> Infinity's End
>  by JakeAndDollars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Path to Reason and Nightmares (Rewritten)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1
A Path to Reason and Nightmares (Rewritten)


1,004 years ago. Three weeks after the banishment of Nightmare Moon…

It was a perfectly silent star filled night, not a creature stirred under the recently fallen snow. Save for a lone pony travelling a long forgotten path, his hooves crunching gently in the fresh powder. A mournful hoot sounded off somewhere deep in the forest gardens that surrounded Canterlot castle.
The aging unicorn paused to listen, a slight smile spread across his withered lips. Owlovard was telling him good night. "Good night to you too, old friend," he answered. The old stallion had known the great horned owl for many years and it had been a good three months since they had last seen each other. Owlovard typically spent the winter months in Trottingham, about two days walk south of Canterlot. The bearded unicorn continued his journey home and he knew that anypony that made the trip along the now unused trail through what had become the Everfree Forest would not find a beautiful town full of happy busy ponies. No, no they would not. All they would find is a crater five miles across and one deep, still charged with deadly amounts of magical radiation four hundred years after the cataclysmic event that taken place there.
He flinched as an all too familiar pain crossed his forehead. 

~~~~

"You should not dwell on the past so much, old friend. For it will trouble you forever if you continue to do so."

~~~~

The snow crunched quietly as he walked alone through the tall trees of the garden, remembering the conversation like it was yesterday. Voices long since lost to the world playing through his mind, twisting at his very soul.

~~~~

"I assure you that I am well, and that I will be fully capable of performing all of my royal duties your highness," he said with a hint of annoyance. He had much yet to accomplish, with little time in which to do it.
The young Alicorn snorted loudly, earning a few curious glances from a few nearby guards. "Highness?" Her face showed a small amount of amusement, then nostalgia. "You have not called us that for years. Are thou certain that you are alright? We are worried about you, thou hardly speakest to anypony and now you refuse to address us by our own name!" Concern began to form in her eyes as she looked at her old mentor, her tongue slipping back into the old ways.
He knew there was no point in hiding it any longer, she was a smart mare and would figure it out eventually. So he decided to tell her now rather than let his replacement do it a few days from now. He figured it would be better this way, she would probably handle the news best coming from him. He had already accepted his fate and would try to soften the blow he was about to deal to her.
"Luna," he said softly, his watery grey eyes looking up at her. "I have spent the last six hundred years teaching you and your sister everything my mentor taught me." A smile worked its way across his weathered face. "It has been fifteen-hundred-thirty-one days since I last called you 'your highness'," he said with a trace of amusement in his voice. Luna blinked a few times, he could see that his point was getting through to her. She could tell his mental capacity was still at its peak and she could believe what he had to say next.

~~~~

A sudden gust of wind pulled him from his memories. "Two hundred years later and the wind still does not know which direction it wants to blow," he thought aloud. "And Celestias’ recent absence does not appear to be helping," he muttered to nopony in particular. The Pegasi had been working for centuries to calm the storms that plagued Equestria, ever since the Alicorns had been defeated by the…
He stopped and shook his head, taking a deep breath whilst composing himself. He blinked several times, trying to hold back the tears brought forth by those memories. He was determined to get through a day without weeping. Turning his mind to happier thoughts, like the newly completed castle behind him, built as an exact replica of its predecessor. It was perfectly identical, stone for stone; it was almost like nothing had ever happened…

~~~~

"I'm dying, Luna..."

~~~~

It happened every time he let his mind slow, every goddess forsaken time. Every time he allowed his mind to wander, every time he wasn't on guard. Every time there was nothing going on in his head, this memory would overwhelm him. The last conversation he held with his favorite student. The last time he spoke to Luna as he knew her.
But that had been three weeks ago…

~~~~

She just stood there in shock, either unable or unwilling to accept the words that had come from her mentor's mouth. "I'm dying, Luna," yes, that's what he said wasn't it? She took it as well as could be expected, she was immediately in denial, there was no way she could accept news like that. "Tis not possible!" She shouted, immediately verifying his suspicions. "Your master taught all those longevity spells to you, the same ones you taught us! You cannot simply..." Her words were cut off as he raised a hoof.
"Those spells were never meant for unicorns Luna. I was merely a trial, verifying the effectiveness and safety of the spells. They were always meant for the two of you, the last Alicorns in existence. Only an Alicorn has the sheer amount of power needed to get the full effect of these spells," he said with a sigh. "I'm tired Luna, my body is worn, my mind has grown weary," he could see the pained understanding in the mare's eyes. He could see she was beginning to accept what he was telling her. "When you were very young, my master swore an oath to your parents. That he would keep you safe and train you to fight so that if they failed, Equestria would still have a future. You two were that safeguard, and when I found my master broken and bleeding on that hellish battlefield, drawing his last breath... He made me look him in the eye and make the same vow that he had made to your father," he said solemnly. He could remember those words as clearly as his own name.

~~~~

It had begun to snow again and the unicorn pulled his cloak higher up on his shoulders and shivered slightly in response. The wind gust from moments ago had extinguished all of the lanterns along the side of the small path. Without breaking stride, he focused and a soft glow formed around his horn. It glowed a bit brighter then shot away, breaking off into multiple lights that scattered out over half a mile, each one settling into a previously extinguished lantern. One-hundred and twelve as memory served. "If you can see you won't walk into a tree," he said with a little smile.

~~~~

"How long?" Luna asked, the pain showing in her eyes despite her efforts to hide it. "A few days," he replied quietly. He had barely finished saying "days" when Luna turned and flew down the castle corridor toward her chambers, leaving tears in her path.
He would see her when the time was right, for now he would let her cry. The stallion had learned long ago to let ponies cry when they needed to. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down the empty hallway. Well, the hallway seemed empty to the untrained eye. "I do recognize my own work you know, I can sense every spell I ever taught you. Now come out of hiding, ‘tis impolite to eavesdrop," he said calmly, his eyes still focused down the hall. A small light appeared to his left and began to flash brightly.

~~~~

"Three weeks?! Is that really all it's been?" He queried of himself as he passed the big oak before the stone bridge. As they had every time before, the burn marks on the tree caught his eye again before he reached the bridge. That was usually the farthest he got on the path before succumbing to his memories, the onslaught crushed him every time. However, he planned for this night to be different, and it would be. As he came to the bridge, or rather the pile of stones that occasionally became a bridge, he couldn't help but wonder what his mind was up to tonight. Gone were the tortuous images that typically paired themselves with the memories and the memories themselves were much more subdued.

~~~~

"I was merely practicing the new invisibility spell you showed us during our session yesterday," Celestia said as she materialized out of thin air. "How did I do?" She asked with genuine curiosity, that or she was a very good actress he thought to himself. He chuckled quietly. "Very well if you were trying to sneak past a deaf pony," he said with a respectful bow. "But I wouldn't go trying to steal a dragon's jewels just yet my dear princess." He looked back up at her with a smile.
"It's these darn Alicorn hooves, they just make so much noise on this stone," she complained as she tapped the stone noisily with her large hoof. "I can't possibly sneak up on somepony with these horseshoes on either," she waved her hoof, showing the large gold wrapping to her mentor. "Might I suggest you try using the royal slippers?" He said with a chuckle. "They just might do the trick!"
"Yes, but they fall off too easily, especially around stairs. Something also tells me you'd know I was there anyway," she said with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "I'll always know, it's my spell, and don't you forget it missy." The small talk and banter was just that, talk. He knew Celestia, she almost always had an ulterior  motive when she started a conversation and he was always on his guard. This time he knew what was coming, he knew the question before she was going to ask it, but he waited for her to ask it all the same.
"How did she take it?" Celestia asked, genuine concern for her sister in her voice. "About as well as you did I'm afraid," he said as his smile faded.
~~~~

He wasn't exactly sure how or why he was still alive, by his math he should've died months ago. Seventy five days ago to be exact, yet for some reason he lingered on. "Perhaps the recent events these past few weeks had something to do with it..." He muttered, the reason slowly dawning on him, there was always a reason and he was going to let it present itself. "So why am I clouding the issue here? All I have to do is let things explain themselves as they always do."
The night was warm, there was a light breeze slowly carrying the warmth away. He remembered that he and Celestia had left the castle to watch Luna raise the moon. They had walked along the same path he walked now, and stood on the very bridge he was slowly reconstructing. Piece by piece the pile of stones became a bridge again, just like a jigsaw puzzle.

~~~~

Luna had done it thousands of times before; raising the moon was common to her. Yet every time he watched her do it, he felt the same pride he always did. Little did he know, it would be the last time he would ever see her do it. Celestia smiled as she watched her sister take flight from the bedroom balcony. "I wish I was that graceful in flight," she said with a longing tone.
The graying conjurer looked over and tilted his head quizzically at her. "Funny you should say that just hours after your sister revealed her envy of your magical prowess," he said with a small grin. "And if anypony should be jealous it would be me, I can't fly. At least not like that," the old pony said as he turned his attention back to Luna.
"I'll miss you a great deal, you know."

~~~~

It was always quite  embarrassing, even when nopony was around to see it happen. "Blast this fractured multi-level thinking!" He stopped and took several deep breaths. "I really am getting too old for this," he mumbled as his horn began to glow again. He set to work dismantling the perfectly built spiral staircase sitting in the middle of the small stream.
The day had indeed been rather taxing, but he knew that was not the source of his distraction. "I do believe that is actually a bridge," he said as-a-matter-of-factly with a frown. "I'm definitely distracted," he glowered. "I can stand dying, even not knowing when. But I can't stand not being able to think clearly enough to build a simple bridge!" He fumed as he started to cross the now properly built bridge. "Eighty three times I've built that darn bridge and not once have I placed a single stone out of order," he muttered as he crossed the bridge. After crossing, his creation crumbled and fell back into the rushing stream below.
"Perhaps one day I'll be able to dispel that destruction curse, but not tonight." The bridge would have to wait in line with several other projects on his list. Tonight his focus was elsewhere, on a situation much more dire than a crumbling bridge. There was always a reason; tonight the reason for his continued lingering was currently wrapped in bandages and lying in his own bed.

~~~~

"I'll miss you a great deal you know."
"I know."
"We still need you."
"Oh come now Celestia, you have not had need of me for a hundred years. You certainly don't need me now," he said the last part rather quietly. "You have been incredible students, you are both powerful and wise," he said with a smile. "There is little more you can learn from me," he looked at her, his student, pride filling him as he thought of everything she had accomplished.
"What if some day I do need you? Or the Star Order? You're the last of that powerful bloodline. Don't forget the oath you made!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "An oath to be there whenever I had need of you."
"Indeed," he said. "An oath was made, a very powerful oath. An oath straight from my heart to the heart of my closest friend and mentor," a lump formed in his throat at his own words. "That, my dear Celestia is why I, a simple unicorn could live so long. Near a thousand years too long actually. It was by the power of that oath that I was bound to you two like my mentor before me. Bound to protect you until you were ready," his face brightened a bit. "You are ready, Celestia. Ready to take the place of your parents as guardians of this world. That also means my time is up. Even now I can feel the power of the bond fading and taking me with it."
He turned back to watch Luna soar ever higher into the sky, dragging a new moon with her. "As for the star order," he continued. "Its bloodline will reappear when the time is right, just as it always has." Turning back to Celestia, "you should also know that I would never leave you alone. I will continue to exist in your heart and in your continued studies," he said reassuringly.
"Continued studies?" She asked, seeming quite confused. "I thought you said there was nothing more you could teach us," she said while narrowing her eyes at him. "Even a member of the Star Order has limits, as a unicorn my powers have restrictions that yours do not," he explained simply.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning my dear Celestia that there are certain powers that nopony in existence can help you learn," he said patiently.
"You're going to unlock the library aren't you?" She asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Yes, I am," he said solemnly.

Luna was very far up now, just a speck on the edge of the world. So high that what happened right then went unseen by the two observers.
"I'm dying Luna."
The words rampaged through her mind as she flew higher and higher, as if she could escape the reality. She was so far up even the highest clouds were far below her, most Pegasi could never achieve such a feat. Every cloud was far below her, save for one. However this cloud was unlike any other cloud, it sported a bright silvery blue hue and moved fast against the wind.
The cloud was on a mission, find a suitable host with sufficient magical abilities and subdue said host. Then it would move on to destroy the one responsible for its master's imprisonment in that awful statue.
"Another perfect placement," Luna sighed as she released her powerful hold on the moon. At that exact moment the cloud slammed into her. It burned against her mental barriers with such intensity that it caused physical pain.
Luna suddenly found herself at war in her own mind. A fight that was lost before it had even begun. Her mental barriers shattered and the entity began to devour the mind of Princess Luna. She screamed in a mix of agony and terror as her body began to move of its own accord. "No! Pl... Please!" She stammered through clenched teeth even as her gums started to bleed from the massive new canines pushing their way out. The worst of it came when the loud snapping of bone could be heard as her wings and body grew at an alarming rate.
The pain would have caused anypony to pass out at this point, but the entity wouldn't let Luna fade out. It was in control now, and it wanted her to feel the pain. It forced her to stay conscious and aware of the entire ordeal as it continued to alter her form to something more suitable for itself.
Luna was now a prisoner inside of her own mind. Forced to watch as the creature she had become let loose all of the power she had ever hoped to have tenfold on the most peculiar target. A small stone bridge in the middle of the forest.

~~~~

Every night the winding stone path seemed just a little longer. Tonight was no exception. His steps were heavy and his mind was still laced with distractions. The odds of his patient having survived the day were very slim and he knew it. The wounds were numerous and many were quite severe.
"Still," he thought aloud. "There must be a reason for her appearance," he said assuredly. "There is always a reason. Tonight I'll find out one way or another what my reason is."

It was a humble home to say the least, if not a bit large for one pony. But then it hadn't been built for just one pony, it could have easily housed a family of six or more. Constructed in the traditional earth pony style of carving a home out of a large tree. One would never guess just by looking at it that it had been the secret lair of the Star Order for over two thousand years. The secret order of which he was now the last.
As he approached the house a magical barrier surrounding it sensed his arrival and parted before him. He hesitated, contemplating what lay beyond the door. If the young mare had died, he'd never know why she had dared to cast such a dangerous spell. If she was alive, then what would he do?
After taking a few breaths to compose himself, he entered his home. He closed the door as quietly as he could, removed his hat and cloak and placed them on their respective hangers. He then rummaged through his saddlebag for a small clay jar full of herbal salve for his patient. He went straight down the hall and stopped at the last room on the left before the stairs.
"All this way and I lose my nerve," he sighed quietly. "Well colt damn it all, somepony has to go in there eventually. Which of course means it has to be me," he muttered to himself as he pushed the door open. He listened for what felt like an eternity, holding his breath. He didn't hear it at first, but then he let out a sigh of relief. He could hear the mare breathing, she was alive.
He walked up to the bed and carefully pulled the sheets back. He grimaced at the view. Before him lay what would have been a beautiful young mare somewhere in her early twenties and bursting with life; that was not what lay before him now.
Carefully, he started to redress the wounds that covered the majority of her body. The stitches had done their job well enough; keeping what blood she had left inside her body where it belonged. He made sure to check the splint on the right hind leg; it was still stable as it should have been.
He then turned his attention to the injury that worried him the most, with even more care than before he unwrapped the bandages around her horn. The appendage had fractured in multiple places, due to a magical backlash from an improperly cast spell he guessed. It would heal given time and proper care, if she lived that long of course.
He couldn't stop looking at her face, it was almost untouched. Her lavender colored features were a welcome sight after the rest of her body. Especially her eyes, those lovely open eyes... Open eyes…
Her lips quivered a little, "sss... Star Swirl?"



> The Calm Before The Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2


The Calm Before The Storm


Twilight Sparkle was doomed, had been from the start she realized. Somehow logic had failed her and now here she was, cornered and alone in a place where not even magic could save her. With no options left and no hope of escape all she could do was wait for it all to be over with.
“King me!” Pinkie Pie gleefully squealed for the half-dozenth time since the start of the game.
“Pinkie, are you sure you aren’t using those reality bending abilities of yours to beat me?” Twilight asked sarcastically with an ironic grin.
“Of course Twilight! Why do you ask?” She looked genuinely puzzled at the question. 
Twilight looked at the lone checker that remained under her command and sighed. “I have no idea Pinkie.”
“Besides,” she said as she jumped Twilight’s last remaining checker. “My Pinkie sense works just fine!” She boasted as she reset the pieces for another game. “Best eleven out of twenty one?”
“No thanks Pinkie, I think I’ve had enough for today,” she said as she looked out the window into the rain. “Why not ask Rainbow Dash?”
“No,” Pinkie said flatly. “Rainbow Dash never wants to play checkers with me anymore.”
“Well duh!” Came a brash voice from the couch, “I hate losing, and Pinkie always beats me! It’s bad for my rep!” She snorted loudly.
“Oh come on Dashy !” Pinkie Pie called over to her, “I know you’ll get good enough to beat me if you keep practicing!” She smiled that impossibly large Pinkie Pie smile, “I promise!”
“Pinkie promise and I might believe you,” the cyan pegasus stubbornly replied.
“But Rainbow, you know how I feel about lying,” she said innocently.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed explosively. “Exactly Pinkie!” She shouted louder than she meant to. “I’ll never be able to beat you! Nopony ever will!”
“Come now, she can’t be that good,” Twilight interjected.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the comment. “Twilight seriously, you just lost to her ten times in a row! She’s the reason why Ponyville doesn’t have its annual checkers competition anymore,” she huffed hoping to end the discussion.
“That was a competition?” Pinkie looked genuinely confused yet again. “No wonder that guy with the megaphone kept yelling out everypony’s moves.”
Rainbow Dash slammed a hoof to her forehead with a soft groan as Twilight burst into laughter. The old wall clock began to chime, signaling the arrival of four o clock. 
“OH MY GOSH!!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she suddenly defied gravity and floated in front of the clock, mere inches from its face. “Twilight!” She called excitedly from across the room. “Do you realize we have like, the same exact clock?” She said with a sudden amount of calm compared to the outburst she had mere seconds before. “Also it’s after four,” she said. Suddenly she was next to the door, somehow having traversed the large room unseen. “And I really don’t want to keep number twenty one waiting,” she said with a slight smile. “Besides, life’s a party and I don’t want to miss out,” she said as she slipped out the door. She trotted down the street toward Sugarcube Corner, happily humming to herself the entire way.
“Sometimes I worry about her,” Twilight said as she watched Pinkie Pie disappear through the thick sheets of rain. It almost appeared as if the water had no effect on her coat or her mane, it almost looked like she wasn’t getting wet at all...
Rainbow Dash frowned and glanced up from her book. “What do you mean sometimes?” She asked with halfhearted sarcasm. “I worry about that mare all the time.”
“Oh please,” Twilight said as she shut the door. “She’s just being Pinkie Pie.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what concerns me,” the cyan pegasus said with a huff.
A violent thunderclap shook the library startling both its occupants. Twilight looked out the window again. “Your weather team sure is putting on a good show tonight,” she observed as the rain relentlessly poured down.
“Of course they are!” Rainbow Dash said with a proud smirk on her face. “Who do you think trained most of them?”
“Probably the same pony that didn’t think her recruits from other flight schools were good enough to work with a cloudsdale mare, so she ran them through a three month blitz course to toughen them up.” She said as she returned the smirk.
“What are you implying Twi?” The cyan pegasus asked innocently. 
“Oh I think you know,” Twilight said with a slightly serious tone.
“Hmm, yeah that actually does sound like me,” she said with a chuckle.
Twilight just shook her head as she stood and made her way to one of the bookshelves carved into the wall. “So if you train every recruit yourself how do you explain Thunderling?”
Dash thought a moment before answering. “I can’t.”
“Perhaps a psychological analysis would help?” Twilight said, a bit of excitement in her eyes.
“That’s your answer for everything,” Rainbow Dash groaned, not wanting to see that weird helmet thing again.
“No it’s not!” Twilight protested as she pulled a book from the shelf entitled “The Way of The Wizard.” “Although sometimes that is exactly what a pony needs Rainbow,” she said as she quickly skimmed through the book looking for one particular page. “It certainly did you some good at least!” She said cheerfully.
“Sure it did...” Rainbow Dash mumbled quietly without looking up from her book.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Twilight said as she moved closer to the couch. “How are you sleeping? Are the nightmares-”
“No,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “They haven’t come back.”

Whump! Came the sound of yet another successful applebuck. Whump! And another. Whump! Whump! Two more were followed by the soft thudding of apples impacting the soft grass. “Whew doggie, thats a fine lot of apples eh Big Mac?” Applejack asked as she paused to inspect the days work that she and her brother had just finished.
“Eeyup,” he replied as he stooped to pluck a sturdy piece of grass to hold between his teeth.
“Do yah think we can get all these here apples into the barn before dinner?” Applejack challenged with a grin.
“Eeyup.”
“Good,” she said as she whistled for Winona. “I reckon Granny wouldn’t want any of them sitting out overnight.” 
“Nope,” Big Mac said as he lined up for one final applebuck. Whump!
“Well, that’s the last tree in this part of the orchard,” Applejack said with a satisfied sigh.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said as he headed over to the nearby apple cart.
Winona came bounding excitedly through the trees, yapping loudly as she tackled Applejack. The two of them tumbled to the ground and Winona began licking Applejack wildly. 
“Gah! Cut it out Winona!” Applejack shouted while struggling to pin her playful dog. Her efforts were in vain as Winona was too quick and simply wriggled out of her hold and pounced on her again. 
CRACK BOOM!!! Came the unmistakable sound of thunder as the world around them flashed bright white for an instant. 
“Whut in tarnation?!” Applejack shouted as she scrambled to her hooves and looked up into the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud hanging overhead. “Whut in all of Celestia’s Equestria was that?” She wondered aloud. “And no Rainbow Dash in sight,” She mumbled while shaking her head. “Winona I may have overdone it just a little bit today,” she sat down in the shade of  a nearby tree. “I probably spent a little too much time in that there sun with nothing to drink...”
Winona cocked her head to one side before walking over to join her in the shade, looked her in the eye and said. “Wake up Applejack.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow before asking, “Granny Smith?” Granny Smith leaned in closer to her sleeping granddaughter and gently nudged her again. “Wake up youngin’ yer missin yer friend’s show.”
Applejack moaned and turned over, mumbling something about Winona talking then finally sat up. “Oh hi Granny,” she yawned. “What’d ya say I was missin’?” She asked sleepily.
Before Granny Smith could answer there was another bright flash outside and a thunderclap so loud the windows vibrated and the whole house shook.
“Well dip me in axle grease and call me slick! Dash sure did pull out all the stops fer this one!” Applejack announced in shock.
“She sure did,” Apple Bloom said as she entered the room frowning. “That last one knocked half the pictures off my wall.”
“Been some time since we’ve had a good sky show round here,” Granny said while heading for the stairs. “Who wants some cider?”
“Me!” Came an instant chorus from her grandchildren.
“Well alrighty then,” Granny said with a grin. “Three ciders it is.”

“OW! Rarity that hurts!” The little filly complained.
“Well I’m sorry Sweetie Belle but if you want this costume to fit you properly you’ll either have to hold still or bear a few pokes.” Rarity said as she reached for another sewing pin. “There would certainly be fewer pokes if you’d just hold still. Honestly darling you can be just as bad as Rainbow Dash at times.”
“Well maybe I wouldn’t move around so much if this thing wasn’t so tight, itchy and full of needles!” She complained loudly as she squirmed a little.
“Oh I highly doubt that,” Rarity said rolling her eyes.
Sweetie Belle sighed explosively. “Are you almost done?” She asked for the dozenth time. “I know you’re scared of thunder and I really don’t feel like getting poked again.”
“I said I was sorry,” Rarity announced as she cinched the corset even tighter. “Honestly though Sweetie you know very well that all ponies are afraid of thunder.”
“Yeah, you said you were sorry all right.”
“There, see I-”
“Then you started yelling at me for getting blood on my outfit!” She snorted and stomped a hoof to help make her point. “Also, of the two of us,” Sweetie Belle said with a grin. “You were the one who jumped!”
“What?!”
“And I didn’t!”
“What?!”
“You heard me.”
“Sweetie Belle, we discussed this,” Rarity said as calmly as she could. “We both jumped and we both screamed.”
“No, you jumped and screamed. I finally lost my hiccups and some blood.” She looked over her shoulder at her back. “Which reminds me,” she said sarcastically. “Will you please pull this pin out before it becomes septic?”
“Of course dear, just as soon as you admit that you jumped too.”
“WHAT?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked loudly.
“Come now let’s hear it,” Rarity said snidely.
A soft knock at the front door signaled the arrival of Rarity’s next unfortunate victim.

“I’m so excited!” Luna exclaimed as she landed on Celestia’s bedroom balcony.
“About what?” Celestia inquired looking up from a map of the nearby forest.
“Tomorrow night of course!”
“I thought you disliked everything about that holiday,” Celestia said tilting her head slightly.
“Come on sister, I have my own holiday!” Luna said with glee. “Of course I’m excited. After these last four years, ponies are finally starting to trust me again! They no longer scream and flee upon my arrival,” she said with a smile. “Except for tomorrow night of course!” Luna said with a sneer. “Tomorrow night they shall flee for their lives from,” she leapt from the balcony railing to the floor and reared up on her hind legs. “Nightmare Moon!” Bwahahaha haaa!” She paused to look at her sister. “What?”
“Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away with that sister?” Celestia said with a smile in spite of her concern.
Luna considered her sister’s inquiry before replying with a simple, “No.”
“If you insist,”Celestia said with a little sigh as she rose to her hooves and joined her sister on the balcony. “It would be a shame if you made some foal cry.”
“Relax Tia, I’m only ever as scary as they ask me to be,” Luna said as reassuringly as she could. Celestia did not look convinced. “Honest,” she tilted her head a little. “What is it?” She asked as she lowered herself to the ground.
Celestia’s expression had slowly turned to one of concern and the graceful flow of her mane had slowed to a crawl. “Oh its just,” she paused as she searched for words. She seemed lost in thought. The air around Celestia almost seemed to brighten as she smiled. “Nothing, I just... For a moment.”
Luna thought her sister was about to cry right there on the balcony. 
Celestia lowered her gaze to the floor of the balcony as if she might find some small comfort in the smooth white stone. With a small sigh she looked back to Luna. “All I could think of was her,” she said softly, her voice trembling slightly.
“Her?” Luna looked puzzled by her sister’s behavior.
Celestia looked away unanswering.
Finally Luna understood, and in a soft questioning voice asked the question she didn’t need to ask. The name came more seriously than it had before. “Nightmare Moon?”
Celestia nodded slowly. “For a moment it all came back,” she said as she stared out over the kingdom below. “You getting carried off to the moon by the Elements of Harmony with,” she shuddered slightly, not wanting to say the name. “That thing...”
Luna moved closer and put a wing over her sister’s shoulder. “I told you not to feel guilty about using the elements, you did what was necessary.” She gently nuzzled Celestia’s neck. “You never could have hoped to defeat Nightmare Moon by yourself,” she spoke softly, trying her best to console her sister. Her gaze fell to the smooth white stones of the balcony as well. “Banishment was the only option you had.”
“I was actually feeling more guilt about something else,” she said watching the storm over Ponyville rattle the small town. The thunder could be heard even at this distance.
“And what is that?” Luna asked, looking back up at her sister.
“What you said to me the night after you got back,” Celestia said as she turned slightly to look Luna in the eye. “Do you remember?”
“How could I forget what was true... What still is true,” Luna said as she gazed out at the storm. “A thousand years is a long time, even for us.” 
Celestia followed Luna’s gaze to the storm far below them near the base of the mountains. “You were right when you said you had suffered enough. I’m sorry for bringing it up again. It’s just that,” she shook her head. “It’s nothing I suppose, I just had a bad feeling.”
Luna nudged her sister with her shoulder and tried to speak reassuringly. “Don’t worry sister. It is as I said it’s all in the past now,” she said with a little smile. She added some strength to her voice. “Nightmare Moon is dead Celestia, this time the elements utterly destroyed her. She will never be able to harm another pony ever again.”
Celestia nodded silently.
“I am free to live my life again,” Luna said with a more genuine smile.
Celestia returned the wing embrace and did her best to appear happy on the outside. The two sisters stood side by side silently and watched as the pegasi of Ponyville worked to calm the storm. After a few moments Celestia broke the silence. “If you truly are that excited about Nightmare Night,” she hesitated and inhaled a little, considering her words. “Then I suppose I can be as well.” 
“Oh Tia, thanks for understanding,” Luna said as she walked to the edge of the balcony with her wings spread high. “Because I intend to do exactly what Star Swirl taught us,” she said with a familiar spark in her eye.
“What might that be dear sister?” Celestia asked as she walked up behind Luna.
Luna stared intently at the dwindling storm below her. She focused her vision ever closer with the aid of her magic until she caught sight of one particular pegasus mare. She closed her eyes and smiled. “To live my life to the fullest no matter what happens.” With a powerful flap of her wings she was gone.
In the time it took Celestia to take a few slow, deliberate steps to the edge of the balcony, Luna had already traveled several miles. “Straight for Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said with a now genuine smile on her face. “I should have known she would want a rematch. A pegasus besting an alicorn in a race?” She chuckled softly as she walked back into her room, pausing in front of Philomena’s perch. “That’s simply unheard of,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Just think of the damage to her ego.”
Philomena merely tilted her head and listened, waiting for Celestia to continue. She did not wait long before ruffling her wings, warming the space around her with tiny sparks and flames from her feathers.
“Yes I know Philomena,” Celestia said as she walked past her phoenix. “However I must keep a close eye on her at all times. You know that just as well as I do.”
A faint wisp of smoke rose from the bird’s head and she squawked loudly in annoyance.
“I know,” Celestia said as she closed the heavy wooden doors behind her. “However, you saw what Nightmare Moon was capable of. Especially with a body containing that much power,” Celestia stopped to examine a particular picture on her wall. It was faded and torn slightly but the occupant of the photo was recognizable enough to her.
Philomena stared at the picture with her until a single red tear of fire rolled down her cheek.
“He was right of course,” Celestia said softly as she touched the tip of her horn to the picture. “I had to use the elements. Nightmare Moon would have destroyed everything if I hadn’t. She knew I couldn’t stop her alone,” she whispered as she looked up at the faded cloth on the wall. “Only I wasn’t alone... You promised me you would find a way to save Luna from that fate,” she turned away toward her library and her map. “Eventually you did as you promised, just as you always have,” Celestia trailed off as she came to a stop in front of a large piece of parchment. This particular piece of parchment had a map drawn onto it, her gaze fell upon it and a look of concern once again dominated her features. “Somehow you knew the elements would not kill Luna. In spite of what we all thought would happen after what they did to...”
Philomena’s warm talons gently gripped Celestia’s back and the bird began squawking loudly to draw her attention back to the present, and the map.
“There it is again, only stronger this time,” she said softly as her eyes traced the movement of several small markings across the ancient map’s surface. The markings eventually moved to the edge of the map and disappeared as they moved beyond the range of the map.
“Who are you talking to?” She whispered quietly.
Celestia sensed a presence approaching from down the corridor and immediately levitated the map, rolled it back into a scroll, and slid it into its dragonscale sheath. She put the sheath into an unmarked saddlebag and set it next to two additional scrolls, another bag, and a book. In the other bag was a large glass jar decorated with gold filigree and two smaller jars containing premixed spell powder. Celestia added a tracking stone that she made into the bag as well. 
A knock at the door signaled the arrival of Broad Sword, trainer of the royal guards for over a century and her most trusted fighter.
“You summoned me your highness?” He said as the door swung open. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned by the two unconscious guards at his hooves. He could tell Celestia had done it and was keeping them in their current state. 
“You are to take this directly to Shining Armor. Under no circumstances are you to look inside unless Shining Armor orders you to do so. Understood?”
“Yes milady,” he said with a bow.
“Good,” Celestia said as she levitated the saddlebags and fitted them to his frame. After sending him on his way she turned her efforts to waking the two guards on the floor. She was certain to alter their memories slightly to keep their questions to a minimum as she returned to her work. The guards who were completely oblivious at this point, stood watch as if nothing had happened. 
Philomena shuddered, sending sparks in every direction. As the crackling ceased she tilted her head, questioning Celestia.
“I have to know for sure Philomena,” Celestia said as she levitated a stack of books to the shelf and reorganized them. “Just pray they don’t find anything,” she said with a sigh.
Philomena chittered softly, ruffling her wings a bit with a warm crackle.
“I don’t know,” Celestia admitted, shaking her head. “The Ancients I suppose, for if they find something no one else will have the power to save us.” Her gaze fell to the pile of dead elements on the table in front of her.
The phoenix landed beside them and looked back at Celestia inquisitively.
“I don’t know why,” Celestia admitted once more to the bird. She examined the color-drained elements for what felt like the hundredth time. “They just died.”
Philomena strutted to the large crown and peered at the dull gem on its front.
“If only we knew more about them,” Celestia said with a little sigh to herself.
Philomena turned back to Celestia and whistled loudly. She began to bob her head up and down with enthusiasm.
“Yes, however all of that knowledge was lost with him the day he disappeared. What makes you think he could help us now?” Celestia asked her bird, puzzled for a moment. “Of course!” She exclaimed with a little more glee than her usual tone. “The book! Oh Philomena you are a genius!” Celestia galloped toward her bedroom door then stopped herself. “Wait, there are better ways to go about this,” she said whilst regaining her composure. With a sudden flash of light she vanished.
Philomena simply tilted her head.

“Oh Fluttershy my dear please do come in,” Rarity called as another soft knock sounded on the door.
“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle hollered as she stomped a hoof impatiently.
“Not now Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said as she walked to the door. “Can’t you see we have company?” She asked, not expecting an answer from her younger sister.
“But!”
“No butts!” She said sternly as she reached for the handle.
Sweetie Belle took in the deepest breath a filly her size could. “But if you open that door then Fluttershy will see my costume and if she sees my costume then she’ll see this pin stuck in my back and if she sees this pin in my back she’ll see the blood and if she sees the blood she’ll either faint, lecture you for three hours on proper child care, or spend four hours lecturing you on the fashion atrocity you committed when you mixed red with these colors because you know how she is about fashion.” She finished with another deep breath and an exhale, acting as if she hadn’t just spoken an entire paragraph in one breath stitched together as one giant sentence.
Rarity let out a panicked “Yaaahh!” and slammed the door she had been slowly opening right in Fluttershy’s face. Rarity quickly trotted over to her sister and with a slight glow of her horn...
“Ouch,” Sweetie Belle said through gritted teeth.
Rarity then returned to the door and opened it revealing a teetering yellow pegasus. “Oh Fluttershy do forgive me I simply could not let you see what a horrible mistake Sweetie Belle-”
“Ahem!” The little filly interrupted.
“That is to say, Sweetie Belle and I made,” Rarity corrected with a nervous laugh.
Fluttershy stumbled through the doorway, her eyes slowly rolling in opposite directions. “I-i-its okay, m’ fiiine,” she mumbled and sat on a floor pillow. She took a moment to shake her head and clear the dizziness. “Thank you for offering to help me with my costume this year. I-I hope it’s no trouble. I’m just not sure how to attach the last couple of pieces.” 
“Why Fluttershy it’s absolutely no trouble at all!” Rarity insisted loudly as she followed Fluttershy and took a seat next to her. “Now show me what you need done,” she said with a smile.
“Oh nothing much,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Number twenty one!” Pinkie Pie bellowed. “Twenty one!” She called insistently.
“Pinkie Pie for goodness sake I’m right here! You don’t have to yell.”
“Oh sorry miss Cheerilee I didn’t see you there,” Pinkie Pie said with a little giggle.
“How could you not see me standing right here in front of you?” Cheerilee asked with her head tilted to the side.
“Huh? Oh, well that’s easy to explain! I was watching Rainbow Dash flying towards Sugarcube Corner with something amazing to tell me!” She smiled that impossibly large Pinkie Pie smile.
Cheerilee looked over her shoulder at the closed, wooden door. “Umm... How can you see Rainbow Dash if the door is closed Pinkie?” A look of concern began to grow on the mare’s face.
“Oh it will be open soon,” Pinkie said with a knowing smile.
A loud whooshing noise could be heard outside rapidly approaching. It sounded like it was about to smash into the building but just before it did the door flew open and Rainbow Dash pranced inside. Her triumphant laughter filled the bakery as she turned to look out the door. “I told you I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria princess! If you ever want to get beaten AGAIN you know where to find me!” She taunted loudly with a snicker.
“JUST YOU WAIT RAINBOW!” Luna boomed from afar, making sure she’d be heard from the distance she was yelling.
Rainbow Dash fluttered over to the counter and rested a hoof on it. “Sup Pinks, hi Cheerilee,” she beamed with excitement.
Cheerilee just looked at Pinkie Pie, sighed, shook her head and left.
“Um, ok. Bye Cheerilee, I guess,” Rainbow Dash said with a raised eyebrow. “So Pinkie can you guess who I just beat for the second time?! One of the most powerful ponies in existence!” She boasted loudly.
“Oooh! Oooh! umm, Doctor Whooves?” Pinkie Pie smiled, waiting for a response.
For the second time that day Rainbow’s hoof met her face. “No Pinkie, I didn’t race Doctor Whooves... I just beat Princess Luna in another race!”
“Wow Dashy that’s awesome!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed and jumped.
“Yes yes, it’s all true,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin.
“Hey Rainbow Dash, would you like to hear my good news?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
“Oh my gosh, is it something for pranking?!” Dash asked excitedly.
“Well I guess it could be after I’m finished using it for its practical purpose,” the pink mare said as she rummaged under the counter for something. After a few moments she produced a large hacksaw. “Look what I just got at Mr. Sledge’s hardware store!” Pinkie said beaming. “Isn’t it the best hacksaw you ever SAW?” She giggled at her little pun. “But why do they call it a hacksaw if you don’t hack with it?”

Twilight’s attention was immediately drawn to her window as a bright rainbow streak rushed past, rattling her window in its frame. 
“Where could she be off to in such a hurry?” Twilight wondered aloud as she took another sip of her dandelion tea. “Now then, where was I? Ah yes,” she said as she located her spot in the book and continued reading.
“If said events took place in said theoretical temporaly displaced location then one might also venture to claim that simply because one perceives time does not mean time proceeds as one perceives it. Therefore this allows the individual not only passage through time but also the possibility of manipulation of it as well.”
The wall clock chimed five and Twilight closed the book and returned it to its place on the shelf.
“I’ll have to finish that chapter once I get back from Rarity’s,” she said as she moved to the door. “I hope I can find more on that Silver Spark guy. However I’ve never heard of Luminescent either, I have some major studying to do... Spike come on we’re late!”

> Other
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3
Other


“Why bother?” It asked again, more impatiently this time. “You’re just going to fail like every attempt before.”
The young student rolled his shoulders and flexed his wings, loosening his body up as if to prepare for a workout or a flight. He could feel the energy flowing through his body. It started subtle like a stream, but rapidly became a river that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Just give up,” it said. “This is far too difficult for you, a mere student studying under an obsolete order of fools.”
He slowly balled his paw into a fist and willed the energy to flow into it.
“Mortal fools,” the voice in his head scoffed.
He raised his clenched fist until it was high above his head, focusing on the energy-not the voice.
“You should quit while you still have at least a miniscule shred of dignity,” it paused for a moment. “And all of your limbs as well.”
The student smiled a little, his crooked tooth curling his lip. “Haven’t you learned anything about me yet M?” He asked, obviously amused. “You should know by now that I’m no quitter.”
“That may be,” the other said, its voice dripping with disdain. “Unfortunately for me that still leaves you. A worthless bag of meat too incompetent to perform this spell.”
He bent his knees a little and tensed his body, shaking slightly at the amount of energy flowing through him. “We’ll see about that,” he said with some confidence as the air around him began to shimmer, there appeared to be heat waves radiating from him.
“Indeed,” the voice said with a hint of sarcasm. “If it’s all the same to you I think I would much rather prefer to watch from someplace else. If it’s not too much trouble could you go drop me into someone who isn’t about to commit suicide?”
The heating air began to crackle and pop as large amounts of static energy built up in the air.
“Oh have a little faith M,” the student replied with a chuckle. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
There was no reply but he could sense the other shift uneasily.
“I could always put you back in that book where I found you. If it would make you feel better,” he teased with another little laugh.
The student felt anger filling his mind, only it wasn’t his own trying to manifest itself.
“I would like to see you try,” the voice said with an angry waver.
“Alright, suit yourself,” he said with that obnoxious playful tone still dominating his voice. “But I don’t know if I can sneak into that house again without getting caught.”
He felt an internal sigh from the other presence.
“Last time that old crazy mare almost caught me,” he reminded the other.
“If you hadn't decided to knock those cymbals over on your way out perhaps she wouldn’t have woken up. You would’ve had a clean getaway if you hadn’t been such a foolish oaf,” the voice sneered.
“Aww come on,” he pouted. “You saw her, she looked so... Bored, tired and just plain... Peaceful! She was clearly suffering from a major lack of chaos in her life!”
“Oh will someone please save me from this stupid child and his damned chaos!”
The student shrugged. “Sorry M, but it would seem we are stuck together for the foreseeable future.” His smile grew even wider as he announced the other’s imprisonment.
“Forgive my lack of enthusiasm,” the voice almost ordered. “Now are you going to release all of that energy, or do you plan on just charging up with it until you explode?!”
“Huh?” He started. “Oh right! Well here goes nothing!” The student had been engulfed in the discussion and hadn’t realized that the process had started without him. A blue aura had covered his body and every hair was standing on end.
The grass flattened and the ground cracked as the gravity in the immediate area increased by a factor of ten.
With a loud roar of effort he raised his arm as high as he could and released a massive column of blue fire-like energy.
The air crackled and sputtered as the column of blue fire lanced many thousands of feet into the sky where it fueled an ever growing sphere of multi-colored transdimensional energy a mile in diameter. At its center a pinpoint of blackness appeared and ever so slowly became the dominant feature of the sphere until the massive amounts of temporal magic had supercharged the local atmosphere. Wicked tendrils of lightning formed where the magic was most saturated and arced away in all directions.
A tremendous hurricane-like roar overtook the sound of thunder as all of the air in the valley rushed through the now open portal to points unknown.
For a moment in time it looked like he had finally done it. A smile began to creep across his face.
A sudden flash of bright, silvery light said otherwise. The moment of victory was lost as an onslaught of flashes threatened to blind anypony who might be watching the display.
“No! NO! Not again!” He screamed, his voice drowned out by the roar of air and the crackle of electricity.
In almost an instant the black portion of the sphere shrank to a pinprick at the center of the cacophony of whirling magical energy. The student could do nothing but stare and attempt to contain his mistake before it took half of the valley with it. With a final blinding flash the portal went critical.
Timing was crucial, if the energy stream was bent too little, boom. If it was bent too much, big boom. If nothing at all was done, well they wouldn’t need to set a place at the dinner table for you.
“Focus, it’s all about focus. Also not blowing up half of the kingdom while you’re at it would be nice,” the voice said with feigned boredom.
“Just shut up and let me do this,” he snapped.
“Fine, but let me say-”
“No! Shut up!” He demanded as he focused on bending the energy stream.
“You bent it too much again,” the voice didn’t sound surprised.
“Oh son of a windigo!”
The sphere detonated in a roiling cloud of blue fire and lightning. A shockwave spread out in every direction, knocking the student to his knees and stripping the valley of vegetation. Not a single tree was left standing after the deafening shockwave had run its course.
“Told you so,” for once the voice sounded amused.
He got to his feet with a groan. He was disoriented, but otherwise unharmed by the impressive blast. The idea of flying was immediately dismissed thanks to the fact that he could barely stand, let alone walk. “Why does this keep happening?! I followed the spell guide perfectly!”
“Perhaps it is because you are an idiot,” the voice said with a chuckle.
“Shut up!”
The silence came at his command, but was interrupted by a loud snap. The air filled with static as a powerful kinetic barrier was lowered.
“Now you’re gonna get it,” the voice teased.
“Shut. Up,” he said through gritted teeth.
Through the swirling dust a positively ancient unicorn approached. His head was hung low and his steps were heavy as if he bore the weight of the world on his back.
“He looks mad,” the voice said gleefully.
“No he doesn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“He never gets mad.”
“Really?” The voice said with a hint of disappointment.
The withered pony stopped an arm’s length from his student and inspected the blast zone. “Well done my apprentice. You managed to leave no stone unturned,” he said with impossible calm.
“Please forgive me master! I... I don’t know what went wrong. I just can’t seem to instill balance in the column’s energy. The stream always moves away from me,” he said whilst scratching his side with a claw. “It just seems impossible. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Discord,” the old pony said as he examined a rock that was still glowing. “To balance the column properly, you yourself must first be balanced. I am afraid that you are not.”
“I’m not entirely sure that I understand master.”
“That is why we are here is it not?” The old pony asked, sounding as if he expected Discord to answer. “Now do it again, this time do not focus so much on the spell’s guide or your form.”
“But without the guide or the forms how can I even begin to hope to find a suitable balance for the column?” Discord asked, getting more and more lost in his master’s words.
“First you must learn to clear your mind Discord. Only then will you be able to know balance and hear the world speaking to you.”
The draconequus slowly shook his head. “I still don’t understand.”
“I know,” the old pony said as he turned to walk back to his original standing point. “You will understand in time. Now again!”
Discord sighed to himself. “Yes master.”
“He is a foolish old man for believing in a waste of flesh like you! How pathetic,” the voice spat.
“This coming from the guy who’s literally just a bad memory,” Discord countered with a roll of his eyes.
“One day Discord... One day you will see just how bad of a memory I am,” the voice threatened. 
“You’ve said that for years so if you’re done spouting empty threats I’d appreciate some effort on your part being put into this spell. Remember, if this thing blows, you go with me.”
“I suppose I could lend a few pointers... Firstly, your form was terrible,” The voice sneered.
“My form was fine!”
“Just shut up and get started, I don’t have all day,” the voice huffed, already bored with its own game.
“What’s your big hurry?”
“I have some serious loathing to do in Canterlot and I can’t be late AGAIN.”
“Ancients forbid,” Discord rolled his eyes for the second time in the brief conversation.
“Just shut up and get to casting.”

(One spectacular failure later)

“Hey idiot! Are you dead?” The voice cackled loudly.
“If I were dead you couldn’t ask.”
“Damn, I was hoping I’d finally be free of your incessant whimpering.”
Once more there was a loud pop and static filled the air. The same slow, deliberate hoofsteps approached.
“Better Discord, better.”
“But I didn’t even manage to condense the portal that time! How was that better?!” He gestured out to the destroyed landscape with a sweep of his paw.
“Not to mention your form was about as graceful as a drunken parasprite,” the voice sneered in the back of his head.
“It is true you did not reach your goal. However, you nearly reached mine,” the pony said with a cryptic tone.
“And that is?” Discord asked, crossing his arms and tapping a foot slowly.
“Balance of mind. You were so close. Could you not hear the whispers of the world?”
“No master, I’m afraid I could not.”
The master stared at his apprentice with dull milky eyes. “You shall in time,” he said with a sigh. “That is enough for today. You may return to the castle, I wish for you to meditate on today’s lesson.”
“Yes master, thank you.”
The two exchanged a deep bow.
Discord turned to leave but stopped. “Master I know it is not my place to ask about the princesses but...” He halted as the memory faded to red and a dull thudding sound filled his head.

“I thought I might find you in one of these worthless pieces of history.”
The only part of the memory left was his master standing in front of him. However the face was very wrong, it moved and contorted beyond natural limits before splitting down the middle. The body ripped in half, blood flowing everywhere as a much larger, angrier version of himself emerged from the carnage it wrought.
“I’ve always wanted to do that to him,” the voice purred softly.
“What do you want?! Can’t you just leave me alone?” Discord begged.
“Of course not! I can’t stand having nobody to talk to! Besides, I still have something to show you,” the voice said eagerly.
“If it’s another one of your twisted visions then forget it!”
“This is no vision, it is much more real!”
Discord was suddenly made aware of half a dozen royal guards moving through the Everfree Forest toward the Ancient Castle of The Royal Pony Sisters.
“What are they looking for?” Discord couldn’t make any sense of the vision or its relevance.
He felt the other become very pleased. “The one who will free me from this damned statue!”
Discord’s mind went cold. “NO!”
“Oh yes! This time there will be none that can stop me! MY time has come!”
The draconequus statue in the royal gardens seemed to shiver for just a moment, almost as if it were afraid of the coming storm.
	

> The Bloodstained Soul
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4
The Bloodstained Soul




Star Swirl dropped himself on a large plush cushion with a sigh and rubbed his temples with his forelegs before examining his bloodstained coat. He trembled slightly at the vivid memories of the young mare’s agonized screams. The wizard had toiled for hours to save his patient after she awakened from the sedation spell. Only very recently had he stabilized her enough to leave her alone.
The study was quiet save for the faint crackle of the fire heating a tea kettle. It cast a gentle glow over the room, just enough light for the old wizard to see the wash basin he needed. He levitated it over to himself and began to wash the blood from his coat and mane, it was still somewhat sticky.
Star Swirl was exhausted after the ordeal, it had taken three hours to save the young mare’s life. In the mere moments it had taken him to react, her thrashing had torn several lines of stitches along her chest and stomach, re-opening deep wounds. He shuddered a little at the recent memory, she had splattered blood everywhere, nearly got it on the ceiling.
Once he finished cleaning the blood from his body, he returned the wash basin to its original place. He’d clean it out later when he had more time and energy, for now he had other matters to tend to.
He winced a little as he massaged a cramp out of his sore leg, focusing on the location of a particular medical book. The air filled with a magical energy that began to crackle slightly, a flash followed by a pop revealed the appearance of a book on treating horn injuries. Star Swirl was confident he didn’t actually need to reread the book, but a refresher course was always nice.
“Time to find out a little more about what ails you my dear,” he muttered as he flipped through the pages. “Horn agitations, horn degradation, horn rot, horn flakes, horn flop, hmmmm, ah, horn fracture.”
The old wizard read until the kettle whistled for attention, at which point he closed the book. He felt reassured about the procedure yet to be performed and set about silencing the now screeching kettle. Star Swirl took a moment to eat a pair of cherry tomatoes without chewing, as per the book’s instructions. He then poured the appropriate amount of tea for his body weight, double checking his measurements to be certain. It had to be exact or…
“I certainly hope she appreciates this,” he said right before downing the nerve-deadening tea. His nose scrunched up after he finished the tea. “Ugh, tastes as foul as it smells,” he announced to the room as if to warn the furniture not to bother trying the tea. He went over the self-performing spell in his head again, it had to be executed perfectly or the next poor soul to enter this house would find two dead ponies.
Once he began to feel the tea taking effect, he moved to a nearby cot and lay flat on his stomach. He steeled himself, preparing for the pain he was going to have to endure. In spite of what the tea was doing to him, he knew the procedure would cause nearly unbearable amounts of pain.
After his body had become completely numb, he initiated the spell that more often than not killed the donor. The spell was usually lethal even when it was being performed by multiple trained doctors that didn’t have senses dulled by drug-laced tea. Star Swirl managed to remain confident in his abilities in spite of this knowledge. There was a reason after all.
A dull yellow glow began to emanate from his horn as he focused his magic. All at once every light source in the room was extinguished, leaving only the glow from his horn . The glow intensified as several objects moved themselves to the bedside.
Two fresh wash basins, one with water, the other with a powerful antiseptic. Accompanying them was a stack of clean towels, a needle and thread, a very recently sterilized jar, a syringe and some surgical tubing. One of the towels levitated from the stack and dipped itself in the antiseptic. The towel then began to clean his horn and a part of his foreleg.
The jar floated over accompanied by the surgical tubing and the syringe. He barely felt the insertion of the syringe. However the next step of the procedure was excruciating in spite of his preparations.
The yellow glow became bright violet with flashes of green and purple accompanied by sparks of gold that flew in every direction. He closed his eyes and braced himself.
A bright silver film developed around his horn and for a moment there was no feeling at all. Then the film dissipated until there were only a few tiny glowing squares. They burned as if they were on fire, the feeling only intensified as these squares separated themselves from the main body of the horn. His entire body convulsed as the newly formed flaps of tissue peeled themselves away, leaving holes in his horn. A faint blue hue appeared amongst the other colors of the spell, the pain lessened as the silver film returned and covered the holes in his horn.
Star Swirl lost touch with the world as his eyes rolled back. The final stage of the spell mercifully activated and sedated him while the silver film did its job.
Slowly, the fire under the kettle reignited and one by one the candles in the room flickered back to life. They stood a silent vigil, waiting for the eventual awakening of the one who once again cheated death to help another.


“It should hurt, shouldn’t it?” Star Swirl thought to himself as he watched the pool of crimson slowly spread across the stonework of the bridge. “Why doesn’t it hurt?” Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Star Swirl managed to glance to the left. “Celestia?” He managed to choke out, gagging on his own blood. “Celestia are you alright?” He called out weakly. He tried to turn his head to look for her but found he couldn’t. “Celestia can you hear me?”
Somehow he had noticed the lance of energy first, somehow he had moved quickly enough to shield Celestia with his own body. He had thrown up the most powerful barrier he could muster at such short notice, and he was still alive. For now.
The needle-fine beam of energy had pierced his shield before it could solidify and the two energies combined into a roiling ball of super-heated destruction. As the sphere detonated into a cloud of green flames he threw forward every last ounce of telekinetic power his mind could manage.
It had done the job he intended, it had saved Celestia from the death curse that was now taking him instead. He allowed himself a small moment of triumph, satisfied with the knowledge that his final act would be to deny the death-blow of Celestia’s would-be assassin. 
Stubbornly, he attempted to move once more in spite of the extreme pain it caused and found that he was able to roll over and look behind him at the rest of the bridge. Celestia was nowhere to be seen.	
Star Swirl prayed that she was merely concealed by the thick black clouds of smoke that consumed the area. 
With a groan, he managed to get a foreleg under himself and lift his head off the hot stonework. Mere inches from where he lay, the stone slabs were glowing hot. They had been flash-melted from the heat of the blast just beyond the point where the shield had collapsed.
The air was buzzing with magical discharge and several nearby trees were on fire.
Star Swirl was finding it difficult to focus on anything in particular, save for the ringing in his ears. At that point he deduced he at least had a concussion. 
As the ringing faded, it was replaced by the loud crackle of the fire burning the trees. At this point he knew his ears still worked, although how well they still worked remained to be seen. The dull ache in his hind legs meant the nerves in his neck and spine were still intact as well.
He managed to get his legs under himself and shakily rose, his hooves planted on the hot stone. Spitting a mouthful of blood onto the sizzling stone, Star Swirl looked in the direction the attack had come from. Nothing.
Coughing up yet more blood onto the stones, the realization hit him. His lung was punctured, it wouldn’t be long before he wasn’t of use to anypony.
Taking a moment to clear his mind, Star Swirl swept through his memories in search of the spell that would keep him alive the longest. In the long run it wouldn’t matter, there was one thing he could not fix.
The curse that had hit him had already begun its grisly work. It wouldn’t be long before it had spread throughout his entire body.
Star Swirl realized this as the curse’s more visible effects surfaced. The flesh around his wounds became gangrenous and his wounds began to weep fresh blood. Small green lines were becoming visible along his entire body. 
He looked over his shoulder and coughed out a loud and raspy “Celestia!” The effort caused him to lower his head and cough again, the coppery taste of blood once again invaded his muzzle. He couldn’t help but notice there was no reply.
The thick black clouds had not relented, in fact upon observation they appeared to thicken over time. It didn’t help that his vision was darkening with each cough that brought more blood with it.
Star Swirl strengthened his resolve with the goal of spending his final moments ensuring Celestia’s safety. Failing that, he could at least give the attacker an additional target and give Celestia an opportunity to escape or better yet destroy their attacker.
The blood in his lung began to pool, making breathing even more difficult. With each labored breath, more and more blood began to run out of his nose and mouth.
Star Swirl focused and forced one of his legs to move, then the other. He began a slow and awkward walk toward the far end of the bridge. He had only taken a few steps before stopping, his strength waning as he became distracted.
Suppressing a smile, he found himself studying the curse that was destroying his body. He was admiring its craftsmanship, it was clearly very well-made. It was brutal, yet elegant in its methodical spread throughout the body, not a single organ seemed to be missed by it. It was in fact, almost recognizable. It was familiar.
His blood ran cold as the realization hit him.
Star Swirl The Bearded had had three students over the course of his life. One was dead, the other had been on the bridge with him at the time of the attack. He then picked up just the faintest signal of an incoming magical discharge just before the bridge had exploded into a multicolored firestorm.


Star Swirl surged up from the cot in a fright. His heart raced, hammering away and his chest heaved with every breath. His eyes darted around the room in search of an enemy hidden within the shadows. Slowly, he catalogued every object in the room, reassuring himself that there was indeed no enemy and the dream was over. The scent of lavender flooded his nostrils and he regained his composure. 
He closed his eyes and sighed, enjoying the scent that always fought back the darkness when it clouded his mind. Lavender always brought back memories of better times before the world changed. Before magic had been tainted by evil.
It was too quiet he thought. Aside from the gentle pops and crackles from the dying fire accompanied by the delicate ticks from the old grandfather clock all was silent. 
Star Swirl whistled a specific tune, causing a pre-enchanted mirror to float to his side. Taking it in a hoof he examined the spell’s handiwork more thoroughly. 
The delicate flakes of horn had separated cleanly, leaving perfect square holes in his horn. The silver film was still present, however it was limited to the boundaries of the square holes. 
Satisfied that the grafts had been properly removed and that there was no sign of horn degradation or fractures, Starswirl set the mirror aside. He sighed with relief and smiled a little, he had gotten lucky yet again. 
His head was still buzzing as he slowly stepped off the cot and slowly approached an ancient table carved right into the wall of the study. It was old, older than himself he was sure, and very ornate. 
Rearing up onto his hind legs, Star Swirl rested his forelegs on the table and reached for a slot in the wall. He pulled a silver chalice from the slot in the wall and turned his attention to a small cabinet set atop the table. He opened it and began to look at a selection of crystal and glass bottles. 
Out of habit he reached for a particular octagonal bottle. It was small and had a blue tint, the spring water it contained was still ice cold and from the very head of the mighty Amethyst River. That river flows northward from the base of the Crystal Mountains. 
Star Swirl hesitated, while it was true the water possessed incredible healing powers along with a few other interesting effects. The water in this bottle could only treat wounds of a non-magical origin.
Reluctantly Star Swirl pushed the sweet-tasting, self-chilling water back into the cabinet. It could be more useful later at a different time.
Star Swirl glanced at the clock. Four twenty seven in the morning. “Ah, well then. This is a morning to celebrate anyways. Its not every day one gets the chance to cheat death.” 
He gently nudged the bottles to the side to reach into the back of the cabinet. He carefully reached back and grabbed a reddish clay jar with a small smile. This stuff was definitely for celebrations, and it had been aging. He grasped it a little more firmly and pulled the old cork out with his mouth, giving it a deep sniff. He poured a small amount of the amber liquid into the silver chalice.
“To absent friends,” he whispered solemnly before putting the chalice to his lips. He downed the liquid in a single gulp. “May their journeys see them safely home,” he finished. The warm, electrifying taste of the zap apple hard cider tingled in his stomach and the sensation spread throughout his body. 
Almost immediately the buzzing in his head was replaced with a soft, tingling warmth. The satisfying feeling was everywhere, he even managed a smile. 
It was a shame, he thought to himself as he poured another sip of the cider. As soon as the jar was made empty, the drink would no longer be known to the world. This was the last batch known to exist, and he had paid quite a pretty sum for the zap apples needed to make it. 
Even as he took another taste of the delectable cider his thoughts turned to one of his oldest friends. It had been centuries and Star Swirl still remembered that night as clearly as if it had just been yesterday. 


It had been a warm night near the end of summer with just a slight breeze escorting the dull rumble of the falls higher up the mountain.
All had gathered in the study to welcome home Master Silver Spark and his apprentice who were returning from an expedition. They had been exploring the newly formed forest at the base of the mountain. It had recently been created by the chaotic evil that had been released there. 
Star Swirl had stood in this very spot listening to Silver Spark recount the four day excursion with great interest. Particularly when he came to the part regarding the center of the forest where the first battle had taken place.
Silver Spark’s apprentice lowered his head at the mention of charred bones. All that had remained of the group of alicorns which first stood against the evil that had shown itself to the world that day.
The true number of alicorns killed in that moment would likely never be known, but Star Swirl knew it was in the dozens. Only the alicorn king and queen had survived that day.


