harmony. What field of science can explain the conversion of heartfelt emotion into pure magical energy?”

“Good point,” Twilight replied quietly. “…Wait, that’s how they work? They convert emotion directly into energy?”

“Heh, couldn’t even begin to explain it,” Starswirl chuckled curiously. “Spent hundreds of hours studying them after Celestia shelved them five hundred years ago… They wouldn’t respond to anything I hit them with. Synthesized neurotransmitters, energy of every kind—magic or otherwise… Nothing…”

Twilight removed the Element from her head, gazing into the amethyst crystal in the center.

“Do you think the Elements can defeat him for good?”

“I hope,” Starswirl told her, no longer laughing. “My understanding of necromancy is limited to means of defending us against its energies... I dare not experiment with it further, lest I take steps on the same path as Darkstar...”

“What else do you know about him?” Twilight asked curiously, placing the Element back upon her head. “Was he ever normal, like us?”

“Heh, normal… Darkstar is a mistranslated nickname, though it isn’t entirely inaccurate. His name was once Elcian… Properly translated to Equish, he would be called Lightbend,” Starswirl explained reminiscently. “He once had a pelt of royal blue, and a cutie mark of many black stars within a great white star…”

“Translated to Equish? Elcian sounds like ancient Equinn…”

“He’s old,” Starswirl sighed. “Almost as old as myself… When he was caught using necromancy, he was banished from Equestria. He’s quietly lurked abroad for eons since…”

“Did you know him back then?”

“Not as well as I probably should have… After being banished, I can only assume he went further and further down the dark path that necromancy takes you. His pelt has darkened to a sickly color of grey, and you can’t even see his cutie mark any more. Did I mention he’s also completely insane?”

“I figured that,” Twilight admitted slowly, gazing at the moonlit grass. “Was it necromancy that drove him crazy?”

“I can only imagine… I like to think his brain tissue’s been decaying, but I doubt biology has much of a play in what makes his gears continue to grind…”

“Everything about necromancy seems to defy all I know about magic and science,” Twilight said quietly. “I’d never really thought about the Elements that way before, but I guess they defy it too…”

For several minutes, the pair gazed silently at the sky.

“Well, I say we cut the grim talk short and do something a little more fun!” Starswirl suddenly said, his hat glowing as he materialized a couple of books. “I’ve brought with me some literature on arcane magic!”

“Oh my gosh,” Twilight gushed, her eyes widening when he passed her the journals. She started flipping through the pages, which were tightly packed with notes and diagrams.

“I’ll take care of the watch,” Starswirl told her, amused by her excitement over the books. “In all honesty, Trajo and I have it covered. I just wanted to show you these, I had a feeling you’d enjoy them.”

“I don’t know if I can possibly read these tonight,” she breathed, skimming through the first page. “There’s so much information!”

“We’ll meditate later, who needs sleep?” Starswirl chuckled, hovering into the air. “Just read as much as you can, front to back. There’ll be more time another day if you don’t finish.”

“I wonder… Can the Element of Magic power arcane spells?”

The wizard’s yellow eyes gazed longingly at her crown for a few moments. “That’s something you’ll have to find out someday, Twilight dear...”