Star Swirl moved to a pillow near the fire and sat, placing his cider on a table nearby that was surrounded by other pillows in front of the fire. A place for friends to gather, a place where they’d likely never gather again. “If only we had known,” he said quietly to himself. “So many could have been saved.” Star Swirl’s gaze slowly panned the room, seeing it both as it was and as it should have been. Both empty and full of his departed companions. 
The light from the fire danced across every surface in the room and revealed old memories everywhere. Some good, others he simply wished to forget. Sometimes he felt it would be best if he could just go senile and forget. 
His eyes paused over a large disc of wood, maybe a foot thick that laid near the far wall. He could still make out the imprint of the old cushion that used to be set upon it. This particular piece of wood had been the favored seat of Luminescent Star, the once High Master of the Star Order and close personal friend of Star Swirl. This personal friend was also quite possibly the most powerful unicorn to ever live. Nopony could have predicted that he would be the first to fall at the hands of the draconequus. 
Star Swirl stopped himself with a shake of his head. He knew where that set of memories would take him and it was nowhere pleasant.
The fire flickered lazily, almost as if begging for food. Star Swirl studied it intently for a long while. He was looking for answers in the flame that weren’t there.
Another sip of cider and the cup was empty.
Star Swirl stood and looked to the clock just in time to see the hands change and hear the gong. Five o’ clock. 
He stood from the pillow with a sigh and took a fleeting glance at the trio of pictures that rested on the mantle above the fireplace. He then turned to leave the room, the three faces staring cheerfully after him. Star swirl stopped in another room briefly to check on his patient before heading to the stairs for the library.
Under normal circumstances Star Swirl would have simply teleported himself to the third floor library. However the circumstances were far from normal, he would need to wait a full twelve hours before using any magic whatsoever. His body was already tired and he’d barely done anything, even with healing spells later on, it could take several days to regain full use of his horn.
Upon reaching the uppermost step Star Swirl paused to look out the window on his left. There was no sunrise. It had been nearly two weeks since Celestia had left to mourn her sister and the sun had not risen all the days hence. It was getting very cold without the sun, he wondered how much longer it would be before the snow prevented him from opening the door.
Aware of his presence, the library door swung open on its large iron hinges, allowing him to pass. He smiled a little as he stepped inside, glad the enchantments still worked without his magic feeding them.
The library was smaller than one might expect inside a home that was once full of wizards. It contained perhaps a few hundred volumes across a half-dozen bookshelves. Every single volume however was worth its weight in gold, maybe more as almost none of them had been copied and most were hoof-written by the wizards who had lived here. They contained some of the most powerful and rare spells to ever exist in the entire world. Only a few existed outside this room, lest they fall into the wrong hooves, hands, claws, or whatever other horrible appendages would seek to do the world harm. 
The bulk of the collection was in a vault in the Canterlot Castle. However its combined might would pale in comparison to what one would learn in this room. For many of these spells had been written by the ancients themselves. 
Star Swirl stood a moment in the doorway and grimaced. There was an intense amount of energy in the air that his damaged horn did not take kindly to. Bracing himself, Star Swirl entered the room fully. 
With effort he managed to banish the tingling feeling developing in his horn from his awareness and concentrate on the current task at hoof. Slowly and deliberately the wizard made it to the back of the room. Paying little to no attention to the abundant amount of power that lay contained on the shelves around him.
The most powerful of these scripts hovered at a central point in the room, denying it contact with any object or surface. A dull cloud of energy much resembling black fire surrounded the tome.
As a habit Star Swirl gave the large tome a wide berth. It reeked of death and he knew exactly why it was never to be touched. On the cover was but one word written in the most ancient of all the old Alicorn dialects. Translated it read simply. Malevolence.
A simple word to those that remained ignorant to its intended meaning.
Star Swirl realized a small part of himself was once again thinking of how grateful he was that the wretched thing remained in his care. Hidden from the world, and those that would seek to open its pages. 
He gave the book a long stare. With time the disdain in his expression faded and he realized he’d spent too long staring at it as one of his hooves had begun to slide toward it. 
Star Swirl tore his gaze from the book to look at the far wall and took a deep breath. The book was powerful enough to take one over if one were careless, or weak-willed enough to let it.
Steadying himself against the forces of the room, Star Swirl continued toward the back wall of the library. He needed to find the answer to a new question that his young patient had brought with her.
The book case he now approached was in itself rather unimpressive. It had no ornamental carvings, more on the practical or functional side. The brightly colored books however more than made up for the book case’s lack of flamboyancy. 
His gaze fell upon the top row of books, analyzing each one carefully. The first was in its own way special to him. It was an in-depth study on windigos and their rather bizarre abilities. He had outlived its author and his first apprentice by over seven hundred years. The old stallion had read the volume many times. Clover had been very clever indeed.
The next was, by a historian’s point of view, possibly the most valuable work in existence. It was a dull red book with brilliant streaks of gold all leading to the top of the front cover. These gold streaks formed the title which was written in formal dragon runes. 
Star Swirl knew only one thing for sure about that book, it contained the complete historical account of Kamarag. The last of the First Dragons. Kamarag had lived through the great catastrophe that had wiped out the Ancients and nearly destroyed the world.
Unfortunately the book itself could never be fully translated as there was no living being left in the world that could read formal dragon runes. There were thankfully other historical records that made reference to key events in the book.
Master Luminescent Star after finding several partially translated texts from Kamarag’s writings was convinced he had been trying to warn future generations. Of what nopony could be certain, but Luminescent had been right. Star Swirl could not think of a time when Luminescent Star was ever completely wrong about something.
He had to focus, if he didn’t he’d end up spending all day in this room.
He needed the answer to his reason.
Star Swirl skimmed past several other volumes until finding the particular one that had brought him up those steps in the first place.
By this room’s standards, the book was simple and quite boring looking. The binding was a light sky blue with a much darker blue making up the lettering and edges. A golden ribbon held the book shut and also served as a book mark.
Written in an older more formal unicorn dialect the title read: “A Guide To The Identification And Treatment Of Netherworld Spell Wounds And Or Possessions.” He chuckled a little at the capitalization of every word in the title, even the less important words were held high in this dialect. 
Star Swirl took the book in a hoof and moved to sit at a small desk off to the side of the room.. He seated himself on one of the thick pillows that formed a half moon around the table. He stole a look at the book’s author. Master Star Shine. 
Star Swirl immediately closed his mind to the flood of memories that threatened to overtake him at the thought of the name.
Star Shine.
NO! He had to stay focused. He took a moment and a breath to clear his mind and block everything out completely. This took considerable effort to say the least. Star Swirl opened the book, the need to find his answer now stronger than the memories trying to take him away. He was certain he already knew the answer, but he needed to be certain, to confirm what he had seen. 
The words were hard to read. Not just because the author had chosen to use a dead language. It was dead now anyways, the only ones to speak the language for the last thousand years had been the Star Order. There was no telling how long it would be before another Star Unicorn was born.
Star Swirl found the chapter that had been calling him and began to read more slowly rather than skimming through. 
He read for what felt like hours even though mere minutes had passed. Reading these words again was torture after so many years. 
He continued to read, knowing full well by now that he was already right. He already knew that his patient downstairs bore wounds she had received from a creature not from the natural world. A creature that could only have been summoned by another unfathomable power and possessing an even greater evil.
Worse still, that creature had once been. A lifetime ago, Star Swirl’s truest friend.
He closed the book gently with all the care of a loving mother and sat back from the table. He leaned on his haunches and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. 
Turning his head to look at the uppermost shelf in the room, Star Swirl studied several small figurines perched up there.
Right in the middle of the group stood a little stone Draconequus staring down at him. A humor filled smile on its face. The look was a little ironic as well, almost as if he was laughing at himself.
Star Swirl froze, his heart skipped a beat. “Discord,” he said with a tone of disbelief. “It can’t be,” he thought out loud. “Not now, not then, not ever again!” He screamed inside.
At the sound of the spoken name, the great floating book in the center of the room stirred. The dull black flames surrounding the book surged with renewed vigor, regaining their violet hues. Small electrical charges began to arc across the book’s surface. The covers began to ripple as if they were made of liquid. It was almost as if the book was excited at the mention of the name. 
Star Swirl wheeled about and stared dumbstruck at the book that was nearly as old as time itself. It had never, in the recorded history of the Order moved and it was now doing just that before the last remaining member.
The air in the room began to vibrate as it slowly and very ominously opened. Small bolts of electricity arced from page to page as they turned. AS they did, the black fire began to reach out for anything it could consume.
Star Swirl dove out of the way of an errant bolt of lightning that shot from the book. Was it attacking him? He took cover under the table just in case and continued to observe the book.
The fluttering pages stopped turning as the book neared its middle. For a moment everything fell silent again. No lightning, no fire, no sound. 
Just as Star Swirl thought the book had returned to its slumber, the storm awoke once more. It started as a breeze, but quickly grew into gale force winds INSIDE the library.
Many of the books took to the air and flew about the room with pages flopping in the wind. Even the thick door to the stairwell was thrown open by the sheer force of the winds. Its magic had been overcome by the magic wind tearing through the room.
Star Swirl knew immediately not to attempt to control what was happening. The power within this book greatly outweighed his own by an incalculable amount. For now at least, he was at its mercy.
A dark blue, almost black light appeared just above the pages of the book. It floated there a moment and Star Swirl almost felt another mind in the room, like it was trying to do something else.
The pony under the table watched with ever growing interest. His fear was overwhelmed by his curiosity at this point, it was something that had no explanation. 
With a sudden flash the light became a sphere a meter wide hovering a mere inch above the paper. 
A dark cloud that closely resembled smoke billowed up out of the light and headed toward the ceiling. It was strangely unaffected by the near-hurricane force winds that surrounded it. This smoke, or whatever it was, moved with a purpose. It floated until it reached the ceiling, paused a moment, then struck like a snake toward the shelf of figurines. it was headed toward the little statue of Discord. 
Star Swirl crept farther out from under the table. He didn’t want to miss a single part of this event, knowing his memory would be the only record of these events. If things went badly enough, the table probably wouldn’t be able to keep him safe anyway. With one hoof wrapped around a leg of the table and the other shielding his face from books and other objects flying around the room he continued to watch.
The smoke reached the statue but did not touch it. Instead it encircled the figurine, staying maybe an inch from its surface. A moment later a bolt of energy with the likeness of lightning shot up from the book and into the smoke. It traveled through the smoke and into the stone figurine.
The stone figurine began to shudder as if it might explode. Small arcs of what appeared to be electricity began to jump back and forth between the smoke and the statue with steadily decreasing intervals.
Star Swirl’s eyes widened. He recognized it for what it was. A high capacity data-transfer spell. The real question was, what could the book be learning from the little piece of stonework?
The transaction was taking a rather long time for the speed of the arcs of lightning. Or at least thats how it felt to Star Swirl. He knew how much information that kind of spell could send or receive in a second.
Just before the one minute mark, the electrical pulses stopped and the cloud receded to the book. There was a loud snap of magical static and the light was gone. The wind stopped dead as well and a shower of books and other light objects came raining down around the poor wizard pony.
Star Swirl swore he heard a faint cackle of evil laughter as the book’s cover shut with a thud.
All was silent for a moment until the library door was finally released from the curse that was holding it open and it slammed shut.
After gathering his wits Star Swirl got to his hooves and surveyed the mess around him. It would take a non-telekinetic days to sort through this mess. He set about searching the piles for the book he had been reading.
“Why now?” He asked almost angrily as he glanced back at the book. The flames were once more dancing lazily over the book’s surface, faded back to their dull hue.
“Why choose this morning, of all mornings to show yourself to me?” He sounded somewhat frustrated, still searching for his book. The book just floated there, impassive.
“Why indeed?” He thought to himself, his frustration giving way to deeper thought. “And why to such a random, yet specific remark?” He mumbled as he moved to rummage through a different pile of books.
The dark thing in the book gave him no hints, no clues. It simply floated there, almost mockingly.
Pushing over a rather large volume entitled: “One Thousand And One Uses For Eye Of Newt” the old pony paused in his search.
“Discord,” he thought inwardly. Not wanting to utter it aloud again lest he trigger another event. Who knew what else the book was capable of?
“It is not a common name by any means,” Starswirl puzzled. “It has only become historically significant within the last five hundred years or so,” he said whilst tilting his head. “Which is about the equivalent of an afternoon nap for you.”
Pulling aside a large and rather comfortable throw pillow Star Swirl spotted his prize and yanked it from the pile.
“It’s not as if the two of you have ever met,” he said building on a thought. “Your imprisonment here began many millennia ago,” he said as a matter-of-factly.
Star Swirl flipped idly through the book in search of the place he had left off in. He sat at the table to read again but found he couldn’t, not yet. Not with this new question forming in his head.
The wizard looked up from his book to the statuette of Discord.
“Just because Master Luminescent elected to train him never meant that he would become a member of the Star Order. It was just not in his blood,” he recalled. He had said the second part half-heartedly. “Thus he was never made aware of this place,” he said, finishing his thought.
The statue smiled back blankly. “But then you knew that as well didn’t you?” He said, watching the dancing flame out of the corner of his eye. He noted the flame had slowed in its movements. 
A reaction? Possibly, but not very likely. Clearly at this point anything could happen around this strange book.
Upon finding his place in the book, Star Swirl once again began to read. However he only paid half a mind to the words in the book as his thoughts remained fixed on the events of the past few minutes. A dozen facts swirled through his head, every single one of them demanded his attention. 
Distracting him further still of course was the need to talk to the barely alive mare downstairs.
After managing to stammer out his name she had been instantly overcome by pain. Nevermind pain, she was in agony. Which as anypony could imagine made conversation impossible.
To make matters worse, Star Swirl knew another operation would be necessary or she would surely die of something more than a mere wound to the flesh.
He knew it would be a terrible death for her.
Star Swirl sat there a few moments. His head was spinning and a sense of helplessness was creeping up from someplace deep within him. A lump formed in his throat, he was tired, mentally and physically. Any other unicorn would have spent days in bed recovering from that procedure and he just put up with a hurricane of books and has another unicorn’s life that needs saving.
He took a moment to regain his composure and rubbed his temples with his hooves. After massaging some of the stress away, he began reading once more.
It spoke of the black fire spell. It was easily the most powerful and deadliest of all destruction magic. Nopony had ever developed an effective defense against it. The black fire consumed all it touched. Be it earth, stone, flesh, bone, not even water was safe from the black fire’s hunger. 
The only objects to ever survive exposure to the black flames were the bones of some of the alicorns that had died that fateful day over the Everfree Forest.Well, the bones and one other powerful item survived.
Star Swirl finished the chapter, his questions answered. He closed his eyes and gently closed the book. 
Several facts were falling into place but he still lacked a vital piece of information. However said piece of information was currently being held in the mind of a dying unicorn downstairs. 
For a small moment, Star Swirl acknowledged just how alone he really was. It wasn’t the first time he found himself wishing that he had perished alongside his brethren all those years ago.
Destiny it seemed, had other plans for the old wizard.
Star Swirl rose with a groan and shelved the book. He gave it a light tap with his hoof. He knew what needed to be done, the question was, could he?
The dizzying sensation of the room increased as the magical aura in the room began to overwhelm his damaged horn.
Little black dots began to form in his vision, he had to focus just to see where he was going now. The sooner he left the room the better! Still, he had one more question, one that potentially held his greatest fears as an answer.
Star Swirl reached for a long black roll of cloth near the door. It had been left there to await this very moment.
Unrolling the cloth revealed a beautifully crafted dual-bladed sword. It was engraved with elegant dragon runes. Unlike most dual-bladed swords, this one possessed no handle in the middle, meaning it couldn’t be used by a non-telekinetic pony. This weapon was crafted specifically for unicorns who’s telekinetic abilities were advanced enough to use it in battle.
Having been forged in the flames of a noble dragon’s breath, its blade had withstood the test of time. After seeing untold centuries, the fall of countless enemies, and the resolution of many great battles, the blade was still sharp and true as the day it was made.
Celestia herself could not have damaged this relic.
Star Swirl carefully balanced the glistening blade on a steady hoof as he eyed the evil book in the center of the room.
He steeled himself against the grief he was certain he was about to feel.
The blade had a long history, most of it was unknown to Star Swirl. For a time it had belonged to Silver Spark and had served him well. He was likely the best telekinetic swordspony in the Order.
Star Swirl watched the dancing black flames as they rolled lazily across the surface of the book. He knew there was but one force left in this world capable of damaging his friends dragon fire weapon.
Face set with grim determination and resolve, Star Swirl approached the evil in front of him. He reached out with the blade and whispered. “I’m sorry Silver. But I need to know.”
No sooner had the tip of the sword entered the edge of the flames they surged out along its length nearly to the midpoint. The blade began to vibrate against Star Swirl’s hoof. The flames coiled around their prey like a snake as black embers and a thick violet smoke rose from the surface of the sword.
Star Swirl stood passive and watched the blade. The Telekinesis Blade, immune to even the withering effects of time itself was pulverised into glittering dust. It was consumed by the flames as it fell toward the floor, never making it that far.
Star Swirl pulled back the half blade and inspected it. The broken end was nearly a perfect cut. As always with the flame’s destroyed targets, the sword was cool to the touch where the flame had just been.
The flames around the book emitted small snaps and pops as they surged angrily. It sent out several little fingers in search of the removed food supply.
The wizard took a few steps back, now that the first part of the test was done, the real one could begin. 
Star swirl reached into a small cloth saddle bag and removed a sapphire colored Greater Soul gem. The gems color pulsed weakly, its enchantment barely containing what lay within.
He carefully placed the little stone atop the broken edge of the blade and whispered the spell to release its contents.
Immediately the tiny rock vaporized, consumed by the fragment of black fire that had been contained within it. For a moment after finishing off the gem it simply floated there. Almost as if inspecting its surroundings. Star Swirl noted that its color was slightly different from the flame around the book.
However that pattern of behavior changed as the flame suddenly reached out onto the blade below it. At first nothing happened and Star Swirl began to think that the worst had not yet happened. That this was hopefully a knockoff of the real deal, a fake version of the black fire that had been cooked up by some random psycho.
These hopeful thoughts were put to a sudden end as the fire began to pop and sizzle and boil the blade away. Star Swirl’s heart sank as he realized that the flame he had trapped in the gem was indeed the real deal.
Star Swirl closed his eyes and murmured a silent prayer to whatever deity may be listening. The old pony approached the book once more and tipped the blade over, causing the fragment of black flame to fall off the blade and onto the book. Now clear of the black flame, he absent-mindedly dropped the ruined blade.
His gaze turned to the statuette on the shelf. “So its true then,” he said as he bowed his head. Fear creeping up from deep within. “The demon has returned,” he muttered as his gaze fell. “And far more powerful than ever I suspect,” he stopped at the blade, guilt filling his mind. 
He scooped it up gently and returned it to its wrapping.
Master Luminescent had been right once again it seemed. Not even the Elements could hold back his friend forever.
Star Swirl placed Silver Spark’s blade on a shelf next to the door before leaving the dizzying room behind. Right after the enchanted door closed behind him the aura of the room was cut off. With the aura, went the feeling of disorientation, falling, and those pesky black dots.
He checked out the window before descending the stairs. Still no sun.
Star Swirl had to feel  his way down the stairs as the wall lantern had long since gone out. He headed for the study which was thankfully still illuminated by the dying fire within.
He paused at the threshold and counted to three.
The old clock struck seven.
The old stallion’s lips curled into a smile. “Glad my old mental clock is still functioning and right on time,” he mused quietly. “I’d say the mechanical one is about a sixteenth of a second off,” he challenged the old clock.
It might have seemed a bit senile to somepony, maybe downright crazy. After having lived alone for so many years in a house so full of memories it was all he could do to cope.
It was ironic when he stopped to think about it. Star Swirl was neither the strongest, nor the wisest of the Order. He was certainly not the most powerful either. Yet here he stood, the last one to occupy the lonely house on the mountain.
The fire sputtered and popped, breaking his mind’s downward spiral. He watched a few embers rise lazily up until they passed from view into the chimney. It was time.
Somewhat hesitantly, the old wizard crossed the room to the old cot he had made use of earlier.
Star Swirl took a moment to inspect the tiny slivers of horn lying on the tray that remained sterile. It was all protected by a preservation spell.
These were the young mare’s only hope of ever regaining the full use of her horn.
Star Swirl knew the odds of him being an acceptable donor were astronomical at best. He had observed however that their horn grains were a near perfect match. There was always a reason for everything, he knew. 
He moved on to a row of small glass bottles all containing pre-mixed potions of varying colors.
As soon as his mental clock hit seven seventeen he bit the cork on the greenish bottle and pulled it out. He downed the bottle’s contents in one go. His face contorted in what would have surely been the funniest face he’s made in decades had another pony been nearby to observe it.
“By Celestia’s grandmother!” He bellowed loudly. “That is absolutely foul!” He shook his head, wishing he could have something tasty to wash the taste away. He tossed the little bottle into the fire where it was instantly vaporized. He didn’t move for a moment, he just kept his hoof pressed against his mouth.
“Stardust Jade if I never taste another one of your invigoration potions it’ll be too soon.”
He took a glance at the next two bottles in line. Hefting a very small bright pink bottle, Star Swirl uttered a carefully chosen string of curses as the bitter fluid ran down his throat.
Star Swirl slammed the bottle down like a shot glass and tilted his head to the side, causing his neck to crack loudly.
Finally he moved to the end of the table and checked the jar of blood he had drained from himself earlier. Into this jar of donated blood he poured yet another potion, this one would ensure the blood was purified. An additional potion served to convert his blood type to hers. An ingenious trick taught to him by Stardust Jade. The taste of whom’s potions still lingered on his tongue and in his throat. 
The ancient mare had always been completely mad. However she always seemed to know a pony’s body better than they did and her alchemic knowledge was unmatched.
“Still,” he said with the remnants of an upset face. “I wish she could’ve come up with a way to make the damned things taste better,” he complained as he looked at the final potion sitting on the table. It stood there defiantly, taunting him. 
Star Swirl opened the bottle and poured its contents onto a towel, soaking it thoroughly. As he did this he glanced at the clock to be sure, he had twelve seconds to go.
He glanced at the cot to make sure the cleaning spell had worked while he was up in the library. Satisfied that all was in order, Star Swirl turned back and downed the final potion.
“Ugh! What the buck was wrong with that mare?!” He howled as a taste the equivalent of hot sewage and what could only be described as jalapeño flavored cough medicine oozed down his throat.
“Thats it! I swear on the Divines that I, Star Swirl The Bearded, shall never willingly save another pony via these potions ever again!” He fumed.
The little timer in Star Swirl’s mind informed him that it was time. He gritted his teeth and turned again to the cot. Holding his breath the pony counted his heartbeats. One. Two.
A white flash of light notified the room of something being teleported.
Starswirl blinked the exact moment of the flash and there on the cot was the broken and battered body of his patient. “Right then,” he said to himself.
First order of business was to start the blood transfusion, she wouldn’t survive without it if she didn’t get some more into her system soon.
Checking thoroughly to ensure she was still sedated, Star Swirl reassured himself that she was fully prepped and set about his work.
The self-calculating time-delayed teleportation spell had worked perfectly. The mare had been laid out on her back with her legs out of the way.
Star Swirl began checking and changing all of the necessary bandages, finishing with her horn. He tended to her horn with the utmost care, knowing a single mistake could end her life.
It was hard not to get distracted by his glowing hooves, that final potion he had ingested sterilized his hooves and was generating a sterilizing field around his forelegs.
After moving a few candles closer to cast more light on his work area he grabbed the potion-soaked towel. He began to slowly and gently wash the mare’s horn until the entire appendage had been thoroughly moistened.
Star Swirl then hung the blood jar from an appropriated coat hanger and attached a sterile needle and surgical tubing. He gently cleaned one of her forelegs near her shoulder and stuck the needle into one of her veins, starting the blood transfusion. 
His next objective was the small wound on her chest, just below the midpoint between her forelegs. The wound was a small puncture less than a tenth of an inch across. Most ponies would have missed it or thought of it as nothing at all. However it was one of the deadliest wounds she possessed. 
Star Swirl removed a towel from a tray revealing a large assortment of  surgical tools. He also had an extra doctor’s bag full of supplies and instruments he thought he might need in case of an emergency. Truthfully, there wasn’t enough he could do to prepare for this surgery.
He glanced up at the jar full of blood to check its progress and was satisfied that she was ready for surgery. He grabbed a flip open razor and began to shave around the soon to be re-opened wound.
After washing any loosed hair and dried blood away, he grabbed a scalpel and took a moment to study the puncture more closely. He drew a line with his mind, then followed it with a well-practiced hoof. He cut from slightly above the hole to six inches below it, clenching his jaw at the sight of the blade effortlessly gliding through the mare’s skin.
Blood oozed from the cut but was quickly drawn away by an unseen force in a tiny stream to the far side of the cot where it was then deposited into an enchanted bowl.
Star Swirl pushed the edges of the tissue open a bit wider before pushing in a spreading shackle to hold the incision open. 
The wizard whistled a three note tune and a nearby lantern floated off the wall to his side. He positioned it over his workspace to improve the lighting a bit more. His tired old eyes weren’t what they used to be. 
Star Swirl cut deeper, following the path of the original intruder. He glanced at the blood jar, less than half full. He had to work faster if he wanted her to have any blood left at the end of the operation.
He cut just a bit deeper, getting scared that he might not be able to save her. He stopped and breathed a sigh of relief, the chase was over. Protruding from a bed of exposed muscle was the end of a long, barbed stinger.
Careful not to touch the intruder, Star Swirl cut the tissue around the stinger and lifted the entire mass out.
He tossed another potion into the fire, causing the flames to change to a color similar to the mare’s coat before dropping the stinger into the fireplace. The now enchanted flames destroyed the otherworldly poisonous barb in a safe and timely manner. 
After another minute of searching for additional fragments and thankfully finding none within her, Star Swirl closed the wound. 
Star Swirl stole another glance at the blood jar and was thankful to see that there was still some left. Good, she would need it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to donate again until tomorrow at the earliest. 
Now the impromptu surgeon moved to a task more delicate than any other he had attempted thus far.
After checking to see that the cleansing potion from earlier had finished with her horn Star Swirl reached into the saddlebag he had brought back with him from the castle and retrieved the small jar of salve.
The salve had taken an entire day to prepare and would act as a bonding agent for the horn grafts. He liberally applied it to all of the areas to be grafted.
After taking a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the built up sweat on his forehead with a towel, Star Swirl broke the protection field on the tray that was covering the horn grafts. After one final inspection for decay or damage, he began to cut them to fit their new owner.
It took another three hours to cut, clean and place all of the grafts properly. At last it was done, and Star Swirl managed to convince himself that the mare’s chances were now more than a fifty-fifty.
Star Swirl didn’t have much left in him at this point. He withdrew the needle from her foreleg, double checked his most recent stitch job and lastly made sure her fresh bandages were as perfect of a fit as they could be. 
Exhausted from the exertion, lack of sleep, lack of food, and his own surgery, Star Swirl was able to lay on a pair of pillows on the floor and fall asleep within seconds.



Somewhere in the darkness somepony screamed. 
Twilight froze in place. It was the same scream she had been hearing for and hour now while running through the darkened streets of Canterlot. High pitched, terrified, full of agony, and it always cut off suddenly.
She backed into a corner and looked about frantically. One was close. Twilight could feel its presence with her horn but the creature remained visibly hidden. She could feel it watching her.
Holding a hoof to her bleeding leg she concentrated and scanned for it with her horn.
There! A pulse of the dark one’s enchantment. Twilight fired as powerful a burst of freezing magic as she could muster. 
The beast was only momentarily revealed as it shrugged off the spell as though it had been cast by a filly fresh from magic kindergarten. 
She had just enough time to scream like all the rest as it leapt the distance separating them instantly. Pain unlike any she had ever experienced before coursed through her body as the creature wrapped its whip-like arms around her and sunk spines and stingers deep into her body.
With a final savage twist, the creature ripped Twilight in half.


Twilight tried to jolt upright from her dream but she could not. At first she thought she was still in a part of that awful nightmare. She didn’t recognize any of her surroundings and there was a terrible burning sensation coming from her horn. Her horn. Something wasn’t right with it, but what was it?
Fuzzily, Twilight focused on her horn, trying to dissect what was wrong with it. Her mind reeled at the horrid realization.
She couldn’t sense her own magical field! It was like suddenly finding oneself blind or deaf. On a unicorn’s instinct she panicked which was only made worse by the apparent paralysis she was experiencing from the neck down.
Desperation taking effect, she tried to scream for help but only managed a small choked cry thanks to dehydration and disuse. However, the tiny sound she made was enough to gain the attention of a certain pony.
“Calm yourself child,” came a firm yet gentle tone from somewhere just beyond Twilight’s vision. “All is well,” it said. “You have nothing to fear here, I promise you.”
There was the sound of pouring water as the voice continued. “You have some fight in you dear. Not many a pony could survive what you’ve been through,” the voice sounded a bit amused, and impressed.
Twilight’s eyes moved around in their sockets, surveying what little part of the room they could see.
A match was struck and a candle was lit, adding to the light in the room. “Rest easy,” the voice ordered sternly. “You’ll be able to move again once I allow it,” he said reassuringly. Twilight was now certain the voice belonged to a male, an old male. “I simply did not want a repeat of your previous awakening,” the old voice continued. “You made quite the mess and I had to start over on a lot of difficult work,” he finished.
Twilight struggled to remember what had happened before but her head was still floating and swirling. It was tiring, she wanted to move, take in the necessary information, get oriented. however all she could do was lay there drowsily. 
Again she tried to speak, but all that escaped her muzzle was a ragged choke.
“Now lets have none of that,” the old stallion scolded.
The candle light approached the bedside and an old bearded stallion came into view. The edge of a cup was put to her lips and she gladly accepted the water within. “Slowly now, that’s it. You’ve been through a lot, just take it easy,” he encouraged. “You are still quite dehydrated but your voice should return with the water’s aid.”
The liquid was surprisingly cold and mildly bitter, but Twilight didn’t care. This was the finest water she had ever tasted. 
She felt a hoof on her forehead. “Good, no sign of a fever,” he said with a smile. “The worst should be behind you at last,” the old pony said as he turned away.
Twilight managed to swallow the last of the water and then squeak out a barely audible “Thank you.”
The pony froze in his tracks as if rooted in place by the words. Without turning to face her he simply said. “Do not thank me yet child, for there is much more pain to come. I fear I shall be powerless to stop it,” he admitted solemnly.
She tried to see him clearly, but Twilight’s eyes remained fuzzy as she blinked. The room was spinning slightly as well, but over time a warm, reassuring feeling grew within her. 
Star Swirl continued to watch her from the corner of his eye. “The water is doing its job nicely,” he thought to himself. “She is ready.”
Twilight’s eyes slowly began to come into focus and she looked on in astonishment as the pony before her turned to face her. She knew that face. She had seen it a hundred times in history books and ancient tomes. Standing before her was the one and only Star Swirl The Bearded.
That was impossible... Right?
Star Swirl noted the recognition in the mare’s eyes and spent a moment to ponder it. He was about to ask her his first question but the mare beat him to the punch.
“Star Swirl?!” she choked out loudly. “But how? How did you get here? how could you have come?” she asked insistently.
The stallion pulled a potion off the nearby table and once again approached the bed. “I have done nothing and gone nowhere,” he said as a matter-of-factly. “It was you who came to me, and in a matter of great distress I might add,” he looked at her analytically.
“What happened, exactly?” Twilight asked, continuing to bombard Star Swirl with questions. Her mind was still jumbled badly it kept wandering off topic. She couldn’t tell the difference between her recent nightmares and her recent memories. Something else was bothering her but she couldn’t seem to put her hoof on it. If only her friends were here, they could help.
Star Swirl moved to her side and sat atop a pillow and started to mix the contents of the small bottle. “As the only available witness to your past I was hoping you could tell me,” he said as the liquid in the container began to glow blue.
Twilight closed her eyes in thought, her brow furrowing slightly. “What had happened?” She asked herself. “Why am I so badly hurt?” The more she thought, the more questions seemed to pop up. “Where are my friends?!” She blurted out, not realizing it.
Star Swirl looked surprised at this sudden outburst. “I am sorry my dear but you are the only one who exited the corridor at this end,” he said gravely.
“But that can’t be! They were all right there with me!” She sobbed. “I… I had them all with me. I saved them. I saved them!” She screamed through the tears.
Twilight’s mind exploded with everything it had been holding back in a vain attempt at maintaining her sanity. The party, the Phage, Celestia, Pinkie, and him. The creature responsible for it all. So much pain and death. she simply couldn’t handle it.
A gentle hoof was placed on her cheek and a voice that was calmer than anypony could have managed at such a time reached across the sea of horror that threatened to drown her.
“Come back. Come back to me now. Come back and be rid of that nightmare I see within you,” he said slowly.
Her eyes shot open at the mention of a nightmare and she shivered slightly. Star Swirl waited for her to calm and for her eyes to finally meet his before asking the question he knew would upset her again. There could be no doubt now, she remembered everything.
“What happened?”
Her lips quivered and her voice was ragged from the crying. 
“The world ended.”

> Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5 
Awakening 

Everfree forest 4:27am.


“Sweet grandma’s teeth its colder ‘n a Changeling witch’s tit out here!” Grumbled a light brown unicorn with a brilliant orange mane and bright red tail. Similarly to the rest of the ponies in his group the stallion sported thick custom built armor that had been engraved with symbols of his family and rank that followed a similar color scheme to its wearer.
“If ye think zat it is bad now Match Stick, then vait till the sun comes up,” replied a snow white pegasus with oversized ice blue wings. “It vill be eighty degrees inside un hour vith ninety percent humidity,” he warned. The pony paused to mull something over and to watch the unicorn squirm. “And den there’s da bugs,” he Chuckled.
“Fan-bucking-tastic,” the hot headed stallion grumbled. “Blizzard Wind its official,” he looked over to the Pegasus. 
The winged pony smiled mockingly at his friend.
“You completely suck apples when it comes to improving my mood,” Match Stick said with a scowl. He kicked a rock as they continued along what little trail they could see.
“Yes vell, I do my best,” replied the flyer.
“Sure, fine whatever. The mood is improved. Or at least I’m feeling slightly less murderous at the moment.”
“Zen ist good ya?” Asked the pegasus quizzically.   
“About as good as gett’n kicked in the ribs by a Giraffe,” he mumbled under his breath as he walked.
“Vat vas dat?” Blizzard Wind asked looking back at him.
“Nothing big guy. Nothin at all,” the unicorn said rolling his eyes. Damned those sensitive ears of his! “Although there is one thing you can answer for me.”
“And zat vould be?” He said questioningly as he moved closer. Curiosity clearly getting the better of him.
“Why in the name of your sister’s sweet flank are we out in the middle of the bucking Everfree at four in the morning?!” He said in a loathing tone.
“Ehh…. Bird vatching,” Blizzard Wind said gesturing to the pair of binoculars hanging around his neck.
Match Stick just stared at his companion for a moment before simply shaking his head and continuing to follow the rest of the group. “I’m serious here Blizz,” Match Stick pushed. “There has got to be a dammed good reason for all this,” he said with a lowered voice. 
Blizzard Wind looked thoughtful for a moment. Which was a rare look for him. “Vell. Maybe,” he conceded. 
“After all it’s not every night that Shining Armor wakes you up, drags you to the secret meeting hall, ‘literally in his case’ and asks you to join a midnight patrol of the forest.” Match Stick said while eyeing the leader of the group up ahead.  
“You mean ve are not bird vatching?” The white one asked with a raised eyebrow in surprise.
“What? No!”
“That bastard Shining lied to me!” He hollered. “He promised to find me a golden rumped Snipe,” Blizzard moaned pitifully.
“A Snipe?”
“Da.”
“Oh Celestia save me!” Match Stick yelled to the sky.
The two stallions threw their heads back in laughter at the inside joke that revolved around a younger recruit whom possessed particularly dismal luck. 
“But yes I suppose you have point,” said Blizzard Wind in a more serious tone. “Ve are far outside of zee usual patrol area.”
“No shit?!” Match Stick snorted. His voice full to the brim with sarcasm. “If we go any farther south we’ll be down in the swamp lands in no time,” he scowled at the thought.
“Ahh yes, my favorite. Leeches, giant mosquitos that can suck a pony dry, and do not forget Hydra,” he said with a dry smile.
“And here come those pesky murderous thoughts again,” mumbled the light brown unicorn.
“You really should consult vith good psychiatrist someday,” the pegasus offered as he stepped over a miniscule stream.
Sploosh! “Damn,” Match Stick muttered before pulling his leg free and continuing along. “I did once,” he said giving his leg a flick to be rid of some of the mud that now tagged along for the ride. “She said it was related to stress at work. Whatever that means.” 
“I vonder vat could be causing dat?”
Match Stick sighed explosively, his patience worn thin. “It’s a mystery,”  was all he could say.
“Come mine friend! You are out on a grand adventure this morning. You should relax and enjoy all that nature has to offer!” Blizzard announced cheerfully.
Match Stick paused mid stride. “Enjoy nature he says? Okay wind bag lets ‘enjoy nature’ shall we. First off, it’s so cold that I keep having to wipe frost off my muzzle. In less than an hour i’ll literally need to pull my sword just to defend against the local insect population. Not to mention my favorite part, every living thing that flies, walks, or crawls through the mud would love nothing more than to gut me alive and devour my entrails whilst I watch!”
Blizzard Wind just stared on. Unfazed.
“That’s me enjoying nature! Happy?!”
“Da.” 
Match Stick’s face went slack. “Damn man. I wish I could live in your world for like, twenty minutes.”
“Mm. Yes is pretty good,” Blizzard said with a smile.
For the longest time there was no sound as the two just stood there. Each one trying to outlast the other and keep from laughter.
A blood chilling howl cut through the night from somewhere not too far away. It served as an instant mood changer as it was close. Too close!
In the blink of an eye Match Stick’s short sword was out of its scabbard and drawn into a defensive stance. The blade glimmered in the light of his orange magical aura.
Blizzard Wind stood ready to take flight. Body tense and ears swiveling in their sockets. A short wing blade firmly clasped to the end of each wing waiting for such a moment. He strained his ears, listening.
Nothing.
Ahead of the two the rest of the group had taken similar precautions as well. This was the Everfree after all and one could never be too careful.
“No worries mate,” Match Stick said with an unconvincing tone.” Just an old Timber wolf tellin’ his buds we’re here that’s all.”
“Yes vell I for von hope they don’t pay ‘im much attention,” he said uneasily
“What’s the matter bub?” Match Stick said with a grin as he watched the forest around them. “Afraid ya can’t handle a few mangy old termite hotels?” He taunted his friend.
Blizzard Wind shot him a quick glance. “Have you ever tried to kill Timber volf? Is not easy,” he said as an ear twitched to follow the sounds of something moving away through the trees.
“If this trip were going to be easy, ‘ole Shining over there wouldn’t have asked us ta go along.”
“I suppose so but vhy not just bring along a few low level types? Surely a simple patrol has no use for honor guards. Are ve really necessary?”
“Of course not!” Match Stick spat into the dirt. “I fully expect the only reason we’re out here at all is to ‘baby sit’ our charming captain over there because his old ball and chain is always worried sick about him,” the unicorn grumbled angrily.
“Ball and chain?” The pegasus inquired as he continued to scan the surrounding foliage for any sign of the wolf.
“That’s right I forgot. You live under a rock,” he said smiling to himself. “I’m referring to his wife. Obviously.”
“Ah yes. And?”
“Lately it seems as if Cadence won’t hardly let him out of her sight. Then again if that was me I wouldn’t mind one bit. Oh that flank!” Matchstick smiled a bit at his not-so-private thought.
“Do you think is gone?”
“Huh? Is what gone?
“Volf.”
“Wolf?”
“Da.”
“Oh road apples! Right. Wolf. Sorry, you kinda had me thinkin’ about somthin’ totally different,” Match Stick admitted with a nervous chuckle.
“Only for you is not so different of a thought, yes?”
“Come on, you’ve seen her. How could you bring her up and not think about that?” Match Stick asked incredulously.
“Easy.”
“Alright wise guy what are you thinking about?”
“Camera.”
“Kinky,” Match Stick said with an even bigger grin.
“……..”
“Alright Blizz, why would you be thinking of a camera at a time like this?”
“To get picture of Snipe of course,” replied the smug pegasus.
The sound of metal on stone rang out as Match Stick lost concentration and his magic faltered. Had there been a wolf waiting to pounce, he would have been in trouble.
A few moments later the all clear was given and Blizzard Wind trotted on ahead in victory.
“One of these days you white bastard. One of these days.” Match Stick thought to himself before continuing on with a smile.


The small group continued in silence for another few miles until they reached the bottom of the mountain before turning slightly to the east and made for the swamps of Froggy Bottom bog. Gradually the chill mountain air gave way to the warmer valley climate and soon they were swallowed in mist. They were now in the heart of the Everfree.
Right about the time Luna would be preparing for bed they reached the choked muddy river that flowed along the base of the mountain and once more turned further east to follow it along the course of its run.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“They are becoming restless back there you know,” Broad Sword muttered as he fiddled with an antique compass and chart held aloft by a silvery blue hued magic.
“Well why shouldn’t they be?” Shining Armor said matter of factly as he moved along through the gloom surrounding them. “I kept them up late last night for no apparent reason and then have the nerve to order this half-assed patrol that every pony here knows is just a cover for something else.”
“So when are we going to have the ‘real’ briefing then?” The aging vanguard asked nonchalantly as he fiddled with the dancing compass. He made a face and marked the chart he was carrying. 
Shining Armor looked at the moon as it was beginning to set. “Smudge Coat says there’s a clearing in another mile. We can take five there and I will inform everypony of the objective then.” He said.
“Alright Shining. You’re the boss,” Broad Sword said as he strode along.
“Hardly,” Shining Armor huffed, wincing as he stretched a sore hind leg. “Every pony here knows I still can’t beat you at hoof to hoof. Especially after yesterday.”
“Just because you are the new captain doesn’t mean that I have taught you everything I know,” Broad Sword said.
“Yet,” challenged Shining.
“Yet,” conceded the older stallion with a nod. “You have however proven to be ready. I know your promotion was never made official, however I think it only fair to warn you that the ‘higher ups’ have finally decided to make it official.”
Shining Armors pace slowed as he comprehended his predecessor’s words. “You don’t mean?” He stammered dumbly. He expected to have another year to wait at the least.
“Mmmhmm. Full ceremony next week. After all of this Nightmare Night fluff is taken care of. Dammed silly holiday if you ask me,”  He snorted to emphasize his point.
“Right, sure,” Shining Armor said rolling his eyes. “So what are you going as this year?” He asked with a sly grin. 
“A gruff drill instructor. Just to shake things up,” he said with a stoic face. 
Shining just shook his head slowly for a few steps as they walked. “So does that mean they are making you retire then?” He asked with a touch of concern entering his voice.  
“I would like to see them try,” Broad Sword said with another snort of derision.
Shining Armor couldn’t help a soft chuckle. “Sorry sir, but I doubt even you could stop both of the sisters.”
“Watch me!” He said playfully. “And knock off the sir crap. Makes me feel old. Besides, we are technically the same rank now,” he said with a hint of pride on the edge of his voice.
“That will take a little getting used to.”
“Oh like hay it will. You love giving orders.”
“True. I suppose the position does come with a few perks anyway,” Shining armor admitted.
“Yes I would say so.” Broad Sword said chuckling softly to himself before eyeing the saddle bags hanging over Shining Armor’s back. The same ones Celestia had given him the previous evening. They were the reason neither of them had gone to bed last night. 
Broad Sword knew just as well as Shining Armor what the bags contained, yet still did not have all the facts. With that in mind, he did know that wherever they were going it was sure to be far more important than a simple patrol.
“I do have just one question about all this mess Shining,” Broad Sword said giving him a look.
“Stop fishing you,” Shining Armor said knowing full well where this was going. The topic came up a lot lately.
“I’m just curious as to when I finally get to become a godfather is all,” he said innocently.
Shining blushed furiously at this.
“Come now my boy, the entire castle is wondering when to expect the patter of little hooves echoing through the halls again,” Broad Sword said cheerfully.
Shining rubbed his foreleg with a hoof. “Well I… Er… We haven’t exactly discussed that sort of thing yet,” he stammered whilst attempting to disappear inside his armor.
“That’s not what I’ve heard traveling down the grapevine.”
“Grapevine?
“Greenleaf the gardener hears all and tells all. In this case he told the chef Chocolate Dot, she told that friend of hers Donut Joe,” Broad Sword took a moment to think before continuing. “He told Photo Finish who told one of her assistants who mentioned it to Luna who told one of her guards who blabbed it to Match Stick back there. And he told, well, everypony else in the city.”
Shining Armor scowled. “Is nothing sacred anymore?” He growled. “So how much do you know?” 
“Enough to know that I need to ask for some time off in about seven to eight months,” Broad Sword smiled brightly. “Congratulations Shining.”
Shining Armor grinned at his mentor. “Thanks. But if anypony asks, you didn’t hear it from me. Got it?”
“Understood,” A pause. “Captain.”
Shining blushed even further at Broad Sword’s recognition of his new rank. “Thanks, I was sworn to secrecy by,” he looked around worriedly for a moment. “By you know who,” he said in a low whisper.
“I think I have a fairly good idea, yes.”
“Well I’m glad that’s settled then.”
Broad Sword took that for the hint it was and moved on. “So this Smudge Coat fellow. What’s the story with him? Not much like you to bring a civilian along on one of these mystery trips.”
“Celestia’s idea actually,” he paused as they climbed over a fallen log on the trail. “She seemed to be convinced that we would need him on this.”
“So a guide then hmm,” Broad Sword muttered dryly already not liking the idea. “How do his credentials stack up?”
“Very well actually,” Shining said remembering the file. “Graduated with honors in Fillydelphia with a full scholarship to the Canterlot Academy of Magic. After four years he majored in natural magical science before switching to the study of the Everfree and other like places. He also took a year in the defensive arts and a course in the biology of legendary creatures,” Shining tapped his chin with a hoof. “And to top it all off another two years of chemistry, alchemy, and magical exclusion theory.”
“Impressive.”
“Tell me about it,” Shining agreed. “It’s as if the guy was made for the job. Blew right through the mandatory recruit physical conditioning exam as well.”
“I’ll say. The kids a whole head taller than you and almost beat my exam time.”
“You’re kiddin’ me,” Shining said with an expression of shock.
“Nope. Came within thirty seconds.”
“Wow.”
‘So how did you choose him?”
“I didn’t. Celestia asked for him specifically.”
“Well that adds another piece to the puzzle. What else ya got?”
“Not a lot more I can tell you about this before the briefing. But rumor has it Celestia has been assigning more and more guards to keep an eye on Luna,” Shining said raising an eyebrow at his own words.
“Yes, I’ve noticed,” Broad Sword mumbled absentmindedly as he pushed aside a large fern from their path. “We have also been sending far larger patrols than normal to the far north.”
“Now how do you know that?” Shining asked mouth agape.
“I was captain of the castle division for a long time. I still have friends in high places.”
“The highest of places is more like it,” He grumbled.
“Eh, possibly,” Broad Sword admitted sheepishly. He made another face at his compass as it continued dancing. “I certainly hope Smudge Coat knows where he is going. As usual a compass is bloody worthless out here,” he said eyeing the large camo colored earth pony ahead of them blazing the trail.
“I would think so,” Shining Armor mused as he ducked under the fern blade as Broad Sword released it. “According to his record Smudge Coat has been a member of over a dozen expeditions out here.”
“Well then there should be something useful in that head of his,” he said glaring at his compass floating before him. “And for the love of oats! Why am I the one doing this? Why can’t you get one of the minions to do it?”
“Because the academic up there summoned by Celestia herself asked you to.”
Broad Sword once more marked his chart and sighed. “Well I do love a good scientific mystery,” He mumbled.
“That’s the spirit.” 
“Don’t patronize me.”
“Sorry.”
The moon completed its slow descent and for a moment all heavenly light faded. The forest seemed to tense. Waiting for a new day. And one by one the stars winked out. A new light appeared on the horizon as the sun steadily began to rise. Within seconds the pair were dive-bombed by insects.
From behind them came a distant. “Colt damn it!” 
Shining Armor glanced back over his shoulder. “Right on queue Match Stick!” He grinned. “But next time could you yell a bit louder?! I don’t think the Griffon kingdom heard you!” the unicorn yelled with a sly smile. 
“Hey… Shining… Buck you!”
“Fight the good fight precious!” The reply was simply a death glare. Shining just kept up his smile. This was definitely excellent payback for last week’s little fiasco.
“Go easy Shining, he is having bad day,” Blizzard called cheerfully.
Shining Armor let out a small chuckle. “All right, but do try to contain yourselves. We aren’t in the friendliest of places ya know,” he reminded them his voice becoming more serious.
“I vill keep dat in mind sir.” 
“AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” Came the mighty war cry of Match Stick the pyro as his short sword flew through the air and impaled a mosquito the size of a barn swallow before lodging itself in a thick tree. The stallion’s horn glowed a brilliant orange aura that produced a swirling gout of red flame which descended upon the insect. The unfortunate creature vaporized instantly. “Lyme bastard tried ta shank me!” Match Stick scowled rubbing his flank.
Shining Armor put a hoof to his temple and sighed. It was going to be a very long day.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Celestia smiled as she listened to the antics of Match Stick attempting to retrieve his blade from the tree. At least she assumed the loud ‘thwack’ had been a tree. It was often difficult to tell, as the sounds she was hearing courtesy of the tracking stone Shining Armor carried were mostly muffled by the saddlebag in which it now rode.
After taking a brief moment away from her searching to raise the sun and bid Luna good night. Or, day rather. She had taken the time to mentally leave the castle and follow the signal of the tracking stone to its source. Once there she could see the immediate area, though only barely. Also afforded her was the ability to hear the conversation, to an extent.
After some aggravated muttering the group continued on. Completely unaware of the spectral form amongst them. Wishing them well.
Satisfied with their progress Celestia released her mental grip on the stone and brought her spectral self back to the castle and once more joined with the flesh of body.
After a moment to sort herself out Celestia opened her eyes. Her physical form was right where she left it.
The Alicorn mare looked about the room and sighed forcefully downward. Hard enough to flutter the pages of a few of the books that lay open around her hooves.
Celestia had been there all night plundering the Canterlot archives in search of one particular book. “Where could it possibly be?!” She thought aloud.
After searching the more likely sections she had moved on impulse to the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. Even knowing full well this particular book was not supposed to be there.
“Think Celestia. The night desk says it has not been checked out so it must be here. Right?” It was an extremely important book and not just anypony could borrow it. 
The Alicorn frowned as she looked about. The book was most definitely not here. Resolutely Celestia gave her mane a rigorous flip to restore it to its regal splendor before lighting her horn.
For a mere instant the room was bathed in a pure golden light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. In that time all three thousand seven hundred and four volumes were dusted and reshelved exactly the way they had been before her arrival.
Celestia took a moment to survey her handiwork. As always her eyes took pause on the large hourglass at the room’s center. 
Over a thousand years the artifact had stood there. And well over a thousand times Celestia had stopped to watch the gold sand endlessly run from its top through the middle and fall to the bottom. It never changed. Never slowed. Never needed to be flipped over.
Her eyes narrowed ever so little as she gazed inside.
So why then, did it look so different today? 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Whap!
“Ouch!”
“Oh… Sorry… Eh,” Shining blanched as he reached over with his magic to pull back the recently released tree branch from Broad Sword’s face. “Sorry about that,” he grimaced shamefully.
All that answered him was a blank expression from Broad Sword’s brilliant orange eyes. To his credit the older stallion didn’t even drop his compass. “Are we there yet?” He said sarcastically in a sign of annoyance. 
“As a matter of fact we are,” stated a splotchy green and brown earth pony as he moved down the trail. “One clearing. As promised,” he said coming to a stop before them and gesturing back the way he had come.
“Thank you Smudge Coat,” Shining Armor said with a nod. Maybe a guide would come in hoofy after all.
“Well what are guides for, if not to find things,” Smudge Coat said with a slight bow of his head.
“I don’t suppose you know a good psychiatrist do you?” Broad Sword inquired flatly.
Smudge Coat raised an eyebrow as he thought. “Uh. Afraid not. Sorry,” replied the earth pony with a shrug.
“Pity,” Broad Sword said as he reached over with a hoof and snapped the offending tree limb off at the trunk in one deft motion. “I’ll certainly need one by day’s end.”  
Shining Armor grinned again as the older stallion tossed the limb in his general direction. “Yes. Well I don’t know about the rest of you but I could really use a snack,” he said motioning towards the clearing. “Shall we?”
“I could go for a snack,” announced Match Stick as he moved up beside the three. “And a can of bug spray.”
Smudge Coat did a double take of the new comer. “What in the wonderful wide world of Equestria are those?!” He asked unconsciously taking a step back and pointing to the necklace made entirely out of bug parts that hung around the unicorn’s neck.
Match Stick smiled warmly and proudly brought a hoof to his ornamentation. “Trophies,” he smirked as he sauntered past them and made for the clearing.


Pushing forward the ponies spilled out into a small meadow around the size of a hoof ball stadium. The ground was thankfully dry with short grass and scattered flowers. If one listened carefully they could hear the river as it flowed over a slight rapid just beyond a thin row of scraggly trees. There was still a light veil of mist but the rising sun would soon make short work of it. The only other noteworthy feature of the place was a scattering of randomly placed boulders.


Shining Armor looked about. “This should do nicely,” he said turning to the others. “Alright. Blizzard Wind, grab some altitude and take a look around, tell me what ya see. Match Stick, a fire if you please.”
A hoof salute later and the Pegasus was off, spiraling into the sky. Meanwhile Match Stick trotted away mumbling something about being the best pyro magic conjurer in the entire castle guard. Not a campfire provider.
Shining Armor sat next to a boulder as he watched Smudge Coat drag Broad Sword over to a large red and green sunflower. He ran through Celestia’s instructions again in his head. They were simple enough. But something still didn’t sit right. What was it?
A quick glance over his shoulder caught the last glimpse of Match Stick as he trotted into the gloom of the forest. Shining sighed deeply. He slid the saddle bags from off his back and checked their contents, everything was there.
Holding up the dragon scale sheath Shining couldn’t help but look it over for a moment to admire the craftsmanship that had gone into its design.
Gently he undid the binding and pulled the who knew how old map from the holder and rolled it out. It was blank. Following the instructions in Celestia’s letter he concentrated. 
An image of the surrounding forest resolved upon the weathered parchment. It came into focus with exceptional detail before zooming out to show a larger view. Now he was looking at the vast majority of the Everfree as well as Canterlot beyond. His eyes lingered on Ponyville some fifteen miles to the west before focusing the map a different way. Sure enough, small lines started a slow march across the maps surface originating in Canterlot and moving straight towards the old castle. Their current destination.
Shifting his focus a new set of images appeared on the map. These were cutie marks and they belonged to his squad. 
The lit match with orange flame was Match Stick. About a mile to the south was a blue tornado with a yellow lightning bolt through it. That would be Blizzard Wind. And just across the meadow a ways was an open book with a plant growing out of it next to a red broad sword over a gold shield. 
There was something else on the map as well. It was familiar for some reason. But why? It was nothing more than a simple black circle sitting atop the boulder he was currently leaning against. Finally a moment of clarity. Shining face hoofed.
“I was wondering when that damned thing was going to give me away,” came a formal yet sarcastic voice. “How are you Shining?”
“Obsidian Black,” Shining Armor groaned as he stood. “And just what in all of Tartarus are you doing here?”
The larger bat pony with a coat color to match his name was reclined comfortably atop the boulder looking down on Shining Armor with rather stunning emerald green eyes. “Our favorite lunar princess sent me to keep an eye on things,” he said haughtily while running a hoof over his dark violet mane. “Seems as though she’s curious as to why Celestia would send her best to go wander the forest all night.”	
“Cutting straight to it? That’s a bit odd for you,” Shining quipped. He was not at all happy about this. If Obsidian was here it meant Luna was on to them.
“Perhaps I merely don’t see the point in twisting things around,” he said sitting up. “If we are all here for the same thing that is.”
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Are we here for the same thing?” He asked with a touch of skepticism.
“As a member of the ‘royal’ guard I was thinking you would already know the answer to that,” he said not so absentmindedly pulling his upper lip into a smile to reveal a pair of wickedly sharp incisors.
The captain let loose a snort at this. Not at all impressed.
The smile quickly faded away. “Now really shining. I had thought we were past all that,” he said lowering his head in mock disappointment.
“I don’t think so,” Shining rebuked as he glared into the deep emerald eyes of Obsidian.
“Hmm. Shame really,” said the batpony standing to his full height. “I had hoped we could get along on this trip.”
“Well, well, well,” came Broad Sword’s now grumpy voice from around the side of the boulder. “Obsidian Black. To what do we owe this, displeasure?”
Obsidian Black spread his leathery wings and silently swooped down to land in front of Broad Sword. “Just thought I should check in on Celestia’s colt scouts,” he said in a hurt tone. “I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to them out here,” his voice becoming more serious.
“Well how nice of the Scarlet Service to grace us with its presence,” Match Stick scoffed as he moved up behind them.
Without turning to acknowledge his presence the black coated bat pony rolled his eyes. “Hello Match Stick, how are you?” He asked with little enthusiasm.
In response Match Stick threw the pile of wood he was levitating on the ground and with a flash of his horn spontaneously ignited the dry timber. “Bucking Scarlets,” he mumbled plopping down on the grass and proceeding to poke at the fire.
“Nice to see you too,” Obsidian mused. “Now then. Where is Blizz? I know at least he will be happy to see me.”  
“I don’t think anypony is happy to see you,” Shining said with a hint of disdain. “And this is a top secret military mission. How do you even know about it?”
Obsidian Black got a playful look in his eye. “A little bird told me. An immortal bird with really big ears.”
“So Luna knows then huh?” Broad Sword muttered.
“How did she find out!?” Shining Armor challenged.
“Well don’t look at me,” Obsidian said innocently. “But honestly Shining,” he said with a sly grin. “They’re sisters. Do you really think Celestia hasn’t let anything slip? Luna can read her like a book. I’ve seen it. And she knows something Shining, something terrible.”
“Then why all of this?” Shining Armor said gesturing at the armored ponies around them. “Why all the subterfuge?”
“Because something is happening, Shining. The world is changing, you know it as much as I do and it has the sisters on edge. Luna has made it quite clear to me that you will need my help on this, little scavenger hunt of yours.”
“And what makes her think that?” Broad Sword interrupted doubtfully.
Obsidian Black shot the older stallion a glare before snatching the map from Shining Armor’s hoof.
“Hey!” growled the unicorn as Obsidian tossed the parchment to the ground.
Traveling across the maps face were the same small markings from before, moving from Canterlot to the old castle. Only now they were faster and much brighter.
“You see gentle colts, Celestia does not fully understand the situation that Equestria now finds itself in,” the bat pony said solemnly. “Those marks represent telepathic communication between two of the most powerful evils of our time.”
“Then why in the love of Cerberus’ dingle-hopper are we out here and not the princesses?” Match Stick groused. “Heavens knows they’d be more effective than us.”
“Because the signal originates from Discords statue,” Shining Armor said flatly. “Apparently he is awake, and they can’t risk being anywhere else should he somehow reanimate again.”
Silence fell over the small group as the realization hit. Things were a lot more serious than they had thought.
“And that my friends is why they have both sent their best. Celestia her fighting elite. And Luna, her best mind.”
“But that still does not answer the earlier question,” Smudge Coat interrupted.
“The enemy has eyes everywhere,” Obsidian Black countered. “You all may like to go through life thinking this world is kept safe by the sisters. However I know otherwise, and before this day is done you all shall see that none of us are safe from what is to come.”
Shining Armor was about to deliver a retort when he noticed the Bat pony’s ear twitch and his body tense.
“Look out!!” Shouted Blizzard Wind from above as he dove out of the sky.
Time seemed to slow as Shining Armor turned to look for the source of a strange clicking.
A tremendous ripping noise consumed all other sound as a powerful concussive wave flew across the meadow ripping the ground bare of both grass and bush. It left a deep gouge in the soil as it went.
The ponies all managed to leap clear of the blast thanks to Blizzards warning.
Shining Armor spun just as a huge dragon-like creature thundered into the clearing from the river. “Fantastic,” he grumbled.
“My bucking campfire!” Match Stick bellowed. He shot the great beast a glare before leaping out of the path of a second blast.
The compressed sound wave rocketed across the meadow and struck the boulder the group had been standing around. The enormous rock shattered sending out shards in every direction.
“The buck is that thing!?” Shining yelled as he brought up a shield to protect himself from the lethal shards of flying granite.
“I dunno!” Match Stick yelled as he stood his ground melting the shards with something akin to heat vision. “Looks like Satan’s bloody iguana got out!”
“It’s a wyvern Shining!” Smudge Coat called from behind another boulder. “That things a legendary creature! We have got to get out of here!”
The wyvern drew its head back on a long snake-like neck.
“Buck,” Shining muttered to himself.
With an incredible roar the towering behemoth let loose a far more powerful blast than those before it. Clearly annoyed it had not managed to turn its prey into the bloody paste that made for the perfect meal.
Several of the trees near the wyvern’s head shattered into splinters as the sound left the beast’s throat. The blast tore across the meadow, gouging the earth as it went leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.
Broad Sword stepped in front of Shining Armor, horn glowing brightly. A large silvery domed shield wrapped them in a protective embrace.
The wyvern’s howl slammed into the shield and exploded in a massive release of energy sending dirt and clumps of grass flying through the air.
Broad Sword dropped the barrier and smiled. “Do not fret master Smudge Coat,” he said confidently. “Legendary creatures are one of our specialties.”
Smudge Coat gave him a shocked look. “Okay… then what’s the plan?” he asked disbelievingly not comprehending how the older stallion planned to deal with the hundred foot long monster.
“I’ll show ya a plan!” Match Stick shouted as he planted both front hooves firmly on the turf before him. “All right lads! Watch and learn!” the unicorn’s horn shone brightly and covered him in brilliant orange flames.
With another mighty roar the wyvern charged him shaking the ground as it ran at the pony.
“It’s time for you ta bugger off!” Match Stick shouted as a massive swirling vortex of bright flame surged forward from his body and enveloped the wyvern as well as a fair portion of the clearing beyond.
Match Stick continued to scream with anger and effort as he poured every ounce of power he could muster into his magic. The fire swarmed through the air burning everything until finally, panting heavily, Match Stick let up.  
In front of him only fire and destruction remained. The very tops of the tallest trees were all that could be seen above the smoke and flames. “And that my good mares is why I always wear fire proof armor,” he said wiping the sweat on his face away with a hoof. “Suck it nature!”
“Very impressive mine friend,” Blizzard Wind said moving up behind him with a laugh. “But next time perhaps you might consider toning it down a little bit, yes?" The pegasus gestured around with a wing at the billowing clouds of smoke and flame-covered trees before them.
“Ahh come on Blizzard old boy,” Match Stick said cheerfully as he turned to face his friend. “I only gave the big blue bastard seventy percent. Besides, it’s the bucking Everfree! The lousy weather will put it out eventually, just be glad I took care of the brute before you had to go and get yerself dirty,” he chuckled.
“Da. Iss true I suppose,” replied the pegasus as he joined Match Stick in his chuckling.
Match Stick however couldn’t help but notice Smudge Coat backing away slowly. A look of pure horror growing on his face. “Now what’s got his knickers in a twist?” He thought aloud.
The Earth pony’s ears laid back against his head in fear as a faint roar that was just audible above the crackling flames reached them.
“Vat vas, noise?” Blizzard wind asked as he peered past his Unicorn companion. His eyes went wide as his ears drooped.
Match Stick saw the faces of the others change to a similar state. He sighed deeply. “There’s something really bad behind me isn’t there?” 
“Da…” Blizzard Wind said backing away.
Swearing under his breath Match Stick turned to watch as the wyvern rose out of the flames. Completely unharmed. “Well, balls,” he muttered.
The wyvern pulled its massive head back again readying another blast of potentially deadly force.
Still backing away Blizzard Wind looked to Match Stick. “My turn?” He asked nonchalantly.
“All yours mate,” Match Stick said before disappearing in a ball of fire and reappearing a few yards behind the others.
The beast roared and another blast raced towards the lone pegasus. Blizzard Wind closed his eyes and flared open his greatly oversized ice blue wings.
Most pegasi can manipulate clouds and rain, or even lightning. A few lucky ones can use all three. But there is one element of weather that more often than not, refuses to be tamed. And it will only bend to the will of a select few.
Blizzard Wind’s eyes shot open as his wings pushed off at staggering speed propelling him straight into the face of the blast. At the last possible second he pulled up into an inverted loop, the completion of which he again flared his wings and began flapping them in a way that resembled the motions of a hummingbird in hover.
A massive torrent of air formed and was drawn through the looping flight path in a jetstream and concentrated even further upon reaching him.
The air jet, after building to hurricane like force, lanced forward and collided with the blast from the wyvern, scattering it.
Blizzard Wind then turned his attention to the wyvern itself. He increased the wind speed even further until his wings beat the air so fast they blurred together.
The super pressurized air jet slammed into the unprepared beast. Roaring loudly in defiance the great blue monster slid backwards a short distance before being blown off its feet and hurled through the burning trees and into the river beyond. 
Blizzard Wind slowly let up as he watched the wyvern stomp up the far riverbank. It howled in rage as it went. For the time being it had had enough of ponies and their aggravating magic. In the glinting morning light the pegasus could have sworn he saw a hint of green flash across its eyes. With a shrug he slowly fluttered down to the ground on his wing tips.
“Show off!” Yelled a certain unicorn.
“Don’t feel so bad hot shot,” said Shining Armor. “You had him on the ropes,” he chuckled as the group shared a good laugh at the pyro’s expense.
“Well I didn’t see the officers doin’ anything about that bucker!” Match Stick retorted. “So I stepped up!”
“Yes and built the fellow a wonderful flaming nest from which to attack,” Broad Sword jested from the side. “Splendid job.”
“Oh yeah!” Match Stick fumed. “And what were you doin’ ‘ole timer?” He smirked. “Takin’ a nap?”
“Would have been about as effective as you trying to set fire to a wyvern!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The light brown unicorn scoffed.
“It means that damned wyvern is related to dragons lad,” Broad Sword said with an exasperated sigh.
“So..?”
“So,” Smudge Coat butted in ever eager to educate the ignorant. “Dragons, as well as most of their relatives are completely immune to fire or any other significant amounts of heat.”
“But…” Match Stick stammered. 
“Which obviously includes,” Smudge Coat droned on. “Hydra, basilisk, slizard, and of course. wyverns,” he said rather cheekily. “Just to name a few.”
Finally understanding Match Stick hung his head. “In other words I was next to useless out there,” he pouted.
“Well you should be used to that by now I would think,” said Obsidian Black as he landed silently just outside the group.
“Coming from the colt who bolted out of the clearing before the first attack hit the ground!” Match Stick shot back.
Obsidians face turned to one of mock shock. “Muah?” He said looking hurt. “Honestly now Match Stick. I was clearly attempting a subtle flanking maneuver.”
“Yeah! Subtle as a diamond dog running with his tail tucked between his legs!” Match Stick said ruefully as he took an advancing step, his temper flaring.
“Fillies! Fillies! Calm down you are both pretty,” Broad Sword said chuckling as he moved between them. “But if ya don’t stop your bickering right now so help me I will geld the two of you where you stand! Do I make myself clear?!” He bellowed in the perfect tones of a drill instructor.
A crisp “Yes sir!” Was shouted from both the stallions as they instinctively came to attention.
“That’s more like it,” Said Shining Armor. “Why can’t I get them to do that?”
“It is an art dear boy,” Broad Sword said while brushing his chest plate with a hoof.
Shining just rolled his eyes. Again. 
“Excuse me?” Smudge Coat said hurriedly. “I do hate to interrupt this wonderful display of military professionalism and chivalry. However, I feel that I simply must point out wyverns are known to return to finish a failed hunt. I think it would be wise to distance ourselves from this location.”
“Smudge Coat is right,” Shining Armor said looking around at the destruction. “I think we have lingered here long enough.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
Celestia sprawled onto her bed utterly exasperated. She had spent nearly sixteen hours deep inside the archives searching for her assumed deliverance.
“The blasted thing must have flown itself to Tartarus!” She deadpanned. “It is not as if it just grew legs and walked away.”
A cool mountain breeze wafted in through the open balcony doors and toyed with her mane. Celestia sighed as she watched her ethereal locks dance in the wind. A feeling of confusion was slowly coming over her. It made no sense! Who would even want to borrow that book? Its information was next to useless to anypony who did not already know a great deal about the elements.
In an angry huff Celestia released a crackle of magical energy into the room. The thick balcony doors slammed shut and the fire died. Perhaps she did need some rest after all. Alicorns could go long periods without sleep. But then, two weeks was a bit of a stretch, even for her. It felt more like an eternity. She closed her eyes.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Celestia twitched. Wet?
That was all her mind registered before it happened again. Drip. Wet? 
Lying face down in her pillow Celestia couldn’t figure out what her mind was trying to tell her. Drip. Wet?
She groaned in deep annoyance. Realizing finally that the back of her head was getting wet she rolled over and slid one eye open. “Ugh!” She croaked. “Lulu!”
Princess Luna floated above her sister supported by a magical cloud looking rather pleased with herself as drool ran down her lowered tongue to drip on Celestia’s head. “Mourig seepy hea.” She said mouth still dripping.
“What do you want?!” Celestia hissed rubbing the back of her head with the blanket.
“You promised.” Was Luna’s only reply as she rolled onto her back to look at her sister upside down and wiped the drool from her own face.
“Is it that time already?” Celestia asked looking at the small clock next to her bed. An hour and a half. She had only been asleep an hour and a half!
Celestia face hoofed.
“Come on!” Luna urged. “Come on come on come on.” She pleaded kicking at the air with her forelegs in very adorable fashion. “Get that white rump of yours out of bed!”
The sun princess unceremoniously rolled off the bed and onto the floor. “Happy?” She chirped.  
Luna blew a strand of starry hair out of her face and looked at Celestia with a perfectly executed puppy eye pout, complete with quivering chin. 
“Oh all right!” Celestia said getting to her hoofs unable to resist ‘the look’. “Let’s go.”
Luna’s face shot to a grin as a soft ‘sqwee’ escaped her mouth. “Yes!” She whooped somersaulting backwards off the cloud as it disappeared.
Lethargically Celestia moved toward her bedroom door. An idea entered her brain and she stopped to look back at Luna. “Sister.” She said. “I was wondering. Have you removed any books from the archives recently?”
Luna paused her energetic hoof pumping and thought a moment. “Only the one you asked us to locate Tia. The one we intend to give to Twilight Sparkle.”
“And no others?” 
“No. I am afraid that I have barely set hoof in those halls since I have been back,” she arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I have been trying to find a book as of late but to no avail.”
“And what would be the name of this book dear sister?” Luna asked curiosity thickening her voice.
Celestia tapped a hoof to her chin. “The way of the wizard.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
Obsidian Black loitered in the clearing a moment as the rest of the stallions moved on ahead. None of them seemed to mind his momentary absence. He stretched out his wings and cracked his neck as the others finally disappeared off into the forest.
“That was not a part of the masters plan you thin-headed bitch,” he said with a voice filled with venom as he wiped a speck of dirt from his otherwise spotless ebony armor. “If you dare interfere again. It will be my pleasure, to rip out your heart and deliver it to him myself.” He began to move after the others. “I hope I have made myself clear.”
From a dark place hidden amongst the thick foliage behind him a pair of harlequin eyes narrowed into a scowl before darting back out of sight.
“I thought as much,” Obsidian said with a sneer as a voice spoke in his mind’s ear. “Nearly there my lady. It shall not be long now.”
If this crazy scheme was to have even the slightest chance to succeed every part had to fall into place without a hitch. Obsidian Black knew this. Knew it well, as a large part of it rested on his shoulders.
“Now if I can just keep that idiot Shining in the dark,” he laughed under his breath. “This should be all too easy,” the bat pony said as he spread his wings and soared into the sky.
Somewhere off in the trees a large blue wyvern cried out in terrible pain as the presence within crushed its mind in anger. Killing the beast slowly, deliberately.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Ears swiveling to locate a sound he knew the others would likely be unable to hear, Blizzard Wind only partially paid any attention to Match Stick’s ranting.
“And furthermore,” the pyro lamented cutting away yet another vine everypony ahead of them had saw fit to ignore. “Why in the name of Celestia’s sun-emblazoned hindquarters are we always the ones at the back of the line!?” He fumed still hacking away at the vine methodically.
Blizz only sort of listened. As expected the noise had died away before he could discern an exact direction. “Hmm… Yes… Hindquarters,” he mumbled, still listening.
Match Stick took one last vicious swing and stopped. “You’re not even listening to me right now are you?” He asked with a blank look.
“Ehh…no.”
“Geez,” Match Stick mumbled. “I’d bet my favorite fire spell our most beloved officers up there don’t have to deal with this kinda crap.”
Blizzard Wind just smiled as he refocused his impeccably good hearing on an entirely different conversation ahead of them.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“And because the cellular structure of a dragon scale is comparatively similar to that of diamond in their shared physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between the atoms,” Smudge Coat took in another deep breath. “They are, for the most part, an unbreakable metastable allotrope of carbon. Not to mention,” he droned on happily.
“Oh for the love of Celestia, does he ever stop talking?” Whispered Shining Armor.
“I don’t know,” his elder replied out the side of his mouth. “But I coulda sworn he turned blue there for a second.”
“You might be right.”
“In addition, they possess a very unique variation of the face centered cubic crystal structure called the…” continued the lecture.
“For the love of cold steel Shining,” Broad Sword groused. “It’s like listening to that little sister of yours.”
Shining Armor just grinned and pressed onward. They had a long way to go.
“So what’s the plan then Shining?” Obsidian Black said landing behind the two. “Just trot right through the front door?” He prodded. 
“Well first off.” The Captain said with a smirk. “Seeing as you aren’t supposed to be here at all. I thought you could distract whatever horrible thing might be guarding the place while the rest of us slip in the back.” 
“Actually Shining.” Smudge Coat interrupted. “I do not expect anything to have taken up residence in the castle.”
“And what makes you think that?” Shining asked rather puzzled.
“Because in the last twenty years or so there have been seven expeditions to the old castle. And none of them turned up any evidence to suggest an occupant.”
“That just don’t seem right to me,” Broad Sword said. Once again glaring at his compass. “A castle that size left unattended for that many years out in the middle of a place like this. What do you suppose keeps them critters out?” He mused as he marked the chart.
“Hard to say really,” Smudge Coat tilted his head as he walked. “One standing hypothesis is that there remains some form of magical residue that as yet is undetectable to all known spells that scan for such material. That or the local wildlife just finds the place as creepy as I do. I once heard it was haunted.”
“Seems like the perfect place for a dragon lair to me,” Shining Armor interjected. “But in all seriousness Obsidian Black,” he sighed and turned his attention back to the batpony. “If you are set to follow us the whole way I will just have to use you.”
“I’m listening.” 
Shining paused to climb over a large tangle of roots blocking the trail. “Obviously I’m a bit short on troops,” he admitted.
“Obviously,” Obsidian said fluttering over the obstacle.
Shining shot Obsidian an annoyed look. “And we don’t know exactly where to find what we are looking for or how many pieces its in. So, worst case scenario we will need to split up to cover more ground,” he said worriedly.
“Oh. Now do ‘you’ really think that is such a good idea?” Obsidian asked looking Shining in the eye.
The young captain raised an eyebrow at the comment. “Yes I do,” he said calmly. “At first, I’ll admit I was not sure of the idea, but that was when there were only five of us. Then you showed up and evened things out.”
Obsidian gave a small huff in surprise. “Well you are welcome. I am here to help, captain. Same as always.”
Shining Armor clenched his jaw. “For what it’s worth. Thanks. I feel a lot better about two teams of three than having one be a team of two.”
“So that’s it then?” Asked the black pony with a surprised look.
“That’s it. I’ve been getting the feeling that we are going to need all the help we can get on this mission. Because like it or not. We are it.”
“And vat exactly is mission sir?” Asked Blizzard Wind now moving up closer.  
“I’ve been wondering the same thing mate,” Match Stick added as he joined them. “Seeing as how you still owe us that briefing and all.”
Shining Armor looked imploringly to Broad Sword who shrugged.
“Sorry lad but I would say now is as good a time as ever.”
“Alright,” Shining said stopping as the others came and circled around him. “When Nightmare Moon was defeated by the Elements of Harmony everypony was told that she was utterly destroyed,” he glanced around the circle. “That was a lie,” he said flatly. “Our mission today is to search the old castle room by room for the pieces of enchanted armor she conjured to cover Luna’s body. Celestia has reason to believe some small portion of Nightmare Moon’s consciousness was transferred to the armor and that she has somehow survived all this time,” he said quietly. Shining Armor surveyed the faces around him, admiring the determination and resolve he saw.
One by one they nodded as he looked them in the eye. “Our goal is to collect whatever remains of that foul creature and get it to the princesses so that they may dispose of her for good.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/

“Spike! Hurry! The train leaves in fifteen minutes!” Twilight urged the young Dragon.
“And according to the seven practice runs we made yesterday we can be there in twelve,” Spike reminded from upstairs. “Just let me grab this last bag of yours and I’ll be down.”
Twilight Sparkle glanced at the wall clock and bit her lip. Thirty-two and one half seconds later her number one assistant came running down the stairs into the library’s foyer. “Ready?” Twilight asked hurriedly as she quadruple checked her checklist. 
Spike huffed his frustration to the room in the form of a small green flame out a nostril. “Yeah. Got the last of it right here.” 
After a few lengthy seconds of muttering from Twilight the pair left for the station to catch the twelve forty train to Canterlot.
As the two departed a familiar face could be seen in an upper level window. Satisfied they were gone for good the owl vacated his lookout and swooped down through the treehouse on deft wings.
Upon landing atop his usual perch the bird took one last look around to ensure that the two remaining occupants were in fact alone. Satisfied he turned to the back of the room and in the ancient tongue of his ancestors, spoke. “They have gone. You may now reveal yourself, old friend. It is time. The Darkest one has made his first move. And we must counter.”
From the place it had been left precariously at the edge of a couch the worn cover of Twilight Sparkles most recent read began to glow an ultraviolet blue.
The Way of the Wizard floated off the couch and lazily made its way to hover in front of the owl. “It is most pleasant seeing you again after all these years,” the bird said with what passed for a smile. 
With a dry creak of its binding the book slowly folded open with pages flipping to reach the middle. They were all blank. Waiting patiently the owl pulled at a bad feather to pass the time.
Eventually the pages found their proper place and stopped. In the owls chosen language a pair of words appeared on the page. “Greetings Owlovard,” just as quickly as the words appeared they were replaced by others. “Is the one called Twilight Sparkle on her way?” They asked.
“Yes my friends,” the owl lowered his eyes. “Though I fear she may not be ready. Events are transpiring much more hastily than the Oldest one foretold.”
“Fear not, good bird of luck. Those of us who are still able have infused her with the knowledge necessary to open the corridor.”
“As you say wizards.”
The books color pulsed weakly as its power faded. “And what of the rest of your brethren? Have they come for the last confrontation?”
“Yes. All have come my lords. Even the White Foot who has traveled far for this moment. And now the Oldest one himself has come, they have all resided close to me for some time now. And Philomena has never left Celestia’s side.”
The glowing aura around the book was nearly gone now. “Good. And the new bearers the Elements have chosen for the end?”
Ruffling his feathers the owl perked up a little. “As well a choice I have seen,” he said proudly. “Though Laughter’s choice seems odd to me.”
The words came faded now. Soon the book would once again sleep and become as any other. “You do not approve of a divided mind?”
“Normally it would be of no concern of mine. But this one is different. The half that maintains control is nearly pure joy. As wonderful as any that I have known. But the other half is something else entirely. Demonic, unnatural, and very powerful.”
“Do not concern yourself Observer. Remain focused on the larger picture before you. All will be well. The Fates are with us, and Laughter knows what she is doing.”
“And what if when the corridor is opened he will not come? What then?”
“He will come. It is his destiny.”
“Very well. I trust you.”
“As we do you. The Darkest one is now ready, his full strength restored. And now you must watch it all happen again. Alone. For our part in this endeavor is now at an end.”
“My lords?”
“This vessel is drained. And the Nexus calls us home.”
“But there is still so much I do not understand.”
“We know. And we are sorry. Be not afraid Owlovard. My old apprentice will not fail us.”
The timeless owl turned to look out the window as a familiar trio of fillies rushed by being chased by some sort of homemade robot on the fritz. “No. I am sure that he will not. But how can you…”
A resounding thud cut him off. Swiveling his head back to look he found the book lying on the floor. Lifeless again. The old bird had so many more questions that would now go unanswered. “Rest easy old friends,” he said solemnly. “Until our next encounter.”
A short flight later found him again looking out the bedroom window. Only now he looked to Canterlot. “The board is set and the pieces are waiting. Your move, Darkest one.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	




“Sure it’s big enough,” Match Stick said comically. “But look at the location!” he pointed around at nothing in particular.
“Needs more ivy,” Blizzard Wind added dryly.
“I am just disappointed there is no moat,” Mumbled Obsidian.
“Who cares as long as there is nothing home,” Shining Armor cut in.
Thanks in part to Smudge Coat’s knowledge of the forest the team had made good speed and reached the castle in record time. It was now around four o’clock in the evening and because of the time of year the sun was already low in the sky. This caused the nearby hills to cast deep shadows upon the weathered stone structure giving it an even more ominous appearance.
“Spooky.” 
“No more so than your mom’s place Blizz,” Match Stick chuckled as they all stopped just within the front gates.
“Alright lads,” Shining said tapping the worn stone with a hoof to get their attention. “Let’s go over this once more just so I can be sure you all paid attention,” he said raising an eyebrow.
“Why are you looking at me?” Match Stick asked with mock shock looking up from fiddling with his new necklace. 
Broad Sword coughed into a hoof.
“Right… Anywho,” Shining said rolling out a parchment on the stone. “My sister and her friends blasted Nightmare Moon here,” He pointed on the map of the castle that Celestia had given him. “The eastern most tower. That is where we can find the majority of the armor pieces. Broad Sword and Blizzard Wind are with me. Celestia says the courtyard on the far side is the likeliest landing place for the few chunks that were blown out this window. Right here,” He looked to the others. “Match Stick. You are in charge of group two, take Smudge Coat and Obsidian Black and find what you can. Dismissed!”
A chorus of yes sirs rang out as they all went their separate ways through the gloom of the castles interior.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

After twenty minutes or so blundering about running into dead ends caused by cave-ins and collapsed stairways Shining’s team finally reached their objective. No sooner than he set hoof in the room Shining Armor felt a feeling of tension in the air. “Wow. Broad Sword you feel that?”
“Mmhmm,” he confirmed. “The magic field is badly disrupted here. A side effect of using the Elements of Harmony I suspect.”
“No… I don’t think so,” Shining said looking around slowly. “I have been to the site where Discord was defeated and, it didn’t feel anything like this.”
“Captain Shining Sir!” Blizzard Wind called from over by a large blown out window. “I believe I have found vat ve ar looking for.”
“Good work Blizz,” Shining said moving up to get a closer look. “Remember. Don’t touch them, just in case.”
“Yes sir. Do not vorry I am not interested in any company up here,” He said tapping the side of his head.
“If it’s all the same to you Blizzard Wind this will make me feel a whole lot better,” Broad Sword said tossing the pegasus a small pouch of spell powder Celestia had sent along with them.
The veteran honor guard deftly plucked the pouch out of the air with a wing. “I certainly do hope dis sparkly dust of hers vorks,” he mused.
“She would not have sent it with us if it did not,” Broad Sword said without pause and a hint of defensiveness.
“Yes, I know but,” Blizzard Wind found it hard to say this as he would never doubt his princess. Never. “It’s just this Nightmare lady always seems one step ahead. If history books are to be believed dat is,” he said as he sprinkled some of the powder out onto a piece of the broken armor.
“But she’s beaten this time Blizz. She’s dead! All that’s left of her is some busted up armor and a few bad memories. End of story!” Shining said almost yelling.
Broad Sword frowned at the near outburst. It was a largely unknown fact to the general public that Nightmare Moon had actually killed a fair number of Celestia’s personal guard when she had initially returned. One of whom had been a long time training partner to Shining. He had not taken it well.
Blizzard Wind looked to shining with an understanding gaze. As much as it would hurt his captain he had to say it. “If the story iss over, then vhy are ve here sir?”
Shining Armor picked up the now magically sealed piece of armor and stared at it intently for a moment. “I don’t know Blizz.” He said before the wall beside them exploded and buried him in ruble.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“And so that’s why my youngest sister joined a traveling circus,” Smudge Coat explained not once taking his eyes off the intricate carvings along the wall as they walked.
“Okay…” Obsidian Black said with a ‘very’ raised eyebrow. “So what about your eldest brother? What happened to him?”
“Oh. He’s a lawyer in San Palomino.”
“Any good?”
“The best in the city actually,” Smudge Coat said beaming.
“That so?” Obsidian smirked disbelievingly.
“Absolutely. He had this one case where this mare brutally murdered a bellhop in a hotel lobby by stabbing him thirty seven times in the chest. There were at least twenty witnesses and while she was on the stand she yelled out ‘I’m glad I killed the bastard.’ Anyway, six hours later she not only walked out of that courtroom a free mare but my brother even got the family of the bellhop to pay her legal fees.” 
Obsidian Black took pause at the information. “I’m not entirely sure what to do with that Smudgy,” he said blinking. In all fairness that was odd even for him.
“If you think that’s a good one you should hear about my other sister.”
“Do I have a choice?” Obsidian asked halfheartedly.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
“Bucking Shining Armor.” Match Stick thought to himself. “The nerve of him! Pairing me up with a civy. And a no good steal the mark right off your flank Scarlet!!” He cursed as he sliced a nearby statue in half vertically with a flame blade spell. “Ma was right,” he sighed to relieve the frustration. “I should’ve joined the navy.” 
Moving to the end of the long hall that emptied out into the large walled in courtyard where he hoped to find his objective he stepped into the dull evening light and looked around.
The far wall had mostly collapsed revealing the Everfree beyond. A few scraggly dead trees that may have once been topiaries were scattered about standing as mute reminders of the beautiful gardens that had grown here.
Match Stick ambled over to a crumbling fountain the base of which still held a small amount of rain water. “Where did those buggers get to?” He groused as he circled the fountain trying to figure out what the figurehead in the middle had been. “And they say I’m slow,” he said looking back over his shoulder at the hallway his companions would eventually come through.
Crunch!
Match Stick bit back a curse as something sharp and serrated sliced deep into his front left frog. “Son of a...” He worked his jaw even tighter as he drew his hoof up to look at the damage.
A series of tinkling sounds caught his attention however and he instead looked to what he had stepped upon. “Well don’t that just beat all?” He frowned.
Match Stick had tread directly upon a small piece of the dull blue armor that he was looking for. The stallion stooped lower for a closer look, now ignoring the painful throbbing in his hoof. The material had shattered under his weight and driven a long shard of itself deep into his hoof.
Where had the damned thing even come from? It had not been there a moment ago, he was sure of it.
“All this trouble over you and ya turn out to be some kind of shit quality glass armor!” He shouted furiously pulling the shard out with his magic. No sooner had he pulled the invader from his body he thought of what Shining Armor had said about touching the pieces.
A dull blue hued magical aura leapt from the armor sliver and traveled through his own aura to his horn and passed right into it. Match Stick slumped to the ground. His face was scrunched up in a look of sheer agony though not a sound escaped him.
The stallion twitched once and then was still.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“So. With that in mind we can assume these buttresses are at least fifteen hundred years old. Or perhaps even older if you take into account the centralized dilations atop the tri layer connection pillars,” Smudge Coat lectured happily. “Isn’t this a truly amazing work of engineering Mr. Black?”
No answer.
“Mr. Black?” Smudge Coat turned to where the bat pony had been standing. He was gone. “Curious,” thought the scholar aloud. “I couldn’t have monologued that long. My vision wasn’t even going black yet.”
Figuring Obsidian Black had simply continued on without him as Match Stick had done, the splotchy Earth pony made his way down the long dark corridor until he too entered the courtyard. 
Strolling along obliviously thinking about the differences between isosceles and rhombus triangles for some reason he almost ran right over Match Stick, who was in a rather odd state. A soft moan was the only warning the pony was even there.
“Whoa. Match Stick are you alright?” Smudge Coat asked as he moved up behind the soldier hesitantly.
The stallion’s body shivered in a very unnatural way. “I am now,” Match Stick replied in a voice that was not his own.
Smudge Coat took one final step closer before the strange tone in Match Stick’s voice registered.
The unicorn’s neck popped as it lengthened slightly. “But I could still use more. Life!” in a blur of motion too fast for any natural pony to accomplish, Match Stick whirled about in a low crouch and thrust a fire blade deep into Smudge Coat’s throat. Completely severing his maxillary artery.
As he was an Earth pony Smudge Coat’s body was tough enough to allow him to live long enough to let his mind register the pair of cyan eyes that stared coldly into his own. His world grew dark as blood flowed freely down his neck to pool around their hooves. The last thing he saw were those cat like irises that seemed to bore into his soul.
The entity within Match Stick caused his hoof to twist the fire blade and yank it out sideways, ending what was left of Smudge Coat’s life.
With a quiet gasp of escaping air the earth stallion hit the ground dead.
Match Stick’s body convulsed in pain as his limbs suddenly extended and his horn grew to nearly twice its size.
Turning his head to examine the changes the pony sighed in an unfamiliar voice. “What a whelp! Is this really all the power he can muster?!” The now somewhat feminine voice asked aloud. “No matter. As long as all goes to plan I shall soon have no use for this pathetic form.” 
Looking down at her new captor’s hooves she watched as Smudge Coat’s remaining life force energy was drawn from his blood and into her new form, fueling the transformation process.
As the pony’s gaze traveled the rest of the courtyard a dull silvery blue glow covered the long bleeding horn atop his head.
From under bushes and behind trees came a half dozen or so additional shards of armor. They slid through the grass and over the stone paths. All coming together at the hooves of the one who summoned them to reassemble into their original shape. Once the final piece had inserted itself they all fused themselves back into a single object.
The pony shivered in delight. It felt good to be at least partially whole again. “Celestia you old fool,” she hissed. “I am the armor!” With that the iconic blue helmet floated up and placed itself atop the head of its latest catch.
At that moment the cat like eyes of the new monster flashed open in anger. The rest of her was in danger!
Again the horn flared to life. Oh how good it felt to once again channel magic! Even if it was only a small fraction of what her previous host had been capable of.
Air began to swirl around the pony as small pebbles bounced away. More power was added and the spell caster was lifted off the ground. Higher and higher the he, she, it was lifted until they floated just outside the highest room of the tallest tower in the east wing of the castle. The same room where she had been beaten.
Sifting through the memories of this new carrier she happened across a spell that just screamed its applicability for the situation. Extending a foreleg she concentrated to a place just in front of it. A pulsing sphere of blood red energy appeared and shot towered the wall and detonated on impact.
The blast worked perfectly. It knocked down the wall but otherwise caused very little collateral damage to the room within.
Having been buried in the rubble was the very thing that saved Shining Armor’s life as a second sphere flew through the air and impacted with Broad Sword covering the area with thick dark smoke and dust.
Blizzard Wind turned to face this new threat. But as he did so a powerful telekinetic force slammed him against the far wall with enough power to crack the stone. He crumpled to the floor in a daze.
The creature landed on the smoking stones that covered Shining Armor. “So these are the foals that Celestia sends to do her dirty work. I should have known she would not be willing to face me herself. Instead she sends these pitiful little beings who cannot even survive my attacks whilst at my weakest. How very disappointing.”
“Don’t count us out yet demon. I’m still standing!” The smoke at the far end of the room suddenly vanished revealing a bright silvery shield. Inside stood Broad Sword, perfectly unharmed. “Hello, Nightmare Moon.” 
“You!” Spat the foul creature with a good deal of hate as a look of rage took hold of her features.
Broad Sword grinned as he lowered the shield. “Me.”
“I should have killed you when I had the chance.” She said moving toward him as her horn crackled with power.
“Yes. You should have!” He yelled suddenly firing a bolt of magic at her head. If the Nightmare had moved any slower she would have been looking for a new host.
The beam was nearly too fast for her as she leaned her head out of the way. A glare crossing Match Stick’s face as the silver gray energy traveled past his snout burning away a single hair as it went.
Nightmare turned the lean into a roll to the left and upon coming to a stop, fired a blast of her own.
Broad Sword had anticipated this however and was already teleporting out of the way as her shot flew across the room only to explode on the far wall.
The Nightmare leapt forward into a roll as Broad Sword attempted to attack from the rear. But to no avail as he was then forced into a defense by a series of rapid fire blasts that he only just managed to deflect with a shield. The deflected energy careened into the wall behind him and blew large holes in the stones. At the last second he sidestepped and the two of them fired at each other in unison both producing as powerful a beam as fast as they could.
The beams impacted in the center of the room and exploded with enough force to collapse the floor into the room below in a whirlwind of dust and smoke.
Through the obscuring cloud Nightmare leapt across the large hole in the floor and slammed into Broad Sword sending him crashing to the ground. She stood over him and raised a hoof to stomp down on his skull. But the guard countered with a telekinetic burst of his own that launched her up into the ceiling with force enough to buckle it upwards.
She heated a fire spell and sent Match Stick’s flames down upon him, or would have if Broad Sword had not used a spell of his own that somehow turned the flames into flimsy shards of ice that burst apart on impact.
While he was dealing with that however she again used her telekinesis to launch herself off the ceiling and drove the both of them down through the floor and partially through the floor of the room below.
Broad Sword grunted and punched her square in the snout causing her to roll off to the side. He then tried to get to his hooves, only to be roundhouse kicked in the ribs and sent sprawling across the floor and slammed head first against a wall.
Nightmare spun and blocked just as Blizzard Wind entered the fray and was attempting to use his wing blades to make short work of her. The pegasus saw an opening and tried again only to once more be blocked by the deft hooves of his foe.
She blocked a third slice and followed through with a tightly packed series of high speed blows to the chest that cracked ribs and finished off with an uppercut to the jaw that sent Blizzard Wind crashing backwards out through another window.
No sooner was he out of sight she lashed out backwards with a rear hoof catching Broad Sword in the side of the head as he attempted to reenter the fight. The force of the blow flipped the old pony over onto his back with a thud.
“You are a tough old bastard I will give you that,” the Nightmare leered at him as she wiped a spot of blood from her cheek.
Broad Sword shakily got back on his hooves. “You have… No idea,” he said spitting a tooth out onto the floor. He made a come hither motion with a hoof as he drew himself up into a combat stance.
She curled her upper lip into a grin and charged. They clashed together in a flurry of rapid hoof to hoof blows as they danced on their hind legs. Move after move was intercepted and countered with another. At first it was going well, but Broad Sword’s age finally caught up with him. He was just a tad slower than her.
The Nightmare saw her opening and slammed a hoof into his lower chest, doubling him over. His armor there cracked under the force of the blow and fell away. She reached around and hauled him up by the scruff of his neck and delivered a vicious uppercut to the jaw that lifted him off his hooves. While he was still in midair she rotated and bucked him across the room.
Broad Sword crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop at the edge of the broken out window. Slowly, and with great effort, the honor guard once more got to his hooves. “You will… Have to do better than… That… Your highness,” he said shakily. “I’m not going anywhere,” he managed another combat stance.
“Yes, you are,” she sneered as the spell she had been secretly charging finished. A luminous green beam shot from her horn and sailed towards Broad Sword.
As the beam approached he flinched causing the attack to impact his left shoulder pauldron. What was left of his armor there burned away as the energy detonated in a roiling green ball of destruction. The blast flung the pony out the window to his doom.
Nightmare Moon gave a hearty laugh as she teleported to the window frame to watch as Broad Sword fell. A blood pirouette trailing along behind him as he went. She smiled at her victory as his body impacted the roof of the castle ball room far below. Disappearing in a cloud of dust as it broke through. “And that makes three,” she said with a hint of pride.
Shining Armor, bloodied but not beaten leapt onto the Nightmare from behind and went for a choke out. He squeezed as tightly as he could, a bruised muscle in his foreleg complained but he ignored it.
The Nightmare wheezed as her eyes bulged out. She started backing up until she found one of the support columns for the room above.
Shining Armor grunted in pain as she slammed him against the already crumbling stone. The age weakened pillar cracked as she smashed him against it again and again each time with additional effort. 
Inwardly the entity growled to itself. Even with her power enhancing Match Stick’s body and ability in every way he was still far too weak for her taste. So, perhaps a new host was in order. This one had taken a rather fair beating after all.
Shining wrenched his grip even tighter as Match Stick fell to his knees now completely out of breath.
Nightmare slammed the back of her borrowed head into Shining’s snout causing his grip to loosen. She then rolled the two of them over so that she now took top position and touched their horns together.
Blizzard Wind flew back in through the window and tackled Match Stick off of Shining Armor. The pair rolled across the floor and smashed into the still cracking pillar. The pegasus put a wing blade to Match Stick’s throat, whispering an apology to his friend for what he was about to do.
The pyro pony looked up and opened his eyes. “Blizz?” He said in a sleepy tone.
“Match Stick?” Blizzard Wind replied suspiciously.
Match Stick nodded.
“But if you are here. Then vhere is…?” He glanced back over his shoulder.
“Ahh buck,” they both deadpanned.
Shining Armor. Or what had Been Shining Armor, stood there looking over the finishing touches to her now transforming body. Already the unicorn had far surpassed even Blizzard Wind in height and was still growing. The horn had again doubled in length and wickedly sharp fangs were coming in, and now protruded downwards from behind the top lip.
“Superb!” She said happily. “This one is far superior to that last meat sack.” Crackles of energy flickered off of the new form as its power potential continued to rise. Nightmare floated up into the air as her whole body began to glow. From the room above came all the remaining chunks of armor. They circled her as the glow intensified until, in a white flash of light, they all came together as one to form the formidable armor of Nightmare Moon.
Match Stick winced as he watched. Without even feeling for her magical signature he could tell that her overall power level had just doubled. And was now far past anything he could ever hope to achieve. A moment later the helmet left him to join with the rest and finish the ensemble. 
The Nightmare landed and sighed in deep content as sparks of excess energy continued to fly off her body.
Blizzard Wind took the initiative and leapt forward hoping to strike before the process could be completed. He threw himself at her, blades ready.
Instantly the creature’s head snapped up with an unnatural grin on its face. Faster than either pony could see, a needle fine lance of magic tore through Blizzard Wind’s body and out the other side and passed clean out of the castle.
Blizzard Wind stubbornly took another step. Muttering something about a snipe he fell to the floor at the Nightmares hooves.
“Blizz!” Match Stick shouted as he attempted to get back upright. A burst of telekinetic force hurled him clear across the room and slammed him against the far wall. He slid to the floor and nearly rolled down a stairwell to his right.
“I must admit this has been fun,” the Nightmare said moving closer and stepping over the fallen pegasus. “Unfortunately, I have a schedule to keep and you, have some dying to do,” she lowered her horn to point at him. “To bad about that friend of yours. I was expecting a Gryphon Wing to put up a better fight. But at least…” She was cut short by a pair of hooves wrapping around her leg.
“Run Match Stick!” Blizzard Wind bellowed from the floor as he yanked Shining Armor’s body to the ground beside him, blood flying from his mouth as he did so. The Pegasus Gryphon flared out his wings, and with a mighty thrust flung the two of them into the nearly shattered pillar that aided the support of the room above.
Match Stick only waited a heartbeat as he locked eyes with his friend. They both knew how this was going to work. He gladly would have done the same for Blizz if things had been different. But they weren’t. Now it would be up to him to warn the princesses.
The pillar pulverized under the sheer weight it supported. Blizzard Wind smiled and nodded. The mission came first. If this is what it took to accomplish it, so be it. With a groan from the stones above the ceiling began to sag.
Match Stick returned the nod, a part of him wanted to stay. But he was the only one now who could finish it. Another pillar cracked and buckled, unable to support the load added by the loss of its neighbor.
He put a hoof on the first step leading down as the dust rained from above. Finally he tore his gaze from Blizzard Wind. A third pillar snapped like a toothpick and the entire room collapsed.
Leaping downwards Match Stick took the steps ten at a time as he bounded down the circular stairway. The full structure became unstable as the upper room dropped into the room below. This in turn caused a pancake effect.
Match Stick nearly flew down the stairs as the tower collapsed room by room above him. The spire started to spiral as it fell, slinging stones in a wide arc as it went causing even further damage to the surrounding castle. Every part of his body cried out at the exertion. “Damn it all Broad Sword,” he thought to himself. “Did ya have to hit so hard?” He could feel a very broken rib slicing at his insides with every step. Still, it beat getting buried alive.
The tower was coming down even faster now. Match Stick could feel the stones falling just beyond his tail. Racing down one last floor the pony dove out of the stairway into a short corridor that led to the grand ballroom. Without breaking stride he formed the last of the magic his battered body could handle into a fireball in order to blow open a heavy iron door and leapt out of the hall a second before the tower collapsed on top of it, crushing the hallway flat. The sound of countless tons of stone coming to a halt was deafening as dust and bits of rock flew into the ballroom from the mass of the structure landing atop its base.
Match Stick took one final bound before splaying out on the grime caked floor and covering his head as the rushing dust cloud overtook him. He lay there panting in exhaustion listening to the sounds of rocks landing all around him as one final monumental crash signified the tower’s downfall. He lay there a few minutes until all was again quiet. He groaned as the wounds covering his body began to make themselves known. “Definitely should have joined the navy,” he said sardonically.
A few stones shifted slowly in the mound of shattered rock that had been the tower as a dull hum reached Match Stick’s ears. He rolled onto his side to look behind himself. “Now what?”
Several of the large slabs of stone glowed a dull red as something heated them from beneath. “Oh just stay buried for Luna’s sake!” Match Stick shouted with a growl as he stood.
Without further warning the great pile of rubble exploded outwards at all angles throwing away thousand pound slabs like pebbles. Match Stick hit the floor and closed his eyes. He hadn’t the energy left to protect himself as the massive flying boulders shredded the structure around him. Gritting his teeth the pony waited for the feeling of being crushed.
It never came.
Standing atop what remained of the tower’s base the Nightmare seethed as she breathed raggedly. Bruised, battered, and bloody. But unbeaten. She shoved aside a final giant block with impossible strength as she limped Shining Armor’s body down the slope into the ballroom. “You…” She winced. “Impudent. Misguided fools… I will…” The Nightmare cut short as she caught sight of the silvery shield that had protected Match Stick. “Impossible,” she whispered.
“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Nightmare,”  Broad Sword said moving out from behind a partially collapsed wall. “You of all ponies should know that,” the unicorn nearly looked good as new, though he moved with a limp.
“Great Caesars toast Broad Sword! I never thought I’d be so happy to see your wrinkly old flank again,” Match Stick exclaimed. Nightmare just stared, lost in shock.
Broad Sword smiled as he dissipated the shield with a shake of his head. “I don’t believe my ears. Match Stick did you… miss me?” He jibed helping him up with a hoof.
“Nah. I was just worried you might miss out on the after party,” he glared over at the Nightmare. “I’m afraid we’ll be the only ones attending.”
“Look at her son,” Broad Sword said with confidence. “Physically she is beaten,” he turned to face their enemy. “And now it’s two on one.”
Shining Armor’s gaze drifted behind them for a moment and his body chuckled painfully. “Oh. Is that so?”
If it had not been for the incessant ringing in his ears then Broad Sword might have heard the soft clop of hooves that joined the feeling of a slight breeze as the dark figure landed between the two guardsponies. He may even have reacted in time to stop Obsidian Black from plunging a horrendously serrated knife deep into his chest. Maybe.
As the knife sank to its hilt Obsidian Black twisted around and bucked Match Stick square in his already broken rib sending him rolling across the floor. In one fluid motion he pulled the knife free and sprang into the air. Kicking Broad Sword in the head with both lower hooves the bat pony launched himself away and back flipped to land flawlessly next to the Nightmare as Broad Sword hit the ground with barely a sound.
Match Stick gasped out in pain as he tried to move. He could feel the shattered pieces of rib moving around as he breathed and personal experience told him his lung was punctured as well. He struggled to turn over and caught sight of Broad Sword’s unmoving form and something inside him snapped.
All at once every terrible event of that day came back to him as a reminder of what he had lost. His beauty sleep, his necklace, his favorite sword, bucking Blizz! And now even Broad Sword’s saggy plot was down and out! To top it all off the dam Scarlet was apparently aligned with the enemy! Actually that came as little surprise. But still, the rest of it all! If only he had joined the Luna bucking navy! All this and more collided in his mind and his blood boiled over with a rage few other ponies possessed.
Summoning strength from some place he didn’t know he had Match Stick got to his hooves with a yell and turned on the Nightmare. His horn glowed bright and his eyes shone with hellfire. The pony screamed with all the force of his emotions, letting them fuel his magic. Rage, fear, hate, vengeance, and sorrow all came crashing together as one.
The stones at his hooves flash melted as a column of superheated blue white fire exploded off his entire body and engulfed the two ponies in its path. It filled the end of the ball room to the ceiling and blew out every last window that had survived the test of time before consuming the very remains of the collapsed tower beyond his targets.
Streams of liquefied rock ran everywhere as the flames devoured everything in front of him. This was Match Stick at one hundred percent. Not many had seen it. Fewer had lived. 
Continuing to scream Match Stick was forced to let up as his power again began to fail. A familiar hoof reached out of the flames near his face and grabbed his throat. Shimmering in a layer of protective energy the Nightmare emerged from the fire and smashed a hoof straight into his horn, breaking it off mid length.
Instantly the flames died as the Unicorn fell to the hot floor in agony. In a rage she reared up and came down on a joint in a hind leg. Crushing it. Match Stick began to spasm. His body unable to cope with the pain as his horn sparked and bled.
In a final act of savagery the Nightmare reached down and used the fangs she had caused Shining Armor to grow to rip out Match Stick’s throat. Blood poured forth as the unicorn’s eyes rolled back into his head. “Finally,” she hissed kneeling in the blood and absorbing the life energy.
Obsidian Black landed next to her and watched as the wounds covering her hosts body started to close.
“So,” she said eventually acknowledging his presence. “I finally get to meet the infamous Obsidian Black. I am impressed.”
Obsidian shrugged. “I try,” he said wincing as he watched an exposed bone slide back under the skin. “So what now?” Asked the bat while massaging a smoking wing.
She smiled and stood. “Now I have a debt to settle. The master has made the call, and our time is now upon us,” the Nightmare shivered as its horn grew out even longer.
“Then it’s true. He means to awaken then,” Obsidian mused.
“Yes. And we must be swift,” the abomination looked to Broad Sword’s still form and licked her lips. “Though I may still have time yet for a snack,” she said salivating.
Obsidian Black stepped between the Nightmare and the corpse. “Respectfully your lordship. I do not believe that we have the time to spare. You are healed, and he was weak,” he said locking eyes with the demonic creature. “His life force would ‘not’ be ‘worth’ your ‘while’. I would ‘suggest’ that we ‘now’ make ‘haste’ to ‘Canterlot’. ‘You’ yourself said we ‘must’ be ‘swift’.”
Nightmare blinked a few times at this. “Yes… yes this is true. We must not keep him waiting,” she said thoughtfully, the body seemingly forgotten.
“After all. The success of the plan depends on our timely arrival,” Obsidian said looking away from her. “Do you have it?” He asked bluntly.
“I would not have returned without it!” She snapped.
“Simply curious,” he said as he surveyed the destruction around them.
“Of my loyalty?!”
He rounded on her with a smirk. “Of how some pony with your ability could be out smarted and done in by six young, untrained, mares who barely knew each other.”
The Nightmare growled, which turned into a hearty laugh. “You ignorant fool,” she said shaking with a grin. “You reveal how little of the plan he has told you.”
Obsidian Black tilted his head. “Then please. Enlighten me.” 
Her eyes hardened into a scowl. “We needed to draw the Elements out of their slumber. Get them to reveal their chosen bearers. And most importantly,” she said with a horrible chuckle. “The Darkest one had very specific reasons for wanting to be petrified again. So Obsidian. Everything that has transpired since my arrival four years ago has all been according to a plan. A plan that has been in motion for a very, very long time.”
“Then it would be a shame to delay it,” he said moving towards her. “Shall we?”
“Very well,” she said edging closer. “Do try to hold still.”


/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	


Canterlot gardens. 5:56 pm. 

The leaves on the hedge rows rustled quietly as a lazy breeze rolled down off the mountain. A small fountain bubbled in a corner of the small nook in the garden keeping the tall statue company.
Even after all this time the being trapped within the stone could not stop thinking of funny ways to modify the delicate water feature. Perhaps if he gave it teeth it could devour that pesky blue jay that liked to land on his head and… Well… You get where this is going.
In any case it did not mater. In about a sixteenth of a second she would be here to initiate the next phase. Then he could take care of the troublesome bird personally. Wait. Why did he feel bad about wanting to kill something? That was not right. Or was it? Was something wrong with him again?
A small dot of light began to appear near the fountain and distracted him. She would be arriving shortly. Excellent timing as always he thought.
Knowing Nightmare would be along sometime in the next instant the being held within the stone expanded the range of his awareness. At first all he could feel was his little corner of the garden, then it was the garden in its entirety. With a small amount of effort the castle in all of its glory came into range.
All was exactly as planned. The festivities were in full swing, the guards were distracted, except for one paranoid one in particular, and the ballroom was packed to capacity. It was perfect. He double checked for the presence of the new bearers. That wretched Twilight and her friends. 
If he could move his face he would have smiled. All there, ripe for the picking. Wait… Picking. Where was that painfully honest one? The apple farmer.
The being sighed metaphorically. She represented a problem that would need to be dealt with immediately. He had come too far to let Honesty trip him up now.
Making one final check of the castle he came across the very Alicorn he was looking for. Celestia stood before a mirror in her royal bedchambers preparing to meet her subjects. Satisfied all was in place he returned his awareness to the little area around his statue.
The light from the teleport was nearly gone now. Standing in place of it was Obsidian Black, and a creature so badly misshapen it could only be his lovely little Nightmare.
“Warn me next time would you,” Obsidian moaned as he put a hoof to his stomach.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the Nightmare said mockingly, growing rather sick of the impudent bat pony’s attitude. “Do you get teleportation sickness?” She asked, not caring for an answer.
“Not normally,” he mumbled feebly while looking around at the gardens and then the castle further up the hill. “But then I’ve never been teleported that far before.”
“Clearly,” she said moving up to the statue. “Hello. Master,” she hissed the words. “I do hope you have won that little fight of yours in there. Because I am not going back up there for you again,” she growled jerking her head at the moon now floating above.
“If you keep talking to statues like that ponies will think you’re crazy,” Obsidian said in a playful tone.
“Remind me to drain your life force later, you insufferable little whelp,” Nightmare growled as her horn glowed in an ominous green light. “It seems as though you were right after all master. I found it right where you said it would be,” she said as a small magical ball appeared out of thin air. “On the dark side of the moon. In the deepest oldest crater,” she levitated the ball over the figure before her and it burst. Showering the statue in glittering black dust. “Powder, from the void comet,” she said with a venomous smile and backed away.
With no hesitation the stone shattered as the powerful Element spell was broken on contact. Shards flew everywhere as the creature within threw them away with a quick burst of magic. Immediately the great beast fell to one knee and put both paw and claw to his head as if in pain.
The Nightmare took a step closer. “Master?” She asked cautiously stepping forward again.
For a moment the body of the Draconequus shivered terribly as if losing control. “This is not over whelp,” the kneeling creature whispered venomously. With joints popping in protest the large beast stood to its full height and looked over the newcomers with interest.
In a voice filled with malice, and a register much deeper than Obsidian Black remembered from his previous encounter, Discord spoke. “Well done Obsidian Black. I can see my trust was not misplaced,” he said stretching his limbs. “And you Nightmare, love the new outfit.”
Nightmare’s lips curled back into a snarl. “Bite your tongue!” She hissed. “You know very well that I despise the weaker power levels found in unicorns,” the entity took an advancing step in anger. “Have you been trapped in there too long?” It sneered. “You are beginning to sound like… Him.”
The Draconequus snarled as a glowing red chain flew from his outstretched lion paw and wrapped around Nightmare’s throat and wrenched tight. He effortlessly pulled the struggling demon up off her hooves and close to his chest to stare into her eyes.
Nightmare froze. The chain restricted all movement. But that was not the reason for her submission. She found herself staring into the hate filled eyes of the one being that all other evil feared. There could be no doubt now that he, was once again in control.
“There it is,” the one holding the chain said with pure malevolence in his voice. “The moment when they realize that they no longer have any control. No means to fight,” he said lowering her to the ground with a smile.
Nightmare fell to her rump as the chain released from around her neck. Gasping for air she watched the restraint slide back into its creator’s paw.
“Do not forget who gifted you those powers in the beginning child,” he said levitating her to her hooves. “And I can take them away just as easily,” the unicorn gasped as he dropped her to stand on her own. “Now then. Tell me, is everything ready for our big night?” He asked leaning down to her level.
Nightmare lowered her head as she shrank away from him. “All has gone well on our end master. But…” She stammered in new found fear. “S… Sombra failed his part of the plan. The Crystal Heart has been restored.”
Both ponies looked up in confusion as the Draconequus began a long hearty laugh. “Sweet, innocent, ignorant little Nightmare,” he said shaking his head. “It was always my intent for him to fail.”
Her mouth hung open for a moment. “But, he served you so well. And the Crystal Heart was…”
“Was hidden away in a place even I could not find!” He snapped cutting her off. “As for Sombra. He served his purpose, and now the heart is right where it needs to be.”
Obsidian Black stepped forward. “Excuse me. I do hate to interrupt but, I was wondering how the Crystal Heart played into all this?”
The great serpentile creature floated up into the air a few feet and swung his head to look at the black bat pony. “A fair question to be sure, and a boldness after my recent example,” he said with furrowed brows. “For an answer let me just say that I have my reasons. For now I want you concentrating on the part of the plan of which you belong. Curiosity as they say often kills the cat, or in this case the bat pony.”
Obsidian nodded and backed away.
“Fear not. All shall soon be made clear,” his ear swiveled to face behind him. “Now before we begin, there is but one last thing,” he snapped his eagle talons and a very confused and stumbling Chrysalis appeared before him.
The queen of the Changelings’ eyes widened as they met those of the beast towering over her. “Discord,” she whispered disbelievingly.
“Not, quite,” he said with a rumble following his words. “I hope you were not having too good a time stumbling around out there in the woods. Because I have a job for you. Well, two jobs actually,” he said with a terrible grin as he glanced over to Nightmare and nodded.
With no hesitation the Nightmare hurled itself at Chrysalis. She wrapped her fore hooves around the Changeling’s head and touched their horns together in a shower of sparks.
Chrysalis fell to her knees with gritted teeth as Shining Armor’s body slumped down beside her. “What have you done to…me?!” She growled shakily watching Shining Armor shrink back to normal.
“I have done nothing you pitiful insect,” Discord mused as he flexed an arm and nodded approvingly. “Though if you must know, Nightmare has given you a wonderful gift. If only temporarily.”
The Queen’s head spun as she rose, vision fading in and out. But she could also feel great power coursing through her growing with every passing second. “Now this,” she said in both her own voice as well as another’s. “Is more like it.”
A cough from the ground drew the attention of the mismatched creature to where the waking pony lay. He bowed down low to look him in the eye. “Well hello there,” he said with a grin.
“Discord?” Shining Armor gasped out. “But how? Where?” He glanced around at the others and then the castle beyond. And it all clicked, the realization crashing down upon him. “No…”
“Oh but it is,” chuckled the Draconequus as he pulled away and turned to look up the hill at the festivities happening above. All the ponies there completely oblivious to the happenings in the garden. “Though I really do owe you a thank you Shining Armor. If you had not so graciously allowed Obsidian Black here to accompany your little endeavor, none of this would likely have been possible,” Discord slowly spun to face them and gave Shining a look that could only be called, evil. “And to show my appreciation for all of your cooperation, I will be sure to have Obsidian here look after that lovely little wife of yours. How does that sound?” A cruel smile spread impossibly far across the twisted creature’s face.
Obsidian Black offered Shining his own mischievous looking grin. “Don’t worry old boy. I’ll keep her nice and safe through all this. I promise.”  
“Yeah, you’re a real pal aren’t you,” Shining groaned as he slowly got to his hooves. “You dammed Scarlet. I knew something was up with you. Ever since the clearing,” he said taking a step closer as his anger grew.
“Easy now captain. Don’t think of doing anything stupid,” Obsidian warned as he tensed for a fight.
Shining Armor smirked. “Too late,” he grinned before teleporting. Instead of appearing on Celestia’s balcony as intended, Shining Armor found himself floating in the air right where he had been with Discord standing between him and Obsidian Black. The strangest part was the terrible sensation of pressure in his chest. It felt as if… Shining looked down to stare at the massive Eagle talon hand buried deep within him. His eyes tracked up to look back at Discord as blood began to wet the ground beneath him.
“So sorry dear boy, but I cannot have you running off to warn the Princesses. You see, in this form they actually stand somewhat of a chance at besting me. Which means I shall require a certain amount of, surprise,” he said in a near convincingly apologetic tone. “Unfortunately this means I need you out of the way, permanently,” Discord said as he thrust his talons even deeper.
Shining’s eyes bulged as blood began to flow freely out of him and his mouth worked silently like a fish out of water. All he could think of was his wife and his unborn child and how he had just failed them. As the fiend drew him closer his world began to darken.
Discord lowered his head to whisper in the pony’s ear. “That’s it Shining, it is nearly over now, just let it take you. Relax and the pain will all go away.” He drew closer and hushed his voice even lower. “And don’t worry yourself. Cadence and your child will join you shortly, same with your sister.” After moving his head back to once more look Shining Armor in the eye he made a gesture with his lion paw and the Nightmare’s armor fell away. With an almost emphatic grin he continued. “Thank you Shining Armor, and, good bye.” And with that the Draconequus gave a mighty upward heave of his arm sending Shining Armor sailing through the air out over the hedge maze behind them.
Obsidian Black grimaced slightly as they all listened to the dull thud of the impact some distance away. He ruffled his wings ever so slightly, first the left, then the right as he turned to look back at the towering creature next to him. The next phase had, apparently, begun.
Discord stood there a moment staring at his blood covered talons as if contemplating something deeply. A moment later he turned his gaze upward to the castle and his look of malice returned. “Now then. I believe we have a gathering to attend.”         
	                                            
	                  
	                
	                                     
	                 
	                        
	        
	                                                    
	                   
	
	                      
	                            

> Malithion (Pt.1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter six
Malithion



Star Swirl materialized at the far end of the bridge and shielded himself with his cloak to stave off the fiery attack that had nearly been the end of him. He watched as the bridge slowly crumbled into the stream below causing thick clouds of steam to shoot into the air as the super-heated stones fell into the water. It hissed angrily with every large stone that fell into it.
With rage building up inside him as he recognized yet another of his own spells, the stallion again glanced over his shoulder. “Celestia!” He called weakly. That teleport had cost him greatly in his weakened state. More than he would care to admit.
The fire slowly relented until it was all but gone. Leaving flickering traces on a few of the nearest trees. Intent on burning on but unable to do so without the magic that had created it.
Desperately Star Swirl attempted to summon more of his power. It was difficult given the state his body was in. The curse was working fast to dissolve his physical form. In spite of his best efforts to slow it down  it was making good time.
To make matters all the worse for him, thick clouds of acrid smoke covered the area and choked him further. Eyes burning he lit his horn once more and summoned a powerful gust of wind that blew through the trees and carried the offensive cloud away.
Star Swirl’s heart dropped. Finding himself wishing the smoke were still there to blind him as he looked across the stream to what stood on the far shore.
“Hello Star Swirl. I can’t tell you how much joy it gives me seeing you like this,” the entity said from across the way. “You look awful.”
“Nightmare!” He snarled before coughing up even more blood for the dirt. It would not be long now.
“You recognized me. I’m touched.”
“How? You fell.” 
“Oh it was rather easy really,” she said with a thin smile that showed no humor what so ever. “After I was through with that insufferable Luminescent and you two surprised me, all I needed was a moment to jump into Silver Spark. The rest I believe you know.”   
“None of that matters now. The war is over creature. And you lost!” He said coughing and beginning to sway.
“That is not how it would appear from where I stand. I see nothing but a foal still running at the every whim of a long dead teacher. Pity really. I had thought of you as a truly worthy opponent.”
“I do not care for a single thought in that mind of yours Nightmare,” he said taking a step forward. “And I shall never care about the likes of you again! Now come out of Luna at once and we shall have at each other once more just as I know you crave,” the old pony said with bared teeth.         
“As happy as that would surely make me I must decline,” she said before teleporting across the gorge between them and appearing directly in front of Star Swirl. She leaned her head down to whisper in his ear. “Because as much as I would love to continue this where we left off I have a very important debt to settle. And the only way for me to do that would be to kill Celestia,” she stood to leave him. “So if you will excuse me,” she said walking away.
Star Swirl sank to his knees. Unable to bear the pain and blood loss any longer. But there was one thing yet left to say. “He will turn on you eventually you know,” he wheezed between coughs. “Just like he did everypony else that sided with him. Do you really believe yourself to be special to him? If so then I cannot see how I became the foal here,” he looked back at her to see if even a single word had an impact. “Do not do it Nightmare. It can only end badly for you. This I know and promise.” 
Nightmare took pause and returned his look with determined eyes. “Do not speak of things that you could never hope to grasp Star Swirl. I know the one I serve and he is power. That alone is all I need to know,” she said it with much confidence in her voice, but the determination seemed to falter slightly.
Star Swirl laid his head down upon the ground and closed his eyes. They had no further use to him as they had already gone dark. “Power is not everything Nightmare. I truly hope someday you realize that. For your sake.” 
She snorted and again turned to leave. “Without power I have nothing. Which is exactly what you have now. After all their promises to help you in desperate times, to be there when the need was greatest,” she paused as her horn glowed a dull hellish green. “Where are your friends now Star Swirl!? She challenged.
He sucked in one last ragged breath for a reply as he smiled. “Right here,” he said placing a hoof over his no longer beating heart. “Right where... I need them... The… Most.”
The Nightmare spun and fired an all-consuming blast of pure rage at the one pony in existence to ever try and change her. The only one to ever actually care.  

-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	

Star Swirl twitched awake and sat upright in his bed and threw the quilts to the floor before rubbing the side of his head. He ached in places he mostly forgot he had. The dream was rarely that vivid and even then was slow in progression.
The room was quiet as a tomb and judging by the lack of light coming in through the window the rest of the world was as well. Which meant there was still no Celestia. 
Gingerly the wizard stepped down off the bed and stretched himself, listening to the pops of his spine as he did so. moving in front of a mirror he looked over his horn thoroughly to check its progress. He smiled at his reflection. It had only been a day since the grafts had been taken and already the pits had healed. “Stardust Jade you are a true miracle worker,” he muttered. His tongue still hadn’t forgiven him for the horrible ordeal of tasting the mare’s potions. But the result was always worth it.
Satisfied he turned to the small fireplace and lit his horn. To his delight the magic powered fire flickered to life and soon began to warm the frigid air around him. Concentrating further the horn flashed again and every other fireplace in the house lit and began to do their jobs respectively.
Having the temperature issue resolved Star Swirl made for the study to check on the patient. No, scratch that. To check on Twilight Sparkle. Her name was Twilight Sparkle.
He paused in the doorway of his room. The air was cold on his skin as he thought. The conversation had been just last night. So why was it so, so? Foggy. Surely his mind would not leave him now. Would it? 
Clearing his head of such thoughts Star Swirl moved down the hallway and made to enter the study on his left but halted. A sound reached his ears from somewhere within the room ahead. A sound he had hoped never to hear again. It was the sound of a crying mare.

-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	

Twilight tried again to reach her friend but a force of unknown origin whose power vastly outweighed her own once more blocked her magical grasp. She could feel the others pulling her back as they tried to run. Tried to make their friend’s sacrifice worth something. How could she possibly have known that would work?
There was no use questioning it now. What was done was done. All that was left was to run and hope that they could make it to their destination. 
Twilight made one last reach for her friend but a voice filled with pain caused her to stop.
“You have to run Twilight!” It yelled from somewhere under all the rubble. “It’ll be alright now run!”
The unicorn took a step forward despite the others efforts to pull her away. “But Pinkie I can still save you!” She shouted back over the sound of another massive explosion that shook all of Canterlot to its core. “Please!” She begged with tears streaming down her face. They were from both sorrow and pain. “Pinkie!”
“Twilight you have got to run now! This is how it hast to be!” The rubble shifted slightly and she screamed out in agony. “Go now please! Applejack make her! I can’t hold this thing any longer!”
Applejack lassoed Twilight and drug her back with a yank of her head.
“Pinkie Pie!” Shouted the now well tied mare as she was carried out of the collapsing structure.
“It’s okay Twi.” She whispered unheard. “This is how I want it,” not a second after her friends were clear. The rest of the structure came down.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Twilight’s eyes shot open as she tried to sit up in the strange bed but found to her terror that she could not so much as budge an inch. Desperately she struggled against seemingly the same force from the nightmare. She soon came to realize the futility of her efforts. There could be no victory over this. Just as there could be no victory over what had transpired that horrible night. That Nightmare Night. 
After a few moments of trying she finally managed to calm her frayed nerves and start to piece together what had happened to her. Little by little it all knitted back together to make at least some sense. 
Then it all came flooding back to her at once in one big wave. She remembered the party and how perfect everything had been. At least it had been until ‘they’ showed up. 
Twilight wondered if all of Canterlot had fallen by now. Surely it had without the princesses to defend it. Or the Elements of Harmony for that matter. Then another thought crossed her mind. What had become of her friends? What did that spell do to her anyway? It was supposed to mimic the one day time jump spell and let her go back another day. What happened? How could such a simple spell backfire so badly?
All this and more swirled through her brain before something else stuck. Star Swirl had been here right? Or was that just another part of the dream too? It was all just so overwhelming to her.
The next reality check to hit Twilight was her horn. Or rather the fact she appeared to be unable to sense the natural magical field or do any of the other wonderful things granted to Unicorn kind.
Why did all of this sound so familiar to her? Twilight closed her eyes at the sudden feeling of deja-vu. With much determination she racked her brain for answers. 
She did not like what she found. Yes Star Swirl was here. For whatever reason she was having difficulty remembering the last time she had been awake. Then it hit her. Why her friends were not here and why she was so badly hurt. The two of them had discussed it long into the night before she had become too exhausted to continue. So it was all true then wasn’t it? She had failed them. All of them. And not just her friends either. But Celestia and Luna as well.  Everypony in Canterlot really.
A tear rolled down the side of her cheek as she slowly fell from despair into misery at the realization of what this all meant. Everypony that was in that city when she left was probably dead.
She sobbed uncontrollably now as it all sank in and the weight of it crushed her. How could she have let this happen? She was the element of magic for Celestia’s sake! She was better than this wasn’t she? She sobbed again. Wasn’t she?
Her crying was such that she took no notice of the fireplace in the corner when it lit. Nor did she notice the wizard when he entered the room a few minutes later.  
Star Swirl hesitated at the room’s threshold for a moment as he listened to the sound that cut his very soul. He too knew the pain of loss. He also knew the mare blamed herself for whatever fate had befallen her friends. It was another feeling they shared.
He took another step forward and stopped again. This was something he would never be good at but wanted desperately to comfort the weeping mare. She did not deserve any of this. If anypony should be blaming themselves, it should be him.
Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes as she felt a hoof brush the side of her cheek and wipe away a tear. Somehow just the sight of another pony made her spirits lift a little. She sniffed and gave him a weak smile as he moved to look at her horn.
“My dear you have come too far to fall into that trap now. There will be a time to mourn but this is not that time,” he said gently removing the bandages. “If they were true then your friends would want you to carry on.”
Twilight considered his words and then asked between sobs. “What trap do you mean?” she sniffed again.
Star Swirl looked down on her with knowing eyes. “Self-pity,” he said. “It can be one of our greatest foes in situations like these. And it will attack you without mercy.”
“But if I had only been smarter and paid more attention then maybe…,” she stopped as Star Swirl held up a hoof.   
“Do not do this to yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You must be strong. For their sake,” he said pulling on one last bandage.
“Im not strong,” Twilight moaned. “I couldn’t even save my friends. I couldn’t even cast a simple copycat spell,” she began to cry again.
“Twilight my dear you are far stronger than you realize,” Star Swirl said dropping the last bandage to stare at the fully healed horn. “And something tells me that your friends will be there waiting for you on your return.”
She raised an eyebrow at the words he spoke. “What could possibly make you think that? After everything I told you I don’t see how you could ever have hope.”
“There is always hope Twilight,” Star Swirl said with passion in his voice as he moved to the mare’s side to look her in the eye. “And there is always a reason. Even if we cannot see one ourselves. Never forget that,” he said glancing at the pictures atop the mantle over the crackling fire place. The faces there smiled back at him. 
“I’ll try,” she said looking away from him. “It’s just so hard,” Twilight let another small sob escape her mouth. She was trying very hard not to cry again.
Star Swirl sat on a pillow beside the bed and looked down at his hooves. “I know. But we must continue to push back. To try harder. Otherwise, evil will win,” he knew what she must be thinking. The innocence to things like this was written plainly on her face.   
Twilight’s eyes tracked to look at him again. To seek some form of comfort. “How do you fight something like that though? It just feels so. Impossible.” 
Star Swirl’s gaze slumped slightly. She sounded as though she had already given up. “Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Twilight Sparkle. And you fight that kind of evil with all you have until nothing but your life remains. And when it has taken everything that you hold dear from you. All those you have ever cared for,” he looked back to the pictures. “You must continue on. For them. So that all their sacrifices will not be in vain. So that they will count for something.”
Twilight closed her eyes. “And what if they sacrificed themselves to fix a mistake you made?” She began to cry again despite his attempts at comfort.
He understood this. This was the kind of pain he knew all too well. His friends had all suffered for his mistakes. Just as this young mare was suffering for them now. “Twilight. I know how this kind of pain feels. But you must understand that sometimes these things that happen to us, or those around us. For better or worse. They happen for a reason,” he swallowed hard. “They happen as a means to an end for a greater plan then you or I will ever know. But I do know this. Your friend was willing to give everything to save all of you. She gave up life itself to ensure that her friends would make it. And I know she would not want you to give up now.” Star Swirl smiled at the pictures. Once again they had given him courage. 
Twilight tried to acknowledge his words but all she could hear when she closed her eyes was the sound of Pinkie’s pained scream. And knew that it had been her own poor decision that had put her there.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating the other’s words. The quietness surrounded them and the world waited.
With a sigh that turned into a grunt of effort Star Swirl rose and made for the cupboard set into the wall at the back of the room. “I believe you to be well enough to move my dear. But please take it slowly. I have had all the practice I care to have at sewing,” he reached the alcove and opened the doors to reveal the assortment of bottles and jars within.
Twilight tried to see around the stallion as the sound of tinkling glass and the dull scrape of pottery reached her. Clearly he was mixing some form of potion. Though as far as her eyes could see was not utilizing any form of measuring. 
Carefully Star Swirl turned towards the bedridden mare and approached with his brew. The liquid glowed a vivid aquamarine and had small specks of green moving around inside. 
Eyes widening as recognition filled her Twilight couldn’t help but be amazed. “That’s a high cyclic ratio to flux trans mutational hex dismantler potion!” She gasped out excitedly. “There are only a hoof full of ponies in all of Equestria who can make them. And then only in the most controlled of environments become possible,” she looked at him in utter befuddlement. “How did you….” 
Star Swirl chuckled lightly at her wonder. It was not often he was in the presence of one who knew so little of magic. “When you have made something as many times as I have even the most complicated brew can become. Common,” he said with just a hint of nostalgia. “Now come and drink up. We have work to do.”
Twilight’s face scrunched up into confusion. “But. Why do I need that? I don’t have a hex on me.”
“Unfortunately. You do,” he said apologetically.
“What! Why?!” She blurted as a sudden new feeling of panic came over her and she began to sweat.
“Well truth be told there was little choice on my part. For whatever reason, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep you sedated,” he leaned over her with the glass and gave a lame smile. “So I did what I had to do. Now drink. But be warned, when your horn reawakens it may be quite painful at first.”
Twilight nodded as best as she could and put her lips to the glass. Unfortunately for her, the original creator of the frothy concoction had been Stardust Jade.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

With a tentative hoof Star Swirl gently dabbed the last of the potion from the fur around his face with a cloth. Unfortunately the patient, as she would be referred to as until further notice, had had a decidedly negative reaction to the taste of said liquid. He rinsed out the towel in the wash basin for the fifth time and hung it near the fire to dry. 
Really though he could not truly blame the patient. Entirely at least. He should have thought to warn her how. Bracing. Stardust’s potions could be. And if he really thought about it he was fairly sure that it had no use for the ingredient, eye of newt. It played no purpose in the formula whatsoever.   
Undoubtedly yet another of the old hag’s jokes gone too far for sure. He made another mental note to one day attempt at making them more palatable. That would have to wait though. For a much less, interesting day. He could not help but marvel at the young mare as she sat upright in the bed holding a mirror up with a hoof to inspect her horn. He would be eating his own words to say it was impossible for her to be healing so rapidly. But quite frankly, it was. There was certainly something special about her, that much was obvious.
He added a small amount of magic to the fire to sustain it for another few hours and then reached for the teapot at the very same moment it began to scream. A pour followed by the addition of a few select herbs and some spice for taste he levitated the drink over to the bedside.
“How bad was I?” the lavender mare asked softly not looking away from the mirror. “I still don’t remember a whole lot from the last few days. It’s all. Fuzzy,” she finally put the mirror down and graciously accepted the tea.
“This will settle your stomach. And your tongue.” Star Swirl said returning to the kettle to mix his own. “And you were in very bad shape indeed. I lost you twice actually. But you had a lot of fight in you,” he smiled as he stirred pure magic into his tea. “Seems to me as though you have a reason after all.” 
Twilight sighed in contentment as the taste of tar and badly curdled milk was finally chased out of her mouth. “I didn’t know a potion could taste so badly,” she groaned. “Everything Celestia has me make always comes out fairly tasteless.”
For the most part Star swirl was able to hide his shock at her statement. “You know Celestia do you?” He asked casually as he took an inspecting sip of his tea. This was about to get very interesting.
Twilight took a tentative sip of her own. “Oh yes. I’m actually her personal student. I even lived at the castle for a time.” 
Very interesting indeed. There could be no doubting it now. There was much more to this young mare than he ever could have guessed. But how much more was a question he should like answered.
Watching him over the rim of her cup Twilight took another sip and smiled. “And when Princess Luna returned Celestia said my lessons were going to become much more interesting,” her eyes drooped and she visibly slumped. “But I suppose none of that matters now. I don’t even know if they are still... Still alive.”
Outwardly Star Swirl appeared calm and collected. Inwardly however his mind was racing. Luna had returned? But how? The Elements of Harmony had sealed her away in the moon as that was her attachment to the Nexus and the conduit of her ethereal power. The stars! It had to be the stars. They were a part of Luna and she a part of them. They had come to her aid at last. How long would it have taken their collective powers to break the elemental seal? Star Swirl ran the relative numbers through his head. Roughly a thousand years. “Oh sweet divines,” he whispered to himself. Luna had been locked up there for a thousand years. So. He had failed her after all.
“Sorry?” Twilight was certain she had heard something from the old pony but couldn’t quite put her hoof on what it had been. Had it been something about divines? She sampled her tea again to wait. Clearly he was lost in thought.
With surprising speed Star Swirl got to his hooves and made for the hall closet to fetch his hat and cloak. “My apologies Twilight Sparkle. But I must return immediately to the castle to confirm something that until now has been nothing more than a mere speculation. Please rest until my return. The hall lantern will assist you should you require anything. If you have need of it just call,” he grabbed his saddle bags from earlier and made for the door. “I shall return by day’s end,” with a soft creak that was barely discernible above the icy wind outside the door swung open before him. “And you need not worry yourself over the Princesses. They can handle the likes of Discord,” he turned and headed into the new storm. “Even without me.” 
Twilight watched him go. She had neither the strength nor energy left to protest. While true she was definitely feeling better and physically was certainly in improved condition. She was in no position to be going anywhere. And her horn hurt terribly despite the numbing agent she had noticed Star Swirl slip into her tea.
The house creaked dully as a hearty gust of wind battered against it. The howl of the gale reached into the house despite the thick walls of living wood. The fire flickered warmly, nestled contently in the hearth as it cast random light and shadows all around the room in a never-ending dance.
Finally having a moment to take in her surroundings more adequately Twilight looked about the room. Everything was clean, tidy, and immaculately made by meticulous hooves. The room had a surprisingly high ceiling like the ones you might find in the home of a pegasus.
She sipped her tea as she looked over the place. All the walls were covered in carvings of glyphs she couldn’t identify and all the furniture was made from different species of wood. Some she didn’t recognize.
Gingerly and against doctors’ orders she managed to slide down off the bed and hobble to a well padded chair near the far wall next to the fire. “Much better.” She nearly purred as she pulled a quilt from the chair back and snuggled into it. Twilight looked back the way she had come and noted how the room was shaped as a crescent moon. It curved to a tip at either end. To her left was an archway that led to the hall and the outside door through which Star Swirl had gone.
With a small amount of pain and a fair deal more concentration than usually needed Twilight levitated the remainder of her tea and placed it on the table next to her chair. She looked right and could just see the beginnings of a kitchen before the room curved around the corner. The obviously out of place bed notwithstanding, this was apparently the general commons room of the house. That information gathered the purple mare giddily set her sights on the true purpose of her moving off the bed. She turned to look at the five row high bookshelf by the fire and scanned the selection. If her jaw had dropped any lower she would have been unable to reach it. Contained on that one shelf was a collection ten times the value of the entire Golden Oaks library. From one of a kind originals on early Equestrian history to the covers of books Twilight only knew about by reading about them in other books. There were also a few in languages she couldn’t even begin to identify.
Twilight selected one from about the middle and thanks to Celestia’s tutelage was able to read the oddball form of old Equestrian the author had chosen. She settled further down in the blanket and happily began to read, occasionally sipping at her tea. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Star Swirl trudged through the snow in silence as he contemplated the task ahead of him. It would likely be the worst possible thing imaginable. But he had to know. There was always a reason. Only this time the reason was simple. Their time, was up. If Luna had indeed returned, then so had...
The wizard stopped as he gazed down into the gully, the edge of which he now stood. He looked at the pile of cold stones that rested in the now iced over water below. How was one to move forward if they were so afraid of what lay ahead? 
Like a Banshee from Tartarus the wind howled with renewed vigor as it buffeted him and pulled at his hat and cloak. He lowered his head in near defeat and fell to his knees. There was no way he could do it again. The strength was all but gone from his body and his mind was failing him. It would be impossible to face this task a second time. To face his friend in battle once more. How could he? It was impossible.
At the very edge of giving in he heard it. Over the shout of the wind and behind the swaying sound of the trees as they leaned, it reached him. A voice. Soft and gentle as a summer breeze.
“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Star Swirl,” it said with an almost spirit like quality that faded in and out.
He could feel the sensation of a hoof lift his chin and the press of familiar lips on his as he was pulled back to full height. The cold air was, for a moment, repelled from his awareness by the warmth of a spring day.
“And you must press on for all of us. For if you do not find a way,” the voice faded to the slightest whisper. “No pony will,” the voice drifted away as did the feeling of love and comfort.
Star Swirl opened his eyes and looked up into the blackness that surrounded him. A tear rolled down his eye and froze in his neck fur. Not so much as a star greeted his gaze. The sky was black and dead. Only nothingness remained. “I will my love,” he whispered as he set his sights back on the castle ahead. “I will find a way. And this time, we will all be safe,” he said as the bridge took new life before him.
With new found determination the wizard worked. The stones being placed as though they weighed no more than a stack of books. He would not allow his mind to tell him that had been some form of delusion. An apparition caused by his own grief. Many times the voice had called to him on the wind and at first he had ignored it. But now. Now he didn’t care anymore, apparition or not it always brought him comfort.
As the final stone slid into its place Star Swirl ventured across his little creation. And just as with all the times before the bridge collapsed the moment his magic released.
On impulse he glanced at the burnt tree now on his right and stared for a moment at the small crater a short distance beyond. There was a place just after where a small gazebo had stood. Now reduced to charred splinters and ash. Nopony had bothered to clean it up yet.
Shivering in the wind he cinched his cloak tighter in effort to stave off the blood chilling effects of his adversary. Star Swirl prayed Celestia would return soon. The world would not last through this much longer.
Heating himself once more with his magic the pony trudged onward to his goal. A short flight of white marble steps brought him in through the rear gates of the castle into the more public parts of the gardens. He passed by countless pieces of supposed artwork. He never had cared for the things. Occasionally he took notice of some part of the courtyard stonework that had been melted by the random errant blast of magic from the pitched battle that had taken place above. What was once pristine marble, onyx, and quartz was now a smeared tableau of twisted lumpy edges that were sharp to the touch.
In reality the damage was rather light really. It wouldn’t even be that difficult to repair. But the damages to the castle was not the cause for his, or anypony’s distress. Equestria had effectively lost both of its rulers over the course of a week after all.
Star Swirl nodded to a pair of guards as he past. The two miserable stallions giving polite nods of their own as he went by.
The weather seemed only to worsen as he walked along. The wind blew harder and the flakes of snow grew larger as Star Swirl emerged into yet another courtyard on the castle’s far side. He moved past a large crushed statue of some poet long since forgotten by most ponies. 
He turned a corner and passed under an archway and soon found himself standing before the entrance of the Canterlot Archives. With a weary sigh the pony made his way up the stairs and inside.   
Given the hour the halls were uncharacteristically quiet. They should have been alive with the passing of young scholars from the university and members of the general public. Gone was the soft clatter of hooves on the white marble floor and the low banter that followed the students’ movements throughout the grand structure. The silence was rather eerie and it got to him.
Star Swirl passed through the main lobby and down one of the larger halls towards the farthest reaches of the sprawling complex. To say the archives was a large building would be a tremendous understatement. While its overall appearance from the outside was rather impressive the public only ever saw the regal ground floor of the construct. What lay beneath however was the true marvel.
He moved to the end of the last hallway just beyond a certain window. Pressing his horn into a slot in a heavy wood door Star Swirl entered the very room that ‘unbeknownst to him’ would soon be named after him.
The door eased shut with a soft glow of magic and locked itself tight. All around the large room lanterns began to light, reacting to his presence. With slow determination Star Swirl approached the center of the space and paused before the huge hourglass that stood there. 
Noting how little sand was left in the upper half compared to just the day before told him just how little time was left. It was nearly out of power now. It would not be long, perhaps a few days remained. Four was his guess.
It was startling to think about. Or at least it should have been but Star Swirl had been anticipating this for a while now.
There was little left that he could give this world and Star Swirl was not about to argue the point. He was done. Spent. If there was anything left now it was to keep the last promise he had made to Celestia and unseal the true Archive. The sole surviving record of all of their world’s past, both light, and dark. From this, Celestia could rebuild their shattered realm. She could renew the burnt lands and fouled seas. 
He looked to the inscriptions around the pedestal the artifact stood upon. Buried below lay what was left of the Alicorn race. The remnants of a once great power sat dormant, hoping to one day be laid upon the shoulders of the last hopes of all the lands. For what waited below his very hooves was all that remained of the great library of Cromithia. The floating city of the first Alicorns and citadel of the royal family. The sum of all their vast collective knowledge.
A smile fell across Star Swirl’s lips as he began to sing a gentle melody in a language no other pony alive would know aside the princesses. It was a song he had heard their mother sing to them as little fillies. It was a lullaby of love in the oldest tongues of Alicorn speak.
“La tavu uned ley ven nue. Srevnah van tavu. Lamnat la, dezen ley remdelen, tavu.” He sang from his very heart as the meaning behind each word reached him. This was a song of great importance. “Zelrenem kliemenum tilem tavu. Shterum srevnah esrin, tavu. Remdelen tavu.” As he finished the massive hourglass groaned as millennia old mechanisms creaked to life and even more ancient spells went to work. The hourglass slowly began spinning in a clockwise rotation and, inch by inch, receded into the floor leaving a spiral staircase leading down into the gloom.
Star Swirl gingerly made his way down the stairs as carefully as possible knowing that several had rather nasty surprises in store for those not in the know. He counted meticulously until finally the hourglass came to a shuddering stop some hundred feet below the floor above.
Near the base of the stairs was an archway through which, spilled a warm purple light. The illumination pulsated and moved in a very lifelike manner as it flowed and reached about the space of the stairway before him. It crawled around on the floor and came right up to the base of the first stair but no further even though it climbed part way up the far wall.
He moved to the last step and stared at the light for a moment. His eyes couldn’t quite focus on it as if it weren’t there and yet looking through it made everything seem as though it were miles away.
The magical field here was terribly disturbed as well. Everything felt lopsided and backwards with a force of pressure he could never describe. And indescribable was the perfect word for what lay beyond the next door.
Star Swirl stepped down off the last stair. No sooner had his hoof hit the floor the light swarmed up his legs and surrounded his body like a mist. It was an amazing feeling really. At first there was nothing at all, as if he had just stopped existing. Then came something along the lines of pure bliss and comfort as all pain and strife left him with not so much as a negative thought. 
Recognizing him as a Star Order Unicorn, the light accepted him.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
Slowly and blearily Star Swirl opened his eyes as he adjusted himself. It was an odd sensation, one that he could never acclimate to. He looked behind to find that the light now appeared to flow down the stairs and stop just before touching the floor. It seemed to beckon him back but there was something that first needed to be done.
The archway led to a long corridor that angled down and sloped under the castle above. Or at least that is how it would appear. At the end of the tunnel was another formidable wooden door similar to the first. Only this door opened up on its own accord to allow him passage. 
He blinked and covered his face momentarily as the rays of golden sunshine greeted him with their near blinding light. Star Swirl stepped through the threshold and took in the beautiful sights around him as he stood upon the hill. He wished that he could feel the sun’s warmth and enjoy the lush grass under his hooves. Unfortunately, he was nothing more than a specter here. A ghost moving within a memory really.
The wizard looked about his surroundings with an awe that would never diminish. He could never get past the grandeur of such a place as this. 
Cromithia. The great city of the Alicorns sprawled out around him in all of its majesty. Massive intricately carved towers and monoliths adorned even more incredibly sized masses of earth held aloft by spells too powerful for most to comprehend. Off in the distance nearly too far for the eye to see, and dwarfing all of this was the emerald castle of the first Alicorns. Its spires and walls reaching nearly to the heavens themselves.
Massive bridges of golden light connected all the land masses together and as a whole they orbited the castle as one land, all the while nearly a mile removed from the surface below. In its entirety the city would travel the circumference of the planet once a year. The royal family observing everything as it went.
At some point or another every Alicorn to exist had called this place home. It stood as a symbol to all the races of the world that they had been chosen to watch over them. And that is just what they had done for tens of thousands of years. And then it all had ended.
Only. It had not ended. Thanks to the brave efforts of long gone members of the Star Order the great library had been saved. Literally.
Star Swirl moved forward towards his goal. At the crest of the hill stood an absolutely gargantuan structure the top of which was lost in perpetual cloud. The outer walls were lined with pillars the size of the very towers of the castle Celestia and Luna had built and the pedestal that supported it was nearly as large as all of Canterlot. This was the Great Library of Cromithia in all of its splendor.
As with all buildings that dotted this impossible landscape the library was covered in glyphs and runes of every known tongue of every known race and was adorned with massive sculptures and murals from all throughout history.
The world was still as he walked. Nothing moved as he travelled the deceptively long distance to the structure ahead, not the grass as he trod upon it nor the birds seemingly frozen midflight. The very air seemed to resist him as he went. This was the effect of a magical temporal exclusion spell after all. A memory of a memory trapped in a single moment in time. Never again to move or be otherwise disturbed.
He took pause as he looked back the way he had come. The image was perfect save for the open door simply floating there a few inches off the ground. It was a strange thing to think about. All those souls lost in one single conflict over something that to him at least seemed rather, trivial.
Without looking Star Swirl shuffled past the burning remains of an Alicorn stallion. His lapis embedded armor covered in a hellish black flame that was frozen in the act of consuming them. He passed several others in similar states on his path.
Upon arriving at the front gate he passed between several additional Alicorns, all adorned in heavy armor and sporting grievous wounds that would have left any mortal pony on the ground. He moved in through the gate and came to a stop in front of the library’s giant doors.
Standing there with wings spread in defiance and eyes closed in concentration stood an Alicorn whose body radiated power to the point his very physical form was more magic than flesh. His horn glowed with the final act of his spell. A spell that had sealed the temporal image of this place and all that it had contained. Aequivalere had been his name, one of the numerous Alicorns to be killed that day. 
Turning to follow his gaze Star Swirl swallowed as he took sight of the immortal’s doom. A dark cloud of magical energy the size of a mountain sat some miles away sending a violet lightning bolt straight for them. The very bolt that had destroyed the library and all those defending it.
Star Swirl found it difficult to imagine the amount of power contained within that one bolt. For it to have killed so many was unthinkable.
He thought to contemplate more on the being within the cloud as it hung there in the sky. As daunting as it would look to anypony the wizard knew that none of this mattered now. These events occurred so long ago they had faded to the realm of myth and legend. Of course, some legends were born from truths.
Noting the look of triumph on the Alicorns face it was clear to Star Swirl that Aequivalere was well aware of his small victory over the coming darkness. In the face of certain demise he and his fellows had secured the very survival of their race. Even at the cost of their existence.
Finally managing to tear his gaze away from the frozen tragedy Star Swirl ascended a short set of stairs and stood before the great doors to the library. They were made from giant trunks of Ivory wood that had been twisted and wound together to create a living masterpiece of gleaming timber, leafy vines, and rich brown limbs covered in tiny pink blossoms. Each of the titanic trunks was easily the circumference of an old growth giant oak and each door was thirty trees wide and tall enough for an adult Dragon to enter.
If one looked closely they would notice a dull silvery sheen covering every surface of the great structure. It was a last second security measure placed there by the Alicorn. While true the library was now safe. If the darkness ever found the way in there would be nothing stopping it from finishing the job it had started. 
Whether he lived to see her return or not Star Swirl decided it did not matter anymore. What mattered was that Celestia would return. And now she would have everything she would need to rebuild the lives of those that were left. She could finally have the peaceful world they had all wanted.
Star Swirl pressed his hoof into the glowing field and whispered a word that was lost to all others save himself and one other. The one that had held it secret for so long before entrusting him with its care.
The field vibrated a moment before bursting off the structure in a flurry of glittering magical dust and beams of starlight that shot off into the distance. The ground rumbled beneath Star Swirl’s hooves as the massive doors swung inward and came to a stop flush with the walls inside and a rush of sheer power enveloped him. The absolute energy was overpowering as he stood his ground. A surge of static ran along his body and a low zapping sound could be heard as the last of the barrier dissipated away. Then, all was quiet. The sense of stillness returned and the ambient energy faded into the background, but did not leave.
Star Swirl slid a hoof forward as if to enter the great library before him. What an abundance of unknown knowledge awaited any who entered here. Enough for a thousand lifetimes.
He stopped. Slowly his hoof slid back to where it had been. This was not for him, it never had been. This was Celestia’s, it had always been Celestia’s. It was hers and hers alone. She was ready and now so too was the library.
The wizard turned and strode back down the steps and stood next the defiant Alicorn paladin warrior. What thoughts must have been going through his mind at that very moment? Surly he knew his time had come. None who faced this enemy head on had lived to see the moon rise. “How did you?” Star Swirl said lowering himself to sit next to the towering equine beside him. “How did you stand tall before something so terrible? How did you when all you loved was burning all around you?” he looked to the cloud of darkness covering the horizon. “How did you when you knew the one responsible? And knew deep down. That it was your fault.” He frowned as he scratched at the perfect stonework on which he sat.
The Alicorn beside him offered no words of wisdom nor even a consoling gesture as they waited there together in the silence. The memory, and the ghost. Star Swirl realized he had trouble telling the difference between them anymore. Who had become the ghost, and who was the mere memory of who they once were. 
“It was never Discord’s fault you know,” he said finally to nopony in particular. “We all drove him to it I suppose. I just don’t know how else to explain it. He knew nothing of evil, or greed, or even of chaos really. At least not the kind of chaos that he is known for now.” 
Unsurprisingly the Alicorn said nothing. Did nothing, simply stood there ever on silent watch over his keep.
“Maybe if Celestia had simply stayed away from him as her father instructed, then, maybe none of this would ever have happened. Maybe.”


/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	


“Twilight…”



Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. Slowly she pulled herself from the realm of sleep and looked around her surroundings. Had somepony whispered her name? “H…Hello?” She called out.
All that answered her was silence save for the crackling fire. Certain that it had simply been a part of her dream she snuggled back down in the quilt and soon drifted back into slumber, and was therefore unaware of the frigid gust of air that blew into the room from the stairs sometime later and snuffed out the magical flames within the fireplace. The room grew dark, and unnaturally cold.


“Twilight…”    







“Twilight.”





“Twilight….”

“Twilight. Sparkle.”


“Rise.”


Something was wrong. Twilight could not be sure what but something was very, very wrong. Clearly this was yet another dream, it was just that it was so vivid. She felt as though she were somehow asleep, and yet awake all at once. There was almost no veil of perception to clarify the difference between suspected dream, and supposed reality.
It was also rather strange, at least she thought so, that this dream had begun nearly exactly as the one before it had. Twilight was sitting upright in the large armchair next the fire where she had first fallen asleep.
There were some obvious differences however this go around. For instance, all the lights in the room had been extinguished including the fire. Even more noteworthy was that every surface seemed covered in a thin layer of ice, not frost as you would expect to find in a room that was this cold. That was another thing, why was it so cold?
“Twilight…”
The pony was sure that her heart skipped a beat. It was the same voice she had heard earlier and had caused her awakening. Distorted and angry, yet, sad. With no conscious intent a fore hoof moved on its own accord and pulled the blanket aside as she lowered herself down off the chair.
“Twilight… Forward… Upwards…”
Her hooves crunched softly on the frozen floor as she stood. And began to walk forward without meaning to.
“Twilight…”
She was becoming nervous now. Twilight rarely experienced lucid dreaming, which her brain confirmed this certainly must be. But then, weren’t you supposedly supposed to have more overall control?
“Twilight… Right… Upwards…”
As if having a mind all their own Twilight’s hooves carried her out into the hall and turned to face the stairs. Her thoughts came slowly as if made so by the voice. She didn’t care. Why didn’t she care? The first stair creaked as she set hoof upon it.
“Twilight… Ascend…”
Her side ached terribly as she moved upwards and her splinted leg was even worse. Why did they still hurt if this was nothing more than a dream? The stairs ascended in a large half-moon leading up to the second floor.
The top step left her in a circular room with four doors, two on each side and a hole in the middle that looked down to the room below and had a handsomely carved railing around it. On the far side set into the wall was an identical set of stairs leading up to yet another level.
“Climb…”
For whatever reason, she obeyed. The lavender mare shuffled upwards on self-guided hooves. Why was this so wrong? She couldn’t think straight, her mind was wandering around like a lost puppy. This was all a dream, right?
Another stair groaned as she came to a stop before a thick wood door. It barred her path and for whatever reason seemed not to want to let her past. It was almost as if it were trying to tell her to leave. To tell her to run.
“Open… It…”
At first nothing happened, as if she were resisting somehow. Then, ever so slowly, a hoof rose off the ground and pressed against the door. It would not yield.
“Open… It…”
She pushed harder, she pushed until it hurt and the door finally budged. It slid inward until there was room for her to pass.
“Come to me…”
Twilight felt tired now, as though she had been running for hours in sand. She felt drained. And not just of energy but magic as well. Why did this feel so wrong if at the same time seamed so alright?
Moving into the room everything was dark save for the very center where a huge book floated there. It was covered in undulating black flames that danced and wavered as if in a breeze that cast deep ultraviolet light that only reached out a few feet. It was so dark the rest of the room seemed to just fade away giving the appearance that only the book and the approaching pony existed.
“Closer…”
The voice nagged at her, it was familiar somehow yet was like nothing she had ever heard before. It was so strange, all of it was so surreal and dreamlike and yet, somehow, far too real. Could this really be happening? Something in her mind assured her it was not and that everything was fine. If that were true then why did she have the near overpowering urge to scream? She tried again to move of her own free will but could not. And that same comforting thing in her mind seemed suddenly, angry.
The small tendrils of black fire flickered towards her eagerly as she continued to approach despite her attempts to move away. It felt as though the book were drawing her in. telling her where it wanted her to go.
“Read.”
The massive book flipped open to reveal pages that glowed in vibrant colors all scrambled together as they warped and moved all around. They drew her onward. She could feel the power that pulled at her increasing with every step she took. The voice in the back of her mind grew louder and more hasty as it spoke. The world felt as though it were spinning in several directions at once. Her body began to grow numb.
“Read!”
Read. That was the only thing it said now as she drew up close. She tried again to move, to scream, to do anything she could think of. Nothing worked, it had her. Her body took one last step closer and she looked down at the page as the book lowered itself so she could more easily see the page.
Twilight gasped at what she saw. The pages rippled and text began to appear on them. It was written in an ancient form of Alicorn not seen since long before Celestia. Which oddly enough, she had been researching.
The words read. ‘Within thin bindings be shackled the essence of he who would be darkness.’ With a tremor the room began to shake as she read, unable to stop herself. ‘Should this scrip ‘ere be uttered upon such tongues as the living possess, the darkness shall rise once more unto his former glory and purpose.’ The fire began to expand as the words flowed from her mouth and a sound of some form of power overtook the room.
Twilight tried to flinch away as the fire licked at her neck and chest. She tried in vain to stop reading, oh Celestia she tried. ‘Mountains shall bow down and the seas will roar at the mere call of his authority.’
With every word she spoke the book seemed to grow stronger. The flames became thicker and much more energetic in motion. The ceiling above cracked as the shaking of the room intensified. ‘Here dwelleth Malevolence. Greatest of the twelve and first born of the first house.’ In slow deliberate motion the flames reached up to her and made to consume her. The bandages along her chest vaporized as the fire found them.
As the first snaking tendril caressed her body however, it recoiled away producing a deep hissing sound as if boiling away water. The edge of the black fire turned a dull white and slowed its motion considerably only to be immediately retracted back into the main body of fire near the book itself.
In the same moment Star Swirl vaulted through the air and knocked Twilight aside as the fire made another play at reaching her. The pair slammed into the floor some distance away and skidded to a halt. 
The flames writhed in obvious anger as they made one final lunge at the lavender mare but were not capable of surpassing the distance. They licked and coiled in the air before finally slinking back to where they came. A burst of pressure and air flew away from the great book as it slammed shut in one deft motion. The shaking ceased and the fire returned to its slow steady crawl over the binding.   
For a moment all was silent as the two of them lay on the floor panting, both not taking their eyes off the book as it floated in place. Between them and the way out. 
Twilight was trembling now as Star Swirl rolled her over to face him. His eyes shone a deep violet in the flickering light of the book as they burned into her with concern. The wizard studied her face intently for a few moments before asking. “Did you finish it?!” He questioned with a gruff tone. “Twilight! Did you finish the passage?!”
The mare stared at him groggily as her head swam. She could still hear the voice whispering somewhere in the farthest reaches of her conciseness, though its commands had become incoherent ramblings. Almost as if it were a double sided conversation with only half being heard.
Star Swirl’s horn flared to life and the voice subsided further into the darkness until she could again focus. With exaggerated slowness the rest of the room came into her awareness and for the first time she was able to see the rest of the library for what it was. Again she looked at Star Swirl.
“Tell me child,” he said leaning towards her expectantly. “Did. You. Finish. It?” Asked the old pony nodding at the book for emphasis. “The text. Did you finish the text?”
Twilight shivered again at the very thought of what she had seen on those pages. She shook her head lamely at him. “No,” with a smile she added. “Thank you.”
Gingerly he set a hoof on her shoulder. “You are quite welcome my dear. But I am not the one who deserves credit,” he said returning the smile and gathering himself to stand.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked moving to do the same only to stop when she caught sight of Star Swirl’s face. She followed his gaze to the floor below her only to find it slick with blood. It was her own.
Star Swirl stared in horror at the lines of stitches along her chest that had been burned away and the deep wounds that had reopened from the impact she had suffered at his hooves. He moved to catch the mare as she looked back at him and then went limp.
The last thing Twilight Sparkle heard before the darkness took her was Star Swirl calling out to somepony named Owlovard.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

It was bitterly cold in the study as the scratching of quill on parchment filled the air of the space. The out of place bed near the center of the room had been removed back to whence it came. It was no longer needed.
Star Swirl sipped at a cup of herbal tea as the quill continued its trek across the page while wrapped in his magical grasp. His brow was furrowed in deep concentration as the quill went on recounting the events of the past week, as well as what was to happen next. As the old pony worked, a dull smile crossed his face. 
The quill finished and he looked over the pages one last time. It was all there. Instruction enough he hoped, to steer Celestia in the right directions. Star Swirl laid down his quill and put the little inkwell away where it belonged. There was always a reason.
Smiling despite himself he folded the letter neatly and placed it squarely atop the desk next to one remaining book that was also meant for her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he turned away and left for the hallway.
After being summoned by a soft singsong whistle the dented little wall lantern floated off its hook near the stairway and followed Star Swirl through the dark house down the hallway past the stairs and to the room directly across from Star Swirl’s own.
The stallion opened the door, ushered the lantern in, and quickly closed the door again so as not to let loose too much of the precious heat the fireplace inside had managed to generate. He gave another low whistle to acquire the lantern’s attention and motioned to the far side of the bed.
Obediently it floated to the intended destination and waited for him to shuffle over and pull back the quilts. Immediately Star Swirl rechecked the new stitches out of a growing case of paranoia. They were all in perfect condition, for once. 
He moved on to check the new blood tube delivering yet another batch of his own blood into her veins. Satisfied by that he began the arduous process of removing her leg splint as a bone scan earlier that morning had revealed the appendage to be mended. 
“Move up on the left please,” he said. “That’s my bad eye. Remember?” On queue the lantern made a clanking rattle and complied. “Thank you,” muttered the pony.
After a few minutes of fussing and some cursing under his breath the rather well made splint was off and the leg inspected. Satisfied with the results, Star Swirl carefully removed the modified sleep spell from his patient.
Twilight mumbled something in her slumber and her eyes peeled open to reveal half bloodshot corneas.
“We really must stop meeting like this my dear,” Star Swirl said with a small hint of amusement playing at the edge of his voice.
She carefully sat upright at his nod that it was alright to do so. “It would certainly be an improvement,” Twilight said wincing as the stallion withdrew the blood tube from her foreleg. “How long?” She asked looking out the window at the blackness.
Star Swirl turned away and began to clean the equipment. “Three days this time,” he mused coiling up the tube. “Nearly bleed out you did.”
“What, what happened?” She asked rubbing the side of her head where a large bruise had formed.
“You were being taken,” he said putting everything back in the large medical bag that stored it. “By the power of a darkness that has long since been forgotten by this, and nearly every other world,” Star Swirl snapped the bag shut and sighed. “The same power I fear, that may have set Discord on his own path to ruin and misery.”
Twilight prodded the stitches on her chest absentmindedly. “You mean he wasn’t always, nuts?”
Star Swirl shook his head as he moved back along the bedside. “No. No once he was in fact my closest friend. As gentle a soul I have ever known.”
“Then what happened to him?”
“I cannot say for certain. What I do know is that Celestia’s father had a hoof in it. Discord had eyes for her but the king would not hear of it and drove them apart,” Star Swirl climbed into a chair next the bed and his voice dropped with sadness. “It tore Discord down. And he was never quite the same afterwards. He began his attack shortly after.”
Twilight looked horrified at this. “Did she… You know…?”
“Share his feelings,” Star Swirl gave a short quiet chuckle as he thought back. “Oh yes, quite strongly in fact actually. The two of them were inseparable as kids, the best of friends. Then, one day they just, became more,” he smiled fondly at the memory.
“I just can’t believe that,” Twilight muttered under her breath. “He’s the only pony that I have ever seen Celestia show true anger towards,” she put a hoof to her chin. “Ever.”
Star Swirl chuckled softly as he shook his head. “It really does not matter whether you believe or not Twilight Sparkle. Those two share a great amount of history together, and much of it is not at all pleasant,” he fumbled his hooves together and gave a slight snort. “Truth be told he deserves every bit of her anger. Tell me, Twilight, have you read the history behind what happened between the princesses and Discord?”
Twilight drew herself up into a more comfortable position on the bed and gave him a curious look. “Well, yes of course I have.” She said wondering where this was going. “I mean, most of it was lost in the battle so many of the old texts must have been destroyed,” The mare scrunched up her face in thought. “Basically the sisters overpowered him in the end with the Elements of Harmony and turned him to stone… Right?
Star Swirl lowered his head as his theory was confirmed. “Yes… I suppose that is close enough,” he said sliding back down off the chair and heading for the door.
“Star Swirl?”
He stopped with a hoof on the door. “Some things are better left out of history Twilight. Some things you just bury and move on,” his hoof slid to the floor as he turned back to face her. “But occasionally those things that you bury claw their way back to the light, and come looking for you.”
She wanted to ask for more than just a simple analogy but Twilight realized just then how near the old stallion seemed to be to tears. She could see the pain welling up in his eyes, and read the drop of his withers. “So what now then? You said we had work to do before you left last time,” she reminded him.
A dull smile returned to his worn lips as he again reached for the door. “Indeed we do. You must return to your time, and time is something we do not have in abundance,” Star Swirl opened the door and immediately regretted it as the frigid air of the hallway bit at him. “I shall return shortly. Then we have a bit of a walk ahead of us. I trust you have healed sufficiently to make the trip,” With that, he was gone.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
Star Swirl wiped his mouth with a hoof as he laid down his third empty cup of tea. He raised an eyebrow at the vial that used to contain the purified magic that he had been stirring into his drinks for the past few weeks. It was empty. 
He glanced down at the rag in his other hoof and sighed. Throwing the bloody thing into the fire he grabbed another from the pile that was assembled next the kettle and dabbed at the slow flow of fluid running out his nose. It would seem the curse was now winning.
Another log was thrown onto the first normal fire the hearth had seen in decades and Star Swirl hoof grabbed the last cup of tea available. The pony downed it in one go then tossed the container into the flames. “One day left… perhaps two if I don’t strain myself,” he leaned on the wall enjoying the heat of his work. “I looked through all of Silver’s books on the matter, there is not one spell that can help her get back now,” he said in utter defeat.
“Hoooo?”
“Twilight,” Star Swirl said in minor annoyance.
“Hoooo?”
Twilight Sparkle, the mare who fell out of the vortex in the archives nearly a week ago.”
“Hoooo?”
Star Swirl turned towards the inner wall of the study and frowned. “Not tonight. I am in no mood for that infernal game of yours you petulant bird!” He spat his words with more anger than intended, the stress of his current situation was beginning to show. His gaze found the usual roost the owl favored and rested on the creature that waited there.
The bird stared right back as he slowly restrained his emotions and put them back under control. It was difficult given the circumstances but Star Swirl managed to reign himself in despite his fouling mood.
The owl made a series of hooting noises followed by a soft squawk. The combination somehow managed to sound upset, yet also understanding as well.
Star Swirl hung his head and wandered over nearer the perch. “My apologies Owlovard. I did not mean for that,” he looked up and gave the avian a dull smile that held no joy. “The pain is admittedly affecting my responses again.”
With barely a moment’s thought the owl flew over the pony and landed next the kettle and the empty vial. Studying the container intently he turned to Star Swirl with a raised eyebrow and gave a low hoot.
“I had to. I could not stand it anymore,” said the wizard tiredly as he followed. “Celestia did her best but her spell is weakening despite the magic’s reinforcement,” he reached up and took the vial in a hoof and gave it a once over and smiled a grave smile of irony. “I would develop a killing curse that is resistant even to Alicorn magic,” he muttered quietly to himself knowing full well that Owlovard would still hear.   
The birds face warmed as much as his features would allow. “Yet you managed to find a way to stop Discord without the need to use it for its intended purpose. You, with the help of the sisters managed to save your friend.”
Without missing a beat Star Swirl switched to the language of the birds homeland race. “Do not fill my ears with such false hopes observer. True he still lives, but his heart is lost and now he is beyond any help we can give.”
“Perhaps,” Owlovard said turning to gaze into the fire. “Though I must say that statement bears much surprise coming from you.”
“And how is that?” The pony said flatly as he sat the glass back upon the table.
“There is always hope Twilight. And there is always a reason. Even if we cannot see one ourselves. Never forget that,” he mimed glancing back at the wizard behind him. “You may have momentarily forgotten your convictions Star Swirl,” Owlovard said turning back to the fire and thinking for a moment. “But do not expect those who have paid attention to them to have forgotten as well,” the bird motioned a wing and another log floated into the fire with a crackle of fresh pitch. “While Discord may now be beyond your help, he may yet be within reach of his own.”
“No,” Star Swirl said moving closer to watch the freshly added log release a batch of embers. “Discord gave up on his hope a long time ago.”
Owlovard curled his beak into the best form of a smile as it could muster. “Then why would he allow you to win?” He questioned then moved towards the nearby window.
“He was insane by the end. I am of the belief he did not know what was happening,” Star Swirl said watching him go. “And what of my request?”
The owl landed on the windowsill and stared at the pony’s blurry reflection in the glass for a short time before answering. “If she truly is who you believe her to be then, yes, I will keep an eye on her. Perhaps it will even come to pass as the Oldest one foretold. Then the Forger’s plan will be set in motion.”
“Thank you, Owlovard. I wish you luck on your part. Luminescent was right to ask your thoughts on this,” Star Swirl said gathering his saddle bags.
“You could always visit, her, you know,” he said with a mischievous grin of his beak. “If there is but a single way yet to send her back to the proper time then you know exactly where to find it. No reason to waste your day by dragging poor little Twilight back to the city archives to look for something we both know you would not find.”
Star Swirl looped the bags over his back and snorted his disagreement. “That would prove to be most unwise I think. Malithion is not an ally in any sense of the word. She cares not for the troubles of our world, nor any other for that matter,” he huffed as he drew the strap tight on his bags and headed for the hallway. “She will not help.”
“Are you certain Star Swirl?” The bird asked with a hint of knowing in his words. “For, it has been a very long time. And time, has a way of changing things.”
The pony paused at the threshold of the room and turned to give a spiteful retort, only to find no trace of the owl. “I hate it when he does that,” Star Swirl muttered. He moved out to the small closet near the outer door and opened it. The stallion reached in and scrutinized the assortment of cloaks, robes, and other assorted apparel that seemed weather appropriate.
He selected a thickly lined dull green one sized for a small mare that would likely fit Twilight and keep her warm in the blizzard like conditions to be found outside. Next his hoof searched out the well-worn and slightly tattered dark brown one he typically favored. A soft jingly sound caught in his ear and his body stiffened.
Peering into the darkness that hid in the farthest reaches of the space Star Swirl’s eyes found the blue folds of the High Master’s cloak. Its polished brass bells jingling quietly as his hoof traced over the fabric. The matching hat sat on the usual peg up nearer the ceiling.
Not wanting to think further on the reasons for the pieces neglect Star Swirl quickly grabbed out the apprentice’s cloak he had reduced himself to and, without so much as a second glance, shut the closet and hurried down the hall.         
Back in the study the fire flickered lazily in its place. Burning away the provided fuel as though assured of the prospect that more would come, blissfully unaware that its caregiver would never set hoof in the home again. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Twilight cursed quietly under her breath as her still rather painful back leg slid out sideways on some ice. She looked back over her shoulder at the large tree house behind them, already missing the warm bed within. Though some small part of her was thrilled to finally be out of it.
The mare pulled the drawstring of the cloak’s hood and cinched the covering tighter around her as she followed the stallion. She cast a glance at the towering rock faces around them realizing for the first time that the house sat at the bottom of a deep ravine about as wide as one could throw a stone, and easily twice as deep, leaving just enough room for the tree which if Twilight were to guess, was about twice the size of her own home.
She could gather little else in the near pitch black darkness that surrounded them. The only source of light available floated along next to Star Swirl in the form of an old lantern. Carefully she watched her steps as the ground gently sloped downwards towards what looked to be a cave ahead where the rock walls came together.
Star Swirl quickened his pace just before he entered the small opening and turned back once inside the interior. Obscuring his view of Twilight and the house further away was a seemingly solid rock wall. The magical barrier that protected the lair of the Star Order. Holding his breath, he waited.
Twilight walked through a moment later, completely oblivious to the barrier’s presence. She paused alongside Star Swirl and gave him a puzzled look as he suppressed a now genuine smile. “What?” She asked not realizing the test she had just undergone. And passed.
“It’s nothing,” he said continuing on and failing now to hide his smile with the mare safely behind him. “Just proving a theory,” the old pony whispered.
Raising an eyebrow and tilting her head Twilight never even looked back as they exited the cave. “So…how exactly am I getting back?” she queried.
How indeed? He wondered to himself as they moved out into the snow filled wind and began their descent along the face of the mountain. It was not as if he could simply march into the archives and pluck one of Silver Spark’s limited temporal manipulation and traversing spells right off of one of the shelves. All of them were still up in the library behind. And not one could do what now needed to be done. 
Star Swirl paused out of nothing more than habit as they came to a place on the trail that overlooked the still relatively new city of Canterlot below. It hung off the mountain like a great white gem, the city almost seemed to glow in the darkness as snow blurred the thousands of tiny specks of light that dotted the towers and walls as it blew past. For that one moment, everything was utterly silent.
He scuffed a fore hoof across the ground as Twilight moved up beside him and gasped at the sight. How? How could he tell her? It would require a massive amount of energy to send her ahead that far, and only one of his friend’s spells seemed up for the job, yet. He sighed inwardly as he glanced her way. The spell had disintegrated as he attempted a practice run the day before. And something, something else had happened as well.
“There is a way, Twilight.” He glanced again in her direction as he spoke. “Finding it is our only trifle now to deal with. Unfortunately, there is but one in all this land I think that can still help us.”
Twilight’s eyes widened with glee as she pushed to a conclusion, an exceptionally likely conclusion, but a conclusion all the same. “You’re going to ask Celestia for help?” It was meant as a question but came out more as a statement.
His gaze fell to the rocky ground. “If only it were that easy, Celestia still mourns for her sister.” He looked upward to the empty sky as if hoping to see the princess there. “And she has retreated off I know not where. Far beyond my range to sense her.” His words seemed to catch slightly in his throat as he spoke. “And it would not, I expect, have done you much good as far as returning you to the proper time.”
Her head lowered a bit at hearing this. “But. I have to get back. My friends, all of Equestria is in danger! I have to fix it!” She said moving closer to him. “Or find some pony who can,” that familiar twinkle flashed in her eye and Star Swirl nearly choked when he saw it. “It shouldn’t even be that hard, just go back a day or two before Nightmare Night and warn the princesses. If you came with me I’m sure between the three of you something could be done. Maybe even…”
“I cannot,” he said lowering his head knowing that he had failed. Again.
Twilight ceased her rambling and gave the older pony a worried glance. “Can’t, what?” she pondered.
Star Swirl sighed deeply as he looked upon the city below. There was no easy way to say it so he simply decided to go with the truth. The simple, hope crushing truth. He took a deep breath. “I no longer have the means to send you home.”          
	
	

	     
		 
	      
	     
	            
    
	                      
	                                                           
	                
 
	               

> Malithion (Pt.2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter Seven
Malithion Part Two



Canterlot castle gardens, nearly three weeks ago.

In a blinding flash of golden sunlight a solid spherical shield appeared and seemed to more so absorb the incoming blast than simply deflect it. The energy exploded in all the fury of its controller as it splashed over the obstacle.
The force of the explosion decimated the nearby trees and tore at the cobblestone path, boiling away the stones nearest the epicenter. A billowing cloud of wicked green fire rose hundreds of feet into the sky and showered the area in little sparks that sizzled and popped on their descent.
With a smile of conviction the Nightmare glanced over her shoulder. “Oh Celestia, I am so happy that you could join us. Star Swirl here seems to have gone down for a nap,” she said mockingly whilst turning around fully to scrutinize the approaching Alicorn. “So now it will be just the two of us. Will that not be exciting?”
Through the last of the remaining smoke and dust Celestia resolved as though moving the smoke for a dramatic reveal. Her mane and tail had abandoned their usual regal flow in favor of a faster more energetic motion with a heightened air of energy and authority behind it. She strode forward with a smattering of deep gashes covering her chest and legs. She began to close said injuries rapidly by releasing a wispy white magical mist.
She had a mask of determination and resolve on her face as she came towards what had been Princess Luna and set her jaw with teeth just visible. “I will only say this once,” she growled as her horn lit with a loud snap and the very air flinched away from her. “Leave my sister, or I shall tear you from her,” Celestia challenged. “She has no place in our bout.”
After a loud snap and crackle of its own the Nightmare’s borrowed horn lit as well and she began to advance and stopped a hair’ breadth away from the princess. “No Celestia, I think she is perfect right where she is. Right where, we are,” the creature said giving a twisted little grin with a soft, cruel laugh to match. She was suddenly hit with a torrent of levitation magic that sent her sailing through the air back across the stream. She crashed through the trunk of an old oak and tumbled into the side of a small gazebo. The oak, centuries old, groaned and fell with a thunderous crash. 
Without a second thought Celestia was standing beside Star Swirls crumpled body. Kneeling down beside his still form she searched out his magical signature and gave a soft sigh of relief, it was still there, weak but there. She glanced across the little gorge at the gazebo as the rubble from the tiny structure began to shift.
Noting the green lines and splotches spreading across the unicorn’s body she worked quickly to do the one thing she could. A field of golden light formed around the healing mist of her body and channeled it into the fallen pony. Effectively stonewalling the curse within him. 
With a sputtering cough Star Swirl opened his eyes and looked up at his savior in honest surprise. Clearly not expecting to ever take breath again he nearly forgot to breathe before he managed a halfhearted smile. “Took you, long enough,” he said weakly. He watched Celestia’s energy flowing into him with slight fascination.
She returned a warm smile of her own. “You shall not be able to escape from us that easily my friend,” she replied smoothly as she stood. “Can you manage?” She asked quickly stealing another look across the water.
Star Swirl gave his body a once over and nodded his assurance. “I can do more than that my princess,” he said standing and plucking his hat from where it had fallen to the stone path, the small bell at the end giving off a dull jingle as he did so.
Celestia tensed as she watched the pile of rubble shift further and start to slide apart. A pitch black wing slowly rising outward. “Good. I want for you to find the guard captain and order him to begin evacuating the area at once,” her horn intensified in brilliance as the power within it increased a dozen times over.
Star Swirl hesitated as he too caught sight of the wing as it shakily rose and gave a weak flap. “Celestia are you sure?” he said channeling a bit of power into his own horn. “Luna has…”
“Been taken by the Nightmare. I know, and I know that I must now be the one to stop her,” she said with determination as she took a step forward. “Now go, I lost you once, please do not ask me to do it again.”
Star Swirl lowered his head and nodded slightly with understanding at her tone. He understood the thoughts that were likely running through her head at that moment. He knew that losing Luna would destroy her. Truth be told, it would likely destroy them both. “As you wish, my lady,” he said turning away to leave her. “Please be careful Celestia, and bring Luna home. She is still in there despite whatever the Nightmare would have you believe.”
Celestia closed her eyes as she mentally searched the castle grounds for the captain of the guards. Star Swirl disappeared in the flash of a teleport the moment she found his magical signature. And not an instant too soon.
The gazebo’s remains blew outward in a green firestorm of rage-fueled destruction as the Nightmare got to her hooves and stretched her body with a happy sigh. “I am surprised at you Celestia,” she said mockingly standing in the magical fire. “Striking your own sister, such brutality. I believe I am going to enjoy this greatly,” the Nightmare sneered as she began to stalk forward casually. Her body began to glow a deep violet color as energy flickered off of her borrowed form.
Celestia moved forward as well, her own horn glowing so brightly it illuminated the forest surrounding them as the trees prepared to bear witness to the coming battle. The Alicorn gave the approaching creature a withering glare as her own great power showed itself for the first time in nearly a century. Golden rays of sunlight shone through her sides and her mane became laced with streaks of pure solar flames. The air crackled as waves of overpressure rolled along the ground away from her. 
Neither mare took their eyes off the other as they approached each other, not for a second, not even as they reached the edges of the little gully the stream below them flowed within. They simply continued to walk straight ahead, both ignoring the lowly law of nature that was gravity and treaded on nothing but the air. 
They came to a stop directly in front of each other, scrutinizing one another as one honorable warrior might look upon another. Their glowing auras sparked and fizzled as they interacted.
As one they lowered their heads and touched their horns together in a blinding flash of light and a sound of rolling thunder boomed across the sky above. They ground the appendages together in the form of an ancient dueling custom that dated back well before either pony could rightly remember, the action allowing the participants to outright feel for themselves the power within the other.
Several bolts of lightning shot away from them as they separated and again locked glares. The auras of both ponies intensified even further as they prepared themselves for what they realized would likely be the fight of their lives.
“No matter how this ends,” Celestia said eyes narrowing. “It ends today.”
The Nightmares grin widened further, exposing Luna’s new incisors. “Then please,” she sneered with fire in her eyes. “Let me end it.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	      


Canterlot Archives, three days ago.


Star Swirl staggered momentarily as he passed through the purple light and returned to the reality that he had left behind in order to reach the lost library. His breath came raggedly as the magical energy of the domain behind left him. Leaning on the wall for a degree of support that his legs seemed ill prepared to handle the pony settled himself.
He glanced longingly up the stairs as he finally convinced his body to move ahead. Warily a forehoof was placed upon the first step and shortly after another followed suit. Star Swirl moved with a heavy burden and he longed to get back above ground, he never had enjoyed tunnels much.
Leaving the light behind him to make his ascent the stallion again counted the stairs methodically. It would do no pony any good for him to simply disappear down here in the depths of a vault that only he himself still knew the location to.
Without ever fully acknowledging his upward travel along the stairs themselves Star Swirl nearly tripped when he reached the last step as his hooves fumbled in trying to continue the climb upward.
He froze in place. Biting his lip nearly to the point of bleeding as he made a realization. The memory of exactly how many stairs there should be, he could not find it. Such a small seemingly unimportant memory. Yet the implications of what its apparent lack of attendance were having a deeply profound impact upon him.
Feeling a now familiar warm trickle making its way sluggishly down the inside of his nose Star Swirl wiped away the dripping crimson with a hoof. Every time the two ailments would coincide, and every time they would rear their ugly heads, they were stronger.      
Blinking rapidly to clear his momentarily blurred vision Star Swirl could not help but laugh quietly to himself at the irony. Of all the horrible and senseless things that he had lived through, and helped to achieve in some cases, it would be the work of his own two hooves that would eventually be his undoing. Oh how the universe was a truly cruel mistress. Indeed.
He removed himself from the last stair and the hourglass at the bottom began its long grinding ascent. Once it stopped at the top and clicked into place he double checked the layers of enchantments and gave the artifact an approving nod.
It gave no remarks of its own as you might expect. Just simply stood there idly as it always did. The sand ran on ever downward, never seeming to deplete itself from the space at the top. Though those who might have looked upon it on a daily basis could have easily spotted the illusion for what it was. But would likely never understand the importance.
Of course, there were only a hoof full of ponies who ever saw the interior of this room at all. Then again, that was the point. Was it not?
Sighing heavily the old pony turned and made his way further into the room. He traveled past row upon row of shelves to a place completely random, yet it seemed almost to call to him as he drew nearer. Stopping abruptly he scanned the shelves around him before nodding in understanding.
With horn glowing in the dull light of the row the clasp on his saddle bags unhooked and a scroll floated up to his face for one final inspection. The parchment was dull and tattered with age as it had been written many hundreds of years ago, by an old friend.
Star Swirl smiled warmly as he placed Silver Spark’s creation in amongst the dozens of other scrolls that lined the dusty shelf. There it would wait, ready to set everything in motion the next time around. Another key piece in an ever expanding puzzle.
He closed his saddle bags and made to leave but a dull glimmer caught his eye as he passed another row of shelves. 
Standing alone over in a relatively out of the way place was a mirror. It stood perhaps twice the height of your average pony and roughly a third as wide as that. A hammer molded golden frame wrapped about the reflective surface. The design was simple in nature as the frame started out square at the bottom then flared out slightly before reaching the top.
The reflection staring back as the pony approached was nearly alien to him. So old was his appearance, gone was the fire from his eyes, and the sleekness of his coat replaced by thinning graying hair.
As he looked upon its surface and gave a small amount of focus however, the image began to shift and change. Slowly the years left the reflection and new life seemed to flow into it, returning it to the way he used to be all those years ago. Before time and war and loss had destroyed the stallion he had been. Before they had destroyed the few he had once called, friends.
As the years continued to leave the reflections of other faces became visible and began to shed years as well. Each one looking more and more as he remembered them. One by one they were eventually all accounted for.
First came Silver Spark, his silver mane and coat glowing with that odd iridescent quality that had made him quite a spectacle to behold in the right light. Always the foal of the group he could cause any pony terrible fits of laughter, nearly no matter their mood.
Star Swirl shivered slightly as the haggard old face of Stardust Jade appeared. As always her somewhat vacant eyes sent a cold chill down his spine as even now they seemed to track his movement.
Several others appeared, each one releasing a floodgate of memories as they took their places in the widening group picture that was developing around his own reflection. So many warm familiar faces, so much joy and love. And then.
His breath caught in his throat as another familiar form took shape in the mirror. Discord. But not the Discord that had destroyed the ones who occupied the space around him now. This was a much younger, much more handsome and, far less disturbed looking creature. His face was kind and his demeanor showed nothing of what he had become. He was as he should have been, an innocent, kindhearted, friend.
Star Swirl just stood there, he did not know how long. He did not care. He was transfixed by the sight of the young Draconequus, the mirror displaying him as Star Swirl’s memory had preserved him. Not as he had become, not as he was now, standing somewhere out beyond these walls encased in stone.
Despite himself Star Swirl allowed his face to return the rather goofy grin of the reflection. Remembering how much more personable Discord’s face had looked with both fangs still in place. It was rather surreal to think about, considering the majority of these memories were older than the last generation of ponies. Not to mention this generation.
He could not resist the thought of wondering how Celestia managed them all. True her alicornian mind was meant to handle extreme age and therefore would last her the length of her existence. It was another thing entirely to keep everything straight. Organized.
She would certainly fare far better than he had. Star Swirl had already been fairly advanced in age when he had volunteered to be the test bed for Luminescent Star and his insane idea for an agelessness enchantment.
“Many a pony has wasted away in front of that mirror, Star Swirl,” came a voice from behind and slightly above. “In the pursuit of things lost to them along their way,” the tone of sympathy underlying the warning it accompanied. 
“Who ever heard of enchanting a living pony?” Star Swirl mused aloud. “It simply is not done. Wards certainly, curses pile up every day, and hexes are plentiful as well as easy,” he grumbled. “Living beings just are not meant to be enchanted, nopony had ever figured it out before. Nor since.”
“Luminescent seemed to have the concept well in hoof, it would seem,” came the voice from above once more, growing closer. Owlovard slowly resolved in the reflection as he landed next the unicorn and ruffled his feathers before smoothing them out. “Though possessing a power to rival the average Alicorn may have, furthered his success,” the bird said raising his eyebrows at Star Swirls reflection. “I must admit, I am somewhat surprised that you never figured it out for yourself. Was that not the special talent of the great Star Swirl the bearded?”
Star Swirl hazarded a hasty glance over his left flank, the cloak there covering his view. He had not bothered to look at his mark for a long time, to him at least, it had lost its meaning. The pony snorted and without a word returned his gaze to the mirror.
“Ah. I see, so that is what it has come to then, is it,” Owlovard sighed sadly tilting his head back slightly to better observe the faces above him in the reflection. “And here after all these years, I had truly hoped that you could look beyond your failures and move on,” he brushed a wing over the glass before him causing the magical surface to ripple like disturbed water. 
“Why are you here, Owlovard?” Star Swirl asked with a hint of detachment on the edge of his tone. This was to be a special moment alone for him, a moment to make his farewells. Something he had been denied for most of them.
“Why are you? I think is the more important question,” the bird said fixing his gaze upon the image of Luminescent Star. “Might it have something to do with that constant need of yours to fix the past?” he seemingly ignored the pony’s growing sense of annoyance and continued. “Or, perhaps this goes deeper than that. Perhaps it stems from that foalish desire of yours to challenge every little detail of what the fates throw at you, to question the very laws by which all are governed,” he turned to look the pony over. “And tested.”
Star Swirl’s eyes narrowed as they glanced in Owlovard’s direction. “I am in no mood for one of your puzzling proverbs Owlovard,” he said sighing pointedly in obvious contempt of the conversation. “Even if I were, I haven’t the time.”
“Of that I have no doubt. You are indeed running short on time my friend,” he said turning away and scrutinizing the distant shelf upon which lay a recently placed scroll. “You are soon to be tested yet again, though not by fate. Entirely at least,” without looking the bird could sense the pony next to him shift in place as the emotions built within him. “Luminescent has left one final task behind that even he himself could not achieve. And now, it must fall to you.”
Stomping a hoof Star Swirl rounded on the comparatively tiny bird and gave another snort. “No!” he growled dropping his head low to look the bird face to face. “I know of what you speak, Observer. I know what you would have me do in place of the one truly meant for the task!” sighing through his teeth the pony drew back slightly and closed his eyes for a breath. “Do not ask this of me. Do not ask it of a pony who has tried so hard for so long to see beyond the results of his own failures,” opening his eyes again they once more found the owl. “I cannot, no, will not, place the fate of this world in my own hooves again. Not for you, not for Luminescent. And certainly not for Him!” Star Swirl nearly screamed.
The owl’s brow furrowed and his eyes set with determination. “And what of Celestia then? Hmm?!” He asked sternly. “Or Luna?” he paced closer. “Or every other being on this world for that matter! Would you truly just abandon them, leave them to ruin in the face of the coming darkness? You say that you know of what I would ask!” He said stopping and ruffling his plumage in a manner that demanded attention. “You are the last of your kind Star Swirl! There is none other to be asked!” In a final loud huff of anger the bird smoothed his feathers and calmed his features as best he could and looked to the floor. “And I am not the one asking, the world Star Swirl, the world is asking. It is asking you to do that which all those before you have done. The world is asking you to stop running from the past, from all your transgressions and failures. To do that which you were born to do, and help save the future.”
Without a word Star Swirl turned to leave and trotted away from the mirror, all the collected images fading away as he did so. The reflective surface seemed to dim as he went.
“You are afraid. I know, I can feel it. But if not you Star Swirl, then who? Who would you have asked?” the owl questioned from where he stood.
Star Swirl slowed his retreat and then finally stopped at the end of the row. He stood there for a moment, a torrent of conflicting thoughts running through his head. Finally after a few moments of deliberation, he spoke. “A month ago, I would likely have given you the answer you were searching for. I would have jumped at the chance to assist in the protection of this world. To once again stand beside Celestia, Luna, and you,” he pawed absentmindedly at the marble floor. “Now however, I can tell you with conviction, that I am not the pony for this task,” he turned and gave his friend a weak look of longing. “To exactly when it happened I cannot say with certainty, though I do have some idea,” he turned halfway back and his eyes saddened. “I broke, Owlovard. In spirit as well as in body. I have not the will anymore. To do that which the world would ask is now beyond my ability, as it likely always was,” the pony took a step back the way he had come, a new look of realization creeping up the side of his face. “Truth be told, I had long since lost my belief in the old teachings. And therefore…”
Owlovard smiled warmly as he nodded. “Lost your belief in yourself. Star Swirl, if one thing has ever remained clear to me it is that everyone is tested differently in the hard times. It is what we decide to do during those times that defines us, and while it is true that we may make mistakes along the way, the important thing is that we learn from them.”
“And never cease in pushing forward,” Star Swirl whispered.
“Because, nothing is impossible to a willing heart,” the owl finished the passage. “Is that not what you Star Order unicorns are always going on about? How there is nothing impossible to those who truly believe in themselves, and have a willingness to protect others.”
Star Swirl nodded. His eyes giving away the battle raging inside of him. The never ending conflict that had consumed him for so long.
“Your friends all believed in you Star Swirl. They believed that nothing was impossible, and every single one of them proved that. They accomplished the impossible during the great war. You, accomplished the impossible! We all did,” he hopped forward a short distance and relaxed his wings lower on his sides. “And now someone needs to do it once more, my friend. I know I said I would not ask you to fight for this world again, and I will not. But this world needs the impossible to survive what’s coming,” Owlovard met Star Swirl’s gaze. “I need help, Star Swirl. Will you help me, to do the impossible? Just this one last time.”
Star Swirl gave a soft chuckle as he shook his head stiffly. “And who is the bigger fool? The fool, or the fool who follows him,” he said smiling at the ground around his hooves. “You once asked luminescent a similar question as to whom he would send.”
The bird then gave a soft chuckle of his own, knowing that he had been found out. “And to what did he answer me?”
Star Swirl looked up and found the owl’s eyes with his own and a new look of intensity burned within them. “He told you that only he himself would go, because for him to ask somepony else would be to put them in harm’s way. And that is something that he would never do, and that he would never ask another pony to endure something that he was unwilling to endure himself.”
“So he did. So he did,” mused the owl as he again scrutinized the pony before him, the last of the students hoof trained by the high master Luminescent Star himself, and nodded. “So then, what say you?”
Star Swirl took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments. One side of his mind screamed at him to simply walk away from here, leave and go find his peace somewhere out beyond the wastes that covered much of the land. Wash his hooves of all that had befallen him. To flee.
The other half, however, stood firm and slashed at the other more cowardly half. It reminded him of all those that trusted in him, and those who depended on him. It forced through the visage of weakness the lesser half always attempted to rectify around him, to drag him down.
He knew there could be no hiding from this fight, it would always be within him. All that was needed of him was to decide what to do with what little time that was still given him. So, he decided.
The barrier of the lesser him within his mind shattered as courage and resolve pushed forward in one mighty last ditch effort to win the fight. Every memory of friends and family was summoned and came crashing down on his doubt and misery, forcing it back and then down to a place he could lock it up tight and move on. Something he had never before been able to do. Yes he was afraid. Yes he was doubtful of himself and his abilities. Instead of focusing on those aspects however. Focusing on what he could not do. He instead began, for the first time since Luna’s banishment, to focus on the things he could do. 
Star Swirl tentatively moved through his mind now, unlocking places that he had long ago sealed and began to brush off the cobwebs, so to speak. If he were to go through with this, everything needed to be up and running. He opened his eyes and exhaled the held breath before giving his answer. “You realize the path you seek for us is suicide, and will likely lead to our end?” he questioned.
Immediately the bird perked up at his tone. He could sense the change within the pony, and knew at last he had gotten through. Partially at least. “Without doubt, my friend. It may in fact, lead to worse.”
Star Swirl stepped closer and smiled the first genuine smile to cross his face in days. “Then Observer, I must tell you that I have no answer to your question of who I would send as that pony is no longer within our reach,” he said standing straighter. “Seeing as you are robbed of Luminescent, I humbly offer my services in his stead.”
“And I would indeed be the bigger fool to deny you,” Owlovard said with a smile as he straightened out his feathers. “I knew the old Star Swirl was still in there somewhere. I just needed to do some digging,” the bird paused for a brief moment before adding. “Luminescent was right about you, he truly was.”
“That remains to be seen, I know he thought very highly of me, and I know that he would never recommend any pony unless he fully believed in them,” Star Swirl said with a slow nod, as if finally comprehending something for the first time. “I am not the pony I used to be Owlovard, I have lived, I have loved, and I have lost. I have failed. I have failed this world on more than one occasion, and it was nearly lost. You yourself nearly paid the ultimate price for your loyalty to the world and its inhabitants, now here the evil is again, trying to take it all away as if the war never even happened. I may not be as I once was. In fact you are right to name me afraid, in truth, I am terrified,” he flexed the muscles in his shoulders as if attempting a shrug. “I may no longer be capable of all I was before, but I will help you hold the line any way I can,” a somewhat thin smile crossed his lips as he whispered under his breath. “‘Till the bitter end.”
“You truly are an amazing pony Star Swirl,” Owlovard nodded with a quiet chuckle. “Claiming to be so broken, yet here you are, ready to once more stand in the defense of those completely unknown to you. I think you are still far more capable than you realize, and when the time comes, you are going to show the world just how right your master was.”
Star Swirl shook his head slightly and let out a shallow breath. “If it is all the same to you my friend, I will simply settle for seeing the world safe once more so that I may finally be free of this wretched oath, so that I may go and rest.”
The bird raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. “The oath would have broken long ago my dear Star Swirl, if truly, you believed that. It persists, because you yourself remain unable to let go. You still see them as the little fillies playing amongst the legs of their parents. As do I.”
“Which, I suppose is why I cannot simply walk away now,” the pony pondered somberly while nibbling the inside of his cheek in thought. “Old habits, and what not,” he said smiling.
“I think then that there is but one last thing yet left for the two of us before the game can begin. The pieces are assembling, ours, and his.”
“The board it would seem has been laid out,” Star Swirl agreed. “And Twilight Sparkle, is not in her proper place now, is she.”                   
“Then you know what must be done about the mare. History will forgive you, but it will not survive without her presence where she belongs,” he said hopping into the air and fluttering over to land on Star Swirl’s back. “I see you understand the importance of her timely return.
“Not to worry, you pesky thing. I have several of Silver Spark’s spells in mind that should do the job of sending us back just fine.”
Owlovard’s talons twitched slightly at the comment and he hooted out of curiosity despite himself. “Us?” he parroted.
“I know the way that bird brain of yours thinks Owlovard my good fellow. And while I can say that plan you most certainly formulated up there involving my relatively inevitable compliance is possibly quite brilliant. I honestly doubt you took into account my inability to actually live long enough to see it done. Therefore, while you were going on about how Luminescent was right about me and all that drivel, I made a few slight changes.” He said turning to the exit. “I am merely placing my own piece one space ahead of the rest.”
The owl gave a faint smile as he shook his feathered head. Already planning ten steps ahead of the other players, truly, the old Star Swirl was still in there. All it would take was one more good solid push, and he would surely come forth from whatever place he kept himself hidden within. And Owlovard knew just the pony for the job, to bad she was still bound within the moon. No matter, it would seem Star Swirl was still just as easy for him to manipulate as he had always been. If he did manage to steer him into following Twilight through the corridor, then maybe this plan of his could work after all. 
A cold chill ran down the bird’s spine as they moved to the room’s door. It was piercing, dark, and very familiar to him. It tingled and coiled around him as he reached out with his senses and inspected it. He reeled at the overwhelming power it contained, and knew immediately from whence it came. It seemed almost to taunt him in the manner it moved and denied him the right to touch its borders. The feathers along his wings curled in on themselves as the power caressed them.
Star Swirl, oblivious to the presence amongst them looked over his shoulder to the bird as he felt Owlovard’s body tense. “Is something the matter?” He asked in near amusement. “Or did you finally come to your senses and realize the folly of this whole endeavor?”
Owlovard began to shake as he looked to meet Star Swirl’s gaze with widening eyes. “Something is happening at the grove, I think...” He gasped as a wave of pain struck his mind and he stumbled slightly as it pushed against the barriers he kept in place to ward off such attacks. His eyes ignited in a golden glowing aura and his breath caught in his throat. “The book! Someone has opened the book! They, they are reading the passage… It’s Twilight!” He collapsed and slid from Star Swirl’s back to the floor, never once closing his eyes. “It is taking her, she is reading! We must stop her at once before she can finish!”
With not a moment’s hesitation Star Swirl levitated the bird back to where he had been riding and snorted. “Hold tight!” He snarled before blinking them away in a flash of light.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Only to reappear a heartbeat later just outside the mouth of the little cave that held the entrance to where their problem lie. Instantly they were buffeted by the wind and snow as the light of the teleport faded away.
Star Swirl scowled as he charged into the cave’s dank interior. He cursed the barrier’s ability to block any incoming teleport, it had never been anything but an inconvenience to him. With not even a thought the wizard dove through the illusionary rock wall at the end of the tunnel and continued to run towards the house. “Are you certain she’s reading the passage?!” He shouted over the howling wind.
As if wanting to beat the owl’s answer to the punch the mountain began to tremble under the pony’s hooves as he galloped at full speed for the front door. The tree house before them started to groan audibly and a few of the larger branches warped and curled as if brought to life by the shaking.
“Hurry Star Swirl! If she finishes all our efforts will be for not!” He called, the yell cutting off suddenly as they teleported yet again.
Star Swirl grunted as they appeared right in front of the door at a dead sprint. He jumped and threw his shoulder into the door, using his momentum to add to the door’s speed as it attempted to open for him. His hooves slammed to the floor and he bolted for the stairs. Before he even reached the first step there was another flash and they were gone… Only to appear at the top step still at a sprint and then flash again to the top of the stairs leading to the library.
Panting heavily as the exertion built upon him he channeled power for one last teleport as he charged the library door. There was a thickening of the magical field here that was somehow manipulating his ability to teleport. It was like he was trying to move them through sand, and it was growing stronger with every step. The power focused near the very tip of his horn and split the fabric of the space around him. Quickly he tore another hole as close to the center of the room as he could, the distance was little more than a jump, but it required the power of a mile.
As the light faded away around him his brain kicked into high gear as his eyes took in the situation in an instant. The room was shaking violently and the book was indeed open. It lay there ominously, sheer power radiating off of it in waves as water might lap upon a shore. The Black fire surged and writhed in multiple directions at once, feeding on the very energy within the room. And at the very center of it all, was Twilight Sparkle. The mare had a look of the purest terror he had ever witnessed on another ponies face. Worst of all he noted, she was reading. By the way things were looking, she was nearly done.
The pages were beginning to glow a mixture of golden light and blackness that coiled and twitched with every word she spoke. Whatever was happening, Star Swirl knew that it had to be stopped. So, still moving forward, he put his momentum to work and dove for the mare just as an arm of the fire moved up to grasp at her.
He fought back the urge to close his eyes as the light of the book blinded him. They collided together in front of the great tomb and slammed into the floor some distance away before skidding to a halt.
Owlovard leapt clear and dove out of the path of the flames as they made another reach for the mare. He watched as they licked and coiled through the air upon failing to reach the lavender pony just out of their reach. They could not surpass the distance.
The owl breathed a sigh of relief as the flames slinked back to where they came from. In one deft motion the covers of the massive book slammed shut with a massive burst of overpressure and excess magical energy. His full attention was glued to the book as it sat there, looking as though absolutely nothing had ever happened. Just like last time.
He was dimly aware of the two pony’s discussion as they lay on the floor somewhere behind him. A small portion of his mind listened in but he was otherwise occupied by what he saw before him. Concealed deep within the fiery mass surrounding the book were a pair of eyes, familiar, and very angry. They lasted for but a moment in the dancing flames before fading away from view.
As though nothing were ever different from earlier the book floated calmly, waiting for the next chance to come along. There would always be other chances. And it was very patient.
Owlovard carefully reached out with his mind and pressed gently against the fiery barrier. He found the book to once again be truly dormant, at least for the time being. He withdrew from the fire and allowed himself a slight bit of relief at knowing, for the moment at least, it posed no immediate threat to them. He was then made remotely aware of someone calling his name, it sounded distant somehow, as though they were somewhere else. Lost in fog.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
“Owlovard!” Star Swirl called again as he desperately channeled his magic. He formed a ball of hard light energy and proceeded to attempt a process he had seen Stardust Jade perform for several of the others in the past. He split a piece off the top and stretched it into a long string. He added additional magic to it in a manner of reinforcement before attempting to use it as a form of temporary suturing. “Owlovard get your feathery ass over here! I need your help with this!”
Still reeling from his recent revelation Owlovard was just turning when a magical aura surrounded him and pulled him over to stand beside the bleeding pony. Not much caring for the somewhat rough treatment he flexed his wings out slightly and broke the magical hold over him with a huff of agitation. “Yes, yes, what do you need?” He groused, looking back over his shoulder at the book. 
“My duplication spell is insufficient to work with something as finite as living blood,” Star Swirl said with concentration thickening his voice as he worked the thread fine magic in through the holes left by the old sewing job. “Can you…?” he started.
“Already working,” the owl replied as his whole body began glowing a soft golden hue. A small drop of blood lifted from the mare and floated in front of his face, the liquid glowed a similar color as the magic surrounding it and slowly expanded as its volume increased.
“I am really beginning to dislike this particular part of the job,” Star Swirl muttered as he finished and moved to inspect the other lines of stitching for any signs of damage.
The owl chuckled indifferently to the situation. “At least you are getting a lot of practice at it,” he said seeming not to give his work much interest.
Star Swirl frowned as he looked up from his task and shot the bird an annoyed scowl. “Don’t patronize me,” he said turning back to his work and adding in a whisper. “Avian.”
“Quadruped,” Owlovard muttered in retort as he slowly eased the newly created blood into the mare’s body.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“Alright, again, and this time with less fire on me if you could,” Owlovard said tiredly as Star Swirl set aside the sweaty rag and moved back to the center of the large basement below the tree house. 
“Perhaps you would prefer another lightning bolt then, hmm?” the stallion teased as he stretched and sighed as his spine cracked and popped. “Or maybe instead of just sitting there you could, I don’t know, actually help with this.”
After ensuring Twilight Sparkle’s survival the pair had spent the last two days attempting several of Silver Sparks temporal manipulation spells, all of which had backfired spectacularly. The last had nearly burnt the entire basement after covering everything in fire, including a certain owl. Needless to say that had left them with mixed results and a newly re-found respect for the Silvery pony who had created them. Unfortunately said pony had constructed his spells to be as difficult to understand as possible, he had been very paranoid of misusers.
“I could, or, I could let you pass this trial on your own as you are meant to,” he said simply while wiping ash from his slightly charred wing. “I have already done far more for you than I was supposed to.”
“And for that I thank you greatly, but these spells are built to be purposefully difficult in the extreme. Silver Spark had a hard enough time using these. And he created them,” Star Swirl reminded as he crouched and lit his horn.
“Well that is your area of expertise is it not? To figure out troublesome spells,” Owlovard remarked dryly as he summoned a shield to ward off whatever might next come his way. He had learned quickly after the explosion of orange flames that had manifested out of nowhere. “I would however like to suggest a greater matter of discretion on your part. It is apparent these spells are all the more dangerous the further you wish to travel. How she survived her mistake is beyond me.”
Star Swirl licked his dry lips as he studied the floating scroll for the umpteenth time and frowned. “Normally I would agree with you Owlovard, this variant however appears to require a much more direct approach than any amount of discretion will allow. Silver saw fit to name this as a corridor rather than his more usual names. It apparently, for lack of better words on his part, simply claws its way through rather than delicately negotiate the path as most others do,” he frowned at his colleague’s rather, blunt, description of his work.
“Ever the linguistic artist that one,” Owlovard lamented as he eyed the lit horn. “Still, perhaps you might, shield yourself from this one,” He said edging away slightly. “Not that I doubt any of this of course.”
Flashing away the scroll to a safe place Star Swirl rolled his eyes and called on his power. His horn flared and the air popped and sputtered around him as the energy burned with the smell of ozone. It burst forward towards the far wall and coalesced into a spinning sphere nearly the height of the room.
“Almost there Star Swirl, another twenty percent should do it!” the bird called over the crackling sound of the forming portal. He could sense the power levels evening out and condensing just the way they should.
Star Swirl dug deeper and found more power to throw at the nearly finished corridor. He gritted his teeth under the strain and gave one final push to force it past the pinch point. A flash of light filled the room followed by a tremendous cracking of the air around them.
The sphere imploded inward on itself to form a gyrating ring of multicolored energy just large enough for the passing of a pony. At its center was a blackened area that seemed to go on forever and would flash with the occasional burst of starlight. The corridor flashed a few more times before finally stabilizing.
Star Swirl tentatively reduced the amount of power being fed into the construct to keep it in place. He nodded to Owlovard who then moved forward and rather scientifically tossed a rock into the glowing orifice. Immediately he jumped backward and crouched in anticipation of the worst, and waited. Nothing happened.
They both relaxed slightly as they glanced at each other with slight relief. “I think we may have found a winner,” Star swirl said as he ran a check of the portals pattern stability. The energy flowed perfectly in every way it was supposed to.
Owlovard moved closer and ran his own check to be sure that the destination was correct and that the stone had ended up where, and when it should have. “Strange,” he muttered softly as his magic continued to search the portals interior.
“I know,” Star Swirl said nodding as he disconnected himself from the now self-sustaining portal. “Remember this design was never fully finished. There are bound to be a few discrepancies within the inner conduits,” he said turning to collect his rag and summoned the scroll again.
“No,” Owlovard said puzzled. “It’s not that, there seems to be a…” he was cut off as the small stone flew back out the portal entrance and smacked him square in the beak. He squawked in surprise and hopped backwards into Star Swirls chest as the old pony turned to see what the fuss was about.
“What in all o…” The pony tried to say but stopped as a sonic boom sounded off from somewhere inside the depths of the portal. A wave off pressure burst forth into the room and smashed them against the wall as the rotating energy around the corridor began to overload and flash rapidly.
“That is not good!” yelled Owlovard over the wind now assaulting them from the magical maelstrom forming in place of the corridor. 
Star Swirl struggled to get his hooves under him and braced himself against the force of the energy coming at him. He took careful aim and fired off the failsafe spell he had already created to counteract this specific event. In an instant the swirling vortex collapsed in upon itself and vanished in a loud snap, leaving no trace. 
The pair collapsed to the floor as the pressure straining them dissipated. They glanced at each other and grinned stupidly for a moment before the sound of a rock striking the wooden floor behind them brought their focus back to reality.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Owlovard said with annoyance as he rubbed his beak with a wing tip.
Star Swirl moved over to inspect the rock with growing interest. “Very astute Observer. You miss nothing do you,” he said chuckling under his breath as he levitated the smoking chunk of granite to his face for closer study. He then tossed the rock over to his cohort and added. “I do believe I have found our culprit,” he with a sigh.
Owlovard plucked the rock out of the air with a wing and investigated for himself. “Chaos magic?” he said with a surprised tone.
“Anomalous temporal chaos magic to be precise,” Star Swirl said scrutinizing the floor where the portal had been a moment ago. “The entire timeline between now and then appears to be saturated with it,” he stooped lower and scuffed at the floor with a hoof. “Flux energy residue?” the pony mumbled raising an eyebrow at the substance smeared over the end of the limb.
“Certainly explains why our attempts at these spells continue to blow up in ‘my’ face,” he grumbled sourly as he moved up beside Star Swirl to look over the charred floor. “It would seem as though someone does not want for you to succeed my friend.”
The pony’s ear twitched slightly at the comment as he scrutinized the rapidly disintegrating goo on the floor. “They may get their wish, I am afraid that was the finest spell for the job.”
“What now then?” asked the owl with a touch of concern hinting at the edge of his voice. He began to shift uneasily on his talons as the pony thought.
Star Swirl closed his eyes as he went over his options. They were few and he slowly crossed them off one by one. “I, do not know,” he said finally opening his eyes.
“We must send her back Star Swirl,” Owlovard said with a frown. “Before the plan becomes damaged beyond repair. Her presence here has already introduced far too many new variables,” he scrunched up his face and ventured. “Perhaps we could as…”
“No,” Star Swirl cut in rapidly. “That creature holds no love for the likes of us, Malithion would watch this world burn before going against her precious charge,” He fumed gruffly. “She will not help. We must do this, alone.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
In some manner of mercy the wind had died away to just a soft breeze that swirled the delicate flakes of snow as they drifted past the two ponies on the ledge overlooking Canterlot. It lazily cruised by, fluttering the ends of their cloaks and tails as it passed before moving on to wherever it fancied next.
The ponies stood in the near silence, gazing down on the lights of the city, both lost in some form of inner turmoil. They had remained silent for some time as neither seemed willing to speak.
Finally regaining some form of composure Twilight glanced around before asking. “Then where are we going?” she questioned. “You said there is still a way, so what is it?”
Star Swirl hummed softly under his breath as he took note of the trail before them. He gazed longingly at the gently downward sloping switchback trail that would lead them to the gardens, and then the warmth of the castle beyond them. He thought that maybe he could have overlooked something, some spell that could be coaxed into delivering the desired results. That he could still do this himself, and make up for some of the recent problems caused by all this.
His mind noted the space just past the trails first turn where the brush and stone of the mountain suggested the presence of a naturally occurring trail that instead twisted and climbed its way further still up the mountain, to a place long since forgotten by most.
“You could always visit, her, you know,” Owlovards voice said echoing through his mind. “If there is but a single way yet to send her back to the proper time then you know exactly where to find it,” Star Swirl hated to admit it as, this time at least, Owlovard was right. No other option remained. “No reason to waste your day by dragging poor little Twilight back to the city archives to look for something we both know you would not find.”
He knew that was true, knew it as well as if it had already taken place. There were indeed several spells that, under extreme circumstances could be used for temporal transportation. But their limitations would render them next to useless with the discovery of the chaos magic somehow burrowing its way through everything. That would make nearly any attempt at time travel simply impossible for anyone.
So of course that left only the one option. The trail up the mountain, and the being who manifested there. 
Star Swirl had faced this kind of thing numerous times before, on many other mountains, at the bottoms of deep valleys, and the great plains of the world. A cross way in the roads of destiny that would change his life forever. A chance to do something for the better of himself, or for the better of the world.
He did not know where either road may take him, nor did he know the trials he would face along the way. And there would be trials, of that he was always certain. Perhaps that was the reason all along, his reason to continue. 
The pony stomped a hoof as he turned and faced his crossroad. The easy downward stroll to a fruitless end, or the long arduous climb to what could end in agonized failure, but was also, their only chance at success.  
Without another thought to slow himself further he moved to where the two trails split, and turned left up the mountain. Crossroads be damned, destiny was what you made of it. Star Swirl was in the mood to piss it off till his last breath. If destiny wanted to continue to be cruel then it would just have to keep up. He glanced back over at the confused mare following him and laughed a surprisingly genuine laugh at the sheer absurdity of his situation. “We are going to go ask fate for the chance to change Infinity,” he said shaking his head at his own words.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
Twilight cringed as her leg slid out yet again on the ice and she panted heavily from the exertion of the climb. The unmarked path had all but disappeared as far as she could tell, yet Star Swirl trudged onward never once seeming to lose his way amongst the boulders and scraggly brush trees that claimed this portion of the mountain as their own. Fortunately they were now moving into a place that appeared to be sheltered from the worst of the elements by massive cliffs of stone.
A short distance ahead outlined by his little lantern Star Swirl blazed the trail in silence, he had not said a word ever since the lookout over the city. He had not so much as looked at her, even after she had asked about his odd statement about fate. What did that even mean anyway? Hadn’t Celestia said that there was no such thing as fate?
She slipped again and nearly cried out at the burning sensation that shot up the disgruntled limb. After a few moments of gently trying to massage the muscle of the leg into working again she half trotted half slid her way forward to catch up with the stallion who had disappeared around a large rock face ahead of her. 
Rounding the giant wall of rock she found herself standing on the edge of a large flat area pressed up against the mountain. It was neatly tucked away and free of the accursed wind that had been slowly relieving her of bodily warmth. She sighed tiredly but was grateful to see Star Swirl waiting for her beside a jumble of loose rocks. She peered past him at what appeared to be a sheer cliff face that dropped down into the inky blackness below them. 
With a slight look of confusion she moved up next to him and plopped down to rest. There did not seem to be anywhere else to go from here, maybe he just took a wrong turn somewhere. She looked over and tried again to get the old pony to speak. “How much further?” she asked. “I really need a breather, can we wait here a moment?” they had been climbing for several hours now and she was nearly drained of energy.
Star Swirl glanced around and nodded. “Rest while you can child, for we are here. Now it is simply a matter for the one we search for to take notice of us,” he said absentmindedly as he turned to the sound of something scuttling around under the rocks he rested against. “Ah, here he comes now.”
Twilights curiosity quickly turned to puzzlement as a small lizard like creature moved out from under the pile of stones. It climbed up next to Star Swirl and stared at them intently for a few seconds before proceeding to lick one of its own eyes.
“This is why we hiked all the way up here?” Twilight groaned as she stared at the creature that had just elevated itself to the ‘icky’ category. “To look at some stupid salamander thing!?” she said pointing at the slimy thing looking at her with dull soulless eyes.
“Lady lady please, newt,” it said raising up onto its hind legs and crossing its forearms a crossed its chest. “I prefer not to associate with those, riffraff. Terrible house guests they are.”
Twilight stumbled backwards onto her rump and stammered out something incoherent as Star Swirl chuckled to himself. He quickly stifled his laugh as he attempted to calm the situation. “Twilight Sparkle my dear, allow me to introduce Tillook, keeper of the door stones, guardian of the hidden realm, overseer for Infinity’s four, and fate of mischief,” he droned.
The mare continued to shrink back in fear as her eyes widened. “His magical signature… It’s,” she cut off as the new comer smiled maliciously with teeth that had no business in the body of a newt.
“So, the young lady is capable of sensing my power hmm,” the bizarre creature said with mild interest before turning to look over the other pony with something near contempt. “You’re late,” he said dully. “And that is spirit of mischief to you, pony,” 
Star Swirl raised an eyebrow as he spoke. “One can hardly expect to be on time when one does not know they are expected,” he said 
“His aura is almost the same as Discord’s!” Twilight blurted suddenly. “It’s… It’s full of…”
“Chaos magic,” Whispered the diminutive little being as he appeared next to her ear. “I am flattered that you would compare me to the illustriousness that is Discord dear girl. He is a servant of chaos,” he floated back away from her and took a bow. “As am I.”
Instantly Twilight was back on her hooves and assuming a defensive stance. Tillook simply returned to the ground and watched the mare with a slightly bemused expression. His little stubby paws flexing slowly.
Choosing to ignore the two Star Swirl simply cleared his throat to regain what little attention span the newt had for him. “Tillook if you say we are late then you know why we are here,” he said not wanting anything to escalate. “I… I need to see her.”
“Yes, I know,” the newt replied still scrutinizing the mare before him with subdued yet obvious interest. “She waits for you, in the third plane,” he said motioning toward the rock wall of the mountain. 
“Then, the doorway, if you please,” Star Swirl said moving over to the face of the cliff.
“You know I demand payment,” Tillook called after him never taking his eyes off of Twilight. His lip curled up into a wicked little grin.
Star Swirl chuckled quietly to himself. “As you can see, Tillook, I have brought payment,” he said glancing back at Twilight. “One young innocent. As per your demands.”
Tillook rubbed his little amphibian hands together with excitement and nodded. “The payment is fair,” he said smiling. He snapped his little fingers and instantly a part of the cliff simply ceased to exist, revealing a long tunnel leading into the mountain.
Twilight’s expression turned to a mixture of questioning and terror as she and the little creature vanished in a flash of light. Star Swirl hoped she was as capable as he thought, it would be her only defense now. He turned and strode into the caves dark interior. He was expected, and it would be rude to keep his host waiting.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

He walked for what felt like hours through the dim light of the tunnel, the glow of his lantern faded away and seemed to be absorbed by the walls around him. He checked over his shoulder and found he could still make out the exit behind him, as if he had only just entered the space.
The further he went the more distant the walls became, they were slowly receding into a silvery blue gray fog that wafted up from the floor. After a few minutes more the walls were gone from sight completely. He could feel the magical field leave his senses, almost imperceptibly at first, then all at once as he approached a place that was somehow again hewn from rock with no trace of the misty fog to be seen.
As he entered he took in the room’s detail from the top of a short set of stairs that led down into a central lower area. The room was well lit from the light of multiple torches and candles that were positioned in clusters around the room. Some sat atop tables covered in old rolls of parchment and tomes thick as he was tall. Several of the large books sat open with feather quills writing away on their own free will.
Star Swirl quietly moved down the steps and edged closer to a chair, the size of which forced him to jump slightly to reach its seat proper. He waited there patiently for a few minutes remaining as silent as was possible.
“You are far too quiet for one who bears such burdens, my young Star pony,” came a voice that managed to be soft yet authoritative. It came from everywhere, and nowhere at once.
“I did not wish to interrupt your work,” Star Swirl said, eyes tracking to look for the source of the sound. “My apologies if my timing is poor,” he added as he inspected the candle next to him, noting how the flame did not move even as he blew upon it.
All around the room the free writing quills ceased and lay themselves next to their tasks. “My work, Star Swirl, is never over,” the voice answered him from somewhere across the room, as well as near another entryway to the side. “And your timing has no meaning here. Nor can you ever truly interrupt me.”
Star Swirl nodded as he fished around in a saddle bag. “Tillook said I was expected, does this mean you intend to help us?” He queried with a hint of hope on the edge of his voice.
“That would depend on the manner of aid you seek,” the voice said with detachment from somewhere directly in front of him, one of the giant tomes lifted and floated away to a shelf as the voice continued. “You are, I trust, aware of the rules to which I abide.”
“Perfectly. That is the reason I even considered this option,” he said pulling out the burnt little stone from the failed corridor. “I have come to humbly request the assistance of Infinity.”
“What is this you bring with you wizard?” The entity inquired as Star Swirl felt a presence approach him. “It smells of old chaos, and temporal flux,” the rock floated up out of the pony’s grasp.
“It was sent through a time corridor the day before, in an attempt to calibrate the spell’s intended destination,” he was cut short as the stone was firmly pressed back into his hoof.
“You meddling ponies never learn do you?!” There was great power behind those words and Star Swirl could feel the rock beneath his chair shake. “Time travel has been forbidden to you mortals for very good reason, yet here you are about to ask me to help you achieve it. Why?”
Star Swirl held out a hoof in a defensive gesture as he set the rock aside. “Meddling was never my intent,” he said carefully. “My only wish is to repair the damage that has been done recently by the arrival o…” He immediately silenced himself as the voice interrupted him.
“Of Twilight Sparkle,” it finished for him. “And of what significance is she?” The voice said in a pondering tone almost as if asking itself rather than him. “Surely you would not risk further damage to your precious timeline for the sake of one mare.”
“Further damage may be unavoidable. She came to me by means far beyond her ability,” he said as the presence receded away to the far corner. “I wish only to send her ahead to the correct time, nothing more.”
“Indeed,” one of the many quills began writing again. “I take it that you have decided against your plan with the Observer then,” another large tome lifted from a nearby shelf and floated past the pony.
Star Swirl straightened in his seat. “I have not, true his plan may be rash. However I believe it to be the fairer choice of action in this regard.” 
The quill’s motion ceased mid-stroke and it remained upright for some time before laying down across the page. “No.”
“Pardon?” Star Swirl asked as he leaned closer to the voice that had chosen to whisper the last word.
The quill stood once more and twirled as if in the hand of someone thinking artfully with the object. “My answer to your request. It must be, no,” the barely feminine voice explained with little to no emotion. “I cannot allow you to alter that which must happen, Infinity has written. And I must see that it is so.”
“Then what would you have me do?” Star Swirl asked as his demeanor drooped visibly. “She must not stay here, surely you can see that,” he stood from where he sat to see over the book the quill wrote within. “She is…”
“Of no consequence,” the quill said increasing its speed over the page. “To past or future. The trouble that worries you so will remain unchanged by her safe return,” the quill stopped again and was pointed in his direction. “Or by your timely arrival. It has already been written and what shall pass, shall pass.”
Star Swirl slumped lower into himself and sighed. He had expected this, known from the start that this would be the answer. But he didn’t care. “Would we make a difference?” He asked, just barely over a whisper. 
There was silence for what seemed a very long time before an answer was given. “If you went now, help you could. But in the end, all will come to pass as it is written, Star Swirl. I understand this desire you have to help all those around you. This however, is something even you cannot accomplish,” the quill fell to the table and the presence approached once more. “Your intentions are pure, Star Swirl. I see that in you. I, however, am unable to help you in this regard.”
“But we could make a difference,” Star Swirl repeated, catching on to what had been said. 
“At tremendous cost to you, and those closest to you. Yes,” it said from somewhere across the room and behind him at once. “The finer details are always subject to change, such is the way of life. In the end though, it hardly matters.”
“In my experience, it is often the finer details that can have the more profound impact on the end of a story,” Star Swirl said as he stood to leave, his eye catching the slightest shimmer in the air across the room from him. “I had hoped to add some for the better.”
“Of that I have no doubt, under differing circumstances it may even have been possible for things to have worked out differently,” the tome being written in closed with a dry creak of its binding. 
Star Swirl hopped off the chair and made for the exit, then stopped. “I would say that I am surprised by this,” he said turning back to where he thought she might be. “But then, refusing to help those you could easily benefit is nothing new for you is it?” With that the pony headed forward again.
“As to your question of what I would have you do,” the voice called from multiple points around him. “I might go so far as to tell you to collect, on some hard won favors that you are owed.”
Star Swirl paused and looked back over his shoulder at nothing in particular. “And from who would you suggest that I collect?” He said scouring the room for any sign of the creature he conversed with. “On the off chance you have not bothered to take notice, my collection of ponies owing me anything has grown rather short as of late,” he then turned and started up the stairs.
“By my count, it stands at one,” the voice said, as it seemed to fade away.
Star Swirl turned once again to deliver a swift retort, but found nothing but a wall of the silvery mist from before. “Why do they always do that?” He grumbled to himself in annoyance. He turned back to leave and nearly had a heart attack.
“So Swirly old boy what did the haggard say?!” Tillook queried from the space he occupied directly in front of the stallion’s nose. “Oh please tell me you went and pissed her off and now yer heading for tartar sauce.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Star Swirl gave a sheepish smile as he exited the cave and spotted Twilight glaring at him from over by the little pile of rocks. The purple unicorn looked very unhappy with him, her mane was disheveled and she appeared to be rather sweaty despite the fact it was still snowing rather heavily. That and her cloak was nowhere to be seen.
Tillook skated past him on the snow and skidded up to the mare in a shower of tiny fireworks and streamers. “I, told, you, so,” he boasted while laughing maniacally. He scooped up some snow and began to juggle the oranges that formed from it. 
Twilight ignored the little maniac dancing around her hooves and looked to Star Swirl. “Well? What did she say?”
“Tillook may be many things, Twilight,” the pony said pawing at the snow. “But a liar is not one of them, Malithion will not help. She is rule-bound to ensure that Infinity’s writings are carried out to the letter. Unfortunately your return is not part of the written plan, I’m sorry.”
Twilight dropped her head in final defeat. Everything had been riding on this, this one last hope that had been given her. Now that too was gone. A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed in the snow.
“Yah know,” Tillook said, taking a bite out of an orange, peel and all. “Her arrival here is not written either,” he said smirking up at them. “If miss fussy bitch in there was really interested in keeping with the ‘rules’,” he mused making the quote marks in the air with his digits. “One would think then that she would want this little discrepancy resolved. Post haste, as it were.”
Star Swirl grew a dumbfounded look on his face. “Tillook, do you mean to tell me that this,” he gestured at Twilight. “Was not meant to happen at all?!”
The newt grew an even bigger smile. “Oh, I never said that. I only said that it was never written. Of course, Infinity would never miss a detail like that now would it?” He said looking off into the distance with a wistful sigh.  
“Tillook,” Star Swirl said venomously with a sideways grin. “What are you not telling me?” He questioned irritably.
Tillook sighed and glanced up at Twilight. “He really is getting slow in his seniority,” he said with an evil little laugh before turning back to look the wizard in the eye. “Think about it you old goat!” the newt groaned floating up and swatting Star Swirl across the end of his nose. “Between Malithion’s hints and my obviously superior, well. Everything. We have all but spelled it out for you.”
Twilight just looked between the two of them. Not comprehending what was being said. She realized that Star Swirl however, was on the edge of something big.
“You do not mean to say…” The old pony trailed off into thought before he could finish his words.
“Oh, I do. I do indeed.” Agreed the bouncing little creature as he nodded vigorously.
“You would have me call out my favor so that you could abuse your power. And allow you to go against the very decree of quite possibly the single most powerful being left in this world. All so that you can get back at her?!” Star Swirl cried out, nearly panting.
“Maliciously abuse it. Yes,” he said extending a tiny little newt hand. “And to help out a friend, of course.”
“We are not friends,” Star Swirl muttered darkly as he extended a hoof.
“I was not referring to you,” he said giving the grasped hoof a single solid shake. “Now, what use can I be, oh pony of the great star ass club?” He said snidely.
Star Swirl gritted his teeth and ignored the jibe as he thought through his plan one last time. With Tillook’s help, it would now be possible. “I need you to find a way to send us forward to her time, through the chaos magic.”
Tillooks face sank to a look of disappointment. “Really Star Swirl, really, that is what you came all the way up here for? Oh Forger, you have lost that last marble that you had rolling around in there,” he said putting a paw to his face and closing his eyes. A moment later the ponies realized they were no longer standing on the side of the mountain.
Star Swirl spun around as he took in where they were. “The archives?” He said with raised eyebrows. “What are we to do here? No spell in this room can take us there.”
“Did you ever pay even the slightest bit of attention to Silver Spark when he spoke about his work?” Tillook asked from atop the giant hourglass in the center of the room.
Star Swirl moved past Twilight who was spinning awestruck from seeing the room. “Of course I did, his work was extremely interesting. So why does that… Matter?”
Tillook nodded as he saw the look of understanding spread across the pony’s face. “Exactly the point I’m getting at,” he said motioning to a slightly charred place on the floor. “The elusive temporal corridor, possibly the most dangerous, difficult to perform, and yet.”
“Easily the most versatile and elegant temporal spell possible,” Star Swirl said beginning to see where this was going.
“And the number one thing about temporal corridors is?”
The pony’s entire demeanor changed as he finally grasped the mad little creature’s idea for himself. He chuckled quietly. “They are continuous until they depolarize,” he said nodding.
“Bingo,” Tillook said with a snap. 
A brilliant flash of light filled the room to reveal a glowing, gyrating, and stable temporal corridor. The very corridor that had delivered Twilight nearly a week ago to the day.
“How?” Twilight asked as she moved closer and stared at the magical creation before her. “If the other spells would not work, then why does this one?”
“Quite the mystery purple one, I can only conclude this corridor was constructed before the chaos energy flooded the timeline,” came Tillook’s voice from Twilight’s back. He sat across her withers bareback style in a sleuthing outfit complete with a smoking pipe and magnifying glass. “By someone with extraordinary skill I might add,” he said peering at the colorful portal over her shoulder and exhaling a cloud of flies.
Star Swirl frowned at the corridor as the flies disappeared inside. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” Tillook replied with a snicker.
“Is it, safe?” Twilight asked taking a hesitant step forward, her hope visibly building. She glanced back at Tillook with a questioning look.
He nodded and she jumped through. “Of course, it does open whenever she was when she came through,” he said with a shrug and a slight grin. “How safe it is there I really can’t say. Oh well,” he turned and looked at Star Swirl who was staring at where Twilight had just been. “And just what are you still doing here you twit? After all the trouble you made over this you’re really just going to stand there like a mare hood?”
Star Swirl shook his head and looked at Tillook with a look of the purest hatred before turning and making for the portal. He had not taken more than a few steps when a mass of blue fabric hit the side of his head and fell to the floor with a soft jingly chorus. He looked down to see the ceremonial master’s cloak laying at his hooves.
“Figured you might need that when you’re going, you will need all the help you can get Star Swirl,” Tillook said with a chuckle as the pony stared at the cloak and hat. “And watch your left!” he called crazily as he shoved the pony into the corridor with a sudden burst of magic.
Star Swirl yelled some form of a profanity with Tillook’s name attached as the corridor closed and vanished from view. The little monster turned away and smirked thoughtfully to himself. “Love you too you stupid star ass,” he said moving up to a window and watched as a light began to rise over the horizon. He sighed softly as he felt the warmth already moving over the world. “All hail the great sun but,” he whispered just as the sun showed itself for the first time in weeks. He closed his eyes to teleport away, as he did so he whispered quietly with another evil little smile. “You’re late.”              
	
> Who We Once Were
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter eight 

Who We Once Were




The vast frozen expanses north of the Crystal Mountains hold some of the greatest forgotten wonders of history. Ruins of long forgotten races, artifacts of untold power, and treasures left behind by the gods themselves buried in places so deep, they may never be seen by mortal eyes again.
Hidden in the blackness of the lowest of these places, tucked away from all who might seek it, lays a dwelling of sorts. Upon first inspection one may mistake the place for simply nothing more than another of the endless tunnels and caverns of the great network. If they were to look further however, they would soon discover the countless runes, glyphs, and multiple other forms of written languages. All of sorrowful mourning and regret.
Continuing further any explorer with an ability to sense magical energy would be overcome by the sheer overwhelming power to be found here. It would assault them in waves, too forceful for most to resist.
It was in this complete darkness that a new presence now traveled, it wandered the blackened caverns with another great power spreading outward in its wake. The newcomer took no form as it moved, the very energy radiating away was the only evidence of its existence.
Light filled this place of sadness and sorrow, pushing away all negative emotion and thought as it moved, chasing the darkness back to the edges of the space. A tendril of energy broke away from the main body and traveled across some of the runes etched into the rock, causing the age worn stone to glow and smooth with renewed youth.
A tremor resonated from somewhere further down the length of the cavern, shaking the walls around the intruding presence. It was then followed by a voice, filled with a tone of the utmost grief. “I wish you would not come here Benevolentia, it does well for none,” it said in the tongue of old alicornian.
The approaching entity took pause before answering in kind, “It does me, dear brother. To see you, despite what you have done to yourself, in this most wretched place,” the one known as Benevolentia replied in a voice like chimes, soft and soothing. It greatly contrasted the other’s dim, gravelly tone.
Again the saddened voice came up from the depths of the darkness, though in somewhat of a calmer tone than before. “What I have done?” It replied in a quizzical manner. “What I have done is to remove a danger to the world. What I have done is to remove a monster never meant to exist, only by the blindness of the Forger that I do,” it boomed, seemingly closer.
“My brother, we are not mere monsters of old. We have all been given great gifts. Gifts meant to save this world, a world which you have now chosen to ignore,” the soft feminine voice reminded. She knew this would not be an easy subject to converse over, though she had to try.
Another wave of magical energy surged up the length of the tunnel, powerful enough to have outright erased most creatures of this world. Its power simply flowed around the presence that had come to call, merely glancing off its own being. “An interesting thing, coming from one who has such wonderful gifts, sister mine,” it boomed. “How thrilling it must be, spreading warmth and kindness wherever you travel, one such as myself can hardly imagine a thing as that. Or, have you forgotten what I am?”
“I have not forgotten who you once were,” she countered softly. “Who you have become was, as it still is, your decision. I am no judge,” the air around the energy shifted as the emotions manifested as physical reactions upon the world.
“Though you have been jury, as I recall,” the other pointed out in contempt. The tone telling the new comer of the thinning ice to which she stood. “Do not think that I have forgotten your own involvement in the downfall of the lesser five, why we now suffer in the dark while you shine in the light, you along with Potestas,” it snarled at the name.
Benevolentia bristled at this tone associated with her sister’s name. It burned her to hear the harshness. To hear the genuine hate, laced in amongst those words. Her brother sounded so bitter, it was not something she was used to. “You had every bit as much choice as we gave the rest of them. You chose to be lost to time, to be lost to us,” she said back in a longing, yet forgiving voice.
A long drawn out scornful laugh reverberated up out of the blackness and surrounded the visitor, it resonated with a vibration that drew the dust from the walls and scattered it through the air. “Is that what our dear sister told you?” He asked with a mirthful chuckle as even more energy wafted around the space. “That I merely declined her terms, locked myself away down here of my own free will because that’s what I wanted. If you believe that then you are even more blind than I thought, tell me, do the rest of you share in such simple minded following of her will? Bend to her every command, as I once conceded to?” 
Benevolentia’s power spiked slightly at this, the floating dust vaporizing instantly as her temper flared at his misgivings. “Her words hold no leverage over my own thoughts of what you allowed yourself to become a part of, brother,” she said, regaining her composure. “I saw for myself what you became, at what you were all to become,” a quick burst of her own energy cleared her space of the darkness spreading around her from the negative emotions the other emanated.
The tension seemed to lessen by a minimal degree as the feelings from the dark lightened. “Yet, here you are again. Come to call on me and try to make some form of pointless amends,” there was no physical means to affirm the suspicion, all the same she sensed the equivalent of a shrug. “Why, sister mine, do you still try so hard for the lot of us?” He asked pointedly, followed by the faintest of whispers. “For me?”
With an unseen smile she moved forward in spite of the negative energy before her, ever repelling the outside world. “Because brother mine, I still have belief that you can come back. That my true brother, is still in there somewhere.” Her aura of energy brightened slightly. “And I pray that someday you prove me right, like you did on that day so long ago,” she said stopping before the unseen barrier of the prison.
“No. This is me now. This is my true nature, a force of destruction, darkness, and disharmony,” came the voice again from the shadows, though now was definitely moving closer. “Just as the Forger intended me to be, as was intended for those of us you banished from your precious light. This is what we have become!” It said in a dangerous wrath filled way. The darkness thickened to a point it consumed the light that came too close. It absorbed it and moved on as if looking for more.
A massive black hoof emerged from the approaching shadow, almost as if lifting out of oil it dripped the blackness to the ground only to spread more as the upper leg followed suit, then a chest, twice the height of Celestia herself. Finally a neck and head resolved out from the darkness wafting away from the very being itself. “This is what comes from performing the Forger’s will dear sister, I suggest you look well. And fear,” as the last of its body resolved the massive Alicorn took another advancing step forward. “For this is the intent for the lot of us.”
“No brother. ‘Tis not,” Benevolentia replied smoothly, her own energy moving forward to meet his. “Your darkening was never the intent. As was never the intent for Potestas to glean such power for herself,” her energy condensed and began to take shape. “We were meant to work together, to defend this world together,” she said stepping forth from what she was to what she had been. A massive golden yellow Alicorn with a gracefully flowing pink mane and tail stood before the darkness. She radiated warmth and light as if a star had appeared in the dark space around them. “We were meant to be together, always, brother mine. That was the gift meant for us.” 
Fully resolved from the ever-present darkness behind him the flickering form leaned closer to the only being to ever have visited the dwelling since the beginning of his incarceration. “Not all of us, it would seem,” he said, face slack with genuine regret. “I would do things differently, you know,” he added looking at the restored texts along the wall behind his sibling. “Had Potestas only believed us. Believed me,” a soft chuckle following the last of it.
“She did eventually, she just,” the other Alicorn stopped as she considered her words. In truth she never knew the true reason for why her sister had done what she had.
“Does the reason really matter?” the one standing in the darkness asked, never taking his analyzing gaze from the regenerated wall. “Her stubbornness was only overcome by the death of one of our own. Until Aequivalere met his end at Cromithia she cared very little for the task we all were given,” he said placing a hoof against the barrier between them eliciting a static charge being released along his limb. “And now the six of you that are left have finally fallen out of balance with the world, no longer bathed in harmony’s light. Because you are out of balance with each other. As attested by those ridiculous trinkets you insist on becoming,” 
“Those ridiculous trinkets, brother mine, are a symbol to those who would seek our help, a promise long upheld by those who made it,” her own hoof finding its way to the barrier that separated the two. “A promise you still share, regardless of what you may claim to be. If you did not then you would have long since faded from this place, you would have faded from all being,” she said with a smile as she placed a small stone orb at the base of the barrier. The stone shimmered before reshaping itself into a large black leg guard made from a shimmery metal. Pressed into the material on the front was a jewel, a violet diamond in the shape of an elongated teardrop.
Unable to do more than stare the dark Alicorn waited for his mind to play catch-up. Of all the things she could have done, this was certainly the least expected possibility. He had done so much, become so much, all in the way of the darkness. All the while under the assurance it was for the better.            
“The time is here, dearest brother of mine, to cease in your running and return to where you are needed,” she said offering up a soft smile. “And to seek out your newest bearer, for the end.”
“Kamarag was right after all then, was he,” the stallion murmured looking over the artifact at his hooves in deep contemplation. It had been a very long time since he had last seen it. Perhaps she was right, perhaps he could be redeemed from the darkness that had claimed his soul for so long. Unless. “What of Potestas?” He queried with a glance. 
“She knows nothing of this, I am here on my own intent,” she said reassuringly. “Potestas believes she can finish the plan alone, that the six of us will be enough to stop what approaches, however.”
“However, without balance you will not be capable of calling upon harmony’s light to project your will,” he finished for her, realizing the underlying reason for her to become so desperate as to offer him release. “So why bother with me, if without Aequivalere there can still be no balance?”
“Because, Tristitia, brother mine,” she said inching closer while edging the offered item nearer the barrier between them, her smile brightening. “Balance has not been lost for good. Aequivalere lives, and he moves to join us. Very soon.”       


	
 

	
 
	        
		

> Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter nine
Nightmare Night





“Nightmare night what a fright give us something sweet to bite!”


Twilight smiled as she moved through the crowd mingling in the gardens just outside the Canterlot castle ballroom. The mare watched the foals receive their candy with glee before rushing off to find another group of castle staff that were hiding all around the premises, giving out loot to any filly or colt that could find them. This was sure to be a grand event, the first of its kind and all the ponies who could make the trip were in attendance.
This gathering was to be something special, Luna herself had taken charge of the event and turned the entire castle into a nightmarish wonderland. All in good fun of course. After her second time of playing Nightmare Moon for the youth of Ponyville the princess had commissioned a new addition to the holiday festivities already held for the occasion. Thus, the Nightmare Night ball was born, a gathering for all who wished to attend.
With a slight giggle Twilight watched as the ravenous foals nearly bowled over an unsuspecting guard as they spotted the saddlebag of candy he not so secretly carried. It was all over in moments, the poor fool never stood a chance. Even Celestia’s finest were no match for the pure desire for sugary goodness.
Carefully stepping around the mass of flailing limbs and empty candy wrappers Twilight ignored the cry for help with an amused grin as she made her way towards the doors to the ballroom, the place her friends had agreed to meet. She occasionally glanced about as she went, admiring the decorations that clearly had a lot of thought put into them.   
There were monsters of all kinds hidden in the shadows around the gardens and ghostly apparitions floated through the air above, occasionally emitting mournful calls to one another. To complete this wonderful display and to strengthen the atmosphere, the ground had been carefully shrouded with a thin wispy layer of dark blue fog. Luna had even taken the time to decorate the sky itself as the stars were drawn into patterns that had been made to look as though giant eyes watched the party below. Nearly tripping as she came to a set of carved marble steps, Twilight brought her gaze back to the path before her and approached the towering double doors leading to the ballroom within. 
Not to be outdone by the décor outside, the grand space of the ballroom was nearly unrecognizable from its usual self. The same fog from the gardens was present here as well, though thicker and it moved and swirled on its own accord as though caught in a breeze. The vapor coiled up around the many pillars and along the walls. Only to fade when it reached the ceiling, which had an enchantment about it causing it to disappear from view, showing off the night sky above. To finish off the lovely effect, a dozen or so small stars floated about the space in place of the chandeliers that would normally be found there. 
Off to the left and floating off the floor slightly was a stage supporting an orchestra group playing what she thought was exceptionally fitting music, it was very creepy. Twilight found herself humming along to the music as she gave a familiar gray earth mare a nod while she played. The cello complimenting the other woodwinds perfectly as she made her way around the few ponies that had taken to the dance floor in search of the others.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Staff Sergeant Rustwing of Her Majesty’s Elite Fighting Pegasi leaned heavily upon the balcony railing as he watched the festivities in the gardens below. His gaze tracking first one pony, then another before catching sight of one of the M.V.P’s on his list of ponies to observe while attending the ball. He watched the bearer of magic as she made her way up the stairs and into the castle proper.               
A hint of amusement flashed over his face, just long enough to make itself known. He had missed this place he thought, listening to the playful hollers of the private bellow being roughed up for more chocolate bars. Celestias finest, indeed.
He ran a hoof absentmindedly along the serrated gauntlets he wore over his forelegs. The serrations were actually layered armor plates with sharpened edges that allowed his gauntlets to act as both armor and weapons. They were scuffed and chipped from a decade of hard fighting in a war few here even cared to remember, and fewer still beyond Canterlot even knew of it’s existence. The conflict had been a long time border dispute along the edge of the Changeling Desert. But they had finally won, he thought flexing his limb in such a way his gauntlet released the spring loaded blade hidden within. Thanks to a few good ponies, who had given everything.
Rustling his wings the goldenrod stallion examined the blade as he reminisced around its every detail, that chip near the end caused by the thick chitin covered armor of a changeling enforcer. Or that long scratch down the side where a warrior drone had grabbed it in its sturdy jaws.
Rustwing was drawn from his thoughts at the sound of the door further down the hallway behind him opening, signaling the departure of the group of servants seeing to the princess within the chamber. That was his queue to proceed.
Re-sheathing his blade the soldier made for the door, pausing in front of the guard as he lowered a short spear into his path. “Staff Sergeant Rustwing reporting to escort duty for her Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” Rustwing stated briskly, narrowing his eyes slightly at the guard’s momentary look of surprise that flashed across his features. The Pegasus stood taller than the officer in front of him, boasting an Earth pony-like build that many found imposing.
After a moment to look the newcomer over the guard raised his weapon and nodded. “Yes of course Staff Sergeant. The princess is expecting you,” he said horn glowing an eerie green color that reminded Rustwing all too much of the hue of Changeling magic, if it were any closer to the right shade it would have made his hair stand on end. As the door swung open in the Unicorn’s magical grip the Pegasus nodded and walked into the room. 
“Ahh. Staff Sergeant Rustwing, do come in,” came a soft soothing voice from over near the far wall, accompanied by the sound of a brush moving through mane. On closer inspection the stallion took in his surroundings before his gaze finally fell upon the Princess herself. The lovely mare meticulously adding the final touches to her rather impressive hairdo. He paused near the center of the room and took a deep bow, his nose stopping mere inches from the floor. “Staff Sergeant Rustwing reporting for duty, as requested. Your highness,” he said with a tone of near reverence. He slowly rose from his bow to look at her.  
Setting down her brush she turned to look at him over her shoulder with calculating eyes, her gaze seeming to pass clean through his own eyes and into his soul. “Just Cadence, if you please Rustwing,” she said turning back to her work and smiling at him in the large mirror in front of her. “I never have been fond of titles. Especially ones that would put me above anypony else.”
“Yes your highne…” he halted himself with gritted teeth. “As you wish, Cadence,” Rustwing said awkwardly with a forced smile. He realized with a start just how out of practice he had become with simple, pleasant conversation. He had been gone a long time, and it was showing as he made another attempt. Or would have had the princess not beat him to it.
“There is no need to be so tense,” she said with a giggle as she inspected an assortment of perfumes laid out on the dresser. To her surprise the words seemed to backfire as the Pegasus did what she thought was impossible at this point and stood even straighter. “I know you are here on orders but,” she selected a bottle and gave it a short spurt to her mane. “I want you to have fun out there, alright? This is supposed to be a part of your shore leave after all,” Cadence returned the bottle and again levitated the brush. “Now go make some friends, you’re going to be stuck with my usual entourage for the evening and I would like it if you were all acquainted before hoof.”
The Pegasus bristled slightly at this, he was supposed to be busy strengthening security. He already had to keep an eye on multiple V.I.P’s and he had to guard a door, whoever thought up his assignment needed a swift kick in the head he thought. He had much better things he could be doing than, making friends. “Is that an order, ma’am?” He asked, careful not to let the annoyance enter his voice. He would never question a princess, never, although the fact remained. He was here for her protection, not fraternization.
Cadence flashed him a knowing glance and followed with a sly smile that surprised him greatly to say the least. “Only if it needs to be,” she smirked before making a shooing motion towards the doors behind him.
He bowed again before turning to leave. ‘Well, that went well,’ he thought to himself as he reached the thick oaken door to the hall. ‘Broad Sword, you owe me one when your sorry flank gets back here,’ he reached for the door handle, then stopped as the mare called on him.
“Staff Sergeant, if you would not mind, there is one last thing,” she said looking back at him again with a look of curiosity framing her eyes. “When I was told of your joining us for the evening I requested your service file, I make a point to get to know those I spend my time with,” she said smiling again. “I was simply wondering, the file only had your surname, but made no further mention of what your given name might be. May I ask it of you?”
Rustwing rested his hoof against the door for a moment in thought, he had not seen that coming. Most ponies found his first name a little, odd. To say the least. But if the princess wanted to know, then who was he to deny her. “Alex. My full name is Alex Rustwing,” he said turning back to face her.
Cadence smiled and nodded, satisfied. “Thank you, Alex, that will be all,” she said, selecting another bottle off the table to examine. “We shall be joining the festivities shortly.”
“Yes my lady,” said the Pegasus with another low bow before he turned and stepped out of the room. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/

“Ahh. Miss Sparkle, what a pleasure it is to see you again,” came a somewhat stuffy, formal toned voice that Twilight at first didn’t recognize as she turned to seek the speaker. Her face scrunched up before softening into recognition. “Obsidian Black,” she said smiling as he moved through the crowd to catch up with her. “Wow, it’s been awhile. How are you?”
The large bat pony stallion slid between two other chatting groups and came to a stop in front of the lavender mare. “Quite well my dear, quite well. In fact I have just returned from overseas on behalf of their majestie’s orders,” he said with his own smile as he looked her over, his eyes flashing momentarily as they found hers. “Goodness you’ve grown since last I saw you, and how is that rascally little dragon of yours?”
Twilight giggled softly. “You know him, still as rambunctious as always,” she said shaking her head. “Oh!” she hopped into the air with a grin on her face. “You simply must meet my friends, they would love to meet you,” the mare said giddily as she pranced in place.
Obsidian nodded in agreement. “That would be wonderful, Twilight,” he said glancing around the room. “I had noticed some of them around the place, most of them, all but one actually,” the stallion said looking back at her, his eyes flashing again as she met his gaze. “I must know, where is Applejack tonight?” He asked with a friendly grin, the mare seeming not to notice the enunciations in his tone, she just stared mindlessly for a moment before answering.
“She couldn’t make it tonight,” Twilight lamented as her ears drooped slightly. “She’s helping out with the festivities in Ponyville, most likely still at home right now though,” she said with a shrug. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you will get to meet her soon.”
Obsidian Black smiled as he laid a wing over her back and steered the now cooperative mare over to a shadowy corner away from other ponies, she followed without a fuss. “Me too Twilight, me too,” he muttered looking her in the eyes again with another smile. “I was never here,” he said in a dull monotone. “You have not seen me since living here in the castle and have no memory of this talk. Now walk slowly to the reception area, you will find your friends there. Ask them to accompany you to the upstairs balcony in five minutes,” and like a ghost, he was gone.


Twilight blinked as she found herself passing through the doors into the ballroom’s reception area, momentarily confused as to how she had arrived there. The last thing she could recall was watching Octavia play and thinking how she might enjoy learning to play herself. Just as her mind started to tell her something was amiss a certain fashionista called out to her in that patented high-pitched way she commonly did, thoroughly derailing her train of thought.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Lapis lazuli, or green quartz? Such a simple, near mindless, completely unimportant decision. Celestia stood before her floor to ceiling vanity mirror with a look of complete disinterest in her eye as she continued to gaze upon the tiny stone earrings she had chosen for the ball that evening. Not once truly even looking at herself, not once. 
Her chambers were a far cry from their usual organized chaos of her daily work. Her posh bed was covered in ancient scrolls of old, pulled there from the bowels of the archives, read, then cast aside. Her sitting area near the balcony doors had fared little better. Scores of priceless tomes covered every inch of table and cushioned chair available. Accompanying all of this were the dozens of spent candles that had met their ends over the last few days.
Most troubling of all though, she thought with a sigh, was the pile of jewelry laying atop a table nearest the far side of the room. The color had continued to drain from the once vibrant and regal looking artifacts, leaving them a dull graying color.
There would be no hiding it much longer, soon Luna would know whether Celestia told her or not. She would eventually sense their fading power levels and come looking. Despite what she had led Twilight to believe, the two of them were still very much connected to the Elements. Once a bearer, always a bearer. The princess hung her head and inhaled deeply as she lost herself to thought.


“I like the green ones, personally, they bring out your eyes beautifully,” came an all too familiar voice from somewhere just in front of her. Celestias head shot up, a look of pure disbelief covering her features.
“Discord!” She shouted as anger filled her, her horn crackling with energy before she even thought of doing so. “How?” Celestia challenged as her wings began to flare with her growing desire to attack. “You cannot leave your prison,” the room brightened slightly as her power began to shine through her sides.
With a sly smile the Draconequus fully resolved in the mirror’s reflection. “Has anyone ever told you you’re angry when you’re beautiful?” He said tilting his head at her quizzically. “As to the how, I thought you would have heard,” Discord thought aloud as he scratched at his beard. He pointed to the pile of dull Elements behind her, a look of mock surprise flashing over his face, only to be replaced moments later. “With your precious Elements at odds with each other their powers over me no longer apply.”
Celestia stomped a hoof on the floor as a low growl grew within her throat. “What, do you want? Creature,” she spat, face darkening. Then her blood ran cold as her gaze found his eyes, the normally tiny red pupils having grown to occupy nearly the entire surface of the orbs. The growl died and her breath caught in her throat. She had not seen those eyes, since…
The face of the Draconequus smiled darkly as he saw her recognition. “What I want?” he said, features growing more serious. “Is to have a little chat, just the two of us,” Discord raised his talons in a snapping position. “Meet me in the gardens won’t you, tis a perfect evening after all,” and with that, he was gone.  

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Luna paced in a near perfect circle as she waited for her queue. From her hidden position just outside the castle gardens along the tree line of the forest she would swoop in on the foals as her sister told them the, much abbreviated, version of the tale of Nightmare Moon they had both agreed upon. She positively vibrated with excitement as she listened with impeccable Alicorn hearing to the party going on beyond the walls of hedge work.
As a means to pass the time, seeing as she had a good half hour to wait, Luna turned to her hobby of seeking out power levels that she recognized. It was something that she had grown to be rather good at, and had spent a great deal of time perfecting her talent. She closed her eyes as a soft glow lit around her horn. 
“Hmm. Now let us see,” she mumbled under her breath as she looked about the castle grounds, seeking any familiar signatures. Nearly immediately she picked out Twilight Sparkle as she ascended the stairs into the ballroom, there was her sister of course. 
Luna turned her attention away from the more obvious ones and focused elsewhere. There was a certain DJ she recognized preparing to take her place on stage after the current group. She looked out into the dance floor, finding Fancy Pants here was no surprise. Rarity, meh. Minuette, could swear she had a different name. Apparently some pony invited Chrysalis for whatever reaso… The Alicorn sighed heavily as she opened her eyes and scowled. “Shame, this night ‘twas going so well,” Luna said looking back over her shoulder as the Changeling queen moved out of the shadows.   
Chrysalis smiled broadly as she approached. “My my, if it isn’t her royal highness,” she said elegantly, stopping just out of Luna’s reach with a searching glance. “This truly is a pleasure, meeting the Princess of the Night.”
Luna turned to face her with a scowl. “Chrysalis,” she said with a low growl in her throat, keeping her voice even. “What dost thou want?” The mare questioned as the flow of her mane quickened in pace, slipping back into the older vocabulary she favored when angered.
With a laugh of malice the changeling’s face grew a devilish smile as the air around her began to crackle with magical energy. “Why my dear,” she said coolly with a slight sneer. “I would have thought that was obvious,” A burst of green flame surged forward and exploded over the Lunar Princess.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“Twilight darling!” Rarity squealed as she trotted up the stairs to wrap her in a tight hug, followed closely by the others. “Isn’t this place just fabulous? Luna has truly outdone herself, clearly she spared no detail,” the fashion pony gushed as she looked around at the décor with a gleam of excitement in her eye.
“It certainly is lovely,” Fluttershy commented from the side, voice considerably higher than usual, leaving it just over a whisper. “I…I wish Applejack was here to see it,” she said glancing around.
“Meh, she ain’t missing much,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she lazily hovered up the stairs behind Rarity. “I mean, don’t get me wrong it’s nice ‘an all,” she said rolling a hoof in front of her face while looking around at the decorations. “But it could really use about, twenty percent mo...” She froze as she caught sight of Gummy sitting on the top step, slowly shaking his head at her, his soulless eyes giving a silent warning. “Ugh. Never mind,” she mumbled to herself when the gator disappeared as another pony walked between them.
Rarity gave a soft titter before giving the rainbow Pegasus a cautioning look. “Now Rainbow Dash dear do be nice, Luna has clearly put a lot of effort into this. I expect you to be more supportive towards her work. You are the element of loyalty, after all,” she finished with a smirk.
Twilight giggled behind a hoof at the comment before glancing around at several passing ponies. “So where did Pinkie Pie get to? I thought she would be with you girls by now.”
“Oh she’ll be along in a moment,” Rarity said ignoring the glare from a red faced Rainbow Dash as she tried to form a fitting comeback. “We just left her downstairs, having a wonderful conversation with Zecora,” the Unicorn raised an eyebrow as she thought about the bizarre event. “About oranges, of all things.”
“Yeah it was great, Twi,” Rainbow said chuckling trying to stay airborne as she laughed. “You should’ve seen it. I don’t think I have ever seen such a bad case of twitchy eye,” she said before yelping in surprise as a ball of pink seemed to materialize from out of nowhere and hug her right out of the air.
“Dashy is right it was hilarious!” Pinkie beamed as she squished Rainbow Dash even closer to her side. “At first she was all like talking about her plight, and I was all like,” she nodded Dashs’ head up and down. “Then she was saying something all about garden blight, and I was all like,” she nodded Dashes head again, more vigorously rattling the mares’ eyeballs around in their sockets. “Then I remembered a letter my sister sent me two years ago about how our old orange tree caught some kind of blight, so I asked her,” Pinkie shut her mouth and her voice puppeteered from Rainbow’s mouth instead. “If you know about curing garden blight, do you know anything about curing tree blight? Specifically orange tree blight? Specifically Huanglongbing?” the pink mare looked up at the ceiling for a moment with a serious expression. “It’s a real tree disease people, look it up. Don’t worry, we’ll wait for you,” she looked down at a wristwatch and fell silent.
“Ok…” Twilight said looking to Fluttershy and then to Rarity, both of whom simply shrugged and looked back at her. A thought then flashed into her mind and she acted accordingly. “Would you all like to go to the balcony with me?”
Pinkie Pie instantly dropped a gasping Rainbow Dash to the floor. “Ohhhhhhh!” She hollered trotting up the stairs past the rest of the group. “Twilight is right, we’re going to want the best seats in the house for this one!” A knowing smile spreading over her face as she went.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Alex Rustwing took up his post just outside the door and to the left, opposite the guard whom had admitted him earlier. He shifted awkwardly on his hooves for a moment before letting out a sigh, orders were orders after all. Opening his mouth to make some introductions he looked to the guard next to him, but stopped himself as another pony approached from down the corridor. Moving towards them at a rather brisk pace was a young Pegasus private adorned in a shiny new set of armor. ‘This year’s fresh meat,’ Alex thought to himself as the stallion drew closer. ‘The buck kind of coat color is that anyway?’ Gamboge, came to mind.
The newly minted guard came to a stop just before the doors and gave a crisp salute to the officer in front of him. “Flash Sentry reporting with a message for her Princess Cadence, Sir,” he nearly shouted with the glee of a colt who could barely believe he was standing within a hundred miles of a royal. Let alone three of them. All in all, he did rather well. The addressed officer looked him over momentarily and nodded before opening the door with his magic and quickly ushering him inside.
Seeing the green hued glow of the officer’s magic once again caused Alex’s neck hair to stand just a little straighter. At first he tried to ignore the sensation, the color simply wasn’t right, though it certainly was close. Still, the hair was never wrong, and had saved his hide on more than one occasion. Perhaps he was merely jumpy. That many years of near death experiences would do that to a pony. His nostrils flared slightly as he took a deeper breath, searching for the faint scent of chitin. No matter how well a Changeling hid, there was always a tell tail hint of musty bug in the air. Nothing. He inhaled again but was immediately distracted by the guard across the hall from him clearing his throat for attention.
“That sure is a handsome set of armor yah got there sir,” the stallion said approvingly from his post. Like all the other guards in the room he was a unicorn of fairly decent build. For a unicorn. And just like the other guards in the room, he was nearly identical to his fellow soldiers. Almost perfectly identical, in fact. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/		
“Oh Flash. Do come in,” Cadence said with a warm smile as she scrutinized herself in the mirror. She turned and beckoned the young soldier forward from where he stood just inside the door. She looked at him expectantly, an air of excitement tinging her face. “Well?” She coaxed.
The Pegasus gave a smile of his own as he delivered the good news. “We just received word from our contact in Ponyville, Cadence,” he added with a light blush. “Shining Armor and the others just reported in, mission was a complete success. They boarded the train and should be arriving within the hour.”
The mare’s smile brightened at the news and she giggled softly under her breath as she turned back to the mirror. “Thank you Flash,” she said trying to contain her glee, and failing miserably. “And I’m glad to see you’re getting over that whole titles only nonsense the guard hammered into your skull.”
“Hours of practice ma’am,” he said before motioning back outside. “The party has started and I’m told Celestia will be making her speech soon,” Flash continued, a wistful look growing more noticeable over his muzzle.
Cadence gave him a wry smile in the mirror. “Tell you what Flash, why don’t you head down to the ballroom and see about saving us all a place on the balcony. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
His face lit up like a star as he moved towards the doors, an extra spring in his step. “Yes ma’am. I will get right on that,” he said turning swiftly to leave, only to stumble as the entire tower lurched and groaned sickeningly from some massive impact far below. Cracks spread throughout the room, travelling up walls and across the floor. The lights flickered out and the Pegasus heard glass shattering followed by a cry of pain.  

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Alex regarded the Unicorn across from him for a moment, something whispering in the back of his mind that wanted attention. Something his nose was trying to say. He brushed it aside as he instead reprocessed what had been said. With a well-practiced eye the Pegasus scrutinized the guard across the hall, reading every detail in an instant. Something just wasn’t right about him, what was it? “Thanks, it’s rather special to me,” He said brushing a hoof over the chest plate. The design adorning it was split down the middle, a sun on the left and a moon on the right. The entire chestplate had a white frame, the background behind the sun was yellow with a hint of orange, while the background behind the moon was a deep blue with a hint of purple. It was easily the most colorful and ornate piece of armor on the Pegasus, the rest of it was a simple silver with white trim. 
“I can imagine,” the guard said, apparently wanting to strike up a conversation. “It looks familiar somehow. Have I seen you somewhere before?” He said squinting slightly with a look of deep thought flashing over his features. As he leaned forward Alex thought he caught a glimpse of a golden ring around his horn, hidden by his mane and helmet. 
“I doubt it,” Alex said, standing just a little straighter, his muscles tensing slightly under his armor. He had seen that ring, somewhere. He glanced to his right at the officer next to him, just visible under his near identical mane and helmet was the same ring encircling his horn. The same exact horn right down to the tiny chip near the base. “I’ve been on assignment out in the badlands for an awfully long time, and I only got back just yesterday,” he said looking back, images of intense fighting flashing through his mind. Blades, chitin, and bright green ichor.
“What a coincidence,” the guard smiled as he brightened up. “I just transferred back last week from Fern Ridge, medical leave for a few broken ribs,” he said rolling a shoulder to stretch his side with a wince. “Doctor says no running for another two weeks, next thing I know they’re sticking my flank on guard duty.”
Rustwing’s wings lowered down his sides slightly as he tensed further, preparing for what was coming. “That’s a good cover story, or it would be if we hadn’t pulled out of Fern Ridge more than three months ago,” Alex said evenly, watching the officer next to him tense as well. He also took note of the other guard stationed next the one across from himself, and how his face was furrowing into confusion at what was being said. Alex cursed in his mind, poor bastard hadn’t figured it out yet. “My guess is your intelligence left out that little detail. Hmm?”
Silence reigned supreme in the hallway as the foursome traded glances with each other. Alex sighed under his breath as the fourth guard realized the situation developing around him. “Ahh buck,” he moaned, the grip on his spear tightening. Just as the tension reached near palpable levels and the Pegasus was certain all Tartarus was about to break lose, another voice echoed down the hallway with a hint of authority behind it.
“Excuse me gents, but could one of you possibly point me in the direction of her highnesses chamber?” Alex froze on the spot, he knew that voice. But to hear it again, here, was impossible. He turned to watch as a black as midnight pony with dark violet mane and tail walked slowly towards them from down the hall. The newcomer wore a set of armor similar to Rustwing’s, though of a much sleeker and more complicated design and was as dark in color as its wearer. A set of leathery wings and large bat ears served to complete the look of one of the deadliest weapons in the Equestrian arsenal.
“Obsidian Black?” Alex said, stumbling over the words as he spoke them. He barely even registered the other two guards flanking the newcomer as he continued to gawk. “But you’re…”
“Dead?” Obsidian said with a chuckle as he paused just outside of their circle. “Hardly, it’s good to see you again by the way,” he said with a smug tone.
Alex’s gaze flashed over the pair of guards standing just behind Obsidian, and his gut lurched into his throat. Each one of them was a unicorn stallion, nearly identical to each other. And both sported rings around their horns.                 
The bat pony smiled lightly as he watched a look of realization spread over the Pegasus’s face. “Now if you wouldn’t mind, Rustwing,” Obsidian said with a strange sense of formality. “I really must speak with princess Cadence.”
Just when Alex was about to make a move the tower shuddered violently, tossing all but a certain bat pony to the floor. He caught a look at Obsidian, then the lights went out. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Celestia stepped from her teleport to find herself standing on the expansive outside balcony overlooking the gardens, the music and laughter from the party within the ballroom wafting out of the open doors behind her. All that and more fell away from her perception however as her eyes focused solely on the being floating out beyond the first hedgerow, just beyond the luster of the party’s light. He simply hung there, the ponies mingling mere feet from him going on with their conversations as a devious grin spread over his face.
‘You look lovely tonight, truly you do,’ Celestia flinched as the voice flowed smoothly through her mind, effortlessly piercing multiple layers of wards as it went. ‘Such a shame, really,’ she glared across the mass of ponies, several of them glancing upward at her arrival and beginning to cheer.
‘What do you want, Discord?’ She ‘said’, latching onto the telepathy signal and tracing it back to him, adding a hefty amount of bitter anger into her signal for emphasis. ‘If you know what is good for you, you will not disrupt my little ponies! Or I will…’ Celestia grit her teeth as the next wave of thought crashed into her mind with force enough to cause physical pain.
‘You will what?’ His face contorting to match the leer in his tone. ‘Send that pawn of a student after me with her halfwit friends? Tell them to use the Elements of Harmony like you always do,’ Discord’s face hardened into a scowl as he shook his head. ‘Of course that is what you would do, but we both know that is not an option this go around. Is it?’ He asked dully as he floated forward into the light.
Celestia bit back a gasp as the Draconnequus emerged fully into view, not even hearing the first screams from below as several ponies bolted away from the sight. Floating before her was Discord, but not the Discord most ponies would know. This was the Discord from every foal’s nightmare, his features had reverted back to a much more animalistic appearance. His claws had grown longer, his teeth sharper, and his hair had taken on a much coarser look. 
“No Celestia, this time it will be just the two of us, to the end. As it should be,” he said quietly, eyes glowing a vibrant red with paws balling into fists as they began to crackle with energy. “As it always should have been!” With speed the eye could barely hope to follow his lion paw shot upward and fired a blast of bright yellow energy at the solar princess.
Her first instinct told her to dodge as she watched the attack draw closer, it was of a surprisingly low yield and there were no ponies directly in its path, save her. Celestia tensed as she began to move, the energy seeming to advance in slow motion as her Alicorn senses went into overdrive, fueled by her inner energy and brought to focus by her well-practiced mind. She was just about to leap as the voice once more invaded her thoughts. ‘You would evade such a simple attack? How easily... Predictable. I hope your student will understand,’ it said with something near regret. At that very moment Celestia became aware of a familiar presence moving up behind her. “No…” Twilight crested the stairs just as the beam reached the edge of the balcony, freezing in place at the sight before her. 
Celestia had time enough to turn her head to glance back at her faithful student, she took in the look of pure terror forming over her lavender features, and made her decision. Snapping her head forward again she braced herself as best she could and glared in defiance as the beam splashed over her chest and forelegs, burning at her aura and pushing her back across the stone floor. The Solar Princess began to scream as she pushed back against the force of the magic, her fur beginning to smoke as her protection aura flickered under the sudden strain. By sheer force of will alone her skid came to a stop and she took a step forward, horn glowing brightly she pushed her head forward and down, horn intercepting the beam and catching it in a shield of hard light and swirling magic. With additional effort she put another hoof forward and forced her head up, shunting the beam back on itself, sending it hurtling back to whence it came.
Growling angrily the Draconnequus threw his eagle talons forward to intercept the beam as it approached him, a glow of power surrounding the balled fist as it connected with the beam. A shockwave of expended energy burst away from the opposing forces as the beam hurtled skyward sailing higher than the peak of the mountain itself before detonating in an explosion of multicolored plasma and light, radiating enough heat to raise the air temperature several degrees for miles around. 
Taking a deep breath Celestia dropped the shield as she turned to look back at Twilight, sensing her pain. The mare was sprawled over backwards lying on the floor at the edge of the stairs, a soft groan escaping her as she climbed back to her hooves. “Twilight, are you alright?” Celestia inquired as she glanced over her, taking joy in finding nothing visibly wrong.
Twilight stood and shook her head to clear the stars swimming around the edges of her vision as she looked around. “I’m fine, I think. What happe…” The rest of her question died in her throat as she caught sight of the creature floating across the gardens. Discord floated there, massaging his smoking talons. A glare growing on his face that would have terrified her if not for the sight of the rest of him. His eyes glowed with a seething red fury, his features drained of his originally fun loving mannerisms, and, was he bigger than before?
Celestia faced her opponent, unfurling her wings she took flight and approached him cautiously keeping a close eye on his movements as she drew closer. “Stand down, Discord. On the field of battle you and I are equals, neither stronger than the other. Once my sister joins me in this fight, you will be defeated. Elements or no,” she said confidently as she searched for Luna’s signature.
Discord extended his eagle talons before him and worked the digits a few times before looking up at her somberly, ears twitching occasionally to follow the sounds of the screaming ponies below them. “You assume a great deal, Celestia. To say without question that little Luna will be joining us,” as he spoke his power signature began to rise to the point an aura of dark blue and purple energy developed about his body, shimmering in the light of the lanterns around them. “I believe she has just found herself in a similar situation, a situation most... Familiar,” at those words a gout of emerald flames erupted near the farthest corner of the gardens, signifying the beginning of a pitched battle. “As for the two of us being equals,” he said, a sphere of energy growing in each paw. “That remains to be seen!”
Before Celestia could even blink twin blasts of magic smashed into her, propelling her backwards over the roof of the ballroom and slamming her into the base of one of the many towers atop the castle proper. She crashed through multiple walls before rolling to a stop somewhere near the center of the tower’s superstructure, then, the energy that had propelled her detonated. A massive explosion of roiling destruction magic tore through the tower’s base destroying critical walls and supports that held the millennia old structure in place. The tower began to shift and list as countless tons of deadweight found themselves no longer properly supported. It leaned sickeningly as cracks formed along its surface, random stones dislodging and plummeting to the castle below to smash through the roofs of the chambers beneath the tower.
Cracking his neck with a simple twist of his head the chimera glanced back down at the balcony, his face producing a grin at the sight that greeted him. Standing there all grouped together in a convenient cluster, stood all of the present bearers, as planned. “I will be with you ladies in a moment.”

> Nightmare, Queen, and Bat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10
Nightmare Queen and Bat




Chrysalis smiled through her efforts as she watched her emerald flames surround her newest victim, taking great joy in the sight of the grass as it burned away from the magical heat. The flames roiled and swirled over the dark princess, the changeling could feel the massive increase to her own power and knew deep in her heart that Luna could never be a match for her new abilities. This fight was over before it would ever begin, she had won without the slightest of effort.
Sensing no further emotional energies leaving her target the Queen quelled her power, leaving the fire to slowly die away to nothing. So assured she was of her victory Chrysalis threw her head back in a fit of near maniacal laughter, crying out to the heavens with glee as she examined this new found strength flowing within her form. It was immense, more than doubling her own natural abilities and granting the changeling power far beyond anything she had ever experienced throughout her life. She felt as though the very world itself shook under her hooves, and perhaps in some ways, it did. Inhaling deeply she finally returned her gaze to the charred place in the grass before her, thinking perhaps she might collect an alicorn bone or two to take home. As the last of the smoke cleared the scene however, a shape began to resolve within the obscuring cloud, and she became aware of an emotion. Amusement.
Before the Queen’s very eyes the shadow hidden within the smoke was revealed to be none other than Princess Luna, standing in a rather relaxed stance with a look of dubious boredom draped over her features. An eyebrow slowly raised to complete the face of a pony who simply seemed, unimpressed. “Doth thou intend us harm?” Luna asked with unabashed sarcasm as she brought a hoof to her eye level for inspection, a slight shimmer of dark energy running over the limb as she spoke. “I cannot tell,” she said lowering her hoof again. “However, if you would insist on a duel with us,” a glow of eerie black light began to emanate from her body as her eyes lit from within. “It would be most rude to decline a guest, dear Tia will be glad to hear you could make it,” Luna said, taking an advancing step.
The changeling unconsciously took a step back as her eyes widened in shock, the surge of confidence nullified by a sudden realization. Chrysalis allowed fear to show for only a moment before it was replaced by anger. She set her shoulders and strengthened her stance, readying for Luna’s attack. “Calm yourself. You only need get close enough for me to act,” a cold voice said from some place in the back of her mind, a strong reminder to the passenger she carried.
A burst of vibrant light lit up the night, causing both mares to glance skyward. Blinking in the brightness they watched as a beam of magical energy ascended into the heavens, detonating high above in a massive ball of heat and light. Even at this distance Luna felt the shockwave as it found the ground easily a mile below the blast, it kicked up dust and leaves from the ground and scattered them about her hooves. A distraction. An insignificant distraction, that is all that this was. Chrysalis was meant as nothing more than a fleeting distraction to keep her occupied, temporarily removing her from some bigger picture. To her dismay, it had worked.
Faster than one could say the words Luna scanned the castle and searched for the cause of the discharge. It had been of an unknown origin, though it had also contained traces of Celestia’s magical signature. A rather blatant signal that something was wrong, and that she was needed right away. The princess reeled as her senses came across something powerful and unquestioningly evil, possessing a darkness greater than anything she had ever experienced. And it was coming from an all too familiar being. “Discord…” She said quietly, only dimly aware of the seething queen standing within range of a hoof shake. Luna cringed as she came across her sisters’ signature, someone had certainly made a mistake. Celestia, was angry.      
As the rage steadily built within her Chrysalis began to seethe in pure fury. So close, she was so close to her revenge that she could almost taste its sweet completion. Yet, somehow this petty princess had withstood her newfound might. Chrysalis, the mighty Queen of the Changelings, the one being in all the lands strong enough to have bested Celestia herself in a duel had somehow failed to kill this, lesser child of a pony. How? How could this be possible?! With this newfound power she was nearly twice as strong as she had been that day, the day she had faced the white Alicorn of the sun, and came forth victorious. “No…” She whispered as her teeth began to grind together in pure rage, her magic boiling within her very soul. “NO!!!” She screamed as she unleashed her fury in earnest at her target, merely scant feet from the point of impact. The detonation sent both mares sprawling across the grass, Chrysalis impacted a tree so hard the trunk splintered and its length fell to the ground. Luna flew into the side of a large statue, shattering it instantly as she tumbled to a stop.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

With a shuddering cough Alex Rustwing climbed to his hooves as dust and bits of marble fell from the ceiling. He quickly glanced around, taking note of the glints of armor that flashed in the weak moonlight seeping in through a window further down the hall. For a brief second the lights flickered back on and he reacted instantly as the fake guard straight across the hallway thrust a spear at his throat, a moment before impact the lights died again as the tower continued to lean sickeningly. 
Parrying blindly Alex reared back and knocked the spear aside with a foreleg, unsheathing the hidden blades in the gauntlet as he did so. With a powerful twist of the limb he snapped the end of the spear clean off as the shaft sped past his ear, missing him by mere inches. From across the way he could hear a grunt of pain as the other Changeling’s weapon found its mark, in the darkness the shapes of struggling combatants danced around one another.
A burst of green flames flying high across the space in front of him served to alert Alex of the Changeling warrior as it reverted back to its true form, a large dagger in its jaws as it tackled him, shoving him back first against the wall. 
Alex grunted under the force of the blow, unlike the drones or scavengers of the Changeling race, the warriors were to be taken quite seriously. He struggled against the force of the insectoid as it strained to pin his forelegs to the wall, and slowly began to succeed. He head butted it once, twice, it dropped the dagger as it staggered slightly. He slammed his thick helmet into its face a third time, a blow that sent it skidding back on its rear hooves a meter or so before it flipped backwards away with surprising agility and drawing yet another dagger from some unknown location, only to receive its own dropped dagger in the shoulder as Alex hurled it before making a lunge of his own.
The Changeling spun in order to kick out, only for the Pegasus’s blade to cleanly sever the limb at the knee as he barreled into the bug, crushing it to the floor. Alex raised his blade for a finishing blow, whispering a prayer to the sisters in thanks for the strength to overcome his foe. The lights flickered off as the tower was jostled yet again, dropping another foot as the base crumbled under the unbalanced structure, yet by some miracle had not simply collapsed.    
In that single instant of disorientation the downed Changeling wriggled sideways and planted its good leg under the moment ago victor, kicking him away and rolling to its hooves once more. Gritting its teeth in pain but none the less willing to continue the fight the bleeding creature grasped the handle of the blade imbedded in its shoulder and yanked the dagger free before hurling it at the still recovering Rustwing. The blade landed straight and true, right along his neckline where most armor was weakest, and simply bounced off with a flourish of sparks. 
With a grin at the shocked bug pony Alex took advantage of the moment and quickly closed the distance, bringing his wings to bear he wrapped them around his opponent’s neck and twisted. The wing blades attached to the appendages instantly severed the Changeling’s head at the shoulders, spraying the insect’s bioluminescent ichor across the floor. 
As the lights dimly came back to life Alex stole a glance at his sole fellow guard just as he drove his short sword deep into the neck of the false guard attacking him, a one on one fight, just as his had been…Spinning on instinct he brought his wings before him, blades out in an x pattern. At the same instant a single wing blade flew down in an arc that would have rent him in two. The blades met in a shower of sparks and ringing steel as they pressed together.
“Glad to see you’ve not lost your edge ‘ole boy,” Obsidian Black said in something nearing a playful tone. He leaned down further, placing more of his weight onto his blade as he looked Alex over. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”
Pushing through his confusion Alex steadied his wings as they began to shake from the strain. “How can you be alive? The hive…it…” He trailed off as Obsidian Chuckled quietly with a shake of his head.
“All just a part of the plan, dear Rustwing,” he said. To Alex’s surprise he let up on his blade slightly as he nodded at some internal realization. “Now, stand aside and there will be no reason for further, unpleasantries.”
Alex swallowed hard as a fire built behind his eyes. “Sorry Black, but I can’t do that,” Shoving upward as hard as he could he parried away the black blade and made to lunge into an attack, at that very moment the lights flickered out again and his attack met with nothing but air. Cursing quietly as the lights came on again Alex glanced around frantically in search of the Bat pony, who had vanished in the mere second of blackness. Seeing nothing he turned back to see the two additional Changelings now locked in battle with the other guard, who was remarkably holding his own against the pair. He immediately moved to assist his outnumbered comrade, only to have the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.   

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Luna stood, brushing some dust from her side as she did so and immediately braced herself as another blast of green magic scored a direct hit to her ribs. Staggering back slightly from the impact she channeled energy into the shadows around her, causing them to rise up into the air, absorbing the next attack and allowing her a moments respite to regain control of her situation.
Chrysalis, however, was having none of that. The Changeling queen poured even more power into her attacks, stretching the limits of this new power at her disposal. She fired increasingly more powerful blasts, each one larger and faster than the last. And yet, not a single one ever made contact with its intended target.
Smiling coyly, Luna began to advance upon the queen. Her void shadow absorbing the furious attacks with ease leaving her free to move at a leisurely pace. “A commendable effort, to be sure. Though thou must surely have realized that this is becoming pointless,” she said stopping a few paces away. The queen still refusing to relent and continued her fruitless barrage. “Thou art clearly outmatched in this bout continued attacks are futile,” Luna said with a sigh as she dropped her shadow defense, allowing the next blast to simply splash harmlessly over her aura, inflicting no damage to the princess whatsoever.
Silence fell over the area as Chrysalis ceased her assault, her horn steaming as she panted from the exertion of releasing such a massive amount of energy. She stood there, growling to herself at her failure. How could this be happening? She was queen! No enemy had ever withstood her might, not even the sun princess herself could best her. 
With a smile of her own Chrysalis decided to change her tactics. Perhaps if sheer magical displays of her power were not enough to win her the day, then perhaps her skills at physical combat would be more up to the task. Wings buzzing as a means to increase her speed and agility, the queen darted forward. A mere blur in the darkness, she sprung at the princess as she leveled a hoof for a jab to the throat that would easily collapse most pony’s windpipes. Moving faster than most eyes could track, Chrysalis sailed on the perfect trajectory for the perfect strike. Until…
Before the Changeling could even blink, Luna sidestepped the devastating attack and with a powerful, yet precise swipe of her hoof, essentially bitch slapped the queen to the side sending her rolling across the grass.
Cringing slightly Luna began to approach her downed combatant, secretly she almost wished for the fight not to have ended so abruptly, though if the queen’s sudden power loss was any indication, this engagement was over. As she approached the still form on the ground Luna took note of the small trickle of blood moving down the side of the queen’s head, the bright greenish gray fluid oozed from a crack in the hardened chitinous skin. “Perhaps we took things too far,” Luna thought aloud with a shrug.
Sensing the wound not to be immediately life threatening Luna turned and made to assist her sister, only to be stopped by a growl from the ground behind her as Chrysalis rose to her hooves, and promptly fired a beam of black and purple light. The attack caught the princess in her side, piercing her aura and causing her to cry out in pain as it sliced deep into her barrel.
Sensing her advantage appearing at last, Chrysalis advanced as the tables turned in her favor. She fired beam after beam, causing Luna to go on the defensive as the attacks burned into her, piercing her aura with impossible ease. 
Luna began backing away as she took additional blasts, her protection aura flickering dimly as it dulled the beams, but could not stop them alone. Another beam tore into the dark princess’ shoulder, ripping apart the muscle and cracking the bone beneath. Without thinking she again called upon the shadows for aid, lifting a wall of the inky blackness between her and the queen.
Chrysalis smiled at the action, firing an even bigger lance of this deadly new attack at the now retreating Alicorn. The torrent of condensed energy vanished into the void of the shadow, before reappearing a heartbeat later on the other side. It smashed into Luna’s chest, blowing her backwards off her hooves and tossing her through several walls of the hedgerow. 
Panting heavily, the queen loped forward and inspected the point of impact. She smiled as the sight of blood spattering the ground graced her vision, it was beautiful, she realized. It gave her a newfound sense of confidence, if Luna could bleed, she could be killed. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Alex rolled forward just as a black wing blade swung past his ears in a vicious arc, missing by mere inches as he followed through with a quick hop back to his hooves. He instantly leaned away as a second blade swung at his side, the tip elegantly scraping along his armor leaving a surprisingly deep scratch in the metal. Before he could even properly act he was forced to block a straight on jab at his eye.
Obsidian followed through with a swipe at his legs that the Pegasus barely managed to dodge before he returned with a vertical slice of his own that the Bat pony sidestepped with an air of boredom emanating from his face. 
As another blow was blocked and then countered with ease Alex feinted with a jab, to which Obsidian sought to intercept, only to find one of the Pegasus’s wing blades descending at his skull. He leaned out of the strike, too late. The blade made contact with flesh just below the bottom edge of Obsidians helmet.
Alex felt the subtle grind as the tip of the blade scraped against his opponents’ cheekbone. A hit. Not a deep one, but one that would most surely be felt. Lowering his blade slightly as his opponent did the same, he glanced at the other guard just in time to watch a Changeling run him through with a spear from the side as he struggled with another. “Buck…” Rustwing muttered.
Obsidian ran a hoof slowly over the fresh wound as it began to weep freely. He smiled at the sight of the blood as it ran down the side of his limb. “You know what you’re doing, I’ll give you that,” he said nodding approvingly.
“Years of practice,” Alex said in return as he took a fresh defensive posture, keeping an eye on the other two remaining Changeling imposters. The fake guards moving to cut off any retreat he could have made as Obsidian drew closer.
Obsidian Black smiled as he moved to within striking distance, still leaving his weapons down at his sides as if not concerned about his situation in the slightest. “Good. You’re going to need every second of it,” he said, wings slowly fluttering at his side.
Smirking, Alex couldn’t resist a retort. “I’m thinking you will too. Considering the presence of your backup,” he taunted, trying to keep the entire trio in his field of view. He was outnumbered and fighting a very skilled opponent. He knew he needed to goad him into one-on-one combat if he wanted a chance to win this fight.
Glancing past him with a dull look, Obsidian gave a chuckle. “Oh, these two? No, they’re just eye candy. Sometimes I have them carry the bags,” he stepped forward a pace, his chest plate casually brushing up against Alex’s raised blade without a care. “I’m all that I need.”
“Two bugs carrying two bags apiece? I’ll see if I can manage to cut you into just four pieces,” Alex said with a glare as he tensed, holding his stance as he stared down his opponent, continuously adjusting it subtly to account for Obsidians every move. “Even though a traitor such as you deserves far worse,” he finished with a snarl. 
“A traitor? Hardly,” Obsidian smiled, his face changing to reflect a mixture of malice, then approval. “Oh I like this one,” he said just loud enough under his breath for his opponent to hear. “Witty and a decent fighter. A rare treat, a rare treat indeed,” he backed off a few paces before rearing up on his hind legs, releasing a similar set of hidden gauntlet blades to the ones Alex carried. “Let’s play,” he finished with a come hither motion.
Alex realized the posture was intended to draw him out of his counter stance and into an attack that would likely be fatal for him. He decided instead to dash right, then forward around his enemy’s posture and launched a series of quick attacks, followed swiftly by a heavy Earth pony style swing.
Obsidian simply feigned a retreat, encouraging Alex into committing to his attack before diving under his blade and ramming a shoulder into his lower chest, lifting the Pegasus over himself and using his momentum in an attempt to slam him into the floor. 
During the flip Alex wrapped his wing around Obsidian’s foreleg. Pulling him down, and himself up at the same time, swinging a hoof at that smug black face as he did so in an attempt to knock his helmet off.
With a very un-pony like growl, the Bat pony brought his own wing around to rest the edge of the wing blade against the base of Alex’s wing. A position in which it would likely be severed unless the Pegasus released his hold before they smashed to the floor. His other wing simultaneously swiping away the blow meant for his face. 
Feeling the blade pressing at the base of his wing Alex released his grip and flexed the appendage inward, away from the blade that had threatened to sever it. This in turn brought the wing’s blade along the inside of Obsidian’s foreleg where he would otherwise be able to land another hit. Alex then pulled his own foreleg back, hooking Obsidian’s wing in one of the deep serrations in his gauntlet. He then flexed, locking the wing into place as he flipped over to the left around his partially entrapped opponent. In this position and angle, he could break the wing, or, if he could get into the right spot, tear it completely off from the base.
Not slowing his motions in the slightest, Obsidian Black twisted his free wing around the back side of Alex’s head while running his opposite foreleg around the other way. Locking them together he pressed the now just as trapped Pegasus’s head forward towards his chest. At the same time his back right leg came up, a small dagger sliding out at the knee joint and pressing right for the pony’s eye. With his opponent suddenly off balance Obsidian twisted them around and pushed them to the floor, chuckling loudly as they landed. “Well, this is an interesting spot now, isn’t it? You have my wing, and I have, your eye. And brain, by extension,” he said calmly as his dagger slowly dug into the soft fleshy area under Alex’s left eye. “I’ll accept calling that one a draw. How about a trade?”
Alex growled as he strained his face away from the blade obscuring his vision, he could feel it sinking into his skin. “I’m listening,” he muttered, trying to put down more pressure on the wing he so desperately wanted to break, his compromised position not allowing for sufficient straining of the captured joint to do so.
Obsidian grunted as he flicked his tail in annoyance. “My wing for your life,” he said casually, wiggling the tip of the dagger to emphasize his point. 
“Deal,” Rustwing muttered before tucking his chin and forcing his head forward causing the blade to slice along his upper nose and into his forehead, sparing his eye as the dagger scraped against the bone before popping his helmet lose. “But I’m gonna rob you on this one!” He bellowed as he yanked on the wing still hooked into his gauntlet, pulling with all his might as the appendage popped from its socket. He then curled his back hooves under Obsidian’s middle and let loose a strong buck, breaking the holds they had on each other and bruising his opponent’s ribs.
Putting some distance between himself and his wounded opponent Alex aloud himself a moment to breath, though he would never admit it, his heart was racing. Much faster than it ever did in a fight, he instinctively reached for his helmet only to grope at it like a drunk and send it sliding across the floor. His victorious grin quickly faded as he began to feel feverish, his extremities growing numb. “Oh…THAT…” He slurred, panting between words. Listing terribly Alex shuffled forward, his legs already starting to tremble.
“Was a poisoned blade, yes,” Obsidian remarked dryly as he looked over his limp wing with a look of mild surprise. “I had hoped not to need to resort to that, but,” he said with traces of disappointment in his tone as he turned to the stumbling Pegasus. “Unfortunately, you took the bait of an ensnared opponent, making this all too easy really. But, as I said, it’s all a part of the plan,” Alex began to gasp as he lost connection to the last of his body, his ears barely picking up Obsidian’s voice as he passed him, giving the Pegasus a smile as he went. “Don’t fret Alex, it’s nonlethal. I’m a better pony than that. I can’t say the same for the collapsing tower however,” he said with an evil chuckle.           
Alex slumped into the wall as he tried to glare at the Bat pony. “You… Worthless… Trai… Tor…” He slurred, gaze moving over the body of the fallen guard further down the hall. At the very least he had managed to take down one of the fakes, leaving only two others remaining. “When the Princesses… Learn of… Thi…” His ability to speak faded from his mouth.
Obsidian paused briefly, glancing back at him with a look of something close to pity before muttering quietly to himself. “When they learn…” He nodded slowly as he turned back and sauntered up to the door. “No worries lad, you might get another chance.”
“Cadence!” Alex shouted, or rather, thought he shouted as all he managed was a soft mumble. Trying to warn her not to open the door he stumbled awkwardly before pitching forward like a felled tree, his attempts at shouting becoming muffled as his face contacted the floor. The last thought to linger through his mind was failing the princess. And how he was going to atone for his failure. Then, the darkness took him.
Moving closer to the entrance of the dressing room obsidian Black stopped and put a hoof to his dislocated wing and winced, struggling with the unresponsive limb he looked back at the two Changeling lackeys Chrysalis had assigned to him, a bit of insurance at Discord’s instruction. “Hello? Get your green flanks over here and help me with this,” he said sharply, eliciting a few angry mutters from the pair. 
They wandered over, one moving up next to Obsidian to help with the wing. The other simply stood directly behind him, staring at the doors with a bored expression. The first took hold of the offered wing and gave it a quick look over before carefully lining it up. “Nice job back there,” he said, straightening his stance in order to set the wing. “I don’t get one thing though, when you said this was all a part of the plan, how does leaving him alive and allowing our two other infiltrators to get killed fighting factor into the plan at all?”
Obsidian grunted loudly as his wing was popped back into its socket, his head leaning up against the door, an ear pressed to the wood. He smiled as he listened to the sound of approaching hooves. “My apologies if you feel left uninformed,” he said working the relocated wing as a hoof left the floor to rest on his helper’s shoulder, right at the point his neck met his upper chest. “Allow me to, educate you,” no sooner had the words left his mouth his raised hoof twitched in such a way as to release the blades concealed in his gauntlet, the spring loaded weapon slammed forward, piercing into the Changeling’s neck. In the same instant Obsidian brought a rear hoof up under the chin of the Changeling standing behind him, just before his limb could connect he flexed it as well allowing a similar blade to slide into position.   
The rear victim had just enough time to gasp in surprise before the eleven inch twin blades slammed through his throat, before exiting out the top of his head followed by a burst of green blood and bits of skull. 
The second however was somewhat less lucky, as his most vital areas had been intentionally missed by the Scarlet’s weapon. Instead he gasped for breath as he choked on a lacerated windpipe, not damaged enough to kill, but just enough to silence the voice. He squirmed in Obsidian’s iron grip, struggling desperately to reach for his own weapon strapped uselessly at his side.
Retrieving his blade from the rear love sucker, Obsidian quickly stomped down, re-sheathing the blade in one fluid motion before turning his attention back to the Changeling struggling in his fore hooves, leaving the twitching corpse to fall to the floor.
Just as the door opened Obsidian Black wrapped his now fully functioning wing around the other side of his prey’s neck, ensuring that the newcomers saw his next move he brought the wing in close and promptly slit the Changelings throat. Always one for dramatics, he then pushed the body to the floor with his shoulder and used his weight as leverage to shove his gauntlet blades deeper into the now fully dead Changeling before wrenching upward, nearly severing its head completely from the body in a spray of grayish green fluid.
Taking a deep breath, Obsidian sheathed his blade and rose to look over his next obstacle, smiling at what he saw. A young Pegasus stallion stood between him and a somewhat frazzled princess. He cracked his neck and took an advancing steep, getting rid of this foal would be easy enough. Which was good. After all. He had a promise to keep.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	          

Far above Canterlot, on a bluff of rock hanging out over nothing but air and wonder for several thousand feet, there sat a tree. An old Ivory wood, its once lustrous bark dulled with the passing of more time than most could recall. It sat there, atop the perfect place for a view of the city far below. It waited, swaying gently in the breeze, barely noticing the sudden forceful gust made by the recently passed shock wave that hit mere moments ago. 
The barely discernable sound of a wing flap brushed past a withered branch, scarred from countless roostings from a bird that was never seen, save this night. This was soon followed by a set of talons, gently touching down as they had done countless times before. Ruffling his feathers in an anxious fashion the owl gazed at the city. He watched as the sun princess was blasted into the tower. He watched as her sister screamed from repeated blows, and was ultimately thrown back from something she could never truly understand.
Always, he watched. Never missing any detail, large, or small. He saw everything. He saw Twilight as her friends drug her back from danger, a danger that for once, was no mere test concocted by her mentor. He saw the bleeding body of a devoted captain, lying out past the farthest reaches of the hedge maze. Blinking slowly, or rather, slowly from his point of view, he glanced through the matter of the tower walls. He watched as the armored Pegasus slumped to the floor, beaten. 
Sighing heavily he looked ever more distant, to Ponyville. In through the upper windows of the Apple household, his gaze wandered, ever searching. Yes, she was there. The one piece of this puzzle that just might forestall the end, but for a while longer. He watched, ever observing. Yet, never acting. At least, never before this night…
“You’re late,” came a small, yet impossibly annoying voice from behind the bird. “For having a position of observance, I would think being punctual to be something you might take more seriously,” Tillook said pointedly, slithering up out of a shadow where the limb attached to the tree.
“For a being removed from the very bonds of time itself, punctuality tends to lose its meaning. Additionally, I was here first, if anything you, are the one who is late,” Owlovard rebuked, not once looking away from the spectacle playing out before him.
“Fine, fine. Believe what you want, I obviously can’t stop you,” Tillook muttered, gesturing absentmindedly at the manacles wrapped around his wrists. He clanged one against the other, causing a dull glow from within. “No matter how much I want to…” He said, voice trailing off as he watched Chrysalis approaching Luna’s prone form. 
“Don’t you understand?” Owlovard huffed, talons gripping the branch harder as the Changeling looked down on her prey like a victorious hunter. “It doesn’t matter what either of us want, not anymore. These events were set in motion far before our quarrel, Tillook. Our involvement now, will not be of any consequence.”
In an instant the tiny newt was standing before the owl, ignoring gravity on a whim so as to stare him eye to eye. “Don’t you even… You, the others, Malithion!” His voice grew lower, dangerous even. “You all sound the same. Never willing to get down in the dirt, you know, the only reason any of this was even possible is because of the Forger,” Tillook shook his head and looked away in disgust. “At least that guy had vision, ya know, he wasn’t afraid to get down in the muck and try to make something from it! And the ironic part is, he actually succeeded!” He said loudly, throwing his tiny hands in the air in exasperation. “And then, he goes and puts you idiots in charge of things,” he said whilst turning back around and walking back to Owlovard to sit down, a defeated stare coming over him. “And it all goes to hell from there… The oh so mighty Fates, Observers of all that they deem important enough to watch over.”
Clicking his beak in frustration Owlovard peered down at the pitiful looking creature. “Is this meant to sway me in some degree? Or do you honestly believe that I no longer care about what befalls this world?!”
Tillook glared up at him. “Prove me wrong! For once, just this one time prove you’re still in there. That you really haven’t just become another drone to Infinity like all the rest of them,” he pointed at the battle taking place below. “The Owlovard I remember would never take this lying down, he would have come up with some daring manipulation of the rules to stop this madness, this, this… Chaos.”
His face remained impassive as another scream split the night from below. “Tillook, I am sorry, but this is no longer within our control. Even if it were up to the Fates, I doubt it could be stopped, we alone have not the strength to stop the greatest weapon. The Forger has made it so.”
Tillook smiled, it had been millennia since he had heard the owl admit to an imperfection. He began a long drawn out laugh, a genuine lament from the heart as he shook his head. It was refreshing. “Then don’t try it alone, you have all the strength you need. Sitting right here,” he said, elbowing the bird in the side. “Release me, and all your worries would be over,” the newt encouraged, hands flexing eagerly at his sides. “You know perfectly well he could never hope to survive, me.”
Owlovard stiffened, old memories surfacing from a distant past. “That, can never happen, Tillook. Your wrath would never stop at him. I fear for the very existence of this realm, should you ever escape your bondage,” he said, eyeing his company closely for a moment.
Tillook simply waved him away with a soft grin. “Eh, was worth a shot,” he said patting Owlovards talon fondly. “I guess I just miss the old days, is all,” he muttered whimsically before developing a thoughtful look. “So, that suicide plan of yours with Star Swirl, how is that coming?”
Owlovard stiffened, talons gripping his perch so tightly the wood cracked. “Who told you of such a thing?” He hissed, feathers ruffling in surprise as he stared at the bane of his existence.
“Oh calm down feather head, you really think I would miss out on a conspiratorial meeting between a Fate and the last surviving member of Malithion’s yes ponies? I know all about your little, ‘shot in the dark’ plan,” he said casually, producing a framed picture from out of nowhere and displaying it for the owl to see.
“How…” The bird trailed off as he reached for the picture, his breath catching in his throat as he realized he had been found out. 
Tillook drew the portrait away from the wing as it grasped for it. “Spirit of Mischief, remember?” He said fondling the picture with a smile. “Star Swirl was right about this one by the way,” his finger traced the outline of the thigh of the purple mare in his painting, moving along her back as he hummed quietly. “She will be quite useful.”
“Tillook,” Owlovard said dangerously, a faint aura of power coming into existence around him as he spoke. “Remember your place, demon. Infinity may have written, but this time, some things have got to change…!” He trailed off as Tillook started laughing yet again, even more crazily than usual.
“No, Owlovard. You’re right, things do need to change this go around,” He stood back up on his stubby little feet and nodded at the city below. “Only this time. I want in.”

> A Nightmare's Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 11
A Nightmare’s Nightmare



Luna gasped in pain as she pulled herself up from the grass, wincing from the motion of flexing the muscles in her right foreleg, the flesh there was charred and cracked around a hole that went clean to the scorched bone beneath. Her ear twitched, acquiring the sound of her assailant’s approach just as another powerful attack tore into her aura, blasting apart what remained of the protective field of energy and scorching her ribs.
By sheer strength of will Luna did not fall, and in turn rounded on her opponent with time enough to produce a barrier between herself and Chrysalis. The wall of blue light exploded under the force of another burst of oncoming magic, fortunately stopping it dead allowing Luna time for an offensive of her own. As her horn discharged however, the queen teleported at the last moment, leaving Luna’s barrage to sail away harmlessly into the trees.
Chrysalis emerged from her teleport behind the princess of the night, releasing yet another onslaught of power that Luna only narrowly avoided. “Why!?” The queen demanded as she attacked again. “Won’t you simply just die already?!”
Luna’s retort was swift and arrived in the form of a massive blast of dark blue magic that caught Chrysalis in the face, hurling her backwards into a fountain that blew to pieces under the impact and sent water and masonry flying in a wide arc of destruction. Pressing her advantage Luna doubled the power to her horn and fired a second blast similar to the latter, obliterating all traces of the fountain and creating a towering explosion of dirt and debris that rained all around the garden. “That ‘twas for dear Cadence’s wedding, foul wench,” Luna said darkly, spitting a bit of blood out the side of her mouth as she approached the smoking crater.
As the dark Alicorn drew close to the craters’ edge a burst of highly pressurized air blew out from its center, clearing away the dust and smoke from the blast to reveal a bloodied and smoking Changeling queen. Or rather, the creature that had been a Changeling queen before the Nightmare within took control for itself. A pair of dark rage filled eyes stared back at Luna as the transformation continued to warp and enlarge the queen’s already formidable body.
“Well done Princess, I had been worried these past few years of peace had made you soft, weak,” the new Nightmare hissed through the bright green blood flowing out of her mouth as she rose, numerous wounds sealing themselves as she spoke. “I see those worries were unwarranted, being that you thoroughly trounced such an acceptable host, even if she was without the fullest of my aid,” a loud squishy pop ended her words as Chrysalis’ wings exploded in size to complement her new increase in stature.
Luna in turn seemingly became suddenly unaware of her own injuries as they began to heal as well, erasing the damage brought on by the belligerent queen. “We can assure you, Nightmare, we have spent far too much time in preparation for your inevitable return to have fallen victim to this new life,” she replied evenly, mane brightening in color as her energy levels spiked.      
Nightmare smiled wickedly as the queen’s already significant fangs lengthened right out of her mouth, giving her a saber-toothed look. “So, you did know after all,” Chrysalis’ body shuddered through the pain of her horn growing out a few more inches, an aura of barely contained power radiating from its surface. “For how long, then?”
Luna’s gaze narrowed as she scrutinized the new creature before her as its power continued to rise dramatically. “From the moment the Elements sent their wills against us, and tore you from us,” she said as her own power climbed ever higher to match that of her foe. “We knew from then on that thou still lived and that Fate would lead us together again, intent on our own resolve to this quarrel.”
Smiling in a disturbingly friendly way the Nightmare took a step up from the crater and stared at her prey intently, hunger flashing in her eyes as energy built up along her form. “Then you also must have known about tonight, that being your reason for your, habit. Sitting alone out here pretending to be the good little princess Celestia remembers, what a farce, what did you tell her? Hmm, that I was dead? That your precious Elements destroyed me for good?” she asked with a dangerous leer as she walked right up to the Alicorn of the night. “She may remain ignorant, as false a bearer as ever there was. You and I, we know the truth, don’t we, Luna? We know the one thing those relics to be incapable of, the reason they do what they do to creatures like us.”
With a smirk at Luna’s expression Nightmare began to circle her, a predator sensing out her prey’s weakness, her fears. “Isn’t it ironic?” She asked, moving up along Luna’s side. “Star Swirl was right after all, not that I’m surprised,” she said with a venomous smile.
“Thou dare’est speak his name, thy mouth is unworthy of its utterance,” Luna said dangerously as her teeth began to grind together in near unbridled fury, her power exploding around her in an aura of dark blue energy that froze the ground at her hooves in a layer of ice. 
The Nightmare moved to stand in front of Luna once again as her face darkened into a scowl, her own teeth bared. “And what of you, slipping back into your pathetic rendition of the old royal voice, speaking down on me as though I were one of your subjects to be commanded! I am no subject of yours, princess!” She said with an angry snort of disdain. 
Luna’s own anger dwindled slightly as she instead became somewhat melancholic, memories of days long passed playing through her mind. “Thou were, once, before you fell,” Luna reminded softly, a thick silence coming between them as their eyes met briefly.
Nightmare tensed as her anger flared anew, a tortured cry escaping her as she surged forward and slammed into Luna’s chest with all the force of a steam engine. “Small! Pathetic! Weak!” She screamed, slamming a hoof into the princess’ face with thunderous power. “That is all I ever was in that life! All that I could ever have been!” Another hoof swung low, impacting Luna’s ribs.
In a blur of motion Luna kicked out, catching the Nightmare in the side of her skull sending her skidding back across the grass before firing a blast of magic at her attacker. An explosion of azure light illuminated the garden as an entire acre was blasted skyward by the detonation, a fountain of debris mushrooming into the air.
As dirt and clumps of shrubbery continued to rain down all around her Luna returned to a much more reserved stance, seeing that she would need to begin to take things more seriously. She eyed the creature staring back at her, its face betraying nothing but rage.
“Enough of this playing around, Luna!” Nightmare growled as she advanced again, power flooding her horn as she moved. “I came looking for a fight,” she said pointedly, rising into the air as Luna did the same. “No more holding back, from either of us,” she hissed.    

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Twilight scurried backwards as another large chunk of marble crashed to the balcony from the slowly crumbling tower above, the structure twisting and groaning as its base conceded to the load. With a flash of her horn she quickly dragged the shaking form of Fluttershy from the path of a second rapidly descending stone as it too smashed down. Always though, she kept an ever watchful eye on the Draconequus, the creature of chaos floated there, watching them through it all.
In typical Rainbow Dash fashion the prismatic mare darted forward, intent on smashing a hoof into the floating Chimera’s face, only to be hurled back by an unseen force. Tumbling uncontrollably, she slammed into Rarity and the two rolled down the stairs and out of sight. 
Whipping her head around to watch her friends disappear, Twilight barely caught sight of a pink blur as it tackled her aside, a second later another giant slab of marble slammed down in the space she had just occupied. Scrambling back to her hooves she froze as she found herself alone. “Pinkie?” She said slowly, a deep sense of dread clawing at the back of her mind.
With a snort and a quick chortle of laughter, Pinkie Pie bounced up and out from behind the mass of rock, continuing to giggle as she approached her purple friend. “Wow! Heh, that was a close one huh?” She said, coming to stand beside the bewildered unicorn, her tail twitching like crazy. She gave her friend a quick nuzzle. “Oh relax Twi, I’m not going anywhere just yet, I still have way too much left to do in this story,” Pinkie smiled warmly as she glanced up at Discord, the creature mirroring the look of confusion enveloping Twilight’s face. “Besides, it’s Rarity who should be worried.”
“Uh, Pinkie Pie, my dear?” The floating Discord asked calmly, the air of evil intent seeming to fade for the briefest of moments as he spoke. “Would you mind terribly, sitting still for just a moment?” 
Pinkie looked up at him questioningly for a moment before smiling brightly. “Oh sorry, sure thing, M,” she said sweetly before wrapping Twilight in a massive bear hug and squeezing her close, a foreleg stretching impossibly far to do the same to a trembling Fluttershy. “Okie-Doki-Lokie!” She chirped in her most bubbly sing song voice, a slight hint of mischief playing at the edge of her tone. “Fire away!” She yelled.
“Pinkie! What are you doing?!” Twilight shrieked as Discord began charging a massive black ball of crackling magic. She struggled frantically against her friend’s suddenly unyielding grip, a single forelimb seemingly all Pinkie needed to hold her in place. “Pinkie!?” Panic was filling Twilight’s mind and body, her voice trembling even as she yelled her loudest.
“Trust me Twilight!” Pinkie shouted back over the cacophony of static and building energy before them, her face set in absolute assurance of her actions. “This is right where we need to be!” She said, glancing down at the large red x that had inexplicably appeared under them.
Discord Fired.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	


Celestia opened her eyes, a deep guttural growl crawling up her throat as she tossed a full metric ton of rubble away from her prone form, stones and dust fleeing in the wake of her awakening fury as her power exploded outward. She climbed to her hooves, wisps of white ethereal energy rising from several deep wounds as they sealed from within. 
Scanning the cloudy gloom around her, Alicorn eyes cutting through the dust with ease, she cringed at the sight they yielded. A devastated corridor stretched away to either side of her, curving inwards into the dark as the glow crystals flickered in their wall mounts. 
What caught her attention the most however, were the bodies. Several corpses littered the floor around her hooves, flesh seared from the recent explosion and bones pulverized by crumbling chunks of ceiling that had fallen upon them from above. In the vain hope of finding survivors Celestia began scanning the rubble, prodding at exposed limbs and the slightly less charred.
“Auntie?” Came a surprisingly less pompous than normal voice, its owner carefully negotiating the piles between them as he approached her. “Oh, thank satin silk I found you auntie,” he said, looking about the mess with a look somewhere between anger and shock a hoof raised as he tiptoed past a slowly growing puddle of blood. He produced a silk handkerchief and began desperately scrubbing at a miniscule stain on his coat. “Some barbaric brute has just dared damage your beloved castle,” the posh stallion harrumphed, sweeping a hoof elegantly around them and casting the lightly stained cloth aside.
“Yes, thank you Blueblood. I can see that,” Celestia muttered as she continued her searching, turning over a cart sized slab of stone with seemingly no effort only to grimace at the stain beneath. Turning back to the prince she looked him over as well, noting his ruffled demeanor and anxious face.
‘Come now, Celestia,’ said the voice once more, flowing effortlessly through her mind. ‘You bore me, surely you have not been downed from such a simple blow,’ a feeling of disappointment seeped into the tone as it continued. ‘Where is that fighting spirit I remember from so long ago?’ 
Celestia turned her gaze out the jagged hole her body had made, glaring across the distance to where her attacker waited. ‘Best not to keep me waiting my dear, otherwise, I may become bored.’
“Blueblood,” Celestia said levelly, the last of her wounds sealing over and fading from her coat. “Locate Sergeant Rampart and order him to begin evacuating the castle grounds, then I want you down in the vault with the other members of parliament, understood?” She instructed more than asked, glancing back to see him nod.
“Of course auntie,” he said with a low bow, his attitude turning to a very rare tone of seriousness that seemed completely alien to his usual behavior. “Do be careful.” 
Offering a quick nod of her own Celestia turned back to her foe, flared her wings and was gone, leaving her nephew alone in the darkness, a sly grin going over his lips as a hoof ran through his pale blond mane. Revealing the golden ring resting around his horn…     

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Obsidian Black took one last step and bowed regally before the princess of love, his nostrils flaring at the familiar scent of the Changeling carnage his blades had wrought, reveling in yet another job well done. “Your highness,” he said, voice smooth and elegant. “Obsidian Black, milady, of the Scarlet Service. Acting on behalf of their standing orders to protect you at any cost,” the Bat pony informed as he glanced up at her, eyes glinting in the dark.
“Oh?” Cadence stuttered as her eyes wandered across the mounds of gore littering the hall, pausing to linger amongst the fallen ponies. “Of course, Obsidian, thank you. My other guards are they…?” She paused, her voice catching as he nodded.
“I am afraid so ma’am,” he confirmed, stealing a momentary glance at the young Pegasus guard. “We must not linger here, Changelings are attacking all across the city, and Discord has been freed,” he said firmly, once again peering into the eyes of the princess. Beads of sweat forming along his brow as though he were straining under exertion.
“Very well then,” Cadence said with a subtle nod, eyes seemingly locked with those of the Bat pony. She tensed visibly as the tower shuddered again, the protests of the stones below becoming more urgent by the second. “If you please.”
Obsidian Black returned the nod with the faintest hint of a smile as he turned to the Pegasus next to her, a fore hoof twitching slightly in its gauntlet. The feel of the spring lock system within holding back the deadly blades feeling ever so familiar as he scrutinized the stallion before him, and a decision was made.
Feeling the newcomer’s gaze upon him Flash Sentry did the only thing his stunned brain could think to do when surveyed by a superior officer. “PFC Flash Sentry of her Majesties’ Elite Fighting Pegasi and designated Royal Escort, SIR!” He barked out as if addressing a Drill Sergeant during basic.
“Indeed,” Obsidian murmured absentmindedly before addressing him more professionally. “If that be the case, head back down to the main corridor and round up as many guards as you can get your hooves on,” he couldn’t help the faintest hint of a grin as the Pegasus’s eyes seemed to glaze slightly. “Now move your flank soldier! The princess and I shall follow once it is clear,” Nearly tripping over his own forehooves the Pegasus stallion whirled about and practically flew down the hallway, the princess seemingly forgotten.   
Turning back to Cadence the Bat pony gave a near devilish grin, he always loved it when a good plan came together. “Now, if her majesty would be so kind as to follow me, we should escape this tower before it brings our end,” he said, extending a wing to guide her back into the room behind them. As they entered Obsidian Black reached back and slowly closed the doors.    

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Out along the farthest reaches of the Canterlot gardens, farther than most ponies ever bothered to travel, four large statues stood. They were great hulking things, the largest among them easily twice the size of the once Discord monument. They stood there, covered in moss and grunge from millennia of neglect, waiting.  
Slowly at first the grove of ancient ash trees that stood watch over them began to groan and creak as the ever present energy field surrounding the representations stirred, fluctuating and bulging for the first time in their recorded history. Then the very soil beneath them began to shake and blacken as the prisoners fully awoke within and strained the seams of their prisons, an age of pent up rage and lust for destruction urging them forward. 
The word is given. And the four Phage of the Apocalypse shall heed their master’s call once more. So it is written, so to shall it be.    

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Twilight Sparkle flinched, feeling the heat of the surging magical blast as it approached. She was dead, it just hadn’t happened yet. This was the thought that flashed through her mind as the world went white around her, ears hearing nothing but static as death drew ever nearer. Yet, it never came. Looking up, Twilight beheld her savior.
Celestia stood strong, bracing herself between the glowing mass of death and her student. She was drawn up on her hind legs, fore limbs outstretched and denying the attack’s advancement. Sheer power radiated from her entire being as she slowly began to push the energy back, the stone at her hooves glistening as it melted into puddles with arcs of lightning flashing into the night. “Run! All of you, now!” She shouted over the howling charge.
Twilight strained forward even as Pinkie began pulling her back, a fearful look growing on her face. “But, Princess!” She called, not wanting to leave her mentor’s side right when she might need her the most.
“No, Twilight! Not this time, this is beyond any of you!” Celestia yelled in a strained voice as Discord turned up the power even further, her sides beginning to glow bright from within as her aura streaked with color. The assembled ponies’ jaws dropped open as a massive burst of magic exploded off her body and hurled itself through Discord’s attack, catching him unawares as it bowled him over. The Draconequus sailed into the hedge maze, a cry of surprise trailing in his wake. 
A cold slithery feeling entered into the back of Twilight’s mind, followed swiftly by an all too familiar voice. ‘Listen to her Twilight Sparkle, for your own good. This is not to end well,’ it was Discord’s voice, there could be no doubt. And yet, somehow, it was different. “Please, for Celestia’s sake leave us. Only at her peak does she stand a chance and she will not risk hurting you ponies.” 
Twilight was certain there was a difference to the chimera’s tone, it was sad, reserved, and more than just a touch scared. Was there more going on here than she realized?  
The lavender Unicorn was pulled from the observation of Celestia as her power flared brighter still, shining like a star in the night. “Twilight, my student. I want you to gather your friends and leave the castle grounds at once,” she said, her voice like iron as her wings spread wide, glowing white hot like phosphorous. “Keep each other safe until I call for you, please,” like a bolt of lightning, she was gone.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!! You fool! You shall burn in the deepest pits of the void for this!” The Draconequus roared as he smashed his face into the ground, gouging a sizable crater in the earth. He threw a clenched fist into the dirt beside him in fury to similar effect. “You dare defy me!? I allow you to continue your pitiful existence and this is the thanks I receive in return?” The creature howled at the sky as it staggered back to a standing position, countless emotions playing over its features.
‘What’s wrong, M?’ A pained voice asked, strain and fatigue slowing its words. ‘Can’t handle a little opposition from the inside anymore?’ There was a moment of silence as its tentative grip on consciousness waned. ‘I thought you would be happy, having majority control again, that is what you wanted. Right?’ another brief pause. ‘Well, now you have it.’
The beast standing in the darkness glowered at his raised forelimbs, a deep snarl creeping up his throat at the smug tone the voice taunted him with. “I admit, my need of this body continues, but the very moment I become free of such bonds it will give me immense pleasure to obliterate you in the most unpleasant manner possible,” he spat, eyeing his burnt limb as he channeled energy into healing the scalded areas. “Your time, Discord, will come. Very soon.”
With considerable effort the prisoner within made itself known yet again, a fact that annoyed the warden greatly given the amount of energy he expended to keep his ward suppressed. “Not as soon as yours. I don’t care how much of me is destroyed in the process, I will fight you, I will not let you hurt her, and I will beat you!” The voice cried out as its influence surged forward from the deepest recesses of conscience. The body contorted sideways as control was contested between the two, falling down on one knee and screaming in the tongues of both occupants.
“Discord, you damned fool!” The body said, tone wavering in and out as the voice changed accordingly with the balance of power within. “You merely delay the inevitable! Do you truly think you have any chance?” Internally, a devastating blow was struck. 
With one final defiant tremor the body grew still in its stance, the victor decided. ‘No, I do not, M,’ Discord replied silently, sounding defeated as the features that were once his continued to grow and change, becoming aggressive, more feral. ‘But, she does.’
A blinding white light slammed into the distracted Draconequus, a golden clad hoof ramming itself deep into the chimera’s gut, doubling him over. Before he could react Celestia brought the limb back and launched the other forward, hitting with such speed as to elicit a sonic boom noticeable for miles around that shattered windows and brought pain to the ears of mortals in close proximity. The sheer energy of the point blank attack exploded the ground from below them, hurling away clumps of grass and soil.
Power flaring in his rage the Draconequus intercepted a third blow with a taloned grip, only to have the limb twist his arm away so a hind leg could lash out and snap his head back sending stars flashing across his sight. Following the path of the momentum he clasped his opponent’s limb firmly and launched her high into the air, grinning madly as he followed.
Celestia ducked under a vicious blow directed at her head and caught another with a wing, she then rolled away and grasped at Discord’s tail with her magic. Snagging the appendage in a field of golden energy she hurled him back towards the ground below, only for him to teleport behind her and hammer both feet into the back of her skull.
Discord laughed as he drove the princess into the ground, producing a massive crater as her body plowed through the dirt. Reaching down to grasp her mane he pulled her head back. “What do you think Celestia?” He asked, before slamming her face back into the muck. “Just like the old days, yes? You, Luna, and those impudent Star Order whelps all blundering after me,” he repeated the action again, more forcefully this time. “Harassing me at every turn, just itching to take your revenge on poor old Discord.”                    
Coughing out a mouthful of dirt as he raised her head for another blow Celestia berated him. “Is this what thou meant when you asked for a talk? To draw us into a duel in a place that would endanger so many of our little ponies, I wi-” Discord smashed her face down again, plunging it near completely under the soil.
“Slipping back into that customary habit of yours, after so many centuries of disuse?” He pulled her up again. “My dear little Celestia, and here I thought you weren’t sentimental about the old days. Does this mean you’re still having issues regarding your parents?” He said, leering down on her as her aura shifted hue subtly.
Craning her neck to glare back at him Celestia gritted her teeth for a moment, fighting to control herself. “Semantics have nothing to do with it, there is a much simpler reason,” she said, straining against his grip.
“I’m listening,” Discord muttered, before roughly jamming his clawed foot into the back of her neck, procuring a satisfying flinch of pain as red began staining the fur under the limb. “Why not tell me all about it?” He taunted as he ground the claw around under her skin.
Celestia pressed a fore hoof along her side, searching for leverage Discord would not let her find. “You… Brought great evil… Into this world,” she said between breaths as she struggled against him. “And it befalls to my sister and I too ensure tha-” The princess cringed as the beast above her ground his claws deeper into her flesh.
“No, Celestia,” he said calmly, eyes tracing a droplet of glowing crimson that slipped down the side of her neck to the dirt below. “The evil was already here. I am simply its humble guide,” Discord leaned forward to peer into her eyes, pressing even more weight on the wound to the mare’s neck. “I merely provide structure and direction to a force that remains as wild and untamed as the day the Forger created it.”  

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

With loud snorts and a flourish of flared wings the rising mares blurred forward with speed no mortal eye could track, crashing together with a thunderous impact, blasting apart the very air around them as they fought. Limbs collided and spells discharged, demolishing what little remained of the gardens around them in errant torrents of energy. 
Luna ducked beneath a hasty swing directed at her face, twirling mid flap to send the knuckle of a wing sailing into the nightmare’s borrowed throat, the blow landing with sufficient force to crack the queen’s armor-like skin. The dark creature was hurled back into the trees of the forest, slamming through giant old-growth trunks like matchsticks. Blurring into action princess Luna shot forward and caught the Nightmare around the throat, angling her head down into the ground as she continued to fly at great speed.
After carving a significant trench into the forest floor with her assailant, Luna curved back into the air and accelerated towards the mountainside, altering her grip a moment before impact so that her passenger rested between the wall of oncoming granite and herself. 
The Changeling’s body impacted with thunderous force, exploding the stone like glass as the Alicorn forced her through it, pushing her as deep as she could before the Nightmare caught herself and shoved back against the princess.
Luna stumbled back slightly, unbalanced in the air by the blow. She intercepted a limb as Nightmare tried to elbow her in the gut, returning it with a powerful punch to the spine that caused the not queen to cry out before firing off a spell at the stone around them, blasting the surrounding rocks into dust and forcing Luna back only for her to immediately rush back in to begin delivering heavy blows that smashed her ever further into the side of the mountain.
Growling in frustration the Nightmare timed her next attack to a key, slamming her head back into the princess’s face as she drew in for another hit. Grinning at the sight of spraying crimson she rounded on her prize, running home a devastating blow to Luna’s lower chest. Nightmare smiled on the inside as her improved hearing picked up on the sound of ribs cracking under her hoof.  
Luna staggered back, wincing slightly from the unfamiliar pain. It had been so long since she had felt the like of it, she had nearly forgotten. Returning her gaze to the horror before her, she flinched somewhere inside. It was far from the last pain the day would bring.
Not wanting to lose the momentary advantage Nightmare pressed forward, launching out from the newly formed crater in the mountain she tackled Luna right out of the air. Not bothering to distance herself before attacking she cried out to the heavens as her horn flared to life.
“Gisanto Fliamm!” she shouted. 
A massive sphere of orange red energy swallowed the pair, detonating in a firestorm of destructive antimatter magic. The blast decimated much of the nearby forest and pulverized a pair of large rock formations, blasting the hundred foot boulders apart like pewter plates.
As the cloud of smoke and residual magic cleared from the sky the two combatants resolved into view, forelimbs locked together as they struggled for leverage. Their bodies singed and smoking, yet neither willing to concede. They had both come too far, and risked so much for this moment. 
“Thou wanted us at our best,” Luna growled, struggling against the Nightmares hooves as they bore down on her. “And thou shalt have it!” Her mane exploded outward in a starburst of colors. Blues, violets, and shades of purple all surged throughout her mane as it lengthened out and flowed with greatly increased vigor. “We are going to make thee pay for all thou have done!” She screamed, eyes beginning to shine white from within as power flowed off her form. 
A bright sphere of magic formed itself around the body of the lunar princess, momentarily obscuring her from view only to reveal her seconds later, as well as the dramatic changes to her appearance. Lightning arced off Lunas body and tore at the surrounding airspace, blasting several nearby trees into ash from the pure power they contained. The flashing light served to highlight the deepening hue Luna’s coat had undertaken, darkening to a shade more akin to the depths of midnight. 
The air began to shimmer as even it bid to retreat from the overwhelming energy forcing it back. As Luna continued to increase in power her wings, mane, and tail flared with power all their own, growing out and shining like pulsars in the void of space. All other sources of light in the area dimmed and seemed to fade away as the surrounding shadows swallowed the two, wrapping them in a thick blanket of darkness. 
It was all gone in an instant however, the massive power increase fizzling and popping out of existence before it could finish as a familiar needle fine beam of black purple light shot out from the darkness and cleanly bisected the princess’s chest, clipping her spine and dropping her to the shattered ground below.
Luna crashed to the rocky ground in a heap, releasing a scream as her body contorted over itself as she rolled uncontrollably down a slight slope. Coming to a rest against a house sized boulder she slowly opened her eyes, just in time to watch the Nightmare slam a hoof into her already cracked ribs, crushing several of them as her body shattered the rock and tumbled further down the mountain.
Panting from her own exertions the Nightmare glided down and landed before the pummeled princes, grinning as the bloodied mare before her struggled to move, thick wisps of ethereal energy coming off her as dozens of wounds struggled to close themselves. She could see the pieces of shattered bones sliding together beneath the skin as Luna attempted a glare, temporarily immobilized as her mangled vertebra knitted themselves back together. 
Nightmare leaned in close, her own blood flowing freely from grievous wounds as she stared intently at her favorite host, Luna 	continuing to stare back as defiantly as ever, a hoof scraping feebly at the dirt as control was restored to the limb. 
With a final forward motion the Nightmare kneeled down and firmly pressed their horns together, a shower of sparks and a cold jab of pain accompanying the familiar feeling of her conscience blurring, moving from one host to the next. Nightmare took immense pleasure as the new power flooded through her being, finding herself in a familiar place, the mind, of Princess Luna.
Even as the faint feeling of being surrounded by fog clawed at Nightmare’s awareness, the only thought to pass through her mind, was how deceptively easy that had been. Perhaps, too easy...


/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	


Owlovard sat stock still as his mind reeled, desperately attempting to comprehend what he had just heard. Surely it was wrong, yes, he had heard wrong. Tillook had never, would never show interest in aiding anyone who was not himself. It had to be a trick, there was no other explanation. Glancing at the newt in question his gaze hardened with distrust.
Face held impassive, Tillook looked on as the screams continued from below. “Decline my right to play a role, and chaos will be the least of your problems, friend. Or has the last millennium dulled you into truly believing in these, Champions of yours?” Not bothering to so much as turn his head the question practically fell from his mouth, the accusation blatant and thick in the night air.
“My belief, Tillook, is that they truly possess the power to end this conflict, once and for all,” his gaze hardened further as another scream from the night princess reached his ears, causing him to shudder as he fought the desire to race to her aid. “Despite what Infinity has written.”
“Ah yes, that,” Tillook all but sneered as he cracked a knuckle casually. “A rather terrible ending for all of you, as I recall,” he said, watching the owl in his peripheral vision. “I shudder just thinking about the ending of such innocence, when it could so easily be avoided,” he turned to look at Owlovard again, expression becoming surprisingly serious. “And what of yourself, old friend. What horrible demise awaits you, at the end? Surely nothing so terrible as Magic.”
“My fate, Tillook, shall be no different than those I observe,” Owlovard inhaled sharply as the queen made her final act in the duel, and Luna fell silent. “Their suffering shall become my own as the world crumbles and burns, all our past sins made manifest.”
“Always such a dark outlook,” Tillook tisked under his breath as he raised a hairless eyebrow. “Consider your position, Owlovard. You knew this day was coming, you knew from the time the last great house fell from the heavens that this would be the final conflict. A conflict you could never hope to win. And now, even your precious Champions are scattered and without balance,” he let loose another chortle of pure ironic bliss. “They quarrel and bicker amongst themselves, vying for a birthright which belongs to none of them. And come to find out the Timeless Heart is active yet again, made so by your oh so precious bearers!”
Tillook gestured at the very group of ponies he had indicated, far too distant for any mortal eye to see, yet were plain as day for the pair to observe. “Those six, tailored and then ultimately manipulated into their positions. All planned out, refined, and used for your own purposes. Only to fall short on the one night that matters above all others, scared, alone, and about to die. What a shame,” the little newt mused as he turned and walked back towards the shadow from whence he came, a hidden smile on his face as he went.
“And here I thought you didn’t care about losing ponies, Tillook,” Owlovard said levelly, causing the retreating fiend to pause mid step, the hidden grin growing considerably.
Shaking his head with a sigh the newt spoke, his voice cold. “I, don’t, Owlovard,” Tillook said in reply, equally as levelly. “But you do,” the creature continued as he glanced back over his shoulder. “And tonight you shall lose a great deal of them.”     

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/

Nightmare shook herself awake, unsure of how much time had passed. After entering the mind of the princess something had happened that, try as she might, she could not explain to herself. Glancing about she found herself floating in a void of shifting color and black light that defied comprehension even by a being of her age and understanding.
Taking an experimental step forward rewarded her with the seeming ability to walk on not but air as the apparent floor dropped down and out of sight. Ignoring the faint traces of whispers floating along around her Nightmare turned instead to the all too familiar Magical signature waiting patiently behind her. “I must say, this is one pleasure I would have been all too happy to forego,” she muttered coldly, anger boiling up at the realization of the trick played on her. 
Stepping forward from the shadows arrayed around her Luna approached the creature invading her mind, stopping a few feet away. Glaring daggers at her foe she spoke, tone level and calm, yet filled with enough venom to make a dragon flinch. “Our apologies for the Inconvenience, Nightmare,” she said, an ominous glow spreading out from under her hooves as power filled her. “You are in our realm now, and cannot leave here without our permission. Which we do not intend to give.”
Taking an uneasy step in retreat Nightmare glanced around in trepidation as Luna drew closer, a look of near glee coming over her. “Welcome, to the Dreamscape. Cur.”   

> Sunstorm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 12 
Sunstorm


1451 years ago…

“And that is?” Discord asked, crossing his arms and tapping a clawed foot slowly. The young Draconequus shifting impatiently before his master, the sting of failure heating his mood.
“Balance of mind,” Luminescent replied, his ever present patience prevailing as always. “You were so close. Could you not hear the whispers of the world?”
Flexing his hands, Discord gave a sigh of detachment. Already wishing to be somewhere else. “No master, I’m afraid I could not,’ he replied, lowering his head to look at the ground.
The master stared at his apprentice with dull milky eyes, nodding in understanding. “You shall in time,” he said with a sigh of his own. “That is enough for today. You may return to the castle, I wish for you to meditate on today’s lesson.”
His mood brightening instantly, Discord nearly teleported on the spot before he remembered himself. “Yes master, thank you,” he spilled out as the two exchanged a deep bow.
Discord turned to leave but stopped. “Master, I know it is not my place to ask about the princesses but...” He trailed off, chewing his lower lip in contemplation. The question clawing at the back of his mind simmered like a pot ready to boil over, it was agonizing.
“Your place in this world, Discord,” Luminescent said, a faint smile playing at his muzzle. “Is what you make of it.” The old unicorn turned away from the student then, a slight limp in his step as he wandered away. “As for Celestia’s favored choice of flowers, might I suggest, pink and yellow daisies.” 
A blissful grin plastering itself over his face, Discord again made to leave, a spring to his step that had not been present moments ago. Today, just felt like the right day, and he was going to make the most of it.
“One more thing, Discord,” Luminescent called out, a hoof gesturing to the destroyed landscape around them, the effects of the failed spell apparent wherever the eye wandered. “Before you go, if you please.” 
Glancing about, Discord blanched as he took in the full extent of the damage. The ground was a charred black, the trees of the little valley were scorched and leaning sickeningly away from them in twisted husks of their former selves. 
“Oh, yeah, that…” The young Chimera muttered, inhaling slowly as he turned back to take in every detail, hands flexing at his sides as a current of energy built up around him. Taking a wide stance he gazed across the valley intently, bringing both fists up and stretching them out before him. Closing his eyes, Discord sighed deeply, releasing the held breath as the thumb and index finger of both hands moved in a snapping motion eliciting a loud snap. A burst of bright white light flashed from Discord’s body, surely blinding any who were to look directly at the display. 
To any who had seen, however, it would appear as though time itself had been challenged, pushed back to spare the valley of the destruction that had been wrought upon it. Wherever this light touched, the damaged and the destroyed were replaced by new, unspoiled lands. Stricken trees stood back to their full majesty, leaves returning to the limbs as though nothing had ever been amiss. The stream meandering lazily down the valley floor refilled with its pristine crisp water, bubbling along oblivious to the recent state of things around it. Even the air seemed to still, no longer disturbed by the near inconceivable amounts of magic that had been unleashed.
Lowering his outstretched arms, Discord could not help but display the faintest smile as he searched over the land around them with his vibrant yellow eyes, taking in the beauty that spread out near as far as most could see. He looked down, gazing in contemplation at his hands, flinching when his master appeared at his side. “It just, comes so naturally,” he muttered, not understanding his own skill in creativity.
“All good things do,” Luminescent said reassuringly. “Given time, and proper encouragement to grow strong till eventually they flourish. Becoming something altogether different,”
Jaw setting in a firm line, Discord’s demeanor darkened, just enough for his master to notice out of the corner of his eye. “And, what if. What if some things aren’t all that good?” Discord asked faintly, his muscles tensing a bit as his eyes found a small section of blackened earth near the end of the valley, untouched by the reversing effects the rest of the land had received. “What if, sometimes, something dark gets tossed in with the good things?” He asked, an arm crossing over his chest to hold the other, eyes never leaving the dark mark. “And, no matter how much time goes by, no matter how much you try, it just won’t go away…” 
Closing his eyes, Luminescent stood there a moment, only speaking minutes later when Discord began to shift uneasily beside him. “Many years ago, when I was young, my brother came to me with a question of very similar nature,” he said, choosing his words slowly, seeming to deliberate each one before continuing to the next. “He questioned his very nature, and what he had been told he was meant to do in this life…” 
“And, what did you tell your brother?” Discord asked, growing impatient when his master seemed to lose himself to the memory.
Opening his eyes, the pony sighed. “I told him the same thing that I have now told so many others, Discord. I told him that no matter who we are, who we may claim to be, or who we would aspire to be. We all have our faults, our ambitions, and most importantly,” Luminescent said, tilting his head back to look at the cloudless sky above, the light of the sun coming over his face as he did so. “I told him that we all carry a piece of the darkness within us, a reminder that without darkness,” he paused there, eyes glinting as he spoke. “What would be the point of the light?”
Finally able to bring himself to look away from the blackness marring the otherwise perfect landscape, Discord looked to his master, his face letting the glimmer of hope show for a moment, a final question pushing forward. “Did it help?” He eventually managed to ask, seeming to snap Luminescent out of some form of nostalgia. “Your brother, I mean.”
Giving a brief smile of his own, Luminescent followed his students’ gaze back to the gently rolling hills along the far side, the bells of the pony’s hat jingled softly as he moved. “I like to believe it did, on some level at least. He came to me an already tortured soul, a mere shadow of who he had once been. And I pray, that perhaps, there had been some part left that still heard me.”
More time passed with neither saying much as the sun continued its way across the heavens, a cool breeze offering them relief from what would otherwise have been a sultry afternoon. Eventually, Luminescent found more words needing said, a moments glance at his student proving their necessity “Discord,” he finally said after a few minutes of the two just standing, both truly enjoying the others company. “I want for you to promise me something, something I want you to remember to the end of time.”
Glancing down at his master, already being a fair bit taller than the old stallion, Discord perked his ears knowing full well that whatever this was, it would be important. “Of course master,” he replied, stepping closer slightly as the pony lowered his voice to a near whisper.
Eyes still flowing over the distant landscape, the Unicorn continued. “Discord, no matter the trials you may face, nor however dark the days may seem to grow. No matter how unjustly ponies may come to judge you. Never separate yourself from who you are, Chaos is a part of you, my student. And you, a part of it,” Luminescent said, placing a hoof over the Draconequus’ heart. “You, are, Chaos,” he continued a moment later, pressing just a bit harder for emphasis. “Promise me, that you will never forget just how much good Chaos can do. How much it can become under the right influence, how much it can flourish,” the pony finished, taking away his hoof to point out over the new valley. 
Following the swing of the hoof with his eyes, Discord found himself with a growing sense of true companionship. Something he had not felt from any other pony, save one… “On my honor as your student, master,” he said dutifully, making eye contact as he spoke the words. “I will always remember these words of wisdom you have shared with me today, I promise.” 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Upon saying their farewells, Luminescent dismissed his charge back to the castle, feeling satisfied in the progress that was made. Even if the one observing from the shadows did not share the same views.
“He is not as the others, Terra. He feels. He regrets,” Luminescent looked away from his departing student as the Draconequus disappeared from view in a telltale flash, a nod of finality cementing his words. “He loves…”
“As did many of the others,” answered a low commanding voice, emanating from the shadowy tree line behind the Unicorn, little effort made in concealing the loathing laced through the words. “Even as they schemed and plotted of our undoing. Before murdering us in our own beds in the name of the very one they swore to battle against. He is no different.”  
“No,” Luminescent said, the slightest nod following his words. “But he aspires to be, and only through careful instruction will those aspirations ever bear fruit,” he slowly scanned the valley floor one last time, eyes resting over the mark in the distance. “Lady Aeterna has accepted this, she is willing to forgive. Terra, can you not do the same? For one who struggles as you once did.”
A stony silence fell over the place, the very wind seeming to fade away as neither presence spoke, no words being uttered yet many things were said. Truths long since silenced passed between them as shadow sought balance in the fading light.

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

“Oh what a relief!” Celestia all but shouted as she gazed up into the yellowing sky, streaks of orange spreading through the sparse clouds overhead. “That castle is so stuffy, studying all day. Tis maddening!” She tossed her head to the side, flipping her pink mane across her back.
A goofy smile spreading over his face, Discord trailed along beside her. Barely able to contain his glee over the moment. The escape from the castle had been harrowing, yet he wouldn’t have traded this for all the chaos in the world. “Yeah…” Discord replied dreamily, his gaze flicking away as she looked back at him.  
Donning a faint smile of her own as she returned to watching the sunset Celestia sighed quietly. “So, what to do first?” she asked casually, nudging Discord’s shoulder with a wing. “we could go down to the market, get something different than what the kitchens always serve,” she giggled a bit as he nudged her back. “Maybe go prank a noble…”
“Why Celestia,” Discord tisked, his voice mimicking her father’s perfectly. “You know that not to be proper,” he said with an impish smirk as she flushed red, a scowl tightening her lips. 
“Ugh. That would be him, sucking the life right out of living,” she muttered as they passed out of the last of the trees at the edge of the gardens and ventured into the village surrounding the castles edge, the beginnings of what was destined to become a fine cityscape spread before them.
Chastising himself on the inside for yet another slip Discord wanted to slap himself, she needed a break, not something else to stress about. ‘Nice move, genius,’ he thought irritably. ‘I rather enjoyed it,’ another thought interrupted him, the familiar voice resonating inside his skull sounding to be in a rare good mood. 
Clenching his jaw Discord cursed his luck. ‘Not now M, please, I really think this could be the day!’ He thought back, nearly pleading for the other to stay in the shadows where it spent most of its time.
A sense of mirth and bitter pleasure seeped into his mind from some deeply recessed corner, fouling the mood further. ‘Oh please, you have been senselessly pining after her for years. What makes you think today will be any different?’ The voice queried, some sense of actual interest fringing its tone. 
Swallowing, Discord chanced another look at Celestia, the young mare having stopped to admire the wares of a traveling merchant. ‘I, just have a really good feeling today,’ he thought pitifully, his confidence seeming to weaken under the question. ‘So, please? I’ll trade you for twenty percent control tomorrow,’ he bribed.
A slight feeling of enticement drifted through the link, along with the slightest hint of laughter. ‘A truly desperate bargain to be sure, very well Discord. You shall have your day of loused attempts at romance, just remember your offer when it comes time for me to collect…’ the voice trailed off as they passed a collection of small mirrors within another vendor’s stall, a single eye tracked to inspect their reflection. ‘Oh, for pity’s sake boy, you’re in even more trouble than I thought,’ the voice mumbled.
Groaning, Discord turned to face the mirror, scratching at his arm with a talon as he gave himself a once over. Seeing nothing against his liking he shrugged. ‘Okay, I really shouldn’t ask, but what? I don’t see anything wrong.’
The presence slowly began to recede, the feeling of a deep chill leaving his brain. ‘Nothing from the ordinary insufficiencies, Discord,’ the voice scoffed, some amount of tension leaving the link as it laughed bitingly. ‘Good luck.’
Grunting his own farewell, though feeling more of a good riddance, Discord took a final glance at the mirror. He couldn’t help scanning his features again, a claw running over his jaw and brushing his rather impressive fangs.
“See something you like?” Celestia’s reflection asked him as it resolved next to his, her tone teasing and warm. The Alicorn tilted her head with a grin, watching his hands poke and prod, smoothing down an occasional errant hair.
“Nah,’ he replied in a matching tone, adding just a hint of snarky sarcasm for effect. “Just some ugly nut trapped in a mirror, that’s all. Nothing to see,” Discord leaned away from the mirror, his image blurring slightly as he moved to the side and out of its sight. 
Celestia frowned as she watched his image fade, her eyes shifting to watch him go. She sighed, a hoof pawing the ground once as she levitated the mirror up to look it over more closely, noting the fine craftsmanship to the brass making up the body, it was all one single piece yet wrapped around itself many times before circling up and around the glass to form an intricate back plate. 
“Shame, being trapped like that, the poor dear,” Celestia uttered softly, just loud enough to catch Discord’s attention as he looked elsewhere. “Do you think we could let him out?” Her eyes flashed in his direction, catching Discord’s as they did the same. “No one should ever have to feel trapped, not here,” She said as he shuffled back to her.
“Well,” Discord said slowly, moving back so that he appeared in the mirror with her. “Maybe, he’s not trapped at all. What if, he stays hidden in there because he’s afraid of getting close to anyone because of what others think of him?”
Leaning closer slightly, Celestia scoffed at the reflection in a teasing manner before gazing at his image intently. “Hmm. Well then I certainly hope that he will come out eventually, there are those who would very much like to get to know him better,” she finished simply, summoning a few coins and paying for the mirror.
“We cannot hide from anything in life, Discord,” Celestia continued, twirling the mirror gently in her aura. “All we can really do is to do what we can.”
Smirking, Discord nearly laughed as he looked over her straight face. “And who told you that?” He asked, his mood brightening just from their close proximity.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before she answered. “My father, actually,” Celestia eventually replied as the two set to walking again, passing by more stalls of curios from far off lands.
“Really,” Discord dead panned, the Draconequus rubbing a clawed hand over his face. “That sounds like something you might read off the back of a cart,” 
“Which is probably where he got it,” Celestia said, trying desperately to hold a straight face as she walked beside him.

The two spent the next hour wandering about the market, pausing occasionally to inspect some ridiculous trinket and contemplate the possible reasons behind its existence, or gape at a street performer as they twirled down the cobblestone street.  
Eventually though, their travels led them down the road leading from town along the side of the mountain where it opened into the rolling little hills surrounding it. Just off the road, hidden behind a grove of small maples was a meadow filled with lush grass, tiny pink flowers, and beyond that a crystal clear pond with waters that sparkled invitingly in the sunset.
“I’m just saying,” Discord groused, still looking over his small collection of purchases. “Just because they put ‘ye old’ in front of the name does not make it authentic,”
Putting a hoof to her mouth as she giggled, Celestia watched as Discord continued to glower, attempting to smooth the edge of an old feather hat he had acquired during their travels, he was still trying to get the thing to sit properly atop his head. “Oh, stop fretting,” she said, moving closer and pulling the brim down over his eyes with a flash of magic. “Now, quit clowning around and come watch the sunset with me. Mother will be lowering it any moment.” 
“Made in Chineigha, figures,” Came Discord’s muffled response from deep inside the hat as he reached up and pulled the brim away, his body freezing at what his eyes beheld. Standing before him was what his mind claimed to be the epitome of beauty, and he could not have agreed more. 
Celestia stood tall, silhouetted by the blazing orb resting on the edge of the world with her pink mane flowing gracefully through the gentle breeze. Her eyes were closed as her face reflected the orange light perfectly, enunciating every facet of perfection to the point it nearly hurt to look upon her. Yet, he could never look away.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” Celestia eventually asked, opening her eyes and inhaling the fragrance wafting around them, the scent of the flowers thick in the air.
“Yeah, it really is something,” Discord replied blankly, his mind grinding to a halt as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Careful to take deliberate steps, lest he trip over his own limbs again, he moved to stand beside her. Rocking back on his heels awkwardly, Discord fixed his gaze straight ahead, not really able to look any place else.
As the sun began to move, making its way over the edge, Celestia suddenly leaned into his shoulder. “Thanks for this, Discord. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, and sneak out with when things get boring,” she said quietly, nuzzling his neck.
Not sure what to say Discord just looked down at her. Leaning closer, the moment feeling perfect as she gazed back at him with a look of silent permission. They drew closer, lips nearly touching as Celestias eyes gazed deep into his own, nothing left of the world around them as time froze. Two friends, brought together by chance, ready to become more.
A second to soon, Celestias eyes focused passed him and she looked away, the sound of rolling thunder reaching them as tendrils of lightning flashed above the mountain and split the sky. Backing away Celestia had to avert her vision, the sight of his pained face wrenching at her heart.
Glancing back over his shoulder at the castle Discord knew that it was over, their little escapade at an end.
“Father knows,” Celestia said, her tone saddening noticeably as powerful thunderheads began to build over the mountain, shaking the hills around them with the noise. “I’m sorry, I must go, he will be looking,” the Alicorn muttered as she turned to leave.
“Okay,” Discord replied lamely, hanging his head and turning away in defeat. ‘So close’ he thought. Every time he got close, something always came between them, and he never got the chance to tell her.
The Draconequus nearly fell over in surprise when a pair of soft lips graced his cheek, sending a jolt of happiness shooting through his very core as the quick peck left its intended message. It only lasted a moment, but for him it may as well have been an eternity.
“Many thanks for the walk, Discord,” Celestia said with a smile, “Perhaps, tomorrow we might go for another?” And with that, she spread her wings and was gone, leaving a dumbstruck Draconequus staring after her. A moment later, he fell flat on his face.


High above standing precariously at the edge of a small tuft of cloud was Tillook, gazing at the pair with a tiny hand pressed firmly over his chest. His beady little eyes tracking every movement. With a low groan of pain a thin wisp of energy exited his body, flowing into the palm of his hand and coiling into a ball.  
Smiling down at this action the newt gently placed the sphere over the glowing shackle around his left wrist, watching with a near maniacal grin as the ethereal bond boiled, a sense of fresh power entering his body as part of the bond faded away. His skin flashed with colors before returning to a dull brown.   
“Two down, five to go,” he muttered darkly, cocking his head to the side as he looked around, a quizzical expression growing on his face as he did so. “Since when can I walk on clouds anyw…?” The moment this question left his lips, he plummeted downwards and out of sight.    

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Present events…

Celestia couldn’t help but cringe, she could feel her blood beginning to boil, her power surging as her anger grew. Despite her efforts she was becoming enraged to the point her magic threatened to run away with her. The Draconequus its target.
With great care she set about pooling her energies, carefully concealing them as they built to whole new levels, something she had not done for a very long time. Resigning to wait a few more moments, Celestia had to groan internally as Discord continued his disillusioned monologue. Just another testament to how truly insane he had become.   
“That's how you know who wins, right? The last one standing is the winner... the survivor. That's what I am. I'm the one that was left standing. A survivor. So, why are you the ones who got everything? Why am I the only one who was left with nothing? I am forced to watch and wait while you sit on your thrones and control the world. I no longer posses your wings, your horns, your powers, and yet, I am still here. Because I survived!”
The creature shifted in his position over the princess, staring down with a look that showed far greater remorse than his tone implied. “There are different types of strength, Celestia, different kinds of power. I have mine; I have honed it into something unparalleled, something unlike anything this world has ever witnessed. And I've seen how you use yours. Taking on the burden of rule yourselves, shouldering all that responsibility has not been easy for any of you, much less yourself, Celestia. You've proven that you can indeed endure the hardships of controlling this world. But you have also allowed yourself to make mistakes, mistakes you were aware of. That's irresponsible. In its own way, that is an abuse of power.”
Tuning him out the best she could, Celestia focused herself, reigning in her magic and preparing for what was about to unfold. Knowing what needed to be done yet wanting desperately to minimize the impact upon her little ponies as much as possible should things get out of hoof, a duel between the two would likely level the whole of Canterlot. She had to get him away from the city; it was the only way to save them all. 
What she needed now was an opportunity, some way to get the upper hoof in order to end this quickly, and not give him the chance for any of his dirty tricks. A smile spread across her face as she sensed the approach of an all too familiar presence. ‘That will do,’ she thought, closing her eyes tightly and shoving her head into the dirt for protection.
Confused by this action and having suddenly found his sense of the surrounding energies blurred Discord was taken completely off guard when a ball of bright orange flames crashed into his face, resolving an instant later into the familiar form of a phoenix. 
Philomena smirked at his surprised expression before erupting into a blinding ball of superheated plasma, burning the hair along the Draconequus’ snout and singing his eyes till they bled. 
Celestia immediately rolled over and bucked Discord away from her, sending him crashing through the trees at the edge of the gardens. “Magnificent timing as always Philomena, thank you,” the princess said, rising into a seated position and glancing over her shoulder at the writhing Draconequus. 
The Phoenix landed nearby and chirped happily, nodding rapidly in Discords direction as she hopped closer. Celestia nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, I will be fine. But please, do be careful, you know what to do,” she said quickly, climbing back to her hooves and turning away to face Discord as he too rose to a shaky stance. Nodding a final time, the fire bird took flight and headed out along the edge of the gardens.

Discord staggered backwards on shaky legs, hands clenching tightly over his eyes as he let loose a scream of pain. Nothing but glaring white and static filled his senses as he struggled to keep his balance, remaining unaware of the seething Alicorn climbing back to her hooves before him. “Ahh! Damn you Philomena! How dare you get involved!” The Draconequus roared, swinging blindly in her vague direction. 
Peeling back a bleeding lid, he had only time enough to gasp in surprise as a pair of gilded hooves connected with his chest. The powerful buck hit with devastating force, the energy pulverizing the ground and blasting the few nearby trees into matchsticks. Blood flying from his mouth the chimera sailed away through the night air, impacting near the mountain’s summit with rock-shattering force. 
Attempting to pull himself free from the crumbling stones, Discord’s disoriented senses barely managed to pick up on the rapidly approaching Alicorn an instant before she smashed into him with both front hooves. Growling in sheer rage Discord thrashed under the blow as Celestia drove him clean through the mountaintop and out the other side, the flames of fury burning brightly in her eyes.
Barely able to contain the beast she contested, Celestia flared her wings to slow her momentum, causing Discord to tumble away from her down the side of the mountain below. Channeling power into her horn the Alicorn unleashed her fury, a monumental sphere of sun colored magic exploded down the cliffs before her, obliterating everything in its path.  
Quickly righting himself as he tumbled Discord snaked to his feet, digging them into the snow covered ground and slowing his descent. Coming to a stop at the edge of a high precipice, the Draconequus spread both arms wide, channeling power through his whole form. 
Mere moments before Celestia’s magic reached its target a shimmering bubble of energy condensed around the Chimera, wrapping him in a shield as the rocky ground around him vaporized in an instant. 
Undaunted by this action, Celestia pressed her advantage. Blurring forward in a burst of speed she slammed into the barrier, shattering it like fine glass and tackling Discord into a roll of swinging limbs, gnashing teeth, and gleaming feathers. All around them the rocks of the mountainside were blown apart by the power of the dueling titans, giant mounds of snow scattered through the air as shockwaves burst away from the force of the connecting blows. 
Above the carnage, a precariously hanging ledge of snow lost what little stability it had left. One final pressure wave impacted the face of the mountain, and countless tons of snow and ice let loose from the rock, careening down towards the two battling below.
Seeing an opportunity, Celestia ignored another of Discord’s half-blind swings, choosing instead to grab his tail in her magic she swung him around and whipped his body into the ground below. Without pause she dumped all the magic she could into her telekinetic will, slamming him further into the ground as the merciless weight of the snow crushed and buried him.
Watching from her place in the sky, Celestia eyed the rushing torrents of snow below. Her breath came in soft pants as she surveyed the destruction, the entire east face of the mountain lay in ruin from their brief bout, craters and charred trees stretched out for several miles in a line from summit to nearly the base. She gazed intently at the scar, watching as the avalanche did its best to hide what had been done to the lovely scenery. At what had once again been allowed to happen.
Most importantly, though, Celestia eyed the place she knew Discord laid. Knowing quite well the Draconequus was far from beaten, he was much too durable to have been finished so easily. She steeled herself, already feeling him pushing against her, his rage boiling.
In an act of pure fury driven power the Draconequus burst forth from the still rushing snow, his body alight with energy as he pushed through Celestia’s magic with an animalistic roar rising above the thunder of the avalanche. Discord clawed his way towards the Alicorn, his sheer will seeming to be enough to reach his target.
Not wanting to give ground Celestia held her position, straining as her mind fought to hold him back. Gritting her teeth she focused everything into telekinetic force, sending it down upon her foe, only to watch in disbelief as his rate of advance did not falter.
Discord slammed into Celestia, his roar unrelenting as they sailed through the air, lashing out at one another in a blur of limbs moving too quickly for most to see, disappearing entirely at times.  
Smashing back to the ground their decent blew trees and bits of rock away in a wide arc, leveling several acres of forest in their wake as waves of pressure and excess magic flew through the air. 
Discord charged her again, eyes glowing red with rage as Celestia dodged aside, the Chimera shattering through a jumble of boulders before turning and coming for her again. A blast of golden magic impacted with the Draconequus’ face, forcing him back as his feet slid across the ground. 
Not wasting a second Celestia launched into him again, driving the smoldering creature through several trees before they impacted the side of another sheer cliff. Discord growled dangerously at her, seeming to ignore the telltale snap from one of his wings as his tail came up from behind and wrapped around the Alicorn’s neck, peeling her off and slamming her down into a river below. 
Wrenching free of the rock Discord shot both arms forward and unleashed a beam of magic, vaporizing the flowing water with ease and gouging deep into the riverbed below. 
Coming out of a teleport high above him Celestia sped downwards, her rear hooves angling for his head only for Discord to eel his body out of her way at the last possible moment. Teleporting again she was once more above him, this time finding her mark. The two slammed into the stone bed of the river, exploding the rocky soil and throwing up plumes of water that had resumed flowing from up river.    
Celestia then proceeded to deliver heavy blows to the Chimera’s unprotected back, hammering away at what remained of his aura, only increasing in her ferocity as it began to flicker and he let loose a cry of pain as his skin tore, spattering blood. Her attacks began to grow in strength to the point that even through her own aura her golden shoes cracked and shattered, simply being blasted into dust.
At some point, though she really couldn’t be sure when, Celestia had begun to cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued to bludgeon her opponent, a thousand years of pent up bloodlust and revenge showing their colors as her sides shone white with power. She didn’t stop, not as his screams came louder, not as blood began to fly from his mouth. Not even as the earth gave way under them, the impacts driving Discord further into the rock.
Rearing back to slam down both front hooves in a devastating blow, Celestia barely had time to grunt in surprise as Discord rolled over and kicked out with both legs, hurling her away down the river bed. Rolling to a stop she quickly climbed back to her hooves, taking an aggressive stance as she saw Discord doing the same, if not much more slowly.
The two stood there a moment, staring the other down. Neither moved for what must have seemed like hours, one with a look of growing anger. The other, a mask of determination and loathing. 
A chill wind blew in off the mountain, a sign of the approaching storm as angry black clouds approached from the south, thunderheads gathering over the Everfree as if coming to watch the showdown, drawn to the massive expenditures of magic.
Celestia took an advancing step as lightning flashed across the sky, water from the river beginning to flow around her hooves as the wind picked up. She was in pain, but took no notice of her wounds as she eyed the source of her true anguish.
Taking a firm stance of his own discord sneered at her, his power flaring anew giving the impression he thought very little of the damage that she had dealt him. The blood seeping from his mouth told a different story, however. “I have to admit, Celestia,” he said after another minute of watching her. “You’re not quite as soft as I thought. Perhaps there still remains part of the warrior that bested me the last go around, yes?” 
“Think what you will monster,” Celestia growled back, the water flowing around her hooves beginning to steam as she spoke. “For it will not matter much longer, without the Elements of Harmony to grant you their mercies. I have but one choice,” tiny sparks of electricity crackled along her body, arcing through the water and popping with static. A dark hollow laugh filled the night air, stilling her from making her next move. 
“Their mercies?” Discord growled at her, standing up straighter to stare her down. “And what would one such as yourself know of their mercies?” He questioned, leaning forward and coughing. “You fail to comprehend what they are now, much less that what they once were. But, it is as you said,” he looked back at her, eyes blazing. “It will not matter much longer.”
With that both combatants charged again, coming together as lightning flashed and thunder roared across the night sky, and the world shook under their fury.	 

> Wheat Before The Flail
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 13
Wheat Before the Flail



The hills north of Ponyville, a few days ago…

“Girls, are you sure this is such a good idea?” Asked a trembling Sweetie Bell as she stared down the hill at the jump angling out over the chasm below. 
“Psssh, you worry too much Sweets. This is nothing for the Crusaders!” An orange filly replied behind her, checking the strap on her helmet with a smirk of confidence.
“Ah dunno Scootaloo,” the third filly replied, a trace of anxiety touching her words as she too looked at their destination. “Ah c’n taste the tree sap already…”
“Oh, you girls worry too much, we’ll be fine. Look, there’s a mattress waiting for us and the parachutes are all good to go. No sweat Applebloom.” Scootaloo smacked the backpack at her friends’ hooves for emphasis, grinning from ear to ear as she slid the pack on. 
“Well, ah guess so,” Applebloom muttered half heartedly. With a final glance down the hill she swallowed the lump building in her throat and climbed into the wagon, hugging the already petrified Sweetie Bell tightly.
Spitting into a fore hoof and rubbing it with the other, Scootaloo scrutinized her scooter, checking the impressive, ‘to her,’ machine over one last time in search of any defect. The safety of her friends was at the absolute forefront of her mind, after all. Er, right behind Rainbow Dash, and how absurdly awesome this was sure to be. 
Brushing back her cerise mane she nodded with approval before stepping up and onto her trusty vehicle, checking over her shoulder to see that her friends were indeed ready to go. “Everypony ready back there?” She asked.
Sweetie squeaked out her response while Applebloom just shook her head, pupils shrinking down to pinpricks as the wagon rolled forward a bit, nearing the edge of the sheer drop. Both fillies seemed to become one with the little wagon as Scoots leaned forward over the precipice.
Her grin widening further to the point it threatened to split her face, Scootaloo spread her wings, buzzing them in excitement. “Good! Because here we go!” And with that, they were off. Wings flailing and lungs hollering for all they were worth the trio careened down the hill, speed and volume increasing every second. 
Whooping in excitement the little daredevil at the controls smiled for all her cheeks could bear, her rear hooves occasionally losing their grip as her wings spurred them on ever faster, trees and large rocks whipping past in a blur of color. Angling her handlebars with expert precision Scootaloo gracefully banked them around the side of a tree stump and towards their destination, a crudely fashioned ramp near the edge of a deep ravine.
“It certainly seems, higher, than it did from back there!” Sweetie Bell shouted, her voice cracking into her characteristic squeak as she competed with the rushing air around them. “I certainly hope the glue holds!” She nearly choked as Applebloom tightened her hold.
“Glue? Wha’da ya mean glue?!” Applebloom Called out, her eyes growing impossibly large. “I thought ah told you ta use the nails!” The red headed filly shrieked.
“I did!” Sweetie replied, anxiety filling her speech and causing even more squeaks as they drew nearer to the ramp, its structural soundness now in question. Producing a long cardboard tube with a pointed plastic tip she held it up for Applebloom to inspect for herself. “See, nails.”
Appleblooms jaw nearly hit the floor of the wagon as she read the label that covered the side of the tube, it read; Liquid Nails. A unique, general-purpose adhesive designed for small to medium-sized repairs for a wide range of surfaces, including glass, polystyrene, fabric, rubber, carpeting, painted surfaces, vinyl, upholstery and more. The product is based on a moisture curing polymer technology that provides quick tack and fast cure. Glue is dishwasher and microwave safe. Items repaired with glue should not be used in conventional ovens or in load bearing applications.
“I’m so glad you had this,” Sweetie Bell said, blissfully unaware of the look of dread spreading over her friend’s face. “I was not looking forward to all that nailing, hate holding hammers in my mouth,” she said, making a gagging face at the thought. 
Applebloom could barely believe her ears at her friends ignorance to the ways of engineering. She smacked a hoof to her forehead, realizing immediately the mistake she had made in putting Sweetie in charge of assembling what she already knew to be a terrible idea. Not wanting to disappoint their mutual feathered friend however, Applebloom had set to work following Scoot’s designs to the letter and cutting boards to appropriate lengths. 
A violent bounce from the wagon jostled the filly from her musings, reminding her of their predicament as her gaze traveled ahead to their rapidly approaching destination. Applebloom swallowed thickly as countless thoughts poured through her mind, all the horrible ways this could go wrong, especially now that she knew the ramp may not be as safe as originally perceived. Perhaps she should warn Scootaloo? Tell her of the possible danger, try again to dissuade her from this insane stunt all together. What would an insane scooter jumping cutie mark even look like anyhow? ‘Oh, I guess it’s too late now anyway.’    
“Everypony hang on back there!” Scootaloo called over her shoulder, mane whipping in a frenzy as her grin managed to widen further. These were the moments she lived for, would do anything for. This was when she felt truly alive. And today, they would totally get their cutie marks! Except not really.
They were close now, wheels nearly touching the ramp as their speed reached its full potential. The exhilaration of pressure from the sudden upward curve provided. The sudden heart wrenching sound of creaking wood, followed swiftly by the gut wrenching feeling of weightlessness as the structure supporting them collapsed upon itself from the load.  
In a heartbeat the seemingly simple stunt had gone from poorly planned fun and success to a nightmarish plunge as the scooter dropped out from under them, flipping the attached wagon up and over itself into an uncontrollable tumble. The three fillies let loose a collective scream as they were tossed free, hurtled through the air like puppets without their strings on a trajectory intersecting the far cliff face, and inevitable fall to the rushing river below. Then, it all stopped…

With a heavy sigh the currently blue and beige newt stood beside the ruins of the once proud and mighty ramp, shaking his head as he watched the fillies inch forward through the air, his perceptions running in overdrive as he observed the events at his leisure. “Okay, this is exactly why I can’t believe you ponies haven’t gone extinct yet,” Tillook muttered dryly, poking at a piece of splintered wood as it spun lazily by. “As if there aren’t already enough stupid ways to die in this world, you three have to go and literally provoke Fate by pretty much flipping them the bird,” he spun around on his heel and marched away, back up the hill to where he had been walking. “Well, see if I care. I ain’t bailing you girls out again, not this time, no more, enough is…”
A moment later found the newt once again standing at the chasm’s edge, he cringed slightly as he peered down into the abyss. The drop was at least several hundred hooves. His eyes traced over the jagged rocks and foaming waters that awaited the foals. “Meh, I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Tillook said confidently before turning to walk away again. 
Taking a few steps he let out another low groan, looking back over his shoulder he bit his lip. “Oh, come on, they did this themselves,” he reasoned. “I’m sure they have a plan in position for this, there see, parachutes,” the newt said, waving a hand dismissively as he continued up the trail. “Why, I’ll bet they’re going to pull those cords any nanosecond now and float down to a gentle landing in the rushing river, then probably laugh about it later over some shakes back at town.”
“Are you sure about that?” Asked a tiny version of himself as it materialized on his shoulder, a worried look crossing its features. “They could be in real trouble; would you really just walk away from them?”
Glancing down at his still padding feet Tillook cocked his head to the side. “Apparently,” he stated matter-of-factly and flashing a smile of wickedly sharp teeth, not slowing his pace in the slightest. “Or have you forgotten our pact? Hmm? Remember, we still have five seals to go, not to mention the final key to obtain,” he glanced back at the fillies, sucking some air in through his teeth as he did. “There’s just no time left in the schedule for saving a bunch of brats about to kill themselves over ass tattoos,” a small black leather book appeared in his hand, the pages covered in hastily written notes. “Nope, absolutely booked.”
“Well said, bravo,” Came Tillook’s voice as a second him appeared upon the free shoulder. “Don’t listen to that softhearted twat, he’s part of the reason we’re in this mess in the first place! The only reason we lost!”
“What ‘we’ did was so that countless innocents could live!” The other fired back, straightening the little white robe it wore as they glared at each other. “There was no better choice to have been made. It was either them, or us.”
“But at what cost? Our throne, our power, or the fact the domain was laid to ruin! And now we can never go back because you got soft!” Spat the other, a reddish glow emanating from deep within him as he seethed, tensing as if to land a blow.
Grasping each in a hand Tillook held them out before his face, a stern glare silencing their growing feud. “Guys, guys. Come on, we have been through this sorry song and dance a bazillion times, literally. This constant bickering isn’t going to help anything now, there is a plan and I suggest we just stick to it till everything comes together. Alright?” He said firmly, slowly turning his hands palm up to allow them to stand. “We can have an existential crisis later, assuming this realm has a later. And what’s with all this ‘our’ stuff? You’re just fragments of my mind.”
“As true as that statement is,” Evil butted in, still glaring daggers at Good as the other produced a gold harp and plucked at the strings. “It changes nothing if you consider the fact these are obviously your own thoughts to begin with.”
Rolling his eyes Tillook once again glanced in the fillies’ direction, his toes digging in the dirt as his mind continued to converse with itself in his hands. “Yeah? And so what if they are? I made that pact, and I stand by it. I will have my revenge, even if it has gone cold. The things taken from me will be mine again,” he said, a cold tone seeping into his voice. “And I’ll remove anyone in my way,” a shiver ran down his spine at that, realizing just how icy his voice had become.
“At what consequence, I wonder?” Good said, looking up at him with a disheartened stare. “Even if it means becoming the villain of this story?” The miniature crossed its arms, a palpable tension growing in the air.
Sighing heavily, and with a grunt of finality Tillook continued his march. “If that’s what it takes. Then so be it,” he muttered darkly, events around him seeming to speed back up slightly as he walked, the sounds of screaming crawling back into motion behind him.
“That is not what your subjects would want. They would never condone such acts of villainy made in their name,” Good reminded, stepping onto Tillook’s wrist to better look him in the eye. “They were willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the great plan. As were you, once,” he finished, peering up at him with the strangest of self-judging looks. 
Tillook paused his walking, everything around them returning to a crawl. “You dare bring that up? Listen here you little shit, I didn’t spend the last thousand years imagining you into existence just to be berated by my own head!” Tillook roared as he caught the tiny representation in his fingers, giving him a good squeeze. “I am not the good guy, get it? I never was! Never even wanted to be! And I’m certainly no hero!” His hand began to tighten as his rage built.  
“Maybe not,” Good affirmed with a nod, his eyes beginning to bulge under the pressure. “But, you were far from being a monster. Even at the worst of times,” he struggled feebly until he managed to free an arm and point at himself. “And whether you want to believe it or not, there has always been good in you.”
Tillook chanced another fleeting glance at the trio, their peril not being lost on him as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Oh, damn it all to the farthest nether regions of Algolith!” He said irritably, turning and taking a step back towards the girls. Who was he trying to fool? He had all the time in the world.
A firm stomp in Tillook’s hand however brought his attention back to the other representation, now blazing a deep crimson as he glared up at himself. “Why bother with them? Those three are of no further use to you, let them splatter. You won’t miss them, any more than you did her parents,” Evil sneered, dredging up memories of the fateful night for emphasis as he threw a finger in the fillies’ direction.
Tillook’s face darkened instantly as he pressed the memories back down, Evil shrinking back in an attempt to gain himself some distance, the air growing cold around them. “And you went way beyond necessary means that night!” Tillook all but roared, suddenly flinging his creation to the dirt. “They did not deserve that. They were no threat!”
“They deserved that and more!” Evil shouted back, growing to nearly the full size of the original in an instant, glowing with inner fire and wrath. “They deserved their suffering, and far worse. As do all of these wretched abominations! Why should they thrive while they dance upon the very ashes of what came before!?” He took an advancing step, leaning into the face of his creator.    
“Because, they are innocent to the old world!” Tillook growled as he stepped closer, his own power flaring in a deep violet and black Aura, the newt glaring down at his own cruelty and malice. “We had our chance to change. And never did. The Forger was right to fear us, if anyone deserved what happened, it was us,” he pushed passed the representation, moving back down the hill towards the girls. A wave of his hands stopping the fillies just before they could make contact with the rocks. “I may not be anyone’s hero, but that still doesn’t mean I have to listen to you either. Now, get out of my sight.”
Evil snarled in retaliation, a final menacing glare flashing over his face before he stomped the dirt, his rage burning the ground around him. “You have grown weak, Tillook. Your compassion will lead to your end,” in a burst of red flame, he was gone.
“Good riddance,” Tillook muttered with a sigh, his energy dimming as he turned back to the gasping form of Good struggling back to his feet, a look of disdain glinting in his eyes. “And you, you stay the hell out of this! I’m no saint! I don’t have time to go around dealing out charity to every hard case and sob story that comes along! So, screw off,” he fumed, breathing heavily in an attempt at calming himself down, shaking his head as he looked back to the ravine with a groan.
“Why do you have to be so damn good?” Tillook questioned half heartedly, staring across the chasm as he came to the edge. He scrunched his face into a confused scowl, not understanding at first the feeling flowing through him. Concern, he finally realized. He was actually feeling concerned for these girls safety. It had been so long, Tillook barely recognized his own emotion.  
“Because that’s what you wanted me to be,” Good said in response, smiling as he straightened up with renewed vigor. “Deny me all you want, it will never change anything,” he stated as a matter-of-factly.  
Smiling despite himself Tillook couldn’t help a weak chuckle. “You never give up, do you?” He muttered, a hand rubbing his manacles absentmindedly. “Still trying to save our soul.”
“Well, somebody has to. Even you won’t live forever,” Good stated firmly, watching as the real him continued to fidget. It was always a struggle, but Good would never quit.
“That’s it,” Tillook said with all the enthusiasm of a moss-covered rock. “I need to talk with somebody of a higher moral standing, you two are too biased on the matter,” he grumbled, pulling out an iPhone twelve and flicking it on before glancing up at the sky. “What? It’ll happen.”
“Oh. Please don’t tell me you’re calling, him?” Good asked with a hint of dread, a small blush spreading over his tiny face. 
“What? It was one time!” Tillook growled, pressing first the six, then the nine on his dialer, rolling his eyes when the interdimensional roaming notice popped up, making a face he accepted the outrageous service fee. “Now where the hell is he?” Placing the otherworldly device to an ear he waited, patiently humming a cheery tune to the ring.
Growing a face of his own, Good glanced back and forth between Tillook and the girls. He found himself having to force down the feeling of distress as the girls floated within mere inches of their end. 
After a few more rings another voice filtered out through the phones speakers. “Hey, Tillook! What’s up brother?! Long time no see! Listen, we should totally hang out later, grab a beer, watch another apocalypse er somethin?”
“Well, yes i… uh?... that certainly sounds…” Tillook stifled a groan as he tried to get a word in edgewise over the exuberant speaker at the other end. “Suppose we could, but I was actually hoping for a little friendly advice. Do you think you could, come by for a bit?” He asked, chewing his lip a bit in apprehension.
There was a brief pause from the line before the voice continued. “Yeah, sounds good to me. Or, it would if I could actually hear a single word you just said,” another brief pause followed, leaving Tillook to glare down at his phone in disgust. “Anyway, I’m out of the house right now, or just blatantly ignoring you. Leave your song at the…” 
BEEP
Tillook cringed away from the unnecessarily boisterous machine, yet another growl escaping him. “Damn it Patches!” He bellowed into the phone, eyes flashing in fury. “I know you’re there! Patches!? Get that vermillion flank of yours over here this instant and pick up the phone… I’m emotionally vulnerable here… Evil’s being really aggressive, Good’s being a little bitch, ‘hey!’ and the three little insufferables drove a scooter off a cliff, and it’s not even a Tuesday! Now, tell me what to do,” Tillook lowered the phone slightly, his glare softening a bit as he looked at it. “I’m sorry, you’re probably busy. I’ll just, flip a coin, or something…”                      
Powering off the phone Tillook tossed it over his shoulder and once again stared at the cause of his most recent internal conflict, humming the lyrics of a song he shouldn’t know. Shrugging his shoulders the newt produced a small silver coin, thoroughly polished on one side, charred black on the other…
“You cannot be serious, their lives, riding on a coin toss,” Good spluttered, his jaw slackening in disbelief.
“Uh, yup,” Tillook muttered under his breath, concentrating on the coin as he carefully placed it on his thumb. Sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth he flicked it into the sky, tracking its every move as it gracefully arced through the air, right over the edge of the ravine, flashing in the light as it disappeared into the foaming water below. “Damn,” he snapped his fingers as he looked back to Good. “Forgot to call it,” with another detached shrug he turned and walked away.
Good just stared down where the coin had vanished, a horrified expression plastering itself over his face. “You, how can you just?” He trailed off, not fathoming how he could be so, so dark.
“Hey, this story has a dark tag for a reason kid, you don’t like it, tough. Now keep it down, I’m going through my receipts, gotta balance out the checkbook,” Tillook said, sitting at a desk with an old timey typewriter. “Need to make sure I didn’t break the bank after all those purchases.”
Mind still reeling Good could hardly think as he turned, one thing forging through the haze. “What, purchases?”
Tillook smiled wickedly as he flipped through the tiny strips of paper. “Cheap splintery plywood, fifty five dollars, fake Liquid Nails, eight dollars, that prop coin, two dollars,” he sneered up at the sky with a wink. “The look on Church’s face when he reads this, priceless.”
“Who’s, Church?” Good muttered as Tillook suddenly pushed past him, his confusion only growing when a jar was shoved into his hands by the taller original. 
“Never mind, I doubt his tears will help now anyway,” ignoring the stuttering form behind him Tillook continued forward, ignoring gravity as he strode casually over to the fillies. 
“I know what you girls are doing, and it’s not cool,” one at a time he grabbed the Crusaders, floating them up and over to the waiting mattress. “Believe it or not, I can’t actually be everywhere at once, and one of these days you’re going to find I ain’t there to bail your sorry blank flanks out,” Gently setting the last filly beside her friends, Tillook turned to leave them, pausing when he spotted a particularly lovely pine tree…

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

In a blinding flash of light and color coupled with a jarring, teeth-shaking jerk the cutie mark crusaders blurred back into motion, slamming into, a plush mattress? With groans of disorientation and looks of confusion the girls glanced around before climbing to their hooves.
“Uh, girls, what exactly jus’ happened here?” Applebloom asked, nearly toppling over on the uneven surface as it gave under her hooves. “Did, we just fly?” After another few moments of blundering about she gave up and sat back on her haunches, settling for just trying to contain a sudden onset of nausea. Unbeknownst to the little filly, her two friends were currently sharing a look, both smiling widely at one another as they winked.  
Scootaloo’s eyes slowly left Sweetie’s, landing across the ravine near the remains of the destroyed ramp. With a faint smile she silently mouthed the words, thank you, as she watched the tiny figure turn and disappear into the brush.
“And why in tarnation are we covered in tree sap!?” 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Tillook grumbled as he pushed his way through the brush, navigating the forest as silently as a ghost. A grumbling mumbling ghost, that occasionally would topple a tree unfortunate enough to find itself in his path. His eye darted over to once again catch a glimpse of Good smiling up at him. “And just what are you grinning about?” He fumed, smacking away a fern as they pushed deeper into the Everfree. 
“I knew it,” was all the diminutive thing would say, staring back with a look of pride twinkling in his eye.
“Knew what?” Tillook asked, not truly paying him much mind at first. He balled his fists however as the figment chuckled happily, moving closer to elbow him in the leg.
“That there is still some good in you, after all,” Good said with a warm smile, eliciting another irritated huff. 
“Nope, never. No way, no how,” Tillook stated stubbornly, quickening his pace. “You’re wrong.”
“Admit it,” Good goaded, catching up quickly to continue the assault. “Admit that I’m still here!” His voice escalating to compete with the loud whistling the other tried to drown him out with. “And above all else, admit that you felt something!”
“Like what?” Tillook snarled, punching his way through a scraggly birch. The tree exploded into powder under the magical force laced into the hit, the newt paying the obstacle no further mind. “That after thousands of years, I suddenly found myself caring about some random trio of under-evolved troglodytes!” He yelled, throwing another punch into a house sized boulder to similar effect, pulverizing the stone under his rage. “That I would feel genuine concern?!”
Good stood by patiently, a stoic expression hardening his features as shards of rock glanced off his form. “That you still have a soul left to do so,” he said in as comforting a tone as he could muster. “That there is still something left to save.”
Tillooks arms fell to his sides, a cold stare coming over him as he heaved a sigh, frowning at the statement. “No, Good. You’re wrong about me,” he looked down at the shards of destroyed nature around him. “I never felt anything, just stirrings from our old life, resurfacing to cause further pain. There is nothing left, just the revenge and the will to see it through,” he flexed his hands till the knuckles shone white through the skin before shuffling forward again, face scrunching into a loathing scowl. “Now, be gone, or, however I get rid of you.”
Raising a hand as if to protest Good stepped forward, only to pale in a sickly manner and lower his head, his own face saddening in turn. “I suppose that will work,” with a shake of his head he simply vanished into the shadows.
Coming to the top of the hill Tillook chanced a glance back into the distance, eyes zeroing in on a trio of little fillies as they limped into town some miles away. For whatever reason, his scowl softened. “Eh, I had to find some way to spite Evil anyway. I suppose this will do.”

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Stepping down off the moss covered rocks Tillook made his way into the shady grotto, glancing around at the faded glyphs covering the overhanging stone walls that sheltered this place. Stepping carefully he avoided the shallow pools of crystalline water that collected here, showing a rare amount of respect as he moved. 
Feet padding tentatively he came to a stop near the farthest back pool, a shimmering waterfall the source of the water flowed down from someplace higher up the orchid and fern covered cliffs. At the very base of the falls stood the half crumbled remains of a stone obelisk, a structure that, at one time, may have reached as high as the hills themselves. Running a hand over the weathered construct Tillook took a knee and bowed, the greatest sign of respect he could give.
“You’re late,” announced the voice of an all too familiar Phoenix as she landed gracefully behind him, a wash of heat flowing through the air around her. 
Tillook stood and backed away from the pillar before turning to look at her, a mad grin growing over his face. “That’s my line,” he said with a bark of hollow laughter, his voice mimicking  her birdlike speech. “Heh, lovely seeing you again, Philomena. Truly, it has been too long,” Tillook smiled, moving closer and extending a hand. 
“Yes, almost long enough,” Philomena replied in an edgy tone, extending a wing and nearly rolling her eyes at his hideous rendition of a gentlemen kissing a lady’s hand. “I must admit, I never expected to see you slinking around here again.”
“Yes, well, this time I have good reason. Believe it or not I’ve been invited.” A touch of seriousness thickening the newt’s voice at this, “And besides, did you really think this is something I would miss even if I weren’t? Under much duress, I’m still technically a Fate, and as such, have a say in these matters.” 
“Well, there’s a curious thing to hear, coming from such a traitor to the cause,” snorted a white blur of cottony fur as it jumped down from the rocky ledge above. “Figures you would come crawling back now, tail tucked between your legs.”
Smirking in indifference Tillook turned towards the third entity to arrive, crossing his arms with as much intimidation as his tiny form could muster. “And there’s a funny thing for you to say, being the guy who changed sides simply because these fools started winning,” he made an advancing step with a snarl of contempt. “Why not come over here and test your luck against mischief?”
“Gladly,” the comparatively larger rabbit snarked as he sauntered over, an aura of pure white energy coalescing around his form. The two moved forward, Tillook’s own aura of violet and black light exploding outward and flashing with charges of ultraviolet electricity. “The Eldest One will surely reward me greatly for destroying the great Flail!” And with that, they lunged. 
“Angel! Enough, save this for someplace else,” Owlovard bellowed as he landed between the two, pushing them back in a burst of golden energy. “I will not tolerate such behavior here, and you, Tillook, I would have you behave yourself in this place.”
Gritting his teeth as he picked himself up from the ground Tillook glared at the owl, brushing dust from his chest. “Yeah, you and what army’s going to make me? I don’t take orders from you,” he smirked, a ball of energy forming over a fist as he backed away. Only to shiver as the air behind him fell to an unnatural chill, his aura flickering out as he slowly turned to find a pair of dull soulless purple eyes staring back at him. 
“Ahh, Damnation, how good of you to join us,” Owlovard said with a smile as Tillook fell over backwards in an attempt to scuttle away from the nearly equally sized alligator. The creature remaining just as silent as always as he tracked the shivering newt with unblinking eyes. 
“Oh,” Tillook said with an audible gulp, slowly standing back to a somewhat normal stance. “There’s my place, and you just put me in it,” he muttered, moving to stand next the owl, chancing a last venomous glare to the rabbit.
“I can hardly believe my eyes, Mischief and Luck occupying the same time zone, yet no plagues, nor mass genocide in sight,” the assemblage turned to the grottos entrance, dipping their heads in acknowledgment as three more beings slowly moved towards them. One the appearance of a small white cat, analyzing them with a calculating gaze as she spoke. Another taking the form of an energetic collie, this one hanging back slightly, helping along a third creature, a tortoise that barely seemed to move as they traveled.
Stepping forward to intercept the feline Tillook extended an arm, holding out his hand to help her down the final step to level ground. “Beauty, it has most definitely been too long,” he said sweetly, bowing lower as she glanced his way.
Peering down at his spindly limb she sniffed delicately, turning away and ignoring his presence completely before moving on. “Hmmm,” being her only response.
Dropping his arm Tillook wandered over to his place as the others greeted each other warmly, forming a circle before the obelisk, each one taking a moment to leave it their own respects. As each member of the group found their respective places, they each stood above a rune carved into the rocky ground. No matter how much he tried though, he could never ignore just how many more runes there were, than the number of beings now present.
As the conversing grew quiet, a dull thudding echoed around the pools, barely audible over the trickling water. The sound still managed the desired effect however as the Tortoise lowered the rock he held, smiling a thin smile as he searched their faces. It had indeed been too long. 
“My sisters, my brothers, welcome to this momentous occasion. An event not seen for over ten thousand years,” his gravelly voice carried with surprising strength as it traveled around the group, eyes watering  as he searched out every one of them. “Prosperity, Beauty, Luck, Wisdom, Damnation,” he paused, eyes settling on Tillook as he looked to the floor. “And Mischief. Welcome, to the meeting of the Fates.”           

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

The Eve of Nightmare Night

“Tickets please, tickets,” called a teal stallion as he walked along through the passenger coach, hole punching the tickets of new riders. Bending down he quickly caught a heavy suitcase for an elderly mare as she fumbled an attempt at stowing it overhead. Smiling warmly as she thanked him he punched her ticket and continued on, whistling a hearty tune as he moved back a car.
Passing through the slider door separating the cars he glanced over the boarding ponies as they moved about finding seats, his hole punch twirling gracefully in a soft magnolia glow of magic, the faintest hint of a hum emanating from the horn adorning his head. With a slight nod to a luggage porter outside on the platform he closed the slider and moved toward the back of the last passenger car, the coach being mostly empty save for seven travelers, six young looking mares and a baby dragon, an unusual group to be sure but none the less, they would receive nothing but the best. 
“Welcome aboard ladies,” he said cheerfully, walking down between the rows of seats with a purposeful step. “And Drake, of course,” he amended, after receiving the stink eye from Spike for the oversight. “If I could validate your tickets please, we should be underway shortly.”
“Oh, certainly sir,” Twilight replied, fishing the requested documents from her saddlebags. She held them out for the conductors inspection, waiting patiently as he scanned over them before expertly hole punching them with a smile.
“Well, everything seems to be in order,” he stated in a matter of fact way before hoofing her back the tickets. “There you are Miss, Sparkle, enjoy your time in Canterlot. Heading up for tonight’s festivities?”
“Why yes, actually,” Twilight replied as she restacked the tickets in a neat and orderly way, placing them back where they belonged in her bag. “We’re all quite excited to see the new things that Princess Luna has planned,” her friends were quick to confirm the statement with murmurs of their own curiosity. 
“Excited?! Twilight, excited doesn’t even begin to cover it!” Pinkie shouted as she bolted across the aisle, her hooves and face impacting the window with the sound one might expect from a giant suction cup, somehow holding her weight off the floor. “I mean, who knows the kind of exilerific things that Luna has hidden around the place!” She squeed in delight, her face pressing itself completely flat as she stared up at the gleaming city in the distance.
Rarity took the seat just behind Pinkie and gave Canterlot her own inspecting glance, a near dreamy expression hinting at her features. “Well, I certainly hope she took some of my décor tips to heart. No disrespect meant, but,” she paused a moment to mull it over, looking back to the others before continuing. “Some, er, all, of her ideas were just so,” Rarity rolled a hoof around in the air in front of her, eyes narrowed as she remembered the horrors against all that she stood for. “Outdated…” She said flatly.
“Ah, come on now Rares, how bad could it a’ve been?” Applejack asked, effortlessly tossing one of the mare’s outrageously heavy trunks that poor Spike had been carrying into the overhead. “This here’s Luna we’re talkin’ bout, why ahm sure she’d know at least a thing er two on decerat’in fer her own holiday,” she gave her friend a look. “Sakes, if’n anypony would know how ta do it proper, I’d think it’d be her.”
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat Rarity huffed as she turned back to look upon the city. “Oh, I know that darling, but that does not absolve her of the crimes against modern fashion and design,” her teeth ground together in a scowl. “If she were any other pony.”    
“If she were any other pony she would have dropped by now from listening to you gab about this same thing over and over, for the last three hours…” Rainbow Dash huffed with a groan, taking a seat next to Fluttershy and promptly smacking her face into the backrest in front of her. “I know I sure can’t take it anymore,” she muttered into the plush cushion, half heartedly slugging her Pegasus friend on the shoulder. “I’m tagging you in Shy, that’s it for me.”
Rolling her eyes at Rainbow’s dramatics, Applejack turned and headed back towards the still open doors, and the platform beyond. “Now ya’ll have a good time tonight, an ah expect pictures,” she called back over her shoulder, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as Pinkie blinded poor Rarity with a camera she pulled from, somewhere. 
“I sure wish you could come along Applejack,” Twilight said as A.J. walked past her. “Celestia wouldn’t let much slide, but she said it will be amazing. Apparently Luna really went all out for this,” she placed a foreleg over the cow mare’s withers in a half hug, a gesture that was quickly reciprocated in kind. 
“Me too Twi,” Applejack lamented, breaking the hug to continue on her way. “But, yah know, previous engagements and what not,” with a final wave of her hoof she slipped out the door into the evening light and headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.
A few more ponies filtered into the coach as the girls fell into mixed conversations, the conductor greeting and checking their tickets as they settled into seats. Rarity and Fluttershy chattering away on proper threading techniques for satin table cloth while Rainbow Dash stared at the floor, Pinkie telling her about somepony by the name Madam Le Flour?   
Twilight smiled as she looked away from her friends with a half roll of her eyes, they could go on like this for hours. She often found herself contemplating on the matter of how such diverse personalities could ever have come together in such perfect cohesion, such perfect harmony. Truly, the magic of friendship was a wondrous and powerful thing.  
Losing themselves to their excitement none of the mares noticed as the conductor slipped away out the back of the car, heading towards the rear of the train, his pace having increased significantly from when he first addressed them.
Moving quickly, careful to avoid any prying eyes, the stallion entered the baggage car and closed the sliding door carefully, checking through the tiny peep window for signs of being followed. Seeing nothing out of his liking he turned and navigated his way around the unusually high piles of excess luggage and mail parcels, all stacked in such a way that they concealed the rear of the carriage from view of the door.
Passing by a final mound of suitcases yielded another pair of stallions, one being the luggage porter, the other, an engineer for the locomotive. Stacked three high along either wall were over a dozen large metal shipping containers, their bulk subtly placed to block the view from the two small windows. “Well, don’t you two look cozy,” he said flatly, moving up to stand before the pair, one a smoky gray while the other sported a flamboyant heliotrope.    
“Jus’ wait’in fer his justness to give the word’s all,” the gruff gray pony replied, his mouth fumbling over an accent it never truly mastered. “What say yah? Masta Skitter? The troops be getting antsy fer this,” he said, rapping a hoof against a container, the faint buzz of papery wings answering the attention.
Allowing a wicked grin to touch his lips, the kind not belonging to the face of a pony, the creature referred to as Skitter cracked his neck with a simple flick of his head. 
“Soon, my brethren, soon,” he began to walk forward as he said this, neon green flames flashing into being that covered his body head to hoof to reveal a sleek Changeling warrior, thick chitinous plates covering all vital areas, complemented by the accompaniment of the serrated spines of an alpha drone. “It is as her majesty proclaimed, the bearers are here, and they shall fall!” In a flash of his now green magic a final tuft of mane burned away from the base of his horn, revealing a gleaming golden ring. “For the honor of those fallen. For the love of the Queen! For the good of the hive!!”             


> Who We Were Meant To Be
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 14
Who We Were Meant To Be



Current events, Canterlot…




In a clatter of hooves and clanging armor a pair of guards burst through the old oaken doors, pulling a third of their rank along with them, the fallen pony staining the polished floor with her essence.
Turning quickly at the sound of fast approaching hooves, the leader of the little group fired off a burst of magic down the hall, eliciting shouts of pain and unfamiliar cursing, all the while the ever present symphony of buzzing wings drew closer.
“Eat it you buckers!” The cream and peach mare shouted at their attackers, ducking as a sickly green bolt returned her taunt, boiling away a chunk of the wall near her head. Horn glowing with what little energy she could still muster another magical charge hurtled towards the first target to jump from cover. A dozen voices hissed as the bolt collided with the drone, rage evident as the little Changeling exploded across the wall behind him, merely to be replaced a second later with two more. 
“Sergeant, come on!” Called the stallion as he rejoined the fight, their partner placed far back from the door. “We can’t hold em! Get inside!” He produced a thick blue shield, deflecting another blast that would have taken his sergeant’s head clean off her shoulders. 
Gripping at the profusely bleeding laceration up the side of her foreleg she growled, blasting another bug through the head with precision worthy of her nickname. Nodding at her subordinate she flashed a wicked smile. “Charge me up Cutter!” She howled back, taking a stance known well throughout the Battle Mages. 
Without a second of hesitation the stallion at her side poured every ounce of power he had into his commanding officer, supercharging her magic to levels no Unicorn could generate alone, her horn glowing until it blinded anyone dumb enough to look.
In a roar of crackling energy so hot it melted the marble walls a torrent of destruction magic tore down the hall, obliterating any living thing in its path, even the Enforcer further back, she hoped.
Not even sticking around to verify the spell’s effectiveness the two ponies retreated into the room, slamming shut the thick wood doors and slamming the thick iron bolts together to lock them in place.
“Alright, Wad, cover the balcony, I’ll sweep and clear,” the mare wheezed, unclipping her smoldering helmet and tossing it to the floor before heading to the conjoining bedroom. She paused as her partner stooped over the fallen pony between them, the broken blade of a changeling short sword protruding from the Mage’s chest. “Leave her, Wad,” she said, pushing herself forward. “She’s gone.”
Swallowing thickly, Wad Cutter nodded before bending down to close his fellow soldiers’ eyes, the orbs bulged in pain, but no fear was held within. “Thanks for the save, Jewel,” he whispered into her ear before moving towards the back of the room, his eyes sweeping across the shelves of books and piles of parchment covering the tables. “Oh, sweet mercy,” he thought to himself as he came to a set of heavy curtains, a dull flash of light coming from outside as something else exploded in the distance. “This is Celestia’s room.”
Never having seen the place before, Wad Cutter couldn’t help but take an extra second to scan the room, eyes eventually coming back to rest upon the large carved table closest to where he stood, or, more specifically, the pile of jewelry sitting atop said table. It seemed familiar somehow, though at first the memory eluded him, perhaps it was of her personal collection? Something he had seen her wear?
“Bucking Faust!” He nearly shouted, sucking in air through his teeth as he finally managed to make the connection. “Uhh, sarge, you might wanna have a look at this,” he whisper shouted back towards the other room, waving a hoof in the direction of the discovery as the mare in question approached.
“Well, this may complicate things,” at those words a tremendous bang shook the ponies from their disbelief, drawing the attention of both to the doors as they were struck again from the outside with considerable force. “Damn, guess that answers that question then, nothing but Enforcers hit that hard,” she said, backing away from the doors as a third impact shook dust from their frames.
Gritting his teeth Wad glanced back at the Elements of Harmony. “How long do you think the enchantments on those doors will hold?” He asked with a cringe, the sound of splintering wood reaching his ears.
“Not long enough,” retrieving a roll of gauze from her fallen comrades’ satchel, the sergeant made a quick patch over her bloodied limb, doing what she could to slow the already considerable blood loss. “Just because those doors have taken on the strength of the walls around them don’t mean that an Enforcer won’t still waltz right through there and charbroil your ass. So get ready.”
With a halfhearted nod Wad backed away to grant himself some distance, worry creasing his face as deep cracks formed in the doors after another blow. “Alright, so what’s the plan boss?” He asked hesitantly, breathing heavily as the magical exertions of the battle took their toll on his body.
Smirking to hide the look of pain, the sergeant snorted at the final pony under her command, the faintest smile playing at the edges of her mouth. “Depends,” she said, gingerly gripping her helmet and lifting the still warm headgear from the floor. “Think you still got enough juice left for a good teleport? Say, to the vault?”
“I. Yeah, I think so,” Wad replied, voice betraying his faltering confidence. His face only grew further confused as she pulled the bloodied satchel from Jewel Shard’s corpse, tossing it to him and pointing at the Elements.
“Then gather those up, them Changelings are daft if they think I’ll just leave Equestria’s most powerful weapon up for grabs,” she growled, shuffling over and helping him place the artifacts in his bag, her face darkening into a determined glare even as the skin beneath her coat began to pale.
Noticing the flash of finality and determination in her expression Wad Cutter couldn’t help but sigh, realizing the daring mare’s scheme. “You’re not coming, are you,” he muttered, flinching as the tower shook, the sounds of magical detonations rolling through the air like thunder. Wad’s mood only fell further as she looked away from him, her face illuminated briefly in the purple light leaking in from outside.
“Sorry kid, but from what I’m sensing from you, you’ve barely got enough power to get yourself  to ground level, let alone the two of us,” she looked back and gave him a weak smile, something most guards had never seen from the mare. “And I’m shot to shit,” she motioned to the half dozen other gashes along the side of her barrel, many of which had gone right through the armor. “Got enough for a few good hits, maybe a pile driver if I’m lucky. You take the Elements and go, figure if I can, I’ll at least keep the damn thing busy. Even if only for a minute, that’s still a minute it ain’t downstairs slaughtering civilians.”
“Respectfully, ma’m,” Cutter remarked dryly, edging closer as the curtains blew off their hangers from a burst of overpressure outside, fluttering into the room in a flurry of scattering parchment. “That’s chicken shit, there has to be another way.”
“Yeah, well maybe it is chicken shit Wad,” she said, turning back to him, her horn glowing weakly. “But unless you think we have time to grab the bed sheets and make a rope to shimmy down the tower, this is the best we got. Now, hold still.”
“What are?” Wad Cutter tried to say, his voice dying as she leaned in and a small trickle of power flowed from her horn into his. “Sarge! You can’t!” He quickly protested, not having the heart to physically push her back. A glare from her pained eyes stated otherwise.
“Can it mister! You’re gonna sit right there and take this energy, that’s an order,” she said, nearly falling over as the trail of magic fizzled out in a static filled pop. “Celestia be damned if I’m gonna have the Elements’ sole protection be defenseless when you get where you’re going,” another massive impact to the doors saw the enchantments shattered, shards of wood and flecks of crystallized energy were sent careening through the room, a piece of debris catching her across the face, dropping the mare to the floor in a quiet swear of pain and spraying blood.
On instinct Wad Cutter stooped to her side, only to flinch back as she struggled to stand on her own hooves, a murderous look in her eye. “You alr…” He cut himself off as she rounded on him.
“Why the buck are you still here!” She roared, drawing out the massive war hammer that served as her physical weapon from its pocket dimension. “Get to the vault, find whoever is in charge, and protect the Elements until the bearers come for them!”
Wad Cutter wanted to stay, would have stayed, he would have gone down fighting alongside his sergeant any day. But the look she gave him right then would have frozen the soul of an Alicorn. There would be no arguing the point, once she made up her mind, nothing could change it. “Give em Tartarus, Pearl,” With a swift nod and a crisp salute Wad Cutter vanished in a flash of white light as his horn split the space around him.
Blinking away the spots from her vision, taking note of the blackness forming around the edges, the remaining pony hazarded a gaze out the open balcony doors. She looked to the stars, the moon, a slight smile covering her muzzle, ignoring the sound of wood and stone cracking behind her. “I’m coming, mom. I’m coming home,” and with that, she turned just as a pair of massive gray green hooves smashed their way through what remained of the bedroom doors, shattering them to splinters.
Through the wreckage and clouds of dust strode a Changeling unlike any most in the armed service would ever encounter during their careers, and fewer still, would survive to describe. The beast stooped under the doorway, its imposing twenty five hoof high body silhouetted by the flames in the hall scrapping the apex of the frame as it moved, hundred pound plates of solid iron armor clinging to its skin, the hardened flesh still sizzling from the seemingly ignored blast. 
The creature stalked into the room, motions steady and fluid with a precision typical for its race as the near pony-sized horn atop the head pulsed a deep fluorescent green hue. This powerful engine of fear and destruction, was a Changeling Enforcer, the highest metamorphosized class of warrior drone a hive could produce, capable of destroying entire pony deployments when properly motivated.     
As the Enforcer’s eyes flashed across the room they settled on the lone mare standing before him, a low guttural growl rumbling in its chest as it took a few advancing steps, eating away the distance in moments. “Tell me, she pony. Where send Elements?” He demanded, voice faltering over the unfamiliar language. 
Lowering into a combat stance the mare smirked up at the towering brute, she had no fear left, only the will to fight, to do her duty. “Sorry, bug. You just missed em,” she grinned at her opponent, the look of smoldering rage behind his otherwise stoic expression giving her a strange sense of satisfaction. “Don’t worry though, you’ve still got me,” and with that she charged, magically hurling her hammer at the beast’s face.
With surprising agility the towering Changeling ducked the attack, a massive foreleg rising up to lash out at the mare, managing to strike only air as she dropped to her belly and slid directly under her opponent’s much larger frame.
In a flash of goldenrod light she surged what power she could muster down the length of her horn, forming a small cylinder of hard light under the belly of the beast. “Pile driver!” She screamed with all her might, watching as the spell pistoned off the floor and rammed into the bug’s significantly softer gut.
Releasing a roar of pain and unmistakable rage the Enforcer was smashed upwards through the thick ceiling above before slamming back to the floor, the pony just able to avoid being crushed by the falling giant.
Unwilling to waste even a second of the provided opportunity the mare retrieved her hammer, the magical aura of her horn flickering dangerously as its strength waned, her legs quivering, threatening to fall from under her. 
Mustering power from reserves unknown she swung the hammer again, meaning to bring it down on the Changeling’s head even as he rose from the dust and crumbled stone, fury flashing in his eyes. 
Just as it was to make contact a surge of green magic collided with the weapon, sending it off course to smash into the wall. A heartbeat later found the mare engulfed in a similar cloud as it tossed her across the room. She smashed into a bookcase and rolled to the floor, everything going quiet and fuzzy as something snapped, her mind reeling at the sudden numbness that crawled up her legs.  
Sensing the fight to be over the lumbering Changeling plodded closer, releasing another growl as drops of bright emerald dribbled out of its massive jaws, anticipation written clearly over its features. “Elements,” it hissed, placing a hoof on her chest and applying pressure. “You not have, I find regardless, I, find, Wad,” it sneered, fluid spattering the mare’s face as it slowly added pressure, the sound of bone snapping filled the room as the Enforcer used its sheer weight to crush the mare’s armor, driving it through her body.
With a snarl of victory the Enforcer twisted its gnarled face into a smile, the fiend taking much satisfaction in watching her eyes bulge in their sockets, undeniable agony glazing over them. And yet, there was still a glimmer of the fiery will, the will of a true warrior. 
“Buckin…cockroach,” she managed, spitting a mouthful of blood in her murderer’s face. In that moment, nothing hurt, nothing seemed to dampen her spirit even as her face sagged into shock, not even as a bright goldenrod light illuminated her face, one last time.
The Enforcer squinted its eyes, surprised by the brilliance of the light assaulting his corneas as the secretly charging spell built around the mare’s horn, sizzling and popping with static. “Wha…”
In a flash of heat and pressure the room was consumed in magical fire, the blast strong enough to crack the walls and burn the room clean of the books and furniture within. Moments later, the ceiling collapsed into the chamber, burying all traces of the fight. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Light. That is all there was at first, just a light. Next came the warmth, a pleasant, reassuring feeling that made everything feel, peaceful. 
These were the things that the mare first became aware of. There was no pain, no doubts nor even a sense of worry. Everything was calm and gentle, not unlike a nap on a warm beach. A place where you could simply lay in the sun forever.

“Pearl Rustwing,”

Somewhere deep within her mind the mare knew that voice, had heard it before, perhaps a lifetime ago, or, had never. She couldn’t think of when, or where. But she knew all the same. It called out to her in this tranquil place, calm, kind, and firm. It swam through her senses with an ethereal grace, not unlike her princesses’ motherly tone.
“Rise, Pearl. For services made in the name of Harmony’s Light, in defense of Honor, and with the will of Loyalty, step forth into the light.”
As if through a fog the mare began to perceive, it was sluggish at first, mere faded flashes of someplace the likes of which she couldn’t quite describe, it felt, like a new day. Cautiously, Pearl climbed to her hooves, the sensation of being able to feel them again not lost upon her as she looked about the space around her, the literal space. It was not but a void, floating amongst the stars before a misty background of endless colors.  
She had no words, standing before her were two massive Alicorns, many times larger than Celestia herself. One, was a vibrant cyan blue, his mane a billowing cloud of prismatic mist that outclassed any rainbow she had ever seen. The other, was a mare of soft lavender whose mane was of a similar shade and flowed gracefully away in long streams, tiny red stars flashing in the seemingly endless void. With a nod of the stallion’s head, images from all throughout her life began to flash by, each one seemingly taken from times of great importance, and all the while a band of light in the distance seemed to draw ever nearer.
With a casual, almost familiar manner, the pair approached the latest arrival, offering warm smiles as they moved. “Pearl Rustwing,” the mare called to her, though her lips never moved. “On behalf of Loyalty, and Magic, the two colors of Harmony’s Light that you so readily upheld in life, it gives us great pride, and pleasure, to welcome you to the Nexus. To welcome you, home.”
> Dreamscape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 15
Dreamscape 



Canterlot; One thousand years ago, the night of Nightmare Moon’s banishment…


It is said all of Equestria heard the thunderous roars released through the heavens that night, the power brought forth between these two titans of legend. The Alicorn of the sun, fighting a battle that had once been thought won, a bygone war for the very existence of all things bright and beautiful in the world. And the unholy demon spawned from a place the depths of Tartarus shied, vengeance the force driving her on.
The very roots of the mountain shuddered as they clashed. Fury, hate, and anguish drove these beings into a frenzy of lashing limbs, attacks flashing with ever increasing intensity, reaching speeds no mortal could hope to follow. Trees burned, snow boiled, and rocks shattered into dust that blew away in their wake.
Not since the days of Discord’s rule had the world witnessed such devastation, blows that could lay waste to entire armies gouged the land, rending hills in twain, twisting the wind into cyclones that ripped forests from the soil like so many stocks of wheat before a flail.
Long into the depths of the night did they battle, the duel pushing them to their limits, neither willing to concede to the other. Great shockwaves assaulted the clouds as they came together again, the white city on the mountain long since forgotten as their movements traversed miles in seconds, leaving them weaving around the pillar-like formations of rock that reached for the skies above, the twisted formations towering over the mangled forest that lay to the south. 
The Nightmare screamed, more in rage than pain as Celestia landed a devastating blow to her face, hurling the demented creature across the blackened vista, her tumble only being ceased by the mares’ impact with one of the massive pillars. Shaking her head to clear her senses Nightmare raised her gaze, eyes growing wide a moment before a flaming white hot blur slammed into her chest, driving them both through the granite structure and out the other side in a spray of pulverized stone.
Celestia drove her hoof into the Nightmare again, bits of flame igniting within her mane and tail as her rage grew, eyes shining white with power immeasurable. The pair of combatants crashed into the ground, gouging a hundred meter trench through the soft mud before finally skidding to a halt. 
Forest animals of all kinds ran for their lives as the ground shook beneath them, the Alicorn of the sun having eyes for none but the being she relentlessly bludgeoned upon, raining down blows continuously with her bare hooves, reacting to nothing else even as the recently destroyed pillar of rock crashed down around them, flattening trees as the pieces imbedded into the forest floor, severing old growth trunks as if they were toothpicks.
“What might be the matter, dear Celestia?” Nightmare sneered, growing tired of the beating and catching the next blow with ease, smirking at the surprised look from the princess. “I have witnessed you deliver blows that crushed mountains, tell me,” her horn glowed and an instant later a house sized chunk of the pillar crashed into the Alicorn from behind, shattering over the mare’s head and sending her tumbling through the trees. “Where then is that warrior? The Alicorn whom bested the mighty Discord in battle, she is the one I seek this night.”
“Perhaps,” Celestia growled in retort, whipping a smear of blood from her cheek. “She merely has not seen fit to grace you with her presence, to sully her good name with your association,” the Alicorn finished with a deep scowl as she slowly rose to her hooves, taking on a more cautious stance after her opponents’ show of strength. 
Nightmare let loose a hearty laugh to the sky before inspecting a weeping gash along her foreleg, seemingly unfeeling of the pain that was surely claiming the limb. “Her good name?” The monster replied derisively, fixing the princess before her with eyes that burned with true mirth. “Celestia, you fool. You have failed to realize just how lowly your, ‘good name’, has fallen.”
Celestia’s brow knit with bitter loathing, a contempt she had felt for only one other in all her years, a burning resentment that festered within her heart, verging on becoming the one emotion she tried so hard never to feel. Hate. “Be silent, snake, lest I pull that forked tongue from behind your teeth.”
“Dark words, for one claiming to be born of the light,” hissed the nightmarish fiend, returning its full attention back upon the Alicorn before her, treading closer a few steps as the words left her borrowed throat. “I suppose such actions to be entirely possible however, clearly you have no remorse,” a sickening crack of breaking bone filled the forest air as the Nightmare’s form slowly began to shrink, reverting back to that of the Lunar princess, her skin tearing as dozens of wounds revealed themselves, her wings both hanging limp, broken, and useless at her sides.
Celestia could only look on in horror as the transformation came to an end, her sister’s body slumping to the ground with a silent scream etched onto her face. Blood pooled around the fallen form, the young mare’s chest heaving with the mere effort to breath. 
“Take your sister for example, though she is clearly your own flesh and blood, you have beaten her, bloodied her. All in the sake of fighting me, and to what end?” Though the face was once again that of Princess Luna, it was indeed the Nightmare Celestia found residing behind her sister’s eyes, the feral slit pupils fair testament to that. “Surely you must have noticed it by now, Celestia, the way the nobles all whisper behind your back, or perhaps taken notice to the grand armies of the world, coming together in search of the wealth of these lands you have claimed.”  
As visibly shaken as she was, nothing could have prepared the Alicorn for what came next. The predatory quality of the eyes vanished, leaving behind the lively orbs her sister had sported. Celestia would have wept with joy, had she not known better. The Nightmare never relinquished a worthy host so easily.
“Please…” The sudden plea, uttered in an unmistakable voice, wrenched at Celestia’s heart. “Please sister, no more, make it stop. Please…” 
“You should know, Celestia,” the Nightmare continued, her own demented tone returning to smother that of the princess once again. “There are none who have suffered quite as much as she has, though Luna hides it well, her resentment of you grows daily. It took some digging, but I found it nonetheless.”
Celestia found herself backing away, her concentration shattered as her sister’s body rose to its hooves, wings flexing in unnatural ways as bones moved back into place.
“You should be thanking me, really. The poor girl was in such turmoil when I found her, feeling so alone, abandoned,” Nightmare licked her lips at these words, a manic grin spreading over her stolen face as she advanced. “And the pain, such terrible pain, it’s delicious,” 
“Why, sister?” Luna’s Voice asked again, the despair almost too much for Celestia to bear. “Why do they shun my most wondrous night? Why dost thou?”
“You have no idea, do you, how deep her resentment truly goes? How it broke her, to discover that you yourself claimed hers to be the lesser light,” the Nightmare was speaking directly into Celestia’s eyes now, their muzzles nearly touching as she berated her adversary, talking down at her as though she were a mere grub. “I know these things now, Celestia, she has no secrets left kept from me. Her mind was at such odds with itself, it was hardly even a challenge to take her,” she said scathingly, the faintest grin forming as she spotted the look of realization cross the other mare’s face. “All because of you.”
“No, no you are wrong, you are lying!” Celestia shrieked back, nearly stumbling over her own hooves as she continued to back away, the horrid spectacle following relentlessly. “Luna is my sister! She loves me! She loves Equestria!”
One of Luna’s forelegs lashed out, striking the solar princess and driving her to the mossy dirt. “Fool! How blind must you be? Even if I had not survived to return this day, conflict would have arisen between you two, you yourself are the cause behind the hardening of young Luna’s heart, you made her this way! You made her weak,” Nightmare emphasized her words with a swift kick that sent her quarry skidding across the ground. “And now, it is high time that you paid for your transgressions, against all of us.”  
Celestia pushed herself back to her hooves, panting heavily as her magical aura flickered. “Never have I done anything to you, you and that deranged monster brought about war and death to a place that had put such things behind it, to ponies who sought better ways!”
“Do not try to shield yourself with such deluded words of self-righteousness. The Alicorns are guilty of trespasses in the past just like everyone else, you are certainly no exception. Time and again you have proven unworthy of the Ancient’s gifts, too long has your race squandered them for personal gain, claiming it their right, their place to stand above all the rest,” Nightmare lectured as she drew closer once again, her power seeming only to increase as she moved.
“It was always our right, to guide and nurture this world, that was the task bequeathed to us by the Forger himself!” Celestia staggered back as a wave of pure magic tore into her from the advancing Nightmare, her words having a clear effect. “Surely you of all ponies would know such history. The Star Order…”
“Knows only what their precious tomes and scrolls have to offer!” Nightmare snarled, another surge of her power knocking her opponent to the dirt. “And tell me, Celestia, heir to such knowledge and lies. Who pray tell, has been responsible for archiving such knowledge? Who is responsible for recording the histories passed down throughout the ages?” Her sneer only deepened as the other mare lowered her head. “In their final days the Order became little more than a cruel joke, Princess, long have they been led astray from that which they had been, a mere shell of what they were always meant to be.”
“That is not true,” Celestia cut in, some of the strength returning to her voice as she struggled to rise. “My father saw fit to restore the Star Order to its true path, he returned them to their former glory and purpose,”
“Your father!” Nightmare said with a seething laugh, effortlessly knocking away Celestia’s attempt at a surprise attack. Catching the follow-up blow she twisted the captured limb, her face contorting in twisted pleasure as the sound of a tearing joint reached her ears. “Terra manipulated them into fulfilling his own efforts to bring about the war he always wanted, he knew the great city would never surrender its secrets to him, Cromithia saw into his heart,” she pushed the leg away, watching her prey collapse without its support. “It saw the darkness within him, Celestia. The King used them like he did anyone else he thought could hasten his goals. The Order, his Paladins, even those loyal to a fault Rustwings fell prey to his manipulations in the end.”
“And Discord? Am I to believe that he succumbed as well?” Celestia shot back, her mane beginning to smoke as the hate flashed behind her eyes once more. “You would have me think my father to blame for the actions of that monster! Your master’s intentions were always that of his own agenda! And I was indeed a fool for ever seeing him in any other light, for thinking him a friend…” her voice trailed off there, the faded intimation of regret hanging in the momentary silence that settled between the two, a silence Nightmare shattered with another laugh.
“Discord? My master?” Nightmare crowed, her sides shaking with the first genuine sounding laughter Celestia had witnessed from the creature, there was a second’s pause that felt nearly companionable, lost forever as the haunting eyes of the pony found Celestia again, their edges hardening with intent. “That cowering lump of impure filth causes us nothing but inconvenience, again you demonstrate your incompetence through your own ignorance. I shall take great pleasure staining the ground where you stand with your blood,” as she spoke Luna’s body was wracked with tremors once again, assuming the nightmarish guise of its invader, growing until it was Celestia’s equal, an aura of dark energy crackling to life. “And with you gone, Celestia, I will burn this pitiful nation of yours to the ground leaving your ponies to flee in fear of what you drove Luna to become! When they do, I shall leave your precious sister to rot in the damnation she feared for so long, she will be alone with her misery, and when she finally breaks, I w-” 
A golden blast of magic tore into the Nightmare, ripping her off her hooves and tossing her through the forest, leaving the glowing form of Celestia to rise once more, her mane and tail coming alight with brilliant flames, a pure white light shining from within as a radiance of the purest sunlight shone from her coat. 
“You are right in one regard, Nightmare, I have failed this charge I have inherited on many occasions,” her voice echoed as the power welling within her distorted the very atmosphere around her. With the slightest of motions she was upon the still smoking form of her adversary, another blast of sunlight striking the crumpled demon. “What drives me forward even when I fall, is knowing that you aided in causing this inheritance,” she said, turning to give chase as the beast blurred forward with supernatural speed. “You, Discord! You took away everything we had!” A third blast saw the Nightmare hurled into a stand of trees, the hundred year old trunks disintegrated under the barrage. “And I will be DAMNED if I am to lose the last pony that I can call family!” With a final scream she dove through the tattered foliage, landing before the recipient of her hatred as it slowly rose, glaring back at her with trepidation now showing in her eyes. “With the Ancients as my witness, through one method or another, I shall be rid of you this night,” at these booming words, she charged, a blinding light fighting back the darkness.
With an unholy scream the Nightmare hurled its stolen form into the chest of the solar diarch, slamming against her with the force to crush a mountain, the pair blasting their surroundings apart as they drove each other through the air. 
The assault was swift, vicious, and brutal in its pure efficiency. A flurry of heavy blows striking with practiced precision, leaving no avenue for defense as they hurtled onward, carving a swath of destruction in their wake as they pushed ever deeper into the Everfree. A Nightmare, and a loving sister.   


/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

The Dreamscape; Present events…


“I have to say, this was not something I ever expected from you, Luna,” Nightmare said with a quiet growl, the sound fading into the background, melding in with the countless whispers and mumbled words that drifted through the air around them. “After a thousand years together you should have known better than to bring an enemy here.”
“And thou should have known that no enemy of mine shall ever best me in this realm, it is my domain,” Luna said, her reply stoic and strong, mirroring her stance that betrayed no fear. “Only a true master of the dark holds power here, a power I intend with which to exact justice upon you for all your sins.”
“Justice,” Nightmare glowered back, rolling the word around on her tongue as she glanced over herself in the unfamiliar environment, her old body a strangely comforting sight considering how she had given it up because of its frailty. The pitch black fur of her coat seemed distorted here, almost ghostly in the hazy atmosphere that shrouded her senses. “A bold choice of words, don’t you think, Princess?” Her eyes swept over her back, ignoring the closely cropped violet locks of mane in favor of the wings she wished were still there. The now reverted Unicorn clenched her teeth as she finally turned back to her captor, knowing Luna’s sense of honor would keep her from attacking before she was ready. “Try vengeance, it would better suit our situation.”
“Nay,” Luna objected coldly, the energy darkening around her as it responded to the mare’s orders. “As much pleasure as it would undoubtedly grant me to smite thee where you stand and scatter your remains amongst our stars, that is not my way, it is yours. I shall not fall to such dark desires as you have,” she stomped the transparent energy below her, a ripple surging across its inky surface, from the depths rose a weapon that Nightmare recognized all too well, a long slender shaft ending in a wickedly sharp point glinted in the shifting light, a short outwardly curving blade extended from one side the edge glowing a faint powder blue, the opposite side sporting a short serrated hook that angled back towards the user. Luna’s halberd.
The Alicorn could not resist a smile as she hefted the old relic in her magic; she had been most pleased to find that it had survived her absence, tucked away in one of Canterlot’s vaults, its familiar weight reassuring in the face of this monster. “I may not kill you, Nightmare, but in here I can only ever truly harm your mind, and that, holds no sway over me.”
At first it seemed as though Nightmare was at odds with herself, contemplating her options as Luna began to approach her, only to give the other mare pause as she let free a low chuckle, a laugh that fell to a face of complete seriousness. “Magical constructs? How quaint,” she said icily, raising a hoof as a smudge of black appeared beside her. “But, if you insist on semantics, I suppose the least I can do is to humor you,” a dull handle-less blade rose from the murk, the telekinesis weapon floated to its place beside its master, obedient to the end. Eldershade.
Luna arched an eyebrow, scrutinizing the gleaming metal floating beside her enemy, she knew this weapon, knew it to be feared for what it to be capable of. “I would ask how, but then the answer would only be a half truth, something that I already know,” she tensed, bringing her own weapon to bear.
“The answer is rather simple really, you said so yourself actually,” Nightmare said evenly, taking the initiative to close the distance between them with a few short steps. “Only a master of the dark has any power here, which brings me to my question, how do you know so much of what the master has planned? More importantly, who told you?”


/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	


One year after the Nightmare’s banishment…


The Nightmare snarled silently in the vacuum, her anger wasted on the void around her as she paced, continuing along a path that countless hoof steps had worn into the cold gray stone, her thoughts icy and sterile as the environment around her. For days, for weeks, for months now, she had walked this path, carved it into the waste as she marched. 
Cresting a low rise in the terrain she grit her teeth once again, eyes narrowing with a chilled threatening glint, a solemn promise of redemption upon those whom had dared to cross her, and the one being she willingly called, master. 
With ever growing rage the Nightmare slammed her borrowed hoof into the crumbled rock, puffs of pulverized dust shooting off into the inky black depths as gravity failed to stall the loosed grains. She shook with a near blinding fury, what little power she could still muster shaking the ground under her hooves as she glared upon the heavenly sphere rising up from the horizon, a constant reminder to her untimely imprisonment. She wanted ever so much to scream, to shout out her lust for all their deaths, to let any who might be listening partake in her inner pain.   
A fruitless endeavor, worthless in the extreme, this is what Nightmare had gathered foremost upon her, rather violent, arrival. Even wielding the power of an immortal body, there can be no true contest against the all encompassing void eternal, that which separates all, and yet, binds them together just the same. 
She had of course tried, in the beginning she had nearly been the cause of her own demise, slinging what little energy remained within her against this place, draining power that refused to be rekindled, weakening her ever further towards that great abyss. The realization had come much too late, already the princess’s mane had lost its luster, ceasing the ever present flow it gathered from the ethereal wind, her greatest source of strength, rendering her body weak.
And still, even in this harsh, unforgiving place did the true curse of an immortal show its hidden colors. Though she could feel the vacuum freezing her very core, she could never perish. Her lungs burned for the sweet touch of air, yet never could she simply succumb.
It was in this place, possessing more power than Nightmare could have ever imagined, did she find herself truly helpless. Truly afraid of what the future might bring. That was long since forgotten now, pushed back into the darker recesses of her mind, there it would dwell for all eternity if need be. For an immortal never truly forgets. 
Nightmare pawed the ground, fresh anger spewing forth as she allowed these memories to surface, if only for a moment. She needed them, needed them to remind her why this was all going to be worth the price in the end, why all her suffering would come to such sweet fruition.
She fondly thought of the promised day to come, the day she would be set free and finally be allowed to set the next portion of the masters’ plan into motion. If only the wait had not required so much of her time, not that it made much difference to her, an immortal. Time was of little consequence to her now; she had all the time she could ever need. What was a thousand years to a being such as her? An immortal. An omnipotent. A god.
The Nightmare shook her head, swiftly clearing it of such thoughts; it would be the height of hubris to consider herself such things, for the time being, that is. The master, the manipulator of old, he was the truest pinnacle of power within this realm. Surly, he was far greater than she. Perhaps, even greater than she could ever hope to become, these powers she now possessed manifested through not but his will alone, a point he had made clear on many more than one occasion. 
She shuddered violently at the mere thought, her own obvious limitations fueling her rage as she assaulted the stone ground once more, the force of it little more than a mortal’s outburst. Nightmare cursed her weakness, holding the now throbbing limb to her chest as she closed her eyes tightly, nursing her own pride as she tried to reason with herself for what must have been the thousandth time. Truly, this was her lowliest moment, and she took some comfort in the knowledge that none would ever witness it.
“It’s a sad thing, really,” said a voice somewhere in the back of Nightmare’s skull; it filled her consciousness, drifting in from every conceivable direction at once. “That moment, when somebody realizes just how far they have fallen. My sympathies, I know the feeling, all too well.” 
The Nightmare wheeled about, her senses suddenly finding her to be no longer alone; a sole signature had flared to life behind her as if from thin air. She turned, finding the most unusual creature, something she had come to believe to be nothing more than some old mare’s tale.
Before the dark mare stood a rather bizarrely colored newt, standing perhaps six inches in height and wearing a most unnerving smile that showed an array of finely pointed teeth. The diminutive little thing stood a mere few paces away, beady little eyes working over her form with growing indecency. “Nightmare,” he finally said, the voice once more echoing around her mind with ease despite her attempts at keeping him out. He sounded surprisingly formal, almost companionable, despite the slight look of mounting disgust. “I would say that it’s an honor, but, to be quite frank, I really don’t like you.”
Nightmare sputtered to herself, nearly yelling aloud despite the lack of necessary oxygen. Another moment passed silently between the two before she could finally summon the concentration to reply in kind. “You vile wretch! How dare you appear to us in such a way?! We, I demand an explanation!”                  
“Sorry, peasant,” the newt replied coldly, his gaze hardening into a glare. “But I’m not here to converse with the likes of you, my tight schedule won’t allow for something so frivolous,” he took an advancing step, the motion unsettlingly intimidating given Tillook’s overall stature. “I’m here, for Luna.”
The Nightmare snarled, the action losing what frail amount of ferocity it held as she found herself taking a pace as well, retreating a step in attempt to gain some ground. Her horn flared in a sickly green glow that lit up the desolate landscape in a hellish hue, the look in her eyes growing feral with rage.
“There is no Luna here, demon!” Nightmare spat, her voice cracking as power filled her, “This body is mine! This power is mine! This soul is…” She grit her teeth in pain as the aura that had been surrounding her shattered apart, the energy simply being ripped away as if some great force had wrenched it from its place.
With hardly a thought made in resistance the crippled mare collapsed to the rocky ground, eyes showing fear for the first time since her host had succumbed. “What? What have you done to me?” Nightmare struggled feebly, her senses dazed and confused, finding what little amount of magic left within her to be held fast, bound in place through some unseen force, “What fresh devilry is this? What have you done?!”
“What have I done?” The vexing amphibian parroted, a humorless expression having taken its place among his features as he walked over to look her in the eye, “What I have done is to grant you a taste of the torture you so readily impose upon your victims. What I’ve done, is to show you what you have become, a mere ‘shadow’ of your former self.”
Nightmare could only twitch in rage, her fury powerless against whatever mystical means entrapped her. “What would you know of such things? You are nothing!” She was nearly screaming now, her mind filling with nothing but the deepest of loathing for the visitor. She sneered up at the newt as his face momentarily flashed with curiosity, seeming not to comprehend any meaning from the words. “Oh yes, I know all about the mighty Tillook, master told me well enough, the tyrant seeking dominion over us all, willing to end any who…” She cut off into agonized thrashing, her silent screams going unheard in the void.
“Think I’ve heard about all I care to out of this one,” Tillook murmured, his spindly fingers waving through the air dispelling the magic coursing over the Nightmare’s borrowed form before she could lose consciousness. “Now,” he said, voice barely an audible whisper at the very fringes of her mind. “Make yourself scarce, I have some things the princess will want to hear.”
The Nightmare pushed back against the invading presence within her mind, straining against what felt like unmovable stone, a wall of will that remained in place despite her best efforts. “I shall do no such thing! How dare the likes of you make such a request of me?”
Tillook burst out in hearty laughter, or would have if any sound could have been heard in the cold vacuum that surrounded the two. He then leaned in, moving uncomfortably close, eyes glowing a sickening yellow in the dark. “That, was no request,” he said with steel in his tone, a hand extending to the mares forehead. “Tout à l'heure, bitch,” and with that a single digit made contact with Nightmare’s skull, causing the fiend’s eyes to roll back into their sockets, her head striking the ground a moment later. 

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	

Luna shivered, for what seemed like hours she laid still, her mind cold and sluggish as she tried to discern the current situation. As if through a fog memories began to fade back into place, images and voices from long times past, all that she was, and had been flooded back as control returned to her.
Along with the memories, came the sensations, mane, tail, limbs, all accounted for. Then came the cold, not the chill of a winter’s day, nor the icy breath of a frosty night. No, this was a deep numbing, a piercing freeze that found its way to her very core. It filled her empty stomach and lungs, and coursed through her veins. Each beat of her heart sent a new wave of ice through her body.
It was the greatest comfort she could have asked for, a familiar harbor in a sea of uncertainty and confusion. Try as she might, the princess could not quite figure as to why she felt this way, she simply knew it to be so; it was as if a piece of her soul had awoken from a deep slumber.     

/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/	/

Tillook backed off a few paces, his face unreadable as he watched the shuddering form before him, the dark body shrinking down into something much more recognizable, limbs creaking as the bones moved, the transformation receding rapidly leaving behind the pale blue form of Princess Luna. “Faust,” he muttered, fingers balling into fists at the sight of her apparent frailty. “Even worse than I thought.”
With some effort an eyelid slid open on the face of the shaking mare, revealing the darting cyan iris beneath as it searched for the voice that had been more felt than heard. After another moment of frantic searching it landed on the only other living thing present, its cat like appearance slowly reverting to a more normal shape. “You?” Luna finally managed, voice scratchy and raw, the faintest hint of disappointment playing at its edge.
“Heya kid,” Tillook said in soft reply, the faintest hint of a warm smile tugged at the corner of his face. “Sorry if I’m not the one you were hoping for, but you and I need to have a chat…”     

> Infinite Rebirth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 16


Infinite Rebirth
 


A blinding flash of brilliant light flared to existence over the desolate plain, illuminating the dead barren landscape for miles around. The light grew into a hellstorm of uncontrolled energy that burned the already charred soil, blasting the dirt away only to melt the rock beneath, streams of molten stone flowing away as thunder and lightning tore through the blackened ash filled sky.

With one final earth shaking roar the light flashed once more, and was gone, leaving nothing but a smoking crater. One amongst thousands of others, hundreds of thousands, their numbers dotting the land farther than the eye could see. Countless burnt holes, holding nothing but burnt dreams.

As with every time in the past that this phenomena had occurred, the newly formed scar upon the land began to groan, and a tiny figure could be seen crawling from its depths. Slowly, but with dogged determination the creature reached the upper lip of the would be prison. 
Flopping over the edge and out of the hazy smoke still drifting away from the recent explosion the tiny newt landed in an exhausted heap on the level ground, loosing itself to a ragged coughing fit before gulping in air like a drowning stallion.

It was several minutes before the gagging amphibian made any further attempts at movement, seeming to settle instead for basking in the success of having managed to somehow survive such an ordeal, again. The trip was incredibly taxing, not only on the body but the mind as well, draining both to the breaking point.

Rolling onto his side the newt coughed a few more times before vomiting a mixture of blood and bile onto the ground, not surprised in the slightest when the fluid burned to ash and blew away in the wind. Nothing survived very long here.

Not wanting to waste any more of the precious seconds he had, Tillook climbed to his feet, wobbling slightly as he turned back to cast the newest failure a gloomy look, “Still not the right one…” He said tiredly, shaking his head as he gathered what strength he could, and began to walk.

“I was so sure, everything was perfect,” Tillook stumbled as his leg gave out, old wounds making themselves known through the nature of this place, “But then Celestia won, she isn’t supposed to win!” in a burst of despair the newt threw a punch at a lone rock as he passed, hissing in pain as he pulled back the bloody limb. Nothing survived very long here, not even himself. 

Cresting a low rise Tillook took a moment from nursing his self inflicted suffering to gaze upon the empty valley before him, squinting to see through the constant assault by the ash blown wind. He could not see them from this vantage, but knew they were out there just the same. Orbs, floating blue orbs, millions of them. each one a representation of a possibility, infinite choice, and outcome. 

Feeling the presence of one such orb nearby Tillook once again started his trek across this desert, it was a land he knew well, or, had, “I know you hid it here somewhere, Forger, and I will find it, I don’t care how many iterations it takes,” he said, looking up to find yet another pulsing blue sphere floating serenely in his path, seeming almost to be waiting there just for him, as if something special could not begin without him.

Closing his eyes with a slight smile Tillook couldn’t help but to revel in the sense of familiarity coming off this new orb. It smelled of, home, “What was it you used to say to me? I have all the time in the world.”


P.S.  You guys can consider this canon…  ~Tillook 
          
> P.S.A. #1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public service announcement #1 ~One year later.





            So… A year to the day since posting was officially halted. What do I even say? What can I say? I suppose I could start with some heartfelt apologies, fall to the floor and beg forgiveness for my transgressions.

            I could, but what would be the point? It would be nothing that you all haven’t heard before right? Me, shamefaced and delivering yet more news no one wants. That does seem to be the norm around here huh.

            Well, turns out that I’m just as sick of it as you lot, month upon month of nothing but disappointment and bitter failure. No more I say! No more of this stagnant lacking despair!

            I’ll admit, there was a long time where I sincerely played with the idea of just throwing in the towel, tossing this whole endeavor aside and let it die. Lord knows I could use the free time…

            Only, the blasted thing just won’t stay dead. Lose the original version of a chapter? Find the flash drive a week later…  Forget a super important plot detail?  Apparently I wrote it down in an old note book… Lose my will to write for a month?  Random internet friend asks about the project completely out of the blue…

            See what I mean?

            So, I sat down and really asked myself what this thing was worth to me. Turns out, quite a lot. That and at least one of you seem to really like it. Smiley face.

            With the interest rekindled I set about with figuring out how best to go about rebuilding this thing, little realizing just how much more work there was needed to tell this story properly. In my original efforts to reduce my own work load I had essentially shot myself in the foot, I cut corners and left out things that I simply couldn’t continue on without.

            In effect, I had managed to write myself into the proverbial corner. It was dark in there… hence why I had basically elected to start over, salvage what I could and move on.

            Which is basically where we are now. I have spent the last half a year wrestling with this self made monster, never really gaining an upper hand. Now though, I think I might be on the right track, maybe…

            I am still offering that apology, if anyone wants the dingy thing, pretty sure it’s gone stale. The difference this time however, I have a little something for you, if you want it that is. See, after a year of waiting I thought it only fair to offer a token of good will, proof, if you will that I haven’t been completely idle.

            Now, for those of you who absolutely hate spoilers with a passion, please skip to the last two paragraphs. Thank you.





Most of this is new material, so, light spoilers ahead beyond this point, you have been warned. I tried to keep this limited to avoid anything to sensitive, mostly it’s just expansions and re-writes to existing scenes, deleted sections making their return, some new content, and a few other little bits. Also, please note that none of this is final draft, it has not seen final edit and as such is subject to change. Enjoy.





Caution, potential spoilers ahead.  Ye be warned!







Infinity’s End: Times Gone By

Scene: Prologue.



Cold. A fitting word to describe the ancient and unyielding spire that arose from the gale swept plains that surrounded it, sturdy and un-breaking as the rock upon which it was constructed, built to be a lasting sentry in a land that offered so little to those few that remained. The few who still held true to a duty long since forgotten by most through the ages, a duty, a solemn promise made at the side of a fading light, that all it held dear would forever be.

So it had been, and so it remained. For countless generations, more years than many deities cared even remember, the guardians stood firm, forever vigilant, forever waiting. They lingered here, in this monolith of crystal, awaiting the day the Timeless Heart would thaw, bringing about fulfillment to all things.



            Upon this night however, their wait, would be over…





            Infinity’s End: Times Gone By

            Scene: Prologue.



            Blackened, shapeless, concealed away in the darkness brought by the raging storm, a dozen cloaked figures continued a perilous climb. They scaled the mighty frozen jewel with not aid of rope nor tackle, their mere physical prowess and mental fortitude being all that was required.

            These twelve, masters of combat and finest warriors their lands had left to offer, a thousand strides they had ascended, yet not even one dared falter. A miss- step now, would surly spell doom to any unfortunate enough to take it. Still they persisted, their final goal now within sight, a single glowing orifice carved into the side of the grand structure.

            At such length now was the groups exposure to the elements, fur clumped together in solid lumps under cloak and armor, hampering motion and adding to the ever growing risk. Feathers lay flat along their wings and chests’, frozen into unmoving layers that bound already useless wings, wings that would have been helpless against the torrent of winds still vigilant in attempts to pry the trespassers from their ascension.

            It was to no avail, even as the world itself seemed against their presence here. For, these twelve were Griffons, proud warriors of the mountain realms in the far distant east. An entire lifetime spent training through trial and experience had hardened each of them against the harshest punishments nature could hurl their way, the cold little more than a mild discomfort, serving only to further motivate the mind in its efforts to will the flesh.

            Steadily they climbed, Claw and talon digging into any hold, no matter how miniscule. They would not be denied this, not on the lives of their flocks would this honor be kept from them. The call had sounded, and they had answered. The great lords of old had stirred, waking, clawing back the shroud time had draped over them, ready to take up the task unfinished.





            Infinity’s End: Times Gone By

            Scene: Griffon ambush: Re-write.



Blinking away the blurred spots in her vision she found herself near the bottom of an expansive cavern, the space being sparsely lit from a central point down further near the middle of a shallow crater filled with a shimmering pool of reflective liquid, boiling and rippling in time with the wavering light above.

Shifting to a wobbly attempt at standing, the mare squinted in the purple violet light, a slight haze hung in the air making the details of the space swim and blur. An ear flicked, catching the muffled sounds of the struggle still taking place above. “Shadow…” She began, glancing around for her blade. Her partner would never last on her own; she needed to get back to the fight.













Infinity’s End: Bonds Undone

Deleted scene.

Three weeks after Lunas return, Canterlots upper district…



            Sliding slightly on the slick cobble street, the highly embellished coach from the castle guard division came to an abrupt stop, rocking on its axles as the pulling stallions found their stances. The pouring rain pelting their coats and armor with icy drops while the load behind them shifted, casting long deformed shadows in the late hour, the sun’s rays just reaching them through the towers of Canterlots upper class business district.

            With a clunk of heavy brass locks, the door of the carriage swung open to reveal the already scanning face of one of the royal guards finest. Stepping down into the rain he immediately moved to the side, nodding subtly, the attendant readily produced a large black umbrella for the elderly stallion now climbing down to the street, unfurling it and proceeding to escort his charge inside the highly decorative structure nearest them.

            “Why, thank you kindly,” the graying stallion said crisply, nodding appreciatively of the door now being held open for his egress, stepping into the Gilded Leaves, one of the most renowned tea shops in the upper city. Positioned a mere ten minutes from the castle, and directly on the shortest route to the train station made it the perfect location for the old general to tend to his most treasured, addiction.

            General Ballista, the third longest serving general in equestrian history, was well known for attending to his habit at any opportunity to arise. Currently en route to attend yet another summit of nations set to convene on the subject of her majesties sister, Luna, and her blatantly unannounced return.





            Infinity’s End: Deleted scene. Re-write.



Tillook stood with his back facing the approaching Unicorn, beady little eyes staring out over the barren landscape from his perch atop the rock, “This place has held many names, given over the ages by many tongues,” he replied quietly, so hushed the pony nearly missed them over the wind. “Those whom have called these lands home, know it fondly as, The Domain,” clasping his bony fingers behind his back he turned to face the first mortal to puzzle him for a very long time, “And it is the only place in existence, where we can truly be alone.”

Twilight was momentarily taken aback by the newts change of tone, completely gone were his brash mannerisms and snide undertones. It may just have been Applejack rubbing off on her, but some part of Twilights mind reasoned that Tillook was being honest. And, if that were the case, what reason would he have to harm her. Then again, she reminded herself, he may as well have been another Discord.

As if sensing the mares internal deliberations Tillook suddenly turned and hopped down to the pony’s level , arms falling to his sides as a serious expression settled over his face. He stood that way for a long moment, eyes narrowing to slits as they seemed to scan every inch of the pony before him, “Attack me,”

Buck that part of her mind, this guy is nuts, “Um, Excuse me?” Twilight managed after a moment spent trying to process the request, absentmindedly taking a step back to gain herself some distance. It didn’t help matters any that his stare only seemed to deepen, feeling now as though it were boring directly into her soul.

Bony fingers beginning to twitch at his side Tillook grumbled in annoyance, “Did I stutter?” He asked pointedly, his stance shifting into a subtle yet defensive posture, “I said. Attack me. Show me why Celestia saw fit to choose you. Prove you have earned the right to that blood I see flowing through your veins.”





            Infinity’s End: New scene, Re-write.



The Griffon kingdom: Two and a half years before Luna’s return…





            Nary a hint of birdsong nor rustling of leaves could be heard on this flawless summer night, a slight tinge of salty sea air mixing with dry mountain pine anyplace it found refuge from the ocean breeze in amongst the craggy canyons and fissures. A near unnatural silence had taken hold, the cliffs and gullies having gone deathly quiet some time ago, even as the great castle further inland had so violently awakened. Even now, klaxons and shouting could be heard from deep within its walls.

            It was through this star lit silence that two figures flew, one, fleeing for its very life, a brutally effective attack having been portrayed by his hooves. The other, a proud Griffon warrior eager to bring his peoples retribution down upon the murderers’ head, to make that cur bleed. For miles now they had flown, hills and gorges flashing by in an unending blur, each smear of darkened landscape taking them closer to the edge of the mountains, and the great sea beyond. As they passed over the summit of the last peak, the pony tucked in his wings and dove, his pursuer following suit moments later.

            The fury of vengeance pushing him forward the Griffon warrior depend the angle of his dive, speeding along mere inches above the gnarled trees dotting the cliffside, breath quickening in anticipation as the distance to his target lessened with every second. So close now was he that the pungent smell of equine sweat filled his avian nostrils, guiding predatory eyes that zeroed in on the motion ahead, shadow moving amongst shadow, the dark doing nothing to conceal the fleeing figure.

With a smirk the Griffon reached a talloned hand along his back, taking great care not to upset his delicate balance at such great speed, the wind carrying the sounds of his wounded prays struggled breathing, causing his smirk to widen all the more as predatory instinct took hold. Retrieving the repeating crossbow from its sheath the warrior took careful aim at the figure before him, lining up the shot with practiced ease.

The twang of the bolt being released went unheard over the rushing wind as their speed continued to increase, the deadly spike of finely crafted steel sliced through the air, traversing the roughly fifty meter gap in a heartbeat before effortlessly punching through Equestrian armor, lodging itself deep in the fleeing pony’s flesh. Cursing his luck the Griffon checked the remaining rounds in his bow, the self cycling weapon already having primed the next bolt into place. He growled, the last shot had been low, slowed by the wind and had buried itself within the stallions lower back left leg, piercing clean through the bone with just the tip of the serrated point being visible on the other side.

With a slow exhale to steady his aim the avian warrior lined up his next to last shot, drawing a bead over the sunken fleshy area just between the pony’s wings, a small gap between armored shoulder plates his target. A shot here would completely destroy the primary flight muscles and eliminate the pony’s ability to fly; a crippling blow to any creature of the skies. As the distance separating the two continued to bleed away the Griffon tensed on the release mechanism, caulking it back a notch and setting the hair trigger, biding his time for the perfect moment to fire as the turbulent wind continued to buffet him.





            SAFE ZONE



            Well, I hope that was worth something to those who read it. If not, well, I’m sorry. Either way, I am back in the saddle so to speak. We don’t have a sure date yet for when posting should start, hoping for late summer, early fall. Until then, keep an eye open for additional P.S.A. updates, there should be at least one per month until the first chapter goes up.

            Thanks Again to all of you, a big part of the driving force keeping me going on this project is you viewers, so, feel free to drop us a line telling us your thoughts. Cheers.





            ~Dollars





 
> P.S.A. #2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new P.S.A. blog is now available!   



https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/767411/psa-infinitys-end-update-info-2
> P.S.A. #3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another P.S.A. is now available! 


https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/783999/psa-infinitys-end-update-info-3